Disclaimer: This series and its characters belong to BONES Animation Studios
"Speech"/'Thoughts'
Génération Bleu Headquarters (Command and Analysis Room)
"Don't worry about it, Prime Minister," President Blanc spoke to the Com. Window open at his side, "eliminating unknown entities that threaten mankind is the job of our company. Team Pied Piper is already in the air and ready to go when we send the word."
"You're sending your Ace team to help us?" The Okinawan Prime Minister responded, "Thank you very much!"
"The team, however, happens to be in less than perfect condition, Prime Minister, so what's say we have a little discussion about our fee?" Blanc returned letting the ambient light shine over his glasses.
"Eh? A-Alright, President," the Prime Minister replied, disgruntled.
Génération Bleu Flying Assault Landing Ship: Triton (In Low Orbit above The Pacific Ocean)
An orange aura covered the bottom of the ship as it began to enter the atmosphere. Its current trajectory would take it right into Okinawan Airspace.
"The Secret's distance from the Scub Coral is currently four kilometers," reported Rebecka Hallström, the Com. Officer aboard the ship, "Georg, what 's its type?"
On her monitor, the ship's AI interface popped up in response. "Ms. Hallström, Ma'am," The AI, known to the crew as Georg, said, "With the information that we've gathered, and that which we've received from HQ, we have confirmed it to be of the same type as those seen in South America in the 1940s based on a few photographs and some eyewitness accounts, however, we cannot entirely confirm the accuracy…"
As the AI continued to rattle on, Ivica, the Crew Chief, asked, "What's our ETA?"
"Eleven minutes, sir," his pilot replied.
"Unfortunately, we estimate that the Secret will reach the Scub Coral in eight minutes, at which point a large Scub Burst will occur decimating much of the island," Georg said.
Down in the ship's hanger, IFO pilot, Fleur Blanc, was not happy with this new information.
"If we wait till we get there, we'll never make it in time! Let us launch ahead of you and we'll be able to catch it!" she yelled angrily.
Over the Com, Ivica said to the other pilot, "Elena, do you agree with her?"
Not really paying attention to the situation, more interested in twirling her hair, she responded, "I'll go… If we're allowed…"
"Alright!" Fleur said loudly, but at the same time Rebecka interrupted by saying, "We can't."
"What?!"
"We don't have a signed contract yet, and the Okinawan SDF is on alert. If we operate without a contract in an area of interest like this, we'll be held in contempt and we might lose our assets like your IFOs for instance."
"So it's better to let these people die?!"
"If it can save thousands more, then yes."
"Is there nothing we can do for the children of that island?" Ivica said, sadly.
Pacific Ocean (Below the Surface), Iwato Island
Cold darkness.
Ao opened his eyes to find himself near the bottom of the ocean that he had been thrown into a minute earlier… and that the FP was now completely under his control. The monitor was saying something about a "Third Engine" being online, whatever that meant.
"Okay, let's try getting out of the water." He rotated the unit upward and brought the main engine online. His head impacted the head of his seat as he shot upward out of the water.
Pacific Ocean (Shimokita Destruction Site)
Nakamura and another senior officer had just finished getting the remainder of the ship's personnel onto the inflatable life boats that they were now in. His mood was understandably sour.
"After all of the trouble we went through getting the Mark 1 from the Americans and we lose it before we even turn it on," Nakamura said while sighing, "and now we're probably going to die when that Secret makes contact with the Scub."
Suddenly, the ocean surrounding them began to shake and out from beneath the surface of the water came:
"The Mark 1?!"
The large grey and green flying machine twisted gracefully through the air as it sped off toward the Secret which was now tearing its way through a coastal town in order to reach the Scub Coral.
"Yeah! That kid did it!" Gazelle yelled with glee. He and Pippo were only a few meters away from Nakamura's crew. "He'll save the island! I know he can!"
"What are we going to do now, Boss? I don't want to be stuck here if a battle is going on." Pippo said unenthusiastically
"Eh? Let me think…"
"Need a hand?" said a voice from behind him.
