Hitting one of the blade wielding monsters with his baseball bat, Caelus decides that hitting things with a baseball bat is fun. He will do it more.

Also, nobody has told him what these antimatter legion goons are specifically called, so Caelus decides to just call them all bladies because that's a cute name. Nobody can stop him because he's fairly certain these bad guys can't speak.

Caelus Agenda Pusher: THE NEXT TRAILBLAZER COMES IN WITH A STEEL BAT!

Herta's #1 Fan: That's one of Herta's curios you're fighting with! Be more respectful!

Of course, Caelus couldn't read March's chat because her chat is looking through March's eyes using a special lens, and March's lens also shows her chat. But during the downtime, March relayed what chat thought to her companions.

"Hey, Caelus, people in my chat are cheering for you, you know?" March mentioned, letting her bow disappear into whatever aether weapons are magically stored in.

Caelus knew about the whole Twitch streaming thing, somehow. One of the many things that he knew for reasons that surely existed out in the universe. Because even if the universe didn't want to let him intuitively know that he was in a space station, he could know what live streaming was because why not?

Tilting his head, he curiously asked, "Really? I'm just a guy with a baseball bat, though."

Doppelganger: Because you're Herta's husband duh!

Herta's #1 Fan: HE'S NOT HIM

Foxian Wonder: I just like the blunt object fighting, it's new to the Astral Express crew.

Staring straight ahead, March put her head back in the game and told Caelus, "Oh, I think they just like you for you."

Foxian Wonder: THAT'S NOT WHAT WE SAID.

As they made their way to the location where the elevator was at, Arlan told everyone, "Alright, be careful, there might be a strong enemy up ahead."

Looking at the bridge ahead of them and seeing nothing, Caelus asked, "How do you know that?"

"Experience," Dan Heng flatly replied.

Mirrond: Trust

AlienAlienSpaceAlien: Yeah, I've never gone outside my room before but I trust Dan Heng and his experience.

While March snorted at chat, that was all suddenly stopped when a Voidranger Trampler appeared out of nowhere, launching an arrow straight towards her.

Luckily, Dan Heng walked the walk with his experience line and deflected the arrow with his spear.

AlienAlienSpaceAlien: AND THAT'S MY GOAT!

Doppelganger: That was too close!

Wolfy (Mod): Should be an easy fight for you guys.

THE SLANDER AGENDA!: Get this yee-yee ass trampler off my screen. The worst looking antimatter legion goon by far.

"Thanks, Dan Heng!" March quickly shouted as she pulled her bow out, ready for the confrontation.

Caelus thought that was a bit too close for comfort, but if March didn't seem too distraught over it, then he guessed it was fine?

Still, he supposed that if they were about to fight, that really shouldn't be something to focus on.

With that in mind, Caelus readied his bat. It was time for another battle.

As March conjured a shield on him, Caelus rushed towards the trampler, Dan Heng following closely behind.

The Trampler kicks at the shield, but fails to break it as both Caelus and Dan Heng attack its front legs.

The Trampler attempted to save itself by swatting away the blunt force object and literally just a spear, but March's arrows froze its arm.

Attempting to back off, the Trampler raised its front legs, getting ready to jump back with the force of its stomp. Unfortunately for it, Arlan decided that a broken leg wasn't a serious deal and had jumped above the trampler, swinging his sword and forcing it back down to the floor.

Showing his unnaturally high strength, Caelus managed to completely shatter the Trampler's leg, beginning to go for the torso as well. Meanwhile, Dan Heng was finishing up cutting the arm of the beast as though it were a 9 to 5.

Really, it was just a master class in why you should never allow yourself to be jumped.

Broken Legs: Ok goodie, I joined the stream right when legs are being broken :)

August 30th: No need to flex your wheelchair bro.

Within a few moments, the Voidranger Trampler was now in the past tense.

Wolfy (Mod): And this is why you never let yourself be outnumbered unless you're at least five, ten times stronger than your enemies.

0bama: How do you have this figure?

Wolfy (Mod): Experience.

"Alright," Arlan stumbled for a bit before Dan Heng held him up, allowing Arlan to continue, "We just have to get to the elevator-"

He was interrupted by a wave of Baryons and Distorters suddenly appearing in the air around them, far outnumbering the group of four.

And of course, whether or not they would win that fight was up to debate.

Rzack: Uh oh.

Doppelganger: OH NO!

"Oh c'mon! This isn't fair!" March whined as though they didn't jump a Trampler not even 10 seconds ago, nocking another arrow into her bow..

Clicking his tongue, Dan Heng told everyone as he pulled his spear closer to himself, "Huddle up, we need to not be hit from behind."

