A/N: This chapter took a bit longer than the last one, but that's mostly because I had to split it into two for pacing purposes. Originally, I figured I'd wait until both chapters were complete and post them a week apart from each other. But with it being my birthday today, I figured I'd include you all in the celebration by uploading the first of the two chapters now. Regardless, I hope you all enjoy what I've cooked up here.
One last important note before the chapter truly begins. I know that when it comes to the Persona series, fans generally aren't very familiar with the Trinity Soul anime. Given various issues with the show as well as how hard it is to come by legally compared to even ports of the mainline entries predating Persona 3, this isn't exactly surprising. I myself make no secret that I have very mixed feelings on the anime, but I do think that anyone who is even remotely curious should check it out if the opportunity presents itself (or at least check out Strain 42's retrospective over on YouTube), if for no other reason than to draw their own conclusions. All that being said, this chapter contains MAJOR SPOILERS for one of Trinity Soul's biggest reveals from the last leg of the anime along with a few other twists. If you're already familiar with the show or don't really mind having said reveals brought up, feel free to press onwards.
Of the six alien races Terrans have made contact with since leaving Earth, those with the Ctarl-Ctarl are among the more complicated. Resembling the humans of Earth but with feline attributes, the Ctarl-Ctarl have a notorious reputation amongst the galaxy for possessing a "shoot first, ask questions later" mentality, overwhelming arrogance, and effectively immortal bodies. There are also rumors of an even more vicious offshoot of the Ctarl-Ctarl that resemble the werewolves of Earth's folklore more so than tigers or any other members of the cat family, but the majority of Ctarl-Ctarl remain surprisingly tight-lipped about the existence of such individuals. Regardless, the aggressive nature of the Ctarl-Ctarl's military has led to numerous conflicts over the years with nearly every other species, but once the leading governing bodies of Earth were able to strike trade treaties with the Ctarl-Ctarl Empire, other races such as the Corbonites, Nayans, and Silgrians were able to follow suit. While many members of the Ctarl-Ctarl still pick fights with those they consider outsiders, any who manage to earn the grudging respect of a Ctarl-Ctarl can consider them a reliable, lifelong companion.
-
The Fused Beast! Ready to Strike!
"Didn't I tell you never to call me here?" complained Swanzo to the monitor next to his seat, his green, lumpy skin on full display for once. While the Corbonite mechanic was usually more agreeable, he was currently in one of the few places on Blue Heaven where it was safe for him to take off his suit. He was just glad the monitor also automatically translated anything he said, much like said suit.
"I'm sorry Swanzo, but it's an emergency," Mikey apologized, looking unusually serious. "You know those kids who were with Hilda not that long ago? They're asking for permission to use a dock that'll fit two ships."
"Hilda did say she was going to bring a new ship here, but why isn't Hilda or Horus helping them out with that?" asked the Corbonite.
"That's just it, Swanzo. Neither of the two ships are Horus," said Mikey. "One of them is the Lunar Hierophant belonging to one of those Shadow Phoenix kids, and the other I don't recognize. And when I asked about Horus, they said they only had the lander with them."
"What happened to Horus' main body, or the ship's computer? And where is Hilda?" Swanzo inquired, starting to get nervous.
"I asked about all of that, too, and they said that they had a message from Horus for you that might explain, but they didn't seem so sure," answered Mikey.
Swanzo felt a chill run through his body. "...What's the message?" asked the Corbonite
"The ice caps have melted, but the water hasn't turned to steam yet," said Mikey. "At least, that's what they're saying Horus told them to repeat to you."
Swanzo stood up immediately. "Mikey, I want you to transfer the call to me right away, and then hang up on your end," the Corbonite instructed the dark-skinned mechanic. "I'll call you when we're done and let you know what to do from there."
"Okay, Swanzo," agreed Mikey. Suddenly, his image was replaced with that of Gene.
"Swanzo, is that you?" said the redhead. "You look different without that suit on."
"What do you need me to do?" said the mechanic, getting straight to the heart of the matter.
"We need to meet with you in a dock that'll fit both this ship and the Lunar Hierophant," said Gene simply. "And according to Shinjiro, there's something you need to pick up from the Shadow Phoenix office in town on your way here."
"Shadow Phoenix, huh?" the Corbonite pondered. "They've been making a name for themselves around Blue Heaven lately, but are you sure they can help?"
"Hate to say it, but without them, we'd probably be having a very different conversation right now," the redhead admitted in a far more serious tone than he had used in either of their previous interactions.
"I see…" Swanzo confirmed with a nod. "I'll tell Mikey to get you guys set up at Dock 20. It's hard for me to leave this place on short notice, but I should still be there within the hour, even with that detour."
"Got it, and thanks," said Gene. "We'll continue working to keep things stable until you get here."
As the redhead hung up, Swanzo immediately called Mikey back. "Mikey, I want you to prep Dock 20 for those kids and meet them there as soon as you can, but make sure to sweep the hanger for bugs first," the Corbonite told the dark skinned repairman. "I'm heading out now, but I have to make a stop in town on my way there. If I'm fast, I can be there in about 45 minutes."
"Got it," his friend agreed. "But just what did those kids tell you?"
"You were right, this really is an emergency," said Swanzo. "There's a lot they couldn't say over coms, but I'm sure they'll tell us once we're together."
"That bad, huh?" said Mikey with a sigh. "I do NOT have a good feeling about this, Swanzo."
"Neither do I, Mikey," agreed Swanzo. "Neither do I."
After Swanzo's coworker Mikey gave them the info they needed to dock, Gene let out a sigh.
"Shinjiro, what the heck are you having Swanzo bring back from your office?" the redhead asked.
"Something I only have a little familiarity with," the Lunar Hierophant's captain revealed. "But according to Zen, it'll let us safely take Hilda back to the shop."
"How so?" said Gene, pushing for more info.
"Quite frankly, I don't understand how it works, especially if we're using it in circumstances like this," Shinjiro admitted. "But apparently, he and Rei tested it out after that last message we sent them, and according to Zen, as long as the one to use it is either me or Kanaru, we can get Hilda from the ship to the shop without being seen."
"Doesn't it annoy you, not having answers?" asked Gene, a note of frustration in his voice.
"If that's your way of trying to guilt trip me into spilling the beans early, don't bother," Shinjiro said in annoyance. "I promised you before we left Farfallas that we'd answer your questions back at our store on Blue Heaven, and I plan to keep it."
"But why do we have to wait until then?" asked Jim.
"For one thing, if I tried to answer some of your questions now, I seriously doubt you'd believe anything I said without proof," Shinjiro explained. "It's already annoying enough whenever Metis calls us the lunatics of the Lunar Hierophant as her idea of a joke. I don't want to risk any of you doing it seriously, especially Gene here."
"Come on, do you really think I'm that immature?" the redhead complained.
"It's barely been a week since we all met, and he's got you pegged, Gene!" Jim teased.
"And is there proof back at your store?" asked Melfina.
"Yeah, but that's not all," continued the beanie-wearing teenager. "I filled Rei and Zen in on everything that happened after we left, and in their response, they said the boss arrived while we were gone."
"Big B-I mean, Mr. Ryo wants to debrief us in person, and was very insistent on being present for any discussions pertaining to your inquiries," Kanaru explained.
"Is he going to try to make sure you don't say too much or something?" asked Gene with obvious suspicion.
"No! Big Brother isn't like that!" insisted Kanaru, before covering her mouth in embarrassment.
"Big Brother? Is that what you keep almost calling him?" the redhead teased.
"Hold on, your brother is the boss of Shadow Phoenix?" asked Jim.
"More like she's hoping he'll be her brother-in-law one day…" Shinjiro said with exasperation.
"Mr. Shinjiro!" Kanaru shouted.
"Yeah, Kanaru is in love with one of the boss' siblings! Shin, right?" revealed Metis.
"Ms. Metis!"
"What's wrong, Kanaru? There's nothing wrong with being in love," said Melfina.
"You too, Ms. Melfina!?"
"But according to Kanaru, they've never officially even gone on a date!" the armor-wearing woman added.
"I'm not an old-fashioned guy or anything, but even I think that's planning WAY too far in advance!" Gene said with a grin.
"Please stop…"
"Cheer up, Kanaru!" Metis assured the purple-haired young woman. "It's not like your crush is one-sided or anything. Didn't you tell me Shin thought you were pretty? And that he really cared about you?"
"If that's true, then I'm sure he'd love to go out with you!" agreed Melfina
"With the way you're acting, I'm more shocked this Shin guy hasn't already scored with you, especially if you already consider his own brother your big bro, too!" Gene cackled.
