|
Post by White-Jet on Sept 19, 2007 17:35:12 GMT -5
The Elf Wars - Prelude to reploid-modified humans
The day Weil stole Mother Elf and corrupted her became the first day of bloodshed for both humans and reploids. Lasting many years, while taking the lives of countless reploids, humans and Cyber Elves, the Elf Wars became one of the longest known wars in history, almost to the point were many believed all life on earth, both organic and electronic, would become extinct if nothing was done to stop it.
Out of fear and despiration, underground pioneers began experimenting with using reploid parts to strength the human body; thus giving birth to the first generation of reploid-modified humans. Though most of their limbs and muscle were replaced with that of a reploid, they were still able to be called humans because thier vital organs, such as the heart and brain, remained intact within the body.
Because the process was premature and new, many of the humans who sought reploid modifications lost the ability to age or die of natural causes. This didn't bother most, prefering to die when they want rather than let God do the decision for them. Because of this, the officals became outraged once word finally spread to their ears and they began invading several labs in an attempt to crush the operation.
The damage, unfortunately, had already been done. 20% of the human population had already gotten their reploid parts and process to remove them would leave them crippled, or most likely kill them. Not wanting to wait for a positive response because of the war, the humans who received reploid parts were forced into stasis pods and buried underground, never to be heard from again.
Or...at least until many centuries later....
|
|
|
Post by White-Jet on Sept 20, 2007 15:02:14 GMT -5
Return from the Dead
"Come on! Keep moving!" shouts a voice. A line of civilians trudge through the deserts of Khremi, hot, malneurished, and exhausted. A gang of large daemons control the helpless settlement, enjoying every ounce of it. They had succeeded in overthrowing a small portion of desert dwellers far south of Cairo and were hustling the fearful back to their ship for entertainment purposes.
A woman falls to the ground, clutching her child as she trembles with exhaustion. One of the daemons walks up to her and kicks her stomach.
"Get up! We ain't got all day!" he orders.
"Please...I can't...." the woman mutters weakly. The large daemon growls in frustration as he rears his right foot back to strike again only to have it jerk, nearly sending him to the ground.
"Aye!" he growls looking towards his foot, "What gives!?" he frowns in bewilderment upon seeing a red hand with white fingers sticking out of the sand while gripping his right ankle.
His face twists in annoyance as he gets up and glares at the hand, "Ah, you think that's funny, do ya!?" He then swings his snagged foot into the air, "Out wit'cha, puny rat!"
Upon throwing his foot into the air, a humanoid figure bursts out of the sand, flying back a couple feet before landing flat on his face. The human appeared to be male, in his mid-20s, bearing a brownish red, spiky topknot, red bandana, black gakuran trenchcoat, baggy pants, and black boots.
The daemon watched with more bewilderment as the man pushes himself onto his hands and knees, coughing up clouds of sand.
"Ugh! Of all places to bury me! Why the middle of a desert!?" he complained, slamming his hand onto one of his ears to knock more sand out of the other, "There's barely an oasis out here!"
The daemon's expression shifts from bewilderment to anger and embarrassment as he stomps over to the spiky-haired man, "Aye! What'chu think this is, a migration!?" he grabbed the ball of his topknot and pulls him to his feet, "Get inline with the rest of dem wimps and stop horsin' arou-" The man reaches his right hand up and grabs the wrist holding his topknot, glaring at the daemon in annoyance.
"I'm in a foul mood right now," he growled, "So if you don't mind, take your crummy hand off me and blow off!"
The daemon's face twists in anger, about to smash the man's face into the sand when a sudden jolt of burning pain shot through his wrist. Screaming in agony, he drops the man and stumbles back, grabbing where the pain came from. The woman shrieked in fright as blood squirts out of the wound while smoke rose from the cracks between his fingers.
Upon hearing the noise, the movement stopped as the rest of the daemons ran back to figure out what was going on. They find their demented companion wiggling on his back while holding his burned wrist. They then glared at the man as he stands up, shaking some smoke from an open compartment in the palm of his right hand.
Growling in anger and humiliation, they charged the man, roaring a battle cry while swinging their weapons down only to have him jerk his head towards them and leap back, allowing them to hit the ground he stood on. The man frowns in more annoyance as he raises his right hand, releasing several bombs towards the onslaught.
The daemons barely had time to react as the bombs exploded, filling the area with clouds of fire that nearly burnt the skin off their body. The helpless citizens watched in shock as the rest of the foul-minded beings dropped to the ground, screaming and rolling around to try and put themselves out, then looks over to the man, who seems to be paying little attention as he brushes some sand from his clothes.
His eyes turn towards a small tremor a few feet from the group and fires another bomb towards it, causing an explosion that sent sand flying everywhere. The citizens scream in fright and stumbled away from the man as he walks over to the crater he created, peeking inside a few seconds before reaching in and pulling out another man, two years older than him, with black hair and a mechanical eyepatch, wearing the same outfit as him.
"Didn't take that long to find you, old buddy," the man said as he pats the stern-looking man on the shoulder.
"Hey you!" shouts a voice. The two look towards the source to see a man, matching the topknotted one in age, run towards them with a few soldiers following after him. He had blond hair that reached his waist, wore a white bandana around his forehead, a blue coat bearing a shield-like emblem on his left chest and collar, blue pants and green, knee-high reploid boots.
The man drew his katana from a liondog-headed mechaniloid floating behind him, pointing it at the two, "Are you with those daemon who attacked the settlement!? You have some nerve, going around, scaring people like that!"
"No, no! You've got it all wrong, young man," said an aging voice. The blond haired man looks behind him to see and elder, wearing a brown robe and carrying a long staff, stand a few feet from the small group, "These men saved us from those daemons."
The soldier turned to the elder as he continued, "It was amazing. We were all being shoved towards the daemon's cargo ship when one of them came out of the sand and attacked him with fire. He then turned around and blew a crater into the ground where his friend was trapped."
"Came out of the ground!?" the soldier nearly wails, turning his attention back to the two men, "They can't be...." he then looks towards his subordinates and shouts, "Take these people back to Cairo for medical treatment."
"What will you do, Commander Saionji!?" one of the soldiers yelps. The blond man looks back towards the two men.
"I'm taking these two to Giza. There's something about them that seems...familiar...."
|
|
|
Post by White-Jet on Sept 21, 2007 17:12:36 GMT -5
Recollecting History
The two unearthed men were taken to a room deep within Giza. They spent most of their trip gazing around at everything that was unfamiliar to them; the sudden appearance of a city deep within the desert, and people living among it as though it was their home. The Commander who escorted them paid little attention, seeming to suggest he had somehow known they were new to this era.
Upon arrival into the once empty room, the Commander stares at the two before placing each of his hand on their shoulder and squeezing their muscles, then moves them towards their chest, feeling the beating of their hearts lightly pound against his palm. The two just stare at him, rather dumbfounded, as his frown increases in nostalgia.
"Metallic skin, artificial muscles powered by reploid circuitry and fuel," he mutters, "Yet your hearts remain organic, pumping human blood and oxygen to stimulate the brain."
