Chapter 1: Pandemonium
(Module 77) (Year 0 of the Third Imperial Calendar)
It was chaos.
That the only word one would best describe how the world was now.
After the revelation of the immortal Magius and the Council of One Hundred and One, the world had been split once more as it had been since the unification of ARUS and Dorssia.
Civil war sprouted out and riots and reformations took place not long after to quell the unrest. What was once the militarized nation of Dossia, became split into two warring factions between the Royalists and the Loyalist Federation with neither side backing off from the fight.
The president of ARUS, Jeffery Anderson, did his best to pull his cabinet together but even the mighty economic power of the Atlantic Ring United States were no match against its own people. The country was soon brought into question and many riots took place. In a matter of days, the whole nation was addressed to a mass call for Marshal Law, restoring some measure of order to its citizens.
This chaos warped much of the government structure forcing military activities to back down from space.
As the dust of battle finally settled above the stars of the moon, a single red frame stood amongst the rubble, with a hint of green hue excreting from its body.
"You don't remember? Anything at all?" L-Elf asked in disbelief as he gazed at his comrade who sat at the corner of the cockpit with eyes fading light. The boy in red armor simply nodded to his question forcing the silver haired man to come closer. "Not even our contract? Our fight on the moon?"
"Sorry…" The nameless boy apologized following the feeling in his heart. His mind was slowly slipping away, into nothingness.
L-Elf refused it. He refused to believe it. This was just… too cruel. If the gods had any part in this plan, he would curse them and call them monsters in their stead. He gritted his teeth trying to find the words, but nothing came. All he could do was cry and stare and the now amnesiac child who sat in front of him.
"You know me… don't you?" The red clad hero inquired with a hint of hope to know at least… a bit of who or what he was. "You know who I am?"
With a heavy sigh, the silver haired soldier nodded. A bitter frown crossed his lips as he turned to face his newly… and perhaps few of his friends. "Yes… you're…" He tried to hold back the tears but was failing fast. "You are… my friend." He felt a slight bump on his nose forcing his tears outward to float in the air.
"I see… that's… that's good…" And with a final smile, the red clad hero closed his eyes… drifting himself to eternal sleep. "That's… very… good…"
"Haruto!"
L-Elf's eyes widened when he noted Pino, the female AI from the Valvrave's monitor shot out in a ghost form shouting his dead comrade's name.
"Haruto…" She muttered his name softly as if reaching out to him. She extended her phantom like fingers to his hair only to find another hand brushing it off.
"Don't touch him!" L-Elf barked. "You've already taken his runes. There's nothing left he can give you! (…) Just… stay… away. He's already given up… everything…" The silver haired boy covered his friend in a defensive embrace, not wanting another monster to muddle his corpse.
"Pino, let's go…" The male figure from the Valvrave monitor then appeared beside the first one, showing the same green-like essence. "There's nothing left for us here. (Big brother?) Let's take the Valvrave. With the two of us we can control this machine and search the stars for runes elsewhere. There's no longer a reason for us to stay with these humans. (…) Come Pino. This is what you and I wanted, remember?"
The blonde haired ghost darted her eyes between her companion and the weeping boy in front of her. Even an artificial creature understood what kind of pain he was going through. You could feel it pulsing, resonating from the organ that pumps your vitals.
"Pino!" The blue haired ghost urged her again, sticking his hand out. "Come! While we still have time."
But against all odds. Even against her greatest desire and subconscious, the girl simply could not leave things as it is. "Big brother. I… I think… I think I'll stay with this human just a little bit longer. (…!)" The reply shocked those around her.
"What are you saying!?" Plu demanded. "These humans are the very reason we were separated! Why do you want to stay with them?"
"Not all humans are bad." She reasoned. "There are good humans too. Like the ones I met. Marie, Shoko… they're not bad at all. They're just like us. (…?) They don't have a home to go to. They miss their friends and families. But no one can give them that. They're just trying to find a place they could call home. So… I thought that maybe… just maybe. If I stick with them long enough. If I stay with the friends of this human then maybe… we can find a home for ourselves too. (Pino!) Onii-chan. Can you believe in the human race… one more time?"
"What? What nonsense are you talking about? Have you forgotten what they've done to us!?"
"Just because we got hurt once… doesn't mean we can't try again. We have to keep trying to be friends with the humans. (…) There will be good times, bad times, fun times, and maybe painful times. But like Haruto said… we can't give up. Not now… not ever. So… please… believe in them… (Tch!) If not for them… then do it for me… Plu?"
