INCIDENT REPORT:
At around 1 in the morning, Saturday, July 14th, Hiden Intelligence was the subject of a break-in and theft from an unknown assailant. Schematics containing the blueprints for Hiden 3D Printer as well as several blank progrisekeys were stolen. In addition to this, data containing the secure methods of transference from battle information in regards to progrisekey development has been stolen, although back-ups have not been touched and neither has the database physically. The identity of the thief and their methods are still largely unknown, and police are currently investigating, but have turned up nothing in the past week.
"Before I begin," The tapping of a microphone followed a nasally, meager yet genuine and focused voice that had to stand against a sea of alarmed faces who knew just as much as he did, yet clawed for answers like hungry children. His fingers were quivering, they always did underneath this type of pressure. Usually, she opted to toss the blame off his shoulders, but this wasn't like last time. No, these people had to hear his words, whatever they may be. Whatever they may be, she believed in him – and that was never going to change. "I'd like to thank all of you for making your acquaintance."
She nudged him ever so slightly.
"My acquaintance." Even beyond death, he never stopped believing in the hope of his ideal world, and she was proud to be fortunate enough to have met him. But this wasn't good. No, this disaster was far greater than either of them could consider. The facts were stated as present, but one piece of this puzzle was waiting to collapse: neither Aruto Hiden nor Izu knew how their security system was unaware of this intrusion. "In each and every one of you there is a great virtue: trust, not in our company, but in the future of humagears." Doll them up with compliments appealing to their hearts, and ones that reflect the company itself, even if no one in this room holds a believable amount of decency. That is what leagues of presentation training etched in the depths of files buried in the back of her mind taught her, and has lead to the upkeep of their dream: a world where humans and humagears can live peacefully, and in a harmonic circle of hands, whether made of bone or metal.
Trust was the foundation for Hiden Industries, and there was nothing present maintaining that trust currently. Review of video footage showcases a masked assailant wearing a silver, chrome face with a dark hood. At 12:45, the assailant approaches the building. With the slightest movement of their hands, a glowing light emits from their waist, and they are able to pass through the walls, undetected. Motion sensors did not pick them up. Video picked them up, only because they wanted to be seen. There is an 80% chance that this crime was meant to be watched. It is more than likely that the thief wanted to divert attention towards Hiden Industries, although what is not known is to damage the reputation of the company through an embarrassingly simple heist, or impede the investigation – though the former is the optimal route if their intent has personal stakes.
"Yes, it is true." President Hiden sighed, closing his eyes for only a moment. "A lot of our valuable technology has been stolen. We don't know where it is currently." The uproar began upon his admittance of incompetence. Waves of questions shot his way, to which he tried his best to answer, but to no avail. It was like a thousand arms tearing him apart in a different way, and he had no time to process what was going on. She wanted to step in, but this wasn't her responsibility. This time it was his. It had to be his. Her voice would be silenced otherwise, because trust is Hiden Intelligence's number one policy. How could you hope to trust a product that two years ago had to be recalled, alongside all the rest of these obsolete androids?
Izu had no voice here, and Aruto's was failing, but he had to speak.
After phasing through the wall, the assailant effortlessly passed through several levels of security without making even a mouse stir. Flying through tens of stories within a matter of seconds, moving at the speed of a bullet train, as though they were an irritated man throwing open cabinets and searching for keys, yet their appearance continued to trip no alarms. The entire ordeal made it look as though Aruto, and by extension the rest of the company, was completely out of control – or rather, never held any at all.
"Please, one at a time!" Aruto shouted.
"How could you have let this happen?!" One shareholder shouted.
"I-I apologize!" He cried out, lowering his head. His heartbeat was exceeding healthy amounts. Even if she didn't have a built-in respiratory sensor, you could tell from a mile away.
"Are you even aware of what technology like that could do?!"
"M-more than you think!" He retorted, but it only made the crowd angrier. Aruto Hiden would have failed a business course, but business was never fair. No, she had learned that before. It was a conflicting ideal when they first met. Izu was unable to understand many things, but what she felt the most in the dark about was why someone would choose to stray from the optimal route for the sake of someone's heart.
