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kachikirby · 11 months ago

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GranEssex Chronicles: Chapter 10 - Boarding the VictoriousArc

A month and a half had passed since Meta ordered the enchanted cape and it had finally arrived. Meta was happy with how it turned out, though for the time being he decided to use its magic to keep it small enough to fit in his pocket, still not entirely used to wearing a cloak. Today should have been a good day for the young swordsman, but it was anything but.

"Sensei, why are you making me do this?"

He looked up at the vast exterior of this battleship VictoriousArc and gave a slight sigh.

"Meta, I've already explained this to you. You will be spending a month on Reedy's ship, where you'll learn to interact with complete strangers. You need to get better at being sociable. Not only that but as you get older, you will be forced to work with other soldiers. It's for your own good." Kurabe replied in a stern tone.

"But I don't think this is the way to do it, sensei..."

"Yes, but you seem to learn better under pressure. Now I want you to be on your best behavior, ok?" She asked getting a nod in reply. "Oh, and be sure to call me twice a day. Once in the morning and again in the evening."

The youth just stared back at her. It was quite apparent that he didn't want to leave. His mentor placed her hands on his shoulders.

"Meta, it will be only one month, you can handle it no problem." Kurabe said with a small bit of hesitance, as if she was trying to convince herself more than her student.

"Don't look at me like that. We both know you can handle it. Reedy is someone that can be trusted, as much as I hate to admit it..." She mumbled the last sentence.

Meta sighed at that. As much as he wished he could argue, he knew Kurabe right. He needed to learn to cooperation, regardless of how annoying it may be.

"Alright, sensei, I'll do it." He said, still clearly upset.

His mentor quickly hugged him tightly. "Thank you, Meta. Again, please remember to call me twice a day."

The youth quietly nodded, picked up his luggage, and began to walk toward Reedy's ship while waving goodbye to Kurabe and Mercury. The warrior watched on with a sad smile.

"Do you think I made the right decision, Mercury?"

The vice captain smiled. "I think you did. If anything, this is going to make him learn the hard way about needing to interact with strangers. Besides, he at least has two people he already knows and can talk to if needed."

Kurabe looked at her friend with a smile, but couldn't quite shake the feeling of unease.

"If you ask me, both of you need some time apart." said Reedy, who was now revealed to have watched the entire conversation between Meta and Kurabe from afar.

"Why do you say that?" The warrior replied with an irritated pout.

Reedy adjusted his glasses. "Are you joking? We all know how much you baby him. Maybe not in terms of training, but in regular day to day life. If Meta leaving for a month is already making you unwell, then imagine if he was gone for a year or longer? You two are attached to each other and you both need to get used to being separated."

Kurabe only continued to pout, unable to refute anything that was said. Mercury, however, gave a look at Reedy.

"Bit hypocritical of you Reed, considering that you keep your kids on the ship at all times."

"That's a different matter altogether, Mer, and you know it."

"No, it's really not. I agree that some time apart will do some good though."

"Yes... yes... glad to see that you agree." Reedy replied, seemingly ignoring the first part of that statement.

"Then you wouldn't mind leaving one of your kids here with us, right?" Mercury asked with an innocent smile.

He only glared at her. "I should be going then. Oh, and Kurabe? Do remember that you asked for this."

"Don't act like I don't already know that!" She replied with a pout.

"Then stop acting like you don't."

"Ok, enough you two." Mercury quickly said before an argument could break out. "I guess we'll be seeing you in a month then, Reed."

"That you will. Goodbye, Mer, Kurabe."

With that, Reedy left to join up with Meta to show him around the ship. As she watched him walk away, Kurabe clenched her cape tightly.

"Don't worry. Everything will be fine." Mercury said, smiling towards her.

"I... I hope you're right..."

---------

Meta entered and took a look around. The interior of the VictoriousArc was clean and well kept. A bit too clean in his opinion. Every surface was sparkling, and he could see his reflection in everything. It was a bit unnerving for Meta.

"Quite a beauty, isn't she?" Reedy asked with pride.

"It sure is." The youth responded flatly.

Already he missed the GranEssex. In truth, the VictoriousArc was a better-looking ship, but it all felt superficial to the young soldier.

As if noticing how quiet he was, Reedy continued. "First impressions are the most lasting, so we keep the entryway as clean as possible. You wouldn't trust someone who can't keep their living space clean, would you? It's also because our housekeeper is quite enthusiastic, but that's another story."

"Enthusiastic?" Meta uttered under his breath.

That reminded him of something Tam once told him. "Enthusiasm is the same thing as being eccentric." When asked what that even meant, all Tam had to say in response was "Sensei."

Meta looked at Reedy in the eyes.

