The Homeless Shelter: Haven

During Ziera's interrogation of Cozar

Jayden Pov

After Anna was treated, we sent her to go rest in her room. Now Me, mom, Henro and Emilia were sitting in her office. We told Henro and Emilia everything we knew already from Ziera.

"Oh thank goodness! That saves the both of us the time of explaining everything!" Emilia said. Well almost everything. I still don't know who these guys work for and now that I think about it, they didn't even tell me their last names. Well guess that wasn't a big deal but I don't like being kept in the dark like this. "Now then. Maria, Jayden, since you both know what has to happen to keep you both safe from the empire, have you both discussed it?" Emilia asked.

Well we were but things went south when that Cozar bastard showed up. "Jayden." My mom called out to me and I looked at her. She sighed and got up from her seat. "Sorry you two but could you give us a moment alone for a second? It will only take a minute." She asked.

Both Henro and Emilia looked at each other. Henro just

shrugged. Emilia smiled back at mom. "Yes. Of course. Take as much time as you need." Emilia said. They got up and left the room, leaving me and mom alone to talk.

For a minute or two we just stood there in silence until mom finally spoke up. "Jayden, what you said earlier I didn't...I never meant to make you feel that way. To make you feel like you were some kind of problem child. To make you feel that I thought you just to hurt others. For not doing enough to stop what some of the townsfolk were saying about you. For heaven's sake I'm your mother! I should have been there for you more. I should have...have...I'm so sorry Jayden!." My mom began crying.

"Mom!" I rushed over to hug her tightly to stop her from falling apart. "Mom, It's okay! You didn't do anything wrong. I promise!" I said.

"Yes I did. You were hurting mijo and I didn't do enough to help. After we lost your father, I tried my best to both raise you and look after the people in this town. But after hearing you call yourself a screw up, no that's not true Jayden. You're not a screw up. You didn't fail anybody. If anything I failed you as your mother."

"STOP! YOU NEVER FAILED ME MOM! YOU'RE THE REASON I'M STILL GOING!" I shouted. My mom was taken back. As she stopped crying, I moved back as I held onto her and looked her straight in the eye.

"If it weren't for you raising me, holding me accountable for my actions, comforted me when we lost dad and pushed me to do my best I..I don't know if I would have been able to keep going. It's because of you that I stuck to our motto. Never give up and never surrender. It's like you said I'm a Cortez, remember? I get my stubbornness from you after all so don't blame yourself mom and don't apologize eifher. If anything I should apologize to you." I said.

"No Jayden I-." Mom tried to finish but I interrupted her.

"I could never forgive myself for what happened to dad. The person I was before nearly destroyed our family. He hurt you and made you cry mom. I don't want to be that person anymore. I would rather die than be the son who would make his own mother cry! That's why I want to change! When Ziera met me, she saw something in me. She called me a hero. Me of all people right? She barely knew me but still called me one. I can't say I believe her but....I want to become that person. The person that Ziera sees inside of me. A person the folks in Lockwood can look to for help. A son you could be proud of, mom." I stated.

Mom was shocked and just stood there processing everything I just said. Soon she wiped her eyes and smiled at me. "Hehe. Oh mijo, I don't know whether to cry or laugh at you." Mom giggled.

"Say what?" Wasn't my best speech but I didn't think I was that bad was I?

"You want to become a son I'm proud of? Jayden Alejandro Cortez, I'm already proud of you. Sure you've got your flaws but who doesn't? I mean you can be too obsessed with all those comic books of yours, you act before you think on occasion, you curse too much for my liking, you need to stop playing video games at four in the morning especially with thr volume so high, I wish you wouldn't leave all those dirty magazines lying around in your room, in fact you should just clean your room all together, and I don't get me started on you sleeping on the job at times and oh now that I think about you still haven't finished cleaning the kitchen here haven't you?"

Uh ouch? For crying out loud is this supposed to make me feel better? She's got a whole list of flaws to name about me. And she's still going. Mom, I'm trying to boost my self esteem not destroy what's left of it.

