Hey guys! We're finally back to more chapters of "Space", even though it hasn't been all that long. A big battle looms on the horizon for our heroes as they're about to face off against Ziggy and his forces upon the planet of Lendard. Everyone's ready and raring to go, especially with an Infinity Stone on the line.
So, will our heroes succeed? Or will they fail? Let's go ahead and find out! Enjoy!
SPACE
Cosmic Era X492. After the conflict between our heroes and the Aoi Empire, known as the Aoi War… Ziggy went on to expand his territory throughout the Kaede Cosmos, all while wielding the tremendous power of an Infinity Stone. He deployed massive numbers of robot soldiers, conquering planets with military might.
Shiki and his friends began working to rescue those planets that Ziggy had occupied, along with the help of the Omni Force. In the three years that passed, the crew of the Edens Zero matured immensely. But as such, so did their enemies.
We are now in Cosmic Era X495. Having finally located Ziggy's headquarters, Shiki and his friends prepare to launch a counterattack. The Edens Zero's plan is to summon a Chronophage to Ziggy's base on the planet Lendard. Operation Starbiter is soon to be underway.
Who will win? Shiki or Ziggy? The hour of the decisive battle draws near. And with it, so does the fate of trillions of other lives throughout the multiverse…
Flying steadily through the checkered space of the cosmos as it approached the industrial planet, the Edens Zero was on course. Inside the ship's hangar, Tanjiro's left arm had a black, mechanical apparatus over it, similar to a bone structure. He gripped his katana tightly in both hands, smiling at how well his left hand felt.
"This world's technology is amazing!" he exclaimed, "It doesn't even feel like my arm's ever been left useless!" he affirmed on.
"Good for you, Konpachiro!" Inosuke remarked with a thumbs-up.
"Woohoo…" Zenitsu uttered uncaringly, "I just wanna go home with Nezuko…" he complained with tears pricking his eyes. His girlfriend sighed.
"By the way, aren't you supposed to be with Homura, Inosuke?" she inquired of the boar hide-wearing man.
"Nah," he responded to her surprise as she blinked, "Those lady people told me to wait until she needed to go," he pointed out, "But I'm ready to let loose now!" he proclaimed, puffing out steam from his boar hide's nostrils.
"You'll die if you try going now, idiot…" Zenitsu grumbled in response, letting a drop of sweat roll down the side of his head. The Kamado siblings smiled.
"So the plan is to get a few of our forces down onto the planet beforehand, and then the rest of us can follow them via the MPG portals," Tanjiro noted.
"That's only if they make it through Ziggy's forces," his sister pointed out, "I'm not saying they won't with the numbers we have, but…" she continued. Her brother nodded.
"We have to be ready for anything," he said. Also in the hangar were the likes of Shiki, Rebecca, Happy, Pino, Weisz, Homura, Riri, Jessica, Kenny, M'gann, Devlin, Jaime, Shoto, Rin, and Azari. The Omnitrix bearer enveloped himself in a bright flash of green light, transforming into an alien that resembled a cross between a pterodactyl and a glider. He had a large yellow beak-like mouth, green eyes, red skin, black-and-green clothing on his shoulders and waist, green braces around his wrists and ankles, and small, yellow, retractable wings that resembled a glider in appearance, which were connected to a 'jetpack'-like structure on his back. He also bore the Omnitrix symbol upon his left shoulder.
"We'll be entering Lendard's defense zone soon," Hermit alerted over the intercom.
"All hands to battle stations, people," Sister added. The two Shining Stars were up in the bridge, with Connor at the helm as they sat before him, doing a final check of the ship's systems ahead of the impending conflict. Elsewhere aboard the ship, Labilia and Couchpo perked up upon hearing the warning.
"It's almost time…" Ochaco realized, setting the parts of her hero costume on her person in the women's locker room.
"Unfortunately, we're on standby until we reach the planet itself," Momo pointed out as she tied her hair up into a ponytail, "Not many of us can fight in the vacuum of space…" she mentioned.
"Once we're on the ground, things'll be much easier," Ninny affirmed, throwing on her cape, "All we have to do is make sure Rebecca gets to the planet's core and have her do whatever she needs to in order to attract that Chronophage thing," she explained.
"There's more to it than that, I'm afraid," Torunn chimed in, getting everyone's attention, "We have another objective upon Lendard that needs to be done before the Chronophage's arrival," she pointed out seriously.
"The Infinity Stone, right?" Ochaco assumed, earning a nod in reply from the demigoddess.
"Before the plan can be enacted, we must have possession of the stone over Ziggy," she stated firmly.
"Not gonna be easy, especially with Crow and Ultron on our asses, too…" America mentioned while closing her locker.
"And they've got the advantage of knowing we'd be coming," Ochaco pointed out additionally.
"You think they would?" Mina chimed in as a question.
"It's Ziggy," the Zero Gravity Quirk user noted, "I'd be surprised if he didn't know we were coming…" she added in admittance. The likes of the magic knights, heroes, jujutsu sorcerers, demon slayers and witches were all prepared for the battle ahead. In his seat at the bridge, Connor lowered his head in thought for a moment.
"I may be someone that fled from Lendard…" he began, with his voice echoing through the intercom as everyone heard him, "but with this ship on my side, I can fight," he confirmed, "Mateys…" he kept going, "For the futures of both humans and machines… we can't let Ziggy do as he pleases for any longer," he stated, "I've chosen to fight," he affirmed on, "And now that my mind's made up, I'm prepared to stake my life on this ship and those that it carries," he added thoroughly, "That scurvy scum sent his robot soldiers to dominate peaceful planets… and mercilessly kills scores of humans," he noted as Holy entered the bridge with Mosco, having heard the captain's speech. Everyone who was ready for the battle ahead stopped whatever they were doing to listen.
"Mister Connor…" Rebecca uttered from the hangar as she and Rin were about to board their starfighter.
"Some of those humans were children, some were happy families," the captain listed off over the intercom, "Some were even young bucks dreamin' of the future…" he noted on, "I say we take it back!" he yelled, "Let's bring peace back to the Kaede Cosmos!" he insisted of those aboard the ship.
"You heard him," Riri said, letting her helmet's visor come down over her face, "Let's get ready to move," she advised of her colleagues.
"Right," Astrodactyl responded, following her alongside Devlin, Jessica, M'gann, and Jaime. Meanwhile, a fleet of ships was already on the scene, also approaching the planet. Aboard the lead vessel, the Skull Fairy, was Elsie.
"Pirates fighting to bring peace to the cosmos…" she remarked, letting off a grin, "Just what is this world coming to?" she wondered aloud.
"Heh," Behrman chuckled, "You said it," he noted.
"Princess, you wanna grab any treasures from there before we get started?" Gowen asked of the Oración Seis Galáctica member.
"You idiot," Hyoga grumbled, "There's nothing on that planet but androids," he pointed out.
"I knew that!" his fiery colleague roared back. Elsie sighed with a smile, turning back to look out the window towards Lendard.
