Rena takes flight

Ch-7

Rena takes flight

"Good! Now that's the spirit."

Moon praised Cone Face and Blanken after coming to their senses.

"What's that sound?"

Loud sound bursts from the main room as Taishae breaks open the door to deliver the news.

"The new monster is ready at our command."

With a mischievous smile on his face, Moon excitedly dashes to the room. He hardly could wait. All his effort has paid off—setting sight at it coming to life. Cone Face and Blanken followed up from behind.

"Who is this?" Cone Face asked.

"Yeah! Is it a new toy?" Blanken jumped.

"Hoo, yes! I present, "Faucet Face!" Our newest monster that will charge in the battlefield."

Pipes bolts around its body; it released steam and pressure every second as Taishae hands over the control module. Moon gave the first order of command for the monster to follow.

"Show me what you can do?"

Faucet Face fires a blasting burst of hot water at a set of pillars, immediately decimating them on impact. It left the other two monsters cowering back.

"Well…That was something." Moon applauded. "Show me more!"

The monster starts jetting out more hoses from the back of its body, firing away at the next set of targets set across the room. Finally, exploding like fireworks, it locks on to a giant statue outside. The monster brought out its big guns. A hydro cannon fired with force, destroying the statue within seconds.

"A piece of work indeed. Baronia was foolish to leave such a monster behind." Taishae mentioned.

Looking at the monster childishly, it was their new toy.

"For a monster, you don't talk much, do you? "Not like it is common for a Baronia model to have a mind or voice." Moon wondered.

Faucet Face briefly spoke up.

"I am at your command. Fully-fledged to full allegiance to Aggerona. To only serve and obey."

The monster gave out a salute.

"The programming works like a charm." Taishae nodded.

They continue to test their new monster for the time being. Back at the ruins, Alistor's company continues searching the ruins for clues. Barely making any progress, they were at a standstill. Too lazy to go back and fetch Mira for possible deciphering, they decide to sit back and relax. They are not bothering to worry about Alistor and his whereabouts.

Meanwhile, cold air breezes within the Maiden's chamber as Alistor slowly approaches over to her. At that moment, a light begins to shine on her medallion, which catches him off guard. Unexpectedly blinding him, he loses balance on the icy flooring.

"Whoa!"

Alistor falls over her body, his lip-smacking straight into her lip by accident. Her eyes slowly start opening. She was an angel at that moment but turned into a nightmare as she smacks him away upon sight the next second. She knocks him back hard on the floors.

"Who the hell are you?"

Her eyes filled with a burning passion of rage, she jumps off her bed, trying to kill him. He was utterly at hell fighting for his life, trying to dodge all her attacks. Punching and kicking at him, he tries to reason with her.

"No, wait!"

She pulls out for her weapon, forcing a battle. Two silver dragon blades lashed out at Alistor. He barely held his own as both were twice the size of his sword.

"Argh!"

She slams hard on the ice breaking the floors. Alistor was scared out of his mind as she continued on the attack. Doing nothing more, he could only defend as she was too fast for him. Trying to find the slightest bit of a gap, it was nearly hopeless. She pressures him back to the walls.

"Okay, here goes…." Alistor said.

He didn't hesitate any longer, readying one of his attacks; his blade shined a blue aura counteracting with hers.

"Huh?" She caught on quickly.

Alistor unleashes his attack, but she was closer than expected. Both their weapons clash, resulting in them both disarmed. Weapons fly to the corner of the wall. She looked at him with a dirty smirk on her face.

"It's not over yet!"

She jumps on him, wrapping her legs around his waist. She grabs him by the neck, pressuring him on as he tried resisting. Then, staring into his eyes for the first time, she started with some questions.

"Don't bother fighting back. I got you where I want. Now, who are you?"

Out-muscle by her lioness strength, he was choking up, trying hard to speak from her tight grasp. Then, releasing some pressure, she leaned down at him.

"Who are you?" She asked again.

