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The Battlefield of Chaos

After travelling for two more extra days, while avoiding or otherwise trying to find a way to sort out the dangers and weird things beyond the tear, they finally reached the proper center of the galaxy, which was a ringed planet of sorts. Scans on the planet indicated that it had breathable atmosphere for almost every Federation race (Except the Aqura, for obvious reasons). St. Vincent, Wind of Change, Azure Dragon, and the rest of the fleet reached the planet and were surrounding it. With the size of their fleet, it was clearly overwhelming for the planet, but as most of the fleet was not used for combat, they were set away in safer space, with spaceships to accommodate their protection, some that the main fighters could spare.

And thus, they finally reached their destination, a planet among exploding stars. It was very peculiar as the planet did not seem to be orbiting a star or any stronger gravitational field. It was there, rotating on its axis, without even moving. It was also a peculiar case of a lone planet far from any immediate danger of supernova, despite the space around it being bright with these exploding stars in different stages of time. Thus, it was dubbed the Impossible Planet.

The planet itself seemed to be populated, but not by indigenous life. In fact, when they looked at it, most, if not all the civilizations on the planets were a mismatched group of populations from different eras and different realities. As the surface of the planet was twice the size of Terra, it had more than they bargained for.

There was no way to see the surface of the planet clearly, so they assembled an away team from each ship. The Wind of Change, being a small ship, could land on the planet, as did the Azure Dragon, its ‘sister’ ship. They picked a landing spot where the other ships would land and set up a command center for them. The Wind of Change flew in first, then followed by the other ships. They expected danger, so everyone was armed.

On the St. Vincent, the visitors from other realities volunteered to follow the away team, as they had combat experience, one they had proven. As they would be on a terrestrial environment, it should not be a problem for them. They used a smaller scout craft to land on the planet, as St. Vincent was not designed to land on a planet’s surface.

Reaching the plateau, the Wind of Change found that it was a savannah, but with not many animals. They flew down and tried to land before they were surprised by something flying near them, almost crashing on them. Capisa and Seiryu’s hard maneuver saved them from disaster, and they landed safely. They quickly tried to see what almost hit them, and to their surprise, they met a dragon.

“Are you bloody mad?!” exclaimed the rider. “You could’ve hit us with that bloody flying machine!”

“We can say the same with you,” said Dairyu.

“A draconian,” said the dragon, surprised. “Hans, he’s a draconian.”

“A draconian, eh?” said Hans. “He’s one of those legendary beings you talked about? Still, he needs to learn how to fly properly.”

“Oh, don’t mind that! Forgive his brashness, draconian. He’s just very protective of me.”

“Noted. I’d be mad if someone fly in front of me like that. Anyway, my name is Dairyu. You?”

“Hans,” said Hans. “Oh, and she’s Azureath.”

“Hello.”

“Azureath. An azure dragon,” said Dairyu with a smile. “It fits you.”

“Thanks.”

Capisa and the others walked out of the ship and saw the two as the ship from St. Vincent landed nearby. The first to come out was Ifrit, who wanted to assess the situation, when he noticed Hans. He then gasped in surprise.

“You’re here, too?!” exclaimed Ifrit.

“I’m sorry, but…do I know you?” asked Hans.

“You’re Hans, right? Hans Rezmirn?”

“How do you know my name? Who the hell are you?”

“Hans, calm down,” said Azureath. “I suppose they are also lost.”

She then turned towards the new landing party, and noticed some draconians coming out of them. Two seemed oddly familiar, but she did not know that they were draconians, too.

“Hello, there,” asked Azureath. “You seem to be a foreign group. I reckon you’re also stranded here?”

“Not really. We fly down here.” Raithorakh then noticed the familiar insignia. “So, you’re one of the Order?”

“Yes, although I felt like we’re the only one here,” replied Azureath. “Who are you? It seems like everyone knows who we are.”

“I don’t know you personally, but that symbol is enough to tell me that you’re an ally. We’ll explain everything to you, but right now, we need to set up a base.”

“While we’re at it, it might be better to know the situation here,” said Dairyu. “Care to explain?”

