-1st Universe: Spreading Wings 2-
I've once had a dream, I guess you might say it came true.
It was something I've wanted, I wanted nothing more than for it, to make it a reality.
Except when I had it, I've really had nothing left.
Nothing at all.
When I came through I heard the faint sound of a robotic… french accent? I slowly opened my eyes and the first thing I see is a green-haired CAST dressed in a somewhat revealing dress… I tried my best not to stare too much.
"Ah, You are awakened, one moment, please. Monsieur boss, Monsieur Boss our guest has gotten up, perhaps you can get it up too" She called over to someone across the room.
"Where am I?" I asked as I put my hand on my chest.
"Was that just a dream?"
"Welcome to Little Wing, I am Chelsea. Enchante." She replied.
Chelsea… I vaguely remembered that name, but I sure as hell never heard of Little Wing.
"What is this place?" I asked.
"Do not worry. I assure you, we are a reputable business." She said.
"Monsieur Boss! Monsieur Boss! Our guest is awake."
I turn to the familiar looking man and immediately knew that wasn't a dream…
at least I think I knew, I'm pretty sure I've hit my head, I could have been knocked out since then for all I know.
"Hang on, I'm talking to somebody here. Hey, it's me. I need you to get your butt down here." The man said to someone on the phone.
"I don't care if you don't wanna come! Spoiled brat!"
The moment I heard "Spoiled brat" I knew exactly who he was talking to.
"Oh, my. I suppose it is I who will explain. This is Clad 6, it is a resort colony, and you are in the offices of Little Wing. We are a civilian security firm here, yes."
Clad 6, I knew the name but never actually been there before... or here.
"Monsieur Boss brought you here. You were asleep all this time, like a baby. So peaceful."
"Feelin any better? You look like someone spit in your soup." The man approached me, as charming as I remember.
"Just peachy…" I rolled my eyes.
"Maybe I should fill you in on what's goin' on. Hmm, where to start? My name is Kraz Muehler. This little mercenary outfit I got goin' here is called Little Wing. More of a private security firm, really, but Mercenary outfit has a better ring to it. We do private security for big shots with deep pockets, run patrols around factories. That sorta thing." I didn't have much to say. Though I did agree "Mercenary outfit" did sound better but to make it more accurate you gotta add the word "Discount" at the beginning or that title.
"We were down at that relic site to scout the place when all hell broke loose. So instead of a nice scouting mission. I ended up rescuing the idiots who got trapped inside, One of those idiots was you."
"Hey! That wasn't my fault!" I argued but he ignored me.
"Trouble was, you weren't carrying any ID. I couldn't exactly leave you how I found you, so here you are." He said.
"Thanks… I guess." I said but somehow felt that wasn't all there was to it.
"Don't mention it. Fact is, you might say I had an ulterior motive." I knew it. Suddenly I heard a ring as the doors behind me opened.
"Give it a rest, boss. Today is not the day for this." Emilia walked into the room.
"Do you have any idea what I've been through."
"Don't know, don't care. Save your whining for someone who does." He replied.
"Can't you see we have company? Show some manners."
"Oh, sorry. Nice to meet-wait a minute. You look familiar." She said with a puzzled look then came to the sudden realization.
"What?! What are you doing here?!"
"That's what I would like to know," I replied with my arms crossed as she stared at me like I was a ghost.
"I thought- I mean- Shouldn't you be dead?"
"Luckily, that's not for you to decide. I swear the things that come out of that mouth of yours." Kraz replied.
"You might have told me. This is how I find out?" She glared at Kraz then turned to me. "Uh, not that I'm not glad you're okay. After I blacked out, I don't remember anything until waking up here. I must've dreamed the whole thing. Phew, talk about a load off!"
She said something about me being dead, Since I remembered it too I doubted that part was just a dream.
"So you two are already acquainted. Good. You seem to get on well enough. That should make this easier." Kraz cut in.
"Make what easier?" Emilia and I turned to Kraz.
"You're a freelance, right? Well, not anymore. You're with us now."
"Whoa, where'd that come from?" Emilia replied.
I knew where this was going and I didn't like it.
"Quiet, I wasn't talking to you. We aren't a big company, but for someone with your experience, we'd sign you on with a full bonus package. I'll even throw in a partner. She's not much but she's better than nothing."
"Are you sure about that?" I thought as my eyes drifted over to Emilia.
"How unusually generous of you," Emilia replied oblivious to where he was going with this.
"I'm talking about you knucklehead." He sighed as he turned towards me.
"What do you say? No entrance exam, free partner- that's more than a fair offer."
"Not interested," I said bluntly. I might have taken the deal if it didn't include the extra baggage.
