The Fallen Arc

Republic Warship:

The Hanger

The group were at the hanger ready to set off on their first big mission together. Tenjin was there to see them off.

"Alright everyone, listen up. Jayden, you are the new wielder of Ragnarok and someday I may even like to have you lead the team, but as of now you're still green. So for today, Ziera is in charge. Anyone have a problem with that?" Tenjin asked.

"Nah. If Ziera is in charge we'll clear this mission easily." Jayden said.

"I agree! With Ziera here we'll be just fine!" Emilia cheered.

"Sure. If she doesn't get us blown up first." Henro said.

"Gee thanks guys, no pressure or anything." Ziera replied.

"You're welcome". Trio said in unison. Ziera pumped a vein on her head in annoyance.

"Okay now just like we discussed. The boy's signal was last seen at the Azalea Forest. Be very cautious. That forest is ancient, filled with creatures and spirits that don't take kindly to trespassers. Especially humans. There may even be some yokai there as well so keep that in mind." Tenjin said.

"What are yokai?" Jayden asked.

"They're spirits that take on the forms of animals, plants and even other people. They say for millennia that some have tried to capture yokai and have them bend to their will. There's even someone like that within the Machina Empire" Ziera explained.

"Wow. Even in the empire? Like one of the Crimson Knights?" Jayden asked.

"Yep. Though I'd stay clear of her. She's a bitch. And she's ugly." Ziera sneered.

"Oh I'll keep that in mind." Jayden said.

"Back to the topic at hand, when you get the boy out of there, return to the ship immediately. We may have escaped the imperials before but they won't let up. Not while we're still in their territory. Got it? " Tenjin asked.

"Right!" The group said in unison.

"Good. Now get going you brats." Tenjin ordered.

"We'll be back soon, Tenjin! Promise!" Emilia said as she boarded their small ship.

"Try not to have a heart attack before we get back old man". Henro said, waving.

"We'll bring you back a souvenir too if we have the time." Ziera said.

"Tenjin." Jayden called out to him, getting his attention. "Thanks for letting us do this. I know I'm still new but I'll make you proud! We all will!" Jayden said grinning and giving a thumbs up.

Tenjin didn't react. He just watched as the group's ship went up and flew out of the hangar. As he had his arms crossed, he kept looking at them flying away. "Just come back alive you stupid brats." Tenjin said to himself.

***

Republic Transport Ship

The group were flying toward the forest. It was a good couple miles away from their warship so it would take about an hour to reach. In the meantime, Emilia was piloting the ship while Ziera, Henro and Jayden were sitting in the back. Jayden was curious about the deserted town within the forest.

"Hey guys, I wanted to ask. What's up with that deserted town? I never heard of this forest or any town living in one like this." Jayden said.

Henro tensed up. Ziera took notice and looked at him as if asking for approval. Henro nodded so she turned her head back to Jayden. "That place was once known as "Oak Village". It was a relatively small village that was located in that forest for over thousands of years. Since that entire forest was within imperial territory it fell under Zenal's domain. As such it was quite strict. But it was peaceful and from what I heard the people were happy enough. However, that didn't last. During that time, the Empire were still searching for demons, half-breeds and any fallen they could capture. And Oak Village...was a village filled with them." Ziera explained.

"Wait, hold on. You don't mean they..!" Jayden asked in shock. Ziera looked down at her knees in sadness.

"Yeah, they raided the village. They have technology to determine who has demon blood within them or not. They found out people with demon blood had been hiding out there for a long time so imperials went in and captured demons, half-breeds and even a fallen child. Luca was that child. Then they "escorted" the remaining citizens and relocated them to another town. After that, they burned the whole thing to the ground." Henro said.

"What!? But why would they do that!? It's part of Zenal's domain so how could he!?" Jayden asked.

"Why else? Monstrous evil demons were held up in that forest like a hive's nest. And when they resisted, they burned the village down in anger. Only right that the empire exterminates the pests that defile their great empire right?" Henro asked with sarcasm.

"So the empire not only took them away from their homes, but also made it look like they destroyed it!? Those goddamn monsters! I can't forgive them for this!" Jayden shouted in anger.

