LAST EDIT 3.9.17
Radiant Falcon Fan Works #9
Mega Man: Eternity Cross
soundtest 05: Miyamoto-sensei - Shoot Straight (Shadowrun Returns)
Frame: Yesterday; Miyamoto Dojo, Okinawa; 20XX, 8:30 GMT
Special-A Class Strider Hiryu, one of the best of the already highly trained Striders in its over one hundred fifty years of history, was at his old teacher's dojo in Okinawa, having been summoned there three hours earlier. Hiryu had arrived there in a blue training gi, but he was not there to train. Hiryu's old teacher was also his current superior officer, Strider Headmaster Guanyu Miyamoto, known as the "Sleeping Dragon"(1) by his friends and enemies, and he had a mission to give Hiryu. "Do you remember when you were my student, Hiryu?" the old man inquired in a surprisingly clear and healthy voice for his eighty-four years of age.
"I still am, Headmaster." the addressed one responded.
"Good answer. Yes, in some ways we can still learn from our masters, no matter how famed or fortunate we have become. You would do well to continue to remember it, so that you may teach it to the next generation."
Hiryu nodded. He himself had a student who could learn from the Headmaster's wisdom. "I will remember it."
"Good. Now, there was a man who I taught not long ago by the name of Hien. He had showed much promise and was next in line to receive the rank and weapons(2) of the A Class. However, when he had heard of you, my son, and how you reached Special-A Class in the time it took him to reach his rank, he acquired something else. Something much more dangerous than any weapon. Can you tell me what it is, Hiryu?"
"Pride?"
"Jealousy. He was envious of you. He went rogue three weeks ago, and although it is hard on my part to issue this directive, it is something I must do. You must terminate Hien." the Headmaster stroke his long beard(3) that he was famous for, and switched the topic. "On a lighter note, I understand that you now have a pupil of your own now."
"That's correct, Headmaster. Her name is Roll Light, Doctor Light's android daughter. She is showing great potential, though, she will not kill a human."
"Ah yes, the first law of robotics. A pain in the ass to our profession, if you will pardon my foul language. I understand that you and her have fought together before."
"Yes, in a number of tag-team circuits(4) around town."
"And do you trust her?"
Hiryu thought about this question for a moment, and responded, "As a Strider, I cannot trust anyone. However, as a man, I can trust her with my life."
"A good answer. You are ready for this mission. Do you accept?"
[-STAGE 2-]
Tibet or Bust
-=READY=-
soundtest 06: roll's theme A - katamaritaino (Katamari Damacy)
Frame: Airport 1001(5), Japan; two hours later
"I've never flown on a plane before, Hiryu-sama(6). Is it scary?"
The young Roll Light, housekeeper and self-described 'part-time Dr. Wily kidnapping fodder'(7) android was about to board a plane bound for Tibet. She was wearing what she normally wore when out on the town, which was her red-and-white dress with black sleeves and large black buttons on the chest.(8) In addition, her blonde hair was long, bound in a ponytail by her favorite bright green ribbon, leaving some room for her bangs. Her red metal greaves – a dead giveaway that she was an android and not allowed on a plane without a human chaperone, preferably a creator or non-Wily roboticist, as dictated by the UEG(9), those damn bureaucrats, and even then on business trips- were concealed by long blue pants which reached down to her ankles. She had previously set off the metal detector at the airport(10), but her famous teacher had vouched for her. And as no one wanted to piss off a man who looked like a Bushin-ryuu ninja(11), complete with utility belt, no one was going to argue if she was allowed on or not. Besides, they were going on business.
"Yeah, it's scary the first time you get on a civilian plane. The engines tend to be too loud for my tastes." the ninja, who used the name Takeshi Hiryu(12) when doing incognito missions such as this one, said. His calm demeanor was in contrast to what he felt inside, which was sadness and a little regret. The last time he was on a plane heading for a different country, his older sister Maria was doing a mission in Afghanistan. She died in that country, and he blamed himself for not going with her. That was ten years ago.(13) "Oh well, let's get on board. It's going to be a long trip."
Frame: Check-out concourse, Site 4(14), Hong Kong; seven hours later
A wise man once said that "no language on earth has ever produced the expression 'As pretty as an airport.'"(15) He was correct, but at least airline aesthetics have improved since the saying first originated. The check-out concourse was, at the Site 4 airport in Hong Kong at least, straightforward and easy to navigate, and the place at least looked good from a human standpoint. However, in this day and age; robots couldn't identify what was so great about it. Roll, whose original function was in housekeeping, was a bit different. As soon as she entered the airport, she was quoted as saying, "The color scheme in this place is terrible." Hiryu, who was human, said "What makes you say that, Roll?"
"The walls are purple and the ceiling is black. Ordinarily not a bad combo, but in an airport?"
