EndGame . exe


It was dark, as befitting of the night. That in itself was neither uncommon or something to place any special interest in. Everywhere in the small island nation of Japan, people slept peacefully, as they had done many a night before this one. However two persons had scant minutes before been rudely awakened from their slumber, now only to find that in those few minutes of twilight, everything had been set in motion. Change was coming and if left to its own devices then the dawn would bring about change in its most fundamental sense. Not change as in new prices on human-made products, resources or the passing of new legislature. Those were malleable, reversible change given meaning only through human investment and carefully controlled through arbitrary constructs of human design. None of that mattered. In comparison to what was about to occur, these so-called changes were just simple human adaption to a naturally progressing world around them.

This type of change would be more untamed in nature. It had the potential to become abrupt and all-encompassing chaos.

In the land of the rising sun as well as the rest of the planet, the new dawn would wash away the old world. When this prophetic flood had passed, then of what would be left, everything would simply be that, changed. In the wake of a societal extinction event, the survivors would emerge from their trial by fire as a transformed people. Whether it would be for better or for worse or affect all or few, remained yet to be seen.

In the darkness of a room, the two people who had first learned of this, stood huddled together over a single light source that illuminated their faces in the otherwise unlit room. The light source in question was the screen of a very common device, the popular transer, which served a multitude of purposes in the everyday life in every facet of life. This moment however, its intended function was not as a flashlight in the usual sense, but rather the metaphorical, to shed light on the recent strange happening rather than to illuminate mere physical objects.

Just mere moments ago, the transer had received an email signed by the mysterious AM sages. As dutifully stupid as any unthinking machine, it had adhered strictly to protocol and had notified its surroundings of the mail. To the arm-mounted device, it was just another email and it was correct. To its human owner, Subaru Hoshikawa, it was the most mysterious email sent that decade and he was right too. In a situation where they were completely out of options, this email was enough of an opportunity to galvanize his resolve.

To the last onlooker, a girl currently wearing a pink pajamas with lyrical notes on, the email was a curiosity. It was also a welcome reprieve to put her terrors to the back of her mind for the time being. All the thoughts of the world coming to an end, of them possibly being killed and of the horrible forces arrayed against them, were pushed back. It calmed her enough so that she could think rationally again. The world hadn't stopped existing, they weren't dead and the horrible forces could be beaten. She was ready.

"So, what does it say?"

"I dunno, I haven't opened it yet," Subaru answered. "It's just the headline that says the FM-ians have attacked."

"Well, open it then," Misora said, as she moved over behind him as to look over his shoulder.

"But what if it's a trap?" Subaru glanced at her worriedly. Opening an email from a suspicious source had not become safer the last few centuries.

"At this point, what do we have to lose?" Misora was having none of it. "And if the FM-ians have attacked, then we need to know."

"Right, right," Subaru said and opened the mail. However no sooner had he opened it before it closed itself and opened a new window filled with static. Almost out of reflex Subaru tried to stop it as malicious software took full control of his mounted computer, but he never stood a chance as his transer went completely unresponsive.

Then the static was replaced with that of a video link showing what he definitely did not want to see. He saw not one but three beings made up of electromagnetic energy. More aliens! The first in the middle resembled a mighty red lion, energy washing off him in waves. To its right, a dragon from Asian folklore hang leisurely in the air with heavy segmented armor plates seemingly protecting its energy body. The last being, on the lions right, there stood a bluish purple horse with great armored wings.

The beings stared coolly at him and Subaru wondered whether this was a picture, a video call or just a recorded message.

Then the lion spoke. Its voice rung deeply from the transer.

"Hello Subaru Hoshikawa, it is good to finally meet you. Do not be alarmed, we are here to aid you in your quest to defend Earth. I am the AM sage, Leo!"

"I am the AM sage, Pegasus." The horse AM-ian bowed its head in greeting.

"And I am the AM sage, Dragon," the dragon AM-ian continued. "We have been watching you, Subaru. Observing your struggles and your victories."

"And we have decided to make you our champion to fight the ruthless FM-ians and save this world." The horse spoke up with a deathly chill.