"I'll be disembarking on Lendard along with the Edens Zero crew," she confirmed to her mates, "I understand their plan well enough…" she mentioned, "But…" she continued, taking on a dark expression, "I intend to destroy Ziggy first," she declared. Elsewhere in the area, a large spaceship led many others, with a rounded, almost saucer-like appearance, having a pair of wings below, and a pair of turrets under it. The flight deck sat at the top and had a curved roof. Above the ship was a large holographic square with a smaller square inside and four smaller lines around each side. On the front of the vessel was the Interstellar Union Army logo.
Inside the bridge stood two individuals amongst the working operators. One was a tall young woman with a slim figure and long dark hair. She wore a dark sleeveless tube top with a light toga along with a pair of arm bands wrapped around her wrists and two headbands on her head. She had a jeweled necklace around her neck. The other was a short young woman with a curvy figure, a prominent nose and pink, shorter hair. She donned a dark sleeveless dress with a puffy collar, light stripes around it and a pair of separate arm gloves along with a fur cap that had a pair of bear ears on both sides and a black-and-white head of a bear at the center.
"Commander Lady Holy," the short one known as Shiro addressed through the comlink established with the Oración Seis Interestelar member, "are you really going to be giving out orders from the Edens Zero?" she questioned out of concern.
"If the other members of the Oración Seis Interestelar knew we were joining forces with the Demon King and the Space Pirate…" the one known as Ibuki started to infer.
"Feather already knows," Holy confirmed, "But don't worry…" she assured, "Just remember what I want you to do," she advised of her subordinates.
"That goes without saying," Ibuki responded.
"You can count on us, Lady Holy!" Shiro declared as she raised her right fist. Their superior smiled.
"And when the time comes…" she continued to the pair of soldiers, who both grinned deviously.
"Nee-hee-hee…" Shiro giggled, "Oh, we know…" she confirmed.
"The 'immaculate military operation', yes?" Ibuki presumed. Back in the hangar of the Edens Zero, Shiki and Shoto got aboard their shared starfighter with Pino. Each vessel had a large glass dome for the top half, with striped pattern, a small of wings just behind, and a larger pair of wings to the side, each with the Edens Zero emblem. The bottom half had a dark underside, with a pair of blasters mounted in front of the wings. At the very front, the symbol of the Leo zodiac was branded.
"Sorry that we have to cram you in like this," the Satan Gravity Ether Gear user apologized to his partner.
"It's fine," the Half-Cold, Half-Hot Quirk user assured in reply while taking his seat, "I'll have your back," he promised, earning a grin from Shiki. In the meantime, Weisz watched as Azari boarded the starfighter with him. He glanced back at the Wakandan prince awkwardly, not sure what kind of conversation to drum up prior to the battle ahead. As for his partner, he just took his position aboard the vessel, inhaling a deep breath to relax himself.
"If I remember right, these ships used to be only be big enough for one person…" Rin noted as she boarded the starfighter, sitting backseat.
"Yeah," Happy confirmed with a nod, "Hermit had 'em modified for an extra person and a gunner if needed," he told the mage as Rebecca got aboard the vessel, tying her hair up into a ponytail, "Though for Rebecca, I don't think that's a problem!" he remarked confidently. However, he was surprised to notice the melancholic expression upon his friend's face as she looked down in deep thought. Rin noticed and sighed.
"You're still thinking about that?" she assumed, causing the Cat Leaper Ether Gear to perk up in surprise, "From what I heard, it wasn't something you did knowingly…" she pointed out.
"Yeah…" Rebecca responded after a moment, "I guess… I'm still a little shaken…" she admitted, glancing off to the side, "The idea that the Chronophage that attacked Norma was my fault…" she noted on, gripping the throttles she held onto tightly.
"Remember what Weisz said," Happy chimed in as he climbed aboard, allowing for the dome of the starfighter to close and lock in place, "If that Chronophage hadn't come along, we never would've met this version of him," he pointed out.
"I know… but…" the Cat Leaper Ether Gear user continued sadly, "there were a lot of people on Norma other than Weisz…" she recalled, "And I erased fifty years of their lives…" she added, taking on a solemn expression.
"No," Rin said suddenly to her surprise, "They just started a new fifty years, like you did," she affirmed, putting her hand onto her colleague's left shoulder, "You can't dwell on something that you had no control over, even if it was your fault," she advised seriously. Rebecca lowered her head in thought, followed by taking on a determined expression.
"You're right," she replied, "This is no time to be angsting," she stated, "I go to Lendard, infiltrate the core, and send out and Ether signal…" she listed off, "summoning the Chronophage to make it eat the planet's time!" she declared firmly. Just then, she heard something whir beside her before a holographic screen came up, revealing Shiki there.
"If anyone can do it, we can," he said confidently.
"Shiki…" Rebecca uttered.
"We'll be with you the whole time," the Satan Gravity Ether Gear user promised over the communication as he grinned, "I promise that we'll keep you safe, Rebecca," he vowed. She smiled.
"Thanks, Shiki," she said with gratitude. Gathered in the hangar as well, Izuku, Ochaco, Natalie, Alice, Asta, Yuno, Noelle, Mimosa, Luck, Magna, Finral, Zora, Secre, Klaus, America, James, Henry, Francis, Shirou, Tanjiro, Zenitsu, Nezuko, Momo, Tsuyu, Kyoka, Eijiro, Denki, Noel, Ninny and Yuji were prepared for the battle ahead. An alarm suddenly blared, getting their attentions.
"We're entering Lendard's defense zone!" Hermit confirmed over the intercom, "Drones are already on the approach!" she added.
"That's our cue!" Astrodactyl exclaimed, unleashing a greenish energy from his jetpack-like apparatus as his wings unfolded, flying out the bay doors. Jessica was soon to follow, having a green light cloak her body. Devlin and M'gann were prepared to follow, only to suddenly be stopped as the armored Riri stuck her left arm out in front of them.
"Just in case, we'll have you guys stay to help in case things get dicey," she told the pair, who looked to each other in surprise, "M'gann, link us up if comms go down," she advised of the Martian.
"Right, got it," she responded with a nod. They watched as the armored Avenger followed Jaime out from the hangar, flying into the vast space between the ships and the planet ahead.
"Master, they're going!" Pino pointed out.
"Yeah, let's hurry," Shiki responded. He quickly stuck a pair of pictures upon the dome surrounding him and his passengers, one being of Witch and one of Valkyrie. "Give me strength, you two…" he prayed, grabbing the starfighter's throttles as the engine whirred with energy. Holographic icons started appearing around his head. "Here goes!" he exclaimed.
"Roger!" Hermit called out from the bridge. One by one, each of the starfighters launched from the Edens Zero, soaring into space. "All Leo-Class starfighters have launched!" the Mind of Edens confirmed. Approaching the armada were several small drones that had sharp, wing-like protrusions. The antenna of Jaime's scarab flickered blue.
"Yeah, I know…" he muttered in response, "These guys aren't the big threat yet…" he noted aloud.
"But we gotta clear a path!" Jessica affirmed, aiming her ringed hand forward, firing off a powerful beam of green light to strike many of the incoming drones, eviscerating them in small explosions. They retaliated by firing off pellets of blue light from the cannons that deployed upon them. Fortunately, the quartet of the Omni Force members were quick to evade them. Astrodactyl drew green energy whips from the holes in his arms, using them to lash at incoming drones to slash them to pieces. Riri fired off a repulsor blast, while Jaime formed his arms together into a cannon to unleash massive rays of light to incinerate the drones. But more were coming.
