HuniePop Space Adventures
Chapter 12: Outta Dimension, Part 1
The ship jolted as the explosions continued to ring out. Nikki and I could barely keep our footing as we made our way to the bridge, where the alarm was blaring and Celeste was rapidly trying to fix the problem.
"What's going on?! What hit us?" I asked.
"The same thing that's been following us for a while," Celeste said as she continued to deal with any error that she saw. I groaned. Of course it was the Overlord. I sat down at one of the consoles as the rest of the team poured onto the bridge to try and help out however they could.
"How did he find us again?! I swear, this is starting to get plain annoying!" Zero Two said, pushing some of the buttons at her console.
"There was a tracking device in Rhea's shoulder that he put there. But I thought that we destroyed it?!" I replied.
"Probably not in time before he tracked us here," Rhea replied.
"Do we have any weapons?" Nikki asked.
"We do, but the rear turrets are down. All we have are our shields right now, but those won't last forever," Celeste replied.
"Can't we lose him in hyperspace?" Zero Two asked as another explosion rocked the ship.
"If we were going fast enough, but this they just took out two of the thrusters and the ship's engine can only go so fast with the remaining ones that we have. It's best for everyone to strap in and be ready to be boarded," Celeste said. Everyone except for Rhea immediately gathered to the middle where the passenger seats and begun to strap themselves in, preparing for the worst. After we sat down, Rhea was the only one who was still standing.
"Rhea, what are you doing? You need to sit down now!" Eva yelled as another explosion rocked the ship.
"We can outrun them. Celeste, when I give you the signal, activate the hyperdrive," Rhea replied. Celeste just gave her a confused look until another explosion hit us.
"Celeste… do as she says," I said. Celeste nodded and fired up the engines again before resting her hand on the hyperdrive lever. I then gave Rhea a nod and her staff began to glow as the light filled the entire cockpit.
"Beloved ancestors, I beseech you so that we may flee from our enemies and to hide from their prying eyes. Please encompass our ship with the blinding speed necessary to escape and grant us our escape from the hands of our enemies!" Rhea chanted, holding her staff in the air. The engines suddenly began to hum louder until the screens in front of Celeste stopped flashing red and turned green.
"PUNCH IT!" I yelled to Celeste. She obliged and pushed the hyperdrive lever forward and we went straight into hyperspace, faster than we ever did before. The force pushed us back into our seats as we sped through the cosmos. Rhea was nearly tossed about the entire cockpit, but she grabbed the back of my seat to keep herself from falling backward into the wall. After about a few seconds of hyperspace travel, Celeste finally pulled the lever back to try and get us out of hyperspace, only for us to find ourselves hurtling toward the ground of some planet. Celeste managed to position the ship so that it would land flat and after it had made impact with the ground, it created a long crater until it finally grinded to a halt. Everybody was a bit shaken from the sudden crash landing but, miraculously, nobody was hurt.
"Is it over? Someone tell me that this damn ride is over!" Amki yelled, her eyes shut tight.
"It's over, Amki. You can open your eyes now," Celeste replied, getting out of the command chair. The rest of us shakily got out of our chairs and walked over to the consoles to try and figure out where we were exactly.
"How's the ship looking?" Nikki asked.
"The ship has a reinforced underbelly, so we didn't sustain much damage from the crash. Two of our thrusters are out, though," Celeste replied.
"That should be an easy fix for me," Eva replied, walking out of the room to go fix the engine.
"Well, I guess we got lucky. Next order of business is where we are exactly," I said, sitting down at one of the consoles. I pressed a button which launched a bunch of drones out of the hull into the unexplored world that we were in now. Outside, it looked like a whole bunch of nothing. The land was barren, not a single tree, bush, or lake in sight.
"Drones have been launched. They should hopefully map out the area for us," Nikki said. Staring down at my console, I saw a red light flashing next to a planet of some sort. Unfortunately, the text was in alien dialect that I couldn't read.
"Hey, Celeste? What exactly does this error mean?" I asked. Celeste walked over to me and read the text before getting a worried look on her face as she pulled up a star map. After she punched in a few coordinates which came back negative, she got even more worried.
"No, no, no, no, this can't be right," she said, walking back over to the command chair.
"What? What's wrong?"
"That error means the home beacon isn't connecting. It essentially notifies me of any activity that goes on and sends me updates to the mission board. But the star maps are saying that my planet is not where it should. No, more than that- it was never there to begin with."
"What are you saying? It just disappeared?" Nikki asked.
"We can worry about it later. Where the hell are WE exactly?" Amki asked. Odango rapidly typed at her own console and when the screen lit up, her face was confused and terrified.
"Wait, this can't be right. It says that we're on… Earth," she said. Everybody went completely silent when she said that.
"Th-that's impossible! Are you sure that you're reading the computer right?" Nikki asked in a complete panic.
"I AM reading this right! It says that we've landed on Earth!"
"Wait… what the hell is that? That way out there," Rhonda said, pointing out the window. Me, Nikki, Zero Two, and Hiro went to the window and looked out at the barren landscape. Sure enough, there WAS something out there. It was some kind of dome-like structure which had a smaller glass dome at the top which seemed to have a forest inside of it. I didn't know what it meant, but both Zero Two and Hiro seemed surprised to see it.
