This is my re-attempt at this with a combination of the first chapter I had planned, and the prologue. It will be one of many changes I will make, to correct problems I made from either inexperience or just plain laziness.
Cosmic Persona
Ch 1: Beginning of New Days
Sunday, April 7 2011
It was late at night as the 10:45 am train pulled into Iwatodai Station. As the many occupants filed out our focus shifts to a young man who looked about 16 years old with dark blue hair that covered one of his silver eyes. He was wearing a black, winter, school jacket, (his badge indicated that he went to Gekkoukan High) black pants, a white button down undershirt, and he had a NW-S20x model neck-strap mp3 player around his neck, to which he was rocking out, specifically to the song 'Burn My Dread' by Yumi Kawamura. Right now he was standing outside the station looking around for some reason "Man, where are they, did they forget I was coming?" He said to himself. "Ah well may as well start walking." He said as he exited the train station passing through the crowd.
After weaving his way through the crowds of the city, he found his way to an elegant 4-story building; "This must be the place; Iwatodai dormitory." He said as he walked to the door.
"Jeez, the station is practically right next door what's taking him so long to get here?" Said a girl of about 16, with short brown hair that curved to the right and matching chestnut eyes, said girl was wearing a pink striped sweater jacket, a white choker with a heart-shaped clasp, a red ribbon tied loosely around her neck, a black mini-skirt, and a pair of knee high stockings. She was lying on her bed staring blankly at the ceiling. The girl sighed with annoyance when she suddenly heard a loud crash, which she recognized as the front door of the dorm closing "Oh, I guess he's here; may as well go get 'Little Miss Hyper' and welcome him." She said as she exited her room, walked down the hall to the door at the end and knocked.
"Yo, Minako-chan I think your brother's -" however a red blur interrupted her sentence, zooming past "here." She finished, a little dumbfounded.
"Come on Yukari-nee, I heard the door. That means Onii-chan's here." Said a girl with red hair pulled back into a ponytail with eight hairpins woven in that formed what looked like a XXII. Her eyes were a solid red color, and she was wearing a red scarf, light orange sweater, a red plaid skirt, black leggings, a pair of red boots, and a pair of red headphones dangling from her neck.
"Alright little miss hyper child…" The girl now identified as Yukari said to her friend as they walked.
"Sorry it's just I'm so excited that my big brother will be attending school with us." Minako said not losing an ounce of her excitement.
"Yeah I'm excited too but you need to turn it down before you trip and break your neck."
"You sound like an old woman, Yukari-nee." The red head mocked
"Yeah, yeah, just keep on walking, I'll be down in a bit." The brunette requested "I want to get Mitsuru-sempai. Knowing her, she's going to want to meet him."
"You got it Yukari-nee." Minako said as she headed down the stairs.
I can't believe he's here. Yukari thought to herself, a slight blush creeping across her face. It has only been a year since Minato left. She then shook her head and re-directed her thoughts. Get a grip girl for god's sake.
After collecting herself, she knocked on the door closest to the stairs, "Mitsuru-sempai I think that friend of mine that's starting here just arrived." She said to the room's occupant.
"Thank you Takeba, I'll be out in a second," said a calm, mature, female voice. The door opened revealing a woman with waist-length scarlet red hair that covered one of her similarly colored eyes. She was wearing the standard Gekkoukan High uniform skirt, and a white pin-striped blouse with a large red ribbon tied around her neck in a bow, and had a pair of black, knee high, high-heeled boots. "Let's hope your friend lives up to the reputation you have set for him over the past year." She said coolly.
Is anybody even here? Thought the blue-haired boy as he surveyed the main lobby. Were they really not expecting me? He thought to himself when suddenly he heard the rapid foot-steps coming from the stairwell on the far side of the room peeking out from the divider between the two floors he saw a face that he hadn't seen in almost a year.
"ONII-CHAN!" the red-head yelled as she ran like nobody's business to greet her brother the only way she knew how, with a tackle hug that resulted in knocking the blue-haired boy on his back.
'So much for not being expected…' Minato thought happily. "Hey there Minako-chan, long time no see." He said, happy to see his sister's face after a year. "Now, could you please get off of me?"
"Oh, uh, sorry about that Onii-chan…" Minako said, embarrassed as she got off her brother and they got up off the floor.
"Where's Yukari-chan?" the older twin asked.
"I'm up here Minato-kun?" Yukari called from the stairs, the fraternal twins turned their heads and Minato saw the childhood friend he hadn't seen in a year. "Welcome to your new home," she said as she descended the stairs followed by a ruby haired woman Minato had never seen before.
"Hello, it is a pleasure to meet you. I have heard a lot about you from these two," said the woman. "Your sister, especially."
"I hope they were good things." He said to the woman. "Nice to meet you too miss -?" Minato said hesitantly.
"I apologize; my name is Mitsuru Kirijo. It is a pleasure to meet the infamous Minato Arisato." Mitsuru said.
"Nice to meet you too, Kirijo-sempai." The older Arisato said politely. "I hope my sister hasn't been too much of a pain."
"Oi, Onii-chan what is that supposed to mean?" Minako said in an annoyed tone.
"Oh, she hasn't changed a bit." Yukari said with a chuckle.
"You two are so mean." The red-head pouted.
"And you still try to be cute." Her older brother teased.
"I am cute, Onii-chan." Minako shot back in a pout.
