Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction / Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction / Digimon Fan Fiction / Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction / Gundam Wing Fan Fiction / Sonic Series Fan Fiction / Fan Fiction ❯ Ultimatum 3: Trance Trauma ❯ Move Forth! Siege the Van Eltia! ( Chapter 16 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

(A/N - Ultimanium here. With some work on Lord Raul's behalf, we've established our own message board! ^_^ Lord Raul's Temple of the Winds MB can be found at http://members.lycos.co.uk/lordraulsmb/phpBB2/index.php. C'mon in and sign up, we always welcome new additions! I might also post a few fic-related goodies in there from time to time, so do me a favor and stop by, 'kay?

Oh, Eric, I'm going to be writing up a rough draft of the Mana Knights thingy you sent me. As for the rest of you who have no idea what the hell I'm talking about, it'll be a pleasant surprise when I get it posted, I assure you...)
















Chapter 17: Move Forth! Siege the Van Eltia!











The room was messy. Muggy. The only thing that kept the four-man bungalow running was the small ventilation shaft and the accompanying fan next to it, pivoting as it whirred on its second-highest level. The only light provided radiated off of small computer monitors, even then showing only the onscreen events and the flying fingers as they clacked with repetition off the same several keys. Three dark figures worked at the devious workstation, tracking the Argetlahm as it began to lose velocity, slowly.

"...if I'm not mistaken, I think this plan is working so far." a raspy voice called out. "If everything goes well they'll be screwed right as they walk in."

All eyes present turned to one side as a loud hiss erupted. A short distance away an opening slid into existance, light pouring into the chamber. The slim figure of Antimagnus slithered in.

"Yes, master," another operator hissed. "We have everything figured out. This Argetlahm shouldn't stand a chance with the security measures installed on the Van Eltia."

"The Argetlahm is not a warship," Antimagnus corrected. "It normally wouldn't stand a chance against any higher-level armed capital ship."

"...indeed. We've tracked the Argetlahm's position. It's only two parsecs away. Right now we have a multitude of options..." the pale hacker watched as Antimagnus turned away, examining a poster. "...all the Einhanders are on standby, we could intercept..."

"No." Antimagnus droned.

"...we could disable their thruste-"

"No."

"Godammit, what do you expect us to do?!"

Antimagnus spun around, his eyes piercing through the darkness. "I EXPECT you to stop taking this like it was some sort of custodial problem! If you deep-space lunatics knew anything about the true power of Argetlahm, you would know that it's far beyond a technical solution. The true power of the force Argetlahm lies within the power bestowed upon its captain, Ultimanium, and his little army! In many cases they are just as powerful as minor Trances, and some have even begun to embrace and exploit the power of the Trance itself. This multiplies their power beyond any simple liberation party and turns them into a possible threat for our cause. Do I make myself clear?"

One seated person simply shook his head. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. I have a bunch of other shit that you might find interesting. For starters, they're being tracked from multiple sources."

"Let me see." Antimagnus huffed. He shoved his way over to the console, and began to scroll down a long list of encrypted code. "...good, he's not here. Can you tell me what the other piggyback signals are?"

"...what the hell is with this? How can you tell that a person is NOT here, when you can't even figure out the others?"

"I do NOT know your language, you pasty fat fuck!" Antimagnus roared. "I, for one, spend more time leading then playing silly computer games and ignoring my hygiene! All I know is the code for one person, and that's the only true damnation I can identify. I know this because my master tells me so. If you question me, you question him. And if you question him..."

Antimagnus stood up, walking to the door. He glanced backwards.

"...you don't exist."



********



"Computer power, all around," a blue-skinned man shouted. "We've got uplinks from every single server and workstation in Lylat-Hybrid. We have enough resources to get a good glance at the Van Eltia system before we proceed."

Chat darted by. "Everyone, I have the main access codes, so as soon as everything's set up we're get cracking and figure out every last modification to the Van Eltia created in the past twenty years. At 2200 hours, all personnel will report to the war room for a statistical briefing of the assault on the Van Eltia."

"...this is absolutely crazy," Farah coughed. "We're really doin' this, aren't we?" Next to her, Rika nodded. The two women were surrounded by dozens of people running this way and that, dropping computers and various towers of hardware all over the bridge, while a white and blue four-foot tall probe soldered components together. It turned in Chat's direction, letting out several beeps and woops of confirmation before returning to its job.

"Uplinks are running on every channel. Most of them are two-way traces," Eric shouted back. "It looks like we have spectators."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Locke laughed. He slammed down a tripod, opening it. "Let's give them some video feedback!"

As the crowd continued working, Ultimanium hung over Eric. "...exactly how many of these two-way uplinks do we have?"

"Hundreds of 'em," Glenn called. "Though the format most of them are using aren't even using our system resources. Most of them are fire-wired through a server 1.3 parsecs away."

"Towards the Van Eltia?"

"Away."

Ultimanium glanced over his shoulder, back off into space. "No one but Antimagnus should know we're coming."

"Oh, but I do." one of the larger video screens on Eric's makeshift console suddenly burst into static, cleaning out to show Eggman at his workdesk. "I know something's up, and you're going to tell me, otherwise I'm going to have to sic the Magnopolitian Stellar Navy 3rd Battalion on you."

The panel adjacent to it lit up... revealing Magnus. "Hell-o!"

"Magnus!" Ultimanium scowled. "What's going on?"

"I notice you didn't have the Argetlahm starship frame design copyrighted, so I made some "creative" contracting. Four destroyers are on their way, ships of my very own design, a fair bit faster than your Argetlahm, I might add. They're homing in on your position as we speak from 1.3 parsecs off. They'll assist you on getting close to the Van Eltia."

"...w-what the hell?!" Ultimanium growled. "Why didn't you tell me this? How long have you been following me?"

"Since you left. That's my hangar, parts and facilities you used to get the Argetlahm back into space, so you should know better than to leave me behind. I had several smaller destroyers being created in the sealed-off hangars for when you left. I personally installed trackers in the sealed-off sectors of your ship so I could tell where you were heading. I had those four destroyers follow. And I came with them."

"And tell me, how did you intend to track me? Wouldn't I be able to find y-"

"We had Mk.VI radar available. So I installed Mk.V. Wouldn't want you to be able to track my cloaked ships, would I?"

"Why the hell?!"

"Be glad I'm helping you. You're going to be getting close to the Van Eltia extremely quickly. I'm hoping you have another sort of diversion."

Ultimanium nodded. "Yes. Yes we do."

Takeru, Serge and Vegeta all waited a distance off. Grimacing, he turned back to his two comrades. "Magnus. HE'S here. Everybody, we have an entire army backing us, hundreds of Smashers, and all our friends. This is a battle we're not going to lose."

Takato and Guilmon nodded, with affirmative grunts. Raynor stood in his full body armor, with the glowing gauss rifle slung over his shoulders. Cody, Amradillomon, Charmy, Gohan, V2, Heero, Fox, Slippy, Peppy, Scias, Kirby, Samus, Reid and Falco all stood in a line, looking over the busy bridge. Sparks began to fly as soldering started up simultaneously all over the bridge.

"...use the Trance." Fox murmured quietly. "It may be the deciding factor."



********



With a loud thrum, the hoverbike stopped at the wall of circuitry at the west end of the Hall of Aifried. Shaun hopped off first, followed by Melanie. The wall ahead of them, unlike the Hall of Aifried casing, was solid and nothing could be seen beyond it. Sealing the west pillar off from the Hall was a simple locked door. Shaun stuck out his hand, and Melanie tossed a bright blue card to him. He turned, swiping the device through the slot. With a soft ding, the door slid into the wall.

"Sorta happy Grapplers get one-man vehicles," Melanie chuckled. "Woulda took us ages to get here otherwise. You really know everything about the Van Eltia?"

"I didn't say that," Shaun responded. "All I know is the schematics of the ship, and where everything is. Operating inside the Craymel Corridor is going to be a whole new mystery for me."

Shaun and Melanie walked out into the lobby. The incandescent walls of the Hall of Aifried were now replaced with a fine black-and-white finish, with neon signs all along the sides. Small slots and large openings graced the walls, with dozens of machines along the floor, Celestian and Inferian language inscribed on them.

"We're in the commercial sector of the Van Eltia." Shaun sighed.

"I've been here before, since I've gotten here everyone's been referring to it as the Neverending Food Court."

