Episode 4: ブラザーズ、アレックスとラスプーチン Brothers; Alexa and Rasputin!
Flashback: 144 Years Ago:
"Io sono la voce
Che chiama il tuo nome
Sto cercandote, amor
Sto cercandote"
(English: I am the voice that calls your name
I am searching for you, love
I am searching for you)
Chirottori Castle: Pandodeca "Era".
Pandora screamed as she pushed the twins out of her body, feeling the intensity of the birth of the newest Chiropteran Twins. Niygn and a few other assistants prepared her some warm solution to ease pain. The two babies cried on their first breath of air.
It had been at least a year (Chiropterans take about a year to give birth given normal circumstances) but she was finally happy that all was going well in the stage of life; her incest relationship with Dodecadron as well as a few other ingredients she prepared for enabled her to create the successful product; Rasputin, the male of the breed…and Alexa, the female of the breed!
Niygn gathered the two babies while not noticing the genitalia and wrapped them in cloth. He handed it over to Pandora as she held the two babies to her side.
"At last…" she smiled happily, not sure whether to laugh wickedly or actually have some emotion and be happy for the live birth.
"Congratulations," said Niygn, "You have successfully completed the birthing with no complications."
"Rasputin…Alexa…" replied Pandora as she cuddled with the two.
Dodecadron walked in the room and saw the two children before his eyes along with his sister/wife. The incest was an important factor for the Chiropterans in order to maintain their supernatural abilities; anyone outside the family would produce weaker generations which would cause problems the species.
"Please rest, my dear lady," said Dodecadron, "You have went through a lot in the last year."
"My beloved," she replied, "I am a Chiropteran just like you. I'll be alright in a matter of hours."
"But please," answered Niygn, "What about the children?"
"They'll be fine…they will need some rest. I will attend to them once we check up on our latest project…the Empusa, right?" asked Pandora.
"The Empusa has grown too large for us to even store, it is inside the volcanic plain not far from here," said Dodecadron.
"Have Tesseract send it to another world," answered Pandora, "He's got the powers of the 4th Dimension…I am sure he can find a new home for it."
Dodecadron bowed and left the room just as the babies began to fell asleep. Some of the nurses left out of the room as well to give the mother and children some privacy.
Pandododeca Lab, Outside of the Castle
Dodecadron walked down through the main bridge of the castle and took a flight of stairs down to the Pandododeca Lab, home of the experimentations that developed this shady kingdom. Monsters of all kinds lived here; the Chiropterans, the Acephliterans, some Megascolides that evolved into sapient forms as well as several Fire Byatis Frogs and Fire Nachas.
The area of the Chirottori was a volcanic-like region with Mt. Etcetera as the main volcano followed by three minor volcanos around. The skies were generally red and black but on certain holidays, the skies were sometimes purified back to normal but only for a short amount of time.
Dodecadron arrived at the lab and watched Tesseract feeding some of the non-sapient Chiropterans and the Megascolides.
"What brings you here brother?" asked Tesseract.
"Our sister says that the Empusa has to go…it needs to leave to another world," answered Dodecadron.
"I see," said Tesseract, "So she says another world?"
"Yes," replied Dodecadron, "Please brother, you know how annoying that thing has become."
"Well now that you said that, I did some world researching and I found a perfect place to send it to," smirked Tesseract.
"And that would be…?" asked Dodecadron.
"Ancient Greece," answered the magician.
"What kind of a name is that?" smirked Dodecadron.
"It's a place of mythology," he replied, "I'm going to ready my spells so please return to the castle."
Dodecadron grunted and left, wondering if he was really going to keep his word or not. Tesseract chuckled and walked to an exit that led to a gigantic volcanic plain where the Empusa roamed around. It was going to be a ton of work to do for that size but Tesseract had the abilities of the 4th Dimension which enabled him to send objects no matter what size to different worlds. He was also able to hear and feel the emotions and feelings with this power by transcending his some of his conscious to other places.
Alexa…Rasputin, he thought as he could see through the eyes of Pandora, such beautiful children, I feel bad for Alexa though…she'll be going through tough times once Rasputin becomes her mate.
Dodecadron walked back to the room where he saw Pandora all petrified and horrified at the sight of her babies, crawling in the floor and giggling.
"Are they already learning to walk?" he asked.
