After the bar closed; after all of the patrons left; the crew was left alone with Rex. Rex went to the back of the bar for a couple minutes without saying anything to the crew. When he came back out, he had an old and torn journal in his right hand. "That Brit came in earlier, demanding that I hand this over to 'em" he said. "It's a family heirloom. You can look, but ye can't touch".
"So, what happened?" Zia asked.
"Twat just barged in 'ere like he owned the place" Rex protests. "Demanded my book, at my bar! This is why I've never liked them brats! They've always had this sense of superiority towards Ireland!".
"... I meant... the book" Zia says. "What happened during The Naris Catastrophe, according to the book?".
"Ah... right" Rex says, a little embarrassed. "Apologies. So, there's not a lot about this man, but there's a lot about the portal. The man simply came 'n went. However, the portal stayed".
"Portal?" Siran asked.
"Aye" Rex says. "The one the man came out of, 'n then disappeared into. Now, I'm taking a shot in the dark here, but I'm assuming this has something ta do with the recent endo poisoning epidemic?".
"That's... right" Siran says.
"Well, the portal remained" Rex says, "albeit, dormant".
"Dormant?" Alex asks. "It... sleeps?".
"Aye" Rex says. "It sleeps. Sometimes it seems to vanish, but ya can just feel it still looming".
"Why hasn't this been reported all around the world yet?" Finn asks.
"It has before" Haru answers. "However, when there was a lack of evidence of it causing a negative impact on the environment, but an instance of people being able to use it as a clean source of energy, it was no longer viewed as a potential problem".
"Someone does their research" Rex compliments.
"It's my job" Haru says.
"Fer the longest time" Rex says, "most people assumed that man was the same hero that took down Naris". Rex then looks right at Siran, and asks "It wasn't you, was it?".
"No, I definitely didn't come through a portal and just vanish" Siran says.
"I thought so too, after reading the journal fer the first time" Rex says. "My great great great grandmother wrote that the man said 'Smells like war' before he left. And that's the only record of anything we have of this man speaking. For a while, I thought that would make sense if people're right about the hero actually doing... well, you've probably heard the bad rumors about yourself".
"Yeah... no, I've... I've heard it all" Siran says, nervously.
"But then I saw ye on the news" Rex says. "When The Six Guns declared war on The Ly'Lum. Something about it just didn't add up. They say you left this world when Naris was defeated, but they were wrong. Why would a man say in hiding 'n help push back against The Ly'Lum if he were actually as bad as people said he was?".
"You're giving me entirely too much credit for having such little evidence..." Siran says.
"Learn to take a compliment, you ass" Zia says as she elbows Siran in the ribs.
"Then they claimed something terrible happened ta Omnia" Rex says. "They called it a war crime. Said ye destroyed homes, killed civilians, and recently, they've been saying you're responsible for the crater there as well as the large amount of endo polluting the place... but... I don't see it".
"Probably because you're like halfway across the world, and can't see that far..." Siran says.
"No, I mean... in yer eyes" Rex says. "Something else happened, didn't it?".
"This doesn't concern you" Siran says.
"I've heard rumors" Rex begins to say.
"People talk all of the time" Siran interrupts.
"Naris came back, didn't he?" Rex asks. The crew fell silent for a moment. "So he did...".
"How'd you figure that out?" Blake asks. "I was there, and even I didn't get to see it!".
"How'd people begin to spread these type of rumors?" Holly asks.
"They say there were more people there" Rex says. "Either in the city, near it, or far away... I imagine it'd be rather difficult to miss a giant fucking black beast".
"Yeah, well..." Siran says, "it's taken care of now... this time, for good. Now, about this mystery man from a portal?".
Rex opens up the journal to a page marked with a silk bookmark. "Lady Laila, my great great great grandmother, gave a short description fer the man. He simply came 'n went. Red hair, tall, angry lookin', apparently a total disregard for talking ta people... avoided Laila like the plague".
