A small explosion went off inside of the laboratory, sending Lunella flying onto her back as her clothes were covered with black soot, along with her face. The young genius removed her goggles and released a growl of frustration.
"DANG IT!" Lunella cursed. "What did I do wrong?"
Lunella had been working on the invention that was supposed to revolutionize transportation between the four nations, but during the live stream of her invention, something went wrong. And ever since, she hadn't figured out what caused it to malfunction. This led the genius of Scientia to continuously tinker with her invention, convinced that the answer was close at hand, but the answer, unfortunately, eluded her efforts to find it.
"I know I'm close, I just need to tweak it some more!"
"Amiga, if you tweak that thing anymore, it's probably going to blow up this entire warehouse," said Casey.
"I know what I'm doing, Case," Lunella assured.
Casey watched as Lunella walked back to the portal device and began "tweaking" a few things before the sound of electricity crackling went off and Lunella was, once again, sent flying from the device. The influencer looked up just in time to see her friend pass by and land against a pile of cushions that she had set up earlier. At this point, Casey had seen this kind of thing happen so many times she could predict the trajectory and angle of Lunella's eventual launch from an experiment blowing up in her face and have everything ready just in case. After about the twentieth try, today, Casey sighed heavily.
"Chica, enough, you should take a brain break," Casey suggested. "You know you can get too wrapped up in something and not see the easy answer."
As much as her stubborn nature wouldn't allow her to give up, she knew that Casey was right. Sometimes the solution to a problem came when you weren't actively thinking about it. Therefore, it was better to distract the brain to allow it to contemplate the solution subconsciously rather than consciously. Which will inevitably end up with Lunella having an "ah-ha!" moment, and then have her running like a madwoman back to the lab.
"Alright, alright, let's take a break," said Lunella.
"Let's head outside for a bit, 'kay?" Casey asked.
"Sure."
The two girls exited Lunella's lab, with the young genius locking it up to make sure that no one broke in. After, they headed into town via a floating platform, they began walking about their neighborhood. Lunella and Casey allowed themselves to absorb the culture of their neighborhood. The people who were on the street corners and playing music for the passersby. The artists who drew incredible murals on the sides of buildings and on the sidewalks, and of course, the various delicious smells that wafted through the air from the many restaurants and street venders. They stopped by one of the food vendors and got a couple of hot dogs before sitting in the park and chowing down. Casey had her holo-phone out, checking her status against some of the other online influencers.
"Ugh, looks like Davenport topped us in viewership, again," said Casey, annoyed.
"C'mon, Case, is it that important – oops…"
Lunella realized her faux pas too late as Casey turned to her and said, "Of course, it is! My amiga needs to be recognized for the genius that she is! And as your best friend – and manager of the Moon Girl channel – I have to make sure all of Scientia knows that you're the best, even to people outside of our country! Plus…Davenport and I have been rivals since we were niñas, and I am not about to let up now!"
"Okay, okay, chill, Casey. Sorry I said that. And thanks, I know it's not easy bein' my friend, even more so with my Mimi being the Scientist Supreme and all," said Lunella, gratefully.
Casey smiled at Lunella and waved off her worry.
"Hey, I was an odd duck too. And you being the granddaughter of the Scientist Supreme is just that. Doesn't change that I know you, and like you for you, not just because you're related to the leader of our nation. We're friends because I want to be friends with you, not because of who your family is."
Lunella smiled when she heard that. Growing up as the granddaughter of the Scientist Supreme wasn't easy. It was not as if her Mimi had any high expectations of her children or grandchildren, she wanted them to grow and become who they wanted to be without her trying to push them to become like her. When Lunella was born, everyone said that she was incredibly smart, even her Mimi could tell right away that Lunella was special. Most everyone in Scientia was smart and talented in some way or another, but Lunella showed incredible talent and promise just like her Mimi. But again, her Mimi didn't bear down on her because she was so smart, but she did encourage Lunella's growth and her talents, even helped in some of her projects. Offering tips and advice, but ultimately letting Lunella figure it out on her own. And of course, her grandmother always indulged Lunella's challenges to dethrone her as the Scientist Supreme.
