Chapter Forty-Six: Next Destination

As the sky darkened, Dachii and the others followed Nakada as she walked up to a truck just like the ones used to go to Asmana. It had a row of seats attached to either wall on the inside and a barrier between the driver seat and the backseat.

"Okay, everyone in."

They climbed in through the side door, sitting in the row of seats. Luca say next to Nakada, and Dachii and Marachii sat next to their mother. Nakada tapped on the window to the front.

"Take us to the entrance."

"Roger, ma'am."

The truck zoomed off, and everyone sat in tense silence, except for Nakada. She crossed her arms and legs and began to hum.

Kia whispered to her kids. "Is this the stress you guys have to deal with every mission? I already feel nervous!"

"Well, Mom, we've only been on two, but yeah..." Marachii replied. Dachii looked out of the window of the truck, sighing.

"So long, house. Again."

The truck made it past Batango, leaving through the gate. They continued through Shonora, which seemed a bit more empty than usual.

"The people here are very worried. After the nature of the threat that appeared here during the festival, it's only natural they would confine themselves in their homes."

Kia rolled her eyes and muttered under her breath, which her children overheard.

"Well, maybe if you didn't make enemies left and right, you wouldn't be getting attacked."

Nakada lifted an eyebrow, but Kia ignored it. The truck stopped at the Shonora Gate and the driver motioned for the guards to open it.

As soon as it was open, they noticed another truck nearby with a bunch of military members from Squad S-3 and S-4 next to it. Nakada pointed towards them.

"There."

He stopped, next to them, and he pressed a button to open the side door opened, letting the group out. Once they had exited, Nakada walked up to the other members.

"Glad to see you all here! I have brought some guests here to accompany us on our mission!"

She turned towards Dachii and the others, who all had awkward expressions on their faces. Nakada continued with her speech.

"We'll go handle the bandits, and we'll gain access to the new equipment to handle this threat! Are you all ready?"

They took a moment, but eventually, they responded. "Yes!"

"Dachii! Mariachi!"

Tomoko basically jumped on the pair, nearly knocking them down. "You guys are coming too? So fun!"

Dachii groaned in pain. "I...forgot....this kid was part of Grandfather's squad."

Kia helped her children up. "Now who is this? He doesn't look like one of...them."

Marachii rubbed his back. "This is Tomoko, he's a human. A strange human...but human."

Tomoko jumped up and down. "Let's go kill bandits!"

Nakada cleared her throat. "My Squad, follow me to the car on the right. Let's make haste before it gets too dark."

The members of Squad S-4 got into Nakada's truck. Vice-General Oyakawa Teika approached Dachii, holding out his hand.

"Welcome aboard, new guys! I'm Oyakawa Teika, Vice-General of S-4."

Kia backed away, but Dachii reluctantly shook his hand. "What's a Vice-General? Never heard of that before...."

"All squads have one. It's the second-in-command."

"But we don't, at least to my knowledge!"

Oyakawa winked. "Every Squad does. You'll meet her eventually."

"You mean Akari? If that's the case, then I already—-"

He smiled and got in the back of the truck. Nakada invited the rest in. "Come on, guests! We will leave soon!"

As Dachii tried to leave, Tomoko grabbed his arm. "Let's meet up when we get to Umego! It'll be fun!"

"Uh..."

A finger snap was heard, and Tomoko found his body paralyzed. Nishiyama grabbed him and dragged him away. "Come on, twerp." Dachii stared at them for a minute before turning to leave.

He got inside the car, but a voice rang out.

"Dachii!"

He saw Morino walking to the other truck, but not before waving to him. "Watch over your mom until we get there! See ya at Umego!"

He disappeared inside his vehicle. Nakada's driver pressed a button and the side door closed. The car revved up, and yet again, everyone sat in tense silence.

Kai and Obara looked directly at Dachii and his family, and he was trying his hardest not to look back. Obara sighed and spoke up, just as the truck began to move.

"Excuse me, General, why are we bringing those two humans and their mom? She doesn't even have any powers!"

Kia gasped, visibly offended.

"Excuse you, you spoiled little brat! I may not have powers but I have two CHILDREN that I swore to watch over, and you demons can't be trusted with them!"

Obara scoffed. "Oh please, woman—-"

Kai interrupted him. "Listen, ma'am, that's not what he meant! It would just be better if we didn't have any liabilities, you know..."

"LIABILITIES?!?"

Marachii gently tugged her arm. "Mom, please calm down—-!"

"Give me a moment, son." She got up, pointing a finger at Kai and Obara. "So you little demonic spawn want to make insults, do you?"

Dachii threw up his hands. "And here we go."

While they argued, Nakada sat yet again, in a meditative-like state. Oyakawa tried to break it up and restore peace, to no avail.

"Hey, hey! Cut it out!"

"GET YOUR DAMN KIDS!"

"They aren't my kids!"

The driver continued to drive, unbothered. Eventually, Nakada pulled out her gunblade and shot one round into the air, quieting everyone down.

"That's better. Inside voices, please."

The truck continued its drive. It drove past the Asmana Forest, past all districts of Voltiana, and it rolled up to a giant sea.

Dachii looked out the window, nearly bumping into his mother in the process. "More water? Are we going back to Estrium?"

They rolled up to a silver platform in front of the sea. Nakada shook her head. "No. It's part of security. Can't have just anyone going to Umego. That would be bad."

Two robot scanners popped out from either side of the platform and began to check the truck.

"Scanning....Voltian and human presence detected. Sending details to Umego for confirmation."

"They'll allow the humans in?" Obara asked, skeptical.

