Shg12: Chapter 2 Soar into the horizon

Chapter 2: Soar into the Horizon




         Fog covered the open sea, obscuring all that stretched from shore to shore. Drifting, the vessel sailed through the open water, leading blind to their destination. Lying sound asleep, Allanah rested in her small cot in the lower deck of the ship. From the upper level, she begins to hear loud nauseating sounds from above. Gradually pulling Allanah out of her sleep, she begins to frown and growl, until she leaps out of her bed yelling.
“…What the hell is going on?!!”
         Leaning over the reel of the ship, Priest stood vomiting over the ledge. Allanah steps onto the upper deck, boggled by the sight.
“…Seriously?”
         Priest leans back, holding his head in the air to ease his upset stomach.
“… Oh God.”
         Allanah walks over to Priest to tend to him.
“Are you alright?”
         Priest leans back over the reel, gasping for air.
“Yeah”
“Are-Are you seasick?”
         He slumps over, depressed from the embarrassing moment.
“Yes.”
         Allanah implies.
“B-but… You’re the Shogun of Waves. You manipulate water. How can you be seasick?”
         Retaliating vulgarly, Priest replies.
“Oh, I’m sorry that I don’t go out to sea a lot!!”
         His stomach begins to rumble and give off strange noises.
“Plus I got a weak stomach.”
         Allanah begins to rub her frontal lobe, stressed from Priest awkward sickness.
“You have got to be kidding me?”



         The image of the Heavens and the earth within sight of the soldier gazing upon the view set his mind at ease. Along with the gently breeze of the wind soaring by off the outer corridors of the large massive craft soaring through the sky allowed the tall dark soldier to relax and release his tension calmly. His eyes gradually shut as his expression carried a simple glare of peace; the soldier could almost pass for sleeping upon his feet. Behind entered a younger soldier that approached him sternly with a scroll within his hand.
“General…”
         Slowly the General lifts his head and opened his eyes. 
“At ease private…”
         He turns and glances at the soldier behind him.
“Do you have news?”
         The private opens the scroll and begins to read the report from his colleagues
“Yes sir!!! Scouts from the southeast boarder have discovered 18 Shadow nation naval ships and one carrier ship.”
         A grim look comes upon the Generals face.
“Shadow naval ships? Where is their location?”
“Their location is approximately 30.5 miles from the Steel kingdom’s northern shores. Calculating from distances to our shores is 526 kilometers.”
         From behind the soldier, a voice calls out to the General to question him.
“Well well Bishop…”
         The General turns around to see a young man with a similar uniform on. The man wore a rugged shadow upon his face and his hair was long and curly which was out of place for a soldier’s appearance.
“What do you think they are plotting?”
         Bishop chuckles and then turns back around.
“Send out Night Watchers to keep a close observation on the ships.”
          The soldier salutes.
“Sir…”
         As the private left, the other soldier approached the general along the bridge to accompany him. For a moment, silence held between them. The young soldier viewed the strong content glare upon Bishop’s face, and then asked
“Do you think they are trying to launch an attack on our capital?”
         Bishop nodded his head.
“They must be insane to do so.”
         Contemplating, he thinks to himself about the optional theory for the Shadow kingdom’s intentions.
“What are they planning?”



