Project X Zone 2: The Novelization

By Jack M.

Prologue 1: Shinra

Shibuya, Tokyo. A deserted place, designated a "closed city" due to frequent paranormal outbreaks. Once it was the battleground of the forces Shinra and Ouma. Ouma sought to use "rifts", which were distortions in time and space, to create gates connecting to other worlds. Shinra, knowing the chaos that would result, wasted no time and spent no effort in stopping them. The two opposing factions waged ferocious battle throughout the deserted neighborhood of Shibuya… But at last, even that came to an end. Through the efforts of multiple generations of agents, the secret agent Shinra was able to halt the spread of the rifts. Shinra. An organization that battles against evil spirits, demons, monsters and all other threats from different worlds that seek to harm humanity. In the past, the group's existence was known to precious few, even as their struggle took them into dark corners of history and lands beyond our own. Years turn to centuries, and in this modern era, the name "Shinra" has become more widely known. And yet, people of society still do not believe... that, beyond the worlds they know, there lie other, stranger worlds. People of society still fail to notice... that there are those quietly living IN this world who are not OF this world. And people of society still have no idea... what may happen when these worlds, worlds that have always remained separate... cross. Now, the calm of peace has been disrupted once more by the appearance of mysterious golden chains. None yet know that they know that they serve as a message... a message sent from another world. The battle that has raged for eons is about to enter a new stage. The present day, Roppongi, Tokyo. In this city, home to Shinra headquarters, the rifts that lead to other dimensions and realms of spacetime have steadily been growing larger… ever since the day of a certain battle fought by agents of Shinra. Now, this city is about to bear witness to the beginning of a brand-new story…

"Well… it's Roppongi alright." A young man said to himself while standing on some grass nearby.

This young man was none other than the son of one of Shinra's best agents, Shougo Arisu. Reiji wasn't that old when he lost his father to Saya, the leader of Ouma, and ever since that day, he fostered an unwavering hatred of her. In truth there was an external factor to the demise of his father, but instead of focusing that hatred onto her, he put it all on Saya.

"The dimensional rift is growing unstable" Reiji thought to himself. "This place could get sealed off at any time… Xiaomu, where the devil have you run off to?"

And Xiaomu, his partner, was the external factor in his father's demise, albeit he always knew that fact. His father had told him that Xiaomu's magic could kill him, and he had been put down at his own request by her.

"I swear, I always manage to lose her somehow." Reiji thought to himself before turning around to see footsteps from behind him.

"Hey there Reiji, did you have to wait?" Xiaomu said as she strolled on up to him.

"You're late Xiaomu, need I remind you that we have a job to do?" Reiji groaned in annoyance.

"Complain, complain! You sound a lot like your father, you know that?!" Xaiomu said. "We noble agents of Shinra, who protect the world from monsters most grody… blah, blah, blah. Etc, etc, etc."

Reiji unamused, walked up to her and looked her in the eyes. "It doesn't take this level of dedication to be annoyed by your work ethic. You show up late again and you're getting a spanking." He said, not breaking eye contact.

"Heh, you say that like it's a deterrent, but I suppose now's not the time to get lost in fantasies." Xiaomu said with the smuggest look on her face. "So, what's the deal this time?"

Reiji could only stand there, dumbfounded at his partner. "Would it kill you to read the mission briefings at least once? First we're investigating the monster readings detected here and then we're off to Shibuya to link up with the BSAA."

"BSAA… Oh, the anti-bioterrorism thingie?" Xiaomu said, fiddling with one of her ears. "What does it stand for again… The Badass Sexy Action Agency?"

"It stands for Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance. It should be Chris and Jill like always." Reiji said, rubbing his temple.

"Again… sheesh! Do they have anyone else?!" Xiaomu said.

"Like we're in any room to talk. Anyways, have you heard from the good doctor yet?" Reiji said.

"She's still not here. She did say she'd bring some kind of new weapon though." Xiaomu said. "Maybe she's doing her makeup. I can never figure out how old she is."

"Your age is a puzzle in of itself Xiaomu." Reiji said.

"Reiji, I lost track after 765. There's a lot to deal with when you're as old as me, and I mean a lot." Xiaomu said.

"Well O ancient and decrepit sage fox, sense anything?" Reiji said.

"Hmm… Yes, and it's definitely a strange presence. Hey monsters, show yourselves!" Xiaomu shouted.

The two stood there, wondering what went wrong.

"I guess they're the shy kind." Xiaomu groaned.

"How can a monster be shy Xiaomu? That makes no sense at all." Reiji said.

Before the two could start an argument the wind started to pick up and a bird dressed in a fancy outfit appeared before them.

"Reiji, look!" Xiaomu said, pointing at their adversary.

Reiji quickly got his weapon out and got into a fighting stance. "I knew it. They're really here after all. It matches up with the readings we detected." He said not breaking eye contact with the monster.

Xiaomu quickly got out her weapon as well. "Wait, this one feels off." She said.

"Do you think it's a new one?" Reiji asked her.

"Hard to tell, it might be, but we don't know for sure yet." Xiaomu said back.

Three more of the creatures then floated down before landing next to the first one.

"Oh great, now there's four of them!" Xiaomu exclaimed.

"All we do know is that they aren't friendly, that's for sure. Let's get them Xiaomu!" Reiji yelled before drawing one of the swords.

