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Code Oblivion Chapter 4: Battle For Eldra Pt: 1

Noah looked around, confused. The last thing he remembered was falling asleep in Aidan’s arms and now he found himself in this weird, blank void. ‘How did I get here?’ He asked himself as he floated in the vast, empty space. He had actually been here a few times in his dreams but he hadn’t been able to move. Now he had full control of his body for the first time. ‘Okay this is new, but where is this place? Why is it so empty?’ He continued to look around in the darkness, searching for any sign of life, only to find no one. Letting out a frustrated sigh, he continued to float around, scowling as he still sensed not a single soul. This went on for what felt like hours, until he heard a deep chuckle, sounding nearby.

Noah let out a yelp as he swiveled around to see a cloaked figure. He growled. This had to be the thief, the one who ruined his life. “Who are you?” He shouted out, soon becoming dismayed when he didn’t hear his voice. There was no sound. Did that mean there was no air for sound to travel through? If that was the case, how was he not suffocating? Again, he heard the chuckle, only this time in his head.

‘It’s good to see you, but sadly you aren’t ready quite yet. We will talk when it’s time. It’s nice seeing you, Noah.’ The voice said, sounding distinctly male.

The wolf felt his eyes slowly start to close, all thoughts becoming blank as he drifted off to sleep.

…

Noah let out a gasp as he quickly sat up with a jerk and looked around, wondering where the hell he was. He wasn’t in his room, that was for sure since he found himself in what looked like a massive tent and it was crowded. He was starting to panic, ready to call for his dad until reality hit him again. He wasn’t home, he was in Eldra and his dad was dead. Before he could dwell on that he heard someone shout something next to him.

“Hey, you’re awake!” He turned and saw Jerome sitting next to him, along with Aria who sat at a nearby bed.

“How long was I out?” The wolf asked as he placed a paw to his head, then looked for his phone. After rummaging through his jacket and pants, he took it out, frowning as he saw there were no bars.

“Good luck trying to get a signal. All the communication arrays have been wrecked by the attack, your phone is basically useless right now. As for how long you’ve been out? Not very long really, probably about thirty minutes.” Jerome said in a helpful manner before his face became grim and sad. “Look dude, I’m sorry about your dad…” His gaze traveled to the floor, Aria looking torn between wanting to give a hug and staying put.

Noah sighed and shook his head. He didn’t want to think of this right now, not when they were surrounded by murderous Unsealed. “It’s fine…I’m still numb about it, but I have to keep going for his sake.” He slowly maneuvered himself out of bed to stand up, a brow being raised as a single question came to mind. “Where’s Aidan?” He asked as he looked around the area, taking notice of Flint and Elena sitting on beds nearby, talking amongst themselves. He felt sorry for the tiger honestly. It helped put into perspective that he wasn’t the only person who lost someone today. Flint had lost his fiance and plenty of others lost loved ones as well. Looking around once more, he saw two jackals; a father and son cuddled up next to each other. The boy looking to be about 9 was crying, obviously scared out of his mind while his father did his best to comfort him. Close to them was a pretty lioness woman who seemed to be crying her eyes out. Did she lose someone too? He was brought back into focus as Aria answered his question.

“He’s out fighting. The soldiers are slowly regaining sectors of Eldra while trying to reach HQ so they can turn the Anti-Unsealed Wards. From what I’ve heard over the radio it seems HQ is the epicenter of the invasion. There has to be an extremely powerful Unsealed directing the hoards, or at least that’s the prevalent theory.” A soft sigh escaped her. “I hope it happens soon though because at this point, we’re gonna run out of medicine if this keeps going on. We’ve been trying to contact the MODD base in Sinra to get backup but something is interfering with the signal so we’re stuck until we can break whatever is blocking outside communication.”

Noah nodded. They were basically trapped. Nobody could access outside communication and it was doubtful that they had enough food and medicine to last them longer than a week.

“Yeah, she’s right. For all we know there could very well be a Puritan running the show.”

“But there hasn’t been a Puritan sighting in decades! I thought they were all wiped out.” Noah said with a small frown. The possibility of there being one around leading the charge scared him. He had heard how powerful they were. Hell, Crescentia’s own shape was the result of the destruction of the Puritan Unsealed Eve. Just the act of dying had given her the power to obliterate a large chunk of a large island but she was said to be the strongest of all the Unsealed. The Unsealed of Light if he remembered. Most of the Puritans had been destroyed during the closing years of the Great Seal War but he heard stories of those who survived and caused trouble through the 500 years. “Are there any stories of Puritans linked to metal?”

Jerome just looked down in a troubled manner while Aria had a focused look on her face as she seemed to be thinking about something. “There is actually…the Unsealed of Metal that was known as Hydra. He was one of the few Puritans who survived the Great Seal War. A monstrous multi headed serpent made entirely of metal that caused great destruction, only to be sealed away nearly a 100 years ago by the Elemental Lord of Metal.” She said while biting her cheek. “This has been told for many years...but if he got free then that would be a disaster. It should be impossible to break the seal as long as the Elemental Seal of Metal exists but that wouldn’t happen unless the Seal had no one to pass onto. The Lt. Commander is still here so if something happened to my dad he would have the Seal, but since he hasn’t gotten it that means my dad is still alive. So what could have set him free?”

