Lox made moaning noises as he held his head. His eyes fell on Jung Lee, as if he had found his savior.
“Jung Lee!” The pale Gurren and Lox both cried out at the same time.
“You know, I was a world-renowned potion maker in my time,” Jung Lee grumbled, pulling out two potions and tossing it to them.
Lox drank it down all in one go, his face becoming a healthier color. “Tastes god-awful, but in my book you’re the greatest potion maker in two star systems!”
“No, in thirty-nine!” Gurren declared before he turned to Lox. “How many of them have we captured? I lost count.”
Lox looked at Gurren in disbelief.
“You have permission,” Kol, Dave’s mentor and Gurren’s grandfather, said.
Without even a second of pause, Lox clipped Gurren around the head.
“Grandad!” Gurren yelled out in betrayal as he rubbed his head. It was clear it hadn’t hurt him as much as he was complaining.
“Learn how to count!” Kol said with a huff. “Now sit down and get some food!”
The table laughed, used to their antics, as everyone joined the table. In minutes, Kol was fussing over Gurren, and Lox was having a drink with Jung Lee.
“Seems that Lee might need a remedy or two of his own tomorrow,” Deia muttered to Dave.
Dave chuckled, saying nothing, and took a bite of the food on his plate. He smiled, letting his worries go as he looked over the table—the joking, the talking, the smiles, and laughter.
***
Celebrations continued on for a week. People’s spirits were lifted and many, now without the pressure of the Jukal at their doorsteps, went out and raised their levels, working harder than ever before.
Dave and Malsour appeared in mid-air. They looked out over a group of citadels. In the middle of them, instead of there being a portal, nothing remained; the portals had been collected together, altered and then used in the war effort.
Even without the portal there, the citadels were a hive of activity. These now had four rings of defensive walls around them as the Emerilians had controlled them for so long.
Just a few moments after they had arrived, the ground around one of the citadels started to shake violently.
“Cutting it close?” Malsour asked as the citadel started to rise from the ground. Rocks fell from it as the runic lines that were part of its structure glowed and a soul gem island underneath the citadel was revealed.
“Close enough.” Dave shrugged.
“It was a good idea to upload the plans from the flying citadels to the soul gem constructs that were already in the other citadels. We’ll get another forty-eight citadels ready to fly with nearly no manpower needed in just three months,” Malsour said.
“How are the modifications going on the first two flying citadel groups?” Dave asked, watching as the newly minted flying citadel moved off from where it had risen out of the ground, the flight crew testing out the citadel. Another citadel started to shake and then lift into the sky.
“The new cannons have been put in, as have the drop runes to teleport the forces inside to the ground, just like the arks and destroyers. We’ve got a few tubes for the grand working missiles. They’re so powerful that using them inside a planet is risky. It will help a lot in the final battle,” Malsour said.
“The shields were upgraded and the portals added?”
“Yeah, and some of the magical coding techs have been working on a spell formation that will allow the citadels to make a shield that not even the Jukal’s orbitals will be able to get through,” Malsour said.
“Good. I’m also worried about how strong the Jukal forces are going to be on the ground. They’ve been fighting us with their enhanced slaves—they’re going to be a pain in the ass to fight. They were powerful on the other planets. However, on the home world they’ll be undeniably stronger. Then there’s the rumor that the emperor has nanites running through his system and can call down magic much like the members of the Pantheon can,” Dave said.
“It’s disturbing, but then we do have a plan in place to deal with him.”
“I hope it works,” Dave said.
They teleported away from the rising citadel, going through teleport pads and onos until they reached another location. Here, there were sixteen citadels dotted around the sky. These were the original flying citadels that had taken part in the event and watched as the Pantheon was torn apart.
Their walls were scarred from battle and their cannons were the same as those that were mounted on the spacefaring ships. They dominated the sky, with an imposing aura that made one look at them in awe and respect.
These citadels all had seven walls around them, heavily upgraded Aleph repeaters that would now be able to take down drones, not just flying creatures. Interceptor modules lined the outer walls and some of the strong points.
As they watched, the runic lines under the citadels flashed with light and fighters appeared on the ground. They were running multiple scenarios. The crews of the citadels fired their weapons and went through the motions; however, the ground didn’t explode and instead of spell formations unleashing powerful spells that would make the ground shake, they faded out of existence.
Dave looked off into the distance. There was Goblin Mountain. It had been through so many evolutions that it was thoroughly different. It looked as if the top of the mountain had been cut off; in fact, it lay off to the side in pieces. Instead of a mountain peak, a massive ship portal stood in its place.
Dave looked off into the distance. Casting his Touch of the Land spell, he was able to see recently completed flying citadels that were headed for Goblin Mountain.
Once again, they continued on their path, checking over the various projects expanding to cities across Emerilia. People were moving in bands to check out the abandoned areas across many zones. Farmers were returning to their fields and cities were once again bustling without being overcrowded.
They went to the moonbase, which was covered in techs, both checking weapon systems built into the moon and building more missile boats between the multiple catwalks that formed slips, extending through the moon.
