Act 2, Chapter 18 - Raid on Skull Island (Part 3)
A-A-A Jedi?" Maki's purple eyes widened. "You're a Jedi?"
"Grandmaster?" Hayley and Ame blinked before they exclaimed in disbelief. "WAIT, WHAT?!"
"Bullshit!" Ame denies. "There's no way in hell that someone like you has managed to achieve the rank of Jedi Grandmaster."
"Sorry to disappoint you." Kai crosses his arms with a smug expression on his bearded face.
"Hold on a second." The blonde Australian pointed out, standing on her toes for a closer look at her old friend's face and physique. "Since when did you grow a few inches tall? And gained a little muscle? Oh Kami, is that a beard? You look like shit."
"What's wrong with it?" He questions. "I think it suits me, given that I didn't want to be hounded with questions about why a six-foot grown man, who's gonna be turning thirty within the next month, physically resembles a teenager."
"Hmph." She looks away, arms crossed. "Well, I hate it."
"Um, what's a Jedi?" Keqing questions in confusion. "Is there something I'm missing here?"
"I believe somebody has some explaining to do." Kai said. "Isn't that right, Articho?"
The Pathfinder has disabled his active camo, appearing out of nowhere and standing behind the Jedi Master.
"I suspected that EMP was your doing." Articho says.
"What can I say?" Kai admits while turning around to face him. "I've always liked to make a big entrance."
The two best friends look at each other with serious expressions - though, Articho still has his helmet on - before both softened and chuckled. Then, they embraced in a hug, reunited after all these years across time and space.
"It's been too long, old friend." Articho says, as they separate from their hug. "Two years since we last saw each other."
"Two?" Kai snorts. "For me, it's been fifteen. You never even bothered to write or visit."
"Couldn't find your Earth." He truthfully says. "Plus, I've been kinda busy."
"Busy with what? Making Saiyan babies left and right?" The Grandmaster shakes his head with a smirk.
"Very funny." The Pathfinder sarcastically remarks, unamused. "No."
"No seriously, what's a Jedi?" Keqing questions again but was ignored by the two men.
"Articho?" Maki quietly gasps to herself. "As in, THE Articho? The same Articho that won the Smash Tournament back in the day?"
"Huh?" Hayley questions in surprise and confusion. "How do you know that?"
"Because she and her friends were there as spectators." Articho explains, having heard them.
"Well, I guess that would explain it." Hayley shrugs.
"HEY!" Keqing yells, getting everyone's attention. "Is anyone gonna answer me or what?"
"You're out of line, Keqing." The Saiyan pointed out.
"So is everyone else." She shot back. "Because I have no idea what the hell you guys are talking about."
"Jedi business." Kai answered. "It doesn't concern you, citizen."
"Oh ho. You did not just call me that." She angrily glares at him.
"And I thought I was the one getting pissy." Maki muttered to herself.
Soon everyone started backing away from the arguing pair. Everyone except for Articho, of course.
"Both of you, stop." Articho intervenes, standing in-between them. "Kai, I take it you know what's happening here on the island?"
"Not entirely." The Jedi Master admits. "One of the MECH operatives' memories didn't explain much, other than that they're after a powerful and volatile renewable mineral. Probing his mind with the Force ended up killing him in the process."
The Pathfinder sighed in annoyance.
"Hey, I was on my way to visit you when I sense a disturbance in the Force." Kai defended himself. "If I hadn't shown up and disabled most of MECH's control of Monarch's security measures for you, you wouldn't have gotten very far and risk using your ki that would provoke them in killing the hostages. A little gratitude and humility would've been nice for saving your ass. Again."
"Thanks, I guess." His best friend grumbled.
"You're welcome." Kai nodded. "So what else do I need to know?"
"When I successfully infiltrated the building using the catacombs, I found most of the scientists being dead." He explains. "A few of them were retired crew members of the Absolution that Kazari's been trying to recruit for this Initiative of mine. They... gave their lives to buy the rest of the scientists time to hold up in one of the observation rooms, according to the echoes - I sensed through psychometry - that their corpses had left behind."
"Dank farrik." He cursed, tightly gripping his fist. "We could really use the Absolution right about now and blow these bastards away with an orbital bombardment."
"We'll be fine without her and what remains of our crew." He assures him."Besides, a certain Jedi I usually butt heads with is good enough for me."
"Hmm." Kai smiles. "Perhaps you're right."
"I hate to interrupt this tender moment between the two of you, but..." Keqing interrupts.
"RIGHT! Everyone, this is Keqing."
"Huh?" Hayley tilts her head. "Come to think of it, that name does sound familiar."
"Hun, I believe she's from Genshin Impact." Ame points out.
"HUH?!" His wife exclaims.
...
Elsewhere inside the research facility, Silas continues to monitor his men trying to break into the lab where all the Energon is being kept for study and testing purposes. Then, one of the operatives walked up behind him.
"Sir, our informant still hasn't checked in." He reports. "We may have to assume that he and the escort we sent with him are dead."
"Which means the Saiyan's likely on his way." Silas crosses his arms.
