The Pillar of the Dawning Sun
By: Mikhail Barlow
A Crossover fanfiction between Eureka seven and Armored Core
Chapter 01: Raven
Renton rolled over and placed a hand on Eureka's cheek, admiring the smoothness of her pale skin. She stirred, and then opened her eyes. She looked into his and smiled. "I love you," she said softly.
"Well I should hope so," he joked. "I've only been with you for three years," He poked her on the collarbone and got up, placing the sheets of his bed back in an orderly fashion. They were in the bedroom of their home. The green walls were lined with pictures of ancient scenery. A computer desk was incorporated into a corner, and two dressers bordered a window where the light was now shining in. Renton stretched in face of the morning sun. He slipped a shirt on, turned, smiled at Eureka, and went downstairs to prepare breakfast.
Minutes later Eureka joined him. Her short aqua-colored hair was shimmering and her violet eyes shone brighter than a star as she hopped into the booth where they usually ate breakfast. The kitchen was being filled with smells of eggs and sausages.
Eureka scratched her head where an itch had been and asked Renton, "When will your Grandpa and the children get here?"
"I'm not sure. They said around nine o'clock. It's… about 8:30 right now. I'll have breakfast ready by then, for sure." He was cutting a potato which skin was the color of his hair. There was a small television hanging on a stand in the corner. The news was on.
The three children, Maurice, Maeter, and Linck, scrambled through the door in their usual attire, a red jacket, a short blue dress with a bunny backpack, and a scrappy batch of loose clothing. They ran to Eureka who was now chewing softly on her sausage (she almost swallowed her fork when Maeter jumped into her lap). They greeted her with hugs and telling of the stories of the previous week. Renton chuckled. They also greeted him, but with slightly less enthusiasm.
Renton's balding grandfather, Axle Thurston, also strolled in, immediately taking a seat opposite Eureka and engaging her in conversation. Renton passed plates of food to the others and took his seat next to Eureka, his spouse, who, still tired, rested her head on his shoulder.
After the greetings, Axle pulled some rolled-up papers out of his jeans pocket and slapped them on the table. "Renton, Eureka, we need to talk about something," The two assumed that he was referring to the papers below. "Orders for LFO repairs have become less and less frequent, lately, and with all of the new technology out there, no one hardly comes to look for a self-owned shop; they all want stuff from the new factories, like the one that friend of yours' Jobs took over."
The two nodded. The children just whispered to each other ignoring the conversation.
"This means," he said rising a finger in the air, "that, unfortunately, I can't keep supporting you two anymore. I'm runnin' out of cash and I just can't pay the bills with the children and you two to feed."
It was Renton who answered. "I understand, Grandpa. I can get a job from a factory or something. It shouldn't be hard finding one," he had been expecting this day to come for awhile. He and Eureka had been receiving money from Axle since they returned so they could pay for the house, food, clothing, and other necessities. But he knew this couldn't last forever.
Axle agreed with his grandson. He showed him the papers, which included bills, bank balances, and, rather sarcastically, a Classifieds add from the Belleforest Tribune. He and Eureka looked excitedly through the articles in search of a job.
"Here's one from the Belleforest Military branch…oh…but you have to be 18 to apply," Eureka said.
"Well, there's a restaurant job opened at Miller's Diner. You only have to be 16 to apply. But…the pay is horrible. I won't be able to pay the bills with this one." He said disappointedly.
"You could work two jobs," Eureka said brightly. "I could also try to find a job somewhere,"
"I don't think there are many places that will hire girls with wings," Axle cut in. He glanced at her strange appendages, coming out of the back of her shirt. They were gifts from the Coralian Collective, of which she was a part of; green, shimmering, and a burden by all means, but she cherished them.
At the end of the day they had circled four jobs that would fit. Renton was adamant against letting Eureka get a job herself. "I'd rather you stay at home, at least for now. I don't think I'm comfortable with all those strangers around you." He said. Eureka didn't argue with him.
Things quieted down at the table. The dirty dishes from their meal were stacked on the kitchen counter and every one other than Renton had retired to the living room. The children were watching their new favorite show, At the Beach.
Eureka walked in to the kitchen and wrapped her arms around Renton, who was still scrubbing the pan from the sausage. He shifted closer to her. "I won't get as much time to spend with you after I get a job," he said. "We should make the most of the time we have now."
"You're right." She whispered in to his ear.
"HEY!" cried Maeter. She had caught them from the hall. "Don't do that in front of me!" Eureka quickly released Renton, who continued scrubbing, his face red. "Mama!" the little blonde said, "Come and watch this show with us!"