“Maybe someone had the power to break it?” A deep, husky voice stated, causing everyone to see Aidan walking in the tent area looking a bit bruised and battered but no worse for wear. “We’ve cleared a few more sectors and we’re getting closer to reaching HQ but any scouts we’ve sent haven’t returned back and since we don’t have access to HQ we don’t have access to our recon drones. What dad is fighting is an unknown but the closer we get, the stronger the Unsealed are and more numerous.” He sighed “I came to talk to Lt. Commander and see if he has any plans on what to do.” He said before looking towards Noah and smiling. “Ah, you’re awake. How’d you sleep? Feeling any better?”

Noah blushed and shrugged. He still wasn’t sure how he felt. It would probably hit him after he was out of this current mess. Aidan seemed to sense this as he walked up and patted the younger wolf boy on his head before musing his golden blond hair.

“I know you’re hurting. I went through the same thing with my mom. But just hold on alright? We’ll figure out what to do after we free HQ and rid the city of the Unsealed.” He said as he stood up and stretched before walking away.

“Wait!” Noah called out as he slowly got out of bed and stood on his feet. It was easy to tell his lower half fell asleep as his legs shook from the effort of standing. “Please, let me help…” He slowly walked up towards Aidan who in turn gave him an odd look. “I want to fight. My dad was killed by these monsters. I want to have revenge for what they did to him!” He shouted out, sapphire eyes glinting in the light and blazing with determination.

“No.” Was Aidan’s answer, a simple and blunt one at that. “You’re a kid Noah, you have no combat experience. Do you even know how to wield a gun or a blade?” He inquired, crossing his arms over his broad chest as he waited patiently for an answer.

Noah blushed and shook his head before looking down at the ground. Outside the occasional high school brawl (mostly with Dawson), he didn’t really have much experience in a real fight but even then, his point remained. Those monsters killed his father, he couldn’t just sit down and let someone else solve his problems for him. Suicidal as it sounded, he wanted to fight and help so that nobody else would go through what he did today. Too many lives had already been lost in this attack. ‘I have to fight! Even if I fail, I can die knowing I did my best. Isn’t that a proper death? And then, I can be with my dad again.’ He furiously shook his head at that thought. It wouldn’t do anyone good going out like that. He’ll survive and make something of himself, maybe join the World Riders. That had been his dream since one of their representatives spoke at his high-school last year and the entire courier thing sounded cool and fun. “That doesn’t matter! Listen Aidan, I’ve got to do this. Please let me help.” He begged, hoping his plea wouldn’t fall on deaf ears.

There was a moment of silence, the tall wolf’s eyes furrowed in serious thought as he contemplated on the matter. “Look, kid…” he started out, then stopped as a voice from behind spoke out, causing him and everyone else to turn.

It belonged to Flint, who’s expression was a mixture of sadness and resolve. “Kid’s right, I want to help too. I don’t have actual combat experience but I’m on the VCRS team and we’ve done simulations like this several times. I know it’s different than actual warfare but it’s something, so please count me in as well.”

Elena nodded from beside him and smiled. “I have some martial arts training! My grandfather was a Tribal Chief and he taught me a lot before I left Oxis for college.” Several more people approached the group; the crying lioness and the jackal man who was holding his son in his arms. For some reason he let out a small gasp when he saw Noah and looked away which confused the wolf a bit. Did this jackal recognize him? Something about him felt familiar and that made Noah frown. Was this man from his forgotten past?

“What do you guys want?” Aidan asked, annoyed at what was happening. “Don’t tell me you two want to fight also? You’re all civilians! My job is to protect you guys, not send you to your deaths in combat! I can’t let you go into this. These aren’t soldiers, they’re dangerous monsters who can and will kill you without a second thought.”

This seemed to annoy the jackal who spoke up, his dark brown eyes glaring at the Lieutenant. “Don’t make assumptions kid! I served in the MODD military way before any of you were even born!” He said in a snide tone. “I’ve fought in the Trinan Rebellion so I’ve fought both enemy Soldiers and Unsealed.”

This brought a lightbulb in Noah’s head. He and the rest of the students in Crosstown had actually studied the Trinan Rebellion a bit before the holiday break. This was a war that took place in the country of Duesima, the home of the Elemental Lord of Time, 25 years ago. The province of Trinan in western Duesima rebelled against the Duesimian Government in a bid to gain independence and it resulted in a nearly decade long war between the Duesimian, MODD forces and the Trininian rebels who were backed by several Anti-Modd militias who opposed MODD’s growing influence and control of the world.

It was a bloody thing and the Elemental Lord of Time of the era was actually killed in one of the ending battles which put the united forcers into chaos before Commander Vladimir Alkaev became ‘The Clockwork Knight’ and the current Elemental Lord of Time. Eventually, the rebellions were crushed and the rebelling Province was completely broken apart and divided up into several smaller ones. After putting restrictions on communication, things seemed to have settled down as there had been no major uprisings in the country afterwards.

“Oh, sorry, I didn’t know. But even then, you have a kid.” Aidan said, pointing a finger at the boy in his arms. “You’ve got other priorities.” He did have a point. He doubted anyone else had children but this guy did and if he died, he would put the kid in the same position Noah himself was. This didn’t seem to deter the jackal as he looked the younger man in the eye.

