Strike 49- Retribution (Part 1)
When Lightning Strikes- Retribution (Part 1)
Maretropolis
It had only been a few hours since Lance had originally left and now, Humdrum was hard at work with trying to come up with some gadgets that Aurora happened to tell him about. According to a conversation that she had earlier that day with Lance, the two of them were considering some possible gadgets for the Azure Striker to have on him that Aurora would be allowed to have direct control over using her powers. This was a different undertaking from that of Lola, the AI that Aurora and Cody created based off of Lumen and was also different from the other gadgets that he made for the Adept in the past.
Unlike the energy blade and the two spell seekers that Lance had already used in the field two months ago, what Humdrum was trying to craft was not powered by Lance’s septima or reactive to magic like with the spell seekers. Instead, they were to be powered by Aurora and her powers. It was a precaution that was something that he had to consider given that it was possible that there could be villains out there that could drain electricity or magic, like with the Tirek Incident before Lance’s original arrival, but it also meant that it was possible that he was going to be up all night again in order to make sure that these pieces of equipment would work properly upon Aurora gaining control of it.
He would’ve asked her or some of the other team members for help, but as of right now, Aurora was occupied with some kind of team that Lance and her were trying to build and the girls were finally finishing up a case after they caught somepony that firebombed an apartment complex and forced many families out of their homes. Which only left him and-.
“Hey Spike, you in here-?”
That single comment lead to the startled dragon falling off of the stool he was standing on and crashing onto the floor. The schematics for his inventions and gadgets covering the top of him like blankets as he tried to look up and see who was talking to him as they spoke again. “Oh… uh, did I come at a bad time?” He heard the mare speak as Humdrum rolled his eyes.
“Solaria, I thought I told you and the girls that I would be startled if I’m working hard on something and you just… well…” The dragon was having trouble trying to come up with the right words to say in that moment so the unicorn would understand his position. Yet… she beat him to it once again.
“Walk in and try to say hi?” Solaria replied back before Humdrum could finish what he was trying to tell her.
“Well… yes… yes, that!” He then got off the floor and cleaned up some of the mess that was on the floor before looking back at the unicorn that happened to be in his workshop right now. “Honestly, I thought you would be with either the rest of the girls out on patrol or helping out Cody and Detective Whooves with the police department right now.”
“I would be… but given how hard I have been working with tasks around here while Lance was having to handle that fiasco up in Sun Fransokyo with Mane Hero 6 and AJ that Twilight forced me to…” Now it was her turn to try and come up with the right words to say in that moment… and for the dragon she was having a chat with to finish her sentence. “Take the day off… I know, it sounds silly, but she asked for me to do so.”
“She probably just wants you to get some rest, Sunset.” Spike then told her as he got back on top of his stool. “After all, you are working just as hard as anyone of us.”
“Yeah but I would want to use my time in helping somepony with something instead of just sitting around and doing nothing.” The unicorn sighed for a moment as she looked around the workshop for a moment before looking back at the dragon. “I was going to ask if you were busy with anything but… I think my own question was answered the moment I trotted in here.” She was referring to some of the objects that were on the table, including some of Humdrum’s own tools. Which happened to peak her curiosity a bit. “What are you working on?”
“Well, Aurora told me that she and Lance had a conversation where he possibly might have more gadgets and tools that he could have in the field that she could use. That way she didn’t have to stick to using just computer systems or his gauntlet.” Humdrum told her as he picked up one of the objects and set it down along with several printed schematics. “She printed out some sketches and schematics for some ideas and I’ve been busy with trying to piece everything together.”
Now that seemed interesting. Before she had been offered the chance to be with the Power Ponies, Sunset herself mostly had to design her own gadgets, suit and outfit before Radiance came up with one that was not as… revoking as the last one she had. Not to mention that it didn’t have the enchanted fabric that could withstand high temperatures and fire. “Would you like some help with that? It’ll probably be easier if you had somepony else helping you.”
She… made a valid point, Humdrum had to admit. Two heads were better than one in most scenarios. But this was something on a project he already began to work on… and also was worried that her involvement may mess things up for Aurora somehow… Yet, those concerns were only for a few short moments as he looked back at her. “Sure, but let me explain how everything is suppose to work alright? I don’t want to mess this up because Aurora would be a bit upset if she finds out that something with these gadgets don’t work like they should.”
“Alright,” She nodded, now with a second question popping inside her head as he looked back at him. “Hey, do you happen to know where Lance went? He might give us a hand with this kind of thing.”
“Well, from what little information Aurora gave me on the matter, he was called by another displaced again,” Humdrum told her as he looked at a clock that was on the wall for a brief moment. “Speaking of which, he’s been gone a bit longer than he normally would be absent for. Normally he would be gone for about an half hour to an hour at least and yet, it’s now been much longer than that.”
That… caught Sunset’s attention rather quickly. She knew that the Adept could be able to handle things on his own… but she was his mentor, and at times, she does worry for his safety given how reckless he and Cody could be at times. “How long?”
“Who knows. It’s just a lot longer than normal or when he goes to visit Max and his family.” The dragon replied, looking back at Sunset. “Don’t worry. He has Lumen with him. What’s the worst thing that could happen?”
Even though Humdrum’s comment was suppose to be supportive… it did little to ease Solaria’s nervousness right now. After what she had seen when the unicorn was with her when the War of Shadows began, there was one thing that was stuck inside her head since then.
What can go wrong…… will go wrong.
Meanwhile…
Some time had passed since Lance had returned back to where Suicune and his Celestia were after not only making sure to have Nathan Phoenix join their cause and make sure that his family was safe, but also rescue Exuberant after she was captured and originally brainwashed to be their enemy. Now though, the legendary pokemon and the alicorn had both planned an opportunity for the adept and his companions in order to relax.
That of course was a private beach resort off of the coast of Pie-ami. Celestia had listed him, Lumen, Exuberant, Quicksilver, his Pinkie and all of the Phoenix family as ‘honorary’ guests and had accommodated them with luxury suites, 24 hour room service and all you can eat restaurant downstairs for hotel guests. Along with many other goods and services. Something that some ponies would immediately jump at, given the chance to do so.
However… Lance wasn’t exactly so eager to unwind at all. If anything, the Adept was more focused on… other things than just resting. To him, many things were going through his head like whizzing bullets and he felt like he needed to have himself be at ease first before he could be able to enjoy himself. Yet, that was easier said than done.
With everything that had been going on recently, from all the battles he had fought and everything he had seen, it was hard for him to try to come to terms with what he was thinking. In some cases like when he got Quicksilver and Pinkie out of their world, he felt as if he could do more to save everyone else's… and getting his ass kicked by Cobalion then did not help him with his confidence on the matter. Not to mention that with the impending threat that the Elder Siblings posed along with the one ‘friend’ who insisted for him to kill Suicune for power, he was worried about what would happen if he could not stop them… if they were able to reach his world and the world where his loved ones were. It was a lot for him to think over and a lot to process in his head.
Yet, he had to stop for a moment once he heard someone speak to him. “Hey, you okay Lance?” Looking up, he happened to see Lumen floating above him. Head tilted and a little confused… along with concerned for the Adept she was talking to.
“Lumen?” He asked, a little puzzled as to the way that she was looking at him. “Is something wrong?”
“Yeah… It’s you,” Her original response surprised the Adept. He wasn’t sure if that was suppose to be an insult or if he meant something else. “I don’t mean to be rude Lance, but you’ve been acting strange for a while. Not to mention that your suppose to be enjoying this brief little vacation, not confining yourself to your room.” She was right about that, that was for sure. But the response that she got from him was not quite what she was wanting to hear.