Eureka agreed. Glancing back at Renton, who nodded, she retired to the living room.
Renton's head turned to the small TV in the corner of the kitchen, where the news was still playing. A reporter was narrating a series of scenes of combat.
These new mobile weapons are much more effective in urban combat, and have three times the armor of an LFO. These units have been codenamed "Armored Cores" – fully robotic fighting machines with skills beyond any weapon in the past.
Renton was watching what looked like much bulkier versions of the Terminus series combating with each other. He was glad to see that they were remotely operated by a command tower in the distance. The last thing he wanted was another bout of bloodshed on the planet that he and Eureka had sacrificed so much to protect.
The United Army is looking for test pilots to run preliminaries on the first few prototypes that have been created. This project, and the pilots, will be codenamed: Raven. We are fortunate to have one such prototype located in Belleforest. The only requirement is that you have piloted an LFO in the recent past. Anyone like that out there? If you're one, you might want to look in to this!
The idea took a minute to register. Renton ran into the living room, suds dripping from his rolled-up sleeves. He grabbed the attention of Eureka, Axle, and the children. "I'm getting a job at the base," he said. "As a test pilot,"
Chapter 02: In the Chair
Eureka was totally against Renton getting a job at the Belleforest base. She insisted that he stay away from the military, calling him a hypocrite (prior to meeting her he wanted to get out of Belleforest for the sole purpose of not becoming a military dog). But, Renton eventually won the argument after telling her how much the job would pay.
The next morning, he rolled out of bed at dawn, leaving Eureka asleep, got on his motorbike and headed to the base. The morning was frost-covered and the chilly wind broke through his hooded jacket as he sped off. Twenty minutes later, he arrived at the base security gate. A booth worker asked his name and business.
"Renton Thurston: I'm here about the new mobile weapon," he said.
The clerk raised an eyebrow, "You're pretty young for an LFO pilot. What model?"
Annoyed, Renton explained his experience in the Nirvash only a year ago. The man chuckled, and Renton could tell he didn't believe him, but the clerk let him in anyway. Didn't he know my name? No, and this was the case. Renton didn't make it into the limelight as much as his father did, even though he did things that were greater and more stupendous.
He parked his bike in a lot behind a small LFO hanger in the center of the base. Surrounding it were buildings of all sizes and shapes, all made of grey concrete and steel or glass roofs. The tallest was an observation tower at the edge of the base that eclipsed the early morning sun. The whole area was surrounded by a barbed fence in front of a brick wall. It felt more like a prison than a base to Renton.
He walked around the hangar until he found a steel door. He went in. Inside was a line of about a hundred people. The majority of who were dressed in green-and-black military dress. A few were in pilots' suits. Renton found it awkward that he was the only one dressed in street clothes. At the front of the line there were several officials with high ranks greeting and chatting with the men and women as they passed them. An officer with a clipboard was checking credentials and passes and pointing people in different directions. Renton already felt defeated. All the others in the line had some sort of proof that they had piloted before, and probably had long military records. All that he had was his word. He was also very young, and only piloted for a year.
He decided to turn around and leave. But then the door he had come in opened, and two people walked in.
"Dominic? Anemone?!" he said.
"Renton?!" they said simultaneously. They ran up to him in line and greeted him. Anemone gave him a hug that Renton felt he would need surgery to recover from, and Dominic shook his hand. "I didn't know you still lived in this dingy old city!" said Anemone (she pushed an officer behind Renton out of the way to make room for her and her spouse).
"Unfortunately, and I'm having trouble staying afloat. That's why I'm here, trying to get a job," he sulked. "But I have a problem, guys. Everyone else here has some sort of proof they piloted an LFO, and some sort of military record to back that up. All I've got is my word, so I don't think I'll be able to get a job here."
"You've got us," Dominic said brightly. He was wearing his old military uniform. Anemone was dressed in a black pilot's suit. Her hair was slightly shorter than it had been. She nodded in agreement. "If anything, Renton," she started, "You're a better pilot than I was. I mean, every time we got in to a battle together, you and Eureka always came out on top," she added the last part but averted her eyes. It brought a slight grin to Renton's face.
"So…What are you two doing here, if it's alright for me to ask?"
"We're here for the same reason. We've got Dominic's retirement pension, but it's not enough to support us and little Yuffie,"
"Who's that…wait, you mean-?"
"She's ours," Dominic gushed. "She's only two months old, but she's way more trouble than we thought."
Renton was speechless.
