#like yeah people so assume you get a mobility aid and are fine now??

[radiantretriever]

I'm sorry everytime I read a post that's talking about nuerodivergent acceptance they always throw in "you wouldn't expect a Wheelchair user to be magically okay when given a WheelChair" or "people wouldn't tell a cane user to 'just walk' so be kind to yourself! "

And I love the energy, I know what the mean. But everytime I see them i think about that one stupid ass tiktok where someone was complaining about the stigma of wearing cat ears in public and said "imagine if people got mad at men in dresses bc it Could be a fetish"

Like yeah girl, IMAGINE

[autisticlee]

I wasn't diagnosed with hEDS, despite very much suspecting it before that. my doctor used that testing method (I always forget the name of) that looks at like 5 joints only and judges based on that. some of those happened to be joints I don't have as much issue with (for example, my elbows and knees don't bend past the degree required and my back is way too stiff to touch the ground without a lot of stretching first) but I was told I have general, basically harmless joint hypermobility and there's no treatment to help me or anything. I'm basically fine I guess?

I was told by a few people on twitter that the test is outdated and the issues I mention having sounds a lot like hEDS and I need a second opnion (but can't get one because that's the only doctor in my hospital/insurance system) so all I have to go by is what people online have told me from a guess and what a doctor told me. so I really don't know what the truth it. but I feel obligated to go off of what the doctor said and say "I'm fine" because I was also told by twitter people that this "isnt something to wish for/it's a very serious condition/you can't just self diagnosed this/etc" so I can only assume I just have a few joints that bend more than they should but it's fine.

(this is longer than i expected so i'll cut it)

my joints are always popping and cracking and feeling very loose and floppy. I don't get big dislocations requiring hospital visits that I am told are a required symptoms of hEDS. )I can dislocated my jaw on demand though and have to use my hands to put it back lmao and other joints get stuck and feel like they're trying to dislocate and stuff like that? i've had toes and fingers dislocated and my parents just yank on them until they pop back in. my hips are some of the worst joints i think. of course those aren't tested in the EDS test. i'll be walking and suddenly my hip feels like it pops out of place or gets stuck. if i'm standing and shift my hips, I can feel it pop really dramatically. always a dull pain, sometimes sharp pain that makes it very hard to walk untol it goes away. but I try to ignore it.

I feel like I have high pain tolerance (not sure if due to being autistic and having weird sensory issues, or from basically being trained my while life to ignore my pain because my parents couldn't afford to take me to doctors, being told to suck it up i'm being dramatic, getting ignored or told others "have it worse," etc.) so i've just been accepting the joint pain I get, especially from my very physically demanding job, and don't do much about it. I'm pretty sure most, if not all my sleep problems are due to chronic pain and discomfort. everyone tries to tell me it's all in .y head and I can't sleep because my mind is "too active" and i'm just "thinking too much" so i've been suggested so many things to treat anxiety. thkae don't work and meds made it WAY worse. i'm the definition of "head empty" when i'm trying to sleep. I don't think that's it lmao. if it's anything in my head, it's the vivid dreams I have. but do dreams make you feel like you got physically hit by a truck? maybe mentally, yeah.

my mom, who I work with, has chronic pain and back and other problems. so since she "just deals with it" she applies that to me and says "mine is worse/I deal with it every day and it mever stops/I can't help you/you have nothing to complain about/etc" and not just her, my whole family seems to have chronic pain and stuff. it's like it's genetic, idk. so i'm expected to work through it and ignore it. she doesn't use any mobility aids despite probably needing to, so it was never suggested to me. i've had pain and issues most my life but was always told i'm "too young to have any pain. wait until you're 25/30/35" (the number changes as I get older for some reason...) "you arent allowed to complain/experience pain now, you're too young. exercise more. you sit at your computer too much. etc" so i've just tried to ignore it and deal with it because i'm overreacting and it's not bad, right? others have it worse.

I visited some friends this past week. One friend is disabled and uses a cane/wheelchair to aid her mobility due to severe chronic pain. I brought my hip brace with me, which helps hold my hip in the joint a little and helps stop it popping out as I walk (there's still pain though, but it stops my joint from popping out sideways when i move it, if that makes sense?) my friend noticed me struggling and despite me telling her i'm fine and this or normal, she demanded I don't just "deal with it" like everyone else. she made sure I had my brace on, shared her pain meds, and made me borrow her cane while she used her wheelchair.

we went to an anime convention and met up with one of my friend's friends for a little bit. she also uses a cane when walking around a lot. she noticed my hip issues and my skin having a bad reaction to the double sided tape I was using for cosplays and asked if I had EDS because I showed signs like people she knows who have it. that kind of further makes me wonder if maybe my doctor misdiagnosed because of the bad outdated test? perhaps it's not and i'm overthinking it. i'm just thinking that if that's what it it actually is, it would be nice to know so I know how to help myself? like maybe there's more treatments than just ignoring standard hypermobility? and what if there's other related issues i'd have to watch for amd not know about?

but anyway, borrowing my friends cane, with and even without my hip brace (sometimes with wrist brace too if i remembered because wrist pain particularly due to an old, severe injury as a kid), doing a ton of walking all week, I noticed I never got sharp hip and knee pains that I get normally that almost down me every day at work or when going for a walk. I always try to ignore them and push through and continue what I'm doing. I assume that's fine and even get annoyed at myself for being so overreacting to it????? i'm suppsed to have high pain tolerance, right? i'm making a big deal out of nothing probably!!!!

but using it that whole week and finding that it helped makes me wonder if I should get my own???? not that I really go anywhere and I can't use it at work because I have to use my hands the whole time. (or is that attention seeking behavior? I know using one draws negative attention because people are assholes about that stuff. but it's still attention. am I secretly wanting attention???) I also wonder if i'm experiencing more issues than I think. like have I gotten so used to ignoring things that it's actually worse than I think? am I a walking imposter syndrome? i've heard you can dull your own sense of pain by ignoring it long enough and being autistic with sensory issues can also cause a reduced sense of pain. it seemed like being around other disabled people and people who actually paid attention to me meant people noticed me struggling more than I notice, if that makes sense?? but I don't know i'd I am truly struggling or i'm unconsciously making it up????

when I was on my way home walking through the airport, I thought I was doing fine. yeah, I was going slower than everyone else and leaning on my rolling carryon luggage, but i'm sure I was fine......I must have looked like I was struggling. a man driving one of those little transport vehicles through the hall stopped and asked if I was ok. I said i'm fine and he insisted I get on and he take me down the rest of the very long hall. he got to the end where it splits and I needed the opposite way he was headed so he called for someone with a wheelchair to scoop me up and take me to my gate and wouldn't accept a no.

I thought i'd be fine shuffling the hour long layover I had to the opposite side of the airport to my gate, but turns out I made it a minute after boarding time started even with other people running me through on wheels double the speed or more i was going myself. I may have missed my flight if I kept shuffling on my own.....

even though it was a lot of help, I still felt bad, like I was taking up resources from people who really needed it. I never considered myself physically disabled despite my weird joint issues, weakness, chronic pain, lack of balance and coordination, etc. it was a lot of help, and like I said, I may have missed my plane without it, but I still felt really bad and still do, like a fraud, like I was wasting something others needed more. I just feel like my struggles aren't enough to warrant any thpe of disability aid, if they can even be considered struggles at all. I felt like i'm an able person being fake and taking something that doesn't belong to me, wasting resources that aren't meant for me, despite it not being me who chose it or asked for it. I tried to refuse, but it was given to me by someone who seems to have felt I needed it????? should I have rejected it more and tried to be more insistent on being fine? (though i'm not sure i'd be capable of that since I was overwhelmed and my autistic brain can barely handle airports....so talking at all was kind of out of the question)

i really feel like I don't need or deserve help like that! I need to deal with it on my own and ignore it, right? others have it worse! it's not that bad. I can deal with it on my own. maybe i'm being dramatic about any pain and stuff i'm experiencing and need to suck it up and stop complaining. It's not bad enough to even mention it! maybe i'm unconsciously trying to get attention or something like that. unconsciously looked like I was struggling for some kind of attention or something (despite trying to always shrink and hide myself in public to be left alone, especially when sensory overwhelmed). I hope I didn't impede anyone who needed and deserved help more than me 🥺😔

[martuzzio]

The idea of Ren joining the Amputees-Only club sounds so bittersweet... cuz before he knew they were having fun, but also knew that they were allowed to have a bond like that. He never expected to join them.

I can honestly imagine in his first few meetings there's a few times where Ren just cries, poor guy...

Rendog's first Amputee's Only Club Meeting (written under the cut because this one is longer than normal)

Despite what the universe seems to think, Doc is a pretty easygoing guy. Yes, he does look scary as hell and yes, he was a mob boss at one point, but that doesn’t mean he’s a violent person. Well, he’s violent when he needs to be, but that doesn’t mean he enjoys it. In reality, his favorite moments are all from quiet parts of his normal, boring, daily life as a hermit.

In these everyday moments, Doc likes to process things. He likes to sit in the greenhouse and watch the bio bees work alongside the robot bees. He likes to brush his fingers on the plants and let his half-robotic brain process the data into something that resembles touch. He likes to listen to Grian and Etho chat as they work.

He observes small moments like these because that’s all he really does. He takes in data and processes it. He uses the processed information to judge his surroundings and react accordingly. Sometimes this means that he uses his data to laugh at his friends who make dumb jokes. But sometimes he uses the data to run, hide, or fight back. When all you do is process data to keep yourself alive, it becomes very hard to ignore incoming information.

This is how Doc eventually locates Ren. He wasn’t planning on finding where his longtime friend wheeled off to, much less go searching for him, but Doc unfortunately decided to take a more leisurely route to the bridge and his camera eye caught the slight movement anyway. Doc has to give it to him; the man knows how to hide. The werewolf is in a lesser-used community room, curled into a dusty couch that’s been shoved into the corner. The chrome wheels of his temporary mobility aid reflect off of the window overlooking deep space. Ren has his left leg drawn up to this chest. His stump of a right leg rests on the couch cushion, shunned. Ren’s obviously hid because he doesn’t want to be found, but unluckily for him, Doc was specifically altered to notice things.

Ren’s flinch when Doc claps his hand on his shoulder is almost unnoticeable. Ren looks like he’s either been crying or had a bad allergic reaction to the dust. Doc assumes the former.

“Cub was working on your new parts earlier today. They look pretty sick,” he ventures.

Ren looks like he has the entire universe on his shoulders. “That’s wonderful,” he mumbles. He opens his mouth as if to say more, but instead sighs and slides his eyes shut.

Doc plops down on the couch and slings his arm over the back of the rest. The action makes Ren recoil again, this time more visibly, and Doc pointedly ignores it. Instead, he says, “As much as I want you to come see what Cub is making, you will go to him when you feel like it. There is nothing you need to do right now besides heal.”

Ren barks out a wet laugh. “Bro, I appreciate you so much, but how can stumps heal?”

Doc’s cybernetic hand twitches in sympathy. “You know what I mean, man, and we both know it.” Doc replies. He looks down at the sliver of space between his leg and Ren’s and chews his words. Ren shifts his gaze to Doc’s arm, then to gaze directly at the creeper’s face.

Doc feels uncomfortable in a way he’s never felt before. All of the other amputee hermits were already amputees when they joined the crew. They had time to heal, be angry, and let go in their own ways. He did, too. But now, with Ren sitting next to him, suffering through the same kind of anguish Doc felt when he first woke up from being operated on, Doc suddenly doesn’t know how to act. How do you comfort someone who literally lost a third of their body? As much as Doc knows what that feels like and as much as he wants to help his friend, he might not be able to. He might not ever be able to.

It’s the single most heartbreaking thing that Doc’s realized in a long, long time.

This revelation causes the duo to sit in silence for a long while. Then, Doc gets an idea. His eye shifts to look at his friend. Ren narrows his eyes tiredly but waits anyway.

“The Amputees-Only Club meeting is in a few minutes.” Doc murmurs. Ren is silent, but he plows on. “I think you should come,” he pleads. “I think everyone would be very happy to see you.”

Ren’s throat clicks as he swallows. “I’m sure they would.”

“I would be very happy to see you.”

Ren’s eyelids squeeze together. “I know you would.”

“Then let’s go,” Doc insists as he pushes himself to his feet. He turns around and smiles as much as he can at his friend, still curled up on the couch. Ren gazes exhaustedly back. “I think it would be a good idea.” He wishes his smile weren’t so frightening.

Ren moves to rub his eyes with his hands but remembers he’s missing one of his arms a little too late. The resulting crumpled expression immediately burns into Doc’s deep storage memory. “I don’t know, Doc.” The werewolf manages after a long moment. “I appreciate you trying to help, but…”

Doc understands. Of course he does. When he first joined the hermits, the idea of a weekly club meeting exclusively for amputees sounded farfetched at best and belittling at worst. Hell, he didn’t even think there were enough amputees on the team to warrant a club. Imagine his surprise when three other people showed up to his first session, all excited he was there to hang out with them.

With this in mind, all he can do is repeat, “I think it would be a good idea.”

Ren stares up at him, and in that moment, he looks as old as Xisuma. But then he gently closes his eyes, inhales slowly and shallowly, and motions for Doc to drag his mobility aid closer. Doc complies immediately.

The journey to the meeting room, like every other journey on the Hermit Craft, is long. It’s made even longer because of Ren’s inexperience with his aid, but Doc doesn’t dare to offer his help. They eventually end up in front of the elevator that Doc remotely called beforehand with his brain chip. When the doors open, Doc lets Ren wheel in first.

Ren is silent in the elevator. Doc tries to catch his expression, but his friend’s unruly hair blocks his vision. “We’re playing cards tonight.” He mentions.

“That’s what you do at every Amputee-Only Club meeting.”

Doc shifts his eye back to the elevator door. “…Correct.”

Ren doesn’t reply.

When the duo finally reaches the Club meeting room, Doc pauses outside for a moment instead of directing his brain to open the door like normal. He glances down at Ren again and murmurs, “if you don’t want to go back, or to your room or something, that’s—”

“It’s fine,” Ren interrupts. He sounds defeated. “We walked all the way here, so we may as well go.”

Doc activates the door without another thought.

The door slides open and reveals the club room. It’s small, smaller than the average community space on the Hermit Craft, but it feels warm. The soft yellow color painted on the walls matches pleasantly with the yellow of the couch cushions. Joe definitely was the one to orchestrate that. There’s a small kitchenette in the corner that’s set up to have nice views of outer space. Various game tables fill the rest of the room, a few surrounded by five chairs. Doc wonders if Ren will notice the new chair addition. Maybe he already had.

The most interesting part of the space, though, is the people within it. TFC is bundled up on the couch, snoring pleasantly and covered in at least ten blankets. His usual plate of cookies is already half eaten. Iskall is standing at the kitchen counter, fiddling with a teacup filled with a mysterious bright pink liquid. His outfit has a few suspicious-looking singe marks at the hem. Finally, Scar is sat at the poker table in the middle of the room, crossed legs resting on an adjacent chair. He’s sorting through a pile of yellow and orange chips. To Doc’s continued wonder, the stack of bright blue cards resting near Scar’s elbow have miraculously not been knocked onto the floor yet.

When the doors open, Scar and Iskall look over. Ren immediately shifts at Doc’s elbow. Doc waits a moment to let Ren speak if he wants to, but when his shorter friend remains silent, he clears his throat in a grinding noise and announces, unnecessarily, “We’re here.”

Scar is so excited that his eyes have turned into little slivers of green. “Ren, I’m so happy you decided to tag along!” He kicks one of the chairs out from the table and clonks his foot on it for emphasis. The blue cards wobble on the edge of the table but still refuse to fall. “Sit down! Iskall can get you something to drink. Have you ever played poker?” He leans forward with the question. “It’s difficult, but I think it’s fun!”

“Uh, I haven’t.” Ren replies awkwardly, still at the door alongside Doc. “I’ve never even heard of it before.”

“Yeah, I would be surprised if you knew about it. It’s one of those old-timey games from TFC’s era.” Iskall says from across the room. He is now by the couch and is gently patting TFC’s fluffy hair to wake him. “Don’t worry that you don’t know. We’ll teach you.”

Ren tries and fails to make a pointed noise of interest, but he still seems intrigued. Doc feels the knot in his chest loosen a little. He rolls his shoulders to relieve some tension and moves to sit down. By the time he turns his head to look back, Ren is already wheeling forward to join him but looks lost as to where he should sit.

“Howdy, Ren. Sit next to me so I can teach you, but I’ll only teach if you’re willing to listen.” TFC, now awake, grumbles good-naturedly as he heaves himself off the couch. With his large frame still wrapped in a dozen blankets, he looks like a huge bear compared to Iskall. Which is impressive, Doc thinks, since Iskall is nowhere near frail. TFC’s metal prosthetic clonks on the floor as he walks over to the poker table. As he sits down across from Scar, he says, “There’s no point in just sitting there and gawking at us. Grab a seat.” He uses his leg to nudge the chair to his left.

Ren blinks and maneuvers his aid to let him sit down next to the astronaut. TFC procures a blanket from his pile and offers one to him. Ren, after slowly settling in his chair, accepts the pink fuzzy blanket. Doc accepts a purple one.

TFC lances over to Ren as he saves the blue cards from the edge of the table. “Poker’s good fun. You’ll get it in no time.” He snorts and flicks his gaze to Scar, who is busy stacking the chips into a pyramid. “This one always makes sure we have a great, long game.”

Scar looks up and winces minutely in a false apology. “Sorry about that.”

TFC chuckles. “Boy, I’ve never had better games than when I play with you.”

Scar’s grin almost sparkles. TFC and Doc grin back and Iskall hides his laugh in his shoulder.

“Anyway, ready for your first game with us amputees?” TFC brings the conversation back to Ren, who suddenly looks a lot more uncomfortable.

“I,” he begins, his eyes flicking to TFC, then Doc, before looking down. “I, well, uh…”

The table is silent. Iskall is staring at the table with his hands in his lap. TFC sighs and begins shuffling the cards. Doc, as much as he wants to clear the air somehow, can’t seem to find a way to do so. Scar just looks sad. He looks right at Ren, almost through him.

Ren stares back, eyes wide.

“You don’t want to be here.” Scar says quietly, finally. It’s not a question. Ren’s choked response makes the ex-convex smile slightly. “You can say so, Ren. You’re not going to hurt our feelings. None of us want to be here. But, as much as we may want to, we can’t change what happened to us.” He falls silent again as he looks at a particularly twisted scar on the back of his left hand. He rubs at it harshly with the pad of his thumb before Iskall stops him. “This might be selfish,” Scar continues, softly, “but I’m happy that I at least don’t have to sit in here alone.”

For a long moment, the table is silent. Then, with a rush of noise, Ren makes a sound like he’s dying. In a certain way, Doc thinks, he is.

“I don’t want to be here,” Ren confesses as his open mouth contorts and tears roll down his face. “I don’t want to be here.”

All Doc can do is wrap his arms around everyone else, encasing Ren and his other amputee friends in his embrace, and wish he could do more.

[dumbbitchenergy17]

Extra Part 7

U.A. a school for students to learn how to become the best Pro-Hero. When young Y/n Midoriya returns from her traveling to be accepted through recommendation. What awaits her when she meet the explosive blonde Katsuki Bakugo

Words- 2535

Katsuki Bakugo x Midoriya!Reader, Izuku Midoriya x Cousin!Reader

Warning-Spoilers from show, bit angst but mainly fluff in this chapter, and relationships form, panic attacks

Series Masterlist

You woke up to the beeping of your alarm clock, rolling over to shut it off you rub the sleep from your eyes and begin your day. You hopped in the shower washing off the smell of chlorine that was still on you from last night. Getting out and brushing your teeth, fixing your hair out and letting it air dry, you put on your uniform. You looked over at the bandages and then back at the mirror contemplating. You sighed before turning and grabbing your bag and heading out, you didn’t need them you can still be that same girl before. You closed your door and headed to the elevator when you got closer you could see the doors closing.

“Hold the door!” You yelled rushing to it a hand stuck out opening it again as you slipped in. “Thanks I didn’t really want to wait..” You fixed your blazer and looked up and trailing off when you saw it was Kacchan who held the doors open. He had a smile on his face watching you

“Hey.” He leaned against the wall of the elevator and your face turned red. 

“Hey… Kacchan..how are you.” You stuttered trying to fix yourself. You stand next to him as you guys go down to the common area.

“I’m good.” He nodded and you nodded in response desperately trying to get the red to leave your face. You both stood in silence as you waited to get to the right floor.

“So I”

“I wanna.” You both said at the same time making you laugh and him smile.

“You first.” He said.

“About last night,” You rubbed the back of your neck, “If you didn’t like it or anything we can just go back to begin friends or something.” You kept rambling trying to not make him uncomfortable. Bakugo pressed a kiss onto your cheek just like how you did last night and you freeze.

“You talk a lot you know.” He chuckled “I think you’re pretty cool or whatever.” A red tint appears on his face making you smirk bumping your shoulder into his 

“Or Whatever...” You teased making him send you a glare,

“You know what I mean.” He mumbled, you smiled grabbing his hand and you both looked at each other and looked away, your face heating up. You both stood in the elevator holding hands looking away from each other. The door opened and you both quickly pulled away walking out, “I’ll see you in class Idiot.” He gave you a smirk walking over to his friends, you nodded frozen in your spot. 

“Later blondie.” You trailed watching him walk away.

“You good.” A voice made you jump and turn to see it was Izuku and Uraraka, 

“Yeah I’m good.” You nodded glancing back at Bakugo who was talking to Kirishima.

“Why is your face red then?” Izuku asked, placing his hand on your forehead. 

You pushed back, “I’m fine...Let’s just go to class.” You slapped his hand away from your face, and you guys made your way to homeroom after grabbing some breakfast. When you guys got there most of your classmates and you guys went to your seats. The door opened and Mr. Aizawa came in and sat at his desk in front of the class.

“I’m too tired for greetings so I’m just going to go straight to it. Your next challenge to become a Pro is you all need provisional hero licenses. The exam is usually for the second and third years but with your situation they allowed the first year to go for their licenses. With the license, you gain permission to intervene directly when people’s lives at stake.” Mr. Aizawa explained, “Even with the experience you have as first years less than 5 percent gain their license.” You frowned looking at your classmates you all had been through a lot but was this experience enough to earn your license. “To prepare for the exam you will need a least two signature special moves that will be in combat. And with that, we brought some people in.” He finished and the door opened revealing Cementoss, Ectoplasm, and Midnight.

“This is so cool.” Ashido smiled,

“Some normal school stuff.” Kaminari sighed

“Whatever hurry and grab your costumes and meet at Gym Gamma.” Mr. Aizawa rubbed his eyes walking out of the room with the rest of the teachers. You all made your way to the locker room to get changed into your costumes.

“I just realized that we have never seen your hero costume when we first met.” Hagakure pointed out.

You placed your briefcase with your costume on one of the benches, “Yeah I was wearing my gym uniform when we all met and then we never wore ours during the training camp.” You nodded unlocking the case.

“Hurry and put it on I wanna see it!” Ashido pushed you into one of the stalls for you to change. You had finished zipping up your boots and fixing your hair.

“Are you done yet?” Uraraka asked,

“Yeah.” You unlocked the stall stepping out and looked at the other girls who were also in their costumes.

“Oh my god you look so pretty!” Ashido squealed jumping up and down and your face turned red as the rest complimented you.

“Aww thanks guys.” You rubbed the back of your neck.

“Come on let’s go train.” Uraraka grabbed your hand pulling you out of the locker room. You entered the gym and saw the rest of the guys standing talking to each other.

“Dang Y/n love the suit.” Kaminari yelled, pointing at you, making you smile. 

“Thanks Kaminari.” You gave him a smile, you saw Bakugo turn from Kirishima to you and you watched as his eyes went up and down taking in your suit and his face went red. One of the teachers cleared their throat drawing the attention to them,

“I created Gym Gamma using my quirk and can be altered to suit the needs of every student.” Cementoss explained using his quirk to create sections for everyone.

“Mr. Cementoss Sir,” Tenya’s hand shot in the air, “Why are special moves necessary.”

“The exam is designed to test students’ aptitudes such as information gathering, judgement, mobility, leadership, and communication in various situations. However the attitude that is most noticed is the fighting ability.” Mr. Aizawa stated.

“Bringing stability to a situation is a mark of a hero’s true fighting ability.” Cementoss added.

“Special moves doesn’t necessarily need to be offensive, Ida’s Recipro Burst is a move worthy of being a special move since you are able to move at blistering speeds which gives him the upper hand.” Ectoplasm pointed out to Tenya and now it made sense with what special moves were to gain the upper hand on your opponent or situation.

“Another example is Kamui Wood’s Lacquered Chain Prison, he is able to suppress his opponents before they can do anything.” Midnight included. 

“You were supposed to work and create your moves at training camp if things hadn’t changed. You will all spend the remaining days of break and focus on developing your quirks and creating special moves.” You all nodded in understanding, “I advise you all to consider upgrading your hero costumes to help in aid in your special moves.” Mr. Aizawa had sent you all off as Cementoss finished preparing the terrain and Ectoplasm created clones of himself so you all could spar against. You walked over to one of the Ectoplasms and got yourself ready to think of a move. You didn’t really have time to think as you were thrown into a fight, kicks were sent your way and you ducked out of the way. You remained on the defensive side creating force-fields when his reflexes were slightly faster, softening the blow of his attack.

“In a fight you will have no time to think as it is life or death.” Ectoplasm yelled, throwing a kick to your face as you slid under his leg only for him to turn and kick you in the gut causing you to roll over. “You either fight for the people or die trying, so fight!” He yelled and sent another kick to you as you stumbled to your feet dodging his attack. You tried getting into some close combat and then tried to use your quirk but his reflexes were much faster than yours. He kicked you in the gut sending you to the ground, the air getting knocked out of you.

“Should we stop them?” Midnight looked over at Mr. Aizawa as they watched you fight.

“No she’s holding back, she hasn’t used her quirk on the offense.” Mr. Aizawa watched you as you dodged another kick.

“Fight, don’t hold back this is how people get killed because the hero won’t give their all!” Ectoplasm yelled. He brought his leg down his attacks getting harsher, even though he was a clone he wasn’t holding back. He brings his foot down almost stomping on your neck, you quickly bring your hands up and a red haze surrounds his foot as he puts more weight down his foot getting closer to your throat. Your eyes glow a bright red as you bring your hands together and the haze surrounds his body completely, you pull your hands apart quickly and he completely disintegrates. You sit up letting out the air you were holding in, your hands are still glowing red and you assume your eyes are as well. You snap your head over to where the teachers were standing with the inclusion of All Might. They were all looking at you, each of them were giving you a different look convening something. You felt a hand on your shoulder and you whipped around throwing a punch only for them to dodge. The red disappears instantly from you when you see it is Izuku kneeling next to you,

“Are you okay?” He asked and you pushed away rushing to your feet.

“I’m fine.”

“Are you sure Y/n?” Izuku grabbed your hand, but you ripped your hand from his grasp. You can feel that people are watching you as you create distance between you and your cousin.

“I’m fine.” You deflected, you turn and rush out of the gym trying to dodge the looks from your classmates and teachers. You exited the gym walking alongside the building trying to catch your breath, trying to gain some form of control. You sit on the ground leaning against the wall, trying to get in the air. Red mist surrounding your hands as you panic, “Breathe...calm down..just breathe.” You tug on your hair trying to be grounded to something if that means pain.

“Y/n.” A voice calls out and your head shoots up to look at the person, and seeing it’s Mr. Aizawa.

“I can’t… I-I can’t do this..I..I can’t breathe..” You panted clutching onto your neck trying to get air in, you nails digging into your scars. Hands grabbed on your pulling them away as you suck in small breathes.

“Y/n breathe.. You need to breathe..” Mr. Aizawa said, squeezing on your hands. You nod frantically forcing yourself to take deep breaths, you pounding in your heart lessens as you focus becomes much clearer.

“I can’t do this.. I can’t..” You sniffle trying desperately not to cry in front of your teacher.

“You are one of the strongest students in this class, you got into this school through recommendation that not that simple ” Mr. Aizawa now sat on the ground across from you as you wiped away the tears from your eyes.

“I’m just so scared I’m going to hurt someone again.”

“With everything that you’ve been through you have every reason to be scared. Your quirk is connected with your emotions, you just need time and training.” He placed a hand on your shoulder making you look at him. “I told your parents that I would look after you and I’m not breaking my promise.”

“I thought you don’t make promises?” You frowned and remembered what he said before.

His corner of his mouth turned up, “I guess things change.” Mr. Aizawa stands up putting his hands in his pockets, “Come on let’s get Recovery Girl look over you.” You nodded, getting up slightly dizzy but otherwise going and you both made your way to the nurse’s office. You had been given drinks and a little snack before she scolded you a bit for your fears before understanding where you were coming from. It was around sunset when you made it back to the dorms where you were bombarded by your classmates, mostly just Izuku apologizing if he hurt your feelings but also wanting to know what happened. 

“Izuku I swear you didn’t do anything, I’ve just been pushing myself.” You calmed him down as it looked like he was going to cry, “I’m going head to bed try and rest.” You pointed your thumb in the direction of the elevator.

Izuku nodded, “My room is always open if you need to talk.” He gave you a hug. 

You laughed pulling away, “I know Izuku… thanks.” You smiled, you said goodnight to your classmates and headed to your room. You opened the door to your dorm and placed your bag by the door, “Why are you like this Y/n?” You mumbled turning to your mirror.

“Like what?”

You screamed and turned to the voice and saw it was Bakugo he sat at your desk looking over you.

“Jesus Christ, what the hell are you doing in here.” You held your hand on your chest trying to calm your breathing.

“I want to see you after what happened in the gym, idiot.” You groaned flopping on your bed.

“I already got a lecture by everyone already don't add to the list.” You hear footsteps and someone nudged your shoulder

“Move over dumbass.” You huffed rolling over sitting up giving him room. Kacchan sat next to you leaning against the headboard as you both sat in the silence. “Are you ok and don’t lie like you do to those extras.”

You let out a short laugh looking at your hands, “When we were captured by the League of Villains and then they released what I did, I felt like my life had just ended. I see how they look at me even my parents give me that same look. I have a dangerous quirk that I have no control over and my life now.” You turn to face him who was looking at you. “I just don’t know what to do anymore.” Bakugo’s arm wrapped around your shoulders pulling you to him so you were leaning on his chest.

“You're gonna be a great hero one day and I promise you I’ll never look at you like they do.” You smiled looking up at him

“Thanks Kacchan.” You both relaxed in the silence with you in his arms, as sleep slowly took over you. Bakugo slowly slipped out from under you, fixing you so you were laying down “night kacchan” You mumbled snuggling into your pillow. He smiled pulling your blanket over you before leaving your dorm unknowing of a certain pink girl watching.

(A/N: Here is a link to your costume you can change it if you don’t like it Costume)

[cutepresea]

10-2 The Sirius of Zwei Wing: Parted Wings

Apologies again for the spam.

If you want to blacklist these, you can use either the tag #the sirius of zwei wing for just this event, or #xdu event scripts or #xdu scripts

Reminder  that these are copied straight  from XD Unlimited itself, so any  grammatical weirdness, mistranslations,  and/or mischaracterizations are  not my doing.

Kanade Amo: "Rrgh... Mmm..."

Ryoko Sakurai: "You're finally back with us?"

Kanade Amo: "Where... Where am I?"

Ryoko Sakurai: "Relax. You're in the medical room at Section 2."

Ryoko Sakurai: "How are you feeling? Any dizziness or nausea?"

Kanade Amo: "No... I'm okay."

Ryoko Sakurai: "Good. Your brainwaves and CT scan came back fine, but it never hurts to check."

Kanade Amo: "Wait... that's right. What happened to Tsubasa?!"

Ryoko Sakurai: "Hold it! You mustn't move so quickly!"

Genjuro Kazanari: "Allow me to explain."

Kanade Amo: "Old man Genjuro..."

Ryoko Sakurai: "......"

Genjuro Kazanari: "Tsubasa was abducted by the enemy. We don't know where she is."

Kanade Amo: "So it wasn't just a bad dream..."

Genjuro Kazanari: "I'm afraid not."

Genjuro Kazanari: "Our entire staff is mobilized to search, but so far they've found no clues or leads."

Ryoko Sakurai: "We lost Tsubasa-chan's signal during their escape, too."

Kanade Amo: "It's all my fault..."

Ryoko Sakurai: "It's not your fault, Kanade-chan. Don't blame yourself."

Genjuro Kazanari: "Ryoko-kun's right. The responsibility for what happened there falls on all of us."

Genjuro Kazanari: "What's important now is to focus on what to do next, rather than wallow on what could've been."

Kanade Amo: "Old man..."

Genjuro Kazanari: "I hate to ask while you're still recovering, but there's something I need you to do for me, and quickly."

Kanade Amo: "...Yeah, I know."

Kanade Amo: "......"

Elfnein: "Oh, Kanade-san?"

Aoi Tomosato: "Oh wow, it's really you. Welcome!"

Sakuya Fujitaka: "Yeah, thanks for coming. But wait... Wasn't Tsubasa-san the one who was going to see you?"

Kanade Amo: "About that..."

Genjuro Kazanari: "...Something's happened, hasn't it?"

Kanade Amo: "And it's serious. Could you have everyone come in for this?"

Genjuro Kazanari: "...All right. Tell all wielders to assemble, ASAP."

Aoi Tomosato: "Y-Yes, sir!"

Hibiki Tachibana: "Sorry I'm late!"

Genjuro Kazanari: "All right, looks like you're all here."

Hibiki Tachibana: "Huh? Kanade-san?"

Chris Yukine: "So, what happened then?"

Genjuro Kazanari: "Tsubasa went to Kanade's world, and was kidnapped."

Hibiki Tachibana: "Kidnapped?! No way!"

Maria: "Who could possibly be capable of kidnapping Tsubasa of all people?"

Kanade Amo: "The enemy appear to be alchemists. But I don't know anything else beyond that..."

Maria: "Do you know if she's safe? Have they demanded a ransom or tried to make contact?"

Kanade Amo: "We've gotten nothing from them... Well, not before I came here at any rate."

Kirika Akatsuki: "So then... We don't even know if she's alive?!"

Shirabe Tsukuyomi: "Kiri-chan, don't say things like that."

Hibiki Tachibana: "She's fine. I'm sure she is. This is Tsubasa-san we're talking about."

Chris Yukine: "Yeah, for sure! She's gotta be all right!"

Maria: "I agree."

Maria: "If the enemy went out of their way to abduct her, then it must've been to achieve some sort of goal."

Maria: "And until they've achieved that goal, the odds that they'd harm her are pretty low."

Hibiki Tachibana: "Y-Yeah! You're totally right, Maria-san!"

Hibiki Tachibana: "Kanade-san, I'm sure Tsubasa-san is safe!"

Kanade Amo: "Yeah. Thanks..."

Chris Yukine: "If they just wanted to hurt her, they'd have done it then and there, right?"