"But, those flaws don't make me any less proud of you Jayden. Look at everything you've done for me and for all the people here at the shelter. Despite your laziness at times you do work hard. You treat the elderly with care and look after the children here as if they were your own siblings. Honestly, I remember on Christmas Eve when you caught your Santa Claus costume on fire by accident so you had to dress up as the leader of the guardians or whatever or for the kids." My mom chuckled.

Oh why did she have to remind me of that day? "I told you I was trying to fix the power outage and the electricity lit my costume on fire. Ugh I even had to do that goofy dance for the kids to make up for losing the Santa costume." I said, groaning.

"Oh it wasn't that bad, it was funny I swear. But seriously, when you were there for me when I was grieving for your father, every moment of that meant the world to me. It reminded me that I didn't mess up with you. That no matter how flawed you are, you are kind, strong, brave, selfless, and loyal to a fault. That is who my son is. The one I've always been proud of." My mom said cupping my face.

"I don't know if that's true mom. I want to but, I can't really see it" I wanted more than anything to believe her but...

"Then you'll have to see it for yourself. You can't live in the past forever Jayden. You must face it head on and conquer it. Only then can you move forward. And when you do, don't let anyone shame you for who you are. You are both my and your father's son. You are Jayden Cortez and no matter what I'll always love you. I know your father would feel the same." Mom said, smiling brightly.

I began tearing up a bit. For the longest time I felt that even my mom held something against me for the things I've done but she was still proud of me. I really do have the best mom in the world. I hugged her again tightly. "Thanks mom. I love you too." We stood there embracing each other for a couple of minutes. Then suddenly without warning, the door to my mom's office was roughly opened.

"Jayden!" Ziera called out. Jayden and his mother, Maria withdrew from their embrace as she caught their attention.

"Whoa Ziera! What's wrong?" Jayden asked as Ziera stumbled in with Henro and Emilia walking in behind her.

"It's the empire! They've brought even more company!" Ziera said as she showed a holo screen from her wrist. It showed three imperial warships heading towards the town.

"Imperial warships!?" Jayden shouted.

"Yeah. Cozar was nothing. This is the empire getting serious. Jayden, I'm sorry but we have to go now. Who knows what they'll do to all the people just to find you." Ziera pleaded.

"Dammit! Mom, listen I have to-."

"I know. I can't stop this and I wasn't sure about these people at first but I trust them to keep you safe. And I don't know about this gauntlet of yours but I know you'll do good with it." Maria said.

"Really? But I thought you were against me fighting the empire." Jayden asked.

"I still am, but whether I like it or not this thing is a part of you now. The empire will come after you so if you have to fight them to keep both yourself and others safe then so be it. Besides, I'm never against you helping people Jayden. It's just who you are." Maria said with a smile. Jayden smiled back and nodded.

"Hey! Skip to the end already, we're on the clock here!" Henro shouted.

"You heard the man! Get out of here before I throw you out myself!" Maria said jokingly.

"Right! Thank you for everything mom! I promise I'll come back someday and I'll make you proud! I love you!" Jayden said as he and the others were running out of the shelter. Maria just watched as she saw them leave.

Flashback: 12 years ago

"Hey mom! Check me out! I'm Perseus, leader of the Guardians of Esos! I'm gonna defeat those evil gods and save you!" Jayden declared. Jayden was wearing cardboard boxes he cut into to wear as his costume. The costume's design was drawn with a sharpie and he had a wooden gauntlet. His mother was meanwhile in the kitchen cooking. She put down the pot, turned around amused by her son's antics.

"Oh will you now? You're going to fight all of those mean old gods to protect me?" Maria said as she scooped up Jayden and spun him around making him laugh.

"Yeah! No matter who I face I'll always protect you and dad mom! Just you wait! I'll be your hero!" Jayden said, giving a happy smile. Maria felt joy in seeing her son happy but felt even greater happiness in knowing that Jayden loved to help others even at that young age.

