“You wanted to speak with us, Demitallis?” He asks, as they stare at me, while I sit here on the counter. “She’s here about Rigel.” Lian says, clearing it up to him- “Wait- That actually happened?” He asks, and she nods, while Demistar stands behind me, her head down.

Demi - “Yeah, you have some explaining to do, Mister!”

Liyoxis sighs, then looks out the window… “What am I supposed to say? I’m sorry? I do what I do for the future. You’ll… Know what that means soon enough.” He says, as he looks at Lian, who nods again, then at me.

Demi - “What IS there to understand? You HURT her! And you hurt Demistar! Hell, that hurt ME! You’re horrible… I thought you were better-”

He suddenly slams his hand into the desk, scaring them- “Quiet! Don’t you judge me!!! I don’t do this because I want to! I do it because I have to! Do you have any idea what it’s like living like this?!” He shouts, as he suddenly throws the table, and Demistar catches me-

“I bear witness to reality in all its horror! Do you know what it’s like watching everything I know and love burn down in countless different ways?!” He continues, as he steps over the table, and approaches us-

-√1-

We’ve finished, and captured the ship. It’s nice, and it seems the prisoners had been trying to repair it this whole time… I may or may not have been… Planning on taking it for myself and using it as a sort of mobile home, when I go out on my own…

“General Chorimax!” One of my men shouts, running up behind me, as I unequip my rifle… “Speak. What have you found?” I ask, as I turn around and look down at him. “There was a dead man on the ship, impaled by one of the heavy support beams... He was holding this communications device.” He says, showing it to me…

I take the device from him, and inspect it in my hand. “We believe he may have not been the one behind it after all… The device leads back to a member of the mid council of Capital City… We believe it may be your assistant...” He continues, as I think about it…

“Vilstrous…” I involuntarily say, silencing him… “Oh my god…” He says, as it continues to dawn on him just as hard… “He’s still at the rebel base, god knows what he’s doing… Alright, I need teams four through twelve to stay here and guard, the rest will quickly follow behind me. Tell the captain, he’ll get the world out.” I say, causing him to salute and run off.

Vilstrous…

-√A-

I’ve been spreading out my coverage… I’ve finally begun to understand mythical magic, it requires an understanding of physics I’ve never been taught. It’s hard to explain, but imagine figuring out how to fit a block into a circular hole…

Not that you could, but my understanding of magic has also taught me how to use it to do that. The talk with Liyoxis and Lian didn’t go very well… I think I might have messed up with Demistar too… I’m sorry, I just don’t want to right now-

Anyways, I’ve managed to change my mana enough that it can’t be absorbed or collected by other people. Of course, if I want to use it myself, I have to change it back… Otherwise, things get weird… I’m not sure HOW I can change it, but it’s really useful.

So yeah, now I have a detection spell that won’t be so easy to disable. I can do lots of things with it. I can tell you how many bugs are crawling through the dirt below me, I can count all the rocks within the field, -provided I take the time to do that- and most importantly…

I can detect teleportations, and projectiles! So that shit ain’t workin’ again! You hear me- “Mr. Don’t fail me again” I’ve ALREADY countered your ability! Still… Another teleportation? What’s the odds of that? Maybe there’s more to his powers than I may have realized…

Well, I don’t know that for sure, I just need to find him, and defeat him…

-√B-

A large ship suddenly appears in the sky… It’s one of Soul’s… It seems to be a heavy frigate… But what is it doing here? “What in the world?” Flarenzerva suddenly asks, as I stare up at it- I suddenly spot a Kraken climbing some of the tallest buildings, reaching for it!

“That’s Sirius- What is he doing?!” Flare asks, as she floats off of my shoulder… “I think he’s going to attack it… I’ll follow him, you get home and warn the others.” I say, as I perform a few stretches- “Home, what- Wait, you can’t seriously-” She says, as I kneel down…

My heads up display is telling me the light bombardment weapons are priming- It’s preparing to kill everyone here, I’ll have to stop it-

“Don’t worry, I’ve got this.” I say, as I activate my leg thrusters, and she backs away… I bolt into the sky, suddenly ramming into one of the ship’s cargo bays- “Sirius, up here!” I shout, grabbing his attention- He suddenly transforms back with surprising speed, and ejects a tentacle from his arm like a hook shot…

I grab it, and he reels himself in, landing next to me… “Not bad, kid.” I say, as he stares up at me and folds his arms. “Yeah, you too-”

“Hey, you two shouldn’t-” We turn around to see a man in dark clothes with a red helmet staring at us… “Oh my god- Everyone, we have a class six and ten intruder, get down here!” He shouts, as I crack my knuckles, and launch myself towards him, destroying his mask with my knee, and the console he was using!

Sirius lands next to me, following pretty well. “Investigate and destroy?” He asks, as the railing creaks under my weight… I pat my right leg plate, and catch the communicator as it’s ejected. “Take this. Communicator. templar-class shredder. Call me if you find anything, otherwise start destroying.” I say, as I hand it to him, along with my small automatic weapon.

“Understood. Break!” He shouts, as we bolt through the doors, and down their hallways!

-√2-

“There we go…” I say to myself, as I finish etching Chorimax’s name into the glass of the vial… “You’re for Chorimax… And YOU will be for-” But before I can finish, my door slams open, and I’m forced to put the vials away…

“Vilstrous, Everessence is under attack! You need to see this-” One of the guards shouts- What? By who? “What’s going on?” I ask, as I stand up, and walk over. “I don’t know, it seems to be another faction…” She continues, as she follows me through the doorway and out of the building…

We quickly make our way to the closest elevator, and I slam my fist into the button, and wait for the metallic hum of the old mechanism. “Intel says it may be from Capital City… But I have no idea why they would attack…” She says, as the elevator comes to a stop.

