Prologue
"He who fights monsters, should see to it that he himself does not become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." Friedrich Neitzsche, Beyond Good and Evil
A pair of hands snapped off crisp salutes as a figure approached the lock and shackles that fate had decided so long ago. Fate had decided that it was to be sealed away forever. Never to be used by the world for if they unleashed it, it would be a far greater threat than the very enemy they were fighting. Failing to recruit enough replacements for their only weapons, much less train them in time, day by day was loss after loss. Military weapons development was slow and set back with failure after failure, only a select grade of gear and weapons having the capability. The other experiment for mass conscription fared just as bad, the media and public backlash having shut it down forever. Humanity was losing against their enemies and fate had ultimately determined that humanity should fall.
A key unlocked a series of gears and switches, the final barrier opened to the end of the line.
God died right then and there.
White locks drifted from hazy violet to the stone face standing over her. The name had been a curse to her, always treated as a hero and an object to be experimented on at the same time. They had treated her with kind words and saccharine smiles, then brutally subjecting her body and mind under intense experimentation and regimen. Hazed emptied violet gazed away from the stoned visage to sore raw wrists, scarred from years of experiments and iron shackles. The tattered medical robe she always wore only served to make her pitiful and sickly in front of the ranked brass before her, despite the fact her body was significantly different from normal human carbon. Yet they had always treated her like an "equal".
"Please General, call me "Prrhyus"."
The man in dark blues gave a wry smile, noting her words.
"Epirus, huh?"
The girl gave a curt nod.
The male stared critically for unknown moments, as if studying her beyond a deceased shell. Aged eyes took in the masterpiece of humanity, what had been finally created after all the painful and sad years.
Nietzsche would be proud.
"Yonezawa."
Her hazed violet eye pupils constricted at the mention of the name, heavy joints tightened at the hem of the tatters she wore. It was obvious the ranked military man had struck a nerve. Just how did this man know? She assumed only the top scientists responsible for her "care" had access to her files. And even then, they never called her by that name.
Calloused hands slid a folder toward to her. In stamped red ink, letterboxed format, read "Top Secret". Clipped to the edge of the folder was a photo of a smiling young woman in her mid-twenties, light violet hair and eyes. Her face displayed all the grace of a normal healthy human being, untouched by drugs and knives. Moreso, her eyes had a calm serene warmth to them, the gaze in that simple photo able to soothe any tortured soul.
The woman right now was a feral abomination, twisted and molded into a weapon of mass destruction. Destroyer of worlds. A far cry from the woman in the simple homely photo. More animal than human now. And yet...
Yonezawa's haze clouded her vision with distortion, as an ancient ache from past days threatened to overtake her calm. A pulse pounded faster as lifeblood geared into overdrive, supplying a corrupt core with alert and edge. Sickened muscles pulled taut and crystalline bone began to vibrate violently. Soft curves, once reserved and graceful, now shrunk back in vulnerability. Even the normal feral glare had died down to a timid unwelcoming glance.
For a moment...
"You're..." she began.
The General's own blue eyes softened to the woman in front of him, the kindred gaze a far cry from military operating procedure. Even in her sudden semi-panicked state, the woman could see a hint of exhaustion in the general's own eyes...and...
Guilt?
"Time is short, Yonezawa." he explained warmly. "Please, do calm down."
Taking in a sharp breath to compose herself, the woman did as told, her being sufficiently returned to normal levels after a moment. Her body once again stood straight as before, hand clasped together in her lap. Hazy soft violet blinked back to a cold unreadable feral stare, with predatory intent. But fidgeting and tightening fingers on the hem of her robe told it all.
"You remember 1961, don't you?"
A nod. Open cracked lips replied a simple, "I do."
Heavy joints flipped and lit an open flame, burning the flat tip of dried leaves and paper. A deep inhale, a toxic lungful, and then a sigh of stressed relief. Wisps hung in the sterile air, trapped and stagnant without air flow into the room.
"Now 2066. A century it's been ever since then. And yet..."
The General stared sharply into the woman's feral eyes, noting on how wild and untamed they now were compared to the normale of any other human being on this little planet. A deep silence hung between the two, hatred and animosity forgotten if only for a moment. Two shadows cast blackness cross the bar cell of an iron door, idly chatting away at the prospects of controlling the enemy. How to manipulate and merge a viral alien life into something to be strung up and strings pulled. How to merge it into human bodies and play god with powers beyond understanding.
Yonezawa stared back into the General's blue eyes, the feral stare possessed enough to freeze any human cold.
The metallic click of a lighter being topped back on.
"We humans haven't learned a thing, Yonezawa."
The woman gave a wry smile to that. Her wild eyes closed and she shook her head in understanding.
"No. You have not."
Another inhale of toxins and an exhale of wisps. "With great power, comes great insanity..."
She nodded in agreement. Power and corruption naturally clasped hand in hand. They had loved to skirt and dance with it, just like the regimes of the old. This secretive base of operations was no different.
"I guess..." the General mused, "We've finally created the ultimate weapon, Yonezawa. After years and years of research and development, struggling with limited time and resources, we have finally done it."
With those words, the military man set down an ivory horn gripped pistol on the table.
The woman gave a sad smile, knowing what was to come next. Lithe corrupted joints squeezed the fabric of the medical robe tighter than before, knowing what had to be done. Her thinned legs stood an unstable body up, arms falling to their sides and white silk wafting over a heavy vision. Barren nude feet tapped forward to where the man sat, every step signaling what was to come. A corruption snaked it's way deeply inside the female's limbs, parting and mutating the default form into something else.
A final wisp of goodbye.
"I'm just sorry it had to be you."
Yonezawa closed her eyes, remembering what the man had said to her before.
"We're all going to burn for what we did to you..."
"I'm sorry too."
He had never really believed in a god anyways.
Author's Note, 6/02/11 - I actually intended this to be the very first chapter, but after writing was all said and done, it really did not fit to the violent tone of the first. So after giving it a few minor alterations, here is the very first prologue I intended to present "Project Zero". Yes, I do have an original character in this but it is to explain the concept of "NOVA Form" through the eyes of an anti-protagonist. Barring that, I am very well aware of the pitfalls of creating an original character or the dreaded "Marys", having read too many badfics and promptly gouged my eyes and hear out shortly after. However, I have see a few extremely well-written originals that could qualify as being "Original Canon". I strive to reach that level no matter what. That said, if any readers have any suggestions or comments, leave a review or message for me.
That said and done, I do hope you can enjoy this story and the explanation of "Nova Form".