After a Full Year...!
Hello again, with this new chapter.
So I've started playing Azur Lane in october 2020. Having a fun time so far. Still quite lost in the AL lore but I understand a little bit better thanks to Hawk2zer0's 3-hour Video.
There might be some discrepancies between Amagi's personality in this fanfic to the headcanon. Please write in the reviews for any suggestions or corrections that would be added in the future chapters.
Also, the way how KAN-SENs are created/born in this fanfic would be slightly different from the game lore, which would later be covered in later chapters.
GBN Server 34, Desert Area...
"Boo-yah! New Record!"
Kuonji is celebrating his first perfect mission clear for the day, having won a variety of rewards as he skims through his Item Inventory. As he was happily scrolling down on his Item List the boy was looking for that particular thing he always get excited on.
"Wait, hold on..."
However the boy was in dismay and disbelief as he couldn't find any traces of that said Item in his rewards list, "Where the heck did my parts data go!?"
These particular items are quite important to him, as these bits of data can be converted into any Gunpla parts sprue frame through a GBN-affiliated Factory Zone Injection Molding Machine. And with those Gunpla parts he can customize his machine to his own liking and discretion, allowing him to build Gunplas that would suit his needs.
Another time...
GBN Server 42, ORB Military Base
"Heheh, a bundle of Extra Credits, several Decal and Avatar Camouflage as rewards~"
As usual, Kuonji has just finished a high-level mission, obtained a pair of hi-Tier Misc. Items, and is expecting a bountiful extra rewards on his Rewards list. The boy was excited to see the contents of his item which included the parts data he anticipated to grab, but...
"...Wait, what in the!?"
However the same thing happened again. Aside from the Weapon Parts there were no sign of the Parts Data being present in the rewards list. He resetted the console a few times but to no avail, the said items are nowhere to be found.
"...Not again!"
The Next Day...
GBN Server 21, Estania Area..
"I was sure I had some Backpack, Leg and Arm Parts Data on my Rewards list back then... where did they go...!?"
Kuonji can be seen briskly walking once again in the streets of Estania, aimlessly going to anywhere his feet would take him. He then opens his Item Inventory, browsing on his Item list and wondering why he wasn't able to get any Parts Data from his completed missions. In his random scrolling he then comes across with the Inedible gray cube he discovered from the rewards he got from that Story Mission. For some odd reason he took it out from storage and out of spite he began applying pressure to it by squeezing the strange cube with his bare fingers.
"Ever since you showed up in my Inventory I haven't gotten any good Parts Data lately..." Glaring and accusing the gray cube on his fingers he faintly uttered to it, "This is all your fault, isn't it?"
As he was 'grappling' at the gray cube using his fingers and mumbling nonsensical cursings a bird-like figure was staring at Kuonji from a distance, just resting on a building's ledge.
"..."
As Kuonji was circling around Estania's main roads and pathways he's been followed by the mysterious bird avatar, stalking him almost everywhere he go, landing from time to time on any ledge, wire or post. When he's finally alone on a small pathway the bird avatar flies closer to Kuonji and calls out to him.
"Excuse me." A female voice suddenly calls out to Kuonji whilst he was busy 'punishing' the said cube, "Can I have some of your time?"
"Hm?" When Kuonji looked behind him he couldn't find anyone at the vicinity, leading him to think that he's been hearing things in a forlorn place. However when the bird-like avatar flew in front of the boy and lands gracefully in front of him, Kuonji was frozen for a moment from what he saw.
"That's an interesting item you got there." The bird avatar spoke to him in an elegant voice, "Mind if I take a look at it?"
"..." There's a sudden influx of ideas came running into the boy's mind as he stares at this bird-like Diver. One of them is an attempt to capture it using a red and white ball he got from an earlier mission or beat it to death and see if he can eat the said bird Diver. But one thing prevails in his mind is that she is also curious about the gray cube that he was holding all this time. Though he had only seen this kind of avatar design just now he's pretty much convinced that he's not like that info-broker who kept pestering him for any shady business that goes by the name of Yasu.
"Don't worry, I won't take it away from you." The bird Diver assures the boy that her intentions are only to investigate the unusual Item he holds, "I just want to inspect it a little. May I?"
"O-Oh, uhh..." Given that he also had no idea about the said cube and basically he didn't really care whatever happens to it, Kuonji shows the cube to the bird Diver by holding it with two hands and places it in front of its beak, "Okay, here."
"Hmmm, interesting..." Opening a holo-panel as she observes the item's parameters she makes an comment to herself as she skims through the cube's details, "An Item that can alter an object's parameters using parts data, and it can even quantify a Data Variable into any Item..."
"So..." Having a raised eyebrow the boy asks with a pondering look on his face, "What do you think this thing's supposed to be?"
"This is a rare and special item indeed." The bird Diver narrowed her eyes and said, "It's still inactive but if you take care of it, you will be rewarded with a highly valuable asset to your adventures. I trust that you will choose the right decisions in regard to the fate of this cube with you."
"Uhh, Okay...?" Kuonji didn't understand a single thing from what the Bird Diver had told him and his only response is a nod and a confused facial expression.
"As a token of appreciation, please take this." Opening another holographic console the Bird Diver then transfers an item data to Kuonji's Item Inventory.
"Hm?", A Pop-up shows up on the boy's face, prompting him to check out his Item Inventory holo panel for a recently obtained freebie.
Received a Misc. Item: Ootori Plushie.
"Uhh, yeah, thanks..." Kuonji makes an awkward smile as he shows his appreciation toward the bird Diver, unsure as to he would be thankful for giving him a plushie who looked like her or displeased for confusing him even more from her explanation.
"Thank you for your time. I'll be going now." Bowing at the boy first the Bird Diver then spreads out its wings and flies away afterwards, fluidly gliding into thin air.
"Huh? Ah, wait!" Now having more questions to ask he attempts to call out the bird Diver, but she was already too far away to hear him.
Flying above the Estania streets the Bird Diver then mutters to herself as she thinks about the item Kuonji had shown to her earlier.
"I want to see how you will put that cube into good use, young man. Until we meet again." And then she further noted, "And I'm sure that bird plushie would come in handy in your next adventure..."
"...And I still have no idea what this thing is..." Left behind with more questions than answers Kuonji sighs in exasperation and later makes a blank stare at the said Item, "Seriously, just what the hell is this Cube?" and then he shakes the gray cube in hopes that it will react in one way or another, "She said earlier that you're something special the moment you wake up... so, wake up-GaAh!?"
In the middle of his silly moment he received an E-mail notification that startled him, almost dropping the Gray Cube from his grasp.
"Oh, a message. Who's it from..." Checking up on his mail Kuonji then said to himself as he read the new message, "Ah, right. she told me about being called for the next mission stage."
The mail had an attached file containing a mini-map data with a marked area at its center, and the message is written as follows.
"Hey there, Kuonji! It's time for the next Mission Stage! Let's meet up in this place~"
Smirking slightly the boy then prepares to head out to Perisia anticipating for the upcoming Mission Stage, excited to see what is he going to experience in the next level.
GBN Server, Perisia Area...
After about a few minutes of walking to a dead-end designated as their meetup point Kuonji looks up again on the provided Map Data, checking if he was at the right place. Cross-referencing every landmarks he can find on the vicinity the boy concluded that it was the right meetup location, but there was no sign of Cerea or the terminal they used to go to that Mission Stage.
"This is the meeting place, right?" The boy walks around at a corner of Perisia's inner building complexes, trying to find anything that could hint him of any traces of the Elf Diver, "The map says so, but I'm not really sure about this thing's description of the location. These walls all look the same to me..."