“I know that, but he’d be in danger still if we just sat here. The Unsealed could overpower your soldiers and they could reach here and kill us all! If there is a small chance that me participating can end this situation, then it’s worth it.” The man said, the look on his face was just daring Aidan to refuse him once again.

The wolf looked a bit helpless before a tall, burly labrador walked up and placed a paw on his soldiers.

“We could always use more help, you know this. We have a veteran and at least two people with some form of combat experience.” He said, looking towards Loni. “What about you Mrs. Daniels? Do you have any combat experience?”

The lioness, much to everyone's surprise nodded with a tiny, sad smile on her face. “Actually yes, I was on the martial arts team in highschool and college. Billie taught me a few things as well since he served in the Rillotian National Guard on top of being my camera man, so he taught me a lot! I’m not some fragile maiden Sergeant.” She said before looking down towards Noah. “But the Lieutenant is right, you should stay here. Let the adults handle this.”

The young wolf growled, his body shaking in frustration. He hated being treated like a kid, he always had. He might be young but he wasn’t helpless and he knew if given the chance, he would prove useful. “I’m not a kid, I can do this! I’m a quick learner so if you give me the chance I’m sure I will adapt!”

Aidan frowned, but Noah didn’t stop staring him down. This made the labrador next to him chuckle and pat the wolf on the back, making him glare. “You know you’ve lost this don’t you? This kid won’t back down, and it seems like nobody else is willing to do so either. We could use the help but it’s up to you. Lt. Commander Higgs left a bit ago, said he was going to lead the charge on the HQ to get to your dad and said you were in charge, so what do you want to do?”

This caught Jerome by surprise as he gave a worried look towards the labrador. “My dad left? He didn’t tell me he was going to go out! Is he going to be okay?” The scared, pink haired cougar asked, looking at Aidan in a beseeching manner. Noah could tell he was worried about the man and he put an arm around him in an attempt to comfort him.

Aidan gave the boy a sympathetic look and sighed gently, obviously still frustrated about the situation but he put that aside to comfort the distressed feline. “He’ll be okay Jerome, your dad is a tough man and very few Unsealed could ever hope to even scratch him. My dad wouldn’t have chosen him as his Second if he wasn’t capable enough.” He gave a wink as he patted the boy on the head before focusing on Noah, his face scowling. It was obvious he was upset at the position he was stuck in, for his body was stiff and he looked like he was going to scream. “Do you seriously want to do this kid? This is not some game!” He said, his eyes locking onto Flint. “This isn’t some combat simulator! Death isn’t just a game over. It’s permanent, you won’t come back! If any of you think this is just like a VCRS game I don’t think I want you on the field.” He said, his voice calm but harsh and Noah saw Flint flinch at the tone of his voice.

“None of us think this is a game Lt.” The tiger hashed out, looking almost hurt. “VCRS is a great training method as I’m sure you are aware, the MODD academy uses them in their training methods. I know it’s not a complete replication but I’ve trained enough with it that I can still react fast enough to fight.” Flint said as he gained enough courage to speak out. “I can handle myself with the proper weapon, just give me the chance to prove that to you.”

“He’s right! I might have zero experience in VCRS or otherwise but just give me the chance alright?” Noah said, stepping up to the elder wolf which made the labrador chuckle.

“Wow, he’s a stubborn one. I don’t think you will be able to talk him out of this.” The Sergeant said, shaking his head in an amused manner. “Let him fight, just keep an eye on him alright?” He said, patting the wolf’s back before walking away, patting Noah on the head before walking off. “I’m going to check on my wife. She and my mom made it here alright but I haven’t been able to see them yet. I think I’ll just stay back and help protect civilians.” Was the last thing he said before exiting the area. Aidan stayed silent for several moments, his body literally shaking before he let out a frustrated shout as he slammed his gunblade into the ground and grabbed his head.

‘Wow, he must really be upset…’ Noah thought to himself, feeling kind of guilty at putting the man in this situation but he just couldn’t stay safe here when others were dying. The sudden outburst turned into cursing and muttering as Aidan started pacing around the tent. This went on for several minutes before the wolf just stopped in front of him and glared.

“You know what, fuck it! You can come, but I swear to god if I have to keep saving your ass I’m sending you right back here.” He said sharply, before putting a paw on his forehead. “I’m putting a kid into a warzone, I’m a horrible person.” He muttered to himself as he started pacing around again. “How do I keep putting myself in these bullshit situations? I just wanted it to be a nice, easy day like every festival before it but nooo Unsealed just had to attack and I got stuck with this stubborn as hell kid who doesn’t have enough sense to stay where it’s safe.” He continued muttering before grabbing his gunblade and pointing it towards everyone. “Okay! If you guys want to fight you’ll need to be armed.” He said before walking away once again. “Follow me.” Was all he said and the others did as he ordered, following him through the tent and into the admin area and eventually to a small box with a button on top.

“Oh, that’s a space box.” Loni announced, her eyes sparkling with interest. This made Noah widen his eyes a little as he had heard of them. They were extremely rare supposedly because they’re boxes infused with Space glyphs, making them appear small on the outside but far larger on the inside.