"Uh, sir? He's already here." The operative reveals.
"What?" He drops his arm and glares at him before sighing. "I always knew it was only a matter of time, but this is too soon."
"There's more." The operative adds. "A Jedi's been sighted with him."
This got the MECH leader's attention.
"A Jedi?" Silas questions. "You're certain of this? Because that's not possible. The Jedi and the High Republic in the Kvi Cluster have no way to safely traverse through the nebula like our clients have. And I doubt the Saiyan knows that they exist in our galaxy."
"But sir..."
"Yes? Out with it." Silas says, growing impatient with him.
"The security feed isn't lying." He explains. "Our hackers ran the numbers several times for possible tampering. It's a Jedi alright."
Silas pauses for a moment. It would seem that he has once again underestimated the Saiyan. If he's resourceful enough to have allied with a Jedi, then this would greatly complicate things.
"This is turning rather unfortunate for both our clients and the operation." Silas says. "We need to accelerate our timetable. Contact Commodore Bericia and inform him of the situation."
"What about her?" He asks, looking at a captive scientist without a lab coat on.
"Doctor Graham's the one who can help us get past these security measures since Baba's out of the picture." His superior explains. "If she cooperates, that is."
"And the Jedi?"
"The Saiyan shouldn't have brought him into this." He says with a serious expression. "Kill them immediately."
"Yes sir." His operative nods. "Consider it done."
...
Back at the safehouse, Kazari continued trying to get communication back online.
"Come on, come on." Kazari utters, typing on the supercomputer.
While the EMP had successfully disabled the jammer, it did have drawbacks. However, outside communication has been fully restored.
"Kazari, it's Pathfinder. Come in." Articho contacts.
"Articho, thank Kami!" She sighs in relief to hear her husband's voice. "I lost contact with Keqing when the EMP hit! Is she-?"
"She's fine." He assures. "I'm looking at her now."
"That's good to hear."
"I've already freed the hostages, but Doctor Graham remains unaccounted for." He begins explaining the situation. "Silas must've taken her in order to get past the biometric security where the Energon's being stored. I'm on my way there now before she's disposed of."
"Articho, wait!" She spoke up. "There's something you should know immediately. I did a background check on Silas' credentials and found something rather suspicious about them. They're fake."
"What do you mean they're fake?" He questions. "Silas was one of the US military's finest soldiers and tacticians since the Gulf War back in the early 90s."
"That's true, but his history before joining the military came back false." She explains otherwise. "I got suspicious about his true identity and then came a shocking conclusion: his vibration signature is not of this Earth."
Kazari was expecting a shocking reaction from her husband, but received nothing from him on the comms.
"Articho?" She asks.
"Thanks for the heads-up, Kazari." He finally responds. "I'll get back to you when this is over."
After the call ended, she received an alert from one of Capsule Corp's sensors planted on the Moon. The sensors say that a ship had just come out of hyperspace, and is approaching Earth.
'A Lambda-class shuttle?' Kazari questions herself.
...
Kai senses trouble and ignites his cobalt blue lightsaber blade, getting everyone's attention. All of a sudden, the vents begin to spew out green gas.
"Dioxis." Kai says before shutting off his lightsaber and holds his breath.
Outside of the room, a squad of MECH operatives were waiting. They weren't alone, however, as they were accompanied by a second squad. Only this time, they're former Separatist B1 Battle Droids. As for the MECH squad, they've switched out from their usual firearms that use bullets for custom-made blaster rifles.
One of the agents pulled out a communicator out of his pocket. A small hologram of a high-ranking operative appears and speaks.
"They must be dead by now." He says. "Make sure of it."
One of the B1s pushed a button on a control panel, opening the door leading inside a corridor that's covered in a plume of Dioxis.
"Check it out, Corporal." The B1 Commander Droid in MECH colors orders. "We'll cover you."
"Roger roger." The Corporal-ranked B1 Battle Droid complies, and approaches the corridor entryway.
Just then, the sound of lightsabers igniting was heard, revealing two blades - cobalt blue and the other being yellow - that caught two MECH squads off-guard.
"Uh-oh." One of the B1s panicked.
"Blast them!" The B1 Commander Droid exclaims.
Two B1s fired a single blaster bolt at both lightsaber wielders, but their shots were deflected back at them - frying their inner circuits upon impact and collapsing to the floor. Articho and Kai jumped out of the Dioxis plume, and made quick work of the B1s as they sliced apart every last one of them while deflecting their blaster fire at close range. The Pathfinder with his yellow lightsaber blade notices three remaining droids of their respective squad and sends them flying with a telekinetic push from his left hand. Kai, on the other hand, blocked incoming blaster fire - with two hands gripped around his lightsaber hilt - from the MECH operatives that approached the duo before reaching out his left hand and cast blueish-purple Force Lightning at them. The Jedi Master was so powerful in both the Light and Dark Sides of the Force that the lightning electrocuting all squad members vaporized them into nothing but ash.
"You never said anything about Battle Droids making up some of their forces." Kai glares at his old friends and the redhead scientist.
