The smell of burnt wood filled the air in the remnants of the starborne troupe's destroyed base made out of a small Draconian village. Yet, despite the destruction around them, Nara's wide eyes were glued to the Starlight.
"You weren't kidding Kaito… It's freaking huge." She muttered out, completely awestruck.
Kaito stood there smugly with his arms crossed as if he didn't have the same reaction seeing the ship for the first time a few days earlier.
"Pretty crazy, right?"
Nara nodded slowly before she turned back to him.
"…Wait. Can something that huge really even fly?"
Before Kaito could answer, a voice spoke out from the ship's entrance ramp.
"Of course it can. I don't build cheap shit around here." Said Jinx, walking down the ramp.
"Jinx!" Kaito called out, jogging over and fist bumping her.
"Kid! You actually made it, huh?" She said, half surprised, half joking.
"Wait… You thought I was gonna die?"
"Ehhh… it was fifty-fifty."
"Eh…?"
"Rorik bet me 50,000 credits you'd lose an arm… SHIT! Now how am I going to pay my debts to those little green shits at the licensing station!?"
Kaito's shoulders slumped down and he let out a long sigh.
"Wow. So you guys really had zero faith in me huh…? Jeez, that's nice to know…"
Elara walked up.
"Jinx, what's the ship's status? How long until we can fly?"
Jinx pointed at the left side of the ship.
"We took a bit of damage from the crash. The left propulsion system is fried, and the jump drive's down. Rorik's been working on it since we got free, but from what he said, we should be good to go by nightfall to head out."
Talon scoffed, her tail thrashing behind her walking up between Elara and Kaito.
"Nightfall?! That's still half a cycle away! We've wasted enough time on this stupid planet already."
Nara's expression soured subtly, looking over and shooting her a glare. Jinx walked towards Talon before stopping a few feet in front of her.
"I'm so sorry, ma'am. I didn't realize we weren't working fast enough for your high standards. Let me go get my manager to see if there's something we can do."
She did a slow 360-degree spin before facing her again, but this time holding up a middle finger with her cybernetic arm.
"Oh no! Looks like you just missed them. Want to leave a message? What's the name?"
Kaito snorted, covering his mouth and turning his whole body to the side, trying his hardest to contain his laugh. Talon sucked her teeth and stomped toward the ship. Jinx kept her middle finger up while waving with her other hand as she walked by with a big ole smile on her face.
"Stuck up bitch." She muttered under her breath as Talon walked up the ramp.
"Viro. Take Jorak to the interrogation room and wait for Kaeline." Elara requested, looking over to Viro who's carrying the Beast's unconscious body.
"Roger that, captain." Viro said enthusiastically, saluting with his free hand before sprinting full speed up the ship's ramp.
Jinx leaned to the side, spotting Nara.
"Who's she?" She asked bluntly.
"That's Nara, daughter of one of the village leaders." Elara replied.
Jinx raised an eyebrow watching her and Kaito.
"…That little purple hair preppy twig! Who does she think she is calling my world stupid? I swear, I'll rip that little tail off and strangle her with it!" Nara grunted out, foaming at the mouth while Kaito fought for his life trying to hold her back, being dragged in the dirt.
"Relax! Relax! She didn't mean it that way!" He pleaded.
Jinx watched with amusement as a slow, mischievous grin spread on her face.
"I like her…" She mumbled out.
Then, as if sensing something, her eyes shifted to the side slightly, landing on Aqua who stood just a few feet away, still quiet. Her playful expression faded. Before she could take a step over, Elara's hand shot out in front of her.
"Don't worry about her. For now, due to certain circumstances… she's no enemy of ours." She said calmly.
"Huh? What do you mean? Why cap?" Jinx asked, confusion all over her face.
Elara glanced over to Kaito, still struggling to hold Nara back, who's now a few feet from the ship's ramp. Jinx looked over and her smirk returned.
"Ahhhhh, okay okay. I see why Talon's in a more bitchy mood than usual now." She said while chuckling.
"Kaito. Nara." Elara called out.
Both of them froze in place, their heads slowly turning to her.
"Nara, this is Jinx. She's the ship's engineer and its owner." She said casually.
"Don't forget to put 'badass' in front of it." Jinx added.
Nara tilted her head a bit before nodding.
"Uhh, nice to meet you… badass engineer Jinx." She said hesitantly.
"HA! I really like her!" Jinx blurted out.
Nara chuckled at first before her expression became more serious. She turned back to Elara.
"My family… my village… Are they okay?" She asked, a clear worry in her usual fiery eyes.
"Kaeline should be bringing over everyone that Kaito mentioned was with him before he entered the perimeter, besides Elysia and a few of Kaeline's clones that will remain out to provide support and healing for any survivors in the nearby villages." Elara said bluntly.
"H–How bad is it? How many lives…?" Nara asked.
Elara stayed silent for a moment, her stoic demeanor relaxing slightly seeing the pain and worry in Nara's eyes.
"Once we freed everyone, Jinx launched a small low-orbit satellite to analyze and scout the surrounding land on this continent." She said calmly as Jinx walked up next to them.
