Here is another chapter~! :3 And I have a story cover up too~! :3 It is of Omnimon's emblem here. It is the Crest of Friendship with the points of the Crest of Courage, but this will become a golden color on his cape later on. The only thing that is not is the grey slash mark. :3
Opening Files: Special Operations
Known as spec-ops, special operations groups are considered the elite of the elite, the best of the best. This is due, in part, to their intense selection and training process. And Zero Squadron is no different. Most special operations groups, as their name implies, are used in special operations, or clandestine missions that are supposed to be off the record. In a twist though, Zero Squadron, in their home dimension, is actually known of. This is in part due to secret government groups, and secret societies in general, trying to run the world throughout its history; the most notorious was LOGOs, also called the military industrial complex, or MIC for short.
It is because of these groups operating in secrecy that Zero Squadron, despite being a special operations unit, decided to take a radical approach and have their information, and their mission record, put out in public. Despite many special operations groups protesting the idea, the elite squadron did it anyway, and with their most clandestine missions revealed, it showed the unit was serious. In fact, because their most top-secret missions were out there, it forced the nations that had members in the unit to come clean about those missions, and thus, changed how the governments of the world operated forever. As Zero Squad consistently updates the mission record of their members whenever a mission is completed, it makes the governments of the nations they live in come out with the mission details as well.
This policy of honesty and being open has brought about changes, and while they might not be seen as good often, the fact the governments are forced to be honest with what missions are top-secret and vice versa has led to fewer conspiracy theories and has also led to, of all things, a drop in crime. With this new policy of being honest with the populace, the governments of each nation have begun to see changes, with those who authorized horrible acts being voted out of office and new officials sworn in. In one case, the government of a nation was overthrown in a coup, but Zero Squad was sent to ensure the new government would not become tyrannical.
Regardless of their policy of honesty and openness, the fact remains that Zero Squadron is still a special operations unit, meaning that in war, they should always be feared.
"Honesty can be a good thing in many cases." TOM said as he closed the Special Operations file. "However, in the case of national security, is it always best to be honest?" He then pushed a button and up came the image of Zero Squadron's emblem. "In the case of these guys, since they are a group under the command of the United Earth Nations in their universe, it is. Why? Because they only answer to the planetary government." TOM then leaned back and looked at the camera(you).
"If national security is at risk, and someone told you to not reveal it, would you? What if the lives of everyone you cared about hinged on your decision? If you told, they would be saved, but then you would be targeted by a terrorist group. If you didn't tell, they would die, but you would be safe. Which would you choose?" TOM asked as he then pressed a button on his left armrest. "Because in this case, only you can make that choice."
Dimension O-000
The Archangel jumped into their universe in a flash of light. Onboard was the elite unit Zero Squad, but they also had a guest with them, Leonardo, a turtle Mobian.
Admiral Yuy could see the Nexus Federation colonies coming into view, with the famed Minerva coming out to greet them. "Archangel, this is the Minerva. We will escort you to the Nexus Federation colony of Maius Four."
"Roger that, Minerva." Heero replied. The white ship proceeded to head into the colony's main hanger, right behind the red and black ship. Leo was in awe as he took in the sight of the colonies before him. They were shaped like hour glasses, but with antenna and mirrors that were extending out from the middle point of each colony. Other colonies were more practically built, being O' Neil cylinders or even the newly built ring colonies. Leo could see the ship was being taken to the colony called Maius Four, and it was located in the Maius City cluster, the fifth group in. Said colony was the fourth one in the group from what he could see as well.
"Wow..." The Mobian murmured as the ships finally entered the hanger area. At once, Admiral Yuy frowned to himself. With so many people around, they had a problem regarding their guest.
Looking to the turtle Mobian, the human spoke. "Can you find a way to avoid getting spotted?" He asked as Leo looked at him.
"You're talking to a ninja." Leo said at once. "But I can't go with you to find your other ship, so I may get lost."
