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May 8

11. Soaring Nexus, part 3

First Chapter: 1. The Prodigy of Shintaro Previous: 10. Soaring Nexus, part 2

Cries of fear, quivering on the streets.

Under the moonlit sky of the Crossroads, a small group of three remains curled up in terror. An adult human man wraps his arms around a frightened young boy, as well as a woman of blue scales across her fin-laden arms.

And approaching them, the raging wolves of flame that had invaded the refugee camp of the Nexus Force. The Stromling Horde’s Arsonist Hounds.

The snarls of the beasts threatened their incoming attack, the sobs of the boy muted by the tight embrace of his loving parents who suffered no less fear than their son as they gazed upon the flaming predators approaching them.

But even louder than these, the distant roar of a completely different beast.

No… This is no creature.

It’s a motorcycle.

This was surely it. The wonderful life they could’ve lived, about to end in a mere instant as the fiery wolf pounces at the defenseless family, now even closer than earlier.

Until the beast was split in half by the sudden dash of a black trail.

Speeding through the road that leads to the raided camp, the demonic rider turns her vehicle around as it slides across the street up to a violent stop, the two halves of the hound launched to both of its sides.

Wearing a black leather jacket marked with the sigil of an Oni upon its back, Youko makes her appearance at last.

With a leg on the bike’s seat, the horned-helmeted woman launches herself towards the family who stare in awe at their apparent savior as the Maelstrom beasts growl at this new enemy that stands before them.

Announced by a roar, one of the wolves attempts to pounce and attack, only to be interrupted by Youko as she slams her palm upon the ground.

An ominous purple glow appears beneath, and in an instant, the mark of an otherworldly glyph manifests itself underneath the beast, who is immediately blasted away by a pillar of raging dark energy, the powers of a demon.

Sure enough, a power capable of defeating Stromlings, obvious from the black smoke left behind by the destroyed hound.

Standing between the civilians and the beasts attempting to circle her, the black haired biker clenches her fists as a flickering flame soon bursts into a shadowy aura surrounding her figure.

Revealed from this fiery display and a sound akin to a faint screech, a new silhouette appears behind Youko, floating above her shoulders. A translucent figure of wisp-like flames, invisible legs made up by muscular arms and a robust build, as well as the pair of horns atop a head covered in long, pale hair.

The family behind them stare at this exhibit in awe, and – despite the somewhat terrifying nature of this power – they could feel oddly protected by their dark savior.

Before long, the dissipating smoke reveals the figure born of Youko’s own energy, the figure of a ghostly Oni warrior.

The figure of Yudai, Youko’s own brother.

And so, the fight continues.

Running towards the woman with a flaming growl, one of the Maelstrom’s Hounds attempts to attack Youko with its powerful bite only to be stopped by the attack of Yudai’s fist.

Quick as a bullet and with the strength of a hundred soldiers, the Oni unleashed a downward fist with enough force to shatter the ground underneath as the wolf crashed against it. Still whole, the spectral warrior picked the creature from its back legs and slammed it against its rushing companion.

With such an attack, the two beasts turned into black smoke, destroyed.

But before the shadowed cloud had even dissipated, another bare-fanged wolf pierced through the mist, only to meet the fist of the Oni, who reacted nearly instantaneously.

A flurry of punches flew towards the creature, dozens upon dozens of strikes thrown in such a quick succession as they repeatedly hit the beast with power akin to a barrage of bullets. With a final hit, the hound burst into black energy as its body fiercely launched across the street.

A few brief moments of quiet pass, it seems there’s no more danger for now.

The spectral Oni Yudai slowly disappeared into nothingness, as easily as he was summoned. Only Youko remains standing on the street.

Looking behind from over her shoulder, the biker sees the family, backs against the wall. Frightened, but safe…

“Thank you so much,“ the Merlopian mother muttered, her son holding tightly onto her.

It’s weird… this feeling. Eyes wandering back and forth for a couple seconds, all Youko could do is give them a nod of acknowledgement.

Running away to safety, Youko fixes her eyes on the family until she can no longer see them in the distance, ensuring they make it out safely. Whatever feeling she may be having, that is what matters the most.

But the fight is not over yet.

During this time, the Arsonist Hound she ran over with her motorcycle – although split in half – was not truly destroyed. The parts of the Stromling had slowly managed to meet back together, regenerate over time.

In complete silence, the healed wolf stood behind the Oni woman as the flames across its body smouldered once again. But she’s no fool, she already noticed the stalker at her back as her fists clenched tightly, ready to battle once again.

With a roar, the monster made its move, all while Youko as well turned around to land an attack of her own.

But the sudden ghostly chain that pierced the beast interrupted the moment.

