Without the good will of manipulators and audience alike, puppets cannot sustain an illusion of life.
Matthew Isaac Cohen, The Art of Puppetry
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"We have successfully landed in Chassi Bay. Chassi City is directly ahead of us. We are docking at dock fourteen." S.W. said in a happy tone. The ship entered the atmosphere with no turbulence at all and had calmly landed into the water in front of the massive silver city.
Chassi city was large and the group marveled at the sheer size of some of the structures as their solar panels shimmered in the sun. Monumental skyscrapers towered over the docks that held many ships, some smaller than S.W. while others towered above them. The largest of which was a massive white ship that looked like a saucer with a large triangle on the top and sides.
"The Furinken flagship." Nokata said with pride and noticing the group's interest in the ship. "The Ameratsu."
"Look at that ship well. Her crew is what you guys will be practicing against." Jase said calmly. "Of course this is after your briefing."
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The Solar Wave rocked in the water as it stopped at the dock and the group got off the ship. The city was even more spectacular now that Taranee was within it. It was like New York on Earth, only with a lot more diversity amongst species.
"You should feel privileged Taranee." Raico said as she placed a hand on the human's shoulder. "You're the first Earthling to see this city."
"I think I'm the first Earthling to do a lot of things." Taranee responded with a sigh as she followed the group into a large building. The symbol of a large circle with what Taranee assumed was a gust of wind inside was embroidered on the building.
"Welcome to Planetary Wind Headquarters. Now that we are here I can explain some things that I could not explain on the Solar Wave." Jase said which got the groups attention. "First of which is why you have all been brought here."
"So why are we here?" Dryad spoke before Taranee had a chance to. The Earth girl just looked at the boy's feminine qualities and felt more homesick because he looked so much like Will.
"You were all chosen to be part of a secret organization designed to specifically fight against World End, the group that Ixtab belongs to." Jase said calmly as the group stepped onto a moving walkway.
"How are we supposed to fight against things that can take a punch from Easi?" Aegis asked calmly as he folded his arms across his chest.
"Look its one of them." S.W. said as she leaned on one of the rails and caused the entire group to look to their right. There they saw it. A large humanoid robot was being worked on to their right. Its body looked like that of a Mobile Suit that Taranee had seen in an anime back on Earth.
"The S class mobile fighter. The Mark MX39-Marionette uses a combination of Tien and Furinken technology in order to achieve peak performance. So far only seven have been made. Each of them have been made to certain criteria, and there is one for each of you. It will be what you are testing today against the best mobile fighter pilots that the Ameratsu has to offer." Jase looked at the one that was in maintenance, though how he saw through the headband that covered his eyes was still an oddity.
"So they're going to be scrap then." Nokata said in a smug tone. "Well all but mine will be."
"We'll see about that young Furinken." The group turned to see an elderly man with stark grey hair and gentle green eyes in front of them. He was accompanied by a large man that wore what Taranee could only assume was a captains attire.
"I'm glad to see you here Coordinator Adren, and you must be Admiral Schmitar." Jase said as he extended a hand in greeting. Neither of the two men grabbed it and the group walked to an observation deck where the group could see a large rocky field.
"This will be the battle ground to test out the people you selected captain. I will though warn you all that this will be a fight to the death. The only way to test what you really have is to go up against the best that the galaxy has to offer and to limit it to no killing. Well that would be unfair." Coordinator Adren turned to look over the field as the first of the purple Furinken mechs marched onto it. It had a massive frame and supported a large cannon on its back.
"Where's my opponent Admiral." The pilot screamed. "I thought I was going to destroy some prototype today."
"Who's first then?" The Coordinator asked in an annoyed tone while he looked over the group.
Taranee just gulped. She didn't know how to use one of those Marionette things. She could barely make a marionette back on Earth work. She could feel her chest tighten as panic set in. She was going to get slaughtered without her opponent even having to try.
"Are you okay?" Raico asked as she bent down and placed a hand on Taranee's shoulder. "Are you in need of a glass of water?"
"I just don't want to die." Taranee said as she turned her fear filled eyes toward Raico.
"What do you mean?" Raico said. The Tien was used to this kind of thing. It was how Furinken tested everything. They were a harsh species. "I think the fight to the death is harsh. Maybe another course of action…"
"If you cannot handle it." The Admiral said as he grinned to show his fangs. "Then get out and never come back."
Taranee's breathing became even more hectic at the words spoken. She couldn't leave. There was no way she would win against an experienced pilot. She was going to die. She didn't want to die.
"I will go first." Dryad walked forward in his gentle manner. His footsteps touched the floor ever so softly as he walked to where an attendant was waiting for him.
"Wait there has to be another way." Raico said as he began to walk off.
"There is something underlining this test. I'm also certain that they would not willingly demolish the best weapons at their disposal." Dryad smiled gently before he continued in the direction that the attendant pointed.
