Nothing much to say as usual lol. Still doing concept arts and still thinking of new ideas. If you still can't find the concept arts then send me a message and I'll give you a link. In this chapter I'll be introducing a new character, and another character you may already know. Well It's time we got to the fic so here we go.
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shooting star rockman Celestia: 2nd Wave
Chapter 12: Harmony Gulver
Just as expected, Spica Mall was announced to be closed for a whole three weeks because of the recent 'renovation' of the place. This meant that the next time anyone would set foot in its green lit halls would be on the month of December already. It was rather ironic because all of this happened on its first day of business. A lot, if not all the people there at the time, were given more than their fair share of irritation. Thankfully though it wasn't the fault of the mall owners since the cause of the problem wasn't a malfunction of any type.
At the ever busy Satella HQ Ace was once again completely occupied with his work, dragging and sliding many virtual sreens at a time to compare and analyze streams of data being displayed on them. The other day he'd come across a very peculiar piece of information after analyzing Mettie's parameters since the incident.
"Hmm...where did I put that file? It should've been somewhere- oh, there we go" With a slide of his finger Ace brought up a small screen and pulled it wider with his hands. It'd seemed that the file was very old, judging from the date written at its corner.
"So, what exactly is your purpose of bringing up something so abandoned and outdated?" Acid asked from his partner's MP-Hunter.
"Well, it's supposed to be abandoned alright, but not exactly useless. First thing's first, I came across this file a long time ago and kept it with me since then. I never actually thought it would be of any use to me until now so it was a good thing I hung on to it. Ever since I got that Enigma Wave sample from Geo, it's been constantly reacting to the file. Here, let me show you" At that, Ace took a small vial with a bright yellow color from his pocket and held it close to the screen, shortly before causing it to disrupt entirely like a bad signal.
Acid said, "If the file itself is malfunctioning, then that means..."
"Yup, we gotta yank it open to see what comes out of it. It's got a pretty detailed lock but I think I can whip something up. Now, If you'll excuse me, I need to make a phone call"
At Echo Ridge High Cafeteria, Geo and co. were pretty much occupied as well. The only difference was that they were wearing rather elaborate clothing...more specifically waiter outfits and maid dresses. "So...why do we need to do this again?" A confused Geo asked his blond superior who was also dressed the same.
"How many times do I have to tell you guys? The voting takes place in two weeks and we need to be as convincing as humanly possible! Remember: A leader MUST be there to serve others, and this is a perfect example of that!"
Vogue quickly praised, "Wow, you're incredible Luna! I'm sure you'll win the elections without any trouble at all!"
"That is...if we manage to survive all this...why o why did the elections have to be re-scheduled..." Mega softly mumbled. It wasn't only Geo that was put to work, but the AM-ian was also assigned to do a number of things as well on a few occasions. And they weren't exactly a walk in the park.
"Yeah...I guess" Geo agreed before turning his head to the right to see a small crowd of happy classmates and batchmates alike. In the midst of all that, an elegantly dressed Sonia cheerfully took their orders. In a sense, it felt almost like she was performing as she always did, just without the singing this time around.
"She's...really enjoying this" Geo muttered with a confused tone and an awkward look to match. Another awkward thing to take note of was a certain Murian who pretty much despised what he was doing. He actually refused to take part in the first place, but it so happened that Luna snatched his MP-Hunter while he wasn't looking, and the rest is history.
"Solo, what kind of waiter are you?!" she loudly scolded. "At least smile even once! If you don't...then I'm afraid I'll have to hang on to your little wizard partner a little while longer"
"Tch...damn all of this straight to hell..." the boy cursed to himself. "Fine...whatever..." And with a great sigh he walked towards another customer. With all of his might he attempted to produce what he thought was a smile. "...Can I take your order...?" But it just seemed like the scarier twin of a smile.
"O-On second thought...forget about smiling. Just take the order..." Luna concluded with a hopeless sigh.
Pat and Bud were also participating in Luna's little plan. The former seemed pretty accustomed to what he was doing, giving open smiles as he casually took note of the customers' orders. The latter wasn't doing half bad either, with the exception that he was desperately struggling to make sure that when the food arrived to the customer it was actually still in one piece.
In a few hours the four toned bell had suddenly chimed, signaling the end of their charity work. "Alright, great job everyone" Luna praised her companions who felt like they'd accomplished something big. And they had; being a spot-on waiter proved to be a slight challenge for the group especially for some...
