The Chronometal Wars
-THE FIRST WAR SUBSTORY-
-The Belle in White-
Act 1
A kind of soothing darkness permeates the area, the sound of beings moving about ever a constant. This shadowy area has seen a downfall of activity and it seems that an ever-present calm has fallen over it.
In a small well-lit room off to the side, a young girl in white plays with her dog. From a glance, she seems to be normal in all ways- giggling happily and hugging her pet. Yet anyone who has gotten a chance to know her knows she is far from normal.
"Okay. That's enough for today." The girl says, standing up along with her strange dog. She walks over to a conspicuous terminal along the wall of her heavily decorated childish room, kicking toys away as she walks to it.
"It's time to do what daddy said. So now that we're set, we can go! You ready, Girly?" – "Yes, Yes! A hundred times, Yes!" The odd 'thing' lets out as the girl lets off an innocent smile as she begins to access the terminal.
In a mere instant, the room around them ebbs and whirls, a disorienting sight. "Wha... g-getting nauseous...!" The strange dog lets out as the girl kneels down and rubs his belly causing him for forget his illness and huff and pant as if it were a real dog. In a few short moments, the room stops spinning and they find themselves elsewhere.
"Okay, let's go, Girly!" – "Hup Hup!" They both walk out of the dark room and into the sunlight. Across the horizon they see a city. Of course, it is none other than Megaville, the City of heroes!
Less than a day ago, a large disturbance was felt in the northern Mountains of Megaville. Shortly after, the entire city came under attack. From that time, Doctor X of Black Eden has been incredibly curious as to the goings on in Megaville, but in depth scanning is impossible without going to the source.
So he sent his daughter Bell to scout it out. She is very strong and capable. X doesn't think that this mission of hers has any real danger attached to it. He, like everyone else involved in this war, is going to learn that there is no safety from these wars. Not even for someone as powerful as Bell.
Bell casually walks into the western suburb of Megaville and is met with fleeing people. They run past her without as much as making eye contact. "Girly, scanning time!" – "OH BOY!" Gir's head opens up to reveal a kind of satellite dish and it spins around, scanning the area.
They walk on, Gir making a bunch of beep and boop noises with his mouth, the noises obviously not helping the scan, but Bell doesn't seem to mind.
The gentle wind picks up and Bell's hair reacts beautifully. Bell herself doesn't seem to care too much about the fair weather and continues on. Gir stops in his tracks and sniffs his hand, before pointing up.
"Captain, there's something ANOMALOUS up there!" He says with a dumb grin on his face, a giant dish sticking out of his head. Bell looks up the windmill. "Well, let's go see, shall we?" She asks as she picks Gir up and flies to the top of the tower.
She lands at the top and she sees someone. It appears to be a woman in green armor, tending to a strange silver and black crystal. She hasn't noticed Bell yet. She talks to herself all the while.
"Soon... this world will know Model M's power... not even Dexter can stop this." – "Dexter, huh?" Bell asks inquisitively, causing the green-clad woman to rapidly turn around and adopt a defensive position, before she realizes the girl up here isn't anyone she was expecting.
"Who are you, kid?" – "You may call me Bell- but I will be the one asking the questions, GOT IT?!" Bell snaps with an unexpected bit of hostility, causing the green girl to flinch a small bit before she regains her footing. Bell continues:
"You mentioned Dexter. You are his enemy?" – "Y-Yeah... he's going to come here soon and I'm going to kill him." – "Kill him?" Bell gasps. The girl squints, wondering the intentions of this strange girl butting in on her plans.
"Is there something wrong with killing him?" – "You can't do it. We tried." – "We? Who are you anyway?" Bell smiles a small bit and picks Girly up. "I already told you, I'm Bell. My daddy said that Dexter 'reached his full potential' and so we can't kill him."
"Yeah well, Dexter has a lot more to learn. He's not in his prime yet- and I'll prove it by mounting his broken corpse on my spear. Model M has no further use for Dexter's life now that Model D is awakened." – "Models? I heard you talking about that when I landed. What are they?" – "Is this an interview?" Bell scowls and puts Gir down.
"It would be wise to do what I say." – "Enough. I am not taking orders from a little bitch like you! THUNDER LANCE!" She roars as a lightning rod strikes the middle of the Windmill and she picks it up, pointing it at Bell.
