Vanessa changed the scenery of Ram Village once again, only to restore it to a time where things were more peaceful. The sky was blue, nary a single clouds passing overhead. The sun shone down brightly on the village as it was just another, normal day. The people were walking past, walking and talking, carrying out their duties while separated from the rest of the cosmos. "Where are we...?" Homura asked. A person ended up walking right through her.
"This is Ram Village, X493." Vanessa explained. "To be more specific...two weeks after a Chronophage attacked the planet Guilst."
"Two weeks...!?" Rebecca gasped. She wouldn't forget what happened on Guilst, but to think this was happening in such a short time frame...
"..." Blair was silent. This was the day she could never forget, but why was Vanessa so intent on showing it to her again?
Speaking of Blair, the Blair from the past was walking with a basket in her hands. Her expression was much happier and livelier than what she was now. Beside her were Raven, and a familiar blonde haired woman. "I told you two that it wasn't going to be so hard!"
"You're the one that ended up doing most of the work..." Raven said with a heavy sigh. "It's hard competing with you sometimes. Did you take all the good genes or something? Back me up here, Hannah!"
Hannah just shrugged in response. "I think you could stand to work out a bit more. But I guess not everyone can be as strong as Blair."
"I'm nothing special." Blair shook her head. Inside of the basket she was holding were a number of fruits. Apples, oranges, bananas, and the like. "Besides, I wouldn't get anywhere by myself. I may protect this village, but everyone here gives me a reason to keep fighting." She set the basket down, letting out a quiet sigh.
"You really do work hard." Melissa approached. "Sometimes I worry that you do too much work."
"It's alright to take a break every now and then." Arthur responded.
To that, Blair shook her head. "I like doing all of this work. It keeps me fulfilled and busy. I understand you guys are all worried about me, but don't." She then smiled. "I'm okay, I promise."
"If you're sure." Melissa clasped her hands together. "I'll make dinner tonight, so you can relax! My homemade stew will reenergize you right away!"
"Ah, yeah! Stew night!" Raven pumped his fist into the air.
"I can duplicate some ingredients if you need any!" Hannah giggled. Blair and Raven also laughed as well.
"..." The real Blair watched this scene with a scowl.
For those who hadn't been exposed to Blair's life in Ram Village, this was a shock to see her so...happy and carefree. But they knew those days wouldn't last... "This is an illusion, right?" Geno asked.
"This is an illusion of a memory. Blair's memory." Vanessa was very specific about that.
"You could just be lying about that." Jinn didn't want to believe this for a second.
"..." Laguna, however, could see it in Vanessa's face.
The peaceful time did not last long. Because the people began to gather in the Village Square. "What's going on?" Blair blinked.
"Oh, you didn't hear? Some scientist was coming to conduct an experiment here." Hannah said casually. "I dunno why she wanted to do it all the way out here in the sticks of the universe. I hope she doesn't think she can get away with something nasty just because nobody comes here."
"If she tries anything funny, I'll make sure she regrets it." Blair said.
"That's the Blair I know." Hannah giggled. They stayed in the back as a Vanessa appeared in front of a crowd.
"Hello, people of Mercurius! Of Ram Village! My name is Vanessa Viscard!" Vanessa introduced herself with a bow. "I thank you all for sparing some time with me today. I've come to conduct an experiment and I need all of your help to do it!"
"Why here?" Someone asked. "You could've gone literally anywhere else!"
"I wanted to test something on the healthiest looking planet I could find." Vanessa explained while raising a finger. "My research involves testing the amount of ether a planet holds. In my searches, I found that this planet has a high abundance of ether! More so than any average planet as well. The trees are thicker and healthier than anything I've seen before!"
"This planet has always been good to us." Melissa remarked. "We do our best to take care of it here in our little humble village."
"I simply want to test how much ether his planet truly has." Vanessa said while clasping her hands together. "Forgive me if this is a little sudden, but I'll be conducting the experiment now."
"That's fine..." An older man said. "But what exactly are you going to do?"
"I research Ether. I also research a creature known as a Therion. Therion's are creatures long extinct, known for consuming copious amounts of Ether." Vanessa said with a nod. "So I want to figure out how much a Therion can consume!"
"What...?" The people of the village began to murmur in confusion. This was the moment Blair narrowed her eyes. Something was off with this woman...