Violently pulled away from the scene, the wolf wrapped in chains went flying straight towards the cross-shaped slice of dual blades from a spectral assassin. An attack more than enough to finish off the creature for good.

As the blademaster’s silhouette disappeared in a brief flash of teal light, in her stead stood the lean figure of a hooded person. Evident from the hue of their eyes, they were the one that summoned the ghostly apparitions of the chain-wielding warden, as well as the assassin.

“Guess you had it covered already,” they muttered with a few steps forward, examining the remnants of the fight that took place. “You alright?”

Left with her fist hanging, Youko turned to face this new figure, hand now resting on her hip. A brief nod is all she gave.

That’s a relief to hear, the hooded one thought. But before they could respond with a smile, they could notice it. Within the woman, two different sparks of light stood close together. Very similar, yet noticeably distinct from each other.

“You have two souls,” the summoner muttered with visible shock.

Alarmed, a wide eyed Youko turned to them immediately, taking a small step back.

Indeed, the spark of light that represented her soul turned on a yellowish tone, a state of alert.

“Never mind that,” they attempted to dismiss the matter with a gesture of their hand. “You Nexus Force too?”

Glancing away for a moment, despite being taken off guard, Youko knows there’s more important matters at hand. She simply confirms the question with a slow movement of her head.

“Khazri,” the Elemental Master of Souls nodded, introducing themself. “I’m with the Force too.”

With various movements with her right hand, Youko spells her name through signs. Interestingly, they did not react with confusion or shock, rather, quiet understanding.

“Pleasure to meet you, Youko,” Khazri smiled with a gentle nod.

Despite that… initial observation, it’s always nice to find people that understand her signs. Makes things easier for her.

During her moments of thought, Khazri instead walked around the empty street, their teal eyes glancing at the trails of black smoke left behind by the invading creatures.

“These Stromlings,” they quietly started. “You probably already noticed, but there’s a lot of them running around causing chaos.”

Youko’s eyes simply narrowed.

“My companion is out dealing with them too,” the summoner continued. “But with their sheer amount? We’re gonna need more than that.”

Turning to Khazri, the biker gestured with both of her hands. A motion of the two together, followed by a sign with both thumb and index fingers.

“Next we should go to the camp,” they responded. “The Doctor mentioned a big one. Something about a–”

Indeed, the powerful roar of a monster broke any semblance of quietude in the scene.

Both Khazri and Youko stand alert immediately, their faces turning towards the source of this beastly call in the distance. Only, it is not nearly as far as it might appear.

With an expression of confusion and a visible shrug, Youko questioned the source of this metallic shout.

“Speak of the devil,” the Elemental Master simply added.

True enough, a few blocks away from this scene, the shadow of a swarm boss arrives.

There it stands, at the outskirts of the Crossroads where the refugee camp resides, its roars break any and all sound all over. Bursting from the grove past a small clearing, the stony jaws of the Storm Colossus announced the arrival of the final wave of this Stromling invasion.

“Is that–?” The Nindroid Theta Lennox muttered, taking a step away from the massive beast howling further ahead. It had not yet seen the group.

“An Alpha Storm Colossus,” Hiya Lie’s widened eyes fixed on the creature as she responded.

With a drop of cold sweat running across her face, the bat Formling Meiko Komori was filled with equal fear and curiosity as she turned to the Skyfolk engineer, bolts of dark lightning striking near the giant beast.

“What does that mean?” The young girl asked.

“I- I don’t know all the details,” Hiya replied as her expression furrowed, her hand reaching into her bag. “Swarm bosses lead hordes, but an Alpha variant is way bigger and stronger.”

After a brief moment and with her cellphone now on hand, Hiya frantically scrolled through various files and pictures of several kinds of monsters, Stromlings no doubt.

“They were only sent out on the final stages of the war,” she continued as she read through with great speed. “They- they shouldn’t even be here!”

Adjusting his hat with a hand, the detective Wane Corvus held his handgun tightly with the other.

“Hope you’ve got an idea on how to bring it down, Miss Lie.”

“I need to look further into it, but–”

“Wait, look!” Meiko immediately interrupts as she points to the trees behind the giant.

The group all turn to the spot. While the Colossus continues its rallying call – various Stromlings rushing by – the violent appearance of a blade launched itself towards the arm of the beast. A blade connected by a glowing wire of black and purple.

Soon after, with a jagged scythe on her hands, enters a mysterious figure in a red cloak from the shadows.

As the wire retracts itself, the cloaked figure shoots straight towards the monster. Using the scythe to cling onto its back, the Colossus’ angry shrieks attempted to fight off this sudden attacker.

“Is that… the Amethyst Storm?” Theta inquires in shock, gaze fixed on the scythe wielder.