"Now that I think about it…why do you want to be Scientist Supreme so bad?"
"Heh, you're asking me that now after promoting me this whole time?"
Casey shrugged.
"I mean, you're really smart. Like, really, really, really smart. You'd be a shoe in to become the next Scientist Supreme even without proving yourself. Heck, most of Scientia knows it. So, why do you want to beat your abuela so badly?"
Lunella rolled her eyes playfully and answered, "I guess it's because I want people to see me. Weird as it sounds. I don't want them to think I'm a shoe in to become the next Scientist Supreme just because I'm Mimi's granddaughter. Like, 'Oh, she's related to the Scientist Supreme, so of course she's going to be the next leader', or 'She doesn't need to compete, they'll choose her anyway'. I want to show people that I can become the Scientist Supreme because of my intellect and my skills. Not just because of lineage. I mean, I get it that that's how the other nations do it, but Scientia don't roll like that."
"True, true," said Casey. "But, when you do become Scientist Supreme, is that it?"
"Heck no, it's only the beginnin', Case! I want to make things even better for Scientia, and Gaea as a whole," Lunella affirmed. "I know I can do it, and part of that is gettin' that stupid portal device to work! Either that or figuring out how the Shugods work, whichever comes first."
"Oye, no bromees con eso. (Hey, don't even joke about that.)"
"Okay, okay," Lunella assured.
The two teens continued to munch on their hot dogs and sip on their drinks. All the while, Lunella was just taking in the scenery of her city. The tall spires and skyscrapers, the ample amount of technological advancements that helped everyone in their daily lives, and of course, the smiling faces of the people who lived and worked here. She closed her eyes and listened, hearing the sound of the people, the different types of unique music, the laughter, and the subtle hum of Scientia's technology in the background. All of this came about because of science and a belief to never stop going higher. Lunella looked up into the sky, seeing the faint image of the moon hanging above them. She unconsciously reached up towards the moon, as if to take it into her grasp and smiled.
"'Shoot for the moon', the original Moon Girl said that," Lunella remarked. "She was the first Scientist Supreme. And she wanted to go further and higher than anyone on Gaea."
Casey tilted her head up and looked at the same moon Lunella saw.
"You think we'll go up there, one day?" Casey asked.
"So long as we keep movin' forward. One day, we'll reach the stars, Case. The only limits on us, on everyone, is our imagination and the drive we need to reach the moon, and beyond."
Casey smiled as she looked upon the face of her best friend, that was the other reason she wanted to be friends with Lunella. Not for the status, not for the views, but because she believed in her. She believed that Lunella could do the impossible and be able to bring Gaea into a new age and extend the reach of Gaea beyond just the planet they lived on, and perhaps go further. It was thrilling to think about, and it was even more exciting to think that she might be there when it happened. Lunella's drive, her aspirations, they made you want to shoot higher as well. Which only made Casey want to make everyone see Lunella for the bright star she was going to be.
"Okay, I think we should head back. I wanna take another crack at it before I have to head back to the rink," said Lunella.
"Alright, let's get to it," Casey replied.
"What? No back talk? No, 'Lunella, you need to take ten'?"
Casey shrugged and smirked.
"What can I say, your speech inspired me. So, c'mon! ¡Vamonos!"
Feeling reinvigorated, Lunella chugged down the last of her soda before getting up. Then she held her head as she gritted her teeth.
"OW! OW! Brain freeze! Drank too quick! OW!"
"Oy vey," Casey sighed.
Suddenly, the entire ground beneath their feet started to shake violently, throwing many of the parkgoers onto their rears as they braced against the quake. Lunella and Casey were among them as they were tossed like ragdolls onto the grass. Alarms could be heard coming from outside the park area, several streets and buildings were cracking and falling apart as the quake continued. Fortunately, Scientia was ready, at least to a degree. While their land was not prone to seismic events, they had shock absorbers built into the foundations of every major structure across the country. And while the glass did break, it didn't shatter that easily, mostly because it was made of a special material that was made to deform, not break. Vehicles that lacked flying capabilities were damaged, but those that could fly were doing their best to help those who were in precarious places due to their jobs and needed rescuing.