"We did not wish to make a move so soon, but the FM-ians have forced our hand. If we wait any longer, then the world might be destroyed."

The lion spoke next, a bit to Subaru's confusion as he couldn't see any mouth moving, so he had no idea who was speaking.

"We will take you up to the satellites in space. Up there, we will revive War-rock and bestow upon you our blessing. Prepare yourself!"

"Wait a moment," Subaru said quickly.

Subaru couldn't quite see it, but he would almost swear that he saw the lion make the alien equivalent of raising an eyebrow. He didn't consider how he could tell such alien expressions. The thought of having spent too much time with only War-rock and aliens as company was a sad one.

"And what is it, Subaru?" Lion asked.

"What about Misora?" Subaru asked. "You won't just leave her here?"

"She's not the one we've chosen as our champion. And she's the partner of an FM-ian," Pegasus answered matter-of-factly at once.

"Why? That's unfair," Subaru spoke up, but was stilled by Misora who put a hand on his shoulder.

"It's okay. I'll just wait here for a while," she said. "Go figure this out and come back."

"But War-rock is an FM-ian too," Subaru said, confused.

"That is not true, Subaru. There is something you both must know, Subaru, War-rock," Dragon jumped in gracefully. "War-rock is not an FM-ian, but an AM-ian like us."

"What?!"

The exclamation was shared among the four in Subaru's room. It was a bold enough statement to prompt Harp to enter the conversation.

"But how? That's more than a little unlikely and how can you possibly even know?" she asked.

"We can sense it," Pegasus stated concisely yet making them no smarter. When Pegasus made no move to explain further, the green dragon took over.

"When any EM-ian is born, an electromagnetic signature is formed for life, influenced by the ever-changing magnetic field on the planet it is born upon," Dragon elaborated. "The signature is completely unique, but depending on the planet, it holds some patterns. And it is those that we can recognize from our experience."

"Now, are you ready?" Pegasus broke in, brokering no time for further talk.

Subaru looked worriedly at Misora, which she picked up on.

"Aw, don't be such a worrywart, Subaru. Since when have I become the damsel in distress here?" She gave him a reproachful look, daring him to refute her.

With no answer, she shrugged.

"If it makes you feel better, I'll just have you make it up to me some other time. We'll make it a date; your treat." She gave him a wink that bewildered him more than anything before he understood.

"I know this great restaurant, which serves italian food, though the price is a bit steep." Subaru blanched at her statement before he caught himself. He hadn't known her for long, but that was such a Misora thing to say.

He would always worry so much about others, but Misora would never want him to worry over her. That was just how she was. Self-reliant, bold and quite headstrong; Misora would always prefer action over deliberation and she wasn't going to make a fuss over being left behind for a while. He found it strange, knowing a person as if they've been around for a long time, yet realizing in the next second that he still knew nothing next to nothing about them. Things he might never learn.

Misora, Luna, Gonta and Kizamaro. His new friends whom he'd barely even met.

He didn't want it all to end so suddenly.

"Okay," Subaru said. "I'll see you later, Misora. Stay safe. But you should know the only Italian I eat is pasta and pizza."

The sages apparently took that as enough of an affirmation, as Subaru then disappeared from view and the room was cast into a mixture of darkness and grays.

In the now empty room, Misora's grin shrank as she sat down on the spot and wondered how things were changing so quickly. She didn't know what these sages wanted or who they were, but she knew she couldn't see the scope of it all.

With a civil war on a whole other planet, a planet destroying weapon and now mysterious sages, how could she make sense of it all. It was so much bigger than them. All she hoped was for her and Subaru not to be ripped away when the flood had passed.

In the silence, her mind went to simpler things. Especially what she had almost said out loud before circumstances had stopped her. If she hadn't hesitated, then she would have said something she hadn't quite clarified with herself yet. They hadn't known each other for that long and most of that time, they hadn't even known the other's real name. It felt rushed, but danger can cut time so fatally short.

She had to face her feelings for her friend soon. But it wouldn't be now. The important thing right now was to get through this mess and that he was important to her.