Moments later a girl wearing a white veil came running towards his location at her full speed and goes in front of Kuonji. After a few minutes of panting and taking deep breaths Cerea then looks at the boy with an exhausted and almost teary-eyed look as she recovers her composure.
"huff, huff... Sorry! did you wait too long?" Cerea asks in a worried expression as she catches her breath from all the running she had done just to make it on time for their meetup, showcasing a very sweaty and somewhat alluring stare to Kuonji.
"...Nah, I just got here." Kuonji answered with a wry smile and at the back of his mind he thought, "Does she have to exaggerate like that on being exhausted? This is VR, you know..."
"Oh, okay then." Cerea makes quick recover and makes a vibrant smile as she was relieved to hear this, "Well then, let's go~"
With Cerea leading the way the two then proceed towards an alley where they located the utility box that they previously used to access the special mission. As the Elf Diver access the terminal generated by the glowing cube inside the utility box she then finds something odd on the console, which also caught Kuonji's attention.
"Hmm, this isn't right..."
"...What's wrong?"
A pop-up window shows up a flashing warning sign at the Console, with a message can be seen below it and written as follows.
The following Unit(s) cannot be used:
GN Drive/GN Condenser powered MS/MAs.
Minovsky Ultra-compact Nuclear Reactor powered MS/MAs.
Hyper-Deuterion Engine powered MS/MAs.
You and your allies may use one of the specified Unit(s):
Deuterion Battery-powered MS/MAs.
DHGCP Type powered MS/MAs.
Suggested:
MS/MAs Equipped with Phase-Shift Armor.
The System pop-up prevents them from entering the mission area, as the system identifies the Gunpla currently used by Kuonji to be inappropriate for the next Mission Objectives.
"Eh? Why can't we enter?" The Elf Diver had a puzzled expression as she can't seem to access the Mission Stage no matter how many times she press the 'Enter' highlighted on the console, "And what does this message mean?"
Upon inspecting the pop-up window, "A Unit-restricted stage, huh?" Kuonji scratches the back of his head and makes a mildly vexed expression, "Guess there's no helping it, I'll have to log in using a different Gunpla..."
"Hmm, it wasn't like this before..." Getting frustrated that they can't enter the Mission right away Cerea frowns a bit from this recent development, "This is the first time I've seen a Notification like this..."
"Nah, don't worry about it. Hidden Missions sometimes have these kind of conditions popping out of nowhere." The boy casually uttered and opens up his own Holo-panel, "Wait for a bit, I'm gonna switch to another machine in a jiffy..."
"Oh, okay..." She replied affably, but in her thoughts Cerea couldn't help it but to wonder why there's a restriction from entering that Area, "All the previous times I've done this with other Divers didn't encounter this kind of condition before until now, I wonder what happened..."
And in a flash of light engulfing his body the boy then disappears just moments after the light appeared and fades out. After about four to five minutes Kuonji appears in the same manner in front of Cerea, who is standing still beside the Console, waiting for him with both hands on her abdomen.
As soon as he saw the Elf Diver, "Okay, I'm back and all set! Access the Mission Terminal again!" Kuonji calls out to Cerea as he showcases a thumbs up gesture to her, assuring that it's going to work this time.
"Oh, right. Here goes..." With his cue the Elf Diver then goes over to the Mission Terminal once again and inputs the access code on the Console, and this time it responds the way it did last time by engulfing them both in a bright light and before they knew it the pair was then transported into the Mission Area Starting Point, seemingly inside a moderately lit room with mechanical devices around them.
"Ah..."
"Oh, it worked! Wait..." After momentarily relieved as they finally activated the Mission Terminal Cerea later had a troubled expression as she probes her vision to their surroundings. The Elf Diver can confirm that this is the actual Starting Point that they've used before, albeit a little bit different from the last time she saw it. She couldn't really point a finger on it, but something's a bit off in this place.
Upon arriving Kuonji takes a quick glance at the area, in which he also notice an odd feeling from the Starting Point. But that isn't the thing that's bothering him, and it concerns the Elf Diver itself...
"...You still didn't bring your Gunpla with you?" The boy gave the Elf Diver a cold stare as he can only spot his own Gunpla standing alone in the large room just behind them.
"A-Ahahahah..." The Elf Diver can only wryly smile from his disgruntled glare pointed at her, unable to come up with a good reply.
"Sigh... so I'm gonna do this stage solo again, huh..." Kuonji narrowed his eyes while massaging his neck at the thought of doing all the work by himself once again, facing off unexpected challenges all on his own.
"I-I'm sorry..." Cerea drawled on her words expressing regret for not being too helpful in his endeavors, lowering her head and directing her eyes on the floor out of shame.
"..Err, Uhh, Nah, it's okay." Quick to make a rebound on his words Kuonji said, "I'm a pretty good solo player, so you don't have to worry a thing. It's just that... you won't be experiencing any of this personally, and you're not getting any Extra Rewards in this Mission if this goes on..."
"Oh, don't mind me." Blinking twice as Cerea thought he's just concerned for her the Elf Diver sheepishly replied, "Like I've said before I just want to see how this story Mission would end, and I'm thankful for all the efforts you've done this far...I really wanted to help you but regarding my circumstances..."
"Okay I get it, I won't pry on that anymore." Kuonji makes a nod to signify his understanding of her explanation and then he further added with a pointed index finger at the Elf Diver, "And you don't have to be that apologetic. But you should've given me a heads up next time through mail if you ever log in with or without a Gunpla, that way I can go to these Missions more prepared than this..."
"Uhm, okay..." The Elf Diver slowly nods, showing a whimpering look at the boy.
"Oh man, she now becomes the brooding type... Though, I really appreciate it if she could participate in a battle at least once..." Thought Kuonji as he stared at the Elf Diver, but nevertheless the boy put that thought away for now as he calls out to her, "Cerea."
"Hm? What is it?" The Elf Diver glances at him with an innocent-looking face, somewhat puzzled on him having a serious expression.
"I want to ask... What's a Kansen, by the way?" Kuonji kept his keen focus on her while crossing his arms expecting a definitive answer, "From what I see on the Mission details all of the stages here involves at least one of them. The lore written by the admins here doesn't even help me understand any of it at all..."
Cerea paused for a while, with her expression suddenly changed from blank to a visibly lamenting facial expression.
"Cerea?" This time Kuonji makes a confused look as he notice the sudden change of mood in her, worried that he may had stepped on another landmine topic for her.
"Of course you want to know more about them..." The Elf Diver does a faint smile before she begins her explanation of the term itself, "Well then, allow me tell you about their origins..." And the whole scene (At least in Cerea's imagination) somewhat becomes an illustration of Mission Area's world history.
"During the time where humans have started to venture out into the seas, otherworldly beings called Sirens have appeared out of nowhere and taken over the oceans with little difficulty. With the hostile alien entities having advanced weaponry and tactics that almost pushed humanity into extinction, the whole world is already on its way to destruction...that is until a certain incident mankind had obtained the same power the Sirens wielded.
...And that power comes in the form of a mysterious object; The Wisdom Cubes.
These crystallized forms of energy have been used in variety of ways; some are used to empower unique inventions that innovate human's daily needs, while others are used for making revolutionary armaments... And among these were the KAN-SENs, female warriors of the seas, were born.
