We're all in this virtual space together.

You follow the somber twin, leaving the other one coyly waving goodbye as your party leaves. The twin leads the four of you down a dark hallway much like before, but you refuse to call out in distress this time. The sorceress sticks close to your and the man with the shields’ side, while the swordswoman stays close to the twin. Perhaps she is keeping an eye on her. Perhaps she sparks memories in the swordswoman like you felt earlier.

At the end of the path the twin stops, pointing forward and shaking her head. She looks at you with concern, barely distinguishable on her mostly unchanged face.

What do you do?

The five members of the makeshift rebellion were once again gathered in Achernar’s bar which was becoming somewhat of a headquarters for them. Most of the ship was too heavily populated to do anything remotely secretive, so the sleazy back alleys of the stern of the ship were perfect for them. Razzy had outfitted all of them with the mechanics to activating their armor; Myos himself merely had to press the star shaped indention on his the gauntlet on his lower arm and it would whirl off and surround him in the metallic protection of his new gear. Zeke’s was activated by swiftly pulling off his thumb ring, a choice Myos snickered at due to the idea of tricking the other by switching their matching rings and watching his face contort in frustration at the inability of the armor to work. The chipper blonde, Amaya, was by far the most dramatic of them all - her weapon was activated by throwing the tiara that floated suspended above her head into the air above her and the metal would collapse and expand, encompassing her with light and the protective embrace of the form fitting armor suit. Achernar’s was relatively simple; she pulled on the golden anchor charm that hung around her neck. Razzy was even more simple - with the literal push of the phoenix emblazoned belt buckle her armor would activate in an instant.

A development even more overwhelming to Myos was the fact that his new companions all had gotten the star symbol that was so close to his heart all permanently etched onto their bodies to support their uprising and join as a unit. Every night when he was younger he would look out through the wide panels with Zeke and dream of things greater out there, among the stars and galaxies that he was always so close to but he could never touch. Now that symbol of freedom would be the thing that would light their way, like it had inspired him so many years ago. Amaya, the one who most eagerly jumped at the thought of something like this unifying them as a team, got the sign on her left shoulder, Achernar had twin ones on her hips, and Razzy solidified the one claiming the skin in the corner of her eye. Even Zeke, whom Myos didn’t consider to be as supportive as the rest of the team, now wore a star proudly on his chest. The black mark that separated the five of them from the rest of the Empire now nestled itself over the ravenette’s heart, making the red head’s emerald eyes light up in happiness. They were really coming together, his dream was happening.

They were really going to do this.

“Traitors of the Empire, come out with your hands up!” A gruff voice yelled, kicking open the door. Myos jerked his head quickly to the sound, jarring his enormous headphones in the process. Crimson hair fell into his face, and red X’s and alarms sounded in his computer glasses - the classic sign of Empress Guards.

The first to react was their resident bluenette - Achernar ripped the golden anchor from her neck and the guards jumped back as a fully armored figure replaced where she had been standing moments before. The armor was sleek and muscled like a big cat, with wide pivoting hips that allowed her to attack in any direction with ease. A long thin blue ribbon plumed from the smooth helmet, distending down her body in ripples like her oceanic hair. Like the girl’s shoes out of the armor, the full body weapon was littered with small spikes studding every surface, the only thing disrupting the surface of the almost literal flowing water of the polished metal. Her chainsaw buzzed in front of her as she dove in, slashing through the guards without hesitation. The rest of the team soon followed suit, one by one unleashing the powerful weapons that Razzy had designed for them.

Zeke unleashed the unique blade, wielded expertly by his slightly stockier suit, and though the blade was a force to be reckoned with on its own he preferred to stay back and shoot of plasma rounds, blasting through his fellow guards before they could get close to him. His armor had wide over exaggerated shoulders, with blocky armored plates where Achernar’s was smooth has a calm lake, but even though the armor itself was bulky the joints where the thick plates connected were thin as the branch of a birch tree, pivoting the hulking steel muscles adeptly to his fighting style. Three dark lines ran down the suit’s masked face, extending from his right eye and ending underneath his jaw.

Amaya bounced around like a rabbit, not really wanting to attack the guards themselves but making sure to keep her friends safe with the chakram like discs that she threw around like deadly Frisbees, always returning to her armor on their own. Her armor matched her personality to a tee, like a playful nymph full of curves and vivaciousness. Thin spindles rose like spikes from the crown of her helmet, buzzing and twisting like drills in a formation similar to that of her prized tiara that activated the armor’s transformation around her. If her circular discs didn’t come back to her fast enough, she just drew more from the layers of ringed plates that covered her suit.

Razzy was one of the last to react but certainly not the least, she flitted around the small space like a ballerina, landing hits with ease but never so much as even coming close to being scratched. Her armored frame was slight like that of butterfly’s wing, carrying herself in battle with all of the same quiet grace. The boots of the armor were deadly stilettos that barely touched to the ground due to her quick movement, the front of them curving upward like a Jester’s shoes though she was no laughing matter. Thin, metallic whip-like blades extended like projections from the waist of the girl’s personal gear like the flowing feathers of a phoenix tail, hovering just slightly away but never touching. They moved and swayed with her quickly moving body, never staying in the same place. A thin, ring-like structure snaked its way around the girl’s helmet like the fur of her iconic jacket did, protecting her angular face.

Myos held out his arm that housed the gauntlet that he had always worn since he started gaming, now coursing with the power of technological innovation. He pressed the yellow star emblem with all his might, and in a time that seemed slowed to all but him, the faux celestial body twirled out from the metal like something akin to a comet, thin ribbons of metal trailing behind it. He watched as the metal expanded with rapid speed, overlapping itself and lean boy with fish scales of glistening chrome. After his entire body had been covered with the thin digitized squares of metallic light, the smoothed and hardened, flowing across his frame like liquid steel. A lime green visor that matched the design of his computer glasses settled itself over his head, and reaching up a new metal protected hand, he felt a pair of star emblazoned headphones sitting atop his head. Smiling to himself, Myos tested out the fluidity of the mechanism. It felt as if he were moving his own body, the armor flowing as if it were connected to the sinews and tendons of his muscles. Plates of armor continuously overlapped and reformed, making all movement seamless. Drawing out the upgraded crossbow that had been equipped to his armor’s mainframe system, he took aim with the flame covered object at the nearest guard and fired, sending off a barrage of eloquent heat seeking missiles. The projectiles were sleek, a combination of the accuracy of a bullet and the firepower of a rocket being shot out like an arrow. Myos was exhilarated; the force of his new power giving him a heady strength that flowed through his veins and seemed to make every fiber of his body course with a new aura. He felt like a real hero.

Looking around, the scarlet maned boy found that the rest of the guards had been quickly dispatched by the rest of his star embellished team. Myos grinned proudly, tossing a thumbs up from within his armored casing. Suddenly a message from Razzy flashed across his screen, along with a familiar red flashing dot.