He turned around to find Han and his FP directly behind him. "Took you long enough," he said as he and Pippo climbed in before they sped off.
Génération Bleu Flying Assault Landing Ship: Triton (Okinawan Airspace)
The battleship sailed ever closer to the island at its top speed, but still showed no signs of launching its IFO complement.
"We still don't have a signed contract," Rebecka said with a sigh, "Fortunately, the Secret is stationary for the time being."
"I don't like it either, but I guess we'll have to wait," Ivica said, equally depressed.
"Ms. Hallström, I fear there may be an error in our detection system," Georg said suddenly.
"What kind of error?"
"I'm detecting an IFO rapidly approaching the Secret and its IDC appears to be an exact match to the Mark 1 which was withdrawn from active duty last year."
Ivica's eyes widened at this. "What did you say?!"
Okinawan Coastal Airspace
The G-Monster released several shots at the approaching craft and Ao quickly banked left and right to avoid them. He darted straight past the mysterious creature before pulling a lever on pure instinct. This activated the machine's automatic transformation sequence. The jet-like unit fluidly converted to a humanoid shape, its thrusters holding it up as it slammed together two pieces of its previous incarnation to form a Lift-Board which it quickly mounted.
Ao was breathing heavily, the G-Forces taking their toll on his body. Noticing that something was off, he pulled up an exterior view screen which yielded some surprising new information.
"Shoulders?" he said, "So, Mother's Nirvash is an IFO?"
His attention was diverted by a warning on his view screen. The Secret was preparing to fire again.
He gripped the controls tightly. "I can do this… I can do this… I'm not scared… I can't afford to be scared… Mother did this before me, so I can do it also… I will protect this island!" he reassured himself with increased fervor before he rushed straight at the creature, his voice ringing out in sheer determination.
He dodged the shot sent at him and impacted the monster at high speed. He attempted to strike it several times with the Nirvash's fists. This had little effect, however, as he was thrown high into the air by the G-Monster who followed his trajectory.
Seeing the Secret come straight for him, he screamed and veered the Nirvash out of the way. With a burst of speed, he headed over the island, hoping to lose his pursuer somewhere in the landscape.
Iwato Island (Plains Area)
Toshio Fukai drove his small van toward the Central Clinic in a hurry. He had discovered the Arata family's car flipped over in the middle of the road, and the family itself gathered in front of it. They were all covered in various injuries which were normal for that type of situation, but what irked him was the girl, Naru. She was in a lot better condition than she should be considering what they had just gone through. The rapid change in air pressure should have sent her lungs screaming in pain, and yet here she was with only the same minor bruises as the rest of the family. He would have to hold some examinations later in case she had any abnormalities.
"I'm surprised that you would help us," Mitsuo Arata, the father of Naru and her little sister Miyu, said, interrupting Toshio's thoughts.
"Your animosity towards Ao will not change the fact that he was also born of this island," Toshio replied, knowing exactly what this was about, "I don't regret my decision to take him in, or his mother."
"I don't hate the kid. I even kind of like him for giving my daughter happiness in her short life, but I can't ignore the circumstances that surround him," Mitsuo returned, sorrow in his voice.
"Father! You know he can't control what happens to this island!" Naru said fiercely, "You can't blame every bad thing that happens on him and his mother! They don't deserve it!"
Toshio smiled as the daughter lectured her own father. He had always liked how much fire the girl had despite her fragility. His thoughts were, once again, broken by a familiar looking IFO flying over his little car followed by a G-Monster.
Toshio gasped in surprise at seeing that steel giant again. "Could it be?" he wondered, "Have you returned or is it-"
That was all he was able to say as two more machines raced overhead. One was blue and the other one was red.
Okinawan Airspace (In Transit to Scub Coral Site)
Some hundreds of meters behind Ao and the Nirvash, were Génération Bleu's IFO team, Pied Piper. In the red-plated Kyrie, pilot Elena Peoples remarked, "The Mark 1 was the first IFO ever discovered. It was put out of commission last year after it was no longer capable of being piloted, so why is it here and who is moving it?"
