Greetings people! I don't really have a lot to say here apart from welcome to where things are going to change a bit. this is definitely where things have been building up to slightly and I remember how people disliked Rider for her... well, she didn't seem like anything important. hopefully, that will change as soon as you read this. anyway, let's go!

Super hero time!

Shuujin: Issei, don't bring up bad memories for a girl!

Issei: You should focus on trying not to die! What do you have up those sleeves of yours?

Shuujin: Don't worry, we've both got these under control.

Issei: We're going to rock it!

S + I: Break the chains! Phone up the future!

"Generation will destroy him. Stop them. Please Issei…"

Issei was awake.

Or at least he thought he was awake. After all, how many other scenarios could you imagine that would have all of the girls crowded around him, Yasaka waiting patient by the side with Leon and Hibiki? A small wince escaped the boy as he struggled to sit up, looking around the plain room he had been deposited within with vague interest. It was clear that this wasn't the Starway Rider so… they were back in Kyoto. What happened to the kid?

"Issei, you're alright! Ophis said you… well, you had a whole bunch of souls in you or something, so we were all super scared!" Rider exclaimed as soon as she saw the boy rise from his position, eyes still fluttering to rid them of sleep. "Can you remember what happened?"

Now that was a question. What could he say when Issei didn't even fully understand his own situation? What did they say, multiple souls in himself… to comprehend such a thing would be unreal, but there was no denying the excruciating pain he had felt as his own body refused to follow the instructions given to it. Hundreds of different voices all echoing out in his head, each living a life in a second before another twelve came to take their place. He had experienced everything a person could in their lives a hundred times over and things that were seemingly impossible were, for a small moment at least, no more difficult than breathing. How do you quantify that with words? How do you sum up such an extraordinary experience?

"…It was weird."

Not like that.

"I felt like I was so many people, but still myself… they were completely different, but there were too many similarities to ignore…" Issei breathed out, words aimlessly trying to be put together into something at least vaguely comprehensible. "And then there was… I'm not completely sure, but I can remember what a person said to me last. They… mentioned something about… Generation destroying someone."

There was silence in the room, none sure how to react at the sudden frost that filled the air. From their little gathering behind them, Yasaka let an eyebrow rise as a grunt escaped Hibiki, the Raiju flicking off the few small sparks that gathered at his fingertips through instincts of protecting his master, Leon letting the winds fall away from his own body. Onihime took only a little notice of the hum that passed through her lips as she looked to where Rider's fist clenched slightly, a white tone invading her smooth skin.

"Generation? They're going to destroy someone?" Rider repeated, a cold hint entering her tone. There was a clear fear in her look as Issei nodded slowly, lifting himself off of the bed to stand with wobbling legs.

"It was different to the rest of the things I saw. There was an archer called Houyi, who shot down the suns and a woman who became immortal... it wasn't like the others, I wasn't originally meant to be a part of that; I could just feel it inside." Issei informed with a hand to his forehead, the image burned into his head even if the name completely evaded him for some reason.

"I've never heard of Generation being related to someone like that. Do you think they've been recruiting or something?" Leon enquired, a small scoff escaping Hibiki as a calloused hand went to cuff the side of the Tengu's head, much to his annoyance.

"Do you have any idea who those people were? If the kid isn't completely off his rocker, than he's apparently just learnt the story of Chang'e for some reason. Why she would have anything to do with Generation, I have no idea." The gruff old man corrected, scratching away at the scruffy bin upon his bin. "After all, she should be all fine and happy up there unless they suddenly want to blow up the moon."

"The moon? An immortal resides upon the moon?" Leon repeated incredulously. He may not have focused his attention onto the Shinto religion, the majority of their issues remaining with the few Christian faction members that have made their home in japan, but surely it would be a bigger bit of news that there was someone who lived on the freaking moon.

"Of course. You'll find those sort of people everywhere as long as they still have faith in them. The question is why she would be placing her interest in Generation."

"I thought that Issei would be interesting when I found him, but to know that the Chinese moon goddess has chosen to be in contact with him… this definitely changes things even more." Yasaka mused as the trembling of Rider got too much for the pink haired technophile too hold back, Issei's questioning look being the catalyst to break her.

"We need to go to the Starway Rider immediately! I think we need to go check a place out!" the girl feverishly spat out, turning wildly and walking out of the room, quick to drag the two children locked away in the confines of the vessel to where she caught a glimpse of Yasaka, the kitsune leader giving a curt nod at the act as she returned. Kunou shared a loo to Ophis before the two went off as well, Issei moving a little bit gingerly as only Onihime was left behind.

"Lady Yasaka, do you mind if I ask you a question?" the black dressed girl asked casually, even with the formal title added.