"What's going on?" the topknot man asked, "You're treating us like we're a couple of endangered species."
"We are endangered species!" the Commander snapped, turning and walking away from the two, "The first generation BioCPUs who lost the ability to age and die of natural causes because most of our organs have been replaced with wires and circuitry. The officials buried us because, during the Elf Wars, this procedure was considered cruel and torturous even though most of us didn't mind the suffering before and after surgery."
He then turns to look at them, "We were left underground in eternal sleep, never to be woken up again until centuries after the war. By the time a few of us resurfaced, the world had changed. New species we've never seen before thrive in all seven continents; half the world is destroyed; and several known cities are being ruled by a being that controls a specific element. BioCPU technology had advanced when we asked about it. Now humans can obtain reploid parts without even losing their biological muscles and organs. Not only that, they can also grow old and die because of the advancement of reploid technology. The few who surfaced liked the idea and became mortal again, driving the rest of us into near extinction."
"And you're not happy about it?" the topknot man asked.
"Happy?" the Commander snorts and turns around, "The technology is interesting, I'll give you that. But I'm not so intrigued by it that I'd want to give up my immortality just to be human again. I want to be the most intellectual person on the planet. I can't do that if I had to set a limit on my lifespan." he turns his head back to the two, "We're lucky only Utopia, the nation of Reploids, was aware of our history, and chose to back off and let us decide if we want to become mortal again. If other nations heard about us, they would blindly assume we've been condemned to hell, dig up the rest of the First Generation BioCPUs, and force them to become mortal against their will."
"So, you'd rather the rest stay buried instead of allowing them to come up?"
"Daunting as it is, I prefer to keep this between ourselves, and anyone else who craves eternal life over mortality. The soldiers of Giza aren't even aware of my true identity; they only know me for my speed, both in battle, and in construction." he then smirks, "You should see the army of mechaniloids I have lined up in my houseboat. Even the most knowledgeable of robotics can hardly imagine a large quantity of mechaniloids have been constructed by just one person alone."
He then turns to the two, "Maybe you two atta consider becoming soldiers here. Giza is already aware of what you're capable of and would most likely appreciate a couple of fine warriors fighting along side them. All that weaponry you had installed in your arms can finally be put to good use."
The two looked down at their arms where their fire weaponry is stored. The Commander somehow knew they gave themselves weapon upgrades in an attempt to get involved in the Elf Wars, but were buried just before they could enter the battlefield.
"My name's Hayato Saionji, by the way," the Commander spoke up again, grabbing their attentions, "What's your names? I'm sure, even if you do decide not to get involved, the people of this nation would want to know who selflessly acted against their enemies to save their people."
The two looked to each other again before the topknot man spoke, "My name is Ryuta Ippongi," he points to the man with the mechanical eyepatch, "That's Atsushi Saito." he then smirks, "And if we're going to join this army, I plan to fight for Commander status and make a name for myself."
Hayato grins excitedly, "I'd like to see you try, rookie!"
|
|
|
Post by White-Jet on Sept 29, 2007 1:53:12 GMT -5
Generocity has its Rewards - Part 1
Ryuta and Atsushi joined Giza's forces immediately after Hayato handed the offer. It only took a month before Ryuta flew through ranks and became a Commander of the second team in Giza's 10th Unit next to Hayato, who maintains his status as Commander of the first.
Hayato had a lust for competition, and when he saw how quickly Ryuta had climbed ranks, he knew he made the right decision persuading him to join. Ryuta seemed to have the same ambition, wanting to show everyone just how strong and reliable he could be. It got to the point where the two Commanders would pratically tally up all they saved and killed during their missions. No one, save Atsushi, could reach the same tenacity as the two Unit 10 Commanders.
--------------------
"Uso!" Hayato growled as he drove his houseboat through the surface of Vi'lal, "That blasted Commadore, making us go on some stupid delivery mission!"
"What could we do about it?" Ryuta asked, "With all this onslaught of Titan and HE clones, we're the only ones strong enough to at least hold our own. It wouldn't be surprising if Giza sent us to do grocery shopping in Gaea."
"He's just a shivering coward. I can hardly imagine he was given that high of a rank while we're stuck controlling a small portion of his unit." Hayato glances over to Ryuta, "I could probably cut him a new one if it wasn't for the fact that he has some alliance with the Holy Knights."
"If he had an alliance with the Holy Knights, the Fire Elemental would've singed him. I think he's just making that up just so he can have more control over his unit."
"No doubting that. Even if the Holy Knights were blindfully justified, they wouldn't be dumb enough to just come and whip his unit into shape." he then grins cockily, "If anything, they'd slay him for acting on lust for dominance."
The two finished with a laugh seconds before the houseboat suddenly jolts from an unknown explosion within the ship. Rushing downstairs, they find a small group of HE Clones trashing every mechaniloid lined up inside the lower deck.
"Aw c'mon!" Hayato exclaims, "The errand is bad enough! Why'd this day have to get worse!?"
"You're that concerned about your mechaniloids!?" Ryuta grumbled, "You could easily repair them in less than a day!"
Hayato glares at Ryuta in annoyance, "Don't start telling me how I should care about my machinary! I deserve a break every now and then!" he then glares at the HE Clones, "And, frankly, so can they!"
He slams his hand on a red button near the doorway, causing the room to flash red as the surviving mechaniloids sprang to life and began attacking the HE Clones. Their witness of the battle was short-lived as the boat shook from another explosion. A hole tore into one side of the boat, causing water to spill in.
Rushing upstairs, the two saw several bits firing at them from outside. Hayato yells in frustration as he raises his hands in a throttling manner.
"Kisama!" he roars, "If it wasn't for the fact HE and Titan are out in space, I'd be tearing them to shreds!"
"Until we do find them, let's worry about saving ourselves!" Ryuta yells, running outside.
The bits immidately turned their attention to him and began firing. Tsking, he points his right palm at them and fires several bombs at them, exploding with each laser and bit that came into contact with the explosives. Hayato rushes out seconds later, swinging his katana at several of the bits, managing to knock them into the water.
Though tenacious, the effort was barely enough as the two eventually found themselves overwhelmed with the combining forces of both armies, eventually becoming battered and exhausted from the endless seige. What reason to pick on a couple of mere soldiers was a mystery to them. But they barely had time to give it thought as a third explosion shoves the boat to one side, sending both tumbling into the ocean below.
The two resurfaced several feet away, watching as their only means of staying dry disappears from the surface. Hayato yells in more frustration as he threw his arms out of the water.
"KUSO!!!" he shouts, throwing his hands down and creating a huge splash, "You know how hard it was looking for material strong enough to hold 8,000lbs of mechaniloid weight!?"
"If you're lucky, it might wash up onto the nearest shore," Ryuta said, shaking some water out of his hair, "Speaking of which, where is the nearest shore? We're not exactly in the best condition to try and swim back to Khremi."
Hayato spat out a bit of water as he looks in one direction, "The closest would have to be Moathan. And since Krehmi is just north-east of it, we could easily make use of the dry land and nurishment to save us a half-week swim."