After what felt like hours, the earthquake ceased, and emergency services sirens were now ringing out through all of Lunamaria City. Lunella's head felt like it had been put through the spin cycle, but once she managed to get her balance back, she immediately went to Casey.
"Casey? Case?! You alright?!" Lunella asked.
"Oh, fine…but what the heck was that? Since when do we have earthquakes?" Casey questioned.
Lunella opened her holo-phone, and immediately connected to the private network reserved for officials of the Scientia government. She quickly accessed the geological center's seismometers and saw that the it was a medium strength quake. The emergency services were responding to a number of injuries and damages related to the quake, but overall, no deaths reported, not yet anyway. Stranger still was that there was no discernable epicenter for the quake, it just happened out of nowhere.
"The answer is: we don't. Scientia isn't located on a fault line, at least none that are this close to Lunamaria. And there's no epicenter detected, that's not normal," said Lunella.
"Something magic related, maybe?" Casey suggested.
"Maybe…but I don't want to go suspecting without proof. For now, let's–"
Lunella was caught off guard as she heard gasping coming from the other parkgoers. Both her and Casey looked in the direction that they were, and that's when they saw an explosion going off in the distance.
"Did a gas line explode?" Lunella questioned.
"Lunella…"
The teen genius glanced at her friend and noticed that she was pale.
"Casey, what's wrong?!"
"Look…"
Casey widened the screen on her holo-phone, her followers were sending in live streams of what was going on near where the explosion took place. It was then that the two girls, along with others looking over their shoulders, saw what it was that caused the explosion. A long fissure that let out red light had formed within the city. But that wasn't the only thing. From that fissure jumped several dozen monsters. They were skeletal in appearance, with ashen gray bones, and spikes protruding from their shoulders. They had five long claws on each hand, a number of spikes ran down its spine, curved like a shark's fin that lead to its boney tail, which was tipped with an arrowhead spike, and had a dragon shaped skull. It had a crown of four horns, with a long snout, and rows of sharp teeth. The hollows of their eyes were glowing bright red and growled viciously at the humans before them.
It was hard to believe, they almost wanted it to be just a sick joke, but it wasn't. The reality was staring them in the face. These were the beings that once brought harm to their world, that caused the four kingdoms to band together in order to put them down. It was the Khaotic, and they had returned.
The live stream showed the Spartoi Khaotic wasted no time and charged forward, using their sharp bone claws to tear into innocent people in front of them. Some of the Spartoi Khaotic grabbed vehicles and other objects and began chucking like they weighed nothing right into buildings and into groups of innocent people. Some of the Spartoi Khaotic opened their mouths and fired crimson flames, incinerating the people, and causing multiple explosions to buildings and more vehicles. Some of the Spartoi Khaotic began crawling on the sides of the buildings, smashing through windows to continue their carnage inside of those skyscrapers and buildings. The ones who were live streaming the attack quickly cut off their feeds as they were no doubt running for their lives. Casey switched to a news station, which had a news craft hovering in the area to see what was going on.
{If you are just tuning in, we have something unbelievable to show you! What you are about to see is disturbing and graphic, but you, the people of Scientia, need to see the danger we're in!}
The camera panned and showed the same image that was on the live stream earlier, although from a higher angle as to give a bird's eye view of the carnage and destruction.
{As hard as it is to believe, what you're seeing is the real thing. It's the Khaotic! The Khaotic are attacking Lunamaria! As I say this, I now see several incoming military transports and gunships! And – hold on…} The reporter placed her hand against her ear as she seemed to be getting information from her news network. {Ladies and gentlemen…this truly is the worst-case scenario! We will now switch to the Ministry of Science as the Scientist Supreme goes live to address the nation!}
"Mimi?!" Lunella exclaimed.
