NationStates Jolt Archive

OOC: For anyone who's a fan of the Lolo games. Also, if you want in on this, TG me first.

IC:

For the Dinosaur Legion, resettling the old colony of The Water Cooler had not been easy. There were those dinosaurs that they had to deal with, and while they seem to have the situation under control, immigration to the new colony has been slow because of those fears. That, and if the dinosaurs could destroy one colony they could do it again to theirs.

However, there was nothing that the Legion could have done to prepare them for their next foray into the depths of the former colony. Right before their eyes lay a barren wasteland of fallen trees and desolated villages, which wasn't unusual until they got a closer look.

"It appears that the people who lived here were round," said Aqualifer Sixtus Paullus Rasmus. "Literally."
"I don't think I've seen anything like this before in my life," commented Cornicen Cornelius Aurelius Rampolla, as they examined what appeared to be a dead body. "Whatever this place is, it is strange."

The body before them was literally a spherical figure, eggplant in colour. It had large eyes, little arms extending from the middle of the figure and it seemed to only have feet, no legs. One can view nostrils if they looked at the figure closely, but they were not obvious from a distance.

Further afield, the soldiers noticed some strange looking creatures walking around. One was a creature with the same features as the spherical figure only that it was cubic, while another creature they saw appeared to be like a giant armadillo. They also noticed another creature that looked like a snake with horns, but it did not seem to move even when approached.

Just then, another spherical figure emerged, this time alive. It was blue and appeared very angry. "Who are you?" asked the figure, who surprisingly spoke English, "and what is your business here?"

"Calm down," said Legate Claudia Maria Syndrisia, the only one in the group who could speak English. "We are here representing the Senatus Populusque Romanus, or the Senate and The People of Rome. We come here in peace, and, if you let us, we can help you rebuild your home."

"No you can't," stammered the figure, who now seemed to appear with dozens more live figures. "You're one of them. We had one of you and you destroyed our kingdom. We won't let you do it again."

The rest of the Legion raised their weapons before Syndrisia ordered them to lower their weapons.

"Listen, sir, are you the leader here?"
"Yes. I am Prince Lolo of Eggerland."
"A prince? So who is the King?"
"One of you. The Princess, Lala, and I had to get rid of him because he destroyed our kingdom. We are in charge now, and we are willing to fight to keep it that way."

As soon as Lolo finished, one of the Abrams tanks lowered its cannon and aimed straight for Lolo, but before it could get a shot off, Lolo winged what appeared to be a white flame at the tank that instantaneously changed it into an egg. The rest of the Roman soldiers gaped in awe at the display.

"If you back off, then the rest of you can live."
"Listen, Prince Lolo," said Syndrisia, again ordering her soldiers to lower their weapons. "We are not here for a fight, but if you are insistant, then we will fight; but if you want peace, you'll get it. Change back my tank first though."

Lolo appeared skeptical, but lowered his defiant tone. "The tank will reappear in a few minutes- the eggs automatically hatch." He then sighed. "If you are insistant on peace then I might be willing to talk; but I will not do it with your weapons. If you want, you and three other soldiers can come with me into the castle where we can talk. Otherwise, you are under orders to leave."

Syndrisia pondered for a moment before accepting. "Agreed; but I request that you have only three soldiers to yourself as well."

"Okay," replied the Prince, as he and Syndrisia headed for the castle. The story he was to tell would astound her and the rest of the Roman world once they had heard it.

Lolo's castle was unlike anything Syndirisa had seen. It was filled with statues of the egg people (which is what the Roman soldiers now called them) and with more of the bizzare creatures they saw outside. However, the biggest quirk was its height- it stood a mere 5'8" high, meaning that Syndirisa, at 5'6", barely fit inside. She found that strange before she realized this was not a castle designed for her.

Eventually, Lolo led her and her delegation to the throne room where he began to tell his story. Syndirisa sat in amazement as she heard an unusual tale of a long battle for the throne of Eggerland.

It started about 40 years ago, when Lolo was barely a teenager (she would later learn the egg people could live for hundreds of years). His father was on the throne when a man who would only name himself "Egger" wanted to challenge for the throne. By Syndirisa's reckoning, Egger was an Englishman, but that could have just been her ethnic bias seeping in, although there was no doubt that Egger was, at least originally, human. The egg people scoffed at Egger's attempt, but soon they learned he posessed a magic that none of them ever thought was possible. Literally overnight, Egger turned into a monster in more than just appearance, and lay waste to Eggerland. Along the way, he killed Lolo's father- someone named Crimon- inadvertently thrusting Lolo into the war. As the war progressed, Egger brutally oppressed his own people, once even turning his own people into stone. He would also kidnap Princess Lala on several occassions in an attempt to marry her and provide legitimacy to the throne, but Lolo- who had to fight through several bizzare mazes- eventually rescued Lala and defeated and killed Egger. Egger's body currently hangs by the entrance as a "reminder to any wannabe conquerors out there".

"I didn't want to kill Egger," explained Lolo, "but there was nothing I could do. He fought to the end, and we realized that for the sake of the kingdom we were safer without him. Now-" he would pause, before explaining that the kingdom since has remained desolate, because he lacked the resources that would allow him to rebuild his kingdom. "Not even with magic can we repair what Egger has done," said Lolo, explaining that it's hard enough just to provide food.

When Lolo was finished, Syndirisa lay speechless. She had just heard one of the strangest stories she'd ever heard and did not know what to make of it.

"That's my story," said Lolo. "It's not a pretty one, but I try to remain optimistic."
"What kind of a king oppresses his own people?" asked Syndirisa, rhetorically.
"I don't know. Certainly it did not help build support, that's for sure."
"How much damage do you figure has happened to your nation?"
"Too much. It took us a while to break Egger's spell over the animals, and only now are we starting to rebuild our homes, but we just don't have enough stone."
"The Roman Government will only be pleased to help." Syndirisa suddenly got excited, realizing that she might have just made a new ally for the Empire.
"How can we trust you? It was a lot to let me allow you to come here to talk. Besides, Egger promised to help too and looked what he did."
"...but we're not Egger. Not all humans are like that. I promise that when we say we'll help, we'll help."
"Fine then. Send a message to your government asking for help. You had better hope you are right."

With that, Syndirisa and her delegation left the castle to send a message to the Roman Government:

To His Royal Majesty, Caesar Gaius Romanus Rodinus Hartianus,

A people in the land of Manium desperately seek your help. You will not believe this, but they are egg people who live in a land called Eggerland. Their kingdom has been destroyed, and they need our help to rebuild it. Please graciously send any help you can.

Thank you."

Signed,
Legate Claudia Maria Syndrisia of the Dinosaur Legion,
October 11, MMV

Rodin Hartian receives a lot of strange mail. He receives marriage proposals, death threats, underwear, plants, Tarot cards, sometimes even love letters from dogs. However nothing could prepare him for what he received today.

"Egg people? Does she expect me to believe this?" said Hartian to himself as he read Syndirisa's letter. "First dinosaurs and now egg people. What's next for Manium? The Mario Brothers?" He then figured he should be careful for what he wishes for, because it may just come true.

He decided that he would send several officials to investigate Syndirisa's strange claims. All would report that Syndirisia was correct, with undeniable visual evidence, of the existence and desolation of Eggerland. Still skeptical but eager to help out any nation that he could, Hartian sent out a message to the Eggs (as he called them) that the Roman Empire would help them out.

He then sent out a message to the international community:

"Dear community,

On the continent of Manium lies the desolated Kingdom of Eggerland, wracked by years of destructive civil war. They are currently in the rebuilding process, but they need help. So we are asking all of you, on their behalf, to give whatever you can for the nation that is in need. Any gift is more than welcome.

Signed,
Caesar Gaius Romanus Rodinus Hartianus
of the Senate and the People of Rome (SPQR)
October 13, MMV"

A lone metallic hulk heaved and rolled amid immense churning waves, flashing skies, and a relentless driving rain. The metallic hulk resembled a long rounded rectangle, with various antennae and the shape tapering off to a curved top surface along the entire length of the vessel. There were dozens of voices conversing in a strange language within the vessel, yet their voices were not full of panic as one would suspect owing to the apparently dire situation the vessel finds itself in.

"Captain, Cargo Bay 12 and 15 report flooding. Cargo Bays 3, 4, and 5 reports some containers have tumbled from their stacks. Damage is minimal however."

Another voice answered the first voice.

"Very well. Estimated distance towards Jade Island?"

The original voice responded.

"Approximately several thousand kilometers. We won't make it that far should this har-"

The voice suddenly cut off as new alarm klaxons began blaring throughout the vessel.

"The flooding has spread to Cargo Bays 13, 14, and 16. Apparently there is a hull breach somewhere. Bulkheads are being sealed to prevent further flooding of other cargo bays."

The captain's voice spoke with a small sense of apprehension.

"Are we ab-"

The lights flickered once, then twice, and finally went out for a good minute. Just as quickly, the lights returned.

"The reactor must have taken a nasty beating. What's the nearest land?"

The first voice, apparently a navigator or engineer, responded.

"Captain, sensors do show a significant landmass approximately 200 kilometers off to our east. Shall I alter course?"

The captain nodded, not giving any vocal commands as there was no need for it. Upon the confirmation, the navigator set in the new course, but not a moment too soon, as there was a dull thud heard throughout the command room, and at that instant, the lights went off and would stay off. There was nothing, save blackness for what seemed like forever. The crew lost all sense of sight, for there were no lighting as the main circuits to the command center had been severed by an small explosion in one of the cargo bays between the command center and the engine sector. The crew just sat, laid, or slept, until a sickening scrapping sound tore through the vessel untold hours later, as there was no method to keep track of the time save for the irregular heartbeats of the unfortunate crew within.

Suddenly, there was no movement, rolling, or heaving. The ground felt solid, something which should be impossible for a seagoing vessel, until the crew realized a despairing reality. The cargo vessel had run aground and now rests on land, away from known Sharinan shipping lanes, and to top it off, the crew and the now beached cargo vessel found themselves in a strange and new land, with no idea what to expect.

In the distance, if one could really listen, some roaring sounds could be made out.

OOC: I am assuming this is near my colony.

IC:

For the Dinosaur Legion, today was their day of rest. After months of ardous work and with a force reminiscent of an invasion force, the Legion had finally secured all the former lands that made up The Water Cooler's former Manium colony. They had surveyed the land and made sure not a single dinosaur was outside the massive parks the Romans had built for them.

However, the day didn't go quitely. To the north, reports had been circulated that a ship had crashed onto shore north of Roman territory, with rumours floating about that there may be some dinosaurs threatening the ship. The Legion immediately went into action, with an Air Cavalry unit assembled to assist the shipwrecked crew.

As they flew in, they picked up over the radio waves that the ship wreck was Sharinan. Immediately after picking up reception, Syndirisa radioed down to the crew. "This is Claudia Maria Syndirisa, Legate of the Roman Dinosaur Legion. We are flying above you with an Air Cavalry Unit and are here to help. Please remain calm and alert us to your position."

------------------------------Eggerland------------------------------

The rebuilding project had gone on without a lot of problems. The Romans supplied the Eggpeople with a lot of imported stone taken from the Rocky Mountains and the Appenines, which was immediately put to use rebuilding the roads and buildings. The Romans also assisted the Eggpeople in strengthing their building foundations, and also helped Lolo rebuild his castle. As Lolo watched his people and the Romans hard at work, he was at a loss for words. "This is incredible. I can't put into words what this means to us," said Lolo to Consul Lucius Martius Robema of Nova Roma. "Our rebuilding project has proceeded faster than we had hoped."

Lolo then proceeded to point out to the Consul a huge moutain of gold. "This is our present to you. Take it with our gratitude." With that, the Consul ordered several armoured trucks to come by in order to ship the gold to Roman territory.

*bump for Sharina*

OOC:

Thanks for the link. Now I can resume my RP'ing here. :)

--------------------------------------------

The captain climbed outside of the conning tower of the beached cargo submarine, and held up a megaphone of his own. He had a small booklet with him, clearly labelled "Sharina-to-Latin Dictionary, Revised Edition 4.3". The Captain spoke while painstakingly looking at each revelant word in the book, creating an odd and slow response marred by frequent pauses.

"Hello. This is a Sharinan vessel. What assistance can you provide? What is the loud yell in the distance?"

The Captain visibly relaxed after uttering his response, and turned his gaze upon the approaching Romans, hiding any embarassment he may be experiencing because of the necessity of using a book to communicate and translate.

"Claudia, do you know any Sharinan?" asked Decurion Decius Marcus Tulvusus, the pilot of the Chinook, noticing the Sharinan captain's problems with Latin.
"No, I don't. Do you?" replied Syndirisa.
"Can't say that I do."
"Tell the base that we need a Sharinan translator immediately."
"Roger."

The Chinook proceeded to fly to the Sharinans' position and flew him and his crew back to the Roman base at Fortis, where a Sharinan translator greeted the group.

"Hello. How are you? Make yourself feel comfortable," said Camp Prefect Q. Appius Olara in Sharinan, who brought the Captain a fresh cup of coffee.
"It's a very dangerous place you guys were in. There are dinosaurs in that area- we know because we've seen them there. You were lucky to get out of there alive.
"So tell us a little more about yourselves. Who are you and what happened?"

(OOC: if you want to describe other odd creatures there you can)

The captain smiled at the Roman translator as he accepted the warm cup of tea.

"I am Captain Myron Fel'sha of the Sharinan Transport 22073.

Thank you for your hospitality. I am honored to be able to converse with you Romans as we have heard some nice things about your civilization.

Our vessel is a cargo vessel carrying some construction equipment, medicines, and electronics from mainland Sharina to our colony at Jade Island, the large island south of the Manium continent. A terrible storm damaged our propulsion systems as we were surfacing to take in new oxygen. We had no choice but to attempt a landing at the nearest land area which happened to be in this place.

You say that there are dinosaurs? Remarkable. Please do tell me more about them if you don't mind?"

"Oh you know, the rudimentary ones. Brachiosaurs, Triceratops, Diplodoci, Brontosaurs, Tyrannosaurs...I believe we've seen a few Pterodactyls there too. It's a veritable Jurassic Park down there," said Olara with a restrained laugh. "We had some initial problems with them but so far now everything's been contained. All of our villages are walled to prevent dinosaur attacks."

Olara smiled then continued. "However, we're worried about how much longer we can hold out. The Water Coolian colony collapsed under the weight of the dinosaurs, so it may just be a matter of time before we do. We also heard of this strange kingdom called 'Eggerland'. Do you know anything about it?"

"Oh you know, the rudimentary ones. Brachiosaurs, Triceratops, Diplodoci, Brontosaurs, Tyrannosaurs...I believe we've seen a few Pterodactyls there too. It's a veritable Jurassic Park down there," said Olara with a restrained laugh. "We had some initial problems with them but so far now everything's been contained. All of our villages are walled to prevent dinosaur attacks."

Olara smiled then continued. "However, we're worried about how much longer we can hold out. The Water Coolian colony collapsed under the weight of the dinosaurs, so it may just be a matter of time before we do. We also heard of this strange kingdom called 'Eggerland'. Do you know anything about it?"

Myron shook his head.

"Eggerland? That name is not familiar to me. Is it a land full of eggs or something?

As for the dinosaurs, perhaps once Sharina and Rome work together, the dinosaur threat can be eliminated or at the very least, contained indefinitely."

Myron shook his head.

"Eggerland? That name is not familiar to me. Is it a land full of eggs or something?

As for the dinosaurs, perhaps once Sharina and Rome work together, the dinosaur threat can be eliminated or at the very least, contained indefinitely."

"No, believe it or not, egg people. I keep getting reports about them. Don't know what to believe- we hear everything in the military."

He let out a laugh.

"As far as the dinosaurs go, I do believe we'll need help- but not just from you. All of Manium needs to be made aware of the danger."

Myron let out a small grunt as he contemplated his next move. After all, he was no fancy diplomat like the renowned Sharinan Jenna La'nac attending the Manium Conference. But he knew he was responible for the current interaction between Sharina and Rome in the here and now. He decided on the next course of action that he thought would be best for all who were involved.

"Egg people? Interesting.

Sharina has sophisicated sensor technologies and equipment that might be able to map out this Eggerland place, as well as the land where your dinosaurs are. Perhaps once we've mapped out these areas, we will be able to devise more effective strategies to deal with the dinosaurs and this Eggerland.

My cargo ship has several sensors on it that might help. Although they are nowhere as advanced as the land, air, sea, and space sensor platforms that my people possess. If you would allow me, I would like to contact the Sharina Home Continent and inform them of what has transpired.

I believe that this is too good a scientific opporunity for Sharina to pass up. After all, we are a society based on and around the art of science."

"I don't agree in turning them into some science experiment, if that's what you're saying," said Olara. "If these 'egg people' are real, then we've got to treat them with dignity, not cut them open. An athropological study, yes- we'll probably want to do one too. Autopsies? Should the 'egg people' agree to it, yes. Let's just not collect them to 'experiment'.

"However, I don't have the authority to decide on what your government can and cannot do- I am just the Camp Prefect, I run this base. You'll probably want to get in touch with Consular authorities if you want to get a proper response."

Myron shook his head, horrified at what the Roman was saying. He quickly countered, nearly automatically.

"That's not what I meant by scientific opporunity. Sharina isn't in the business of going around dissecting everything.

What I meant is that we'd like to do research on everything, like these Egg People's way of life, history, buildings, culture, and so forth. This is what Sharina always does initially, research and glean an understanding of a society before any further intensive research is to take place."

Myron shook his head, horrified at what the Roman was saying. He quickly countered, nearly automatically.

"That's not what I meant by scientific opporunity. Sharina isn't in the business of going around dissecting everything.

What I meant is that we'd like to do research on everything, like these Egg People's way of life, history, buildings, culture, and so forth. This is what Sharina always does initially, research and glean an understanding of a society before any further intensive research is to take place."

"No worries, a misunderstanding," said Olara, It's the Roman in me, you know, rights of the people. Being a military man I swore it to the day I die. Don't take it personally- just me."

He smiled, then continued. "Yeah certainly I want to learn more about these people, especially if they're real. Somehow, I get the feeling I'm in some Twilight Zone episode...very eerie all this isn't it?"

(OOC: Don't have time for much now- will get to something more tommorow)

OOC:

Will do. I'm looking forward to continuing this RP now that I have the time. Take your time, no sense in making rushed and consquently crappy RP posts. :)

Uncharted Territory, Roman claim, Pescium

"Are you sure this is the best way?" Tira (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tira_%28Soul_Calibur%29) was tired. Her and her companion, Kirion, had been walking for days in between the alpine passes that marked Alpina's rugged terrain, and they were nowhere near where they wanted to be. "We seem to be moving everywhere but going nowhere."

"Do you want the Alpinans to see you?" said Kirion sternly. "If we take the easy path they'll see us for sure."

"...but we don't need to be climbing all these mountains," replied Tira. "Surely there's a hidden path that's on the ground."

"Just trust me." Kirion was cross. His blonde-haired, 6'4" and muscular frame stood as an imposing figure and only highlighted his urgency.
"Boys," remarked Tira to herself, believing that Kirion was grandstanding to avoid having to admit that he was wrong.

By mid-afternoon, Tira and Kirion finally came across something that would guide them to what they were looking for- a glowing bead with a flower etched to its surface. They weren't yet sure of what it meant, but they knew that its glow made it significant.

The pair were looking for something called the "Sword of Life", a sword that purported to give its bearer unlimited strength. With it came the "Pendant of Life", an ornament that suppoedly provided protection to the wearer against demons. In both cases, the wearer needed a virtuous soul- otherwise, the objects would cause instant death.

For both, the quest was personal. Barely two years ago, Tira went on a quest to find something called the "Soul Edge", a powerful sword that tapped into the wielder's inner soul and either caused them to do harm or good. She eventually found it with a knight named Siegfried, who wielded the sword and transformed into an evil centaur named Nightmare, of whom she became an apprentice. Thus, in Tira's case, her previous life as an assassin meant the Soul Edge exacerbated her darker side, causing her to go on a killing spree she never dreamed could have been possible. That is when she decided that she had to defeat Nightmare and rid herself of the sword's evil spirits. She knew that she faced a daunting task, since Nightmare held the clear advantage by wielding the sword, but through wit and cunning she managed to defeat the dark knight and rid herself of her demons. Her search for the Pendant here was taken out of fear that her demons would return, and vowed that she needed the Pendant to be sure her previous life as an assassin didn't come back to haunt her.

That was when she met Kirion, a member of the Emarkin race who was fleeing the persecutory hands of the Alpinans. The Emarkin are a human-like race that possess the physical characteristics of humans, only that their lifespans are much longer and they possess greater capabilities in the mind and in strength, being able to master more abilities at once, though they tended to be more emotional than rational. They lived in a country called Ceradin, a forested country ruled by a class of half-elves called Muari, who were small but more pragmatic in their thought processes and their "rationality" was their reason for being fit to rule Ceradin. The Emarkin served primarily as the Muari's bodyguards and military given their size, while the majority of the Ceradinians- who were mostly normal humans, but were also elves, nymphs, satyrs, dryads and other forest creatures- made up the merchant and peasent classes. The Ceradinian Kingdom lived in relative peace for over 200 years, as the social structure provided a viable system that allowed the state to function.

However, ten years ago, an Emarkin by the name of Rodo organized a mutiny of the 3rd Cavalry Unit in the Ceradinian Armed Forces, with the intention of pulling off a coup to put him in power. He claimed that the Emarkin were being "used" by the Muari who were too afraid to "spill their own blood", and felt it was time to show how powerful the Emarkin could be. The result was the Ceradinian Civil War, in which the large human class later joined Rodo in a bid to improve their lots and gain important noble positions that were monopolized by the Muari. Some of the Emarkin remained loyal to the Muari, but most joined Rodo in what he called "the quest for equality".

It was during this turmoil that Alpina- which was fittingly a mountainous country- invaded Ceradin, hoping to cash in on the country's internal strife. The Alpinans invaded Ceradin in the hopes of securing its farmland which the country badly needed to support a rapidly growing population, made up of a mixture of humans and a largely-brawnish types of humanoid creatures, such as orcs, golems and centaurs. Races do not factor at all in the classes, although- expectedly- most centaurs are in the Alpinan Cavalry.

Most of Ceradin was taken by Alpina, and, as a result, a decree was issued by Alpinan King Mirus to have every Emarkin killed, since the King believed their abilities posed "a threat". Rodo and the Ceradin King Opal II were still feuding and were in hiding, and while Kirion initially sided with Rodo in the dispute, he now knew that Ceradin would be better if Rodo and Opal found a way to mend their differences- otherwise, the country would cease to exist.

As the two were walking, Tira noticed a rubber stamp with the initials "SPQR" emblazoned upon it, though she did not recognize the instrument. "Kirion, what's this?" she asked.

"I don't know," replied Kirion. "It seems like an official block of some sort, but I've never seen it before."

Little did the travellers know, but they were close to the Alpinan frontiers and were thus near a Roman camp. The Romans had not been particularly active on Pescium lately, but they had plans to scale the mountains within the coming weeks. Aerial footage revealed settlements beyond the mountains and were seemingly medieval in terms of technology, perplexing and fascinating Roman authorities all the same. They saw both the opportunity to study and to "improve" the natives' lots in much the same way that they had in Manium and were thus looking forward to going over the mountains. They had no idea that their "study" would bring Rome in the middle of a war they'd never forget.

Balthar hated frontier patrol. To him, it was merely a tease- Mirus told him that it would be exciting work for him and his cavalry unit because they’d be “on the frontlines”, but in Alpina’s history, nobody had ever dared to try to invade. The country was too rocky for one, and besides, the Alpinans had met no match on the battlefield and nor did they ever believe they would.

Predictably, noon came and went and there was nothing for the centaurs to do but trot around the mountains just to keep fit. Then, at 1:45 Pescium time, Balthar noticed a Fiat Panda Climbing SUV/Hatchback approaching the borders. Not knowing what the car was, he ordered his troops to take out their crossbows in an attempt to stop the vehicle. The driver, anthropologist Fl. Claudius Amadius- noticing both the crossbow and the fact that Balthar and his men were centaurs- decided to stop to allow Balthar to greet him, and the other vehicles followed suit.

For both parties, the exchange was bizarre. The Romans- who were Amadius, scientist M. Fabia Carmelina and graduate students D. Cornelius Taftus and Ti. Petronia Omara- could only look with amazement at Balthar and his company. They’d read about centaurs in books but never before had they ever believed they’d see a live one. For Balthar, he had never seen an automobile- or, for that matter, the Romans’ casual dress- before and didn’t know what to make of it.

“Who are you?” started Amadius, shocked to see Balthar, “and, where are we?”
“I am Balthar, Commander of the Alpinan Border Patrol and 5th Cavalry unit. You are now in Alpina, and you are trespassing.”
“Sir, we are just researchers. We intend no harm.”
“What is this contraption then? How am I supposed to know that it is safe for me to let it pass?”
“Do you want to take a look at it?” Amadius then motioned everyone to get out of the car to allow Balthar to examine it.
“They’re called automobiles sir,” said Carmelina. “Really, you have never seen one?”
“Judging by your expressions, you have never seen me either,” said Balthar with a smirk.
“No we haven’t. That’s what’s cool about this. We’ve read about you in several stories and we’re excited to finally meet one. We never thought your kind existed,” said Taftus.
“Is that so?” said Balthar, who was smiling and tried to make the Romans feel comfortable. He knew these were not military types so they’d be easy to influence, and maybe he’d be able to make a quick buck off them.
“Sure, we can let you in. Follow me.”
The Romans then proceeded back to their car, not knowing- or caring- where Balthar would take them. To them, this was all new, and they were excited to finally see a side of Pescium they never thought was possible. Throughout the journey, Omara snapped pictures and together they saw all sorts of bizarre creatures and plants.