"You just said Therions were extinct, lady." Raven commented. "So how exactly are you gonna do that?"
"Oh! The most wonderful thing happened a few weeks ago!" Vanessa was bouncing up and down with excitement. "The planet Guilst was consumed by a Chronophage! Now, I don't know how many years it lost, but it must have been plenty. Because a Therion was found on that rewound planet! I captured it, of course. It's terribly hungry as well..." The way she was speaking...
"It's hungry...?" Melissa gulped.
"Indeed!" Vanessa then snapped her fingers. A cloud of mist faded away behind her, revealing a wolf-like creature that was supposedly there the whole time! The creature's limbs were black-ish green, and its spine stood up on ends. "I'm sorry I had to hide it from you. But thanks to you, I can conduct my experiment! My science is that of doing whatever it takes to get results! Go forth, my wonderful Therion! Eat to your heart's content!" The Therion snarled and lunged at the crowd, causing everyone to disperse at once.
"What's happening!?" Hannah gasped. Before she knew it, Blair ended up shoving her into a house nearby. "Ack-!? Blair!?"
"Stay here. Don't move. I'll take care of it." Blair said while equipping her gauntlet blade. She rushed towards the Therion, which was snapping and biting at people. She flipped forward and slashed the beast with her left leg. "Tearing Thorn!" The Therion snarled as it was hit, sliding back from the hit.
"Oh!" Vanessa blinked. "I didn't expect anyone to try and fight back. Are you sure that's wise? This is a very powerful creature."
"After I kill it, you're next." Blair said while taking a stance. She then stabbed her blade into the ground, causing spiked rocks to shoot up. "Slag Assault!" The Therion leapt to the side, dragging its claws along the ground, before lunging at Blair to try and go for her throat. She was tackled down to the ground, grunting as it took a bite from her left arm. She grit her teeth, finding a way to push her feet into the beasts stomach and toss it into the air. She reared her leg back as flames swirled around the sword embedded within her boots. "Rising Phoenix!" She swung her leg forward, slamming it into the Therion to knock it into a building.
"Yeah, Blair! Kick it's ass!" Raven shouted from behind a tree.
"Hmmm..." Vanessa watched as the Therion lunged at Blair again, trying to claw at her. She did slow down a little from being bitten, but she was still putting up a strong fight. "It's struggling with this woman? No, it must be fighting on an empty stomach. I thought I fed it plenty earlier today! I suppose a Therion's appetite is near insatiable. "Yoohoo! Stop fighting the snack and dig into your meal!"
"I'm not gonna let you do that!" Blair yelled while rushing at the Therion. The Therion, however, dug its claws into the ground, letting out a howl as a shockwave boomed outward. From that moment, it started to drain the planet Mercurius of its Ether. Within seconds, nearby trees started to die, the grass began to grumble, and any signs of life on the planet completely began to wither away. "W-What the...?"
"What's happening to the planet!?" Arthur gasped. A circle of death was spreading out from the Therion, and when he was caught in it, he felt his life beginning to slip away as well. "Ngh...?"
Not just him, but everyone nearby as well. Blair was the closest one to the Therion, so she struggled to stay on her feet. "What...is this..."
"The Therion is consuming the ether from your planet." Vanessa explained, keeping a safe distance. "It'll be...perhaps 10 minutes before the planet is completely dry?"This news caused the people to panic. Their planet was going to die in ten minutes!?
Blair had to force herself backwards, watching as the Therion grew larger. "Not on my watch...you're not killing anyone from this village, or this planet!" She escaped and began to run up a large tree for the aerial advantage. She realized she only had one shot at this, so she had to make it count. The Therion was too focused on feeding, so she used this opening to lunge at it from above. "Lethal Pain!" She stabbed her blade into the Therion's chest, causing it to howl out. She used its size to her advantage, using it as footing to run along its body while dragging her blade through it. She then flipped upwards, a trail of crimson leaking behind her. She aimed one final strike at the Therion, who howled and attacked her in turn. This moment happened in slow motion...as two limbs flew into the air. The Therion collapsed to the ground, killed in the middle of its feeding. It was missing its left arm.
As for Blair...she landed on the ground, gasping and crying out in agony as her left arm was gone as well. They took each other's limbs out. "AAAAAAAAAAAH...!?"
