Welcome back everybody! Previously, Kuon, Elise and Zwei have arrived in Shin Yokosaki City and met up with their friends with Zwei even catching a glimpse of the Metal Man. Meanwhile the metallic menace himself has freed Haruki Kiyama, the thief Es and Kiri detained at the mall, to assist in addition to locating a dangerous Strange Red Union in a secret bunker at the Restricted Ward while also getting a new ally from Ishana of all places.
Meanwhile, Es, Touya and Mei are leading Nu to the old curry building, Maha Raja, to introduce the Robotic Maiden to the rest of their friends (expect Yuki, who Mei plans to introduce to Nu at a later date). How will the meeting go and what devious scheme does the Metal Man have with his forces building fast?
We'll find out now, but first a little information on Haruki Kiyama, the mall thief Es and Kiri detained.
Haruki Kiyama
Age: 30
Blood Type: B+
Height: 182 cm
Weight: 86 kg
Likes: Money and Luxery
Dislikes: Violence and Police
Hobbies: Pulling off tricks and pranks
Maha Raja
It was 4:00 PM at the place that used to be Maha Raja, a popular place to get a delicious plate of curry. This building was where Ringo and Touya both worked at, although while Ringo is a full time employee, Touya only worked part-time.
Currently, Kuon, Elise, Ringo, Hinata, Akira, Kiri and Avenge are all gathered at the place, waiting for Touya, Mei, Es and their friend from the Mitsurugi Agency to arrive. Ringo plans to explain where she saw the Metal Man once they get to know Nu. Aside from greetings to each other and asking how everyone's been, they all stayed in silence until Hinata decided to break the silence.
"What kind of person do you think are like? The one that works with Touya and everyone?" Hinata asked with only Akira and Kiri having a curious thought due to Kuon and Avenge having already seen this friend. Granted, Ringo and Elise never met Nu either, but they do have a faint idea about her based on what Es and Mei told them.
"I'm sure this person is trustworthy, considering they also help out the others all the time." Akira replied, making a good point all the while.
"I wonder when they'll be here..." Kiri asked, noting that the others are taking a while to pick them up. At the same time, Kiri made sure not to stare at Avenge too much. While Avenge was shocked that Kiri used to be Ripper's body, after Mei explained everything to him and after observing Kiri himself, he held no resentment toward the man himself as Touya and Es finally killed his mortal enemy. Despite that, Kiri still feels guilt for what Ripper did to the Bounty Hunter.
"Hey guys, we're here!" Touya shouted as he and Es entered the building.
"Glad you guys made it! Where's Mei and Nu?" Kuon asked the two as Touya and Es greeted everyone present.
"Nu? Is that the name of your co-worker?" Hinata asked Touya and Es upon hearing the name of their friend.
"Yes. Would you like to meet her?" Es replied to Hinata, taking it slow to introduce Nu nice and slowly. She and Touya only hoped that Hinata, Akira and Kiri won't panic at seeing Nu.
"Yes, any friend of yours is a friend to us too, right everyone?" Hinata replied as everyone else nodded. With that, Es walked back outside and walked back in guiding a hooded figure by one hand with Mei right behind her. The only part of their friend they can see is her visor on her face.
"Why is she wearing goggles at night time?" Akira asked curiously as he took noticed of Nu's visor. He then noticed the three having anxious looks.
"Now, everyone. Don't panic as we take her cloak off. The reason we took so long to get here is because our friend is... unique..." Mei said as she and Es pulled off the clock Nu hid under and everyone saw Nu in her full robotic visage, earning surprised reactions from Hinata, Akira and Kiri.
"Everyone, I would like you to meet Nu." Mei introduced Nu to all of their friends. Silence filled the room as Mei, Touya and Es anxiously awaited their responses to Nu as everyone stared at her from top to bottom. Eventually the surprised looks faded and Hinata walked up to Nu...
"It's really nice to meet you Nu." Hinata responded with a smile on her face, picking up one of her hands.