"Great…" the armored Avenger muttered out.
"On your six, guys!" Shiki's voice yelled over the communication line, getting their attentions. They turned to see the starfighters approached, with the one piloted by the Satan Gravity Ether Gear user leading the way. He pulled the triggers upon his throttles, firing off blasts to destroy the incoming drones.
"Follow Shiki!" Elsie yelled from her flagship, with her fleet coming in to join the fray. Shiki was taking lead of the charge, shooting down several of the drones. Shoto noticed just how determined he was to get through the blockade to the planet.
"Master, there's more coming at three o'clock!" Pino warned.
"Got it!" the Satan Gravity Ether Gear user responded as he veered the ship to the right after finishing the drones he had been facing. He quickly tapped some icons upon the dashboard in front of him. "Ether Link on!" he confirmed as his green markings appeared along his arms, "Magimech Attack…" he began as he closed in on the drones, "GRAVITY CANNON!" he roared, unleashing a large sphere of dark purple energy from the starfighter's turrets. It collided with the incoming drones, completely crushing them as they exploded.
"Shiki, might wanna tone it down a little!" Weisz advised over the communication line, "Don't want you hitting us by accident!" he mentioned.
"Right, sorry…" the Satan Gravity Ether Gear user apologized.
"There's a lot of drones out here," Kris pointed out, "Let's all turn on our Ether Links and wipe them out," he insisted of his colleagues.
"Right, I'm setting it up now!" his sister confirmed.
"Same here," Laguna added. Back aboard the Edens Zero, the others on standby watched the battle rage on ahead.
"It's too bad that the starfighters don't work with things like magic or Quirks…" Ochaco noted aloud.
"If they did, we could be out there helping…" Noelle mentioned with her hands at her hips.
"We can't risk sending too many fighters, and none of you are experienced when it comes to piloting them," Hermit's voice pointed out over the intercom, getting their attentions, "Besides, we're already got Elsie's and Holy's fleets helping us out," she mentioned, "Right now, the goal is to lure in the rest of the blockade for them to take down," she confirmed from the bridge.
"Using us like that's quite underhanded…" Holy commented, "But of course, we'll pick up the slack," she vowed. However, she blinked in surprise as she looked out the window. Connor noticed.
"What is it?" he asked. The Oración Seis Interestelar member walked closer to the window, putting her right hand up against the glass as she narrowed her eyes. At that moment, they widened.
"No…" she uttered out in disbelief. Back in space, Rebecca noticed several red markers suddenly appear upon her dashboard.
"Whoa, we've got lots of drones inbound!" she warned to her colleagues.
"They're sending reinforcements already?" Shoto's voice inquired over the communication line.
"No, this doesn't feel right…" Jaime chimed in. Flying ahead, Jessica and Astrodactyl came to a stop as they felt a rumble in the space around them.
"What the hell?" the Green Lantern uttered in shock.
"Guys, what's going on?" her transformed boyfriend asked. Those in space and those aboard the starfighters widened their eyes.
"Is… that…?" Shiki uttered out.
"Impossible!" Connor exclaimed from the bridge of the Edens Zero, while those in the hangar were in shock.
"You're kidding…!" Weisz gasped.
"What… are they doing here?" Rebecca wondered aloud as a drop of sweat rolled down her left cheek. Swarming about the checkered space were creatures with an overall mechanical appearance, having gears on the underside of their bellies, and wings that have a pattern that somewhat resembles solar panels. Their wings also had four appendages, resembling sword hilts, sticking out of near their bodies, each one had four 'V's pointing toward the rest of their bodies. Additionally, they had a tail, two legs with three claws on each foot. In the center of their bodies, they had heart-shaped chests with a ball in the center.
"¡Dios mío!" Jaime exclaimed in shock, "The hell are these things?!" he questioned aloud.
"They're Dragons…" Shiki answered, letting off a grimace.
"And it's not just a couple, either!" Sister's voice warned from the communication line, "They're all swarming around Lendard to protect it…" she pointed out, much to everyone's shock.
"But… what does that mean?" Asta asked while still in the hangar, "I thought Dragons were only found back in the Sakura Cosmos…" he admitted on.
"Yeah, at the Dragonfall…" James recalled.
"This can only mean one thing…" Holy chimed in over the line, getting everyone's attention, "Crow isn't the only Galáctica allied with Ziggy and Ultron…" she realized as clenched her trembling fists aboard the bridge of the Edens Zero.
"This isn't good at all…" Elsie noted from her flagship. Down upon the planet, there stood a figure atop a lone tower. It was a tall female blue-skinned android with a voluptuous body, long claws and white hair, and the top of her face was covered by a tri-clop eye mask with green lenses and a pointy dark hood. She wore a flowing long dark dress that had a cleavage window with a large poofy high collar and a symbol of a Dragon skull with large horns at the front. One of the creatures flew down and landed beside her, allowing her to place her left hand upon it.
"Hmm…" she uttered out, "So Ziggy's enemies have arrived?" she presumed, "Be certain to keep them all occupied, my children…" she advised as she chuckled deviously.
X
"God… Acnoella?" Mina said aloud in confusion and concern.
"That name sounds ominously familiar…" Fumikage noted, glancing over to Natalie, who tensed up as she clenched her fists tightly.
"She's another member of the Oración Seis Galáctica, the Mother of Dragons," Holy confirmed over the intercom to everyone's shock, "That means there are five of them about to be on this planet…" she noted on, trembling a little.
"Hey, you good?" Sister asked.
"Yes, I'll be fine…" the Oración Seis Interestelar member assured, letting out a deep exhale, "Dealing with Acnoella can wait until we've stopped Ziggy and Crow," she affirmed. Having listened to the conversation from the hangar, Izuku tightened his gloved fists.
'We need to get to the planet's surface soon…' he noted to himself. Back upon Lendard, the infamous Demon King was standing out on a landing, looking up to see the bursts of light flickering in the sky, signaling the battle raging on above.
"So here you are… Shiki," he said.
"Yes," Acnoella's voice chimed in as she approached from behind, "but my children stand in his way," she noted confidently, "Will he really make it this far, I wonder?" she inquired aloud.
"Your 'children'?" Ziggy repeated in confusion, "I assume you mean the Dragons, yes?" he guessed.
"I brought them into this world," the Mother of Dragons retorted, "Of course they are my children," she pointed out firmly.
"Dragons…" the Demon King uttered, lowering his head in thought for a moment. A memory crept into his head, when he and his adopted grandson had bonded when the former was still young.
FLASHBACK
"Oh! That star's moving!" Shiki exclaimed as he pointed up towards the starry sky.
"You know what that is?" Ziggy inquired rhetorically of his grandson, getting his attention, "It's a Dragon," he told him.
"A Dragon…!" he repeated excitedly, letting his eyes sparkle.
END FLASHBACK
Ziggy's head remained lowered in contemplation. That memory seemed like it was eons ago. And here he was now, about to battle Shiki for the fate of the universe.