         Hours after arriving in the wind nation, Priest and little Allanah found themselves strolling along a dirt road leading through a defense forest to the outskirts cities of the capital. Trailing, Allanah followed behind Priest with a puzzled glare upon her face. As they walked, Priest could feel Allanah steadily staring at him from behind which struck a nerve. Flustered, Priest tried to hold his temper but Allanah pressured him; appearing over his should inches away from his face. In one swift moment, Priest lashes out yelling.
“Why do you keep staring at me?”
         Innocently Allanah replies with a sudden adorable timid expression.
“I was curiously wondering about something.”
         Priest lifts his brow in curiosity.
“Then why didn’t you ask me, since you were curious about something?”
         Allanah shyly giggles.
“I tried to figure it out for myself.”
         Priest drops his head in shame of the irrelevant conversation.
“Did you figure out what the answer was to your question?”
         With a big smile she says.
“NO…”
         A smug expression creeps upon Priest’s face.
“…Seriously?”
“I was hoping you would answer it for me, since I couldn’t figure it out.”
“What is your question?”
         An image flashes before Allanah of the previous actions of Priest and his abilities.
“… How is it possible for you to manipulate the element water?”
         Caught off guard, Priest is surprised that Allanah would ask a complex question.
“Ugh…”
         For a moment he becomes silent; thinking of a simple and reasonable explanation to give to her.
“Well… It is difficult to explain, but in simple terms you have be as the element. For instants water, it’s calm, steady, and pure. My mind has to be clear, my body has to be calm, and my spirit must be steady for me to connect with the wavelengths of the element. After years, it becomes so natural that I can pull water right out of the air.”
         He waves his hand in front of Allanah; reveal the moisture being drawn from out of air in front of her.
“You understand?”
         Allanah nods.
“…You have to be the element.”
         As they continued to walk, Priest steadily glanced over his shoulder with a peculiar cautious glare on his face. His uneasy posture finally caught Allanah’s attention.
“What’s wrong?”
         Priest places his hand on the hilt of his sword.
“… I have a bad feeling.”
         From the shadows of the trees, a dark specter watched over the two scowling through the forest.
“…There they are.”
         He said with a mysterious mist escaping from his mouth.  The wondering eyes of the oscillate glances over at Priest walking ahead.
“Hmm… Who is that? They said only the girl and no one else.”
         His eyes are suddenly caught by the sword hanging from Priest’s side.
“…A cross like sword. That is what the king requested for me to retrieve. So he must be the Minister of the Church of Waves.”
         A cheerful smirk appears upon his face behind the veil he wore.
“This is good. Now I can kill the girl and take the item the Shadow King wishes for back home in one day.”
         Stretching his right arm out to his side from underneath his cloak, a massive butch blade ejects from his side and into his palms.
“Now let’s end this quickly.”
         In an erupting lunge, the assailant leaps out hurling towards Allanah with ravage speed. His eyes dead set upon Allanah, unaware of his presences as he takes his blade and draws back for a strike. Priest catches the cloaked figure as he leaped, instantly glancing back at him.
“I’ve been waiting on you.”
         In mere seconds, Allanah finally catches a glimpse of the cloaked figure above, dragging his sword over head and descending quickly towards her.
“Uh”
         Before the blade could even touch Allanah, Priest appeared before her with his blade wielded underhand to halt the strike. With great might the two blades collided. From the uproar of the clash, a strong gust of wind erupted from the blades straggling between one another. The cloaked assailant was stunned by how Priest reacted quickly to his assault.
“Amazing… He moved so quick that I couldn’t even see his movements.”
         Priest stood holding his ground against him with a peculiar smile.
“… I was waiting on you to reveal yourself”
         Curious, the cloaked being asks.
“So you knew I was tracking you?”
         Priest replies.
“… I sensed your presence when we first entered the forest.”
         A grim smirk came upon the dark swordsmen’s face.
“…You maybe a worthy opponent after all.”
         As he spoke, he suddenly notices that his blade was gradually turning into ice from the touch of Priest’s blade.
“…What?”
         Quickly, he leaps back. Staring down at his blade, the cloaked swordsman became skeptic of Priest’s powers.
“… Ice abilities?”
         He quickly realizes at that moment that Priest was.
“So it is true. The Head minister of Church of Waves is a Shogun.”
         Priest chuckles a bit. He glances over his shoulder at Allanah trembling in fright.
“Allanah take cover somewhere. This isn’t a good place for you to be.”
         Allanah nods, and then sprints into the bushes astray from the path of the forest. Priest watches until Allanah is out of sight.
“Now…”
         He glares back toward the mysterious swordsman before him.
“Shall we continue?”
         The swordsman takes his stance; wielding his sword horizontal before him with his feet planted into the ground.
“We may.”
         Priest smiles.
“Oh, where’s my manners…”
         He nods.
“I am Priest of the Tsunami Kingdom.”
         The warrior easily releases himself from his stance, as he prepared to introduce himself to Priest.
“My name is Zuro of the Western Mist tribe.”
         Priest takes his stance.
“Now that we have been formally introduced…”
         In a mere flash, Priest collide swords yet again with Zuro. Caught off guard, Zuro is nearly knocked to his feet by the single strike.
“Ugh… He’s fast”
         Zuro releases himself from the brute strike of the attack; turning his sword flat and nudging Priest away from him. Reacting, Zuro strikes the earth with his sword. From his blade, a wave of pure energy roared toward Priest as thunder.  Flipping his sword underhanded, Priest counteracts the attack with his blade. Striking the opposite direction of the attack, Priest sends the wave hurling toward the left of him. Glancing back, Zuro stood inches away with his sword soaring toward Priest head.
“Ugh.”
         With the seconds he had, Priest dodged the attack barely as he leaned back out of range. To spread distances between them, Priest kicks Zuro dead in his chest to push him away. Zuro is thrown across the road from the thrust of the kick. Out of control, Zuro pierces the ground with his sword to stop himself.
“Damn…”
         His eyes set back upon Priest, but the Reverend with great speed stood directly in front of him with his blade thrusting toward his head.
“Shit!!!”
         Zuro’s reflex allowed him to nearly escape the black blade, but the edge of Priest sword torn the cloak he wore on his face almost completely off. For a split second, Priest could see that Zuro’s entire lower jaw was pure metal.
“What?”
         Angered, Zuro swings his blade to strike him down. But with his agility, Priest bounds out of the way unto a knee.
“He’s part machine?”
         Zuro then grabs the cloak he wore around his shoulders and rips them completely off. Priest was astounded to see that Zuro’s entire upper body was more than seventy five percent metallic.
“Ugh…”
         A dark presence comes over Zuro. His eyes turning pure red as they set upon Priest knelt down in front of him.
“No one has ever seen my true face.”
         Priest stood to his feet, still wielding his blade underhanded.
“Well aren’t I fortunate?”
         Zuro gives him a smug glare.
“Unfortunate.”
         Before Priest could stand his ground, Zuro appeared directly before him in a striking stance.
“Damn!!”
         Zuro knocks Priest into a large oak tree with a mere strike of his fist. Priest pills off the large oak and falls to his knees breathing heavily.
“I didn’t expect that.”
         Zuro rushed Priest; charging for him with his fist cocked back for another punch.
“Die!!”
         Unsuspectingly, Priest catches the iron fist with his bare hand.  Upon collusion, shards of ice shoot into the air from the sudden halt out of Priest’s hand.
“What?”
         Zuro’s entire right arm is turned into nothing but pure ice.
“Damn it!!!”
         Jerking back, Priest held his grip until Zuro’s arm was completely ripped off his body.
“Ah!!!!!”
         Zuro leaps back; as Priest stood to his feet shaking off the case of ice he imprisoned his left arm to cease the attack.
“You froze your arm into a concrete block of ice to stop my attack? How is that possible without you losing your own limb?”
         Priest nods.
“Before I encased my arm, I progress my circulation from fifty six percent of my body into my left arm to keep it warm enough. That’s why I couldn’t move my legs for few moments until I balanced my natural blood flow.”
         Zuro begins to laugh. Grasping his wounded limb, he stood to his feet strongly in spite of bleeding profusely.
“Clever.”
         From his neck and shoulders, a steady stream of white mist exerted from his body. The mist quickly took the forest, covering the base floor with a wall of obscurity.
“I apologize, but you are too great of a threat. And I must kill you and that girl at all cost.”
         Priest steadily walks through the fog, cautiously and continuously scanning his surrounds for Zuro’s movements.
“It is sad that you won’t even see your death coming.”
         Priest slowly reaches up and pulls off his shades from his face.
“You were a great opponent, but…”
         Through the mist from Priest left, Zuro appeared with his large butcher blade in his left held high above his head.
“You must die!!”
         Priest opens his eyes, revealing the crosses his possessed in each eye to Zuro. Raising his blade to block the strike, Priest ceases the attack merely with one hand.
“What?”
         His eyes piercing through the dense fog, Priest glares up at Zuro trembling in fright.
“You see, my friend you was gravely mistaken. I can see just fine through this mist.”
         Eager to ask, Zuro blurts out.
“…How?”
         Priest shook his head and simply replies to Zuro.
“You will never understand.”
         The long black blade Priest possessed began to glare with a bluish aura.
“Now it is time to finish this.”
         Priest slides his blade from underneath Zuro’s quickly.
“No!!”
         Zuro yelled as Priest came down quickly with a fierce strike that cut Zuro in half and shattered his blade.  Zuro’s parts fell to the ground with blood pouring from the severed body. Along with Zuro, the mist quickly died with him. As the fog vanished, Allanah could see Priest standing in the distances with his sword dripping blood from the tip. She grows wary of Priest, until he stabbed the earth and took a knee before Zuro’s mangled body.
“…Father… I come praying, asking for forgiveness for the crimes I have committed. I may have sinned, but I sinned to protect the innocent. I ask of you with a humble heart to forgive me and the sins of this man before me. I ask in your holy name, son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.”
         Priest stood to find Allanah standing before him with an appalled glare on her face. Her eyes filled with content, Priest felt ashamed that she had to witness such a thing.
“I’m sorry.”
         Allanah walks up to him and stare Priest dead in his face.
“You did it- to protect me. You have no means to apologize.”
         A slight smirk of pleasure and comfort appears upon his face.
“Let’s continue on. We still have a long ways to go.”
         She nods. Walking on, Priest suddenly came to a halt in the middle of the road. He glances over his shoulder to see a dark figure in the distances with a long black cloak and a black hood that hid his face standing over Zuro’s body. The being reaches down and pulls Zuro’s spirit from the body and grasps it in his hand.
“…Cross.”
         The instant Priest placed his shades over his eyes again, the cloaked being vanished from his mere sight. Without a word, he left and paid no mind to what he saw.

