"Ahh jeez, it's almost that time..I know they're waiting on me." I mutter. I hurriedly walk down the stairs leading to the first floor where Yun and Juno are as they listen to Miss Mari near the front door. I join them, greeting each of them in a different way, bowing to Miss Mari and performing a handshake with Yun. But Juno slaps the back of my head aggressively. "You were clearly almost late to this, you know? How can you have an ability like manipulating the time, but you can't keep track of it?!?". "Piss off! I was working on something, I knew what time to leave.", Miss Mari then gets our attention by speaking about the mission. "If I could get you guys' attention real fast for this mission please.. Now, heading about 1000 miles East from here will take you to a valley of large mountains. Your mission is to deliver this message..", she hands Juno an envelope.
"Take that to the top of the highest mountain..you'll see it when you get there.", she then begins to walk away, "Oh and to let you know, the mountain is hundreds of miles high, but you guys got that! I'll keep in touch with you through your earpieces. See ya in a bit!" Miss Mari says as she waves us goodbye. K'yun sneaks a look at me and smirks, "Hey, wanna race over there? Winner treats the other to lunch!". I give a small smile myself and look his way. "See you read my mind at first with the race, but now you're gonna treat me to food too? Must be my lucky day..bring it on!". Juno walks past Yun and I, overgrowing plants to hold her up and lift her to the valley, "If ya'll are gonna race, then go ahead, but I'm not rushing..I'll see you guys there.", and just like that she leaves off in the distance, we're sure to see her during our race. "In 3…" Yun starts. "2…1..GO!!"
30 seconds later and Ex-shin has reached the valley, followed by K'yun who arrived six seconds after Ex-shin had. Juno is yet to be seen.
I told him that he was gonna buy me food, I don't know why he thought to race me like I'm not…What theee Hell?!? This mountain is " I finally caught an eye at the mountain, the tallest one in fact, just as Miss Mari said. Yun finally gets here, annoyed that he lost, but more concerned about the whereabouts of Juno. So he calls.
It's about 600 miles ahead of us anyways, nothing too much. We made it to the bottom after a bit, as we gaze upon its height, we feel a tremble happening beneath our feet and the ground under us split open. Jumping out from the crevasse are two cloaked figures. In front of us they stop, no telling what business they want. The both of them rips off their cloaks, showcasing a horn on one of their heads, and two on the other one's head and gray skin underneath clothing. Fiends..why now? "Hey, Okoro, looky here. I see two soldiers ready to die for the demon world.", says the one with one horn, a jagged The other, holding his head viciously, yells out, "I don't give a damn if they want to or not, Kujo! They're going to die before anything! We can't use them alive anyways…"
The two fiends move fast as they both disappear from Ex-shin's and Yun's sight. Ducking under a swift right, Ex-shin delivers a body blow towards the two horned fiend and sends him away a few feet. Meanwhile, Yun jumps away from a kick coming from the other as he launches a boulder right into the fiend's abdomen. But it has no effect and instead hurts Okoro who hurls at Ex-shin with a hook that speeds up and barely misses Ex as he instead smirks and sends a counter hook to knock Okoro off balance. Yun and Kujo stand off now. K'yun speeds in with Kujo and they meet in the middle, each throwing anything to find an opening. Yun blocks two jabs, goes in for a straight but misses, clash kicks with Kujo then pushes him back with a forearm bash before restricting his movement by trapping Kujos's feet but Kujo breaks out easily and keeps going forward. Ex on the other hand, weaves a right, ducks a left, connects two body blows on the same side followed by a strong jab to the nose that knocks Okoro head back with blood. Then an overhand hook to the jaw and a chop to the neck stuns Okoro before Ex-shin grabs ahold of his arm, spins around like a top, and launches him through multiple mountains, following head first, all the while dislocating Okoro's arm.
Back to Yun, he blocks an overhand, spins around a flying backfist, and kicks Kujo in the spine, forcing him to soar into a small mountain. "That kid has some moves." Kujo chuckles. He claps his hands together, and both of his hands glow an eerie gray color. "It's always nice to use this..too bad that someone dies everytime I hit them..then to even get a good fight I have to restart their heart and heal them. Such a pain..", Kujo sighs. He then smirks a moment after. "Now come forth…! Jugen!!" From his palms, materializes a black, iron staff with balls on each end, made for "Extra impact" Kujo quoted once. K'yun surfs on the dirt straight at Kujo, preparing an attack. Kujo takes a deep breath, flashsteps behind Yun, and with most of his raw power, he secures a strike to K'yun side, causing him to fly in the air.