"It is... nice to... meet you... as well..." Nu replied with a slight nod before trailing off.
"My name is Hinata. I hope we can become good friends, Nu." Hinata followed up while introducing herself to the robotic maiden. She then led her over to everyone.
"H-hi. My name is Akira Kamewari. Nice to meet you Nu." Akira nervously replied with a smile, but not in a bad way. Deep down, he thought it was cool to meet a robot face to face like this. It was every video game fan's dream come true.
"Hello there Nu. My name is Kiri." Kiri followed up with his own introduction, waving at her all the while. Nu took the chance to observe everyone and while she noticed some anxiety in those who haven't met her before, she can tell that they're genuinely happy to meet her. Touya, Es and Mei smiled and breathed a sigh of relief that Nu is accepted amoung everyone here.
The Wharf [Secret Laboratory]
With assistance from Haruki and some clever ingenuity, the Metal Man was able to bring the cryo tube with the Strange Red Union know only as Diablo back. Haruki can only stare as he can't make out any distinguishing features aside the giant sword arm.
"Why is it so cold in there? I can't make out anything of him in there..." Haruki stated as he wanted to know what this guy looked like, yet nothing but the one thing inside. The Metal Man worked on some components as he hooked up the tube on some device.
"That's what cyro stasis does to you. It has to be cold so Diablo doesn't run rampent, yet not to the point that he could die of hypothermia. After all, we wanted to study Strange Red Unions in order to confront them and accomplish our goals of saving the Unions." The Metal Man replied as he hooked up the tubs to some sort of generator that emitted some form of heat.
"Well, can't you just break the ice open and set him free?" Haruki questiond as he surly believed the Metal Man was strong enough to shatter it.
"I don't blame you for assuming that I can. Yes, I could break it, but I run the risk of accidentally killing him, either through the the sudden rising temperature causing a heat stroke or breaking him into tiny little frozen meat giblets." The Metal Man explained in detail of why he needed to be careful in freeing Diabloe without putting his life at risk.
"Oh... I see..." Haruki replied while feeling nauseous at the thought of some dying in a gruesome fashion like in those Mortal Kombat fighting games.
"But how are you going to free Diablo then? If we need him to fight these guys, I mean." Haruki continued as he knew that a robot and a thief will be heavily outclassed without Diablo.
"I just connected Diablo's cryo tube to a portable heating generator. It will thaw him out a steady pace, so he won't die of the rising temperature. I also have a means of making sure he doesn't go berserk or turn against us either." The Metal explained while reassuring the thief about keeping the Union under control.
"That doesn't make me feel any better, but I owe you, so I'll take your word for it man." Haruki nervously replied. While he got himself more then he bargained for, he's willing to take the chance to ensure he'll never live on the streets hunted by the police ever again. Besides, if Es and this Touya are evil 'machines' as the Metal Man mentioned, then he can at least sleep well knowing that he helped do the right thing. At least, he hoped he was doing the right thing.
"Excellent! Now Haruki, while our friend thaws out, let's go." The Metal Man said as he finished the preparations to free Diablo as he grabbed his scarf and head for the door.
"Go where?" Haruki questioned the metallic person as he followed.
"To meet our new friend from Ishana. A mage who has a score to settle with Ms. Mei Amanohokosaka and intends to get revenge on a certain mage that isn't even here at Shin Yokosaki right now." The Metal Man replied as his eyes glowed in psychotic elation.
Maha Raja
About 30 minutes have passed since everyone has met Nu. As everyone got to know Nu, the robotic maiden learned different things about everyone else as well as different subjects she never heard or knew about before. Elise even brought a manga to show and read to her, much to Kuon's annoyance as Nu wondered about the strange "hentai" content. Kuon showed a little bit of fire magic to Nu as she expressed curiosity at the sight of flames generated like that. Hinata showed pictures of different flowers through her phone and Akira allowed Nu to play a little bit of Candy Crush on his phone. Everyone made sure to show her one at a time as to not overwhelm her at Mei's request. Avenge just watched off on the side as he didn't know what to show Nu outside of what he knew as both a former police officer and a bounty hunter.
