There are secrets in the universe that may never be fully explained.
Where there are mysteries, there are always three kinds of people connected to them. One is the kind of people who want to seek the mysteries out to their fullest.
The other are the people who are out to destroy any secret they believe threatens their security or positions of power.
The third type are the defenders of mysteries.
This is the tale of several such defenders.
Outcast Legends: And Outlaw Star fanfic
Revelations
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from the original Outlaw Star TV anime. I'll make a list of those characters and concepts I do own at the end of the fic, if there are any.
Chapter 5-The Revealing
Suzuka looked about calmly, taking in the rather unique group that Dawn Sword had gathered into the briefing room. It was now the day after she, Jean, and the others had arrived at this strange defense base and found out they were now caught up in the middle of a secret interstellar war. Jean, Melfina, and Aisha sat on her left, and Jim sat on her right. The other figures gathered around the table were all obviously strong warriors and each seemed unique in his or her own way; almost unquestionably, these were the Outcast Legends, the Remnant's special fighting force. Dawn Sword sat at the part of the table nearest the computerized starscape, and once everything quieted down some he stood to get everyone's attention.
"I'll try to be brief and to the point." Dawn Sword stated, standing up from his seat. He looked at each face in the room one by one, then continued. "I want everyone's solemn promise that nothing said in this room will be spoken of outside this room to anyone not here right now. Understood?"
Everyone nodded their agreement. Dawn Sword took a deep breath.
"As I'm sure you're all aware, I've been rather… unorthodox in my actions concerning Suzuka and her friends. I don't doubt that the whole base is anxious to know why I've taken the measures that I have, especially all of you, who know me best. Well, it's time that the facts were laid down on the table, since I make it my responsibility not to keep anything from all of you that concerns the wellbeing of this base, ZX7, and the Remnant at large."
He paused, then continued.
"The way all of this started was almost unquestionably bizarre. The fact that Suzuka and agent Bluestone ran into each other, bringing to light the fact that she has powers much like my own, that she could even detect the battle Bluestone was fighting against Cerpa despite the phantom shields that rendered both invisible, and her claim to know who I was and the detailed description she gave of my sword, all these things led me to hope, perhaps to assume, that she was in fact… my sister, Suzuka Jeran." At that, the whole room was utterly silent. Jean, Jim, Melfina, and Aisha all gave Suzuka a wide-eyed expression of utter surprised disbelief. Dawn Sword continued. "As it turned out, she and I seemed to have both encountered the mysterious figure who gave me the sword, and thus her knowledge of it's design, but now I've been able to confirm that she is in fact my sister."
"Are you sure?" Reaper asked. "Have you done any testing to verify?"
"Not as of yet, but if Suzuka consents, we can do a DNA analysis to confirm what I'm already almost positive of. She herself states that her parents were killed by the assassin Cerpa, acting as Hitiriga under the Kai Pirates." He took a minute to collect his thoughts. "But it seems that DragonMage has taken an interest in Suzuka and her friends as well. Suzuka, would you explain?"
Suzuka stood up slowly, then looked around the room before speaking.
"Roughly one year ago, my friends and I penetrated the Galactic Leyline, along with the McDougal brothers and the Antean 7, including Cerpa. The Ctarl-Ctarl empire also attempted to penetrate the leyline, but they were driven back by the leyline's protective shielding. We were able to enter the leyline primarily because our ship, the Outlaw Star, was built and designed for that very purpose. It was a project both the Kai Pirates and certain government forces had been working on, but it had been abandoned. Jean here took a job offer to help a person known as 'Hot-Ice' Hilda seize the ship, but when the Kai Pirates attacked and destroyed Hilda's ship, Jean was left in possession of the Outlaw Star."
"But how was it that you were able to enter the leyline with nothing more than a specially designed grappler ship?" Someone from the back inquired.
"The Outlaw Star has a very unique system installed in it." Jean interjected. "We're not entirely sure how it works, only that Melfina needs to link up directly with the ship for anything but the doors and repair systems to function. From what I've seen, Melfina seems to be the 'key' to the leyline, and is immune to the effects of the leyline's shield. She navigated the ship through the shield and into the leyline."
"But what's more," Suzuka added. "Is that Melfina is the key to opening the inner leyline, in the most literal of ways." Suzuka looked at Melfina for a moment. "She and the leyline's personality core, which calls itself the Maiden of the Leyline, are nearly one person. If Melfina can create a link with the leyline, we believe she can, in essence, control it directly."