Then Izu discovered her own heart, and she understood the sacrifice of dreams, and why it's important to remain the same person you were when you first became aware of them. At around 12:55 PM, after ten minutes had passed, the assailant appeared on the 55th floor of Hiden Intelligence and arrived at the development floors. There was no need to bypass the security clearance, because out of thin air, the assailant had appeared and committed the crime. Then, only five minutes later, they appeared to the server room and began uploading confidential company data into a pocket USB, disappearing entirely after that with no trace of exit from the building.
The strangest thing, above all else involved in the perfect crime, were the methods of traversal. A dark purple sigil accompanied by several unknown, perhaps ancient characters, encapsulated in a circle of energy that could not be identified. No traces of biochemical energy that is currently recognizable to the public eye was found. It was as though for a lack of better words, magic – which was a subject that Izu held no consistent data stored in her memories, and to which all searches brought up irrelevant discourse pertaining to rumors, discussions of multimedia, or largely incomprehensible rambles between others.
To put it bluntly, Izu and Aruto had no idea how this could have happened, or where to go from here.
HIDEN INTELLIGENCE - CEO OFFICE
"This is where the recent break-in at Hiden Intelligence currently stands." Izu said with a gleeful smile. "Would you like me to repeat it?"
"Unbelievable…" Aruto collapsed over his desk. The shareholder meeting did not go well. There are various investors threatening to pull out their support if this technology is not recovered, as no one wants ties to a potential cyberterror attack. This is the optimal solution for investors. "With those plans stolen, who knows what they'll try to do?" He sighed. "We could have a whole army of people using progrisekeys…"
"This is assuming that the assailant does not intend on creating their own version and selling them in an underground market." Izu said, a blue LED visual screen appearing on the wall. She presented the facts and figures of this scenario in various charts, including a well-detailed graph of their stock. "It would collapse the company entirely."
"Hnnrg!" Aruto shouted, violently scratching at his head. "I'm aware of that!"
"President Hiden, this predicament strangely coincides with your overseas investment meeting." The android noted, and a calendar appeared on the screen in replacement of the charts. An invitation had been sent out one month ago, announcing that Hiden Intelligence had been selected to take part in an overseas gala that would surely strengthen the bond between international allies, leading to greater expansions of the company, and possibly provide future humagears with new homes outside of the country – something that not many are fortunate enough to have. "Could it be that the two are related?"
"Heh, I get it." Aruto stood up, crossing his arms. He did not get it. "Seems like they're trying to steal me away from the company's time of need!" The young man pivoted halfway to the left, throwing his arm out in a smooth motion. Scrunching up into a ball, he curled his fists and gritted his teeth, seething with passion in each word delivered.
"THAT'S HOW YOU KNOW IT'S ARUTO!"
"THAT'S HOW YOU KNOW IT'S ARUTO!"
Izu and Aruto were joined side by side, tossing their hands out to an empty, invisible – and frankly imaginary crowd, each of them grinning ear to ear despite them both being the only ones listening. "Still, if they are related, it's not like I can cancel." His day was getting worse as it went on. First, his company still lies in wake of a grand scale theft in regards to highly sensitive and dangerous information, and now he has to be up tomorrow in the morning to go on a plane to some conference with all this trouble going on, and he wasn't even in first class! "If I pass this up, we'd be losing a lot more than some friends."
"I will go in your stead." Izu answered in a blunt, neutral voice.
"N-no, you can't." Aruto shook his head. "They're expecting me, and if I don't go there myself."
"It seems I have you mistaken." Izu tilted her head, smiling his way to provide some much needed comfort beneath the mountain of stress. "You shall attend that gala, and I will take care of Hiden Intelligence in your place, including the retrieval of the stolen equipment."
"Hm? Oh, yeah, sure." Aruto waved her off. Then, it clicked. "WHAAAAAT?!" He shouted, throwing his hands into the air, kneeling in front of her with a face that could have sent chills down her spine, if Izu could feel such a sensation to begin with. "Hold on, is that really a good idea?!"