"My mistake." Articho apologizes, as the others walked out of the entryway and removed their breathers. "I was going to tell you before we were interrupted by their attempts to gas us."
"Whoa." Keqing says, looking at the carnage that the duo made. "You two definitely made short work of them. At least saved some for the rest of us."
"You'll have to get in line." Kai smirked.
"Hey guys." Ame calls out, noticing a surviving and injured MECH operative desperately crawling on the floor. "This one's still alive and is trying to escape."
"Please, I surrender!" He pathetically begs for his life, as the Jedi Master towers over him.
"THIS is the army all of you were having so much trouble with?" Kai rhetorically questions aloud, expecting more of a challenge. "Kill him."
"NO! Ack!" The operative screams in horror before the wolf boy guns him down with a shot to the head with his pistol, killing him quick and painless.
"You did not have to kill him!" Maki shouts at him, horrified and angry. "He surrendered!"
"I gave them a warning to leave the island with their lives intact." The Jedi Master said. "If they want death so much, Doctor Nishikino, I'll give it to them."
"But not Silas." Articho warns. "He has intel we need, and is no good to us dead otherwise."
"Target acquired." A deep robotic voice interrupts their conversation as several B2 Super Battle Droids march towards them.
One of the B2s up front aimed its wrist at both the Jedi Master and the Pathfinder, and fires a rocket towards them. Having insane lightspeed reactions, the duo casually sidestepped on their respective sides of the hallway. In slow motion, meanwhile, the others either ducked or dropped to the floor. Maki, however, barely made the cut as her purple eyes saw it sped past her. Only Keqing stood in the rocket's flight path, and pulled out her sword before slicing it in two halves, resulting in a small explosion behind her.
"Too close for comfort." Articho says, raising his yellow-bladed lightsaber up in a defensive stance.
The B2s then opened fire, red blaster bolts shooting all over the place as the Pathfinder blocks and deflects each of them. Kai rolls his eyes at his best friend before reaching out with the Force, using his left hand to bring down the ceiling - which turns out to be an elevator - on top of them. Thus, destroying them all at once.
"Awesome." Hayley awed.
"Thanks." Articho deadpans. "Again."
"Sometimes the solution to a problem lies in how it's framed." Kai says. "Always consider the situation from multiple angles."
"You said that already." The Pathfinder rolls his eyes. "On two separate occasions back then."
"We're wasting time here." The Jedi Master shakes his head. "Coming, Articho?"
"Just like old times, Kai." His best friend nods before looking at the others. "Guys, take Doctor Nishikino and head to where the other scientists are being kept safe at."
"We're not going with him?" Keqing questions.
"Have some faith in Articho and Kai." Hayley assures the former Yuheng. "These two are a formidable duo awhile back."
"Besides, the Doc here should immediately tend to any injuries her colleagues may have sustained in these last few hours." Ame points out. "You used to work at your family's hospital in Tokyo, right?"
"Say no more." Maki nods in understanding. "Just get me over to my colleagues in one piece. Think you three can do that?"
"Just leave the fighting to the professionals." Hayley smirked with her gun over her shoulder. "Ame and I have fought in the waning months of the Human-Covenant War and went toe-to-toe with the Prometheans on Earth-343. This is child's play compared to what we've been through together."
"Oh really?" Keqing snorts. "Your friend and I just kicked your asses. I don't see anything as child's play as that."
Kai chuckles, shaking his head at her claim.
"What?" She questions with an annoyed glare towards him.
"They were pulling their punches." He reveals. "Mostly towards you. Against me? Not a chance."
'Bullshit, these two don't even use magic!' The former Yuheng thought in disbelief. 'And Kai's even stronger than them?!'
"You've got a lot of catching up to do, Keqing." Articho smugly grins. "Combat has never been one of your strong suits, despite your mastery over lightning magic after all."
This got the platinum purple-haired girl to sigh.
"You're definitely not wrong about that." She admits. "I'm more or less at my best as an economist."
"There they are!" Another squad of B1s exclaimed, charging towards them. "Blast them!"
Articho and Kai blocked and deflected incoming blaster fire, covering their friends.
"Get your asses moving!" Articho orders, eyes on the hostiles. "Kai and I are going after Silas to rescue Doctor Graham!"
"On it!" The blonde Australian nods, using her rifle to shoot three terrorist dead.
"We're getting flanked here!" Ame points out.
"No shit, Captain Obvious." His wife rolls her eyes.
Then everyone heard the sound of loud rolling heading their way.
"Oh great." Articho deadpans, hearing the all too familiar sound after disposing all of the B1s with blaster deflection from his lightsaber and telekinesis alongside the Jedi Master. "Them."
It would seem that the B1 and B2 droids were not the only Separatist war machines they were going to be facing.
"Destroyers!" Kai exclaims.
Two Droidekas rolled up and stopped before entering battle-mode with their arm blasters aimed at them as they brought up their blue bubble shields.
They began blasting them with rapid fire and the lightsaber-wielding duo had to cover their friends from getting hit by a stray laser bolt, blocking each shot for them.
