Alright, then! The first chapter went off quite well, so let's see how I handle the next one! Ready… Set… Go!
Previously:
'Was I brought here for a reason? Why of all people, would it be ME…? SURELY, someone ELSE could do whatever I'm here to do better, right?' I would have continued to think, but a loud noise startled me. I looked outside, where the noise originated, and saw a large white and red human shaped robot coming towards me.
'The… Is that the Nirvash?' I asked myself in my mind. 'Oh… CRAP!' I shouted as I ran from the room, but too late. The UFO crashed into the house and I blacked out, just a few seconds from the door outside.
Chapter Two: New Arrival
When I came to, I saw that I was on a bed in Axel's workshop. 'What happened? Oh, wait…' I thought as I recalled the events that transpired moments before. I then felt a wet towel on my head which I hadn't noticed a second earlier. Out in another room, I could hear voices, though I only really recognized two of them. I could tell that the one I didn't recognize was a girl, about my age, perhaps younger. 'Let's see… I heard Renton and Axel, but who's the girl? Oh, wait… It must be Eureka… That reminds me… How the BLAZES did I survive that crash?' I paused in my thinking to listen in on the conversation.
"Holland told me that if I came here, the little one could be fixed." Eureka stated.
"You actually KNOW him? That's awesome!" Renton exclaimed with excitement.
"Stop your daydreaming, Renton!" Axel scolded. I chuckled at this, and thought, 'If only you knew what was gonna happen… Poor old guy…' I resumed listening.
"So… Can you help?" Eureka asked politely. Without waiting for a response from Axel, Renton enthusiastically replied, "Sure!" I decided then to get up out of the bed, when I saw my arm was in a sling. 'Aw, c'mon! How the heck am I supposed to do anything with an arm that's all busted up? Oh well. I guess I'll just have to wait till it heals…' I rose up, and stretched my limbs before entering the other room where the others were at.
"So… Finally decided to get up, did you? You were really lucky to have survived having an LFO crash on you, you know." Axel stated simply as he looked me over. Eureka seemed somewhat upset by that, and looked down, though she didn't seem to be showing MUCH emotion. I took notice, however, and decided to give her a few encouraging words.
"Aw, it's alright. I've survived plenty of hairy situations before. This is just another thing I can look back on and laugh at when I'm a bit older." I said. Eureka seemed to find that was a suitable explanation, and raised her head up again.
"Anyway, yes, we can fix up the Nirvash for you. Just let it sit in the hangar overnight, and me and Renton will get it back in working order." Axel replied to Eureka's earlier question. "Until then, you three kids should get some sleep. It's been a long night…" he added, before yawning and going to a bedroom where he closed the door, signaling that he was going to sleep himself. I pulled Renton aside and whispered, "Try offering your newer guest, namely that girl, somewhere to sleep. Can't leave her to sleep outside, right?" Renton took my advice, and showed Eureka to a room a short walk away. I laughed silently and went to the bed I'd been using moments earlier. After all that had happened, I found rest came very easily, and was soon ignorant of the world.
The next day
I woke up when the sun shone through a window next to the bed, and nearly tumbled out of that bed when I was surprised by the brightness. 'Dang, that sun's bright…' I thought groggily as I went outside for some air. 'Well, let's see what happens today… The action will begin today, if I'm not mistaken…' I walked outside and the cool, yet not cold, air seemed to wake me yup and fill me with energy. 'Hmm… I wonder where Renton is hiding…' I walked into the hangar, wondering if he just got an early start on the Nirvash. Lo and behold, he was in one of the twin cockpits, looking around. I quietly climbed up the ladder, carefully with one hand and my sling-bound elbow, and, to have some fun, shouted "HELLO!" really loudly, causing Renton to jump, startled, and smack his head on the half-open window. He looked over at me and yelled, "What was that for!" I coolly replied, "To break the tension. You seem really into the work on that robot thing."
"It's called an LFO!" Renton exclaimed at me when he recovered. "Anyway, I wanna get this done, so could ya either be quiet or leave, please?" I looked at him, and noticed a slight tinge on his cheeks. 'Dang… Love at first sight, indeed… I'll need to try and help him out with that.' I decided.
Whilst I was debating on how to go about assisting Renton, I heard footsteps approaching. When I looked down from the platform used to access the Nirvash's cockpits, I noticed Eureka there looking up at the Nirvash. I climbed down and decided to see what she was up to.
"Hi. You probably need Renton, right?" I asked.
"Yes. Could you get him for me?" she replied.
"One second." I said as I climbed back up to the platform. I looked at Renton, still working like crazy to try and fix the Nirvash. 'Heh. It's not BROKEN, per se… However, it's not for me to tell him that. He'll find out on his own.' I thought. I lightly grabbed Renton's arm, so as not to startle him and have him hit his head again.
"Yo, Renton. Eu-that girl's down there asking for you. I think she might need something. Anyway, you need a rest. You've been working practically all morning on this. It can wait a bit while you get yourself refreshed. Besides… What kind of mechanic-I'm assuming that's what you are, right? - can you be if you aren't in peak condition?" I reasoned.