"She does let that nickname slip around the boss from time to time, but the most he does when that happens is clam up and blush," Shinjiro said with a shake of his head.
"...help…"
"Pardon the interruption, but we are about to dock at Blue Heaven," chimed in Gilliam, to Kanaru's visible and audible relief.
"Aw, and we were just getting to the juicy stuff!" Gene whined without any real heat. But as the mood on both ships began to regain its somber feeling once more, Gene couldn't help but grimace.
'Unlike Hilda, Shinjiro hasn't lied to us even once yet, and my gut says he's still telling us the truth,' Gene silently acknowledged. 'But if Kanaru's dreams of romance are really the most believable secret they're keeping, then what the hell is up with their company? Still, if they think they can save Hilda, then who am I to try and stop them?'
"So that's what happened…" said Swanzo, the two eyelights from his suit staring down at the floor.
"Yeah, because of the pirates and MacDougall, it's a wonder we even managed to bring the drop ship and Hilda herself back," confirmed Gene as he gestured at the Outlaw Star. "And it's all because of this ship right here."
"Hilda, what have you gotten yourself into this time?" said the Corbonite.
"And us, too," sighed Shinjiro. "I doubt it was her intention, but now she's basically left us with no choice but to figure things out."
"And just how many mysteries did she leave with us again?" groaned Jim.
"The XGP, the pirates, MacDougall, the Galactic Leyline, Melfina here, and Hilda herself," answered Metis.
"Let's start with that last one for now," said Gene. "Hey Swanzo, just how do you know Hilda? She seemed pretty confident you'd know what that phrase meant,"
"Yeah, maybe even more than you seem to realize," the Corbonite responded.
"And what's that supposed to mean!?" asked the redhead with agitation.
"Truth is, I don't know a lot about Hilda," Swanzo admitted. "Five years ago, she saved my life after I was being attacked by Ban pirates. Ever since, I'd always try to help her however I could. I'd gather info for her, pass along messages, and cut her deals on whatever repairs Horus needed without cutting any corners on the quality. And out of respect, I've never really pushed her for info on what her life was like before or even what she gets up to when not here at Blue Heaven."
"Sounds like the two of you have a pretty cool relationship," said Gene.
"Not as far as I'm concerned, especially with someone like Hot Ice Hilda!" Swanzo cheerfully countered. "She and Mikey here are the only Terrans to have ever invited me to join them at the bar!"
"Really? I thought Corbonites preferred to eat and drink in private," said Jim.
"That's a common mistake Terrans make, but it's an understandable one," said Swanzo. "These suits aren't just a fashion statement that double as walking translators, kid. If I tried taking this thing off to eat and drink when breathing the same air as Terrans, Ctarl-Ctarl, or Silgrians, I'd go straight to heaven. And the same thing would happen if any of you tried dining at any Corbonite or Nayan restaurants."
"Still wouldn't mind learning a bit more about Corbonite cuisine, though," Shinjiro admitted.
"Well, that's a first!" Swanzo said with shock. "Next time I'm at my favorite joint, I'll see about grabbing an extra menu and leaving it at your office."
"Shinjiro, is now really the time for this?" Jim pointed out.
"No, but I haven't had a chance like this before," Shinjiro admitted, surprisingly bashfully.
"If you can actually save Hilda, then it's the least I can do," Swanzo said. "Because of that misunderstanding, most Terrans don't bother inviting us to join them for meals or drinks, but Mikey and Hilda are the only ones who've ever bothered insisting on me going in spite of it. When people care more about your company than whether you share a meal with them, it really means something. Not bad for Hot Ice Hilda."
"You keep calling her Hot Ice Hilda. Is that her full name?" asked Metis.
"No, it's her nickname, much like how McCoy's is Pioneer. When outlaws start building themselves a reputation, they tend to get those. It's why she picked this theme for code phrases," explained the Corbonite, before shaking his head. "Anyway, as far as I know, we're the only people who even know about that phrase. Maybe she told her old friends, but from what you've all said, the pirates and MacDougall got to them."
"What can you tell us about them?" asked Gene.
"Not a whole lot about Marx or O'Malley, but the Kei Pirates and Hilda have some sort of grudge going back a long time, way before I ever knew her," said Swanzo. "They're all chasing after the Galactic Leyline, though I'll never understand why. But somewhere along the way, the things they started doing to each other apparently got a hell of a lot more personal."
"Meaning that even if she does recover from this, letting word get out would be a bad idea," said Gene.
"It wouldn't be out of character for them to try something funny and finish the job, even here, which is exactly why I agreed to all of this," Swanzo confirmed.
"And MacDougall?" asked Gene.
"He's a pro at covering his tracks, so I don't know anything about him," admitted Swanzo.
"And mugshots?" asked Shinjiro.
"Even trying to get photos of them tends to paint a target on you," added Mikey. "But trust me, if you ever have the misfortune of actually coming face to face with either brother, you'll know."
"That's just fine, then" said Gene, his low voice barely concealing his rage. "I'll just hunt down his tracks by his scent if that's what it takes."
"Just be careful if you do go after him," warned Swanzo. "For now, is there anything else I can do to help?"
"Hilda said something about disguising the ship, and that you'd be square afterwards," said Shinjiro.
"Well, if you already have a name and color in mind, I can take care of the ship's official registration number and Mikey here can handle the paint job," said Swanzo.
"Is that all?" asked Jim. "What about weapons and ammunition? The ship can fly and punch things, but that's about it!"
"Hold on, do you even have enough money for all this?" asked Mikey.
"Nothin' on us right now," admitted Gene. "What about you, Shinjiro?"
"Gilliam may have registered all of us as crew members, but I'm also registered as the Lunar Hierophant's captain," said the teenage boy while fixing the redhead with a flat look. "The upkeep alone takes a lot out of my salary, along with keeping everyone fed. You want any money from me for your own ship, you'll have to take it up with my boss."
"Besides, didn't Hilda make you its captain?" Metis pointed out.
"Look, how about I just pay you all back when I make it big?" said Gene with a shaky smile.
"Make it big?" Mikey let out a snort that quickly turned into full-bellied laughter. "This guy's a piece of work! Even Hilda still had to pay us for anything we did for Horus!"
"...And she never asked for us to cut her deals, or that doing anything for free would make us even. Any time I did the former, it was my own idea," Swanzo said seriously. "Officially registering and painting the ship will qualify as disguising it. At least that way, you can get the ship into other ports without folks getting suspicious."
"Are you kidding me, Swanzo?" complained the dark-skinned mechanic. "You know we don't work for free around here!"
"I owe Hilda, so I'm willing to pay out of my own pocket for the work this time around," insisted the Corbonite.
"What about the weapons and ammo?" whined the young blonde.
"Even if the registration and paint job weren't enough to qualify as what I owe Hilda, you're not gonna find weapons for a grappler ship here," said Swanzo.
"Why do you think we still haven't gotten new grappler arms for the Lunar Hierophant?" said Metis with a shrug. "The most they can do here at Blue Heaven is repair or re-attach existing ones."
"Exactly," agreed Swanzo. "But are you sure you don't need our help getting Hilda out of here?"
Just then, a small beeping sound could be heard from Shinjiro's pocket. The young man in a beanie pulled out a display card, and an image of Kanaru's face appeared.
"Mr. Shinjiro, it worked! Ms. Hilda and I are back at the shop!" announced the purple haired girl. "Mr. Zen and Ms. Rei are looking at her right now."
"That's great, Kanaru," came Horus' voice. "Please continue to keep us posted with any further updates regarding her status."
"Okay!" replied Kanaru as she hung up, much to nearly everyone else's visible shock.
"What the-!? I'm not imagining this, am I?" stammered Mikey.
"How the hell did she pull that off?" asked a bewildered Gene.
"I do not know," confirmed the voice of Gilliam, speaking for the first time since they all docked. "Kanaru entered the medical bay, pulled some sort of sphere out of her pocket, and she and Hilda vanished in a flash of light."
"You mean that girl I handed that weird ball to who went back onboard the ship?" asked Swanzo for clarification. "How'd she manage to slip out of here with Hilda using a yellow glass ball with a tiny Terran's house inside?"
"...Looks like you two will be joining us for that meeting later," groaned Shinjiro. "The boss is not going to be happy."
"What the heck are you talking about!?" shouted Mikey, pulling at his hair in frustration.