"Is your crew... eccentric?"

"...very much so." Was the blunt response. "However, you don't need to worry. They are well aware that you are our guest."

The youth nodded then noticed what looked like a trio of heads peeking out from behind a wall.

"Are those silver wings?" He thought to himself.

"Mr. Reedy, are they a part of your crew?" He asked while pointing at the general direction of the mysterious figures.

Reedy looked in the same direction. He then gave a slight chuckle.

"How about you three come over and introduce yourselves?" He then called out.

Hesitating a little, three silver figures walked out and looked at Reedy, and then Meta. The youth instantly figured out who they were, thanks to those silver fairy wings they all had.

"Are they your children?"

The man gave a nod in reply. "Yes, they are. Now how about you introduce yourselves to each other? You will be seeing each other for the rest of this month, so it's best if you got to know each other."

Meta nodded, honestly just wanting to get this over with.

"My name is Meta. Member of the GranEssex and student of Kurabe. I'll be here for the remainder of the month."

The second youngest looking of the children pouted. "Daddy said that someone from GranEssex was coming and I thought that Auntie Mer was gonna be here... this is dumb."

Reedy knelt down and flicked them on the forehead. "Don't be rude."

The eldest of the children walked up. "My name is Lyze. I'm currently twelve years old and I'm the older sister of these two troublemakers. I tried to stop them from spying on you, but it was easier said than done. I hope we can get along." She said while holding her hand out.

Meta took her hand and shook it.

The middle child walked forward. "My name is Mark! I'm currently seven. It's nice to meet you!" The boy said cheerfully.

Meta nodded in response before looking at the last one, the youngest. The youngest shuffled their feet, clearly nervous.

"My name is Ciel. I'm five years old." She responded shyly.

"At least I'm not the only who has trouble talking." Meta thought to himself.

"It's nice to meet you all." He replied.

Reedy gave a slightly satisfied smile. "How about all of you go play while I give our guest a tour of the ship?"

The children nodded.

"And Lyze, please try to keep a better eye on them. Use the lullaby trick your mother showed you in case it's necessary."

"Understood, father." She nodded.

"Let's go, we can talk to Meta later." She said grabbing her siblings' arms and dragging them away.

Reedy just smiled before turning to the young guest. "Shall we begin the tour, Meta?"

The youth nodded in response.

"Great. Then follow me."

---------

The setup of the VictoriousArc was surprisingly similar to that of the GranEssex. Not exactly the same layout, but similar types of rooms. A training facility, a cafeteria, a meeting room. Though there were two facilities that didn't exist in the GranEssex.

"Here we have our recreational room. Or as my children call it, the game room."

Meta looked around. "So, this is where you guys take breaks?" He then asked.

"Yes. It's a place for the crew to relax in between missions."

"Isn't that what bedrooms are for? To relax and get rid of stress?"

"Ah, so that's how it's done on the GranEssex... it's no wonder you're so socially stunted..." The man grumbled before continuing. "There's one other purpose for this room: it's a place to encourage social interaction with others in the crew."

Meta glared at Reedy. He hated his condescending tone.

"Before you make any more assumptions, we do have a facility the GranEssex to socialize. It's called the lodge. It's where students go to talk about matters that aren't related to training. Subjects I have very little interest in."

The man crossed his arms. "I see. If that's the case, you should visit there more often. Even if you are uninterested in the subjects there, socializing will help you work better with your fellow crewmates. However, this room is unique in the sense that socializing is done through things such as games."

Meta was thoroughly uninterested. Why waste time playing games when he could be getting stronger? Strong enough to protect his mentor. Strong enough to prevent anything from harming Mercury ever again.

Reedy seemed to notice this. "Meta, do you know why recreational activities are important for a soldier?"

"...they aren't." He replied in a somewhat cold fashion.

"Incorrect. Soldiers, no, all living creatures need something they can do to escape from stress. Stress can eat away at you, making one irritable and prone to making terrible decisions. In some cases, people have died because of stress. Being focused on your duties as a soldier is good, but you mustn't let yourself be consumed by the soldier mindset."

Meta still looked at him doubtfully.

"I'm sure if you ask Mercury or Kurabe, they'll say something similar, if you don't believe me."

The youth, begrudgingly, agreed with that statement. Both his mentor and Mercury had various hobbies they did that had nothing to do with being soldiers. Kurabe loved to cook even though she didn't have to, as well as making the occasional ice sculpture. Mercury liked to design new clothes for herself on a regular basis and judging by the pool table she keeps in her room; she also enjoyed a game of billiards.

"What about you, Meta? Surely you must have some kind of hobby?" Reedy asked.

"...I like to read."