"BLAIR!"
"...Oh." Vanessa pouted. This did not go as well as she hoped. She was about to do something, but then the unexpected happened.
The Therion Arm that Blair cut off was near her own severed limb. Before Blair could even react more to the pain, that severed limb...attached itself to Blair's arm. The Therion had one last shred of willpower and intended to try and live on through her. "A-AGGGGH!?" Blair's eyes widened and she cried out in agony. Everyone tried to stay back as the shockwave of power overtook Blair. When that surge of power faded. Blair was standing on all fours, her appearance similar to that of a wolf's. Her new glowing arm throbbed with power and she looked feral.
"Blair...?" Raven said with a dropped jaw.
"...This is unexpected..." Vanessa tilted her head, but watched with intrigue.
Blair turned to the sound of her brother's voice, but her eyes were blazing red. "G-Gah...!? AAAAAH!" With that cry, Blair lunged at Raven...
And the scene changed. In the next instant, Blair was unconscious, surrounded by multiple dead bodies. What used to be Ram Village was nothing more than a wasteland of corpses and empty dreams now. It was that morbid image that the illusion memory finally ended...
.
.
"W-What was that ending...?" Shiki asked.
"W-What did we just watch...!?" Hermit was shocked.
"It ended so abruptly...!" Kleene gasped.
"I told you. That was from Blair's memory." Vanessa said. "If you put the pieces together? What do you get?"
Everyone looked at Blair, who stood with widened eyes. Her body started to tremble. "..."
"Blair, don't listen to her!" Rebecca quickly said. "She's just trying to trick you!"
"N-No..." Blair shook her head slowly, feeling the tears welling up in her eyes. "...I...I remember it..."
"That's right, Blair. I wasn't the one who destroyed Ram Village. In fact, I wasn't able to take a single life." Vanessa lowered her gaze, as if to seem remorseful. "The one who destroyed Ram Village, killing everyone and everything here...was you."
"No way!" Weisz wasn't even going to allow Blair to respond to that. "You're full of crap!"
"Mom...how could you..." Cynthia had a horrified look on her face.
Blair's breathing was starting to pick up, She fell to her hands and knees, staring at the ground as the memories came flooding back. That hunger was starting to take over again as well. She remembered it clearly now. In her ravenous state, she attacked anyone and everyone she could. The first victim was her brother, then her own parents, and everyone else followed after that!? "W-What...what have I been doing this whole time...I hate eating..."
"You hate it?" Vanessa cooed. "But Blair...it seems like you've eaten someone recently. And I know that's not enough to satisfy your hunger. You've been holding yourself back for a long time, haven't you? You've consumed and consumed and consumed, but it's never been enough, has it? This planet still has an abundance of Ether. All you have to do is let loose. Let your hunger wild. You can't deny what you are for much longer. You are...a monster who exists to feed."
"Blair, no!" Homura tried to reach out for Blair, but it was too late. The emotional shock was too much for Blair, and she couldn't fight off those instincts any longer. A blackish green aura exploded off of her body, nearly throwing everyone back from the surge of power.
"Shit!" Omega cursed.
"What's going on down there! Blair! Blair!" Sister tried to call out to Blair, but it was no use.
Blair couldn't fight it anymore. She exploded into her Therion state. Her body appeared similar to a wolf, and she was on all fours, roaring out in hungry and agony. There was no friend or foe right now. She was just...hungry. "GAAAAAAAH!" She cried out while lunging towards her crew, causing them all to split up in separate directions.
.
.
"It looks really bad down there..." Ano said while sweating.
"Can't we do something? We can't just..."
"We can't do anything." Casey shook his head. "There's no time." The Chronophage was only 20 minutes away.
"Are we just...leaving them down there?" Percival said with a frown.
"...We don't have a choice." Casey replied.
"...Damn it." G grunted.
"..." Lluvi clenched her hand into a fist.
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"Guys! Guys!" Hermit slammed her hands onto the console. They were watching what was happening to Blair.
"Shit..." Sister cursed. This was the worst possible scenario.
"Blair..." Couchpo frowned. Moscoy was panicking in the background...
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"...!" Hanabi let out a gasp at the scene playing out before them on the monitor.
"So that's a Therion..." Victory crossed his arms.