"I understand. That's a lot to have sprung on you all at once. Nobody's forcing you. Of course, if you decline, I'll have to charge you for bringing you here and guarding you until you woke up."
"Fine… How much?" I sighed.
"I figure, oh, a million meseta ought to about cover it."
That's extortion!
"You're pure evil, you know." Emilia and I glared at him.
"So what'll it be? Heh, listen to me. As though you had any choice." This man… I don't know why I expected anything less. "I went ahead and took the liberty of preparing some quarters for you. Don't just stand there, Emilia! Escort your new partner to the living quarters. You two play nice, hear?"
"Wait, boss! Don't I get any say in who my partner is?"
"I doubt it… " I muttered under my breath.
"If you'd rather work solo, I suppose that could be arranged," he said with a sly grin.
"I'll take that deal!" I tried to cut in but was ignored once again.
"That's… not what I meant." She sulked.
"Save the complaints for when you're actually ready to do some work on your own. Understood?" He replied.
"Alright, you win. I'll be waiting outside the living quarters." Emilia said as she walked out of the room.
"That girl has more lip than brains. Orders aren't up for debate." Kraz said with his arms crossed.
"Monsieur Boss is too hard on the girl. You catch more bees with honey than vinegar" Chelsea replied.
"If she worked more like a bee, maybe she'd deserve some honey." Kraz turned to me. "What do you think? Am I too hard on her?"
"I'm sure she deserves it." or perhaps deserve wasn't the right word for it, but I did think respect needed to be earned.
"Damn straight. Finally someone with some sense around here. At that age give 'em an inch and they take a light year. Let me go ahead and set the record straight right here and now. Her and me aren't related in any way, shape, or form. I'm her boss, she's my employee-end of story." He said bluntly.
"I see…" I trailed off as I glanced towards the door leading out of the room.
"What a thing to say! You are that girl's guardian!" Chelsea argued.
"I only took the two of you in to settle a bar tab."
'You were the only one who keeps coming until the bar goes out coming until the bar goes out of business."Chelsea said. I didn't know if that was sweet or sad but looking at Kraz I'd guess the latter. "Truly, I am grateful for all you have done for us."
"This is getting us nowhere. Listen, we're not related, all right?"
Not going to lie, I do like how straightforward Kraz is. Regardless, I never looked at the two of them and thought, 'They're just like a real family! Oh, How I wished I had that!' or… something like that.
"But technically, I am her legal guardian. And that's the only reason I keep her lazy, back-talking carcass around."
"I suppose that answers the question of why she still works here," I muttered.
"It's not her fault. There are so many new things at first, no?" Chelsea replied.
"I don't want to get into the whole thing about the girl's past. Frankly, I don't care." He snapped as he turned to me.
"As for you, your only job is to keep Emilia out of trouble. Keep her safe. If you can get her to where she actually pulls her own weight around here, even better. How you do it is up to you. Don't let me down."
So, in short, I was hired as a glorified babysitter.
"Fine…" I sighed as Kraz returned to his desk across the room.
"Monsieur Boss has a sharp tongue, but Emilia is a good girl. Be nice to her, and I am happy. Emilia is happy. We are all happy." Chelsea said. "Now, Emilia is waiting for you outside the living quarters. Do not keep her waiting!"
There was something I wanted to ask Kraz about concerning that bar tab but I couldn't bring myself to walk over and ask him. So I just left and immediately noticed a familiar face across the room.
"You Jerk!" I shouted at the CAST I met at the ruins.
"You… We met at the Seabed Relic Site, didn't we? You remember?"
"You're damn right I remember! Why didn't you help me up?!"
"Sorry, a lot was happening, I didn't even notice you weren't behind me." He replied with a calm and composed tone, but what would you expect from a robot, I thought
"So you're with this crew too, eh? Kraz saw me helping out with the rescue efforts at the site and asked me over. When I heard there weren't any background checks on here, I was worried that…" He trailed off. "But so far, so good, eh?"
My situation could have been better… but could have been worse too.
"If I'm worried about anything, it's our fearless leader's attitude towards work. I'm sure he's got reasons, but still…" I didn't really understand what he was getting at but thought it would be better not to question it. "Not that it's any of my business. We're mercenaries and we do what we're told. Am I right?"
"Yeah, you're right." I agreed loosely.
"Tell you what. If we ever get put on an assignment together, I'll watch your back if you watch mine."
"Sure" I replied but thought even if we did get put on a mission together I'd have my hands full with Emilia but I wouldn't mind support. As I walked away I noticed Emilia waiting in front of a large green door. I walked over towards her as she let out a yawn.
"Well, it's about time!" She glared immediately upon noticing me.
