Xamusel: Well, well… welcome, everyone! I hope you all had a good amount of time to wait for this story to be published. Takeshi Yamato and I promise to give you the best that we can for this story and the rest of the series.
Now… this is supposed to be a side story, yes, but it has the potential to have a side story of its own. Just check the original Foreign Saga for more details… should you so desire to, anyway.
In any case… The Wheel Of Fate Is Turning. Rebel 1, Action!
A Wizard in Iwatodai: Foreign Saga URE
Story written by Xamusel and Takeshi Yamato
Prologue: It started on Miltia
20xx A.D.
Lake Turkana
Kenya
The scenery was that of a tranquil lake in the middle of the African continent, with jungles on almost all sides of the body of water. The one side that wasn't jungle was a beach, one that was currently the site of an archeological dig. In the site of the dig, many people from the area were working, primarily to help the scientist in the area out.
"…Thanks. Concentrate on the northern cliff tomorrow," the scientist, an asian man that looked to be in his thirties and wearing clothing suited to the area, said to a local as they both left the tent they were in, the local giving a report. "The ground there is hard, so be careful when you dig."
"Yes, sir," the local said with a bow.
"Doctor! Dr. Masuda!" another local called out from the area of the shore, getting the two's attention as he ran over to them, nearly out of breath.
"What is it? Did you find something?" Dr. Masuda asked.
"Yeah. We followed the corridor on the lake side. It matches the location described in the research paper…" the local said.
Dr. Masuda turned to face the first local, who could be said to be an aide, and said, "That must be it." Turning to face the other local, he said, "Good. Show us where it is!"
"Right away," the second local said, turning to lead Dr. Masuda and his aide to the location. While walking to the area, the local said, "It's different from the others."
"I knew it!" Masuda declared, as he continued to follow the one leading him.
Upon arriving at the location, the local pointed at a spot on the ground, saying, "It's over there." With that, he got out of Masuda's way, letting the scientist kneel down and take a closer look at the spot.
It was a circular engraving of what looked like advanced circuitry, an indent shaped like a quasi-cross in the middle of it, next to an image of what looked like a butterfly. Masuda brushed some of the dirt away from the inside of the circle, revealing some ancient text about what was supposed to be there, before he said, "This must be…!"
Taking a small object out of his pocket, he placed it inside the indent, revealing it to be a perfect fit to the quasi-cross. For a few seconds, nothing happened, before light started to appear on the engraving in lines… and the area around them started to shake as a platform shot out of the lake itself!
When everything settled down, the excavators all looked to see a quasi-cross appear in the air above the middle of the lake, a flock of glowing blue butterflies showing up around it. A light started to reach up to the sky itself, prompting Masuda to say, "That light…!"
Shortly after, it started to rain…
Over 4000 years later
In a church on Miltia
It was a somber mood in the church, as a funeral was underway. While the stained glass windows showed that it was a Roman Catholic church, many of the funeral goers were not members of the congregation. However, what they did have in common with each other was that they were colleagues of the man in the casket, one who had died at a relatively young age.
One at a time, the people placed a white rose on his body, before it came time for a young woman to do so. As she was about to, she noticed that a cracking noise could be heard, and an odd discoloration was showing up on the man's body, almost like a stained glass window. Looking at the body closely, the woman saw the man's eye open and reveal that they were also stained glass-like!
Gasping in shock, the woman dropped her flower and backed up slightly, before the man rose up from his coffin, eliciting a cry of "What?!" from the attendees. Even as the the attendees started running away, the woman right in front of the supposedly deceased man was trapped by what looked to be giant spider legs coming out of the man's back, somewhat paralyzing her while a pair of crystal fangs materialized a bit behind and a fair bit above her, before they plunged into her neck on opposite sides and sucked her Life Force, draining her body of its coloration… literally turning her opaque as she died.
When the man finished draining her, he retracted his spider legs and the fangs, causing the woman to drop to the ground dead. Almost immediately, the man shifted into the form of a giant humanoid spider, going up a wall and out a high window to target his prey outside. When he was outside, he walked down the wall and spat web materials out to trap some more prey, getting three people trapped in his web while everyone else escaped. When he made it to ground level, he got to his feet and started walking towards his next me—
*CLANG!*
The spider man got hit in the face by a three-pronged candlestick that flew from someone else's direction. When the man looked in the direction of the attacker, he saw a black-veiled woman in funeral clothes walking down a staircase to reach him, a bouquet of red roses in her hands. "Who are you, bitch?" the man questioned.
"God has erred," the woman replied, eyes narrowed at the man.
Meanwhile
"Ah-CHOO!" the entirety of the Celestial Host sneezed, including who the woman was talking about… leading everyone to wonder, 'How can the Most High One sneeze?'
Back on Miltia
The woman walked forward, towards the spider man, continuing, "The mistake of letting Fangires like you appear in this world!" Stopping momentarily, she yelled, "I will rectify it!"
As soon as the woman was done speaking, the spider Fangire spat out a string of webbing, which she dodged while the bouquet was knocked out of her hands. At that moment, the Fangire came rushing forward, shredding a bit of the woman's outfit with claw-like hands a few times… before the woman spun around the Fangire's last attack and changed outfits in a flash, tossing her funeral clothes out for the outfit that was somehow underneath, including black leather boots where she wore heels before. Now she wore a pair of black biker shorts, a black belt, a white long-sleeved shirt, black gloves and a black vest, with a pair of blade attachments holstered on her left side. Attaching the blade attachments together, she formed a dagger in her right hand, before she yelled at the Fangire, "Come!"
The Fangire charged at the woman, before jumping into the air and falling towards her… except the woman slashed with her blade and dodged his strike. The woman, upon righting herself and facing the Fangire who had went past her, turned the blade into a whip and whipped the monster twice, knocking it into a closed door, before moving in to kill it.
She never got the chance, as it phased out of reality, after scratching the door with its extra sharp claws.
8 years later
On the space lanes to Miltia
The year was T.C. 4753, and a black starship was exiting hyperspace at a moment of great peril in the Galactic Federation, heading towards the planet Miltia. This particular starship had a particular pair of pilots onboard that would either make or break the coming battle of Miltia… it all depended on their actions.
