Inside the Tomoko house…
Konomi was busy cooking some meat over a stove. Her mom was sitting on the living room couch nearby, her eyes closed and wrapped in a blanket.
"Mom! The food is almost ready!"
Ms. Tomoko slowly opened her eyes, smelling the delicious meat in the air. "Konomi? Where did you get that?"
She tried to get up, but she fell back down. Konomi rushed to her side, using her arms to support her. "Mom! Are you okay?"
"That meat…how?"
"It's from the festival!" Konomi answered. "Takamoto told me about it, and that General Morino was funding it, so I took the opportunity to grab enough to last us for months!"
"Really?" Ms. Tomoko asked. "Where is Takamoto now?"
"I think he's still out—-"
BOOM.
Just then, a bloody Tomoko came flying through the window of the house, landing hard on the table in the middle of the kitchen. "Ow. Haha!"
"Takamoto!" his mom and sister cried. Tomoko pushed himself up, a smile on his face.
"Mother! Sister! How fun!"
He noticed the meat on the stove. "Haha! Is that dinner? It smells good!"
Konomi ran over to him. "Takamoto! What happened? What's going on? Why are you bleeding?"
"Ha! We're about to be attacked!"
"What?"
An army of inhuman soldiers in all-black armor burst through the door, weapons at the ready. Konomi froze the moment they entered, and one broke off from the pack, intensely analyzing the family.
"They're human. No Voltian blood in em' at all."
A female soldier stepped forward, lowering her sword. "Greetings. My name is Eliza. Do you have any knowledge of where we can find a boy named Dachii Jones?"
"Dachii Jones?" Konomi thought. "Who is that?"
"Haha!" Tomoko exclaimed.
Eliza looked at them expectantly. "Well, children? Time isn't to be wasted, Lord Ravos awaits."
Ms. Tomoko weakly pushed herself off the couch and made her way over to her kids. "Get away from my children!"
She picked up a lamp and threw it at Eliza, but it simply bounced off her chest. "I promise you I have no interest in your children. I have interest in any information they hold, specifically THAT one."
She pointed to Tomoko. "I know you're in one of their military squads. I've seen you with the target, I know you know him."
"Haha! I do!"
"Takamoto! Don't you tell her anything!"
Ms. Tomoko threw another lamp at Eliza, who effortlessly dodged it without looking. "Hmph. Don't make me have to do this the hard way—-"
Before she could take another step forward, a barrage of gunfire hit her and her soldiers, making them stumble. Outside of the door, Tomoko noticed Atomu and Nishiyama, with guns in their hands.
"Tomoko!" Atomu called out. "Are you guys alright?"
"Clearly," Nishiyama remarked. "They're all alive, hooray."
"Prince Atomu?" Konomi realized. "What the hell is going on? What has my brother gotten into?"
"No time to explain!" Atomu replied. "Here, Tomoko! Catch!"
Atomu tossed Tomoko a spare gun, and he grabbed it, laughing. "Okay! Haha!"
Eliza rose up, raising up her sword. "New orders. Kill those Voltian scumbags!"
She and her soldiers charged at Atomu and Nishiyama, who took off running from them. Tomoko began to follow, but Konomi grabbed his arm.
"What are you doing, Takamoto? I know you've finally joined a military squad, but you're still only human! You shouldn't be chasing after those…monsters!"
"It's my duty!" Tomoko laughed. "Haha!"
"Takamoto!"
Before she could protest, he had already run out of the house. Konomi tried to follow, but Ms. Tomoko put a hand on her shoulder.
"That boy won't listen," she remarked. "It's best to let him go, and home for the best. We'll be waiting here when he comes back."
"Alright…" Konomi relented. "Be careful, Takamoto!"
Outside of the house, Eliza pointed to the two fleeing Voltians. "Get them! Don't let them regroup with their allies!"
Atomu and Nishiyama managed to scale their way up to a rooftop, firing back at the approaching soldiers.
"What do we do?" Nishiyama asked. "They won't just leave us alone! Plus we don't even know what danger Dachii and Sir Morino are in!"
Some of the soldiers threw spears at the two. Atomu pulled Nishiyama down.
"We'll have to worry about that later! We need to get to the others! Where's Tomoko?"
