Another interesting interior design as always. Ten framed treasure maps hung on the wall alongside posters of flying planes. An open wooden chest, full of sweets, was displayed on the back table. Lyra wore an eyepatch and a matching pirate’s outfit. I yawned, tired from just getting off work.

“Welcome, my delightful crew members! It’s time we embark into the grand skies in pursuit of the ultimate treasure,” Lyra greeted with exuberance.

“Where’s the plane?” I inquired.

“The same place where Ichaival regained his powers,” Lyra answered.

“How did we miss something that big the first time?” I exclaimed.

“The plane is well hidden. It doesn’t give off a magical signature your grimoire could detect,” the prophet explained.

“Let’s get this over with then,” I said, leaning back in my chair.

The prophet placed a compass down on the table. Very fitting considering the room. The tool would point us in the correct direction. Ksi picked up the compass and put it into her pockets.

 “Once you locate the plane, establish a connection with my house and it should send over all the plane parts. Here are the tools you’ll need to set up a portable transfer terminal,” Lyra instructed, pulling out a steel box from beneath her desk.

“Seems kind of heavy to carry around,” I observed.

“Darryl, you’re in charge of carrying it around,” Lyra ordered.

“I got it,” Ichaival agreed.

Lyra inputted the forest coordinates into our watches. Okay, all set now. She summoned Shan and Ichaival to the back for a private meeting. I glanced around the room again, still amazed by her dedication. Ksi flipped through a manual while waiting while Jacque dozed off in his chair. Ten minutes later, it was time to head out.

 

 Dust Woods

“What did you talk to Lyra about?” I asked Shan and Ichaival.

“Stuff happening in the dimension. You don’t have to worry about it,” Shan replied, avoiding a mud puddle.

“You won’t tell me even if I ask so I’ll find out when we get ambushed,” I said.

“Sounding like Jacque now. Nah, we should be safe for now,” Shan refuted.

“Hey, I’m not that negative. Just sometimes when I forget to do shit,” Jacque disagreed.

“Everyone just be quiet. Your talking could alert enemies,” Ksi suggested, glancing down at the compass as she led the way.

A light drizzle fell and we all donned our special suits. No signs of any strange plants yet. This area was lusher than the swamp. Although, that meant a higher chance of hidden enemies.

“We’re close,” Ksi reported.

 Vines flew out from the ground, grabbing Ichaival. He constructed a portal but it was shut down immediately. The false archer disappeared underground. Shit, that wasn’t good. More vines burst out and wrapped around everyone’s legs. Shan ripped the vine out of the ground with an upward swing of his knee. He stomped downward, green ooze leaking out from the defeated enemy. Ksi summoned Muramasa, cutting through all the vines surrounding her, leaving a green pile of vegetation. Jacque opened a bottle of paint and poured it onto our assailants, melting them. I grabbed the vines around my legs and burned them with fire. I froze all the vines targeting the artist and shattered them with Mirror’s Rend. Where did Ichaival go?

The false archer emerged from the ground, holding a glowing Kali stick in his left hand and a blade in the other. Dirt, soil stains, and splotches of green covered his clothes from the waist up.

“Good job, Darryl,” Shan complimented, hauling his friend up.

“Yo, was he just nice to Ichaival?” Jacque whispered to me.

“It happens…. sometimes,” I answered.

“Ksi, is the plane here or underground?” Shan asked, peering at her compass.

“It’s wedged in the trees,” the woman responded, pointing upward.

Shan floated upward with his powers, taking the compass with him. He bumped into something and grasped his left arm. The man held Lyra’s compass near the invisible object. A large plane parked on a steel platform was revealed. He landed on the platform and pushed a rope ladder down. Ksi scaled the ladder first, with ease, leaping onto the platform with a flourish. Ichaival went next, followed by me, and finally Jacque. The artist lost his grip halfway through but Ichaival saved him with a portal.

“I should have just teleported everyone up here,” I realized.

“I liked climbing up. A mini workout,” Ichaival said.

“Not for Jacque though,” Shan pointed out.

“Let’s build the terminal and repair this,” Ksi said, pointing at Ichaival.

Ichaival opened the steel box and Ksi built the terminal with blazing speed. She tapped her watch to contact Lyra. Within seconds, all the plane parts arrived. Ksi, Shan, and Ichaival worked on putting everything in.

“Lyra provided instructions on how to get the last part. Jacque will have to do it,” Ksi said.

“Say what?” Jacque responded in confusion.

“You can produce objects like a 3-D printer, right? Lyra looked over the sketch you drew last time and believes this schematic should produce a similar part,” Ksi answered, handing him a detailed drawing full of arrows and words.

Jacque slipped it into his sketchbook and closed the cover. The artist opened it up and like a pop-up book, the part appeared. Ksi lifted it up and installed it into the plane.