Kirika Akatsuki: "Phew... I was scared for a moment there."

Shirabe Tsukuyomi: "But saying that, once they do manage to carry out their plans..."

Genjuro Kazanari: "Yes. Right now, we're in a fight against time."

Genjuro Kazanari: "Hibiki-kun, Maria-kun, I want you two to head to the other side right away and assist in rescuing Tsubasa."

Hibiki Tachibana: "Yes, Master!"

Maria: "Understood."

Chris Yukine: "If my senpai is in trouble. I'm going too!"

Kirika Akatsuki: "And you can make that five! Right, Shirabe?"

Shirabe Tsukuyomi: "Yeah. I can't just sit here on my hands."

Genjuro Kazanari: "Sorry, but I can't allow that."

Chris Yukine: "Why not?! You just said it's a battle against time, didn't you?!"

Genjuro Kazanari: "We're in an unusual situation. We have zero idea of the enemy's numbers or of where they're located."

Genjuro Kazanari: "If we send all our wielders over, and you all somehow got incapacitated, there'd be no backup."

Genjuro Kazanari: "Until we know more about the situation, I'm limited who I send over."

Elfnein: "I concur."

Elfnein: "The only ones who can travel between worlds are you Symphogear wielders."

Elfnein: "If you all went missing, not only would we not be able to aid you, we would never even know it happened."

Kirika Akatsuki: "Ah, right... I guess there's that..."

Kanade Amo: "I'm so sorry, everyone. This is all my fault..."

Shirabe Tsukuyomi: "No, Kanade-san, it's not your fault."

Chris Yukine: "...Guess I'm staying, then."

Genjuro Kazanari: "So you understand?"

Chris Yukine: "Yeah. But if something happens, I'm going to save her, and you're not going to stop me, old man!"

Genjuro Kazanari: "If it comes to that, then so be it."

Chris Yukine: "You'd better help my senpai, okay?"

Kanade Amo: "Yeah. We'll get her home safe and sound!"

Hibiki Tachibana: "Uh-huh! Just leave it to us!"

Maria: "We'll bring her back in no time."

Hibiki Tachibana: "We'll be back in a jiffy!" [1]

Genjuro Kazanari: "Welcome, the both of you. Thank you for bringing them here, Kanade."

Kanade Amo: "Never mind that. Any clues about where Tsubasa is?!"

Genjuro Kazanari: "Unfortunately, we haven't gotten any new intel on those lines."

Genjuro Kazanari: "I'm truly sorry about what happened to Tsubasa."

Hibiki Tachibana: "Oh, no, it's not--"

Genjuro Kazanari: "She got caught up in a situation we should have had handled, and fell into enemy hands. We have no excuses."

Hibiki Tachibana: "I'm sure Tsubasa-san is okay!"

Maria: "Yes. The Tsubasa I know wouldn't be defeated so easily."

Genjuro Kazanari: "Hmm... Yes, you're right."

Maria: "So, what's the next step, then?"

Genjuro Kazanari: "Based on their use of Alca-Noise, we can assume that our enemies are alchemists."

Maria: "Yes, so I've heard."

Ryoko Sakurai: "Based on previous intel we gathered, I've been searching for potential sites of activity."

Ryoko Sakurai: "With it, I can narrow down a list of potential sites. The issue now--"

Maria: "Is time."

Ryoko Sakurai: "Yes..."

Kanade Amo: "So we just have to wait for now?"

Genjuro Kazanari: "I'm sure you wielders will have work to do soon enough."

Genjuro Kazanari: "But we don't know when we'll get any useful intel."

Genjuro Kazanari: "So until then, rest, recharge, and keep your mind and body ready for anything."

Genjuro Kazanari: "I'd also like you to take it easy for now, Kanade. It'll help those injuries heal."

Kanade Amo: "...Fine."

Genjuro Kazanari: "I'll make arrangements here for you girls."

Genjuro Kazanari: "So would you mind waiting a little while as I get things set up?"

Hibiki Tachibana: "Got it!"

Maria: "All right. I guess we'll go relax in the break room for now."

Hibiki Tachibana: "Yeah. We don't want to be in anyone's way."

Genjuro Kazanari: "Thank you."

Kanade Amo: "Hey, you two. Would you mind coming to my room real quick while your gets set up?"

Hibiki Tachibana: "Wait, seriously?! Are you sure?"

Maria: "I suppose that if something were to happen, it would be best to have all three of us together."

Kanade Amo: "So we're agreed. Let's go, then."

Maria: "In the meantime, if you hear anything, Commander, let us know right away."

Genjuro Kazanari: "Yes, of course."

Ryoko Sakurai: "Hey, Kanade-chan. Before you go, can I borrow you for juuust a moment?"

Kanade Amo: "Sure."

Kanade Amo: "Sorry, girls. You go on ahead. I'll catch up."

Hibiki Tachibana: "Okay. We'll be waiting in the hallway."

Kanade Amo: "What's up?"

Ryoko Sakurai: "Kanade-chan, could I borrow your Gear pendant?"

Kanade Amo: "My pendant? Why?"

Ryoko Sakurai: "I'm worried all this fighting may wear it out, so I want to do some maintenance while I still have the time."

Kanade Amo: "Sure, here you go."

Hibiki Tachibana: "Excuse me, coming through!"

Hibiki Tachibana: "Oh wow, it's pretty messy in here..."

Maria: "It isn't exactly the sort of room I would imagine inviting someone into."

Kanade Amo: "Huh? Why's stuff all over the place? Did a burglar break in or... Oh."

Maria: "Tsubasa was staying with you, right? I think we know who the culprit is, then."

Hibiki Tachibana: "No kidding..."

Hibiki Tachibana: "But man, does this bring back some memories."

Hibiki Tachibana: "One time, when Tsubasa-san was hospitalized, I had to clean up her room all by myself."

Maria: "I went to her room several times myself while we were in London."

Kanade Amo: "Haha. Tsubasa's never been one for housekeeping. I don't think she can be tidy to save her life."

Hibiki Tachibana: "Tell me about it. Her room at her house is truly something to behold."

Kanade Amo: "You've been to Tsubasa's house? I've never been myself."

Kanade Amo: "I heard she... wasn't on good terms with her family. Is that right?"

Hibiki Tachibana: "Yeah. It sounds like a lot happened. But I think she's been talking to her dad more often, recently."

Kanade Amo: "Really?"

Hibiki Tachibana: "Yeah. He supports Tsubasa-san in achieving her dreams."

Maria: "The two of them have a lot of issues expressing themselves. They're both quite similar."

Hibiki Tachibana: "And get this. Tsubasa-san's dad is intentionally leaving her messy room as is!"

Kanade Amo: "Huh. I mean... That's definitely a sign of love if I've ever heard one."

Hibiki Tachibana: "Right?"

Kanade Amo: "Haha..."

Kanade Amo: (I owe a lot to these girls. It's because of them that Tsubasa avoided ending up like I used to be.)

Kanade Amo: (And it was that very Tsubasa who saved me...)

Kanade Amo: (I guess in a way, they all saved me...)

Hibiki Tachibana: "Huh? Is there something on my face?"

Kanade Amo: "No, it's nothing. I know the place is a pigsty, but let's get some rest for now."

Hibiki Tachibana: "Umm, maybe we should clean up, first."

Maria: "This place doesn't exactly lend itself to being homely, after all."

Kanade Amo: "Good point. Let's do some quick tidying up, then."

Hibiki Tachibana: "Yeah. Let's give it our best shot!"

Maria: "I wouldn't be that excited over spring cleaning, you know."

Hibiki Tachibana: "Hehehe. I'm always happy to help out."

Maria: "That wasn't meant as a compliment..."

Hibiki Tachibana; "There we go! Nice and clean!"

Maria: "Well? Do you feel a little more settled in now?"

Kanade Amo: "Yeah, thank you, everyone. Really. Thanks for helping out."

Hibiki Tachibana: "Oh please, Kanade-san. We just helped to clean up. It's no big deal."

Kanade Amo: "It's not that."

Hibiki Tachibana: "Oh? Then what is it?"

Kanade Amo: "I just... I feel like I've made you all worry about me."

Kanade Amo: "When you should be more worried about Tsubasa, instead."

Hibiki Tachibana: "Kanade-san..."

Kanade Amo: "Besides, I can tell how much you really love her."

Maria: "I... wouldn't go THAT far. Tsubasa is just a friend, whom I happen to look up to very much!"

Hibiki Tachibana: "Yeah! I love Tsubasa-san too!"

Kanade Amo: "Yeah, I know."

Hibiki Tachibana: "I'm guessing you must have been friends with her ever since the two of you first met. Right, Kanade-san?"

Kanade Amo: "I mean..."

Kanade Amo: (It wasn't like quite like that...) [2]

Kanade (Past): "I hate that stupid look on your face! Do I really scare you that much?!"

Kanade Amo: (Rather, it was the total opposite.)

Kanade Amo: (I...absolutely hated her.)

Kanade Amo: "......"

Maria: "What's the matter?"

Hibiki Tachibana: "Are you okay, Kanade-san?"

Kanade Amo: "Y-Yeah. I'm okay."

Hibiki Tachibana: "If you say so..."

Hibiki Tachibana: "Oh hey, what's this?"

Hibiki Tachibana: "Are these the lyrics to Backlit Wings?"

Kanade Amo: "Oh yeah, me and Tsubasa were looking over them..."

Hibiki Tachibana: "......"

Hibiki Tachibana: "Hey, Kanade-san?"

Kanade Amo: "Huh? Is something the matter?"

Hibiki Tachibana: "You don't perform as Zwei Wing anymore, do you?"

Kanade Amo: "Well..."

Maria: "Do you really have to remind her?"

Hibiki Tachibana: "I know it'd be difficult."

Hibiki Tachibana: "Singing in front of an audience would mean hiding the truth from them."

Hibiki Tachibana: "But wouldn't you and Tsubasa-san like to sing together as Zwei Wing again?"

Kanade Amo: "......"

Kanade Amo: "...I'd be lying if I said I didn't."

Kanade Amo: "But I know that can never happen. I'm sure Tsubasa knows, too."

Maria: "You want to sing together with her, and yet you can't... I know how it feels, and how much it hurts."

Maria: "I've sung on stage together with Kanade as well. I know that it's a wonderful feeling." [3]

Maria: "But even so, it would be wrong to deceive your fans."

Kanade Amo: "Yeah..."

Hibiki Tachibana: "Yeah, I guess you're right..."

Maria: "But you know..."

Kanade Amo: "Huh?"

Maria: "If you really want to sing with her that badly, perhaps we could be your audience?"

Hibiki Tachibana: "Yeah! You might not be able to perform in front of all your fans, but I'd gladly listen to you!"

Maria: "Shirabe and Kirika might become fans of yours. And hey, maybe I might, too."

Hibiki Tachibana: "We could get Miku and Chris-chan, too! We're all Zwei Wing fans!"

Kanade Amo: "Haha. I really appreciate it."

Maria: "But before that can happen, we need to save your partner, and fast."

Kanade Amo: "Yeah, you can say that again."

Maria: "Oh. Must be a call from Section 2."

Maria: "Hello? Understood."

Hibiki Tachibana: "What's going on?"

Maria: "They said our room is almost ready. We should turn in soon."

Hibiki Tachibana: "Aww, but I wanted to stay the night here..."

Maria: "For goodness sake, this isn't some slumber party. You need to be more mindful of others. Let's get going."

Hibiki Tachibana: "Okaaay... Sorry to impose."

Kanade Amo: "No problem. It's dark out, so be careful."

Hibiki Tachibana: "Will do. See you tomorrow!"

Kanade Amo: "......"

Hibiki Tachibana: "Oh, good morning."

Maria: "Sorry to trouble you yesterday."

Kanade Amo: "It's no big deal. Anyway, have we learned anything?"

Genjuro Kazanari: "We've considerably narrowed down the amount of potential sites. Please give us just a little more time."

Kanade Amo: "...Okay."

Ryoko Sakurai: "Ah, Kanade-chan. Nice timing."

Ryoko Sakurai: "Here's your pendant back."

Kanade Amo: "Oh, that's right. I left it with you, didn't I?"

Hibiki Tachibana: "Uh, Ryoko-san? You're looking a little pale."

Ryoko Sakurai: "It's been a while since I pulled an all-nighter. It's awful what staying up all night does to your skin."

Kanade Amo: "Was my pendant in that bad of shape?"

Ryoko Sakurai: "The damage itself wasn't too bad, but I also made a few teeny tiny tweaks."

Kanade Amo: "Tweaks?"

Hibiki Tachibana: "Whoa, you mean like a power up?!"

Kanade Amo: "What the..."

Ryoko Sakurai: "With aaaall this data I gathered, I was able to outfit your Gear to combat the Alca-Noise, Kanade-chan."

Kanade Amo: "For real?!"

Ryoko Sakurai: "Yes. Those Alca-Noise won't be a match for you now."

Maria: "Amazing! You did all of that in one night?"

Ryoko Sakurai: "Hehe. Well, I am the founder of the Sakurai Theory."

Maria: (She's clearly on a different level from Mom or Dr. Ver.)

Maria: (Being Finé's vessel, it's no surprise she's a genius... Or should I say superhuman.)

Ryoko Sakurai: "Your upgraded Gear should be safe, but I need you to test it out first, just to be sure."

Ryoko Sakurai: "Ideally, I'd want you to test it in live combat, but for now, the simulator will have to do."

Hibiki Tachibana: "Let's go, Kanade-san!"

Maria: "I'm feeling all restless just sitting around. I'll go with you."

Kanade Amo: "Yeah, sure..."

Kanade Amo: "Croitzal ronzell gungnir zizzl..."

Kanade Amo: (Maybe if I had this back then, I could have ended things before Tsubasa even got hurt.)

Kanade Amo: (But saying that now won't change anything.)

Kanade Amo: (Rather than wallow, I should focus on what to do next. That's what old man Genjuro said, right?)

Ryoko Sakurai: "Should anything occur, the simulator has a kill switch, so speak up if anything feels off."

Kanade Amo: "All right, I understand."

Hibiki Tachibana: "Okay then, let's do this, Kanade-san!"

Kanade Amo: "Sure. Come at me however you like!"

Kanade Amo: (I won't lose to the Alca-Noise again!)

Hibiki Tachibana: "Great job, Kanade-san!"

Ryoko Sakurai: "Well? Did anything feel strange?"

Kanade Amo: "Nope, nothing. So if an Alca-Noise touches me in this, I'll be fine, right?"

Ryoko Sakurai: "Yes. I've implemented a function that negates the effects of the Alca-Noise dissection organ, and stops--"

Kanade Amo: "......"

Ryoko Sakurai: "...At any rate, just act as if you're fighting normal Noise and you'll be fine."

Kanade Amo: "Got it. Thanks!"

Ryoko Sakurai: "No no, I'm simply doing my job."

Maria: "Now we just need to figure out where Tsubasa is."

Hibiki Tachibana: "I hope they're able to pin down her location soon."

Ryoko Sakurai: "......"

Ryoko Sakurai: (Honestly speaking, that's not that only thing to be worried about, though...)

Ryoko Sakurai: (There's that enormous creature that appeared after Tsubasa-chan was kidnapped...)

Ryoko Sakurai: (And those strange interference waves that stopped Kanade-chan and Tsubasa-chan dead in their tracks...)

Ryoko Sakurai: (The power of alchemy is not to be trifled with.)

Ryoko Sakurai: (Especially that creature.)

Hibiki Tachibana: "Is something the matter, Ryoko-san?"

Ryoko Sakurai: "Huh? What?"

Hibiki Tachibana: "Did you fall asleep standing up?"

Maria: "She's not YOU, Hibiki."

Ryoko Sakurai: "Ah, yes. I may be a tad sleep-deprived."

Ryoko Sakurai: "I'll go rest up for a spell while I have the time."

Hibiki Tachibana: "Okay. Thank you again for all your hard work!"

Ryoko Sakurai: "I hope I'm just overthinking this..."

Tsubasa Kazanari: "...What is this place?"

Tsubasa Kazanari: "......"

Tsubasa Kazanari: (Have I fallen into enemy hands?)

Tsubasa Kazanari: (How long was I out for?)

Tsubasa Kazanari: (I was fighting an unknown foe with Kanade, fell in battle, and wound up in the enemy's clutches.)

Tsubasa Kazanari: (Is Kanade all right?)

Tsubasa Kazanari: "At least I can think straight now."

Tsubasa Kazanari: (First things first, I need to get a handle on my current situation.)

Tsubasa Kazanari: "Thankfully, I don't appear to have any injuries."

Tsubasa Kazanari: "...But I don't have my Gear pendant or comms device on me."

Tsubasa Kazanari: "Wait... The door isn't locked? But how?"

Tsubasa Kazanari: (I doubt they'd be so careless as to forget to lock it. They must have done this intentionally.)

Tsubasa Kazanari: "What IS this place?!"

Tsubasa Kazanari: (There's nothing but snow as far as the eye can see.)

Tsubasa Kazanari: (Just how far away did they take me?)

Tsubasa Kazanari: (Brr! Just looking at the scenery is making me cold.)

Tsubasa Kazanari: "And there's nowhere close to the security you'd want if you were holding a prisoner."

Tsubasa Kazanari: "What's that tune?"

Tsubasa Kazanari: (I've never heard it before. And it sounds so odd, too.)

Tsubasa Kazanari: (Is it coming from over there?)

Tsubasa Kazanari: (What's with this enormous hall?)

Tsubasa Kazanari: (The sound appears to be emanating from that weird piece of art... Is it some kind of instrument?)

Tsubasa Kazanari: (Someone's underneath it. Are they playing it? No, that's--!)

Mysterious Woman: "Ah, so you're awake."

Tsubasa Kazanari: "I had a feeling it was you!"

Mysterious Woman: "Please, don't be so on edge."

Mysterious Woman: "I have no intention of hurting you. Not at the moment, at any rate."

Tsubasa Kazanari: "It takes some cheek to say that, kidnapper!"

Tsubasa Kazanari: "What did you do with Kanade? Where is she?!"

Mysterious Woman: "The only one I brought back here was you."

Mysterious Woman: "I didn't finish your friend off, so she should still be alive."

Tsubasa Kazanari: (I suppose that's one less thing to worry about. But...)

Tsubasa Kazanari: "...Who are you?"

Mysterious Woman: "......"

Tsubasa Kazanari: "Where is this place?"

Mysterious Woman: "......"

Tsubasa Kazanari: "Why on earth did you bring me here?"

Mysterious Woman: "I don't need to tell you any of that."

Tsubasa Kazanari: "Rgh..."

Mysterious Woman: "But since we'll be friends for a while, I shall at least give you my name."

Alicia: "I am the alchemist, Alicia Bernstein."

Alicia: "Nice to meet you, Ms. Tsubasa Kazanari of Zwei Wing."

Tsubasa Kazanari: "Alicia Bernstein..."

Tsubasa Kazanari: (So then she really was an alchemist?)

Alicia: "I heard that you had died, so imagine my surprise when I found you still amongst the living."

Tsubasa Kazanari: "Well..."

Tsubasa Kazanari: (How much does she know?)

Tsubasa Kazanari: (Well, however much she does know, I don't need to volunteer more information than she already has.)

Tsubasa Kazanari: "Alicia, you say? Just what are you after?"

Alicia: "Ah, yes. Well, I suppose if I had to put it into words..."

Alicia: "Perhaps you could say... world peace?"

Tsubasa Kazanari: "World... peace?"

Notes:

[1] They picked the wrong meaning for the context of her "shitsurei shimasu!" and made it sound like she was leaving instead of walking in

[2] There's an extra "like" in this line

[3] She said she sang with Tsubasa in the Japanese script and didn't once mention Kanade's name, I have no idea how they got the line this wrong

[that-girl-over-there-ffn]

Peter Parker’s first four encounters with The Vision. 1.

Peter listened intently as Tony and Rhodes briefed the team on the impending operation to capture Barnes. One by one they covered the adversaries their team might face who could aid his escape. Natasha chimed in, citing their weaknesses, strengths, and how best to combat them. "Lastly, we all know the scary one: Wanda," Tony spoke as the young girl's face appeared on the screen. "Location currently unknown, along with Barton, but it's our best bet they put their lot in with Cap." Peter's eyes widened. He only knew of Wanda from news reports. If she could move an exploding bomb, what else what she capable of? From his peripheral, he noticed the Vision flex his fingers and shift uncomfortably. Rhodes continued, serious. "Do not engage Wanda, if you can avoid it." "She will mess you up, trust me." Tony rubbed his temple. "Right, Romanoff?" Natasha disregarded his comment. "If she does show, our hope is to neutralize her, from a safe distance, as quickly as possible." Vision opened his mouth before closing it, glancing away. Peter wondered what it was he was going to say, how it pertained to the mission. After the briefing ended and everyone disbursed, Peter moved to approach Tony, eager for any additional advice the genius might bestow. But Iron Man didn't seem to notice the young man as he quickly made his way to Vision whose head was hung low. Tony clasped his shoulder, voice low, "Hey, you okay?" Peter did not hear Vision's murmured response. "Don't worry about it, alright?" the playboy urged. "We'll get her back." Without another word, he moved back to Rhodes, observing the monitors. Thus, Peter found himself standing beside the world famous Stark creation, The Vision. "Hi," he introduced, extending his hand. "I'm Peter... Parker." Vision peered at the gesture, curious. Most humans, he'd found, rarely spoke to him directly. Choosing instead, to speak of him to Mr Stark, whether he was present or not. So, he shook the hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr Parker. I am Vision." Peter shift slightly, as people usually only addressed as so formally when he was in trouble. Still, he was positively gobsmacked. "Wow, I can't believe—I mean—you're The Vision!" He chuckled at his stammering, "This is all so surreal, ya know?" "Yes," Vision nodded solemnly, eyeing the screen displaying his former teammates faces. "It certainly is." "Hey, can I—" "Alright, listen up!" Rhodes spoke up. "We've got visual confirmation. They're coming." Tony commanded, "Get into position." xx

2.

Peter pretended to listen, annoyed, as Tony rattled off a list of reasons why he should back off the Vulture situation. Quickly, as they trotted through the Avengers Tower, they came into what Peter assumed was a common room of sorts. It was there they stumbled upon Vision, dressed not in his armor, as Peter had previously seen him. But a simple dark sweater and grey trousers. Standing alone, he gazed to an unknown space before him, seemingly unaware of their presence. Upon seeing the synthezoid, Peter's spirits lifted, forgetting his irritation, if only for a moment. "Vision!" he bounded up, excited. Vision's somber eyes briefly met his before darting away. "Hello, Mr Parker." "How's it going, man?" Vision appeared to consider this question carefully before he slowly answer, tone wistful. "As well as can be expected, I suppose." Peter hesitated, confused. But before he could inquire further, Tony grasped his shoulder, leading him away. "Yeah," the billionaire muttered as they began to make their way out of the room. "He's going through some stuff right now." "Oh," Peter glimpsed over his shoulder in time to see the melancholy Vision slowly phasing into the floor below him. xx 3.

The whole situation had gone awry, villains were crawling out of the woodwork! It wasn't anything he couldn't handle, Peter told himself. But as much as it pained him to admit it, he desperately needed Tony Stark's advice. As it was after hours and the downstairs lobby of the Tower was locked, he swung his way skyward to the upper floors. However, as he sailed up, he suddenly spotted a familiar form moving through a darkened room. With practiced agility, he landed against the glass, before lightly knocking. Vision paused, mid-step, and frowned before moving forward and opening the window. "Hey, Vision," Peter waved as he crawled in. "Have you seen Mr Stark?" "Mr Stark departed for Malibu 27 minutes ago." "What?" he groaned. "Seriously?" "Yes," Vision quickly replied before stepping away. "Wait!" Peter called. "How can I get ahold of him?" "Have you attempted to telephone him?" "I did but he didn't answer. What's going on?" Vision glimpsed at the clock on the wall. "It is likely he is with Miss Potts. When they are together socially, Mr Stark has made it a point to turn off his mobile." "Oh. When do you think he'll turn it back on?" "I do not know." Despite Vision's polite reply, he appeared most impatient. "Right," Peter said, scratching his head. "Am I keeping you from something...?" "Yes," Vision flexed his fingers, eyes shifting to the side. "I'm afraid I am expected elsewhere." "Oh, sorry!" the web-slinger instantly apologized. "I didn't mean—" "It's quite alright," Vision hastily responded. "However, I really must be going." "Yeah, sure. Of course. I'll just..." he pointed to the window behind him. "You may, of course, stay as long as you like, Mr Parker," Vision offered. "Just 'Peter' is fine. You don't have to call me 'Mister,'" he mumbled. "I'm pretty sure you outrank me, anyway." Vision eyed him curiously. "Very well," he simply nodded, turning away. As he approached the wall, foot already phasing though, he turned back to the young man. "Peter," he called. "Might I request, when you are able to contact Mr Stark..." "Yeah?" "If you could refrain from mentioning our interaction here, I would sincerely appreciate it." Gears turned in Peter's head, as a teenager with his own bundle of secrets, realization dawned on him. Vision was sneaking out. "Sure, man," he grinned. "I got your back." "Thank you," Vision smiled, the first Peter had ever witnessed, before disappearing. xx 4. Peter was overwhelmed by the roar of debate in the air as nearly two dozen costumed heroes spoke at once. Each desperate to have their voice heard as they locked horns over what to do, would give no quarter to their allies. Fiddling with his mask in his hands, he searched for a familiar face. As Tony was currently in a shouting match with Captain America and some guy in an ornate cape and robes, his eyes decided to settle on the only other person he'd spoken to more than once. Vision stood in the corner, closely beside 'the scary one,' listening, completely engrossed, as she spoke to him. As Peter approached, he heard Vision's reply. "I do not believe that would be the best course of action," he said, gazing into her eyes. "No?" Her eyebrow quirked, lips curling into a smirk. Vision's reply, a simple smile, was genuine and infectious. Peter found himself smiling, as he greeted, "Hey, Vision. It's pretty crazy in here, huh?" Vision peered over the crowd, as if seeing them for the first time. "Indeed." "Talk about too many chiefs and not enough Indians, right?" Peter recited one of his uncle's favorite idioms. They both simply blinked at him, confused. After a beat, Vision broke the awkward silence. "Wanda, this is Peter." "Hello, Peter," she looked him up and down, assessing. "Vision has told me much about you." "Yeah?" he half-waved, pride building before reminding himself to be cool. "So, what're you guys talking about?" "How everyone is standing around wasting time," she growled. "And what to do about it." "Wanda has suggested bewitching everyone into complacency." Vision's hand settled on her lower back. "To achieve order, of course." "Of course," she quickly nodded. Peter's eyes widened, "Could you really do that?" "Probably," she shrugged, leaning into Vision's embrace. "I don't know about that guy, though," she nodded toward the man in the cape barking at Tony. "He's got something off about him." "Yeah," Peter rubbed the back of his head, willing the familiar tingle to dissipate. "He's kinda weird." "Doctor Stephen Strange," Vision supplied. "He claims to have an Infinity Stone in his possession." Just as Vision mentioned his name, the doctor in question glimpsed their way. Tony and Steve followed suit. "Oh, shit," Peter cursed under his breath. As Peter glanced from the three of them back to  Wanda, he caught a flash of crimson in her eyes. "He wants to examine you," she growled. Doctor Strange began to stalk across the room, trailed closely by a disgruntled Tony and an annoyed Steve. "You can't just take a look under the hood and check the oil - he's not a machine!" Iron Man objected, effectively silencing the room. Strange turned on the spot, his cape billowing gracefully behind him. "And I am not a mechanic. I'm a medical doctor and an advanced practitioner of the mystic arts." "Okay, the first part, sure," Tony agreed. "It's the second part we're having difficulty with," Steve finished. Strange arched an eyebrow. "You've bared witness to aliens, gods, and beings beyond comprehension, yet I make you wary?" The two glanced at one another. "No matter," Strange continued. "Thor will vouch for me when he arrives." "Wait, how do you know...?" Peter swallowed, eyes darting between Vision and the approaching trio. Something dangerous was building, his senses warned as every head in the room was turned in their direction. Was the doctor plotting something nefarious? Peter couldn't be sure, but what he did know was he had Vision's back, just as he'd pledged. But it wasn't until his gaze met Wanda's ruby orbs again that he realized the danger did not lie with the doctor, but with her. There was something in her darkening irises that was feral, yet familiar. He'd seen it before, in that of his aunt when he'd come home beaten and bruised. The next few seconds could play out in a number of ways, Peter guessed. Most of which would lead to the Airport Battle Part II. Not good. "Wanda," he quickly muttered. While Peter didn't have a follow up, it was more than enough to distract her and grab Vision's attention. Turning to the woman beside him, Vision combed his fingers through her hair, whispering something in her ear. Her shoulders relaxed as he kissed her temple and squeezed her hand. Stepping forward, he met the approaching Doctor Strange with an assuring smile. Behind his back, Wanda glanced at Peter, a wordless question hanging between the two young heroes. Was it going to be okay? Did he trust Strange? If things went south, would he fight with her for Vision? Peter answered with a single curt nod. "So," Strange clasped his hands together, a hint of intrigue in his eye. "Shall we begin?"

[secrethauntedcollect]

I got all of the above for $2.69 (nice)

Oh What’s This? It’s Soren’s No-Bullshit Guide To Couponing

When I say “no bullshit” I am aiming for a very high level of no bullshit. Cause you know when you see blogs about this shit, it’s all hyped up and overwhelming and click-baity like “PAY NINE CENTS FOR GROCERIES FOR A WEEK” except those groceries are just, like, some toilet paper and like 100 tubes of kids toothpaste or something? This guide is not going to do that to you.

I’m going to talk about: how couponing works, what I do and use, what you need for it, what the “catches” are, and what may or may not be applicable to you as well. You can save on a lot of stuff, but I haven’t found my grocery bills cut in half or anything. This is a long guide because there’s a lot to cover. Get yourself some tea/water/coffee/hot chocolate (or all of those), get cozy, and settle in for the read.

So, how does this stuff work?

It’s not like it was back in the 90s or any date before smartphones became widely used. Smartphones have changed the whole game. You no longer work exclusively with newspaper coupons and nor do you have to cross examine sales ads every week for like 10 hours a day to figure out where to get beans for free. 

A huge change is rebate apps like Ibotta and Checkout51. You add your favorite stores, see what items offer rebates, and then add them to your list. Once you’ve bought stuff, you upload photos of your receipt (or scan the QR code) and it gives you cashback on whatever you bought. I use Ibotta, because I have limited phone storage and try not to cram too many apps on my phone. If I had more room I’d probably download Checkout51 as well.

Here’s a link for Ibotta https://ibotta.com/r/gqdfows (if you sign up with that link I get $5 and we also get to be “teammates” on the app, which means we are friends. Also, Ibotta gives you $10 for signing up and using it within the first 30 days)

In-store sales and manufacturer’s coupons (or “MFG coupons”, usually found in newspapers but about 40% of the time you can get them online as well) still factor in, of course. The real money saving is when you can stack up all three, which happens pretty often. The website and app Krazy Coupon Lady tells you exactly where these stack ups are. You don’t have to do shit except scroll through what they’ve found for you, print some coupons, add rebates to your rebate app, and then go get it. You can use this on your desktop if you don’t have phone space, or you can download the app. It’s up to you. The app is handy for remembering when you’re out and about what was for sale where, but then you could also just write a list to remind yourself.

BUT—and here’s the biggest catch of all with couponing—do you need all the couponing deals and steals? Do you even like what’s on sale? Do you need to buy 10 kids toothbrushes even if you can get all of them for 60¢? 

This is the most frustrating part of couponing, I’ve found. There are a lot of deals on stuff I don’t like or don’t use at all. Ever. I don’t need to save on toddler clothes, and I make my own laundry soap (it’s actually incredibly cheap to do it this way) so I don’t need the Amazing Deals On Tide Pods At Target This Week Only. My savings could be “more” if I did need these things, but I don’t. Because it’s mostly moms that do this, it’s pretty mom-geared. But it can work for other people, smaller households and single people like myself too.

What I use:

A computer & printer

A smartphone (with one rebate app, one couponing app, Target app, for Cartwheel savings)

A car

What I’m mainly missing is: the other rebate app, a newspaper subscription

I save because I can print coupons from home, I’m really mobile, so I can go to more than one store (each type of yoghurt above is from a different store) and I have a smartphone with a rebate app on it. 

If you don’t have a car you can still get some good deals through rebates, coupons & sales in the stores near you. Most grocery stores are listed on Ibotta and offer refunds. So whatever’s near you and you tend to shop at a lot, you can probably find some rebates. You can stick to looking at the stores near you and still do a pretty good job saving. You don’t need to coupon EVERY DAY. Most sales are about a week long, so even if you grocery shop once a week, this can work for you. (If you live out in the sticks like I used to and only grocery shop once a month, that’s going to be more difficult)

If you don’t have a printer I’m not going to tell you something absurd like “ask your neighbor to print coupons for you.” Cause, like, no. That’s fucking unreal. No one would ever do that. (I would totally try to print coupons at work or school though.) But if you can’t get printable MFG coupons, you can still combine rebates with in-store sales and save. You’ll save about two-thirds or half of what everyone else is saving.

If you don’t have a smartphone… it’s going to be tough, honestly. But you can still check out the Krazy Coupon Lady site for where the deals are and use printable MFG coupons stacked up with in-store sales.

If you don’t have a newspaper subscription you can do what I do, which is check the recycling bins near you for coupons. I found some once. I’m usually in there anyway, throwing out my own recyclables, or, yes, scrounging around for stuff. Mainly clean boxes I can use for shipping stuff. I haven’t found coupons consistently though. A lot of coupon sites will tell you to just ask your neighbors… lmao nah. No thanks. 

Like a lot of things in life, the more you already have, the more you can save. Kinda sucks, but that’s how it goes. No bullshit!!!

What’s the Deal, the Lowdown… the “Catch”

MFG coupons: there is no catch here. You just print them and use them. Most people think you can only print one, but you can actually print two per device each time. Print one, click the back button on your browser. Make sure the barcode numbers are different. Print again. You can get two from your computer, and then two from your smartphone if you can hook up your phone to your printer (I haven’t figured that out yet, I’m lazy.) So you can, ideally, get 4 coupons to use on multiple items. OH YEAH and you can get a lot of MFG coupons on coupons.com. Sometimes you have to go directly to Kleenex.com and sign up for their mailing list before you can get your coupons. SOMETIMES you can get a bigger coupon if you share on social media. (This is what a locked alt twitter is great for.)

Ibotta: it mainly collects consumer data/feedback from you and sometimes you have to watch a 10-15 second ad in the app to add a rebate to your list. Half the rebates I add don’t ask for either. Sometimes you get one that’s like “Wow! What new ice cream flavor of ours are you most excited for” and you have to click on a flavor. It’s whatever. Also, you can only withdraw your money once you have over $20. Is that hard? Not really, I’ve found. Your first one is especially easy since they give you $10 for using a rebate within the first 30 days of downloading it. I’ve been using it since late June 2017 and have saved up $59 already (so I’m really close to my third cash out of $20.) Update for March 2019: I’m hovering right under $500 in savings now.