"Darling… we're home," Zero Two said, putting her hand on the glass.
"Wait, this is YOUR EARTH?! How in the hell did we end up here?!" Amki asked.
"I have no idea. But it shouldn't look like this, should it?" Hiro asked, staring out at how barren it was. Over the next 15 minutes, we all tried to assess the situation as best we could. It was a bit confusing, but we did manage to get an idea of what was going on. As Zero Two and Hiro sat at the drone control console, the rest of us gathered around the hologram table.
"So, we somehow ended up in a completely different dimension, but how we managed to is completely unknown to me. Do we have any theories about how this happened?" Celeste asked.
"I don't have a theory, but rather an answer to that question. Our speed. The combined speed of my magic and the hyperdrive must've allowed us to rip through a dimensional tear and that's how we ended up in this dimension," Rhea said.
"Max, Nikki, has any media shown such a thing to be possible?"
"Yeah. The Flash. Season 2, episode 18. He ran so fast that he ended up in a different dimension," Nikki replied.
"So that solves the question of how we got here. What's the status of the ship?" Celeste asked Eva.
"We thankfully didn't sustain too much hull damage and the ship's cloaking is online and operational. I also managed to fix the ship's engines," Eva replied.
"Great, so we can get home then?" Amki asked.
"Not exactly. Apparently, in this dimension, my people nor my home planet exists in this universe, similar to Celeste's. In our dimension, I could hear the voices of my ancestors through my staff. But since they never existed here, I can't hear their voices and, therefore, can't call upon them to grant me the power to repeat how we arrived here," Rhea said.
"Wait. So, what you're saying is…"
"We're stranded here," I said, drawing concern from everyone except Celeste.
"Not exactly. It's true that we don't have the necessary power to get back home right now, but there is a way that we can," she said, pulling up a hologram of a glowing, spherical object with wires poking out of it.
"What's that?" Odango asked.
"It's called a 'Quantum Vortex Engine' or QVE for short. Back in our dimension, some scientists were trying to test a new way of achieving new speeds in hyperdrive, which led them to create this. However, when it came to testing the QVE with actual pilots, the scientists reported that the pilots went so fast that they disappeared into nothing. Because of that, they deemed the engine too dangerous and they shut down the project. However, the parts necessary to make the QVE have very high energy signatures. And lucky for us, I've been able to locate the parts needed for it in this dimension."
"So, what are we waiting for? Let's go get them!" Nikki said.
"That's the issue. They are hidden deep within Plantation 13. To make matters worse, we didn't end up in 2139. We actually ended up two years back and also a month before Hiro and Zero left to fight VIRM. The issue here is that trying to sneak in is a problem, given that they have access to an extremely large battalion of soldiers, and they are at the height of a bloody civil war that the humans are caught in the middle of. If we give away our position, we run the risk of getting caught," Celeste explained. As she was talking, me and Nikki broke away from the group to talk in private.
"I don't like the odds here. I mean, we're in a completely different world and we're in Hiro and Zero Two's own past. Plus, VIRM is still alive, which complicates things even further. And who knows how long the cloak's gonna last," Nikki said to me.
"We'll figure it out. Hiro and Zero Two have a good lay of the environment in front of us, so having them with us should help us locate the pieces for the QVE," I replied.
"But… Hiro and Zero Two…"
"I know. They've helped us so much throughout this journey, but we said that we would help them find a way home. Whether they want to stay or not is completely up to them."
"No, I mean… Hiro and Zero Two…" Nikki said, pointing to the drone console. They were gone.
Hiro's perspective
I started loading enough ammo and equipment onto one of the dropships in the hangar as we prepared to head out. Or at least we would have if Zero Two wasn't just standing around.
"Darling, what exactly are we doing?" she asked me.
"You saw what I saw on the screen. If this is actually real, then we may have a chance to save them! Don't you think that we should at least take this chance?" I asked as I clipped some grenades to my belt.
"Darling, I understand that you want to do this. But if we do, we might be upsetting some kind of delicate balance. We might even change our own destinies."
"Look, I just can't stop thinking about it! I've replayed that day in my head a thousand times and I can't stop thinking about it! I just feel like we should save them!"
"Save who?" a voice asked from behind us. Both me and Zero Two looked back to find Max and Nikki standing behind us with upset looks on their faces. I just continued to pack whatever I could onto the dropship.
"I don't expect you to understand," I replied.
"Then make me understand. What exactly is it that you're trying to accomplish?" Max asked me.
"Look. On this day… on THIS very day, two of our friends get married and are arrested by APE. As a result, they have their memories erased and forget all about what they shared. But, I figured that if we go over there and take out the army, we can prevent that from happening."
"And he didn't tell you about this?" Nikki asked.
"In his own way, he did," Zero Two replied.
"Hiro, I get why you want to do this. But the problem is we have no idea what will happen if you alter events," Max said.
"What are you talking about?"
