The ballroom was filled with three giant, color-coded women the size of skyscrapers. The crystal gems, Tennysons, and the Diamonds remained on the floor, looking up at the ceiling.
Benita lay on the floor, her jaw resting on her arms. Her eyes remained fixed on the still art of the space itself. Staring up at the naked ceiling.
"Are they not back yet?" The girl in the black-and-white shirt spoke.
"If they were, I'd have cried tears of joy." Amethyst remained on the floor on her back, with her hands stretched to the stars.
"They'll be back." Gwen kept her gaze on the ceiling, using Benita's back as a neck pillow. "We need a little patience."
"Precisely." Blue Diamond spoke up. "Your grandfather is someone I pledge my allegiance to. He'll be back."
Pink Pearl shot up from the floor.
"Before he does, can we play? I promise to go easy. I choose Freeze tag! Let's play! Let's play!" She snapped her head around the floor, over everyone sprawled out but Pearl.
"Alright." Steven rose to his feet.
Pink Pearl gasps with stars in her eyes.
"It'll be an honor."
The bronze doors creaked open, revealing a Peridot with limb enhancers. Albedo remained perched on her shoulder, surveying the group lying on the floor before standing up.
"Diamonds," Albedo said to the giants awaiting his speech. "If this is not too much, I request a ride to Earth. I have an awaiting vehicle and would like to return to it."
"Wait! It's not even midnight." Pearl stood to her feet. "Give us more time. I'm willing to wager their return will be sooner than you think."
"My apologies. But the many days I spent without contact with my master, that thought still lingers."
"We can establish a line due to our lack of consideration." White Diamond held herself from the floor.
"You provided enough." Albedo touches his chest while raising his hand. "And this request. That's all I asked."
"Please." Gwen interlocked her fingers. "Just wait a while longer. You don't know how much Will needs this."
"And that offer still stands," Albedo answered. "But it will be taken elsewhere."
Gwen drops to her knees.
"Hey!" Benita called out to her cousin, who kept her gaze on the Galvan.
"What do you want me to do?" Gwen breathed out, looking up at Albedo with her green eyes. "You need an assistant? You got one. I know my way around algebra theorems and scientific equations. I'm first in my spelling bee. I know three different languages. I promise you. I'll understand whatever you give me."
"I'm sorry." Albedo looks down on her.
"NO! No! No." Gwen slaps her chest. "I beg of you. I'm useful!" She shakes her head, looking to the ground. "You don't know it, but I am." Her watery eyes locked on Albedo. "I'm bored. There's nothing on my planet."
"Stop." Benita grabs Gwen's arm, only for her to break free.
"One intelligent being to another. There's never enough knowledge."
"Lesson one," Albedo spoke. "A promise is made from the heart, to whom it may concern. A solid one is unbreakable as its bonds are far from the eye. I'm sorry." He looks at the diamonds.
"I will send an escort," White Diamond's black lips turn into a frown. "All I asked is that you won't forget what Anthony has done."
"Among many, that's jumbled in my noggin. That's far from it."
"My diamond?" A peridot with limb enhancers raised her hand with her gaze to the floor.
"Go on." White diamond spoke.
"I only ask of you that I come along. I would love to learn more from Albedo before we part ways." She looks from the floor to the towering woman. "I can also be your extra eyes and ears." She lowered her voice before avoiding the eyes of Yellow, White, and Blue.
"You are your own gem. Your merits are for Albedo to decide."
"I'll allow it." Albedo looks up at White Diamond, which makes Peridot widen her eyes. "She's an interesting individual. I see a lot of myself in her."
"Is that so?" Blue Diamond tilts her head with a smirk, making Periot with limb enhancers blush.
"Good to know." Peridot scratches along her shaped jaw.
Albedo looked at everyone in the room. Pearl bit her lip, interlocking her fingers. Garnet removed her shades, revealing her three eyes: her left eye was a deep ruby red, her right a deep sapphire blue, and the third, comfortably situated above the two, was a deep purple. They are all begging.