It sends your funds to either Paypal or Venmo, not your bank account, so you need one of those.

I’m not sure about Checkout51, but I assume it’s basically the same.

Krazy Coupon Lady app/website: no catch here, but you might have some carelord online @ you that you’re being problematic because it has the word “crazy”, albeit spelt wrong, in it. They have some good guides over there, I recommend downloading their guide to couponing at Target, it gives you a pretty good taste of how this shit goes. 

Overall, since some savings come from rebates, it doesn’t always cost that much less up front. If you’re using just Ibotta for a discount on something, you still pay the full price, and you won’t see your refund until your blessed $20 limit is reached. However, I like ibotta because you don’t have to do shit at the cash register, and you can go home and take pics of your receipt after you’ve bought everything. It’s pretty easy. Sales and coupons give you the up-front-at-the-register discounts so you out-of-pocket pay less. That feels a bit more rewarding, especially if you know you have an ibotta rebate to add later. However, you have to remember to bring your coupons, and make sure they’re still valid. Also they can be glitchy! Half the time I have to have someone come over (I pretty exclusively use self-checkouts) and validate or collect the coupon because the system is angry.

The products themselves: what can you get on sale? Is buying name brand cheaper than buying store brand?

Real deal: they talk a lot of shit about really cheap toilet paper, but I have yet to find any name brand toilet paper with 1000000 coupons/rebates/sales that’s cheaper than a store brand. Not worth it, but you can keep looking and hoping if you want.

Besides that, it’s kinda up in the air. Sometimes, depending on the deals around, you CAN get name brand for much cheaper than the store brand and have it be worth all that effort. Sometimes it’s ten cents difference and like, fuck that. I don’t need name brand plastic bags that bad. 

THERE ARE A LOT OF DEALS ON LAUNDRY DETERGENT. So many. So fucking unbelievably many. Half of them seem to be “I got some Tide at rite aid for a dollar.” If you do a lot of laundry, this is great for you. 

Most of the deals are for like… “normal American food” stuff, I guess. A lot of name brand breakfast cereal, granola bars, canned soup, Kleenex, yoghurt, ice cream, sometimes cheeses. P&G brands. Your dairy products are generally on sale (except butter, weirdly—though they do push the margarine.) There are not a lot of offers for produce, which is like… fine really, cause it’s already pretty cheap. 

On Ibotta, however, there are “any item” rebates for some produce and other “staple” items. For a while they were giving you 25¢ off any bananas, 50¢ off any milk or bread, that sort of thing. Now they’re for oranges and eggs I think. They also tend to have 25-50¢ off any item rebates too which you can snatch up easy. I like those. I was getting 50¢ off single donuts at Fred Meyers for a while, making them 19¢.

What about special diet stuff? Organic stuff? 

There’s honestly not a whole lot of this when it comes to coupons + sales + rebates stack ups featured in the KCL app. Which is weird to me, you’d think someone on the site would be paying more attention to Whole Foods sales and matching them up with rebates, but whatever. So you’re not going to get gluten free bread for 50¢ a loaf. There are, however, coupons here and there. Ibotta has a rebate at Whole Foods for $1.50 off Udi’s GF bread right now, there’s a $5 rebate on organic protein powder, some kombucha, Stonyfield Grassfed yoghurt… it’s there, though it’s not like Cheap As Free, so it doesn’t get advertised as much. You can still save here, but not as much as if your diet is mostly General Mills breakfast cereal and Tide laundry soap.

What’s good, though, is if you save enough in other areas of Household and Grocery, it makes it a little easier to get some of the nicer stuff that never really goes drastically on sale.

So what about that yoghurt up there? How’d you do that?

Alright.

The Chobani Smooth yoghurts, both of them, were free. There’s a rebate on Ibotta right now (as of Sept 8 2017) for $3.00 off two of them. They’re currently priced at $1.50 at Walmart, so those suckers were cheap as free. The KCL app told me about this one. I didn’t need to print coupons or do anything but go buy them and scan the QR code to redeem the rebate.

The Oui yoghurt was also free. This was from softcoin.com, which loaded the coupon onto my Fred Meyer’s card (always get the store club cards, they’re free), so when I scanned it at the register, it became $0.00. There was a limit of one. The KCL app told me about this one too.

The Noosa yoghurt was from Target and I paid 73¢ for it. Or something. Idk about my math on that one. The KCL app listed it at a lesser price than it eneded up being in my store, so I didn’t get it for 48¢. The savings came from three places: 1) 15% off Noosa yoghurt from the Cartwheel part of the Target app; 2) A MFG coupon from noosayoghurt.com; and 3) an ibotta rebate for noosa yoghurt. With the cartwheel app, you just add the offers you want to your list, and then scan your barcode at the register for the discounts to apply. Sometimes there are MFG coupons in there for you! Paperless! Nice!

The Suja organics drink was from Winco, originally $2.48 but ultimately ended up being 73¢. If you can, always try to use coupons and rebates at your cheapest grocery store. I used an ibotta rebate for 74¢ off, and found a $1/off 1 MFG coupon on the bottle itself at the store. Which isn’t the first time that’s happened. 

The Zico was 75¢ off with an Ibotta rebate, making it $1.23 (not bad for coconut water). 

With the last two, however, there’s more: there’s currently a bonus on Ibotta that if you buy a Suja drink, Zico coconut water, and an Odwalla smoothie, which all have their own single 75¢ off rebates, you get an extra 75¢ off, which means they each become 25¢ less on top of that. All this shit I drink already (I’m big into bevs) so this is a good save for me.  There are bonuses like this a lot, though I don’t pay a whole lot of attention to all of them because they aren’t always relevant.

Some of my good past buys have been: 4 bags of pasta for 38 cents a piece (safeway sale plus MFG coupons). I got linguini and fettucini noodles because the long noodles you can’t get in bulk at winco (bulk noodles are always cheaper)

And I got some puffs cube box tissues (ie the ones that fit in my silly tissue covers) for 75 cents a piece instead of like two something. That was a safeway sale + MFG coupon and an ibotta rebate, if I remember right.

Anything else?

The most rebates on Ibotta are at Walmart. They by far have the most rebates.

Also, not every rebate is for every store. I tried to use something at Winco once only to find out it’s only valid at Target. You can see where it’s redeemable when you scroll down. Most of the time this isn’t a problem, though.

Ibotta has a lot of rebates on alcohol. If you have or have had a drinking problem, you can hide all of these from you in your settings (I think it should be something you can turn off when you sign up, but whatever)

Kohl’s weirdly has amazing clearance deals on household stuff. who knew? the KCL app will tell you about them.  

So, basic getting started:

download Ibotta

go over to KCL and check out their shit about what’s on sale where and when and how. you don’t have to download their app if you don’t want to. it might be overwhelming but... just look for a bit. think about it. (i usually browse through the app while i’m watching tv or just before bed to see if there’s anything i need to pick up the next day)

go over to coupons.com to see what’s out there

then, when you’re ready, fuckin coupon 

That’s probably it for now. If you have questions, feel free to ask me.

And again, if you want to try out ibotta and give me $5, my referral code is GQDFOWS wooo okay 

[cosplayernation]

10 Tips for the Chronically Ill Cosplayer

Part I of II | Let's Get Physical

Chronic Cosplay

    There's a reason I go by Chronic Cosplay. I'm chronically ill and I'm absolutely crazy - as in, actually mentally ill. Don't look at me like that, I can get you the paperwork. This is not a drill. This is, however, an article that's both close to my heart and absolutely imperitive for your survival. I write about it on my blog, I talk about it in interviews, I answer questions from friends and fans alike - how to cosplay with a chronic illness (or a laundry list of them). This how to survive a convention without sacrificing your health - phyical or mental. It is, in fact, possible.

    I learned how to do it the hard way. I spent entire Saturdays in hotel rooms in too much pain and far too tired to get anything done. I've passed out at conventions. I've collapsed and laid on concrete for hours, a circle of eleven people I didn't know sitting around me to keep me safe and cracking jokes to keep my spirits up. As much as the experience restored a significant amount of faith in humanity, it still entailed me laying on concrete for two or three hours in too much pain to do any more than crack a smile. I think you get the point. We'll cover some highlights from my extensive background of con crazy in Part II. For now, let's focus on ten of the most important lessons I've learned in my five years as a cosplayer with physical disabilities.

1. Make A Realistic Schedule

    Oh, sure, you would love to go to the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure group shoot at 10am, book it to the lolita fashion panel at 11:15, meet your friends for lunch at noon across the building, change your cosplay, get to the [insert sports anime here] group photoshoot at 12:45, do another cosplay change at 1:54, and make it to your private shoot as Miku Hatsune for 2:10. It sounds like a dream, everything scheduled right in a neat line so you can get everything done. Let me break this down for you right now, you will get one of these things done and I can't tell you which one it is. I can tell you that you're going to have a surprise fainting spell before noon and you're going to spend the rest of the day in your hotel upset and in agony. Space your events wisely. Cross reference room numbers and the convention center map. I guarantee there will be two [insert sports anime here] group shoots a day, there will be four JJBA group shoots every three hours, your friends won't mind picking a closer restaurant, and you'll get to sit down at the panel. See how that works? See how you are not dead? Let's keep it that way.

2. Keep Your Cosplay Line Up Simple

    Look, I get it. You have four sports anime, two Jo Jo's Bizarre Adventure per day, and you just made the perfect prop for your private shoot. I'm going to stop you right there. You cannot fit all of those in one day. You probably can't fit them all into one weekend. I brought nine cosplays to my third convention. I wore two. I wore two and I was still to exhausted to make a group shoot I planned. As much as you love every cosplay in your closet, please love yourself long enough to realize you will never have the energy to bring every single one of them. Pick your favorites, pick the ones with the group shoots you absolutely cannot miss. Pick a super comfy back up cosplay for when you realize you still brought way too many and you're about to pass out. At least pass out in a kigurumi or a swimsuit. Please don't pass out in the most complicated armored cosplay this world has ever seen. Do not impale yourself on your own EVA foam breastplate. Yes, it may be the sickest photo op all weekend, but you'll end up being the sickest con goer and not in a good way.

3. Swallow Your Pride

    You can pretend you're not ill all morning but halfway through that four hour pre-reg when you're dehydrated; dizzy; and your knees give out, you're going to wish you'd asked your doctor for that note about needing accomodation because you are not able to stand in four hour lines. See what I'm getting at here? Yeah. Just get the note. Thank me later.

4. Use Your Mobility Aid (if you have one)

     This could easily qualify for swallowing your pride. A lot of these will, I'm going to be honest with you. I know we, as folks with chronic illnesses, can feel a sense of shame or embarrassment for relying on mobility aids. I know this is especially hard when you're just starting to use mobility aids. There's a learning curve to them, it's not just you. But the fact of the matter is that your doctor would not sign off for you to get a mobility aid if you didn't need it. Don't jeopardize your health or ruin all your Saturday plans because you wanted to cartwheel through the halls on Friday in your Tai Li cosplay. If you want to set a mobility aid down or step out of one for a photo, fine. Do so wisely. Do so if you are capable of doing so. If you've paid $60 for a private photoshoot and you want to slide your cane or a crutch out of the way for a photo, have something to lean on. At least use your mobility aid for the rest of the weekend. If you're in a wheel chair or on a scooter, that does not take away from your cosplay no matter what anyone tells you or what you try to tell yourself. Between me; so many of my friends with mobility equipment; and Misa on Wheels, I promise there are plenty of people who believe in you. We believe in you and we don't want you to risk your health just because you don't think Princess Peach would rock a wheelchair. She totally would and so will you.

    Side note: When it comes to canes, props check does not always understand the concept that some cosplayers have canes for use as a mobility aid and not as a prop. When you consider the myriad of characters with walking sticks out there, Ciel Phantomhive and steampunk anything for example, it's understandable that they will occasionally stop you to try and give it a zip tie. In my experience, letting them know it's a cane used for medical purposes and not as a prop is quick and painless. While you should not expect any more hassle after a quick explanation, should any volunteer or staff member insist on giving you more trouble or trying to take your mobility equipment away, ask to speak to a higher up immediately. I wish I didn't have to tell you that props check will probably flag you down upon entering the convention center, it's better to give out a heads up for any newer cosplayers or cosplayers just starting to use mobility aids. Wheel chairs don't seem to raise questions, neither do crutches of any kind, I haven't used my walker to a convention but I would assume that wouldn't cause any questions either. To any case user, keep this in mind and don't be offended when a volunteer who has no idea who you're supposed to be cosplaying is only trying to play it safe.

5. Slow Down

    The one problem with convention schedules is how badly we all want to catch every single thing listed on one. The second you get your con schedule booklet, you start planning. You pull out your favorite pen and circling every single panel, event, and photoshoot you want to see or attend. We've been over this. Put the pen down. Let's fast forward to when you first step onto the con floor Friday morning. You're speed walking or speed wheeling your way down hallways, through exhibit halls, from friend to friend to that cosplayer you need to race after and flag down for a photo. There's so much space to cover and so little time in your three day weekend of nerdy revelry. Re-read that sentence. Three days is plenty of time. It's more than enough time. Save the power walking for your neighborhood PTA members and take it easy. Be the tortoise to your mind-racing idealistic hare imagination. Go slow. You're at this convention to have fun and relax. It's a vacation from normalcy, school, work, and the fifteen doctors appointments you have this month. If you rush your way through pre-reg, getting ready Friday morning, and rush from the hotel to the con center to keep up your speed oni level of exertion, take a guess on how much energy you're going to have for Saturday and Sunday. None. You will have no energy. You power walk your way to exhaustion and the rest of your weekend lay in shambles at your feet. Take a tip from Sub Zero and chill out. You'll get everywhere in your own time and still live to see tomorrow.

 6. Carry A List

Scratch that, carry several lists. Type these lists into your phone's memo section, have a hard copy on paper in your wallet, have a post-it tab for the pages in your date book; notebook; or sketchbook. Make sure that if anything happens, your lists are easily accessible and easy to read. List any medications you take along with the dosage, list when you last took your medication, write a list of instructions of what to do or what not to do if a health emergency occurs. Whether it's fainting; too low or too high blood sugar; a migraines; seizures; or the myriad of other magical things that could go wrong, write out the protocol for how to handle it. Hopefully it won't come up, but let's play it safe. Write down your blood type, too, if you know it. Write down any medications you have an allergy to, write down foods you have an allergy to, write down the numbers for your doctors. The con health center can only do so much and nobody in there is a psychic. Make sure they have the right information to help you if things go south.

7. Speak Up!

    There's a pretty big chance that your friend group isn't made up entirely of people with chronic illnesses.   There's a pretty big chance these friends don't live with someone who has one or more chronic illnesses. There's a pretty big chance these friends are all about that PTA mom power walk life and they're all about standing in the middle of a hallway for four hours to debate about whether or not the premise of Yu-Gi-Oh! 5Ds makes sense or not. First of all, the premise totally makes sense and I will defend it with my very life. Second of all, your able bodied friends are not psychic nor are they going to think about whether or not you can stand for that long or walk that quickly if you don't say something.

    What I'm trying to get at here is that you need to say something! "Guys, can find somewhere to sit down, please?" If they say no, they're not very good friends and you don't need that nonsense in your life. "Hey! Can we slow down a little? I can't walk this fast." If they say no, they are not very good friends and you don't need that in your life. Are you in the pre-reg line with your doctor's note waiting for a staff member to miraculously walk by until their disability radar goes off so you can ask about a more accomodating line? Nobody in the con staff has a disability radar and they aren't going to notice the piece of paper in your hand. Walk, limp, or wheel your way to the front of a pre-reg line and ask where to find the accomodating reg table. Someone will tell you and get you set up to avoid a lot of suffering.

    If you have trouble speaking up for any of these things, keep a very loud and very confident friend with you. Give your very loud and very confident friend the "please help me with your loudness" look and stutter out a few key words such as "chairs," "too fast," or "special needs line." Don't thank me on this one, thank you very loud and very confident friend. Then thank your very loud and very confident friend for me.

8. Set Phone Reminders

    Do you have any medication you need to take throughout the day? Probably. Are you going to remember when you took them with all the excitement going on? Probably not. Does your phone have a memo section, an alarm app, and a timer? Unless you're about that ironically oldschool Nokia brick life, your phone has all three. Type out the time in the memo section whenever you take your medication. Leave the memo app open and hit your "check all running apps" button for a quick look whenever you need to double check how much time you have before your next dose. You can also set an alarm for every dose you need to take that day. If you'll be in a panel, set your alarm to vibrate. Try using the timer on your phone instead of the alarm if you don't always take your medication at the exact same time every day. I can tell you that for me, it always depends on when I wake up.

    If you're accidentally running late on medication or you ignored number 5 and it's all hitting you harder than a super saiyan, take a tip from Celty and communicate by typing it out. Not only is this completely appropriate given your current surroundings, but it's something I've used in my day to day life. I've texted someone right next to me "yo, i need to take meds, can we sit for a sec?" Convention centers can be louder than a jet plane, but you can still bet your bottom dollar everyone there is still going to check their phone. I've even typed "can't speak, pain," and made a very weak attempt at handing my phone to a family member from bed when I hadn't the strength to sit up. You know what happened in those situations? My friend helped me to a chair and got me some water. My folks picked up the phone, nodded, made some tea, gave me my morning meds, popped in a Yu Yu Hakusho DVD, and told me to rest for the day or text them if I needed anything. Durarara! is surprisingly good at offering some choice life lessons when you least expect it.

9. HYDRATE. EAT.

If I honestly need to explain to you why dehydration and extremely low blood sugar are things you should avoid, I just don't know what to tell you. However, if it's a matter of "I can't really chew solid foods" or "my stomach isn't cooperating" or "my meds cause really bad nausea and I don't know what to do," then I have a few ideas. One happens to be pedialyte. It's a god send for keeping hydrated when everything seems a lot more like the ending of Free! Iwatobi Swim Club's first season. It's also fantastic for kicking con plague in the face. I recommend it over sports drinks because Pedialyte, and it's generic knock offs, are made with simple sugars that are easier for the body to break down than the complex sugars found in your Powerades, Gatorades, and Vitamin Waters. Ensure is great for when you can't do solid foods but need some kind of protein and sustenance, provided you have no dietary restrictions in terms of dairy. Naked and Odwalla both have great smoothie-esque drinks that are as ridiculously expensive as they are ridiculously delicious. At a convention, however, a $4 smoothie-esque beverage is worth not passing out from low blood sugar.

10. Stay Close or Call a Cab

Hotel costs are the most expensive part of most conventions provided we don't include all the things you shouldn't have bought in the dealer's room but still left the convention with anyway. Some classic methods for avoiding the high cost of hotels include the "Stuff Fifteen People into a Two Bed Hotel Room the Size of a Closet" and the equally fun "Let's Walk Fifteen Blocks Back and Forth Every Day in the Most Complicated Craft Foam Armor and Highest Heels We Own" tricks. The former involves sleeping on the floor, accidentally bringing home the wrong wig, and risking getting stepped on every second you spend in the building. The latter is something no one with a chronic illness should ever attempt when traveling by foot or chair. Even with a wheel chair or scooter, it's still traveling fifteen blocks and exerting more energy than you should. If you absolutely must stay in a hotel that isn't attached to the convention center, even if it's only two blocks away, do yourself a big favor. Save yourself and call a cab. Well, these days it's more common to call an Uber, so pick whichever works for you. Either way, you'll get to where you're going without using all your energy for the day or increasing you pain/fatigue levels.

    "But Chronic, won't it be expensive if I take a cab or an Uber back and forth three days in a row?" No, not really. If you've picked a hotel far enough from the convention center to require taking a cab or an Uber, you've likely saved enough money to cover some transportation for yourself. This also means the other people in your hotel room have saved money, which means you can all carpool via cab and/or Uber and split the cost between each other. For Otakon last year, a large group of friends and I chose to rent an apartment about an hour by foot from the convention center down in Baltimore. We used a regular cab company to get back and forth, a one way trip costing only $6. By using Air BnB to rent an apartment that fit eight people comfortably with a real bathroom and kitchen, we spent $45 dollars each on somewhere to sleep, then spent $36 on transportation for the weekend. Well, I spent about $36 on transportation given we didn't always carpool and I was the only person who relied entirely on cabs to my knowledge. My point here is that even if you have to sacrifice the convenience of a hotel adjacent to the convention you're attending, you don't need to sacrifice all your time and energy just to get to the convention.

 What I really want to drive home is that your illness does not have to define your convention experience provided you adequately prepare yourself and go at your own pace. I urge you to take these points into consideration. I spent four years assuring everyone I always collapsed at least once during a convention, it was completely normal, and not to think of it as a big deal. I don't want you to believe that's true. I don't want you to suffer because of your pride. I don't want you to make the same mistakes I did. I don't want you to learn the hard way like I did. I made those stupid decisions so you don't have to make them. Please, take care of yourself. Take care of your friends. Be safe. Have fun.

[thatmangoka]

Tale of the Sleeping Prince Dj Chapter 1 Masterpost (plus reading aid)

   I SINCERELY apologize if this ends up being an obnoxious longpost on mobile ;-;  For those who could use a reading aid to accompany the doujinshi, I’ll have the Script O’ Words down below in the “read more” section, but sometimes that automatically displays on mobile version ahhh so sorry. I hope this helps! Pt. 1 > Pg. 1 > Pg. 2 > Pg. 3 > Pg. 4 > Pg. 5 > Pg. 6 Pt. 2 > Pg. 7 > Pg. 8 > Pg. 9 > Pg. 10 Pt. 3 > Pg. 11 > Pg. 12 > Pg. 13 > Pg. 14 Pt. 4 > Pg. 15 > Pg. 16 > Pg. 17 > Pg. 18 Pt. 5 > Pg. 19 > Pg. 20 > Pg. 21 > Pg. 22 Pt. 6 > Pg. 23 > Pg. 24 > Pg. 25 > Pg. 26 Pt. 7 > Pg. 27 > Pg. 28 Pt. 8 > Pg. 29 > Pg. 30 > Pg. 31 > Pg. 32 Pt. 9 > Pg. 33 > Pg. 34 > Pg. 35 > Pg. 36 > Pg. 37

SCRIPT O’ WORDS

|| Pt. 1 || Pg. 1 Mom: Mari! What happened?! Mari: Just get some warm blankets! He was playing on the lake and hit a patch of thin ice... He fell through before I could reach him. I pulled him out as soon as I could, but... Pg. 2 Dad: How many times have we told you to stay away from that lake?? It’s dangerous!! Mari: Dad, it’s not cursed!! It’s just a lake! Mom: Sweetheart, go get some dry clothes, will you? Mari: Fine. Mom: Mari’s right. It’s been ages since there was an incident on that lake. Dad: Not anymore. Pg. 3 Yuuri: MOM!!! Mom: Yuuri! Sweetie, I’m here. It’s okay. Pg. 4 Yuuri: No- I- I can’t see... Mom...? Pg. 5 Dad: It’s been days since his fever subsided. Even the doctor said his vision should have returned. Mari: I told you, it’s not a curse! He just had an infection! Pg. 6 Mom: Yuuri, sweetie? Yuuri: Mm...mom? Mom: Sh.... Yuuri: Where are we going? Mom: Just to see a friend... || Pt. 2 || Pg. 7 Yuuri: Where are we going in the dark? (Yuuri narration: Is it even dark?) Mom: To see a friend of mommy’s. Yuuri, sweetie, do you remember the time Vicchan ate Mari’s slippers, and we promised that would just be between you and me? Yuuri: Did you eat someone’s slippers? Mom: No, sweetheart. Pg. 8 (mom narration: But it’s a secret.) Yuuko: Business? Pg. 9 -- Pg. 10 Yuuri: I- I can see... Mom: Oh, sweetheart!! Yuuko: Payment. Mom: Oh, yes of course! Thank you so much, Yuuko! Yuuri: W-wait. How- Yuuko: If you have any issues with the lenses or frames, be sure to come back and I can adjust them for you. || Pt. 3 || Pg. 11 -- Pg. 12 (Yuuri...) Mom: Yuuri? Pg. 13 Mom: Be sure not to mention where you got these glasses. Some people would consider it witchcraft. Yuuri: Why’s that, mom? (Yuuri narration: My mind is burning.) Mom: Because it’s witchcraft. (Yuuri narration: I wonder if this is some sort of side effect...) Pg. 14 (Yuuri narration: It’s magic right? So... Magic can have side effects... Maybe... That’s why I can’t get that face out of my head. That’s gotta be it. I’d never put them on before. Something weird was bound to happen. Just some sort of illusion. A really... really lonely looking illusion.) || Pt. 4 || Pg. 15 (Yuuri narration: Things are still pretty blurry without the glasses... I guess for now I’d better keep them on... I was starting to think I’d never see your face again, boy. What’s the big problem with witchcraft anyway if it does so much good? Pg. 16 Prince: Hello...? Can you see me? You’re the one from before... Pg. 17 (Prince narration: You can’t hear me, can you...? No one can. Not even the people here. Please, just let me know someone’s there.) Pg. 18 (Yuuri narration: Okay. Calm down. Just a dream. You’re just wrapped up in that hallucination from earlier. He’s not real.)

|| Pt. 5 || Pg. 19 Yuuko: And he called out to you?? Tell me every detail! What color were his eyes?? What was his voice like?? Yuuri: Has this ever... happened before? Yuuko: Well to be honest, it’s my first time preparing glasses on my own. (I’m still in training ><) But it’s possible the enchantment on the glass I picked was a bit on the strong side. Maybe that’s what’s giving you this extra sight. Pg. 20 Yuuri: It’s not just... a curse, is it? My dad keeps saying the lake I fell into is cursed. Yuuko: No, Yuuri- Listen, that’s not how curses work. Normal people all have their own fears and worries. It’s when these traits breed out of control that a curse is born. Lakes don’t put curses on people, and honestly, neither do witches. At least, not yet...(One day...) Yuuri: Um okay well I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that last part but- Okay, assuming it’s not a curse, and the glass is just too strong... he must be real!! Yuuko: (YEAH BOY) Pg. 21 Yuuri: ...He’s real. He’s real. Yuuko: I think there’s a good possibility. He can’t be far! We should go look for him! Pg. 22 (Yuuri narration: Can you hear me? My name’s Yuuri. I don’t know if you can hear me. And I’m sure you can’t see me. But I’m here. Please, just know that you’re not alone.) || Pt. 6 || Pg. 23 (Prince narration: How long has it been? It feels like I’ve been crying for days. God, my chest hurts. Ah... I can’t even keep my eyes open anymore. It’s fine... No one’s coming. Get some sleep.) Pg. 24 Yuuri: Yuuko! I need help! Nobody knows anything about him and I think he’s in trouble! Yuuko: Oh, Yuuri...I’m so sorry, I really screwed up...I wasn’t sure, so I went back and checked the materials I used to make your glasses. I found some mislabeled materials that must have gotten mixed in with the usual glasses... It’s high-grade looking glass. Its maximum range is meant to extend across the neighboring three kingdoms. Pg. 25 Yuuko: Yuuri, I’m sorry... I know how worried you are about him, but he could be anywhere. Yuuri: No. Like you said, he has to be somewhere within the neighboring three kingdoms. That’s not anywhere. I won’t stop looking. I’ll find him. Eventually, I’ll find him. Pg. 26 (Yuuri narration: I don’t know why the glasses keep showing me your face. I don’t even know if it’s too late to help you. But if there’s even a chance, I’ll keep looking for you. However long it takes.) Phichit: Yuuri! || Pt. 7 || Pg. 27 Yuuri: Phichit! Can you see town from up there? Phichit: Yeah! It’s just a straight shot from here! AH! Yuuri! Catch the hamsters! Yuuri: WAGH!! Phichit: Ah, sweeties!! Daddy’s so sorry! Please forgive! Pg. 28 Yuuri: You gotta be more careful with these poor guys...  Phichit: No no, it’s fine! Terror and excitement look pretty much the same on a hamster’s face! (They’re just having fun!) Hey, before we get too far, do you think we could stop back at the last town? They had some FANCY treats for sweet babies and I forgot to grab them. Yuuri: Phichit, can’t we pick something up at the next town? If we’re going to make it North before winter sets in, I’d like to avoid backtracking as much as possible.

|| Pt. 8 || Pg. 29 Minako: What’s the rush, kid? I saw some choice flower stalls the other day and I bet I could make a wicked hot dress out of them. Yuuri: Minako, no- I’m not buying you more...flower...evening wear... Minako: Yuuri, my god. I’m a grown fairy. I can buy my own club gear. Yuuri: Look, I just want to make sure we make it out of here before winter sets in. Phichit: Yuuri... I know you don’t like the cold, but once we hit the Northern Kingdom, that’s pretty much all we’re gonna find. Yuuri: It’s not the cold! The cold is fine, I don’t have a problem- (Minako: Don’t ignore me, child! Mama’s gotta get slick!) Phichit: Look, no offense, but that’s pretty much the slogan of every person with a debilitating problem ever.

Pg. 30 Phichit: It’ll be fine Yuuri! I’ll never let you be cold! I’ll find you whatever warm clothing you need! Yuuri: PHICHIT I BLINKED WHERE DID YOU GET THOSE. Phichit: It was the hamsters YUURI LISTEN- Yuuri: No, Phichit it’s fine really. I just- I just I don’t like the ice. I’m a lot bigger and heavier than I was when I was a kid and- Pg. 31 Yuuri: I’d just rather- not go through any of that again. (Yuuri narration: I don’t ever want to see the other side of the ice again.) Pg. 32 Phichit: Wait- Do you hear that? Yuuri: Minako, can you take a look? Minako: Do what I can. Can’t see much from up here either. It’s pretty dark in there, boys. || Pt. 9 || Pg. 33 Minako: It’s a feeble! It looks small, but be careful! Phichit: Ah, hams wait! Let Yuuri and I handle this! Pg. 34 Minako: Okay FOR THE RECORD these guys do not need anymore treats. AGH!! Pg. 35 Phichit: Yuuri!! Get down! Pg. 36 (Yuuri narration: What... Where...) Pg. 37 (Yuuri narration: Who...) Victor: Hello, handsome.

[eienias20]

Skells & Love 12

01: Broken - 02: Meeting - 03: Day - 04: Team - 05: Interceptors - 06: Sylvalum - 07: Return - 08: Bond - 09: Alexa - 10: Words - 11: Alarm

Mission

The late afternoon sun continued its journey towards the horizon. The hours of daylight were dwindling but it did nothing to cease the organized chaos that swept over New Los Angeles following the Director General’s call to arms.

Outside of New Los Angeles’ West and East gates were huge staging areas, countless rovers dotted the landscapes, teams of BLADEs standing by, running through weapons checks and loading their gear. The skies above were filled with Skells flying in formation, settling down farther off amongst their own designated teams.

All of this combined with the rabble of noises that came from BLADEs asking questions, asking for clarification and different squad, team and division leaders calling out orders over the chaos.

Kruse and Elma emerged from New Los Angeles to see everything that was happening in the normally quiet fields of Primordia. The pair took a step back as a regiment of Skells walked by them towards Doug’s staging area. He was commanding one of the bigger Skell Divisions and the sheer amount of armaments that passed by the pair made it clearer than ever as to what was about to happen.

“Shit.”

Elma looked over to Kruse who shook his head

“We’re going to war. I know that was the plan…I was in the secret meetings but seeing it all in front of us right now is…”

Elma nodded.

“It’s finally here. We’ve all known this would happen eventually…we’re trained to be ready but at this very moment, knowing what is to come…”

The pair looked back over to the mass of BLADEs as a loud intercom unit was switched on, the screeching sound that it delivered, silencing the masses.

“Alright! Alright! Quiet down everyone! This is one of your commanders, Vandham! I know that I’ve returned to my work as Chief Engineer around NLA but this whole mission is a special case so consider me once again as your acting Brigadier General. All that is to say, shut your yaps and pay attention!”

There were many calls of yes sir, Kruse chuckling as he noted a ‘that’s right’ expression on Vandham’s face.

“We knew that there would be no lead up to this mission. The call would come and we’d be off to war. Even so, I am impressed that despite you all being louder than fifty Skells on full blast you all seem to know what you’re doing. That’s good. Team, Squad and Division Leaders are finding and rounding you all up. However we have no actionable plans…yet. This here…”

Vandham tapped a rather sizeable and heavily armored trailer next to him.

“This is our mobile command unit. All Division leaders will be meeting within and formulating our combat strategies on the drive over to Oblivia. That gives us only a few hours to put together a united strategy to defeat the Ganglion. But we will do our absolute best. We will lose people. But we will fight tooth and nail to ensure that we save as many as we can…”

Vandham turned to his side and handed off the comm unit to Secretary Nagi.

“I will be there alongside all of you. But this isn’t just a BLADE operation. Many of our Xenoform allies were unable to aid us in the Reclamation of the Lifehold…they’ve decided to honor their alliance with us and came to me to ask permission to take part in this mission. I couldn’t say no. We have a few teams of Tree Clan Prone aiding us as well as the Cavern Clan Prone led by Slovity Pagus. In addition, Ga Buidhe has been in NLA for a while now making the timing of this mission all the better. She will be taking personal charge of the Wrothian warriors marching with us…all of us, together. We are a united front. We will win this day.”

Nagi put down his comm device as the many BLADEs around him began cheering. Turning he nodded to Vandham before the pair stepped into the mobile command unit.

Kruse took a deep breath, watching as the BLADEs all around returned their attention to their preparations.

“I have to say Elma. I’m pumped.”

“Our leaders do have a way with words.”

“I’m sure you’ve got a rousing speech in you as well, Elma. I’ve heard a few of em.”

Elma smiled, looking to Kruse.

“I may have a few things I could say but I think what they said is enough…”

The pair began walking through the gathering of BLADEs, spotting a rather large group in very organized rows standing before a BLADE Pathfinder and Division leader Markinson. Seeing them walking by he nodded to them.

“Kruse. Elma.”

“Nice work keeping everyone so organized, Markinson. I assume all of these people around are your Division?”

Markinson nodded.

“Yes but quite a few people are still looking for the rest of their teams so I’m just doing what I can. Regardless, thank you Elma. Organization is one of my strong points.”

Elma chuckled at that as Markinson gestured around.

“Are the two of you looking for any other members of your division?”

Kruse crossed his arms.

“We did just get out here but if you spotted any of them, that’ll help.”

Markinson grinned.

“It’s not so much that I spotted them, more that I heard the Murderess screaming at her Division allies to fall in. Hard to miss that. She’s a harsh taskmaster.”

Kruse and Elma laughed at that as Markinson told them where he heard Murderess’ voice from and saw several BLADEs scramble towards in panic. Thanking him they began walking as Kruse pulled out his comm device.

“Team Elma for this operation is comprised of you, me, Lin and Sharon. I can’t get over that this is how it wound up…such an odd set up for us, not even taking into account the other dozen or so teams in our division.”

