Hi, everyone. This FF story is a little special, because it's a co-op story. Funny story, one of my Reviewers wrote to me, asking me if we could do a story together and I was like 'why not, they were nice enough to ask'. So we've been working together for a while now to build up this story. Which is a lot of fun, we both bring something to the table and it surprisingly fits well with each other, my co-writer has a brilliant mind so I've been enjoying working with him. And the best part is, we both still surprise each other by not giving a lot of our part of the story away. Believe me, I think you'll like what we've concocted together.
So in that regard, Gods Eater Burst and all its characters and manga are own by Namco Bandai Games, Inc- Yuu Kannagi from the manga included. However, Karen Owaga and her parents are own by SanguisAnima. While my protagonist and her relatives are own by me. So we hope you enjoy the story as much as we've enjoyed creating it.
xxx
Co-Author's Note:
"Text"= Normal speech
"[Text]"= speech in Japanese
Text= Thoughts
For the most part, this will follow cannon Gods Eater: Burst storylines, with minor changes that DO NOT change how the gameplay story goes.
Well, for the most part, anyway.
Consider yourself warned.
Trinity Arc
The Forging of a Sniper Samurai
Part 1
The year is 2071. The world, as humanity knew it, was being ruled and devoured by the Aragami: creatures that seem to have appeared out of nowhere, composed of nothing but clustered Oracle Cells that continue to consume and devour in a never-ending hunger. Sometimes it craved for nonliving things; other times it craved for something more... Organic.
Humanity had been knocked down a notch on the planet's food chain, and has lost their place as the dominate species. The Aragami had devoured humanity across the planet, discriminating against none. All was seen as dinner in the eyes of the hungry beasts.
Many of what remained of the human population has survived by protecting themselves behind Anti-Aragami Walls. These Oracle Cell-repelling walls were created by a Europe-base, then-pharmaceutical company called Fenrir and humanity has depended upon them for their survival since then.
In order to preserve humanity's place on the planet, Fenrir had created beasts of their own to fight these gluttonous beasts- God Eaters that devour the Aragami when nothing else could. The technology and warfare of man alone couldn't stand a chance against the Aragami; all hope depended upon the God Eaters and their God Arcs that could stop the regenerating process of the Aragami's Oracle Cells.
There were a lot of battles fought against the Aragami. Many God Eaters were lost during the years. Some battles were a victory toward humanity; others were a loss of life. None of the God Eaters knew if today would be their last day, or if it would be tomorrow. Each day was a blessing in their line of work, and they would take none of it for granted.
In the Far East Branch, in the region once known as Japan, this belief was a truth to its God Eaters.
.xxxxx.
After the recent lost of their First Unit Leader, Lindow Amamiya, the Branch's Den was still in shock at the lost of such a strong fighter. They would have never thought that he would die, sacrificing his life in order to save his team during a freak accident out on the field.
To be brutally honest, most thought he would die years later after he retired, either from alcohol poisoning or kidney failure, with the way he guzzled his and his childhood friend's beer rations on his own.
But it was no accident, as the members of the First Unit soon found out: it was a carefully-planned elimination by the Branch's Director, Johannes von Schicksal. Lindow had gotten too close to the truth of the Director's plans, and was taken out of the picture because of it.
Soon after, the physically and mentally demanding position of First Unit Leader was filled by the rookie New-Type God Eater of the Unit, Yuu Kannagi. It was Yuu who helped the First Unit pull themselves together after their devastating loss. He had saved Alisa from her tragic past with his warm Resonance; he had broken Soma out of his inner shell of self-hatred; he even helped Kota find the right path into protecting his family and friends.
Together with his team, he had stopped the Director and his plans of having the Colossal Aragami, Nova, from devouring the planet in a planned Apocalypse. It was a great battle they had won, but they had paid a heavy price and lost a friend in the process.
Shio, the little Aragami girl from the wastelands, had taken Nova and the Devouring Apocalypse to the Moon in order to save everyone from the final feast. On the Moon she remained since then; however, many lives were lost from the crazed Aragami during the awakening of Nova. It took many days of healing before the citizens of Fenrir had recovered from their loses.
Things seemed to have calmed into a lull around the Den. That is, until the Immortal King came into scene: Hannibal, the mysterious dragon-type Aragami.
No matter how many times they extracted the core it would instantaneously, miraculously regenerate. It took a lot of research from the Branch's Acting Director and genius scientist, Dr. Sakaki, before they finally found a way to halt the regeneration process.
But before that could happen, Yuu's God Arc's core had been damage during a fight with the Hannibal, forcing him out of combat for some time. Even so, he still found himself in the thick of battle, right within the Den when Aragami somehow managed to sneak through the AA Wall and attack the Den itself. On top of that, he had exposed himself to possible Oracle Cell Infection due to grabbing the previous First Unit Leader's- Lindow's- God Arc during a surprise Aragami attack on the Den.
