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Circie eyes her officer "What's the statues of our guests?"

The twisted knights moves to her "The enemy has destroyed the fleet closest to them but have stopped, the forces along their route are joining each other or digging into better defensive positions."

Kathleen and Circie share a look, that was very strange to hear... they were expecting far more then that, especially since the battle happened about 8 hours ago, they were expecting to hear that they lost three or four by now.

Kathleen looks to the officer "What fleet intercepted them?" folding her arms.

The knight glances to her "The 6th Fleet of Morkalla."

Circie raises a brow "Hmm, an average raiding fleet, but it focused more on creating followers."

The jackal glances away 'A fleet of that nature couldn't possibly do anything to them...', she looks to the pair "It's likely they are going through the zealous commanders files, if that is the case they may have an idea of what we may be up to.'

The unicorn waves her staff "I concur, on another note I can't spy at them through his crystal, so it was likely destroyed in the fighting.", she looks to the void "It matters not, we must press forward."

Kathleen's gaze goes towards the void, while they don't know what they are looking for, she hopes it'll at least tip the odds in their favor. The Addition of the Mystic Alliance has crippled the cults that use the curved seven along with many others, while they dreaded fighting the knights at least the cults had a chance of slaying them, these mystics have changed the game almost entirely. Kathleen thinks about what she was before her transformation, she was someone who always made sure to show a pretty face and show some kindness before waiting for the perfect moment to pounce, she turned to it because of the ill fortune that plagued her early on and decided to take it out on everyone else, male or female it just didn't matter to her as she kept finding ways to get away unscathed... until she met Magnum that is. Up until her defeats, all she really had to worry about was the seizures she had suffered when she was flesh. While she is a more deadly hunter then she was before, it seemed that it didn't matter, no matter what that mystic wolf always found a way to ruin her plans and always delivered the final blow, she's finding it more likely he'll die from old age and who knows when that'll be? And she's starting to think even then she still wouldn't be able to beat him...

Kathleen's thoughts now go to how she and Magnum were before she sprung on him, she was his first in every way and was completely naive at that time when it came to having a partner, what really took some off guard was that she was ten years older then him, then she was thirty and he was twenty, but he did do his best at showing he was ready for such a thing, despite not really knowing what love was, all she needed to do was put up a smoke screen here and there and he was convinced every time that it was love... even after she attacked him. She remembers how sweet and caring he was, the smile he always had when he saw her and some of the gifts he got her as he treated her well, how he always wanted to cuddle and show her love to the best of his ability. Thinking of how she gave him stockholm syndrome and simply used him until the end unlike her past attacks only amused her more, she remembers trying to repeat it only for Magnum to destroy her moments later.

Come to think of it she remembers her transformation, pledging herself to some power she never saw... only their symbol... that it was slightly different from the one the cults use...

....................................

Magnum is in the middle of what once was small city though he can't really make out which one it is as it is desolate and empty, he sees he isn't wearing his armor and only wearing his regular clothes. The air around him makes him extremely uncomfortable as it all just feels dead with what he guesses were once forests and hills to one side, he had seen battlefields in the aftermath, all the wrecks and broken bodies before... but this was something else entirely... something wasn't right...

"Magnum..."

The wolf looks around as he tries to pinpoint the voice, at first he doesn't recognize it but after it says his name a few more times, each time getting clearer and clearer, he raises a brow "Mom?", his eyes scan the area "Mom! Is that you?!" thinking he's going crazy.

Suddenly he senses something claim the air which forces the fur on the back of his neck to stand on end, he felt this sensation when fighting Kathleen and to a degree Circie, but this was far stronger... he quickly spins around and readies to attack with the wind, he sees this black cloud forming in the middle a red symbol forms, it's a seven with the bottom curved but the curve is on the inside instead of the tapered edge he was use to, from the cloud a pair of lavender eyes forms just above it in a curious glare.

Magnum raises a brow as he feels the power this thing is outputting spike "What are you? What is this place?"

A voice comes from the voice "This is where it began... this is where our power started." the voice is male but a little distorted "You are a mystic... the cults speak of you... you bare the look they have spoken about.", the eyes scan the wolf "I can sense you have undergone the Dark Change... and yet you pulled yourself out of it, that is a rarity indeed!"

"Enough of this! What the heck are you?!"

The lavender eyes give a roll "I am a god to some, a devil to others... one that you cannot stop." the black cloud slowly moving around "This universe will kneel in time, it will become a new domain, paradise in our image!"