Bell charges her down, Gir all the while singing about floating like a butterfly or something like that. The woman Dodges her nimbly but fails to land any real attacks either. She is amazed that this little girl is so fast, but the woman ceases to worry about her wellbeing and toys with her a little bit.
She jumps back and blocks every one of Bell's attacks with one hand, much to Bell's surprise. A human is overpowering her! Bell jumps back and puts her arms down.
"Who are you...?" She asks. She is not tired, but she recognizes the futility of this combat. "I am Elly, one of the four Knights. I will use Model M to bring this world into the light and rebuild it in an image long forgotten!" – "Noble... now, what is Model M, this crystal?" She asks, looking at the strange geode.
As she looks at it, it seems to resonate a small bit, causing the woman to raise an eyebrow. "Curious..." – "How so?" – "Model M seems to recognize you..." Bell shakes her head- "That's impossible. I've never seen this before in my life." – "Maybe he's seen you in 'his' life?" – "He?"
Bell is very curious about the crystal and approaches it without her guard up. The girl could have used this moment to land a killer blow, but instead she puts away her thunder lance and joins Bell next to the metallic crystal.
Gir walks up to it and puts his hand on it. "It's afraid..." He lets out, before breaking out into laughter and walking off elsewhere.
The crystal shines and blinks. Something spectacular to look at to be sure.
"Did you know Susan before he died?" The girl asks. Bell looks over with a strange twinkle in her eye. "S-Susan...? What does Susan have to do with this...?" The woman can see the want in her eyes. She DID know Susan and was apparently very close to him. She puts her hand on the crystal and talks to Bell.
"Model M- this crystal, is Susan, Bell." – "What...? But, how?" The woman smiles and continues. "Micheal, our leader brought him back with help from Olga. Do you know Olga too?" Bell pauses a small moment and shakes her head. "No, I don't... the name isn't familiar." – "She is Susan's sister."
Bell looks back over to the crystal with a mixture of emotions in her eyes. She begins to talk to the woman again.
"This crystal gave off the same reading a large explosion a day ago gave off. Would you know why?" The green girl sighs. "Yeah, I would. The largest of our Model Ms were destroyed by three random soldiers. We underestimated them and it cost us dearly. We managed to scavenge a few crystals from the wreckage and from it... this was born." She says as she pats the crystal again.
"I see. Thank you for your time." Bell says with choked up haste. "Come on, Girly. We are going home." She picks Gir up and begins to fly away. As she flies off, she notices that a large storm picks up and a powerful whirlwind expands near the top of the Windmill, where the Green Woman was.
She lands back in the dark cave and accesses the terminal to return to Black Eden.
Telling Dr. X all about the woman in green and the entirety of what Model M is and how it relates to Susan and the energy detected a day ago, Bell finds herself anxious to be sent back out to investigate further. X considers her pleas to return, but is cautious due to the fact that the Woman was far stronger than her.
X was sure that there were no beings left in Megaville that could Challenge Bell one on one, but it appears he was wrong. Although it is risky to send Bell back to the city of heroes, he must find out what is going on.
Bell goes once again to get involved in the Chronometal Wars. Will she ever return?
Without missing a beat, Bell returns to Megaville... this time, without Gir. She fears for his safety with these people.
"Susan..." She mutters to herself. Bell has never been known to be so distant. Odd, yes... perhaps even insane... but she has always found her comfort from those around her. She lived her life through her friends and family... and now she goes to see an old friend... one she almost called "Brother." Maybe even more...
The weather has died down last time she's been here and the sun has set a while ago. However, the night is very deep... but she is seemingly guided through the darkness to the north of Megaville. There she finds a smoldering ruin. She jumps into it and is immediately bombarded with an odd feeling.
She kneels down and picks up a strange crystal shard. She thinks about what that woman from the other day said. How that crystal was somehow Susan. This shard seems to be a part of that crystal...
"S... S-Susan...? Can... You hear me?" She timidly speaks into the crystal in the palm of her hands. The embers around her crackle peacefully. The crystal in her hand glows a soft gray coloration before she feels someone behind her.
She turns her head around to see a strange man in a blue suit of armor.
"Who are you?" Bell asks. The man in blue bows curiously. "I am the one who is helping to bring your friend back from the dead. You may call me Micheal."
