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Chapter 3: Break Through

Beta-Reader: Ant0nius

It was… morning. Or at least I think it is.

Archie said that it was time to wake up and make some breakfast, which I was able to complete in the span of twenty silent minutes.

Adela arrived at the kitchens with a happy grin and a relieved stance, giving me a nod and a quick greeting as she studied the delicious looking scrambled eggs.

Sitting down to join her for the first meal of the day, I felt my entire body tense up in minor frustration as I had yet to recover from the 'training session' I shared with the newly-made Queen.

While this wasn't the first time I had trained with someone, I was unsure how beating me with a stick and expecting me to dodge all of her swift strikes without hesitation could be labeled as adequate training for me.

Sure, I did get more accustomed with the speed that I was supposed to get while engaging with any enemies, but I was still getting beaten with a sturdy and unforgiving stick.

It didn't help that Adela was smiling deviously and eagerly as she kept on attacking me. And it certainly aggravated me when I realized that she was going for five laps around the inner perimeter of the gym room, then going for some basic exercise, and ultimately taking a rest.

But then the worst materialized when she genuinely got through with her 'promise' of sharing a shower together.

I kept on looking away, and I was pretty sure that despite her bravado, the Coyote Prime was unable to spare any looks at me. She was blushing madly when we both finished and I was glad that the shower room had some non-transparent glass to keep awkward scenes from developing in something else.

A night passed, and my bones were still aching from that unfair routine I was supposed to go through.

Lessons about Swordsmanship weren't planned for the time being considering that my only 'instructor' was someone that specialized with a Bow and Arrow.

Eating my own share of the meal, I was met with a curious look from Adela. Frowning, an eased but perplexed glance caused me to question her current thoughts.

“What?" I muttered quietly, drawing a hum out of the girl as she seemed to be thinking intensely about something correlated to me.

“You know, I think you need a codename- or at least a reductive as to not complicate things during battles," The young Queen pointed out. “Something… less cumbersome to say out loud."

…

“How about 'Tia'?"

I narrowed my eyes at her for saying that, feeling that it would've been quite embarrassing to be addressed in that 'silly name' during a fight.

“No."

She pouted, possibly expecting me to just comply at her mirthful contemplation.

“How about… 'Theo'?"

I stopped mid-munching once again, this time giving her a confused look. “Theo?"

“Yeah, I mean… It's the masculine form of Tia, plus I don't think it will be difficult for you to get accustomed to it."

On one hand, I could see what she was trying to say, but then again I wasn't much interested in this specific topic. My name, albeit difficult to pronounce correctly without people tripping on their own spelling, wasn't that much complicated to get memorized after using it for some time.

Still, instead of rebuffing her again on this argument, I just nodded at it and accepted the suggestion.

Her smile widened, but the young woman looked hardly done with her trail of thoughts.

“Also, I wanted to ask you something about… yourself," She started, and I knew from these first words that the topic wasn't anything as simple as the previous one. “Of course, if you want to answer it and-"

“Just ask, Addie," I interjected calmly.

…

She sighed. “When you first arrived, you said something to Apogeo and…" Her lips twitched in a nervous manner, and I felt a degree of uneasiness at what she was trying to bring up. “Do you… miss your parents?"

Surprise painted my face at that query. I had expected her to make that kind of correlation now that she had lost her remaining parent.

But while the expectation was there, I was now aware that I wasn't prepared to answer that question.

Apogeo's assurance that I would've been returned to the time I had left Earth was nice to hear but… I also realized that the guarantee didn't make any sense on a logical argument.

How could I go back home at the time I had left if I had just been moved from one world to another?

Asking to Archie about his creator being able to rewind time confirmed me that the assurance wasn't one revolving around the concept of time.

If that had been the circumstance, then the Empire would have not come around and threatened Prism to begin with.

And then I realized from a clue I was unconsciously given in that very conversation that hinted at something far more complicated than mere world-travel.

No, it had to be… a case of dimensional hopping.

As sketchy as the supposition was, Archie confirmed that it could be technically done. While Apogeo herself couldn't afford to cast this grand 'spell' with ease, the same couldn't be said about the 'Dragon Gods' and… those tied closely to them.

While Rehema hadn't seen her homeworld, the knowledge that it and the culture of her now scattered race was still given to her to use at the behest of Primes.

And one of the spells in question which were gifted by these deities was one related to the summoning of a royal protector. But since Rehema had already one when she was drawing the magic, the same wasn't for Adela.

When I asked the young Queen about the matter, she mentioned only that her mother had based the spell over some suppositions and conversations shared with Apogeo.

