Three days after the assault, Kaizimir’s airship flew above the crisp blue pacific ocean. Though, there was a notable difference from how it normally was, with just the tides themselves within. Sitting within the ship as well, were three of their allies. Yu Liang, Bijan Lafeyah, and Hashimoto Jirou. The third, though notified a bit late, was enthusiastic in going to join them. Making sure to stay equal to Corde, and get rid of a threat to his group? To him, it sounded like a win-win. Kazimir’s eyes focused upon a lone island, much of it covered in a dense tropical forest. At the front, was a white sand beach. Kazimir glanced at his holo-phone, checking the navigation. And, that much confirmed it, this was Yatahari island.

He began a quick descent as he approached, until the ship floated just above the waters, making waves as they flew above. Until, the ship touched down on the shallow waters, with the bay door’s opening. Prompting for the members of the group to exit. Their feet splashed through, until they reached the sands of the beach. Kazimir’s gaze moved between the members, and a certain thought that had come up before ran through his head. One that he had to speak up about.

“Geez… Again with this sausage-fest? It’s like every time we meet each other, it just ends up being us with no females between us…”

“Will you stop complaining...We aren’t here for a vacation, Rhuskov, we’re here to train.” Arctaius commented.

“We could’ve at least brought Miyamoto, or Wilson. Especially Miyamoto!”

Liang glanced at Kazimir. An annoyed look on his face.

“I don’t know who’s worse- You with girls…” He paused, trailing off, as his gaze went to the left, Where Bijan stood.

“Or Lafeyah with his S-Grace, Stardust, and whatever else he listens to…”

“I don't talk about them THAT much.” Bijan said in his defense.

“Well- of course, you would say that…”

“If we’re talking about girls, then perhaps we may be in luck. Tsumotsu did mention that he was sending somebody extra to help us with training.” Zhao chimed in.

They all soon found themselves walking into the thick forest that led into the interior of the island. Jirou glanced at Zhao after he made his statement.

“ Is that so...Any idea who it might be?”

“No idea… He didn’t give us much to go off of- he only said that he was at a similar level to them.”

It was soon enough that they all stopped in their tracks, as a certain feeling began to run through them. Arctaius’ gaze moved through the treeline as he began speaking.

“I’m beginning to see that with this protomis I'm sensing…”

Elsewhere, Kazimir smirked, as he put his arm out...

“This-- is just what I’ve been waiting for…”

Soon enough, a red glow surrounded him, as he began moving past them. Something that made the other’s, aside from the tides, raise an eyebrow.

“A strong, and beautiful woman- Like a Rose, Elegant, yet thorny. Defensive all the while-a true challenge… Wherever you may be-- Allow me to…”

He was soon cut off, as a bearded man with a large frame appeared in front of him… Something that seemingly made the color disappear from his eyes. He jumped back as he slammed his fist into a tree, breaking it in half.

“Dammit!!! That’s the exact opposite!” Kazimir yelled, to the high heavens.

Alarick shook his head at this display, as he spoke in his native tongue.

“Es ist immer dieser Widerling.(It’s always this sleazeball.)”

Kazimir Sighed, as he turned back to the former Tsar. His previous expression disappeared… Along with any jubilant mooo he may have had. His gaze turned into one laced with venom. It was no secret that he was less than pleased to see him here. Not something unique to him, given how the others looked at him.

“Now then… Just why might you be here- Sokol Naumov?”

The change in his expression did not go unnoticed by Sokol. He simply said nothing about it, as he closed his eyes.

“That is a good question indeed- I thought that you were hiding outside of Kingston-- how and why did you come here…”

“Believe me… I understand your anger. I do this for multiple reasons… After you arrived at my home- I was reminded of an ever-prevalent fact, of how my past actions have affected this world, and how many people they killed...I am well aware of the fact that my sins cant be erased. However- I can help to keep those very actions from further damaging humanity. It is for that reason that I decided to follow you all. As I caught glimpses of your abilities from what little news footage got out, I was able to find you once again.” Sokol explained.

Kazimir stayed silent for some moments, as he contemplated, weighing his choices. It certainly wasn’t his preferred course of action. He eventually turned away from the man, as he moved back to the side of his comrades.

“Then… I’ll tolerate you but don’t, for a second, think this means that I forgive your actions”

“I don’t forgive my own actions...For me to become a leader- and repeat the policies of the reds...Which I hated all so much.”