“Where did you get something like that?” I inquired.

“Tess modified my sketchbooks so it’s sorta like your grimoire now,” Jacque answered.

“Super useful, now you don’t have to draw everything by hand,” I remarked.

“Not for everything. For something super complicated, I need a blueprint or an outline,” the artist revealed.

Twenty minutes later, the plane was finally operable. It resembled a big ship with multiple sleek wings and a large open deck. The area contained multiple docks for magical cannons and handrails for operators. We entered the interior and discovered a standard cockpit in the front and seats in the middle. There was also another floor beneath us, mainly a storage area filled with various supplies and unmarked boxes.

“I’m flying the plane,” Ksi announced when we returned to the main floor.

“That’s a good choice,” I agreed.

“Damn, not even giving us a chance,” Shan remarked.

“I trust Ksi. Much more dependable than either of you. No offense, Ichaival,” I said.

“I wouldn’t trust Shigetzu either,” he responded.

“After I gave you a compliment too, Darryl. Man, what a douche,” Shan insulted.

“Don’t you need a co-pilot though?” I asked, peering inside the cockpit.

“I’ll instruct you on what to do,” Ksi offered, pushing me towards the front of the plane.

“Good luck!” Ichaival encouraged, sitting down and strapped on his seatbelt.

  “You got this, Tomo. Seriously, I don’t want to die today,” Jacque admitted.

Shan gave me a thumbs up, sitting next to his friend. I stared at the complicated control panel in front of me. There were three built-in screens as well. Ksi pointed out which switches to flick on and then started the plane up. The entire air craft shook, followed by a loud hiss as Ksi yanked a lever down. I stared out the window, seeing the plane lift off from the steel platform. We were up in the sky! How in the world did Ksi learn all of this so fast? I knew she was a dedicated but to pilot an aircraft of unknown origin took luck and skill.

“Tomo, the plane contains an advanced auto-pilot. I’m only trained in maneuvering the plane if an emergency occurs. It might not make you feel too safe but there wasn’t enough time,” Ksi revealed.

“It’s already set to our destination?” I inquired, pointing at the input panel on the pilot’s side.

“Already done. But with Shan and Ichaival, I have a bad feeling things won’t go according to plan,” Ksi said.

“My thoughts exactly, Ksi,” I agreed.

Ten minutes later, I glanced down at the middle screen, noticing a message prompt. I notified Ksi and she tapped the screen, accepting the incoming communication. A fuzzy image popped up, eventually clearing up to reveal…. Kisai? The quality was poor and his voice warped. I could only hear bits and pieces.

“Too much interference. I heard “chase” and “plane”. Something’s after us, maybe?” Ksi interpreted.

“Nothing on the radar so far,” I reported, tapping the first screen.

“I’ll make an announcement. Is it getting any clearer?” Ksi picked up the intercom.

“Still bad,” I replied, still seeing a frozen image of Kisai.

Damn, this connection was as bad as dial-up. I fiddled around with the calibration, but nothing changed the overall stability. I looked out the window and saw an incoming aircraft.

“Ksi, something’s coming,” I informed her, checking our radar again.

“I’ll handle it,” she responded, inputting numbers on a keypad.

  The plane slowed down, descending downward at a slow pace. I observed a constant flickering outside of my window. It was abnormal and didn’t follow a set interval. Oh, a code! Kyoi lectured me on this topic.

“It’s Kisai. I’ll allow him to land,” she said.

“Hold on, it might be a trap,” I warned.

“No, it’s him. I read reference material on Kisai. He’s done this type of thing before,” she assured me.

 A few minutes later, Kisai joined us inside. I left the cockpit, leaving the piloting to Ksi. The mage was in the middle of explaining his presence. The Special Investigations Unit, in collaboration with authorities from Kisai’s dimension, found evidence of a plan to regain control of this plane. They were heading for us right now.

“They’ll be….,” Kisai began before the entire plane shook.

Ksi, over the intercom, ordered us to head to the upper level. Once we arrived, a large warplane emblazoned with a large stylized “P”, hovered above us. People parachuted down, carrying steel briefcases and boxes. Soon after, four fighter jets zoomed in, aiming their weaponry at us. I saw Mr. Penta and Mr. Go stand on the large warplane balcony observing us.

“Shigetzu, I’ll handle those planes,” Kisai informed him.

“How are you going to do that?” I questioned, avoiding an attack.

“You know…. yeah, you know,” Kisai answered, pointing upward.

 Another plane joined the battle, firing at the fighter jets. A familiar symbol was painted on its wings. Kisai brought backup from his affiliated dimension. He grinned, throwing a charging enemy into Ichaival. The false archer plunged a blade into their leg before teleporting him over to Shan. The gravity manipulator kicked the man’s head, knocking them out cold. Great teamwork guys but let’s not forget there’s a huge fucking warplane in the skies!