Bell turns her entire body around and walks toward him slowly. "How...? How is this crystal him? I-It's just a rock..." He reaches out and takes the crystal from her and holds it up to her eye.
"Just a rock? Perhaps. Merely a case, holding the more important aspect of his existence. His soul." He takes the crystal and puts it back into her hands and curls her fingers around it.
"What are our bodies if not merely cases for our immortal souls? But... I digress. This is not his true shape. That, we shall see tomorrow." – "T-Tomorrow?! Susan's coming back tomorrow?!" Bell asks, excited- a large smile crossing her face!
Micheal nods and turns around. "Well, tomorrow, yes... but we are a little short-handed. If we don't get some help it may not happen at all." – "N-No! What kind of help do you need?" Bell begs, running in front of him.
"Well... his human form is unstable... so many crystals have been shattered that it is no longer a certainty that his true form can be maintained safely." – "So what can I do?" – "Hmm... you can help us test his human form." Bell's eyes dart back and forth...
"What can I do to help with that?" Micheal holds out his hand, beckoning her to grab it. "Allow me to show you." Bell hesitantly holds his hand and before they know it, the entire area around them twists and contorts before they appear in the middle of a large mechanical metropolis!
"W-Wow...! What is this place?" Bell asks, wandering off and star struck. "Impressed? I've been building this place for many years. Almost twenty. Now finally, the time has come for it to all be worth it. If Mandark can be successfully resurrected tomorrow, this world will finally be delivered back into the light."
Bell turns around, not sure what question to ask next...
"Where's Olga?" – "Come again?" – "Susan's sister... where is she? I want to meet her..." Micheal thinks a small moment before responding.
"She's busy right now, fighting the person who is destroying all of our crystals." – "Someone's been destroying them...?! Who? Can I help you stop them?" – "His name isn't important. We have him under control. As for you helping Susan, come right this way."
Micheal walks into a separate room. Bell takes one last look at this underground factory... there are so many robots here... it reminds her of Black Eden before the Cluster went away...
She enters the room and to her surprise, it's rather small. There are only a few machines in here. There are drawings and schematics on the wall. All with the same pattern and date. A person with a bunch of wires behind them... and...
Tomorrow.
"Now, this is merely a test. A test to see if you are compatible." – "Compatible? With what?" – "Why, Susan of course." Bell thinks to herself, not sure what to make of this situation.
"Compatible with... Susan...? What do you mean?" – "What I mean is, without you- Susan will NEVER come back! We need your help." – "O-Okay... alright... I'll do your test." She walks up to the center of the machine in this room as Micheal goes over to a nearby console.
He presses a couple buttons and noises can be heard around Bell. She isn't comfortable with this at all, but the prospect of bringing Susan back is more powerful than her doubts.
"You are going to feel a small pinch." After he says that, a machine skewers her arm and draws blood. Then another... and another. One in her leg, one in her back. The pain isn't too bad, but the sensation is frightening. Before she knows it, five different needles are sticking out of her body.
"I-I don't want to do this anymore!" Bell yells as she rips away from the machines and out of the door. Micheal merely stands in awe of the situation and sighs.
"Kids..."
He walks out of the room, Bell is hunched over the wall grabbing her chest and breathing deeply. She looks over, tears growing in her eyes. Micheal thinks to himself...
"I'm... sorry if I scared you. I can take you out of here if you want." He extends his hand once more and Bell just looks at it. She sniffles and rubs her eyes.
"I-I just need t-time to... to think... that's all..." She says as she grabs onto his hand and soon finds herself in the rubble north of Megaville once more.
She looks into the sky as the darkness begins to wane.
"You don't have to do this... but you don't have a lot of time to choose either. If by tomorrow- wait..." He says as he checks the time.
"Sorry, if by Eight Hours from now, you haven't done this... I'm afraid all of our efforts will be wasted. The binding process will be aborted and we won't be able to bring Mandark back. Not just that, but I fear the enemy we are fighting will have destroyed everything we worked for by then. Just look around you."
Bell looks around the smoldering ruin, she wasn't really curious as to what it was before, but now she can understand the gravity of the situation.
This looks just like the factory she was just in...
"The person you are fighting... they did all of this?" – "All of it. In less than an hour no less. We never expected them to even live to this point, let alone destroy over half of our production so soon. I'm afraid we will have to abort if we can't bring Susan back in the time I told you."