Here, Heero smirked. "Just look for the bay with flashing lights. The ship might be unseen, but the lights point the way."
Confused, Leo was not sure what to make of the hint, but figured it had to be a way to find the ship in question.
As soon as the Archangel docked, the unit that was still there drifted out as the pilots headed to their machines to move them to said ship. Leo made sure he hung onto the back of one of the machines, staying out of sight as the machine, the Dynames, walked to the bay in question. He was hiding under the shoulder armor that hung down, which was an ideal hiding spot for a ninja like himself.
Peering out, Leo felt his eyes widen as he saw the interior of a ship's hanger, but from nowhere! Narrowing his eyes, the turtle Mobian was able to focus his vision just enough to be able to see the outline of another ship, although it was difficult to see even by Mobian standards. And that was saying something since he was also trained as a full-fledged ninja to boot. Looking ahead of the Dynames, Leo could see where it was about to dock on the ship. Perhaps now was the time to get off...?
Looking up, Admiral Yuy could see the Mobian jump out of his hiding spot and onto one of the catwalks before sliding down to meet up with the admiral himself.
"So you made it." The admiral noted, making it clear that he had not doubted the Mobian's abilities at all.
"Yeah." Leo said. "But I will admit, seeing a ship covered in armor that makes invisible is not what I was expecting to encounter here."
Admiral Yuy chuckled here. "Consider it but one of the many surprises we have here." He said with some amusement in his voice.
The crew of the invisible ship was quite surprised to see the Mobian, but considering what unit they were a part of, they had been briefed on the situation, so it was not as much of a shock as it would be if they were unprepared. Aside from a few pointing Leonardo out, the crew left him alone for the most part, much to Admiral Yuy's silent relief. It would have been bad if his unit had been forced to take action against their fellow members.
Looking around, Leo was quick to note the unusual hair and eye colors of some of the crew while others lacked such things. "What's with the unusual hair and eye colors?" He asked as Admiral Yuy looked back at him.
"Remember how we explained that some of our people are enhanced here?" The admiral asked as Leo nodded. He remembered that conversation clearly. "Well, some of those genetic modifications include altering the hair and eye color of each person who is born enhanced."
Leo looked at some of the members of the unit again, noting that Admiral Zala had blue hair while Rear Admiral Joule had silver hair of all things. He had to wonder if they were born with that hair color or if they had been enhanced before birth. Noticing his confused look, Admiral Yuy asked the question. "What's on your mind?"
"Just what are they?" Leo asked at last. "I mean, I get they are human, but what do you call the enhanced humans here?"
Coming to a stop in front of his quarters, Admiral Yuy looked back at the turtle Mobian. "I think I can give a better explanation inside my quarters." He said as the door opened. Leo followed the man inside and the door slid shut behind the duo.
Sitting down at his desk, Admiral Yuy then spoke. "Now, what questions do you have?"
"What do you call the enhanced humans here?" Leo asked. "That seems a good place to start."
Admiral Yuy nodded. "A good question too." He agreed before he brought up an image of a man in a space suit. "But in order to understand, we need to start at the beginning."
Leo looked on as the image changed again, this time to show the man getting shot. "This, is the defining event for our world." Admiral Yuy said. "The man shot here was George Glenn, the first enhanced human, called a Coordinator."
"So, you call the enhanced humans Coordinators?" Leo asked as the human nodded.
"Yes." Admiral Yuy replied. "Basically, Coordinators can be created from the embryos of any unmodified human, called a Natural."
Leo nodded, beginning to understand. "Okay. So, were all Coordinators on your unit created before birth?"
"Some, but not all." Heero replied. "Some are first-generation Coordinators meaning their parents are Naturals, and some are second-generation Coordinators meaning their parents were first-generation Coordinators."
That surprised Leo, but he didn't say it out loud. "I see." Leo mused to hide his surprise. "And what about you?" He asked, making the admiral raise an eyebrow. "Are you a Coordinator?"