Steven has his arms crossed, looking away.
"I'll acquaint you with our rubies and Jasper." Yellow Diamond spoke, earning a nod from the galvan.
"Without you all, I wouldn't be able to reunite with my master. I'm eternally grateful." Albedo bowed before looking at Benita with her arms crossed. "You continue to impress me. Like your grandfather, wisdom is passed down through generations, and if you follow this path, you shall become the next assessor."
The Galvan pats Peridot's neck. Peridot heads for the giant bronze door.
"This is not goodbye. Expect more of my presence, which is soon to come."
The door closed behind them while Peridot, with limb enhancers, continued past the guards guarding the door.
"I'm in awe you would like to continue our banter." Albedo voiced.
"You don't get this sort of opportunity in the Gem Empire." Peridot, with the limb enhancer, kept her eyes forward, down the hall.
"You don't believe this current reality?"
"Like our diamonds, we're willing to believe they'll go back to what they were. Tunneling a single desire only spells doom for monarchs who have spent millennia delivering an iron fist." Peridot breathed out before releasing a smirk. "I feel much better."
"Hmm...of course. Our sole purpose is to connect and, if possible, influence; let's hope Steven is as good as he seems. Let's head back to the lab and collect my belongings."
"Roger that, Commander."
"Commander. Right." Albedo smirked.
They continued down the hall to see two rubies and a Jasper. A ruby on the left of another ruby has a gem on its stomach, while on the right, there is a gem on the back of her left palm. Jasper's long, white, wild hair, which reached to the back of her knees, had bangs with a curve that blocked her eyes.
She remained quiet while Albedo and Peridot, with Limb enchancers, approached the trio standing outside the door of the lab.
"Boss!" The left-hand Ruby points her thumb back to herself. "YD gave us the scoop. And we'll watch your skies!" She cracks a toothy grin.
"You mean, back?" Stomach Ruby raised a brow.
"Potato. Potato."
"Is anyone working at the moment?" Albedo looks to Jasper.
"Sorry, boss. Our boss is spoken for. She's a nervous wreck." Left-hand Ruby looks to quiet Jasper, who nods at Albedo. "They are on mandatory temporary leave. I'll say take your time, but our Peridots are quite heated."
"Of course. This won't take long. Thank you." Albedo waved while Peridot (LE) entered the labs. "We're not grabbing much. So let's pick up the pace, yes?"
"Naturally." Peridot (LE) approached the black marble counters from the center of the operating table. "What do your eyes long for?"
"The package."
"Ah. Of course." Peridot (LE) reached under the counter before knocking along the wall.
A yellow steel compartment opened up, revealing a dark blue stainless steel ball. Peridot grabs the ball, hoisting the coconut-sized ball by her fingers, staring at her reflection.
"Bring it here." Albedo reached out his hand and pressed his fingers onto the ball. Yellow glowing outlines emerged from the ball and around his fingers before opening up, revealing the Omnitrix. "Keep it safe." His green eyes land on Peridot, nodding.
"I'd rather shatter than let this get into the wrong hands." Peridot watched the orb close up.
Pushing through the blaring cold winds, Rogue, Max, and Phil reached a large wooden double door painted orange, featuring an emblem of a single man with a curved sword raised over his head.
"Here!" Rogue shouts his teeth close tight. He approached the doors before them and pushed one open. The wind whistled past his ear, followed by hordes of snowflakes and nature's cold shoulder.
The green man's eyes look past the door, eyeing two rows of lined tables to the left of the dark room.
Max entered the room, followed by Phil, who aimed his rifle with shaky hands at the environment. Max helps Rogue close the door, closing off the planet's wraith only barely. The screams of the snowstorm pound along the wooden walls.
"This is the place?" Phil whispered, allowing his cold breath to escape from his lips.
"Uh." Rogue rubs his hands together before blowing into them.
