Off to War[]
Everyone waited for Amon and Lamia to return from the basement, sitting on the couch or chair, patiently waiting. Then the basement door openned, as Lamia exited first, followed by Amon whose...right arm was back? It was covered in bandages, with visible blood stains, as he wore his black jacket over his white shirt. Going back to his old appearance.
"Well...that went better than expected" Amon said, moving his new right arm, testing to see it's functions.
"Just don't lose it. Making one is hard enough, making another would be a pain" Lamia replied to Amon, putting her hands inside her pockets "So, how're you lot doin'?" By "lot" she mainly referred to Isaz, Rakuyou and Nyx.
"Your arm is back? How?" Nyx asked, as anyone would, seeing a severed arm back in place.
"Ah, I just made 'em a new one. Artificially so. Lacrima-based" Lamia replied "It's like Lily's body. Only on a single arm, which makes it easier compared to Lily's body as a whole. It's powered by his own magical energy, and is controlled so as well. It has a strong shell enough to whistand....I dunno, a meteor, or somethin'" Lamia almost sounded serious until that last part.
"Ah...is...that so?" Nyx was somewhat surprised, but remembered she's talking to a woman who her guild want to make a weapon fr them.
"Oh, right. Amon" Lamia turned to Amon, tapping his right arm "This arm should help you against that White Knight fella, John that is".
"What? You know him?" Amon asked, surprised Lamia knows about John.
"Yep. I built that armor, t'was for sale. But the council stole it. Bastards didn't even pay me, and now they used it against me. Oh, that just makes me more unhappy" Lamia said, her tone becoming full of bloodlust, as she did a crushing gesture with her hands, as if crushing something "I made the shell capable of being unaffected by the effect of the armor. Contrary to what'd you think. It doesn't negate magic. It stops the flow of Eternano, and or dispels it into every direction. That's why magic in several does nothing to him, and you have to rely on the good ol' fisticuffs, which I believe you have enough proficiency in to break the fuck, eh?" Lamia looked at Amon, her eyes glitted with killing intent. She was not pleased at the slightest.
"....Good. I have a score to settle with him" Amon said, his tone full of disdain, clenching his right hand into a fist.
"Are we heading out already....?" Kiryu said, having woken up, looking at his granddaughter "I was able of getting enough sleep. So, I'm ready".
"Is everyone else ready?" Lamia asked, looking around at everyone "Remember, this is the council we're goin' up against. After this attack, they won't take us kindly anymore. We will be hunted down more so than ever. We might need to travel alot before finding a safe place. Are you still willing to come?" Lamia asked, her tone souding serious and stern, like a leader.
"Of course! We have to get Mikki back! Right, Isaz?" Rakuyou turned to Isaz, who nodded in reply.
"I was going to come with you in the first place~" Aph cheerfully said, waving towards Lamia.
"Aph. Come with me" Lamia said, gesturing Aph to follow her with her finger "I need to fix your magic. You lost it because of the Red Lacrima, right?" Aph nodded in reply to Lamia, as she followed her "Then lemme fix that" The two went into the basement, as everyone waited again, sitting down on any available spot to remain comfortable.
Almost an hour passed, as the two exited the basement again "Alright, why not test it out?" Lamia asked Aph, who cheerfully gave a thumbs up in agreement.
"What did you two d-...?" Suddenly, Amon was cut short went he suddenly fell to the ground, feeling an immense force pushing him down "What the he-....?!"
"Hey! Aph! Stop it!" Lamia shouted at Aph, as the force pushing down Amon vanished "Don't do that again, ever" Aph looked nodded in silence, feeling bad for her actions.
"What...what was that...?" Amon asked, shocked of what just happened.
"That was Aph's magic, Gravity Magic. She lost it because she was around Red Lacrima for far too long, so she lost it, but I artificially implanted a Lacrima with Gravity Magic into her body" Lamia pulled up Aph's dress, showing a large scar on her belly, and revealing her white bear panties "The Lacrima should slowly vanish into pure magic energy, and until then, she'll have to take it easy while eating" Lamia explained, letting go off of Aph's dress, making it fall back down.