"Nah, I'd win," Confidently stated Caelus, brandishing his bat as he was figuring out where to pull out a reference deep from his subconscious.

August 30th: You guys are all making me so worried!

Caelus Agenda Pusher: THAT'S MY GOAT!

Guilherme: I just joined the stream, is this a winning fight or not?

They would never find out if Caelus's words were true or not, because a drone suddenly appeared out of nowhere, slicing through an entire side of enemies.

Eyes widening in surprise and joy, March happily cheered, "Oh! That's Himeko!"

Caelus Agenda Pusher: HIMEKO'S THE GOAT!

THE SLANDER AGENDA!: Mommy-FUCK I meant Mommy- SHIT I MEANT MOMMY- GODDAMNIT

Wolfy (Mod): Okay it's back to the time out zone for the next 5 minutes for you, buster.

"Quick! Let's get out of here!" Arlan shouted, though once again he had to be mostly carried by Dan Heng.

As Himeko's drone out-scaled the rest of the astral express in that fight, the crew made their quick escape into the elevator.

While the elevator was carrying them to the control room, March quickly checked up on her chat.

"It's alright, guys!" March reassured, holding out a thumbs up in front of the rest of the crew, "The heroes of justice would never fall to a bunch of antimatter legion nobodies!"

Entrophy: I knew you guys wouldn't -

Silencio: Thanks for getting good angle shots on Caelus.

Meme Man: What for, Silencio?

Herta's #1 Fan: Heresy.

Noticing that the elevator ride was somewhat long, Caelus decided to ask, "By the way, about that Twitch chat thing…"

"What's a twitch chat?" March confusedly asked, not knowing the term.

Caelus also wasn't quite sure what the term was, but hey, amnesia, is he right?

So, he ignored her question, "Isn't there a way to, uh, show the chat to everyone here instead of just yourself?"

Through ways he couldn't even explain, Caelus was extremely interested in the stream. As though there was a divine presence telling him that it was the 2nd most important thing in his life.

Gently smiling, knowing she had answered this question before, she answered, "Oh! Of course there is! But, uh, they're kind of on the expensive side because the best ones that I want cost a lot. I'm not saving money either because I'm also buying a bunch of other stuff, hahaha…"

She wasn't that embarrassed about her spending habits, but it was still awkward to tell it to a stranger like that.

Unfortunately, Arlan sold her out, reminding her, "Miss Asta still offered to buy you one of those high end AI drone streaming cameras, you know…"

Stubbornly taking her tongue out, March denied him, "And I don't want handouts like that! What's so wrong with that?"

"Nothing…" Arlan answered, scratching his head without a retort.

Mirrond: Fr though you should take the offer.

AlienAlienSpaceAlien: Let us free!

Wolfy (Mod): Y'all do not belong in the world. Keep denying this offer, March.

Assured by her chat (Wolfy), March confidently nodded, "Mhm! That's right!"

The elevator soon reached their destination, the control center of Herta's Space Station.

Himeko and Asta were conversing about something that they couldn't hear. But nonetheless, they were excited that they were now safe.

August 30th: HIMEKO MY GOAT!

Entrophy: ASTA MY BOSS!

March's chat was going crazy as usual, because for some reason they really loved their bosses. But the group made their way to the two.

Showing off her phone, which had March's livestream on it, Himeko comments, "You've all been through a lot. It's good that you made it here safely, though."

Lightly pouting, March asked, "What took you so long to send your drone for us, though?!"

Sure, they handled it just fine, but she would've liked a little bit of assistance!

Slightly tilting her head, Himeko pointed out, "You handled it just fine until you were outnumbered though, weren't you? I wouldn't have made a difference for you, and it was needed elsewhere. Would you have rather I used my orbital cannon to destroy everything around here and make Herta upset?"

Caelus frowned and asked Himeko, "Please don't make Madam Herta upset."

It was purely on instinct that Caelus said that. After all, Herta is his wife, and no husband wants an upset wife. Or at least, no good husband, anyway.

Herta's #1 Fan: What he said but not what he said.

Yugo: Bro it's over for you. Just change your name to #2.

Herta's #1 Fan: No

Reassuring Caelus, she told him, "Oh, no, I have no intention of doing that. Your name was… Caelus, right? It's a pleasure to meet you. My name is Himeko, navigator of the Astral Express."

Being polite, Caelus raised his hand for a handshake, Himeko taking it, "Nice to meet you."

After shaking hands with what he thought to be the leader of the Trailblazers, Caelus felt more comfortable in their presence. Although, he was already pretty comfortable considering he went on a legendary winning streak against all those monsters earlier with the group.

Then, Himeko turned to Arlan, "Your leg is injured, right? Asta has been pretty worried about you."

