Za’ard: Central Node
“These watches are amazing,” I remarked.
“Too bad the main grid is still being fixed. Let’s give the technicians Lyra’s parts first,” Shan decided.
Ichaival pulled out the small box. He placed it on the counter and allowed the guards to scan it. They opened the gates for us after confirming we were authorized to enter. Inside, numerous lines of light traversed the area, each a different color. The gravity manipulator led us to a room with a faded placard. He knocked on the door. A woman, wearing a lab coat, opened the door and stared at us in surprise.
“Shan and Ichaival? What are you guys doing here?” she glared at them with suspicion.
“Relax. Miss Tachibana asked us to deliver these for you,” he replied.
She adjusted the door so it was half-way open, not willing to let us in. After handing the box to one of her colleagues, she stared at us in silence. When her co-worker confirmed the contents, she allowed us entry.
“At Miss Tachibana’s request, we’ll show you a few things,” she said, leading us over to a large table.
The woman tapped the table surface and a holographic map with numerous red X’s dotting it popped up. She requested we remove our watches and connected them to a blinking box underneath the desk.
“This shows the outages we’re still resolving. The ones Miss Tachibana requested access to have been tested and no errors are detected. As we get more locations online, it’ll be updated in real-time to your watches, letting you gain immediate access. Do so at your own risk though,” she explained.
“Thanks for the help. Anything else we should know?” Ichaival stared at the map.
“Well….,” she started but was interrupted by a loud alarm accompanied by red flashing lights.
Her co-workers scrambled around, carrying stacks of paperwork and rattling boxes. Shan remained calm despite the situation. He walked over to a monitor and tapped the keyboard. The screen displayed a large group standing outside the entrance security checkpoint. They appeared peaceful.
“Oh, it’s just these guys. Calm down, they’re not a threat,” Shan told her.
“What are you talking about? Those are invaders! Don’t let them in!” she shouted into her communicator.
“Damn. We better take care of this before it gets out of hand,” Shan decided.
“Go out there and push them back. Protect us so our valuable data and progress doesn’t get halted!” she agreed, nodding with vigor.
We arrived at the front entrance as a loud bang occurred. The gravity manipulator clicked his tongue with an annoyed look. A security guard, carrying a firearm, ran past us with a scared expression.
“Thank goodness you guys are here! Go beat them up!” he stuttered.
“What the hell is going on?” I shouted.
“There’s been a misunderstanding. It’s not looking good for those orcs outside,” Shan answered.
“This is a lot of…. uh…. running, guys,” Jacque panted.
“Oh yeah, this is probably the most exercise you’ve gotten in awhile. Hopefully, we won’t have to fight,” Shan realized.
Four fully armored men stood behind a barricade. An orc, bigger than his brethren, raised his hands in the air. Shan pointed at the armored men’s cannons and gestured at me. I opened my grimoire and disabled the weapons. The men slammed their weapons in frustration.
“Nice one, Yuki,” Ichaival complimented.
Shan approached a guard. The guard tackled the hero and swung his baton at him. Ichaival swapped places with the guard before teleporting both the baton and his partner over to him. Shan broke the guard’s helmet with the baton and kicked his head.
“S***, that was brutal,” Jacque remarked.
Two guards rushed at Ichaival. The false archer teleported away and the two men punched each other’s helmets. Shan grabbed both men, bashing their heads together, and kicked them into the front gate. The gravity manipulator broke the final guard’s helmet before tossing him over to Ichaival. The false archer slammed his Kali stick into the man’s right cheek. Wielding a knife in his left hand, Ichaival stabbed his opponent’s hand, pinning him to the ground. Shan leaped over and stomped on the knife. Their enemy spat out blood before falling unconscious.
“Hey, it’s been awhile,” Shan said, greeting the orc.
“My old buddies, Shigetzu and Darryl! We were trying to tell these gentlemen that critical teleportation terminals in our area aren’t working anymore. We sent letters and went through other means but never heard a response,” the orc said.
More armored men poured out from the building and menaced us with their weapons. They stepped back after noticing their unconscious comrades.
“How do you want to deal with them?” I questioned Shan and Ichaival.
“Stop this at once!” a voice bellowed out.
A man, wearing an army outfit, hopped out of a van. He wore a green beret and the medals pinned to his uniform clanked against each other. The man stepped in between the orcs and us.
“If it isn’t Miss Tachibana’s little army, I heard there were intruders. Would that be you two?” he inquired.
“No sir, that wasn’t us,” Ichaival responded with a salute.
“Commander Ion, we came here to inform the operators about the failure of several teleportation terminals that were fixed recently. They refused us entry and we hoped to peacefully resolve the situation. However, they sent out armed personnel,” the orc explained, saluting him too.