But Yun recovers quickly. Still airborne, he points a finger gun down at Kujo and shoots. Without expecting it, Kujo is almost hit in between the eyes, but he jumps away in time to be hit in the leg that regenerates like nothing. "OH! You're still alive? My weapon, Jugen..nobody has ever survived one strike like that from it. I'm not as much of a fighting type as my brother but..you sure are getting me excited!". K'yun lands on the ground and Kujo darts behind him and swings Jugen at Yun's back. In one movement, Yun ducks under the attack slightly and creates a double bladed staff on his back that reaches out his whole wingspan while purposely allowing Jugen to grind against his own weapon, before sending a powerful kick, in which Kujo blocks with Jugen. K'yun spins the staff around his left hand and holds up his finger gun with the right. He aims..and just as Kujo moves, K'yun shoots off his toe. Unfortunately, it grows back like nothing happened and the two of them hear Okoro yell in the distance.
K'yun's new ability!
"Dust Bullet" allows him to telekinetically apply such a force towards any amount of rocky dust that whatever is hit by it, is impaled just like a bullet. He keeps the attack small because it's easier to use and making big bullets takes more concentration for him.
Crashing from the skies, Okoro, who is all bruised up, is missing a toe, and has a hole punctured through his leg just like the one Kujo had before it had disappeared and regenerated, stands up and looks Ex-shin up and down. And Ex, who follows him, barely bruised, steps up to Okoro face to face and smiles at him. The presence alone swirls the air, creating a dust storm. "Eh? Hey, I was wondering…where did you get those injuries from? Your toe and your leg…Even a few of your fingers are gone, sheesh. I don't think I was going that hard on you now. Sorry, it's just that, it is my first mission so, I would like to come back with a good review, y'know?. " Okoro's face displays a confused look, for only a moment it was that had passed before that changed. "HAHAHAHAHHHAHAHAHAAAHAHA", Okoro laughs. "What's so funny?", Ex-shin asks. "Y'know kid, most that fight me tend to shiver in their shoes or Better! They would even take their own lives! But you? You're different. You must love the thrill of battle just like me! I can see it already..you love it when you can have an even match! Why is that? What power do you hide….? ", Okoro glances. Shin can't help but chuckle. "Alright Alright you got me. I do love a good fight, I'll give you that, but anybody would've guessed it. Now back up, would ya?."
Ex's body glows a bright orange and yellow, he shines like the sun and emits heat just as great as it. This forces Okoro to jump backwards, away in a hurry. His skin burns and peels away slowly, but this doesn't stop Okoro, as for his energy increases and he gives a huge menacing smile, now walking with more confidence, the ground beneath him breaks with each step . "NOW THIS IS MORE LIKE IT!! I WAS WONDERING WHEN YOU WERE GONNA CRANK UP THE TEMPERATURE". Ex-shin touches the ground and around him begins to melt into magma. Okoro , with incredible speed, flings himself up in the air with a jump and dives head first into Shin's body, driving them both underground. Ex-shin, while deactivating Incinerate, shifting towards a new playstyle. He blocks an elbow strike while simultaneously getting his jab blocked, ducks under Okoro's Kick, and goes in for an uppercut which Okoro blocks. Okoro misses two jabs, connects a hook and gets countered at the same time. Ex-shin then appears behind Okoro and grabs him by the back of the neck. He throws him through the ground, back up to the surface where Kujo and K'yun are fighting. Okoro gets thrown on the ground next to Kujo who just got knocked back from a clash with Yun. "Having trouble, Okoro? These are just kids, y'know." Kujo says. "heh…you're one to talk! Isn't that Jugen you have in your hand? This kid is causing trouble too I see." Okoro responds. On the other side, Ex-shin strides up to Yun while cracking his neck as K'yun Stabs his double bladed spear in the earth and leans on it. "I didn't expect to see you here, Ex. I see things for you are going good at least.". "Yeah. Things aren't too bad. But you're not really struggling yourself either. And where the hell is Juno? For her to be taking this long she better have gotten our food..I'm starving!". Just as Ex speaks, an explosion of dust lands between the two fiend brothers.