Simply nodding, Arlan assured her, "Nothing that a quick visit won't fix. I'll report the specifics of the situation to Lead Researcher Asta immediately."

Nodding back, the group watched as Arlan made her way to Asta, who was already staring expectedly at Arlan as he was walking towards her.

As the Trailblazers were left alone, Himeko turned back to Caelus, "Now, I was watching March's stream… Ah, you aren't bothered by it, are you? That your every move was watched by so many people?"

If Caelus thought about it for a few hours and against a furious debater, maybe he would've found that the lack of privacy from having his entire life be laid out to the universe was a tiny bit bothersome.

However, he didn't think about it for that long, in fact, he didn't think of it at all when he confidently assured Himeko, "Yeah, I don't mind. I think I like it, actually."

In fact, Caelus liked it so much, he even asked, "So, uh, how do I get one of those streaming things?"

Caelus Agenda Pusher: Oh? Are we getting Streaming with Caelus soon?

Broken Legs: Wouldn't it be better to just stream with March?

August 30th: Well, March's luck with the ISW algorithm hasn't been really good. Getting Caelus to try his luck might be better.

Wolfy (Mod): Don't worry, March's luck with the algorithm will explode tomorrow! Lol.

Guilherme: Explode?

Unlike her chat, March wasn't all too eager about it, "Huh?! Are you trying to steal my precious viewers to your own channel?!"

March has been grinding the ISW algorithm for the past 6 months! And sure, it usually took years for most streamers to get any popular, but 100 viewers was pretty good! She would have a stern word with Caelus if he tried to poach any of her viewers!

Caelus looked at her oddly, "Uh… No comment?"

A very stern word! March is going to have to look up how to have a stern word later though.

Pouting, March looked toward the other Trailblazer, who had been silent, "Dan Heng! Help me!"

"No comment," Dan Heng repeated the words of Caelus, knowing full well that March was going to have a stern word with him later about it.

"Agh!" March annoyedly crossed her arms, "I'll get you guys eventually."

Himeko giggled at their antics, "Oh, it looks like you're getting together fantastically. Now, I believe Asta is done talking to Arlan, so why don't we meet with her?"

The group all had no objections to that, so they all moved forward to where Asta was currently observing holographic panels filled with various information about the current attack.

"Our measurements predict that the Legion is about to unleash ten continuous attacks! Everyone get ready!" Asta shouted, presumably into a microphone so that everyone in the rest of the space station could hear her.

Sheepishly scratching her head, March quietly asked, "Oh, we should, uh, probably go help with that instead of standing around here, huh?"

Hearing March, Asta turned around, "Oh! You're all here! It's alright, though, we still have a few more minutes until the next attack. I already can't thank you more than enough for all your help so far."

Entrophy: Yay.

Doppelganger: Stay safe Entropy!

Entrophy: Please put the h in my name. It's my only defining characteristic :(

Doppelganger: Sorry Entrophy!

Then, Asta sighed, "As a research station, we never expect to be attacked like this. But with a member of the Genius Society on board, we were too complacent with our defenses… We should've built up our security and combat departments better."

Then, she looked to the Trailblazers, "At the very least, we got lucky that you're all extraordinarily skilled at combat. Not to mention that Herta's dolls' autocombat modules are very good."

Hearing that the Herta dolls were still fighting, Caelus immediately asked, "Are all of the dolls okay?"

Because, of course, that was the only important question that he needed to ask.

Herta's #1 Fan: That, but not like that.

THE SLANDER AGENDA!: Bro you're done for.

Blinking in surprise, Asta checked another one of her holographic panels, "Uh… Well… From the looks of it, none of the Herta dolls were destroyed, but 22 of the 281 dolls have been damaged…"

There was no dialogue as Caelus held up his baseball bat menacingly.

"Uh, Herta's dolls have all won their battles," Asta clarified, accordingly intimidated by the baseball bat, before realizing, "Wait a minute, isn't that, uh, one of Herta's curios?"

Herta's #1 Fan: Yeah! Put that back!

Foxian Wonder: Herta can tell him herself!

Shrugging, Caelus calmly replied, "I needed a weapon and March handed this to me, so…"

He would gladly give it back to Herta if she wanted it back. But as of now, this trusty and very sturdy baseball bat would be his companion in battle.

Meme Man: So blame March?

August 30th: Please don't.

Trying to get the conversation back on track, Dan Heng spoke first, "More importantly, what's the current situation here?"

Accepting the transition, Asta informed the Trailblazers, "The situation is under control for now, though of course the Antimatter Legion is preparing further assaults. The damage to our security systems is also minor, so we were able to patch them up without much issue."

Caelus thought that this big assault on the space station would be more of a serious issue. But it really sounds like that the Antimatter Legion were all just goons who didn't actually pose any serious threat.