Geo sighed, "I'm just glad it's finally over. Hm? Someone's calling me..." the boy said as he took a peak at his MP-Hunter and pressed the 'talk' button.
Immediately, the face of Ace popped up on a small screen. It was rather strange because he had a slightly serious look on his face which was unusual for someone like him.
"Geo, you told me something about a black hole before, right?" He said, getting straight to the point.
"Yeah, why?"
"Then you better get here as soon as possible. I've got something to show you guys. Over and out"
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"So what I told you before...was actually true?" Geo questioned as he looked at a large screen which contained hidden data that Ace had cracked.
"That's right" he replied. "two hundred years ago a group called Sci Lab was able to detect a small anomaly near earth's gravitational field. Back then, they didn't have the kind of space tech that we do now, so they weren't able to completely analyze it and it was eventually scrapped and hidden. When I looked deeper into it, I realized that they were right; there actually was an anomaly...and it stayed there for nearly two centuries to grow and grow even until now"
"But...how come you weren't able to see that before?" Sonia asked with a curious tone.
"That's because it was well hidden by something. I can't get a full lock on it but it seems like some kind of fog. It's made of bundles of weak wave energy which made it completely unnoticeable. The only reason I was able to see it was because of a buddy of mine who specializes in this kind of stuff. Oh, and there was one other thing too"
Ace flashed yet another screen for everyone to see, this time containing two swirling orbs. One had a bright blue color while the other was red.
"These two data fragments were also included in the file. I'm not sure what they were for but I first had to convert them from 'battle chip' data.
"Battle chip data?" Mega repeated in a questioning tone.
"A long time ago, battle chips were the equivalent of battle cards today. If you listened during history class then you should've remembered this"
Luna said, "Oh, now I remember. People used those battle chips to power up their 'Net Navis'...or something like that"
"Well you got the gist of it" Ace replied. "Anyway this gravitational anomaly is set to off into a black hole sometime next week. If we don't do something soon then we're most likely to be swallowed up by that thing. I've already informed the other Satella branches but we can't let this out to the public; it would stir up too much of a panic if we do"
Solo interrupted, "...So what are those data fragments for? They don't look useful in their current state"
"Yeah, right now they're just plain raw data. The bad part is that we don't have a clue to what they can do. They're just too complicated for even us to analyze. In this case we'll have to rely on her help..."
"Who's help?" Bud repeated.
"Harmony Gulver. She's a top-notch wave specialist without equal. She was actually with the Satella Police until she quit a few years ago. I'm not sure exactly why she quit but I heard from a good source that she's hiding somewhere on grandeur peak which is quite far from Echo Ridge. Geo, Sonia, and Solo, I'm gonna need you three to find out if the rumor's true. The rest of you stay here and help me with an invention we're working on. It'll help us reveal the black hole when it decides to come out"
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As ordered, Rockman, Harpnote and Rogue were now traveling the wave roads in search of the wave specialist, Harmony Gulver.
"...Geoooo...how much further 'till we get there?" Harpnote complained with a sleepy tone.
"All this waiting's boring me out too..." Lyra added, which in turn only added to Mega's irritation.
"Damnit, quit your whining already. I'm in the same position as you two're in but you don't see me complaining"
"You don't have to say it like that, Mega" Rockman said. "It shouldn't be long now. I can already see Grandeur peak from here"
And suddenly, the three teens sensed a hostile presence and immediately jumped to different wave roads, dodging a gigantic multi-colored beam that even shattered the wave road they were formerly on. "What kind of machine did that?!" The AM-ian exclaimed.
In a flash, another rainbow coated beam dawned itself on the group, making them jump to another wave road once again. This time, however, Rockman and Rogue were able to trace the direction of the attack and immediately sprinted towards the source.
"H-Hey! Don't leave me behind!" Harpnote demanded, following her quick witted friends. Eventually they came across a hidden corner surrounded by tall rock formations, and the source of the sudden hostility. It was what seemed like an android-like figure with yellow attachments on its back. He was covered in white cloth and its face couldn't be seen at all.
"What...is that?" Rockman asked himself but neither companion could give him a straight answer. It'd seemed that they were just as clueless as he was.
"It's attacking again" Rogue alerted as the stranger detached its 'wings' and split them into four separate turrets that flew at them with a great speed, opening fire at them as they glided around their targets. The trio immediately split up into different directions hoping to give them some moving space.