"Can we get this over with now? I need some shut eye." I wanted this to be over and done with as quickly as she did.
She guided me into the large green doorway and guided me towards the room Kraz has prepped for me. Inside was the basic necessities. A bed and a private bathroom were really all I needed.
"That's all the important stuff… Now I seriously have to get to bed." She said with a yawn. "I'm asleep on my feet."
And she immediately passed out on the bed.
"What the-! Go sleep in your own room!" I shouted but she was already fast asleep.
"Fine…" I sighed as I sat at the foot of the bed when suddenly the door opened and what entered was a familiar tiny robot.
"Cyruss!" She ran up to me.
"Rose? What are you doing here?" I guess I should explain. This my Partner Machine, more like a robotic pet humanoid butler thing… I've got her when I became a Guardian… but there's something "special" about her that sets her apart from being a simple machine.
"You haven't returned home from the relic site so I went looking for you." She replied as she handed me a black bag half her own size.
I remembered that Kraz said I had no I.D on me. I dug into the bag and there it was, everything I didn't bring to the relic site. My communicator, my partner card, and some more personal things.
"You've been looking for me?" I didn't know what else to say, I was surprised, to say the least.
"It was surprisingly easy, I've heard that a ton of mercenaries got invited here from the relic site so this seemed like the most likely place you'd be." She replied.
I patted the little robot on the head as she let out a grin.
Reflecting back over the time I've isolated myself in my room, I was probably not the best master.
I couldn't remember the last time I've been able to look Rose in the eye.
"Thank you…. and I'm sorry." I managed to say as her grin turns into a wide-eyed smile. Suddenly I began to realize how tired I really was.
"Are you okay?" She asked.
"Yeah, Just need a…" I turned to Emilia lying fast asleep. "little rest… Could I-? No! I think I'll just get some coffee."
As I was about to leave I heard a faint voice say "Wait" I turned around to see a glowing figure, best described as a goddess of light.
"Rose, are you seeing this or am have I really finally lost it?" I said as I reached for my sword.
"I sense nothing, and you appear to be getting hostile, should I get the tranquillizer?" She asked politely as she reached into the bag.
"Wait! No!" The figure seemed surprised. "I am Mika, an entity of pure consciousness. I have chosen that girl as my vessel. The form you see before you is a product of technology lost long ago. "
"Y-Yeah get it ready…" I replied as I pointed my weapon at her with shaky hands.
"The people of your time call it the technology of the Ancients, which would make me an Ancient. In the distant past, my people lived in this system. We were the first." She tried to explain as Rose prepped the gun.
"Rose! It's telling me some really crazy stuff right now!" I said visibly panicking.
"I understand your doubts, But please, hear all I have to say before making up your mind. You are the only one I could trust." She tried to calm me down.
"Uh… H-Hold your fire, it- I wanna hear this. " I ordered, Rose reluctantly complied while keeping the weapon on me.
"I should advise you, again, to seek mental help." She replied.
"I told you for the Hundredth time, I can handle myself… Besides we don't have the cash or the insurance for that…" I argued, as the goddess nervously tried to cut in.
"I have studied Emilia's memories to learn about your time. Three years ago, a great calamity befell the Gurhal System."
"The Seed…" I grumbled bitterly as I tightened my grip on my saber.
"But that was not their first attack. They came in my time, as well. It was the height of our civilization. The seed invasion pushed us to the brink of ruin. The battle was long, but in the end, we triumphed, banishing the Seed and their leader, Dark Falz."
The seed was the source of all my misery... And not just mine…
Everything seemed to always trace back to them.
"But victory came too late. The planets of our system were already tainted by the Seed. Not even our bodies were spared. The taint of the Seed left nothing untouched. It was only a matter of time before our system and all who lived here would perish."
This story, If I weren't so exhausted I would probably be more inclined to believe it.
"So the Ancients risked everything on a grand venture that would span the ages: Project Renaissance. First, we purified the Gurhal system of the Seed, restoring the planets to their former glory. Next, we created a new race of men and loosed them on the pristine worlds. Finally, the Ancients shed their tainted flesh and became beings of thought. Our work done, we passed into sleep. "
Being of thought? Personally, I would have preferred Death. Living without shape or form doesn't sound at all appealing…
At least that's what I'm guessing she meant.
"We slept, and waited-waited for the day our children would rise as we had, that we might steal their bodies for our own."
"Is that so?" I glared at her as I readied my weapon, I noticed Rose also doing the same so I tried to stay relaxed.
"As time passed, all went according to plan. The civilization of the men we created grew and prospered. Their technology advanced until finally, they unlocked the secrets that would lead them to our place of slumber. The new race of men-humans-are our children. The Gurhal System has fallen into the trap laid so long ago by the Ancients."