"Shinjiro promised us an explanation about some stunts he and Kanaru pulled during this whole trip of ours," said Jim. "He said we wouldn't believe anything he told us without proof."
"Well, at the very least, it doesn't seem like Tao magic to me," said Gene. "There's no strange chanting or anything."
"From what Hilda's told me, there are Tao masters who can perform some spells without chanting," revealed Swanzo before shaking his head. "Even so, I think I agree with you, kid. Whatever that ball was I picked up from their shop in town, it wasn't dangerous. Still, this is weird even by the standards of you Terrans."
"Are you still sure we shouldn't be charging them any wong for this?" asked Mikey.
"I'm sure for now, but at this rate, I don't know for how much longer," admitted Swanzo. "Regardless, we won't be done with both tasks until later tomorrow, so I recommend going into town for now, and once we're done, we'll meet up at the Shadow Phoenix shop for whatever this meeting is going to be about."
"Sounds good to me," said Shinjiro. "I'll be heading back to the shop for now, but I'll be in touch with any updates regarding Hilda. Metis, are you coming with me or staying here?"
"I think I'll keep Horus and Gilliam company," answered Metis.
"And we'll see about getting ourselves a cheap hotel room for tonight," said Gene. "Thank you for all the help."
"Before you go, have you decided on the ship's name or what color the hull is gonna be?" asked the Corbonite.
"The ship's name is the Outlaw Star, and as for the color, how about this one right here?" said the redhead as he pointed to his own hair.
"One last thing before you all head out," said Swanzo. "There was a Ctarl-Ctarl woman poking her nose around here a lot over the past few days, asking about Hilda."
"Think it's that Clan-Clan woman from the other day?" asked Metis.
"Probably," muttered Jim. "Just our luck."
"I wonder how she found out, though," said Melfina. "We never introduced ourselves during that entire encounter."
"Their battleship's already left port, but even so, I'd recommend you stay on your toes," warned Swanzo. "There are a few Ctarl-Ctarl living here in town, and even they can be a bit unpredictable at times."
"Thanks for the warning," Gene said as he and the others prepared to leave. "Gilliam, try to behave yourself for a day, alright?"
"Very well," answered the Outlaw Star's computer.
It wasn't long before Gene, Jim, and Melfina had all checked into the same hotel they'd stayed at during their last visit to Blue Heaven. The elevator was still being fixed from the damage McCoy had inflicted on it, but it surprisingly looked like it was almost back to being as good as new. The man behind the counter was also the same one as before, and he greeted the trio warmly.
"Ah, you're Mr. Gene Starwind, correct?" said the man.
"Wow, do you remember all of your guests?" asked the aforementioned redhead.
"Well, it was thanks to you and Ms. Hilda that we were able to apprehend McCoy after he and his friends attacked our hotel," explained the hotel employee.
"Wait, I thought this was a free town," said Jim. "You guys have law enforcement or something?"
"No, young man, here at Blue Heaven we prefer to take it upon ourselves to ensure such matters are handled, including any use of banned weapons or other disputes," the man informed Jim.
"So how'd you know it was us that helped take him down?" asked Gene.
"McCoy may not have known your name, but I did recall you from when you checked in with Ms. Hilda. He and his friends were rather loud, cursing the two of you, Shadow Phoenix, and the MacDougall Brothers while myself and the rest of the staff were administering their punishment," answered the hotel employee, never losing his polite smile or tone. "Hopefully, it'll ensure they don't try to abduct anyone here again."
"Here's hoping," agreed Gene as he signed his name in the guestbook. Jim, meanwhile, was looking rather unnerved at how the man behind the counter had maintained his professional air throughout that entire description. Melfina, on the other hand, didn't seem to react a whole lot to the conversation, having had a faraway look in her eyes since they left the docks.
A few hours later, Gene's display pad lit up. When he went to pick it up and answer, Shinjiro's face showed up on the screen.
"Got a status report for you," said the beanie-wearing teenager. "We've managed to keep the temperature at room level, so no worries about it evaporating."
"That's a relief," said Gene. "But what about refreezing?"
"The icebox we have isn't enough, but the boss put out the call to have a specialist come take a look," answered Shinjiro with a tired look in his eyes. "They're already on their way over, but there's a good chance we'll have to leave the ice tray here under the boss' supervision."
"Why's that?" asked Jim. He and Melfina were sitting together on one of the beds on the other side of the room, but they could hear just fine.
"The specialist was stationed at Symka 5, so even with the advanced warning, it's still going to take some time for them to get here," said Shinjiro. "But in the meantime, the boss says he's not only got another mission for us, he's actually got something he wants to talk to you about."
"A job offer? Now of all times?" asked a baffled Gene.
"I don't get it anymore than you, but the boss is like that a lot, assigning tasks at strange times while not being around himself all that much," said Shinjiro with a sigh. "But it's going to be part of tomorrow's discussion."
"This conversation is shaping up to be getting longer and longer," grumbled Gene.
"I know, that's why tomorrow I'd like for you guys to accompany Kanaru, Rei, and Zen on a shopping trip," said Shinjiro, looking no more amused by this than him. "We're gonna need a lot more food and if it gets to be that late, we're willing to let you stay over afterwards, but then we'll need some sleeping bags."
"Well, if it means more of your cooking, I'm okay with that," said Jim.
"I agree," said Melfina, who hadn't spoken up a lot all afternoon and evening, having been lost in thought for hours on end. "It's a shame Swanzo won't be able to eat with us, though."
"I'll see about prepping something that he can take home with him," said Shinjiro. "If he's offering to introduce me to Corbonite cuisine, I figure I can do the same for him when it comes to food from Earth."
"Alright, sounds like we have a plan," said Gene. "We're gonna call it a night now, so we'll see you all tomorrow."
"I've already contacted Metis and Swanzo at the docks, so we'll be doing the same here as well," Shinjiro said with a nod. "Just be sure to watch yourselves until then."
"So the only things you seem to remember have to do with the ship, Melfina?" Gene noted as the group of six strolled through town. They'd already picked up the sleeping bags first, and were heading to a nearby grocery store.
"Yes, and even so, I only began to recall those memories after the initial connection," Melfina admitted. "Whenever I try to recall something else, it feels as though I'm reaching through a dense fog at night. I can't even remember when Hilda first rescued me from the pirates."
"It's not fun, only having pieces of your memories," Rei said empathetically, using one hand to eat a large lollipop while carrying a shopping bag in the other.
"You're an amnesiac, too?" asked Jim.
"Yeah, Zen and I both lost our memories before!" confirmed Rei.
"We did get them back eventually, but…" Zen trailed off, clearly unsure how to continue.
"Anyway, I'm sure you'll get them back some day too, Mel!" the blonde hacker cut in, placing his hands on Melfina and Zen's backs while pushing them forward. "For now, we still need to hit the grocery store! I'm stoked to see what Shinjiro's gonna make for dinner tonight with all this!"
"Me too! I missed Shinjiro's cooking while you were all gone!" agreed Rei before looking at Zen with blushing cheeks. "But Zen's cooking is definitely getting better! That chicken dish he made the day before you all got back was super yummy."
"One of the books Shinjiro left me had a recipe for chicken souvlaki," explained Zen. "It was harder to prepare than anything Shinjiro has had time to teach me, but I felt this urge to try nonetheless.
"And I'm really glad you did!" Rei said enthusiastically.
"I'm starting to feel outclassed here," said Gene.
"Me too," agreed Jim.
"I know what you mean," sighed Kanaru. "I know how to follow some recipes, but no matter how much I improve, it feels as though Mr. Shinjiro is in a league of his own."
"Speaking of Shinjiro, how are you two holding up? Both of you were in pretty rough shape by the time we left Farfallas," asked Gene, partly out of genuine concern and partly to fish for information.
"Come to think of it, you were looking really pale at the time," said Jim.
"We've had some time to rest on the way back and once we returned to the store, so we should be okay now," Kanaru informed them before looking towards Gene. "But are you sure you're okay as well, Mr. Gene? I remember that on Horus as well as when you all came aboard the Lunar Hierophant for that first meal, you were often rather queasy, but once you got onboard the XG-the Outlaw Star, it didn't seem like an issue."
"Now that you mention it, yeah," said Gene.
"Think that means you're finally over your space phobia?" asked Jim.
"...No, it still feels a bit hard to breathe here," admitted Gene, before turning to Jim with a goofy expression. "Oh whatever should I do?"
"Yeesh, it's a miracle you were even able to pilot the Outlaw Star all the way here," complained an unamused Jim.