         Waiting patiently in his father’s throne chamber, Bishop stood against a pillar by the entrance waiting upon his father to finish indulging himself by the lady dancers entertaining him. Upon the throne, his father sat drinking heavily from the wine gore and staring down the two women before him sinisterly. Bishop glances over at his father with a disguised look upon his face.
“And this man is our king. How pathetic.”
         Around the chamber, the king’s advisers stood waiting as well to address the king about recent events. Across the room, a red haired girl dressed in azure royal garments stood observing Bishop with a timid glare upon her face.
“Wow, it has been a while since I saw him. I wonder if he remembers me at?”
         Suddenly the king’s eye falls upon Bishop standing at the entrance with his arms crossed as he leaned against the large pillar. A smile comes upon the king’s face.
“My son… Come… Join me in a drink.”
         Smug, Bishop replies
“I’m fine.”
         Bishop easily became irritated with his father’s foolish antics and slurring words.
“Come come. Don’t be a spoil sport.”
         He approaches his father with a grim glare upon his face that was easy noticeable by his father.
“What seems to be troubling you my boy?”
         Bishop trudges up the stairs to his father’s throne strongly.
“Look at you. You’re drunk!!”
         The king glares at Bishop with a shocked look on his face.
“Your advisers are waiting to address you about urgent matters, and you’re sitting here getting drunk and watching two whores’ parade around the throne room.”
         Bishop’s father rises from his chair with a tempered glare on his face.
“Who are you talking to like a child?!!”
         Bishop challenges him by stepping boldly in the king’s face.
“…The fool standing before me!!”
         The King grabs Bishop by his collar, but the young general thrusts him back into his throne chair with a simple burst of wind.
“Ugh”
         Bishop leans over in the king’s face with a stern look in his eyes.
“I don’t know what happen to the great soldier which Uncle Cecil told me about, because I have yet to see that man take power.”
         He turns and begins to walk away from the throne, but stops half way down the stairs. Bishop glances over his shoulder at his father and implies.
“Shadow naval ships have been spotted heading to the southern shores of our kingdom. Do you grant me permission to take charge of the matter?”
         The king, feeling foolish and ashamed glances up at Bishop before him.
“Do-as you like.”
         Everyone stood in silence after the situation that just happened. As Bishop left, the king sat thinking and contemplating to himself.
“Everyone get out.”
         Gradually everyone begins to move towards the door.
“GET OUT!!”
         He yelled with a vulgar tone. The king then sat alone in silence, reflecting upon his own son’s words. A sudden image of the previous wars he fought appears in a quick flash within his mind. Constantly, the images appear over and over again within his mind of his dear comrades, the battle, the victory, and the honor he once claimed.
“I am… Not the same man… I used to be?”
         A cheerful voice echoes in his ear.
“Live life and have fun. You can’t be serious all the time.”
         A sudden image of his old comrade flashes before him.
“…Eros.”

