Book 5: The Blaster Master

Chapter 1: The Blasting Begins


Blaster Master Universe

In a distant future, Earth falls into an ice age after countless wars and environmental disasters. Due to the ice age, the human race was forced to live underground. When the ice age came to an end, humanity began making methods they learned while living underground to restore the planet and the environment. During that time, a large, mysterious comet fell onto Earth, but that did not hinder their effort to restore the lost ecosystems, and humans were able to live on the Earth's surface once again.

But everything changed several hundred years later, as the meteor contained mutant cells that grew overtime and began infecting the underground ecosystems, causing the mutants to take over. And soon, they'll escape to the surface to begin their main invasion.

Gaius Cornell and his team from Xross Drive Rebellion are tasked to put an end to the mutant threat while locating the Gjallarhorn fragment hidden in this world.


Grand Nuage, Command Center

Daytime

A warp portal suddenly appeared on the cloudy sky, and out came a large airship known as the Grand Nuage; also known as the Guardian Base. The airship begins to descend and land on the grassy plains while the portal vanished.

"Kohaku, status report." Prairie requested.

"We've arrived at our destination, ma'am. We're on the Blaster Master version of Earth." Kohaku reported as she looked at her console monitor which showed large and vast grassy plains along with a few mountains.

"Good to see that the Dimensional Warp Drive is working properly. You have no idea how many checks we had to do to make sure the system works right." Copen commented.

"True that." Lola agreed from inside Copen's relic pendant.

"Hmm..." Aile pondered with her hand on her chin, glancing at the calm plains on the main monitor. "Seems pretty peaceful though. I'm surprised the mutants haven't thought of attacking the surface yet."

"Maybe they're building up their own forces before beginning the invasion." Vent guessed.

"Or maybe they're infecting the Earth from the inside." Gaius also guessed.

"The mutants can infect the planet?" Grey asked.

"I've seen plenty of movies to know the abilities of the mutants." Gaius replied. "Leave them alone for too long and it'll be too late to stop it."

"Is there any cure for mutant infections?" Joule asked from inside Gunvolt's relic pendant.

"Not that I know of." Gaius shook his head.

"So our best bet is to destroy that meteor while searching for the Gjallarhorn fragment." Ashe deduced. "We're gonna need a lot of heavy artillery to blow that rock to bits. Too bad Chris isn't here to help us since she's in Teyvat."

"Bronya-chan, what about your mech? Will its weapons be enough to destroy it?" Shirabe asked.

"The Bronya won't know the answer until trying it first." Bronya replied. "But the Bronya highly advise not to attack the meteor directly or it will alert the entire mutant population."

Shirabe gulped in response. "That would be very bad for all of us, including the people living in this Earth."

"Okay, so a frontal assault is out of the question." Vent noted. "Any other ideas?"

"There's only one way to destroy that meteor, obliterate it from the inside." Gaius answered.

"And how are we going to get inside the meteor?" Gunvolt asked.

"If I were to guess, it'll probably be in the underground ecosystem. There should be an entrance somewhere."

"If that's the case, then we'll have to send a small expedition team to explore the underground areas, while the rest of us will stay and guard the airship." Prairie deduced. "GV, Gaius, this is where you and your vehicles come in."

"GV, Joule. Lola and I will be your co-pilot for your Metal Attacker." Copen said.

"Got it." Gunvolt nodded.

"The Bronya will be Gaius' co-pilot for the Time Mazine." Bronya said. "The Bronya piloted vehicles and mechs before, so no need to worry about your vehicle being defenceless."

"I'll also go with Bronya-chan for additional assistance." Shirabe added.

"Thanks, girls. I'm counting on you." Gaius replied.

"Before we head for the hangar where the vehicles are, let's stop by the R&D Lab for a moment. Dr. Fleuve should be done with a newly added feature for our Zikan Phones." Copen informed to Gunvolt and Gaius.

"A new feature?" Gunvolt repeated.

"You'll find out when we get there. Trust me, you guys are gonna love it!" Lola replied.

"Oohh... Now you got me feeling excited as to what it is!" Joule replied back.

"Any other questions before beginning the mission?" Prairie asked.

"Just one from me." Kohaku raised her hand. "Is there any rules to this world such as weapon restrictions?"

"No restrictions needed this time. We're free to use any of our arsenals." Gaius answered.

"I guess this means you get to use your Legatus and X-Baton again?" Gunvolt asked.

"Oh hell yes." Gaius grinned, materializing said gears to his hands via his Zikan Phone. "Since there's no Fatui nor Abyss Order in this world, I can finally go all out. Man I missed using these things, especially the Legions."

"Good to see you feeling pumped." Ashe smiled. "Speaking of which, how's Teyvat?"

"It's breathtaking with so much fantasy and the different types of monsters and races. I even got to use more of my Wizard Ridewatch due to how useful it is." Gaius replied while holstering the X-Baton to the side of his hip and attached the Legatus to his wrist.

"It's because of magic, isn't it?" Aile guessed.

"Yep."

"Would be nice to go there, if it weren't for the Fatui considering how sneaky they are." Grey said. "None of us want our tech to be stolen or copied by them."

"I agree." Prairie replied. "I've already heard about the report from Genjuro and Theresa about Teyvat. At least the Anemo Gnosis is kept safe far away from the Fatui and the Abyss Order. Also, I'm happy for Lumine that she got to reunite with her twin brother Aether after they've been separated for so long, and even gained more honorary members for the Rebellion in the process."

"Yeah." Gunvolt nodded. "According to Aether, he and his familiar, Paimon, were searching for Lumine for two months."

"Two months?!" The Mega Men, Copen, Lola and Shirabe exclaimed.

"Yup. That really caught us off guard." Joule confirmed.

"At least they're reunited safely." Reiko remarked. "So all that's left now is to get their powers back, right?"

"Mhm." Gaius nodded. "They need to visit the other nations of Teyvat and gain blessings from each nation's Statue of the Seven. It might be the only clue they have to get their powers back. So far, they have the Anemo element, which is Wind. It won't be long till they obtain the Geo element."

"Geo?" Grey repeated.

"He means the Earth element." Bronya clarified.

"Ah, okay."

"Right then, you'd better get going." Prairie said to Gaius' team. "And don't forget to visit the R&D Lab that Copen mentioned for the Zikan Phone's new feature." She then swiped her arm forward. "Now move out!"

"Yes, ma'am!" The group saluted before leaving the command center.


Guardian Base, R&D Lab

"Ah, good. You're all here." Dr. Fleuve greeted the arrivals. "I assume Copen told you about the Zikan Phones having a new feature?"

"Yup, he did." Gaius confirmed as he and Gunvolt nodded. "So what's the new feature, doc?"

"One moment. I'm uploading the data to your phones now." Dr. Fleuve replied, taking out his Zikan Phone and began the uploads after pushing a few buttons. Moments later, Gaius and Gunvolt's phones began to ring, prompting them to look at what was uploaded. "May I present to you the ability to summon wormholes. Just use the Zikan Phone's Blaster Mode, set the 'Wormhole' feature, fire the phone and there you go! Instant wormhole."

"Oooh..." Gaius and Gunvolt said with awe.

"If you're wondering how this amazing feature is made, you can thank Copen for donating a piece of the Wormhole Septima." Dr. Fleuve informed. "Speaking of which... Copen, Shirabe, Bronya, a demonstration please?"

The three nodded as they took out their Zikan Phones, changed them to Blaster Modes, set the wormhole feature with a few button presses, aimed behind them and fired a shot that transformed into blue wormholes in front of them. Once the three entered their respective wormholes, they vanished before three wormholes appeared beside the doctor as the three casually walked out of the wormholes before they vanished behind them.

"Amazing..." Joule remarked with awe.

"Told ya you'd like it." Lola smiled.

"Whoa... that is so damn useful, especially involving dungeons." Gaius remarked. "No more backtracking to the entrance."

"Wait, when did you three have that feature installed?" Gunvolt asked.

"Just yesterday." Shirabe replied. "Keep in mind that there's a distance limit with the wormhole summoning."