"Hiro, if you change something in the past, it can damage what the outcome of the future will be. For example, if you went and saved your friends, they'd be on the run forever and that would create a reality where VIRM wins and the human race becomes extinct as a result! You would be destroying both their future AND your own!" Nikki said.
"Look, you don't know what it's like to wake up from a horrible memory and reminisce about how badly you failed! Well, we won't fail now!" I said. But before I could continue any further with packing, Zero Two grabbed my shoulder and tenderly hugged me as if she was trying to calm me down.
"Darling, I know it seems like they don't care, but they do. They're just trying to protect us, OK. I think about that day all the time too. But I moved on because there's nothing that we can do about it now. We can't change our past without damaging our future," Zero Two said softly. I just simply hugged her back as Max and Nikki looked on. But I noticed that Max seemed to have something on his mind.
"That's true but… what if we could change the past without damaging the future?" he asked, drawing confused looks from all three of us.
Nikki's perspective
"You want us to do WHAT?" Celeste asked.
"Mount a rescue mission. Plain and simple," Max replied. He had gathered everyone to sit around the hologram table while me, Hiro, and Zero Two sat off to the side.
"Max… You did explain to Hiro and Zero Two that we are in the past… THEIR past?"
"I did. But it got me thinking. If we're the ones that save Squad 13, it won't result in some kind of paradox or something. Plus, you said that we needed a way to draw attention away from the Centurion while we go get the QVE parts. See, nobody knows who we are here, which means that…"
"Enough, all right? It's out of the question. It's true that this will draw attention away from the Centurion, but it's also drawing attention toward US," Celeste replied.
"Plus, are we even sure that us messing with the past will actually change the future?" Amki asked.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"Won't us messing with the past just create an alternate reality that's split from the main timeline which doesn't affect the main timeline?" Amki replied. Everybody in the room just looked at her like she was crazy.
"…Who the fuck told you that?!" I yelled.
"Avengers: Endgame."
"Wait, you saw that movie?" Max asked.
"Well, yeah. When the critics said it got 'universal acclaim', they REALLY meant universal acclaim."
"THAT IS NOT HOW TIME TRAVEL WORKS! OK, yes, the movie was great, but they got the whole time travel aspect wrong! If you change something in the past, it affects the future! This is goddamn common knowledge that practically EVERYBODY knows! How is that…"
"OK, Nikki, hon? You need to calm down. You're getting too charged," Max said, patting my shoulder.
"OK, then name one other movie that actually has your view of time travel down!" Amki replied crossing her arms.
"Terminator, Timecop, A Wrinkle In Time…" I said.
"Star Trek, Back To The Future…" Max added.
"Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox…"
"Songbird!" Zero Two exclaimed, raising her hand. Everyone just looked at her funny.
"Sorry, I thought that we were just naming random things here," Zero Two said, lowering her hand.
"All right, listen. I'm not going to risk our lives because of how complex all of this is. It just raises too many questions," Celeste said.
"It's actually not that complex," Rhea said.
"Wait, really?" Max asked.
"Allow me to demonstrate," Rhea said, creating a long thin line with her magic.
"Imagine that this line here is the current timeline. This point right here is the point where we are currently. If we were to alter the event at this point in the timeline, it would divert the flow of the timeline, therefore creating an altered timeline and an alternate future. However, if we were to cause another disruption within this altered timeline that's just as powerful as when we disrupted the original flow of time, which will redivert the flow back to the original timeline and the original future."
"Well, that doesn't sound that bad," I said.
"While that may be true, the matter of what event we create in this altered timeline is a mystery. We must be careful if we decide to go through with this," Rhea said.
"Well, if Rhea's demonstration and knowledge says that it will work, then I don't see that we have any other choice," Celeste said.
"OK, so we'll head over to Plantation 13 and save our Squad while you guys go and…" Hiro started to say.
"You're not going to Plantation 13," Max interrupted.
"What? Why?"
"If your past selves see you, you might cause a paradox or something. It's best if you guys get the QVE while we go rescue Squad 13," I replied.
"Huh. Well, I guess that seems fair. So, who's going with us?" Zero Two asked.
"Well, Eva and Odango have pretty good expertise in machines and Rhea can notify us if something starts to happens to you two. And just to deal with any security, I think that Eila and Goo should go with you as well. The rest of us will go help Squad 13," Max said.
"Wait, what happens if they see our faces? Wouldn't that also cause a paradox of some kind?" Rhonda asked.
"They won't. Max has a helmet that he can wear and I can create one for myself. And I'm pretty sure that Celeste has a few she can lend to Amki and you," I replied.
"OK, but isn't there something we can do about my extra arms? If they see them, they'll know that I'm not human," Amki said.
"I can help out with that, Amki," Celeste said.
"Well, we know our mission. Let's suit up," Max said. All of us headed to the hangar and began to suit up for the mission. Celeste set up one of the dropships to be able to carry passengers while Eva set up the other to allow her to make the QVE on the go. As me and Max were preparing the dropship, Hiro and Zero Two walked over to us.
"Hey, listen. Thanks so much for doing this," Hiro said.
"It's what friends do. We look out for each other," Max replied.
