The Adventures of Mavus Pt. III

"The Adventures of Mavus Pt. III" continues where Part II left off. Mavus Shaw has been taken into the Waystation as he searches for the demigod Remy Jackson to aid in the Inquisition's efforts to stopping the New Militia.

Chapter 12 - Foreigner

"So, Mavus, how did you find this place?" Josephine asked. This lady was really friendly... a bit too friendly. You know those old grannies who are super sweet and kind, but spoil you a bit too much? Josephine kind of reminded me of that. Aside from the fact that she was built like a bodybuilder. She had insane musculature enough to make Jason jealous.

"I used a magic crystal to locate the entrance. I came from... somewhere else." I couldn't tell her I was from another universe. "I see", Josephine said, taking me to the infirmary. She started to patch my scratches up. "Have you been on the run? Where's your family?"

That hit me hard. I stared at the ground. "I don't have one." No point lying to such a kind lady. I was from a family that was... complicated. My mom wanted me to be a doctor/lawyer/engineer. Choose one of the three, anything else I was considered "not fit to survive in the real world". My father wanted me to learn how to live off my own hustle. They were strict and I hardly considered them my parents.

I know, haha, he's an asian guy with asian parents that want him to be the most asian thing ever. The thing was, they treated me like I was a responsibility. Not as a son. My mom wanted me to be in STEM because she believed that to survive, I needed to be able to get hired into a stable job market. My dad, well. He believed that harsh discipline made strong men.

When my parents found out about my powers, they were disappointed to say the least. "After everything we had done for you." Those were their exact words. They saw me as a threat, and when the government showed up to my doorstep, they didn't even bother saying their goodbyes. Just sent me on my way, ready for the suits to pick me up.

Dark, huh? That's why I never talk about my past. Because it gets depressing real fast. I guess my expression showed that.

Josephine continued patching me up. "Poor thing... It's okay. Everyone in the Waystation is treated like family in a way. Emmie over there is my wife." I looked in her direction. "Huh?"

Josephine chuckled. "You sure are old fashioned for a man your age! Are you surprised of my orientation? I knew Emmie back when we were Hunters. We parted ways with Lady Artemis after we decided to get together."

"No! No... I have no problem with that. I'm totally fine with the LGBTQ community. It's just... I sent a freaking rocket her way. I'm so sorry Jo." Josephine laughed. She kind of reminded me of Varen. And yes, I jumped, causing the bandage to slip and run against my cut. "Ow!"

Josephine continued to patch me up. "It's a-okay kid. You're quite talented with machines! Are those your powers?" I looked at my hands. "Yeah. I'm a technomancer, I have the ability to create and manipulate technology." Josephine finished and helped me to my feet. "I can tell. I have similar powers, but not at your extent. My mother is Hecate."

"Like the goddess of magic?"
"Yep"

Josephine looked at me. "You know, I could always use an extra pair of hands with a few of my projects. You seem to know your way around a wrench."

That night, I joined a bunch of demigods and legacies to dinner at the Grand Hall. Everybody was chatting up a storm, having fun. Talking about a card game called Mythomagic. For the first time, I felt alone.

Believe me, I've been alone most my life. I was a loser in every school, elementary to college, because I wasn't allowed to be in society for being a Tier Zero Metahuman. But it never really bothered me. After talking with Josephine and being forced to recall my past, and seeing these guys having fun. I don't know. It just bothered me.

"Hey." Calypso sat next to me. I gave her a half smile. "Hey. Sorry for attacking your place." Calypso held up her hand. "Don't worry about it." I continued looking at the other residents. "The boy you seek is no longer in the Waystation."

I stared at her. "What? How? Why would he leave this place?" Calypso watched as several demigods started to play with their powers. "Remy wanted to go back to the real world, as he only saw this place as a temporary place to stay."

Dammit. I went through all this trouble to get here too. At this rate, I'll never get this mission done. "You're not from around here, are you?" God, she was like a freaking sleuth. "Nope. I'm from somewhere else, that's in deep trouble, and if I don't find this Remy guy, then it's a mission fail."

"Corinth?"
"Yeah. Wait, how the hell did you know that?"

Calypso put her plate on the ground. "I have the ability to see a person's past. I'm sorry, I should have asked for your consent, but at the time, I was suspicious. You are unlike any mortal I have ever seen."

"Thanks, I get that a lot from the average immortal."

Calypso continued. "You are not a demigod, and you lack the impulsiveness of many of the heroes I have met. Your powers are incomprehensible, yet you are not a god, but a mortal. And the way you speak, your dialect, it is almost... foreign."