"What you're seeing here is actual footage from the violence that erupted before dawn this morning," came the voice of the female news reporter as screams were heard in the background as the screens showed what looked like a warzone. "These seemingly coordinated Realian attacks were reported throughout Federation territory, prompting government officials to consider this movement an act of terrorism. Their response to these Realians has been-" There was a brief pause. "There's been a new development… As internal agencies continue to analyze these violent events, a flash action report within the Federation — and obtained by this station — indicates that only Realian models created within the last two years or those receiving adjustments in the Miltian Star System have been implicated. Although this is not a complete list, we have obtained a partial list of units matching these criteria. This list includes…" the reporter began rattling off serial numbers one after the other.
As this was going on, a redhead humanoid in a dull-gray pilot suit was finishing putting on his gloves, even as the serial numbers were being rattled off. It didn't look like he cared all that much about what was going on.
When the screen shifted from the news report to a man of African descent, the mood changed slightly. "Today was just the beginning of the ensuing violence," he said. "These Realian outbreaks are spreading like wildfire. They'll be reading off plenty more model numbers in the media tomorrow, I can assure you."
"So, what does that have to do with the operation?" the humanoid asked. "I'd like to know why I was chosen for this mission. I'm told that the military has detained all of its Realians. I find it difficult to believe that they don't have any misgivings about us."
"Canaan," the man said, "you're a Realian who's been especially created and configured by Vector, itself. I've been given the CEO's personal guarantee that you won't be affected like the others."
The door opened. "Besides," said a new voice, "no ordinary pilot could possibly control your craft. That makes you very vital to the operation."
"I don't believe you two have been properly introduced yet," the man said, causing Canaan to turn in the direction of the newcomer. "This is chaos. He'll be joining you onboard as your navigator."
'chaos' looked to be about half Canaan's height, with dark skin, green eyes, and white hair.
"I appreciate the offer," Canaan said, "but you may want to reconsider. A regular human can't ride in that thing."
chaos looked Canaan in the eye and said, "Right. That's why I'm here. Don't worry."
"All right, it's settled then," the other man said. "Good luck to both of you."
Moments later
E.S. Asher, Cockpit
"As mentioned in the briefing, this is a top-secret mission," the CIC operator of the ship said. "All IFF code transmitters will be switched off, and under no circumstances will you receive backup from this vessel. You'll have to manage your descent and return on your own. You can expect heavy resistance from both U-TIC enemy craft and Federation military units deployed throughout Miltia. It's gonna be dangerous. So watch yourselves out there."
"Don't worry," Canaan said in the pilot's seat. "I'm coming back."
"Operator, requesting confirmation," chaos said. "We are to head to point NN441, correct?"
"Correct," the CIC operator confirmed. "The U.R.T.V. force is currently deployed at the target location. Your primary objective is to retrieve them. Protecting them should be your first priority."
"All of them?" chaos asked.
"Affirmative," the CIC operator answered. "If the situation allows, you will then infiltrate U-TIC's motherframe and acquire the Y-Data — the root of this conflict."
"Roger," chaos said. "We'll do what we can."
"E.S. Asher startup sequence complete," Canaan said. "Requesting launch."
"Launch request confirmed," the CIC operator said. "Now guiding E.S. Asher to Deck B."
With that, the launch bay opened up, showing the setting sun in the horizon.
"Defensive shields deployed," chaos said. "Ready when you are."
"Roger," the CIC operator said. "Initiating launch procedure. Good luck!"
The Asher was thrown backwards, then released from its clamps and hurled free as the ship kept moving. Soon, the Asher ignited its flight boosters, flying past the underside of the ship before descending into the clouds below.
"Currently passing through the troposphere," chaos said. "Outer hull temperature returning to normal." As soon as the Asher made it out of the troposphere itself, the two inside the machine saw that the war zone from the news report was even worse than before, something that would have made a lesser person vomit. "Adjusting descent path by 0.22. This should get us closer to our target." At that moment, chaos' monitor went slightly crazy, as he saw something headed their way. "Approach warning. Incoming craft detected. They're on an intercept course. There are-"
"We'll take them all out," Canaan replied. "Stop counting, and take control of the shields. We'll use the shockwave to gain an advantage on them. You've got control of the weapons."
"Roger," chaos said. "It looks like they're unmanned. With no G-force limit, they can outmaneuver us. They might pull some crazy moves out there, so be careful." Even as he said that, the enemy units started firing on them, making the situation look worse.
"It just makes them all the more predictable," Canaan said, as he dove into the fray.
Even as the enemy craft attempted to shoot down the Asher, chaos saw a targeting lock on one of the unmanned units, allowing him to fire a blue beam of energy at the foe, piercing it while causing its comrades to scatter. As the explosion settled, more of the units circled around the Asher, prompting another blue beam to cut through another unit.
Two more units pursued the Asher, both spinning around a central point between them as they fired at the craft. The Asher spun around, even as it kept moving in the same direction, and rolled to dodge the fire, before chaos fired off another shot, destroying another unit. The remaining unit ducked and weaved around the Asher as the E.S. did the same, before the enemy was destroyed with a point-blank shot.
As the flames cleared, Canaan and chaos noticed something in the distance… "There's no end to these guys," chaos said, seeing that there's more of them than they had thought. "And we don't have much A.B.R. energy left, either. Let's find someplace to set it down." With that, the Asher moved into the formation of enemy units, before jinking around enemy shots. While dodging the shots, chaos closed his eyes, imagining where the best place to fire a shot would be… before snapping his eyes open dramatically as the enemy units all appeared in a line behind the Asher, prompting him to fire a beam right down the line.
All four units were destroyed, and the Asher swiveled to target the last unit… but the beam that emerged from the rifle abruptly petered out.
"We're empty," chaos noted, even as the last unit attempted to charge and slash at the Asher.
Canaan wasn't having any of that, though, as he pulled back the arm holding the rifle before using it as a makeshift spear, jamming it into the enemy unit and then releasing the rifle and pulling back before the enemy exploded.
"All enemies destroyed," chaos said. "It's true. You really are as good as they say."
"How are you handling the feedback?" Canaan asked. "You know, a normal person would've probably passed out by now. I don't want you jeopardizing the mission." The Asher began descending to the ground, as new weapons materialized on its arms.
"I'm fine," chaos said. "It feels like it's had some special tuning, but that just makes it more interesting."
