Opening File: Reincarnation Process
Reincarnation, the theory that when one dies they are eventually reborn.
The question is how exactly does it work? In our world, if one knows about the Elementals and learned about how they reincarnate they will have worked out most of the process.
Step 1: Integration
It takes one hundred years for the Elementals to reincarnate, finding a newborn that is suitable to be the next host. The power will go dormant once bonding with the new soul with the memories appearing over the next several years as dreams or visions that show the Elemental's past life. However it's not always how it is done. If a person other than an Elemental is reincarnated they can spend their entire lives without knowing about their past selves.
One example would be Cu Chullain, the greatest hero of ancient Ireland.
After killing a gargoyle beast, he took the name of Cu Chullain when he vowed to replace the 'hound' he killed and even raised and trained another 'hound' to eventually take his place. This newest gargoyle beast would eventually be known as the Hound of Ulster and often fought alongside Cu Chullain. One of his leading feats was defeating the Banshee when she threatened all of Ireland. He wielded the Gae Bolga in battle, and even used it to strike the Lia Fail (which split the stone in half), after it refused to recognize his friend, Lugaid Red-Stripe, as King of Ireland.
When he died, he was buried in the great tomb of Cairn na Chullain, along with the Gae Bolga.
Almost two thousand years later, Cu Chullain was reincarnated as Rory Dugan. Rory rediscovered his true heritage and Cu Chullain is now restored, to protect Ireland again. In his original incarnation, Cu Chullain may have had a relationship with the Irish Clan, though it is possible his relationship was with the gargoyle beast alone.
Another example is when someone actually takes on the essence of another being, such as when Johnny Bravo proved worthy to hold Mjolnir and gained the power of Thor, the God of Thunder. The Integration process began as soon as he gained Thor's powers.
Next come Step 2: Recognition
The host recognizes who and what they are and begins learning about their past selves such as their likes, dislikes and goals. Eventually by the end of the second step the host will have learned everything about their past lives to the point that dreams and visions will become less frequent and no longer necessary.
After that, Step 3 which is the final one begins: Assimilation
The host now has perfect access to the memories of their past lives and their mental process is similar enough that it is hard to process where past or present begins and ends. When the host's name is called, their past selves possibly answer; 'I' becomes 'we' and in thus completes the reincarnation process.
Rather than becoming someone else, the host continues to remain themselves but is given the knowledge, skills and experiences of their past lives. This is how reincarnation has worked for the Elementals and several others in known history, giving us a few possible answers to many questions regarding our existence.
Close File
Xxx
"There is a beginning and there is an end. We all like to believe there is something for us after our time comes and we all like to believe those close to us will either come back or still be with us in a way. So if you could come back what would it be as or who would it be as?" TOM asked as the file closed. "Belief and hope is all we have sometimes and sometimes it might just be enough."
Xxx
"You seem…upset."
Abby had no idea why she was back here, speaking with her Chatsberry of all people but she supposed he was better company than no company at all. "What is this? Elemental therapy?"
"Or perhaps a friend who is concerned for another friend." Chatsberry suggested.
"Are we friends? Can you even be friends with a past life?" Abby shook her head, turning away and looking out into the depths of space.
"In a way, you can." Chatsberry nodded, holding up a cup of tea. "Tea?"
A cup of tea appeared in Abby's hand but she didn't question it as she took a sip. "Look, I am having a bit of rough time. My best friend and I were abducted and taken to another planet where an evil alien empress is going to use us and our powers to take over the universe and worst of all I woke up wearing a dress!"
Chatsberry chuckled. "Yes, I am aware of your predicament, young Abby. Though at least your friends are still with you."
"Do you understand why I am upset?" Abby growled as she glared at her past self. "I didn't want any of my friends getting kidnapped because of me."
"To be fair, they would have come for Ice and Slime whether you knew about them or not." Chatsberry pointed out.
"That's not the point!" Abby threw her tea cup away, tossing over the candy platform and leaving it to fall into the bottomless void they were in. "This is all because of you and the other Elementals! Why did you pick me to be the Candy Elemental anyways?! It's brought me nothing but grief!"