The man seemed to smile. "Well, if you'd like, I could show you the library."

The youth looked a bit confused at that. "Library? Why would you need something like that on a military ship?"

"Two reasons. One, as the owner of this ship I'm allowed to install whatever I deem necessary. Secondly, I'm the head of intelligence for the Organization. By extension, this ship is the intelligence squad headquarters. So, a library is only natural."

The youth nodded in understanding.

"Every vessel that is in the command of a Top Five member also doubles a headquarters for a certain branch of the Organization. We are the intelligence branch, where we specialize in creating strategies, relaying information to other forces. Diplomatic duties as well."

Meta continued to stare at him, but it was clear that he understood what was being said. "Is that why I've noticed a lack of weapons on this ship?"

Reedy smirked.

"So, you noticed that detail, did you? I expect no less from a natural born fighter. That's right, the ship doesn't have anything more than standard issue vulcan cannons. As far as handheld weapons are concerned... well, you'll soon see that most of my crew don't need to carry weapons with them." He uttered cryptically.

"Then how do you defend yourselves if attacked?" Meta asked in a blunt fashion.

"Not every problem can be solved with brute force, Meta. We here prefer to do things quickly and precisely. We have cloaking technology that keeps us hidden from all types of sensors. We tend to avoid battles before they can become battles. And if needed we have an expert hacker that can take over an enemy ship."

"But the thing with life is that not everything can be quick and precise. You can plan all you want, but sometimes you'll get dealt a bad hand. That's what sensei told me. What about then?"

"Please, I plan for anything and everything, Meta. I'll have you know we haven't been infiltrated or shot down a single time." He bragged.

The youth had a feeling Reedy was trying to impress him and make himself sound better than Kurabe. However, there was something that Reedy said that really pissed him off.

"You plan for everything, is that right? So, are you saying that you planned for the hivemind to almost kill Mercury? Because that's what it sounds like."

"...there are a few exceptions."

Meta kept glaring.

"No wonder sensei can barely stand this guy. I'm this close to taking over this ship and going back to the GranEssex." He thought to himself.

Reedy took off his glasses to clean them. "I assure in the unlikely event we do get attacked, I'm still the most powerful Limet."

"Physically, perhaps. But as a person, Mercury is stronger..." The youth thought.

Reedy put his index finger to his head and closed his eyes. To most this would be an odd gesture, but this was a pose Reedy took when he tried to think of a way to change subjects.

"Alright, Meta, let's head to the library, since I'm sure you're excited for that. I also have a question for you. Has Kurabe taught you about each of the branches, or divisions of the Organization?"

The youth nodded in reply. "She's given me a basic rundown."

"Then tell me what you know as we walk."

"Alright then."

The two then began to walk down the hallway.

"There's the combat division led by my sensei. I'm a member of this division. We specialize in front line fighting, escort and bodyguarding. We are the go-to division for physical labor and battle. As such we all train in the art of combat every day to keep our skills sharp."

"Alright, next?"

"Next is the intelligence division. As you mentioned, this is your division. They specialize in negotiations and gathering information, especially on suspicious clients. You also specialize in formulating strategies."

"After that?"

"The stealth division led by Bio Raiden. A force that specializes in espionage and assassination. They handle affairs we don't want to go public."

"And then?"

"The mage division lead by Momo. A force that specializes in magecraft."

"Well, you do seem to have a solid grasp on each division. Good for you."

The man nodded before then stopping.

"Alright, we made it." Reedy said as he opened the door to the library, showing him inside.

---------

Upon entering the room, the youth looked up at the great number of bookshelves in amazement.

"This library is bigger than the training room back at the GranEssex." He said absent-mindedly.

"Of course it is, would you expect otherwise?" The man asked with pride.

"I wasn't expecting anything." The youth bluntly responded.

"Somehow I should have known you would say that..." He gave a sigh. "Well, would you like to take a look around and choose a few books to read?"

As soon as he said that, Reedy noticed that Meta had already left his side to explore the library. "Incredible, to think he'd be that interested in books."

What honestly amazed Meta was that there were not just simple research books. There were books from all kinds of genres. Romance. Horror. Science Fiction. Mystery. Thriller. So many to choose from and from various eras. A few of his fellow students had thought it was wasteful to have so many physical books, but there was something that smelt nice about bound volumes and they felt nice in his hands.

"Tell me, Meta." Reedy said as he caught up to him. "Besides Kurabe and Mer, is there anyone else on the GranEssex that shares your interest in reading?"

Meta had to think about that. He knew Tam loved romance novels, but he really wasn't interested in that subject. Outside of her, none of the other students read as far as he knew.

"At least one other person."

