Crossover Fan Fiction ❯ The Anime Margin: 108 Stars of Destiny ❯ Rise of the 108 Story, part 3: Valiance Rising ( Chapter 12 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Disclaimer:
This fic uses characters, places, themes from franchises that are the property of others. I do not own these franchises.

Special Thanks to:
Charles Xavier, Fanfiction.net author: For writing an awesome crossover with anime and Who Framed Roger Rabbit.

Suikosource website: for providing great information that made this fic possible.

The Anime Margin: 108 Stars of Destiny
By: RB3

Rise of the 108 Story, part 3: Valiance Rising

With Eddie having given his approval, the army could move on to the next step. Eddie's android body was an anime spitting image of his original, flesh and blood one. It was basically a shell, one that was meant to encase a reanimated skeleton bearing his spirit. The last step, obviously, was to reanimate Eddie's bones. The problem was that the army did not have Eddie's remains yet. In addition, Eddie wanted the same procedure done to Dolores, his wife, so that she could see the world that came a decade after their deaths. Thus, the army had to acquire the bones directly from their graves.

Since the mortuary in charge of Eddie's cemetery had been destroyed in the Omnipotence attack, they were unable to contact anyone to perform the exhumation for them. Thus, the only to acquire Eddie and Dolores' remains was to go to the graveyard and dig them up by hand. However, now was a dangerous time to perform such an important, yet dangerous mission. The Toons had become very antagonistic towards anime Toons because of Omnipotence's framing terrorist attack against Toontown. This exhumation would certainly be viewed negatively by the Toons if it was discovered. It would add fuel to the flames of an already intense situation, but that was a risk that the army had to take. It needed Eddie's leadership.

One dark, lonely night, the army made its move on Valiant Cemetery. Several of their agents hid in various locations within and around the cemetery as lookouts and support. On Kakashi's instruction, his students leapt into the trees of a forest at the south-eastern corner of the cemetery. Trunks walked down the street to a nearby convenience store and entered to purchase some snacks. Koichi, as Duskmon, leapt from rooftop to rooftop and dropped into an alleyway, magically blending into the darkness to remain hidden. Once all the lookouts were in place, a small shuttle quietly landed on a road at the base of the hill.

Anna and Faust exited the shuttle escorted by Yoh and a dozen of Faust's skeletons. The Shaman surrounded Eddie's grave, where Anna held out her beads to summon Eddie and Dolores' spirits. Eddie and Dolores' spirits answered her summons. "Eddie, we're at your grave. We're going to dig out your body," reported Faust.

"Okay, okay, make it quick," said Eddie, eager to get this distasteful mission completed quickly.

The skeletons toiled diligently under Faust's command, tirelessly performing such menial labour. Shovel after shovel of dirt piled up beside the Shamans until one of the skeletons struck something hard in the soil. After clearing the dirt, Eddie's casket was plain to see for everyone around. They opened the casket and revealed Eddie's remains to be within as expected. All that remained of the great detective was his bones, covered by dust and the jewellery he wore when he was buried. The skeletons closed the casket and dug out a ramp where they could move the casket out.

The skeletons filled in the grave with the dirt while others loaded the casket into the shuttle. "Okay, one down, one to go," remarked Faust. "So far so good…"

"Hurry up. This isn't exactly a picnic you know..." commented Dolores.

"We're going as fast as we can," said Anna.

During the digging, an unnoticed man spotted the Shaman and the skeletons digging the graves. He hid behind a gravestone and watched the skeletons dig out Dolores' casket. He snuck away and called the police with a payphone on the street. Within moments, the Shaman heard a siren loudening with its approach to the grave. Red lights flickered over the horizon as police cars descended on the cemetery. "Oh no, they're found us!" remarked Faust.

"Hurry up!" Eddie insisted.

The police attempted to open the gates, only to find that they had been welded shut. Unable to enter the cemetery, the police surrounded the grounds to ban any exit outside. They tapped into the intercom system to deliver an ultimatum to the grave robbers. "We have you surrounded. Come out with your hands up!"