“I might. Where do we start?” Hans pondered about it for a moment. “Oh, yes. We were travelling from Pol Hain harbor to Xici kingdom for a courier service when a tear in the sky opened to a different world, where we ended up, which is here. We were baffled, surprised by how the scenery could abruptly change, when we saw the sky. Believe me when I say the sky’s beautiful, yet scary at the same time. It’s magnificent, but also dangerous.

“We flew for a while until we reached a city of sorts, but it quickly became apparent that everyone in it was confused. They apparently had never seen a dragon before, and they quickly became hostile. We thought they were dragon slayers, so we prepared to fight when this rat person walked in front of them and stopped them from attacking us. It was clear that he had a certain influence on them, but he wasn’t the only one. His friend, a wolf, came and talked everyone down, but quickly turned his gun on us, saying that he did not trust us or something like that.

“They never saw dragons before, only hearing it from kobolds about them. Also, they met other dragons before, but they were clearly hostile and tried burning down the whole city. The rat saw me on Azureath and quickly thought that we’re different, so…”

“They thought she’s under control since you’re her rider,” said Dairyu. “Their kind of trust is weird, if you ask me.”

“Not as weird as meeting a couple of hellhounds, if you ask me,” said Hans, turning towards Ifrit. “You’re hardly the first.”

“You mean, there are others like us?”

“Except they are dangerously hostile and we’re forced to back off. As if they day’s getting weirder, we saw a city appearing right in front of us, then a flying machine suddenly flew in front of us. Look, draconian, I have a pretty rough day, so, pardon the rudeness.”

“I guess you can say the same for us, too,” said Dairyu. “And also, talking about my experience can take a lot of time, so let’s leave it at that. I won’t hold you if you have something to do, and I guess we’re sorry, too.”

“We don’t have anything particular to do, so do you mind if we stay around here?”

“Not at all,” said Dairyu.

But it wasn’t the last surprise both Hans and Azureath were expecting. More ships slowly came down from beyond the clouds, each carrying different races that was fantastical on their own as they were in a group. Both had never seen shark-people (or similar to that), so they interested them. Azureath, however, was more interested in meeting with the draconians, which interested her more. She had never thought a human-sized dragon could exist, and many of them.

What interested her even more was Dairyu, who was clearly not a Western draconian, but was an Eastern one. She asked a lot of things, but then quickly changed her mind when it was apparent that Dairyu was busy. She then asked Raithorakh, Seraphor, and Avila, three draconians originating from her own reality. To her surprise, the three were the dragons that were declared a lost cause, with Raithorakh clearly dead and both Seraphor and Avila missing.

“How long have we been declared missing?” asked Seraphor, wanting to know what time period she originated from.

“Barely 25 years ago,” she replied. “There is a statue dedicated for both of you in Pol Hain. It was quite a sight, really. You two were very young when you disappeared, and I was thinking ‘what a shame’.”

“It is,” said Seraphor with sympathy. “How about you? You sound like an old dragon, yet you look young. A hundred years old at most.”

“I’m almost a thousand years old, but yes, I do look like I’ve just lived for a century.” Her expression then became solemn. “I…prefer not to discuss my missing life.”

“Then let’s change the subject, shall we?” said Raithorakh, sensing a traumatic past. “This is about your rider, Hans.”

“What of him?”

“He seems to be a foreigner. Ifrit, the hellhound, recognized him. Did he come from Ternor, by any chance?”

“Why, yes! How do you know? He’s one of a group of explorers braving the sea to get to our continent. Does the news spread that quick? We have just arrived a month ago!”

“A month is a long time, old one,” said Seraphor. Somehow, it caused Azureath’s mood to change.

“I may have claimed to be more than a thousand years old, young one, but I can assure you. My heart and my body is barely a hundred years old,” said Azureath with a slight bit of annoyance.

“Alright, alright, calm down,” said Seraphor. “Geez. She’s a sassy one, isn’t she?”

“What’s that?”

“Oh, never mind,” said Seraphor with a sigh. “Anyway, let’s go back with the sci-fi lot and see what we can do for them.”

Meanwhile, back at the command post, the Azure Dragon finally landed, baffling everyone on the ground. It was nearly identical with the Wind of Change except some noticeable differences: it was never retrofitted, rusting, and all together almost falling apart. Unlike the Wind of Change, which had not been used for almost a decade, the Azure Dragon was continuously used, seeing action against the Terran Empire, or so the alt. Dairyu explained to Pritchard when prompted. The prime Dairyu managed to give a simple explanation of them being from a different reality.