"Yes. I believe you Jayden." Maria said, hugging him tightly.

"Ah mom! The pancakes are burning!" Jayden shouted. Maria turned her head around and saw the pancakes getting burnt black.

"Ahh! My gosh! Uh hold on!" Maria said, panicking! Maria put Jayden down, lowered the heat and flipped the pancake. It was nearly burned black. "Oh shit!" Jayden gasped.

"Swear!" Jayden shouted. Maria facepalmed.

"Uh listen Jayden don't repeat that okay? Cursing is bad alright?" Maria said.

"But you do it all the time." Jayden countered.

"Well don't copy me! Especially not at your age ya hear me?"

End of Flashback

Maria smiled to herself feeling nostalgic. It's been awhile since she's thought back to that moment. Who knew her little boy would actually start fulfilling his dream. She clasped her hands and prayed.

"Adonis, our son is becoming a man. He's fulfilling his dream, and yours. Please, watch over him." Maria said.

***

Jayden and his friends ran out of the shelter and stood at the entrance. "What's the plan Ziera!? We gotta move!" Henro said.

"But we still haven't heard anything from Tenjin yet! We're supposed to meet up with him after we've secured Ragnarok!" Emilia noted.

"Tenjin?" Jayden asked himself. He heard Emilia say that name before and it sounded familiar to him. He knew he heard it from somewhere before.

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

"Oh, I forgot to mention. He called me a few minutes ago after my interrogation. He warned me about the ships so he gave me the rendezvous of where to meet him." Ziera stated.

"WHAT!?" Henro and Emilia questioned. "And you're just telling us now?" Henro asked.

"What's the big deal? I still told you didn't I? So stop complaining, we gotta move. This is where we're gonna meet him." Ziera displayed her blue holo-screen in the air for all of us to see. It showed the warships approaching Lockwood and a red marker a good stance from them in the East. "Right there is the rendezvous. Tenjin is taking Emilia's dropship to that location where we will meet him and get out of here." Ziera said.

"Wait up there!? Are you crazy!? That's still in front of the warships. They'll lock onto us in a second and shoot us down!" Henro said.

"Exactly. Tenjin moved the dropship in the direction outside of town. That way the imperials won't land and drag the townsfolk into this. They'll be too focused on us to care about Lockwood. It's risky but it's our best shot. Though it won't be easy. Henro, you and Emilia are gonna have to fly me and Jayden up there yourselves. I'm still low on mana and Jayden doesn't know how to fly yet." Ziera said.

"Wait, can I fly like you Ziera?" Jayden asked.

Ziera nodded. "Of course. You basically have my powers after all. But it's too late for a flying lesson so we'll have to make due."

"But you said both Henro and Emilia are gonna carry us out. I get Emilia but how is moody over here gonna do it?" Jayden inquired. Ziera and Emilia stared at Henro. Henro had an annoyed look on his face and sighed.

"Yeah, yeah I gotcha." Henro said, groaning. Suddenly, Henro's body began to change. His pale skin turned more gray, he grew two long horns on his forehead pointing up, his purple eyes became brighter, his pupils became more slit, his ears got pointier, he had sharp claws, sharper teeth and grew two big gray wings out his back. He stood tall as Jayden gazed at his appearance.

"Holy shit! You're a demon!?" Jayden shouted. Henro just turned to him and snickered.

"Yeah sure. Let's go with that." Henro said. Jayden didn't get what he meant but he had no time to think about it as henro had grabbed onto Jayden's back and flapped his wings up taking him into the air.

"Wait! Wait! Hold on!" But Henro didn't listen. Thus, Jayden screamed as Henro soared into the air fast while carrying him. As they flew off, Emilia sighed.

"Oh dear. Henro really should work on his social skills. He's always nervous when we meet new people." Emilia said.

"Hmph. You're telling me. Alright let's go Emilia." Ziera ordered.

