__________ POV Ashton__________
Well, these guys are certainly taking their time with the rescue mission. Then again, maybe they did run into some complications.
Good thing I prepared for departure already...
I took out Pitou, if I need to wait I might as well spend time with her.
She looked around a bit, the change in scenery every time she comes out of the void space is a bit disorienting for her...
She still walked towards me and sat on my lap. Her tail wrapped around my hand as she leaned on me and started snoring a bit.
I guess she wants to rest a bit. Well, here I was hoping I'd talk to her, but this is fine too I guess...
I'll just stand here and stare at the walls for a few minutes...
I wonder how far her training has come. It's clear enough that she trusts me quite a lot, but I can't really know for sure before she learns to communicate properly.
As I stood there staring at the walls, the door swung open as the expedition team rushed in. They were in varying states of injury. But none seemed too seriously injured.
"Well, it seems like the plan went smoothly..." I said with a wry smile. Pitou was startled awake by the sound of the door smashing into the wall.
I patted her head a bit, claiming her down instantly.
"Well... There were some issues, but we still managed to rescue Beyond..." Said Ging with a wry smile.
"And why are you here?!" Asked Beyond, as he finally entered the room.
He seemed to be shocked to see me here. But there was also some fear in there. I guess our last encounter wasn't really a friendly one...
"Oh, nice to meet you too. Netero's spawn" He took a step back as I spoke up.
"E-Everyone... Prepare to ru-" He was about to say something stupid. So I interrupted him.
"Hey now, It's quite obvious that I joined the expedition. Why else would I be here waiting for you people?" I said as I stared at him.
He stroked his beard a bit. "I guess that makes sense..." He nodded with a smile. Is this guy really supposed to lead an expedition?
For all of his feats, planning this expedition and doing all of this plotting behind the scenes, he sure is as stupid as his father...
"So, care to explain what actually happened?" I asked from my sitting position. Pitou was still sitting in my lap, she was getting a few odd looks.
But I really doubt she cares, she seems to want to fall back asleep.
"Well... It seems the Zodiacs were expecting something like this to happen." Yeah, no shit.
"They took out our mole quickly and then reinforcements came as Marione and Golem fought the other two members guarding Netero..."
Marione looked to be fine, but Golem seemed to be missing an arm and had some scratches on the surface.
"Great... So, I'm guessing you were also followed here." I said as my face shifted into a scowl, I took off my coat and suit and tie. Letting just the pants and the shirt.
I ripped open space and placed all of them in, including Pitou. She looked a bit confused, but I can explain things to her later.
"Well, we shouldn't have been followed. I did pay extra caution to our surroundings as we retreated..." Sure you did.
I took a classic smiling opera mask out of my void space and put it on. My hair changing its colour to white.
"Are you sure about that? I sense quite a few people on your tail..." They instantly turned vigilant. Their panic is evident, the situation is a lot messier than I first expected...
I guess they retreated in a hurry after they managed to break Beyond out. The Zodiacs must've had a way to track them all the way here.
There's no other explanation for this situation, these people seem otherwise capable enough. I also need to think about what weapon I can use in order to not give away my identity.
Cheadle learning that I'm cooperating with traitors would be a bit annoying.
"It seems like we need to split up... We need to establish a meeting location somewhere on the New Continent." Beyond was the first to quickly give a suggestion.
The problem is that this island is unexplored, to establish a meeting point would be to already know a location on it...
"We could just take a docking ship and leave for the Dark Continent," My suggestion seemed to be more popular than Beyonds. Most of the team nodding.
"But that would mean that some of the supporting members won't make it..." Said Ging with some concern.
"We don't have much time to debate on it. They are here!" I said as I rushed towards the door and pulled the closest member out of the way. The robotic school girl, Marione.
Her previous location was instantly smashed by a large hammer as the door was instantly crushed to bits.
Botobai, the dragon, seems to be the first to rush into the room.
But the rest of the Zodiacs are hot on his trail. All of the members of the expedition are preparing for battle.
"What a mess..."I said as I let go of Marione. She looked at me a bit, she didn't seem grateful at all.
"I could've taken care of that..." That is what she said. Sure, you're welcome.
I rolled up the sleeves of my shirt looking at Botobai and the Lion of the Zodiacs.
"Sure... Now, I will take these two." I said whilst pointing at them. Then immediately started running for them.
The other members of the expedition were also taking on Zodiac members. Beyond fighting Cheadle, Ging and Pariston taking on the Cow Man and the Snake Lady.
I can't really use the Zoldyck family techniques. But I still have some options...
"Hmph! Let's see you try!" Huffed Botobai, as he raised his mallet above his head.
I quickly condensed my Nen into a mallet of my own and raised it to meet his. He covered his weapon in quite a bit of Nen too.
The contact created a powerful shockwave, pushing the tiger back a bit and blowing away some of the surrounding members.
He's a lot more powerful than I expected, but I guess he is the oldest member of the Zodiacs... He also seems quite shocked at my strength.
The short tiger (I think his name is Kanzai) immediately rushed me after recovering, trying to claw at my chest.
I quickly let go of my mallet, breaking the standstill with Botobai as I took a step back.
His hammer smashed the ground a centimetre in front of me, shaking the ground and breaking the floor.
My hands were immediately covered in Nen, I shaped it into a claw. I met the tiger's claw with my own.
I quickly pushed him back, kicking his torso and sending him flying across the room. Botobai was quick to bring his hammer to my side.
His hit was almost in contact with me, but I managed to raise my hand and form a tower shield on it in less than a second. Perfectly blocking his attack as my legs slid on the floor.
I looked around for a bit, all of the members of the expedition are stuck fighting against the Zodiacs. The only member missing is the Monkey, who I presume was the mole.
Seems like I need to create an escape path by myself...
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