Outside, the police heard of no response from the Shaman within as they accelerated their efforts to dig out Dolores' remains. As the police attempted to fly in on choppers, vines lashed out from trees underneath, latching onto the helicopters. Try as they might, the pilots couldn't shake their vehicles free of the vines. The vines dragged the vehicles towards the ground, where a small fairy sprinkled traces of magical light that put the occupants into a deep sleep. "Unit 54, please respond!" came an officer's status request over the radio. With the pilots asleep, no one responded.

Seeing that the grave robbers were hostile and possessed supernatural powers, the police prepared to storm the cemetery. However, like with their helicopters, strange forces served to impede them once again. The ground underneath their feet turned into a soft sand which gave out under their feet. Their cars, armoured transports, and other vehicles sank into the ground, trapped in a sea of shifting sand. Several officers sank waist deep into the ground, unable to free themselves as the sand hardened around them. Others scrambled to escape the pit of quicksand that had devoured them and their vehicles.

"This is ridiculous!" cursed an officer. "Call the Justice League!"

Through the sky, Superman soared eastward towards the cemetery to respond to the police's calls for assistance. From the east came an archer in green and his gorgeous female partner. The archer was dressed much like Robin Hood from the fables, only with a much greener, Superhero-styled uniform. His name was Oliver Queen, also known as the Green Arrow, a most fitting name for someone dressed like Robin Hood. His lovely partner, a blonde in tight fitting stockings, was Dinah Lance, also known as the Black Canary for her deadly voice.

However, Superman would not make it to the cemetery without incident. Sensing the great power surging within the Man of Steel's body, Trunks' Saiyan blood began to boil. He was eager to test his strength against the greatest hero of them all and flew out to confront him. "I need to be somewhere, please don't get in my way," said Superman.

"Ah, but you see, that's the problem," informed Trunks. "I can't let you go any further."

Superman attempted to fly around Trunks, only to have Trunks intercept him once again. "Don't make me angry. This is the last time I'll say this; move out of my way now!"

"No," replied Trunks. "Turn around now or I will make you turn around!"

Superman made a second attempt to pass by Trunks, who moved to intercept once again. Trunks shoved Superman back, an act which the Man of Steel viewed as rude. He shoved Trunks back, who responded in kind, pushing harder than the first time. This prompted Superman to attempt to force his way through, to which Trunks responded by tackling him to the ground. Since neither side was willing to back down, the fists began to fly. Superman, now irate at Trunks' interference, threw a punch, connecting with Trunks' jaw. He attempted a second punch, only this time, Trunks caught his arm and flipped him onto his back in a martial arts style throw that punched a crater into the pavement.

The Green Arrow and the Black Canary made their way through the forest in an attempt to reach the grave robbers deeper in. With the exception of the Superman-Trunks fight, all seemed quiet. A few seconds of wandering the Green Arrow sensed danger approaching. "Get down!" he cried, tackling Black Canary to the ground before she could even utter a word. A trio of kunai knives impaled the nearby tree, narrowly missing their intended targets. "We've got company!"

A horde of Naruto clones pounced on the duo, who fought back with equal ferocity. One by one, the Green Arrow let arrows rip into the clones, which vanished in puffs of smoke immediately upon being struck. The Canary screamed at top of her lungs, sending a powerful sonic shockwave which destroyed the rest. A trio of Sakuras charged the duo, who turned their fire onto the clones. Green Arrow fired an arrow into one of the Sakuras only to have the arrow pass through her like a ghost. Black Canary kicked one of the other Sakuras, but to surprise, her foot ended up passing through the Sakura clone like it was air.

"Illusions," muttered Green Arrow.

"The real ones have to be near by," said Black Canary.

From the treetops, emerged Sasuke, who shot off a flurry of hand signs for a jutsu. Taking a deep breath, he blew out several gouts of flames as hard as he could. Green Arrow sensed the fireballs coming and dove behind a tree for cover. He shot off a volley of arrows at Sasuke, forcing him to flee to safety in the treetops. "They're just kids," remarked Green Arrow. "Watch out! They're in the trees!"