"Well, it's different with the Outlaw Star," said Gene, dropping his silly smile for a more relaxed one. "I don't feel nauseous, light-headed, short of breath, or anything when I'm on that ship. Even compared to the station here, being aboard the Outlaw Star just feels…right, somehow."
"That's likely the physical navigation system at work," explained Melfina.
"...Is that something you just recalled now or since syncing with the ship?" asked Gene with a sigh.
"I'm not sure…" admitted Melfina. "The answer just came to me and I started speaking, before I even knew what I was doing."
"Maybe both!" chimed in Rei, with everyone else coming to a stop and turning to face the blonde girl. "You said your memories were covered in fog, right? Maybe that connecting thingy you did unlocked some doors hiding in the fog!"
"And Gene's comment about his physical state aboard the ship caused one of those doors to be thrown open suddenly, with a bright light emerging that pierced through the fog," added Zen. Kanaru nodded along, but Gene and Melfina looked at each other in confusion.
"...I actually understood that, but I don't know how or why," the redhead finally said.
"Me neither," agreed Melfina.
"Between you guys and Hilda, I'm starting to wonder how long until I start using weird metaphors, too…" sighed Jim in resignation. "Anyway, what do you think Shinjiro is gonna make with everything we're buying here?"
"I'm not sure," admitted Kanaru.
"But I'm sure it'll be tasty!" cheered Rei.
"If it's anything like his tomato rice soup, I'll bet," agreed Gene.
Before they could resume walking, however, someone approached from behind.
"At long last, you people have returned to Blue Heaven," growled a female voice that more than half of them found oddly familiar. As the group turned to face the newcomer, they were met with a woman concealed beneath a filthy, tattered hooded cloak that hid nearly her entire body. The only things they could see beneath the cloak were bandaged legs, the bottom half of her dark-skinned face, and a white collar with a gold bell on it.
"Is there something we can help you with?" Kanaru asked politely.
"I wanna know where Hilda is," demanded the stranger.
"And what makes you so sure we know?" asked Gene.
"Don't try to play games with me. I know for a fact Hilda recently hired Shadow Phoenix and was seen working with the punk with the red hair here, so tell me where she is!" said the stranger.
"Well what do you know? Here comes a pushy little lady, barging into our private conversation like she owns the place," taunted Gene.
"What's your name anyway, lady?" asked Jim.
"Have you really forgotten my name already? You Terrans have such inferior memories. My name is…" snarled the stranger before reaching up and pulling back her hood, revealing a woman with long ears, blue eyes with a greenish tint, and a mop of long white hair tied in a thick braid. She wore a yellow headband and had a small triangle tattoo under her left eye the same shade as her irises. It was someone that Gene, Jim, Melfina, and Kanaru recognized instantly. "...Aisha Clan-Clan!"
"It's that Ctarl-Ctarl from before!" Jim exclaimed.
"Well, now I'm a bit interested…" said Gene with narrowed eyes
"I thought Swanzo said their ship left," Melfina pointed out. "Did she stay behind?"
"Hey, sorry about that run in before," apologized Gene in a nervous tone. "There wasn't any serious damage to your ship from that asteroid, was there?"
"Oh, there was plenty of damage to me," hissed Aisha. "Now stop dodging my question and answer me…WHERE IS HILDA!?"
"Hilda's dead," said Gene, immediately and nonchalantly.
'You're really trying to sell it with that tone?' Jim mentally chided his red-haired companion.
"WHAT DID YOU SAY!?" shouted a completely shocked Aisha.
'...And she totally bought it,' thought Jim with both relief and exasperation.
"Well, that should answer your question, so if you'll excuse us, we've still got some grocery shopping to do. See ya around," said Gene as he turned to leave.
"Good-bye, Ms. Clan-Clan," said Kanaru with a bow.
"Bye-bye, Ms. Kitty!" said Rei cheerfully as she waved at the Ctarl-Ctarl.
"Good-bye," said Zen with a nod.
Aisha looked at the departing group in shock for several seconds before leaping up, bouncing off the railing, and grabbing Gene by his shirt collar.
"Tell me the coordinates of the Galactic Leyline! Since you worked with Hilda, you should know that!" Aisha snarled in Gene's face.
"So you're after the Galactic Leyline, huh?" said Gene with a smile. Rei, Zen, Melfina, and Kanaru all blinked in confusion at the red-head's ease, but Jim could only groan, knowing exactly what sort of mischief the redhead was plotting.
"Now listen closely, because I'm only going to say this once," said Gene quietly, as Aisha turned her head to the side and nodded enthusiastically. "The coordinates are…EXACTLY WHAT THE HELL I'D LIKE TO KNOW!"
Everyone flinched at the sudden yelling, but Aisha leapt back immediately, rubbing her long ears in an attempt to soothe the pain. Jim removed his fingers from his own ears, but even that had only done so much good.
"Damn you! That wasn't funny," grumbled Aisha.
"Look lady, I'm sorry about Gene's antics, but we really don't know where the Leyline is," said Jim.
"It's the truth," said Zen with a nod.
"So you're gonna play dumb to the bitter end, eh?" growled Aisha. "Guess I'll just have to drag the answers out of you by force!"
"Hey look, I don't like fighting women. That's not my style!" said Gene as he raised his hands in a placating manner.
"It's not open for discussion," refuted Aisha.
"Well in that case…RUN!" shouted Gene as he and his friends started fleeing the way they came, with Zen going as far as to pick Rei up and carry her. This yet again caught Aisha off guard, but not for very long.
"YOU COWARDS!" roared the Ctarl-Ctarl as she once again used the railing to bounce around and intercept Gene, kicking him in the chin and knocking him to the ground.
"Gene!" shouted Jim as he kneeled down to inspect his friend, but the redhead shoved the blonde boy away before rolling to the side himself as Aisha suddenly plummeted down like a meteorite. Seconds later, Aisha's feet smashed through the pavement right where Gene had been previously laying. As the Ctarl-Ctarl turned to glare at Jim, the young computer genius scampered back to his friends.
"This is really bad! Ctarl-Ctarl aren't just as ferocious as jungle cats, they're super strong, too!" warned Jim. Aisha would go on to prove his point even further by tearing a cable from where she had broken through the floor and yanking on it in their direction, nearly whipping Melfina and Kanaru in the process.
"I can see that," said Zen as he readjusted the position he was carrying Rei in so that she was now hanging off his shoulders, thus freeing his hands. "What should we do now?"
"This way!" yelled Gene, as he ducked into a nearby alley, with his five friends following in short order. But to the group's shock, Aisha crashed down in front of them yet again, having leapt off the walls for the surrounding buildings while still gripping the cable. As soon as she landed, the Ctarl-Ctarl spun while ripping the cable from the ground, but to her surprise, Zen fired a crossbow bolt into the cable before it could rise up to hit them. Aisha tried to pull on the cable, but it would no longer budge free.
"Huh? Oh no…" whimpered Aisha as Gene took the opportunity to deck her in the face. This sent her tumbling over, but like a cat, the Ctarl-Ctarl managed to land on her hands and feet.
"Not bad," said Aisha as she licked the blood from her lip.
"So this is what it's like to fight a Ctarl-Ctarl," said Zen.
"What do you know? They act like bloodthirsty assassins," sighed Gene. "Well, you just had to go and pick a fight with us…huh?"
To everyone's confusion (and the embarrassment of all save for a blank-faced Zen), Aisha had not only thrown off her dirty cloak, but seemed to be stripping.
"I shall now teach a lesson you'll soon regret: the true terror of the Ctarl-Ctarl," said Aisha, completely nonplussed by her bare back and shoulders. Her hands had begun to twitch, her long braid had begun floating in the air, and her pupils had narrowed like those of a cat. Suddenly Jim let out a gasp.
"I just remembered! The Ctarl-Ctarl are metamorphs!" the young boy cried out.
"What!?" said Gene with a start.
"They can turn into animals that are downright vicious!" Jim elaborated. However, it seemed he had not picked the best choice of words.
"Did you just call me an animal!?" Aisha snarled. "Well then…how about I show you THE POWER OF MY ANCESTORS!"
"This looks really bad…" said Rei in a soft whimper, with nearly everyone present letting out a similar cry of terror.
"For you, it will be!" agreed Aisha. "This form which can turn Terrans into paste is kept in check for a reason! But under the light of a planet's moons, we can shift into this form at will, with our power significantly amplified!"
Suddenly, to Aisha's confusion, the tension in the alleyway completely disappeared.
