So in the last chapter I introduced two new characters, Harmony and Sirius (Well he's more of an original character but yeah, lol). I'll be building up their background story little by little. As you may already know, Harmony looks a lot younger than her actual age. Well, i don't wanna stall any longer so here we go.
Shooting Star Rockman Celestia: 2nd Wave
Chapter 13: Battle plan
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
"Yo, just thought i'd drop a line. How're things going on your end?" Ace casually greeted from an air display from Geo's MP-Hunter. APparently the team was still within Harmony Gulver's laboratory, along with Harmony herself of course.
"We're right here with her. She's almost done with the analysis and should be able to come up with something soon" The brunette replied, gaining a praised look from his superior.
"Great job, I knew you could do it. Things are going according to plan here as well. We're coming up with a new machine that'll be able to determine the black hole's exact location. The rest is mostly up to Harm-" Before he could finish, a loud yell suddenly caught his and Geo's attention.
"Hey Solo! You're not syncing the wave energy well enough! A little more and you might just blow up the whole building!" A familiar voice blurted which turned out to be Luna who was busy ordering her companions around. She left the more advanced machinery up to Ace, but she had more than enough knowledge about the basic wave mechanics.
"Bud, what kind of tweaking is that?! Put a little more back into it!"
"A-Alright..."
"Pat, are you BLIND?! That part is CLEARLY not compatible with the main laser frame!"
"Whoops, my bad"
"And all you other scientists need to pick up the slack! What's wrong with you people?!"
"W-We're terribly sorry, ma'am..."
And finally Ace turned and faced towards Geo, a sweatdrop apparently evident from his face on the virtual screen. "Geo, Is she...always like this?" He asked, gaining a regretful nod from the red-clad teen.
"Umm...most of the time..." He softly but fearfully mumbled. Ace sighed in response but noticed that their conversation was getting a little bit off track.
"As I was saying, the rest is up to Harmony so the sooner you get her here, the better"
"Yeah, I understand, but...I'm not so sure she'll be so willing to help. I mean she did hide all the way in a mountain after all. And she mistook us for dealer members the first time she saw us"
Realizing Geo's point the officer let out another sigh. "That's true, but she thought you were from Dealer? I wonder if it's got something to do with the reason she left. Anyway, I'm counting on you guys. We'll do what we can on our part. Over and out"
As soon as Geo's air display had disappeared, the boy switched his focus over to Solo who'd suddenly taken interest in a capsule filled with light pink colors that floated around it.
"Something wrong?" Geo asked, but as usual the Murian remained as silent as a shadow.
Mega sarcastically mumbled, "Gee, nice talking to ya" But thankfully Harmony stepped inside the room to explain, Sonia following closely behind.
"I'm willing to bet you're interested in that because you actually are from Mu, right?" The red haired girl said
No response whatsoever, but the wave expert knew she'd hit the target. "That right there is Murian wave energy. There are actually five forms that are classified according to destructive level, the weakest being this color here, and the deadliest which has a black color"
"So, where does violet lie?" Sonia interrupted.
"Violet is the second form. That's the one this kid has over here, isn't it? I saw it in action when you were fighting Sirius"
Still no answer, but it was clearly obvious she was right. "He doesn't really talk much, does he?" Harmony asked, gaining straight nods from the two teens and their EM partners.
Suddenly, Solo's white hair and red eyes had caught her attention. It'd seemed familiar and after awhile, she remembered why. "Hmm...I never thought I'd see royalty in this day and age"
At that, the group's eyes widened with interest. Even Solo was slightly startled by that comment she'd made. "Royalty? What do you mean?" Geo asked.
"While I was doing research on the continent of Mu, I came across this strange person who told me a bit about Mu's history. He told me that a long line of Murian royalty have red eyes. They were also required to dye their hair white in tradition with their ancestors"
Even though he didn't look it, Solo was actually pretty interested in the current topic. "...So where is this person now?" He asked.
"Sorry, I don't know anymore" Harmony responded with a sway of her head. "The first minute he was there, the next minute he's gone"
"I see...then where did you meet him?"
"Well that I can tell you. there were some ruins to the far north located in the anarcia region. If you're planning to go there then I suggest you wear some thick clothing. It gets pretty chilly up there just so you know"
"Hmph...Anarcia region, huh?" And with that last mumble Solo walked out of the spacious room, the scarf on his back floating behind him.
