Fragments created based on an AU where the Spirit of Fire from Halo arrives in the world of Gate many years before the Canon, causing a series of changes in the place. Inspired by a crossover story on SB with Halo and Gate.
Disclaimer: I do not own the material used in this fanfic/short story.
When a mysterious Roman/Greek/whatever-looking gate appeared in Ginza, Tokyo, panic began to arise.
At first, many civilians and police officers in the area reacted with curiosity and bewilderment to the gate that had mysteriously appeared out of nowhere in the middle of the city, even going so far as to take photos posing in front of the strange gate. However, all of that ended abruptly when a series of earthquakes began to occur.
Fortunately, the earthquakes were not strong enough to destroy or significantly alter the surrounding landscape, but they were enough to scare away most of the civilians, making it easier for the military and government to evacuate the area and cordon off the site.
In just a few hours, an entire field laboratory was set up, along with vehicles, equipment, and soldiers who had arrived to handle the situation. Soldiers who reacted to the situation in various ways—some with curiosity, paranoia, skepticism, annoyance, and a select few with fanatical joy, believing it to be the end of the world. This makes one wonder how the hell these people are even allowed to join the military in the first place, let alone carry firearms without apparent restrictions.
In any case, and getting to the point, among all these uniformed folks is someone quite simple-minded with simple desires—Yōji Itami.
At a time like this, when many would be completely serious, focused, and even a little paranoid given the importance and significance of the current mission, Itami only felt annoyance, anger, and laziness. The reason behind these feelings was the type of person he was and the cancellation of a very important event in his life.
You see, Yōji Itami is what, in internet terms, could be defined as an extreme otaku. A person passionate about manga and anime, to the point where it has almost become an obsession. An obsession that is the central core of his indifferent and insignificant life.
However, unlike other people of this type, who either are or quickly become hikikomori isolated from the world and society, Itami actually does things a productive person would—or at least, to some extent. Basically, he works, leaves the house, pays taxes, and does other things.
The only distinguishing and truly remarkable aspect of him is how he manages his life and goals. Where most people live their lives normally, having a job or jobs and possessing one or several hobbies, Itami lives and works solely to sustain his hobby. In his own words, his hobby comes above everything else—whether it's the lives of a bunch of unknown people or a potential apocalypse.
With that reasoning and the context of the situation, one might understand the reason for his anger—or perhaps begin to criticize him greatly for being a complete jerk.
The day the mysterious gate appeared was also the day an anime convention was set to take place. It was an event that Itami had been looking forward to for quite some time. The excitement he had felt all morning was quickly replaced by anger and frustration within seconds when his phone rang after the tremors, and he was told he had to report to work. If anyone had seen his face at that moment, they might have thought he was having a stroke, given how quickly his expression changed.
The only small consolation was that, due to the situation with the gate, the earthquake, and the lack of available venues to hold the event, the convention had been rescheduled for a later date. This meant, in broad terms, that nothing was lost—or at least not for a normal person. For Itami, however, the fact that he had already spent his precious time getting out of bed, showering, getting dressed, leaving the house, and heading to the convention venue already counted as a loss.
The feeling he experienced upon realizing all that effort had been in vain was almost the same as when he was ordered—alongside other people whose faces he neither recognized nor cared about—to guard the mysterious gate in case anything emerged from within.
This is the situation he currently found himself in. Bored, lazy, and indifferent to everything around him. Lost in his thoughts, simply waiting for his shift to end so he could go home to rest, read manga, and watch the new anime of the season. Living life according to his desires—a happy life.
Letting out a heavy sigh, Itami looked at the mysterious gate with a bored expression. Deep down, he wished for something exciting to happen—just so his wasted time would at least be worth something. Anything, even if it only brought chaos.
Given what happened next, one might think that something or someone must have heard his wish and decided to fulfill it.
"Contact!" one of the soldiers next to Itami shouted, pointing his rifle at a series of lights that began to emerge from within the gate. This momentarily stunned him, but he quickly recovered and mimicked the action along with the rest of the soldiers.