Ryuta looks up at the sky, noticing the sky changing into a mixture of blue and red, "We should hurry then. The sun's just setting and the temperature's starting to drop."
The two began swimming in the direction Hayato glanced in, using their arms to push them along.
|
|
|
Post by White-Jet on Oct 2, 2007 1:15:21 GMT -5
Generocity has its Rewards - Part 2
"For someone who's supposed to be sonic fast, you sure are a sluggish swimmer," Ryuta said, seeing Hayato barely two feet behind him.
"Shut up!" Hayato growled, "These parts were meant to function on dry land, not underwater! Besides, you're swimming skills are no better than an otter's!"
"The only reason I'm this slow is because of the beating we got back on your boat. If I was in any better shape, I would've already been in Amazoni in less than an hour."
The two eventually reached the shores of Amazoni just as the sun had sunk into the blue horizon. After traveling through the dark jungle for five hours, the two setup camp in a wide area of trees. Because there was barely any fruit in the area, the two had to settle for what washed up along the shores...which happened to be a bag of frozen tofu.
"This is going to be a long trip," Hayato grumbled as he hangs a pot of seawater over a campfire Ryuta had built earlier.
"Look on the bright side," Ryuta said as he tore the bag open and dumped the tofu into the pot, "At least we won't have too much of a problem winging through a half-week trip before reaching the ocean again."
"The minute we get back home, I'm building a boat that'll withstand more than just the weight of my mechaniloid fleet."
Just then, the two heard some rustling in the bushes and turns to see a white fox appear before them, shaking off some of the leaves. It stares at them in an observing manner before glancing at the pot and wandering towards it.
The two watch as the fox puts its front paws on the side of the pot seconds before screeching in pain and stumbling into the bushes in fright.
"What was that all about?" Hayato asked, dumbfounded.
"Must be hungry," Ryuta said. He picks up a metal ladle and scoops a large serving of tofu stew into a wooden bowl, then places it a few feet from the bush.
At first nothing happens. Eventually, the fox pokes its head out, sniffs the bowl, and scurries up to eat it.
"This' an unusual place for an artic fox to live," Hayato said as the two watched the fox eat.
"I don't know," Ryuta mutters, "Something tells me that isn't an ordinary fox."
"Why do you say that?"
"It's probably just me, but when that fox ran back into the bushes, I could've sworn I saw eight more tails jump out of his rear."
"You're not saying he's some kind of kitsune?"
"Could be. I'd say this one must be a kumiho, one of the rarest kitsune in existance."
"I heard most of the kitsune and tanuki that lived here were chased out by the HE clones a few years ago. What would this one be doing here?"
"Must've gotten lost and had to fend for himself. The fact he's in this form must mean he's halfway to starving with the amount of Berserkers poaching meat nowadays."
"What do you think we should do with him then?"
"If he's not better by tomorrow, we may have to take him with us back to Khremi. Once he recovers, he should be able to warp back to where the other kitsune are and live among them."
Hayato hums a bit as he looks back over to the white fox, watching as he licks the bowl in satisfaction.
|
|
|
Post by White-Jet on Oct 4, 2007 20:04:48 GMT -5
Generocity has its Rewards - Part 3
The next morning, Ryuta awoke to find himself laying on an old, cotton sleeping mat with a red, white bordered, blanket covering his body. Bewildered, he sat up and looked around, finding himself in, what appears to be, an old, tatami matted house. Aside from the traditional Japanese walls and sliding doors, there were four candles taking up the corners of the room, each pressed into 3ft high, metal stands. He then saw Hayato laying in the same mat, except the blanket was blue instead of red.
Ryuta took a moment to recollect his thoughts before reaching over and slapping Hayato on the shoulder.
"I had a long day...." he muttered, "Let me sleep...." by then his tocuh sensors had come online, causing him to sit up suddenly upon feeling something soft under his boy, "What happened!?"
"I don't know," Ryuta said, "Someone must've stumbled upon us sleeping in Moathen and took us to their shelter."
"For soldiers of Giza, you sure are heavy sleepers," said an aging voice. The two snapped their heads towards the doorway of the tatami-matted room to see an old man walk in. He appeared squat and hunched over, carrying a long cane. His large head was bald on the top, and his white hair, beard and mustache almost touched the floor. He wore a sky blue robe and wooden, geta sandels.
"Where are we!?" Hayato demanded, frowning in caution.
"Why, this is your homeland, Kyoto," the man said.
"Kyoto?" Ryuta asked, frowning in suspicion, "How did you...?"
"Your appearance," the man interupts, "You are both Japanese, right? That means you were born here in Kyoto many years ago."
"Many years...." Hayato mutters, "Does that mean...?"
"You are one of the many humans who gained their immortality through technology that is far more advanced than what Kyoto could comprehend in an era where technology is prehistoric to those living outside the Spirit Civilization."
"So why bring us here?" Ryuta asked, "I doubt it's because you want us to teach these people about future mechanics."
"Very tempting, but no. Kyoto will adapt to the future of technology over time. The reason I brought you here is to repay a debt for your kindness in saving an old friend of mine."
"An old friend? You mean that kumiho we found in the jungle last night?"
"Yes. That poor creature just cannot help but think he can be the answer to everything. I assume he tried to take on Wrath and faught to near exhaustion, hence why he showed up and tried to eat your rations."
Ryuta and Hayato glanced towards each other before turning their focus back to the old man.
"So, what kind of debt are you trying to repay us?" Hayato asked.
"I know you two are soldiers of Giza following the orders of your Commadore. I could not help but peek into your spirits and uncover the annoyance you have in following his orders like blind dogs."
"Peek into our spirits?" Ryuta asked, bewildered.
"Call it an old technique the kumiho taught me when our paths crossed. If you are interested, I will teach you how to use your heart and mind to determine what a person is thinking based on the flow of their spirit."
The two look to each other again, seeming unsure of what to make of the situation. Ryuta then looks back to the old man.
"Normally, I'd say this was crazy," he began, "But in this era, 'crazy' might seem to be too small of a word to describe what's going on."
Hayato sighs a bit and looks back to the old man, "Yeah, especially with all these new races and abilities popping up like daisies in a field. Maybe learning some mental ability wouldn't be such a bad idea."
The old man nods in agreement as he walks closer to the two, "Well then, let's begin our training, shall we? The first thing we need to focus on are the signs of emotion."
He taps his staff onto the ground, causing four candles in the room to burns into flames. One burned red and yellow, another blue, a third black and purple, and the last white and silver.
"The candles that burn before you represent the common, key emotions that makes up a person's feelings," the man continued, "The red flame represents anger, rage, and lust for vengeance. The blue represents angst, sadness, and sorrow. The black represents darkness, hunger for power, the seven sins, and the act to commit deeds for selfish gain. And the last one, white, represents chivalry, kindess, the will to act on others behalf, the innocence to allow one to protect him or her regardless of faction."