"I was worried that Hina, Kemewari and Kiri would feel uneasy around Nu, but they're taking well to her. That makes me happy." Mei said to Touya and Es as they watched from a nearby corner, deeply relieved that Nu is accepted into their group of friends in addition to Nu learning new things from everyone.
"I'm really happy that Nu is being given a chance to interact with everyone. I just wish that... we'll be able to fufill her wish..." Es stated, wondering how they'll be able to grant her wish to be human. Granted, Nu meant to be able to live as one, but if Es herself was able to become one, maybe she could do the same for Nu, but...
"If only "Me" were here, she might be able to grant Nu her wish..." Es whispered sadly in regards to her old friend from the other world, knowing that her brilliant knowledge would give Nu the chance of life that she herself has been given. It also helps that Es missed her as well. Even now, she wished there was a way to see her and her little sister again.
"You mentioned "Me" in the past before... it still amazes me that she was able to do the impossible to return you to us." Mei said as she recalled what Es told her and Touya after defeating Freaks. Even know, this still boggles the Shrine Maiden's mind as not even the Ten Sages could come up with something THAT brilliant in their lifetime, not even Sechs and Acht, both of whom were considered to be the most intelligent members before their deaths.
"Yet, here I am. However, that was only possible due to "Me"'s Original Grimoire and Code: Embryo that I had when I was "Nobody". Without those components, we can't give Nu that opportunity that was given to me..." Es explained before closing her eyes in sadness. Mei and Touya could only look at her with sympathetic looks as they understood what Es was trying to do. Replicate the same events that brought their friend back into this world, but in a way to transform Nu into a full blooded human being, free of her robot shell. They couldn't help but admire the selflessness heart she developed.
"I know it's hard Es, but we'll help Nu in any way we can to make her wish come true. That's a promise." Touya reassured his not-yet-revealed girlfriend that they'll be able to give Nu the chance to live like he and everyone did for the Azure Maiden. After all, they accomplished a LOT of things that students like themselves could only dream of.
"We're all in this together Es, don't think you need to help Nu alone. After all, that's why I got you guys involved so Nu could interact with you and everyone else." Mei followed up as she also reassured the Azure Maiden in their shared camaraderie. Regardless of whether it's at school playing sports or fighting a dangerous Union, it's all for one and one for all among their group.
"Thank you Touya. You too Mei." Es said with a grateful smile with Touya and Mei returning the gesture. Eventually, the three were approached by Ringo, who had a serious look.
"Touya, Mei, Es. It's time we discussed what I wanted to tell you guys." Ringo said as the three turned their attention to the former Ten Sage. Was this why she wanted to see them? At least it was about curry, but they already figured so considering she's still addressing Touya by name.
"What was it you wanted to tell us Ringo?" Touya asked her former senior from the curry shop, wondering what would make her act out of character from how he remembered.
"I think I know where your "Metal Man" might be." Ringo said with a stern face as Touya, Es and Mei looked in shock. She saw the Metal Man herself!? Nodding silently, they walked over to where everyone is to discuss what Ringo saw and come up with a plan. Mei and Touya made sure to tell Yuki later to make sure she'll be ready herself.
The Wharf
It was now 5:00 PM as the sun began to set. Haruki and the Metal Man waited at a specific spot to make sure nobody spoted them, not that it mattered as people rarely seem to notice things around here THAT much. It was starting to get cold as well as Haruki shivered, even with the long sleeve shirt he picked up.
"When's your magic friend going to be here? If I stay out here too long, I'll need to be thawed out along with Diablo as well." Haruki complained with a failed attempt at a cold joke. The Metal Man didn't even notice the chill, which was a perk of being a machine, but he had to admit that he missed the sensation of feeling warm or cold, something that he eventually hoped to rectify.
"She'll be here any moment now my friend." The Metal Man said as he eyed the sun slowly moving out of sight until the sky became dark with the moon now visible.