KAN-SENs. They are the personifications of combat vessels that existed during the time of strife and chaos between humans. They are born with the memories of warships embedded on them, manifested as human figures armed with ship riggings through the collection of people's feelings, emotions, and images evoked using the Wisdom Cubes. In other words, they are the embodiment of collective consciousness that were created from the wills of people, using the Wisdom Cubes as mediums. And with their prowess, they have aided humanity in taking back the seas from the dreaded Sirens. Yes, the Elders were that amazing..."
As the monologue goes on Kuonji had this peculiar look at Cerea as she was totally engrossed on her description of the term KAN-SEN and its origins, having a moment of bewilderment as he listens to her word by word.
"However... Even with a common enemy, mankind seems to have ways to wage wars even against themselves for various reasons..."
"Huh..." Narrowing his eyes the boy now had a doubtful look at the Elf Diver as if he saw an entirely different version of her, "You seem to elaborate to this lore more than I expected. And what do you mean by 'your Elders'...?"
"AH!? I-Is that so?" Cerea momentarily fidgets as she snaps out of her own trance of grand explanation, "I just often got too hyped up whenever I go into details of some things, that's all. N-Nevermind that, your machine's kinda different from last time by the way..."
Glancing at the white mecha behind him, "Uhh, yeah. Never expected to use this build quite early, and on this hidden mission to boot." The boy had a snickering smile after saying, "I was reserving this Gunpla for the upcoming Raid Battle, but I guess this'll be its debut sortie..."
"I see. It's a shame you can't use your previous machine right now..." The Elf Diver had a disappointed look on her face, "I mean, it did perform magnificently from that last stage, and it would've been helpful if it weren't for that restriction placed in here..."
"Meh, no need to fret about it." The boy makes a hearty thumbs up to the Elf Diver, "The Unit Restricted Stage's quite unexpected, but it's nothing new here in GBN. But don't worry, as you can see this machine is pretty much souped up so with this I can pretty much handle any situations thrown at me."
"Oh, okay..." Glancing at Kuonji's new mech Cerea makes a quick evaluation in her mind and thought, "It really looks even more powerful machine that he previously used..."
The said new Gunpla is a modified HG SEED Destiny 1/144 Saviour Gundam. Though the base Gunpla is Athrun's unit its overall appearance and configuration now resembles the Librarian Works variant, the Vent Saviour Gundam. Its body parts are an odd arrangement taken from several other Gunplas; the head unit, shoulder to upper arms, leg units and chest parts is the base kit, the forearms belonged to the HGUC 1/144 Bawoo, the waist unit is from the HGUC 1/144 Hyaku Shiki, with the exception of the side skirt armors are from the HGUC 1/144 ReZEL Type C, and its backpack came from the HGAW 1/144 Gundam Airmaster kit. The shoulder armors and backpack were modded to mirror the Vent Saviour's features, as the shoulder armors are mounted with miniature wing binders and vernier thrusters while the backpack had the beam cannons of the Saviour are situated between the wing connections, and at its central section is a peg connector that can be used to install other equipment.
Its weapons include the Saviour's beam rifle on its right hand, with the additional grenade launcher attached below the main body. It also uses the Saviour's shield being now equipped with missile launchers and rigged dummy launchers for additional functionality. The large beam cannon pair is carried over from the Saviour and are placed on the backpack's wing connections just above the back wing binders, standard head-mounted Vulcan guns, additional forearm-mounted Gatling gun and small beam guns hidden at the large side skirt armors. Lastly its close range weaponry are its two pairs of beam sabers, located at the back skirt armor of the Gunpla.
The paint job also slightly resembles the Vent Saviour's; the overall MS armor is colored in pure white tint with the exception of the blue accents on its upper chest armor, shoulder armor, sole of the feet and sides of the shield, backpack-mounted beam cannons, light yellow on the V-fins, exhaust vents on its chest and thruster areas while charcoal black coat for the central chest piece, exposed inner frame/joints and beam rifle.
"It seems that you're well prepared for this 'Raid Battle'..." Mildly sweating Cerea had her face molded to a warped smile as she looks at the white Gundam, having an impression of it being a bit too heavily armed for a single machine, "It's like you're trying to take down a whole armada by yourself..."
"Nah, not really. This is pretty much standard loadout if you want to survive in a chaotic all-out shooting fest." But Kuonji pretty much dissed off her exaggeration saying, "Stay around long enough on any GBN Battle Arena and you'll find Gunplas much more heavily armed than this one... some of them even looked like a bunch of guns and missiles shaped into a humanoid robot and call it a day..."
"I... see..." Hearing this the Elf Diver couldn't even imagine what kind of Gunplas would look like based on Kuonji's description, not to mention how much damage they can inflict to their opponents to a certain degree, "I definitely need to very careful on telling him the truth of this Mission..." she thought.
"Welp, time to head out." After doing some stretches the boy then smiles at the Elf Diver with a thumbs up as he proceeds to walk towards his new machine, "I'll be back for a-"
"Hold on." Before he could finish his sentence Cerea quickly grabs his hand and like the first time she places it near her chest and chants, "...May the azure lanes bless you."
Evidently flustered from her blessing, "Ah, right. This again. Thanks...I-I'll be going now!" Kuonji froze on his posture until he breaks free and make haste towards his new machine and hastily opens up his holo-panel, "...Is she going to do that every single time?" the boy pondered to himself.
"Take care~" Enjoying his reaction Cerea waves at the boy vibrantly smiling as she watches him clumsily prepares for a sortie.
Different from how he previously board his Gunpla, as Kuonji activates a certain function in his holo-panel the Gundam opens up its central chest armor, with a cord sliding down which he grabs on and then afterwards pulls him up at the mech's exposed center. Zooming inside as the boy worked his way to a pilot seat laden with several levers, pedals, switches and buttons, which is surrounded by numerous concave screens as if he was inside a spherical TV monitor.
After activating a special program on his holo-panel it then integrates itself into the seat's dashboard that gave life to its control panels, "Now this is more I like it!" Kuonji exclaimed in excitement as the surrounding monitors goes online and glowing switches lights up the whole cockpit, "A realistic MS-Style cockpit design! I'm extremely happy that old man Zel taught me how to make something like this... this is epic!"
Since this system exploit only gives the player a simple cosmetic change and rearrangement of the standard GBN control system by borrowing elements from Senjou no Kizuna game arcade, it doesn't really affect the whole game system much like the infamous 'Break Decal' incident. However this does give a more fulfilling experience for Kuonji, as it allows him to control his Gunpla like a real pilot inside the cockpit of his mobile suit.
"Booyaah~ A 360-degree panoramic monitor!" Kuonji makes a wide smile as the monitors show the full panoramic view of the Starting Point's inner bay, with him yanking the control levers that responds to the moving parts of the Gundam such as its thrusters, wings and arms which flaps or rotates in position.
Probing its interior he noted that the Starting point seemed to be in a more completed state with some of its parts fixed, with proper lighting and working electronics. When he's ready to sortie he ignores all of the Starting point's interior and sets his sights at the deck's opening which Kuonji announces-
"Vent Saviour Plus(+), heading out!"
The thrusters lit up and emits a visible bluish fire, in which the white machine began to move slowly until it flies out of the Starting Area's runway and into the open sea. After launching from the still grounded aircraft carrier the white Gunpla increases its speed that it can outrun any known World War-Era aircraft even at their maximum engine output. Much like the last time Kuonji is greeted by a beautiful crimson sunset just beyond the horizon; the stage's time setting is now on dusk, just several away minutes from total darkness. As his machine cruises into the red horizon a visible stream of white smoke can be seen coming from the Gunpla's thrusters, drawing a white line at the red sky.
