Rebirth
of the Chrysalite
CHAPTER 1: Discovering
the Secret
Dr.
Hasegawa's Lab/Konoko's Apartment
Monday, January 03, 2033
Konoko let out a scream and woke up suddenly from her sleep, pushing her blanket down from her bed. Beads of sweat flowed down her beautiful face and she was panting heavily.
Damn! Not another one of these nightmares! Why can't I just forget the past?
Since the day she defeated her brother, Syndicate Boss Muro, she had been having nightmare after nightmare about the Final Battle. And that was not what she wanted. She thought by not watching the news, she would not be reminded of this incident. But no. It simply would not leave her alone.
Konoko picked up her blanket and fell back to bed. She shut her eyes tightly, trying as hard as she could to shove away the images of Muro. Part of brain told her that Muro was dead, gone, and there was nothing to worry about. But somehow, another part of her brain still made her worry. It was as if her brain had two personality, each one trying to command her thoughts. And the one which made her worry won every time.
After
making several toss and turns, trying to enter Slumberland, she finally gave up.
She took a few sleepy steps and placed her hands on the light switch. The light
blinked, and illuminated her father's laboratory. This was where her late Father
had spent countless, sleepless night with her late uncle, Kerr, researching and
creating the Chrysalis, in the hope that humanity would be able to live even
within the poisonous atmosphere, should the Atmosphere Processors fail to
function some day.
Even though her father was no longer around, she constantly imagined him sitting
on the chair, and looking through the microscope.
Hands still at the light switch, she was thinking heavily about what to do. Usually, even with these nightmares, she would eventually fall asleep. Today was different. She looked at the machinery (switched off, of course.), but turned away from them. Nah. I know nothing about how these things work. Better not 'entertain' myself with them. She finally decided to just go to the kitchen, and make herself breakfast.
The purple-haired nineteen year old was a Chrysalite, or a person being implanted with a Chrysalis. She learned from Kerr the purpose of the Chrysalis, and the purpose for his Father's hard work. The Chrysalis could fix damaged tissues. And she found out something else. A Chrysalite does not need to each as much as a normal human does. But she felt a sudden urge to eat something, even though she had just eaten yesterday. It was as if her Chrysalis was being drained. What's more, the need to eat lessened even more upon her mutation to the Imago stage of Daodan evolution. This further puzzled her. But she couldn't be bothered with this right now.
She took out from the refrigerator 2 pathetic slices of bread. Oh man! Why didn't I remember to buy the margarine? She might not require much food, but when she does eat, she want to make sure the food is enjoyable. She shook her head, half-smiling at herself at her forgetfulness. But she was also half-upset. There are some things she wished to forget, but haven't the privilege.
She sat down at the dining chair and stared at the boring wall patterns, while chewing at the near tasteless bread.
This was the beginning of yet another day for Mai Hasegawa.
*******************
Over the cities...
January 04, 2033
Two blue helicopters belonging to the TCTF flew over the near dead cities far below, heading towards a compound that once belonged to the Syndicate. This was the Syndicate Mountain Compound, the place where a battle that shook the world, or at least Neo Japan. The was the place where the world-feared Syndicate Boss, Muro, was defeated by a relatively unknown agent turned rogue agent (labelled 'one-woman-terrorist' by some), Mai Hasegawa.
Dr. Tori was in one of these helicopters,
together with other top scientists in the TCTF. His best friend, Vincent, was
sleeping, snoring occasionally, with his head 'dropping off' and swaying
sideways. Vincent's golden hair shined with the rising sun.
Tori, Vincent, and the other scientists on board were going to be the first
scientists in the world for a decade (since the late Dr. Hasegawa and Kerr.) to
examine a full-grown Chrysalis, and also get to examine first hand the effect of
the Chrysalis on its host.
Ah... the feeling of actually seeing it!
Those theory books sure know how to make an interesting topic deadpan... Tori
looked out the helicopter's windows and rest his eyes, enjoying the concrete
jungle below. A chaotic concrete jungle, to be precise. He could see flames
licking the buildings, and the fire department trying frantically to put out the
fire, only to have another one erupting nearby. Police cars were rushing through
and fro, escorting ambulance after ambulance. Fragments of buildings came
falling down, and missed the police cars by a few metres. Tori closed his eyes
and prayed for the safety of everyone down there.
The sirens were drowned out by the helicopter's churning blades. Inside, the
sound of the blades and rotors were soothing, and it seemed to have an hypnotic
effect, for Tori suddenly felt an urge to fall asleep. He could see now why
Vincent, and another white-haired scientist, was sleeping. He let out a yawn,
followed by a few more scientists, and closed his eyes again. He shifted his
legs -- which was seemingly having a Leg War with the sleeping, white-haired
scientist, fighting his legs for space -- trying to find a comfortable position,
and placed his arm on his tummy.
Within a few minutes after Tori dozed off, the rest fell asleep as well. They had been travelling from a distant TCTF HQ, starting their journey near midnight. It was definitely a miracle the pilot himself was wide awake. He cursed under his breath and mumbled to himself why they can't just bring the 'Crystalites' over to the HQ instead. And the snoring was making him more annoyed by the minute. I'll make sure I ask the Pilot Commander for higher pay. And I even have to fly this thing BACK!
Another ten minutes past, and the helicopter was far from any city. And even from a distance, the outlines of the massive Sturmanderung Dish could be seen. As it flew closer, the pilot saw that the dish was badly burned. He nearly vomited when he saw that on the blue-tiled ground, were up to ten corpses. He felt a little sick, but looked away, for fear he might crash the helicopter into the mountains nearby.
