Chapter Twenty-Six: Time To Move
The crew dashes towards the nearest wall of the gate surrounding the White House, in a rush to leave before they're pursued. "Good thinking with that illusion spell" Holly says. "I guess even someone like you can think on their toes... at least once".
"Could do without the sarcasm, Holly" Finn says.
As they approach the gate walls, Zia dashes a little ahead and builds up magic and momentum. As they reach the walls, Zia kicks the wall and destroys the brick of the wall. However, metal bars still stood in its place from within the rock. "One more!" Siran yells as he kicks the bars with a foot covered in armament magic. Siran stands guard as everyone climbs through, making sure they weren't being followed as they make their escape. Alex was the last besides Siran to climb through the opening in the gate.
"Well, we've done it" Alex says as he begins to climb. "We've successfully pissed off virtually everyone".
"We will discuss this later" Siran says impatiently. "Move now, we don't have much time. God only knows what we have to prepare for next.
Meanwhile, Agent Holland has met up with another agent from China to discuss a deal. Holland met with an agent by the name of Aiguo Liuqing. The royal family of Britain, as well as the head of the MI-6 have both agreed to commence a pact with the People's Republic of China's President. The two agents both met to discuss those terms and came to an agreement. "Then, the point of this isn't to utilize each other's work force as our own, but to ensure no cross fire between us then? Am I understanding that correctly?" Aiguo asks.
"Correct" Holland replies. "We can band together our own separate strengths and use whatever means necessary, but the agreement is to make it a joint operation. We won't do anything that would cause a disturbance in the other's task of apprehending or leading to the apprehension of The Six Guns. As well as, we agree to share intel of our common enemy, and if necessary, we can then call upon forces from both parties. It's an alliance, not a union. We're not forming one big country, but merely putting a swift end to a major problem".
"As long as we're not taking orders from you" Aiguo says, "I think those are agreeable terms. I will pass this on the President Xiaobai and then we'll let the higher ups discuss this further. I look forward to working with you, Agent Holland".
"And I to you as well, Agent Liuqing" Holland replies. Holland takes his leave on a cargo helicopter. As he's riding in the helicopter, he makes a call to his head of the MI-6. "Negotiations went well, sir".
"Good work, Holland" the man says. "I'm also intrigued as to exactly how many Hunters will take an interest in having another chance to swing at this rogue group of scandalous heroes".
"We're stooping as low as to hire Hunters, sir?" Holland asks.
"Never a precaution too short when handling something like this, Agent" the man replies. "We must be prepared for everything. And I do mean everything".
"Anything else, sir?" Holland asks.
"Ah, yes" the man replies. "For now, for reason of preparation, I want you on standby to gather your forces. We're close to a breakthrough on our own personal touch on that tech salvaged from The Ly'Lum. Soon, we will have forces that all each rival any member of The Six Guns, and I want you there to lead that project. We will let you know on your next move".
"But about the-" Holland begins to say.
"Leave The Six Guns for now" the man says. "We're preparing exactly for that reason. Do not oversell yourself. You're a good agent, but we must take all precautions".
"Yes sir..." Holland replies, then hangs up.
While waiting for Vivi and the others to come back from their patrol, Demetri stayed in the shop with the kids. He, Alissa and Benjie all stayed in Vivi's shop, watching over Silas, Dana and Carl. Eventually, Carl asked Demetri "Heya, Demetri?".
"Da?" Demetri asks.
"Where are you from?" Carl asks. "Are you from Russia, or somewhere near it?".
Demetri paused for a bit, then replies "Russia. I'm from Russia".
"Did you like it there?" Dana asks.
"I loved the motherland" Demetri says. "... it just... didn't love me, I guess".
"What happened?" Dana asks.
"Cybernetics happened, little one" Demetri says. "Rather, I perfected it, but nobody agreed with me that it can be one thing that saves lives of many. They saw it as disturbing".
"And they tried to arrest you for that?" Carl asks.
"They've arrested for less..." Demetri says. "There's that, and the bombs".
"Yeah... that'll do it" Silas says.
"Do you miss it?" Carl asks.
"Every day of my life" Demetri says. "But we can not stop moving forward, progressing science, because of the opinions of people with their nostalgia. I did what I had to, and I don't regret it". There was a short pause before Demetri spoke again. "One day..." he says "the world will be thankful someone did. Some day, this will save many lives".
"Well, it's saved mom and dad" Dana says.
"And Blake" Carl adds.
"At least people here will always be grateful you did what you thought was right" Silas says.
"That's what it means to be Six Gun" Demetri says. "Fighting to keep moving forward, and teaching people to stand for what is right thing to do".
"Is that why you hid in Vega for so long?" Alissa asks.
"What is wanted man supposed to do?" Demetri asks. "Beg on corner?".
"Fair..." Alissa says. "Anyways, you've been a Six Gun as long as mom has. If you miss Russia so much, why not visit? Are you that afraid of them?".
"I do not fear Russia" Demetri says. "Rather, I fear having to hurt those I love. That is why I must never go home".
"But this is your home, isn't it?" Silas asks.
Demetri looks down for a few seconds, at first in shock, then with a smile. "Of course it is home" he says.
"Everyone has such a great story to tell" Benjie says quietly. "It kind of makes me feel sorta out of place here".
"We are strangest men you ever met, no?" Demetri asks.
"I... guess so?" Benjie replies.
"With such a diversity, it would be hard to not fit in" Demetri says.
"What the old man is trying to say, Ben" Alissa says.
"My name is Benjie" Benjie interjects.
