Everything written here – characters, technology, setting, combat system, and so on – are under the direct ownership of Emerald Sonata…and the GAEA ALTERIUS.
Any non-original subjects will be tagged with '*' next to it and will be given proper sourcing.
[Inspired by Kamen Rider Ryuki and Kamen Rider Blade.]
「ハロー・パナシア」
HALLOW PANACEA
{/ First Genesis \}
[( 8th Turning of Fate )]
:: SAVIOR ::
{A Chevalier to Behold }
"Get in there!"
"No!"
The Tamed Clove was thrown into the deep bowels of the black carriage and its maw slammed shut right after her. Locks and chains leapt into place and bolted the lips tightly together with a bone-chilling click. The Narcotics brushed their hands off from the dust and gathered about.
"That should fix her…" one grunted.
"You think she's that escaped experiment Commander Thor mentioned in the briefing?"
"That's a negative: she doesn't have a number 22 tattooed on the back of her neck. Any how, another Clove for those science guys to test on."
"…This is boring…"
"Want to send that complaint directly to the Commander?"
A Narcotic shivered, his armor literally rattling, "Pass."
"Hey, what's this?"
The Narcotics turned to where another was looking at. They found themselves standing before what seemed to be a lively bar. Curiosity plagued them.
"It's one of those pubs them science guys talked about, isn't it?"
"Looks like it…"
"Never seen one."
Silence.
Then one said…"Want to try human beer?"
"Why not? We have until dusk to head back to base and report."
"That's a roger."
Without a fuss, they sauntered passed the double swinging doors and into the bar's bowels.
"Please let me out!" cried a voice within the rocking carriage, "My Mistress will get worried if I'm gone for too long! Please let me go! I didn't do anything wrong, I swear!" The voice began toned down, knowing all was hopeless, and it fell into crying despair.
"Yah."
The voice stopped itself and its head appeared behind a tiny barred window from inside of the black carriage. The teary voice had belonged to a Clove, with long pink hair and shuddering tear-glazed green eyes. Her gaze stared out of the tiny barred port, seeing nothing but empty air, before looking down below.
It was a total stranger – with moonlight silver hair and night-blue eyes – who casually flicked a wave as his greeting to her.
"P-Please save me! I'm trapped in here!"
"Did you do anything wrong?" asked the stranger in a cool tone, "Otherwise I can't help you."
"No! I was on my way to the market, on an errand for my Mistress. That's all, honest!"
"Ha-ha-ha…Don't worry, I believe you."
"…You…you do? B-but other than my Mistress…nobody would believe a Clove like me."
"Rest assured…I'm willing to bet my life on your truth."
The Tamed Clove's eyes slowly tear up again. She felt…ever so grateful to find someone as trusting as her Mistress.
"Are there any more Cloves inside with you?"
"Y-yes! Some are also Tamed but there are several that are Wild." Her hands gripped the bars as her thoughts did wander towards the image of her Mistress. "Please…I need to get home or my Mistress will be worried about me…She has a frail health and I can't do anything to upset her…or…"
"Don't worry, you'll be home by supper. I promise," nodded the stranger.
The Clove fell silent as she stared at the stranger with thankful eyes, "May I…know your name, sir?"
He shrugged, "Just a person passing by. What's yours?"
"T…Trixie…"
To Trixie's shock, the stranger held out a hand towards the barred window at her with a grin, "Nice to make your acquaintance, Trixie." After a pause, Trixie struggled to reach her hand through the bars and lightly shook the stranger's tender hand.
"Thank you…Mr. Passerby."
The stranger grinned as he returned the shake. His expressions twitched as he heard something on the return, "Trixie. Take care of the Cloves with you." He then gazed up at her as he pulled his hand back, "I will free you all."
Grateful, Trixie nodded and lowered herself back into the carriage's darkness. The Clove gave a thankful prayer to God, for sending such a blessed saviour to her and her Sisters' rescue.
"Well that was lame…"
The Narcotics pushed through the doors, two of which got hit by its recoil. The one in the lead looked like he was drenched, dripping with spilt beer from his soaked helmet and across his chest.
The wet Narcotic sighed, "Should've seen it coming…We can't enjoy a drink without unsealing our helmets."
"Doing so is equal to suicide…"
"Besides, we can't eat or drink in the first place."
In unison, they sighed. In equal sync, they perked their heads up to see the boy. To their chagrin, he was standing next to their black carriage in front of them.
"Yah," he answered with a friendly nod.
The stranger instantly had all rifles trained on him. Without breaking a sweat, the boy retained his casual demeanour.
"Lost, human?" asked the drying Narcotic in a cold tone.
