The mechanical bay aboard the starlight was massive. Rows of smaller class starships from D to B lined the left and right sides. Futuristic tools hovered in magnetic racks along the walls. Older, rusted ones were scattered across workbenches. Blueprints floated above several stations, displaying rotating holograms of ship engines, hyperdrives, warp drives, thruster cores, and at least three bomb designs that had J-Boom written all over them in bright orange and green markers.
At the far wall near the bay's entrance was a smaller lounge-like room sealed behind a transparent glass panel. Inside, Nara sat with her arms folded and leaned back on a floating sofa. Jinx leaned back in a chair, boots on the table. Rorik stood with his arms crossed near the wall, head nearly touching the four meter tall ceiling, and Sylas sat across from them in a separate chair.
Rorik scratched his jaw, looking toward Sylas.
"Yo man, you were serious about that guardian thing not being near its well?"
"No. I speak no lies about such a matter as that. The guardian wandered far beyond where it should have been able to exist. It fought freely, thought freely, and grew stronger throughout the battle."
His red eyes narrowed slightly.
"When we first engaged it, its CPI and strength was somewhere around a C-ranked head guardian. By the end, it had reached low B-rank."
Jinx's boots slowly slid off the table.
"Hold on." She interrupted.
"And Kaito was beating that thing? The kid was just fighting for his life in the tournament not too long ago against people weaker than that. How in the stars did he get that strong so fast?"
"He wasn't just beating it." Nara said quietly.
Her eyes lowered slightly, as if she was watching the fight all over again. Everyone looked at her.
"He was destroying it." She continued.
"Easily at that. I watched his essence jump from just under two hundred thousand CPI to over a million… then back down again. Multiple times." She said.
"It wasn't like a normal boost in essence either. His body kept breaking every time he used it, but he kept going."
Her red eyes sharpened.
"And when that guardian transformed into that crystal-winged form, he still managed to put a hole through it with some small white ball of essence from his finger."
Jinx blinked.
"A ball?"
Nara held up her fist.
"It was smaller than my fist. But I've never felt heat like that in my life. Ever…"
Her gaze drifted toward the floor.
"It was the same when he fought Aqua on my world. That white essence of his… what type of power is that?"
Rorik looked toward Sylas.
"And after all that… that's when the guardian inside him took over his body?"
Sylas nodded.
"Yes."
"And absorbed the other guardian with his eye?"
Sylas nodded again.
"Yes."
Jinx and Rorik slowly looked at each other in utter disbelief. Neither was sure what to say.
Meanwhile, in the medical bay, the air was thick and hot. Kaito sat shirtless on the floating medical bed, staring up at the towering figure standing a few feet in front of him. Aqua stood frozen off to the side, her fins twitching slightly. Elysia stood closer to Kaito, her usual smile still present, but not as bright nor bubbly as before.
The heat rolling from Ignis wings made up of fire filled every corner of the room. Kaito's CPI scanner flickered to life in his eye before he even thought to activate it.
Ignis: 50,000,000 CPI
"Fifty… mill—"
The thought died before it could fully form.
Ignis stepped forward.
Each step sounded heavy despite the smooth floor beneath them. Fire trailed faintly from the wings on its back.
Kaito's body went stiff.
The massive armored being stopped right in front of him. He slowly looked up, his brown eyes meeting the two burning eyes beneath Ignis's helmet.
In that short moment, he felt like a deer staring into the headlights of a speeding truck and he could do nothing about it.
Ignis then turned its head slightly, its gaze shifted to Elysia.
Elysia's smile remained, but her pink skin glowed subtly.
Ignis stared into her green eyes for a long moment, then it turned, this time toward Aqua.
Aqua flinched slightly. The fins on the side of her head twitched again, faster this time.
Ignis stared into her icy-blue eyes longer than it had stared at Elysia.
Much… much longer. So long in fact, Kaito looked between the two, his brows scrunching together.
"Uh… what exactly is going—"
"Hold your questions for now." Elara cut him off.
Her voice was calm, but there was no softness in it. Kaito remained quiet.
Aqua stood completely still as Ignis continued to stare at her, the heat around the room making the air shimmer. Her webbed fingers slowly curled into her palms, but she didn't look away.
Finally, Ignis turned its head back to Kaito and spoke.