"That boy's pretty determined. I guess he doesn't know much about his past, seeing that there aren't many traces of Mu anymore these days. But I'm pretty sure he won't be going there just yet"
Lyra asked, "Hm? Why do you say that?"
"Because right now, that place is locked up in pretty tight security. Judging by that look on Solo's face I can tell he knows what's going on over there. Just two weeks ago an unknown phenomenon occurred that wiped off at least half of the population in one night"
Surprised by those words, Sonia's head dropped with sorrow, and so did Geo's. "I-In just one night? I can't believe it..."
"Yeah...I've heard about that" Geo started. "I couldn't believe it either but it was true. All those people died in just one go..."
For a few seconds the two just stared at the ground with long faces. Until Harmony decided to change the topic before they stayed like that for any longer.
"Anyway, you came here because you wanted me to help you, right?
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
"Huh? You can't help us? Why not?" Mega demanded. crossing his arms in slight anger. Although it was pretty much expected of someone who'd just hide in the middle of nowhere.
For a few seconds the wave technician fell silent at that question. She didn't really know how to respond, but then finally decided to move her lips.
However, a loud siren had suddenly caught the group's attention. Along with a sudden air display that had popped up right in front of them, showing the image of one of Harmony's robot helpers. "Ms. Gulver, an intruder has entered the facility. Please, you must escape right aw-" but before it could finish, a loud crash was heard, and the air display disappeared in a flash.
"Dealer..." Harmony mumbled, catching her companions' attentions.
"Ms. Gulver, please stay here" Geo respectfully ordered. "We'll find out what's going on-"
"Stop treating me like a weakling" She replied with a smile, right before summoning Sirius to her side. "Wave fusion!"
And just like Geo and Sonia's fusion process, hers wasn't any different as swirling lights surrounded her body and shortly after, revealed Harmony in a different form. Her body was covered with white armor just like Sirius was and had a dark blue visor. The wing-like attachments were also included just like the android.
"B-But how?" Geo muttered, still in confusion.
"I'll explain later. Just hurry up and wave fuse. And by the way, there's no need to be so formal. Just call me Harmony. Technically I am the same age as you guys anyway, right?" Harmony replied, still smiling at the reaction she got from the looks on the their faces.
The group followed the wave technician to the main function room where things were more than just forcefully renovated. machines were scattered about, devices of all sorts were in ruins, and at the very center, a large man stood there waiting. As soon he'd sensed their presence the stranger turned around towards them. He was even larger than Bud and had a dark skin tone, long black cloths, and an intimidating aura about him.
"Ah, there you are" The man began in a deep, low voice. "You were quite difficult to find. I guess I must thank your companions for giving off such a large wave reading not so long ago"
Hearing those words, Geo realized exactly what he'd meant. "crap...he traced our wave signals from the earlier fight"
The man continued. "I'm sorry, I don't think I've introduced myself yet. My name is Joker and I've come for th-"
"I know why you're here, and I'm not handing Sirius over to you" Harmony sternly interrupted before releasing the wing-like attachments and changing them into turrets. Just liker her, Rockman and Harpnote readied their weapons as well, but there was one person who thought he'd get a head start on the battle.
Immediately the large man looked over his shoulder and opened his palm to catch a violet fist aimed straight for his face. It slightly surprised Rogue that this person was able to block the attack just like that, and he wasn't even wave fused.
"Hmm...you have a strange wave structure. Could it be...that you're from Mu-" Not even letting the man finish, Rogue quickly infused more energy in his right hand, causing Joker to eventually let go and back up. The Murian then pulled his blade out and began swinging at the man. Although they were all dodged, Rogue was merely testing his reflexes.
In his own mind, Joker was already strategizing. Based on a quick presumption on Solo's abilities, he thought it would be a bit troublesome if his other three companions more or less possessed that same level of power. Meanwhile, Mega had noticed something odd about this mystery man.
"Geo, this guy isn't your average human" The AM-ian said. "His readings go too far...and I've just got a gut feeling that he's something a lot different" It wasn't just him but Lyra and Sirius had gathered that same piece of info as well.
Noticing that he was starting to be at a disadvantage, Joker let out a short grunt, as well as a smirk on his face. "I think your numbers serve you well for this time. Perhaps I should just get a little more serious now" At that, the large, dark man surrounded his body with crimson energy that was so strong, it started to even push Rockman and co. backwards because of the sheer pressure.
"Wh-What kind of energy is that?!" Harpnote exclaimed as shielded herself with her guitar.
