Disclaimer: Nope. I don't own anything Sega in this story, other than the scenario. I would add something witty, but I'm not in the slightest.
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Introduction
In the year 14098 SX, a cataclysmic explosion shifted the energy and life on Earth and its inhabitants. This explosion was caused by a strange meteor that had crashed somewhere out in the Pacific Ocean. The explosion caused strange disasters upon the Earth and all who had called it home. For four months, natural disasters of an apocalyptic scale sucked the Earth dry of life. Storms raged, devouring all in their paths. The land shook, the oceans raged, and fire rained from the blackened skies. Hope had failed to show up, and the Earth's inhabitants seemed to be doomed to a premature death. The planet was dying, and taking its children with it.
Unbeknownst to the people of Earth, strange luminescent beings rose from the depths of the meteor. They created stones from the materials of the meteor they traveled in, and sealed energies from their souls and the Earth's elements within them. They then created the Master Stone, the hub of energy that would hold the Earth together for eternity. The beings then placed their Master Stone in an island temple, which caused the island to float, thus naming it the Angel Island. This island was now cut off from the rest of the world, and was said to be guarded by the spirits themselves.
Because of the strange presence of the serene aliens that had saved the planet, the animals morphed into a humanoid shape, taking on the characteristics of the humans that had already lived most of their existence on their once beloved planet. Together, they forged their world anew, and renamed their old planet Aeon. New Aeon, as the planet was now called, was now finally at peace.
Or so the inhabitants thought…
Eventually, the stones were found, and taken from the temple, scattered around the globe. These stones held endless power, and wars broke out amongst the inhabitants of New Aeon, each claiming the stones were theirs and that they were more worthy than the last whom held the sacred objects. The wars caused havoc on the land, and the spirits that were once being fought over intervened. They scattered the small stones which contained their souls, the power clusters controlled by the Master Stone, into different locations hidden across the planet.
Our story takes place in 5000 N.A.E., about 4000 years after the wars had raged over the Guardian stones…
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New Mephridos. A bustling metropolis, capital of the state of Bella Nova in the country of the New Aeon Alliance. This city has everything you usually find in a large metropolis: crime, prostitution, gangs, violence, and even the elitist of the elite police force and detective agencies on the planet. Even the Mayor of the city has been nominated for several awards, one of which included the prestigious award for "Outstanding Mayor of the Year."
However, beneath the city lies a hidden base, once used by a government thousands of years in the past. It has been refurbished to suit the needs of the secret organization that now occupy the once abandoned ruins. The installation became the workplace of some of the most brilliant minds on the planet. They had decided that the best use of their talents was to join together and form the SaViors, an underground society bent on saving the planet from hidden threats. But problems arose, and a small group of the SaViors split off and formed the Legion, whom were bent on peace through world domination. The Legion and the SaViors have been at odds since the start, and there is constant battle between the two groups.
A few years passed, and an archeologist under the directive of the SaViors found a strange gem buried in a ruined city, along with many stone tablets with strange glyphs etched on them. The Archeologist found out this was one of the legendary Guardian stones that had been the cause of many bloody and horrid wars thousands of years in the past.
This was the beginning of the GUARDians.
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Alex Foxtails looked at the clock on the dank grey wall. 9:54 PM; it was getting too late for work. He decided to wrap up his research. He sighed, as he stirred the final water blob that was his current project: a life-form made of 95 water. He knew it wouldn't be a success, but he had enjoyed the project thoroughly. He also knew that Doctor Gregory was doing most of the work; Foxtails himself was a technician, and loved to tinker with robotics and bio-tech. He didn't know why he was working with this project with the Professor. He thought maybe it would teach him something…or not. He enjoyed the work that he put into the project anyways. However, at this moment, the only thing on his mind was typing up a quick progress report and sending it to the mainframe of the institution.