Just then, the gathered group suddenly heard a motorcycle. "Sounds like those two are back." Mitsuru said.
As soon as she said that, two people who looked about Mitsuru's age stepped through the large double doors. The first was a boy with a head of short silver hair, grey eyes, pale complexion, and a bandage over his left eye. His outfit consisted of the standard
Gekkoukan undershirt and pants but instead of a jacket he wore a red vest. He was also wearing a pair of black leather gloves, and had his actual jacket slung over his shoulder.
The other person was a tall dude. He had a head of unkempt brown hair under a grey beanie with a small steel plate in the front, and a pair of steel colored eyes. The man's outfit consisted of a maroon pea coat, black pants, and a pair of brown shoes. "Man that was a good test drive it's getting better with every tweak." The person with silver hair said.
"Aki, I told you five laps and you went and did ten." The guy in the coat now known as Shinji chided. "I have told you time and time again, that bike is a work in progress. If you keep pushing the thing it'll never be -."
He was interrupted by Mitsuru clearing her throat "Excuse me boys," she said sternly "but in case you hadn't noticed, we have a guest."
"Hello." Minato said awkwardly
"Aw man was that today?" the silver-haired boy said. "Sorry, Mitsuru, guess it slipped my mind.
"Really, Akihiko-sempai," Yukari said critically. "Jeez you can be so forgetful sometimes."
"I tried to tell him but he kept forgetting," said the taller of the two.
"No you didn't." said the silver-haired boy.
"I kept telling you throughout the test drive." The tall one said.
"Che, whatever… sorry about that, the name's Akihiko Sanada." he said as he held his hand out for a handshake.
"Minato Arisato, Nice to meet you, sempai." The blue-haired boy said as he accepted the handshake.
"And this guy here is, Shinjiro Arigaki." Akihiko said introducing the guy in the pea coat.
"Whatever." Shinjiro said dejectedly with a seemingly permanent scowl on his face.
"Nice attitude." Minato said flatly.
"He's a lot nicer once you get to know him." Akihiko said trying to defend Shinjiro.
"Well I say we heat up the food we prepared and properly welcome my Onii-chan to Port Island." Minako said with a fist thrown in the air.
"Yes please." Minato said raising his hand in the air. "I haven't had a decent bite to eat the whole trip."
"Well I don't see the point in making you wait any longer." Mitsuru agreed.
"Yeah let's heat up the food Shinji and Minako prepared and dig in." Akihiko said.
"Count me in." Yukari said.
After everyone ate their fill, they all decided to turn in for the night. Yukari led Minato to his new room. "And here it is, right at the end of the hall, easy enough right?" She said.
"Yeah, thanks Yukari-chan." Minato said to the brunette.
"No problem," she smiled at the blue-haired boy. She started to walk away, but just as he was about to close the door to his new room she called down the hall to him. "It's really great that you're here Minato-kun. It just hasn't been the same without you."
"Same here Yukari-chan." He responded. "Oyasumi…"
"Oyasumi, Minato-kun." she responded as she climbed the spiral staircase.
After bidding Yukari goodbye, Minato proceeded to take in his new room, which included a bed, TV, a set of wall-mounted shelves and a desk with a computer on top. "Not bad. I think I'll like it here." Minato said as he put his bag down in the corner, changed into his nightwear, and crawled onto his new bed. "Got to hand it to the girls; this place sure is impressive." He said as he turned off the light and drifted off to sleep. However, it would not be a peaceful slumber.
On what looked like the moon a large base began to explode as two figures in space suits were seen escaping the carnage. One looked to be fleeing to a lunar lander and was carrying a silver attaché case. The other was chasing after him, grasping for the case. He made a leap of faith for the man managing to grab on, ensuing a tug-a-war for the case. However the first man managed to knock his pursuer off sending him pretty far due to the low gravity, all the way to a currently undamaged part of the base.
The other man's eyes began to glow as he stared at his fallen former comrade, and headed to the Lander escaping the fate of doom and stranding the other man. As the fallen astronaut glanced at the fleeing craft he took a small icicle-looking device out of his pocket and looked at it sorrowfully "Minna-san, it's up to your children now." He said gripping the device tightly. "Please, make this right"
Monday: April 7
As sunlight began to flood through the window of his dorm, Minato slowly began to wake up. "First day at my new school, oh, joy." He said sarcastically as he begrudgingly got ready "what a weird dream," he proceeded to get dressed, and eliminated any possible bed-head.
Right as he was finishing, he heard a knock at the door "Onii-chan, it's us, you done getting ready?" He heard his twin calling from the door.
"Yeah, I just finished up." He answered heading toward the door, which he opened to reveal his childhood friend and his sister. "Hey there girls, good morning…"
"Good morning Minato-kun." Yukari said. "Mitsuru-sempai told us to take you to school."
"Come on let's get going already." Minako said as the two ushered him down the stairs, and out the door.
[Ost: Want to be close-reincarnation]
The trio boarded the loop-line that connected the island the school was built on, and the mainland "This is my favorite part of the ride." Minako said.
"Yeah it feels like your gliding over the water." Yukari said wistfully.
After getting off the train, the trio, Minako and Yukari leading the way, walked toward the school. The entire scene was composed of various people greeting each other. They were upon the front gates of the school when the two girls turned to Minato "Welcome, Minato-kun/Onii-chan." They said in unison "To Gekkoukan High, you're going to love it here."
