Two days had passed since Mathis was taken by Clareice. Both Slith and Jabreeze slowly made their way to the capital. They were waiting for Shiishii and the others to leave. For that was the only time they could attack and succeed. By complete coincidence, today was supposed to be the day everyone was to leave. Gaia, Shiishii, Dante, and Beeso would be heading back to Luminaria with Amiyama. Kitiro and his Galaxy Ball team were heading back to their clan as well. Everyone had to continue pressing onward with their daily lives. This would be the perfect opportunity to attack.
Gaia could be seen getting out of bed as the sun was being pulled up by the Phoenix Empire's star representative. She was in the royal guest bedroom, one with the highest degree of lavishness. She brought forth a cup of water, a wooden carved toothbrush and began scrubbing the alcohol taste off her gums, teeth, and tongue. She put on her forest green, glossy unitard, and left the zipper that lay from the base of the chin all the way to the center of the chest. She left her zipper down, and her cleavage exposed. She slipped on her life edition gleaves and gauntlets that had leaf shaped gems at their centers. She threw on her fur long-coat, Gahwardian edition.
Gaia: "Ah, this has been a great morning so far. It's time to gather Shii and the others so we can all head back. Oh… and of course, see this match with Aiyama."
Gaia straightened up her room and headed down the hall to wake everyone else up. But to her surprise, Shiishii and Amiyama were already up. He was fully dressed and ready for the day, and so was she. Both were walking out of Amiyama's personal quarters. They all greet each other and head for the food court, located at the center of the castle, to wait for everyone else. They knocked on everyone's doors right before heading down, so they all knew to get out of bed. Gaia didn't want to be kept waiting for too long.
Amiyama called for one of her assistants to get a couple of meals ready for her guests. The lady was more than happy to help the likes of Death and Life. She had a great smile on her face and wore a purple suit with a royal badge on her shoulder. It was the symbol for a paladin level knight.
Shiishii: "Woah, woah woah. You're a PALADIN!?"
Gaia: "Who is this gorgeous, young woman? Care to introduce us, Amiyama?"
Amiyama: "Oh, of course. This is actually a close family friend and helper. She's my original teacher and current Zenchi instructor. And as you can see and sense, she's also a paladin level knight for our Empire. It's better to say she's the captain of all the knights and boasts a 60 on the scale. You guys can say hello to Yelhana Phoeno."
Gaia: "Yelhana, huh? It was very nice to meet you." *she reaches her hand out for a handshake*
Yelhana: "Thank you!! And it's indeed great to meet you as well, Malady. You too, Shiishii, sir."
Shiishii: "How come I've never been told about her, babe?"
Amiyama: "Never came across my mind to tell you so, and before… whenever you'd come over. She'd already be out on a mission for my mother or her brother, the Emperor."
Shiishii: "Oh… makes sense then."
Yelhana: "It certainly does, but it seems more of your people are arriving. I should really go knock out these meals and prepare for the rest. Pardon me for now."
Gaia: "Mhm hm, see you soon, Yelhana."
Yelhana walks off and through some doors, south of their location. Vashjai, Ebon, Dante, and Beeso all come walking down the corridor and into the food court. They take seats at the table next to Shii and the others. They're told of the coming meals, and they relax, knowing food was on its way. Everyone sits and chatters about the upcoming match in which Shiishii had allowed Aiyama to choose the type of spar. There was very widespread anticipation for this. And by coincidence, Aiyama had finally come down from his quarters.
"Top of the morning to you all." Aiyama said as he came down the stairs to the west of the group. He took a seat next to Amiyama and began a conversation about STRIFE. Asking questions and getting the rundown on what the group is and what their goals are. Shiishii and Gaia were more than happy to explain, and Dante also got up to get a better understanding.
Shiishii: "Well, if I was being honest, STRIFE focuses solely on governing the Omniverse. Each generation is meant to bring in a new era for their current generation of the Omniverse. Gaia and I are the second generation and, with us, come in a second generation of STRIFE."
Gaia: "And as of now, we've got a little over a quarter of our Captains collected. We do have a goal already, too. Just not the bulk to do anything just yet."
Dante: "Wait… what's our goal, mates?"
Shiishii: "Do you guys remember what Jollister said to us after my battle with Haydes? He told us of an organization and that he was just ONE of its captains. Seems there could be an "Anti-STRIFE" out there.``
Amiyama: "And Jollister is on their side? That's too unsettling for me."
Aiyama: "No doubt. Does that mean we could end up in a war?"
Gaia: "No… we can't say for now. But I can at least say Shii and I can't shake an uneasy feeling we've been having. It all happened after Jollister said what he said."