Flailing its arms in a whip-like manner, the Colossus brushes off its opponent out in the air, only for this one to shoot the scythe’s wire back onto a different arm, clinging itself to the creature again almost immediately.

“That’s Yuno,” mutters Hiya under her breath. “She must’ve been fighting it before it got here…”

Locked in a fierce battle, Yuno Nightshade continued to slash away at the swarm boss with her weapon, all while making an effort to remain on top of the beast without falling. A task easier said than done, as the constant storm generated around the Colossus’ body made it a far more difficult ordeal.

And yet, with a fiery expression in her eyes, Yuno would not give up.

“Yuno??” Theta turns to Hiya in disbelief while the fight rages on ahead. “The Amethyst Storm is in the Force!?”

“We need to help her!” Meiko exclaims as her head hurriedly faces the rest of the group.

With a brief shake of her head, the Nindroid simply dismisses her current shock. There are far more pressing matters right now.

“I’d love to hear your ideas because how do you even begin to fight that thing off?” Theta’s eyes narrow as she clenches her teeth.

With a sudden gunshot coming from Corvus’ firearm, the Skulkin brings down a stray Darkling that had already pounced towards Theta’s direction. Judging by her sudden turn and the shaken expression from her eyes, it’s clear the hacker got caught off-guard.

“Hopefully sooner rather than later,” the detective stated. “Miss Nightshade over there won’t last forever, and neither will we.”

As the group continues to form some sort of plan while simultaneously fighting off Stromlings attempting to approach them, Meiko notices a silhouette from the woods. Following the faint rustling of the leaves, she catches a glimpse of a pair of wings and dual furious eyes.

A Darkling, rapidly approaching the Amethyst Storm. Normally a non-issue, but she’s evidently far too busy trying to remain on top of the giant beast and deal damage.

“Look out!” Meiko shouted out just in the perfect moment.

“What,” Yuno mutters as she takes notice of the sudden warning.

Indeed, the creature attempted an ambush. But a quick slice of her weapon is all the situation needed, the Darkling split in half as it attempted to attack the fighter during her distraction.

But even though the critter had not caused damage, the Storm Colossus took advantage all the same.

The brief window free of the many slashes from the cloaked lady’s scythe gave the monster just enough time to throw Yuno away into the air. Unable to shoot her weapon’s wire back at the beast, she would not be able to reconnect this time. Crashing against the crates at the camp was all but certain.

Much to her fortune, however, the faint trace of teal-colored energy seemed to slow down her flight. Upon further inspection after regaining her breath, she notices the energy that caught her took the form of many ghosty hands catching her fall.

Gently, she landed on her feet completely unharmed as the spectral arms all dissipated.

All she could do was chuckle.

“Took you long enough.”

Off to the side, merely a few meters away, Khazri Jinn held their glowing hand in the air as they summoned the power of their collective of souls. Close behind them, the leather-wearing biker Youko followed as well.

The Master of Souls acknowledges her with a smile and a nod, just in time to notice Yuno is clearly not the only one fighting here.

“Guess there’s a party going on in here already,” they smirked before turning to the Oni by his side. “This is the other Nexus Force agent I told you about”

Youko simply warily glances to the sides before giving a nod in greeting.

“Yuno!” Hiya ran closer to the newly-arrived trio, the rest of her own group just after. “Are you alright?”

Brushing off dust from her shoulder, Yuno simply smirks as she adjusts the brim of her hat.

“I’ve had worse,” she mutters non-chalantly before turning to face the young bat Formling. “Thanks for the heads up just now.”

Meiko smiles and nods enthusiastically at her, pride very much visible in her expression.

But the Storm Colossus continues its rampage. Powerful roars blast across the camp as lightning strikes rain down upon its surroundings, rage fully taking over the beast as it prepares to bring further chaos.

“I don’t imagine you guys have any plan against that,” Khazri’s hands light up with a teal flame as they prepare to join the fight.

“Reinforcements aren’t here yet,” Yuno’s eyes narrow as she grips her weapon tightly. “I’ve been trying to hold it back, and unless we get to the weak point–”

Hiya’s brow immediately shoots up as her voice suddenly rises. Theta is visibly startled, being the one standing next to her.

“That’s right!!” She exclaims as she frantically pulls her cellphone and begins browsing files. “Storm Colossi have a visible crack somewhere, it’s where the core that keeps it together is located. If we damage it enough, it’ll weaken and shatter!”

“Guess I’ll just have to find it soon,” Yuno smirks as the wire of her scythe swiftly shoots forward, herself launching alongside it as she slides across the ground.

With barely any time to react, the rest of the group simply stare at her as she flies towards the enraged Colossus, this one already noticing its attacker once again, ready to continue their fight.