Pandora looked at him with anger in his eyes; anger, shock, disbelief…all of her emotions of disappointed was flowing into him.
"H-how could you?!" she snapped.
"H-honey?" asked Dodecadron, "W-what's the matter?"
Pandora didn't answer but Nigyn walked into the room and whispered something to his hear, shocking him as he looked at the two babies looking up at him, giggling.
"B-both of them…are…boys?" gasped Dodecadron as he saw the penile genitals on both of his sons.
"Why did you allow yourself to create both sons?!" growled Pandora as her eyes glowed blue.
"I-it wasn't my fault!" he snapped, "I have no control over…"
"Tesseract should've came with us that day we mated," she growled, "He would've known that if your sperm was X-Y and X-Y than X-X and X-Y!"
Before he could reply, Pandora soared up to him and grabbed him by the neck, burning his throat while choking him. Nigyn stood the side with horror in his eyes as Pandora seized his life and crushed his neck while turning his entire body into blood and guts, splattering all around.
The mother turned to her sons and was not sure whether to get them or leave them; she was already horrified enough but she knew that they need to be trained and fed and grown at least.
I'll plan another mate with Tesseract, she thought, No…I can't…that's not how it works with the breeding. It really sucks that Dodecadron had to be the oldest one. I'm going to have to hide Alexa in a female outfit while put Rasputin locked up for a while. Oh I know! I'll castrate him! Yes…I'll castrate him with torture!
6 Years Later: "Pandotess Era"
While tending to the garden of barren trees and volcanic ash, Alexa walked alone and looked at the bloodied skies. He wore a long, pink dress/gown while his hair was much longer and almost feminine-like.
To him, it was at least peaceful despite the background looking so dark and sinister-like. After all, he was a Chiropteran and he only lived with his father, Tesseract for some time. While he couldn't understand while he wore such outfits, no one in the town seemed to give remarks about it. However, he would always ask his father about his mother.
"Is mother coming to visit us?" he would ask.
"Mother is busy with work," replied Tesseract, "Now run along in the village and go discover something new, okay?"
Since he was able to start walking (as well as flying short distances), Alexa explored the villages and made some friends. However, a part of him heard a song coming from a particular place. One day, he followed the "cries of a song" to a tower before him in the courtyard of the Chirottori castle before him.
"Iooooooooo sooonooooo la vooooooceeeeeeeeeee cheeeee chiaaammaaaaaaaa tuo nooooomeeeeeee…stoooooo cercandoteeeeeee amorrrrr, stooooo cercandoteeeee… "
Alexa climbed up the stairs quickly and walked up to the door of a cell and shouted, "Hey! Is someone in here!? My name is Alexa, can you hear me!?"
He heard a moan of a fainted voice inside. Alexa pressed his ear to the door and could feel the presence of someone inside.
"R-Rasputin?" asked Alexa, suddenly remembering him for the first time in years, "A-are you alright?! Why are you locked up here alone after all of these years!?"
He closed his eyes and reached out to Rasputin's thoughts and learned that after the birth of the twins, the younger twin was living in the tower locked up while he was living in a somewhat normal life with the monsters and everything. The family kept Alexa in disguise of a female with pink fancy dresses and his long hair.
However, Pandora avoided Alexa at all costs, leaving Tesseract to raise him. The truth was somewhat painful but he kept it to the side.
"I…I'm so sorry," said Alexa, "You and I both don't deserve to live like this. How about we escape together? You know, we are Chiropterans after all; we don't need to really eat or sleep…"
"That would be great," replied Rasputin, "Please save me…b-brother."
"B-brother? I am your sister…"answered Alexa, "My dress is even…"
"I know that," said Rasputin, "But…no one knows the truth about you except us and mother and father."
Before Alexa could reply, he turned to see Tesseract standing before him.
"You must never repeat those words," he said as he grabbed Alexa and the two teleported out of the tower dungeons and back outside.
"F-father?" asked Alexa.
"My dear, you must not go to that tower again," he replied, "If your mother finds out, she will…"
"I know," he sighed, "But still…why does Rasputin have to be separated from me? I can hear his voice at night before I go to sleep…and it sounds beautiful."
"That's enough," he said, "It's time for your lessons, go to your teachers now."
Alexa grunted and turned around, rushing back to the building while holding his dress from tripping over.