"Whatever is the matter, Lord Ziggy?" Acnoella asked, noticing his lowered head.
"Oh…" he uttered, "I was thinking about Shiki, the boy I thought of as my son…" he admitted, looking out toward the murky horizon, "and how I'm about to kill him," he mentioned. The expression upon the face of the Mother of Dragons shifted into a slight frown.
"You should know I share deeply in your aspirations for a world of only mechanical beings," she told her colleagues, "The cosmoses have no more need for human lifeforms," she affirmed on, "But what I don't understand is why you must kill this boy named Shiki," she told him.
"Because he is human," he answered simply.
"No, you must have a greater reason than that," Acnoella argued, "You raised him as your own and sent him to the skies," she pointed out, "nurturing in him a belief that there can be equality between humans and androids," she added thoroughly. Ziggy looked down at his hands.
"And I was wrong. That's my reason," he stated, "With my own hands, I created a threat to the universe," he noted, closing his extremities into fists, "Shiki is the one who'll destroy the cosmoses," he said, "Now I must use these hands to eliminate him," he affirmed further. Back up in the checkered space, the Dragons had an ominous glow emitting from their mouths.
"Watch out!" Jaime yelled.
"Dodge!" Shiki cried out from his starfighter. As the draconic beasts fired fiery beams of orange light from their mouths, their targets flew aside to evade them.
"Sheesh!" Weisz yelped, "These guys breathe fire?!" he inquired in panic.
"Technically, it's called a hyperthermic laser beam," Pino responded.
"Whatever it is, it'll wreck us if we don't do something!" Astrodactyl pointed out over the communication line while trying to fly around one of the Dragons, only for another to spot him. It fired off a laser beam from its mouth, which its target narrowly avoided as it instead struck another Dragon, making it screech with pain. More lasers were fired from the space beasts, which were blocked by a green barricade of light conjured from Jessica's ring. She grunted, looking rather strained.
"Guys… could really use some help here!" she called out.
"On it!" Hermit responded from the Edens Zero's bridge, "Launching scorpion missiles!" Several ports opened atop the ship, launching cylindrical missiles that streaked out towards the Dragons, passing by the Green Lantern's barrier. They struck the beasts in powerful explosions.
"Fire!" Elsie yelled, with her fleet unleashing its ammunition onto the Dragons as well. However, they were hardly injured from the assault, screeching mightily.
"Our main cannons aren't even affecting the Dragons!" Behrman pointed out.
"Dammit…" Sister cursed, "They must have thicker hides than the ones at Dragonfall!" she realized with a grimace. Some of the space beasts loomed over Elsie's fleet, firing off massive laser beams that struck and blasted apart a few ships. Glancing back, Rebecca's eyes widened.
"Elsie's ships…!" she gasped out.
"Don't worry, they're unmanned," Hyoga assured from the Skull Fairy.
"Still, this really isn't good…" Gowen grumbled, "Our ammo's not strong enough to take on these Dragons, and neither is the Edens Zero's!" he pointed out. Elsie growled in frustration.
"Holy Fleet, what are you doing?!" Holy's voice suddenly echoed over the communication line, "Eliminate the Dragons!" she commanded to everyone's surprise.
"Wait, what?!" Sister exclaimed in surprise.
"Your ships can take those scallywags on?!" Connor inquired of the Oración Seis Interestelar member.
"Of course," she responded with a small smile, "Shiro, Ibuki," she addressed.
"Roger that, Lady Holy!" the former of the two captains responded, taking her seat aboard the Midnight as she readied her hands upon the levers of the cannon she held, "The Midnight Fleet isn't a bunch of junk like Elsie's!" she affirmed proudly.
"Now firing special anti-Dragon Ether cannons!" Ibuki announced as she had taken her position at a cannon as well. Each of the saucer-like ships fired off a searing beam of purple light, striking and blasting apart several of the dragons at once. Hermit's eyes widened from the Edens Zero's bridge.
"Anti-Dragon?!" she exclaimed. Holy cracked a small grin.
"I am technically still one of the Oración Seis Interestelar," she pointed out, "Obviously, I thought there'd be a possibility of facing Acnoella," she mentioned, "She happens to be an android herself," she added, much to the Mind of Edens' shock.
"Well, now we can blow 'em all away!" Sister exclaimed excitedly, "Give 'em hell, Midnight Fleet!" she cheered from her seat.
"It's not going to be enough, though…" Hermit confirmed with a grimace.
"Sadly, you're right," Shiro chimed in over the communication line, "It's not easy to beat so many at once," she mentioned.
"But we can at least buy you time!" Ibuki affirmed.
"They're probably bound to run out of ammunition, aren't they?" Connor assumed of Holy, who tensed up slightly. Meanwhile, Hermit put her hand onto her chin in thought.
"Anti-Dragon Ether…" she uttered, "If I can reconfigure the Ether's genetic material to match it…" she continued to herself, starting to type commands upon her holographic keyboard at her station, "I might be able to make up some artificial anti-Dragon Ether for our fighters!" she confirmed, causing Holy to look over at her in surprise.
"Don't be silly," she said, "You might be a skilled programmer, but it took us years to get that Ether developed," she pointed out, "Just leave it to my fleet and—"
"Guys, I need two minutes!" Hermit called out to those fighting ahead of the Edens Zero, interjecting the Oración Seis Interestelar member as she blinked in surprise, "Do what you can to help the Midnight Fleet!" she instructed of them.
"How exactly?!" Weisz cried out from his starfighter. Just then, a Dragon loomed over him, opening its mouth as it was about to fire another laser beam. "Oh crap!" he yelped.
"Weisz, move!" Rebecca screamed.
"Get out of there!" Laguna shouted. The Machina Maker Ether Gear user grimaced. But then he heard sparks of electricity emitting from behind him.
"You really need to take this seriously, Steiner," Azari said. All of a sudden, a mass of electricity in the shape of a panther emerged from the starfighter, zapping the Dragon and immobilizing it completely. Thanks to that, it was left completely defenseless as purple beam struck and eviscerated it.
"Whoa…" Weisz uttered in shock. From the Edens Zero, those in the hangar had seen the attack.
"…Azari's gotten stronger, hasn't he?" Izuku presumed. Meanwhile, Jaime morphed his suit's arms into cannons, firing off rays of blue light onto the Dragons that were approaching. However, they were hardly deterred.
"Guys, gonna need something more than just a few big cannons!" he yelled out to his colleagues.
"Back you up in a second, Beetle!" Riri promised in response, "Jess, you gotta do your thing," she advised of the Green Lantern beside her.
"Already?" she inquired back, "Ugh, I was hoping I could save that for when we're on the planet…" she muttered in admittance.
"Ken, you go big and get these guys focused on you," the armored Avenger instructed of Astrodactyl, who squawked in surprise.