“Believe it or not Kruse, Sharon volunteered for my team.”

Kruse chuckled.

“I don’t believe it.”

“Chief!”

The pair turned as Mia joined them.

“I’m glad I caught you!”

“Mia? I thought you said you weren’t joining this mission.”

She took several deep breaths, clearly having been running for quite a while.

“I’m not but I needed to catch you before you took off and wish you luck. Both of you.”

Elma smiled and bowed her head.

“That means a lot Mia.”

Kruse approached her and patted her head.

“You really are the best Jr. BLADE. Even so, NLA still needs BLADEs in case the Ganglion try to send a team in for…whatever reason. You’re in charge of that, Mia.”

Nodding, the girl saluted to him.

“You can count on me! I got Celica to back me up as well. We’ll be fine!”

Kruse smiled.

“I know that I can. Best of luck Mia.”

The younger BLADE approached and embraced Kruse before doing the same to Elma.

“When you all get back, it’s going to be celebration time! I expect to hear everything that goes on over there in full detail Chief. Everything!”

Kruse tapped the side of his head and nodded.

“You got it.”

With a wide smile, Mia turned and headed back towards NLA.

Elma checked her comm device.

“I have nothing to say to my Division. Yet. So if you don’t mind Kruse I’d like to head straight for mobile command, the sooner the leaders group up the sooner we can come up with a plan to win this day.”

“Want to get away from me that quickly?”

Elma looked to Kruse and smiled, stepping forward she gave him a quick kiss. Kruse pressed his forehead against hers and sighed as she spoke.

“We’ll be fine, Kruse.”

“I know…”

Despite the chaos around them, everything fell silent. Calm.

That is until…

“Oi! Blue! Get mushy later! We got work to do!”

Sighing, Kruse pulled away from Elma and turned around to face…

“Hello, Sharon.”

“Hello yourself, like I said. Work, work, work.”

Kruse nodded, looking back at Elma and giving her a kiss.

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

With that Elma walked away, leaving Kruse to turn back to Sharon.

“Did you really volunteer for Team Elma?”

“I figured the reward money would be relative to the work we put in and I know you and Elma put in A LOT of work so…there really was nowhere else I’d rather be.”

Kruse chuckled.

“Is that it? And here I thought we were friends, Sharon.”

“We are Blue. You can trust me.”

Kruse thought for a moment before chuckling.

“It’s so ridiculous to say this after everything we’ve been through…but yeah…I can trust you.”

“Then let’s go! Move!”

Turning, Sharon began walking towards the rest of their division, Kruse following closely.

As they vanished into the crowd another pair emerged from the city, rushing out into the rabble which was steadily becoming more and more organized.

Pulling out her comm device, Jaynix read the messages sent from Bills, Tyler and Hermann. The rest of her division was gathering around the three of them. She also noted a request from Vandham and Nagi to meet at mobile command for the drive over to Oblivia.

Looking up to the countless BLADEs before her, Jaynix nodded.

“Well. This is happening.”

Jaynix sent orders to Bills to keep their Division together and prepared before stretching a bit and turning to face her companion.

“Alexa?”

The Outfitter had been silent the whole way over, a peculiar look on her face.

“Hey Alexa, are you okay?”

Alexa finally looked over to Jaynix, speaking softly.

“…there is a lot we didn’t get to say, isn’t there?”

Jaynix watched Alexa’s eyes before nodding.

“Yeah. A lot. But something this important has to be the priority…I know I sound like such a soldier saying that but…”

“I get it Jaynix. I do.”

The Interceptor sighed.

“Believe me, Alexa. I’d love to finish our chat…but it’s gonna have to wait.”

“I know…I also know that it’ll be worth the wait.”

Jaynix chuckled.

“The way I see it, this only improves our talk. We’ll be able to say everything we have to say with the glorious glow of victory behind us. Talk about a weight off our shoulders right?”

There was a short silence before Jaynix looked at Alexa again, the woman seemed a bit worried.

“We’ll both make it through this…right?”

“Alexa…you have to know that I’ll do anything for you. That includes wiping out an entire army just to come back and talk to you. Anything at all. I’ll do it.”

Jaynix nodded to affirm her statement, Alexa smiling.

“I believe you…and I’ll do the same.”

Jaynix stood still as Alexa embraced her, hugging the shorter woman back, Jaynix reaffirmed her statements in her own mind. She had something to come back to, something to look forward to after all of this. She knew for certain that she’d make it through.

Separating, Jaynix noted someone approaching them. Alexa did as well and smiled.

“Ga Buidhe.”

The Wrothian nodded to the pair.

“I have to say…watching you humans prepare for battle is interesting…”

“I take it the Wrothians are faster?”

Ga Buidhe looked to Jaynix and nodded.

“Of course there are less of us and we have a different method of organization. Regardless, I see our combined numbers…we’re a formidable force. We are however not taking into account the Wrothian scouts on location or Prince Jiarg’s legion.”

Alexa thought for a bit.

“Prince Jiarg is leading a force? I should’ve expected this but…wow.”

“The Ganglion is our enemy as much as they are yours. The last thing we were going to do was stand by. Thanks to the help BLADE has provided, our warriors have become stronger while our sick and injured have recovered. What you’re about to see is the true might of the Wrothians at war.”

Jaynix whistled.

“I’m looking forward to it!”

“And I look forward to seeing you unleash yourself, Jaynix.”

Grinning, Jaynix stepped up to Ga Buidhe.

“Keep an eye on me. You’ll be impressed.”

“I hope that I am…and you, Alexa. I take it you will be piloting one of your Skells?”

“Yes. One I’ve outfitted personally. She’s a force to be reckoned with just as I am.”

Ga Buidhe tilted her head.

“I’m sure you know but I am a skilled pilot as well. I will observe you in action as well, Alexa.”

“I hope I don’t let you down.”

“You won’t. Either of you.”

Ga Buidhe looked between the two of them before turning away.

“One more thing. Jaynix. Since you are a division leader they’ll need you at that command unit. I’m going there as well…”

“I’ll be right with you. Give me a bit.”

Nodding Ga Buidhe walked a few feet away as Jaynix turned to Alexa. Smile on her face, she spoke.

“Alexa. You’ve seen how bad things can get…but you know that we, humanity, we always persevere. We all believe we can get through this because what would the alternative be?”

Those words sounded…strange to Alexa. Even so, she replied.

“The alternative is something that won’t happen. Not while we’re here. I trust you, Jaynix…I trust myself and I trust us all…good luck and be safe.

Jaynix took a deep breath.

“Anything for you.”

Nodding to Alexa she turned and walked over to Ga Buidhe, the pair looking to each other before walking off into the crowd. Alexa watched them until she could no longer make them out among the many BLADEs still about.

Smiling, Alexa turned away and began walking in the direction of the Skell teams when it hit her.

“…you can get through this.”

“…you don’t even know me.”

“No. But I’d like to believe you can. I mean…what would the alternative be?”

“…”

“What’s your name?”

“…”

“Well, my name is Alexa…”

Eyes widening, she spun back around to face in the direction that Jaynix left.

“Jaynix…that was you?”

The Mobile Command Unit was very sizeable, the interior looked very much like a compact version of the command center in BLADE Tower. A holo-screen was displaying Oblivia, dots highlighting the Pathfinder teams as they reported in the layout of the cliffs, the rocks, the vast sandy fields and any hostile Ganglion forces there could as well as nearby Indigens that might get caught up in the fighting.

Vandham and Nagi stood by the map, Vandham speaking with one of the advance teams as Ga Buidhe and Jaynix walked in. Both nodding to Elma, H.B. and Markinson, who were already present.

“Ga Buidhe. Some of my men out in the field provided your scouts with Comm Devices…they wish to speak with you.”

Ga Buidhe looked to Nagi as he handed her a device. Nodding she stepped away, Jaynix moving next to her.

“Need help?”

“I may fight with a spear but I’m not technologically inadequate.”

“I didn’t say that. I just want to help. Who knows? Maybe I’ll get a kiss or something as thanks.”

“Doubtful.”

“Harsh.”

The pair looked up as Doug and Bozé walked in, rounding out the division leaders.

“Who’s reaching out to you?”

Ga Buidhe looked at Jaynix then back to her device.

“Ze Debo and Gi Nore. I entrusted the scouting party to them, very reliable. They wish to know my orders…they also sent Go Bair one of our fastest runners to inform Prince Jiarg…it’s interesting to think that we’re even proceeding down this line of conversation.”

“Why?”

“Because. Normally the command would belong only to the commanders out in the field. In any other situation, Ze Debo and Gi Nore would’ve immediately launched their attack on the Ganglion…but Prince Jiarg knows how important it is that we completely and totally eliminate them here…your human tactics are…strange.”

Jaynix chuckled.

“You know, if you want to say slow or inefficient, I won’t be offended. I was military all my life sure but that was spent in a single unit. We did things differently.”

Ga Buidhe finished sending her directives and turned to Jaynix.

“What?”

Shaking her head, Ga Buidhe looked away. Jaynix prepared to ask something else when Vandham cleared his throat.

“Elma. H.B. Markinson. Jaynix. Ga Buidhe. Doug. Bozé. It’s good to have you all here.”

The leaders nodded to him as the mobile command’s engines began to roar. They were moving.

“Starting this very second we have at best two hours before we reach our destination in Oblivia. That’s 120 minutes to formulate the singular strategy that we need as well as contingencies should anything go wrong.”

The commanders all nodded as Nagi spoke up.

“Ga Buidhe has been kind enough to provide us with detailed lists on the ranking commanders in service of the Ganglion. We’ve put the list up against our roster of eliminations and revealed that there are only a handful left. Ga Buidhe?”

The woman stepped forward as Nagi sent out several images into the space between all of them.

“This one is Councilman Aer Ethos, he should be reigning commander over what’s left of the Ganglion here on Mira. He’s not much of a strategist or a soldier…he’s more of a talker. Luxaar himself at times could barely hold the Ganglion together, from the scant reports I get on Ethos’ command it is worse. Of course, despite his ranking position, Ethos is leader only in name. The soldiers that follow that follow him and their commanders are the true threat.

The image of Ethos vanished as six others grew.

“These Tyrants lead the Ganglion’s remaining forces. First is the Marnuck Ahama the Covetous. Originally stationed in Sylvalum he fled with a troop following one of your raids on the region.”

Markinson sighed “We never did find his body…unfortunate.”

“If anything it means now you have a chance to actually kill him.”

Ga Buidhe stated before continuing.

“Then there is the Prone Tyrant known as Langul the Alien Payload…”

“Okay now that for sure is impossible, we killed him a long time ago! I was there!”

Ga Buidhe turned to Doug and nodded.

“You caused severe trauma, topped off by throwing him off the top of his personal bastion…but he lives still. Stronger. Angrier…”

Doug shook his head as Ga Buidhe continued.

“Then we have a pair of deadly Milsaadi assassins, Badul the One-Eyed and Chantai the Insect Maiden. Badul is perhaps the most feared Milsaadi while Chantai maintains control over a horde of Mira’s insectoids, her powers of suggestion matched by no one.”

“So I take it, we should stay wary of her presence?”

H.B. asked earning a nod from Ga Buidhe as Jaynix spoke up.

“Powers of suggestion? Mind control?”

Jaynix turned as Elma began speaking.

“In a sense. From what we’ve gathered through multiple encounters with Milsaadi is that they are capable of controlling those with weak minds…and should they train at it, it’s almost second nature. They aren’t to be trifled with.”

Jaynix sighed as Ga Buidhe noted the last two images.

“As you know, following the death of their mother, the Definians have all but vanished. A handful came to NLA to live out in peace but most remain neutral around Mira, staying away from the conflicts. That said, one Definian designated WR512: Urdu continues to command her sisters as Fortun did before her. She and her loyalists consider themselves their Mother’s legacy.”

Bozé crossed his arms and shook his head.

“We’ve dealt with Definians many times. They are masters of deception but we will not be blinded to their true intentions.”

Ga Buidhe took a deep breath as she gestured at the last image. Jaynix could make out very faint concern on Ga Buidhe’s face.

“This…this is Dadaan. He calls himself the Strongest Prone and based off what I’ve read about his exploits, it is a title he deserves. I only bring him up now because he exists and should he be at the base, he’s to be feared…but I doubt he’ll be there.”

Nagi narrowed his eyes “Why is that?”

“While in service to the Ganglion I came across a lot of Intel and even more stories. Dadaan is powerful but because of that he refuses almost every command ever sent his way. He fought against the Ganglion within out of pride and ego so the Ganglion put into place a risky plan that succeeded in locking him up. He’s been in prison for a long time but as you can see, he’s escaped. The time it was most likely to happen was when the grand majority of the Ganglion were rerouted to the Lifehold Core. Since then he’s vanished. I have to say this again, if he appears…confronting him is not ideal.”

“We will take that warning to heart. Thank you, Ga Buidhe.”

She nodded to Nagi and stepped back as the images disappeared, the map of Oblivia now filling the space between them. Nagi gestured to the structures that made up the Ganglion base as well as drawing a line that would be their staging area.

“We know the commanders of the enemy unit. We have the lay of the land. The only thing we lack is an approximation of the Ganglion’s numbers and their heavy weapons. But we will be prepared. We have a Zenith Cannon regiment on standby at all times in case of unexpected armor, but this battle will be won by the men and woman on the ground. Our ultimate goal is to get into the base and eliminate all the Ganglion commanders. The war will end today.”

The commanders all nodded as Vandham crossed his arms.

“To do that, we need a plan. So! Let’s begin.”

“…”

“What has you so lost in thought?”

“…something.”

Opening his eye, Badul examined his surroundings. The interior of their highly fortified base of operations was quiet and dull…as always. Yet something was itching at his circuits, a faint shock seemed to run through his entire program.

“Chantai. Do you not feel it?”

The woman fell silent, looking away.

“Your pets? Do they feel it?”

“My pets are skittish…they feel everything.”

“Something is coming.”

Pulling away from the wall, Badul began walking through the base, Chantai following closely.

Reaching the command center he looked up to the various screens displaying the areas directly outside of the base. In one he found Ahama and his Marnuck guards sleeping while another showed Langul frustratingly putting his many weapons together, a wild look in his eyes. That one was beyond unstable. Badul understood Ethos’ desire to rebuild the Ganglion…to some extent…but a man like Langul could do nothing but damage anything they built.

“You have that look again Badul. That look that says this is a waste of time.”

Badul looked over to Chantai.

“It’s hard not to have that look surrounded by fools run by their emotions…our allies are weak.”

The woman sighed in frustration.

“Then why didn’t we seek out Nahum like I suggested!? With her we could put together a much more efficient Milsaadi union. We could find our other programs who are in hiding…who found no reason to answer Ethos’ call for revenge.”

Badul began tapping away at the devices before him.

“You didn’t see Nahum. The alterations she made to Nardacyon among others seemed to have altered her own program. She isn’t the reliable Milsaadi compatriot we need.”

“Altered or not, her program is one of our finest.”

The Definian, Urdu and her followers appeared on one screen. The group was overlooking the Seidrs in the Skell bay, a few of them were at work, enhancing the weapons systems as Ethos had commanded. Or rather, as Ethos had commanded but as Badul himself had ordered.

“We should be here no longer.”

“Badul. This fortification-“

“The usefulness has expired. I know it. We should move.”

Chantai turned away.

“And what of Ethos? Are you not tired of hearing him complain about you disobeying his orders time and time again?”

“I care not for his arguments. They are nothing more than wasted air.”

Ethos’ face came up on the console, the Xenoform looking at Badul oddly.

“What is this? Why are you so early with your check in, Badul?”

“Councilman. I require you to send the main unit back for us.”

Ethos sighed.

“Why would I do that? The spot that your unit currently occupies is vital. It must be defended. So stop making ridiculous demands and do your jobs.”

Badul saw many humans roll their eyes in response to various situations. He felt that his current situation was an ideal place for such an action.

“Very well then. Councilman. If it is all the same to you I feel that you should dispatch the Terminus.”

Ethos seemed shocked by this comment.

“The Terminus? Is…is there such a fearsome attack coming that would require that!?”

“If there is. The Terminus will stop it.”

“Yes and it will show our hand. No. If anything happens, deal with it. Exfiltrate if you must but I am not deploying the Terminus.”

Badul stood aside as Ethos cut their communication.

Looking down at the controls, the Milsaadi began tapping away.

“You’re deploying the Terminus aren’t you? Badul. Your behavior does not fall in line with your program. Did the battles that scar you damage your processors?”

“That is a possibility…and if so, these damaged processors are allowing my program to function in a way it never has before…I’ll look into repairs at a later date but before then…something must be done.”

Chantai nodded and walked away, leaving Badul to continue his work.

Oblivia.

The blazing hot region of Mira, home to vast burning deserts, mountains, cliffs and a wide gaping abyss known as the Yawning Giant. The region was also home to a sparse gathering of Ganglion outposts as well as larger, much more fortified fortresses.

The sun had reached the horizon, night would be falling soon and in this hour, a massive line of rovers and Skells shot across the sandscape. Every BLADE had a tight grip on their weapons, the Prone were eager and the Wrothians were ready. This army had arrived to end a war. A war that none of them were even responsible for starting. The Ganglion brought the beginning of this conflict to them and so it was their turn to bring this bloodshed to an end with one final, massive battle.

Kruse sat in a rover with Lin and Sharon, his eyes set on the area ahead of them. The three silent. He was sure the other two had something they wanted to say, he did. But in light of everything, the silence was something they knew they’d be incapable of appreciating for a while yet.

In the midst of this horde of vehicles was mobile command, the massive truck tearing through the sand carrying the leading figures of this charge as they planned out the final steps of their oncoming assault.

Elma highlighted the canyon walls that surrounded the primary Ganglion facility.

“If we’re able to get units up into these cliffs, ground snipers or Skell snipers, preferably both, we’ll be able to cut off enemy reinforcements as they emerge. We may even be able to down enemy Skells before they can join the fray.”

H.B. nodded to Elma.

“A fantastic idea. No doubt the enemy will have units on over watch. Whatever it is they’re doing here, whatever reason this base is here, they’ll want it fortified. I suggest the teams be a bit sizeable to capture these cliffs.”

Jaynix looked at the line of units advancing down the center of the canyon.

“We have to be quick and brutal. If we take it too slow they’ll deploy their main forces and this canyon becomes no man’s land. That can’t happen.”

Nagi tapped his chin.

“As long as our formation holds we can prevent that. So again. H.B. Jaynix. You two command the flanks…Ga Buidhe, you say that Ethos’ isn’t a strategic mind…but I take it those other commanders are?”

Ga Buidhe nodded.

“Badul and Chantai are Milsaadi. Synthetic beings. They are capable of thinking at a rate far greater than any of us. If our flanks are truly vital, they’ll know it and they’ll respond in kind.”

Doug tilted his head before asking.

“In that event, don’t you think it’d be a good idea to move a few more squads off our center force to buff up our flanks? There is no understating how vital our formation is but if they break our line…”

Vandham crossed his arms, giving Doug a curt nod.

“That’s not a bad idea…most of our Skells will be on watch above our central line of defense, we can resolve the difference in manpower with heavy units and even if we can’t, we’re adaptable. If something looks like it’s starting to go wrong, we’ll respond in kind.”

“That’s a lot of faith you all have in each other.”

Ga Buidhe stated. Elma looked to her and spoke.

“We have to have this faith. This trust. If we don’t…we’ve already lost.”

Jaynix cleared her throat.

“What of Prince Jiarg’s legion? What will they do?”

“Prince Jiarg will take a look at the field of battle and deploy his units where he believes they’ll be most useful…I could suggest to him to deploy along the flanks, that way you do not need to reassign your BLADEs. The Wrothians can support the battle. One of our finest can fight like ten.”

Nagi nodded.

“That would be a most gracious gesture from Prince Jiarg.”

Ga Buidhe pulled out her comm device.

“I shall get in touch with my forces and let them know.”

The entire group focused their eyes on the map running the simulation of the battle. Vandham took a deep breath.

“This is as good as it is gonna get…for the love of all that we have, ignore that casualties counter. We know we’re going to lose people…but what no simulation can account for is the effort that we as individuals will go to prevent as much loss as possible.”

“Our allied force of BLADEs, Prone, Wrothians and Skells is well over 1000. No matter what the Ganglion throw at us…we’ll meet it head on.”

All present nodded to Elma as Jaynix brought her fists together.

“Then it looks like our plan is set. Let’s do this.”

Returning to the main chamber, Chantai found Badul still typing away, formulating all sorts of plans. Crossing her arms she sighed.

“Badul.”

“Did you detect something Chantai? Otherwise I am very occupied…”

The Milsaadi woman shook her head.

“I sent my pets out just in case but I also took the liberty of sending out our stealth units.”

Badul stopped interfacing with the screen before him, turning to Chantai.

“Don’t look at me that way Badul. Your faulty program needs to be satiated so I’m doing it the best way one knows how.”

“Badul! Chantai! What are you two doing?”

The pair turned as Ahama lumbered into the chambers.

“I thought our work for that asshole of a councilman was done for today. What is this? Did we not meet our quota? If not-”

“No need for any action, Ahama.”

Badul held out one of his hands, aiming to calm the Marnuck. The three stood in silence, Chantai watching as Ahama’s expression became slightly less fierce. The Milsaadi were able to keep Ahama’s rage on an even level with precise Control. It never worked on Langul and Urdu would know, but they knew that they’d need Ahama’s strength.

“Right. Whatever. So what are you to up to?”

Badul shook his head.

“I am still in the process of understanding this…sense that I have. Ahama, can I trust you to rouse our forces?”

Ahama crossed his arms.

“I’ll do it. They’ll listen to me and if they don’t I’ll beat their skulls open until they do…are we preparing to fight? Who do I bring?”

Badul remained silent, thinking.

“Everyone. Bring everyone.”

Ahama chuckled before bowing his head and walking away.

“The second the stealth units-”

“The second they detect anything, they’ll send out a signal. I programmed it as such. I will support any program even one as faulty as you Badul.”

The Milsaadi shook his head as the woman laughed.

“When I am proven correct, you will never doubt me again.”

“Then prove yourself correct.”

With that, the woman departed again as Badul turned his attention to the screens. Ahama was speaking with the rest of the Marnuck forces, all of which were standing and armed in moments.

“I am right.”

“Blue. Stop looking so tense.”

“Yeah Kruse, what Sharon said…huh…didn’t think I’d be saying that.”

Snapping out of his thoughts Kruse looked to his allies, standing free from the rover, they were watching him. Shaking his head he got out as well.

“Sorry. I can’t help it. This is a big…y’know.”

Sharon chuckled.

“Of course we do. I was at the battle for the Lifehold as well. I may have been in a Skell Division but I was there, I felt the tension then and I feel it now. But I don’t let it concern me cause I know we’ll blast through this.”

Lin nodded.

“Nothing’s ever stopped us before.”

Kruse smiled as another voice spoke up.

“So. We’re all set?”

Turning he found Elma approaching.

“The strategy has been finalized and sent out. You should all be getting it-”

All four comm devices beeped, the team pulled them out in response, looking over the complete strategy formulated by the Division Leaders. Zooming in on their Division Three, the team made mental notes of the roles that they’d be playing. Kruse nodding as he took in every single command, suggestion and tactic.

“We’ve got this. Lin knows it. Sharon knows it. You know it as well, Elma.”

The Team Leader smiled and nodded in response.

“We’ve fought the Ganglion countless times before. Not on a scale like this but we know what the Ganglion is like. This battle will be one of endurance…and we can’t stop. All of us have to push forward together, if we get pushed back we fight three times harder.”

Kruse grinned.

“That we can do. No doubt.”

“Good. Alright then.”

Elma brought her comm device up and began speaking.

“This is Elma, leader of Division Three, you’ve all received your placements, move into formation.”

A large group of BLADEs began dispatching, Elma nodded to Kruse, Lin and Sharon. The four joined the movement, falling into place as on their left Nagi’s Division Two and H.B.’s Division One did the same while on their right Markinson’s Division Four began moving.

On the far end, the right flank was Jaynix’s Division Five. She noted the smaller crew taking off farther away. The right canyon wall team which was comprised of Team Slovity and several Wrothian scouts would be proceeding along the topside of the cliffs to get their eyes on the entire Ganglion compound.

The BLADE Army had set up a ways off from the enemy fortress, Jaynix couldn’t fight the odd feeling in her gut as she watched the empty sky above. Not a single air patrol. This was supposed to be the Ganglion’s final bastion, why would they make such an oversight?

Part of her was relieved that there were no enemy Skells in sight…but there definitely should be. Taking a deep breath she reminded herself to stay calm. The BLADE Skells were parked even further away to avoid detection. When the fighting started they’d be over her and everywhere. As long as she kept her eyes on the ground and the enemies before her…it wouldn’t matter.

“Jaynix.”

Snapping out of her thoughts, she turned to Bills, Tyler and Hermann.

“This is what we trained for you three. You ready?”

With no hesitation, they all nodded.

“Good. Form up!”

Jaynix pulled out her comm device and relayed that order to the rest of Division Five as Bills walked up next to her.

“Uh…Jaynix.”

“Y’know Bills. I feel like an ass.”

“Hm?”

“I’ve noticed the way you look at me and talk to me…and I’ve yet to give you any sort of response. I didn’t mean to lead you on or play with your emotions.”

She looked to Bills, who was taken very off guard by her words.

“Before a huge encounter is the worst time to have this talk. Hell, I was in the middle of something very important when the call came out that this was happening.”

Bills chuckled.

“Life tends to do that.”

“Yeah it does. What an annoying bitch life can be.”

Bills sighed.

“I take it this is all to say no to my requests for a date?”

Jaynix smiled.

“Yeah. Sorry. Not for nothin’ there is a fine little lady I’m currently courting. She captured my heart on first sight.”

Bills crossed his arms.

“Ah. My bad. If I had known…”

Jaynix waved him off.

“Don’t worry about it. Man? Woman? I’m up for anything but at this specific moment, there is someone and…”

Bills watched Jaynix’s face. He’d never seen her look this way. He smiled.

“Best of luck, Corporal.”

“Thank you, Bills. Same to you! You’re a hell of a BLADE.”

Drawing his longsword the man bowed and fell into position, Jaynix following suit.

“Sir. The Formation is set and the canyon wall teams are away. Waiting on your order.”

Nagi nodded to Jenkins before taking a deep breath and bringing up his Comm Device.

“I have no more words to say to you all. Fight hard. Survive. Come home. BLADE. Move out.”

Nagi put the device away, drawing his blade and turning to his side, watching the countless BLADEs begin their advance, the sun had vanished and he had the feeling that they’d be fighting throughout the entire night.

Whatever it took.

“I thank you three for joining me.”

“Do not feel the need to be the most gracious leader yet! We’re where we wish to be, this battle is the key to the door!”

Nagi glanced over to L who activated his psycho launchers.

“Secretary. I wish to ensure your wellbeing…the wellbeing of our entire division and I will do that to the best of my abilities.”

Looking to his other side, Nagi nodded to Hope as she armed her weapons.

“Sir. There is no place else that I’d rather be.”

Jenkins pulled out his sniper rifle and saluted.

One more deep breath and Nagi began moving, the three on him. The BLADE army’s pace began to pick up. All they waited for was an enemy scout team or advanced forces to see them. The first shot would be fired and the battle would begin.

Nagi kept his eyes focused ahead but something was itching at him to look up, with a gesture he commanded Jenkins to do so. The BLADE aimed his weapon high and watched through the scope carefully. It was hard to make anything out amongst the night sky but something seemed…off.

Focusing his gaze, he noted a bit of the space above seemed displaced.

Whatever he was watching must have detected him because it began moving. Cursing, Jenkins followed its movement and fired. His round made impact, the camouflage breaking apart to reveal a Zig. Lights flashing the machine turned its attention on the BLADEs, several dozen more Zigs dropped their cloaks, primed their weapons and began firing.

Badul turned the second the bullet hit one of the Stealth Zigs.

He was right.

Swinging back around, he entered a single code into the display before him, a loud alarm calling all of the Ganglion to attention.

“This is Commander Badul calling for all combatants to take to the field. War has come.”

The normally silent and dull compound began to reverberate with the sounds and yells of many Xenoforms, charging through the halls. He noted the Skell bay as Qmoevas, Galdrs and Seiders began arming.

Bringing up the screen of the exterior of the base he found himself…surprised. The advancing line of human aliens was large. It was as if they were all here.

They needed to be slowed down.

Tapping away on the command console he felt that static shock travel through his entire program and he almost smiled.

“We begin! Open fire!”

H.B. called out while bringing up his shield and slamming it into the ground, a protective aura enveloping his entire team as two Zigs shot towards them.

“Alright Phog! No hesitation!”

Phog nodded to Frye, the pair running forward and drawing their guns, opening fire on the first Zig.

“Yeah! Time to party!”

Yelv called out as his Raygun began to whir, a large laser shooting out of it and searing across the second Zig, throwing its trajectory off.

The first Zig slammed into the ground, Frye and Phog rolling aside as H.B. stepped closer, firing an entire clip from his assault rifle into the Mechanoid. Beeping in response the Zig began rotating, lasers firing out at the four BLADEs.

Diving aside and under the attacks, they remained clear as the second Zig righted itself and fired on Frye. Switching to his longsword Frye ran through the attacks and jumped on the first Zig, kicking off of it he launched into the air and slashed across the second Zig.

A large gravity pulse followed him, striking the Zig and pulling it down, closer to the ground.

Landing next to Yelv, Frye nodded to him, the Reclaimer drew his Photon Saber and charged the fallen Zig.

Phog began dodging the first Zig’s opening attacks with relative ease, pulling all its attention as H.B. charged forward, ramming his shield into the Mechanoid, tossing it over.

“Sir! We might have a problem!”

H.B. jumped away from the toppled Zig as Phog fell upon it, slashing through it with his blades.

“Report!”

“Look ahead sir!”

H.B. looked away from the Zigs towards the Ganglion based. A wide section of the earth began to split open, a large hangar door opening to show a ramp extending down into the ground. Hearing the footsteps H.B. shook his head as a battalion of Puges charged out of the ramp.

“Division One! Charge! We can’t let them block off our advance!”

“Yes sir!”

Disengaging from the Zigs, the Division began running forward, battle cries were heard as they crashed against the lead Puges like a violent wave.

“Phog! Frye! Yelv!”

The three turned from the heavily damaged Zigs.

“We’re moving!”

Frye laughed “Alright then! Let’s kick some serious ass!”

With a nod, H.B. ran past the three of them as they fell in line behind him.

Nagi leapt at L, his feet connecting with the Xeno’s shield. With a might shove, L threw Nagi high into the sky. His blade was a blur, cutting across a Zig with fearsome speed.

Hitting the ground, Nagi rolled to his feet as the Zig fell behind him in two pieces. Looking up, Nagi saw the horde of Puges and called out.

“Advance!”

Standing he watched as L, Hope, Jenkins and the rest of his division charged forward. Holding his blade up in front of him, he took a deep breath. Centered, he charged forward, passing by everyone and stopping right in front of a group of Puges, a mighty swing pulling three of them apart.

L leapt over him and smashed his shield against another. A Puge charged L only to be riddled by rounds from Hope’s weapons before its head was blasted by Jenkins’ sniper rifle.

“There may be a horde before us! But we are stronger than them! Push forward!”

Several Puges charged Hope and Jenkins, the latter drawing his longsword and clashing with the Mechanoid’s bladed arms. Hope drew her knife as she dodged several strikes, the short blade finding its way into the back of the Puge’s head units, stopping their functions.

A Zig halted its advance over the group and fired a powerful laser down on them. L ran forward and held his shield up, the laser colliding against it.

The Zig prepared to fire again when a storm of missiles from Nagi’s Gatling gun exploded all around it.

Hearing heavier steps, Nagi turned to see Pugiliths emerging from the ramps that Puges were still pouring out of. Narrowing his eyes he returned his attention to the Puges before him and slashed through them as L blocked another Zig attack.

Hope ran by him, her knife giving off a black glow. With deftness and grace, she moved through a group of Puges, her black knife slicing through their bodies, dropping them behind her. Coming to a halt, she moved aside, giving Jenkins room to storm through, spinning he summoned a torrent of fire that carried several Puges into the air and threw them aside.

The damaged Zig regained functions and shot down at the group, L stepping forward, catching the Mechanoid with his shield. Nagi fired on the Zig, forcing it to move aside, allowing L to wind back and strike it with the full force of his shield, smashing its operating units and throwing it to the sand.

As the lights went off, L nodded to Nagi and kept moving forward, the Secretary close behind.

In the night sky above, Doug, Gwin and Irina’s Skells shot forward, a regiment of Skells following them.

“Zigs approaching! We’ve got this!”

Doug called out as his Skell shot down towards one, drawing a massive blade he cleaved it in two, the pieces exploding as another Zig slammed into him, pushing him back.

“Hey asshole!”

Irina yelled, drawing two Skell rifles and firing on the second Zig, pieces of it falling off from the relentless assault. Gwin’s Skell flew in, shoulder bashing the Zig, smashing it to pieces. The rest of the Skells of the division shot forward and began pulling apart the Zigs at a blinding pace.

Hearing something, Doug turned his attention ahead.

“Ganglion Skells! Qmoevas!”

Over two dozen Qmoevas began splitting apart, engaging the Skells of Doug’s division. Flying higher, Doug locked onto several of them and opened the armed the missiles equipped to his Skell’s shoulders.

“Irina! Gwin! I’ll break their weapons, you two go in and rip them apart!”

“Got it!

“Eat this!”

The Skell let loose a barrage of 24 missiles, the weapons shooting across the night sky and colliding with six enemy Skells. Gwin pulled out his Skell’s energy scythe and shot down and around one, cleaving it in two from behind as Irina pulled out a massive gun that folded out, clicking into place.

Carefully aiming at the damaged Qmoevas she fired, the powerful beam slicing through a Qmoeva’s cockpit as well as searing through another that was passing by behind it. Damaged the second one crashed to the ground below.

Putting the weapon away, Irina shot down towards the other damaged Qmoevas.

Doug pulled out his Skell’s blade again as another line of Qmoevas joined them battle. Looking ahead he saw the dark and round shapes of Galdrs.

“Throw everything you’ve got at us! That’s why we’re here!”

Charging forward, Doug ran his blade through a Qmoeva, ripping it out of the Skell, he watched as it fell out of the sky. Looking back to the approaching enemies he shot forward again.

Lin’s Gatling gun fired an endless storm of bullets on the approaching Puges, mowing down many. However they kept pushing forward, no end in sight.

Kruse ran past her, leaping into the air, his photon saber flashed as it cut through Puge after Puge, the Mechanoids falling to the ground in pieces.

A Pugilith stomped towards him, prepared to strike when Murderess landed on top of it, her blades slicing the Puge portion off of it. Losing that piece the rest of the Pugilith was thrown off its trajectory allowing Kruse to avoid its charge easily.

Standing he watched Lin charge past him and block a Puge from striking him. Leaping over her shield, Kruse finished the Puge off as Elma ran by, her body flickering. Enemies tried to get at her, but their weapons passed through her harmlessly.