"Right!" Emilia grew her wings. She scooped up Ziera bridal style and flew out into the air.

***

High above the sky of Lockwood:

"Okay! It shouldn't be much further! If we keep going at this speed, we'll reach Tenjin in no time!"

"Easy for you to say! I'm not nearly as fast as Em when it comes to flying!" Henro retorted.

"Well suck it up and fly faster! Unless you rather get shot down by the empire, be my guest!" Ziera shot back.

"Tch". Henro said.

"That doesn't include me too, right!?" Jayden asked in a panic.

"Of course not!" Ziera looked at Jayden, seeing all the wind blow in his face. "How are you holding up Jayden!?" Ziera asked.

Jayden could barely see with all the wind hitting his eyes. "I'm holding up! I just wish this joker knew how to fl-." Jayden suddenly started coughing and gagged. "Oh goddamnit! I think I ate a fly! Bleh!" Jayden cried out.

"Hehe". Henro chuckled.

"What's so funny!?" Jayden demanded.

"Guys focus! We've got company!" Ziera shouted. Jayden and the others looked back and saw the warships heading towards their direction. Not only that, dozens Omni-Fighters exited from those three warships and were in hot pursuit of the group.

"Oh would ya look at that!? Who saw this coming!? Great plan as always Ziera!" Henro said sarcastically.

"Oh shut up! I'd like to see you do better! Oh wait, that's right! You can't!" Ziera retorted.

"Bitch! I wouldn't even pay you to plan my funeral let alone our escape plan!" Henro shouted back.

"Guys! Stop fighting each other and focus on the task at hand! PLEASE!?" Emilia screamed. Henro and Ziera ceased their arguing and calmed down. "I get we're all on edge but right now we all have to calm down and make it out of here alive." Emilia stated. Ziera sighed.

"She's right. But we'll never outrun those fighters this way. We gotta take them down." Ziera said.

"Take them down? How!? Not sure you remembered but I can't exactly defend myself while carrying the newbie over here." Henro said.

"That's okay Henro. You just do your best to get Ziera and Jayden to Tenjin. I'm going to try and slow those fighters down as best as I can!" Emilia declared. After hearing that, Henro was furious.

"WHAT!? The hell you will! That's suicide Em!" Henro roared.

"We don't have a choice! They're catching up to us every second we waste time! You have to trust me to do this Henro!" Emilia argued.

"Hell no! Screw that! I'm not letting go alone!" Henro yelled. Jayden was taken back by this. He didn't realize Emilia meant that much to Henro.

"Didn't you tell Jayden not to underestimate me!? Then shut up and take your own advice, okay!?" Emilia yelled. Henro calmed down. He knew she was right but even still this was different from some soldiers on the ground. It didn't sit right with him to face Omni-Fighters and warships on her own.

"Henro don't worry she's not going alone. I'm going with her." Ziera said. We were all taken back by that.

"What!?" We all shouted. "But Ziera you-." Jayden was about to argue against it but Ziera shut him down.

"I'll be fine Jayden! I told you before I can take care of myself. Besides, I'll have Emilia with me!" Ziera said, trying to ease his concerns.

"But how are you going to fight!? You said you were out of mana, remember!?" Jayden questioned.

Ziera had a trollish smirk on her face and snickered. "Don't worry, I'll improvise. Emilia you up for it?" Ziera asked.

"Well, I don't want to put you back in danger but if you have a plan then I'll trust you!" Emilia said.

"You heard the lady! You two boys get out of here and meet with Tenjin!" Ziera ordered.

"Tch! Whatever. You two better just come back alive you hear me!" Henro shouted as he flew ahead.

"Ziera!" Jayden shouted back.

"Jayden I said I'll be fi-."

"No I mean...kick their asses for me!" Jayden shouted back with a smirk. Ziera was a bit taken back and blushed but then she smiled and gave Jayden a nod.

"Of course! Who do you think you're talking to!?" Ziera asked.