When they finally came to a stop, they arrived at a cave. “Come with me,” said Balthar. The Romans dutifully exited the Panda, leaving it outside of the cave. They followed him through the cave’s entrance down a corridor that led them beneath the Earth’s surface. Eventually, they were led to a dark room with a wooden door, which just had a small window to the outside.

“This is where you will be sleeping,” said Balthar. Omara had a look at the room and was sceptical. “Don’t you have anything nicer?”

“For a slave? No,” said Balthar.

The Romans looked at each other. Slave? What is he talking about? “You’ve got to be kidding, right?” asked Omara in exasperation.

“Why would I be? Get in before I kill you all.” Balthar aimed his crossbow right at the Romans, who were forced inside their dark, dank dungeon, filled with bugs. Their “bed” was just an elevated wooden plank, without any bedding of any kind.

Now their excitement was replaced by fear. They were betrayed, and, worse, there was no way for them to get out. Little did they know, but their miserable existence would only get worse.

The slaves adjusted quickly to their new roles, mostly due to force. The women were predictably used as sex slaves and housework, while the men were told to work the fields. Their jobs for the first few days were temporary, as Balthar really wanted to gage who was worth keeping and who was worth selling.

A week later, Balthar determined that he'd sell Omara and Taftus while keep Carmelina and Amadius, his reasoning being that the younger Omara and Taftus would gain more on the market- besides, kids could be "molded".

By midday, Balthar put his Romans up for auction. As was the Alpinan custom, they were both stripped completely so that both could be "examined" by would-be clients. At this stage, the slaves were nothing more than mere objects, with the Alpinans doing what they wanted with the slaves in complete disregard to their feelings. The men were kicked and punched to test endurance, and the women were sexually harrassed in any way that the buyers could, although the buyers weren't allowed to rape them. The veteran slaves didn't think much of it and just let the examiners do what they wanted, but Taftus and Omara- being new- fought back, often getting whipped in return.

Eventually, Omara was sold to a man named Gilbaran, a bard who entertained the town of Yipput with his weekly satirical plays. Taftus was bypassed completely, except at the end when a man in a cloak and baggy pants- who did not go up to examine the slaves- bought him for a small bag of gold.

"I would have saved your friend, but Gilbaran beat me to it," said the man, after walking with Taftus across a field.
"Who...who...are you?" asked a terrified and bruised Taftus.
"I will tell you once I get to my house."

The two of them went on a long journey to the sea, where they eventually boarded a boat. They sailed for about a week on the boat, which was a medium-sized wooden ship that had no furnishings. Taftus- who was given clothes by the man- was confused: on one hand, the man tried to make sure he was okay, but on the other he barely spoke to him and ate nothing but grub, but since the man didn't eat anything better than he did, he concluded that was all the boat had.

Eventually it landed by a rocky beach which served as the man's harbour. The man's house lay on the top of a hill, on a ranch that overlooked a wide valley below where he breeded cows. He also saw what looked like a room filled with armour and swords, as well as a training room where a sword was suspended from the ceiling with a holder that pointed it upwards.

"You'll be staying in here," said the man. "Get changed and come out."

Before Taftus was a full set of clothes and a nice bed, to which he feasted his eyes wholeheartedly on. No more wooden planks or whips- and while in the back of his head he wondered if this was too good to be true, he was simply excited that he actually had a bed to sleep on and some decent clothes to wear.

He came out of the room where the man changed into his armour from his cloak. He was a tall, intimidating figure who had blue hair and lots of blue armour. He had prepared a lunch full of vegetables and chicken, and told Taftus to eat up. "You eat mighty fast," said the man to Taftus, who was surprised that he had finished a mere minute after he started eating. "Must have been hungry." He ordered a servant to get Taftus more food. "There's more for you, don't worry."

"Who are you?" asked Taftus, who finally had some energy.
"My name is Marth. I am the Prince of Altea, where we are now. Many years ago, the Doula Empire threatened my kingdom and killed my father, and I had to wage two wars against it to finally defeat the threat. I am not the King because I am reigning in honour of my father, Cornelius, who would be King today had it not been for the circumstances surrounding his death.

"You may be wondering why I am hiding from the Alpinans. The reason is simple: after I had defeated the dragon Doulan Emperor Medeus, his son, Prometheus, had allied with the Alpinan Emperor in a bid to win back the continent of Akaneia. So far, the Alpinans have been too distracted with Ceradin to launch an invasion of Akaneia, but for me this is only a matter of time. Prometheus has been promised the Kingdom of Cerdin should the Alpinans win it, and in return Prometheus has offered half of Akaneia. Thus, I am at war, again after barely a year of restoring order.

"You are no longer a slave. I bought you to free you. You stay here as a guest of mine. Tell me son, what is your name? Where do you come from?"

Taftus looked up in awe. Marth was interested in him? "Don't be shy."

"I am Decimus Cornelius Taftus," started Taftus, a little apprehensive at first but he soon got comfortable. "I'm a graduate student at the University of Rome. My friend was Tiberia Petronia Omara, who was also a graduate student. We came to Pescium along with Anthropology Professor Flavius Claudius Amadius and Engineering Professor Maria Fabia Carmelina. We went to Alpina on research, because the Roman Government had just set up a colony along the coast and wanted to learn more about the kingdoms in the interior and hopefully develop relations with them. We were abducted by Balthar at the border and turned into slaves. Flavius and Maria have been kept by Balthar, while Tiberia and I were sold."

"Balthar. I know that name well. He's Alpina's greatest opportunist- always looking for excitement. He's always looking for unwitting people to enslave, and it is me who saves them. Some of them have become my servants, while others have found a new life here in Altea. Carry on."

"Anyway, our journey was supposed to be for a month. The base knew we'd probably only be able to communicate with letters because the kingdoms lacked telecommunications hardware, but I haven't been able to write a letter because of this whole ordeal. I miss my family- I'm sure they're having a wicked time up in Veii." Taftus then began to sob, because in a time like this, he desperately needed someone to love.

"I shall let you write a letter. It is important that your family knows that you're still alive."
"Oh, they knew that I'd be a while. Comes with the territory with this kind of research. Still...this hasn't been the greatest of experiences if you know what I mean."
Marth smirked. "I know what you mean. Everything will be fine. You are in good hands now."

Taftus then finished his lunch before heading off to his room to write the letter. As he wrote, Marth contemplated. These Romans...they're highly advanced. I don't know how they can communicate without letters, but I'd love to learn how...and if they're that advanced, maybe they can help us against Alpina. Hmmnnn.

A few hours later, Taftus emerged from his room. Marth instructed him to get some rest, because when morning came they'd be on the boat to the Roman base to get his letter in. The tired Taftus trusted him and did as he was told, sleeping for a good 14 hours- a sleep he deseperately needed.

At daybreak, Taftus and Marth headed for the sea to sail for Pescium. Throughout the journey, Marth learned of the Romans' telecommunications technology- things like E-Mail, computers and cell phones were foreign to him, but at the same time were very intriguing. He knew that if he could bring the technology to Akaneia he'd better be able to control it, and hoped that he could also bring other technologies to improve his people's livelihood. Marth also learned extensively of Roman history and culture, finding one that was as rich and diverse as Altea's.

As they made landfall, they noticed two other travellers along the beach. The travellers were Kirion and Tira, who were still trying to figure out what the "SPQR" stamp meant. As they saw Marth and Taftus land, they recoiled, not knowing who they were, but as Marth came closer they relaxed. They'd heard stories of the great warrior and how- it was hoped- he'd lead the Ceradin to victory over Alpina and end the burgeoning Great War. They didn't get too excited, because they didn't know har far off in the distance were Alpinan spies.

"Marth? We're happy to see you," said Kirion.
"You...you know him?" asked Taftus.
"Of course we do. This man is a legend," replied Tira.
Marth smiled modestly. "Who are you?" he asked.
"My name is Tira and this is my friend Kirion," said Tira.
"What are you two doing?" said Marth, who now began to walk with the pair.
"I live in exile. I am fleeing from Alpina because the King is killing my race," said Kirion.
"You are Emarkin, no?" said Marth. Kirion nodded yes. "So how did you two decide to gon a quest together?"
"It's simple," said Tira, "I am searching for the Pendant of Life, because my past's been...well, a bit sketchy."
"You don't need to hold back on me," replied Marth. "I will not hurt you- your intentions are honourable."
"I found my friend Kirion because he was looking for the companion piece the Sword of Life. He was the Ceradin General, and hoped that by getting the sword we'd finally be able to defeat Alpina."
"You have lofty goals."
"Then we found this. We have nooo idea what it means." Tira then pulled out the stamp. Taftus recognized it instantly.
"That's the initials of the Roman Empire! We must be close to the base!"
"How does 'SPQR' stand for 'Roman Empire'?" asked a confused Kirion.
"Senatus Populusque Romae- Latin for 'The Senate and People of Rome'", replied Taftus. The three others nodded in appreciation.
"Do you have your letter with you?" asked Marth.
Taftus checked his pockets before replying "Yes".
"Good."
"You know, you're cute," said Tira to Taftus with a beeming smile. Taftus could only blush.

After an hour's walking, they eventually reached the outskirts of the base. The guarding officer, Centurion Gn. Papius Ramellus was understandably perplexed at the people who were approaching, but when he saw Taftus he gripped his gun. He had thought he was being held hostage and wanted to use the gun as leverage in the negotiations.

"Don't shoot. It's okay, they're my friends," said Taftus. "We found this while we were out there." Taftus then presented the rubber stamp.

"Commenus was looking for this," replied Ramellus, referring to L. Volusius Commenus, the Camp Prefect. "Thanks. Who are you and who do you think you are? Don't try anything on me," said Ramellus, cocking his gun.

Marth motioned with his hands to plead for calm. "I am Marth, Prince of Altea. I discovered Taftus in Alpina. He was offered as a slave and I bought him for him to gain his freedom. He has written a letter that he wishes to present to you so that his family can know that he is alive.

"This is Tira and Kirion. They are out looking for the Sword and Pendant of Life, because they are on a quest- as I am- to defeat the Alpinans, who threaten all of our very existence. In fact-"

"Wait, wait, wait," said Ramellus, "Slaves? What happened to the other three? Decimus did not go alone."

"Balthar enslaved them," replied Marth solemnly. "Tiberia was sold to a bard named Gilbaran, while Flavius and Maria were kept."

"Balthar? Who's Balthar?" Ramellus' anger increased with his apprehension.

"Balthar is a border patrol officer for Alpina. He is chiefly a slave trader in his spare time, and he uses his border patrol to pick up unwitting people like your research team to convert to slaves."

"He is telling the truth," said Taftus. "We thought Balthar would let us in, but instead we were betrayed."

"If this is true, then Alpina is officially at war with the Roman Empire," replied a defiant Ramellus. "They will be squashed like bugs."

"I would not be so confident," said Marth. "No one has been able to defeat the Alpinans."

"...but we're Rome," replied Ramellus. "We don't lose. Plus, our technology is superior to theirs. They won't last a minute."

"We are hopeful you can help us out," said Marth. "You are our last hope."

Ramellus reluctantly agreed. "I shall let you through. You will be able to speak to the Legate. I hope for your sake you are telling the truth because if you are not, you and your friends will be dead."

"This is not the time for hostilities!" said an exasperated Taftus. "My friends are slaves and we need to work together if we're going to get them out!"

Ramellus silently motioned the four of them through. They met with the Legate, Q. Rufius Mardente, explained their story and got the Romans onside. For Mardente, this was a campaign not of conquest, but of discovery, and on the discovery part he would not be disappointed. The conquest, however, would be more difficult than anyone would have imagined.

Tip of the Roof of the Fish's Mouth, Pescium

The man in the frog suit had been swimming for a while. He was out fishing with his brother when he lost a gold coin he was going to use to buy himself a nice pasta dinner at a downtown restaurant. He'd been in the water for over an hour, fussing along the seabed when he finally came across his coin stuck in a coral reef.

Several minutes later, the man reappeared on the beach where his brother was patiently waiting for him. "So, Mario, did you find your coin?"

"Yep," said Mario, now stepping out of his suit, "I did." The stout man flipped the coin to his much leaner brother. "So, Luigi," continued Mario to his brother, "where do we go from here?"

"Toad Town," replied Luigi, "where we wanted to go."

The two of them proceeded from the beach to the interior of Toad Town, the capital of the Mushroom Kingdom. The Mushroom Kingdom was a kingdom populated by dwarf-like humans who wore polka-dotted turbans who were the Mushroompeople, although a handful of normal humans do live among their number as the ruling class. Because of the Mushroompeople's small stature, the humans are often needed to maintain the kingdom's stability, since the humans had been, time and again, the most effective in countering invasions. The current dynasty- the Toadstool dynasty, of which King Percival III is the current monarch- has been noted for its democratic bent, as the dynasty was the first one to utilize Mushroompeople in the royal court, hiring Toad and Wooster as ministers.

Mario Mario and Luigi Mario stumbled upon the Mushroom Kingdom while working as plumbers in their native Brooklyn, New York. One of the apartments they worked at was run by an expat Mushroomperson by the name of Toadsworth, who left the Mushroom Kingdom because of a pending invasion by King Bowser of Darkland. The Mario Brothers, after cleaning his leaky bathtub, heard his saga and decided to help. After repelling several invasions- either simply just the two of them or simply Mario himself- the two brothers had entered Mushroompeople lore as the Kingdom's saviours, although Mario received considerable more press than his brother mostly because of his older age. As a result of the failed invasions, Darkland and the Mushroom Kingdom have been working on an alliance, but the Mario Brothers have been vocal in their distrust of King Bowser, whom they view as an opportunist.

Currently, the two brothers live as guests of the Royal House, though they have reassumed their old jobs as plumbers. Noted food aficionados, their trek to Toad Town today was to check out a new restaurant opened by Toadsworth, who became Interior Minister after the Mario Brothers repelled the first invasion and, after retiring a few years ago, became the official steward to Princess Peach Toadstool, the successor to the throne. When they arrived at the front door, the brothers were less than impressed.

"Hmmnn. Pastalicious. Don't know if I like the name," said Luigi.
"I think Toadsworth needs a dictionary," agreed Mario. "Still, the food can't be that bad."

The two of them proceeded to enter the restaurant, where they were seated by a young Mushrooman barely out of school. Already seated was Toad, who was waiting for them and was visibly restless.

"What took you two so long?" he asked.
"Mario dropped his money," replied Luigi. "I told him to keep better care of his money but does he listen? Nooo!"
"Oh come on," said Mario. "At least I had a jolly good time looking for it."
"...and kept me, right," said Toad, angrily.

"Shall we eat?" asked Mario. "I'm starving." The three of them then proceeded to order.

Alpina border

The Roman commanders weren't giving Alpina a lot of respect. Taking with then five tanks, 10 Attack Hummers and a total troop force of one century, the Romans boldly predicted they'd defeat the Alpinans in an hour and would be able to secure the "backward" kingdom minutes afterward, all without losing anyone. "It's not like the Alpinans can respond, right?" said Centurion Q. Cornelius Amarius to the Legate before he left.

The Romans were wrong. Upon reaching the border, the Romans engaged creatures who were craftier and stronger than the Romans could have ever imagined. The Alpinan Border Patrol- commanded by the slave trader Balthar- called upon all sorts of creatures, including fire-breathing orcs, rocs and even dragons. Rome managed to score well over 1,000 Alpinan casualties, but the Alpinans- using fire-tipped arrows, rigged, according to Amarius, with an explosive material not known to Rome, as well as the other creatures summoned to the defence of Alpina- took out 99 of Rome's 100 soldiers, and all of the equipment except Amarius' badly bruised Hummer, which he managed to escape in. He raced back to the base, broken, defeated, humiliated...and fired.

"Do I even have to ask how it went?" said Legate Mardente with a stern look.
"No. We lost," replied a dejected Amarius. "They brought in all sorts of creatures like dragons and had rigged arrows. We lost everyone but myself. I didn't know what to do."
"Well, I know what to do with you," replied Mardente. "You're fired."
"...but sir, there was nothing I could do. I underestimated them-"
"You're right, you underestimated them. Now you're out of a job."
"I'm...I'm...sorry. It won't happen again, I swear!"
"Get out of my room and get out of the base."

Amarius proceeded out of the room, humbled and dejected. A few seconds later, a knock was heard on Mardente's door. It was Marth.

"Come in."

Marth proceeded inside. "Do I even want to know how it went?"
"My former Centurion underestimated them and came back utterly defeated. Lost everyone but him. I have never seen a worse display of warmanship in my life," said Mardente.
"I told you- Alpina is not that easy," replied Marth.
"Well, we have to defeat them. It will only be a matter of time before they get to our base."
"How much time do you figure?"
Mardente pulled out a map to show Marth. "Well, we're 10 kilometers from the eastern shore, and the Alpinan border is 3,059.328 kilometers from here. Since all they have are horses and they'll need to scout first- which they won't be able to do easily since they don't have airplanes-"
"...but they do have dragons. It's not like they can't fly." Marth didn't know what an airplane was, but he figured that since it used the word "air" it could fly.
Mardente wasn't pleased that Marth cut him off, but since Marth was a Prince, he let it go. "Do they have radar? I doubt they're that good. Anyway, I give Alpina a week, maybe two weeks if we're lucky."
"It is prudent, then, that we all form an alliance. We're all in this together- Kirion, Tira and I are fighting for our survival, and you are fighting for your citizens, and, quite possibly, your existence too. Legate Mardente, we cannot underestimate Alpina."

Legate Mardente paused to consider Marth's suggestion, then relunctantly agreed. Not knowing who Marth was he was hesitant to form any kind of alliance with him, but he knew the war drums of Alpina wouldn't be that far away and he needed to act now. He sent out scouting teams to look for the Alpinan advance and to see if he could find any allies. The fate of the Romans hung in the balance.

Alpina

Balthar was excited. Defeating the Romans brought him a glory and honour he never thought he could achieve. The only problem was that he was just a simple Patrolman- he now wanted power.

The centaur heard of a new nation named Mitzell and figured he'd contact them. He needed an army and the state specialized in mercenaries, which may be enough to give him the strength he needed to take over Alpina itself. He secretly slipped past the Alpinan border at night and crossed to Mitzellian border, hoping to find the one who could give him the mercenaries. Caught by the beauty of the skyscrapers, he was stopped by a Mitzellian patrol.

"Who are you and what do you think you're doing here?" shouted the officer.
"My name is Andromedus," said Balthar, using a fake name in case the Alpinans were overhearing. "I am looking for the leader of Mitzell so I can gain a mercenary army. I'm having some peasent problems. Can you get me in touch with them?"

Galbadia Garden (http://0302.netclime.net/1_5/922842/1140597184_20761/Galbadia.mid) <- In most if not all of my IC posts I put music for reader enjoyment

Rufus was annoyed; firstly because his daily bubble bath had been interrupted and secondly because he was forced to feign civility while speaking to a non-human sentient. It had taken him years to learn to conceal his hatred of such lowly creatures but he adjusted; if nothing else for the sake of business.

This centaur calling himself Andromedus had come to Mitzel’s temporary headquarters at Galbadia Garden. An officer by the name of Major Biggs (http://0302.netclime.net/1_5/924902/1140649536_10431/Paratrooper.jpg) had first encountered the creature while making minor repairs to the Garden. The Major grudgingly hovered down to address the creature before notifying headquarters of the situation. Rufus appeared,

"So you are interested in mercenaries? We have some of the best in the world, trained in all forms of combat and assault including aerial, amphibious, and subterranean. SeeD members are trained in various forms of magic as well."

A snap of his fingers and three of his best heeded his summons. Squall Leonhart (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/77/Squall_Leonhart_shot.jpg), master of the gunblade, Selphie Tilmitt (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/e4/Selphie_Tilmitt_shot.jpg) computer expert and master of the nunchaku, and Irvine Kinneas (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/19/Irvine_Kinneas_shot.jpg), expert marksman . The soldiers were at their prime, being each 17 years of age. The centaur looked with a bit of disappointment, he thought these newcomers would have something to match what he had seen the Romans use. Rufus could feel the negotiations were faltering when he decided to demonstrate some of the SeeD’s true powers. Rufus ordered Squall to summon Ifrit. (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/f2/Ifrit_FF8.jpg)

Squall re-sheathed his gunblade, closed his eyes and spoke silent esoteric verses. The skies above Galbadia Garden darkened and could be noticed for miles around. Slowly an enormous demon tore through the very fabric of space and time. Holding in his hands a giant ball of flame the beast hurled it towards a vacant strip of forest on the outskirts of the Garden. Immediately the forest turned to a bright red before smoldering out within minutes leaving a large plane of grey ash. Rufus smiled, knowing his workers would not need to waste time clearing the lands.

Rufus looked up at the centaur who nodded his head solemnly at the demonstration. Rufus explained that each SeeD member was protected by a different one of these creatures called guardian forces or summons.

“So what’s the catch?”
“What?”
“That creature, how did it come to this world?”
“Nothing, just a few words and artifacts, absolutely no side-effects at all.”

Balthar stared into Rufus’ face for a few seconds before speaking again.

“You sure these mere three can handle the job alone?”
“Unless you want everyone dead, but I will not sell my whole army at one time. Transportation will not be a problem, we have several vehicles for any and all various purposes. The SeeD mercenaries never failed me yet and never will. Now to business Andromedus,” Rufus addressed him by the name he had given “First, what would you have my kids doing and second what exactly could you offer me for this service? We are in need of resources and raw manual labor at the moment. Perhaps you had something to offer?”

Hiss.

Hiss.

Screech.

Crack!

An enormous blast of fresh air surged forward across a gigantic cylinderical machine completed its task, as it breached the wall of rock in front of it. Dozens of busy workers ran forwards to check the situation and cheers arose.

"We broke through!"

"We did it!"

Several minutes later, the huge machine resumed melting rock with its high powered cutting lasers, creating a perfectly smooth wall. The cutting was not without its perils, as tempatures can rise to several thousand degrees celsius. The smooth tunnel walls were reinforced by an automated arch-building and wall-building plant located in the middle of the machine, The walls had to withstand pressures of several hundred thousands of tons of rock and water above the tunnel. As the final portion of the tunnel was melted away, the machine lurched itself forward so that the automated wall reinforcing plant could do its work on the final section of tunnel.

Workers had to wait thirty minutes for the all-clear alarm after the 2000+ celsius external tempatures cooled down through a network of cooling machinery and blasts of super-cold air. The workers tentatively exited the tunnel boring machine into the now seemingly completed tunnel, slightly in excess of 10 meters in diameter. A general cheer arose, but was abruptly cut off when several workers noticed an odd greenish metal beyond the tunnel wall. Alarms suddenly blared, and the workers ran back inside. Two minutes later, a reddish glow cast light across the area from the other side of the tunnel. The glow erupted into a small flurry of melted rock as the other tunnel boring machine broke through. A rush of superheated air surged forward then mysteriously disappeared.

Engineers were baffled until they discovered that the small chamber they were in was actually another large tunnel, but made out of greenish metal. They also determined that the superheated air escaped through the tunnel. Neverthless, the precautions were still undertaken with cooling systems and air purifiers. The all clear sounded again, and the engineers exited both tunnel laser boring machines. They spent several hours inspecting the green tunnel and then discussed how to address the tunnel. It was decided to send probes up and down the green tunnel in hopes of determining its purpose.

Several days later, it was discovered that the tunnel was essentially a dead end to the west, but opened up into a new land at its other end to the east. Sharinan engineers and directors decide to seal off the green tunnel around the supposed Sharinan tunnel, while leaving access open to access both sides of the green tunnel. Another tunnel was dug between the main Sharinan tunnel to the green tunnel on the east side to allow for supplies and exploration to commence of the new land at the end of the tunnel.

---------------------------------------

Two months later.

http://img159.imageshack.us/img159/6880/skyway11cb.jpg

Tovon, Capital city of Sharina Pescium Province.

A man sat at the head of a conference table with several directors, dressed in what seemed to be dark blue jumpsuits, seated along the sides. The Sharinan flag was displayed behind the man in a glass television panel, and several windows gave an excellent view of Tovon. The view was second to none, as the Tovona Tower was the tallest structure in the city.

The man spoke.

"I would like to discuss the status of the Lake Tube, and a possible full scale expedition of the desert area at the end of this mysterious green metallic tunnel."

One of the directors cleared his throat before meeting Padish's eyes.

"Governor Padish, preliminary reports indicate that the area is a desert, with little vegatation, and no native life."

Another director piped up.

"This would be a perfect opporunity to explore the possibility of various resource deposits such as copper, zinc, oil, and such. The connection to the Lake Tube is a bonus, as it will enable rail connections, and as you already know, Sharina is the top leader in railroad technology and infrastructure."

Governor Padish nodded.

"What of the progress in laying track through the green tunnel?"

A third director spoke.

"The automated track-layers should finish laying rail by two week's time. In addition, the link should be completed between the main rail line and the green tunnel."

Padish nodded once again.

"Very well. Send out additional probes deeper into the desert to scout out sites and regions to explore. Include the Resource-Sniffers as well. We must seize the opporunity. Who knows what lies out there? We need to establish a solid base of operations to begin utilizing and exploring these new lands."

---------------------------------------

Three weeks later somewhere in the desert.

A mighty boulder sat undisturbed for millenia. The boulder gave the entire desert landscape an indifferent shrug, as if the boulder could give one. Why would a rock care what happened to the desert if it had no feelings?

Suddenly, the ground began vibrating ever so slightly, as a large un-natural object made its way through the desert. The ground shuddered as the object dropped several drills and rods into the ground, groping around for information that was vital to its masters. The ground shook violently as the machine made artifical tremors to measure the underground composition of the area it was surveying. Several powerful computers inside the machine analyzed the tourrent of information being provided, and several determinations were made.