"And that's where our problem is." Dawn Sword interjected. "Since Cerpa was present during their galactic leyline encounter, he knows that Melfina is the key and that the Outlaw Star can open the door. There's no way DragonMage is going to let an opportunity to bust into the leyline and milk it for everything it's worth just slip through his fingers. Even if it means finding a way to destroy this base, which if I know him is exactly what he's working on. He'll try to make us trade Melfina and the Outlaw Star for the lives of the people on this base and on ZX7, and he'll throw his entire army and space force into it if he has to."
"Then our best chance is to destroy the Outlaw Star." Someone suggested, causing Jean and Melfina to instantly jerk their heads in that person's direction. "If DragonMage can't enter the leyline, he won't have a way to use Melfina to access the leyline itself."
"Now hold on a minute here." Jean stated, somewhat angry. "What makes you think you can just decide to blow up my ship?!"
"We're not going to destroy the Outlaw Star." Dawn Sword reassured. "What we're going to do is beat DragonMage at his own game. Firstly, Hazanka somehow figured out a way to get into the leyline without the Outlaw Star, so destroying it won't do any good in the long run, just slow him down momentarily. And I personally think it's well past time that the Remnant and Dragons settled this war once and for all. We've proven time and again how well defended our strongholds are. Now I think it's time the Remnant got off the defensive and took the fight into their territory. This is what we've been preparing for our whole lives. All wars come to an end, and it's time this one saw some conclusion."
There were varied exclamations of agreement from all around the room. Suzuka nodded gently in approval and looked at Dawn Sword.
"OK, then. Here's what we're going to do. NightShade, how much power does ZX7 have left?"
NightShade was a somewhat darkish figure with deep purple eyes, long dark-blond hair, and somewhat rounded facial features that showed her to be an enthusiastic warrior with a flare for battle. Her outfit, a dark green shirt with black sleeves and black pants, was accented by the ninja sword she carried, which was presently sheathed and strapped to her waist.
"It's gone down another two percent since our last check on the power supply. It seems that the power failure is increasing it's rate." She replied.
"If we were to use all the power that's left to synthesize raw materials, then bring them up here and use them for Nova Cruisers, about how many cruisers do you think we could make and by when?"
"At my best estimate, I'd say more than 300 would be seriously pushing it. If we made 300, the cruisers might take two weeks to finish constructing, if we worked at it non-stop."
"Shoot for 320 cruisers, and get everyone you can on the project. Firestorm, Vapor, work with Jean and his crew to get the Outlaw Star retrofitted with everything we have to offer. If worse comes to worse and they have to defend themselves against DragonMage's fleets, I want them to have a fighting chance. Also, make sure to work with the crew to get them PWDs and whatever other weaponry they may require. Pretend like it's them verses DragonMage and his elite forces; give them everything they'd need to hopefully win the fight, even if you have to give them some of our experimental weaponry."
Firestorm and Vapor looked to be identical twins. Both had short dark-blue hair that fell just above their shoulders. Firestorm had glowing golden-red eyes and wore a gray jumpsuit with small leg and arm bracers designed to look like bright red flames. Vapor had a light-blue visor over her deep-black eyes and she also had a gliave strapped over her back with the blade to the ground.
"Um, don't you think that's going a little overboard?" Vapor inquired.
"Since Jean and his crew are DragonMage's targets at the moment, I want them treated as if they were members of the Outcast Legends just like all of us. Either we can keep the ship and Melfina from falling into DragonMage's hands, or we can kiss our universe goodbye. Work with them, train with them, and teach them what they'll need to know to help beat DragonMage. Also, it wouldn't hurt if we could construct a decoy of the Outlaw Star, in case we need to fake the Dragons out during a battle. Any questions?"
Jim raised his hand.
"Only one." Jim then inquired. "Why are you guys called the Outcast Legends?"
Dawn Sword smirked.
"Because 'X-Men' was already taken. Any other questions?"
"Yeah. Um, what level of security access will Jean's crew be allowed?" Backtrack inquired. He had particularly broad shoulders and carried as his weapon a long black-metal rod which was strapped to his left leg. He had strange green eyes that almost seemed transparent, and had brown hair cut short in the back but long in the front, the long strands of his bangs kept out of his eyes by a white headband. His outfit was mostly white with black trim, his shirt sleeveless so as to reveal his rippling muscles.
"Everything but reactor control and primary engineering, in which cases either myself or another member of the Outcast Legends would accompany them." Dawn Sword replied.
"I assume since they're our 'unofficial Outcast Legends', that they'd answer to you, right Dawn Sword?" NightShade inquired.
"Here's the way we're gonna work that. Jean's crew answers to Jean, and Jean answers to me. That OK with you, Jean?"