“It’s… a lot to explain-.”
“So tell me then…” The Breezie interjected. “Come on, Lance. You and I are suppose to be partners… teammates even. If one of us is down in the dumps, it’s their partner's job in order to try and help them… So with that, what exactly is on your mind?” That was where the Adept felt like Lumen had called him out on being silent… and with it, it was the best time for him to tell her what was bothering him.
“Well… to be honest… I’m worried,” He started off, surprising Lumen for a moment. Normally, the adept wouldn’t exactly tell her directly if he was worried or concerned. “Think of it… each time Suicune has us go somewhere, it somehow ends up in disaster. First, it was Zenyatta and them. True, we were able to momentarily disable the sentinels, but Quicksilver and Pinkie were the only survivors. Second, there was Zamasu… I was able to hold my ground, but that was only briefly. Afterwards, I felt powerless. And to top things off, there was Exuberant and what happened when we were trying to help Nathan and the others… Each time I felt like I could be able to do something more. Do something to be able to help them… or save more people. But the more I think on it, the more that I think that something’s holding me back.”
Lumen thought over what the Adept had to say, then looked back at him and asked something off the top of her head. “And you are concerned that if this keeps up, you won’t be able to stop the Elder Siblings, protect our home and also prevent them from reaching Max and everyone else?”
Now it was the Adept’s turn to act surprised as he looked back at the breezie. “…… Okay, how-?”
“Honestly… that time I just took a guess.” She told him before taking a deep sigh and looking back at him. “But I think I know one thing that may exactly be the reason for your problems… It may be that you are just trying to focus on learning new skills and being stronger that you are forgetting to use what you already have. Think of it… back home, you were able to just as easily solve problems with your septima, your bolt pistol and your observation skills. Now, you are seeing every particular ability you learn or weapon you acquire as something that you have to keep on you at all times and it’s not like that at all.”
Hearing this had the Azure Striker think on what she was saying… and realize that, in a way, she was actually right. “So what are you suggesting?”
“Well, for example… you know those ki based abilities you gained from Majin Buu?” Lumen said, surprising Lance that she actually had known about that. “They’re not separate from your septima because your energy is your septima. It’s all the same thing… It’s the reason why after you use up a lot of energy that you find yourself low on septima and needing to recharge.” That… made sense. He had noticed that sometimes when he did use his ki abilities that there was some lightning around some of his attacks. Especially with the fight against Zamasu. What Lumen told him must have been the reason why.
Which now only left one other thing now. “What about my gear?”
“Well, for starters, you don’t need two pistols… Your standard weapon is more effective than the crossfire one you salvaged a long time ago. Stick with the bolts and clips you do have and only use the tracer clip as the extra one. No need to modify it off of other weapons you got like the bonus ones you got from Church.”
“Okay, but what do I do with all the stuff he gave me and also the Carbine clip?” He then questioned, which just gave Lumen a confident smile.
“Duh… Give it to Cody. He can find ways to improvise and modify it to go with his new setup and with Lola helping him. Just keep the energy sword though since that is Church’s token. Wouldn’t want you calling him over on accident.” The breezie made a valid point. Leading to the Adept thinking that the only gear he needed was just his energy blade for when he needed to fight in close combat… and also his pistol. The second one he can fix up, modify and give to Exuberant if necessary.
“Thanks Lumen… I needed that.” He said as the breezie smiled.
“No problem. We’re a team. You got my back and I got yours. Hell, I would even throw myself in harms way to make sure you’re safe.” She said, chuckling a little as the Adept looked back at her with a raised eyebrow.
“Don’t get ahead of yourself. I wouldn’t want you to actually get yourself hurt or worse just because you want to play hero, alright?” The Adept told her, causing Lumen to nod her head as he went over to a nearby table and took out the spare backup pistol he had. “Now… what kind of improvements could we make to this for Exuberant?”
“Why don’t you ask her?” The Breezie said, catching him by surprise as she tilted her head in the direction of the balcony as she saw Exuberant standing outside. “I asked for her to wait outside for a moment while I was talking to you so that way I can knock some sense into you… and so she didn’t need to do that literally.”
Before Lance could say anything about that, they began to hear furious knocking against his door. “LUMEN, WHAT’S TAKING SO LONG?!”
“Don’t worry! We just finished!!” She shouted back. Lance was going to open the door, but the moment that he turned the handle, the door swung open and knocked him on the floor.
“And just when I thought I wasn’t trying to get myself beaten up…” Lance sighed, getting up off the floor as he looked back at Exuberant.
“Lance, you shouldn’t be cooped up in this… depressing bedroom… you should be out there with all of us! Everyone wants to go swimming and we’re not taking no for an answer!” Lance honestly saw a problem with that and one that it seemed like Exuberant was overlooking as he looked back at her.
“You do realize that my powers may short circuit if I even tried to go for a swim, right?” He asked her, looking back as he now was only wearing a sleeveless shirt and his pants. “Rather not have everyone get electrocuted on accident… I’m sure there are other things we can do though. What did you have in mind?”
“It’s a beach resort, Lance, a private one and you’re seriously going to complain about it… I even picked out a good swimsuit for you~”
“Honestly… I’ve never been to one of these before-.” He said, before realizing the second half of her statement. “Wait, what?”
“Lumen and I picked out a swimsuits for me and you to try… Now that I’m not some android anymore.” Lance, when looking at Lumen, noticed her whistling and acting like she had no part in this whatsoever as the Adept sighed and looked back at her.
“Alright, I’m curious now… what did you get for me?” He then asked her, going along with it as he looked back at Exuberant now.
With a small giggle, the two pulled out a small red speedo before hollering with laughter as Lance gave them a deadpan looked. “Okay, very funny…… I honestly think I would just stick with a pair of shorts instead of some spandex underwear.”
“We were just messing with you Lance.” Lumen said, but Exuberant’s goofy grin said otherwise as she began to blush.
“Y-yeah just a joke…” That in turn had Lance a little bit curious… but he decided to not let it affect him as he went into the bathroom to go change and use a extra pair of shorts he happened to have before looking at both Exuberant and Lumen.
“So are you two ready to have some fun?” He asked. Yet, the response he got from Lumen was one that surprised both him and Exuberant.
“I believe Exuberant is… Yet, I’m going to check on everyone else and make sure they don’t… disturb you two. See you later.” With that, Lumen winked at both of them before departing and leaving both Exuberant and Lance by themselves.
“So Lance, would you like to see what I’m going to wear~” She asked him. All he could do was nod his head. That way, he didn’t say anything that would kill the mood or make Exuberant feel upset in any sort of way. “Alright close your eyes~”
Lance only nodded as he closed his eyes and turned around, waiting to hear from Exuberant when to open his eyes again and being really patient too. “Alright you can look now~”
Lance slowly turned around to see that Exuberant was wearing a single piece white swimsuit, which in turn surprised him a lot as his eyes widened for a moment. “Holy crap, you look amazing in that Exuberant.”
“Thanks… I almost forgot what it’s like to wear stuff like this.” She said, which made Lance feel happy for her as he looked back at her.
“How does it feel to be human again?” He then asked her, curious to find out what her answer would be in response to his question.
“It feels good… Even though I was created to destroy you.” She chuckled, scratching her head, still feeling a little guilty for what happened in the other world.
“Hehe… yeah. I believe we can put that behind us now,” He ensured her, smiling as he gently placed a hand on her shoulder to make her feel comfortable and for her to know that she was safe with him. “So… how about you show me where you want to go swimming at then?”