Chatsberry took a deep breath. "Because you were the best choice."
"What?" Abby took a step forward. "How?"
"When an Elemental dies, what you would call its soul self is able to journey through time, observing the many possible futures of its next hosts and picks the best applicant for its next incarnation. You were among millions born in the season of spring to be chosen because simply put you were deemed the best." Chatsberry explained.
"Well, look what has happened because of it." Abby spread her arms out. "My parents are dead, my brother possibly is dead and my sister abandoned me after she possibly killed him. How am I the best?"
"Simply put, because you have not succumbed to what has happened." Chatsberry waved his hand and Abby was immediately surrounded by images of her past. "Yes, you lost your parents and your brother but think of what might have happened if you were not the Candy Elemental."
Abby saw herself and her family, living happily together…
Then it all came crashing down as the Satyra came to their shack, recruiting her and her sister with her brother being the one to take them from their screaming parents…
Being forcefully trained as a killing machine alongside her sister, Valerie and a dozen other Faunus and Mobian children…
Growing up to conduct raids in small towns and villages until one day she faces down Huntsmen that had come after her…
And one of them was wielding a sword that was blazing with cold, icy blue fire that as snow started to fall while the other was a blond haired monkey Faunus…
She lunged at her targets, intent on killing them as the brunette raised his sword and-
"STOOOOOOOOOOOOP!" Abby shouted as she turned away, unable to bear watching herself trying to kill her friends. "WHY ARE YOU SHOWING THIS TO ME?!"
"You asked why you were chosen." Chatsberry said as the images faded. "This was one scenario that was taken into account when I and the others were choosing the next host. We saw the futures for our possible hosts, both good and bad and chose the one who was best suited to handle it and the burden that came with it. If you were not chosen, this future is what possibly could have happened. You knew your brother was sympathizer to the Satyra before he disappeared even then."
"So what?!" Abby barked. "He would have handed me over to the Satyra to be a murderer even if I wasn't the Candy Elemental?! He'd sell out his own family like that?! Is that what you are trying to tell me?!"
"It was one a dozen possible futures." Chatsberry sighed. "This is not easy for us, young Abby. We have to be careful of how we choose our hosts, ever since the first Ice Elemental Urgence Evergreen nearly doomed the world because of his arrogance. The Elementals learned from that mistake and thus the powers that we represent wanted to ensure that mistake never happened again by carefully observing and then choosing the best host out of millions."
"And what did this Ice guy do that was so bad?" Abby spat, not keen on accepting her past self's explanation.
"He laid down the groundwork that led to the creation of the Fallen, specifically the second generation of Fallen that started with Sammael." Chatsberry answered gravely.
Abby seemed to freeze now, paralyzed by the unexpected answer. "Wh-What?!"
"It is a long story but I shall explain." Chatberry waved his hand and suddenly Abby was not in the dark void anymore.
She was standing before a giant, beautiful castle, overlooking a medieval and yet advanced looking city.
"Once upon a time there was a continent spanning kingdom known as Pangea, led by a great king named Ozric. A kind and benevolent ruler who led his kingdom into an era of peace and was loved by his subjects. Among his loyal subjects were twelve righteous warriors who directly served him and protected his kingdom known as the Knights of the Round and a powerful magician who was his closest friend and advisor named Yen Sid, hailed to be the most powerful wielder of the magical arts next to the Elementals themselves." As Chatsberry began his tale, Abby was taken to a grand looking chamber, large enough to possibly fit the Uno House and on the throne sat a handsome blond haired man with twelve men in knights armor standing before him and next to him was an elderly man in blue robes with a blue pointed hat imprinted with yellow stars. "Despite this era of peace not all was perfect. For in the darkest corner of the great kingdom was a land of darkness and destruction, spawning creatures that existed only for the purpose of destroying all life. In this desolate land existed a group that worshiped these creatures, led by a woman who was a master of the dark arts. In this world magic was divided into several elements including: fire, ice, wind, lightning, earth, gravity, time, healing, poison, darkness, light and chaos."