"She? Our next ally is a chick!?" Haruki replied in shock, briefly forgetting about the cold for a moment. He was sure that they should rope a woman into this.
"A women, yes. However, she's no ordinary woman. She's a specialist in wind magic and will prove instrumental in our plan." The Metal Man said as he turned to the thief, explaining what this female mage is capable of.
*Clink*
The sound of footwear landing on metal alerted Haruki to look up with the Metal Man following the soure of the sound as well. There, they saw a young woman with a lithe figure and long dark green hair that reached down to her knees, carried a wooden staff with a green crystal at the top, wearing a black cape and a black witch hat. Underneath it is a green tank top, a pair of blue shorts showing off her legs and a pair of black boots. Staring at them are a pair of beautiful jade colored eyes. Haruki couldn't help but stare at them, even the Metal Man felt entitled to gaze at them, something he never did as a human.
"Well, you remembered what I can do my cybernetic friend." The witch replied with a small smirk as she lifted herself up with wind and softly landed in front of them.
"Ah, so glad you made it, Ms...?" The Metal Man asked the witch, trying to recall her name. Haruki still stared at the women before him as he couldn't take his eyes off of her.
"Wendy. Wendy Kazehaya!" The women know as Wendy tilted her hat up with a smirk of confidence. The Metal Man's eyes glowed in elation once again as his team is now complete.
Maha Raja
Everyone has gathered at the table as they listened to Ringo in regards to what she caught a glimpse of this morning. She saw a silver dashing between the shipment containers as if to get somewhere quick. Touya then pulled out the picture Avenge gave him.
"Did he look anything like this picture?" Touya asked Ringo as gave her the photo. Naturally, this made her wonder who took the photo to begin with.
"Y-yes, somewhat. Same build and same silver color. More importantly, who took this photo." Ringo asked after confirming that the Metal Man she saw looked identical to the blurry image before asking who got the picture.
"A client from Ishana, a mage outside of the Magic Guild. They gave me the photo when they came to the city to visit it." Avenge clearified to the former Ten Sage, but was met with a bemused look. He wondered why she'd be confused and how come?
"That's strange. Aside from myself, Kuon and Elise, no one has taken a boat out from Ishana..." Ringo said, this time leaving the Bounty Hunter confused along with Touya wondering how this could be.
"But Avenge told me he got the photo from a resident of Ishana though..." Touya said, cleary trying to make sense of the situation.
"Excuse me, maybe Ka- I mean Mr. Avenge probably got it months ago?" Hinata chimed in, hoping to clear up the tension that's building up.
"Specifically, I got this photo and intel about the Metal Man 3 weeks ago, a day before the jewel store started being robbed." Avenge said, throwing out the theory Hinata had.
"Ringo, is it possible for a mage to travel away from Ishana without the use of a boat?" Elise added on, making a valid point in the process.
"You raise a good point. Those who can use levitation, gravity or advanced wind magic can fly over the sea, provided they have enough Seithr to make the trip safely." Ringo followed up, noting that mages with the following form of magic can make the trip possible.
"I can't diverge much about my client at the moment, but I did notice that they can control the wind." Avenge added, thus confirming that the mage in question is a wind mage.
"Kuon, do you know any wind mages?" Es asked her friend, hoping to clearify who the person is.
"I know a few classmates who can use wind magic, but not one that can fly over the sea without exherting themselves and falling into the ocean. Besides, in Ishana, you can get in trouble for leaving without going through the proper channels, hence why we leave through the boat. That's why Sechs was found coming here as he took the boat." Kuon explained to everyone, knowing full well that if this mage is sneaking away from Ishana like this, she needs to report it later.
"But Sechs was a wanted criminal and he had two associates, so he HAD to take a boat. For now, all we know is that this photo matches what Ringo saw. We'll worry about the wind mage latter as the Metal Man is more important." Mei replied with Kuon reluctantly nodding in agreement. The latter knew that the Shrine Maiden was right as the Metal Man was more important then a mage sneaking away from Ishana.