The two lined tables stretched across from the left of the room and down to the right, adding eight more. Sixteen benches remained stationed at one table, while the rest were either missing or shattered along the brown wooden floor, scattered with orange and red rugs that shared the symbol from the front door.
The tables were flipped or in pieces, carrying deep and surface scars. Support beams remained between the rows, while several metal trays remained attached along the support beams and walls, carrying scorch piles of wood and ashes.
Followed by cooking stations with two Caludrons per station hanging over squared pits of coal and ash between support beams.
"This is the place." Rogue glance at Max and Phil throwing on their tactical glasses, their yellow lenses gleaming through the dark.
"Go on and turn back." Max stared from across the tables and down at the stretch window four tables wide, getting a glimpse of the kitchen.
"I would, and then we would be lost." Rogue cocked the shoulder of his WS Receiver, listening to it click while a whirl within the gun's glass barrel shaped into a ball forming into a grape-sized white sun.
"You have their memories." Rogue glowing white pupils spilled from his red lens goggles, staring at Max.
"See it as your RustBucket." Rogue eyes wander around the room, followed by the ex-plumbers. "I only know by its model, by its suspension, tire sizes, and maybe its engine type. When I step in." Rogue whistled while the trio kept their guns trained on the empty, messy mess hall. "I got the manual, baby. Though if I ever get out, let's hope I don't forget."
"Shut it. I'm pushing up." Phil strapped the rifle behind his back, grabbing his bulky pistol from his hip holster. He wandered along chips of wood and splinters along the wide red rug, carrying the symbol.
The ex-plumber aimed his gun towards the open frame of the mess hall, presenting a kitchen of wooden tables, clay pots along the wooden shelves, and on the floor, either smashed or intact.
A dead fireplace remained in the center of the kitchen along the wall.
Rogue followed after Phil, entering through the fourth row of mess hall dining tables. Max followed after Rogue.
Phil's black combat boots thud along the wood and rugs before walking around the spilled cauldron that left a large brown stain on the orange carpet and emblem.
The snowstorm continued to pound along the walls after the trio's weighted steps.
Phil took cover behind the right side of a car-sized open door frame, while Max positioned himself on the left. The ex-plumbers look to Rogue behind Max, nodding.
The trio storms into the open kitchen, their firearms aimed at the walls, which are covered with posters. Two sturdy wooden tables lie on their sides, littering the floor with shards of clay pots.
"You sure this is the place?" Phil lowered his bulky pistol.
"Righto, Captain." Rogue approaches the shelves on the right of the fireplace, moving and looking into various sizes of clay pots. "How about some faith, Phil?"
"There's a thing called trust, kid." Phil looks at the closed entrance to the mess hall, listening to Max's weighted steps that creak the boards. "I'm beginning to think you're leaning on them too much."
"What? No way." Rogue remarked.
"I'm on you if this is a waste of time."
"Hold on! Don't get your panties in a twist." The green man with red lens goggles looks over his shoulder, his white glowing pupils returning to his search.
Max's eyes roamed the wall and the posters.
Learn from A-zul.
Train the mind, body, and soul.
A smart man learn from his mistakes, but a wise one learn from others.
Max's eyes stop on a single poster.
Be the first to lead the charge!
In the center of the poster, two copies of Rogue are depicted with weapons in hand, charging at one another and aiming their chosen weapons.
The left carried an iron trident and a shield the size of a bowling ball attached to his arm. He has long, silky hair that spreads down from his neck, showing off his bulging chest and four-pack abs. The warrior's mouth remained open, teeth clenched.
The right carried twin black steel blades curved to a point. He has a black buzz cut, a metal plate in his left eye, and a four o'clock beard. The warrior's mouth remained open, screaming.
A-zul is watching.
"Ha! Ha!" Rogue laughed as a hollow click filled Max's ears. He turned to Phil, watching Rogue flip the floorboards by the fireplace aside. "Don't say I didn't do anything for you."