“Well before we can even think about swimming, we’ll have to catch up with the others. They have been waiting patiently. After that we can go fool around a bit in the pool if you want~” She said winking at him as she began to make her way out, only to hit the door on the way out. “Ow!”
“You okay?” He asked, rushing to see if she happened to hurt herself on accident.
“Y-yeah I’m fine… hehehe!” She said sheepishly. “I probably should have looked where I was going eh?” All Lance could do was chuckle as the two of them walked on out together. Sure, it was unknown as to when they were needed to fight once again… but for right now, they were together and they were safe. And right now… the adept thought it would be best to spend as much time with her as she can while he was here.
Because he did not know how much longer he would be here for.
Elsewhere…
Suicune and Celestia had barely begun to pack their things, so they too could meet up with Lance and the other fighters. He never thought that others would fight with him besides his beloved Celestia and her sister, still if it even the playing field that the Elder’s had set up then it was the right call to make Lance his apprentice. There was only one more person that needed to be present.
“Suicune, are you sure he’s going to help them? Something about this displaced… scares me…” She told him, expressing her concerns to the former elder sibling as he looked back at her. Yet, despite that, Suicune himself still believed that this person could help them… and there was a reason why.
“I know… even I’m terrified of him, but he’s agreed to help us.” That surprised the alicorn herself. She honestly did not expect Suicune to say that at all.
“He… agreed?” She asked, looking back at him in confusion. Celestia would’ve thought that like with Lance, the individual that they were talking about needed to go through some kind of trial or prove himself to Suicune. However, it sounded like the exact opposite in this case. “So you… asked him for his help or-?”
“Not exactly like that…” Suicune sighed, getting the last of his things packed away as he looked back at Celestia. “I hired him… He’s effective at what he does, but for a price.”
“So he’s a Displaced that’s a mercenary?” Celestia asked as she finished getting the last of what she needed into her travel case. “That just makes me even more concerned… I’ve seen ponies that betray others because of their greed if someone happens to pay them more to stab their former… employer… in the back-.”
“You insult me, princess.” She heard from the opposite end of the room, turning around to see the exact person she and Suicune were talking about. “Once I agree to an assignment, I see to it. That it's completed.”
“My apologies, I’m just still trying to wrap my head around this,” Celestia told the figure as he walked into the room. “Your name is… Hit, correct?”
“That is correct…” He said briefly, turning his head in the direction of the one who was standing next to her in the room before asking something. “Lord Suicune I believe you have what I asked for?”
“Yes… I have the key of dimensions like I promised. You'll be able to travel to other universes for more job requirements.” Suicune said, bringing out a purple key and handing it to Hit. “You’ll get the key once you complete your job.”
“I wouldn't have it any other way. Just so you know… I’m only doing this because your fellow Elders couldn't offer me anything better.” He said glaring at the two.
Suicune himself nodded, even if the cold stare made Celestia shiver a little bit. “We shall depart to Celestia’s resort to meet up with the team my apprentice assembled.” Suicune said as Celestia opened a gateway with her magic. As the three of them stepped through, they soon happened to find the people they were looking for. Including the Adept that was leading the group. Unlike his normal coat and outfit though, he was wearing something more casual that consisted of a sleeveless shirt and jeans… and he was also the first to notice their arrival.
“Oh hey, you’re here sooner than expected.” He replied, noticing the new… addition to the group. “Who’s your friend?”
“Lance, this is the deadliest assassin in the Displaced, Hit-Sama… I expect you to treat him with respect as you would with me. He'll be taking care of Ozai so you'll have less to worry about.” Suicune explained. Lance looked at Hit who simply walked passed to greet the others instead.
“Alright… I’m guessing that if you two are here… then either you are wanting to rest with us… or discuss something a little more serious.” He hypothesized.
“Yes and no… We did come here to get away from the castle, but there’s something you need to know about Hit… Try not to speak with him too much… He is dangerous to all. If he asks you a question just give him a simple reply and you’ll be fine.” Suicune whispered into his ear as he followed after their newest recruit. “Also, keep Exuberant away from him… Those two don’t have a pleasant history with each other.”
With that, Lance was now left with Celestia as he sighed a little. “Okay…” He said, unsure if what Suicune said was serious or not before looking at Celestia. “Anyways… good to see you again, Princess.”
“Same here, Lance Walker… Exuberant has told me what happened in the other realm. It must have been difficult for you two? How do you feel about this sudden change she has gone through?” She asked the adept, giving off a gentle smile to him.
“She seems… alright. It took her a bit for her to come around to the new changes and I also had to tell her in person that I forgive her for her trying to kill me when she was under someone else’s control before she was at peace with it,” Lance replied, looking back before raising a eyebrow for a moment. “Was that… what you were asking about?”
“Yes, what did you think I was asking?” she rebutted, raising her eyebrow as well.
“Well… How should I put this…” The Adept replied, scratching the back of his head. “Exuberant told me you gave her advice…”
“Yes I have… She asked me how to approach you with her feelings and I told her to express herself in whatever way she could. Love is something that just happens… Why do you ask me this? Did she… make any advances on you?” Celestia asked, chuckling as the adept looked at her for a moment before stretching his neck a little bit.
“That’s one way of putting it.” Lance replied, shortly before he looked back at Celestia, who was chucking for a small bit… until she realized he wasn’t joking.
“By the gods… you’re serious aren’t you?”
All the Adept did was nod his head in response before looking back at her. “Yeah… can we keep this between you and I though? Suicune would flip if he found out about… well… how your advice worked a bit too well, so to speak.”
“We can keep this a secret… Anyways did Exuberant give you that gift I told her and Lumen about? How did you react?”
“Well… For one thing… it was two sizes too small.” Lance sighed, laughing a bit. “But I appreciate both of them thinking about me though.”
“Good, Suicune and I suggested it~” She laughed as she began to make her way towards the others. “Enjoy your stay here… I’m sure it’ll be a pleasant experience for everyone.” With that, Lance smiled in response as he walked back to the room. Even with what Celestia and Suicune told him though, he was concerned about the newest… addition to the group. Either he was going to be very helpful… or the whole thing is going to end up as trouble in Paradise by the end of the day.
“Attention, everyone and everypony!” Suicune announced as everyone turned to his direction, even Lance as he was in the back of the room. “As you know already… I have sent Lance Walker to go find you so you could not only protect my home, but the multiverse itself, but this is no time to celebrate for the real battle shall begin in three days and the Elder’s shall bring forth an army that’ll destroy the very soil you stand on. So in order for us to have an upper hand in this battle… I have hired someone that some of you may remember… the assassin Hit-sama.”
Soon, Hit stood next to Suicune, bowing his head towards the audience. “I has been awhile since I’ve seen some of you… For the time being I am your ally for the duration of this war.”
“I-It’s… G-good to see you… Hit.” Nathan shuttered as he took a few steps back to hide behind his wife. Soon everyone including Pinkie Pie began to step away in fear.
“While it is good to see some familiar faces, there are some that I haven’t seen before, but I must ask where that sorry excuse for a nurse is? The two of us have some catching up to do?” He asked darkly as everyone remained quiet. Lance himself was unsure of who he was referring to, but he soon turned to Celestia and said that he needed to excuse himself for a moment so he could go back to his room.
However, just as he was about to open the door… he heard a voice that… did not belong to Exuberant or to Lumen either. “Still I can’t you believe you actually did it Sis!”