Desert Area.

Ground is level, optimal for building.

Possible rich deposits of copper and oil. 86.89173% probablity of productive resource extraction.

Several unidentified metals calculated several hundred meters underground. Insufficient information. Tagged for future research. Compiling data on unidentified metals.

Report made. Data compiliation complete.

Begin data transmission.

Unknown to the machine, a biped turtle gazed upon the unfolding scene atop the unfeeling boulder with a growing sense of terror within. The turtle jumped down and scooted away with one thought on its mind.

"Smithy's back!"

Bowser's Castle, Darkland

"Smithy's back?" Bowser could barely contain his disappointment. "I thought we killed the bastard."

"We just discovered him sending a drone of his through the Koopahari Desert," said Kooper, who led the army of biped turtles called "Koopa Troopas" for King Bowser of Darkland, part of a larger entity ruled by Bowser called "The Koopa Empire" spanning several domains across the Mushroom World, created after the first Mario attacks as an initially defensive measure. "He looks like he was scouting for another attack."

"Great, just great," said Bowser. "So an attack on my castle will come at any minute now."

"We're not predicting it will be that easy this time sir," replied Kooper. "Last time he took the castle while you were out kidnapping Peach and thus caught us by surprise. This time, we know what to expect, so we're better prepared."

Bowser still cringed. Although Kooper was right, Smithy still gave him the shivers. Being the only person- other than the Mario Brothers- to have ever defeated him still left a shock to his psyche, but what made it even worse is that Smithy was the only one able to actually take his castle. The Mario Brothers may have been able to defeat him but by themselves they couldn't take Darkland- Smithy could. This was the reason behind the alliance talks with the Mushroom Kingdom- if Bowser can ally himself with the Mario Brothers, he'd be able to protect himself from a danger that is larger than his considerable frame.

"Here's what I want you to do," asserted Bowser. "Assemble a team of scouts in all of our dominions to check for any intrusions, and leave no stone unturned or possible entrance overlooked. Report anything suspicious to me, and I mean anything. I'm putting all the troops on the highest alert possible, ready to strike at the first possible moment. We cannot- WE CANNOT give an inch to Smithy this time if we are to succeed."

"Yes sir." Kooper then left the throne room.

Galbadia Garden, Mitzell

"I have slaves. Lots of slaves," said Balthar, "and this." Balthar then placed before Rufus a large bag of gold; "but I want to make sure I get an army. I didn't come here for three people, however skilled they may be. I'm willing to offer you half of this bag for those three people, unless you can provide me a reason to give you the other half."

Balthar waited for Rufus' reply.

Galbadia Garden (http://0101.netclime.net/1_5/A/K/X/March1.mid)

Rufus thought it must be a huge cultural difference, for the Garden a group of three SeeD members was an army. However the centaur seemed to underestimate their abilities. No matter, this was a chance to for some of his rookies to get some intensive field training and begin scouting this new land.

"Biggs!" Rufus yelled at the Major who once again hovered to the ground to hear what the boss had to say.

"Biggs, you and the rest of the Light Brigade have been hired by Mr. Andromedus for the duration of a month, upon which you shall be released from this duty unless further payments and a new contract is written. You know the rules, complete any and all objectives. Any questions contact HQ."

"All of us sir?"

"All 2,534 of you."

Biggs looked at his commander and wondered why an entire brigade was to be dispatched. Last time the Light Brigade was contracted the city of Dollet, a small nation neighboring Midgard was crushed within two weeks. The entire Dolletian military, on par with Midgard in every aspect except Mako weaponry, was destroyed and the 750,000 Dolletian citizens were either incorporated into Midgard or killed depending on their luck and attitude.

The Light Brigade was one of two paratrooping (http://0101.netclime.net/1_5/6/T/T/Paratrooper.jpg) brigades maintained currently by the Garden. Each soldier was equipped with sophisticated armor that allowed them to maneuver the skies in all directions. The entirety of the Brigade could be housed within an Invincible Class airship (http://0302.netclime.net/1_5/929390/1140733545_3300/Invincible2.jpg) dubbed the Omniscience. This astounding vessel carried and housed all 2,534 members of the Light Brigade, was equipped with a materia and Mako harvester that could capture magical forces generated on a battlefield and direct them elsewhere, a storm generating device that could create a devastating thunderstorm for a duration of 20 minutes, and countless sensor arrays to collect data from the terrain below while simultaneously giving orders to every combatant. 22 Materia fueled canons gave 360 degrees of coverage.

Major Biggs spoke, “Sir, about the SeeDs”

“Ah yes, no worries Biggs. Mr. Andromedus my kids will get the job done. Before we sign this contract I would like to know the nature of this mission and what objectives you have in mind so we may be properly equipped. The SeeDs and the Light Brigade will be on separate contracts and as such we request they be allowed their distance from one another. I expect a slave for each member of the Light Brigade contracted, an additional one for each casualty and 100 for each SeeD member hired.”

“How many slaves for a SeeD casualty?” Balthar questioned.

“That won’t be necessary.”

Rufus picked up the sacks of gold. The Omniscience took to the skies (http://0302.netclime.net/1_5/929389/1140733522_2300/Invincible.jpg) and hundreds of members from the Light Brigade flew to the craft abandoning the various trivial activities they were involved in. “Do we have a deal?”

ooc: keep in mind I have 25,000 citizens total at the moment and FF troops are elitists when in comes to the VG world. Sorry I didn't leave too much flexibility but I'm itchin' for action

"I believe we have a deal. Men, you are under my command now," said Balthar. "Let us go."

Balthar proceeded to lead his newly-hired men out of Galbadia Garden. Their first mission would be a slave raid, and they had the perfect target: the Ceradin border town of Sarpilla. The town- 24,678- was a mere four miles from the Alpinan border, and six miles from an Alpinan encampment. The idea here was to give Rufus the entire payment for both the soldiers and their potential casualties upfront, plus he wanted to see if Rufus can mold an even more powerful army for Balthar.

Eventually the slave operation became known as the "Andromedus Project" with the army being called "The Andromedans" and Balthar officially gaining the title of "Andromedus" from the Alpinans. The Alpinans believed he was raising an army for them, but little did Mirus know he was raising an army that was meant to overthrow him.

At nightfall, the Andromedans besieged Sarpilla, with Irvine and Squall taking out the two guards with extreme precision. The Andromedans were careful to keep quiet to make sure the Sarpillans would stay asleep. His troops were ordered to spread a special powder over the Sarpillans' eyes to keep them asleep to make them easier to transport. By 4AM local time all of the townsfolk- including the mayor- was exported out of the city and to an internment camp deep into Alpinan territory. They were bound and shackled at the camp, and fed whatever scraps the Alpinans could throw at them.

The next night, the Andromedans went for an even bigger quarry- the Roman town of Durus Ora. The town was only slightly smaller than Sarpilla, but since Balthar saw the technological know-how of the Roman Army, he figured that Roman slaves would be an immense help in his army- besides, the other Roman slaves he had were quite adept at their tasks and readily took orders.

The operation here needed to be more succint. Selfie pointed out to Balthar that for the operation to be successful the town's computers needed to be shut down, so Balthar made her do that task. Squall and Irvine set up atop the hill to gun down the guardsmen while Selfie worked on scrambling the radar code, which she did on a small handheld computer she had. When Selfie was finished, the Andromedans proceeded towards the town, proceeding quietly and ambushing- and killing- any soldier they could find. By the end of the night, some 19,000 of the town's 24,000 people were captured, the rest being killed since some of the Romans had awoken to confront the Andromedans. Fortunately for Balthar none of the Romans escaped, but he didn't wait around- he knew the Romans would arrive quickly so he had to leave as fast as he could.

When he returned to Rufus, he brought before him a brand new army. "This should be enough payment. Make me an army out of these slaves. An even better one." He then brought down two bags of gold, both from Mirus, and another bag from himself. This is going to be the start of something special thought Balthar to himself, grinning.

Outside Galbadia Garden (http://0101.netclime.net/1_5/7/K/6/Galbadia.mid)

President Rufus stood perplexed at the horde of enslaved creatures surrounding him. Amongst them were strange races of which he had never seen. Some disgusting abominations called satyrs were shipped amongst the horde Balthar presented. These beasts were immediately routed out from the rest and put to work within the scattered mining sites surrounding the garden. Nymphs and dryads were tolerable, Rufus learned basic materia skills back in Midgard from a nymph. Elves would pose a problem, as demonstrated by the Garden’s first mistake. A handful of elves were being dragged in chains through the forested outskirts of Mitzel. The group was originally composed of 40 young elves. Half-way through the forest the Galbadian guards found they had simply vanished, and in their place was an angry Ochu plant-beast. The incident cost the Garden not only 40 perfectly capable workers but 5 highly trained Galbadian soldiers.

Rufus smiled at the influx of humans that made a majority of the slaves. Rufus knew the term ‘slaves’ would pose a problem, especially to these culturally backward humans who still upheld equality and freedom as ideals. No matter, the simple pleasures of the capitalist system would not only enslave these humans, but keep them happy and productive as well.

Rufus needed reliable information and fast. Taking the grossly inefficient steps to interview countless citizens took too long. Rufus had an easier way. The mayors and other prominent members of the respective cities were grudgingly brought before the president. Materia was perhaps the single most versatile substance on the planet, capable of not only controlling the forces of nature but transmitting them in a coherent and organized fashion. President Rufus ordered about 50 slaves to be strapped into an electric chair of sorts, and their consciousnesses downloaded into the Garden’s database. The participants would reawaken from a near comatose state within a few days.

Back in Midgard when such a drastic increase of migrant population occurred Shinra Corporation could easily handle the problem by dispersing them within the depths of the city slums where they would be dragged down into the pits of despair by the cynical and pessimistic citizens of Midgard. Rufus neither had city slums nor pits of despair, and this influx of slaves threatened to outnumber the entire population of the Garden. Forceful compromise and clever wording would be necessary. The President would address the masses in their own tongue using the newly downloaded data as an instant translator.

“Welcome to the Galbadia Garden, owned by the gracious Mitzel Conglomerate. Here at Galbadia we are happy to employ productive, success driven, and loyal individuals into our company. You will be receiving a once in a life-time opportunity to work for the greatest company on the face of the planet. Now if you’ll please…”

“Bullshit!”

A single outburst broke out from one of the humans, probably Roman. Members of the crowd started joining in the discontent; a riot was about to start. Rufus hated being interrupted. From his podium he raised his hand and quickly brought it down pointing directly at the perpetrator. A bolt of lightening appeared from nowhere, striking the insolent fool down. Rufus brought his hands together as if holding an imaginary basketball. A ball of flame formed over the rambunctious section, and the crowd screamed in horror. Galbadia Soldiers in riot gear prevented any potential escapees, and group wind materia magic kept the crowd from dispersing. Rufus stretched his hands over his head, and brought them gently down to the podium as the ball of flame dissipated harmlessly and the screaming masses began to calm down. Rufus spoke,

“Let us try this again. Welcome to the Galbadia Garden, owned by the gracious Mitzel Conglomerate. Here at Galbadia we are happy to employ productive, success driven, and loyal individuals into our company. You will be receiving a once in a life-time opportunity to work for the greatest company on the face of the planet. Now if you’ll please follow our simple instructions. Line up in familial groups to any of the 70 booths that stand to my left so we may take a census. From there you and your family will be escorted by one of our Galbadian soldiers to a suitable plot of land west of here where you will find supplies to create a temporary shelter. A limited quantity of lumber and raw metals have also been supplied which may be transformed by your own guardian Galbadian soldier into whatever you find necessary for comfortable living and productivity. All you’ll have to do is ask! In the morning you will be allowed to harvest your own food from one of the 20 plots of land sectioned off for agricultural development. You will be able to pick maize, turnips, soybeans, peanuts, wheat, sugarcane, strawberries, apples, and lemons. The only condition is that you harvest 8 times the amount of food you yourselves will consume and plant new crops on predetermined fields outlined for you. Those who show the most dedication and productivity will be given chances to apply for different departments within the corporation in time. Here at Mitzel we are willing to work with you, so that you can work for us.”

The grounds had already been planted with the crops which would be rotated yearly. Surrounding the fields was the Ochu infested forest, an inevitable death-trap to all potential escapees with the exception of the elves. To prevent any further complications the rather minute elvish population would be put to work harvesting the fruits of the sea alongside Galbadian soldiers. At the farmlands the remains of one of the slaughtered Ochus was hung ominously within the field as a 'scientific specimen.' The employees and soldiers alike knew what it was there for.

Slavery, Rufus wondered about the word as he stepped from the podium. An archaic term used to demonize an inevitable and inescapable human condition; being forced to work, being a resource. How could one possibly escape? Rufus himself was the people’s president, and them his people. It was not the element of ownership that disturbed the plebian masses, simply the amount of happiness allotted to them. Rufus knew he could afford, nay, had to keep the masses relatively happy, at least for the moment.

Rufus also wondered about that Balthar’s words. That subhuman beast dared to give Rufus an order, like he had bought the entire company or something. No matter, Rufus was going to make an army. Balthar, like many made the mistake of thinking a mercenary’s loyalty was to money. No, money was but the embodiment of a far greater will, the will to power. Power and power alone was where not only where his mercenaries’ but his own loyalties lay. In time Rufus would find the most suitable candidates amongst these newcomers to add to the ranks of Mitzel’s Security forces. He would make an army alright, an army whose ressentiment would be deflected from the Conglomerate and to the people who enslaved them initially.

"What do you mean the whole town disappeared?" The Legate was furious. He didn't know how in one night Durus Ora became a ghost town, without a lot of wreckage.

"We need an army there at once!"

Within minutes, the 6th Pescium Legion embarked from the base for Durus Ora to investigate the situation. Durus Ora was supposed to represent Rome's first permanent city outside of the army base on Pescium, eventually evolving into the still nameless colony's capital. The Romans had placed it by the Alpinans in an act of defiance, thinking the Alpinans couldn't penetrate the area, and also to keep a better watch on the kingdom that was dying to wage war with them.

Upon arrival at the town, the Legion discovered a scene of desolation, just as they had predicted. There were a few burn marks on the buildings, indicating that a fire had broken out, but the Legion was unable to find the source of the fire. Digging deeper, the Romans found their quarry- a litter of dead soldiers and civilians, apparently caught in a fight of some sort. The Legion initially believed the cause of the disaster was a riot, but some questioned how the whole town could be liquidated after a riot, as well as why the base itself was not contacted.

News of the disaster reached Rome itself by the next day, and predictably Roman Emperor Rodin Hartian was infuriated. Both colonies were giving the Emperor nothing but headaches, as the dinosaurs on Manium were threatening Nova Roma's existence and the Pescium colony- already behind schedule- was now lagging further behind. He organized a trip to Pescium for the next day so that he could see the damage firsthand himself, as well as to take charge of a deteriorating situation.

"This is unbelievable," said Hartian upon viewing the damage. "We need something done here, and at once." He then went back to the base to talk with Marth, who was again talking alliance. He was also greeted by a sombre-looking tall man in green overalls and a blue shirt upon arrival at the base.

"You are the Emperor of the Romans, right?" said the man, quivering, but also recognizing Hartian from the news clippings he could gleam from home.
"Yes I am," said Hartian. "No need to be nervous here. Who are you?"
"My name is Luigi Mario, and I'm here representing the Mushroom Kingdom."
"Oh, and how can I help the Mushroom Kingdom?"
"They've taken my brother."
"Who's 'they'?"
"Alpina. They also took the entire Mushroom court, including the King and Princess Daisy, except Toad, Wooster and Peach who escaped with me. We were told that the Romans had a base here and needed your help."
Hartian was taken aback. The Mario Brothers? Real? I must be dreaming. When he realized he wasn't he replied to Luigi.
"We seem to be in this war together, and trust me, the Roman Army is committed to protecting the Mushroom Kingdom." Hartian wasn't sure how, but his resolve became firm. The Alpinans were now going to get a fight.

4 weeks after the resource exploration.

Several workers were chatting near a large construction shovel and several large dumpster trucks. It was suprisingly easy to communicate as the machines were un-naturally quiet while doing their work upon the desert landscape, thanks to hydrogen fuel cell technology. Several massive structures had already begun being erected in the desert.

"Hey Heun, any word on the completion of the oil refinery?"

Heun, a tall and well muscled foreman shook his head.

"I think the oil refinery will be up and running in a week. It depends on the rate of progress, as the desert terrain is surprisingly uneven as you can see. These several hills present obstacles to the construction effort, but these enormous bulldozers will make short work of these hills."

The other workers grunted agreement.

"What of the other projects?"

Heun responded again.

"The copper mine is developing nicely. It should be operational within a couple of days. Construction of a railroad terminal should also be completed within the next few days as well. The water generator plant should be finished in a week and half. It is one of the wonders of the modern era, being able to employ hydrogen fuel cell technology to produce water, thus allowing vast tracts of desert to be terraformed into grassland or savannahs, then into forests. The construction of barracks and domestic housing should be finished within a week once the railroad terminal is finished."

A newbie worker shouted, "...But thats impossible! How can you build an entire complex of housing in just a week?"

Heun chuckled.

"Modular housing."

The newbie's face reddened amid laughter from the other construction workers.

-------------------------------------

Two weeks later (present day)

Governor Padish surveyed the new Sharinan base with something akin to pride. An aide ran up to him, surprising the venerable governor.

"Sir, you better come and take a look at this."

Padish arched an eyebrow.

"Eh? What is it?"

"It's best if you saw it with your own eyes."

Padish shrugged, and made his decision to see what the fuss was all about. He followed the aide into a large hangar, with several streamlined scout heliocopters present. Several workers were offloading large sized cages with odd creatures within. The workers snapped at attention upon the arrival of Padish. He then spoke.

"What are these creatures? I want to inspect them."

The workers saluted Padish without a word and then scurried around, organizing the various cages and making them presentable in neat rows lined up for the governor.

The governor walked amongst the cages and jotted down several things in his computerized notebook while murmuring to himself. To his suprise, several of the creatures seemed to speak or communicate in an unknown dialect.

"Hmm... interesting. They must be sentient turtles and mushrooms. This is extraordinary!

These biped turtles just might be an offshoot of our lizard ancestors. They must be taken back to Tovon for study.

Interesting. Two variants of walking mushrooms. A brown squat mushroom, and a humanoid with an mushroom for a head or is it his hair? More study is needed.

The question is... are they truly sentient, or simply have above-average intelligence such as chimpzanees and dolphins?"

Padish continued to study the creatures for some time, as he was not just a governor, but one of Sharina's leading scientists.

Galbadia Garden (http://0101.netclime.net/1_5/A/K/X/March1.mid)

The operation was proceeding rather smoothly considering its nature. The new 'employees' were broken by their captors, and rebuilt by the Conglomerate. Those who were fortunate enough to have their loved-ones enslaved with them and brought to the garden found the place rather relaxing. All of the newcomers found the Garden astounding, and were awestruck by the amazing technologies and magiks the Conglomerate had to offer. For example holographic television broadcasting could be viewed as a rather large, flat projection in the fields. The Garden’s holograph devices looked simply like an elongated, portable speed-bump with a slit down the center from which images could be broadcast in mid-air. The confused newcomers found themselves watching bizarre soap-operas and game-shows in a language they could not comprehend as they worked.

Integrating the youth was essential if these newcomers were to become a productive part of the community. Crying children were taken away from hysterical screaming parents, yet at the end of the day they found their children back home, safe and sound telling unbelievable stories of the inner workings of the Garden Educational Facilities. A favorite was the Chocobo pen where Chocobo steeds were bred and future Chocobo knights could communalize with their future riders. Within the Garden the Environmental Research branch stored various native organisms for research. Captured here were some of the problematic plant beasts including Ochus, Cactuars, and Malboros. Baby adamantaimai were bred here for food alongside a bizarre creature that resembled pacified Sahagin. The researchers learned from some of the locals these creatures were called ‘koopas.’ The creatures made a delectable soup, especially when flavored with other bizarre specimens such as the one the locals dubbed ‘goombas.’

As the days passed things became more stabilized. The newcomers’ youth were sent to school everyday within the Garden and trained in various combat skills disguised as ‘sports.’ The most dedicated and well-adjusted newcomers were taught and allowed to use minor amounts of materia magic to assist with their tasks. Due to the nature of materia controlling those who were virgin to its effects was simple, and would greatly aide in maintaining order. A new Garden was being built along the coast that would hopefully integrate some of the various groups better than Galbadia could. The new Garden would be called ‘Balamb’ and would resemble Galbadian designs. The ‘employees’ worked alongside Galbadian soldiers to construct the magnificent structure.

Agricultural problems had been resolved within two weeks, and a large surplus of labor was now available. The most easily controlled and subdued would remain in the fields; a continuous and dependable flow of nutrients was required for constructing an army. The most rambunctious ‘employees’ found themselves being trained by some of the most ruthless, merciless, and ugly Galbadian drill sergeants Rufus ever had the pleasure of hiring. Rufus knew what he would eventually use this army for in the near or distant future, but kept it as subliminal as possible. To win public opinion Rufus told his trainees the Conglomerate was also working for Alpina, trying to compute the Garden’s status with the slaves to show sympathy. More subversive in the training were the scattered comments about how such-and-such a technique could easily kill dragons, rocs, orcs, or even centaurs. Special materia techniques were taught to these new rookie soldiers including the best materia to slice onto weapons to destroy tanks, planes, or unencumbered combatants. At first the materia was supplied in small amounts to the newcomers in order to avoid any ‘misuses’ of the substance. It was incredibly fortunate for the Conglomerate that the more one used materia the more controllable one became.

Deep within the mining sites the majority of the satyrs had perished due to complications arising from air-flow. Rufus was unmoved except for the good news that a viable Mako mining site had been discovered near the hills west of Galbadia. Although the site was rather dangerous considering the inhabitants President Rufus would make securing the site a priority.

OOC: Response by the weekend- too busy now.

Pescium: Central Deserts (http://0401.netclime.net/1_5/5/E/H/03%20-%20The%20Highwind%20Ta.mp3)<--I always put music on the titles of my IC posts

The Everlong, a Highwind class airship (http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/Realm/4833/airship7.jpg) cut through the skies. Guided by the fearless and noble Captain Steiner (http://edomekuvat.soneraplaza.fi/ff9/steiner.jpg), the ship and its crew of 30 were given the task of surveying and scouting this new land. Already the ship had scouted the south but had not come into contact with any noteworthy settlements, just an abandoned village. Steiner and his crew had mapped a few days worth into the bay east of Galbadia Garden and the hillsides west of it where the Mako reactor was being established. Steiner grew bored with the minor incidents and nothings that went on during these boring missions. Killing Ochus and Malboros was becoming a sport for the crew of the Everlong. Master Vivi and Captain Steiner made a nearly invincible pair. Master Vivi (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/2d/Vivi_Ornitier_character.jpg) was one of the most skilled handlers of materia and one of only several dozen to achieve the rank of ‘master.’

Captain Steiner stood stoically on the bow of the Everlong as it sailed north, watching the ground fly under his feet. Rufus had discussed with the good captain what sort of information he was looking for; trading partners or naïve locals to be exploited, easily inhabitable regions, good agricultural land, valuable natural resources, and certainly another Mako mining site if possible.

Steiner nearly lost his balance as the ship climbed quickly over a small mountain range. Angered he looked back at his navigator, who was concealing her laughter. Beatrix (http://www.ffward.net/images/9/screen/beatrix.jpg) was, to say the least, disappointed when she heard Rufus had chosen Steiner to command the Everlong. She knew she was the more capable, but she did not hold it too much against Steiner, and certainly didn't say anything to his face. Her rightful ego was fueled every time she saved that bumbling fool from certain death. Despite her more intelligent decision-making skills Steiner still held the adoration of the crew who followed Steiner loyally and blindly.

Steiner was about scold Beatrix when the ship steadied itself and he looked up. From above the mountains Steiner saw a nearly endless desert, flat, fiery, and lifeless. Rufus would not be pleased. How anyone could inhabit this area was beyond him, the secluded and fertile life in the Garden was all he and most employees of the Mitzel Conglomerate had ever known. Steiner looked back at his crew who could all sense the disappointment; scanning a useless and uninhabitable desert was pointless. With a sigh, Steiner told Beatrix to change course and go home.

Beatrix paid no attention however, as she squinted into the setting sun. A tiny speck amongst the infinite sands sparkled, and she was not about to let this stone go unturned. Steiner marched angrily towards the navigator,

“Beatrix, we are returning home at once. Do you know how to navigate or do I have to do it for you?”
Beatrix glared at the captain and tried to chose the right words, “Sir… the wheel’s stuck.”
“Can’t turn the wheel woman? Well I guess that’s forgivable, here, let a man try.”

Steiner took the wheel and with all his strength pulled heavily upward; nothing. Steiner scratched his head for a second, then re-positioned himself and tried again.

Meanwhile Beatrix meandered to the bow of the ship where she met Master Vivi.

“You see it?”
“I wonder what it could be? How could anything of importance be out in the middle of nowhere like this?”
“You hear the captain’s orders?”
Vivi looked up with his two eyes and with as close to a smile as he could get said, “Beatrix, you are a clever girl.”
Beatrix smiled back and said, “It’s not too hard around Steiner.”

The two laughed and suddenly went quiet as Steiner approached, disheartened and defeated by a steering wheel. He just shook his head as he came, but suddenly perked up as he saw the glimmering spark in the desert.

“There what’s that! Beatrix, take us straight for it, good thing I'm paying attention, we might have missed this!”

“Of course sir, what would we do without you?” Vivi and Beatrix shared a smile as she left for the navigation wheel once more. She silently unlocked the wheel from auto-pilot and began to take the ship towards the shiny object. Steiner bit his lip and said, “Well, I loosened it for you!”