Pandotess Lab:
After the death of Dodecadron and the rise of Tesseract, the lab name was changed to Pandotess Lab which caused suspicion of the lab members about the things happening to the family. However, Pandora told them not to worry about it and that her "husband" died from a terminal illness.
"So it's been true?" asked Akemi Tsunekoto, "That the offspring are BOTH males?"
"Yes," said Nigyn, "I have observed everything and saw that she killed Dodecadron. She's clearly gone mad."
"Their sixth Birthdays' is coming up," replied Mei Natsuki, "Kaarina will reveal the prophecies to the mother."
"I have a bad feeling out of this," nodded Nigyn, "We must be on ready and standing by."
"What I don't understand is that we haven't been told what has happening for the last six years," said Akemi, "Surely Pandora has something up on her sleeves."
On the Sixth Birthday:
Dove è l'amore?
Niente rimane
Soltanto sangue
E la tristezza prevale…
(English: Where has love gone?
Nothing remains
Only blood and sadness left…)
Pandora sat on her throne while Tesseract stood to the side by her left. Alexa and Rasputin stood in the central area of the giant hall and they were chained up and put back to back of each other. The mother tried to keep herself distant from Alexa but she was really eager to know on the fate of the Chiropterans.
Kaarina rested her hands on their heads, reading their futures. Several Chiropterans were present for the birthday prophecies while Pandora waited and watched carefully; eager to hear the fortunes.
"You shall become a weapon in this world," said Kaarina, "Your life will be filled with challenges and hatred waiting before you…but you will lead and grow."
Rasputin wasn't so sure what she meant so he nodded. Kaarina read through Alex's soul and discovered something interesting about him. She gasped as the prophecy about the Six Stars matched the description on the memories of this child before her.
"Six Stars…a prince at hand," said Kaarina, "You shall become the will that destroys the heavens."
"S-six stars?" asked Pandora, "W-what the hell are you saying?!"
"If this child reunites with the five other stars…your reign will end…he will bring back to what was lost," said the prophet.
"LIES!" screamed Pandora as she soared out of her throne and grabbed Kaarina by the neck, "How dare you question my authority of power!?"
"He will…end your reign," hissed Kaarina, "Can't you see?"
"Oh I'll definitely give you a sight!" growled Pandora as she dug her fingers in Kaarina's eyes, ripping her eyeballs out.
"He will…it's as it is foretold," said Kaarina as she used her staff to vanish completely while her mind was screaming in pain from the tearing of the eyes. Pandora crushed the eyeballs to guts and dumped them on the floor.
The other Chiropterans were in a state of shock and fear but Pandora slumped back down on her throne.
"Leave us!" ordered Pandora, excusing the people to leave the room.
"Was that even necessary?" asked Tesseract.
"He's to be killed," said Pandora, "It's the fault of my late husband…or rather my brother. Had he allowed you to come with us, I know he would have been able to produce the right ingredients for my children."
"I will remain by your side," said Tesseract, "Always."
I hope you can forgive me…Alexa, he thought, Oh heavens have mercy! I hope the others have launched their plan.
Pandora got up and said, "I had enough, I'm going to kill Alexa…I wish he was never born!"
The Chiropterans screeched up and down as the mother stepped down from her throne and readied her powers.
"I am now Tesseract's empress…I cannot afford to have time for a flawed son of Dodecagon's around me…I WISH YOU'VE NEVER BEEN BORN!"
Alexa screamed as the blast of energy soared out towards him. It was all in a heartbeat of time before it would hit Alexa. However, a strange blast deflected it out of the way as Pandora hissed and turned to see Akemi and Mei along with a handful of the scientists.
"You GET OUT!" growled Pandora as she readied another blast towards them.
Nigyn took his chance to dive from the ceiling as he grabbed Alexa and Rasputin but Tesseract unleashed a shadow tentacle blast, grabbing Rasputin back into Pandora's hands.
"Alexa will not be a part of your lives!" growled Mei as her eyes glowed orange, wrapping Alexa in a blanket of energy.
Tesseract snapped his fingers by the signal from Nigyn, creating a portal to the unknown. Pandora's wicked smiled turned into laughter.
"I totally forgot you had the power to transcend," she smirked, "Did you kill them!?"