"Racist." I managed a smirk, causing Calypso to smile. "Your humour is a lot like Leo's though. A bit edgier, but still similar."

I finished up my dinner and leaned back on the sofa. "How did you guys even meet? I'm guessing he is the guy who sprinted you from Ogygia." Calypso raised her eyebrows. "I'm surprised you know of this."

"Like I said, people, excuse me, mortals love to write about you guys."

Calypso continued watching the demigods. "Leonidas indeed rescued me from the island. He did what no man could, and returned, saving me from my curse. As we speak, he is currently away, at the Roman Demigod Camp." She looked worried, and I didn't blame her.

"I'm sure that guy is fine. He's good with machines, like me. We tend to be the more creative of the bunch." Calypso gave me grateful look. "Thank you for the kind words, Mavus. I hope all goes well with your love for Junon."

I nearly choked. "What?" Calypso looked amused. "I told you, I can see the past. You love this girl, to the point where you would follow her to battle without fear. I admire that." I repositioned myself on the couch. "If only she felt the same way." Calypso looked at me. "Just follow your heart, and it will work out eventually."

Something suddenly came to mind. Oh crap. I forgot about Junon! My coms unit was still in Main when Calypso had busted it up! She must be worried sick.

"Hey, I'm going to head to my room, it was great talking to you." Calypso waved me goodbye.

I quickly reassembled the com unit that Junon had given me. Hopefully this will work. "Um... hello?"

"Mavus? Is that you?" Junon's voice appeared from the com unit. It felt like the most reassuring thing ever. "Yeah, it's me. Listen, I'm sorry, the com unit broke after a mishap-"

"Don't worry about that. I'm just so glad that you're still here. I need your help, it's bad. Can you come to these coordinates as soon as you can?"

Junon uploaded the coordinates onto the device. San Francisco. How the heck did she get all the way over there?

"San Francisco? Did you find the demigod?" Junon was quiet for a few seconds. "Yes. She's with me. But Mavus, you need to hurry. We aren't the only ones who made it to this universe. There was a third person who managed to get through."

"Blackflame is here. And he's wiped out Camp Jupiter."

Chapter 13 - World's Biggest Nerd vs. World's Strongest Edgelord

I left The Waystation early. Josephine noticed that I had already grabbed my things and stopped by.

"Leaving so soon?" I looked down. "Yeah. Something came up. It's really urgent." Josephine crushed me in a hug. "I hope things get better for you kiddo. I'll be waiting to work with you on future projects, sorry you didn't get a chance to check out my workshop!" I thanked her. Emmie was at the door. "She's right. The Waystation serves as a refuge for anyone. Demigod, Hunter, even mortals like you. You are always welcome back if you need it."

I looked at the numerous people who were lost, who were given a home thanks to these two. I nodded. "Thank you."

I headed out, and closed my fist. Numerous pieces of scrap metal from the station swirled around me as I dissipated into green sparks, merging with the mechanical body, repurposed into Main. Blackflame, that incredibly jacked edge lord. He had to ruin everything. I turned around. Josephine was giving me a thumbs up. "Nice. Go kick some ass kid!"

I gave her a thumbs up back. I activated my thrusters, then shot to the sky.

"Juno, set location to San Francisco, Camp Jupiter, fastest route, full aerial mode."
"Acknowledged."

My mechanical body transformed, metal parts clacking into place as my body became more streamlined. The flame from my thrusters shot up in intensity, turning it from its usual light green to bright white. I shot forward with immense speed, breaking the sound barrier.

I learned my lesson from my last encounter with this dude. If I was going to stand a chance against his ridiculous speed, taking damage was going to be inevitable. He got me last time because I was being cocky and fought him with a body upload. This time, I was going to... fight him with a body upload.

Dammit. Well, time for Plan B.

I approached Camp Jupiter and began to slow down. The sight was horrific.

Bodies everywhere, demigods and legacies barely clinging to consciousness. There was only one guy left who was facing a hooded figure with one arm. My sensors indicated that the Jupiter....ites were still alive, just barely conscious. Thank God.

The big dude, was probably the Praetor, judging from his cloak. He looked pretty beat up, but the fact that he was still standing against a Tier Zero definitely demands respect.

"Junon, you there?"
"Yeah, I'm with the people who managed to escape. I told them you would be here, so we all evacuated to a bunker. You'll need to drive Blackflame out, but please be careful. You know how your last encounter with him went."

It was time for Plan B to get put in motion. I unveiled several shoulder compartments from Main, releasing several pods. The pods zipped and shot to the ground, circling Blackflame.

I shot down, putting distance between Blackflame and the Praetor. "Who... Who are you?" The guy asked. I turned around and almost snickered.