"Well they sure don't fight like them," observed Black Canary, as she entered into an exchange of punches and kicks with Kakashi. "These guys are like ninjas."

"I guess that explains the funny looking knives and the illusions," said Green Arrow, firing off more arrows at Naruto.

Black Canary threw a kick at Kakashi, who dodged the attack with smooth grace. He threw a kick of his own, which the Black Canary blocked. She caught his foot and swept his other leg from under him. Kakashi rolled along the ground and flipped up to a vertical stance and prepared to attack. However, the Black Canary was one step ahead of him, letting lose a deafening Canary Cry at the ninja. The sonic shockwave rumbled the ground and blew fierce winds at Kakashi. Arms covering his ears, he braced himself as the cry wore down on him.

Meanwhile, the battle between Trunks and Superman raged on. The Man of Steel tackled the young half-Saiyan in the stomach, crashing through the side of a nearby hotel. Bricks and cement went tumbling to the street below. Trunks kicked his enemy off of his body, sending him crashing up through several floors and through the roof. When Superman recovered, he dodged an incoming ki blast which exploded with deafening nuclear force. He swooped in to deck Trunks across the chin. Trunks went crashing through several floors until he hit the ground. The now dangerously unstable hotel came crashing down and buried the half-Saiyan in rubble.

Superman landed beside the rubble to ascertain the fate of his adversary. A dusty Trunks bust his way out of the rubble, showing that he was not about to quit the battle. "What does it take to keep this guy down?" wondered Superman mentally.

From the expression on Trunks' face, he almost seemed to be enjoying himself. To most people, it would seem strange, but most people didn't understand the ways of the Saiyan people. To them, fighting was one of life's greatest pleasures. Saiyans loved to fight more than anything else and Trunks had inherited this love through his blood. "That was a good warm up. Let's go for round two," dared Trunks.

"I've wasted too much time with you," muttered Superman, who proceeded to take a deep breath.

Blowing as hard as he could, Superman created hurricane force winds just with his mouth. He chilled the air to such at an extent that the temperature reached dangerously low, sub-zero levels. Traces of frost formed on the street, followed by hardened ice. Trunks braced himself as the fierce, icy winds froze a thin coating of ice around him. Following up on his advantage, Superman blasted Trunks with a sudden burst of heat vision at maximum intensity. Trunks continued to weather the onslaught as best he could.

"Trunks, we're done. We've got Eddie and Dolores' remains, it's time to leave," came Tails' voice over his radio.

"Okay," replied Trunks, who then turned to Superman. "Well, it's been nice fight but I have a ride to catch."

Trunks unleashed a burst of power, breaking his way free from Superman's heat vision. He focused his rage and anger to channel great amounts of power through his being. His hair turned a brilliant gold and began to stand on end as though raised by static electricity. His eyes became as green as emeralds. An aura of golden energy surrounded his body. Superman could feel the sheer power radiating from Trunks he ascended to Super Saiyan. In an instant, Trunks vanished, only to reappear before the Man of Steel. Before Superman could even react, he was taking a punch to the gut.

Trunks pressed the advantage, pummelling the Man of Steel with everything he could muster. He threw dozens upon dozens of punches which Superman simply could not stop. As Superman stumbled backwards, overwhelmed by this sudden increase of power, Trunks delivered one last kick to the Man of Steel. Superman crashed through an abandoned hotel, bringing the entire structure crashing down on top of him. With Superman down, Trunks shut off his Super Saiyan powers and soared off to meet Tails and the Blue Typhoon.

Meanwhile, the Canary Cry continued to wear down on Kakashi's defences. Just when it seemed that this attack would overwhelm him, Kakashi vanished in a puff of smoke leaving behind a log in his place. This event surprised Black Canary, causing her to drop her guard long enough for Kakashi to pounce on her by surprise. He connected with a hard kick to the back of her head, knocking her flat on her face. It reduced her to lying on the ground writhing in a daze. As Kakashi went to check on Green Arrow, he found that his students had already taken care of him. The archer was lying on the ground unconscious on the ground surrounded by four Naruto clones.

