The heavy swings of a bat and the precise slash of a sword rhythmically echoed in the Training Car. The self-proclaimed Galactic Baseballer had a grin on her face the entire time while the duelist's own remained stoic and unreadable.
Stelle is a natural combatant and is a very quick learner. It had only been a short while since she joined the Astral Express but already her rapid rate of progress had astonished even him. She had learnt how to anticipate and avoid his strikes, made valid attempts to try and get past his guard, weave in counterattacks to try and force him to be on the defensive. It's almost like she had received similar training before she lost her memories.
The final note was struck and the baseball bat flew out of Stelle's grasp from the impact. Stelle staggered backwards from the recoil and suddenly found the tip of the Temporal Sword mere inches away from her face as her favourite bat fell not too far away in a loud crash. Lucine pulled his sword away, signalling the end of their current bout. It's the thirty-fourth loss she had suffered thus far but the losses never once made Stelle feel dejected. If anything, it ignited her desire for victory brighter and brighter.
"You tend to overcommit when you get excited. You need to learn how to keep a cool head," Lucine spoke to the (technically) youngest member of the crew. "Other than that, you are progressing fine."
"How fine is fine? Like I can finally beat you within the end of the month kind of fine?"
"In your dreams," Lucine gave a light scoff and Stelle suddenly found his hand on the top of her head, roughly ruffling her hair that had the Galactic Baseballer begging for mercy. The duo reunited with the rest of the crew at the Parlor Car.
"Lucine, Stelle! Just in time, we'll be jumping in about ten minutes," the conductor informed them. "Make sure to return to your seats, things could get bumpy!"
"Oh, it's that time again," Lucine stated and proceeded to sit at the sofa of his choice. Everyone else was already seated save for March. Like how Lucine had a weird feud against her six-phased ice the girl had an obsession to challenge the powerful inertia of the jump and remain standing throughout the entire process, although she falls over every time.
"So… I have to find a seat? Are there assigned seats or…"
"Sit wherever you fancy. There are plenty of seats around," Lucine gestured to their surroundings as he took a seat near to a window that gave him a great view of the starry space outside. Stelle chose to sit next to him, also looking at the beautiful view outside in awe.
"Conductor, can I get a juice, please? Thank youuuuu~"
"Ugh… We are jumping in five minutes! You can have something to drink when it's over!" The conversation between March and Pom-Pom attracted Stelle's attention for a brief moment. She turned back to the person seated beside her, who looked lost in his thoughts and distracted by whatever he's thinking about.
"But I'm thirsty now!"
"March, behave," Lucine's voice suddenly echoed throughout the Parlor Car and a defeated groan was heard from March. "And stay seated! If I catch you standing during the jump one more time–"
"I get it I get it! Sheesh! You really are like an old naggy grandpa sometimes!"
"Don't learn from her, she's a bad example," Lucine told Stelle while lazily jabbing a thumb in March's general direction.
"I heard that!"
"Oh, so your hearing's working just fine."
"Grrr… Are you sure we weren't archenemies in the past or something?!"
"How would I know? We are both amnesiacs."
"Why would March say you guys are archenemies?" Stelle questioned in curiosity once March had obediently went to get seated before the jump.
"When I first saw her six-phased ice the sight of her six-phased ice just irked me for some reason. I have this uncontrollable urge to keep cutting it down to size until it disappears. Till date I still don't know the exact reason why I feel that way, but I believe the colour of the ice might be the reason."
"The colour?"
"I think the colour reminded me of something else of a similar colour, something very unpleasant and dangerous. For some reason I kept having this nagging feeling that anyone I know and love coming into contact with it will just… dissolve and die, becoming one with the six-phased ice," Lucine admitted. "Don't tell March that though. For all I know it might just be my imperfect memories making me hallucinate things again."
"Oh, okay," Stelle promised. "Um, do you know where we are heading to?"
"Good question," Lucine poked his head out and turned back, spotting Himeko who had likewise spotted his gaze.