"Yeah, so long as you don't ask me to blow up my ship." Jean replied with a half-laugh.
"Any other questions?" Dawn Sword asked. There was a long moment of silence. "OK, then meeting adjourned."
As DragonMage walked silently down the halls of his asteroid fortress, he couldn't help but smirk. Everything Cerpa had told him was being verified. Once the Maiden was in his possession, there wouldn't be a thing the Remnant, not even the Outcast Legends, could do to stop him from attaining ultimate power. He made a fist and let sparks of electric energy flow through his clenched fingers. Yes, soon enough. Soon, his true destiny would be at last realized, his ultimate greatness made manifest. But first, trivialities must be dealt with, including getting Melfina and entering the leyline.
As he entered the large, empty docking bay, he immediately fixed his eyes on the golden-hulled ship before him. The El Dorado, as it were. There would be no need of guards on this occasion. He wanted to deal with this personally.
Suddenly, he was acutely aware of an energized bullet hurtling through the air at him, it's origin point from somewhere on his right, just past the nose of the El Dorado. DragonMage quickly vaporized the projectile with a single bolt of black electricity, then spun quickly to guard against volleys of super-speed punches and kicks with a neon-blue energy shield, causing the attacker to bounce harmlessly off the blue sphere with each attempt. Other bullets were quickly fired by the gunman hiding behind the El Dorado, but the primitive ammunitions simply bounced off the shield harmlessly. Deciding to put an end to this pointless conflict, DragonMage aimed his hands at the blurred assailant who continued to tirelessly barrage his shield with kicks and punches. The shield vanished instantly as waves of near-invisible power sent the ninja-like warrior flying backwards into the El Dorado, and the waves of power were still strong enough even at that point to send the El Dorado, with a monstrously loud sound, onto it's side.
"I must give you credit, gentlemen. Your attack was well thought out and prepared for. Any normal human would have been dead three or four times by now, but as you can see you have both broken the first rule of warfare: to know your opponent." He paused. "Fortunately for the both of you, I did not bring your ship into this docking bay simply for the sake of destroying you or it." He held his hands wide and non-threateningly. "I simply wish to talk."
"Then why the heck were we brought here against our will?" Ronald McDougal shouted in defiance, somehow seeming to have evaded the ship's falling on him. "You Kai Pirates aren't gonna get the best of the McDougal brothers with a couple of invisible grappler ships and a bunch of showy powers."
"Please, you misunderstand." DragonMage laughed. "We are not the Kai Pirates, and the only reason we had to bring you here is because you would never have come any other way. In fact, I have a proposition for you two gentlemen."
"You OK over there Harry?" Ron asked, obviously ignoring DragonMage's question. Harry groaned as he pulled himself out of the crater he'd made in the side of the El Dorado.
"Let's just say it's a good thing I can't feel pain, Ron." Harry responded as he got to his feet. "We're not interested in any propositions for somebody like you." He challenged to DragonMage.
"At least allow me to introduce myself. My name is DragonMage, leader of the Dragon collective forces. I have an offer for the two of you, an offer that will make you both very rich."
"Can it, 'Merlin'." Ron challenged. "I know when to trust my hunches and something tells me that with powers like those the only things you'd need our help for are suicide missions."
"On the contrary; I intend to guarantee your safety and well-being. Won't you at least hear me out?"
Ron hesitated a moment, then spoke.
"Alright, but don't move a muscle except your mouth." He said, gun still level.
"Very well. I was told by an associate of mine, an old member of Hazanka's Antean 7, that the two of you managed to break through the defenses of the galactic leyline. Well I myself am most interested in getting to the leyline and I'd be willing to pay handsomely for any services towards that goal which you'd be willing to provide."
"Forget it." Harry stated, standing in a battle position. "Last time we went there, we both almost lost our lives. Besides, once we get you into the leyline, how do we know you won't turn on us?"
"Gentlemen, I may be a Dragon, but I am not a monster." He assured. "True, I do seek the leyline's power for myself, but I value people like yourselves who gain true strength by enduring and surviving the worst. You have my word that no harm shall come to you."
"Not good enough." Ron stated.
"Then perhaps I know of something that is 'good enough'." He said, a small sphere-shaped device suddenly appearing in his hand. The sphere began to glow neon blue and with a flash a holographic image of Melfina, projected by the sphere, appeared several feet in front of him. "I am well aware that to access the innermost parts of the leyline requires this young girl, namely Melfina, Maiden of the Leyline. My old associate from the Antean 7 also told me that he observed that one of you had a particular fondness for her. If you help me, I will help you with Melfina."
