AN: Greetings, I'm new here, and this is my first story. So please, sit back and enjoy. I do not claim ownership of Genesis of Aquarion or any other trademarked material, which are property of their respective owners.
"Speech"
'Thought'
"SHOUTING"
"Beast speech"
'Beast thought'
Ch. 1: A Beast Awakens
He was falling, that much he was sure of. Bright lights flashed all around him, emitting numerous colors in rapid succession and causing him to see spots and shadows. He looked to his left and saw a cat, just as confused as he was. Countless images flashed before his eyes, depicting places and people that he didn't recognize.
He then started to hear something. It was faint, but started growing louder at a steady pace until it was almost deafening. This tune sounded so familiar, and seemed to speak to him with a message only he could hear. Suddenly, a large number of bright flashes started going off one after another. The flashes slowly growing until, with one last bang, a blinding light filled his vision.
He slowing opened his eyes, and saw nothing but black. There wasn't any light anywhere, just complete darkness. Externally, he was slightly nervous, but internally he was terrified. His head started whipping around until they landed on the cat. He somehow made it next to the cat, happy that he wasn't alone. His relief was short-lived when he heard something.
"Welcome, chosen guardian,"
"Who said that? Where are you? Who are you? Where am I?" The now outwardly panicking teen fired off these questions in rapid succession.
"There is no need to be afraid. I mean you and your companion no harm." He calmed slightly, while the cat stayed close to him. "Who I am if of little importance, but you may call me father time. I cannot show myself now, but you shall meet me in time. You are currently within your own subconscious, and are being transported to your true destiny."
The teens face displayed a look of fear and confusion, and then asked, "What do you mean by my 'true destiny'?"
"The world you are being sent to is in great peril. In this world, humans are under constant threat from the Shadow angels, winged beings who possess highly advanced technology. They treat humans like cattle, draining them of their life force, called prana, to sustain themselves. 12,000 years ago, one of their own, a powerful warrior named Apollonius, betrayed them after falling in love with a human, named Celiane. They, along with a third person, piloted Aquarion, a powerful machine originally created by the shadow angels. They fought until the bitter end, and as they lay dying, they vowed to be reunited, no matter how long it took. True to their word, they were reincarnated and should have kept their world safe, but something else has interfered."
The teen continued to listen, while still maintaining some measure of doubt as the story continued. "The reincarnations were successful, but during that time the shadow angels gathered others to their cause with promises of power. Other beings of evil joined them and continued to bring chaos to this world. The power that sleeps within you is the one thing that could either save or destroy this world."
"What power are you talking about? There is nothing special about me, so what could I possibly do to help?" The teen asked in confusion. The voice then replied, "Have you ever wondered why you have such a strong affection towards animals, or such a deep fascination with the creatures of myth?"
The teen looked confused by this and was about to respond when the voice continued. "These interests are not just mere coincidence. These are traits that coincide with the coming of a great power, and the rise of a king of beasts." "A king of beasts?" "Yes, within your blood flows a legacy older then humanity itself. The king of beasts was said to control a large army of animals from both nature and myth, and wielded powerful magic that could rival even the strongest of deities. You are the heir to this power, and you shall help mankind to drive back this wave of encroaching darkness."
Fear and surprise flashed on his face as various scenes flashed through his mind. Images of vast battlefields littered with dead bodies, large piles of rubble that were once city buildings, the sounds of the wounded and dying echoing across the land as their blood seeped into the ground. And in the center of it all, stood a lone human, his skin and clothes covered in blood both wet and dry. Shadows covered his face, while his eyes seemed to glow a sickly yellow before emitting a loud war-cry that sounded like an enraged beast.