Bell stands over the wreckage thinking, before Micheal speaks up once more, this time with a different sounding voice- as if he just heard bad news.
"Speak of the devil... I have to go now, Bell. Make your choice. I'll come see you again here in seven hours. If you aren't here, I'll understand." He says as he disappears, leaving Bell alone.
The sun starts rising again...
Bell returns once more to Black Eden, but she doesn't tell X about the needles... or the factory... she only tells him about the people who want to bring Susan back.
He laughs heartily at the concept of restoring life, but Bell doesn't find it funny. She seems incredibly distant and X can see how serious this is to her.
X seriously considers if she should be allowed back to Megaville, but she pleads with him that she must go back in a few hours.
She MUST go back...
Bell sits in her room and looks around. Everything she sees is reminiscent of a little girl's room, a room of pure innocence and comfort from the pains of the outside world.
So then, why does it feel like her world is ending...?! "Daddy...!" She mutters under her own breath again and again...
X has forbidden her from returning to Megaville.
Bell turns over to meet Gir, who only just now entered the room; even he seems to be taking this at least somewhat seriously. He walks over to her and snuggles up, Bell more than happy to have someone to hold.
"Girly... I have a chance to bring Susan back... should I disobey Daddy? I mean... he was like a brother to me... and with my help they could bring him back! B-But... Daddy thinks they are dangerous..."
Gir releases himself from her embrace and raises a finger. Bell is confused for a moment, until he points that finger to her chest. "Listen to your heart, it's always right." – "G-Girly...?" He merely looks back. Bell has never seen Gir act like this before.
"Are... are you being serious?" Bell asks, desperate. Gir nods with a dumb grin on his face. Bell smiles and begins to cry tears of happiness. She hugs Girly dearly. "Thank you, Gir...! Don't tell Daddy I'm gone..." She rises up and wipes her eyes clean and runs out of her room.
The teleportation device in her own room is deactivated, but there is another near the entrance to Black Eden that hasn't been used since the Darkstar Council suffered a miserable defeat a while ago. There are cameras set up all over Black Eden that X is watching at all times, so Bell needs to be careful.
She sneaks around dead zones and zips past cameras with low vision, careful to not be seen or heard. A few minutes later, she finds herself at the entrance. The teleportation pad is viewed by several cameras and Bell can't find any way to sneak past this final challenge, which is until Gir shows up.
Without trading so much as a word to each other, Gir rips out some cords and begins to chew on them, causing the nearby level to short circuit! Primary systems reactivate first, such as the Teleportation pad- but secondary systems will activate soon! Such as cameras...
"Thank you so much Girly! I won't forget this!" She says as she enters the pad and quickly disappears. Gir stands there for a short moment before walking off. He takes a white wig out from somewhere and puts it on before he walks off toward Bell's room.
Bell runs off toward the ruin from before, but she is intercepted by someone.
"Ah, Bell. You have come. I take it you wish to partake in the test?" Micheal says from the shadows. Rain falls all around them giving this moment a particularly tense feeling. Bell nods.
"Yes. I will do anything to get Susan back! Anything!" Micheal smiles and holds out his hand. "Well then... shall we go?" Bell grabs onto his hand, leaving no room for doubt anymore.
They are in the base, but something is different- MUCH different!
"Who... who are all of these people...?!" Bell asks, confused and surprised. She walks over to the glass pane that overlooks the entirety of the factory she saw before. There are people in it! More people than she can count!
"These are the chosen, Bell. They will help us bring back Susan- just like you." – "Them? How will they help?" – "Their holy essence is what we need to awaken Model M's dormant powers. Your holy essence is what we need to awaken Susan himself." – "I... don't completely understand, but I'll help."
"Good!" Micheal says as a deep rumbling is felt! It sounds like a spaceship has just taken off! Everyone in the facility covers their ears as the rumbling permeates the very air! All Micheal does is smile...
(============== (Elsewhere, in a soundproof cell.) =============)
"You are the last person we have to interview." – "Please... what do you want with us?" The woman lets out, at her wit's end. The girl in the purple armor sits down across the table from her and throws something to the woman.
"Look in that." The purple girl says. The woman hesitantly opens up the item, a kind of file to see what's within. What she sees causes her to cover her mouth.