Abby was now standing in a cave and gasped when she saw legions of woman, all of them dressed in black standing giant statues of Grimm, worshiping them.
"This magic was a gift from the great ones that came to this world, creating a balance between light and darkness. The Priestess of the group known as the Children of the Grimm used her dark magic to manipulate and even control the Grimm, believing them to be the actual saviors of the world and was the sworn enemy of King Ozric. In her mad quest she kidnapped children and performed horrible experiments on them, twisting and changing them into horrible monsters that resembled the Grimm. She unleashed them on the kingdom, destroying anything and everything in their way, except for the Grimm that fought with them." Abby gasped in horror as she watched children being thrown into a pit and screaming. "The warriors of the kingdom banded together to fight these Children of the Grimm. As the wars spread weapons of mass destruction both scientific and magical in origin were created and the once prosperous land was replaced with a wasteland of near extinction. Armies clashed with each other, dragging everyone around them into chaos and death. It only became worse when a prediction by the Ice Elemental was made of an entity of death approaching the world."
Abby watched as the first four Elementals met, standing in a circle divided into the respective colors of each element. She then gasped as the Ice Elemental, Urgence Evergreen froze his fellow Elementals and fled.
"Desperate to create the final perfect hybrid of human and Grimm the Priestess came up with one final plan. She learned the Ice Elemental was crafting a powerful object with the power to grant wishes no matter the desire and saw her chance. When the Ice Elemental known as Urgence Evergreen crafted his crown she gathered as many humans and Grimm and set them loose on Urgence, taking him by complete surprise."
Abby watched as Evergreen's home was assaulted by the Children of Grimm and the Priestess herself stole the crown.
"Amongst the confusion she stole the crown and with it prepared her final experiment. Taking a sick newborn child and its mother she brought them to the center of the cult's home, the Pool of Darkness and gave the crown to the mother before dropping the sick newborn into the black pool. The mother, in complete terror and hysteria made a wish that her child would never die and from it something new was born."
Abby watched as a Grimm carried out the newborn and gasped in horror at what she saw.
"A child born from a fusion of life and destruction, forming an entirely new being. His skin was pale, his hair blood red and his eyes were completely black with red irises. The Children of the Grimm hailed his survival as the birth of a new generation that would herald a new and more powerful warrior to lead their armies. Believing he was destined to be the savior and destroyer of the world he was given the name Sammael."
The Children of Grimm were then attacked by the Elementals and the Knights of the Round, led by King Ozric himself.
"Before they could carry out their plans to make the newborn in their newest weapon their sanctuary was attacked. Enraged at his crown being used to create such an abomination Urgence Evergreen assaulted the Children of Grimm to take back his crown, covering the land in a new ice age. The cult, along with its creations were scattered and the child was left behind. Evergreen wanted to destroy it but was stopped by Yen Sid, believing that no child deserved to be terminated, not even by an Elemental."
Abby watched as Urgence explained his actions to King Ozric, refusing to admit his actions had been wrong.
"Urgence argued that the child was an abomination but his fellow Elementals agreed with Yen Sid and imposed restrictions on Evergreen for attacking his fellow Elementals and going against the laws of creating magical objects capable of altering reality. Rather than accept punishment for his crimes Evergreen fled, continuing to search for the crown. In the meantime the new child, born with the blood of the Grimm in him was taken by Yen Sid to King Ozric and who left the child in his care. It was hope that this child could be given a choice to be more than what the Priestess wanted him to be."
Urgence summoned his ice powers, forcing everyone back as he fled.
"Perhaps he could even be the answer to curing the humans who were turned into monsters by the Priestess. Perhaps he, like Yen Sid and the other elementals, believed as many do that evil could never truly be born. But in their endeavors to avoid staining their hands with the blood of a child they forgot one clear distinction."
Abby was now in nursery and she saw the infant from before, resting in a crib.
"Sammael was not born evil."
The child's eyes opened, showing a sinister red glow.
