The Eclipse Ark drifted through the Sakura Cosmos. With the Black Moon Star shard they had, they were able to tell that the final shard was somewhere nearby. Casey had his eyes closed, not exactly resting, but thinking. "...Where's the final shard?"
"It's close." Ano replied. "But the thing is, we're having difficulty pinpointing its exact location. It's in this Cosmos, we know that for sure. But something is interfering with that. I've tried to track the other shards we don't have, but no luck there either."
"I see. I have an idea, then." Casey said while standing up from his captain's seat. "We'll track the Eden's Zero shard. Based on that video of Blue Garden, and what we know about Midi, it's safe to assume the same group has those two shards. We have one and the Eden's Zero has one."
"Do you think the Eden's Zero will be able to reach the location before we can?" Lluvi questioned.
"Is our plan to swipe it under their nose again?" Percival said while tending to a few plants. "That was a pretty sneaky plan. They never saw it coming, aha..."
"More or less." Casey affirmed with a nod. "No matter what, I can tell that only one side is going to leave whatever planet it's on with the full Star. We have to make sure that it's us at all cost."
"The prelude to the final battle, huh?" G said while crossing his arms. "We had to work with the Eden's Zero last time. This time they don't have the luxury of us hard carrying them into battle."
"Still, we shouldn't underestimate them." Lowell was sharpening his sword. "After all, Shiki is a Galactica. That's worth something. I'm sure Casey can take him down, though. The others are the ones that are a bit worrisome. You know that Rebecca girl?"
"Yes...something about her power is off." Lluvi furrowed her brows. "I'll never forget how she was able to predict a sniper shot with precise timing. That wasn't normal, even if it was the turning point for the battle on Delta Ridge."
"They're all pretty tough in their own right, but we're stronger." G said confidently. "Besides, Ano got a good run down of them, right? Anything we should be aware of?"
"Based on their abilities..." Ano pulled up a database. He was collecting data on the Eden's Zero while they fought together on Delta Ridge. "In terms of close combat, we should be wary of Shiki, Sister, Rebecca, Homura, and Jinn. Ranged combat; Rebecca, Kleene, Weisz, Hermit, and Laguna. As for that Blair chick, I uh...don't know how we should deal with her. She ate a black hole for lunch."
"Don't engage her solo unless absolutely necessary." Casey ordered. "That one is dangerous. I'll buy time if things get bad with her, but otherwise, we'll have to remain careful."
"Rebecca twice?" Percival questioned.
"Yeah, well...she did defeat Athena Goldstone, and she's got that high speed power coupled with excellent marksmanship. She may not seem like much, but if you let your guard down around her for even a second, she can exploit it and take you out."
"The final battle is rapidly approaching." Casey stated. "We have to stay ahead, no matter what."
"Say, Casey." G said while approaching him. "You know we're here for you until the end, but there is something I'm curious about..."
"What is it, G?" Casey looked over to G.
"We're all here to help you on the hunt for Mother, that's not going to change. But what do you intend to ask her?" It was a mere question.
"I know Mother can do incredible things. That woman...Xiao Mei, can see the outcome of everything as a result." Casey said while looking out into space. "And there's one thing I want more than anything. I'm going to Mother so I can get back what was stolen from me."
"What was stolen from you, boss?" Percival asked.
"Time." Casey said, his eyes closing as a planet came onto the display. but the planet was literally grayed out. "Do you see this planet? That plant was my home...or rather, it will be in a few thousand years."
"What do you mean?" Lluvi blinked. "What's the planet's name...?"
"This planet doesn't have a name anymore. Or rather, it doesn't have one yet." Casey said with a heavy sigh. "When I was a child, this planet was attacked by a Chronophage. I...was the only one who managed to escape. My parents made sure of that."
"A Chronophage..." Lowell muttered. One of the most horrifying things in the entire universe. At a moment's notice, a planet could be completely destroyed by that entity passing by it.
"So I'm going to Mother to take it all back." Casey said. "And I can't do this without any of you. The cosmos is cruel and unforgiving, which is why we have to stick together in times like this. I can rely on each and every single one of you, isn't that right."
"You got it, Captain!" The crew of the Eclipse Ark exclaimed in unison. Whatever the challenges that come before them, they were prepared to face it.
.
.