"Blue Heaven is a space colony built inside a large asteroid," Zen informed Aisha, with Rei nodding along from her perch on his back. "It has no satellites reflecting sunlight orbiting around it."
Aisha craned her neck back to look up at the space station's ceiling, where one could see distant stars but no moons. "...Come to think of it, it doesn't…"
"Idiot…" muttered Gene, before he turned back around and retreated out of the alleyway, grabbing Melfina and Kanaru by the arms in the process. Jim, Zen, and Rei weren't far behind. "NOW RUN, EVERYONE!"
"HEY, COME BACK HERE!" shouted Aisha, who began to give chase, only to turn back around briefly to retrieve her discarded clothing. "HOLD IT!"
"What now, Gene!?" asked Jim as they approached the mouth of the alley.
"Let's split up!" said Gene, as reached the street and darted off to the left with the two dark-haired young women in tow. "The three of us will try to lose that crazy lady! You go find some caster shells!"
"Even if I find a store that sells those here, you can't use them on Blue Heaven!" Jim fired back. When Hilda first brought them to Blue Heaven, Swanzo revealed that despite being a free town, firing guns inside the station was banned due to the higher risks of stray bullets cracking a seal and letting all the air escape compared to other space stations. By the same token, firing missiles inside the asteroid belt was similarly off limits.
"Just try to find some, will you? We're gonna need them one way or another in the future!" retorted the red head.
"Mr. Zen! Ms. Rei! While you're getting the groceries, call Mr. Shinjiro and Big Brother and let them know what's going on!" added Kanaru before Gene pulled her and Melfina down another alley, with Aisha in hot pursuit.
"I SAID COME BACK!" Aisha's voice could be heard as disappeared down the alley after the fleeing trio.
Jim, Zen, and Rei could only blink in bewilderment as the shouting voices began to fade, with everything that had just transpired only now beginning to sink in.
"I…guess we should do what they asked?" said Jim, breaking the awkward silence.
"Y-Yeah," agreed Rei. "All this running around has made me hungry, anyway."
"There's an ammunition store part of the way back from the supermarket," said Zen. "Will that work for you, Jim?"
"I think so," said Jim as he shook his head. "Would you lead the way? I still don't know the area all that well."
"Of course," said Zen with a nod, as he finally put Rei back down on the ground. The two blondes and the dark haired young man turned around, finally resuming their trip to the grocery store. They could only hope their friends managed to lose the short-tempered Ctarl-Ctarl.
(Outlaw Star / Persona)
More than 20 minutes later, Gene, Kanaru, and Melfina were climbing a set of stairs in the center of town. As the trio reached the top, they all started catching their breath.
"That was too close…" groaned Gene.
"Do you think we lost her?" asked a weary Kanaru.
"Looks like it," said Gene, as he began to take in his new surroundings.
It appeared to be a suspended platform of sorts, with a railing along the edges and surrounded by trees. Dotting the platform were chairs, benches, tables, and even flowerbeds. 'A park, I'm guessing?' thought the redhead. But then he caught a glimpse of one of the ceiling windows, and his vision swam with stars. With widened eyes, Gene broke into a cold sweat and began hyperventilating. Within seconds, he slumped to the ground, landing on his fists and knees while shocking his two companions.
"Mr. Gene!" cried Kanaru.
"Kanaru, help me bring Gene to that bench over there," said Melfina as she kneeled down next to Gene and placed his right arm around her shoulders.
"Sure!" agreed Kanaru as she did the same with Gene's left. The two young women gently helped Gene to his feet and guided him to the nearby bench. Gene collapsed onto the seat in relief, leaning back and covering his eyes with his hand. After taking a few deep breaths, Gene opened a crack between his fingers and braved a glance back at the ceiling. The nausea was still hitting him, but it wasn't as bad as before.
"Maybe I'll never get over this…" Gene said quietly but with clear despondence. He may have tried to play it off early with Jim with his jokes, but it didn't change how much it sucked that being in space made him so unwell. Would he really be stuck with this contradiction for the rest of his life, with his dreams and trauma forever at war inside him?
After closing his eyes and taking a few moments to calm down, Gene reopened them to see Melfina and Kanaru staring intently at a flower bed of pink and red lilies. From where he was sitting, it looked like the purple-haired girl had a soft smile on her face. But the raven-haired young woman seemed strangely sad.
"What? You've never seen flowers before, Melfina?" Gene
"These flowers are artificial, Gene," Melfina said somberly. "They were made…just like me."
Gene slowly blinked in surprise at this revelation, whereas Kanaru's eyes went wide in shock.
"Who am I, Gene? And why am I here?" Melfina began to tear up. "Why was I made? Who made me, and what did they make me for? Why do I know the things about the Outlaw Star that I do? Why do I remember so much about the ship and nothing about myself? And why are the pirates after us!?" Now the tears were flowing freely, as the raven-haired beauty wept. "Hilda might know, but Zen and Rei couldn't fully heal her, and whoever the head of Shadow Phoenix tries to bring in to help may not be able to do so either. She may never wake up, and I'll never learn who I am supposed to be."
"Melfina…" Gene was stunned. He'd come across androids and cyborgs before. Hell, some of them were wanted criminals he'd taken down and cashed in on their bounties. But even the most convincing he'd come across were nothing like Melfina.
To Melfina and Gene's surprise, Kanaru had wrapped her arms around the crying woman.
"Ms. Melfina, I know…I know how much it hurts…" Kanaru confessed.
"Kanaru, you too?" said Gene and Melfina in unison, their voices barely above a whisper.
"Yes, and unlike you, Ms. Melfina, I didn't even know I was artificial for the longest time…" said Kanaru.
"What? How is that possible?" asked Gene.
"I was given false memories and even programmed to see and feel things that weren't real," said Kanaru. "I thought I had a family, an old friend from childhood, and even an apartment full of furniture to call home. But none of it was true. My parents never existed, the apartment was nearly empty, and that childhood friend was someone assigned to keep tabs on me."
"How cruel…" said Melfina.
"Who the hell would do such a thing and why!?" Gene snarled under his breath. Before now, the redhead admittedly never had much respect for man-made beings, but even for him that was going way too far.
"I was designed to help spread a seemingly innocuous ritual amongst teenagers and children, when in reality anyone who displayed certain reactions to the ritual became targets for the group who created me," Kanaru explained. "But then I made a new group of friends at school, ones who managed to fend off the attacks and became concerned for my well-being. They recognized that the ritual was dangerous, even if none of us understood exactly why at the time. They tried to stop me from engaging in the ritual, but I had been programmed in such a way that I was outright obsessed with performing it."
"...To you and your friends, it probably looked no different than a drug addiction," Gene realized.
"Looking back, it's honestly a miracle that the methods they used to help me 'break the habit' worked, but it did help," said Kanaru. "I awakened a power that was mine, not one given by the group that had created me. And for a while, I got to live freely. I went to school, spent time with my new friends, pursued my own writing hobby, and…fell in love…All without knowing the truth behind my origins."
"...How'd you find out?" asked Gene.
"The group that made me took remote control of me. They had me attack my new friends with a power I didn't even know they had given me and kidnap one of them. And I could do nothing to stop them," answered Kanaru, beginning to tear up herself at the memory. "But the group began to fight amongst themselves, with me being shot in the hand during the conflict, and the girl who I thought was my childhood friend helped me escape. We split up afterwards, with me trying to go find the rest of my new friends while she went back to try and save those she still had amongst the group, but not before she told me everything. Between her explanation and the circuitry revealed by the bullet wound, it was as though all the programming they had given me to keep the illusions going just stopped functioning."
"Kanaru…I'm so, so sorry…" Melfina continued to cry.
"Ms. Melfina, you have nothing to be sorry for," Kanaru reassured the raven-haired woman.
Gene said nothing about being put on the spot. Instead, he slowly rose from the bench and came over to Melfina and Kanaru and took a good look at them.
"I've never met anyone like the two of you, and when I think about it, Metis is probably in a similar boat, isn't she?" Gene asked, his tone clearly showing he already knew the answer.
"Physically, yes," Kanaru confessed.
"It's really incredible," Gene said as he brushed aside one of Melfina's bangs and brought a hand to her cheek. "Even when I'm this close to you, I can't tell that you're not human. You can all eat, sleep, drink, come up with your own hobbies, and ask questions about your own existences."
Gene then began tightly pulling on Melfina's cheek, much to both girls' shock.
"Mr. Gene!" said Kanaru.
"OW! That hurts, Gene! Please stop pulling on my face like that!" Melfina pleaded.
