Voltiana

In the S-1 Mansion…

"Huh…Dachii…?"

Marachii opened his eyes to find Dachii standing over him. When he looked around, he was in his bed back in the S-1 Mansion.

"Marachii!" Dachii greeted. "About time you woke up!"

Marachii groaned and put his head down. "Ugh, what happened?"

"What's the last thing you remember?" Dachii asked.

"Being dragged into a portal…" Marachii replied. "And I think I was put into a cell…and that guy, Ionix…he was talking to me."

"Yep," Dachii confirmed. "He had you acting WEIRD, but he's been beaten and now everything should be back to normal!"

"So…you guys won…?" Marachii asked.

"Something like that. That was all three weeks ago, though."

"THREE WEEKS?"

Dachii shrugged. "You were sleeping for a long time, bro."

Marachii abruptly sat up. "What happened to the others? What happened to Grandfather? What about Mom?"

A realization dawned on Dachii. "I almost forgot! I'm supposed to let them all know when you wake up!"

He pulled out his watch and immediately began texting a few numbers. Not long after, Kia and Morino were rushing into the room. Morino had a bag of food in his hands.

"Son!" Kia exclaimed. "How are you feeling? Are you hurt anywhere?"

"Hey, Mom," Marachii said. "I'm fine."

"The kid's as tough as nails, Kia," Morino remarked. "Not even a scratch on him!"

"Hmph," Kia scoffed, folding her arms. "My kids are not war soldiers, Father. And after the ordeal they just went through, I'm taking them back!"

She gave Marachii a kiss on the forehead. "As soon as you're well enough dear, you and your brother will be coming back to Batango for the time being."

And then she left, without another word.

"Her mind seems set this time," Morino commented. "And when that woman has her mind set, it'll take an entire ARMY to try and change it."

He set the bag of food down. "There is a party happening in Batango this weekend, however. It's the first time they've allowed any such event in Batango in years. I'm bringing my Squad along, you kiddos should come!"

"A party?" Dachii questioned. "Didn't the last one get attacked by the Order?"

Morino scratched his head. "Yeah, but this is a more low-prestige event! Not a high-profile annual festival like the one in Asuka! It's just going to be a bunch of humans having fun, and there will be security watching the gates."

"I hope it's a lot," Dachii muttered. "Will there be girls there?"

"Maybe? Probably? Could be?"

"I'm in!"

Marachii sighed. "Okay, I'll go too."

"Awesome!" Morino said, excited. "You kids take these next two days off, and I'll see you guys in Batango!"

He held the bag of food up. "Also, you might wanna eat this before it gets cold."

He left the room, leaving Dachii and Marachii alone. Dachii opened the bag, smelling the delicious food inside.

"That's a lot of food for one small bag," Dachii noted. "I guess Morino smuggled in extra for the others."

"Where are they, anyway?" Marachii asked.

"General Fujii took them on a training exercise," Dachii answered. "Luckily I managed to convince him I was still recovering, so I don't have to go."

"To stay and watch over me?"

"Because I didn't want to train. But glad you're feeling better!"

"Tsk."

Marachii slowly got out of the bed, and Dachii helped him up. "Now then, let's go eat this food—!"

He opened the door, and Akari, Hikari, Luca, and Saori were all standing outside of it, nearly making him fall. "Woah!"

"Dachii," Hikari said. "You were supposed to tell us when Marachii woke up!"

"I didn't hit send? I could have sworn I did," Dachii stated.

"No," Akari replied. "You didn't."

"Ah, well what's done is done."

Hikari began examining Marachii. "Are you okay? No broken bones, internal bleeding, or brain damage, right?"

Marachii shook his head. "I don't think so."

"That's good," Akari remarked. "Let's get you downstairs then. General Fujii is waiting."

The group escorted Marachii downstairs, where he found Fujii sitting on the couch, passed out. There were 20 empty beer bottles on the floor next to him.

"Well," Luca pointed out. "Looks like he's been busy."

Akari slapped her head. Saori jumped onto the couch and began playing with Fujii's hair. "Look! It's super cold! Like a popsicle!"

"This is Squad S-1," Akari muttered. "The strongest squad in the land."

Fujii opened his eyes, jumping up. "Get back, woman! I'm not looking for anything serious—-!"

Then he noticed his squad watching him. "Oh. What's up, guys? How's training going?"

"We finished it," Akari said. "All 26 hours of it."