"I see then." Reedy replied, his expression unreadable. "Why do you enjoy reading, Meta? I assumed you would have no interest in hobbies that won't make you stronger."

"...honestly, I don't really know myself. There's just something about books that draw me to them." He replied.

"That's fine then. Living creatures are complicated beings. We often gain interests for no reason. We often gain dislikes for little to no reason as well. Tell me, what type of books do you like?"

"Um... I like adventure, mystery, and some science fiction. The only genre I don't really like is romance." The youth said.

"I assume stories of heroes utilizing their skills and tools to fight interests you?"

"Yes, they do."

Reedy smirked. "Let me guess. The heroes you read about remind you of Kurabe. That's why you like them so much, isn't it?"

Meta averted his eyes in embarrassment. Reedy was completely right. Brave warriors with kind hearts that fight with no mercy. Kurabe was just like that in his eyes, so naturally stories about figures similar to her would interest him.

"Well, I guess that doesn't matter." The man then said. "Follow me, Meta, it's time you met the rest of my crew."

For whatever reason, the tone the man used made the puff uneasy.

---------

The two made their way to the cafeteria. Along the way, Meta couldn't help but notice that it was still unnaturally clean. It all felt superficial to him.

"...I feel like Kouta might have overdone it with his housekeeping recently... no matter." Reedy uttered, with a slight wave of the hand.

"...Kouta?"

"The person we have in charge of housekeeping on this ship. While his attention to neatness is appreciated, he tends to go a bit far at times to the point where he tends to scream at people who even ruin his cleaning work a tiny bit. At least, unless you're my children, of course..." The man replied.

The puff only nodded in response and in a few minutes, they reached the cafeteria. Meta stood at attention as his guide walked further into the room.

"Alright, now that we've made it. It's time to introduce yourselves, everyone." Reedy said while snapping his fingers.

Soon, Meta was practically cornered by a group of Limets. Instinctively, the youth reached for his sword but Reedy stopped him.

"Relax yourself, Kurabe Jr. They're with me. Allow me to introduce Task Force Zetta."

Hesitantly, the youth took a look at the squad members. They were all humanoid-looking, just like Mercury and Reedy, but they all wore a uniform that was quite different to Meta's own, especially the white mantle with a colored stripe worn on the outside of it.

"Task Force Zetta?" He asked in confusion.

"My elite force of Limets. They are some of the strongest Limets in the universe. Now, introduce yourselves. Meta here will be with us for a month so it's important that we're all on the same page."

The group seemed to give a collective nod.

"So, to start, let's have Meta introduce himself. I believe it would only be fair." He said, causing the puff to tense up slightly.

It honestly took him a few minutes for him to figure out a good response.

"My... my name is Meta! I'm from the Lady of Shadows Corps and have been stationed here for a month by my mentor to better learn how to operate with other forces outside my own! It's a pleasure to meet you!" The puff said, sounding somewhat stiff in his response.

However, the gathered reaction didn't appear to give a reaction to that. Reedy gave a slight sigh as he adjusted his glasses.

"So, which of you would like to go first?" He then asked, turning to the squad members.

Almost immediately, one of them stepped forward. He was easily one of the tallest members and wore a headpiece resembling a falcon. Most noticeably, his arms were also very wing-like in shape.

"My name is Calzone, leader of the task force and Commander Reedy's second in command." He said with a lazy smirk.

After that, another tall man walked forward. He was just slightly shorter than Calzone and wore a strange device over his right eye.

"My name is Tiramisu." He said however there was something strange about his voice... or, more accurately, voices.

"How did you that? Speak with two different voices, I mean." The youth asked.

"Hmph! Why should I tell you anything kid? Soon, one day, I will be the ruler of this ship and you all will have to answer to me!"

Meta was shocked by the sudden change in personality. However, it was what happened next that shocked him even more.

"Shut up, idiot brother!" Tiramisu said as he proceeded to punch himself in the face.

The youth stared at him silently in complete puzzlement. "...is he ok?"

Reedy sighed upon hearing that. "Which one are you referring to?"

Upon seeing Meta's confused expression, the man decided to explain. "Are you familiar with the concept of twins?"

"Uh... yeah, two of sensei's students are twins."

"Then this should be simple to explain. Like other creatures, Limets can be born as twins. However, unlike other species, the cores of twin Limets are fused together at birth. In other words, two personalities, two souls, one body. For all purposes, both of them are named Tiramisu, though to make things easy on us we refer to the one with a mean punch as "Tira" and the wannabe supervillain as "Misu"."

Meta looked back at Tiramisu, who was now restraining himself. "I assume they can't be separated?"

"Trust me, kid, we would have done that a long time ago if the process didn't kill us." Tira replied.