"I couldn't agree more Reiji, let's close the gap." Xiaomu said.

The two charged at the fancy looking birds before attempting to slash at them, only for the birds to fly away and kick them both in the face.

"Cheap shot!" Reiji said before turning his attention on the bird that had just kicked him in the face.

Reiji quickly got out his magnum Gold and began to shoot at the bird with it dodging every shot it had thrown at it. Xiaomu meanwhile had managed to grab onto one of the bird's talons and was now trying to get it to come crashing down. Something Reiji could only stare at in disbelief.

"I will never understand her sometimes." Reiji thought to himself before reloading to continue his tirade against the bird.

Eventually Xiaomu managed to get the bird she had latched onto the smash into a lightpost, causing it to fall over on the bird… and herself.

"I'm okay!" Xiaomu said while giving a thumbs up.

Reiji groaned while finally managing to stab one of the birds in the face. Without much thought, Reiji quickly dispatched of the last two birds… or he would've had the last one not tried to fly away. Only for it to be stopped by Xiaomu, who had managed to free herself from the lamppost.

"Took you long enough." Reiji said before walking over to her.

"Sorry, lamp posts are heavy, you know." Xiaomu said as she dragged the bird closer to them. "Now then, let's do this."

Not wasting a single second, Reiji began to unload the weapons in his holster onto the bird while reciting the creed of Shinra Banshou.

"Wood, fire, metal, Earth and water. All the elements that govern the world, AID US!" Reiji cried out as the two proceeded to slice the bird they were fighting clean in half.

The two took a moment to catch their breaths after having dealt with all those birds beforehand.

"Whew! That takes care of that." Xiaomu said.

Reiji then felt something go off in his back pocket before he pulled it out and read it. "Just got a report from HQ, it seems those monsters have popped up again elsewhere. Looks like they're trying to keep Shinra bogged down."

"Oh no, you don't think…" Xiaomu said.

"Still no word from the doctor? That's strange." Reiji said.

"Uh Reiji, do you hear that?" Xiaomu said.

"Hear what?" Reiji said back before Xiaomu pushed them both out of the way.

As this happened a giant red vehicle pulled up beside them.

"What the? Is that thing a vehicle?!" Reiji said in disbelief.

"That thing's HUGE! It's the embodiment of HUGE!" Xiaomu said.

"Wait a minute, that body and that paint job…" Reiji said as his eyes scanned the big red vehicle.

Before Xiaomu could say anything else, someone walked out of the vehicle and in front of them.

"Phew! This should be it, destination wise anyway. The woman said while fiddling with her hair.

"U-Urashima? So this ridiculous slab of metal is…" Xiaomu said before she was interrupted.

"Xiaomu dear, I believe I've told you repeatedly to call me "Doctor"." Urashima said in an unamused tone.

"Chizuru Urashima, are you going to explain this huge car?" Reiji asked her.

"Reiji honey. DOCTOR. D-O-C-T-O-R, except it's one word and not six letters spelled out like that."

The two could only groan in response to her insistence to call her doctor.

"Just explain this." Reiji said, rather unamused.

"So, curious about the car, aren't ya? Local-use heavy-duty transport, the pride of our equipment division. I present to you, the Dragonturtle Mark II! Seats at least one hundred troops, with oodles of freedom and liberty leftover, leg-room wise anyways." Urashima said.

"Wait, what happened to Mark 1?" Xiaomu asked.

"That's something I wish to not disclose." Urashima said.

"Wait a minute… you're telling us you're late because…" Reiji said before he was interrupted.

"Honey, this is Tokyo, the streets are exactly generous. Now c'mon, we're going to Shibuya!" Urashima said, hopping into the Dragonturtle.

"I can't believe we worried about her for nothing!" Xiaomu said, disgruntled.

"We can talk about this later Xiaomu, we need to get going." Reiji said.

The two quickly got inside the Dragonturtle and went into the cockpit.

"Doesn't the equipment division have anything more maneuverable?" Xaiomu asked.

"Isn't this a joint operation with another group? It's the perfect opportunity to dazzle them with our tech!" Urashima said with the biggest smirk on her face.

"Doctor, the only ones that are meeting up with the BSAA are me and Xiaomu. What's the point of a tour bus like this?" Reiji asked her.

"You know, for someone so young you're awfully curmudgeonly. A sleek, shiny machine doesn't tingle you, pants-wise?" Urashima asked him.

"Work is work, Doctor. Tingling pants don't put food on the table or an enemy in the ground." Reiji retorted.

"He only gets off on the company women or the camaraderie of true friends. It's a real hassle sometimes." Xiaomu said as Reiji slowly glared at her.

"Note to self: Pinch your butt later." Reiji said.

"That's a new one." Xiaomu said back.

"Hey, if you're gonna violate workplace guidelines, then do it somewhere else." Urashima said.

Urashima quickly set the Dragonturtle into drive as they rode off to go meet up with Chris and Jill.

"I kinda like this place, think of the epic board game parties you could throw in this." Xiaomu said.

"Yes, yes. I'm sure Chris and Jill came all this way to Japan, just so they can sit in a car and trade pretend sheep with each other." Reiji said.

The three began to drive off the Shibuya to meet up with them, little did they know they were being watched by an unknown figure.

"Well then, that was a waste of time." The figure said to itself before bouncing away. "It's only the beginning from here on out, and little do they know what they're about to get into."