"No." Heero replied. "I am what is known as an Enhanced, or half-Natural and half-Coordinator."
"Is that even possible?" Leo asked.
"It is if a Natural marries a Coordinator." The admiral replied. "But I am not going to go into my past, as that is on a strictly need-to-know basis. And when I say need-to-know, I mean only my unit knows the real details of it." He then placed a hand on his gun. "And anyone who asks gets one warning before they get killed."
Hearing how cold the admiral's voice was made Leo stop and consider the warning. It didn't sound like a bluff, so he had to conclude that it had happened before.
Looking back at the image of the man again, Leo spoke once more. "So...this George Glenn...he was killed because of his Coordinator status?"
"Yes." Heero replied. "Although, it was more because the shooter was jealous he was not born a Coordinator."
Leo frowned at that. It appeared what he had been told was true. The first Coordinator was killed all because of jealousy.
GF-007
Wing Saber looked at Arcee, the two of them resting in an old hanger for the night on an old military base. The pink femme was busy working on trying to get local information to see if there was any way to find the Ark here, as she called the ship the Prime had been last seen on. "I don't understand it." She finally said at last. "How could the Prime's ship not be here?"
"Oh, I don't doubt it's here." Wing Saber said as he looked at her. "It's just probably hidden somewhere, and no one has found it yet."
Arcee looked back at him in return. "And what makes you so sure?" She asked with a bit of a huff.
"Hey, I'm just going off what we know. Or rather, I'm going off what I know." Wing Saber countered. "First, the Ark crashed and a signal was sent out before that happened. Second, it was millennia ago, and the planet's geographic activity has shifted over that time, so the crash site is currently unknown. Third, the trajectory of the Ark's entry and descent angle are not known. And fourth, your ship crashed as well, wiping any possible coordinates from the ship's computer."
Arcee frowned at his response. "Okay...but we do know the last known location the signal was transmitted from."
"Yeah, but that was in orbit!" Wing Saber pointed out. "I doubt the coordinates of the Ark would be decipherable based on that alone."
Arcee just gave him a look, but Wing Saber didn't pay much mind to it. He had more important things to worry about at the moment anyway.
Dimension O-000
The invisible ship, the USSF Constitution, was ready to head out. Like the Archangel, the ship was equipped with the Jump-Slip Drive, or JSD for short. However, this was the first time the drive was going to be used to head to GF-007. Heero was on the bridge, as was Leo and the rest of the bridge crew. Commander Tao White was in the captain's seat, with Leo and Heero standing on each side of her.
"Is the ship set for launch?" Tao asked as she looked at Aisha Nihao.
"Yes, ma'am." The Coordinator replied as her commander nodded.
"Good." Commander White said before she looked ahead of them at the opening that led to outer space. "All engines, 30% speed."
"30% speed." Petty Officer 1st Class Argyle replied. While it was common for crews to be used on their respective ships, in Zero Squadron's case, all crews were trained to operate on all ships, meaning they understood how to pull off their duties on other ships in addition to their own.
The Constitution headed out into space, the GN Drives on the ship giving them power and propulsion. Leo noted the brief appearance of the sparkles of light, but brushed it aside, deeming it was not something to be concerned with. The invisible ship headed to slip D-4, and soon vanished into it like the white ship before it had.
GF-007
They arrived in GF-007 in a flash of light, a sign they were back. Heero looked over his team and the crew of the ship. "Is everyone present?"
"All present and accounted for." Dearka said from his seat. Every section of the ship replied in kind, giving Heero good news.
"Is the ship still functional?" Tao asked as Aisha nodded.
"Yes ma'am." She replied. "All systems are green and the GN drives are functioning at optimal parameters."
"Good." Commander White said before looking at Heero. "All systems are operational."
A nod was her response. "Good." Admiral Yuy said before he gave the order. "Take us in."