"Everything that a person needs for mortal life aboard the Van Eltia is dispensed here. As long as you have enough Gald." Shaun cupped his face against a long window, revealing inside several dozen see-through plastic boxes of various packaged gelatins and orbs full of various medicines lined up along a long conveyor. Shaun dug in his jacket, taking out an oddly-shaded yellow coin. He slid it into a slot, and Melanie watched in wonder as dozens of gears began to work in the background, plucking a pair of red gelatins from the far left crate and dropping it on the conveyor. The belt whirred into action, shooting the two packages across the display and into a drop bin, causing it to fall out of one of the floor machines. Shaun picked stored one in his jacket, and tossed one to Melanie. "Works wonders for cuts, bruises and injuries of any form. Ailments are another case, though."

Melanie rolled the oddly-shaped package around in her hand. "You guys really manufacture this stuff? Hasn't anyone brought this into the mainstream?"

"It's still fairly weak as far as industrial-strength medicine is concerned," Shaun responded. "It's not a miracle worker."

"No, I mean, I've never seen them manufactured in this quantity befo-" Melanie paused. "...I think someone's coming."

"Over here." Shaun jogged over to a countertop, with a small two-foot tall gap running its length immediately above it. Shaun and Melanie quickly climbed into the nook, dropping into a back room, stocked with several crates of the jelly medicine. Clicking footsteps could be heard on the other side of the wall, where they just were. Both glanced up, watching the celing until the movement ceased. Shaun slowly stuck his head over the barrier, checking both sides. "...all clear."

Melanie slid out of the opening, standing back up. "I know that sound like the back of my head."

"Patrols?"

Melanie nodded. She and Shaun began to walk down the illuminated hallway. "Maximum armored patrols. They've been running through this part of the ship like crazy for the past day. I assume the Grapplers had figured out a long time ago where the main power supply of the Van Eltia was."

"They know the Argetlahm's coming," Shaun muttered. "They're expecting a full-out assault against this part of the ship. The Argetlahm's going to target that ship subsystem in the first place, there are other Van Eltia inhabitants with Ultimanium right now that would probably instruct that. What the Grapplers don't know is that the Argetlahm has some people behind enemy lines. We shut down the Craymel Corridor, and pave a way for the Argetlahm. That's our job."

Melanie shook her head. "You're still set on that, aren't you?"

"Yeah, you insisted yourself you wanted to come with me."

"And perhaps persuade you to NOT kill yourself. I told you, if the Craymel Corridor is the power core of the Van Eltia I imagine the Grapplers would have figured that out by now and fortified it somewhat. And since you mentioned so yourself that the Grapplers know the Argetlahm is coming they'll make sure of it even more so."

"I know the Van Eltia." Shaun laughed. Him and Melanie came to an intersection in the hall, an eight-sided chamber. Wide, sweeping passages similar to the one they had just passed through pointed off in five of the directions, including the one just traversed, as well as three large gate doors. "And there's things the Grapplers wouldn't dream of taking on. Melanie, do you have a level 2 card?"

"Right here." Melanie tossed the sky-blue slip of plastic to Shaun. Shaun stepped forward, unlocking the leftmost door. With a loud beep, the thick iron doors slid open. Darkness waited on the other side.

"Just as I figured," Shaun chuckled. "Melanie, there's one thing you need to know about the Van Eltia. It's built more for speedy travel than SAFE travel. Look, the Grapplers wouldn't touch this passage with a ten foot pole." Shaun ran his finger along the joints of the door, picking up a thick coat of dust. Using the same finger, Shaun tapped a large green button just inside the corridor. With loud claps, lights turned on one by one, leading into the hall. It started going straight, then slowly began to turn downwards in a spiral. A pair of large rails hung from the celing, leading down the winding path.

"THESE passages?" Melanie coughed. "The Grapplers took out the trolleys off the rail. Not that I'd want to go on them..."

Shaun smirked. "Those were for handicapped access." bending back, Shaun leapt into the air, swinging the Mega Launcher around the pipe. He grabbed at the handle and the end of the barrel, suspending himself from the left rail. "This is how you REALLY get down there. We're going for a ride."

Melanie stared down the hall, deadpan. The rails quickly turned out of view, seemingly increasing in steepness around the corner. "...how far down does this go, exactly?"

"As far as you want it to." Shaun swung back, and forward again, beginning to slide down the rail. He repeated this process until he began to pick up speed, slowly picking up speed as he disappeared around the corner. Muttering to herself, Melanie lifted up her parasol and leapt up, latching onto the rail in the same manner. Taking a deep breath, Melanie began to swing back and forth, beginning to slide down the overhang.


********


Ultimanium's chair pivoted back to the group. "...you said the Van Eltia's turrets have a 50-mile targeting radius?"

Chat shoved her way to the front of the group, nodding. "Uh huh. Why?"

"What's stopping us from advancing on the Van Eltia then?"

Chat glanced behind her. "The Van Eltia has more than the interception turrets, you know. It's got a half-parsec radius for its anti-capship guns, and I can tell you right now this ship wouldn't take one blast."

Cody cycled through a long, dot-matrix printout. "How many of those guns does the Van Eltia have?"

"At least fifty on the starboard and sixty on the bow. And the main cannons on both ends are larger and will NOT miss."

"The defense system is faulty," Ultimanium muttered. "Shaun was able to easily slip by several thousand guns all shooting him at once. THESE guns that we're dealing with now have to have some sort of weakness. Ask Shaun and see if he noticed anything funny about how the multi-warhead defense turrets behaved."

Chat touched her hand to the Elara crystal. "Shaun? You there?"

Everyone waited.

"...I think he's stumped, too," Chat finally spoke. "I remember too, he only managed to get by the one shot both pillars of the Van Eltia shot at him by... Pythagoreas Theorum." she sweatdropped.

"Wait, wait," Falco stammered. "ONE shot?"

"They should be able to pull off more than one shot in the period of time it takes those blasts to travel 50 miles," Dante muttered. "I'm not a rocket scientist but I know that much."

"So they're not chain-firing?" Samus asked. Kirby shrugged.

Gohan rubbed his chin. "Lemme get this straight, if we just charge the Van Eltia like this, fifty or sixty giant cannons will all fire at once, with any one blast capable of instantly destroying the Argetlahm?"

"Or a planet, come to think of it." Reid sighed.

Chat nodded. "Don't think you're going to get out of it as easily as Shaun did, I hate to disappoint. These shots are long distance blasts, but they travel much, much, MUCH faster than the normal laser blasts. I doubt you'd even have reaction time. And they have a powerful homing device, so don't think any fancy countermeasures'll save you."

Ultimanium paused, staring out into open space. "There's something you need to know about the Argetlahm. We don't have countermeasures." he turned back to the group.

"And if everything goes according to planned, we won't NEED countermeasures."





Everybody stared at him, confused.

"Don't worry about it now. We'll have everything prepared for when we advance on the Van Eltia. Minonim, apparently we aren't going to see this coming, so I need you to give me an exact measurement of time it would take for a blast from the Van Eltia's main guns to hit the Argetlahm."

"Yes, sir!" Minonim chirped.

"Are you crazy?" Vegeta growled. "First you say going to attack, then you don't because Shaun says it's a trap, and now you're doing it again?!"

"Shaun is going to cause a disturbance, no matter how he goes about it. Soon the Grapplers will realize that Shaun is our counter-strategy, and they won't be expecting a counter-counter-strategy when we suddenly lash out and everybody is concerned about the covert invasion."


********


"One... two... THREE!"

Shaun's yell managed to overshadow the squealing grind of the Mega Launcher. Detatching the gun from the rail, Shaun was launched off the pipe, shooting into a wide open gate. Melanie followed closely behind, taking a deep breath as she shot from the rail as well. She landed perfectly in the opening, landing on her feet in a run as she tried desperately to keep her balance. She was eventually able to slow down, noticing Shaun ahead lying face down against the polished floor of the lower-level hallway. There was a large, smuged trail across the ground in his wake. "...are you.. okay?"

Shaun slowly pushed himself to his feet, dusting himself off. "...ugh.. I haven't done this for a while..."

Melanie strided over to the nearby iron door, pausing as she approached it. "What level did we come out on?"

"Sector Zeta. We're about halfway down."

Melanie blinked. "Already?! But we were on that stupid ride for minutes!"

"I told you, speed over safety. Anyways, do you happen to recall what's on the Zeta floors? I was thinking this was near the end of the commercial sector, but it's already been changed a bit..."

"I haven't been down here myself," Melanie sighed. "But as far as I've heard I think this is the main medical center for Grappler operations. There used to be a smaller medical facility down here but it's been expanded into a huge field hospital." Melanie glanced towards a cluster of booths, similar to the shops on the upper floors. However, many of them were boarded up and sealed off. The ones that remained open had their back shelves stocked with curative items.

Shaun began to head towards the door. "Think we'll be able to sneak by unscathed?"