Vashjai: "So things could get real ugly soon. Just not war levels of ugly."
Ebon: "Amiyama is right. This is all too unsettling."
Dante: "Indeed."
Shiishii: "It is… but we'll elevate beyond it with training and ascension. No time to rest."
Gaia: "No lowering our guards anytime soon, please."
Aiyama: "Mhm… so facing Slith again is almost inevitable."
Amiyama: "Yeah."
And as everyone was starting to come to some realizations… Yelhana came around the corner with their plates and a few drinks for everyone. She was using her influence of essence to make all the plates and drinks float. There is no need for a cart, and the food can instantly be transported to the table from her person. Everyone got their meals at once, and their drinks were perfectly crisp. A perfect breakfast to start the day, classic steak biscuits, rice, and eggs with wine.
"This looks too good, Yelhana!" Amiyama says as she grabs her silverware. Everyone else obviously had the same thought because their eyes were big and their mouths were watering. Gaia had already begun digging in while everyone else sat, looking stupid. Letting their food get cold.
Vashjai: "Oof, Gaia's got the right idea!"
Ebon: "No doubt!"
Dante: "Let's dig in then, mates!"
Beeso: "Nom… *MUNCH* *Crunch* Y'all too shlow!"
Aiyama: "Uh huh… it seems so." *he looks at Beeso in disgust*
As they eat, Kitiro, Joe, Sonya, and the others come downstairs finally. And to their surprise, Yelhana was walking out with their plates as well. They sat at the remaining tables surrounding Shii and the others. Everyone got to conversing and having a pleasant time as they enjoyed their exquisite meal. In the meantime, Slith and Jabreeze continue to rest as they scheme their approach on the key.
"We should be very cautious in our approach. We still have close to no idea who may stay when everyone leavesss." Slith says while sipping some tea. They sit at a park table found in a prairie, located on the property of Clariece. Jabreeze sets his left hand on the table as he stares out into the open. He sets his hand on his glass and takes a sip. "I agree to that."he says as he sets the glass back down.
Slith: "I say we should ask for Jollister's keen sense for essence and use that as a way to identify the obstacles."
Jabreeze: "That's a sound strategy. I'm still just in high hopes that we make it in time."
Slith: "You mean before Flametress gets here?"
Jabreeze: "Yeah. I'm really hoping we make it. Because not even Jollister can stop her full-on."
Slith: "Yeah… it's not going to be easy."
Clariece: "She's not your only worry."
Both of them turn around and see Clariece walking down a pathway made of lush greenery. She was wearing a Gahwardian robe with stilettos, and her hair was tied up in twin buns. She approaches them with three plates of phoenix-stirred curry.
"What do you mean by that?"asked Jabreeze while grabbing his plate. Clariece takes a quick bite of her food and sets the mood by taking a breath before speaking. The tension has risen, and both Jabreeze and Slith have chills running down their spines. "Her name is Yelhana. She's nearly always around the Empress and Emperor's children, and she's the captain of the 13 Paladins."said Clariece while taking a sip of her tea.
Jabreeze: "T-The captain of the 13 Paladins!?"
Slith: "The Vermillion 13… I heard the captain has a level of 60 on the power scale. Is this true?"
Clariece: "Yes… she could take me on with even footing. She's what you would truly need to worry about, with whatever it is you're doing. You need to exclude your target and get it as far away as possible.
Jabreeze: "Tch… Jollister told us nothing of this."
Slith: "Likely… he doesn't know."
Clariece: "Yeah. The biggest issue with her is the fact that she doesn't use a Study. She relies only on her origin essence and its sub branches."
Jabreeze: "Birthright, Element and Zenchi?"
Clareice: "Precisely."
Slith: "That… is quite worrisome indeed. Then it is as we called it before. We must separate the troublesome from the key. We need no interference at this point in the game."
Jabreeze: "Right."
Clariece: "Hmh. (I doubt Aiyama will be going anywhere. He's going to be quite the obstacle this time around.)"
The three continue enjoying their meal while speaking on strategy. Clariece takes a quick break from her meal and partakes in a few sips of her tea. Setting her glass down, she stares off into the sky in a sense of wonderment and thought. Slith couldn't help but notice a tone of benevolence within this malevolent being. But something else caught his attention.
"What ever happened to that Royal Knight, Mathis?"asked Slith. Clareice took a while to respond. She was truly caught in deep thoughts, and who knows what those thoughts could be.
Clareice: "He's still in a deep sleep after that heavy blow Jabreeze landed. He was nearly dead. But I don't expect him to wake up anytime soon. He was at 35% of his normal essence capacity before that blow landed. It's easy to say you induced a coma."
