Voltiana

Later that day, Morino and Kia were busy playing cards in a bar with a group of humans. Morino placed down a stack of cash, chuckling.

"Who wants a second round? I've got a half a million for any takers!"

Kia shook her head and groaned. "Father, we have been here for 5 hours straight. Maybe it's time you get some actual food and stop drinking these…"

She picked up a bottle of beer. "…unhealthy substances."

Morino waved her off. "It's fine, Kia! Just one more game, and we can go! I've already made tons of extra cash!"

Kia sighed. "So irresponsible.

A man pulled out a wad of cash from his pocket and slammed it down on the table. "This right here is all I've got. Dial me in!"

"You bet!" Morino replied.

Kia got up, pacing around the bar. "I hope my kids are alright. Leaving them with those girls just…doesn't sit right with me."

Just then, Dachii and Marachii burst inside the bar, breathing heavily. Kia jumped back, surprised. "Kids?"

"Mom!" Marachii exclaimed. "Where's Morino?"

Kia pointed to a booth. "Gambling. Why? Is something wrong?"

"Well," Dachii said. "Atomu wants to talk to him. About VERY important stuff."

Kia's shoulders dropped. "What is it this time? You boys better not have gotten into trouble!"

"Uh—-"

Before Dachii could finish, Nishiyama, Tomoko, and Atomu entered the bar, and Atomu called for Morino.

"General Morino!"

Morino immediately stopped what he was doing and looked back, confused. "Hold on, boys. Keep my deck intact for me."

He exited the booth and approached the group. "Well, this is a happy little reunion! Why are you all here? This isn't a child-friendly place."

Atomu stepped forward. "Sir, there's a bit of a crisis."

Morino immediately sobered up. "Great. What's the story now?"

Meanwhile, on the other side of the Batango Party, on a bench…

"Let me get this straight. So after that crazy arena battle you had with the 'Obsidian Order,' the guy leading the charge warned you of a super dangerous faction of their ranks called the Elites, and now one of them is running loose among our people and you don't know where he is?" Mina asked.

Aoki nodded. "Correct."

Saori tapped her chin. "But how can they move so quietly? I never understood it!"

Mina shrugged. "I'm still stuck on the whole 'Obsidian Order' name. That is such a poor choice of words, am I right?"

Aoki just glared at them, disappointment on her face. "Why did I even bother telling you two idiots about this?"

"Where are Dachii and Nishiyama anyway?" Mina asked. "We still haven't finished our zoo tour yet."

Aoki crossed her arms. "Atomu's probably leading them to do something behind my back. He's just like his sister, I swear it."

"Well it'll be getting dark soon," Mina noted. "We should go find them!"

Aoki sat next to Mina and Saori on the bench. "It's okay. They'll come find us. They do need me, after all."

"What makes you so special?" Mina questioned.

Aoki stared at her, eyes red. "You don't want to know, child. You don't want to know."

"Point taken!"

Meanwhile, on the streets of Batango…

Morino took in the information as Atomu updated him about the situation. "An enemy amongst us once again? Just like the Festival…"

"I know," Atomu agreed. "The intruder may try to sneak in again, like the others did. Right now they could be straight on their way here, and we'd have no way of knowing."

Morino stopped, and Atomu studied him for a moment. "Sir, are you alright? You've been very quiet as of late."

Morino closed his eyes, deep in thought. "Have I told you guys the real reason I wanted to host this event?"

Everyone stopped.

"No, sir," Atomu replied.

Morino turned back to look at them. "Come, gather up the rest of the squad. I think it's time I tell you all a story."

"What story?" Dachii asked.

Morino put a hand on his head. "The story of how I met your Grandmother."

Behind the pack, Kia's eyes widened, and she quickly pulled Morino aside. "Father, are you sure? I don't know if my kids are ready, and I definitely don't want you telling it to those pale-skinned monsters around them!"

He put a hand on Kia's shoulder. "It'll be fine, I promise you. Everyone, follow me."

He led them all down the street—-back to his house.

Half an hour later, all of Squad S-3 was gathered in his living room, while Kia glared at them from the kitchen. Morino studied the squad for a moment before he spoke.

"Where's Mina?"

"I called her," Nishiyama answered. "She didn't respond, however. She might still be with the animals."

Morino sat down in the middle of the group. "Well then, we shall begin without her."