"Well," Anemone broke in, "Whatever happens here today, you and Eureka should come to our place tonight! We have a hotel in downtown. We'll be happy to have you guys!" Her eyes shone brightly, the same amethyst color that Eureka's eyes are. Renton was a little surprised; he never thought he'd actually get to talk to her unless he was in chains. He was glad that Anemone had changed so much.
"Actually," he said, "You guys should come to our house! We have a lot more room and it would be a good surprise to Eureka and the kids!"
"KIDS? You have…no, wait…more than one?!" Anemone blurted.
"N-n-no! They're Eureka's-ours, I mean…we…she," There was a look of dumbfoundedness upon the couples' faces. "They were adopted by Eureka three years before I met her. We've been taking care of them!"
"Oh, well, that makes more sense," they both sighed. Renton felt like his body was heavy with embarrassment.
The line progressed slowly. There was a constant echo in the glass-roofed atrium of voices and sirens. Eventually, Renton was being greeted by the officials. They looked at him with skepticism, but were courtly nevertheless. The man with the clipboard was next. He shook his hand in a generic fashion. He asked his name,
"Renton Thurston,"
Then he asked if he had any credentials,
"Well…I –"
"He's with us!" Anemone broke in, rushing up to him.
"And you might be, miss?"
"Anemone Sorel: UFPD ex-test pilot for the Ageha project! And this is Dominic Sorel, ex-UFPD Intelligence Officer," she said nodding to Dominic who had taken his place behind her.
The man looked critically at Renton. "Without your friends' help, have you ever piloted an LFO before, kid?"
"Yes, it was the Nirvash typeZERO. I piloted it for one year before the Second Summer of Love,"
"Right…" he said. "Well, the test will show whether you did or not. All three of you can go to that room over there," he pointed to a white cubicle on the far end of the hangar. There were several more next to it, and behind each was a small line of candidates. Renton was overjoyed. He couldn't help but blush as the three of them started walking. (Anemone glared at the man with the clipboard and said something under her breath which made him look uncomfortable).
Renton entered the cubicle first. Inside was what looked like a very advanced video game chair, with LFO-like controls. A technician dressed in a white uniform had him sit down and strap in to it. A chest-restraining belt and lap strap locked him to the chair. He directed him on how to hold the controls, which buttons did which functions, and what the various HUD displays meant. It was confusing, but Renton listened as hard as he could. He didn't want to screw up.
"Are you ready?" the technician asked.
Renton nodded. The worker pressed a button on the back of the unit and suddenly the whole system came online.
"Now, you'll be hitting a few targets. These targets will try to attack you as well. Just complete the mission to the best of your ability. Oh, and there's no Ref Board in this simulation so you can only use the back-mounted thrusters to launch in the air."
The display came on. A countdown appeared on the screen. At the strike of zeros the simulation started. On screen there were 19 orbs with small cannons floating above him. Instantly they started firing at him. Renton did his best to dodge them and fire back with the machine gun his simulated unit was holding. The jumping was awkward, and the turning was hard. It took him two minutes to finish the mission. He thought he did pretty poorly. He had sustained several blows and had damaged a leg unit while landing on a jump. When the simulation was over, he exited the chair, gave the technician his phone number for contact purposes, and left the cubicle. He could hear Anemone's voice behind him as she spoke to the technician. Renton snuck back to Dominic and told him where he and Eureka lived, and they exchanged a time to meet later. Dominic nodded and promised not to be late.
Renton left the building through the big hangar door. There was a sign in front of him with an arrow, pointing to another building. "Raven's Arc"
He left the base with a sense of satisfaction. He couldn't wait to tell Eureka what he had done. The sun had risen to the top of the sky. It was noon, and that day, for Renton, couldn't have been brighter.
Chapter 03: From Dust to Dreams
Renton was greeted by a drowsy Eureka, who had gotten out of bed only a few hours before. It was around 1 o'clock. He found her sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of juice and half-empty bowl of granola cerial in front of her, spoon turned upside down on the table next to her.
Renton sat and explained what had happened with the piloting. Eureka wasn't impressed, but she gave him a welcoming kiss after he had finished his story. She was wearing a dark blue velvet blouse (with the back cut out for her wings) and a lighter blue knee-length skirt. She walked barefoot across the kitchen floor with a pitter-patter.
Renton brought up how he met Anemone and Dominic that afternoon. Eureka's mood changed immediately.
"REALLY?!" she beamed, large Coralian eyes glimmering, "Well, how are they doing? It's been so long since we've seen them! And, well, we never really got to meet them in the first place, so…this is GREAT!" She was leaning so far on the table that her bottom was no longer on the seat.