Jabreeze: "He'll be alright. Besides, my focus is drawn towards the departure of Shii and friends. We need them to hurry along."
Slith: "Indeed we do. It should be soon, though. Very soon."
Clareice: "I do agree to that. I'm in for quite the show from what I can see."
Jabreeze: "What do you mean?"
Clareice: "I'm watching Shii and his friends right now. I peeked into the future and saw something quite interesting…"
Slith: "Hehmm?"
Clareice: "Aiyama and Shii are to do battle any second now."
Jabreeze & Slith: "HUH!?"
Back over… into the food court of the high castle.
Shiishii: *BEEELCH* "Man… I'm stuffed."
Amiyama: "Yeah… I'm pretty satisfied." *she dabs her mouth with a cloth and takes a sip from her red wine*
Gaia: "Satisfied in what way?"
Shiishii: "Oh SHI-" *THUD* *Shii falls out his chair after hearing Gaia's words*
Amiyama: "SPFFFFFTTTT!!! *She spits out her wine.* *COUGH* *COUGH* … *Cough* "Whaaat??"
Gaia: "Hm hmm. *she raises her eyebrows repeatedly* Well, slept night and no malice like usual. I can sense mutual satisfaction as well. Y'all makin' babies?"
Shiishii : "Aye… chill out now! *SLAM* *Shii slams his hand on the table as he rises from the ground* You trippin' mayne!"
Amiyama: "Yeah, you're definitely reaching a bit here, may- mayne? You really just say that."
Gaia: "He definitely did. *Vwump* *she uses her mental zenchi to see within Amiyama* (And I'm definitely… not tripping. Might've been hittin' it a bit too long Shiishii.) Ha!"
Aiyama finishes his meal around this time and cleans off his area. Everyone else seemed to be finishing as well and stacking the plates and silverware accordingly. Aiyama makes his way over to Shii and the others, and anyone out of everyone could guess what this meant. It was CHALLENGE TIME!!
"Yo Shii, are you ready to lose my man?" Aiyama asked in a cheeky manner while addressing Shii. Shii cracks a smile and looks up at Aiyama. "We can start at any given time since our audience and referee are all done as well." Shii says as he stands up.
Aiyama: "Right now?!"
Amiyama: "Mhm…"
Gaia: "Oh… this should be good."
Vashjai: "We all know how big bro does it."
Shiishii: "Yeah… RIGHT NOW!!" *FWIP*
Aiyama: "Shit!" *FWIP*
Both Shii and Aiyama throw massive, right legged roundhouse kicks right above the table. The shockwave fills the entire courtyard with a harsh gust of wind. The tables and necessities were all held down by their group of friends.
"What's the type of spar?"asked Shiishii, and Aiyama responded. "First to land a clear blow wins." Upon hearing this, Gaia rises from her seat while scooting back her chair. *Grhnmm* This catches everyones attention as Shii and Aiyama lower their legs.
Gaia: "It would seem the STRIFE Match for today will be getting underway! We have an interesting match today, a spar where the first hit landed wins. I'll be watching closely to see who lands the hit first and will be stopping the match the moment I see it. So then…"
Shiishii: "Mhm!" *he grins at Aiyama*
Aiyama: "Keh!" *Aiyama grins back*
Gaia: "Let the match BEGIN!!"
Both Aiyama and Shii flash into the sky at outstanding levels of speed. Looking like beams of light as they crash into one another several times. Creating a firework show.
"Should they really be fighting in the kingdom?'' Beeso asked as he looked at Ebon and Vashjai. Vashjai gave him a smile and simply said, "You're late on the uptake, my friend. All of Gahwardia is a battlefield!" And these words put a huge smile on the face of Beeso. He couldn't hide his excitement at this marvelous spectacle.
We leap back over into Clareice's universe…
Slith: "So… Do you know who winsss the fight?"
Jabreeze: "Do ya?"
Clareice: "No… I only looked as far as the two of them clashing kicks. I prefer a live look at it all. Though I suspect Shii is the winner."
Jabreeze: "Hmm… I do as well.
Slith: "Eh… I say my best friend has got thisss. I may be what I am now, but it would seem my connection to Aiyama is one of the things "evil" couldn't touch."
Clareice: "I see. Then let's watch and see."
Shiishii and Aiyama go into the frenzy of melee clashes and send their fists flying at one another. Each was either blocked or dodged with perfect precision. They both back away, and Aiyama unleashes a compressed inferno blast of blue flames. Shii broke down his own molecular structure and became a cloud of death particles. Each became a bullet of relative speeds as they circled around the blast. They find their opening and blitz Aiyama at light speeds.