"Pasta and pizza? How lame is that?" she asked out loud to no one, a wisp of a smile returning.


"So to sum things up, you were attacked by Utagai Shinsuke, who has been possessed by an FM-ian, and then you were saved by Rockman and Harp Note?"

"Yes."

"Do you have anything further to add regarding these events?"

"Outside of what I've already told you, there's nothing."

"Well, then I have only one last question, Mr. Amachi. Do you have any relation to a boy named Subaru Hoshikawa?"

"What? Subaru? He's the son of my best friend Daigo Hoshikawa. What is this about?"

"Nothing at this point. Let's just say that he's found himself at the wrong place at the wrong time a bit too often lately."

Unconsciously, Amachi gripped his seat. He had been here for almost two hours already, mostly just answering questions and so on. However one person had been relentless. This detective had been asking the at times strangest questions about the strangest things. However sharing the suspicion that without doubt led to this question, he finally see where he was coming from.

He too was suspecting Subaru to be Rockman.

"So what is your relation to the boy again?"

"He's a friend. I sometimes invite him over to the lab to show off some of our tech. He's awfully bright for a kid his age," Amachi said. Subaru was indeed smart for his age. It wouldn't surprise him if Subaru had a more thorough understanding of the theoretical aspect of EM waves than this detective who dappled in them every day. Of course, the detective was playing a whole different ballgame where a different kind of smarts were needed.

"So, was he visiting the lab on the day of Utagai's disappearance?" the detective asked without missing a beat. That seemed like such a long time ago for Amachi. The appearance of those FM-ians, the disappearance of Utagai and the intervention of Rockman. Subaru had been there, at that one time too. If there were any doubt in his mind left as to who Rockman was, then it was quickly evaporating into thin air.

"Eh, yeah. He was with me when it happened," Amachi answered vaguely, which earned him a hard stare.

"Very well, thank you for your time, mr. Amachi," the detective said, gathering his notes. "That'll be all for now. We'll be in touch."

"It's no problem." Though inwardly, he disagreed. He had to talk to Subaru. He didn't really know what he'd ask or say, but he had to know.

As he exited out he door, he heard the detective call out one last time.

"Give the boy my best, when you see him."

Amachi feigned not having heard him. He didn't like having been seen through so easily.

When he finally exited the police station, he was met with a dark night sky. The police had transferred a token sum of money for him to get home with, though he resisted the urge to scoff. To get to the where Subaru lived, he would have to take a bus as he was nowhere near his car. But the public transportation system was wholly inadequate at night, as all public transport were required by law to hold a person behind the wheels since a fully automated system couldn't be considered safe from viruses anymore. They had learned as much during the last virus crisis.

So he would have to wait almost half an hour for a bus just to pay a premium fee for travelling late. Enough to say, Amachi wasn't lining up to be a fan. As he idly waited, he couldn't help but imagine how easy his life would have been with a flappack right then and there.


Up in space, Subaru had to wonder how he was breathing. He was currently in the satellite known mostly to the outside world as Dragon. It was one of the three unique satellites in orbit around Earth.

One of the features of such a large satellite in space was a lack of oxygen, heat, room and in general any consideration for meatbags such as himself as they simply weren't meant to be there.

So imagine his instinctual surprise when instead of feeling himself dying he instead felt himself getting drawn further in. However this time, he recognized the sensation as that of when entering computer systems. It wasn't something he often did as he didn't like to snoop in other people's stuff.

With a blinking flash, Subaru disappeared from the world.

In the next moment, Subaru found himself on a metal floor with no discernible features on it, floating in a large endless void with tinkling stars.

The floor had a metallic sheen and was deep purple in color and slightly see-through. More stars were visible below it, so that no matter where one would look, he'd only see more stars arrayed in random formations. At least, Subaru didn't recognize any of the star formations.

But he did know where he was. He was in what War-rock had dubbed a 'comp space', short for the internal space inside computers. Beside him, War-rock floated passively. He looked to be asleep.

