[YGG] Yggdrasil Crew Adventures: Episode 9928

There was no substitution for starting the day off with a good meal, and for that Einst had found a handful of places in the city that had never done him wrong. While he wasn’t quite sure how to pronounce the name of the place, one particular restaurant had an amazing meat & noodle dish he had grown particularly fond of, which was where he found himself this morning. With the degree to which the ‘Pirates traveled, he’d learned a long time ago to just stop worrying about what any given dish was made of. If it was edible and didn’t appear to kill humans, it was fair game.

His bowl finished, the White Swordsman left his payment on the table and headed back out into the waking city, waving in thanks to the owner on his way out. The sun had risen much higher into the morning horizon, bringing with it many more citizens eager to start their daily routines, all of whom had grown used to the featherless man doing as he pleased. He wasn’t sure what the others would be up to, or who was still on the surface for that matter. As he walked aimlessly along the street, he received a call from the ship's First Mate...

“Einst, how’re things goin’ down there buddy?”, Ralf asked over the yPhone.

“Well enough I suppose, why? Is somethin’ up?”, Einst returned quizzically.

“I don’t know, I was hopin’ you could tell me. I’ve received a strange request from either one or two of the newbies—I’m not sure.”

“Who? What’s the request?”

There was a few moments of silence from Ralf’s end, before finally he asked…

“Do you think you could head up here? I’d rather not discuss it over the phone.”

“Sure, I’ll be there in a sec...”

Closing the phone, Einst headed off around a corner and down an alley. His Divine Shield-EX was always active, though the degree of it often varied. Shifting from mild to near full-on, he effectively vanished from the senses of anyone whom might be observing him—including anyone from the Crew. Ralf was acting strange, and the White Swordsman had gotten the distinct feeling that discretion was much desired. Of course, acutely aware of his surroundings, he knew nobody was following him anyways. In any case, he brought his mind to focus on Ralf’s signature aboard the Yggdrasil V orbiting Tizon, vanishing without a trace in the next second.

Ralf had situated himself in the war room, one of very few locations on the massive ship that he could override all access and secure for himself. Being the First Mate, naturally he could override nearly anyone’s access to anywhere already—but this room was special to the old guys of the Crew, putting it bluntly. He’d planned for Einst to drop in, quite literally, and so it was no trouble at all when the White Swordsman used his Instant Transmission technique just as expected. The ship’s computer signaled to Ralf that access was now closed off to any future entries.

“Have a seat, we need to have a little chat about these new guys your brother brought onboard.”

“No argument there,” Einst replied promptly, taking his seat across from Ralf, the empty Captain’s chair to his right and Ralf’s left. The old man poured them each a shot of whiskey, even knowing that alcohol had little to no effect on Einst.

“So what’s this strange request you mentioned? Is Izumi trying to weasel more free clothes?”

“Not quite, but it is her that I’m talking about,” Ralf replied, tipping his glass toward Einst before taking a shot. There didn’t appear to be anything wrong with the guy, it was just normal around there. Go to the war room, have a drink or ten and talk business, then go about your day.

“Oh? Well, what is it already”

“She wants to leave. I think something after arriving here has got her spooked.”

“Funny, considering she’s supposed to be a half demon.”

“Yeah, she’s definitely an odd one. Personally, I don’t see the harm in it. She only had the most basic of access around here and only been onboard for a matter of weeks really.”

Einst downed his own drink, then poured another. While there may have been good drink down on Tizon, their personal stock was always top of the list.

“What did she say?”

“Oh I dunno, some long, drawn out apology for not being a good fit or some crap.”

“Hah! Well, she and the others aren’t the strongest we’ve had...not by a long shot, but they were still capable enough. I mean, they handled that mission pretty decently.”

“Yeah I dunno what their problem is. Thing is, it’s not just her. Two of the other girls wanna leave too.”

At this point Einst just laughed, for a good few seconds, before taking his second drink.

“So basically, all of the people you guys picked up on your way here have fallen out huh? That so called hunter, the apologetic half demon, the telepath or whatever she is, and the former Crimson Knight. Man…. Hahaha.”

“Yeah, it’s a bit strange. Dom was adamant about bolstering our numbers, and they seemed to be at least able to be molded into what we need...but they’ve already washed out. We haven’t even gotten into the hard shit yet.”

Einst tipped another glass in agreement, this time opting for a vodka.

“I’ve had my doubts about that Dom guy. But, if he helped get you all to safety away from Vestusio, that’s something. And he’s definitely stronger than the others, I mean he’s supposedly my brother.”

“Yeah...he seems to be staying, if that’s going to be alright with you.”

“We’ll see. We can certainly use another strong fighter like him around, one who won’t abandon or run away.”

“Or eventually betray us.”

“Yeah, that too. You don’t think these three are plotting something do ya Ralf?”

At this question, Ralf’s expression took on a slightly more serious note...almost as if he was remembering recent events.

“I don’t think so, but just for safe measure I’ve retrieved all of their yPhones remotely, and they won’t have any way off the planet unless the locals help them. But from Izumi’s message, it sounds like they don’t want to leave. In any case, I’d be careful if I were you.”

“Tch, careful he says…. Those small fry are nothing to worry about. I’ve picked up a couple tricks or two you know. I wasn’t just layin’ around in a coma this whole time!”

