In no time at all, the members of Squad S-1 were in a strange-looking "car," that appeared to be an armored Mercedes-Benz. Surprisingly enough, it had enough space for them all. Fujii drove, Akari sat in the front, and the others sat in the back. Dachii was next to Marachii.
"How far are we?"
Fujii gave him a wink. "Real close! Don't worry!"
"Why didn't we go on foot? I can move fast!"
"Because this is cooler!"
"Don't you elves have tanks? Why a Benz?"
Everyone in the car groaned. In a few more minutes, the giant batch of trees that Dachii and Marachii passed through on their way in were visible now. Somehow, it looked much more threatening to Dachii than before.
The other vehicles, which appeared to be trucks and vans that were much, MUCH larger than the car Fujii drove, stopped at the edge of the Forest. Fujii pulled up next to them. All the generals got out of their vehicles, gathering together.
"Well, seems we've made it!" Fujii had a smile on his face. Himeka walked forward, taking it in.
"Ooh, I'm nervous! Are you guys nervous? Because I am most DEFINITELY nervous! Like, super nervous—-"
Morino had to put a hand on her shoulder to calm her down. "Where are my grandkids, Kenshi?"
"Oh, in the car. They'll get out soon. Just gotta make sure we're in the right area. Don't want to rush into a battle unprepared."
"Uh-huh. Just keep them behind you at all times."
"No problem!"
After more discussion, each general got their members out. In addition to the new recruits, Squads S-2 through S-7 also had older, adult members step out as well. They all armed themselves with weapons, giving the younger members some as well.
Dachii sighed. "I would be in the ONE squad that gets no backup or no GUN."
Luca walked up to him. "Well, you do have powers they all long to possess. So that's that."
"I want a GUN."
Tomoko ran over to him. "Dachii! You've made it! Yay!"
He had some "plasma rifle" in his hands. He showed it to Dachii. "Look at this cool thing! Can't wait to shoot some people!"
He accidentally shot it, making Dachii and Luca jump back. "Oops! Ha!"
"And you made the cut. Well, can't be mad. Congrats, I guess."
Nishiyama grabbed him by the hair and dragged him away. "Come here, you little jerk."
Marachii made his way to them. "Oh. Well, seems he's gotten pretty used to military life. That's...nice."
Fujii stood in front of all the gathered members. "Listen up, it's time to head into the forest! These creatures are gonna hit hard to defend their territory! So we're gonna hit hard back! Let's go!"
Morino tapped him, glaring. Fujii nervously laughed. "Oh, right! And stay with your squads!"
Then he summoned his ice katana again and pointed it into the forest. "Charge!"
And in a flash, he disappeared into the forest. The other generals quickly moved after him. After a moment's hesitation, everyone else took off into the forest as well. Dachii, Marachii, Akari, Hikari, and Luca all were next to each other. Dachii scanned the forest.
"Uh, where are we going? Did you see where he went?"
Akari began running in front of them. "Just follow me."
"And here she goes."
Through all the trees Dachii could see the other squadmates running. He couldn't see any trace of Fujii, or even Morino for that matter.
Akari began to slow down. "Heads up! Dwarves!"
Tiny creatures with stocky and muscular bodies, large hands, lots of hair, and metal armor and weapons all came out of the trees. "Attack the TYRANTS!"
Dachii looked at them. "Aww, they look cute—!"
One male dwarf threw his axe at him, making him duck. "What the—-?"
Akari shot an energy blast at him, knocking him down. "Ahhh!" The rest held their weapons steady, getting ready to pounce. "ATTACK!"
They jumped down, a swarm of them surrounding the group. Each of them had a weapon pointed at the Squad. One stepped forward.
"You are not allowed here, you mean elves!"
Dachii laughed, but Akari threw an energy blast at the dwarf's face. "Ow! She dares to hit me? Attack her! Show no mercy!"