As the ship made landfall Steiner saw a small group of the inhabitants were gathering near the landing site. The captain got visibly excited, “Do you think this will be as easy as the time with the dwarves at Conde Petie?” Beatrix and Vivi looked up at their captain, desperately trying to hold back their thoughts. “Oh man, you see the look on their faces? I think it will be!” Beatrix was about to say something about not underestimating new nations or species but the captain had already bolted off the ship with Vivi and a few of his crew. Beatrix picked up her stuff and watched from a distance.

Steiner had on his full-body armor, giving him the appearance of a walking tin-can. With the little black-mage at his side and a dozen of the Galbadian scouts with him, Steiner ordered Vivi to summon the Guardian Force Carbuncle. The skies darkened, the air grew cold, and suddenly, a giant hole ripped through the very fabric of space-time. Everyone took a step back as Carbuncle (http://dws55.tripod.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/.pond/carbuncle.jpg.w300h203.jpg) made its way into this plane of existence. Steiner smiled, and yelled in Galbadian to the bewildered on-lookers, “We… ARE GODS!!!”

Back on the Everlong Beatrix brought her hand to her face and covered her eyes. She just shook her head, too ashamed to look.

bump

Foreman Heun surveyed the incoming ship with both curiousity and alarm. He and the Sharina base had no warning as the radar and the laser sensor suites stations had yet to be completed. The foreman called several of the construction workers on the ground to his location, and a small crowd began to gather.

A small contignent of Sharinan soldiers were milling around in their recently completed barracks. One soldier manning a surivellance tower, seeing the unidentified ship approach, sounded the alarm. Dozens of Sharinan soldiers scrambled to their feet and rushed to grab their body armor and rifles before venturing outside to guard sensitive areas such as the train depot and the hydrogen fuel cell plant.

Heun looked on as a metallic clad man seemed to waddle up towards the group of Sharinans, along with a diminutive figure clad in a yellow straw hat and a blue coat. A worker somewhere in the crowd sniggered.

"Isn't that a medieval knight? If thats the best the mysterious floating craft can throw aganist us..."

Several more snickers and sniggers arose throughout the crowd, much to Heun's annoyance. Heun knew better, as he was trained to expect the unexpected.

"Silence, men. Remember to expect the unexpected as it is one of the basic tenets that the Academies taught you when you were children."

Shortly thereafter, the strange knight spoke to his diminutive assistant, then the litle fellow began chanting in a strange dialect unknown to Sharina, Suddenly all hell broke loose as an even more mysterious creature burst forth onto the scene. The knight then bellowed something in a similiar strange dialect.

Heun blinked his eyes, not understanding what was said but he could not deny what he had just witnessed. The crowd grew silent and the soldier guards became even more alert and trigger happy. Heun kept his cool as most Sharinans were taught not to panic in new and unexpected situations.

He turned towards his fellow workers and tried to reassure them.

"Perhaps this is simply telekinesis or some kind of holographic technology. We can do similiar feats with our holograph technology back home. However, the real question is, where did these people and floating object come from, and who are they?"

Heun turned back towards the knight and cocked his head to one side and gave the knight and the midget an universal look that transcends language barriers.

"Who or are you?"

OOC: Since I'll be away for a while, you guys try to do your own side stories and then we'll link them all when I get back. I'm really looking forward to this RP. :)

Everlong Landing Site: (http://0302.netclime.net/1_5/962728/1141799621_4600/10%20-%20Steiner's%20Theme.mp3) <-

The majesty of the moment was lost as Steiner, Vivi, and a dozen Galbadian scouts floated helplessly and invisibly above the ground. The greeting party was once again bewildered by the randomness of these newcomers. Steiner floated in his bubble, pounding on the walls to no avail. He thought, “What the hell just happened?!”

Beatrix sprinted from the Everlong as soon as the party disappeared. She had originally thought the natives had something to do with it, but re-sheathed her sword when she saw the confused looks on their faces. She looked down at Carbuncle and thought, “What the hell just happened?!”

Vivi too sat in his bubble and sighed. He looked down at Carbuncle and shook his head. Carbuncle, the protector Guardian Force who will cast helpful materia battle-magics when summoned including reflect, haste, shell, shield, float, and vanish. Shell, float, vanish… Vivi chuckled and knew he would have to fix this glitch whenever the spell wore off.

Back on the ground Beatrix stood next to the Guardian Force Carbuncle who by now had lost any intimidating qualities about him. Once summoned the rabbit-like Guardian would scurry about on the ground for a few minutes before disappearing into his plane of existence. To the observers it appeared that the group of newcomers had turned themselves into a weird rabbit, to Beatrix it was a conundrum until she looked once again at Carbuncle. She then remembered the creatures powers, looked to the skies, and started casting ‘dispel’ materia randomly. Her second shot and Steiner’s bubble burst about 8 meters from the ground, and the bulky tin can hit the sand with a thud. Steiner was about to scold Beatrix when he looked at the crowd around him. The natives outnumbered him, and Carbuncle was useless, scratching his ears behind a rock. Steiner followed Beatrix example and cast dispel materia-magic above his head. First shot and Vivi fell directly atop his captain, knocking him once more to the ground. The black-mage adjusted his hat and got to his feet. Within seconds the entire part found themselves once again with their feet safely on the ground. Vivi offered a hand to his fallen captain, who grudgingly took it and addressed the natives in Galbadian,

“Meus nomen est Deus!”

Vivi hit Steiner with his spell-casting staff. Steiner looked down and saw the angry look in his companions’ eyes. He readjusted himself, knocked on his armor and said, “Steiner.”

Vivi made similar gestures, trying to express his name and his home to the natives.

Beatrix was a few steps ahead. Within minutes she had returned from the ship with a, “Guide to Galbadia Garden” filled with pictures of some of the people, creatures, and structures within the Garden.

As the two groups began to try and communicate Carbuncle dug a hole back to his dimension and awaited the next time these idiots needed his help.

Foreman Heun was speechless as the strange newcomer group suddenly floated in mid-air and then vanished. Several moments passed by until the knight seemed to poof back into existence. Several glances were shared by the construction workers then suddenly the small robed figure dropped right on the knight's head. Several chuckles spread throughout the crowd as the action reminded them of the classic comedy shows back at home.

Suddenly the knight shouted out an incomphrensible phrase, and the small blue figure hit the knight with his staff much to the surprise of Heun and his companions. Then the knight adjusted himself in what seemed like a shrug of sorts. He thumped his chest and spoke a simple word.

"Steiner."

The knight's companions followed suit by pointing at themselves and speaking single words.

"Vivi."

"Beatrix."

Heun nodded at the three prominent figures and pointed towards each one of them and attempted to copy the sounds they made.

"Stinnr."

"VeiVo."

"Bea-tro."

Heun thumped twice on his muscular chest and spoke slowly.

"Heun."

He noticed three heavily clad Sharinan soldier guards approaching the scene. He knew that things could possibly go ugly if the newcomers thought the guards might attack. He raised his index finger in what he hoped was an universal gesture for "wait a moment".

Heun approached the incoming guards and conversed rapidly as he knew the quicker the situation was resolved, the better for all concerned.

"Sergeant, these newcomers are attempting to communicate with us. If they had hostile intentions, then they would have been attacking us already and not even bother to try to communicate with us.

If we continue communicating with them, then we can find out more about their holographic or telekinesis abilities with the whole floating, vanishing, and the strange bunny creature.

Besides, great risks leads to great rewards."

The sergeant sighed.

"Very well. We will react to any threats though."

Heun shook his head.

"What if you react to something that might seem like a threat but is not? Then that could lead to major misunderstandings and possibly war with these newcomers."

The soldier simply grunted, and made no further moves towards the newcomers. Heun made his way back towards the knight and his companions, and then made a series of gestures he hoped that they would understand. He pointed to the three people and spoke their names once again then pointed towards the train depot and nodded his head in the direction of the train depot.

He wanted to bring the newcomers into someplace more pleasant to continue contact and communication, but he wasn't sure if Stinnr, VeiVo, and Beat-ro understood what he was attempting to convey.

Everlong Landing Site
(http://0302.netclime.net/1_5/962728/1141799621_4600/10%20-%20Steiner's%20Theme.mp3)
Beatrix watched as the most influential figure raised his finger and walked away. She thought about it and figured he was attempting to order something, perhaps make a purchase. She flipped through the “Guide to Galbadia Garden” and searched for possible merchandise these natives might be willing to trade for.

Steiner watched suspiciously as the commander left after giving a strange gesture; raising his index finger alone. Steiner remembered that signal, it was a gesture that meant something was out of place or an illegitimate action had occurred. He saw and used it frequently in his youth, especially when playing in some of the athletic events held in the Garden. The ever-vigilant knight closed his visor, and placed a hand on the hilt of his sword.

The good captain looked over at Beatrix and wondered why she was not preparing herself as well. Beatrix looked at the captain and wondered why he was acting so paranoid especially when they were about to complete an important business transaction.

Vivi stood patiently, and wondered what these natives thought of his companions and himself. Behind him Steiner and Beatrix debated over the meanings of the natives’ gestures.

“Captain, I believe they are trying to communicate a willingness to exchange goods, haven’t you seen that gesture before when the students are purchasing food and supplies?”

“Of course you would think that, can’t you smell something is amiss? There is clearly something wrong, a law has been broken. Perhaps these natives need our help with pursuing some justice!”

Vivi could see the captain’s thoughts; slaying some dragon, saving a princess, being a hero in the eyes of these natives and his crew. Vivi didn’t want to ruin his moment, and said nothing.

Heun returned and made strange gestures towards a familiar sight, a train depot. Beatrix wondered if the depot was a storage-area for important resources. She flipped through the Guide for appropriate exchange rates between certain precious metals and the sort.

Steiner looked as Heun pointed to the wheeled machines with more weird gestures and thought he and his crew must have broken one of the natives' laws by using a flying contraption. No matter, he could discuss such things later. Once he convinced these people that they were Gods negotiations would be much simpler.

Upon Heun’s return Vivi wobbled towards the depot instinctually, followed by Beatrix who was attempting to show Heun some of the Garden’s goods and services in the guide. Striding behind the two was the honorable Captain Steiner who tried to make his presence felt as much as possible amongst the natives.

Heun sat at the head of a conference table with a Sharina flag displayed digitally on a screen behind him. He looked over several piles of blank sheets of paper and thought to himself for a few quick seconds, collecting himself before engaging the "visitors" in an ingenious form of conversation.

Pretty smart, eh? Drawing pictures should help us overcome the language barrier much easier than through prolonged dialog, at least until the language computers can accurately create a translation matrix.

Heun smiled towards the "visitors" and began drawing himself and a few of his own co-workers, then drew the Sharinan symbol above it, a pentagon with a star enclosed within it, along with five intertwining semi-circles circling the pentagon. He slid the paper over to the "visitors" after drawing approximations of the "visitors" as a man carrying a sword, a midget with a hat, and a woman with long hair along with a empty rectangle above them.

Heun hoped that they understood what he was trying to ask them. He was curious what nation, organization, or civilization these people came from.

Steiner looked at the piece of paper in front of him. On one side was a picture that resembled the natives, on the other side was a picture that resembled Vivi, Beatrix, and Steiner. A picture of the natives, with a weird symbol drawn by them in a box above their heads, therefore a picture of his crew and himself with an empty box above their heads.

These people must think we’re idiots! Steiner thought as he took the writing utensil and began to work. Within seconds he was finished, very proud of himself for successfully recognizing his own in a picture. In the rectangle was a giant checkmark, proudly stating, “That’s us!” Steiner hadn’t had to do paperwork for some time, and was quite glad that was over with.

Needless to say the table was somewhat disappointed as Steiner turned in his little test. The paper was quickly returned to the captain to ‘try again.’

Beatrix quickly snagged the paper from the lost captain who felt somewhat disappointed in himself. As he pondered, Beatrix wrote out a few words, the name of the Garden, the name of the conglomerate, and the national motto.

Kympytey Kyntah

Dra Sedwam Luhkmusanyda

Acdnu Drai Brymaf Mjum

ooc: I've decided to make my nation's language Al-Bhed introduced in FFX. Translator is here (http://www.pixelscapes.com/twoflower/albhed.html)

OOC: Okay, I'm back. What's the situation like?

"What do you mean the whole town disappeared?" The Legate was furious. He didn't know how in one night Durus Ora became a ghost town, without a lot of wreckage.

"We need an army there at once!"

Within minutes, the 6th Pescium Legion embarked from the base for Durus Ora to investigate the situation. Durus Ora was supposed to represent Rome's first permanent city outside of the army base on Pescium, eventually evolving into the still nameless colony's capital. The Romans had placed it by the Alpinans in an act of defiance, thinking the Alpinans couldn't penetrate the area, and also to keep a better watch on the kingdom that was dying to wage war with them.

Upon arrival at the town, the Legion discovered a scene of desolation, just as they had predicted. There were a few burn marks on the buildings, indicating that a fire had broken out, but the Legion was unable to find the source of the fire. Digging deeper, the Romans found their quarry- a litter of dead soldiers and civilians, apparently caught in a fight of some sort. The Legion initially believed the cause of the disaster was a riot, but some questioned how the whole town could be liquidated after a riot, as well as why the base itself was not contacted.

News of the disaster reached Rome itself by the next day, and predictably Roman Emperor Rodin Hartian was infuriated. Both colonies were giving the Emperor nothing but headaches, as the dinosaurs on Manium were threatening Nova Roma's existence and the Pescium colony- already behind schedule- was now lagging further behind. He organized a trip to Pescium for the next day so that he could see the damage firsthand himself, as well as to take charge of a deteriorating situation.

"This is unbelievable," said Hartian upon viewing the damage. "We need something done here, and at once." He then went back to the base to talk with Marth, who was again talking alliance. He was also greeted by a sombre-looking tall man in green overalls and a blue shirt upon arrival at the base.

"You are the Emperor of the Romans, right?" said the man, quivering, but also recognizing Hartian from the news clippings he could gleam from home.
"Yes I am," said Hartian. "No need to be nervous here. Who are you?"
"My name is Luigi Mario, and I'm here representing the Mushroom Kingdom."
"Oh, and how can I help the Mushroom Kingdom?"
"They've taken my brother."
"Who's 'they'?"
"Alpina. They also took the entire Mushroom court, including the King and Princess Daisy, except Toad, Wooster and Peach who escaped with me. We were told that the Romans had a base here and needed your help."
Hartian was taken aback. The Mario Brothers? Real? I must be dreaming. When he realized he wasn't he replied to Luigi.
"We seem to be in this war together, and trust me, the Roman Army is committed to protecting the Mushroom Kingdom." Hartian wasn't sure how, but his resolve became firm. The Alpinans were now going to get a fight.

Durus Ora

At roughly 9AM local time, the Durus Ora Legion- consisting of Roman soldiers as well as Marth- arrived at the depopulated city. Their job at this stage was mainly investigative, but a point was made to shore up the border's defences. Hartian- like Mardente- knew better than to underestimate the Alpinans' military abilities, so he made sure of it that the border received the best defences the Romans could provide.

The team turned up a lot of what could be expected from a slave raid- lots of footprints, the odd splash of blood, ripped clothes and the occassional dead body of those who tried to resist. "The raiders were thorough," said Marth, who noted that the town was ripped dry of its valuables. He wasn't aware that many of the town's computers were still present, mostly because the Alpinans had no clue of what those devices were and thus did not take them. It was one unfortunate soul's computer that provided the key to Alpinan involvement.

"Your Highness, can you understand this?" said Gregalis Flavius Aemilius Cordensus to Marth, referring to the person's instant messages that were left presumably before they were taken.
"What is it?" asked Marth, perplexed at the device.
"This is a computer, and it's running RIMS."
"RIMS?"
"Roman Instant Messaging Solutions. It's a computer program that allows someone to write an instant message to someone on another side of the Internet, a network all computers are connected to. These messages are just like telegrams, only that they arrive on the other person's computer in a matter of seconds, regardless of distance."
Marth nodded with amazement. "You will show us how to construct this machine, right?"
"Well, I can't. I'm just a soldier; but I'm sure the Roman Government will help you in this regard. Anyway, the message Your Highness?"
Marth took a look at the screen. The messages were in Latin and were thus translated to Marth by Cordensus. On them they read:

Augustus' Long-lost Cousin: "What the-?"
Flavius- f*** work: "Decimus, what is it?"
Augustus' Long-lost Cousin: "The whole f****** town has just come under attack. I don't know who it is."
Flavius- f*** work: "Are you safe?"
Augustus' Long-lost Cousin: "Sure I am."
Flavius- f*** work: "You need to get out of there. Don't be stupid."
Augustus' Long-lost Cousin: "Flavius, I can take them on. These barbarians have no clue of what a gun looks like."
Augustus' Long-lost Cousin: "All they have are pitchforks and knives. I've got more technology in front of me than those guys could have in their entire kingdom."
Flavius- f*** work: "I know you're a martial arts expert Decimus, but this is no time to be taking on an Army. GET OUT!"
Augustus' Long-lost Cousin: "No man. I've got this covered. All I need is my revolver and they'll stand no chance."
Flavius- f*** work: "I don't want to lose a friend. You're dear to me. I advise you- for your own good."
Augustus' Long-lost Cousin: "Takanak Alpinase mooronpen coonovanen? What the f*** does that mean?"
Flavius- f*** work: "I don't care! GET OUT! FOR YOUR OWN GOOD!"
Augustus' Long-lost Cousin: "That's it. I'm taking these f****ers on."
Flavius- f*** work: "Decimus! NO!"
Flavius- f*** work: "Come back! Don't do this!"
Flavius- f*** work: "Decimus?"
Flavius- f*** work: "Decimus!"
Flavius- f*** work: "Decimus!"
Flavius- f*** work: "Decimus..."

The conversation ended there, with the last message rendered at 5:15AM. Cordensus had a slight laugh at Decimus' name. "That guy must have thought he was the s***." He then sighed. "What is it Cordensus?" asked Marth.

"It's funny he associated himself with Augustus, the founder of the Roman Imperial system and arguably our greatest Roman," said Cordensus, "but it's tragic that now he's no more than a slave."

Marth sighed as well. "I figured out that phrase. The Alpinan commander just told the town they're all Alpinan property," he continued. "He probably didn't hear the whole command, which is usually fairly long, but he got the jist of it."
"So it's settled then? We now have proof it's Alpina."
"Where's the message stored on the computer? I'm going to open it."
"No! That'll erase the message."
"How so?"
"It's hard to explain. Your Highness, just trust me."
Cordensus then walked to the computer, saved the RIMS conversation and E-Mailed it to the Camp Prefect, who remained at the base.
"There. Now we have proof."

More searches turned up more evidence- an Alpinan dagger was found, as well as an insignia from a breastplate. However, the most peculiar piece of evidence uncovered was a business card of a one Rufus Shinra, President of the Mitzel Conglomerate. "Mitzel," said Marth. "I knew something didn't feel right."
"Who's Mitzel?" asked Mardente.
"No, what," said Marth. "Mitzel is a corporation that specializes in mercenaries. Rumours have been flying around that they're heavily involved in the slave trade themselves, and that they're biologically engineering humans to create a 'master race'. I'm telling you now this is no ordinary slave raid- you guys may be faced with something bigger than any of you could have imagined."

Galbadia Garden: (http://0402.netclime.net/1_5/E/0/4/ff8osv_-_galbadia_ga.mp3)

The Romans seemed to have adjusted themselves to their environment, a trait which Rufus greatly admired about humans. No matter how horrific, complex, or confusing their surrounds were humans would always adjust themselves so long as their surroundings were life-promoting and organized. They were so predictable, and with it so easily controllable. Being intelligent and naturally creative Rufus knew he and the rest of humanity were the perfect species for creating an empire.

An empire, Rufus was astounded at some of the information extracted from the Roman leaders using the U.M.N. mode. The Romans had a vast and rich history, glorious tales of conquest, tragedy, betrayal, triumph, and glory. Such a rich culture, it was no wonder they held so much pride in their nation. Trying to take it all away from them would be a big mistake, but of course letting them keep their autonomy was out of the question. Rufus looked through some of the history and found something that might solve the integration problem.

For decades when Galbadia Garden was under the Shinra Corporation it was trying to reform and re-organize its military. The power of a single individual wielding materia made organized units nearly obsolete. It was not until collective usage of materia was discovered that squads were reformed and used with decent success. Still, the individuals such as those in SeeD proved to be superior to any group efforts. Most Galbadian brigades were composed almost entirely of identically equipped soldiers, as the Light Brigade. However Rufus began to admire some of these foreigner’s organizational methods, and found something within Roman history that just might work.

Rufus long since worried how de-humanized war was becoming. In the past one could feel a certain sense of pride and triumph as one defeated their enemy in hand-to-hand combat. There was an unspoken honor and dignity, a dark pleasure being able to see the look on your enemies’ faces, being able to feel the warmth of their blood on your blade and splattered on your skin. For these Romans with their ‘modern’ weapons as they called them they seemed to have lost so much of the beauty of war. Long range rifles and missiles, mechanized infantry, personal flying craft, helicopters, all of these greatly diminished the original beauty of warfare. Where had humanity gone wrong? It was no wonder the conglomerate had dreamed of creating a semi-humanoid Mechas to restore the glory of the ancient combat. Were it not for the discovery of Mako and materia Rufus was certain his culture would have taken the same path as these Romans. Now he had the chance to relive the ‘good old days.’

The idea of heavier and lighter infantry was peculiar. Rufus had always thought there was some ‘ultimate warrior,’ something that every soldier could become uniformly and unconditionally. Instead, the Romans allowed for a diversity that was somewhat intolerable within the Conglomerate. However, Rufus was willing to give this method a shot.

What the Conglomerate hired as a lightly armed and lightly armored soldiers wielding katars and electric materia would become what the Romans called velites. These soldiers would serve jointly as forward scouts and a disposable ‘first shots’ to determine the strength of the enemy. Behind them would be soldiers armed with the generic Galbadian equipment; a gunblade with fire and electric materia that would serve the roles of the hastati and principes. Behind them would be tougher soldiers armed with heavy harpoons, machine guns, and wind materia that would play the role of the triarii. Chocobo knights and motorcycle infantry would play the part of the elite equites, and would be armed with gunblades, machine guns, and water and wind materia.

Rufus could predict the complications arising from establishing such a legion consisting solely of ex-Roman citizens. The temptation to defect or rebel would be great, but not so much if their support was composed of troops entirely loyal to the Conglomerate. For this, Rufus segregated the new units similarly to what was done in antiquity. The auxiliaries would compose the other half of the unit, and would provide essential support to the ground troops. Auxiliaries would either reside in airships above the battlefield or in secured points a good distance behind enemy lines. Their jobs would be to provide enough materia magik to shield the ground troops from long-range fire until they could fight the enemy in close-combat. Auxiliaries would also supply artillery support in various forms including cannons, Guardian Forces, and occasionally missiles. The destruction of the auxiliaries, although improbable, would doom the ground troops if their enemy resorted to a long-range battle. For this reason the auxiliaries could keep the rest of the unit in line by threatening to withdraw support if the rest of the unit was insubordinate.

To avoid complications the new units would still bear the traditional title used by the Garden to describe its units, the brigade. However, for morale and tradition’s sake Rufus allowed the unit comprised of 4,321 Roman cavalry and infantry employees and 3,749 Galbadian auxiliaries the title of ‘Legion.’

Rufus could not wait to try out his new toy.

?bump?

OOC:

I'm still here. My language program is nearly complete, should only take a couple of days at most, as I've had quite a bit of time this week to work on it. I will post a response and some of Sharina-unique language by tomorrow or Friday, depending on how the finishing touches go.

I have no plans on abandoning this excellent RP. :)

Yipput, Alpina

"You missed a spot," stammered Gilbaran, who then whipped the slave girl who was about to get up. Omara had been washing the floor for three hours and was exhausted, but Gilbaran- who was doing nothing except enjoying his tea- kept brandishing his whip whenever she looked like she would let up in her work. However, Gilbaran was getting bored of the whipping, so he decided to let up a little.

"Okay, you're done now. Go get changed, and put something fancy on. I need you in my quarters in half an hour; and smile this time. I don't want a stone."

Omara simply walked away. She'd been with Gilbaran for the past three weeks and slept with him about ten times already, and she was getting used to the abuse. At first, she was violently raped each time, but with every beating her resolve diminished to where it was now- a slab of emptyness. She would have cried if she felt there was anything worth living for left.

Then, as she was changing for Gilbaran, it hit her. She began to think of all the arguments she'd had in her life, realizing they were so trival now. She first thought of her brother, Publius, five years younger than she was and always a pain. I remember when he took out the eyes in all my Barbie dolls. Oh how I cried then, she thought to herself. The tears began to flow now. She then thought of all the arguments she'd had with her parents over the car and what time she had to get home. Then there was her 10-year-old sister, her dog- oh, how she missed her dog. Then she thought of Taftus. She had yet another argument with her family before she had left, and Taftus offered to console her, even giving her a card with a poem written inside it. She had rejected him on all counts, since she liked wild boys and Taftus was just "too nice". He was so sweet and so caring- why did I turn him down? Oh, how I could use someone who has a heart. She bawled uncontrollably. The pain was too much to bear. That was when Gilbaran stormed into the room. "Quit crying you puny human!" he yelled at her, again brandishing his whip. "If I see you crying again, I'll kill you. Don't you dare come out unless you're happy."

Eventually, she mellowed to the point where Gilbaran was satisfied, and was then allowed back to her quarters for some rest. That night was her loneliest since she arrived in Pescium, a remarkable feat in a string of lonely nights. Her previous fights- heck, her previous life- was now trivial. Still, she resolved that she had to make the most of the situation because, like a true Roman, only through strength could she live through her ordeal. She resolved that once she got out, she'd be the beacon of love she'd been rejecting all her life. For years I've been rejecting love, she thought to herself. It's time I put an end to that. She sighed, worried she might not get that chance. Then she fell asleep.