"Oh yeah? So what? Doesn't matter if you do or not, what are you even gonna do about it? Henro asked.

"What do you think? I'm going to stop them! They can't keep getting away with this!" Jayden shouted.

"Stop them? How? Not even The Order or the entire Republic could do that and they've been fighting the Empire for years. What could a guy like you accomplish huh?" Henro asked.

"But things are different now! I have Ragnarok and with it could bri-!" Jayden stated.

"What? Bring change? Become some great hero like the oh so great Guardians?" Henro interrupted. "Ha! Okay how are you gonna accomplish that huh? By punching Zenal in the face? Yeah that'll solve everything. I'm sure the people who lost their homes and families will feel so much better now right?

"Henro, please stop. Jayden didn't mean any harm he was just trying to-." Emilia tried to say but Henro interrupted her.

"Help? Yeah because he's been such a big help so far am I right?" Henro asked sarcastically.

"That's not fair Henro. Jayden just got here but he's trying. He doesn't yet know how-." Ziera said.

"How the world works? You're damn right he doesn't! I mean he comes out of nowhere, gets Ragnarok by chance and now he thinks he's some big shot who can just solve all our problems. Where would we be without the oh so great next wielder of Ragnarok, Jayden Cortez!? Must feel nice to think we all have to rely on you now right!?" Henro exclaimed. Jayden got angry and stood up.

"That's not how I feel! Like what the fuck is you're problem with me anyway!?" Jayden shouted back.

"Guys stop!" Emilia shouted.

"Alright both of you cut it out! Now!" Ziera demanded.

"No fuck that! He needs to hear this!" Henro shouted as he stood up and paced towards Jayden. He grabbed him by the shirt and looked him dead in the eye. "When I first met you, I thought you were just some ignorant punk who got lucky. A guy who laughs off everything like it's no big deal and now that you got power you start acting big. Well what do you know!? I was right on the money huh!?" Henro asked.

"Shut up! That's not who I am! Don't act like you know me! You don't know a thing about me!" Jayden shouted back.

"Oh yeah I do! You're the type of person I hate the most! A guy with empty promises!" Henro spat.

"WHAT!?" Jayden yelled out.

"You heard me. You're just some ignorant bastard who doesn't shit about what's going on here! You don't even know half the shit we've been through because of the empire! But now you think you can solve everything just because all of a sudden you're the chosen one now!? And by doing what!?? Just rushing in with nothing but courage and hope! You did that when you saved Ziera right? Sure that worked out but what if Ragnarok hadn't been activated!? Both you and her would have been killed! And the same goes for you Emilia! Rushing towards a fleet towards your death!? Even now you still don't see a problem with that!?" Henro shouted. Emilia was still driving so she didn't face Henro but her face fell and she looked like she was going to cry.

"And you Ziera! You're the most suicidal one here! If Jayden hadn't found you then what!? All three of you, throwing your lives away so easily and for what!? The greater good!? Screw thinking things through because our lives don't matter if it means Ragnarok finds its next owner right!? Maybe Tenjin doesn't feel that way but that's the kind of bullshit Odysseus and the Republic follow. People's lives, like Luca's or the people of this town, don't mean shit to them as long as they beat Zenal! And bastards like you who think now that you have power, you can just save the day with no problem regardless of the consequences!" Henro roared across the ship.

Jayden, Ziera and Emilia were frozen. They didn't know what to say. Henro wasn't even looking at Jayden anymore. He was looking down at the floor catching his breath still gripping on Jayden's shirt.

"Henro...I". Jayden tried to say.

"I'll ask again. How are you gonna become the hero you dream of!? How will you make the lives of everyone here better!? Well!? Answer me! HOW ARE YOU GONNA HELP US, HERO!?" Henro screamed in Jayden's face.

***

Jayden Pov

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

I was stunned. I tried to answer but I couldn't. I looked down at my feet. Was Henro right? Was I just in over his head? Or worse, just arrogant to think I could solve everything with Ragnarok? I never intentionally thought it that way but I couldn't deny that ever since I got Ragnarok, I've been more confident that I could fight the empire now. That I could make a difference and become the hero I've p always wanted. A hero my mom and the people of Lockwood could become proud of.