Over in the blue-plated Alleluia, her partner, Fleur Blanc responded, "Whoever it is, he's obviously a rookie! He's leading the Secret right to the Scub Coral!"
Back in the Nirvash, Ao had realized his mistake when the clouds in front of the exterior cameras cleared and he could see the Scub Coral sitting right in front of him.
'How could I be so stupid?! If we keep heading in this direction, then the G-Monster will trigger the Burst and everyone will die!' he though feverishly as he continued to dodge enemy fire.
Unfortunately, he had no choice but to continue his approach. He couldn't risk the G-Monster not following him if he tried to lead it away so he had to stay on course and beat it before it could cause the explosion.
Holding his Lift-Board in the cradle of the Nirvash's left arm he made landing right on top of the Coral, with the Secret following suit. He poured all of his concentration into his actions as he dodged another shot before he noticed that the creature was now firing wildly in every direction, seeming to have lost interest in him.
"Is it confused?" he asked before checking his monitors. He then noticed that the Trapar density in the area was quite high. "Of course! He can't see me because of the increase in Trapar in this area!"
He felt it... The wind under his wings… the storm of Trapar.
"What's with all of the Trapar in the area, all of a sudden?" Fleur asked
"The Mark 1's third engine is online!" Elena replied with no small amount of surprise in her voice.
"What?!"
"It was the only thing that the researchers never figured out how to use…"
"He managed to get a third engine working? Who is he?"
With renewed confidence, Ao soared straight up into the air, twisting on the waves of Trapar with unimaginable skill.
"No way!"
"He's riding it!"
The Secret, reacquiring its target, shot up after him in pursuit. At the peak of his climb, Ao spun the Nirvash around and began to fall back towards the enemy. With a loud yell he extended the Nirvash's electrified knuckleduster and swung its fist right into the Secret's core, shattering it to pieces.
As he fell away, he saw the bright light and roaring sound of the Secret violently exploding above causing no damage to the Coral below it.
'Ao, you performed brilliantly,' he heard a familiar voice in his mind, 'Please return to us at once. We have much to discuss.'
The voice in his mind was interrupted by the one that was coming in over the radio.
"Attention, IFO pilot. You're not broadcasting an International IDC. Please state your name and nationality," Fleur said putting on her best professional attitude.
Not really sure how to respond, he hit the communicator and a window popped up showing that he was on audio only.
"He responded. IFO pilot can you hear me?" he heard the woman over the radio say.
'I'll probably need to talk to them eventually, but for now, I need to keep my promise and there's no better time than now. 'he thought begrudgingly.
He cancelled the Com. channel, shifted the Nirvash back to its jet-like state, and sped off toward the Plant Coral.
"He's running," Elena said.
"I'll go after him!" Fleur replied, with a hint of glee in her voice.
"Don't hurt him. He seems like a nice guy."
"That depends entirely on him."
Ivica just stared ahead, as he listened in, eyebrows lowered and in deep thought.
Okinawan Airspace (In Transit to Iwato Island Plant Coral)
Ao was impressed with the pilot that was chasing him. Whoever she was, she obviously had a lot of experience piloting as she was able to match him move for move, feeding off the Trapar his engine was apparently giving off unbeknownst to him.
It didn't really matter in the end, though. Once he reached the Coral, there was nothing she could do to stop him from entering it. Fleur, on the other hand, was enjoying herself. She hadn't met a pilot yet who could match her skills, Elena aside, and along came this unknown pilot who, despite his apparent inexperience, was able ride Trapar like an expert and even defeat a Secret and without suffering any damage too. She would love to meet this guy, whoever he was.
She followed him all the way to the island's Plant Coral where he landed right in the center of the Coral Cropping. She landed not too far away and activated her radio again. He had responded earlier and she had, at least, heard him breathing so she knew he could hear her.
"You know you can't run forever," she said, trying to reason with the mystery pilot, "so why don't you come back with me and we can-" She paused at the sight before her.
The Mark 1 had begun to kneel as if the pilot was going to exit the unit, but before she could do anything, the Coral below the first IFO began to shine white. Suddenly, several white tendrils rose up, engulfing the unit and drawing it into the Coral before settling down as if nothing had ever happened.