The green man smirked, raising an eyebrow at Phil and Max, who stood by his shoulders, looking down at the trapdoor that presented a stone staircase descending into the pits of darkness.
"Huh. I didn't expect that from an A-zul." Phil furrowed his brow at the trapdoor.
"Every syllable you pronounce of that name is how many fingers I'm going to break." Rogue bounces his brows.
"Anthony. Cut it out." Max glared at the Green Man, who smirked, raising his hands, while Phil only raised a brow, studying Rogue's face. "Where does this lead?"
"Give or take a hidden facility."
"Way out here?"
"In the name. Hidden facility."
'Rogue, cut it out.' Anthony's voice emerges within Rogue's head.
'You could be less you...I don't think this is going anywhere.' Edge voiced after, while Rogue looks at Max's famous glare. 'I can't believe you trust this green man over me.'
'Well, I'm not something that will emerge in some kid's nightmare, Slime ball.' Rogue replied.
'Don't call me that. And listen to the boy.'
'Slime ball, you are so wise.'
"Well, Age before merits." Rogue opened his hands towards the trap door.
"Don't get over your head." Max looks to Phil. "I'll lead the charge. Anthony. Your hat."
"Sorry?" Rogue cocked his head before blue and grey goo swarmed his head, emerging as Anthony's trapper hat.
'Don't catch a cold.' Edge remarked while Max and Phil traveled down the trap door.
'Don't make me fetch fire scout,' Rogue huffed, slapping the ear of his trapper hat before traveling down the trap door. 'Slime Ball.' He slams the trap door shut.
Rogue's environment grew white and grey, listening to the hollow steps and watching Phil and Max climb down the staircase leading to the pits of darkness.
'Rogue, is this a safe place?' Anthony filled his head.
'The last I checked. Yeah, but that's about somewhere between twenty and thirty years ago.'
'And how would you know about this secret door? The Fox back at RG?'
'Here's the short answer: you want a company to trust and rely on you? Work hard, keep your head down, and be smart - forget it. They always find something to pick at, no matter how effective and resilient you are.'
'Okay.'
'You? Effective and resilient?' Edge remarked while Rogue followed down the staircase after Max and Phil, forming a smirk.
'Unlike you. I don't need to rely on any species to stay alive. I have good old-fashioned brute force and brains.'
Will stood within the darkness, standing on the water up to the frames of his shoes. He looked down with his arms crossed at the sea of clear water, displaying a first-person view of Rogue following after Phil and Max.
'Brute force, maybe, but brains?' Edge continued.
"Edge, to make you feel better. You are my friend." The boy spoke before looking to Virgo, standing a shoulder's length away from him, looking down at the pool's image.
'That feels...a little better.'
Rogue snorted, getting Max and Phil's attention.
"Sorry. Nose is a little itchy." The trio continued down the steps. 'You're like a clingy little girlfriend.'
'Go play with your swords!' Edge gave an animalistic growl.
'I will.'
"You do know. If the Azul dies, you'll be given a single notion?" Virgo voiced his thoughts, his eyes glued to the image of the pool of water.
"He's an experienced warrior and merc. Rogue has everything under control."
"To give is understanding the route of your future, and to take is not knowing where it'll lead."
"Right." Anthony bites his lip, looking back at the image pool. Sneaking glances from the being made of stars back at the pool.
"You have something on your mind." Samuel, the giant green face of compassion, piques the boy's attention. "And there's no need to collect your thoughts."
"What's the Gate of the Decipher?"
Samuel breathed out with a warm smile.
"Among the gates, we seek opportunity, not prison. We debated our ordeals in the hope that they would be heard."
"Anyone caught breaking creation law will be sentenced within the gate if desired by our judge. And stripped of their abilities to face undying mortality." Sambrina, the face of Cunning, adds.
"When you entered, were you mortal?" Anthony raised a brow. "And by undying, you mean can be resurrected?"