While Henro kept flying Jayden to the rendezvous point, Emilia flew back with Ziera to face the Omni-Fighters. "Okay Ziera what's the plan?" Emilia asked.

"Just get me close to one of those Omni-Fighters. I'll handle the rest from there. We can't take on the warships because of their Omni-Shields but we can at least take out a good portion of their Omni-Fighters. So we'll both take most of em' down to give the guys enough time to make it to Tenjin." Ziera said.

"On it!" Emilia then smiled and hummed loudly. "OH WOW! I just realized this is gonna be our first team up together! We never really had the chance to do so before! Isn't this exciting!?" Emilia asked cheerfully.

"Uh, yeah sure." Ziera said. Ziera was a bit taken back by that statement but appreciated Emilia's enthusiasm.

"Aw come on! You can at least try to act more excited." Emilia pouted.

Ziera sighed but laughed right after. "You're right. Let's show these losers what we're made of huh Emilia?" Ziera asked with a smirk.

Emilia got excited again and smirked back. "Right! Let's kick their butts!" Emilia sped up at the Omni-Fighters.

One of the Omni-Fighters had both on their site. "Sir! Targets acquired. The Garuda girl has the renegade princess in her arms. Should we fire?" The imperial pilot asked.

"Yes. The orders come from Prince Ziren himself. Eliminate all of the targets, including the former princess." Said the admiral of one of the warships.

"Yes sir! You heard the order men. Open fire!" Said the pilot. With the order given, the Omni-Fighters began opening fire on Emilia and Ziera. Emilia even with Ziera in her arms bridal-style swiftly and gracefully dodged their shots. Since Ziera was an android she didn't have to worry about getting dizzy. Emilia then dashed towards a nearby Omni-Fighter.

"Okay you ready!?" Emilia asked.

"Throw me!" Ziera ordered.

"Okay! Go get 'em!" Emilia shouted as she spun around and threw Ziera at the top of an Omni-Fighter. Ziera landed right on top of the roof of the fighter.

"What the!?" The imperial pilot shouted.

Ziera then shoved her fist through the glass window of the fighter and opened the hatch. She gave the pilot an evil smirk as she grabbed onto him. "Hi! Bye!' Ziera said as she picked up and threw him out of the fighter and out into the air. The pilot screamed as he fell from the sky. "Sorry dude but, I need this more than you do right now." Ziera said.

She grabbed onto the controls and turned the fighter around facing the other ships. "Heh! Okay boys! You're in the presence of your former princess, so show me the proper respect and grovel." Ziera said as she began shooting at the other Omni-Fighters. While there were dozens in the air Ziera managed to start shooting them down one by one effortlessly.

"Sir! Ziera managed to take control of one of our Omni-fighters!" Shouted the pilot through the coms.

"Well then shoot her down you idiot!" Ordered the Admiral.

"Yes sir! Men! Target that Omni-Fighter-gah!". Suddenly his com went out. He had already been shot down by Emilia's storm arrow.

"Nuh uh! Sorry guys but you'll have to get me through first!" Emilia declared.

"Garuda Style: Piercing Storm!"

Emilia shot multiple storm arrows at the Omni-Fighters, shooting several down.

"We lost 8 fighters from those shots!" Shouted an imperial pilot.

Ziera kept zooming across the sky shooting at Omni-Fighters. Two Omni-Fighters started pursuing her. "Tch! This would be easier if I wasn't low on mana right now. I could have converted this piece of junk." Ziera said. Ziera was getting cornered but she had an idea. "Emilia! I got an idea. Fly towards me!" Ziera said.

"On it!" Emilia compiled as she dashed towards Ziera's ship with Omni-Fighters pursuing her as well. Both Ziera and Emilia were racing towards each other in the air at full speed. Right before they crashed into each other they both simultaneously shouted: "Now!" Emilia ducked under Ziera's Omni-Fighter and shot her arrows at the fighters while Ziera shot down the ones pursuing Emilia. Both sets of fighters went down simultaneously.