“Ouch! Damn, that’s low man...”

“Nah you know I’m just jokin’ around. I’m sure Crim will come around any day now.”

“I hope so. You both dropped at basically the same time. I just want things to go back to normal-crazy instead of what it’s been...”

Einst stood up and stretched before walking over and setting the dirty glass in the wash bin.

“Well, don’t worry about it Ralf. It’ll take time, but if we just hang out here for a decent chunk of time I’m sure we’ll get our bearings back. As for the newly departed, I’ll keep a look out for ‘em but I have a feeling we’ll never see any of them again. None of them appeared to have the guts to try anything anyways, so it’s no sweat off my brow.”

“I figured you’d say something like that. You goin’ back down already?”

“Maybe, I’m not sure….probably. I wanted to check out this old bird’s new invention. Supposedly it’s a new type of cloaking device, hell we might even be able to use it if it works.”

“Alright, I’ll keep you posted of any other changes. Maybe I’ll take a trip down there sometime, I could use a change of scenery.”

“That’d be awesome! Just let me know. See ya old man! Hahaha”

Einst teased Ralf, despite being quite a bit older himself. He waved, before using his Instant Transmission to return to the surface, where he’d left originally. Nobody had been privy to his actions, and so he popped back out into the main streets, on his way to Krix’s.

{BGM: "Bonds of Sea and Fire"}

Having little other option, Crim hoisted the passed-out woman up onto his back and lugged her drunken ass out of the hangar bay. He passed several of his crewmen along with way, most of whom simply gawked at him in apparent shock, albeit with a hint of relief in their weary eyes. Had he really been gone so long? The ship seemed fine, especially considering the damages that he'd been informed had been incurred during the intense fighting at Vestusio. Then again, this ship way beyond self-sufficient. It was self-repairing. Given enough time and energy, the Yggdrasil V was technically capable of restoring practically any damage to the point where it would be damn near impossible to tell there was ever anything out of place to begin with. And not only that, it would shore up defenses against whatever had caused the damages, ensuring that it would be even more difficult to inflict the same kind of harm a second time around.

His thoughts drifted randomly about as he carried Chloe, who occasionally muttered incoherent nothings in his ear. God, she reeked of booze something fierce. He knew she liked her alcohol, but he'd never seen her this plastered before. Hell, he'd be willing to bet an entire jar of shiny silver shekels that no elf has ever gotten this utterly shitfaced before now. Come to think of it, could elves even get properly shitfaced? An important question, no doubt, but one that would have to wait for the time being.

He arrived at Chloe's personal quarters, stopped in front of the red and blue metallic sliding doors, and spoke aloud.

"Override door locks, authorization Crim El Furaga."

There was a brief pause before a digital female voice replied: "AUTHORIZING VOICE PRINT >>>>> ANALYZING >>>>> CAPTAIN CRIM EL FURAGA RECOGNIZED >>>>> LOCK OVERRIDE >>>>> ACCESS GRANTED."

He stepped through the door and the lights went up, revealing a god awful mess inside, with clothes and empty liquor bottles strewn about all over the place. It looked like a combination between a garbage dump and the aftermath of a frat party.

"Jeez, this is rank even by my standards," he carried Chloe across the room to her bed, swept some empty beer cans off with one hand, and set her down gently, making sure she was on her side so she wouldn't choke if she puked.

She stirred a bit, mumbled something, and began snoring. He stepped back and shook his head.

Id stood at the foot of her bed, partially obscured by shadows, staring at the sleeping form of Chloe.

"Look at this useless cow. What does she even do around here anyway?" He tilted his head and smirked as he looked her over. "Well, I suppose I can see why you keep her around. Ha ha ha. What do you say to having a little fun with her before we go?"

Crim ignored him, turned around, and left.

{BGM: "The Durandal"}

After leaving Chloe's room, Crim stepped out into the corridor and made his way towards his own quarters. The residential area of the ship was actually extremely comfortable, even luxurious, especially by space pirate standards. Well-lit and immaculately maintained thanks to numerous automated systems that kept things clean and orderly at all times. If a guy didn't know any better, he'd swear this was some kind of high-end cruise liner rather than a battleship filled with unsavory space-faring brigands and degenerates.

A short stroll later, Crim entered his own quarters - one of the biggest and best on the ship, of course - and the automated doors slid closed behind him. The lights activated and he was greeted with the familiar sight of his perfectly crafted mess. It actually took effort to maintain this level of organized chaos, since the goddamn ship made it its own goddamned business to try and clean it up. He had to spend a bunch of time rewriting subroutines to keep the ship from coming in every day and ruining his hard work by removing empty bottles and folding clothes.

He walked straight to his favorite chair, an old nasty-looking brown cracked leather recliner that didn't match any of the other bright, modern decor on board. It was a leftover from the original Ygg, one of the only things that he'd been able to recover intact from the wreckage. The most comfortable chair of all time, it was! And it was on this chair that his standard outfit was currently draped all haphazard, just lazing around like always. He removed the gear that he'd been wearing since his previous adventure, grabbed his dark blue slacks, white dress shirt and classic Turk Jacket and quickly put them all on. He then went to his wall, hit a panel with his fist, and stepped back as a hidden compartment housing his equipment revealed itself. He equipped his usual loadout, including his bracers (along with the Materia slotted within) and his ARM, Verklarung, which went concealed under his jacket in a shoulder holster. After filling his pockets with some other stuff (various items or something) and making sure his accessories were in order, he spun on his heel, hit the panel again, and took a quick look in the nearby mirror.