"Kakashi, we're done. It's time to leave," ordered Tails.

The ninjas slinked through the forest away from the site of their battle. Once other Justice Leaguers arrived to help, the ninjas and the other cemetery lookouts were long gone. A black man in a black spandex uniform, which turned green at the shoulders, emerged above the forest. On his chest was the symbol of an abstract green lantern made from the Roman numeral for two with a circle in the centre instead of lines. This man was John Stewart, also known by his Superhero alter ego of Green Lantern. His ring scanned the area like a green spotlight until it detected signs of life obstructed behind trees. When he went to investigate, he found the sprawled bodies of Green Arrow and Black Canary on the ground.

Green Lantern checked the pulse of his comrades. "I found Green Arrow and Black Canary. They're alive but unconscious. I'll need the medical team to come and check out their condition."

Elsewhere, Wonder Woman descended on the massive pile of rubble that had buried Superman. As she pulled the building's remains away, she freed Superman enough so that he could bust out on his own power. "Superman, are you okay?"

"I'm fine," replied the Man of Steel. "...But that anime Toon got away. I couldn't stop him."

---

When the Blue Typhoon landed on the army's headquarters, the skeletons immediately burst out of the doorway. "Clear the way, clear the way!" cried Faust as he followed behind the skeletons. They ran down the boarding bridge rushing the coffins as though they were going to the emergency room.

They burst into a Japanese, temple-like chamber lit only by candles. The room had an eerie, otherworldly feel around it as befitted its connection to the world of spirits. Waiting in the room was Dr. Eggman and Anna Kyoyama, making the last preparations for the ritual to bring Eddie and Dolores' spirits back to the mortal plane. Dr. Eggman ran diagnostics on the android bodies while Anna recited a prayer for relaxing the borders between worlds. With Faust's arrival, it was time to begin. Faust opened the coffins and began to chant words in an alien language. The remains of the Eddie and Dolores glowed with aura of violet light.

With Faust's necromantic preparations complete, Dr. Eggman placed the bones within the open android bodies. These bodies were like shells with a tangled web of wires running within in them. His gloved hands moved with precision as he began to wire the bones to the android's locomotive systems. His doctor's fact mask did little to hide the sweat that came from performing such a delicate operation. After an hour of work, Dr. Eggman connected the last wire to the Eddie's bones. He closed the body and waited for the next phase of the operation.

Anna proceeded to recite a prayer in Japanese, holding her beads above the new bodies of Dolores and Eddie. As she chanted, a faint but noticeable chill seemed to fall over the room. An ethereal presence filled the room as Eddie and Dolores made the transition from the afterlife to the mortal plane. The androids seemed to glow with blue ectoplasm as the ghosts descended into the androids. When the chanting reached its peak, Anna slumped over, fatigue from such a great exertion of spiritual energy. Faust rushed over to prop her up.

"Are okay Anna?" he asked.

"I fine, just tired," she replied. "I'm finished. Eddie and Dolores are in their new bodies."

True to Anna's words, the androids began to stir and arose from the table. Eddie raised an arm up to his face to feel his new body. Dr. Eggman gave him a hand mirror for him to look at himself. "Wow, its me, only I'm a Toon now," he commented.

"An anime Toon," correct Dr. Eggman.

Dolores looked over her body as Eddie. "So is this what it's like to be a Toon. I've always wondered what being a Toon would be like. I guess I can have an anvil fall on my head and not feel a thing."

"Not quite," warned Faust. "It doesn't quite work that way with anime Toons. If an anvil falls on your head, you won't be walking away like nothing happened, assuming of course that you survive it in the first place."

"Now that I'm back, what's the deal with this army you're all making?" asked Eddie.

"Eddie!" cried Roger as he plastered himself against Eddie's face and began kissing it.

"Mgggh, Roger, Roger, okay! Calm down. I'm glad to see you too!"

"Mr. Valiant?" said Folken, as shook Eddie's hand. "I'm Folken Fanel. I'll be your strategist and advisor while you lead our army against Omnipotence."

