May 31st, 2018. 6:20 PM.

“Took you long enough! You just can’t wait for my last life to waste away, can you?!” Reggie retorts as he backflips away from Ernie just before the impact. Elio, fueled by his charged energy, abruptly lunges downward as he propels himself through the air with a swift and powerful dropkick on Ernie. His shoes connect forcefully with Ernie’s chestplate, the impact being enough to make Ernie stagger backwards, despite the size difference. The echo of the impact reverberates through the combat deck’s battleground as Gendross watches with intrigue. Elio lands gracefully on his feet and looks at Reggie with a smug smirk; “Nine lives, and you STILL won’t outlive me? You gotta step up your game, Reggie!”

Ernie regains his footing and begins to attack once more, as Elio and Reggie keep brawling with him, Gendross ponders; “That’s strange. I saw such a bright aura just a second ago. It can’t be pyrokinesis because that wouldn’t explain the sudden surge of power he gained. What is it?” Gendross’ attention suddenly fixates on Elio as he notices him dive toward Ernie’s leg, wrapping his arms and legs on it; “Alright Reggie! Get to it!” Elio shouts and commands.

Reggie dashes up Ernie’s body and moves in the way of his vision, forcing Ernie to target him. Ernie performs a lariat to shake off Reggie, he falls to the ground and recovers by somersaulting. Reggie continues to distract Ernie by darting through the rocky, forest terrain, agilely evading Ernie’s relentless onslaught of lasers, missiles, and bullets that are being unleashed. His fur bristles with fright as he expertly leaps and twists his body around, narrowly avoiding each deadly projectile. Ernie’s body clanks as he pursues Reggie, his enormous metal limbs causing the ground to shake with each step.

Reggie then reaches the side of the battlefield and races up the stairs, each step a blur beneath his swift paws. His body ripples with energy as he reaches the top as he dodges oncoming bullets, propelling himself with graceful precision toward Gendross. He jumps onto Gendross’ shoulder before performing a powerful spring off of him, soaring through the air, momentarily suspended before landing in the pond right in the center of the deck. Ernie quickly turns around to prepare a laser blast toward Reggie, seeing as how he’s treading water. Elio let’s go, falling off the leg, he then runs toward one of the walls of the deck. He reaches one side of the deck and bolts his way up the wall as Ernie’s close to firing a blast.

“HEY ERNIE!” Elio yells at the top of his lungs, he then flicks a bullet that was on the ground toward him. The bullet hits Ernie, he holds his fire and turns around, locking onto Elio. He begins to fire bullets at Elio, but Elio dodges through turning around and dashing down the wall. Elio reaches the ground, as he begins to make his way toward Ernie, his shoulder gets grazed by a bullet. More bullets start coming his way as he narrowly avoids the destruction. As he’s closing the distinct, a crazy grin etches on his face, Ernie intensifies his assault. Streams of bullets seem to converge upon Elio, yet he navigates through the deadly crossfire, only the air being grazed by the bullets as Elio’s heart pounds with sheer excitement while his speed only increases further.

“Take a nice underwater adventure, Ernie!” Elio shouts upon leaping towards Ernie’s shoulder as he drives it forward like a battering ram, crashing right into Ernie’s center. The impact resonates through the battlefield, a forceful collision that sends shockwaves through Ernie’s metallic structure. Ernie staggers backwards and falls down into the water, causing a gigantic splash. As his leg submerges in the water, a symphony of grinding gears and strained hydraulics accompany the grim spectacle of the metal clanking of his leg being crushed. As the metallic sinews strained against an inexorable force, yielding to the relentless pressure from within. Ernie’s exterior, a testament to his body’s impregnability, betrayed no hint of the internal turmoil, yet the very essence of his formidable strength succumbed to an invisible adversary. A dance of destruction unfolds as the monumental appendage, once a tool of dominance, bows to the inexorable forces that now lay siege to his colossal frame.

