Meanwhile; in Seeira; Vivi, Satomi, Mikoto, Tanya, Robin and Ying ran into the last bit of trouble they expected to see. Demetri remained at the shop as the children were at school. During this time, the rest patrolled around outside of the town near the border between Seeira and Omnia. Seeira remained peaceful, so it seemed strange to Vivi when she spotted a soldier in a familiar uniform. As the crew got closer, they found a checkpoint at the border of Ly'Lum soldiers. "There's no way..." Vivi says.
"Ly'Lum?" Tanya asks. "Here? Now? How'd they manage to set that up under our noses!? Who's funding this and how?".
"Omnia isn't allowed to have a military anymore though" Ying says. "This can't be a good sign".
"What should we do?" Robin asks as he readies his sniper rifle.
Vivi gently pushes his sniper rifle downwards as she says "Wait... for now, we should get back. For what we know now, the Mages no longer exist in Omnia, and whatever government they have now would be too busy with the different recent separation of factions within the country. We shouldn't be on their hit list, and with what mess we're in now, we shouldn't get ourselves put on their hit list either. Understand?".
"Another one of the cowardly lay low kinda deals?" Robin asks with a scoff.
Vivi then begins to say "Look, I will end you, you stupid fu-".
"That's enough" Tanya says gently. "Look, it may be the cowards way out, but it works. Let sleeping lions lie".
"We should probably give the others a heads up" Mikoto says.
"Wait, there's something just a tad different about the symbols on their uniform" Satomi says. "Look at the left shoulder on that man".
After some close inspection, Vivi then begins to grow tired and decide to walk towards the soldiers. "Wait, what the hell are you doing?" Tanya harshly whispers.
"Just asking a couple questions" Vivi says as she walks casually up to the soldiers, one hand resting on the handle of a gun in her back pocket.
"Ah, hell" Tanya says. "Someone should follow behind her to keep her out of trouble".
"On it" Ying says as she springs into action. As Ying stands up, she pulls a tiny camera out from under her shirt, hanging from a thin necklace. "Siran and the others are far away right now. We'll need something substantial to help explain this".
"Just... don't piss them off" Tanya says.
"Halt!" One of the soldiers shout at Vivi and Ying. "Sorry, ladies, but we can't have you passing through here... oh my... aren't you two...".
"Yes, whatever it is you're about to ask, we probably are" Vivi replies.
"Vivi, rude..." Ying says. "What's going on here?".
"So... The Six Guns are going to cause even more of an uproar in Omnia?" The soldier asks. "You didn't cause enough damage already?".
"Jesus, princess" Vivi says sarcastically. "We asked a simple question. The hell are you flapping your face hole for?".
"The problem is" the soldier says, "Omnia is closed off. State of emergency to keep the borders closed. Nobody gets in or out".
"Why?" Vivi asks with an impatient look on her face.
"Mind your own damn business, woman" the soldier says, "that's why".
"You're not from around here, are you?" Vivi asks as she leans towards the side to look at the patches in the soldier's uniform. "I mean, you've gotta be a special kinda stupid to tango with wanted criminals in such a casual manner".
"Oh please" the soldier says, "it takes two to tango, and I'm not the dancing type. Besides, your giant feet would trample all over my toes".
"Excuse me?" Vivi asks with a disgusted look.
"Besides, I'm not here for you. Mind your own business" the soldiers says as he begins to turn away from the two of them.
As he turns away, Vivi points at a patch on the man's shoulder and urges Ying to take a photo quickly. Ying quickly focuses the camera and tries to take a clear shot of the man in his uniform. There was no doubt that it was a Ly'Lum uniform, but the flag patch on the shoulders was definitely not the Omnia flag. It even showed perfectly clear on the photo Ying snapped, a photo of a red, white and blue flag, dressed with stars and stripes. There was no mistaking it. These Ly'Lum soldiers were from the United States. "This doesn't bode well" Ying says.
"Let's head back and contact Holly ASAP" Vivi says as they return to the remainder of the crew. "We have something very important to discuss with Siran and the others while taking their little vacation in America".
Back in The United States, Siran and the others remained in a solitary state of quietly debating amongst themselves the weight of what the deal between them and this president could lead to. "It seems too good to be true" Siran says to himself. "There has to be some kind of catch. They know so much, but act so kind... what they say and what they do don't seem to add up... urgh!".
"Something wrong?" Zia asks.
"I'm fine" Siran says. "I'm just... gonna go for a walk for a bit".