One of the armed guards behind us fired at Jacque. I constructed an ice wall to protect the artist. Commander Ion sprinted over and knocked the person responsible down to the ground with a clothesline.
“I won’t say this again. Anyone else who dares to fire another shot will face severe repercussions. Let them in! They’ll leave once their request has been addressed,” Commander Ion ordered, digging his boot into the fallen man’s stomach.
Both Shan and Ichaival saluted him as he climbed back into his van. As he turned around, I noticed a large, faded gash running down from the left side of his cheek. What kind of battles had he gone through?
“You heard the boss, let them in,” one of Commander Ion’s officers said, accompanying the orcs.
“Many thanks, friends. We can talk once we’re done,” the orc said to Shan and Ichaival. We returned to the previous room. The researcher from before detached the wires from our watches and returned them to us.
“They’ve been updated. Notify us if anything seems wrong,” she said.
“Thanks. What did you want to say before we got interrupted?” Shan strapped his watch on.
“I’ve marked down important teleportation terminal locations. These are guaranteed to work, I swear it on my job,” she answered.
“Oh yeah, what about the orcs then?” Shan countered.
“Um, well…. those are just probably technical difficulties. We’ll fix them in no time!” she stammered.
“Miss Tachibana doesn’t appreciate liars, you should know that by now,” Shan warned.
She nodded with a nervous look on her face. Kind of weird seeing him be sincere. It made sense though, since people depended on the man, despite his asinine attitude towards Ichaival. Once we were at the front gate, I wanted to ask about Commander Ion, but Ksi beat me to it.
“You know Commander Ion pretty well. What’s your history with him?” Ksi inquired.
“We were enemies at first. Darryl’s the one who gave him that nasty scar. It was after that battle when he realized what we were doing. Not destroy the dimension, by the way. Yuki, I see that look on your face,” he said.
“I didn’t say anything. Of course I would take your word for things. You’ve been so honest with me all the time,” I exaggerated, deadpanning the man.
“Yeah, guess that’s my fault,” Shan admitted.
Before Ksi and I could additional questions, the orcs exited from the building as well.
“Tomo Yuki, I presume,” the large orc said.
“Yeah,” I responded.
“You’re a household name. All your gallivanting around the dimensions, an impressive feat. Oh, I’ve forgotten to introduce myself to you all. Call me Chief Helix,” he introduced himself.
Commander Ion’s assistant walked up to Ksi. They spoke for a minute before Ksi nodded in agreement. Chief Helix handed Shan a watch. It was older in design compared to our current ones.
“Tomo, can I ask a favor?” Ksi walked up to me.
“Sure. What do you need?” I answered.
“Can you referee an exhibition match between me and Lieutenant Cation?” she requested, pointing at the woman who accompanied Commander Ion earlier.
“Sure. Right now?” I asked.
“Give us a few minutes to prepare. Can you set up a battle arena for us too?” Ksi asked before walking off.
“I feel so useless,” Jacque commented.
“Hey, I have something for you. How fast can you sketch, Jacque?” I questioned him.
“That’s a lot of pressure, Tomo. What do you need me to draw?” he asked.
“You’ve seen the area where we do practice fights in the training facility, right? Can you do a quick sketch of that?” I provided him a reference.
“I’ll try my best, don’t get your hopes up,” Jacque said, pulling out his mechanical pencil.
The artist showed me his sketch five minutes later. It was rough but good enough for my purposes. I tore out the page and slipped it into my grimoire, creating the battlefield. I wanted to boost Jacque’s confidence and this was the perfect opportunity.
“Right over there!” I told Ksi.
“Thanks Tomo,” she said, entering the battlefield.
Shan and Chief Helix finished their conversation, heading towards me.
“Oh, Lieutenant Anion’s fighting Ksi? This should be good,” Shan remarked.
“She’s a fierce one. I’ve never seen your friend fight but I can vouch for Anion. Fought with her on the frontlines and there’s only a few that can match her,” Chief Helix said, crossing his arms.
“What’s her style like?” I questioned.
“Jack of all trades. Good with blades and firearms equally. Doesn’t specialize in magic, but thanks to a new device, she can fight as an equal against them,” Chief Helix disclosed, pointing at the silver band on her left wrist.
“Interesting,” I responded.
“I thought they might be involved after what I saw in Jin’s dimension,” Shan said.
“Quite a breakthrough for those with no magical aptitude,” Chief Helix said.
I walked to the center of the battlefield. It felt weird officiating since I was used to Tess doing it. She usually just circled around and let things play out. I would do the same, not interfering unless necessary.
Ksi vs. Lieutenant Anion
“This is an exhibition battle between Ksi Natalia Emma and Lieutenant Anion. If one cannot get up by the count of ten, submits, or is knocked out, victory is awarded to their opponent. Let’s have a fair fight. Begin!” I shouted, utilizing Tess’ usual jargon.