So here he was, in space. Technically, he was in a computer in space. He was also fairly sure that he couldn't be considered your average human in the flesh anymore as aforementioned flesh denied most known ways to transport him that quickly or for him to even enter a computer's virtual interior. Not being human would also explain why War-rock no longer inhabited his transer, as it was currently just waves. He tested the transer a few times, yet it was to just as much use as a strapped-on paperweight, at least in his current condition. He hoped it hadn't short circuited or something.

So they'd made him into an EM being. It seemed plausible enough, as War-rock said that he'd done the same to his father to save him. And if they had made him into a wave being, then it was reasonable to assume they could change him back. So if Subaru found his father, then he could simply have these sages make him human again. That was a thought worth taking note of. These sages could end up helping out a lot.

Speaking of sages, they too inhabited the room. And Subaru had to take a step back in awe as he fully took in their presence. The little screen on Subaru's now useless transer hadn't done them justice. They were enormous. Each easily the size of a car, brimming with energy like a star in void. They seemed immensely powerful, and yet they chose him as their champion?

"Subaru, you must have many questions," Dragon said. "Ask and we will answer."

"But do so with haste, the planet's fate is dire," Pegasus urged.

"Alright, what's happening?" Subaru asked. "And what's with Rock?"

"War-rock is recharging his energy and we are speeding up the process. For now he is listening, but not talking. As for the world, Cygnus Wing has rallied the other FM-ians and together they have taken over the control centers for the respective satellites," Dragon said.

"Using the satellites he is bringing forth an untold number of viruses to spread havoc around the world. This happened just a few minutes ago. Soon the world will plunge into chaos."

"However," Leo added, "it is not all bad. Since Cygnus Wing expects cowardice and betrayal, the crux of his plan is to prevent escape from Earth. Right now the satellites are blocking off any waveroad that leads into space and are pushing everything back towards Earth. That means that any escape from Earth would be slow and easily intercepted. Gemini Spark won't be able to escape Earth before destroying or stopping the satellites."

Subaru nodded. Gemini could blow up the planet, but there was no way he'd destroy himself along with it. No, they now had a super weapon. They would blow their way out of here and hurry towards planet FM in order to ambush the FM King. So they would likely try to obliterate the control centers to break the blockade. Cygnus would be expecting an attack. When Gemini would come thundering, Cygnus would be ready. That would mean a lot of fighting.

"I know what to do," Subaru said. "Cygnus will be expecting an attack on one of the three centers. As soon as one comes under attack, Cygnus will strike with everything he has. So we wait and while Cygnus and Gemini fight for one control center, Harp Note and I will clear the two others. I think Cygnus will leave them lightly defended."

"I concur," Pegasus agreed. "It is likely Cygnus will be leading a mobile force. Also, as Japan has so far been their main target, it is likely that in time it shall become a major battleground."

Of the three centers, there were three, distributed across the world. As the satellites were of such immense shared importance to the world, it was a great political hassle negotiating the placement of the centers. In the end, Japan had gotten one, as the nation that developed the technology. After extensive renovation, the already impressive research center SciLab was repurposed into the handling of the Dragon satellite in addition to its usual research. It was run under NAXA, the Japanese national branch of WAXA, an international civilian research agency with a focus on space exploration. Another had been claimed by Amerope. Its construction a closely guarded secret as it was built all the way up in the northern parts of the American part. It was the control center for the satellite Leo. This remoteness raised much concern and created many conspiracy theories.

The last proposed control center for Pegasus, was a hotly debated topic. The European parts of Amerope pressed for another control center on their continent, while a bloc consisting of the Sharo and Choina argued for a placement in their respective countries to balance out the overly one-sided placement in Amerope. It wasn't long before a coalition of NetFrika and other smaller countries also formed to push their agenda. In the end, the last control center was placed in Sharo, however it was officially co-run by a branch of WAZA.

After a few years, Amerope caved to international pressure to publicize any and all current and past operations regarding the satellites and their control centers. A part of the deal was to return control to the now more esteemed WAZA agency, to allow international cooperation. Obliging the world, Amerope released the files, however the documents that were released were received with skepticism as the papers said that Amerope had accomplished absolutely no secret research or manipulated the satellites in any way despite what some thought outside some mostly boring harmless tests.

