19 Chapter 5: The Second Fragment

A.P. 238/3/1

Located under the surface of the planet Lilipa, the Underground Shafts, as it is known, is also one of the many remnants of the planet's previous civilization that went extinct a long time ago, even prior to ARKS' discovery and subsequent arrival onto the planet.

Today is Josua's first expedition into the locale. As in, his first expedition of being there directly, and not via his avatar like in his original reality. This was one day before he went to the Tundra expedition and found the Clarissa fragment with Afin.

Having established the foundations of the Crimson Ops Squadron just a few days prior, he already agreed with Su to bring in more people. Also, he had her meet with Xiao, Maria, and Sarah, and introduce them with each other. With that, they now have more people to the cause.

After that, he had Su search for others that could potentially be recruited, preferably those the two were already familiar with. Thus, the first few candidates were other members of Oribe's Unit. The unit has since been disbanded, but members tend to keep contact with each other and even meet up every once in a while.

*Ahem*... Back to the main topic.

As he walked through the area, occasionally dispatching the few Falspawns that would spawn in the area, and the native machines as well, he finally encountered a familiar face. It was Theodor.

"Theodor." Josua greeted nominally.

"Um... Hello. We see each other a lot, huh?" Theodor greeted back.

"That indeed we do." Josua shrugged.

Be it the strings of fate or whatnot, he came across Theodor more often than not. Though the same could be said for him with the other characters.

"Uh, why did you join ARKS?" Theodor suddenly asked.

"Hmm? What's with the sudden question?" Josua raised his brow.

"Oh, no. I didn't mean that in a bad way. I'm just curious." Theodor waved his hand.

"Suuuure... I mean... Hmm... I just joined, for no particular reason really." Josua thought for a moment.

This answer stunned Theodor for a few moments before he sighed.

"Not the answer you were expecting, I reckon? Then tell me, why did you ask?" Josua shook his head and asked.

"Someone I know - well, my friend...couldn't join ARKS. She didn't have the aptitude for it, apparently." Theodor spilled the beans.

"Ah..." Josua sighed.

He knew whom Theodor was talking about.

"She always talked about joining ARKS one day, but...she doesn't have the talent for it, I guess." Theodor explained.

"That I became an ARKS operative and she didn't is...illogical, really." He sighed.

As mentioned before, having a photon aptitude is crucial to become an ARKS operative. Due to it being the reason why they can fight Falspawns without getting corrupted by the F-Factor, it is pretty much essential.

"If I could, I'd give my aptitude to her, but that's not the way this works." He shook his head in resignation.

"Why me? She's way more suited to being an ARKS operative than I am." He sighed yet again.

"Theodor." Josua sighed before he patted Theodor on the shoulder.

"Walk with me." He said as he brought him along.

The two of them walked some distance before Josua started talking, basically giving Theodor a lecture.

"There are some things in the world that requires more than just hard work and motivation. That is to say, the talent is more crucial in this regard." Josua started.

"Your friend, Ulku, does meet the criteria of having the heart and the diligence, from what I can infer from your words, and from what I've seen of her myself. But... Being an ARKS operative... That requires the talent that she simply doesn't have. And nothing much can be done about it." He continued.

"Make no mistake, it's not as if those two things are worthless. It's a matter of whether or not she can do her job without losing her life. That would only make you sad, no?" He stopped walking and asked Theodor.

Theo could only nod reluctantly when posed with that question.

"Then consider what you can do: be the best for her. I assume she told you to stay in ARKS, no? Not to waste your chance or something similar?" Josua asked again.

"Yeah... I went and consulted with her like you said before... And she told me to stay." Theo weakly nodded.

"Then do what she says. Stay. And my advice: If you want to make her happy, be the best. Be strong enough to protect her when the time comes. Because if you don't..." Josua closed his eyes for a few moments, before opening it and ends it with: "You WILL lose her. And you will have no one to blame but yourself."

Theodor was speechless before he nodded once more, even if reluctantly.

"Also... This is a bit out of nowhere, but, in the foreseeable future... Keep watch of her at all times. I can only say that something WILL happen, and if you're not careful... Well..." Josua paused for a moment, before he continued with: "She will die. Without any doubt."

He then left Theo with these few words as he activated Photon Dash and went far ahead. Theo was blinking in confusion with those words that Josua left him with.

.....

After leaving Theo in the dust, Josua continued to travel through the Underground Shafts. The area, as mentioned before, is inhabited by the machines created by the automated lines that remained functional even after their creators had long perished. Aside from just the machines, the Falspawns there are more like... Spiders? Crawlers? Anyway, they're called Krahda(s)[1].

'If I had to really give a more accurate comparison, they're like the Necromorph babies from Dead Space, minus the undead part.' He pondered as he shot one with Gurenbana's Rifle mode.

Aside from just the Krahda, on occasions, El Arda(s), Cathargo(s) and Briarda(s) would also appear in the area as well. But in comparison, the Krahda is almost always found there, unlike the others.

As for the machines, they tend to be of the following types: Spar(dun A/gun), Signo (Beat/Blue), and Guardi(ne/nan).

Spardun A[2] is a quad automata, reminiscent of spiders in a sense. Spargun[3] is like the Spardun A, except it's mounted with two guns on the left and the right side of the core.

Guardine(s)[4] is a floating... Drone automata, with a turret at the underbelly, right in front of it's core. It has five "eyes". It usually spawns in one group of five, with four being Guardine(s) while one at the center is the head of sorts, the Guardinan. The Guardinan[5] is the same as the Guardine, except for the extra turret below the core. It acts as the head of the group whenever it spawns.

Signo Beat(s)[6] is a bipedal automata with distinct features of two claw-like legs, three digit fingers, the core being below the chest (at the abdomen). Meanwhile, Signo Blue(s)[7] is basically the tougher version of the automata, only encountered in the more dangerous areas.