"If twin Limets try to separate, their core will shatter completely." Reedy clarified.

The youth blinked. "That sounds horrible..."

"Oh, it's not all bad."

"Speak for yourself, Tira!"

"I am, dumbass."

"...yeah, it seems pretty bad." Meta thought.

"Alright then, who'd like to introduce themselves next?" Reedy quickly asked before anything else could happen.

"My name is Pandoro." said a female Limet who had a x shaped scar on the side of her face.

Meta looked her over, noting the calm expression on her face and, most importantly to him, the sword sheath on her side.

"I see you noticed my weapon. Allow me to give you a better look."

As she said that, she drew out her sword, or more accurately a sword hilt with no blade attached. Meta was momentarily confused before understanding what it meant.

"You place parts of your body into the hilt in order to create any type of sword you want, don't you?"

"Yup!" She said happily. To demonstrate this, she pulled off one of her fingers, which quickly reformed, and placed it in the hilt. Then immediately a blade resembling a scimitar was formed.

"As you can tell, I'm our designated sword fighter. Perhaps we can spar later?"

Meta nodded with a small smile. Finally, there was one person on this ship he could potentially get along with.

Then the shortest of them walked forward.

"My name is Parmigiana. Physically, I'm the weakest Limet, but I'm the best healer on the ship. Well not counting Mrs. Raita anyway. Well, kid, I'm glad to have met-ya." He said with a cheeky grin.

Before anyone could groan at that joke, another member walked...or rather, stumbled forward.

"I am Granita." She uttered in low voice as she tried to keep herself standing up straight.

Meta looked a bit concerned as he noticed the bags under her eyes. "Are you alright?"

Granita chuckled at him. "Thank you but you have nothing to worry about. I'm just always tired, just usual stuff."

"Is there any reason for that?" He then asked.

"I can't sleep. I have narcolepsy or something like that. I mean not really a big deal since Limet's don't really need sleep."

"...I thought all living things need sleep."

"They do." Reedy said. "But Limets can go fifty days without sleep, if needed." He continued.

The youth silently nodded.

"So how do you fall asleep if you can't do it normally?" Meta then asked.

"I keep a frying pan in my room."

"...what's the frying pan for?"

"...I thought that would be obvious. No medicine can put me to sleep so I need to use more forceful methods."

The youth only stared. Now another member stood forward. He was of average height, comparable to Reedy. The most interesting thing about him was the gas mask he wore which had an X symbol on it. He then raised his hands and transformed them into different letters, effectively writing out a sentence.

"Hello, my name is Bicerin. I am the crew's expert stealth and espionage expert." Meta read aloud, looking a bit confused by the situation when he was finished.

"He's mute." Reedy clarified.

"And easily the most reliable partner I could ask for." Said a new voice. This belonged to another unidentified member who now stood next to Bicerin. "I'm Minestrone, head of communications and expert hacker."

Meta nodded along. While he wasn't too knowledgeable about hacking, he knew it must be a mentally taxing job. Suddenly, the youth's instincts went off and he quickly turned around to catch an object that was thrown at him from behind.

"A rose?" He said looking at the object.

Indeed, it was a rose, but it was completely silver.

"Fettuccine, how many times must I tell you to stop throwing roses at guests?" Reedy said in an annoyed tone.

The puff looked at the person apparently named Fettuccine. She had a very youthful appearance to her, looking considerably younger than all the other Limets.

"My name is Fettuccine and I'm the newest member of Task force Zetta! I do hope we can get along!" She said cheerfully while extending her hand towards Meta.

"Ah... good to meet you, too." He replied and shook her hand as well. However, he also had another question that he decided to keep at the back of his mind. Specifically, how old was this woman?

"If you're wondering how old I am, I'm twenty-one. I'm one of the youngest Limets to ever reach the rank I currently have!"

He blinked in surprise.

"Can you read minds?" He asked, to which the young woman laughed.

"No, I don't have ESP, I'm just great at reading other people. That's why I'm the ship's main integrator."

That statement made the youth pause.

"Is that why you threw that rose at me?"

"My, you are perceptive. That's right, Meta. You see, you can learn a lot about someone based on how they react to something."

"I see. In that case I assume you like perform spontaneous acts to see if people react in a certain way?" Meta questioned.

"That's exactly correct and thanks to your actions I've come to decision about you."

The youth stiffened slightly. "Which is?"

Fettuccine pointed her finger at him in an exaggerated motion. "I want you to be my apprentice!"

Meta blinked. "Excuse me?"

The young woman smiled. "With your attentiveness and attitude, I just know you'd be a perfect interrogator!"

"Thank you for the offer, but I already have a sensei." The puff replied instantly.