Hearing that soon had Lance open the door as he looked around upon opening it. “Exuberant, are you-.” Just as he said that, something came floating around his eye level, causing him to tumble backwards in response as he was startled by the sudden appearance of what was a blue scarab. “-WOAH!”
“Hey, don’t scream in my face! It’s weird, Lance… Anyways HI!” A blue Scarab said, as a very tiny blue screen with a digital face appeared, smiling at him.
Exuberant simply looked at Lance and gave him a sheepish smile. “Hey Lance… I can explain everything.”
“Uhh… please do…” The Adept said, trying to process what was going on.
“You remember what happened in Nathan’s world right?” The Adept simply nodded as the scarab continued to stare at him with a creepy grin. “Well, when Yellow Radio made me this amazing body that you like so much… He made the blue scarab as well… My partner and new little sister!”
“Wow… uh… That’s… new.” He said, looking at the Scarab now. “So is there a particular name you would like for me to call you or you just want me to call you Scarab?”
“You can call me… uh… Teal… because I’m teal!” She grinned at him. “Anyways… How was my sister?!” The Adept looked back at Exuberant, wide eyed for a moment before realizing the context of what she was saying.
“She… saw us?”
“Yeah… she kinda did… this is our room you know. Even though I thought I turned her off… Sorry.” She said as Teal waited for his response, still grinning.
“Well, as long as she’s not sharing it with everyone else, I think we’re good,” He replied, before sighing for a second. “Speaking of which… I got some good news and some news that you might see as bad news when I tell you.”
“What is it?” Exuberant asked as Teal flew over and latched onto her back, creating the power suit once again. “Hold on I need to grab my helmet…”
“We’re not fighting anything yet… Besides, Suicune and Celestia are here to join up with everyone else… which is the good news. Bad news? … Someone else is here and I was told by Lord Suicune not to tell you about him because from what he told me… you and the person he hired to take out Ozai have a history…” The Adept finalized. “I’m not sure if I should be glad that Suicune is taking initiative… or be worried about who Suicune hired to help us-.”
“Well I already know that someone was coming… I’m the one who told you, remember! Besides, whoever it is I’m sure he isn’t that bad-”
“Hey Lance,” Both of them heard from the windowsill as Lumen swooped in and instantly went for his hair. “Can I stay with you? That Hit guy or… whatever his name is scares me…”
“AHHHHH!!! HITS HERE!!!” Exuberant shouted as she immedietely went under the bed to never be seen again is what she hoped. “TELL HIM I’M DEAD!!!”
“Lumen!!” Lance snapped, “Suicune told me not to tell her that! Why did you do that?”
“Well, I didn’t know that! My septima is my muse, not telepathy!!” Lumen grumbled, causing Lance to sigh for a moment before turning to Exuberant.
“Exuberant, he’s just elsewhere in the resort and not here…” Lance assured her, before asking a question. “Why are you scared of him though?”
“I was his personal Nurse a while back! He used me for target practice!” She cried. “Just tell him I’m not here… I don’t want to be the target anymore!” Now was when Lance was remembering what Hit had said in the lobby just as he left to go meet back up with Exuberant. “Compared to my other patients… he’s the scariest… especially when he comes by with those scars!”
“Hey, it’s alright… If he tries anything, I wouldn’t let him lay a finger on you.” The Adept promised. “What makes me worried though is why Suicune is bringing him now…”
“Maybe he senses that the Elder Siblings are almost here?” Lumen then brought up as both Exuberant and Lance looked back at the Breezie. “What? It’s just a possibility.”
Soon, Exuberant’s suit came off of her and Teal appeared in front of Lumen. “Hi, names Teal! Nice to meetcha!” she said, surprising the breezie, before smiling back.
“Hey Lance who’s the new girl?” She asked, hopping off of Lance's head, poking Teal with her tiny hoof.
“Hey that tickles! Can I keep her, Sis?!”
Both Lance and Exuberant had the same answer for that as they looked back at the Scarab and the breezie. “No.”
“OH BOO YOU!!!” Teal huffed in response.
“Uh… What was this I heard about sis?” Lumen then asked before the Adept in the room gave a deep sigh.
“That… is a bit of a complicated story.”
“Come on now, Lance,” Lumen rolled her eyes in response as she looked back at the Adept. “We both know that you and I have been through our fair share of incidents. Including the fact that your mother was brought to your world as a Umbra Witch. How is this any more complicated?” The Azure Striker, along with Exuberant soon began to explain the same thing that Exuberant had to tell him. Even going as far as giving her a demonstration as to how the whole power suit mechanic worked for her as Scarab landed on her and had her turn into Blue Beetle to show off her abilities.
“Woah… That… is completely the most BADASS thing I have ever seen!” The breezie declared, trying to hug Exuberant around her head but didn’t get anywhere. “I mean, Lance and I have seen our fair share of crazy stuff happen, but this is by far is the one I like the most!!”
“Thanks, Lumen… Never thought I’d be a badass… Hehehe.” The Adept wasn’t sure if that was Exuberant talking or if it was both her and Scarab, but he decided to not question it.
“Hey sis can Lumen and me go play? That way you two can have some… Privacy~” Teal asked, winking at the two with her tiny digital face.
“I think that’ll be alright… of course, it also depends on if Suicune is actually going to have us all meet up or not to discuss what’s the next part of the plan or not.” Lumen replied, looking back at her. “After all, the gang's all here… and something tells me that with everyone being here, it’s possible that either the elder siblings are not that far behind… or that he has some kind of plan to prepare for when they do come.”
“As much as I would like to have some more fun with Lance… We do have a job to do after all and hey who knows, we might actually win!” Exuberant said, extending her hand out to Lance. He couldn’t help but smile as he took her hand and the two of them got up.
“You’re, right… Let’s go meet up with them.” He said as all of them left the hotel room as he donned his old azure coat while they went into the lobby. He thought that it would be better for him, since he was trying to get back to how he used to use his powers and abilities.
However before they could meet up with them, Hit was waiting outside with the same melancholy stare. Something that caught Lance by surprise. “I had a feeling she was hiding somewhere on the resort… Although, I wasn’t expecting her to be hiding out with this retarded scumbag, but it’d make sense I guess… Where else would a tramp hide?”
“Good to see you again, Hit.” Lance told him, unfazed by his comments on Exuberant or himself. “Do you happen to know where Lord Suicune is by any chance?”
“And who are you?” He asked, turning towards his direction. “I’m not here for you… I’m only here for Exuberant. I have a promise to keep after all.” Exuberant shivered a little, standing behind Lance as he still stood his ground. But before either side could say or do anything, they heard a series of hoofsteps from the nearby hall as they soon turned to see Princess Celestia.
“What is going on here?” She asked, looking at the situation and noticing how Exuberant was scared and hiding behind the Adept.
“Nothing at all… Your highness, I was just leaving… I’ll be back for finish our discussion Exuberant… I can promise you that.” Hit assured them, darkly as he walked passed them and was glaring at her from the corner of his eyes before disappearing a flash.
Exuberant couldn’t help but fall to her knees, gasping for air as everyone looked at her, worrying a bit if she was okay. “I don’t think my heart can take it if I have to see him again… I almost had a heart attack!”
“Could you care to explain what happened back there? I’ve never seen you so scared before in the short time that you have been here.” Celestia commented as the Adept standing in front of her took a deep breath.
“Exuberant is afraid of Hit because when she was his nurse, he used her for target practice and also ignored serious wounds while trying to kill her,” He said, remembering what Exuberant told her. “Back to the subject at hand though, we were going to go see Lord Suicune. If the last fight against the Elder Siblings draws near, then we are prepared and ready to face them.”