[End ost]
Inside the building, the senior residents of the Iwatodai dorm were hanging around the 3rd year hallway (Shinjiro now wearing a proper uniform while still wearing his beanie). When suddenly a small green, red, and light brown, robot with wheel-like legs came rolling in and up to Mitsuru, and alerting them of its presence with a series of clicks and chirps before folding into what looked like a hamburger,that the red head picked up.
The three of them entered the nearest classroom and pulled out an attaché case; opening it to reveal an advanced computer terminal on the top half and twelve empty slots on the bottom. Mitsuru took out a device from the robot's back causing it to change into a plastic-looking hamburger and inserted it into a part of the case. "The hole has begun to activate" Mitsuru said as she analyzed that had been on the device. "It seems that the need for Fourze is approaching faster than I thought.
"Are you sure about that, Mitsuru?" Akihiko asked. "It's not like you can give it to someone else after you use it. You saw the specks yourself; it has a DNA lock on it."
"I never said I would be the one to use it. There are others far more qualified." The red head said. "I'd be more than happy to simply lend my aid to whoever the wearer will be."
"But you said that it only responds to those with that power…" Shinjiro said but his eyes widened at what he thought his dorm mate was implying. "No way, Mitsuru! I'd rather use it myself before Minako even so much put it near her waist!" he roared.
"My, my Shinjiro, just what kind of affect has Ms. Arisato had on you?" Mitsuru said amused causing him to flinch. "But your right, I'd never force her to use her power; we don't know enough about that anomaly to let her try again."
"Yeah I still have nightmares about that monster." Akihiko said as he felt a chill run down his spine.
"Yes the accident involving Arisato's Persona has left a negative effect on us all." She said solemnly "And as noble the sentiment is, Shinjiro, I absolutely forbid you to go near the driver." She said firmly. "You're still weaning off those despicable drugs you were forcing yourself to take."
"So what, we let those guys take over our home without a fight!" Akihiko questioned.
"Remember Akihiko, the driver is only a weapon." Mitsuru said.
"Yeah a weapon that would give us power that would easily put us on equal footing with those monsters." Shinjiro interjected. "More so with our Persona."
"Don't forget that we still have the Powerdizer in our corner." Mitsuru reminded.
"Yeah, but even I can see that Fourze is stronger." Akihiko added. "Especially considering the strain the Dizer puts on the pilot's body."
The bell rang right as Mitsuru was about to respond "Lets pick this up with the girls at lunch."
"Nah, let them catch up with the new guy, it's not every day you reunite with a person you haven't seen in a year." Akihiko said reminding her of the newest edition to their dorm.
"I suppose you're right. Well then, we shall discuss it with them when they have time." She compromised. "I just hope nothing happens between now and then."
Meanwhile, after entering the building Minako and Yukari told the blue haired boy to go to the teachers' lounge and find out which classroom he is in "Excuse me. I'd like some help, please."
"Ah you must be that new student I've heard about," said a teacher with long, dark-brown hair, who was dressed in a white business suit, and a sky blue undershirt. "Let's see, you're Minato Arisato right? You are in my class, 2-F. I am Sarina Sonoda. I teach classic literature for the second-years so as to spare them the wrath of that hard-ass Ekoda."
"Nice to meet you, Sonoda-sensei…" Minato said. "But just to be sure, are you positive that's my name your reading and not my sister? We do have the same first initial."
"No mistake, considering I have both of you this year." The teacher said in a matter-of-fact tone.
"Well at least I'll have someone I know in my class." Minato chucked.
"Well let's head to the auditorium. The welcoming ceremony will be starting soon." She said as she led the older Arisato out of the office.
In the school auditorium, everyone was listening to the principal drone on to the gathered crowd. Minato was sitting near Sonoda-sensei when a student in the row behind him got his attention "Hey, I heard you came to school with Yukari Takeba and Minako Arisato today." The student whispered.
"Yeah, I came to school with them, Minako is my sister." He whispered. "And we've known Yukari since we were kids."
"Whoa, you are one lucky S. O. B. Well, in that case do you know if Yukari has a boyfriend?" the student asked.
"How would I know that…? I haven't seen her in a year." He answered.
Before he could respond, they heard a rather gruff voice "I hear talking." Said the teacher. "I believe it's someone in Ms. Sonoda's class."
"Shhh you'll get me in trouble." Said teacher reprimanded and their conversation instantly ended.
After class, everyone was walking around the individual classrooms talking to friends, but because he was new, Minato did not think he would have anyone to talk to until he got a rude reminder of what his teacher had said earlier. "Alright we're in the same class, Onii-chan!" a familiar voice said to him, as he was suddenly glomped from behind.
"This is getting to be a bad habit for you, Minako-chan."
"It's my prerogative as a little sister." The red head said as she made spectacle of herself.
"Well aren't you a sight for sore eyes," a voice said from behind. "Long time, no see, Minato." The twins turned to see a boy with grey eyes, a goatee, wearing a blue baseball hat, and a silver necklace. He was dressed in the typical Gekkoukan High uniform but with a purplish-collared shirt with sleeves that stuck out of his jacket.
"No way, Junpei, is that you?" Minato said as a smile plastered itself on his face and escaped his sister's grip.
"Dadada, Junpei Iori at your service." The boy said gleefully as the boys did an intricate handshake "Looking good, ya stiff. So, when did you get back in town?"