"I sent them to vacuum void," he nodded, "They are dead the moment they appear there."
"Excellent," smiled Pandora, "I couldn't have asked for a better man."
Rasputin began to cry in horror from all what was happening as he cried out, "What did you do to my brother?!"
He kicked her in the face and broke free as his eyes glowed green, causing his wings to grow from his back.
"My son…my real son," began Pandora, "It's time for you to enter your hibernation state…"
Before he could reply, Pandora unleashed her powers at Rasputin, casting him into a deep slumber. The boy collapsed to the floor as his body was paralyzed and silent.
"You'll learn the truth," she smiled as she picked him up again, "I'll teach you…and then you'll understand."
The portal opened and threw open Alexa, Mei, Nigyn, Akemi, and the group of scientists to the plains of an unknown area of the world. They turned to see a large body of water and felt a warm breeze.
"You are lucky Tesseract is on our side," said Mei.
"He sent us a way out of the mess, but I doubt we are able to return there. We got no resources," nodded Akemi.
"I have already prepared for that," said Nigyn as he took out a small pouch and set it on the ground. After a snap of his fingers, the pouch broke open as a swirl of energy was unleashed, taking the trees, rocks, and stones together to form an empty building.
"This is our new home," explained Nigyn, "From this day forth; we are at war against Pandora! She must be stopped but to do that…Alexa must grow to his full power to defeat her!"
Alexa opened his eyes as he felt the warm hands of Nigyn holding him, he shoved off and jumped down to the ground.
"…I won't see them again?" asked Alexa.
"No," replied Mei, resting her hand on the boy's shoulder, "Your mother will try to kill you if she finds out you are alive still."
"I can't believe I failed to save Rasputin," sighed Nigyn, "It's my fault."
"It's no doubt Pandora will turn him to a weapon," agreed Mei, "It's sad."
"W-what are you talking about?" asked Alexa.
"From this day forth…you are to kill your brother," said Nigyn, "Rasputin…will become your enemy and only you alone must face him. Have no one else get involved…not even that pathetic legend of the Six Stars that Kaarina shared. You are a Chiropteran, not a god."
"But first, it's time you got rid of that dress," said Mei, "It clearly doesn't match you at all. And your hair…it needs to be cut down."
Alexa nodded as he was handed a pair of new clothes that consisted of a cloak and set of some loose shirts and a skirt-like pants.
"It's time for you to fight," nodded Akemi, "The War has only begun…"
10 Years Later: The Northern Region…
Alexa sliced down the Chiropteran and set down his sword. It had been a long battle but the last of the Chiropteran here in the region was finally defeated. However, he grew tiresome as of late. Mei and Akemi put down their guns and grabbed Alexa safely into their hands.
"Are you alright?" asked Akemi.
Alexa shook his head and replied, "I…I can't get up…my-my eyes…"
"He's been fighting for 10 years," said Mei, "It is said that at 16 years old, he will…"
"I know," answered Akemi, "But we still haven't found a place for him…just where are we going to go, back south?"
Mei shrugged and turned to see a set of stairs, "Looks like this leads to something."
The two ladies brought the sleeping boy to the top of the stairs and saw strange looking ruins before them. Mei turned to see a small village by the bay and wondered what kind of people or monsters lived there.
"Don't you think we should reconsider?" asked Akemi.
"No, I think this place will be fine, I don't think anyone goes to this place that much. Besides…" replied Mei.
The two stepped in as they saw six broken statues and a table-like centerpiece before them. Mei used her strength to push the table open and saw a small pit below.
"Bring him here," she said to the other girl.
Akemi held Alexa and stepped up to the pit and replied, "It looks too small…too rough."
"We'll give him some stuff," she answered, "For now. We have to do this and keep going at our duties."
Akemi nodded and placed Alexa into the pit below and Mei sealed the tomb, knowing that it would be a long time before they could see him again.
"We need to do something with his name," said Mei.
"…well we shouldn't change it completely…" replied Akemi, "Alexa…Alex?"
"That's it!?" answered Mei, "Don't you think that would cause suspicion…?"
"We cannot do much about that," she nodded, "That name is something important for him; changing it will only make him forget."
The two ladies left the temple and got on their hover bikes to return back to the south.