“Yup, pretty much every MODD unit has their own Space-Box that we use as a portable armory. The Soldiers weren’t able to put much in but it should be enough so everyone can have their own weapons. Just pick what you think fits you best.” He said as he pushed a button, causing the box to explode into smoke and turn into a large armory shelf with numerous weapons on it.

Noah noticed a massive Meteor Hammer, a pair of energy pistols, a massive metallic naginata and a pair of metal fans. But the last set of weapons were the ones that caught his attention the most. A pair of swords; one black as night and the other looked mechanical with an hourglass and timer looking thing attached to the hilt. For whatever reason he felt drawn to them.

‘These blades will be key to your survival.’ A voice that was definitely not his own mental voice spoke within his head.

‘What the hell!? Who the fuck are you!? What are you doing in my head? Get out!’ Noah mentally shouted at the intruder who just chuckled lightly at the young wolf’s frustration.

‘You will find out who I am shortly, but please take my advice. Otherwise, you might not live to make that destined meeting, so just trust me.” Noah shook his head, confused on what was being told to him. Was he going crazy? Was the stress from losing his dad causing him to snap? It would explain his near suicidal desire to go onto the battlefield with Aidan and the others wouldn’t it? Wasn’t hearing voices in your head that weren’t your own one of the first signs of schizophrenia? Maybe the actual family he came from before he lost his memory had a history of it? Or maybe it was an aftereffect of the complete amnesia he suffered from? He broke from his weird thoughts as he felt a paw shaking him gently to get him to focus.

“You okay? Listen, you can’t space out like that. If you do that in a combat situation it’s almost a guarantee you’ll get killed before you can focus back on the situation so keep that to a minimum okay?” That was Aidan, his concerned voice snapping the young wolf to reality.

Quickly shaking his head, Noah regained his senses and saw that everyone had already chosen their own weapon. Flint had chosen the Meteor Hammer and was strapping it to his back in a practiced fashion as if it was the easiest thing in the world. That must have been the weapon he had specialized in during his VCRS games. Elena had chosen the naginata, moving it around in a graceful manner as if she was testing the speed and weight of it so she could make sure it fit her. The jackal whose name no one knew had chosen the double pistols, slinging them around a bit before stuffing them into their hoisters. Loni was playing around with the metal fans, leaving only the pair of swords for him to pick up. ‘Well, I guess I’ll be choosing these after all, creepy voice guy.’ He thought as he grabbed the weapon and attached them to his belt like some samurai from those movies he watched with Emily when they were bored.

Once he saw all of them properly armed, Aidan nodded, then let out a small sigh before he addressed the ragtag group. “Okay, we’re doing this. I still think it’s stupid and we’ll probably all get killed but I guess I don’t really have a choice.” His ears sunk down to his skull as he grimaced about the situation.

“We’ll be fine! Don’t ask me why but I got a good feeling about this.” Flint said in a casual manner as he adjusted his hammer a bit more. “I usually have a good sense about things so I think we will survive this.” He smiled a bit before looking down. “I just feel bad for everyone who lost someone today. Me and the kid were hardly the only ones who lost loved ones after all. If we do die, it will at least be in service to stopping the threat from getting worse and save countless more lives in the process. Don’t you think that is a good enough trade Lieutenant?”

“Of course, everyone who joins the Military knows they might die but that’s beside the point, I accepted this risk when I joined the MODD Academy in Minetrocia. None of you have gone through that, it should not be your responsibility to do this. Protecting you is what the MODD forces are for.”

Flint just smiled and put a paw on the other man’s shoulder. “Listen, you are doing your best. The Unsealed attack caught everybody by surprise so let us civilians help okay?” He said before looking towards the jackal. “Oh, by the way, what’s your name dude? I know the lioness from TV...Loni Daniels right?” He asked, giving the woman a look which she returned with a polite smile. “But nobody knows your name so spill it.”

The Jackal looked a bit annoyed. “If you must know, my name is Dolan Burke.” He said while he twirled his guns before putting them back in the hoisters. “Happy? What else do you want to know?” The man asked harshly, causing the tiger to wince and step away, putting his paws up in surrender.

“Geeze dude, sorry! Just wanted to get your name is all. We’re going to fight together so might as well get to know each other.” The tiger explained, getting nods from everyone.

The jackal just let out a huff before turning away from the group. “Naive kid, you don’t know the first thing about being in a warzone. Getting too close to people can get you killed. I watched a lot of men die during the Trinan rebellion. We lost our Commander and I lost a lot of good friends.” He let out a soft sigh and his gaze traveled down to the floor. “After that, I decided it would be best not to get close to any of my comrades. When I retired, I was all but expecting to just drink myself to death like most of the former soldiers in my country do. That was until I met my wife.” He said, cracking a small smile before it disappeared just as fast. “Listen, I don’t give a fuck about any of you. I don’t mean any offense but I just want to get out of here and return home with my son.”

“I guess that’s fair.” Aidan said in a nonchalant manner. “At least you are honest on not being a team player, just don’t get in our way and we’ll be fine. That fair, Major Burke?”

This made the jackal give out a savage smile. “Oh, so you knew who I was this entire time.”