         The night sky calmed the young general standing upon the front deck of the carrier ship. Trace leaned over the reel, looking up into the sky as he twirled the crest he wore around his neck in his hand, kept something upon his mind that concerned him. His dark brown eyes reflected the glare of the moon shining off the water beneath the settle vessel. Trace’s eyes fall to the water surface below with a strong glare of content in his eyes. Staring deeply into the water, Trace falls prey to the images of his past as though he stood there presently. His heart began to beat faster as his vision soared into the past he dreaded. The waves of the water below turns into blood, and the light reflecting off the surface became the image of a beautiful blonde woman holding a wound in her stomach. A tear falls into the pool of blood, and the sound of whimpers came to Trace’s ear. His eyes slightly glance up to see Aoin taking the woman into his arms, crying heavily with tears rolling down his face. The woman in his arms whispers something to Aoin before her hand that stroked his cheek fell to the floor lifeless. Aoin’s eyes turn dark, and a evil glare resolved toward Trace as he glare at him throw his brow.
                                       
         Trace fades from the horrifying vision of the past as he name continued to be called.
“TRACE…”
         He turns to find Travis approaching him.
“Yea…”
         Travis walks over and stands by his side along the reeling.
“What are you doing out here?”
         Trace replies.
“Thinking…”
         Travis looks over at him.
“…About tomorrow?”
         Trace nods.
“…Yea.”
         Cheerful, Travis pats Trace upon his back with a smile.
“Come on… what do you have to worry about? We have everything covered.”
         He points over his shoulder toward the black carrier ship next to their vessel.
“As long as we got that thing in there and you leading, we will be successful.”
         Trace smiles.
“I guess so.”