The actual reason for that, which was kept strictly unofficial, was that the Ameropian researchers and technicians did not have a clue as to how the tech worked outside of theory. Outside of basic maintenance, nobody understood how the satellites actually functioned. Over time, that alone had made the political shitstorm for keeping it under national control far too costly in comparison to the gains for the Ameropian government.

The basic functions were well covered. Together, the satellites provided the whole world with what could essentially be rated a five star WiFi connection, but beneath that function were layers upon layers of redundant systems and weird additions that at first glance served no purpose, but the source of the mystery was the on-board computer. It was fairly large, but the problem was its inner architecture and software. It was completely alien to the normal technology on the ground, so while a normal machine couldn't interpret the data from the satellite computer if they were directly hooked up, the reverse would not be in effect as it was internally designed to accommodate normal data. The satellites were in effect isolated impregnable fortresses when it came to cyber warfare.

It made the internals of the computer a mystery that was quite unsolvable unless you brought one down to poke around in its insides or had access to the actual blueprints and manuals. All blueprints had mysteriously disappeared if they ever existed in the first place and the creator had remained tight lipped till his death a few years back. With the final option of taking down one of the satellites ludicrous, the world was left in the dark and pondering of the nature of the satellites.

None would come close to the actual origin of the schematics behind the mysterious technology outside of a jest.

The only weak point in the hard shell of security were the control centers. Anything sent from the designated control centers were automatically authenticated. They could access a sort of display and manipulate basic settings on the satellites for a wide variety of effects, but not much beyond that. Upon gaining possession of the control centers, Cygnus had tweaked all the settings, rendering the planet vulnerable to virus incursion while flooding the Earth with more electromagnetic waves than usual. The heightened density of waves would energize the often idle viruses and drive them to spontaneous action, much like an adrenalin shot. And as the world would soon find out, if you energized a virus enough then their frequency would be pushed into that of the visible spectrum and make the otherwise ghostly digital monsters into a very much tangible affair.

Subaru knew only bits and pieces of this above-mentioned story, but he was quickly filled in with the important parts by the AM Sages. It basically accumulated to this; they were aliens and after fleeing from their home planet they have guided the Earth's development in preparation of the FM-ians while keeping themselves hidden in secret. They were bound to the satellites in order to control them, but right now Cygnus had spun them out of control in a metaphorical sense, so they had brought him here to act in their place.

By the end of it, Subaru was getting impatient.

"Alright, can we go now?" Subaru asked.

"There's one last thing," Dragon said.

"The Starforce," Leo overlapped.

"Yeah, what about it?" Subaru said, expecting another obstackle as if he didn't have enough.

"It shall ensure your victory, young one," the lion boasted.

"How?" Subaru asked incredulously.

"We will tell you as you go for the first control center, but for now just take this with you. We have spent too much time as it is," Pegasus said as the three beings began giving off a brilliant light.

Then they were gone and in their place, were three battle chips.

Slowly, they hovered towards him and began encircling him in a small dance. Apprehensive, Subaru reached for one of the cards. It was a pearly white and felt cold to the touch. An image of Pegasus were upon the front on a blue background. Quickly pocketing the rest, he looked around.

"What now?"

Then he disappeared with another flash.

Wherever he had reappeared, he didn't recognize it. He began shuddering, as the weather was bitingly cold. Despite not being a summer paradise, Japan usually enjoyed a healthy amount of sun at this time of the year and Subaru wasn't dressed for the occasion in his own flimsy pajamas. It didn't help that it was still night at this place.

Subaru snapped open his transer, thankfully finding it both working and including a ready and awake War-rock.

"War-rock, where are we?"

"Beats me, I've just woken up," his grumpy alien tenant replied. He gave Subaru's shuddering frame another look.

"Oi, let's transform before you freeze to death or something lame like that," he grumbled. "We still haven't taught Cygnus Wing a lesson for that stunt he pulled or gotten a rematch with the twig twins."

"Twig twins?," was all Subaru managed before he was enveloped in a familiar green light.