"Depends on how big of a facility the Grapplers made for themselves."

Shaun grit his teeth. "...we won't know until we get a good look." he walked up to the door, sliding the card through a reader-machine next to it. "...activate slow-open."

Melanie and Shaun watched as the hydralics made a low, faint hiss, the door's three layers opening at a much more slackened pace than the other ones they had been through. As the door clicked, confirming its full opening, Shaun and Melanie advanced slowly. They stepped into the large chamber ahead of them, coming out on a walkway suspended above the medium-sized medical lab of the Van Eltia. Armored troops darted this way and that through the narrow aisles between makeshift tents. The suspended catwalk that Shaun and Melanie stood upon wound the perimeter of the room, with two similarly-styled doors to their far left and immediately across the courtyard.

"...there's more people here than the papers said." Melanie blurted. "All I heard in my assigned sector was that there were only two Grappler injuries in the past month, but there could easily be over a hundred patients here."

"What's the chance of us getting across the room without anyone noticing?" Shaun muttered.

"Well, if anyone notices we could always go with the excuse that I'm escorting you to the brig, but I couldn't find my uniform before then. It's worked enough times."

"Not this time."

Shaun and Melanie spun around. Standing behind them, in the direction of the spiral shaft, stood a particularly husky Grappler guard, carrying a large-bore energy rifle in one hand. "That's right. Keep moving. And keep in mind I'm a quicker draw than either of you."

"Prove." In the time Shaun spoke, the Mega Launcer was off his back and in his right hand, blasting out a shearing wave of green energy. "Wind Blade!!"

The guard sidestepped the attack with blinding speed, the projectile swooshing by and blasting against a wall. The energy disintegrated on impact without as much as a sound. "...what the hell... are you..."

"Yeah, I'm Shaun," Shaun lowered the Mega Launcher. "You're getting pretty rusty."

"I have a bad habit of underestimating people. Especially you, Shaun." the guard tore off his bulky helmet, dragging out a head of baggy blonde hair. "...I don't think any of the others would have recognized you, clothed like that."

"I've seen you before." Melanie murmured.

"Uh-huh." Shaun muttered. "Max. To answer your question, Max, the others HAVE recognized me, in fact, they're on their way to the Van Eltia as we speak."

Max blinked. "I hadn't had much luck blending in with the Grapplers... yeah, this girl here, she sat two tables away from me at lunch. Shaun, you say that the others are on their way? Who, exactly?"

"Reid, Farah, and Chat. We've gained backup from a minor mercenary army aboard the destroyer-class cruiser Argetlahm, many of which have extremely high power levels. Chat's also just notified me that a small fleet of the Magnopolitian Stellar Navy of the Earth planet of the Terran System. Wait.. I'm getting something..." Shaun clutched his forehead, Max and Melanie sliding closer. "...two Juggernaut-class battlecruisers are enroute from Corneria in the Lylat-Hybrid system. Commissioned by the veto power of the Star Fox squadron."

"What's the catch?"

"We have to get to the Craymel Corridor, and shut down the main defense systems of the ship. If we can totally shut down power to the entire ship that'll be even better."

"Listen, Shaun, I run security on the Craymel Corridor," Max muttered, watching over the edge of the catwalk. "I know the quickest way down there, but I'm warning you, the Grapplers have that place locked up tight. Not that it'll be a problem, though."

"What do you mean?" Melanie asked.

"Shaun. You remember being engineered to take over the Van Eltia from birth. Down in the Craymel Corridor are the failsafes for unlocking ARK. We all know that ARK is the ultimate weapon, but no one really knows how it works! Well, I'll have you know that after careful study I know more about it than anyone else on this ship, or anyone who USED to be on this ship, for that matter."

"What do you mean?" Shaun chorused.

"Once you transform to ARK, you'll have full control of the systems of Van Eltia at your fingertips. But it's not that - when the Van Eltia is turned into a war machine, it'll no longer be able to sustain life for anyone outside the Craymel Corridor! Every single hall, vent and pathway available is turned into a power-transfer vent for the main systems of ARK!"

"In English?"

"A river of power going through the Van Eltia. No one'll be safe. Whoever's mind isn't completely fried by the surge'll be instantly incinerated!"

"How many Grapplers run the Van Eltia?"

"The place is huge, but many of them left during the first couple years, or so I've heard. I think there's around 20,000 Grapplers present and accounted for. Why?"

Melanie frowned. "I was wondering if this would be marked down as genocide, that's all."

"You have to understand, Melanie, these aren't Grapplers we're dealing with anymore," Shaun scowled. "Any and/or all of the people aboard this ship could be Trances. Antimagnus is here, I know it. The Argetlahm has told me that this man is one of the Six Magnusi, bringers of the apocalypse. 20,000 lives, if that, is better than the infinite destruction that Antimagnus could bring upon the universe."

Max scratched the back of his head. "Maybe you just don't like Grapplers."

"This is beyond the Van Eltia in everyone else's eyes!" Shaun growled. "This is where the final battle of the War of the Magnusi will take place, and physical existance will be judged! I see clearly now, it's not so much the Van Eltia itself I've been looking for, but a purpose... and it's my purpose to see that the last Magnusi is stopped in his tracks! The ship itself can wait... what... what's going on?"

"What?" Melanie piped.

"...Ultimanium says that if there's a faster way that we can shut down the cannons near the front end of the ship then we should do that."

"The main cannon at the absolute head of the ship can't be shut down anywhere asides from the bridge. Not that I know of. And I'm not willing to go snipping random wires." Max grumbled.

"...not even through the Craymel Corridor?" Shaun asked.

"Nope. The main gun runs on conventional power, stored in a battery at the center of the ship, in case of an attack on the Craymel Corridor. At least the original holders of the Van Eltia weren't idiots."

"Why only that one?" Melanie sighed. "I tell you, someone was on crack when they designed this contraption."

"...wait a second, I'm still talking with Ultimanium." Shaun resumed concentrating. "...why did you want a faster way, anyhow... what, how long are you giving us?... are you crazy?! It took me that long just to get into the Van Eltia! We can't shut down the power supply that fast!... what? Don't worry about the main cannon?! You're GOING to be worrying about the main cannon! What do you MEAN you have everything under control?!"

"What's going on?" Melanie drew her parasol as a pair of Grappler guards rounded the corner.

"We have to hurry!" Shaun yelled. "Max, we need the fastest way to the Craymel Corridor, now!"

"Can do." Max snarled. He raised his gun, pointing it to the wall. It recoiled in his hand as it blasted apart the circuited wall. Beige coolant liquid dripped from the crevice, beyond the wreckage there was another winding tunnel leading downwards.

"STOP! Cease and desist!!" both of the guards raised their own guns, blasting away at the group. As bolts of green energy whizzed by, Max sidestepped into the gap as he fired, hopping in and sliding down the floor of the corkscrew.

"Pulse!" Melanie was right behind him, with her parasol held out. Its top spun on the handle, spraying white blasts of energy in its path. Another four guards arrived, but were pushed away by the swarm of explosive shots tearing up the ground in front of them. More of the pale brown substance leaked from the damaged floor. In the cloud of resulting dust, Melanie dove through the newly created door, dragging Shaun with her. They both landed on the floor several feet below, quickly picking up speed as they slid down the long-abandoned transit spiral.


********


"Everything's set," Slippy stepped away from the table, revealing a large, bulky and oddly shaped device, which looked more like a cross between an armoire and a supercomputer than anything else. "It's all ready to go. We just need to latch it on and it can be used. Any volunteers?"

Around a third of the Smashers were settled in the hangar, examining Slippy's creation. They were the only third that brought their own ships with them, parked in the hangar as well. The others were mostly from Lylat-Hybrid planets, and rode to Mute City via mass transit. With the dozens of small and large craft parked in odd places all around them, there wasn't a whole lot of space to manouver.

Fox examined the large object. "...that's great and all, but what is it?"

"I was instructed by Ultimanium and his main crew to construct this, a reassembly and linking of several Nova Bombs. It will be used in the boarding of the Van Eltia."

Peppy turned away. "I was wondering where mine went. Before you start stealing weapons of mass destruction out of our Arwings, could you at least tell us?"

Slippy shrugged. "It's for the common good. Anyways, what I need is a volunteer to strap this baby to their ship and take it closer to the Van Eltia. All the other combat-capable ships'll surround our bomb-carrier in spherical formation and take heat for them."

"That's fine and all..." Samus shrugged. "But what's our target?"

Slippy nodded. "That's a secret."

Everybody groaned.

"Trust me, you'll know what you have to hit when we get to it. We're going to be beginning in about ten minutes, so everybody, get ready. Who wants to be set up the bomb?"