"Where's our next stop?"
"A small planet called Jarilo-VI. It's been thousands of years since the last time the Express paid a visit. The data bank shows it was a lush and beautiful place, but after all this time, it's possible that dramatic changes have occurred," Himeko helpfully informed them.
"Hello? Hello hello?" The conductor's voice was suddenly heard through the speakers broadcasted throughout the entire Astral Express. "*Ahem* All passengers, please return to your seats. The train is about to make the jump! Hold on, everyone!"
"You might want to close your eyes. It will get bright," Stelle turned to Lucine when the duelist suddenly spoke again, who already had his eyes closed. She quickly followed his example, leaning back into her seat with her eyes firmly shut. She's feeling quite excited because this would be her first jump. What would it feel like? What would Jarilo-VI really be?
The countdown began.
"Five, four, three…"
Stelle could feel that a flash of bright light enveloped the entire train despite her eyes being closed. She could feel the train suddenly accelerating and picking up speed, but somehow not reaching a level that would make her uncomfortable.
"Two, one!"
The train came to a stop. The planet that Himeko said was named Jarilo-VI, the lush and beautiful place… was nothing more than a snowy planet. To make things worse, the Express will have to stay here indefinitely because the star rail which the Express is reliant upon to travel across the cosmos had been blocked off by a Stellaron again.
There is a Stellaron on Jarilo-VI and until they can resolve the problem, they will be stuck here.
Himeko entrusted this trailblazing expedition to the three children. Their mission is simple: bring back the Stellaron obstructing their journey and the adults will deal with the rest.
"Don't look so down, the children need some time to bond together," Himeko cheered Welt up once the trio had left to descend down to Jarilo-VI, who had to stay behind to guard the Express on the off chance that the Antimatter Legion came back for vengeance. That possibility was up in the air as the Aeon Nanook had thrown them a glance back at the Herta Space Station and they had run into them many times.
"I understand, they also need to learn how to handle challenges on their own without relying on us," Welt assured Himeko. "It's just… Well, hopefully we can all get to stretch our legs at our next stop, which hopefully will be Penacony."
"The planet of festivities and dreams?" Lucine chimed in. "Hmm… something about that strikes a chord."
"Oh?"
"I think I used to know someone that had the power to influence dreams or something… but I might be wrong."
"You will get your answer once we are there. In any case, I should check if my surveillance drones are still functional just in case the children ever need our assistance. I think all of them are skilled enough to handle themselves now but you know, I just cannot help but worry."
"It should be fine. It's just a Stellaron," Lucine reassured Himeko. "And even if there's really something dangerous out there you can just blast them to oblivion with your orbital satellite."
"My sentiments exactly."
Trailblazing expeditions typically last anywhere from days to weeks, sometimes even months, and its common occurrence to temporarily lose contact due to poor signal reception for whatever reasons, so none of the adults were too bothered by the prolonged absence of the children or lack of notifications through the group chat. It certainly was a lot quieter now that the youngsters were gone, which took them a while to get used to.
Lucine spent his free time like how he usually did, which was to practice and hone his swordsmanship even further in a continuous climb to the highest summit. He could vaguely recall a promise he and someone both made to each other to climb to the very summit of sword techniques but as to who he made the promise with, what the promise really contained and meant, he could not recall.
He just knew that he had made a promise.
The technique which he had unleashed when he saved March on her first trailblazing expedition was something he also tried to analyse and research. It was something that naturally came to him in that moment and fortunately, one of those memories that stayed rather than disappeared into a fleeting flash. Tried as he might, he could no longer remember the technique's name, but he did manage to learn a little of its nature.
For one, he's certain that it's a technique with origins foreign to his own, and that a longsword is definitely not the most suited type of sword to execute that technique. A single-sided blade would be more suited for its use. With Dan Heng's help, he collated a list of all known types of single-sided sword from the data bank and after perusing through the long list for weeks, narrowed his results to a type of sword known as the "katana" which he believed would be the most suited type of sword to execute that technique.