"Pleased to meet you, er Vulcan," said Eddie.

"Folken," replied Folken.

"You know, I think calling ourselves an army is very, what's the word, blah," commented Dolores. "We should get a better name that just 'the army.'"

"What did you have in mind?" asked Folken.

Within moments, Eddie addressed the Stars of Destiny and their allies on TV. "...I was brought back to help you bring Omnipotence to justice. After talking to you, I can tell that you've been given a bad rap by the Toons. Don't worry because you've got yourself a friend in me. Yet, all this time, you don't even have a name for yourself. I think I'll give you one. From now on, we will be called 'Valiance,' an army of the brave and the courageous. Today is the day we make Omnipotence cry!" Eddie's moving speech brought a raucous chorus of clapping and cheering by Valiance members. Eddie's inauguration was a day that would live on in infamy for the terrorists of Omnipotence.

As the next days passed by, Eddie and Dolores became acquainted with Valiance's headquarters. What was once an empty field filled with crumbling ruins contained a small but thriving town of various peoples, both human and not. At the centre of the headquarters was the main office of Valiance, the dome-like command centre for the entire operation. This was where Folken worked and also where the various members of Valiance received their orders and briefings. Travelling southward in Benny the Cab, they came upon several clusters of domes separate from the main headquarters. This was where soldiers of the army stayed while they were training for operations against Omnipotence.

There was another cluster to the east where the actual training took place. These buildings had various roles such as storehouses for equipment, weapons, and hangars for vehicles like aircraft and mecha. Kakashi demonstrated the hand signs for a new jutsu to his students at a tree some distance from the road. Aquilamon spiralled winds into a great sideways tornado which blew down several mechanical practice dummies. Sakura, Shaoran, and friends sat under a tree listening to a lesson on magic from Clow Reed. Piccolo threw punches into the air to demonstrate a martial arts technique, which an assembly of soldiers mimicked.

"They sure mean business," remarked Eddie. "They really are getting ready for a war."

"That's right, Mr. Valiant, Omnipotence's attack on Toontown has showed us that they aren't playing around. They mean business, serious business. Your presence here has inspired the troops to redouble their training," admitted Folken. "Even some of the Toon refugees have decided to join us after hearing you would lead us."

"My, my, Eddie, you've sure a raised a storm with your comeback," snickered Dolores.

"Yeah, you said it, but I don't even know half the guys who are working for me," said Eddie. "Well, except you, Floken..."

"Folken, Folken Fanel," corrected Folken. "As you know, anime is Japanese animation. You've already met Anna, Faust, and Dr. Eggman."

"Yeah, it's a damn pain trying to remember all those strange names you have. It's even harder trying to pronounce some of them. Why can't you all have simple names like 'Mickey Mouse' or 'Donald Duck?'" said Eddie.

"Well, not all anime are meant to be comedic. Our audience is more of one that likes to see and hear a coherent narrative. What I mean is that they watch anime for the story. Take me, for example. You may not know it, but I am a prince. I was in line for the throne of my kingdom. Before I could ascend to the throne, I had to complete a quest to prove myself worthy. I had to kill a dragon and return with its heart." Folken showed Eddie and Dolores his mechanic arm. "I not only lost my quest, I lost an arm as well. It was then I met a great man named Dornkirk and entered into his service. He introduced science to the people of Zaibach, his followers, and went on to become their Emperor. I still serve him today."

"Damn," said Eddie. "Things were so much simpler in my time."

"That's not where my story ends though," said Folken. "Our nation eventually went to war to bring the gifts Dorkirk bestowed upon us and to be the ushers of a new era of peace in the world of Gaea. This war ended up pitting me against my brother, who had become king in my stead."

"Who won the war?" asked Dolores.

"At first, we thought we did. We successfully set what up was known as a Zone of Absolute Fortune. Within it, we thought peace would reign throughout Gaea. Within it, everyone could have everything without want or need. Yet, instead of peace, it only led to more fighting and bloodshed. With Zaibach's armies defeated, our enemies turned on each other! We were baffled. We were stunned. We were wondering how this could have happened. We thought we had made an error in our technology but that wasn't the problem."