30 Years Later: Post-Hibernation Cycle I
Mei sat at her desk, writing information in a book when she heard a knock on the door. After beckoning the people to come inside, she saw two of her servants along with Alex finally awakened for the first time in 30 years of his rest. He was chained up on his hands like a prisoner who just got out for so many years with his long, uncut, messy hair.
"Welcome home, Alex," said Mei, "My name is Mei Natsuki, leader of "The Watcher's.""
Alex stood there with a blank expression on his face, he didn't remember a single thing on his mind expect nightmares and endless visions of dreams.
"I see you're in a daze still, please rest yourself here. Tomorrow, we'll being to train and teach you," she answered.
The servants led Alex to a regular room to rest in and the boy collapsed to the bed, feeling confused and dizzy from all of the years.
W-who am I…wh-why I am…alone, he thought.
Chirottori Castle
Il cuore mio
Sanguina per te, per te
Felicità è lontana
Striscio nella
Nella oscurita!
(English: My heart bleeds for you, for you
Happiness is so far away
I crawl in darkness)
"You've been trained very well," said Pandora, looking at Rasputin, "You are the perfect example of what the Chiropterans are."
The younger brother stood in silence as his eyes were green with envy in him. Pandora smiled with a sinister attitude as she knew that this was only the beginning for him. Ever since she found out that Alex was still alive, she decided to not go kill Tesseract yet but rather use this as an advantage to teach Rasputin.
"Tell me…what is your destiny?" she asked.
"I am to defeat my brother," he answered.
"Yes…why is that?" she questioned.
"Because only he gets treated like a human…he only is experienced happiness…and only he gets permitted to have fun," he said.
"Come with me," said Pandora as she held his hand and led him down the stairs, heading to the lab room.
They walked through the room and headed to where five gigantic stasis tubes rested with each of them containing a person inside of some sort. With the help of Tesseract's fourth dimensional magic, she was able to model these people based out of a group of beings that she was fascinated with (little did she realize they were The Magic Six) and created them with black hair and red eyes.
"W-what are these?" asked Rasputin.
"They are Chivashi…" she answered, "They will be tied to your blood and my blood, so as long as we are alive…or at least us of them is…they'll be active and drawn to our powers if they are defeated."
"I see," said Rasputin, "Can they be tried out?"
Pandora tapped on the glass and said, "Come out and play my children…your master wants to meet you."
The glass cages exploded as the five, sick, twisted beings emerged out and Pandora readied on the Kraata slugs to activate them completely. Once they were ready, their eyes glowed in sickly colors of red while their jet-back hair colors shimmered.
"My name is Rasputin," said the young boy, "From now on…you will all belong to me."
"Yes, my lord," they hissed.
"We shall serve you to the end," said Haruto.
"Our service will help you fulfill your mission," agreed Natsuhisa.
"They require more testing though," sighed Pandora, "But I guess you guys can go around the fortress a little and practice."
Rasputin nodded and the six made their way out, heading to a courtyard to practice using their powers. The younger brother was amazed on their abilities and observed their behaviors carefully.
"They live for destruction," muttered Rasputin, "I hope this is done when we defeat Alexa…"
1 Year Later, Lha'li's Late Golden Age
Alex, Mei, and Akemi visited the town of Lha'li as the people walked around through the markets, visiting their families as well as living life happily. The area was fertile with the Las Jangwa Desert a few miles away from here.
"W-what are they doing?" asked Alex.
"A celebration," said Mei, "It appears that they're having a festival here on their heritage."
"I see," he nodded.
He turned around to see a young little boy running around and tripped on his feet. Alex walked up to him and asked, "Are you okay?"
The little boy nodded and scurried off, leaving Alex in a dazed for mere moments.
"A-Alex?" asked Mei.
"Is something the matter?" asked Akemi.
Alex turned to see a strange looking lady dressed in such beautiful outfits; it was almost attractive enough that he almost forgot what his duty was here. Mei grabbed him and they walked to the central plaza.
"He's here," muttered Akemi as she purchased some of the clothing here to blend into the crowds. She passed a set to Mei and Alex to wear.
"W-who is here?" asked Alex.
"Rasputin," said Mei.
Alex's eyes glowed red as the name sparked his memory; it was over 30 years ago when he learned the terrible fate that he was to defeat his brother.
"I…I don't want to fight," said Alex as his eyes turned back yellow.