"I..I see..." Amon replied "So...bear panties?" Amon asked Beast in his thoughts, not wanting to be heard.
"White bear panties, to be specific. It was...cute" Beast replied.
"Marvelous..." It's at times like these, Amon wishes he had his eyesight.
"Right. We're all ready now. Circe, stay here with auntie Nyx, okay?" Lamia said to Circe, pointing at her, gesturing her to go to Nyx.
"No!" Circe exclaimed "I wanna help sis! I don't wanna stay behind!" Circe puffed her cheeks in irritation, frantically swinging her arms up and down.
"Even if you say that, we can't let you come" Amon told Circe, trying to console her.
"No! No! No! Why should I stay here and not try and help?!" Circe continued to persist, stomping her foot on the floor.
"Because! If you come with us, you'll also be wanted! And not me or Lamia want people starting to go after your head too!" Amon snapped, shouting at Circe, causing her to back up.
"....!" Circe crossed her arms, turning her back towards Amon "Fine..." She clealry not pleased.
"It's just for your own good. We're leaving now." Amon said, as they headed towards the...open hole in the wall.
"Wait! What if we get attacked?!" Nyx asked, bringing up a good point.
"...She's right" Amon said, turning around "If they attack it'll be bad. Nyx can't defend Circe alone"
"That's...true...They can hide in the basement"
"NO!" Nyx immediately rejected Lamia's suggestion. Going back down that hell hole was less preferable than being out in the open "Why not stay somewhere else in town?".
"....I know!" Lamia said "Follow me, troops!" She was oddly enthusiastic about this.
Helena relaxed inside the church, laying on one of the seats with headphones on, without a care in the world "I swear, the only better thing to happen is for those two sinners to leave town" Helena thought to herself, once a knock on the door startled her, as she quickly head her headphones and rushed to the door, still knocking.
Helena openned the door, putting up her fake cheerfulness "Why hello the-...~" Helena was cut once Lamia knocked on her head and continued to do so, as everyone stood in silence upon this scenario of a woman knocking on a nun's head repeatedly.
"Oi, you there, BitchFace McGee?" Lamia said, causing Helena to flinch a little.
"You...what...how may I...assist?" Helena was trying really hard to keep herself tamed, keeping the false happy smile as Lamia still kept knocking on her head.
"I need you to babysit shorty and my kid" Lamia said, pointing at Nyx and Circe who stood next to each other.
"Is...is that...so...?" Her temper was about to snap, it was like a rubber band being stretched too much.
"Eyup. We're goin' to war against the council an-..."
"YOU WHAT?!" The rubber band snapped "Are you insane?! A war?! The council?! Why?!" Helena was shocked at how casual Lamia was about all this "Wait, no. Go. Get yourself killed. FREE ME!" Helena's expression was quite disturbing, she was still trying to keep the fake smile and happiness, but showed such malice and glee in the thought of Lamia and Amon dying.
"So, keep 'em here 'till we get back?" Lamia asked casually, ignoring Helena's joy.
"Ah! Let the rascals in! I'll kick 'em out a week later after you die! Hahaha!" Helena was absolutely overjoyed, walking back into the church, laughing maniacly "Thank you, Lord for this heavenly gift!".
"....Basement is sounding good now" Nyx said, regretting her decision.
"Too late. Get inside" Lamia said, walking passed Nyx and lightly pushing her towards the door while Circe followed her, with Noma was held in her arms "Right! We got that settled, now. Off we go to the council!"
"We should do some planning first" Rakuyou suggested "Remember, Era is heavily guarded. We can't just waltz right in".
"Huh...that's true" Lamia put her hand on her chin, thinking "Hmm...Amon can just teleport us inside. Yer stealthy. We'll sneak around, each of us will take a different route and cause a riot or confusion. We can handle a bunch of Knights, right?" Lamia said, as she continued to walk away.
"Even so, what if we run into a Saint for example? Don't they also remain in Era?" Amon asked, walking next to Lamia.