"Yeah, that's the ticket!" he said to himself with a smirk.

It sure felt good to be back.



{BGM: "Singing of the Gentle Wind"}

On the way to the D-Rail (the system that enabled rapid transit within the five kilometer long vessel), Crim decided to take a shortcut through the Nisan Gardens, which was a nature area of sorts. Lush trees and vibrant flowers lined the various intersecting paths, with numerous clear ponds and streams filled with lily pads, amphibians and fish. The Gardens were also home to the Nisan Chapel, where crewmen could come to worship as they desired. As it turned out, many members of the Yggdrasil Crew continued to practice the Nisan Sect's religion, which may or may not be something of a surprise, depending on who you asked.

As he sauntered past the Chapel, he stopped and looked up at the magnificent stained-glass window above the main doors. It was an old-looking building, built that way on purpose in order to evoke sentiments of a bygone era. Even though he himself wasn't religious, he had to admit that it stirred something within, though he couldn't quite place what it was. Something about the depiction of the male and female single-winged angels, one of the central images of the Nisan faith...he wasn't sure, but he felt as if it really meant something.

Shrugging it off just about as quickly as it came, he continued on his way. He had to touch base with Ralf on the bridge. Let him know what he'd found out, and figure out what to do and where to go from here.

{BGM: "Leftovers of the Dreams of the Strong"}

Ralf Grey, the stern, strict, stalwart first mate of the Yggdrasil Space Pirates, sat across from his Captain at the long table located in the center of the tactical meeting room adjacent to the main bridge. The gruff, gray-bearded man leaned forward, his fingers folded in front of his battle and weather-aged face. Coupled with his naval officer's cap, this made only his eyes visible. Those stone-cold dark blue eyes stared across the distance between himself and the red-haired Captain, who sat there grinning, scratching the back of his head as he laughed aloud upon finishing his explanation as to where he had been and what he had been up to for the past several weeks.

Finally, after several moments of silence, Ralf relaxed, shut his eyes, and let out an exasperated sigh.

"You know, Captain, you are far too nonchalant about all this," he said.

"Yeah, maybe," Crim replied with a chuckle, still grinning. "But it's too late to worry about it now. Anyway, it seems like you guys didn't have it so easy either. What did you say this planet was called again? Tyson?"

"Tizon."

"Right, right...and it's some kinda...special place...?"

"I'm not explaining it again. Just go down and see for yourself. Einst and the others are already down there."

"I'm on my way!" Crim stood up and extended his left hand, about to summon a portal directly to the surface, courtesy of Zeeuvia. But before he could do that, Ralf spoke up.

"Hold on. The Tizonians frown upon direct transfer methods. They find it rude. You'll have to take a ship down."

"Eh? Really? That's lame," he started towards the door. "Guess I'll just go check in with ol' Doc Shirokawa first then. Seeya!"

He threw a casual wave as he made his exit, leaving Ralf to sit there and ponder things alone. Crim had been a little light on the details, as usual, but he'd explained things well enough. He got up, moved to the control panel on the nearby wall, and entered his access code. From there, he proceeded to revoke all access rights and protocols connected to Cee. Based on what Crim had told him, it was clear that the android was no longer to be considered welcome aboard the Yggdrasil, and was to be treated as a hostile entity from this point onward. Ralf sighed and shook his head, clearly dismayed at this development, but on some level realizing that it was likely always going to end up this way.



Back down in the Gear Hangar, Crim paid the good Doc Shirokawa a visit and found him, as usual, tinkering away on some kind of bullshit or other. Looked like another doomsday device or possibly a cutting-edge next-generation popcorn machine. Maybe both. He walked up behind the old coot and tapped him on the shoulder.

"Hey, old man."

"Gyaaah!" Shirokawa leaped into the air with a crazed yelp. "Don't approach me from that vector, you educated-stupid jack-booted thug!"

"Hahaha, man, you're funny as ever. Anyway, what kind of mechs do you have for me?"

"Bah! Go use one of the ones out in the hangar and leave me be!"

Crim's eyes narrowed. "Listen here, old man, I'm bored of those ones, okay? So gimme something new." He looked around the expansive yet cluttered space of the lab. "What's under that tarp over there?"

"That?" the doc adjusted his spectacles. "Ah yes, that. Well, that's just junk. But you can have it if you want."

Crim was already walking towards it. He grabbed the tarp and yanked it off, revealing a beautiful pile of 'junk', indeed...



"Sweet! What is it?"

"This is the Tallgeese Mk3X. Made it out of spare parts. Bah! Don't know what I was thinking. Go ahead and take it if you want it, idiot."

"Yes, do want," Crim said as he jumped up into the cockpit and sat down. "Let's start this bad boy up!"

{BGM: "White Reflection"}

The cockpit hatch clamped shut as the Geardam's optics lit up with vibrant green light. It took a step forward, the sound of metal on metal echoing throughout the hangar. After running a quick diagnostic and adjusting the unit's settings to his custom preferences, Crim guided his new machine out of the lab and onto the linear catapult platform to prepare for launch.