The teen shut his eyes and gripped the sides of his head as he tried to forget the horrific image he had just seen. He then asked a question that had been racing around in his mind. "I am only one person, even if I am the fabled king of beasts. What could I possibly accomplish?" The voice replied in a stern voice, "You will not be alone in this fight. Others will join you as time goes on. Do not doubt yourself; the power that sleeps within you can accomplish great feats. Our time is running short, so I must go. When you awaken, find a boy with red hair who moves like an animal. When you find him, stay with him. His name is Apollo, and his path and yours are connected. Do this, and all will be made clear. Now go, and ensure that both man and beast remain safe."
The voice began to fade, and the entire area was bathed in a bright light. The teen then felt the ground beneath him give way and he felt himself falling. His cat was falling beside him, his eyes narrowed in fright. The fall continued for what felt like hours before a song could be heard. The teen felt like he recognized the tune from somewhere, but before he could ponder any further, his vision went black as he was knocked out.
He opened his eyes slowly as he regained consciousness. He groaned lightly as he sat up, his vision slowly regaining focus. He saw his cat next to him, also asleep and intact. Then, he noticed his surroundings, the remains of a city. Partially destroyed buildings decorated the landscape, which resembled a war zone. He then felt something clutched in his hand. He looked down and saw what looked like a scepter, decorated with various pictures of animals and mythical creatures. The scepter itself was 5 ½ feet long, about the same height as him and a baseball-sized jewel sat at the top, sparkling with multiple colors in the sunlight.
The teen then heard what sounded like footsteps coming from behind him, so he turned around and saw what looked like a group of children walking towards him. There seemed to be nothing special about this group, save for one person, a boy who was wearing a loose, thick green muscle shirt and matching shorts, a dream catcher-like charm hung from his neck, his eyes were a feral yellow color, and had two small pink feathers tied to his right bicep. But the most noticeable feature was his hair, which was as red as an afternoon sky.
The group saw him and two of them approached; the red-haired one and another boy who seemed slightly taller then the other boy and had brown hair and a pair of goggles on his forehead. "Hey, are you alright?" The teen looked at the speaker, who happened to be the red-head. "Yeah, I think so, just a bit dizzy." The boy with brown hair spoke up this time, "Well, this isn't the safest place to be right now. Those harvest beasts could show up at any minute." The teen looked puzzled by this. "Harvest beast? What's that?"
A tremor suddenly shook the ground and explosions could be heard in the distance. The tremor woke the sleeping cat, who stayed close to his master. "Never mind, I don't think I want to know." "Good, now follow us. The names Baron and the red-head is Apollo." The brown haired boy, named Baron, hastily introduced himself and his companion. "My name's Noah and the cats name is Miles." The teen said as he followed Baron's group.
It was later in the day and Baron and his group was resting, and Noah was taking the time to properly introduce himself and get to know the rest of the group. He looked on as he saw Apollo chase something on all fours. Apollo stood up, and Noah watched as Apollo proceeded to eat a rat, letting nothing go to waste. Miles was sniffing around a sewer grate when a periscope rose from it. It startled the cat, but he didn't run.
Miles looked into the sewer and saw two people, a male and female by the sound of their voices. The male was noticeably taller then the female, and seemed intent on what they were looking at. Miles ran back to his owner, who looked away from Apollo and looked at his cat. "What is it, Miles? What happened?" He then looked in the direction he came from, and saw the periscope.
With stealth and agility that he never knew he had, he peered down the sewer and saw the two cloaked figures. He strained his ears to hear what was being said between the two, but he only heard bits and pieces of the conversation. He did hear them mention something about a 'solar wing', but couldn't hear anything else. A member of the group, noticing his absence, looked over and saw him by the grate along with the periscope, which he proceeded to alert his friends of.
The cloaked pair, hearing that they were discovered, jumped towards and through the grate, floating for a second or two about five feet off the ground before landing. Words were exchanged, and Apollo charged at them, running like an animal. It seemed that he would strike the female first, but veered sharply towards the male only to miss, the momentum of his lunge propelling him forward as he over shot his target.