Reedy nodded and spoke before anything else could be said. "Next is..."

A large man with short hair and wearing a large cloak walked up.

"I'm Risotto. Occupation, mage." He said in stoic tone.

"What kind of magic can you do?" The youth asked. "

Watch my hands." Risotto then held out his hands and mana began to pour out of them.

"Hear my call and come to me, O mighty beast." He chanted under his breath and then clapped his hands together.

Suddenly, a large wolf like creature was standing behind him.

"Wow, that's amazing!"

"Isn't it?" The man said while petting his summoned creature. He continued to stare in admiration.

Then a loud sigh could be heard.

"Guess it's finally my turn. I'm Capellini, expert brawler. Gotta say kid, you don't seem that strong when I look at you. Guess Kurabe's teachings aren't what they are all cracked up to be." He uttered in a condescending tone.

Meta glared at him but tried to calm himself down. He knew this guy was just trying to provoke him into a fight.

"If you can't properly judge your opponent..." The puff uttered before teleporting behind Capellini with his cape and pointing his sword at the back of his chest, right where his core would be. "Then maybe you aren't the expert you say you are?"

"What was that!?"

"Capellini, remember that regardless of what you think, he's our guest and you shouldn't be rude to him." Reedy said with a slight glare.

"Fine." The aggressive man said while walking away.

"I apologize on behalf of my subordinate, Meta. I'll make sure it doesn't happen again." The man gave a slight sigh.

"It's nothing to worry about, Mr. Reedy. But why do you keep someone like him around in the first place?"

The man took off his glasses and began to polish them. "Sometimes it's important to have someone who acts on instinct and emotions rather than logic, loathe I am to admit that."

"...I don't understand. What situations would that be useful for?"

"Situations in which thinking is impossible. Here's a hypothetical one for you. Say someone has kidnapped someone you care about, and they'll only let them go if you cut off one of your limbs. If you don't, then they will kill the hostage. You have ten seconds to decide, what do you do? Answer me in ten... nine... eight..."

The question while simple, proved to be quite the difficult quandary for Meta. Of course, he'd want to save a hostage, but we would no longer be able to fight if he lost a limb.

"Five... four... three... two..."

"I'll cut off a limb!" Meta yelled cutting off Reedy's counting.

"...what's stopping them from killing them anyway or killing you then?" The man then asked.

The puff didn't know how to respond to that. "But I only had two options..."

"Incorrect. You were given two options, but you didn't need to pick either of them. You could have made a third option."

"...is that where instinct comes in?"

"Exactly. Capellini lived through the scenario I just gave you. Do you know how he solved it?"

"How?"

"In his own words, he punched them really hard in the face before they could do anything."

The youth pouted. How did he forget about something so obvious?!

Reedy gave a slight smile. "Don't beat yourself up, Meta. In a stressful situation, it can seem impossible to think of the alternatives. Which is why we need those who care very little for logic. In order for a group to grow, we need those with different viewpoints. That's the main point of Task Force Zetta. A group of individuals with different skills, thought processes and ideals that work towards the same goal."

The youth nodded as he looked at him. However, at the back of his mind, he was somewhat wondering if this was really the same person who seemed to love bullying his mentor. He still didn't like the man, but maybe he could learn to trust him at least.

"People of different ideals working together. Is that how you and sensei seem to work together well?" He asked, thinking back to how the two rivals acted during the incident with the hivemind. More specifically, how they were able to throw all animosity for each other to the side for the sake of Mercury.

"Precisely. Kurabe and I are fundamentally polar opposites. There are aspects of her I cannot stand but the reverse is also the same. However, when it comes doing what needs to be done, there's no one more trustworthy than her."

"Working with polar opposites... so that's another lesson sensei is trying to teach me." He thought to himself. "But can I really do that?"

Well, if anything, he'd have to learn it whether he'd like to or not. Reedy then clapped his hands.

"Now that introductions are over, let's head to the recreational room everyone. It'll give a certain someone more opportunities to grow accustomed to us."

"You're just saying that because that's where your kids are. Right, boss?" Calzone asked playfully.

"...perhaps."

The task force members laughed and even Meta smiled slightly but quickly wiped it off his face.

---------

After that, they all walked to the recreational room and, sure enough, Reedy's kids were there, but that wasn't all.

"Ah, Meta, how nice to see you again!"

It was Raita, who Meta remembered was Reedy's wife.

"It's good to see you, Mrs. Raita." The youth replied politely.

"Oh, please, there's no need for that. Just call me Raita, I insist."

He then nodded. "Ok, Raita."

"So, how's Mercury been?" She asked, concern evident in her voice.

"She's doing a lot better now, thankfully. I took up some of her duties for the past month or so just so she could rest."