But it's true that I don't exactly have a plan yet to help all these people besides fighting the empire. And I still don't know what they've been through. Wait. Now that I think about it..

["And with that war, the entire city fell and thousands lost their lives." Emilia said sadly].

["Thought you should know since we're teammates now." Emilia said].

["If something is bothering you then you can.....you can tell me". Ziera said].

That's right. I didn't know about Emilia's problems until she told me. Ziera tried to help me with my problems and I just snapped at her. How can I be there for my friends if I won't let them be there for me? And how can I help random strangers when all I focus on is fighting the empire? Yeah that helps but is that the type of hero I want to be? Just a guy who swings his fist around and calls it a day? Is that....

[He acts before he thinks. And he doesn't care about how it'll affect others].

[Unless he shapes up, he'll just keep making the same mistakes and get somebody hurt. Just like he did with his father].

No. Not again. I can't be falling into this habit again! That's not who I'm trying to be anymore! But I...I don't....

I finally snapped back to reality and gave Henro his answer.

"I...I don't know." I said plainly. Not dare facing his gaze.

Silence filled the ship. No one said anything. Eventually, Henro released me from his grip and looked at me with disgust.

"Tch. That's what I thought. All bark and no bite. Worthless. Ragnarok chose wrong." Henro said with disdain. He turned and went back to his seat.

"Ragnarok chose wrong." They were just words but....they pierced my heart all the same. What's worse is I couldn't counter a thing he said. Because I was starting to believe it myse-.

"You're wrong."

I turned my head and saw it was Ziera who spoke up. She stood up and stood by my side.

"Is Jayden perfect? No. Is he ignorant, inexperienced and a bit of an idiot? Overstatements of the century. But you don't have the right to call him worthless Henro. Like it or not he's one of us now. If he's worthless then so am I. So is Emilia, and so are you because we are a team. Like Tenjin told me when I first met you guys, "birds of a feather flock together." Sure not the most inspiring thing to say but he's right. This is Jayden's fight as much as ours. He may be ignorant now but give it time and he'll learn more and more as time goes on. Because I'll be there to help him understand. That's what teammates, no, friends do for each other." Ziera stated.

"Tch." Henro said. He said nothing else and just looked away.

I was in shock and couldn't say anything. One moment I'm losing my courage and the second it's slowly coming back. Not a lot but slowly thanks to Ziera's words. I just couldn't understand why she always goes out of her way to help me like this. She stood up for me against Cozar and even called me a hero when she didn't know me. Even when I was a jerk to her she still came to help me now. I don't deserve her help, I never did, and yet she still helps me anyway. To be honest I feel sick always having her needing to come to my aid. Like I'm burdening her.

"Jayden." Ziera said. I looked at her as she balled up her fist and lightly placed it on my chest. "Don't let what he said get you down okay? Just keep doing your best. I'll be there with you every step of the way. That's what friends are for" Ziera said. I lightly blushed. Not at her touch but at her words.

"Ziera." I simply said. Why does she always help me? Is it out of pity? Because it's her job? No, that's not right. I don't know yet but maybe this is just who Ziera is? Maybe....l..

"Guys look! We made it!" Emilia announced.

***

The group went to the front where Emilia was to see the view before them. And they couldn't believe their eyes. There lies the Azalea forest. The trees were massive to say the least. Much thicker than usual trees and three times taller too. The trees themselves were colored black and the leaves on top were shades of purple and pink. And if you were to go above the forest, it would reach for miles on end.

"Holy shit! That's the Azalea forest!? It's huge!" Jayden said in shock.

"It's incredible. I heard stories of why the empire couldn't burn the forest down but seeing it up close I can get the feeling why now." Ziera said in aw.

"No kidding. I'm sensing a massive amount of mana coming from that first. It feels old and really really powerful." Emilia said.

"Look, it's big. Who cares? Finding Luca should be our priority. Ziera, how close is he to us now?" Henro asked.