"So to clear things up, you saw the Metal Man near the Wharf, right?" Akira asked Ringo to claer things up. Granted, he, Hinata or Kiri can't fight, but it helps if they're involved in the know how.
"Yes, but it may be possible that he was passing through and not where he's hding at, but we should try to investigate the area at a latter point. Think you can send some men over, Mei?" Ringo asked the Shrine Maiden, keeping in mind that they could or could not find the Metal Man's hideout.
"I'll get right on it. I'll send a search squad tomorrow morning." Mei replied with everyone nodding in agreement. With that said, Mei left the conversation to set up a call...
Restricted Ward
It was 5:15 PM when the Metal Man was at the Restricted Ward. He stood in an open clearing, ready to set something into motion. With that, he held up a cell phone and called Haruki.
"Mr. Kiyama, how's Diablo?" The Metal Man asked for a progress update in regards to the Union.
"He hasn't thawed out yet. He's still pretty frozen..." Haruki mentioned to his metallic cohort over the phone.
"Alright, stay put and keep an eye out for anyone coming. Me and Ms. Kazehaya will handle and eliminate Embryo Storage and the Grimoire." The Metal Man replied as his glowed at the prospect of killing Es and Touya. Today is the day that revenge will be his!
"Alright, you watch yourself." Haruki nervously said as he hung up. The Metal Man can tell that he can't see them as a tool and corpse respectively, yet he can't blame him for thinking that way. With that, Wendy called him over his phone.
"Look, I know I said I'd help, but are you sure that we should be... you know... "offing" these two kids? I only agreed to help so I can get payback on the Shrine Maiden for what she did." Wendy said, cleary not comfortable with killing two people like this. Not that she had any right to talk as she wants revenge on a shrine maiden and wants her beaten to a pulp.
"Positive. All for the sake of a brighter future. All you need to do is draw their attention with your trump card, then assist me once you catch your breath." The Metal Man said as he hung up with his eyes flickering, signaling Wendy to summon their foes. On top of a broken down building, the mage started to conjure up a tornado with a confident smile.
"Right, time for me to be the point woman!" Wendy said as she began to form a giant tornado into the sky, making sure it didn't go into the city, but mearly to frighten their enemy into coming to them.
'Shrine Maiden bitch! You will pay for murdering my friend and you will pay too Fire Empress Stroheim...' Wendy thought darkly as she desired to avenge her fallen friend's death at the hands of Mei and Kuon.
"Acht..." Wendy sadly said as she remembered her best friend, who was cruelly taken from her.
Maha Raja
It was 5:15 PM as Mei is making the call to the Mitsurugi Agency to investigate the Wharf tomorrow. As she is doing so, everyone was interacting with Nu again with Hinata and Ringo making curry for dinner, knowing it's around that time.
"Yes, around 9:00 AM tomorrow morning I want you to investigate the Wharf and make sure to locate anything suspicious." Mei finished her call to the soldier on the other side.
"Understood, we'll prepare-" The soldier said before loud sounds erupted on the other side, blasting into Mei's ear, causing the Shrine Maiden to recoil in pain as she dropped her phone in the process.
"OW! What the fuuuu...!?" Mei shouted as cover her right ear from the loud noise. This didn't escape the others notice, with Kuon running over to help her up.
"Mei!? What's wrong!?" Kuon asked in worry as she helped Mei up off the ground as the others came, including Hinata and Ringo as soon as they turned off their cooking tools.
"A loud noise started blasting on the other side of the phone... it wasn't music though. It sounded like wind." Mei explained as she rubbed her right ear until it's hearing came back. At first, she was going to question the soldier what the source of the sound was until...
"Commander! It's an emergency! Please come in!" The soldier yelled through the phone in a panic, desperately trying to tell Mei something important. Mei cautiously picked up her phone to reply.
"No need to yell, I'm here. What's wrong and what the hell was that loud noise that blasted my eardrum..." Mei replied slighty irate, but made sure not to yell as she figured it wasn't the soldiers fault for that loud sound.
