Chapter One Hundred Twenty-Five: Let Us Begin

Inside the S-1 Mansion…

"So, are you SURE that's all that happened? You walked into a weird club with a group of weird people, and then they left before we arrived?"

"Yes, Akari."

"And in no way, shape, or form was Ayana there?"

"No, Hikari."

"Are you lying to us?"

"I would never, Aoki. It was just some Voltians holding an illegal betting club. That's all."

Less than two days after the events with the cult, Dachii was in the living room on the morning of the Masquerade, where Akari, Aoki, and Hikari continued to question him about the events.

"I wonder where Ayana could be," Hikari remarked. "She'll have to show up today, right?"

"It's fine," Aoki stated. "There's going to be VERY powerful people at this Masquerade, not just from our people, but other races as well. If she were to make a move, she'd be easily crushed."

"Speaking of the Masquerade, I've gotta go," Akari said. "My mother wants me and Atomu to host it. I have to be there early. See you all there."

"Bye, princess," Aoki replied, mockingly.

Akari just ignored her, walking out of the door. Once she was gone, Marachii and Luca came down the stairs, both still fresh out of bed.

"Is it time?" Marachii asked.

"I don't think so," Luca answered. "They aren't dressed yet."

Hikari checked the time on her watch. "It starts in an hour. That's plenty of time for people like us to get ready, no sweat!"

"Hmph, I'm not big on getting fancy," Aoki scoffed.

"Well, you have to. And you have to wear a mask. It's tradition," Hikari pointed out.

"That's not MY tradition!"

"Ugh. Can you ever not be difficult?"

Hikari walked upstairs. "I'm going to get ready. I'll be down soon."

"A mask," Aoki repeated to herself. "Why the hell would I wear a mask?"

She walked upstairs as well, leaving Dachii, Marachii, and Luca alone.

"Are we supposed to wear our Squad uniforms?" Marachii asked. "Or are we supposed to dress up too?"

Dachii held up a paper. "They taped this dress code to the door. It says men must wear fashionable suits, and women must wear elegant dresses. And of course, the masks…"

"Maybe it's not too late to sneak in as an ant again…" Luca wondered.

"Do we even have suits here?" Marachii questioned. "The only thing we ever wear besides our normal clothes is these military uniforms."

"Not to fear!" a voice said from down the hall. "I've got you boys covered!"

Fujii, wearing a white suit and white face mask, burst into the living room, holding three suits in his hands. One blue, one gray, and one green.

"These suits will get you all the ladies! Dachii, you've got the blue one. Marachii, you'll take the gray one. And Luca, enjoy the green one, why don't ya?"

"Yay…" the boys groaned.

Fujii reached into his pockets. "I almost forgot! Can't have a masquerade without the masks! Here you guys go!"

He tossed them similar colored masks as well, each of which covered the top half of their faces.

"Looking good, boys! Now all we have to do is wait for the girls, and we're set to go!"

After nearly an hour, Hikari, Aoki, and Saori all came down, each wearing a different colored dress, combined with their own masks. Hikari had a pink dress and mask, Saori had a rainbow dress and mask, and Aoki had a blood-red dress, with a mask that was half black and half red.

"We're ready!" Hikari announced.

"I hate this," Aoki muttered. "Do I really have to wear this thing on my face? And these heels! I can't feel my toes!"

"Aoki," Fujii said. "It wouldn't kill you to show the people a little courtesy, would it?"

"Yes, yes it would!"

"This dress feels big," Saori noted. "I don't think it's my size."

"Yeah, well, we had to improvise," Fujii replied. "It looks fine on you! Even if it is made for someone about…five to six years older."

An alarm began ringing on his watch. "Crap! We've gotta go! We've only got a few minutes to make it! To the car, everyone! To the car!"

As they exited one by one, Dachii stayed behind for a moment, thinking.

"Cult. Cult. Cult. Why do they seem so familiar?"

But the honk of a horn quickly snapped him back to reality. "Huh, whatever. Who really cares, anyway."