Because, well, he had been beating them with a baseball bat since he woke up with no memory.

Rzack: The L in the Antimatter Legion stands for Loser.

Silencio: I lost some of my internet friends to them, so it feels good to see them fumble literally every other invasion they do.

Wolfy (Mod): Nanook the Destruction is cringe ngl.

AlienAlienSpaceAlien: Lanook the Lestruction.

March lightly chuckled, but she didn't share with the class what her chat told her. Another point for Caelus to want his own stream.

Not paying attention to March's chuckle, Asta continued giving her assessment, "But the real damage was done to the researchers. Namely, they're really shaken up about the whole attack because they trusted Herta wholeheartedly and believed that she could stop anyone from breaching the space station."

As the natural law goes, Caelus replied, "No."

THE SLANDER AGENDA!: TF you mean no, let's slander Herta.

Herta's #1 Fan: Absolutely not. I'm with him on this one. We can't blame Herta for being away at an inconvenient time. Besides, she has her dolls defending the space station anyways!

THE SLANDER AGENDA: I ain't reading allat.

Completely caught off guard and surprised by how short Caelus's paragraph was, Asta looked at him wide-eyed and asked for clarification, "No? Uh, what do you mean by that?"

"No."

It was a guess on what Caelus meant by that. Whether he was defending Herta or…

Well, yeah, it was to defend Herta. But which part he was saying no to was up for interpretation.

So, Asta interpreted that "No" in Caelus language in this case meant that Herta was at no fault. Using her years of life experience, she expertly abused his emotions to get him to do something.

Scratching her hair, Asta mentioned, "Uh… Well, if you want to know, there are a few researchers who don't believe that Herta is entirely innocent here, so…"

Picking up what Asta was putting down, Caelus quickly agreed, "I'll beat them up."

Wow. Asta assumed that Caelus was a good person who would solve all problems diplomatically first. But nope, Caelus was just that devoted to Herta.

She didn't even know if Caelus had met Herta at that point, yet.

At that moment, Himeko made her presence clear by clearing her throat, shooting down his idea, "We won't beat them up. We're just going to speak to them to help them calm down. Asta, have you been able to contact Herta at all?"

Thankful for Himeko for fixing that minor issue of Caelus being clinically insane, Asta answered her question, "I've been bombarding her phone since this entire thing began, but I haven't gotten a reply back yet. You know her, Himeko. This space station only has a few precious things for her. I think she likes the curios here more than the researchers. She doesn't care enough about it…"

Thinking that she was going to get a rebuttal from Caelus, Asta prematurely opened her mouth to speak.

…But Caelus didn't speak at all, simply raising his fist like a proud man.

"Huh?" Asta mouthed, confused.

In his infinite mercy, Caelus elaborated, "That's my wife."

"Herta doesn't have a husband."

"That's my wife," Caelus repeated, very sure of himself.

August 30th: Someone ping me once Herta meets him.

Wolfy (MOD): Don't worry I'll clip the entire thing.

Breaking the cycle, Himeko held up her phone, "I just sent Herta a picture of the curio we brought here. Maybe it'll get her attention."

Taking Himeko's out, Asta turned towards her and smiled, "That'll be of great help! I still have things I need to do here, so if you could comfort the researchers' worries, that would be great."

Putting her hands on her hips, March dependably said, "Yeah, we'll do that no problem!"

AlienAlienSpaceAlien: Just tell people to watch this stream 3

Meme Man: Fighting soothes the soul.

Hakon: You know if Caelus could read this chat he would take it as fighting the researchers _

Meme Man: He should.

Hakon: T_T

Zoomies: March please don't tell Caelus about us.

Reading her chat, March simply sighed, "My chat is being stupid again."

As the group began walking away towards Arlan, who was talking to the other security guards, Caelus immediately picked up on the fact that this would be a good time to ask questions.

So, he started with the one good question, "Oh, by the way, what's the Astral Express? You guys have mentioned it, but I forgot to ask what it is."

March answered first, simplifying it greatly, "Oh! So it's basically a train that travels through space! We're called the Nameless, and we're basically evil fighting heroes!"

After her explanation, Caelus expectantly turned towards Himeko to give him a better explanation.

However, March saw the turn of his head and deadpanned, "Did you really have to do me like that?"

Caelus Agenda Pusher: OOF LMAO

Zoomies: Don't worry March, we like your short and simplified explanations 3

0bama: F

Feeling bad for being caught, Caelus sheepishly replied, "My bad."

Himeko giggled once more at the antics presented before her, "It's okay. Either way, March is right. But more specifically, the Astral Express is a creation of the Aeon, Akivili the Trailblazer. I can explain what those names and terms mean later, okay?"