"Ah… you've got to be kidding, Shii! Mental Zenchi!!!" Aiyama yelled while swiftly dodging each particle using instinct and Zenchi. He finds an opening and dives down below the cloud. Shiishii is quickly behind him as he notices a hand forming at his ankle. Aiyama swiftly brings his right leg up and out of the way. Shiishii fully reforms and notices Aiyama also used this as a chance to cock that same leg back into an axing kick position.
Shiishii: "Clever man-" *POOF*
Aiyama kicks at Shii's head, but it turns into death particles and immediately reforms as Aiyama regains his balance. Shii lunges in for a punch, Aiyama takes notice and throws a swift, left jab. Shii bobs his head to the left while proceeding forward. He throws his over head right at Aiyama's chin, but it is dodged and only chin hairs are touched. Both immediately burst into another frenzy of melee barrages with their elements wrapped around each limb.
Kitiro: "Looks like foreworks, mahn."
Demetri: "No kiddin' going to have to train my butt off if I want to close the gap."
Deamonte: "Going to start the minute we get back to our clan."
Amiyama: "I bet mother is loving this."
Gaia: "Oh trust me, she is. Have you not felt her inflation of essence. She's rarin' to go."
Amiyahss: "Hahaaaa! My nephew and son-in-law are marvelous! Best gift I could ask for."
???: "Indeed sister."
Amiyahss: "Huh? *she turns around ti see a gentlemen that looks identical to herself* Oh, hey there baby brother. How goes it Aiyahss?"
Aiyahss: "I came to check in on you of course, and see what all this noise is about. What a great surprise to see my son going at it with Death himself. Wonderful."
Amiyahss: "Indeed brother. Indeed."
Shiishii backs away from Aiyama and drops his guard. Aiyama is confused for a moment until he finally notices the huge build up of essence. "Death Dome: Expand!!!" Aiyama doesn't know what to expect and as such, gets into the base stance for their Empire's fighting style. Right arm cocked back with his fist near his cheek. Left arm swaying down in front of him with his right leg firmly planted, and slightly bent. His left leg lay out at the lead with only his toes touching the ground.
*FUER* *FUER* *FUERRR*
"Hrnm!!" , he grunts just before turning around to see a barrage of blackened flames coming right for him. Upon turning back around to face Shii, he notices another barrage coming too. He was completely surrounded now. He doesn't falter and brings forth his blue flames in crystal forms, and leaves an insignia on both hands and feet. He calls this move Flame Immobilizer!. He leapt forward and touched every black flame without fail, each one was surrounded by ice and held in the space they once filled. He quickly made his way to Shiishii and they clashed fist once more. The sheer force completely dispels the flames around them.
"Heh! Time to gain some distance!" Shii says as he backs away from Aiyama. Aiyama tries to proceed forward but notices an odd essence signature. "Death Dog!! Hehe!" Shii says while spinning around to face Aiyama. Aiyama turns around and notices a dog made of bones forming behind him. The dog tried biting down as its head started to form, but Aiyama reacted a bit too fast. He created a ring of wartanium around his right shoulder. It stops the dog right in its tracks.
"Disappear!" , yelled Aiyama as he swept his arm backwards and broke both the ring and the dog. But to his surprise, he turned around and saw no sign of Shii. Shii used his control of the presence to place an essence link on the dog, replacing himself with it if there is ANY physical contact. Works the same way as his fake clones. Shii backspun and landed a massive kick on the back of Aiyama. Aiyama goes flying into the floor at high speeds, violently.
Shiishii: (Gaia hasn't said a word and I could feel no real contact. He must've blocked at the last moment.) "Hrmm. Skull Armada!"
Shii summons forth a massive amount of blackened skulls that charge up high particle death lasers. Aiyama rises from the rubble and imagines a full frontal assault of more than 20,000 nukes all at once. Shiishii doesn't falter and releases all his charged lasers at once. The two attacks clash head on and hold each other at bay. Repeated clashes cause a greater storm of explosions that completely cover the sky above the kingdom. Shiishii notices the standstill and decides to use a Grand Death Lazer to push the odds in his favor.
"Oh no you don't!" Aiyama says as he summons a dragon head that breathes the same fire that Aiyama produces. He fires a gigantic fire blast with an imaginary departicalizer given physical form. It turns into a massive beam struggle with Shii using his control of particle sized constructs, to push and manipulate the death beam. It surrounds the fire blast and slowly breaks it down at rapid speeds. Aiyama gets touched by a single particle and 10 Shiishii clones appear around him.