"Are guys sure that you still want to do this? It's not too late to back out of this if you aren't sure that we should do this," I said.
"If it means that Darling will be able to sleep better, then I think we should go for it," Zero Two said, snuggling up to Hiro's shoulder.
"Hiro, listen to me. If we do this, there's no going back. We only get one shot at this. There are no do-overs or second chances if we mess this up and we can't bring you back if something goes wrong," Max said.
"I know that you guys will succeed. If there's anyone that I'd trust to protect our Squad, it'd be you two," Hiro replied. Max just smiled and gave both Hiro and Zero Two a hug.
"Listen. Whether you want to stay or come back with us is completely up to you. I'm not going to make that decision for you."
"And we want you both to know how proud we are of how you've matured. We'll never forget you," I added. Hiro smiled back at us and took out the photo of his Squad.
"Futoshi, Zorome, Miku, Goro, Mitsuru, Kokoro, Ikuno, Ichigo. Those are their names. So don't forget, OK?" Hiro asked. Max gave him a nod in response before we started to board the dropship alongside Rhonda and Amki.
"HEY! Good luck, you two!" Zero Two called to us, giving us a thumbs up. I gave her a thumbs up back as the hangar doors opened and both ships took off into the unknown world that laid before us.
Max's perspective
The ride on our way to Plantation 13 was pretty bumpy, but we were able to get into the Plantation without too much trouble (Celeste apparently had some sort of phasing technology installed into the dropship, which I would've LOVED to have known how exactly she got her hands on it). We parked the dropship by the lake where Zero Two and Hiro met and made our way through the forest until the house was in sight. And we were in luck, because the wedding had just started as we hid in the dense foliage of the forest a few feet back. Mitsuru and Kokoro walked out in their wedding attire as their friends rang the wedding bells and threw sakura blooms at them.
"Wow. Hiro and Zero Two never said how beautifully they had set up the wedding," Nikki whispered next to me. While I will admit that the wedding did look very nice, the rest of the entire scenery just looked completely wrong. The fact that the Squad was being contained in a large glass dome make it look more like a prison rather than a safe haven for them.
"This place. It feels more like a prison. I don't know why they can't see that," I said with a hint of anger in my voice. I guess Nikki could tell because she put a hand on my shoulder.
"Max, are you OK?" she asked.
"I'm fine."
"Hey, I have a question. Why do we have codenames?" Amki asked, completely changing the subject.
"If they know who we are, we could inadvertently change the future. Plus, us posing as heroes of this world makes things a little bit easier for us," Celeste replied.
"OK, but why call me 'Spartan'? Wouldn't 'Powerhouse' or 'Muscle' have been much better?"
"We'll call you 'Powerhouse' if it'll make you feel better. Now will you focus please?" I said.
"One more question: Why the masks? I mean, I look practically human already. Also, Rhonda doesn't have a full mask. Just her hat and bandana," Amki replied.
"I already look human enough, Amki. My hat hides my extra eyes, so they won't suspect that I am an alien," Rhonda replied.
"All right, would you all focus? Listen, MAKE SURE that you protect Squad 13. You can kill the soldiers if you have to, but don't kill the 9's," I said.
"The who?" Amki asked.
"The 9's were Zero Two's old Squad. Basically they were APE's special police force," Nikki replied.
"Bottom line: Protect Squad 13 at all costs. Our rendezvous is at the lake, so if you get separated, head straight there. Rhonda, you stay behind and cover us from back here," Celeste said. As the wedding continued, I felt a sense of unease as we prepared for the worst.
"I hope this works," Nikki said as she activated her superspeed boots.
"Me too," I replied. As Kokoro and Mitsuru exchanged their rings, Celeste's proximity monitor began to silently beep as multiple dots appeared on it.
"We have hostiles. Approaching from the sides and inside the house," Celeste said. We all took that as a sign to get ready and prepared to attack.
"This is it. No turning back now," Nikki said, getting into a runners' stance.
"Wait for my mark," I said. As the soldiers bust out of the house and surrounded the Squad, Celeste, Amki, and I took cover behind a bush that was a bit closer to the group and got ready to strike. I kept a close watch on what was going on through the leaves.
"Run, you two!" Futoshi exclaimed, running in front of the couple. Kokoro was a bit reluctant to run, but Mitsuru grabbed her hand and they started to make a break for it, only for their way out to be cut off by 9a and his Squad.
"There is nowhere for you to go. You are trapped in a birdcage, after all," 9a said in his smug attitude.
"Why, you… What's the meaning of this?!" Mitsuru demandingly asked.
"Papa's orders. He says the two of you are dangerous. You need to be indoctrinated."