“I don’t expect forgiveness in the first place… But we’re wasting time here… If you hope to defeat the Kaemerge- You may not stay as-”

“You are now.” Ashikaga commented. Elsewhere, within one of Yamato's many military bases, Ashikaga stood on a roof, watching two of her new proteges fight on the ground. Miyamoto began firing bursts of demon energy, with Valerie weaving around them, and firing beams back, from the spheres of light that began to revolve around them. Miyamtoto, soon, began to advance through the beam fire, stepping to the left, right, and backflipping away as a beam fell at her feet.

Sokol began to pace around, as his eyes moved along all the members of the group. They looked promising, No doubt. Perhaps even reminiscent of that force he made all those years ago. Even so, he kept these thoughts to himself.

“I’ll be here to keep you on the right track. But otherwise, do what you feel works.”

Sokol turned, as he began walking away from the group, leaving them to their own devices. It was only then that the group turned their attention back to their fellow members.

“Alright, how about we set some ground rules?” Arctaius questioned, prompting a nod from Jirou.

“Go ahead.”

“Number 1, We’ll fight to kill. The sparring we’ll do here won’t mean anything if we hold back, now will it?”

Alarick Nodded.

“Sounds about right to me.”

Bijan stepped forward, placing his hand on Arctaius’ shoulder.

“I’ll add one on, but I'm sure you guys already know. We leave each other alive, A death means we’ll likely be outnumbered if we get to Tsugashuan, and keep in mind we don’t know how many members of the imperial Guard there are.”

“Makes sense… Dawn tomorrow, we start training.”

Mutters of agreement came from the crowd, as Arctaius closed his eyes, thinking back to the man he saw all those years ago… The one he’d been chasing all this time, all the feelings, the ideas he was missing something, finally confirmed.

“It’s about time... I’m coming right for you.”

The rest of the day passed as normal. Bijan listened to his music, while Zhao sat quietly on one of the many trees. The same could be said for much of the rest of the group… Though Kazimir somehow ended up as the butt of one of Arctaius’ and Alarick’s jokes. As one would expect, however, the joking mood disappeared the next day. As the sun rose, Arctaius laid on the trunk of one of the forest’s many trees, his eyes closed. The serene sound of birds call, as well as the winds that blew in from the sea, the only thing one could hear, or, at the least, that was the case for him. Seemingly, the youth was easy pickings. Something that his longtime rival took note of. Jirou stood on a branch just above him, cracking his knuckles, as he bent his knees.

“Let’s see if you still got it, Corde…”

Jirou leaped forward, bursting toward Arctaius, and kicking up winds as he did so… Of course the youth being who he was, woke up long before he got close to him, leaping out of his fist’s path, letting the yakuza’s fist crash into the ground, sending debris cascading into the sky… Jirou’s gaze went up to his opponent as a smirk crawled onto his face, with the same happening to Arctaius.

“You’ll have to do better than that to catch me off guard, Hashimoto!”

Arctaius bounded toward Jirou, with Jirou jumping forth in return. The two went on a collision course toward one another, both reeling their fists back, before launching them forward as soon as they got into range. Their knuckles crashed into each other between their bodies, sending shockwaves cascading outward. No sooner was this battle interrupted, with Alarick flying in, a suit of stone gothic armor around him, and a Javelin in his hand. He soon thrust it at Jirou’s back, only for the man to grip Arctaius’ fist to keep him in place, before flipping him over his back, as he advanced forward. Intending to use him as a shield. But, Arctaisu would not allow this, forcincefully returning to his previous spot, and flinging Jirou at Alarick, making them crash into each other. Both sent flying away soon after.

Across the island, Liang and Kazimir stood in a face off, with the draconic blue light surrounding Liang, and the swirling red light revolving around Kazimir. Kazimir was the first to make a move, breaking off pieces of earth from the island around them, before sending them flying at Liang with the swipe of a hand. It was then that the Martial artist began displaying his agility, executing flips, and high jumps, twisting and turning on the ground to avoid the rapidly approaching projectiles. All the while, Kazimir simply kept sending the rubble forward, increasing the amount, and the velocity.