“Your name?” I ask, as we begin making our way through the building. “Carslora.” She says, and so I nod. I finally exit the building, and I see the ship… It’s Vimson’s replacement, he should have recovered the ship that was destroyed… I’ll have to deal with him…

“Do you know anything about it, sir?” She asks, her light voice reminding me she’s here, as I look around to see if anyone’s watching… “Yeah, it’s a Strous-Class Capital Cruiser, used to transport members of the Strous Family. It’s the replacement for the one I lost earlier, to those two dragons…” I say, as she just stares at me in silence, until I hold my hand out.

“Greetings, I’m Vilstrous of house Strous, twenty-third son of Soulstrous. I noticed the civil war your people were going through, and decided to fan the flames for my personal enjoyment…” I say, as she continues to sit there quietly…

“Good girl… Just listen, don’t speak…” I say, as my shadow lurches and crushes her… “You see, things haven’t been going so well… Do you know how much it’s going to cost to get that ship repaired?... You’re going to suffer for what your people have done, girl…” I say, as I turn around to look at her, as she’s forced to the ground…

“I do this because I ENJOY it… And once I’m finished here, I’ll take my special new weapon, and use it to take my place as the head of the Strous Family… This is the rise of Vilstrous, now off with you!” I say, as she’s plunged in my darkness…

I straighten myself up, and I fall through my shadow, focusing on the blackroom of my ship… The door flings open and I’m washed in light- “Master Vilstrous!” The young new servant says, bowing before me… “What the hell are you doing?” I ask, surprising him…

“I’m sorry. Strous tech was under threat of capture, this is the immediate response. Besides, Vimson died without explaining anything. Wiping out all life in the vicinity and recovering or destroying all tech is the primary response in this situation.” He says, as we walk onto the front observation platform of the main bridge.

It’s been a long time since I’ve been on one of my ships… I stretch~ Maybe it’s time I leave, I think I’ve begun to forget what it’s like- Alarms flare up, we’re under attack- “Hmph! What’s wrong?!” The captain asks, entering the room from an elevator-

“Ah- Vilstrous. It’s good to see you. Have you decided to come home yet?” He says, as I look up at him. “I’m considering it-” I try to say, but the ship suddenly shakes-

“Intruders! Just two! Class six and class ten! They’ve split up and seem to be looking for the primary reactor!” One of the men at the consoles shouts, doing whatever his job is…

“Hpmh, Class Ten. I'll deal with them myself. Commence bombardment.” The captain says, snapping his fingers. “I’ll see about dealing with the other one then. I should be able to handle it.” I say, following him to the elevator…

“Oh, and before I go- Inform the Equinox.I want an invasion, NOW.” I say, and one of the men stands up, turns around, salutes and nods- “Thank you, master Vilstrous!” then suddenly kicks his chair, slams his fist into the red button, tears the communicator from his desk, and reels back-

“WOOH!!! Time to wake up and pay for your empress, boys!!!” He suddenly shouts, as he pulls a gun from his belt, and shoots himself in the head- “What in the-” I manage, stunned as his body hits the floor- “Don’t worry, Sir, they’re genetic clones, we’ll get more.” The captain says, as we finally step onto the elevator… “Good luck.” He adds-

“You too, Captain Volarisk. Let’s hope you survive… You’re almost worth keeping around.” I say, as the elevators descend… “Hmph. High praise indeed.” He says, a slight chuckle as he disappears from sight.

-√C-

“Tenztore!” He shouts, running up to me without a care in the world… “Reunited at last!” He says, going for a hug, but I deny him, for it is below me… I hug him anyway, because he’s still my little brother…

I feel a brush of wind, and something lands behind us- I release my brother, flick around, and- It’s my barely older sister, Vascula. “Hey, kiddo.” She says, moving the purple goggles onto her forehead… “You are barely a few days older than I am.” I say, as she approaches.

“Don’t be that way, Tenztore. You’ll always be my baby brother~...” She continues, as Calbdin runs up to her, and hugs her. “Hey big guy.” She says, picking him up, and squeezing him… “I was flying by when I spotted you, I was surprised you were even out here.” She says, as she places him back on the ground, and realization hits me…

“So… How’s mom been?” She asks, as she approaches me, to try and hug me- “Vascula, stop…” I say, as Calbdin stares at her in realization… “What’s wrong?” She asks, confused. “You weren’t there, I’m sorry… Genesis Haven was attacked… Mother’s dead…” I say, as she stares at me in stunned silence.

“What…” She says, as Calbdin approaches us. “It was Arigold, he suddenly invaded. You were away at the time, so he probably doesn’t even know you exist…” Calbdin says, as she turns around to look at him…

“I wish we were wrong, but Mother is confirmed dead. Demitallis has proof.” I say, as I approach her… “Demitallis?” She asks, as I stop in front of her, and she looks up at me. “Newest sibling… Puddle Kid.” I answer. “Wow, I didn’t think she- I’m sorry, I wish I could have been there…” She says, as she rubs her arm…

“Listen, I’m going to need a moment to come to terms with this…” She says, before walking away… “Calbdin.” I say, grabbing his attention- “Right, sorry.” He says, as he walks over to me.