"I think it looks nice."
"There's litter everywhere, Hiryu-sama. If I was doing chores in this place, I'd shut down about 1/32 of the way there." Roll complained in typical teenage manner. "Or make Rock or Blues do it." she added with a smile and a bit of sibling mischief she picked up after a year of part-time 'captivity' by Dr. Wily's Robot Masters. Or as she liked to put it, 'babysitting.' "Who are we supposed to be looking for again?"
"A Chinese lady with fast and powerful kicks. Answers to the phrase 'Who is Grandmaster Gen?'."
"Chun-Li(16), perhaps?"
"Good guess, but no. A woman by the name of Ton Pooh(17). I fought her once, and... there she is."
Sitting to the right of some white-collar business men and their mechaniloids was a young lady with a chinese dress and long ash-blonde hair tied in both a bao and braids, reading a book. This was Ton Pooh, one of the daughters of Mei-oh, and the only one to survive Hiryu's assault on the alien and his base, which was called the Third Moon(18). Hiryu and Roll casually walked over there, not attracting attention to themselves. "Who is Grandmaster Gen?", Hiryu asked. The woman responded "An underworld Triad boss who died in battle years ago. They say that he mastered two styles of Kung Fu."(19) She then turned to Hiryu. "Welcome to China, Hiryu. I see you have a companion already. Is she your lover? Your daughter?"
"Student. Ton Pooh, this is Roll Light. She's training under me to become a Strider herself."
"I see. It is a pleasure and a privelige to be meeting one of the famous Light siblings. A word of advice, my child; don't ignore what this young fool tries to instill. At times, he can be quite... how do you say... off his rocker, but he seems to know what he is doing. Perhaps you two have need of my assistance?"
soundtest 07: rest theme - All Star Rest Area (Super Smash Bros. Melee)
Frame: Advent Suites China - Room #573(20) China-Tibet border; 20:28 GMT that night
The Advent Suites chain of hotels was one of the few big four-star chains with amenities for both humans and androids. The fact that this particular Advent Hotel was on the China-Tibet border and had a great view of the Himalayas were icing on the cake. By the time the trio of Strider Hiryu, Ton Pooh and Roll got there, it was nearly twenty-thirty, or ten-thirty at night for those who preferred the twelve-hour AM/PM-style clock that Roll used, and after they checked in and got their room (which was a fairly trendy room with two beds, a cushiony chair, a desk, and other such furniture) Roll collapsed on one of the beds and went into recharge mode(21). On the outside balcony of the hotel room, Hiryu and Ton Pooh were chatting.
"She is a cute one, Hiryu, is she not?" Ton Pooh asked. "You are lucky indeed to have a young girl like that as your student. Children can be belligerent at times. I should know." Hiryu responded "She is, sometimes, but thank you. As for you, what's your motivation?"
Ton Pooh was taken aback. "I beg your pardon?"
"I killed your father, and I seem to recall you wanting revenge upon the Striders, and me in particular."
"I have sworn vengeance on many people and organizations for their crimes against the Grandmaster too; you may need to be more exact."
"For killing Mei-oh?"
"Attempting to overthrow the Grandmaster is the highest crime on my world. You should be lucky you destroyed him before he conquered this one."
"Well, fair enough, but that brings me back to my original question. Why help the Striders?"
"There is a saying on my home world, from a wise man who thought he could outwit my father. In Earthen tongue, it is translated as 'if you cannot overcome your enemy, become your enemy.'"
That made sense to Hiryu. There was a saying like that on Earth too. "So what happened to that wise man?" Hiryu asked, aware of what the answer might be. "I executed him." Ton Pooh explained with an evil grin. Hiryu was immediately sorry he asked.
"Well, I best... how you Earthlings say, catch some "Z"s. It is going to be a long day tomorrow. I will see you in the morning." Ton Pooh then went back inside and took the other bed. "Great. Guess I'll just sleep in the chair then.(22)" Hiryu muttered, and did so.
Frame: Advent Hotel China Lobby, China-Tibet Border, 7:37 GMT
Quincy Sairasu, alias SWN-002 Quint, was annoyed. First, his superior officer General Andore(23) sent him from Antarctica to Hong Kong incognito, then he had to hitch a ride on a hovertaxi to the Advent, which cost him the rest of the zenny(24) that he had on him, and even that got him two-thirds of the way there. And now that he was finally here after walking about seventeen miles, he had lost track where that rogue Hien had run off to. "General's not going to like this." he said. It was a good thing that his equipment took care of the energy problem, otherwise he would've had to recharge five miles ago.
Meanwhile, Strider Hiryu, his trainee Roll, and their guide Ton Pooh had just got off the elevator and were heading to the lobby, so that they would be on their way to the Strider Outpost in Tibet. "Hopefully they will have information on Hien,", Hiryu had explained to the girls. "If he still is in the country, that is."
