"Oh no..." Hanabi was frantically shaking her head. "A Chronophage!? This is bad! We have to establish communication and warn them!"
"Trying..." Victory said, but he had to shake his head as well. "Something is jamming the signal!"
"Something? But I don't see anything other than us around!" Hanabi groaned.
"..." Justice had his eyes narrowed. It was strange, wasn't it? This was where the final shard of the Black Moon Star was supposed to be located. Yet the space around Mercurius felt so...empty. "Something is wrong. How much time until the Chronophage strikes?"
"Only 40 minutes." Jesse reported. "But it takes at least five to get out of the planet's atmosphere. So they really only have about 35..."
"That's barely enough time. Is there anyone evacuating already?" Justice asked.
"No..." Victory could at least report that. That was the strangest thing of all. "Not a single person..."
Hanabi was pacing around the room. Jesse noticed this and had to ask. "Hanabi, you've been tense ever since we got in the airspace of this planet. What's the matter with you?"
"This planet...it used to be my home." Hanabi frowned. "I used to spend my days with my best friend, Blair! We lived happily in Ram Village until that woman came down and everything changed. Blair, she...she's not the same person anymore because of that. AH! Blair!" And then it hit her. "Can we get a visual lock on Ram Village! I...I have a really bad feeling about something..."
.
.
Amira was still in captivity within the Galactic Fleet. She could vaguely see and hear what was going on, piecing together what was happening with the talks of the grunts. This insane scheme of Alexei's was going too well, and that was a terrible part. "I have to find a way to communicate..." She grumbled. She had all the information she could ever want, but with no way to relay this to anyone...
.
.
"What's the matter, Blair?" Raven asked, taking a look at Blair's horrified expression. The color drained from her face completely. The pot of stew had Blair's shock staring back at her. "You look like you've seen a ghost?" He then turned to the other shocked members. "Guys?"
'Is something the matter?" Melissa clasped her hands together, approaching Blair slowly. "Blair, honey...you're shaking..." She went to place a hand on Blair's shoulder, but she reacted by spinning around and swatting her own mother's hand away. "Ah...!"
"Get back!" Blair hissed, her yellow eyes flickering between feral and not.
"What's gotten into you...!?" Arthur gasped. Obviously, he was worried about Blair's sudden shift. She was sweet one second, but went violet the next.
"Blair...you can taste food now?" Cynthia questioned quietly. From what she learned very recently, Blair could not taste food. The only thing she could taste these days were blood.
"I shouldn't be able to. This is wrong." Blair frantically shook her head. Raven attempted to step forward, but Blair's glare froze him in place. "I said GET BACK!" And without a word, she dashed out of the house. On her way out, she knocked down the pot of stew and it spilled everywhere.
"Blair, wait!" Rebecca was quick to follow. The others did as well.
"What's happening?" Kleene looked to the others.
"I don't know..." Laguna shook his head. But something was very wrong. The moment Blair realized she could taste food, the atmosphere shifted hard.
"Is Blair going to be okay?" Happy asked.
"She's very stressed. I cannot contact anyone on the ship..." Pino realized this when trying to make a call. The situation was growing even more tense, as they followed Blair to the Ram Village square. There was a growing crowd at this point, and the clouds above were starting to turn grey.
"Blair? What's the matter?" A child asked.
"...You're not real. None of you are real!" Blair screamed, a greenish-black aura beginning to swirl around her.
"Blair, wait! Just calm down!" Rebecca pleaded. They didn't want her doing anything rash/
"This isn't real, Rebecca!" Blair whipped around, breathing heavily. It was clear she was trying to keep herself grounded, but she was rapidly losing herself. "These people aren't real...!"
"What do you mean we're not real?" Raven caught up to them, along with Melissa and Arthur. "We're real and right here, Blair!"
"...I'm getting scared..." Cynthia mumbled. Blair was looking so panicked and desperate.