"He was made that way."
The vision faded and Abby was back on the platform with Chatsberry. "What…What did you guys do?"
"…We spared a child, showed him the world, watched as he grew like any other child, and experienced the emotions of a mortal." Chatsberry explained solemnly as a shadow seemed to fall over them, originating from no discernible source. "Only he was never mortal. He was something else. And when everything fell apart…We couldn't stop him from making others like himself or what happened when Forgotten Age came to an end when it arrived."
"What arrived?" Abby questioned as all around them turned black. "What do you mean? Why didn't you stop Sammael when you had the chance? If you Elementals were as strong as everyone thought why couldn't you destroy Sammael?"
"That's the problem." Chatsberry closed his eyes, his voice suddenly reverberating throughout the void around them. "We couldn't."
"Wh-What?" Abby asked, suddenly afraid of the answer. "What do you mean you couldn't? Four Elementals, one Fallen, its easy math. If me, Nigel and the others are going to face him one day you have to tell us! How do we destroy Sammael? "
Chatsberry opened his eyes. "…You can't."
Light flooded in again, and Abby stood on a battlefield. Bodies numbering in the hundreds of thousands lay in every direction, many impaled on what looked like trees made of a solid black bark jutting like spears from cracks in the ground containing black liquid. There were crumbling spires of ice and candy, the dying embers of fire and shriveling globules of slime…
And at its center, he stood…Sammael, untouched by the carnage around him, a blade black as night by his side as he stepped over the fallen without a care. He stopped as he came upon four figures impaled upon four of the tallest trees within the forest of death…
Abby knew that they were Elementals. Not of Chatsberry's generation or any within the last several thousand years, but as she stared at the mutilated form of the Candy Elemental she felt a throbbing pain in her chest where her past self was impaled.
"Others tried." Chatsberry told her. "They rose up, gathered armies, formed empires and twisted the world to their whim in a desperate race to strike down their ultimate foe. Time and time again, in the rare occasions when all four of the Elementals were gathered, trained and ready for their roles…they failed. Sammael struck them down and waited patiently for them to be reborn once more so he could hunt them down…or wait for them to walk into his grasp. One way or another, the endless cycle continued across countless life times."
Abby fell to her knees, gaping in abject horror as Sammael turned away from the fallen Elementals and vanished into the forest of black trees, leaving only the decimation left over by his victory as evidence of what happened here so many years ago…
"The wish made by his hysterical mother with the crown made it so he could not die by anything, not by the sickness destroying him, not the Pools of Darkness and not even by time itself." Chatsberry continued.
"So…Sammael can't be killed?" Abby brought her hands to her face. "All this time, all that training…And for what?!"
She stood up, glaring with red hot anger at Chatsberry. "What is the point if we can't beat him?! How do we save the world if we can't win?!"
Chatsberry was silent, having vanished from sight.
"Where are you?! Answer me!" Abby shouted, watching as everything turned black. "You chose me to help protect everyone so tell me how to do it!"
Silence.
"Unbelievable…UNBELIEVABLE!" Abby kicked at…nothing in frustration. "You have no clue, do you?! You have no gobbing clue at all, don't you?! Why do you even bother at all?!"
"To buy time."
Abby jumped as Chatsberry appeared a few feet away, sitting down with his face lowered. "…What do you mean to buy time?"
"It's almost impossible to undo a wish made by Evergreen's crown but we continued because just as we look into the futures to choose new incarnations we've also looked into the future to see the battles that are likely to take place, seeing the many outcomes and working to find the best possible ones. The Elementals that came after could not destroy Sammael but they found an alternate solution when looking back to the Cataclysm brought forth by the Catalyst Comet that ended the Forgotten Age when the Grimm were forced into dormancy and the Fallen with them. That is when they saw the best solution at the time was not to destroy Sammael but to seal him." Chatsberry explained.
"Seal him?" Abby questioned, calming down a bit.
