~~000~~

Tales of the Multiverse Bit 219

"Hurry! Give them first aid! Don't slack!"

As the group of buff-looking rookie trainees are being stretchered away by the paramedics due to their skins being severely burned after taking a hot shower with a degree celsius of 707, Dexterous Pointdexter and Ragreed Forus are seen at one corner while shaking hands with satisfied smiles on their faces.

~~000~~

The story opens in Neo-City where we then head towards the Training Camp and walking through a hallway inside one wing of the establishment, we see Aria "Arinah" Sakurada and Luna Loud making their way towards a certain Chief Operating Officer's office.

"Been a while since we got a mission." Luna pointed out, "I wonder what it's all about.'' she wondered out loud.

"According to Miss Minna, it's very confidential." Arinah shared, "And you know what that means..." she trailed.

Luna thought about it before realizing what her companion meant, "Oh!" she gasped, "That means one of the "you-know-what" stones has been found!" she exclaimed, "Huh?" she uttered out loud, "I guess they manage to convince another guardian to lent us their stones." she mused.

Arinah nodded in agreement, "But to where I had no idea.'' she admitted.

A few minutes later, the two arrives in front of an office door and when they made their way inside, they saw Alla Yuliya, Bud Bison, Cal the Exceed, Eustace Bagge, Lavi Bookman, Lunette Yaeger, Malvina Rasputin, Shizune Takatsuki, Tsunayoshi Sawada and Yasutora "Chad" Sado gathered at one corner while Eddward "Edd, Double D" Marion Smith and Minna-Dietlinde Wilcke are having a conversation behind the former's desk.

Hector Vanguard Jr. and Serra Deville are also present as well.

"Serra!" Luna called out in surprise, "You're now allowed to take on missions?!" she assumed.

Serra nodded in response, "Yep!" she chirped in confirmation, "I'm finally promoted to hero status!" she shared in joy, "Now I can join you guys in missions as an honorary member.'' she declared.

"That's great, Serra." Arinah expressed in glee, "Congratulations!" she complimented.

"And you're coming to this mission as well, huh, Junior." Luna pointed out.

"I got nothing to do at the moment." Hector replied, "And since Hunter is still out of commission, I might as well make myself useful and take his place for the time being." he stated.

Double D then began to clap his hands, "May I have everyone's attention." he beckoned to which everyone complied, "This team is gathered here today for the obvious reasons..." he trailed, "But before anything else, I had good news and bad news." he claimed, "First off, I'd like to congratulate Miss Deville for getting promoted in hero status.'' he expressed to which earned the aforementioned some cheers, "As for the bad news..." he trailed once more, "... two members of this team will be leaving while another two will be transferred to a different respective ensembles." he revealed.

This revelation took some team members by surprise, "I wasn't expecting that.'' Malvina admitted.

"What do you mean by that?" Alla asked in concern.

Minna sighed in response, "Unfortunately..." she trailed, "... what Eddward said is no jest." she replied in confirmation, "However there is a good reason why these members are being exluced from this team." she stated.

"First off is Tsunayoshi Sawada." Double D begun, "You see, the alliance between Vongola and the Heroes Coalitions has been finalized with the condition of Tsuna leading his own ensemble." he explained, "So, we believe it's the best interest for both sides to have Mister Sawada to lead a group of his own." he concluded.

Luna thought about it, "I guess it's understandable." she acknowledged, "Congratulations, Tsuna!" she expressed with a thumbs-up.

Tsunayoshi chuckled in response, "Thank you, Luna." he replied.

"Next off..." Minna trailed, "... the member that is going to be transferred to a four-men ensemble is going to be Miss Lunette Yaeger." she revealed.

This taken Lunette aback, "M-Me?'' she squawked in shock.

Double D nodded in confirmation, "You see, Mister Jaune Arc and Mister Lie Ren, contacted your team from Remnant and offered them to join the Heroes Coalitions." he begun, "But according to Mister Len, your old team will only join if you are leading them." he explained, "So it's only logical to have you leave this team." he reasoned, "But the decision is up to you, of course.'' he beckoned

"I don't know..." Lunette uttered in uncertaintly, "I want to be with my old team but on the other hand, I want to remain in this team." she admitted

"It's alright, Lunette." Lavi reassured, "If it means reuniting with your friends, we won't mind if you leave this team." he stated with a smile.