The flames extinguished as the old man takes a small break to sigh, "Though the white flame is the kindess of people's hearts, it also has some nasty disadvantages. One whose flame burns too brightly could not understand the flow of the world, and will instead try to bring peace the world by commiting genocide in the name of his leader. This flame also has the daunting ability of leading one of innocence down a blind path towards evil. Make sure you understand this when studying their spiritual flow so you'll know not to be pulled by the hand when you decide who you want to help versus who you should be helping."
The two nod as the old man taps his staff on the ground again, causing the four flames to burst out of the candle.
"Now then, onto the next part of the lesson, spiritual combinations. This further represents the inner feelings one may not want to show to the general public for any reason at all. Depending on the mixture of spirits, a person could be thinking about something that could hinder or help himself or those around him."
Sparks came out of the flames, causing several bursts of multi-colored flames to fill the air.
"The mixture of spirits is hard to describe and, as time goes on, can bring new emotions many have never experienced before. But once you have mastered the art of seeing and understanding them, you will have a better time figuring out your best course of action."
"What about if all of them were mixed into one?" Ryuta asked. The old man frowns a bit in bitter worry.
"It's hard to explain," he mutters, "One who harbors all of these emotions are unstable, mad, will kill without conscience or belief. You must be wary of these spirits. Sensing them, even when you far exceed what I have been taught, would drain you of your energy, cause temporary mental instibility...maybe even bend you to its will. This is a risk you must endure if you want to be able to make decisions that are best suited for you and those who side with you."
The two compress their lips before looking down in thought. Hayato then looks back over to the old man.
"If I want to be able to help people whenever I can, I'd gladely take this risk." he declares. Ryuta smirks a bit and looks back over to the old man.
"Me too," he said, "I'm not afraid of facing spirits that could kill me with one thought."
The man smiles and nods in acceptance, "Well then, now that we are all clear on the risks, let us get on with the next step of your training. In order to be able to see spirits, you must be in a meditative state, focusing on nothing but your heart and mind while allowing the flames of these candles to warm your body and meld with the flow of your blood."
The two listened in before moving to sit, indian-style, and hunch over, closing their eyes and doing what the old man instructed. While focusing on their hearts and mind, a warm sensation overtakes them. Their hearts began to race; each beat unleashing an emotion that tries to break them out of their concentration, but manages to hold them in throughout the process.
The old man stands before them, watching as the two's eyebrow twitched instinctively, suggesting they were fighting to contain what was flowing within their minds. He appears content, knowing that he was doing something that would help change the way man sees and defends the world from those who want to control it.
|
|
|
Post by White-Jet on Oct 5, 2007 23:04:34 GMT -5
The Young Soldier - Part 1
Ryuta groans as he pushes onto his back and sits up, rubbing his head in fatigue. He wasn't sure how long he and Hayato had been in the old man's abode, but it felt like nearly a year.
When he opened his eyes to see what day it was, he blinks in shock, finding himself back in his quarters in Giza. He darts his gaze around the familiar surroundings before hopping out of bed, pulling the ribbon off his topknot, which falls into a shoulder long, slightly wild strands of hair.
"Was this all a dream?" he mutters to himself as he picks up a comb and runs it through his hair to pull out the knots.
"Ippongi!" shouts a voice Ryuta, unfortunately, knew all too well. He sighs in annoyance as he eyes a man walking into the room. He resembled a mechanical, wolf-like reploid, but under all that machine is a human body.
"What's the idea of coming back here without informing us of you and Saionji's arrival!?" he demands.
"We would've informed you sooner, Commadore," Ryuta grumbles, "But our boat was destroyed and we were stuck wandering the Amazoni jungle for, what could've been, days!"
"Do you think I'm stupid enough to fall for one of your half-ass lies, Ippongi!? You and Saionji were supposed to bring back some magic scrolls from Halanos, and I come back here the next day to find your sorry ass sleeping in bed without even a piece of paper full of encantations!?"
"What!?" Ryuta turns around and glares at the Commandore in the most piss-off manner he could ever give off, "Are you frik-!?" he froze in mid-tirade, his eyes widening in shock as he saw glowing fire burning around the Commadore's body. The fire was transparent and doesn't appear to be harming him in anyway; could this be the spirit ability the old man was trying to teach them when they first met?
The fire burned a bright red, indicating that his high level of anger. It seems apparent that the Commadore was actually telling the truth in that whatever Ryuta and Hayato experienced happened over the course of the night. The Hell Bombing Commander quickly and instinctively shuts his mouth as his superior's glare increased, as well as the reddness of his angered spirit.
"You dare talk back to me in that manner, Ippongi!?" He growled, "I don't know what kind of sick joke you and Saionji were trying to pull off, acting like you were obeying orders, then refusing to inform us of anything up until the next morning when I came in and find you sleeping in your bed like nothing ever happened!?"
"Commadore, you don't-!" Ryuta tries to explain.
"I heard enough of your excuses, Ippongi!" the Commadore exclaims, forcing Ryuta to shut his mouth again while thriving in frustration, "As punishment for your insubordination in ignoring orders and tricking me into believing your lies, you and Saionji will be put on scout patrol in the desert!"
"Scout patrol!?" Ryuta wails, "But Commadore-!"
"Begin your mission at once!" the Commadore snaps before turning to leave. Ryuta grips his comb with enough strength to snap it in half. He chucks the bottom half to one side as he pulls his hair back into a spikey topknot and storms out of his quarters.
-------------------------
"That blasted Commadore...." Hayato seethed as he trudged through the endless desert with his hands in his coat pocket, "Just because he's superior to us doesn't mean he can just make us believe what he wants. Making us scout through this wasteland like it was a sandbox...if I wasn't restricted by the honor code of Khremi, I'd dominate that jerk and make him experience what it's like to be pushed around by someone bossier than him!"
"Ugh! This thing's heavy!" complains a grunting voice. Hayato eyes the source to see two Grim-Wings hauling, what appears to be, some kind of giant, brass egg. Behind them, pulled by a large, iron chain, is a giant, daemonic lizard, thrashing about and screaming in savage rage.
"Quit your whining!" the other Grim-Wing snarled, "The sooner we get home, the sooner we can cook this thing and have something to eat for once!"
"Why wait until we get home!?" the first growled, "Why not eat it now!? Come on! I'm starving!"
The second growled in annoyance before reluctently dropping the egg onto the ground. The two began searching around while running their claws on the surface, creating scratching noises that would make any normal human's hair stand up on end.
"Alright! How do you open this thing?" the second growled. The first scratched his chin, about to think when an ear-piercing hissing sound filled the once quiet air. Cracks formed along the front, bottom and sides of the egg, causing steam to shoot out and evaporate into the burning atmostphere.
The opens formed by the cracks fell apart as a slimy goo throbs inside, giving off a disgusting pounding noise. The two continued to watch in bewilderment as the goo eventually spills out around them, forming a 5ft wide puddle.
Seconds later, something began to stumble out of the egg, shivering and wet from the goop that incased him. He tumbles to his side on the ground, the shivering increasing as faint moaning reached the ears of those within sight of him.
He appears to be a teenage boy, his hazel-brown hair drenched in goo, wearing nothing but a gray skin-suit, which all BioCPUs had to wear in order to protect their parts from dust, sand and water elements.