After travelling a distance in the Shafts, and disposal of numerous automatas and Falspawns, he finally encountered a friendly face: Oza, the Hunter class Overseer.

"Oh, it's you." Oza said when he saw Josua approaching.

"Yo." Josua greeted back.

"Hey, I could use some input...or maybe some recs." Oza sighed and said.

"Hmm? What is it this time?" Josua facepalmed.

'If I'm right, it's probably about her again...' He groaned.

"I had to party up with that Force again. It was awful, and I didn't get a say in it." Oza started.

'Yep.' Josua's eyes were twitching. Mentally.

"And... Why is it a problem?" Josua asked ever so reluctantly.

"I mean, she's a Force. She's got all the endurance of a paper bag, but she keeps running to the head of our formation anyway." Oza answered.

'Uwaah... I'm not an expert on Force and their way of fighting...' Josua was trying hard to seem understanding, but with his experience on the Force class being so limited, it was hard for him to help much.

"Did you ask why she does that?" Josua tilted his head and asked.

"I asked her why, and she said it was because the best defense is to destroy enemies faster. She just dove in headlong. Didn't even care." Oza shook his head in disbelief.

'Uh... She's not exactly wrong...' Josua couldn't fault the logic.

Sometimes, the best defense is indeed offense. However, being a class that's not renown for their endurance or defense, it's not exactly the best way about it. Because, in that case, it would be a matter of who's gonna die first, the enemy or them.

"I can't work with this. Every time I try to reason with her, she digs in her heels and refuses to listen." Oza continued on with his complain.

"I barely averted the worst-case scenario by doing what I could to draw enemies off her, but man, Forces are such a pain to work with." He ended.

"Well... I can't fault you saying her being a pain..." Josua sighed.

"You should never push stuff like that on your teammates. There's no "I" in team." Oza waved his arm in refusal of the idea of such a way of partying.

"Then... Why did you even help her in the first place?" Josua raised his brow.

"And just so we're clear, the only reason I helped out was because I'm a Hunter! I had zero ulterior motives!" Oza shook his head and hands, clearly denying something.

"Mate, that's just you and her being too stubborn." Josua gave up.

There was no point in him interfering anyways. The two would end up with each other anyways, and his position is basically to be their counselor of sorts, hearing them out and giving them the answers they need to resolve their problems.

'God, I wish I was paid for this.' He groaned again.

.....

A.P. 238/3/7

Today was a break day for Josua, so he went around the Shopping Plaza. While walking aimlessly, he meets Ulku, who seems to be on her day off as well. FYI, she has a part time job at Franca's as a waitress there.

"Heya, 'sup!" Ulku greeted.

"Yo. Hmm... You sure look pretty happy today." Josua greeted back, before tilting his head at her enthusiasm.

"You say I seem awfully chipper? I'm always chipper!" She replied with a pout, though she was still smiling like an idiot.

"People say I waste a lot of energy, but I say it's better than not having any at all." She gave her excuse.

"Uh... Sure..." He was twitching his eye.

'You were gloomy AF the last time I saw you. How the hell I would know that you're actually like this?!' He screamed in his mind.

"Anyways... I told you about my friend before, the one called Theodor, didn't I?" She asked.

"Yeah, you did. Met the lad too." He nodded.

"He came to me, you see. He got no motivation whatsoever! I feel bad for 'im, really. Even asking me should he quit or not!" She shook her head.

"Ah, well... I suggested that to him, since he's just too reluctant to be an operative in the first place." He felt awkward, scratching the back of his head.

"So THAT'S why he came to me and asked what he should do..." She sighed.

It was odd for her to see Theodor coming to see her, and actually asked her like that. The young man was simply helpless and never even tried to proactively seek solution the way he did just now, so it came as a shock to her. As it turns out, Josua's suggestion was the reason why.

"I would swap places with him in an instant if I could. Too bad I can't. So I told him to just keep going at it, since it would be a waste to just leave like that when he's already in." She raised her hand.

"Yeah... He also mentioned that..." He laughed awkwardly.

"The best I can do is act as backup for ARKS-related personnel." She had this 'guts' pose.

It is often neglected to be explained in the game, and the anime only expanded it to a degree, in that ARKS is not only made up of frontline operatives or basically just military personnel that are almost always deployed to the frontlines.

Those who work behind the scenes, like operators, pilots, and other support personnel, are the ones that kept those said frontliners able to fight in the frontlines without having to worry much about things like logistics, transport, evacuation, information network.

It seems like it's a given without having to explain things, and the devs probably didn't think that it needs to be explained, back in the previous reality. However, some people as a result tend to bash some of the support personnel due to their supposed "incompetence", for example: D'nar and Opta, both who are pilots of ARKS' aircrafts, who often bashed for too often triggering Emergency Code: Protection since they almost always get shot down (or their aircraft often malfunction) somehow.

And, while some support personnel would often get deployed to the field, it might not be the case for others in the same line.

"All things considering... I'd say that's pretty much your only option." He nodded after pondering.

"I know... It's not to say the examination for that is easier than the one for becoming an ARKS operative..." She sighed.

That is, to say, it's equally as hard to become an ARKS support personnel. But compared to the needed requirement of having photon aptitude in order to become an operative, becoming a support personnel is less restrictive in comparison, though it's not exactly lax either.

"But hey, I've got a goal, so I'll push toward it. I'll prove that motivation beats talent any day of the week!" She was all pumped.

"Good for you. Hope you get the job. Do tell once you do." He nodded with a smile.

.....

A.P.238/3/13

"...So, can you come meet me at the usual place?" The voice on the other end asked.

"Yeah. Be there in a bit." Josua replied.

"Great. Be waitin' for you here." The voice said in satisfaction as the call was closed.

After lazing around for the day, Josua went down from his PQ to the Shopping Plaza. The call earlier basically asked him to come down. As to who called him... You'll know in the next paragraph, literally. It's not someone new, by the way.