“Yes… That is true… Two more days until the final battle begins… Suicune has told me some… disturbing things that he was able to learn that he has kept to himself. I came by to tell you personally, while he tells the others.” Celestia said, exhaling as everyone looked to her, worried by what she had to say.
“W-what is it?” Exuberant asked as Lance helped her unto her feet.
“Don’t leave us in the dark, princess… We can handle it.” Lance assured the alicorn as he looked back at her. But what came next from Celestia was something that wasn’t like anything they would expect to hear.
“As you know… there are many realities filled with different outcomes and different ponies or displaced. But there is one that connects them all… the one true reality. On the world where you all come from… The world called… Earth.” She said, surprising them all. “Suicune had received a final vision in his dreams… The final battle will take place on this world and their are only two outcomes to this-”
“And those outcomes are-?” The Adept asked, before apologizing because he spoke out of turn and interrupted the princess… along with getting knocked in the head by Lumen as well. “My apologies, I didn’t mean to interrupt. Do continue, please.”
“None of these outcomes will come in our favor… for you see, if the Elder’s win this war… than Earth and every reality shall cease to exist.” Everyone gasped by her words, but they waited patiently for what she had to say. “But, Suicune had told me the second outcome shall be our victory, but-” She paused, hesitant to finish her sentence before Lance stepped in.
“But what, princess?” He asked, looking at her with a puzzled glance on his face. “Does something… bad happen?”
She was silent for a few moments… before finally getting her breath and composure to speak. “Some of you… may not make it in the end.” Hearing this had Lance’s ears twitch. The princess just told them that… from Suicune’s vision… some of them were going to die. He did not want anyone else to perish, especially with the very few survivors he rescued from other worlds. But there was still a part of him that felt like this… prophecy can be overcome. That anything can change.
That fate itself can change… because hope will never die.
“I-I don’t… I don’t want to lose anyone!” Exuberant had begun to cry. After everything she had went through with her friends, she had come to care for them, especially Lance and Lumen. “I don’t want to lose you Lance!” She shouted, hugging the adept tightly. The Adept looked back at her, only to hold her close as he looked at everyone.
“I won’t let myself get killed. I got family to go home too… and I will do everything in my power to protect as many people as I can.”
“Are you sure you want to do this Lance? We could always run away, hideout until it’s over?” Exuberant asked.
“If they aren’t stopped now, there will be no place to be when this is all over,” The Adept assured her, looking back and holding her closely. “I’m not going to run away from what’s coming… but we still have two days before the final battle approaches.”
“Okay… just… just promise me that’ll we’ll make it. Please promise me that?!” She was crying while looking up to the adepts eyes. He nodded, assuring her that no matter what was going to happen, they were going to make it and survive. “I need your word, Lance!”
“I promise that we will get through this, Exuberant. We will make it.” He told her, trying to calm her down.
“Good… if you need me, I’ll… I’ll be in the bath.” She said, releasing Lance as she wiped away the tears stained on her cheeks. “Y-you can join me… if you want Lance?”
“My, how forward!” Celestia gasped, before clearing her throat. Causing Lance to sigh for a moment before looking back at the Alicorn and whispering to her.
“Please do not mention that to Suicune or else he’ll have my head.” Lance told her, before following Exuberant back to their room. Causing Celestia to giggle a little bit before turning around and walking back down the hall. She wouldn’t dream of spilling his secrets… after all, her and Suicune had a few secrets of their own to keep.
“I won’t say a word… Anyways, it seems that you two have some… plans for the evening, so I’ll tell Suicune to excuse the four of you for tonight. Do be sure to wake up bright and early, tomorrow you’ll be spending it relaxing and having fun, before your final training begins. Until then, try not to get the sheets too dirty, you lovebirds.” Celestia winked at them, causing them to blush before disappearing in a flash of light.
“You know Lance, I’m beginning to think that Celestia’s the perverted one of the royal family.” Lumen said. “But you did get Max pregnant and had fun with Exuberant so…”
“Need I remind you that it’s Cadence who’s the Princess of Love?” Lance then mentioned, causing the breezie to think for a moment. “If love is in the air around Heart’s and Hooves day… she’s probably not far behind… well, that’s what I was told at least by Twilight back home.”
“This is what I love about you two… you are always funny when you two argue. Anyways before we go take a bath… maybe we could play a board game to pass the time?” Exuberant asked, which caught Lance by surprise for a moment before looking back at her.
“I’m down for that.”
“YAY! Let’s play poker!” Teal shouted from the back of Exuberant’s suit.
“Uhh… That’s not a board game.” Lumen deadpanned as she looked back at Teal.
“It’s a game and I want to get my poker on!” She declared. Causing Lance to roll his eyes as he looked back at them. This was definitely going to be a long night. That was for sure. But at least it will allow him to be able to rest and relax tonight before they were to make the preparations that were needed for the Elder Sibling's arrival.
Elsewhere in the Void
Cobalion continued to pace back and forth in his quarters. Yellow Radio had failed to control his new weapon and had been scolded by the Elder’s. It was frustrating to say the least, but everything was proceeding as planned, for the Elder Siblings had discovered the world that connects to the Displaced and any other universe. ‘Soon everyone will bow before his greatness.’
But before he could finish his thought, Yellow Radio had enter his private chambers.
“Yellow Radio, have you gathered our candidates?” He asked.
“Of course old friend! Who do you think I am?” He asked, laughing as Cobalion gave him a deadpan stare.
“Good, be sure that they receive our master's power? The enemy is strong, therefore we must be stronger than them.” Cobalion ordered.
“That won't be an issue, they have all been wanting to have a his gift. But the question is are you going to finally take his gift?” he asked, earning a hum from the pokemon, he was one of the strongest in their military and never had to rely on others for their strength, until he came into the picture. The one who called himself Gunvolt.
“I shall ponder it Yellow… the five of us shall be enough to kill Suicune and his rebels once the Elder’s weaken them in battle. Their will be no need for us fight yet.” He explained moving past the jester.
“Alright, I shall let the others know, but the master's power shall be enough for all.” Yellow Radio boasted. However, that wasn’t exactly on Cobalion’s mind as he walked down the hallway of the ship. Instead, he was more focused on something else… what he was going to do the moment that they touched down on the world that the traitor was in.
And who he was going to go after first. ‘I am coming for you, Lance Walker and I promise to show you a nightmare beyond the horrors of hell!’
The Next Day
Everyone had gathered out on the beach, seeing that Hit, Suicune and Celestia had waited patiently for them near the shore. “Alright… Today, all of you shall learn to work together as a team, but there shall be a slight alteration in leadership.” Hearing this had Lance and everyone else look at each other a bit puzzled before Exuberant raised a hand.
“What do you mean by… alteration?” She then asked the Pokemon.
“Hit shall be leading the team from now on, besides me and Celestia of course.” he answered earning a gasp from everyone as they turned to Hit’s direction, seeing him glare at them sent a shiver down their spines. This too, also caught Lance off guard as he looked back to the Pokemon and then spoke up.
“I thought you said that Hit was here so he could deal with Lord Ozai,” The Adept told him as he then posed a question. “Why are you having him lead the team?”
“He has been around for almost as long as me and has experience on the battlefield. Yes he’ll deal with Ozai, but he’s agreed to help put an end to this war… It was our agreement and he honors it. There will be no arguments about this, he shall lead the team and all of you shall follow his orders. That is all I have to say about this.” He said, clearing his throat as both he and Celestia teleported away, leaving everyone alone with Hit.