"R-Ruby...?! What have you done with my daughter?!" – "Nothing, Rose. She is innocent in all of this. You, however... we need you to help us." – "I won't do it! Let my daughter go!" – "Keep this up and I might actually do that."
"What...? What do you mean?" The purple knight activates a monitor that both she and Rose look at. "What in the...?!" She stammers. "Is this for real?" – "Yes, Rose. We are flying. In the air. Not just that, but in a few minutes, a lot of our droids will be released to take out anyone who we deemed unworthy. That is, anyone who is NOT within this base."
"Not within... oh..." – "Do you see now? HERE is the safest place for her. Outside, all she has to look forward to is a couple mile drop, or mechanical warfare. CHOOSE, NOW!" – "WHAT DO I HAVE TO DO?!" Rose yells, slamming her hands on the table, willing to do anything for her daughter.
"Good..."
"Yes, YES! This is PERFECT!" Micheal yells as Bell winces at the pain of everything that is happening.
"There is just one... final... step..." He says, almost giddy as he presses one final button labeled: 'M'. As soon as the button is pressed, a dark black liquid is drained into Bell and her eyes go wide!
"HYAAAAAAAAHHH!" She screeches, the pain too excruciating to bear, even though she is fully mentally prepared!
"What, what is this?! Everything was going perfectly... are you incompatible with Susan's pure soul?" – "IT HURTS! MAKE IT STOP!" She yells, ripping herself from the conduits! The dark energy continues to seep into Bell, causing her to yell even louder and feel even more pain!
"NOOOOO! STOP IT, PLEASE!" She yells, grabbing her head in an attempt to dull the pain! Micheal at first seems terrified, but he overviews the last reading he got from the test.
100% Match... "Okay, Bell... calm do-OOOOOH!" He tries to say before she blasts him through the wall, causing this level of the factory to explode! She rips the black wire out of her head as the factory ebbs and fluctuates!
"IT STILL HURTS! WHY?!" She crashes around in the lab causing massive damage and machines to explode! A worm coils its way out of its tunnels in an attempt to hold Bell, but she musters some freak strength that manages to hold the worm by the maw and slam it into the factory! The people scream and run away as the worm falls through the factory, causing massive explosions!
The entire base is exploding and Bell still cant find any solace from this pain she is in! "WHY HAVE YOU DONE THIS TO ME?!" Bell roars, standing over Micheal. Micheal opens his mouth, but Bell has had enough! She is filled with so much anger and dark energy that she no longer tolerates his life and she lunges for his throat!
*THWACK!*
The noise reminiscent of a baseball bat breaking over an anvil is heard as Astro bashes Bell over the head, causing her to pass out. Micheal rubs his head and rises from his position. "Good work... Astro..." He says half heartedly as he looks over the lab.
"You go. You are needed above. I'll take care of Bell and the people. She should be ready soon. I'll make sure of that." – "Alright..." He says as he looks over the wreckage. He begins to fly off, but before that he turns around.
"He will be back soon, Olga... your brother will finally be back..." – "Where have I heard that before? I won't hold my breath..." Micheal diverts his eyes, knowing that his previous attempts were foiled by would-be heroes before.
"This is different. We finally have a proxy this time. Bell... Bell is the key that will open the door to our success! You'll see!" He says as he fires up through the wreckage of the lab.
Olga looks down to the girl in her arms, her face still showing signs of excruciating pain, tears going down her eyes and teeth clenched. Wires and tubes sticking out of her back, her clothing torn and her skin cut and sliced.
"You...? You are the key? You're... you're still just a little girl. Hah... when I saw you all those years ago I thought the same thing... such a little girl with such great power... I used to envy you, Bell... but, not anymore. Not with what you have to go through soon."
Author's Note: This was "The Belle in White" initially spread throughout the First War on Snafu-Comics, but I decided to frontload them all at the end of Chapter 5 on Fanfiction. This covers Bell's involvement in the first war, which has always been a major curiosity to everyone on the outside. In the original story, Barasia herself said she wasn't 100% sure how Bell ended up how she did, and that Otto recognized that in order to make a Chronometal, you need a ROBOTIC soul- but Bell was made into a Chronometal anyway. So, her involvement was always mired in confusion, and here is how it all plays out.
This whole story STARTS at around chapter 1, while the final stretch spans the end of Chapter's 4 and 5, before eventually leading into the Epilogue.
