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Dante was stumbling around blindly, as his eyepatch was on the wrong eye, and all he could see is what Angel's gun was pointing at. Since a wall was no use, he kept both eyes shut, "Dante, wouldn't it be logical to change the position of your eyepatch?" The AI was an unwelcome tone.

"Shut up... I'm tired of not sleeping. So any communications from... whoever is in charge now?"

There was a pause, "It would seem that Isa requests your presence at headquarters. The transition of power went smoothly, but you are a member of the board as well and wield as much influence among the people."

Jill was stretching in a hall, but was shocked when Dante came around the corner, "Ah! Dante!"

"Jill? Can you make the AI shut up? I have a hangover, without the alcohol part." He could hear her moving erratically, "I'm guessing you don't want me to move my eyepatch either. Lucky you, I'm too lazy. Here." He extended his arm with his computer still attached. He was still wearing most of what he had on the night before.

Jill hit a few buttons before the AI chipped in, "I will be quiet for now, as most of the crew seems asleep. However, I will report any emergencies."

"Well, that solves that. So.... why are you up so early?"

Dante laughed weakly, "Up early? I never fell asleep. I'm guessing this is a morning routine for you, so don't let me bother you."

He still couldn't see, but it was possible that Jill was waving her hands, "No! It's fine, I wouldn't mind a little company. It does get boring when everyone is asleep. Care to join me?"

Dante shook his head, "Nah, I've done enough stretching and exercise for a few lifetimes." He did however slowly move his eyepatch, "Stupid light... being blinding." Jill gasped, and when Dante's eye finally focused he saw why, "Wow... I used to think people with access to intergalactic travel were smart."

Jill was standing there, using an arm to cover her breasts and a hand to cover her privates. Dante took of his shirt and tossed it to you, "Th-thank you." She wasted no time putting it on. It was large enough that it covered everything that she didn't want to be seen.

"Life is simple."

Jill was a bit confused as she watched Dante's back slide down the wall to the point where he was sitting, "What? Where did that come from?" She sat by his side.

"Thinking out loud. Life is simple. Eat, sleep, drink, that's all it takes really. Society makes it hard. They impose the rules, make people struggle for no reason, and try to control lives. Then it turns into a war when too much power exists between two different cultures and one wants dominance. People are caught up in a fight that isn't theirs. And people like me are the ones who have to fight the hardest."

Jill hugged his arm, "I know, you've led a hard life. To be honest, I don't like killing people, but I couldn't give up the chance to get away. I'm glad that I met new friends though, and if that means I need to fight to protect them, I will."

Dante nodded, "That's my way of thinking. However, that's the most I care to do. A monster can only take so much killing. I got bored of it all." He smiled, "That's when you know your life is going in a bad direction. Combined with a lot of bad memories and a how much I was hated, it was pretty easy to accept the contract from Fallen Sky."

Jill leaned on Dante's arm while hugging it tighter, "Well, I'm glad you're out here with us. You've done a lot in a short amount of time, more than most people thought possible. Plus you're hot." She giggled.

"I think everyone needs a vacation. You all seemed to like that beach, I bet we could head on over for a bit. A lot of people owe us."

Jill nodded, "Yep. I could send a message to Isa to get that ready. Uh, after I get dressed that is. Oh right, what about that girl we picked up? I haven't seen her."

"You have a point. She might be in her room. Get dressed, then give me my shirt back. We'll go check on her." Jill jogged down the hall, and in a few moments returned. Her fur was still messy, but her clothes were clean. She tossed the shirt to Dante, "Shall we?"

They walked for a bit until they reached the closed door. Jill knocked a few times, "Hello? Is it alright if we come in?" There was only silence, "Okay, well it's just two of us, we aren't going to hurt you." The door slid open and a chair fell. The girl tried to barricade the door.

Dante shoved the chair to the side, "Yeah, you won't make that mistake twice. Trust me. With these doors, you need to lock with this button, wedge with something, and lean against it hard. Oh." The girl wasn't there, "Under the bed won't help, but I guess you can't help it. You didn't have the best introduction to space."

Jill giggled, "We'll stay right here then. So what's your real name?"

The girl was as quiet as ever, "Okay, I'll call you Wendy for now." The girl jumped, "Wow, I got it right... that hasn't happened before. I guess we should introduce ourselves then."

Jill interrupted as Dante took a deep breath, "Jill, elite scout of Zero Unit of the... uh... are we still Fallen Sky?" Dante shrugged his shoulders, "Well... that. This is Dante, commander of Zero Unit, Captain of the Albatross, board member of Fallen Sky, and pretty famous."

Dante took over and went over the other crew members, "Titus is the big male dragon. Dumb as a rock that was hit on the head with another rock. Cratis, the other big dragon, was a former police chief on her home planet. Sere is the little dragon, Titus' sister. Genius engineer. She took the smarts from her brother I think. Rachel the rabbit is a doctor. Mira, the cat in the wheelchair, is a ridiculous negotiator. Princess on her home planet. Rachel is the fox, great sniper, some sort of priestess. Chey is the squirrel, has a love of all things that go boom. Miss Star is the wolf. Crazy, our spy, and apparently a famous star."