Magnum forms an ice sword while sending out a harsh gust of wind "Not if I have anything to say about it!"

"Hmm, an aquamarine and an labradorite?", a laugh escapes the cloud "You could even have the traits of a quartz and a carnelian and it wouldn't make any difference! I am of the shade caste of the mystic wolves! You are but a mere elemental type!"

"I have beaten a mystic fox in combat, why should I be afraid of another wolf?"

A visible smirk forms on the cloud, the teeth are sharp and nicely rounded "If our paths cross you'll know to fear me... and I hope we do."

On that everything goes to a blinding light, Magnum' eyes flash open and he sees he's in a medical bay of the Howling Crusader with a robot scanning him.

Elvo comes into view "Welcome back Magnum, enjoyed your nap?" with a slight grin.

The wolf takes a breath "Not exactly...", he looks to the coyote "How long was I out?"

The coyote has the machine finish it's scan "About six hours, Bensen covered you while the Everglaive reinforced.", she begins to look over the scans "Hmm... your physically fine.", she looks to her brother "But while you were unconscious I detected some unusual brain waves."

A thought comes to his mind... that crystal that shocked him! He informs Elvo of the shock and what he experienced which catches her full attention. Leaving the medical bay, Vanessa embraces her lover as she pulls him in, the wolf hugs her back as the others on the dreadnought have a breath of relief. Bensen informs Magnum that the enemy vessel was searched, no unusual cargo but they did find something in the ships computers... the group makes it to the bridge with Magnum quickly getting into his chair and begins to look at the archives the Alliance has shared with him. Magnum decides to cross reference the database, focusing on the words 'shade', 'mystic', 'wolf' and 'Dark Change'.... no records matching...

The wolf gives a sigh 'Why is it never easy?!', an idea comes to mind 'Mo'Ceva! Maybe she might be able to give me a hand.', he puts a headset on and begins to try to get a hold of the mystic fox, giving a focused look as he begins to look through the display in binary code.

Everyone glances to him, Elvo is all to familiar with that look of his and everyone else becomes fascinated by it, Bensen gets to his station and begins to work on sorting through more of the captured ships files to see if he can find out any more information.

Sabrina blinks and looks to the two skunks with her "Whatever has taken place has Magnum's full attention."

Vanessa puts on a mix of concern and curiosity "Something happened to him while he was out... I just hope he's alright."

Magnum rolls his eyes as he gets an acolyte under Mo'Ceva, hearing that she is currently out on negotiations, Magnum leaves a message with them that he needs to speak with Mo'Ceva as soon as possible as it is very urgent, he gets confirmation that she should be back in a few days and he'll likely hear from her around that time. After ending the communication, the wolf sighs as he removes his headset and goes back to looking at the database, interestingly there is no real mention of the shade mystics at all from what he can see... this is turning into quite a quandary indeed.

The wolf types a few keys "Our enemies are en route to the Sol System and they have a head start, so it's going to be a fight from here to there."

Elvo appears next to him "Everyone has full stores, so in terms of supplies we are all set." with a grin.

Vanessa raises a brow "From what you've told us, Earth hasn't made any real advancements in space for decades, which means there are no ports in orbit and no landing spots on the surface."

The wolf glances to her "It'll make resupply difficult if it comes to it, but if all goes according to plan we'll be in and out with few if any loses.", he gives a soft chuckle as he looks to the void "There is a catch though."

Marie folds her arms "Which is?"

"A good chunk of the time, it never goes according to plan." as he types a few commands into his console.

Bensen looks over to the mystic "Is that a good or bad thing?"

Magnum gives a shrug "Well, it varies from mission to mission but usually it fares well in the end.", he looks to the new knight "Part of why I have such a success rate is because along with my powers, I've had to get a little creative sometimes, especially when it comes to dealing with things from the other side.", he gives a sigh "The truth is that you can do the same mission over and over and it'll play out differently every single time... sometimes things play out to where you question if the end result was worth the means. For example whenever I carried out a planetary assault, I destroyed armies, leveled cities and so much more, simply because the empire wanted to try to find some form of glory, other times there was very little conflict and thus ended quickly and then there were times where even before I had made planetfall the enemy surrendered or even before I entered the system in some cases, simply because of the reputation I had gained up until then.", he looks to everyone "And that's just one part of a broader system that has it's own variables that effect each other."