"So what was the problem?" asked Dolores.

"We racked our minds trying to figure that out. It took some deep soul searching before we realized what had gone wrong. The problem wasn't our technology, it was in the human element, the hearts and minds of the people. We couldn't force them to live in peace, no matter what we did. The only way peace would ever come to Gaea is if people wanted it. Realizing our failure, we shut down the Zone of Absolute Fortune before it could do any more damage and negotiated with our enemies. It was only then did Gaea return to peace."

"Whoa, deep," remarked Benny the Cab.

"Who knew you anime Toons could be so complicated," remarked Eddie.

"You haven't even talked to some of the others at our base. Many of them have similarly epic tales of their experiences in wars and conflicts. Anime Toons may be images on a screen, but at the end of the day, they are people. They may have bizarre powers or look strange, but they're still people, thrown into the most extraordinary circumstances. Anime is as varied as the characters that act in it. Our champions resist Omnipotence, doing so because of the experiences they have had in their lifetimes."

Benny pulled up beside Valiance's mess hall, which a patio filled with conversing customers. "Here's our stop."

---

In the space around the Valiance home world, a great red mobile suit soared through the vast reaches of the void. "Aegis, please report," commanded Cagalli over the radio.

"This is the Aegis, there is no sighting of anything out of the ordinary," reported Athrun.

At that moment, a flicker of light flashed through the void of darkness. A great nimbus of swirling energy opened from which a ship burst out from the other side. The ship appeared to be a small cargo craft for hauling supplies from location to location. It was a sleekly designed craft painted in blue with a bullet-like chassis. It technological level was very high, as the craft was armed with mostly energy-based weapons. However, since this craft was meant for transporting good, it was relatively lightly armed, having only about three different cannons. The craft had suffered very severe damage, with blast marks dotting nearly everywhere on the side of the craft.

"Wait, a cargo craft has entered our space interdimensionally!" reported Athrun. "The craft appears to be of Abh origin. I'm transmitting a video now."

A static filled transmission came over the radio. "SOS, SOS, this is the cargo ship Courier. Our craft has sustained heavy damage. We request assistance as soon as possible."

"Courier, this is the mobile suit Aegis," introduced Athrun. "You have entered restricted space. Your ship will be captured and impounded. Lower your shields and cut off your engines."

Athrun transformed the Aegis into its sleek mobile armour mode and clamped its claws around the cargo ship. The Aegis sped back towards its mother ship, the Kusanagi, which released a small troop transport to meet it. After scanning the craft for anomalies, the transport attached a retractable tunnel which a boarding party used to breach the other ship. The cargo craft's occupants, a teenaged boy and a teenaged girl, raised their hands in surrender as the soldiers trained guns on them. After a thorough search for weapons, the soldiers led the two back to their craft, while the Aegis moved the ship back to the Kusanagi.

The two passengers were led back to the Shrine of the Stars where Folken led their questioning intently. The first of the two passengers was a teenaged boy, barely old enough to begin shaving, with chestnut hair. The young boy had a look of wide-eyed innocence about him. His female companion was far different. She had an enduring, elven beauty about her that made her seem far more alien than her friend. Unlike him, she was blue of hair and fair of skin. Both appeared to be intergalactic teamsters due to the soiled brown jumpsuits they wore, but looks were one thing that tended to be deceiving.

With the girl seated alone on a stool, Folken commenced his interrogation. "Who are you and where do you come from?"

"I am Lafiel Abriel, Viscountess of Parhyn of the Blue Stars," replied the girl.

Folken paused a moment to absorb Lafiel's answer. "Tell me 'Lafiel,' why have you come here? This is a restricted area. Why are you here?"

"We need your help. A group of rebels have taken control of the Empire through a coup d'etat. We are losing ground daily. If this keeps up, we're finished. We barely made it here alive to tell you this. Please, you must help us!"