"Aw, man…" he complained, "Wish I had Atomix…" he muttered out. He tapped the Omnitrix symbol at his shoulder, enveloping himself in a green flash of light. Everyone widened their eyes to see that he had transformed into a colossal humanoid creature with a large fin on his head, which was black at the front and red at the bottom. He had blade-like growths on his shoulders and spikes on his waist. He also had white arms with two black lines and red fins on the elbows, wristband-like outgrowths on his wrists and green eyes on his head with two extra eyes protruding on his cheeks, one on each. He had red feet with two toes, a black sandal-like covering on the middle of his feet, and three black lines on the side of his neck. The Omnitrix symbol rested at the center of his chest. He crossed his arms, unleashing a powerful beam of green light that struck several of the Dragons, pushing them back while also eviscerating an unlucky few.
In the meantime, Jessica took a deep breath as she held her right arm out, closing her eyes. Her ring glowed brightly, along with the luminosity surrounding her body. A lantern-like marking appeared over her right eye.
"In brightest day, in blackest night…" she began, "no evil shall escape my sight," she stated as others in the vast space saw her green glow brighten, "Let those who worship evil's might…" she kept going, tightening her fist, "beware my power…" she continued, rearing her arm back, "GREEN LANTERN'S LIGHT!" she roared, thrusting her arm forward and unleashing a powerful ray of light that was just as big as the To'kustar's, searing through several of the Dragons. Most of them were forced to fall back, screeching angrily at the light that was burning through their bodies.
"My goodness…" Holy uttered in shock from the Edens Zero's bridge, "The otherworlders are certainly full of surprises…" she remarked with a grin. Meanwhile, Hermit was furiously tapping keys on her dashboard, dragging sequences along her touch screen before it suddenly flashed green.
"Alright, I got it!" she confirmed, much to the Oración Seis Interestelar member's shock as her eyes widened, "Okay, I'm sharing this exchange format with the Leo fighters and Elsie's fleet!" she confirmed through the communication line, "Use this configuration for your Ether bullets! They'll work on the Dragons!" she affirmed on.
"Copy that!" Shiki responded from his starfighter.
"Master, we have more Dragons approaching on our six!" Pino warned.
"I'll take care of them," Shoto assured, having his seat swivel around so that he and the Satan Gravity Ether Gear user were back-to-back, "Is the ammo ready?" he inquired of his colleague, who looked at the loading screen on his dashboard. The progress bar filled up, with a '100%' marker to signify its completion.
"Fire!" Shiki yelled. Turrets from the front and back of the starfighter unleashed sprays of bright blue pellets, exploding upon the Dragons and actually leaving them damaged. "Yes!" the Satan Gravity Ether Gear exclaimed.
"We're dealing damage with the new ammunition!" Shoto confirmed, "Let's break through, everyone!" he insisted.
"Alright, way to go!" Ochaco cheered from the Edens Zero's hangar.
"Wow, Hermit came up with all that pretty quick…" Henry commented as he blinked rapidly.
"Shouldn't be a surprise," Francis said, getting his attention, "Hermit's probably the smartest person in this universe," he pointed out, "Of course she'd pull something off," he affirmed with a smirk.
"The sooner they get through, the sooner we can get off the damn ship and onto that planet…" Ninny noted aloud.
"Yeah…" Noel agreed. The upgraded starfighters led the way, blasting the Dragons apart one after another in tandem. From his vessel, Weisz let off a grimace.
"We might be doing damage to these guys, but it takes way too much to just take out one of them!" he complained in frustration.
"The forced reconfiguration must be using up extra Ether…" Kleene presumed from her own starfighter.
"We've got your backs!" Way Big assured, grabbing one of the Dragons and ripping it apart. Riri unleashed a volley of flares from the legs of her armor, blinding another of the space beasts. That allowed for Rebecca to fly in and shoot its head to bits with her starfighter.
"Hermit, we're running low on ammo, and there's still too many Dragons to deal with!" she confirmed over the communication line from the Edens Zero's bridge.
"Working on it!" the Mind of Edens responded as she was typing on various holographic icons around her station, "Under these circumstances, this'll do a lot better in a close combat situation!" she affirmed, "Homura, Inosuke, you're up!" she called out. Seated back-to-back in a certain vessel and holding levers upon their chairs while dressed in spacesuits, the two sword wielders were prepared for battle.
"Understood," the Soul Blade Ether Gear user responded.
"We're ready!" the demon slayer affirmed as steam puffed out from his hide's nostrils.
"Wait, close combat?" Holy repeated from the bridge, looking over at Hermit, "I know you had mentioned it, but I didn't think you actually had a Knight Gear on this ship…!" she admitted out of shock. Hermit grinned.
"It's Homura's personal fighter, with a few upgrades for a partner," she told the Oración Seis Interestelar member, "Running on an original OS, EZs Ninety-Four have an intuitive feedback system that throws all the old concepts out the window," she explained.
"What does that mean?" Zenitsu asked from the hangar.
"Basically, anyone can pilot our Knight Gears, including Inosuke," the Mind of Edens answered over the intercom to everyone's surprise, "They're that easy to use," she affirmed. The cables plugged into the vessel popped off, while the bay door opened up. Homura gripped her handles tightly.
"All systems green," she confirmed, "Now launching!" she declared, flying out into the checkered space. The giant battle mech was similar to a samurai, with an armored skirt and a flowing ponytail. "Warrior Maid Ninety-Five to arms!" its pilot exclaimed.
"AHAHAHAHAHA!" Inosuke cackled delightedly, "This is gonna be awesome!" he proclaimed with excitement, "Konpachiro, Tonitsu!" he called out over the intercom, getting the attentions of his fellow demon slayers, "Watch how we slay these beasts!" he insisted of them, enticing them to chuckle nervously.
"Tanjiro," Homura chimed in, causing the burgundy-haired man to perk up in surprise, "You should know that I haven't shirked on what you helped teach me when we were being trained together," she confirmed, smiling from the Knight Gear, "In fact, I've perfected my own fighting style from these past three years," she added.
FLASHBACK
After liberating yet another planet from Ziggy's control, the ladies of the Edens Zero were ready to take a nice, relaxing bath in the Edens Spa. Removing her garments, Homura set them into her locker, letting them be teleported away for cleaning. As Rebecca did the same while getting a towel, she blinked in surprise upon noticing something.
"Whoa, Homura…" she uttered, getting her friend's attention, "I didn't know you got hurt back on the planet…" she pointed out, gesturing to the red markings around the Soul Blade Ether Gear user's body.
"Oh, these aren't from our last battle…" she confirmed to the B-Cuber's surprise, while Ochaco curiously walked over.
"They're… not?" the Zero Gravity Quirk user uttered out of confusion.
"They're from my training with Sister," Homura said, causing the pair to pale in fright.
"It's true," the Life of Edens confirmed as she walked by behind them, wearing nothing but a towel herself. Both Rebecca and Ochaco's mouths gaped open as they stared at the Soul Blade Ether Gear user.
"I assure you, this training is nothing derogatory!" she affirmed with her hands raised, "I'm trying to master Total Concentration Breathing," she told them.
"Total Concentration Breathing?" Ochaco repeated in confusion.
"Isn't that the thing Tanjiro does for his swordsmanship or something?" Rebecca inquired, earning a nod in response from Homura.
"I've been trying to make it so that I breathe steadily every second, even when sleeping," she explained to her friends, "I had Sister watch me on my behalf and make certain my breathing is constant," she mentioned, "If I were to fail in that endeavor, she would lash me," she added to her colleagues' shock.