I moved away from the two and observed from the sidelines. Lieutenant Anion wore the same outfit as Commander Ion except for her red beret. Her hair was tied back into a braided ponytail. She took one step back and gauged Ksi’s reaction. The hero didn’t flinch, staring her down.
Anion attacked first, a low punch aimed at Ksi’s stomach. The hero sidestepped to her right, avoiding it. Magical ice residue appeared from the woman’s punch. When Ksi stepped forward, a patch of ice formed underneath her foot, causing her to slip. Anion grabbed her shoulder, catching Ksi’s jaw with her left knee. Ksi fell, but regained her balance, and grabbed her opponent’s right shoulder. She twisted it backwards, kicking Anion down to the ground.
Ksi twisted her ring, letting out blood, and manifested Muramasa. Her blade glowed crimson as she stabbed it downward. Anion pulled out a hunting knife and parried. A blue glow, reminiscent of the ocean, enveloped the military woman’s weapon. Ksi’s blade dimmed but shattered her adversary’s knife. She slashed at Anion’s arm, ripping through the fabric, but didn’t inflict a flesh wound. A shimmer appeared around the ripped fabric. It was a malleable magical barrier, strong enough to withstand two more of Ksi’s sword strikes before breaking.
“She’s fortified the weakness Jin exploited. No, it’s even better now,” Shan remarked.
The hero slashed three more times and destroyed the barrier. Anion slid, striking Ksi in the ankle, causing her to stumble. She followed up with a kick to the hero’s arm, disarming Ksi of Muramasa. The blade clattered a few feet away from the woman. Anion didn’t glance at the weapon, no intention of using her foe’s blade. She transitioned into a takedown, raining down punches on Ksi’s face. Ksi slapped the ground and Muramasa disintegrated into red orbs, converging around her left hand. The hero delivered a wicked strike to Anion and sent her flying.
Ksi summoned Gungnir and hurled it at her opponent. The tip pierced Anion’s stomach before vanishing. Anion dashed forward, no signs of injury from the spear, and delivered a chop to her neck. The military woman trapped Ksi in a triangle choke once she was on the ground. Ksi gasped for breath and a wispy spirit exited her main body. It swung its scythe and freed her from the submission hold. Knowing the potential danger, Ksi’s spirit returned to its body immediately, and she slammed Gungnir down. The spear shattered Anion’s kneecap but her weapon hit an illusion like last time. Anion rolled away and heaved a sigh of relief.
“She can’t rely on the same trick,” Chief Helix observed.
Anion grappled Ksi but the hero broke free of her hold. Ksi wielded Muramasa again, finally inflicting a wound. The lieutenant touched the slash on her stomach with a smile. I held my hand up, walking over to her.
“Can you still go?” I questioned.
“Of course. A trivial wound like this won’t stop me,” she said, waving me off.
Ksi twirled her blade. Anion grabbed Ksi’s weapon with her bare hand, blood seeping onto the hero’s blade, as it cut her skin. She smashed her silver bracelet against Muramasa and caused it to glow. The lieutenant twisted Ksi’s hands and kicked her weapon up into the air. Anion raised her bloodied hand into the air. Muramasa was now in Anion’s possession as Ksi stared at her in shock.
Anion slashed at Ksi, bringing the hero down to her knees. When she raised the blade for one more attack, her bracelet shattered into pieces. Muramasa broke down into red orbs and returned to Ksi. Despite the setback, the lieutenant curb-stomped the blood user and rammed her knees into Ksi’s back before collapsing.
“One! Two! Three!” I checked for signs of movement.
Ksi and Anion remained on the ground. Chief Helix watched with concern but didn’t step in, respecting the process. I reached the count of five and Ksi’s hands twitched, a soft amber glow enveloping her body. Anion coughed up blood, struggling to stand at the count of six. When she entered a crouching position, the woman fell back to the ground, devoid of strength. Ksi’s injuries healed but she was slow to get up. Reaching the count of nine, Ksi stood upright, her knees buckling. Anion beat the count too, although her condition was far worse than the hero’s.
“Are you both willing to continue?” I asked.
They both nodded. Ksi fell onto her knees with heavy breathing. Anion swung a weak punch, missing, falling face first to the ground. The hero summoned Gungnir, a less powerful version than before, and plunged it downward. The lieutenant took the attack before locking the blood user into another triangle choke. She didn’t tap and toughed it out. Ksi escaped the hold and slapped a rune on her right leg.
Her right hand went limp. With the rune, it powered up her kicks, enough to beat the lieutenant. She kicked Anion’s jaw three times before booting the right side of her face. Anion dropped to the ground, eyes closed. Ksi dropped to both knees and clutched her chest.