“Now that those two aren’t here… I want each and every last one of you to run 50 laps around this island to warm up. No powers, no tricks, nothing. After that we can begin with our warm ups.” Hit said, turning away from them as they all groaned. Lance in particular was a bit suspicious of all of this. Why was it that only now that they find out about this and had Hit lead them? It didn’t make sense and the Adept felt that there was more to this then Hit or Suicune was letting on. But before Lance could finish his thoughts Hit placed his hand on his shoulder and threw him to the ground. “Don’t make me repeat myself… I don’t have time to deal with a nobody who disobeys orders. Now run 50 laps Now!”
He listened to him as everyone then began to do what he ordered. Running moments afterwards with everyone else either right behind him or right next to him. Exuberant and Lumen did their best to keep up the pace.
“I… really… hate this guy!” Lumen said, flapping her tiny wings as best she could.
“It hasn’t… been a week since I had a human… body and already I hate it.” She groaned, almost tripping on her feet before Lance helped her up and they continued running. It took them a few hours to finally complete all fifty of the laps that they had to do and before they could even have the chance to catch their breath at all… that was when Hit really began to try and push them to their limits.
“You should have finished those laps over an hour ago… this proves that you’re all out of shape… For that you all will going into Celestia’s time chamber and begin with doing 1000 push ups, after that a 1000 sit ups. Once your warm ups are done we can begin with sparing and that’ll be it for now. The time chamber shall help you all improve for an entire year before the day is up. NOW GO!!!” he yelled, causing everyone to run for their lives.
“Why did it have to be him?!” Nathan complained as he tried to run with everyone else. Even with Lance being at the peak of condition for an adept, he thought that what Hit was doing was rather unnecessary. Even when they were in the chamber and practicing combat training against a set of dummies, he pictured the dummy as Hit in order to provide extra motivation to beat it to a pulp.
Hours had passed in the time chamber and they managed to have completed the 1000 push ups and sit ups. Everyone’s muscles began to ache a lot as they all collapsed to the ground, even Nathan fell down and he was a giant robot. Pinkie Pie tried to crawl for the door, but ended up being pulled back by her tail by Hit. “No one leaves until the year in here is up… this is only the beginning for all of you. Now that your warm up is finished, it’s time to begin your sparring.” Lance was caught off guard by that. If what they did was just merely a warm up, then he was a little bit worried to find out what else was in store for everyone.
“Suggest you pick someone you aren’t familiar with and proceed to spar. I shall watch from the distance for now.” He said, still glaring as he leaped into the air and landed far away, putting some distance between them. Exuberant herself wanted to pair up with Lance, but given the parameters that Hit placed on the training, the two of them were forced to pair up with someone else. Strangely enough, Pinkie herself personally decided for Exuberant to be her partner while Nathan needed a moment to make sure to do some personal self repairs. Leaving Lance with only one other choice.
Quicksilver. Just freaking brilliant...
“Well it looks like it’s you and me Lance… I do hope you can keep up.” He said, putting on his goggles. Lance himself had worked with individuals whose powers revolved around superspeed before. Heck, Pinkie Pie in his world was known as Filli-second because her powers revolved around speed. However, if there was a difference between her and Quicksilver, Filli-second was more like The Flash. Primarily because she was able to redirect her speed as a method of force.
However, Quicksilver himself… still had some similarities. Yet, one thing that Lance happened to noticed when he was sparring against him was that he always had some kind of routine when going on the offensive… and lacked anything to protect him defensively. First time he noticed this was when the speedster started his attack by throwing a right hook at his face, prompting for Lance to dodge in the same direction. So when he did it again though, that was when the Adept caught him off guard.
By dodging in the opposite direction… and countering it with a blow of equal force as the palm of his right hand smacked his face and sent him flying as he accidentally toppled into Nathan. “Hey watch it… I just finished oiling my arms dude!”
“S-sorry…” Quicksilver groaned, trying to get up from that as he rubbed his face a bit after feeling the extent of Lance’s strike. “Alright… that caught me by surprise, but I’m ready for you this time Lance.”
In a blink of an Eye Quicksilver appeared next to the adept and landed a punch across his face, sending him fly before Quick appeared behind him, jabbing him in the back while in mid air. Punching and kicking repeatedly before Lance fell to the ground. Yet, as he was about to hit him once more, that was when the Adept dispersed into electricity and partially paralyzed one of Quicksilver’s arms as he used instant transmission to get behind him, knock him down on the ground and point his weapon at him.
Which, in turn… caused the Adept to smirk as he let him up. “You’re good… but there’s still a few things you can improve on.”
“Yeah… well I guess I could use the help.” he said as Lance helped him up for a moment. It was then that the Adept began to explain what he meant.
“You might have speed, but when you were going at me, you were attacking me the same way each time. An experienced fighter can tell whether or not you make a routine of someone or repeat something multiple times and then proceed to do something else to throw you off your game,” He explained, restoring Quicksilver’s arm. “Even though you might have the upper hand, don’t let your guard down.”
“Yeah good advice… but all of this sparring has definitely worked up an appetite.” He chuckled.
“We can worry about your metabolism later.” Lance sighed, looking to see where Hit was as he looked back at the speedster. “Hit would get on our case if were just sitting around and talking.”
“Yeah… we should keep going, but once this is all over… I’m going to find me a cheeseburger.” He said, causing the Adept to chuckle as Lance got himself in a proper combat stance and readied himself for another round of sparring.
Everyone continued to spar with one another for an hour at the very least. Sore, exhausted, hungry… they were pushed to the very limit and this was only the first day in the time chamber. Eventually Hit had finally moved from his spot and approached them, but Lance could tell from his expression that he wasn’t happy at all.
“Sloppy, pathetic, and disappointing! Are you all really Suicune’s best recruits? Everyone of you have many flaws in your attacks and strategies that the Elder’s could see coming from a mile away. You’ll never win like that!” Hit shouted, insulting every last one of them to the point where even Teal and Lumen began to cry for being useless and having no backbone. Yet, Lance remained unfazed by what he said. “Tomorrow, all of you shall repeat the same warm up and after that… each of you will spar against me.”
That had Lance puzzled. He wasn’t sure if he meant tomorrow in the chamber or the actual tomorrow. But as it turned, he did mean tomorrow in the chamber… and all the more reason he felt that Hit was going to kill them first before the Elder Siblings would even get here.
Outside the Chamber
“Are you sure that this was a good idea? I mean… you’re leaving them with Hit… for a year…” Celestia asked Suicune as she turned to face him. “I don’t question your choices, but I’m just worried that he’ll tear them apart in there before the Elder Siblings even get here.”
“This is exactly what they need my dear… Hit’s the perfect one to train them for the upcoming battle with the Elder’s armies… If they truly all want to make it out in one piece than they’ll need to train… Train harder than they ever did so they can stand a chance.” He said, closing his eyes, remembering his final vision, seeing a shadowy figure strangling someone he knew, but it was all a blur to him… he could still hear the sounds of their neck snapping and an evil laughter coming from the figure as his own power exploded.
“I know… yet, it’s almost been one full day and I’m… concerned to see if actually being in there… changed them somehow.” Celestia told him as she finished using her spell to raise the sun and bring morning to Equestria.
“They have each other… but they still have a few hours before their time is up.” Suicune said looking back at her.
“I suppose so… but I’m still concerned to say the least.”
“Don’t worry Celestia… They shall be ready. We should probably get ready to meet with them.” He said, about to leave the room until he felt a light tug on his two tails, turning to see Celestia blushing for an odd reason.