"Last night. He got to the dorm, met everyone and then we ate the meal Shinjiro-sempai denies he made." Another familiar voice rang out. They saw it was Yukari.
"Yukari-chan, you're here too?" Minato asked.
"Yup, talk about coincidences?" Yukari said.
"Hey, Yuka-tan," Junpei said.
"Are you ever going to drop that ridiculous nickname?" The brunette deadpanned.
"Nope, never…" The goatee boy responded.
"Looks like everyone's back together again!" Minako said happily.
"Hell's yeah just like old times." Junpei cheered. "Anyways stick close to us, Minato if you're not careful this place will chew you up and spit you out."
"Yeah right, Stupei, you've been here a year and you still get lost." Minako joked.
"Wow, harsh much Mina-tan," Junpei said. "Tell me how you really feel?"
"I just did."
Meanwhile, out on the grounds three unidentifiable figures were walking around looking for a potential target.
"Well, the first day back went pretty well." Sarina said as she organized some paperwork that she just finished with.
"Hah that was just the calm before the storm, Ms. Sonoda." Said a teacher with greasy black hair, almost grey skin, and wearing a grey suit - named Mr. Ekoda. "Give it time and you'll see that these children are nothing but a hoard of monsters."
"Agreed, Ekoda-sensei," said a rather unattractive man wearing yellow suspenders. "You can't let your guard down for even a second with these kids."
"You two just don't understand kids these days." The female teacher responded.
"Oh please, all these kids think about is the opposite gender, food, and video games." The pale teacher stereotyped.
After school, the four friends were walking along the strip mall enjoying having the final member of their group back "Hey is Hagakure Ramen still in business?" Minato asked.
"Oh yeah, you read my mind, Minato." Junpei said ecstatically.
"I suppose I could go for a Hagakure Bowl right about now." Yukari said. "Why not; let's go."
Along the way, Minato accidently bumped into a man with dark hair that was dressed in the standard Gekkoukan uniform who looked to be about a year older than the four of them, judging from the color of his tie "Oh, sorry." The blue haired boy apologized.
"Watch where you're walking…!" The upperclassman practically shouted. "Out of my way…" he pushed them out of the way and kept walking
"Rude much…" Minato said, slightly miffed
"You must be new," they turned to see a boy with spiky black hair whose tie indicated that he was in the same year as them. "The name's Yasu Kido, I'm the assistant captain of the school's judo team and that was our captain, Todo Masa. He tends to come off as a bit harsh."
"I'll say." Minako said.
"Yeah everyone pretty much hates him, but he definitely earned his place on the team." Yasu said. "Although I wouldn't mind if someone would come along and knock him off his high horse. Well, sorry about that, I hope to see you guys around school." With that, the boy went to catch up with his captain.
"Okay, that was weird." Minato said.
"I've heard about that club captain." Yukari commented. "They say that despite his skill, he makes a lot of enemies, even among the other students, but everyone's to afraid to do anything."
"Sounds like a real bastard." Junpei said. "I'm not much of a club kind of guy anyway; even if I was I'd probably go for something like baseball, at least they have cheerleaders."
"You are hopelessly defective, idiot" Minako said bluntly.
"Hey I'm a hot blooded male, can you blame me?" He responded. "Come on man back me up?"
"You're asking me to go against two girls in an argument?" Minato said to the goateed boy. "Not happening, you're on your own."
"Traitor…" The other boy responded.
"No, that's smart." Yukari said.
As they were about to reach the restaurant the blue haired boy suddenly heard something "Time waits for no one. It delivers us all to the same end."
"Hey did you guys hear that?" Minato asked holding his head from dizziness.
"Hear what man?" asked Junpei. But his response was interrupted by a loud boom in the distance. "What the hell!" he said in response.
[Insert ost: shadow]
The group then saw a large, hulking red-skinned monster with an angry ogre-like face, its only visible article of clothing was a black loincloth with a diagonal blue strip near the bottom. In fact, there were numerous lines all over its body connecting to a series of nodes on its body two on its chest, three on its waist, and one each on its knee and ankle. It was carrying a black club with a spike at the top in its right hand, and a black shield with red decals in its left. "You look like a good punching bag." The monster said menacingly as it stalked toward the four friends.
"Dude, there's a freaking monster heading straight for us!" Junpei screeched as he lost his footing and landed square on his butt.
"Guys, follow us!" Yukari ordered. "We know a place where we can hide!" and with that Yukari grabbed Minato and Minako grabbed Junpei.
"Haiyakuu!" the red head said frantically. "Before it catches us!" Not questioning their friends, the two of them followed the girls avoiding the now panicked crowd, the red monster in hot pursuit.
"Where are we going?" Minato asked his sister and friend.
"No time, just run!" Minako said as they continued to run.
"Mina-tan, we're heading to the school," Junpei said. "That thing is going to tear the place apart."
"Trust me when I say that we won't let that happen." Yukari responded as they passed through the school gates.
"We…? You don't mean us do you?" Junpei panicked.
"In here!" Minako shouted as she turned into the entrance of a supply shed that had the words 'KEEP OUT' taped over it.
"Oh great Mina-tan make it easy for the monster to turn us to paste." Junpei said in despair. Yukari merely rolled her eyes before shoving the blue-capped boy out of the way revealing an old style locker. She opened the locker, but instead of a dark empty metal backing, the four friends saw a rush of light and color invading their field of vision.
"What the-," Minato said, "What is this?"