"Yeah!" Bud exclaimed in agreement.

"Lavi is right." Luna said in agreement, "Besides, I can tell that you're a better leader than Hunter was." she stated, "And we can, after all, team up in future missions.'' she beckoned with a grin

"Guys..." Lunette uttered in surprise before smiling, "Then I'll hold on to that." she beckoned.

"Now then..." Minna trailed, "... the next member that will be leaving this team is Miss Sakurada." she revealed.

"Eh?" Shizune squawked in shock, "Y-You, too?" she stuttered.

Arinah rubs the back of her head, "Well..." she trailed, "... guess my status as a princess got something to do with that.'' she confessed with a nervous grin.

"Not at all." Double D reassured, "Louie and the others saw the leadership potential in you, so that's why they decided to have you lead a team instead." he explained.

"I see..." Arinah acknowledged.

Chad crossed his arms, "And who's the last person to leave this team?'' he inquired.

"It's Mister Eustace Bagge." Minna answered with a blank look, "For obvious reasons.'' she added.

"Bah!" Eustace scoffed in response, "I ain't staying in this stupid team without Aria!" he exclaimed in defiance.

Alla rolled her eyes in response, "Sure you do." she grumbled.

"This mission will be the last time these four will be participating with this team, so I suggest that all of you make the most of it.'' Double D advised.

"I guess so." Luna uttered in acknowledgement, "It won't be the same once they leave but I think that's for the best." she admitted, "All I can say that I had fun working with you guys, Eustace included, and I thank you all enough for being part of this team." she expressed with a smile.

Lunette smiled back, "It was an honor to be part of this team." she replied.

Arinah chuckled in response, "You said something not cheesy for once, Luna.'' she mused.

"Bah!" Eustace scoffed out loud, "Stupid rockstar.'' he insulted.

Everyone then burts into laughter.

After a few minutes, Double D broke the laughter by clapping his hands, "All right everyone, I believe it's time that we start briefing the details about this mission." he beckoned which got everyone's attention, "And as you all expected..." he trailed, "Well..." he furthered, "Most of you." he corrected, "Are aware that this mission is all about the Heavenly Stones.'' he stated.

"Heavenly Stones?'' Serra asked in confusion.

"We'll explain later.'' Malvina replied.

"Does that mean that the staff found it's location?'' Lavi inquired.

Minna nodded in response, "Yes." she confirmed, "Miss Lytis managed to contact another Guardian to lent us their Heavenly Stones but in a condition." she stated, "And as for that condition, the Guardian themselves will relay the details to you all personally." she concluded.

Alla sighed in disbelief, "I knew there's a catch." she uttered out loud, "But it's the Guardians we're talking about, so it's expected." she admitted.

"So where are we going this time around?'' Malvina asked.

"Apparently the location of the Heavenly Stones is in the Babuyan Islands at the Pure-Philippines." Double D shared, "I want this team to go there, meet up with the Guardian and follow his conditions before asking him for the stone.'' he instructed.

Hector nodded in response, "Noted." he acknowledged.

"That's all we can say about this mission." Double D concluded, "It'll be up to you and the Guardian what to do once you've arrived in the islands." he beckoned, "And make sure not to do some unnecessary risks." he added.

Luna grinned in response, "You can count on us, DD!" she exclaimed in determination.

Double D nodded in appreciation, "Best of luck." he encouraged, "Godspeed!" he beckoned.

Bzzzttt...

The Babuyan Islands, also known as the Babuyan Group of Islands, is an archipelago in the Pure-Philippines, located in the Luzon Strait north of the main island of Luzon.

The archipelago consists of five major islands and their surrounding smaller islands. These main islands are, counterclockwise starting from northeast, Babuyan, Calayan, Dalupiri, Fuga, and Camiguin.

The Babuyan Islands are separated from Luzon by the Babuyan Channel, and from the province of Batanes to the north by the Balintang Channel.

In one beach side, we see a blue-colored portal materializing from thin air and stepping out from the swirling phenomenon are the members of The Hunting Team alongside their tag-along hero, Hector.

"I wonder how will Hunter react once he learned that four members of his team will be leaving." Hector thought out loud.

"He'll throw a hissy fit that's for sure." Lavi answered.

"Yeah!" Bud exclaimed in agreement.