"I see," Canaan replied, as the Asher continued its descent. "Well, if I get anything unusual from you, I'm cutting the bypass to the navigator immediately. I can operate this thing fine by myself."
"Roger," chaos said, before they made it to the surface of Miltia, detaching the flight packs and so on. Upon landing, chaos noticed something wrong with the general area… "Looks like we're pretty far out from our objective. Plus, I'd say the defensive network we saw on the way down takes out the idea of an airborne approach."
"We'll go by ground, then," Canaan replied. "Fortunately, the rubble from the burned out buildings should provide us enough cover to cross the city unnoticed."
"Agreed," chaos said, "we'd better get moving. We don't have much time."
"Not much time?" Canaan asked. "Does this have something to do with the U.R.T.V.s? Those designer children?"
Nodding, chaos said, "Yes, that's right. We need to protect them from the coming crisis, if and when it occurs."
"You do realize that's a different story from what I heard in my official briefing," Canaan remarked.
"No doubt," chaos said. "As the Federation government's special forces, the U.R.T.V.s were sent in ahead of the invasion. I'm sure you understand what they represent in the conflict against the U-TIC organization."
"Right," Canaan agreed. "I understand that they're bioweapons sent in to sever the link between U-TIC's Mobile Weapons Fleet and their source of power, the Zohar."
"The higher-ups have complete confidence in the U.R.T.V.s — they are the military's trump card," chaos said. "Unfortunately, the brass are also blind to the potential dangers of the U.R.T.V.s."
"Fascinating," Canaan remarked. "I hadn't realized the situation was so desperate."
With that said, the two moved on forward to recover the U.R.T.V.s, the Asher seeking the best possible route in the chaos (no pun intended on the navigator) of Miltia.
After blasting their way through some debris blocking their path, Canaan asked, "So tell me… what exactly are we expecting to happen here?"
chaos answered, "Well, the problem is that the U.R.T.V.s aren't merely machines. They're real people with their consciousness intact. The system that currently controls the Zohar was actually designed to be used for the UMN transport system. However…"
"Yes?" Canaan prompted.
"Well, they experimented with the transport of living beings numerous times, but every attempt ended in failure," chaos finished.
"According to the records, 99.76% of them were killed instantly," Canaan remarked.
"However," chaos said, "it seems that on very rare occasions, there were survivors. They didn't exist as people anymore, though. They were just things, never able to recover their consciousness — the very element that made them human."
"Mental breakdown…" Canaan summarized.
"Lieutenant General Helmer concluded that if contact with the system led to the destruction of the human mind," chaos continued, "then even the U.R.T.V.s, created as the system's antithesis, might be affected. Therefore, if the U.R.T.V.s were to suffer a mental breakdown, then likely the Zohar, a source of infinite energy, would spiral out of control. That would be devastating."
"And yet the General Staff's decision wasn't overturned," Canaan remarked. "I suppose that's where we come in…"
Even as they had been speaking, the E.S. Asher continued its advance through the streets of Miltia.
Eventually, the two came into contact with an A.M.W.S. unit. The machine tried turning to gun them down, but they got off the first shot, blasting it with a long-range beam that destroyed the enemy with a single blast. They continued advancing, clearing obstacles and defeating enemies in their path as they went.
Meanwhile
Elsewhere in the capital of Miltia
Two young children were running away from a group of rampaging Realians, the humanoids scaring the crap out of the young humans, both at roughly six years of age. The children were wearing little kids clothing, the boy of the group wearing primarily blue, the girl wearing primarily pink.
"Yukari-chan, we have to get outta here!" the boy yelled over the din of the noise.
"B-but where do we go, Minato-kun?" the girl, Yukari, asked, also shouting to be heard. "Ev-everywhere we go there's Realians out of control! Not to mention the soldiers!"
Minato, the boy, looked around as they ran to safety. He just hoped that there wasn't any of those creepy creatures he had heard about running around… what were they called? Fangires, right, that's it. He heard how a group of those creatures had tormented his older brother, Kyoji, with a nasty torture of theirs… he didn't want to imagine the end result any further. In fact…
Minato suddenly ran right into a wall, Yukari crashing with him.
"Ow…" Yukari muttered. "That hurt…"
Minato felt slightly dazed, but quickly snapped out of it when he saw that they actually ran into an A.M.W.S.… without a pilot. "What the…?" he asked. "How did that get here?"
"I… I don't know…" Yukari replied.
Before Minato could say anything more, a voice called out from within him, 'Get in…'
"Get in?" Minato asked out loud. "What do you mean by-"
At that point, they heard sounds from behind them. Yukari looked. "The Realians are coming again!" she cried out.
Minato looked in the direction of the Realians, before grabbing Yukari. "We gotta get in!" he yelled, taking her into the A.M.W.S. unit.
Yukari was only able to ask, "Wha-?" before Minato dragged her into the cockpit, the hatch closing shut behind them.
Minato looked around the cockpit, before realizing something important. "Um, Yukari-chan…?" he asked.
"What is it, Minato-kun?" Yukari asked.
"How do we operate this A.M.W.S.?" Minato asked.
Yukari looked around, realizing what Minato meant — they were small enough they wouldn't reach the controls, not to mention they didn't really know what most everything did. "I… I'm not sure…" she said. "I guess we could each handle a specific section of the controls… though we'd need to figure out what everything does…"
Suddenly, information seemed to flood in Minato's head, causing him to cry out from a headache. "Argh!" he yelled.
"Ugh!" Yukari cried out as a similar information download happened to her. "Wh… what…?"
Outside, the Realians seemed to realize that their targets were inside the A.M.W.S. unit, so they did the one thing they knew best at that moment… they charged in to vandalize it.
Minato looked at the screen with the outside showing, revealing that the Realians were headed their way. "Yukari-chan, can you take the upper rear of this unit?" he asked. "If so, I'll take the weapons control systems, down here in the front."
"R… right…" Yukari replied, climbing with a bit of difficulty up to the rear seat. "Still… I thought most A.M.W.S. only had a single seat… this unit must have been a special one…"
Minato looked at the boot-up switch and flipped it, revealing the unit designation and name. "GHX-001 Orpheus?" he asked out loud. "What kind of A.M.W.S. has a designation like that?"