"No time just run." Yukari said, frantically. "I'm almost positive Mitsuru-sempai's there." She then headed into the locker turned tunnel of light.
"What are you talking about?" asked Minato as the four of them ran through the tunnel. "And where the hell are we going?"
"You wouldn't believe us if we told you Onii-chan." The younger sibling said.
[Ost change: Rabbit Hutch]
They finally reached the other end of the tunnel where a threshold suddenly appeared revealing a large room with a blue floor and white walls. The four of them passed through and as soon as they did, they began to float in the air. "Whoa, I guess they aren't here yet." Yukari said as she passed through the doorway, struggling to maintain balance in midair.
"Damn it, I swear if either of you look up our skirts, I'll crush you!" Minako said as she held said article of clothing.
"Sort of hard to do when you're bouncing around like crazy." Minato said as he and Junpei were bouncing around like idiots trying to get their footing.
"Jeez, Minako hit the gravity switch so that they stop making fools of themselves."
"No problem, Yukari-nee." she said as she kicked herself to a lever on the other side of the room. She pulled down the wall-mounted lever activating the gravity.
Minato managed to land on one knee but Junpei fell flat on his back. "Ow." he groaned.
"What is this place?" Minato asked looking around.
"We call this place The Rabbit Hutch," said a female voice. They then heard a hydraulic door open revealing Mitsuru, Akihiko, and Shinjiro. "I thought something was up when the gravity turned on."
"Sempai," Yukari said in surprise "So you were here, but why were you in there?"
"In a moment, Takeba… first, let us deal with the Zodiart. After that I think your friends need a proper explanation," Mitsuru said. "Shinjiro, you're in the Dizer. Akihiko, you're on support. Make sure that thing can't do so much as breathe on a civilian."
"Got it, Mitsuru…" Akihiko said as he and Shinjiro exited area.
"Remember what I said, Mitsuru." The taller boy warned before passing through the door.
"Ok, what is going on?" Minato demanded. "And why does this place look like a space exhibit?"
"To put it simply, we are working to make sure that monster, and others like it are eliminated, keeping innocent people safe." The ruby haired senior answered as she sat down in front of a computer. "And, as for the second question, I believe that would be a satisfactory response." She said pointing at a window above them, not taking her eyes off the screen. When the two newcomers looked out said window, they saw a truly amazing sight.
"Is that, Earth?" Minato asked his visible eye as wide as saucers.
"This is some kind of joke, right?" Junpei asked slightly in denial. "Oh, I get it this is some a bad dream, right? I fell asleep at my desk and all I got to do is wake up, right?"
"This is no dream, Iori." Mitsuru responded, "That monster back on earth is very real. And we're all in a lot of danger."
"How are you two so calm?" Minato asked his sister and childhood friend. "And how did you know this place even exists?"
"Can we deal with this after the Zodiart is defeated?" Yukari complained.
"Zodiart?" the blue haired boy asked.
"That's what we call it." Minako explained. "They're monsters who get their powers from the constellation their based off of."
"And you sent Akihiko and Shinjiro-sempai out there to fight it!" Minato exclaimed.
"Don't worry they can take care of themselves." She said as she pulled up a video screen "Akihiko can you hear me?"
"Yeah Mitsuru, I hear you." The silver haired boy said over thecom link, "So, what are we dealing with?"
"The computer is scanning its cosmic energy signature now." She said monitoring the scanning process. When the process finished it displayed the information. "Got it, it's Orion. It has a massive amount of physical power, so be careful you two."
"So it's a heavy hitter; sounds exciting." Akihiko said in utter anticipation.
"Knock it off, Aki; piloting this thing is extremely exhausting." Shinjiro complained.
"Enough, you two, is everything set?"
"Yeah, we're all ready." Akihiko confirmed.
"Don't worry, Mitsuru," Shinjiro saidas a second screen showed him in some sort of cockpit. "We'll finish this quick."
"Excellent. Deploy now."
[Insert ost: Master of Tartarus]
"You heard her, Shinji; let's take care of business." Akihiko said
"Right…" Shinjiro said as what appeared to be a garage door opened up, flooding the room with light, revealing that the silver haired boy was standing on top of a large, yellow, 6-wheeled vehicle. The boy was sporting a pair of armored gloves, and a gun holster around his waist complete with an actual 'gun'.
"Alright let's pound this Zodiart."
"Hang on, Aki." Shinjiro warned from inside the cockpit of the massive vehicle before moving the controls to launch the out of the garage and, thanks to the built in radar, proceeded to find and defeat the Zodiart.
"Alright, I got a lock on the bastard." Shinjiro said, "E T A in… now." He turned the corner and found himself in an abandoned back lot of the school, the two of them staring down the red colossus as he towered over a pale-skinned girl with short teal colored hair wearing a blue turtleneck under her uniform.
"Hey, Ugly, over here…!" Akihiko taunted, drawing Orion's attention. He jumped off the vehicle and it immediately began to shift
"POWERDIZER!" the machine announced as the center wheels folded out becoming a pair of feet the back wheels the knees and the front portion becoming a pair of arms, the wheels becoming a pair of pincer like hands. As it stood up it revealed its face, complete with two, blue, eye-like lenses for the pilot to see.
