Over A Thousand Bullets Up My Ass!  

While Mentos and Yoad were busy watching Hao's struggle, a dirty bandit slid towards them unnoticed, his sword was raised and ready to strike. They were completely unaware of the danger they were in until Barkcode growled a warning.

"Huh!" Mentos and Yoad sprung into action, quickly dodging the bandit's sword and retaliating with a coordinated attack that sent him flying out of the cargo hold, screaming into the open sky with no aerial companion to save him.

"This whole ship is falling apart!"

Yoad and Mentos wanted to keep watching Hao, but they couldn't. The Skyship was rapidly losing altitude, and the panicked passengers were screaming and scrambling to find something to hold onto. The remaining Bastian Bandits who were confident in their aerial companions to save them from the impending crash, were still causing chaos and destruction inside the vessel.

Mentos turned to Yoad and uttered, "We need to stop those bandits and help the passengers. Hao will find a way back, I'm sure of it."

"Right." Yoad's youthful countenance was showing resolve. "I'm with you, Mr Mentos."

"Just call me Mentos." He corrected.

They began rushing towards the exit of the cargo hold with Barkcode trailing closely behind them. They entered the passenger area where they came across a wounded engineer up against a corner, clutching his arm and grimacing in pain. He was an older man with a mixture of grey and black stubble and oil-stained overalls, but his eyes held a wealth of experience.

"I'm Kael," the engineer introduced himself, "I've been trying to fix the engines, but these blasted bandits keep getting in the way."

Mentos offered a hand to help Kael up, and the engineer gratefully accepted. "What can we do to help? The Skyship is losing altitude fast. I don't even want to imagine what will happen to these people if we were to crash directly in the city below."

Kael glanced around, assessing the situation. "We've got maybe twenty minutes before we hit the ground. The engines are damaged, but if we can reroute some power and stabilize the wings, we might be able to slow our descent and give the passengers a chance."

"Sounds like a plan," Mentos's serious expression was pronounced in his tone. He glanced at Yoad then back at the frail engineer, "This kid and I will do everything we can to help. Just tell us what to do."

"Ok, here's what we can do…" Kael nodded and began to explain his plan. "There's a junction box near the rear of the Skyship. If you can get there and reroute the power to the wings, we might be able to maintain some semblance of control. Meanwhile, I'll work on stabilizing the engines with the remaining crew. Be careful, though. The bandits are still lurking about, and they won't hesitate to cut you down if they see you."

Pounding his fist into his palm, Mentos replied confidently, "You don't have to worry about that old man. I'll be sure to cut them down first."

"That's right. We can handle those bunch of riffraff, right Barkcode." Yoad smiled at his Bastian for support, in response, the beast rubbed its head against him and growled softly.

"Alright, let's get a move on." Mentos exchanged determined glances with Yoad before dashing to their destination.

Shortly after the duo set off for the junction box, navigating through the chaos of the damaged Skyship, Kael got up and made his way to the engines.

Whoosh!

The open sky was a battleground for Kiera and Hao's fierce clash, their struggles increased by the second. Hao gripped the tail of Kiera's Bastian, Shalla, with all his strength as the beast jerked, twisted, and flipped about. Kiera, driven by her fury, attempted to shake him off with all her might but this was proving to be very difficult. She even lashed at him with Serpent's Lash a couple of times, a whip-like weapon notorious for its deadly accuracy. However, Hao's swift and evasive manoeuvres were too much for her, much to her frustration.

"Damn you for being so nimble! Since I can't shake you off, I'll try something different," Kiera growled then directed Shalla upward, toward the Skyship where her fellow bandits had just finished destroying the last gun turret. Sparks and debris rained down after their destructive handiwork.

"Hey, boys!" Kiera caught the attention of her cohorts with a bellow then continued with urgency, "Shoot this pest off my tail!" She gestured to the person holding onto the rear end of the beast.

"You got it, big sis!" One of the bandits replied enthusiastically. Following their response, the bandits began pulling out their specialized firearms known as the Sky Screamers, which were designed for slaying enemies from afar by riddling them with holes.

"Let's go teach that blind punk not to mess with our big sis." They began flying behind Shalla, taking care not to shoot Kiera down or damage the Bastian as they aimed for Hao.

Bam! Bam! Bam!

Hao's situation grew increasingly dire. The tail of the Bastian was thrashing about frantically, but he used its erratic motion to his advantage, evading the storm of bullets that seemed to chase him relentlessly. However, he wasn't always lucky – one bullet struck the scabbard of Judgment Day, almost leaving a dent in the protective casing had it not been super robust. If he hadn't had the X-class sword on his back, the bullet would have likely pierced his flesh.

'These bandits won't quit. They're getting closer and closer to ripping me to shreds,' Thought Hao as the trepidation mounted in his chest. Using his Vibe Sense, he could visualize the hailstorm of bullets around him – a deadly dance he couldn't afford to lose.

Left with no choice, he released one hand from the beast's tail and used his free hand to wield Vibe Edge's sharpness. He sliced through some of the bullets, but his grip on the tail slipped, causing him to slide closer to the edge.

"Hahaha! Look at him struggling to hold on. Now that he's that far out, we can blast the bastard without hurting Shalla." The bandits seemed to revel in the chaos, hooting and hollering as they fired at Hao, treating him like mere target practice. Their wild, barbaric laughter echoed through the sky, fuelling Hao's determination to survive.

'I can't go on like this.' While his hand slipped further to the edge of the beast's tail, Hao scanned the surroundings, searching for any possible means to aid his situation. The idea at the peak of his mind was to get closer enough to the Skyship where he would then be able to let go and used his Night Tamer to get him the rest of the way. But this wasn't going to happen because Kiera had her beast flying way out of the Skyship's range. Now he was left to dream up other methods of surviving.

Bam! Bam!

The bullets were inching closer to tearing his lower half apart. BZZZ! Amid the chaos, something strange began to happen—Vibe Edge's Inner Voice spoke to Hao, its frequencies audible only to his ears. Time seemed to slow down around him as he processed the information at an astronomical rate – bullets hung suspended in the air, and the buzzing in his ear grew louder.

Whatever Hao was experiencing in his weird way caused his Sword Link to increase beyond 62%, enabling him to access new abilities.

<Vibe Edge's Ability Tab Opening…>

<Skill: Spin-Off>>

· Type: Offensive

· Tunes Cost: 0

· Range: 3 meters

· Duration: 6 seconds

· Description: Spin-Off transforms Vibe Edge into a spinning whirlwind, surrounded by a blue aura of arcane energy. The blade moves independently and can intercept incoming projectiles with incredible precision. The user can control the sword from a distance of up to 3 meters through a link formed with their hand, guided by their thoughts and Vibe Seeker. The momentum of the sword lasts for only 6 seconds before snapping back into the user's grasp.

Note: The user must have a minimum Sword Link Connection of 66% with Vibe Edge to access this ability.