They all rushed the group. Each of them was forced to activate their abilities to defend themselves from the ruthless dwarf onslaught. In the process, Dachii and Luca got split up from the other three.
"Sheesh, no one told me these things were so aggressive! What'd I DO?"
"Not you. Us. They hate us."
"So why are they fighting ME?"
"Cuz you're with us."
One shot an arrow at them, and Luca caught it and threw it back, hitting him in the shoulder. "Ahh! Vile creature!"
"We should get back to the others."
"Where'd they go?"
On the opposite side, Marachii was being crowded by dwarves as he tried to crawl away. "You! Answer for your crimes! You shall not past this point—-!"
"WHAT crimes? I've never even stolen candy before—-!"
A wave of energy hit the dwarves, sending them all back. Akari kicked one so hard that she went flying through the trees. She helped Marachii up.
"Uh, thanks?"
"Don't talk to these things."
A dozen came at her, and she crossed her arms and made a "slash," sending such a powerful wave of energy out that it took them all down. Hikari caught up to the two.
"Phew! These things definitely woke up on the wrong side of the bed!"
"Come on, let's go find Fujii and the others." Akari took off in an instant, heading deeper into the forest. Marachii and Hikari followed her.
Meanwhile, in the Castle of Voltiana...
King Ayrad and Queen Ayame were holding a meeting in their throne room, with various government representatives in attendance. King Ayrad stood up and cleared his throat. "So, I assume this will go better than the last attack on them?"
Ohashi Yakamochi stood up and spoke. "Yes. We have rookies with great potential added to the ranks. They've engaged the targets now."
"Good, good. We need to make sure we really send a message this time, so they don't try any more resistance."
"They won't."
Queen Ayame sharpened her nails as she addressed the representatives. "And of Squad S-1? And the human boys?"
Yonemura spoke with a simple and direct tone. "They are being watched right now. They split due to the attack. The Tech User is with your daughter and Hikari Hisatomi. The other one is with Luca Mori."
"Good. Keep a close eye on them. This mission can determine just how useful they can be to us."
"Of course, ma'am."
Back in the forest...
"Awesome! It feels SO GOOD to finally be in a real FIGHT!"
Tetsuya was busy punching through various dwarves as he ran through the forest. Kazue was next to him and Tsugumi was in front of him, rolling her eyes.
"Idiot. Just keep moving and stay on guard."
"Hater!"
Other members of Squad S-2 were around them. "Kids! Look for the General!" Tsugumi looked around as she easily busted through various dwarves who tried to strike her.
"I'm looking. I see nothing."
Kazue was eating a piece of fish. "Me either! No General Himeka in sight!"
"Keep moving! She has to be here somewhere!"
More dwarves tried to get the jump on them, but Tsugumi simply touched her gun and shot them all down. "There! I think I see something."
Stone houses began to appear in view, as more dwarves came out of the trees, fully armed. "Well then."
On another side of the forest, Nakada was running with her own members. Kai and Obara tried to keep up.
"Ma'am, you're...in great...shape..."
"Come, team! Keep pace!"
As a massive army of dwarves came into view, she pulled her weapon out: a massive, double-bladed sword with two shotgun barrels hidden inside. A "gunblade."
She used it in perfect form, slashing through dwarves and shooting the ones she couldn't reach. In an instant, many dwarves fell to the ground as the squad kept moving. Obara looked at the aftermath.
"Such precision! Now that's a lady who knows what she's doing!"
Kai ran beside him. "Most definitely! Glad she's the one running in front!"
A middle-aged Voltian caught up to them. "Hey, kids! I'm Vice-General Oyakawa Teika! Glad to have you aboard!"
He used his gun to shoot a nearby dwarf.
"But yeah, as for the Captain, General, whatever you wanna call her, of course she's badass! The Generals don't just talk a big game, they ARE big game!"
Looking ahead, they saw Nakada taking out swarms of dwarves with ease, even as they tried their best to outnumber and overpower her. She moved with effortless speed and technique. Kai used his magic to make his gun bigger and shot some dwarves she was fighting. After she was done she looked at him.