This guy was a praetor? No way. He was still in his pyjamas and looked like he had been rolled out of bed. His sheepish face and obvious nervousness was completely offset from his huge muscular frame. He kind of reminded me of this dude in my college named Milton. He thought if he went to the gym at 4am in the morning he could work out in an empty building, then he could go to bed at 5am and wake up at 7am then chug coffee for his 8am classes. Every time he was in class, Trevor would aim the phone camera at his snoring ass. It was so funny. Good old Milton.

"Mavus Shaw." Blackflame glared at me. I waved my hand.

"Hi. Yeah, before you begin your rant about how great New Croft is, can I just start off with, seriously? You didn't just have to screw with us in Corinth, but you had to go out of your way to go to another universe to ruin things? What are you, obsessed with us?"

Blackflame inspected his hand. "No. A little bird, told me, that the two you seek were Roman Demigods. I did my research. So I came here. Camp Jupiter welcomed me with open arms, as you can see." He spread his hand, showing all the carnage. My vision turned red.

Blackflame continued. "They didn't take kindly to visitors. That's just too bad. They tried to even attack Junon. Did you know that?"

I was silent. I also realized that Junon was also silent.

"Lo and behold, the mighty Twelfth Legion. How does it feel, Praetor Zhang, to be completely outclassed by me, even with your precious camp of demigods?" Zhang looked like he was about to turn into a gorilla. Dude was choked out of his mind. It didn't take a genius to figure out what happened. Camp Jupiter attacked Blackflame, thinking he was an intruder. Zhang probably thought it would be easy to take down a single enemy, not realizing how powerful a Tier Zero Metahuman was, and Blackflame singlehandedly annihilated the Legion.

Blackflame looked me in my mechanical eye. "Don't think you're any better, Mavus. Don't you remember the last time we met?"

Oh yeah. I definitely did.

"Juno, Plan B, now!"
"Acknowledged! Initiating power drain."

The pods began to power up. Blackflame looked around, and soon he realized that his power was being absorbed. The pods hummed with power as the red and black fire left Blackflame's body and entered the pods, making them glow even brighter green. Blackflame turned to me. "You..."

Haha, what an overconfident fool. It's payback now, kid. I willed the pods to raise from the ground, flying to the direction of my mech, and they mounted onto my shoulders. I could feel power surging. I leaned down, aiming my new giant shoulder cannons, two cannons per shoulder, four in total.

The cannons fired, sending two huge green blasts at Blackflame, who was now drained and unable to react to the attack in time. The blast created a huge green shockwave that decimated the camp even more. Oops. But the good news was that Blackflame was sent miles into the air, smoking from the huge attack.

I detached my shoulder cannons, and transformed them into more mobile draining units, commanding them to pursue Blackflame. I held out my arms, which expanded into a network of separate rocket launchers and munitions, sending a barrage of missiles at Blackflame. With his regeneration and durability dulled by the drainers encircling him, it should deal enough damage. The missiles hit the guy head on, causing massive green explosions. Camp Jupiter was ravaged by winds of the shockwaves.

I kept firing. Turning around, I realized Zhang was still staring at me like an idiot. "What are you staring around for? Don't you have a legion to help evacuate?" Zhang's mouth was hanging open. "Dude... what... who are you? Who is he? Who are you people?"

I looked back. The target lock disappeared. Blackflame managed to escape and was zipping around an arc, the draining units pursuing him. "I'll explain later." I shot forward to meet Blackflame.

Sam was firing his Darkfire left and right attempting to destroy the drones, but his attacks were significantly reduced in power. This meant the two of us were on an even playing field. I shot past the guy and transformed my arm, building several high power thrusters at the forearm, and increasing the size of the fist to a sledgehammer. I swung my fist down, catching the guy in the face, sending him into the ground several hundred feet below. Blackflame shot back up in a red explosion, his face full of murderous rage, his body in Form 4. I ordered the drones to increase the drain percentage. The drones began to crack from the strain. I built even more drones to drain this guy as much as possible.

Blackflame and I engaged in a firefight with the drones circulating us, draining his energy. Him shooting blasts of heat, while I retaliated with missiles barrages, repulser beams, and my miniguns. Back and forth. He tried to get in close with melee, but each time, I would blast him away with my chest repulser. This ain't no knife fight fool, this was a full fledged ballistic battle.

Some of Blackflame's dark fire managed to melt and damage my body, but he was also taking some pretty heavy hits from my explosions, his healing factor severely reduced.