With the cloak gone, Noah got a clearer look at the male. His skin was tanned; he wore a soccer player's uniform, and had what looked like chocolate colored hair. The female also discarded her cloak, revealing her to be a blonde with blue eyes, pink and white clothes, white boots that covered up to half of her thighs, a strangely decorated armband with a round sapphire, and an odd hair-style, with two lengths that looped once before ending.
Apollo turned and charged again, only to be repelled by what looked like a plume of fire that came from the male's feet. He retreated like a frightened beast and took refuge on an old pipe. The female simply smiled, raised her hand up and Noah watched as the bolts holding it together were removed by an invisible force. The pipe collapsed, taking Apollo with it. The attackers still hadn't noticed Noah, and with the same stealth as before, used his staff to restrain the girl. "Don't move, or I'll wring your neck." He hissed to the girl. She screamed, which caught the males attention. He turned and saw Noah, and his hostage.
Noah then spoke loud and clear, "You two had better start explaining yourselves as to why you decided to attack this group, or both of you will end up the blue plate special for the scavengers. Now, out with it." The male spoke in what sounded like a nervous, yet laid-back tone. "Hey, no need to get violent, pal. We were just sent to test the red-head." "You mean Apollo?" "Yeah, we don't want to start trouble. We were just following orders."
Noah stared at him skeptically when the girl elbowed him in the gut, causing him to release her as she ran away from him. "Nice job, Silvia." The male remarked. She responded, "Thank, Pierre." Noah slowly got up while grunting in pain. "Silvia and Pierre, huh? Well, let me tell ya, you just messed with the wrong beast." He shot forward and slugged Pierre, then back-handed Silvia when she tried to help. Pierre made ready to shoot another plume of fire, only to have it extinguished when his staff struck the ground. "Your fire can't help you this time, pyromaniac. Now you and the girl have less then ten seconds to leave this area before I turn you both into carrion."
The two attackers slowly got up, but made no motion to retreat. Noah stared at them as they remained standing with Miles hissing at them, his back arched his ears down and his tail ruffled. "There, there Miles, there's no need for you to get involved with these two." Silvia started to laugh at him for this, an unwise move. "Oh, that's rich. A small animal thinks he can fight us. Why don't you just crawl back into the trash can you came from?" Pierre joined her laughing as she charged forward and slammed her fist into the ground, burying it up to her wrist in the rock which was a mere hairs length from the cat. She pulled her fist out along with a large chunk of rock, some of the shards of it leaving shallow scratches on him.
Noah saw this and flew into a rage, but before he could strike, an odd sound filled the air and explosions followed soon after. He looked around and saw as thousands of people started walking towards one particular building, their faces blank like they were in a trance. He then watched as a giant skeletal robot descended from the sky and seemed to herd the masses in one direction. "I may be new to this world, but I can tell that there is something unnatural about that song." He then turned and watched as Baron and the other children joined the masses and were absorbed into the side of an old building. As Baron was being pulled in, Apollo shot forward and pulled him out. He then watched as various wires and plugs were attached to him.
"What the hell is happening?" Noah asked out loud. Surprisingly, it was the attackers who spoke. "That is what happens to those who hear that song. The harvest beasts ensnare humans and drain them of their life force, of prana. Only those with high auras are immune to this." He then heard Apollo shout as Baron hooked his arms and dragged him into the wall. The sight of his first two friends being taken from him triggered something within his psyche. He suddenly began to shout, "ANCIANT POWERS THAT FLOW IN MY BLOOD AND SOUL, COME AND AID YOUR KING IN HIS HOUR OF NEED!!!!" His skin began to glow as a bright aura surrounded him and he continued to speak, "THE KING OF BEASTS HAS ARISEN, AND JUSTICE SHALL BE SERVED. ELEMENTS OF NATURE WHO SERVED MY BLOODLINE SINCE TIME LONG FORGOTTEN, ARISE AND BESTOW UPON ME WITH YOUR STRENGTH!!!!!"