"Please, ask whatever you wish. Whether I can assist you with your troubles is another question though, so please keep that in mind." There was a clear serious tone to Yasaka's voice even with the lackadaisical form the gambler took with her; there was no telling what those sorts of people were going to spring on you when they acted like they didn't really care about the answer.

"Do you know the history behind the girl named Rider? I feel as if you know more than you appear to let on." Onihime wasted no time in asking, turning her crimson gaze onto the blonde leader who let out a quiet hum of contemplation.

"I can't say that the name is any more familiar to me than Issei or the others, but I can make a few assumptions." The leader eventually deliberated, Yasaka letting her tails whip lazily behind her. That was more than enough for the gambler as she hurried along easily, Hibiki letting out a small chuckle towards his master.

"You know, you could've just told her it straight." The man reminded, the light hearted grin returning to Yasaka's face at the thought.

"I suppose it was a possibility, but considering the heavy tone of that small moment, it needed a little bit of shared levity, even if it was between us two." The kitsune declared as she motioned casually to the children still tied up together before them. "Now, please take these away and… start to ask the necessary questions."

To the children, it was no ordinary serene smile, but the smirk of a dangerous, truly dangerous, woman.

When the Starway Rider finally stopped from its sudden next trip, Issei and the others could only watch as Rider stumbled her way out through the doors, moving quickly to catch up.

"Issei, what's up with Rider?" Kunou questioned as she dashed forward, her youthful speed far greater than what the brunette really was able to do. "She seems all weird and stuff. Why did she bring us here?"

"I can't really say. I have no clue where we are either." The boy answered, his steps cautious as he struggled to keep up with their pink haired target. The way she moved seemed almost inhumane, but considering that other than him, he was pretty sure she was the only other human in their team, it had to be. There was little to speak of in the wasteland surrounding, the odd remains of ruins and rubble wrecking the bland aesthetic of nothing. It was a decimated area, only a single building left standing clear. The building itself seemed to be in shambles a fact that brought Rider's run to a tentative stop.

"Why is this place like this…? It doesn't make sense…" the girl muttered darkly, looking to the surrounding destruction with more than simple confusion to her eyes. Her feet were moving completely of their own accord, the disbelief in pink orbs overflowing as Issei finally caught up to her, Kunou grabbing a hold of her waist to stop her rotations. "All of the buildings, the people… is this what you meant by destroy…?"

"So you know this place from when it was normal. Does that make this a recent thing?" Issei questioned as he motioned for Ophis to follow, the girl quietly trailing behind as she took in the shattered area. It wasn't as if she was truly that interested, but it was always good to know what the place you were in looked like. "It doesn't seem like it to be honest."

"That can't be right, it can't be like this… they did all this… How?" there was no fluency to her words as she finally broke from the little kitsune's grip, who merely returned to Ophis' side as the technomancer ran into the first building, Issei's cry following as he made a dash to reach her. The door opened easily upon their arrival, far too easily considering the mess that plagued the area outside, as Rider let nothing get in her way as she barrelled up the stairs. Pointedly ignoring the strain that seemed to come about by the movement upon them, Issei followed along rapidly after, the sharp tap of heels echoing behind them letting him know of the two more innocent people with Onihime.

By the time Issei was able to catch his breath again, he was within the office that had taken up one of the many rooms that dotted the floor, the décor within surprisingly untouched. How the place was able to get such things as functional electricity was unknown to the brunette as he looked to one of the computers that flickered between life and death, Rider taking particular notice of a single bunch of documents left haphazardly upon a table.

"Umber, so this is where you kept the notes…" Rider never really had spoken of her personal life at all, had she? When Issei had first me the pink haired girl, she had only been as a person Yasaka had introduced before they ended up working together on a full basis through her getting hired. That joyful spirit was a far cry from the girl who struggled to prevent the tears that threatened to stain the papers within her hand, the scrawl upon them already a hard thing to read. "The investigation into how to work with the Umber engine... So he did manage to complete it before he left."

"Before he left? So the people here didn't die?" that was a reassuring thought. After all, with all of the devastation that dotted the outside area, Issei wasn't exactly too quick to believe that there hadn't been a war waged upon this very place, and all wars brought about a certain aura of death that few could ever escape from. The silence that emanated from Rider however had him flinching lightly, the girl wordlessly moving on to the next area on her invisible list.

Each time continued onto the last, documents each being collected and complied as a tearful Rider held them close to her heart. Each time, her words became far quieter as names began to fly by that Issei strained to pick up, 'Kanshou revolver' passing through lips as barely more than a mumble. Hadn't Rider claimed that she was named after the Starway Rider or something? Did that mean these people too shared their names with machinery? It was a weird thought, but he wouldn't be so callous as to potentially insult the dead.

The final room seemed to be the most wrecked of them all, technology scattered as they flickered through their last clinging moments of life, wires hanging lifelessly out of place. Why whatever had done it had chosen to wreck this room the worst didn't seem all that clear to Issei, at least until he caught Rider's complete breakdown at the front of the end desk, oddly clean from the wreckage.