Aiyama: "Tch! You still won't be landing a hit on me Shii!" *he says while readying his fists*
Shiishii: "We'll see!"
Aiyama: "Hm. Presence Zenchi!!!"
Aiyama uses Presence Zenchi to be able to focus on and dodge the blows from the transparent Shiis. Each was busy swinging frantically as they tried to land even a scratch on Aiyama. But Aiyama is quick with his reactions and keeps up with relative ease. But he doesn't seem to notice the subtle build up of essence happening right above him.
Gaia: "Mhm… this might be the deciding factor. Never expected this to be a long sparring match due to its nature. A last man standing might've worked out better for that. But a first to land a hit? Yeah, that was meant to be quick."
Amiyama: "No doubt Gaia. This was still quite fun to watch though."
Dante: "Yeah… it was."
Yolmi: "Well… if you could keep up all the way. Not like they held their speed back all the way."
Miamori: "No kidding."
And as they mentioned just now, Shiishii left his precious beast scythe right above their heads. The clones kept Aiyama from being able to make a clear counterattack while they themselves couldn't land an attack. The beast scythe turned into a wolf whose kind had evolved to a point that their tails can stretch. It did that very same technique and stretched its tail out. Then from more than 200 feet above them, the tail came crashing down and smacked Aiyama straight in the face.
Gaia: "Stop!!! That's the match!!!"
Shiishii: "Mhm… Clones Dispel. Guess that's going to be that."
Aiyama: "Tch! Knocking me to the floor with a ridiculous tail slap. That's just… wow. But… *he stands back up* you did win with that. So I can't even be mad."
Shiishii: "Indeed."
Shiishii and Aiyama both shake hands and Shii gives Aiyama an arousing welcome to the team as a captain. The group cheers for his accomplishment and one could even see Slith angered by the results way back over in Clareice's universe.
They both go down to the group and everyone makes noise in high regards of Aiyama. As everyone gets to talking about the match, a call is received by Dante. It was coming from Divina back at Luminaria who had a report of current events.
Dante: "What's going on Divina? We were just about to head back-"
(Divina: "Come back now Dante! We've got an attack from the Golden Luum that just took place!!)
Dante: "What!? H-How… what happened, mate!?"
(Divina: "It's the first time they've attacked us directly. Luckily Katrina and I were here to force him back. But I suspect they'll be back. So you and the others need to get your asses BACK HERE!!!")
Dante: "Alright, alright. We'll be right there."
(Divina: "Good, See you soon then. Over and out.")
Dante: *Click* "Guys… that was divina and it would seem we have a problem back in Luminaria."
Gaia: "Oh really?"
Shiishii: "Is it bad?"
Dante: "The Luum have attacked our base. I need to get back to my people."
Beeso: "And we need to hurry if that's the case."
Shiishii: "Everyone got their things?"
Amiyama: "Yeah… We're ready to go."
Kitiro: "Seems it's about dat time for all of us, mahn. Your dad just talked to me in the mental plain and said we're going now. He'll be opening the portal soon, mahn."
Deamonte: "Alright. Let's move on then. Nice meeting you all."
Vashjai: "Likewise. Ebon… let's head over to pop's house and wait for Hideaki."
Ebon: "Yep."
Sanjin: "Back to base?"
Bujuto: "Yeah!"
Everyone starts to go their separate ways and continue on with their daily lives. Amiyama heads off with Shiishii and the others to help as promised. Aiyama stays behind with Demetri and the others to continue his studies. In the meantime, Slith and Jabreeze prepare to move out.
Jabreeze: "Seems they're gone now. But to leave so suddenly after that fight… something must've come up."
Slith: "Well, all the better for usss."
(Jollister: "It sure is, now get going, mayne.)
Slith: "You heard him, right?"
Jabreeze: "Yeah. Let's go and hurry our pace."
Clareice: "Hold it!"
Both: "Hm?!"
Clareice walks up with a bubble that contains Mathis. She was wearing what seemed to be high class phoenix armor that had the tip of her gleaves, and the tip of her gauntlets. Decorated with a small golden phoenix. They complimented her full body, single piece, glossy unitard. Her jacket rested on her soldiers and seemed to be… a royal Gahwardian, fur coat.
Clareice: "I have a better route for getting there. Plus I have to take this brat back to the palace as well. So… follow me!"
Jabreeze: "Teh! Lead the way."
Slith: "Yesss, please do."
Aiyama has finally joined STRIFE as a captain. In that instant, Shii and the others go to handle their own affairs. The one force that prevented the key's swindling is gone. Now a dark cloud befalls the empire as the two… are on their way!
Next Chapter: Charge Forward!!!