The screen shifted, now showing Lunella's grandmother, Miriam Lafayette, standing before a podium as Scientia soldiers flanked either side of her. Behind her grandmother was the guardian Shugod of Scientia, God Tyranno, looking in the same direction as Miriam.
{Citizens of Scientia, I'm not going to sugarcoat it, but it's with a heavy heart that I inform you that the Khaotic are indeed attacking our capital. But unfortunately, we will not be receiving aid from the other kingdoms anytime soon.}
"What?!" the crowd behind Lunella and Casey gasped.
{I have received reports that this Khaotic attack is not an isolated incident. Amphibia, Tír na nÓg, and the Boiling Isles Empire are all under attack. This is a coordinated attack by the Khaotic, no doubt meant to divide us and make us unable to render aid to our allies. So, for now, we are on our own. But Scientia will repel this threat! Have faith citizens! Faith in your leaders, your soldiers, your doctors, your police, and the Shugods who fight to protect us! We WILL stop this attack! And drive the Khaotic back to the shadows from whence they came! I swear this before you and God Tyranno!}
That's when Miriam Lafayette kicked the podium to the side, revealing her Ohger Calibur. The old Scientist Supreme raised her sword up and bopped the right side of the guard where the tyrannosaurus head was located.
[Tyrant No!]
{Royal Arms!}
Miriam tapped the center of the guard. God Tyranno roared as he flicked his head forward, causing a crystal construct of himself to come flying out of his body. At the same time, an amber cocoon formed around Miriam.
[You are the king! You are the – YOU~ ARE~ THE KING~!]
The crystal construct turned right around, charged straight for the cocoon, and crashed against it. The cocoon shattered apart and revealed Miriam Lafayette in her Ohger armor.
[Tyranno Ohger!]
{I'm heading to the front lines to battle the Khaotic, all Scientia soldiers, rally to me and let's fight against these monsters!}
When Miriam raised her Ohger Calibur into the air, God Tyranno roared mightily, as if to say that he was with her. The soldiers that stood by her also yelled out in defiance of the Khaotic as they filed into the carriers, while Miriam entered God Tyranno as they began charging straight towards the area where the Spartoi Khaotic had begun their assault.
Lunella wasn't kind of person to just sit back and watch this all unfold. She and Casey took a hover bike that someone left behind and flew back to Lunella's warehouse. Lunella moved with purpose and determination, while Casey was following behind her, still frightened by what she saw on the news, and even more so by the prospect that the Khaotic were practically at Lunamaria's doorstep, and they weren't at a shelter.
"Lune! What the heck?! Why did you bring us back to the warehouse! We need to go to a shelter!" Casey argued.
"We're far enough away from where the battle is happening. And with Mimi and Devil there, they'll be more focused on them since the Khaotic see the wielders of the Ohger Calibur and the guardian Shugods as a bigger threat than the soldiers," Lunella explained. "Mimi probably figured that out when the attack started, and that's the other reason why she's headin' to the frontline, and to also fight off as many as she can."
"I mean…that does make sense, but do you really think she'll be alright? Not dissing, the SS, she's fierce! But…"
"No, I get it, Case. Mimi's strong…but she's still the oldest leader in Gaea compared to the other kings. Which is why she's gonna need all the help she can get, not just from Devil or the army, but me too!"
Casey's eyes widened as she asked, "Oh, heck no! You're not about to go out there in the middle of that!"
Lunella smirked as she walked to her supercomputer, sat down, and cracked her knuckles.
"Case, you know there's more than one way to fight," Lunella remarked.
When the computer booted up, Lunella immediately went to work. Her fingers flew across the keyboard as a number of windows began popping, and data began flying across the screen. Casey wasn't a slouch when it came to tech and computers, but it was times like this when she was reminded of the gap between people like herself, everyone else, and Lunella Lafayette. The young genius's mind could process so much so fast, as if her brain was cybernetically enhanced or something, but this was just her natural ability. Just then some words flashed on the screen long enough for Casey to read them.