"No clue… though a prototype would be my guess," Yukari replied. She then noticed something else. "Minato-kun… is it just me, or did the seats and controls resize themselves for us?
Minato blinked a few times, before he noticed it himself. "Hey, you're right, Yukari-chan!" he exclaimed. "Now that that's taken care of…" At that moment, the Orpheus finished booting up, revealing that its IFF transponders were offline. "Well, that's just great," Minato said.
"We'll have to make do," Yukari replied, checking the controls. "Looks like a powerful unit… and flight-capable without boosters," she said. Part of her wondered just how she knew all this terminology, but it didn't matter at the moment — survival was all they were needing to care about.
"Roger," Minato said, before he noticed that the Realians were almost on top of them. "Snap!"
Yukari grabbed at the controls and pushed forward, causing the machine to begin standing.
Minato noticed that the Realians were beginning to fall off the A.M.W.S. unit, incapable of holding onto the machine. "Alright, then…" Minato said, preparing the use of what looked to be a pair of head-mounted vulcan guns. "Let's see you try to withstand this!" With that, he opened fire on the Realians.
The bullets tore into the Realians, who scattered from before the highly-advanced A.M.W.S.
Minato nodded in grim satisfaction at what happened. "Alright, let's get to the source of this madness!" he exclaimed.
"Right," Yukari replied. "Though I have no idea where that might be…" regardless, she manipulated the controls, and the Orpheus began walking forward.
Little did they realize what they would find…
Later
Back with the pilots of the E.S. Asher
The Asher was continuing to walk down the roads towards their destination when a column of light shot up into the sky, accompanied by haunting operatic music. Canaan held his hands up to protect his eyes briefly, but once he let them down… "What is it?" he asked. "A pillar of light? And that sound… It's more than that. Music?"
"It's… the Song of Nephilim," chaos said.
"You know what it is?" Canaan asked his navigator.
chaos, as it would seem, did know… "I can't believe it," he said, gripping the controls in his hands. "Even U-TIC has to be aware of the danger of the song. What could possibly make them… No! If this keeps up—"
At that moment, an explosion occurred on the bridge in front of the Asher.
Slightly earlier
With the pilots of the Orpheus
"Yukari-chan?" Minato asked his navigator.
"What is it, Minato-kun?" Yukari asked in reply.
"What's that light in the distance?" Minato asked.
"I… I have no idea…" Yukari replied. "And… can you hear that music?"
"Music…?" Minato asked, before he heard what it was that was going on. "What song… is this?"
'The Song of Nephilim,' the voice from earlier explained. 'A cursed song that the true enemy on this world has set to call forth unspeakable evil… you have to stop it!'
"OK, what was with that voice?" Yukari asked.
Minato shrugged at Yukari's question. Before he could say anything, though, he and Yukari saw and felt the explosion up ahead. "Yukari-chan!" Minato yelled.
"On it!" Yukari replied as she moved the Orpheus in on the source of the explosion.
Back with the pilots of the E.S. Asher
All around the Asher, Federation A.M.W.S. units surrounded them and pointed their weapons at the E.S.
"It looks like they think we're the enemy," Canaan remarked. "Any ideas?"
The Federation A.M.W.S. units started firing at the Asher, a few rounds hitting the unit, even as chaos came up with an answer. "Yes," he said, "send an emergency IFF signal to let them know we're on their side. We can't let anything stop us. We have to reach our objective." As he said that, he pressed the buttons for sending an IFF signal to the other units around them.
"They should be receiving our IFF signal," Canaan remarked, seeing the other units were still shooting at them.
"Wait," chaos said. "Something's wrong." Even as he said that, the received messages from the comms were… screams of pain and fear?
"What is this?" Canaan asked. "What the… what's going on with them?"
chaos realized what was going on, even as he said, "This is…" Gasping in shock, he continued, "It can't be…"
At that point, the Asher took a more serious hit, the right arm being blown clear off of the unit as it dropped to one knee. Canaan then began gasping and groaning in pain, holding a hand up to his forehead, as the operatic music seemed to increase in intensity.
"Wait!" chaos exclaimed. "Canaan, no! Don't listen to it! Close your mind!"
Even as chaos exclaimed that, more Federation A.M.W.S. units came towards them, weapons loaded and ready to fire.
However, three mysterious slash marks appeared on two of the units, before they exploded.
As Canaan got back under control, he and chaos turned to look in the direction of the exploded units, seeing another machine of a similar model, only painted a light green, and equipped with a longsword.
"Is he with us?" Canaan asked.
"I don't know," chaos answered. "But he's broadcasting an IFF."
"Attention, unidentified craft," came a male voice over the radio. "I've received your IFF signal. The other crafts have been tainted, but you seem unaffected. Are you an ally?"
"Well," Canaan said, "it looks like this one's still sane." He turned to chaos. "What do you think?"
"Getting out of here is our first priority right now," chaos answered. "I think we should stick together."
"Agreed," Canaan replied, as the Asher stood up once more.
"Confirmed," the pilot of the sword-wielding unit said. "IFF signal accepted. Stand by. I will now eliminate the affected Federation units." His machine then turned and bisected a machine closing on him from behind.
The E.S. Asher turned to fire on another Federation unit that was tainted with its machine gun, shooting it to explosion status.
The two 'untainted' units took sides of the field, the sword unit slicing anything that came close from one direction while the Asher shot up the enemies in the other direction.
All of a sudden, more Federation units came by, all of them tainted… and ready to shoot the group with their beam-capable guns.
Things were beginning to look bleak again, despite the skill of the sword-user…
One of the tainted Federation units attempted to fire on the untainted sword-user… but, before it could pull the trigger, it was horizontally slashed through the middle by a blade that looked like a katana.
Slightly earlier
With Minato and Yukari
"Yukari-chan, I think I know what's going on," Minato said from his spot at the cockpit of the Orpheus.
"Please, Minato-kun, enlighten me," Yukari replied. "Because from what I can see, things have gone past crazy and chaotic and are going full-on insane!"
Minato shifted the IFF transponder to turn on to the same frequency that the big purple unit was using, before saying, "The purple unit, the E.S. Asher, I think… was going about its business when the song played, causing the other units to go crazy and fire on it, and only one other unit is not going crazy… the sword-user there."