"Scum!" Harry shouted. "How dare you talk about her like that!! I'd never force Melfina to help you."
"Force? No, let it never be so. She, like yourself, is an android given a free will, and it would be a shame to take that from her. What I suggest is merely that you attempt to convince her to help me. What I'm doing is for the good of my people; surely she can respect that." He deactivated the sphere and tossed it to Harry. "In the meantime, take this as a goodwill gift. If you wish, I can have maintenance workers begin repairs on your ship immediately. You're free to leave whenever you want."
DragonMage turned and began to slowly walk away.
"… Wait." Ron suddenly spoke up. DragonMage stopped his steps. "If you're on the level, maybe we'll be willing to help you, under certain conditions. First, though, I'm not gonna do anything unless my brother agrees to it." He turned and looked at Harry. "What'dyou thing, Harry?"
"… So long as he's not gonna hurt Melfina, I'd be willing to go along with it." Harry stated, then turned to DragonMage. "Just how much are you willing to pay?"
DragonMage smirked. It was time to play his trump card.
"How about enough Dragonite to buy a large planet, paid completely in advance, as well as access to weaponry and technology you probably never fathomed even in your wildest dreams? You pride yourselves on piloting the fastest ship ever, correct? I have technology that can boost your sub-ether drive to the same speed as your ether drive, and make your ether drive twice as fast as anything you've ever seen. I have access to weapons that can burn though a large asteroid in a single hit, and armor that bullets and lasers just bounce harmlessly off of. I am willing to give you whatever is in my power to give, in exchange for you assistance in this matter. What do you say?"
The technology that the crew of the Outlaw Star had been given by Dawn Sword was impressive, to say the least. Jean, determined to stick with his own weapons, had been given access to an assortment of various super-powerful shells, most compatible with his Caster gun. He took one at random in his hands as Vapor explained what the different shells did.
"The AZL-7 shells explode on contact; they're pretty much standard arsenal around here. Over there's the darts we use for memory erasing in the rare instances that somebody like Suzuka finds out about us, but you probably won't need any of those."
"How exactly do those work?" Jean inquired. "Just out of curiosity."
"Sends a special undetectable chemical into the blood stream. When that blood gets to the brain, it neutralizes the electrochemical signals that help store recent sensory input. So long as the effected person is hit within a few hours of the memories, all knowledge about the encounter is neutralized. If it takes longer than that to capture the person, special neural energy probes can be used to successfully nullify the memories. Eventually the memories are remembered in part, but not for years after and the person usually assumes them to be memories of a dream or such."
"Now that's interesting technology. Hey, what kind are these?" He said, looking into another crate.
"We like to call them freeze missiles." Firestorm stated. "The cartridge is actually a conductor. It shoots a beam of phase-warp energy that'll start transforming normal breathing air into solid ice at exactly five inches from the nozzle of your gun. Useful for capturing an opponent or at least neutralizing them as a threat, but most normal human beings can't survive the freezing process."
"As I remember," Vapor added. "DragonMage was hit dead-on by two of these at the same time and lived to tell about it."
"Yeah, we almost had him that time." Firestorm added, then proceeded to the next box of bullets, neatly arranged just like the others. "These are a personal favorite for most of the Remnant soldiers. They're trans-phasic bullets, and they pack one heck of a punch. Can instantly vaporize anything they hit through a half-second process of built-in sensors analyzing the electrical bonds of an object and then sending out a reverse pulse, causing the object to disassemble itself at the sub-atomic level. For instance, hit somebody who's unshielded with one of these, and in the blink of an eye all that'll be left is their clothes. Only downside is that because they're so powerful, it'll take at least ten minutes for any gun to recharge from firing one, so only use it when you're sure of a hit or you could cause a chain reaction that'll turn the surface of a planet to dust for a radius of half a mile and a depth of half a mile. It's also useful for neutralizing shield barriers."
Jean whistled in utter stunned surprise. 'Now that's what I call power.' He thought to himself. 'Might wanna carry a few of those with me in case of emergency.'
"Here's the AZL-11 bullets." Vapor explained to him. "They're another favorite with the soldiers. They fire decently quick and each packs the destructive power of an atomic bomb into a blast range the size of a model airplane. You don't even really have to have good aim, because any unshielded living thing within ten feet of the explosion will instantly get a lethal dose of radiation. Needless to say, they're best at long range."
"Now that's a useful bullet." Jean stated. "Got anything else?"
"A few more. Shockwave X-2s, Plasma bullets, and Homing 4-G7s. Pick and choose what you want." Vapor stated as Jean began picking and choosing his ammunition.
