Episode Two: The Descent
Anemone suddenly shrieked, collapsing in tears. Dominic caught her but was unable to sooth her pain as she gripped her head and hyperventilated. The bioluminescence brightened as a second explosion of green smoke overtook the black plume. From it a pair of black raven-like wings with crimson tipped feathers arose and unfolded, fanning the smoke away. Gekkostate was in awe. What emerged from the cloud was truly inconceivable, the black figure novel yet unmistakable; below them stood a resurrected Nirvash typeTheEND spec2.
Marcus released himself from the parachute and began to freefall, "Say 'ello to my lil' friend!"
The K.L.F. now had a streamlined biological body with armor resembling insect plating; ivory horns adorned its head while three long jagged claws extended from each forearms above fingered gauntlets. Crimson and silver highlights completed its demonic appearance. Looking skyward, TheEND made a running jump, unfolding skiboard-like feet extensions to catch trapar waves, and using its wings to maneuver raced towards Marcus. It then inverted, opened its cockpit hatch like a large maw, and caught him. Once inside, he merged with the K.L.F. using a new scub coral interface and took command. Meanwhile, Holland had reached his typeR909 and launched from the Gekko.
"Holland, are you seeing this?" gasped Talho over his intercom.
"I see it and I still can't believe it," he replied, wearing the standard C.F.S. helmet, "And why do I get this sinking feeling of déjà vu?"
"Don't even joke like that; we have no a clue what that thing's capable of now," she warned, "It was brutal enough last time; if it's anything like the Nirvash was when Renton last had it…"
"I know, I know," he growled, "Marcus! Mind tellin' us the hell this is all about already?"
"Sure, Boss," he smiled, "Had me an epiphany yesterday. Found out what brought me back; and after chewin' the fat, I realized my mission. All this is just faze-one."
"And that mission is?" pushed Holland, flying alongside TheEND, shadowed by the Gekko.
"Squizz, so I don't get it all meself but to dob ya in: I was chosen to represent all the mates what were absorbed by these yobbo wowser Coralians back durin' my time," explained Marcus, "We got a blue to settle and won't take sorry for an answer! So we resurrected this poor bastard's soul to give him a fresh start and help us out. Together, we'll teach these ockers a lesson and finally get our just due!"
Holland began to snicker and laugh.
"What's so funny, Boss?" he inquired.
"Obviously you forgot your history lesson, mate," he replied, "The Command Cluster was destroyed by my brother. You're over a year late to be demanding reparations from the Coralians; besides, what good does revenge do but continue the hate? Haven't you held that grudge long enough?"
"You preach the good acid; and I've not forgotten," rebutted Marcus, "That's where this Eureka lass comes in. Apparently she's key to gettin' us to wherever they're hidin'."
Holland's smiled dropped, "You leave her outta this!"
"Sorry, Boss, but the voices call the shots," he shrugged, "Call me a loon, but they've done me proper and since she was the intended replacement cluster, we need her. Squizz, I don't want innocents gettin' caught up either. We'll do our thingo then return her safe, savvy? You have my word and promise."
"How 'bout we just don't go there," he snapped, "You word holds little clout right now."
"That cuts deep," frowned Marcus, "Well, since jabber won't convince ya, me slog will. Hooroo!"
"You're not going anywhere!" yelled Holland as he raced ahead to cut him off.
"And what's got your grundies in a bunch?" he asked, trying to avoid a collision, "Squizz, if ya think I did a snow job, boss; I was broad-sided same as you. Ya gotta believe me, mate."
"Right now I could care less," he growled, "I promised Renton and Eureka I'd protect them with my life; and I won't let anyone get near them. Not now; not when they're this close to coming home!"
Holland opened fire on Marcus. TheEND used its wings to shield the attack and sustained no damage. The typeR909 then rammed the K.L.F., forcing the L.F.O.s to lock hands as they tumbled.
"Please don't do this," pleaded Marcus, "Bloody oath, Boss! I respect ya like no other; done more for me than I had comin'. You're blood's more than worth bottlin'. A more true blue dinkum bastard there ain't. Strewth, mate, I meant no foul; but I gotta see me family justice. I just gotta!"