         Observing the massive ships resting at bay in the large air carrier soaring through the sky, Bishop strolled looking over the ships in the cargo bay carefully. He checked every last ship in the various rows stretching throughout the carrier for any damages or missed inspections. Bishop comes upon one that had a panel barely hanging on by a thread on one simply attack cruiser.
“Huh.”
         Taking off his cloak and armor, Bishop began to work on the ship with the tools lying around the hanger. Welding the panel back onto the ship before the upcoming battle arrives, Bishop made sure that the cruiser was officially ready for combat. Overhearing the noise, an older broader man approaches Bishop working on the cruiser.
“…Bishop.”
         Bishop pauses; taking off his goggles and place the blow torch down on the ground.
“Uncle Cecil.”
         His uncle smiles as he asked.
“What are you doing out here this late? Aren’t you supposed to be preparing to launch to the Vulcan tomorrow?”
           Bishop chuckles.
“… Yea, but I want to make sure everything is in order before launch tomorrow.”
         He turns and pats the cruiser on its side.
“… Plus I miss working on these things.”
         Cecil chuckles as he walked towards Bishop.
“Hehehe… You remind me of your father when he was young.”
         Depression sets in on Bishop’s face after hearing those words.
“Don’t say that. I’m nothing like my father.”
         Cecil nods.
“You have no idea how your father used to be. He was an honorable soldier who fought for what was right, and was selfless.”
         Bishop holds a grunge annoyed expression toward his uncle.
“That was then, but now…”
         He nails the panel shut with a bolt gun to finish his job.
“All there is an arrogant fool sitting upon the throne.”
         Sadden, Cecil holds down his head in disappointment.
“Your grandfather had a great deal to do with that. When he chose your father, he took everything from him that he loved. His friends, comrades, even your mother. Your grandfather wanted him to be as miserable as he was. And I can say Eros and I had our share of your father’s new persona.”
         Bishop halts, and begins to think for a moment.
“Bishop, your father is a good man, but he needs guidance to find his old self again. My boy, he needs you.”
         Cecil places his hand upon Bishop’s shoulder.
“You became something greater than your father or I imaged. You are our nation’s general and the mighty Shogun of Current.”
         He walks off, leaving Bishop thinking heavily to himself
“…. You have done our family proud.”



         Morning came quickly upon the capital city of the wind nation. The legions of cruiser, carriers, and aircraft took flight in the skies to travel toward the southern coast where the legendary “Vulcan” awaited their arrival. Hundreds took to the sky one after another, until the crafts nearly obscured the blue sky. Bishop leading upon the large blue carrier, continued to think about his dear uncle’s words from the previous night. Hawkeye standing behind Bishop, leaning against the far wall asks.
“Hey… You ready?”
         Bishop glances over his shoulder with a timid smile.
“Is that even a question?”
         Bishop sarcastically replied.

         Standing guard in front of the stone palace, two armed soldiers stood protecting the main entrance to the Typhoon palace. One suddenly took sight of something peculiar in the distance. He narrows his eyes and places his hand over his brow to try and view the object in the distances more clearly. His comrade notices his strange glare on his face.
“What is it?”
         He continues to stare.
“Do you see that?”
“What?”
         Both stare afar to view the object in the distances that they grew curious about. Soon it became clear that it was Priest with Allanah sleeping upon his back.  Priest strolls up to the two guards staring grim with pale skin, and dreadful bags under his eyes. His stomach steady growled as he stood slumped over with Allanah asleep on his back.
“Huh?”
         Both guards wondered about the two standing before them.
“Can we help you?”
         Priest glances up at the two with the longest face
“Do you have any food or water?”
         Before the guard could answer him, Priest suddenly collapse to the ground; exhausted from the long journey.  Both guards questioned what they should do with the two lying before them.
“Should we take them to the guard quarters?”
“It wouldn’t hurt.”