"No" Rakuyou instantly replied "The Saints aren't in Era anymore. After the Dragon's Attack, they either abandoned their posts, or headed to a new location to guard it. A sort of, Division in a City or seperate Country, like a truce between Fiore and other kingdoms, exchanging powerful Mages for protection" Rakuyou explained "It sounds stupid to exchange powerful Mages in order to achieve peace, but money and resources don't do it as much as they did in the past. If anything, this is the age of power, this is the time where if you have enough power, you are the ruler".
"But that doesn't apply to the Queen" Amon replied "From what I heard, she's pure charisma and knows what to do and say to get everyone to follow her, but has zero combat skills".
"But she has an army under her belt. That is her power" Rakuyou replied to Amon "Would you go against someone who controls this country's army?"
"We're going against the ruling goverment of this country. Going against the Queen would only mean twice as much soldiers, and a bigger wanted level after we're done" Amon said, sounding rather okay with the fact they're actually going against the ruling goverment.
"Then that's the plan. Gramps can take on an army no problem. I can handle a group on my own, and so can Aph. Amon should have no problem. And I believe you two can handle it as well, since you planned on going alone, right?" Lamia said, as the group began exiting the town.
"Let's just go. We've waited too long" Rakuyou said, sounding impatient.
"Alright. Then let's head forth and destroy" Lamia declared, sounding determined, while unknowingly being followed by Circe.
Army of Six[]
"Ah~" Eva stretched her arms, inside her laboratory, as several figures stood in the shadow behind her. One appeared to be on a horse, with a large muscular physique, while three others appeared to be women, having a feminine physique, and two appearing almost identical, while one appeared with long hair.
"Alas, I failed. Ending up in such a state is shameful" Hyperion said, hooked to a table as Eva was fixing him. Attaching a new arm to his body.
"Ah, relax. Ya still alive, and I'm 'ere to fix ya up!" Eva declared in a carefree manner, as she continued to carefully attach Hyperion's new arm in place.
Suddenly, Diana appeared behind Eva, with her Archive screens around her, as she was typing on one of them "I finished the job. They're all under my control and they don't even know it" Diana said with a smug grin on her face.
"Ah! Good! Good! Everything is going accordingly then!" Eva cheerfully exclaimed, giving Diana a thumbs up, as Hyperion stood back up again, fixed and looking good as new.
"If I may ask...what plan do you have?" Hyperion asked, curious about what his creator could be planning.
"Ah, don't concern ya self, me boy. It's just a lil' experiment on some villains to see if we can...reform them" Eva replied, her serious tone and carefree facial expression not matching at all.
"If so, then I shall head out. I must continue to spread Justice!" Hyperion declared, hammy as always, with his fist high in the sky, showing the utmost pride.
"No" And that pride was blocked "I need you to stay in the building" Eva told Hyperion, her entire character suddenly switching to complete seriousness "We're gonna have unwanted guests soon"
"What? Who, may I ask, is it?"
"Well, Mr. Superhero, we're havin' six" Eva turned to Diana with a confused expression "It's six, right?" Diana nodded in reply, as Eva redirected her sights back to Hyperion "Yes, we're going to be invaded, by an army of six".
"What? That sounds simple for the council to take care of alone" Hyperion said, not understanding how merely six people could be such a problem.
"Hehehe. Let's just say...we took something they want...and as such, they won't be holding back" Eva grinned widely, with malice in her eyes "Mr. Superhero, we're goin' to war today" Eva...sounded eerily joyful, as she turned to the shadowed figures behind her "And you guys as well, I want two of you to stay here, but the rest head to town. You too, Red, stay 'ere, I'mma need'ja" Eva said, ordering the figures, as the two largest figures left, while the three feminine looking figures remained "This, is gonna be FUN!" Eva declared with nothing but joy in her tone.
She turned around, looking at two tubes, one with Lily in it, and the other with Mikki, both fully clothed, but unconscious "And soon, we'll be able to set things in motion" Eva turned to Diana, who was still surrounded by her Archive monitors "Tell me when it starts, m'kay?" Diana nodded in reply to Eva, as she put her hands behind her back, waiting.