The rifles of everyone present were aimed at the lights coming from within the gate. The tension of the situation began to fill the hearts of many of the soldiers, and some of their hands trembled so much that one of them almost dropped his weapon.
In the end, after a full minute—which might as well have been an entire hour from the perspective of the soldier's present—the source of the lights within the gate was finally revealed.
Itami, along with some of his companions, watched with an expression that was a mix of annoyance, amazement, confusion, bewilderment, and curiosity at what began to emerge from the gate.
What unfolded before their eyes was a military parade, composed of vehicles and humanoid beings of various sizes and shapes—some even had tails or horns—dressed in full-body black armor. The vehicles present in the parade were easily identifiable to anyone with even a basic knowledge of war and general conflict. Things like all-terrain trucks, all-terrain quad bikes, and even damn tanks were visible.
One notable aspect was that the designs of these vehicles bore a fundamental resemblance to 21st-century vehicles, which allowed for some estimation of their capabilities and functions. However, any similarities between the parade vehicles and those of the 21st century ended the moment someone took a closer look.
"Advanced and primitive" would be the words to describe the vehicles in the parade. Advanced in a simple way—one born from merely improving upon existing designs, which was something visible at a glance. Efficient and maneuverable, they appeared to be built to function even under the harshest conditions with minimal maintenance. This fact, regardless of their appearance, made one thing abundantly clear about the newcomers—they were technologically superior to those present, although to what degree was a matter of perspective.
And all of this was without even mentioning one of the truly unique features of the vehicles—not in terms of their color or shape, which were already remarkable due to their similarity to those of Earth—but the fact that they bore a series of runes of various colors across their surface. These runes seemed to glow and pulse at a slow, steady rhythm, almost like a relaxed heartbeat. The same runes were also present on the armor worn by the humanoid beings, which were a spectacle to behold.
If the vehicles alone didn't provide a clear enough idea of the technological level of the newcomers, then the armor they wore offered the final confirmation of their advanced capabilities.
With appearances straight out of any science fiction series Itami had some familiarity with—thanks to various anime, manga, and light novels he had read—the armor was jet black, contrasted by the runes of various colors pulsing across its surface. The suits appeared to be vacuum-sealed, with not a single gap or crack visible. The only part that might offer some hint as to the appearance of those wearing the armor was a completely black visor that revealed nothing of the interior.
They all appeared to be heavily armed, both the humanoids and the vehicles. This could be inferred from the strange rifle-like devices they carried in their hands, the various calibers and types of weapons mounted on the back of the trucks and tanks. The same runes found on the vehicles and armor were also visible on the weapons.
Curiously, among the humanoids were those who, instead of carrying a rifle in their hands, held a kind of wooden staff or something similar, with a series of charms attached to the tip. This detail stood out as particularly strange and contradictory to the general military theme of the group.
The parade came to an abrupt halt once a considerable number of people and vehicles had emerged from the Gate. A sense of panic began to form among those present due to the sudden change in the humanoids' behavior. None of the soldiers moved, completely frozen—it was as if time had stopped for them.
A certain tension began to build, one that quickly grew so thick it could almost be cut with a knife—often the prelude to a shootout or the beginning of the end. Fortunately, on this occasion, one of the highest-ranking Japanese officers present seemed to have gathered all the courage he could muster. With quick and firm steps, he moved to position himself directly in the central line of sight of the parade. The attention of the humanoids swiftly focused on him, as he was the only one who appeared to be taking action.
"Identify yourselves!" Itami's superior officer, a certain Lieutenant Takahiro Karasawa, if he recalled correctly, spoke in a loud and firm voice to the humanoids. His expression was completely serious, but given the slight trembling of his left hand, it was clear he was nervous.
The door of one of the trucks opened gently, and from within, a humanoid calmly stepped out. Closing the door softly, he began walking to the front of the parade, with a relatively large rifle visible on his back. He then started walking toward the Lieutenant, whose shaking hand, as Itami noticed, was beginning to tremble even more—he was getting increasingly nervous.