Magnum decides to bring everyone up to speed, so he checks in with Derra and Marouge, both of them curious as to what happened and he simply has no idea, though he does explain that he may have encountered what the cults that use the curved seven worship as the cult leader he and Bensen encountered had this crystal and the two shared an interaction... his voice travels through the bridges where the two stand and with it gasps of shock take the air as everyone stops what they are doing, many knights have their gazes snap to Derra while those on the vixens shake and tremble. Things on Magnum's bridge are similar as everyone save for Elvo stares at the mystic wolf... though they do not understand the full extent of what the cults have done or what they are capable of, they do know that they are one of the most dangerous factions the knights have ever encountered.

The canines gaze doesn't flinch as he informs them he is trying to get a hold of Mo'Ceva to hopefully fill in more of the gaps, also hearing that the being he talked to is a mystic wolf type not encountered in the data base doesn't help anyone feel better either. Magnum does his best to keep a straight face, but everyone can see he's uneasy in that this thing is a corrupted mystic... that it laughed about that he came out on top over a mystic fox. He thinks back to that fight, how he almost died at Za'vara's hands... what is this mystic capable of?

Elvo looks to him "I am detecting two enemy fleets in the next system, they are aware of us!"

Magnum nods as he puts his headset on "The Gypse Mass Production units still need to be tested.", a smirk forms on his muzzle "This should be interesting.", he types a few keys "Elvo, begin gathering data on them as they engage." earning a nod from the coyote.

The crusading vessels emerge with the Howling Crusader taking point once more, but none of it's weapons are firing, instead attack craft leave the massive dreadnought, fighters chew through the enemy fleets defenses while the bombers knock out some of the smaller vessels. Assault boats launch and within minutes they smash into or land on top of the surviving enemy ships, the various twisted crews become confused instantly, this wasn't what they were expecting from the wolf and his vessel, the pods open with various fire teams taking aim at the new openings. From the darkness various red lights suddenly come on followed by energy weapons fire, the automata advance and dauntlessly wipe everything within range out, a few carry magazine-fed rocket launchers that hold 10 shots a pop of which the exo-suits and few power armors quickly fall to, in addition to these weapons, machine guns, shotguns, grenade launches and various other weapons are also accounted for... within about twelve minutes the cult ships are in a state of pure anarchy, as the machines mercilessly sweep any opposition and after about half an hour the ships are reduced to nothing but drifting hulks, their crews and soldiers nothing more the ruined remains.

Elvo looks to Magnum "All resistance is purged, autonomous units are placing charges now, will recall as soon as demolitions are carried out."

Magnum looks at the timer "Thirty-one minutes and seventeen seconds?" with a raised eyebrow, he gives a chuckle "Impressive, the Gypse Mass Production Type is a success!"

The coyote puts on a grin "Was there any doubt?" followed by a giggle.

Her brother gives an amused grin "Let's also see what we can get from the command ships and increase sonar range just in case our friends are watching."

Elvo nods "Aye aye!"

Magnum looks to Bensen "Are there any possible contacts you can make out?"

The skunk looks at his scopes and scanners while typing a few keys, he looks to the wolf "I am not picking up anything that would suggest a breach or even an enchantment. Also I checked the edge there's nothing there either."

Magnum nods "Keep scanning just in case, the cults are always up to something and a lot of the time they always have a plan no matter how small it may seem."

Magnum brings up some screens around him along with some more equipment as he begins to turn some knobs and flip some switches, his eyes looking at raw data and what looks to be various scanners while typing more keys, everyone save for Elvo becomes amazed at the sight instantly, seeing him multitask like this is just insane, it's clear he has picked up a lot of skills by being in space for as long as he has been... but they didn't think it went this far.

The wolf's eyes flash for a moment as he stops, he brings one of the units closer to him as his eyes become glued to the screen, he flips a couple switches, he grabs a knob on the left side while he puts his right hand on his headset, earning a raised brow from Elvo. Magnum closes his eyes as he slowly works the machine, slowly turning while flipping a switch roughly every fifth second, he stops altogether as he seems to really be focusing... his eyes quickly flash open as he feels something hit him...

"HARD TO PORT!!!"

Elvo quickly has the dreadnought shift, this massive purple beam comes from almost out of nowhere and barely misses the dread and fleet that's with it, the beam is so intense it actually shakes the dreadnought. Eventually it passes and Elvo levels the ship out, everyone in the fleet begins to panic at what they had just witnessed with the more keen eyed seeing the beam was only trying to destroy the mystic crusaders ship.