Ziera looked at the computer on her wrist. "Not far. A few clicks from us." Ziera stated. On her computer, she noticed it starting to buzz and glitch. "What the!?" Ziera asked.

"What's wrong Ziera?" Jayden asked.

"I'm starting to lose the signal." Ziera stated.

"WHAT!?" Henro shouted.

"Could it be a jammer?" Emilia asked.

"I don't think so. The empire doesn't know we're here yet. They wouldn't cut off communications. My guess is it's this forest. I don't know why but I get the feeling that whatever is in there, it's interfering with both communications and Luca's signal. The same probably goes for the imperials. That probably explains why they haven't caught Luca yet." Ziera explained.

"All the more reason why we have to get to Luca first. It's not just the empire, who knows what's in that forest. Luca could be even more in more danger than we realize!". Henro said.

"Calm down Henro. I hear you but we have to keep a cool head. The deeper we go into this forest the more interference we'll face from it. Look, he was last seen here at the village." Ziera stated as she showed off the buzzing map of the forest.

"The village is located in the center of the forest. If we get to this area quickly, we could get to him before the imperials do. With any luck he'll be safe there for a while but not so long. So we need to move swiftly but also cautiously." Ziera said.

"How close are the imperials to catching up to Luca?" Jayden asked.

"Close. Too close. It's finicky but I've detected dozens of imperial soldiers in the forest on the ground searching for him and nearing the village. And of course the two imperial warships hovering over the forest. It won't be easy to get past them to reach Luca." Ziera explained.

"Damn! So what do we do?" Jayden asked.

"Simple. Emilia! Fly us down near the village inside the forest. We'll land there and make our way into the village to find Luca." Ziera ordered.

"What!? Jayden and Henro shouted simultaneously.

"You just said there are two imperial warships hovering over that forest! Including hundreds of imperial soldiers on the ground!" Henro shouted.

"Precisely. They obviously wouldn't expect us to go directly towards them right? Well that's how we'll get the drop on them. We'll fly into the forest near the village using cloaking tech and once we land, we'll sneak past the imperials, get into the village and find Luca." Ziera said.

"Cloaking tech!? What the hell are you talking about!? This ship doesn't have any cloaking tech!?" Henro yelled out.

"He's right Ziera. This ship isn't equipped with that type of technology." Emilia assured. But Ziera had a smug grin on her face.

"Hehehe. You mean it wasn't, right?" Ziera asked as she snickered and pushed down on the computer screen on her left arm. Suddenly, the outside parts of the ship began to disappear completely from the outside. The outside of the ship was completely invisible now.

"What the hell!?" Henro shouted.

"Hold on! We're actually invisible right now!?" Jayden asked.

"Yep! My body is equipped with invisibility. So before we left I simply used my technopathy to reconfigure the ship and connect it's systems to give it cloaking technology. Wasn't hard, it just took a minute. Reason why I couldn't do it before back at the mission to retrieve Ragnarok was because the Order wouldn't allow it. They didn't trust me at all back then to mess with their ships or some of their other tech." Ziera explained.

"Man but even still you're amazing Ziera!" Jayden said.

"Oh brother. You kiss her ass more than she kisses yours. Henro sneered.

"But Jayden's right, this is really impressive. One thing to reconfigure a ship but to give it your own ability as well is something! Though I am surprised Tenjin gave you permission to do this." Emilia said.

"Uh....right. Permission let's go with that." Ziera said nervously.

"Hm?" Emilia asked.

"Anyways! Enough chit chat! Let's get to Luca quickly!" Ziera declared.

"Right!" Emilia complied. Emilia moved the ship over and descended into the forest. It was a bit hard to navigate through the trees but thanks to Emilia's sharp eyes from being a Garuda and her ace piloting skills she did it without much trouble. Thanks to the new cloaking tech on the ship, the group were safe from detection from the imperial warships and managed to eventually land on the ground about a couple miles from the village.

"We made it! Hang on Luca! We're coming to save you!" Jayden declared.

However, unbeknownst to the group. Something was following them in the air. It had large wings and made a loud and disgusting growl as it swiftly descended into the town following after the group.