"Hey Ame, remember when we saw those Droidekas in Jedi: Survivor?" Hayley asks. "Their shields have a limited amount of durability."
"What are you both up to?" Keqing questions suspiciously.
"Kai, Articho!" Hayley calls out. "The shields! They won't be able to keep their defenses up if enemy fire or heavy attacks break through them!"
"Almost forgot about that." Kai mutters to himself, while continuously blocking and deflecting with his cobalt blue blade. "Articho, let's take them together."
"Way ahead of you." Articho understands.
So the Saiyan passed his newly constructed hilt towards his old friend. Kai catches the already lit yellow blade in his left hand and sprinted towards the Droidekas, spinning and deflecting blaster bolts coming at him. He then jumped spin his body in a 360 degree angle and broke through one of the Droideka's bubble shields, staggering it. The Jedi Master performs a scissor cut finishing move on the droid, bisecting it as a result.
The redhead scientist's eyes sparkled as she saw the Jedi's movement.
And for some reason, his face and those shade of blue eyes beneath his beard resembles a very old friend of hers since high school.
'He reminds me of an old friend who's more skilled than me.' She thought, impressed by the young man's lightsaber skills. 'Well, except she was a professional dancer. And I think he's even more skilled than her, even if she were a Jedi.'
The last remaining Droideka was about to open fire, but Kai shuts off Articho's hilt in his left hand and Force lifts the droid off the ground before slowly clenching his fist - crushing the droid into a large crumpled ball of metal. Kai shuts off his own lightsaber and walks back to an unamused Articho.
"I think you should lead with that next time." Articho deadpans.
"Probably." The Jedi Master shrugs, handing back his old friend's lightsaber hilt. "But it wouldn't exactly be much of a challenge, now would it?"
"Point taken." The Pathfinder admits, taking his weapon back. "Just don't let it go to your head."
"No promises."
...
'IDENTITY CONFIRMED.' A synthetic voice spoke. 'Welcome, Doctor Graham.'
Using a retinal scan, Doctor Graham opens the door inside the RD lab. Silas throws her aside and walks inside the lab along with his own squad he's leading.
"Your cooperation is most appreciated, Doctor."
"Kill me and get it over with then." The Director of Monarch says. "I just want you terrorists off my island."
"Of course." He nods. "We won't be here for long. However, what makes you think we want to kill you? Because you're a loose end? You're not worth our time. So, go."
This surprised and confused her.
"That's it?" She questions. "You're just gonna let me walk out of here?"
"If we really wanted you dead, you'd be dead." Silas calmly points out.
"He'll stop you, you know." She warns. "Raiding a top-secret Monarch research facility funded by Capsule Corp isn't the smartest decision."
"You think that we're here for the Energon?" He guesses. "You're wrong. MECH already has plenty of it to use against the Autobots and Decepticons. Problem is, we're not ready to face them just yet. But that's not the reason why we're here on Skull Island. It's the data we wanted to gather from your stockpile."
"Data?" She questions in disbelief. "Is that what your clients are after? I know what the Sith are capable of, and one day, you'll outlive your usefulness to them. Hired mercenaries, or otherwise. But why risk an open raid? You could've easily sent in spies to gather the data you need without myself and my colleagues even noticing."
"Right you are." He agrees. "Unfortunately, your flower-headed friend's security measures would've proven to be too much of a challenge for my spies to do so. Especially the Saiyan."
"And with good reason." The Director says with a slight bit of pride for her friends. "You still think all this is worth the risk?"
"It may not have been smart, but it's worth it in the end." The leader of MECH admits.
"Worth more than ending up in prison for life or possibly death?" She raised a brow.
"I've nothing more to say." Silas crosses his arms.
"That's because he's not who he says he is." A familiar voice - not the Saiyan's, mind you - interrupts.
The Director turns to the source of the voice, but her eyes widened seeing someone she was not expecting. Articho - and a bearded figure Graham doesn't recognize - were at the doorway, ready to throw down with Silas. Silas, however, knows very well who this Jedi really is.
"Articho! And…?" He exclaims before frowning towards the recognizable Jedi Master underneath that beard of his. "You?"
"Kai, you know Silas?" Articho questions in confusion.
"That's not his name." Kai answers while frowning at the older man. "Isn't that right, Rhugo Janrand?"
Silas pulls out his pistol and attempts to shoot him, but Kai easily Force Pushes him across the room with only one hand, pinning him - including his men that had their guns trained on the Jedi Master and the Pathfinder - to a wall.
"I gave you a home. Taught you everything I know in the ways of the Force. Yet, I find you alive and ally with our sworn enemy?" The Jedi Master questions with disbelief and anger in his voice.
Silas, formerly known as Rhugo Janrand, struggles to break free from Kai's Force hold on him. He pulls out a flashbang and throws it down on the floor, disorienting the Jedi Master and the Pathfinder. The Jedi Master releases his Force grip on the MECH leader, allowing the latter and his men to land on their feet.