"That was terrible." Falco said.

Heero stepped forward. "I will."

"Then let's get this bad boy set up!" Slippy squealed. "Someone help us move this thing over to Heero's Arwing. And be careful not to drop it, you have a 500-megaton payload in your hands."


********


The bridge of the Argetlahm carried on at an even greater pace than before, people leaping between various quickly-set-up computer consoles. Ultimanium stood at the head of the room as usual, glaring out into space.

"According to the specs Chat gave us, we should be entering the Van Eltia's sensor range," Eric called out over the bridge. "Prepare for power down. We need absolute comm silence." One by one, the consoles scattered across the room began to dim out, after which the lights above the bridge began to close. Dim light provided by a nearby unidentified moon was the only thing keeping the Argetlahm awake.

"We have a lock!" Tron yelled. "Everybody get on it!!"

A loud beep echoed across the bridge, followed by furious typing. "Hurry up! We have to get it before they notice us and start firing!"

"We... have it!" Raynor shouted back. "Go through it and get what you need!"

"This'll tell us the exact moment that ship fires its anti-capship guns," Cody announced. "Now we just have to sit back and hope for the best."

"Minonim," Ultimanium said. "We'll be able to tell when the ship fires, and our available reaction time. You know the rest."

Everyone glanced forward. Many clenched their fists, hesitating as the Argetlahm slowly drifted to a stop. It would be mere nanoseconds before they would be attacked.


********


"Here we go." a large man sitting at a computer console, draped in baggy, cobbled Grappler gear, licked his lips as he watched the area ahead of him. It was represented by a faintly lit radar screen in front of him, with various major asteroids marked down as they floated dully through space. He was pleasantly surprised by the sudden giant blip that appeared on the screen - the starship Argetlahm.

"We have the Argetlahm in attack range," one worker shouted to Antimagnus, who sat cross-legged in a small chair in the corner. "Sir, we await your command. Fire?"

"Fire." Antimagnus droned. As the workers all began to hit buttons, he suddenly raised his hand. "...of course, I want you to think before you start blasting away. Your actions could let your supremacy over the Van Eltia remain, or plunge the Grappler organization into complete and utter chaos. The choice is yours. But guess wisely."

"You know, I'm getting sick and tired of this god damn cryptic garbage you keep spewing. Listen boys, I want the main cannons charged up, ten seconds. We're gonna blow that flying hunk of junk into next year." the man closest slammed his fists down on the computer console ahead of him. "Begin power-up sequence! NOW!!"

With a yell of confirmation, the cannons on the near side of the Van Eltia unsheathed themselves, jutting outwards suddenly into open space. The guns were scattered sporadically across the surface of the ship, set up for maximum reach and spread. Balls of energy began to gather on the tips of the barrels, humming softly.

"Five seconds! We have a lock!"

The cannons suddenly twisted, adjusting themselves to face the Argetlahm.

"On my mark! The sights are set on the Argetlahm! 3..2...1.... FIRE!!"

With one giant flash of light, the cannons buckled wildly as giant blasts of white energy left them. They were invisible to the naked eye, travelling at unnoticable velocity. The blip of the Argetlahm disappeared whole seconds before the roar of the resulting fusion explosion could be heard, even through the void of space. The Grapplers all waited at their consoles, watching, waiting. After a minute, Antimagnus could be heard chuckling in the back of the room.

"Yeah! Zapped 'em like fried fish!" one Grappler shouted.

"...yeah," Antimagnus mocked. "Anyways, right about now I'd be more concerned about what's happening at the front of the ship."

Right on cue, the room was dumped into a deep red light as a klaxon on the celing started pulsing. A shrill voice echoed over the intercom. "Einhander pilots of sectors Beta through Sigma, report to sector Beta immediately! Support Network B of normal defense system! I repeat, Network B of normal defense system is under attack by multiple groups of unmarked craft! They are assisted by the Argetlahm!"


********


"GOOOOO!!! ATAAAAAAAAACK!!!"

It was at that point that a literal tide of tiny fighters swept over the brow of the Argetlahm, spiraling downwards towards the front of the Van Eltia. There were nearly two hundred of the small spacecraft, all beginning a mad rush to the top of the front pillar of the great ship. The four Arwings weaved their way through the crowd, making their way to the front. Ahead of them was the larger Bonne ship.

"Now what?!" Tron yelled. The Van Eltia in the distance was rapidly coming closer, wider than the eye could see. "Do we have a plan? What do I dooooo?!"

"Ultimanium and Chat are telling us to watch the front of the ship." a Servbot chattered.

Another slid down a pole in the background, leaping into a back room. "Activating weapons systems!"

Yet another sat in the cockpit chair next to Tron, spinning it. "Firrrrre!!"

A message crackled across the entire fleet. "Watch out!" Tails yelled. "Fifty Einhanders inbound! Action?"

"Claw formation! Surround 'em, we have numbers!" Captain Falcon shouted back. Both the Winged Victory and the Falcon Flyer spun around each other as another twenty ships formed a protective cup behind them. Several other dozen ships roared ahead, rotating as they began to rain blasts of varying colors and size down ahead of the group. The Einhanders suddenly sped up, returning fire. It was soon similar to two armies charging at one another - as the groups intermingled, they all diverted their path in random directions, setting each other up for randomly-matched dogfights.

"You're getting more support right away!" Minonim's message spread across the comms of every ship nearby. "Just keep them busy for a while longer, we're going to be setting up an antidimensional field so we can move the insertion crews in!"

"Hurry up, I think we're going to need it!" Falco's Arwing suddenly jutted to the side, nearly crossing up a stray Einhander. "We need a confirmation! What's our target?!"

"I don't think we're going to have to wait too long." Peppy muttered.

"Be careful what you wish for, you might just get it." a raspy voice hummed.

"What the hell is going on down there?" Cody muttered. "We're getting massive readings from the front of the Van Eltia, but nothing's actually there. The main cannon is probably preparing itself, but we don't know how."

"I think we have an answer." Fox winced.

Ahead, on the massive face of the Van Eltia, sirens sounded. A great white mist was released into space as, before Fox's eyes, a giant section on the surface of the pillar divided into two, revealing a gigantic bored tunnel behind it. The wide panels on both sides clicked inwards, high-tech hydraulics systems pulling them around and behind the front pillar. A gargantuan pipe began to expose itself from the opening, coming out quickly and locking itself into place. What lied before the Argetlahm was a full-out three-hundred foot wide mass energy cannon.


********


"The main cannon has been deployed! Continue with phase two!" Raynor yelled.

"Could someone tell me exactly what you guys have planned?" Chat said meekly.

"We just needed something to disable the Van Eltia's frontal weapon systems to move our people in," Ultimanium said, emotionless. "I figured a high-power nuclear missile would do the trick."

Chat latched onto the back of Ultimanium's head, threatening to pop the captain's head right off. "MY SHI-I-I-IP!! WHY THE HELL DO I LET YOU PEOPLE RUN THINGS?! THIS THING TOOK QUINTILLIONS OF GALD TO GET IN A FUNCTIONING STATE!!"

Ultimanium slammed his head against the computer console ahead of him, causing Chat to detatch. "Just give it a rest. Get it through your head, this is bigger than the Van Eltia!"

"Sir," Minonim chirped. "Everything has been set up as requested. We have a wide-scale antidimensional field set up to transport the main fighting force to the Van Eltia in wake of the nuclear strike."

"Good," Ultimanium muttered, lifting his armor-clad self out of the chair. "Minonim, I want you to work with our technicians and keep communications going. I'm going to be heading down with the rest of the assault team - being the original holder of Argetlahm, this is my ultimate challenge as well as the rest of the crew's. After Antimagnus is defeated, I..." Ultimanium paused, blinking. "...I..."

"...what is it, sir?" Minonim asked.

"....n-never mind," Ultimanium stammered. "Get everything ready. We're going to be dropping in as soon as we get a confirmed response as far as disabling the Van Eltia is concerned."

Ultimanium had ample time to think as he entered the turbolift, hitting the buttons as he always had. It would take him down to the main hangar, where the crew of the Argetlahm waited to be transferred to the Van Eltia via an antidimensional field. In the 3D-bubble, they would be invulnerable to the physical effects of space, and would have easy access to the Van Eltia itself - provided they weren't shot at, in which case they would be utterly helpless.

"We all set?" Dante looked out over the rest of the group. There were easily another couple hundred people standing in staggered formation in the hangar, quickly formed up after the attack ships had made their leave.

"I need somethin' to pummel!" V2 chirped.

Charmy sweatdropped. "Aren't we all a little too eager to leap out into space with only an imaginary wall protecting us?"