Magnum feels his body stiffen as he gasps, he has never felt anything like it before, it's like a cascade of emotions converted into a focused attack, screams of anger, wails of fanatical ecstasy blended with lustful greed and an undertow melancholy with various other tones mixed in... not even Kathleen made him feel this uncomfortable.

Vanessa runs over to him "Hon! Are you okay?!" taking his hand while putting a hand on his shoulder.

Sabrina comes around to the other side "Breath sweetie, breath." following her friends example.

Elvo decides to handle the comm chatter while Bensen frantically tries to figure out how he missed that, reviewing footage and running scans on it only to find it wasn't there then it was, Marie is still sitting where she is completely frozen at what is happening. Magnum finally catches his breath as the two women continue to soothe him, the wolf raises his head as he looks to now be in this fog...

Magnum blinks "Status report..."

Elvo looks to him "All systems are clear and the fleet is unscathed."

Bensen looks to him "Whatever it was it came out of nowhere." as he examines it again.

The wolf actually gives a cough "Origin point?"

The skunk checks his system "On the other side of the system... but there's nothing there." followed by Elvo "No installation or vessels at all, no sign of any signature."

Magnum sighs as he holds his head with both of his hands, he glances to the void, his eyes giving a glare 'I don't care what you are... try to intimidate me all you want, it won't work.', he looks to his sister "Our new foe is testing us, can we adjust the systems to compensate?" beginning to rub his head.

The coyote shakes her head "None of instruments can have that kind of predictability, only your senses are that spot on or any mystic's if I had to guess."

Vanessa looks him over "Magnum, that took a lot of you, I can see it in your eyes."

The wolf knows she's right as he just feels incredibly drained now, he asks Elvo to try to get a hold of Mo'Ceva and only inform her of what's going on unless it is her superior which the coyote agrees, as well as to continue on to the Sol System. Vanessa and Sabrina help the wolf get up and they begin to make their way to his and Vanessa's quarters, physically he's fine but his senses were now just overwhelmed from the shock as he now has this splitting headache as his eyes feel like they are about to pop. Elvo does her best to hide the sheer concern she feels as the sudden shift in his vitals is extremely dangerous due to the burst of adrenaline at such a high level, couple this with the fact because he's a mystic he feels emotions a lot more strongly and it's a hazardous combination indeed before accounting for anything else due to his sensory issues.

Vanessa and Sabrina get the wolf onto the bed with the skunk moving onto the bed and embracing him as the doe slowly lays next to them, the two women hold onto him as his eyes look around, this tired and droopy gaze being attached to them. Vanessa gives him a kiss as Sabrina gives him a light nuzzle, trying to help calm him down and help him relax, the two ladies get him to where he isn't as tense with their touch and humming some soft tunes as they cuddle him, he takes a deep breath as he pulls Sabrina into a side embrace and lays his head against Vanessa's chest.

The skunk gives him a kiss "There you go hon, just relax." those purple eyes looking him over.

Sabrina glides a hand through his hair "Are you alright?"

Magnum closes his eyes for a moment as he catches his breath again, he opens his eyes "Yeah... it was just so overwhelming.", he moves to sit up with the two women following him "This mystic wolf... the power he wields... it's far more powerful then that of Za'vara's and even more focused.", those eyes of his glance up "This thing... there is something different about it, this darkness and so much mighty avarice..." those blue eyes glance down "I am not sure if I can even fight him."

The two ladies blink at his words, remembering how he faced Za'vara and that despite how one-sided it was until the near end, Magnum put up a fight till it's conclusion no matter how outclassed he was... the fact he's practically already admitting defeat is saying a lot all on it's own. The problem is that fighting mystics in general is a new form of warfare with so much still up in the air with it, like how the Seraphim is equipped to deal with them but hasn't faced a mystic combat yet and only in simulations.

The wolf shifts his eyes to where he looks like he's giving a loose glare and looking upwards once more "But I'll still give it my best shot... I just don't know how to approach this."

He was mostly saying that to try to keep their spirits up, feeling that presence indicated a very strong adversary and a level of power he had never felt before, Kathleen and Za'vara were the two most powerful opponents he had ever faced but for different reasons... he needs to hear from the Mystic Alliance and soon, the more information on this that he could get the better as this went from an expedition with maybe some combat against more typical opponents to a full on crusade, one that he can't even theorize about. There's just simply too many questions and speculation and not enough answers and solid data and the wolf is still trying his best to understand his race as a whole, this development also raises questions about the cults as well but for now he needs to figure this enemy out and fast.