"Defeating him will slow down the Chiropterans," replied Mei, "We can't let him get away with this."
Rasputin stood on the stage of the outdoor theater as he smiled to himself; he took on the form a random looking foreigner with a tanned-colored skin and desert like outfits. He could sense Alex here already but there was no time to waste.
The music in the background began to perform, causing Alex's eyes to glow red as the time was getting closer. The background music was calm and relaxing at first with the peaceful ton before he began to sing:
"Iooooooooo sooonooooo la vooooooceeeeeeeeeee cheeeee chiaaammaaaaaaaa tuo nooooomeeeeeee…stoooooo cercandoteeeeeee amorrrrr, stooooo cercandoteeeee… "
"Doveeeeeeeee l'amooooooooooreeeeeeeeee niiiiiiiiiieeeenteeeeeeeeeee rimaaaaaaaaaaaaaneeeeee soltaaaaaaaaaaaaaano saaaaaaaaguueeee e laaaa tristeeeezaaaa preeeeeevaaaallleeeeee … "
Alex watched in horror as he saw the people beginning to transform into Chiropterans and Acephlipterans. The citizens screamed and fled across the city while the monsters began their attack. Mei and Akane shot several of them down while Alex reached to the outdoor theater area and saw Rasputin still singing his song.
"Il cuoreee miooooo….sanguinaaaaa per teeee per teeee…felicitaaaaa e loontaaaannaaaaaaa, striscioooooo nellllaaaaa….nellaaaaaaa oscuritaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa… "
T-that song, thought Alex, he used to play that long ago and now he's turning people into Chiropterans with it!
Alex readied on the blade as he saw Rasputin looking at him with a sneering smile on his face. The older brother charged up when Haruto and Rikuto appeared in front of the king and combated him away around. The other Chivashi joined in to surround Alex and readied their powers.
The boy's eyes glowed red as he used his strength and luck to propel himself up and trying to kill Rasputin.
"We're only brothers…aren't we?" asked Rasputin as the younger brother shimmered away. Alex turned to see the Chivashi as he remembered learning about them from Tesseract.
However, the Chivashi also vanished away, leaving the city to fall into ruins. Alex growled in rage as he sliced the monsters down as much as possible, praying for at least some hope for the city but the damage was far beyond control.
Mei and Akemi were surrounded by the monsters until Alex appeared to rescue them.
"We have to get out!" said Mei.
"This city…it's going to fall to ruins though…" replied Akemi.
"We cannot afford to stay here," she answered, "Now that they know we exist and everything…it's no doubt Pandora will make her next move!"
The trio made their escape on the hover bikes, heading back south to HQ. However, they didn't get too far when the Chivashi reappeared again and fired blasts of energy from their staffs.
Akemi tried to shoot them down but the bullets were proven no damage and Haruto aimed his staff at her, unleashing a blast of heated energy. Alex's and Mei's eyes opened in shocked by the sight.
"YOUUUU!" growled Alex as he threw himself from the bike and tried to kill Haruto the Chivashi had other plans and they vanished before him.
"W-what's going on!?" growled Mei as she readied her gun.
"I don't sense them anymore," said Alex.
"It's clearly a trap!" replied Mei, "We have to keep moving!"
Alex turned to Akemi's charcoal body as he growled to himself for vengeance.
Rasputin…
60+ Years Later
The Watcher's HQ leader was replaced with Jadwiga after Mei retired and died shortly afterwards. Alex returned to HQ after his reawakening once more as he was retrained by the people once more.
Alex gripped on his sword and sliced down through several hay stacks. He was already assigned to go on a mission later in the night to hunt down some Chiropterans and Megascolides.
After practice, he entered in the office where he met a younger looking woman that he knew that was not Mei.
"Pleased to meet you," she answered, "My name is Jadwiga, the newly appointed leader of The Watcher's."
"…I need to know where the prey will be out at," said Alex, keeping his tone serious.
"Ah yes…you are the Weapon of Duniya after all," replied Jadwiga, "We tracked them down in a region not far from the southern tip of Cape Cal. It is our warehouse of supplies and the monsters are appearing there for some odd reason."
"I'll go,"he answered, gripping on his sword.