One of the Drakens walks over to the boy and bends down, sniffing him out before shaking his nose and chuffing.
"He reeks of human!" he growls. The second spits to the side before yanking the daemonic lizard towards him.
"He won't even satisfy an anaconda! Let's leave him to our pet!" the second laughs as he lets go of the leash.
The lizard shrieks and ear-piercing shriek as it charges over to the teenager and sinks its deformed jaws into his right shoulder. The boy screams in pain as he struggles, weakly, to pry the lizard off.
Blood spills out, but the lizard could hardly tear the teenager's flesh off. It struggles several times before electricity from the open wound strikes its jaws, forcing it to release hold and stumble back. The two Drakens stared at the scene before them, then turn their attentions to each other.
"Ugh! He's part reploid like our Chieftain!" the first growled. The second flexes his claws.
"That's fine by me," he snickered, "Our pet always likes eating humans by the organ first; likes hearing them scream for mercy before their hearts are devoured. I'll just open this human up like a can of anchovies."
He suddenly stops when he feels the tip of a sharp blade touch the back of his neck, "Don't even think about it, smoke breath!"
The two turned to see Hayato standing behind them with his katana pointed at them. The second spouts a laugh as he turns around.
"Too late! I already did!" he shouts as he swings his claws towards the boy. Hayato mutters something in Japanese before charging in front of the Draken and thrusting his katana into his wrist.
The human dragon screams in agony as he stumbles back and grabs his blood-squirting wrist. Hayato looks between him and the others before hoisting the teenager onto his shoulder and dashing away from them at sonic speeds, leaving clouds of sand in his wake.
The other Draken and his deformed lizard companion tried to give chase, but were too slow to keep up with the speeding Commander, forcing to watch as he disappears into the horizon.
|
|
|
Post by White-Jet on Oct 7, 2007 22:51:57 GMT -5
The Young Soldier - Part 2
The child shook within the bed of Cairo's medical hospital as Hayato stood by the door with a concerned look on his face. The doctor examines him before heading over to the Sonic Commander.
"According to thermo readings," the doctor began, "this boy is burning over 113. It's a meracle he's still alive, given the high rate of his condition."
Hayato remains lost in thought. Having carried the boy all the way to Cairo, he could tell he was not a later generation BioCPU; thus, he couldn't be suffering a normal, human fever. It seemed appearent to him that the boy's body had been in stasis for so long, it was having trouble readjusting to Krehmi's environmental climate.
"Yeah, truely a miracle," he mutters, hiding his true observation from the doctor.
"What's even strange are these nightmares he's been having," the doctor continues, "He keeps screaming for help, claiming that he was trapped inside a stasis pod and knocked off a boat in the middle of a storm."
"Screaming for help...."
"According to past weather reports, a mystical storm had occurred over the ocean of Vi'lal roughly ten years ago. Many believed it was because of some rowdey citizens that the storm lasted for almost a month, killing all those who pass through it. Perhaps this boy was one of the lucky survivors."
"I'll bet...." Hayato mutters, still lost in thought. There was more to what happened to this boy than just some magical storm blanketing a third of Vi'lal's surface. But Hayato decides not to get too much information that would lead to the doctors wanting to uncover more of the boy's past.
-----------------------------
The boy continues to suffer from the effects of his body adjusting to the environment around him. For five months, he had been laying in the bed, screaming and crying for his parents while doctors try their hardest to cool down his overheating body.
Finally, after a couple of weeks, the screamings stop and he appears to be at ease with himself. Though his cheeks remained flushed, his temperature has managed to slowly go down to what a common fever should measure.
-----------------------------
The sunlight of the desert city shines in his face, causing it to twitch as he opens his eyes halfway. He takes a moment to survey the room around him before a voice grabs his attention.
"Well, I'll be! You've come to!" the boy turns his head to see the doctor who spoke to Hayato walk into the room.
"Wh...where am I...?" the boy mutters, half-sick.
"You are in Cairo, son," the doctor said, "One of Giza's soldiers found you wandering the desert and brought you here."
"H...Home...." the boy mutters again, "I wanna go home...."
The doctor sighs and looks down, "I'm afraid you can't go home, son. All routes leading to it have been cut off due to the ongrowing battle between HE and Titan."
The boy's eyes widen in horrific shock as the doctor morosely turns and heads out of the room. Tears start to spill as he turns away from the door and curls up, growling in sorrow and lonliness.
-----------------------------
Late that night, the window opens as the boy looks down at the empty street. He had a white bedsheet covering his gray skinsuit like a cloak, observing the area to make sure no one saw him.
Once assured, he leaps out the window and lands in a pile of sandbags, breaking his fall and silencing any notion of his escape. However, the recoil nearly sent him crumbling to his knees; his body still hasn't recovered from the ordeal that he suffered six months ago. Trying to ignore the weakness of his body, the boy runs through the city, clutching tightly on the bedsheet around him.
The effort seemed futile as the more energy he put into the run, the more exhausted he became. By the time he reached the gateways of Cairo, the heat and the withering energy began to put weight onto his weakened body, causing him to crumble to the sandy ground just as he reached the archway.
Hayato was making his way to the exact area when he saw the boy laying flat on his stomach with the bedsheets covering him from the neck down. He frowns a bit as he continues to stare at the escapee, contemplating his choices.
|
|
|
Post by White-Jet on Oct 9, 2007 23:00:12 GMT -5
The Young Soldier Part - 3
"Can't this thing go any faster!?"
"I'm trying! This' the best I could do!"
"Hurry! They're coming!"
The hazel-haired teenager shakes in terror as the voices of the people outside his egg-shaped confinment ranted over what was going on around them. He couldn't see what was going on, but knew why there was commotion outside. Someone was chasing them, intent on causing them harm or death.
He wanted to scream for the people outside the darkness, but the cryogenic liquid surrounding him prevented him from doing more than blink and shake. He struggles to stay conscious as the freezing temperature tries to lull him to sleep, but the effort slowly began to take its toll.
Suddenly, he feels another jostle as two screams widened his eyes, knowing something terrible was going on outside his confinement.
"Stop running, you idiots!" booms an aggrivated voice, "Can't you see we're trying to help end your suffering!?"
"Go away, you monsters!" shouts a terrified, female voice.
"Monster? How cruel!" mutters another feminine voice. It was obvious by the tone that she was deeply hurt by the sharpness of the sentence, "Those heathens who tore you from your flesh and stuck you in machines that can never die.... They must have destroyed your ability to trust those who want to save you from the hell you were put in."
"Can't you understand anything we said!?" groused a male voice, "Or are you so loyal to your leader that you come up with excuses to avoid admitting that we asked to be put in this body! We don't want your 'salvation' or your 'generocity'!"
"Don't worry, poor souls! We'll make sure your next life will be more peaceful than what was given to you when those monsters tortured and forced you into these abominations!"
"Switch to battlemode," said one of the voices, "It looks like we have no choice but to resort to grusome tactics."
"No! You can't do this!" shouts the terrified, female voice as the teenager feels the area around him start to shake.
