The Black Moon Strike force landed on the surface of the moon. The ground was dark, filled with small craters here and there. It was a rugged, uneven terrain. Up above, the explosions of the space battle between Hubert and the Alliance could be seen. Those explosions were a constant source of light on the dreary moon. Strangely enough, there were a few vague structures that could almost be considered ruins of buildings, but they were too decrepit to be certain. Shiki, Rebecca, Weisz, Homura, Amira, Cynthia, Blair, Jinn, Laguna, Kleene, Happy, and Pino exited their Star Fighters as they looked around the planet...
"Here we are..." Rebecca said with a small, nervous gulp.
"So this is the Black Moon." Jinn crossed his arms, looking around the area. "Honestly, I'm not sure what I was expecting. It's not as...empty as I thought." He gestured to those vague buildings.
"We can sightsee later." Weisz said while stepping forward. "We don't have a lot of time...barely any. Blair, where are we going?" All eyes were on Blair. She was the sole reason they even got this far.
Blair closed her eyes. "I need a second...I'm feeling so much right now. Since I'm technically a part of the Black Moon at this point, I feel two large sources of Ether."
"Two?" Kleene asked.
"Yeah...there's this one, right beneath our feet...it's so big I can't even put it into words. I think...that might be the core of the Black Moon." Blair explained, beginning to walk due west. The others followed. "There's one that's kind of moving about...I think that's the Black Moon Star. So that must be Alexei..."
"He didn't teleport straight to the core?" Shiki was surprised. This meant they had more time than they thought!
"If he didn't that must mean he can't." Laguna pointed out.
"This is good for us." Pino said.
"Yeah, we can catch up now!" Happy nodded.
"..." Cynthia had a serious expression the whole time. She wasn't sure what to say, but she steeled herself for whatever was to come.
Blair stooped in front of a crater in the ground. This one was much deeper than the others and a sea of darkness greeted them. "This is it. They went down here. If we hurry we can catch up to them."
"Whatever the case is, this is a golden opportunity!" Amira clasped her hands together. Just as quickly as she looked happy, her expression shifted to something serious. "But that doesn't mean it'll be easy. We still have to contend with his all star crew..."
"Why is she here again?" Blair pointed to Amira.
"Someone has to be around to arrest him!" Amira said, placing her hands on her hips. "My presence here is much bigger than you might think, Blair."
"Uh-huh..." Blair just rolled her eyes.
"...Wait...his crew...?" Homura narrowed her eyes. Something felt off. "Didn't Feather say that the ships Hubert is fighting with are unoccupied? In that case...where are the soldiers?"
Weisz stiffened. "Right, those Galactic Soldiers. They're...!" And just like that, dozens upon dozens of Galactic Soldiers appeared, nearly from thin air. They were camoflauged and now their moment arrived. They were surrounding the crew of the Eden's Zero.
"We got you!"
"You fell right for our trap!"
The soldiers were gloating.
"Great." Jinn entered a fighting stance. "They were waiting for us."
"Did you really think we'd let you waltz in and try to stop Alexei?"
"Go ahead if you want! But we'll just follow ya!"
"If we try to ignore them, they'll try to pinch us." Amira grunted, pulling out her gun.
"We don't have time to deal with these grunts!" Wiesz exclaimed.
"Grunts? Tough talk from the guy who struggled to keep some of us down, even with help!" A grunt laughed at Weisz, causing his expression to sour.
"We don't have a choice." Shiki looked to the others. "We'll have to clear them out. There are probably more waiting for us inside, but we'll just have to take them out as we go!"
"You will find that we are not the same crew you encountered two days ago." Homura said as her sword formed in her hand. "I believe this will make for the perfect warm up, do you all agree?"
"I was thinking the same thing!" Cynthia nodded as flames appeared along her body. "These guys are supposed to be tough, right? So if we can't beat them, we don't have any right to stop Alexei!"
"I like your attitudes!" Shiki grinned.
"Take us out!? You think we've been resting on our laurels!?" A grunt laughed before stepping forward, pulling his gun out. "We get training from the likes of Hubert and Marshall every day! So you're in for a rude awakening if you think-!" Before he could finish, Rebecca already shifted into her Overdrive, turning Happy into twin pistols. She was moving at breakneck speeds, using her legs to slam into a few grunts, knocking them over while moving in a Zig-zag pattern. She fired bullets, spinning around while clearing out a number of Galactic Fleet soldiers within seconds.
"Bullet Festival!" Rebecca took to the air, spinning around while letting out a cute little 'nyah' sound as well.
"What!?" The grunts were shocked at her speed, but they weren't going to let her take them down! "Move in!" The grunts charged ahead, but the crew of the Eden's Zero was ready.
Cynthia reared her fist back, crimson flames igniting around her hand. "Omega Fire Dragon's...IMPACT!" She punched the air in front of her, sending a wave of crimson fire forward. The Galactic Grunts stopped their charge and had to split off in separate directions, however, some of them weren't able to escape her attack. Cynthia grinned as she split up the forces, just making it easier for the others. "Go!"