They took a shuttle to look over Terra that was itself undergoing massive changes.
Dave and Malsour went back to the moonbase, what had been the Jukal base but had since been converted for use by the Emerilians. Then it was off to Ice Planet and Nal. The portal on the Nalheim home planet had been reactivated and a new settlement was being started there. Some people didn’t like living in a city that was surrounded by a Mana barrier that kept them from freezing.
They went through the asteroid base, seeing the damage to the Pandora fleet up close; crews were working hard to get them back into fighting condition. One fleet was holding position over Emerilia while two more had portaled into the Jukal Empire and were once again assisting the Deq’ual system ships that had been fighting through the heart of the Jukal Empire.
Many had been asking why the Deq’ual fleet hadn’t been helping against the Jukal invasion force. The reason was that their stealth runes weren’t as powerful as the ones on the Pandora ships and they didn’t have teleportation spells or portals in their ships. They were more likely to become a liability and harder to resupply and evacuate than the Pandora ships.
Though they hadn’t been sitting back by any means. They had advanced system by system, covering the forces that went down, and removed the Jukal influence while clearing the skies and dealing with any Jukal ships that had escaped their sensors as well as defenses and stations.
Dave and Malsour parted, Malsour headed to the Densaou Ring of Fire while Dave exited into Cliff-Hill and then teleported into his home.
There were people throughout the home. Bob’s carrier, the Datskun, had techs poring over it, trying to learn all of its secrets, so, he and Anna were spending time with each other at Dave and Deia’s home, even though they both had places in Ice City. Here they could get away from their worries for a bit longer.
Suz
y was working from the main office of the Grahslagg Corporation in Cliff-Hill and Induca was helping people out around Cliff-Hill.
Dave changed into simple comfortable clothes, his armor disappearing. He could hear Deia talking softly and encouraging little Koi. He came around a doorway, his steps coming to a halt as he looked at the sight of Deia watching little Koi as she crawled and wandered around the living room floor, a pleased and excited smile on her face.
Dave crossed his arms, a proud smile on his face as he watched Deia and Koi. Dave had never had this, being able to come back from a day of work and come back to a family. He leaned against the doorway, taking it in.
It took a few minutes before Deia realized that someone else was in the room. She looked over, seeing Dave. “Seems like your daughter is going to get up to all kinds of trouble now.” Deia smiled.
“Oh, I like how she’s my daughter when she gets into trouble.” The corner of Dave’s mouth pulled up slightly as he pushed off the wall and moved toward Koi.
“Well, if she didn’t get in trouble, she’d be like the paragon of virtue her mother is,” Deia said, putting on airs as she flicked her hair over her shoulder.
“That’s a good girl. Look at you. You’re crawling all on your own.” Dave crouched down, talking to Koi to rile up Deia.
Koi, seeing her father, happily slapped the ground with her little hands, and pushed herself toward him with wobbly movements.
Dave stretched out his arms, waiting for her to get into reach before he picked her up into a hug. “That’s my girl! You’re going to get all big and strong.” Dave pulled up her shirt and blew a raspberry on her tummy.
Koi let out happy noises but turned toward the floor again.
“Okay, off you go!” Dave lowered her back down to the floor as she continued on her adventure.
Deia and Dave sat on a couch, watching Koi as she crawled through the living room. Dave rubbed Deia’s leg as she sat on her legs and curled up close to him, her eyes following Koi’s every movement.
“Out of everything I’ve made, I’d say she’s the best one,” Dave said.
Deia chuckled as if she were holding onto some great secret. Dave looked to her as Deia smiled at him slyly. “Just wait till she’s a teenager.” Deia laughed.
“Can we just keep her at this age?”
“I wish.” Deia sighed as her fingers traced lines up and down his arm.
Koi started to pull on a tablecloth with things on it.
Deia made to move as Dave teleported over, holding the tablecloth in place.
“I now know why we shouldn’t look away for a moment,” Dave said, organizing things so Koi couldn’t hurt herself.
***
Anna braced herself, her flickering emotions making her anxious as she played with her fingers.
She would prefer to go and fight off the Jukal Empire and bring destruction raining down from the heavens all over again than deal with the anxiousness that was building up in her guts.
Alkao hadn’t come to the get-together at Dave and Deia’s home. Anna felt as though she had been on a tightrope with her emotions, looking around and expecting for him to show up at any moment. When he hadn’t appeared, she’d found herself feeling upset by it. She had faint memories of Alkao, but they were more like a confusing bundle of emotions than anything tangible.
A part of her just wanted to run away; another part of her made her grit her teeth and dig her feet in, as if nothing would stop them from meeting.
She knew that Alkao had excused himself from the gathering by saying that he had things to deal with back in Devil’s Crater. Even though it made sense to her, a part of Anna was disappointed.
So now she found herself in Devil’s Crater with her father, who’d pushed for her to go. The different guards looked at Anna with complicated expressions. They all knew how she didn’t have all of her memories.
They reached Alkao’s office, his secretary waiting for them.
“He’s ready for you.” The secretary smiled to Anna.