Coming out of the transformation process and subsequently, the cold, Subaru renewed his efforts at figuring out where he was.

He had likely been sent near one of the two control centers outside of Japan. A quick look at his transer made him no smarter. There was no signal, which was normally ludicrous unless you were underground. But it was another reminder that normal might as well be tossed out the window for today. Ludicrous was here to stay until Subaru could kick him out of the house.

"Yo, Subaru," War-rock spoke up. "I found a few new files in your transer. We've been dropped off in Alaska just a kilometer south of one of these so-called Control centers."

"Great, now which way is north?" Subaru asked.

"You're kidding, right?" War-rock said.

"How would I know which way is north? Do I look like a compass to you?" Subaru gave War-rock a reprehensive look.

"You're made of electromagnetic waves, Subaru," War-rock said. "And I don't know what a compass is."

"Oh, that's right." Subaru realized. "I might as well be a compass or something. But I don't feel anything. How do I do this stuff?"

Subaru's War-rock arm lifted and pointed in a direction.

"Thanks, War-rock," Subaru said.

"It's no problem. Since I'm so smart, I gotta help every once in a while," War-rock said. "Now let's go!"

Not too oddly, there were no waveroads at all to be seen. They had all been locked down by Cygnus. So Subaru simply ran at a brisk pace in the given direction.

"By the way, there's also something about how to use this so called Starforce. And there's a warning," War-rock said.

"That's weird. They seemed so certain about the power of the Starforce. Why would it be dangerous?" Subaru mused. War-rock barked a laugh.

"Oh, it certainly sounds powerful, but there are... conditions to its use," War-rock said.

"Conditions?" Subaru repeated. "Like, we can only use it when we do something special?"

"No, not at all. We can pretty much use it whenever. The Starforce is a transformation that heightens our power and energy, but that boost is supplied by the Satellites as each of the three transformations are tuned to each satellite." War-rock had fully gone into teacher mode.

"So it's a transformation," Subaru said. "But what are the conditions? And what's the warning?"

"Well, when I say that the satellites provide the boost, what I mean is that when the Starforce is used, the actual satellite stops whatever it is doing and operates full-time on running the Starforce transformation. When the transformation ends, the satellite will resume normal operations after a cool-down period."

"If I use the Starforce, we'd take up one third of the Earth's satellite coverage?" Subaru said wide eyed. "That's a lot of bandwidth."

"Yes, it is. Isn't it awesome? I almost can't wait," War-rock said with a gleam in his eyes. "Two-thirds if we use two right after each other. And everything goes down for the day if the third is used. But what's more important, we need to retake control of at least one of the centers before we can use this power."

Subaru just nodded. He didn't really know what to do with the Starforce, except to use it sparingly. He would be unable to just use it whenever he wanted to. Training with it was almost out of the question. Subaru knew just how much the Earth relied on those satellites, even if Subaru had just about had enough of them already.

"So what's a compass, Subaru? Is it an enemy?" War-rock, who had been oddly thoughtful and silent, suddenly asked seriously.

"Later, War-rock." Subaru just shook his head at the alien.

"Very well, but if we meet one of these compasses, make sure to alert me. They sound suspicious."


At the Hoshikawa's, Misora had settled down with Harp in her guitar. They could hardly do anything but wait, until they heard from Subaru or War-rock.

"Those sages or whatever they are, they must surely have a plan or something," Misora said. "Don't you think?"

"I am not sure, Misora." Harp was sporting a thoughtful frown. "Can we really trust them? To think that any AM-ians survived at all."

"Don't be so negative, Harp," Misora said. "Just before things looked completely impossible. But now I know we've got a chance."

"That's so like you." Harp gave her a small smile. There had been too many ups and downs these last few weeks, but Misora always bounced back ready to go again. And Harp would always support her when she did.

"It'll be awesome. Saving the world with Subaru and getting some much needed payback on Gemini," Misora said with gusto. "And saving that guy, what did Subaru say his name was?"

"It was Utagai Shinsuke," Harp said. "The poor man was possessed by Cygnus rather early. Before we even met. It will be tough to break their connection and even if we do, he might not make it."