***

The Azalea Forest

"Whoa!" Jayden said.

The group had landed and exited the ship. The outside of the forest looked incredible but on the inside it looked absolutely beautiful. The purple and pink colored leaves high above barely covering the dimming sunlight. The different colored flowers consist of blue, purple, white and even black. Animals that Jayden has never seen before. One of them being a small white and red baby fox that had nine tails.

"Hey! Is that some kind of fox!?" Jayden asked out of curiosity and excitement. Henro looked at what he was referring to.

"That's a kitsune. A nine tailed fox and a type of yokai. It's said that they are harbingers of good fortune." Henro explained.

"For real!? That's so cool!" Jayden said in excitement.

"Aw look, it's so cute! Can I pet him!?" Emilia said. The baby fox sat there looking at the group with caution but also curiosity.

"Leave it alone Emilia. It may look cute but Kitsune are not tk be trifled with. If you anger it, bad fortune could fall on you. Not to mention, that's a baby so it's mother can't be too far away from it." Henro lectured.

"Aw!" Emilia pouted and slumped her arms.

"He's right Emilia. Besides, we can't afford to mess around. We're on the clock, remember?" Ziera lectured.

"Oh right! Sorry." Emilia said.

"Come on. This is the way to the village. It shouldn't be far." Ziera said.

The group were following Ziera but Henro stopped. He looked behind him and turned his head in different directions to check his surroundings. He couldn't see anything but he knew he heard something even if it was only for a second. Something didn't feel right. What's worse is that this feeling felt familiar. Too familiar.

Henro hadn't felt this way in a long time. Not since he'd been with the republic for three years. But that feeling was always there. Always lurking deep inside him. A feeling that was beginning to resurface after so long.

Fear.

Henro was starting to tense up and shake. "There's no way. No way. Ni way. No way it's here". He said to himself. He started to shake and panic. The noises from animals and branches breaking from within the forest were starting to get to him. He began to sweat, his vision started getting blurry and his heart was pumping. He began to lose his breath and soon memories he never wanted to think about again began to resurface. Visions of his mother, the man who destroyed his life and....that thing.

"Henro?" Henro felt a hand on his shoulder and immediately jumped back. But it wasn't an enemy, it was only Emilia.

She looked at Henro with concern. "Henro, are you okay?" She asked.

When he realized it was just Emilia, Henro began to slow his breathing down and eventually calmed down. Then he looked around his surroundings again but still didn't see anything out of the ordinary. He sighed out of relief.

"I'm fine. Come on, we should get moving. The others are waiting." Henro said flatly.

"Oh right." Emilia said looking down at her hands clasped together.

Henro walked past her. Not saying a word. But Emilia couldn't take it anymore and grabbed onto his arm from behind.

"Wait!" Emilia shouted. Henro stopped in his tracks but didn't face her.

"Henro, please. Can't we just talk? Please?" Emilia pleaded dearly. Henro still wouldn't turn to face her. He just looked off at the forest in front of him.

"Why? There's nothing to talk about. What's done is done." Henro said dryly.

"That's not true." Emilia whispered to herself.

"What?" Henro said. Henro could hear her easily with his heightened hearing but played dumb.

"Stop it! Don't act like you didn't hear me! I SAID THAT'S NOT TRUE!" Emilia shouted but not too loud for the imperials to hear her. Henro still wouldn't face her.

"Why!? Why won't you just talk to me!? You've been like this for a week! You won't even look at me! I know you're angry with me but there's no reason why we can't just talk this out!" Emilia shouted in anger and sadness. Henro grit his teeth in frustration. He finally had enough and turned to face her

"Why huh!? So you can fly off and do it again!? Might as well just skip the talking altogether Emilia because you showed me what was more important than your life back there!" Henro shouted. Emilia's eyes began to tear up but she didn't back down as she faced Henro.

"That's not what I tried to do! I was just trying to help everyone!" Emilia argued.

"Oh! And your genius plan was to try and hold off three imperial warships and dozens of Omni-Fighters all by yourself while injured!? Wow! What a great plan Emilia! Might as well go fight Zenal yourself while you're at it!" Henro exclaimed.