"Strange..." Siran says.
"Sounds like somebody we've met before" Zia says.
"Then, do you know what you wanna do now?" Rex asks. "Was this information what you came for?".
"It's good enough, thanks" Siran says. "For now, we also need to check on that Endo-Stream. We've got to find a way to cut these things down so we don't all die".
"Before ye go!" Rex shouts to the crew as they begin to leave. Rex holds out a hand to shake Siran's hand, then says "Good luck... some of us're still bettin' on ya".
"Well, he was at least nice like they said" Vivi says as the whole crew walks away from the bar. "But we still don't have enough information to know where to go from here".
"I think after we fix the endo situation here" Siran says, "we should work on revisiting all of the other Endo-Streams and fixing those too. At the very least, we know they're tied to these streams, and it just might make them move if we tamper with it".
"As for our culprit?" Rose asks. "I'm not sure I'm catching on. You think you know who appeared during The Naris Catastrophe?".
"There's only one asshole I can think of that fits that description" Siran says.
"Then... who is it?" Rose asks.
"Ares" Dolos says as he approaches him. He, Ares, Eris and Zeus were sitting on a mountaintop, high above the clouds, where no one could disturb them. "I've looked into the places where Naris has left the most endo during his attacks here. However, the most recent one has already been tampered with. No doubt the work of one of those Valhallan gods".
"And the other?" Ares asks. "Keep in mind, this will help us greatly in our task to restore Zeus back to full strength".
"The other is in this place called America" Dolos answers. "It's apparently where Naris first appeared".
"Shall we head there immediately?" Eris asks Zeus.
"I'm growing impatient" Zeus says, "but yet, we must remain careful and make sure we don't allow those pests to track us. If they get in our way, they may continue to keep setting us back". Zeus stands up, then lazily points with his finger. A sudden blast of endo opens up a rift, as well as destroying some of the surrounding area of the mountaintop. "We have plenty of the shards. If it weren't for that wimpy fox, I could've destroyed Chronos fully long ago. As much as I don't want to give Chronos a way to restore himself, if we bring the shards together, we can recombine the universes back to its original state. We need only one shard of Chronos to remain, so that time can continue to move forward. Dispose of the rest when we finish. We've yet to create the perfect balance between the mortals and immortals, and claim our rightful spot above them all. No Chronos is going to stop us from achieving that, and no more gods shall be sacrificed for that despicable god's hunger".
"And about the Great Creator?" Dolos asks. "What if he steps in?".
"If he wanted to stop me, he would've done so ages ago" Zeus replies. "Nobody has ever as much as seen the Great Creator".
"Dolos, don't worry about something so unnecessary" Ares says. "In fact, I'd like to propose a small change of plan".
"And that is?" Zeus asks.
"Dolos, don't use your endo on the drones anymore" Ares says. "Allow me to use my power on the humans, if we're to truly utilize them for war. Those Valhallans are going to keep getting in our way, and what's more, that Ishmael is here too".
"That tiny fox creature is here?" Zeus asks.
"He's a human now" Ares says. "Just a human and nothing more. Let me take care of him and his human friends. Let's fight fire with fire... humans to take care of other humans".
"Make sure you don't screw it up again" Eris says.
"I'm the god of war" Ares says. "It's my domain to work with these kind of bastards".
"Are you sure, Agent Holland?" Asks a man over the phone.
"It's confirmed" Thomas says back over the phone, as he's sitting in a helicopter, heading back to Great Britain. "The Six Guns have been found at every site of new and old Endo-Streams reported. All of them, except for the one in Russia".
"The one in Russia is very remote" the man on the other end of the phone says.
"Right, so it may be possible they just weren't caught being there" Thomas says. "But get this. The wastelands between Egypt and Israel had the largest stream, and it was confirmed that The Six Guns were in that location at the time it was opened. They definitely have to have some hand in this epidemic".