"For example, you cannot use it to warp from Japan to England or any other country." Bronya stated.

"Ah, okay." Gunvolt nodded.

"I'm only gonna give this feature to a select few." Copen stated. "If they want this feature, all they have to do is ask me and I'll make that feature for them. Though I'm definitely uploading the feature to Zeo and Akira's phones after their mission in Liyue."

"Got it." Gaius noted before turning to Dr. Fleuve. "Thanks for the feature, doc. This will greatly help."

"Hehe, you're welcome, Gaius." Dr. Fleuve smiled. "Now run along, everyone. You have a mission to complete."

"Yes, sir. Wish us luck!" Gunvolt replied as the group saluted before heading out.


Guardian Base, Hangar Bay

"Ah, there you guys are!" Silure the mechanic greeted the arrivals. "Your vehicles are prepped up and ready to go."

"Thanks for the tune-up as always, Silure." Gaius replied before the group approached the vehicles. "Been a while since I've drove the Time Mazine."

"Though this will be my first time using the MA in a mission." Gunvolt commented, staring at his own Metal Attacker tank with a blue, black and yellow color scheme. "At least it's better than walking."

"The other reason I'm going with GV is to obtain data on the MA. Once I have enough, we'll be able to make our own MAs." Copen said.

"Anyway, time to suit up." Gaius declared as he took out his Ziku Driver and Geiz Ridewatch while Gunvolt and Copen took out their Zikan Phones and used them to quickly change into their battlesuits.

"So are we going to use the Faust Robes this time?" Joule asked.

"Only for emergencies, Joule. Our current arsenal will be enough." Gunvolt answered.

"Got it."

For Bronya, she used her Zikan Phone to change into a different battlesuit that's sleeveless with a gold yellow and black color scheme along with wearing an armband on her right, a short glove on her left and a slightly longer glove on her right, short panties, a pair of shoes with leggings that has additional grey highlights, and her twintail drills being held by butterfly-shaped ribbons.

"Well this is new." Lola commented, glancing at Bronya's suit. "What kind of battlesuit is that?"

"Yamabuki Armour." Bronya answered. "Specializes in long-range combat and can deploy forcefields. Tesla prepared this battlesuit for the Bronya a few days ago."

"Interesting, especially the forcefield deployment." Copen mused.

"If you ever need defence, let the Bronya know and the Bronya will order Bunny to deploy a forcefield for you."

"We'll keep that in mind." Copen replied as he and the others nodded.

Shirabe pulled out her injection gun with the LiNKER drug inside and injected her arm with it before putting it away. Afterwards, she prepared her relic pendant and began her relic chant, while Gaius began his transformation sequence.

"Various Shul Shagana Tron..."

=ZIKU DRIVER!=

=GEIZ!=

"Henshin!"

=RIDER TIME!=

=KAMEN RIDER GEIZ!=

A few moments later, Shirabe donned her Symphogear while Gaius became Kamen Rider Geiz.

"Shirabe, what was that drug you used earlier?" Bronya asked after noticing Shirabe using it earlier.

"It's LiNKER, a drug that allows me to be fully compatible with my relic, which should stabilise my body when using my Gear." Shirabe explained. "If I don't inject myself with it when I use my Gear, then my body will suffer horrible backlash once I'm out of my Gear. I have to use the drug everytime if I want to fight."

"Hmm... It must be time consuming to make more of that drug." Bronya noted.

"Mhm." Shirabe nodded.

"I wonder if it's possible to make LiNKER in a stigmata form? That way, we won't have to make more of that drug to save time and resources." Geiz pondered.

"A LiNKER?/In a stigmata form?" Shirabe and Bronya responded.

"Remember that artificial stigmata Himeko used to have in order to fight the Honkai? Maybe we can make one fused with LiNKER, but without the decreasing lifespan side effect. That way, Shirabe can use her Symphogear without needing the drug because the stigmata will do it instead. It's like having a magical transparent tattoo on your back."

"A LiNKER stigmata, huh..." Copen repeated. "Maybe I should ask Einstein, Elfnein and Tesla about this idea later on for an approval."

"Could be a good idea, though." Lola said. "Maria, Kirika and Shirabe are the ones who needed LiNKER to use their Symphogears to prevent any backlash afterwards."

"Let's think about that after the mission." Gunvolt said, earning a nod from the group.

"Ah, there you are!" Said the arriving Dr. Fleuve, earning their attention. "Phew... made it in time before you left."

"Dr. Fleuve? What are you doing here?" Joule asked.

"I forgot to give something important to Gunvolt." Dr. Fleuve answered, pulling out his Zikan Phone. "Could you prepare your Zikan Phone for a moment?"

"Okay." Gunvolt complied, taking out his phone, prompting the doctor to upload something to Gunvolt's phone after a few button presses. "What did you just uploaded to my phone?"

"The ability to link your phone with your Metal Attacker, allowing you to call it when you're far away from it, just like how Zi-O and Geiz did with their Time Mazines. That way, you won't have to backtrack to your MA because it will go to you instead."

"Ah, that's pretty useful. So it's basically like holding a digital car key." Gunvolt mused. "Thanks, doc."

"Anytime, my boy." Dr. Fleuve smiled. "Well, you all better get going now. I won't hold you back any longer."

"Moving out now." Geiz replied as he and Gunvolt used their phones to open the cockpit of their respective vehicles. Gunvolt and Copen boarded the MA while Geiz, Shirabe and Bronya boarded the Time Mazine before closing the cockpits.

"Opening the doors now!" Silure shouted, opening the hangar doors with a few button presses on the door controls.


Inside Gunvolt's MA, Gunvolt and Copen (who's sitting on the back seat) began pushing several buttons to start up the vehicle. "Systems all green, weapons and navigations online, engine's active, we're all set to go." Copen informed.

"Roger." Gunvolt nodded before opening the MA's video call to Geiz's vehicle. "All set on your end, Geiz?"

"Ret-2-Go, GV!" Geiz replied with a thumbs up with Shirabe on his right and Bronya on his left. "Say, before we head out, ever thought of giving your MA a name?"

"A name?" Gunvolt raised an eyebrow.

"Well, yeah. Something that represents you to differentiate from the other MAs."

"That actually sounds like a good idea." Joule agreed. "What do you think, GV?"

"Hmm..." Gunvolt pondered with a hand on his chin for a moment, until he found an answer with a finger snap. "Okay, I got one. How does Rairyu sound?"

"Rairyu, huh?" Geiz repeated. "Meaning 'lightning dragon'... oh that name will definitely work for you."

"I agree." Shirabe nodded. "Rairyu sounds like a really cool name."

"Copen, what are your thoughts of the name?" Bronya asked.

"Well I usually let Lola name my Ex-Weapons from the defeated Adepts, including GV." Copen answered. "No offence, by the way."

"None taken." Gunvolt replied.

"Honestly, the name suits him well."

"Not to mention amazing!" Lola added.

"I agree with both of them!" Joule agreed.

"Then it's decided. Rairyu it is." Gunvolt declared with a smile. "By the way, did you ever give your Time Mazine a name, Geiz?"

"Not really." Geiz replied. "If I do wanna give it a name... maybe Time Mazine Type Geiz?"

"That sounds too basic." Bronya remarked bluntly.

"I know, but what can you do." Geiz answered with a shrug. "Okay, enough waiting. Let's move out!" He declared before ending the call.

The vehicles began revving up their engines with the MA's mufflers briefly igniting flames. And with the accelerators pressed, the vehicles quickly took off into the grassy plains before the hangar doors closed.


Several minutes have passed as the vehicles traversed through the large grassy landscape, hoping to find an entrance to the underground areas. Eventually though, they stumbled upon a large open cave that's enough to fit through the vehicles. They went inside until they arrived at some kind of large elevator that's closed with a control console on the right. "An elevator... This must be the way to the underground areas." Geiz said. "Anybody wanna come out and see if it still works?"

"The Bronya will do it." Bronya volunteered.