"So… you're still training?" Rebecca presumed.
"Yes, and I know I'm getting closer," Homura pointed out, "This technique is going to make me stronger for the battles ahead," she vowed, clenching her right fist determinedly.
END FLASHBACK
"I admit, I'm a poor marksman," Homura's voice confessed through the intercom of the Edens Zero, "But with this method, I can fight in space," she affirmed, tightening her grip on her controls in the Knight Gear, which was essentially the visage of her old mentor. She had its right arm reach over to grab the sword hilt attached to it, drawing forth a blade of red, burning light.
"We're linking up the artificial anti-Dragon Ether to your equipment!" Hermit confirmed from the bridge. Aboard the battle mech, Homura steeled herself, taking a deep, concentrated breath.
"Sword of Edens, Homura Kogetsu… to battle!" she exclaimed, forming the energy blade into an ornately-designed sword as she swung it back, "Warrior Maiden Single-Sword Attack…" she began as the Knight Gear closed in on the Dragons, "FALLING DRAGON FLASH!" she roared, slashing through several of the space beasts in different directions, causing them to explode instantaneously.
"Alright!" Nezuko exclaimed from the bridge as she hopped up excitedly.
"Nicely done, Homura…" Tanjiro commented with a smile.
"Now we've got our window," Shirou commented.
"Let's go, everyone!" Shiki called out, leading the charge as his starfighter soared ahead towards the planet with the others to follow. Some Dragons were still in pursuit of them, however.
"Guys, got some hot on our asses!" Weisz called out in warning.
"You leave them to me!" Inosuke's voice shouted over the communication line, causing him and the others to perk up in surprise, "Lord Inosuke can deal with these small fry…" he proclaimed, readying the controls at his seat. The Knight Gear then deployed two more arms, which wielded sharp energy blades of their own. "Beast Breathing… Fifth Fang…" he began, "Crazy Cutting!" he yelled, slashing at each of the incoming Dragons in all directions as they approaching, slicing them into mere pieces. The battle mech creaked ominously as it rumbled.
"Ergh…!" Homura winced out, "Inosuke, please be careful!" she advised of her partner, trying to get his attention, "This Knight Gear might not be able to handle such wild movements!" she pointed out.
"Who cares?!" the boar hide-wearing man shouted back, cackling excitedly as he continued to slash away at everything in his path.
"Well, we've got ourselves an opening…" Way Big noted aloud, seeing that a majority of the remaining Dragons were now trying to deal with the Midnight Fleet.
"Ugh…" Jessica groaned tiredly, putting her right hand onto her head. Riri flew over, putting a hand onto her shoulder.
"You did good, Jess," she confirmed to her, making her smile, "Ken, get her back to the ship for a recharge," she advised of the To'kustar, "Beetle and me'll go down and get the others on Lendard," she told them.
"Right," the colossal alien responded, enveloping himself in another green flash of light. When it subsided, it revealed that he had turned into a humanoid, manta ray-like alien with two black lightning bolt-like stripes coming down from his shoulders to the Omnitrix symbol upon his chest. He bore green fingerless gloves over his long, three-fingered hands, and a pair of black briefs with a green stripe at the waist over his legs. He had yellow horns extending from his nose, gills underneath his arms, and yellow patagia between them. Taking hold of his exhausted girlfriend, he quickly flew back towards the Edens Zero.
"Okay, let's move!" Jaime called out, zooming to the planet with the others.
"Edens Zero and all those coming, prepare to storm Lendard!" Connor addressed from the bridge of the leading ship.
"Roger!" everyone responded as they were on a clear course for the planet below. Rebecca steeled herself, ready for whatever lied ahead.
"It's time to begin Operation Starbiter!" Connor affirmed over the communication line. Back upon the planet, Ultron walked over to Ziggy's side upon the landing, looking up at the sky with him.
"They've breached the atmosphere," he confirmed to the Demon King, "It won't be long before their attack starts," he mentioned in warning.
"Then deploy our forces," his colleague instructed in response, "I'll see to it that Shiki is destroyed along with his friends," he affirmed, turning around and walking off. His fellow android narrowed his red eyes.
"Don't forget, once this is all over…" he began, "you need to give that stone to me," he told Ziggy. The Demon King chuckled.
"Of course…" he responded.
X
"Hermit, we're through the atmosphere!" Riri confirmed as she and Jaime flew ahead, with the starfighters following them, "Once we land, we'll get the portals up for the others to come on down safely!" she mentioned.
"Copy that!" the Mind of Edens' voice replied from the communication line. Shiki looked around. The only things he could see were made of metal.
"So this is Lendard…" he noted aloud.
"It really is all machines…" Rebecca mentioned from her starfighter.
"Yeah, it's like a factory…" Weisz commented.
"Shiki," Hermit chimed in over the communication line, "you, Rebecca, Weisz and Homura'll head for the planet's core," she told him and the others, standing aboard the bridge while looking at two holographic screens of both Elsie and Homura, "Elsie, I hope you'll join them," she mentioned to the former.
"Understood," the Soul Blade Ether Gear user responded.
"All right," the infamous Space Pirate said, having a determined expression upon her face.
"Jinn, Kleene, Laguna," Sister listed off as she smirked, "you're with us," she confirmed, "We're taking on that giant," she declared.
"You got it!" the Wind Snatch Ether Gear user's voice replied over the communication line.
"Obviously, you'll get backup from some of the fliers here on the ship," the Life of Edens mentioned, "Any takers?" she inquired through the ship's intercom.
"I'm game," America answered as she punched her left hand, cracking her knuckles.
"I'll go, too," Henry decided.
"Same here," Yuno said.
"So what does that leave the rest of us with?" Ninny inquired.
"From what I can assume, we'll need to deal with Ziggy's Skeleton Army and any other forces from this Ultron guy," Hermit answered, getting her attention, "The rest of you can help deal with them," she affirmed of the group.
"We can try taking out that factory, too!" Eijiro mentioned aloud as he smacked his fists together, "That way, they won't get reinforcements!" he pointed out.
"Good thinking, Kirishima!" Ochaco agreed as she nodded.
"We'll make that our objective," Tenya decided, "As soon as the portals are ready, we'll make our move posthaste!" he declared firmly.
"Yeah!" many of the others yelled in agreement. Alice gave off a somewhat worried expression, as did Noelle, Shirou, and a few others in the hangar.
"Remember, we have to defeat Crow and stabilize the outer frequencies before we can summon the Chronophage," Hermit explained from the bridge.
"You say 'defeat Crow' like it'll be so easy…" Holy commented, getting her attention as she turned her head to look over at her.
"Can you pilot a Knight Gear?" she inquired of the Oración Seis Interestelar member, making her blink in surprise.
"I've had the training," she answered with her arms folded underneath her chest, "We do have Knight Gears with the Midnight, you know," she mentioned.
"You saw the Warrior Maid Ninety-Five, right?" Hermit questioned back rhetorically, "I'm only guessing, but I think ours have higher performance rates," she boasted in a rather cheeky manner.
"And you'll let me pilot one of them?" Holy presumed, narrowing her eyes.