The same could not be said for the woman’s enemies. Her blades pierced countless Puges, even a Pugilith laser phased right through her. Running under the machine, Elma sprung up behind it, smashing through the hull and throwing it to the ground. Murderess rolled into range and buried her blades into the machine, forcing all its functions to stop.

“Sharon! Down!”

With the woman ducking out of the way, Kruse fired his sniper rifle, eight shots taking off eight Puge heads. A pair of Pugiliths began stomping over the destroyed machines, their lower guns firing on the team with relentless fury.

Lin brought her shield up, Kruse taking cover behind it as the first Pugilith’s laser collided against Lin’s weapon. Elma and Murderess evaded the second Pugilith’s lasers and its swinging blades. Switching to her guns, Murderess let loose on the Pugilith, drawing its attention.

As it stepped towards her Elma leapt onto its back and began slashing into it. The Mechanoid turned itself around, attempting to shake her off. With the Pugilith distracted, Murderess ran forward, both her blades slicing through one of its legs, severing it.

Jumping off, Elma rolled to her feet as the machine collapsed behind her.

As soon as the Pugilith’s laser attack ceased, Kruse emerged from cover and fired on the machine, Lin taking the time to move forward and strike the leg of the Pugilith with her shield, causing it to sway. A second blow smashed the leg to pieces, toppling the machine.

Jumping away, Lin switched to her Gatling gun and fired on the exposed underside of the Mechanoid, ripping through it, the machine fell still.

Hearing a roar, Kruse looked to see new enemies emerging from the stronghold itself.

“Prone. Marnucks.”

Elma nodded.

“Be wary. If their soldiers are coming out now, Ahama and Langul will be on their way shortly.”

The woman looked up as Galdrs flew overhead, colliding with their own Skells.

“Division Three! New enemies are pouring onto the battlefield! Be wary and continue advancing!”

Elma looked to her team, the three nodding to her before charging forward.

Bozé’s Skell held up a mighty G-Buster. The man roared as he came down on the hull of a Galdr, his blade smashing through it. Pulling the weapon out he spun around, ripping through the enemy machine with fury. One final swing, damaged the Galdr so greatly it fell out of the sky and crashed to the ground below, landing on several advancing Pugiliths.

“Skell Division Two! It doesn’t matter how many they are! Destroy them all!”

“Yes sir!”

Shooting forward, Bozé’s blade smashed against a pair of Qmoevas, the Skells were heavily damaged and fell to the ground below.

High above, Alexa looked down on the advancing enemy Skells, running several calculations through her own Skell she smiled. Initiating the final command she shot down towards a dense group of Galdrs. As she did so the drone units attached to the sides of her Skell separated and began spinning around her.

Stalling in midair, the drones shot past her, slicing through and blasting many Galdrs. Drawing her own G-Buster she smirked as a pair of Galdrs found her and advanced.

Spinning she yelled, her blade detaching itself from the hilt, a chain link of energy connecting the two pieces. The blade was surrounded by a bright ether glow, slicing clean through the Galdrs several times before reattaching itself.

Drawing her side arms, she flew past the Skells as they fell apart, engaging the other damaged Galdrs.

“Bozé!”

“What is it, Alexa?”

The woman ripped a Galdr in half before looking ahead.

“Seidrs incoming!”

“Alright then! They’ve got their whole flying regiment out here! You all know what to do! Rip em apart!”

Alexa destroyed another Galdr before calling out.

“Yes sir!”

A red flash ran through a group of Puges, the machines falling apart.

Smirking, Jaynix evaded another series of strikes, she was hyperaware of everything going on around her. The chaos of the war clearing her mind. Her primary focus was what was before her, as for what was happening in the skies above? Who cares?

A Javelin shot past her and buried itself in a Pugilith. Jaynix turned to Tyler as he leapt at the machine and pulled his weapon out. Joining him she sliced through the enemy.

Bills and Hermann charged past the pair, several dozen Puges approaching them.

Hermann stepped forward first and opened fire, a volley of missiles striking at the Puges in the lead, destroying them. The ones in back began stumbling over their fallen allies.

Charging his Raygun past its safety limits, Bills felt it heat up in his hands and nodded to Hermann. The man stepped aside as a fearsome beam shot out from Bills’ weapon. The man commanded the sustained energy like a massive blade, searing through Puges, melting them to pieces. Once it wore out there was only a single Puge left standing.

Hermann tossed his knife, the weapon embedding itself in the machine’s head.

A line of Pugiliths began advancing on them, Jaynix pointing ahead.

“We’ve cleared out this area! Press on! Division Five, push forward as soon as you can! If we let them slow our advance we’ll be stuck!”

“Yes ma’am!”

Jaynix charged towards the Pugiliths, Bills and Tyler close behind and Hermann retrieved his knife.

Yelling, Jaynix jumped at the lead Pugilith, her team leaping into the air behind her.

Jaynix’s blade buried itself in the Puge unit at the head of the Pugilith as Bills landed on its back, his blade digging deep into the machine.

Tyler’s Javelin sliced a Puge unit off of another Pugilith, Hermann landed on the back of a third machine, aiming his Gatling gun down into it and opened fire into the machine’s back causing it to stumble forward.

Jaynix jumped onto a fourth Pugilith and began slicing through it as Bills finished off the first one. The machine fell to pieces as he jumped off of it, rolling to his feet next to Tyler who stepped away from the second Pugilith as it fell to pieces.

Hermann used the swaying motion of his Pugilith to throw himself far off into the air, turning he fired a missile volley while in midair, the missiles blasting the Pugilith to pieces.

“Earth aliens!”

Hermann, Tyler and Bills turned to see an advanced squad of Prone soldiers.

The fourth Pugilith exploded, Jaynix shooting through the air and landing in front of her team. Looking up at the Prone she smiled.

“I hope you Prone understand just how big of a mistake you all made.”

The Prone aimed their weapons, Jaynix nodding to her team, the four shot forward in unison and skidded to a halt behind the Prone, their weapons stained with blood.

The Prone brought their hands to their throats, all of which had been slit. Dropping their weapons they fell to the ground one after the other.

Jaynix closed her eyes, hearing yells, commands and explosions. Chaos.

Standing tall she swung her blade out, flicking the blood off of it. Opening her eyes she watched as line after line of Prone charged at the BLADE army.

“Forward. Always forward.”

Spinning her blade she began running to meet the Prone. Bills, Tyler and Hermann switched to their guns and fired into an approaching Prone squad. Jaynix leaping over them and landing in the middle of another.

Three clubs swung out to meet her, dodging them she swung her blade out, cutting deep into the arm of an enemy. Roaring in pain they stepped back. Four guns opened fire on her, the woman sliding out of range with little effort.

Two Prone jumped at her with clubs, her blade met the weapons, the force behind it pushing the Prone back. Spinning her blade she ran it through one Prone, pulling it out she spun around, slashing across another Prone’s chest. The pair fell to the floor as the third club wielder charged her.

Holding out her hand she caught the brutish weapon.

The four other Prone were set to open fire when a beam lanced through them, leaving them open to Hermann and Tyler. The first man grappled with a Prone and brought up his knife, running it across the Prone’s neck, slicing it open.

Tyler buried his Javelin deep into a Prone, twisting the weapon he forced the Prone to the ground. The last one charged Tyler only for another beam to fire from Bills’ weapon, searing a hole in the Prone’s chest.

Jaynix held the club in her hand and smiled at the last Prone. Gripping her blade tightly she jammed her blade into the underside of the Prone’s head, the blade shooting out of the top.

Pulling it out she looked at the seven dead prone around them then at the other squad of seven her team had taken out on their own.

Nodding to them she gestured ahead and continued moving.

Badul continued typing away on the command console, his eye never stopped moving. Reading all the field reports, making note of which divisions were lost. Moving to the map he saw the general layout of the battle, the BLADE army was making impressive ground and the Skell war overhead was pretty much the same.

“Badul. What’s the plan?”

Turning he came face to face with not just Chantai but also Ahama, Urdu and Langul.

His synthetics began coming up with a plan immediately.

Hitting a few keys on the console, it portrayed the images of several BLADE soldiers.

“These individuals are the Earth aliens that have been at the head of countless Ganglion defeats.”

His hand gestured across them all.

“If you see any of them. Kill them.”

He then gestured at an older man with a scar across his chin.

“This man is their commander, he has taken to the field along his soldiers. He will be harder to kill than most of the others but it would benefit us greatly if their leader falls. Finally…if you see either of these…”

The image of a white haired woman and a blue haired man came up.

“Be warned that they are our greatest enemy. Killing them is the hardest task I can think of but if any of us accomplish it…this battle will swing in our favor.”

The other Ganglion commanders nodded as Badul continued.

“Ahama. Langul. Your Prone and Marnuck forces have engaged, your presence on the field of battle will greatly improve their performance…go outside…destroy.”

Ahama chuckled as Langul broke out into laughter.

“I’ve been waiting for that command!”

Badul narrowed his eye.

“Langul.”

The Prone watched him.

“I don’t care what you do out there Langul.”

The Prone clenched his fists.

“I can kill…whatever I want?”

“Our best strategy right now is to be brutal. Violent. We’re disorganized so the only option is a complete and total display of power. Langul. Ahama…”

Ahama nodded.

“Power. Done.”

With that the Prone and Marnuck Tyrants left the command center as Urdu spoke up.

“My Definians are all set to join this battle.”

Badul looked to Urdu.

“The project. How far did you get?”

“Far enough. The weapon is fully operational, the weapon systems are prepared however the shield and defense systems aren’t perfect.”

Badul nodded.

“I see…but like I said. Power. We have the weapon itself and its armaments at the ready, this weapon will deliver destruction. That is all we need…begin preparations for deployment.”

Urdu grinned and bowed before walking away.

“Chantai. Remain here.”

“…do you not trust me to kill our enemies, Badul?”

“I do…but we as Milsaadi operators have to consider the best placement for our programs and I am unconvinced that the battlefield outside is our place. Like I’ve told you, the Terminus is coming. Langul. Ahama. Urdu. As long as they can hold the Earth aliens here until the Terminus arrives…we’ll win.”

“And then? Will we finally seek out Nahum?”

Badul looked back to the control console.

“…perhaps…”

Chantai bowed.

“That’s all I wanted to hear.”

Turning away, the woman left as Badul brought a hand to his chin and continued watching the battle progress.

Charging forward as always, Yelv leapt into the air, several Prone firing on him. H.B.’s protective aura caused many of the rounds to glance off, the Reclaimer barely feeling them as he landed amidst the Prone. With a tight grip on his Photon Saber he began slashing towards the enemies, slicing clean through one of their rifles. Flipping about he got out of range of their savage clubs.

A Pugilith stomped up to the gathering only to be struck by a missile barrage from Frye. Laughing the man nodded to his brother who ran in, his blades cleaving through the Pugilith’s legs.

Yelv continued evading the Prone, keeping their attention on him allowing H.B. to get in close and slam his shield against one of their exposed backs. Looking ahead the Pathfinder noticed oncoming Marnucks.

“Look alive everyone!”

Yelv buried his blade into a Prone, kicking the corpse off of it as Frye ran in, cutting through the last one. Looking to the Marnucks, Frye grinned.

“The party never ends eh?”

“Couldn’t have said it better myself!”

Yelv added with a laugh before charging the new enemies, passing by the Pugilith as it fell into a heap, Phog rolling across the ground. Seeing something flash, Phog looked over to H.B. and pointed towards the canyon walls.

“Yelv! Get down!”

The Reclaimer threw himself to the ground as a beam seared through the air over him.

H.B. spotted more flashes along the canyon wall and cursed.

“Division One! Be careful! Enemy snipers! Take cover and keep your protective auras up! Our formation is superior, don’t let it be overwhelmed!”

As his team shouted out affirmations, H.B. raised his shield and slammed it into the ground, a blue wave shooting out from it, making contact with Frye, Phog and Yelv. Another beam seared through the air and slammed into H.B.

The man stumbled back, catching his breath as more lasers began firing from the darkness, the Marnucks had reached them now and engaged Frye and Yelv.

“Canyon Team One! We’re under heavy sniper fire! Take them out!”

With that H.B. looked over to Phog, nodding the pair joined Frye and Yelv.

Along the canyon walls stood a Seidr, several Pugiliths and a squad of Marnucks. All armed with sniper weapons and firing on the BLADEs.

“Perimeter guard? Are we still clear?”

The lead Marnuck waited for them to come back to him, firing on the BLADEs again.

“Yes sir. We…wait…”

“What is it?”

Firing several more shots, the Marnuck waited for another response. Getting nothing he directed half the team to check on the perimeter guard but maintained fire on the army before him.

The Marnuck began walking as a figure emerged from a high cliff wall. They recognized her immediately.

“It’s the Wrothian-”

Glint in her eyes, Ga Buidhe closed the distance in a flash, her weapon slicing the first Marnuck’s throat open. Blood spewing everywhere the body fell as the others fired on her. Spinning her weapon around, the shots bounced off into the surrounding rock faces.

Spinning herself around, she became covered in an aura of phantasms, the next few shots passing through her harmlessly.

With a war cry she jumped towards the Marnucks, her weapon piercing another. Ripping it out she slashed the Xenoform several more times before stabbing him again. With another dead she began flipping through the air, the shots unable to find their marks.

Running her spear into an enemy, she lifted him above and hurled him off the Cliffside, the Marnuck screaming as it hit a boulder below, spine breaking on impact. The other Marnucks continued their futile attempts to harm Ga Buidhe. With their attention on the Wrothian they left their backs exposed to the rest of the Wrothians emerging from the shadows.

Without missing a beat Ga Buidhe charged the rest of the enemy team, jumping onto a Pugilith her weapon gave off a fierce glow. The edge of her spear grew several sizes, allowing her to slice the Pugilith below her in half. Jumping off the wreck she landed on a Marnuck.

The Marnuck tried to roar at her as she pulled her face mask down, a stream of searing hot flames shooting out of her mouth and burning the Marnuck’s skin away, down to the skull.

Kicking off the corpse she landed on the next Pugilith, spinning her weapon about and carving through its hull.

The Marnuck leader was fully aware of this fearsome attack and ordered the remaining units of the cliff team to kill the Wrothian.

However the Wrothian squad, now done with the advance guard fell upon his team, cursing himself for thinking it was a one unit attack he demanded that the squad hold the cliff.

Ga Buidhe looked to Ze Debo and Gi Nore as they began ripping a Pugilith apart, then to the rest of her team as they engaged the Marnuck forces. Hearing the exhaust of engines she turned again as the Seidr moved in front of her and primed its weapons.

Though the Seidr pilot couldn’t see it, she was smiling.

The first two shots were blinding fast, tearing through the ground where Ga Buidhe once stood. Now in the air she watched as the Seidr unleashed a relentless storm of missiles. Spinning her weapon about she sliced through the closest ones, the rounds exploding around her.

Losing sight of the Wrothian in the smoke the Seidr began scanning as something carved through its side. Flipping about it fired off its automatic weapons, bullets riddling the Cliffside as they pursued Ga Buidhe.

It kept on her as she ran behind a boulder, the rounds decimated the boulder to reveal nothing hiding behind it.

High in the air, Ga Buidhe brought her face mask down again and breathed fire over her weapon, the entire thing lighting up with raging fury. Seeing the oncoming ball off fire the Seidr shot all its weapons at her.

Roaring, Ga Buidhe tore through the Skell, a massive burning gash across the entire body including the cockpit. With that the Skell fell to the ground and lay still.

Ga Buidhe noted her Wrothian comrades as they killed the last Marnuck.

Looking about she found the one in command on the ground, still breathing.

“You won’t…win…”

Ramming her weapon through his head she pulled her comm device out.

“Division One. The cliff is secure. Carry on your charge. Sniper division, move into place.”

The Wrothians stood aside as a team of BLADEs emerged and began setting up, a few Skells landing behind them.

Nagi and Hope dove aside as a pair of enemy Skells crashed into the ground near them, another patch of sand exploding on their other side as a line of Pugiliths approached with Marnuck guard.

Jenkins leapt through the ashes alongside L, the latter taking the lead and holding his shield up, protecting the two of them from enemy fire. Reaching the lead Marnuck, L struck him with all the force he had as Jenkins leapt over the ground units, a blazing aura covering his body. With enhanced strength he began attacking the Pugiliths.

Standing, Hope focused on her knife, a green glow covering it. Swinging it out, the glow encompassed L, Jenkins and Nagi.

The Secretary thanked her as he held his blade up and focused on it. A powerful aura covered his body, calmly he began walking towards a team of Prone that joined the attack.

Raising his blade he swung at the first one, yet at the same time it looked like three other Nagis emerged and struck out as well, all surrounding enemies taking heavy blows. The Prone roared and charged forward, trying to encircle the Secretary only put them in the worst place as his aura granted his attacks a far wider range.

Nagi’s attacks continued, one Prone found himself thrown back by the fearsome assault, a deep cut along his chest. Growling the Prone turned just in time to see Hope, her Psycho Launchers began firing, the Prone taking all the shots and falling dead. The weapons then began rotating around her, shooting across the ground she struck another, throwing it away, dead.

L’s shield smashed into a Marnuck, throwing him into his allies. Hearing something click he turned as three Pugiliths fired on him. Smiling L began to do his…odd dance, the bullets colliding with the ground all around him but never finding their mark.

Jenkins stopped his attack briefly to watch, dumbfounded. Shrugging he raised his blade and cleaved into another Pugilith, the machine losing control and falling limp. Jumping down to join L he engaged the Marnucks as the remaining Pugiliths ceased firing on the Xeno. Seizing this opportunity, the other Marnucks charged L.

Overhead, Doug, Irina and Gwin’s Skells continued ripping through as many Qmoevas as possible. However the concentration of Galdrs and Seidrs was becoming greater and greater, the heavier Skells both in armor and weaponry took far more punishment than the simple Qmoevas.

“Doug, I think we might be fighting one to one up here!”

He nodded to Gwin’s statement as Irina spoke up.

“It doesn’t matter how many there are! We’ve faced these odds before!”

Doug closed his eyes, remembering the Battle over Mira, they fought desperately to protect humanity at the time. Despite the overwhelming number of enemies they did what they could. This was the same, with the Ganglion wiped out, they’d be safer.

“Irina is right. We’ve got this! Skell Division One! Give it everything you’ve got!”

Engines roaring, the three Skells shot forward, allies falling into formation behind them.

Meeting a squad of Seidrs, the lead three fell out of formation and engaged them. Doug drawing his Skell’s blades. Both in hand he met the lead Seidr, its long clawed hand grabbing one of his blades while its shoulder popped open, a volley of missiles striking Doug’s Skell and pushing him back.

The other shoulder popped open, another barrage of attacks shooting towards Doug. Grinning he shot high into the sky, the missiles trailing after him, with a sudden dive he closed in on the Seidr, tackling it.

As it was pushed back, he swung out with both his blades, carving through the Seidr. Despite the attacks another series of compartments opened along the enemy Skell, a storm of rounds striking Doug as his Skell flashed several warning lights.

Grinning, Doug pushed forward and struck the Seidr again before cutting the engines and falling from the sky. The Seidr was met with its own barrage of missiles, unable to redirect they exploded against the Seidr, severely damaging it.

Flipping the engines back on, Doug’s Skell caught itself right over the ground, pushing sand and gravel in all directions. Looking to his side he saw Elma’s team engaged in combat, nodding to them he fired back into the sky to finish off the Seidr.

Kruse watched him go, his Skell tearing the Seidr to pieces which then began to fall down towards him. Quickly, Kruse rolled out of the way as burning metal crashed all around him.

“Be more careful Doug!”

“No promises K-money!”

“Don’t call me that!”

Kruse shook his head as Doug’s Skell shot off elsewhere.

Hearing a Marnuck war cry, Kruse turned and stopped the oncoming blunt weapon with his Photon Saber. Delivering a savage kick into the Marnuck’s torso, Kruse pushed it away. Narrowing his eyes he waited as the Marnuck watched him.

With another yell it charged him again, this time, Kruse evaded its wide, brutal swing and cut deep into its side. Swinging back around the Marnuck’s weapon narrowly struck Kruse but gave him the opening to bury his blade into the Marnuck’s chest.

Throwing the corpse off his weapon he turned as a series of explosions, destroyed the ground around him. Thrown to the ground, Kruse coughed as he looked up, enemy Skells were now performing bombing runs on their forces.

“Elma! Lin! Sharon! They’re really gunning for us now!”

Sharon ripped a Puge in two and scoffed.

“Now? That’s all they’ve been doing.”

Lin covered her, a Prone club striking her shield. Pushing the Prone back, he was wide open allowed Sharon’s blades to pierce him.

Several more Puges ran towards the pair, Elma landing in front of them and holding her guns out, firing full clips to keep them at bay. As she hit her reload, Kruse slid into view and cleaved the Puges to pieces.

“Ga Buidhe reported in, she captured the first cliff side. We’ve got snipers on watch now.”

Elma brought her guns up, Kruse ducking out of the way as she fired countless rounds into a Marnuck.

“That’s good! Now we just need to get to the front door.”

Kruse turned with his sniper as another ramp opened up in the ground not too far from them. Emerging was a squad of heavily armored Prone. Their armor was deep black with red bloodlike designs adorning them. In the lead was a Prone much larger than the rest carrying a massive weapon in his hands and an equally large one along his back.

Lin brought out her comm device.

“T-that’s a commander!”

“Langul the Alien Payload eh?”

Sharon prepared to move forward as Langul primed his weapon, Kruse could see it clearly now, a plasma powered Gatling gun, the green glow becoming fiercer.

“Cover!”

With Kruse’s yell the four hit the ground as Langul opened fire, laughing the whole time. His rounds ripped through several nearby BLADEs as well as other deployed Puges.

The Prone next to Langul cheered as the assault stopped. Nodding to them Langul pointed forward. The Prone roared in unison and charged into battle.

“This is Elma! Division Three be warned! Prone Tyrant Langul and his personal guard have joined the battle!”

Langul began walking forward, his weapon glowing again before letting loose a torrent of alien fire, ripping through another group of BLADEs.

“We can’t let that continue.”

Elma stated before looking to her team and nodding.

The three nodded in response and charged Langul. The Prone saw them approaching and recalled what Badul had told him about the enemy commanders.

“Perfect! I get to kill the strongest Earth aliens!”

Elma dropped into her stance, Kruse, Lin and Sharon following suit.

“If you believe we are the strongest then you should know that you’re not surviving this night!”

Laughing, Langul opened fire, his weapon ripping up the ground around them, the four diving aside. Sharon springing to her feet and closing the distance on Langul.

Still laughing, Langul tapped something, his weapon clicking. Vibrant green flames shot out of the weapon, caught off guard, Sharon dodged awkwardly, the flames making contact with her left arm.

Falling to the ground she yelled in pain, Lin ran to her side, shield up, barely holding back the flames.

Kruse and Elma nodded to each other and charged Langul as he redirected the flames at them. The pair dove aside, Kruse firing his sniper rifle as he hit the ground, the rounds glancing off of Langul’s armor.

Shaking his head the Prone watched as the torrent of flames died, needing to recharge. Frustrated the Prone shook the weapon trying to force it to continue. Elma landed next to him, swinging her blades out, barely carving into the Prone’s armor.

Another click came from his weapon as he turned, a sustained laser firing off, searing through Elma’s side. Groaning in pain she moved away as the laser fired after her again. Clenching her teeth she dove aside, looking up as the laser sliced clean through a few Puges.

Kruse fired his sniper rifle at Langul again, the rounds continuing to bounce off of the Prone but attracting his attention. The laser ripped through the air, Kruse barely dodging it.

Yelling, Murderess attacked the Prone’s exposed side, slashing at his armored up arm that was holding his massive multi-ammo weapon. Her blades were fast and the strikes were furious but the Prone’s armor held. With a laugh, the Prone swung its mighty weapon, striking Murderess in the chest, with the wind knocked out of her she fell to the floor.

Lin opened fire on Langul to cover Sharon, her rounds glancing off the Prone Tyrant. Laughing, Langul began walking towards her as she switched to her missiles, the explosive rounds knocking the Prone off balance.

Seizing this opportunity, Kruse and Elma closed in on the Tyrant, their weapons cutting into the Prone’s armor. Swinging his weapon, he missed Elma but struck Kruse in the face. Firing a laser right through one of Kruse’s legs.

Feeling the weapon heat up in his hands he switched the ammo again.

“Keep trying! It makes this fun!”

Raising the weapon up, three missiles fired out from under it high into the sky. Breaking apart into dozens of explosive rounds they began falling over the battlefield. Lin covered Sharon with her shield as Kruse and Elma did their best to avoid the countless explosions, Langul laughing the whole time.

Alexa looked down below her, seeing a rather large area around the center of the battlefield erupt into explosions.

Looking up she saw a line of Galdrs preparing another bombing run. Bozé had commanded his division to seek out those specific Skells and destroy them to ensure the continued forward movement and survival of the BLADEs below.

Seeing them now she began accessing her Skell commands.

“Alright my beauty, let’s make them regret messing with my friends.”

Locking onto them as they began moving she deployed her Drones while pulling out two pieces of a larger weapon and attaching them. With a click a large barrel ejected from one end, aiming it she could now view from her drone’s perspective.

With one trigger pull, the shot ripped through a Galdr’s cockpit sending it crashing to the land below. The others began dropping bombs as she fired again, taking out three more this way before directing her drones to attack the rest while she pulled her weapon apart and put it away.

She noted Bozé and several other Skells attacking the damaged enemy Skells. Smiling she called back her drones and shot down into the battle, a Seidr flying in to cut her off.

“Want a piece of me? Bring it.”

Drawing her buster she swung it wide, striking the Seidr, destroying one of its arms. In response the Seidr charged forward, tackling her Skell and firing off its missile payload at point blank range.

Alexa clenched her teeth as her Skell began displaying warnings.

“Get off!”

Her Skell’s hand struck the Seidr’s chest, pushing it away. Igniting her engines she flew off, the Seidr close behind. Arming her buster again, she spun around the blade detaching itself again, the glowing energy chain forming. Swinging it around she came to a halt, the Seidr didn’t and flew in just as the blade buried itself into the Seidr’s exposed side.

Ripping the weapon out Alexa charged forward, firing all her missiles directly into the Seidr.

“How does THAT feel?”

In response the Skell burst into flames and fell out of the sky.

“Bombers!”

Hearing Hermann shout that, Jaynix dove aside, sure enough the area around her exploded, she heard Tyler yell and looked over just as he hit the ground.

“Hermann! Patch him up! Bills! You alright?”

Standing, Jaynix found him approaching.

“Yes ma’am…these bombing runs are doing serious damage to our division.”

“It’s like Ga Buidhe said, that Badul fuck or whoever knows how to develop counter strategies. Doesn’t matter. Ignore what happens above us, they’ll handle it. We’ve got a horde to cut through.”

Bills nodded, turning to see Marnucks approaching.

“Tyler took a bad hit! I-”

“It’s alright Hermann, take all the time you need. Bills. Let’s keep em safe.”

Drawing their longswords the pair charged forward, meeting the Marnucks as they roared in response. Jaynix’s blade collided with club after club, disengaging she relied on her speed to evade the many attacks headed her way.

Taking a quick glance over to Bills, she saw him doing the same as best as he could. The pair was forcing the Marnucks the pursue them, not only away from Tyler and Hermann but also away from one another, breaking the force of eight down into two groups of four. Much more manageable.

Flipping away, Jaynix swung her blade in midair, landing as her body was enveloped in flames. The Marnucks charged her, one mighty club aimed right at her head. Gripping her blade tightly she swung out her weapon, the increase in power allowing her to cut through the Marnuck’s club.

In the brief moment of shock, the Marnuck barely realized his weapon was in pieces before Jaynix’s blade disemboweled him. Falling to his knees, Jaynix continued her furious assault on the second Marnuck, slashing through his chest as the other two opened fire on her.

Despite the many impacts against her she ignored the bullets and drove her blade through the second Marnuck’s head. As he dropped dead she turned to the pair still firing on her, clenching her teeth she shot off, leaving a trail of flames in her wake she ran around the Marnucks, slashing at their exposed backs.

Roaring the pair began firing grenades at her, holding her hand out she caught one and threw it back, the Marnuck unable to jump away as it exploded in front of him, tossing him into the air. Following him up, Jaynix carved through his body.

Landing she turned to the last one as he brought his weapon up. A javelin forced its way through his chest, blood spewing everywhere the Marnuck gasped in pain before falling limp and getting kicked off the javelin.

She nodded to the recovered Tyler as Hermann began healing her.

Standing up she looked over to Bills as he beheaded the last of his Marnucks. Walking towards the team he prepared to speak when they heard a mechanical groan. The ground ahead of them split open, the team could see a ramp leading down into the enemy base.

“Jaynix to Division Leaders…have we been able to get anyone into the base through the enemy ramps?”

“This is H.B. That is a negative. The enemy concentration is too great and the ramps seem to have inner doors that seal shut. We could blast them open but that would take too much effort and the ramps themselves have also completely closed before.”

“Right. We’ll stay focused on the main-”

Jaynix fell silent as a group of Marnucks emerged from the ramp, these Marnucks were bigger than the ones she’s been killing and their armor was blood red. Among them was a particularly big one that was armed with a robust blade.

With a mighty roar, the leader sent his group out into the fray.

“Division Five! Heads up! Ahama the Covetous and his lackeys just joined the party!”

Spinning her blade she began walking towards Ahama. Bills, Hermann and Tyler looked at one another before following suit, all three taking deep breaths.

“Oi! You must be Ahama!”

The Marnuck looked down on Jaynix.

“You are Earth alien leader.”

“Name’s Jaynix and my team and I are going to kill you.”

Ahama chuckled.

“Tiny, weak earth aliens don’t know what they’re getting into.”

Jaynix shrugged.

“Tiny? Sure. Weak? I wasn’t around for it but I do believe the weak Earth aliens defeated the Ganglion. I’m just here to mop up the scraps.”

Ahama crossed his arms.

“Very well then. Try to mop up this scrap.”

With blinding speed, Ahama swung his blade, the air whistling as Jaynix leaned back. The end of the blade barely missing the tip of her nose.

Flipping away she landed next to Bills, Tyler and Hermann.

“He’s fast…but the four of us together can knock him off balance. Watch out for each other and get this done right.”

“Yes ma’am.”

Gripping her blade tightly, Jaynix focused on the flames encompassing her body. Smiling she looked up to the Marnuck.

“Let’s kill him.”

Bills, Tyler and Hermann scattered as Jaynix charged forward, her blade colliding against the Marnuck’s much larger one. The Marnuck was impressed by the strength in his opponent, he could only push his blade forward so much, she kept it at bay with raw strength.

A beam from Bills’ Raygun burned across the Tyrant as rounds from Hermann and Tyler’s weapons collided against the enemy.

Ahama yelled in fury, continuing to try to push his blade forward as he was pelted by countless rounds from the other three BLADEs.

Clicking the hilt of his weapon a green glow surrounded the blade, not unlike Jaynix’s own Ether Longsword. Breaking the lock, Jaynix rolled aside as the massive blade sunk into the earth, turning quickly, Ahama swung wide, the green glow leaving a trail of energy in its wake.

Spinning the blade he continued his precise and fierce motions, Jaynix narrowly avoiding strike after strike. This Marnuck was unlike any she’s faced before, she then realized the green trails were hiding some of his body movements, she needed to get away when a fist came out of the green and struck her chest.

The force was immense and threw her across the ground like a pebble being skipped on a lake.

“Jaynix!”

Bills looked back at Ahama and fired his weapon on the Tyrant, the powerful beams leaving deep scorch marks along the armor and his exposed arms but not doing much else.

Hermann swung his knife out, a black cloud of energy hitting Ahama, his vision became blurry. As he rubbed his eyes, Tyler and Bills ran in, blade and javelin scraping across Ahama’s armor. Clenching his teeth Bills stuck his blade into one of Ahama’s legs, he felt it break skin but he couldn’t push it in further.

Swinging around, Ahama struck Bills with the flat of his blade in the face, breaking the man’s nose and throwing him to the ground. With the black cloud fading, Ahama clenched his hand into a fist and punched Tyler, the BLADE was sent flailing and hit the ground, hard.

Standing Jaynix coughed several times, the blow was much harder than she expected. She noted Tyler casting a green healing and protective aura on her.

“He’s fast. You guys need to keep your distance.”

“But Jaynix-”

“Do what I say. I can find his openings up close while the rest of you keep pelting him from afar okay? I can’t focus on my blade work if all of you are getting smashed up right in front of me.”

Tyler nodded as Jaynix ran back towards Ahama, the Tyrant saw her coming and swung his blade into the ground, tearing it up and shooting sand, dust and ash everywhere allowing Jaynix to vanish into it.

Ahama noted that she was gone and turned around quickly preparing for a back attack, but she wasn’t there. With a yell, Jaynix swung at his exposed back, carving into it as many times as she could before the Tyrant turned back around.

Rolling aside, the blade went right over her. Skidding to a halt she jumped away as it buried itself into the ground before her.

“I can hurt you Earth alien…but I’ve yet to feel the bite of your blade.”

“You better hope you don’t!”

Jaynix and Ahama took their stances. Bills got up, wiping the blood of his face before looking at the pair before him. Ahama was more than twice Jaynix’s size yet there was only determination in her gaze. Grabbing his Raygun he stood, prepared to support. Looking over to Hermann and Tyler he nodded.

The ground beneath Ahama shattered as he shot towards Jaynix, the ether surrounding Jaynix’s blade began to burn. Yelling she swung her blade, meeting Ahama’s. A powerful flash resulted from the ether weapons clashing, a flash present every time they struck one another.

Ahama roared as his relentless attacks continued, Jaynix smiled, the noise surrounding her dying away once again. The only thing that matter right now was that she defeated Ahama, nothing could stop her from doing so.

Pushing his blade away she stood prepared as he swung it back down. Taking a small side step, she stood still as it swung by right in front of her and buried itself into the ground, with the added force of the ground below her breaking apart, she leapt at Ahama, her blade cutting across his chest plate, leaving a long and deep cut.

Flipping over the Marnuck’s shoulder, she could feel him starting to move again, spinning around completely, Ahama’s blade cut through the air and across Jaynix’s back. Clenching her teeth she swung around, keeping a very tight grip on her blade she yelled, burying the blade in his side, the armor breaking apart, the blade sinking deep into flesh and drawing blood.

Clenching his fist Ahama backhanded Jaynix, throwing her through the hair as her allies opened fire. Missiles exploding all around him and searing hot beams, burning across his exposed arms.

Stepping back he looked down at his side where Jaynix’s blade was still buried. Looking up he saw her standing again, arming her assault rifle and firing the burning bullets into his armor.

Raising his fist into the air he slammed it hard into the ground, the surrounding area exploding. Bills, Hermann and Tyler were thrown off their feet and fell aside, Jaynix was just on the outer rim of the disturbed area.