"Erghh…" The blue one groaned in defeat unable to face his sister's sweet face. "Why do you believe in this human so much?"
"Because I like him." Was her plain and honest answer. "He's a real hero… a REAL hero."
"So you would entrust our lives to this… flesh bag? (Yup!)" Miraculously, Plu stepped down, approaching the weeping boy. "Very well then. For my sake… and the sake of my sister, Pino… I shall inhabit you. Don't betray me… flesh bag." And in a swift motion, Plu suddenly turned into a small green crystal the size of a golf ball.
"Wh… what are you…?" L-Elf felt puzzled which was rare in his case.
Pino gently handed L-Elf the crystallized form of her brother, explaining the process. "Plu will now be the source of Haruto's rune. He will restore him…"
"You mean… you can bring… you can bring Haruto back?" He asked, hopeful.
"Not completely. His memories went away with his runes. He will need… to start again. Onii-chan will be a new source of rune that can be restored times over. (…) He might remember… or not. It all depends on him. It'll be hard for him to go on alone."
"He won't…" L-Elf spoke with new determination in his voice. Gently he grabbed the crystal from her hand and pushed it towards Haruto. And then… as if run by some organic matter, the orb attached itself to the boy's suit, implanting itself in his heart.
…
…
A second went by… and then two… and then three… four…
On the count of five… a breath of air from Haruto's lungs stole the whole world away.
"Haruto? Haruto! Oi, can you hear me!?"
"You… again?" The boy muttered. "Why am I…? Ugh…"
"He's very weak right now." Pino explained pointing the boy's delirious state. "The new runes will adjust to his body after a bit of rest."
But then another voice cracked into the screen, forcing Pino back into the monitor. "Haruto? Haruto, answer me! Are you alright?" It was Akira who spoke. "Hey! Haruto! (Akira?) L-Elf?"
"That girl… does she… know me too?" Haruto questioned feeling a somewhat familiar urge in his head.
"Renbokoji Akira. Report." L-Elf ordered. "What's the situation outside?"
"It's getting bad. The Dorssia and ARUS are preparing to go declare war with all extraterrestrial life forms. There's a fleet of ARUS Splicers approaching us."
"So the list of names was enough to cause enough chaos, but not enough to deter their forces in space." L-Elf thought to himself. "Then we'll just have to fix that. (Eh?) Where's unit 04? Rukino Saki?"
"Eh? Ah… Rukino is still pushing module 77 away from the moon. Hold on. I'll raise her."
"No need. (…?) The people of the world now view the students of module 77 as monsters. But they lack the necessary manpower to perform their little genocide. They will undoubtedly want the power of the Valvraves and steal them for their own use. We will have to cause a little psychological war of our own."
"What are you talking about?"
The silver haired strategist then approached his friend, pulling him over to the seat. "Tokushima Haruto. I know that this may sound confusing but you must pilot the Valvrave once more. (Val… vrave?) Yes, this machine. You only need to move it. You will not enter combat, I swear that upon you. Simply follow my instructions to the letter and all will be well. (…) Please. I need to borrow your strength just a little bit more."
"Alright. (…!) Friends… help… each other. Right?"
A smile escaped L-Elf. "Yeah… yes they do. Come. Sit here. Hey you, computer."
"My name is Pino!" The AI insisted.
"Can the Valvrave still move?"
"I can move it but… there aren't enough runes to use the weapons."
"We don't need the weapons. Simply a show of force. Akira. (Y… yes?) Are you still hacked into the satellite network station?" The girl answered with a positive nod. "Then I want you to broadcast this scene to the entire world. I want you to show them, the might of Valvraves. Replay combat scenes mixed with it and show much of 01's combat prowess to the world. (B… but why?) I'll explain everything later. Do it!"
With a quick order, Akira went to work typing on her keyboard like she did as she was trapped in her cardboard house. Putting all the footage she got from fights and video cameras she could make a short music video in 10 seconds flat.
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On the other side of the combat zone, the ARUS fleet commander was ordering his men to combat formation. With 2 Carriers, 6 battleships and a bucket load of Splicers and various anti-armor regiments at his beck and call, he had the power of an armada at the palm of his hand. All he needed to do was tell them what to do, where to go and what to shoot and the soldiers will do the rest.
"Prepare all squadrons to move on my command. Have the second and third battalions provide covering fire once initial bombardment has been done."
"Sir. Are we… are we really going against those Valvraves?"