He turned around on his work stool, and hopped down. He was a little short, no taller than three feet in height, so he always had a bit of trouble getting around. However, his trademark, his twin tails, granted him to have extra balance while climbing or jumping around, even though he wasn't the most athletic person in the world. This being said, while he was turning he accidentally knocked the vial of the project onto the floor, shattering its container and spilling its contents. He jumped slightly at the crash, cringing as the situation finally sank into him.
"CRAP!" he yelled, hopping off the stool. His voice cracked a bit while he screamed. He was only fifteen, and of course he had just started hitting puberty. Although at first he wasn't respected for his age, he quickly became head technician at the base, a position he was proud of. However, at this moment, he wasn't very proud of himself. The contents of his project was currently spilling out onto the floor, and it would be about a minute for some of it to dribble over to the storm drain nearby. He grabbed a nearby towel next to the sink and mopped up the contents, sighing to himself. He knew Gregory wouldn't be mad at him, but he still felt pretty bad. He had ruined four months worth of research in a matter of seconds. He hit his head in slight annoyance, cursing his clumsiness.
Alex found an empty vial nearby, and although he knew it was against policy, he wrung the towel out into it. He would at least let the doctor know on the off chance that something could be done about it. He looked into the now murky brown substance. It seemed to be sloshing around, although it was stationary on a desk. He scratched his head in confusion.
Then he noticed something. The bottom of the liquid began to separate the dirt and grime, pushing it upward. A mere minute later, the clear liquid was back on the bottom, while a dirty grayish-brown film lay on the top. He pulled the film out. Whoa…he thought to himself. He then went over and picked up a vial of silver nitrate, and dumped it into the liquid. The liquid hissed and bubbled, and expanded. It began to push the silver nitrate onto the counter. When it was clean, it settled back down to its normal state. Oh my god, he thought to himself. I can only imagine what this stuff is capable of doing once it's alive. He looked around for some other substance to drop in. However, the sudden wave of fatigue once again washed over him, and he decided to wrap up for the night.
As if by accident, he stuck his finger into the vial, and it began to slowly travel up his glove. He noticed, and it took about three seconds for his tired young mind to noticed he might not have a latex glove soon. Whoa, not good, he panicked. He was about to run over to grab the red phone to announce a contamination in his area, when he heard a voice.
{Guardian…Stone...}
Alex looked around the room. There was no one there, yet he could clearly hear a voice speaking out to him. "Who…who's there?" he stuttered. His body began to shake in fear as he searched the room frantically, trying to find where the voice had come from.
{Please…life…Guardian Stone…}
The liquid retracted back into the vial, and left Alex confused and curious. So it's capable of communication, he thought to himself, quite impressed. Although…why would it want the Guardian Stone? he then wondered, as he looked over to the stone sitting in a containment cell in the wall. He opened the cell, and pulled it out. He then wondered if he should be doing this. Nothing's going to happen, so I'll just prove it won't so that I'll be able to go home and sleep. He walked over to the small vial. His hand shuddered as he raised the gem up to drop it in the viscous liquid. The liquid began to glow, and that glow pulsed, causing the already confused Fox boy to scrunch his face into an impossible expression.
The liquid grabbed out for the stone. The second it made contact, there was a blinding flash, and Alex was knocked about five feet back. When the light finally died down, Alex opened his eyes hesitantly.
Standing in front of him was the strangest sight he had ever seen. A strange hydro being stood in front of him. It had bright green eyes, and from what Alex could tell, a very simple nervous system and brain that could be seen through its semi-translucent body. Although Alex felt somewhat frightened, it seemed to give off a strange, soothing aura.
{Thank you, Father, for letting this one's spirit find a suitable host,} the voice echoed in his mind. An aura of peace and tranquility eminated from the creature, although Alex couldn't help but feel a little on the edge. Random blobby things don't just come to life and start speaking through no ways known to man.
"You…what ARE you…?" Alex asked.
The hydro being looked at him, and Alex could swear that it was puzzled. However, instead of answering, it decided to look around. It found a mirror, and examined itself silently. Satisfied, it continued its exploration the room. Alex stood, dumbfounded, just watching the hydro being effortlessly walk around the room, picking things up with its three-fingered hands and quickly examining them before putting them back. When it finished its trek of the room, it turned and walked back over to Alex.