Fleur just stared in fear over what had happened.
"W-W-What just h-happened?" she said shakily.
"Fleur? What's wrong? The Mark 1's IDC disappeared all of a sudden," she heard Rebecka say over the radio.
"The Scub Coral… it ate the Mark 1!"
"What? What are you talking about?"
"I saw several white tentacle-like things reach up and pull the Mark 1 into the Coral."
"What? That's not possible! The Coral isn't even active!"
"I'm just telling you what I saw!"
"Her vocal patterns and vital signs indicate that she is telling the truth," she heard Georg say.
After a short moment of confused silence, Rebecka said, "Well, whatever happened, our top priority as of now is retrieving the Quartz. Go on and help Elena."
"O-Okay," she said, and with one last look, she hurried back toward the island's ne Scub Coral.
Iwato Island Plant Coral (The Zone)
This time Ao found himself in a vast cavern with massive pillars of stone leading up to ridged ceilings that were glowing a light green color. Sticking out of those ceilings appeared to be white, humanoid shapes.
"Archetypes," a familiar voice said from behind him, startling him in the process
"What?" Ao asked, turning around to see Aeterna directly behind him.
"You were looking at those bodies on the ceiling. Those are called Archetypes."
"What's an Archetype? And why are we suddenly talking now? I thought you preferred telepathy?"
"I only did that as a demonstration the last time you were here and I used it outside because it is necessary. Now, to answer your question, an Archetype is a biological structure that, when fed with electric current, can be manipulated into moving much in the same vein as a human body. They were used as base structures for fighting mechanoids, similar to your IFO's, on the Scub's home planet."
"Wouldn't it be a lot more efficient just to use a purely mechanical body?"
"Ah, but you see on the Scub's world, these were found before they figured out how to construct purely mechanical base bodies, besides, even though they are a lot harder to repair, the Archetypes have their advantages. For example, if the right person or persons pilot one, an Archetype is capable of generating mass amounts of Trapar."
"I see… Wait! We can talk about that later! What about the promise?" Ao asked, bringing them back to the reason he was here in the first place.
"Ah, yes. Well, you've succeeded in bringing the Nirvash and for that I congratulate you, but it alone will not be enough to suppress the Secrets."
"Wait, you want me to pilot for you? To fight the G-Monsters? How do you expect me to do that? I barely survived the fight with the last one!"
"I thought you wanted to defend your home, and to find out the fate of your mother? What happened to the resolve you had when you entered the Nirvash?"
"I…" He looked away. He knew all that the man in front of him was saying was true, but he still was held back by that one emotion that dug its roots deep in his soul: fear.
"Ao…" he said with a sad look on his face, "I'm only asking this of you because you are the only one of us that can enter the real world and fight in our defense. If there were any other option, I would gladly take it, but there is none."
Ao thought about it for a while. If what he was saying was true, then the Scub Coral was sentient, intelligent life. To walk away now would be to doom an entire race to death. He couldn't allow that and keep himself from regretting it for the rest of his life. He would fight. For the Scub, for his mother, and for the people of the island, he would fight.
"Alright, I'll fight for you." He said with conviction.
"I'm glad. If you will fight then I'll give you the means to do so."
Behind Aeterna, The Nirvash rose from the ground, and another IFO rose right next to it. This new one had a red and white color scheme and it looked similar to the Nirvash, but it had much smoother aesthetics and no visible weaponry.
"Aeterna, what is this?"
"This, my friend, is an LFO. The first of its kind to be built on the homeworld."
"LFO?"
"It stands for 'Light-Finding Operation.' This was the kind of mecha I was telling you about earlier. This one is named Nirvash type ZERO and it was piloted by both your mother and your father."
"What? Mother and Father fought together in this machine?"
"That's right. Unfortunately, this is only a replica of the original, but it's got a type ZERO Archetype and that's all that matters."
He placed his hand against the type ZERO, but yanked it back when he felt a flood of emotions pour out of the "machine." He had felt the recognition that comes with meeting with an old friend after a long time apart, the happiness of meeting a new friend for the first time, and the sorrow of being separated from someone that is important to you all in the same second.