"Listen, everyone," Ultimanium walked into the group, the crowd quickly moving out of the way to accomodate him. "We're going to be moving out in about two minutes. We're going to give the space battle some time to reach its climax. As soon as it does, we're going to be sneaking around the perimeter and launching everything we have at the side of the main tower. Before that, though, the Star Fox team and its assigned escort craft are going to be deploying a 500-megaton nuclear device at its weak point. After that you'll head in and attack the tower from a different direction. While the antidimensional field won't protect you from attack, it will negate all sorts of radiation that result from the operation. Chat has notified me that the Van Eltia has extremely powerful containment systems, and as soon as you get into the Van Eltia it should be safe to remove the antidimensional field. After that, we'll head deep and find Antimagnus. Understood?"

A thunderous cheer rose up in the expansive hangar. It was now only a matter of time.


********


Shaun had once thought the Argetlahm was in disrepair when he first arrived. He wasn't prepared to see THIS level of disuse. The hallway ahead of his group stretched infinitely off into the distance, but had none of the beauty that the Hall of Aifreid did. The hallway was square, its circuitry slowly pulsing a dead red.

"The datalyte here should've been exchanged years ago." Max muttered, bringing his hand across the cold walls. "Maybe the Grapplers haven't found the Craymel Corridor. If they did they haven't done much with it."

"I swear there was a post assigned here a while ago," Melanie sighed, bending down to the ground. "I heard people saying how creepy it was down here. Yeah, see here, there's footprints." she pointed down to the imprints in the dust. "But if there were Grapplers here, what would suddenly cause them to leave? That's not like them."

"The Grapplers have had guards at every corner since the Van Eltia was overtaken," Max grunted. "It's just as much a mystery to me."

"Maybe they had other things to take care of?" Shaun said.

"I doubt it. I me-" Melanie paused. "...did you feel that?"

"What?"

"...sort of a rumble."

Shaun, Melanie and Max all looked down as the ground beneath their feet started to slowly slide down the hallway. The giant conveyor belt slowly began to pick up speed.

Max glanced around him. "Things like this just don't... happen."

Shaun stared down the hallway. The darkness ahead seemed to lighten somewhat. "...I don't know about you, but I think we've been granted an audience. Craymels! Do you hear me?"

"Loud and clear," a childish voice chuckled. "Just sit tight and enjoy the ride, we'll get everything set up for you."

Melanie craned her neck. "...set up?"

"Well, you DO have the Key to ARK with you, right?"

Melanie and Max stared at Shaun. "...uh... yeah?"

"Yeah, I figured so. Just give us a freaking minute."

Everybody remained silent. The floor beneath them became a blur.


********


"We have visual confirmation!" Fox bellowed. The blasts around him began to reach a crecendo as he plummeted through the most tightly-packed area around the cannon. Both Grappler and Smasher alike quickly dodged out of the way of Fox as he lead the other three Arwings and a group of another dozen small ships through the crowd.

"It's only a matter of time before the Grapplers raise up reinforcements," Reid grumbled through the comm. "Where's Heero?"

"Right in the center. The other support ships have taken up defensive positions as instructed."

"Good. Head into the cannon."

"Huh?"

"You heard me. Head into the cannon. The only way we're going to totally bring down something this big is to strike directly at the source. Head into the cannon, bring the rest of the support ships with you, and get Heero to drop the bomb right at the energy coils at the end."

Fox glanced hesitantly at the gaping opening before him. "...are you sure? How far down does the cannon go? Is there enough clearance at the end to make a u-turn?"

"I'm going by statistics here, and that's a maybe."

"...I don't like you." Fox muttered. "Alright, everybody, follow me! We're heading into the cannon! Maintain Shield formation at all costs! We're only coming out when this bomb is sitting at the end! Now MOVE!" Fox's Arwing suddenly tilted, falling in a spinning dive towards the gigantic pit ahead of it. All the other ships quickly followed suit. Behind them, several Einhanders spun into pursuit.

"We have company." Peppy murmured. The light around the large group dimmed considerably, the path ahead of them lit only by the beams of energy feeding power into the components of the cannon. "Seven Einhanders, closing fast. Defense ships... we need countermeasures."

The tunnel quickly began to close up around the group. The walls were fragmented, showing the hallways around the tunnel. Complicated machinery clicked and whirred in a sort of Da Vinci arrangement as the ships tore down the passage. Four ships at the very back quickly flew into formation, dropping pulsing balls of energy in their wake. The projectiles bobbed in the air, and the Einhanders quickly went into a fit trying to dodge them. One flew straight through one of the traps, causing it to self-destruct and take the bizarrely-crafted interceptor with it.

"Do we have confirmation?!" Fox shouted.

"Negative!" Falco scowled. "Those bastards aren't taking it! And they sound pretty angry." Falco ducked instinctively in his cockpit as laser fire tore over him. The blasts hit the celing of the reinforced-metal tunnel, blasting off large chunks of molten alloy. "Just keep Heero going!"

"I'll go ahead," Heero shouted. "Someone just get back there and keep those Einhanders off me!" he got a nod from Fox. Slamming his yoke forward, Heero's Arwing quickly began to speed down the tunnel, dodging abstructions.

"This is getting worse," Falco chorused back. "I don't know about you guys, but it seems like they're just lining up to get at us. There's another five Einhanders joining the group. "We don't have enough room to deal with an entire flight of these things!"

"Room isn't an issue." Fox muttered.

TRANCE...

In a split second, Fox's engines quickly died down, and the craft quickly launched itself completely backwards, narrowly missing several of the pursuing Einhanders. All throughout, Fox rapped on the blaster, clipping three of the alien craft. Two lost control and lost much of their speed, while the other completely spiraled out of control and crashed in a firey explosion against the side of the tunnel.

Ahead, the three other Arwings all split up, heading into newly branching subtunnels. The remaining Einhanders all split into even groups, following suit. The tubes gradually became translucent, still winding around the barrel of the cannon as it came out suddenly into a large chamber, it connected to a large arcing pillar of energy at the end. "We have a target!" Falco shouted. "Alright, Heero, just drop the bomb any way you can!"

"If we could get out of these pipes it would be a plus." Peppy scowled. His Arwing brushed up against the side of the cramped pipe he was in, snapping off a small section of his right wing as the Einhander's laser sliced the almost vein-like tunnels.

Falco's ship made a painful-sounding grind as the hyperblasters lowering from the bottom of his ship turned 45 degrees to the side, launching a blast of light through his tunnel, blasting the wall to shreds and also carving through Heero's path. The cloth-like constraints around Heero began to fall, signaling him to boost forward. He was completely in the open, and it also gave the others clearance to break free of their containment. The other Arwings and the Smasher ships behind them burst free, spiraling downwards towards the energy core below. Many pivoted immediately and began to do battle with the Einhanders, now having sufficient room to do so.

Falco glanced around himself, checking over his shoulders. "What the hell is this?! We can worry about the Einhanders later, we have to worry about the core fi-" Falco stared down upon the cannon's core in disbelief. "...HEERO!"

The Nova Bomb-equipped Arwing was headed straight for the reactor - swerving to dodge the barrages launched by another four Einhanders.

"Where are these things crawling out of?!" Falco screeched. "I can take care of one on my own, sure, but there won't be enough time t-" he was interrupted as a stray blast of white energy flew out of nowhere, scattering the pack.

"I do believe we've scored a direct hit, miss Tron!" a wispy voice echoed.

The Bonnes' small cruiser drifted casually out of a larger shaft on the far left side of the reactor core, its comm system blaring. A pair of small turrets clicked back into place. "We don't have time for this! Just keep firing!!... 28, what the hell are you doing?! Get back in your chair!!" as the arguing reached a crecendo, the bulky ship bowed out of the way, gracefully dodging a giant salvo of Einhander fire.

"Tron, help us out here!" Fox yelled. His ship rose vertically from a stand-still, unassisted by engines, as he fired upon several other Einhanders. "I might be a Trance but I still can't be everywhere at once!"

Everybody watched breathlessly, at least those that weren't indulged in mortal combat, as Heero continued to be strafed by the remaining three Einhanders.

"Hurry up." Falco breathed.


********


"This is it! GO!!" Ultimanium led the crowd, running backwards and flipping out off the hangar floor and into deep space. A light-blue bubble of energy formed around him, assisting his movement as he turned and rocketed downwards towards the Van Eltia, hovering ominously off in the distance.

And with a mighty hooting, the rest of the spectators followed suit.

At the moment there was what looked like a siege of blue orbs plunging down towards the massive capital ship. The Ki-assisted fighters took to the environment flawlessly, rolling through the darkness and weaving through the scattered space war ahead of them. Some of the more vertigo-influenced had to use other means.