"Some of the civilians claim The Six Guns are trying to close the streams" the man says.
"Likely a farce" Thomas says. "I'm not sure what their angle is. Maybe they're causing a catastrophe, just to solve it and look like heroes. There has to be a catch".
"Anything else you can report, agent?" The man asks.
"Nothing on my end, sir" Thomas replies.
"Thank you for your work, agent" the man says. "While some of the masses may have this sense of kinship to this rogue group, I'm sure they're up to no good. I'm putting in the order to utilize MI6 agents everywhere, and put an APB on The Six Guns crew".
"Did more information come up?" Thomas asks.
"I have all of the information I need now" the man says. "With your confirmation, as well as allied intel, we have enough evidence to lock all of them up for life. Return for debrief, then prepare for another brief. I want you to shadow that rogue group. I want them to know they're not safe. I want them scared, paranoid, broken... and I want them alive".
"Yes, sir!" Thomas replies.
"According to our recent conference with the SAT in Japan" the man says, "The Six Guns were there at the location of the Endo-Stream there as well. An agent of theirs even defected, and is now one of them. A Haru Nakamura. Even Japan, once one of that group's biggest allies has deployed arms against them. Even without the details about those events, it's enough to know that something big is happening. Something big, and The Six Guns are behind it. Our main goal for capture is to extract that information, Agent Holland. That's why I need them alive. Bring them in, and extract that information as painfully as humanly possible".
"I really wouldn't recommend that" Loki says to Athena, as he, Athena and Loki's brothers travel together through the giant forest. "Ishmael- I... I mean... Siran doesn't exactly like us".
"What do you mean?" Athena asks. "He's an enemy after all?".
"No!" Loki says. "No no no no no, it's not that, but-".
"But he'd rather see us dead... isn't that right?" Athena asks.
Loki fell silent, and it was quiet amongst the group for about two seconds. Then, Thor spoke up. "I believe you two are exaggerating the situation" he says. "Siran doesn't like us. But he doesn't hate us. It's not like personal relationships have to be a matter of liking or killing someone".
"So, we can go talk to this Siran person, and investigate this son of his?" Athena asks. "This... new God Slayer?".
"Well... erm- I don't think he'd take kindly to that" Thor says. "We shouldn't work together-".
"Why not?" Athena interrupts.
"Yet..." Thor says. "We shouldn't work together yet. He feels lied to by us. After all, he did learn about our identities, and refuses to believe us. I imagine he'd have a hard time believing anything we try to say or do for him. Give it time, and some effort. We can't rush it".
"We don't have the luxury of time" Athena says. "In fact, it's even father time's fault that we're in this mess".
"Even so" Loki says, "Thor is right. We have too many enemies already. We don't need those humans trying to kill us too!".
"Look" Athena says sternly, "I'm going to meet this Ishmael person, and I'm going to have a little chat with this God Slayer. I need to confirm a few things for myself". Athena then plants her shield onto the ground and extends both arms forwards. A small portal slowly forms without causing any damage to the surrounding area. "You can either stay here or come with. Your choice". Then Athena disappears into the portal.
"Tch" Meili says. "Shit... she's really not giving us a choice".
"We can stay behind and watch Siran kill Athena" Yngvi says.
"We will do no such thing" Thor says.
"I knew you'd say something like that" Loki says as he takes a deep breath and rubs the back of his neck. "Alright, you big oaf. Let's follow her, and try to pull her out of any bad situation".
Athena and the rest appear in front of Vivi's house in Seeira. Without knocking, Athena forces the door open, and immediately looks around. "Who the hell are you?" Demetri asks.
"Where's Ishmael?" Athena demands.
"Ishmael?" Demetri asks.
"His name is Siran now" Loki whispers.
"Sorry... Siran" Athena says. "Where's Siran?".
"Not here" Demetri says as he goes back to working on a project at Vivi's desk. "Come back other time. Or don't come back. I do not care".