         Strolling through the empty hanger of the Typhoon forces, the king stood wondering and remember his time as a full fledge soldier. Mindlessly wondering, the king walked viewing the memories of his days when he hung around the same exact hanger with his comrades.
“Brings back memories huh?”
         The king turns to see Cecil smiling brightly at him.
“Brother.”
         Cecil approached him as the he turned back toward the open hanger door.
“I remember a time when you, Eros, and I all hung out here during the war so long ago. It was fun to have some Royal Knights around to pick on, because Eros kind of lived up everything.”
         The king smiles.
“…Yeah.”
“…I miss those days.”
         A gust of wind sweeps through the hanger from underneath the hanger doors.
“…Cecil, I’m ashamed.”
         Cecil lowers his head with a settle look on his face.
“You’re ashamed that you turned into our father.”
         The king nods.
“And I hate that my own flesh and blood despises me. He grew up so quick and I missed it cause of my foolishness. Instead of the people loving me and respecting my throne, all the glory goes to my son. I’m sad to say that I envy him, but proud that he did not turn into the ass that I am.”
         Cecil chuckles a bit.
“You are an ass.”
         Both begin to laugh over the small little comment by Cecil. The king nudges him in spite, but held a lively smile in doing so.
“You know, it’s been forever since I have seen you smile.”
“It has been.”
         Cecil pats the king upon his shoulder, and then begins to walk away.
“It was good talking to you again brother.”
         Questionable, the king asks Cecil as he strolled away.
“You are leaving?”
         Cecil never turns back, but replies loudly to his brother behind.
“…I’m going to monitor the troops that are still here and join them in the Mess hall. You’re welcome to come.”
         The king turns back toward the open view of the sky. In that moment, the King suddenly has an epiphany about returning to his old being instead of the cold hearted king his father was.
“Bishop… My son.... You are the last part of me that still remains in this world. “
         He realizes that Bishop is his link, his chain, the heart that he lost years ago.


“We are here.”
         Bishop’s eyes set upon the monstrous floating fortress in front of them. The massive white fortress that stretch far across the sky with large feather like panels extending from it backside, hovered over the clouds out of sight of mortals on the earth. From the top surface, stood three large towers that took form of sharp blades extending even higher into the air.
“…Vulcan.”
          Hawkeye approaches Bishop with a silly smile on his face.
“It has been a while since we’ve been here.”
         Bishop nods.
“There would be no point of coming here, if it wasn’t important.”
         Both stare deeply at the massive fortress that resembled a white blade hanging in the sky.
“…The legacy of your great grandfather.”
“Yea… Something good that actually came from my family.”

         The ships dock in the hangers of the Vulcan. Bishop and Hawkeye hustle to the bridge of Vulcan, where the crew stood at attention on each side of the entrance as Hawkeye and himself enter the bridge. All salute in sync, yelling out.
“…Sir!!”
         Bishop nods and replies to his soldiers.
“…At ease”
         Hawkeye announces.
“Alright people let’s get to work!!”
         The crew quickly rushes to their stations, and begins to prepare for further orders.
“…Advance Vulcan’s position 125.5 kilometers south east of our borders.”
         From the crew below, a reply came.
“… Yes sir!!”
         The massive fortress begins to turn and soar towards the southern region of the continent.

         Waiting patiently and quietly in the control room, Trace and his soldiers paused for the Typhoon nation to come and intercept their forces as they perceived in their plans. Trace sat still in a chair in the middle of the room with his arms and leg cross while his head was down as though he were sleep. That moment, Trace lifts his head and says to Travis next to him.
“They are here.”
“A message from a Typhoon ship is requesting a transmission link.”
         One soldier announced to Trace.
“Put it through.”
         Over the intercom, Bishop announced himself to his foes waiting.
“This is General Bishop of the Typhoon Army. Identify yourself and your purpose for being in our territory without authorization.”
         Trace approaches the intercom at the front console, and greets himself to Bishop also.
“This is General Trace of the Shadow Army. We are here to talk business with your king.”
         Bishop replies.
“The king is unaware of any business confrontation with the Shadow nation.”
         Trace implies to Bishop.
“It seems our messengers do not do his job well. May we speak with your king about our business proposal?”
“Negative. Any unauthorized personnel shall not speak with the king personally.”
         Trace nods in frustration.
“How about you can escort me yourself? No soldiers or lieutenants, just me alone.”
         Bishop upon the Vulcan becomes puzzled by the suggestion Trace presented to him.
“What is he thinking?”
         Hawkeye puzzled as well asks.
“Are they seriously here just to talk business and nothing else?”
         Bishop rethinks the situation himself before making any rash decisions.
“They have few in numbers, and he is offering himself to us without any guards what so ever. I’m not sure, but it may be as he says.”
         Hawkeye replies.
“True, but we have no idea what’s in those carriers.”
         Bishop takes a moment to himself.
“Alright… I’ll leave you here on the Vulcan while two guards and I escort General Trace to see my father. But keep a close look out on these ships. If anything is suspicious happens, let me know.”
         Hawkeye nods.
“…Alright then.”
         Bishop answers Trace proposal to meet the king.
“Permission granted. But only you alone shall come while your ships remain here.”
         Trace replies.
“That’s no problem.”
         Travis confused about the whole ordeal Trace placed himself into, questions him.
“What are you thinking?”
         Trace silences him, by lifting his hand toward Travis.
“Look… If the king denies our offer, then I will send a signal for you to unleash the beast. And I will try to slay the king if I have the chance.”
         Trace strolls away, heading toward the front dock to meet Bishop.
“…Until then fall back and wait for my command.”
         