"I don't know why I ever agreed to this." Vegeta muttered. Behind him, he held Cody by the hand. Who held Takato by the hand. Who held Guilmon by the hand. Who held Rika by the hand. Who held V2 by the hand. From a distance it looked more like a vicious match of crack-the-whip than anything else. Vegeta quickly spun to dodge a large blast of energy, carrying everyone else with him. Takato wailed as he nearly lost his grip, which caused everyone else behind him to start yelling.

Glenn rocketed by, his jetpack pushing out a bright yellow strip of energy. "Almost there. Hang on, everybody, this should be a bumpy landing." He, as well as the groups around him, immediately slowed down.

"What NOW?!" Serge yelled. Laser blasts whizzed around outside the antidimensional barrier.

"We have to wait for the Star Fox team and its escort to finish inside the Devil's Throat!" Chat shouted back.

"The whaschamaza?"

"THE BIG GUN!! Do you need everything in plain english?!"

"...well... yeah."

Chat sweatdropped.

"Gods!" Balkan growled. "Can't we defend ourselves?!"

"We'll keep moving if we have to," Eric muttered. "But for now there's not much we can do asides from dodge. The J itself'll have to use limited energy if we want to transfer anything outside the antidimensional field! A single full-scale Ki attack could suck the thing dry!"

"We'll have to use something a bit smaller then," Raynor lifted up his gauss rifle. "Just give me the word."

"Standard munitions should use less energy than actual Ki-based attacks," Minonim murmured. "Just don't get trigger-happy."

"Minonim?" Takeru gaped. "What are you doing here? You should be back on the Argetlahm!"

Minonim's eyes dimmed. "Oh, there's so many people fighting for comm positions I thought I'd make myself known elsewhere. I want to come, to assist the Argetlahm where it needs it. This is our last fight against the Magnusi, and I want to be there first-hand!" Minonim's mechanical pincers tugged impatiently at Takeru's cloak. "Please! I beg of you!"

Takeru exchanged worried stares with the rest of the group.

"Ulty's going to have our heads for this." Patamon said.

Closer to the Argetlahm, Charmy's bubble was left undeniably in the dust as the higher-level Ki fighters scorched by her. She muttered to herself, and flipped herself onto her back. As the antidimensional field shaped itself to fit her new position, she sighed as she began to backstroke. The movements slowly began to move her forward. She watched, frowning, as Ultimanium and the Lincoln reporter flew side by side, down towards the fleet battle. "...Ulty, Ulty. What'll it take.. just notice me, just once..." her frown deeped, and she heaved a sigh to herself as she began to paddle forwards. She looked up, just catching Ultimanium with his head turned backwards. The reporter carried on.

"...what was your name again?" Ultimanium asked.

"Helmut. Why?" his partner responded.

"Just wondering. Helmut, can you continue on to the main group? I've got something to take care of."

Helmut nodded. "Sure thing."

Ultimanium turned away from Helmut, slowing down as his aura pulsed. He pivoted, flying back towards the Argetlahm. Charmy watched him as he began to close the gap.

"Charmy? What's going on? Why aren't you with the others?"

Charmy grimaced. "I wish I had some propulsion like the others. I got left behind, to top that."

Ultimanium turned back to face the Van Eltia. "I'm going ahead of the main attack group. I want to be the first one into the Van Eltia. This is more my fight than anyone else's, no matter how many Grapplers OR Trances stand in my way."

Charmy tilted her head. "I can understand. This is sort of the end of a legacy for you, isn't it? The Magnusi'll finally be out of the picture, peace'll come back to the third dimension and you'll finally have some free time." Charmy grinned, floating forwards. "I guess you want to get going?"

Ultimanium's expression seemed blank for a brief moment. Brief, but detectable. "...a lot of free time. Sounds.. good." he waited, glancing back to the silver-dressed woman. "I guess I'd better be heading out." As Ultimanium turned to jet away, Charmy clamped onto his arm. "...what..."

Charmy nodded, sliding closer to Ultimanium. "I need a ride."

"I'm not stopping anywhere. As soon as the Devil's Throat is disabled, I'm heading straight in to deal with Antimagnus. It's too dangerous for anyone to head in with me."

"It's too dangerous for one person." Charmy shot back. "You still got pummeled last time, remember? You need help, even if this is your last fight."

"...you're still too weak."

Charmy stood up in the energy field. "I have the power of a Trance... energy you gave to me! It'll manifest itself, I'm sure... I just have to be near you.. and everything'll be alright..." Charmy leant forward, falling into Ultimanium's arms. Ultimanium's eyes went wide as the extra weight fell into his grip, him nearly dropping his cargo. They held the embrace for a moment, Ultimanium still visibly shocked.

"...your power level's rising..." Ultimanium stammered. "...somewhat..."

"It'll get there," Charmy sighed. "All you have to do is make this moment last... easiest Trance you'll ever trigger, I promise you."

"...I haven't had this... happen before... you know?" Ultimanium choked.

"All this battling, training, and deciding. Ultimanium, you can insist you do this for the dimensions all you want, but all the way after that, don't you want something you can wind down to? Didn't you ever have anything planned for after your service for Sherheim, if you stayed in it long enough?"

Ultimanium felt his heart sink. "..."

"I can't stand to see you like this... you have friends from all across the Six Dimensions, the Digital World, everywhere you've touched... all the people you've known, saved, and trusted... you've opened up a whole new world of possibilities to those who were supposed to be destroyed by the Magnusi..."



Davis. Kari. Veemon. Gatomon. Argetlahm.



"...everyone who guided you this far..."



Narrin teaches. Sherheim grimaces. Ultramagnus leads the conflict.



"...you have a cushy job in the Magnopolitian military to come home to! With big, shiny medals waiting!"



Magnus laughs. Raul. Magnopolis dancing in the streets.



"...I've never looked at it that way." Ultimanium said quietly.

"From the way you make it sound you never had any sort of aspiration where you came from..." Charmy looked out to the battlefield. Ships scorched by, many heavily damaged. "This has all changed! Ultimanium, you have a future! You're in all our memories, dreams and hopes! Like you said, this is our last fight, so we're going to finish this and go home! That's when you'll see what I mean!"

Ultimanium shivered. "...you're right."

"You have another gift to add to the list." Charmy gripped Ultimanium, drawing him forward. She leant forward, kissing him softly on the lips. She drew back slowly, smiling softly.

There was a moment of silence.

Ultimanium bowed his head, staring back towards the Van Eltia. And back to Charmy. His hands clamped down hard onto her shoulders.

"Need a lift?"


TRANCE...


Ultimanium's hair was blasted upwards by unseen forces, shaping it into the SSJ-esque silver-coated coifer. His dull eyes took on an azure shade. Though the force emitted from such a transformation was severe, Charmy remained still, calmed by Ultimanium holding her in place. A charge of electricity crackled from Charmy's feet, sweeping upwards. Charmy craned her neck back, closing her eyes as the wave of energy swept over her. The telltale tingle of power was left afterwards. Regaining her composure, Charmy finally lowered her head, tightening up. "...what..."

"...wow, that's quite a jump." Ultimanium tapped on Charmy's shoulder with his left hand, causing her to glance up to his face. "C'mon, over here." Ultimanium began to move back towards the Argetlahm, carrying Charmy with him. He floated up to one of the small reinforced glass windows of a vacant bunk, and moved her in front of it. Charmy looked into her reflection.

Her green hair was turned into the exact same shade of metallic grey that Ultimanium's had, and equally cold blue eyes. She stammered, raising her hands to examine them as well. While they hadn't actually changed physically, she felt a constant aura of power around them. "...w-wha..."

"You don't have much time to think of a flashy Trance name, so make it quick." Ultimanium said. He added in a low chuckle.

"...I'm just like you!" Charmy finally gasped. "I look awesome!"

Ultimanium tilted his head. "...I need all the help I can get, right? So I need more Trances."

"...but I thought you were against the use of Trances."

Ultimanium turned away. "The dimensional structure can go to hell for all I care." he glanced back, staring down Charmy. "...this is all about us now."



********



The voice crackled over the battlefield. A short distance off, the pair of Cornerian battlecruisers began to pivot their turrets into place, turning to cut a wide swath across the fleet of Einhanders. The guns began to chain fire, letting out a torrent of energy blasts. From a distance there was a constant wave of light that travelled across the surface of the capital ships. As the Magnopolitian warships warped in directly on their flanks, a smaller medium-sized craft began to weave through the battle.

Magnus quickly jumped from the small chair, typing commands on a keypad hanging uncerimoniously from the low roof of the tiny ship. "As long as we don't get anyone's attention we can take a couple of stray blows on the way to the Van Eltia. It'll be a bumpy ride, but a generally safe one."