"What will you do when you find him, Hiryu-sama?" Roll asked.
"If a Strider ever goes rogue, it is up to another Strider to terminate them."
"Terminate as in fire?"
"Terminate as in kill. Let me ask you a question. What if I were to go rogue right now?"
"I'd ask you 'what would it take to bring you back to the straight and narrow?'"
"A tempting answer, but no. You or another Strider would have to kill me then and there."
"But..."
"look at me, Roll."
Despite her sad expression, she looked into Hiryu's face. She saw a handsome face with a full head of brown hair and bright green eyes. She saw her teacher and best friend. "I am your friend now, but I may be your enemy sometime down the road. I know it's hard, believe me. I had to kill my best friend when she went rogue. It was one of the reasons I became disenchanted with the program and went into early retirement."(25)
Roll nearly had synthetic tears in her eyes. She could not believe that one day she would have to break the law and kill her teacher. It was at that point that Ton Pooh tried to cheer her up, "Child, on my world we have a saying. 'let your friendship bloom, and your rivalry prosper'. It means the same as your Earthen 'keep your friends close and your enemies closer'. And at any rate, this fool is testing you, so you do not need to weep."
"He is?"
Hiryu rubbed the back of his head nervously. "Yeah, it was a test. You're not ready to face me in life-and-death battle yet anyway. Tell you what, last time I was in Tibet I found this rather awesome breakfast joint. We're heading there next."
"what about Hien?"
"He's human too, last I checked. He can't have gone far on an empty stomach, right, Ton?"
Ton Pooh was looking at a rather neurotic brown-with-white-streaks-haired man in a green hoodie and blue jeans causing trouble at the check-in counter. "Who is that over there? He does not look familiar. Perhaps he is an agent of Hien's?" She asked. "I doubt it. Hien would not cause this much trouble just to check in. This is a perfect opportunity for Roll to test her chops; you up for it, kid?" Hiryu explained, but Roll was ahead of him. She recognized him on sight.
"Quint? Is that you?"
Quint turned around and saw her. "Roll? wh... what are you doing here; you're supposed to be in Japan!"
"We were just about to check out and get some food, you coming?"
Frame: Locus Pocus Cafe, Tibet(26); an hour later.
"So you're with Hiryu, eh? I should've known that's why you're not at Skull Island(27)."
The quartet were eating breakfast at the Locus Pocus, the place Hiryu was speaking of. It served traditional Tibetian breakfast as well as more ordinary breakfast foods like french toast and whatnots, just with a Tibetian flavor you just couldn't get at an IHOP or something. Unlike her brother Rock -and by proxy, his 'twin' Quint- who merely acted human but who ran on solar energy, Roll had human-like systems(28), which explained her eyes welling up with tears just an hour earlier. So she, like the foreign and domestic humans at the booth, needed food. "So you are the Master from Outside Time" Ton Pooh presumed. Roll asked "Wait, the Master from Outside Time? Quint, is there something you're hiding?"
"Absolutely not. Roll, everything you know about me is wrong. My real name is Quincy Sairasu, but you can still call me Quint if you want. I'm what's called a Time Master. We fix malfunctions in the chronoscopic frameworks, or the time-space continuum to you."
"So you're not an SWN robot?"
"no."
Hiryu interjected, "I've heard Headmaster Miyamoto speak of Time Masters. You're saying that you are one of them?"
"Bingo. I'm looking for a man who took out one of our own. Said his name was Hien."
The table fell silent for a minute. Then Hiryu took out a picture from one of the pouches on his belt and laid it on the table; sliding it to Quint. "This Hien?" The picture showed a man with slicked back hair, a grey training gi, and a white muffler. Quint pulled out his own picture of Hien, taken from the feed to the base in Antarctica. The two photos had the exact same person, just with different outfits. Roll was shocked. "It appears to match," Ton Pooh said. "Yup, that's our guy," Quint agreed. "he also said 'time is no longer on our side' and that he was 'stronger than each and every Strider'." Hiryu shook his head. "I doubt if the Striders who live here would like that. We're heading to their Outpost later. You coming?"
Quint thought a bit. Time Masters were supposed to steer clear of any outposts outside of their own, be they military or paramilitary, for fear that they may influence the timeline. Then again, General Andore gave him the directive to do what he thought was necessary. "Sure. Got room in your party for one more?"
EYECATCH
Thunder Beam Notes
(1) Actually, the true Sleeping Dragon is Zhuge Liang, the Shu tactician from the Three Kingdoms era in China. Guan Yu is called the "God of War". All those hours of Dynasty Warriors pays off here.
(2) According to the Strider Hiryu manga, there are four ranks in the Strider hierarchy: C-Class, B-Class, A-Class, and Special-A Class. In this story, Hiryu and Headmaster Miyamoto are Special-A.