"Even if what you say is true, what makes you think we're are going to involve ourselves?" asked Folken. "Your civil war is an internal matter. We have no reason to get involved."

"No reason? Not even if I were to tell you that Omnipotence is backing the rebels?" asked Lafiel. Lafiel's revelation raised Folken's eyebrows. "Yes, we know all about you, about Valiance and Omnipotence as well. That is why we came to you. You are in the best position to help us."

"Interesting... So what evidence is there to back up your claims?"

"Omnipotence is providing the rebels with weapons. We have acquired records that will serve as evidence of everything I've told you. We have police reports of weapons seized from the rebels, records of their transactions, and testimony of arms runners caught by law enforcement agents. Once you see these records, there's no way you can deny Omnipotence's involvement," stressed Lafiel.

"That is all for today," declared Folken. "Guards, please escort Ms. Abriel to her cell, then bring her companion to me."

The guards escorted Lafiel to her cell and returned with her companion. Folken began the questioning immediately, which ultimately went similarly to Lafiel's interrogation. Since both their stories were similar, Folken didn't really learn anything new, other than the boy's identity. The boy's name was Jinto Lynn and he was the Count of Hyde, another solar system in the Blue Stars. Both were fugitives in the Blue Stars fleeing death at the hands of rebels who've initiated a coup d'etat against the Abh royal family. Omnipotence's influence was central to the affair, as they were supporting the rebels and supplying them with weapons.

Later in the night, Folken waited anxiously in his office for Kakashi to answer a summons. "Where could he be?" wondered Folken. A knock came from his office door. "Come in!" The guest turned out to be Kakashi. "Kakashi, where were you? You're late!"

"Sorry sir, I had some business to catch up on," replied the Jounin.

Folken let out a gasp of exasperation. "Well, now that you're here, I have a job for you. Just an hour ago, I interrogated our two prisoners and looked over the data found in their ship's computer. The data corroborates their story, but I want to make certain that this is not an attempt at deception. I would like you and your students to go to the Blue Stars to confirm their stories and find out anything else if you can."

"Of course," replied Kakashi.

"Thank you," said Folken. "Here is a scroll with all of the pertinent information."

Folken handed over a scroll which Kakashi briefly skimmed through. Without saying a word, Kakashi nodded, closed the scroll, and tucked it safely into a pocket within his vest. The Jounin left the office to begin his mission. A week passed before he and Team 7 returned from their mission. Kakashi knocked on the door and entered the office. The Jounin had brought good news, Lafiel and Jinto's story had checked out. They were Abh nobles as they had claimed and were wanted like common criminals by the rebels. Omnipotence was indeed supporting and supplying weapons to the rebels, but their influence went further than what the two knew.

"From our information gathering, it appears Chimera is not just the rebel leader. We have reason to suspect that he may actually be an Omnipotence agent," reported Kakashi.

"Interesting," remarked Folken. "So Omnipotence has corrupted yet another government."

"However, even though the insurgents are winning, they will require additional resources to keep this advantage. They intend to invade other anime worlds to acquire the supplies they need to fuel their war machine. In order to do so, the insurgents have acquired extra-dimensional travel technology from Omnipotence and intend to hit Alchemic Earth as their first target. They are leading up to a coup d'etat with a campaign of destabilization led by inserted agent provocateurs."

"If the Abh are beginning to move on territory outside of the Blue Stars, this is a serious threat to the anime worlds. Thank you for bringing this to my attention, Kakashi."

"You're welcome."

Meanwhile, Lafiel and Jinto waited in their cell for their fate to be decided by their captors. "I wonder what they're going to do?" asked Jinto.

"I don't know, Jinto," replied Lafiel. "They've got to listen to us, they just have to. We won't make it without their help, not at the rate we're going."

"You know, I look at these people but I can't stop thinking how strange they are," admitted Jinto.

"Strange?"

"Yeah, all these people are so different. They dress different and come from different worlds. Some are human and others are not. Some have special powers, but others are as normal as you or I. They are nothing alike, yet they are all working together to stop Omnipotence. I wonder what kind of enemy they are to have made them join together?"