The Pescium Base

When Commenus received the evidence, he was still trying to make sense of it. The town's main computers were all taken out by the attack and were still not operational a day after the attack, so presumably no communications device would have been able to work. "Yet we have, right before my eyes, instant messages sent just before the town was sacked," Commenus said. "How could this be?"

"If you ask me, my thoughts is that the Alpinans just scrambled the town's main computers," said Cordensus, now promoted to Cornicen. "The IM client was still running when I saw it."
"...but how? Why take out just the main computers? And how do the Alpinans know of computers?" asked Commenus.
"Mitzel. Let's not forget about them. Look at Rufus Shinra's business card- it has an E-Mail address."
"So this 'Mitzel' knows how to scramble computers. Interesting. I think I know what we have to do- we need to strike Alpina now, before they gain anymore techonological knowledge. Ready the troops, and tell our friends that they are needed- we need their help."
"Yes sir."

Battle of Tel-Amat: Roman-Alpinan Border

Mardente laid out the objectives neatly for the Roman commanders- score a decisive victory over the Alpinans, cripple their ability to counterattack and force them to terms acceptable to Rome. This would also be a battle to be used for leverage- by showing the Mitzelians how powerful the Romans were, the Romans had hoped to scare the Mitzelians to terms, because he knew that at some point Rome and Mitzel would be at war. He can't allow a corporation as dirty as this one to continue raiding Romans.

The Romans brought with them Toad, Luigi and Marth, all of whom had a better understanding of Alpinan ways and technology. They were also the only ones in their group who knew about magic. Toad stood behind to give the Romans supplies, while Luigi and Marth joined the Hastati (OOC: frontline forces), Luigi on foot and Marth on a horse. Before the battle, Toad gave Mardente a large, enclosed bag of dust.

"Here. Sprinkle the contents on each of your guns," he said.
"Why?" asked Mardente.
"You'll see. You won't even have to load them. Just press 'fire'".
Mardente gave Toad a puzzled look.
"Trust me."
Mardente was reserved, but he figured he would take Toad's advice, given his knowledge of the area and battle tactics. He sprinkled the dust that Toad had given him on the cannons of each tank in the Hastati, as well as all of the soldiers' guns. The formula worked, whatever it was. The Roman guns were firing fireballs all day- without any interruption or any limit- and had an effective counter to whatever the Alpinans threw at them. Luigi and Marth were also very destructive. Marth's sword cut up his foes quicker than a samurai's blade, with it being able to magically inflame itself and grow considerably larger. Luigi donned a yellow cape, which allowed him to fly and drop, kamikaze-style, on the unsuspecting Alpinan forces, being an effective human bomb. By the end of the day, the Alpinan Army was completely decimated, the Romans had barely lost anyone.

Mardente got what he wanted. He then went to the negotiating table. It was there that things began to get sour.

"Such a display today. This will be a lesson to you not to test Rome ever again," said Mardente in a defiant but confident tone to Alpinan King Mirus, whom he just defeated.
"You may have won this battle," said Mirus, who was now the only Alpinan King to have ever suffered a military defeat, "but you have not won the war."
"Oh really? With what men do you dare to counter me with? You have not a single soldier left- I have everybody."
"This isn't finished."
"Mirus..." Mardente couldn't believe the King's defiance.
By now Mirus was incensed. He didn't like being referred to by just his name, especially not from a "dirty foreigner" like Mardente.
"YOU MAY HAVE DEFEATED ME, BUT I DEMAND RESPECT!"
"Should I order a new assault? I think I will."
"Okay, okay, okay." Mirus sighed. "What do you want?"
"A monthly tribute of 100 billion gold coins, the right of Rome to access and scout your land for future economic growth, a non-aggression pact and an agreement stating you will not go to war without our approval. Oh, and the return of all of the slaves you have taken from us, including the Mushroompeople."
"Our slaves are our property. They are none of your business."
"Those slaves are Roman citizens abducted against their will. Right now, there is nothing preventing me from treating you as the criminal you are. From our view, you have all committed crimes against the Roman State, and we cannot allow that."
Mirus put forward a wry smirk. "How many slaves are we talking about?"
"20,000. Don't lie to us since we have proof. We found various weapons and other items clearly depicting your insignia amidst the wreckage of Durus Ora, as well as this tell-tale sign." Mardente then pulled out a sheet of paper.
"What is it?"
"It's the printout of the instant messaging conversation between two Romans that contains the call by the Alpinan commander informing the citizens that they were slaves." Mardente then pointed to the Alpinan command.
"I don't know what you are talking about."
"You better. We are demanding ALL of the slaves be returned to us by you voluntarily, or else we will do it for you. You have a week. Good day."

Alpina

The news of the defeat spread quickly through Alpina, who now learned their taxes were all doubled, with the blame laid squarely on the Romans. Omara feared retribution from her master, who joined the chorus of Alpinans who cursed Rome and the Romans' name. However, she underestimated the Alpinans- they may "hate" certain peoples, but no one ever doubted the usefulness of slaves, thus no "retributive culling" of enemy slaves had ever or would ever take place. She was, however, sexually abused more often, and made to work longer hours. The only free time she ever got was sleep, and Gilbaran made sure she got it, since she was "less fun" when tired.

(OOC: Reader Discretion Advised)

Omara cried. In the weeks following the Roman victory, the Alpians were relentless in the lengths they went to demonize the Roman State. They were called "barbarians" and "exploiters", "enemies of honour" and "backward", with plays being made that mocked Romans and their way of life, ridiculing their values and everything Omara held dear to her heart. The following night was the hardest Omara would endure for many reasons- while she got used to her nightly rapes, this particular night Gilbaran's hands felt even more cold, as if he was taking what little was left of Omara's soul away from her. She then felt a rush inside of her that she couldn't describe, but knew from the feeling that it couldn't be good.

(OOC: End Reader Discretion)

What happened to me? Omara was scared. She didn't know it, but she was pregnant. Gilbaran did that deliberately so that he could keep her. He knew the Romans made an order to return all of their citizens back to Roman territory, but by having a child with Omara he could justifiably claim that he was starting a family and thus needed her with him. Besides, he'd always wanted a child- more free slaves that could then be sold on the market. "This will be the first of many," he said to himself, as he went to bed, satisfied with what he had done. Omara, meanwhile, would be even more psychologically damaged- fearing for the future, she sat in her bed, crying herself to sleep.

While the Romans celebrated their victory over Alpina, Marth was skeptical of the Alpinan treaty arrangement. "There's just something you guys don't understand about the Alpinans," he said to Taftus the day after the big party, "it's that they can never be trusted. These are not people who will bow in submission to you- if anything, they will be defiant."

Taftus gave Marth a blank stare. "That would seem par for the course. I don't see where your concern is," he said.

Marth replied with a concerned look. "I'm worried about your friend. The Romans contained a provision in the treaty requiring the Alpinans to hand over whatever slaves back to Rome and I don't trust the Alpinans to do so. They're having too much fun with their sub-humans."

"I suppose we should plan, just in case. I really miss Tiberia."
"Heh. You miss the girl, eh?" Marth could only chuckle.
"I miss the professors too!" Taftus then lowered his head in shame.
"No need to do that son. It's okay to be in love."
"Yeah, but I don't think she likes me. I've tried to talk to her several times and all I get is the cold shoulder. I wrote her a poem once, because she'd been having difficulties with her parents, and she just threw it back in my face." Taftus then sighed. "I don't even know why I want to save her now that I think of it. She's just been mean to me. She needs to rot."
Marth sensed a bit of agitation in Taftus' voice, but took pity on him. "Well, if you want to get to her heart now, you should save her. I'm positive she's going to see the error of her ways after this experience."
"I guess."
"Decimus, you've always gone the extra mile for people. You care. I suspect you've been taken advantage of a lot in your life because of your kindness, but believe me this will not be one of those cases. Tiberia needs you. Don't fail her."
"Why does she need me? I'm not her type."
"Because right now, she is being abused, her humanity taken from her. She'll be lucky to have a soul left. These past few weeks, she's had nobody who cared for her. You will be the one who will be the first. She needs to know that somebody out there will be looking out for her. Are you going to be that person?"
Taftus, feeling a surge of energy, emphatically replied, "yes! Tiberia needs to be saved!"
"That's the spirit. Now, let's plan this."

Outside the Base

Luigi was sitting by the shoreline, carelessly whipping pebbles into the sea. He, like Marth, was apprehensive about the Alpinans' new pledge to return the slaves back to Roman hands, because he knew the Alpinans couldn't be trusted. They had too much pride to be able to enter into agreements and much less keep them.

It was around this time that Tira came by the shoreline for her daily suntan. Ever since she and Kirion had arrived at the Roman base they had relaxed- they'd been walking non-stop, and needed some rest. The sanctuary the Romans provided allowed them to take a rest they wouldn't have been able to get in Alpina, and they trusted the Roman military trust that it would give them the opportunity to continue their quest, especially after the Alpinan Army was destroyed.

However, today- after seeing Luigi- she found her caring side, exposing a part of herself that few ever saw. "What's wrong?" Tira asked Luigi, sitting next to him, "you miss your brother?"

"Yeah. You know, I get frustrated when he gets all the spotlight, but ever since he left, I've just been empty."
"I know how you feel. I was once expelled from this village because I set free this kid's bird. I really don't know why I did it, but they were excessive in expelling me."
"I'll say. You did apologize, right?"
"Oh yes; but they wouldn't have any of it." Tira then picked up a stone and hurled it into the water. "You know, I think it's cool that you and your brother are so tight. Someone like me would kill for something like that. I was lucky to meet Kirion- before I met him, I wondered if there was anyone left who would care for me. You have your brother, and I know you two will be back together. I can feel it."
"...but this is different. In the past, I knew where to look. Now, I don't. I feel so helpless." Luigi started to sob. Tira then gave him a hug and placed her arm around him in an effort to console him.
"There, there, I know it's hard. However, how many battles have you two fought and won by yourselves? You and your brother are smart. You will figure this out."

OOC:

A couple of good news.

First, I'm in the middle of replaying Final Fantasy 7, so I should have plenty of stuff to think up about mako, materia, and fantasy creatures.

Second, my language matrix is finally finished. I'll post them up later tonight after work.Time for me to get back into my RP groove. :)

Foreman Heun nodded at the strange guests trying to express his genuine interest and curiousity.

Suddenly, another Sharinan ran into the room and spoke in the native Sharinan tongue, which would have been difficult for people acquainted with English or Basic to understand, as Sharinans spoke a sophisicated language and had a radical writing system that has not changed in hundreds of years.

"Tuem, htu hjymgpyhkj wknlehuj vqmyppa tyg xuhujnqux y hjymgpyhqkm nyhjqd htyh nyhwtug htugu luklpug pymseysu. Cupp zu yzpu hk emxujghymx htuqj pymseysu ymx tkluveppa fqwu fujgy."

Heun smiled.

"Vqmyppa!"

A minute later, two technicians walked in with a small device that resembled a obsidian pyramid with tiny speakers and microphones embedded on each side.

Heun spoke, and much to the amazement of the guests, he seemed to speak their language.

"My apologies. The computer has finally managed to figure out how to translate our languages. Now we can communicate with each other without too much trouble.

What are your names again? From what I've been able to piece together, your names are Beatro, VeiVo, and Stinnr. These names are probably wrong, but at least thats what we were able to make out during our communication 'difficulties'.

My name is Heun, just in case you mistranslated it earlier."

To nobody's surprise, the week had passed and no Roman slaves were returned to the base. Mardente thus gave Marth and Taftus the go-ahead to launch their raid into Alpina to rescue Omara, while he was going to meet with Imperial staff to discuss the Empire's next course of action. He was going to press for war, and this time he wanted to go for the jugular.

Yipput

Gilbaran was restless. Omara had been throwing up all day due to morning sickness and was thus behind on all her chores. He wouldn't be as hard on her today because he did plan on Omara being pregnant- but he did make sure she still had sex with him later, because he couldn't get enough of that.

That night, with Gilbaran safely satisfied, Omara lay in her bed, wide awake unable to sleep amidst a whirlwind of emotions she couldn't explain. She cried, but muffled her voice with her pillow to prevent Gilbaran from hearing her. That's when she heard footsteps outside her window.

"What? Who's there?" she whispered to herself. Now she was scared that this was another of Gilbaran's tricks, or, worse, another kidnapping.

She shivered in her bed while the footsteps kept drawing nearer and nearer to her window. It became apparent to her from the bright light eminating from where the footsteps were coming from that the person was carrying a candle and looking into each of the house's windows, but what they were looking for wasn't apparent. She pulled the covers over her head in a valiant attempt to shield herself from the intruder. Omara then believed it worked, since all of a sudden the footsteps stopped.

Then, suddenly, Gilbaran could be heard waking up. He didn't like his sleep being bothered, least of all by robbers. By this point she was awake, clutching a knife which she hoped would ward off the intruder. Within minutes, someone managed to barge into her room, dodged the knife she threw and picked her up. Right behind the intruder was yet another man, who seemed engaged with Gilbaran.

"So, is this who you're after?" stammered a visibly upset Gilbaran. The man he was facing did not say a word.
"Fine, be silent. Fight fairly and I may leave you in just two pieces."

As the two men engaged in a swordfight, the man who held Omara threw a bag at her window, breaking it allowing him to carry himself and Omara out. The man proceeded to run, carrying Omara with him, while his companion fought with Gilbaran. Eventually, the man with Omara came to an empty field some two miles inside the Roman border. It was then that the man uncovered the cloak from his head and revealed who he was.

"Decimus!" Omara cried. She then bear hugged him and tackled him to the ground, planting on his lips the deepest, most passionate kiss she'd ever given.
"I can't say I was expecting that," said Taftus, who was relieved that the operation went according to plan.
"Decimus, I'm sorry." By this point, Omara and Taftus were standing face to face with each other in the field. "I've treated you like crap and I realized I shouldn't have. You are single-handedly the sweetest, most nicest person I've ever met, and I wished I'd realized that earlier. These past few weeks, I've been empty and alone, and I never thought I'd know what true love was again. I understand that probably you think this won't make up for all the garbage I've put you through, but I at least want you to know that I realized that you were there for me in the past and that I wish I recognized it sooner."
"Tiberia." Taftus now grasped Omara's hand. "It's okay. The past is the past. We've both been through a lot over the past few weeks. We've both learned a lot during this time and now we can put it all behind us. If you want me in your life then I want you in mine." The two of them kissed again.

"Aw, young love. Don't you love it?" Omara and Taftus stopped their kissing to turn to see who spoke. It was Marth.

"Gilbaran was a tricky customer," continued Marth. "Loves to jump around. Too bad he never learned how to use a sword though."

"Is he dead?" asked Omara.
"I spared him his life," replied Marth. "I'm not an assassin."
"He won't...come after me will he?"
"No. You're safe with us now." He then smiled. "I should say, 'you two are safe now'."

Omara and Taftus both laughed before giving each other another warm hug and kiss. "Hey, hey, hey, let's move along now. I don't want to start feeling left out now," Marth joked. The three of them laughed, all happy the operation worked.

Andromedus, Alpina

Balthar was impatient. It was just past 2AM when a messenger awoke him at his ranch to inform him that he was going to have a visitor. He didn't like being visited at 2AM, but he figured this was important so he waited.

An hour passed before Gilbaran came, visibly upset, at his door. "The Romans have begun culling our slaves," Gilbaran said sternly. "Our way of life is being threatened by these heathens who cannot understand the value of hard work."

"Ah yes, the Romans," replied Balthar. "The ones who insist on 'freedom' and 'equality'. If life were only that fair."

Both had a laugh. "So, Gilbaran, I imagine you're here for something?"

"Yes. We need to kill the King now." Gilbaran knew that Balthar and the King were not on even terms and, now that he was robbed by Marth of Omara, he hoped to pitch the idea of overthrowing the King to Balthar.
"Daring. I like it. The King has shown us that he's not capable of defending our great country against barbarians and thus it is time to treat him like one. Tell me, Gilbaran, what do you have to offer me?"
"I have my bodyguards, 100 Emarkin I purchased five weeks ago, that I want to use to overthrow the King. I also know of a remote village outside of the King's reach that can give us weapons and a magic no one else has ever known. Together, we can overthrow the King, establish a Republic and then destroy the Roman Empire."
Balthar took a liking to Gilbaran, even though he thought his plays were garbage, because he was daring. "We have a deal. Show me this village. Come inside so we can talk some more and rest before our big journey tommorow. By the end of this year, we will rule the world."

"This should be of interest to you." The man behind the underground store counter proceeded to hand Balthar a vial. Balthar gave it a quizzical look.

"What is it?" he asked.
"It's a potion," the man, Silarus, replied.
"I can see that. What kind of potion is it?" Balthar threw the potion slightly up in the air and caught it as if it were a baseball.
"Be careful with that. It's explosive."
Balthar then turned to Gilbaran. "You said this was a special potion place. All this place sells are cheap potions I can get anywhere."
Silarus was quick to chime in. "This potion can level a castle in one throw. It's also the only potion that can turn anything into a continuous, explosive weapon."
Balthar's eyes perked. "So I could have an explosive boomerang if I want to?"
"Precisely. Care for a demonstration?"
"Sure."

The three men proceeded to walk outside where a forest lay. "Don't worry, I have seeds that makes those trees grow back instantly." Balthar didn't care about the trees- he cared about the potion. "Now, go ahead and feel those trees. They're real." Balthar and Gilbaran did so, proving Silarus right. "To use this potion effectively, you will need special gloves. I have them in my store." Silarus then proceeded to put on his gloves as Gilbaran and Balthar returned behind Silarus to watch the demonstration. Silarus then threw a boomerang right at the trees, levelling all of them in one blow.

Balthar's eyes perked. "So, how many weapons can that potion cover?"

"One drop of Cuman's Edge will suffice for every weapon. I'd say there's enough for about 20,000 weapons here."
"How much for three vials of Cuman's Edge and 20,000 pairs of those gloves?"

"The gloves are one gold coin each. The vial is 100,000 each."
Balthar suddenly became apprehensive. "100,000 gold coins? Are you insane?"
"Cuman's Edge is one of a kind. I suggest you don't take the price lightly."
"Fine."
"So that is 320,000 gold coins. Is there anything else I could entertain you with? I have everything an army needs- armour, medicine, weaponry. You name it, I have it."
"Yes. Let's have a look."

By the time Gilbaran and Balthar were finished at Silarus' shop, they had purchased some two million coins' worth of material, including armour and weapon upgrades, but the most important item they bought was something called "Dead Man Walking". The potion was a sleeping potion, designed to make the victim fall instantly asleep and begin sleepwalking aimlessly. The victim would be asleep for over eight hours, and, if they were hit even slightly, they would instantly collapse onto the ground motionless, being able to be transported wherever the attacker wished to transport them to- or killed, whichever the attacker prefered. Balthar figured he would be able to use it against the Royal Palace, as well as for future slave raids.

"Thank you for your business. I wish you luck."
"Tell me, Silarus, how come King Mirus doesn't know about you?"
"The King does know about me- I keep my weapons shop a secret. To him, all I sell is alcohol." Silarus proceeded to point to the various kegs he kept on display at the front of the store which was above ground. "However, my real passion has been magic and weaponry. I've been interested in it since I was a kid and developed a lot of my own weapons. I've sold to Alpina and I've sold to rival kingdoms- I don't care. The weapons you've just bought I designed just recently, and you're my first customers. I'm glad you are- I've relished the thought of overthrowing the King, and you, my friend, are a worthy successor. Mirus is too weak to keep Alpina strong."
Balthar smirked. "How do you know Gilbaran?"
"We've been friends since we were kids."
"I see. Well, thank you for your time." Balthar and Gilbaran proceeded to walk out the door, waving to Silarus.

That night, both Balthar and Gilbaran shared wine to celebrate what they saw as a new beginning. "Tonight will be the last night Mirus sleeps."

The Roman Base

"Well, the good news is that you're healthy," said F. Ulpius Scupa, the base's top physician. "The other news is...I don't know how else to put it, but Tiberia, you're pregnant."

"What?" Omara replied. Omara didn't know what to make of the news. "How?"

"I understand you're shocked, but with the Alpinans' primitive technology we didn't think that your owner would have the proper contraceptives, so we expected you to be pregnant. You do have a few options. You can carry the baby to term, abort it or put it up for adoption. We don't need an answer now."

Omara told Scupa that she'd mull it over for a little bit and then decide. She then had a talk with Taftus and Marth.

"Pregnant? I don't understand it," started Omara. "I mean, I get how I could be given the Alpinans' technology and all, but still...this...this..."
"Gilbaran did it deliberately," replied Marth.
"How? He never wore a condom."
Marth was puzzled by Omara's reference since he had never heard of a condom before, but Taftus explained what it was.
"The Alpinans have potions for everything. They have a contraceptive potion that works just like a condom does without actually needing the man to wear anything. I suspect Gilbaran didn't drink the contraceptive potion the night he impregnated you, and may have spiked a drink of yours to ensure you had a fertile egg ready for him."
"That b*st*rd!" Omara was about to scream in rage. "He did it deliberately!"
"Yes he did. He knew the Romans were coming, and he needed to find a reason to keep you. Starting a family was one way."
"Can I be alone with Decimus for a minute?"
"Sure." Marth then left the room.
"Decimus...what are we going to do?"
"I don't know."

Omara had been a pro-life activist as a University student, but after her experiences with Gilbaran her thoughts began to change on the subject. She didn't know how she could see the baby and not think of her rape. For his part, Taftus didn't know how to respond. He wasn't pro-life by any stretch of the imagination, but he wasn't ardently pro-choice either, since he didn't like the thought of an abortion.

"Tiberia," Taftus began, clutching Omara's hand. "Whatever you decide I'll be behind you. I'll raise the child if you want it or I'll be by your side if you get an abortion. It's up to you."
"Thanks." The two of them hugged again, both of them shedding tears of worry. Eventually, Omara decided to go with the abortion- it was much too early for her to be starting a family after all the troubles she went through.

The Royal Palace, Alpina

Mirus loved to garden. He spent countless hours every day out in the courtyard tending to flowers and bushes, making sure each was at top quality. He garnered the nickname "The Flower King" as a result of his dedication to his craft, being the only Alpinan King who ever planted a tree in the courtyard.

Today was another beautiful day. He got up bright and early at dawn to have a look at his flowers, excited because his petunias were to bloom at this time. "What a magnificent day," he said to himself, smiling. "Another great day for the great land of Alpina."

Few Alpinans shared Mirus' passion. Many criticized him for allowing most of Alpina's miniscule available farmland to be used for flowers and bushes that could have no hope of feeding the thousands of hungry Alpinans. However, the tradition of the garden in the courtyard existed well before Mirus' time, and Mirus did make sure that Alpina had ample farmland, with a number of military expeditions that increased Alpina's size by 50%.

He would spend ten hours in his garden, trimming, planting and cutting as needed. When he returned, he found the Palace nothing like he thought it would be. Everyone lay on the ground motionless, with several people- including the Queen and his Chancellor- missing. "What the-" Those were the last words the King spoke, with a thud on his head knocking him cold.

Galbadia Garden

(Since we’re on the topic I give you the corporate alternative)

Lucilla Lepidus bashed angrily on the machine in frustration. It was embarrassing enough to be seen at the machine, but not being able to use it correctly was compounding the problems. However she did know this machine was the only way to get what she wanted.

“Tertius Pescius”

“No…”

“Tarturus Pius”

“No…”

“Titus Pyamus”

“No you stupid piece of shit machine!”

“…President Rufus Shinra”

“God Damnit!”

“God Damnius is not a name recorded in the M.B.B.I.”

“Son of a bitch…”

“Bitche, Rancor: Age 41: Progeny: None. This citizen does not exist. Do you wish to breed with Rancor Bitche instead?”

“No! I want to sleep with my fucking husband you worthless fucking machine! What the hell is wrong with this fucking place? What the hell is wrong with you people!? What are you looking at asshole!?”

“President Rufus Shinra: Sex: Male, Age: 22, Blood Type AB+ etc. etc. Do you wish to breed with this individual?”

Lucilla nearly wept as she gave up, condemned to yet another lonely night of sleep being monitored by the Galbadian soldier-drones that guarded their new employees stoically and emotionlessly.

Galbadian soldiers had finished a census and compulsory DNA testing of all the new employees, which in and of itself was a pain in the ass but what the Galbadians did with the newly acquired information would be even more troublesome. After entering the information into the Garden’s databanks of the M.B.B.I. (Mitzel Better Breeding Institute) it was only a matter of time before the ‘guided breeding’ programs were introduced to the newcomers.

Mothers in Galbadia were always viewed as the second most essential characters in the raising of a child, second only to the Garden’s educational process. As such, the Garden had created a program in which any actions taken by legal and potential mothers were ‘guided’ by corporate information.

The process was dull and painless for the regulars, in order to acquire permission to breed the woman would be given access to the entire male population that was of age. She would then be given the genetic mappings of any and all of her various choices, shown the likely genetic strengths and weaknesses of the offspring, and any dangerous genetic combinations would be screened out. After reviewing the countless choices the woman would pick a breeding partner who would be obligated to perform as soon as he had a break from corporate duties.

Many of the Roman employees were slowly succumbing to the vast opiates of Mitzel. Where other more primitive cultures tried to control the individual by strictly monitoring the body, Mitzel went much further knowing true power came not from controlling their hearts, but from controlling their minds. Materia and the Great Bureaucracy, combined they posed a far greater threat to that damnable individual freedom than anything ‘slavery’ ever accomplished.