Once the transformation was complete Akihiko charged for the monster, his hands guarding his face like a boxer normally would. As he closed in on the monster, he threw a series of jabs at it. Not expecting the punches to hurt, the Zodiart did not even bother an attempt to dodge. However, this proved to be a mistake because as soon as the blows connected the monster immediately staggered back from the impact. "How is that possible!" the monster questioned as he was soon sent flying courtesy of an uppercut from the silver haired boy.
Instead of letting the Zodiart drop, Shinjiro, in the Powerdizer, grabbed the monster and threw it across the lot. "Run, get out of here!" Shinjiro said to the teal haired girl.
"R-Right, t-thank you…" The girl stuttered as she managed to pick herself up and made a break for it.
[End ost]
"Nice work you two. Now get that switch away from him, and deactivate it." Mitsuru ordered.
"No problem, Mitsuru this guy was nothing but a -." Akihiko began before he suddenly found the Orion Zodiart right in front of him, tackling him straight into the building, resulting in an Akihiko-shaped crater in the wall, knocking the boy unconscious.
"You were saying?" Orion said as he admired his handiwork.
"Aki…!" Shinjiro exclaimed as he witnessed what happened to his best friend. "You bastard!" he roared as he blindly rushed the Zodiart.
"Pathetic." Orion scoffed as he lowered himself into a stance. As soon as the Powerdizer was close enough the Zodiart grabbed it and did a suplex on the machine. When he stood up, the robot was stuck headfirst in the ground, forcing Shinjiro to eject from the cockpit. Leaving both of them at the mercy of the Zodiart
"Akihiko, Shinjiro!" Mitsuru exclaimed as she suddenly stood up.
"Shinji-kun…!" Minako screamed.
"Damn it, this isn't good!" Yukari said in frustration.
"That monster took out Akihiko-sempai like it was nothing." Junpei said in disbelief.
"What now, Mitsuru-sempai?" Minato asked.
"I had hoped we would have more time before we would need to use it." Mitsuru said to no one in particular. "But it seems the time Fourze sees the light of day is now." She then quickly ran to a different room with another console. She typed in a few keys and a cylindrical case arose from the terminal. Inside the case was a bulky device made of a sky blue space-age material.
In the center was some kind of black screen and on either side were two empty slots with red switches underneath. On the far right was a silver handle that looked like it might activate some kind of ignition. After a few more keystrokes, the top of the case opened up and then lowered itself, completely exposing the device. Mitsuru then moved to a section of the wall riddled with 40 slots similar to the ones on the belt, however, only the first eight spots were occupied with switch-like devices. She then took out the first four switches and inserted them, in numerical order, in the device.
"ROCKET!" The device announced as she inserted an orange colored switch. The process repeated itself with each switch inserted into the device.
"LAUNCHER"
"DRILL"
"RADAR"
When she was finished, she came out of the room holding the device in her hands. "Mitsuru- sempai, is that-?" Yukari gasped.
"Yes, Takeba, the Fourze Driver…" The red head confirmed.
"The, what driver…?" Junpei asked, dumbly.
"It's a suit of armor that, when donned, will enhance the user's physical abilities a hundred-fold." Mitsuru explained.
"And you're going to use it to fight that monster!" Junpei exclaimed.
"No, unfortunately I don't think I have the right to wield such awesome power." Mitsuru said dejectedly. "In fact, because of a certain function, we wouldn't be able to determine who would be a fitting wearer. For now, my place is here. All we can do is have someone use it and hope for the best. But there is a small ray of hope that narrows down the list of people able to use it."
"This thing can allow us to help people right?" asked Minato.
"…In a nutshell? Yes."
With that said, Minato suddenly remembered a certain event from his past and a promise he made. "I'll protect you no matter what, I swear!"
"Then we shouldn't waste any time." The blunette said as he snatched the device from the upperclassman's hands and ran out the door.
"Minato-kun…!" Yukari exclaimed as she ran after him.
"Onii-chan…!" Said Minako as she ran off as well, leaving only Mitsuru and Junpei behind.
"You aren't going after them?" Mitsuru asked.
"Huh?" the boy said dumbly. "O-oh, right." He then ran out the door as well.
"Well I guess things will work out one way or the other." Mitsuru said as she took a seat in front of her terminal. "Akihiko, Shinjiro, are you two alright?"
"Define alright." Shinjiro said after he and Akihiko were sent flying through the air.
"This guy is no joke!" Akihiko grunted as he held his most likely injured arm. "Things aren't looking good here Mitsuru."
"Don't worry help's on the way." Mitsuru assured.
"Help…?" Shinjiro questioned. "You mean Takeba and Arisato?" he asked incredulously.
"Well, yes and no." she said hesitantly.
"What do you mean?" asked Akihiko.
"You'll see."
"Well, they better get here soon, because in a few minutes there won't be much of us left to save." Akihiko said as the Orion Zodiart stalked towards them.
"Hey, ogre-face!" said a voice. "Leave our sempai alone!" The Zodiart turned and suddenly found the sole of a shoe pressed against his face, sending him reeling back in surprise.
As his focus came back to him, the monster saw a familiar blue haired boy crouching down on one knee. Minato stood up and glared at the Zodiart.
"What the-…?" Akihiko gapped in surprise.
"The new guy…?" Shinjiro said, equally surprised.
"I'm going to stop you right here, right now," he said as he held up the Fourze driver, but he suddenly realized something very important. "Wait, how do I use this thing?" Minato said as he looked at the device, trying to figure out how it worked.