I dodged his blast and fired a small projectile at his face, which exploded into smoke. Shooting upwards behind him, I elongated my hand, building large boosters at the forearms, and changing my arm into a sledgehammer. I swung down at Sam's face, sending him back into the ground with a huge

BOOM.

I landed, with the energy drain drones following suit, hovering around the two of us. Demigods were beginning to come out of their evacuation spots, helping the unconscious and the injured. Junon stood with the crowd. "Finish it Maven!"

I walked up to Blackflame, my mechanical body stomping and crushing the rocks on the ground. I grabbed Blackflame by the face, and powered up my forearm thrusters, launching a devastating uppercut which sent him flying in the air. It was now or never.

Normally if I was going to deliver a full power blast, and I don't mean that half assed little spurt I had in the Inquisition exams, or even that big aerial barrage I sent Amana's squad, I mean a full on, no holds restrained, 100% planet destroying attack, I would have done it through multiple massive cannons to better handle the energy output. But right now, there was no time to build something that big and that many in number. I had to do it in Main.

This would either be super cool, or it was going to suck some major hex nuts.

I stretched my arms, revealing every single beam based weapon in Main's arsenal. I looked like a walking military. Then clasped my arms together, the mechanical components sliding and clacking into place, forming a giant cannon. Aimed right at the airborne Blackflame.

I hoped he was ready for this, because I sure as hell was not.

"Juno, fire the Planet Buster Beam."

A huge green beam, much bigger than the Armada Cannon, fired from my arm-cannon machine. The force of the blast creating a massive crater on the ground where my feet was. Holy crap! I was going to burrow through the ground! I expanded my feet in width, planting them firmly into the ground with more mechanical supports. The beam was so powerful that the electrical discharge that was emanating through the sides arced through the camp, destroying everything in its path. A massive tornado started to spiral around me as air particles were being superheated. The clouds parted, changing in climate. A thunderstorm brewing. Juno was telling me my blast was causing major climate change and storms all around the city, no, the whole freaking country.

Under the sound of all the beam attacks from Main's weapons, I could hear Blackflame yelling. He was feeling the full force of my attack. I looked back and realized that Junon and the others had already left the area.

My entire body was smoking, and I could start to see my weapon cracking in several places, along with my armour and mechanical body. I knew this would happen. The sheer power of a 100% Planet Buster Beam could only be sustained by multiple skyscraper level cannons. It was only a miracle that my mechanical suit hadn't disintegrated from all the power yet. But I had to keep going. For Junon. For the demigods here. For the people at Waystation, Croft, and the Inquisition. Blackflame needed to be put down.

"SAMUEL MASON" I yelled, unleashing everything I had. "THIS ENDS NOW!!!!" My mechanical arms were definitely smoking, sparking, and popping, pieces of my body breaking off. Just a little bit more. Juno's voice was starting to get distorted as my vision began to crack. Main's body wasn't going to hold out for long. I roared as I unleashed the last of my power in the beam, at that point I couldn't tell who was screaming more, me or Blackflame.

The beam dissipated as I could hear all of my mechanical components powering down. Smoke was billowing in like a million places, and the green glow dissipating from my parts. I wasn't even able to stay upright, and fell to my knees, pieces of my body breaking off and falling into the ground, disintegrating. My pods also disintegrated too. I looked up. Snow. The sky, bright and beautiful.

Blackflame fell from the sky, his smoking body, horrendously scarred, slamming into the ground. He had survived my strongest attack. Tier Zero for ya. I exited Main, as it crumbled into pieces of metal. I fell on my face, losing consciousness, hearing the sound of Junon's voice screaming my name.

Chapter 14 - I Get The Camp Jupiter Praetor's Name Completely Wrong

I managed to regain consciousness, barely. Junon was supporting me. "Blackflame..." I croaked. Junon looked at me with concern. "Mavus?" I looked back at her. "I need to see him... please."

We limped to the body of Samuel Mason. He was a lot worse off than me. Junon held back a sob.

Sam looked at me. His eye was no longer silver. It was brown. His body was bloodied, and his one arm, was damaged so bad. I don't want to describe how gruesome he looked. Just thinking about it made me want to throw up.

"So that's what... you look like." Sam coughed. I stared at him. "What do you mean?" Junon sobbed. "Oh my God... Sam... is it really you?" Sam tried to move his neck, but he winced from the effort. He looked at her. "Calliope got... me... Corrupted... Manipula-" Sam coughed out blood. Junon rushed to his side.

"Sam... I knew you were still there, under all that hate, all that Corruption. We need to get you back. Please, come home." Junon's face was streaming tears. So was Sam's. "You never... gave up... even after Calliope..." Junon cut him off. "It was Calliope's fault. I knew it wasn't you when you came back. She put you under a spell. If only we had come back for you. We should have rescued you."