"Oh, she is?" he said to me. He then shouted down, "I'll be down in a sec!" He then, not surprisingly, climbed down excessively fast to where Eureka was. Once I saw he got down in one piece, I started thinking about those few seconds. 'Shoot! That was WAY too close! I need to be sure not to call Eureka by name until she tells it to me herself, or tells Renton at the very LEAST… I can't let ANYONE here find out how much I know, or else it could be REALLY bad…' I then decided that worrying about it now was kind of pointless, so I decided to listen in on the two down below.
"You were looking for me?" Renton asked.
"Yes. May I borrow the flamethrower from the side of the house?" Eureka asked. Renton looked dumbfounded a first, but decided to just nod his head. When I saw Eureka had left, I returned to the ground.
"A flamethrower? What POSSIBLE use could someone have for a flamethrower outside of burning someone or something to a crisp?" I asked Renton.
"Well, it could be…" he started, when he began sniffing the air. I then remembered what was going on, but played as if I didn't know, and joined him in smelling the air.
"Is… something…?" I began.
"Burning?" Renton finished and dashed outside. I calmly walked out, also, and went to where Renton's room-house-thing was before the Nirvash crushed it to pieces. I saw Renton running toward the rubble, which was on fire everywhere. I observed Eureka on her knees, and she appeared to be praying.
"What the heck do you think you're doing? There's still some stuff that I can use in there!" Renton exclaimed as he ran onto the ruined house and began sifting through the wreckage for anything of value. Eureka walked over to him and I decided to do the same, only I stood a foot or two away from the fiery area. As Renton stamped the fire madly, I caught Eureka laughing very slightly. It was extremely soft, but it was noticeable nonetheless. I decided that I'd eavesdropped long enough, and turned around to return to the factory-house place.
Later, in the hangar
Renton and Eureka had returned to the hangar, so I decided to join them. Renton was trying to use his Compac Drive, which had luckily not been in the fire, on the Nirvash, but with little luck. He constantly got an error screen when he put it in.
"On second thought… Take it out." Eureka instructed.
"Huh? Why?" Renton asked, bewildered.
"The Nirvash worked fine without it for this long, so it probably doesn't need it. Anyway, I've found that using a Compac Drive was useless.' Eureka explained. She then continued, "Besides… I can't believe in anything that I know nothing about."
"You mean… You don't believe me when I say that you need a Compac Drive?" Renton questioned, then added, "Please don't say THAT…"
"Anyway, even if you DO believe in something, sometimes nothing will come of that belief. Sometimes, you can suffer greatly just because you believe in something too much." she stated, a slightly distressed look on her face. I was at a loss for what to say in this situation, but I decided to try and break the tension which was building here.
"Though that IS true," I started, "that doesn't mean that nothing good can EVER come from believing in something. Sometimes, belief in things is all you have." I was about to continue with this train of thought when someone entered the room and began speaking.
"You're a friend of Holland's, right?" Axel said as he walked up to us, Eureka specifically. "I have what you need. This accursed object has torn my family apart, so I was going to get rid of it anyway." He then showed her a purple triangular object that had three black prongs folded inward, one at each point on the triangle. "When you've taken it, you can do me the favor of leaving, and never coming back!" he spat at Eureka.
"Grandpa! Don't yell at her!" Renton shouted. Before anything further could be said, a missile was heard screeching through the sky. Eureka then said, "You'd better hang on!" Renton was who she was addressing.
"Why? What's going on?" he asked, confused. Eureka then grabbed one of the controls, and snapped the restraints holding the Nirvash upright apart, and the Nirvash, with Eureka piloting, and Renton stuck in the same cockpit with her, dashed through the factory to get outside. Axel and I were standing right next to the Nirvash, but we both collapsed onto it as it flew out at breakneck speed. Not three seconds later, a missile tore through the factory, ripping it to shreds. The Nirvash then morphed from a humanoid robot form into a vehicle mode which resembled a very futuristic racecar. The shift flung Axel off and me right along with him. We both crashed into the ground, me a few feet from Axel. I turned over painfully, having landed on the broken arm, and saw Renton leap out of the Nirvash and run towards Axel.
"Grandpa!" he shouted, worried for the man's safety. Eureka looked out from the Nirvash for a second, and then drove off. Once she had driven a safe distance away, the Nirvash reformed into its humanoid form, and raced off into the sky on a board much like the one that Renton had been using the day before, only much larger, obviously. Over where Renton was, I saw him holding his grandfather's body upright as Axel regained consciousness, the fall having knocked him out. I slowly rose to my feet and walked over to them.
"Is he alright, Renton?" I asked, worried.
"He'll be fine." Renton replied tersely.
"Renton! Take this to that girl." Axel ordered, holding the triangular object, which I could clearly see was the Amita Drive. "This is an expansion part for the Compac Drive. When the two are joined in the Nirvash, it will realize its full power! That is what your father said."
"M-my father?" Renton asked, startled by the mention of his father who had died years ago.
