Freedom Planet Trinity Redux (ONGOING)

Chapter One: Snowfields

      The night-time air was frigid, and Aya was far from equipped to deal with such cold weather. She was a native to Shuigang, she should be able to handle the cold mountain weather with ease. And yet, here she was. Aya's teeth chattered as she and Neera trekked through the snow covered hills. The Snowfields were beautiful, or, were once beautiful. Now they were marred by the disgusting remnants of Lord Brevon's army. The Snowfields had been turned into Brevon's "Battle Glacier", and the once serene landscape had been ruined and tarnished by the moth's technology.
Storm clouds had started to gather over the snowfields. It looked like it threatened a bad storm.
Aya held her arms crossed over her chest, doing her best to preserve her body heat. Neera, who was walking in front of Aya, was doing fine. She didn't seem bothered by the cold at all. In fact, she seemed like she was in her element.
"Keep your guard up. We're entering the area the energy surge was broadcast from," Neera warned. Aya noticed the grip Neera had on her spear had tightened significantly. Aya unfolded her arms, braced the chill wind that ran down her outfit, and pulled her plasma cannon off her back.
"Yes Lady Neera," Aya said, speeding up and walking in pace with Neera. The two came out of a large metal hallway, one that had been ravaged by the elements, into what looked to be the remnants of a battle arena. Scrap and debris were scattered across the area, with shattered and cracked springs jutting out from the metal tiled floor. It was safe to say that this facility had seen better days. Aya only hoped she'd never have to see those days ever again. In the center of the room was a large machine, pyramidal in shape, with a bright green laser coming from the center and shooting into the storm clouds high above the glacier.
"Wow. Look at that," Aya quietly let out a surprised whistle, "Any clues on who's behind this?" Aya asked, turning her attention from the arena to Neera.
"No," Neera sighed.
"Are you certain?" Aya asked,
"I'm certain. Are you questioning my investigative ability?" Neera replied, shooting Aya an icy stare.
"No! Not at all. Of course not. I'm just wondering if the information we got was accurate. I mean, who's to say this machine hasn't been active since Brevon's invasion and it's just starting to show up on the radars now?" Aya stumbled over her words, trying to make it sound like it wasn't Neera's fault. In actuality, it never was Neera's fault, it just so happened that Aya's words made it sound that way. She was never good at social interaction.
"In all honesty, I'm starting to question things too. If this is the location of the power surge, why wouldn't the perpetrator be here? We must have missed something," Neera admitted, frowning and putting a hand to her chin, "Keep looking, there's got to be something around here."
"You won't have to keep looking for long!" A sharp voice echoed through the arena. Aya and Neera both whirled around to the source of the voice. A slithering green snake wearing powered combat armor stood(?) near a door to the arena. He must have slipped in while Aya and Neera were distracted. The Snake, General Serpentine of Brevon's Army, cackled.
"No need to keep searching, fleabags! You've found me!" Serpentine threw his head back and cackled a maniacal cackle that could only be produced by the lowest scum in the known universe.
"So you're the thief that's been stealing all of the tech being sent to Shuigang!" Aya raised her cannon and took solid aim at Serpentine.
"Guilty as charged," Serpentine took a sarcastic bow, "What took you so long to realize?" he snarked.
"Why I oughta-!" Aya growled.
"Hold it," Neera put a hand in front of Aya's chest, stopping her, "What do you want with that tech?"
"I'm preparing for Lord Brevon's return," Serpentine smiled, his fangs glinting in the light, "He must have a suitable landing sight for his proper return!"
"What would Brevon want with our planet? The Kingdom Stone was already destroyed," Neera said, crossing her arms and squinting at Serpentine.
"Oh, Lord Brevon isn't coming back to get your resources! He's coming back to get revenge. He's going to turn this blasted rock into a wasteland! And you're going to watch!" Serpentine shrieked with delight at the thought of turning Avalice into a husk of a planet, "And don't even think about stopping me! Lord Brevon has already been contacted!" He waved at the pyramidal device in the center of the arena.
"I knew it!" Aya shouted. She raised her cannon again and fired a blast at Serpentine. The snake, well, snaked out of the way of the blast of plasma, and very hurriedly slithered out from the door he came from, cackling the entire time. Aya chased after him, but was stopped by the door slamming in her face.
"Aya!" Neera shouted.
"We've got to go after him!" Aya screamed. She raised her cannon and slammed it into the door multiple times, screaming and shouting for Serpentine to come back and fight like a real soldier.
"Aya stop!" Neera grabbed hold of Aya's arm and gripped it tight, stopping her from continuing to abuse the door.
"Help me destroy this machine, maybe its communication hasn't reached Brevon yet!" Neera let go of Aya's arm and ran over to the machine, stabbing her spear in between two panels and popping it open. Aya stepped over and placed her plasma cannon against the exposed wires. She pulled the trigger, and her cannon heavily kicked in her arms. It blasted through the wiring, and the bright green pillar of light coming from the center of the pyramid was snuffed out. Aya and Neera both looked up at the sky to watch as the bright green light dissipated.
The world was plunged into silence. The noises from the machine had stopped, the world around the two pandas was frozen solid. Like someone had taken a television remote and pressed the pause button on everything. The only thing that gave Aya comfort that she was still alive was the steady pounding of her heart in her chest. Her eyes stared up at the clouds above. The clouds threatened to storm. She had hoped they were fast enough that the communication to Brevon had been prevented.
"Do you think we stopped it?" Aya asked, turning her attention from the clouds above to the panda to her right.
"I'm unsure," Neera crossed her arms and clutched her spear tight in her hands, "Serpentine said the message had already been sent. All we can do is hope that we stopped it before it got to his ship."
Aya looked back up to the clouds, taking in a deep breath and allowing the brisk Shuigang air to rest in her lungs, before letting it out in a sigh.
As if the clouds knew that the two pandas had started to relax, or at least one of them had started to relax, they started to flicker with green, crackling waves and streaks of energy moved from cloud to cloud, like green lightning.
Neera squinted at the sky, and clenched her jaw as she watched the clouds disperse, being pulled back like curtains at a theater. And as if it was the main actor in a stage production, a very familiar ship slowly showed itself. It was huge, at least double the size of the last time Neera had seen a ship with the same design.
"By the Kingdom Stone-!" Aya whispered, her breath shaky and laced with horror.
Lord Brevon had returned.
"We need to get back to the palace! NOW!" Neera grabbed hold of Aya's arm and forcefully dragged her back in the direction they had come.