{Father…where is this one's current locale?} the being asked, innocence permeating the mature voice that echoed through Alex's mind.
"Uhh…" was all Alex could muster, when the metal door to the room slid up. Standing in the doorway was none other than Dr. Gerald, head of the Bio-department of the SaViors' Science wing. His white mustache was completely unable to cover up the shiny bald dome that betrayed the poor professor's lack of eyebrows and hair on his head. Other than that, his thin frame showed confidence as he stood there for about a second in the hallway.
Dr. Gerald first noticed the strange, befuddled look on his fellow SaVior's face. He then turned and was shocked to see the "finished" hydro life form they had been working on. "Fascinating. I didn't think you had it in you, Alex. I thought you were a technician, not a scientist. To think you finished the project all on your own!" he proclaimed, grinning from ear to ear.
He then began to go into a fit of excitement, flailing about the now frightened hydro being. "I can't believe it's able to hold itself together." The professor began to poke, prod, and feel about the lifeform carelessly, much to the discomfort of whom he had his attention on. "And it has such a simple nervous system, too! Not only that, it's able to live with just that…no circulatory system, no respiratory system, no digestive system…Wow. I'm shocked. I'd be even more impressed if it was…"
However, he did not get a chance to finish. He was interrupted by the being, who turned to face Alex. {Father, this one is irritated by the man prodding and stretching it. Could you make him go away?}
Words could not describe the state of excitement Dr. Gerald was now in, as he exploded in a fit of emotion. "OH MY DEAR LORD! It's sentient! It can even communicate telepathically! The implications, the possibilities, all the doors that have been opened by this being standing here…"
Alex sat, dumbfounded. He now had a blob and his superior in the lab going nuts. He decided the best thing to do at the moment was sleep. He fell over to the floor, and let himself begin to leave reality. Yeah, sleep would be nice...
Alex's trip to dreamland was short-lived. The watery being melted, and plopped itself down on top of Alex. Alex's body shuddered to the strange sensation the now unshapely blob had against his body fur.
Gerald barely composed himself after noticing the blob's migration onto Alex's belly. "Oh, yes, sorry. Alright, then…" he said, as the being turned around to face the tall, white mustachioed man. "Now, then. Do you have a name?" he asked the being.
The being reconstituted itself, now standing next to Alex's body on the floor. It thought for a moment, and then responded.
{This one is the Water Guardian of the Ethereal. This one is the reincarnated spirit that has found itself a new body through your work, and is here to save this planet from an upcoming disaster of unimaginable proportions. Your world is in grave danger, and if nothing is done about it soon, there will be no chance of survival. This planet, along with all of its inhabitants, will be consumed, and all life on this earth will end. Permanently.} As if childishly grinning, he turned to face no one in particular, and simply stated, {Although the cause of such situation completely escapes this one. We'll have to ask her once she's here...}
He then turned to Alex, offering him its strange hand to help the boy up. {This one is a little confused, and this one is guessing you are as well, judging by that look on your face. This one suggests we hold a question and answer session. Each party will take turns asking questions, and the other party will try to find answers to the best of their ability. This way, we will be able to figure out a plan of action from there.}
Alex sighed, and accepted the strange tentacular hand, standing up. Looks like I won't be going home to my precious bed anytime soon, he thought, crying a small inward tear.
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A/N: This is my first fic, so any form of review would be nice. If not, I hope you have at least enjoyed the introduction. The 1st chapter will be two years prior to the events that happen in the final part of this, so it will leave you feeling a little dazed and confused (Warning: Huge WTF moment!). I don't know when the next chapter will be done, but I'll try to finish it as quickly as possible.
Until next time,
Rath
Afternote: Wow, I wrote this about half a year ago...of course, I had to do a few touch-ups on it. It looked all old, dusty, and a little bit rough on the edges. Hopefully this'll be a little nicer on the eyes.
Runei, once known as Rath