"It would be no different to how I handle our daily regiment." Izu argued, unsure of his apprehensiveness towards this suggestion. "I am personally equipped as well to take part in combat, using the Zero Two progrisekey, so the risk is minimal if you were to attend this gala."
"And if I don't?" He asked, massaging his chin.
"Cataclysmic."
"We have no choice then." Aruto nodded his head. "This is the last thing I want, but…" A massive, twisted grin appeared over his face as his eyes shot enough light to make a cave a thousand miles beneath the surface filled with light. The president pranced around before turning to Izu, sticking his finger inches apart from her nose. "In order to RETURN this company's trust I'll have to take it upon myself and put my TRUST in YOU-ZU!"
"THAT'S HOW YOU KNOW IT'S ARUTO!"
"THAT'S HOW YOU KNOW IT'S ARUTO!"
Both of their noses were being poked with the other's finger.
A.I.M.S. Headquarters - The next day.
Artificial Intelligence Military Service.
Formerly owned by ZAIA ENTERPRISE JAPAN, a rival company of Hiden Intelligence led by Gai Amatsu, A.I.M.S. served as the previous instatement of law enforcement in Japan against rogue humagears before becoming independent following the destruction of the Ark. Although claiming to be reformed, A.I.M.S. isn't exactly on the greatest of terms with the rest of humagears in the world, and for great reason regarding their past actions. Absolving most of their political power for the sake of walking a better path towards peace, Hiden Intelligence hopes at some point to overcome previous tension only through a long road ahead to upholding their promise.
Their headquarters remained in the same place as it used to be after the past two years, so that was convenient. The building itself could send shivers down anyone's spine. The walls were dark, and running your fingers along the stone would make you think that you had somehow found yourself smack dab on the other side of a freezer with the cold slowly seeping in. If you didn't match their uniform, you might feel a tightening in your throat with each word crackling like a pair of quiet feet shuffling down creaking stairs to avoid any sort of disturbance, because no one wanted to, and rarely was, here out of their own volition.
Even now, this compound didn't give Izu much of a warm welcome. Not that their Captain, Yua Yaiba would, in the first place. Or, to anyone for that matter. She wasn't a people kind of person. More of a 'get the job done' person, as she has heard before. It was a trait she admittedly found to hold a deep respect for in Yaiba. If she was a humagear, others would look towards her with the same admiration, but the last thing Yaiba would want is to become a humagear; that she has made very clear, in spite of her vows to help create a world of peace for A.I. and humans.
"I must thank you for meeting on short notice." Izu said, greeting her with a wave. The room was coded in grunge blue tones. Despite the wandering eyes fixated on her every move, she did not feel threatened. At least, not in this office. "A.I.M.S. schedule has to leave no room for surprise visitors."
"Is it true you're the only one in charge currently?" Yaiba asked, trying not to stare directly into her eyes. She always felt as though she was being stripped down to her soul whenever that android seemed to glare. It didn't help that the captain was able to hear faint sounds of whirring and buzzing after every blink.
"That is correct." Izu answered, nodding her head. "President Hiden is outside the country, and the Zero One driver is safe with him."
"So, that only leaves Zero Two…" Yaiba muttered. She couldn't fathom why Aruto had decided to leave now of all times. After all, this security risk was major, and who knows what kind of disaster could arrive without him. Besides, leaving it only to Izu was dangerous for her. Yaiba sighed, slumping back into her chair. What on Earth was that fool thinking?
His altruism extends beyond the borders of naivety. "If you came here for assistance," Yaiba lowered her head. "Then you should leave."
"A.I.M.S. is the best chance at retrieval towards the equipment stolen from Hiden Intelligence." She replied with a blank face, refusing to leave despite the Captain's orders. Yaiba glared back at Izu, hoping she would get the hint before she had to get rough, but that was proving to be difficult. "Your cooperation would not go unappreciated."