Yeah, Caelus understood maybe one of the jargon words used in that sentence. He definitely needs someone to explain that later.

Then, the group made their way to where Arlan was, who was now bemoaning, "If only I could've caught the Antimatter Legion's presence in this area sooner…"

Hearing his words, Caelus raised an eyebrow and decided to be the first to speak, "Don't they teleport?"

He didn't think that teleportation could be caught sooner. But hey, his memories are gone so maybe he'll be surprised.

Hearing Caelus, Arlan turned to them, "Ah, well… Yes, but you can still detect their energies nearby before they teleport. We were caught completely off-guard today."

Crossing his arms, Dan Heng told him, "It's fine. It likely wouldn't have changed too much considering that the Antimatter Legion were more prepared for this than you were. But that aside, are you alright?"

Putting a hand on one of the cuts he had from the fighting, Arlan nodded, "I'm fine, this pain is nothing, really. I'm sure I get worse from training. I should be proud that I'm wounded instead of someone else."

Then, Arlan's eyes widened as he realized something and he quickly clarified, "Uh, just don't tell Asta that."

Silencio: Oh he's done for bro.

Doppelganger: Arlan you should've kept quiet!

Wolfy (MOD): It's time to do a little bit of trolling

Broken Legs: Wolfy is mod abusing again :v

Rzack: March please give us another mod.

Looking at her chat once more, March quickly turned around to tell them, "Guys, please don't try and tell Asta about it. Wolfy, I'm talking directly to you."

Wolfy (MOD): Why I would never.

August 30th: Wolfy would.

As March was dealing with her chat being ready to throw Asta at Arlan, the man was currently explaining, "Though, I feel as though I didn't do enough. Some of the researchers didn't make it. Most are fine, but they're all freaking out about not being able to reach Herta or even their own families."

Frowning, Himeko told him, "Don't blame yourself for it. You did the best you could."

"Thank you," Arlan said, sighing, "Anyway, you should check on the other researchers. I'm sure some of them could use a hand."

"We should split up to check up on them, then," Himeko suggested to the group, "After all, I'm sure the researchers would be a bit uncomfortable talking to a group."

THE SLANDER AGENDA!: But these split up sections are always the most boring T_T

Wolfy (MOD): Slander March again I ban

THE SLANDER AGENDA!: Can I slander u tho

Wolfy (MOD): If it's funny

If March hadn't experienced this same thing before, she would be positively fuming. Instead, she just sighed, "My chat is complaining about splitting up being boring."

"I wouldn't be boring," Caelus said out of nowhere, the word "pride" being etched into his very being, "Gimme your twitch chat."

Caelus Agenda Pusher: Omg what lmaooo

Meme Man: Yeah March! Give us to the new guy for like a while!

"No!" She immediately refused. Why would she want to give up her twitch chat?!

Somehow, Caelus looked heartbroken.

Dan Heng had already split off from them, and Himeko just amusedly huffed as she left too. Caelus then figured he should split off too, and left without another word.

Then, March complained to her chat with an extremely visible pout, "Did you guys really want to hang out with Caelus more? That's so mean!"

0bama: We've known him for like 20 minutes but if anything happens to him we're leaving

Mirrond: So true

All she could respond with was an annoyed groan.


After everyone had done their socially acceptable amount of comforting, they returned to Asta in the middle of the control room.

Before any of them could speak a word, however, warning panels began to appear in front of Asta, an ominous omen.

A second later, a security camera showed a Doomsday Beast, something that could destroy a small planet, attacking the shields of the space station.

August 30th: OH SHIT

AlienAlienSpaceAlien: Please tell me that Herta will come back D;

0bama: Okay well I guess it's a good thing I have life insurance.

Entrophy: Do we have a weapon big enough to kill that?

Herta's #1 Fan: HERTA SAVE US!

If Caelus was perfectly honest, he had no idea what a Doomsday Beast was. But everyone else was freaking out over it and it looked pretty big, so he decided that it might cause the group a little trouble.

Also, Asta was nice enough to bring up March's twitch chat on one of her panels so the rest of the group could see what was hidden within March's eye.

Truly, she was worthy of being the assistant to the Great Genius Herta. Caelus really wanted to thank Asta for it, but it was an inconvenient time to do that. But being able to see the chat freak out was just as good.

"Take the Express and leave," Asta immediately said, not wasting any time, "I'll stay."

To be perfectly honest, Caelus has no idea why Asta was choosing to stay. Maybe to continue monitoring the situation, maybe to go down with the ship. But either way, Herta hired her, so she probably has a good reason.

Himeko thought so as well and she quickly turned around without asking any questions, "Let's go."

Without any argument, the crew quickly made their way out of the control room and towards the Astral Express.