"Vanessa! I know you're here!" Blair screamed out into the open air, snarling as she began to freak everyone out. "You can't hide from me!"
"Vanessa... ? Mom...!" Cynthia also looked around. "But I don't see her..."
"We're in her Veil! We have to be!" Blair said.
"We would've noticed if we walked into an illusion." Laguna narrowed his eyes.
"Are you saying I'm lying?!" Blair snapped at Laguna.
Laguna remained calm and shook his head. "No. I'm saying that if you're right...then we've made a grave error splitting up the way we have."
"Blair, I think you're worrying over nothing..." Melissa said in a calming tone. "Why don't we head back and..."
"You're not my mother!" Blair snapped at Melissa, causing her to flinch and look saddened. "This is an illusion! Gotta break out of it somehow..." Her eyes frantically looked around until they landed on Pino. Of course! "Pino! EMP!"
"What? Are you certain?" Pino looked at Blair with wide eyes. It wasn't dangerous to anyone present, so...
"Vanessa's Ether Gear spreads out across an area when she's performing an illusion!" Blair explained. "I remember the feeling. Everything you see and feel is real to your brain, even if it's not actually there. That's why I can touch these fakes. It's why I can taste food; my brain thinks it's real...and so you do yours!"
"Okay." Pino nodded and jumped into the air. "EMP Activate!" The EMP blast spread out from Pino's location, and at first, nothing happened. But then, a low mist started to fill the air, and the people around slowly began to disappear, including Blair's family...
"It worked!?" Kleene gasped.
"This whole thing was an illusion!?" Rebecca's eyes were wide in shock. Soon, they were surrounded by nothing but empitness. The air in the village grew thick and heavy with loneliness.
"...I knew it..." Blair grit her teeth. There was a bit of stew left on her outfit from when it spilled. So, she brought it up to her tongue for a taste, and there was nothing. "..." Nothing. It was all fake...she started to tremble...
"It was all fake..." Happy couldn't believe it. They fell for it!?
"How did we walk right into a trap?" That was the most pressing concern for Laguna. "We should've noticed this was fake right away!"
"You never could've." A voice spoke out to them. But it wasn't one they recognized. Julia Roulette emerged from the mist, wielding a gigantic ogre club in both hands. She tried to swing at Blair, who was distracted from the rush of emotions swirling through her at the moment. But Kleene stood in front of her, using a barrier of wind to block it. This still sent her flying and crashing right into Laguna. "Damn!"
"Ow..." Kleene grimaced.
"What the...!?" Rebecca turned, turning Happy into pistols so she could take aim at Julia. "Who are you!? How long have you been here?!"
"I'm Julia Roulette." Julia said while resting the ogre club on her shoulder. The weapon was nearly as tall as she was, yet she was wielding it one handed. "And we've been here the whole time."
"We?" Pino asked.
The answer to that question came soon. Vanessa Viscard approached from the mist, applauding slowly. "That's right. We've been here for quite a while."
"MOM!" Cynthia's eyes were wide.
Blair had a completely different response. Her therion arm exploded to life and she lunged at Vanessa, attempting to take her head off. "I'LL KILL YOU!" She slashed at Vanessa, only to find that it was an illusion stand in, much to her annoyance. "Show yourself, dammit!"
"There's no need to rush..." Vanessa said while appearing on a rooftop. The mist cleared a little bit to reveal her. "I know I'm a very popular woman right now. You look well, Blair. I haven't seen you in a while!"
"Mom...?" Cynthia spoke meekly.
Vanessa turned to Cynthia, her eyes wide for a moment. "Oh, Cynthia! You've grown up so beautifully! I'm so happy to see you, but I never would've expected to see you here. I imagine we have so much to catch up on...but I promise I'll talk to you when we're done here. Right now, I have to capture this nasty Therion before time runs out!"
"Before time runs out...?" Rebecca blinked. "What do you mean by that?"