—
The streets of Shuigang were in total chaos. Citizens were running for their lives as Lord Brevon's drones, Shades, blitzed the city, killing any and all who dare to defy the will of Lord Brevon. Aya and Neera had taken to the stealth approach, hiding in the shadows and hoping that the Shades wouldn't notice them.
"This is bad, really bad," Aya said, placing a hand against her forehead and trying to keep herself calm.
"You think?" Neera said sharply, "In here!" Neera slipped into an alleyway, followed by Aya.
They stood in the alleyway, squished up against a brick wall as a squad of Brevon's drones sweeped past. Aya poked her head out to see the drones turn the corner and continue onwards.
"They didn't notice us! Come on!" Aya said, waving for Neera to follow her.
"We need to evacuate King Dail before he is harmed! I will not let Shuigang lose another king in the span of 3 years!" Neera ordered, sprinting up the steps of the palace, followed closely behind by Aya.
The Palace was abuzz as Aya and Neera stormed into the throne room. Dail was already ordering for the evacuation of his people, shouting at the royal guards and nervously clutching the hilt of his katana. Word traveled fast. When Aya and Neera approached, he quickly turned his attention to them, raising a hand and wiping sweat off his forehead.
"Lady Neera, Lady Fae," Dail said, trying and failing to keep his composure, "I need you two to go help with the evacuation! Get as many people as you can to the transport to Shang-Tu! Then, get back here and-" Dail trailed off.
The sound of the palace doors swinging open and then slamming shut echoed through the palace, followed closely by the sounds of metal boots stomping against the floor. The sounds froze everyone in their place. The only noise that signified that time was even moving was the stomping of the boots and a small squeak that emanated from Dail.
Aya slowly turned around, and as she did, the horror finally hit her like a speeding train. It was him. It was Lord Brevon. Aya's breathing quickened, and it felt like the world around her was starting to crumble.
"By the Kingdom Stone-" Dail whispered.
Lord Brevon stomped forward, his metal boots clanging against the floor. Brevon looked different than the last time Dail had seen him. Brevon now sported a large scar running down the side of his face. But he still had the same sneer of fangs. Once a few dozen feet away from Dail and the other pandas, Brevon dropped to one knee, and bowed to the king.
"Your Majesty," He said, "It's been a long time," He let out a soft chuckle, before returning to his feet, "Congratulations on becoming the king."
"I wouldn't have to be king if it weren't for you," Dail said. His breathing had become far more shallow, and sweat rolled down his face.
Aya and Neera had taken defensive positions, standing slightly closer to Dail. Just in case. Aya held her plasma cannon, finger over the trigger, and Neera clutched her spear.
"No need to thank me," Brevon chuckled.
"Thank you? Thank you!?" Aya shrieked, "You killed his father! You invaded our home! You destroyed the Kingdom Stone! There is nothing to thank you for!"
Neera tried to grab hold of Aya's arm, but whiffed, catching nothing but air.
"I don't remember addressing you, worm," Brevon raised his arm and backhanded Aya upside the face, knocking her to the side and slamming her into one of the palace's pillars.
At the sight of her ally being tossed across the room, Neera raised her spear and jabbed it into Brevon's stomach, stunning him for a mere moment. Neera ducked out of the way of Brevon's arm as it came down to slam into her, and she ran for Aya.
"Your majesty! Run!" Neera shouted to Dail, grabbing onto Aya and pulling her up off the floor. Aya struggled to get up, attempting to do so multiple times before collapsing again. Neera groaned, ordered Aya to stay down, and just resorted to dragging the minty panda.
Aya, being dragged across the palace floor, raised her cannon and fired a few blasts of plasma at Brevon. They either missed their target, or bounced off of the moth, scattering into the floor or walls of the palace.
Dail had vaulted over the side of his throne, and was sprinting down the hallway with Aya and Neera. He leaned down and grabbed hold of Aya's cannon.
"Gimme that," Dail said, turning it around and taking a few more potshots at Brevon.
Brevon, meanwhile, was dealing with the royal guards who dared to stand up against him. It wasn't even a challenge for him. He picked up one of the guards by the throat and jabbed his knife blade into their stomach, ensuring the guard a slow and painful demise.
By the time Brevon had 'dealt' with the royal guards, Neera, Aya, and Dail had vanished. But he didn't care. He knew he'd see them again, and he knew that he'd just crush them like he did with these measly excuses for royal guards. Brevon chuckled, and stepped over a few of the corpses, stepping up the stairs to Dail's throne, and placing himself within it. One of the few guards who hadn't been instantly killed, tried to protest.
"N-no!" They whimpered.
"Such heroic nonsense," Brevon cackled as the royal guard collapsed and expired.
"General Serpentine," There was a crackle of static before the voice of Serpentine responded.
"Yes, your excellency?"
Brevon spoke into the communicator, "Initiate Operation Hostile Takeover. This city is ours!"