"And now there's more crazy units attacking them…" Yukari said to finish. "Minato-kun, we have to help!"
"Not like we were going to leave those two be," Minato said calmly, before he materialized a katana on the Orpheus to attack the crazy units with. "Let's go!"
Yukari nodded, pushing the unit into a run as they charged at the closest enemy unit.
Noticing that the enemy was about to fire on the other sword-user, Minato commanded the Orpheus to slash at the unit's waist, leaving it half the unit it was before… before it went boom.
Back at the battlefield as a whole
Both Canaan and the pilot of the sword user turned to see the new unit, getting their first glimpse at… something they hadn't seen before.
It was an A.M.W.S. unit with a cockpit hatch in the front, light mechanical blue coloring all around it, with a faceplate that looked like it could be on a samurai from Lost Jerusalem's Sengoku Jidai… with mechanical dark blue hair showing out from under where the helmet would be located. In the unit's right hand was the weapon used to bisect the other A.M.W.S. unit.
"What is that unit?" Canaan asked. "Some kind of… prototype?"
chaos looked at the unit and saw it displaying an IFF code. "It says it's the GHX-001 Orpheus on my console," he said. "And… it seems to be on our frequency."
"That seems like a good thing," Canaan remarked. "Means that it's at least on our side."
At that moment, the sounds of gunfire continued to echo around them, prompting chaos to say, "We have to keep up the fight, Canaan! We can't die here!"
"Right," Canaan replied, as he swung the Asher around for chaos to fire on more targets.
Meanwhile, the Orpheus continued to slash at the enemy units in its general area, before it started flying on its own to dodge weapons fire from the A.M.W.S. units on the ground still… landing next to the Asher and preparing to open fire with its head vulcans in the direction of a hostile unit.
The other sword unit took a hit to its legs, causing it to begin to topple… but its cockpit hatch on the top opened as the pilot leapt out, holding a sheathed katana in his left hand, drawing it with his right and bisecting an enemy A.M.W.S. from head to 'crotch' in one strike.
"Impressive," Canaan said, knowing just how difficult it would be to do that for a normal human. "I guess that pilot is just as effective on foot as he is in his craft."
"Truly amazing," chaos said, fully impressed by what he saw. Almost immediately, the light and music went away, for better or worse.
Shortly after, the last of the enemy units were defeated, and chaos and Canaan dismounted from the Asher, the helmeted swordsman walking up to them even as the Orpheus knelt nearby.
"Thanks for the assist," chaos said to the swordsman, who had taken off his helmet by that point. "And you're?"
"I am Captain Jin Uzuki," the swordsman, Jin, replied. "You don't look like you're with the regular forces." He then looked up at the damaged Asher. "Well, whoever you are, if you're still operational, I advise you to leave. This place… affects people. Some stop being people altogether."
"They stop being people?" chaos asked.
"Unfortunately, we can't leave," Canaan informed. "Not until we've completed our mission."
"Your mission?" Jin asked.
"Forgive us, Captain," chaos said. "I am chaos, and this is Canaan. I suspect that you're part of the landing operation, aren't you? Do you know where they U.R.T.V. force is now? If so…"
"U.R.T.V.s?" Jin asked, contemplatively. "Ah, the special units — said to possess an anti-U-DO retrovirus."
"Our mission is to protect them," Canaan informed. "Please, if you know where they are, tell us."
Jin hummed. "Well, this is quite a coincidence," he said. Thunder rumbled overhead and rain began to fall. "Although, it's more than that — fate, perhaps. In any case, I will take you."
chaos then remembered the help they received from the Orpheus. "Captain, a question," he said. "What do we do about the Orpheus? The unit that aided us in battle just now…"
Jin hummed again. "While traveling by A.M.W.S. might be faster than on foot, it is also more conspicuous," he said. "Plus, we will likely be going through buildings or narrow passageways. If its pilot wishes to help us, he or she will have to leave the unit behind for now."
As if making the situation much more complicated, the cockpit hatch opened up, revealing the pilots… a boy and a girl that couldn't be older than six years old. "You might want to reconsider that option, mister," the boy said.
Jin's expression didn't change, though he did seem to frown.
Canaan, however, facepalmed. "What the… kids?" he asked. "How can kids barely old enough to see over a dining table pilot a complex machine like that?!"
chaos looked intrigued by what he saw. "Impressive…" he said. "I certainly never imagined this to be the case, but it seems like fate is at work here, more or less."
"We stumbled across this thing while running from crazy Realians," the girl informed. "We got in to escape them, and when the hatch closed, we got headaches, and afterwards… we could understand the controls, somehow. Not to mention the seats somehow resized themselves to fit us."
Canaan was dumbstruck. "Nothing I've heard of can do that," he remarked.
"I must agree, that does seem impossible," Jin added. "But the ease with which you used that machine in battle… what you've described does make some sense, even if I've never heard of technology that can do that."
The boy nodded. "I know… still, we can't leave the Orpheus, especially if you want to get to wherever in time."
"Agreed…" Jin replied, thinking his options over. "And while my first thought is to send you to the spaceport… we could certainly use your help… very well. You can provide cover for us, but if we need to go indoors, you'll need to find another route.
"Yes, sir!" the boy saluted. "Minato Arisato and Yukari Takeba at your service!"
That caused Jin to pause. "…Wait… Takeba?" he asked. "As in Eiichiro Takeba?"
"He's my father," the girl, Yukari, said. "Is that going to be a problem?"
chaos looked ready to facepalm, himself. "Who knew that his daughter would be lost while headed to the spaceport?" he asked.
"I guess we'll have to do all we can to keep them safe," Canaan remarked. "Even though they're the ones still in an A.M.W.S., and we're on foot… can anything ever be simple?"
This time, chaos did facepalm.
Later
As they made their way down the roadways, the Orpheus following along behind, Canaan asked Jin, "So this entire thing was a set-up?"
"Exactly," Jin replied. "It's all part of an attempt to make the U-TIC Organization, or should I say, all of Miltia, into a scapegoat. Even the Realian violence that we're seeing right now is nothing more than a brush stroke in the larger picture."
chaos asked, "But who's behind this? And why?"
"U-TIC is undoubtedly a cover for a greater power still operating in the shadows," Jin remarked. "I believe that this power is manipulating the conflict between the Federation and the Miltian System, driving a sequence of events in order to get their hands on something very specific."