Incredibly close, he couldn't resist staring at her cleavage. Being very distracting, he couldn't look away. Looking down to face him, she immediately blushed for the moment. Slightly annoyed, she pulled him up, pinning him to the wall instead.

"I said who are you?"

"The name's Alistor...and who are you?"

Relieved, she finally lets him go.

"The name is Rena."

Alistor then quickly sums up his story to her, explaining the current situation on Anneria.

"You're the Silver Maiden, right? So will you help aid us?"

"Hmph! So what if I am?"

Hard-headed Rena was; something was amiss to him.

"Well, if you are? You don't sound like the one from the story."

Facing away from him, a feeling of loneliness sulked in her. It was quiet for the moment.

"Are you okay?"

Rena begins telling her backstory.

"Like my story ended before. The Silver Maiden shall return to her deep sleep until evil was to return on Annerian grounds. A true love's first kiss will wake her to battle. Once victorious, she returns, forced to an eternal slumber. Like it was just yesterday he was here. That good for nothing, man."

He starts to feel sorry for her.

"I last defeated the Hydra King and his forces. All my friends…Gone! I'm all alone, cursed from this silver mark." She showed to him by her neck.

"I'm sorry. Any way to remove it?"

"Only if her one true love cares, they say. Somebody who doesn't notice all the others. But that's full of garbage." She nodded.

A tear streaked from her eye. Feeling bad, he tries to comfort her, but she only tugs him away.

"You think one accidental kiss changes a thing?" If you're trying to get lucky, that won't be enough." She pestered back.

"You don't have to be so cold." He said back.

"Even if that's how the story from Anneria goes, I won't buy it. You'll have to show me you're better than my last love."

"Your last?" He wondered.

"Yeah! My last, which was the jerk responsible for locking me up. So prove to me when we get to the battlefield." She said.

"Fine! Fair enough then."

Feeling up to her challenge, a feeling of excitement stirs within him.

"Knock yourself out." She smirked.

Rena immediately opens up a portal from her blade. Then, they both prepare to take their leave.

Back with the rest of the party…

"Nothing more we can do here," Zolhalla said.

"Yeah, this is pointless. Let's call it a day." Maigashi agreed.

Auroa suddenly detects the enemy's presence within the room.

"They're here!"

He lashes out his whip to draw them out of hiding. Blanken and Cone Face tumbled out from hiding, ready for another round.

"What? These guys again..." Maigashi said.

Blanken went in first, repeating the same move. Tannen intercepts the monster's jump, knocking it back down. Cone Face rammed at Tannen, but Steffbird responds with a swift strike from his skewering blade.

"En garde!"

Projected lasers fire away from Blanken, this time sending them all back. Blanken laughs, still firing.

"Waah ha ha ha ha."

"Goo hoo hoo. Time for a Brain Freeze!"

Cone Face unleashes his technique.

A storm brews in; cold air plows on them, followed by chunks of heavy ice pushing them back.

The sound of the cold air is loud enough to hurt their ears and necessitate covering them.

"We'll lose if we remain in this narrow space," Auroa said. "Let's find another room."

With defeat imminent, Auroa gives the call to push back to another room. Then, tossing a fog sphere down, they escape from battle. Both monsters were confused for a brief moment as the smoke clears away.

"What? Where did they go?" Blanken asked.

"We got to find them."

Wandering around mindlessly, Auroa bides enough time for a plan with the team. The group all huddle up in an open-spaced room with pillars.

"Okay, we'll go with that then." Katty agreed.

Katty lies down on the floor, waiting for both monsters to step in. Instead, both monsters approached over, laughing childishly, taking the bait.

"Is he dead?" Cone Face wondered.

The monster pokes his body with his large ice cream scoop. Taking the two by surprise, Katty gets up, delivering an uppercut attack. Both monsters flip over.

"Now!" He yelled.

Auroa binds both monsters with his wind whip. Tannen and Steffbird strike their blades down, crashing at both monsters while Zolhalla shocks them away with his red lightning.

"Ready the trap!"

Maigashi signals Claws for the trap switch.