"Farewell, poor souls," said the saddened female voice, "May you find happiness in the next life."
The tremor increases as the teenager tries despirately to move his stiffening body. His jaws had already locked from the subzero temperature of the cryogenic liquid, preventing him from screaming in vein for the people outside his obscurred confinement.
Suddenly, in one last despirate attempt to move, he thrusts his upper body forward, the first thing that finally came out of his mouth was a horrified scream. He felt something luke-warm and wet surrounding his lower body and opens his eyes to find himself in a bathtub full of, what used to be, fresh water.
Surveying the area, he find himself in a rundown bathroom with one tilot, a sink, and a door leading elsewhere. Overwhelmed by the sudden change in scenery, he stumbles to his feet, sending water everywhere. He attempts to leave only to have his legs buckle, causing him to fall flat on his face on the other side of the tub.
"Six months laying down can weaken your muscles," said a voice, "But since you are mostly machine, you should be able to regain your strength in as little as an hour."
The boy stumbles to his hands and knees, looking towards the door to see Hayato standing on the other side, returning the glance with a look of sterness mixed into his facial expression. He shudders as the blond-haired Commander moves closer, bending his knees to make eye contact with each other.
Hayato reaches his hand towards the boy, who reacts by shrinking back in fright, and places the palm on his forehead, taking a moment to stare at him some more.
"Your temperatures finally down," he mutters as the boy blinks in confusion. Hayato stands up and heads out of the bathroom, "If those doctors kept you here another month, they would've become suspicious of your overheating body and run more tests on you, eventually finding out just how early you recieved those reploid parts."
The boy remained on his hands and knees a second before pushing himself to his feet and stumbling out of the bathroom into Hayato's quarters.
"You're not going to tell them about this, are you!?" he stutters in fright. Hayato snorts and pulls his closet open, digging through it.
"If I did, you wouldn't even be in here," he said, "Giza, the Elementals...even the Holy Knights would've gotten to you first and altered your structure to accept a human lifespan, not caring whether you want the proccedure or not."
"If they're with X, they would've killed me on the spot!" the boy complains, "Neo Arcadian laws banned BioCPU operations, killing those who recieved these parts out of bias pity instead of sticking around and listening to our story!"
"That was two millenia ago. BioCPU has advanced since then, allowing all humans to obtain reploid parts without even worrying about who's going to stop or kill who." Hayato pulls something out of the closet, "Then again, I don't trust how they'd see the first generation if word ever reached their ears. That's why I feel it's important this stays between us and anyone else who strieves for immortality."
"But what about...!?" the boy was cut off as Hayato turns around and tosses some clothes towards him, matching the outfit worn by the Sonic Commander.
"Neo Arcadia is long gone, last I heard; nothing but a historical shadow of what it once was, or stood for." Hayato glances over to the boy, seeing him stare at the clothes in dumbstruck, "Don't tell me you've never seen clothes before. Mind you, there is a dresscode that requires you to wear more than a skinsuit to enter public buildings."
"Why're you helping me?" the boy asked, confused, "I'm not some historical figure that needs special attention."
"I understand that. Still, you have the same body as me and a couple other friends, so that means you're just as unique as we are in that we don't age or suffer diseases that could slow us down or even kill us."
"So you're saying that, just because I have the same struture as you, I have to be part of your pact or something?"
"I'm not forcing you to do anything except give you something to wear. What you do at this point is up to you."
The boy continues to stare at Hayato, then the clothes in his hands before pulling them off the hanger and throwing them on.
"One more thing," Hayato began as the boy was buttoning up his coat, "You wouldn't happen to have a name, would you? I need to let the doctors know you're okay and that you won't be needing their help anymore."
The boy looks at him before straightening his collar, "Shinta Kikuchi." he then eyes the floor before turning them to Hayato again, "Exactly...how much has changed since I was put into stasis?"
|
|
|
Post by White-Jet on Oct 10, 2007 21:11:19 GMT -5
Reaping Force Metal - Part 1
In a research facility deep within Hydra Cordatus, an elderly reploid wearing a white lab coat stands before a giant machine, gazing in awe at it's design. It had two antenna sticking out the sides, a large window in the center with two smaller capsules placed vertically within, and buttons, meters and monitors surrounding the rest of the exterior.
"It's finally done," he mutters to himself as he reaches into his pocket and pulls out a glowing piece of metal, "Now to put it to the test...."
He places the glowing metal into one of the capsules and presses some buttons beside the window. The capsule fills with a bright light; eventually causing the other to glow as well. The meters began swaying back and forth while monitors flashed and displayed several graphs. Five minutes pass before the area darkens, revealing an exact replicate of the glowing metal sitting in the first capsule.
The reploid chuckles gleefully as he reaches in and pulls out the duplicate metal, "I did it! I finally created a generator that duplicates Supra Force Metal! Now our armies will be able to put an end to this wretched war and bring about a new era of peace!"
As soon as he finished, however, a giant kusari-gama tore through the machine, causing it to errupt into violent explosions that shook the entire facility. The reploid screams in fright as he looks towards the doorway, seeing a figure in a dark violet poncho standing between the frames. The hood of the poncho covers his head as a white mask with three dots, two near the eyes and one near the mouth, covers his face. Pieces of metal were scattered around him, indicating that the figure had cut his way in.
The reploid shudders in fright as he stumbles away from the figure, "You! How did you know about this!?"
The cloaked figure didn't respond as he makes his way towards the reploid, who backs away in terror.
"No! Don't come near me!" he screams as the figure draws closer, raising his kusari-gama, "Where's security! They should've stopped you! Help! Someone!"
Response was null as the kusari-gama made a swiping motion towards the reploid, unleashing a hellish scream that echoed throughout the far-reaches of the facility.
---------------------------------
Hayato wanders the city of Cairo, noticing Shinta sitting on one of the benches near the gateway, looking annoyed.
He could tell his new recruit had been having some social problems with the Commadore ever since the two met eye-to-eye. He had been relentless ever since Shinta joined, verbally pounding him over the slightest mistakes he made. Even though the Commadore was always about ragging and anger, he was never THIS bossy to newcomers.
"Rough day in training," Hayato finally asked as he walks over to the young soldier.
"UGH! That jackass is annoying!" Shinta wails, ruffling his hazel-brown hair, "I try to do everything he's taught me, but it's never enough! What'd he expect me to do, learn a backflip in less than a second!?"
Hayato sighs a bit as he sits down, "He must've found out about the nightmares you've been having in the past six months. He hates people who whine, and would most likely bash them if they ever got into his unit."
Shinta looks over to Hayato, "Can't you do something about it? I'm sick of him pushing me around and expecting me to do things in the time that he wants them to be done!"
Hayato was about to say something when a soldier rushes over to him.
"Commander!" he pants, bent over with his hands resting on his knees, "The Commandore wants to talk to you! It's important!"
Hayato frowns as he looks over to Shinta, "We're gonna have to discuss this later. Look's like Giza's found something that needs our support."
He gets up and follows the soldier back into Cairo. Shinta watches before sighing and resting his chin on his hands, going into deep thought.