"Wait, 'Scientia Shugod Defense System'?"
"Wait for it, Case."
Suddenly multiple windows popped up, some showing news broadcasts, and others were from traffic and security cameras. The Spartoi Khaotic were fighting fiercely against the soldiers of Scientia, some of their soldiers managed to down a few of the Spartoi Khaotic, but many were still getting torn apart by the dragon-like skeletal warriors. There were some bigger monsters that appeared that looked like snakes with dragon heads that bellowed out flames or shot fireballs that exploded against the buildings.
One of the cameras showed God Tyranno alongside the Scientist Supreme as she cut down many of the Spartoi Khaotic, while God Tyranno used his mighty jaws to clamp down on the dragon-snake monster's neck, spun it around, and then slammed it against a building. Another tried to attack him, but God Tyranno's tail suddenly emitted a blade of light that he used to cut the head off the second serpent. A third was about to attack the Scientist Supreme, but God Tyranno's black crescent horns glowed bright white before they fired several crescent blasts at the monster, which exploded upon each successful hit.
[OHGER CHARGE!]
Miriam Lafayette crouched and then jumped straight into the air, God Tyranno got under Miriam, and then used his snout to push her further into the air as she got right above the serpent. The blade of her Ohger Calibur glowed bright white as energy began to gather to it.
[OHGER FINISH!]
The Scientist Supreme twirled her sword around before taking aim and went for a diving thrust. A construct of God Tyranno's head formed out in front of her, its mouth opened wide, displaying several of its razor-sharp teeth. The serpent noticed the incoming attack too late as the construct head chomped down around its head, just as the Scientist Supreme pierced through it on the other side, causing a huge explosion that took off the monster's head.
"Okay, your Mimi is a badass," said Casey.
Lunella smiled proudly as she said, "Yeah, she is. But that doesn't mean she can't use a little backup."
Casey wondered what that meant, but her question was soon answered. As God Tyranno and the Scientist Supreme readied for another fight, they stopped and watched as several of the Spartoi Khaotic were blown up. Both the Shugod and Scientist Supreme turned around and saw about seven God Triceratops marching down the street. The mecha dinos were light green in color, yellow glowing eyes, and the two horns on their head were in actuality cannons that were firing thundering shots one after the other.
In the skies there were more Shugods, these were God Pterosaurs. Their bodies were deep blue, with white wings, and golden heads. The aerial Shugods dove and began firing laser blasts from their rotating guns, creating several explosions as they swooped low. Some of the God Pterosaurs' underbelly panels slid open, and from them released several missiles that rained down and destroyed more of the Spartoi Khaotic.
Lunella wasn't just smart; she was tactical as well. She directed the other Shugods like a general, or rather, like a videogame player moving their characters around the battlefield. Thanks to her skillful hacking of the cameras around the city, Lunella was able to deploy different Shugods to those areas, like dispatching a group of God Ankylos to defend some civilians while they evacuated.
She sent some God Brachios to different areas of the city, which were huge dino Shugods. They were bright purple and had long necks and thick armored bodies, and were essentially carriers, able to hold a few Shugods here and there, or in this case, several hundred humans at a time.
Casey continued to watch as Lunella kept coordinating the Shugods in evacuation, combat, and defense. She was very much tempted to live stream this so that everyone in Scientia and everyone outside the nation who could watch would be able to see her best friend working to protect their nation from the Khaotic invasion. But this was a serious situation, not the time for getting views and likes.
"Looks like I was right, the bulk of the attacking Khaotic are keeping their forces around the fissure. Probably because they know Mimi and Devil are there, and they see them as the bigger threat to take out," said Lunella aloud.
"Then shouldn't you send more Shugods to them? Considering the Boiling Isles's guardian Shugod is still in its stone sleep, King-Ohger can't be summoned," said Casey.