"Eep, I think we're in trouble now." Cone Face moped in fear.

The switch releases some explosives barrels provided by Steffbird.

"Where did you even get these?" Claws wondered.

"Argh! There was a good deal going in the black market not long ago. These were used by Barrel Man back in some arcade shenanigans."

Memories begin circulating Maigashi and Auroa's minds.

"At least it's good for something," Auroa said.

Within moments the barrels crash down, exploding on the monsters.

"Did we get them?" Katty asked.

"Don't celebrate yet. Something else is here." Auroa pointed.

"Now what?" Maigashi wondered.

Both monsters came out from the smoke unharmed.

"What? You're kidding me." Claws dropped.

A third foe emerges from the debris of smoke. More significant than the rest, pipes and hoses stick out from its body while a faucet covers its face. Pumping with lots of power, it fires out its first attack, leaving them all pretty damaged.

"Youch! That's hot as a boiling pot." Steffbird jumped.

"This one's different," Maigashi said.

Noticing a fragment of Baronia's symbol on it, they were able to identify its origin.

"The name's Faucet Face. Ready to steam things up! Now perish…"

They all step back, threatened by its power and size.

"Another hit like that, and it's over," Katty warned. "Retreating wouldn't be a bad idea."

The other two monsters charge, but the party maneuver around them, focusing on the new monster. Then, barely being able to put a dent in its defense, Auroa tosses another fog sphere.

"Target locked!"

Still able to see through the smoke, Faucet Face fires away as they make their escape from the temple.

"AH!"

Katty falls, taking the first hit. Claws and Zolhalla help carry him away. Running for their lives, Auroa has to use more than one sphere to make their escape, creating dense smoke within the Maiden's temple. Back outside, the smoke spews out from the temple as it attracts the whole resistance's attention. Elena and Mira watch from a distance. Finally, the party escapes leaping out of the entrance in a silly manner.

"Run for it!" Claws yelled.

Faucet Face barges out, spraying its hose at the crowd. They attempt to retaliate, but the monster flicks them away like flies. Then, hurling one wave of men after another, they begin retreating. Finally, fear strikes them as it charges its cannon for a hydro attack, burning them from the hot steaming waters. Emperor Moon watches from a distance within a corner.

"They're done for good."

At that moment, its cannon fires off; everything went blank. Claws can't bear to look back as the party continues running. Then, finally, two figures emerge from the center of the battle.

"The attack? What happened? Who the hell is that?" Moon wondered.

The light faded in as Alistor arrived back with the Silver Maiden. Rena was more than ready for battle. Everyone was at a halt, but Moon immediately orders for reinforcements to jump in. Glamours teleported onto the scene to clash with the Annerian resistance.

"Destroy them." Faucet Face ordered.

Alistor and Rena went in to take care of the massive monster. Cone Face and Blanken charged forth.

"Let's help them out." Claws said.

"Right at your side." Auroa swoops in.

The rest of the party intercepts both monsters, leaving everyone to their battle. Two sides clash against the other. Faucet Face scatters a wave of steam from its exhaust pipes, forcing everyone to duck and take cover.

"Not so fast!"

Rena strikes down at the monster, stopping it from performing with one swipe from her gargantuan blade.

"You're battling me now." She provoked back.

Faucet Face regains its ground.

The party fights against their two opponents. Claws and Zolhalla hack away at Blanken while Katty recovers. Auroa's whip trips Cone Face over; Steffbird quickly knocks both monsters back.

"Time for the finishing strike," Sairori said.

Sairori and Tannen dash in from each side with a heavy move. A streaking dark shadow emits from Tannen's scythe while light bursts from Sairori's blade. They pierce through both monsters. Sparks burst out from both monsters as they spin around. Blanken and Cone Face exploding into confetti.

Rena overwhelms the monster with her sheer strength. The monster mindlessly swings around, struggling to get a lock. It desperately shoots its hydro cannon blindly, but Rena deflects it back, unaffected by the temperatures.