"Yo, open the hatch, I'm headin' out!"

"Yes, Captain," replied the voice of an operator over the comm. "Launching in three...two...one...launch!"

The linear catapult lit up as it propelled the Tallgeese Mk3X at just under the speed of sound out into space. Upon leaving the confines of the ship, Crim immediately gunned the engines and fired the twin mega verniers mounted on the machine's back. They split open and unleashed a bright flash of blue-white energy that caused the machine to surge forward at hypervelocity, careening towards the planet below.

"Now...where are they, anyhow?" Crim muttered to himself as his mecha began to enter the atmosphere, leaving a comet-like trail of white and blue-tinted energy in his wake.

{BGM: “Perfect Time”}

Einst had made a bee-line for the hotel the ‘Crew had been staying in, knowing that he would find either Sanger or Ratsel or both, most likely at the bar. Sanger especially was taking their extended “shore-leave” as an opportunity to unwind in full, having found a particularly close alternative to traditional sake brewed locally. Sure enough he found Sanger and Ratsel enjoying a few glasses and he immediately walked up and took a seat at their table.

He told them about the ship he’d been gifted, and that it was the perfect opportunity for the Crew to go on an adventure—hopefully one with a bit more exploration and treasure hunting than fighting off hordes of big baddies. The two were excited and expressed their interest in going, even going so far as to start naming off others they thought might want to go. Einst smiled, relieved to see he wasn’t the only one excited about the new ship and the chance to see more of the planet.

All was going well, and he’d ordered himself a glass of what he called tea. He’d only taken a few sips when he felt the sudden arrival of a certain Captain, causing him to give pause and “zone out”. Ratsel and Sanger kept chatting on for a few moments before noticing that Einst was visibly distracted.

“So he’s finally awake huh? It’s about damn time...”

Returning his attention to present company, Einst smirked and downed the rest of his tea, much to Ratsel’s horror.

“Well boys, looks like the Captain is back. I’m gonna go welcome him to the city.”

With a slight nod of his head he dismissed himself from the table, turned toward the exit and paused. If anyone had been watching him closely, they’d see the almost devious grin spread across his face before he effectively vanished. This time he didn’t bother with teleporting or any of that nonsense, he wanted Crim to see him coming—even going so far as to vastly lift the effect of his Divine Shield-EX. Sure, he was still at rest and concealing the lion’s share of his power, but now he’d be a whole lot easier to pick out from a crowd.

Of course, there was more to his sudden departure than simply wanting to greet the Captain. He wanted to make sure the crazy bastard didn’t get swarmed by the local security forces, considering the Captain had a certain fondness for flashy entrances. Sure enough, Einst saw the form of a Geardam making entry and headed directly for port. He was clear across the city and was, for the most part, approaching at a leisure pace, giving time for the Geardam to set down and release its hatch for Crim to exit. While there was no real need for him to hurry he did so anyways, deciding to pick up the pace by several factors, using the situation as an opportunity to flex a little bit.
Moments after Crim turned around and started “looking” for Einst, he arrived—his movement bringing with him a massive surge of wind, kicking up debris in near similar fashion as the Captain’s own arrival had. He had come to a stop in a manner that left him standing as though he’d been there the whole time, left hand resting on the hilt of his not so shiny new stick. His vibrant gaze settled on Crim after glancing over the form of the Geardam. It looked much more subtle and lackluster compared to the Captain’s usual flair, but if anyone knew such things didn’t matter with a man like him it was Einst. Even after how much time it had really been from the White Swordsman’s perspective, he hadn’t forgotten how Crim rolled.

That was something the Red Lightning was sure to pick up on. The way Einst looked at him was as if he hadn’t seen him in ages. Both of them had fought on separate fronts during the battle to retake Vestusio, and unfortunately both had fallen victim to different outcomes. Crim had apparently fallen unconscious and was only now waking up—Einst had his doubts about that, as something seemed…strange, but he figured he’d learn what really happened before too long. On the other hand, Einst had been caught in the mysterious force that ejected the invaders, which he learned was due to the Tenrai Hibiki and its influence over him. He since learned how to subdue the blade’s hold over him and assume complete mastery of the weapon, but the place he went was unlike any other he’d been. Time passed differently—for him, he’d been gone for roughly 100 years while here in the Omniverse only a few months had passed. It wasn’t a leisure vacation either. Einst looked slightly aged, more weathered, tremendously calmer, and all around just had a completely different vibe about him. His piercing gaze didn’t harbor the violence it once did, yet his presence felt more threatening than ever. Then there was the manner in which he moved being vastly more refined as well as just…different. Einst was graceful before, but there was an unnatural feel to how he executed his movements. Now it was almost as if his body moved of its own volition, natural and unconstrained by thought. Of course, only someone like Crim would notice such things and none of that really mattered in the here and now.

“Well, well…it’s about damn time Sleeping Beauty.”

Just as he spoke, Einst’s ArcSphere pulsed, which he pulled from his inner coat pocket. It was the minister of defense, as expected. The voice at the other end seemed to be pretty worked up, though it’d be a stretch to really call it furious. While holding the sphere in front of him, Einst just smiled and assured the minister that everything was fine.