"To become a decipherer, we must face significant challenges in combat, either by others who hold courage, imprisonment, or who found peace among their undesired arrangement." Sambrina, eyeless eyes, stared into the boy while the corner of her lip pinched. "What's with this boundless curiosity?"
"I'm coming to terms with this reality. Some of you come as harsh, but fair and distant." Virgo faced the boy cocking his head. "You all live a different life, and maybe I'm afraid," Anthony released a breath, lowering his gaze to the water along his shoes. "Till I understand, maybe we can find common ground."
"I'm entertained," Virgo spoke. "But, this will not jeopardize our deal."
"Of course." The boy nods, getting a glance from Samuel, smiling ear to ear.
"Go on." Virgo waved his hand before crossing them. "Speak."
"Is there a thing of religion real from where we speak?"
"Ugh! And this is the first you're willing to ask?" Virgo snorts. "There are pockets within dimensions, just like ours, that hold what you desire unless you exclude the ones who falsify or just create at a whim. Boy, if these are the questions you're willing to ask, we have a serious problem." Virgo watched as the boy slowly grew a grin. "BOY!"
Anthony jumps back, Virgo staring into his soul.
"Sorry! Sorry! What's wrong with what I asked?" He looked at Sambrina, who was gazing at him blandly, and Samuel lost his smile.
"You asked for answers. I'm giving it."
"My mistake." Will rubs his neck. "Since you're stripped of your powers, entering the gates. What's next? Fight the person next to you?"
"We are given flesh and blood, followed by masks that serve as gateways to a fraction of our abilities. We are transferred to the world where Beyond was born, where dirt, trees, sand, and an old civilization were in shambles. A lot like your world." Virgo put his arms behind his back while Will continued to listen in. "Without guidance, we seek violence either alone or together, and with that, we hone our mind, body, and soul. Bound by his world. Areas where death exists are where we seek his trial. By our willpower, we remerged as Deciphers."
"It's a test of faith? To Beyond." Anthony folds his arms.
"To our duty."
"This title is what binds and bands our realities; without it, we are lost, awaiting the chaos that will soon overwhelm our realities," Sambrina adds. "Your life doesn't matter compared to the rest."
"Of course," Will said under his breath, rubbing his neck. "Thanks for your service."
"I care." Samuel gave voice. "Remember, there's only two out of one vote."
"Right...thank you. Samuel." Anthony remarked.
"My honor." Samuel smiled.
"You said the gates are also a prison. Are there guards? Don't tell me they allow you to roam free of choice."
"As Virgo stated." Sambrina gained the eyes of Virgo and Samuel. "Our guidance is only for the punished or the lost who are willing to stand in our way. We gained wisdom through combat and schools."
Anthony lowers himself to the floor of the void, which is partially submerged in water. He felt the dry liquid cling to his palm and along the bottom of his pants, keeping dry.
The boy crossed his legs, looking up at the two giant green faces while Virgo wandered along the boy's line of sight.
"The Shadmen." Virgo continued. "Either bound for eternity or awaiting sentence. They are beacons of sanctuaries among Decipher their core teachings: Vohel, Pobea, Yala, Nukira, and Masum."
"Vohel is a bird's will to carefully perceive a realm's face of value." Samuel smiled ear to ear, attending to Will's ears. "Pobea an art to counter the weight of the world."
"Yala: Plant a seed and spread influence and security. Nukira: Allow great fortune and spiritual guidance to follow." Sambrina contiuned.
"Masum is a test of patience and wisdom." Virgo's feet hovered over the plain water, causing a ring to be sent across the calm seas. "They are our core values delivered by Iris, Cagdite, Dionysus, Ityx, and Nokphine. Followers of Beyond."
"They're still there?" Anthony cocked his head, furrowing his brows.
"Vaquish during MoonFall. And yet their teachings persist to this day." Virgo spoke.
"I'm sorry if I get this wrong, but they sound a lot like fighting styles."