"That's not fair!" Emilia shouted.

"Of course it's not! You think it's fair to see someone you care about rush to her death!? If Tenjin hadn't shown up in time you would have been killed! And even before that you tried to run off by yourself to face them until Ziera offered to help you out! You didn't think it through at all!" Henro shouted.

"Okay my plan wasn't perfect but what else was I supposed to do!? I'm a warrior first and foremost Henro! I put my life on the line because I don't want others to suffer what I suffered. To lose their homes and families like I lost mine! You even told Jayden yourself not to underestimate me! So you don't need to protect me all the time. I'm not your responsibility!" Emilia shouted back.

"See that's the thing Emilia. It's not about me protecting you from the enemy but protecting you from yourself! Because that's your problem! That idiot over there doing it is one thing but you've been doing it ever since I've met you! I know why you do this and what you've lost! But it's one thing to put your life on the line for fights and another to be flat out throw it away in a pointless battle!" Henro retorted.

"Then what should have I've done!? Run away and risk letting you and the others get hurt or worse!?" Emilia argued.

"No! I don't know! Gah! Look! The bottom line is this! You were injured and could barely shoot another arrow but instead of running away you just wanted to fly towards a hopeless fight not giving a damn about what could have happened to yourself as long as Ragnarok landed in the hands of those bastards from the Republic! Or what you would have left behind! You didn't Emilia! You didn't even think of the promise we made together years ago! You think this is what Tenjin would have wanted!? What would your people have wanted!? What I wanted!? You think that I.....that I...wanted to lose you? For some piece of junk. Henro said, finally losing the anger in his voice.

Emilia looked down at the ground balling her fist and crying her eyes out. But eventually she wiped her eyes but didn't look up at henro again.

"You're right. I know you're right. I didn't think it through. I was desperate. I know what I did was selfish, reckless and stupid. We were in a bad spot and I just didn't know what else to do. But that's no excuse, I know that. I almost threw my life away and worst of all I know I hurt you and almost broke our promise. And....I'm sorry. I am so, so sorry I hurt you Henro. Please believe me when I say that." Emilia pleaded. Henro still looked angry but softened up a bit. Emilia finally looked up at him with an upset expression.

"You're wrong about one thing however. You said I did this all for Ragnarok but that's not true at all. I know Ragnarok is important but that's not why I did what I did. It wasn't for Ragnarok, the republic or any of that. I just wanted to save Jayden because he had just gotten caught up in this. I wanted to save Ziera because she had already risked her life to help us. And most of all, I wanted to save you Henro. You're my best friend! I already lost so much that I couldn't bear the thought of losing you too! I know it's no excuse and I'm sorry but please believe me! I just wanted to protect you!" Emilia cried out.

Henro's scowl was gone. He lost his anger and couldn't yell at Emilia anymore. Not while she's like this.

"Dammit. What am I doing?" Henro thought to himself. He never meant to hurt Emilia like this. He hated what she did but he didn't want her to think he hated her now. Still to protect him? Even so she...

Suddenly, Emilia's words began to trigger an old memory that Henro wanted to forget.

["Get back! Don't you dare hurt my boy again! You'll have to go through me!" My mother threatened].

That memory quickly flashed through Henro's mind and it filled him with dread.

["I just wanted to protect you!" Emilia shouted].

"Tch! Well...no one asked you to." Henro said, turning away from her.

"Wait! Henro please I didn't mean to-!" Emilia tried to plead but it fell on deaf ears.

"Enough! We've wasted enough time! Luca's waiting so let's go already. Like I said. What's done is done." Henro said with frustration.

Emilia was at a loss for words. She never meant for things to turn out this way. But they did. She doesn't know what to do about her and Henro right now, but he was right. Luca needs them so she'll put all her focus on saving him. Emilia wiped her tears and clapped her cheekbones with her hands pumping herself up. No matter what she was going to help save Luca. And this time, she won't make the same mistake again.

Unbeknownst to both Henro and Emilia however, the creature that stalked their ship.....was right on their tail. It had found it's prey.

"Henro". It said.