Its voice was feminine, but deep and regal.
"I see…"
Ignis took several steps back and Elara stepped forward in its place, her red eyes moving between three of them before finally settling on Kaito first.
"Do you know how long you've been a yoki?" She asked bluntly.
Kaito blinked. The question came out so sudden that he didn't respond right away.
"I…I found out the same time everyone else did."
Elara's eyes didn't leave his.
"How many cosmic wells did you venture into growing up on Thalos?"
Kaito's body stiffened slightly.
"Wells?" He repeated, quietly shocked by how fast she moved to the next question.
Elara said nothing, just waited for his response.
"I never explored any wells while on Thalos. Not on purpose anyway. The only one I ever really went inside was the one where I met Finn and all of you."
His gaze lowered slightly.
"Farro forbade me from venturing too far outside the city limits growing up."
"Why?" Elara asked.
Kaito looked back up to her.
"Because Thalos was a lawless world. Most of the land outside the city limits was run by underground gangs, rogue star travelers, pirates, and whoever else had the most power or money. It was basically a free for all out there. And me being human… I would've stood out like a sore thumb. Target number one."
Elara watched him as he answered. Not just his face though. Her eyes moved subtly, scanning his shoulders, chest, arms, neck, abdomen, legs. As if searching for something.
Then her red eyes shifted to Elysia.
"During his rehabilitation, did you ever notice a seal placed anywhere on his body?"
"No. I did not." Elysia replied softly.
Elara's eyes narrowed faintly.
"I see…"
The medical bay went quiet again.
"Why did you tell the exam organizer to withhold Kaito's exam footage from me?"
Even with Ignis's heat filling the medical bay, the temperature somehow felt like it spiked higher at the question. Kaito's brows lifted slightly as he looked over to Elysia.
Elysia's smile stayed even.
"I don't believe it would be wise to share information about my captain's abilities…" She said sweetly.
"Especially when he's to battle you soon."
Elara's expression didn't change.
"You seem to forget something. Kaito is still a member of my crew as of this moment."
Her gaze sharpened.
"As are you."
Elysia said nothing as the two stared into each other's eyes.
The silence stretched for a long moment until Elara held out a hand.
"Give me the footage."
Elysia looked down to her hand for a beat, then her smile grew slightly.
"No." She responded.
Kaito didn't even see Ignis move. Neither did Aqua.
One moment, it stood several steps behind Elara. The next instance, the tip of a long great-katana hovered an inch from Elysia's neck.
The blade was nearly the length of Kaito's entire body, wrapped in the same flames that burned along its wings and eyes.
Elysia froze stiff with her head raised as the crackles from the burned her throat and under her chin.
Ignis stared down into her green eyes, the flaming blade steady at her throat.
"Do you think this is some silly game, little girl?" Ignis asked.
Her deep feminine voice filled the room.
Elysia's pink skin began to glow brighter and her lips trembled. A small whimper slipped from her throat as tears welled in her eyes almost instantly. Kaito's eyes shot wide open.
"Wait!"
He snapped forward, almost falling off the floating medical bed.
"I'll give you the footage."
Elara's red eyes shifted to him.
She raised one hand and the flaming sword vanished from reality like it was never there.
Elysia dropped forward immediately, burying her face into Kaito's arms as she slouched onto the floating bed beside him. Her body trembled against him.
Kaito wrapped one arm around her instinctively, still staring at Elara.
Elara's voice remained cold.
"Where is it?"
Kaito swallowed.
"I have it. But… I'll only give it to you under one condition."
Elara's eyes narrowed.
"What condition?"
His grip around Elysia tightened slightly.
"I'll give it to you if you beat me in our fight."
Elara stared at him for a moment. There was no surprise nor anger on her face. It was almost as if she expected him to say something like that.
"Kaito…" She began, voice calmer than before.
"I really need you to understand that this is a serious matter. You could be at risk from more than just the guardian inside of you. Your own power could be just as dangerous."
Kaito didn't look away from her. Elara's gaze softened just barely.
"You're strong in many regards, not just physically. Since leaving the academy a few stellar cycles ago and throughout most of my life, there have been very few people or things that made me feel threatened by defeat. That's because of the power I was born with. For a long time, I believed I was cursed with it. I felt isolated most of my life because of it."