"We'll hold them off!" One of Silas' men exclaims, readying his gun. "Get that data out of here, sir!"
Silas nodded before grabbing the thumb drive that holds the gathered data on the Energon samples, and sprints out of the RD lab. Kai grunts in annoyance and quickly recovers before Force choking all of Silas' men that stayed behind to buy their leader time to escape. He then clenches his right fist to telekinetically crush their throats, instantly killing them.
"He's getting away." The Jedi Master says, giving chase to the man running away from them.
"Kai, wait!" Articho shouts, but was immediately out of his friend's earshot.
Left with no choice, Articho follows after Kai who pursues the fleeing Silas down the halls of the research facility. By the time he has caught up to the Jedi Master, however, the Pathfinder spots him sprinting through multiple motion sensors. His eyes widened beneath his helmet, realizing that Silas had planted mines on the walls and ceiling from earlier as a means to slow the duo down. Using telekinesis, Articho pushes his old friend out of the way before they detonate, resulting in a large explosion that sent the Saiyan flying back and caused the entire hallway to collapse - separating the duo with debris.
Kai grunted as he slowly pushed himself off the ground and looks around his surroundings. He sees that there was a wall of debris blocking the path he passed through and noticed that Articho was not around.
"Articho!" The Jedi Master called out hoping that he's still alive.
"I'm alright!" The Pathfinder answers from the other end, relieving his friend's worries. "That explosion felt like a firecracker to me."
"Can you get through?" The Jedi asked before getting back on his feet. "Wait, scratch that. Forgot that you still have Instant Transmission."
"I can't leave Doctor Graham behind." He says. "Go after Silas."
"You're not coming?"
"I'll join you as soon as I get her to safety." He explains. "Now move!"
"Just be quick about it." Kai says before continuing his pursuit.
...
"This is Silas." Silas calls through his comm device. "I'm in need of immediate extraction to my location. Over?"
"Copy that." A pilot's voice responds. "Already en route to you. ETA five minutes."
"We might not have that kind of time." He says with concern in his voice.
"Three minutes is all we can push for." The pilot corrects himself. "Until then, hold your evac position."
"I'm making my way to the roof now." He informs as he enters an elevator. "Silas out."
...
After Silas reaches the roof and walks to the centre he closes his eyes and patiently waits for his extraction before opening them and expresses a stern face.
"You just had to follow me, huh Master?" He says without turning around, knowing that his former master is already behind him after having caught up with the MECH leader.
"Why join them, Rhugo?" Kai questions.
"Why not?" He turns to him. "Better yet, why did you think I was dead?"
"I-"
"You misunderstand my intentions." Silas continues, as he circles around his former teacher. "I work with the Sith, not for them. Greed and power has always been their demise. You taught me that."
"Then why?" Kai questions as he follows his former apprentice without moving.
"Order." He simply answers. "For humanity, of course."
"Just humanity?" The Jedi Master questions with a raised brow before snorting. "I've heard that before. How are you any different from the First Galactic Empire? From Palpatine?"
"Don't compare me to that psychopath!" Silas snaps, pointing his finger at him. "He never gave a damn for his Empire and its people. All he wanted was godhood."
"Then what's this really about?" Kai demands, unfazed by Silas's anger. "Don't you see the contradiction in your own words? You seek order for humanity, yet you believe that non-humans aren't worthy of being a part of it."
"That's where you're wrong, master." Silas says as he places his arms behind his back. "I won't deny that humanity will be the center piece of it all. But it'll be us that'll properly guide all other races under our leadership." The fallen Jedi explains as he raises his hand and turns it into a fist. "The Emperor's mistake was that he focused too much on one thing. While, we, will make sure to focus on everything!"
"Congratulations, you're a wannabe Thanos." The Jedi Master sarcastically quips.
"Quip all you want, master. Our goal has nearly reached its completion, and not even you or your Saiyan friend can stop at what's to come."
"Spoken like a true fanatic." Kai deadpans before unholstering his lightsaber hilt. "Last question: Why do the Sith have an interest in Energon?"
Silas says nothing and pulls out his own standard-length hilt, a curved design for those who are heavy practitioners of Form II Makashi. Kai ignites his cobalt blue blade, ready to throw down with his former Padawan if necessary, as he grips his hilt with both of his hands and takes on the hybrid stance of Form IV Ataru and Form V Djem So that was developed by a legendary Jedi Knight named Anakin Skywalker who is famously a heavy practitioner of Form V Djem So. The fallen Jedi ignites an orange red blade from his curved hilt in response, realizing that his former teacher is using a nearly unbeatable stance to his advantage. Both Force users then circle around each other in opposite directions, waiting to see who will make the first move.
Silas charges, not before using his blaster on Kai, shooting at him three times, causing the Jedi to block them before jumping back to avoid getting cut down by his former apprentice.
"Blasters?" Kai shouts before blocking Silas's blade with his. "Really?!"
"Anything goes when fighting to the death." Silas rebukes before pushing his master away and draws his blaster again. "Cal Kestis, Kanan Jarrus, even you of all people have used firearms with a lightsaber."