"And you're willing to do it at the expense of others?" challenged Holland angrily, "Why didn't you come to us with this revelation? We could have helped you find a better way! Why didn't you trust us?"
"No choice, mate," he rebuffed, "Me memories were blocked 'til now; nodded off for a kip after some tucker and next thing I'm flyin' that aero. Ridgy didge deadest! Not 'ere 'cause I wanna, but I can't go back now. All I want is answers and repayment; can't ya trust me, just this once?"
"It's those damn voices I don't trust," he explained, "Marcus; you can do better for your family!"
"Maybe you're bang on, Boss," he acknowledged, "But right now I'm closer than ever to learnin' the good oil. Please just let us do this and I won't fail ya; on me life, mate; on my family's graves even!"
"You know I can't," rejected Holland somberly, "I have my own family to serve. What happens from here is on your head; don't been brash, Marcus."
"I-I know it," he sighed, bowing his head, "Please forgive me, Boss. END! …engage the Vascud."
The Vascud Crisis began to churn with an amethyst shine while TheEND's crimson highlights glowed bright and streamed towards the larger redesigned single chest cannon while the two tumbled down.
"Holland, get outta there now!" pleaded Talho while Moondoggie angled down and aligned the Gekko with the L.F.O.s, "Ken-Goh, go to Defcon One: prepare to fire main cannons soon as Holland's clear!"
"Right!" he nodded, locking onto his target.
Holland struggled but TheEND held its grip on his typeR909 as the two battled to stay airborne. When the Vascud was charged, Marcus suddenly hurled the Terminus over his head and fired at the Gekko.
"Doggie!" yelled Talho.
Moondoggie urgently tried twisting the Gekko counterclockwise. However, the large heliotrope beam was too fast and grazed the left engines and tail, violently shaking the ship.
"Damage report!" demanded Talho.
"Left engines are hit!" informed Hap, "Electrical surges throughout the ship."
"Thrust is down by half," called Moondoggie, "Pitch and roll control is sporadic. I'm trying to level her but we may have to ditch Gekko in the water."
"Emergency stabilizers and backup controls are slow to respond," Jobs added over the intercom, "Also, damage to left engines appears minor but unable to confirm."
"Primary system monitoring offline," interjected Waz, "Rerouting all functions to secondary systems."
Holland was thrown several meters away but rebounded and raced back towards TheEND, who quickly returned its attention to the typeR909. He brandished his dual boomerang knives, prompting Marcus to do the same with new war scythe knives. Their blades collided and began exchanging blows. Marcus rushed forward, focusing TheEND's momentum on the blades and pushing the typeR909 back before firing enhanced pelvic homing lasers down and directing their impact towards the L.F.O.'s back. This disabled everything except Holland's refboard and minimum system controls.
"Sorry, Boss, where I'm goin', ya can't follow," informed Marcus, "I thank you all from the bottom of me heart; I'll ne'er forget your kindness. Should fate be kind, I'll repay my debts tenfold. Hooroo…"
With that, TheEND raced towards the cavern entrance and out onto the top of the world.
"Marcus!" yelled Holland, trying in vain to follow.
Paralyzed, his threw his headset off and glided until the wounded Gekko could retrieve him. He stewed and muttered all the way. Talho climbed up to the typeR909's cockpit, only to find Holland still fuming silently. After an annoyed moment, she yanked him up by his collar and growled in his face.
"Are you done pouting!?" she barked sternly.
"What am I supposed to do?" he snorted.
"Be glad Marcus didn't kill you!" scolded Talho, shoving him back down, "We need a leader right now, not an angry lil' boy. The Gekko should be back to full specs in less than twenty minutes. Besides, Marcus doesn't have a clue where to look for Eureka anyway."
This information appeared to calm him, though Holland remained vexed.
"Get me in touched with Axel; he needs to be informed of the situation," he requested.
"What are you planning?" she asked.
"I doubt we can track Marcus at this point, so we'll return to Tresor and recover the Devil Brothers," explained Holland, "Then we'll make camp in Bellforest until Renton and Eureka show up."
"You want me to informed Tresor of our intent?" inquired Talho.