Welt Yang (MOD): Pom Pom is taking the Astral Express to the dock closest to you. All invaders near us have been annihilated.

Wolfy (MOD): Always the dependable Mr. Yang, eh?

March quickly informed the group of Welt's message, and they quickly changed course towards the nearest port in the station.

Also, Himeko straight up told her, "March, I'm forcing you to take Asta's offer to take her streaming drone."

It seems as though Himeko really wanted to see that chat, after all.

With a resigned sigh, March accepted, "Okay…"


They ended up losing connection with Asta just 7 minutes into the journey. Likely because the Doomsday Beast managed to turn off the internet. Somehow.

Then again, the chat was still working, so March internally decided that Asta was being dramatic instead of some more terrible alternative.

0bama: Okay so the internet died, but I can still watch the stream?

Herta's #1 Fan: Is it Herta's doing?

Gulliherme: Idk what's going on over there for you researcher viewers, but uhh enjoy?

Wolfy (MOD): Lmao viewers went up to 180 just because this is the only thing the researchers can view on their phones now.

Ovalion: Bro seriously wtf is going on?

That last comment before a flood of other comments from other researchers encapsulated March's thoughts completely.

But fortunately for her, that wasn't her problem. Wolfy could handle moderating her new record caused by a humanitarian crisis. Right now, she just has to focus on getting out alive.

So, March told the group, "So, the rest of the station just lost the internet. But apparently, they're still able to access my stream? I'm not sure how exactly that works…"

However, nobody there was quite concerned with it, as there were more pressing issues at hand.

"As long as a Lord Ravager doesn't show up, the space station should be fine," Himeko said, though there was still worry in her voice, "The Herta dolls should be sufficient enough to hold off the Antimatter Legion until help arrives, whether it be Herta or the IPC."

That made sense to Caelus, though he barely knew what an IPC was. Maybe he should ask about that later.

Wolfy (MOD): You researchers are all muted bcz you're all asking the same questions T_T

Caelus Agenda Pusher: Thank you Wolfy. They were trying to drown my agenda!

Entrophy: Aeon forbid we let people ask questions, am I right?

Wolfy (MOD): entrophy talk like that to me again you get the hammer too -

Doppelganger: Mod abooz plz demote!

March sounded nervous as she asked, "Are we really just going to leave them behind like that? Can't we hold down the fort until Herta arrives?"

"Alternatively, the Doomsday Beast breaks in and kills us all," Dan Heng said, quickly killing the mood, "The space station doesn't have the available defenses to hold off for long. The Antimatter Legion has the blessing of the Aeon, Nanook. They came prepared and everyone here isn't."

That predictably sent the chat into a panicked buzz.

Hakon: Thank you, Dan Heng T_T

THE SLANDER AGENDA!: This is why you're Lan Leng

Wolfy (MOD): Nah, you're all fine.

AlienAlienSpaceAlien: March, kick Dan Heng in the balls

March lightly elbowed Dan Heng at the behest of her chat, "Don't say things like that! We'll be completely fine!"

Not debunking Dan Heng's words, Himeko replied, "That's why we have to leave and take Caelus with us as soon as possible."

Caelus Agenda Pusher: WAIT WE CAN ACTUALLY GET A NEW TRAILBLAZER?

August 30th: Well, he was found where the Stellaron was being held, only for the Stellaron not to be there so… Did he eat it? Can we tell?

Hoppy: I got here kinda late. Why is Caelus important, who is this guy?

Silencio: Run that back for me August 30th ?

March echoed her chat's sentiments, "Uh, he's that important enough to get a line like that?"

As though Himeko could tell the future, she confidently said, "He's the one who can help us turn the tides… Just call it a bit of intuition and a bit of observation."

First of all, Caelus doesn't even know what the setting of the universe he's in, other than sci-fi plus magic. Second of all, all he wants to do is to cultivate a twitch stream and to be with Herta. Everything else was basically secondary to him.

Although, the chosen one would get a lot of views online, so maybe he was totally fine with being elevated like this.

Taking her words at face value, Dan Heng then said, "Then let's continue going, I doubt we have much time left."

With that, they continued to march through the space station.


"Ah! Yeah! It's the platform!" March cheered out as the crew made their way towards their destination.

But of course, Dan Heng pointed out the obvious, "The Astral Express isn't here yet."

Fortunately, Welt was watching chat.

Welt Yang (MOD): Sorry. The Express was boarded by enemies and we had to stop for a moment to dispose of them. We will be there in 5 minutes.

THE SLANDER AGENDA!: That's why you're Welt and not Lelt!