"No, not really. Just wanted to say you got a bit of a problem."
"What problem?" asked another Narcotic, unlatching his rifle's safety.
The stranger chuckled and rested his left hand onto the rim of the carriage's wheel, "You got a lot a loose axle."
And his grip twitched.
SNAP!
The wheel violently shattered into worthless wood and metal splinters, the carriage collapsing on a steep angle. Silence flooded over everyone.
If the Narcotics had faces, it would have definitely faulted in utter shock.
"Oops…" the stranger nonchalantly grinned, "my hand slipped."
The lead Narcotic readied his rifle, "GET—" and received a skull-crushing flying kick straight into his helmet. The Narcotic went flailing up through the air until it was impaled into the wall, by the beam of the hanging bar sign. It had ripped through its entire chest and…
Putrid ash-like sand hissed rapidly out of the Narcotic's body like blood. The bones of his body melted, letting his skin and shape collapse like a dead balloon. In a few seconds, there was nothing left but a deflated suit-like husk that hung on the ash-stained beam.
The Narcotics watched in silence, their expressions unreadable. They turned back to the stranger, who casually brushed the dust off his right shin. He gave them all a grin, drawing forth a black pentagon medal that materialized from the gemstone of his belt. He held it aloft, revealing the words 'AWAKENING – DURAIVYR', and inserted into his beetle-claw ornament across his left wrist.
{\\|| DURAIVYR – START UP ||/}
A red magical square appeared in front of the tips of his outstretched left fingers, dipping it through its swirling light. On the other end his fingers and entire hand were encased in tough but flexible armor. Jigsaw pieces of metal spiralled up and around his arm to create a powerful crimson and black-framed gauntlet with a narrow diamond shield that bore three silver gems. The boy clenched his armored fist in a whisper.
"Kakusei…Silvaido…"
"It's a Duraivyr!" hollered a Narcotic and they all opened fired. A split second before, the boy drew forth a triangle and swiped it across the side of his shield with lightning reflexes.
{v| GRIEVEunicorn |v}
The Duraivyr blurred out of their sight the millisecond bullets bit the air, catching them all of them off guard. The next thing they knew, he had reappeared behind their flanks by stomping onto another Narcotic from above. The boy's legs were encased in a pair of crimson and black grieves, adding strength to his kicking power. His landing crushed whatever bones the Narcotic had and the trooper exploded like a bursting balloon filled with black ash. The other Narcotics wheeled and fired, mercilessly shooting at everything and anything to hunt down the stranger.
Their attacker flipped over their shots with inhuman speed and would slash down kicks and punches across their collars and helmets, sending them flying. He touched down to the ground and duck in time to avoid a Narcotic swiping at him with his rifle. The boy swept a swift kick under his enemy, causing him to trip. As the trooper fell in mid-air, the fighter threw a deadly high kick that actually sliced the Narcotic into clean halves. Black ash bled all over the floor and spewed into the air three seconds following.
The three Narcotics switched tactics and pulled a small lever by the sides of their rifle barrels. Deadly burning yellow bayonets of focused energy were produced across the base of the rifles' barrels. They slashed out at the boy like swords, slicing apart nearby barrels, signs, and lampposts into melted halves. The Duraivyr swiftly dodged them all and back-flipped. When he touched down on the tip of his foot, he bolted straight at them and swiped another triangle into his shield.
{v| KNUCKLEgolem |v}
He smashed a mighty knuckle-buster fist into one Narcotic with a gut-wrenching blow, forcing him to collide in line with the other two. All three targets were sent skidding back by the incredible force struck them, smashing the three into a wall in a pile. One by one, they exploded like a thick bubbles and washed rancid black ash all over the wall and ground. Stainless, the stranger kept his fist in the air with a steady gaze. The remaining Narcotics wordlessly surrounded behind him, rifles trained.
"Identify yourself!" one demanded. The stranger straightened and turned, casually grinning as his night-blue eyes glinted.
"Naiz…also tell the Chaos: don't forget it!"
A Narcotics yelled "OPEN FIRE" and a massive cart full of hay ploughed into them without remorse. The boy fell silent and tilted his head in confusion, plus a blink. That was when…
"Naiz-ku~~n!" The next thing he knew, a bear-hug tackled into him. "I was sooooooo scared! Those meanies almost killed you!"
Naiz's face flashed pink, "V-Violet?"
The Earth Rhinen Clove, Violet, snuggled her face against Naiz's soft fleece jacket. She was in her battle form, with armoured sleeves, chest plating, and her rhino-horned head-plate. Tears hung from the corner of her round amethyst eyes. As well, she had a stain of tomato sauce across the corner of her lips.