"No." Sam muttered. "There was... no way you could have... known I survived." Another fit of coughing. I got to my feet. "Yo Zhang, we need healers, medics, demigod magic! Come on dude!" Zhang was already asking for medics, but they were too scared to approach the guy who literally decimated their entire legion. Zhang yelled at the demigods. "HEALERS, tend to this man, now. That is an ORDER." A bunch of demigods scurried over to us.

Junon was holding Sam's mangled hand. The Corruption had definitely left his body, and whatever else had controlled him, making him turn against Darkstar. Under all that darkness and hate, was just a kid. Junon was pleading for him not to leave her and to come home. Sam managed to summon enough strength to touch her face. For once I wasn't jealous. "Junon... leaving you without... thanking you was never... an opt-" Sam lost consciousness. Junon screamed his name. Suddenly a bunch of healers came to his aid.

Zhang went up to us. "We should be able to heal him, since he is a regenerator. One of my centurions told me that his regeneration was innate to him, the other powers that he had, that dark magic, was not, and was what left his body." Junon thanked him. Zhang shook his head. "It should be me thanking you two. If it wasn't for you helping my people evacuate and warning us of the impending threat, we wouldn't have gotten all the families to safety. And if it wasn't for Mavus here, taking down Blackflame," Zhang looked at me. "We would have been up the kazoo."

I looked at the ruins of Camp Jupiter. "I'm so sorry dude, I completely wrecked your place." Suddenly, a younger girl went up to him, she was limping but otherwise fine. She kissed him. Zhang turned to me. "Don't worry about it. We got engineers who can completely rebuild this place in like three days. You'd be surprised what a good team of engineers can do." I chuckled. "I'll bet."

The girl looked at me. "You're... not a demigod are you? Both of you aren't." I looked at Junon and looked back at the girl. She had a similar cloak to Zhang's. She must have been the other Praetor. "No, we're from somewhere else, somewhere foreign. So is Blackflame. We don't belong here."

The girl brushed off a piece of debris from her hair. "You're always welcome here if you want, I can arrange something, as long as Terminus is in the mood." Zhang laughed. "By the way, we never introduced ourselves. This here is Hazel, my girlfriend, and I'm Frank." We shook hands. "Wait, isn't your name Zhang?" Frank raised his eyebrows.

"Wha? Where did you hear that?"
"Blackflame called you Praetor Zhang."
"Oh! Yeah that's my last name. Just call me Frank, it's cool"
"Umm but aren't you like Praetor or something, shouldn't I be a little more formal?"

Frank patted my shoulder. "Don't worry about it. Our place is completely trashed up anyway. We are in your debt for saving our bacon." Junon managed a laugh. The two praetors walked off to help the others leaving us two alone.

Junon ran her finger across my jacket. "You managed to keep it in one piece even after all of that?" I looked at my jacket. "Of course, you gave it to me, remember?" Junon smiled, a tear going down the side of her face. "Thank you Mavus." I glanced at her. "What for?"

Junon hugged me, causing my heart to beat at like three times the normal rate. "For giving me hope again. You didn't just save the people are today, you also saved Sam, and brought him back."

Chapter 15 - I Meet My Scrawny Twin

Sam had completely been healed, and we thanked the Praetors for their hospitality. It turned out that Remy Jackson was at Camp Jupiter all along. I facepalmed, causing Junon to laugh sheepishly. "Haha, sorry about that Mavus. But you know, at least it helped you make some new friends!" The two demigods already entered a portal to The Inquisition. It was our turn.

Hazel looked at us. "Are you guys sure you don't want to stay for the party?" Junon smiled and shook her head. "We really appreciate the offer, but we need to get back to our world as soon as we can." Frank looked disappointed. I still can't believe this dude was a freaking praetor for the twelfth legion. I always read of Roman Praetors completely decked out with medals and armour, like they would casually execute a random Roman if they lost a game of Scrabble. Frank's pout reminded me of Truman's pout whenever Junon said no to his "midnight ice cream missions".

We walked back. Sam didn't say anything, and looked even more depressed than ever. Like the total jock that I was, I strolled next to him. "Hey! Old buddy old pal! Chin up! We're heading to the Inquisition! We got all the works man, food, gym..." I pointed at his bulging biceps. Sam managed to crack a small smile.

He loves me.

Sam turned to Junon. "I don't know how I'm going to face Darkstar, after everything I had done." Junon cut him off. "No. Don't think like that. Everybody in Darkstar misses you. They all know it wasn't you that attacked us, it was that tyrant's fault." Junon continued.