"NOW," I said. Within a split second of me saying those words, Nikki raced in a stabbed a bunch of the soldiers using her arm swords. Neither the soldiers nor the Squad knew what was going on and the remaining soldiers were unable to fight back because she was too fast. I noticed that the past Zero Two was running toward 9a before she took a swipe at him, which he dodged. Nikki managed to scoop the younger Zero Two up and set her back alongside the past Hiro. After Nikki had thinned out most of the soldiers, Amki and Celeste went on the offense. Amki barreled through them and crushed a few of the soldiers' heads while Celeste decapitated some of them with her katanas. The 9s were completely dumbfounded by the events unfolding around them, but they were unable to spot me in time before I grappled onto a nearby tree, swung up into the air and landed in front of them, creating a shockwave which blew them back. A couple of soldiers noticed me and moved in for the attack, but I grabbed the rifle of one soldier and pointed it back at his head, which shot his head clean off, and I stabbed the other in the head with my arm blade. I looked back at Kokoro and Mitsuru, who only showed me a look of fear as Mitsuru stood in front of Kokoro as if to protect her. In response, I extended an arm to them.
"Come with me if you want to live," I said. The couple just stared at me in disbelief, but Mitsuru gave me a small nod and took Kokoro by the hand as they followed me through the forest. A few soldiers began to fire on us, but my armor was too thick for their rifles to penetrate, which made me a perfect shield for the couple. I returned fire with my shotgun, grappling one with my grappling hook and cutting him in half with my arm blade and blowing up two more with my shoulder launcher grenades. I saw in the distance that Amki was carrying an unconscious Zorome while Celeste was busy sheltering the rest of the Squad and Nikki was running circles around the confused soldiers, killing each one as she ran through them. Rhonda shot down some of the soldiers with her semi-auto rifle and her revolver as we made our way back to the ship, throwing flashbangs to try and stun them. In a complete matter of seconds, we had turned this so-called "sanctuary" into a bloodied battlefield. To add insult to injury, the Squad's leader, Ichigo, grabbed one of the rifles from one of the fallen soldiers and began firing at them as we continued to make our way to the ship. Right as we had gotten to the ship, one soldier fired a shot that struck me right in the side of my visor, exposing one of my eyes. I was able to keep most of the soldiers at bay alongside everyone else, but when Rhonda shot one of the soldiers in the chest, his gun fell out of his hands and accidentally fired a shot that scraped Kokoro's ankle, causing her to stumble to the ground. Me and Mitsuru frantically did our best to shelter her from the soldiers, but we were soon overcome by a large hail of bullets that would've killed us had my armor not been dense enough. I began to feel the electricity surge throughout my body as my anger began to rise and I felt a sudden burning in my fist. The second one of the soldiers had gotten close to me, I threw a punch at him which pulverized him and suddenly released a shockwave of energy which vaporized all the remaining soldiers behind him. I literally had no idea what had just happened, but I barely even had time to question it because 9a was back and he came in towards me, ready to punch. I caught his fist with my hand and slowly forced him to the ground as I began to crush the bones in his hand. As he struggled to get free, something enticed me to draw my arm blade and press it up against 9a's neck. I don't know what it was that was telling me to do this, but it felt like the only logical thing to do to get our enemies' attention.
"Nomad! We need to go!" Celeste called to me from the ship as she began helping Squad 13 into the ship. I looked back at her for a second before looking back at 9a and retracting my blade. But I didn't let him off easy and grabbed him by the neck, letting him stare at me eye-to-eye.
"Do not follow us," I warned him before I threw him back into the forest. I then turned back to the ship and carried Kokoro inside before we left the ruins of the Plantation behind, disappearing into the sky as quickly as we appeared.
Future Hiro's perspective
Eila shocked the controls to the door as we stealthily made our way through the complex. It felt weird, finally being back home again. But that wasn't what was on my mind at the moment. Right now, I was trying to focus on the mission at hand. Eva was the one leading us to where the QVE parts were being stored, in the junk room near where our FRANXX were usually held. The trip there wasn't exactly easy, but without too much effort, we reached the chute that would take us there.
"Right down there. The energy signature is coming from down there," Eva said, looking down the chute.
"Down there? Down this hole?" Zero Two asked, looking down.
"Uhhh, yeah. How 'bout I just sit this one out and stay up here? You know, keep a lookout?" Odango said.
"You can't, because we'll be beaming out from the trash heap directly," Eva said.
"Plus, we need all the help that we can…" I started to say. But, all of a sudden, I felt a sharp pain in my head which forced me to my knees and made me grit my teeth. I noticed that Zero Two was also writhing in pain as she held her head. After about 15 or 20 seconds, the pain disappeared. I looked back up at Zero Two, who was panting heavily as she sat back up.
"Wha… what the hell was that?" I asked, rubbing my head.
"A temporal disturbance. If the past has been changed, your memories will adapt to whatever has been changed," Rhea said.
"Darling… your arm," Zero Two said, pointing at me. I looked down at my right arm and noticed that some bits and pieces of me were floating around my forearm, which was glowing an orange color. I saw that Zero Two had the exact same thing going on with her arm as well.
"And what does that mean?" Eva asked, pointing at my arm.
"Because both Hiro and Zero Two come from a future that does not exist at the moment, their new future is indeterminant and because of this, their current bodies do not know whether to break apart or stay tethered to the timeline. As long as Max and the others are able to keep the timeline on track and create an event that will set the future right, Hiro and Zero Two will remain in our present time," Rhea replied.
"And what happens if the future is changed?" I asked. Rhea just looked back at me with a concerned look.