“I apologize Minister…he’s one of us and means no harm—he just doesn’t have a clue what’s going on.”

“You pirates sure know how to ruffle our feathers you know that? Please try to keep your people at least somewhat in line??”

“Oh, you mean like not suddenly blasting through the sky in a war machine?” Einst grinned, shooting a glance to Crim.

“Hoo! If you don’t mind!”

The transmission ended and Einst couldn’t help but laugh as he put the sphere away.

“Don’t mind them, they just prefer a little warning if we’re going to launch mechs from our ship down to the planet is all. They’re a very….private sort of bunch.”

Einst walked up to Crim and extended his hand, expressing his genuine happiness to see him back. It’d really been too long, and there was a lot for the two to do. Despite his happiness, Einst was analyzing everything about the Captain, almost as though he were looking for something in particular.

After listening to all of Crim’s questions, Einst laughed briefly before answering….some, of what the Captain asked.

“Ha ha, I guess you get used to it after a while. The world we’re on is called Tizon, and the bird folk are Tizonians, and the city we’re in is called Kandis. Eventually you’ll see other races here and there, along with other humans that managed to find this place. But! First thing’s first, we need a drink!”

Einst pointed over his shoulder with a thumb and motioned for the Captain to follow. The two headed off to a nearby watering hole, a rather famous bar known as The Broken Wing. It had the strongest spirits in all of Kandis, hence its name as “Those who drink here, can’t fly for two days”. Einst had been saving this place for a special occasion, and the return of the Captain certainly qualified for that.

After entering to a room full of loud drunken bird-folk singing and squawking their favorite melodies, the two found an empty table. Einst held up two fingers, signaling the keep to bring two of his regulars which were served almost immediately. Despite the busy appearance, most of the patrons were too smashed to really press the staff. The two clanked mugs and took hefty sips off the stout ale. Cold as ice, it was damn good stuff—strong too.

“Ah! Much better. Now, where were we…?”

Crim let out a sigh of approval, “slamming” the mug back to the table.

“You were gonna tell me what the score is!”

“Oh yeah! So, about that—there’s not really a score. I’m guessing you haven’t talked to anyone other than Ralf, and he probably left all the explaining up to me…?”

“Yup.”

“Alright…So, this place is something of a sanctuary for knowledge. The people here study all things big and small, from magic to advanced technology—hell, some of their stuff is probably better than our equivalents. That said, there’s a lot of abandoned locations all over the planet that hold ancient secrets…forgotten treasure, that kinda thing.”

While Einst paused to take another swig, the Captain looked to be pretty disappointed. He was clearly looking to get back to some good ol’ piracy. That was understandable, and truth be told he wasn’t the only one.

“Don’t worry, I’ve saved the best part for last. Sure we’ve made friends with these people, this city in particular, but there’s some adventure to be had! See, I’ve been here for a while, long before the rest of the Crew showed up actually. After the incident during the close of the battle at Vestusio I wound up here—I’ve had time to look around, learn things. You really came back at the perfect time because I just got us a new ship to try out!”

Crim’s eyes lit up. That’s his old pal he remembered!

“A new ship huh?! That’s great!”

“Yup! It’s a rare one too because it’s not unlike the Yggdrasil. It can sail in both water and the sky, and I know just the place I want to go look for!”

Finishing their drinks, the keep served them another round while the two continued to chat. Einst explained how there was a legend of an entire continent in the sky that, for all of their technology and magic, the Tizonian’s have never found it. Legend told of the continent being hidden in plain sight, somewhere toward the “center of the seas”. For centuries they took the words literally, looking all about the oceans of Tizon for this rumored continent. That legend was originally responsible for the mapping of the world, and each of the various societies meeting one another.

A small number of explorers believe the continent exists somewhere high in the sky, though most Tizonian’s dismiss it. With the level of their technology, and the fact they themselves can fly, the idea sounds as far fetched as they come—to most. For some reason, Einst is certain he can find it, and wants to bring the crew along for the ride. After he finished explaining what this adventure was going to be, and promising him all the loot he could shake a stick at, the two had their third drinks served. That’s when Einst decided to circle back to the topic of what the hell happened at Vestusio.

“So, from what the Crew tells me, we effectively won Vestusio. Whatever that thing was that got rid of all those bastards—well, it got me too. Apparently it didn’t think I belonged.”

“Weird, where’d ya go?”

“Killiak’s homeworld, all thanks to the Tenrai’s hold over me.”

“Whaaat?! You made it back alive??”

“That’s just the thing, the ‘Zeranian’s’ are actually a pretty peaceful race. They’ve had wars and disputes along the way explaining their mastery over martial arts, but they’re actually really nice. One in particular took me under his wing after I refused to give up during my “punishment”. They might be nice, but I’ve never met a more Xenophobic bunch.”

Crim was understandably surprised to hear where Einst had been. He never heard of anything regarding that bastard’s homeworld, so it was definitely interesting stuff!

“I spent roughly 100 years there. That’s how long it took me to essentially earn my freedom, which really just means graduate from the training. Needless to say, a lot has changed for me...”, Einst’s voice trailed off. It wasn’t like his mind was warped from the passage of so much time, especially considering how old he was to begin with. But, he clearly had something gnawing at the back of his mind. With a shake of his head he gestured toward Crim.