"Is that the best you got?" She mocked back.

The monster loses visual for a brief moment. Then, Rena goes in for the final attack, but Alistor attempts to impress her.

"Star Crasher!"

Alistor pierces through the monster's engine with a streaking light, crushing through its armor. The attack exposes a robust core in the open. The creature immediately collapses over, shutting down. The lifeless monster was now disabled.

"You did it." Claws jumped.

The Glamours retreat as the crowd cheers away, but a shadow creeping from the side alerted Rena.

"Kiya!"

She lashes out a silver energy attack from her blade, forcing Moon out into the open.

"What the heck? How did you know?"

"You again," Alistor uttered.

Still buying his false identity, Moon continues to play along.

"Yes… We meet again hoo. Seneca, it is. And who may this damsel be?" They didn't say a word. "Oh, wait! Don't tell me. She's your girlfriend, right?"

Alistor and Rena stumble for a brief moment. Then, finally, she knocks Alistor to the floor.

"He is so not! Now, who the hell are you?"

Moon briefly drops his act.

"You may have slain the Hydra King, but Aggerona is far more than meets the eye, little girl."

Moon then pulls out a playing card leaving everyone speechless.

"Hoo, what's this? Oh, a second life?"

He tosses the card into Faucet Face, immediately reviving the monster once again. More prominent than before, the piles from its scrap took form with extra limbs.

"Destroy them! Take it for the team."

Moon steps away from the scene of battle. Fully powered up, Faucet Face overwhelms Alistor without effort.

Slithering its limbs around like a snake, it entangles his body. Memories of Vilevelious begin playing back in Alistor's mind.

"No! Not like this again."

A scene plays back to his first battle with Vilevelious by the star summit. A feeling of self-doubt was plaguing his mind as he felt hopeless. Alistor slowly closes his eyes.

"Pathetic! And you call yourself a man."

Rena was there for him. She frees Alistor from the monster's grasp, slashing through its limbs. She then holds her hand out for him.

"Don think about quitting on me yet."

"But it's stronger than before. So what else can I do about it?"

She smacks him in the back of the head.

"Ow, what was that for?"

Sticking her knee out, she got him to sit down. Then, beaming off at the giant monster, she merely barks at it with a low tone of voice.

"What are you doing?" Alistor asked.

"Just sit back and watch."

Provoked enough, Faucet Face charges at full speed while Rena dashes towards it. The monster desperately shoots its hot-water cannons, rapidly impacting her. Hot steam shrouded the view.

"Now we got her?" Moon snapped.

Rena clears the steam away with one swipe of her blade. A silvery aura emits from her body, nullifying the attack while she leaps in the air for her strike.

"Kiyaaaah!"

Crossing her dragon blades in an X shape style, she purges the monster by shattering its core. Silver light flashes out as the creature struggles to keep up. Rena then slams it up in the air like a baseball with her oversized blades. Crashing back hard on the ground, Faucet Face self-destructs in one fiery explosion.

"Ooh noooo!" Moon didn't hesitate to be melodramatic.

He rushes to the scene, retrieving what's left of the monster. Moon summons a flood of water, extinguishing the flames.

"Now it's your turn!"

Rena didn't hesitate to strike, slicing a part of him in half. His body begins to liquefy within the darkness around him.

"Hoo, a feisty one, aren't ya?"

Moon's body simply regenerated to her surprise.

"What sort of power is this?"

He retrieves Faucet Face remains, ignoring her. He begins to leave.

"Hey! Get back here, creep."

"Can't stay for a little idle chit-chat. But we shall meet again. Ta ta!"

The waters dry away, and the next second he was gone. They were victorious in their first battle. Alistor's party catches up to him as he introduces Rena. Elena and Mira come to the scene and greet her. Not caring about the crowd celebrating, she just turns away.

"What's wrong?" Elena asked.

"This battle doesn't change a thing. Hmph!"

Not in the best mood, she looks back, thinking about her past of an unchangeable destiny she can't avoid.