"You both disappear into nothing," she replied. Everyone looked upset at that statement, but I just clenched my fist in determination.
"Listen, we can't worry about that right now. Either we get those parts for the engine or none of you will be able to get home. Squad 13 is in good hands right now and it's our job to secure the parts for the QVE," I said.
"Hiro is right. We will let Max and the others worry about Squad 13. Right now, we have our own mission. So let's get going," Eva said. She positioned herself above the chute and after Goo had attached herself to her, she dropped down and was followed by Eila, Rhea, and Odango, leaving only me and Zero Two left. I took the photo of our Squad and looked at it again. I couldn't help but wonder… would our Squad actually be OK, being with Max, Nikki, and the others? Would they actually be able to secure our future? Zero Two gently placed her hand on my own and touched the photo along with me.
"Darling, this is gonna work," she told me.
"I know it will. 'Cause I don't know what I'm going to do if it doesn't," I replied as I put the photo away. Zero Two then grabbed my hand and we both fell down the chute into the junk heap to begin our search.
Max's perspective
"The mission at Plantation 13 was a success. They've scrambled the soldiers to look for the Squad," Celeste said as I repaired my helmet.
"How exactly is that good for us?" Amki asked as I put my helmet back on.
"It means that they won't be able to find us. Our ship is non-trackable and we're cloaked right now, so their cameras can't find out where we're going," Nikki said.
"Which means we can breathe a bit easier now," Rhonda added.
"Only for a while. Rhea said that we need to create an event that will set the timeline back to the original future and we still need to do that," I said.
"And HOW exactly are we supposed to do that?" Amki asked as I began to walk out.
"I'm trying to figure that out. But right now, I need to make sure that the Squad's doing OK."
"Max, wait. We should talk," Nikki said, stopping me.
"About what?"
"What exactly happened back there? I mean, one second you were just fine and the next, you shot some kind lightning shockwave out of your fist and you nearly killed 9a! What is going on with you?"
"I don't know. But we can't worry about that right now. Right now, we need to focus on the mission at hand and get this done," I replied. I then headed out the door to find all of Squad 13 sitting melancholy in their seats, safe for Mitsuru, who was trying to help Kokoro with her injured leg, and Zorome, who was still unconscious. As for the rest of the group, they had mixed looks aimed toward me. Ichigo, Miku, and Zero Two had looks of disgust while Hiro, Goro, Ikuno, and Futoshi had looks of concern as I went to help Mitsuru.
"Where does it hurt?" Mitsuru asked as he felt around Kokoro's leg. When he got to her ankle, Kokoro let out a small yelp in pain and cringed a bit.
"It hurts…" Kokoro said. Just as I grabbed the first aid kit, Zorome woke up… screaming.
"OH MY GOSH! I just had this crazy dream that we were all at this thing called a 'wedding' and right as Kokoro and Mitsuru were about to kiss, we got attacked and then we…" he yelled. But the second he saw me, he went completely silent and he hid behind where Ikuno was sitting.
"Umm… who's the guy in the robot suit?" Zorome squeaked.
"Got me," Ikuno replied. I just rolled my eyes and wrapped Kokoro's leg with a bandage, trying to be gentle.
"It's just a scrape. You should be fine after a few hours. Until then, just stay off of it for now," I said, before I got back up to leave.
"WAIT! Who are you?" Ichigo asked right as I was about to walk through the door.
"That's not important," I replied.
"Yes, it is! You just show up out of nowhere and you expect us to just trust you?"
"Ichigo, he saved our lives. The least we can do is show him some respect," Goro said, putting his hands on her shoulders. Ichigo just swatted his hands away.
"Are you a Parasite?" Kokoro asked.
"I was. Once. They called me 052," I replied.
"And now what do you do? Just go to random Plantations abducting other Parasites and killing soldiers that get in your way?" Ichigo asked.
"Those soldiers would've killed you. I did what I could to protect you," I said.
"What do you mean?" Mitsuru asked.
"I've been watching your Squad for some time now. How you've been fighting. How you've been maturing. But, most importantly, how you've been discovering how life SHOULD be lived."
"Did Haichi send you?" Ichigo asked me.
"It was my own decision to come and rescue you. I didn't need your caretaker to tell me what to do," I replied.
"So, you're a rebel," Zero Two said.
"That's a harsh way to put it."
"Wait a minute. You've been watching us all this time and you just decided to show yourself when we were about to be arrested?" Miku asked.
"Guys, why are you getting upset at him?! APE was the one who sent the soldiers and he saved us from them! Who knows what would've happened if he didn't show up!" Futoshi said.
"It doesn't matter if he saved us or not! Haichi was supposed to help us leave, not him! Plus, he was responsible for the deaths of several of those soldiers!" Ichigo retorted.
"What did you think was going to happen? Hm?" I said gruffly.
"What?"
"Do you understand the expense that APE went through to keep you locked up in that prison? You think that they're just gonna let you walk away? They expect us to just stay in line and ask questions never. Because that's all that they think we are. Mere SOLDIERS. But we're more than that."