After the Battle of Blue Garden, Jigan narrowly escaped the GIU. He couldn't afford to completely leave the Sakura Cosmos, because he could feel that all of the Black Moon Shards were lingering within. His crew dissolved for a multitude of reasons, but that was fine with him. He was relying solely on himself to get the job done. At present, he found himself at a bar on a low brow planet. It was far from a place anyone would think to look for him. "All of 'em are useless..."
"Sounds like someone's had a bad day." An old voice next to him said.
"Eh?" Jigan turned, only to see...Weisz Steiner. But it wasn't the one from the Eden's Zero. It was the old man. "What the...? Weisz? Is that you?"
"Long time no see, Jigan." Weisz said while waving his robotic arm. "You look like you've been doing well for yourself."
"Holy shit. You aged terribly!" Jigan laughed. "Wait a second, though! What the hell is going on here!? I saw you a few weeks ago, and you looked like the day I saw you last!?"
"There's a reason for that..." Another voice spoke. This one belonged to Sibir. Compared to his stature from 50 years ago, this man was short and limped forward, sitting next to the two of them.
"Sibir!?" Jigan's eyes went wide. "You aged terrible too! What happened, did I become the only one who got bigger with age!? Ahahahahahaha!"
"Just as loud as always." The last one to speak was Bernadette. She was with the older version of Weisz.
"Bernadette? What are you doing with that loser? You could've had me." Jigan said while sucking his teeth.
"Something tells me I lucked out in that regard." The woman said while rolling her eyes. Just as cold to Jigan as she always was, that wasn't going to change.
"Tch." Jigan rolled his eyes. "Anyway, what the hell is going on with you, Weisz?"
"Easy to explain." Weisz said while downing a drink. "Norma got hit by a Chronophage. Simple as that."
"No shot, seriously? Hah." Jigan let out a small laugh. "Glad I left when I did. It's not like there was anything there for me."
"And as it turns out, someone went to Norma looking for me shortly after this happened. But since they landed on Norma after the Chronophage ate, they ended up bringing back the version of me from 50 years ago. So there are two Weisz Steiner's out in the universe, both with valid histories. I'm guessing you had a run in with him recently, huh?"
"Sure did." Jigan grumbled.
"I was just as confused as you are." Sibir spoke up, his old bird on his shoulder. "I saw him as well and gave him a helping hand."
"You helped Weisz? You gotta be shitting me." Jigan shook his head, unable to believe what he was hearing. "We were baddest guys on Norma, but we could barely stand each other as well. Why do you think I left? I had to get out on my own and make a name for myself!"
"And how's that been going for you, Mr. Space Pirate?" Bernadette asked with a raised brow.
"People know my name!" Jigan said while looking at Weisz and Sibir. "What happened to you two, though? When did you guys get so soft? Even the Weisz I saw acts completely different than you did back then. It looked like he cared about something other than himself."
"Hah, is that right?" Weisz chuckled. "He grew up faster than I did. I started to slow down with age. Especially when my bad decisions began to catch up to me..." He gestured to his metal arm.
"...The hell happened to you?" Jigan lifted a brow.
"Drakken Joe." Weisz simply replied. "He got to me and made me pay. That's when I knew I couldn't be as much as a hard head as I was."
"You could say the same happened to me as well. I realized as I grew older that I just couldn't be that same man anymore." Sibir replied. "We're different now. It came with age."
"Bah! You guys got old and soft. I became hardened with age!" Jigan scoffed. "I won't let myself be forgotten by the Cosmos like you two did."
"And that's been going well for you, has it?" Weisz questioned with a knowing look. "You got a crew?"
"Had." Jigan shook his head. "They all slowed me down, so I had to ditch them. Anyone that doesn't prove their worth is getting left behind. I don't have the time to slow down for other people!"
"Is it because you're as old as we are and don't have much time left?" Sibir asked. That question made Jigan growl.
"It's nothing to be ashamed of!" Weisz shook his head. "I've accepted that I'm old. I'm still going on adventures, but at my own pace. My dreams aren't so grand as yours were, wanting to be the most feared man in the Sakura Cosmos. But I respect that you've been at it for so long."
"That sounds like you're making fun of me." Jigan took a mug and downed the alcohol. "I'm not like you two! I'm not getting left behind by the times!"