"Yeah! This is our first time working together and we're in cync!" Emilia shouted excitedly. Ziera smiled,

"Heh. I guess we are. Not bad Emilia." Ziera said.

However they couldn't celebrate for long as Ziera was starting to get hit from more Omni-Fighters. "Ugh! Dammit!" Ziera said. She then noticed some of the fighters were slipping through her and Emilia's defenses and making their way towards Jayden and Henro. "Oh no you don't!" Ziera shouted, trying to shoot them down.

"Don't worry Ziera! I got ya!" Emilia shouted shooting more arrows but then more ships appeared behind her.

"Emilia watch out!" Ziera called out. Emilia looked and dodged but there were so many fighters appearing at once that it was getting harder to evade. One managed to tag one of Emilia's wings.

"Ah!" Emilia screamed in pain.

"Emilia!" Ziera screamed. She tried to support her but more Omni-Fighters kept popping up. The more she shot one down the dozens more that appeared to shoot at her. Henro caught wind of Emilia's scream.

"EM!" Henro shouted. Jayden was watching the whole thing and was getting frustrated. He hated feeling so useless in this situation.

"We gotta do something! We can't just leave them there!" Jayden shouted.

"Shut up! I know that but...". Henro hesitated. If he went over there he'd be putting Jayden in danger and just get in the way. What's worse, is Omni-Fighters we're approaching him and Jayden fast. "Shit! Goddamnit where the hell is Tenjin!?" Henro asked.

"Enough of these games! Fire the main cannons immediately and wipe them all out!" Shouted the Admiral.

"Yes sir! All fighters be advised! Warship cannons are opening fire!" Ziera, who was still in one of those Omni-Fighters heard the whole thing.

"Shit! Guys, we have to get out of here now! They're about to fire the cannons!" Ziera shouted.

"You've gotta be shitting me!" Henro said. The cannons from all three warships were beginning to charge. The blasts from those cannons were strong enough to level mountains. If they got hit with those blasts it would be over for them. "Emilia! Ziera! Get out of there now!" Henro shouted.

"Dammit! What do you think I'm doing!? Emilia!" Ziera shouted. Emilia was hurt, her wing was severely burnt from the plasma blast so she was barely floating in the air but she wasn't done.

"Garuda Style: Piercing Storm!"

Emilia shot more storm arrows at the fighters pursuing Ziera. They were all shot down. Ziera could move more freely now and immediately flew over to Emilia.

"Emilia, quick! Get in the fighter! I'll fly us out of here!" Ziera shouted.

"No! You have to go! I'll slow them down for as long as I can!" Emilia said weakly.

"Don't be stupid! There's too many of them! Quit being stubborn and get in!" Ziera ordered.

"That's precisely why I can't! We're still too far from Tenjin. Those fighters are fast and there's too many to avoid so I'll slow them down with my arrows as best as I can." Emilia said.

"The hell you will, you idiot! Get over here now!" Henro roared.

"Just trust me! Getting you guys out of here is more important to me!" Emilia argued.

"But it doesn't mean anything if you aren't here with us, Emilia!" Henro roared.

"Henro...". Emilia said sadly.

"Cannons are charged sir!" Shouted an imperial.

"Good! Now open fire!" Shouted the admiral. The inside of the cannons from the warships began glowing red.

"Oh no. Guys!" Jayden shouted.

"God Dammit Tenjin, where are you!?" Ziera shouted.

"EMILIA!!!" Henro shouted.

"I've got no choice! I won't run! I'll be strong! Like Henro! Like Ziera! Like my father! Like Tenjin! I'LL FIGHT! I'LL FIGHT TILL MY LAST BREATH!!" Emilia declared as she was about to shoot her arrow. The cannons fired at the group. The red glow from the beams was so bright it was blinding. It looked like it was over....till someone appeared.

In a flash, the group were blown back by a strong wind just barely missing the beams from the cannons.