"Yeah, I'm not gonna call you that" Alissa retorts. "What he's trying to say is, you don't have to fit in to be one of us. You just kinda... keep doing what you're doing".
"Editing and documenting Siran's writing?" Benjie asks.
"Yeah" Alissa says. "-I mean, no! Fighting for and doing what you believe is right. That's all it takes, really".
"To be fair" Demetri says "you are not Six Gun".
"Aww, you don't have to nitpick like that" Alissa says. "It doesn't really matter".
Demetri begins to lightly shake his head as he goes back to work. "You don't have to call me old man either" he complains as he starts working again.
Suddenly, Vivi comes back with the rest of the crew and they begin to relax at home after another day of patrolling some of the nearby borders. "Well, there's still a way into Omnia" Vivi says as she sits down on her couch, "which means there's also a way into Vega. Which is probably the only place we don't have on our tails right now".
"If we go" Robin says, "that'll probably change too. Lately, we seem to be really good at hitting all the wrong buttons, for literally every human being on the planet. After all we've done, what exactly is rubbing them the wrong way?".
"Not to be rude" Benjie says, "but speaking from what I know so far from all these documents from Siran, as well as the documents taken from many countries... but none of you have exactly had a good way with words, have you?".
"Fair enough" Vivi says.
"I'm going to assume there's no Hunters hanging around then?" Alissa asks.
"Yet" Tanya says. "None yet. Be prepared though, shit could hit the fan at any time".
"And you still don't want to call on Don?" Alissa asks skeptically.
"Don is a retired man" Tanya says. "Emphasis on the tired part".
"Most of the tiring is also probably Siran's fault too" Vivi says.
"And yours" Demetri adds. "You put him at gun point too, didn't you?".
"Oh yeah... good times" Vivi says with a little laugh.
"Also, we've got word from Holly" Mikoto adds. "Seems like they're making their way back".
"And what of the situation there?" Vivi asks.
"Not good" Mikoto says. "Sure enough, another country hates us now".
"Wonderful" Robin says. "Glad to see our boss is pulling his weight".
"Robin!" Tanya shouts.
"What?" Robin asks. "He failed. No use lying about it".
"Well, Siran is an idiot" Vivi says, "but he's good at digging himself out of a mess. It's just unfortunate that he's usually the one digging himself into said mess to begin with".
As Siran and the others traveled back to Seeira, Siran took this time to continue documenting his journey so far. Though he's been trying to document as detailed as he can, he's been leaving out the parts that involved gods in any of his stories. During the flight to the Atlanta continent, Siran had eventually finished documenting everything of his journey until the moment they landed in Seeira. Shortly after getting back, they met with the rest of the crew at Vivi's shop. After arriving, Siran described how the United States were taking over Omnia, and the things the President told the crew. "Shit" Vivi says. "It's worse than we thought".
"They've already got a grasp on the country" Robin says, "and they did it right under our noses. Because of the state they're in... no, because of the state we left them in... they-".
"Look" Alex interrupts, "I get it. We messed up. But no matter who's fault it was, those people deserve the freedom they helped us fight for, and I think not only do we owe it to them, but it's just natural that this should be on our list of priorities. Isn't that why we started? To have people stand up for themselves?".
"Alex is right" Zia says. "I know there's a lot that needs to be done, but this should be our starting point".
"As for the Endo-Streams?" Haru asks.
"We already handed them a device to help cure the sick" Vivi says. "With Benjie's help, we can afford to take care of that on a later date. It's still a priority, but those who need the help will be getting it".
"Then, all those in favor of moving into Omnia?" Siran asks. Everyone raises their hand or remains silent, then Siran asks "All those against it?" but nobody speaks up.
"First, we'll need a base of operation" Tanya says. "While we won't be needing the Wolfpack's help on this one, we can still use Vega as a fallback".
"Agreed" Zia says. "If nothing else, Pilloa is a good enough spot to hide".
"We do have an in too" Vivi says. "We've spotted many opening in the border, where no Ly'Lum will see us go in or out".
"Good, then it's settled" Siran says. "We'll set out tomorrow".
"Once we have all of the shards" Zeus says on the top of a mountain, many shiny shards that look like floating glass that reflects a bright white light in the palm of his hand, "I can gain what I need to take the title of a primeval god for myself. With that in the works, I'll finally be able to make a difference when keeping those other primeval gods out of the way. They're greedy and entitled. They kill and steal from us other gods for nothing. It's about time someone stood up to them".
"And what of Chronos?" Ares asks. "What if that's what he wants?".
"What'll he do when I get all the shards of his body?" Zeus asks sarcastically. "The worst case scenario, he regains his body and I get to finish the job this time. No matter what he has up his sleeve, his power is mine".
"I'm just glad to be taking part in this war" Ares says with a slight chuckle.
"Your obsession is disheartening, brother" Eris says. "It's very unsettling and strange".
"Don't tell me you don't revel in the midst of war and battle too, Eris" Ares says. "I've seen the things you do, and how you've brought men to ruin with a wider grin than all of Mount Olympus combined. You're the real freak here, woman".
"Such indignity" Eris scoffs.
"Cease the useless shrivel" Zeus says. "We have but a few more portals to open. Slowly, this world and Valhalla will be one, and we can then use this world as our own domain to watch over the countless other universes that coward Chronos made during his flee from my clutches".
"Watch over all the other universes at once, eh?" Ares asks. "Sounds boring. What if we just mashed it all into one?".
"And for what?" Zeus asks. "Bring an end to existence, and leave ourselves without a purpose? I'd rather not".
"Suit yourself" Ares says. "I, however, think that war would be most interesting".