He had saved Licca's, the leading God Arc engineer and maintenance manager, and everyone in the Den's life, but had risked himself being devouring by the foreign Oracle Cells of Lindow's God Arc.
Surprisingly, he had come out of it okay, much to everyone's relief and anger that he would even try to use someone else's God Arc. He had really gotten torn into by everyone in the Den, but they were all just glad that he was okay.
But once the scare had went down, all was turned back to normal... As normal as can be, aside from the atrocity that Dr. Sakaki invented, which he christened 'First Love Juice', and tried to pass off as a drink.
.xxxxx.
Despite it all, everything was more or less normal in the Den. The Far East Branch was getting new recruit New-Types. Yuu had been called into the Entrance by Tsubaki to introduce him to the new recruits. They seemed like an energetic bunch to Yuu, two girls along with Ren and a new guy.
"These are the new recruits, all highly touted new God Eaters." Tsubaki introduced Yuu to them, giving Yuu a chance to look them all over in individual introductions.
"I've been assigned to the Second Unit, as of today..." The first female recruit announced. Her golden hair was neatly tied into a bun on the side of her head. And her face, although stern and serious, had friendly blue eyes that complimented her Blues Street Top and Pants. "I'm Annette Koenig."
"And I've been assigned to the Third Unit." The young man next to her introduced as well. His spike raven hair was held back by a yellow bandana. Unlike the female next to him, he was more relaxed as the nervous exposed itself from his face through his expressive brown eyes. His Acid Street Top and Pants told Yuu that he was most likely from the Outer Ghettos in the Branch he came from. "My name is Federico Caruso."
"..." Yuu nodded to them both, they both seemed friendly enough, but scared. In that sense, they were both not unlike most rookies when they first enter the Den. And the female had put on a false bravado, a way to shield herself from the trials to come.
But then he turned to the last female in the group. This one had air about her that told Yuu not to take her lightly.
Her blue eyes were sharp and fierce, but not cold. Yuu couldn't tell whether her hair was a dirty blond or a really light brunette, either way its sheen would make it shine brightly in the light. The shiny locks, mostly hidden by her black and red & white stripped beanie hat, only reached to her shoulders, long in the front but short in the back. Her skin had lightly been touched by the sun, but judging from her looks Yuu could guess that she was a native of this Branch. Her serious face threw him off guard when he saw her bold Black Sniper Coat and pants. Yuu couldn't pinpoint what it was, but... something about her told him not to overlook her.
"Karen... I'll be in your Unit." Was all she would say as an introduction. She gave him a slight 60 degree bow without taking her eyes off him, one would give to your peers based off the olden traditions of this region.
As Karen looked at her new Unit Leader, all he could do was rubbed the back of his head and give her a cheeky grin. She felt that kind and friendly aura about him; he wasn't one with hidden agendas she would have to worry about like most people in Fenrir with power. But then he seemed to look off to the far left side of them, probably already bored of being there. All in all, it did give her time to look him over without having him catch her doing it.
His spiky hair was a light brown, but still darker than hers, more like a walnut color. His blue eyes were a lighter hue than hers, and softer too. His skin made him look like he hadn't been out in the sun as much, making her concerned if he had the fighting experience necessary for her to follow under him without worry. And he seemed like a simple, care-free kind of guy: Formal Blues, top and bottom, the guy didn't strive to shine out much from the others in this place.
The only thing that made him seem to stand out from all the other faces was the small grin that never left his face.
Talk about boring with a capital B, or plain with a blinking neon pink capital P.
But if there was one thing Karen had learned through out her life, it was to not judge a book by its cover.
"You know more about New-Type God Eater techniques." Tsubaki said, bringing his attention back to the group in whole. "Look after them. Understood?"
This woman, Tsubaki, clearly had a lot of trust from him, judging by the impression she had left on Karen so far. Tsubaki seemed like the serious type, always on the hour and always ready for anything the Aragami through their way. To hear her strong voice soften as she made this request seemed highly out of character for her so far. But if someone as strong willed as Tsubaki had entrusted them into his hands, it would seem that Karen could trust him as well. At least... give him a chance.
"It's good to meet you!" The other recruits greeted to him, while Karen nodded in acknowledgement. Yuu simply nodded back to them in greeting as well.
"Good." Tsubaki praised at the smooth introduction and then went back to business. "Rookies, report to Dr. Sakaki later for your medical check ups. That will be all."
Five hours earlier...
Karen stood in front of what looked like a table, and a rather long, single edged blade. The blade's nakago was in plain sight; so, she was simply to hold onto that?
Well, this certainly was a new spin on checking one's aptitude.
Aptitude to what, though, she had absolutely no clue.