"You shouldn't fight meanies like them alone! I want to help Naiz-kun too!"
"Ah-ha-ha…why thank you." Naiz noticed her lips, "Oh, you missed a spot." He pulled up his sleeve and used it to gently wipe the stain off from Violet's face. She blissfully smiled under his touch…but soon paled.
A surviving Narcotic rushed at Naiz from behind, his buzzing bayonet extended for the kill.
"NAIZ—"
Without turning, Naiz smashed a back-hand blow with his other arm into the side of the attacking Narcotic's head. The helmeted skull was ripped off clean from the shoulders and a geyser of black sand spewed out from the severed neck. The husk cluttered to the ground with a harmless plop.
Violet blinked.
"There, all gone," quipped Naiz, casually. The stain on Violet's face was removed, but her stunned expression was not. Genuinely curious, Naiz asked, "What?"
Violet thought it over, before she finally grinned a, "Nothing!"
"HEY!"
Violet and Naiz turned to the familiar, and irritated, voice. Liera was waiting nearby, her foot tapping with impatience. With one good look at the grotesque black stains everywhere, and the littered husks of former Narcotics, she physically recoiled.
"Dear God! What the bloody heck did you do, Naiz?"
"Hey, don't use DADDY's name like that!" puffed Violet's cheeks.
Liera grimaced, "Now is not the time for that, Clove."
"Violet, Liera, help me with this carriage. Cloves are locked up inside!"
"U'm-u'm! Coming Naiz-kun!"
"…Over my dead body…"
"MOVE IN!"
Before Violet and Naiz could reach for the chained carriage doors, or Liera could even groan, more Narcotics stormed around the corner in a flurried rush, rifles wielded for the kill. Reinforcements, Naiz grimaced. He readied himself with Violet, Liera stepping to their side, as squad by squad of Narcotics surrounded them, gazing at the three with their faceless iron helmets. Naiz, Violet, and Liera remained still, trapped.
"Hostiles located. Execute kill orders!" called one trooper.
"Ready!" Rifles were loaded and primed, before the Narcotics held them vertically, "Aim!" Their weapons levelled with their shoulders and took sight of their targets. Violet tightly hugged Naiz and he held her protectively in his arms. Liera held aloft her sceptre, taking aim at anyone who dare makes a move.
"FIR—"
KA-BOOM!
Everyone jumped from the loud object that smashed through a building wall. Several Narcotics turned to the new source of threat and aimed at it instead. Clouds of dust flood across the narrow street they were in and a chilling silence followed. A howl pierced the air and the clouds were torn apart.
A Gauss rose from the destructed pile of walling and snarled at all within its line of sight. In a flash, Narcotics were bashed by the mechanikka with brute force, sending them hurling and popping into black ash.
"Gauss Lycan!" cried Naiz.
Violet went, "EEK!"
The Lycan's LED-light red eyes blared with ferocity as it howled again on its hind legs, pulsing red veins flowing across its iron body. Its fists and arms were massive as they delivered a relentless pounding against the Narcotics.
"Great…more trouble…" muttered Liera, sceptre ready.
"We got to get the Cloves out of here while that Gauss doesn't see us," implied Naiz, "Violet!"
"U'm! Naiz-kun!" Naiz and Violet dashed off towards the broken carriage, leaving Liera by herself.
"Naiz, you distract it with your life while I…" The Sealer turned…realizing she was speaking to herself, "HEY! GET BACK HERE AND HELP!" The Lycan had just crushed a Narcotic under a fist when it heard Liera. It turned to her, eyes locked. The Sealer paled a little before she released a groan, "Ah bloody…Alright, fine – COME AN GET ME YA WALKING SCRAP HEAP!" With that, she faced off with the Gauss with a mad battle-cry.
Naiz cleared the surroundings of the carriages, kicking and throwing several Narcotics from it. Violet skidded to a halt before the carriage and stared at it with perplexity.
"Uuuh…Naiz-kun, how does this thing open?"
Naiz grappled an attacking Narcotic's rifle off from his hand, ignited the bayonet, and sliced its owner in vertical halves. The boy chuckled as he tossed aside the weapon, "What are you best at, Violet?"
"…,…Scallions!"
"As a Clove." Naiz drove his knee deep into another Narcotic and threw him towards another three.
"A Clove?" Violet touched a finger to her lips and pondered for a good three seconds before uttering, "Mmmm…I'm a Rhinen…so…" A light bulb ignited, "I know!" The girl gripped the doors by the handles and ripped it right off its hinges; all with a proud grin, "Breaking things!"