"Oh, I suppose you haven't heard..." Vanessa pouted. "We're really on a tight schedule, you see...there's a Chronophage approaching in about 40 minutes." She dropped this news so casually, yet it made everyone's eyes widen.
"A what!?" Cynthia gasped. They barely had any time to react to this news. "But how did we not know about this!? Hermit would've told us!"
"That's because you've all fallen right into our trap." Vanessa wagged her finger. "But I won't explain that just yet. We're waiting on a few guests."
"The only thing waiting for you is hell!" Blair attempted to lunge at Vanessa once again, but she was intercepted by Julia. The two clashed, and were ultimately pushed back from each other. Blair snarled at this. "Tch...!"
"I think you'll want to wait." Julia said. "I wouldn't take the bet of doing anything rash. We'll only take about 5 minutes of your time...and after that? Good luck."
"Guests!? What are you-!?" Before Rebecca could finish, Alexei appeared. He wasn't alone; the defeated members of the Eden's Zero and the Eclipse Ark were present, along with X, Marshall, Nina, and Hubert. "SHIKI!? Guys...!?"
"What happened!?" Kleene gasped.
"..." Blair's gaze grew darker.
"This is the Galactic Fleet!" Pino said.
"Wow!" Marshall's eyes flashed pink as he started at Rebecca and Kleene. "I knew they were hot, but seeing them up close..."
"We don't have time to indulge." Hubert said calmly.
"Guys..." Shiki grimaced. He went to move, but Alexei placed his foot on Shiki's back.
Alexei stared at Rebecca, long and hard. He then pointed a hand towards Kleene. "Are you the one...?" Without giving Rebecca any time to even open her mouth, space itself began to violently attack Kleene. She let out a cry of pain as she was assaulted, much to the surprise of everyone.
"KLEENE!" Rebecca couldn't allow this. If there was ever at time to use her power, it was now. Her leg shone brightly as she activated Leaper.
[Rewind]
Rebecca rewound a few seconds, just before Alexei attacked. If she moved fast enough, she could knock him out with one swift attack! She activated her overdrive, bursting forward before Alexei could attack Kleene! That was...the plan. But the moment her foot moved, Alexei's aim shifted and she was struck in the stomach by an invisible force, which knocked her back with a gasp. "Agh...!?"
"You look surprised." Alexei said while holding the shard of the Black Moon. "Is that because you were expecting me to target your friend? Of course you were. After all, I just did that."
"W-What...?" Rebecca's eyes were wide. From how it sounded, it was like...!
"I know about your power." Alexei said calmly, looking Rebecca dead in the eyes. "You can move through time. Worlds. Universes at whim. Time is on your side. Throughout your constant leaps, you've dragged me along with them."
"I...I don't understand..." Rebecca took a step back. "How...? Who are you!?"
"I am Alexei Alexandrite." Alexei introduced himself. "I am the man that will change the course of the cosmos."
"This man is crazy!" Weisz grunted. "He's planning to wipe emotion from everything in the universe!"
"That's insane..." Kleene gasped. This bit of information was a horrifying realization for those who didn't know.
"With this, all five pieces of the Black Moon Star are in my possession. I have to thank you for bringing them all here." Alexei said while spreading his arms apart, all five shards of the Black Moon Star circling around him. But they then vanished by his design. "I would combine their power here, and now...but we do not have much time. The Chronophage is nearly here...and we have one more thing to obtain before we can leave." Alexei's gaze went to Blair.
"You guys think you're so smart..." Blair snarled. "I'll kill all of you right here and now!"
"Blair, don't!" Rebecca pleaded, still trying to recover from Alexei's hit earlier.