"If anybody in Darkstar looks at you funny, they'll get personally introduced to my fist." Sam snickered. "You really have toughened up since I last met you." I stared at the two. "Really? Junon wasn't always like this? What was she like?" Sam looked at me. "Oh, she was always crying and running behind Jason whenever we were on mission." Junon elbowed him, hard. "Ouch! I'm telling the truth!" Junon told him to shut up. "That's all in the past! Ugh you're still as annoying as ever!"

I smiled. They really were like brother and sister. I could see why Junon wanted to save him even when he had been corrupted.

I looked at the two. "Hey, do you guys mind if we make a pit stop somewhere?" Sam looked curious. Junon tilted her head. "Where?"

"Mavus!!! My dear boy!!!" Josephine was still as friendly as ever, crushing me in a bear hug. Junon and Sam looked pretty confused, and I didn't blame them.

"Jo... I can't breathe!" Josephine let me go. Emmie approached us. "I'm so glad you've come back! And what's this, you've brought friends?" I introduced Junon and Sam to them. "Yeah I just wanted to come back and visit you guys. We're heading back. I figured we could stay a bit here before we leave."

Emmie's face turned into a grin. "Of course! I'll give you two the grand tour!" Sam looked at Junon and shrugged. Junon glanced back at me. "Go ahead, I got some catching up to do!"

That night, I spent time with Josephine working on a bunch of projects. Josephine noticed that I wasn't using my powers. "You're not gonna use your crazy techno abilities to put these together?" I screwed on a few nuts. "Nope. It's more fun this way." Josephine smiled. "Finally! Someone who gets me!"

We continued working on this project that was for the Waystation. It was a gear train to help better support the moving of the rooms. Josephine explained to me that the Waystation worked a lot like the Labyrinth. The rooms moved like a sentient being. Everything was magical. I found it super trippy and cool at the same time.

"So, you're Mavus huh?" I turned around. A boy stood at the door. He looked like a little latino elf. About 5 foot 6... tops. I shook his hand.

"Sup, I'm Mavus, nice to meet you."
"The name's Leo."
"Cool."

I froze. "Wait like Leo Valdez? Leo the guy who's dating Calypso Leo?" Leo slicked his hair back. "Yep, bad boy supreme. At your service."

"Dude..."
"What? You're looking at me weird."
"How? How are you dating Calypso, please man, you gotta teach me."

Josephine looked like she just introduced two nuclear bombs.

Leo grinned. "My little secret. Nah I'm just kidding. It was meant to be. Not all girls like guys with toned abs and swept hair." I was confused. "But the stories say she always fell in love with guys like Perseus and Drake."

"Stories say lots of things. Like how Hercules is the most righteous guy in the world."
"He isn't?"
"Nah, my friend Piper buried him in thanksgiving dinner."
"Well that's a big L for eons to come."

Leo and I laughed together. He glanced at our project. "Need some extra hands?"

Chapter 16 - I Ruin A Darkstar Moment

The following morning, Junon, Sam and I left the Waystation, bidding out farewells to everybody. I met up with Leo and Calypso for the last time.

"Heading out?" Calypso asked me.
"Yeah, thanks for the hospitality you guys, it really meant a lot, even after I busted up your front door."

Leo's eyes went wide. "Wait what now?"

Calypso laughed. "A story for another time, Leonidas. Weren't you going to give Mavus something as a goodbye gift?" Leo's ears perked up. "Oh yeah."

Leo rifled through his tool belt and pulled something out... a gem attached to a braided wire. Wait a second...

"Umm, are you giving me a friendship bracelet."

Leo looked offended. "What? No man, it's a necklace."

I glanced at the gift. "A friendship necklace?" Leo held the gem up for me to see. "Come on dude, it's one of my favourite inventions yet. Calypso helped me with it." I looked at the gem. It was slightly orange, with a small glow. "What is it? And don't say it's a necklace you little runt."

Leo laughed. "It's a healing gem. I figured you seem to really like building mechs with your powers, which I have to say, is the awesomest power I've ever seen. But I noticed that your inventions never really had any medical aspects to it."

I stared at him. "What do you mean? Are you saying this gem will make my robots have healing powers or something?" Leo smirked. "I wish. I've been trying to figure that one out myself. I did come close though." Leo gave the necklace to me. "This gem stores something I call medical nanites. They're like little tiny machines that heal and repair broken and damaged tissue using Calypso's magic."

I put the necklace on, and suddenly it felt like something in my mind was unlocked. I realized that the nanites in the gem were interacting with my skin, giving me a mental image of the little machines. "Okay, now that is really freaking cool." Leo grinned. "Right? The thing is, since we can't come with you on your journeys, if you actually made those nanites using the ones that are currently in contact with you, it won't work. That's where Calypso comes in."