"I was perfectly clear with my previous statement." Yaiba said, this time in a far more stern tone. Not one she hadn't come face to face with before, and one Izu actively tried to avoid, but somehow ended up finding herself on the receiving end of. "This isn't a matter that we can help you with!" Her eyes narrowed, and that icy gaze fell towards the floor, directed at the androids legs which stood unshaken, but not with great confidence. "With that technology stolen, we still don't have a clue what the perpetrators' aim is. Our goal is to reduce terrorist attacks by rogue humagears and maintain peace between AI and non-AI." She spoke in a softer, more empathetic tone, and it became clear just how much she was at a loss alongside Izu, who was showing signs of guilt over her failure. She really was taking a monumental task into her own two hands.
That naivety has rubbed off a lot on them. "Simply put, until an attack happens, we aren't allowed to engage. It's the price of independence, that matter is outside our legal jurisdiction and in the hands of the police."
Izu watched as her demanding voice broke down alongside the walls she was putting in between them. "I understand." The android replied, complying to her request. She pivoted and trudged towards the door. As her feet shuffled between the doorway, Izu's heart was starting to lag in between the necessary beats to perform without error. The reality of her situation was beginning to come around, but she had to keep hope, even if she was alone.
"Hold on," Yaiba's voice caused her feet to cease in their tracks. "Take this." Hesitantly, she placed a black, oval device that was no larger than the palm of her hand. It appeared to be an earpiece communicator. That incessant whirring wound up again as Izu gazed, examining the device. This was connected to A.I.M.S. comms line. Should the captain really be handing this out to her? "It's the least we can do. If there's trouble, you'll be the first to know."
"I will not forget your kindness." Izu smiled. A genuine, compassionate smile that held greater appreciation in her eyes than many humans had these days. Only a moment passed before Yaiba turned away from her, and turned back to her usual cold self.
"It's about time you leave."
Upon leaving, Izu once again felt a set of eyes on her. Though, when she stopped to examine her surroundings, all was as usual. Perhaps she was paranoid, but anyone would think that. Well, perhaps not anyone. She was an android, after all, and the number of eyes seemed to increase with each visit. The 'underlings' were growing in numbers each day. It was a testament to the current standing between humagears and humans. In spite of their previous efforts to make peace, tensions were growing each day. Difficulty of communication on jobs, competitors exploiting peace through intense lobbying for laws, and continued violence with remnants of , and that wasn't even beginning to mention the rise in purists who believed humagears existence not being a necessity to the world previously, subsequently justifying their hatred among other rhetoric such as debating the semantics of what makes living beings, or the moral ramifications of advancement with A.I. Although humagears were largely localized to certain regions of Tokyo and had not picked up steam, the job wasn't easy, and it definitely hadn't since the merger.
Two years ago, their world had been erased. Or, in a more technical sense, 'merged' with completely unrelated worlds. Companies who had never existed popped up as though they had been there the entire time: Smart Brain, ZECT, Genm Corp – all of these she had no data on, which was impossible for their size. Strange creatures of all kinds appearing occasionally throughout the country, though kept largely under wraps by mainstream news. To the best of their ability, but it was no match for the vast web that was the internet, which freely discussed targeted attacks as though this was all normal. Celebrities who were due for their second children when their names had never existed, starring in franchises that two years ago would have yielded no results. Buildings and spaces that were once home were nothing more than empty lots now. Laws previously intact for the rights of A.I., bills that had taken decades worth of blood, sweat and tears found no space in the current constitution; all of their work was reset back to zero.
This was not the world that neither Aruto nor Izu lived in. It was a contradicting, unstable mesh of memories that clashed for supremacy, but continued to exist despite these conflicts of history, and fit seamlessly into a convoluted web that both of them had only begun to unravel. Only Aruto and Izu seemed to be aware of this merging. It is unknown how, but There had to have played a role in the preservation of the world that came before. Memories existing as digitized storage carefully backed up in the vast realm of space inside a satellite.