He hovered the helicopter a 'safe' distance
(safe for him, as that position was just right to make him not able to see the
corpses.) and turned back. He tapped the back of a scientist that just woke up
from his slumber. "Hey, tell those sleepyheads to wake up. We're
here!" Apparently, the scientist didn't realise this. After all, he just
woke up. A look of astonishment spread across his face. "Really? We're
there?" He said, like a child who is having his first visit to the Theme
Park. He turned his head and spotted the top of the dish. He shook the
scientists around him violently with excitement.
"First time in a field expedition, eh?" he questioned. The scientist
shook his head. "Then, why the excitement? There's nothing but dead bodies
down there!"
The young scientist looked annoyed. "Do you know what the other scientists
and I are about to do? We're about to discover the secrets of the
Chrysalis!" The pilot looked blankly. "A Crystal... what?! I
have Crystals at home as well... mah wife bought them. Why the need to come
here, junior?"
"Never mind! Just land this thing!" The annoyed look on the
scientists' face grew more intense. A Crystal... he don't even know the real
name!
Gradually, the scientists woke up one by one.
Tori and Vincent were amazed at the Dish as well... "Jesus Christ! Vin,
look at the size of that thing!" The helicopter was dwarfed by the dish, of
course. Both seemed oblivious to the corpses around. They were still, for
whatever reason, staring at the dish, probably wondering how such a thing could
be placed up here in the first place.
"Tell those two geeks to stop staring at the block of metal and get
out." The pilot told one of the older scientists.
Looking embarrassed, the two men stepped out of the helicopter. The rotors were
slow enough for them to not need to 'brave the wind'.
"Can't believe we're finally here, huh? Imagine, our names would be
published in all major scientific books. I can just see our names in 'Greatest
Scientific Experiments and Discoveries of the 21st Century'!"
They finally noticed those corpses. "Oh... my... god... That Konoko sure know how to create carnage... look at that! 2 Titan Elite Strikers! They really exist! And I really cannot believe Konoko actually slaughtered them!"
TCTF officers nearby were collecting the
bodies of the dead troops.
"How's this dead... erm, dead fury?" One of the agents asked another.
"Awful... Look... broken neck bones!" the other agent pointed out.
"Mine's even worse. The whole arm seemed to be twisted off or
something."
Both of them shook their heads and proceeded with their work.
The scientists, on the other hand, were
gathered around Muro. This was the body they wanted.
"Hmm... this is odd. A Chrysalite he might be, but dead is dead. He should
be rotting..."
"Yeah... do you think he would pounce on us in the helicopter? You know
what I mean..."
"Quit it with your rubbish, Carlos!" added another scientist.
"Step aside, people!" A TCTF agent waved his arms sideways, shoving away the scientists. "You can examine him all you want in the Science Prison." The scientists did as they were told, and went on to the other bodies, each trying to outguess each other on how they were killed, before being drove away again by another group of agents.
Within half-an-hour, the place was rid of
bodies. A senior officer took out a voice amplifier and announced.
"Everyone, gather here!" The people obeyed. Seeing everyone was
around, he turned off the amplifier. "Now", he said, looking around,
making sure everyone heard what he said. "We're not going off yet." A
few groans from some scientists eager to start their experiments. "So,
pilots, don't worry! We have brought along food and drinks. And boy, are they
good!" He asked a nearby agent when they're going off. He nodded and turned
to the crowd. "We'll be leaving in two hour's time. Relax, everyone!"
More groans from the scientists, but they were drowned out by the cheers of the
tired agents. Most noticeable was the overjoyed looking face of the pilot who
flew the helicopter Tori was in.
Some agents laid down their mats (apparently
expecting this Rest Period.) and one began grumbling. "I lost my sleep just
for a half-hour of cleaning up of corpses. Why can't some other branch of TCTF
do it?"
"Because the other branches are no more, in ruins, dimwit! Don't you read
the news?" replied another.
The agent sat up, red in the face. He seemed to be wanting to jump onto the
other agent, but was stopped just in time by another agent, "Hey, just be
glad we have this rest period! We can lie down all we want, and feel the cool
breeze, you know. Much better than that helicopter we came in."
The scientists, on the other hand, weren't
especially happy about resting now. They've rested enough on the helicopter.
"Another two hours? That's two more hours wasted!" Earlier on, the
helicopter they were arrived here on faced a problem, and had to be repaired. It
took a whole half an hour. Otherwise, the helicopter would have arrived together
with the TCTF agents' helicopter.
"Quit your grumbling! Luckily for me, I brought some books
to read," A young scientist added.
"It better not be about the Chrysalis. Would tempt me even more to get back
and start." A few of the scientists laughed. The scientists continued
talking ("Hey, have you gotten the Daodan Probe manual I've sent you
yesterday?"; "I wonder what it is like to be on TV after we get
famous... how do I look?") and joking away about some of the commanders
sitting nearby.
## Notes from WJTW ##
### Ok. Stop grumbling about the sudden and
most unsatisfying ending to this chapter. I couldn't think of a more suitable
chapter-end. That's the disadvantage of typing at 4AM... :-P
## I don't know if this is good enough for
all of you. It's good enough, by my standards, for me, though. I might have
certain difficulties putting my ideas across, so, everyone, REVIEW it and tell
me where I've gone wrong. If you do not understand what I wrote, tell me, and
I'll try to re-write the part.
### As I've said, REVIEW it!
### Also, visit my Oni website - OniChars -
The Oni Characters Analysis Site @ http://www23.brinkster.com/onichars/
### Remember to post at the forum there!