If his analysis and assumptions were true, then it would mean whoever he used to know and whoever he imitated that technique from had to have wielded a katana, or a type of sword bearing strong resemblance to it, for example, a nodachi. Problem is, just like there are many similar worlds out there, there are also many similar cultures and planets which primarily use the katana as weapons, so trying to narrow down his homeworld through this finding was next to impossible unless he had something else to further narrow his search.
He's content for now. His search for his origins had already been narrowed. He just had to continue his journey, try to experience more encounters and hopefully one of them would jolt something in him that would bring out a memory that might be useful in helping him to make his journey home.
A few days had already passed since the children disembarked for their trailblazing expedition to Jarilo-VI. There had not been any word the adults had received from the children since the end of their first day on this planet and they were getting a little worried. In the end, the adults agreed to activate the surveillance drones and to their surprise, eventually found the children fighting for their lives against a titanic robot together with unknown individuals, presumably natives of Jarilo-VI.
"What on earth happened?"
"No clue. Hello, hello? Urgh, this signal…" Himeko grumbled as her fingers danced across the holographic keyboard in a flurry where the adults had gathered in front of the huge screens broadcasting the fight which the children were partaking in.
"Finally!" Himeko exclaimed when she finally managed to establish a connection. She pressed on a button and her orbital satellite instantly fired a devastating blast, accurately hitting the robot's left arm and preventing it from trying to smash the children with its fist.
"Hello? Can you hear me? This signal is terrible…" Himeko tried to reach out to the children once again and this time, it would seem that she finally succeeded.
"Himeko! You finally spared a thought for us!"
"What are you talking about?" Himeko answered March's reply and there's no hiding the smile of relief on her face the moment the connection had been reestablished. "The three of us have been up on the Express missing you this whole time! You've got quite the trailblazing expedition on your hands. So how does this big guy work…? Or more importantly– how do you stop him from working? Over to you guys, I guess!"
Welt and Lucine watched as the group below immediately sprang to action. Stelle had somehow managed to start a parkour to the top of the robot's head by running up the robot's immobilised left arm that was shot by Himeko's satellite. It was admittedly an impressive display of acrobatics even if Stelle only managed to run up as far as she did because she had help from everyone else.
"There's someone up on top of the robot," Welt noted. "It would seem that their plan is to stop the robot by stopping the person, presumably the one in control of the robot."
"Will Stelle be okay alone?" Lucine said with a worried frown. Stelle had just managed to reach the top and immediately leapt into combat, swinging her beloved bat at the perpetuator of whatever this mess was and the two began a dangerous dance amidst the blizzard and wind. He would have immediately headed down to assist if it wasn't for the fact that this entire fight would have been over by the time he reached his destination. Descending to a planet's surface from space would take quite a while, even with the technology equipped by the Express, and the fight had already seemed like it had reached its conclusive climax.
"Stelle!"
Himeko wasn't the only one shocked when Stelle was suddenly impaled by a lance of ice. Yet, the adults could do nothing but watch through the screen as Stelle started to enter free fall. Lucine was sure that both Himeko and Welt felt the same he did, that they all wished for nothing but to be there right now to save Stelle. Lucine had overwhelming vitality and power of life, the power to heal injuries and purify corruption, if he could reach there in time, Stelle could be saved. If he could reach there in time–
A bright amber glow briefly enveloped Stelle and Lucine felt the gaze of a powerful being. It was brief but definitely there, and had disappeared as soon as it came. All he understood was that Stelle had pulled out the lance of ice in her hands and it had immediately transformed into a lance of solidified magma. The fatal wound she suffered had miraculously healed, and the reckless fearless host of the Stellaron was now pointing her lance up against her almost-to-be killer with a smug smirk on her face.