“Ksi Natalia Emma wins by knockout!” I declared her the winner.
BATTLE END
Chief Helix ran over to Anion. Shan checked on Ksi who still clutched her chest. That battle took a heavy toll on her, especially with the amount of blood weapons she utilized. Jacque stared at his sketchbook with an inspired look.
“How’s Lieutenant Anion?” I questioned Chief Helix.
“She’s stable. It was a risky move to use her own blood to counter your friend’s fancy skills. But, she’s a tough one, so I’ll bet she’ll be out patrolling by tomorrow,” the orc leader assured me.
“That’s a relief,” I said.
“I’ll handle it from here. Go check up on your friend,” Chief Helix advised.
Shan, with Ichaival’s assistance, lifted Ksi up to her feet. She looked dazed but no signs of any serious injuries. I heard helicopter blades and saw Commander Ion descend from the sky. He met up with Chief Helix, getting updated on the situation. The stern man nodded and headed over to us.
“Congratulations on beating Anion. No hard feelings, I appreciate you posed a challenge for her. Maybe you’ll have the chance to face me one day. Darryl knows that all too well, isn’t that right?” Commander Ion said, shaking Ksi’s hands.
“Thanks. I haven’t been in a fight that tough in a long time. Probably not since I fought Lilith,” Ksi said.
“Chief Helix, I would like to discuss something with you, mind joining me?” Commander Ion pointed at his aircraft.
“I would gladly accept,” the orc agreed.
The rest of the orcs departed after receiving orders from their leader. Lieutenant Anion was loaded into the helicopter. I stared upward, the sky was smoggy but no acidic rain fell at least. We discussed our next steps inside one of the break rooms.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea to keep going,” I suggested.
“Ksi, how are you feeling?” Ichaival asked.
“Better. I hate to admit it but still weak. Lieutenant Anion really flipped the tables on me when she stole Muramasa. She must have a bio background like Kisai. I’ll need to figure out a counter for it,” Ksi answered.
“I understand your desire to keep going, Ksi, but take it easy. I agree with Yuki, let’s stop here for today. Didn’t think we end up having such a big detour,” Shan advised.
“Fine with me. Although, I didn’t really do s***. Got some dope ass moves sketched out though,” Jacque said, showing us his sketchbook.
“Wonder if we could do something with those,” Shan pondered, flipping through the pages.
“We heading out?” Ichaival pulled out his key.
“Darryl, we’ll report back to Lyra. The rest of you can head back,” Shan said.
I let Jacque take us back to the training facility. I left a short report summarizing our activities today for Tess and made sure Ksi got home okay. Still a lot of mysteries about Za’ard. Not to mention what exactly Ichaival and Shan did there under Lyra’s orders. Time to take a nap when I got home.
Friday Summer Quarter 2016 Week 0
Since Lyra was still setting things up for Ichaival and Shan, Tess suggested I workout at the training facility. I just finished running my tenth lap around the track when Kyoi entered.
“Hey Kyoi!” I called out to her.
“Here for some training?” she inquired.
“Yeah, just working on a few things. You’re doing the same, right?” I sat down on a bench.
“That was the plan. I had my doubts at the beginning but you’ve put in the effort. Keep working hard,” Kyoi complimented, a rarity that she lavished such praise on me. “By the way, everyone is calling you Yuki now. Don’t you think it’s time that you do the same for us?”
“I appreciate that. It means a lot coming from you. Um, I’m fine with calling you Kyoi still. No offense but it’s gonna take me awhile to use everyone’s given names,” I replied.
“Take your time, Yuki. Anyways, I know you want to ask about Long. But I can’t say anything. It’s up to him,” Kyoi said.
“It was worth a shot,” I said, heading toward the locker room.
Kyoi gave me a laid back smile. I wondered if En knew anything about Zhuyu’s situation. Probably wouldn’t get anything out of him either. I should give up for now.
“That reminds me. Tess has verified multiple spots on Ace’s map. Several locations might help Kaze out. If you’re free, join us to check it out,” Kyoi revealed.
“I’m still helping out with Shan’s weapon retrieval though,” I said.
“There’s more than one place to check. You can join us once you’re done with Shigetzu’s stuff. But it’s okay if you’re busy with any parties!” Kyoi teased.
“I don’t really have those sorts of things going on,” I said.
“Great, I’ll let you know in advance then,” Kyoi decided.
I changed in the locker room. Kyoi was much mellower than when I first her. Or I was just getting accustomed to her. Either way, I was glad she was on our side and not the enemy’s. This was my first time participating in a mission related to unlocking the other hero’s powers. Ruiqi also balanced out Kyoi’s aggressive battle style which made things easier for me to deal with. I was actually looking forward to it.