Renton had to sustain a chuckle and he averted his eyes. He was not used to Eureka being so excited. Even after their year together wandering the worlds' cities and landscapes, he had never once heard her so ecstatic. "Can you calm down a little?" he said as nicely as he could. She shifted back in her chair.
"Oh…sorry. Well, so, what else did they tell you?"
"Not much. But…" He paused. He didn't want to tell her about Yuffie. "Oh, well I said they could come over this evening. They're staying at a hotel in town and I knew it would be a waste if they were here and we didn't have dinner together or something, so we exchanged numbers…" he added the last part with a smile.
Eureka grinned, "I've been waiting to meet Anemone for the longest time face-to-face,"
"Well, they'll be here at seven. We'd probably figure out what we're doing for dinner tonight."
There was a lot of preparing to be done in the meantime. Renton went to work sifting through the only cookbook in the kitchen, clumsily looking for a good recipe to make for dinner (several times throwing the book down and grudgingly wanting to order take-out). Eureka spent a lot of time with a vacuum and duster cleaning every crevice of the house in frenzy. She almost floated across the ground, moving quickly from spot to spot.
Dominic and Anemone arrived at the door right on time. Dominic had changed out of his uniform and was wearing slacks with a loose-fitting shirt with sleeves rolled up. Anemone was wearing a pair of tight-fitting jeans and a blouse with a single vertical stripe travelling the left side of the chest. Her hair was still down and flowing. Eureka was the one who had opened the door.
Renton was busy in the kitchen with a heavy garlic-oregano soup and a noodle dish. He had changed in to a pair of jeans and a black shirt (partially for comfort, but somewhat for impression). He heard the giddy screams of the two girls in the hall as they hugged and chatted. Dominic walked in to the kitchen.
"I didn't know you could cook, Renton," he said.
"Yeah," he grinned "But, then again, we never got to talk about each other much back in Salisa Olne, nor on the Gekko. You never really did know anything about me," He smiled.
"Right, well, we'll leave it for the table, right?"
They were sitting around an oak table in a square dining room lit by a common chandelier. The olive-colored walls were decorated with little objects from Renton's obsession with lifting and a few pictures that the children had made. The ceiling was marked by spiral-patterned plaster and a dimmed yellow color. Renton had chosen the paints to resemble the colors of nature, where he and Eureka had spent so much time in.
Dominic and Anemone pressed right in to the questions, not pausing except to take a bite of the soup Renton had prepared; Eureka's wings, the three children, Eureka as a Coralian, Gekkostate, the Nirvash's location, and their journey over the past year were all brought up. They answered all the questions to the best of their ability.
"It's really not fair that you get wings, Eureka," Anemone announced, rolling her eyes. "Oh, and the soup is wonderful Renton,"
Eureka blushed. "They're not really that great…"
"It's not really that great…" they said simultaneously.
For the majority of the time it was Eureka and Anemone who chatted. Renton and Dominic spent most of their time either nodding or sharing sarcastic grins at each other. They amused themselves with sly glances toward the other during humorous parts of the girls' conversations.
It was getting late. The clock in the hall chimed as it struck 10 o'clock, but still Renton and Eureka had so many questions for the other couple.
"So, Dominic," Renton began, "What have you been doing for the past year?"
Dominic looked taken aback. "What? You don't know?"
"Sorry, is there something we should?" interjected Eureka, "We've been out of society for a long time. We haven't had time to catch up on all of the things going on in the world,"
Dominic sighed. Anemone slid her soup bowl to the side, folded her hands on the table and leaned forward, grinning. "We've got a lot to tell you, then,"
"First off," said Dominic, "After everything that happened with….well…you two. I returned to the military to clean up the mess left behind in the intelligence department. It was horrible, at first. After all of that work was done, I left the military, though now I wish I didn't. With everything that's going on in the world, right now,"
Renton and Eureka looked confused, "What do you mean by that? What's going on?"
Anemone answered, "Well, then… I assume both of you know that my KLF, theEnd, was a mock copy of your typeZERO, right? Well, that experiment bore some other, unexpected, fruits. During the development, the military experimented with mimicking LFO movements with pneumatic devices like hydraulics. Recently – and I only know a little about this – the military was able to develop a humanoid fighting machine without an archetype. They're called Armored Cores, or, 'AC's' for short. That's what we were doing at the …along with that, they were able to perfect something else…a darker project…"
Anemone paused and put her face in to shadow.
"Do you know, what I am, Eureka?" getting very personal.
She nodded.