"Ugh, he's down there," Nishiyama pointed.
Tomoko pointed his gun at the group of soldiers, an excited look on his face. "Haha! Hands up, everyone!"
They all slowly turned around, confused. Eliza waved him off. "Get lost, boy. Blood will be shed in this spot. Don't make us have to hurt you too."
"Hahaha! Attack me!"
Eliza groaned and prepared her sword. "Foolish child."
BOOM.
Just then, a large explosion of fire erupted into the air, drawing everyone's attention, especially Eliza's.
"Lord Ravos…!"
As soon as the fire died down, all the soldiers turned toward it.
"Ravos sends his message! He's there, in the center! Move, everyone! Move!" Eliza ordered.
In a swift motion, they were gone, leaving Tomoko, Atomu, and Nishiyama alone.
"Yeah, run away, cowards!" Nishiyama called out.
Atomu slapped his head. "Let's go. We don't need any more minions coming after us."
He dropped to the ground, and Nishiyama did the same. As soon as they did, Nishiyama grabbed Tomoko by his shirt, shaking him back and forth.
"Idiot! How are you the first one in danger? Humans, I swear!"
"Dachii is a human," Atomu pointed out.
"So?" Nishiyama responded. "He's…wait, he's not…"
They both remembered Morino's story, but before they could speak on it, they heard a voice calling them. "Guys!"
Marachii and Mashimo ran up to them, breathing hard.
"Good to see you kids in good shape!" Mashimo stated, relieved. "Don't split off like that again!"
Nishiyama jabbed at Tomoko. "Blame him."
"We need to head for the flames," Mashimo ordered. "If the situation is as dire as it seems, Dachii and Sir Morino will need all the help they can get."
"Hold up a minute!"
Mashimo jumped back, noticing Kia behind him.
"Mom?" Marachii questioned. "I thought you stayed at the house!"
"Son, your brother and grandfather are in a battle for their lives, and you expect me to peacefully wait at the house?" she asked. "I only can take so much stress, and now you're rushing off into battle with THESE things? These…these…!"
She looked like she wanted to rant, but Marachii could sense something was off. "Mom, about your mother…"
"It's…not the time, son." she immediately interrupted.
"Excuse, Kiana, but—-" Mashimo started.
"Don't. You may be my father's trusted little sidekick, but I don't care for or about you one bit. Just go and do your job, and help him. I swear, if anything happens to either of them, so help me I will destroy every last one of you so thoroughly that—-!"
"Mom!" Marachii exclaimed.
She took a deep breath. "Marachii, you stay here with me. The rest of them will make sure Dachii and Morino are safe."
Marachii opened his mouth to protest, but Kia gave him a stern look. "Alright. Good luck, guys!"
"Take care," Atomu said. "Hopefully, we all make it back in one piece."
"Hopefully YOU don't," Kia spat.
The four left in the direction of the flames and screams, and once Kia and Marachii were alone, he looked up at her.
"Mom, how much about all this do you REALLY know?"
She closed her eyes. "More than I would like to son. More than I would like."
Meanwhile, in the center of the Batango Party…
Dachii emerged from the rubble of a building only to fight Morino and Ravos clashing ferociously, fire bursting off both of their weapons.
"You're still keeping up, old man? Impressive!"
Ravos sent him back with a single kick, which made him spit out some blood. "I'm not THAT old! FURY!"
Morino launched a flaming axe toward Ravos, but Ravos easily avoided it. "If you say!"
Aoki pulled herself out of the rubble as well. "Damn, what have I been hit with?"
"I think it was a fire blast," Dachii answered. "I forgot you don't have an Element, so you can't heal fast!"
"Don't…need…one…"
She tried to push herself up but clearly was struggling.
BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.
In front of them, buildings were dropping and people were running as Ravos continued attacking Morino.
"Why does every event I attend in this place turn into a death trap?" Dachii moaned.
Haruto landed in front of him. "Dachii! I made it here as fast as I could!"
"Haruto?" Aoki noticed.
He shifted his attention to her. "Oh. It's YOU."
"You guys know each other too?" Dachii butted in.
"Same tournament, remember?" Haruto pointed out.
"Ahh, right."