“You are a strong Earth alien…”

Jaynix grinned as Ahama pulled her blade out of his side and threw it away.

“Killing you will be fun.”

“Do your worst.”

“You were one of us? Why-”

The Prone was silenced, his head exploding as a result of concentrated fire. The body fell limp as Slovity put the weapon away. Turning to the rest of her cavern clan allies as the Seidr fell into a heap, the pilot being pulled out and beaten to death.

“Slovity Pagus reporting. Cliffside is secure.”

A team of BLADEs joined her, setting up their sniper positions.

Looking back along the Ganglion base, she noted the top of it beginning to open, it reminded her of the large overhead gates she saw at the Weapons Hangar in Cauldros, not quite as large but a sizeable one.

“Be warned, they’re deploying something…”

Slovity tapped a BLADE and gestured at his binoculars. Receiving them she watched the opening gate closely as a platform began to life with an object on it. It was a weapon. A Skell. A familiar and very powerful Skell.

“Of course they’d find a way to repair it…”

Bringing out her Comm Device she reported in.

“All BLADEs engaged in combat be aware, the Ganglion is deploying the Rexoskell! I repeat, the Rexoskell is here and active!”

Badul continued to stand in silence, watching the battle progress. It didn’t matter how many things he threw at the BLADE army, they were not pulling back in the slightest. Their forward motion had slowed with the introduction of Langul and Ahama to the battlefield but not nearly as much as he would’ve liked.

“Badul. This is Urdu reporting. The Rexoskell is active and prepared and my Definians are waiting for the order.”

“Deploy.”

Badul watched as the Rexoskell shot off the top of the Ganglion base and landed on the battlefield, opening fire on the BLADEs before it. Activating its thrusters it joined the air battle, grabbing a Skell and holding it steady while the Rexoskell’s tail ripped through it.

Dropping the two pieces of human Skell to the ground below it shot off and engaged more of the enemy’s forces. At the same time, Urdu’s Definian squad emerged from the base among another line of Puges and Prone. Badul narrowed his eye as several Prone were headshot immediately upon leaving the base.

“They captured the sniper positions…”

Badul noted that Langul and Ahama had indeed engaged the enemy, however it seemed that whoever they were fighting was keeping their attention on them. Preventing the pair from bringing all the chaos to the battlefield that they needed in order to break the forward motion.

“Urdu. We need those sniper positions cleared out. Return to the Skell battle after that is done.”

Badul turned to see Chantai.

“You always seem to know when I need you.”

“Despite your damaged processors your program is still a primary one. Your functions are therefore part of me.”

“I’m aware. Chantai. Urdu will handle one sniper nest, you take the other.”

Chantai crossed her arms.

“And you? Will you remain hiding away in here?”

“My program is most vital to this scenario, here. The Terminus-”

Badul’s screens faded away as Ethos appeared.

“Badul!”

“Yes. Councilman.”

“I had my technicians check on the Terminus’ status only to find it gone! It’s moving towards you! Need I remind you how important the Terminus is to our ultimate goal? How dare you deploy it despite my direct order!?”

Badul waited as Ethos yelled out a few more obscenities and other things that he couldn’t care less about.

“You could just redirect away from us and let us all die. Let this unit fall into the hands of the humans and their allies.”

“I considered the option heavily and decided that it was the best scenario only to discover that the command controls on the Terminus have been overwritten by an outside source. I no longer have control over it.”

“…I do.”

“I know you do! I knew that from the moment my orders couldn’t get through to it! You fool. You will bring an end to the Ganglion with your brash-”

“Brash?”

Badul shook his head.

“Not brash. Logical. I am Milsaadi. I am Badul. I am incapable of being brash. All of orders and commands are performed by my program on the highest level of understanding and logic. If you let us all die here, you’ll only be killing yourself.”

Ethos clenched his teeth.

“If you want me to reroute the Terminus then send forth the main unit to retrieve us. Which is more valuable to you, Ethos? Command? Or the Terminus?”

“I need them both to destroy the humans! And you know full well that your unit holds the most vital resource!”

“Then come get us.”

Badul waited, watching Ethos’ face as he thought over what to do. Badul already knew the answer.

“Fine. Fine! Command is on its way…bringing you in was a mistake.”

Badul couldn’t fight off a smile.

“It was the best mistake you’ve ever made.”

With that Ethos cut off the communication, Badul turned to Chantai.

“I have to say…damaged program or not, your new functions and processors are much higher grade now than ever before.”

Badul bowed to Chantai before turning his attention back to the map of the battlefield. Chantai bowed to him and left, her own task set.

Ga Buidhe stood, prepared as always. She watched the snipers before her take out countless Ganglion forces as they emerged from the base. The battle was proceeding smoothly.

She looked up to the sky as the massive enemy Skell, the Rexoskell began ripping apart the humans’ Skells. Once Ga Jiarg arrived, he’d bring with him the Wrothian Caladars. She had her own on standby should it be required and seeing the Rexoskell was making her consider it when it disengaged from the Skell battle and shot towards the opposite Cliffside.

“This is Cliff Team Two! That giant Ganglion Skell is-”

The communication was cut off, Ga Buidhe witnessing a massive explosion. If that thing’s next target was her Cliffside, she was going to stop it.

Hearing something she swung about and caught a knife in one of her hands, she saw several more fly by, burying into the back of a couple of BLADEs’ heads.

“We’re under attack!”

The Wrothians drew their weapons as a group of Milsaadi appeared before them, the one in the lead was Chantai the Insect Maiden.

Snapping her fingers she spoke.

“Kill.”

The Milsaadi flashed, their speed impressive, the Wrothians however were just as quick and both Xenoform races collided, weapons striking one another.

“Reposition!”

The BLADEs that were left stood and departed, the BLADE Skells following suit.

“Ga Buidhe we-”

“Do your mission. I will do mine.”

The BLADE nodded and ran off as Ga Buidhe spun her weapon about. Chantai tossed a knife up and caught it, repeating this process as she watched the Wrothian before her.

“Just my luck. I get to kill the Prince’s own right hand.”

“After all this time. After all that has happened. The Ganglion remains blissfully unaware of who the superior force is. After all your failures, all your defeats at the hands of the humans, you still believe yourselves the stronger species? The stronger union?”

Chantai drew a long blade.

“Me? Not especially. The Ganglion only exists because some fools refuse to let it die…I’m here for my own reasons.”

“Then you’ll die for your own reasons.”

Chantai vanished, appearing right behind Ga Buidhe, without turning around the Wrothian positioned her weapon behind her, stopping Chantai’s.

With a quick nod, Ga Buidhe spun around, her weapon swinging wide before being bounced away by Chantai’s. The two Xenoforms launched at each other, weapons meeting. Chantai’s blade scraping against Ga Buidhe’s polearm. The bladed end narrowly missing the Milsaadi time after time, striking the cliff wall they stood on, dirt and pebbles being flung around.

Chantai’s blade sliced cleanly through the air, leaving perfect cuts in anything that it struck whenever it missed Ga Buidhe and releasing a powerful sound when it made contact with Ga Buidhe’s weapon. The fine blade was made with Milsaadi precision, if Ga Buidhe’s own weapon wasn’t personally forged, it’d be breaking with every collision.

Jumping away from each other, Ga Buidhe waited, lowering her stance. Blinking she found Chantai gone. Rolling aside she barely dodged another strike before shooting at Chantai, the weapon unable to make contact with the Milsaadi.

The pair was fast, faster than their allies fighting around them. Their movements a blur, all that could be heard was the weapons striking one another or striking dirt.

Spinning her weapon about, Ga Buidhe attempted to catch Chantai off guard by striking her with the blunt end, Chantai saw this and adapted to the additional movements and strikes that attempted to get to her.

Coming to a brief pause, the pair stood, watching each other. Chantai could only see Ga Buidhe’s eyes, a resolute gaze was evident. Ga Buidhe on the other hand could only see Chantai’s mouth, the end of it pulling up in a smirk.

She convinced herself she could win this battle, was she playing with the Wrothian? If so, that was a huge mistake.

Charging at one another, their weapons met again, seizing the opportunity, Ga Buidhe opened her mouth, the flames burning through her mask and searing across Chantai’s face. A metallic scream came from the Milsaadi as she disengaged and leapt away onto a high cliff, tearing the burning hood off her head and throwing it to the ground.

Ga Buidhe brought her hand up, pulling the burnt remaining pieces of her mask off her face and tossing it to the ground.

The pair’s eyes met. Ga Buidhe shooting up and Chantai coming down on her, weapons meeting again.

Irina watched as the Rexoskell descended on one of the cliff teams, there were countless explosions, she couldn’t make out what was going on even from the yells over the comm device.

“Crap!”

“Gwin, Irina, chase after that thing, we can’t have it up and about!”

Doug commanded, Irina took off immediately while Gwin held back.

“Are you sure? What about you?”

“I have to command the Division, we have to hold our place. We can’t disengage the forces, go!”

Nodding, Gwin shot off after Irina as Doug ripped through another Qmoeva.

The Rexoskell’s tail swung around, striking a Prone, throwing them off the Cliffside and to the canyon below.

Slovity’s team moved farther back, maintaining their fire on the Rexoskell, their rounds were damaging it but they were not slowing its movements down in the least. Swinging about the tail struck a sniper Skell before launching into the air and unleashing a storm of ether bubbles.

The attacks hit everything in the vicinity, the Rexoskell continuing to spin as a hail of bullets fell on the targets below.

“Knock it off!”

Irina slammed into the Rexoskell with a flaming shoulder bash, interrupting its attack and pushing it aside. Yelling, Gwin came down from above, his Skell’s blade cutting through the massive enemy Skell.

“You humans seek to challenge me? I am Urdu! New Mother of the Definians!”

An electrical discharge traveled along the Skell before shooting out several orbs of electric energy, the attacks shot towards Gwin and Irina’s Skells which engaged evasive maneuvers.

“Looks like we’ve got a Tyrant on our hands Lieutenant.”

“Then it looks like we’ll be taking one down! Gwin! On me!”

“Roger!”

The two continued to shoot across the night sky, the electrical orbs following their every move. Laughing Urdu commanded the Skell, flying higher into the sky it began gathering energy at what most looked like a face. Four beams shot out into the sky, Irina narrowly avoided them but in doing so the electrical orb caught up and stunned her Skell.

Seizing this opportunity, the Rexoskell flew towards her, the tail whipping around.

Another voice called out as a third Skell joined the fray, a massive G-Buster weapon striking the tail, knocking it aside. Recovered from the stun, Irina’s Skell drew its rifles and fired, dozens of rounds striking the Rexoskell as it pulled back.

“Alexa? Is that you?”

“Yep, yep! Bozé sent me over to back you guys up. Don’t mind do you?”

Irina smiled.

“Not at all.”

The pair looked up as Gwin continued flying, the electrical energy losing momentum before fading out with a small flash.

Urdu observed the three Skells before her and chuckled.

“You three think you can defeat the mighty Rexoskell?”

“Don’t know if you know this Urdu, that Skell has already been defeated in battle! Twice!”

Urdu clenched her teeth as Irina moved forward. Alexa nodded and spoke up.

“Yeah! And now it’s time for a hat trick!”

“That was then!”

The Rexoskell began spinning, lasers firing from countless points, cutting through the air. Alexa, Irina and Gwin activated beam shields on their Skells and charged in.

The Rexoskell’s tail flashed as it shot out, knocking Gwin’s Skell aside as Irina shoulder bashed it again. Righting itself, the Rexoskell unleashed a torrent of bullets on the two Skells before it. Irina taking several hits before moving out of the way, Alexa flew up higher and began calibrating her drones.

Seeing this, Urdu aimed the Rexoskell up at Alexa. Gwin flew in with his scythe and ripped through the Skell’s exposed back. Staggered, the Rexoskell fired a line of homing missiles after Gwin.

Unfolding her laser weapon, Irina fired on the staggered Rexoskell, pushing it back hard as Alexa unleashed her drones, the weapons shooting down towards the Rexoskell, firing all their arms.

Gwin dove straight down towards the ground, pulling up at the last second, the missiles colliding with the land below, exploding around dozens of Pugiliths, Puges and Prone. Gwin laughed as he flew back towards the Rexoskell.

Urdu rerouted power sources to a central cannon, the Rexoskell pulling back as it began to glow. With another command a storm of ether bubbles fired out of the Skell towards the three BLADEs.

Irina and Alexa took the brunt of the attack as Gwin looped out of the way, attacking the Rexoskell with his scythe from the front, hoping to interrupt the charge. Flipping about the massive Rexoskell tail knocked Gwin’s Skell away.

Red lights flashed all around Gwin, the display before him showing heavy damage sustained.

“Serpent Beam!”

A powerful laser tore out of the Rexoskell, the night sky was lit by the fearsome attack as it ripped through Gwin’s Skell.

“I can’t stay up! This thing is going down!”

The laser continued traveling, Irina and Alexa avoiding it.

“Eject Gwin! Join the fight on the ground! We’ll take care of this!”

Gwin did just that, his parachute unfurling as his Skell plummeted to the ground below.

The beam from the Rexoskell continued to shoot across the sky, Irina barely dodging it, her Skell’s lights flashing. The beam severed one of her Skell’s arms.

“Shit.”

Alexa inputted commands to her drones and sent them out again as she cut her engines and dropped, the Skell laser firing past where she was. Catching herself she drew her G-Buster and swung it, the energy chain activating as the blade of the weapon sliced through the air, striking the Rexoskell right under where the huge beam was coming from, cutting off the attack.

Urdu cursed before looking up to see the drones around her again, firing on the Rexoskell.

Irina and Alexa joined up again, looking to one another and nodding before engaging the Rexoskell again.

Maniacal laughter rang out across the battlefield as Langul continued laying waste to his surroundings. His weapon was back in Gatling gun mode and the rounds were in hot pursuit of Kruse. The Harrier kept the Tyrant on him as Sharon and Lin fired on the Prone’s armor from behind cover. Elma stood by behind a partially destroyed boulder.

Langul’s armor was powerful. It wasn’t impervious but it would take a lot to break through it. Peering over the boulder she watched as Langul’s hand moved along his weapon, changing the weapon type to flamethrower. Green fire began burning the surrounding area, Kruse diving to safety.

She stared at the massive weapon in the Prone’s arms and the heavily fortified cables attaching it to the unit along his back.

Getting back behind cover she messaged the rest of her team.

“The weapon. We target his weapon.”

“No offense Elma, but that thing is just as fortified as he is.”

She nodded to Sharon’s statement as Lin spoke up.

“Maybe so…but with all those ammo types, all that fuel and resources in his pack, we can find a way to disrupt it. Land a few good hits.”

Elma heard Sharon speak up.

“And what? Blow it up in his hands? I like that. What do you think Blue?”

“Like you said Sharon. We’ll blast through this”

Sharon chuckled as Langul called out for the four of them to stop hiding.

“Let’s do what we can.”

Elma stated, earning affirmations from the rest of her team before bringing her guns up and focusing. In unison the four of them leapt up out of cover, Elma’s guns giving off a green glow.

Firing into the air, four green orbs spun around before shooting down into each of the team members. Focusing on Elma, Langul let loose another stream of fire, this however did nothing to slow Elma’s charge, she ran right through the flames and leapt into the air.

Both her blades shined as she landed in front of the Prone, slashing his chest plate. Kruse brought his sniper rifle up and fired on the Prone’s weapon several times as he tried to swing at Elma, his attack phasing right through her.

“What is this!?”

Lin primed her weapon and unleashed a large barrage of missiles, disrupting the Tyrants focus. Roaring in frustration he turned towards her and fired, the girl vanishing in a torrent of fire. Langul laughed as the flames continued, when they finally died off he found her standing amongst the scorched land, unaffected.

Before he could scream in frustration, Sharon landed near him and opened fire, her bullets making contact with his body. Switching ammo again, the Tyrant shot a powerful laser at Sharon that phased through her as everything before it did.

Psycho Launchers encompassing her in a gravity field, Sharon shot towards Langul, striking him with a powerful kick that forced him to his knees.

Kruse saw his opportunity and clicked his sniper rifle, aiming it he took in a deep breath and fired, the force of the Afterburner ammo pushing him back several feet. The bullet ripping through the air and making contact with Langul’s weapon. Burrowing into it before exploding.

Elma and Sharon closed the distance to the stunned Tyrant, four blades cutting into the armored foe. As he brought his weapon up, Elma noted that the green glow surrounding the four of them was fading away.

Langul’s laser fired again, Elma avoiding it this time. Laughing Langul swung his weapon around as Sharon brought her blades up to guard, the massive gun struck her and pushed her back. His laughter picked up as he realized whatever prevented him from harming them, it was gone.

Switching ammo again, Langul aimed up at the sky and fired a missile. Seeing this Lin raised her shield, a blue aura encompassing it. Slamming it on the ground a wave was emitted from it, making contact with Sharon, Elma and Kruse, shielding them.

The missiles broke apart, dozens of smaller explosives heading back down. Kruse gripped his saber tightly and closed the gap between him and Langul, flipping around the Tyrant, back and forth, Kruse remained evasive. His blade shot out quick as could be, slicing into Langul’s armor and his weapon.

The Tyrant roared as he swung his weapon about, striking Kruse. The Harrier took the blows in stride and continued his attacks as the missile fragments began exploding all around the pair.

Switching ammo, the Tyrant’s weapon fired off like a Gatling gun, Kruse diving aside as the rounds followed him, several making contact. Gritting his teeth he kept moving. Langul’s eyes were focused on the Harrier, not seeing Elma and Sharon jump up behind him and land two powerful blows along his back, staggering him.

Seizing this opportunity, Kruse slid to a halt and held his Photon Saber up, the blue blade beginning to glow white.

Turning to Sharon and Elma in anger, Langul opened fire. At the same time, Lin opened fire on him. The countless bullets streaming from both of their weapons tearing up the battle scarred land all around them.

Langul screamed in frustration as he swapped to fire, pelting the three woman with vile green flames.

Kruse felt the heat of the weapon as a white symbol appeared around his hands and the blade extended into the sky.

Elma rolled aside, firing one precise shot that glanced off of the Prone’s headgear, throwing his head back. Shaking the attack off he saw Kruse and the massive blade he now held.

“No you don’t!”

With a mighty roar, Kruse swung his blade down as Langul fired. The blade cut through the flames, forcing them away and slicing into Langul’s weapon, following through and ripping into the ground below.

Yelling the Prone stepped back, looking at his weapon as it sparked.

“Oi.”

Langul turned as Sharon fired one of her guns, the bullet striking the exposed interior of Langul’s weapon. There was a powerful green explosion the second the bullet made impact. Langul screamed in anger as the blast enveloped him.

A larger green eruption covered the area, the shockwave throwing Kruse, Elma, Sharon and Lin to the ground.

The four looked to a huge cloud of smoke, unable to see anything. The four slowly began to stand as they heard laughter.

“You’ve got to be fucking me.”

Sharon spat as the smoke cleared revealing Langul, large portions of his armor were gone, and the weapon in his hand was in pieces all around him. Detaching the pack from his back, Langul grabbed an exposed end of it and pulled it apart. The Tyrant now held a massive hammer in his hands.

“I’m not done yet!”

Jumping into the air he slammed the hammer into the ground. The four BLADEs thrown off balance by the powerful quake.

Lifting the weapon he charged towards Elma, Sharon and Lin. Kruse gripped his blade and gave chase.

Jaynix rolled across the ground, Ahama’s blade colliding with the land behind her. On her back she fired her assault rifle into his side, aiming for the small opening made by her running her blade into him.

One burning bullet got in, causing the Tyrant to groan in pain before swinging towards her with his blade again. Flipping to her feet she continued running around him, keeping up the pressure with her bullets, aided by the occasional beam blasts from Bills.

Hermann was making his way towards Jaynix’s abandoned blade while also being on constant watch of her vitals, applying various protective auras and as many healing techniques as he could.

Jaynix ran by Tyler who was also circling Ahama alongside her, his two guns firing on the Tyrant as well. Roaring to the sky, Ahama swung his blade along the ground. Tyler threw himself aside to evade the end of it as Jaynix jumped away.

Growling, Ahama ran towards Jaynix, the woman fired grenades on his feet, interrupting the Marnuck’s gait, causing him to skid to a halt. Raising his blade he slammed it into the ground near Jaynix as her assault rifle opened up, revealing its high powered rail.

Aiming carefully she fired a powerful round the pushed her back, the attack struck the Marnuck’s chest plate, Ahama was amazed by how powerful the attack was, stumbling back from the force.

“Jaynix!”

Hermann threw her blade at her back. Ahama saw this and roared charging ahead again, ignoring another searing beam that burned along his arm. He was right on top of Jaynix raising his blade up as Jaynix spun around, turning to see her blade she reached out and took a hold of the hilt, in doing so a powerful aura covered her body.

Closing her eyes, the few seconds she had as she turned around were serene. This technique was used by Nagi with great mastery. Now it was her turn.

Opening her eyes she brought her blade up and caught Ahama’s, holding it back with all her strength.

The Marnuck growled, this very strong Earth alien was getting on his last nerve. Knowing she was probably one of the most frustrating things in this Marnuck’s life, Jaynix couldn’t help but grin.

“I hope you enjoy this fight Ahama. It’s your last.”

Jaynix and Ahama broke away from each other, Ahama jumping back with Jaynix in hot pursuit. Gripping her blade tightly she jumped at him and swung, what Ahama witnessed was five of her, five different attacks that all struck him along his body.

Landing she rolled to her feet and turned around, three slashes were felt in immediate succession along his leg. Roaring in pain he swung about and struck Jaynix, throwing her into the air.

Turning his blade he swung, hitting her in midair with the flat end, shooting her across the ground and into a boulder that crumbled on impact.

Hermann chased after her as Tyler skidded to a halt in front of Ahama and threw his javelin, the weapon sinking into the Tyrant’s arm. Bills fired off another laser into Ahama’s chest pushing him back.

Jaynix sprung to her feet and out of the rubble of the boulder, Hermann casting another heal on her as she ran by him and leapt into the air, her blade becoming four and tearing into Ahama’s armor.

Clenching his fist, Ahama struck the ground, uplifting everything around him. Jaynix used the force to jump into the air, throwing her blade high as it could go while pulling out her assault rifle.

Ahama looked up at her as she fired on his face, the burning bullets searing into him. Landing she rolled to her feet as he stumbled back. Spinning about she swung her leg wide, kicking her blade as it fell in front of her, sending it shooting into Ahama’s chest, clean through his armor and his flesh.

Feeling the deep cut, Ahama groaned and stumbled back. Bills continuing to lay down Raygun fire, the powerful pushes keeping the Tyrant at bay. Jaynix leapt onto Ahama and tore her blade out before jumping away, out of the reach of his hand.

Landing on one knee she let out a long breath and turned to Ahama as his gaze found her. She noted not just the countless burns along his armor, but the two cuts she made that were bleeding. She also saw how burnt the skin on his arms was, the burns were terrible.

Ahama pulled the javelin out of his arm and tossed it aside.

“I applaud your efforts. But I can’t be beaten.”

Jaynix spun her blade and smiled.

“If you bleed. If you feel pain. You can die.”

“Maybe. But look around Earth alien! Your army has advanced as far as they ever will! As many of us as you kill, there are still many more of us.”

A roar was heard from elsewhere. Jaynix knew it could only mean one thing. She smiled.

“I hope you made the most of this head start that you had. It’s over now.”

Ahama was a tad confused, the smug look on Jaynix’s face…something happened.

Turning to look out over the battle he saw another battalion joining the fray and many Skells. Caladars. The Wrothians. That roar must have been the Prince himself.

Ahama looked up as a line of Caladars descended upon a squad of Seidrs and ripped them to pieces in moments before moving on to their next task.

Nodding Ahama looked over to Jaynix.

“I doubt you all expected that eh?”

Ahama looked over his other shoulder, he saw his personal guard as a group of Wrothian’s fell upon them the blood of the Marnucks staining the ruined ground below.

“No wonder Badul was concerned…”

“What did you say?”

Ahama looked to Jaynix.

“The Wrothians may offer you a brief reprieve but our fight is far from over, Earth Alien.”

Jaynix prepared to speak when a group of Marnucks appeared around her. Quickly she dove out of the way. Hermann jumped in, firing his Gatling gun to keep them at bay.

“Bills! Tyler! Form up!”

The other two shouted out affirmations and ran to Jaynix’s side as Ahama sheathed his weapon and began walking away with a noticeable limp in his step.

Badul narrowed his eye, the battlefield was at what those who were losing would call a relative standstill. Truth be told, the humans’ advance never stopped. It slowed but it was always constant.

To make matters worse a whole new army of enemy contacts popped up on his radar and began decimating the remains of the front line forces, breathing new life into the BLADE army’s advance. Even with Langul, Chantai, Ahama and the Rexoskell out there, the facility was doomed from the start.

Badul tapped one last string of commands on the console before walking towards the chamber’s exit. Grabbing his twin blades he gave them quick test swings. Satisfied he sheathed them and continued walking, the entire base shuddering.

Ga Buidhe and Chantai stepped away from each other, both keeping their breaths even. Ga Buidhe smiled upon realizing that all the Milsaadi assassins had dropped dead. The only ones surrounding the pair now were her Wrothian comrades.

Then she heard the roar, her Prince’s roar. She could see Chantai take a step back at the same time.

“If I were human I’d tell you to surrender or try escaping. But I’m not. You all die here.”

Chantai looked over to the battlefield, seeing the Wrothians reinforce the humans. She then noticed that the base was shaking.

“Badul. What are you-?”

Chantai felt something pierce her lower torso, looking down she saw that Ga Buidhe rand ran her weapon through her program. With a savage kick, the Wrothian knocked the Milsaadi woman off her weapon and off the Cliffside. Turning to her Wrothian allies she nodded to them. With that they took off to join the main fight.

Tapping a small device, Ga Buidhe waited as something shot across the sky and landed near her. It was her personal Skell, the Deva Caladar. Boarding it she took to the sky, drawing the Skell’s primary weapon.

Looking ahead she saw the Ganglion’s vile Rexoskell. It had taken quite a lot of damage but was functioning as if it was in perfect condition. Two heavily damaged human Skells were engaged with it.

“This is Ga Buidhe, here to assist.”

“Ga Buidhe?”

The Wrothian’s eyes widened.

“Alexa.”

The Rexoskell’s tail shot towards Alexa’s Skell, Ga Buidhe closed the distance with immense speed and struck the tail, knocking it away.

“Greetings, Alexa.”

“Heya! Irina, this is my friend, Ga Buidhe.”

The Lieutenant chuckled.

“I know who she is. When did you two become friends?”

“It’s a fun story!”

Ga Buidhe could not stop herself from smiling.

“Later. Perhaps.”

Alexa caught herself and giggled.

“Yeah. Later. Alright! Let’s do this!”

Deva Caladar took the lead, opening up its massive bow and firing multiple shots at the Rexoskell that began evading them, flying circles around the red Wrothian Skell.

Seeing this Irina cut off the Rexoskell, tackling it as she’s done many times before, with the Skell staggered, Ga Buidhe fired an arrow into the machine, followed by another. Alexa began recalibrating her drones as Ga Buidhe closed up the bow, the weapon becoming slimmer and an energy blade sticking out of one end.

Armed with this massive version of her standard weapon, Ga Buidhe shot towards the Rexoskell, the enemy tail grabbing her Skell’s arm to stop the spear. Tossing the spear from one hand to the other, Ga Buidhe ran it through the Rexoskell, forcing it to release her.

Gathering energy in its face unit the Skell unleashed several beams towards Deva Caladar which rapidly and smoothly avoided the attacks.

Unleashing the drones, Alexa sat back as they fired on the Rexoskell. Looking to Irina’s Skell they nodded and shot forward, both Skells’ bladed weapons cutting through the Rexoskell, more pieces of the vile weapon falling to the ground below.

Spinning her spear fiercely, Ga Buidhe launched it at the Rexoskell, piercing the face unit.

Inside Urdu cursed, the weapon was deadly, its armaments were powerful but as she had told Badul, the defensive systems were incomplete. If the weapon could heal itself or cast decoys she could last longer, as it was now the Rexoskell was set to fall for the third time.

“Not yet. This isn’t over yet!”

Despite the heavily damaged reactor, Urdu directed all remaining power to the core unit. Irina flew in and tore the spear out of the Rexoskell, throwing it back to Ga Buidhe as Alexa swung her G-Buster, tearing off another large chunk of the Rexoskell.

“DIE!”

A massive laser shot out of the Skell, making contact with Irina’s Skell which began falling out of the sky and catching fire. Irina ejected quickly, barely escaping the machine as it exploded.

Ga Buidhe flew in, grabbing Alexa’s Skell and pulling it out of the way of the searing laser.

“Irina! Are-”

“I’m fine! Finish it!”

Alexa nodded.

“Thank you, Ga Buidhe.”

Ga Buidhe said nothing as the laser returned, the pair split up and flew out of range. Alexa noted that the large puncture wound she made to interrupt the laser last time was ejecting smoke and light. The Skell shouldn’t be using that weapon.

“How could they mistreat it like that?”

“What?”

“N-nothing. Aim for the core unit! I’ll draw its attention.”

“Alexa-”

Before Ga Buidhe could protest further, Alexa shot past the Rexoskell which aimed its laser after her. Deva Caladar’s weapon folded out again, becoming a bow, bringing it up Ga Buidhe aimed carefully. Right at what Alexa told her to hit.

Without a word she let loose, the arrow slicing through the air and piercing the core of the Rexoskell, cracks began to form from her strike, energy seeping out from the cracks as they continued to travel across the Skell’s body, the laser losing form.

Then, the Rexoskell exploded, a large powerful and violent explosion, debris slicing through the air and larger pieces falling straight to the ground below. A powerful shockwave was emitted from the explosion, pushing Deva Caladar back.

“Alexa. The Rexoskell is down.”

Ga Buidhe noted that Alexa’s Skell was falling. Quickly she shot towards it, catching it and hovering to the ground with it.

Landing she jumped out of her own as Alexa’s cockpit opened up and she stepped outside, coughing.

“Are you alright?”

“I’m fine…thanks Ga Buidhe…”

She looked up to the Wrothian. There was a smile on Ga Buidhe’s face. Her face was exposed too.

“Hey, what happened to your mask? Did you get hurt?”

“No…long story.”

“Heh. Can’t wait to hear it.”

Alexa leaned over, hands on her knees she took in several desperate breaths.

“Will you be good, here?”

“Yeah. Yeah. I’ve got my Ground Gear with me. Once I catch my breath I’ll join the ground forces just like Gwin and Irina.”

“Very well.”

Alexa stared at Ga Buidhe for a bit before clearing her throat.

“I’m sure the Skell battle could use someone like you.”

“Of course.”

Ga Buidhe wanted to say a few more things but decided against it. Boarding Deva Caladar again she shot off, Alexa looking after the Skell and smiling.

“So cool.”

Which she meant about the Skell. But also couldn’t help but admit she meant about the pilot.

Kruse has been hit by a lot of things since waking up on Mira. He’s pretty sure he was hit by a lot of things back on Earth too. It’s one of those situations where idle curiosity would always have you ask: how would it feel to get hit by this?

With all his experience on Mira, he could answer quite a few questions like that. At least he believed he could. It’s hard to exactly explain how it feels to get hit by certain things but when it happens to you it’s as clear as day.

Right now, as Langul’s hammer struck him, he found himself frozen in this moment thinking this over. Has he ever wondered: how would it feel like to get hit by an oversized alien hammer by a clearly delusional Xenoform?

Regardless of if he’s ever wondered it before or not. Now? He knew.

Heavy and detailed introspection out of the way, time returned to normal and Kruse was sent sailing across the land, skipping off the ground several times before smashing through a massive boulder and hitting a small cliff wall.

“Kruse!”

“Elma look out!”

Hearing Lin’s warning, Elma looked to see Langul charging her and dove aside, the hammer striking the ground, everything in the general area erupting upwards.

Alongside Lin and Sharon, the three fired on Langul, their rounds making contact with his exposed body, drawing blood. Even so he continued laughing as he turned to them, swinging his hammer wide several times before jumping towards them, causing them all to roll aside in unison.

With a mighty jump, Langul aimed himself right at Lin, raising his hammer high over his head. Seeing this, Lin quickly cast an aura on herself and brought her shield up. She gave a quick look to Elma and Sharon just as the hammer struck, crying out in pain from the immense force she was brought to her knees, barely holding the shield up over her, a large crack forming along it.

Elma and Sharon drew their blades and advanced, Elma flipping over Langul as Sharon buried her blades into him, one into his arm the other into his exposed side. Landing, Elma spun her blades and jammed them in behind her, piercing the Prone’s flesh.

Taking his hammer from Lin, Langul swung it about again, the two women jumping away. Elma landed only for Langul to be upon her again. Continuing to evade she noted that Lin fell over and was unmoving, she tried to reach Kruse through the comm device but he wasn’t responding.

“I take it you noticed too eh, Elma? Half our team is down.”

Elma ducked under another strike before running in the opposite direction. Covering her, Sharon fired on Langul causing the Prone to charge her position.

“I noticed. I have an idea.”

Feeling the sting of the hammer barely hitting her side, Sharon lost balance. Seeing it above her she began rolling along the destroyed ground as it continued to smash into the spaces she was just in.

“Then do it!”

Rolling to her feet, Sharon dove away as she fired her weapons into the Prone. Elma took a deep breath, she found herself the slightest bit amused that Sharon didn’t ask what the plan was or if it was a good idea. Given how caring Kruse and Lin could be, she expected it only to recall that Sharon isn’t like that.

Sharon’s legs were taken out from under her, the woman rolling across the ground. Cursing she turned as Langul’s hammer neared her. A single shot struck the side of the Prone’s head, his hammer lost its trajectory and slammed into the ground near Sharon.

Looking over, Sharon saw Kruse with his sniper rifle armed.

“You look like shit Blue.”

“Really? Now?”

Groaning, Kruse stood up as Langul found him and roared, charging the wounded Harrier who threw his sniper rifle aside and drew his Photon Saber. Mechanical whirs filled the air around him as a white glow covered his body, with a smirk Kruse muttered.

“Accelerate.”

Despite his broken and battered body, Kruse had regained his speed and strength, his body would not be thanking him for this later but as of right now he was able to dodge Langul’s wild hammer strikes. Jumping closer to the Prone, Kruse slashed through his exposed flesh which he noticed already had countless injuries, slashes, punctures and bullet holes. The Prone’s body was drenched in his own blood yet he moved as if he didn’t feel it.

“I guess the whole lunatic thing isn’t a ploy.”

Kruse rolled under another hammer strike, his blade slashing along the Prone’s legs. With unexpected swiftness, Langul brought his hammer back around, striking Kruse with the back end of it.

Kruse rolled across the ground, feeling his Overdrive flicker, Kruse knew he didn’t have much time left.

“Kruse! Bring him to me!”

Looking over to Elma he wanted to ask about her plan but knew there was no time for questions so he simply nodded.