However, Liang was not content with staying on the defensive for long, flinging his Shirukens at Kazimir, who bobbed and weaved out of the way, firing back with more debris. Now, projectiles flew across the battlefield, as the two attempted to land strikes on one another. Only for the deadlock to be interrupted by a shout.

“Guo art: Pressure strike!”

Now, Liang was sent flying into Kazimir, knocked off balance. He tsked, moving to land on his feet once more. Something that was soon met by Zhao bursting forward, his signature Dao in his hand. With Liang swiftly drawing his Jian, and stopping the blade with his own. Only for both to have their clash interrupted, with a swarm of red-cloaked debris flying toward them. Something that forced them to break off, jumping away from their previous spot… While the training matches continued, Sokol watched the battles from above, fulfilling the role he’d previously set.

“I’d do well to get involved from time to time… If they want to survive, they’d best remember how unpredictable the battlefield is.” He thought.

For three months, the four tides, and their allies began a brutal training regiment. Day in and day out, sparring and developing new techniques, only taking breaks to eat, and rest... With the fact of the strength the Kaemerge held in mind, they had no will to stop, even as their bodies tired and became injured. Of course, they were not the only one’s fighting. The conflict which would later be known as the Kaemerge War Raged.The earth sphere was once again thrown into Chaos. Solar trade was interrupted, as the power of criminal groups in space increased, as well as breakaway factions that formed in the asteroid Belt. As if to make things worse, many major leaders, Civilian, and Military Alike declared allegiance to the Kaemerge Empire, or allied with them for their own interests… In an unexpected chain of events, many of the world’s governments came together to form the United Coalition-A temporary alliance to contain the Kaemerge threat, they managed to gain victories in the war. But found themselves slowed by their own rebellious regions, and the Region-based information system, Implemented to prevent leaks like those in Niopolis. As well as the use of a language unknown by most of those who weren’t involved in their organization. The war quickly became a deadlock, even with the advances the coalition made.

However, with the help of the silver lions, along with many other elite Proto-human squads, and intelligence forces of the respective nations. They eventually discovered the center of the Kaemerge Empire- The ruins of Babylon- thought to have been lost to time as the Great Crag formed millennia ago It was here that the Grand Capital Lied. The city of Tsugashuan.

In the desert sands surviving Tsugashuan, a fleet of warships loomed outside. Some being from the NAF’s armory, other’s from Yamato. Some even seemed to be the Kaemerge’s ships themselves, commandeered for their use. Within one of the fleet’s largest ships, a red-armored dreadnought, Arctaius sat within the hangar bay, where a number of soldiers ran to transports, pilots running to their HAU’s, while the mechanic’s rushed to do their final checks on the machines. The man himself had gained yet another scar, a small one going down across his left cheek. With a small amount of hair dotting his upper lip. In his palm, he held his holo-phone, which displayed a certain red-head.

“So we’re finally here, eh.” He mumbled.

“Yeah, It's about time that we get them back for all that we lost. Kurt’s parents, my family, yours… our friends, people like Hawkins, and Gihren…”

Arctaius nodded at this.

“I’ll see you there, Valerie.” He tapped the display once more, hanging up. Before, he looked down to his outfit, a sleeveless shirt, somewhat tight over his body. Before, he turned his attention to one of the HAU catapult’s. He began to elevate himself, before he blasted away, making his way into the blue sky. Before he quickly flew backward, landing on the very top of the ship, where the rest of his allies lied.

One could see the differences between themselves before and after their training. Arctaius had gained yet another scar, a Small one going down across his left cheek, and a small amount of facial hair dotted his upper lip. Alarick’s body had become more defined, and, though still shorter than the others, was now an inch or two taller. The same seemed to happen with Bijan, his arms visible due to his cloak blowing in the wind.

“So this is it, Tsugashuan. Not a bad city. Nice architecture, In a way- this reminds me of Philadelphia... But we’re not here to look at the scenery.” Arctaius commented.

“We didn’t do all this training for that.” Alarick agreed, gaining a nod from the monk.

“That much is clear.”

“I’ll make them pay for using my sister like that.” Liang stated.

“We... will make them all pay…” Bijan corrected.

“It’s time, Let’s teach these Kaemerge what they got themselves into when they went after us.” Kazimir added, cracking his knuckles.

With their statements made, the members of the force all took flight, making their way toward the city. While the advance of the coalition forces continued along with them.

To Be Continued