"As time went on the Grimm rose, fought against the people of the Earth and then were sealed back into their source by a spell of binding created by the Elementals and other magical beings. Whenever it was cast, Sammael was sealed away as well while other Fallen either lost their powers or died. It was not a perfect solution as the Grimm would eventually awaken from their dormancy during a certain periods such as when the Gems tried to colonize Earth or the Time of Awakening." Chatsberry continued. "We've looked through possible futures that show Sammael's permanent defeat, no matter how slim they might be."
"…How many do you see each time you try?" Abby asked, seemingly calming down.
"Over fifteen million different futures, each made by the choices of the Elementals and the people surrounding them." Chatsberry answered.
Abby leaned forward. "And how many, in all of those futures, do we actually win?"
Chatsberry finally looked up. "…One."
Abby's eyes widened as Chatsberry then kneeled before her. "One?"
"I know these are not the answers you wanted but its how it is. We've struggled, fought and died trying to keep the world still alive. I wouldn't ask you to continue fighting, I don't have that right and neither do any of the other past lives. I can only say this, if you decide to step aside and leave the fight I won't stop you but if you find it in your heart to wish to somehow continue fighting to protect your loved ones then…" Chatsberry looked up, surprising Abby when she saw tears streaming down his cheeks. "Help us find a way to end this madness."
Abby stared down at him, contemplating what he was asking.
She took a deep breath before giving her answer…
Xxx
"Are they actually here?"
Callie Briggs followed the Swat Kats after they came to the building and reported of the recent events that have happened.
"Yep. Ran into them during the attack and found them took on a lot of those robots from the Hall of Justice." Razor explained. "Their ship landed an hour ago while on a tour before the attack happened."
"Yeah, we didn't recognize them until a moment after showing off some skills, gotta be Elite class. They told us they were a little delayed due to a classified mission outside the states, something considered classified" T-Bone said.
"Well, I'm glad they came, we might need their help with some of our guests who could use some training before they face off bigger threats like the Fallen. Mayor Sebben will want to meet them on a brief to catch up on what has happened in the last few months." The Mobians made their way to the room the huntsmen were in, opening the door with the assistance of the two security guards allowing them in once they knew who they were.
The four huntsmen before them were somewhat relaxed in the room offered to them for comfort in waiting. The first one was a young man in his 20s by his appearance sitting on a chair, a mob of light brown hair with a pair of green eyes and wearing glasses and wore a dark green formal suit with a dark long coat with a crest as a badge and a pair of gloves.
The next one was a beautiful woman with long wavy red hair drinking tea from a tray; she had emerald eyes and a curvaceous figure, wears a maroon jacket, along with a silver-scaled bikini top, a green sash wrapped around her head with a pair of goggles. She wore a pair of green-striped pants with belts to hold her equipment.
The third member of the team was too easy to notice by his large size. Sitting on the floor in a lotus position was a large muscular Ape Mobian with orange fur, a brown jacket with torn sleeves and wore a pair of white pants with an earthly piece of clothing wrapped around his waist. Resting against the wall was a large red pole next to him.
Finally, for the fourth member was girl who might consider be the youngest of the team with aqua blue hair with green eyes, wears a styled pilot-themed outfit, a brown jacket with the furred hood extending down to the bottom, she wore a biggles helmet hat and a pair of goggles included. She was sitting on a couch reading some comic in her hands and not paying attention to what's going on.
"Um, excuse me for disturbing you but I'm Deputy Mayor Briggs, you must be Team REYN." Callie spoke in a professional manner to avoid sounding like a fool to them.
Gaining their attention as the man with glasses smiled and stood up. "Yes that's us and we are honored to meet you three." Came up to them and shook her hands and then to the Swat Kats. "My name is Ross Noften, I'm the leader of this team. Allow me to introduce the others."
He gestured to the red haired woman. "This is Erika Ahlberg, our pilot and captain of the Stormfly. Over there is North."
He then pointed at the large Mobian who slowly rose up on his feet to meet them as he nodded his head in respect to them. "And here is our weapons expert and mechanic Yara Quill."