(3) Much like the actual Guan Yu and his Dynasty Warriors counterpart, Guanyu Miyamoto has a ridiculously long beard.
(4) If you ever played Marvel Vs Capcom 2...
(5) This is the same Airport 1001 from Mega Man X, just 100 years in the past.
(6) The Japanese honorific -sama refers to someone older than you who happens to be your superior. Technically it should be -sensei due to Hiryu being a teacher, but then I don't know much Japanese anyway.
(7) This is a 'just for fun' thing that I thought would be hilarious, and that would explain her getting along with the Robot Masters.
(8) Mega Man 8 costume here, though I'm sure she still has her Tatsunoko Vs. Capcom outfit somewhere.
(9) The UEG, or United Earth Government, is exactly what it sounds like; a political body for all of the Earth countries. Like the UN, but with its own military, called the Area 88 Defense Force
(10) This happens a lot with robots.
(11) See, this is what happens when you have a Capcom-centric story like this; you start making allusions to other Capcom games, in this case Final Fight.
(12) When Striders need to blend in, they use either an adopted name or their full name, depending on the Strider in question.
(13) Obviously, that isn't necessarily the case in the manga, so I changed his backstory slightly. See note 24 for more information.
(14) Like that old Atari arcade game Area 51: Site 4.
(15) This is a quote from one of my favorite Douglas Adams books, The Long Dark Tea Time of the Soul, of which the first paragraph details how airports are ugly, some being very ugly.
(16) See note 11, but in this case Roll had already knows Chun-Li by way of Mega Man, who met her during the events of Street Fighter X Mega Man, which isn't necessarily canon in the game timeline, but hell, it is in this story.
(17) Ton Pooh was one of Hiryu's enemies in the Strider arcade games. She actually is the daughter of the game's main antagonist.
(18) This is the final level in Strider 2
(19) Street Fighter again, though Gen never was a Triad boss.
(20) The trouble of having so many references in a story like this is you start refering to other companies' games. Last time it was R-Type, and now we're using Konami's favorite number, 573.
(21) also known as sleep mode.
(22) Another thing I thought would be funny, based on real life events.
(23) Again with the Final Fight/Street Fighter references, but in this case Andore is the adopted name of General from X4. I think it fits, given how both Hugo Andore and General take a good portion of the screen in their respective games.
(24) I'm not sure if you pay attention to Capcom games, but in the majority of them, Zenny is the accepted currency, similar to Final Fantasy's gil and Sonic's rings.
(25) In the Strider Hiryu manga, Hiryu killed his sister when she went rogue, which resulted in his retirement. Does this foreshadow Hiryu going rogue? Probably not; I love the character too much.
(26) I'm not sure if there is actually a place called Locus Pocus, and I definitely haven't been to Tibet, so I made this bit up. I would totally eat there, though.
(27)Skull Island is the name of Wily's current base near Japan. It isn't really an island, but Wily has been known to make things up anyway.
(28) In this story, Roll is sort of a test run for Mega Man X's internal systems; having been upgraded -I'm assuming- somewhere between Mega Man 10 and Mega Man 8(28a) to make her appear two-to-four years older.(28b)
(28a) The official timeline, last I checked, puts Mega Man 9 and 10 between 7 and 8; which I'm going to go with.
(28b) This is why you saw Rock and Roll age slightly between 7 and 8.
Character Spotlight
Takeshi Hiryu, Special-A Class Strider
"Strider Hiryu, the High-Tech Super Ninja"
THEME A: "SPECIAL-A" - Strider Hiryu's Theme (Ultimate Marvel Vs. Capcom 3)
THEME B: "soul of ninja" - Seoul Road (The King of Fighters '96 CD Arrange)
Takeshi Hiryu, an orphan, was put through the Strider Organization's training program at a young age, and later became its best agent. Skilled in the arts of ninjitsu and swordplay, he is also an accomplished saboteur. Though he is typically serious, he has been known to lighten up every once in a while. His Cypher plasma-sword, Falchion, is a double edged blade that he wields like a tonfa, enabling immense speed, and can emit plasma to extend its reach. Although Hiryu is only human, his achievements stand among even Mega Man. His older sister, Maria Hiryu, was killed on a mission to Afghanistan, and he has never been able to forgive himself for letting her die.
MESSAGE FROM DR. YUICHIRO YOSHIYAMA
My son Syakuei and his friend Rock discovered one of my old projects, the Wave Cannon. Seems like there's several interested parties returning to that old thing. Then Protoman shows up.
?: "Business? Never met her; she seems too serious.":
Next time; stage three, "Wave Cannon Blues" Keep this channel open, won't you?
Until next time: Protect the Fans. Stay Radiant.