"Like what?" Canaan asked.
Jin turned to the other two and said, "The Y-Data."
"The Y-Data?" chaos asked.
"What's the Y-Data?" Minato asked from the Orpheus.
"A complete log of Joachim Mizrahi's research," chaos informed. "It's also apparently at the heart of this conflict, but no one aside from Mizrahi knows all the details."
"I relieved an operative of this disc," Jin informed. "And though I was only able to decode it partially, I discovered that all manner of data from all existing phenomena is gathered together within an area of space. And beyond that lies a special place only described in the Y-Data."
"Captain Uzuki," chaos asked, "how in the world did you acquire this information?"
Jin let out a soft chuckle. "I have my ways," he said.
"How important is this information?" Yukari asked. "I mean, could it overthrow the Federation if used a certain way?"
"Only Mizrahi knows that information for certain," Jin said. "So… perhaps, perhaps not."
Canaan and chaos nodded at that, before they started walking forward again.
Later still
"All right," Jin said as the group arrived at the entrance to a building with an angelic statue atop it. "You will find the U.R.T.V.s in the lowest level."
"All right," chaos said. "Captain Uzuki, thank you for bringing us this far. We'll take things from here."
"Of course," Jin said. "As I said, it was fate. I wish I could go with you further." He turned to them and held up a data disk. "However, it's imperative that I complete my work on this data. I want to completely expose the shadow behind this conflict and drag it into the light. To do this, I'll have to access the mainframe here. Also…"
"What?" Canaan asked.
"Does this have to do with us getting back to our respective parents?" Minato asked.
However, before that question could be answered, lightning struck the statue, sending rubble and dust down onto the path they were on. Out of the rubble and dust…
"I gave you far too much credit, Uzuki," a man wearing a strange uniform, with dark pink hair and purple eyes, said, even as all but Jin were wondering where the suffocating pressure came from. "I thought you were smarter than this. A better thief. I never once thought you'd just come walking in through the front door."
"Well, I thought you might be getting lonely, Colonel," Jin replied, "so I figured I'd come pay you a visit."
With a 'hmph', the Colonel in question said, "Same old Uzuki. Neither your attitude nor your ability to bluff have shown improvement. No matter. The data you possess is no threat to us. You've got nothing."
"Precisely why… I have some unfinished business here," Jin informed.
"I see," the Colonel said, even as he rolled his shoulders and his neck, anticipating battle. "You know what this means." With that, he stepped forward, preparing to draw his blade. "Uzuki!" he yelled, drawing the Cutlass from its scabbard, a fiery aura surrounding him. With that, a fight started up, the Colonel alone versus the group.
Canaan stepped back from the fight, not being a ground-combat type Realian. Jin drew his sword and prepared for the fight.
"There is no choice but to fight," chaos said, even as the Colonel slashed at him.
Jin moved in and slashed at the Colonel, before bringing his sword up to block a return slash.
In the Orpheus, Yukari just watched. She couldn't help in this fight - she'd as likely step on chaos or Jin as she would the Colonel. If there was any way they could contribute to the fight in their machine, it would have to be up to Minato.
Minato maneuvered the weapons to switch from the katana to an A.M.W.S.-scale Uzi, firing on the Colonel, even as Jin dodged out of the way with some form of spatial awareness.
chaos, meanwhile, rushed forward and punched the Colonel when the rounds stopped firing, backflipping out of harm's way when the enemy swung his blade at him.
Jin took the opportunity to strike again, before moving away as the Orpheus launched another volley of fire.
The Colonel, meanwhile, attempted to strike at chaos again before he was parried by Jin's blade and knocked clear, before he stabbed his blade into the ground, a pattern of flames surrounding him on the ground which then proceeded to trigger an explosion, knocking down debris from the buildings around them.
Jin wall-jumped up to the roof of the building behind the Colonel, with the Colonel following him with a single jump. chaos, Canaan, Minato, and Yukari could only watch as the two clashed with their blades again and again.
After what seemed to be forever, the two of them stopped clashing, when chaos and Canaan had ran up to get to the top of the building. When the two of them got there, Minato and Yukari following right behind in the Orpheus, they heard the Colonel say, "You're a sad sight, Uzuki, even with your so-called reinforcements. Pathetic. You're out of your league. Why, it's clear now that you never had a chance!"
chaos gasped as he noticed something. "Captain, you're hurt!" he said.
Before Minato and Yukari could say anything, Jin grunted out, "It… it's from earlier. It's nothing to worry about. If you'll pardon the cliche, it's just a scratch."
A few seconds passed, before the ground began shaking all around them. "Hmph. So it's begun," the Colonel said as the tremors stopped. "This planet is finished. There's no point in staying any longer. I think it's time we ended this…" He swung his blade around his body several times before assuming a stance, blade poised beside his head, free arm pointed parallel to the blade, as he finished, "once and for all!"
Jin simply raised his katana up into the air, blade tip facing the Colonel, free arm extended to go alongside his sword.
BakuBaku Beatin' Heart
"Hmph," the Colonel sneered. "You dare to face me, maimed as you are?" He chuckled. "The only thing you've mastered is the art of futility."
Kattobashite Killin' now
"You never know until you try, Colonel," Jin replied.
BakiBaki Burnin' Heart
"That's enough!" the Colonel snapped.
Kimi koso One & Only
Both swordsmen began focusing energy, a ball of flame in the Colonel's open palm, ice gathering in the blade of Jin's katana.
Kimi ga sekai ni sonzai shiteru imi wo shiritakunai?
With a battlecry, the Colonel sent forth a massive blast of flames, even as a beam of ice energy shot from Jin's katana, the two blasts just barely passing each other before a massive explosion caused chaos, Canaan, Yukari, and Minato to shield their eyes.
BakuBaku Beatin' Heart!
When the explosion faded, both men stood there for a few seconds, before Jin crumpled to the side, massive damage to his body. The Colonel, meanwhile, had a gash along the right side of his face, right through his right eye, blood flowing from the wound.
BakiBaki Burnin' Heart!
chaos and Canaan ran over to Jin's side. "Now you see your death," the Colonel stated.