"I don't know..." her EM partner responded. "But it's not normal at all"
In a few seconds the light finally disappeared along with the immense pressure. What came out of the whole process was a large man embedded with red armor that fit his size. His hair had suddenly become aqua blue in color, but the most fearsome change would be that his wave readings were now skyrocketing.
"If you submit peacefully, I will not do you any harm. This is your final warning" He intimidatingly said, and it was actually working on the group.
But still, they remained as stubborn as ever. "We're not about to just give you what you want" Rockman said, stepping forward and aiming his buster with narrowed eyes. Beside him, the two girls did the same, and Rogue was already way ahead of them. With a quick dash the white haired boy appeared right in front of Joker and gave him a fast leg sweep followed up by a powerful somersault to his body, sending him rising through the air and open for any attack.
"Now!" Rockman ordered, and everyone opened fire with everything they had at the mid-air Joker. The attack connected pretty well even before their opponent hit the ground hard and it looked like he was pretty much down for the count after that.
Unfortunately though, he was actually anything but down for the count. After the attack he simply stood up as if he'd fallen on a soft mattress.
"Is that it? What a shame, maybe I shouldn't have used this form after all" The man said with a quick crack of his neck.
It would be useless to stop and think about how useless that last effort was so Rockman and Rogue immediately started with their next assault. From the front, Rogue sprinted as he performed his illusion blade ability, and from above Rockman dove with a drill saber in hand. At the same time they collided, creating a cloud of dust that disabled the rest from seeing what had happened.
"Did it work?" Harpnote asked, swaying her eyes back and forth on the cloud of dust.
Harmony regretfully replied, "No...not yet"
When the smog had vanished, Joker could be seen standing tall as he gripped Rogue's blade with his left, and Rockman's drill saber with his right. "Hmph...foolish" At once he tightened his grip to the point of shattering Rockman's battle card. He was about to do the same with Solo but thankfully the teen made it disappear in time through a light blue circle-shaped portal.
Finally it'd seemed that Joker was growing impatient and bored with the battle. "I think I should end this now. Time is precious, as they say" At the end of that sentence, Joker lifted one hand and created a large orb that seemed to glow a strange red light.
Taking caution Mega tried to analyze the orb, but what came out of it just shocked him. "Kid, we need to move like right now!"
But it was too late. Joker had already slammed the orb into the ground, and the thing they felt was a shocking tremor coupled with a force so great that they felt their consciousness slowly slip away. After that attack everything looked even worse than before as if five earthquakes had struck the place simultaneously.
"Geo! Geo! Wake up, kid!" Mega worriedly yelled until his partner seemed to regain his vision although still a bit blurry. The first thing he saw was Joker who looked back at the blue bomber for a second but then walked towards a different direction. In the distance he could see Sonia and Solo who were barely clinging to keep themselves awake.
And slowly, Geo could feel himself getting weaker and weaker until his eyes had forcefully shut themselves. He could hear Mega repeatedly yelling out his name, but soon his sense of hearing faded out as well...
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
When he'd finally gained consciousness, Geo found himself staring up at a ceiling until his sight cleared up. He felt a soft cusion under him which he realized was actually a bed. Everything seemed a bit hazy at first, as if someone had hit his head over with a baseball bat.
But soon, he finally remembered, and his eyes widened as he quickly turned his blanket over. The first thing he did was to check his surroundings. He could see five other beds just like the one he was on, and just by the door he could see Sonia who was already falling asleep on a stool. It'd looked like she was there to watch over him.
"Sonia?" Geo called out, causing the girl to wake up in such a panic that she almost fell off the four legged stool she was on.
"O-Oh, you're awake. Mornin' sleepyhead" She greeted as soon as she gained her composure.
"Umm...where are we?" Geo asked his friend again who looked up at the ceiling as she thought.
"We're at Satella HQ. Ace brought us back here"
"Ace did?"
"Yup, he arrived shortly after you passed out. I guess you were the closest to the attack and that's why you took the hardest beating"
"I see...wait, how is everyone?"
Sonia replied with a relieving smile, "They're perfectly fine. Solo should be wandering somewhere around here and Harmony's talking with Ace, Mega and the others. But...the thing is..." and that smile soon turned into a frown. "That Joker guy got Sirius..."
At hearing that, Geo's face frowned as well and his fist softly pounded against the nearby wall. "Damn...I can't believe we couldn't do anything. Just who was that guy..."