"Good luck out there..." Stepping out towards the runway Cerea uttered as she witness Kuonji's machine zoom into the red afternoon sky, having a worried expression as she's praying for his safety and success of this quest.
"Looks like you've been getting busy lately. Care to tell me what are you trying to pull here?"
"Ah!?"
A mysterious figure then walks toward the Elf Diver, having a killing glare pointed at her. Coming from the edge of the Starting Point's portside she slowly strides closer at Cerea's left side and stops about a meter or two away, maintaining a comfortable distance. Judging from her visible attire she can be considered a fellow kin of Cerea's previous visitor; she wears a white female naval uniform with a contrasting tattered dark coat and black leggings. Her face is somewhat obscured but her visible features such as dark long hair tied in a ponytail with sharp eyes implies that the is of Asian origin, more specifically a Japanese descent(Or in this case, a Sakura Empire citizen).
"I thought that we already agreed not to interfere with each other the moment you left us..." The darkened figure spoke in a deep female voice, "At this rate I will take some drastic measures that you may not want to happen."
"Do whatever you want. However, that doesn't mean I'm going to stop here." Cerea responds by having a pained glare at the mysterious woman, "This is my own way of guiding this world to its proper future. I will no longer go along with their or your plans, I've already vowed to myself not to turn a blind eye anymore..."
"It's futile." The mysterious monochromatic themed woman argued in a defeated tone, "Antiochus had already made their preparations, they had anticipated your meddling in this timeline. There is no alternative way but to end it all to a hellish carnage..."
"Miss Takao..." The Elf Diver slightly mellowed her glare and instead shows a pleading eyes, as if she's trying to reason out with the Japanese woman.
"Don't go there." The woman interrupted Cerea with a subtle voice, "That's a name I've already discarded into the fires of war. Never bring that up again..."
"..."
"But if you insist on continuing this, then..." Closing her eyes in resignation, 'Takao' reaches to her weapon on her waist and is about to draw it out with a stance of attacking head-on...
Staring at her full of resolve, "...I will not back down. Please, I do not wish to fight you." Cerea stomps her left foot to the metal flooring and returns back the glare with equal intensity, "...But if you're going to strike me here then I have no choice but to fight back, Miss Ember."
The moment she stomps her foot at the whole Starting Point then glows in an iridescent white light, similar to the cubic pattern how did Little Illustrious summons her rigging in ship form. But before she can proceed any further...
"Hmph, fine then." Ember then retracts away her hand from the weapon on her waist and relaxes her posture, "But know this; no matter what you do, it's going to be the same. This world will be engulfed in the flames of war, and no one can stop it..." and then she seemingly disappears in thin air as she jumps away from the Starting Point, nowhere to be found in the vicinity.
"..." After calming herself Cerea deactivated the Starting Point's glowing feature and remained silent for some time, and starts to dwell into her deep thoughts as she stares at the red horizon.
"...Looks like they're catching up to me... Maybe it's time to speed up the process..."
Meanwhile, at Kuonji's controls...
"Ah, shoot. I got carried away on listening to her lore that I forgot to ask her about my 'Cube' Item...Bah, I'll just ask her after I'm done with this stage. Aaanyway, now where is the Mission Area again?-wait what, that's too far!"
Indicated by the pop-up window on his monitor the Mission Area this time seems to be at the opposing side of the Starting Point, somewhat halfway around the Story Mission's Globular Map. With this the boy accesses his control panel and activates a special feature on his machine, allowing his Gundam to further boost up its speed.
"Hmmm, better test this mode right here then..."
Inputting several commands on his dashboard console the Vent Saviour Plus then converts itself into flight mode. It then responds by slightly retracting its head unit allowing the backpack to slide forward and covers the bust with a part that looks like a fighter plane's nose and the chest slides in to lock it into place, concealing its Head Unit. The legs then retracts toward the waist and folds its feet downwards forming into large thruster units similar to the Zeta Series of mobile suits, while the backpack-mounted wings unfold sideways and the large cannons swing forward completing its transformation into MA mode. With all of its thrusters concentrated at the back going full force the Gundam darts through the red sky like a white meteor crossing into the horizon.
"Woohoo! N-Now this is w-what I call k-killer acceleration...!"
Having speeds comparable to or exceeding several hi-tier Gundams the Vent Saviour Plus cruises past through the vast 'Mediterranean' airspace and towards to the 'Asia-Pacific' Mission Area in no time, about no more than 25-30 minutes of full acceleration. And by arriving on the designated Mission Area Location Kuonji was feeling nauseatic for obvious reasons and at the same time nostalgic as he witnesses a highly familiar scenario...
"Huff, huuff... Okay, for a VR game this emulated sense of G-force is really hardcore. And, seems like this is the Mission Area for this Stage, and another Kansen in distress, again..."
"*cough*, *cough*... Was there any mistake in my calculations..."
"A-Amagi-nee-san!"
"Hahahah..."
Inside the transparent Battlefield Boundary are a group of three female figures are being attacked by fleets of black ships and a floating woman wearing scantily clad black attire. The two scared little girls at the shoreline were holding each other while the slightly older one standing into the water is in a defensive stance, trying to fend off the horde of Siren Ships that are advancing towards them using some kind of equipment strapped on her back.
One of the two girls calls out to the armed female and bravely spoke up, "Amagi, there's too many of them! Until the Main Fleet arrives, at least let us help-"
"No! The two of you stay back!" A rattling voice of the armed girl covered in bandages slightly hidden by her Yukata is signaling the two to stay put at the beachside, "*Cough*, if it weren't for my injuries...!"
"Oh my, what's wrong? Can't even properly make your stance?" Her opponent, a silver-haired woman clad in a revealing black bikini-like attire haughtily taunted with a menacing grin, all the while commanding a combination of Siren jets and black MRC-F20 SUMO units to surround the wounded KAN-SEN.
"Tch...!"
"Amagi-nee-sama!"
Recognizing that the black ships are his enemies from the previous stage Kuonji acts quickly and commands his machine to rush towards the combat zone. As his machine enters the Battlefield Boundary it then 'shrinks' into a 1/144 scale, somewhat similar in size to the mass-produced Siren aircraft and SUMOs but way smaller in comparison to the wounded Kansen and the Elite Siren.
And with a click of a switch Kuonji blurted, "Whatever you guys are planning I'm here to interrupt it!"
While the Siren units were advancing towards the three girls the Vent Savior(+) swoops down and it immediately enters the fray by opening fire at the black jets and Gunplas that was about to attack the bandaged female warrior, and quickly hovers into that female warrior's side to support her. His attack downed a black SUMO that was about to shoot at the wounded female warrior, diverting the attention of all the combat participants at the white Gundam.
"A-Ah..." The young female warrior was quite startled from the sudden appearance of this seemingly mysterious machine, keeping her guard up should it attack her, but witnessing its actions she concluded that it came here to aide her in this battle so she focuses on their opponents instead, "T-This is no time to be distracted! Focus, Amagi! Focus!"
With his machine hovering in the air while still in MA mode, "So there are already Gunplas at the start of this stage, huh?" Kuonji was getting his psyche up to start the mission but, "Okay... Now that I've made it clear that I'm on her side, there should already be a mission prompt popping out anytime soon-Hm? Wait.."
"They've already created a machine like that in this timeline? No..." Staring at the hovering white Gundam one of the leading white-haired woman at the Siren's side noted to herself, "Ah, right...He's probably the 'Variable factor' sent in by that rogue program..."