At that moment, Minako appeared and ran up to her brother. "Onii-chan it's a belt just stick it around your waist!" She snatched the Driver from her brother's hands and placed it on his waist, causing a metal band to appear and fasten the device to his waist.
"What the-?" he exclaimed.
She then continued her explanation. "Now flip the switches."
"Switches…?"
"Yeah, they'll give you the power of the cosmos." She explained.
"The power of the cosmos…?" Minato said, slightly winded by his sister's amount of energy.
"Right…" She said as she flipped the four switches from right to left, after which she moved away a good distance.
"Wait, where are you going!" he asked, a little freaked out as the Driver began to count down.
"THREE"
"TWO"
"ONE"
"Now, Onii-chan, pull the lever and yell henshin!" Minako called out as she brought her right hand to her waist and threw her arm across her chest. "Then raise your arm in the air, like this!" She said demonstrating the motion she was explaining.
"No, don't do it, Minato!" a voice called out drawing everyone's attention to see Yukari looking slightly winded. "Please, just take off the driver while the DNA lock is still inactive."
"Yukari-chan…?" Minato questioned.
"Please, let us take care of this guy. We don't need the Driver Mitsuru was being desperate. Please don't do this!" She tried to convince the boy "the fact that you can use it means there are other ways you can help us."
"Enough of this!" the Zodiart shouted. "I've had enough of this foolishness." He then created a sphere of dark energy and hit it with his spiked club sending it hurtling at the girl in pink.
Seeing the incoming projectile, Yukari raised her arms in defense preparing for the worst. "YUKARI-CHAN" Minato roared as he tackled the girl to the side and away from the blast, just as the Junpei arrived.
"Minato, Yuka-tan!" he exclaimed.
As the blast died down, Yukari dared to open her eyes, and she saw the blue haired boy holding her in a protective embrace away from the blast site. "Minato-Kun?" she said hesitantly.
"How?" he asked, "How could you, of all people, ask me to just give up and walk away?" he said, looking into her eyes as if she had just said the most insulting thing in the world.
"This isn't your fight Minato." She argued. "Please just go back to the Rabbit Hutch where it is safe."
"I can't do that Yukari." He stood up and turned to the monster. "This thing not only hurt Akihiko and Shinjiro-sempai; but he also tried to seriously hurt you. And I'll never forgive him for that!" he seethed in anger.
He then threw his left arm across his chest and placed his right hand on the Driver's lever. "Henshin!" he shouted as he pushed the lever and raised his arm in the air.
[Insert song: Mass destruction (Lotus Juice Remix)]
A ring of metal appeared in a flash around his wait before it rose into the air, releasing a massive amount of steam. Wireframe lines appeared over Minato, covering him in a suit of armor.
Once the energy had formed completely, the ring vanished and the light died down to reveal Minato in his newly formed suit. The entire suit was white and appeared to be made of wire mesh, making it look like some sort of space suit. The torso had orange lines running down the sides with black on the shoulders. The shoulders themselves were silver on the front with black on the collar. His forearms and lower legs were covered with large, white gauntlets each with their own decoration. His right arm had an orange circle, his right leg a blue X, his left leg had a yellow triangle, and his left arm showed a black square.
On his back was a small propulsion pack, like a rocket exhaust. Finally, his head now was encased in a white, rocket-shaped helmet with a black face, large orange eyes; short silver antennae with a green stone on his forehead, and small fin-like attachments at the jaw line. "Wow, what the-?" Fourze stammered as he felt his now helmet covered face. "Wh-what just happened?"
"It's Fourze, Onii-chan!" Minako said with an excited smile. "Use it to beat that guy up!"
"Oh, ok, got it." he said, pointing at the Zodiart. "Alright, bastard, time to pay!" He charged at his opponent and threw a punch, but when it made contact, well, needless to say, whatever he saw Akihiko and Shinjiro do, it did not work for him. "Itai!" he yelled, holding his sore hand and causing the others to wince in sympathy.
"I bet that hurt, rookie." the Zodiart taunted as he grabbed Fourze by the neck and tossed him through the wall. On the other side of the wall was an empty classroom where he crashed into several desks.
"Did anybody get the number on that truck?" Fourze groaned. He brushed himself off and ran back through the cloud of dust his impact caused, throwing punch after punch at the Zodiart. He managed to muster up enough strength to throw his opponent into the wall, denting it. The struggle continued for a bit but it did not seem that Fourze was inflicting a lot of damage.
Just then, the black switch on the far left of the belt started to ring and flash. "Onii-chan that's the radar switch; it can connect with the Rabbit Hutch!" Minako called to her brother. "Mitsuru-sempai is going to guide you through how to use the Driver better!"
"Thank you, Minako!" he called to his twin. The rocket-themed warrior flipped the switch on the far right.
"RADAR, ON." the belt announced, followed bya combination computer/satellite dish that appeared in a flash of black light, attaching to the square shaped module on his left arm.
After fully manifesting, the screen on the module revealed his scarlet haired upperclassman with a bemused look on her face. "Well at least you can use the device." She said to the boy. "But I can tell from how you've been fighting that you are going to need all the help you can get. Follow my instructions and we may just make it out of this situation alive."
"Not like there's much of a choice is there?" Fourze asked.
"First, turn on the Launcher Switch and use it in conjunction with the radar module's targeting system to that this attack doesn't destroy the school" She instructed the armored teen.