"What do you mean?" Alistor asked. "You were amazing out there!"

"Oh, was I?" She sarcastically said.

She immediately wraps her arm on Alistor's neck in a tight grip, roughing him up.

"Ow! You're hurting me…."

Tannen, Maigashi, Auroa, Katty, and Steffbird only watch. Elena and the rest are left nearly amused, thinking it was love at first sight.

"Aw, they're like a couple already," Mira muttered.

Rena then releases him before leaving. The moment she walks away, the two of them are pulled back together by force. Rena and Alistor slam back into one another.

"What the hell? What's going on?" She wondered.

Alistor felt the same, looking back at anyone for answers. Then, finally, Elena steps in to clarify things for them.

"Rena, don't you remember the curse?"

She stood clueless for a second. Then, a curse mark immediately materializes on the side of Alistor's neck.

"As the ruling says for your curse. The one to wake the Silver Maiden must be with her at all times. The two of you cannot be more than five feet away."

The two soon drop their jaws.

"What! You got to be kidding me. I have to be with this loser the whole time?" She yelled.

"Yep, it's all here." Mira points to her in her booklet. "Since Alistor was the one to kiss you, that means you must be by him the whole time."

Rena then collapses to the floor, moping in a cartoonish manner.

"When all of Anneria get restored, the curse will wear off. Then, Rena can return to sleep."

"That is so vague. So there's no other way?" Rena cried.

"Unless you both are true for love, that can also break the spell," Elena added.

"You can't be serious." Alistor gasp.

"Well, this is just great," Rena grunted.

They all return to camp to celebrate their first victory in battle. Claws later deliver the status on their army.

"This battle nearly wiped us out. Of course, we suffered many damages within our forces, but nearly 800 injuries from the battle against Faucet Face alone. So we got to take more precautions in the future."

"The battle from here on out will be getting harder. Who knows what they'll have in store next time." Worried Katty.

"We must proceed with caution from now on. Each move made will affect the outcome of our mission success." Sairori added.

Later that night…

"At last!" Maigashi jumped. "We get more rooms. No longer will we be cramped in one tent."

Packing his bags, he leaves with Auroa and Zolhalla to another tent.

Each of the parties relocates to separate camps for the night. Steffbird with Tannen and Sairori in one while Katty bunks with Claws. Alistor and Rena, on the other hand, had a room prepared specially by Elena.

"Wow, this room is amazing…." But, as surprised as Alistor was, Rena didn't care.

"We move out tomorrow. Best of a good night to the both of you." Elena gracefully waves to them.

"Great, just my luck. Stupid curse! Having to be stuck with you. I'm not going to get much privacy." Rena mumbled.

Her head falls back to the enormous mattress.

Alistor then goes to join her. However, she immediately knocks him off.

"Ow! What was that?"

"You're not sleeping with me." She roared. Tossing a pillow to his face. "You get the floor."

Rena starts removing her armor. It was hard not for him to resist watching, but she kicked him out for the minute. Not far from the door, Alistor waited and waited. Finally, he saw fellow members of his team taking a stroll down for the night. It seems like they were having fun.

"Where are you guys off to?" Alistor asked.

Steffbird was dancing around while Sairori and the others got into a song. Claws push a patched-up Ralph on a wheelchair. Tannen leads the way for everyone.

"We're going to hit the clubs down in Haze City tonight."

"The nightlife is waiting for us!" Maigashi jumped. "Just think of all the hot chicks we'll get down with, Auroa."

"Damn, I wish I can come," Alistor muttered.

"Want to come anyway?" Tannen asked.

Slipping his mind for a brief second, Alistor nearly forgot about everything as he wants to join his friends for some fun.

"Hey, wait for me!"

He decides to follow, but he got forced back from the mark of the curse. So Alistor flew back, crashing through the room while Rena was nearly undressed.

"Ahhhhhhhh! You pervert!"

Rena kicks him back out the door, covering her top. Nearly half-dazed, he faints at the sight of her body. It was going to be a long night for him.