"That's good." She replied with a sad smile.

It was obvious to Meta that she still blamed herself for what happened.

"It's not your fault, Raita. It was the hivemind." He said.

"Yes, I know, but it was because she went with me that she was attacked..."

Before she could say anything else, she was embraced in a hug by Reedy.

"It's in the past, dear. It'll do no good to keep thinking about it." He uttered, gently stroking her hair.

"I know, Reedy, but I still can't help but think about it..."

"I know, my dear. It's something neither of us will ever forget. However, there's no point in dwelling on it." The man said before looking at his children and then at Meta. "We have a future to live for..."

"I know... I know..." She whispered.

The youth quietly stared, not really knowing how to react to this. Deciding to leave them alone for a bit, Meta looked around to see various crew members playing games with one another, talking, and just generally having a pleasant time. While it was nice to see, it made the youth feel strangely lonely. But why? He never had a problem with everyone on the GranEssex talking to each other and hanging out. So why did it bother him now?

"Something wrong, Meta?" Raita asked, a little calmer than when he saw her before.

"Oh, it's nothing. It's just... I feel so lonely right now..." He replied with a slight sigh.

"Is it because you don't know anyone here all that well?"

"Yeah... like when I see everyone on the GranEssex talking to each other, I don't really care. But here, I just feel lonely..."

Raita gained a thoughtful expression. "It seems to me that you have a case of homesickness, Meta."

The youth looked confused. "What's homesickness?"

"That's a bit of a tough question to answer but I'll try my best. Homesickness effects everyone differently but the cause is usually the same. Whenever a person is away from the place they consider home, sometimes they experience feelings of loneliness. Sometimes it can even cause pain to the poor soul."

Well, that did sound like how he felt right now.

"I guess that makes sense, but there's something I don't get. The planet I grew up on would be considered a home, correct? Yet I felt nothing since leaving it. In fact, I haven't thought about that planet in what feels like forever. So why am I feeling homesick now?"

"Because you're thinking about the GranEssex, aren't you?" Raita asked.

"Yes, but what's the difference?"

"The difference is that you know the GranEssex is your real home. You can be born on a certain planet, but that doesn't automatically mean it's your home. Home is a place you feel safe, and you belong in."

Meta fell silent, processing what he heard.

"There's an old saying on my home planet. Home is where the heart is." She stated, looking directly at Reedy, who was playing with their children.

"I see..." He replied. "I've left the GranEssex multiple times though..."

"But you always returned to it by the end of the day, right?"

"...I did." He averted his gaze slightly.

"You've never been gone from home for longer than a day at most. It's only natural that you would feel like this, Meta."

The puff then clenched his fists. "Will I feel like this throughout the whole month then?"

"That's difficult to say. Homesickness effects everyone differently. Some get over it quickly, others aren't so fortunate. But there are ways of combating it."

"...really? Like what?"

Raita giggled. "Knowing how Kurabe is, she told you to call her every day. Am I right?"

The youth nodded. "Once in the morning and once in the evening."

"Oh, I see. Darling, what time is it?"

"It's..." Reedy took a moment to look at his watch. "...8:23 right now."

"Well seems like it's evening now, Meta." Raita commented with a smile.

"Alright. I'll go call her then." He gave a nod.

"Go down the hall and to the left. You'll find an open guest room. That will also be where you're staying for your time here." Reedy explained.

"Ok, thank you." The puff replied before making his way out.

---------

Once arriving to the room Meta immediately took out his phone and dialed Kurabe's number. In truth he really wanted to hear from her.

"Come on sensei, hurry up..."

In a few seconds, he heard a voice on the other end.

"Meta?"

"Sorry for calling a bit late, sensei. Meeting Reedy's crew took longer than I expected."

"It's all right, Meta. I'm just happy to hear your voice right now." She replied sweetly.

Hearing that caused a wave of relief to wash over Meta, momentarily ridding himself of his homesickness.

"I hope Reedy hasn't been too much of a Reedy to you." She then added.

"Not too much, honestly."

"Not too much is still too much if you ask me."

He chuckled. "I know, sensei."

"So, what's on your mind, Meta? I can tell that something is bothering you."

He gave a slight sigh. "It's nothing, sensei. I just wanted to say hi."

"Meta, even if I can't read your mind right now, I can still read your voice. What's wrong?"

The youth hesitated for a moment before finally giving his reply. "I... I want to go home..."

"You have homesickness." It wasn't a question, but a statement and something about it truly got on his nerves.

"I just wanted to hear your voice again!"

Admittedly, he startled himself by snapping the way he did. However, Meta could only hear a soft chuckle from the other end.