"That's the one on the right, right?" Fourze asked. He then pressed on the blue colored switch second to the right.
"LAUNCHER, ON!" the belt announced as a blue orb appeared over his right leg before forming into a blue missile silo that completely covered lower leg.
"Whoa!" Fourze said as he lifted his leg up to check out his new attachment. Unfortunately, the second he put his foot down the missiles came to life, surprising him. The rockets flew off in all directions. Not one of them hit the Zodiart, instead detonating and destroying numerous objects in the vicinity. "What just happened?"
"I told you the radar module has a targeting system built in to prevent misshapes like that." Mitsuru sighed. "Just point it at the Zodiart and I'll handle the targeting."
Just as he was about to do so, the Zodiart ran at him in a blitz tackle. Fourze caught the charge only to be faked out as the monster threw him instead. Luckily, the booster on his back activated and he managed to prevent any damage. He righted himself and aimed the radar module's dish at the monster. "This good, sempai…?"
"Yes you're locked on, now. Fire!" she instructed.
"Alright," Fourze said lifting his foot. "Here we, go!" He brought the leg down and the five loaded missiles launched out of their silos, bombarding the Zodiart, sending it into the air.
"Ok, now switch to close combat." Mitsuru said not missing a beat. "Swap the switch for the right leg."
"Right leg, got it." Fourze deactivated the Launcher Switch and took it out of its slot replacing it with another that had the number eight on it.
"CHAINSAW." The driver announced before Fourze flipped the switch up. "CHAINSAW: ON."
The process repeated itself. Only the girth of the module was far less than that of the previous one. This one dropped a small, light blue chainsaw that instantly came to life.
[Music change: Switch On]
"Ok, now this is awesome!" Fourze said admitting the new piece of hardware. "Alright, ugly, here I come!" he said running at the Zodiart performing a series of spin kicks in a way that made the chainsaw's rotating blades hit the monsters armor-like skin. Using a blast of steam from the booster on his back, he did a flip kick and brought the blade down hard releasing a flurry of blue sparks.
The Zodiart retaliated by releasing a volley of blue fireballs from the nodes on its chest. The impact threw Fourze backwards rolling on the ground. He deactivated the switch and began dodging more of the fireballs. "Don't think I'll let that happen again!"
He pressed the switch on the far right activating it. "ROCKET: ON!" the driver announced as an orange rocket enveloped his entire forearm. The rocket came to life sending him skyward to avoid the fireballs more easily.
"Let's try this one." Fourze said twisting the switch that corresponded to his left leg.
"DRILL: ON!" The Driver announced as a yellow digging drill materialized over his entire lower leg.
"Oh yeah, I'm going to have fun with this" Fourze said with excitement.
"Hold on a second Arisato!" Mitsuru said over the still activated Radar Module.
"Sorry, sempai, I'll call back in a minute." Fourze said turning off the corresponding switch, causing the Radar Module to vanish.
Using his now free hand, he reached over to his opposite side and pulled the Enter Lever on the side of the driver. "ROCKET, DRILL: LIMIT BREAK!" At the announcement, the drill covering his leg came to life with yellow energy. He then adjusted the rocket on his arm and aimed it and his drill-covered foot at his target.
"Ikuze…" Fourze said steeling himself. "Rocket, Drill Kick!" He yelled as he dive-bombed the Zodiart heading towards it like a human missile plowing through the fireballs as if they were nothing. Upon contact with the Zodiart, the drill bore through his iron skin in an instant, releasing a low-grade explosion. Fourze made it through the explosion and his still active drill collided with the ground causing him to spin on the foot before coming to a stop. The monster exploded leaving behind nothing but a singed patch of concrete and a black and silver switch that was blasted away from the explosion, which Fourze failed to notice. "Finally." He said in relief.
[End song]
In an unknown location a man in a black suit was playing with a switch similar to the one discarded by the explosion. "I see…So Fourze is at my school." The man said as his eyes seemed to glow red. Surrounding the man was a trio of unidentifiable monsters wearing black robes with gold decals.
"You did it, Onii-chan!" Minako said as she ran up to Fourze.
"Yeah, it wasn't easy but I made it through, somehow." Fourze said in relief.
However, their relief was short lived as they heard a semi familiar call. "POWERDIZER!" they turned to see the hulking yellow robot looming over them.
"Shinji-kun… is that you?" Minako asked.
"You're a little late, Sempai," Fourze said casually.
"Minato-Kun." said a familiar, yet livid voice as steam escaped from the Powerdizer's exhaust vents.
"Eh, Yukari-chan, is that you?" Fourze asked confused.
Indeed the person piloting the machine was not Shinjiro Aragaki but Yukari Takeba "I told you not to put that thing on." She said sounding furious. "You should have just listened to me!"
"Yukari-nee, why are you inside the Dizer?" Minako asked.
"And you, Minako?" She said turning to the Redhead "You actually encouraged him to wear the stupid thing!" she said surprising Minako.
"What's going on Yukari-chan?" Fourze asked. "You're acting strangely."
"Just shut up!" she shouted. "I tried to warn you but you just wouldn't listen. Now it is too late you are stuck using that thing forever. Constantly in danger, so I will just destroy the driver and free you from the burden." She then controlled the robot to grab Fourze by the waist lifting him in the air.
"Yukari-nee what are doing?" Minako screeched.
"Oi, Yukari-chan, let me go!" Fourze cried as he was shaken around like a rag doll.