Vascula walks over to us, and folds her arms. “I know you probably wouldn’t believe me… But there may be a way to bring her back…”

“Glantinazor’s life magic won’t bring her back…” I say, as she looks up at me, and shakes her head… “No, you- No... You’re right… Let sleeping dogs lie, and all that jazz…” She says, rubbing her arm… “I’m sorry, Vascula…” I say, as I sit in front of her, better mimicking her height…

She walks over and hugs me, her wings awkwardly fighting my own for room- Calbdin joins in, and I guess they probably need this… I embrace them in my wings, and wait for them to let me go… They don’t, so I lift them with my wings, surprising them-

“Ah, Tenztore-” Vascula says, as the two of them cling to my wings… “Your wings are really strong already… You’ve really grown up.” She continues, as she looks at me, while I fold my arms. “Yeah. It turns out it takes a lot of strength to lift a nine foot person.”

“Aren’t your bones hollow like mine?” She asks, STILL clinging to my wings… “Yeah. I’m still nine feet tall though. Are you going to get down or not?” I ask, causing them to land on the ground as I fold away my wings again.

“I forget how huge your wings are…” She says, as she folds her arms, and stares at me… “Man… When I saw you… I thought you and Calbdin finally decided to leave home, like I did… I was really hoping you would maybe go on an adventure with me…” She says, as she looks down.

“I’m sorry… I wish I could have done something…” I say, as I look at Calbdin, and he looks away… “Don’t be that way, Tenz… Calbdin!” She says, and he suddenly hugs me- Fine… “Yey.” I say, and they giggle at me… The things I do to cheer them up…

-√3-

“What’s a class ten?” I ask, as I walk throughout the corridors… I am Vance Azimov, a war veteran turned mercenary working in favor of Everessence Capital. “General classification of targets we use. For reference, fire Dragons are considered class eight.” The Captain of the ship says, as I and some guards make our way through the corridors...

General Chorimaxis called me early to infiltrate the ship. The ship’s captain hired me pretty easily. I guess I’m still not too well known. If they’re talking about fully grown fire dragons, then whoever’s down there must be hellishly powerful…

I run into a group of decorated soldiers, and walk up to them. “Hey. You searching for the intruders?” I ask, grabbing their attention. “Hmph! Yeah! We’re just waiting on our captain. You one of the Mercs he hired?” he asks, as they all size me up…

“Yeah... I’ll scout ahead and slow them down. Do you have any info?” I ask, hoping they might be able to guide me better… “Here wait, there’s a construction panel down the hall- Just have it build you a navigator, and it’ll get you there.” He says, pointing down the exact hall.

A little later, I find myself about a room away from the target, preparing my guns… I’m not exactly proud of this, but I need to gain their trust... The target rounds the corner, and I ready my heavy rifle- Is that Nexus?! Do these people even know what she’s capable of?!

She turns to look at me, and bolts towards me- I barely manage to dodge, letting her land about a foot away from me. “Wait a minute, I’m working for you!” I shout, causing her to stop… “Who are you?” She asks, as she straightens up.

“I’m Vance. I’m working as a double agent in favor of Everessence.” I answer, as she looks around for any witnesses. “Nexus, strike squads are on their way. They think I’m slowing you down. What are you doing here?” I ask, as she turns to look at me…

“I’m looking for the reactor, I want to bring down the ship.” She says, as weapons eject from the heavy looking plates on her arms… “Jeez, you have a lot of those- Right, it’s this way. I doubt I can help you much here, so I’ll redirect them.” I show her the location on my navigator, and she gives me a simple nod.

“The Captain is pretty dangerous, good luck.” I say, before she gives me a thumbs up, and separates from me quickly.

Well, I better get started...

-√A-

“Vilstrous! Where is he?!” Chorimax suddenly shouts, as she emerges from the rubble of the destroyed elevators…

Demi - “Chorimax, over here. It’s me, Demitallis. I think he should still be in his office.”

She runs over to me, and looks up at me. “Good. He shouldn’t know then. We’ve learned that Vilstrous has been behind everything. We need to find him now.” She says, as she quickly moves past me followed by multiple soldiers.

Demi - “Vilstrous- You mean your intern? What?!”

I quickly follow behind her, and she turns to look at me- “That’s what I want to know. Once I get my hands on him…” She says, as she slams her foot through the door, and marches over to his room, kicking it open too-

Demi - “It’s dark, and empty…”

“Go figure out where he is! Demitallis, there’s an invasion going on out there, we need you.” She says, surprising me.

Demi - “Right. Take me to it, I’ll see what I can do.”

She quickly complied, and brought me out of the rebellion base, and after that… I’ve never seen such horror in my life… Soldiers hold their ground, firing at enemies almost THROWING themselves at them…

The new enemies are wearing short cloaks that connect to a metal skull protecting their heads… Below that seems to be another cloak that extends to their wrists, and then finally under that is two large pants legs. The skulls are ornately designed with different horns protruding from them. The cloaks are primarily red, with golden accents. And they seem to wear a sort of tight leather suit to cover their hands and feet, with tall boots that reach up to their calves. The layered cloak makes them look a lot bigger than they really are, and so does the skull, so they’re almost intimidating...

They’re equipped with two large yellow swords with what seems to be saw blades, and two rapid fire guns that are attached to their wrists. The weapons are weak, but with so many… How long can we really hope to last?...

“By the gods… They’re suicidal…” Chorimax says, as one of them lands in the middle of the soldiers, planting a metal spike that fires a thin beam into the sky- “In redemption of the fallen!!!” The soldiers scramble and run for their lives, as the area is destroyed by a massive laser bolt-

Demi - “They’re shooting at their own men! Why?!”

“As if I should know- I’ll help out my men here, you figure out where that came from!” She shouts, before running towards the soldiers who were hopefully just knocked out…

Demi - “You got it! We’ll meet up back here later!”

I compress myself, and eject my mass outwards to bolt into the air, until a large ship -much like the last one- comes into view, just above the clouds, and I fire a harpoon at it! Yes, I came up with a harpoon shot. It’s certainly no hookshot, but it’ll do until I figure out that one!