Between the cracks of the dust cloud, Ex-shin spots a tall male figure with wings. Typically an angel he thought at first, until he saw the color. This guy's wings are black and more fleshy from the looks of it. "B-Boss! What are you doing here??" asked Okoro. As he and Kujo bow down. The figure, in white skin with black skull tattoos on it, speaks and his voice seems to send shivers to the brother. "Now now, rise. Though I am your boss, from the start, I was your brother. The two of you look like you've been into some trouble. Tell me, who caused you of all beings to fight?". Kujo points toward Yun and Ex talking in the distance, laughing. "I see…". "Boss, do you think you can beat them?" Kujo worriedly says. "Don't even worry about me, you two go hide. And please, I keep telling y'all this…just call me Connor.". Okoro and Kujo smiles and cheers him on before hiding behind a nearby mountain just in case they need to jump in.
"Hello, you two! I don't know your names but could I ask for a favor?". Ex and Yun both tilt their heads in confusion but allow him to continue. "Die for me, will you?", Connor tries to grab both of them but he just swings at air. Amused, Connor quickly rushes at Yun and barely misses a punch to his head. Connor then follows up with a close connecting lariat but Yun slides under it and Ex-shin comes in and lands a hook to Connor's kidney. He then dempsey rolls after every attack, circling around Connor. Hitting a blow to the abdomen, one to the ribs, another to his kidney, an overhand to the chest, a small uppercut to the stomach, a heavier uppercut to the spine that makes Connor's neck fall on Shin's shoulder, in which he grabs and performs a devastating, spine breaking RKO! "WOOOOOOOOOO YEAHHH, GOO!!!" Yun cheers in the back. "Ready for a tag in?" Shin asks as he and Yun highfive and switch. Yun gets ready to fight, until in the distance, all three of them hear someone shout, "Here goes…REBIRTH SHOT". Then a flaming, green arrow flies over their heads and hits the mountain where Okoro and Kujo are hiding. Engulfing the whole mountain in flames, the screams of both brothers fade away as the fire dissipates and is replaced with growing moss and vines. Connor, Yun, and Ex all look towards who shot that attack.
Putting her large afro in a ponytail, and showcasing her brown, caramel eyes, Juno flips the signature black successor guard cap on her head before saying, "I told you guys to not start anything while I'm gone. But look at what we have here…a fallen angel huh? You guys tag out and eat, I got this one.". She then summons gauntlets made up of wood on both hands and dives down at Connor with a punch, meanwhile, a few vines hand the boys their meal and the two eat up. Juno unfortunately missed her strike, just in time, Connor managed to hop back enough to not get damaged. "I didn't think I'd see a fallen angel here. Hell doesn't normally send you guys out…you are special to them. I wonder why you're here.".
Connor materializes a rocket lance and thrusts it at Juno creating a cloud of dust. But Juno isn't fazed as she had blocked Connor's attack with a mere pinch. She then pulls the lance her way, making Connor stumble in her direction before she sends a quick, crushing blow to the chest that forces Connor hundreds of feet away. Juno smiles and throws the lance at Connor while he flies away. The fallen angel gets knocked into a mountain wall, then is impaled in the stomach by his own weapon. His lance glows a bright green, then an explosion of light is shown. Not necessarily causing harm, the light dies down and Connor, along with half the mountain he was stuck on, gets turned to mold. The now mold-made statue of Connor crumbles and falls apart as Juno gives a small smile towards the boys.
"And that's how you get work done around here fellas, you got that? Now let's hurry up and finish this mission I wanna lay down…".
Juno leads the way with Ex and Yun following behind closely, still eating their burger and fry meal from The Grub Hub Bar. "These are the best fries I have ever eaten in my life..and the burger…", Yun says as he peeks at the cardboard container in the bag. "The Grub Hub Bar, huh?", he whispers. Juno turns around, "You never heard of that place?". "Well there aren't many in the world, y'know.", Shin interrupts, "But I had no idea they had one here, especially this close at that." as Ex takes a bite of sushi. K'yun eats another fry, now getting slightly emotional, "Yeah, my mom used to eat at this place all the time before she…died, during an attack on earth 10 years ago, when the moon was crashing down on us. 'The Spatial Shower Incident' people would call it. I saw her..from within my home, I stared as an unrecognizable being approached my mother. From Hell the being looked to be from, she was helpless against him. It tore her in pieces and I just watched. Scared, afraid of anything else happening to her corpse, or me. And when I believed it couldn't get worse, the being walked my way and he found me. Almost killing me, I got saved by my grandpa. Luckily he was there. Ever since that day, I've vowed to eradicate and find that bastard who did that to me, and my mother! …I never forget a face, ever.".