"Yeah, I know…"
Lunella was annoyed by that fact. The Khaotic attacked when they couldn't form their great protector, at a time when God Dragon was still locked in his stone sleep. The last component that they needed. If anything, the Khaotic timed it perfectly. With no King-Ohger to fear, they could attack without fearing retribution from him. However, there was one other thing that worried Lunella. The Khaotic were creatures created from Khaos, so where was Khaos?
The legend said that Khaos and his Khaotic were sealed away hundreds of years ago by the kings of that time and King-Ohger. The legend also said that so long as the seal remained intact, and peace reigned over Gaea, then Khaos and his Khaotic would never rise again. Things have been peaceful for the last thousand years since then. So, what broke the seal? For that matter, where was the "seal" even located? Is that a secret that only the rulers of each nation know about? If so, then did Mimi know this might happen?
Lunella shook her head.
Nah, that can't be it. If she did, we'd have been more prepared than we are now. Whatever, I'll talk to Mimi, and we'll figure it out later. For now, gotta focus. I have to keep those Khaotic corralled so that they don't go any further into Lunamaria and relieve the pressure on Mimi and Devil.
Some hours passed, and Lunella's eyes were bloodshot as she kept up her Shugod coordination. Casey would occasionally bring Lunella energy drinks, and some snacks that she could quickly take bites of before going back to her work. The battle had continued to rage on, without either side giving an inch. At some point, Lunella saw that her Mimi had figured out that she was behind the Shugod coordination effort, and began communicating to her via her King's Hotline, a phone that was part of the buckle of the armor.
At this point, Casey didn't know who was going to give out first, the Khaotic or Lunella.
{Lunella, you need to take a break! We can handle this for a few minutes,} said Miriam.
"No way, Mimi! If I let up now, they could gain momentum, we're not stopping until we kick these guys back down the hole they crawled out of, literally!" Lunella declared.
{Stubborn child, I wonder where you get it from.}
"Heh, gee, I wonder," Lunella remarked.
Just then, something emerged from the fissure, it rose high into the air, catching the attention of her grandmother and God Tyranno. The guardian Shugod immediately got into an aggressive stance as he growled up at the figure floating in the air. Lunella was about to focus some cameras on the figure to try and get a better view of who or what it was, but something started to happen. A bright sphere of light was formed by the figure. That same figure dropped the sphere, letting it fall like a lead weight straight down towards the city. Miriam figured out what it was, and immediately called out to God Tyranno.
{GET OUT OF HERE!} she yelled.
God Tyranno looked down, as if ready to protest.
{DON'T ARGUE WITH ME DEVIL! JUST GO!} Miriam raised her Ohger Calibur and tossed it at God Tyranno.
Before the sword hit the Shugod, it disappeared in a flash of white light, teleported to the cockpit of God Tyranno.
"MIMI! WHAT'S WRONG?!" Lunella yelled.
{…Lunella. Never stop shooting for the moon. Become who you want to be, not what anyone expects you to be. I love you, Lunella…}
"MIMI!"
The orb of light disappeared behind a skyscraper, but then rapidly expanded as it exploded. More and more of the city was swallowed by the orb of burning light. The sudden explosion released a wave of energy that shorted out the electronics, cutting off every camera that Lunella was using to keep an eye on the battle and coordinate the other Shugods in the battle. The last image she saw was that of her grandmother reverting back to her regular form, smiling up at a camera before the light grew brighter and roar grew louder. Then, the screen went black.
"Mimi…Mimi!" Lunella quickly began tapping at the keyboard, trying to reconnect to a camera, any camera, she needed to see what happened.
Casey had her hands over her mouth as tears began to flow down her face.
Lunella finally stopped typing when she managed to connect to a camera, and it was there that she was able to see a large crater where the explosion originated from, right around the fissure where her grandmother was combatting the Khaotic. God Tyranno was on the ground, but he seemed alright as he rose to his feet and gave a mourning roar. That was enough for Lunella to confirm that her grandmother, the Scientist Supreme of the Principality of Scientia, was gone.
"Mimi…"