"Not by yourself, you're not" Zia says as she stands up. The two of them walk around, stricken by an awkward silence.
Eventually, they find their way into a forest of over grown trees and moss, with old debris of cut stone and brick throughout the forest floor. Siran was thinking to himself about his life that had passed, the life he lived when he was human. About his mother that has long since been gone, and how much pain he must've put her through. Eventually, a familiar voice broke the silence. "So that's all it takes?" Athena asks. When Siran looks up, he sees Athena leaning against a tree, eating an apple. In response, Siran immediately pulled out his gun and held it by his side, prepared for a fight. "That's all it took to break you?" Athena continues to ask. "They tell you a part of your past that you wanted to hear and you cry a river, but we tell you the past that you needed to hear, and we get nothing? Somehow we're the bad guys? You know, you really put Loki through a lot. He's been on a good streak lately, and was doing well at handling this anger problems".
"What should I care?" Siran asks. "And what's it to you?".
"Give it time" Athena says. "There's no way some high king... or... whatever you call it- President or whatever- is going to be that nice without a catch. I know enough history to be able to tell you that with conviction. You're almost jumping to conclusions because your emotions got in the way... it's kinda funny, y'know?".
"What is?" Siran asks.
"I didn't want to think that idiot was right" Athena says, "but this is exactly what Loki said you'd do. He said you're always driven heavily by your emotions, and that gets you into trouble with all the wrong people. Seems he was right. No matter what life you're in, which body, or how many times you reincarnate, you're still the same old fool".
"I told you, I'm not whoever it is you think I am!" Siran yells.
"Whoa, cool it, skippy" Athena says as she tosses the core of her apple on the ground. She takes a minute and then spits the seeds out onto the ground and gently kneads them into the soil with her toes. "That same idiot also asked me to watch over you, for your sake, not mine".
Siran grows angrier and yells "I told you, I don't-".
"You don't need my help" Athena interrupts. "Yeah, we all know you would say that. I also don't need to babysitting job. I'm a busy woman, after all. You really are much like a barking dog, especially for a human. Just shut it and listen for a minute. I do not want to be here either. We don't always get what we want. So at least try to suck it up and take what I have to say in mind, will ya? Even if you have to do it with a grain of salt?".
"... I'm listening" Siran says.
"Good" Athena continues. "Don't listen to people just because they know your history".
"But-" Siran begins to say.
"That includes us" Athena says, then sighs. "Actually, in your mind, that probably goes double for us. Anyways, I can smell fishy business from a mile away".
"Mind filling me in then?" Siran asks.
Athena then looks down at Siran. "So now we want to cooperate, or are you just waiting to throw this in my face? Since you asked, no. No I do not mind filling you in" and then begins to walk away.
"Wait!" Siran yells right before Athena disappears. "Ah- son of a bitch gods with their... god complex".
"That sounded a lot dumber coming out of your mouth than it sounded in your head, didn't it?" Zia asks.
After a while, Siran and Zia return to the rest of the party. When they get inside, they're met with a stillness and uneasiness from the rest of the crew. "I sense tension" Siran says. "What happened?".
"You're not going to believe this" Holly says as she shows her laptop to Siran and Zia. "We made contact with Vivi and the others about an hour ago. The Ly'Lum are on the move again, but this time are being funded by senior kindness and kittens in that stupid Oval Office. Whatever they're planning, it involves over stepping their boundaries and looks like it may also include taking over Omnia as a whole.
"This can't be real" Zia says.
"But the photos came from Ying" Alex says. "We have every reason to trust the source. It's one of us that took it!".
"Alex is right" Haru says. "Unless they're setting up the most convoluted surprise birthday party for one of us here, this is real and it's happening".
"Birthday... party?" Rose asks.
Alex cocks his head towards Rose and asks skeptically "You're not really this stupid, are you?".
"Get off her back" Finn says, "she isn't expressive in the same ways you are with English".
After a while of traveling through the city, Siran and the others return to the gates of the White House. Siran bangs and shakes the gate for a few minutes to no avail. Nobody would answer. Eventually, the crew did the next best thing to knocking on the front door. Intrusion. They climbed over the tall gates and marched to the front door of the White House. Before they could bang on the door, McNamara opened the door. "Good evening" he says. "We weren't expecting you for two more days".
"Cut the crap, Mac" Siran demands, "we need to have a talk about that deal with the President".
"Not a good time" McNamara begins to says, before Siran pulls out a gun and presses it to his stomach.
"That wasn't a question" Siran growls.