Calypso clasped the gem and began to sing. Its orange glow began to pulsate, resonating with energy. Calypso let go. "Now you can use the healing ability whenever you build your nanites." I looked at the two. "Oh my God, no. Oh my gods you two are the best!" I gave them both a hug.

Junon and Sam were waiting for me as I went to meet them. Josephine looked at me, happy, but a bit sad. "Hey Jo..." Josephine cut me off. "Go. Your friends need you in your world. I will always cherish our time together kiddo." She looked at the Waystation. "The little project you helped Leo and I out on, I will always remember you every time I see it!" I grinned. I gave Josephine a last hug. I stepped into the portal, giving Emmie and the others one final nod.

We emerged, with Trill and Lazarus greeting us. "Hey Junon, we got the two Demi-" Trill froze. Sam emerged from the portal. Trill's face went from enraged to confused, to shocked. Lazarus slowly approached Sam.

"Sam... is that... you?"

Kyrael and the other members of Darkstar entered the room, and they had the same reaction.

Sam looked at the members, sheepishly. "H-Hey..."

Suddenly, everybody rushed forward to give him a hug. Junon smiled. Jason walked into the room, and everybody parted. Amana gave Jason a nod. Jason walked forward. Sam looked like he was at a loss of words. Jason walked faster, until he ran up to the kid and hugged him. Tears streaming down his face. No words needed to be said.

"Welcome home, Sam."

Sam closed his eyes, tears streaming down his face as well. Everybody was tearing up. I looked at Junon. She looked like she wanted me to do something. I took out a piece of scrap and built a speaker, booming party music. Everybody stared at me. Junon gave me a shocked look.

I guess that wasn't what she meant.

"Sorry" I said quickly, shutting the speaker off and stuffing it into my pocket. "I just thought we were going to throw a party, you know. Darkstar's reunion." A smile slowly formed on Amana's face. "That's a great idea!" Kyrael also smiled. "I agree! Let's celebrate the return of The Hero of The Inquisition! Samuel Mason of Darkstar!" Everybody cheered.

Chapter 17 - Khione Gets Drunk (LOL)

The celebratory party was lit. Steel and the Pack all celebrated, hauling tons of alcohol to the Fortress. Everybody was overjoyed over the news that their hero Blackflame had returned. Junon went with Darkstar, now reunited and complete alongside Sam.

As for me, I stuffed my face alongside Truman as we chugged alcohol like the jolliest losers of the Inquisition. Khione looked at the two of us. "You guys are going to get one hell of a hangover tomorrow if you keep drinking like that." I slammed another bottle. "Come on, Khione, don't tell me you've never had a drink before."

Varen chuckled. "Khione you should try some! You're missing out! The essence of the party is always the drinks! Of course, drink responsibility and in moderation." Khione crossed her arms. "This is foolish, what is the appeal of drinking a substance that causes damage to your brain? I can never understand you people." I was getting pretty tipsy. "Come onnnn Khione, don't be a spoiled sport! Just give it a try. Just one!"

Khione looked at the bottle, and raised an eyebrow. "Fine. Only one. Just to show you how pointless it is."

"It's snow day MAGGOTS!" Khione was stumbling everywhere, impersonating Conlan. "Whenever I use the washroom, hic! I always plan ahead, and choose the right hic! stall, worthy of a true soldier!!!" Varen looked confused. "Umm, Khione, I think that's enough drinks for you toni-" She slapped his hand away.

"Don't tell me what to do, you men! Always trying to tell me what to do! Well here's what I think. I think you should go back to your... silly hic! woodchopping, oh look, fruit punch!" Khione ran off to the table, skipping. "I'm a little ice fairy! Come and catch me guys!" Oh boy. We quickly got out of our tables and went to get our little drunk fairy before she made a total fool out of herself... well, more than she already did.

"Members of the Inquisition, warriors, healers, scouts, and families!" Conlan's voice boomed from the speaker. We scurried to get back to our seats. Varen picking up Khione like a sack of potatoes.

"We welcome home a boy who was lost to the New Militia, who has found his way back to us again. Samuel Mason! The Blackflame!" Everybody cheered. Khione had somehow nabbed a cup of fruit punch and spraying it around like a firework, staining Varen's gear.

Kyrael stepped up. "The battles we have faced against The New Militia has been costly. We have had many losses, but many victories. This celebration is not just to welcome our hero home, but also to honour those who had laid their lives to battle. Every person here who fights for the cause shall be honoured and will not go to vain!" She held up her goblet. "To Corinth! And Croft!" Everybody followed suit.