Sonia didn't know how to answer that at all. She herself was still in awe at how much power Joker had. If they'd used their 'card' forms things might've been different, but they still weren't able to use them at will.
"But..." Geo began, standing up from his bed. "We won't get anywhere by just regretting it. Come on, I think we made Ace wait long enough"
Seeing Geo's usual expression return, Sonia couldn't help but smile as she happily nodded. "Yeah, you're right. Let's get going then!"
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
At the main control room everyone was gathered for an anxiously awaited meeting. As soon as Ace had noticed that everyone was present, he began. "Alright, let's cut to the chase. Dealer managed to take Sirius from right under our noses and we're about to find out why he was so important. Harmony, if you will"
"Of course" The 'young' lady replied with a nod. She seemed a bit sad over the loss of a friend but continued anyway. "Hmm...where should I start? Well, Sirius is actually an EM wave being that's able to control and warp gravity however he wants"
"S-Say what?!" Bud loudly exclaimed. "Isn't that pretty extreme to go for a topic starter?"
"Yeah, I kinda agree with that" Ace added. "Whew, you made my heart skip a beat back there. Could you like, start with something lesser scale and then end with a bang?"
"Oh, my mistake. Okay, I guess I'll start with something else" She said with an apologetic tone. "I actually found Sirius about a year ago during my research trip to Annarcia. He was buried under a huge pile of rocks and he looked more or less like a corpse. Of course I just couldn't leave him there so I brought him back with me. During that time, I did an analysis as well as dig into his memory"
Geo muttered, "Dig...into his memory? You can actually do that?"
"You sure can" Harmony replied, "But he had to be in that same close-to-death state for that to happen. Anyway, I found out that he was actually a lone space drifter who simply toyed with planets until he grew tired of them. Because of that...I didn't have much of a choice but to erase that memory"
"Whoa...I can't believe I'm actually hearing this" Sonia interrupted in amazement. "You erased his memory?"
"Well, I did, but at the same time I didn't. The reason behind that is because it's only a temporary procedure. I'm pretty sure Dealer wanted to get ahold of Sirius so they could use him for their own purposes. That was the reason why I moved out of the Satella Police. But If...they somehow manage to revive his memory, then..."
"We'd all go up in smoke..." Ace deeply mumbled.
Pat worriedly added, "I'd hate to see that happen..."
Now that they had the info they wanted, it was time for Ace to switch topics. "So now we've got one more to worry about, but that doesn't mean we're gonna give in. We're still in the middle of building our little machine and we'll need your help to finish it, Harmony. Think you can handle it?"
"I'll see what I can do" The red-haired girl concluded with a smile.
"Great, now for the next step in our plan..." Ace began, looking over to Geo and then to the enigmatic Solo. "I'm gonna put you two to serious work. And the reason: You two are the only ones that can move around in space because of your 'card' forms and we're gonna need you to use them at will if we plan on stopping that black hole. I hope both of you're prepared for some flesh-scraping training"
Hearing that wasn't exactly pleasing to the ears, but there wasn't exactly any other option either.
"Okay, I'll do it" Geo said with that determined tone of his.
"Tch...I don't really have a choice, do I?" Solo mumbled, not really as determined as the former but that was just how he looked anyway.
Finally, Ace let out a grin just before pressing a button on the main monitor, showing a large screen with a countdown timer on it. The timer was at 64:34:09 and counting.
"This is the exact time we have until the black hole opens! Before that, we need to be prepared ASAP! With that said, Geo and Solo, your training starts...RIGHT NOW!"
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Geo: That's it for today, hope you enjoyed it.
Sonia: Hmm...I think we're nearing the end of the season.
Geo: Yeah, time flies by fast doesn't it? I can't even remember how many of these after-shows we've already had.
Sonia: Well, one thing's for sure: I really hope we can do more of these!
Filename: Flames of Mu
The category of which soldiers of Mu are ranked according to power. There are a total of 5 known energies. The first is a light pink color, the second (Solo's current status) which is violet, the third, a dark blue color, the fourth which carries a red shade, and the last and most lethal which possesses a black and grey color.
Filename: Omega-Xis (Mega)
Geo's long-time AM-ian partner and friend. Three years ago, Mega moved back to planet FM in order to help king Cepheus and the other FM-ians rebuild planet AM. Even without wave fusion, Mega still has enough power to swipe away loads of viruses by himself.