"Variable Cyclone!" Jinn and Kleene exclaimed at once, their joint wind creating a massive tornado that swept up a number of Galactic Grunts, tossing them around in a hopeless loop. The ground shook from the force of this cyclone.
"I got you!" A solider closed in on Laguna, landing a fierce punch to his cheek. Laguna's head shifted from the impact, but he stared at the soldier that struck him.
"That hurt enough to make me shed a tear..." Laguna said. Before the soldier could question what he meant, Laguna vanished in a puddle of tears.
"Huh-!?" The soldier gasped, only to see Laguna reform a few feet away from him. "You'll be crying a lot more when I'm done with you!"
"Should I cry you a river?" Laguna questioned while swiping his hand to the side. This prompted a tidal wave to appear in front of him. "Tears Wave!" This tidal wave moved forward with plenty of soldiers in its wake. It crashed down on them, and it knocked them down, but they were more wet than damaged.
"Hah..! Is that the best he can do?!" A solider said while making way to his feet.
Weisz, donning his Arsenal suit, was in the air. They couldn't see the smirk because of his helmet, but he was oozing off a confident aura. "You'll wish it was!" He fired an electrical bullet from his hand cannon, which struck the wet ground. This bullet exploded into a wide discharge of electricity, zapping the wet soldiers and keeping them paralyzed.
Shiki rocketed himself into the air, then proceeded to drop down with a mighty force of gravity. "Gravity Comet!" He slammed down on the ground, the pressure of this impact creating a shockwave that knocked away dozens of soldiers.
"Fire!" There was a backline waiting for their moment to strike, all of them armed with rocket launchers. These rockets flew outwards in various angles towards the Eden's Zero crew, using their moment of distraction and separated formation to get the best of them. However, before the rockets could even reach, Homura slashed them in half with her speed. She leapt onto one, slashed it, and used the momentum of the explosion to repeat the process. "Huh!?"
"Warrior Maid Single Sword Attack: Dragon Flash!" Homura formed a gigantic sword in her grip, aiming to bring it down on the group of back line shooters. But they created an ether shield at the last second, which her sword bounced off of. She grit her teeth and took to the air, repeating the process once again, but there was still nothing.
"Your little play sword isn't going to break through that so easily!" The soldier said confidently, although...he could see a few signs of damage in the shield. But it was fine, they'd finish Homura off before she had the chance to break it!"
"This is my cue!" Amira was using simple hand to hand to fend off any soldier that attempted to attack her. They were tough, but she was tougher. She then took out her sniper, pointing it right at the shield. "Homura-chan, heads up!" She fired the bullet, only for it to bounce up off of the shield.
"Didn't you hear!?" The soldier behind the shield laughed. But he then gasped as the shield suffered heavy damage from that bullet alone. "Huh!?"
"I brought some pretty heavy artillery for this fight." Amira winked. Bullets that were strong against defensive ether.
But they didn't notice this was a joint effort. The bullet bounced up, into the sky, where Homura caught it with a swing of her blade. "HAAAAAAH!" Homura dove down with her blade, using this and the bullet to shatter the ether shield and send the soldiers flying.
"W-What's going on!? They were easy prey just a few days ago!?" One of the soldiers panicked.
"Doesn't matter!" A solider said. There was a large ether cannon that was charging up. With all the fighting, they were able to pass the time and now they had a full charge. "FIRE! This will wipe them off the map!" A gigantic blast of ether exploded forward, cleaving through the ground as it raised towards the crew. However, it's efforts were stopped short as Blair stood in front of it, using her Therion Arm to consume the blast. "Ack-!?"
Blair leapt into the air, forming a sphere of ether in her Therion arm. "Get out of our way!" She then crashed this into the ground, a massive explosion blowing away the rest of the soldiers. When it was all said and done, the welcoming party was wiped out. "Damned annoyances..."
"All enemies wiped out!" Pino reported.
"Great. They killed a few minutes so we have to hurry..." Jinn said.
"That was a good warm up, though!" Amira grinned. "There are no doubt more waiting for us down below. So at least we know we can take them if we're more coordinated than they are."
"That was just the vanguard." Rebecca said while returning to normal. She was a little nervous. "If we didn't act first..."
"Wait..." Pino narrowed her eyes, before looking up at the black sky above them. "Detecting an unknown presence rapidly approaching..."
"Unknown?" Kleene looked at Pino. Before Pino had the chance to clarify, something crashed down onto the surface of the Black Moon, kicking up a cloud of dust. Everyone had to shield their eyes from the dust. "Ack-?"
The hull of the ship opened and...Jigan King crashed down on the ground, standing tall with black sparks of lightning dancing around his body. "I made it."
"JIGAN!?" Weisz and Blair both exclaimed in unison. This was the last person they ever expected to show up.
"Huh? How did this guy get here...?" Cynthia was vaguely out of the loop.