“Of course, you were a subject of study in our classes. The best sniper MODD ever had. You got quite the kill-count I heard.” Aidan said, his voice cold. Noah just looked between the two men, sensing the mounting tension between them. Dolan still gave him a bad feeling but he was sure he was being stupid. He broke from his musing when he heard the wold let out a sigh and spoke once again. “I didn’t think you were still living honestly, but that doesn’t matter, it’s time to get going.” He walked out with the others following behind him.

As they went to the exit, Noah heard people yelling and much to his surprise, he saw Jerome and Aria run up to them. The wolf girl hugged her brother, then let go, staring up at him. “So you’re going out again big bro? Be careful alright? Bring dad back please?”

Aidan let out a smile, which made the young wolf feel warm and fuzzy on the inside. It was obvious that this man is close to his family. “I’ll be fine. I’ll bring dad back and we can rebuild everything together. Just stay here okay? Don’t do anything stupid.” Aria just gave a tiny smile and a nod as she hugged her brother again before stepping away from him and went towards Noah.

“You be safe too okay? I can’t believe you managed to convince him to let you go along! Just...please don’t get hurt.” She pleaded, the concern in her voice showing on her face.

Noah nodded and gripped her paws, squeezing them gently. “I’ll be fine, don’t worry okay? We will bring your dad back and I’ll do my best to not be a burden” He said before turning towards the feline who did something that honestly surprised him.

Shyly, Jerome approached them and gave him a quick kiss before backing away in a shy manner. “I’m glad we met. I might not have survived if it wasn’t for you. So thanks, you saved my life. Now don’t die okay? Maybe after this mess we can hang out?”

Noah smiled and nodded. He still wasn’t sure what he was going to do after this but he could probably stay for awhile and help out with the rebuilding, maybe take a trip home so he could say goodbye to Emily and then try and join the World Riders if they would take him. “Sure, I would like that! But I should get going, I can’t be left behind.” He rushed off towards the others, waving at the cougar as he caught up to the group who crowded towards the entrance of the safe area. As he walked, his eyes caught the same guys who were guarding the perimeter earlier. They stood strong and silent like statues, as if ready to fight any of the Unsealed who managed to break through the other soldiers. Fully willing to die, to protect the civilians huddled inside the tent, he honestly couldn’t help but admire just how cool that was. They were the last line of defense so they must have been super strong. As they continued approaching them, the two saluted Aidan.

The dragon, (Kasim if Noah’s memory was correct) was the first to speak, his expression serious. “Taking a raid party out Lieutenant?” He said while looking around, staring at each of them. “Is this a good idea, sir? All of these people are civilians. Is it safe for them to go out with you?”

Aidan didn’t say anything, merely giving an ‘at ease’ gesture which made the dragon relax slightly, though he still remained a bit stiff. “It’s probably not, but every single one of them have decided to fight. And try as I might, I was not able to convince them otherwise.” He said, mostly glaring down at Noah who simply blushed underneath his dark fur and looked down at his feet.

The other wolf still seemed a bit upset about the entire thing, though Noah couldn’t really blame him. He himself was wondering if losing his dad made him snap and this whole thing was him trying to go out in a burst of suicidal insanity.

“But sir, one of them is a kid! You can’t be serious! What if he gets hurt?” The bull standing next to Kasim asked, sounding concerned about the situation.

This made Aidan’s gaze harden even more towards Noah which made the younger wolf fidget a bit, feeling even more guilty about this. He knew that if anything happened to him that the Lieutenant would never forgive himself. ‘It’s okay, you just have to be extra careful. Sure, this is the first time you’ve ever done something like this but you’ll survive!’ He thought to himself, trying to give himself a bit of a pep talk before going out into battle.

“He was the most stubborn, but don’t worry, I won’t let him out of my sight. Keep the perimeter up and don’t let any Unsealed through, got it? We’re going to aim for the HQ and hopefully help my dad.” With that, Aidan gave his own salute and dismissed the two lower ranking soldiers before walking out of the plaza with the others following right behind. The areas surrounding the plaza were peaceful, having been secured by MODD towards the start but as they traveled further away, Noah saw more and more fights erupting between MODD soldiers and the Unsealed hoard. Suddenly, the other wolf took this chance to unsheath his Gunblade, automatically switching to sword mode. “We start here, this street is the most direct route to HQ so it will be the one most packed with Unsealed. If any of you are having second thoughts, you can head back into camp. We can’t have any of you losing focus and getting killed, you got me?” He said, his voice firm and commanding. Fitting for a Military Lieutenant. It also made him sound really hot to Noah who found the commanding presence almost arousing.

‘Damn teen hormones! Now’s not the time!’ He gave a mental shout to himself before refocusing on the task at paw. He noticed that as Aidan was saying this, he was giving a sideways, almost hopeful glance as if hoping he would back down and head back to safety. However, the young wolf held firm in his decision. As scared shitless as he was, he knew he was way too far deep to head back now. He wouldn’t be a coward.

Aidan let out a disappointed sigh as he held his blade up into a fighting stance. “Alright, let’s go!” He shouted as he ran towards the Unsealed, slicing them apart effortlessly. He was moving so fast Noah could barely track his movement. The others began to charge in after, splitting up amongst themselves to fight their own targets. Flint was the first one to act, smashing his Meteor Hammer down on the skull of an unfortunate Unsealed, shattering it completely with a wild grin on his face. Noah figured it must have been somewhat cathartic for him to be taking out his pain and anger on them for the death of the husky. His movements were almost as quick and refined as Aidan’s. Those years of VCRS seemed to have paid off as he zipped around, smashing one Unsealed after the other in remarkable speed considering his size and mass. When Unsealed tried to attack him, he was able to easily dodge or block them with his hammer before giving the finishing blow.