"... That girl, she will be the death of us," Lucine said with a palm to his face but the breath of relief he never knew he held was evidence that he cared for the girl. The tension in Welt's shoulders had also visibly relaxed and Himeko's posture was the same as well.
"I think they can take over from there. Stelle had somehow wrestled control of the big guy from the enemy," Himeko noted. "Stelle looked to be alright but let's just get down there as soon as we can. If there's anything that's not healed Lucine can take a look at her and work his magic."
"And give her a good tongue lashing for being so reckless, and a hundred more extra lessons," Lucine grumbled as he made his preparations to descend onto Jarilo-VI. That stab he saw through the screen, for a moment he felt that it almost jolted some bad memories for him. Did someone close to him get stabbed before too?
He couldn't remember, but he would do his best to reach Stelle as soon as possible and give her a lookover. There's no telling if the girl really was alright as she looked or if she's simply putting up a strong front.
"Lucine, I'm… I'm alright! Really–"
"I will be the judge of that," the duelist's stern words made Stelle shut her mouth with immediate effect. The adults had apparently witnessed the one sight that Stelle really wished they hadn't seen and none of the adults were too pleased by what they saw, and understandably so. Himeko had dragged her to a corner the moment they met again, made her strip so that she can see in full detail if she's alright and that all her wounds were healed, but not yet fully assured that she's really alright. The navigator then handed her off to Lucine, who had the ability to heal wounds and cleanse impurities.
And oh boy, the look on his face was as stormy as the angriest sea.
None of the Jarilo-VI trailblazing expedition team dared to object to anything the adults said. They were right to say that things would have gone very wrong if Stelle didn't quite literally pull a miracle right out of her chest and they would have been a member short. Stelle would have died at the ripe old age of a few days old.
Lucine placed his palm on her forehead and Stelle could feel a peculiar power gently coursing through her body. She's not too sure how to describe it but it felt… gentle, all encompassing, vast, deep… just like a huge lake in a tranquil place with the accompaniment of a gentle breeze.
"... Colour me surprised, you really are alright," Lucine gave his reluctant verdict with a slight frown. "And it would seem you gain a new power too."
"Of course!" Stelle bounced back instantly and brandished the War-Flaming Lance that she now wielded. "And look, a fancy new weapon! I can beat you now, Lucine!"
"Har har, so said the person who nearly died from a stab to the heart."
"That… That was a necessary step to unlock my full potential!"
"Then should I stab you a hundred more times to unlock your fullest potential?" There was an ominous undertone in Lucine's voice that had Stelle shiver. It made the harshest blizzards she had experienced in Belobog pale in comparison and even the flaming lance in hand couldn't provide the warmth she needed.
He's… He's really mad, isn't he?
"Ah… Ahahaha… Just a joke, just a joke…" Stelle tried to quickly placate the silently fuming duelist whose temper seemed to be on the verge of reaching his boiling point. Her eyes quickly darted around to look for either Dan Heng or March, but they had already very wisely made themselves scarce the moment Lucine appeared, quickly opting to shadow Welt when the man volunteered to assist Bronya and Seele to seal the Stellaron that had been plaguing the planet for centuries.
Traitors.
"A joke? The fact that you got yourself stabbed was proof that I was not thorough enough in my lessons. I take offence to that, for your failure is my failure and now my reputation and honour has been tarnished. And since you aspire to beat me anyway… I find it necessary to hammer into you the importance of avoiding, blocking, and parrying your opponents' strikes. Brace yourself, Stelle, and hold your fancy new weapon tighter. I'm not going easy on you this time."
"W-Wait, Lucine! W-We can talk this out!" Stelle quickly retreated backwards, her free hand stretched out in Lucine's direction in a placating manner and tried her best to talk her way out of this. She could tell that the duelist was being entirely serious in his intentions and that's not what she needed right now.
"I-I-I'm still a patient! Ah, my arms, how sore they are… Oh, my back! I think I had a slipped disc… and ah! My ankle! I think I sprained–"
A surge of life energy washed through the area and over Stelle, forcing the girl to abandon her act that wasn't fooling the man since he possesses the power to discern truth from lies.