“Will she be okay?” A look of concern crosses Meiko as her expression furrows.

While Corvus and Khazri fight surrounding Darklings attempting to attack the group, Yuno grapples onto the back of the monster and begins her own onslaught of slashes against it. Flailing its arms wildly as random bolts of thunder strike the area, the Amethyst Storm holds tightly onto a protruding rock spike upon the beast’s shoulder.

“She’s been in the Force the longest,” Hiya mutters as she examines the files on her phone before looking back up. “She held her own against it so far as well…”

“Right, so about that,” Theta shrugs as she raises her voice. “You said there’s a visible crack or whatever on that thing, and the Amethyst Storm’s been fighting it for a while. So, where the hell is it?”

Yuno can be seen continuously slashing the monster in an attempt to damage it, riding it away into random directions. Although it distracts the swarm boss, it only causes it to attack aimlessly in rage.

“The stone of its body must be stronger,” Hiya examines the giant Stromling as it fights. “Maybe a mutation from being an Alpha, a layer of stone that protects the core even further.”

From behind them, the dark-haired woman that arrived with Khazri takes a step forward, clearly attempting to grab their attention as she signals with various successive hand movements and an inquisitive expression on her face.

The girls simply exchange looks with each other.

“Any of you know signs…?” Theta simply mutters.

“She said,” Khazri starts as the spectre of an archer at their side shoots away a volley of arrows towards the incoming horde. “Maybe a stronger attack could reveal the heart.”

Youko nods in confirmation.

“That would work,” Hiya begins to scroll at the files in her cellphone. “There’s records of rockets and other large missiles being able to crack it open, as well as other vehicles, large robots, mech suits…”

From the side, a group of Dark Spiderlings approach the group. An attack from the ghostly blades of Khazri’s assassin takes one of them out, followed by a blast of dark energy formed by a glyph under another of them, courtesy of Youko’s powers.

“I hate to rain on the parade,” Corvus starts as he aims at the third of the spiders. “But unless we get it to stand still, explosives will be more troublesome. Especially here in the Crossroads.”

The fight with the Storm Colossus rages on as Yuno is launched away towards a nearby tree. Far from being removed, however, as she launches her weapon’s cable towards a wide branch and manages to swing from it and back onto the fight.

A slight smirk draws on her face. She starts to tire, but still has plenty of fight left in her eyes.

“We’ll need something else then,” Hiya’s eyes narrow as she adjusts her glasses. “We can’t risk destroying the whole place.”

The rest of the group continues to fight the horde. Spiderlings, Hounds, several Darklings both winged and otherwise. Blasts of energy from Youko, as well as the various souls from Khazri’s collective.

In a quick reflex, Meiko spots a fallen weapon crate off in the side. Swords, blades, and most importantly, knives.

As a winged Darkling approaches Corvus, Meiko quickly turns into her bat form and speeds towards the stash. In the blink of an eye, she transforms back and immediately takes one of these knives and throws it towards the little beast, taking it out instantly.

As the black smoke disappears and the Skulkin takes notice, this one tips his hat to the girl in gratitude.

“Wait,” Theta mutters while the rest of them battle. “That’s right!”

“Wh-what’s right?” Hiya lowers her phone and turns to the Nindroid, confused.

“Hold on, I’ll be back,” she exclaims back as she begins to quickly run away.

“What are you–!?” Hiya shouts out in confusion as the hacker completely leaves the scene. “Hey hold on! Where are you going!?”

The engineer simply groans.

“Go with her, Miss,” Corvus suggests as shots from his handgun continue to be fired. “We can handle things here.”

She hesitates for a brief moment, but in the end Hiya nods to the detective and begins to run in whatever direction Theta disappeared into.

A few moments of running pass as she attempts to catch up. It’s eerily quieter the further she goes, but perhaps that is a good thing. The less Stromlings manage to sneak through and into the Crossroads, the better.

And so far, it’s none, thankfully.

“Where did you go??” Hiya exclaims as she raises her voice. There is no answer, nor any soul anywhere in the vicinity. Everyone must be hidden in their homes.

After shaking her head in annoyance, the Skyfolk continues to run ahead hoping to catch up to wherever Theta went off to.

Would’ve been nice if she at least said where.

The minutes feel endless out there. The rest of the group must be fighting tooth and nail back at the refugee camp, same thing as Doctor Overbuild, who she hasn’t seen at all in a good while. Hopefully he’s okay, is all Hiya can think.

Finally though, after looking aimlessly, there’s Theta standing in front of a gate further ahead.

“Ugh, finally!” Hiya shouts out as she runs towards her.

The Nindroid doesn’t even turn to face her, she’s far too focused fiddling with the gate’s lock.