"Is that what you're afraid of?" Sibir raised a brow. "I suppose I understand. This new generation...they are something else. I was there when that man Shiki defeated Drakken Joe, something I never thought possible at the time."
"Drakken was washed up!" Jigan slammed the mug on the table. "Allowing some punk kid to beat him. I can't let that be me! He's forgotten now. It won't be me!"
"...You're still the same man you were 50 years ago. Driven by your fear of time accelerating." Weisz shook his head. "But at least you look like you've got the power to boot. Will you have everything you ever want when you're alone and with power?"
"People will remember my name." Jigan said with a deep breath. "Damn, we've had this conversation before, haven't we? I can't stand you guys."
"We got into fights a lot." Sibir said with a fond smile. Those days were behind him, but as these old men sat here, thinking about old times, he couldn't help but remember them fondly.
"You know what we should do?" Weisz said while lifting a brow and raising a drink. "Just like old times. First person to tap out pays the table." He said this, knowing full well Jigan didn't have any money.
"I'm game!" And yet, Jigan accepted this challenge.
"I suppose I don't see why not. I used to beat you two all the time." Sibir said with a small laugh. Even though these three didn't have any positive feelings towards one another, their time together was still something worth bonding over. It was complicated.
"Men." Bernadette said while rolling her eyes.
.
.
Amira was still trapped within the main ship in the Galactic Fleet. They did not treat her poorly and fed her often. Still, it was uncomfortable for her with the handcuffs that dug into her wrists. "Still can't get these off..." She grumbled. She had been trying to days to loosen them enough to pick them off, but to no avail.
After a few minutes, Alexei appeared with his arms behind his back. "Still attempting to make an escape?"
"Can you blame me for wanting to get out of these handcuffs? They are so uncomfortable." Amira said with a smile, although Alexei's expression had no such joy in it. "If you're here to qestion me again, I still have nothing to say."
"I am aware. Marshall really wishes to sink his teeth into you." Alexei replied.
"I know what he wants. But he doesn't scare me." Amira's experience in this field did allow her to prepare for this. "And even if you did let him loose on me, I'd make sure he regretted it."
"Your spirit is strong." Alexei nodded. "But it is pointless."
"Pointless...?" Amira lifted a brow. Maybe this was a chance for her to finally get some intel. This was one of the most dangerous men in the cosmos. "Why is it pointless, Alexei?"
"Because when I obtain every piece of the Black Moon Star, such things as emotion and spirit will be null and void." Alexei replied calmly. "Because my goal...is to erase emotion from the cosmos with Mother's power."
Now she was getting somewhere, But also, the fact Alexei had something like that set on his mind was frightening. "Erase...emotion? I don't follow." Amira stood up. "That's what makes up every living creature! Why would you want to erase something so vital to existence itself?"
"Why? That is a good question." Alexei turned his back to Amira for a bit. "I can explain it to you, so you understand why I believe the idea of emotion is wasteful. It begins...20 years ago." As he spoke, a mist flooded the room. It was Vanessa's doing, helping to illustrate Alexei's point. The Veil was active and it turned into a peaceful planet of green, the setting taking place in the middle of a large city.
"What...?" Amira looked around as the scenery 'changed'. She was still behind bars, but the setting looked so real, she briefly thought she was somewhere else entirely for a moment.
"This planet was my home. It looks peaceful, doesn't it? It was a place where humans and androids lived together." Alexei said, gesturing to the younger version of himself. A young boy, who was smiling and happily playing with some androids. It was hard to believe this boy and the man now were the same person. "Everyone looks happy, don't they?"
"Yes..." Amira was waiting for that, 'but' however.
"However, it is not what it appears to be. The peace is a thinly veiled layer of the animosity that lied within." Alexei explained. The peaceful view did not last long, as the city was soon engulfed in the flames of battle. The suddenness of it shocked Amira. "The humans and androids on this planet despised one another. Whatever the reason, it didn't matter. It was small and insignificant. A child like myself couldn't understand. But I did know one thing: I thought the violence was wrong at the time."
"Stop! Stop! Please stop!" The young Alexei was running through the carnage of the city. There was so much fighting, bloodshed, and violence. This young child was injured from the conflict, a horrified expression on his face as he tried desperately to stop the fighting, but he just saw the deaths of humans and androids he knew in front of him. "Why are you doing this!?"
