New Game+

Deep inside the central command room of the Kraken, various voices could be heard screaming orders angrily.

"Sir! We've detected more dead soldiers on the Western platforms!"

"Another report of a traitor on Delta squad!"

"Where are the Elites? How long are they arriving?"

"Our request for reinforcements was denied, Sir! No Elites will be sent!"

"What?!" The Commander shouted angrily.

"I need that report!" Another commander demanded on the other side of the room.

"Sir! Lieutenant has not returned any updates, Sir! They are still looking for the enemy!"

The command room in the Kraken had a very complicated command chain. Each Commander took the initiative to take control of a specific aspect of the battle. These commanders would train, fight against, and would often conduct missions together. Such arrangements allowed them to maximize and anticipate each other's actions and carry on with their respective commands that would also aid and make the tasks of the others more efficient.

But in the chaotic battle, they had more problems than solutions.

The Admiral continued to remain silent.

"Traitor? Do the Emperors think that I am betraying them?" The Admiral frowned. He continued to monitor the various responses that the WGP had in their request. They were not aware that two Rules hid on the battlefield and was the most surprising to see them. And with the Call of Automaton, the Admiral made this deadly conclusion.

"Admiral! One of the Emperors is on the move! The Rule opened up. We assumed that the Emperor left behind. Still no word from them? Our requests were denied! No Elites would be sent as three Rules are here. Where is the other Emperor?"

"Stop asking those questions if you don't want to get killed." The Admiral responded coldly.

"Sir?" The Commander was confused.

"I didn't want to assume this, but the truth is evident. I think they believe we are betraying them."

"What?!" Several exclaimed cries were heard as more Commanders approached.

"We need to identify who these traitors are on the ship. Give me a full background check on those two confirmed to be dead. I need you to check their data for those Exoskeletons that have been reported to be betraying us."

"Were they really betraying us? Those two who were killed used to serve under my platoon. I knew them! They didn't have any ties or connections to indicate their betrayal!"

"We have to deal with facts, Commander. Those two shot and killed three Exoskeletons. Thy even aimed for the head. If the other soldiers had not acted fast enough, who knows how many would have gotten killed? This is why our soldiers are failing on the battle above. They are all wary now of who their enemies are."

It was true. The Commanders had long noticed the disarray on the formations of their soldiers.

"And right now, the Emperors is being wary and is assuming that someone among our ranks is betraying them. We consider traitors for now. We act drastically. Because if we don't, we could all die. The Call of Automaton is already taking shape. Do you know why the Golems have not appeared yet? It's because the Emperors are cautious. The Call should have formed at the Central Platform, but we saw nothing. That's how much they don't trust this Kraken." The Admiral explained.

The Commander frowned.

"Then what is happening? Where did the Call of Automaton happen?"

"That is not our concern. If we try to raise suspicion by looking where the Call is happening, it will only make them more suspicious. Focus on the battle! Eliminate whatever enemies. We have to ensure that the Kraken does not fall! And order all our soldiers to kill anyone acting suspiciously immediately. Also Commander and all other commanders." The Admiral called out to the rest.

The Commanders turned and looked at the Admiral.

"Assume that within the ranks… even Commanders… that one of us will betray each other. I want a compartmentalized team, each focusing on specifics tasks and not work against each other." The Admiral ordered.

"Prep my Armor. I'll deal with the winds myself."

"Commander! It's too dangerous!"

"If it pleases and calms the Emperors, I must do this. Don't worry. I didn't get this position for nothing."

"If that's the case allow us-"

"No. At the very least, one of you is a traitor. But I'm sure it won't be all of you. If all of you are traitors, then I am doomed to my fate. So, if fewer of you are watching over the Kraken, the more it traitors can act more. All of you stay here. If all of you are the traitors, then I'm doomed to die. At the very least, I will redeem myself to the Emperors." The Admiral then moved.

The battle was becoming more and more lively. The turrets on several platforms could not shoot and aim properly with the strong winds blowing over them. The armies of the Kraken continued to fight a losing battle.

The Four Winds of Hermes continued to ride the roller-coaster of winds. They would fly by riding an air channel and use it to propel themselves. Their flight would arc, swirl, and even rise at dramatic moments. The Four Winds would jump from one air channel to another, making their movements extremely random.

