Planet Strara.
Richard was grinning. 'Good job!' Ryker was drunk and cheered. "You should have kissed her, Vinny!" Kyle knocked him out before he could say anything else. Pyea narrowed her eyes at Ryker. Kyle felt his back start to sweat and moved away from him. Richard apologized to her and promised Ryker wouldn't say anything else about her sister.
Markus was getting jittery in his chair as he saw Vincent make that grand statement. "Hahaha! Yes Vincent! That is how you handle those weaklings: make them cower and step on their graves." Vera and the others shook their heads at Markus.
"Vincent made the right call. He realized hiding the information would be impossible, so he struck first." Jekel sighed. "He had a beautiful plan, and it was going perfectly." He looked at Pyea. "Taylor is your sister. Just like you, she destroys things." Pyea couldn't refute him and ignored him as she congratulated her sister.
Training Room.
Vincent stood in the middle of the room, going through the movements of the axe, the martial art of Chopping mountains. He needed to get used to using the new poleaxe. He was on his third set when the door opened.
He didn't stop moving and continued executing the correct moves. Talia and the others walked in. They saw Vincent practicing. Takashi whistled. "I didn't know he had all of those tattoos. The dragon and serpent are beautiful." The girls and the rest of the guys looked at him. "Don't give me those looks. You all were looking to."
Vincent finished his last move and put away his poleaxe. "Thanks for coming here so fast. We should practice together so we can be in sync. Hey, nice to meet you. I'm Vicent; you must be Garfield." Vincent shook hands with Garfield, who felt out of place. He wasn't muscular like the others, nor was he a high-class citizen.
"Hey, don't worry about your status. You are in the same boat as the rest of us. We are counting on you to save our butts if we get too injured." Vincent gave him a firm pat on his shoulder. Talia walked around Vincent. "Where is it? Where is the God weapon?"
Vincent rolled his eyes, and Cosmic threads appeared on his lower back. "They are called Cosmic threads. I had them created to be used with my short axes." He took them out and showed the holes in the handles. Talia understood what they were for. "You wanted to be able to throw and control them at will. It's a good idea since you are not a long-range fighter."
Vincent nodded his head. "Garfield, how did you get on the ship?" "They let me cross over when I showed them proof that a team had recruited me here. Each ship is connected through teleportion circles." Vincent nodded and turned to address everyone.
"We have a week to get in sync with each other's actions and how we think. We will help each other with our missions for all of us to awaken successfully. We have a bright red target on our backs and might even have a bounty on our heads." He paused and let them digest what he said.
"We will do the easier missions first to have awakened team members. We will provide support if your mission says you must complete it yourself. While on the ship the following week, we will walk in groups. We walk in duos at all times."
He proceeded to hand out supplies to them. "These supplies are for your protection. You don't trust anyone but the people in this room. There are pills, potions, and runes to protect you. If someone tries to corner you, then kill them." He looked at everyone's faces. Isabella and Garfield paled a little, but they understood why.
"Show them no mercy, for they will not offer you any. I plan on returning home alive with everyone that is here. I will be the biggest target and will draw the most attention." He looked at Talia. "You will be my duo. Everyone knows you are my roommate, so you are just stuck with me." Talia let out an exasperated sigh. "Yay for me."
"Trent, you will be with Takashi. Isabell will be with Bruno. Meredith and Garfield are the last pair." Isabell wanted to argue, but Vincent cut her off by raising his hand. "I know you and Trent work well together, but you are part of a team. You have to interact and learn to trust your teammates."
Isabell swallowed her words. "This place is big enough to train and sleep in. There are showers for both genders, and we can buy sleeping furniture from the supply store. I rented this place the rest of the time we were on the ship. This way, you guys don't have to worry about your roommate attacking you in your sleep."
"Thank goodness, my roommate was giving me weird looks." Bruno sat on the floor. "Break off and work on your teamwork with your partner. In two hours, we will spar and work together." Everyone split up with each other. The room could divide itself into different sections.
Vincent turned to Talia. "What do you want to work on?" Talia responded by summoning her sword. Vincent called his twin axes. They were four feet long, including the axe heads. The blades were red and blue, and the handles were white with yellow streaks. Talia's sword was pitch black with a purple handle and guard.
Talia started the match off with a thrust to Vincent's heart. Vincent sidestepped her thrust and slashed at her neck with the axe in his left hand. Talia spun on her heel and used the momentum to slice at his neck. Vincent rolled under the attack and slashed at her feet.
Talia stabbed her sword into the floor to block his attack. She kicked the back of her sword. Vincent crossed his axes in front to stop her attack. He trapped her sword between his axes and disarmed her by turning oppositely. He tossed her sword away.
Talia straightened her hand and attacked him. Vincent's instincts allowed him to move out of the way. He was wearing the cloak, but he felt the impact. He fell and rolled on the floor before stopping. They looked at each other, and Vincent broke the silence.
"You can use sword intent?" Talia shifted her stance and raised an eyebrow at him. "That's fine with me." He put away his axes and summoned his staff. Talia's eyes narrowed when she felt his staff's intent. "We can go all out now."
He kicked her sword back at her. She caught it without taking her eyes off Vincent. 'You gotta be kidding me! What are you? Are the universe's illegitimate child!?' Vincent smirked as he saw her face. 'How long can you last, Talia?'