"Okay then, all yours." Geiz replied, opening the cockpit as Bronya got out of the vehicle, approached the console and began pushing a few buttons to start up the elevator.

"I'd better notify Prairie about this elevator, that way, the Guardian Base can move to this location." Gunvolt said.

"Good idea. That will save us time with no backtracking needed." Copen replied.

"Prairie, this is GV." Gunvolt began contact using the MA comms line. "We've detected a large cave with some kind of elevator inside that should lead us to the underground areas."

"Good work." Prairie replied. "Can the elevator still function?"

"Bronya's fixing it at the moment. In the meantime, could you move the airship to this location? That way, it will save us time without any backtracking."

"Request granted. Deploy a Trans Beacon on your location so the Grand Nuage will know where to go."

"Got it."

"GV, mind if I deploy the beacon?" Shirabe requested.

"Go for it." Gunvolt approved, prompting Shirabe to disembark the vehicle, materialized the Trans Beacon device with her Zikan Phone, and activated the beacon with a few button presses as it began to float above her with a green light being lit.

"Trans Beacon deployment confirmed." Prairie informed. "We'll be there in a few minutes. In the meantime, once the elevator is active, begin descending to the underground areas. No need to wait for us."

"Understood. GV out." Gunvolt replied and ended the call, just in time for Bronya to finish activating the elevator as the doors began lighting up in green before it opened.

"Elevator is now active." Bronya informed.

"Good work, now head back inside the Time Mazine. We're going in." Geiz replied, earning a nod from Bronya and Shirabe as they boarded the Time Mazine before the cockpit closed. Afterwards, the vehicles drove inside and turned around before the elevator doors closed and begun its descent.


Sector 1: Forest Area

(Play BGM: The Underground Adventure Begins (Area 1) from Blaster Master Zero OST)

Once the elevator reached its destination, the doors opened up, the vehicles revved up their engines once more and quickly drove off into the sector before the doors closed. "This is it. The forest area from my dream." Gunvolt said.

"I still can't believe the humans on this Earth managed to build something like this during the ice age. Amazing..." Copen remarked with awe.

"Looks like the preservation system is still functioning, even though there's no humans around." Lola said.

"What were those mutants planning if they chose to leave the system active?" Joule pondered.

"Maybe to spread the mutant infection properly." Geiz guessed. "Whatever the case, let's keep moving. Maybe we'll find what our objectives are somewhere down the line, besides finding the Gjallarhorn fragment of course."

"A map would be very useful in this situation. Perhaps we should search for that first." Bronya suggested.

"Good idea. Well then, time to go map hunting." Geiz replied before the vehicles resumed moving, exploring the forest area.

Eventually though, they encountered mutants, some of them with large claws and can jump like a grasshopper, some that can cling onto walls, and some that are airborne and fire projectiles. Fortunately though, they were no match for the MA and the Time Mazine as they were destroyed with the former firing Warhead Missiles and the latter firing spreader missiles. Afterwards, they found a large tree trunk with an entrance, but were attacked by ceiling turrets and more wall clinging mutants upon entry. But they managed to pull through with no problems and destroyed them with the MA's tank cannon and the Time Mazine's beam vulcans.

Once they got out of the tree trunk, they saw something unexpected. A recharge terminal with a Metal Attacker parked right onto it. It had a red and grey color scheme with white rims on the four wheels, a cannon, a pair of headlights, green cockpit windows, and a red and white spoiler on the back along with a pair of mufflers. "That's the MA I saw from the image Theresa and Genjuro showed last time!" Geiz said in shock.

"But what was the MA parked on? It looked like some kind of terminal." Shirabe observed.

"Whatever the case, it looks like we're not the only ones exploring the underground areas." Copen deduced.

"Then where's the driver?" Lola asked.

"If I were to guess, the driver's exploring the dungeon on foot since the MA is too big to fit through." Gunvolt guessed.

"What's our next course of action?" Bronya asked.

"Hmm... let's wait for the driver to come back. Maybe form an alliance, if possible." Geiz replied.

"Alright then. I hope the driver's friendly." Joule replied back, until she heard something. "Wait. Someone's coming from below, and it sounds like ladder climbing."

"Must be the driver of this MA." Gunvolt deduced. "So how are we gonna start this conversation?"

"Let the driver make the first move and see what happens." Geiz replied as they looked at the ladder leading downwards.

Eventually, they saw someone climbing out of the ladder and landing on solid ground. It looked like a soldier with a red and black color scheme; a red and black helmet with a light green visor; some kind of white and black open short metal jacket with a light blue hexagon on the left side; a pair of red and black metal fingerless gloves; a pair of white, black and red metal boots; and also wielding some kind of white and black blaster rifle with blue highlights.

"Whoa... check out that guy. And look at that rifle. That looks cool." Lola commented as the group stared at the soldier who was approaching the red MA.

But then the soldier stopped and noticed the MA and another vehicle that's never been seen before. "What in the world?" The soldier thought before looking at the MA. "That battletank... it looks like the SOPHIA III, but in a different color." The soldier then turned to the other vehicle. "And what's this thing? It looks more like some kind of large hoverbike... Hm?" The soldier's helmet started ringing, prompting the soldier to tap a small button on the side of the helmet. "The suit's Receiver is detecting something. Wait... there's people inside those vehicles? Are they also exploring the underground areas? Hmm... maybe I should converse with them. Hope they're friendly and know something about what's going on." The soldier then approached the vehicles and began speaking in a man's voice. "Excuse me! Drivers of the battletank and that... hoverbike? Could you please respond? I come in peace."


"It seems that the soldier is starting a conversation with us. How should we proceed next?" Bronya asked the Rider.

"Simple. We answer his call. It would be rude not to." Geiz replied before answering the soldier using the vehicle's speakers. "We read you loud and clear! Could you give us your name and occupation?"

"Jason. Jason Frudnick, a scientist specializing in robotics engineering." The soldier answered. "And who are you guys?"

"Gaius Cornell, pilot of the red and yellow Time Mazine. I'm with my co-pilots, Bronya Zaychik and Shirabe Tsukuyomi. As for that blue Metal Attacker, or MA for short, the pilot is Gunvolt, while his co-pilot is Copen Kamizono."


"Those names... they sound human... Also, Metal Attacker? Is that the name of the battletank that's similar to SOPHIA III? Hmm... I think it's safe for me to trust them since they're not hostile." Jason thought before speaking to the pilots. "Do you know what's going on with this area? This place is crawling with hostile creatures that are attacking me." He turned to the red MA. "Good thing this tank, the SOPHIA III, allowed me to fight against those creatures. It even comes with a battlesuit with a weapon called the Blaster Rifle for on-foot combat."

"I see." Geiz replied. "Tell you what, give us a moment to get out of our vehicles so we can meet in person. Good thing there's no mutants lurking around our current location."

"Understood. I've already cleared the area beforehand." Jason nodded before the vehicles opened their cockpits, allowing the group to disembark their vehicles and approached him. Jason was shocked that there's other people driving the vehicles, and even more shocked that there's two girls with the guy in a red, black and yellow battlesuit. "So this is what you guys look like. My suit's Receiver detected life-signs on your vehicles confirming that there's humans inside, but I've never expected some of them to be young, and also with girls."

"Seeing is believing, Jason-san. I'm Shirabe Tsukuyomi, nice to meet you." Shirabe bowed before gesturing to the others. "And this is Bronya Zaychik, Gaius Cornell, Gunvolt, and Copen Kamizono."

"You can call me GV if you want." Gunvolt added.

"And you can call me Geiz when I'm in this armor, by the way." Geiz also added.

"I see. Nice to meet you." Jason nodded. "So then, do you guys know what's going on?"

"The underground areas has been taken over by mutants." Gunvolt replied. "Do you remember about a meteor crashing into Earth?"

"A meteor..." Jason repeated with his hand on his bottom helmet. "Yeah, I remember. You know something about it?"

"Well apparently it contained mutant cells." Copen explained. "The humans ignored the meteor for a long time, allowing the mutant cells inside it to grow. And when the humans left the underground areas to live on the surface again, the mutants took their chance to take over the underground areas and using the mutant cells to infect the areas. And eventually, they'll begin their invasion on the surface."