"Yes, please," he nodded, standing up, "Grr, damn it!"
"Let it go," she sighed, locking their lips and hands together.
After a moment, he finally relented. The two then climbed down, where Hilda, holding Vernon, Hap, and Matthieu waited for them.
"The 909 should recover easy," remarked Hap, "But you need to see Anemone. She's in the infirmary."
"What happened?" inquired Holland, looking very worried.
"Guess it has to do with TheEND," shrugged Hilda, "Mischa can explain it better."
"We'll be leaving for Tresor once we see Anemone," explained Talho, "Will you be able to repair the 909 quickly in suborbital flight?"
"I think we can handle it," Matthieu smirked, "Not like we haven't done it before."
"Do it," nodded Holland, "We'll need ever L.F.O. we got."
The two lovers made their way to the infirmary. Dr. Mischa stood near the entrance and greeted them. Inside, Dominic sat near Anemone, holding her hand as she rested on a medical bed.
"She's stabilized for now but I don't know for how long," explained the good doctor at the door.
"What happened?" inquired Holland, peering inside.
"My professional opinion says a severe mental relapse," she answered, "Cause uncertain."
"What does that mean?" asked Talho, watching Anemone.
"Several things; what I do know is her brainwave patterns are now similar to Eureka's in respect to her ability to pilot L.F.O.s," informed Dr. Mischa, "My personal hypothesis is: the mental bond between pilot and archetype has been reestablished; but apparently such events are very traumatic."
"Didn't she have one before?" inquired Holland.
"Yes, but it was very different," she clarified, "Having any such link abruptly reattached is inherently dangerous and might even cause progressive damage. However, her old readouts were never uniform or as strong compared with those from Eureka. Why that was I'm still not positive."
"It was the serum," enlightened Dominic, looking over.
"How so?" questioned Talho, as the three walked in.
"I reviewed the readouts and they're distinct from those on the Ginga," he elaborated, "I've always questioned the serum's use but now I understand: it's an empathy inhibiter. It allowed a compac drive bond but prevented a total empathic link. It also helped with blood-lust and focus for missions. Without it, she became unstable and volatile. In time, she developed strong resistance while becoming addicted; that's why I was sent to find her replacement. She's still dealing with withdrawals. Her meditation has helped but I fear the only reason she remains sane is me. Like treating one drug with another, she's uses me to an anchor her reality. Maybe I'm too pessimistic but I've seen her digress rapidly when I leave unexpectedly. This happened twice shortly after we left on our holiday. I've not left her side since."
"She doesn't act that reliant," remarked Holland, "For her credit, she does seem to realize her situation; but all our conversations revealed her to be confident of overcoming those problems."
"She's truly terrified of anyone knowing," continued Dominic, "But I know you'll be discrete. She desperately wants to be accepted for who she is now, not what. That's why she pushed to pilot the typeB303. When last with TheEND, she was psychologically distraught. By the time Gulliver and I 'abandoned' her, that's how she took our absence from the Ginga, she was fully resistant to the serum. Just before this, she began feeling the TheEND's presence. She said he tried consoling her but the pain was too much. She still calls him her guardian angel; always there, even if she can't see him."
"Hmm," thought Dr. Mischa aloud.
"Anything you wanna add, doctor?" asked Holland.
"Be careful with her around TheEND," she replied, "If her empathic bond has been reestablished we can't be sure how she'll react round it. She may become a liability or worse."
"I'm sure she'll handle it," he smirked, "Though we'll certainly be more careful, one thing I've learned about Anemone is she knows how to deal with pressure; and no one dares string her along."
Dominic smiled.
"Going back a moment," recalled Dr. Mischa, "You said TheEND now has wings?"
"Yes; biological from their design," confirmed Holland, "Might be extensions of the archetype; though the entire K.L.F. seems organic now. What Dr. Morita wouldn't give to get his hands on it?"
"Indeed," she agreed, "Well, my point is their appearance might indicate a reflection of its empathic ties to Anemone. If it's true she regards the K.L.F. as her guardian angel, it then seems very curious for it to suddenly have such avian appendage upon its resurrection; like Eureka and her wings."