"I never told you my past, did I Issei…? I must've looked like a real idiot dragging you all here and jumping around the place." Rider lifelessly chuckled as she fell to her knees, the small tissue Issei had been able to procure already soaked through in its entirety. The only thing left for the boy to do was sit beside the distraught technomancer, her sniffles lightening as she clutched the papers in her hand even closer. "Do you mind hearing the story?"

"If it's going to make you feel better, then of course I'm going to listen." Issei soothed, rubbing a circle around the girl's back. He wasn't exactly a genius when it came to this sort of thing, but it worked for him when he was young, so why wouldn't it now? Under normal circumstances, maybe he would've accepted the success of such a technique due to the childish exuberance Rider showed in her actions, but after the stress she had just been through, it was clear that there was far more than first meets the eye.

"Have you ever seen the clothes that reside in the Starway Rider? Where do you think they come from?" Rider mused as she turned to face Issei, unable to meet his soft eyes with her own. "They clearly don't fit me and they're not really the style I have."

"…Wait, you mean these people-?" a sharp nod in response. There was nothing wrong with keeping a reminder of those who had passed away. Everyone had their way of remembrance and who was Issei to try and judge Rider's choice?

"We were a team originally, a team of ten, that were praised as one of the best research groups within Generation. We all worked in this building, what was meant to be the main headquarters…" Rider explained, hesitantly pointing to one of the upturned tables in the corner. "That was actually the one desk I had during my tenure here. We were all so happy working together, doing things that people didn't think were possible without magic. There weren't any people who would match us and we ended up getting praise from even the highest levels; it was why we were all transferred here. But then…"

Issei was hoping that the continued circle upon her back was enough, but as the tears continued to well, there was little effect. There was no need to prompt or push at this point, only provide the desperate rock of security the pink haired girl needed as she told her tale.

"We were told of a new mission, to investigate a place that was complete new to everyone within Generation. This was the type of group that didn't want anything to go unknown, especially anything threatened their power as a fighting force as well as a research facility, so they naturally needed a team to go in and search the place thanks to all the rumours that floated about the place."

"What was this place called?" Issei inquired. Was it meant to be based on a legend, like so much of the other things that seemed to float around according to Yasaka and Kunou's stories, Ophis occasionally chipping in with her own thoughts on the matter whenever she had the desire to do so.

"It was the tower of Ai. There were stories of nine blessings of ultimate power within, each with the power to control one of the aspects of reality and that one person would be deigned to collect them all in order to save our entire world." Rider began, a cold explanation devoid of any sort of heart. "They sent our team in but our leader, a woman called Charlotte, she didn't want me to go in. she kicked me out when the others were marching to their death!"

And so the sobbing began anew. It was clear what the end result had been from their lack of presence and it certainly explained why Rider had proven herself to be so skilled in her art and why she seemed so quiet about her past.

"So they never left the tower of Ai?" Issei continued, a silent nod being his answer.

"But there's still a chance they could be alive in there! Who knows what the power of a blessing can do!" Rider suddenly declared, latching onto a surprised Issei's clothes with a vigour he had yet to see from the girl. "That's why I can't give up! For all I know, they're still alive and well in there and there's still a chance for me to get them out! But with Generation destroyed, it's not like we even have anything to go back to…"

"Why did you leave this generation place anyway? You didn't sound like you were here when the place was destroyed." The sudden silence had Issei feeling extremely awkward as the hard grip upon his shirt loosened before it fell back, Rider resorting to simply playing with the hem of her skirt.

"It's a serious corporation Issei. Any signs of failure or even evidence that we were there when we weren't meant to be could place Generation's reputation on the line. Not only did they lose their top researchers, they had evidence that could say so in the form of me so I was discharged and placed upon the watch list in case I managed to try and tell any of it. The only reason I was able to do so is… this…" grabbing the sobbing girl by the hand and helping her up, it was a slow descent to the other girls. Not that Issei was in any rush.

They needed time for Rider to heal.

And let's put that on hold for now. I recently got another review reminding me that I've included a vocaloid reference in here. that's good, but I'm surprised no one discovered the other one. in fact, the other three, at least; I probably ended up making more for the giggles. To be fair, they're all from the same obscure line of songs (Well, I think they're obscure at least) and for the majority of you, you probably have no idea what I'm talking about, but one's an incredibly important character.

1 - Dragon (Ophis: scale slicer)

2 - Kitsune (Kunou: Kit o' nine tails)

3 - Technomancer (Starway Rider: .EXE(but!)cuter)

4 - Demon (Onihime: Royal straight crush)

5 - ?

6 - ?

7 - ?

8 - ?

9 - ?

0 - ErRoR (woman: ErRoR)

Super hero time! See you next time!