"What was that?"
"It uses a biological body. It is alive and intelligent just like the Coral that it comes from."
"Can it die?"
"Yes, if subjected to enough physical damage, it can die. I hope that you won't treat it that roughly though."
"Are you giving me the type ZERO?"
"No, I'm going to take the organic and breathe new life into the mechanical," he said raising his hands.
At his utterance, the two machines turned translucent and moved towards each other until they overlapped completely and in a bright flash of light, a new "IFO" was born. It looked like a true fusion of two machines that it was made of. It had the Mark 1's color scheme and base design, but it was smoother and had more complex armor. Donned on its shoulders were the two pieces of its Lift-Board and on just behind the cockpit was a spoiler.
"This is what you'll use to fight the Secrets."
The machine kneeled down for him as he climbed to the cockpit. He felt a new emotion emerge as he gripped the exterior of his new machine: determination. When he reached his destination he found another surprise waiting for him. There were two seats and two sets of controls.
"Why are there two pilot's seats here?"
"One good pilot is fine, but two pilots controlling separate aspects of the machine while working in perfect synch would nearly triple the efficiency of the machine. Your mother understood this and chose your father to pilot with her. Soon you'll also have to choose someone to trust your life with," he said with a smile.
Ao blushed at the double-meaning as thoughts of a certain someone filled his head. He shook it off.
"Why don't you come back down here? I have one more thing to give you."
Ao hopped down from the new unit and walked over to Aeterna. The man placed a small device in his hand. The strange contraption had three screens arranged in a triangular formation with a handle at the bottom and a dark blue and grey cover on the top.
"What is it?"
"It's called a Compact Drive. It belonged to your parents and it will help you interface with the Nirvash."
"Another memento from Mother… Thank you."
"You're welcome," he said, still smiling, "and one more thing. I said that some of your questions about your family would be answered."
"Oh, I almost forgot. What can you tell me about them?"
"I can't tell you anything directly, but I can tell you how you can find them."
Ao's heart clenched in his chest. To finally meet his parents… his mother…. To find them again was worth anything.
"How can I find them?" he asked wistfully.
"That rescue company, Génération Bleu are responsible for purging Secrets from this world, and unofficially, they are dedicated to finding the Mark 1's lost pilot; your mother. If you join up with them, then there's a good chance that you'll find her," he said with a wink.
Ao was a little disappointed. Sure, this was the most he had ever had to go on, but he wished that the man would have been able to tell him more.
"Hey, don't look so down. You'll find her. I have faith in you," the man said, putting a hand on his shoulder.
"I think I'd like to leave now. I want to see if everyone is all right after the Secret's rampage."
"Of course. Like I said before, you can come and go at any time through the door behind you. This time, I think I'll let you out into that cave you like to visit on the south side of the island. That would make a good hiding place, don't you think?"
"You can do that?"
"The Scub is rooted deeply under the island now. I could deposit you anywhere I wanted to. Now go back to your friends and family. I'm sure they are worried about you."
"R-Right."
He turned around to spot a hanger door this time. It was big enough to fit the Nirvash through. When he turned back around to say goodbye to the man, he found that he was gone.
Iwato Island South Cave
Ao and the Nirvash emerged from the wall at the back of the cave in a waterfall of rainbow light. Hopping down from the machine, he looked outside to find that it was almost morning. He really wanted to just lie down in the water and take a nap, but he knew he had to go see if everything was okay back home.
It had been a really long night…
A/N:
Oh God, that last conversation was painful to write. I'm very unsatisfied with the way that turned out and I'll be sure to edit and update it later. This is still a whole lot of fun to write and I'd never stop for something so trivial. By the way, if you want to know what the new Nirvash looks like, then I'll tell you that it looks similar to the Mark 1 did with Truth's Archetype only with more of the Type ZERO carried over. As always, please leave a suggestion if you have one and point out any grammatical errors or spelling mistakes if you see them. Help me out, guys. Please? ;_;