"I only had time to launch one of them so we don't have coverage of the entire planet, only about twenty-seven, maybe thirty percent of it, but based on what we could see… nearly all the villages within range have been completely wiped out or overrun by the starborne troupe. The casualty rate could be anywhere from sixty percent or higher. That's only on this continent, I can't see the other two… The majority of the survivors are from your village and another one north of it. The rest… either didn't make it or have been taken away to who knows where." She explained.
Aqua, standing behind everyone, lowered her head as guilt crashed over her like a tidal wave. Kaito noticed her mood shift and a worried look came over his face as he watched her trembling webbed fingers and twitching fins.
"It's that bad? I was gone for less than ten cycles and they managed to cover that much ground?" Nara asked quietly, her head dropping to the ground and her partially scale cover hands clenched into fists.
Elara walked next to her.
"I'm sorry… You should rest on the ship while we wait for the others." She said calmly, gently patting her on the back.
Nara weakly nodded before dragging her feet in the ground toward the ship. Just as she was about to step onto the ramp, she felt a pat of a small hand on her back. She picked her head up and turned to see Jinx grinning at her.
"You're world doesn't have any type of tech close to this don't you?" She asked with a smirk on her face.
Nara hesitated before shaking her head.
"No… nothing like this at all." She mumbled out.
"Oof. That must blow. But don't worry, I know exactly what you need to try. VR games!"
"V..R… games?" Nara muttered out, her head tilting to the side.
"Yeah. It stands for virtual reality. You put a headset over your head then BOOOM! You're in a whole different simulated world and be or do just about anything you want."
"A different… world? Is it… real?"
"It's very real… Well, kinda. You know what? Forget explaining. Let's just go. We might have to alter a headset with those weapons of horns you have on your head, but I think we should be fine! Say! I bet you'd be good at some battle royal games too! Oh, there's this human fighting game called Mortal Kombat that Kaito brought with him! It's crazy bloody!... Just… don't play Kaito yet. He's kind of sweaty with a character named Raiden."
Before Nara could say anything, Jinx grabbed her by the arm and dragged her up the ramp. Kaito watched them walk inside before turning his attention to Aqua who was still standing there, staring at the ground in guilt.
"Aqua… are you okay?" He asked softly.
She slowly shook her head.
"I… don't understand…" She mumbled out, just loud enough for him and Elara to hear.
"It's okay to not understand everything right now, but—"
"No, that's not it." She cut him off with.
Elara's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Then what do you mean?" Kaito asked as he walked over to her.
"Your crewmate… the one with white hair and shadow abilities, Kaeline right? She was right. Sera and I have been friends since we were kids. But… the Sera I knew… she would never hurt anyone. Not a soul. Let alone take over an entire world. I remember us at the Elnath Star Traveler Academy. She… she helped me when I was alone and scared. She was my first and only friend."
Elara's eyes widened, her entire body perking up slightly.
"Wait… the Elnath Star Traveler Academy? That's one of the most prestigious academies in not just this galaxy, but the surrounding dozens. Only the children of the elite, those in power or with extreme wealth get accepted there. Are you certain that's where you know her from?" She asked.
Aqua nodded slowly without speaking. Kaito scoffed before crossing his arms.
"Who are you telling? I applied there once, and they denied me right after I clicked submit. I swear it's like they smelled the poorness from light-years away."
Elara's eyes remained on Aqua.
"If you were a student there, then… Just who are your parents?" She asked curiously.
The moment those words left her lips, Aqua's body tensed up. Her head pounded, not as bad as before, but enough to make her look down, clutching her head in pain. After a moment, it went away and she raised her head, but when she did, an endless sea of bodies surrounded her.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" She screamed bloody murder, clutching her head before her entire body began seizing up.
Her scream turned into a loud gargle as fluids tried to escape from her throat. Her body shook violently before falling to the ground.
"Aqua?! What's wrong?! Aqua!" Kaito yelled out frantically, lunging over to catch her in his arms.
"Kaito! Get her to the medical bay! Now!" Elara ordered urgently.
"Got it!" Kaito replied immediately.
Aqua's vision began to fade. The last thing she saw was Kaito's worried expression before everything went black.
As the sun began to set, Kaito and Elara stood just outside the medical bay aboard the ship. The door hissed opened and Elysia walked out.
"She's stable. For now, at least." She said assuredly.
"Is she gonna be okay?" Kaito asked worriedly.
"I believe so… but it's hard to say right now. I need to monitor her for a bit longer to be sure."
Elara looked over at her.
"Do you know what happened to her? How long until she wakes up?"
Elysia shook her head.
"No I don't, but I can see the essence in her brain isn't flowing properly. Like it's being blocked by something, cutting off access to certain parts of her brain, just like with Jorak. But… I don't see anything that could be doing so." She said, clearly stumped by Aqua's condition.
"You mean, like Sera's control still affecting her?" Kaito asked.