Entrophy: Can we get the combat footage - plz -

With that information, March quickly informed the group, "Uh, it looks like the Astral Express got attacked, but Mr. Yang held them off! He'll be here in 5 minutes, he says!"

"That's perfectly fine," Himeko said, not concerned with the delay, "As long as they get here safely, we'll be alright."

5 seconds later, Himeko knew she had completely and utterly jinxed it.

Caelus narrowed his eyes at the space outside, pointing up, "Uh, what's that?"

As it turns out, that was the Doomsday Beast casually strolling up to the dock, ruining everyone's days.

AlienAlienSpaceAlien: FUCK

Mirrond: SHIT

Rzack: GODDAMNIT

Wolfy (MOD): Dang, bad luck, huh?

Herta's #1 Fan: HERTA SAVE US!

Caelus Agenda Pusher: SAVE THE HERTA SPACE STATION, CAELUS!

The Doomsday Beast landed, roaring loudly as it made its intentions clear.

It was there for a fight.

Everyone pulled out their weapons of choice.

Broken Legs: BREAK ITS LEGS!

Meme Man: JUMP HIM!

Zoomies: MAKE IT CRY OUT FOR ITS MAMA!

0bama: Fight time woo _

"Seriously?! Why is it after us?!" March complained as she created a shield on Caelus, who immediately rushed towards the core of the Doomsday Beast.

Smashing his baseball bat onto the Doomsday Beast, Caelus shouted out, "It doesn't matter! He's not touching Herta's property!"

The Doomsday Beast raised its left hand to attack Caelus, only to be blocked by Dan Heng who had a surprising amount of strength to be able to casually stop its arm.

Meanwhile, Himeko was busy chipping away at the right hand.

Now, to save your eyes from glazing over a fight you would skim over, instead of describing how the Doomsday Beast got jumped, you may instead read the IPW Chat during this beatdown of the century.

Herta's #1 Fan: Damn it, why does Caelus have to be so good at beating things up? THE SLANDER AGENDA! Lend me some of your slandering powers T_T

THE SLANDER AGENDA!: Nah bro, Caelus is dropping the beatdown of the century, impossible to slander this one right now.

Caelus Agenda Pusher: THIS IS WHY HE'S MY GOAT! MY GOAT!

Doppelganger: Omg! Thank you March for your shield protecting Dan Heng!

Rzack: Why does Himeko have a giant space laser in orbit?

Silencio: Who cares if it hits the right target lmao.

Mirrond: More concerningly, why is it still alive?

AlienAlienSpaceAlien: WHY DOES IT HAVE A SECOND FORM?

August 30th: THIS IS STRESSING ME OUT PLZ JUST KILL IT

0bama: Dear Nous its face fell down for like 2 seconds and Caelus already smashed it in.

Wolfy (Mod): I swear this one was supposed to be weaker

Foxian Wonder: Wolfy why are you saying sus things T_T

Broken Legs: OH SHIT ITS LEFT ARM JUST BROKE APART

Guilherme: MARCH BEAT ITS ASS!

Meme Man: MARCH IS BEATING ITS ARM WITH HER BOW LMAOOO

Entrophy: OH SHIT CORE JUST BROKE ARE WE WINNING?

Hakon: I think the Doomsday Beast just lost its shield.

Yugo: "Has the power to destroy a planet" lmao what a joke. Getting its ass beat by the Astral Express Crew.

Zoomies: Don't downplay the Doomsday Beast, up-scale the Astral Express Crew.

Ovalion: OH SHIT CAELUS JUST STRAIGHT UP DISMANTLED ITS FACE

Hoppy: IT'S DOWN FOR THE COUNT!

With a long and mechanical distorted groan, the Doomsday Beast's upper body fell behind it.

"Did we win?" March questioned, both cautious and excited.

Not cautious at all, Caelus replied, "Obviously."

Of course, jinxing was a classic tradition in the Astral Express Crew, so the Doomsday Beast immediately got back up and launched a massive laser beam at March.

Due to its suddenness, only Caelus, who was standing next to her, was able to react. But he was only able to react by throwing himself in front of March, ready to take the blow.

To the cries of everyone, the Doomsday Beast struck Caelus.

But it didn't matter. Nothing mattered at that point, for he couldn't feel anything beyond the fact that he wasn't dead. In fact, he thinks there was a shield in front of him. But it wasn't something he could think much about because there were more pressing issues at the moment.

THEY suddenly gazed upon him.

Everyone nearby could feel the presence of Nanook, The Destruction. Most people would never feel it within their lifetimes, no matter how long.

As for how it looked in chat…

Herta's #1 Fan: Wait a minute, IS THAT THE SILHOUETTE OF NANOOK?