"Uuh..."
Kuonji had mixed reactions as he saw this new development in this current stage; A humanoid female figure is fighting alongside the Siren ships. He blinked more than ten times, checked his control panel and looked at his screen for glitches just to clarify what he is looking right now. Her outfit looks like an all-leather biker gang themed tank top and short pants, with a giant black manta-ray like equipment on her back laden with cannons all over its body.
"...A human Siren!?" After rubbing his eyes thoroughly with his fists the boy had an incredulous glance at the leading woman of the Siren Fleet, "And she's waaay more bigger than me..." but he also glances beside him and noted that the woman beside is also way more larger than him, "What's with these size differences... Wait, is this going to be the norm in this mission?"
What confuses him even further was the pop-up window states the Victory Conditions displayed at his monitor.
"Victory Conditions: Fend Off or Defeat Tester(?). Defeat Conditions: Amagi Defeated/Sunk."
"So there are Kemonomimi type KAN-SEN, huh?" Looking at the female warrior beside him, "Her name's Amagi, and she's the Key Unit in this Stage Battle. And that monochromatic lady on the other side is the Main Target...?"
Kuonji makes a surprised Pikachu face while reading the clear conditions, unable to process how will he fare against a woman way more larger than his machine and using a rigging armed with cannons of comparably humongous size.
"...Well, this could be an interesting experiment. Since we've already seen how effective these humanoid machines against the KAN-SENs, might as well find out how far these 'weaponized toys' can achieve if it fights alongside the Test Subjects..." And with a raising hand gesture from the leading humanoid Siren, the black ships aimed their cannons at both Kuonji's machine and the female warrior, as well as the carriers deploying an additional squadron of black jets and SUMO units.
"Khh...!" The young female warrior braces herself for direct melee combat. Even though she knew to herself she's more suited in strategic planning rather than a frontline fighter, Amagi wouldn't let her younger companions be involved in a dangerous confrontation against their dreaded nemesis. And moments before the battle starts she directed her sights at the hovering white machine and said, "I do not know if you can be trusted or what are your true intentions, however I would like you to assist me in this battle, little one."
"Uhh yeah, okay, sure..." Through a robotic voice Kuonji responds with a rather skeptical reply, "Though I don't know how to deal with that giant white lady over there..."
The battle starts off with a shooting barrage coming from the Siren's side, showering a hail of energy and solid homing projectiles on both Amagi and the Vent Savior(+). The intended targets then goes on both sides to avoid being hit by the deadly projectiles and prepares for a counter attack as they charge towards enemy formation. As the Shipgirl sets her sights on the Elite Siren, the boy prepares to engage the mass-produced units in a dogfight.
With his machine still in MA Mode Kuonji commands his Gundam to swoop towards at the mass-produced Siren ships, gunning down any Siren Jets and SUMOs that comes in his way with beam cannon shot barrage. While some of the flying enemy units were taken down by his attacks most were still able to evade and counters with their own bullet/missile barrage, with a SUMO attempts to smash the Vent Savior(+)'s nose unit with a heat fan.
"Not a chance!" Intercepting the incoming melee attack Kuonji pulls the control levers in an upright position, reminiscent to how joysticks are being held. His machine responds by flipping the nose unit backwards, revealing its Gundam head and its left arm just in time to block the incoming Heat Fan Smash. Milliseconds later after its thrusters have formed into legs the Vent Savior(+) then kicks the black SUMO in a somersault fashion, plummeting the black machine into the sea below. After orienting itself upright the Gunpla proceeds to deploy its pair of beam cannons and aims at the black Siren Carriers, and then releases a continous stream of white reddish energy at its intended target. Powerful energy beams punches through the hulls of the enemy carrier, destroying it, and then the cannons swings to the left side so the beam discharge sweeps through the Cruiser-destroyer formation that was guarding it and reducing their numbers.
"Heh, this Gunpla had more than enough dakka to take you all on!" Arrogantly announcing this in public chat Kuonji had his machine dive into to the remaining enemy fleet formation and engages the Siren ships approaching him en masse in a gunfight.
Meanwhile as the MP Siren Gunpla units are dealing with the Vent Saviour(+)...
"Take this!" Using the rigging's cannons attached on her back Amagi unleashes a heavy barrage of her own against Tester, attempting to break the mass produced Siren's chain of command by defeating their leader. This attack however was blocked by the enormous rigging on Tester's back acting as a shield, and the Elite Siren just seemingly unamused from her efforts and retaliates with laser shots, which the Kansen accordingly evade the attacks. Continuing to glide over the water the Kansen spams her bullets at the enemy with masterly-timed momentary aiming and evasion intervals, looking for an opening on her enemy's defenses.
In Tester's mind process, "...Still too inconclusive for evidence of any remarkable improvements. It looks like I need to stimulate these 'Subjects' even more to make them produce better results..." The Elite Siren is evidently unsatisfied while evaluating the overall performance of both combatants working together to defeat her. Raising her right hand as command gesture multiple circles of light appears behind her, and emerging from those light circles are MP Siren ships ready to attack anyone she designates as a target.
"Huff, huff...Damn!" Sometime after annihilating all the Siren units that's engaging him Kuonji then turns his attention at the newly-summoned mass-produced Siren ships that had appeared behind the Elite Humanoid Siren, already feeling the dread of a long dragged-out battle, "Tsk! This is getting more irritating than the First Stage...!"
"That Little One sure can hold himself on his own against Sirens, but at this rate..." Observing her single reinforcement already finishing off the first batch of mass-produced Siren units all by itself and preparing to engage the new arrivals Amagi was impressed by the Vent Savior(+)'s capabilities. However she also realized that leaving him to deal with the Mass-Produced units is not enough for them to win this battle, as at this rate they would just exhaust their fighting strength and succumb to the overwhelming numbers of their enemies.
While gliding in the air and avoiding enemy gun fire the Vent Savior(+) fires its beam rifle a few times downing three Siren Jets and a pair of black SUMOs, only to be replaced by a few more enemy flying units. In his mind Kuonji makes a quick assessment of their situation and thought, "Khh, at this rate we'll be overwhelmed by their numbers! But, attacking their leader is..."
"Little One! We must defeat their leader if we want to win this battle!" Continuing to evade incoming laser blasts Amagi advices her small ally as she continues to engage the Elite Siren in a hit and run fashion, "Let us work together on attacking her!"
While he does agree on her instructions, "...Uhh, yeah, well, okay, sure..." Having a humanoid opponent approximately ten times larger than the machine he's riding Kuonji had his enthusiasm lowered a bit, unable to determine how to deal with the enemy leader. Having second thoughts on firing beams at her the boy kept his machine on the defensive, avoiding the beam shots from the Elite Siren while still hesitating to shoot back.
Attempting to bring out their full capabilities Tester taunts them by saying, "Show me... show me what you can do with your combined strength!"
"Dammit, this is really awkward..." While Kuonji's getting uneasy from all the flaunting of the Elite Siren's 'Dakka' capabilities he is still hesitant on attacking a half-naked woman, unable to tell whether this is a fair fight or a morally correct action even though they were slowly overwhelmed by the enemy's numbers.
"Come on! If you two don't want me to destroy both of you instead, might as well go all out on defeating me!" Tester taunts the two of them even more with a sinister smirk, adding even more barrage to the already lethal Laser discharges coming at them with Siren jets, missiles and plasma shots coming from the Mass-produced Sirens that she summons continously.