The descent went smoothly, much to the relief of the crew. Even Leo felt relief at a smooth re-entry. But once the ship was in the atmosphere, that was when Admiral Yuy dropped the bombshell. "Alright. Once we get low enough, find us a place to set up for landing."
Leo looked at him in surprise. "You're not submerging?"
"This ship doesn't have that capability." Admiral Yuy replied as he looked back at the Mobian. "It is more of a stealth ship than an actual combatant vessel." Seeing Leo's worried look, Heero was quick to add on to the explanation. "But make no mistake, this ship is more than capable of holding its own in a fight."
"How so?" Leo asked.
The admiral just looked down. "That's classified. But I assure you, this vessel is just as hard to take down as the Archangel." He said at last as he looked back up at Leo, blue eyes meeting dark blue.
Leo didn't press the issue, instead deciding to look over the specs of the ship, even if he wouldn't understand them much.
It didn't take the unit long to find a spot to set down. Once the ship was landed, Leo went out to scout out the area. Where the Constitution had set down was in an area with old ruins that had not yet been explored. Before they had left, Zero Squad had deemed it a good location to set up a temporary base with their next ship, so it was all in all a good location so far.
After a few hours of scouting the area, including using his Semblance to cover more ground, Leo reported back that it was clear of Grimm for the moment. With that as the all-clear signal, the unit's members exited the ship, but not in uniform. Oh, no. They were dressed in archeology outfits, meaning they were undercover as a team of archeologists. Setting up tents, Zero Squad was soon set to go about their undercover mission.
Nicol, who was wearing a hat to hide his green hair, began to study some old runes as he knelt down beside them. "Wow..." He murmured as his enhanced eyesight caught sight of the runes and the marks that showed their age. "This is incredible..."
"It can be." Leo agreed. He was wearing a cloak and hat to hide his Mobian appearance. After all, if a Ninja Turtle was seen, then suspicion would be aroused if anyone saw him.
"And you say no one has explored these particular ruins before?" The 1st lieutenant continued.
A nod was the response. "That's right." Leo confirmed. "The Secret Saturdays were supposed to do so last year, but sadly, their team for it got killed by some kind of 'curse', as they put it." He continued.
Nicol felt his blood freeze at that. While he was a Coordinator and thus more likely to dismiss such a notion, the fact that these Secret Saturdays had not explored these ruins because of a 'curse' set him on edge. Given what they had seen thus far of this universe, it wasn't past the point of being claimed as possible now. In fact, the unit was taking it seriously.
As Nicol and Leo talked, Athrun poked around what had to be an old grave of some kind. Or he thought it was until he found it was some kind of entrance to the inner part of the ruins. Moving aside the cover to the opening, the admiral blinked as he saw the stairs that descended into the dark depths of the labyrinth below. Taking out his flashlight, Athrun began to descend down the stairs. His Coordinator eyesight allowed him to see, which he was grateful for because even with the flashlight, the tunnel he was in was still very dark.
Walking forwards a bit, the dark-blue haired admiral could see more runes, and even some old pictures that were on the walls. His light showed them in all their faded glory, revealing what the ruins hid from even the Secret Saturdays. Emerald green eyes went wide as Admiral Zala backed up just a few steps. "What in the world...?" He murmured. Before him was a large mural showing a battle that had taken place. And beside that was a large door that looked like it was sealed shut, like a tomb almost. And in a sense, it was. But what lay inside would change how Zero Squad helped in the fight down the road, and they did not know it...
GrimmFall
Lowemon and Kazemon were training in the main room while Major Glory watched. The two Digimon had been at it for a while now, and it clearly showed. Since Valhallen and Krunk were out on a mission, he, Tikki Torch, White Tiger, and the other members of the Justice Friends had been keeping an eye on the city, and there had been no moved by Sammael or anyone else thus far.
The major just hoped that his two friends would come back safe.