“What about you? Where did you ‘go’? I have a hard time believing that you were stuck in a coma the last few months.”

{BGM: “The Very, Very, Very Strongest”}

When Crim showed off his new Rune Einst grinned before downing his drink, letting out a loud, satisfied sigh. He really loved the drink here, but he was also pleased to see that the Captain came back with at least one new goody. Really, he expected nothing less. After his next drink came, his focus shifted immediately as Crim asked him what was on his mind. For all his skill with concealment techniques, he didn’t manage to hide well enough that something was weighing on his mind. Something serious, at the least, and now that he was back it’d have to be sorted out before they set out on this new adventure.

“Yeah, you could say that”, Einst started. He propped his forearms lazily on the table, before nodding his head and gesturing toward the Captain’s smokes, silently asking for one. He wasn’t a known smoker, but there was a time or two he had been seen doing so. Personal choice really, reminded him too much of a certain demon that had a tendency to pester him. The Captain obliged, taking another sip off his mug as he waited.

Lighting the smoke with a brief spark of magic flame, Einst took a heavy drag and exhaled slowly.

“We might have won in the end but what happened at Vestusio was a mess. We’re always barely skidding across the line with them. Given my…unique experience after, well….Let’s just say my perspective has changed. It’s changed a fuck-ton.”

He took another drag and another large swig of his drink.

“I don’t want that to happen to us again, and I know you don’t either. My supposed brother thinks this place has answers for us—whatever, we’re not going to get where we need with some new tricks or toys. What we need, is to get stronger. A whole helluva lot stronger. More than that, the Crew needs a strong leader—and I need to make sure you’re still exactly that, Captain. One fight, to test both our limits, so we can finally end this war once and for all.”

It wasn’t an easy question for him, as he didn’t want his concern misinterpreted as mutiny. He liked to believe Crim was smarter than that, but this was important to him so he wasn’t making any assumptions. In the brief time the Captain was gone, the so-called brother of his managed to pick up some characters whom weren’t quite up to snuff. Since his reuniting with the Crew, Einst was essentially on a mission to help strengthen the Crew as a whole. Now that Crim had come back to them from being down for the count, Einst felt obligated to test him—to his absolute fullest.

He continued to take drags off the smoke between swigs of his ale.

{BGM: “Elevation”}


The Captain’s response was spot on, precisely what Einst expected. He grinned through the last drag of his smoke and watched the Captain get up excitedly, jumping immediately into some seemingly random warm up sequence. Despite all the time that had passed since he’d been gone, Einst still remembered—he still remembered that there was a reason Crim was Captain. He knew better than to fall for his charade, and that if he let his guard down for even an instant that the Captain he remembered could and would capitalize on it. The point of his challenge wasn’t to test the Captain’s basic ability in some non-sensical bar-brawl, and the Captain knew that. This was about moving forward, out of their rut and through U-TIC.

Not one to waste time, Einst stood up and left their payment on the table before stepping around and facing Crim. The rest of the patrons had cleared the center of the bar and watched on eagerly yet cautiously. The White One, as they had come to call him, was known for being exceptionally...dangerous. So when he then proceeded to bow deeply in front of the red-haired “new guy”, they were understandably confused.

Then everything seemed to get screwy. The air grew thick with the presence of magic as not just the tables, the floors and chairs began to shake—the space between it all was shaking “uncontrollably”. For all of his training and mastery of swordsmanship, Einst was still an exceptionally gifted mage, one of the best on the Crew in fact. That fact was reaffirmed as Einst cast his unique take on teleportation.

The bar and everything in and around it settled and the two warriors were gone from sight, with only their patronage left behind.

As for the Captain and Einst, they were no longer on Tizon whatsoever. The White Swordsman had transported them to a fairly distant planet, though not outside the reach of the Yggdurandal. Still, it was far enough that it would take the others quite some time to reach them, which was intentional. Einst wanted no distractions above all else, which meant no interruptions either. Sure, they probably could have headed to one of the well-equipped training rooms onboard the ship, but it just wouldn’t have been the same and those machines had limits. While the Captain may have joked about initially, he would see that Einst was quite serious about the matter.

The specific locale of the planet they now stood on was uninhabited, save for the early beginnings of reptilian, insect and plant life (along with bacterial and all that soupy goodness). Furthermore, he’d managed to put them smack dab in the middle of a desert during dusk, the single sun casting an orange and purple glow over the sky. There were some dunes nearby, but they were in something of a basin.

Einst had left behind his coat and picked up two new items, those being his enormous Valkyrie and the much smaller but equally deadly Tenrai Hibiki. He still carried his actually-new sword, the Ochitsuita, and that was it. No bracers, no magic-coat, nothing but his swords and the usual clothing on his back. Staring fiercely at the Captain whom was casually taking in his surroundings, Einst finally spoke up.

“That’s better...now we can get on with it.”

He pulled the wooden handled blade from its sheath, revealing the masterpiece in all its glory. There was no slumbering beast, no demonic or angelic souls or Gods residing within the sword. It looked and felt like just an ordinary sword with extraordinary craftsmanship. Once drawn, Einst held it in his usual fashion—that being the stance for his infamous thrusting technique. Even though he had a near endless pool of new tricks to show the Captain, he hadn’t cast off his older styles. Settled, he gave one last cue before getting underway.