After getting in the elevator, he went down to the first level of the Shopping Plaza directly from his PQ's floor. Walking out of the elevator, which is located behind the Item Lab, and to the left of the entrance to Franca's Cafe, he saw the person in question who called him earlier: Zig.

"Ah, there you are. Excellent timing." The old CAST greeted him.

"Yeah, well, considering you called me just now... I assume this is on the fragment I lent to you?" Josua nodded to greet Zig back and asked.

"Yep. I've taken a look at the broken weapon you brought me the other day, and I've learned that even that is only part of a greater whole." Zig laid down what he found from the fragment.

While stating the obvious (to Josua), one wouldn't think of that fragment as a weapon fragment if they don't have his knowledge of the future, or Zig's experience as a renowned blacksmith. This was evident with Zeno's regard of the fragment as a piece of junk (not out of disrespect, of course).

"Which means there are other parts from this broken weapon somewhere out there... I'd guess there are two more that have yet to be found." He continued.

"Hmm..." Josua gave a perfunctory response.

It was not as if he's ignoring Zig's words, it's merely because he already know its original form.

"I think I could restore this weapon with makeshift parts based on what I imagine it once looked like...but that would cause it to lose what it makes it so special." Zig offered, before he sighed at the last part.

'I guess... This is what you call passion, huh...' Josua sighed inside.

Doing what you love really makes you a perfectionist, regardless if you're one in the first place or not. This is especially true for those who dabbles in one or multiple forms of craftsmanship.

"So I have a request: if you happen to find the other damaged parts, could you bring them to me so I can restore this weapon properly?" Zig then requested.

"Eh..." Josua squinted his eyes.

"I know it's a long shot, but it never hurts to ask, right!?" Zig stomped his foot.

"I know... If I found any, I'll bring them to you. No need to get aggressive, sheesh..." Josua waved his hands.

"Promise me, okay!? OKAY!?" Zig grabbed Josua's hand, and basically pressed it.

"Ouch ouch OUCH! OKAY, I GET IT! JUST LET GO OF MY HAND!" Josua screamed in pain, begging Zig to let go of his hands.

.....

A.P.238/3/20

After exploring the Shafts for a while on the day, Josua encountered a familiar face, that seems to be in an awkward situation for the moment: Fourie. Yep, her.

"Oh boy..." Josua sighed as he recalled immediately this part.

He walked towards the CAST lass, who's just standing there. And at a farther distance that's still visible, a Lilipan was standing there. It was unclear whether it was afraid or curious. Just a few steps before he got to Fourie, the lass finally noticed him and turned around.

"Oh, hi there!" She greeted him with a smile.

"Yo. So... What's going on this time?" Josua greeted back with a hand wave and asked her.

"Things here are...well, we've got a long ways to go, I'm afraid. See over there?" She said, pointing at the Lilipan that was a distance away from them.

"Yep. What of it?" He tilted his head and asked.

"You see, they've started to peek out, but they still refuse to come any closer." She looked down.

"Uhuh... And then?" He had a not-so-surprised face on him.

"And I don't want to scare them by getting too close myself." She sighed.

"Right..." He sighed as well, but at her timidness.

"Haha... Pretty sad state of affairs, huh. Here I am, afraid to make a move out of fear of rejection..." She said, feeling embarrassed with her rather cautious and timidness.

"If you won't, then..." He shrugged and just walked towards the Lilipan.

There was no proof if the Lilipans would just run away this time around. Even observing its expression from afar, he could tell that this one is not showing any signs of being afraid or wanting to run away.

"Uh, hey...!" Fourie was taken aback at his nonchalant attitude and just walked towards the Lilipan without thinking much.

"They'll run away if you get too close to--Huh?" She was about to stop him before she was flabbergasted.

He had arrived in front of the Lilipan, who's pretty much towered by him. He looked down and had a smile on his face.

'Oh my god... THEY'RE REALLY CUTE IN PERSON AS WELL!!' He screamed inside, after which he mentally puked rainbow sugar from his mouth.

Of course, those were not visible on his face.

"It's...staying put?" She tilted her head in confusion.

She grits her teeth and decides to follow along as well, but she still kept some distance from the Lilipan, out of her own timidness yet again. But to her surprise, the Lilipan went to her by itself.

"Well what do you know... It wasn't them who was scared. It was me..." She felt awkward.

"You have too much preconception on your own, Fourie. Just relax, and be brave." He chuckled.

"I see that now." She closed her eyes for a moment, before she looked at him and said, "Thank you."

He chuckled again, and replied, "You're welcome."

.....

No sooner after Josua parted ways with Fourie, he soon encounters an all-too-familiar face, again. It's the stubborn Force class Overseer, Marlu.

"Hello there. If you have a moment, I would like to discuss something. Or maybe gripe--I'm still on the fence about that part." She said as soon as she saw him.

"Uh... Hello to you too. And let me guess... It involves being in a party with a Hunter?" He greeted back and asked point blank.

It was painful for him at this point to keep playing dumb. So when he feels too bothered to do so, he'll just go straight to the point. And this is one of those times that he just won't bother.

She was speechless when she heard his question for a moment, before saying, "I don't know how you got it right but... Yes."

"See, I partied with this Hunter recently. I objected, but I didn't get a say in it, right?" She began her explanation.

'Let it rip...' He groaned inside.

"Go on..." He rolled his eyes mentally.

"It just was not working, though. Every time I tried to step up, he'd get in my way and drone on about it being dangerous." She puffed her mouth.

"Uhuh..." He perfunctorily said.

'THAT'S SUPPOSED TO BE IDEA! HE'S THE TANK, AND YOU'RE DEALING THE DAMAGE BEHIND HIS COVER!' He was flipping the table and swearing in his mind.

"I know Hunters are tough, but they are not invincible. It makes more sense to take enemies out fast." She shook her head in disapproval when she remembered it.

"I see..." He was clenching his fist in his mind in the meantime.

'YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO KILL THE ENEMY DRAWN BY THE HUNTER SO THE HUNTER WON'T GET OVERWHELMED, NOT PLAYING ALL SMUG!!!' He continued on with smashing some things in his mind.

"But that stubborn fool insists on clinging to the stereotypical idea that Hunters should always take point." She pouted, again.

"....." This time, he stayed silent. He was out of words.

'THAT'S BECAUSE YOU'RE ALL PAPER IN DEFENSE!!!! GOD!!!!' He was bashing his head against a wall in his mind.

"He DID protect me and all, but we were dreadfully inefficient, and I felt like I had to walk on eggshells around him." She sighed.

"....." Again, he stayed silent.

'That's because the two of you are TOO GODDAMN STUBBORN!!!' Once more, he's raging in his mind.

"Partying with a Hunter is so tiring. I have nothing personal against them, but I would sooner stick with Forces." She ended her complain.

"Sigh..." He sighed very loudly.

"...What's wrong?" She tilted her head and asked.

"Look here... The problem is not with the two of you being different classes, Hunter or Force or whatnot..." He said before he took a deep breath, trying VERY hard to compose himself.

"The problem is that the two of you are equally stubborn." He directly pointed out the issue.

"What do you mean...?" She was shocked and asked back.

"Every class has a different purpose. While they can be made so that they could do everything without having to rely on other classes, it's inevitable that they still need support from other classes. For example: Hunters might be able to tank the enemy and draw their enmity to them. But they still need the support from Forces to whittle down the enemy that were drawn to the Hunter so they won't get overwhelmed." He explained it very deliberately.

"I know that... But..." She nodded, but she tries to make more excuses.

"Of course, we all know that. But it's one matter of knowing, and it's another when it's being applied in the real sense. As a party, you two need to learn to trust each other. Communicate." He lectured her.

Marlu could only lower her head in shame. She was being lectured by someone that's considered as her junior in ARKS.

"Sigh... I've said what needs to be said. Just... Try to talk with clear heads for the both of you if you guys are partied together again. Nothing will change if you keep going on like this." He pats her shoulder.

"I'll... Keep that in mind." She nodded reluctantly.

It was hard to admit for her, but his words were right.

With that said, Josua bid farewell and went on with his mission. He dashed off with Photon Dash, leaving only the iconic blue trails.

.....

The next day...

A.P.238/3/21

KABOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!

Josua had just beaten Big Varder[8]. The giant hovering machine exploded in a spectacular fashion as he walked away like in an action flick.

Big Varder, mind you, is the final boss of the Underground Shafts expedition. It's at least ten meters tall (maximum around 20 meters in height), making it very large. It's probably made as the planet's previous civilization's last defenses, seeing it being placed here. Well, that's what he hypothesized anyways.

"Good job. You can return now." Hilda, the operator, said to him on comms.

"Yeah, well... I still need to look on some things. I'll return later." He replied nonchalantly.

"Okay... Be sure to tell me if you're ready to return later." She sighed helplessly.

He frequently does this, and while it's not the standard operating procedure, she gave him some leeway since he, more often than not, got the job done at an impeccable speed. Regius also agreed to let him do whatever he wants, as long as Josua completes his mission first in the location he's deployed into.

"Uh... Sorry for the trouble. I'll treat you to something later, okay?" He scratches the back of his head, feeling awkward.

"Fine. I'll hold you onto that." She said as she closed comms.

'Uwaah... She's a beaut, but damn she's really specific on things.' He sighed after she closed comms.

He activated Photon Dash and left the so-called boss area. Then, he spent several minutes dashing around the Shafts. And finally, he encounters a familiar face, whom he just met yesterday, literally: Fourie.

He deactivated Photon Dash and slowed down before coming to a full stop. The female CAST had already noticed him, so she went towards him and greeted him.

"Hi! You're out exploring today?" She greeted and asked him.

"Yeah. Just finished the task for the day." He nodded, before asking her back, "What about you?" while noticing that she's not alone today.

She's accompanied by a Lilipan. Those lovable, little furballs...

"Me, well...I've reached a point where I can get closer to them, and even touch them, but..." She answered, scratching her nose at the end of her remark.

"But?" He tilted his head.

The Lilipan beside her tugged her, and seemingly asked, "Li? Li?"

'Ah... They're still at this level.' He had an amused look on his face.

"Yes, that's right. This person is a friend of mine. Hmm, I wonder if they understand me..." She turned to the Lilipan and nodded, before looking at him again at the last part of her words.

"Do you get it? This...person...is...my...friend." She turned again towards the Lilipan, and tries hard to convey her words by spelling them one by one and slowly.

"Li, li, li?" The Lilipan simply tilted its head, failing to understand her words in a complete form.

Well... She failed spectacularly.

"...And that's usually how it goes. It feels like I'm still missing something crucial to understanding them." She shrugged.

"I mean... They're communicating differently than us, and their vocabulary, to me, is only 'Li Li'... So..." He scratched his head.

"I know they communicate among themselves using their voices, so I'm sure it should be possible for me to as well, but..." She sighed.

"Lili, lili?" The Lilipan tugged her again, seemingly asking another question, pointing at him and her.

'Hmm? This time...' He squinted his eyes when he heard it speaking.

"Hm? Me and this one? Yes, we're friends." She turned towards it and nodded, before she noticed something.

"Hm? Wait, hang on. That sounded like the same number of words that I just spoke... Are your vocal organs just different from ours?" She realized.

"Li, li, li!" The Lilipan tugged her again, this time seemingly pulling her, before it left towards a certain direction.

"Hey! W-Wait up!" She wanted to grab it, but it went ahead before she could.

She turned towards him, and said, "Sorry, but I need to go after them!" before she went after the small furball.

'Welp... Not much to say here. I think the part I'll get the next fragment should be coming up soon...' He pondered for a while before deciding to head back.