1 Year Later; Village of Herisia
The Village of Herisia was entering in a golden age as the people built canals and other waterway systems that stretched for at least a few good hundreds of miles with stations that led to other tiny, unknown villages across the northern-central region. Festivals and other great activities were also happening.
Why am I even here, thought Alex as he recalled on the conversation;
"You should give yourself a break, don't you think?" asked Jadwiga.
"I don't give myself a choice, I keep on fighting," said Alex.
"Well I think you'll enjoy yourself a bit if you at least try to have fun," she replied, "I'll send you some servants to go with you at least."
"Well then, master," said one of the servants, "The festival looks nice here."
"Hopefully it won't be a disastrous like last time," growled Alex as he stepped in with the servants.
Alex turned to see a little girl running around with happiness and handing out some fancy paper-shaped models.
The streets were filled with all different kinds of people from the cities of Lha'li, Neo Tabuk, Aeuropa City and some were from Terra and Iglis Magna.
"What's so important here?" asked Alex.
"Well it appears that the other city officials will make an agreement to allow Herisia to be a new city for this world," said one of the servants.
Nearby, Tesseract wore on a cloak to hide his appearance, he was sent by Pandora to investigate this meeting as well as record anything that could be used for their advantage. He was given a fair warning that she will link with her mind and his as well so she can see what is going on too while doing her other duties.
He used his powers of the fourth dimension to hear out the conversation of the leader officials and discovered that they were going to have help from the different towns to build the village into a city. However, Tesseract felt the presence of Alexa nearby but forced himself to ignore it or else Pandora will find out.
Alex saw the cloaked figure standing from the distance as he sensed a stronge will of power before it. He turned to his servants as they snuck around to get closer to the man but before they could reach him, Tesseract used his powers of the fourth dimension to vanish and return back home, collecting the data he already got.
"Master, let's stay here for the night," said one of the servants.
"Do as you like," sighed Alex.
"Seriously though, it's getting late," replied the other servant.
"Fine," he answered.
After a night's worth of rest, they returned to HQ and reported the data to Jadwiga. From there, Alex resumed his daily hunts for the monsters until one day…
It was a full moon that night and Alex was busy hunting several groups of Chiropterans that were not far from HQ. He sliced them down one by one while other members of the watchers were shooting them down as well.
Jadwia arrived with reinforcements when the clouds broke away and saw the light shining on Alex. The hunter dropped his sword as he saw strange visions of people and friends looking before him.
"Brother…brother!" echoed Sergi.
"Alex-chan!" giggled Nagisa's echoing voice.
The hunter saw Haruka, Rei, Nagisa, Makoto, and Rin standing before him, all reaching out and smiling with happiness. Alex tried to reach out for them bu it was all in his mind, crying out with tears.
"H-Haru…Mak-Makoto….Nagisa…Rin…REI!" he shouted as the Chiropterans continued to combat the watchers. However, several of the watchers (including Jadwiga) were stunned at the sight of this change in attitude.
He, he's not fighting them, thought Jadwiga, is it because…of the moon?
"Rei…I hope you can remember me," muttered Alex as the clouds covered up the moon. From there, Alex's eyes turned back to red and he jumped to action, slicing several of the monsters down with sheer anger.
Rasputin stood in the central circle of the chamber as he watched Pandora muttering and waving her hands over the images. It was no dobut that she knew where Alex was and why and how after finding out that the son was still alive. However, she didn't want things to go to amiss and she prepared a lot.
"The reason why you keep seeing things," said Pandora, "Is that you have all of his memories. You inherit the ability to eat memories and use them to your advantage."
"I see," replied Rasputin.
"With that, you have the ability to use Alex as your own pawn; provided that his emotions are weakest and most unstable, you can then take over his body and make him do as your bidding," she explained.
"And I can do anything I want?" he asked.
"Yes," she nodded, "It will be great to have you kill him but him alone, his own blood won't kill…you have to kill him personaly yourself if you want your blood to destroy him."
"Then, when he is at the most unstable state, I will take him…and use him," smirked the younger brother, "I will make him mine!"
6 Months before Alex's return of Chiropteran memories…Book 1: The World of Isolation
Alex sat down on the steps of the Lynhaven's Bar as he stared out to the sunset. It was a warm, summer evening as he could feel the trees and the wind on his skin.
He got up and walked to the ocean as the shoreline was glittered with the sand and some grass around.