A set of footsteps echoed along the way to the cell. On closer inspection, the footsteps didn't seem like footsteps at all. They sounded more the like hooves striking the ground, akin to a horse walking at a brisk pace rather than a jackbooted guard. The shadow of the sound’s source grew larger as a figure approached; the darkness seemingly shifting out its way to reveal its visage. The figure was not even human, but a muscular centaur augmented by cybernetics. It had bulbous blue growths on its body and a Roman helmet covering its face. The only thing that could be seen through the darkness of that helmet was a single red eye with a burning stare.

The centaur, a Digimon of the species known as Centarumon, began to unlock the cell door. "Okay, the leader wants to speak with you."

The Centarumon led the two prisoners to an office on the top floor of a dome building some distance away. Inside the office, Eddie and Folken discussed Valiance's next move. "Eddie, we have two major tasks on hand," began Folken. "The first is the Abh threat to the anime worlds, which is divided into two parts; supporting the Imperials as they fight the rebellion and repelling invasions on other anime worlds. Already, we have reliable intelligence that Alchemic Earth is the Abh's first target. The second is to..."

Centarumon's voice came over the intercom system. "Sir, I've brought the prisoners here as you've requested."

Folken pressed a button on his end. "Thank you, Saggi. Bring them in."

Within moments, the door swung open as Saggi the Centarumon led the prisoners into the meeting room. Lafiel and Jinto sat on the seats directly across from Eddie. "Hello kids, I'm Eddie Valiant. I've been told you two were the ones who provided us with the information on the Abh-Omnipotence connection."

"Yes sir, that's right," said Jinto.

"We've reviewed your information and appreciate you coming all this way to bring this to our attention. We've decided to help you against the Abh rebels," said Eddie.

"You will?" asked Lafiel.

"That's right," replied Eddie.

"As part of our alliance, you will be our liaison to the Abh imperials," continued Folken. "We'd like to arrange a meeting with your leaders to discuss the situation as soon as possible."

"Thank you, thank you all!" said Lafiel. "I know with your help, we can make it through this."

END OF CHAPTER

New Stars of Heaven/Heavenly Leaders:
#1 Tenkai, The Chief Star of Heaven: Eddie Valiant (Who Framed Roger Rabbit?)
#8 Teni, The Star of Majesty: Dolores Valiant
#10 Tenki, The Lofty Star: Lafiel Abriel (Crest of the Stars)

New Stars of Earth/Earthly Warriors:
#48 Chikatsu, The Eminent Star: Jinto Lynn (Crest of the Stars)


Spotlight: Crest of the Stars


When Jinto Lynn was a young boy, the Abh laid siege to his home planet of Martine with the intent of conquering it. His father, Rock Lynn, a prominent politician, took it upon himself to surrender the planet to the elven invaders rather than risk a bloody war. As part of the deal, Lynn became leader of the Hyde solar system and by extension, his son became his heir. Now an Abh by title, Jinto was sent to military academy for training, meeting Lafiel on the way there. During this time, the Abh's rivals, the Four Nation Alliance, attacked their ship, forcing them to escape to warn the capital.

Origin:
The term Abh can refer to the nobility or more commonly, the elven Abh race. The Abh race is actually a product of genetic engineering. They were once a race bred for the purposes of space travel, but have long since overthrown their masters. Now, they have built the largest empire in the universe, which continues to expand even into the present day. Though rulers of great amounts of territory, they prefer to make their home in the stars. Those who are nobility among the conquered, like Jinto, become Abh by title and are forced into military service.

Powers:
The Blue Stars, the world of Crest of the Stars, is a world steeped in scientific law. The other power types, ki, magic, and psionics, only exist in foreigners visiting this world. The Abh have ships capable of travelling faster than light with weapons to match. The Abh maintain the purity of their race through genetic engineering. Those born into nobility, like Jinto's future children, are required to undergo genetic treatments which cause them to gain Abh traits. Unlike humans, Abh have a special sensory organ on their forehead which they join to their ships via cable. This bond gives them a great ability to process information related to their ship's status.