"Little one, please fight back!" Seeing as the Vent Savior's just evading the Elite Siren's attack Amagi preached at Kuonji, "She may look human outside however on the inside she's anything but that!"
"Khh, fine! I don't care anymore!" Finally charging in without any holds barred Kuonji's machine dodges every beam and solid projectile attack, transforming again into MA Mode and proceeds to shoot down any Siren jets and SUMOs obstructing his way in a quick aerial dogfight. The moment its close enough at Tester the Vent Saviour(+) transforms into MS Mode once again and deploys its large dual beam cannons aiming at her neck area. During the time lag where the heavy beam blast is about to come out from the barrel...
"...!?" Having only seconds to react quickly against a relatively small and fast unit Tester attempts to block the incoming beam attack with her own Rigging, "Hmph, not good enou-Ah!?" However...
*BLAAMM!*
"Ah!?"
A timely artillery hit from Amagi's shelling distracted her from completing her defense, allowing the Gundam to score a hit on the Elite-Class Siren's left shoulder, severing her whole left arm in the process. Afterwards both units stopped attacking, with the Elite Siren backing down from the impact of the beam attack.
"Okay, it's confirmed. She ain't human, alright..." Staring at the damage done by his machine's weaponry on the Elite Siren's body the boy was convinced that their opponent is something to be classified as a non-human entity, as the injury she received would've been fatal to any human being; her left shoulder is completely obliterated, left arm's fallen off yet there's no bleeding anywhere and yet she's acting like nothing amiss nor feeling pain.
Assessing the damage done to her body, "Hmmm, how interesting. This one is different from the previous visitors we've encountered so far." Smirking in satisfaction the Upper-class Siren thought to herself, "Very well, I shall retreat for now."
Concluding that she had enough accumulated Data in this skirmish, the Elite Siren raises her remaining hand sideways as an order to the mass-produced Siren ships to retreat back to their bright circular portals, and after entering an identical circular portal that she summons behind her they vanished into thin air like mirages naturally dissipating.
"Is it over...?" Kuonji was dumbfounded after the Siren Fleet suddenly disappeared into the horizon while still keeping his guard up for any surprise attacks, until he gets a glimpse at the pop-up screen blinking at his dashboard.
"Enemy Tester(?) Retreated. Stage 2 First Phase Clear. Please standby in the Mission Area for the next Phase."
"So I'll have to wait for a while until the next encounter, huh?" The boy thought after reading the new directives, and is now thinking about his next course of action; leave the Area and lay low somewhere or explore the Mission Area for any bonus treats.
"Huff, huff... The Mirror Sea's dissipating..." Uttered by the elder Kansen, catching her breath while her Rigging's cannons still at the ready.
As the Battlefield Boundary dissipates right after the skirmish was over, the Kansen disengages her Rigging and turn it into a full-scale Battlecruiser, with its wielder finally rendezvous with the two young girls waiting for her at the beachside as she recuperates from her injuries. With the three of them together at the shore they were also astonished at the change in size of their mysterious helper, from a seemingly palm-sized toy to a humanoid giant as large as a fighter plane.
"The way it grew into size... is somewhat similar to how we disengage and equip our Riggings..." The fox girl Kansen thought to herself, holding the two young girls beside her as she observes the mysterious helper transcends into a larger size.
When he was about to leave the area Kuonji spotted the three females staring at his machine, already having a guess as to what's running into their minds right now. And given the timing...
"...She's not calling me or anything. If Cerea is seeing everything I'm doing out here then she should've been nagging me by now..." Checking up on his comms Kuonji was expecting Cerea would be scolding him right now to interact with the NPCs however it seems like it's not going to happen anytime soon, "Well, whatever. Last time I got some bonuses when interacting with the NPCs here, so might as well go down and say Hi..."
The boy then commands his machine to land on a nearby rock formation at the shoreline, kneeling in a place where the sand and rocky terrain meet and seems stable enough to support his machine. He then climbs down from his mech, walking towards the three female figures standing by on the shorelines still marveling at his palm-sized Gunpla turning into a gigantic humanoid machine, armed with weapons that can severely damage a Siren. When he finally stands in front of them...
With her two younger companions hiding behind her, "First of all, thank you for helping us." Bowing slightly the elder fox girl Kansen who fought alongside with him is the first one to greet the boy with a faint smile, "May I know your name?"
"...It was just part of my Mission." Wearing again his black space suit Kuonji's wild chuunibyou roleplaying tendencies kicks in, trying to be a cool and mysterious character that he always want to portray, coming up with a cringy line, "And I'm afraid I cannot reveal my identity to you..."
""...""
...And this seems to backfire on Kuonji's part.
"...I see, so that's how it is..." With her smile turning into a frown rather quickly the Kansen had a slight misgiving on his image so she barrages the black themed stranger with questions as if she's interrogating him on spot, "It's too suspicious to believe that you came here just to help us, and to think that your timing is too perfect for a coincidence...Who are you? Are you perhaps working alongside the Sirens? If so, is this your plan all along, to attack us from inside?" and then she hides her two companions behind her as she prepares to summon her rigging once again, "Who are you, and why are you here?"
"N-No! It's not like that!" Panicking Kuonji began to put up several comical gestures to suggest that he's not some enemy agent who had ulterior motives, "B-Believe me, I didn't mean no harm to anyone when I came here... Well, at least not on the Kansen's side anyway...A-And it's not like I really have a need to hide my name anyway..."
"Hmmm..."
"..."
"Hmm..."
"..."
"Hmmm, I think I've seen this behavior before..." After a quick but meticulous observation of his clumsily comical way of defending himself from her accussations, "Ufufu, I see..." she figures out rather quickly that Kuonji was just exaggerating things up like a lying middle schooler so the Kansen lets out a small grin on her lips and said, "My apologies, I didn't really mean to doubt your good will towards us. It's just that the timing of your appearance is too good to be true, and your machine is somewhat similar to the ones deployed by the Sirens lately. We really do appreciate you helping us out during the Siren fleet attacked us, so let me say thank you again." and ends it with a bow.
"Ah, Uhh, yeah, okaay..." The boy was quite relieved that suspicions on his actions were lifted at the cost of having his façade blown away by her insight but what highlighted into his mind is the Kansen's last line, "Wait, now that you mention it...can you tell me more about those 'Sirens'? And, how and where did they get those... Humanoid Mechs?"
"I can tell you the details, but..." Sensing that the stranger is forgetting an important formality detail the Kansen replies to answer his question with, "But it seems that we still don't know much about each other. Don't you think we should be introducing ourselves first?"
"I, uhh, Urgh..." With his embarrassing interactions with this 'NPC', Kuonji is truly thankful that he can hide his flustered face from them, getting a bit too unruly and impolite at their first meeting. He's been scrambling for any words on his mind to form any coherent lines but kept failing in doing so to continue the conversation, and it seems he won't be coming up with a reply anytime soon.
"...You're not going to hide your name from us, right? You did said earlier that there's no need for you to conceal your name, no?" The Kansen further implied with a faint smile, waiting for a good and proper introduction.
"W-Well, uhh... erm..."
"Ufufu~ Then let me start. My name's Amagi, a Kansen that belongs to the Sakura Empire." Seeing the boy no longer had the initiative to start another conversation the wounded Kansen fox girl introduces herself with a smile, "And these two are my little sister and close friend." and then proceeds to present her two companions hiding behind her, C'mon you two, introduce yourselves."
The two were at first hesitant on making contact with the stranger due to being dressed in all black and gray body suit, but after a small gesture of assurance along with a faint smile from Amagi it made the two young foxgirls able to start their introductions.