While Jean went shopping for shells, Aisha and Suzuka were busy getting in some serious training with the other Outlast Legends.
"Here's the way the Phantom Warp Device works." Dawn Sword stated as Suzuka and Aisha clipped on the belts and put on a pair of transparent visors. "You're already aware that these'll make you invisible. The visors, however, nullify the effects and let you see anyone who's using a PWD, so hold onto them. It's smart technology, to a point. It can register certain thought patterns that modify the shield, like for instance if you want to walk through a wall. Unless there's a shield in place or if the wall happens to be made of a compound like Terranite, which is what our bases and cruisers are primarily made of, you should find yourself able to walk through walls. One limitation that was designed in quickly after the devices became standard for both the Dragons and Remnant was a code-lock on letting you float through floors. Before the code-lock was in place, we occasionally had units who would be ducking from enemy fire one minute, and halfway to the core of a planet the next."
"So can we jump through ceilings?" Aisha inquired.
"Yeah, most of the time. But you can't pass through people because of the unique complex sub-atomic electro-static properties of more sophisticated living beings." Backtrack stated.
Aisha gave him a blank look as if to say 'what language are you speaking?'.
"Simply put, you can't walk through people." Dawn Sword explained. "But the PWD also had a weaponry defense mechanism that identifies incoming attacks and lets them harmlessly pass through you, so long as the other weapon doesn't have residual energy on it from a PWD, making bullet shots and special techniques invisible to the rest of the world."
"So can we try all of this out?" Suzuka inquired.
"Be my guest."
Suzuka and Aisha spent several hours each day training against the Outcast Legends, and both came to be considered respected, if not somewhat unorthodox, figures. Jean spent some time in the combat simulators testing out different shells in VR combat scenarios, but Suzuka and Aisha did most of the training. Suzuka quickly grew to an understanding of the powers of each Outcast Legend team member. Backtrack, blind from birth, had learned to compensate for his handicap by use of 'seeing' time fields. Amazingly, this allowed him to, to a certain degree, foresee his opponent's actions a few moments before they actually happened, making him the quickest and most evasive fighter Suzuka had ever seen in her life. He also had one or two special techniques he'd developed, but he preferred to use his speed and power instead whenever possible. Reaper, carrying a scythe, had acquired a large range of different special techniques, but was best known for two specific ones that he'd named Cosmic Fury and Solar Darkness. NightShade had the special ability to drain energy from an opponent's secret techniques through the use of her signature attack, dubbed Conversion Strike. The more energy she absorbed, the more powerful her other secret technique, Blade Storm, could become when she used it. Firestorm, a person with a hot temper and a flare for battle, was known for her Scatterfire attack which sent out a swarm of blazing energy darts at whosoever was unfortunate enough to get in her way. Vapor, from who's powers the PWD was first developed, could warp the electronic bonds in her body so that very few kinds of attack could hurt her, most passing straight through without doing damage. When in this state she became unable to move and invisible, but her mind could deactivate the technique, which was called Phantom Vapor, whenever she wished.
And then there was Dawn Sword, Suzuka's brother. The two quickly found out that they shared many of the same special techniques, and Suzuka was even able to teach him to use Crimson. Dawn Sword was quick on his feet and a strong fighter, much like Suzuka. His more unique special attacks consisted of a technique called ArchBlade, and he also knew the Blade Storm attack and was better at using it than NightShade, even if hers had the potential to do far more damage. Dawn Sword also had one unique power, and that was his sword. At a thought, the blade could be surrounded in electricity like a double-edged lightning rod, and what's more is that the metal was so strong that it had never chipped, broken, or even dulled for as long as Dawn Sword could remember. Neither, for that matter, was the metal it was made of known; it was a mystery to all the Outcast Legends and one that Dawn Sword had tried tirelessly to solve.
Suzuka did in fact remember the warrior her brother called Cameron being able to use intense electrical-based attacks, but the mysterious figure had barely even used his sword in that battle and had, in fact, grabbed Suzuka's sword and sent an electrical charge through it. Suzuka began to suspect that this Cameron person she'd fought hadn't really even been trying, and… as crazy as it sounded,… somehow orchestrated this entire chain of events that had now reunited Suzuka and her long-lost younger brother. He had gone by the alias Dawn Sword, which Suzuka's brother Collin also went under since becoming leader of the Outcast Legends. But how could anyone have known these things would happen as the result of just one battle long ago? The more Suzuka thought about it, the more 'Cameron' seemed to be behind her coming here.
Who was the mystery man who went by the names Cameron and Dawn Sword? And what was his secret?