I reel myself in, and begin to notice giant orange tentacles protruding from the ship- It’s Sirius-

-√B-

“Captain Volarisk. Wanted in thirty eight different kingdoms. And a bounty bigger than mine… How have I found a man like you?..” I ask, as I begin charging my weapons…

“Nexus of the Golden Kingdom. Trained in the ways of the templar. And the left hand of Prince Arigold himself. How have I found a woman like you?...” He asks, almost mockingly. “What’s your purpose here?” He asks, as he continues to hide his face, and I fold my arms.

“This is where I was born. BUT-... It’s mostly business. You know how it is. Goals.” I say, as I shift my weight onto my left leg, and feel the metal sink slightly under it. “Hmph… Good enough for me. I’ll have to check on Vilstrous when I’m finished with-” He suddenly tears his hat from his head, and fires at me with an eye-laser-

I throw my arm in front of it, and it blasts through the shielding and slides past my armor- The searing barely manages to graze it… “Hmhmhmph. Usually that one kills right away. There goes MY week…” He says, as he fits his hat back on his head…

I throw a jab at him, and he quickly sidesteps it, dodging as bullet fire from a sudden emergence of MORE soldiers- I activate my deflector, and they’re forced to dodge their own bullet fire- I grab Volar’s collar as he tries to shove a knife past my armor.

“You think I’d fall for THAT?” I say, as I slam him through the ship’s hull wall. The metal morphs around his body, as he stands there embedded snugly in the wall, as stiff as a sarcophagus- “What the-” I , as I release him from my grip, and he climbs out.

The soldiers stare at me, and I deactivate the shield and instead the rest of the weapons plates, firing at all of them. I nearly manage to bring down one of them, before Volar kicks me through a wall- “Well you certainly live up to the legends…” I say, as I shove the wires and piping out of my way…

“Likewise, hmph.” He says, as he hides his red eye, while he smokes from his pipe… “Bring it on!” I shout, and we move into our combat stances!

I activate a set of buzzers on my right shoulder- “Buzzers, run!” Volar notices and warns his men instantly, and I sweep a kick at him- I knock him over, and he slams against the floor as stiff as a board, AGAIN- I activate my left gun-plates, and their respective seeker-rockets!

He suddenly curls up, and the rockets lightly batter and tear his sleeves… “Fair enough.” I say, as he uses a mana jet to get himself back on his heels- He strikes me with a surprise punch, and I use the moment to spin on my heel and grab his arm-

I continue and throw him over my shoulder, and slam my foot into his torso, and into one of the lower layers of the ship. I deactivate my grav-lifters, and let my weight drop me through the floor- I regulate my weight again, and I land in front of him.

He stands there, staring at me while hiding his red eye under his hat again… “Hello, I am not Captain Volarisk.” He says, before I fold my arms, and charge the spike-ejector. “Really, now?...” I ask, as I slowly approach him, and jab the wrist-spike into his shoulder!

He stands there and takes it, as lightning courses through and dances across his body… “Tough…” I involuntarily say, as I pull it out… “Nope. But thanks for the charge.” He says, as I suddenly realize what he’s talking about-

I barely managed to dodge the eye laser, after he removed his hat again- I ejected all of the ballistics on my forearms! Four sets of gun-plates jut out and so do their missiles, as the mini-laser-bolters slide open!

I begin firing and the area in front of me is shredded as I lose sight of Volar from the dust. I look around until the dust settles, and I can see the sunlight… We’re deeper in the ship than I thought we were… Volar suddenly slams his fist into my visor, and it cracks…

I look at him… “You’re going to pay for that.” I say, as I grab him, throw him to the floor, and slam my knees at full force into his torso! We land under the ship, and once again I can’t find him… I wait for a moment then throw my fist backwards to hit him in my blind spot!

“Knew it! How do you keep doing that?!” I ask, as he slides against the ground… “Just skill.” He says, as he suddenly stiffens up and throws his arms out… He can’t be… He starts spinning… This is so dumb… And begins to float…

“Can you explain THIS one?” I ask, as he floats over me, and starts firing lasers- I activate my shields- “Also skill.” He continues, as I guard against all his light blasts. I grab his foot, and throw him back to the floor, and watch as his hands buzz-saw the ground…

He suddenly grabs the ground, and pulls himself out of my grasp, moving surprisingly smoothly… His feet hit the ground, and fires another shield-piercing shot from his eye- I manage to dodge it just before it drains my shields, and equip my magnum.

His leg bolts like a piston, and he slaps my gun out of my hand, the first man to have done this to me in a long time- I use the momentum to shower him with my left arsenal, and then swing on my right heel to spray him with my leg’s own forward arsenal!

I continue the momentum to land on my left foot and release my right forward arsenals, and catch my magnum- I load one of my executioner rounds, and I fire at him, blowing off his arm! “Ha, gotcha that time!” I shout, as he uses the momentum to form a blade from the open space and slash me with it-

It stops an inch short of my shoulder plate, and I feel the buzzer-hive activate- He tanks it again, not flinching for a moment as I just now remember he can absorb energy like this. I yank myself away from him, and he fires another laser at me.

The laser tears the city apart from behind me, and I feel the rumble as the town hall falls behind me… I barely managed to dodge it… “Hmph, really thought that one would have had you…” He says, as he picks up his arm, and places it back on the open-stock…

“You’re aware it doesn’t work that way, right?” I ask, as he motions me to wait with his hand- He pulls out a sewing kit, and begins sewing it back together, before it literally starts moving again… “What the fuck are you?!” I Shout, as I activate the full arsenal on my right arm!