Langul’s hammer smashed onto the ground, Kruse jumping on it then launching himself at Langul, stabbing the Tyrant in the chest. Tearing away from the Prone he watched as he roared in anger and gave chase, wildly swinging his hammer.

Eyes finding Elma, Kruse took off as quickly as he could, the hammer smashing into the ground right behind him, throwing his balance off. Shooting past Elma he skidded to a halt, Overdrive leaving him. Falling to his knees he gasped for breath and looked to Elma as Langul charged her, raising his hammer high.

Elma narrowed her eyes as it came down on her, the glow of Overdrive covering her body at the last second, holding up her blades she caught the head of the hammer. The force of catching the attack ripped up the ground above her and forced her knees to bend. A pained grimace came across Elma’s face.

The Prone was howling in laughter as Elma clenched her teeth. Her blades began to give off a red glow, holding them tighter she put all her strength into pushing Langul’s hammer up and away from her.

Yelling she slashed her blades through the head of the hammer, a large red shockwave tearing through the weapon, ripping it in two. Langul stumbled awkwardly as his weapon swung past Elma. Not missing a beat, Elma swung her blades out sending dozens of shockwaves towards the Tyrant, the waves cutting through him.

Several sliced into his legs, forcing the Tyrant to his knees. When the assault stopped, the Prone coughed blood all over the ground, still trying to swing his ruined hammer.

“This isn’t…over…”

Weak chuckles escaped the Prone as he raised the remains of his weapon above him.

“This isn’t-”

A blade tore through his chest, the Prone gagging in response. Another blade followed suit, the Prone looked down to the bloody ends sticking out of his body. Losing strength in his arms he dropped his ruined weapons. The blades tore out of his body, spewing blood all over the ground.

“…over…”

One more savage slash beheaded the Tyrant, the corpse falling to the ruined ground.

Murderess stood over the body covered in his blood, spitting on the corpse before wiping her face.

“It’s over…dick…”

Elma looked to her side as Kruse walked up next to her.

“You look terrible, love.”

“Sharon said the same thing.”

The pair smiled before Elma realized something.

“Lin!”

Quickly the pair ran towards their fallen comrade as Sharon sat on the ground, exhausted.

Kruse stood over Lin as Elma helped her up.

“Lin. Are you alright?”

There was a long silence as Lin struggled to open her eyes, clearly she was still very dazed from the impact of the strike.

“Yeah…fine…oof…did we win?”

Elma and Kruse nodded with smile, Lin gave them a weak thumbs up in response.

“Colonel!”

The three turned to see Gwin and Alexa running towards them, assault rifles drawn. Gwin began scanning the perimeter as Alexa stopped at the group.

“Hey! You guys alright? Pfft, I’m looking right at you. Of course not.”

Kruse nodded as Sharon joined them.

“Skell Nut. Farm boy. Shouldn’t you two be up there?”

Perimeter clear, Gwin returned to the rest of the team.

“We were, the Rexoskell destroyed my Skell and Irina’s so we’re on the ground now.”’

“Mine was too damaged to fly anymore but with some much needed help from Ga Buidhe we were able to destroy the Rexoskell so it’s done.”

Elma sighed in relief.

“Hopefully this is the last time we have to face that thing.”

“Doug? Bozé?”

Gwin looked over to Lin.

“They’re fine. They’re still leading the Skell battle on the BLADE front. They can handle it.”

“One hundred percent!”

Alexa added with a smile as Sharon pulled out her comm device and looked through the latest reports of the battle.

“The Wrothians led by Prince Jiarg joined the battle not too long ago. They’re pushing the Ganglion back pretty hard. We’re almost to their base.”

Gwin pulled out several personal patches, handing the pills off to each of Elma’s team. Alexa looked over the surrounding area, it was incredibly destroyed, barely recognizable as part of Oblivia anymore.

“What happened here?”

“Ganglion Commander. Langul.”

Kruse said as he felt the pill working on him, sighing in relief.

“He’s dead. That’s one down.”

Sharon finished. Now standing, Kruse, Elma and Lin shouldered their weapons.

“Time to continue our assault. The fight isn’t over yet.”

Elma stated, earning nods from the surrounding BLADEs. Pulling out her comm device she spoke.

“Division Three. Status?”

The six stood along the destroyed land as various team leaders reported in the progress they’ve made. Some of Langul’s personal guard was still hounding them but continued forward momentum was steady.

“Let’s join them.”

The six began walking as the ground shook, looking towards the Ganglion base they noticed that it was steadily…moving. The entire base was shifting upwards, ripping itself out of the ground below.

Kruse shook his head.

“What the hell?”

Spinning around, Hermann’s Gatling gun found several marks that attempted to surround the BLADE. Dropping in, Tyler’s javelin pierced one of the elite Marnuck guards. Spinning around his weapon continued to rip across the Xenoforms armor.

Covering Hermann was Jaynix and Bills, their blades making short work of any approaching Puges.

“We can’t let Ahama get away.”

Jaynix stated as she tore a few more Puges to pieces. Bills did the same before asking.

“What should we do?”

“Division Five! We-”

Jaynix commands stopped as the Ganglion base began moving again, extending farther from the ground, causing a residual quake.

“Division Five, we’ve got to hold this flank, it doesn’t matter how many enemies get sent our way. Hunker down and take them out!”

Jaynix tore another Puge apart, Bills turning around to see Tyler kill another Marnuck.

“Shouldn’t we keep moving forward?”

“No. The base is moving. Something is up with that…something bad…we should wait and see. I’ll go ahead on my own and find Ahama. End him. Then I’ll come right back.”

“Is that safe?”

Jaynix smiled.

“Nope. But I can do it. Or do you doubt me?”

Bills shook his head.

“Never.”

Jaynix downed one more Puge before bringing her comm device again and giving formation orders to Division Five. Telling the various teams to reinforce one another, forming a wall, a flank that wouldn’t be giving way anytime soon.

“The enemy concentration is past its highest point. They’re running out of soldiers. Keep doing what you’re doing and we’ll carry this fight. If anything changes I’ll get back to you all with new orders!”

Various team leaders responded as Jaynix looked to Bills, Hermann and Tyler.

“I know you guys got this.”

With that she ran past the approaching Prone line, dodging their attacks and continuing to advance on the Ganglion base.

Emerging from hiding, Urdu watched the Ganglion Base as it moved again.

“The main unit must be nearby. Good.”

Opening her communications unit she spoke.

“Status report.”

The Definians reported in first, the battle was going poorly, a majority of them had been killed and the BLADE advancement was unstoppable.

Urdu spat as Ahama reported in.

“My personal guard is falling apart as well.”

“Did you engage any of them?”

“Of course I did. A female red haired Earth alien was proving to be a bit much…”

“Was she now? Ahama. I thought you were fierce.”

Badul’s voice had joined them. A short pause before he asked.

“Chantai? Langul? Report.”

Nothing.

“Think they’re dead?”

Urdu asked, drawing laughter from Ahama.

“Of course they are. We’re all dead.”

“Not yet. And until we are…this battle isn’t won or lost.”

Urdu sighed at Badul’s statements. For being one of the logically given Milsaadi he was very clearly delusional.

“Behold.”

Following Badul’s last comment Urdu looked up at the night sky, able to make out something…off.

High above the Ganglion base was a large shape, the active camouflage that concealed it began to give away revealing the hull of a gigantic warship.

In the command center of the ship was Councilman Aer Ethos. His feeds all kicking on to bring him countless reports on the battle below. At Ethos’ side were two other commanders, looking to them he spoke.

“Hadam. Zornehm. What does this look like to you?”

The Marnuck, Hadam looked over the reports.

“Like a grand majority of our forces have been killed.”

The Milsaadi, Zornehm nodded.

“Indeed. Had we arrived too late, our forces would have been routed and the resource would have been lost. Truth be told, they may very well still be routed.”

Ethos chuckled and brought up Badul on the screen.

“We’ve arrived. The Terminus?”

“Halted.”

Ethos sighed in relief.

“Good. Hadam. Zornehm. Dispatch our army. Destroy the BLADEs. Destroy their allies. Destroy everything.”

The two bowed, but before they walked away, Badul spoke up.

“Councilman. I have a suggestion to make for them and their personal guard.”

Ethos tilted his head as Badul continued.

“The ends of the BLADE army…their flanks are vital to holding their lines. The strongest concentration of soldiers are there to reinforce this fact. My forces could not break through the flanks…but with what you are armed with I think we can.”

Ethos crossed his arms.

“We have the numbers to sustain a fight far longer than the BLADEs can hope to.”

“You’d think that. No. If you break their lines, they’ll crumble.”

Ethos tapped his chin as Zornehm spoke up.

“I see the logic in Badul’s strategy.”

Ethos sighed.

“Very well. Hadam the Destructive. Zornehm the Whisper. Prepare.”

Bowing the two walked off.

“You better be right about this, Badul.”

“I always am.”

“What the hell…it’s massive…”

Kruse stated looking up at the enemy warship.

Alexa pointed at it.

“I know that thing! It was there at the Battle for the Lifehold! It’s the Ganglion Command Ship!”

Elma narrowed her eyes as ports opened up underneath the warship and new hordes of Qmoevas, Galdrs and Seidrs emerged to join the battle overhead.

“Secretary Nagi? What do we do?”

There was a long silence before he responded.

“We have the Zenith Cannon regiment for this exact type of situation. If our Skells and the Wrothian Skells can give us a clear line of sight to the warship, we can bring it down or at the very least, severely damage it. As for the Ground Forces, objectives remain. Breach the Ganglion base and kill the rest of the commanders.”

Elma confirmed Nagi’s orders before looking ahead as a Galdr flew by the Ganglion base which continued to move upwards, the Galdr dropped several units into the ground below. After a few flickers the units gave off a green glow. With a powerful flash, Prone appeared on them.

Teleporters. Just like the ones in Cauldros. The Ganglion was deploying the army aboard the warship into the battlefield.

“Kruse. Lin. Sharon. Gwin. Alexa. Division Three. Forward!”

Raising their weapons, the Division charged to meet the new Ganglion legion.

Ahama came to a halt, looking up to see the Ganglion warship. Of course Badul convinced Ethos to come back for them. He then watched as a Galdr delivered a wave of teleporters and new forces joined the battle on the Ganglion side.

Ahama didn’t entertain the thought of victory, the Earth aliens now knew the true size of their forces. If they couldn’t force them to retreat, the battle would continue as it had before, they’d be routed.

“Ahama! Enemy approaching!”

Ahama turned to see a single BLADE evade his soldiers opening strikes only to flip back around and cut them down. The seven soldiers with him were reduced to none in an incredibly short amount of time. It was that woman again.

“Oi, Ahama. Hope you didn’t miss me.”

“You left your comrades behind?”

“I trust them with all I have.”

Ahama drew his blade.

“Foolish. You couldn’t beat me with the help of your team and now you seek to fight me alone.”

Jaynix chuckled.

“I forced you to retreat. This time, you die.”

Roaring, Ahama charged Jaynix, his blade striking the woman’s.

Jaynix closed her eyes, the time was now. Overdrive covered her body.

Ahama found it becoming harder and harder to hold her blade back, she was overpowering him. Cursing he put all his strength into his weapon but was barely making any ground.

Opening her eyes, Jaynix smiled, her eyes were burning brightly as she followed through, knocking Ahama’s massive blade aside. Zipping around the Tyrant, her blade cut deep into his armor, smashing and cracking it. Bits and pieces of it fell to the ground below, the Tyrant stumbling back from the onslaught.

Skidding to a halt in front of him, she waited as Ahama swung his blade at her, leaping over it and at him she kicked him in the chest. The chest plate cracked, a huge piece of it falling off and breaking on the ground, Ahama hitting the floor shortly after.

Growling the Marnuck stood back up and swung his blade at Jaynix. In response, Jaynix struck his weapon, knocking it aside with immense force. Spinning around she covered herself in a burning aura, on top of Overdrive she felt herself burning up.

She gestured for Ahama to come at her, the Tyrant roared and did so, their weapons collided. Ahama heard something snap and watched as half his blade spun through the air above him and hit the ground. Glancing at his weapon he found it cut in two.

Jaynix continued her assault, ripping into the Tyrant’s chest, evading his attempts to punch her. Throwing aside the remains of his blade he clenched both his fists and continued to try and strike her.

Launching herself at the Tyrant she slammed her knee into his face, the force of the blow throwing him back. As he fell she grabbed hold of one of his arms and began twisting it. Roaring, Ahama glared at her.

“You will not get away with this!”

Spinning her blade she slashed clean through his arm, the Marnuck roaring again, grabbing the stump that was left.

“Well, well, Ahama. What now?”

“Jaynix! We have a problem!”

Sighing, Jaynix stepped back, telling Ahama to give her a second.

“What’s wrong Bills?”

“Enemy Skells broke through the lines above and dropped teleporters behind our Division, a new Milsaadi commander is leading a troop at our backs. Combined with the new forces from the front we’re in a shit spot. According to reports from H.B. his Division is in the same bind.”

Jaynix cursed and closed her eyes, thinking.

“Alright I’ll be right there, in the meantime, Division Three! Focus on the enemies behind you. You guys have to move back.”

“We’ll do so. Wrothian reinforcements are on the way and Skells from above have been rerouted.”

“Good, give me a bit to come up with a better plan. I’ll be right with you.”

Putting the device away, Jaynix stepped towards Ahama.

“You lost.”

“Not…yet…”

“What’s next? You gonna bleed all over me?”

Ahama pulled something out and tapped it, the device looked like a beacon.

“Help? Really?”

Stepping forward Jaynix raised her blade.

As she did so, a massive blue Seidr landed right in front of her, weapons primed and locked onto her.

Jaynix’s eyes widened, her heart froze, a dark feeling covered her entire body. Dropping her blade she felt her auras leave her body.

The Skell held one of its hands out towards her, just like the Construction Skell back in the Industrial District.

“It’s not real. It’s not-”

Her thoughts were cut off by a laser firing from the Skell’s palm and ripping through her lower torso. In shock Jaynix looked down at the gaping wound in her body as blood began to soak through her Raim. Eyes widened in shock she brought a hand to the injury.

“It’s real.”

Blood poured from Jaynix’s mouth as she stumbled back, her other hand reached behind her and found a boulder. Leaning against it she slid to the floor, staring at the Skell before her, unable to do anything else.

Ahama boarded his Seidr, looking to the woman before him and laughing.

“I win.”

Cockpit sealing up, the Skell prepared to fire again when another Skell crashed into it, a powerful shoulder charge.

“Jaynix!”

It was Irina. Having redeployed in a new Skell she engaged Ahama’s Seidr. The woman in the cockpit fought the enemy Skell off, while her machine scanned Jaynix’s vitals. She was crashing. Hard.

“Fuck.”

Irina opened her communications channels to reach anyone and everyone.

“We need emergency pick up at my location! Whoever can make it, even if you can’t! We need you!”

Ahama’s Seidr struck Irina’s Skell, clenching her teeth she shot back, taking out her Skell’s blades and slashing into the massive enemy Skell.

Jaynix sat against the boulder, fading in and out of consciousness as the two Skells ripped each other apart in front of her.

Hearing the call for aid, Bills killed another Milsaadi and looked to Tyler and Hermann. The three looked at the location of the distress signal, Jaynix had gone ahead. They knew.

Bills closed his eyes, she gave them her orders, but they weren’t about to let her die.

“Division Five! This is Bills. Team Jaynix is disengaging and moving to retrieve our leader. Continue following her directions!”

“Are you certain?”

Bills nodded.

“Yes! Once we get her, we’ll all get out of here together!”

Bills looked over to Tyler and Hermann again, the pair nodded. Together the three turned and charged into the horde of approaching Marnuck soldiers. Like Jaynix before them, the trio evaded as many strikes as they could to push forward, stopping only to wound and push other enemy soldiers aside.

Kruse ripped through another Marnuck, turning as one more charged his position only for Lin to knock him to the ground, Sharon finishing her off.

“Divisions One and Five are in a rough spot. H.B. is commanding Division One to retreat…but Division Five has stopped receiving orders. They’re at a standstill.”

Alexa looked over to Elma.

“What? Division Five? That’s Jaynix’s Division?”

Gwin glanced down at his comm device.

“Irina sent out a distress call on all channels from that Division’s front. But she’s all on her own deep in enemy territory.”

Elma looked over the map as another line of Marnucks approached, Lin, Sharon and Gwin rushing out to meet them.

“What do we do, Elma?”

“Elma.”

She looked over to the concerned Kruse then to Alexa who seemed terrified. Closing her eyes, Elma took a deep breath then looked to Kruse.

“Lead Division Three.”

“What? Elma-”

“I’m going to go help Jaynix. We can’t afford to disengage…but she’s important to us. I can make it to her. You know I can.”

Kruse sighed and nodded as Alexa spoke up.

“Please. Let me go with you.”

“No Alexa. I’m crossing deep into enemy territory. I can handle it…but only alone…”

Alexa looked down, Elma placed a hand on her shoulder.

“She’ll be fine. She’s strong.”

“I know. You are too. I believe in the both of you.”

Elma looked over to Kruse who wanted to argue. Stepping forward she shut him up with a kiss.

“I love you.”

Kruse watched as she ran off on her own, activating her Ghostwalker aura.

Sighing the Harrier turned back to the battle before him, then to Alexa.

“Elma will handle this. Jaynix will be fine. We’ve got something else to attend to.”

Alexa followed Kruse’s gesture to the approaching enemy forces. Taking a deep breath, Alexa nodded and drew her javelin, charging forward alongside Kruse.

In the Mobile Command Unit, Vandham watched the battle continue to play out. Things were getting dicey. Reports received from Divisions One and Five were not looking good in the slightest. Bozé, Doug and Ga Buidhe were doing their best overhead to clear out as many enemy Skells. The Zenith Cannon regiment was in waiting, their fingers on the trigger.

He received more field reports, looking over the decimation on the battlefield as well as the enemy base that continued to pull itself out of the ground.

Bringing up an image of the Ganglion warship he realized it seemed to be missing a piece.

“Son of a bitch.”

It’s no wonder they could never hunt down the Ganglion base. What they were charging on the field was nothing more than a detachable unit of the warship. The warship would drop it off, it’d burrow into the land and the Ganglion would do…whatever it was they were doing here.

The warship had come back whether on schedule or because of their attack, most likely the latter, to retrieve its missing unit. Combine that with the warship’s ability to camouflage itself, it really was no wonder they couldn’t hunt this thing down sooner.

“Zenith Cannon Regiment. Take to the skies and fly in. Zenith Cannon support, ensure they don’t get taken down. We have to shoot this thing down. Now!”

“Yes sir!”

Vandham watched as several more Skells parked around the staging area armed up and shot off into the sky. He narrowed his eyes as another one he didn’t deploy shifted into vehicle mode and shot off.

“Report. Who just deployed?”

“No one sir.”

“Don’t bullshit me soldier! A Skell just took off!”

There was silence before the response came back.

“That was Resolution.”

“Resolution…”

Sighing, Vandham nodded his head. Of course it was.

“Elma.”

Leaping into the air, Hermann swung his knife around shooting out a black cloud over the surrounding areas. Many of the Marnucks struck by it fell to the ground dazed, others shook it off and opened fire on him. Taking a shot to the chest, Hermann fell to the floor.

Tyler jumped over his ally towards the Marnucks still standing and engaged them with his javelin, knocking their weapons aside. One struck him from behind, grunting Tyler moved away from the enemies. Bills landed behind them, a mighty strike staggering the pair as Tyler spun his javelin and threw it, piercing one of the Marnuck’s chests.

“Duck!”

The pair moved down as Hermann came back with his Gatling gun, firing on the approaching Marnucks, keeping them back.

“We can’t get closer like this!”

Tyler yelled over the roar of Hermann’s weapon. Bills cursed, looking down to his comm device, field reports from the other Division Five teams were not looking good. He tried to keep himself calm but he didn’t know what to say, he wasn’t Jaynix.

“Bills!”

Looking to Hermann, Bills waited as the man halted his attack. Tyler took that chance to stand back up and pull his guns out. The Marnucks turned to him as he opened fire on them, keeping them back.

“Tyler and I will hold these guys off of you. Go get our commander.”

“But-”

“Listen to Hermann! We’ve all been trained by Jaynix! We can do this!”

Tyler yelled out as he swapped to his javelin and charged into the fray.

Bills closed his eyes and nodded.

“Alright. Alright! You two better be alive when I get back!”

Standing Bills pulled out his Raygun and yelled as a massive laser cut through a team of Marnucks. With this small opening he charged forward. Glancing back one more time as a squad of Puges and Pugiliths approached Hermann and Tyler from behind.

Shaking his head he looked up in the direction he was running, according to his comm device, Jaynix was close by. Somewhere. Hearing roaring overhead he looked up to see Skells engaged in fearsome combat, countless pieces were falling down from above. Some completely damaged Skells also fell out of the sky, crashing all around him and bursting into flames.

Coming to a halt he noticed the enemy base now far higher off the ground than ever before, it was still pulling itself free from the ground below, heading right up towards the warship overhead. Hearing more collisions he looked to see a heavy BLADE Skell engaged in battle with a blue Seidr.

The two Skells shot across the land with blinding speed, slamming into each other. Weapons drawn they began carving each other up, the screeches of metal on metal reverberating all around the clearing.

Looking down at his comm device he noted that Jaynix’s was very close. Running in the direction of the signal he found a large boulder, walking around it he finally came upon Jaynix. While he sighed in relief upon seeing her breathing he also noticed that the boulder was covered in blood.

Kneeling down in front of her he saw a large gaping wound in her torso.

“Shit. Jaynix! It’s me! Bills!”

Her eyes moved to him, he could make out faint recognition in them. But upon doing so he also noticed that all the color had been drained from not just her face, but also her eyes.

Without a second though he grabbed her and helped her to her feet.

“We’ve got to get you out of here. Division Five is surrounded, we need to retreat!”

As Bills began to move away as quickly as he could while carrying Jaynix, Irina and Ahama continued their fearsome Skell battle.

The Marnuck found himself at a disadvantage with only one arm. He wasn’t able to issue commands to his Skell as quickly as he normally could and the BLADE woman fighting him was not just fast but also determined. The armor and defense systems on his Skell were powerful but the constant beating was breaking them down.

Irina knew this, smiling as an energy claw formed in her Skell’s hand. Launching forward she stabbed it deep into the Skell. An energy ring form in the Skell’s other hand, rapidly rotating she moved it along Ahama’s Skell like a buzz saw, pieces of the Skell were torn clear off.

Just then Irina’s Skell flashed a red alert. Before she could respond, a line of missiles exploded against the back of her Skell. Turning she spotted a Qmoeva moving towards her.

“Urdu! Is that you?”

“Who else would it be? Foolish Ahama. I had enough of watching you get beaten to a pathetic pulp.”

Urdu’s Qmoeva flew higher into the sky, unleashing another battery of missiles on Irina’s Skell. The BLADE turned her machine around to face this new threat only for Ahama’s Seidr to spring to life and slam against her Skell, warning lights flashing all over her interior and displaying the heavily damaged back.

“Shit.”

Ahama laughed as he struck the Skell again, several lasers firing from the Qmoeva down onto Irina. The woman clenched her teeth and continued fighting, casting a quick look to her support screen. Jaynix was being moved. Someone got to her.

“…good. Then this is worth it…”

“Irina!”

“Colonel?”

Irina could see Elma running towards them on foot as Urdu’s Qmoeva flew down right at her, pinning her Skell to the ground. Raising its clawed hand it smashed into the chest of the Skell, the machine falling limp.

Elma’s eyes widened before narrowing in anger, hearing a familiar engine rev up she leapt into the air. Her Ares 90, Resolution cut across the battlefield towards her, shifting from vehicle mode, catching Elma in midair. Flipping into the air, it lowered Elma into the cockpit before landing in a combat position, its sword manifesting in one hand.

“You two. Leave. Or die.”

Ahama chuckled.

“I’m done with being threatened by Earth aliens.”

“I’m not an Earth alien.”

Urdu laughed.

“Doesn’t matter to us. You have no control over us and unlike you we never hesitate.”

Elma launched at Urdu as her Skell opened fire on Irina’s wrecked machine, the Skell bursting into flames. Screaming, Elma ran the Ares blade through the Qmoeva lifting it high above her.

Urdu had no time to react as a Gatling gun formed along the Ares other hand. Elma slammed it against Urdu’s Qmoeva and opened fire at point blank range. The Skell being torn to pieces by the hail of bullets until nothing was left.

Turning to Ahama’s Seidr, four energy rings formed around the Ares 90 and shot towards him. Acting quickly the Marnuck took to the skies, the rings followed crashing against the Skell, knocking out its various systems. Losing balance it fell from the sky, crashing to the ground farther away.

Elma leapt out of her Skell towards the burning wreck of Irina’s. Finding the other woman, Elma pulled her out of the machine. The pair sat on the ground as Irina’s Skell flashed, Resolution ran towards them, covering the BLADEs as Irina’s Skell exploded.

Elma looked to Irina in her arms as the woman opened her eyes.

“Sorry Colonel…poor performance…”

“It doesn’t matter. I’m just glad you’re alive.”

“Is it bad?”

Elma refused to comment on the bloodstains all over Irina’s body, or the missing limbs.

“You’re fine.”

“Good…Jaynix is hurt…find her…”

“Irina-”

“Please. I’m fine.”

Losing consciousness, Irina fell limp. Elma held in her grief and brought up her comm device.

“This is Elma, requesting immediate and urgent aid to this location. Immediate.”

“This is Vandham. Reading you Elma, we can’t make it that far out. The Division on that end is falling apart.”

“Vandham, its Irina. She’s dying. Jaynix isn’t doing much better…please.”

Vandham cursed, trying to think of what he could do.

“I’m on my way Elma.”

“Kruse?”

“I’ll be right there. You can count on me…and Absolution. I’ll make sure Irina is safe, go get Jaynix.”

Elma looked to Irina, gently laying her down on the ground.

“Please Kruse. She…”

“I know how important Irina is to you. I promise you. She’ll be fine. I’m entrusting my Sister to you.”

Elma closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. Calming herself. Nodding she jumped back into Resolution and took off.

“Hermann! Tyler! You made it.”

“Yeah Bills. We did…shit! Jaynix!”

The pair ran towards Bills to their team leader.

“She’s alive but we got to get her to the rest of Division Five.”

Hermann sighed.

“That won’t be easy Bills. Division Five is falling apart, they’re asking for new orders. This new attack is putting all its focus on the flank. If we can’t tell them what to do…if Jaynix can’t…they’re all going to die.”

“Worry about yourself.”

The three turned as a group of Skells landed all around them. The biggest one was a red Seidr with black designs all around it. The large rounded shoulders it had no doubt contained missile launchers.

“I am Badul the One Eyed. If you three wish to live, leave that woman there. This is the only offer you will receive.”

Bills clenched his teeth as Hermann and Tyler drew their weapons.

“Is that your answer?”

Bills nodded.

“She’s our leader. We’d die for her.”

Badul’s Skell powered down, the Milsaadi stepping out of it.

“You will.”

Fast as lightning he shot towards the three of them, Hermann and Tyler blocking his blades.

“Get out of here Bills!”

“How, Tyler? We’re surrounded by Skells!”

“Not quite!”

Bills turned as a large red Caladar tore through a Seidr, half of the circle breaking apart to engage it. Ga Buidhe called out from the cockpit.

“Go now!”

Bills nodded and ran towards the opening, the other Skells preparing to give chase when a red Ares 90 dropped in front of them. Without a word, Elma drew the Skell’s blade and launched at them.

Hermann and Tyler stood before Badul.

“What now?”

The Milsaadi shrugged before charging them again, blades colliding with Tyler’s javelin.

Jumping away Hermann fired his Gatling gun on the enemy, pulling away from Tyler, Badul began moving with unparalleled speed, his blades cutting through every single bullet sent his way. Charging at Hermann he kicked the man in the head, throwing him to the ground.

Tyler charged his exposed back, lifting his javelin. Turning quickly, Badul stopped the weapon over his head with one blade. His other tore through Tyler’s lower torso. The man gave Badul a defiant glare despite the pain he felt all over his body.

Badul ran the blade through his chest. Javelin hitting the ground, Tyler’s arms fell limp to his side. Kicking the body off his blade, he swung it to clean the blood off before turning to Hermann.

Swinging at the BLADE, Badul narrowly missed as Hermann grabbed the fallen Tyler’s javelin and swung about, cutting through Badul’s side.

Stumbling forward, Badul covered his bleeding side with one hand. Milsaadi turned off their pain receptors…but Badul’s damaged processors disabled that. Feeling the pain of the strike he felt a smile come to his face.

Looking at Hermann, Badul nodded.

“Well done.”

Hermann charged forward, Badul slicing the javelin to pieces before running both his blades through Hermann. The BLADE fell silent, leaning against Badul. Looking around, Badul found that the other BLADE and the woman were gone. Pulling his blades out of the body he began walking away, the corpse joining its fellow dead BLADE on the ground.

Entering his Seidr, Badul took to the skies. Glancing at his bleeding side again, he laughed.

Vandham watched as Division One joined up with Division Two, it wasn’t ideal but this way made it possible to hold the exposed flank. Two Divisions working together were a forced to be reckoned with H.B. and Nagi’s forces could still move forward and hold back the new army being led by a previously unknown Marnuck commander.

However, Vandham then turned his attention to Division Five which had gotten itself encircled, contact cut off from Markinson’s Division Four. They tried to reestablish connection but the Milsaadi’s deadly forces kept them at bay. There were countless calls for reinforcements and support but the enemy was determined to keep Division Five isolated.

“Ga Buidhe was right…they knew…”

“Brigadier General. This is the Zenith Cannon regiment leader, Phagan. We’re in position as is our guard.”

“Proceed. Bozé, Doug. I’ve got a very critical unit joining you guys up there. Ensure that they can complete their mission.”

Bozé and Doug responded to Vandham, both letting him know they would do just that. Based on the missing piece of the warship, the Ganglion base would be free of the ground that held it soon enough. Glancing to the red alerts on his side he noted the statuses of Irina and Jaynix. Closing his eyes he hoped that this would somehow work out.

It had to.

Seeing the horde of enemies before him, Bills ran into a crevice. Releasing Jaynix he propped her up against a boulder and began speaking.

“Jaynix. Are you there? I need you. I don’t know what to do…”

He waited for some response, but got nothing from the woman. She bled out all over him while he was carrying her. He didn’t want to be the one with Jaynix in her last moments, he wasn’t worthy of that. But what could he do?

Hearing a Skell, Bills turned around, drawing his Raygun. Sighing in relief he watched as Ga Buidhe ran towards him.

“Jaynix?”

“She’s…fine…I think.”

Ga Buidhe kneeled in front of the woman, she was anything but fine.

“Let’s get her out of here.”

“Thank you, Ga Buidhe.”

She nodded to Bills and helped Jaynix up, bringing her towards Deva Caladar. Jaynix saw the Skell and her energy returned to her, fiercely pushing away from Ga Buidhe she screamed and ran off towards the horde of enemies and BLADEs.

“Shit!”

Quickly, Ga Buidhe and Bills gave chase.

“What’s wrong with her!? What’s she scared of!?”

Ga Buidhe remained silent, her eyes locked on Jaynix as she ran past several Prone and Marnucks.

Together, Bills and Ga Buidhe armed their weapons and struck down the enemies before continuing to give chase.

Jaynix ran with everything she had, unaware of what was around her. She saw what looked like enemies, she saw what looked like allies, but she couldn’t make any of them out.

“Jaynix. Where are you going?”

“Kumon? I…I don’t know. Away from here. To safety.”

“Is there safety in that warzone? Is there?”

“Tai? Yes. There is. Somewhere. Somewhere I can be safe.”

“What about your comrades? Your team? They’re dying all around you.”

“No Eren. No. They’re fine. They’ll survive.”

Jaynix came to a halt, a woman in front of her turned to face her. Jaynix’s eyes widened. It was her. Of course it was her. It was always her. She was the only one who could make her understand.

“Help me. Tell me that they’ll all survive…”

The woman shook her head.

“We didn’t.”

Jaynix felt tears fall.

She was right.

They didn’t.

“Jaynix!”

Bills tackled her from behind, shielding her from a Milsaadi blade. Ga Buidhe joined the two of them, making short work of the synthetic.

Ga Buidhe turned as several more Milsaadi drew near.

“We have to move.”

“No…we have to get…Jaynix to safety…Ga Buidhe.”

Looking to him, she saw a deep cut along his back.

“…please…”

Nodding, Ga Buidhe took Jaynix from him as he stood and drew his longsword.

Ga Buidhe watched the man as he faced the enemies before him.

“You’re brave.”

He shook his head, a tear falling from one of his eyes.

“I’m scared.”

Clenching his teeth he screamed and charged at the enemies, a blazing aura covering his body. Killing a trio of Milsaadi with blinding speed, he yelled with everything he had.

“Go!”

Quickly, Ga Buidhe ran through the opening with Jaynix, looking back to see more enemies surround Bills. Screaming he swung his blade at them, killing one, another stabbing him in the back. Turning about he cut that enemy’s head off as another tore into his leg. Falling to one knee, Bills struck out, disemboweling another enemy, yelling in fury as his blade arm was severed from his body.

Ga Buidhe could no longer see him as a horde of enemies fell on him.

Looking ahead she continued running.

Ethos watched the battle with a smile. The flank as Badul had called it was crumbling. Only one of them but one was enough. The enemy was now attacking the next unit of BLADEs from the front and from the side. They could overwhelm this next force and continue on, wiping out the rest of them. Victory.

“And he thought we needed the Terminus.”

Ethos laughed at the chaos as Badul radioed in.

“I couldn’t finish off any of the enemy commanders.”

“What does it matter? The damage we are doing to their forces is irreparable. What good is a handful of commanders with no soldiers? Return to base Badul. Your unit has disengaged from the ground.”

“Yes, Councilman.”

Ethos sighed, he didn’t expect such a victory, but now that he had it. He was cherishing it.

“Phagan? Are you ready? Line of sight clear?”

The man nodded before responding to Vandham.

“Sir, yes sir!”

“Do it!”

Six Skells all armed with gigantic and powerful EM Zenith Cannons maintained their height and continued moving forward.

“Engage!”

The Six Skells bent over, straightening the massive cannons, the Skells’ hands held onto the levers to keep the weapons steady.

“Lock on!”

The pilots all responded in unison.

Phagan took a deep breath. Their escort charged forward, slamming into all the Skells immediately in front of them, pulling them out of the way. The second there was a direct line of sight, Phagan yelled.

“FIRE!”

Six Skells were thrown back as powerful, piercing beams lanced across the night sky, all headed for the Ganglion warship.

Ethos kept his hand on his chin watching the battle as an alarm was sounded throughout the command center.

“What is going on? Report?”

“Sir! The feed on your screen!”

Ethos watched, seeing a group of enemy lasers headed right for the warship.

“Is that it? What could-”

Ethos was thrown to the ground on impact, the warship groaning in response, many of the modules, monitors and computers all around short circuiting and exploding.