Not far from him, Elena moved in an elegant and graceful manner, easily slicing the monsters apart with her naginata. She moved it around as if it were a simple dance baton. It was almost as if she were dancing in the battlefield. He winced when she shoved the blade right into the single eye of a particularly large Unsealed, which resulted in the blade of the naginata spilling out behind the head, drenched in an oily dark substance that must have been the thing’s blood. It was a beautiful yet gruesome sight to behold as she then split the head apart with a simple thrust upward, causing the monster to fade away, leaving nothing but a few scraps.

Next he turned his focus onto Dolan who, true to what Aidan had said of him, had managed to get himself to an excellent vantage point and was easily sniping any Unsealed that weren’t already getting walloped by the others in the group. His eyes cold and dark as he did this, no emotion at all in them. This honestly creeped Noah out a bit, but he didn’t have much time to ponder as he saw a metal fan cross his face and slashing something in front of him. “Pay attention!” He heard Loni call out, snapping him back into focus. He blushed and focused back on the situation, drawing his swords. Rushing towards a group of Unsealed he felt a strange feeling of familiarity. Following his gut, he slashed at them, cutting them apart and dodging as fast as he could.

“Wow!” Noah heard someone call out from the group. Judging by the accent, he figured it was Flint but he didn’t let that distract him from his fighting. He honestly had no idea what he was doing, his instincts driving him but he wasn’t going to complain since it was doing a good job keeping him alive at the moment.

‘Why am I doing this? How am I fighting this well?’ He thought to himself as he continued to fight, taking out a few groups that the others were fighting. He couldn’t stop himself. Soon enough, the area was clear and he snapped out of his trance, tittering slightly. Feeling dizzy and overall exhausted, he tried taking a step, only to lose his balance. Before his body could collapse to the hard ground, a pair of paws quickly grabbed one of his arms and pulled him upright.

Confused, he looked up and saw Aidan smiling down at him. “That was incredible kid! I didn’t know you could fight like that. I thought you said you’ve never been in a serious fight before.”

Noah shook his head, still having no true idea what just happened. It was as if his body was on autopilot. “I was telling the truth, I’ve never been in a fight like this. I just...knew what to do.” He muttered as he felt his head start to clear and feel his legs stop shaking enough for him to stand on his own. He looked up and saw the others gathering around him with various looks of curiosity and awe.

Flint was the first to speak, his eyes almost gleaming in excitement. “That was so cool!” He shouted out, hopping up and down like a child. “I never seen anyone move like that! Are you on a VCRS team? Where did you learn to fight like that?”

Noah couldn’t help but blush from the praise. “As I just said, I have no idea. It just happened, and no, we don’t even have a VCRS center in my hometown so I’ve never even gotten to play a VCRS game, though I’ve always wanted to. We just had the typical sports...you know, like football.” He explained, the tips of his ears becoming red like scarlet.

This made Flint chuckle a bit. “Believe it or not, I was actually on both the VCRS and Football team in highschool but I decided to just do the VCRS thing in Uni since I felt I would be better served with doing that instead.” He flexed one of his arms and gave a cheeky wink. “I think I made a good choice don’t you think?” Noah honestly couldn’t help but nod, the tiger was even bigger than Aidan.

Loni spoke up next, letting out a gentle cough to get everyone’s attention. “Forgive me for disrupting the moment, but how far are we from HQ?”

Aidan narrowed his eyes, not saying a word as he tapped on his wrist. In seconds, a holographic map of the city came into view, showcasing numerous sectors in the shape of octagons with colors of red and blue. Blue obviously represented MODD forces while red meant Unsealed. As everyone watched, all eyes caught sight of an area rapidly shifting over to their side. “We are here.” There were green dots on the screen, indicating where the group was. “We’re close to HQ, just a sector or two away so we better hurry.” He pointed towards the central red octagon with a MODD insignia on it. “We’ll have to continue fighting through the city but if we’re lucky, we’ll meet up with other groups and we can all face whatever my dad is fighting.” He let out a soft sigh as he closed the map. It was easy to tell he was worried about his dad, the man had been fighting for hours by now and despite being an EL, he was still a fur and thus had his limits. His attention focused on Noah. “Can you stand, kid? No offense, but I want to get going. The faster we get to HQ, the faster we can help my dad and get things under control. Do you think you can trigger that fighting style again? It’ll be really useful in the battles to come.”

The young wolf blushed again and scratched the back of his head, a nervous smile on his lips.“I’m not sure but I can try!”

Aidan nodded, then pat him on the back a few times before walking off to the indicated sector with the others following close behind.

Noah stood still for a moment, his gaze traveling down to his paws as he brought them up, staring at them in confusion. ‘What was that? I don’t get it, I’ve never been in a fight like this. How on earth did I even do that? It was as if my body just knew what to do! It doesn’t make any sense.’ He closed his paws and brought them down to his sides, letting out a sigh. ‘On the bright side, this will make it easier for me to survive.’ He flinched a bit as he felt a paw on his shoulder and he turned to see Flint looking down on him with a sad smile.