"That's the emergency! There's a giant tornado flying over the Restricted Ward!" The soldier yelled as he mentioed something completely random and yet...
"WHAT!? A TORNADO!?" Mei yelled as she ran out of the restaurant with the others following in concern to see a what the soldier said: a giant tornado is hovering over the Restricted Ward!
"What in the world is that!?" Akira cried out as he felt the wind blow against him despite how far the giant surge of spinning wind was.
"Tornado... a rotating column of air... spinning at a... terminal velocity..." Nu replied calmly as she scanned the giant column of wind. At that point, people around were screaming and fleeing to safety at the mere sight. With that, Mei called through her phone again.
"Tell everyone at HQ to remain inside! We'll see who's causing this mess!" Mei ordered the soldier on the other side.
"We're aldreay hunkered down, but that's a tornado! You'll be killed if you go over there!" The soldier questioned the Shrine Maiden, cleary concerned for her safety.
"Come on! A tornado that's purely stationary and floating in the sky without moving toward the city, something tells me it's not a regular tornado. Just trust us!" Mei explained, making a solid point that everyone close by understood. If this tornado was here, why wasn't it coming forward instead of just staring them down and why is there no collateral damage?
"Understood! Be careful!" The soldier replied as he hung up. With that Mei looked toward the others as the tornado sarted to dwindle down in size, confirming what Mei said.
"That's wind magic... from a mage." Ringo noted bitterly, prompting the others to look in surprise.
"But why would they do this!? And how did they get here!?" Elise called out, wondering how this was possible.
"Ms. Ringo said that people who use wind magic can fly across the ocean, right?" Kiri answered, recalling Ringo's explanation from earlier.
"Kiri is correct. Besides, the tornado is dying down. I think it was to scare us and to get us to head over there." Avenge noted, sensing that something is up. Why would this mage want them to come? Is the Metal Man involved?
"Whoever this mage is, they can't just terrify people like this! We need to tell them to stop!" Touya stated, cleary upset that another mage is scaring people again. Fortunately, no appeared to be hurt or killed, but summoning a tornado was not good at all.
"First things first Kagari, we need to prepare ourselves! Ringo, Elise, you guys stay here and protect Hinata, Kamewari and Kiri! Kagari, Es, Nu, Kuon and Avenge will head over to the Restricted Ward and deal with the wind mage!" Mei explained, hoping everyone understands what the situation is.
"Okay, we'll set up a protective ward here just in case as well." Ringo said with an affirming nod.
"And we'll call Yuki and give her a heads up too." Akira followed upmas he got out his phone to call Yuki about what's happening.
"Be careful everyone..." Hinata said with a worried look, cleary scared about what's happening.
"We'll be okay Hinata. I promise." Es said with a reassuring look beforecturning to the direction of the tornado as it grows smaller. With no further words, she along with Touya, Mei, Nu, Kuon and Avenge headed off in the direction of the Restricted Ward as everyone watched on.
Restricted Ward
The Metal Man was thoroughly impressed at the sight of the tornado. By now, someone at Mitsurugi Agency HQ would have notified Mei by now and she along with Es and Touya are on their way at this moment. With that, he received a call from Wendy as the tornado dissipated.
"Phew... I'm spent... I won't be able to help for 15 minutes..." Wendy said in a heavy breathy tone, cleary exhausted from making that giant tornado.
"Not to worry Ms. Wendy. By the time I'm done, the Shrine Maiden will be at your mercy and both Embryo Storage and the Grimoire will be destroyed... FOREVER!" The Metal Man shouted to the heavens as his eyes glowed bright in ecstatic glee as the conflict he's been looking forward to is at hand!
To be continued...
While everyone has come to welcome Nu into the group officially, the Metal Man now has a mage of his own helping him and he has made his move, with the heroes hurrying over to the Restricted Ward!
Next time, Es and her friends will be fighting the Metal Man and with it, his true identity is finally revealed!