Fighting on a wave road was pretty much difficult when faced with a flying opponent. Rogue soon found himself dodging without being able to counter-attack. That was, until he narrowed his eyes at a small cliff that he might just be able to use as cover.
When he reached the cliff he immediately drove his EM am right into it, smashing into pieces from top to bottom and creating a blanket of rocks that shielded him from sight. The turret searched throughout the remains but it couldn't find its target anywhere.
"...Over here" He muttered just before appearing above it and was about to slice it in half. Unfortunately the turret split into two smaller ones just in time to dodge Rogue's vertical cut, soon before opening fire once again. The Murian blocked a couple of shots with his sword in mid-air and flipped his body to dodge one more, just barely causing a cut on Rogue's cheek.
Finally Rogue was at the safety of the wave road and rubbed a drop of blood off his cheek with his thumb. "Tch...such an irritant. Guess I'll have to get serious"
With a focused look in his eyes he switched his sword to his right EM hand and infused it with purple flaming energy. "Illusion blade..." He jumped towards the turrets once again and gave it one good swing. The turret in turn swayed to the left, but oddly it was still sliced in half even though it didn't even come in contact with the swing. Rogue continued the attack by using the falling turret as leverage for him to jump in mid-air and give the other one an invisible slice as well. "Hmph..."
"Quick string!" Harpnote yelled, shooting enhanced threads at her opponent, wrapping the small turret like a fly in a spider's web. "Electrify!" And the strings conducted enough electricity to completely disable the turret and send it falling to the ground below.
"That went well" Lyra said and Harpnote nodded in agreement. "Yup! Now let's go check on the others. I'm starting to worry about them"
"Well I'm sure they can carry their own load, right?"
Currently Rockman and Rogue were now fighting it out with the android itself. But for some reason, it had a seemingly endless supply of energy that would regenerate itself over and over again.
"Hey, kid" Mega said, catching his partner's attention. "That thing's got a huge wave reading coming from the crystal on its chest. I think that's where it gets all its energy from. If you smash up that power source it might just stop functioning altogether"
"Okay, got it. Battle card: Drill Saber" As soon as that was said Rockman's right hand had transformed into medium sized drill that quickly spun with blue swirling lights around it. Some battle cards in the past were taken and reconstructed into more efficient ones. The Drill Saber was one of those, being a more advanced version of the Break Saber.
The two wave humans dashed towards the android, dodging multiple turrets as they did. Unfortunately they were just too many and were greatly slowing both teens down.
"We can't get close if we have to keep dodging like this" Rockman said as he jumped to avoid another.
Just then, a sudden shocknote had suddenly destroyed one of the turrets. Looking towards the origin of the shot, Rockman saw a smiling Harpnote who'd positioned herself on the highest point of the cliff. "I thought you guys would need some help! I'll cover you so just keep going!"
Thanks to Harpnote's well timed backup, Rockman and Rogue were able to move towards the android without having to worry much about the turret's interception. There were still a few that were open but they weren't much of a problem in small numbers. Noticing their plan the mysterious robot stretched out his palm and created a shining, rainbow colored barrier that created a dome in front of him.
"Not gonna work!" Rockman yelled before colliding the spinning drill with the android's shield, followed up by Rogue who thrust at the same time with his black steel blade. The great collision gave off bright sparks that were almost blinding to the eyes as they continued to focus all the impact on one single spot.
Suddenly a small crack begun to reveal itself, pushing the two even further until the hole had grown wide enough for Rockman to even fit his whole arm through it.
"Kid, time to finish it!" Mega ordered and Rockman quickly nodded, switching his arm back to his main buster weapon. He carefully aimed it, adjusted its power rate, and finally opened fire.
Thankfully the attack connected and the android was soon paralyzed on the wave road, making malfunctioning noises as Rogue raised his sword for the final blow. But just then...
"No, Stop! Don't you dare touch him!"A female voice suddenly yelled as a large screen popped up, showing the image of a young girl with red hair and chestnut colored eyes that were showing signs of panic and anger. "If you hurt him I swear I won't forgive you, stupid dealer goons!"
It was at that point that the group noticed that she wasn't an enemy, nor was the android they'd just pummeled. "W-Wait, we're not from Dealer!" Harpnote begged. "Solo, could you put your sword away?! It's not really helping the situa-"
"Shut up already...you don't have to state the obvious" The Murian replied, sheathing his sword.