"Someone's looking for dad?" Silas asks as he comes out from the hallway, into the living room. "Who is- oh, it's that one weird guy... Laurence, I think".
"Uhhh" Loki says nervously. "Heyyy?".
"No way" Athena says to herself as her eyes were locked into Silas.
"Is something wrong?" Silas asks. "Is dad okay?".
"You" Athena says as she continues to stare at Silas. "I need you to come with me".
"What? No... bunch of weirdos..." Silas replies.
"That wasn't a question" Athena says as she stomps into the house. "That was an order".
Immediately as Athena passes through the door, the metallic sounds of a gun being unholstered and held against the side of her head were heard. Without looking over or taking her gaze off of Silas, Athena suddenly stood still, as she felt the cold steel of a gun being pressed against her head. "Are you here on business or pleasure?" Ali asks.
"Purely business" Athena says without moving or turning her head.
"That's too bad" Ali says as the buzzing sound of endo being loaded into her gun rang in Athena's ears. "Because I'm here for pleasure".
"Whoa whoa whoa!" Loki says as he slowly walks into the house with his hands up.
Ali pulls out a second gun and aims it at Loki, without taking her eyes off of Athena. "I'm going to need you to leave now".
"Hold on! Chill!" Loki says. "Athena, look. We can't just go around and kidnap people!".
"Why not?" Athena asks. "You've done it".
Loki holds up his hand as if he were prepared to respond to Athena. However, he just paused as his fingers slowly loosened and went limp, as he suddenly lost his ability to speak. "I think I may be of some assistance" Thor says as he and the other brothers enter the house. "Let's make a compromise. The kid is special. Both to us and to you. We need to learn something that I'm sure might interest you all as well. So, how about we talk to the kid, but here in this room where you all can watch. We do not come with bad intentions. I'm sorry if we seemed hostile".
"Yeah, hostile is one word for it" Ali scoffs.
"What would you call it?" Athena asks with a smirk.
"Pedophilia" Ali quickly answers. Suddenly, Athena's smirk quickly vanished.
"Look, I'm sorry this woman is a little nuts" Loki says.
"A little nuts!?" Athena asks.
"I'm sorry" Loki says. "Okay, she's completely insane. We apologize for our friend".
"Hey!" Athena protests.
"Look, we've met before, Silas" Loki says. "I'm not your enemy, nor your dad's enemy. We just need to figure out something... deal?".
"The kid stays here" Ali says.
"I can agree to those terms" Athena says.
"And no fighting in house" Demetri says. "Vivi will kill me".
The Six Guns began to leave Ireland after a few days. The machine Benjie and Vivi designed was working, and the endo levels were returning to normal. However, as they were leaving town, Haru received a call on her phone. After a while of talking, the crew could hear Haru say "Are you sure? Yeah... alright, thanks for the heads up. Keep your heads low and don't do anything to stand out. I'm counting on you".
"Who was that?" Blake asks.
"My old squad mates" Haru says, "and currently our best source of intel on Japan's movements".
"Bad news?" Alex asks.
"I'm afraid so" Haru says. "The SAT has began to deploy against us. They're making their move to stop us after considering us enemies. I'm afraid we'll have to worry about avoiding conflicts more often".
"What else can go wrong?" Alex asks.
The sounds of distantly approaching helicopters grew louder as the helicopters grew closer. Suddenly, the helicopters stopped right above The Six Guns crew. As the side doors slid open and rope was dropped down from the helicopters, agents and soldiers rappelled down from the helicopters, surrounded the crew, and drew their weapons. The crew was now surrounded, with countless weapons pointed at them. "Well..." Finn says, "at least it's not raining...".
Agent Thomas Holland rappelled down from the final helicopter and approached the crowd of soldiers. The soldiers moved out of his way as he came face to face with Siran. "Remember me?" He asks as he uncurls the cuffs of his shirt. "I'm going to have to ask you to come with me. Each and every one of you Six Guns members".