"What?!" Jason exclaimed. "Is that why this area is crawling with mutants?!"

"Not just this area, but the other areas as well." Bronya stated. "And it will continue to spread unless the meteor is destroyed."

"We can't destroy the meteor from the outside because it will alert the entire mutant population to attack us, which will also cause the invasion of the surface world to begin early, and we can't have that." Geiz added.

"So our best option is to destroy the meteor from the inside, and the only way to enter the meteor is in the underground areas." Shirabe also added.

"I see..." Jason noted. "How do you know so much about these mutants?"

"Let's just say... I've done plenty of research about them." Geiz answered. "Too bad there's no info for a cure on the mutant infection."

"Hmm... at least I get the picture as to why there's mutants spawning around the areas when I first arrived here." Jason noted.

"What were you doing before arriving in the underground area?" Gunvolt asked.

"Well it all started when I found a small mysterious creature hiding in a small hole." Jason explained. "I took it back to my lab to observe it while giving it the name, 'Fred'. However, he managed to escape some time later so I quickly gave chase. And suddenly, there was some kind of mysterious hole in front of Fred that appeared out of nowhere. When he jumped right into the hole, I quickly went after him. When I got out of the hole, I was in some kind of underground cave. And what I discovered inside the cave was not Fred..." He looked at the red MA. "...it was this battletank; SOPHIA III. When I approached the tank, the cockpit opened up, revealing the battlesuit you're looking at right now inside of the tank, along with the weapon I'm currently wielding; the Blaster Rifle. From there, I began wearing the suit and drove the tank to begin my mission to bring Fred back." He then looked back at the group. "But... after hearing your explanation, looks like I've got another important objective in mind. If that's the case..." He offered a handshake. "Is it alright if we work together while also helping me find Fred?"

"Well, we're gonna need all the help we can get to stop the mutants from infecting the Earth, and we'll also help you find your missing creature." Geiz replied before shaking Jason's hand with a smile. "You've got yourself a deal. Welcome to the team, Jason Frudnick."

"Thanks, I'm looking forward to working with you guys." Jason smiled as the others shared the same feeling before releasing the handshake. "So, what's our next move?"

"We're going to look for some kind of map data for this area to get a better understanding of the layout." Bronya replied.

"The map data?" Jason repeated. "That's what I found earlier inside a small domain when I climbed down the ladder. I was going to head back to the tank to upload the data onto it to get a better look of the area."

"Then go right ahead." Geiz replied. "In the meantime, we're gonna head back to our vehicles to set up comm links with your MA so you can share the map data with us."

"Good idea."

"Ah, one more thing. You're gonna need a co-pilot to help you take care of your MA. Shirabe, can you go with Jason?"

"Understood." Shirabe nodded before turning to Jason. "You don't mind, right?"

"No problem." Jason replied. "At least my MA will be protected by someone. Can you drive it though?"

"No, but I can be your navigator. And I can fight with my saw-blades."

"What saw-blades?" Jason questioned, until he got his answer in surprise when Shirabe briefly showed saw-blades from her skirt and metallic twintails. "Ohh... those saw-blades... What kind of battlesuit you're wearing?"

"A Symphogear. It's a long story."

"I... see..." Jason replied with a raised eyebrow before the group went back into their respective vehicles.

Once inside, Gunvolt and Geiz quickly established their comm links with Jason's MA while Jason began downloading the map data to his MA's navigation systems before copying the data and sending them to their vehicles. The map data was then revealed on their navigation screens, showing 3 images of monster faces with one of them having a blinking blue dot over it.


"So, what do you guys think?" Jason asked the group via comm link.

"Hmm... the ones that showed monster images must be the ones in charge of this area." Geiz remarked. "If we can take them down, then this area will be liberated from the mutants."

"Since there's three of them, should we split up and take down those respective targets?" Gunvolt suggested.

"Might be a good idea since we'll be able to cover more ground." Jason replied before looking at the one with the blue dot on the bottom right of the map. "But that one with the blue dot... let me handle that one. I think Fred might be there."

"Go ahead, Jason." Geiz approved. "We'll regroup back at the terminal once we're done with our targets."

"You mean the terminal that recharged my MA? Got it, see you guys in a bit." Jason replied before ending the comms. "Ready to go, Shirabe?"

"I'm all set, Jason-san." Shirabe nodded, sitting on the back seat.

"Then let's move out!" Jason declared before hitting the accelerator and moved his MA to his target while Geiz and Gunvolt drove to their targets in different locations.


"Okay, first target is hiding down here." Geiz said as he and Bronya saw a water pit in front of them.

"Is the Time Mazine waterproof?" Bronya asked.

"It should be. And it already has a dive module for underwater explorations, so movement isn't an issue."

"Very well."

"Here goes..." Geiz drove the vehicle into the water and dived deeper inside, clearing out hostile jellyfish and mutated prawns including its hive, until reaching a hole that's enough to fit through a person, but not a vehicle. "Guess we'll have to get out of the vehicle and swim. The domain should be inside that hole though."

"Then allow the Bronya to handle this one." Bronya volunteered, materializing a dive helmet on her head with her Zikan Phone. "Einstein provided a dive helmet in case of underwater missions."

"Huh, how convenient." Geiz commented. "Okay, I'll stay here to keep track on your progress. Good luck out there, Bronya."

"Mm." Bronya nodded before disembarking the Time Mazine from the back and swam into the hole with her cloaked guardian mech Bunny following close behind. Good thing the Time Mazine has a drainage system to prevent inside flooding. She eventually found the entrance to the domain, but was guarded by more mutated prawns and its hive. In response, Bunny fired torpedoes from its arm cannon at the prawns and hive that destroyed them upon impact. Once done, Bronya swam into the entrance, landing on a shore which prompted her to disperse her dive helmet back into her phone.

(BGM End)


(Play BGM: Fire the Blaster Rifle (Underworld 1) from Blaster Master Zero OST)

"The Bronya has entered the domain." Bronya voice contacted Geiz using her Zikan Phone.

"Okay." Geiz acknowledged. "Now go find the mutant in charge of the domain and exterminate it. Don't forget to use the Zikan Phone's wormhole function to warp back to the Time Mazine when you're done."

"Roger." Bronya replied, ending the call and putting away the phone as Bunny appeared behind her and carried her by the hand. "Beginning mission." They moved forward as they encountered one-eyed mutants that fire projectiles and attack drones, but they were quickly destroyed by Bunny's missiles.

In the next room has lots of rocks, spikes and more mutants, but Bronya has no trouble traversing through the room as one laser cannon fired from Bunny is enough to destroy the boulders and mutants with ease while moving towards the next room without touching the spikes.

In the next room, she found some kind of glowing recharge platform on the center along with the entrance of the next room. "Hm?" Bronya looked at Bunny who was beeping on its optics. "Noted." She nodded before looking at the room up ahead. "The target is located in the next room. Moving out." She and Bunny approached the platform to recharge ammo and energy before heading inside the next room.

Once inside though, the door closed behind them. "The enemy knows we're here." Bronya stated before pulling out her new arsenal given my Copen a few days ago, another X-Baton. "Beginning extermination." She declared while changing the baton to Blaster Mode before she and Bunny prepared themselves for the assault.

=WARNING=

THE LAIR OF

THOUSAND VIOS

Two light brown floating mutated heads with one eye open and their heads exposing brains quickly approached Bronya and Bunny with hostility, but were quickly destroyed by a charge shot from Bronya and missile fire from Bunny. Then a silver variant of the mutated heads appeared and approached them, but was quickly destroyed as well. More and more mutated heads, both in light brown and silver, appeared around Bronya and Bunny, so they had to go all out by unleashing missiles, lasers and charge shots, until there were only two left. In response, Bronya hopped off Bunny's hand and commanded it to crush them with its fists. A one-two punch, followed by a haymaker, is enough to destroy the last two mutated heads, leaving the room empty. Bunny scanned the area for any more hostiles, before shaking its head in confirmation, making Bronya nod before holstering her X-Baton.