“Why did you run after me if you have that jetpack thing,” she asks with a deadpan tone in her voice.

Hiya remains speechless, she’s far too annoyed to argue that…

“Where even are we?” The engineer looks at her surroundings. “This is… just a junkyard.”

Indeed, beyond the metal fence lay the remains of broken down vehicles, massive piles of all sorts of scrap, rats running away from the two women’s noise, and above all, the foul smell of the trash inside…

“Since you’re so insistent,” Theta rolls her eyes as her hands remain fixed on the lock. “Do you know what’s happening later this year?”

“I– No, I don’t think so?”

“It’s the Mech Master 5000,” the Nindroid explains. “9000? Ugh, whatever, it’s a race in the Crossroads. There’s a money prize on it and all, I don’t really care about it that much.”

“Uh– Alright,” Hiya glances away in confusion. “So why are we here then?”

“Did you not hear what I said?” The annoyed Theta turns to glance at her. “Say it again, slowly.”

“The… Mech Master,” her eyes widen as she realizes.

In just an instant after, the lock finally cracks and falls onto the ground, leaving access to the junkyard.

“Well done, genius,” the hacker simply mocks her as the two head inside. “The owner of this place participates in it, and as luck would have it, she’s got a fine piece hidden right here.”

“Wait, the owner?” Hiya inquires as they walk past towers of massive steel crates and other sorts of scraps. “Are you stealing it??”

“Hey, would you rather the Stromlings or whatever destroy the whole camp?”

“I mean, no, but–” the engineer is at a loss of words as she continues to follow the hacker walking with clear intent, almost as if she knew exactly where she’s going.

True enough, after a brief moment, they arrived.

Resting by a crate and surrounded by all manners of parts and tools, a large, humanoid mech suit colored in a hot pink tone stood perfectly still. With wheels for legs and various gilded decals across its ornate design, it’s clear this is not only a quality racing machine, but also one with much attention even to the most vain details.

“It… is impressive,” Hiya begrudgingly admires the construct from below.

Without a doubt, Theta could be seen already climbing the mech. Once at the top, she removes a panel within the pilot’s cabin in order to begin whatever process she has in plan.

“Do you even know how to drive it?” Hiya questions her.

“I don’t need to drive it,” Theta chuckles facetiously. “I hacked into you guys’ system before your boss recruited me. This is nothing.”

“I really need to ask him why he did that,” the Skyfolk mutters to herself as her face rests on a palm.

But that was no lie at all. After a few minutes, the engine roars as its legs begin to stretch, the racing mech stands fully operational now.

“Hey!!” Away from view, the furious voice of a woman shouts at the scene. “What is going on here!?”

From behind a pile of trash, the flamboyantly-dressed owner of the junkyard makes her appearance. A purple jacket with animal print and a similarly decorated hat, the short-haired woman angrily attempts to intervene.

Unfortunately for her, Theta simply leaves with the machine without so much as a word.

“My mech!! You!” The outraged owner turns to the shaken engineer. “What are you doing with my mech!?”

But as much as Hiya hated this idea, there’s no more time now.

“Sorry!!” She exclaims as hard light wings form behind her, a trail of blue light appearing underneath as she lifts up into the air. “We’ll bring it back, I promise!”

Seeing her precious machine run off and completely flatten the metal gate at her scrapyard’s entrance, the seething woman could do nothing but scream into the air as the Skyfolk flew away with no further explanation as well.

Running at high speeds, Theta’s gaze faces onward as she takes this machine back to the refugee camp.

“You could’ve given me a heads up, you know?” Hiya exclaims as she catches up with her wings, flying just beside the mech’s pilot cabin.

“Hey, you made it, didn’t you?” Theta dismisses her. “We got this.”

Back at the camp, the rest of the group continue their own fights.

Khazri, Youko and Corvus all destroy any Stromlings that manage to approach them, no matter the kind, all while Yuno continues to slash away at the Storm Colossus as it uses its overwhelming powers to brush her away.

Repeated attacks with her blade slowly chip away the hardened layer of stone on its back. It’s a slow process, tiresome as well, but she doesn’t have many options…

At last, though, there it is… The tiny glimpse of white light seeping through a small crack upon its back.

“Gotcha,” Yuno smiles before attempting a large stab with her scythe.

But such an attack is impossible.

Shaking and blasting away bolts of lightning, the Colossus keeps knocking Yuno off and away from the newly formed budding wound until eventually she’s forced to land back in the ground. The core’s location may be revealed, but without the chance to actually damage it, they’ll never be able to finally destroy it.

Off to the side, the small silhouette of a bat bursts into a flash of pink light and reveals Meiko returning to the scene next to Khazri.

“Everyone’s been escorted away!” Meiko exclaims immediately after. “There’s no more people in danger out there.”