It was a shocking detail, but one that put me at ease over the matter of being brought back home at the precise moment I had left.

No worry, no concern from my parents.

But then again, there was the issue of dying here and being forgotten forever. And that didn't sound like a brilliant idea to even think about.

It was incredibly unpleasant and terribly demoralizing.

Which is why instead of offering Addie's question a lengthy explanation of my own turmoil that could easily worsen her efforts to cope with her mother's death, I prepared to give a careful answer.

“I do," I replied with a nod. “But I would be lying in saying that I miss them a lot."

…

“Why? Don't you just… Aren't you afraid of failing and-"

“Dying?"

…

“I guess I'm afraid of that myself," I admitted, sighing quietly as I addressed her with a serious look. “But if I allow that fear to dictate what I will be doing from now on, I can tell that I would lose any chance of coming back to them."

The Coyote Prime gave a tiny smile at that. “You're awfully restrained about it."

Did she just… notice? Just like that?

Tensing up at that comment, I was even more surprised as the girl didn't press more about this weak point.

I was glad she didn't, but I still decided to switch the topic to something less troublesome to handle this early in the morning.

“So… yesterday you were saying something about… Crests."

Her eyes widened a little at that subject, her smile widened even more.

“Oh, I don't think I told you about them just yet," The young woman pointed out. “At least, not why it's important for us to find them and rally them."

“Are these 'Crests' people or things?" I started to ask, finding it quite difficult to imagine people being labeled with that kind of term.

“They are Guardians of the twelve main elements," The queen explained with a sigh. “The elements are divine attributes the Dragon Gods bestowed us with when Prism was first formed."

I blinked at that, my brain failing to get beyond the four natural elements.

“And those are? I know Water, Air, Fire, Earth-"

“Life, Death, Courage, Wisdom, Love, Ice, Darkness, and Light," Addie interjected and completed the list, feeling rather pleased with my questioning as none of my queries weren't that difficult to answer for her.

“So 'Death' and 'Darkness' are regarded as good guys?" I asked back, feeling rather surprised at this revelation “Then what is the energy used by the Narakhans?"

Her happy mood waned a little bit at this unpleasant turn. “It's… Chaos. The Crests are meant to represent the Natural Order of everything. The logical part of life."

“While Chaos strives upon disrupting logic and Order as it relies on anarchy and lack of common sense."

The Prime nodded at my continuation. “That's correct, yes. Which is why the fight against the Emperor and his rule isn't one born out from revenge. It's a conflict meant to bring order back to the galaxy as a whole while also protecting other innocents from suffering my race's plight."

I stared at her for a moment, kind of impressed by the fact she sounded so genuine over her reasoning to keep on fighting. I would've expected revenge to be at least part of her motivations, and yet she wasn't planning to execute any of that.

No, it was just… mesmerizing how she gave me such a determined look and- Now she is blushing again.

“W-Why are you staring at me like that?"

I frowned, schooling my features back to a more acceptable expression.

“Like 'what'?"

“Like a moron," She muttered bluntly, her green-eyed sight averting for me as she replied. “Can you please not?"

…

“Does my staring trouble you, your highness?"

“Oh Gods- don't you dare," Adela remarked fiercely.

“But it would only be prim and proper for me to address you accordingly to etiquette, your majesty."

“I'm warning you! Don't go down that road or I will-"

“Or what, milady?"

She opened her mouth, perhaps having something already planned as a deterrent for my teasing, but this conversation was quickly cut short when red lights replaced the soothing white ones used to illuminate the room.

“ B-Boss, Addie- I need you at the cockpit. Now!"

Archie's voice sounded incredibly worried, and I felt a shiver go down my spine at the chances of facing the worst case scenario.

We might've been found.

I stood up with a panicked look, forgetting what was left of my breakfast as I rushed together with the young Queen to where the cockpit was.

As the door opened to reveal what was going on inside, the first thing that appeared in front of us was the strange sight of the small spirit darting back and forth between the terminals to properly adjust the ship.

Though the main glass that showed us what was in front of the spaceship, three planets were on sight.

The troublesome bit of that beautiful space scene was the three massive battleships that were orbiting near the grand orbs.

“The Empire?" I inquired quickly, getting a nod from Archie.

“From some loose communication through their less-secure channels, they are planning for a greater blockade to enter in action soon," The Spirit answered as he continued with his mad control over the driving system. “Which is why I don't think I can dodge this issue on my own since avoiding it by going around the planets could result in us being detected by approaching ships."