"Ah… Ah… My wrist! It hurts! My head–"
Another pulse of life energy washed over Stelle. She could see how Lucine's expression darkened with every passing second.
Oh crap, he's pissed. Like, really pissed.
"All healed. Are there any other afflictions that you would like to report to me, Miss Stellaron? No? Then let's begin. En Garde."
"L-L-Lucine, wait! AHH!"
Clashes of steel echoed throughout the snowy plains, occasionally punctuated by the terrified screams of a girl who finally understood why March and Dan Heng feared Lucine's lessons like it's the next swarm disaster. She's not going to disagree with them again. Lucine was clearly holding back in all their lessons thus far!
"Our poor poor Stelle," March put her palms together in a silent prayer with her eyes closed. Stelle's screams could still be heard even from where they were observing how Welt sealed the Stellaron and they were already pretty far away. Dan Heng took one look at March, then glanced back in the direction where those terrified screams were coming from, before doing a similar gesture as March was doing, albeit in a Xianzhou style.
"She will be fondly remembered."
"Even if we only knew her for a few days."
"Her presence will always shine like gold in our memories."
"May Akivili bless her safe passage into the afterlife."
"May her sacrifice lead our journey starward."
"Rather than drafting up an impromptu eulogy," Welt pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose with a finger as he finally completed the sealing process. "Perhaps the both of you might want to consider coming up with a convincing argument on why he shouldn't subject both of you to those extra lessons too. We were very worried for the three of you, especially when we saw Stelle nearly dying in front of our eyes."
Another of Stelle's terrified screams resonated across the area, loud and clear, piercing through the blizzards of the plains like the sharpest spear of the cosmos. None of them had heard Stelle's voice reaching to such a high pitch before.
March looked up, her head raised in a perfect forty-five degree angle with her eyes closed just like a scene out of a sad scene of a romantic TV drama whose female lead just experienced a heartbreak.
"We are just all going to die by Lucine's sword, aren't we?"
"He's going to trailblaze us on the path of En Garde, a path of no return."
"Well, I will give you guys all the time you need to come up with whatever ideas to lessen your own… "punishment". Meanwhile, I will see what I can do to convince Lucine to not go so hard on the three of you, but no guarantees," Welt's heart went out to the youngsters and decided he would try to offer whatever meagre help he could to help them meet a kinder fate. Lucine's way of showing concern to the youngsters were his strict and unforgiving lessons. He's a firm believer that the more they sweat it out now, the lesser they would bleed in the future.
Yes, the youngsters knew that Lucine's doing this out of concern for them, that it was done for their own good, but…
A collective shiver crawled up both March and Dan Heng's spine, and they were certain that the low temperature of Jarilo-VI was not the cause.
"Thank you, Mr Yang. If we do not return after today, please remember us. Please make sure Peppy comes to my funeral."
"Oh you jest. It wouldn't be that bad."
"AHHHHHH!" Another high pitch scream that sounded so uncharacteristic of the usually fearless Stelle cut through the air, followed by a huge trembling crash that sounded too much like the bellow of a tsunami. March thought she heard another whisper of En Garde following the crash but she might have been hallucinating. If even the most fearless of them was so terrified, just how bad would Lucine's lessons be?
She didn't dare to imagine.
"Mr Yang, do you want to trailblaze onto the path of En Garde with us?"
"On second thought, I remember Himeko needing my assistance back on the Express," Welt wisely removed himself from the picture and began to take his leave. March and Dan Heng shared a look, and released a collective sigh.
"We are so going to die."
"Should we start to take pictures for ourselves? You know, the ones people usually put on their tombstones?"
March took one look at the camera she usually brought along with her.
"Yeah, why not?"
AN: Got The Herta in 30 pulls MUAHAHAHAHA
Should I pull for Feixiao too? Hmmm