-----------------------------

Everlong Landing Site

Vivi looked at the machine perplexed at this strange new magic. He wondered if it was only him, but soon recognized both Steiner and Beatrix were reacting rationally as well to the strange mechanism.

Vivi spoke up, “My name is Vivi, nice to meet you Heun.”

Steiner looked, feeling like he was interrupted when Beatrix spoke,

“and my name is Beatrix, navigator of the Everlong.”

“And I am its Captain, Captain Steiner. We come for profit and prosperity in the name of the great Mitzel Conglomerate.”

Beatrix interrupted, “Now, may we interest you in some fine Mitzelian chocolates or cell-phones?”

Heun smiled as he realized that everybody could communicate easily now.

"Hmm... chocolates. Did you know that just a handful of chocolates can be mixed into literally hundreds of different chocolate flavors?

Anyways, I wonder, will these chocolates make people fly or do strange things like what you people did earlier today? Neverthless it should be interesting to sample some of the chocolates."

Heun chuckled before continuing.

"As for cell phones, these things have been obsolete in Sharina for some time now. You can view cell phones in various museums throughout Sharina, as we use a more sophisicated communication system for the last twenty years."

He cleared his throat just before taking a sip of water. An aide walked in and handed Heun something that resembled a touch-pad with words and symbols displayed within.

Heun looked up and addressed the three Mitzellians.

"It has just come to my attention that Governor Padish has heard of your arrival and would like to extend an invitation for you three to come to mainland Sharina to discuss trading, cultural, and diplomatic ties.

Do you accept?"

"Go! We cannot miss a beat!" Balthar was anxious to get the castle cleared as quickly as possible. Everyone inside was bound and gagged with whatever material they could find, and while Silarus said his material would be good for eight hours, Balthar, Gilbaran and their men knew that with hundreds of servants, assistants, ministers and family members, getting the job done in eight hours seemed like a Herculean task.

"Drats!" Balthar got frustrated after he found that the one wagon he had brought for transporting the Royal Household wasn't big enough for everyone in the palace. "Do we have any more?"

"No sir," said Geterbus, Balthar's second in command for the Border Patrol, which lead the raid. "At least not here."
"Can we get another one? We can't fit everyone in the wagon."
"We have more at the base, sir."
"That's not good enough. That's on the other side of the country." Balthar paused then spoke again. "Is the King, his family and his ministers in there at least?"
"Yes sir."
"Take them away to the base and come back with another wagon. I will be waiting here." Balthar then motioned Gilbaran over. "Pay a visit to Silarus and get us more of the sleeping potion. We may not have enough time to get everyone without it."
Gilbaran promptly nodded and went on his way. Two hours later, Gilbaran came back with more of the sleeping potion, which was promptly applied on the remaining affected people in the palace and four hours later another wagon was brought, this time able to fit everyone else.
"Good. Let's go."

When they arrived at Andromedus, where the King was now being held, Mirus was just waking up from his slumber. "Where...where am I?" asked the sluggish monarch.
"You would love to know wouldn't you?"
"BALTHAR!"
"Yes? You called?"
"YOU BETRAYED ME! I TRUSTED YOU!"
"Trust is but a fickle thing. Especially when it comes to a person as pathetic as you."
"If I had any strength left you would be dead."
"Correction. If you had any authority. Mirus."
The King now became cross. He hated being referred to by only his first name.
"You're a King without a crown, a monarch without a country. Alpina is mine now."
"Good luck reaching that goal. You won't last a week."
"On the contrary. Ever since you lost to the Romans, nobody in Alpina wants you anymore." Balthar made sure he emphasized the loss at Tel-Amat, since it sent shockwaves throughout Alpina being the country's first ever military loss. "We're convinced that what we need is a Republic, because you have shown us that we cannot put all our trust in one man. The people are stronger, and we showed that today. Tommorow, they will see you fall."
"What do you mean?"
"You will see." Balthar left the King to dangle on that thought through a long and cold night.

Mitzel Conglomerate

Rome was a culture Rufus admired. The longest-serving superpower on Earth, the legacy of Roman history goes without saying, their supremacy the standard to which all other superpowers are compared. Mitzel would learn a lot from the Romans, a society whose glory he hoped to emulate.

Still, he often wondered if today’s Rome had lost touch with its ancient brethren. What was once a society that openly embraced slavery and war was one that now espoused equality and peace. They were a dignified people, no doubt, but he often wondered- like Edward Gibbon did before him- if Rome’s success had softened them to the point of paralysis. Perhaps Nietzsche was right, the decay of Rome was not a political or governmental decay, but maybe the hypothetical decay was the decay of the masterful spirit that it once embraced.

“Rufus, the Emperor of the Romans is here to see you,” the voice on his intercom bellowed.

“Send him in,” Rufus replied.

Five minutes later, Rodin Hartian, dressed to the nines in one of his finest suits, walked into Rufus’ office. He was a stately man, a man who made everyone feel at ease but showed no weaknesses. He was, in many ways, Rufus’ equal, a cunning man who was not easy to trick.

“Greetings Your Highness,” said Rufus, who bowed before him. “Can I get you anything?”

“Thank you President Shinra,” said Hartian, who then heartily shook Rufus’ hand. “Can I have a coffee?”

“Sure.” Rufus sent his assistant away to grab the Emperor and himself a coffee.

“I’m not sure if you knew, but I am a great admirer of your country and your history. Rome is the standard to which all other nations are compared.”

“Thank you. The Empire takes great pride in its accomplishments. You are not doing too badly yourself. This company is primed for greatness itself.”

“Thank you Your Highness.” Shortly afterward, Rufus’ assistant arrived with the two men’s coffee.

“On to business,” continued Rufus. “You say you’ve lost a whole town, Emperor?”

“24,796 people to be exact,” replied Hartian. “The whole town of Durus Ora disappeared in one night several weeks ago. I am here with you today because we have reason to believe your company was involved.”

“Oh really.” Rufus was smug. “You should understand that the Conglomerate in no way wishes to cause you harm. I’m sure whatever happened was just a matter of business.”

“It is still illegal,” Hartian was stern. “Roman Law enshrines everyone the freedom to live their lives however way they wish, meaning that they have the right not to be slaves if they so choose. The raiders on Durus Ora- who already violated Roman sovereignty- violated those rights. I don’t care if it was ‘business’ Mr. President- if you wish to operate in Roman territory you must abide by Roman Law. I believe that is only fair.”

“I agree. If we do not enforce our laws then there is no order.” The smirk on Rufus’ face didn’t abide. Freedom to live as they choose? A man is not defined by the choices he makes, but instead the environment he is engaged in determines his choices. Such freedom does not exist, he thought.

“We are not here to accuse you of anything- yet. We are here to know and understand your involvement at Durus Ora, because we intend to recover every lost soul.” Hartian emphasized the “yet” so that Rufus could understand the gravity of the situation, a feeling Hartian didn’t think he understood.

“I can say that the Conglomerate took no direct action against the Empire Your Highness. We are in the mercenary business- we are not interested in engaging in direct warfare. War only eats at profits, and besides, right now the Conglomerate has nothing to gain from a war. We are much more interested in providing services and exploiting the land Your Highness.”

“So you contracted an Army to go against us.”

“I believe you are misunderstanding what we do Your Highness. We merely provide a means to an end- we are not involved in their plans, nor do we care. We gain nothing from the transaction except the money of the buyer. Once the unit has left the Conglomerate grounds, they are no longer our priority, so as far as we’re concerned we are not involved in whatever the unit does. Any nation is allowed to contract our mercenary services, even yours.”

Hartian was sceptical of Rufus’ statement, but he played along anyway, hoping to get to the bottom of the issue. “So who contracted you before the Durus Ora attack?”

“We get a lot of transactions. You may need to be more specific Your Highness.”

“We know that the raiders were Alpinan.”

“Ah, Alpina. Let me check my files. You realize we hold the privacy of our contractors in the highest esteem, but considering this contractor has abused his contracting rights by initiating a war against a foreign nation without notifying the Conglomerate this is a special case.” Rufus fired up his laptop and, within minutes, found his quarry. “Yes. Andromedus. An interesting fellow. Damned centaur, needed proof for everything- very paranoid. I think he needs counselling, or perhaps release into his natural habitat.”

“That’s nice Mr. President.” Hartian could care less about Andromedus’ temperment.
“What did he contract you for?”

“He reported to me that he had a peasant problem.”

“A peasant problem.” Andromedus is barking up the wrong tree.

“I suppose I should have known better, but then again, it is not my place to enquire. As far as I’m concerned, once he’s left the compound what he does with my soldiers is none of my business- provided they return in top condition and I get compensation if they do not.”

“How many times did Andromedus contact you?”

“Let’s see.” Rufus had another look on his laptop. “Twice.” Rufus paused for a minute. He was hoping to avoid having to tell the Emperor that he requested human compensation should his first Army be obliterated, but he felt he had no choice. “In my agreement with him I told him that I wanted labour compensation for every mercenary soldier killed. Standard practice, really. He could have easily have shipped Alpinians as compensation but obviously didn’t. He must have performed a series of raids to cover his losses.”

“If you are found with any Roman citizens on your compound we will invade.”

Rufus scratched his head and sighed slightly. “I have 14,798 Roman citizens. I am able to return you 9,342 of them. The rest would like to remain as Mitzel Employees. They have warmed to the Conglomerate and wish to stay. Our only request is that we receive compensation for any persons returned.”

“You will not be receiving that in human costs.”

“Understood.”

“We will offer you C1 million (OOC: US$10 million) for every Roman citizen.”

“Good enough.” More than what we calculated their worth as, so be it

“Now, I would like to enquire about the citizens who are not coming back. Why is that?”

“That is none of your business.”

“Considering that they are Roman citizens I do believe otherwise.”

“The 5,456 Romans wish to stay to and be Mitzel employees, willingly. I will let you speak to every one of them to confirm. 4,998 are dead because of the raid- again, not our doing- and 5,000 are the property of the Alpinans. I suggest you deal with them if you wish to see them returned.”

“Very well then. Thank you for your time.”

“Oh, Your Highness, before you leave, there is one other thing I need to mention to you.” Rufus, who now had to explain materia to Hartian, had to choose his words carefully. “Every one of our foreign employees has been given access to a utility we call ‘materia’ to both assist with their daily tasks and keep their minds free of pollution. It’s standard, because we have found that easing the transition from their previous treatment by outsiders to fully operational Mitzel employees cannot be done unless certain traumatic experiences are removed from their system. The materia allows the users to manipulate their environment in a way most of your people call ‘magic.’ However materia, like everything, is not free, and certain portions of the mind or soul are stifled within the employee as they use the materia. We offer a treatment to reverse the effects of materia, which we will offer for a fee. Your citizens will need it to reintegrate.”

“Hold it. I think I may want all of my citizens back. You get to keep nobody.”

“Your Highness, I can prove you otherwise. The employees I wish to keep are willing to stay. We have done tests. You can speak to everyone responsible.”

“Arrange that to be done, as well as the treatment to the materia to be performed. I will add an additional C10,000 per citizen for it.”

Rufus cringed a little. He was hoping to charge as much as C100,000 for it, but he realized that he wasn’t in a position to negotiate so he didn’t posit a new figure. He did, however, make a new offer.

“We would also like to offer the materia services for your citizens, since it can help them get over their trauma.”

“We’ll keep it in the back of our minds.” Hartian was uneasy about the “wonder-drug”, although he did find its effects “intriguing”.

“I take it we’re done here,” concluded Hartian. “Have a good day.” He then shook Rufus’ hand.

“It was our pleasure,” replied Rufus. “Tell me, before you go Your Highness, I want to ask you something about Roman society.”

“Go ahead.”

“How did a society that once embraced the ideals of war and domination come to be one that adopted peace and equality?”

Hartian smirked. “Roman society was always about equality. While in the past we have practiced slavery and ‘favoured’ certain peoples over others, Roman history is dominated by repeated cultural exchanges. We have often valued what others have imparted and incorporated it into our own, plus, over the centuries, we realized that tolerance works a lot better than oppression. You don’t survive as a people or a culture for over 2700 years without being considerate- no one’s going to work with you if you’re constantly working against them.”

“Still, Your Highness, don’t you think that ‘equality’ is nothing but a pipe dream? Every society has its dominant classes and yours is no different. How does Rome justify these ‘noble-myths’?”

“Because we believe in opportunity. A society does not grow unless it has the capability to adapt. If a society is always geared to one sector, it will collapse under its own weight. Eventually, the other classes will rise in revolt out of jealousy, so it is unwise to keep them under the boot for long.”

“…but all living creatures desire power, and justly. It is basic survival instinct, as natural as the breaths we take. Didn’t Communism teach you anything? Equality sounds nice but in practice nobody wants to be ‘equal’ to someone- they want to be ‘better’ than them. You must surely recognize that, right? But I suppose that noble-myth of equality is a source of comfort to many millions who never acquired or got a chance to acquire the success we have.”

Hartian smiled smugly, caught uneasy by Rufus' final remark, but he couldn't stay- it wasn't his job to engage in a philosophical debate. “Rufus, I promise we will discuss this some more later. Right now, I must go. Have a good day.”

The Royal Palace, Alpina

The crowd was chanting "kill the King! Kill the King!" with such ferocity that Mirus- now bound with chains- couldn't help but cry. He took a long look at the tall stone in front of him where he'd lose his head, knowing these were really his final moments.

"People of Alpina," Balthar began, "today marks the dawn of a new era. An era where the people rule Alpina. In the past, you have only taken orders from one man, a man who was often distant from your needs and from you as a people. Today will mark the turning point, a time where the rulers are no longer distant from you, the people. Today, I hereby proclaim the Alpinan Republic, with I, Balthar and my friend Gilbaran as your Chancellors."

Balthar then motioned to the guards. "Bring Mirus over!"

Mirus' guards proceeded to haul the King, now bawling his eyes out, over to the stone where he would be executed. They placed his neck on the stone so his head was keeling over it, right over top of the bucket that would collect his head. Drums began to roll as the executioner- a masked Gilbaran- raised his axe. In one swipe of the axe the King's head was lopped off, killing him as the crowd roared. The people stood around as they watched the rest of the Royal Family and several of their ministers- those whose loyalty to Balthar they could not secure- were also killed. The rest of the posts would be empty, left to the Alpinans themselves to fill via elections. Balthar and Gilbaran would hold their posts for life, but the rest of the posts they figured they could leave to the Alpinans because they knew nothing about how to select the right ministers for the job. They'd have to also figure out how the new government would work- Gilbaran was a poet and Balthar was a military man, and, despite their positions requiring them to lead plays or battles, governance would be a whole new world for them.

Meanwhile, in the periphery, several brigades in the Alpinan Army were planning to revolt against Balthar. They were loyal to Mirus and decided that they wouldn't let his memory go quietly. Tedem, the leader of the 1st Brigade, would lead the mutiny. "We'll let Balthar celebrate tonight. Tommorow we will remind him what his old job was supposed to be."

Isle of Tartarus
Elysium Sector

A man dressed in a jade green uniform with two white stripes running along the cuffs, sleeves, waistline, and neckline slowly rose from his chair in front of multiple computer screens seemingly encased in glass. A single display began scrolling data in the Sharinan language, a series of symbols that seems incomphrensible to most human civilizations. However, as the text and data scrolls towards a set position on the screen, a green border shimmered around the expanding list of symbols, one after another.

The man nodded and spoke into a streamlined microphone that wasn't readily apparent or visible.

"It is time. Project Gibbet is to commence.

Initating S-1 Protocol: Maximum Level Lockdown. All personnel are to report to their assigned duties and positions."

Massive blast doors began closing down throughout the secret underground facility two kilometers under the harsh unforgiving arctic-like mountains of the isle that Sharina had seized for its own several decades earlier. Automated defense systems with human overseers activated, covering any possible escape routes. Guards reached their assigned posts with thunderous footsteps, as the guards were fully clad in Sharina's top combat gear, including the latest in battle exo-suits. Thousands of security sensors covering all possible ranges of energy and matter, including infared, radio waves, ultraviolet, optics, sound, vibrations, and so forth activated throughout the facility.

These extraordinary measures spoke of the facility itself. It was not a research facility, a prison, an underground bunker, or a national-level command post, yet incorporated elements from all of these types of facilities. The facility was designed to withstand nuclear weapons for an indefinite period of time, being 2 kilometers underground, while being able to withstand a nuclear explosion from within should its fusion generators fail. The facility had a self-sustaining supply of water thanks to hydrogen fuel cell technology, and also a self-sustaining hydroponic farm enclosed within supplied by the water byproducts from the hydrogen fuel cells. The facility also had a fully enclosed and sustaining air recycling system, which would theoretically allow the facility to enjoy an breathable atmosphere fully independent of the atmosphere above-ground indefinitely or until the fusion power plants ran out of fuel. The only access between the facility and the outside world is a lomg elevator shaft, which in case of emergency, can be sealed by fusion bombs which would instantly transform the shaft into superheated metal and rock, effectively sealing the facility from the outside by two kilometers worth of fused rock and metal.

In short, should any disaster befall the facility, it would have no effect on the outside world. The design was necessary, for the facility was designed with Project Gibbet in mind, and Project Gibbet was no ordinary project even by top secret project standards.

In the deepest part of the facility near its most northern point, nearly three kilometers from the surface laid a massive spherical chamber easily two hundred meters in diameter. In the exact center of the spherical chamber, laid a large platform easily one hundred meters wide and fifty meters long, with a structure comprised of a large arch in the center extending upwards for twenty meters. Several anetnnae lined the arch structure, and several large rings could be seen running the entire interior of the sphere itself.

An announcement began the countdown.

"Initalizing Arch in 10 seconds...

9... 8... 7... 6... 5... 4... 3... 2... 1...

Engage!"

Suddenly, the rings around the interior walls of the sphere began pulsing with energy. The energy grew in intensity and swirled around quicker and quicker, seeming to chase its own tail, if it had any. Severla seconds passed before the energies abruptly leapt towards the antennae on the archway. A blinding flash blanketed the sphere interior in pure whiteness that seemed to last for an eternity. When the blinding flash subsidized, a swirling red vortex appeared in the archway, filling it completely, while the rings continued to feed energy into the antennas.

The five meter thick blast doors opened, revealing a remote controlled machine similiar to the Resource Sniffers that discovered the copper and oil deposits in the Koophari Desert. The machine slowly made it way across the narrow walkway and entered the archway and promptly vanished as if it never had been. Several minutes later, the probe returned with samples and terabytes of information gathered from the mysterious other side of the gateway. The probe began transmitting its data through hyper tranmissions to receptors in the sphere at the rate of a hundred gigabytes per second.

The screens in the other room where the man, apparently a scientist or leader, gave the command to begin the project, began to display video images of the other side of the portal. The images were interesting to say the very least.

The images revealed a landscape of rivers of lava, several volcanoes, and air that appeared to shimmer and quiver. The view resembled a typical landscape on the planet of Venus, but that all changed with the sudden appearance of several creatures in the distance. The image zoomed in onto these creatures and details began flooding in.

The creatures resembled brown humanoids with several spikes protuding from various points of their bodies, and had reddish eyes. Suddenly they began throwing some sort of fiery substance from themselves towards an unseen target to the left of the view. The group of spiky creatures charged off-screen towards the unseen threat or situation. Shortly thereafter, the view shrank as the probe made its return back into the gateway several minutes ago.

The place was no Venus, indeed.

Darkland

"Sir, we've discovered more probes," said Kooper to Bowser. "What should we do?"

"Examine where we've been compromised," started Bowser sternly. "If Smithy is going to come back, we have to make sure we leave no holes."

"Aye, sir."
"Oh, and Kooper, organize an invasion of the Mushroom Kingdom. The Alpinans have given us the perfect opportunity."
"...but sir, what about our relations? Don't we want to ally with them?"
"The Mario Brothers seem to think otherwise, and they've been moving too slow on that department for a while. We cannot sit idly while the land we need is up for grabs."
Kooper sighed. He had hoped that Bowser had turned a corner and would end these needless and ultimately fruitless wars, but he was mistaken. Perhaps he saw this coming- Bowser had been a military turtle his whole life, and nothing would change his outlook.
"It shall be done sir." Kooper trudged out of the room, disappointed, but he did his best to hide his temperment from his boss.

Bowser sat in his throne room for several minutes pondering what would be his next plan of attack. He wasn't sure that adding territory to his already-threatened land was a good idea, but he also knew that the absence of the Mario Brothers gave him the opportunity to give him the agriculturally-rich Mushroom Kingdom unopposed. He also hoped now to mount an expedition to bring the rest of the Mushroom World under his grasp- he was successful once, but Mario and Luigi ruined the party- this time, he could keep it.

Later in the day Bowser received news he didn't expect- that a new army was assembled in the Mushroom Kingdom and posed a considerable threat to the Koopas' forces. "The Romans? How did they get here?" Bowser wasn't worried about the Romans' abilities- in a set-piece war, the Koopas would win, he figured- but he thought the turtlepower losses would be too great, especially considering that he had an imminent war with Smithy. He had to come up with another tactic- he was determined to land the Mushroom Kingdom, and he would do it in any way that he could. He thought for several hours before he amassed his army in the castle courtyard.

"We're kidnapping Princess Peach Toadstool and arranging that marriage," he announced to his troops.
His troops proceeded to chatter amongst themselves. Kidnapping the Princess? Again? Doesn't he have any other ideas? "Sir," piped Lakitu, a turtle who travelled inside a cloud and hurled red spiky turtles called Spinys, "we've kidnapped the Princess how many times; and how often did it work?"
"I know, I know," replied Bowser, who was more jovial than usual, "not particularly inventive, but war doesn't have to be. This is an entirely different situation my friends. Mario isn't here to thwart my plans- this will be a slam dunk."
His soldiers proceeded to chatter amongst themselves once more. "What's the matter?" Bowser barked. "You don't have an option- we're doing this."
"So, do we announce this to the world or are we going to keep quiet about it this time around?" said Bullet Bill, a large, black bullet with hands and a rocket allowing him to launch. Knowing Bowser, who had always announced the fact he had taken Peach, he would say he would announce it.
"Bill, we're keeping this a secret," replied Bowser, to loud gasps in the crowd. "We can't let the Romans know we took her. Besides, it just may buy us time to get this marriage off the ground." Bowser then smiled widely. "Go on! You'll be departing tommorow at the crack of dawn with your orders."
Bill was actually impressed this time. "I have to say, I wasn't expecting Bowser to say he'd keep this a secret," he said to his fellow soldiers Lakitu, Thwomp, and Cheep Cheep- a big spiked block and a huge fish, respectively.
"Turns out he does have a few new ideas after all," replied Cheep Cheep.
"C'mon, that wasn't very inventive. It's merely the same plan he's used for two decades and see how far it's got him?" said the very cynical Thwomp.
"At least it's different. It's not much different, but it's different," said Lakitu. "We ought to give this attack a chance.

The Pescium Base

It was the crack of dawn when fellow Aquafilers Q. Claudius Pestus and M. Antonius Justus got up to have their morning coffees. The two of them- the early birds among an army that expected early birds out of its soldiers- sat in the break room and reflected on their bizzare turn on the continent.

"Centaurs, dragons, the Mario Brothers- really, how weirder could Pescium get?" started Pestus.
"I really don't know," laughed Justus in reply.
"It's like we're in the middle of some fairy tale. This is surreal."
"I'll say. It'll certainly be a great story to tell the kids when I get home. Hey, no longer will I have to make up a bedtime story."
Pestus pointed his finger at Justus as if to say "you have a point" while both laughed. "Say Marcus, do you ever think of where Rome places in all of this? Here we are, a 21st-century nation in the midst of a 14th-century folk tale."
"It's odd, yes; but if you ask me, I'm proud to be a Roman. These people don't have the things that we do- we have clean running water, a fair and equal justice and political system and vastly superior communications systems. These people have yet to know the values of modernity, we experience it every day."
"I don't know if I agree with that. Ever since we've had our first battles, I've wondered if being 'modern' really is better. I mean think about it- yes, we live a life that's comfortable, yes, but I don't think it's 'better'. I mean, we may have water filtration systems, but our air is filthy with all this pollution. Yes, they may not have the Internet or cellular phones, but their lives are so much simpler, easier to keep track of and not to mention less expensive. Besides, is our health all that better- this is just a guess, but their cancer rates must be nothing compared to our own."
"Hmmmnnn...good points. I never really thought of it that way."
Just then, the two soldiers received an urgent message to report to the control room. "This can't be good," remarked Justus.

He was right. The soldiers were told that Princess Peach had now gone missing from the Royal Castle but this time no one knew who took her. "We are suspecting Alpina is behind this, because it's like them to leave no warning," said Mardente to the crowd. "However, we are not discounting other possibilities. Each of you will receive a briefing of what we know of the events as you leave here today. Review it and report back later today once we know what our plan is. That is all."

As the soldiers shuffled out of the room, Luigi approached Mardente. "I think Bowser took Peach," he said to the Legate.
"What makes you so certain about that?" replied the Legate.
"The Alpinans don't have a reason to take Peach. Bowser does. It's not their style to 'return' for goods they couldn't get."
"I'm not so sure."
"Look, I understand you're worried, but I've been here longer than you have. Trust me."
"We'll give you a team to go to Darkland to obtain Peach."
"That is okay, I can go alone."
"Alone? Are you crazy?"
Luigi hesitated before he responded. This would be his first adventure by himself. "No. I did this once with Mario- I can do this on my own."
"Very well then. We will assemble a team to reacquire the other slaves we had lost in Alpina. Good luck Luigi."
"Thank you." With that, Luigi left to his quarters to prepare for his quest.