The fright of waking up in a whole new world was indescribable. Had it not been for the company of each other, the morbid comfort found within the awareness of their new reality shared between them, one of them surely would have fallen into an everlasting despair. What once was is now gone, and what exists now is a cave with new twists and turns each morning with no sign of light approaching. All that can be done now is try to find that light, some semblance of familiarity to be returned. It mattered now more than ever to ensure that Humagears have a home, and that is why Izu had to take this upon herself, as the only one blessed with knowledge of what once was. That equipment will not cause more harm. Together, Aruto and Izu will create a world of true peace between A.I. and humans. As long as she believed that, then despair could never take over.
The police could not be relied upon to complete this investigation. Their efforts were not in the humagears favour. The looming threat of A.I. having enforcement power was enough to scare them from ever working in compliance with them in protecting their rights. More often than not, their idea of 'help' caused more anguish and pain with brutal methods of detainment, or turning a blind eye to humagears in clear need of help. Although alternatives existed like A.I.M., they were designated as 'peacekeepers' with a sour reputation and little power. There weren't many organizations that held enough support to make a great impact, even with the continued support of Hiden Intelligence.
Simply put, Humagears existence was not formally recognized beyond the business world, and if one was defective they were put down. It was easier to scrap and reprogram than to help. After all, A.I. is an imitation of the human mind, right? Imitations are not valid in the eyes of those who cannot fathom their own genuinity to begin with. For instance, Humagears, even in this world, held many positions in the medical field, but their needs were relegated to careless factories who sought a half decent job for a quarter decent pay. That didn't cover nameless manufacturers that were beginning to own and withhold necessary repair parts, the issue arising as competitors appeared to cash in with their own versions of androids. The right to repair was less of a right, and more of a luxury. Hiden Intelligence did not currently suffer from this, but those who were built inside of these newly developing companies were not so fortunate.
Izu held that luxury to never worry again about her repairs, but she didn't feel any pleasure in holding that.
Partly, human nature was based around courage and resilience. The worst parts of humanity were based in fear and ignorance, two things that law enforcement thrived upon. A Kamen Rider did and should not operate for either of those, but what does it mean to be a Kamen Rider? It was still something Izu was largely unaware of. Aruto fought for peace and freedom, but that is his idea of what it means to be a rider: Zero One, and Izu was Zero Two, so it begs the question: what did she stand for?
Was fighting as Zero Two different from fighting as Izu? Should a mask be separate from one's face, or is it merely an extension of their true appearance? Moreover, the assailants who stole that equipment… What are they fighting for?
So many questions, and no answers. What a long day this was going to be.
AUTHOR'S NOTE (07/18/23): Hello, hello, hello! So, after a very short prologue we break into Izu's story. Yes, you read that right - all the worlds have merged into one. I was following the continuity post Zi-O where all the Heisei worlds once separate are now one. Seeing Outsiders is what inspired me to actually begin an endeavour in creating this world, and I hope I portrayed some of the horrific implications correctly. I'm not the most well versed with Zero One, so if I get things in the lore wrong, please correct me and I will do my best to edit it and notify readers of my edits. I don't expect much to any edits hopefully, but if I get something majorly wrong I will write a note about it.
Side note: "Aruto ja naito" is being written as "That's how you know it's Aruto." because its a phrase that has multiple translations, and I think that's the most fitting translation since its playing off of the pun with 'art' and 'Aruto'. I'll just keep it as that to make it simple and not confusing to those unfamiliar with the phrases since I don't just want to throw in random phrases using the original Japanese when this is written in English. It's the same reason I write "henshin" as "transform" since its the word for transform.
Though the original phrases definitely do flow better when spoken and are iconic!
Next chapter we move onto Poppy, and then hopefully we get to the Wizard side of things soon. Poppy Pipopapo has to be in my top 3 characters for the franchise, so portraying her is going to be super-duper fun.
If you want to know, my top 3 characters are
1. Haruto Soma
2. Kuroto Dan
3. Poppy Pipopapo.
If you got any suggestions for some of the things this trio of girls will do, comment down below, or just your general thoughts. This isn't a very long note like my other ones, so... Anyways, until next time, and if I see some of you for Festival of Fate, that will soon be concluding so be on the lookout for that!