“Hmph!” He mumbles, as the rockets, lasers, and bullets tear him apart! “You will be destroyed!” I shout, as he begins walking through it, grabbing my hand, as it tears him apart… “You won’t beat me so easily.” He says, as he uses the laser to destroy what’s left of my shoulder’s buzzer-hive.

I finally run out of ammo, and the steam finally floats away, revealing his incredibly ripped muscles… If I hadn’t seen his face, I wouldn’t have realized just how horrible scarred and stitched up his torso is… “What?...” I ask, as he grabs his hat, returns to his original pose, and hides his eye-

“They call me CAPTAIN Volarisk! I’m wanted in thirty eight different kingdoms, and two countries.” He says, as I begin to realize I might have to take him seriously… I break his grip, grab his arm, and throw him over me again, slamming the recharged ammo in my left arsenal to pelt him! I charge my twin energy blades, and as he powers through the fire-rate, I use it to tear his arm off!

He reaches his other arm past my shields, and blows my visor off- He’s surprised, for the first time since I’d met him, he’d shown any form of emotion… “Hmph… It seems like we both had something to hide…” He says, as he steps back, and his face sharpens…

“What… Don’t give me that shit! I’m no different from you or anyone else!” I shout, as I grab his chest with my palm’s grav-pulsers, and slam him into the floor! He stiffens up of course, and looks at me… “Yeesh. Seems like you also have some issues to get through.” He folds his arms-

His leg swings upwards, and I bolt out of the way, and watch as he swings back up and a string shoots into his arm, and reels it back into place… I slice his other arm off, and he looks at it… “Hmph. Now that’s just rude…” He says, as he looks between his missing arms…

“You are unbelievable…” I say, as he looks at me again… “A deal, then. I’ll repair your visor, in return you will stitch up my arms.” He sits down, and just stares at me expectantly… “I can just make it myself… Why would I help my enemy?” I ask, as he folds his missing arms again.

“You don’t have to, I could just simply snake the thread through my skin, or just hold them together like this, with a few threads.” He says, surprising me- “I want YOUR help.” He says, confusing me further… “But I’m your enemy… Why would I help you?...”

“Well maybe a change of pace may give me more insight on how to defeat you.” He says, causing me to smack my forehead, and laugh… “You’ve got to be kidding me, man… I’ve certainly never fought anyone like you… Fair enough. I’ll accept your deal, but only because you’re actually kind of fun to fight.” I say, as I reach for his sewing kit.

“Thank you.” He says, as he begins constructing my new visor, while I begin to realize I don’t know how to sow… “I… Don’t actually know how to sow…” I say, as I look at him. “Ah, no worries. It’s quite simple.” He says, as he begins describing it in detail…

“Do… Do you like knitting?” I ask, as I finish the first arm. “Yes! How did you notice?” He says, as I begin on his other arm… “Oh… My mother knew how to sew and knit too, she used to fix me and my sister up all the time.” I say, as I look away-

He’s surprised again- “How would- Oh… I guess she’s gone?” He asks, as I impress myself with my inbred skill. “Yeah, she died in the early stages of the war, well after I’d ran from home…” I say, as he tries to fold his arm, but I keep it in place- “Don’t move.” I say, slightly surprising him.

“Right- Sorry…” He says, as he keeps still again. “I’m sorry for your loss…” He drones on, as he looks up, and tentacles tear his ship apart… “Tsk… Looks like his past has finally caught up with him…” He adds, confusing me.

“I think that’s Sirius. He’s a kraken, he’s probably tearing the ship apart as we speak.” I say, as I finally finish, and we stand up. “Eh, fuck it, it was Vilstrous’s ship anyways. I should probably rescue my crew though-” He says, as he quirks an eyebrow.

“Hmph, nah. They’ll live. Anyways, our battle ends here. Vilstrous may already be dead as we speak…” He says, as I fold my arms. “So what, you’re just going to give up?” I ask, as we watch the ship crash through multiple buildings, and explode…

“What else am I supposed to do? I guess I could go make sure. Come on, you’ll want to defeat me if I find out he’s survived.” He says, before slamming his foot into the ground and bolting into a stiff-sprint at surprising speed-

My communicator flares up- It’s Sirius, he’s telling me he couldn’t beat the guy behind all of this, but Demitallis is finishing off… I tell him I’ll recover him, and quickly follow Captain Volarisk.

-√F-

“I’m supposed to believe you’re the one behind all of this?” I ask, as I press down on the communicator… “Yeah, that’s right kiddo’.” He says, approaching with his hands in his pockets, as I cross my arms. “Like you’re one to speak. How old are you?” I ask, as the light in the room begins to dim…

Vilstrous… He’s about as tall as I am, hell, I think his hair would even line up with the tentacles on my head. “Obviously enough to not wear THAT. Suspenders... REALLY?” He says, quirking an eyebrow as we eye my awesome suspenders...

“First off, you wouldn’t know class if it hit you in the back of the head!” I shout, confusing him for a moment as I quickly dodge out of the way, and my tentacle strikes him in the aforementioned area- “Agh- Cheap shot!” He shouts, as his shadow suddenly bolts towards me and pierces my shoulder-

“What in the-” I shout, as he suddenly disapears behind a corner- “Where’d he…” I ask, as realization suddenly comes to me, and I spin around to kick him in the gut! “Ha! Caught you!” I shout, as he slams against the wall, and cough up blood. “Looks like you’re not too strong.” I say, as I roll up my sleeves.

“‘Seems like I’ll have you and the rest of your cronies finished in time for supper.” I continue, as I stretch… “You like running your mouth, don’t you…” He says, surpising me- A shadow tendril suddenly cuts my back, barely passing the skin- “Dammit!” I shout, as I grab him, and slam him against the wall!