Vandham watched as six lasers struck along the hull of the warship setting off a massive chain of explosions all along the ship, enormous pieces of the Ganglion’s warship detached and fell to the ground below.

Vandham smiled as the entire warship seemed to lose a bit of altitude and stability. Thrown off balance it began tilting over slightly, the visible engines powering up to full blast to keep it aloft.

“Nice work, Phagan.”

“Yes sir. We’re reloading now.”

“Good! Prepare for an immediate second strike!”

“Yes sir!”

“Jaynix.”

The woman blinked, trying to clear her vision. She saw six people standing over her.

“Kumon, Tai, Eren, Sagis, Alto…Lyla…I’m so glad you’re all here…”

“Jaynix?”

“That means…I’m dying…I’m going to join you…finally.”

The ghosts began to disappear, one by one.

“Wait…don’t go…don’t leave me…Lyla…”

The last one, the woman. She smiled at Jaynix, holding her hand up before vanishing as well, revealing Ga Buidhe.

“Jaynix! Are you there?”

She focused her eyes on Ga Buidhe’s face but said nothing. Ga Buidhe apologized before pressing her hand into Jaynix’s wound. Eyes widening, Jaynix cried out in pain.

“Jaynix.”

Vision clearing up more she nodded.

“Ga Buidhe…what happened…my body…everything hurts…”

“Just…stay still. Rest. Someone will be here soon to help you…I…I can’t trust myself with you, not yet.”

“Ga Buidhe…what happened?”

“It’s not my place to tell you. Please. Rest.”

Ga Buidhe watched Jaynix as she began crying. Taking a deep breath, the Wrothian embraced her and began humming the same old song she did for her back in NLA. She held onto Jaynix tightly, the woman sobbing painfully. She repeated over and over again to her that everything will be fine. All she wanted was for Jaynix to rest.

“Get them back to NLA as soon as possible!”

The medics nodded, hopping into the back of the truck as the driver started the engines. Kruse gave Irina one last look before stepping back and watching the truck pull away.

“Vandham. What can I do?”

Kruse turned to see the man standing there, he couldn’t help himself. He had to see Irina. The expression on Vandham’s face when he saw the state Irina was in…Kruse would never forget that face.

“You and Absolution. I can think of one thing the two of you can do.”

“Elma? Resolution?”

“She got dragged into the fight around Division Five…or what’s left of them…even her Ares can’t keep up with the enemy congestion. We’ve called down another Skell regiment for her but it’s not looking good.”

Kruse took a deep breath.

“Alright then. What do you need me to do?”

The smaller Ganglion warship unit now floated freely in the sky, a cavernous abyss left down below where it once was. Badul stood at the command center, moving it away from the battle.

“Badul! Where are you going?”

“The battle is over, Ethos.”

“Reconnect with the warship!”

“I don’t like my odds of survival there…if I may Councilman, you should escape now.”

“You deserter! I-”

Badul cut off communications, the unit beginning to fly away. A strange notification came up on the screen; a Galdr had landed in the Skell bay. Drawing his blades, Badul headed to the bay, whoever was hitching a ride made a horrible mistake.

“Turn that Skell back on and leave. I’m done with the Ganglion.”

The cockpit opened up, a woman stepping out and turning to him, clutching a vile wound along her lower torso.

“Chantai…”

“Are you truly done with the Ganglion? Badul?”

“…yes.”

She laughed.

“Then you are the correct program to follow.”

He moved to her side to support her.

“There is a skeleton crew of deserters on board. I’m sure between them there are enough medics to attend to your processors.”

She nodded.

“Perhaps. I must say, your unique program greatly intrigues me. What is it like to see the world through that eye, Badul?”

The Milsaadi thought of the very intense emotions he experienced in battle. Of how pain really felt.

“It’s unlike anything our systems have ever experienced. My program is all the better. My processors may be damaged but what they understand is the world in a new light. A more brutal, chaotic light. The synthetic light I’ve lived with my whole life…that we all have…does not compare to the ugly truth.”

Chantai smiled.

“Interesting.”

“You heard Badul! We’re escaping! If you can return to the warship do it! Otherwise you’re on your own! Get us out of here!”

“Yes sir!”

Ethos crossed his arms and spat as the Ganglion Warship began floating away from the Oblivian battlefield.

“All the manpower. Wasted on deserters…wait…”

Ethos’ eyes widened.

“The…the resources. Badul is escaping with it! Cancel the order! If we can’t have it no one can! Aim all weapons systems on Badul’s unit! Take it down!”

“But sir-”

“Do it!”

Absolution shot through the sky, blade ripping through countless Skells as it neared the Ganglion Warship. A line of Seidrs flew in front of Kruse, aiming their weapons at him.

Smirking he raised Absolution’s arms, two weapon units forming on the hands.

“Agni Gatling!”

A furious storm of ether bullets cut through all the Seidrs before him, ripping them to unrecognizable bits.

Priming the Ares 90’s mightiest weapon he flew under the Ganglion warship, dodging its defensive lasers with ease.

“The time is now! Aghasura Cannon!”

Power gathered in the units floating above Absolution before letting loose powerful and violent ether beams that seared across the warship’s thrusters. Absolution quickly rocketed away as the thrusters began exploding, setting off another chain reaction.

“Vandham. Warship has been crippled!”

“Good! Phagan!”

“We’re set for another strike!”

“Do it!”

Kruse got as far as he could, keeping his eyes on the Zenith Cannon regiment as they aimed their weapons at the warship.

Hearing Phagan call out for the attack to commence, Kruse watched the beams tear across the sky and into the warship, doing further colossal damage to the ship that was already losing its altitude at an alarming rate.

Nodding to this development, Kruse set course for the remains of Division Five and shot across the sky.

“Elma!”

The woman turned as Deva Caladar landed behind her, weapons taking out countless ground forces.

“Ga Buidhe. Did-”

“Jaynix needs you. Now.”

Elma looked to her side, Ga Buidhe giving her the information on Jaynix’s location.

“Leave your Skell out of sight.”

Elma did not question that command from Ga Buidhe, shifting into vehicle mode and taking off.

Alexa, Gwin, Sharon and Lin took down another line of Pugiliths before backing up against each other and checking their surroundings. The enemies were dying away at a constant pace and unlike before, reinforcements were dwindling if not outright stopping.

“Division Three! Report!”

Sharon called out, everyone that came back to her said the same thing. The enemy forces were dying down along the center. Division Two was in much the same place, Division One which was now within Division Two reported that there was still a gathering attempting to break through their lines but it would never work.

The only touchy side was Division Four, having been overwhelmed in their attempts to aid Division Five.

“Then that’s where we go. Division Three! Reinforce Division Four!”

The other team leaders called in affirmations as Sharon took off, Gwin, Alexa and Lin following closely.

Alexa turned to see that the enemy base they were attacking was now flying away from the battlefield. Pulling out her comm device she began speaking.

“Uh. Brigadier General, sir.”

“Yes, Alexa?”

“The enemy base, y’know, the one we came to destroy…the thing is kinda leaving.”

Vandham knew this, but wasn’t sure what to do.

“We either destroy that small unit with a negligible Ganglion force or the primary warship that escaped the Battle for the Lifehold…I made a choice…but I’d rather destroy them both.”

Alexa nodded.

“You’re doing the best you can sir.”

She heard a sigh from Vandham before Doug spoke up.

“The escaping unit is small. Bozé and I could lead an elite team, break through the enemy ranks which are already weakening and finish it off. At the very least we can cripple it so it crashes.”

There was silence as Vandham thought this over.

“Nagi?”

“If it gives us a chance to stop the Ganglion as a whole…do it.”

“You heard the Secretary. Go for it.”

With that a group of Skells disengaged from the battle overhead and took off for the fleeing Ganglion soldiers.

“Badul, come in.”

“Urdu? Still alive?”

“I can’t be killed. That aside…you all left without me.”

Badul sighed.

“We’re no longer affiliated with the Ganglion. It was only ever a temporary thing and by the looks of tonight’s events. We should’ve broken away a long time ago.”

He waited for Urdu’s response.

“Alright then. If you need me, keep in touch. I lost quite a few of my followers in that battle but there are enough of us left for small missions. Until next time, Badul.”

With that she cut communications.

“Badul.”

Turning he noted a Marnuck soldier.

“A BLADE Skell unit has broken off from the battle and is pursuing us. At their speed they’ll catch us and shoot us down…”

Badul smiled.

“They won’t.”

Commanding the ship, Badul had it turn its thrusters up to full. Tapping away at the Command Console he issued one simple directive.

Descend.

“Almost there. Get all your weapons ready!”

Doug called out; all the Skells brought up their various weapons in response, locking onto the escaping base’s thrusters.

Bozé smirked.

“Alright everyone...bring it down!”

One Skell shot ahead of the rest, weapon lock was guaranteed. Before the Skell could open fire it slammed hard into something, smashing itself to pieces and falling out of the sky.

“Halt! Halt!”

Bozé yelled, the Skells reversing their thrust and coming to a stop. Doug observed the space in front of them, something was very clearly off. Then the space before them began to flicker, revealing a monolith of a weapon. A voice came over their intercoms.

“Pursuing us was a mistake. But you all have the distinct honor of meeting our grandest arm.”

The Skells moved back, Doug looking over the floating structure.

“It’s a…Xern…but it’s…massive.”

Bozé clenched his teeth.

“Who are you to address us?”

“I am Badul. My forces. My Remnants. We have no further need of this folly of a battle…but I want to leave you all with a warning. What you see before you is Leva’el the Terminus. What you will be a part of…is destruction.”

The massive arms of the Xern began to open up as it rotated its entire structure, a mechanical voice filling the air around them.

“Apocalypse. Wand.”

As the rotation grew fiercer, Doug noticed his Skell’s systems failing.

“Eject! Everyone, eject!”

Doug and Bozé shot out of their Skells; a couple of BLADEs following them but the rest were trapped in their Skells as a wave reached them. All the Skells floating around the Xern exploded into shrapnel, Doug stared at the Xern which slowed its rotations before reactivating its camouflage and disappearing.

“We shall meet again. Humans.”

Doug’s eyes moved to the departing ship as the thrusters reached full speed, taking off across the Oblivian night sky before activating its camouflage as well.

Bozé got on his comm device as he and the other pilots that survived floated down to the ground below.

“Vandham. Did you see that…monstrosity?”

The Brigadier General stood back at the command unit staring at the screen. Monstrosity was absolutely what it was. He found no words. Shaking his head he turned his attention back to the battle. If the Ganglion wasn’t being routed they were fleeing.

Taking a deep breath he spoke.

“Save all those who you can. This battle is over. Return to base.”

Exhaling a long and calming breath, he sat back down on his seat.

Even as he watched Ganglion warship crash into the ground and erupt in flames. He began to worry that the biggest threat to them had escaped.

“Badul…Leva’el…”

Closing his eyes, he found his mind clouded by dark thoughts of what the future might hold.

“Shit.”

Voices were muffled. Or was it one voice? It was hard to tell. Everything was silent. Yet loud and unbearable. Feeling a sickening pain, Jaynix took in a deep breath and opened her eyes.

“Thank goodness…you’re alive…”

Her eyes found Elma, looking incredibly relieved. She brought a hand up to Jaynix’s face.

“Talk to me. Please.”

“Elma…what happened…”

“Don’t worry about it. You’re alright.”

Jaynix shook her head, brushing Elma’s hand away.

“I don’t care about me…what happened to them?”

“…do you mean…your team?”

“Yeah…”

Elma sat still, unsure of what to say.

“Elma…what happened to Kumon? To Tai? Are they okay?”

Elma looked back at Jaynix, confused.

“Kumon?”

“My team. Eren, Sagis, Alto…Lyla…where are they?”

Elma closed her eyes, she had to say it. She had to. She couldn’t lie to Jaynix. Not now. Looking back at the woman she spoke.

“I’m sorry to tell you this Jaynix…they’re dead.”

Jaynix’s eyes widened.

“What? Who’s dead?”

“…all of them…”

Jaynix stared at Elma, unable to comprehend this before tears started pouring from her eyes. Elma took ahold of Jaynix’s arm.

“You got hurt very badly…I’m sorry about your team but I’m here to make sure you don’t die too.”

Jaynix continued crying as Elma brought up her mim status on her arm. Her protoplasmic levels were lower than they had any right to be and the rest of her body wasn’t faring much better.

“Jaynix. I’m going to take you back to NLA. You’ll be fine. I’m promise you. You will not die.”

Jaynix stopped crying and looked at Elma. The woman was surprised when Jaynix grew angry with her.

“A promise from you is worth nothing.”

“…what?”

Despite her mim’s status giving such horrid results, Jaynix was able to stand and strike Elma, the woman stumbling back in shock.

“You’re the one who had them killed.”

Elma remained silent as Jaynix went to punch her again, Elma catching her fist.

“Jaynix, I-”

“It was you! It was always you! I always hated you for it!”

Jaynix broke away from Elma and clenched her fists, screaming she charged the woman, fists flying. Elma barely avoided the strikes, Jaynix was trying to hurt her, this was real.

“Jaynix! Calm down! I didn’t do anything!”

“Stop lying to me! Tell me the truth Elma! Tell me that you had them all killed! Tell me!”

Elma began redirecting her attacks, she tried to gain distance but Jaynix was always on top of her, screaming in rage, her body activating Overdrive.

“Jaynix! You have to stop!”

“Not until you tell me or I finally get to kill you!”

Elma took a punch to the gut, gasping in shock. Despite the pain, she couldn’t bring herself to fight back. Jaynix wasn’t thinking clearly.

“Jaynix please…stop…you’ll kill yourself.”

“It’ll be worth it to kill you. Do you even remember them? Hideo Kumon. Tai Alistair.”

Jaynix swung again, Elma activating Overdrive and jumping away from her.

“Eren Hills! Sagis Fair! Alto Moore!”

Screaming Jaynix pursued, growing more frustrated and angry as she failed to connect her attacks.

“You killed them all! My friends! My comrades! My family! For what!?”

Elma crossed her arms in front of her, Jaynix jumping and striking her guard pushing her back across the ground.

“Why were we worth nothing!? Why!?

Elma dropped her guard, staring at Jaynix, unbridled hate and fury in her eye.

Elma prepared to speak when Jaynix screamed.

“You killed Lyla! You killed my wife!”

The pair stood facing each other. Elma unable to speak as Overdrive left Jaynix’s body and the tears returned.

“You took my wife from me…why?”

“Jaynix…I-”

Then Elma heard it and Jaynix felt it.

A snap.

Elma saw Jaynix’s face contort in pain, a hand flying to her chest. Stepping back Jaynix tried to breathe but nothing was happening. Elma could only watch as she doubled over in pain, she tried to speak, tried to catch her breath but nothing was working.

Looking up to Elma, tears staining her face she choked out one simple word.

“Help…”

Elma was at her side immediately, bringing her arm up again to read her mim’s status. Everything was red. Jaynix was undergoing complete and total breakdown. Her mim was shutting off. She was dying.

“Jaynix. Jaynix! Look at me!”

Jaynix’s fear filled eyes found her.

“I’m going to turn you off right now okay? It’ll feel like you’re dying but you aren’t. I need to suspend your state so I can take you back to NLA and they can repair you. Alright?”

Jaynix shook her head fiercely.

“I have to! Jaynix! If I don’t do this you’ll die! It’ll be just like falling asleep. It’ll be easy.”

Jaynix continued to shake her head, an endless stream of tears trailing down her face.

“No…sleep…please…”

“Jaynix! I-”

“Please!”

She continued to plead when they heard a second snap, Jaynix screaming in pain as one of her arms fell limp.

Quickly, Elma tapped a device on her arm, Resolution turned on and headed her way.

“Come in MMC, this is Elma, I’m bringing in a black alert patient.”

“Black alert!? That…”

“Yes Benton. I know. Get everything ready. Now!”

“Yes ma’am!”

Elma carried Jaynix to her Skell, the woman trying to protest the whole way, but unable to get anything out through her sobbing and the unbearable pain.

Elma looked over her shoulder to see Ga Buidhe standing a ways off. Despite the distance, Elma could clearly see the concern in the Wrothian’s face. As much as she wanted to give her some sort of gesture that Jaynix would be alright. She couldn’t.

The Skell closed up and turned around before shooting away from the battlefield.

The night sky was beginning to brighten up.

The final hours of darkness saw a chaotic and destroyed Oblivian canyon full of countless pieces of destroyed and twisted metal. Piles of debris as far as the eye could see, destroyed Skells, scattered remains of Puges, burning Pugiliths and countless corpses of Ganglion soldiers.

Kruse saw Resolution shoot off, he wanted to go after Elma but there was much work to be down now. The battle may have ended but there were far too many BLADEs missing in action and just as many dead Xenoform allies that needed to be found and brought back to New Los Angeles.

Hearing a beep, he brought out his comm device to see Nagi.

“Kruse. Would you mind coming to my location?”

“On my way, Secretary.”

Turning to Lin, Sharon, Gwin and Alexa, Kruse nodded to them before getting into Absolution and taking off across the battle scarred wasteland.

Alexa looked down at the ground. She was waiting. Any second now Jaynix would scream her name and come in from nowhere to hug her. Any second now.

“Alexa.”

It wasn’t a scream and the voice wasn’t Jaynix.

Turning, she saw Ga Buidhe. A small smile came to Alexa’s face as she walked over to the Wrothian, as she drew closer she saw that Ga Buidhe wore a grim expression.

Alexa’s mind could only reach one conclusion.

She shook her head, trying and failing to hold in tears.

“No…”

Looking down, Alexa began to cry, Ga Buidhe stepped towards the Outfitter and embraced her. She didn’t know what to say. She saw the state Jaynix was in and she saw the look Elma gave her. There was nothing there which means she didn’t want to give her any hope…because she herself didn’t know.

Ga Buidhe couldn’t tell any of this to Alexa, she couldn’t bring herself to. Instead she began humming.

"What were you humming?"

"Hm? Ah…it was an old Wrothian song of valor. Sang for heroes in victory and in death."

"Which was it for me?"

"A little of both."

Kruse stood with Secretary Nagi facing a critically injured hostile Xenoform.

Nagi narrowed his eyes.

“You are Councilman Aer Ethos.”

The Xenoform chuckled.

“I can see it in your eyes…in your faces…was this victory worth it? No…it wasn’t. Who did we kill?”

Ethos laughed, Kruse clenching his fists only for Nagi to put a hand on his shoulder, calming him.

“Those who escaped this battle. Badul. Where is he going? What are you Ganglion planning?”

Ethos shrugged.

“Me? All my plans died with the warship and with my army…whatever we were doing is over now. For good.”

“You expect us to believe that?”

Kruse asked anger evident in his voice.

“The Ganglion dies with me…all the fools left on this rock are deserters…separatists…Remnants was the word Badul used. They who think they can do the Ganglion’s job better than the Ganglion. Badul and his…idiotic followers…even my personal commanders left me…there is nothing left.”

Nagi tilted his head.

“That’s it? No plotting revenge? No telling us that you’ll get the last laugh?”

Ethos shrugged.

“It doesn’t matter…but I’ll die with the satisfaction that my ultimate goal will achieve. Badul escaped with our most valuable resource and the Terminus. He intends to complete my plan…when he does, you will all die.”

“What resource? What was he doing here?”

Ethos looked to Kruse and smiled.

“I only wish I could be there to see that glorious day…”

He then looked to Nagi.

“Where is that woman? That woman who bested us at every turn. The woman with the white hair?”

Nagi narrowed his eyes.

“Do not speak of one that is better than you.”

“I know she is…which is why my only regret…is not getting to see the life drain from her eyes…”

Kruse noted Nagi move his blade. Taking a breath, Nagi sheathed it again and stepped away.

“Elma is important to me. To humanity. But you should not have threatened her in front of her partner.”

Ethos looked over to Kruse.

The Harrier had rage and fury in his gaze, turning to Nagi he watched the Secretary give a faint nod.

“You pathetic human…do you really believe-”

Kruse delivered a savage punch to Ethos’ face, blood flying from his mouth to the ground below. Kruse then followed up with another punch, and another. Each punch left Ethos’ face bloodier than the last, bits of skin torn up and off his face as the beating continued, one eye popping out as a result of the heavy trauma, finally the last punch sent bits of his face splattering all over the ground.

Taking several deep breaths, Kruse stood from the mess below.

Looking to Nagi he asked.

“Was that alright?”

“He wasn’t going to give us any more information…”

“…if you say so, Secretary.”

“I do. And I called you over because I knew you needed to relieve some stress. Irina. Jaynix. They’re important to you. You can’t carry that anger within.”

Kruse nodded.

“I know…thank you, Secretary.”

“You’re welcome, Kruse…now…we return to work.”

“Yes sir.”

Stepping away from the bloodied mess, the pair headed into the wasteland, searching for the bodies of BLADEs and Xenoform allies.

Back in New Los Angeles, the Mimeosome Maintenance Center was in full gear, countless doctors standing at attention and rushing into the back to begin operations and load other BLADEs into stasis to hold them over to clear up space for more intensive recoveries.

The Secretary, Harriet Sinclair was so overwhelmed with her work they called in several volunteers to help guide everyone to their appropriate rooms and wings. Among the aid volunteers was Mia and Celica while outside Rock was helping clear the road, moving empty trucks out of the way so that new ones could file in, faster than reversing the empty ones out of the way.

Heavily injured BLADEs and Xenoforms have been coming all night long and even as the darkness gave way to light, the influx never ceased.

The doors burst open as several stretchers were rushed in, the doctors yelling.

“Clear the way! Clear the way!”

“We’ve got more injured coming in!”

Mia nodded before looking over several more stretchers being rushed in.

“Is this everyone in this unit?”

She asked another aid worker. The man looked outside to see another truck pull up.

“For that unit yes but we’ve got a few more units outside…what am I saying, we’ve got far more than that.”

“Do we have any more reports of the battle? How did we fare?”

Celica asked a BLADE who volunteered to leave the battle early to bring his wounded regiment in.

“The majority of us made it out. If the latest reports are to be believed…that said we lost a lot.”

A doctor ran in and called out.

“More are incoming! This influx is big!”

Mia sighed.

“So many of us…our allies…what about the enemy commanders? Where are they?”

The BLADE shook his head.

“I don’t know, the last reports I got simply said that they were gone.”

“Excuse me! Mia! Celica!”

The pair walked away from the BLADE and towards a doctor with Celica speaking.

“Yes Dr. Falkan? How can we help?”

“A Black Alert was called in. Someone will be coming by and that patient must be brought forth as soon as possible. Do you two mind heading out there to meet them?”

“Black Alert…”

Mia shook her head before smiling.

“That wouldn’t be a problem at all, but what about the load here?”

Falkan looked up to the other doctors and volunteers.

“They can handle it…hey! Get those three to repairs. Now!”

The doctors rushed past Falkan as Celica and Mia turned around, exiting the MMC and running along the street towards the back of the line.

As they walked along, the pair took in just how many trucks were waiting, all of them full with who knows how many injured BLADEs.

Celica considered saying something. Anything. But the loss and pain all around her was too much, she wasn’t one to lift the mood anyway. Even the normally bubbly and happy Mia was down and serious.

Celica felt Mia put a hand on one of her shoulders, looking to her fellow BLADE she stared at her for a bit before nodding. With that the pair turned their attention back to the road before them, spotting a familiar red Ares 90. They hastened their steps as Elma jumped out of it and looked up to see them with Mia calling out.

“Elma!”

“Mia. Celica. I have the Black Alert patient with me.”

Mia’s eyes widened.

“You? For who?”

Elma reached into her Skell and pulled out a gravely injured Jaynix, Mia failed to hold in a scream. Celica’s own eyes widened in shock before she moved forward to help Elma support the woman, moving her towards one of the stretchers on standby.

“Mia!”

The woman snapped out of her daze and looked to Elma and Celica, then to Jaynix.

“R-right. Right!”

The three began rushing back towards the MMC.

“Elma…what happened out there?”

Elma could only shake her head.

“They’re all dead…”

“W-who?”

Elma hesitated to answer the question for a few moments, taking a deep breath before speaking.

“The Fifth Division…”

Celica and Mia glanced at each other. Deep down, they knew what that meant but any further questions were cut off as the three burst into the MMC with Jaynix on a stretcher. A man called out from the crowd of doctors.

“Move it! We have a serious emergency here! Black Alert!”

Benton appeared from the crowd, adjusting his lab coat before gasping upon seeing the state this woman was in.

“Black Alert was right…shit! What happened to her?”

“I’ll explain in a bit, just take her to surgery. Please.”

Benton nodded to Elma and took ahold of Jaynix’s stretcher, gesturing for a pair of doctors to join him.

“Irina came in earlier. Celica. Mia. Did you see her?”

Mia nodded.

“Y-yeah. She’s fine…sort of. She’ll be fine…”

Elma let out a long breath.

“Thank goodness…”

“Elma!”

A few BLADEs surrounded the Colonel.

“What happened to the enemy commanders? We heard that they were gone. Escaped.”

Elma prepared to answer when another spoke up.

“How did this happen? When I was brought in we were faring well!”

“Really? I heard that Division Five was in a bind…Elma! How many of them died!”

Elma looked to the BLADEs surrounding her. Taking a deep breath she spoke.

“All of them.”

The loud, rambunctious MMC lobby fell silent after Elma said those words. She couldn’t think of anything else to say, there wasn’t much else that could be said. Even so, she heard someone call out to her from behind.

“Elma! We need you!”

Nodding, Elma ran towards them, leaving the BLADEs dazed to learn that the entirety of the Fifth Division was killed in the battle.

Reaching the back she found Jaynix fighting with everything she had, kicking several doctors away, the ones holding her arms were doing so with all their strength but Jaynix was very close to breaking free.

Benton came up to Elma, his face bruised.

“We can’t operate on her like this!”

Nodding, Elma ran over to Jaynix.

“Hey. Hey! Jaynix! It’s me!”

Jaynix’s eyes found Elma.

“They…were about to…put me to sleep…don’t let them…”

“Jaynix they have to otherwise you’ll be in pain.”

“I don’t care about pain! The things in my head are the real horror. Please.”

“Jaynix. Don’t.”

“Please. Elma. Please don’t let them put me to sleep.”

“Jaynix I-“

“Please! Please! I’m begging you Elma! Please!”

Elma clenched her fists, Jaynix continued pleading with her. She couldn’t ignore it. She couldn’t.

Standing she looked to Benton.

“Operate on her as is.”

“What!? This is madness! We have to open her body up! She’ll feel everything! The pain will be unbearable! It could kill her! We have to-”

“That was a direct order!”

The room fell silent following Elma’s scream.

Taking a deep breath she repeated.

“Operate on her…as is…”

Benton nodded to her.

“Very well.”

Elma began to walk away when she felt a hand grasp her, turning back to Jaynix as the woman let a few tears fall and spoke very quietly.

“Thank you…thank you…”

Elma held her tears in as best as she could.

“You’ll be okay…”

Pulling away, Elma watched as they strapped Jaynix’s arms and legs down and began removing her armor. Turning away Elma began walking, hearing Benton give out his first instructions and various doctors take ahold of their tools.

Reaching the exit, Elma brought her had up and gripped the door.

She couldn’t open it.

She just stood there.

She waited.

No one looked her way, focused on Jaynix as they opened her body up.

The first doctor lowered his tool into Jaynix’s mimeosome structure. The man was nervous, shaking. Unable to do it he turned away and apologized.

Benton sighed and decided to begin.

Elma remained rooted in place as the tool let out a mechanical whir, now operational.

Then it made contact with Jaynix’s Mimeosome.

And the woman began to scream.

Elma’s body went hollow, her heart gripped by a terrible feeling. Her stomach dropping.

The screams continued, until they were joined by sorrowful cries.

She shouldn’t be here.

She shouldn’t be listening to this.

But Elma couldn’t stop herself.

She had to.

It felt like an eternity before she could open the door and step through.

Closing the door behind her she stood in a now silent, soundproof room. The sudden cut off of Jaynix’s screams did nothing but worsen Elma’s state.

Leaning against the door she slid to the floor and brought her hands to her face.

She found herself asking one thing.

Asking to no one else but herself.

Something she’d never receive an answer to.

“Did I do the right thing?”

13: Origin

[withastolenlantern]

When the shooting had started, they’d been standing at a high cocktail table near one end of the hall, next to an arch that lead further into the main manor. She hadn’t seen where the assailants had come from; she’d been picking at the remains of a croquette and making small talk with Santomas, largely ignoring the bustle of the event and trying and failing to ignore her earlier confrontation. Out of the corner of her eye she saw one of the door security personnel thrown forcefully into the middle of the ballroom, his tuxedo shirt bloodstained. Five masked figures appeared, dressed head to toe in black tactical gear and accompanied by a small jet-black drone whirring overhead. One of them opened fire with an automatic weapon towards the ceiling, drawing a loud gasp from the party-goers and riddling the elaborate murals above with bullet holes. Several people shrieked, or fell out of their chairs in surprise. Some ran immediately to the secondary exits, but the elaborate French doors were evidently locked and only rattled in their hinges.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” someone announced, their voice amplified and scrambled by a speaker in the drone. “What a lovely evening you all appear to be having. It’s a shame we don’t seem to have been invited.”

The room went dead silent. Newby-Ross stood from the center table and walked across the ballroom with a defiance the detective had not expected. “This is a private event, and I don’t know who you are, but you’re trespassing on…”

The lead intruder slapped the heiress across the face, hard, with the back of his gloved hand. Her elaborate undulating scarf fell to the ground, and several more audible gasps came from the crowd. A small trickle of blood ran from her elaborately decorated lips. “Save me the speech Lady Swansea. We know why you’re here, and you can guess why we are too.”

She took a step back, stunned momentarily, and then opened a holo to what Chatham assumed was the rest of the security team stationed outside. The detective could just barely make out the holo window, and the call seemed not to connect. Several other revelers had their mobiles out; some were apparently attempting to take videos of the assailants, but others tried equally in vain to get an outside connection.

“Yeah, that’s not going to work,” the man said with a confident relaxation. “Neither are all those cameras, by the way.” He pointed toward his tactical suit, which Chatham took to mean they were using optic-disrupting camouflage of some kind.

“What are we trying to save this time? Whales? Ginkgos? The Congo basin?” he asked with a slightly chuckle.

“Plastic recy…” someone replied, obviously not understanding the rhetorical nature of the question.

“Jesus, I can’t imagine being so rich and also so stupid,” he bellowed, drawing a snigger from his companions. “Do I look like I give a fuck which of these pointless causes you shit-for-brains are pretending to care about tonight?I’m just here for the money.”

The Lady snorted in response. “You don’t honestly think there’s a big sack full of cash you can just waltz out of here with, do you?”

One of the other mystery men moved from the flanks and walked out into the crowd. “No ma’am. But I know you’ve set up a Paraguayan account to receive all these fine people’s donations. And I know it’s keyed to your biometrics, and I also know that all outgoing transfers require authorization from at least one Board member,” he explained, nodding toward Sir Travers as one of his compatriots walked toward the aristocrat and yanked him from his seat by the crook of his arm.

“Get your hands off me,” Travers argued, attempting to riggle free, but the man kept an iron-clad grip and dragged the businessman from the table and toward the Lady. Several of the other guests started to rise from their seats to intervene, but the man wagged the end of his rifle in their general direction and

“You’ll all get your turn in the barrel, don’t worry. We’ll pass the communion plate around to collect jewelry, mobiles and the rest in just a few moments” the head terrorist joked. He offered mobile forward to the heiress. “Now, if you would be so kind, Lady Swansea.”

“And if I refuse?”

The reply was immediate: the man raised his rifle and fired a three-round burst into one of the many still-seated guests. The victim, stunned, slumped back into his chair, chin to the sky, as a blotch of dark blood bloomed across his pale shirt and he gasped his final breaths. His companion shrieked in terror, and grabbed him tightly. Someone else wadded up napkins and tried to staunch the bleeding, but the man was obviously passed saving.

“Jesus fuck,” Newby-Ross screeched, grabbing Travers by the arm to steady herself.

“Any other dumb questions?”

She shook her head no with a numb silence, and walked forward, shoulders slumped in defeat, extending her hand.

“Emma, no,” Travers argued, but was silenced with a single raised finger from the Lady.

Chatham, still leaning onto the cocktail table, observed in silence. There was not much she could at this point. The four men were heavily armed, and she would need some kind of distraction if she had any prayer to reach the gun strapped under her dress without seeming conspicuous. Santomas kicked her gently under the table, nodding in the direction of the commotion. She glared at him in return, silently bidding him to stay calm.

Things went to shit pretty much immediately after that.

The details were hazy at best, but her recollection was that the lead party crasher extended his mobile toward Newby-Ross to verify her biometrics. As she did, Travers threw his shoulder into the man holding him, knocking him backwards. There was a brief burst of random gunfire in Travers’ direction, hitting only the floor.

The heiress turned immediately and bolted toward the safety of the crowd. People everywhere were screaming, recoiling out of their chairs and huddling as far away from the chaos as they could. One of intruders, a woman likely, walked forward, attempting to corral them together into a clump as best as possible.

Chatham pulled her Webley from its holster and fired several shots into a man who’d been mostly uninvolved to this point. The whiskey had wobbled her aim, but years on the small arms range could not be undone by one too many fifteen-year scotches. He fell to the floor in a heap, several new thirty-eight sized holes in his neck and armpit where the body armor was thin.

The last intruder knelt to assist him, and the above drone turned immediately toward her direction and let out a brrrrp of automatic fire from one of it’s weapon pylons. With a sudden crash the chandelier above her exploded. She’d reflexively ducked and rolled under the table, avoiding most of the shrapnel as the chandelier collapsed in a hail of glass and crystal shards from above. Santomas had not been as quick, and caught many of the fragments with his hands and face; one of the brass support arms caught him in the temple, knocking him what she hoped was briefly unconscious and not something worse. In the ensuing panic she’d pulled him close beside her and flipped the table over on its side to give some cover.

The next burst of fire bit into the table-top; the rounds were small caliber, and the heavy wood absorbed most of them, but they turned the fiberboard undercoating into a flechette of splinters which clipped her in the shoulder and neck through the sheer of her dress. She retorted, firing several wild shots into the proximity of the drone. By luck she hit one of the rotors, and it sparked and sputtered as the motor spun down and the drone came crashing down to the floor.

Travers wrestled with his man to the ground. The thug giving aid abandoned his obviously dead partner and cracked Travers with the butt of his rifle between the shoulder-blades, knocking him to the ground. Travers rolled in agony and the assailants regrouped. While they were distracted, Chatham grabbed Santomas under the armpits and started dragging him quickly down a hallway behind them.

As they slinked off to cover, she heard the lead man start yelling, his voice quieter now that the drone had been destroyed but still confident and clearly irritated. He was commanding the guests to line up against the far walls of the ballroom while his accomplices searched them for valuables. “And find that bitch with the gun,” he barked.

The detective kicked in the first door she came to, snapping her heel in the process. She shoved Santomas awkwardly into what turned out to be the bathroom, and propped him against the wall inside the single toilet stall.