"Never relied on blasters too much, can't argue with that." Kai admits before drawing his blaster shooting Silas's off his hand. "Looks like you haven't forgotten about adapting to any situation you're in after all."
"Spare me the flattery, Kai." The fallen Jedi snorts, locking blades with each other. "It'll get you nowhere."
"True, but that's part of my charm." The Jedi Master smirks.
Kai aims his blaster pistol at Silas while their lightsaber blades were locked, but Silas knocks the sidearm out of the former's left hand with the Force and backs away from him. As a Form II Makashi practitioner, Silas uses one hand with his curved lightsaber hilt, performing elegant and precise sweeps with his orange red blade - fighting like a fencer. However, he has incorporated the acrobatics of Form IV Ataru to hold his own against Kai's adopted hybrid stance since the latter is also Form V Djem So practitioner himself.
"You've improved." Kai admitted, despite now being enemies, he couldn't help but feel a bit of pride for his former apprentice.
"So have you." Silas shot back.
Kai spun his cobalt blue blade behind his back and twirls his own body before striking against Silas's orange red blade. The two continue to parry and perform summersaults, avoiding getting hit by each other's blades due to fighting at near lightspeed. It appears that they're evenly matched in both lightsaber and Force combat.
"I won't ask again, Rhugo." The Jedi Master says, their blades locked against each other again. "Why does the Neo-Sith Empire have an interest in Energon?"
Silas ignored his words again as he recognised the sound from a distance.
"Perhaps another time." He smirks before kicking him away, then deactivates his lightsaber and runs towards the edge of the roof and jumps off.
Kai quickly recovers then pursues him. But then stops in his tracks as a Sheathipede-class Separatist shuttle appears before his eyes, as his former apprentice stands on the ramp of a rear hatchway. Silas turns to his former master, and finger salutes him before entering the shuttle as the ramp and rear hatch door closes behind him. The shuttle then takes off, leaving Kai alone on the rooftop as thunder rumbles in the background.
The Jedi Master shuts off his cobalt blue lightsaber blade and looks down in his left hand, holding a thumb drive he was able to snatch from Silas without him knowing throughout their duel. Silas may have gotten away, but it was a small price to pay. After all, with the data now in his possession, this became a first major victory he experienced in a very long time. Not since everything that went down back on Earth-0, which was the very reason he came here to warn Articho about.
Just as he was about to contact his old friend on the same private channel they've used back then, he senses a great disturbance in the Force.
...
Meanwhile inside of the research facility, Maki has just finished checking on the surviving scientists' thanks to her medical expertise as a physician from her family's hospital business when she suddenly felt a chill down her spine. Not the temperature kind, but one that's empty.
"Something wrong, Doc?" Ame asks, noticing the pale look on her face.
Not wanting to add more problems, she puts on a fake smile and shakes her head.
"Oh nothing." Maki assures. "Just a bit tired from checking on the other scientists."
Keqing, however, could tell that she's lying. Something is clearly wrong with her. Before she could ask, alarms throughout the research facility went off as its sirens were heard.
"Kazari, what's going on?" Hayley contacts the flower-headed girl.
"I recently picked up a ship that has already jumped out of hyperspace." Kazari informs through the golden blond haired girl's Omni-tool. "Its signature originates from a Lambda-class T-4a shuttle."
"An Imperial shuttle?" She questions, confused.
"The Empire doesn't exist anymore, Hayley." The hacker reminds her. "If I had to guess, then it's a shuttle with the Neo-Sith Empire's colors."
"And it's approaching this facility that's now defenseless thanks to Silas and his MECH dogs." Hayley deduced. "Well, that's just wonderful."
"Could it be another Sith Inquisitor?" Ame suggests.
"I doubt it." Kazari denies. "There's no point in sending another after Articho since he easily defeated and incapacitated the one back in Academy City. So why send a single shuttle? A squad of Stormtroopers wouldn't suffice either way, unless..."
"Unless what?" He questions.
Suddenly, Maki collapses to the floor, confusing and surprising everyone in the room.
"Doctor Nishikino!" Ame shouts in concern, as he and Keqing rush to the red-haired scientist.
"I'm alright." Maki reassures, feigning ignorance again. "Just need to-"
"You look pale all of a sudden." Keqing cuts her off. "You're not alright. You know something's wrong with yourself, so tell us now."
Maki looks down before sighing.
"Honestly, I don't know. All I know is that I feel cold…"
"I don't feel any cold." Ame shrugs. "Maybe your body temperature dropped from the hard work you've been doing."
"No, it's more like..." Maki shakes her head while also holding it. "One that's empty and filled with darkness. And it's strong. Really strong."
...
Back in Academy City...
"Are you sure that you're a real knight?" Chika asks, skeptical of the ginger-haired girl's appearance as she looks at her armor from top to bottom in the penthouse living room. "You look more like a warrior princess, if you ask me."
"She's a princess?!" Dia and Ruby exclaim in shock.
"Loud much?" Hamilton dryly says making the two sheepish. "And no, I'm not a princess."