---------------------------------
Hayato walks into the room, finding Ryuta standing in front of the Commadore's desk. The two exchange glances before turning their focus back to their superior officer, then at a strange-looking, mechanical scorpion sitting on the desk.
"Men," the Commandore began, eyeing the scorpion, "Last night, a Force Metal research facility was ransacked by an unidentified Maverick."
"Force Metal...?" Ryuta mutters, "You mean those small fragments of a meteor used to increase the performance of a machine?"
"One of the scientists has been working on a machine that duplicates one of the most powerful Force Metals in existance, Supra-Force Metal. Reports claim that he had just finished running tests with the Maverick attacked, disembowled his creation, and had his memory puged by this scorpion." he points to the mechanical scorpion on the desk.
"A Maverick that attacks Force Metal facilities and uses scorpions to purge their memory," Hayato mutters, "It must be Scorpio Reaper. He's the only one who would do something like this."
"Scorpio Reaper...?" Ryuta mutters.
"Scorpio Reaper is one of the most diabolical Maverick that ever walked this war-torn planet!" the Commandore growls, "His cynical deeds almost rival that of Epsilon and his Rebellion forces back in 22XX! Everyone calls him Scorpio Reaper because he wears the cloak of the Grim Reaper, and he wields a large kusari-gama like the tail of a scorpion. He has no real name or background aside from rumors that he has a younger brother and sister working with him to destroy facilities specilizing in the duplication of Supra-Force Metals."
"So what do you want us to do about it?" Ryuta asked.
"We're going to set a trap for Scorpio Reaper," the Commandore began, "Using some Supra-Force Metal we tore from some recent HE clones, we're going to lure that cynical Maverick into the Melda Ore Mines in Giga City Ruins. Once he falls for the trap, you two will spring into action and cut him down, forever putting an end to his diabolical deeds!"
Ryuta frowns in annoyance. Though he hadn't had a good battle in a long time, he wasn't too keen about being used as some grunt to take down a sinister Maverick. Hayato, as usual, doesn't seem to care as he turns and heads out the door. Ryuta soon follows after him.
|
|
|
Post by White-Jet on Oct 13, 2007 18:31:49 GMT -5
Reaping Force Metal - Part 2
"Damn, it's cold in here!" Hayato grumbles as he rubs his arm for the third time, "Of all places to set a trap, why the Melda Ore Minds in the middle of an artic island?"
"Must've thought Scorpio Reaper would've succombed to the temperature," Ryuta chuckles, "Either way, it's the Commodore's order, so we have to follow it."
Hayato eyes Ryuta, "Huh. You don't seem all too thrilled about this operation. Getting tired of shedding blood in the name of the Fire Elemental?"
"I'm just sick of being treated like some grunt who has to follow every stupid command the Commodore spits out at me!" Ryuta snorts, waving a flaming saber around to heat up his personal space, "First he has us go on a lame errand, then he sends us out into the desert without even believing why we 'delibrately' disobeyed his orders, and now we're reduced to a couple of hacksaws that only cut down what he points to?"
"Yeah, the Commodore's starting to bug me too," Hayato grumbles, "Always with that boistering pride of his, thinking he can rule over everything when he's only half of what a real leader is. Still, he's the only reason we've gotten this far into the trust radar, so I don't bother questioning his authority over us."
Ryuta muffles a sigh as he looks around the area again. They were in the basement of the Melda Ore Mines, with the elevator that lead them there acting as a door to hide any indication of the trap. Behind them is a door leading to the large supply of Supra-Force Metal that the Commodore had them lug through the oceans of old Giga City.
"Do you really think Scoprio Reaper's going to come here?" Ryuta huffs, releasing a small cloud of steam from his mouth.
"Even if he knew it was a trap, he'd have no choice but to walk into it like a tanuki to a slab of fish," Hayato said, rubbing some frost from his liondog-headed mechaniloid, "After all, a large quantity of Supra-Force Metal is behind this door, and he's not going to just abandon it because of a couple of old, organic machines like us."
Ryuta eyes Hayato, a bit unsure, but reliable on his word. Suddenly, a crash catches their attention. They look towards the elevator to find the lift crumble to the floor in a sliced heap of frozen metal. Springing to their feets, they see the dark violet ponchoed reaper drop through the opening he created and land just a foot from the bottom of ditch that was used to hold the lift in place.
The two frown as the figure flicks his wired kusari-gama and turns to face the door, his three-holed mask hiding any expression he might be showing. But the two didn't have to see his face for something else caught their attention; a burning shadow surrounding his cloaked body.
"That's...." Ryuta mutters.
"His burning spirit," Hayato mutters, "No reploid or robot could have a soul burning this high, which could mean...."
"Scorpio Reaper's just like us...." Ryuta mutters again, "A human with reploid enhancements."
"And a meanstreak to go along with it."
The three stare at each other for long hours. Neither the two Commanders, nor their target made a move. Hayato finds it obvious that Scorpio Reaper was studying their appearance, trying to uncover any weaknesses to exploit. While he finds it more exciting if the three fought at their bests, he could no longer stand being stuck out in the cold any longer.
"Like a moth to a flame," Hayato snickers, pulling his katana out of his mechaniloid, "You're about to be incinerated by the might of Giza's forces."
Just as he was about to make his move, he felt a sudden pang of hesitation coming from Ryuta and looks over to see him just standing by the door, doing nothing, "What's wrong?"
"Don't you feel that...?" Ryuta mutters, "His spirit...it's full of saddness; like he doesn't want to fight us."
Hayato frowns as he looks back to Scoprio Reaper and studies his spirit. Sure enough, there was more blue in his burning soul than black. He snorts.
"Sad or not, we can't let this Maverick get continue his string of destruction!" Hayato exclaims as he charges towards Scorpio Reaper. The cloaked being swung his kusari-gama towards the speeding Commander only to see him pivot out of the way in the blink of an eye.
Ryuta shakes the feeling off as he threw his left hand into the air, firing several smokebombs that exploded upon impact with the walls and floors around them.
Through the area of smoke that formed, they could see Scorpio Reaper's burning spirit make a run for the door. Ryuta intercepts and swings his newly aquired Red Lotus Saber in an attempt to incinerate his chest. Scoprio Reaper sees the heat and immediately jumps back to avoid getting hit by the flame burning off its blade.
"You're at a complete disadvantage, Scorpio," Hayato snickers as he ran circles around the cloaked Maverick.
"Since you're part human, we won't have a problem sniffing you out," Ryuta said as he lobs more smokebombs into the area to further obscure Scorpio Reaper's vision. The two sensed an immediate increase of frustration and hesitation coming from their assailent, signalling his confusion in the whole mess.
Scorpio Reaper, out of despiration, began swinging his kusari-gama around, trying to hit whatever he could. Ryuta saw the scythe-like blade come at him and swings his saber at it, deflecting the blade back before it struck him in the face.
Hayato hears the clang and leaps into the air, calculating where the kusari-gama was going to be flung to and swinging his katana at just the right moment. There was a sound of metal slicing wire, followed by the clanging noise of a blade hitting the floor.