The Armors and Exoskeletons could not catch up with the fast movements of the group. The coordination of these four individuals was top notched. The enemies would receive coordinated attacks.

"Tell all soldiers to shield their eyes! They are aiming for their visors!" One of the commanders alerted as it continued to analyze the battle.

The feeds were chaotic as what the cameras mounted on the Exoskeletons were showing nothing but confusion. The movement of the four enemies could be barely caught on their cameras. The four never moved in a straight manner. It was full of twists and turns and would even move backward suddenly.

Inside the air channel, a mysterious thing was happening. Their very words continued to reach each other as they fought.

The mysterious wind of Hermes had a strange small line of tightly packed air molecules. This was the channel of communication that pushed and helped the sound travel within the air channels.

Everyone could hear each other almost immediately.

"Alvin. Take the north side. There's a group of Exoskeletons there. It looks like they're up to something fishy. Omricon, wait for my signal. Don't show signs of cutting an Exoskeleton just yet. Wait for my signal. Omega, create more chaos on the top. I want them to gather right around the center. And be careful! Somethings not right. The Golems have not appeared yet." Austin gave his orders.

Alvin then started to move swiftly and aimed for the Exoskeletons that Austin mentioned.

He began shooting, but the Exoskeletons were now covering their armor.

"Tsk. Might have to shoot the bigger guns." Alvin laughed.

Suddenly, the Exoskeleton behind the group started to shoot at the heads of the Exoskeleton.

"Don't attack! It's me!" A woman called out as she shot the Exoskeletons nearby.

The sudden attack created more panic.

"The traitors here! He's in league with the enemy!" The Exoskeleton reported before getting killed.

The Exoskeleton attacked precisely and immediately killed three of the eight before retreating.

The confused Alvin didn't know what to do and headed to the next set of enemies.

"Erm… Austin? They have traitors among them."

"Traitors?" Austin was dumbstruck.

Irvana? You aren't in some Exoskeleton now, right?" Austin asked.

"What are you talking about? I'm about to exit our wind tunnels. Whoever it is, it's not me. I'm out. Talk to you later." Irvana's voice disappeared.

"Um? Boss? If you're not too busy?"

"Don't get fooled. Alvin. Try to capture that Exoskeleton if you can. It looks like there's something else going on here. Capture not kill." Grant gave his orders.

As Grant fought and evaded the blasts of two Rules, he suddenly enveloped the wind around him to throw him upwards near the borders of the force field. Grant Hermes then began to fly around the Kraken while sending several tornadoes towards the Rules.

"Listen up, guys. Whoever that guy was, he simply pretended to be our ally. They're making it look like that they are part of our team. The WGP will then blame us for this treachery after this battle."

"Sounds great! That means we've got allies on this mission."

"Wrong. The WGP isn't our enemy. Remember why we are here. We just want to take the seeds. If anything, those guys are using the Progenitors wind seed to lure me out here and pin the blame on me! They are the real enemy. If we don't' play this out well, we will get blamed for solely initiating the attack. Who knows? The enemy will reveal our identities to the WGP, and the WGP might end up attacking Canada."

The Four Winds grew angry.

"What do we do, Boss? We can't let them push the blame on us!" Omega answered worriedly.

"It's simple. We'll tell them what's up. We gift the WGP one of their traitors for questioning." Hermes laughed.

"So we'll have to capture soldiers?" Austin confirmed.

"Alright. You heard the Boss. We need to capture-"

"Got one." Omricon replied as he stabbed his sword out and struck the area around the shoulder of a pilot.

"AHHH!" A pained cry was heard.

Omricon brought this soldier inside the wind tunnels as he swept his sword. Almost instantly, Omricon pulled back the sword and stabbed right the neck of the Exoskeleton. The blade pierced at the right side of the neck, barely piercing through the pilot. Blood dripped at his right side as the blade grazed over his shoulder.

"You move, you die." Omricon warned as he observed the smallest possible movements the soldier would do.

"Help! He's got me! He's got me!" The soldier cried in terror.

"Who got you? Your movements are extremely erratic." A voice questioned.

"One of the enemy! He's carrying me off somewhere!"