Once the humanoid and the Lieutenant stood face to face at a controlled distance, they stared at each other for a few seconds.
"Don't tell me that damn thick tension is going to come back," Itami thought irritably. Luckily for him, that wasn't the case.
The humanoid slowly tilted his head from side to side, as if considering whether or not to do what he was about to do, before nodding to himself and reaching his hands toward the base of his helmet. This action caused the soldiers' grips on their weapons to tighten, and the situational stress filling everyone present intensified. It was surprising that, at this point, no one had accidentally fired a shot out of sheer panic. Even a trained soldier would have trouble keeping calm in a situation like this.
Placing her hands on the base of the helmet, the humanoid began to fiddle with it until a decompression sound echoed through the air. Using both hands, she slowly lifted the helmet that had previously seemed tightly sealed to the rest of her body. The movement was slow, simple, and precise—just as a trained soldier would do. This only heightened the suspicions generated by the entire parade of humanoids; however, those suspicions were quickly overshadowed by the revelation of the humanoid's appearance.
"An elf?" Itami thought incredulously as he finally saw the humanoid's face revealed—and he wasn't the only one.
A series of incredulous expressions spread across the faces of most of those present, including the Lieutenant himself, whose every trace of panic or nervousness had completely vanished. Some even lowered their weapons, distracted by the unsettling and unexpected beauty of the elf. Based on her anatomical features, she appeared to be a woman—an exquisitely beautiful woman with ash-white hair, pale fair skin, and piercing blue eyes that held a gaze of seriousness and firmness.
"I present to you Lady Galadriel Visenya Blackwood, Lieutenant General and leader of the Neverland colony defense forces of the UEG," a strong yet distinctly feminine voice spoke.
The incredulous expression on Itami's superior officer's face quickly disappeared, replaced by a serious, firm, and rigid demeanor. His gaze locked with that of the elf, who, interestingly enough, spoke fluent Japanese—far better than expected from beings of fantasy, or at least not-so-apparently fantastical beings like these.
"A pleasure to meet you, Lieutenant General Galadriel. I am Takahiro Karasawa, an officer of the Japan Self-Defense Forces," the man introduced himself stiffly.
The elf's gaze lingered on the officer for a moment before she nodded firmly. She then shifted her eyes slightly to observe the surroundings, spending only a few seconds scanning the area before returning her focus to the Lieutenant.
"In accordance with UEG and Neverland colony laws, I request through your person that you inform your leaders of our desire for negotiation and diplomacy, under the banner of peace," the "Lieutenant General" stated once more.
Itami's officer regarded her for a few moments before nodding in acceptance.
"Understood. However, fulfilling such a request may take some time. If it's not too much trouble, I ask that you wait," the Lieutenant spoke stiffly.
"Understandable," said the elf cordially. "Inform us when they are available."
After saying these words, the self-proclaimed "Lieutenant General" elf turned around with the intention of returning to her people, while the commanding officer left to report to the higher-ups. All of this happened under the watchful eyes of the soldiers, who didn't know how to react to the situation other than with confusion, incredulity, and curiosity.
Deep down, Itami felt that his much-desired rest to do his own things wouldn't come as soon as he had hoped. Letting out a tired sigh, he looked at the parade of what he imagined to be elves of various sizes and shapes, based on the self-proclaimed "Lieutenant General." Although, considering that some of them had tails or horns, perhaps they weren't just elves—something that was, in itself, quite strange.
Of all the things he expected to see on this stressful day, a first contact with a military elf in futuristic armor and their vehicles was not one of them. Things were certainly going to get more complicated—more than they already were due to the appearance of the gate and the earthquakes. Deep down, Itami only wished that things wouldn't get any more complicated, so that he could finally go home, watch his anime and read his manga in peace and tranquility—and maybe even greet his ex-wife.
Staring at the parade, he let his mind drift into his thoughts, waiting for this whole situation to end. Surely, things couldn't get any more complicated.
Right?