“These ships could easily detect and intercept us before we have a chance to get through their defensive line," Adela commented quietly, gritting her teeth at the frustrating situation.

Despite the completion of that blockade, I could tell that as it was right now, it would just be unwise to try and make a break for it.

If we wanted to get through with this, we needed a brilliant plan to get out of this alive and…

I blinked, turning my attention back on the closest planet to our trajectory, my lips tilting in a minor scowl as I pondered about a couple of things Archie had mentioned while talking about the ship.

“Archie, forgive me if I ask again, but didn't you say that the ship could move through landmasses?"

The spirit stopped for a moment to give a nod. “The ship was created with the pure interest of being the best mobile base, thus it was provided with a system to move through land thanks to several energy-powered wheels on each side."

“And can you also tell me if we could land on 'that' planet without being noticed?"

The spirit turned away from me to stare up at what I was pointing at, his eyes narrowed over the heavenly body for a couple of silent questions.

“You want us to land there and-"

“Move to a spot where we can get around the blockade," I finished for the Coyote Prime. “I think that's why they are waiting for reinforcements."

“Still, what if they can still detect us if we try to land on that planet?" The young queen pointed out, and I felt a little tense about this very matter.

What if they could? That would be dreadful for sure.

“They could… but I think I can move the ship just outside their detection system if I pick the furthest landing spot available."

I turned to glance at Adela, knowing that this decision wasn't mine to take. As much as I wanted to go through with this plan, she was the leader of the group, not me.

She stared back at me, a concerned glint shining from her eyes as she pondered about this very possibility.

“I can't see any other way out of there," The girl commented, giving part of her inner thinking process out for us to listen to. “And yet I know that we're taking a huge risk."

“It will only get worse if we try and wait to see if we can hide from them," Archie added with an uneasy tone. “Even if we were to disable the ship to hide its pattern, I'm still emitting energy and they can pick my pattern."

And that's a detail I hadn't been aware about. I gave a surprised look at the sheepish look on the spirit's face, but I knew that it wasn't his fault for being a creature born from these 'Nanozell' particles.

The young Queen sighed once more, her eyes now glaring at the three big ships that were blocking our retreat. Finally, she turned to Archie and nodded.

“_ Do it." _

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The landing procedure ended up not being the smooth process I was hoping for, but then again we weren't trying to keep on that small opening within that continent-wide jungle for too long.

The moment the ship was stable on the surface of the planet, the wheels were deployed and Archie gave proof of being a mad driver in this kind of situation.

Maybe it was the dread created by the chances of us being found, or maybe he was naturally crazy with the need for speed.

Still, the result was that both Adela and I had decided to leave the cockpit for a while to get geared up for any possible fight.

While the spirit confirmed the lack of ships moving to intercept us, the Coyote Prime was quick enough to mention that the Empire had some cloaking device to hide away their energy patterns.

And before our already slim chances of survival, we were unwilling to be at ease in these dramatic moments.

Our nerves were also more tense at the chance of a fight breaking up one way or another. While the planet had life in it, the air there was toxic and deadly for the occupant of the vehicle.

I held my sword in its sheath, the silvery hilt held by my right hand as I tapped at its top, the quiet noise that the action created softening well enough my current worries.

The young queen was sitting on the chair beside mine, and her bow was sitting on her lap as she looked tensely through the transparent reinforced glass in front of us.

Despite our concerns over an external issue, we were given some relief as Archie brought up how the situation on land was going better than he had expected.

The ship itself wasn't having any trouble in moving through the natural obstacles of this odd jungle, as the blue-leaved trees with red trunks and the dark-green rocks that were between us and the zone we were planning to lift off from weren't coming close enough to even put a single indentation over the strong and resilient hull.

Still, I would be lying and say that I wasn't feeling rather uneasy over that silence I was unconsciously part of.

My stare locked almost obsessively over the sight offered by the cockpit as I waited for something to happen. Because something had to happen, whenever it was a good thing or a bad one was all connected to the chances of us making through this undetected.

Holding my breath a couple of times as I saw a few patches created by the lack of few branches, I hoped to not see a ship or two hovering over ours. To see the effort ruined from the very beginning and our chances of escaping the blockade humiliated by that kind of scenario.

That very possibility frightened me, and thus I kept on looking up and down every single time I felt like there was a 'strange shadow' standing above us.

The young woman sitting behind me noticed, slowly getting the hang of what I was doing, and promptly delivering a quick elbow-hit onto my arm.

I turned to face her and she held a serious look. No words, just an indirect attempt to get my minor panic under control.