Koophari Desert

What was once a outpost village several months previously had grown into a bustling town with far more structures and activity. The hill where the large green pipeline was fully enclosed in a heavily fortified and reinforced dome-like structure to provide the best protection possible for the vital link to mainland Sharina in the Pescium continent. The various refineries were also reinforced out of the necessity for security in this unknown land. Several large apartment complexes glistened in the afternoon sun, having recently been completed in record time using Sharina's advanced construction technologies and extra manpower. The biggest difference between the outpost the three Mitzellians ecountered and the town that now exists is the addition of an enormous airfield with multiple runaways and several oversized hangars.

The need for the oversized hangars became apparent as a gargantuan aircraft emerged from one of the hangars, amid a large round of fanfare. The aircraft easily dwarfed anything in its path, making even classic 20th century jumbo jetliners seem like David compared to the Goliath sized Sharinan aircraft. There were large crowds assembled, for this event was a historic occassion- the launch of the first Nova air-frame in the new desert-like land. As the aircraft taxied onto the main runaway, easily two kilometers long, the crowds grew silent. The various megaphones scattered throughout the festivities began announcing the aircraft's preparations to launch.

"The Nova aircraft is preparing to launch."

"The aircraft's controls are green all across the board."

"Nova appears to be ready."

"It is launch now."

Suddenly, a tremendous blast of air and a deafening roar erupted from the aircraft's six engines, of each were the size of a single family home, as the aircraft blasted down the runaway. People throughout the crowds held their ears in pain, or for those with a high tolerance to loud noise, were looking intently at the aircraft.

Cheers erupted throughout the crowds as the aircraft lifted off the tarmac, and faded in size as it raced into the horizon at speeds just below the speed of sound.

===================================

The Nova aircraft had multitudes of scanning, mapping, and detection arrays and equipment. The aircraft flew to the north of the Sharinan desert town while one of its sister aircraft flew south towards parts unknown.

Both aircraft had unsurpassed endurance, as the Nova class of aircraft were a bold step forward not only in size and function, but also with power generation and fuel. Unlike all aircraft that came before it, the Novas were not powered by gasoline, oil, or liquid fuel. They were powered by a pebblehead nuclear reactor, giving the Nova's a range and air-time that would give 20th century aviators wet dreams. The Nova's could essentially stay in the air for months or even years without having to land to refuel, giving it practically greater range than nuclear powered naval vessels due to the aircraft's speed, and eliminates the need for airbases near enemy territory as the Nova's could very well launch from the center of Sharina and fly around the globe hundreds of times before needing to land. Despite this, the Novas were expected to land at the airbases at a regular basis for maintainence, checking their equipment, restocking on supplies for its crews, and so forth.

After two full days of mapping, both Novas managed to map out the entire desert region. The northern Nova, called Northstar, proceeded to map the northern expanses beyond the desert. The southern Nova, or Southstar, began mapping out the grasslands, swamps, and hills to the south of the desert.

Unknown to both Novas, Northstar was about to map out Bowser's terrain to the north of the deser, and Southstar was about to map out the Mushroom Kingdom to the south of the desert. The mapping process wouldn't be completed for two weeks, a feat impossible in one sitting for any conventional aircraft, and a feat that the Nova crews were extremely proud of accomplishing.

==============================

Several days after the launch of the Novas from the airfield in the Sharinan town, now known as Novae in honor of the aircraft, pictures of the Novas were put up throughout stores and several stores even began selling portraits and posters of the Nova.

http://img169.imageshack.us/img169/4869/nova10ti.jpg

http://img194.imageshack.us/img194/302/nova27ym.jpg

OOC: Sharina, I hope you don't mind my little side-story. Thought it would add something to the RP. TG me if I need to change anything.

IC: Bowser's plan went off without a hitch. The Mushroompeople were disoriented and dispirited without their ruler Peach, but their morale was much lower since they didn't know who took her. Fear was growing amongst the townsfolk, as well as apprehension with their human guardians, whom they now saw as "occupiers".

The first instance of trouble came around noon, right when the news of Peach's loss was first made imminent. The Mushroom Legion- the Roman Legion assigned to act as the Kingdom's protectors- arrived to their base to see "traitors" written in a big graffiti message on their door, along with skull and crossbones. Reports also came about that several Roman soldiers were assaulted on duty, and anti-Roman rhetoric was spreading through the streets.

"We have a bit of a situation here," said D. Cornelius Antonius (who was more commonly known as "Anthony"), the Mushroom Legate to Mardente. "The Mushroom Kingdom has started to openly display their hatred at our presence, and, increasingly, the human presence in their kingdom. If we don't act soon, a major revolt will be on our hands."
Mardente squirmed. "What do you think caused all this?"
"My hunch is that the Mushroom Kingdom has seen enough. The humans have brought them only despair, and while the humans have been able to rectify the situation each time, they must be thinking that they now need rulers who will be able to maintain order and not throw their Kingdom into turmoil every year. Let us not forget Mardente that they've been through these kidnappings regularly for the past twenty years. I think you'd agree that by now enough's enough."
"I see Anthony; but that doesn't explain why they would turn on us. We just got there."
"Yeah, but we're humans. To them we're all the same."
"Do you know who was supposed to be guarding Peach?"
"I will look into that Legate, and I will see to it that they get the proper reprimand."
"Good. For now, see if Luigi can diffuse-"
Mardente had spoken too soon. Luigi proceeded into his office covered in tomatoes.
"What happened?"
"Legate, you're going to have to act quickly," said a despondent Luigi. "It's about to turn into chaos."
Mardente pressed Luigi onwards.
"I went in front of the castle to speak to the Mushroompeople in an attempt to tell them that I had the situation under control. I told them that this was Bowser up to his old tricks again. Then they started pelting me with tomatoes and telling me that it was Mario and I who orchestrated this all along, because we could never keep Peach safe. I need to go wash up now."
"You do that." He then turned to Anthony. "Keep an eye on the situation. Arrest anyone you see taking things out of hand. Use your discretion, and be harsh if you have to. We have enough problems as it is- we can't afford another one."
"Aye, sir."

The Alpinan Woodlands

After about several weeks of rest and relaxation, Kirion and Tira were out again in the field, ready to resume their quest for the Sword and Pendant of Life, respectively. Joining them was Marth, who brought with him the added responsibility of finding Taftus' and Omara's professors. Slave scouting was a normal job for Marth, who had made it his mantra to eliminate slavery from the world, freeing one slave at a time.

Marth was always an explorer. Throughout his reign, he travelled outside of his kingdom in search of new kingdoms and peoples that he could ally with. Most of these alliance quests were done because Altea itself constantly faced attack and he needed to secure allies to prepare for a war he knew was coming. He did make sure he went back to his castle for at least two weeks in each month, but the past few weeks he'd been able to stay at the Roman base three days a week and be back at his castle for four, since the Romans were able to give him a lift with their Chinooks.

Usually on his quests, Marth knew what to expect, but on this particular journey, he was unsure. Balthar was a crafty centaur and he knew he was working on some kind of sinister project that would only make itself apparent once it was unleashed. He worried about what he would find and worried still if he would be able to handle it.

Along the way, Kirion and Tira noticed something among the trees that caught their eye. "Kirion, have a look at this," said Tira, pointing right in front of her. She pointed at a assemblage of trees that was shaped in the form of a fossilized Triceratops. "The Legend of the Pendant said that a dinosaur would be protecting the Pendant and the Sword. Let's have a look."

Sure enough, Tira and Kirion did find what they were looking for. The Pendant of Life was actually just a small bracelet, barely big enough to fit on Tira's wrist, while the Sword Of Life was a massive sword that, at first glance, would appear too big for any human to carry it. The two of them hesitated in anxiety as they picked up their prizes, worried that these might be their last moments if their souls weren't clean enough for the equipment. Both breathed a sigh of relief when they picked up their objects without incident, relieved that their ordeal was now finished.

"It can't be this easy, can it?" asked Kirion.
"I don't know. Something is up," replied Marth.

As Marth finished his sentence, he noticed that walls were beginning to form around the three of them. This wasn't just an assortment of trees- this was a magical Triceratops that purposely kept the Pendant and the Sword in his belly, of which the three were now inside. "I suppose this is our test," said Tira, who readied her Ring Blade for attack as Kirion and Marth did the same with their swords. They now had to fight their way out of the Triceratops' belly before he digested them.

Marth soon realized that his sword was useless for the task. The flesh wouldn't rip and occasionally made his sword stick inside the stomach wall. "It's all you guys now," he told them. "I'll keep an eye out for the stomach bacteria."
As he said that, Kirion and Tira made progress. Both of them effortlessly ripped through the stomach lining, and, after an hour digging, finally created a hole big enough for the three of them to escape, each of them covered in the Triceratops' blood. They had to run to make sure the dinosaur didn't collapse on top of them, just barely escaping as the dinosaur crumpled to the ground in a lifeless heap.

"We need to get out of here," said a now urgent Marth. "This is quickly turning into a situation that we can't control."
"Right you are," said a voice coming from the forest. It was Silarus, the weapons shop owner who sold to Balthar.
"Well, well, I didn't expect anyone would defeat old Horns here," said the ornery shopkeeper, referring to the defeated Triceratops; "and I didn't expect I'd be able to kidnap Marth, Kirion and Tira. My, how my luck has shot up today."
"There's three of us and one of you. You don't stand a chance," said a defiant Kirion.
"That's what you think." Within minutes, 5,000 people emerged from the forest, each of them zombies of some kind. Among their number were the two professors that Marth was assigned to take home.
Mitzel he thought to himself. Only they would drug people like this.
"I'm impressed you have passed the first test. However, if you wish to see your families again, you have to pass the second. Usually those who search for the Pendant and Sword only get to the first test, but you three are unique individuals."
"How many of these tests are there?" stammered Tira.
"That's for you to find out," replied Silarus. "Go get them boys." Within seconds, the 5,000 gathered people started to surround the three of them, each of them armed and extremely focused. They thrust Marth, Tira and Kirion into a battle for their lives, a tricky battle since it involved having to take the professors alive. Still, the three of them had faced difficult challenges before and were determined not to let this latest setback faze them. However, this fight would not be like anything they'd encountered before, being a challenge for their lives that would be a true testament to their character. They showed they were worthy to pick up the Pendant and the Sword- now they needed to prove they were worthy enough to keep them.

The Alpinan Woodlands

“Bring it on!” Tira’s determination was underlined by the fact that she wasn’t going to let this test get in the way of truly achieving her goal. She, like Marth and Kirion, was scared that the unpredictable nature of these tests might mean she may not survive, but she stopped it from crossing her mind- she toiled this long for the Pendant, and these zombies would not stop her.

However, as the three of them hacked away at the zombies they soon realized that they were not like anything they’d expected. They weren’t even real- they were, in fact, phantasms that were impervious to their weapons, a fact that quickly frustrated the trio.

“What are these things?” asked Marth as he slashed away fruitlessly at the ghosts. “They just keep coming,” replied Kirion, “I can’t figure this out.”

Tira, however, was the only member of their group who wasn’t discouraged. Her tenacity brought energy to Kirion and Marth and helped them to carry on with the fight, even though it was getting more hopeless as it went on.

One positive the trio realized was that these ghosts were not particularly strong, with their swipes being easily batted away, but they were relentless and couldn’t be pushed further enough away to allow any of the three to escape to find better positions. Morale was being sapped in the two males, who were getting discouraged at the lack of progress.

After the fight stretched to its third hour, the three of them began to get fatigued, Kirion more so than the other two. Slowly Kirion began to crumple to the ground, allowing a ghost to surge right into him. As Kirion fell to the ground in the impact, he let out a scream the ghost came away with his soul, carrying it as a phantasm like the rest of the figures present.

“KIRION!” screamed Tira. She couldn’t stand the thought of losing her friend.

It was then that she noticed her Pendant begin to glow and heart starting to race. She soon figured that the two were connected in some way and proceeded to bring her arms together, clasp her hands and position them on her chest and then bowed her head. “Let’s hope this works,” she said to herself.

Suddenly, a bolt of lightning came down on Tira and created an electric orb that surrounded her. Sensing a new surge of energy inside of her, she brought her arms apart, straightened them forward and then quickly put them in a spread-eagle formation. The entire battlefield became engulfed in Tira’s electrical energy, destroying each of the enemy phantasms and returning Kirion’s soul to his body.

“What, what happened?” said Kirion as he woke up.
“I don’t know,” replied Tira.
“That was a test of your heart,” said Marth. “It was quite obvious from what you did to end this battle Tira that we would only pass the test through displaying superior character, which we did.”
“Something tells me there’s another test,” replied Tira.
“Whatever it is, we’ll be ready for it,” said Kirion.

He would soon realize that he spoke too soon. Within seconds a rock dome that encased the trio replaced the woods.

“Strength,” said Marth, anticipating this test.
“Well then, this should be easy,” said Kirion as he took a swipe at the wall that resulted in his sword being deflected back.
“Or not,” commented Tira.
“I should have known this wouldn’t be that easy,” said Kirion, who now became dejected.
“Well, search for an opening,” said Marth. “This rock can’t be the same thickness all around.”
Kirion followed Marth’s advice. He battled all over the wall in the vain hopes of finding an opening, but he had no luck.
“Kirion! Look!” said Tira pointing to the centre.
Sure enough there was another glow in the ground. Kirion decided to try to jam his sword in the centre of the glow. “Here goes,” he said with a deep breath.

He stabbed the ground with a weak stab to no effect. Then Marth told him to force the Sword into the ground with all his strength. “This is the Strength Test, remember?” he said. Kirion did so, heaving the Sword into the ground with all his might.

The trick worked wonders. Within minutes of Kirion stabbing the ground the rock dome crumbled, with Tira and Marth forced to bat away the crumbling ceiling. It felt like a meteor shower to the trio, but they would manage to escape to the woods again. There they found Silarus.

“Well done you three,” he said, clapping. “Three completed tests. I shouldn’t have doubted you.”
“Where are the professors?” stammered Marth, who demanded to know where the two remaining Roman slaves were.
“Them? I’m afraid you’re on your own. Oh, and good luck getting home.” Silarus then promptly snapped his fingers, causing him to disappear right before their eyes.
“Our tests are not over,” said Kirion. Time would prove him right.

Bowser’s Castle

Luigi’s quest proceeded better than he had hoped. He was shaky in the early going, but the more Koopas he managed to evade or defeat the more confident he became. His journey led him back to a familiar place- Bowser’s Castle, and a showdown with King Bowser himself.

“I see you’ve come for your precious Princess,” said Bowser defiantly from his throne. “Let’s see what you’ve got.”

Within minutes, the throne room became a lava pit, with Luigi’s side being reduced to a small precipice but long precipice. “Intriguing,” stated Luigi, “but you won’t faze me.”

Luigi’s pronouncement was followed by a furious search for anything to latch on to. He would eventually find it in the form of a suspended ring Bowser used to banners from. He donned his cape, ran from his precipice and flew to the ring, dodging the flames coming from Bowser’s mouth as he went. He latched onto the ring and hurled himself onto the precipice holding the ring and then raced along the precipice. Attaining the speed he wanted, he set sail with his cape, flew through the air and then dive-bombed onto Bowser, knocking him insensate. He then noticed Peach bound and gagged right behind Bowser’s throne dressed in a wedding gown. Luigi quickly undid her ropes and gag and received a warm hug from the Princess. “Thank you. I knew it was in you,” said Peach. Luigi then smiled before adopting a stern look. “We’ve got to get out of here.”

Luigi and Peach proceeded to trek through the Mushroom World, moving slowly to allow for rest and relaxation both desperately needed. However, as the days progressed both noticed that the Mushroompeople were beginning to grow hostile towards them, a feeling Luigi did not understand where it came from.

Two weeks later, when Luigi and Peach arrived triumphantly at the Roman Base, it became clear. A day after partying with Peach at the Base, Peach decided it was time to return to her Kingdom so she could restore the Toadstool crown to power. As she went with Luigi, she noticed the Mushroom Legion withdrawing from her Kingdom. “What happened?” she asked Anthony. “Take a look” came the dejected reply from Anthony.

She couldn’t believe her eyes. In the distance, she saw Bowser heading to the stand just outside of her castle. Her and Luigi sat in stunned silence as Bowser triumphantly declared that the days of war with the Mushroom Kingdom were now over and a new era- the Era of the Koopas- was born.

“People of the Mushroom Kingdom, as your new Emperor I promise you untold decades of peace and prosperity,” pronounced Bowser in a speech televised across the Mushroom Kingdom, “The Mario Brothers and the Toadstools have brought you nothing but chaos and despair.”
“Never mind he caused it all,” whispered a defiant Luigi.
“Shh!” stammered Peach. “I want to catch all of this.”
“For years,” continued Bowser, who did not notice Luigi or Peach, “the Mario Brothers wanted you to believe that it was I that captured Princess Toadstool time and time again and held her for ransom. Today I am here to say that I did no such thing. The kidnappings were all just an elaborate ploy the Toadstools used to legitimize their own power, because they knew that if they kept the country in chaos they could distract you from their dictatorial rule. I was their scapegoat, blamed for all their ills when it was they who brought it all on.”
Bowser then proceeded to slam his fist on the stand. “No more! Their days of tyranny and oppression are over. Today you receive an Emperor who will genuinely care for your needs and will provide you a freedom and prosperity you have never thought possible.”

Kooper then took the stand as Bowser sat on the Mushroom throne that had been hauled outside. “All hail Emperor Bowser I, Supreme Overlord of the Mushroom Empire!” On cue, the crowd then all bowed in unison, chanting “Hail Bowser! Hail Bowser” for roughly fifteen minutes.

“We have to get out of here,” said Peach who turned to Anthony. The three of them boarded Anthony’s transport Hummer back to the Roman Base.

“For the past month or so the Mushroom Kingdom was thrown into chaos,” started Anthony. “Ever since you were kidnapped really,” he continued, referring to Peach.

“Anyway,” continued Anthony, “the Kingdom was subject to several riots everyday, which increased in intensity with every passing week. The Mushroompeople were getting restless that you kept getting kidnapped, and decided to turn on any human they could find, including us. A week ago, Bowser went through the entire Mushroom World on a journey of conquest, leading to today when he came to the Mushroom Kingdom. The Mushroompeople proceeded to let him in unopposed, cheering him wildly as he entered battle with us, who were already extremely depleted because of the riots. He had an easy time of it, annihilating most of my troops and most of my equipment. What you see here is a skeleton of what I had before.”

Anthony sighed. “Mardente won’t be happy to hear this.” Luigi and Peach, on the other hand, were scared- with the Toadstools out of power; they both faced an uncertain future. Were they fugitives? Would they still have a home? What of Mario, Daisy and Percival? It was a day they never thought would happen, but little did they realize that the worst had yet to come.

The woods were a little darker than what Kirion, Marth and Tira were accustomed to. That was the group's first indication that things were not what they seemed, since the forest was unexpectedly dark for 3PM.

The other indication that things were awry was when the group believed they had found their way back to the main route from Alpina only to see more forest. They began to notice that no matter where they turned was forest, even in areas where they were certain was a field.

"This is the strangest test I've ever seen," commented Marth who eyed the trees quizzically. "There's got to be a trick or something."

The group mulled around for another two hours before eventually taking a rest by a pond, tired and hungry. It was here where Kirion started to get frustrated.

"Why can't we find the way out?!" steamed Kirion as he slammed his Sword into the ground. "This forest seems to go on forever."

"Kirion, now's not the time to give up," opined Marth.
"Do you know the way out? Do you?" Kirion now became testy.
"Settle down. Certainly you won't get out of this by giving up."
"You're all talk but no action. Why are you even here? This was Tira's and mine's journey, not yours."
"I came to save the professors."
"Yeah, and you failed."
Marth sighed, then responded after a bit of a pause. "Technically speaking, we haven't left Alpina yet. I still have time to complete my task."
"That's what I thought this was about. Personal glory."
"What are you talking about?"
Kirion then began to speak in a voice mocking Marth's voice. "'Oh, I'm here to save the professors!' 'I go out of my way to save slaves but I neglect my kingdom!' 'My people mean nothing, but someone else's slaves? Ohhh! Now we have a problem.' You make me sick."
Marth began to get a little irate, meaning that Kirion had went too far since it was not often when Marth got angry. "You're making a lot of baseless accusations. My people are well taken care of."
"So why are you out here and not sitting on your throne? Hmmn? Explain that one to me!"
"I am a man of principles. The Alpinans have made others suffer long enough."
"Meanwhile, you drag us into this, this wilderness without any hope of survival. You've done nothing except talk. Meanwhile, I'm hungry and tired and unless you can give me some food or a way out of this place, I'll kill you."
Kirion paused for a second and then unsheathed his Sword. "You know what, why don't I kill you right now so I can eat you? I'm sure you're especially delicious right about now."
Marth then pulled out his own sword. "Don't do this. You'll regret it."
"BOYS!" Tira screamed. "What do you think you're solving?"
Kirion then turned to Tira. "Who died and made you the Ambassador of Reason?"
"We aren't going to get out of this forest if we kill each other," replied Tira. "Even you can admit that."
"She's right," said Marth. "We have to work together."
"There you go again! Always going on about 'doing what's right'. Meanwhile, none of you have provided me any food. I'm starving, and I'll literally kill you both just so I can feed myself."
"Kirion, relax." Marth began to get worried.
"No I will not relax!" He then took a swipe at Marth only for Marth to easily bat it away.
"What the-?" Kirion was amazed at Marth's swordplay, but carried on, taking another swipe at the Altean. He then began to take swipes at Tira, which were also easily batted away. The three of them continued their fight until Kirion began to notice his sword rusting away.
"I don't believe it," said a now visibly worried Kirion. Kirion couldn't understand how the previously invincible sword could suddenly turn to brass against Marth.
"The Sword can't be used for vanity," exclaimed an incensed Tira, "you know that."
"How is this vanity? I'm hungry and I want results!"
"'I'm hungry and I want results,'" chimed Marth. "That sure sounds like vanity to me."
"All right 'Mr. Know-It-All'. I may not have my Sword, but I still have my fists."
"...and I still have my sword. Don't test me."
"Guys, we're getting nowhere." Tira sighed, beginning to get frustrated herself.
"You can say that again," said Kirion sarcastically.
"Are you really trying to be a nuisance? Because you're doing a really good job of it," replied a now angry Tira.
Marth could only laugh. "Ah, how the tide has turned."
"Shut-up Mr. Smarty Pants!" snarled Kirion.
"You know what, you are mighty tasty. I don't know why I didn't see it earlier," said Tira, who now started to look longingly at Marth.
He unsheathed sword again. "Don't come near me. You'll regret it." Marth was beginning to wonder if the forest itself was enchanted.
Marth’s words went unheeded. Tira and Kirion both made lunges at the Altean, both of which were batted away quickly but forced him to stay on his toes. Kirion had by now pulled out the other sword he carried, and this one was much stronger than the Sword of Life was now. Tira, meanwhile, tried to get behind Marth and get him encircled by his two adversaries, but Marth’s awareness skills made sneaking up on him difficult. Still, with one sword to their three blades (counting Tira’s Ring Blade weapons), Marth’s position was extremely precarious.

They parried for well over an hour, with neither really gaining the upper hand. Marth had been knocked off his feet a few times but neither Tira or Kirion could take advantage of it though Marth’s superior swordplaying skills. As the fight wore on, Marth noticed Tira’s and Kirion’s appearances began to change, with their eyes getting more bloodshot and their smiles becoming wider. They’ve become animals, he thought in horror. He then started entertaining the thought of killing them both. It’s either they kill me or I kill them.

Suddenly, Kirion and Tira collapsed onto the ground, writhing in pain. Both began to vomit and convulse and, after fifteen minutes of increasing pain, begged Marth to kill them both. “I can’t. We have to stick together,” he said in reply. “Please!” screamed Tira, “we’re sorry we turned on you! End our misery, please!” She started to cry, while Kirion grabbed Marth’s hand in attempt to apologize, as he was now unable to speak.

Within seconds, both Kirion and Tira recovered completely. The sky turned blue and in the distance was a village. “Civilization! We did it! We finished the tests!” screamed Kirion in excitement. All three of them proceeded to hug each other in celebration.

“Good job you three,” said a voice behind them. “You’ve finished those tests- but now this will be the ultimate one.” The three turned to find Balthar and his Andromedan Army behind them.

“Boys, go get them. Their heads will make interesting trophies.” Balthar then grinned. They may have finished the tests for the Sword of Life and the Pendant of Life, but they’ll have to get past me to live to tell the tale.

Governor Padish read the latest reports streaming in from various sources. The paperwork, or rather, electronic-work can get pretty tiring for one in such a position of responibility that one such as Padish is engaged in. Padish read the first report with a mixture of curiousity and concern.

Report NWP-002-03-14-2887:

"Resources allocated towards the New World Project is expected to increase as several major resource deposits have been discovered in the continent known as Condensa. The mines established in the mountain range on the continent has revealed several veins of gold, silver, zinc, and copper. The discovery of several oil fields in the far southeastern part of Condensa will be of great asset in providing the petroleum needed for production of plastics and medicines. With the new resources, the New World Project can be accelerated substantially. Factories, mines, and oil rigs are being constructed as quickly as possible, as well as various military bases and fortifications to protect these resources.

The scouts in the New World have discovered odd structures and objects seeming to defy gravity to the north and south of the town of Novae. The objects resemble brick walls or blocks with a question mark on them. Several other oddities include pipes that seem to be infinitely longer on the inside than it shows on the outside, and several aquatic creatures seeming to fly in mid-air yet retain their aquatic abilities. The floating walls, blocks, and pipes must have some kind of advanced anti-gravity generator or hovering technology that might prove invaluable to ongoing Sharinan anti-gravity and hovercraft research efforts.