He walked out of the house, leaving the mansion behind, and getting into the car. Once he was in the backseat, Fujii revved the engine.

"Alright, Masquerade! Here we come!"

Then he pulled out of the driveway, heading for the capital: Alora.

Once they were close, they saw attendees swarming the streets, which had white carpets lining them, coupled with confetti and the sounds of horns. The castle itself could be seen as well, decorated with various ornaments and ribbons.

"Woah, is this what it always looks like?" Marachii asked.

"Mostly," Fujii replied. "They've got to go all out this year, though! They take their guests very seriously."

The celebratory noise of the horn only got closer as Fujii's car got closer, and everyone recognized it and got out of the way as Fujii parked in the center of the road. "I think here's a good spot to get out."

"Are you sure?" Aoki asked. "I don't want to get swarmed."

"We're not gonna get swarmed, my dear! Just watch!"

He stepped out of the car, and the others did the same. "See? Nothing happened—-!"

The entire crowd turned their attention to Fujii.

"Is that…?"

"Kenshi Fujii! He's here! Here's actually here!"

"Watch out! I have to get a picture!"

And then the crowd swarmed them, nearly crushing the squad in their attempts to get to Fujii, who was nearly squished in between the bodies of adoring fans.

"Ahh, crap."

"I told you!" Aoki exclaimed.

"Wow, first time I've been surrounded," Luca remarked.

Saori climbed onto Dachii's back. "There's so many of them! Why are they so big?"

"Ugh. Are we going inside or not." Dachii flatly asked.

After a short while, the crowd backed up, allowing Fujii to temporarily calm them. "Alright, everyone! Glad to see you all, but I think it's about time we head inside! Don't want to keep our glorious Royal Family waiting, do we?"

The crowd cheered, and they cleared a path, allowing for him and the rest of the squad to walk past. As they did, Dachii noticed a bunch of curious eyes following him.

"I…think they're staring at you," Marachii whispered.

"I know," Dachii replied.

Regardless, they walked into the castle, where the Masquerade had already begun.

Inside the ballroom…

After a few twists, turns, and directions from guards, the squad made it into the large ballroom down the hall, where thousands of guests were enjoying themselves, blasting music, drinking exquisite drinks, and mingling with each other, each wearing regal attire and masks.

"Woah!" Marachii blurted out. "This place is awesome! I've never seen a party so big!"

"Right?" Fujii grinned. "It's the most high-class event in this entire world! No one's topping THIS."

Aoki tugged on Fujii's arm. "So much glitter. Please…let me leave."

"Come on! You're basically a celebrity! Don't you wanna engage with your people?"

"No, I don't."

"Where's Akari?" Hikari wondered. "Have any of you seen her?"

"Well, well, well."

They were interrupted by the mocking clap of hands, as a well-dressed boy stepped in front of them. "Look who it is. Kenshi Fujii and the freakshow."

Fujii sighed. "Kiyota! Glad to see you made it here, pal!"

Kiyota ignored him and took a good look at Squad S-1. "Look at this crap. Just look at it. Two human beings…"

He sized up Marachii and Dachii.

"A messy, unkempt commoner…"

He scoffed at Luca.

"A dull brute who only knows violence…"

He waved off Aoki, who seemed very offended and had to be held back by Hikari, who Kiyota glared at next.

"And this one, she doesn't even know what combat is. She'd be better off as a hairdresser…"

"Hey!" Hikari snapped back. "That's not true!"

Kiyota bent down to look at Saori. "A literal CHILD? What is this madness? This is the squad that turned me away? The most 'powerful' in the nation?"

"Well, we're kinda full on people right now," Fujii pointed out. "But…"

"Where's the princess at?" Kiyota asked. "Where's your golden child? Your 'face of the franchise?'"

"Who the hell is this guy?" Aoki demanded.

"We have a little history, that's all," Fujii answered. "He's…still kind of irked at me because he lost to Akari in the tryouts and didn't get picked."