"You feel pain, surprise, embarrassment, whine and can even complain! Hahaha!" Gene chuckled as he mercifully let go of Melfina's face, before looking at Kanaru. "And I bet if I tried that on you or Metis, you'd have the same reaction. Hahaha!"
"Um, Mr. Gene, I feel I should warn you that if you did that to Ms. Metis or her sisters, they'd also probably throw you into the nearest wall," Kanaru pointed out.
"Either that or right through it!" Gene admitted with a laugh. "But still, even in my wildest dreams, I never imagined there was anyone like you three in this galaxy."
At this the redhead turned to Melfina, placing his hand on her shoulder. "I could search and search from one end to the other, and never find someone like you. I promise I'll help you look for answers about your past," said Gene. "I told Hilda I'd look after you, and I'll keep my word to you both."
"Look after me?" asked Melfina.
"Yeah, and it's not like adding a few more mysteries to our search is going to change anything," said Gene. "If you really want to learn the truth, I'll help you however I can."
"...Me too," agreed Kanaru, putting her own hand on Melfina's other shoulder. "It was terrifying and depressing to learn my identity had been founded on so many lies. But I'm still glad I learned the truth, and the friends I had made still supported me. The new friends I made at Shadow Phoenix were no different, and that's why I'm sure…I'm sure that Mr. Gene, Mr. Jim, Mr. Horus, and Mr. Gilliam will be there for you, too, no matter what you learn about yourself. And Ms. Hilda as well once she wakes up. We'll all be there for you, Melfina!"
Melfina's tears finally began to dry up, and she gasped in joy.
"Still it doesn't change the fact we don't really have any real leads at the moment," admitted Gene as turned around and plopped back down on the bench. "Hilda's out cold and who knows where the MacDougall Brothers are. At this point, our best bet is to ask the Kei pirates themselves, but come on! I'd rather eat shit!"
"I feel the same way!" said Melfina in the heat of the moment, something she immediately regretted when she saw the cheeky grin on Gene's face.
"You'd rather eat shit?" Gene teased her with a wink.
"No…well, I mean…I guess so?" answered a blushing, bewildered Melfina. Kanaru meanwhile looked like she couldn't decide whether to blush as well, laugh, or do both. Gene just chuckled before his voice returned to the gentle tone he'd been using before.
"It's going to be a long road, and while I know you'd like to stay here until Hilda wakes up, I'd like for you to come with us, Melfina," said Gene.
"...If I won't be too much trouble," said Melfina.
"You won't be any trouble at all," assured Gene. "If anything, flying the Outlaw Star without your help would be a royal pain in the you-know-what!"
"Right!" cheered Melfina. It was the happiest either Gene or Kanaru had ever seen Melfina, and the excitement was infectious.
"And from what the boss told us, he'll be wanting us to travel together for a while, so we'll be there to help out, too!" Kanaru chimed in.
"Alright, that settles that!" said an eager Gene as he brought a hand up to his earpiece. "I think it's time we check in with the others. Jim, where'd you, Zen, and Rei all wind up?"
"We all managed to get to the grocery store, so now we're checking out a weapon shop to see if it's got any caster shells," answered Jim's voice. "It's not looking likely, though. Where'd you three wind up?"
"We managed to lose Aisha and are catching our breath at a park in the center of town," responded Gene. "How about you drop the food off at the shop and meet us here? We've still got a few hours before that meeting."
"Sounds good. See you soon, Gene," said Jim as he hung up. The aforementioned redhead turned to face the two young women with him.
"It sounds like it'll take some time before they can catch up with us," sighed Gene. "Let's rest here, but keep a lookout to see if that Ctarl-Ctarl lady shows up again."
"Got it, Gene!" said Melfina, her enthusiasm having not waned in the slightest.
As the trio continued to rest in the park and wait for the others, Kanaru approached Gene on the bench.
"Mr. Gene, when we were splitting up from the others, you asked Mr. Jim to look for caster shells, correct? Are those the same sort of cartridges fired from a spell gun?" asked the purple haired teenager.
"Yeah, that's right," answered Gene. "Though I can't remember the last time I heard anyone call them that."
"Bi-Mr. Ryo sometimes calls them that," said Kanaru. "He told us that-"
Whatever her boss told Kanaru and company would remain unknown, for a familiar voice began shouting at them from the stairs leading up to the park.
"I FINALLY CAUGHT UP WITH YOU!" yelled Aisha as she finished climbing. The Ctarl-Ctarl woman took a moment to catch her breath before fixing the trio with a glare. "Be good children now and give yourselves up."
"No, it's all of you who oughta give yourselves up…"
Everyone paused at that. It wasn't Gene who said that, nor Melfina or Kanaru, and definitely not Aisha. It was a gruff yet dry male voice, coming from the other end of the park. The four turned to see a stocky looking man with missing teeth, thick brown hair, and an unkempt beard. His clothes had clearly seen better days, with tears here and there, and his deep tan was barely noticeable due to how sickly he looked. Melfina and Aisha had no clue who this newcomer was, but after a brief moment, Gene and Kanaru recognized the man.
"You, and those three brats there…give up if you know what's good for ya, and let me pay you all back…" rasped McCoy.
"Wasn't expecting to run into you again, McCoy," said Gene. "And now of all times?"
"You guys were screaming all over Blue Heaven, and I sure as hell recognized your voice, runt!" yelled McCoy. "After the mess you left me and my friends in at the hotel, I made sure I'd NEVER forget what you sound like. You, Hilda, and that Shinjiro brat!"
"...Okay, so you clearly know each other, but then why are you after me, too?" asked Aisha.
McCoy turned his glare from Gene to Aisha. "Some of my men disappeared when they went after the brat here and Hilda while I was trapped at the hotel, and it just so happens you arrived at Blue Heaven just after they left. Need I go on?
"Wait, those were your friends we arrested?" the Ctarl-Ctarl woman confirmed.
"So you admit it, then," growled McCoy. "Let my friends go, and maybe I'll leave you out of my revenge."
"That…uh, might not be possible…" stammered Aisha.
"...And why not?" McCoy's voice went unnervingly low.
"Look, you Terran outlaws were getting in the way of the Ctarl-Ctarl Empire's pursuit of Hilda, and the punishment for that is execution," explained Aisha. "I may have been stationed here before being able to properly give the order myself, but I'm sure that the Empire will see to it, anyway."
That was not the right thing to say. McCoy pulled out his knife and charged at Aisha's stomach, but as the enraged outlaw got close, the Ctarl-Ctarl twisted slightly just before impact. To Gene's shock, the blade of McCoy's knife shattered against Aisha's hip.
"What the hell is your skin made of!?" shouted the redhead. Aisha's only response to Gene was to snicker. For McCoy, on the other hand, her reply was a spinning kick that knocked the vengeful outlaw to the ground. Planting her foot on McCoy's back, she looked much like a housecat showing off the prey it had caught without any effort.
"That was just a fraction of my strength! You really think you could handle me at full power?" taunted the Ctarl-Ctarl.
"Damn it! Damn it, all!" snarled McCoy, furious tears in his eyes as he struggled to free himself from Aisha's heel, pounding his fists on the ground in frustration. "Damn you Ctarl-Ctarl! Damn you, you red-haired punk, that beanie brat, and the hotel workers! Damn Hilda and MacDougall! Damn every last one of you! My friends and I did nothin' to deserve all this abuse!"
Now that was something Gene wasn't gonna take lying down. "Oh really? And who was it that accepted the job offer to spy on or take out Hilda in the first place?" the red-haired young man pointed out as he made his way over to Aisha and McCoy. Melfina and Kanaru weren't sure what was more surprising: that Gene was putting himself at risk like this or that Aisha was letting him get close without trying to subdue him as well. Either way, Gene added his own foot to Aisha's on McCoy's back. "And who was it that tried picking a fight with us and Shinjiro in the first place? Who was it that gave the order to ambush us in our sleep, trashing the hotel in the process? Who was it that had his men try to disable our ships before we could leave port, and told them to pursue us out of Blue Heaven if that failed?"
"You know, the kid here has a point," added Aisha. ('And what makes you so sure you're older!?' thought Gene) "You and your friends had plenty of opportunities to back out, but you didn't take any of them."
"Aisha here's right, you know," said Gene. "I've stuck with bad jobs myself, even ones I knew were fishy going in. Hell, Hilda tried shooting me not long after we met, and I came with her here to Blue Heaven afterwards, anyway. But it's always been my choice. And judging by the fact you've earned the nickname Pioneer, you've been part of the outlaw game a hell of a lot longer than me. You probably know better than I do that taking any job from MacDougall is sketchy as hell. So are you really as blameless as you say you are?"