Jill clapped her hands, "We can get her to sing for us! You'll love it!" Wendy had slowly climbed out from under the bed, but was still nervous. Not to mention wearing clothes a few sizes too big.

"Lastly, Angel. But you won't get a chance to meet her." The mood in the room dropped, "So, any questions?" She sat there, and then a growl, "Ah, I doubt you've eaten much. Already got through the food put here. Jill, go get us something to eat, I can hear your stomach as well."

She laughed nervously, then left. Wendy sat on the bed as Dante sat on the floor, leaning against the wall, "Uh..."

"Ask it, I know you had something on your mind."

She shifted nervously, "Animal people... did they scare you?"

Dante smiled, "Nah. Black, white, furry, scaled. Up here, money is what matters. Besides, they can all bleed and die. What makes them so different? Also, on this ship they are generally nice. I haven't had any issues with them."

"Um... what are you going to do with me?"

Dante's smile faded, "Good question. As the only other living human outside of Earth... do you have any skills?" She mumbled softly, something about cooking, "Alright. You can work for me if you want. You won't be in much danger. And it would be nice to have something cooked for once."

Jill walked back in the room with three packages. She tossed one to Dante, set one on Wendy's bed, and opened her package, "It's a bread with a nice Teciu spread inside. Really tasty!"

Dante opened his slowly, "It's like peanut butter. But not as sticky. Jelly peanut butter almost." Wendy opened the package and started to eat, "There you go. This is what we usually eat, quick packaged foods. Mostly because I have no time to cook, and others can't cook. Isn't that right Jill?"

"Hey! The burnt smell went away eventually. How was I supposed to know the oven was set that high?"

"It was set right. You just took a nap..."

Jill sighed, "I know, I know. But the heat was comfy."

"You... seem relaxed..."

Jill smiled, "Of course! The AI takes care of the flying, and I just got confirmation. The beach is ours!"

"B-beach?"

Dante lowered his head, "Seems like we have to make another stop. Wendy needs some things, Cratis needs some things, I know Mira does. And no, I'm not going shopping with you." He took a bite, "Jill can show you around the ship when you want. She is a scout. I think I'm going to go for the moment. Walk around aimlessly, figure out new ways to lock my door. Maybe a welding torch..." He left the room lost in that thought.

.........................................

The Albatross docked at a neutral port. It was restocked with supplies and fuel, as usual, but a few of the crew took Cratis, Mira, and Wendy to go shopping, yet Wendy was too afraid so Sere had to pick out clothes for her. Chey and Titus were left behind, "So... what are we supposed to do?"

"I don't know, let's find Dante."

Chey signed, "I guess it's better than doing nothing." The two walked around for a bit. First to the shooting range. Then to the kitchen. Then to his room.

"Dante is currently located on the bridge. In the future, please ask me for help."

Titus slumped over, "Thank you AI..."

After a short walk, they saw the top of Dante's head, "Hey, Dante. What's up?" No response, "Dante..." He was passed out in the chair, "Figures, they might not have let him sleep last night. Well, guess that's that then. What else can we do?"

Titus' stomach grumbled, "Food?" Chey nodded, so they made their way to the kitchen.

"Wow... how do you know how to do that? Is that even possible? So that's what that does..." Jill was amazed by somebody. The two peeked around the corner.

The human girl was using a pan to cook something. There were a bunch of opened packages, "Uh..." She picked up something and tasted it, "Not this. I need something spicy, not sweet." Jill looked around and handed her a plant, "Hm... this will do."

"Knock knock, what's going on?" The human jumped and almost knocked over the pan.

Jill put a hand on her shoulder to calm her, "Nothing, just our newest crew member cooking some food. This is Wendy. That's Chey, and that's Titus. You have to admit it'll be nice to have warm food that doesn't taste like it's from a vending machine."

Titus rubbed his head nervously, "You have me there. So what are you cooking? We're pretty hungry."

Jill shushed him, "Just testing out things! You can have a taste when she's done."

"I'm not used to this food, so I don't know what it'll taste like." She stirred the food in the pan slowly, the sizzling was making it difficult for Chey and Titus to hide how hungry they were, "Alright... taste this." She handed the two forks, and they immediately scooped up food.

.............................................

Dante opened his eye, "Wow... kinda boring around here without an army after my head. Or at least someone trying to kill me. At least I'm good at faking being asleep." He got out of the chair and considered what he should be doing now since he wasn't a target. There was a beep on his computer, "A message. Oh right, one of them wasn't there. Hm... better than doing nothing. AI, I'm stepping out for a bit."

"Understood Dante."

He left the Albatross and made his way to the meeting place, "A cafe? Here? I swear, space is a terrible place to be for a human." He sat at a table outside of the building, as he wasn't worried about someone not noticing him. Sure enough, a woman sat at the other end of the table, opposite of Dante, "About time."

"I heard the news, everyone seems to be taking it well, but aren't you on the new board as well?" It was the leader who fled before the battle.

"Apparently. Can't you tell how much I care?"