"Not sure how angelic it is right now," Talho huffed, "Hopefully her affection won't get in the way."
"What I'm saying is TheEND may still hold loyalty to her," explained the good doctor, "And we might be able to exploit that if need be. If nothing else, it could limit what it's willing to do against her."
"What I don't follow is why TheEND is black again," remarked Dominic, "Shortly before the Ontario was activated, TheEND changed color from black to silver when it helped Anemone reach me during my freefall. At the time we could only conclude it reflected her change of heart; but if so, why would it now revert to its original color?"
"It might reflect physically the same forces manipulating Marcus," she speculated, "If we assume he is being influenced externally, subconsciously or otherwise, it's likely these same voices are affecting TheEND as well; which would also explain the scub coral activity. What puzzles me is if TheEND is now sentient, or always was, why does it still need a pilot?"
"Nirvash still needed Renton," countered Talho, "Maybe they're stronger when we work with them."
"Possible," acknowledged Dr. Mischa, "Since TheEND is presumably as evolved now as Nirvash when we last encountered it we might conclude both have similar advantages. I think we can safely concur with Greg's theory that the birth of the archetype ego likely results from humanoid Coralian empathetic bonds; but why then were the archetypes created as interface points for humans?"
"Who said they were for humans?" Holland shrugged, "They seemed well hidden and it took a lot of work to get them mined and functional as L.F.O.s. Maybe we just bastardized them."
"What if an ego was never intended," hypothesized Talho, "Could the Coralians have intended to house their own sentient consciousness within these bodies after making peace with humanity?"
"Perhaps the Coralians meant to send more emissaries like Eureka and Sakuya," suggested Dominic, "While Nirvash and Eureka were likely part of a scub coral envoy TheEND was artificially designed to mimic the unique signature of its precursor, like Anemone was. Since it is unlikely the Federation could have created an ego, since its discovery was totally unexpected, it is likely a natural phenomenon."
"Without further data, these are all plausible," acknowledged Dr. Mischa, "Still; TheEND was never designed for two simultaneously empathic links; especially that conflict. Unlike Renton and Eureka, who were only out of sync for shorter periods over petty things, this pairing might cause more dire dilemmas since the loyalties and interests of the three are both mutual and conflicting concurrently."
"Knowing Anemone, she'll do everything she can to get him back," he remarked, "She's longed for this impossible day ever since he sacrificed himself for us. She won't take this sitting down."
"I bet," smirked Holland, "I'll likely have to hold her back."
"And if she can't have him, then I assure you she won't tolerate anyone else," added Dominic.
"Well, take care of her; and inform me once she's awake and feeling up to par," he nodded.
Dominic smiled and saluted.
"We'll be taking the suborbital route back," informed Talho, "Everything ready down here?"
"Like always," sighed Dr. Mischa, "Just make it smooth as possible, for her sake."
"We'll tell Doggie," she smiled as they headed to the bridge.
"Ready for trajectory flight," informed Hap when they arrived, "Awaiting orders."
"Mischa requests a smooth flight for Anemone," informed Holland, "Give it your best, Doggie."
"You got it!" he smiled, as Talho sat in back with Hilda and Vernon.
Moondoggie engaged the afterburners and headed for the entrance hole.
"So when you gonna contact Axel?" inquired Talho over a headset to Holland.
"Think I'll wait 'til we get to Tresor," he answered, "It will still take us several hours to arrive in Bellforest once we're resupplied. No point in ruining their day until we have to."
"You think we'll beat Marcus there?" inquired Hap.
"Since he doesn't know about Renton and Bellforest; or where it is to begin with?" Ken-Goh chuckled, "He'll be lucky to get half-way 'cross the planet before we're there; even if he was making a beeline."
"L.F.O.'s are not designed for speedy long-distance travel," reminded Holland, before pausing, "Then again, that transport wasn't designed for it either; best not to take any chances at this point. Once we arrive at Tresor, we'll double-time our refueling and loading."
While they talked, Vernon watched the two glowing points of light near him become brighter and pulse faster. He giggled and cooed with delight as the Gekko left the lower atmosphere.