“You don’t get it, Crime Lord…” He says, suddenly phasing through the wall- “I’m just ONE of the dark lords of the Strous Family!” He shouts, as the lights are destroyed, and more tendrils begin attacking! I summon my powers, and use it to tear open a giant hole in the ship!

“What have you done?!” He shouts, as the ship begins to tilt and I lose my balance for a moment- I jump out of the ship, and turn around to eject a tentacle to grab and reel him in! “Your powers are useless in the light!” I shout, as I slam him through one of the tall buildings below us!

“You think I’m that weak?!” He suddenly says, as I turn around to see him in the air- “Do you have any idea how expensive those ships are?! The repairs?!” He shouts, as tendrils suddenly fly toward me, but I form more of my tentacles to stop them!

I suddenly feel a tendril pierce my back- I look up to see he used the shadows in his clothes! “I call that one spirit-bullet, haha!” He shouts, as my tentacles form like a wave, and I bring them down on him-

I suddenly feel the mass of tentacles below me be torn apart instantly, and I cover myself in super dense tentacles to protect myself from the onslaught- Massive tendrils tear my tentacles apart, and he sends them towards me!

They disappear before reaching me, and I land on one of my tentacles, and him in mid air… “What, you can walk on air too now?” I ask, as he suddenly starts walking on air… “What, did you think I was some sort of one trick pony?” He asks, grinning like an idiot…

“Yeah, that’s right… If you cover this area too much, your shadow will swallow you…” He says, stopping before me… Noticeably exhausted as is. “What do you even gain from this? Why hurt these people?” I ask, as I try and grab him-

“Ah- Ah- No~ No freebies…” He says, waggling his index finger in a way that makes me want to tear it off… “But if you MUST know…” He says, literally walking on air… “I do it because it’s fun! What other reason do I need?! I’m sure as a crime lord, and master of the ocean’s underworld, you should understand me…” He says, placing his hand against his chest, and bowing before me…

“What is this.” I say, as he suddenly grins wider, and stands up straight again- “We’re evil! Join me, Sirius! I have huge plans to bring despair to the world! I’ll have you know, we could be VERY big men…” He says, holding his gloved hand out to be shaken…

“I just wanted Ryleth, I wasn’t evil, dumbass.” I say, as I cross my arms, and he suddenly frowns- “Well there goes my trenchcoat plan… I swear, I’m never getting on that damn ride.” He says, turning around and suddenly spinning on his heel to eject a tendril from his sleeve-

It bursts against my forehead, doing nothing to penetrate this temple of a body I have, and my shield which has finished charging. “What was that supposed to be?” I ask, as I take a step towards him. “What the- How?!” He asks, as tendrils rip from his clothing and the streets to attack me.

“My mana’s too dense, buddy. I’m a legendary kraken!” I shout, as I suddenly bolt towards him, and slam my fist into his head! He’s sent careening into a building- He teleports away, so I decide to try out my new skill!

Tentacles burst from the sides, and tear the building from its structure, using them to walk around with it- “What the hell?!” He suddenly shouts, and I turn around to look at him- “You can do that?!” He screams at me, pointing at it.

I land on one of its tentacles, and use that to land on top of it. “That’s right! I have yet to come up with a name for this ability I have come up with!” I shout, as I stand atop it with an absolute power stance!

“Oh fuck this!” He shouts, tendrils suddenly erupting from the ground, and surrounding my giant construct- “How-” I say, as too many to ever dodge begin to latch around us! “You’re not as strong as you think you are, Sirius Bask!” He shouts, as I’m dragged down!

I’m dragged underground, and I watch as the light of the sun fades from sight… It’s hard to see, I form another tentacle- It suddenly disappears, it was destroyed… Can he really manipulate it to this extent? He may be unstoppable down here-

A strange light suddenly fills the room, causing the tentacles on my head to begin glowing a bright neon-like blue… “You got some nerve walkin’ in on someone’s business, Sirius Bask…” Vilstrous suddenly says, his voice coming from my left- One of my tentacles burst from the ground and is torn apart-

The pieces soar through the air like the spray of a shotgun, causing bright dust particles to fill the room, and reveal his location… “There you are…” I say, as he looks at his body now covered in my tentacle’s blood. “Oh god, I’m already regretting this…”

“You haven’t even begun to regret it!” I shout, as I lunge towards him, and am suddenly slammed against the ground- “Like that was going to work!” He shouts, as I try to pick myself up- “You know, I should give you credit for my surprise…” He says, circling me, as I tear the tendrils off of me, and throw my fist towards his face-

I’m stopped inches from smacking that smug look on his face… “And all your exploits… But you’re just not what you used to be, man…” He says, as I’m suddenly thrown around the room against the floors-

“I’d never just give up on something like this! Pain and suffering, that is what the Strous family lives for!” He shouts, as I try to pick myself up again, but I’m beaten against the floor… “It’s a work of art, let me show you…” He says, as people appear in the distance…

“You’re a demon…” I say, as I lower my shield, and focus my magic… “Yeah, I guess I kind of am… Just look at them suffer…” He says, as the bodies strewn upon the tendrils slowly bleed onto the floor… “You know, this is the first time they’ve seen light in a long time…”

They stare at me… “They’re barely keeping themselves alive, using up all of their mana… That’ll be you too, soon…” He continues, until I finally transform, and destroy the entire roof! I spot the ship and burst tentacles to begin destroying it!