"Nice! I knew you could do it!"

He got up, noticing Marachii. "Marachii! Looking as spry as ever! Good to see you on your feet! I heard you went through hell and back in that arena."

"Yeah," Marachii said. "But I feel fine now."

"Good. As for now, there aren't any huge missions we have to do," Fujii announced. "So all the Squads are simply practicing and improving their skills."

"What of that girl?" Akari. "The Vice-General or whatever? Aoki?"

Fujii nervously scratched his neck. "Her? She's probably going to disappear for another 300 years or so. She's one to keep her distance. It's honestly a miracle she managed to tolerate your presence without resorting to violence."

"Define violence," Dachii said.

"Murder," Fujii replied back. "Or torture. Or mutilation. Or other things that aren't exactly family-friendly."

"Oh," Dachii realized. "She's one of THOSE."

"There's another girl in the group? Why haven't I heard of this?" Marachii interrupted.

"She's not exactly pleasant company," Hikari whispered to him. "It's honestly a miracle you haven't met her yet. If I could take those days of my life back, best believe that I would—-"

The doorbell rang, and Fujii moved to get it. "Hey, must be my new katana collection!"

He opened the door, and he nearly fainted when he saw who was behind it.

"AOKI?"

There she was, barely making eye contact. "Hello, sir."

Hikari immediately moved to hide behind Marachii, who examined the girl with a perplexed look. Luca and Saori also stared at her, confused.

"Is she…supposed to be scary?" Marachii asked.

"She looks normal to me," Luca remarked. "A normal little girl."

"Aww!" Saori added. "She's like a cute, cuddly princess!"

Aoki glared at them, her pupils turning red.

"Never mind," Luca said. "She's got the eyes of a demon."

"Definitely!" Marachii and Saori agreed.

Fujii cleared his throat. "So what brings you here, Aoki? It's been so long since we've talked face-to-face!"

"Well," she started. "I saw some of your squad fighting in the Raijin Games, and when I saw them fight, it brought to light something in my mind, something that made me want to return to being in the Squad full-time."

"Oh?" Fujii wondered. "What's that?"

"That they're weak as hell. That nurse back there is only good for healing things, the princess is an overhyped fraud, and don't even get me STARTED on Dachii!"

"What'd I do?" Dachii asked.

She jabbed a finger at Luca, Saori, and Marachii. "Who are THEY supposed to be? It's criminal, General! This entire Squad has fallen from grace!"

"Heh, well, they aren't as bad as you're making them out to be…" Fujii responded.

Aoki drew her blade in a flash, and in the next moment, everyone had a deep slash to their shoulder, except for Fujii, who had summoned his ice katana to block the blade.

"Ow!" Saori exclaimed. "She cut me!"

Hikari put a glowing hand to her shoulder. "It's okay, sweetie. Here, I'll help."

"Exactly my point," Aoki scoffed. "Do you see now, sir?"

Fujii looked between Aoki and the rest of the Squad, most of whom were glaring at her, and then he sighed. "I see this is going to be a toxic partnership."

"Why don't you just kick her out?" Akari suggested. "It's not like we need her help anyway. All she did back in that arena was just complain and sulk anyway."

"How about we settle this, then?" Aoki demanded. "Fight me, right here, right now! Every single one of you!"

"Woah, woah, woah!" Fujii exclaimed. "No fighting in the Mansion! Take it to the training room!"

"Fine, let's go!" Aoki growled.

A few minutes later, in the training room…

Akari, Hikari, Luca, and Saori lined up to face Aoki, who was sitting on the ground with her blade in hand, facing away from them. Dachii and Marachii sat to the side, eating their food and watching.

"How the heck did you manage to squeeze out of this?" Marachii asked Dachii.

"Easy. As far as they know, I'm still recovering."

Fujii walked in between them, a whistle in his hands. "I want a clean match, you people! No maiming or killing, and please keep the collateral damage to a minimum? Thanks!"

"Hmph," Aoki scoffed.

"Now then, you all may begin!"

Akari cracked her neck. "Come on team. Let's hit her hard and fast, and shut this little tramp up."

They all nodded, and as soon as Fujii blew the whistle, Aoki threw a white card at their feet, blinding everyone except for Akari, who put her hands over her eyes.

In a flash, Aoki came and tried to strike Hikari, but Akari blocked her. Aoki threw down a blue card, clouding the arena.

