The Ghost Shepherd

Stubborn

Sly was really conflicted and while he was laying on the floor looking up, Allan and Anku managed to make their way to the restaurant and heard the conversation.

“I see… Since you are not a babysitter and we are just playing pretend here, then you no longer need to be my carrier. I can’t work with anybody that can watch how they torture and kill one of our comrades and doesn’t care”

Sly got up from his spot and left with the newly arrived members of their team towards the bar leaving behind a 9 ft tall dwarf woman that sighted and sat back on her chair to finish her meal.

Steelforge knew that she couldn’t solve all of Sly’s problems in the early stages of his development or later on when it was time to move to a bigger stage, he would not be able to cope. It was easy to use force to solve problems in a place like planet Alpha but the threat came from all sides in the higher ranking planets where even the influence of Eternal Darkness was not enough.

In the meantime Sly moved towards the Bar and sat down in an empty chair while the other two sat beside him.

“It was Raol” said Allan

“Yes, their base is about a mile to the west”

“How do you know that?” Asked Anku with tears on her face.

“Gonzo told me…”

“Gonzo is dead, Sly. How could he tell you...”

“I have the ability to see the spirits of the dead before they leave this plane… He told me he stayed last night drinking with Clayton and then followed some guys to a nightclub where people bet on fights but it turned out to be owned by that Raol guy. He is a Nazekiel and according to Gonzo is extremely fat ”.

“I think, I have seen him around, he is usually on the surface looking at the prompters” said Allan.

“I want to give Gonzo the revenge he deserves but without Steelforge is hopeless. I don’t think we can even go out to kill Argonians without being hunted by his crew”

The faces of the group took a dive almost immediately and now Sly felt bad pushing Steelforge away without thinking it through.

The group discussed the possibilities for a couple of hours and then the bad news kept on coming. Clayton arrived at the bar and moved towards the table with quick steps.

"I am leaving the team guys. I told Gonzo not to go but he didn't listen, this is serious. At this rate we are going to end up the same way and I don't want to die. I got invited to another group that will guarantee my safety guys, I am sorry. I will talk to them about you guys maybe they will take you too"

"What about Alice?" Continued Clayton.

"She will not be coming anymore"

The team turned to look where the voice came from and saw a human with a big scar on his face. His presence was not as imposing as Steelforge but it was impressive nonetheless.

"The young miss was called by her father back to the city of hope and since there was a contract with Overpowered I am here to pay the fee"

5000 E.C coins were transferred to Anku and the mysterious man left the way he came.

The three person team just stood there looking at each other. They were brought over from different planets and they were children of low income soldiers so they didn't have any backers.

"Sly, there is mail from the government. You are required to go back to the City of Hope to make an statement about the murder of your teammate"

The message was delivered to all three members who looked at each other with a little bit of hope, they saw in the message a sense of direction in an otherwise shitty day. The problem now was how to effectively make it to the city.

"I'll be right back"

Sly left and went outside the building following the path he walked with Blackie towards sister Mary.

She was still in the same place buying Draco corpses. Sly waved at her and made a request to speak to her in private.

"What's up kiddo? Got something good for sale"

"Not quite, I want to buy a ride for three back to the city"

"That would be 10,000 per head"

"No problem" Sly transferred the money on the spot.

"We leave in 2 hours. Be ready. I don't have to tell you not to tell anybody right"

Sly nodded and left towards the bar where Anku and Allan were waiting for him in silence. Sly looked around the room and saw that they were surrounded by people that didn't even hide that they were working for Raol.

The atmosphere was suffocating but thanks to the spiritual energy constantly passing through his body, he was able to remain calm unlike Anku that was clearly depressed and feeling the pressure.

Sly put his hand on Anku's arm and transferred a little of his spiritual energy and said, "It's going to be alright, I'll make sure you make it to the city.

Anku felt calmer and even though there was still a lot of uncertainty and the pressure was mounting, the energy helped boost her warrior spirit.

"Did you guys buy the plasma shields?"

" Yes!!"

"Good, I still need to buy mine so why don't we go there first"

The group agreed and followed Sly while he quietly communicated to them that he had been able to secure a ride back. In the middle of the storm, there was a boat and it all started with his meeting with Blackie.

The equipment store was pretty packed and when he asked the manager to show him the best plasma shields available while displaying his bank account, he was brought over to the back where a full body suit was in full display, "We just got a special model from our partner store in the city, it is a full body suit that can provide 4 plasma shields and using the energy gathered from the attacks it can discharge a shockwave to the enemies"

"Will it fit me? It looks so small"

"It is one side fits all, it is made with a special polymer that can expand to 10 times its size if it needs to and it can prevent damage from mid size plasma weapons"

"I'll take it, but I need to make a modification in the chest area. It needs to allow for my core to release and it needs to happen within the next hour"

" There is no need, the core can phase through anything like you do" said K.C

"Nevermind what I said, let me put it on"

" Certainly"

The manager pressed a button and the display window retreated before Sly took the suit and changed in front of everyone. They were raised as soldiers and that meant that things like shyness about being naked was really none existent, a certain mode of decorum was still carried out in society, but they were in a private room.

The suit conformed to his body and after he moved his arms and legs, he felt that there were no constraints to his movements.

"How much?"

"100,000"

Poooffff

Anku and Allan almost cough blood but Sly paid it without bating an eyelid, even though, screams ran through his mind about how next time he needed to used an ability, she was going make it fizzle for spending her money on stupid things like clothes.

Sly ignored the voice and then they left towards sister Mary and her partner that were still waiting around.

"Let's go"

They entered the back of the truck that was kept at freezing temperatures to maintain the corpses of Dracos fresh and the Hammer-like vehicle started to move.

At the same time that the humvee was moving towards the city of Hope, the puppeteer arrived to the mid way point and was waiting to intervene while Steelforge stood to the side of the bunker watching them leave.

" THEY ARE MOVING, LETS GO!!! LET'S GO"

Six groups made out of four fast moving cyber trucks with weapons that looked like they could take down a tank started moving while 2 motorcycles capable of launching high frequency laser beams went ahead of the pack towards the area mid distance between the city and the Bunker to intercept Sly and the rest of his team.