"... Right" McNamara says with a sigh. "Alright, fine. Follow me".
The crew is lead to the Oval Office again, and once there, Siran stomps up towards the desk where Freeman sits. At his desk, Freeman was on the phone talking with someone in a low voice. He held up one finger to signal to Siran that he wants him to wait a second, but Siran's impatience led him to snatch the phone from his hand and slam it on the phone's receiver, effectively hanging up on whomever he was previously on call with. "I need some damn answers" Siran demands, then slams a printed out picture of the Ly'Lum soldier's photo that Ying snapped before. "First, I want to ask about this, and then talk about what this deal of yours really is".
Freeman sighs, then says "The Ly'Lum forces that we've personally funded. Why do you ask?".
"And what the hell are you doing with this!?" Siran asks.
"Taking back what once was ours" Freeman says as he stands up from his chair. "Omnia is a country that we made, that we funded, that we supported and that we raised since the land was first freed from Naris. And do you remember who took down Naris during that time?".
"I did" Siran says.
"We did" Freeman says. "Our soldiers, American soldiers did that, with your assistance. Credit where credit is due. Omnia has fallen, we've managed to keep this country on its feet well enough for everyone here to live comfortable lives after that catastrophe, and Omnia was our making. It is our duty to take hold of its reigns and fix it when it needs it. That's where you come in".
"To force your people into martial law and deny them of their independence!?" Siran asks.
"To organize them and rise again back to the top" Freeman says. "This is your problem you have with every country. You don't understand politics, and it has gotten you into deeper shit than you think it has. Hero or not, you're in no standpoint to tell us no".
"What are you going to do?" Siran asks. "Tell the whole world my identity?".
"What we're going to do" Freeman says "is save hundreds of millions of innocent lives in Omnia by stopping the civil war and putting order in its place! It would be in your best interest to stand aside and let this happen".
"This isn't the America I used to know" Siran says.
"Big shocker" Freeman says. "Everyone you knew and loved is dead! Everyone! Everything you knew is dead! The world changes, Siran. Do your best to remember that, because we're not going to wait for you to catch up with the times".
"Those people are now under martial law!" Siran says. "They're not getting order they're getting tyranny!".
Freeman leans close to Siran and growls the words "You win some, you lose some. Sometimes you have to accept that we have to do the hard thing for the greater good".
"The greater good is a load of shit and you know it" Siran growls back. "The common good is what's important, and pushing a greater good is nothing more than some self righteous bullshit!".
"Say what opinion you wish" Freeman says, "but we're taking back what is ours to take. We gave all we could to build that country, even when we had nothing to give. With that being said, I think we reserve the right to annex our last remaining hope when all has gone to shit. Gone to shit, mind you, at your hands. It's better off this way, with us cleaning up the mess you've made for us in more ways than one, and you accepting that you're no hero. Even if they don't want it, it must be done. Don't think I enjoy doing this to people".
"If you take one step into people's lives like that" Siran says "and claim it as politics, then we are officially enemies".
"So be it" Freeman says. "I guess I have my answer. McNamara, escort them back to the airport".
"Very well" McNamara says.
"I'm not going anywhere" Siran says as he pulls out his gun and aims at Freeman.
Sudden, several men bust through the door with guns aimed at the crew and a man covering Freeman with his own body. "I wouldn't do that if I were you" McNamara says. "You see, a strange thing happens to living things when they learn to grow near something like a massive pot hole filled to the brim with residual energy of pure creation and destruction, known as Dead Crater. I can assure you, your efficiency in digital magic is nonetheless impressive, but a digital shield won't stop these men. It's in your best interest to withdraw".
"You're bluffing" Blake says.
"Would you like to test that theory?" Freeman asks. After a short pause, Freeman then says "Chain 'em. We don't want them getting in our way".
As the men start getting closer, Zia suddenly creates a burst of wind that pushes the men away from the crew. Out of Zia's sleeve, falls a paper charm that's rapidly burning up. "Finn, now" Zia says.
Suddenly, the crew seems to vanish in front of the men's eyes. They raise their guns and shoot at where they were, and the space between them seemed to break and crack as it fell into pieces before fully shattering and dissipating. One of Finn's illusion spells. However, behind the illusionary wall was a thick wall of ice. The men raised their guns again and prepared to fire, but were stopped by President Freeman. "Stop, they've already gotten away" he says. Freeman then presses one finger against his ear and activated a hidden communication system. "Search the perimeter" he says. "Do a full sweep and catch them alive. On the double. Don't let them escape".