Silence faces the moment until Juno finally speaks up and hugs Yun. "Sorry for your loss..We all lost someone or something during the incident, it's not your fault. I had lost my home at the time too. I was only 9, and a meteor crashed into my home. I was only saved in time by an unknown face that just so happened to be around. I wish I could've thanked him, but it wasn't long before he had gotten attacked and killed." Juno sighs depressingly. Ex-shin just watches as the two of them share a moment, thinking about his own loss during the incident. His father, Kubuko Yamamoto, the same one whom 10 years ago, fought against two powerful beings from both Heaven and Hell, saving Earth and all 32 billion people on it. Unfortunately, in the midst of saving Earth, Kubuko perished. Killing the being from hell, but not the one from Heaven, as for he escaped, flying through the clouds in red, cybernetic-like wings.
Meanwhile, back at HQ. In a white training room located on the 25 floor, Olivia, Pyoko, Ulagur, and Izial all train uniquely to strengthen their own physical power. Not only that, they are also training to become better in handling their blessings and curses. Ulagur performs push-ups with acid constructs on his back, each resembling weights that say 2 tons.
Izial meditates, fortifying his soul, gaining more control over his spiritual energy. "Here you are, Pyoko" says Miss Mari, handing her a pistol. "You said that you used to go out hunting with your dad, so you have experience with a gun. But I didn't think you were gonna recommend getting you this..it's a custom made item from one of our support people, Yuri. A high caliber, double barrel, lightweight, laser pistol. You can turn the power up using this dial, the power can be set all the way to 1000%. Yuri said that the name for this was 'Snake Eyes', she also said that it could potentially eradicate almost anything you shoot...Know, a tiny girl like you could be hurt using this.". "I'm aware.." Pyoko cocks the barrel back and one of her wooden puppets spawn from her body, stepping out of it as if it was Pyoko's shadow. "I need you to spar with Ulagur when he's done doing his usual, okay? Same as before, help him with his attack speed." The puppet nods and sits in Ulagur's area while he still does push-ups. Olivia stands off across from Eskavor in a different corner of the room. "Are you ready now? I am hungry after all, I wanna see if Okira could hook something up for me." Eskavor shouts slightly. "Yeah, yeah! Whatever you say. I'm gonna smack that smirk right off of your face, bro!" says Olivia. Pyoko interrupts them, walking up with her usual creepy-feeling energy that masks her bubbly smile which she shows not long after. "Hey Olivia! Mind if I join you?", Pyoko's pistol crackles in red electric-like charges, as she turns up the power.
"Sweet gun. I heard you talking about one earlier before Ex, Yun, and Juno left. Plan to test it out with me? We can do a 2 on 1. Us, versus Eskavor.", Olivia points at her older brother who then stretches his body. "Ready when you guys are! Don't have me waiting here doing nothing, that'll make it seem like y'all are scared of me-". Just as Eskavor says that, Pyoko shoots at his head, just barely missing him as he faintly moves his head, catching him by surprise a bit. Olivia then rushes in with a metal looking shield and blocks a heavy right aiming at Pyoko, then she shoves the fist out of the way, then hits her brother with a shield bash that he blocks but still sends him back. Eskavor appears into Olivia's sight and pulls his hand back. Pyoko runs up and shoots his wrist, and his leg, causing him to take a knee, in which Olivia follows up with a spin kick to Eskavor's jaw.
Laid out on the ground, Eskavor laughs. "Seems I've underestimated you both", Eskavor stands. "From now on, I'll attack you more professionally.". He zooms out of the girls' vision and they feel a strong amount of pressure coming from their right. As they turn, Eskavor fires out a tiny burning ball of solar energy. Olivia runs in front of Pyoko and pushes her out of the way in urgency, materializes a mace, and with one hand, she swings her mace upward at the energy ball, causing it to explode on impact. Olivia wipes her mouth through the clearing smoke and smiles surprisingly, thinking how she managed to stop the attack. But the thought quickly ends while Eskavor fires off more energy balls.
From behind Olivia, Pyoko sprints past her, spawning a puppet from her body as it fuses with Pyoko, changing her appearance to be more punk-like…spiking her short, black hair up and running black ink down her whole body. Now transformed, Pyoko catches an energy ball and crushes it in her hand. Letting out a slight battle cry, Pyoko follows up with a barrage of fists to counter the other solar blasts from Eskavor, leaving tons of smoke from the multiple collisions. "You okay?", Pyoko says with a slightly deeper and more mature voice, her energy more dark than usual. "Yeah, I'm good. Thanks for looking out.", Olivia responds, her voice in shock from the sudden voice change. The two girls head towards Eskavor as he fires off even more shots. Olivia, with her shield and mace in hand, blocks one blast, smacks one away, jumps over another, and finally hits one back at Eskavor, increasing its velocity and power. Meanwhile for Pyoko, running extremely fast to Eskavor, no blast was able to reach her as she reaches her own target, getting her flying knee blocked. She recovers swiftly and steps back into her fighting stance before launching herself at Eskavor. He deflects a straight, blocks her hook, knees Pyoko's gut, ducks her kick, then her jab. Hesitating after a bit, Eskavor let his guard down; she was able to send another jab, grazing the bottom chin and stunning Eskavor for a moment of time.