"Listen well!" Having been given an opportunity to introduce herself to the black-themed Stranger, the girl with an identical red and black patterned Japanese attire as Amagi proudly proclaims with a smug pose, "I am Akagi, the future Leader of the glorious Sakura Empire! And everyone shall bow to me as my honorable slaves!"
Next is the white and blue themed foxgirl then gives her name with a similar energy, "And I'm Kaga. The future mightiest warrior of all the Sakura Empire Kansens! None shall stand against my might!"
"T-They're quite the feisty duo, as you can see..." Amagi felt slightly worried as her two younger companions may have gone overboard with their introductions, "Well, how about yours?"
"Uhh, okay..." Though reluctant to follow through this pattern the boy had to respond with an introduction of his own, "...It's Kuonji. Pleased to meet you." However he's still wearing his black suit, with his face hidden from them in view.
""..."" The three foxgirls only gave him a frown from his introduction, unconvinced that he's no suspicious individual just by giving his name while his form is concealed in a strange clothing.
"Haah, Fine..." Disabling his outfit using a Holo-Panel Kuonji reveals to them his default KARABA Uniform Avatar, "Once again, I'm Kuonji. Nice to meet you all. Is this good enough?"
And with this, they finally saw the human form that they were expecting to see. A young man in his pre-teens, dressed in a way most Westerners would wear, as thought by the three foxgirls. Delighted they responded with a smile and a few things on how they will treat Kuonji.
"Kuonji, huh...kukuku..." The red-and-black themed girl had a somewhat sinister smirk as she stared at the boy with an intense glare and uttering, "You will be a fine addition to my Honorable Slaves..."
"I shall remember your name, and you better be prepared... for in the near future we will test our mettle in the battlefield to find out who is the strongest!" The blue-and-white themed girl then points her index finger at the black-themed stranger, as if she's challenging him to a duel.
"...I guess they were both quite excited and happy upon seeing your real face, ufufu..." Meanwhile Amagi just laughs off both of her companion's remarks and continues to stay at the sideline.
"Ahahah..." However Kuonji had an uneasy feeling as he felt like being put into a spot, "Well, at least the NPC locals here had a unique personality algorithm." he thought.
"Now then, since you've finally accomplished your Mission... What are you going to do now?" Bringing another topic Amagi asks another question, "Are you done for today?"
"Actually I'm still not done on my Mission here so I have to wait for a while, and I honestly have no idea what to do in between." Crossing his arms the boy replied honestly as he closes his eyes and tilts his head, "And since I can't leave right now I suddenly have a huge amount of spare time to waste at this moment.."
"Hmm, I see. In that case, why don't you stay here for a while with us in the Sakura Empire." Still having her friendly smile the Fox girl Kansen offered Kuonji a tour of the Mission Area, "There is an upcoming festival right now, after all. Would you like to join us?"
""..."" The two little fox girls Looks at him in a gleeful manner, fluffy ears twitching as they're anticipating for a positive reply.
"...This might be weird coming from me but, are you sure?" Having an awkward smile Kuonji interjected, "I'm a stranger that did just drop by out of nowhere and shoot down some black baddies out of Mission Objectives, yet you're inviting me into your place..."
"Unless there are some lies in your words earlier, I see no reason to be wary of you." Amagi then retorted with a smirk on her lips, "However, you don't seem to be the type who can conceal his evil intentions completely~"
"Eeeghh, I, uhh..." With his own words used against him Kuonji can only stutter as a response.
"Then it's settled." The elder fox girl Kansen concluded her assessment to him, "Nowadays it's rare for a foreigner to come visit this place, you seem to be a good person at heart and even helped us on fending off those Sirens so might as well invite you into our nation. So, how about it... would you like to have a small tour of the Sakura Empire?"
"Well, not that I have anything to do anyways..." Scratching his head Kuonji hummed with closed eyes but before he gave his answer, "Hold on, I need to do something first."
"Hm?"
Kuonji then waltz back to his machine and brings out his Holo panel to access the 'store' option of his machine to his inventory, however nothing happened. He repeatedly taps the holographic store button, but the system is unresponsive from his command input.
"Eh, I can't Store my machine? Is this somewhat caused by the cockpit mod?" repeatedly pushing the 'store' button on his control panel, the boy's getting a bit worried as he suspected this as a bug from the cockpit mod.
"Is there something wrong?" Walking silently towards his back Amagi takes a peek from his shoulder, observing what he was doing by leaning slightly as she takes a peek on the holographic panel that Kuonji was using, "Is that some kind of a new technique developed from the cubes?" she thought.
"I can't hide... my Gunpla..." Kuonji replied in a frustrated tone, still having trouble understanding why he can't conceal his machine as he repeatedly push the 'Storage' switch of his Holo-panel.
"Gun...pla? So that's what they're called..." The Foxgirl Kansen had a puzzled expression, hearing the term first time even though she had seen this type of machine deployed by the Sirens a few times already. As the Sirens seems to never mention the name of these weapons she quickly assumed that it was the general term of any humanoid robotic weapon used by their nemesis.
"Hmmm, strange...Maybe it's because of the mod? Nah, it can't be it..." Giving up on the default way of 'storing his Gunpla' the boy decided to use an alternative method of hiding his machine in plain sight, "Oh well, I'll just do this!"
Still in his panel he pulls out a giant desert camouflage veil from his item inventory, which at first look it's just the surface area of a car cover until it unveils to almost basketball court-size. He then cast the veil over his kneeling Gunpla to conceal most of the obvious features while the rest of the exposed machinery with some beach sand so the machine can be barely seen on its position, completely blended into the rocks and sand surrounding it.
"Well, at least it's not that easy to spot in this setup, right?" Kuonji thought, having a satisfied look on his face thinking that this now solves his immediate problem.
"Whoah..." Amagi is quite speechless not from the way he hid his machine in plain sight but the properties of his Holo panel, being able to draw out a large piece of cloth out of a nearly 2-dimensional transparent object. While she had background knowledge of the technological advances of other Factions and deep understanding of her very own Sakura Empire's Divine Protection she's still mesmerized by this feat pulled by Kuonji, and she suspects that there's more to it than just keeping items on hand.
Turning his head at the foxgirl on his back, "Welp, I'm ready to go. Lead the way." said by Kuonji, with a faint smile and arms in welcoming posture.
"A-Ah! Right, let us proceed then..." Momentarily caught off-guard by his gesture Amagi blinks twice slowly before she steps backward and offers her hand as a guide. But just as Kuonji was about to reach out for her hand...
"Big Sis, Kuonji! The Festival's about to start! If you don't hurry up we'll leave you two behind!" Taking both of their attention with a yell Akagi called out from a distance, getting excited for their nation's holiday and introducing it to the guest as she was already at the beach side's rocky boundary.
"...When did they get there?" Kuonji had a blank face as he wonders how did a pair of little girls with their small bodies managed to move that far in such a short notice.
"Hurry up, Big Sis! We'll miss the Festival if we don't go now!"
"We'll go ahead and munch on all the treats at this rate!"
Both the red and blue fox girl were eagerly waiting for the two to catch up, with the former jumping and pointing at the direction of the Island's Main Village.
"Hahh, these two...Don't rush us, we'll catch up soon!" Amagi replied after glancing at her two young companions who are already at the rocky boundary of the beach, and then later turns her attention to the boy, "Let's get going. It seems that my impatient little sister couldn't contain her excitement any longer that she's already gotten way ahead of us towards our hometown."