"You're like a member of the crew, after all," the Mind of Edens responded to her shock, "Those were Shiki's orders," she added, "Since you did your background checks on us, I did my own digging into your past, too," she told the Oración Seis Interestelar member, "I know what Crow did to you… what he took from you…" she mentioned as her colleague's eyes shook, "You should fight," she insisted, "The only way to conquer that past is to face it," she affirmed on.
"…Thank you…" Holy exhaled out gratefully, "I'm truly happy you're so willing to help…" she admitted. Meanwhile, turrets placed around buildings on the planet began firing onto the arriving starfighters. With a growl, Riri unleashed volleys of mini-missiles from ports at her shoulders, striking the turrets and blasting them to pieces. Shiki fired onto them as well while also needing to evade the shots sent his way.
"So where's this damn core we've been talking about?!" Weisz yelled from his vessel, having to barrel roll aside to avoid more blasts. The Warrior Maid 95 came down, slashing away the ammo fired onto its allies.
"Based on the name, I would assume it's at the planet's core," Homura said.
"Oh, that's real helpful, Homura!" the Machina Maker Ether Gear user shouted sarcastically.
"From my calculations, it is at least seventy meters underground!" Pino chimed in.
"Great!" Happy exclaimed, "We can head there to get away from all this anti-aircraft fire!" he pointed out.
"Assuming we can get past it first…" Rin muttered out. The Skull Fairy made its descent, firing onto and blasting apart many of the turrets.
"I'll let you handle any airborne enemies!" Elsie decided, "Shiki and I'll go underground!" she confirmed on.
"Right!" the Satan Gravity Ether Gear user responded from his starfighter, "From here on out, it's hand-to-hand combat!" he declared.
"We'll set up a beacon at our destination!" Pino vowed, accessing a holographic map of the planet.
"Okay, going down!" Shiki yelled as he and the others zipped towards the ground aboard their respective vessels. Riri and Jaime were the first two to land, coming to a stop.
"We've hit ground!" the former confirmed, "We're ready for portals!" her voice communicated to those aboard the Edens Zero.
"Copy that," Hermit responded, "Everyone, you know your assignments," she noted over the ship's intercom to those in the hangar, "Let's get this done," she advised.
"Right!" most of them responded. Devlin pulled out his MPG, activating it to create a green portal in front of him and his colleagues. One by one, they went in, save for America, Henry, and Yuno. Asta stayed behind as well, along with James, Mimosa, Denki, Mina, Finral, Secre, and Alice.
Back in the air, Rebecca's starfighter followed her colleagues' as they were getting closer to the rendezvous point. It was one thing to be involved in another war, but another thing to be the crux of her team's plan. She found herself wondering about it.
'I'm going to summon a Chronophage…' she noted to herself, 'and make it eat as much of Lendard's time as it can…' she mentioned inwardly, 'Where I go, Chronophages follow…' she continued through her thoughts, unaware of her surroundings for a moment as Rin and Happy widened their eyes at something, 'Where I went…' she kept going.
"…cca!" the mage's voice suddenly shouted out, causing her to jolt to attention.
"REBECCA!" Happy screamed. Without warning, the underside of the starfighter was struck by one of the energy blasts.
"Ah!" its pilot yelped out. Noticing from afar, Shiki's eyes widened.
"Rebecca!" he cried out.
"She's going to crash!" Pino warned upon seeing the starfighter's readings.
"Not if I can help it!" Shiki shouted as he pushed his vessel's dome up, "Head to the rendezvous point!" he advised of the little android and Shoto, "We'll meet you there!" he promised before flying off.
"Got it!" the Half-Cold, Half-Hot Quirk user replied as the dome around him and Pino closed. He took hold of the controls, having the starfighter zoom toward the intended meetup location. In the meantime, the Satan Gravity Ether Gear user flew after the falling vessel as fast as he could, landing upon it.
"Rebecca! Happy! Rin!" he yelled, looking inside to find that the Cat Leaper Ether Gear user was unconscious with some scrapes, making him grimace. He then noticed the warning signs flashing upon the holographic screens inside the starfighter. "Crap…!" he yelped, about to punch through the glass dome to get inside. However, it was blown off as he yelped, somehow managing to hold on.
"Granbell!" Rin's voice exclaimed, getting his attention as he saw her standing up with an unconscious Happy in her arms, "Grab Rebecca!" she advised.
"Right!" the Satan Gravity Ether Gear user responded, taking hold of his friend quickly. They leapt away just as the starfighter exploded, its force sending them flying towards the ground below. Shiki grabbed Rin by her right arm with his left hand, slowing their descent. Aboard the Edens Zero, Hermit gasped.
"Hey, we just lost Rebecca's fighter!" she noted aloud in panic, "What happened?!" she inquired of her colleagues.
"She got hit!" Weisz answered over the communication line as a holographic screen of him projected in front of the Mind of Edens, "Shiki went to rescue her and the others!" he mentioned, "What are her vitals?!" he asked on.
"Looks like she's just unconscious," Sister confirmed in reply, "Rin's fine, and Happy's out cold, too," she added, "I'll set a beacon at the point of their fall," she decided.
"Don't worry about that," Azari suddenly advised, "We'll stay on course for the rendezvous point," he decided.
"Hey, dude!" Weisz yelled.
"They're fine, you heard her," the Wakandan prince pointed out, "Besides, we need to get to that rendezvous point and set up a perimeter," he insisted, "We're never gonna get an upper hand on Ziggy if we don't," he affirmed on.
"Master did tell us to wait for them at the rendezvous point…" Pino pointed out, "What should we do?" she asked.
"Comms are still live, so I'm gonna have to leave that to your judgment," Hermit answered, "Sorry, but we've already got our hands full with trying to take control of the airspace!" she pointed out as the Edens Zero was hovering over the planet, firing volleys of missiles onto the anti-aircraft turrets below and drones above. The starfighters and the Warrior Maid 95 landed. Both glass domes around the smaller spacecrafts opened, allowing for Shoto, Pino, Weisz and Azari to disembark. The Machina Maker Ether Gear user pulled out a phone-like communicator.
"Shiki?" he called out, "Shiki, do you read me?" he inquired on in concern.
"Yeah, I hear you," the Satan Gravity Ether Gear user responded over the communication line, causing his friends to sigh with relief.
"How's Rebecca?" Weisz asked as Shiki was knelt beside the Cat Leaper Ether Gear user, who was slowly stirring awake.
"She's coming to," he replied, while Rin approached.
"Agh…" Rebecca groaned as she blinked a couple times, "Shiki…" she uttered out.
"You okay?" her friend asked, holding his right hand out for her to take.
"Sorry…" she apologized, getting pulled up into a seated position, "Wait, where's Happy?!" she asked in concern after standing up.
"Right here!" the android feline answered as he was awake in Rin's arms, hopping into his friend's for her to hug him.
"Oh, thank goodness…" she said with relief, not noticing the twin-tailed mage approaching her, "Rin, are o—?" A resounding smack to her face from her colleague interjected her. Both Happy and Shiki gasped with widened eyes, as the former leapt out from Rebecca's arms.
"Wh-What was that for?!" he stammered in question, gritting his teeth.