There wasn't much for him to do anyways. He opened up comms to Hilda.

"I'm ready to go back. Pop up a teleporter for me, would ya?" He said.

"One moment." She said as she activated the sequence, and subsequently, a teleporter was spawned near him.

"Thanks." He said as he jumped into the teleporter and chose the prompt to return to the Gateway Ship.

"Thank me later with that promise you made." She said before she ended the comms.

"Sigh... Woman..." He shrugged helplessly.

All the while, the Gateway Ship had traversed through the warp bubble and returned to the Oracle fleet's vicinity.

.....

A.P. 238/3/22

The next day...

"Sigh..." Josua sighed.

Yesterday, after the expedition, he had to treat Hilda on a dinner. Too bad for him, he had to fork out a bit more than he'd like. And yes, by a bit more, it's pretty much one of the most expensive dishes in Franca's.

Even Franca was baffled by the scene.

"I guess... It is what it is..." He mentally cried as he walked through the Underground Shafts for the day.

Today, he's in the Shafts to gather some resources, i.e Mining and Fishing. The Mining part, for him, is still palpable. But the Fishing part...

"I don't get how this works. Really." He was still unable to grasp on how he could even fish when there's no water body underground, yet he still got some fishes.

After "farming" the area he's currently in, he moved on to another one. Meanwhile, while on the way to the next area, he spotted a familiar face, or rather, person: Persona. Upon seeing the masked man, he stayed a distance away.

The man in question, however, was seemingly looking for something.

'If I had to guess...' Josua pondered as he recalled on the part related to the scene in front of him.

"Dammit... Where is it..." Persona's distorted voice swore as the man gnashed his teeth, not finding what he seeks.

Shortly after, he walked away from Josua's visible view.

'Yep. He's looking for the second fragment of Clarissa.' Josua remembered the part.

Regardless, Persona wasn't fated to get it either way, so Josua couldn't care less. He simply shrugs his shoulders and moved on to continue with his farming of resources. At day's end, he went back after hogging enough resources to occupy his 100-slot inventory.

.....

A.P. 238/3/24 10:00

Two days after him sighting Persona in the Shafts...

"Hoooaaahmmm..." Josua yawned, laying down on a large cube box, scratching his butt.

While he himself had gotten used to being able to wake up in the morning without being sleepy, the sleepiness sometimes came from his mental, which still does have some of his previous reality's habits, hence even though he might not actually be sleepy or tired, he would sometimes lay down and just yawn.

'Some things never change.' He sighed as he sat up.

He still yawned as he "gathers his spirit back", so to speak. Meanwhile, a familiar face approaches him.

"Oi, mate!" Afin greeted.

"Oh, if it ain't Afin. Yo." Josua had just finished yawning and greeted back.

"What brings you out here?" Afin asked.

"Trying to find something. Hold on for a bit." Josua said, before stopping short as he drops down from the box.

"Looking for something? Come on, now, don't be shy. You can bring me in on it." Afin nudges with his elbow a little.

"Well... Remember that thing we found on Naverius? I'm looking for another part of it here. Supposedly, it should be around here somewhere." Josua succinctly explained.

"Ooh..." Afin nods in understanding.

"Well then... Mind telling me why you're here?" Josua asked.

"Erm, I'm looking for someone, myself. Finding things is what I'm good at! Not that I've found 'em yet, of course..." Afin scratched the back of his head, clearly omitting some information.

"Uh-huh..." Josua nods while staring at Afin.

"W-well, I'm sure something brought us together here. I'll help you out, mate!" Afin got spooked and changed the topic almost immediately.

"Sure, sure... Anyways, you found anything resembling the one I mentioned?" Josua didn't press further and asked.

He already knows that Afin's searching for his (Afin) sister, so he (Josua) decided to just play along. No point in forcing them to show their hands.

"Nope. Guess the quickest way to find out is to get our hands on it. Better to get searching than to sit there mulling it over!" Afin got giddy.

"I suppose." Josua shrugged.

"Let's hop to it, mate! And preferably get it done quick. There's lots of automata in the area." Afin then looked around.

"Eh, don't worry. I've taken care the ones near this place." Josua patted Afin's shoulders.

"Ah, so that's why I saw a lot of broken automatas..." Afin finally understood.

The two of them then walked away as they searched the area.

.....

A.P.238/3/24/10:30

Half an hour later...

As the duo went through the area, with no luck in finding the fragment, Josua finally couldn't help but really scrutinize something's that has been bugging him for a bit. The two were in front of an intersection, with a massive board just behind the rails. And on some of those boards, there's some sort of writing at the bottom left on each of them.

"Seriously... What do these things mean?" He said his thoughts out loud.

"Huh? What's up, mate?" Afin asked, confused with Josua's sudden outburst.

"Look on the board thingy. There's some sort of writing on the bottom left of the board." Josua pointed out.

"What's that? Some kinda pattern...? No, letters?" Afin, who also saw the mark, started to scrutinize it as well, out of interest.

"Hmmm... I wonder what it says? It seems like it's got some kinda structure to it." He continued, frowning his brows.

"You tell me mate." Josua smacked Afin lightly as he continued to scrutinize the mark.

"Huh? Is that you over there? And you're...Afin?" A familiar voice called the two out.

The two turned around to find Fourie and two Lilipans behind them.

"Oh, it's Fourie." Josua was surprised a bit before greeting her.

Afin waved to greet Fourie and the Lilipan.

"What a coincidence. You seem troubled about something. What is it?" She asked.

"Oh, you're that girl from before. Uhhh... Fourie, was it?" Afin said after greeting the two.

"Yes, that's me. I never thought I'd see you here." Fourie nodded in affirmation.

"Well... Now that we all know each other... Fourie, can you tell us what does this...writing mean?" Josua clapped his hand, before asking her as he points at the mark on the board.

"Huh? Are those hieroglyphs? Hmmm... It looks a lot like the doodles these little ones draw." She pondered for a bit before saying it.