“Oh, it’s that guy from before,” Kisai observed, shocking three enemies.

“Yeah, looks like they’re not doing anything, for now,” I said, freezing an approaching enemy before hurling their frozen body at their comrade.

“More planes incoming!” Shan shouted as he punched a foe in the nose.

Six, no, seven more fighter jets joined the sky fray. They surrounded Kisai’s backup, firing successive red beams at it. Kisai’s ally dove, avoiding the attacks, but was clipped by the enemy.  Suddenly, another plane sped in and shot down the planes surrounding its ally.  

“Freakin’ Jin, you should have told us earlier there was so much backup coming in!” Ichaival chided, whacking an opponent’s right hand.

“What are you talking about, Darryl?” Kisai denied.

I pivoted behind an enemy, shoving them into their comrade’s line of fire. Shit, the number of people descending from the warplane wasn’t stopping. At this rate, we would tire ourselves out.

“Everyone, hostiles are scaling the plane from beneath us,” Ksi relayed.

Foes, in tactical clothing, climbed up our aircraft. They carried large packs on their backs. Crap, I didn’t want to disrupt Ksi’s flying with any elemental attacks. What to do? Portals were the safest option. I would round them all up into one area and then strike. I teleported everyone in my line of sight onto the plane deck and gestured at Shan. Ichaival followed my lead, dropping his haul onto mine. The gravity manipulator swatted them off with one powerful swing of his bat. I peered downward, seeing smaller aircraft catch them and fly off.

“Shigetzu, it’s him!” Ichaival shouted.

A man, in his early thirties, landed on the plane deck. He threw off his parachute, glaring at both Ichaival and Shan. Those engaged in combat with us paused, staring at him.

“Shigetzu Shan, you’re a fuckin’ pain in the ass every fucking time! Your little bitch ass partner doesn’t even piss me off as much. We capture that idiot Ion and you rescue him. We kidnap poor little Ichaival Darryl and you rescue him too. We’re so close to wiping out those evil orcs and you step in. Worst of all, our beloved savior, the one who knew those orcs were bad news and this damn place needed to be purged dies! All because of your fucking interference!” he ranted.

“Yeah, I don’t remember things happening like that at all,” Shan refuted.

“It doesn’t matter! You’re taking responsibility for all of it. Right here and now!” the man yelled, running towards Shan.

Mr. Penta and Mr. Go warped to our location, blocking him from reaching the hero. Mr. Go caught his fist and yanked it down. Mr. Penta raised his left hand in the air and all the hostilities around us ceased.

“We fulfilled our end of the deal by bringing you here, Samuel. It’s time for us to leave and allow things to transpire without any interference on our part,” Mr. Penta said.

“Let me at him then, you fool!” Samuel bellowed.

“I think not. Samuel, you signed a contract and you did not read the fine print,” Mr. Go interjected, still clutching the man’s fist.

“Indeed, it is as he says. There is an imposed condition we wrote in for our own benefit. Should you choose to fight Shan Shigetzu, you must do it in a one-on-one battle with no outside interference. The same applies for Shan’s side as well. If either side fails to follow this, there will be repercussions,” Mr. Penta explained.

“He’s correct. Consider this your advance if you follow our rules,” Mr. Go revealed and snapped his gloved fingers.

My necklace shook with such immense force that it almost flew off. The empty mounts on the plane were now occupied by miniature magical cannons. They were similar in design to the ones at the fortress in Kisai’s dimension. Fucking…. these two men weren’t normal enemies.

“Fine, you did me a favor, so I’ll play your dumb little game. Still doesn’t change the fact Shan’s going down, no matter what happens,” Samuel relented.

“A sensible decision. We’ll take our leave but will continue to observe even after our departure. We’re always watching. As for you, dear heroes, give my regards to the Gatekeeper. Here’s a little present for Ms. Zha,” Mr. Penta said, tossing me his lapel.

 I caught it and slid it into my pocket. No time to worry about those two men’s motives. Shan and Samuel stared each other down, neither making a move yet. Kisai knocked away several opponents around a cannon before opening his toolbox.

“I’m gonna need you to disarm these cannons. Darryl and Jacque will defend us,” Kisai instructed.

“My grimoire?” I shouted, elbowing a foe sneaking up behind me.

“Yeah. I’ll take the left side. Darryl, you’re with me!” Kisai hurled several tools at me.

“Come on, I don’t even get a choice?” Ichaival protested.

“Nah, you work better with me,” Kisai remarked, tearing out wires from the cannon interior.

I opened my grimoire and read the instructions. Shit, these steps were detailed. I didn’t know if the artist could provide enough time for me. No, I should trust Jacque. I cracked open the paneling, which revealed an assortment of wires, all different colors. I referred to my grimoire, checking which ones to clip. How the hell did Kisai just rip out everything?