Reggie walks toward Elio and vigorously shakes the water off his fur; “Well, I now see what you mean by it’s important to stretch before you swim.” Reggie remarks as he looks toward Ernie’s crushed leg. “You got that right! Anyway, you did great out there, Reggie!” “I can’t take all the credit, you did all the damage!” Reggie responds while Elio picks him up. The heat from Elio’s body quickly dried Reggie’s soaked fur, Gendross then vaulted over the balcony, landing on the battlefield, his toes digging into the ground upon landing, he began walking toward the two.

Elio looks at Gendross and smiles; “Please tell me that you have a Heavy Titan named Oscar! That one is Reggie’s favorite!” “Is he green?” Gendross raises an eyebrow in response. Reggie simply nods; “Then yes, we have an Oscar.” Gendross answers before going back to sounding serious; “Anyway, that was certainly a marvel to see. I also figured out upon watching you what your power is, Elio…” He points his index finger at him; “...You can generate and manipulate heat, can’t you?”

“You got that right! What gave it away?” “Your increase in speed and physical strength made me speculate it, but what confirmed it for me was how Ernie’s leg was crushed. It was like crushing a can. When putting a heated can in cold water, like that pond, the cooling causes the water vapor to condense and create a partial vacuum. The extraordinarily low pressure of the partial vacuum inside Ernie’s leg made it possible for the pressure of the air outside of it to crush it.” Gendross explains. Elio tilts his head in confusion; “I know though… not too sure why you had to explain it to me.” Gendross is slightly annoyed by his retort, but shrugs it off; “I was explaining it to Reggie.” “Hmm?” Reggie asks while he leans his head back to look at Gendross.

“Never mind, what matters is you two did great.” Gendross smiles before continuing; “Welcome to The Sky Pirates!” “Thanks! We’re glad to be here!” Elio returns the excitement. Gendross beckons; “Come, I’ll show you around the ship.” He begins walking toward an elevator, he speaks to his communicator; “Technician Team, Ernie’s in need of some repairs, he’s on the combat deck.” He then disconnects from the line. “I’ll start by showing you the sixth and seventh decks, that’s where the cabins are.” Gendross informs them.

Elio nods as they follow him; “Thank you, Gendross. You know, despite being wanted by the world, you’re a good dude.” Gendross stays silent for a bit and takes a deep breath; “I appreciate it, Elio. I’m just glad to know that there’s other people out there who, despite not knowing me, can see that I’m not what the world makes me out to be. My title may be known as ‘Captain of Divine Destruction’, but I’d never destroy something for selfish reasons.” He responds, somewhat sentimentally. He steps inside the elevator, Elio and Reggie walk in after.

As the elevator’s rising, Elio and Reggie both look down at the floor, both suddenly not liking this plan after hearing the tone he spoke in. “By the way, Elio, Reggie, all I can really say is don’t feel as though you’re a burden. If in the future, you can’t take any of the stress from what the crew has to fight against to keep ourselves safe, you’re always free to leave. I don’t think it’s selfish for people to want what’s best for themselves. So even if you do leave, you’re always welcome back if you need help.”

May 31st, 2018. 6:25 PM.

Neither Elio, nor Reggie say anything in response, Elio just simply nods his head. The elevator stops rising, when the door’s open, Gendross steps out; “Well, anyway, I hope this fits to your liking.” He beckons for them to follow. Elio and Reggie are greeted with a corridor that boasts warm LED strip lighting. Plush, sound-absorbing wall panels that enhance a sense of tranquility, while touch-sensitive panels offer crew members control over lighting and information displays. Virtual windows display scenes from different destinations, creating the illusion of being in various environments. Advanced materials and magnetic levitation technology which ensures a smooth, noise-free area, making Elio and Reggie amazed as they feel a seamless blend of comfort and innovation.

“This is crazy! It’s like each deck has us entering a completely different part of the world!” Reggie shouts in awe. “Wouldn’t be the first time I’ve been told that.” Gendross replies. As they walk through the cabin deck, Gendross stops in front of a metal door and opens it by pressing a button. “Here’s where I work, as well as sleep. So if you ever need to let me know about something and if your communicator, which I’ll give you later, ever acts faulty, you’ll know where I am.” He mentions as he walks inside. Gendross’ office looks pretty standard, but still professional to Elio, the only thing that catches his eye is when he notices a gigantic water tank.