"Strength, actually," replied Naiz, snapping a Narcotic's head in a headlock.
Trixie popped her head out of the opening, her face as white as snow from the sudden, and brutal, disappearance of the bulky doors. With Violet's help, she stepped out with several more Cloves, both Tamed and Wild. The conflict around her was fierce, but she swallowed her fear as she desperately looked around…to find her and her Sisters' saviour.
"M-M…Mr. Passerby?"
"Yah!" Naiz flipped around and swiped a downward kick to send a trooper crashing into the ground, "You're Trixie, right?"
"Mr. Passerby!" She wanted to run towards him, but Violet held out an arm to hold her back. The Rhinen thrust a steel-bending blow straight into a Narcotic's gut and sent him staggering before he melted away into black ash and ragged cloth.
"Okay, now!" Violet grinned at her fellow Sister.
Naiz stood back up after he kicked away another trooper, and Trixie appeared by his side, "Hey."
"Thank you…" said Trixie. She took up his hand and shook it repeatedly, "Thank you – thank you – thank you ever so much for believing in me and saving my Sisters, Mr. Passerby!"
"You're—" Naiz perked his gaze up. In the process, he scooped Trixie in his arms and…
"EEK!" The Clove was carried about in time to kick her heels into a Narcotic. He staggered back, before he was sent flying by a snap-kick from Naiz. He softly dropped her back down, a petrified look on her face as she stared at the chuckling boy.
"—Welcome." Naiz straightened as Violet came over with the rest of the Cloves. The boy took a moment to rest a hand onto her shoulder with support, "Trixie. Take care of your Sisters and escape. We'll deal with matters here."
"Wait! There are still more of our Sisters!"
"Heh?" wondered Violet, looking left and right, "Where? I don't see another black box to break open."
"I don't know, but those men mentioned they had another carriage nearby with more of them…They said that other people will do horrible things if they took them away…Please you must save them—"
A gentle finger rested onto her quivering lips, making her blush.
"I will," whispered Naiz, "now stay safe."
Trixie paused before returning a nod. Together with some Wild Cloves, she rounded up the others and made haste. Before she left entirely, she turned back one last time and gave Naiz and Violet a thankful smile. Then, she was safely away.
Naiz and Violet sighed with relief. It was shortly broken when they heard screaming.
"YEEEEE~OOOOOOOOOOOOO~W!" Liera was thrown into a pile of garbage with a rattling thud. The Gauss roared its victory over the Sealer, before it had to deal its attention to Narcotics that shot at it; facing annoying stings that peppered its armor.
Liera resurfaced from the trash heap with a gasp, a banana peel across her face. As she struggled to clamber out, she threw a glare at the boy and girl; who were both blinking at her.
"DON'T JUST STAND THERE! HELP ME!"
Naiz chuckle and shrugged, "Why not?"
"Naiz-kun!" shrieked Violet.
The Lycan had bowled over a pair of Narcotics and lunged straight at Naiz. With a twist of his foot, he catapulted a forward round-house kick straight into the Lycan's stomach. It spurted a silent gag as it doubled over in mid-air. The force of the blow sent it flailing through the air and collided into a scarred wall, cracking it up even more. Naiz held his hand to the gemstone on his belt and it materialized a silver rectangular medal for him. He took it into his hands and tapped the center gem across his shield. It opened up into a V and he slipped the medal into an extended chamber. With a slapping-shut, the three silver gems pulsed.
{(/\)| RENKIN |(/\)}
Weapon attachments formed from the air and they docked onto Silvaido, forming his arm-sword: the Legionary Blade. He went into a low and steady crouch, his blade arm held back. Violet stepped to his side and dug her heels at the ready. The Lycan recovered from its attack, slapping a fist to its chest to dull out the pain, and charged forth with a roar.
"GO!" cried Duraivyr and Clove in unison. They twisted their footing and bolted off with same ferocity. The Lycan threw its fist out at them, but Naiz dodged aside as Violet leapt right over it. She heavily kicked off from its attack, causing it to stumble, and Naiz followed up with a hard slash across its back. The Gauss spun on the spot, swiping a blow at Naiz. He blocked it dead on with his blade and became unmoving as a 1000 ton statue. However his stance was pressed deeper into the ground, crumbling a pair of footprints into the ground.
The Duraivyr slipped past the block and slashed upward across its chest, before Violet reappeared to grab its arm while leaping in mid-air and threw it with a swift flip across the street. The Lycan crumbled across the floor, digging its bladed claws into the surface to stop itself. Naiz did not let up as he drew out another medal to insert into Silvaido.
