Phantom Expertise

There was still time before Chiaki would head for the Vendurn on the underwater railway, guarded by the foremost agents.

Timothy and Phoebe remained on a time limit, and just before they thought they wouldn't be able to pass Snoobs, an unexpected visitor arrived.

It was instantaneous, and Timothy already knew the person who came to their aid. He was burning with excitement, and once the person turned around, he shared a wide smile.

"Yo. Long time no see, huh, T?" The person called, leaning their blade on their shoulder. "Alpha! It's really you!" he responded.

Alpha was Timothy's friend from the dueling academy he attended a few years ago. The two started as rivals but quickly became great friends.

Unlike Timothy, Phoebe felt bewildered and didn't know what was going on. "Alpha? She's not part of your crew, I assume?" Alpha lowered her blade, spun it in her right arm, and placed it back in her sheath. She wiped off the dust and then approached them.

"Of course, she's not. She's a friend I met two years ago. We attended the same class at the academy and fought some wild villains." Alpha's right eye returned back to its original color.

He wrapped his arm around her neck and tapped the top of her chest with the other.

"She's a professional swordswoman and one of the best students at the academy. I remember she reached the top tier in a test and kept that title for a while. She's the best! Isn't that right, Alpha?"

As Alpha observed Timothy's grin, she grew bored. She tried to push him away as she placed her palm on his forehead. "Oh, come on! I told you not to touch me so casually. It's hella weird!" He wouldn't let go no matter how hard she tried to push him away as she called.

"Oi! Let go of me! I didn't come here to share cuddly hugs and kisses! Seriously, back off!" She yelled while lifting her left leg. She shifted her sole onto his stomach and pushed him away while standing on it.

But it still didn't work.

"But it's been so long!" Due to Alpha's second hand pressing against his lips, Timothy couldn't speak clearly "Oi! Dude! You remind me of that annoying fly that won't stop flying around you!"

Phoebe had a hard time believing what she was seeing. Alpha whining was all she could hear.

"What's wrong with these two? That doesn't seem to be a stable partnership." She argued while picking at the top of her hair. She could hear them shouting at one another.

It settled down in the next few seconds after Alpha finally successfully removed Timothy from herself. She stuffed her hands in her pockets and exhaled with relief. "Anyway, now that that's over with, how about I ask you a question? What in the world are you doing all the way out here attacking the world government's headquarters? You tryin' to get yourself killed or what?"

With her chin up, Alpha turned to face Timothy. He cocked his head sideways and got serious. "You wouldn't know, I guess, would you? I'm trying to save Chiaki and get her out of here. You already know her. She was known as Tomomi, but after realizing her true identity, it turns out that her real name's Chiaki."

Alpha found his reasoning to be a little odd, but she didn't doubt what he was saying was true.

"That girl with spiritual powers? Yeah, I remember her, but what the hell's the reason for doing it? Is she some villain wanting to take over the world?"

Phoebe began the explanation after Timothy glanced at her. "Not quite. She's the youngest daughter of the Yasuda family. She is the final member of the "Spirit Flower" agency to have lived. Her family's interference in the global government's war against the Vast Expanse pirates is what has them after her. She didn't kill anyone, but because of her unique ability holds a bounty on her head. The world government scheduled her execution for this evening and wants her dead."

Alpha was curious but lacked a suitable answer. She didn't say anything but continued to scratch her head. "That would explain why the global government would have troops stationed all over the city. I'll help out since I'm already here. But know that I want more details."

Phoebe affirmed that she would provide additional details about the issues. In her response, Timothy asked, "What about you? How did you get here? And how exactly did you get to the Vast Expanse?"

Alpha answered immediately. "I don't even know how it happened. See, I found this inside my bedroom, beeping beneath my bed, giving me a headache," she said, pulling a device from her pocket.

"No matter what buttons I hit, it wouldn't stop blaring, but eventually a strange hole formed in front of me, and I was sucked into it. When I did, I found myself on an empty island with no population.

"I've been looking for answers for a few months. But this morning, I stumbled onto a wanted poster and some news on a board. When I realized it was your face in that picture, I had no idea what was going on. It just so happened that La Isleta Cortada was the closest island when I went searching for you. I decided to check into it and guess what. I got ambushed by this marine army who tried to shoot me down the moment I set foot on this island. I had to take them out since I had no other option. But I left them to breathe since I didn't want problems."

Timothy observed the device in Alpha's hand but didn't comment. He suddenly snapped, "Wait, we need to hurry up and save Chiaki! We wasted so much time talking. We don't have much time. You can explain the details while running!" Timothy yelled and then turned in the headquarters direction.

"Wait, hold up!" Alpha called, stopping them from progressing, and he looked at her bewildered, "I threatened one of the marines to kill him if he didn't tell me what was happening. He mentioned something about an underwater train being set to reach an island called Vendurn." Alpha's information made everything easier, and while they didn't have much time left, they had a chance to make it in time.

Timothy and Phoebe had a discussion after he noticed her nodding "That is the execution place, yes. I was planning to try to stop the execution there with my crew; the "Sea Wolves" pirates. I was supposed to meet with them there. But, without a doubt, that is where they are taking Chiaki. But it would take us hours to get there in time for her execution. It's why the underwater railway got invented."

Timothy closed his eyes, breathed in and out, and formed fists. "The underwater railway... got it. Hey, Alpha! Did the guard tell you anything about its location? It's gotta be on this island somewhere, right?"

Alpha nodded and whipped her right arm behind, pointing into the distance. "The station is on the northern side of the island, underground. But he said there's just one entrance to it. We would need to break through the headquarters, but based on the information I received, we'd stand no chance. On top of that, we would need to break into a prison connected to the underwater railway station."

Tim grinned and pumped his fists together "Nobody said we need to pass through the headquarters. All we gotta do is break through the ceiling. And now that the north has been cleared of any troops, it'll be easy."

Alpha smirked and put her hand back into her pocket, "Looks like you still have the urge to break into everything. I guess I can handle that."

Timothy nodded for the final time and then ran toward the north, "Yeah, I sure do. But this time I'm planning to destroy anything if it gets me to Chiaki." Alpha and Phoebe hurried on after him.

At the same time, Chiaki and the foremost agents finally reached the underwater station.

7 minutes remain before the underwater train's set to leave...

To be continued...