"But don't you have the mannerisms of a princess?" Riko blankly questions.
"When I need to be." She simply says. "However, I'm merely Princess Piña's personal page."
"Seriously?" Yoshiko snorts. "What's Her Highness's story then?"
"I'm glad you asked, Yohane the Fallen Angel." The Golden Rose smiles with pride.
"Oh gods." Hanamaru facepalms. "Her, too, zura?"
"She's not an actual fallen angel, Hamilton." Ruby whispers in the Golden Rose's ear. "It's just a persona Yoshiko developed back when she was little."
"So she's but an actress." Hamilton guesses.
"Yeah, you could say that." Yō sweatdrops.
Hamilton chuckles, confusing Aqours.
"Hey!" Yoshiko questions. "What's so funny?"
"Oh nothing. It's just that you're all quite an odd bunch." She shakes her head with a smile. "Especially you, Yohane. You remind me of when Her Highness acted like this when she, too, was a child."
"Do any of you know why we're called the Rose-Order of Knights back in my world?" She asks.
"Now that I think about it, why do you call yourselves the Rose-Order of Knights?" Chika shrugs, not having a single clue at all.
"They are an order of women trained under knighthood, dedicated to serve Her Highness." Hamilton answers before looking away with a sheepish smile. "Funny enough, she got the idea from playing 'Order of Knights' after seeing an actress performing at the opera, which I thought was plain ridiculous at first. Can't believe it's been nine years since that night."
"I feel bad for the men that aren't a part of your merry band of knights." Kanan chuckles.
"Don't be." Hamilton shakes her head. "The Rose-Order even allows men to join our ranks."
"Whoa, seriously?" Chika and Yō asked.
"Of course." The ginger-haired girl nods. "Though, there are very few of them. Some of which are war veterans that refuse to retire from active duty. Grey Co Aldo, a military commander and the man responsible for our Order's training, is a prime example. Unfortunately, His Majesty - Emperor Molt Sol Augustus - saw us as mere decorations on the day we've been officially established by the Empire. To serve as honor guards, no less. Not to mention that we were frowned upon by Prince Zorzal and pro-war senators due to their sexism."
"Ugh. Men." Chika rolled her eyes at such petty thoughts before shaking her head. "N-Not that I hate them, don't get me wrong."
"You love him, don't you?" Hamilton asks, noticing the stutter in the coral orange-haired girl's words. "Articho, I mean."
This causes Chika to blush deeply.
"Young love." Hamilton sighs dreamily. "How I wish to have that."
"Oh, like when you made a daring move on Articho by making him grope your boobies?" Mari calls out.
Mari, Kanan, Dia, Chika, Yō, Hanamaru, and Yoshiko all glare daggers at the Golden Rose. Riko, Ruby, and Leah sheepishly smiled as they sweatdrop, aware that it's obvious that their seven friends have strong feelings for the Pathfinder.
"Hmm." The Golden Rose hummed. "Even here in this world, courting more than one woman is allowed."
"What do you know?!" Yoshiko exclaims with a red face. "As if I like him that way! He's a dick!"
"R-Right!" Dia nods, doing her best to hide her true feelings. "What Yoshiko says! No way that what you're saying is true!"
"There's no point in denying your feelings." Arisa says, appearing out of nowhere with her arms crossed. "Especially from me, the Supreme Kai of Time."
"Ah, crap!" Yoshiko panics with her usual posing. "Goddess Arisa has heard us!"
"Indeed I have, Yoshiko." Arisa smirks.
"It's Yohane!" The navy blue-haired girl chastises. "YO-HA-NE!"
"As for you, Hamilton..." She gazes at the ginger-haired girl in knight armor. "Since you had the audacity in making my husband grope your precious melons due to your Empire's customs, I'll let this small incident slide just this once."
"I apologize." Hamilton bows her head in apology. "I didn't mean to upset you."
"Upset me?" The Supreme Kai of Time giggles. "I don't actually mind as long as it's more than a simple crush."
The girls could only shudder at the Supreme Kai of Time's cheerful yet frightening way.
"So..." Hanamaru shyly blushes. "There's still hope that I'll get to be with him, zura?"
"That's right.~" The pink-haired 16 year old girl beams happily. "And to make things easier for you eight ladies, I have this."
Arisa pulls out a booklet and shows it to everyone. More specifically, towards Chika, Yō, Hanamaru, Yoshiko, Dia, Mari, Kanan, and Hamilton.
"What's that you got there, Arisa?" Yō curiously asks.
"This booklet contains all of Articho's secrets." Arisa explains with a cocky grin. "By far."
The sound of thunder could be heard the moment the girls heard such a valuable treasure right before them. Mari snatches the booklet from the pink-haired girl's hand and opens up its very detailed pages. Dia and Kanan stood next to her on opposite sides for a better look at what their childhood friend is scouring through. As for Arisa, she could only mischievously giggle at the scene while Hamilton could only raise a brow in amusement.
"Find anything, Mari?" Chika asks the Italian blond girl.