McCoy had stopped struggling once Gene started poking holes in his excuse, staring dead-eyed at the ground throughout it all. But after a few seconds of silence, the older outlaw finally spoke up.
"...Shut up," whispered McCoy.
"Huh? What was that?" Gene began to taunt, but suddenly his instincts screamed at him to back up and get everyone away from McCoy. Slowly, he began to take his foot off of the man and step back towards Melfina and Kanaru. Aisha seemed to be picking up on a similar sensation, and crouched down in order to restrain McCoy more completely.
"Shut. Up." repeated McCoy. "Shut up! Shut up! Shut up SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP YOU DAMNED KIDS!"
Out of nowhere, a huge gust of wind emanated from McCoy, throwing the Ctarl-Ctarl off of him and knocking Gene on his ass. The force of the gale was so strong that even from a distance, Kanaru and Melfina nearly lost their balance as well.
"IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT! IT'S NOT MY FAULT IT'S NOT MY FAULT!" McCoy yelled at the top of his lungs. The man had shakily risen to his feet, stumbling around like he was drunk and clamping his large hands over his ears.
But as McCoy continued to scream, Gene noticed something truly bizarre: the irises of McCoy's eyes had changed from brown to yellow, and the furious tears streaming down his cheeks had turned pitch black. And unless the lights from the park's street lamps were playing tricks on his own eyes, Gene was certain that McCoy's shadow was growing in size and darkening in color. No…Gene wasn't imagining it: McCoy's shadow had somehow become a pool of dark sludge that was rapidly rising and consuming its owner's body.
By the time Gene had risen to his feet, a dark cocoon encased McCoy, pulsing like a human heart. And with each pulse the cocoon expanded in size, only ceasing in growth once it was three times McCoy's size.
"Melfina! Kanaru!" Gene called out as he threw his com device at the pair. "Get in touch with everyone and let them know what's going on!"
"What about you, Gene!?" cried Melfina as she grabbed the communicator.
"What do you think? Aisha here and I are gonna hold him off until reinforcements arrive!" replied Gene
"What's the big idea, volunteering me for something without my permission!?" Aisha complained as she rose to her own feet. "And what makes you think I'd be willing to fight alongside you!?"
At her declaration, the sludge cocoon erupted, and from it emerged McCoy. Or least, something that resembled McCoy. The first thing that stood out was his size: McCoy was now at least twice his original height and width, maybe even thrice. His forehead had become more pronounced, with his hair and beard becoming longer and wilder. His vest did little to conceal his new bulging muscles, his already tan skin having darkened to resemble one who regularly stood in front of roaring flames all day. From his shoulders two giant additional arms made of stone had emerged, carrying a large stone axe with what looked like five rusted coins embedded in the blunt blade. In his lower arms that still looked to be made of flesh, McCoy carried a blowtorch and a crutch. His shoes were no longer made of leather, but a mix of grey scales and stones, and five chipped wooden rods protruded from between his shoulder blades. And from his tailbone extended an actual tail, also made of grey stone and curved around what appeared to be some sort of cloth sack.
Whatever McCoy had turned into, it shouldn't have been physically possible, even with Tao magic. But as McCoy fixed his golden glare at Gene and Aisha, letting out a primal roar that had the pair clamping their hands over their ears, there was no denying the impossible reality standing before them.
"...Alright, so I may have burned too many calories chasing after you all earlier," Aisha conceded while still attempting to maintain a haughty tone. "Just this once, I'll permit you to aid me in subduing this beast, Terran."
"Whatever floats your boat, lady," said Gene before turning to face a stunned Melfina and a horrified Kanaru. "What are you two still doing here!? Go get the others already!"
"O-Okay!" said Melfina as she turned to run back down the stairs.
"Mr. Gene! Please be careful fighting that Shadow! Regular weapons aren't always effective against them!" added Kanaru as she joined Melfina. "I'll try to send Mr. Zen and Mr. Shinjiro back here to help as soon as possible!"
"Shadow? Is that what this thing is called?" asked Aisha.
"Don't know, hopefully we'll find out later!" cried out Gene as the monstrous McCoy slammed his battle axe down at them. Gene and Aisha dodged to either side, narrowly avoiding both the axe and the crater it made upon impact with the ground. Before McCoy could pull his axe back up and attack yet again, Gene pulled out his knife and tried stabbing the arm carrying the blowtorch. Unfortunately, he was intercepted by the crutch and sent flying into a flower bed. Meanwhile, Aisha had tried to reach around and grab McCoy's new tail, but the arm holding the blowtorch reached around and pointed the flame right in her face, forcing the Ctarl-Ctarl to hop back to avoid having her eyes melted.
"I may like the heat, but I don't appreciate you trying to char me like a fish!" yowled Aisha.
"THAT'S NOTHING COMPARED TO MY RIGHTEOUS FURY, YOU PUNKS!" the beast roared, spinning around and using his tail like a ball and chain to attack the Ctarl-Ctarl. Aisha was struck in the jaw, soaring upwards before the station's artificial gravity asserted itself and she crashed into a bench.
"I'm going to be feeling that tomorrow morning…" groaned Aisha.
"Same here…" said Gene, looking up to see McCoy pointing his blowtorch right at him. The redhead rolled to the side, and not a moment too soon as the torch's flame burnt the flowers to cinders.
"HOLD STILL SO I CAN CLOBBER YOU, KID!" McCoy demanded as he used his stone arms to swing the axe down at Gene yet again.
"And why would I do that?" asked Gene as he continued to roll away before leaping to his feet and running towards Aisha.
"IF YOU WONT' STAY PUT, THEN I'LL MAKE YOU!" McCoy snarled. To Gene's continued confusion, the pressure in the air began to change. He turned back around to face McCoy, seeing what looked like electricity began gathering around the stone axe, wooden rods, and cloth sack.
'No…it is electricity!' Gene realized as the lamps in the park all went out and the coins in McCoy's axe began to glow. The redhead immediately made a mad dash for the bench where Aisha was still recovering.
"What's he up t-BWUH!?" Aisha began before Gene grabbed the Ctarl-Ctarl and pulled her behind the bench with him.
"Duck you idiot!" Gene commanded before crouching down as low as he could, pulling Aisha's head down alongside his. He then threw his palms up and activated the light shields installed in his gloves, turning them up to full strength. And not a moment too soon.
"TAKE THIS, YOU LITTLE PESTS!" the monster roared before discharging the energy. Bolts of electricity went flying all over the place. Most of it was concentrated in the pair's direction, smashing into the bench's backrest and colliding with Gene's shield. The light of the two colliding energies was so bright that Gene and Aisha were forced to shut their eyes. Twelve seconds later, the light show dissipated. Another two seconds, and the shields deactivated, the batteries completely spent.
Even so, Gene remained pressed to the ground alongside Aisha for another five seconds before daring to stand back up and observe the aftermath of the assault. It was clear that in addition to the blast aimed their way, other stray bolts had flown towards the park lights, causing bulbs to loudly pop and the poles themselves to bend. As for the source of the attack, Gene saw that McCoy was sucking in breath after breath. That electric discharge of his just now had taken a lot out of him, but there was no way they could risk him performing that attack a second time.
'Can't let this chance pass,' Gene thought, his mind racing as it tried to come up with a counter-strategy. 'We can't keep dodging forever, and who knows how much longer it'll take for help to arrive. We need to wear him out and fast.'
Then Gene noticed that the coins in McCoy's axe were still surrounded by electricity, but the axe itself was starting to crack in a few places. And if his eyes weren't mistaken, the cloth sack was looking a little frayed. Suddenly, he had an idea, and he decided to run with it…literally.
"You know, for a guy who's so used to running away from his problems, you're pretty darn slow on your feet, aren't you?" Gene taunted as he ran towards the outer wall of the park, turning around and smacking his behind with his hand.
"What the hell are you doing, you birdbrain!?" shouted Aisha. But if Gene thought she was angry, then McCoy was blood-boiling mad.
"I'LL KILL YOU, RUNT!" screamed the beast as it swung its axe horizontal at the redhead. Which is exactly what Gene was aiming for, as he dropped to the ground and lay flat against the dirt. The stone axe barely missed its target, but what it did not miss was the tree Gene had been standing in front of. Had the axe been sharper and made of polished metal, it might have felled the tree instantly, but instead the blunt stone was lodged into its trunk. McCoy growled in frustration as he tried to pull the stuck weapon out of its new sheath, and Gene used the new opportunity to call out to the Ctarl-Ctarl, who immediately realized that the redhead had an actual plan and wasn't just screwing around.