         In Vulcan’s hanger, Bishop leaps upon the craft that the two soldiers who were escorting Trace to the king. Before launching, Bishop’s eye is caught by a special craft in the corner collecting dusk in the hanger. The craft was long and narrow with a sharp nose, as if it was a blade.
“That’s my father’s Hawk blade.”
         Bishop’s attention is contracted toward the soldiers as they continued to ask him.
“Sir, are you ready?”
         Bishop nods.
“Let’s go!!”
         The craft swiftly fires out of Vulcan’s hanger doors and into the sky.  Shortly, the craft came upon the Shadow naval ships waiting in the outer shores of the continent.
“There they are.”
         The pilot implies. Bishop orders the pilots in the cockpit.
“Take it down toward the front ship. That’s where he is waiting.”
         Below, Trace was standing out upon the front deck of the ship waiting for Bishop to arrive. The craft swoops down, and levels itself with the ship. Hovering, the craft steadily paused by the leading ship, so that Bishop could step aboard. Bishop cautiously approaches the general standing by with his arms crossed before him.
“General Bishop of the Typhoon Kingdom, we finally meet in person.”
         Bishop carried a grim glare as he walked toward Trace.
“General Trace of the Shadow Kingdom, I heard a lot of things about you.”
         Trace chuckles, and then asks
“Good or bad?”
         Bishop replies.
“Both.”
“I can’t deny anything they say about me.”
         Bishop stood face to face with Trace, staring him dead in his eyes.
“Are you ready?”
         Sinisterly, a smirk rise upon Trace’s cheek as he answered.
“That I am.”
         Bishop steps aside, letting Trace approaching the craft and enter the cockpit. Following behind, Bishop could feel an uneasy presence within Trace.
“I don’t like this one bit.”