"We have more pressing matters..." Justice was concerned with the Galactic Fleet that had the planet of Mercurius surrounded. Even if they tried to fight...
"This is a bad spot..." Jesse said.
"..." Hanabi didn't say a word. She just darted off.
"Hanabi!? Where are you going!?" Justice asked, following her immediately.
"Don't follow me! I know how to stop this!" Hanabi exclaimed.
"This is a direct order! You are not going down there! You'd never make it back in time!" Justice declared. "Hannah, stand down, now!"
Hanabi was already in the docking bay, climbing into her ship despite Justice's objections. "I won't make it back in time? I know."
"Where is she going!?" Victory caught up to Justice. All they could do was watch as Hanabi left the ship...and went straight to Mercurius. But a duplicate of her stayed behind to deliver one final message...
"Please go easy on them..."
.
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"You can't fight her!" Vanessa called out.
Shiki thrust his fist forward, sending a wave of gravity towards Blair to try and slow her down. It barely worked, but she broke free. She then stampeded towards Shiki, attempting to claw at him, but he was narrowly able to evade it with his gravity. "Blair! You have to calm down!" Blair aimed a claw strike at him, but he countered with a punch of gravity. They clashed and were both thrown back. "Agh!"
"Blair!" Rebecca tried to call out to Blair, but nothing was working. Homura and Geno attacked Blair at once, but then Rebecca remembered something. She'd seen this scenario before. "Wait! Don't attack her!" But it was too late, for Homura's sword collided against Blair's back, and Geno's Megabuster hit her directly. The two slid back, confused.
"What's wrong!?" Homura questioned. But she soon found out as Blair let out a cry, multiple blades of ether beginning to form above her. These swords then began to shoot towards everyone indiscriminately. "Ah!?"
Luckily, Kleene was on it. She used her wind to snatch the incoming swords before they became too much of a problem. "I got it covered! But Blair, listen to us!"
"When we attack her, she takes our Ether and absorbs it..." Jinn said while using wind to try and keep Blair pinned down.
"She can't absorb physical objects!" Weisz remembered this from his fight with her. He quickly dashed towards a few of the ruined houses, configuring them to create multiple turrets aimed at Blair. "Million Bullets!" These bullets released tranquilizer darts towards Blair. Last time, this only didn't work because she had the willpower to injure herself. Right now, her mind was more beast than human, so he was hoping this was enough. The bullets did hit Blair, slowing her down a little bit. The amount of tranquiller he had to pump into her to slow her down was frightening, however. "That could take out elephants twice over..."
Laguna could see Blair's sadness in her eyes. He went for the easy option of trying to turn her into tears to end this conflict once and for all...but it didn't work. Her ether and emotions were too unstable. "...I can't turn her into tears!"
Blair seemed to sense that Laguna was trying to do something to her. A blue ether mark appeared on her ankle, much to Rebecca's horror, because it was the same as her Leaper. Vanessa also seemed to recognize this. But Blair went to claw at Laguna, and before he could react, Rebecca used her speed to tackle him to the ground, so Blair passed over them. "hah..." Rebecca remembered seeing that very strike kill Laguna in her dream...
"Thank you..." Laguna said with a small nod.
"Cynthia." Vanessa turned to Cynthia, who was shocked to look at her. "It's getting dangerous here. We should leave. I don't want you getting hurt."
"Excuse me!?" Cynthia took a step back. "This whole situation is YOUR fault, Mom! Why did you do this!? Was your research worth all of this!?"
"Yes." Vanessa responded without missing a beat. "When I had the chance, I took it. I really never thought it would turn out like this, but I intend to see it through to the end. You don't really care about these people, do you? I can tell you haven't known them for long...so come with me. You'll be safe." She extended her hand, smiling to her daughter.
Cynthia stared at her mother...and then swatted her hand to the side. "...I've been looking for you all this time, but maybe I would've been better not knowing. These are my FRIENDS! And I'm going to help them!" And so, she rushed to help the others subdue Blair.
Vanessa stared at her hand for a moment. She frowned. "...Oh, Cynthia...you've grown up so much...but why did you have to choose such a different path than me." She turned around to look at Blair. "No matter. Once I take Blair, I'll continue with my plan. It's far too late for me to stop now."