"Hey Aisha, think you can punch or rip those coins out of his axe?" asked Gene. "I'll see about hacking away at those sticks on his back."
"Child's play for a Ctarl-Ctarl!" boasted Aisha as she leapt into the air and wrapped her arms around McCoy's stone wrists. And while the monster was busy trying to throw Aisha off, Gene snuck around to his back and struck his knife against the wooden rods embedded there. To the redhead's surprise, each stick shattered like glass as soon as his knife made contact.
"Wood shouldn't shatter like this, but I ain't lookin' a gift horse in the mouth!" Gene cheered as he jumped to admire his handiwork. Aisha, meanwhile, had swung off of McCoy's arms and landed on top of the axe. Within seconds, she crouched down and began smashing her fist through into each of the five sockets. With each punch, a rusted coin was sent flying and the cracks in the stone weapon spread even further.
As the last coin fell to the ground, Aisha jumped back down as well before McCoy could blast her with his blowtorch. Gene, meanwhile, had begun trying to tear the sack out of the tail's grasp, but wasn't having much luck and had to retreat before McCoy could smack him with the crutch. "Hey Aisha, think you still have strength for something like this?"
"Of course!" bragged the Ctarl-Ctarl. And true to her word, Aisha pounced on the tail, ripping the cloth sack and causing its contents, a plethora of rusted coins like the ones previously inside the axe, to spill all over the place. But before any of them could be inspected, they all disintegrated before the pair's eyes. In a rage, McCoy swiped his tail at them, with Gene and Aisha skittering across the ground back towards the stairs. Gene was swaying on his feet, whereas Aisha no longer had any gas in the tank and collapsed.
"GENE! WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE!?" called a terrified voice. As he rose to his feet, the redhead turned to see Jim dashing up the steps, with Shinjiro not far behind him. "Is that seriously that McCoy guy you were talking about before?
"Hell if I know, and yes!" Gene snapped back. "We've managed to get him on the ropes, but we're running on fumes now. Did you find any shells?"
"They overcharged me like crazy, but I managed to get a #12," said Jim, holding out his hand and opening his palm to reveal a white shell. "But Gene, are you sure? We're out in the open here, so if you miss and hit a seal, we're all dead!"
"Then I won't miss," Gene assured his company before pulling out a strange looking firearm. It was copper in color, covered in unique red line patterns, and resembled a large pistol.
"A spell gun!?" Shinjiro shouted in disbelief, more shock in his voice than Gene had ever heard from the teenager.
"Kanaru called it that as well, but most people call them casters," said Gene as he took the shell from Jim.
"D-Damn you…brats…" hissed the monster, struggling to stay on his feet.
"Brat this, punk that. I've got a name, you know?" said the redhead loaded up the shell into his gun and took aim. "It's Gene Starwind."
Gene pulled the trigger, and the gun in his hands glowed purple, a burst of blue energy being released from the mouth. As soon as Gene fired, McCoy brought what remained of his axe to block the shot. Said axe instantly shattered once the shot made contact, and McCoy shouted in agony as lightning surged through his body. Without the conduits of the coins, rods, or sack, there was no preventing the electricity the monster had once weaponized from hurting himself. After several seconds and screaming, McCoy went silent as he slowly fell backwards, the blowtorch and crutch cluttering to the floor before disintegrating like the coins from earlier. Upon making contact with the ground, wisps of dark smoke began quickly evaporating from his now shrinking body. Before long, the monster was no more and an unconscious human McCoy law sprawled on the stone floor.
But before they could truly catch their breath, some lingering dark wisps began to coalesce above McCoy, forming a sphere. From the sphere emerged a red and gold ring that plopped onto the outlaw's stomach.
"This day just keeps getting weirder…" sighed Jim as he and Gene approached their defeated opponent, Shinjiro not far behind them, and an exhausting Aisha crawling her way there as well. Gene bent down to grab the ring, and began to inspect it.
'Maybe this will cover arming the Outlaw-wait,' thought Gene, before shaking his head. 'Something doesn't feel right here. Fancy jewelry is worth a lot of money, but no way could selling something this small put a dent in arming the ship.'
'...You don't know that,' came a voice in his head, one Gene began to realize wasn't his own. 'You've always had money trouble, so how do you know this ring won't solve it?' Temptation and suspicion began to wage war within the redhead, but a quick glance at his companions gave him some much needed clarity. All three were staring at the ring, but they all had different expressions: Jim was rubbing his hands together with a sneaky grin on his face, Aisha was visibly salivating, and the glare from Shinjiro would have frozen a bear in its tracks.
"Shinjiro, you getting the same vibes as me from this?" asked Gene.
"If you mean 'too dangerous not to jettison into a solar flare', then yes," agreed the brown-haired teenager. "I've picked up loot from defeated Shadows before, and while it's usually safe, I've seen my old leaders get cursed enough times to know when to leave that shit alone."
"Okay, then. Here," Gene said as he tossed the ring at Shinjiro like it was a hot potato right out of the oven. "I may want to make it big, but it doesn't mean much if I ain't in control."
"Then why give it to me?" asked Shinjiro with a raised eyebrow.
"Because I want to be rich and you don't," Gene said flatly. "I don't want to be that thing's puppet, but I doubt it'll have an effect on you."
Shinjiro took the ring and thrust it into his coat pocket, breaking the spell that had bewitched Jim and Aisha. The blonde boy and feline woman both blinked before shivering in discomfort from having their heads messed with. Shinjiro hefted the insensate McCoy onto his back, turned around, and began to make his way towards the stairs.
"...I think you're giving me too much credit…" Shinjiro said softly, and Gene wouldn't have been if the young man was trying to hide an embarrassed blush. "For now, grab that Ctarl-Ctarl woman and let's head back to the shop."
"You sure about that?" asked Jim.
"I've been hearing her stomach growl constantly since I showed up, and I'm not cold enough to leave someone to starve," said Shinjiro.
"I getcha," said Gene as turned to pick up Aisha, carrying the indignant yet exhausted Ctarl-Ctarl in his arms. "Besides, she helped me take down McCoy, so I think she deserves to hear whatever explanation you and your boss have about what just happened."
"Right, the meeting," sighed Shinjiro as he started down the staircase. "Ryo is not gonna be any happier about this…"
"Well at least you won't have to worry about convincing us or anything," Jim pointed out. "I only saw the tailend of that fight, but even the Kei Pirates never turned into anything like that before!"
"I hope so," said Shinjiro, not putting Gene or Jim any more at ease. Whatever they learned from this upcoming meeting, it was looking more and more like it'd be a difficult pill to swallow.
-
To be continued
Preview: The long awaited meeting is finally here, and we get some much needed insight into Shadow Phoenix as a company. Well, the first part of their name is starting to make a bit of sense at least. And compared to Hilda, their boss Ryo is way more forthcoming with answers. Still, while it's nice not having my questions dodged, I can't shake this feeling there's something big they're not telling us. Regardless, we have each other's support, a newly painted ship, and a new job waiting for us back on Sentinel. That's good enough for now!
Next time on Shadow Phoenix: Chasing Hidden Truths! You better get ready!
A/N: Yep, now we're getting more into the Persona side of things. I'd been planning from the start on bringing not just Persona characters to the Towards Star Universe, but implementing other concepts such as having Shadows as a threat. And given the changes that have already taken place, it just made sense to me to have McCoy be the first to showcase this danger. As for why and how it manifested the way it did? You'll just have to stick around and find out…Also, I REALLY need to get around to actually creating a page for McCoy over on the Outlaw Star wiki. That's WAY overdue at this point.
As for the inspiration for Shadow McCoy's design, I drew from a few different sources, but the primary ones are the mech he used to attack Gene and Hilda in the hotel in the show, Tarot, a story from classic mythology, and a certain SMT demon whose only Persona appearance thus far is in what some fans consider to be "Persona 0". I'm curious how many of these you readers will be able to identify….And speaking of SMT, does anyone think a certain Dx2 Liberator would be salivating over Gene's caster?
Another thing I'd been planning from the start was Kanaru's bonding moment with Melfina, and given what happens later on in the anime, I am VERY much looking forward to exploring the ripple effects from this.
Regardless, the next chapter is going to be both much lighter on the action and MUCH shorter in length. Stay tuned!