"Don't be ashamed." Samuel cuts in. "Your thoughts are welcome. The core foundation of Dechiper is redundant without them."
"Enough." Virgo raised a hand. "The Azul required your attention."
Will looks over his shoulder and down into the image pool.
A loud bark erupts within the dark, empty space, followed by a shake. A bark forced Sunny to flinch in the cockpit chair.
Zed sprints out of the cockpit of the spaceship and enters the lounge and kitchen.
"Hey! What is it, girl?!" Peridot rushed out of her chair, jogging after her. "Zed!"
Sunny rose from her chair, interlocking her fingers, stretching her arms above her head.
"Seriously." She yawned, pacing out of the cockpit.
Sunny entered the corridor, which housed the kitchen and a bedroom. She noticed Peridot down the hall through the open door, and heading down the scaffold stairs.
"What's the matter with you? You think it's the others?" The door closed shut after Peridot, while Sunny followed, shaking her head. She stopped by the sleep area, eyeing the white bag along the bottom bunk of the bunk beds. "Stupid dog." Gwen's polar image clicked her tongue as she followed after Peridot.
Sunny climbed down the stairs, listening to Zed's continuous barking. She watched Zed running in circles around Peridot while bouncing on the ship's ramp.
"Shut it up."
"Like that would do her any good." Peridot glanced back at the Zed standing at the closed ramp, barking. "You gotta go? In this weather?!"
"She could hold it."
"Ugh! Like I have ever told you, to prolong your digestive tract."
"Fine, let her do it here. You can clean it up, Auntie." Sunny grin to Peridot, who stretched her hand towards Zed.
''Here?! What will the diamonds think?! What will Yellow Diamond?! Oh! My most profound apology, our family, Anubain Baskurr, has taken the liberty of releasing her spiritual energy within your prized possession that you so kindly gave as a token of your regret."
"Well...I never clean up whatever is going to be released. It'll make for a great study guide."
Peridot snaps her head around to look at the girl.
"Well, if you put it that way. I should put my dog training courses to good use."
Zed leaped onto the control panel before bouncing off, lowering the ship's ramp. Slowly letting in the screams of the icy weather.
"No! What are you doing?! Here! Do it here!" Perdiot rushed the control pad, followed by Zed.
The alien dog leaped at Peridot, only for a pink glass wall to emerge before Peridot. The dog bounced off the wall, using its momentum to quickly climb the ramp, squeezing between the gap in the ramp and letting in the pouring storm.
"Oh, great," Sunny remarked. "That mutt can't even stand still for even a minute."
"Zed!" Perdiot coned her mouth, screaming. "Zed! Oh, Clod! Why now?!"
"I swear if she's anywhere but near this ship." Sunny closes her eyes, allowing her icy breath to escape her mouth.
"How could I be so reckless?!" Perdiot clenches her head, pacing back and forth along the ram, lowering itself, allowing more snow to accept the yellow triangle ship's generosity. "Max, said to hunker down, and yet I'm breaking a rule! It would be enticing if there weren't others willing to poof me just for my proximity allure!"
"Hey! Hey! I can't even hear myself think."
Peridot turns to Sunny, who's shivering a little.
"You can track her?"
"No. I like to sleep while I stand."
"In this crisis?!"
"For the love of god! Zip it." Sunny glared at Peridot once more before closing her eyes, keeping her arms close to her chest.
"Rude." Peridot looks back at the ramp now, touching the ground, watching the snowstorm take shelter, and the figures of trees hibernating near the ship.
"Where the hell are you going?" Sunny said under her breath, glaring at Peridot's raised brow.
"You say something?"
Sunny opened her eyes, still glaring.
"We've got to hurry, she's gaining distance fast." She walked down the ramp, followed by Peridot. Listening to the blaring cold winds.
"Way out there?"
"Looking for Will, I told him not to baby her." Sunny watched the ship ramp rise up following its closing procedure. "I hope."