"Eventually, the exhaustion caught up to me." Alexei said. "And I passed out. I didn't know what to expect when I next woke up. But as my eyes opened..." The scene shifted once again, and the city was back to normal, as if there was no conflict. "It was as if nothing happened."
The young Alexei woke up with a gasp, frantically looking around. "W-What happened!?" The boy quickly stood up and got out of bed, just...looking over everything.
"Was it a dream? A nightmare? I had no idea." Alexei said while staring off into the distance. "But reality would not be so kind to me. Soon after I thought it was all a nightmare, it happened once again." He snapped his fingers and the scenery repeated itself. This left the young Alexei even more in shock.
"I-It wasn't a dream!? It's really happening!?" The young Alexei was in the same situation, But it felt even worse, because he knew about it.
"I learned it was the humans who attacked first. They were sick of the androids encroaching on their territory. So they sought to get rid of them," Alexei snapped his fingers once again. The scene changed. Young Alexei woke up a second time in shock.
"I don't understand..." Amira said quietly.
"I didn't either. Something was happening. I was getting dragged into the same situation, over and over again. This time, I thought I could do something about it." Alexei continued on. "I thought if I told the androids, they could defend themselves and prevent any violence. But instead..."
"This is a very serious problem. Thank you for telling us, Alexei." One of the androids said.
"Will everyone be okay?" Young Alexei asked.
"Yes. We'll make sure that no harm comes to any of the androids."
"I thought they would keep their word. But they twisted my warning into something nefarious." Alexei said as the scene shifted once more. The androids were the one who attacked, leaving Alexei horrified once again. This time, it was his fault this conflict started. Before the younger Alexei had the chance to wallow in grief, he once again returned to his bed in the morning, the calm before the storm. "I had no idea what was happening, or why it was. But every time the conflict started, it felt as if some force was dragging me through time and bringing me back to the moment before. Each time, I tried to change the future with my knowledge. But there was only so much that I could do as a child."
The same conflict repeated over and over, and as it did...the Young Alexei's expression slowly shifted. He went from disbelief, to anger, and then...nothing. Every time he woke up after a certain point, his eyes opened slowly, and there was no expression on his face. "Eventually, the repeated incidents left me numb to it all. I had seen the death and destruction countless times over. Realizing I could not change it, I left it alone and searched for something else instead. But I realized something along the way...the conflict was so petty and small. But it erupted into the deaths of hundreds. Why, I wondered? And then I came to a conclusion."
"And that conclusion was?" Amira lifted a brow.
"Humans and androids were not entirely at fault. It is the weakness of emotion that drove them to fight and slaughter each other. The fault of emotion for sparking a raging flame that could not be quelled, consuming many in the process. I realized then, that it was emotion that needed to be purged from the universe. Without emotion, the universe would be tranquil. There would be no conflict. No more needless deaths. I then learned about the Black Moon, and how it could lead me to Mother. So I realized what it was I had to do. I am going to use Mother's power to purge any and all emotion from the cosmos."
"What!?" Amira's eyes were wide. "That plan is..."
"But it doesn't end there. I will also...use my power to control space to leap into other universes and repeat the same thing. I understand now it was the power of Leaper that continued dragging me through time. That Rebecca woman, or perhaps another person...that person was using their power for one reason or another, but I was continuously dragged back by them as well. Time and space are bound, so it makes sense to me now. I have to thank them. If it were not for their power, I wouldn't have realized this is my calling. The android Ziggy has declared war on human kind for some reason. I know not why, but my plans will even pacify him and end his war. I will create a multiverse of tranquility. I will shape the universe to my image, so that nobody will have to suffer from a fickle emotion again."
Amira was speechless. Her eyes were shaking from Alexei's grand plan. To purge emotion from existence? That was too dangerous. It was insane! And his scope was beyond their Universe as well? She knew about the others Universes because of Noah, but to think Alexei was going to go that far. "T-That's..."
"The future of this cosmos has no need for fleeting emotions. Happiness. Anger. Sadness. Everything in between...I will make sure to erase it from existence. There will be nothing left when I am finished." Alexei left Amira to stew in those words. Alexei Alexandrite was quickly becoming the most dangerous man in the known universe...