Knowing nothing is as easy as it seems, Karen placed her arm on the slot while her hand curled around the sword's grip: firmly, yet loosely, as she was accustomed to. And she waited for the inevitable surprise.
Although Karen was expecting it, she could still not fight the surprised gasp that came with the top part of the table crashing down on her wrist, and the acute feeling of something puncturing - no, eating would be the correct term for it - through the skin of her forearm, going down to her muscles. It almost felt like going for her bones.
All throughout the ordeal, Karen kept quiet, although her face was a mask of pain. If I remember correctly how Johannes described it, her behavior now is similar to what Yuu showed when he went through the same thing, Sakaki thought to himself as he watched the proceedings through the observation chamber.
His grin grew wider as the Aptitude Test completed, marking another New-Type God Eater for the Far East Branch. "Well! Congratulations on passing the Aptitude Test, uh... Karen! You can exit the room now. Oh, and don't hesitate to tell anyone if you feel anything, okay?"
The medical checkup felt anything but.
All she was asked to do was lie down on a cot, and answer a few questions from both the medical officer and Acting Director Paylor Sakaki (judging from the voice Karen heard earlier in the Aptitude Test, it was him who congratulated her). The rest was pretty hazy at best, and the last thing Karen remembered was getting sleepy. Now, here she was, three hours later, in what was likely her room from this point onward.
[It's not all that bad], she thought to herself. A small couch with an antiquated cassette player ([Seriously? Those things still exist?]), some hardbound training manuals, a kitchenette with a small personal fridge, and a single bed that would no doubt fit her moderate frame.
The room in itself had a homely feel to it, with the holo-window display showing a bright, sunny day. The flooring looked and sounded like wood; Fenrir's techs really went all-out if they replicated the look, feel and sound of good old-fashioned wood. [Just perfect for meditation sessions].
Karen stretched her arms as she stood up. [That was certainly a nice nap]... She noticed her two bags on the floor near the Terminal in the room, the shiny combination locks still in place as she remembered them. [Ah, so they brought my bags in.] She knelt down and quickly spun the dials, and proceeded to take out her clothes and other materials.
When she opened the door a few minutes later, she saw a young man wearing a green jacket, blue pants, had brown hair and a cap worn backwards. Something about him seemed familiar. Just as Karen approached, he turned to face her.
Karen's blood felt slightly cold as she recognized the young man: Shun Ogawa, her elder distant cousin.
If he even considered her a cousin, or if he knew Karen was from a different Ogawa family branch.
"Hey, rookie... I was about to go get you, since Tsubaki asked me to." Shun's voice told Karen all she needed to know. [He knows who I am...] "Take the Section Elevator to the Entrance Section and see Tsubaki. Rookies have to work hard for the chance to earn rewards, you know. Well... Good luck, kid!"
Karen would've liked a retort, but Shun already left ahead of her. "[Ugh. Still a cocky jerk,]" Karen muttered to herself as she pressed the elevator button.
"There you are!"
Karen didn't move one bit. She felt a hand lightly tap her shoulder a few seconds later, with the same voice calling to her. "Hey there! Your name's Karen, right?"
She turned to the person addressing her, giving another half bow when she recognized it was Yuu. "[Yes, that's correct.]" Karen's eyes slightly widened when she realized she had spoken in Japanese, and repeated her statement in English.
Yuu just chuckled and waved his hand dismissively. "Hey, don't sweat it. I got you the first time, but I'd suggest you use English when the others are around, alright?"
Karen nodded. "Alright, you'll be accompanying me in a mission. Make sure you have your loadout prepared in the terminal, and let me know if you need any help okay?"
She gave another bow before proceeding to the terminal behind them. Karen modified her God Arc blade to an Ice Katana, changed the gun to Max then upgraded to a Kaspar, and switched to a Support Shield before upgrading to a Backup Shield. She also fiddled with the Bullet Editor a bit, softly clucking her tongue a few times.
"Wow, looks like you have a bit of stuff prepped..." Yuu whistled in appreciation as he leaned in slightly, glancing at Karen's terminal screen. He sheepishly chuckled after the blonde cleared her throat and noticing her pointed glance at him.
About half an hour later, Yuu and Karen, along with the other two new recruits, arrived in the City of Mercy drop-off point. "Alright, just like how Lindow taught me, I'm gonna pass it on to you." He held up his hand and counted off with each finger as he continued. "You have five orders: first, don't die. Second, if your number's up, get out. Third, hide. Fourth, catch the enemy off guard and blast it. Lastly, don't run away from living. Got it?"
Karen nodded. "Understood."
Yuu shouldered his God Arc. "Alright! Let's get your first kill racked up!"
... Author's Notes ...
Nay, none for today. But I will leave you with a challenge, a game really, see if you can when I'm writing or if SanguisAnima is. It's loads of fun, and simply hard to do sense we both blend our style so well together. (-^_^-)