Don't worry. We will be fine.

I sure hoped so as I decided to put more trust into her stubborn stance before the chances of a vehicle, and I was sure that she was feeling thrice as worse as I was since this was ultimately her decision.

If we were captured or we died, it was her mostly her fault.

Thus, instead of wasting time worrying about things going wrong, I found myself staring at the ship's pilot to see how he was faring under the duress.

Archie looked completely focused on the task. His flying frame swiftly handled the terminal without a hint of hesitation, and it was almost shocking how his current expressions looked so… blank.

To me it just looked like he was going through a flawless combo of button-pressing and valve turning, which was leaving me speechless and confused as I didn't know much about driving a ship this big.

I still remember how troublesome it was learning how to drive a simple car, and I imagined the stress born from trying to not make any terrible mistake in the process increased by numerous times.

But from the way the ship soft-drifted just once or twice through the path to our destination without ever coming close to tip over, and hardly reaching a situation that could endanger us in any dangerous stunt, I was certain the spirit knew what he was doing with this particularly delicate job.

Once again, I was being reminded of how good this little spirit was with technology and anything related to it.

The road we were going for was mostly uneven, with various small obstacles making the ship shake from time to time along the path. Despite these tiny complications, the wheels worked masterfully through the irregular terrain and I found myself wondering how many sacrifices were made to create this vehicle.

The ship was advanced, there was no denying it, but the design didn't feel even close to what the Empire seemed to be going for. Which prompted me to think that this was possibly an original 'Prism-made' vehicle.

The idea was standing on some shaky theories, but since this ship had been active for more than just a couple of decades, I could see it being a possible truth.

Two hours went by just like that, thinking about the situation through the small details available along the way, or even making some theories over Apogeo, the Empire, and how Prism was destroyed. A planet wasn't certainly going to die without some weapons being used, and I was quite sure that neither the Empire nor Prism had any long-range weaponry installed in their battleships.

So how was it destroyed? Could it be that the Emperor was a powerful magic user?

Maybe, just maybe.

Soon this little monotonous scene was shattered when the ship started its final 'lap' to reach the destination.

I found myself blinking when the jungle started to disappear from our sight, and I realized that it was a clear sign that the fast-moving vehicle was arriving at the rocky zone of the planet devoid of plants and fauna.

I would've expected for it to take more hours, but I guess the pace was just fast enough to blitz the path in that 'little time'.

“Come on..." I muttered under my breath, my quiet whispering getting Addie's attention as her green eyes gave me a tense look.

Her lips parted, but words didn't leave at first. I glanced at her as I noticed this, but she turned away as she thought about some proper words to say.

Finally, the young woman nodded and finally spoke.

“It's working."

Nodding slowly, I allowed the few words to sink deep in my brain before speaking back.

“Let's not… jinx it."

The Coyote Prime frowned at my response, but reluctantly agreed to it.

“However this goes down, we will be fine," I decided to continue, drawing her attention once more on me. “I promise you this, Addie."

A beautiful smile adorned her visage, but just as I finished to say these, we were finally granted some good news.

“Lift off procedure will start in five minutes," Archie announced distractedly, his golden eyes not even turning to glance at us as he went on through the final steps of that dreadful situation.

Nodding at the development, I leaned back on my chair, planning to ease my guarded stance a little bit as I prepared for this go through without any issues.

Still, I tensed up as I felt something soft wrap around my open palm. At first I studied its warmth and its familiar form, but soon enough I turned to see what it was.

Addie squeezed her hand over mine, with her stare directed in front of her. I blinked, quite surprised by this strange action but… I squeezed back, just enough to try and show my understanding of her uneasiness. From the tiny smile appearing on her face, I was sure she appreciated the tiny amount of support in that simple gesture.

At least it was a sure thing in that predicament filled with uncertainty.

The ship started to rumble, its wheels retracting back on the proper compartments as the propellers started to heat up and push the vehicle off the ground. The stabilizers reacted just in time to avoid any accidents mid-process, and soon the ship went on through the standard liftoff procedure.

A sigh left my lips as the ship left the planet's atmosphere and quickly flew out of the blockade as fast as it could.

“As of now, I can't detect any ships moving to intercept us," Archie announced with a relieved tone. “We did it, boss."

Adela smiled, turning to glance at me with a mirthful look. “I guess I was right to trust you with this."

Frowning, I wasn't able to rebuke that one as I saw her hand leave mine and her finger quickly pressing on the tip of my nose.