"Y-Yeah, okay..." Kuonji replies with a subtle hint of wariness, forecasting a series of misadventures involving the two young foxgirls.
Trekking through the rocky terrain and somewhat slippery sand deposits by foot the female trio along with Kuonji finally arrived at the higher borders of Sakura Empire's Main Island, where a town is situated in its center and highlighted by a beautifully arranged landscape. From where they stand one can have a bird's eye view of the whole island, with the island itself surrounded by several smaller man-made installations at its borders. There's a notable main road that runs through and around the town which also links itself to the bridges that connects the said surrounding artificial landmasses, making it easier for anyone to navigate throughout the whole island without getting lost.
"Whoah..." Kuonji had his eyes glittered by the beauty on the overall view of the Sakura Empire, or at least one of its Main Islands. The streets were lighted up by traditional paper lanterns and people were hustling up preparing decorations and setting up shop tents all over the island's pathways. The current time setting in the Mission Area is around dusk, giving the area of a glowing road that look like fireflies dancing around the whole town.
"Welcome to the Land of the Rising Sun, the Sakura Empire~!" Amagi gave way to Kuonji as if she was showcasing the guest to a land of majestic beauty, with the fireworks and lightings in the horizon somehow synchronized to the adult foxgirl's actions.
""Welcome!"" The two smaller fox girls also acts as extra effect on Amagi's Grand Introduction of the Sakura Empire, in an attempt to tantalize their guest with their hometown's exquisite nature.
"O-Oh, okay..." Kuonji replied in a deadpan reaction, unsure as to whether he would be impressed by the town itself or the efforts of the three fox girls to welcome him to their hometown.
""..."" Receiving a lukewarm reaction from the boy the three fox girls were quite taken aback, in silence pondering as to how did they mess up on impressing their guest.
After this short skit the four continued to descend on a long staircase and a short period of flatland, getting closer towards the Town's nearest Main Gate. Walking in a steady pace the group enters into one of the four Main Gates leading inside the town, and what welcomed them there were a matching erupting fireworks and dance practice performed into the streets.
"So this time the Area is themed after feudal-era Japan, huh..." As he enters the town Kuonji does a quick overall scan of its general design and aesthetics, giving him an impression of nostalgic old Japanese lifestyle from it. The hanging ornaments as well as its residents dressed up with slightly flashy Japanese clothes implies that there is an upcoming large festival that would be celebrated by all residents.
""Uwaaah...!"" The two small fox girls were mesmerized by the displays and stands being set up at the streets, seemingly unable to calm down and kept running around visiting every single food and toy stands they see.
Meanwhile, "So there are Demi-humans on the mix with the normal populace, huh..." Observing many of the residents as they go on setting up festival props Kuonji was delighted from the number of character designs that he's been observing right now, "Damn, they really captured the essence of the old-school Japan here. From the building to the town folks, and they even put it some Kemonomimi(Animal-ears) and Youkai(Demon)-based characters... The Devs sure made an effort to create an impressive Secret Mission..."
"So what do you think of our Sakura Empire's Main Island? Was it to your liking?" The Elder Foxgirl Kansen asks the boy of his impression of everything he sees, hoping that it would be on a positive review.
"...It's kinda familiar and foreign to me." Kuonji answered with an honest smile, "This place almost looked liked my hometown back then, before the modernization. And also different in some aspects, such as the people itself. I really like it."
"Is that so?" Relieved from his answer Amagi had a vivid smile after hearing this and replied, "Well, that's good to hear~"
As his vision pans out to the island's southeast direction, "Hey, what happened over there?" Kuonji points out at the messed up terrain on the island's other side, "Did something big destroyed that part of the island?"
"...!" The moment Amagi glances at the location where Kuonji was pointing at, "...Ah yes, indeed there was. It was a terrible earthquake back then..." she then looks down and spoke in a mellow tone, "It was just seemingly any other peaceful daytime occasion at first, until it struck us without warning. We all weren't prepared for that disastrous event. Buildings collapsed, fires breaking out, cries of pain that you can hear everywhere... we've lost so many friends and loved ones on that day..." raising her arm and showing the bandages covering up her wounds to Kuonji she slightly narrates the whole incident regarding the ruined landscape, "You see, I was actually one of those unfortunate who got caught in the middle of the chaos. And as you can see, these wounds are the result of that horrible incident..."
"Oh, Okay..." Lowering his head Kuonji then gives a quick apology, "I'm sorry I have to ask a sensitive topic.."
"It's fine. There's some damages and casualties, but we'll be fine." Said by Amagi in a somewhat relaxed and proud voice, "The Sakura Empire is a strong Faction, after all. And like all of its citizens, I'm as tough and sturdy as any other younglings out there."
"Uhh, I see..." The boy nods as he observes the elder foxgirl's gesture with a curious look, unable to tell if she's making a bland joke or just bad at acting healthy.
"..." Akagi had a moment of concerned look as she took a glance of her elder sister's condition, implying that those injuries might be a severe life-long effect on Amagi's health.
Attempting to change the heavy topic, "By the way, what kind of ritual is that?" Kuonji points at the gathering of people in white and red garments with the leading priest seemingly bestow a blessing on a little girl in the form of handing over a faintly glowing object in the shape of a cube-like stone.
"Oh that? It's the Inheritance of the Watatsumi Ritual." Amagi informed the boy as they stare at the ongoing ritual being conducted at the town's Main Shrine, "It's a ritual that decides on who will be the succeeding guardian of our Sacred Relic, the Watatsumi, and becoming the center of power and authority within the Sakura Empire Nation."
"It means that she will be the leader of the Sakura Empire's powerful navy and will be our nation's representative." Akagi interjects her elder sister with a smug fox face, "Only the most renowned Sakura Empire Kansen would be given the opportuntiy of holding this priviledge within our Nation."
"Ufufu, That's right~" Amagi was amused by her little sister's sudden interjection and proceeds to headpat her.
"Ehehe, pat me more~" The red little foxgirl was delighted from the headpat, while her white counterpart shows a pouting face expressing jealousy towards her red rival.
"huh, I see..." Staring at the stone from a distance the boy then thought, "It looked like a melted ice cube decorated with some rope and charm tied to it..." And then he thought, "Maybe it was similar in some ways to the Wisdom Cubes that Cerea was talking about..."
"Come on! There's more confectionery shops over there!" Akagi tugs on Kuonji's left sleeve, "I will give you the honor of accompanying me all night sampling these delicious treats with me!"
"Never mind that!" At the same time Kaga then tugs on his right side, "There's plenty of games that we can compete on that area, come with me!"
"Hold up! I only have a single body!" Kuonji was helpless from the two child foxgirls that were pulling both his arms in two different directions, "Can't we just do this by taking turns?"
"Me first!"
"No! Me first!"
"Ufufu, it seems like both of them took a liking of you rather quickly~" The elder Fox girl Kansen then covers her mouth with her left hand as she's amused on how the two young fox girls interact with their guest.
"Please stop joking and help me out here, miss Amagi!" The boy was dragged by the two smaller fox girls further into the crowd, visiting every stands that they see on the way.
And along the way, Kuonji and Amagi discusses things that brought them to their current situations, with Amagi describing how did she end up fighting a horde of Sirens on the beach side and Kuonji somehow come up with a believable setting on how did he end up in this world and came into their rescue...
Somewhere...
Initializing Setup...
Synchronizing Complete...
Parts Configuration Complete...
Updating Combat Data Complete...
Ending Setup...
"Now then, let us start anew."
Stage 2A End