“Great news for a change!” The Master of Souls responds happily. “Now we just need to get rid of the big boy.”

But the moment got interrupted by the very faint sound of approaching machinery.

“Did you hear that?” Meiko mutters.

“With this much chaos, hardly, I’m afraid!” Khazri responds.

With another bright transformation, the bat flies into the sky above once again in order to spy at the source of whatever the sound could be, worried it could be another sort of Stromling.

Much to her surprise, however, the scene is only that of Hiya Lie, closely following the pink mech suit running just ahead of her.

With an excited chirp and brief wiggles of her ears, Meiko flies back down to the rest.

“The others! They’re back!” She announces as soon as she turns back into human form.

At this point, the sound of the coming robot is nothing but evident. Hearing the screeching sound of drifting wheels and the stomps of metal, everyone turns to face the ornate mech burst into the scene as it instantly tackles against the Stone Colossus.

“What the–?” Yuno reacts immediately. “That ain’t ours…”

“It’s not!” Hiya exclaims as she lands near her, the rest of the group converging around her soon after. “Theta, uhm– borrowed it.”

Khazri simply lets out a laugh.

“That’ll do alright!” They smile.

And that certainly it does. Despite not being a mech designed for fighting, the machine’s sturdy arms allowed it to throw powerful strikes against the swarm boss, strong enough to knock it back. Additionally, a mech with such quality also allowed it to withstand some of the monster’s own blows.

“The back!” Yuno shouts at the Nindroid. “The core is in the back!”

Loud and clear, Theta caught the words of the Amethyst Storm. All she needs to do is land a big strike at the creature’s back. No big deal, right?

But the task is easier said than done.

With its whip-like arms, the Colossus manages to retaliate against Theta’s punches from a safer distance, keep her away from range to fight back.

“Ugh, seriously?” The Nindroid groans in annoyance.

Trying to use the mech’s arms to block away the attacks, Theta attempts to close off the distance to attempt attacking once again. Although this much is successful, she’s only able to land hits at the front.

“It’s protecting its back,” Meiko notes with a frown. “She won’t get it at this rate.”

“We need to distract it,” Yuno adds.

Call it inventiveness or call it the pressure of the moment, but perhaps there is something.

“I think I have an idea,” Hiya announces to the others.

The violent exchange of punches and flailing claw attacks continue. Despite being able to put on a much better fight, the constant strikes of lightning will eventually be the end of this machine. If they don’t destroy it quickly, there may not be another shot at it.

Holding its arms close to the chest, the Colossus releases a big tornado-like attack in Theta’s direction, dealing not only damage to the mech but also knocking her back closer than other of its abilities.

Stunned for a fraction of a second, that is all the monster needs to direct a slicing attack with its hand at the Nindroid’s direction.

But the sudden black and purple wire that shot itself towards the beast’s claw stopped it immediately.

Combined with the aggressive speed of the beasts strike, the wire from Yuno’s scythe managed to dislocate and then even remove the claw from the giant altogether.

“Lost something?” Yuno teases the Colossus as she smirks, the dismembered claw of the swarm boss embedded on the ground.

As the finger already starts to return to the rest of the arm, clearly the monster remains unharmed.

But it is now distracted.

Enraged, the Storm Colossus directs its anger upon the Amethyst Storm as it brings down its arm whole in an attempt to flatten her entirely, only to be immediately stopped on the spot by the spectral arms of a purple demon.

Youko, alongside the soul of Yudai, managed to catch the beast’s arm just before this one slammed it against the blonde woman. She’s strong, but evidently not strong enough to truly hold back the strength of an Alpha swarm boss.

Luckily for her, the appearance of multiple spirits held the burden as well.

Helping Youko hold off the arm of the beast, Khazri’s summoned spectres give her just enough help to block the attack fully.

Determined to smash them to pieces, the Colossus is far too blinded by its rage to realize its back is now fully exposed to Theta and the racing mech, who slowly managed to get back on its feet.

“Impressive machinery you have here, Miss Lennox,” the unmistakable voice of Wane Corvus spoke through the mech’s radio.

“What the–?” Theta reacted. “How did you–?”

“Most Mech Master racing machines have the same frequency I can tap into,” he proudly announces. “Now, would you be so kind and allow me access to the machine’s camera?”

Indeed, racing mechs are required to have cameras installed to ensure the best quality for a race, as well as safety in the case of accidents or to prevent certain forms of cheating.

With some messing around the control panel, the mech’s camera view promptly appeared inside Corvus’ handheld screen.

“Very kind,” he thanked the Nindroid. “I will highlight your target for you.”