“I’m impressed kid, you’re doing a good job for someone who's never been in a fight before, but I’m curious. What do you plan on doing when all this ends? You lost your father right? And he’s the only family you had. Where will you go?”

The wolf shrugged. “I was honestly hoping to try and join the World Riders. I’ve been wanting to do that for awhile. I know it’s difficult but it’s my dream. What about you?”

The tiger let out an impressed whistle at that and patted Noah on the head. “You got ambition kid! The World Riders are among one of the elite groups in all of Mortaelis, and dangerous too. But as for me, I don’t really know, I’ll probably move into the dorms when I get home. I can’t stay in the flat anymore, not without him there.” He gripped his chest. “I’ll continue my studies or at least try to. I’m going to use his memory to help me save the lives of others.” He then turned his head and smiled brightly. “I’ll wish you luck kiddo!”

Noah thanked him and did the same. The chatter stopped when suddenly, a single Unsealed sprang up out of nowhere, surprising the two. Thankfully one of the members weren’t far as they rushed in to quickly bring the machine down.

It was none other than Loni, sheathing her fans and glared at the two. “Don’t space out like that and strike up a conversation!” She huffed, then shook her head. “Anyway, it seems like we’re getting closer, the Unsealed are getting more common. Is my inquiry correct, Lt. Hart?”

A permanent scowl settled on Aidan’s face after coming up to them. “Definitely. We’re about one sector away. If we keep this up we’ll reach it pretty quick.”

Noah let out a sigh of relief. He was starting to get tired. Even with his weird fighting ability, his stamina was still the same. However, out of nowhere he heard a massive roar coming from the direction of HQ.

“What was that…?” Flint asked in a small, scared tone. Everyone looked around in fear, wondering where the sound was coming from. Whatever it was, it had to be huge. Really huge.

“You think that was the Puritan?” Noah asked in a concerned tone. “Didn’t your sister say something about the Unsealed Puritan of Metal known as Hydra? Is he actually loose?”

Aidan glowered towards HQ. “I don’t know, it shouldn’t be possible though. How would he? The seal was connected to the Seal of Earth.” He muttered before shaking his head, a determined look on his face as he started running towards the source of the noise. The others rushed behind him, all of them having weapons drawn and ready to fight. While they encountered numerous lesser Unsealed, they were all dispatched easily, not slowing them down in the least.

During this run, a sense of dread kept growing in Noah’s stomach. He could sense some strange power coming from where they were headed towards. It felt sinister and it made his heart beat fast as they got closer. ‘This feeling...why do I feel so sick? It feels so familiar…’ As they kept moving, a massive building that was the Eldra MODD HQ became more and more clear in the distance. Soon enough, they found themselves in the HQ plaza. Once they arrived, everyone froze as they saw the massive monster; dozens of serpent-like heads and ten massive wings on its back, its skin completely metallic. Almost mechanical in nature.

“Is that Hydra?!” Flint screamed out in horror.

Noah could only stare at the monster. He had seen pictures of the Puritan level Unsealed…the most powerful of their kind and the rulers of their element. Massive, monstrous beings with unimaginable power. It’s been said that they were all either wiped out during the aftermath of the GSW or sealed away by their matching Elemental Lord. Seeing one up close made him shiver, thinking of how the original Elemental Lords fought and somehow won against these monsters.

“Wait…if Hydra is out, where is Aidan’s father?” Elena asked, then let out a sharp gasp and covered her mouth. “Oh my God…!”

At her outburst, everyone (save for Noah) turned their attention to Hydra, only to freeze in utter shock at the figure that was clutched in its scaly claws. It was a male wolf, struggling to escape the grip it had on him, but it all proved futile.

The young wolf knew who this person was immediately, having researched all of the Elemental Lords. However, he didn’t pay much attention to any of that as of this moment, for he looked over to Aidan who was shaking out of pure rage. “What do we--”

Whatever Noah was going to ask fell on deaf ears as Aidan raised his gunblade and started to run toward the beast. He didn’t make it far however as both Flint and Dolan grabbed him in the nick of time. “Dammit, let me go! That’s my dad!” He thrashed about wildly in an attempt to be set free.

“No, that’s suicide!” Loni shouted out and got in front of him, hands on her hips as she frowned. “You do realize what we’re up against, right? You’ll die in a matter of seconds if you go in alone like that!”

“Idiot,” Dolan huffed, earning a dangerous growl from Aidan, at which he ignored completely. “Lieutenants like yourself should have their emotions in check and be able to think rationally, not be a damned fool and disgrace their rank! Young people these days, I swear…”

The wolf stood stock still for a moment upon hearing that, eyes wide in shock. “I…” he began, then sighed heavily as both of his ears tucked to his skull, looking completely dejected.

“Hey, there’s no need to be that harsh! His reaction is normal! But he’s right, we need to think of a plan on how to rescue your dad and somehow be able to deal with Hydra himself.” Noah explained, brows furrowing as he looked over and up at the beast. “And fast…”

Loni nodded. “He’s right, we’re facing a Puritan here. Something none of us have ever fought before, so we have to be careful.” She gazed at Hydra for a moment, humming as she did so. “He doesn’t seem to know we’re here, which is great for us. We should use this time wisely.”