“Got it. Also, I’ve never seen a Jovian bed in person before. It’s as I imagined it, like a tank at an aquarium! So, is it plastic or glass?” “I went with a glass tank. Even though they can shatter pretty easily, they last longer and can be boiled for a deep clean. Plastic on the other hand, those tanks stain easily and pick up odors, which would require cleaning it and replacing the water a lot more.” He answers Elio. “Huh, sort of like baby bottles. That would also mean that the glass tanks are chemical-free, right?” He asks, Gendross nods.

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Reggie hops on a couch that’s in the office, he immediately flops onto his stomach and lays down. Elio sits down next to Reggie and pets him; “You learn something new everyday, it seems.” Elio answers Gendross. “Yeah. Alright, get up, we’re going to the Lab Deck so you can get your communicator.” “I’d just gotten comfortable though.” Elio retorts. Gendross raises his eyebrow; “You were speaking on behalf of Reggie, weren’t you?” “No… Yes.”

“Don’t lie, Elio. You were speaking on your behalf as well.” Reggie then looks at Gendross; “Don’t listen to him, he’s lying. He and I are on the same wavelength.” “Yeah, it’s true. We’re both retarded.” Elio nonchalantly replies. “Yeah, what he said…” Reggie then pauses, his ears fold back as he looks at Elio; “Aye, not cool, man!” Reggie shouts, feeling insulted, Elio stares him down, he blows on Reggie’s face as a retort.

“Elio!” Reggie shouts in faux anger as he gets up and jumps toward Elio’s face. Elio starts laughing as he catches Reggie by the stomach and pins him on the cushion. Reggie starts biting Elio’s finger as he’s being dragged. Gendross picks up Elio with one hand, his voice a little more stern; “No more wasting time. We’re heading to the lab now.” He sets Elio on his feet, Reggie perches on Elio’s shoulder as Gendross walks out. “I don’t want this tour to take too long, our plan was to take off earlier and relocate on Ganymede, but due to your arrivals, and your circumstances, I decided to delay takeoff until after I finish giving you the tour of the ship. So let’s get to it.”

Elio freezes and tenses up while Reggie’s pupils dilate upon hearing that the Levacean will be taking off after the tour. “Wait, what?! The ship’s taking off after this?! That just makes it worse!” The two think in unison. Elio plays it cool; “Oh, wait for real?! We’re going to Ganymede? I’ve never been there before!” “Well, then I guess I could give you the shorter version of the tour if you can’t wait to get there.” Gendross smiles at the enthusiasm.

“Damn, our best chance at bringing him down would be right now when he’s off guard.” Elio ponders. He takes a deep breath, his face scrunches as he feels bad for Gendross, knowing that he’s unaware. “I’m sorry, Gendross!” Elio leaps off the floor and strikes him with a devastating drop kick on the top of his back. “GA-” Gendross’ shout gets cut off as he’s knocked forward, face planting into the hard wall, falling over in the process.

He groans as he holds onto his face; “Fuck, man…” He stands up and looks at Elio and Reggie, his eyes shooting daggers. “So… I guess that’s how it is then, isn’t it?” Gendross asks, his trust being broken and his spirit being hurt. Elio gets in his fighting stance, he sweats a little out of anticipation, seeing as how threatening Gendross is when hostile. “To use Reggie’s own status as an endangered species, just to get my sympathy and let you on the crew so you can get the drop on me. One of the Heavy Titans got busted up for nothing then.”

“I’m sorry. I can’t tell you why we have to do this, but it got to the point of us having no choice, but to go through with it.” Elio responds calmly, he then gets ready to attack by rushing in with a jab in hopes of landing a hit on the soft shell on his stomach. Gendross uses his fast reaction speed to easily grab Elio’s torso, he has a look of shock on his face as he can’t move from his grip. Gendross then looks at his communicator; “Have the Levacean take off. Elio and Reggie, our so-called new recruits are actually our enemies.”