{/=/ CRUSH KOUGEKI \=\}
Violet pounded both fists to the ground and Naiz slapped down his armored hand. Pillars of enchanted earth piled out from below the street like wild geysers. They sent the Lycan flying skyward with a screech.
"Ready, Violet?"
"U'm-u'm! Naiz-kun!"
The two dashed after the flying Lycan. They would jump and kicked off several pillars to get higher and higher. Finally, they ran straight up the tallest column and they bounded for the sky. Liera regained her footing and could not believe what she was seeing. Naiz and Violet sailed upward after the Gauss with amazing speed, and the boy had already closed up his opened shield.
{/|| OKIRU||\}
With a grin, Violet folded her arms and closed her eyes. Her body became a shining spectre and she was absorbed into Naiz. His eyes pulsed amethyst and Violet's spectre resonated along with him. Naiz/Violet held back the Legionary Blade, which had already gathered an immense charge of static energy and lightning. His grieves and knuckle-buster became energy and was sucked into the blade as well. When they were close enough to the Lycan…
"CRASHING BLITZ HAMMER!"
The Duraivyr/Clove slashed a mighty arc of blasting lightning and it sliced through the very air. It smashed into the Lycan in mid-air, firing a scream from it, and they were both engulfed in a pulsating blue explosion. The scarred Gauss fell out of the clouds of smoke, and Naiz/Violet held forth Silvaido. A crystal triangle manifested into their armored hand and they tossed the card at the falling Lycan.
{=|| GATE SEAL ||=}
The golden pyramid shone over the Gauss Lycan, encasing it in its enchanted rays. With the lock of the gates, it was sucked back into the medal and made it fly back to Naiz/Violet. The boy/girl gingerly landed onto a rooftop in a low crouch. They caught the return of the medal, revealing it to be now gold and bearing the silhouette of a bold Lycan. With a 'Violet'-grin, they let the card dissolve into the air.
The two separated into their individual Duraivyr and Clove selves. Silvaido still remained across Naiz's left arm, but Violet was already out of her Clove battle form.
"We did it, Naiz—EEK!" The Rhinen lost her footing across the roof and slipped. A hand shot out and caught her in time, safely pulling her back up. When she regained her balance, she threw a hug onto her rescuer, "Thank you, Naiz-kun!"
Blushing with a shy smile, Naiz chuckled, "Y…you're welcome."
"HEY!"
Once again, the two turned. Liera was dangling through the air, carried by a familiar Clove of hers. In her own battle form Azure brought Liera over to the boy and girl, setting down her master on the same roof. The Sealer staggered before collapsing to clamp her hands and knees to the top corner of her structure, pale looking.
"You've really done it this time you two…"
"Are you alright?" wondered Naiz.
"Do I look alright, to you?" snapped Liera, "I smell like rotten meat and I'm stuck on a bloody rooftop with you and a Clove!"
Violet leaned over, curiously getting a whiff of Liera. She instantly recoiled with an about-to-throw-up gag, "Eeeeeeww…"
Liera shot out a hand and yanked the Clove's cheek with a pinch, "SHUT IT!"
"Owowowowowow-owowowowow-ooooow! Let go, it huuuuuu,uuuuurts!"
Naiz tried to intervene, but something caught his hearing. He turned about and looked over the edge of the roof, getting the attention of the enraged Sealer and tearful Clove.
Another black carriage zipped along the street, escorted by several Narcotics on horseback and some more clinging across the carriage's side.
"That must be the other group that Trixie mentioned," said Naiz.
"Then does that – ow – mean there are more – ow – Clove Sisters inside it? Ow!" asked Violet, her cheeks still pinched.
"Come on." Naiz then vaulted over the edge.
"Wu-wait for me, Naiz-kun!" Violet brushed Liera's hand from her cheeks and followed Naiz, bounding over the roof's edge as well.
"Hold it!" screeched the Sealer, "I'm not done with you two, yet! GET BACK HERE!"
It was futile as she watched Naiz and Violet landed across another roof without looking back. Together, they dashed after the Narcotics by running and jumping across the town-city's rooftops. Liera gripped a fist and drove it into the roof tiles, cracking a plate as well as a bone in her hand. She regretted her release of rage and practically steamed with annoyance.
"Uckhh…The things I get myself into…" Liera muttered, "Clove!" Azure hovered by her master's side, awaiting orders, "We're going after them! If I'm not with that knuckle-headed creep and that havocking Clove, collateral damage is going way up!"
Happy to help in rescuing her Sisters, and assisting her master, Azure returned a grinning nod.
つづく
[By: ~Emerald Sonata~]
Unmeito tatakau. Kyuusei kourin.
{"Battle Fate. Advent Salvation"}