"It's just like the Garden. They don't want us to be happy. They expect us to live the lives THEY want us to, not what WE want to," Hiro said, drawing sad faces from Kokoro and Mitsuru and concerned faces from Ikuno and Goro.
"Hiro, you can't be serious! This person just killed a bunch of soldiers, had one of the 9's at knifepoint, and you're just going to TRUST him?" Ichigo asked, accusingly pointing a finger at me.
"I'm not doing this for personal gain. I'm doing this because I'm human and it's the right thing to do," I said.
"Then prove it. Take off that helmet and show us who you really are. If you claim that you are human, then prove it to us!"
"Look. I respect what you stand for. And you may be leader of this team… but I don't take orders from you. If you want to get out of this alive, you listen to me and do what I say," I replied. I felt a sudden thud and I immediately walked over to the hangar door, pushing past Ichigo. She went in to hit me, but both Futoshi and Hiro stopped her from doing so. I pressed the button to the hangar door, which opened and revealed a beach to me and Squad 13.
"Wait, why are we here?" Zorome asked.
"We'll be staying here until I can figure out what to do next. As a recall, you found an abandoned town here," I replied.
"Wait, you're ditching us?!" Miku asked.
"He didn't say that, Miku," Mitsuru said.
"Listen! I don't care if you're older than me or surpass me in rank, I'm the leader of this Squad! You don't have the right to boss me around! And you have NO right to keep us here against our will!" Ichigo yelled at me.
"Then, by all means. Leave if you want. I understand why you don't trust me. But you won't get anywhere without us. And you won't be save until you're far away from APE's prying eyes. That's all any of us can do now," I said.
"Look, I don't mean to be rude, but… what exactly did they do to you?" Ikuno asked. I just stood there in silence for five seconds before I looked back at them.
"They took everything from me," I replied before I walked out of the ship in silence.
Future Hiro's perspective
"Nope. Nope. Nope," Zero Two said, tossing out each part that wasn't what we were looking for. Eva, Odango, and Rhea were all searching in separate areas for any part to the QVE that they could find. So far, Eva had found 3 of the 7 parts that we were looking for and I found 1. I was kinda distracted from everything because of my arm, which I was fiddling around with.
"Hey, Darling. Is this one of the parts we need?" Zero Two said, holding up a rectangular part with wires coming out of its sides.
"Yeah, that's one of them," I said, grabbing the part. As I was examining it, Zero Two sat down beside me, looking at me with curiosity.
"What's on your mind?"
"Just… thinking about how our Squad is doing with Max and the others. They probably don't trust them. Max and the others must be in agony from trying to take care of them."
"Or they're probably in agony from how loud and obnoxious Zorome is," Zero Two joked. I couldn't help but chuckle at that.
"Hey! I found the last two parts! Can we leave now?" Odango asked. Eva took a look at both of the parts that Odango had found and gave us a nod. Me, Zero Two, Eila, and Goo gathered over to where the others were and Eva activated the teleporter which took us back to our dropship. Eva then put the parts on a small workbench that was positioned in the middle of the ship and started to work on constructing it.
"It will take me a few minutes to get this fully assembled. But we should get moving," she said.
"Do you mind if we take the ship somewhere before we head back to the Centurion?" Zero Two asked.
"Where?"
"Plantation 13. Just for a quick visit."
"Zero Two, that place could be crawling with soldiers. Plus, if any of them see you and capture you, you could alter the timeline even further," Rhea objected.
"Just a quick in and out. We'll be careful," Zero Two replied. Rhea just had a depressed look on her face.
"All right, fine. Just for a few minutes."
"And if there ARE any soldiers, we'll just stay away," I said.
"All right then. To Planation 13 it is then," Rhea said as Odango plotted a course to the Plantation. As we were taking off, I stood in the cockpit and stared out the window for a bit.
"Are you sure that Max and the others can handle the Squad?" Zero Two asked, putting a hand on my shoulder. I just sighed.
"We can only hope right now," I said as we sped towards Plantation 13.
Ikuno's perspective
"I don't trust him," Ichigo said.
"Well, there's a surprise," Miku replied, sarcastically. We were all assembled inside the dropship that had brought us to the sanctuary. Unfortunately, Ichigo wasn't exactly keen on staying here like some of us were.
"Well, he seemed to be on the up-and-up. I mean, he did save Kokoro and Mitsuru," Futoshi replied.
"Still, someone who will kill without so much as a second thought doesn't really sound like a good thing in my book," Ichigo said.
"Well, it's better for us to be with him rather than going back to APE and getting punished for our actions," Goro said.
"Plus, I wanna know where he got that armor. I bet I could do all sorts of cool stuff if I had armor like that," Zorome said.
"We're being hunted down by our superiors and our only salvation lies with a killer… and THAT'S what you're concerned about?" Miku asked, giving Zorome a sour look.
"I'm just saying. Armor like really fits my complexity."
"Look, whatever the case is, we can't go back now. And we owe it to him to keep working with him until we can be sure that we're safe," Kokoro said.
"Plus, are we even sure that Nomad doesn't feel any guilt from the killing?" I asked. Ichigo gave me an angry look.
"You're naming him now?!" she yelled.
"That's what his team called him. Why can't I?"