BOOM.
Morino went flying down the street but recovered before Ravos could strike him again. Haruto helped Dachii and Aoki up.
"It's getting crazy out here!" Haruto stated. "People are panicking, houses are burning, and there's Zharians everywhere!"
"More Zharians?" Dachii asked. "Don't tell me there's an army here!"
Ravos stopped attacking. "Eh?"
A few Zharian soldiers approached Ravos and bowed. "Lord Ravos! Lord Akuma has sent us to assist! How can we be of service!"
Ravos had an annoyed look on his face, which he tried to hide with a smile. "Heh, I told him I wanted to do this SOLO. Of course, he never listens to me."
"Akuma?" Dachii thought. "Another Elite sent them? Who is that guy?"
Ravos motioned them to the side. "Watch, loyal underlings! This is how you engage in a TRUE fight!"
He spun his sword and sent slashes of fire at Dachii, Haruto, and Aoki. Aoki quickly managed to tackle the other two out of the way, before collapsing to the ground.
"Never…felt…so…weak…" she groaned.
"Aoki, your entire body is turning red!" Dachii blurted out, concerned. "Maybe we should try and get Hikari here!"
"NO!" she refused. "I've got this! This is nothing! When you live as long as me…you learn…to endure…"
"HEATER!"
BOOM.
A massive explosion of flame burst right out of Ravos's body, but Morino grabbed all three of them and got them to safety. As soon as he sent Aoki down, she dropped to her knees.
"Aoki, stay here and rest," he demanded. "You've pushed yourself too hard."
"Morino, I don't want to—-"
"That's an order!" he said, right before moving in to engage Ravos once more. "Dachii, Haruto, make sure she doesn't move from that spot!"
"Who does he think he is?" she snapped. "I'm not a child!"
"You look like one," Haruto shrugged. "Are you sure you're not like, our age?"
She glared at him, and he held up his hands. "My bad, my bad."
Ravos eagerly awaited as Morino walked toward him. "Great! You've still got more energy left in you! How about your crew? Why don't they back you up?"
"To make it easier for you to take them out and capture Dachii? Forget it."
Ravos's eyes glinted mischievously. "Come on now, Morino! No need to be so on guard, yet! If they refuse to fight…"
In the blink of an eye, he was behind Morino and next to the others.
"…let's make them!"
He swung his sword, and both Aoki and Haruto ducked, forcing Dachii to summon a gauntlet to block. The second he had the chance, Dachii summoned his other gauntlet and punched Ravos hard in the face, who slightly stumbled back.
"Take that!"
Ravos grinned. "That's what I'm talking about! Nice hit!"
Ravos punched him back, taking half of Dachii's face off with it, making Aoki and Haruto gasp.
"Dude—-!" Haruto screamed, almost hurling.
"Dachii!" Aoki called out, still barely able to move.
Dachii's face healed, and he responded by punching Ravos even harder, making him take a few steps back.
"Hah!"
But Dachii's smile quickly faded when Ravos returned his look, pulling his fist back. "Aww, shit."
BOOM.
Dachii went flying into a row of buildings, completely collapsing every single one. When he landed, he noticed there was a gaping hole in his chest, exposing his heart, which was oddly gray.
"The hell?"
Ravos prepared to follow Dachii, but Haruto grabbed his arm. "Hey! You leave him alone, you fire-head!"
"Brave!" Ravos remarked, before bashing Haruto into the ground with a single punch. Haruto groaned and rolled over on the ground. "I did NOT sign up for this."
Aoki tried to grip her blade, and Ravos simply watched as she made the attempt.
"You, it seems your fight has run out. Well. Better luck next time!"
He picked her up and tossed her across the street, leaving only Morino left. "Now then, my favorite old man! Where were we?"
"At the part where I kick your ass," Morino answered.
"Heh."
Meanwhile, in Titan's castle…
Akuma stood in the throne room alone, his hood covering his face, which was deep in thought. He looked up, and a portal showing the battle taking place in Batango was right in front of him.
"Dachii…Morino…hmph…"
He waved the portal off. "Don't fail, Ravos. Don't even think of it."
His eyes glowed blood red as he left the throne room, an eerie feeling following him.
—-