Pierre and Silvia simply stood there and watched, mouths gaping and eyes wide in shock as this stranger continued to gather strength from the earth itself. They saw as his muscles expanded to an inhuman size, his height shot up by 2 or 3 feet, his eyes which were once brown were now shining with a savage gold color, his teeth lengthened and became fangs, his nails lengthened into claws, and his hair grew to cover his back like a shell. When this was finished, he let out a mighty roar which shook the ground. He then turned around and saw that another giant robot had shown up, except this one was fighting the first one. He looked at the two robots and four words flashed through his mind, 'Protect Aquarion, Destroy Cherubim.'
He watched as the new robot, which he labeled as 'Aquarion', spun in the air and kicked the 'Cherubim' in the face, which sent it flying into a building before going still. He then listened as moans began to fill the air, he turned toward the sounds and saw Apollo half buried in a building as numerous skull-like faces emerged from the wall and shot some sort of lasers at Aquarion, causing it to split into three pieces. He also noticed that the other two who had attacked him had started off towards the machines, with Silvia entering the green one. He then heard Apollo shouting out at Aquarion, and saw the red machine eject its original pilot and begin to rise. He then watched as Apollo broke free of the wall as it transformed into some sort of monster, the wires forming makeshift wings as he fell towards the machine.
Three more words flashed through his mind, 'Annihilate Harvest Beast'. He saw as a circle opened in the sky, the Harvest beast was escaping. He then shouted a single word, "ENLARGE!!!" and his entire body began to grow into a giant size, clothes and all. Soon, his size matched Aquarion; he got on all fours and charged at the ascending abomination. He grabbed its leg and his weight caused it to fall back to earth. "You wretched insult to nature, you shall not escape my judgment." He raised his hand to the sky and dark clouds gathered around it. Lightning arched from the clouds to his palms where it gathered into a crackling orb of electricity. He lowered his hand and said, "Glorious lightning, that which gave man light and life, send this monster into oblivion. THUNDER TEMPEST!!!!"
He slammed the orb into the harvest beast, which exploded upon impact. A dark green liquid, most likely the stolen prana, splattered everywhere. He stood up and put his hands into a strange sign, his finger intertwined with his two index and middle fingers pointing up, and began to recite a prayer. "Mighty prana, that which gives life to all living things, return to the earth and replenish life once more." The prana then began to sink into the ground, which seemed to glow brightly. He listened as the earth sang its praise and smiled.
Elsewhere, however, there were those who were not smiling. The shadow angels stared in shock at seeing this wingless one, this 'king of beasts' as he called himself, who so effortlessly destroyed their latest harvest beast. One angel in particular, who had white feather-like hair and wore black robes, looked absolutely livid. "How is this possible? I had expected the Cherubim to be destroyed, but how could a simple wingless human single-handedly destroy a harvest beast?" Another angel, a female, turned to calm her companion. "There is no need to fret, Toma. Surely this most have been a fluke." Another angel, with insect-like wings and a scarf that covered his face, spoke next. "Is that truly what you believe, Otoha? That wingless one was able to perfectly manipulate the lightning in his hand, and grow to match the size of our Cherubim. I fail to see how that qualifies as a fluke." Another angel, suspended with chains and his face concealed by a helmet, spoke up. "Be that as it may, Moroha, this new threat cannot be ignored. It seems we must contact our other allies sooner then expected." The first angel, now named Toma, spoke in surprise. "Surely Lord Johannes, you cannot be serious. What could those fools possibly provide that could help us?" "Enough, Toma. This new threat leaves us with little choice. Lensi," Another angel, this one wearing a helmet with three red colored lenses and encased in a strange machine, hovered forward, "send word to our allies of this new development and tell them to get here within the next two sun-rises." "As you wish, Lord Johannes."
The glow from the earth started to fade, and Noah started to shrink. He was soon back to normal size and his beastly appearance fell away. He fell on his back, breathing heavily as his vision faded in and out of focus. Before he lost consciousness, he saw as a group of people approached him, with Apollo and Miles among them.