Alla then looks around, "So..." she trailed, "... where should we go now?'' she asked.

"Would you like to know?" a voice answered and everyone turns around to see a figure walking towards them.

The figure is a young man with a tall stature, he had a muscular build and a pale complexion, he had short-sharped black hair and he had piercing red-colored eyes. He wears a black business jacket over a white-collared shirt with a red necktie, black slacks, white socks and black leather shoes.

"You must be the team that the Heroes Coalitions sent here for the Heavenly Stone.'' the man pointed out.

Luna raised an eyebrow, "Uh, who are you?" she asked in confusion.

"Pardon me." the man apologized with a bow, "My name is Matthew De Orochi." he introduced himself, "And I'm the Guardian Deity of this island.'' he revealed.

Babuyan Island Guardian Deity

Matthew De Orochi

"Whaaaaattttt?!" was everyone's response.

A few minutes later and after recovering from their shock, Matthew is seen leading the heroes towards a hill where a mansion is located.

"I can't thank you people enough for coming all over here." Matthew expressed in gratitude, "I know you came here for the Heavenly Stone but there is something I want you to do first." he beckoned.

"It's all right." Luna reassured, "By the way, I was wondering..." she trailed, "... you're a Guardian Deity right?" she pointed out, "But why do you like a human?'' he asked asked.

"We, the Guardian Deities, had the ability to turn ourselves into humans." Matthew answered, "I am the Snake Guardian Deity, by the way.'' he shared.

"I see." Arinah acknowledged, "We met John Gokuu in his monkey form, so we assume that you're going to meet us in your Guardian Deity form." she admitted.

Matthew chuckled in response, "John is just too proud with his Guardian Deity form.'' he shared.

"Is that so?'' Hector uttered in surprise, "By the way..." he trailed, "... what is it that you want us to do here?'' he inquired.

Matthew nodded in response, "You see..." he trailed, "... the owner of that mansion, my master, had passed away days ago and we're currently holding a funeral for him.'' he explained.

"Oh, we're sorry about that." Alla apologized.

Matthew shook his head, "Don't be, you didn't know." he reassured, "And my master passed away a happy person.'' he added with a smile.

"So, what's the problem here?" Lunette asked.

Matthew then pointed a finger at a large factory from a distance just past a town, "You see that factory over there?" he pointed out, "That factory was build here a year ago." he shared, "The owner of that factory wanted to expand his business here by trying to take over the entire island." he explained, "My master, the townspeople and as well as myself, are heavily opposed to this, reasoning that the people here owns this island for a very long time and were not letting any city folks to take it away from us." he furthered.

"He's just expanding his business." Malvina pointed out, "What is wrong about that?'' she asked.

"By expanding means he wants to demolish the townspeople's homes and livelihood." Matthew clarified.

"What?!" Malvina squawked in shock, "Now that's just wrong on all counts!" she exclaimed in annoyance.

"What do you want us to do?" Hector inquired.

"With my master gone, the owner of the factory will definitely go in great lengths in order to take over the island." Matthew shared, "I want all of you to guard the mansion at all cost because I had the feeling that they will try and steal something very valuable that they can use to take over this island." he explained, "Also..." he trailed, "... I want one or two you to pose as my master's relative, so you'll have a valid a reason to stay in the mansion.'' he added.

"Both Arinah and Malvina can take that role." Lunette suggested.

"Yeah!" Bud exclained in agreement.

"Arinah is princess with political knowledge and Malvina is a future queen and a former heir herself, so they rightfully fit for that role.'' Luna pointed out.

"Then leave it us!" Malvina accepted.

Arinah then placed both hands on her hips, "I guess I'll be using my political knowledge in this mission.'' she mused.

Luna then took a deep breath, "All right guys!" she begun, "This mission must be successful at all cost." she beckoned, "Not because we need to get the "you-know-what'' stone badly but to protect this island!" she reasoned, "We can't let those fiends do what they want in this place!" she furthered, "We won't let them!" she declared.

"YEAH!" everyone replied in agreement.

"You said something not stupid for once, you stupid rockstar." Eustace quipped.

A/N: Inspired from someonestupED, damnlastwords, Jamesdean5842, Hope the Victor and Ace Neptune. All OCs and concepts not created by moi were given permission for me to use by it's respected creators.