The ruin sites? Was my first guess.
"I know you must find this hard to believe but it is the truth. And I ask for your help to stop this dreadful plan from happening. The one you call Emilia will not hear me. Her heart and mind are closed."
"No surprise there…" I muttered under my breath.
I still didn't buy it but I had to ask. "But why do you care?"
"Though I am an Ancient, I have no desire to be reborn in this time. Our destruction was our fate. Our time has passed.
You and I are not the strangers you might think."
"What do you mean?"
"Ask yourself: Why can we talk as we do? What bond do we share? When the automaton attacked you in the relic site, was it real? Are you even alive?"
"I've been wondering that ever since I've woke up… But it all happened, didn't it?"
"It did. The automaton destroyed your flesh. You knew true death. It was Emilia's wish that activated my program and allowed me to reconstruct your broken body." She said.
"Emilia's Wish?" Suddenly I felt a sharp pinch in my neck. "Rose? I said… Wait"
I woke up on the floor with Emilia and Rose looking down at me
"Cyruss?" Emilia waved her hand over my face for some reason.
"Mika?" I said groggily as I stared at Emilia.
"Who's Mika? I thought we already did the introduction thing. I'm Emilia, remember? Emilia Percival" She glared at me.
"Great, a partner who doesn't know my name."
"Sorry, I guess I'm not sure what-" I replied as Rose helped me up.
"Nevermind, just forget about it," Emilia replied. "Oh, I still gotta show you your ship. Just use the transporter when you're ready it should take you straight to the bridge. I'll meet you there. When you're ready." She said.
Emilia left the room as I tried to clear my head
"Rose? I told you not to shoot," In hindsight, any normal person might have shot the moment I pulled out my saber.
"But you've been talking to yourself for 5 minutes with your weapon out. This seemed like the best course of action."
"I-I see your point…" I decided it wasn't really worth arguing over especially when I know I'd lose,
but it was still hard for me to tell if it was real or some sort of hallucination. Anyway, I left the room and went to look for Emilia.
I stepped into the transporter and instantly beamed into the ship.
Normally I'd be excited to have a ship but I had other things on my mind.
"This is the ship you'll use for work. She's company property, so take good care of her. Over there's the mission terminal with all the available missions. Chelsea can fill you in on the details later. Basically, you use this ship to take you to whatever location the mission calls for."
I hardly listened to her and continued to question whether or not I was able to trust my own sanity at this point.
"Are you okay? You seem a little out of it?" She seemed slightly concerned.
It felt like my grasp on reality was fading more and more by the minute.
"It's nothing, sorry I'm just a little tired." I forced a smile. I wanted to talk to her about Mika but I doubt she would believe me, even I found it hard to believe.
From the moment I hit my head, the moment I met Emilia, everything seemed so unreal. Hell, I've even died. Now I'm seeing a glowing ancient lady? I just couldn't believe any of this.
"Right." She said as she glared in disbelief but decided not to press the issue.
"Oh, I almost forgot, Here's my partner card." She said as she handed me a little card.
I guess you could call it a business card of sorts. We give it to others so they'd be able to call for help with missions.
"That's that. Oh, and let's not forget who's in charge here. I have been with the company longer after all."
I could argue that I had more experience than her, or maybe that I was older or the fact that Kraz told me to whip her into shape… but figured it wasn't really worth it. I didn't particularly care about who was in charge as long as she didn't abuse her power.
"Sure, whatever." I sighed.
"Ugh! You're not making this easy! Forget it. Just treat me the way you have been and we should get along fine."
You sure about that? I thought.
We haven't exactly had been best friends up to this point… At least not from my perspective.
"Phew, Talk about a full day. I'm tired already. This is your first job with the company, right? Sorry if you had to start out like this, what with your hallucinates and all." for a moment she almost sounded sympathetic.
"Yeah…" I sighed.
"No need to get into that again, I guess the main thing is that we're both safe." Suddenly the room went silent.
I can guess what popped into both of our heads when she said that.
"Um, about that. I'm not sure how to say this…" She said timidly.
"If it wasn't for you, I'd probably still be trapped in that relic site. But more than that, you believed in me. In my dream that is. Real or not, it made me happy."
I was surprised she said that. I didn't expect she could get so sentimental.
I couldn't help but let out a little grin.
"Hey, quit looking at me like that! You think spilling my guts like this is easy? All right, that's it! I think you've heard enough about me for one day. Next time, you're in the hot seat." She said as she let out a smile. "We're partners now. We have to get to know each other."
Partner… I thought about that word again and my stomach sank.
"Yeah…" I forced a sickly grin as I turned around to leave the ship.