"The president has ordered the eradication of all dangerous life forms. According to our intel, those students are part of it. So we follow our orders. However… capturing one of the Valvraves is also a priority if possible." But the commander's attention was suddenly caught up by a copied feed that displayed on his private monitor. "Hmm? What's this?"
"Sir! I'm reading an activity right in front of us. Two Valvrave units! Ah! It's… it's the red one! (…!)" A stir of panic began to spread amongst the soldiers as they knew well the infamy of the red unit. The power to wipe out entire fleets on its own with the Harakiri Blade. It has been the subject of many armies and how it leveled against them in the past few months.
"The red one? You mean the one that fought the entire Dorssian armada on its own?"
"Don't panic!" The commander barked out, silencing their doubts. "It's already exhausted most of its energy in the previous battle. Even a Valvrave is not invincible. Focus all our effort in isolating them. Their greatest weakness is that they can't operate on a long term battle. Don't let up your attacks."
"Sir! The enemy unit… it's doing something with its sword." The crowd of officers gathered and saw the red frame slowly turn to face their armada with a glaring face. It began to draw its sword once more as if it was preparing for combat. "Is it… going to take us on by itself?"
"If it uses its Harikiri blade… it'll wipe out the entire fleet in one go! Commander!"
"Grrr… all units spread out! Don't let it catch us in one move!"
"But sir! We'll never last against two of them!"
"Don't be a coward! You're a soldier of ARUS. Act like one!"
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Akira saw the fleet still moving in combat formation and knew well that they weren't going to stop. "They're not stopping. What do we do?"
L-Elf grunted. He was caught in a moment unprepared. The commander of that fleet must've been very headstrong to try and take on two Valvraves despite knowing how dangerous they are. It seems like his little act wasn't working.
"Haruto. Can you raise your sword higher?"
"I'm… trying…" The boy struggled with his controllers. "But it's getting… heavier…"
"Damn. If only we had a little bit of rune left. Hey, computer. (I'm Pino!) Prepare to use your engines. We'll escape on point Delta and make our way to the Module. If we can regroup with 04 then we might have a chance of fighting back. Haruto. Get ready to make a break for it. Akira will cover you. (Under… understood…) Fire thrusters on my mark. (L-Elf!) What is it?"
"There's a Dorssian Fleet behind us! (What!?) They're covering our escape route. We're trapped!"
"Dorssian? But how…? No… that's…"
"Attention, ARUS Fleet." A familiar voice boomed over the radio which L-Elf recognized. "I am A-drei, 1st Prince of the Dorssian Royal family and the commander of the 1st Imperial Royal Guards. In the name of the new parliament government and following the Tibet Convention, I am declaring an armed intervention regarding the newly formed nation of JIOR. (…!) As of this moment, the independent nation of JIOR, Module 77, and all of its inhabitants are now under our protection. Any hostile taken against this nation or its people will be taken as an indirect invasion to Dorssia. Withdraw at once!"
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The whole ARUS armada held their collective breaths as they watched ship after ship of red and white surround the two Valvrave units in front of them. Just when they were about to attack, this happened.
"Admiral. I'm picking up 8 more battleships on the approach to our rear. They're Dorssian signature. We're outgunned! (Grrr…) Admiral. I beg of you sir, let's withdraw. We don't have the numbers to face the Dorssian fleet at this stage. (Grrr!)"
"ARUS fleet, this is your last warning." A-drei continued as he stared back on the faces on the monitor. "Withdraw at once or be destroyed here and now. Your choice…"
"Grrrr… that little cocky brat!"
"Admiral!"
"I know!" The commander barked back silencing his XO. "All ships… withdraw. We're done for today. Vanguard units, stay on our rear while the carriers return to the Lunar Base. (Yes sir!) We'll let these kids go… for now…"
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"A-drei. That was fortunate." L-Elf counted his lucky stars as he watched the ARUS fleet slowly crawl away from the staring contest. Never did he think that the Dorssian fleet would one day come to their day.
"Is that person… a friend too?" Haruto asked in his amnesiac state.
"Yeah… a really good friend. But now's not the time for pleasantries. We're withdrawing. Akira. Cover us. (Roger!)"
In mere moments, the two Valvraves whistled off from the fight, heading towards the drifting module. The eerie silence between after the flight after a long battle was welcoming, but L-Elf knew that this respite of theirs was simply a temporary one. He knew that the chaos that they ensued would soon catch up to them, bringing their little country into the brink of war once more.