"Yeah, come on." Riko nods, dying to know what makes their Saiyan friend tick. "Tell us."
"Isn't this a mass invasion of privacy?" Leah skeptically questions with a raised eyebrow.
"Yeah, Kinuho did warn us not to anger Articho." Ruby agrees, nervous at what they'll find that Arisa has written in the booklet.
"To tell you the truth, not even I know all of Articho's secrets." Arisa admits with a shrug. "The cocky bastard's always ten steps ahead of everyone he has come across throughout his entire life after he got fed up being the brute, and decided to become the most strategic and intelligent warrior ever to exist. Though, he's not without weaknesses."
"No one is perfect." Hamilton added.
"Precisely." She nods.
"I've seen my fair share of people who claim to be perfect." The Golden Rose shares her experiences before muttering. "Only for it to come back to bite them in the ass. Especially that no good prince."
"I'm guessing this Prince Zorzal's an incompetent heir to the Imperial throne." Riko deadpans.
"He is." She nods. "But I won't waste my breath explaining it all to you."
"Then I take it that Princess Piña's perfect for the role?" Riko asks.
"I don't know." She shrugs. "That's not for me to decide."
"Hmm." Mari mischievously smirks towards one of the booklet's pages she's on, getting everyone's attention.
"Well, don't keep us in suspense." Yoshiko impatiently says. "Tell us already!"
Mari gathers the girls together in a huddle and whispers to them quietly. Arisa continues to watch them whisper amongst themselves, smiling as usual.
Suddenly, Touma appears in the living room after running from another part of the penthouse.
"Something wrong, Touma?" Arisa asks, turning around to face him.
"It's Eli." He explains. "She's finally awake."
...
"Eli!" Honoka cries out, hugging her senpai and long lost friend.
"It's really good to see you again, Honoka." Eli smiles, rubbing the strawberry blond-haired girl's head before looking at her three other close friends. "Kotori, Umi, Hanayo. How have you been?"
"We've missed you, Eli." Hanayo says.
"How are you feeling?" Kotori asks.
"Lousy." The blond Russian-Japanese girl admits as she's still bedridden.
"I know this is a bad time, but..." Umi nervously begins. "Do you remember anything?"
"No need to worry, Umi." Eli assures her. "Misaki has told me everything that's happened while I've been... 'away', so to speak."
"Whatever you've done wasn't your fault." The dark blue-haired girl frowns. "The Sith are to blame, not you."
"I know. It's just..." She sighs. "Oh, nevermind. Perhaps you're right."
"Your sister's been worried about you." Honoka says. "She thought that she might never see or hear from you again."
"Alisa!" Eli's purple-tinted blue eyes widen in realization. "She must think that I'm dead! I have to go!"
"Alisa's fine, Eli." Umi calms her down. "She's here in Academy City, living her life. But first, you need to rest."
"I suppose." She sighs again.
All of a sudden, Eli senses a disturbance in the Force, in which her friends notice a pale expression on her face.
"Eli?" Honoka tilts her head, confused.
"What's wrong?" Umi asks, concerned.
Eli rubbed her arms while she shivered.
"I feel cold…"
"Do you need extra blankets?" Kotori asks.
"No, it's..." Eli shakes her head before widening her eyes in fear. "Harasho."
...
Back in the living room, Eli wasn't the only one that could sense it, as Arisa felt it too. She then notices the pale on Chika's face. Even Hamilton's, as well as Kanan and Mari's.
Could they be...?
...
Elsewhere in a School District 7 apartment, Mikoto's ki sensing has picked up a strong presence that suddenly appeared on Earth, as she was tucking her son to bed in his room.
"Mom." Ryu says, feeling the same dark presence too. "I've got a bad feeling."
Just then Mikoto's Gekota flip phone rang and she answered it.
"Kuroko?" The Railgun questions.
"You felt it too, huh, Sissy?" Kuroko on the other end of the call asks.
"Yeah." She nods as her expression becomes serious and looks out at the rainy night sky from the bedroom window.
...
Kyoto, Japan
A male Saiyan with jet black spiky palm tree-like hair wearing a red bandana around his head, a pair of red armbands, brown pants, a gray belt, and black boots tipped with gray at the front and hell, as well as a black undershirt opens his eyes while sitting on a tree stump with his legs crossed. His mental image training had been interrupted as he senses a strong power somewhere on the planet.
"What the hell?" The retired Saiyan Warrior named Bardock thought, getting off of the tree stump and hovers in the air. "This pressure in the air's immense. Whose is it?"
...
London, England
It was still morning on the other side of the world, as a young man in his late 20s - wearing a business suit, and sports short lavender hair, light blue eyes, and a pair of glasses - had just got out from a meeting with several corporate officials on sharing the mass-production rights in developing Capsules for Capsule Corp when he, too, felt a strong power on Earth.
"What is this incredible power I'm sensing?!" Trunks (Xeno) questions in his mind as sweat runs down the side of his head. "Could it be Black? No, that's not possible. We haven't seen him since Articho defeated him over control of the Book of Destiny two years ago. If it's not Black, then who is it?"