Vanessa rubs his back "You'll figure something out." with a reassuring grin.

Sabrina gives a nod "You have the will and brainpower to do what must be done, we believe in you."

......................................

Elvo is looking over some data while Marie assists her brother in some minor tasks, the coyote gives a sigh as she concludes her research, she sees that Derra and Marouge is contacting them and she opens a channel with him which results in the hyena and vixen appearing on the bridges viewer.

Derra notices instantly that Magnum isn't present but decides not to press "We've looked over the data you have sent and it shows a dark turn of events. If our foe is capable of a such a feat, what does it mean for this endeavor?"

The coyote glances to both "We unfortunately don't know what this new enemy is capable of and are currently trying to get a hold of our contact in the Mystic Alliance. The feedback from the attack has had an effect on Magnum to where his natural senses were overwhelmed, if I had to guess it was to send a message to him specifically, I even ran simulations and even if we stood still the beam still would have missed though we could have sustained some damage on our starboard side."

The two become stunned at this news with Marouge raising a brow "If this being is playing games with us, then what does it mean should the two meet face-to-face?"

Elvo shakes her head "I am afraid I can't answer that and with so little data it is impossible to judge even partially. The most lethal part of it however is that none of instruments are capable of detecting it, we were negotiating for the integration of mystic sensor technology but we didn't think we needed it at this point in time, the problem is that that means only Magnum can detect the incoming attack."

The two commanders and Elvo begin to run through a few things as many amongst their vessels are greatly shaken up by the display of power, Elvo does counter argue in saying that given the amount of power needed for such an attack it is unlikely that they can repeat such a feat any time soon. She bases this theory on data from Magnum's use with his beam attack, that while he is incapable of such a thing that if this attack did come from this shade mystic then it'll have an immense recovery time. In the end Derra and Marouge decide to keep to the formation though they do need more information which Elvo acknowledges, she hated it just as much as everyone else in just how the lack of data has ruined morale alongside what has occurred, she's hoping that they hear from the Alliance soon, otherwise this'll go from a major operation to a mere solo exploration.

The communication ends and Bensen moves over to the digital canine "I've reviewed what I could and it doesn't look good. The beam outperforms all known weapons and even surpasses Magnum's maximum output on record for his natural energy attack. I theorize that this attack may not have originated from a mystic wolf at all."

Elvo sighs as she gives an agreeing nod "It is certainly possible, but for now we need to focus on getting to the Sol System.", she looks to the void "Everyone is tense at how this is already going, despite that we are still committed to this by all means."

The skunk blinks "This seems more like a suicide mission now more then anything."

Elvo glances to him "We have been in situations before where the enemy pulls an ace out of no where, the key is adapting to the situation.", her gaze goes back to space "Our enemy is strong, but so are we."

..................................

Magnum is laying into Vanessa sound asleep with his tail wrapped around Sabrina as the doe gently holds him from behind and resting as well. The skunk smiling at the two as she slowing succumbs to how tired she is, she thinks back to how he was when they met, how the wolf was hesitant to show how vulnerable he really was to showing just how much love remained in his heart. Both she and Sabrina have learned to take it a little slow with him, that he prefers to connect with his emotions and his love for simply cuddling with them. He still has issues with his emotions and mentle health but he's slowly learning how to sort it out as he takes in their soft touch and the smell of their sweet perfume as it helps keep him calm and relaxed. Magnum gently rubs his muzzle against her in his sleep as a tear leaves his left eye, Vanessa carefully takes the tear away and gives him a feminine kiss on top of his head, earning a light grin from the sleeping mystic.

The mature skunk scans him with those purple eyes of hers 'You can do this hon, whatever happens we are with you. You have your doubts but you still have a good head on your shoulders.' she gives him another kiss 'And I'll be right there love, I'll be there if I hear you call.'

The wolf is dreaming of him and the older skunk being out on a lush green field under a tree with clear skies, holding onto one another without another care in the world, Magnum looks into those caring eyes of hers as he gives a warm grin, in the back of his mind he begins to think of something he hasn't thought of in a while... he knows it's but a dream, though he does want to talk to the skunk about it. Magnum glances to Vanessa's tummy and gently moves his left hand to it, he's scared to bring it up but he wants to talk to her to see if she would be open to it, he's actually not sure about it himself which is another reason why he needs to talk to his partner.

Magnum lays his head against her as he takes a relaxed breath 'You'll know what to say, you are a mom afterall.' being a little unsure and nervous but curious as well.

To be continued...