Misora was up close and cradling her guitar in moments. "But we'll save him, right? There's gotta be a way."

"Sure, we will, Misora." Harp simply couldn't deny her.

It was at that moment they got an email. It was terse and to the point. It read simply 'Be ready for imminent re-location. Further info has been attached to the mail.'.

The sender was the AM Sages, though this time their message was received with less wonder and awe.

"Why would they relocate us? Can't we go there ourselves?" Misora wondered aloud.

"Not as things are right now," Harp said, this time behind her. "This city seems to be the only place still having a functional waveroad. We would reach the city limits and then we'd be getting nowhere."

Misora turned towards the sound and jumped in fright as Harp was right in front of her and much bigger than she was used to in real life than on her small screen.

"Judging from that reaction, you really can see me now," Harp said with an impish grin. "Do tell me why you're so shocked."

"Nothing, it is just a long time since I last saw you like this. It might have been the glasses, but I think you look bigger too," Misora said, earning a rueful smile as she circled Harp and going so far as to prod the alien a bit, finding her to be very solid and tingly to touch. "So how is this possible?"

"I think it's Cygnus' little trick with the satellites. In addition he has blocked all waveroads out of the city. At least, all I can see," Harp explained. "Now, let's wavechange."

"Right!" Misora called out softly, forgoing the rest of the otherwise obligatory transformation sequence which she usually insisted on, as they were still in someone's house. It was over in a moment, with hopefully no one questioning the pink flash that had just come and gone.

Except that perhaps someone had because it was exactly at that time, that they heard a ruckus outside. Whatever it was, after a few rings of the doorbell, she heard Akane open the door. Not soon after, the door to Subaru's room flew open, leaving a drizzling wet rotund man in an Amaken dress-up standing at the door.

"Subaru? Where's Subaru?" he said frantically. Behind him, Akane dressed in her own nightgown worriedly looked over his shoulder.

After a moment of shock, it only took them a second to come to terms with the fact that Subaru was nowhere to be seen and Misora had been replaced with her alter ego, the actual Harp Note. An idol, who'd fled under duress because of said alter ego as a vigilante hunted by the government. Not a good mix for a boy's worried mother and Misora suspected that right now might be a grim reminder that Akane would soon forget.

"Where's Subaru?" the man asked more calmly, yet not looking it.

Thinking that now would have been a good time to begin the promised imminent relocation, Misora put on her best smile. Yet her skills at acting when pressured was not how she had become an idol.

"Safe?" she tried, the smile getting strained.

If anything, Akane seemed to turn a little pale.

"It's coming now, Misora. Be ready," Harp said to her and Misora let out a breath in relief before uttering a few words in spitfire succession.

"Sorry about all this, but things are about to go crazy, so I gotta go fix the world up. But don't worry, Mrs. Hoshikawa. I'll make sure to look after Subaru, so don't worry."

Then she disappeared.


A/N: This chapter was to be out for the birthday of 'Kaewalee-chan' (though I missed it). You know who you are. That is to say, someone whom I know, knows who you are! In any case, congratulations.

Also, a shout-out to the fic 'Ryuusei no Rockman : Always and Forever' put out by my friend RTNknight. Do yourself a favor and go check it out (it's in my favorites).

About this chapter: After reading up on the canon part about the countries, I felt confident enough to use it, even if the thought of a united 'Amerope' feels... yeah, no offense Americans; EU and USA are meant to be bros, but no homo, you guys. ;)

I changed the Starforce power from canon. This has been planned since forever. Most things have been planned since forever but the rest is improvised. It's gonna be awesome when we get there.

That's it for now. I apologize for any mistakes. I tried to set a bit of a heavy tone in the start to signal that a turning point has been reached. It may be crap or it might be cool; feel free to tell me, so I can perhaps fix it. It is a bit of a heavy chapter in dialogue without much action, but there's a lot of exposition to be covered. If all the characters had flappacks then that wouldn't be a problem; so this is all Cygnus' fault for kidnapping Utagai. Really, I swear. *wink* ;)