He stares in awe as I continue to tear apart the city! Tendrils rip through the area, and begin slashing at me! “Sirius, stop, you’ve done enough!” Demitallis suddenly says to me through telepathy-

I spot her, she’s right above me… I transform back and return to my human form in the middle of the air- “Demitallis, Vilstrous is down there, he has hostages! Destroy the ceiling, he’s too strong!” I call out to her, as I pull myself away from the area…

“I got it, thanks! I’ll handle the rest of this!” She says, as I land in front of one of the only buildings that are still standing… I pull out the communicator Nexus gave me, and activate it… “Hey, you there?” I ask, as the bang of a scary sounding bullet comes over the communicator.

“Yeah, I found the ship’s captain, I just finished up his last crony. What about you?” She asks, as the sound of more bullet-fire tears through the communicator… “I think I found the guy behind all of this… I couldn’t beat him, but Demitallis is taking care of it right now…”

I look around, as I sit down and rest against the wall. “Alright, got it, I’ll come to recover you in a minute.” She says, as I feel my true form healing quickly… “Right, thanks…” I say, as I rest here...

-√A-

“So you’re really a Puddle Kid, huh?” He asks, walking up to me from the depths of this dark room…

Demi - “Yep. What’s going on with those guys on the surface?...”

He’s surprised, so he looks up at the massive hole. “What do you mean?” He asks, as the sounds of war continue to rage.

Demi - “The guys, the skull helmet things, they keep just… So many of them have already died, but they won’t give up… Even I can’t stop them…”

He looks at me again. “You must mean the Equinox Assault Force! They’re pretty cool, right? They just throw themselves at my enemies, and after a while, they’re all gone!” He says, throwing his hands in the air in applause…

Demi - “No… How could you ever think this is okay?...”

He crosses his arms, and raises an eyebrow in confusion- “You don’t like it? You’re a Puddle Kid! I heard you guys were evil! That’s just false advertising…” He says, as I form one of my bearing shots…

He snaps his fingers- “I’m sure you’ll like this one! You see, they’re just a small hired part of the greater tithe their old city owes. They’re not even worth saving, either way. They’re mass produced clones of the old citizens. They can’t even use magic!” He shouts, suddenly laughing-

“Seriously, they can’t fight back at all! Not without their weapons, at least…” He finishes, as I notice a red substance slowly flow in from the darkness… “Hey, I’ll let you eat’em if you join me. I’ve always wanted my own puddle kid.” I’m just disgusted at this point…

Demi - “Where is that blood coming from?”

He’s surprised again- He looks at his feet, and notices that some of it has congealed against his shoe… “Oh… Right, I was showing this to Sirius before he decided to spoil my fun-” He says, as the darkness suddenly moves away to reveal bodies strewn up and bleeding…

“Pretty neat, huh? This one took FOREVER! But I think it’ll be finished soon enough. It’s art, you’re kinda’ just-” I slam a bearing shot into his head, knocking him to his knees instantly! “Shit! You’ll pay for that!” He screams, as shadows erupt from the darkness and swing at me-

I spread threads around and pull myself out of the way, firing multiple shots at him! A spike jets up from under me, and I manage to avoid it by forming myself into a torus- I watch as he deflects each bullet with shadow tendrils, as I attach a string to one of the bodies-

I destroy the tendril holding them up, and reel them in- “What are you doing?!” He shouts, as a massive tendril tears through the ground and he rides up to me! I land on the surface, and place them on the ground… I’m sorry, I wish I could have helped you sooner…

Demi - “You better hope they’re not dead, you already have enough to answer for!”

“Like I’d let them die!” He yells, as I jump back down, and prepare to grab more people- A tendril suddenly tears through me, and my body panics and quickly reforms itself… At least I’m getting more used to it, usually this would have knocked me out for a moment…

I fire a barrage of small bearing shots at him, and he guards it quickly- I fire a super charged shot at him, and it tears right through the tendril! “What in the-” He falls back as it slams into his head, and I fire a water jet through the hole!

He’s thrown back pretty far, and I use this opportunity to save a few more people… I manage to collect three, but there’s so many of them- I land on the surface, and place them down… “Fine, ruin my art! I’ll kill you like the rest!” Vilstrous suddenly shouts, having recovered from my attacks…

I land in front of him- I’ll have to knock him out or something, before he decides to just finish them all off… “Nothing to say?!” He screams, as his tendrils begin to erupt from around us… “Well that’s JUST FINE!!!” Tendrils begin whipping around and attacking me-

I manage to dodge them one at a time, but there’s so many! I’ve narrowly dodged almost twenty attacks already- One of them slashes through an inch of my body, they’re incredibly strong too. I’ve been managing to keep pretty calm, though! I’m a little proud of myself!

Finished. We now know how to make light in all its different wavelengths. It takes a lot of mana, but we can decompress our mana anyways.

Yes, thanks Fear! We’ll come up with a name for it later!

Don’t forget to deactivate IDM.

Got it.

I finally turn off my IDM, and I fire beams of light to disperse the tendrils! IDM’s already eaten my energy, so I used up a lot of my mana just keeping it up… That on top of using it to refuel myself, and creating enough light to destroy all those shadow tendrils…

“Are you kidding me?! How?!” He shouts, as I collect some of my bearings off the ground. “Why only NOW use this?!” He shouts, as he tries to hit me with more tendrils, but I blast him with one of the bearing shots-

He stands up AGAIN- How tough can he be?! And he summons more of those tendrils- I disperse them again! “Do you think this is funny?!” He shouts, as he suddenly bolts towards me, and I fire another one of my bearing shots at him.

He fires a large tentacle from his sleeve, and it tears the bearing in half and he slides between it- “Ha! See?! You’re not so strong!” He screams again, as I try another shotgun burst- He blocks it, and I fire a beam of light at a tendril he tried to use to blind-side me.