“And in that reality, you are the captain that was trying to destroy a planet for refusing the empire’s demands,” said alt. Dairyu. “Given your manners, it’s clear that you’re not him.”

“Was?”

“He’s dead.” He then bared his claws. “Shove these right through his chest, with his heart still beating on my hand. Never should’ve played me as a fool, huh, Belford? You…”

“Alright, that’s enough,” said prime Dairyu. “I suggest you keep for yourself for now and await new orders.”

“We don’t do orders.”

“Yes, you have yourself as your own leader, but please understand. You’re not in your reality at the moment. And, uh, just to be clear, are you monologuing?”

“I cherish in my victories, my counterpart. One more nail to the empire’s coffin is like a good feast.”

“Well, then…uh, maybe you should wait. Also…ah, never mind.”

Alt. Dairyu left the two. As he walked away, Pritchard, who was holding his breath, exhaled sharply and gasping. He never would’ve thought of a reality where he was a dangerously deranged man.

“My god, Dairyu,” said Pritchard. “What the hell has he been through? And me as a mass murderer? What…”

“Let’s not make things even more complicated from now, Pritchard. Whatever it is, at least we know your counterpart is dead, and he’s understanding enough to know you’re not his enemy.”

“All these parallel universes and such really starts to erode my sanity.”

“Hold on to it a bit more, captain. We are expecting trouble.”

Sure enough, right after he said that, one of the crewmen said, “Captain! Large group of movement west of us. I think they’re advancing towards our position.”

“Is the perimeter force field active?”

“We need a couple more minutes before it reaches full power, but it should be…”

Laser blasts flew over them as everyone ducked and ready for a fight. They got themselves ready for anything, taking cover in strategic positions.

“We don’t have the luxury of time! Get that shield up now!”

As if trying to hamper their progress, a war cry was heard opposite of where the lasers came from. It was from the direction of the big group of people. Azureath and Hans flew up to see the situation better, but was only met with surprise and confusion.

They landed afterwards, knowing how vulnerable they were. Pritchard, who noticed their actions, approached them and said, “Situation report. What’s out there?”

“We’re surrounded,” said Hans. “There are armies of different kinds out there. They look like they are preparing for a battle. If they all charge, we’ll be right in the middle of it.”

“Weapons? Did you see their weapons?”

“The ones far east carry firearms made out of steel or iron. I can’t be sure,” said Azureath. “They seem to be wearing some bizarre clothes, not dissimilar with yours.”

“They’re the one with laser guns. How about the others?”

“Typical knights and footmen. They can be easily dealt with, but we are concerned with the soldiers carrying these laser guns you mentioned.”

“They’re far beyond your abilities,” said Pritchard. “Leave them to us. Concentrate on the ones you can…”

“Captain! We detected something! It’s a flying craft!”

A combat helicopter arrived and hovered just over the shield’s perimeter. It was a late 20th century helicopter complete with gunners, and they were very aware that they were facing an unknown threat. The spaceship crew quickly became confused with everything that’s happening around them, but it was nothing more dangerous than what came next.

In fact, the whole planet was like a patchwork world, with cultures and histories not synchronous with each other. One patch of the world was a barren wasteland full of destroyed buildings and abandoned ones. One patch was a feudal era world, and another side was another different era, culture, and so on. However, all those differences were a distraction to something they had in common.

They were all very important as they directly affected the degradation of dimensions. The creation of the impossible planet was a ‘coping mechanism’ to prevent the total collapse of all realities, which would eventually reset the whole universe.

It had been meticulously engineered by the extra-dimensional being, and he would not be disturbed. The whole chaos would help him. It would be to his desire.

The only problem with his plan, however, was the fleet. Many times he had tried hampering their progress, only for them to succeed in continuing their journey. Now, they had reached the planet, with allies they recruited apparently so easily. He was also interested with his allies. They seemed to expect what happened, and was well-prepared instead of questioning it.

That was when he finally found the conclusion, and his true enemy.

The universe itself was trying to hamper his progress. No, he thought. If the universe wants a fight, then a fight he will get. In fact, what’s some third-dimensional beings could do against him, anyway?

He resumed his work, determined to succeed, and to see what’s beyond the universe, after its end.