"Holy Glob! You guys are the Swat Kats!" The blue haired girl exclaimed, sounded very energetic as she dashed towards the startled group. She gave a big smile and struggled to contain the excitement. "Oh wow! I'm a big fan of your areal combats, I even saw a vid of you guys in the Battle of Beach city! I gotta ask a question is your Turbokat based off a Grumman F-14? I just thought by seeing the speed and trajectory of the jet."
Razor and T-Bone looked at each other when surprised by her question and somewhat amazed she knows what it was. "Uh, yeah, gotta have something to kick butt. Guess you know lot of jets then by your outfit." T-Bone said with a smile on his face.
"Oh yeah, gotta know certain vehicles and types of their capabilities, especially military types if used by crooks we take on." She turned to her leader nudging his elbow at her. Smiled sheepishly and scratched the back of her head in embarrassment. "Sorry it's just whenever I meet my idols I get all fan-mode."
Razor raised his hand and smiled. "Hey, it's nice to meet a fan who has good taste. So don't sweat it kid. But you guys sure have an interesting airship for combat."
Getting a compliment from the Swat Kats made her smile brightly and wanted to ask to see it up close until Erika held her hand on her shoulder. "Much as it's nice to get along but perhaps we need to focus on the main subject first."
Callie nodded and agreed with her. "Agreed, so much as you know things are getting serious with not just Satyra or Supervillains but the Fallen as the main factor."
"We heard about the attack on the Hall of Heroes." Ross said, sitting back down. "And then there was the Grimm attack during the Wacky Races and the villain attack on Independence Mall."
"Yes. Things are seemingly starting to get a lot worse. Grimm have been emerging from the Darklands, attacking villages while other countries are dealing with business mongrels such as Lawrence Limburger or V.V. Argost or the Satrya breaking down relations between Humans, Faunus and Mobians while criminals and villains have openly attacked innocent people in places where they should be safe." Briggs sat down and explained. "And there is the matter of the Invisible Hand."
"Yeah, I heard about them." Ross frowned. "At first I thought they were just another mere batch of bandits that would eventually wipe each other out. Now I heard they were assembled by the Fallen."
"It's true. Sammael himself assembled the group." Briggs nodded.
Erika scowled. "So, the monster himself has finally made his move. What is he up to?"
"For now, we can be sure he is seeking the Elementals though we are not sure if he aims to simply kill them like before or seeks something else. We know that the Invisible Hand has three teams, all of them made of killers and rogue hunters such as Boris the Giant of Russia, Sir James of Mexico, Jujanga of Australia, the serial killer Katz, a cyborg named Scaramouche and likely to be many more." Briggs said, handing out folders that contained information on Invisible Hand members she had mentioned.
North opened his eyes. "And that is not taking into account of the other Fallen who have possibly joined the ranks."
"True, that is why we need to start getting ready." Briggs, adjusted her glasses. "Mayor Sebben and the others fear this might be a prelude to a war, another war with the Fallen."
The members of Team REYN shared uneasy looks as they considered what Callie Briggs had just said.
"We have the Justice Friends are the main line of defense but we if are to have a chance of surviving we need more. That's where you four come in." Briggs said, passing out two pictures. "These two right here, are also part of the reason you are here."
Yara curiously picked up the pictures and looked them over. "Wow. The blond is cute but her friend…" She was now slightly blushing. "Whatever it is, count me in."
"These two are skilled combatants but you could say they are…from another place that's very, very far away. They will need training and perhaps they will have the skills needed to match against the Invisible Hand and other threats." Briggs continued.
"Of course, we'll have to see how they handle themselves first before we come to any conclusions." Ross said, taking the pictures from Yara.
Briggs nodded. "Of course. They handled themselves well during the drone attack on the Hall of Heroes and before that they fought and survived fighting the cyborg named Scaramouche so they can hold their own."
"Good to hear." Ross put the pictures on the table. "Anything else?"
"Yes. The boy has some anger issues that he will need to work on, especially with that super strength of his."
Ross looked at North. "Sounds like your department."
North looked down at the two pictures of Superboy and Artemis.