So pretty out here, thought Alex, I am so glad to be here…with Anya, Aki, my mother…and my friends!
The boy turned to see a golden puppy sitting right by his feet. It looked up at him in silence at first.
"Ohhh, a puppy!" smiled Alex as he picked it up but the dog jumped off.
"W-wait!" he shouted as he ran after it, heading back to the village but stopped as the dog strangely vanished after reaching to the top of the slope from the sands to the city.
"W-where did it go?" he muttered.
"Alex! Alex!" shouted a voice.
The boy turned to see Anya and Aki running up to him.
"You always keep wandering around," sighed Aki.
"Oni-chan!" said Anya, "At least tell us where you're going!"
"Sorry for making you both worry," he answered, "I just can't help but enjoy the scenery here."
"Brother! Let's go to the ocean then!" replied Anya.
"It's getting late," said Aki.
"Pleaseeeeeeeeeeee?!" asked the other girl.
Aki sighed and shook her head at first when Anya gave her a creepy stare of determination.
"A-alirght! Geeze!" she said, "We'll get going. Mom should be done in a bit so we have to help her clean up though."
Once they cleaned up the bar and fixed up the place, the trio got into their bathing suits and rushed out to the ocean. Gerogia told them that she'll get the other employees here and she'll check up on them.
"Can't catch me!" laughed Anya as she rushed through the shallow waters with Aki.
On the other hand, this is fun, thought Aki, I wished they were here though...the others.
"Wait up!" teased Aki as she tried to keep up with Anya's graceful running. Alex submerged himself a few times in the water to practice his strokes and floated on his back.
I got the prefecturals coming up, thought Alex, I'll have to do my best!
Days Later
After swim practice, Alex walked home by himself as he fantasized what it would be like to go in a relay. He knew that he needed to improve on his timing but it's not what bothered him, it was the people that he would deal with aside from their swimming personalities.
I seem to do well with the freestlye, he thought, but…why does it feel like I've done it before?
He turned to see the dog again sitting on the patch of grass. It turned around and fled.
"H-hey! Wait!" said Alex as he ran after it, heading back down to the beach where it stood by the water.
Before Alex could take a breath, the dog spoke, "Have you finally remembered?"
Alex gasped as he heard the words from the dog and replied, "Y-you can talk!?"
"Well this is my form to be in when I am away from my shop," said the dog.
"Your…shop?" asked the boy.
"A place where wishes are granted," it replied.
"Ah, I get it, are you the watchdog or something?" asked Alex.
"…I own it," it sighed, "So tell me…you made a promise to someone…can you remember what you did?"
"A…promise?" he asked, "I…I don't remember giving a promise to someone…"
The dog sighed and continued, "Think about it, to whom did you make that promise to, and why? Also, think about why you can't remember anything with your current personality."
Alex's eyes blinked as he saw a strange vision before him with a taller looking boy with a pair of glasses on, reaching out to him.
"W-w-who are you!?" called Alex when the vision disappeared before him as he felt ringing in his ears.
It's still too storng, thought Watanuki as the dog stared at the boy, he won't be able to remember let alone know his mission in this world…both barriers…are blocking his TRUE personality.
What Alex didn't realized was that he was living in a happier live to recall his hunting days as a Chiropteran and his cursed famly, let alone being one of the Six Stars that will change this world. Finally, the ringing in his ears stopped as he got up on his feet and looked at the dog.
"I swear, I'll make your wish come true," said the dog, "Until then, I'll stay by your side…Alex."
Qui la voce
D'amore che non vive
Ma non morira
Mai!
(English: Here is the voice
Of love that cannot live
Yet, never dies.)
~Episode 4 END~
~Episode 5 PV~
Haruka: Looks like we arrived now, Terra Magna
Nagisa: Haru-chan, let's go to the hot springs, please!?
Haruka: No, that's too much effort!
Awlida: But there's a lot of water for you and the others…don't you think?
Anastasia: I wish to speak with you…brother.
Alex: …I made a promise to fulfill and I still can't remember what.
Makoto: HARU! Don't start stripping yet!
Nagisa: You guys, there's trouble going on in Neo Tabuk!
Rin: Next time, Free! Uprising Part 1: Religion War in Neo Tabuk!, This holy war has to stop before more innocent lives are lost!