Khione was still blabbering like an idiot, offering drinks to everybody that came our way. She even offered one to Steel, who was so confused, because the drinks were his.

I considered going up to Junon and hopefully spending the rest of the night with her, but just as I stepped outside I noticed she was with her buddies in Darkstar. I probably shouldn't ruin the moment again. I went back to my barracks and went to bed early after chugging half the water fountain.

Chapter 18 - I Battle Sharon Lipset Over a Crate Of Macaroni

"Macaroni?!" I gave Sharon an incredulous look.

"What's wrong with macaroni? You should be grateful for this month's drop Mr. Shaw." Sharon walked up to me with the massive carton in tow using her telekinesis. Alongside her were several government officials, fifteen of them in number.

Sharon put the crate on the ground. "You know the usual, mind filling me in on what you've been up to?" I was still staring at the freaking crate of pasta that I was forced to eat for a whole month. "Nothing much, and considering I'm going to be eating that for a month, probably nothing for another month."

Sharon slammed her fists on the table. "Okay kid, I get it. You don't like it here. I quite frankly don't like it either. But you're a Tier Zero threat, you could have easily just joined us and worked for the government, but you decided to be a little rebel..." Sharon wagged her finger, causing a bunch of things to fly around in a little vortex. "And choose isolation. You brought this on yourself. No one told you to choose it."

I was still staring at the crate. Freaking macaroni. For a whole month. This was beyond inhumane. Sharon realized I was still staring and threw her hands in the air. "For the love of- Mavus! It's just macaroni! Why are you so worked up over it!"

"Because it's macaroni for an entire month! What you want me to eat Kraft Dinner for the rest of my life now? What's next month's drop? Peas?"
"There's tons of recipes for macaroni! I make macaroni for my kids all the time and they love it!"
"Oh yeah? Like what? Macaroni and Cheese five different ways?"
"No! You can have different sauces to it! Like Alfredo, and tomato, and why am I telling you this."

The government officials kept looking back and forth between us like a ping pong match.

"I ain't eating macaroni for a whole month." I used my technopathy to quickly build a tractor beam from some scraps in the corner of my hut. The beam latched onto the crate and threw it several yards away. Sharon thrust our her hand, and the crate had a pink glow, which forced the crate back into my hut.

"Oh my God Mavus, you are such a child! Stop being petty! This is food! Some people don't even get the privilege to eat and you're throwing this away!"

The crate began being pushed back and forth, Sharon's Telekinesis against my Tractor Beam, but suddenly Sharon got mad. "This has gone long enough." Her eyes glowed magenta, and my tractor beam overloaded due to Sharon's insane telekinesis. Sharon was Tier 1 for a reason. The crate slammed onto the ground and broke, causing macaroni to spill everywhere.

"You little! You ruined my living room!" I shot to my feet and raised my hands. A vast array of mechanical constructs began taking shape behind me, assembling into several cannons. Sharon and the suits suddenly prepared themselves, retreating back as my cannons fired a huge green burst of light, destroying the macaroni and incinerating my house.

"Are you serious? You're really fighting over a crate of macaroni?" Sharon shouted as she flew into the air. Suddenly, the entire ground started shaking, and I found myself being lifted, no my entire house being lifted off a gargantuan chunk of rock that Sharon had ripped from the ground. I uploaded into a mech and flew out of the hut before the place slammed onto the ground.

"This is war!" I repurposed what remained of my hut into a huge network of laser cannons and began shooting at all the government officials. Sharon flew back and forth, destroying my cannons with massive wind pressure. I repurposed my cannons into mechanical sentries, which flew into the air and began spraying minigun bullets at Sharon, who stopped it with her telekinesis. The suits began to attack my sentries too, one fireball catching it in the chest causing it to fly off course.

I yelled, and suddenly, my entire hut, the surroundings, and all my mechs merged together, forming a massive cannon the size of a mansion, which split into two more mansion cannons. The buildings powered up with green light as I prepared my Armada Cannon Array.

"Morning sleepyhead!" Junon's voice woke me up. I fell out of my bed. "How, how are you here? What time is it?"

"It's 11am, we have a meeting at Darkstar and since you're technically my subordinate you're expected to attend too."

I rubbed my eyes. Yeah, in case you guys were wondering, all of that was a dream. It was a flashback from when I fought Sharon and her suits squad over a crate of macaroni. I won, and ended up destroying everything, causing them to leave. Sharon was pretty disappointed in me, but I was more disappointed in the fact that they thought macaroni would have sustained me for a month. No regrets that day.