"Let's hurry her back." Peridot shielded her eyes from the aggressive snowflakes. "We should hold hands." Her eyes roam to Sunny, making strides within the foggy storm. "Hold on!"
The lime gem picks up her pace, keeping her eyes on the back of Sunny, enduring the freezing storm.
"How far?" Peridot raised her voice before looking back at their ship, which was soon consumed within the shield of the storm.
"Keep up!" Sunny trapper hat flickered.
"Stay close!"
"Come on!"
Peridot trips, and her face plants into the snow. She looks back along her ankle to a grey bedrock that was soon to be consumed by the storm, before looking back to Sunny, who was nowhere near.
"Sunny!" Peridot stands to her feet, pushing through the white noise of the snowstorm. "Sunny!" She screamed.
Sunny continued to push. Her teeth clattering, her face tense.
"That damn dog." She cursed, passing by a sea of trees. "Mutt!!" She screamed while the storm screamed back.
Two stretch cottages emerge within her vision, and Sunny squeezes between the rigid dark brown fence just above her head before approaching the cottage door made of dark brown planks.
Sunny grabs the curved wooden handle before looking over her shoulder back at the fence and sea of trees swallowed by the storm before her.
"Shit!" Sunny hissed before summoning her mana blade.
She cracks the door open, and a creaky whine escapes as howling winds rush in. The little Anodite peeks between the door's opening, observing a row of bunk beds and dressers lined along the walls, filling the 10-foot by 10-foot room with their presence. Directly across from her door is the front entrance.
Sunny entered, closing the door shut. She eyed the beds on her left, taking a step along the plank that released a solid thud. Her eyes bounce across the room while arriving at the center of it with enough room for traffic.
Sunny unsummons her blade, losing her stiffness while releasing a shaky, cold breath. She approached a dresser in the second row, closest to the door. What remained was a makeshift lantern made of black steel with a conical glass shape, featuring a flint and a thick, thumb-sized piece of wood.
The little anodite opened the panel of the lantern, taking the flint and a mini pink blade she summoned along her finger. Striking it across the flint, starting a droplet of fire within the lantern.
She raised her shaky hands along the fire, gathering heat along her palms.
"Great. I'm doing all of this for a dog." Sunny remarked in a whisper.
"Way out here?" A voice struck up behind Sunny.
Sunny spins on her heels, aiming her mana blade towards an Elfen with slim silver gauntlets just above her grey elbows, a black leather neck hook-crop top revealing her inner breast, shoulders, and her upper gut.
Sunny shot a beam from the tip of her mana blade towards the Elfen, hitting her in the eye. However, the beam vanished as the Elfen only cocked her head while grabbing her hip.
"What is an Andiote doing way out here?"
Sunny only lowered her brows, clicking her tongue.
"You've seen the storm."
"Well, yes. That's why I'm here," The Elfen said, her solid white pearl eyes gazing down at Sunny, who remained resolute. "A dog, you say?" A ball of flames, the size of a bowling ball, escaped the palms of her gauntlets, hovering above the intruder's hand. The fire illuminated the area around them, radiating heat against Sunny's tense face. "This planet is banned from entry by The Plumbers. You know you can get in a lot of trouble."
"And yet, here you are."
"I'm not your enemy, kid."
"I'm not a kid." Sunny flashed her teeth.
"Oh? So you do have a name?" The Elfen wandered past Sunny before taking a seat on the bunk, while Sunny only backed up from the flames before standing at the center of the room. "You know. For your age, you're going to catch a cold even with all that gear. Trapper hat, it seems someone cares about you." The Elfen rested her open elbow on her knee, planting her cheek along her palm while keeping the flames lit with her other hand.
"Not like you would get any of that with your taint."
The elfen raised a brow.
"Of course, they would teach you that." She sighs. "I'll tell you what. Let me get you warmed up, and then I'll go on my way. I don't want to waste more of my time with someone who doesn't want to help themselves."
Sunny only cocked her head, eyes squinting, and her blade pointing.