Chapter Sixty-Seven: Meeting

After returning to Voltiana just as morning hit, Dachii and the others headed into the Asuka District, traveling to the S-1 Mansion.

As soon as they pulled up to it, they saw Hikari waiting for them, arms folded.

"Oh boy…" Dachii muttered.

He, Luca, and Marachii got out of the truck, and Hikari immediately stomped toward them.

"ARE YOU GUYS INSANE? Where have you been?"

"How long have you been waiting out here?" Dachii asked, trying to look away.

Hikari grabbed him by his collar. "That's not the point, Dachii! You guys left and had us all scared to death! Luca, we're never trusting you again!"

Luca shrugged.

Hikari began to walk toward the door. "Anyway, come back inside. Akari and Saori are waiting."

Marachii pointed at the two trucks behind them. "Yeah, sure, but…"

Injured soldiers began to pile out of the car, falling onto the ground. "…you'll have to take care of them first."

Hikari noticed the number and groaned. "Seriously?"

Morino got out of his truck and approached Hikari. She looked up and saw he was bleeding and battered. "Sir? What happened to you?"

"Old age, Hikari," he joked. "It might be time for you to get to work."

After she healed all of the injured soldiers, they left and she turned her attention back to Dachii and the others.

"Alright, come inside—-"

But just then, she heard a bark, and she saw Fido at Marachii's feet.

"What in the WORLD? What is that?"

Marachii scratched the dog's back. "What? It's Fido, our new dog!"

"Hi! Fido want to play!"

Hikari jumped back. "AHHH! It's a monster!"

Luca put a hand on her shoulder. "Relax, he doesn't bite."

He walked inside the mansion, and Marachii picked Fido up and brought him inside as well. Dachii stopped next to Hikari, who glared at him.

"What? Is there something on my face?"

She folded her arms again. "What mess did you guys get into?"

He scratched his head. "Nothing much, you know. Just battling more Zharians."

"ZHARIANS?"

He walked inside. "Yeah."

As he stepped foot in the house, he and the others heard loud noises coming from the training room.

"What's going on in there?" Dachii asked.

"It's Akari," Hikari replied. "She's been practicing in there all night."

As explosions and gunfire could be heard, Luca began to approach the door. "Cool, let's go watch."

Dachii and Marachii followed him, and they all peeked through the door. Just as they did, a robotic head came flying at them.

"WOAH!" Marachii exclaimed.

Inside the training room, Akari was busy dueling against 7 giant robots, each of them nearly the height of the room.

"So THIS is what she's been doing all night?" Marachii asked.

"Yeah," Hikari answered.

Three of them pointed their guns at her, and as they fired, she easily dodged all the gunfire and slammed the ground, unleashing a powerful blast of white energy that destroyed two of them on the spot.

"Yay! Go, Akari, go!"

Saori was sitting in the middle of the room, perched on a ledge a few feet above the ground. She had a lollipop in her hands as she cheered on Akari.

"I don't think she should be there," Luca remarked. "That's dangerous."

"Oh, please," Hikari snorted. "Akari is strong, but she's also precise."

Just then, Akari picked up a robot and slammed it into the ground, causing the entire room to shake.

"Yay! Keep it up!" Saori cheered.

As the other four stomped toward her, she held her hands together and released, causing a massive energy wave that split them in two.

"Phew," Akari said to herself. "Record time."

As she took a break, Dachii, Luca, and the others ducked behind the wall.

"Why is she training so hard anyway?" Dachii questioned. "Is it another stupid order?"

"No! She's trying to unlock her weapon, Dachii," Hikari stated.

"Oh! You mean like this?" Dachii extended his arms, and two gray gauntlets, seemingly coming out of his flesh, appeared on them.

"WHAT? You GOT YOURS?"

Dachii nervously laughed. "Yeah, it took a strange candy bar and a split personality, but hey, it worked!"

Marachii tapped his chin. "If the bar did that, do you think I'll get mine soon?"