"Look, bottom line, whether he's a killer or not, we need to trust him now," Hiro said.
"That's not the point, Hiro! We already had a plan to leave the Plantation! But it didn't involve him! So either he stole us away from our home for a reason or he's…" Ichigo started to say.
"All right that's enough! Do you think that any of us asked for this?! He did what was necessary for us to escape! You don't owe him a cold shoulder, you owe him a thank you! And by my recollection, you fired on the soldiers as we were leaving! So what's you're excuse?!" I yelled. The entire cabin went quiet after I said that and Ichigo just sat down with her hands on her head in despair.
"I just… all of this is hard to take in… I don't know who to trust anymore…"
"Let's just take a few hours to calm down and relax. When that's done, we'll discuss what to do next," Mitsuru said. All of agreed and went out to try and settle down a bit. I went along with Kokoro and Mitsuru to try and find where Nomad was and after a bit of searching, we found him by the shoreline, washing the blood off of his arm blade and his hands. Kokoro accidentally stepped on a twig as we approached him, which made him immediately reach for his gun, but when he saw us, he stopped himself short and stood up.
"You shouldn't sneak up on people like that," he said.
"Sorry. We just wanted to see how you were doing. And we wanted to thank you for rescuing us," Kokoro said.
"Don't mention it."
"Sorry about Ichigo's behavior. I know that you were only doing what you could to protect us," Mitsuru said.
"Think nothing of it. I understand why she's angry. Yet, that's the way of APE: to betray those they trust and deny them any happiness," Nomad said.
"You said that they took everything from you. What exactly did they take from you, if you don't mind my asking?" I asked. Nomad just looked back out at the ocean and sighed.
"Back when I was still a Parasite, I started to develop feelings for my partner. She was the most beautiful person I ever knew… blonde hair, blue eyes, the most precious smile known to man. What we shared was sacred to us both, but what she wanted most in life was to be free. Free from the control of APE, so we could forge our own destiny. So we made a plan to leave our Plantation and start a life together. But by the time we were ready, APE had already discovered the bond that we shared and they arrested us. I was able to escape them, but my partner didn't and her memories were erased. All that I could do was flee. I found this armor in some kind of abandoned village much like the one here and I vowed that I would save any other Parasites so that we could finally have what APE stole from all of us…"
"The chance to have a normal life," Kokoro said.
"Is that even possible?" I asked. Nomad just sighed and took off his helmet, revealing the face of a man with brown hair and green eyes to us.
"APE acts like they know what they're doing and that the way of life that they taught us is how we should live. But, if you ask me, it's inhumane. Their so-called 'cure' of immortality? It's not living. It's suffering. And they're having us fight a war that doesn't seem to end. None of us ever asked for any of that," he said.
"So why the killing? Couldn't there have been other ways to be heard? To show that we aren't afraid?" Mitsuru asked.
"I don't kill because I take pleasure in it. I do it to survive. To show APE that I'm not afraid of them. I doesn't matter who wins this war. All that I want is my freedom. And if I have to free every single Parasite that there is and spill the blood of the Seven Sages just to find peace, so be it."
"Look, I respect that you want us and everyone else to have normal lives, but is destroying the Seven Sages REALLY the only way that you'll find peace?" I asked. Nomad just put his helmet back on and began to walk away in sadness.
"That's all that I have left to give," he said, putting his hand on my shoulder. And then he left in silence, leaving me to figure out what we should do next.
3rd person perspective, APE headquarters
Papa and the rest of the Sages looked curiously at the recording of the armored figure defending Squad 13. The way he and his team fought, his brutality, every bit of him looked like the perfect warrior. Standing beneath them, Alpha and the 9's were standing silently, waiting to hear what they had to say.
"This warrior… how many men did you say he killed?" Papa asked Alpha.
"Almost 40. His combat was unlike anything I've ever seen. He made a whole bunch of soldiers seem like insects. And those eyes… those crimson eyes. I could feel them piercing my soul," Alpha replied.
"And yet, he spared you. Why?" Marmoset asked.
"I haven't the foggiest idea."
"Well, he's most certainly not in league with the klaxosaurs. But if he's not with them, then who is he working for?" Baboon asked.
"Find them. Be sure to prepare them to be indoctrinated if you capture them," Vice Chairman said. Alpha and the 9's then left the station and Papa turned his attention back to the hologram, where it showed the warrior creating a shockwave of energy which vaporized the soldiers. The sight of it made the Sages gasp in awe.
"Remarkable. A soldier like that would most certainly be a wonderful addition to the Parasite program. In fact, that armor could be a wonderful addition for the soldiers we have," Gorilla said. Papa ignored him and replayed the section of the warrior creating the energy shockwave again and again.
"Is something amiss?" Marmoset asked.
"No. It's just that the energy seems to be emanating from his fist, not the suit. As if it's coursing through his body and he is able to summon it at will," Papa replied.
"Where exactly does a human get such energy like that?" Vice Chairman asked.
"Whatever the case, Gorilla is right. If we can find the source of his power, it won't just change the war. IT WILL CHANGE EVERYTHING."
To Be Continued…