The small Lilipan beside her tugged her, seemingly wanting to say something. She then knelt down to speak with it as the other one also joined in.

"Oh, can you read this?" She asked, pointing at the mark.

One of the Lilipan nodded, and seemingly gesturing to follow it to a certain direction.

"They're saying to go this way. I wonder what's over there?" She tilted her head and followed along.

The Lilipans went towards the direction they pointed at, which was a blocked path.

"Oh, wait! Please wait! I'm coming, I promise!" Fourie came running to follow them.

"Uh, they left. They've really got her wrapped around their fingers." Afin shook his head.

"I guess we should follow them." Josua shrugged.

The two looked at each other and nodded before following suit. Not long after, they arrived at the blocked path, only to see the Lilipans going under a small opening of the debris that blockaded the path to the other side.

"Anyway, what do you wana do, mate? Keep going forward? That hole's way too narrow to--" Afin was about to ask before an explosion interrupted their conversation.

KABOOM!!!

Josua and Afin turned their heads towards the source of the explosion, which was Fourie, and the no-longer-blocked-path. She was holding her Launcher, which was still smoking after being fired to destroy the debris that blocked the path.

"Wh-Wh-What're you doing!?" Afin exclaimed in surprise, and shock.

"I blasted it to bits!" She cheerily answered.

"That's not what I meant! That's obvious!" Afin shook his head furiously, before continuing, "I'm asking why you'd do something so crazy!" while pointing at the unblocked path.

"Because otherwise we wouldn't be able to get through! See? Now it's wide open for us!" She replied nonchalantly.

"I could've gotten over it easily without you blowing it up, you know?" Josua sighed, facepalming at her.

"Oh." She gave a rather disturbing short remark, before she looked around and spots the Lilipans who are further along the path.

"There you are! Wait for meee!" She said as she went after them.

Both Josua and Afin were just standing there, speechless at Fourie's nonchalant attitude of what she just did. The two then looked at each other, before sighing.

"She's certainly, uh, energetic. Want to follow them? I'll leave it up to you. I'm too exhausted to make any decisions." Afin said after sighing heavily.

He felt beaten by that female CAST.

"We'll just follow her. I won't even bother trying to apply common knowledge to her." Josua shrugged.

The two ran along to follow them. Josua didn't use Photon Dash because Afin doesn't know how to.

Why does every single CAST he met is almost always guaranteed to be weirdos?! He cursed in his mind.

.....

A.P. 238/3/24 11:30

Running after Fourie and the Lilipans, Josua and Afin found themselves in some sort of a giant area, in which it looks like a massive hall of sorts. These kind of places are common, and like other similar places in the Underground Shafts, they're always either empty or has some rubble in it. This time around, the one they're in is the latter.

The Lilipans had arrived at the supposed location where they pointed earlier. They turned around, and seemingly making signs while trying to say something (of course, it's in Lilipan language).

Fourie, who had slowed down, caught up with the Lilipans, alongside Josua and Afin.

"Ahaha... They seem happy. That much is easy to tell. They want to show us something up ahead." She said, slightly panting.

Meanwhile, Josua and Afin were catching their breath. Weak organic body? Mate, try catching up to a humanoid mechanical lifeform that probably won't break a sweat as easy as your average organic, meaty lifeform.

Just as the two finished catching their breath though...

The whole place shook.

"Whoa! What the--!?" Afin exclaimed as he tries to stay still.

A prickling sense was bugging Josua while the place was shaking.

"Don't tell me..." He murmured as he looked ahead.

The Lilipans were coming back to the trio, as something dropped from the ceiling onto the ground, close to the debris that's at the center of the room. The two furballs began to explain (in Lilipan) to Fourie about what just dropped.

It was an automata, and seems to be one of the mini-bosses in category. It's known as a Tranmizer. As to how it looks like in appearance... Well... Imagine a Metal Gear, but only like... 4 meters tall (at most) [9].

""Inside"? "Protect"? "Machine"? Ah, of course. This must be a guardian." She translates the Lilipans' words to the best she can.

"Probably left behind by the extinct civilization. Seems like this one is made to deal with anything that's not an armored vehicle or a behemoth." Josua sound out his speculation.

"Maybe that means it won't attack us if we stay out, but...that isn't an option, is it?" She said as she stood up and looked at the automata in question, before turning towards Josua and said, "You've done so much for me. I hope you'll let me offer what meager assistance I may."

"Sure. But, first..." He then looked at the Lilipans next to her.

"I know." She said as she crouched to speak with them.

"This is going to get dangerous, so stay back, okay? Don't come back out until I say so." She told them.

The two Lilipans nodded and went for cover, just outside the potential battle zone. With them safe from possible friendly fire, Fourie sighed a relief, and takes out her Launcher.

"I'm ready when you are, mate!" Afin said as he readied his Assault Rifle.

Josua nodded and looked at Fourie, who's also ready as well.

"Now then, here goes!" Fourie said as they began their charge at the Tranmizer.

.....

[EMERGENCY CODE: ATTACK INITIATED!]

[Take out any Tranmizer you find and defeat 1!]

[Complete this Emergency Trial to complete the quest!]

The HUD on Josua's view displays the objective this time around.

"Afin, Fourie! You two go to its back, I'll handle this guy's attention!" Josua immediately barked out orders.

"Got it!" "Yeah!" Both Fourie and Afin replied respectively at the same time.

The two of them split into left and right to get to the back of the Tranmizer. Of course, it's not like the Tranmizer didn't notice it. However...

"OVER HERE YOU OLD JUNK!" Josua shouted as he used War Cry.

The air around him was blasted away, as the skill produced some sort of pressure that was aimed at any hostiles in range. The Tranmizer was fortunately in range, hence it was pulled by him.

It shifted its attention to the one who was shouting at it. While it didn't care much what that organic thing said, it shifted its enmity towards Josua, due to the false pressure that War Cry produced when it was activated.