(BGM End)

"Extermination complete." Bronya concluded, before a blue data chip appeared in front of her, prompting her to grab it. While she's looking at the chip, she took out her Zikan Phone again and began contacting Geiz. "Enemy has been neutralized and the Bronya found a data chip afterwards."

"A data chip?" Geiz repeated. "What is it?"

"Beginning examination." Bronya used her phone to examine the chip before its information is displayed in a holo-screen.

THUNDER BREAKER:

A sub-weapon that shoots lightning directly beneath SOPHIA. Effectiveness is increased when submerged underwater.

"A sub-weapon for the MA, particularly for Jason's SOPHIA III." Bronya informed.

"I see. So that data chip might be the key to unlocking his MA's hidden features. I wonder if it could do the same for GV's Rairyu? Whatever the case, you may return back to the Time Mazine so we can head back to the recharge terminal and wait for the others."

"Understood. Leaving the domain now." Bronya ended the call and dispersed the holo-screen, placed the chip into her pocket, set the phone to Blaster Mode with the wormhole function active, aimed at the front and fired a shot that turned into a wormhole before she and Bunny moved inside which will lead them back to the Time Mazine.


Meanwhile, the Rairyu and SOPHIA III drove towards the same path which will lead them to their targets while clearing out more mutants with some of them looking like bees along with its hive. Eventually they reached a fork on the road where their targets are located. "Looks like this is where we split up since our targets are placed in different locations." Gunvolt said.

"Yeah. And the one with the blue blinking dot is deep underwater." Jason replied. "I just hope the MA can do well underwater."

"I've already took a quick look at the specs of your MA, Jason-san. It seems that it can still use its weapons while underwater, but movement will be hindered unless the dive module is installed. It can still jump while underwater though." Shirabe informed.

"Well, at least it's not completely helpless."

"Okay, GV and I will take the target lurking at the top. We'll regroup back at the recharge terminal once we're both done with our targets." Copen said.

"Roger. See you guys in a bit." Jason replied before driving SOPHIA III into the water while Rairyu drove to the upper path, jumping on platforms as it goes.

Rairyu continued to traverse through the upper path while clearing out more mutants along the way, until it reached a small domain after jumping down a hole. "This is the place." Gunvolt said.

"I'll stay here and keep an eye on your MA along with keeping close contact with you while you're inside." Copen replied.

"Remember to let us know when your done and to use that newly acquired wormhole function to warp straight back to the MA." Lola added.

"Got it." Gunvolt replied as the cockpit opened up, allowing him to disembark the MA.

"Wish us luck, guys!" Joule said as Gunvolt entered the domain while the cockpit closed up.


Once Gunvolt entered the domain, he encountered mutants with one-eyes that fired projectiles, mutants with floating heads, and one-eyed walker mutants that fired spinning arrow projectiles. But they were no match for the Azure Striker as he tagged them with his Dart Leader before unleashing his lightning bolts onto the tagged targets, destroying them upon impact. "Okay, did not encounter these kinds of mutants in my dream yet." Gunvolt commented. "Man they look disgusting."

"Eww... I agree." Joule shuddered. "Let's just take down our target and get out of here ASAP."

"Already on it, Joule." Gunvolt replied before moving on.

Eventually he saw a glowing platform in front of him in a room, along with the entrance to the next room right behind it. "Hm, what's this thing?" Gunvolt pondered before stepping on the platform as he felt his energy recharged. "I see, this must be a recharge platform. Pretty convenient."

"GV, I'm sensing huge energy readings coming from the next room. Looks like the mutant in charge is waiting right there." Joule informed.

"Then let's not keep it waiting." Gunvolt replied before heading inside.

Once inside, he saw several open holes around the room before the doors closed behind him and a green capsule shaped drone with a cyan eye and grey caps quickly rushed towards him, prompting him to evade by jumped to the left. "So this is how you wanna play, huh? Alright then..." He energized his free hand. "Bring it on!"

=WARNING=

THE LAIR OF

=DRAP TRAPPERS=

(Play BGM: Encounter (Boss 1) from Blaster Master Zero OST)

The green drone moved out from one of the holes, deploying bombs in its path before moving into another hole. "Deploying bombs, huh? Better not get close to them." Gunvolt observed while staying away from the bombs.

"GV! Enemy drone appearing from the hole behind you!" Joule warned, prompting Gunvolt to turn around and saw another capsule drone, but in orange color with an orange eye. He quickly jumped away from its path while it also deployed bombs before moving towards another hole.

"Okay, did not not know there's two of those drones." Gunvolt noted while catching his breath.

"...Actually, make that three, because another one is coming out from the side!"

Gunvolt's eyes widen in shock before jumping away in time from the rushing third drone in a purple color with a pink eye and dark red caps on its side which also dropped bombs, but stopped at the middle of the room. "No hiding this time!" He quickly launched a Dragonsphere from his free hand towards the capsule, damaging and paralyzing the drone upon contact. "Not done yet!" He summoned his Luxcalibur from his hand and plunged it right onto the drone, causing it to explode into numerous pieces which were scattered onto the placed bombs, causing them to explode upon contact. Luckily, Gunvolt was far away from the bombs. "One down, two to go. Time to counterattack."

"So you're gonna wait for them to come out and chase after them while avoiding the deployed bombs?"

"Actually, I've got a better idea." Gunvolt replied, holstering his Dart Leader and holding the Luxcalibur with both hands before closing his eyes without moving an inch, letting his ears do the work. "(Listen for movement, wait for the opportunity to strike...)" He whispered, awaiting the sound of movement. The green drone quickly rushed towards Gunvolt from the back hole, and when he heard the drone quickly approaching him, he quickly opened his eyes, turned towards the direction of the sound and plunged the Luxcalibur right onto the drone before it could reach him. "Burst!" He then detonated the Luxcalibur into an electrical explosion that destroyed the drone in one blow.

"Good going, GV! Only one drone remaining!"

"And I know exactly how I'm gonna take it down." Gunvolt replied before generating his Septima on his hands with his eyes closed. "Oversurge... Azure Striker..." He thought while letting his ears to detect any movement coming from the hole. The orange drone appeared from the side hole and quickly rushed towards Gunvolt, and when it got close... "Astrasphere!" Gunvolt unleashed a large electrical sphere around himself that electrocuted the drone as three more electrical sphere appeared around the larger sphere, circling around it while damaging the drone upon contact until it took too much damage and exploded. Once done, Gunvolt dispersed the sphere and catching his breath. "Joule... any more enemies to worry about?"

"Hold on a sec..." Joule replied, using her energy sense to detect anymore enemies around the area. "Nope, that's it. We're all clear."

(BGM End)

"Oh good." Gunvolt sighed with relief. "Then that's it for this domain. Good thing those training sessions with Hibiki and Fu Hua are worth the effort."

"Not to mention Hibiki showing us that one anime when the protagonist was able to use his skill by thought instead of saying it out loud. I have to admit, that was really cool. No wonder you're able to use your Astrasphere without saying a word."

"Yeah." Gunvolt nodded. "It also keeps the enemy guessing, making it harder for them to figure out what skill the hero is using against them. Gotta admit, that was pretty clever." Suddenly, a yellow data chip appeared in front of Gunvolt, prompting him to grab it and see what it is. "A data chip? When did this show up?"

"I think it's because you've defeated the mutant guarding the domain. Care to see what's on the chip?"

"Let's find out." Gunvolt replied, taking out his Zikan Phone and used it to examine the orange chip before information on it appeared on the holo-screen.

IGNITION BOMB:

A sub-weapon that can deploy bombs and can be detonated with a pull of a trigger.

"Ignition Bomb, huh? This could be useful." Gunvolt remarked.

"Could that chip be used with the MA?"

"I don't think so, but maybe Jason might have some use of it with that suit of his." Gunvolt replied while putting the chip into his pocket. He dispersed the holo-screen began voice contacting Copen. "Ix, this is GV, I've taken out the guardian in charge of the domain and I found a chip after the battle; the Ignition Bomb."