Ruins
Admiral Zala walked forwards, keeping an eye on the door. He put a hand on it and felt it. The door was solid stone, which was not what he wanted to see. He frowned at that. How were they supposed to open a solid stone door without destroying the ruins? Stepping back, the admiral pondered the options his unit had. True, they could use explosives, but that would just hinder their operations in the long run, as they needed the ruins' walls intact since those held the story of this place.
Looking back at the stairway that led to the surface, Athrun made his way back towards it. He headed up the stairs and found himself back at the dig site. The Coordinator raised his arms and waved his hands over his head to get the attention of Leonardo. The ninja turtle looked over and saw the admiral trying to get his attention. Next to Athrun was an open stairway, meaning he had found a way inside. Leo at once sprinted over. "What is it?" He asked as the human lowered his arms.
"I think you had best come and see for yourself." Athrun replied as he led Leo down the stairs. It was only because he was a Mobian that Leo was able to see in the dark better than the Coordinator next to him. Once the two reached the bottom of the stairs, Athrun swept his flashlight around the chamber, revealing the images on the walls to Leonardo.
The Mobian was stunned. He was seeing real history right before his eyes. "Is this what you wanted to show me?" He asked as Athrun nodded.
"It is." The human confirmed. "I was hoping you could at least give an idea as to what these images show since I have no idea what this is all about."
Leo looked to the Coordinator with a helpless look. "I wish I could, but I am just as in the dark as you are." He replied at last.
Athrun just sighed. "Great...now what do we do?"
Walking over to one of the images, Leo peered at it. "It looks like this is showing some kind of battle." The turtle Mobian noted. "I can't exactly be sure, but that appears to be the case."
Frowning a bit, Athrun walked over and peered at it as well. His green eyes picked out what had to be guns, and he could see many black, red, and white shapes looking like animals, half-human animal hybrids, etc. "Are these all Grimm?"
"Yeah." Leo confirmed. "They are." Pointing at each one, he listed them off. "Beowolves are the wolf-like ones, the bear-like ones are Ursa Grimm, the half-human, half-horse ones are the Nuckalevee, the draconic ones are Dragon Grimm, the sea serpent ones are the Sea Fei Long Grimm, etc."
"How tough are those half-human ones?" Athrun asked.
"Very tough." Leo replied with a grim tone. "My master, Splinter, fought one and they have a nasty habit of having the human half popping upright to attack. when the lower half is not attacking."
Athrun winced at that. He did not want to face one of those things. Looking back at the image again, he saw the Goliath Grimm. "Those elephant-like Grimm...I remember fight one once..."
"You fought a Goliath?!" Leo asked in shock.
"Yeah. Using our machines." Athrun replied, making Leo realize these guys were the ones who used those 'War Men'.
Leo remembered that fight well, as it had been shown on the TV. "There were six of you, and you were able to beat it...?"
"Only because we had the element of surprise." Athrun admitted. "If we hadn't, we might have lost."
Leo looked at him in amazement. "But still...that is quite the achievement!"
"Yeah, but if you think about it, six Gundams to one Goliath are not what I would like to call even odds." Athrun said grimly. "It is a six-to-one fight, meaning the Goliath had the upper hand in the fight due to its power and strength. And don't get me started on the Sea Fei Long Grimm"
Looking at the images again, Leo spoke once more. "What about the Sea Fei Long?"
"We barely won against it with the Archangel." Athrun sighed as he ran a hand through his dark-blue hair. "If not for having EMP shielding, we would have lost all control of our ship and, with all systems disabled, we would have crashed."
Leo stopped running a hand along the images at that. He glanced back at the admiral. "You...almost lost?"
"Yeah." The Coordinator admitted. "Funny huh? An elite unit like ours, nearly losing to a Grimm." Athrun then looked up at Leo again. "But that only goes to show how out of our comfort zone we are. If we had tried to go after the Grimm only, we would be exposed, and that would get attention drawn to us by other parties, both good and bad." He sighed before continuing. "And with our weapons technology, not to mention our dimensional transit abilities, well...how would you like it if someone had the ability to access your dimension and you had no means of defending against them?"