Elio channels his thermal energy into his torso, heading himself up until Gendross’ palm burns. His calm demeanor is lost; “Fine then! You want to capture me?! Then have fun fighting for that!” Gendross yells as he clenches harder, lifting Elio off the floor and then slamming him down on his back, as he hits the floor, Gendross then turns around, dragging his back along the floor and throwing him into the air. Elio’s body hurls as he ragdolls, flying into one of the LED strips, knocking it down, he hits the floor. The wind gets knocked out of him, Gendross is about to attack, but then is stopped when Reggie jumps onto his shoulder; “You’re not hurting him!”

Reggie releases his claws and aims for Gendross’ eye, Gendross swiftly shakes Reggie off of him. “That was too close! I didn’t think Reggie would be aware that Jovians don’t have eyelids!” Reggie then runs toward Elio, he’s able to breathe again; “Elio, are you ok?!” Reggie shouts, Elio holds his arms out, catching Reggie. “I’m fine, I can still move! We’re getting out of here though! Your safety is not worth the risk!” Elio then carries Reggie with one arm as he channels all of his thermal energy into the palm of his hand. He releases it all as steam, creating a barrier between them and Gendross.

“Let’s go!” Elio shouts as he takes off with Reggie. Gendross looks at the steam barrier; “He just had to know biology, didn’t he?! No matter…” He puts his communicator up to his mouth. “Elio, why aren’t we just taking the elevator to get off? Why are you searching for the staircases to the deck?” “There’s security cameras all over this place, there are cameras in the elevators as well! If they see us in one of those, they can either shut down the elevators until we run out of oxygen, or just have the whole crew wait outside wherever we’re going!” “Got it!” Reggie nods as he holds onto Elio while he jumps down a flight of stairs, reaching the fifth deck of the Levacean. He begins to turn to go down the next flight of stairs.

Reggie’s ears perk up; “Elio, no!” Reggie shouts. He immediately stops running as he notices there being crewmates on the staircase, armed and ready to fire. He quickly steps to the side and begins to dart around the fifth deck. “Elio, take a right! I hear the sound of firearms being loaded from the left of the fork!” Reggie instructs, Elio turns to the right. “Keep your ears up! I’m relying on you to guide me away from whatever danger is showing up!” “Of course!” Reggie closes his eyes to focus on his hearing. Elio keeps taking turns based on what Reggie tells him; “Right!” “Left!” Right!” “Right!”

“We’re approaching another stairway! There’s only two guns!” “Great!” Elio replies, he speeds up as he reaches the staircase. He doesn’t give the crewmates any time to react, he just falls towards them, kicking them both down with each foot, he then reaches the fourth deck. He keeps running; “Alright, take a left at the end of the corridor!” “Hold up, Reggie!” Elio stops running, Reggie is confused. “Haven’t you noticed that not once have they made an attempt to fire at us? I don’t think they’re trying to shoot us down, Gendross knows that we’d be able to take them down easily, and he doesn’t want to waste another Heavy Titan! They’re luring us into a trap!”

Gendross watches from the security room, he immediately figures out why they stopped running, he looks at his communicator; “Don’t let them catch on, open fire!” At the slightest click of a rifle, Elio sees Reggie’s ears fold back, he immediately turns left at the end of the corridor as they begin to fire at them. As he turns left, he sees crewmates waiting at the end of both sides of the turn he took. “RIGHT!” Reggie shouts, Elio instinctively listens to Reggie and sidesteps to the right.

May 31st, 2018. 6:30 PM.

As he steps to the right, Elio looks down to realize that there’s no floor beneath them; “Shit! I knew there was a trap, I wasn’t aware it would be this though!” The two fall for a couple of seconds and the chute begins to curve. The two tumble, falling out and landing in a dark room. Elio groans; “You ok, Reggie? Nothing broken?” Reggie stands up and licks him on the nose; “I’m good. What about you?” “I’m fine as well…” Elio sighs in relief. “Now, my question is where the hell are we?” He stands up, looking at the surrounding darkness.