“Sparring session, Theo. I need to get this nervousness out one way or another," The young woman stated, her smile widening as I stared at her finger. “And the day is long, so expect this session to last up until lunchtime."

Retracting her finger, she gave a quick giggle as my confusion made my face even more hilarious for her to stare at without a genuine amused reaction. Then she stood out of her chair before quietly walking out of the cockpit.

And I was left to question what had just happened with the other occupant of the cockpit.

I turned to Archie, and Archie stared at me with the same confused look I had on my face.

“What just happened?" I finally muttered and the spirit shrugged.

“I don't know, boss."

“Did she just… boop my nose or what?"

He grinned a little bit, but he still shrugged.

“Dunno."

Sighing in frustration as I failed to once more read her mood, I stood out of my chair and started to make my way towards the gym room.

For some reason, I knew that while she looked this happy, the sparring was going to be fairly tough and intense from her part.

_ Hopefully, I'm not going to get beaten with that blasted stick again. 'Training my reflexes' my sore butt… _

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“Captain, we have their signal. From their speed, they don't seem to have noticed our trailing just yet."

It had been a surprise when the detection system within her smaller ship had found about the escaping remnants of Prism. The tiny group that survived the Imperial assault the day before.

Her lips arched in a devious smile as she pondered about this curious turn of events, unwilling to give the full responsibility to good luck. There was in fact a reason why she had asked to have her ship already deployed and quite close to the planet.

And that was why she had inquired about this 'strange' disposition.

The commander of the main ship she was assigned to, while having heard some foul rumors against her from the always infuriating General Minos, had decided against limiting her means to act against their preys.

Glory, Pride, Honor.

These were things that led her to pursuit a career in this stupid military, and the fact that she was born to be fighting against strong opponent just made this very moment her birthright all along.

Sighing happily, Captain Carmesi of the Empire mused over her current opportunity.

On the one hand, she had the means to finally clear her name for once and get a promotion out of this. The Emperor was going to reward her profusely if she managed to exterminate what's left of the Queen's entourage, and perhaps give her the rank of General.

That would've been enough to finally stabilize her reputation and hinder any chances of her irking superior from making any attempts to undermine her legitimacy as a proud warrior of the Empire.

The Fox Prime didn't fight her way through the ranks just to be stalled by some good-for-nothing moralist. The blasted bastard was going to have a stroke when she ended up killing the Queen and what is left of Prism.

The ultimate proof of loyalty to the cause… or maybe the best way to ruin her career as a whole if she somehow failed to succeed.

The chances of her losing against any of the Queen's guard was abysmal. Her power had increased immensely since she last fought against that infuriating Roland, and there was no way she was going to lose that brawl again.

Not with the stakes adding against her.

Another offense being reported would see her either banished or outright executed.

Both choices were unwanted by the ambitious Captain, thus she knew that she had to put herself in this gamble if she wanted to win through the adversities.

“Ma'am, should we report to General Minos our discovery or-"

“Contact Commander Murdow and say that we are going to patrol the planet," She ordered sternly, interjecting her subordinate. “Mention just an intuition-driven checkup, nothing to be concerned about. He will articulate it so that the Bullhead will think it's an order forced by him onto me."

Murdow was just a fool that was easy to manipulate as he was easy to fool around with his own sense of honor. Give him a branch and he shall return with an entire tree.

Truly pathetic.

“Meanwhile we're going to-"

“Keep on following the ship, yes," Carmesi snapped with a hint of irritation, her light-blue eyes narrowing at the nuisance. “And I hope this will be the last of this petty suggestion game, recruit."

“Y-Yes, Si- I mean, ma'am!" He saluted tensely as he realized his own mistake, the Narakhan quickly rushing away from being grilled any further by his superior.

Seriously, why couldn't any of her minions be genuinely decent at their simple jobs?!

One would think that the Emperor would've chosen the smartest of the Narakhans to go through the simple tasks of keeping ships flying and working properly.

And yet she was stuck with a bunch of idiots that needed to have their hands held to do something at least good with their poor skills.

Truly disappointing, but she couldn't exactly complain this to anyone without being branded a traitor.

The curse of keeping the Empire 'strong', without fixing the jarring issues within its military.

Another sigh left her lips, but soon her irritation melted away as she got hold over the small box holding her upgraded blades.

She opened it, smiling giddily and eagerly to test her improved daggers by drawing some blood from her enemies.

Yes, she could see it becoming a glorious bloodbath.

And her blood was already warming up at the incredible battle that one was going to be.

_ Yes, that battle was going to be memorable. _

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AN

Next time, a memorable brawl indeed!