Dachii shrugged. "Just keep trying, bro."

Hikari was still staring in shock at Dachii's arms, as he made his gauntlets disappear.

"You…got yours before Akari? Wow! Like, I can't believe it!"

"Can't believe what?"

Everyone jumped back as Akari walked out of the training room. Her eyes widened as she noticed Dachii and the boys.

"YOU GUYS!"

Without a second thought, Luca turned tail and ran. "Time to go."

Akari, moving in a blur, appeared in between the group. "Explain yourselves!"

Dachii and Marachii both shared a look.

"Well," Dachii said. "We went on a little adventure."

Marachii nodded. "Yep!"

"Is that right?" Akari asked. "A LITTLE adventure?"

They both nodded immediately, and Akari held a hand up, her fist glowing.

"Everyone, in the living room, NOW. I'll go handle Luca real quick."

She stormed off, and Dachii stared after her. "So beautiful, and yet so scary."

Marachii groaned, and Dachii turned to look at Hikari.  "You know, if you get a mean steak to you, you'd be so much more—-"

Hikari rolled her eyes and walked away.

"Close enough!" Dachii said.

In a few minutes, Akari had the squad all gathered up in the living room, and Saori burst onto the scene.

"Guys! You're all back!"

She hugged each of them, a bit too tightly.

Akari cleared her throat. "Ahem, Saori."

She stepped back. "Oh! Akari says not to leave without her permission again!"

The boys all shared a look before Luca began to break into laughter.

"Wow, is that all she gathered us up to say—-?"

Akari held a glowing hand up, and Luca immediately quieted down. "Anyways, continue."

Akari made sure no one was looking, then she leaned in close. "Despite your idiotic actions, we have bigger concerns right now."

"Like…?" Dachii asked.

Akari gently put a hand on Saori's shoulder. "Saori, tell them what you saw."

Saori gulped. "I saw a strange girl! She took a mysterious book Mr. Fujii was reading!"

Luca dug in his ear. "Wonderful. A girl took a book."

Saori glared at Luca. "It wasn't just a book! It was a mysterious book! And she disappeared into a portal!"

The boys just kept looking at them, confused.

"So, what are we supposed to do?" Marachii asked.

Akari clenched her fist. "I saw we follow her once General Fujii gets back, and see where she goes. If she took that book, it must be for a reason."

"What book WAS it?" Dachii asked.

"Something about…an Ancient War?"

Dachii and Marachii's eyes opened wide, and Akari took notice. "You guys know something about this?"

Dachii scratched his head. "Yeah, it's just…in a lesson back at our old school. Speaking of school, I've…gotta call an old friend. Be right back!"

He got up and left, leaving the others to stare at him.

Meanwhile, in the Castle of Voltiana…

King Ayrad relaxed on his throne as Xar approached him.

"Sir, Squads S-3 and S-4 have returned from their mission in Umego."

King Ayrad sat up. "The mission my wife sent them on? Did they succeed?"

"Yes. The bandits and the Zharians commanding them have been defeated. General Nakada has the weapons they've promised."

King Ayrad sat up. "Good, good! We'll need a meeting to decide our next steps from here! Summon all the Generals at once!"

Xar nodded. "As you wish, sir."

He left the room and sent out an alert to all seven Generals.

"Attention, Generals. Your presence is needed in the Castle at once. Do not be late."

The alert was transmitted to all of their watches, and each of them stopped what they were doing.

Naito was meditating in a pond, Toru was studying literature, Shinjii was practicing on a training dummy, Nakada was washing her squad outfit, Morino was helping Kia get in bed, and Himeka was busy brushing her hair.

Fujii, on the other hand, was busy tracking leads outside of the gates, traveling through mountains.

"Hmm? A meeting? Does this mean Dachii and the others have returned?" he wondered.

He turned and headed back towards Voltiana. Not long after, he made it to the entrance to the castle, where the other Generals, except Nakada, were waiting for him.