"I'm honored to ride in the Echelon, sir," the cadet answered shakily. "but flying on a straight path through the Einhanders doesn't sound very pleasant."

"It won't be pleasant for them if they don't get out of the way." Magnus sat back down, picking up a pair of wired gauntlets. He slipped them onto his hands, clenching his fists. The hands seemed to mechanically return them to a set point in the air. The gloves pulsed a soft yellow. "Tell me, cadet, does it feel particularly hazardous to fly in an unarmed craft?"

"...well, yes, sir."

"Well, they make the best Trojan horses." Magnus clenched his fists again, the aura quickly brightening. "I want full energy transfer. Create a link."

The computer did as it was told. Magnus grit his teeth, reeling his hands back. He suddenly jutted them forward, bringing them back and forth. The aura seemed ready to light the rest of the cockpit on fire.

Meanwhile, outside, a steady rain of Ki blasts created seemingly out of thin air were raining down on the fleet, causing both the Einhanders and Smashers to leave a path ready for the Echelon. A pair of Einhanders were struck by the wisps of energy, exploding them both out the other way.


********


Shaun stood ready, flexing his fingers. On his sides, Max and Melanie waited casually. With a loud clank, the floor stopped suddenly underneath their feet. Shaun remained still, Melanie hopped forward a little and Max fell on his face.

"What is this?.. Shaun?" Melanie called out, but Shaun was already walking forward into the sudden darkness. Both Melanie and Max, rubbing his cheek, watched silently as Shaun was lost further in the hallway. He stopped as lights above him began to turn on, one by one. They were at the end of the hallway, and in somewhere much more vast. The walls and celing lit up in a showcase-style charade, one face yellow, two blue, then green, and finally purple.

"Is this the place or what?" Melanie sighed.

"TWO ARE UNIDENTIFIED," a mechanical voice buzzed. "LAST SUBJECT MATCHES DNA DESCRIPTION."

"I already told you, dumbass, that's Shaun!" the lighter voice from the hallway muttered.

A feminine growl came from the other end. "Some cold, hard facts would be really nice."

"LIKE what HE just SAID!!"

"Oh." a dull voice echoed.

"Calm down, you two," another soft voice chimed. "Now, what is all the commotion?"

All the walls pulsed in order.

"...ah, so that's it, isn't it? Shaun Garin is here? Why didn't you say so?"

"I DID!!"

"...perhaps you did. That does not matter now."

Melanie jumped back as the far blue wall suddenly brightened. Its surface shimmered, and emitted a howling ring as a humanoid figure stepped from the barrier. It was a woman, letting out a sharp ring as her feet touched the ground. In one hand she held a light trident, and she was draped in pale blue robes with a small crystalline tiara.

"...you must be one of the major Craymels." Shaun finally spoke. "You're Undine, right?"

Undine nodded softly. "That is my name. You must be Shaun Garin. I am glad to see that you have finally found your way back to Eternia. We, the major Craymels of Inferia and Celestia, welcome you."

Melanie glanced towards Max. Max shook his head in response. "It's a long story."

Shaun nodded. "Undine, I would like to speak with all the major Craymels. I am aware that Efreet isn't present right now... but how about the others?"

Undine smiled. With a loud chime, the other faces of the room rippled, letting out other odd mechanical sounds. Figures emerged from all of them. Among them were a three-foot tall boy, with a bow strapped across his back, another woman, dressed in a torn dark blue skirt, a large hatted mole-type creature, and a large pulsating ball of purple electricity, whose beady eyes caught onto Melanie. She shuddered in response, moving backwards.

"...it is you, as well, Max," Undine resounded. "But what about this other lady?"

Shaun shrugged. "She means no harm."

"If you insist," Undine sighed. "Do you know of the Craymels?"

"I can't say that I do." Melaine responded.

"We are the Craymels, elemental forces from the plants in this system that currently reside over the Van Eltia and supply its power, as well as oversee the balance of nature on our corresponding planets. There is the Wind Craymel, Sylph..."

The boy stared blankly. "Yeah, hi, whatever."

"The Ice Craymel, Celsius..."

Celsius tilted her head. "What he said."

"The Earth Craymel, Gnome..."

Gnome sat back. "Yes, I KNOW I don't look like a gnome."

Melanie raised her eyebrow. "But I wasn't going to say anything."

"Oh, EVERYBODY does."

"The Lightning Craymel, Volt..."

"AFFIRMATIVE." Volt droned.

"...and I, the Water Craymel, Undine. We are the major Craymels."

Shaun tapped his foot. "Undine, could we save the formalities for later? We have something very important to do."

Undine sighed. "Yes, the presence of the Grapplers is quite threatening, especially with the ties to the seventh-dimensional entities that they have developed. This is a very serious situation, and we ourselves wish for a viable solution to it."

"We'll transform the Van Eltia to ARK!" Shaun shouted enthusiastically. "We'll purge the Van Eltia by coursing every last bit of power through its veins!"

"But these are seventh-dimensional entities, whatever Undine said..." Sylph muttered. "They'll soak up excess power like a sponge."

"These are artificial seventh-dimensional figures," Shaun announced. "They were created using early dimensionsplitter technology, and I think this would be the best thing to do."

"Oh, and tell me, what happens if they DO happen to take in the excess power, huh?" Sylph laughed harshly. "ARK'll be at lower power and there'll be a few dozen super-soldiers tearing up its insides. Sorry, try again."

Nobody replied.

"...I wish I would've thought this through earlier." Shaun muttered.

"And your friends up there, as far as I've heard, are setting themselves up for an internal ship raid. If you DID happen to transform the Van Eltia to ARK, there's a good chance they'd be the first to bite it. As much as I hate to say it, a frontal assault is the only way to take this. As soon as that Antimagnus moron's out of the way the rest of them should be easy pickings."

"..." Shaun turned to Undine. "...is he really right?"

Undine nodded. "I am afraid so. It is truly a great risk to transform to ARK at this point in time, one I think is not worth the disaster that could befall us. A conventional assault may truly be the only way. I must put my trust in the Argetlahm and pray for success."

Melanie tilted her head. "I guess it was just a big waste of time coming down here, huh?"

"At least we were warned before we did anything rash." Max sighed.

"You heard them," Celsius shrugged. "Stick with the Argetlahm and there's little that can go really, REALLY wrong."

"Aren't you all the least concerned about Antimagnus?" Shaun asked.

"NEGATIVE." Volt hummed. "IT HAS BEEN CONFIRMED THAT ANOTHER UNIDENTIFIED POWER SURGE HAS BEEN TRAVELLING THE VAN ELTIA DURING SINCE THE PAST 72 HOURS. OUR ADVANCED SENSORS CANNOT CONFIRM A DEFINITE SOURCE."

"How is it compared to Antimagnus'?"

"WE CANNOT GET STATISTICS. HOWEVER I DO BELIEVE THE PRESENCE OF THIS POWER HAS MADE SOME OF THE OTHER CRAYMEL UNEASY."

Gnome shuddered. "It's really cold. Bitingly."

"But even you can't draw a bead on it?" Shaun questioned. "I mean, you're all 7D figures, so you should be able to notice everything that occurs on the Van Eltia."

Sylph shook his head. "Not a clue. Like Volt said, it's driving us nuts. I mean, it's a total loophole. We're 7D figures, so we should be able to get a reading on absolutely everything that exists physically."

Shaun cocked the Mega Launcher. "We'll take care of Antimagnus. We'll meet up with the Argetlahm when it shows up and help fight. We can look further into this later if you'd like."

"It's greatly appreciated, Shaun," Undine replied. "If you like, we should be able to move you back up to a safe spot in the higher levels of the Van Eltia. You can wait there and join in the Argetlahm's attack when it begins."

Sylph folded his arms. "You're a bit late for that."

Undine raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"


********


"What are you guys doing down there?!" Samus yelled. "We're getting pummeled out here! Einhanders are coming out of the woodwork... we've already lost one of the Magnopolitian ships, and the Grapplers are sending out three of their own cruisers!"

Falco shouted back through the comm. "A few more minutes! We're cleaning up in here, then we'll have a clean shot at the core!! Just a little longer!!"

Both the Einhanders and the Argetlahm ships inside the core were thinning each other out greatly, dozens of heavily damaged ships fighting off the last couple minutes of their infrastructures' physical life. Heero at this point was taking an entirely different and zig-zagging route to the core pillar, narrowly dodging the attacks of Einhanders. The side of the Bonne ship opened up, Tron stepping out onto the door as it folded out into a small ledge. She raised a large tube-like cannon, perching it on her shoulder as she struggled to aim the gigantic bazooka. Another two Servbots poked out of the hole, bailing over everything nearby that wasn't nailed down. A bowling ball fell, cracking the cockpit of a passing Einhander. The canopy continued to implode, disabling its pilot. The craft spiraled downwards, smashing into the surface of the core pillar.