[HOSTILE TARGET IDENTIFIED. PROCEEDING WITH OFFENSIVE MEASURES.] The Tranmizer whirred inside it's system.

"Shift Mode: Sword." Josua said as he readies Gurenbana in his hands.

The umbrella began it's transformation into a two-handed Sword. The canopy flattened itself, to the point it resembles a Sword's edge. In a few breaths, Gurenbana became a two-handed, double-edged Sword.

"Well then. Come." He smirked as he provocatively gestured with his hand.

The Tranmizer pretty much obliged as it walked for a few steps before charging with the wheels on its legs.

Just before it could hit him, however, he activates his guard, and managed to negate the damage.

"You two! Open fire at the blue orb on the tail!" He shouted at Afin and Fourie who had reached the back of the automata.

To be fair, the Tranmizer had yet to open its "tail" to charge for a blast attack towards Josua, so at most, the two behind could only damage the tail itself, not the weak point that's being covered by the four canopies on the "tail".

KABLAM!

RATATATATATATATATAAA!!

Sounds of gunfire and cannon shots roared through the massive hall, mixed with the occasional sounds of steel grinding against steel and some explosive sounds because of the Tranmizer hitting the ground with its massive "hands"/claws.

Activating Rising Slash, Josua slashed in a wheel uppercut at the Tranmizer, scoring its metal shell, leaving deep cuts at its plating. One could even see its internal components because of the cut that was done three times at least on the same spot.

Seemingly "enraged", the Tranmizer opened its "mouth" and prepares to launch the massive attack on him. While in this mode, the Tranmizer would gather energy through the blue orb thing on it's tail after the canopies on the tail opened, and it can't move.

"FOURIE, AFIN! BLAST THE BLUE ORB WITH EVERYTHING YOU GOT!" He shouted as he came around to the back to join up in attacking the tail.

Not wasting any time to run normally, he immediately used Photon Dash to get to the back as fast as he could. In no time, he got to the back of the Tranmizer, and began attacking at the blue orb on the tail. Fourie and Afin made more range so as to avoid friendly fire while continuing to attack the tail in the meantime.

Perhaps owing to his high level, or Gurenbana's sheer power, he easily grinds through the Tranmizer's HP. And before long, the Tranmizer was defeated. It spasmed a little before lying on the ground, with some electricity coursing visibly on the outside and smoke coming out of it, shortly before it exploded.

And with that, the battle ended. It was rather short, since he was already experienced with beating Tranmizers. It's not too complicated. Even if the battle had prolonged, at most it would've used its rocket launcher on its shoulders to attack him at range, should it want to attack him after its heavy beam attack failed.

Another way it would've attacked is by transforming into it's tank mode, as in it literally becomes a tank. It would then go sideways while firing its main cannon. Still, to Josua, it's far too redundant for him to bother, so it would've been beaten anyways even if it gotten to that point.

Of course, it's not like Fourie and Afin knew of this. They only knew that Josua was skilled in spotting an enemy's weak point and leading the party.

.....

A.P. 238/3/24 12:00

Following the conclusion of the battle, they all rested for approximately fifteen minutes. Josua brought out some sandwiches he got in the morning, which he brought from Franca's Cafe for a takeout. Mind you, the battle lasted for approximately 10 minutes.

"Here, for you two." He said as he gave a couple to both Afin and Fourie.

"Ah, thanks mate." Afin thanked him.

"Thank you for the meal!" Fourie accepted eagerly.

She then took one of the two sandwiches she got, tore them in half, and invited the Lilipans to eat together with them.

"Li? Li?" One of them tilted its head.

"Try it. It's good." Fourie said as she ate the other sandwich to show the two of it.

The Lilipans looked at each other before eating their parted sandwiches. After the first bite, they had this look of enlightenment and pure bliss on their faces, before proceeding to munch down the sandwich at an unbelievably fast pace.

By the way, the Lilipans had a Egg and Ham sandwich. Meanwhile, Fourie had a Fruit sandwich. As for Afin, he had a Chicken Katsu sandwich and a PB&J sandwich. While Josua, on the other hand, had Chicken Teriyaki sandwich and Beef Burger sandwich (it's basically a beef patty between two slices of bread).

After the fifteen minutes, they stood up, feeling fulfilled after eating some food, and gulping them down with a Monomate.

"Phew... That's over with. Ah, what are they doing?" She had a satisfied look before seeing the Lilipans going towards the debris in the hall.

Upon reaching the debris, the two furballs turned towards the trio and gestured at them, basically asking the trio to come over.

"Are they pointing at the rubble? I don't see any room to squeeze in there..." Afin looked over, though unable to spot anywhere to fit in.

"That's where I come in!" Fourie said enthusiastically before heading towards the Lilipans.

"Oh boy, I know where this is going..." Josua sighed.

"Whaddya m-" Afin was about to ask before he saw it himself.

Fourie was already kneeling on the ground, rigging a batch of explosives to blow away the debris. Disturbingly though, this was done at a fast pace and on the spot.

"Hey, I didn't say to-- Gah, how are you already done rigging it to blow!?" Afin exclaimed in surprise.

"I'm ready to apply myself to my fullest!" She said nonchalantly.

"That's a diligent attitude for a CAST, but you should apply yourself to something else--ANYTHING else but THAT!" Afin shook his head in disbelief.

"Told ya." Josua facepalmed.

KABOOM!!!!

Fourie blows up the debris without any warning. The sand that was blown away due to the explosion's shockwave was messing with their clothes. It was fine if that was the end but...

"Ugh, got sand in my mouth..." Afin said as he sputters, trying to get the sand out of his mouth.

"Excellent! Detonation cave-in within expected parameters. It's all cleaned up!" She exclaimed in joy.

"Try to warn us next time, dammit." Josua cursed.

"Ehehe..." She made a 'Tehee~pero' face.