Two large castles have been discovered. One is located approximately two thousand kilometers to the north of Novae, while the other is located roughly the same distance to the southeast of it. The northern castle appears to be made of heavy and dark colored stone, possibly obisidian or volcanic granite. There seems to be a substantial number of anti-gravity structures surrounding the castle, as well as odd turtle-like creatures. The castle to the south is apparently comprised of red bricks or granite, along with some domes that resemble the tops of mushrooms.

Ground parties are being sent out to explore these locales, as well as discover any potential resource deposits. The ground parties will be escorted by several armored vehicles and the heavy duty infantry to handle any potentially hostile situation that may arise.

End Report."

Padish rubbed his temples as he contemplated the next phase of things to come. Things were looking good, but these strange objects, locales, and creatures might mean trouble in the future. No matter, Sharina will preserve, as always.

The Pescium Base

“That was Valerius, the new Roman Emperor,” said Mardente to an assistant. “He said he’s going to be paying us a visit sometime next week, but he didn’t specify when.” He had a dour look on his face with the knowledge that barely anything was going right for his colony.

While running an errand, he bumped into Anthony. “So, any news?”
Anthony sighed. “I hate to tell you this, but we lost control of the Mushroom Kingdom.”
“Great. Just great.” Mardente flung his hands skyward in frustration, having a look of, “what else could go wrong” written on his face.
“I take it you’re having a bad day.”
“ ‘Bad’ is an understatement. Valerius called earlier today and said he’s paying us a visit.”
“Did he say when?”
“No; and I don’t know what to tell him. Nothing’s gone right at this colony from the minute we set foot.” He paused. “So what happened with the Mushroom Kingdom?”
“The short answer is that Bowser took over. The long answer is that after Peach got kidnapped the Mushroompeople rose up in revolt against us and kept up their revolt until we left. There was nothing we could do. Bowser aided their revolt and effectively drove us out.”
“Did Bowser give any indication about his plans towards us?”
“Not at the moment, but we are anticipating the worst.”
“How much is left of your Legion?”
“One Cohort, sir.”
“One Cohort?”
“That’s right- one Cohort.”
“Brother.” Mardente began to furiously pace in the hallway. “I’ll send a communiqué to Giorgios Redomius (OOC: Caesaria-Manium’s Consul) asking him to send us some troops. For now, do what you can to set up an effective Legion to patrol the border with the Mushroom Kingdom and protect against any threat. We don’t have a lot but we must do what we can.”
“Aye, sir.” Anthony gave Mardente the Roman salute to which Mardente returned.
“Aye”. We need all the luck we can get.

The Alpinan Woodlands

Kirion relished fighting Balthar. He thought to himself that the three of them had tackled 1,000 soldiers before and won, so he thought the Andromedan troops wouldn’t be much harder. Reality would soon set in.

The Andromedans were unlike any other soldier Kirion, Tira or Marth had ever fought. Afflicted by the effects of materia, the Andromedans did everything they were told and did not yield, willing to fight to the death. Such a temperament was not unusual to the trio, especially Kirion, who, like all Emarkin, would rather die in freedom than live as a slave.

What was worse, however, was that these were soldiers that were stronger than normal soldiers and potentially stronger than the three of them put together. For the three of them, this was the first time they had encountered materia-afflicted soldiers, and none of them were liking the experience.

Receiving the bulk of the blows and the trouble was Tira. The Andromedans, for some reason, were keying more on her than they were on Marth and Kirion and thus had overpowered her first. She was knocked to the ground and held there facing the ground. Her hands were then subsequently bound together behind her back and carried on the shoulder of the soldier who captured her. It was here that Kirion noticed what was happening.

“TIRA! NO!” He started to run towards her only to be himself knocked to the ground, also bound.

Tira’s captor continued to his task, ignoring Kirion’s plea. She was placed on the back of the soldier’s horse, but before the soldier could himself mount it, an arrow struck him in the head, killing him instantly.

“GO!” A voice could be heard from the forest by Marth who had turned to see what the commotion was about, and, from the tone of the voice, he knew it was directed at him. He went inside the woods to find a dwarf with a bow and arrow. The dwarf didn’t waste any time addressing him. “We will take care of your friends.”

Considering that the dwarf most likely shot the arrow that killed Tira’s captor, Marth obliged. Within minutes, some 8,000 Alpinans of various races were converging on that very battleground, which caused alarm to Balthar. Fifteen minutes had passed before Marth saw Tira and Kirion again, shaken but in good condition.

“You guys okay?” asked Marth to his friends.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” said a dishevelled Tira. Kirion nodded yes. Five minutes later the army that had saved them moved several kilometres southward, where they encountered Tedem.

“I’m happy to see that you three made it,” said the centaur.
“Are we being put to another test?” asked a defiant Kirion.
“Relax. You’re safe now.”
“So…what is this?” inquired Tira.
“I am Tedem, Brigadier General of the 1st Brigade of the Alpinan Military. That’s the title King Mirus gave me anyway- my real title is General of the People’s Liberation Army of Alpina (PLAA), a faction of the Alpinan Military that opposes Balthar’s dictatorial ascension to the throne. We had heard that you, Kirion and Tira, had found the Sword and Pendant of Life and decided that we needed to meet up with you. When we saw you three under attack, we decided to strike, considering that Balthar had brought only a fraction of his own men. There was no more fighting after we rescued you, since Balthar smartly retreated after seeing he was outnumbered.”
“…but, those people were so much stronger than us,” said Tira, “they could have easily taken you.”
“We are seasoned warriors, in much the same class as you are,” said Tedem. “You were considerably outnumbered, but with us, their skill-set would have been no match with our numbers, and Balthar knows that.” Tedem paused before continuing. “We will escort you out of the Kingdom, but should you ever require re-entry to Alpina, we will gladly assist you. An enemy of Balthar is a friend of ours.”
“Thank you,” said Marth, “but where are the Professors?”
“The Romans? We figured you would ask.” Tedem then motioned Marth over to a tent where the Professors were staying. “We rescued them. We figured it would be a goodwill gesture to show to the Romans.”
“Thank you,” said Marth warmly. “Rome will greet this news positively.”
“Rest up when you get back home,” said Tedem as he sent off the trio. “Your fight is far from over.” Truer words could not have been said.

"Forward!"

The loud, albeit artifical voice cracked loudly across over the landscape, as several dozen armored vehicles of varying types slowly advanced up towards a small fortress castle on the top of a hill. The turtle creatures were nowehere to be seen, but they seemed hostile. Several days earlier, a group of the biped turtle creatures attacked an exploration squad, inflicting suprising casaulties due to their almost mindless and superior tenacity. Thus, the attack upon the turtle castle was apparently justified.

The vehicles stopped, as several large aircraft flew over the fortress, dumping two types of gas, sleeping gas and tear gas. The turtle creatures apparently did not show any significant technological parity or even the technology to ward off gas attacks. The fortress remained silent as the remainder of the Sharinan forces converged on it. After another hour of advances and gas bombardment, the first infantry troops reached the walls of the fortress. The drawbridge was sealed tightly, but the Sharinan commanders did not want to damage the fortress any more than they had to. A fortress with all the strange devices, structures, objects, and creatures within would make for an invaluable research outpost that can be easily defended if need be.

Several heliocopter gunships made their way above the fortress, and began dropping special forces troops in hopes of opening the drawbridge from the inside. Strangely, the special operatives didn't ecounter any of the biped turtles, which began to nag at their minds. They knew something was up, but they did not quite know what it was yet. Suddenly several blue blocks of stone with animated faces slammed in their way with a "Thwomp!" sound. Two troopers were crushed to death, as they were the ones who were advancing ahead of the others. The stones, amazingly, growled and then withdrew upwards without any chains, ropes, or support mechanism in a feat that seemed to defy gravity.

The troopers continued even more cautiously through the fortress, wary of any more "Thwomp!" sounding blue faced stones and any other potential dangers. Their wariness was rewarded as they ecountered white floating blobs with faces and stubby arms on them. Several troopers turned their backs to converse with the troopers behind them, and suddenly, the white blobs came to life. They hissed and growled as they put on a frightening expression on their pudgy faces, along with some impressive set of dentures. Their sounds could be made out as "Boo!" and "Grrrr!" which alerted the troops with their backs. They quickly turned around, and the ghosts suddenly stopped and covered their faces. One trooper turned his back, and the ghost behind him seemingly came to life again and screamed towards the trooper. The trooper didn't turn around in time, as the ghost slammed into him with its fang filled mouth wide open. The other troops opened fire, and the ghost began writhing as it wasn't quite a ghost, considering its teeth were solidly materialized enough to bite the unfortunate trooper to death. The ghost collapsed to the ground, having a significant amount of its body scattered all over the place from the passage of the bullets through its ectoplasmic body.

The group of troopers eventually reached the controls for the drawbridge, and managed to raise it. The special operatives quickly warned the incoming troops of the dangers within the castle, and the Sharinan troops cleared the castle of its dangers methodically. The "Thwomp!" stones were induced to crash down, then were dragged away in nets into confined spaces, and the ghosts were tricked into flying into a single room, as they apparently weren't able to fly through walls or doors effectively like normal ghosts could. Nevertheless, twenty troops were stationed around the room the ghosts were trapped in for good measure, as the ghosts demostrated that they refuse to advance if the apparent victim has his or her face facing directly towards the ghosts. The Sharinan forces manage to reach the innermost part of the fortress, and discovered two larger than normal biped turtles conversing in the room. One turtle had a red head, red-rimmed sunglasses, a nasty scowl on its face, and seemed somewhat muscular. The other turtle had some sharp spikes on its shell, but otherwise was a larger and more muscular version of the ordinary biped turtle. The Sharinans quickly seized the initative, throwing nets made of weaved titanium and carbon fibers over the two turtles. Shortly thereafter, the fortress was secured and Sharina began its first consolidation efforts in the newly acquired lands surrounding the fortress castle.

Little did the Sharinans know they captured one of Bowser Koopa's children, Roy Koopa, and a high ranking Koopa commander named Boom-Boom.

“Hello Your Highness, good to see you,” said Mardente extending a nervous handshake to new Emperor Valerius IV Maderia. “How can we help you today?”
“Cut the crap,” said Valerius. “You’re shoulder-deep in it as it is.”
Mardente gulped. “I assure you, Your Highness, that we have everything under control.”
“That’s not what the communiqués have been telling me. I keep hearing that you always need forces, that whole towns are disappearing and that your Armed Forces are continually overwhelmed. When I heard you lost the Mushroom Kingdom, I almost lost it. You clearly don’t have a clue about what you’re doing.
“Your Highness-”
“Don’t ‘Your Highness’ me. Excuses will only get you fired.”
Mardente gulped again. “So…what’s going to happen here?”
“As of today, you will no longer be the head man in Pescium. I am installing a Consul effective immediately. The Consul comes from Manium, and thus has some experience in this new world. You are a military man Mardente and you shall remain one. I have decided for now to spare you your job, but one more slip up and I’ll be asking for your resignation. Is that understood?”
“So, wha-, wha-, what’s his name?”
“You mean ‘her’. Claudia, step this way please.”
In came Claudia Maria Syndirisa, the former Legate of the Dinosaur Legion on Manium. She had since become a distinguished politician in Nova Roma, securing a diplomatic deal with Eggerland on the Manium continent, and was a proven character in international relations. Syndirisa’s task was now to weave the Pescium colony- now called “Pescium Romanum”- into a continental power and broker deals with Darkland and Alpina to ensure its continued existence.
“I shall leave you two to become acquainted.”
Mardente’s first thought was that he was doubly insulted: first, a woman replaced him, but secondly, it was not just any woman- it was a military woman. A macho man like most in the army, he always saw women as inferior, so this was a blow to his psyche. Then he took a closer look at her and realized she was stunning.
“You’re beautiful,” he said to her.
“If you think you’re going to sweet-talk me out of work, you’d be wrong,” said Syndirisa. “F***ing me won’t get rid of any of your problems, and besides, I’d never f*** you anyway.”
Mardente squirmed. She can’t reject me. “Sweetie, I’m not like that. I appreciate beauty when I see it. You’re a woman to me- a very beautiful woman.”
“Get to work before I fire you for sexual harassment.”
“Yes Claudia.”
“CONSUL!”
Mardente grumbled back to his desk, fuming inside, while Syndirisa met the Emperor outside.
“Thank you for this opportunity,” she said to him. “Do you think it’ll work?”
“Claudia,” replied Valerius, “I didn’t pick you simply because you’re a woman. I picked you because you’re good. Mardente needs a shot in the arm- or a kick in the groin- and you will provide that. Plus, you will be the stabilizing influence this colony needs. Right now I have people too scared to move here because they’re worried they’ll become slaves. I have to act, and I have to act now.”
“What shall we do with Bowser?”
“I’m going to meet him today. If it doesn’t work, you know what to do.”
“Absolutely Your Highness.”
Valerius smiled as he walked away. Claudia will work wonders here; and by Jove we definitely need it.

Bowser’s Castle

“Sir, a one ‘Roman Emperor Valerius IV’ is here to see you,” said Kooper.
“Send him in,” said Bowser. So now what do the Romans want?
“Hello my furry friend. Glad to see you finally. You know, beating you in Super Mario Bros. 3 was the hardest thing I ever did- until I realized you were as dumb as a post. I mean, how could you not know that the ground below you couldn’t handle your weight? You had to have been stupid.”
Bowser was not amused. “Nice to know that the Romans are such warm, hospitable people.”
“At least we don’t have separation anxiety.” He let it sit for a little before continuing. “Tell me, in all those years you kidnapped the Princess, did you ever get her to sleep with you? I mean, you had her for so long, surely you must have ‘done the deed’; and she must have been good, because you kept going after her.”
“Do you like being a problem?”
“Only as much as you do.”
“Tell me what you want before I make you refried beans.”
“It’s simple- the Mushroom Kingdom. Your forces are stationed there illegally.”
“According to the Mushroompeople I am not; and considering it is their Kingdom they can have me there if they wish.”
“Ah, but you see, the King is still at large. You have not yet legally obtained the Crown; and considering that Princess Peach Toadstool is still governing in exile, you are still in a legal quagmire.”
“Doesn’t matter. The Mushroompeople want me and me is what they’ll get.”
“They may want you now, but I assure you later they won’t. Once they realize that you’re only using them for your own ends they’ll kick you out faster than you can throw a fireball.”
“Prove it that I’m only using them.”
“Prove me otherwise. You willingly kidnapped their own, legally appointed Princess and held her illegally against her will and not just once but many times. You also turned the other Kings of the Mushroom World into animals and furthermore, you even turned the Mushroompeople themselves into bricks and stone. We can link you to all of these crimes, and no, the evidence doesn’t come from a video game. They’re real, so I suggest you come onside- or else we will be forced to do it for you.” Valerius then left before Bowser could make any kind of reply.
“Who was that jerk?” said Bowser to Kooper.
“Our new enemy?” replied his First In Command.
“Precisely.”
“…but sir, we can’t afford another war. We’ve got those missing Thwomps and Boom Boom to worry about, and Roy Koopa.”
“The Romans won’t be hard to handle, trust me.”
Kooper cocked his left eyebrow to give Bowser a look of “oh really?”
“Fine. Prepare for a war with Rome and prepare a task force to figure out what happened to my son and my soldiers. Oh, and try to get as many Mushroompeople into the Army as you can- force them if you have to. We will need them.”
“Aye, sir.” Kooper sighed. One day, Bowser will learn. I just hope it won’t be on his last.

“Done and done,” said Valerius to aide Q. Claudius Aurelius upon entering his private jet. “I’ve got Bowser right where I want him.”
“So, what exactly did you do?” asked Aurelius.
“Oh, I told him that we can definitively link him to all the kidnappings of Princess Peach Toadstool and all the atrocities he committed against the Mushroompeople. I left him quivering.”
“…but sir, what if we don’t find any proof? We haven’t exactly investigated anything.”
“Oh, Quintus, of course we’ll find proof. Luigi will help us out, I assure you.”
“I can’t say I share your optimism Your Highness. Bowser’s popularity ratings are through the roof.”
“The Mushroompeople are jaded. They’ll take anyone that says they’re a ‘stabilizing force’. The fact remains that once the Mushroompeople have been tricked they’ll turn on Bowser. Trust me, I promise.”
“You have a high amount of optimism for a man who stands on shaky ground.”
Valerius shrugged it off.
“Gnaeus (OOC: Valerius’ given name), I’ve been your friend for almost your entire life. I know you like to scrap and I like the fact you have a lot of confidence, but right now, this war isn’t in your hands. You don’t have any evidence so far linking Bowser to the crimes- in fact, you don’t even have a starting point for that; and you’ve effectively declared war. I’m worried you’re in over your head here.”
“Quintus,” replied Valerius while putting his hand firmly on Quintus’ shoulder. “When have I ever backed down from a fight? We can both agree that Bowser is looking for a fight, and a fight is what I shall give him. Besides, all that evidence can come later, can’t it?” He then turned to the pilot. “Get us out of here before we have to start paying taxes.” Valerius smiled, but inside he knew that Quintus might be right. Still, he knew that war was inevitable and it was smarter for him to put the ball in Bowser’s court instead of his. Besides, he wasn’t going to let Quintus talk him out of his first war as Emperor- this provided him a chance at glory and he was going to make the most of it.

The Royal Palace, Alpina

“That Sword would have been mine!” screamed a frustrated Balthar upon entering his chambers. “Kirion and Tira got lucky.”

Balthar cared little about Kirion and Tira- he cared, more importantly, about their prizes. He saw the Pendant and the Sword of Life as symbols of power, and if he could obtain both, there was nothing anyone could do to stop him, he believed. Their combined power would have rendered opposition meaningless, and, with Tedem’s Army prepared to meet him, gaining any kind of an edge would have been important.

“Tell me sir,” said Rendam, one of his slaves, “if you only wanted the Sword and the Pendant, why didn’t you just take them?”
“Those two would have made valuable slaves- especially Tira,” replied Balthar. “I could always use more sex slaves.”
“That Sword would have killed you then.”
“No it wouldn’t have.”
“Yes it would. The Sword can’t be used for vanity.”
“Who says I’m vain? You?”
“I’ll get back to work.”
“Good.”

Balthar then exited his quarters to meet with Gilbaran. The two of them had seen Tedem oppose them and decided it was time to send his recalcitrant Brigadier a stern message to get onside.

“Do you have Silarus’ new potion?” asked Balthar.
“Yes I do,” said Gilbaran, referring to the potions the two of them bought last week.
“Good. Give the weapons a good spray and give it to my forces. Tedem will be our first ‘test’.”
“Roger sir.”

Southern Alpina

Mario didn’t like being away from home this long. He hadn’t slept in over a month, his clothes were becoming ragged and- worst of all- he had now grown a beard. The Alpinans kept him and his companions alive by the thinnest of margins, but denied them anything more than six hours of sleep on a stone plank and five minutes of break from their hard labour.

“Dirk Drain-Head never had to deal with this s***”, said Mario to Daisy as he was carrying a heavy log with her. “You know, every time he had a problem he was able to solve it. Me? I can never figure this out.”
“You know what else he did? HE WORKED!” said an Alpinan official who proceeded to whip Mario.
“Mario, I understand you’re upset, but they still haven’t gotten over that escape,” replied Daisy after they carried the log well away from the official.
“Yeah, but that was two months ago.”
“You know the Alpinans. Forgiveness isn’t in their vocabulary.”
“Yeah; and apparently ‘urgency’ isn’t in Luigi’s.”
“C’mon. Luigi cares- I’m sure he has a reason for this delay. The Mushroom Kingdom isn’t as simple as it was, and Alpina’s a different kind of enemy than Bowser is.”

Mario had tried to escape a previous compound shortly after his capture. He hatched a plan to hijack a truck used for cargo to lift himself, the King and Daisy out of the compound, and had even shaved to make sure he wouldn’t be spotted. However, at the checkpoint, he was stopped by the gate official and when he informed the official of his (fake) name and his duties, King Percival had given away themselves when he told Mario, “oh, stop playing Mario. I know that’s not your real name.” The three of them were then apprehended at the spot and carried to where they are now, at an intensive labour camp. Daisy would blame Mario for the mishap since she thought the King should have been in the cargo bay away from the front seat, but Mario, in his pride, impugned the King and refused to believe he didn’t think out his plan better.

“I really don’t know what the point of all this is,” continued Mario. “All I do is carry logs. For what? To teach me a lesson? I think they’ve punished me hard enough.”

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to Mario, Luigi, Yoshi, Boshi and Wooster had already embarked on a plan to rescue his brother. They did some scouting and eventually found the slave compound where Mario was kept. They hatched a plan whereby Luigi- supported by Yoshi- and Wooster- supported by Boshi- would wait by the side of the road several miles from the slave compound- a logging complex judging by the trucks that use it- and wait for a truck to come out so it could be ambushed.

The plan worked to perfection. Yoshi and Boshi ate the driver and his companion and left their eggs- which would hatch in ten minutes- by the side of the road. The other attendants in the truck were also eaten and had their eggs left at the side of the road, with two of them getting spat out momentarily so they could be robbed of their uniforms before being eaten again and digested into an egg. The four of them then proceeded to take the truck and drove it to the slave compound, with Luigi and Wooster dressed as the truck’s drivers. After getting into the compound, Luigi did a bit of driving before he spotted Mario, Daisy and the King hauling logs into a building for shipping.

“Another shipment?” squirmed Mario. He was getting tired, even though he didn’t know it would be his last in Alpina. Still, he hated getting whipped so he dutifully piled the logs onto the truck, even though his arms could desperately take a break. After he piled the logs onto the truck, Yoshi peaked his head through the logs, winked at Mario and put his finger to his mouth to make sure he kept quiet, but Mario was too seasoned an adventurer to forget that.

Yoshi, however, wouldn’t take any chances on the King. Once Percival got within his sights, he stuck out his tongue and swallowed him, allowing him to get digested into an egg that would hatch- they hoped- once Luigi exited the compound. However, not everything went according to plan. The Alpinans discovered the truck moving faster than they had anticipated and Percival, not realizing he was being rescued, shouted for help. Luigi made a mad dash for the gates and just barely fit through. They barrelled their way past the gates at the truck’s top speed of 120 km/h, but they couldn’t lose the Alpinans, who had now sent dragons to follow the speeding truck. This was something Wooster and Luigi had anticipated, since the Roman Avii was on standby in case they ran into trouble. In mere minutes, three Roman Aquila fighters engaged the dragons and shot them all down, allowing the truck to escape into Roman territory by dawn.

When Luigi reached the base, he got out of the truck to let Mario, Percival and Daisy get out and stretch. They hadn’t been free for a while so they took their stretch breaks with real enthusiasm. It was then that Luigi filled Mario, Percival and Daisy about the details surrounding the Mushroom Kingdom, including Peach’s kidnapping, his rescue and Bowser’s takeover of the Kingdom. Percival broke down and cried upon hearing the news regarding his kingdom, while Mario was once again filled with rage. He did, however, ask his brother how he managed to gain the courage needed to undertake his two previous voyages, the biggest of his life.

“Do you remember Dirk Drain-Head’s inspiration, Mario?” asked Luigi. Daisy groaned because she was sick of hearing about Dirk, Mario’s comic book hero.
“Suicide Squid, yeah,” replied Mario.
“He became my inspiration too. For years, like the Squid, I was paralysed by fear without someone to guide me, until I realized that I can’t let fear hold me back from what I need to do. I overcame my fears like Suicide Squid did and rescued both you and the Princess, because we needed all of you; and now we have a much bigger goal to achieve and I can’t do it all by myself.”
“What do we have?”
“The Romans are on our side. They’ll help us get the Kingdom back.”
“…but what about the people? We can re-conquer the territory but we won’t be able to hold it if the people don’t want us there.”
“We’ve got that covered; and we need your help. You can help us uncover the evidence needed to bring Bowser down.”
“First things first brother- we’ve got a turtle to thrash.”
Luigi just grinned. His brother was back.

The Alpinan Woodlands

“So, how did the fight go? Did we get our sword?” asked someone in a blue cloak, focusing his attention on the wall in front of him.
“No. Tira and Kirion were too strong. They figured out all the tests, and we couldn’t kidnap them later,” replied Silarus, who kneeled before the man in the cloak.
“Silarus…that is no good,” said the man in the cloak.
“I know, Master, but I did all I could. I’m sorry.”
“There is no need to apologize. I know you put the effort into it.” The man turned around, revealing he was Kamek the Magikoopa, a blue-cloaked Koopa Troopa that specialized in magic. Kamek is legendary amongst Magikoopas and amongst magicians as a whole, including Silarus who was his student for over 20 years. “Has Balthar fought Tedem yet?”
“No he hasn’t. He needs some new formulas. That is why I’m here, Master Kamek, because we need your help.”
“Tedem shouldn’t be hard to handle.”
“We’re not so sure about that anymore. We’re afraid he may enlist the Romans for help.”
“The Romans? Since when did they get here?”
“They have a colony nearby sir.”
“How have you handled them?”
“Balthar kidnapped a whole town of theirs sir. We’ve foiled their colonial plans. What was once a 24,000-strong colony has been reduced to 9,000”
“Good. So where’s the worry?”
“They have brought reinforcements, and have the Mario Brothers on their side.”
Kamek gulped. The Mario Brothers were the only ones able to defeat him in battle, so he did not like the prospect of having to face them again.
“We are also worried that we don’t have enough of Alpina under control, and that Ceradin might revolt.”
“You have my help, Silarus. The Mario Brothers will not defeat you or me again.”
“Thank you sir, thank you.”

It was decided then that Kamek would send a contingent to help Balthar defeat Tedem and bolster Balthar’s control over Alpina. He would also go to Darkland in a bid to help Bowser defeat an impending Mushroompeople invasion. It would be his biggest challenge but his most ambitious- and he was determined to finish it.