"Well, this town isn't as big as I thought" Rakuyou said, looking at Era, looking around, it looked like a normal town, minus the large mountain at the center with the council's building on top of it "Though, should we really walk around like this...?" Rakuyou said, referring to the fact people were staring at them.
"Calm down, they feel safe knowing they live next to the council, so we're more of Circus freaks than threats" Lamia said, nochalantly dismissing Rakuyou.
"Even if you say that, we're bound to run into someone who'll know who we are and notify the council" Amon said, considering they're in the council's area, it's to be expected they would be notified quickly "What happened to the stealth plan?" Amon asked Lamia, who suddenly stopped in her place, as everyone else did as well.
"....Shit, we had a stealth plan?" Everyone, minus Aph, faceplamed at Lamia's reply "We'll have to improvise from this point onwards then. Everyone, split up! Me and Aph'll go to the side, while Rakuyou and Isaz and gramps assault it from the front, try ad get on top of the mountain first, and distract them. Amon, try and sneak into the building while we keep 'em busy" Lamia issued the orders to everyone.
"If I may" Isaz telepathically communicated with everyone "I would much rather if we could all stick together. We would be a bigger force that way" Isaz suggested to Lamia.
Lamia turned her attention to Isaz, her deadpan expression making him uneasy "....We could do that, but then we'd cover less ground, and if we all got caught, it'd be over. If we split up, we'll take out more, and we'll back each other if one of us is caught" Lamia explained "Right, Aph, let's go" Lamia said, as Aph followed her, running into the left of the town "We'll meet up at the top!" Lamia shouted before they were too far away to hear from again, as she left the four men behind.
"So..." Amon tried to break the awkward silence "I guess I'll be going now. Good luck to yo-...."
"Wait" Amon was cut short by Kiryu, who grabbed him by his shoulder "Tell me, Amon, is it? What is my granddaughter to you?" Kiryu asked Amon, sounding like the overprotective grandfather he is.
"...Well, to be honest, she's probably my only and best friend. I can't say anymore than that, really" Amon replied to Kiryu, who released his shoulder.
"I'll take it. But you better treat her well" Kiryu told Amon, as if ordering him.
"I never intended on doing the opposite" Amon said, teleporting away in an instant, vanishing.
"...Hmm" Kiryu coughed, clearing his throat before turning around to Isaz and Rakuyou, and walking past them "Come now" Kiryu's body became coated in liquid metal, forming his armor and blade once more "We must get going" Kiryu said, walking towards the mountain, as Rakuyou and Isaz followed.
Meanwhile, back at the Magic Council's building, within Eva's lab, a screen appeared infront of Diana, several, showing the group's location and where they are headed "They're here, and they split up apparantly" Diana told Eva, who clapped her hand in glee.
"Oooh! Good!" Eva sounded like a child who just got her birthday gift "Now, send these girls to Guran, but first..." Eva walked over to Mikki's tube, as her arm phased right through it, and into Mikki's body, through her chest, pulling out Mikki's core, as the unconscious Mikki reacted, her expression becoming full of pain, and beginning to scream painfully, and understandably so, since the core was the equivlant of a heart to her.
Once Eva pulled out Mikki's core completely, Mikki instantly silenced, holding the glowing Lacrima in her hand, and putting it inside a black box "Now you can deliver them, but make sure this box isn't openned. At all." Eva said to Diana, who nodded in reply.
Suddenly, while on a rooftop, Amon begin to feel immense pain in his eyes "Gyaah! W-...what's happen-...?!" Amon fell on his knees, as he slowly openned his eyes, and...saw. His eyesight returned "...What...?" Amon was shocked, he could see! He immediately looked around, seeing the entire town of Era and the mountain in the middle, his eyes returning back to their golden color "...How is thi-...? Mikki! They must've taken her core out!" Amon exclaimed, realizing the cause of this.
"Are you saying that it cancelled the ritual's effect when it was pulled out of her?" Beast asked Amon.
"Could be...it had nothing to give the senses to...so it returned to their original owners...But...this should make things easier for me now" Amon said, his eyes glimming with determination, and confidence, as he could now safely teleport without the need to worry about crashing into anything or anyone.