"Hahaha! Did you really think I was going to let this chance pass me by!?" Jigan laughed. "Did you also forget that I used the Black Moon Star's power? I had no idea what was going on, but I sensed it was completed. It's power is a part of me, so I was able to close the gap to get here quickly!"
"Makes sense, unfortunately..." Jinn grunted.
"Crew's looking a little empty, Jigan." Blair glared at her former captain. "Did everyone leave you?"
"Tch, Blair! Long time no see!" Jigan scowled at Blair. "Tobias and Weavel got arrested, and it turns out Hanabi was a filthy government spy! I got no idea where Waltz went, but who cares? He was slowing me down too! I'm here on my own terms, to make the power of the Black Moon mine!" At the mention of Hanabi, Blair's hand tightened into a fist. "Don't think it'll be so easy to beat me this time...I'm much stronger than I was BEFOOOOORE!" As Jigan roared this, black lightning exploded around him as he entered his Overdrive: a raging bull. The lingering embers of the Black Moon Star's power, coupled with his own natural strength from Blue Garden, allowed him to evolve into a completely different beast.
"He really is stronger...!" Shiki noted.
"Get outta my way! I'll topple you and Alexei!" Jigan grinned madly. This was the moment he was waiting for.
"...Still haven't changed a bit." Weisz said as his helmet briefly vanished, so he could look Jigan eye to eye.
Jigan eyed Weisz, sneering as he did so. He could see the current, older version of Weisz right next to him. They were giving him that same look... "You..."
"...I'll take him." Weisz told the others. "We got some unfinished business, and it'll slow the rest of you down if we try to fight him at once."
"Weisz..." Homura gave him a nod. She wasn't even going to ask if he was sure. Everyone knew. So they all decided to leap down the crater into the depths of the Black Moon, but Blair was the one who stayed behind.
"...Kick his ass." Blair said.
"You bet." Weisz nodded as his helmet returned. Blair jumped down the crater with the others, only leaving Weisz and Jigan. "Still obsessed with power, even after all these years. It's like you never changed."
"Now I really know you're Weisz. Just like that older version of you, you can't help but think you know better than me! But you've always been like that, in youth and in old age." Jigan pounded his fists together, sparks of lightning dancing around him dangerously. "But this is fine. If I gotta topple my past to get to a powerful future, it's only fitting! It's been my life's dream to make a name for myself in this universe, and I'll stop at nothing to achieve that dream! I will be known! I will be feared! My name will echo across the cosmos! I AM JIGAN KING!"
Weisz slid into a stance. Even if Jigan was a pain in his ass back on Norma, the two of them were still associates. Barely friends, but he would be lying if he said there weren't some good times in there. He could only wonder what that other version of himself thought of Jigan, but it was probably the same thing. "Jigan King...you're nothing but a villain in my eyes. You hurt my crew, and that's not something I can abide by. Shiki took you down before...but there's a part of me that wanted to be the one to do it."
"Oh yeah, pipsqueak!?" Jigan growled. "I've always wanted to crush you into the dirt! I never had the chance on Norma, and that other you is too old to make it enjoyable. So this is perfect. I'll be the most cathartic thing I've ever experienced! Come on, Weisz! Let's settle this!"
"I couldn't agree more!" Weisz roared, and the two of them charged at each other.
.
.
While Weisz was confronting Jigan, the others fell through the crater within the Black Moon, which lead to tis depths. It was a rocky cavern, with barely any light. Sources of light were flares placed upon people that were clearly there before them. Once Blair landed, she didn't waste any time breaking into a sprint. "This way!"
They weren't going to worry about Weisz, they knew he'd be fine. They had to reach Alexei no matter what. "Blair, how far ahead!?" Shiki asked.
"Pretty far..." Blair hated to admit that. "But not far enough!"
"Good, we can still catch them!" Shiki was glad for that. They didn't lose too much time after all.
Strangely enough, despite their earlier concerns, there wasn't anyone to greet them. They expected to fight, but they got nothing, even as they entered their first clearing. This clearing wasn't like the rest of the cave; it was bright and lively with plant life. "No one's here...?" Laguna questioned. It was a cause for concern. They could be ambushed at any moment...
"Don't relax!" Rebecca said. She was on standby in case something did go horribly wrong, but she knew this made her a target as well. They took a brief look around the clearing, but didn't see anyone...
Until some metallic footsteps echoed through the empty cavern walls. Everyone was on alert. "Someone's coming..." Cynthia stated. They could see someone approaching from the other end of the cavern. But the person that did...was not someone anyone could've expected.
"W-Wh..." Homura gasped.
"...?" Amira tilted her head. "Wait...but that can't be right..."
"You're...!" Kleene covered her mouth with her hands.
Shiki's eyes went wide for a moment. The tears pricking his eyes...this couldn't be real. It couldn't. "You're..."
Witch Regret offered a faint smile towards the crew of the Eden's Zero. "Hello, everyone...I'm so happy to see you again. I am here to help you, however I can. That is my oath to you, Demon King, as the Shield of the Eden's Zero."