Hearing those words made Leo realize just how far the unit was willing to go to keep their own universe safe from attack. A shudder ran through his body at the thought of Sammael using such technology to spread the Dark Substance all over the dimensional boundaries.
Watching from his tower, the mage could see all. Yes, he could see through the dimensional planes thanks to his magic, and he was observing dimension GF-007 with interest. Or rather, he was observing a small group located in said dimension. There was a turtle Mobian with what looked to be a young human male with dark blue hair and green eyes. And on his shoulder was an emblem he had seen only once before. A quick check of his vision journal revealed the emblem was indeed what he had spoken of to the late King Ozric about. Yes, this had to be one of those from that world he had seen in his visions due to his magic.
It would seem his vision had begun to come true. But now what he was really uncertain about was to come. Had these people made contact first? Or was it his universe that found theirs? If it was the former, then things could go either way. The same went for the latter. He did not know which scenario would lead to the defeat of Sammael, or if it would come about at all.
For the first time in millennia, Yen Sid was wary of what was going on. Yes, things were going as he had expected, but now it came to the hard part. Were these guys here to conquer, or were they there to help?
Listening in, the mage could pick up bits of their conversation. "...did you get involved here?" The Mobian was asking.
The young man sighed. "Blame a woman with black skin and glowing blue eyes that could flash red if she chose to."
"You mean Black Velvet attacked your dimension?!" The Mobian exclaimed.
Yen Sid listened in, frowning a bit to himself. It seemed that his dimension had attacked these guys instead of these guys finding his universe. That possibly meant that the new arrivals were here to conquer instead. However, listening in would reveal more, he hoped.
And he was not disappointed. "She did." The man replied. "However, while we do want to bring her to justice for the attack on one of our colonies, when we sent in one of our ships to explore, we began to get information on your world and that tipped us off to the situation here."
"What do you mean?" The Mobian asked.
Yen Sid listen with interest. "I mean, when we came here and learned more about your universe, we couldn't just sit back and do nothing." The blue-haired man explained. "With these Grimm around, we had to wonder what was going on, so our objective changed from hunting down this Black Velvet to scouting out the area." To hear this from the young man before him was a surprise to Yen Sid.
It seemed these new arrivals were not there to conquer as he had feared, but rather, they wanted justice for the attack on their colony. And that objective had changed when they had learned of the dire situation here. True, it seemed they still wanted justice for that attack, but it was now a secondary objective. Maybe things would work out after all. But Yen Sid knew that only time would tell...
An ancient order...
(Shows a temple with statues in front of it)
A displaced Warrior...
(A form in a cloak is shown with a weapon on his back)
And a disgraced member...
(A disfigured form is shown limping towards the temple)
All meet in a clash over a sacred item...
(Shows a small satchel holding a single bean)
And revenge...
(The disfigured form attacks a member of the ancient order, only for the Warrior to defend her)
Now, one warrior on a journey finds himself caught up in the battle
(The cloaked warrior is shown panting before he looks back)
To defend a sacred item
(A hand made of bacon and carrots tries to grab the satchel)
And save the ancient order from eradication
(The warrior turns to his draconic form and slams into the disfigured form to save one of the order)
But when it seems like defeat is nigh...
(The draconic warrior is shown on the ground, panting)
A lost power is tapped...
(Shows coding surrounding the draconic form)
And the Angel shall rise from the flames
(A burst of fire is all that is seen before the female Foodian gasps, as does the disfigured form)
GRIMMFALL: ANGEL'S FIRE
COMING THIS FALL!
Zero Squad arrives in a new ship and begins to explore some old ruins while a form from the long-passed Forgotten Age ponders their activities and intentions. But what will the unit find while here? Read on to find out~! :3