He slashes me with a tendril, but I grab it midway, and yank him into my mass- “Wh-What- What are you doing?!” He screams, as I begin to compress my body around him- I’m slashed again- I can’t morph my body freely like this, not without risking him escaping…

Demi - “Who ARE you?! Why do this to these people?!”

“Because it’s fun! Fun-fun-fun! So much fun! You hate me, don’t you?!” He shouts, trying to break out, as I continue to destroy shadow tendrils! “I’m Vilstrous, I’m a member of the middle council of Capital City! You can’t do this to me!” He screams, as he continues to thrash around, and try to escape-

Demi - “Give up, your powers are useless against me. I could crush you in an instant.”

“N-No you can’t! Don’t you dare!” He shouts, as I hold him in place, and stop his flailing- “I-I can’t move…” He says, as he floats there, motionless...

Demi - “I’m holding you still. You’re strong, Vilstrous… You’re VERY strong… But I’m stronger. Release all those people, or I’ll kill you.”

“You wouldn’t-!” I apply pressure- “You can’t- I- I don’t believe you!” I continue increase the pressure slowly-

Demi - “Listen, I don’t want to hurt you- But right now, those people need my help. So release them before something snaps. Don’t be stupid!”

I feel his body begin to compress, as it's forced to make room for my water- I nearly feel something give way, and I instantly drop the pressure- He laughs, as he goes limp from the release…

I can’t… I don’t want to hurt someone like that again…

“I knew it! You can’t!” He says, before I gather my courage, and begin crushing him again- Don’t think about it- Glant can fix him anyways- Don’t think about it!

I feel something begin to give again- “Stop-” He screams at the top of his lungs, a moment after my fear gets to me again, saving his arm… The tendrils begin to lower, and all the people around me are released… “There, now let me go…” He continues, as more of his blood mixes with my water…

I spit him out, and all the blood. I refuse to consume human blood… Vilstrous picks himself up and turns around to look at me… “I’ll kill you, Demitallis…” He says, as shadows begin to- I fire a small bearing shot at his forehead, and he falls backwards…

He’s knocked out… I look at all the people still lying in the darkness... Gonna’ have to figure out how to keep his powers in check…

Two figures land in the room, and they look around- It’s a woman in black armor, and an INCREDIBLY ripped man, like he is SHREDDED, HOLY SHIT. Like you could grind MEAT on his six pack, oh lord.

“Is that a Puddle Kid?” He asks, as he walks up to me. “I believe this is Demitallis Genesis… And I would assume that’s Vilstrous?” She asks, as I begin to realize how strong they are- “Hey, you kill him?” The guy asks, as he looks up at me…

Demi - “No… Who are you?”

“I’m Nexus, I was working for Arigold, now I work for you guys as a double agent.” She says, her cool exterior showing not even a speck of emotion… “And I am Captain Volarisk. I’ve come to recover Vilstrous, after I defeat this kind miss.” He says, surprising me.

Demi - “Fair enough. I was actually hoping to invite him into my family, he looks like he’s got some problems, and I want to help him… But I understand, good luck, Nexus.”

Volarisk chuckles, and folds his arms. “Hmhmph… The kid COULD use a better home… You really think you could provide it?” He asks, as he covers his eye from my view with his hat.

Demi - “Of course, I brought in Sirius Maelstrom Bask the crime lord! How much trouble can Vilstrous here be?”

“Kid’s been through a hell of a lot. There’s a reason he hides himself like this… Ah hell-” He says, as frustration begins to build on his face. “I can’t just sit by and watch him go through this any longer.” He says, with a new sense of conviction on his face-

“Genesis Family, right? You kids shouldn’t be out here on your own like this. Your ship needs a captain, and I’m just the guy!” He says, surprising me- “What do you say?” He says, revealing his red eye as he holds his arm in front of me…

“Why would she trust you?” Nexus asks, as I push out a layer of water, and shake his hand- “Are you fucking kidding me?” She asks, nearly hitting me-

Demi - “W-Well I’m trusting YOU… Besides, we seriously need an adult, Demistar is nice, but she’s never around!”

“Hmph. There ya’ go.” He says, folding his arms again, and looking at Nexus. “So… Now that I have kids, would you be willing to go on a date with me?” He asks her, causing her to slap her forehead, and me to laugh internally- This guy is awesome!

“NO!!! Oh my god-” She says, and so his head lowers- “Hmph… That’s just too bad…” He says, picking up Vilstrous, hoisting the kid over his shoulder, and looking at me. “I’ll get Vilstrous out of here. You and Nexus should probably get these people out of here.” He says, reminding me of them-

“Oh, and Nexus.” He says, turning around, just before he leaves- “Call me.” He says, before jumping into the sky!

Demi - “You totally should, those muscles are amazing.”

She slams her foot into the ground, creating a massive crater, and causing the immediate area to rumble- “Don’t you try and give me dating advice!” She shouts, as I now consider it a touchy-subject…

Demi - “Alright- Alright- Bad with dating, I get it. I had trouble too, I get’chu sister.”

“No- I don’t- For fuck sake-” She says, muffling a scream in her hand, as she presses it against her visor- I continue to internally laugh, as I look at all the people still down here…

Demi - “Come on, if you’re really on my side… Then you’ll totally help me with this!”

She moves her arm, and looks around. “Right… I guess... Let’s get started.” She says, before we do just that…

End of Chapter 39√ABCF_1-3 “Arrival.”

Thank you for reading.

“Hmph. Fair enough, makes sense to me. Thank you.”

“Hmph! Altogether boys! Thank you!” “Yeah! Thank you!”

“OH! Thank you everyone!”

“In honor of the fallen, we thank you!”