He turned back to Kiyota, who was silently fuming at him. "And by kind of, I mean VERY."

A triumphant beat of the horn cut them off, and everyone turned their attention to the giant stage in the back, where curtains were pulled away.

"Well, it seems they're starting," Kiyota remarked. "See you round, S-1."

Xar was the first to exit the curtains. "Welcome, all of you, to the annual Royal Masquerade. We're happy to have you all here for our 500th anniversary."

People clapped as the curtains revealed the Royal Family, standing in order of Ayrad, Ayame, Atomu, and Akari.

"I welcome you, the Royal Family of Voltiana!"

The four of them waved to the attendees, smiles on their faces. Each of them had on their own elegant attire, with Akari and Ayame wearing white dresses and masks and Atomu and Ayrad wearing silver suits and masks.

Xar handed Queen Ayame a microphone. "Hello, my loyal subjects! I'm so glad to see all of your faces! It's an honor, really."

People clapped louder.

"But this time, my wonderful children will be your hosts, setting you at ease. Give a round of applause for them!"

The clapping nearly gave Dachii a headache. Ayame handed the microphone to Atomu, who took a minute before speaking.

"Hello. It's a pleasure for me and my sister to host this beautiful event. We hope you have a good time, and we hope to see you all again next year."

He handed the microphone to his sister, who cleared her throat and put on a bright smile.

"Without further ado, let the Masquerade begin! And let me introduce you to our mascots for this year! Squad S-1!"

The light shined on the squad, and everyone turned to face them.

"Woah, she REALLY put us in the spotlight!" Marachii whispered. "All these eyes, it's making me nervous!"

"It's okay, just don't focus on them," Hikari said. "They're looking at us as a whole, not one individual."

Dachii looked around, unfazed, the bright lights making him blink a few times. "So this is the castle. Hmm."

Akari went to hand the microphone off, but Xar whispered in her ear.

"Aren't you forgetting something?"

"Oh!" she exclaimed, speaking into the mic again. "I want to introduce our special guest! The main event! Dachii Jones, come on up!"

"The hell…?"

Everyone, including Dachii's own squad, immediately looked at him. Dachii scoffed and started walking to the stage, not even concerned about the hundreds of eyes watching him.

Once he got up, Akari wrapped an arm around his shoulder. "I know you've all been dying to see our 'special guest,' so here he is! Right in the flesh! The future of this nation!"

"Huh, what…?"

The Royal Family all faced him, and Akari handed him the microphone. "Anything you want to say?"

"The hell is going on here?" Dachii thought, taking the mic. "Uh…"

"Hi, all of you."

The crowd stared for a moment before laughing, clapping their hands as Dachii remained still. Akari took the microphone back. "Well, that should sum up the intro, but there's still plenty more to come, so stay tuned!"

"What is this?" Dachii thought. "Why are they acting like this…"

The horn sounded again, playing music. Akari gave Dachii's shoulder a squeeze. "Isn't this going to be great? You'll be in the spotlight all day long!"

"Yay…"

Just then, a loud thumping could be heard from outside, and Xar immediately rushed out into the hallway to check.

"Ahh. It seems our 'other guests' have arrived."

He motioned to a guard, who quickly hurried down the hallway. To the surprise of everyone, the ceiling of the ballroom opened, and a giant monster flew in from above: the Monster King.

"Well, isn't this a delightful evening?"

Malkrith landed, and once he did, Dachii noticed there were a few noticeable figures on his back. Vashka hopped off, a group of orcs following her.

"Thanks for the lift, creature."

Followed by Alarax and Throme, to Dachii's slight surprise. Throme gave the monster a bow. "Thank you."

Alarax just silently fumed.

But there was no sign of Ayana. And as everyone nervously watched the giant monster, he trekked toward the Royal Family.

"Hello, King and Queen. It's my pleasure to be here."

Queen Ayame bowed. "Thank you for coming."

Malkrith grinned. "Of course."

He sized up Dachii, eyes piercing straight through him. "I can't wait to see how this all turns out."

—-