Her fingers curled slightly at her side.
"And I hated it."
Kaito's expression shifted slightly.
"I hated every single moment of it…" She continued quietly.
"Despite that, even I could hardly fathom someone given your circumstances maintaining the ideology that you do. When Talon and I heard the story of your upbringing from Farro in the orphanage… and your dream to become the King of the Stars…"
She paused.
"We both knew you were special."
Kaito's eyes widened slightly.
"So I took you onto my crew for a singular purpose. To be my rival. And for me to be yours so that we push each other to our goals forcibly."
Elara's red eyes stayed locked onto his.
"I believe in you, Kaito. I really do, but even the strongest are bound to fall. It is only a matter of when. Not if."
Her gaze dropped to the crystal dangling from his necklace. The pink and light purple gem rested against his chest beside the black draconic claw.
"I know she's not the best at communicating things, but Talon gave you that because she… she cares about you and she probably believes in you more than I do."
Kaito's hand drifted toward the crystal without realizing it. He stared down at the crystal for a long moment and his face tightened as he took in her words thinking back to his conversation with Talon before the exams.
Then he felt Elysia trembling in his arms. He looked down and saw her pink skin still glowing faintly and tears rolled down her cheeks as she clung to him, face half-buried against his side.
"I understand your concerns and I really appreciate you, Talon, and the rest of the crew for believing in me. I really do. You're all my family and nothing will ever change that."
His arm tightened around her and he looked back up to Elara.
"But I also believe in Elysia. I believe in Aqua too."
Elara's eyes widened subtly. Kaito's voice stayed calm, but there was no hesitation in it.
"If you believe I'm truly in danger, then beat me. Beat me and prove to me that I'm wrong." He said, eyes locking with hers.
"That we're wrong."
The two maintained eye contact for a long moment before Elara finally spoke.
"Very well. I accept."
Elara didn't waste any time. She turned her attention toward Aqua.
"Have any other memories about Lucifer or the Grand Order returned to you?"
Aqua's fins twitched.
"No." She said softly.
"What I told you all earlier is everything I can remember."
Elara's eyes narrowed faintly.
"The body swapping you mentioned. How can you confirm that is true?"
Aqua hesitated.
"I can't confirm it for certain, but that is what Sera mentioned to me. And I remember being assigned to infiltrate worlds with high elven populations and low technological advancement. It reduced the chance of us being caught."
Elara watched her quietly. Aqua's webbed fingers curled in her lap.
"And somewhere in this galaxy… there is a laboratory filled with elves captured for him by members of the Grand Order."
Elara's expression didn't change.
"How long can Lucifer remain in one body before needing to switch to another?"
Aqua shook her head.
"I don't know."
"What happens to the individual whose body is taken?"
Aqua's face turned grim.
"I don't know that either. But… it's likely they don't survive." She replied quietly.
Elara followed up immediately.
"Does that have anything to do with the ability you mentioned? The one that can erase things or people from existence?"
Aqua visibly strained as she tried to think. Her fins twitched faster and her brows pressed together.
"I honestly don't know." She said.
Her voice softened.
"But I believe that's why I can't remember a lot of things."
Elara's red eyes sharpened.
"You believe that ability was used on you, Sera, and the others in your old crew as well?"
Aqua nodded.
"Yes, I think so. Sera mentioned something once about knowing someone powerful who could make my bad memories and thoughts go away."
"Why would she need to erase your memories?"
Aqua's lips parted.
"I…"
She stopped.
Her webbed hands started trembling in her lap.
"I–I don't…"
Her breathing grew uneven.
"I don't know…"
Her webbed hands tightened against each other in her lap.
"I don't know. I don't know…"
Elara looked ready to ask another question, but the ship's intercom chimed and Viro's voice crackled through the room.
"Captain Elara. We are approaching planet K-7. The estimated touchdown will be tomorrow morning."
Elara's gaze lifted slightly.
"Roger. Thank you, Viro."
The intercom clicked off. Kaito looked over to her.
"K-7…? That's not Jinx's homeworld. Why are we going there?"
Elara turned back toward him.
"We're making a quick stop to a cosmic well before we arrive in Starfall City. And when we do…" She continued, voice calm as she locked eyes with him.
"We're going to need you for something extremely important."