/--\\\\
The attendant walked Dryad to in front of one of seven similar colored Marionette units. They all looked the same to the boy. It was odd especially since they were a diverse group so why not have a more diverse set of equipment. Then a spark of curiosity lit his gentle brown eyes. Could this test really be for something different?
"Please transfer your biotech suit to armor mode." The pink haired android asked calmly. Dryad closed his eyes and his clothes quickly changed to that of a brown sand colored armor. It was formfitting and at the moment mimicked that of the seven marionettes before him. His eyes opened up and his previous question was answered. He knew what this test was really for.
Dryad then entered the cockpit of the mobile fighter and as the armor plating closed in front of him the Marionette's color changed to that of a sand like brown. The mech rocked as the clamps holding it released it before it was elevated above into the large amphitheater.
"My opponent is a Furinken Assault mech equipped with one heavy cannon." Dyad said to himself as he made sure his controls worked. "This will be over in fifteen minutes if my theory is indeed correct."
Dryad closed his eyes and filtered out the opponents taunts. If he was right then this fight would definitely be far too easy for all but the Fire Maiden. He would have to master the skills quickly needed to win quickly.
The enemy fired its cannon only for Dryad's machine to raise an arm in defense. The boy willed for a shield to form and suddenly both arms molded and changed to a more streamlined appearance. An energy shield then projected from the arm and forced the cannon shell to bounce effortlessly away.
Dryad smiled. His theory was correct. The grey elements were that of a shape change feature for first time users. Hence why only seven were made and those seven went exclusively to them. There however was a downside. It seemed that he could not morph the arm pieces anymore. The adaptations must be a onetime deal. He would then need to be careful in how he morphed the armor. One mess up and that would be a permanent flaw in the mecha.
He deflected another powerful cannon shell. The chest piece and head had somewhat changed to look more aesthetically pleasing in comparison the arms. He needed to go on the offensive, and he had a plan on doing that. He needed speed to do what he planned and was definitely read to do it.
The legs of the marionette now changed and seemed to form tank treads on the heel. Then the treads spun rapidly and propelled the Dryad's mech forward before. A shield blocked another cannon blast before the second disk shaped shield formed around the other arm and the edge of it was slammed into the Assault Mech and the speed of Dryad's Marionette sliced the being clean in two.
The explosion was large as Dryad's Marionette stood fully erect and walked back towards where it was elevated into the battlefield.
"Guess I was off." He grinned as he looked at the counter he had set. It had only been twelve minutes since he entered the stadium. Well, it probably won't be as easy for the rest of the group as it was for him, but that display had to have impressed someone up there.
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"That was amazing." Easi said with enthusiasm as Dryad returned to the group. Dryad just grinned humbly at the compliment before he stopped.
"I could do better." Nokata growled under her breath. She was equally impressed with the display, but she was too stubborn to show it.
"It was as I suspected though." Dryad said calmly. His gentle brown eyes focused admiringly at Taranee. "This test is more than it seems."
"How so?" Raps asked in his usual drown.
"It is instated so that we control the form our Marionettes take." Dryad responded before the attendant lead the still jealous Nokata into the hanger.
/--\\\\
Nokata's battle ended the same as Dryad's. She decimated her opponent more with high speed and powerful blows than using a defensive mech. Her Marionette took the form of a medieval jouster that used the air as its horse. A long lance formed in her right hand which she
used to easily impale her chosen opponent. Her time equaled that of Dryad's as her mech marched from the field, and when she returned to the group she wore a smug smile.
The rest of the one on one fights went the same. With each member of the group's mechs changing to match the way that the pilot fought. Easi's Marionette became a heavy armored tank that excelled in hand to hand combat, and Aegis' went along the same path only with more of a ranged attacker as it obtained a large cannon on its back. Raps' and Raico's Marionettes became agile and streamlined. Raico's developed a sniper rifle while Rap's made two large punching daggers that made his Marionettes ability to become invisible all the more deadly.
The only down side was it was now Taranee's turn and she was still terrified of the whole thing. Despite what her new friends told her she was sure that she was going to die if she tried to fight against the opposing mecha. Especially since the machine was a completely different mech than the ones that the rest of the group fought.
Its large frame caused the ground to shatter as it walked into the coliseum. It had a heavy armored body and equipped with a large shield and heavy rifle like weapon. On its back was a large double edged sword that looked as though it could easily cut the poor Earthling in half.
"The Superior Assault Mech, recently off the production line. The finest that Furinken technology has to offer." Admiral Schmitar said with pride and showed all of his teeth in a deadly smile.
Taranee gulped as the android assistant pulled her into the Marionette hanger and walked her toward the remaining still dull grey colored machine. The earth girl protested but was soon then placed into the cockpit. Her breathing became frantic as the Marionette she was in is dropped and then raised into the large damaged battlefield across from the newest model of Furinken military technology.