"I'll be damned. If it isn't Anima." I heard a voice from behind me and erupted in fear once I realized who it belonged to.
Fuki, who was supposed to be on the other side of the world right now, was smiling at me with his arms crossed. Fuki wore an intensely bright blue set of gilded armor, along with a blue sheathe that fit a large sword on his back.
His messy, brown hair and bright purple eyes were flowing with suspicion as he looked at me and my friends.
"Anima, who's this?" Ruby asked me. Soul decided to pick up the question herself and answer.
"This right here is the other Hero Anima was summoned with. This is Fuki. He's a pretty talented Melee Hero, so that's probably why Hex sent the summons to meet you." Soul turned to Hex as she finished out her question, and Hex nodded.
"Do you still believe me?" That was the first question I asked him. I looked at Fuki with the intent to kill him if he didn't, which wouldn't be ideal, but I would have no choice.
"Don't be silly. Everybody is past your reputation. I find it funny that you're so oblivious to the outside world. So, this city, New Olympia, is home to one of the Patriarchs?" Fuki turned to Hex to ask her the question.
"That's right. I told you I'd give you some more information, so here it is. Zeus is the spirit of an old Hero long ago. He possessed a man named Ono, who was infatuated with Soul over there. So far, what we've figured out is that Zeus himself cannot attack, but Anima told me that Ono could. It was quite the revelation, but it helps us out a lot. Are you still on board with us?" Hex asked Fuki.
"I am. So, we're going to have to kill him, aren't we? I haven't killed anybody yet as a Hero, so that would be quite the big task for me..." Fuki commented. He looked up on top of Hex's head and then was side-tracked.
"Woah! Hey, Anima, is that the Shima person you told me about? She's... alive? But she's a slime now?" Fuki asked, poking Shima. She wiggled back and forth and eventually made a noise full of displeasure.
"Bad Hero!" Shima shouted out. Fuki took heavy offense to that and left me giggling over their insignificant conflict.
"Fuki... you were sent to the other side of the world, weren't you? Were you with Joro?" I asked him again.
The question had been floating in my head ever since I told Borealis that once we left Dorrendale, he would be safe because Joro was on the other side of the world. However, now that Fuki was here, does that mean he's back?
"You got your wish, as Joro was imprisoned in Nibirus. That's where we were sent. Why weren't you sent anywhere?" Fuki asked me. Ah, this is where the secret got out.
"It's because I'm the one who sent you away. I didn't know how much of a threat you were going to be, so I sent everybody I've met who I doubted to the other side of the planet." I explained to him.
"When did you do that?" Ipa asked me, stepping up to interrupt our dialogue.
"It doesn't matter. If you made it back, I take it that this planet isn't as big as I originally thought. And, a lot of the countries have open borders. But, if I wasn't mistaken, you took these people for Demons. Has your opinion changed at all?" I asked Fuki.
He sat for a second, seemingly regretting his previous opinions on how these people seemed in this world, then looked back up to me, darting his eyes around to everyone.
"I will give you the credit on that one. I was wrong about them, about everybody. My eyes were opened up once I arrived in Nibirus. They took me in and were very hospitable, so after I'm done here, I'll be going to liberate the people of Sieve. So, we have to win this, are you on board with me?" Fuki asked me.
"Do you really think I wouldn't agree to that? I'm more than willing to take that bastard down, I just didn't know if you were finally on the same page as I was." I told Fuki.
The tension between the two of us was undoubtedly heavier than it used to be, but his willingness to understand the people of this world and how they were humans just like us, then I could get along with him a lot better than before.
"I am now. I'm sorry, for ever doubting you, Anima. I hope that I can prove myself to you once more after all that has happened between us." Fuki told me.
"Don't be so formal. I would've been skeptical if I was you as well. However, Hex didn't tell you everything. Zeus has a shitload of mana. I was Mana Burned twice by Ono and Zeus's attacks, so that means I can't absorb anything else with Shima. On top of that, my blood, which is used to craft some objects, was the thing that was used to be potent and change their quality. I can use my blood to enhance skills or enhance potions at will. What have you learned about your skill?" I asked Fuki.
I needed his explanation to gather as much information as possible. I know I can outsmart Zeus, as I have before, but I needed every single piece of the puzzle before I tried.
"Anything that's attached to me has a thirty percent increase to it. My weapon, my comrades, anything that touches me is boosted." Fuki told me.
"What the hell? That sounds insanely broken... no matter, here, drink this." I threw Fuki one of my potions while complaining about how easy he had it. While holding it, the potion burst into flames within the bottle, then exploded, turning into magic dust as it fell to the floor.
"I figured. The same thing happens when I add more blood to it. It seems like things have maximum effectiveness..." I said while looking at the potion in my hand.
"Shit. Does that mean we can't combo our special abilities anymore?" Fuki asked.
"Probably not. Maybe it's a way to get us to split up... I understand. That's the downside to our abilities." I said out loud.
"So, you figured that there was a drawback to the abilities we picked out?" Fuki asked for me to clarify. I nodded, explaining that there had to be something to keep us from using our abilities too much. If Fuki and I shared the same beliefs and decided to work together, we would be an unstoppable team.
"Hex, where can we discuss our battle plan for taking out Zeus?" I asked her.
"Well, there are several places we can go, but we need to be close to Zeus, so you'll follow me. Fuki, what do you bring to the table?" Hex asked him.
"Huh? Didn't you request me...? Well, anyway, I'm a pretty high level. I have a ton of stamina, and it's boosted, along with health and attack power. I could probably fight Zeus if he wasn't trying all the way, but I hope with Anima that we'll be able to take him down." Fuki stated.
"Don't get too dependent. I've never been in a fight like that. I'm not really inclined to be either, and I'm probably not the best at it." I told him.
"I understand. In my first fight, I lost pretty badly and almost was injured terribly. However, fighting is like a second nature when you are truly into it. Your skills, abilities, everything comes together in one big dance and you're put to the absolute test to preserve your own life. We do amazing things when our lives are threatened." Fuki explained.
"I guess you're getting all poetic on me now. So be it. I'm not afraid of fighting, I'm afraid of not being able to, but I'll throw that fear away. Let's go discuss our plans." I told everybody.