“I’ll be here,” Bob said.
“Okay,” Anna said, not giving herself time to back out as she walked toward the door into Alkao’s office.
She passed through the door and looked at Alkao, who was working on documents. Clearly his secretary hadn’t told him that Anna was coming.
“What is it?” Alkao asked, not looking up.
Anna didn’t say anything. Her emotions pulled her in multiple different directions as she was unable to do anything as she studied him. Conflicted about what she liked about him, knowing her own stubborn personality, she remembered the videos of her and Alkao fighting for him to gain a place in her heart.
She could see how that Anna had allowed him into her heart long before their sparring stopped.
But as she had watched it, a stranger looking through a window, it felt as if she were stealing that Anna’s position. She hadn’t gone through those moments, only seen some of them from afar.
Alkao frowned and looked up. His eyes widened as they met with Anna’s.
Anna felt something stirring within her as time seemed to pause. The two of them looked to each other, a complicated expression on Anna’s face as Alkao’s bloomed into a smile while his eyes watered at the same time.
“Anna.” He said her name softly, as if breathing too hard might make her disappear.
“Hello, Alkao,” Anna said, her voice more formal.
Alkao looked confused but then quickly hid it, as if remembering something. A look of pain hid deep within his eyes as his smile darkened slightly. “Bob told me that you’ve lost most of your memories from the last time you were woken up on Emerilia.” Alkao stood and towered over Anna.
She noticed he was still wearing armor and on his hip there was a sword. Her eyes latched onto it, feeling a resonance with it.
Alkao followed her eyes, looking to the sword. He gave out a short laugh and his hand came to rest on the sword. To anyone else it would be a great sword; to him, it was just a slightly long sword. He ran his finger over the hilt, his eyes filled with memories.
He undid the sword belt, which was actually meant to go over a person’s back. He held the sword in his hands before he walked over to Anna, holding it out with two hands. It clearly held a special place in his heart.
“It seems it’s about time I returned this to you.” He looked up to see whether there was any reaction before once again looking to the sword. He tried to hide the pain in his eyes, but Anna was able to see it.
She wanted to reach out and take his hand, but her mind resisted. She didn’t want to give him false hope. She wasn’t that Anna from before.
“Thank you,” Anna said, not able to look him in the eyes as she received the sword. She put her hand on the hilt and pulled the sword out from its scabbard.
She looked at the oddly designed blade. It felt right holding the sword as she moved it through the air. It let out a sad note; with a flick of her hand, it was cut off and it stilled. The air in the room seemed to bow in reverence to the sword, eager to fulfill its command.
Anna felt something odd about the sword’s aura. She studied it closer, until she found something in the blade that shouldn’t have been there. She cast out a spell to increase her perception and see through the sword. Her eyes glowed with light as information filled her mind. Not just any information—memories.
After about five minutes, she stumbled backward, her face pale. An excited look was on Anna’s face. Damn, I’m a genius. Anna looked to Alkao. He frowned slightly, as if sensing a change within her.
Sadly, the memories her old incarnation had imprinted into the core of the sword filled up some of the blanks and she knew with time, it would speed up her recovery. But with Alkao, there was only a glimmer of emotions.
“Thank you for taking care of it. I’ll see you later,” Anna said, seeing how the words seemed to tear into Alkao. But still he kept a smile on his face, and the affection in his eyes didn’t dim in the slightest.
&n
bsp; That more than anything moved her heart, as she yearned to remember more of this man, to know the depths of their relationship.
“Look after yourself, Anna.” Alkao made to move forward, but hesitated and pulled back, instead smiling to her.
“Thank you, Alkao.” Anna bowed her head slightly. She placed the sword back in its scabbard and turned around, leaving.
“I will love you now and always. If I have to fight for your love again, I would do it without hesitation.”
Alkao’s voice was soft, barely audible. Anna only barely heard it as she was halfway out the door. Her footsteps paused for half a second as she heard the grief, pain, and longing in his voice, but also a determination and love that empowered him.
She continued out, not looking back, her emotions even more complicated than before as she gripped her sword tightly.
I will remember you, Alkao! Anna vowed to herself, thinking of the massive demon who could make the ground shake and the heavens bow at his commands. But in that time she had seen him, she’d seen the broken man inside who had lost his love and had nothing but hope to cling to. That hope was in the shape of Anna’s reincarnation.
Chapter 13: Ruffling Feathers
“What is it?” Malsour asked.
“A bastard creation.” Dave looked at the hologram in the middle of the room. The people who had made the original portal bastion prototype were all gathered together, looking at the odd vessel in front of them.
“Okay, so it’s a drone shuttle?” Ela-Dorn asked.
“We need a big combat booster in this coming fight. We’ve got the first portal bastion completed. A second is nearing completion and will be ready for battle. However, that still isn’t enough. We just don’t know when we’re going to be fighting the Jukal and we don’t know if we can get many more of the massive ships of the fleet completed. So, we’re going to need to think outside of the box. These are portal relays.” Dave waved to the hologram, shared via their interfaces, as an animation started.
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