"Good work." Copen replied. "Can the chip be installed to your MA?"

"No, but maybe for Jason with his suit. Anyway, I'm heading back to the MA now."

"Gotcha, see you in a bit." Copen replied and ended the call, prompting Gunvolt to set his phone to Blaster Mode with the wormhole function active, and fired a shot that turned into a wormhole in front of him before walking inside which will lead him back to his MA.


Meanwhile with Jason and Shirabe inside the SOPHIA III, he drove the tank underwater while shooting down mutated jellyfish and prawns along the way with the tank cannon and the Warhead Missiles. Eventually, they reached a ladder that would lead them to the domain where the target is. "This ladder should lead us to the target, but you're gonna have to stay here and keep an eye on SOPHIA." Jason said as the main HUD showed said ladder. "My helmet already had a comm link with the MA, so we can keep contact with each other."

"Understood." Shirabe nodded. "Ah, one more thing." She took out her Zikan Phone, pushed a few buttons on it, and gave it to Jason. "Use my Zikan Phone for a while since you didn't have yours yet. I've temporarily disabled the security system so you can use it. It can become a blaster that can fire lasers, and has a wormhole feature that creates wormholes, allowing you to warp for short distances which can save time when you're returning back to the entrance once you've taken out your target. There's also a help menu for instructions on how to use the phone, so keep that in mind."

"Wow. That is one very versatile little gadget." Jason remarked, looking at the phone. "I wonder who made it?"

"A woman named Einstein. Thanks to her, we can make more for people who needed it the most."

"I see." Jason noted before placing the phone into his pocket. "I'll give it back to you when I'm done."

"Please do." Shirabe nodded.

"Anyway, you might wanna hold your breath when I open the cockpit, so expect water to flood the inside of the tank unless it has a drainage system installed to prevent it."

"Actually, it has that system when I looked at the specs of your MA, so I'm not that worried."

"Huh, well that's convenient. Okay, I'm off. I'll be back soon." Jason replied before opening the cockpit and swam out the tank before closing the cockpit. Thanks to the drainage system, flooding is no longer an issue. Once Jason reached the domain entrance after climbing up the ladder, he went inside with his Blaster Rifle armed and ready.


Once Jason entered the domain, he encountered more attack drones along with mutants consisting of one-eyed walkers and floating heads. Thanks to his Blaster Rifle with its arsenal of weapon types, he's able to take them down with no trouble while traversing through the domain and avoiding floor spikes. How he unlocked those weapon types is because of the Gun Capsules that were dropped by the mutants after defeating them. Originally, his Blaster Rifle started firing short ranged green energy blasts. But after collecting the Gun Capsules and inserting them onto the rifle, it can now fire long range that can penetrate through walls and terrain, a diffusion spread shot for crowd control, and an auto shot which is like firing a rapid fire machinegun. Also, his suit also comes with grenades that can take down tougher foes and blow through breakable rocks and walls. He also took the time to examine Shirabe's Zikan Phone, reading its digital instructions menu to learn how to use it.

Eventually, he reached a narrow room with a recharge platform along with the entrance of another room behind it. "That platform... it looked similar to the one I saw, but this one is small enough for a human to step on. I wonder..." Jason thought before stepping on the platform as he felt his suit recharged and his grenades restocked. "Thought so. It's a recharge platform. Wait, hold on..." His visor began to detect readings up ahead. "These energy readings... Is Fred in there, or is it the mutant guardian of this domain? Better check with Shirabe real quick before I move in." He tapped a small comms button on the side of his helmet. "Shirabe, can you read me? It's Jason. Everything okay back there?"

"I read you loud and clear, Jason-san. No problems on my end." Shirabe replied. "I was busy reading the instructions menu about the Metal Attacker so that I can at least learn how to operate it."

"That's good to know." Jason nodded. "Anyway, my visor is detecting large energy readings in the next room."

"Is it Fred or a mutant guardian?"

"Only one way to find out. I'll contact you when I'm done."

"Roger. Please be careful." Shirabe replied and ended the call before Jason went towards the next room with his Blaster Rifle ready once more.

Once inside, he saw a large floating red brain with yellow roots underneath, while the doors behind Jason closed up. "What the hell is that thing?! Some kind of giant mutant brain?!" He mentally exclaimed. "Well... if this is the mutant guardian of this domain, then there's only one thing to do..." He aimed his rifle at the brain. "Exterminate it!"

=WARNING=

THE LAIR OF

"THE FOREST DESTROYER"

=MOTHER BRAIN=

(Play BGM: The Mutant's Lair (Boss 2) from Blaster Master Zero OST)

Jason immediately fired penetrator rounds at the brain, taking damage upon contact. The brain retaliated with a rush attack, prompting Jason to dodge with a side roll before firing at the brain again. The brain then latched its roots into the ground, absorbing energy from it with a yellow glow.

"What is that thing doing now?" Jason thought. "Whatever it is, I better put a stop to it!" He quickly fired penetrator rounds at the brain, but unfortunately, the rounds had no effect on it. "Huh?! Not even a scratch?!"

The brain then stopped glowing, uprooted itself out of the ground as it began floating once more, opened up its brain and spawned out several smaller brains that circled around it. "It spawned out smaller brains? How disgusting can these mutants be anyway?" Jason questioned. "Even so, I'd better take out the smaller ones first since they're protecting the big one. Time to go full-auto." He set his Blaster Rifle to Full-Auto after a few button presses on it, aimed at the smaller brains and began rapid firing at them as the energy shots quickly destroyed the smaller brains. He then fired rapidly at Mother Brain, dealing continuous damage to it. The brain began to charge at Jason again, but he dodged with another side roll and countered by firing rapidly at the brain once more. "I'd better keep up the pressure before it latches the ground again!" He continued to fire rapidly at the brain while taking a few small steps forward until eventually, the brain collapsed onto the ground and lay motionless, prompting Jason to cease fire.

"It stopped moving... Did I get him?" Jason thought cautiously before slowly approaching Mother Brain to see if its dead. Unfortunately for him, he did not notice one of the brain's roots twitching before it latched onto his right leg, lifting him upside down and off the ground which made him drop his Blaster Rifle. And then another of the brain's roots latched onto Jason's neck, strangling him as he tries to break free from it with his hands. "Damn it...! I got careless...!" Jason thought while still trying to break free before he's strangled to death.

But then, from out of nowhere, a flying missile struck the brain from behind, causing it to freeze it and its roots upon contact. Jason was surprised at what happened that he briefly stopped moving his body. "What... just happened? Did the brain just froze itself, or did someone arrive to save me with some kind of ice weapon?" Jason thought before quickly shaking his head upon realization that he's no longer being strangled. "Wait a sec, now's my chance!" He dug his hands into his pockets and pulled out a pair of grenades before arming them with a push of a button. And then he threw the grenades at the frozen brain, causing it to explode upon contact that shattered the frozen brain and its roots to pieces before Jason fell to the ground on his back, slightly grunting in pain from the fall. "Ow... should've thought that through before blowing that brain to pieces..." He sat up straight and shook his head with his hand on his helmet before standing up.

(BGM End)

"Well, at least the mutant guardian has been dealt with. No sign of Fred though." He thought while dusting off his arms and body. But then a blue data chip appeared in front of Jason, prompting him to grab it as his visor revealed information on the chip.

HYPER SHOT:

Powers up SOPHIA's main cannon which can defeat tougher mutants.

"A data chip for SOPHIA III? So this might be able to unlock the MA's hidden functions." Jason thought. "I wonder how many of these are hidden within the underground areas? Whoever made these kinds of tech must be very talented." He placed the chip into his pocket before approaching his dropped rifle and retrieved it. But then he heard sounds, making him feel tense and prepared his rifle. "Who's there?!" He called out while taking aim around the room. His ears then heard approaching footsteps coming from the side, prompting him to turn to that direction. "Show yourself, I know you're in here!"