"Of course. Sir Morino has given them prior notice."

"Access allowed. Now preparing bridge."

A pearly white bridge formed piece by piece, each section coming out of the water and leading towards the middle of the sea. The driver waited a moment and then drove onto the bridge.

Marachii looked out the window. "How far is this place?"

"Not too far. We'll be there in no time."

As the sky got darker and darker, and the full moon rose, they eventually spotted a large island that had towering metal walls around it and a large forcefield that covered the entire thing.

Dachii, Marachii, and Kia all stared at the sight, along with some other members.

"Dude, it's like a fortress!" Dachii exclaimed.

"What is that forcefield MADE OF?" Marachii asked.

Kia took a look and then turned her head away. When they got close to the entrance, they spotted four robotic guards, each holding heavy rifles.

"Halt. What is your purpose?" One asked. Nakada had the driver open the door and stepped out, expression firm.

"My name is Nakada Kiku. I'm a General from the mainland. I am here to speak with Kojiro Murakami. My colleague should be here soon."

One of the robots used a scanner from his arm that looked just like the scanners back on the mainland. It nodded to the other robots.

"Alibi verified. Name: Nakada Kiku. Age: 24. Ranking status: General S-4."

Each of them bowed and stepped aside, and Nakada returned the bow. She got back into the truck and one of the robots pressed a button on his forearm, and the forcefield temporarily deactivated, as with the front gate.

Marachii took it all in, mouth wide open. "So amazing....how do they do it? I want to learn, I want to learn everything!"

Dachii put a hand on his shoulder. "Marachii, you're drooling."

"Oh. Sorry."

Obara scoffed. "He's right. This place is a tech haven. They'll probably mind-wipe us when we leave, just so we don't give out any info."

"WAIT, WHAT?"

Nakada smiled. "He's being too harsh. He's been here and got to keep his memories. But they will threaten you with death if you tell."

Marachii scratched his head, a nervous laugh on his face. "Right..."

Once they had gotten through the gate, they saw the entire landscape of Umego.

Its buildings were fully autonomous; many shifting and changing their shape in place. Just like back on the mainland, there were flying cars and train loops suspended in mid-air. Even the roads were constantly shifting, and so were the cars driving on them, changing from sports cars to military cars to cars with JET ENGINES ATTACHED.

Marachii had his face pressed against the window, unable to process it all. The driver stopped, and a guard detail marched towards them, all with glimmering metal armor and plasma rifles.

"Well, everyone out," Nakada stated.

The door opened and one by one they exited. The biggest guard stepped forward.

"Greetings, Squad S-4! I am Shu! I lead the Protection Force of Umego Island, I am glad to have your assistance!"

Nakada extended a hand. "Of course, the Queen personally ordered us to come and help you."

"Where is the other Squad?"

"They should be here shortly."

Nakada stepped aside, allowing Shu to examine her squad. "Hmm, interesting batch here. Seems you got a few newbies and some humans!"

"Indeed. Is there a certain place they will be staying?"

"Yes! We've made the proper arrangements, so follow us!" He and the other guards began marching towards a fancy-looking hotel in the distance, and Nakada walked up to her driver.

"Wait here for Sir Morino. Once he makes it, let him know where we are."

The driver lifted his head. "Yes, General."

Afterward, she and her Squad followed Shu to the hotel. On the way, he began highlighting various parts of the island.

"During your stay, you can do various things, such as visit the Tech Convention, explore our facilities, or simply just tour the island!"

Marachii and Obara were examining every inch of the place, while Dachii and Kai both just kept walking.

Shu stopped in front of a hotel that looked more like a giant apartment. "Now then, enter here. The clerk should take you to your room. We'll let you know if any bandit activities come up in the meantime."

While the Squad entered one by one, Nakada pulled Shu aside.

"Listen, that boy with the dreadlocks, Dachii, I need you to carefully watch over him at ALL times."

"Hmm? Why is that?"

"Recent events. The entire reason for bringing him on this mission is to keep him in a more secure environment, after what happened at the Asuka Festival."

Shu ran a hand through his hair. "The Festival? What's going on, Nakada?"

"Enemies," she stated, her expression stern. "I hope this island can keep them out."

She sighed as she looked into the sky.

"But I fear they may already be here."

Meanwhile, back at the truck...

The driver looked around to make sure no one was watching, and then "he" began to shift forms. His body and face shifted from a male Voltian into a young female Voltian, with purple hair and eyes, and her outfit shifted from a male driver outfit to a noble female outfit.

"Finally, I can stop pretending to be a boy. Yuck."

She parked the truck behind a building, out of sight, and she got out.

"Come on, boys. I've done all the work."

Immediately, three young men, all with fair and olive skin, appeared on the top. One of them, the one with blonde hair, had his arms wrapped around the other two's shoulders.

"Good one, Raylon. They didn't notice," the gray-haired one spoke. "Now, we can swoop in and grab. We can't assault head-on like Nullus and Ossix did."

The female put a hand on her hip.

"I hear our target likes his females, right? How about you leave this to me?"

They stared at her for a moment. "What? If my hands get tied, just come murder everyone or something."

The one on the far left, with pink hair, slapped his forehead. "Ugh." She pointed at him.

"And I'll need you, Prismar, to come with me. Point me to him."

The pink-haired guy jumped off the truck. "I guess it couldn't hurt. Fine, I'm coming."

The gray-haired man also jumped down, winking at them. "Make sure you get him, this time, guys."

He clenched his fist. "The Obsidian Order doesn't fail twice."

They both nodded and headed out, ready to complete their task.

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