Chapter 763: Noxians on the way.
Sunshine reached for it, but Ala slapped her hand away.
"Wait for me to explain how it works before you burn off your hands or something, aunt Suni. Rule one: don’t touch the perimeter once it’s on!" Ala warned, her eyes wide. "The energy friction is so high that it melts literally anything it touches. It doesn’t matter if it’s steel, rock, or a watcher’s face. It turns it into soup. It is very easy to use and very powerful but very dangerous. More dangerous than a doom wand."
Sunshine raised her hands, "Got it. Just one question, is it better than the exo-suit shields?"
"Please," Ala scoffed, rolling her eyes. "Exo-suit shields are like wearing a raincoat in a hurricane. This? This is like standing inside an impenetrable vault in a hurricane. Here, try it."
Sunshine took the ball and clicked a small indentation on the side. Instantly, a shimmering, translucent dome erupted around them. On the side of the device, a small holographic slider appeared, showing ’Increase’ and ’Decrease’ options for the size of the field.
To prove her point, Ala grabbed a cartoon mug from her desk_ one that said Baby boss_ and tossed it toward the edge of the shimmering light. The moment the mug hit the inside barrier, there was a faint hiss. It didn’t bounce; it didn’t shatter. It simply dissolved into a puddle of grey sludge before it even hit the floor.
"This works both ways, on the inside and outside." Ala told her. "So, your enemies will be in danger, but so will you."
Sunshine stared at the sludge, then back at the tiny ball in her hand. "Do not touch the acid shield. Noted. If we have to use it, we will stay inside the perimeter but away from "
She deactivated the barrier, the air snapping back into place, and sent the Shroud Barrier into her space. It would come in handy. She had that feeling. "Thanks, Ala," Sunshine said, looking at the small girl who was doing her part to keep them all alive. "I mean it. This might actually make tomorrow survivable."
Ala just gave a thumbs up, though for a fleeting second, the bravado faded and she looked just like what she appeared to be: a very small girl hoping her friends would come home. "Be careful out there."
Sunshine smiled, "I will."
"Aunt Suni can the boys come over for dinner, mom has been on edge about something." Ala requested, her voice wobbling just a tiny bit.
Sunshine knew that Leah’s behavior had something to do with Moon’s coming to the base, "Of course. I will tell Nimo to bring her twins over as well. Tank will deliver the food, so your mom doesn’t need to worry about cooking."
Ala nodded, biting her bottom lip.
******
Fortress Four was not the only group preparing to go to the rift in Mockland; the Noxians were making their own preparations, and theirs involved significantly fewer words and a lot more sharpened steel and doomsday weapons.
In the heart of the war room on their mothership, the air felt thick enough to choke on. Asgeda stood before a massive glowing map of the rifts that were on the earth’s surface. Each exhale sounded like a struggle, a harsh rasping noise as if the air itself was too stubborn to leave his nose. He wasn’t just a soldier anymore; he had long been promoted to lead the group of warriors tasked with hunting down the repairman_ the traitor who had vanished with their most guarded secret. But since he got the job, he had spent a lot of resources but had no results to show for it.
He turned away from the map, his cape sweeping against the cold floor, to face his unit of Noxian warriors. They stood like statues, faces hidden behind jagged helms.
"Tomorrow," Asgeda began, his voice gravelly and low, "is not a day for excuses. The mission must be a total success now that we have the coordinates of where the human will be. We are not going to earth to sight-see or study the weather. We are coming back with that repairman, Sunshine Raine."
One of the warriors shifted their weight, their armor clinking. Asgeda glared until the soldier froze. "No one said that she has to be alive when we bring her back. What matters is that our secret remains a secret."
As the warriors filed out, back to their sitting areas, Asgeda turned his attention to a small communication device on the table. A data packet had just arrived, glowing with a sinister red light.
Tega, his second-in-command, stepped out from the shadows. Tega was leaner, with a face scarred by years of ’disagreements’ with gravity and enemy blades. He looked at the device, then back at his leader.
"Are you sure about this?" Tega asked, crossing his arms. "Do you actually trust the source of that information?"
Asgeda scoffed, a sound that was half-laugh and half-growl. "The information came from Cobra."
The room went quiet for a beat. Tega’s eyes widened slightly, and he gave a slow, respectful nod. "Cobra? Well. That changes things. If that snake sent it, it’s legit. Dangerous, but legit."
"Exactly," Asgeda said, tapping a finger on the map. "But we have to go in completely undetected by the Mosotoys. If they catch wind of our plans, we risk exposing more than just the secret that the repairman knows."
Tega rubbed his chin, looking thoughtful. "And what about the Xylas? You have not mentioned them at all. Everyone knows what they are doing on earth. It is inevitable, that we will run into them."
Asgeda shrugged, his shoulders shifting under his armor. "The Xylas only care about their fun. As long as we don’t get in their way, we’ll be fine. We move fast, we grab the girl, and we leave before anyone realizes that we are there."
"Fast and quiet," Tega repeated, a small, dark smirk playing on his lips. "I’ll go get the pods and the heavy hardware ready. And in case the Xylas don’t welcome us, let me see what I can prepare as a gift to buy their cooperation."
"That is the kind of enthusiasm I like." Asgeda muttered, turning back to the map.
As Tega walked away, Asgeda studied the image of Sunshine Raine. She had run for so long, but finally, he had found her. He would take her back to Noxis, where she would live to save his race for the rest of her existence. If she resisted, they would wipe out her race and blame it on the Xylas.