"Hey, soldier. I won't kill you. But tell your superiors, whoever it is that betraying you, they're making it look like we're allies."

The soldier quickly made his report.

As that was happening, Hermes flew downwards and waved his hands. Three tornadoes formed in an instant. Despite these tornadoes not being linked to the clouds, it maintained the strength and power of a tornado. The sight of the calamities caused the soldiers to retreat. The Rules, however, remained steadfast.

Hermes dove down and approached the Rule. As he approached closer, the chaotic wind disappeared and surrounded him and the Rule.

"What a strange mask you're wearing. I doubt you look like that." The Emperor finally spoke as it observed the skin-tight mask that Grant Hermes was wearing.

"Of course. We wouldn't want our real faces to be seen. This simple mask is simply amazing. I can't tell you how many people I managed to kill easily because of this." Grant laughed.

"Anyway, I'm here to tell you that whoever is trying to betray you, isn't part of our team. If you could just give me the Wind Progenitor's seed that you acquired from New Great Britain, we'd be on our merry way."

"Oh? Is that what you're after? I find it inconceivable. Why aim for such cryptic information?"

"I don't know. Why should I tell you? But if you don't believe me, give it to me, right here, right now. I'll take my Four Winds and be out of here. As a show of good faith, I'm making my soldiers retreat." Hermes waved his hand.

Suddenly, the four soldiers creating a ruckus retreated to the skies.

"Tell your men to stop shooting. If they still do, I'll send them in once more."

The Emperor frowned as he saw the group move.

"Accept his request." The Empress ordered.

"We need more information. We've checked and tested those weapons. Nothing of great importance are among those techs. Give it to him."

"Alright." The Emperor answered Hermes.

"Admiral. I want you to retrieve the weapons we've acquired from New Great Britain." The Emperor contacted the Admiral. All the other Commanders also received the message from the Emperor.

The Admiral was just about to depart when he heard this.

"Commanders." The Admiral immediately inquired.

"We're on it, Sir."

The surrounding soldiers began to ignore the strange wind in the skies and prepared to attack the other enemies.

"I'm waiting." Hermes laughed.

The Emperor emerged from the Rule like a king coming out of his chambers.

"We're on it. I hope you keep your promise."

"Naturally. But I don't think I will keep it. For you won't succeed on your part." Hermes laughed.

"What do you mean?" The Emperor answered.

"The moment that soldier pretended to be our ally, I had a strange feeling. I think that whoever is trying to betray you will do anything to keep us at war with each other." Hermes calmly explained as drew closer.

"I don't think that the technology I am asking for is still within your reach. So… If not… I want to ask you… what do you propose? I still don't want to make you an eternal enemy. You guys surely have the tech to kills us all. But that would be too costly. You'd have to damage a great part of the Kraken. Right?"

It was then that the Admiral received a most disturbing message.

"Emperor…" The Admiral began.

"The techs we've retrieved from New Great Britain has been stolen." The Admiral gave his hesitant report.

The Empress sighed.

"Empress? What do you suggest?"

"Fight that bastard. We eliminate everyone who comes here. Did you do as I asked?"

"Yes. The Golems will aim to capture the traitors. They have the truth serum prepared."

The Emperor glanced back at Hermes.

"Let me guess… We are fighting?"

"Oh? What makes you say that?"

"The wind. It blows wherever it, please. Who knows where it goes and where it journeys back? I feel that the wind of change is blowing once more." Hermes laughed.

"Shall we continue our dance?"

At that moment, the four figures were seen flying dove down almost instantly.

"Boss! You heard that?! You heard that?! Do they plan to kill us all?! Why aren't we retreating?"

Hermes had secretly linked his Wind Whisperer to hear everything that the Emperor talked about.

"Because I think… we will meet Seeds of our Progenitor. And who knows? Maybe the enemy that Progenitor told us about will finally surface." Grant laughed.

While the battle continued, the invisible Empress continued to follow a certain Exoskeleton.

The Exoskeleton hid it exceptionally well. But in front of the Empress, his traitorous actions were as plain as day.

"Let's see who your allies really are…" The Empress patiently followed without doing anything to the Exoskeleton, who had secretly killed three more soldiers.