“Priest… Priieeesssttt… Wake up.”
         His eyes open to see a clear blue sky above with the sun glaring in his face.
“Ugh. What happened?”
         Priest rise to find himself surrounded by familiar faces from the past. He glances to his lift at the young dark haired girl smiling brightly toward him with a sense of warmth and kindness.
“…Victoria?”
         Standing above him were two men; one a stocky man with spiky black hair, and the other a tall dark man with a shadow of a beard upon his face. 
“…Deacon?  Alkel?
Suddenly he is knocked in the head by a long haired brunette, yelling in his ear.
“Wake up!! How can you fall asleep at a time like this?”
         Confused, he asked.
“…Times like what?”
         The dark toned man points out toward the ocean and the cliff side in front of them. Priest immediately admires the beautiful sight of the landscape. The calm settle sea wind calmed and eased their souls and the echoes of the tides rolling in mellowed all their emotions. 
“I remember these days.”
         Silence rested upon them, as they all sat and stood watching the ocean afar.
“I missed these days.”
         Priest then notice Victoria taking him by the arm and resting her head upon his shoulder. A gentle smile appeared on his face from the moment. Gazing upon her, he placed his cheek on top of her head and continued to watch along with the others. Yanking Priest out of his sleep was a loud door slamming shut nearby.
“Uh”
         He sits up in the bed, trying to regain his thoughts for the moment. Looking around the room, Priest begins to wonder.
“Where are we?”
         Standing by the dresser, stood Allanah in a bath towel drying her hair.
“You’re awake.”
         Coming to mind, Priest quickly becomes disgruntle about Allanah standing before him in nothing but a towel. His cheeks warm from the blushing become obvious to Allanah.
“Oh… I’m sorry. I thought you might still be sleep while I was change. I’ll simply change in the bathroom.”
“Yeaaaaa do that.”
         Priest said with a hazy tone in his voice and an astonished glare on his face.  Allanah reaches for the door, unaware that she had a hold to the end of her towel around her body. Grabbing the handle, Allanah’s towel suddenly falls to the floor; reveal herself nude to Priest. His jaw drops and his nose begins to bleed from the suspecting sight. Reacting rashly, Allanah grabbed everything in sight and threw it at Priest to attract his attention away from her. Poor Priest is hit in the head with a large iron resting on the dresser in Allanah’s reach. Lying on the bed in a daze, Priest could do nothing but lie there and bleed.
“…That-was-unnecessary.”
         Allanah grabs her towel off the floor and sprints to the bathroom, slamming the door behind her. Shouting, she asks.
“Did you see anything?!!”
         Priest simple mutters.
“Seeeeeee wwwhhhhattt?”
         A knock came upon the door, followed by a guard entering the room.
“Excuse me…”
         He quickly notices Priest lying on the bed bleed from his nose and muttering random dialogue.
“…Uh? I was coming to check on the both of you, but it looks like you’re still incapacitated”
         Allanah shouts to the guard.
“We’ll be ready in a minute.”
         The guard replies with an unsure tone of voice.
“O-kay. My superior would like to meet you both in the Mess hall. I will be outside when you are ready.”
“Thank you!!”
         She replied. Shortly after, Priest and Allanah had finally awakened and prepared themselves to meet the officer’s superior. Priest held his head, constantly rubbing with a painful expression on his face.
“I’m sorry.”
         Allanah apologized with an innocent child’s expression on her face.
“I over reacted.”
         Priest bluntly implies.
“OVER REACTED? OVER REACTED ISN’T A TERM YOU CAN USE. YOU TRIED TO KILL ME!!”
         With the most adorable face, she says.
“I sorry >.<”
         Priest’s brow began to twitch from Allanah’s childish antics.  The guard remained puzzled about the two as they followed behind him.
“What a strange pair they are”
         Finally they enter the Mess hall, where hundreds of soldiers sat and ate. The room became silent and every eye turned towards them. Surprised, Allanah leans over and ask Priest gritting her teeth together to hold the fake smile.
“Is it just me or all of these guys are staring at us harshly?”
         Priest leans forward and replies.
“It’s just you.”
         The guard brings them to the front of the Mess hall where Cecil sat among other officers laughing and enjoying their free time.
“…Sir.”
         Cecil looks up toward them.
“This must be our guest you found outside the wall nearly dead?”
“Yes sir.”
         He stands up from the table and extends his hand out to them.
“Welcome. I am Colonel Cecil.”
         Priest shakes his hand and introduces himself.
“I am Abel Norcross: Head minister of the Church of Waves and Political adviser of The Tsunami Kingdom.”
         Cecil stares at Priest for a moment with an odd look on his face.
“…The Abel Norcross?
         He asks again.
“… Joshua's and Mary’s Norcross youngest boy?”
         A dull look came upon Priest’s face as he answered.
“Yes sir.”
         He said muttering.
“Son… I knew you mother and father from back during the war. Your father took us into his church for shelter and your mother entire staff nearly treated my platoon.”
         Priest lifts his brow.
“…Really?”
“…Of course. You look just like your father.”
         Priest drops his head, nodding doubtingly.
“Thanks for that.”
         Cecil glances over at Allanah and asks.
“And who might you be dear?”
         She answers.
“Allanah: Princess of the Royal kingdom”
         Cecil glares at her with disbelief.
“Royal Princess? Rumors have it that the Royal Princess is on vacation in the Tropic kingdom.”
         From the table, a superior implies.
“The spoil little brat, her father is in prison and she’s on vacation.”
         Allanah becomes furious to the point her cheeks turned cherry red. The others at the table begin to laugh, even Priest chuckled a bit. Allanah quickly turns toward Priest with a dark scorn that immediately silenced him.
“No… It is I. I have come to ask for the King’s help.”
         Cecil asks.
“…For what?”
“To see if he will help me fight for my father’s freedom and regain control back over our Kingdom. I’m on a journey to find the Shogun, so they may help.”
         Their laughter became even louder toward her.
“…Really? And you must have come here to find the Shogun of Current.”          
“Yes!!”
         Priest shook his head, flustered by the laughter.
“I’ve already found the Shogun of Waves!!”
         Everyone’s laughter became even louder than before, except for Cecil who stared at Priest with a remarkable glare. One officer from the table asks Priest himself.
“So this boy here is the so-called Shogun of Waves?”
         He stands directly in Priest face, and pokes Priest dead in his chest.
“What proof do you have?”
         Priest quickly grabs his finger and turns the officer into a stone ice statue.
“What?”
         Everyone stood to their feet after seeing Priest ability, astounded by his surprising presences.
“He is a Shogun.”
         Allanah turns and yells with her hands waving out to her side.
“Hello!! That’s what I have been trying to tell you!!”
         Cecil steps to Allanah holding a stern look upon his face.
“Let’s go see him now.”
         Quickly they rush off, leaving the officer still encased in ice standing in the front of the Mess hall where everyone can see.


         Look out over the city from his balcony, the King stood merely watching his people living their day to day lives. His eyes flourished with sense of peace, but yet a hint of sorrow.
“There was a time that they cherished my reign as king. Now they see me as this despicable man.”
         The sound of his doors opening pulls his attention back into the throne chambers. Stepping back into the room he questions Cecil and the others presence.
“Cecil what is it?”
         The sight of Allanah surprises him.
“Princess Allanah, what are you doing here?
         Allanah leaps before him.
“We need to talk now sir.”