Soko ni kakuretetemo nani mo hajimannai
"I have always been your better, in every way, Uzuki," the Colonel said as chaos began helping Jin's form to a standing position. "It's something that old fool couldn't-"
Tozasareteta DOA wo sono ashi de kowase
He was interrupted by a groan from Jin, as he looked up, still very much alive.
Me ni mieru fuan wo kazoete tomaranaide
"What the-?" the Colonel began, even as cracks spiderwebbed out from around him.
Unmei no Rule yabutteke
chaos and Canaan leapt away, Jin still being carried by chaos, before the building fell apart around the Colonel, and he fell screaming into the depths.
Me ni mienai tsunagari shinjite ugoki dasou
Later, when the group was ready to depart, Jin turned to face Canaan and called his name, before handing him the disk containing the Y-Data. "Take this."
You got to change Breakin' the chain
Canaan used a data cable to transfer the data from the disk into his systems. "Is this…?" he began to ask.
Tobashiteke ashita e
After storing the data inside of Canaan, Jin tossed the disk a far distance away and over the edge of the building. "Storing it with you is safer than carrying it around," he said. "Besides, there's somewhere else I must go."
Don't be afraid The world is your stage… GO!
"What?" chaos asked. "You're not serious. Look, we're still mobile, Captain. You could come with us."
BakuBaku Beatin' Heart! Kimi koso One & Only
Turning to face chaos, Jin shook his head. "No," he said. "This is my own way of atonement. I can't turn back now."
"But…" chaos began.
"Please, go on," Jin said to the others. "Bring the truth of this conflict - the truth hidden in that data - to light. Please, do this one thing for me."
"Captain Uzuki…" chaos said.
"I'm counting on you," Jin said. "And please, take care of the kids for until they return to their parents… so, farewell." With that, he jumped into the air, even as the place started to shake up.
Glass shattered on nearby buildings, even as Canaan began turning to move. However, chaos stopped him by saying, "Canaan! Look at that!"
Canaan looked in the direction indicated… and all four saw the abyss start swallowing the planet whole, even as Canaan started short-circuiting, his memory replay ability ending at that point.
14 years later
The setting is outer space, a frontier the people of Earth had longed to see, but had never gotten to fully realize by this point. Deep in a separate part of the Galaxy at large, a fleet of ships was going at sub-light speed, looking for something that would be of great importance. The object in question would be easy to find, having a flock of glowing blue butterflies around it, despite being in outer space. The object? The quasi-cross called a Zohar.
Inside the Vector Industries-made ship Woglinde
A group of scientists and programmers were working away on computers, trying to get an Android called KOS-MOS up to proper protocol, making sure that everything was ready for what was called an Interconnection.
Back in outer space
The Zohar was floating up in space, having nothing to catch it, at least not yet.
Back with the scientists and programmers
A red mechanical chair was about to be sat in, especially since it was what would be used in the Interconnection between KOS-MOS and 'her' creator, a woman named Shion Uzuki. As soon as she sat down, a pair of typing armrests, one on each side of her, and a computer visor that went over her eyes extended forward and around her head (in the case of the visor).
One of the scientists, a young woman named Yukari Takeba, was looking over Shion's Heart Rate, Thermography, Blood Pressure, MRI, EEG, and Psychoanalysis, to make sure an Interconnection was a good thing.
Back with the Zohar
The Zohar was wandering aimlessly about, all until a fleet of ships came by, having found their target.
With the scientists and programmers again
Shion's field of vision was near promptly filled with computer-related technobabble, before she said, "Commencing startup experiment. Open up an Interconnection."
One of her aides, a slightly older man named Allen, said, "Roger. Opening Interconnection. Connecting with dummy protocol."
Another aide, a young man by the name of Minato Arisato, said, "A-LINE protocol zone secured."
A third man said, "Opening cage partition. 60 seconds to release. Beginning countdown. 57, 56, 55…"
Back with the Zohar (again)
A group of space-faring craft moved to grab the Zohar and secure it, minding the butterflies. As they did so, a man in a spacesuit began to approach the artifact. When he made to touch the Zohar, a bright light shone from it, absorbing him.
Back on the ship
Minato looked over the programming data he was in charge of, saying, "All monitors clear."
The third man from earlier said, "…3, 2, 1. Partition open. Proceeding with KOS-MOS body formation."
As the formation was proceeding, Yukari looked around a short bit, taking a bit of time to see what was going on around her. A thought then hit her. 'Wait… I remember things now!'
At the same time, Minato had the same thought, but also thinking, 'I hope we get to learn what's going on here, unless we somehow get stuck here.'
"Body formation complete. Commencing Penfield mapping," Yukari's voice was heard, making Minato look in her direction. In effect, she looked like she did when she was in her original body, only without her original clothing. She was now wearing a Vector Industries outfit, which looked similar to what he was wearing, only the stripes on hers were pink while his were black.
Shaking his head, he looked back at his monitor, saying at the right time, "Proceeding with Encephalon construction."
Another woman's voice said, "Mapping percentage at 76,77…"
Eventually, Minato said, "Encephalon construction complete."
Allen took that time to speak up, alerting everyone else with beeping at his computer, "There's noise appearing inside the temporal lobe."
Shion, who wasn't able to look, asked, "What's the problem?"
"It's on the left side of the temporal lobe," Allen said, showing some concern. "I'm showing slight stimulation of the synapses in section 818. It's within permissible bounds, though…" Turning to face Shion, he asked, "Do you want to abort?"
"No, let's keep going," Shion answered. "Just stick to the menu. I'll try for a direct approach. Back me up."
"Roger," Allen replied. "Launching NATARAJA connection system."
With the Zohar (yet again)
The space-faring craft returned, this time carrying laser holders that would keep something in place, meant for transporting dangerous artifacts like the Zohar. With a burst of laser light, three rings appeared around the Zohar, keeping it from doing anything wrong… even as the butterflies stayed around it. When the Zohar made it into the Woglinde, the ships finally moved out of the sector, using their FTL drives to move out.
Back with our heroes
Shion typed her password after typing in her name, the password being, "Ye shall be as gods."
"Password accepted. Commencing NATARAJA boot up sequence," the computerized voice of the system said, before Shion was put in the Interconnection of the Encephalon. When Shion's voice came through, it was via a headset, this one being Allen's. "Allen, there seems to be a problem with the visual field connection."