The footsteps became louder and louder until the one who made those footsteps revealed itself to Jason. It was a person in an orange and yellow organic battlesuit with a dark green arm cannon on the right hand being held up by the other hand, and a red helmet with a green visor. "Another human?" Jason thought, observing the person looking at him. "And that battlesuit... it looks so... organic... Wait... could this person be the one who froze that brain earlier before I was strangled to death? I might as well start asking and find out." He then began speaking to the person. "Excuse me. Are you the one who fired that ice shot at the brain mutant? If so, then thanks for the help. I got a bit careless, thinking it was dead."

The atmosphere became silent for a few seconds, until the person replied, "...You're welcome. But try not to make that mistake a second time." ...in a woman's voice.

"A... woman?! I thought it was a man wearing that suit!" Jason mentally exclaimed with wide eyes upon hearing the voice. That was something he was not expecting.

"Are you feeling alright?" The woman asked, snapping Jason out of his thoughts and quickly shook his head.

"A-Ah, yes. I'm fine thanks." Jason replied, lowering his rifle. "Sorry, I did not expect my saviour to be a woman. No offence, by the way."

"That's alright." The woman replied, lowering her arm cannon. "So, what's your name?"

"Jason Frudnick, a scientist specializing in robotics engineering. And you are?"

"Samus Aran, galactic bounty hunter."

"A galactic... bounty hunter?" Jason repeated with a raised eyebrow.

"Mhm." Samus nodded. "I was on my personal spaceship to look for the next alien bounty in space, until a mysterious quake from out of nowhere somehow warped me and my ship to an unknown location, which also crashed landed my ship and damaged its systems. So I'm pretty much stuck here until I can find some parts to repair the ship."

"An unknown quake, huh? Where's your ship at the moment?"

"It's on the surface. Good thing there's no hostiles around that noticed the crash landing. Speaking of which, do you know which planet I landed on?"

"It's Earth."

"Earth, got it." Samus noted... until blinking several times at what Jason had answered. "Wait, did you just say... Earth?"

"Yup." Jason confirmed with a nod.

"That can't be right... I crash landed on Earth?" Samus thought. "Then why are there mutants crawling around this planet? But... now that I think about it, my ship's AI, Adam, confirmed the planet we've landed on to be Earth. Last time I remember is that Earth never had any mutants, only some of the other planets had those, including Metroids. If that's the case, then this can only mean one thing; that quake warped us to another universe."

"Uhh... Samus? You feeling okay right now?" Jason asked, snapping her out of her thoughts.

"Ah, sorry. I've just realized something important after what you've told me." Samus replied. "Turns out that mysterious quake warped me and my ship to another universe, your universe in fact since my version of Earth never had any mutants."

"Seriously?"

"I'm dead serious, Jason."

"I see..." Jason noted. "Well, since you're stuck here, wanna come along with me?"

"Hmm... I guess it's alright to join you." Samus accepted. "Maybe I might be able to find some parts to repair my ship along the way while fighting those mutants."

"Welcome aboard, Samus." Jason smiled as he and Samus shook each other's hand before releasing them. "Give me a moment to contact a friend of mine before we get out of here."

"You're not the only one exploring the underground areas?"

"Originally it's just me and my tank, the SOPHIA III, until I met some new allies who knew what's going on with the mutants." Jason replied before pushing the comms button on the side of his helmet. "Jason here, I've defeated the mutant guardian of the domain. No sign of Fred though, but I did get a data chip that's for SOPHIA. It'll upgrade the MA's main cannon to deal with tougher mutants."

"Nice going, Jason-san." Shirabe replied. "I'm still okay on my end. Too bad your pet is not there, but maybe he might be in the other areas. At least you've defeated the mutant guardian so that this area will be liberated from the mutants."

"Yeah, I'm on my way back now. And I'm bringing along a new friend I met along the way who helped me defeat the mutant guardian."

"A new friend?"

"You'll meet her soon. See ya in a bit." Jason replied and ended the call, before pulling out Shirabe's Zikan Phone, set to Blaster Mode, activated the wormhole function with a few button presses, aimed forward and fired a shot that turned into a wormhole, which surprised Samus.

"Is that... a wormhole?" Samus asked.

"Yup." Jason confirmed with a nod. "A quick shortcut back to my battletank instead of walking back to the domain's entrance. Gotta admit though, it's pretty handy and saves plenty of time."

"I see." Samus noted. "Anyway, you go first. I'll be right behind you."

"Got it." Jason replied, holstering his Blaster Rifle to his back, placed the Zikan Phone back into his pocket, and walked inside the wormhole before Samus went after him.


Forest Area, Recharge Terminal

Meanwhile back at the recharge terminal, the others had regrouped with their tasks completed and are now waiting for Jason and Shirabe to arrive. They also shared information of what they've discovered when dealing with the mutant guardians at the domains they've explored earlier, most notably the data chips that appeared after defeating the guardians.

Eventually, they saw SOPHIA III arriving as it docked onto the recharge terminal before Jason and Shirabe got out of the vehicle. "Welcome back, you two." Geiz greeted the arrivals. "I take it that the mutant guardian is defeated?"

"Yup." Jason confirmed as he and Shirabe nodded. "And we found a data chip to unlock my MA's functions after defeating that mutant."

"No sign of Fred though, so we'll have to search another area for him." Shirabe added.

"I forgot to ask but, what does Fred look like?" Copen asked Jason.

"Let's see... He's a small green creature with four limbs, a tail, a pair of yellow eyes with black pupils, a red hexagon on its body, and says 'Ribbit'." Jason described.

"So Fred's a small frog?" Gunvolt guessed.

"What's a frog?" Jason asked.

"Wait, you don't know what a frog is?" Shirabe asked back, as Jason shook his head in response. "I see... I think the ice age must've made most animals extinct."

"No wonder you don't know what a frog is." Geiz said to Jason.

"But at least we know what he looks like so it'll be easier to find him." Bronya stated.

"Mm." Jason nodded. "Oh, there's one other thing I found while I was in that domain." He turned to his MA. "You can come out now, Samus!"

"Wait... what?!" Geiz mentally exclaimed with wide eyes upon hearing a familiar name. And said person disembarked from the MA and approached the group. "S-Samus Aran from the Metroid series?! What the hell is she doing here?!"

"Everyone, this is Samus Aran, a galactic bounty hunter." Jason gestured to the woman in the orange battlesuit. "She was traveling through space in her spaceship some time ago when an unknown quake warped her to this Earth and crash landed on it. So she's basically stuck here until she can find parts to repair her ship."

"That, and she's from another universe since her Earth does not have any mutants hiding within." Shirabe added. "In other words, she's another victim of the Dimensional Quakes."

"What?!" Geiz, Gunvolt, Copen and Bronya exclaimed in shock with wide eyes at the reveal.

"I take it from the looks on your faces that you knew something about those quakes?" Samus asked.

They exchanged glances at each other before facing Samus and Jason. "Yeah, we do." Geiz confirmed with a nod. "But in order to do that, we need to reveal who we are and share our secrets with you."

"But whatever you do, do not reveal our secrets to anyone else." Gunvolt warned. "That decision will be up to Geiz on who to reveal the secrets to. Understood?"

Jason and Samus exchange glances with each other before facing the group and answered with a nod. "We understand. You're secret is safe with us." Jason assured.

"Good." Geiz nodded back. "But first things first..." He then removed his helmet to reveal his face. "Can I see what you two look like from under those helmets? Just curious."

"Very well." Samus replied as she and Jason removed their helmets and reveal their faces. Samus has blue eyes and blonde hair tied to a ponytail, while Jason has blue eyes and black short hair with streaks of blue.

"Okay, I did not expect Samus to be a girl in that battlesuit of hers." Gunvolt blinked.

"I did mention Samus was a 'she', GV." Jason pointed out before looking at Gaius. "You look pretty good though, Gaius."

"You're not too bad yourself, Jason." Gaius smirked back before clearing his throat. "Okay, listen closely, you two."


Several minutes of introductions and explanations later...

"And that's what happened so far, and why Xross Drive Rebellion is formed." Gaius finished his explanation along with their current mission, leaving Jason and Samus speechless for a few moments at what they've just heard.