“You know, you did say we have a few hours before they come out… Maybe we could use this time to have a little… fun~” She asked as Suicune smirked at the sun princess.
“Hehehe… Celestia my love… I thought you’d never ask.”
Back Inside the Chamber
It has been almost a year now. When they had started this training, Lance thought that he was going to drive himself insane being stuck for a year with someone like Hit. But in the end, it actually happened to pay off… and the Adept could definitely feel the difference in terms of his strength and his reflexes, but their was still one final test before he was allowed to leave the chamber. One that Hit was personally going to give to them.
“You have all improved surprisingly, but before any of you leave… we still have one final test. Which one of you believes to be strong enough… to face me.” Everyone was hesitant to be able to come forward… everyone except the Adept that separated himself from the rest of the pack behind him and stepped forward.
“Since no one else is doing it… I’ll take a crack at it then.” He spoke up, cracking his knuckles and stretching out his neck.
“Ah, I figured a nobody like you would step up… I’ve been waiting to fight you ever since you been getting in the way of Exuberant’s and my conversation. I was surprised you kept her away from me for so long, but I have business with that tennis ball, hiding behind a female's body now.” He glared at the Adept as he put his hands in his pockets.
“Up yours too, jerk.” The Adept shot back. “She’s human now… and I’m not letting you treat her like trash.”
“It doesn’t matter what she is now,” Hit remarked as he looked back at the adept as he was also preparing himself for combat. “Because no matter how hard you try… you won’t be able to beat me.”
“I won’t know for sure unless I try now, won’t I?” The Azure Striker commented. Which personally amused his opponent… to an extent. Even though Lance felt that his training in here had paid off, all Hit personally saw was a blond haired teen that was just brimming with overconfidence. Yet, there were a few things that the adept personally paid attention too throughout the course of the year they were in here anytime he ordered for them to take him on in combat.
Primarily, there was his speed… something that the adept had a theory on, but just a theory at best. Especially since he was even faster than Quicksilver. Following that was his attacks. One time, even though Hit looked to be storing a strong amount of energy in his palms when Quicksilver was his opponent, the strike that followed didn’t seem to show any form of this attack visually. With those in mind, it meant that Lance needed to proceed with caution… and plan in advance.
However… not enough planning in the world would prepare him for when Hit began his assault. Before he could even react, Lance was struck in on the side of his forehead before receiving another blow in the chest by the assassin. Even though he had his prevasion ready for when Hit did go after him, the moment he was back to normal was when Hit struck him. It did not make sense because it only would take him a second to reform back to normal from it.
The only way that such a thing would be possible is that if he were faster… or somehow made him slower. There was only one particular way for him to find out… and that was to test some of the new techniques he was developing with his septima while he was in the chamber.
To do so though, he needed to time it right when Hit would least expect it. Which was tricky at the given moment, but not exactly impossible.
Hit soon stood only a few feet away from the adept, placing his hands in his pocket, turning his back on him as Lance got back on his feet. At this point Hit was waiting for him to make a move, which made things even more difficult for him to predict his next move. Lance could only wipe away the sweat from his forehead as he grinned a little. Looking back at him before speaking up. “Well, what are you waiting for? An invitation?”
“I was about to ask you the same thing.” he replied, still having his back turned from the adept.
“Well, either you think that I don’t amuse you… or you think that I haven’t caught onto how you fight.” The Azure Striker boldly claimed, smirking a little as he used one of his skills, galvanic patch, to heal the damage he received from Hit. “Pure strength doesn’t win battles alone. Sometimes… out thinking your opponent can be just as deadly.”
“True… but seeing you in this current state… I won’t have to put much effort to figure your moves out… Gunvolt.” Shortly after saying that was when Hit went after the Adept again. This time though, the Adept was prepared. The second that his opponent attacked him, Lance used his prevasion to avoid the first attack from him… and just as he reformed was when he snapped his finger and pulled off a new trick up his sleeve.
“Crashbolt!” The second he said that, a huge electrical torrent began to surge around him in a column as it caught Hit’s right arm in the middle of the attack. Catching him off guard before the Adept pulled off a swift jab kick to push his opponent backwards to gain some distance.
Hit could only glare at Lance as he wiped away the blood from his left cheek. Noticing this only made the assassin grin before he looked at the Adept, unaware of what was happening at this moment. “I see that you are able to block and evade my attacks… but in the end you’ll never measure up to my power.”
“True… but I still was able to figure it out…” The Azure Striker grinned as he looked back at the assassin. “The reason for your speed is not because you’re faster… but because you made everything around you slower… A Time Skip, so to speak… Only thing is, you can only use it for a rather short amount of time, so you do it the moment you strike to stay one step ahead of your opponent. It explains why you were able to hit Quicksilver despite his blinding speed.”
“So you say… that shall conclude our sparring much for now.” Hit said, walking up to the Adept, placing his hand on his shoulder before leaning close to his ear with a serious glare as he spoke. “... Once this is all over… I will kill you… I was hired to kill you.” That caught Lance off guard as he turned to see Hit walk behind him without a care in the world… before someone else almost tried to tackle him.
In which that someone… happened to be Exuberant. “YOU’RE ALIVE!!” She yelled, kissing him on his cheek before slapping him hard on the back of his head. “YOU IDIOT!!! You could have died!”
‘You mean other than by getting smacked upside the head?’ He thought sarcastically before looking back at her and sighing. “Well, I didn’t… at least now we can step outside and see Suicune and Celestia again. I know it’s only been a day for them, but it’s been one long year from hell in here.”
“Yeah… I guess, still after going through that… I think I’d prefer hell now!” Quicksilver stated, appearing next to the couple.
“Did you guys at least learn something on the process?” The Adept then asked off the top of his head as he looked back at Exuberant and the others.
“Of course we did… Anyways, all we can do is right now is hope that our training is going to finally pay off.” Nathan said, helping Exuberant and Lance up on their feet. The Adept couldn’t agree more with what his ally said. Especially with the threat that the Elder Siblings posed and also with what Hit told him… yet, in displaced terms, a threat like this and people trying to kill you was just a typical tuesday in Lance’s line of work.
“I’ll get the door,” He then offered as he opened the door to the time chamber for everyone else to step out. Mostly everyone in the room was quick in order to leave the place, though Exuberant actually waited for everyone else to be gone first before stepping out with Lance right next to her. “So, did you and Teal find this training to be beneficial?”
“More like a prison… But it did help me get stronger and because of it… We were able to figure out a couple tricks that teal and I could do, but that can wait after our meeting with Suicune and Celestia.” Exuberant explained, removing her helmet and looking back at him.
“Yeah… Hit though really bugs me… there’s something about him that makes me think there’s more to him being involved in this than we know.” The Adept replied as they walked out. “But perhaps I’m just overthinking things. Let’s go find them.”
“Okay…” She replied, wrapping her arm around him as she leaned her head against his shoulder. Causing Lance to chuckle in response as they went to go find the Princess and the Legendary Pokemon.
Back at the Resort
Everyone had gathered at the food court. Scarfing down real food for the first time in a year due to the time chamber. Lumen looked especially happy when she dived into a bowl of strawberries. “I never thought I'd miss strawberries!”
Everyone could only watch as tears of joy dripped from her cheeks as she stuffed a strawberry into her mouth. Even though it was twice the size of her own head. Which only lead to Lance having to try to break the strawberry down to smaller pieces so she could eat it properly. Which only made the breezie pout since she had to wait a little longer before consuming what she called ‘fruit heaven’. All while spitting the seeds at Quicksilver, who was too busy with a special cake that his Pinkie made specifically for him because of his metabolism.