“We’re probably at the lowest deck of the ship.” “We are.” Reggie’s surprised with Elio’s intuition. “Wait, how can you tell?” “The engine room is the second deck like how Gendross mentioned. It’s warmer here than all the other decks we’ve been to, besides the engine deck.” Elio explains, Reggie nods; “I see. Surely there must be a way out of here…” Reggie looks around and sees a faint light coming through what seems to be a frame; “Hey Elio! What about that light? Surely that must be a door!”

“Let me check it out.” Elio walks up to it and taps it; “It is. Steel as well, I can’t exactly melt it, but I could use my body heat to soften the metal enough to bust through.” Elio rubs his hands at ludicrous speed to generate heat faster. He presses his palms on the door; “Alright, this should take a couple of minutes.” Though as he pushes on the door, his body quickly shutters; “¡Hace frío!” He shouts, he also takes notice that Reggie is now in front of him, his arms wrapped around his leg as his claws dig into them, as though he’s clinging on for life.

“Wait, why’s it so bright in here?!” Elio realizes, he turns his head and notices that an aft door has opened up. He notices the vast expanse of the ocean stretching endlessly beneath, its surface a mesmerizing dance of the topaz hues. Sunlight reflecting off the gentle ripples. Its calmness kicks Elio’s paranoia of the situation into overdrive, as the inviting, quietness of the ocean below taunts him, knowing he has no place left to run. Suddenly, the orange hues entering the room fade as a bright, azure light begins to glow brightly, so much so that the whole room has darkened because of the light’s grainy intensity.

“That’s a Sonic Boom Cannon!” Elio grits his teeth as he looks at Reggie, his claws now digging into his skin as Reggie feels more helpless by the situation; “Dammit! Reggie can’t survive that! There’s no universe where he would!” He kneels down and puts his arm around Reggie, he speaks softly; “Reggie, listen to me. I’m gonna need you to stay on the ship for me while I’m gone. I know you’re scared when I’m not with you, but trust me on this. Keep Gendross from escaping, find a way to make the crew stay in this spot while I find a way to get back up here.”

Reggie looks up at Elio, his pupils dilated; “Ok… I trust you.” Reggie retracts his claws, Elio’s leg bleeds slightly. Elio smiles reassuringly; “Good!” He picks up Reggie and faces the direction of the Sonic Boom Cannon. The cannon reaches the peak of its charge state, Elio steps forward and chucks Reggie at the chute they fell from. The cannon fires the very second that Reggie safely lands inside of it, and in a flash, Elio is gone because of the concussive blast. Reggie looks and stares at the blank space as the natural light from the sun returns. “ELIO!” He shouts out of fear of being on his own. As the aft door closes, he sits down, his ears folding back once more, processing what just happened.

Elio screams in horror as he plummets from the sky, the wind roaring in his ears, drowning out all sound except the adrenaline-fueled thuds of his heart. The sea and waves below expand, an ominous canvas of the impending impact. The world spins in a chaotic ballet of fear, and time itself seems to stretch in the desperate seconds before his inevitable plunge. His senses are hijacked by visceral fear of the unknown as his primal scream echoes through the vast emptiness of the open air.

His body shoots into the water, gliding through and falling right onto a sandbar, partially breaking his momentum, sending his body forwards at an upwards angle. His momentum fully comes to a stop as his body reaches the beach of Gull’s Bay and he flops out from a wave, being carried to shore. Beachgoers take notice of his body washing onto shore as he doesn’t get up, they worry about his safety as a lifeguard starts making her way over as fast as she can when seeing the crowd of people. Elio tries to stand up, but due to the pain and dizziness he feels, he just falls over on his back, breathing heavily.

“H-hold… just… hang in there… Reggie…” He faintly mutters, passing out.