"Hogging the kill?"
"Just tryna help!"
She laughed, surprising the entire squad. Then she wiped her face and dashed off again. "Now, to me!"
Over on another side, Squad S-5 had caught up to Shinjii, who was using a giant axe to cleave through the mountain of dwarves in his way. His "Oblivion Axe."
"HAHAHAHA! Bleed for me, tree dwellers!"
Arata jumped into the action. "I want some!"
He slammed the ground and sent a horde of dwarves flying. "Ahhh! They are too strong! RUN!"
As the dwarves began to retreat, Shinjii kept mowing them down like grass, pressing onward as his squad helped him.
"Let's KILL them ALL! HA!"
"Definitely!" Arata punched a dwarf into a tree.
As they hit a dwarf town, many dwarf soldiers made a line to block them. The one in the middle stepped forward.
"I am Rufius, one of the Dwarf Generals! You can not be allowed to move beyond this area—-!"
Shinjii punched him so hard that he crashed into one of the tiny stone buildings. All of the soldiers watched in horror. "GENERAL!"
"Shut up, tiny man!"
The dwarves all attacked Shinjii at once, who eagerly held up his axe. "Yes! Strike me with everything you've got!"
As they confronted those dwarves, Dachii and Luca saw the battle from not too far away. Luca looked at Dachii.
"Think we should help?"
"Nope. That one guy broke my back, he'll be fine."
"Then let's go find Fujii."
They continued onward through the forest. A dwarf general dropped in front of them.
"Halt! I'm Nukuri, one of our very, very, very elite generals! You two are committing a GRAVE crime by trespassing on our lands! Turn back, NOW!"
"Those guys are hostile, if we turn back they'll still attack us...won't they?" Dachii rubbed his head.
"Good point. Well then, suffer your punishment!"
He drew a greatsword off his back that would take a MASSIVE amount of strength to wield. He stabbed it into the ground. "I show no mercy to traitors!"
"Wow. Who would have figured."
Then he swung the sword at the boys. Dachii threw himself out of the way just in time as Luca summoned his axes to parry the attack. The dwarf prepared for another heavy strike as he pulled it back and swung again, but Luca parried the attack once more, standing his ground.
Dachii got up, contemplating his next move. "What to do...what to DO?"
The dwarf spun around, using a heavy blow to send Luca flying. He then focused his attention on Dachii. "You! Boy with the dreads! You must pay!"
"For WHAT?"
Nukuri tried to smash him under the blade. Dachii got out of the way. When the dwarf swung his sword high, Dachii began to glow gray and JUMPED INTO THE AIR.
"Chill, dude!"
Dachii slowly fell back down as the dwarf tried to throw the sword at him. "Witchcraft!"
Luca came in hot, pouncing on Nukuri in his wolf form. This distracted him enough that he forgot to catch his sword, which landed on the ground a few feet away.
"Bad dog! Get off me!"
As they battled, Dachii tried to look around and see if he could find any trace of the rest of their squad. There was none.
Meanwhile...in the heart of Asmana...
Deep in the forest, far deeper than anyone else had reached, a medieval-looking town and castle resided. The castle was made of stone and iron, while the houses were made of stone and wood. In the throne room of the castle, a dwarf in robes was kneeling before a huge dwarf sitting on the throne.
The huge dwarf wore full metal battle armor and was much bigger than any other dwarf. He had to be at least seven feet tall. He had an iron war hammer strapped to his back and a bushy beard that he stroked as the other dwarf spoke.
"My Prince, they've invaded! The Voltians are attacking!"
He snorted. "Really? They'd try such a direct attack?"
"Yes! They're carving through our forces like it's nothing!"
The giant dwarf got up, drawing his hammer and examining it.
"Fine then. Let's see how they do when *I* show up."
With the other dwarf at his side, he walked out of the castle...
...into the fray.
—-