"Stop thinking about what might've happened because of you!" Rin shouted to Rebecca, who held her left cheek gingerly as the mage looked her dead in the eyes, "If you keep getting distracted like that, you'll get yourself killed!" she pointed out seriously, "We're in the middle of a war!" she emphatically noted, making the Cat Leaper Ether Gear user's eyes shake.
"Hey, easy!" Shiki shouted, "You know how worried Rebecca is about—!"
"No, she's right," his friend interrupted to his shock, seeing her clench her fists, "We're in war, just like three years ago," she mentioned as she looked down for a moment, taking on a determined look, "Sorry for getting spaced out, Rin," she apologized to the mage, "It won't happen again," she promised. The twin-tailed woman gave off a little smile as she nodded.
"Uh, Shiki?" Weisz chimed in over the communication line as a green light pinged under the Satan Gravity Ether Gear user's left eye, "We haven't seen Elsie or her ship yet…" he pointed out to his surprise, "Wasn't she supposed to meet up with us?" he inquired.
"Wait, Elsie's not with you guys?" Rebecca questioned back.
"According to her indicator, she appears to be acting independently," Pino confirmed.
"Should we go look for her?" Shoto inquired.
"Nah, I don't think we need to worry about her," Shiki replied, "She's strong like me after all," he pointed out, "Anyways, let's meet up at the beacon," he advised of his colleagues.
"Right, we're on our way!" Weisz responded over the line.
"So Elsie's on her own…" Happy noted aloud.
"I wonder if she wanted it that way…" Rin inferred, "She did say that Ziggy was once her benefactor, right?" she inquired of Rebecca.
"Yeah…" she responded, "I just hope she's okay…" she said. Elsewhere on the planet, the clacking of the infamous Space Pirate's shoes echoed through the industrialized area as she walked along the pathway before her, all alone. A stoic look was on her face.
"Shiki… I understand your plan…" she noted to herself, "But… Ziggy is one foe that I have to take down myself," she affirmed, "The one who saved me… who taught me the importance of the family we find in our crew…" she mentioned further, "Now he's gone mad… completely out of control…" she pointed out, "I can't stand to see him like this any longer…" she said, stepping into a more open setting, "I swear, I will be the one…" she started to declare, only to stop as she looked ahead at her surroundings, widening her lone slightly for a moment. In front of her lied a great castle, ruined by the machinery that had pierced through it, though it still stood. She walked into the courtyard, looking at the dried-up fountain. An image flashed through her head of a time she sat there as a child with the boy she was set to marry in the past.
'I know, James! We should kiss!' she had once suggested.
'H-How could you suggest that, Princess Elsie?!' he had questioned back in embarrassment. The small memory made the Oración Seis Galáctica member smile ever so slightly. She looked back at the castle again.
'You're going to be a fine ruler for this kingdom one day,' another man's voice echoed in her head, 'Lendard's future… and all of the cosmoses… will be in good hands…' he had assured. Elsie clenched her fists.
"Father…" she exhaled.
"Does it bring back bad memories?" a familiar voice inquired, causing her to perk up in surprise. She whipped around, grabbing the hilt of her cutlass. Coming down the steps to the entrance was none other than Ziggy, whose capped flapped about with the slight breeze that blew in. "The kingdom of Lendard was once the most prosperous planet in all the Kaede Cosmos," he pointed out, "But behind that prosperity lurked a human struggle for supremacy," he noted on, "And an undying obsession with arms development," he mentioned.
Elsie tensed up. Images flashed through her head of destruction around the castle, including a moment where her right eye was slashed by someone. She then thought of when she had been brought aboard the Edens Zero for a time, grateful to those who took her in, including the android before her.
"How does it feel to be back home?" he inquired, reaching the last step, "Princess Elsie Le Lendard," he addressed. The Oración Seis Galáctica member tightened her grip on her cutlass' hilt.
"Ziggy…" she growled out.
"Lendard's weaponry development eventually became a threat to the entire Kaede Cosmos," the Demon King told her, "Even as young as you were, you had misgivings about it," he added on, "and you handed your own kingdom's secrets to others," he mentioned, "All you wanted was for your mother and father to stop their brutality…" he continued, making her grit her teeth, "But what resulted… was war. And Lendard was destroyed," he finished.
"I had no idea that you were using my fallen kingdom as your base of operations," Elsie noted.
"This planet has revived as one of machines," Ziggy stated, "A home-world for mechanical beings," he added, "It's fitting that here will begin the beginning of machine-kind's reign…" he kept going, "and the end of humanity," he affirmed on. Letting go of her cutlass, Elsie clenched her fists tightly.
"Frankly… I have no lingering affection for this wretched rock…" she admitted, taking on a dark expression, "But I refuse to let you have it," she stated firmly. Ziggy huffed.
"To think that you'll be the first sacrifice in the birth of my new world…" he remarked aloud, "This universe is truly fascinating…" he noted.
"Who says she's gonna kick the bucket to you, geezer bot?" another voice chimed in, causing the pair of Oración Seis Galáctica members to perk up in surprise as they turned to see Katsuki crouched atop some of the machinery pierced into the castle, "Didn't know she was the princess type, though…" he mentioned, narrowing his eyes under his mask.
"What are you doing here?!" Elsie exclaimed in question.
"Katsuki Bakugo…" Ziggy uttered. Just then, another figure landed down hard beside him and the Space Pirate. They looked over to see that it was Torunn, clad in her golden armor as she stood up with her sword, Arnbjörg, in hand.
"Hermit had been under the assumption that you would want to face Ziggy alone, in order to not only spare Shiki the pain of fighting his grandfather," she started to explain as she aimed her blade at the Demon King, "but also to put an end to him yourself," she mentioned.
"Torunn Thorsdóttir…" Ziggy said. At that moment, he heard a growling nearby, enticing him to look to his right to see another figure walking over with his hands stuffed in his pockets, being Megumi. Next to him was a bi-colored, large werewolf-like creature with three dots upon its head that were red.
"We're here to get that Infinity Stone from you," he confirmed, narrowing his eyes, "Don't make this difficult," he advised as his shikigami growled.
"Megumi Fushiguro…" Ziggy uttered, chuckling a little, "You should've sent more than just the three of you," he noted to his new foes.
"Ha!" Katsuki laughed, "Big talk from a bot who's way past his expiration!" he mocked, standing up.
"You'll return the Space Stone at once…" Torunn commanded, tightening her grip on her sword.
"I'm afraid you'll have to wait," Ziggy retorted, "I already promised to lend it to a friend of mine…" he noted, closing his right hand into a fist.
"Ultron, right?" Megumi assumed, pulling out a sword with a jet-black blade from his shadow, "Is he the one who made you like this?" he inquired on.
"I made myself what I am," the Demon King responded, "Now come… and meet your ends," he challenged as an ominous blue glow emitted from the mouth on his stomach.
END
And that wraps up the first quarter of this story, which I'm really happy about! Adapting this arc has been a lot of fun thus far, but improving upon it's going to really get things going! I'll be really doing my best to enhance certain story elements that I felt like should've or could've been touched upon in the canon material, and I hope you all enjoy what I come up with.
With that said, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and look forward to what's up next! Thanks for reading!