“Now, defend yourself!”

The White Swordsman exploded forward, sending the point of his blade straight for the Captain’s sternum with tremendous power and even more astonishing speed. The Captain he remembered would have had plenty of time to prepare, see it coming, form a plan and execute. Even so, it wasn’t a move to take lightly and Einst delivered without hesitation. He may not have been going “all out”, but that didn’t mean much. However which way the Captain responded, Einst jammed his now-leading foot into the earth, calling on his old techniques to fully deliver the power of his speed and strength through to the tip of his blade without over-shooting the Captain’s position.




Vestusio had seen so much fighting it was becoming difficult to keep track of what number was the most recent. Whichever it was, Ed’s Captains had showed up and attempted to stop the invasion and send U-TIC back from where they came, all while looking for their Lord whom had gone missing. While it appeared they were getting the job done, albeit slowly, the trio of Alex, Killiak and his assistant Ardent proved to be too much. As fate would have it, none other than the one they’d been searching for showed up just in time to save their lives—and he brought a friend, Calibri.

Edward held his own against Killiak blow for blow for several rounds. In fact, their battle was beginning to take a toll on their surroundings, causing Edward to utilize the ability of his Head Mage to send them outside city limits. In the outskirts of the city, Edward was able to dole out more and more power, keeping Killiak on a regular defensive at least for a short time. Then in his usual fashion, Killiak catapulted the battle into a frenetic rhythm that forced Edward to essentially pull out all the stops. Each clash transcended the previous, with Edward fighting just to stay alive. Whatever the Commandant had been putting in his wheaties was certainly working. The details of the battle were repeating in the Knight’s mind as Calibri traversed the Jade Horizon, following a distant light which he’d called forth to lead them to their allies.

Eventually the duo made it to the other side. Edward was fading in and out for most of the trip, but the Jade Horizon was rapidly restoring his stamina from…

1.

He had put literally every last ounce of strength both physical and ethereal into his final attack, nearly dying in the process. If it wasn’t for his status, he easily would have kicked the bucket. It would take a long time for him to fully recover, accelerated by the Horizon including. At least by the time they reached their destination he was able to stay awake. He let the girl do all the talking up until Violet addressed him directly. Never one to be rude, Edward forced himself to dismount Arka. His armor shifted, and the broken helm was finally annoying him too much to bear and so he removed it. His face was covered in what looked like soot and ash, blood mixed with jade liquid showing in an open wound traveling from just beneath his left eye down along his throat. He would save them the horror of the sight of his physical body, as the pain he felt ensured the damage was much worse beneath what remained of his plate mail and chains. His leggings were shattered in various places, with sections of the same manner of wound extending down either leg. In fact, just about the only piece of his ensemble not thoroughly wrecked was the Jade Gauntlet—pristine as ever, though it seemed dimmer than usual.

Once on his feet, he looked down at the ‘girl’ with his cold, diamond gaze and forced a smile as he spoke. His voice was harsh, twisted with an otherworldly echo as magic filled what the physical could not.

“Thank you dear. I’m glad my life aboard the ship is amusing to you.”

“Oh yes! Like when you launched yourself out of the mech hangar?! That was amazing! A man, from a mech catapult!”

“Ha ha ha...well, that was truly a mistake. This is a large ship after all.”

The two walked on down the hall a short way before Calibri caught up, while Arka walked slowly beside Edward. His steps were just slightly shaky, but steady enough that he was able to make the trip to the infirmary. The nurses saw him to a room immediately, where they began carefully removing his armor and treating his wounds enough so that he would hopefully stop bleeding. Ralf had been notified of the new arrivals, and the nature of the report gave him concern enough to head down and see them for himself. Ed hadn’t spent too much time with the crew, but he had been there through some rough patches with them. He recalled that he had gone missing during the fighting on Vestusio, and for him to come back in such serious condition...well, surely something big must have happened, which made the new friend he brought along extremely interesting.

{BGM: "Bar Song"}

As they passed by the patio area near a dockside bar on their way to the ship, Crim grinned ear to ear as he reunited with his crew members. He slapped Craven on the back and then went to Ratsel and Sanger to put his arms over shoulders, laughing and goofing off as if he didn't have a single care in the world. He dragged them into the patio of the bar and festive piano music started playing in the background as he snagged a giant frosty mug of ale from a passing tray to add to the celebrations, clanking it against a random bird-person's mug. The bird-person seemed surprised at first, but the Captain's attitude was apparently infectious, and within seconds, several of the bird-people were joining in, dancing and drinking with the Captain and his rowdy pirate friends as people passed by on the street, looking on with wonder and bemusement. Seeing him now, nobody would have any clue that Crim had just been through a battle that could have leveled an entire town. His capacity for changing gears was truly remarkable.

The time for adventure was close at hand. All that remained was to gather the remaining Crew members here on the surface and make their way back to that fancy flying ship that Einst had so graciously procured for them. Crim didn't know what was in store for them here, but he had a feeling it was going to be fun as hell, and that would be its own reward. Of course, getting some loot out of it never hurt anybody...