"I paid good money for that." Tron sighed.

Falco and Fox spun back into place, freed from their seperate dogfights. They began to send sprays of lasers down on Heero's pursuers, taking many of them out.

"HEERO!!" Falco screamed. "You have a clear path!! Fire it!!"

"What?!" Heero cried out in shock as another Einhander crossed his Arwing, quickly pivoting and rocketing back towards him. "He's headed straight for me! He's not going pursuit speed, either!"

"A kamikaze craft?!" Peppy screeched. "THAT BOMB ISN'T GOING TO LAST!!"

"Isn't anyone cover-aaaAAHH!!" Tron was nearly sweapt away as an Einhander rocketed by her opening. She swung out, holding onto the hyrdaulic pole attached to the door. Her bazooka plummeted downwards, becoming a tiny speck as it fell to the bottom of the giant chamber.

"COULD I GET SOME LOVE OVER HERE?!" Heero performed a barrel roll, narrowly missing the Einhander charging straight at him. The Einhander quickly slowed down, causing Heero to spin upwards again. Another near miss.

"The Einhanders are way more manuoverable than the Arwings," Falco muttered. "Don't we have anyone that can assist him?"

"They're all tied up," Peppy shouted back. "There's still more Einhanders coming! We're working our asses off to keep MORE ships off Heero!"

Falco looked back down to Heero, laser blasts flying all around him. The Grappler craft was rapidly gaining on the lone Arwing. "HE'S RUNNING OUT OF TIME!!"


A stray laser blast, much brighter than the others, flew out of the blue. The energy was absorbed by the Einhander, causing its wing to erupt in flame. The craft emitted a shrill squeal as it plummeted downwards. Falco couldn't believe his eyes. "What the hell?!"

"We have an unidentified craft coming our way!" Fox bellowed.

Falco turned just in time to see the bizarre ship blaze by him. It looked like a thin panel, quickly morphing as it folded out into a large T-shaped fighter. An aged voice laughed over the Star Fox comms. "Did I miss anything?"

"...A B-Wing." Falco murmured. "...who are you?"

"Let us concern us with that after. Shaun Garin needs the Argetlahm's help, and I will see that it arrives, if my life depends on it. Our business is done here, Star Fox. Let us make our escape while Heero detatches the super Nova Bomb."

"What about Heero?" Fox asked. The Einhander crowds were rapidly beginning to diminish, many of them shot down as the remaining Smash ships performed a quick U-turn and began to head for the Devil's Throat. "We can't just leave him down here."

Peppy started flipping switches along the top of his cockpit. "Engaging auxiliary thrusters. We're going to need a quick way outta here."

"I'll take care of Heero," the B-Wing pilot responded. "Just leave here. Now! I will meet up with you at the head of the Van Eltia."

"...okay." Heero nodded. "Get going, guys, I'll take care of this." he watched as the Star Fox team went into formation, turning and climbing back into the Devil's Throat. As the last ships left his sight, he latched both hands onto the joystick. A small compartment ejected out of the side of the flight stick, marked with a threatening red tape. Heero quickly rapped on the button atop it. He felt the Arwing shudder as the boosters on the back of the Super Nova Bomb activate, tearing itself from the belly of the ship. The missile scorched forwards, Heero watching with grim satisfaction as the explosive went forward, tearing into the side of the pillar. Three loud beeps sounded.

"Instant transmission," the pilot sounded. "We shall return to the main battle. Godspeed."

Both ships disappeared.


********


Outside was utter chaos. It wasn't particluarly helped by recent events. As the capships began to take damage from the constant Einhander raids, all the combatants were split up as, off in the distance, the front side of the Van Eltia command pillar crumpled in a cataclysmic explosion. A giant shockwave was sent off from the billowing pillar of fire. Many of the smaller ships lost control, sent in all directions from the force. The capital ships were nearly torn from their positions. The inhabitants of the Argetlahm grabbed at their workstations, trying to stay standing up as the ship tremored and the lights flickered haphazardly.

Down below, in the depths of space, Vegeta yelled as he swung his chain of Argetlahm members forward. One by one they detatched, shouting war cries as they flew on an arc towards the side of the Van Eltia command pillar. There they would attack a nearby hangar, thinned out somewhat by the attacks all over the great capital ship.

"This is it!" Cody yelled. "Get in there!!"

Gohon and V2 nodded. "Gotcha."

MATRIX EVOLUTION...

"Veemon... digivolve!... Veedramon!!"
"Veedramon... matrix digivolve! Hydramon!!!"

Hydramon slowed down as he landed with a crash in the nearest hangar, spreading his wings. Energy blasts rained forth from them, tearing up the interior of the room. Grapplers were sent flying by the blasts. From behind the firewall charged the main force - Cody, Crono both charging with their katanas held high for an instant impale, Raynor firing his gauss rifle in one hand, and Dante emptying his Ebony and Ivory into advancing troops. He flipped the handguns into their holster, taking out a larger automatic rifle. Another dozen Smashers charged forward under cover fire, beating on the task force of Grapplers with any sort of weapons they could find.

This pattern was being repeated in dozens of hangars on both sides of the pillar.

Samus flipped her arm cannon up, firing a charged-up blast into a pile of crates. Shrapnel was sent flying, and she followed suit as she dove and rolled, avoiding a salvo of fire from several armed Grapplers. Takato was running around the edge of the room, smashing people from behind with the Ragnarok. Locke seized a farily large hunting knife from a downed Grappler, and was now fighting ambidexterously. Soldiers formed a path for him as he threatened to take off their heads in his mad spin. Glenn held his revolver up, firing blasts of energy into the center of the room. A docked Einhander exploded in the background.

The fused Trance of Gimli carved a path through another line of soldiers. Bullets deflected harmlessly off his tough armor as he bodyslammed through a heavily-plated door, heading out into the hallways of Sector Delta. The wall was nearly torn apart as dozens of Smashers forced themselves through the gap. Off in the distance, a dragoon could be seen holding off two Grapplers with a large lance. Meanwhile, Captain Falcon got up onto a nearby crate, taking shots at Grapplers near the far end of the hallway with his handgun. As one tried to climb up onto the box, he delivered a fierce axe kick to his assailant's head, sending him back to be trampled by the crowd. "Hyaaa!!"


********


Charmy could only stare in awe as, through every available window, Grapplers were in direct combat with the passengers of the Argetlahm. "..." she turned her eyes back ahead of her. She was still flying alongside the Van Eltia, with Ultimanium to her side. "...so, where are we headed?"

"Antimagnus is in the rear pillar. I can't tell exactly where, though. He must be masking himself for a reason. No matter. We'll tear apart this ship if we have to."

"...for it being the last battle for the 6D, I wasn't expecting it to be in a cramped ship."

"It'll get bigger than that. This is a Magnusi we're dealing with - the most powerful one. After this the Magnusi will be fully and totally out of commission and dimensional stability'll come back. I'm more concerned about the people who live in these dimensions than anything else. Preserving the physical structure of the 6D is the only way to do that."

"...you're taking this fight head-on," Charmy nodded. "So I will too."

"Then let's finish it. I think there's a hangar down there, but I don't sense anyone there. Let's go."

Charmy nodded, following close behind Ultimanium as he dove down towards the miniscule opening on the face of the Van Eltia pillar.


********


Antimagnus rose from his chair. "Bah, I guess it's that time, isn't it. Looks like Ultimanium's ready to come out and play. Whatever, let's make this quick... you're taking out of my precious time." Antimagnus stretched, cracking his neck. "And that Charmy girl, too. If this is some "love conquers all" situation you have going here than I hate to have to burst your bubble. Either way, you and the rest of this dimension are damned."

As he got up to leave, he felt a slight twinge of energy in the air. "...just a little bit longer... I can take care of this myself."

"The last one said that." a familiar-sounding voice sighed.

"...just leave me alone. I can take care of the Argetlahm... just... give me a little longer."

He got no reply.











Will the Argetlahm succeed in its raid of the Van Eltia? What awaits Shaun, Melanie and Max as they work themselves into the assault against the Grapplers? Can Ultimanium and Charmy alone stand up to the Trancing Magnusi that did a number on the Argetlahm mere weeks ago? And what the hell is Minonim doing on the Van Eltia, anyways? Find out next time, on Trance Trauma - Van Eltia, A Whole New Battle!