"Don't you get it, Blair?" Vanessa spoke. "You're completely surrounded. You have been since the moment you saw this planet. Do you want to see what the situation truly looks like? Behold!" Vanessa snapped her fingers, and the mist around Ram Village cleared. Not just Ram Village, but the mist around Mercurius as well. Ram Village was a desolate, ruined wasteland with toppled buildings. Somehow, that wasn't even the worst part; the skies above Mercurius were filled with multiple airships. From the view of space, a blue planet was slowly turning red...
"W-What the...!?" Lowell gasped. "But how!? We didn't see or detect any of this when we approached!"
"Of course you didn't." Hubert stated. "We had the power to ensure you would never see us coming."
"Mom...How did you..." Cynthia began.
"My Veil is strong enough to shroud the entire Galactic Fleet from detection." Vanessa said while pacing around. "But, how do I hide an entire planet from detection? I can't, not on my own. However, we had two of the five Black Moon Star shards in our possession! With their powers, I could easily mask an entire planet! With that, you fell directly into our trap. All of you! I recreated Ram Village to lure Blair into a false sense of security. It almost worked too, but I didn't expect you to want to make food..." That was truly the one flaw in her plan. If Blair didn't make food, she wouldn't have figured anything out.
"And you guys want Blair? What for?" Laguna asked.
"Oh, no no...I don't want Blair herself. I just want that." Vanessa pointed to Blair's Therion Arm. "She's done well cultivating that power for me, but I want it back now."
"You want it back!?" Blair's eyes narrowed. "You're the one who forced this on me! I'll make sure to kill you with it!"
"That's a losing battle, Blair!" Vanessa gestured to her crew. "Do you really think you can take all of us out!"
"Watch me." Blair said while growing.
At that moment...
"Communications are back online! We fixed the system!" Ano's voice rang out to everyone.
"What?!" Hubert looked around. "They bypassed the jammer?!"
"How..." Alexei quirked a brow.
"Everyone! It's time to evacuate right now!" Hermit exclaimed. "We can worry about everything else later! A Chronophage is nearly on you guys!"
"We'll get out payback next time!" Sister yelled.
"Do you really think we'll let you get away?" Nina said with a grin. "We gotta bring Blair back! Or at least...just her arm." Nina was prepared to lunge at Blair, but then, Geno appeared with his arm cannon pointed forward. "Huh-!?"
"Mega Buster!" Geno fired the shot of raw ether, catching Nina in the stomach and blowing her back. "C'mon, guys! We gotta go!"
"I'll beam you guys up!" Ano was able to get the Eclipse Ark stable, and quickly used this to retrieve Lluvi, Casey, Percival, Lowell, and G.
"...They slipped away." Marshall groaned. "I really wanted a piece of that Percival chick..."
"Now it is time for our escape!" Homura said.
"Escape?" Vanessa shook her head. "You'll abandon your home again, Blair?"
"I didn't abandon anything!" Blair grit her teeth. "You destroyed it! And there's plenty of time left for me to kill you before I go!"
"Destroyed it? Oh..." Vanessa pouted. "I think I understand what's really going on here. You don't remember, do you?" The way her tone was...made the atmosphere feel strange.
"Of course I remember! You came to our village and destroyed it with that creature of yours!" Blair exclaimed.
"...Vanessa. We'll be leaving now. You have 20 minutes. Otherwise you will be left behind." Alexei said. Vanessa merely nodded and he snapped his fingers, using his power to warp everyone but Vanessa back to the Galactic Fleet.
"What's going on...?" Jinn questioned.
"Blair." Vanessa spoke seriously, hands behind her back. "You have a very grave misunderstanding of the situation that happened here on Mercurius. I've always wondered why you held such contempt for me, but I understand now. You've forgotten something very important about that day."
"..." Blair clearly didn't believe this.
"Allow me to show you all what Blair has forgotten. You are her crew, are you not?" Vanessa was even speaking to those aboard the Eden's Zero. The scenery began to change once again, as Vanessa wore a smile on her face. "You will all learn the truth of what happened here on Mercurius! It's time to understand the truth of the Therion and Blair Elfin!"