An Unexpected Visitor

Aerodynamic noise vibrates and pushes shear force against the space shuttle as it climbs farther and farther into the atmosphere. On its ascent into space, the craft continues to climb assisted by the increasing thrust to accelerate. Rafael is casually sitting back on his chair, reading Terran Times as the shuttle exits the planet’s atmosphere. The Terran had spent weeks with his mentor rebuilding towns in his home planet, and now it was time to return to the university and continue his studies. The Terran had new leads and a plethora of new samples for his ongoing research. This had been the longest amount of time he had spent away from school to take care of personal business.

A World Unknown

The flight for the most part was as smooth as it could have been. Raf was eager to return to his studies, passing the time with reading or browsing the internet on his smartphone. Absorbed in an app, he had not realized that in one moment, he was sitting in the confines of his chair in the fuselage, and the next he was falling on his back with full force onto solid ground. With a heavy thud, he crash-landed on his back and rolled onto his stomach to orient himself. It was unexpected and downright annoying. His phone slid away, cracked and covered in dust. Confusion was mounting while he frantically looked around at his surroundings. He was…in a different world it seemed. At least, it appeared that way. He found himself in a harbor connecting to a large city littered with bird creatures that looked like owls?

Raf picked himself up from the ground, glad to know he was at least transported to a less dense part of town where he could take the time to gather his thoughts. His curiosity swept his surroundings - taking note of everything he could see. He stood up, a six-foot tall, olive skinned male with amber eyes, observing his new surroundings. He was unsure how he made it here, unsure what happened to cause him to arrive in this place, and worst of all –

Snap. Snap. Snapsnapsnap.

He couldn’t use his magic. He could however, feel that his nanites remained operational. In some topsy turvy world where he could not utilize an innate ability, he felt naked. At the thought of his inability to summon magic, he clapped his hands together to try and summon his katana. As he separated his hands, the familiar image of his sword began to materialize unaffected by this non-magic block. His body felt a bit off, and perhaps it may have been a combination of both confusion and extreme conditions of moving against g-forces and then suddenly dropping onto the surface of this world. He would need to get to the bottom of this mystery, but where to begin? Without much to go on, he chose a path and began to walk into the heart of the city. Patting off dust as he walked along, he could not help but to stare at the bird people as he passed. Raf noticed early on that he might have been one of the only humans here, visibly at least. Uncertain looks came from all angles, and Raf ignored them all as he walked along the streets of this bustling city. He coincidentally entered the closest establishment upon entering the busier part of town. It was a bar, a loud bar.

“Of all the places, I chose to walk into a bar. I might as well see if anyone understands me.” Raf thought to himself. Rafael had encountered several situations like these in the past, sans instant teleportation. It was instant, but he could understand the common language with several of the bird folk here as well as a boisterous group at the bar high tops. To learn more information, he thought it may serve to patiently take a moment and relax. He closed the door behind him, approached the bar counter, and occupied the nearest open seat. The bartender was out of sight, the group of ruffians were loud and ill mannered, and he suddenly felt an urgent thirst. His mouth was dry, he cleared his throat, and quietly observed. No use in panicking after all, he pulled out his smartphone to check if it still worked.

Sunlight made its presence known over the graceful elf who had for the first time in many a year, overslept. Perhaps it was simply because Shieanyth was not in an actual bed that had resulted in this issue, slumped over a desk full of papers everywhere and ink staining her otherwise pristine skin. The warmth of the light eventually caused a stir, before sapphire orbs peaked open. The hue of her eyes swirled in the reflection of light as she gazed around the room she was in, eventually coming to sit up and rouse her sleep-crusted eyes. An hour or so was spent on the familiar morning routine, including her communion on this strange world. Nature there was unexpected and hard to connect to, yet here she was trying..

Shieanyth was quick to clean up her scribbled papers, full of spells and lore from her own world. Regardless of her longevity, that didn't make remembering all the things on her travels easy, nor did remembering things from her past. It could have been a case that the blue-haired beauty didn't wish to store the knowledge and wanted to make space in her own mind for these new adventures. Taking a deep breath, she grabbed her belongings and left the small room, espcaing to the fresh outdoors. Warm feet hit the cool pavement below, causing a shudder. She had forgotten! A little bit of scrounging and sandals were soon placed on.

"Never will I get used to such polluted places." A small whisper to herself.

The hybrid elf wandered down the streets, her gaze meeting the many stalls and shops that were on her way to her destination. Regardless of her late nature, she still took her time to see what was for sale around her. While things were different on each world, there were some familiar smells or similar feelings she got around her. Shieanyth was quick to ignore the majority of people around her that would stop to stare, or crash into things when they ceased looking the direction they were traveling. In fact, there was one particular shop that she stopped by and picked up things at.

These were the closest equivalents to her elven herbs and spices she could find, not for cooking, but for balms and healing paltices. Even sage and incenses for future communion, which would increase her connection to that particular world. It was always in the back of her mind to collect things like this and grow accustomed to the change. One last stop, some vegetation to devour on her way to the transport. Shieanyth could have spotted it even if it was cloaked, she swore sometimes, with the way certain people flew. Shaking her head, she slipped in behind some of the crew, familiar faces to most others where she was not. A stranger was the best to explain this green recruit.

"Boys." Spoken in what would be considered a sultry tone, though there was no emotion or influence behind it.