"Now, what was it hiding?" She then knelt down to rummage through the remaining debris on the ground.

Before long, however, a crystal appeared after she cleared some of the debris. This surprised Fourie and the Lilipans.

"Yep, seems like this is it." Josua said as he approached and touched the crystal, retrieving the content inside of it.

It was the pommel of Clarissa, still shining somewhat brightly.

"What's this? Is it what you were lookin' for, mate?" Afin asked.

"Yep. This is another part of the thing we found on Naverius." Josua nodded in confirmation.

"How lovely... Is this what you wanted to show us? I mean, to show this one?" Fourie said, still trying to compose herself after having her breath taken away upon seeing the weapon fragment.

"Still... What I'm wondering is how the Lillipans knew where it was." Afin pondered out loud in confusion.

"Li! Li li!" One of the Lilipans tries to explain to Fourie.

"Um... "Important thing"... "Give"? Sorry, I can't quite parse the details..." She tried to translate what they were saying, but sadly was not fluent enough to understand the whole context yet.

"Well, we get the picture. In fact, they did us a huge favor just by bringing us here." Afin shook his head.

"At least you found what you were lookin' for, mate. Good enough for me!" He nodded, giving Josua a thumbs up.

"I guess we're one step closer to restore the weapon then?" Josua sighed out of relief.

One step closer... To singularity.

.....

A.P.238/3/24

Later on the day, after returning to the ARKS Ship...

"See ya, mate! I'll be goin' on ahead!" Afin bid goodbye before leaving.

It was clear that he was still searching for his sister, but he had no luck in finding any traces of her. No surprises here though, considering that [Apprentice] has yet to appear. Be it in reports or his memories, since [Apprentice] will only appear after [Elder] is resurrected.

"I guess I'll go see ol' man Zig then." Josua shrugged off the thought for the moment, before heading down with the elevator.

After a few moments, he arrived at the first level of the Shopping Plaza. He then went to Zig's usual place, next to the Item Lab. And as expected, the old CAST is there.

"Yo, ol' man." Josua greeted.

"Oh, it's you, kid." Zig noticed and greeted back.

"As promised, here's another fragment of the weapon. Found it on Lilipa." Josua said as he took out the fragment to give it to Zig.

"Yes... Yes! This is another part of that broken weapon! There's no mistaking it!" Zig said after taking it and inspecting it for a moment.

"Well, no time like the present! I'm going to get to work on restoring it. Here's hoping you can find the other part too!" Zig was all giddy at this point.

"Yeah, me too." Josua nodded as he bids farewell to Zig.

.....

Going up the elevator to the Gate Lobby, Josua went to the Medical Center. Unexpectedly, Matoi was in front of the place, looking a bit flustered for some reason. As soon as he went towards her, and she saw him, however...

"Ah, you came. I'm glad to see you're all right." She sighed out of relief, holding his hand.

"Uhh... Why?" He tilted his head.

"You see, I was hoping to see you after this bad premonition I had..." She was explaining before Filia came running.

Oh boy, Filia's angry alright.

"Ah, there you are! Matoi, you know better than to go out without permission!" Filia scolded Matoi.

"I'm all right. Just a little headache." Matoi shook her head.

"Matoi...?" He stared at her.

"Guh..." Matoi felt a sense of guilt, before looking down in shame.

"No, you're NOT all right. You're still in bad shape. Come on, now. Back we go." Filia said as she took Matoi's hand.

"...Yes, ma'am..." Matoi replied while looking down.

"Sorry about this, Filia." Josua apologized.

"No, it's fine." Filia shook her head.

"I'm sorry. See you some other time." Matoi apologized to Josua.

"Try not to do this again, please? If you don't feel well, just rest. I'll just come and visit your room, okay?" Josua pats her head in worry.

"O-okay..." Matoi answered in a fluster before she followed Filia back to her room.

"Sigh... This girl..." Josua sighed as he then went back to his Personal Quarters to take a break.

.....

Laying down on the sofa, Josua was resting his back, before he felt something. Whatever it was, it compelled him to go to the Monument in the first level of the Shopping Plaza.

"Is it time...?" He pondered as he went down via the elevator.

After a few moments, he arrived at the back of the Item Lab. He then walked towards the front of the Shopping Plaza. Curiously enough, the whole place was empty for the time being. Except for Xion, who's standing in the front of the Monument.

"Xion." Josua greeted her with warmth.

"A new Divergence Matrix has sprung forth. The balance tips; the path is laid bare." She said before she turns around towards him.

"I and we desire you to seek and obtain." She said.

"I and we trust that you will accomplish this." She continued.

He nodded, showing that he understood what she wants him to do. She smiled warmly before she disappeared from his view, returning back to the Mothership.

Episode 1, Chapter 5: The Second Fragment END.

Note:

1. Image for reference: https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/pso/images/0/05/Krahda.png/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/340?cb=20181016173207

2. Image for reference: https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/phantasystar/images/1/1b/Pso2id_spardana.png/revision/latest?cb=20200327163901

3. Image for reference: https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/phantasystar/images/f/fb/Pso2id_spargun.png/revision/latest?cb=20200327163902

4. Image for reference: https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/phantasystar/images/4/4f/Pso2id_guardine.png/revision/latest?cb=20200327165255

5. Image for reference: https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/phantasystar/images/2/20/Pso2id_guardinane.png/revision/latest?cb=20200327165255

6. Image for reference: https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/phantasystar/images/8/8e/Pso2id_signo_beat.png/revision/latest?cb=20200327165256

7. Image for reference: https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/phantasystar/images/5/54/Pso2id_signo_blue.png/revision/latest?cb=20200327165256

8. Image for reference: https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/phantasystar/images/3/32/Pso2id_big_vardha.png/revision/latest?cb=20200327165254

9. Image for reference: https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/phantasystar/images/a/a1/Pso2id_tranmizer.png/revision/latest?cb=20200327165257