"Late again, Fujii?" Toru asked, almost mockingly.

Fujii had a look of embarrassment on his face. "Well, I had to do things, you know? Where's Nakada anyway?"

Toru shook his head. "She's already inside, Fujii, like we should be."

Himeka jumped up and down, running into the castle. "I wonder what the meeting will be about! Let's go, let's go!"

Morino pointed after her. "You heard the girl."

They followed her into the lavish castle, and guards bowed as they walked past. Down the grand hall, they saw Xar waiting for them.

"There you are. This way, your colleague is already inside."

Shinjii yawned and pushed open the doors. "Let's get this over with!"

They stepped inside the room, and saw a meeting table in the middle, with a holographic display.

Two of the seats were already filled: one by Nakada and the other by King Ayrad, who sat on the other side of the table.

"Hello, hello, Generals! Glad to see you all!" King Ayrad greeted.

Nakada waved as they made their way inside. "Slowpokes. Did Morino hold you up?"

Morino pointed at Fujii. "Nope."

They all bowed to King Ayrad, before taking a seat. Fujii sat in the middle.

"If I may, what is this meeting about, Sir?" Fujii asked.

King Ayrad clapped his hands together, and a group of guards brought out the crates Nakada had brought.

"These. The technology in them is very limited, but also VERY useful."

He motioned for a guard to open the crate, and King Ayrad pulled a few weapons out: a modified gunblade made of a strange metal, and Morino's axes, which were fixed up and also coated in the same metal.

"They've made new weapons for each of you, much stronger than the last."

Shinjii's eyes lit up. "Really? Let me see mine!"

He dug his hand into the crate and pulled out a large axe. The tip of it had glowing teal lines. "Hahaha!"

"What an oaf," Toru remarked.

King Ayrad handed Nakada and Morino their weapons, and he pulled out two more: a long, bladed lance, and double-edged war fans, all made of the same material as the other weapons.

He handed them to Toru and Naito.

"Hmm, not bad," Toru noted. "Sharp."

Naito grabbed hers, looking at them for a moment. "Thanks."

King Ayrad pulled one last weapon out of the box: a small boomerang, which he handed to Himeka.

"Oh, is this for me?" she asked.

"Yes! They've added a new feature, hit that blue button!" King Ayrad said.

She touched it, and the boomerang turned invisible in her hands. "Wow! So cool!"

She pressed another one, and it grew to a large size. "Yay!"

King Ayrad looked at Fujii. "Sorry, Kenshi. They couldn't make one for you, due to obvious reasons."

Fujii summoned an Ice Katana in his hand. "Yeah, I know. Hard to improve this."

After the weapons were passed out, King Ayrad sat back down.

"Those weapons pack ten times the punch of your normal ones, and we've got some extra weapons for the other soldiers as well. But that's not the only reason I called for you."

All the Generals stared at him.

"Oh? What else did you need?" Nakada questioned.

He pressed a button on the table and it replayed footage from the battle against Nullus. The exact moment when Dachii struck Nullus with his orange power.

"Nakada, Morino." King Ayrad said. "Did either of you see Dachii use his power against your battles with Ranks 18 through 15?"

They both shook their head, and King Ayrad rubbed his chin. "Just as I thought. After seeing them attack Umego, one of our most heavily guarded territories, it's clear we need a major boost."

Shinjii pounded his fists. "Just say the word, and we'll pound them!"

King Ayrad held up a hand. "I've got a better idea. If the highest rank you've faced so far was 15th, it means there's still plenty more battle to come. So, for the next few weeks, I want you all to train Dachii Jones, one by one."

They all gasped.

"All of us train the kid?" Toru wondered. "Why?"

King Ayrad pointed to the screen. "To bring out that power. As of this moment, your next mission is to invite Dachii to each of your mansions…"

He stood up. "…and bring out the power they call Deity. Starting with Naito."

——