Rockman then hid his own weapon and stepped forward with determined eyes. "Please, believe us. We were sent by A.C. Eos from the Satella Police to ask for Harmony Gulver's help"
The young girl calmed down after hearing those two names, but was still slightly hesitant towards them. "Show me some proof. I can't believe that you're really from the Satella Police without-"
"Our proof's right here" Rockman replied, creating a virtual image from his MP-Hunter. The projected image looked like a badge with the insignia of the Satella Police on it. "This is Ace's badge. he said that if you needed any proof you could just analyze this"
And from that, the young girl finally seemed convince. With the push of a button, the girl revealed a small tunnel disguised in the mountains. "Okay, I'll trust you. But please bring Sirius with you. I don't think he can move much after that beating you just gave him" she concluded with a rather sarcastic tone which made Rockman and Harpnote feel a little guilty about what they'd just did.
"Sorry about that..." The two teens softly apologized. Solo on the other hand didn't seem to have a care in the world, as usual.
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On the outside the area just looked like a pile of cliffs stacked together, but in truth it was quite a sight for sore eyes on the inside. Everywhere they looked they could see advanced machinery that even surpassed the Satella Police. The whole lab was filled with bright lights due to the radiation given off by tons of wave matter being contained.
"Wow...this place is amazing..." Sonia mumbled, still in complete awe.
"You think so, huh?" The red-haired girl replied with a smile. "I was the one who made all of this after all...with the help of Sirius, of course"
"Wait a sec..." Geo started. "S-So you're Harmony Gulver then?"
"Yup, that's me. You look so surprised" she said, chuckling at the brunette's surprised expression. In fact, none of them had expected the so called master wave technologist to look much like their own age. If that expert Ace was talking about was this young girl then she must've been some prodigy.
Harmony began, "Well to make the long story short, my body is filled up with waves that allow me to age a bit more slowly than average by slowing down its growth. Right now I should be about 24...but I pretty much look like a high-schooler, don't I?"
"Yeah, you kinda do" Sonia responded, shortly realizing after what she'd just said. With wide green embarrassed eyes she waved her hands back and forth. "Uh sorry, n-not that it makes you seem like one!" She said, making the red-haired girl chuckle once again.
"You're a cute kid, you know that? But just be careful with what you say next time, alright" Harmony smiled, that mature aura emanating around her even though she looked nothing like an adult.
Mega soon grew tired with all the small talk and decided to get straight to the point. The same with Solo but he wasn't much in a talking mood. "Anyway, we've got a big problem right now. Ace says there's a black hole just at Earth's doorstep and it's only growing. Geo, hand her the data you got from Ace"
As instructed, the boy reached into his pocket and handed Harmony a data card which she soon analyzed. That data contained everything Ace had told Geo and co. a little while ago. After a few moments of silence the technologist finally spoke.
"I see...I can't believe I didn't see this before" She began, turning her head to face the group with troubled eyes. "Even without analyzing this first I can already tell that this data is pure fact. There really is a black hole...and it's already starting to form..."
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Geo: And now it's time for-
Sonia: The Shooting Star After Show!!
Geo: But seriously...couldn't we think of another name for it?
Sonia: Why? Doesn't the name sound cool?
Geo: Well..umm...not really...
Sonia: It's only your opinion, Geo. Anyway, here's the terms of the week!
Filename: Illusion Blade
A technique that Rogue uses when wielding his sword. This skill greatly increases the sword's range with invisible wave energy (Solo's personal kind of wave energy) that he thins out in order for them to be as sharp as steel. Also, the weight of the blade remains exactly the same, allowing for deadlier range with the same attacking speed.
Filename: Satella Police
Although its full name is the Zero Satella Police it is more commonly referred to without the first word. There are a total of 10 branches located throughout the whole world with its main HQ being in Japan. Under the Satella Police there is an elite force in each branch called the 'satella commandos' which A.C. Eos is the squad leader of in his division.
Geo: Please take a look at the screen behind us for the clue words for the next chapter.
*Screen appears, but oddly has a badly drawn image of Solo in a haloween costume*
Geo: What...is...that?
Sonia: I don't even wanna know...I mean Solo was already scary enough without the costume...
The words appear as *Sirius* *Past* and *Harmony*
Sonia: Well, that's all the time we have, so see ya next time! Bye Bye!