“Alright, but what about--” Elena began to ask, but stopped short as Dolan’s voice cut through.

“We can hear you just fine, so go on and spill it. This boy isn’t going anywhere, trust me.” He said, a small and mirthless smirk on his lips.

Without any hesitation, Loni quickly dove in and explained the situation at hand. As this went on, a faint sound rang in Noah’s ears, making him look around only to find nothing that could be causing it.

“I can help you.” A familiar voice sounded in the deep recesses of his mind.

“What?! How can you help me? And why should I trust you?”

“Clear your mind, young one and you will have the power to defeat Hydra.”

Noah was bewildered at this point, but just as quickly as the voice came, it faded away, and with it, the faint ringing. He hadn’t realized his eyes were closed until he opened them with a startled jolt. Upon doing so did he see everyone staring at him. “Umm…”

“Are you okay? You just...zoned out for a moment there, not saying a word.” Elena walked up to him and leaned in close, making the young wolf blush and back away a couple of steps. She raised a brow at that, but didn’t question. “Well, you seem to be alright. What was that all about?”

“I…” he started off and then hesitated for a moment, thinking on how to properly explain what his plan was. After a few seconds, he shook his head and started speaking. “Okay look, this is going to sound a little crazy, but please, let me meditate. I think this could help with figuring out on how to beat that thing.”

“No!” Dolan blurted out, the tone of his voice suggesting this was a very bad idea. “Like hell we’re going to sit here while you--”

“Hold it!” Loni held up a paw, fully interrupting what the jackal had to say, earning her a growl. She stared him down, unperturbed by this. “Now I know what we just heard sounds completely ridiculous given what’s going on here, but we’ve all seen him fight. And again, we’re up against a Puritan so any option is available.” Her eyes traveled from him to Noah, an expression of concern evident on her face. “Are you absolutely sure about this?”

Noah nodded enthusiastically. “Positive! Just give me ten minutes! Trust me, I have a feeling that I need to do this.”

Flint frowned and shook his head. “I’m not exactly comfortable with this, but we’ll protect you while you do your thing. If anything happens on our end, we’re slapping you awake, got it?”

“Before that, can you guys let me go now?” Aidan inquired as he looked up at Flint and Dolan, his expression unreadable. “I won’t try anything. You can watch and make sure I don’t.” He flashed a small smile, waiting for an answer.

A full minute passed before Flint heaved a heavy sigh and let go, allowing one of the wolf’s arms free. “Alright, but if you do decide to be reckless, you know what’s coming.” He looked over to the jackal who appeared to be very disappointed as he shook his head and did the same, all the while gumbling.

“Alright Noah, go do your thing!” Elena gave a thumbs up, then brought out her naginata with everyone taking out their own weapons.

The young wolf smiled and chose a spot not too far from everyone and sat. As he closed his eyes and took deep breaths, his mind began to calm, floating in darkness.

…

When Noah opened his eyes, he found himself in what looked like a giant metallic city. ‘Where the hell… where the fuck am I? This isn’t Eldra… is this some weird astral projection?” He looked around before taking a few steps forward, taking notice that not a single soul was around. It was all so silent. ‘How did I get here?’ He shook his head as he continued to explore the city and soon enough he found himself in a large park like area. In the center, he saw a large gazebo and he could have sworn he saw someone sitting there. ‘I don’t know how much time I have left… I got to see if that person knows something.’ Noah thought as he ran up to the figure. As he got close, it turned out to be a male wolf.

His fur was a brilliant white. Sprouting from his back were large dark wings like some fallen angel. His body was covered in a pair of black robes. He smiled as he saw Noah and quickly reached out to take hold of his paw. “It’s good to finally see you child, I’ve been watching you for quite some time.”

Noah instantly recognized the voice as the same one that had been speaking to him through his head. He frowned. “Who are you? Where am I? How are you able to speak to me through my mind?”

The wolf just chuckled, patting him on the head as if he were a mere pup. “So many questions...some I cannot answer yet as we don’t have much time. If you must know, we are within the Seal of Metal, it’s inner realm you could say. I brought you here so I can give you the power to destroy the Unsealed Puritan known as Hydra, I just need you to do something.” He waved a paw and suddenly, everything started to vanish, the world fading into eternal darkness. Not soon after doing this, a figure slowly formed from the shadows and fell to the ground with a loud thud. Lying there on its paws and knees was a wolf tied up in what appeared to be chains. “This is the monster who is responsible for releasing Hydra, a malefactor having taken form in the shape of Commander Hart who was once possessed and forced to break the seal. Destroy this being and you will defeat it. And please young one, do not blame the mortal, for he had no control.”

“Destroy…?” Noah asked in surprise as he stared at the winged wolf and the one in chains. What was going on?

“Yes...this creature is a demon. He is responsible for the death of hundreds…the death of your father.” The white wolf said, his voice stern.

Noah stared at the demonic looking creature in chains. Malefactor, he knew what that was…an entity made of the worst emotions of mortals. It was a being of pure darkness and evil. What was it doing there and why was he here? He shook his head, clearing out any second thoughts and looked up at the wolf, a determined expression having settled on his face.

“I’ll do it."