"I am…you. But…not you. The military was trying to come up with a way to recreate you after Holland took you from them. They took people from all over, mostly girls, and transformed them into what I am. I am the only survivor of my group. All the rest died in testing…" Tears began to well in her eyes. Dominic placed a hand on her shoulder. "…they're insides liquefied, and they died from bodily fluids invading sectors of their bodies –"
"My god! It's alright… we get it," Renton said. "Please continue," Eureka said softly with wide eyes.
"Thanks…Anyway, I was lucky to have lived. I was placed in theEND and piloted him until he sacrificed himself for us. But now, they have perfected the creation of girls like me, and I know they've made several copies. They're being tested as we speak, and I'm sure they'll be used for combat,"
"Wait a minute!" Renton said, "I thought the military turned a new leaf! Why are they continuing this research? It really makes no sense!"
"It's not the military," Dominic said. "It's a group called the Pillar of Dawn. They're terrorists. I read about them early in my career in intelligence. They took the opportunity left by the chaotic reconstruction of the military and gathered strength. They raided the research facilities at Warsaw and Hrondus, as well as – "
"Tresoir?" Said Eureka, almost shaking.
"Yes. Presently, their headquarters is unknown, and anyone that has gotten close to the labs has been killed. Their goal is; of course, change the world for the better. They want to re-awaken the dormant Scub Coral and use the Coralians to their advantage, just like the Colonel – I mean, Dewey, tried to,"
"How could we stop them? Why hasn't the military done anything? Where is Gekkostate right now?" Renton and Eureka were spouting off questions left and right.
"You can't do anything by yourself. The military is nearly completed with their research on AC's, and are developing models of their own, and…Gekkostate is nowhere to be found. I assumed that you two of all people would have known where Holland was hiding,"
The truth was, neither of them had tried to contact Holland or any of Gekkostate since they had returned to their home. It was part of a promise they had made with each other to never get caught up in the dangerous affairs of the world's problems again. They knew that Gekkostate went where trouble went, and though they missed their friends dearly, they hadn't seen them in almost 16 months.
"In any case, the world is far from peace. However, there's a group inside the new military that is working toward the destruction of the Pillar of Dawn. It's called Ravens' Ark. The group hasn't been assembled yet, but that is why you were at the base today, Renton. They are trying to find the best pilots to drive the new Armored Cores in to battle. They already have several teams of KLFs fighting, but their armor and weapons capabilities are no match for the Pillar's technology. Also, since the Second Summer of Love, LFO archetypes have become scarce, so making new LFOs is increasingly difficult and costly."
"So…I'll be fighting again? Renton said glumly.
Dominic nodded. "Renton, Eureka, I have to say that I don't think either of you could avoid fighting this. I think you both know why. Eureka as a Coralian, will forever be linked with this planet, or so the research says, so this planet's life is her life. If the planet falls in to chaos…"
"Then…I will die?"
"Yes. This is why both of you have to fight."
There was an awkward silence in the room. The buzzing of the electro-light above them was periodically broken by the clicking of the clock.
Renton and Eureka wanted to ask more, but they were cut off by Anemone.
"Hey, it's late. If you want, we can talk tomorrow at the same time. But we've got to get back to the hotel before they lock us out – those stingy bast-"
"Right, well that's that, I guess!" Dominic chimed.
The oak door closed behind them as they braved the cold outside. With that they departed, leaving many questions unanswered.
"They sure left in a hurry," seethed Renton as he hung his shirt on a hanger in their room. He closed the cabinet and turned around. Eureka was already in bed. There was a smell of shampoo and steam in the house. Renton stepped over to the window and looked out, admiring the clear skies and the moonlight. Gekko, he said. He thought about Holland, and Gekkostate – Moonlight State.
"Far beyond the sundown….far beyond the moonlight…" he hummed. "You know, Eureka, I think Dominic and Anemone wanted to meet us for more than one reason. I think they want us to fight with them."
"I think so too. And I don't think we'll be able to get around it. After all…I am –"
"Beautiful," he said. "I understand what you mean. I wish I knew what I could do about this. I wish we could just leave here away from all the problems,"
He walked over to the bed and climbed in. He flicked the light off and placed a hand on Eureka's cheek. He saw her wings folded behind her, glowing slightly. "It sure was nice to have that year by ourselves, out there in the wilderness."
"But unfortunately, I don't think our problems will ever end. But, that is our curse to carry, and I accepted that the moment I first kissed you, back above our planet." He pecked her softly on the lips, rolled over, and slowly fell asleep.
And I wouldn't trade it for anything.
Next Chapter: Rise to Power
The hero, wanting to hear the whispers of the wind, travels the city in search of his past. What he finds is the tragedy that will begin the revolution already taking place in his heart.