"Is there any reason for this abrupt summoning, Sir Morino?" Mashimo asked.

Morino took a deep breath. "Mashimo, do you remember how we met?"

"Of course," he replied. "You took me on during the Tryouts, when I was only 17 and hadn't won a single round."

Morino patted him on the back. "And it was a good pick, too. But I've never told you about how I've become a general, have I?"

"No, sir."

"Listen up, everyone, it was 53 years ago…"

Many years ago, in Batango…

A young Morino Masato was busy scavenging for trash in a dumpster nearby. A brown-skinned boy with long hair walked up next to him.

"Anything good in that pile?" he asked.

Morino shook his head. "No, Kevin. Nothing."

Kevin laughed. "That's our life for ya! We struggle while the Voltians thrive!"

Morino rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. I know it's not fair, but it's all we've got. So, you and me, how about we go hit the next alley? There's got to be something we can eat, sell, or refurbish."

Kevin scoffed. "Lead the way, trash-man."

They went from alley to alley, digging through tons of garbage, but there wasn't much they could find. Eventually, they ended up on a bench, sweating and groaning.

"Can you believe we didn't hit a single jackpot today?" Morino remarked. "We must have went through, I don't know, 300 garbage cans?"

Kevin rubbed the sweat off his face with his shirt. "Told ya. All we do is struggle. It's not right, not at all."

Morino sat up, hanging his head. "Dad passed away 5 months ago. Ever since then, it's just been hell. Living here alone is bad, but living here HOMELESS? And I thought the working adults had it tough."

Kevin opened his mouth to speak, but he noticed a poster on one of the meat shops nearby. "Hey, what's that?"

Morino got up, taking a closer look. "I don't know, let's see what it says!"

They both approached the poster, which read:

"Voltian Tryouts are being held this Thursday! Come attend! Any humans who successfully advance and get picked by a Squad will be granted honorary Voltian Citizenship and be allowed to move into one of the Squad Mansions in the Asuka District!"

Morino and Kevin both shared a look.

"Asuka?" Morino gasped. "That's…"

"Only one of the most prestigious places in the entire nation!" Kevin finished. "Other than Sumasara, but only the Royal Family lives there."

"Still," Morino noted. "From the little info I've gotten, Asuka is where nobility lives. Those with royal blood, high status, and lots and lots and LOTS of money!"

Both he and Kevin cracked a smile, but then an old, grizzly man walked up to both of them and ripped the poster down.

"Hey!" Morino exclaimed.

"What the hell, Mr. Itaya?" Kevin blurted out.

Mr. Itaya smacked both boys across the head with the poster. "Are you kids crazy? There's no way in the seven hells you'd ever be able to make a mark in these Tryouts! You're just asking for a death wish, I tell you!"

Morino and Kevin both folded their arms.

"They can't be that hard," Kevin suggested. "What do we have to do, ace a bunch of tests?

Mr. Itaya shook his head. "You've got to fight in actual matches against those things. They don't hold back either, especially not on a human. If you think either of you scrawny chumps could even make it out of round one, well…your funeral."

"So we're supposed to just give up on this chance?" Morino shot back. "We've already got no real home, maybe this could be our big break!"

Mr. Itaya looked Morino dead in the eye. "Look, boy. I promised your father I'd protect you two. I know you and your brother have had some hard times as of late, but that's no excuse to be reckless like this! Have you ever seen a Voltian in person?"

"Not face to face, no," Morino answered. "I've seen them on the local TVs."

"Same here," Kevin added.

Mr. Itaya shook his head. "Exactly. You have no idea what they can do. They're long-lived, and highly potent in magic, with a ruthless edge to them humans could never hope to match. Some of them even possess…Elemental Powers."

"What's that?" Morino and Kevin asked.

"Can't say for sure, but they're rumored to be powerful, ancient abilities that grant the user the strength of a god. Humans aren't able to gain any, though."

Morino listened closely, curious. "Woah. Those sound awesome."

"Yeah, but even if it is true, he just said humans can't use them," Kevin pointed out.

Mr. Itaya turned back to the direction he came. "Come, I'll allow you boys each one more bowl of soup for this week, but it's in high demand, so you'll need to figure out another way of supporting yourselves."

They followed him inside of his kitchen, and he gave them each a large container filled with soup. Once that was done, he sent them on their way, and the brothers found shelter in an abandoned house.