Minato and Yukari looked in curiosity, seeing how Allen would respond. "Hmm…" he said, bringing his hand to the screens, before making a new one show up. "Ah… I see a small break in the MT field, route K12." Bringing up another screen, he said, "It looks like… the bi-directional link in the V4 field is lagged, too." When the extra screens lowered themselves, he said, "Hold on a minute… I'll fix it now." With a few keystrokes, he asked, "How's it now, Chief?"
"Okay, looks good," Shion's voice could be heard. "Let's keep going."
"Roger," Allen said. "Proceeding with KOS-MOS host separation."
As soon as Allen finished saying that, an image appeared on the techies computer screens, showing a young woman-looking being with really low hanging blue hair and metallic clothing appearing on the screen. 'Her' limbs were covered with mechanical parts, even 'her' head, which had a large visor on and over 'her' eyes. On the top of the visor was 'her' name… KOS-MOS.
'So, this is 'KOS-MOS',' Yukari thought. 'She definitely looks unique… though from what my other memories are telling me, she's an android, not human.'
'Almost feels like we're in an uber sci-fi setting,' Minato thought. 'Though, judging from the memories I got, that's likely not too far from the truth… aside from the Fangires…'
Their thoughts were cut off as Shion could be seen walking up to KOS-MOS, saying, "Morning, KOS-MOS. How do you feel?"
KOS-MOS turned to face 'her' maker, saying, "Good morning, Shion. All systems are normal."
Shion then asked, "Well, how about introducing yourself?"
'Introducing herself?' Yukari thought. 'Well, it'll be interesting to see KOS-MOS' reaction…'
'Thing's supposed to be a weapon, and she's treating it like a person,' Minato thought. 'Well, everyone has their quirks… and I guess it's good that she doesn't think of it as a weapon.'
KOS-MOS turned away from Shion and looked forward, saying, "I am an Anti-Gnosis Humanoid Fighting System, serial number 00-00-00-00-1. Development name KP-X. Abbreviated name KOS-MOS. As I am currently configured for simulated battle, my output is limited to 22% of its normal capacity. My estimated weapons specifications are…"
Shion, who had walked forward during this time, turned around and raised her hands up a short bit, saying, "Alright, that's good enough. Thanks."
KOS-MOS simply said, "You are welcome."
'Looks like it doesn't have emotions,' Minato thought. 'Well, still a good thing Shion doesn't treat it as a weapon, but I think she might have issues...'
Yukari had similar thoughts, sans the issues remark.
Shion turned away from KOS-MOS and said, "All I have for you today are the usual startup tests. Sorry to wake you up just for that. You'll have to go back to sleep once everything's checked out."
KOS-MOS merely nodded, as 'she' said, "I see."
Shion then turned to face KOS-MOS and asked, "Do you feel sad… or anything?"
KOS-MOS then answered, "A pre-determined set of emotions has been hardcoded into my emotion module to better facilitate interactions with humans. In order to better facilitate a relationship with you - Chief Engineer Shion Uzuki of the KOS-MOS Project, Vector Industries First R&D Division - I will emit an expression such as sadness only when that response is deemed necessary. However, the emotion module of my program has determined that this is not necessary at this time."
Shion took a bit to laugh as she heard the last of KOS-MOS's response, eventually saying, "I guess you're right. I of all people should know that."
'So, it has emotions, but doesn't really use them,' Minato thought. 'That seems a bit of a waste, even for an android designed as a weapon.'
'Shion's definitely an interesting woman,' Yukari thought. 'Hopefully I'll get to know her a bit more - something tells me she might be able to help Minato and I on our journey.'
KOS-MOS said, "Your understanding is appreciated."
Shion looked down before shaking her head a bit, saying, But you know, KOS-MOS… I've got… mixed feelings about all this. Of course, I'm happy that you're awake… but the fact that you'll go back to sleep makes me a bit… sad. On the other hand, the next time you wake up… it may be a time of much bloodshed."
'True,' Minato thought. 'Then again, I wonder just what she's been through - I can tell there's some kind of deeper connection to KOS-MOS than just being the chief developer.'
'…might be we're here to help Shion more than she's here to help us,' Yukari thought. 'Well, I guess we'll have to wait and see.'
Shion continued to say, "So deep down, I hope that day never comes… Understand?"
KOS-MOS, who was looking at Shion until that point, turned to face in front of 'her' and said, "The algorithms I have been programmed with do not support the comprehension of illogical human thought."
Shion turned away from KOS-MOS, pushed up her glasses, and said, "Well… I hope you'll be able to… understand someday."
KOS-MOS said, "I will do my best."
Minato thought, 'Well, KOS-MOS certainly has us humans pegged - we do tend to think illogically.'
'I certainly hope KOS-MOS is able to understand, too,' Yukari thought. 'Hopefully I'll be able to help Shion with that.'
Shion then turned to face her creation and asked, "All right, KOS-MOS, shall we get started?" Without waiting for a reply, she said, "Allen, let's pick up from process 277 where we last left off."
Allen said over the computer channels, "Roger. Placing target drones in the Encephalon. The drones are set to "random movement" and "enemy ambush". How about a test run before the mission, Chief?"
Shion said to Allen, "Mmm, sure, let's do that." Turning to face KOS-MOS, she asked, "Did you get that, KOS-MOS?"
KOS-MOS nodded, saying, "Affirmative."
'Well, let's see what KOS-MOS can do,' Yukari and Minato thought in unison.
Xamusel: Finished!
…what is it with me and BlazBlue? I honestly have no idea.
Well, yeah, you should be able to get the hint now as to how different this is from the previous version. Next to be updated will be A Wizard in Iwatodai.
Anyway… here's Takeshi!
Takeshi Yamato: Yeah, we've got the Prologue from Xenosaga 2 in here, as well. And for those of you who recognize the scene before said Prologue, I will warn you: That particular plot isn't going to go quite the same way as in canon. There is a different person than in canon who wields the main power of that plotline - who it is will be revealed in time… in fact, in the AWiI update coming next.
Apart from that, not much else to say that I haven't already, other than we're removing any and all traces of Fourth-Wall-Breaking Tutorial Text - I felt that was in a bit of bad taste last time.
See you in the next update! :D