Blair slid back from the others, everyone panting heavily as a result. With her hunger growing, Blair clawed at the ground, and began to absorb the remaining Ether of Mercurius. "Shit, she's eating the planet now!?"
"We have to stop her!" Pino exclaimed.
"There's not time! Guys, you only have 10 minutes left! You have to get out now!" Hermit warned.
"And leave Blair like this!? We can't!" Rebecca shook her head. It was at that moment that she spotted a ship in the sky, rapidly approaching the village. "Huh?"
It was Hanabi, diving straight towards Blair. "I'm coming, Blair! Forgive me for this!" Hanabi crashed her ship directly into Blair, a large explosion knocking everyone back as a result. Hanabi tumbled out of the ship and landed on the ground, coughing with bruises all over her body. "Ow..."
"It's you...!" Kleene gasped.
"I know." Hanabi nodded. Blair took that impact surprisingly well, but she didn't like it much. So now, Hanabi had her full attention. "...Never thought we'd meet again like this." Hanabi said with a sad smile, slowly approaching Blair. "You can't even recognize me right now, can you? You forgot about me too...then again, I changed my appearance and my name. When we encountered each other again on Jigan's ship, I was so shocked. You were much meaner, but your kind heart remained in how you stood up for me. You saved my life back then by forcing me to hide...and now it's my turn to save you."
"What are you doing...?" Shiki asked.
"Saving my friend." Hanabi said with a slow nod. "Thank you, Eden's Zero. You took really good care of my friend. I wish she and I could've reunited under better circumstances." She closed her eyes, a glow appearing around her body. "I bet you're just really hungry, aren't you? You never gave in to your impulses, no matter how hard it was for you. You hated eating people so much...but you have one more person to eat. I promise you won't be hungry again after this." Her appearance started to change, resembling a Valkyrie as she entered her Overdrive.
"What's that girl doing?" Jinn couldn't tell.
"She's duplicating the ether in her body...and it's rising to exponential amounts!" Omega reported.
"The power coming from her is rising at an alarming rate!" Geno gasped.
Blair was standing above Hanabi. "That's right. C'mere, you." She then glanced at Rebecca. "Take care of my friend, okay? I'll be counting on you." Those were Hanabi's last words, as Blair dove at Hanabi, and...
"AH!" Rebecca's eyes were wide. as a sickening crunch sound filled the air. Hanabi's body crumpled to the ground, lifelessly. All of the ether in her body went into Blair's. Ether that surpassed a planet's worth and then some...
"Oh..." Vanessa pursed her lips.
This seemed to work. Because Blair's body slowly reverted back to normal, and she was just on her hands and knees with dead eyes. Tears streaming down her cheeks as she stared at the now deceased body of her friend. "Hannah..."
"She's back...?" Weisz said anxiously.
"She sacrificed herself to bring Blair back to normal..." Laguna found that incredbily sad and noble all at the same time...
"...I hate this...I want this to end...why do I hurt everything I care about..." Blair was sobbing at this point, unable to control her broken emotions.
"Because you're a monster." Vanessa said calmly.
"Shut up!" Shiki went to throw a punch at Vanessa, but she dodged by leaping into the air, and hovering there. "Blair isn't a monster! She's our friend!"
"...No I'm not..." Blair said while slowly shaking her head. "I've lied to you all, gone behind your back...and I did the one thing I said I wouldn't..."
"Blair, what are you talking about?" Homura asked.
"...I killed and ate Aiden..." Blair said lowly. "And then I lied to you about it..."
"W-Wha...?" Cynthia's eyes were wide. "You killed my father!?"
"You killed Aiden?" Vanessa was just as surprised as Cynthia. Everyone was shocked at this news.
"How could anyone call themselves your friend after doing that...? I am a monster..." Blair lowered her head. "I deserve to die...I'd save everyone a lot of trouble that way."
"And there it is..." Vanessa snapped her fingers, causing a rift to appear in the sky above Blair. This rift slowly started to pull her up and into it. "You heard her. The despair of one who cannot live the way she wants to. A monster to the entire cosmos!"
"Oh no you don't!" Shiki tried to use his gravity to pull Blair back down, but it wasn't working. Because the weight of her heart was too heavy to be pulled in. Not even gravity could draw her back to them. "No way, it's not working!"