Without sparing a second while the stun was active, the solar blast Olivia hit towards Eskavor comes barreling in. Pyoko forces a jump and catches the blast, detransforming as she and her puppet split apart and attack Eskavor simultaneously, operating around him doing acrobatic maneuvers. Pyoko does all kinds of kicks, shoves, punches and elbows to Eskavor, performing flips, summersaults, handsprings, and cartwheels in the process. After enough pressure, Eskavor takes another knee and Pyoko's puppet meets her in front of Eskavor's face, fusing once again; Pyoko's hair spikes up and black ink races down her body. She then takes the solar blast in her hand and wacks Eskavor across the face with it, flying him through the training room and into a wall. A straight faced expression crosses Pyoko. She grabs her gun from her side and dials the power up from 20%-50%, now aiming at Eskavor. The energy builds up around Pyoko which creates an aura mixed with her energy and the gun's. The ground beneath her shakes as Pyoko shoots a sizable laser beam at her target. Eskavor gets unstuck from the walk and dusts himself off, the beam heading towards him. He smiles, thinking about how strong these two girls are.
He strides slowly through the beam and vanishes from Pyoko's sight. Powering up a solar charged punch from behind her, Eskavor's punch hurls at the young lady's chest, but saving the day comes Olivia, who blocks the punch with her shield, ending the sparring in a standstill moment. "Oop, I gotta go you two, Aaliyah needs me real fast." Eskavor reminds himself. "Keep up the good work!" He then yells, exiting the training room. Olivia and Pyoko both collapse on the floor, breathing heavily. The typical uniform for Successor Guards consists of a black collared shirt, a dark purple crop top protection vest with a set of baggy battle pants of the same color. The logo says "Exceed!" in explosive graffiti. And the shoes are fashionable dark gray high tops, accompanied with black claw designs spread around the surface; given the current technology of the year 2088, the vest and shoes of the uniform comes with various upgrades, this includes internal air conditioning and heating for the ones who wear them. Pyoko, still in her fused state, spawns a puppet to get her bag. Once it does, it disappears and she pulls out an Orasac from the bag. Ripping it in half, she hands one to Olivia and they both take a bite, enjoying the sweetness of the so-called otherworldly fruit as they each share a satisfied sigh.
In the valley of mountains, K'yun, Juno and Ex-shin begin hiking up the tallest one, for it was instructed by Miss Mari, or her real name, Okira Marshall. It wasn't long before they reached the top, finding an old man hovering, humming a small tune that catches Yun's attention. He reads a book while rocks float in his area, their outline glowing an eerie white unknowingly to the juniors. Closing the book, the elder speaks. "You see, I was told to expect a massage around this time…but no one said that it'd be my own grandson doing it.", he smiles. "Greetings, K'yun, holding up well?". Running up and hugging the man, Yun shouts, "Gramps!", giving that loving feeling his grandad never wishes to leave. "I'm doing well, gramps. As you can see I have made some good friends, and I'm actually part of the National Guards, via the program the government sent out a month ago..But what about you, gramps? I have not seen you in a month". Juno, pulling the golden envelope from within her black collared shirt, hands it to Yun's grandad, "Before you guys do that…here.". Elder Oshima takes the message and reads it, his face becoming more serious. "I see…", he claims, "How about you three have tea at my place, yes?". "OH…MY…GAWDDDDDDD!!!!", they all nod in sync quickly before getting on their knees and fakes crying. "What have we done to be blessed with such a invitation.", they weep, playfully. All of K'yun's peers know just how great his grandad is, he would be telling them stories from time to time, either about his adventures, or his elderly sweetness.
Elder Oshima chuckles, the laughs of the young adults reminding him of years ago when he used to be a teacher for upcoming guards such as these juniors now. The ground beneath them splits open revealing a platform that lowers down inside the mountain hastily, surprising Juno, Ex-shin, and K'yun while they all yell, descending downwards…