As he zipped over the ocean, Youden could stare down at one of his passing ships, no doubt getting him new supplies. He'd been in the air for about three hours now, and he could make out the outline of the main island. He could have reached there almost an hour earlier, but that would have been too costly for him to deal with for the moment with the cleanup efforts he had in mind once he returned. But now, it was finally time for arrival.
As he reached closer to the island, he felt a large object whiz over his head. In a surprise, he looked down at the island only to see multiple weapons begin to fire at him, exploding whatever projectile they had loaded behind him. He was pleased with his work and their efforts, but they were trying to kill him and he needed to reach the ground quickly.
Dodging the shots, once he could clearly see the beach he extended his feet towards the ground preparing for impact. Touching down, it launched sand around him, as he could hear movement approaching him.
"It's me, Youden. Don't even try it," he called out to whoever it was.
The sand quickly dropped back to the ground, only for Youden to see five people aiming taboons or their powers at him.
"Oh, sir! We haven't seen you in months!" one of them noticed instantly, quickly saluting and the others following suit and putting their weapons or cooling their powers down.
"Yes, anyway I'm here to see Lina again. Just for the night," he asked, already getting off the beach and dusting off any sand on him.
They followed behind him, as he continued onto the road. Was it re-paved again? He noticed that it looked cleaner than when he was their last time, as a carr rushed past him and into the former capital of Cenu. The walk was short until they reached the outskirts of the place, and Youden was shocked for a bit. What was once a town of locals that were obsolete compared to the world around them, was now a small but stable and bustling city of a few thousand residents, many at work or enjoying themselves.
Continuing the walk, he shooed off the following soldiers who quickly left to do what they please, as he approached the research station. Except it looked completely different. It was larger than before, and a few buildings next to it had been demolished to make space. It better have been worth it, he hoped, as he walked inside.
Looking around, he could see very few creations, but it looked as if they had a reason. For example, he could see one of those artillery prototypes that he was given, but it looked more refined. There were papers everywhere on the walls, and he could finally see Lina in the back, alone for the moment as he assumed the rest of the researchers were home.
"Your progress is impressive," he said, approaching.
"Sir?" she turned around quickly in surprise. "We never received news of your arrival."
"Yeah, too late for that. Plus I'm staying here for the night so it's all fine. I came to see how things have been since I left, and I'm quite impressed. Without your advancements, this would have taken much longer, or just cost us more in the long run." he shrugged.
"What do you mean by that?"
"Oh, I mean if I really wanted to, I could have destroyed the capital and just about any other city or town if I really tried myself. But then this would have all been for nothing then wouldn't it?"
"Your right sir. Is there anything else you wanted to see before you leave?" she asked, looking at what they had inside. "We're hoping that once you finish the complete takeover, we'll be able to get Saputan supplies and continue as needed."
"That's great and all and you guys can go ahead and rest. The war will be over within the next two months, no doubt about it."
"Wait really?" she asked, as he turned around and began walking back outdoors.
"Yeah, enjoy the time off. You'll need it for now," he announced, before leaving the facility.
He could hear her say thanks, as he continued walking down the road, passing by people looking at the leader they hadn't seen in months. He could see the building after a quick stroll. The house he occupied for all those months was right in front of him. He remembered thinking he wouldn't be here again, but he seemed like he was wrong. Finding the backup key behind an old crack in the wall, he opened the door inside to be greeted with darkness. Closing the door, he found a candle to his side and lit it up. It would be really convenient if they made some type of light to put on without having to put some effort and that you didn't have to bring it around with you. But he would deal with those problems later, as he was glad he was back, even just for a day.