"The hell!? Where did this wind current come from!?" A pilot shouted.

"I can't control my fighter! It's too strong!" Shouted another pilot. The dozens of Omni-Fighters were all pushed back from the group by the wind. When the wind stopped Jayden and the others were a good distance away from them.

"Huh? What the!? What just happened!?" Jayden asked. He looked up at Henro who was sweating in shock. He was staring at something. Jayden looked in his direction.

It wasn't something but someone. Right in front of Henro and Jayden was a man floating above them flapping his wings. He was carrying Emilia in her arms bridal-style. Who is this guy? He looked to be in his mid 30's. He was really muscular, had a thin beard, black hair, and a large scar over his right eye. But he was injured. Badly injured actually. His clothes were torn, he had scrapes, a big claw mark on his chest, blood leaking from both his arms and top of his head.

"Yo! Sorry for the hold up." The man said.

"Tch! Took you long enough you bastard." Henro spat.

"T-Tenjin." Emilia gasped out.

"Sh. It's okay Emilia. You did good. Great even. All of you did." Tenjin said.

That name, his appearance, and the fact that he's also a part of the Garuda tribe. It all clicked with Jayden.

"Holy shit! You're Tenjin! Tenjin Nakamura of The Midgard Republic!" Jayden shouted. Tenjin turned his eye to Jayden and looked at her wrist.

"And you must be the new wielder of Ragnarok. Huh. Just my luck. Should have figured it would be another kid." Tenjin remarked.

"Tenjin!" Ziera shouted as she flew over with her ship.

"Ziera, take Emilia. Henro get our new friend to our drop ship. I'm going to entertain our audience for a second." Tenjin said. He placed Emilia in Ziera's fighter and began to float towards the warships and Omni-Fighters.

"But there's so many of them! You can't take them all on by yourself!" Jayden said.

"Hey kid. Didn't they already tell? If not I'll say it only once so listen up." Tenjin then drew his two long black blades. He then did a pose getting ready to strike. "Don't ever underestimate the Garuda tribe." Tenjin said.

"Holy shit! That's Tenjin Nakamura from the Republic! We're screwed!" Said a pilot.

"Shit let's get out of here." Said another pilot.

"Hold your positions! Tenjin can't be that strong. He's just one man! He's overrated!" Shouted the admiral.

"Garuda Style: Tempest Thunder Clap!"

Tenjin swung both his blades and out came multiple gigantic lighting slashes that struck all the Omni-Fighters and warships in the area. All of the Omni-Fighters were beginning to fall and the warships stopped moving.

"We've lost all systems on our fighters! We're going down!" One of the pilots shouted.

"Our systems are being fried from the lightning! Admiral! We can't pursue them! What are your orders!? Admiral!?"

The admiral had no words. He just stood there sweating as he just witnessed a glimpse of the awesome power of Tenjin of the republic. The admiral then fainted.

"Admiral!"

Tenjin watches as the ships begin to fall. "You guys may serve Zenal, but when you're in my skies you bow your heads before me. Because here, I'm your king." Tenjin said.

"That's so cool!" Jayden said excitedly.

"That was cool to you?" Henro asked with an embarrassed look on his face.

"Alright. Enough gawking. Let's get out of here!" Tenjin ordered. The group fly away from the imperial ships toward their drop ship. It was only a few miles away but they made it.

"I'll stay in the fighter. I think this will be useful for us later." Ziera said

"Fine. Henro, fly us out of here." Tenjin ordered.

"Yeah yeah keep what's left of your shirt on." Henro said.

"Oh and kid." Tenjin called out to Jayden. "Welcome aboard. I hope you're ready for what comes next." Tenjin said.

Jayden was nervous but also kinda excited. There was no going back now but whatever challenge he was going to face he felt ready. "Thanks!" Jayden said. Mom, dad, everyone, I know this won't be easy but I'm ready. It won't just be me but these guys with me. Our journey is beginning now. Jayden thought.

HYBRID