She smiled, "I was wondering... if you could put in a good word for me? I'll make it worth your while." Dante had his eye shut, so he couldn't see what she was doing. He didn't really care.

Dante rolled his head on his shoulders, "Why not, it'll keep them from bothering me. I'll let them know, as long as you'll behave and follow Isa's orders. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to prepare for a lot of nothing. Seriously, I've fought practice dummies that put up a better fight than the old Fallen Sky." He stood up and walked away, "What a waste of time."

He passed by a small shop with two young kids standing outside, looking sad, "Aww... we can't afford it." Dante recognized one of the girls, it was the one who tried to give him a flower.

"Something the matter?"

They both spun around and couldn't stop staring, "Uh... it's you! Can you... help us get... candy?" Dante sighed then nodded. He followed the girls into the shop as they picked up a few pieces. Nothing Dante was familiar with, so he picked up a small lollipop.

The girls put their things on the counter, as did Dante, and he waved his computer over the register, "What is it with you people and your tea flavored lollipops. It makes no sense. But it beats nothing, my ship is kinda far away."

"Th-thank you mister. Can we help you somehow?"

He shook his head, "You're fine. Just be good kids, enjoy life while you can. I need to go get ready to deal with people." Dante walked in the direction of his ship, enduring the usual stares. He was still a human, the only known human outside of Earth. And that's ignoring his reputation, "I hate the beach."

................................................

"Same umbrella, same chair, different time, new people. Ain't life grand?" Dante had his eye shut as his crew had fun on the private beach. Mira still had difficulty walking, so she spent time most of her time on a chair (when she wasn't helped over to make a sand castle so Chey could destroy it with a rock) and Wendy stayed close to Jill. She was still nervous, but did begin to open up little by little, "I sense a disturbance... and a cheesy pirate hat."

"HEY! It's not cheesy, it's awesome!"

"Isa. If wasn't so bored, I might decide to kill you. And judging by the other sounds... Marie and the other one is here. A trap? Clever."

There were giggles, "Well, you did give us your exact location, so we'll just get some business done here. After some fun of course!"

Two people moved, "Is that... a human?"

"Mm. Picked her up on Earth. Saved her twice, so I decided not to take chances again. She's a bit jumpy, so don't act like an Isa around her. Now do whatever. Oh, and that one woman is going to be a board member, she'll follow orders."

Everyone went about enjoying their time on the beach. Dante made sure that there weren't chairs near him this time, he didn't want that random conversation. The Goddess did come over to him though, "Why are you wearing casual clothes? Everyone else is ready for the ocean and the sand."

"I don't do that stuff. Do you have something you need to discuss? Or are you just bored?"

She jumped. Dante could tell because the sand flew around a bit, "I've... never been to the beach before. I'm not sure what I should be doing here."

Dante opened his eye, "Well... like Rachel and Ratchet you can bask in the sun. Titus is swimming... or try to not sink. I can't tell. Kinda hard with others splashing him. Jill is leading the castle building, Chey and Sere are working on castle destruction techniques. Pick something, I don't know. Just don't bother me."

There was a little scream, so Dante sat up in his seat, "How did you even do that? A rock and sand shouldn't be that destructive." Jill was arguing with Chey and Sere as Wendy and Miss Star worked to build another one.

"Heehee... a rock as a base, layers of wet sand and a few shells. Chey knows where to hit to make the most impact." Chey put an arm around Sere and showed off their massive matching smiles. Jill went on the defensive again, and the next assault failed, "What?"

Wendy smiled a bit, "Little Wendy here gave me an idea. Angle a few shells in the walls. That way it'll break away rather than take too much damage. Ha!" Jill looked over, "Hey Dante, give it a try! I bet you can't even top our walls!"

Dante was staring blankly as all eyes turned to him, "If all of you build up a castle, I'll give it a shot." With that, everyone helped build up a new wall. Jill and Wendy, combined with Chey and Sere's expertise, worked on the wall while the others gathered water, sand, and a few rocks. It was a huge team effort, and they made sure it was tall and as invincible as sand could be. An hour passed, "We're done!"

Dante dragged himself out of the chair and picked up a few rocks. Zero Unit didn't expect him to take his "firing" stance, "You did a good job, but you forget the past."

"Huh?" Was the collective thought.

"You build for the better tools, the better weapons. A good strategy in theory. However, just because new methods become available, you can't discount the older ones. A rifle can tear through a shield made for energy weapons. You designed for the best 'weapon' Sere could make." He stomped forward with he left arm towards the castle, his right arm wound up for the throw, "Every kingdom falls."

Zero Unit watched as their castle crumbled. The support shells added to the destruction, the rocks fell and caused more sand to erode, "How did you do that?!"

Isa scratched her head, "I'm so confused right now..."

They all looked at Dante. The sun was beginning to set, and an orange glow was cast upon Dante, "Never doubt what I'm capable of. And since I won against all of you, I expect a reward. And silence. And a new door lock." He walked to the Albatross, "I swear. For people used to space travel, you are pretty stupid. I just used your own creation against you. Now I need a drink and a nap..."