"Her magic is extremely versatile!" Luca stated. "How many tricks does she have up her sleeve?"

"A lot!" Akari answered. "Watch out for any sudden movements!"

Just then, she heard cries of pain, and then Hikari and Saori were tossed at her feet, both bruised and bloody.

"Ugh, she's crazed…" Hikari groaned.

"Come on, you two! Don't let her get you that easily!" Akari insisted.

While she was tending to her teammates, Aoki walked through the mist, slowly making her way to Akari.

"You're next, girl."

But Luca jumped out of nowhere and summoned his axes, holding them out. Aoki watched him for a moment and then laughed.

"What's so funny?" Luca asked.

"You," she replied, drawing her blade and swinging it ferociously.

She and Luca clashed blades repeatedly, but after a few more strikes, her katana broke both of his axes.

"How did you—-?"

Without warning, she hit him with a red card, which exploded and sent him flying back. The mist cleared, and only Aoki and Akari were left standing.

"Feels familiar…" Aoki remarked.

"Pfff. You're overconfident," Akari said.

"Then prove it."

They both rushed each other at the same time, moving faster than the eye could see. As they battled across the training room, Hikari, Luca, and Saori joined Dachii and Marachii on the sidelines.

"That girl's ruthless," Luca pointed out.

"I know!" Saori agreed. "She hit me super hard, and it really hurt!"

"Like I said," Hikari remarked. "She. Is. Crazy."

"Looks like she's the only one besides Fujii who can match Akari, though," Dachii noticed. "This is the second time in a row they've been getting active like this."

BOOM.

Parts of the roof started to collapse as the two girls began unleashing more and more powerful attacks.

"Are we a little too close?" Marachii wondered. "I don't want us to all get killed in the process."

Fujii noticed the damage being done, and he blew his whistle. "Alright, that's enough, girls! We can call it a tie!"

Aoki swung her blade and chopped off Akari's arm, but Akari regenerated it and punched Aoki into the wall.

"It's not as fair now without your little referee to help you, is it?" Akari taunted.

Aoki threw down her black card, transforming her blade. "I'll show you who's the referee."

"Girls, girls!" Fujii pleaded. "Don't rip apart the whole house!"

Aoki slashed the air, and a gigantic black slash traveled through the air, which Akari ducked under, making it cut through the wall.

In retaliation, Akari stomped the ground and energy began flowing throughout her body. She clapped her hands, and a powerful wave of energy came out and hit Aoki, making the entire room shake.

"Okay, time to be a responsible General," Fujii thought. "ANNIHILATE!"

He stabbed his sword into the ground, and two massive walls of ice erupted to trap both Akari and Aoki in place, who both struggled to escape.

"Sir, let me go!" Akari demanded. "Don't let her win!"

"No, let ME go!" Aoki interjected. "I'll kill her!"

He pulled his blade out, letting the walls melt. "Listen, you both are REALLY STRONG, the strongest in the Squad without a doubt. Behind me, of course."

They both rolled their eyes.

"So," Fujii continued. "It's important you both get along and try and lead together. Aoki, you bring that wisdom and experience, and Akari, you bring that royal power."

"I'M the Vice-General," Aoki pointed out. "She's subject to MY authority."

"Girl," Akari shot back. "I am the Princess of this NATION. If I so order you to be EXECUTED I can very well have it done, forget a Squad label."

"Yeah," Fujii moaned. "I can see this won't work."

He walked up to Dachii and the others. "Can guys help your teammates get along for me, eh?"

"Us?" Dachii blurted out. "Why us?"

"This isn't my specialty. Sorry, gotta run!"

And without a second to lose, he left the training room. Luca took one look at Akari and Aoki, who were still arguing and threatening each other.

"We're screwed."

Meanwhile, in Titan's castle…

Inside the throne room, the members of the Obsidian Order gathered at the meeting table.

"The Master can't be here to oversee this meeting," Akuma announced. "But the plan does not change."

"What's the play, Captain?" Galeth asked.

Akuma clenched his fist. "The stirring has gotten stronger since I've last checked. We don't have much time to acquire the power before chaos happens. Let us take a bold step forward, and show our enemies a taste of power they'll never forget."

"I like the way you think," Ohara remarked. "Lay out the plan."

"Batango, that's where Dachii will be located in a few days," Akuma explained. "Ambush the event they are planning, and take him from their hands."

As all eyes in the room were on him, he looked around. "Who wants to volunteer?"

—-