"You sound just like I did when I was your age. My sensei had me spend a month away from him as a form of training. Just like you, I developed homesickness almost instantly."

"...really?" The youth uttered in surprise. "Of course. Like you I grew up as an orphan, although the planet I was born on was covered in perpetual darkness. I was used to being alone... that is until my old man found me and took me in. His ship became my new home. I became attached to both it and him. Of course I would react negatively to being alone again, away from where I felt safe."

"But how did you get over it?"

"I changed my mindset. I took my feelings of loneliness and fear and turned it into motivation. Motivation to see my sensei's test to the very end and prove to him that I could handle being on my own. Of course, it's not as if I went under an instant transformation. It honestly took me a few days to adopt that mindset. But once I did, the situation became more bearable."

The youth became silent upon hearing that. "Is that so...?"

Kurabe sighed at that somewhat dulled response. "Meta, I'll be completely honest with you. I would love nothing more than to bring you back, however this is necessary training. You have two goals now: Become able to work alongside strangers and overcome that homesickness. Can you do both of those?"

"Ok, sensei." He nodded.

"Great! When you get back, I'll make you your favorite chicken parmesan... after I get to hug and cuddle with you of course." She uttered happily.

"SENSEI!" He blurted out, completely embarrassed and glad no one could hear this conversation.

"What? It's going to feel a bit lonely on the ship without you."

By her tone, the youth could tell she was pouting.

"Sensei, I'm not a child anymore..."

"Please, you'll always be my child."

As embarrassed as he felt, Meta developed a warm feeling in his chest upon hearing that.

"Thank you, sensei. I'll call again in the morning, I promise."

"Ok then. I'll be looking forward to hearing from you, Meta."

"Good night."

"Good night, my little knight. Sweet dreams." She replied gently before hanging up.

Meta sighed happily. He still wanted to go home, but for his sensei's sake he would see this through to the end. He then gave a yawn, tired from everything that happened today. He reached into his luggage bag and pulled out a small container before crawling into bed. He then opened it, revealing the silver stress ball. He attempted to get comfortable but soon noticed that this bed was nowhere near as cozy as his own back home.

"It's a good thing I brought you with me, huh?" He thought while giving the ball a good squeeze.

"You leave me in a tin box and that's the first thing you say? Rude!" The blob said in a teasing way.

Meta quickly sat up in shock and stared at the ball.

"...I'm too young to be going insane."

The blob laughed. "Meta, did you really forget that I could talk through pieces of myself like this?"

The puff relaxed upon hearing that. "Mercury, you haven't used that trick in years."

"Well, I thought it'd be a bit rude normally, but I heard a bit of Kurabe's conversation with you and thought I'd say something through this to make you feel a bit less lonely."

"Well, thank you, Mercury. Have you ever dealt with homesickness?"

"Homesickness, huh? Yeah, I have."

"Even you? I guess everyone experiences it at some point."

"Yeah, it's more common than you think."

Meta smiled, glad that this wasn't just an issue exclusive to him. "Since I've already gotten advice from sensei, maybe you can give a different kind of advice. Do you have any tips about handling Reedy's crew?"

"Hmm..." The blob took a moment to think. "Well, thankfully, most of them are pretty cooperative. There's an expression that goes something like "treat others the way you want to be treated". If you present yourself as respectful and cooperative, then they will treat you with respect as well. Well, most of them will... there's one odd duck who doesn't really follow that idea, however. He prefers to let his fists do the taking. Prove your strength to him and he'll ease up on you."

Instantly, Meta knew who she was talking about. "I understand."

"There's also a certain animal lover on the ship too. He may seem intimidating at first, but trust me when I say he's one of the kindest people I know. Stay on his good side and he'll stick up for you."

He nodded quietly. "Anything else?"

"They may all seem like strange individuals, and they are, but they are all good-natured people. Don't be afraid to speak to them. The first step to cooperation is establishing a connection."

"Ok, Mercury. I'll try." He replied.

"Good and please try to get along with Reedy. You don't have to be friends with him but at least attempt to tolerate his existence." Mercury remarked with a chuckle.

He responded with a quiet laugh. "I'll do my best to."

"Then I'll take my leave. If you need anything, squeeze as hard as you can. Good night, Meta."

"Alright then. Good night, Mercury." The youth laid back down, still holding onto the ball.

He closed his eyes and began to think about the crew he would be interacting with for the next couple of weeks. As he started to slowly fall into the realm of sleep, there was one last thought on his mind.

"This will be one long month..."

Toyhouse Pages for appearing Characters

Lyze

Mark

Ciel

Calzone

Tiramisu

Pandoro

Risotto

Fettuccine

Granita

Bicerin