“Hey Lance… Would you like some grapes?” Exuberant asked.
“I’ll pass… are there any banana’s though?” He then asked her.
“Hmm… I don’t know… Didn’t think you liked bananas?” That was something the Adept chuckled at as he looked back at her and smiled in response.
“I do, but my cousin probably likes them more… he was displaced as Sun Wukong, the monkey faunus from RWBY.” He told her, even going as far as giving her a picture for her to have as a visual reference.
“Huh… He sounds like a nice guy… but you know, right now I think I’m starting to crave a particular banana right now~” she winked at him
“He has a marefriend…” Lance deadpanned, looking back at her and sighing for a moment before adding one other part to his statement. “Not to mention that they’re engaged.”
“And who says I was talking about him?” she gave him a sly grin. Which only lead to his sighing a little in response, tempted to roll his eyes but refraining himself from doing so. “Anyways… Are you sure you don’t want grapes? I’ll even feed them to you if you want~”
“That won’t be necessary.” He insisted to her as he motioned his head to the other end of the table. “I believe the man and mare of the hour have arrived.”
Both Celestia and Suicune had entered the room, seeing that everyone was all here aside from Hit as the Princess was first to speak. “Hello everyone… I’m glad that all of you are here, safe and sound. With the battle of the elder siblings approaching us, I wanted to give you all one last opportunity to be able to unwind and relax before tomorrow. Suicune and I are ever grateful that all of you are here… and we all hope that your hard work and training will pay off. Do you agree, Lord Suicune?”
“Indeed… In the past I have seen Displaced as a problem in the world, but I was proven wrong. So I want to thank you all for your help and to show my appreciation… You have all earned my respect and a feast in your honor.” And with a twist of his paw, chiefs and servants came in with a platters of all kinds of fine delicacies as they were set across the entire table.
“Best… day… EVER!!!” Lumen immediately declared, diving head first into the first thing she saw while also causing Lance to chuckle at how happy he was for her.
“Now enjoy yourselves… You have all earned it, but there’s someone here I’d like to thank for bringing you all here today.” Suicune soon turned his gaze to Lance, giving a smile, surprising the adept. “Lance Walker.”
Lance, for a moment, looked at Exuberant before turning to look back at the legendary pokemon. “Yes, Lord Suicune?” He asked, thinking that Suicune was going to say something to him.
“Come up here… give them a speech.” Suicune said, stepping aside. That… surprised him. The Adept was not exactly one for giving speeches. In fact, most of the time, he’s usually the one listening to other people giving a speech. But nevertheless, he still had to try. So, getting up from his spot at the table, he walked over to where Suicune and Celestia were and began to think about what he wanted to say to everyone.
Clearing his throat for a moment, he then spoke up… god, this felt like he won an Oscar for an academy award winning movie… when it came to the pressure of trying to speak of course. “Well… I’m not quite so sure how I should start exactly…” The Adept said to himself before looking at everyone… and then seeing Lumen, Exuberant and Teal encourage him non-verbally. “When this just started out for me… there was only me… my friend Lumen… and Exuberant. I did not think though, that through everything that we’ve been through together… through every hardship that we faced… and through every obstacle that we had to overcome, we would be at this moment… right now. This all started… with just a promise. One that I kept to a friend who put himself in harm's way in order to give us a chance to be here now. I myself… have seen this whole adventure as a learning experience… being able to learn not just from Suicune… but from each and every one of you. I learned that together… we can overcome whatever is thrown at us… that anytime we’re knocked down to get back up… to keep fighting… because we are fighting for our future… and for the future of all displaced that may come after us. So they be given the chance to choose what to do with their gifts… rather than having it be chosen for them… for we represent freedom… and we represent hope…”
Taking a glass that was filled with non-alcoholic sparkling cider (and yes, he did check the label), he raised a glass. “I think this calls for a toast… to freedom… to hope… and to what lies beyond-.”
“And to kicking some ELDER SIBLING ASS!!!” Lumen abruptly shouted… which ironically got everyone else to raising their glasses too.
“... and to that as well.” The Adept added on, smirking as he took a drink as well while everyone else began to celebrate. But Hit glared at Lance from the distance. Prompting him to step down from the patio as he looked back at Suicune for a moment. “Suicune, may I talk to you for a moment… in private?”
“Of course.” Suicune nodded. “Lead the way my apprentice.” The Adept nodded, before looking behind him to make sure they weren’t followed as the two of them went out into an empty hallway before he then spoke up to him.
“Suicune… I’m grateful for everything that you have done for all of us… but as we were going out of the chamber… something occurred that now makes me feel a bit concerned.” The adept told him as he looked back at the pokemon.
“What could be bothering you?”
“Hit,” He told him bluntly, “On the last day in the chamber, he tested us by having him face him. When I beat his test though… he told me that once this was all over… he’ll go for me… because someone hired him to eliminate me.” It was a concern that he wanted to bring to Suicune’s attention. To see whether he would know of something like this… or if there truly was another person that Hit was working for.
“Yes… he has mentioned this to me in the past… but there is nothing I can do about it. I don’t know who his client is, but he knows you… and he’s from your world.” Suicune explained, surprising the Adept.
“How… how is he from my world? That makes no sense,” Lance asked, looking back at him. “Before I was a displaced in my world, the only other displaced in my world at the time was Time Spinner… and he helped found the Power Ponies… Whatever the case, I want him to stay the hell away from me and also stay the hell away from Katy-.”
“Lance Walker… Calm yourself… I only know that someone from your world hired him and wants you dead. I can’t change his mind unless we drop our previous contract, but at this point I don’t think he’ll agree.” Suicune brought up a valid point there. Hit was not the kind of person to be convinced of something without good reason… which only lead to Lance sighing a little bit as he looked back at Suicune.
“You’re right… I just thought that since you know more about him than I do that you might know something that can help… I already figured out his Time Skip ability, but I highly doubt that’s the only thing he’s capable of.” He said back. Suicune nodded his head in response, but before he was able to go back to the table, he heard the Pokemon ask him one other thing.
“But before you go back… who is this Katy you speak of?”
“Oh right… that’s Exuberant. She wanted to use her name from before she was displaced so she could feel more human.” Lance clarified for him, “Why do you ask?”
“Just curious is all… you two are awfully close aren’t you?”
“Well… to put it simply… she and I are close like you and Celestia are… In fact, Celestia told me that she gave her some advice that Exuberant happened to… follow up on.” He said, scratching the back of his head as he felt a bit embarrassed by that last statement.
“I see… Just try not to make a mess… I could smell your foul stench from the other side of the island.
“Like how Lumen was able to smell you two?” He asked, before realizing his statement. “I-i’m sorry, that was too soon… Celestia is extremely lucky to have someone like you just as much as Katy is lucky to be with me. I shouldn’t be making remarks on your relationship like that.”
“I’ll excuse your previous comment this time… but bring that up again and I’ll have your head on a stick if you dare bring that up again.” Suicune threatened, as his cold gaze pierced at his very soul, sending a cold chill down the adepts spine as he nodded his head. “Now… I don’t have much advice for you to deal with Hit… only that you need to find this client in your world and take him out! If his client is gone than Hit’s contract will be null and voided. I hope that you find out soon though… because once the Elder’s are defeated… he’ll be coming for you.”
“Just my luck…” The Adept thought, acknowledging Suicune and thanking him for the advice as he went to go back over to where Exuberant and Lumen were waiting for him.
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