"I'm not letting you take her!" Rebecca yelled. She was still in her overdrive. There were bits of rock and debris flying into the vortex, so she used her speed to leap from rock to rock, reaching up to grab Blair's therion arm with her own. She was trying to stay grounded somehow, but found it hard. Luckily, Shiki could use his gravity on Rebecca to hold them in place. "Blair! You have to snap out of it...!"
"...Let me go, Rebecca..." Blair said with a dull, monotonous voice. "I have to go..." She was truly tired of it all. Everything about this life was too much to bear, and she just couldn't handle it anymore. The light in her eyes was completely gone. "I'm a monster..."
"You are NOT a monster!" Rebecca shouted, feeling the tears in her eyes. "You are a person! You have a heart and soul just like everyone else!" She refused to let go.
"...If you don't let me go...I'll eat your arm too..." Blair said. Her arm once again transformed, biting into Rebecca's own. It was just an instinct at this point, but she couldn't help it. She wasn't even hungry anymore. The void of hunger was filled... "I'm nothing..."
"You're WRONG!" Rebecca shouted. She cried out in agony as Blair took a bite out of her with her arm, but she wasn't going to let that pain stop her. "You are not a monster! You are the scariest woman I've ever met, but you're also...you're also one of the kindest and sweetest people I've ever met! You've threatened to eat us in one second, and then in the next, you go on to save as many lives as possible, because you have a very kind heart! You tried and fought so hard against what you were turned into, because that's not the kind of person you are! You're one of the sweetest people in the universe, Blair Elfin! The moment you stepped onto our ship, you became our friend! We don't care if the universe says it's a mistake to love you, because we already do!" Blair's grip on her arm got harder, and Rebecca had to fight back from screaming in pain. She wasn't going to let go or back down.
"Rebecca...your arm..." Blair said.
Rebecca shook her head. "You can have my arm! I only need my legs! And that's so I can kick the jerk WHO MADE OUR BLAIR CRY!"
"...!" Blair's eyes went wide. The tears were still falling, but hearing the admission that Rebecca wasn't going to let go...something in her snapped. Something she wasn't prepared for. All she could do was sob and wail loudly. "IT...IT HURTS SO MUUUUUCH!" And yet, she extended her other hand to Rebecca. A cry for help...
Rebecca took her other hand, firmly. She answered that cry. "We're not letting you go. SHIKI!"
Now! Shiki could feel Blair's heart growing lighter. This allowed him to tug the two of them down to the ground. "I got em!"
Meanwhile, Vanessa was beginning to panic. "This can't be happening! She had so much despair! I was prepared to rend her powers from this cosmos all for myself!"
"NOT HAPPENING!" Geno, Jinn, and Kleene all exclaimed at once. They threw a triple wind attack in her direction. In her shock, she wasn't able to protect herself and was thrown back. "Don't forget about us!"
Blair was on the ground, panting and heaving heavily. She was physically and mentally exhausted...
"...This isn't over." Vanessa scowled, holding her side, where the injury was. She vanished after these scatching words.
"...How do we leave?" Cynthia asked. The Chronophage was approaching...! But, luckily for them...
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Hermit was working tirelessly to try and get the group back with a makeshift Teleporter. Programming the damn thing in such a hurry was stressful, but the group suddenly appeared on the bridge. "It worked. Holy crap..." Hermit never felt so stressed in her life. "Ano gave me the idea, but I wasn't sure how fast I would be able to program it into the ship..."
"Hermit...you saved us!" Geno grinned as he detransformed. "I knew you would!"
"Thank you so much, Hermit! We owe you!" Shiki let out a sigh of relief.
"I'll take the praise later. I'm stressed as hell." Hermit said while glancing out. Everyone looked at the dead planet known as Mercurius, and as a the Chronophage passed by it, consuming an unknown amount of years in just a few seconds. The dead planet looked...deader than before. Just like that, Mercurius was hardly a blip on the map. Like it was in the first place...
"..." Blair watched that with her own two eyes. She was still crying in front of everyone, but she didn't care anymore...
"Look, guys. We're not out of the woods yet." Sister hated to break the bad news but the Galactic Fleet was nearby... "We have to retreat and regroup before..."
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It was then that Alexei appeared. He was in his Overdrive, using this to breathe out in space while holding the five pieces of the Black Moon Star. "And now...we open the path to Mother."