Strategy Meeting

"I'm staying here," Fuki told me. I nodded, as it didn't truly matter, but I wanted total silence to think of a plan.

"Ruby, you can stay too. This might involve you." I said with my finger on my lip.

"So, what are you thinking? I can add my points to yours if you're okay with that." Hex offered. I nodded and stood silent for a few minutes.

We're over-prepared in every aspect unless Zeus has some sort of army. I can't forget about his Apostles, which already spreads us extremely thin. We're in a terrible position when it comes to numbers, as they can use the Air Element and I can only use a certain aspect of it to speed my attacks and slow my falls. My Air Element is effectively useless. My other attacks are quite lackluster as well. [Bullet], [Impale], [Slash], and all other attacks I could muster wouldn't be enough. I would be too dependent on Fuki.

Fuki has the attack power, along with Tama. It might be a risk, but I have to try it...

"Fuki, I want you and Tama to be together throughout this fight, but you will not go after Zeus. You're going to corner his Disciples as much as possible and ask them if they want their lives to be saved, or their relationship with Zeus. If they choose Zeus, I want you two to execute them. Hex, what did you have in mind for handling the Apostles and Disciples?" I turned to her.

"We could combine our power to take out all of the members of his cult, or whatever you want to call it. If we do that, my only hole was that Zeus could attack us and beat us like that." Hex told me. That's why she was asking for our strengths. To figure out who to put up against Zeus. She was going to get to the same conclusion as I, but she was just slower. She was a slow-burner, just as I suggested she was earlier. Her intelligence could be useful...

"Hex, I don't want you to go back to Dex. I want you here with Ruby. If your attack power isn't potent, but you're as smart as I am, I need you to be with Ruby and think of any plans if at all possible. We'll get Ipa to be a messenger to relay messages depending on what changes in combat, and we'll go from there. For now, until further notice, Fuki and Tama will indefinitely be on a team while fighting Zeus. Does everybody agree?" I quickly glanced at everybody while waiting for their answers to my question, and looked at the map again.

"Fuki, you and Tama will lead Zeus to this beach right here. This is where the last strike I'll make will be at. Over everything else, and that means keeping the two of you safe, you need to get Zeus here. I can heal them for all damage they take, but I can't kill Zeus if you don't put him there. Do you understand me?" I looked up at Fuki next to see him nervously sweating as he watched me trace my finger along with the map.

"I think I can do that... I had no idea you were such a strategist, Anima!" He said. Even Shima, who was still on top of Hex's head, lightly said my name in a childish way.

"Zeus isn't the main problem, it's his Disciples. While we're distracting Zeus, you and Tama will kill every single Disciple if they don't surrender. To ensure their surrender, I'll have Ipa restrain them and Ruby and Hex watch over them. We have the battle strategy covered, and now we need fail safes. Let's see..." I said out loud, going silent to think.

If that doesn't work, we need enough attack power to handle the Disciples without those two. If we have to resort to violence with Zeus, we would lose. I could try to be a body shield, but I can't subject Shima to that anymore, not that I know she can feel and can think and can speak. I was stuck, but could I really leave it all to Ken? He seems to know more about this world and fighting than he lets on. I could gamble on it, but I want a safer alternative.

Depending on people always made me nervous, but now with Hex, I had a group of people I had to lead, which meant I was responsible for their lives. Any mistake cannot get past me. I want everything covered.

"My thought was to trust Fuki and Tama to fight the Disciples and to talk to Zeus as if you're willing to be his Vessel. You're good at deception, so why not show it off?" Hex asked me. There was her intelligence. Now that I know it wasn't just a wild coincidence, I knew having her with Ruby was the safest plan. I was confident.

"We'll do that then. I'll have to come up with a strategy on the spot. As for Soul and Ken, I'll keep Ken around, and Soul can stick with Fuki and Tama. Tama is good with her, so it'll be a good support if she fails. Fuki, you won't fail at your task, will you?" I asked him.

"Uh... no!" Fuki said to me with an unsure tone. I couldn't help but laugh a little.

"That's settled... but there's one more thing I'd like to throw into the mix. It's not anything significant, but it could be." I said.

I pulled out my knife and cut my hand, as I usually do when I go to make potions. However, this time, I threw the health potion at Fuki.

"Isn't this a waste of a potion?" He asked me. I shook my head.

"Hold it over my mouth," I said. Fuki held it above my head as I looked up, waiting to see what would happen if the potion burst. Would I still get healed? Would it not work?

The potion blew up again and the small droplets that were left from the flame landed on my tongue. My health regenerated... but it went past regeneration and added to my normal health... interesting...