The crack dealt by Yuno was unfortunately far too small to notice, but thanks to Corvus’ own expertise in cameras and surveillance, the miniscule weak point is now more than visible in the mech’s screen.

“You don’t say,” Theta smirks.

She has one shot at this, and she certainly won’t waste it. Running forward towards the beast, Theta unleashes a downward strike upon the highlighted wound. Shattering into many fragments of stone, the Storm Colossus roars out in pain as the crack that houses its core is now fully visible to all.

With the mech’s fist fully embedded into it, Theta continues to damage it for as long as she can.

“Now that’s what I’m talking about!” Khazri exclaims excitedly, the others sharing no less happiness as well.

But it’s not time to celebrate yet. The Colossus cry of pain is also a cry for help. All Stromlings of the horde still active all suddenly turn to the swarm boss as they run to assist it one more time.

But the group is more than ready.

“Protect her!” Hiya exclaims. “Go around and surround them. Don’t let them get near!”

Following the order with perfection, everyone circled around Theta and the monster in order to cover every possible corner. No Stromling will be running past.

Blasts of Oni energy and a flurry of punches come from Youko’s end, spirits of all sorts of styles and weaponry all assist Khazri in thinning down the forces of the horde, and various monsters attempt to bring down Corvus, only to be met with the false image of a hologram left behind by the Skulkin before being promptly shot down by the real one off to the side.

Shooting down Darklings and Spiderlings both, Hiya aims her rifle at all directions around her. With such a sudden influx of Stromlings all congregating on the spot now, it’s definitely harder to keep track of all of them…

Just enough to allow a stray Spiderling to approach the engineer from behind.

Ready to deal its finishing attack, the creature stands ready to attack Hiya. By the time she turns around, it would’ve been too late.

Were it not for the sudden slash of a greatsword splitting the spider in half.

Shaken by the event, Hiya manages to catch a mere glimpse of the swordsman, standing against the moonshine. His features could not be made clearly, save for the monstrous red eyes that could pierce any soul.

And yet, these eyes only transmitted fear and sorrow.

Before being able to say anything, Hiya caught another Darkling off the corner of her eye attempting to attack as well. Easily dealt with, a single shot from her rifle is all it took to destroy it.

Alas, by the time the black smoke dissipates, the swordsman is nowhere to be seen…

“Look!” Yuno interrupts the moment as she points at the Storm Colossus. “The core!”

Thanks to Theta’s continuous attack with the mech’s fist, the monster’s chest had now cracked, its heart finally exposed.

“Someone shoot it down!” She continues.

Regaining her composure, Hiya aims her rifle towards the swarm boss after having dealt with the Spiderling’s halves from just now. But the Colossus, in its rage, moves far too much, its flailing arms blocking the way constantly as well.

“I can’t get a clear shot!”

Remaining quiet for a brief moment, Meiko stares blankly before her mind returns to the present.

“Quick, someone pass me a knife!” The young bat exclaims.

Grabbing one from her belt, Yuno tosses it towards the teenager, who manages to catch it perfectly.

With a deep breath, Meiko holds the knife over her right shoulder as she aims with her left hand. Her eyes fully fixed on the moving Colossus and its exposed core. A shot like this would be impossible to most with such an enraged beast as its target.

And yet there is no hesitation in her throw.

Flying away, the knife flew in a line and past the erratic arms of the monster as it landed perfectly upon its heart.

Pierced completely, the Storm Colossus lets out one final roar of pain, harsher and more violent than any other before. Finished off with one more strike from the Theta, the mech’s fist strikes through the heart once and for all.

In a giant flash of lightning and thunder, the rocks that formed the swarm boss all burst into an explosion of energy as its remains fly into many directions, all soon turning into nothing but the darkened mist of all Stromlings.

At long last, the fight is over.

“Did we do it?” Hiya quietly asks while everyone comes together once more.

Everyone looks all around, Stromlings nowhere in sight, and for the first time in all night, quiet.

Except of course, for the sudden burst of laughter coming from the Master of Souls.

“We did it!” Khazri exclaims as they walk to the back and hold Hiya and Youko close for a celebratory hug.

But just in that instant, another distant sound breaks the scene.

Only, not that of battle.

Far into the distance the barely visible silhouette of a dropship can be seen approaching the scene as a new day slowly begins to make its appearance once again.

It’s a dropship of the Nexus Force.

“Oh you’ve gotta be kidding me,” Theta remarks as she climbs back down from the badly damaged racing mech.

“Good timing, eh?” Corvus adds, his tone almost playful.

Meiko audibly giggles, Youko crosses her arms as a slight smile forms in her face as well.

A smiling Yuno could be seen about to add a comment of her own as well, but not before turning around to finally see a familiar face. One the others notice as well.

The face of a friend.