"We can squat here for the night," Morino said. "But we should leave early before anyone catches us. We don't want them to report us to the Voltian Authorities."

"Yeah, yeah," Kevin said. "Spend the night, ditch in the morning."

They sat on the dusty floor. After a few minutes of eating, Morino cleared his throat. "So, do you think Mr. Itaya was right? We should give up on the Tryout idea?"

Kevin shrugged. "I don't know. I'd be willing to take the risk, but we still have no idea how the thing works, or even if the reward is legit. What kind of magical powers do you think they have?"

Morino chuckled. "Imagine if they could fly! Or wait, could they breathe fire? What if they can turn invisible?"

Kevin burst out laughing. "Funny. But Thursday is only two days away. If we're gonna do this, we've got to do it right."

Morino nodded. "Yeah. But it's getting dark. Let's hit the sack for now, and we can deliberate on our next move when we wake up."

"Can't argue with that."

They both quickly finished their food and rested their heads on the ground. In no time, they were out cold.

In the morning, Morino awoke to the sound of a young girl's voice, which didn't sound like any girl he recognized.

"Momo? Momo! Momo, stop it! This isn't funny!"

Morino gently woke up Kevin, who groggily stared at him. "Ugh, is it Saturday already?"

"Listen! Do you hear that outside?"

"Momo! Are you here? If you are, give me a big MEOW!"

Kevin immediately sat up. "Who the hell is that? Why does she sound so…alien?"

Morino peeked through the window of the house, and he saw a beautiful, pale-skinned girl with violet eyes and long white hair. She was wearing an elegant white dress and had a glowing silver crown on her head.

"Woah, who is that?" Kevin asked. "She's kind of hot."

Morino elbowed him, and he held up his hands. "What? Just saying."

"What's a Voltian doing in Batango?" Morino wondered. "Did someone report us? But she looks like a royal! Why would a royal even bother to come here?"

Just then, she noticed Morino peeking through the blinds, and she smiled a sigh of relief. "Momo! There you are!"

She walked up to the door of the house, making Morino and Kevin panic.

"Shit!" Morino exclaimed. "She's seen us! Quick, we've got to hide, we've got to find an exit, we've got to—-!"

The door burst open, and the girl stepped inside. "Now, Momo. Why did you run away from me? That wasn't very nice, you bad, bad furball!"

She stopped abruptly when she realized who was in the house. "Hu…mans?"

Kevin quickly reacted and tossed a nearby broomstick at her. "Come on, Morino! We've gotta go!"

The girl quickly put her hands up, and with a flash of white sparks, the broom shattered before it could reach her. "Hey! That's not nice!"

Morino and Kevin jumped out of the window and started running, and the girl whirled around. "Where are they going?"

Both boys took off down the road, pushing past confused onlookers. They turned a few blocks and corners, never stopping to look back.

"Is she still on our trail?" Kevin asked.

"I don't know! You attacked a ROYAL!" Morino yelled back. "That's at least, a minimum of 60 years in their dungeons! And that's if we're lucky!"

"I was freaking out, man! Sorry!"

After a few more blocks, they continued running, but Morino accidentally fell into a pit of wet concrete, becoming submerged from his waist down.

"Crap! You okay?" Kevin asked.

"Damn it, this stuff is like quicksand! Go on without me, Kevin! She can't catch the both of us!"

"Alright! I'll come back for you if you aren't dead!"

"Gee, thanks."

Morino struggled to pull himself out as Kevin went to hide. As he continued to try and get out, his mind began to race.

"She wouldn't publicly execute me, right? After all, I'm not the one who threw the broom! No, no way she would. No possible way."

He looked up, and he found her standing right over him. "AHHH!"

She stretched out a hand toward him, and as he flinched, expecting an attack…

…she placed her hand on the wet concrete, and it exploded, shattering to pieces. Morino was instantly free, and she helped him out of the pit, to his shock.

"You, you just helped me?"

She smiled. "Obviously!"

She held a hand out to him. "Nice to meet ya! My name's Astari Asato, Princess of the Royal Family! What's your name?"

"Morino."

"Awesome name! I'm looking for a cat! Have you seen her?" she asked.

"No, I haven't seen any cat," Morino remarked.

"Well, could you help me look? Please? Pretty please? A girl's in NEED!"

Morino studied her for a long moment before finally giving in. "Fine. I'll help you find your cat."

"Great! Let's do this, partner!"

—-