"It's possible. But when I examined Nara, her essence flow was completely normal throughout her entire body. She has no memories of the time she was controlled, but there were no irregularities in her brain function. Aqua, though… it's different. Her brain isn't just missing information—it's trying to find something that isn't there. A self-perpetuating cycle of searching for something that doesn't exist. Doing so, the brain overloads itself trying to retrieve a memory that's been severed from it, causing a complete shutdown… and that seizure."
Kaito gulped nervously, taking a moment to absorb what was said before replying.
"...So what do we do?" He asked unsurely.
"For now, we watch over her until we understand what's happening to her, and we get the information we need. She's far too dangerous to let her wander freely across the cosmos. Elysia, update me if anything changes." Elara said firmly.
"Yes captain." Elysia replied.
Elara turned to leave, motioning for Kaito to follow.
"Let's go. Kaeline's waiting for us at the interrogation room. Jorak should be awake by now."
Kaito hesitated, glancing back at Aqua through the window. Elysia stepped to him and placed a gentle hand on his cheek, pinching and rubbing it softly.
"Don't trouble yourself too much, Kaito dear. I'll make sure she's okay." She said with a small but warm smile on her face.
He looked at her, his grip on his emotions loosening slightly before taking a deep breath. He covered her hand with his own, looking into her eyes.
"Thank you, Elysia… I know I've been giving you a lot of trouble lately, it's just—"
She cut him off with a soft giggle.
"It's okay, Kaito dear…" Her eyes softened and her smile widened instantly.
"Now go, before the captain gets annoyed."
The worried look on his face melted away, being replaced by an appreciative smile.
"You're the best, Elysia. I owe you big time." He said before turning and jogging after Elara.
A couple minutes later, the two of them made it to the outside of the interrogation room on the other side of the ship. Kaeline was already there, standing next to a large one way window of the room.
"Got anything out of him yet?" Elara asked.
"Not much. He doesn't even know what planet we're on. He has no recollection of how or when they arrived." Kaeline responded.
"So, his memories are gone too?"
"Seems like it. The moment Sera was sealed, his memories along with Aqua seemed to be erased. Almost like a failsafe. Whoever this Grand Order is must have some serious secrets they don't want getting out."
Elara's eyes narrowed as she glanced through the glass, looking at the beaten and heavily sedated Jorak slumped in the chair.
"Can you use that ability?" She asked bluntly.
"I can try. But it might kill him." Kaeline responded.
"That's a risk we'll have to take. If this Grand Order is as dangerous as they sound, we can't afford to be in the dark… What about the fragment? Is it still safe?"
Kaeline looked over to her shadow casted on the wall before reaching a hand out. Her arm disappeared, disappearing inside of it as if it was a portal to another world. She pulled her arm back with the rocky dark blue fragment in hand, its symbols and crystals glowing white subtly. Elara nodded before Kaeline reached back inside of her shadow, placing the fragment back to wherever it came from in her pocket dimension.
"Okay, let's use that ability to see what information we can get." Elara said.
"Wait, what ability?" Kaito butted in with.
"A forbidden jutsu." Kaeline said calmly, turning to face him.
"Every person's essence vibrates at a specific frequency, unique to them. If you can match someone else's frequency, you can blend your essence into theirs. That's a part of what this jutsu does."
"Wait… if you match frequencies, wouldn't that trigger a resonance transformation?"
Elara shook her head.
"No. A resonance transformation only happens when someone's soul frequency matches their own essence frequency. Kaeline's jutsu only syncs with the essence, not the soul."
"Okay, but… how's that gonna let you get inside his head?" He asked.
Kaeline reached her hand out in front of him.
"That's where the other part of the jutsu comes in. Once I make physical contact with him, I can transfer my essence into his body. From there, I'll navigate to his brain and see if I can access the parts that his own essence can't." She explained.
Elara stepped towards the door of the room.
"Sorry Kaito, we're running out of time… Kaeline, we need to get started right away."
Kaeline nodded, following behind her. Kaito hesitated before following suit.
"Wait… what happens if her essence gets out of sync with his while they're merged together inside of him?" He continued to ask.
"Then he dies." Elara said bluntly, just as she pressed the entrance button.
The door hissed open as her and Kaeline calmly walked in.
"And Kaeline…?" Kaito asked nervously, walking in behind.
"She'll be fine, She's not pulling his essence into herself. If anything, she's the predator and he's the prey."
Kaito gulped. He was getting ready to say something else when a thought stopped him dead in his tracks.
"Wait… so if Jorak dies then they'll use… Aqua."
Elara glanced at him, seeing the look of shock on his face.
"Pay attention Kaito. You're seeing a real part of being a star traveler."
He clenched his fists, clearly conflicted, but nodded.
Kaeline stepped toward Jorak, stopping just a couple feet from him. She raised her hand and pressed two fingers to his forehead. With her other hand, she performed a series of hand signs and her black essence began to flow around her body before focusing on her two fingers on his head. The essence began to flow around the top of his skull. Kaito leaned forward, eyes wide with anticipation.
Then—
CRACK!
Blood and chunks of his skull and brain matter sprayed on Kaeline, the walls, the ceiling… everywhere.
His entire head blew up.