“Albert!” Hiya exclaims immediately as she runs to her mentor.

Tired but fully safe, Doctor Overbuild makes it back as well at last.

“Oh I’m so sorry I didn’t listen to your orders!” She pleads as she holds her hands together. “I know I should’ve listened to you and gone to safety along with everyone else, but I couldn’t just stay there knowing you were out there all along and–!”

The Doctor simply chuckles.

“Don’t worry,” he calms her with a gesture of his hand.

Glancing for a moment at the whole group standing together, Albert could do nothing but smile.

“I was busy fighting off some stragglers while leading a group of people to safety,” he starts. “I came back as soon as that was done, and yet…”

The group all exchange glances with one another, Yuno in particular crosses her arms with a very peculiar smirk on her lips.

“You all saved the refugee camp. The people, the place, everyone…” The Doctor rests his eyes on each and every member of the group. “When the Crossroads needed you, you were there.”

“It’s the least one could do, Doctor,” Corvus tips his hat with a nod.

“And yet, all of you went above and beyond,” Albert adds before turning to Yuno. “It’s exactly what we need, hm?”

She could simply chuckle.

“And… what is that?” Hiya asks curiously.

“Heroes.”

For one reason or another, this word felt strange in Theta’s chest. Heroes.

Is that what she was today?

“You rose up to the task, you grabbed weapons, you saved people, you took initiative!” The Doctor walked closer to face everyone individually. “This is who you all could be.”

“Wait,” Theta interrupts him as she steps forward. “What do you mean.”

As he stares at the Nexus Force dropship arriving nearby, dropping off the members of Team Venomhound as they run in all directions to finish off any and all stragglers from the invasion, Albert simply smiles.

“A team,” he finally adds. “A team of heroes, all together to protect this place, the Crossroads.”

“What??”

“Wait, seriously??” Meiko exclaims.

“The Ninja are gone for now,” Albert frowns. “But this place? This place is the future, the promise of a new world… I want a world for everyone. A world where one can come back to and find a place to belong. A home.”

Staring into the sunrise for a brief moment, Albert smiles and turns back to face the group.

“What do you all think?”

Silence absorbed the scene. All manners of thoughts crossed everyone on the spot.

But the answer is clear.

With a determined nod and a step forward, Youko is the first to accept.

“I’m in!” Excitedly exclaims Meiko. “I want to help this place!”

“This is our duty as Nexus Force agents, right?” Khazri smiles.

“It’s what the people deserve,” Corvus chuckles and adjusts the brim of his hat. “I’m in.”

“So am I,” Hiya smiles as her eyes glisten. “This is our chance to do good here, for everyone.”

“You already know my answer, Albert,” Yuno crosses her arms and smirks.

That was all of them. All but one.

Off on the side, Theta stands frozen in place. Her head could do nothing but continue to spin around that very word.

Hero.

With a reassuring hand upon her shoulder snapping her back into reality, Theta saw the gentle face of Doctor Overbuild smiling at her.

“No matter what you choose,” he calmly speaks. “We will find your mother. I promise.”

Glancing away, thoughts continue to eat away at Theta’s mind. A few moments of this pass, mere seconds that feel nearly endless.

But finally, she has an answer.

“For everyone that’ll come after,” she mutters.

Albert simply responds with a slight nod.

“Okay,” she finally responds. “I’m in.”

Absorbed in deep pride and joy, Doctor Overbuild’s face is drawn with a wide smile as he accepts everyone into this brand new team.

“We will do great things here,” he announces. “I promise to all of you.”

A deeply heartwarming moment, were it not for the sudden break of this gentle silence at sunrise.

“You!!”

Bursting into the scene, the owner of the junkyard finally makes her way into the refugee camp, angrily approaching poor wide-eyed Hiya.

“You’ve got some explaining to do! Just look at my mech!”

“I’m so sorry!” Hiya raises her hands in an attempt to calm her down, frozen in place like a spooked deer. “I swear you’ll be fully compensated–”

“COMPENSATED? How am I supposed to compete with this thing now! You’re gonna be doing some compensating alright!”

The rest of the group share laughs and confusion both, even Theta couldn’t help but find this sudden outrage deeply amusing to witness.

With a smile, Albert glances away at the remains of the Storm Colossus, the trail of black smoke left behind.

This attack is no mere coincidence.

Even now in good times, his mind too is full of various thoughts. This was an organized attack from the Stromlings, complete with an Alpha swarm boss leading the horde, all running past fully undetected.

The Darkitect may be gone, the Stromlings may be without a leader, but something incited them to do this. What is the meaning of this?

This is only the beginning.

Next: soon tm

#LEGO Universe #Javy's Writing #at long last the whole gang is here #sorry this one took forever hjkhjkh

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