"Gjallarhorn, the Neo Time Jackers, the existence of the multiverse... Man, that's a lot to take in." Jason remarked.

"Though the existence of the multiverse is nothing new to me thanks to partaking in the Smash Bros. tournaments." Samus also remarked.

"Smash Bros.?" Gunvolt repeated with a raised eyebrow.

"It's a gathering of fighters from different worlds, battling to see who comes out on top." Samus explained. "I participated in the first tournament alongside Mario, Link, Kirby, Pikachu, Donkey Kong, Fox McCloud and Yoshi."

"Pikachu..." Shirabe repeated, until her eyes widen in realization. "Ah! Pikachu's from the Pokemon world!"

"You know about it, Shirabe?" Samus asked.

"Well..." Shirabe poked her index fingers together. "I did play the Pokemon games on the Nintendo Switch during my free time. Kiri-chan and Serena played it too. That's how we all knew about the Pokemon world."

"The Bronya and Seele also... apparently." Bronya admitted with a raised hand.

"I see." Samus noted before smiling. "Hope you can pay a visit to that world someday. I know I did, and it's a great experience."

"We'll go there someday." Shirabe smiled and nodded. "Right, Gaius?"

"Oh, most definitely." Gaius nodded.

"You participated in a multiversal tournament, Samus?" Jason asked, earning a nod from her. "Huh, you're a lot stronger than I thought."

"Heh, you'd be surprised considering how many planets and worlds I've visited." Samus smirked with her arms crossed before turning to Gaius. "So, the scattered Gjallarhorn fragments are the ones causing the Dimensional Quakes, right?"

"Yup." Gaius confirmed. "And one of them happens to be on this version of Earth, and we need to get that fragment before the Time Jackers or the mutants do."

"The mutants?" Jason repeated. "Do you think they might take interest in that fragment?"

"We're not sure, but we're sure as hell we're not gonna let that happen either way." Copen answered.

"So to summarize... One, destroy the meteor that spawned the mutants and its cells from the inside while eliminating the mutant guardians in the other sectors; and Two, locate the Gjallarhorn fragment and Jason's missing frog, Fred." Lola surmised.

"Yup, that's pretty much it." Gaius nodded before turning to Samus and Jason. "And we're gonna need help from the both of you to complete our objectives, working as a team."

"Once again, Samus Aran and Jason Frudnick, will you join the Rebellion?" Gunvolt asked.

The two in question shared glances for a moment, before nodding in agreement and turned to the group. "We're in." Jason accepted with Samus nodding. "There's no way we're gonna let them infect my Earth."

"And we can't let them have the fragment either considering how dangerous it can be." Samus added.

"Thanks, you two." Gaius smiled while everyone else shared the same feeling.

"Ah, Samus-san?" Shirabe spoke up, earning her attention. "Is it okay if we can ask the Guardians to bring your crashed ship over to the Grand Nuage for repairs?"

"That would be great." Samus approved. "At least it's better than scavenging for parts, not to mention a good way to save time."

"Bronya and I will escort Samus back to the Grand Nuage before we go looking for her ship." Gaius said to the group. "We'll join you when we're done."

"Do you want us to wait for you?" Joule asked.

"No need." Gaius shook his head. "You guys continue onto the next sector since this sector has been liberated from the mutants."

"Roger that." Gunvolt replied as he and the others nodded.

"One more thing before we go." Bronya approached Jason and gave him the Thunder Breaker data chip. "Install this chip into SOPHIA, Jason. It's called the Thunder Breaker; a sub-weapon that shoots lightning from below the MA, so use it when you jump over enemies. It's effectiveness will be boosted when submerged underwater since water conducts electricity."

"Got it, thanks for the tip, Bronya." Jason replied, putting the chip into his pocket.

"Mm." Bronya nodded before she, Gaius and Samus boarded the Time Mazine.

"Best of luck out there, guys." Samus waved to the group staying.

"We'll be back soon!" Gaius added before closing the cockpit, and began driving his vehicle back to the elevator where they first arrived, while the others waved as they watched them leave.

"Ah, that reminds me." Gunvolt gave the data chip to Jason. "You're gonna need this chip for your suit, Jason."

"It's called the Ignition Bomb, which is basically a remote mine. It's perfect for trap preparations along with dealing with enemies that are chasing you. Just detonate it with a push of a button and watch them explode." Joule added.

"Now that sounds useful." Jason remarked before inserting the chip onto his suit.

=IGNITION BOMB UNLOCKED=

"Speaking of chips... did you install that one chip onto SOPHIA yet? The one where you defeated the mutant guardian?" Lola asked Jason.

"I already did before coming here." Jason confirmed. "Not only that, the MA can also copy the chip data and transfer it to the other MA's, unlocking its features."

"Then feel free to copy it to GV's Rairyu so he can use the same unlockable functions as SOPHIA's." Copen approved.

"Rairyu?" Jason repeated with a raised eyebrow.

"I gave my Metal Attacker a name, just to represent who the driver is." Gunvolt explained.

"Ah, I see." Jason noted. "I didn't give my MA a name since the name SOPHIA III was already plastered on the side of the vehicle."

"Huh, no wonder you called it that." Lola remarked.

"Okay then, time to continue the mission. We're going to Sector 2." Copen declared.

"Right!" The group replied before boarding their respective vehicles again and drove off.


While they drove to the location leading to the next sector as shown on their navigation monitors on their vehicles, Jason copied the unlocked chip data and transferred them to GV's Rairyu, giving it the same unlocked functions as SOPHIA III.

But then, their map sensors picked up a power up on the upper area of the map so they went to investigate. They arrived at the location, but the path was blocked by a wall mutant that fired projectiles from its mouth upon sensing their presence. They dodged the attacks with a jump before countering with a combined Hyper Shot that obliterated the mutant and the wall, allowing them to move onwards, destroying more mutants along the way, until they found a pair of green hexagonal powerups called LIFE UP; which increases life energy for the Metal Attackers by one. They picked them up and installed the powerups onto their vehicles, which also caused Jason's suit to increase life energy.

Once done, they head for the marked location leading to the next sector, but was blocked by another wall mutant. But they we're able to take it down with ease with their Hyper Shots before moving on into a small cave which housed more mutants and ceiling turrets. After dealing with the threats, they found a large tunnel at the bottom of the cave, leading towards the next sector.

"This tunnel should lead us to Sector 2." Gunvolt said as they group looked at the tunnel. "I wonder what the next sector looks like?"

"Guess we'll find out when we get there." Shirabe replied.

"Since the trip to the next sector will take a while, is it alright if you guys can tell me about what your worlds are like?" Jason asked.

"I don't see why not." Copen replied. "Just be warned that our explanations will take a while."

"That's fine with me. At least we have something to talk about to pass the time."

"Good point."

"Alright, then let's go!" Lola declared as the vehicles began moving into the tunnel.

"So which one of the worlds do you want to ask about first, Jason?" Joule asked.

"I think I'll go with GV and Copen's world first." Jason decided.

"Okay then, where to start...?" Gunvolt replied as he began his explanation of his and Copen's version of Earth.


Chapter 1: The Blasting Begins

END

(Jason Frudnick and Samus Aran has joined Xross Drive Rebellion)


Author's Note: And so begins the Blaster Master Zero X-over story. The very first one in fact, unless there's another one I didn't notice in this site or any other fanfic sites. So far, Jason has joined the Rebellion, along with another victim of the Dimensional Quakes; Samus Aran from the Metroid series, more specifically, the one that takes place after Metroid Fusion, which is why I mentioned her AI, Adam, during her thoughts.

However, Samus, Bronya and Geiz won't be partaking in the Sector 2 exploration since they went back to the Grand Nuage to ask the Guardians' help to retrieve Samus' crashed spaceship for repairs. Don't worry though, they'll rejoin the exploration team later on, so it's only Gunvolt, Joule, Copen, Lola, Jason and Shirabe to explore Sector 2.

Also, expect some hidden surprises later on in this Book. Until then, stay safe and see you in the next chapter!