"Go! Use this, and make them all go away…" Axel requested. He was referring to the many blue and black military LFOs flying about, which the Nirvash was fighting. Renton looked at his grandfather for a second, and then ran to the garage where his motorcycle was kept. I couldn't simply watch as he grabbed his Ref Board and drive towards a cliff near the fighting. I decided to at least accompany him that far and grabbed a spare Ref Board from the garage to chase Renton with. When I tried riding it, I felt something click inside of me.
'This is sort of like riding a skateboard! Those aren't so hard to ride, so I just need to treat this area like a giant skate park!' I thought as I easily caught on to how the board worked. I caught up with Renton after a few minutes, and looked over at him. "You could use some help, right?" I asked. He looked over at me and seemed shocked that I was there o a Ref Board.
"Reffing with a broken arm could get you killed! You should go back, NOW!" he tried to command me.
"Not happening. I guarantee that you'll be glad I- BRAKE!" I shouted as I spun myself into a spiral to crash and stop on the ground. Renton hit the brakes on his motorcycle at that point, and not a moment too soon, as we were right at a cliff with a straight vertical drop. Renton, without missing a beat, jumped onto his Ref Board and then leapt off of the cliff. I looked down at his falling form, and realized that he was lost in thought then.
'Shoot! I'm not gonna trust that he'll succeed in the real deal like in the show. I have to make SURE he can get to the Nirvash!' I thought. I then emptied my head, and dove off after him. I pointed myself down like a torpedo to go faster, and just before the two of us crashed, I grabbed his arm and propelled myself up just enough for safety, then I tossed him up like a rocket. He used the Trapar waves to boost himself on his Ref Board and flew into the sky, to the Nirvash. I then chose to follow him only until an explosion near me convinced me to land.
'Did I just do all of that? I've never done anything remotely LIKE that before! I hope Renton gets to the Nirvash alright… Oh, wait… If it happens like it should… Oh, crap. I've got to get out of here!' I thought in panic as I got back on the Ref Board and flew back towards the factory as fast as the board would allow. When I got back, I quickly ran to check on Axel, who had his own sling-bound arm.
"You alright there, Axel?" I asked.
"Yeah, but what about Renton? Did he get there?" Axel asked, cutting right to the point.
"He's on his way. I made SURE of it," I replied, gesturing to the Ref Board I had set down nearby. I then looked up to see him doing a loop in the air to avoid an enemy LFO. 'A Cut-Back Drop Turn… It really is impressive…' I thought as I saw it.
"You actually used a Ref Board in your condition? You're lucky you didn't die! What could make you be so reckless, kid?" Axel scolded me, causing me to return to the situation at hand.
"Well, what else- Holy smokes! He's falling!" I shouted as I saw a tiny speck that was clearly Renton falling through the sky. 'There's no way I could get there in time… Looks like his life is in Eureka's hands now…' I thought. 'Yeah, he's in good hands.'
"He can't die! Not like this!" Axel exclaimed, tears welling up in fear of losing Renton.
"Relax, old man. He's got that girl up there in the Nirvash. From what I can see, she's as good a pilot of those LFO things as anybody…" I said, pointing into the sky where the Nirvash was expertly dodging and slicing through the military crafts. It swiftly flew down and caught Renton in one of the cockpits. It was then that I noticed some other LFOs up there. "Hey… What's that reddish LFO? And that orange-yellow one?" I asked as I watched the other LFOs assisting Eureka.
"Those are the 909 and the 606. They're on the Nirvash's side," Axel replied.
"Oh…" was all I could come up with in response. Suddenly, the Nirvash began to plummet to the ground, as if it had fallen asleep.
"What's going on? Why is the Nirvash falling down like that?" I shouted as it continued.
"I have no idea… Come on, Renton… You can't die HERE…" Axel responded, eyes fixed to the scene. About one or two seconds before it crashed into the ground, it stopped and simply floated there for a moment. The next second, it began glowing and then the Nirvash emitted a flare of energy which obliterated everything in a few hundred feet's radius. The glow from the mushroom-energy-cloud was amazing, but the rings around it were the most striking. There were seven rings of light, each a different color of the rainbow. The red ring, which was on top, surged downward and swept everything away that was even remotely near the Nirvash. When the glowing explosive energy dissipated, the Nirvash was seen in the center of a huge crater-esque place, namely the hole in the earth that the energy created when it was violently expelled.
"That light… It brings nothing but pain and guides us all to our dooms… but it's so beautiful…" Axel said with a tear in his eye.
"What was that…?" I asked, feigning ignorance. 'The Seventh Swell… I didn't realize how beautiful it would look in person… But that POWER it unleashed! It really IS strong…' I thought as I asked.
"That is the Seventh Swell. Not much is known of it, but it is a devastating weapon… One that I'm all too familiar with the power of…" Axel explained.
'Oh, right… Adrock…' I thought. "I'm gonna go see if those two are alright. Don't try and stop me!" I declared as I grabbed the borrowed Ref Board and flew towards the epicenter of the previous blast.
Well now… It's picking up the pace, isn't it? Review and you just might get another chapter quite soon! Also, visit the site 'eurekaseven (dot) org', and join the forums!