August 30th: CAMERA WENT ORANGE AND WE SEE AN SILHOUETTE AEON THIS IS REVOLUTIONARY

Wolfy (MOD): Huh, I guess this is how a camera captures the presence of an Aeon. I didn't know it could even do that.

0bama: This is going to be my research paper now thanks.

Entrophy: 0bama we can collaborate on it :

As Caelus went through his flashback flashforward era, the Stellaron in his body began to glow with power. Uncontrollably.

Caelus Agenda Pusher: OH SHIT IS THAT A STELLARON IN HIS BODY?

August 30th: THIS IS SCIENTIFICALLY IMPOSSIBLE

Silencio: HE ACTUALLY ATE A STELLARON LMAO

Hoppy: The more important thing here is that WE DON'T KNOW WHAT'S HAPPENING TO CAELUS?

As Caelus was blocking the Doomsday Beast's attack, the Stellaron in his body forced him to shout out in pain. But with that pain came a massive burst attack that completely annihilated the Doomsday Beast, erasing it from existence.

Unfortunately, that did not stop the Stellaron.

Caelus began to float in the air as the entire rest of the crew could only helplessly watch Caelus struggle against the Stellaron bursting out of him.

…Only for Welt to appear out of nowhere, lightly tap Caelus on his head with his cane.

The Stellaron was sealed, and Caelus fell into March's waiting arms.

Caelus Agenda Pusher: YANG MY GOAT!

THE SLANDER AGENDA!: YANG MY GOAT!

Wolfy (MOD): Happy endings.

"Mr Yang!" March's voice was desperate for answers, "Is he-"

"He will be fine," Welt said, "Either way, I believe this is a fine opportunity to stop the stream. With the Doomsday Beast killed…"

Then, the temperature dropped considerably throughout the entire station.

Before Caelus could pass out from exhaustion, he smiled and declared, "Herta is back."


One of the Voidranger Reavers sensed something.

Actually, all of the invading Voidrangers felt something.

The Starbane Doombringer had fallen.

One of the nearby Tramplers quickly signaled out to the lower ranking Antimatter Legion soldiers.

[Irrelevant[Weaklings[Continue[Destroy]

However, one of the nearby Reavers objected to this plan.

[Disagreement[Failure[Cold[Retreat]

The Trampler had been in the campaigns involving the fall of several planets. So obviously, it did not care for a lone Reaver's opinion.

[Anger[Treason[Execution]

Before the Trampler could execute the disobeying Voidranger, however…

"Ah, so you're the rats infesting my space station," A woman's voice suddenly called out from behind them, freezing them all in place.

At first, it was a metaphor, for the presence of the master of the space station was indomitable. Then it was literal, as their bodies began to turn into ice from the power of an emanator.

The Trampler was fortunate enough to be able to turn its head to see her face.

Only to see the uncaring and apathetic frown on her face as she walked past them, her mere presence freezing everything to death.

"Ugh, you followers of Nanook are so annoying," She huffed off-handedly, placing a hand on one of the Trampler's legs, "I see why Nanook keeps trying to pick fights in the Simulated Universe, he must be trying to get away from all of you."

All of the ice disappeared without warning, leaving nothing but a cold room behind.

Herta tiredly sighed, continuing on her mission of cleaning her space station, "Ugh, hopefully I'll get at least one encounter with an Aeon this week…"


AN:

This chapter was legit fighting me for weeks.

First, I thought "Well, I'm skipping basically all of the exploration parts and a lot of the fighting to get to Herta meeting Caelus. This should max out at like 2-3k words max."And here we are, at 6.6k words. And Caelus has yet to meet Herta. But this feels like a good place to stop for chapter 2, I guess.

No, I am not going to edit this. As soon as I wake up tomorrow, I will be posting this full blast. Who cares if it's not good or whatever.

Am I ignoring canon with the whole Aeon thing? Yeah maybe. It's definitely cooler this way though.

Even more painful by the fact that I kept having to refer to a walkthrough because I legit just forgot about a lot of this early game stuff.

Next time, I'm just winging it-

Wait, shit, the next chapter is the simulated universe with twitch chat enabled.

Damn, I kinda get why Darth threw the fic into eternal hiatus.

Oh well, I need to feed myself more Herta content so this is where we're going.

By the way, since the 1st chapter and this chapter, apparently Herta is getting her full form revealed in 3.0 or something? I'll be eating good if that's true.

In other news, since starting this game like 3 months ago, I HAVE LOST ALL FIVE OF MY 50/50s.

I HAVE YET TO WIN A SINGLE GODDAMN ONE OF THEM.

Look, it's okay though. This just means I'm banking my luck to get 6 Hertas in 6 pulls when her true form drops.

(I am coping)

As always, I shall see you in like, another 3 months. Maybe Herta's true form will be released by then lmao.