The Sonic Commander lands near Scorpio Reaper, grinning as he had successfully striped him of his weapon.
"Well, I'd say the ball's now in our court," he snickers, twirling his katana once before holding it in front of him, "Without that oversize weapon getting in our way, taking you down will be a cinch."
There was an increase in frustration coming from Scorpio Reaper as Hayato makes a running dash towards him. But just as he had covered a foot of his sprint, a overwhelmingly intense pain hits his knees, causing him to scream in agony as he drops to his back, swinging his katana at wherever it was coming from.
"Hayato!?" Ryuta yelps as he witnessed pandemic burning in his once confident spirit.
"My knees!" his flailing companion screams, "Something stabbed my knees!"
The smoke eventually subsides, bringing the room back into focus. Ryuta's eyes widened in shock upon seeing two wired kunai sticking out of Scorpio Reaper's poncho and impaling themselves into Hayato's kneecap. The blue Commander had fallen onto his back, screaming and flinging his katana about in a blind and painful retaliation, not seeming to realize he was hitting thin air.
"That kusari...." Ryuta mutters in shock, "That wasn't the only weapon he has!?"
Scorpio Reaper continues to stare at Ryuta, seeing him turn from shocked to frustration. The Hellbombing Commander drops his Red Lotus Saber and thrusts his hands out, preparing to lob bombs at the cloaked Maverick. But before he could open the compartment in his palms, two more kunai shot out of his poncho and lodged themsleves into his hands.
Ryuta screams in agony as the impct of the kunai slams him against the wall, pinning him like a crusified prisoner. He was forced to watch as Scorpio Reaper picks up the remains of his kusari-gama with his white, elbow long, gloved hand and flings the blade towards the door housing the large stock of Supra-Force Metal.
The doors cut clean in half, causing them to crumble to the floor and reveal a small pile of glowing metal. Hayato drops to his side, struggling to lift his head as he watches a vacuum tube extend from within Scorpio Reaper's poncho and suck up the entire contents of the pile.
"D...Damn...." he mutters painfully, "How many devices...does he have in that poncho of his...."
"Th-that's not the only thing that s-stopped us...." Ryuta mutters, "His spirit...so depressing.... Even you couldn't bring yourself to come at him...a-at full force...."
Hayato groans another curse word as the vacuum tube retreats into Scorpio Reaper's poncho. While making his way back to the elevator, the four kunai lodged into Hayato's knee and Ryuta's hands jerk out and fly back into his poncho. Hayato screams in more pain while Ryuta crumbles to his side weakened by the pain he suffered while pinned to the wall.
------------------------------------
Later that evening, Scorpio Reaper returned to an abandoned base beneath the endless wastelands of the Vanallia Desert. He heads down to the basement where a glowing entity of the Supra-Force Metal cluttered within the two tubes at the far end of the room was the only light source around. In front of the two tubes stood a man twice as tall as him, wearing nothing but a poncho over his tight, gray skin suit.
Upon hearing the sound of footsteps, the man turns to face Scorpio Reaper, a smile appearing on his otherwise frightened face.
"You're back...my son," he stutters wearily, "I take it you've uncovered the Supra-Force Metal from within that ruined missile factory?"
Scorpio Reaper removed his hood, revealing a gray, shaven head surrounded by a crimson bandana. He pulls the three-holed mask off, reveaing a young, somewhat neutral face with glasses surrounding his eyes.
"How much longer do you plan to put up with this?" he mutters as he walks over to the two capsules. the vacuum tubes extend from his poncho and connect to a hole below the capsules. Rings of glowing light travel through the tubes and into the slots, causing Supra-Force Metal to bob up into the thick glass.
"Put up with what?" the man stutters.
"This whole Scorpio Reaper crap!" Scorpio snaps, shooting a glare at the man, "Did you know what I just did to gather those SFM from that base!? Those soldiers from Giza set a trap, knowing I would fall right into it! I nearly killed two of them trying to escape!"
"It's the only choice we have, my son!" the man exclaims, causing Scorpio Reaper to cringe in frustration and fright, "Do you think just reasoning with those soldiers would make them think twice about keeping such dangerous pieces of metal!? If our only chance of ridding this planet of Supra-Force Metal is to destroy all those who want to keep it for whatever means they think it should be used for, then destroy them we will!"
Scorpio Reaper grits his teeth as he turns his back on the man and glares at the increasing supply of Supra-Force Metal. He soon felt a hand rest on his shoulder.
"Please don't let this get to you," the man mutters hesitantly, "Once all the Supra-Force Metal has been erradicated, we will return to our peaceful lives...happy...carefree...without the least bit of worry as to what happens to all those we work to protect and aide in this era of wars. Me, you, your mother, and your brother and sister...we all want this to end, but we all know what must be done to make it happen...."
"It's too much...." Scorpio growls, "Things would've gone a lot smoother if we had just found someone who understands our plight and helps us rid this planet of SFM...."
"We will get through this," the man mutters, "Hajime...my son.... I promise you we will survive through this...."
|
|
|
Post by White-Jet on Oct 14, 2007 16:40:27 GMT -5
The Last Straw
"What the hell was that!?" the Commodore exclaims, glaring at his two inferiors standing in front of his desk. Ryuta and Hayato, who had recovered from their ordeal just days after being attacked by Scorpio Reaper, cross their arms as they take in the verbal beating.
Atsushi stood by Ryuta, eyeing the Commodore expressionlessly as he slams his mechanical hands on his desk and leans forward, his angered spirit increasing.
"I asked you a question!" he snarled, "You two were the most unbeatable soldiers on the force! I trusted you two to stop that Maverick from continuing his rein of theivery and destruction, and what did you do!? You just stood there and let him slice you up, then waltzed right out of our trap with the supply he was NOT SUPPOSED TO TAKE!!!"
"Our apologize, Commodore," Hayato muttered, "We didn't expect him to have so many weapons. We assumed the kusari-gama was the only one he had."
"Excuses again!? You have more brains than everyone else in Giza! You should've known he would've had more than just one blade! How do you think he became such a big icon in the eyes of the fearful!"
"You should've told us he was decked out with more than a kusari-gama!" Ryuta snapped, trying to defend Hayato, "You can't expect us to observe everything that makes a criminal!"
"Don't you dare talk back to me, Ippongi!" the Commodore roars, turning his glare to the HellBombing Commander, "You were no better than he was! According to reports, you just stood there and let Scorpio Reaper pin you to the wall as he was collecting the supply YOU were supposed to protect!"
Ryuta grits his teeth in frustration. He knew it was pointless trying to get the Commodore to understand why he hesitated, as he would just call it another one of his "lame excuses".
"How you two ever made it to Commander status, I will never know!" the Commodore continues to rant, causing Ryuta's anger to boil hotter than the explosives in his right hand, "The way I've seen you follow orders were no better than that whiney brat Saionji dragged into our force!"
Hayato glares at the Commodore in anger. It was one thing for Shinta to put up with his bullying, but to brag about his rookie status behind his back was something even the Sonic Commander couldn't stand.
Ryuta throttles his fist in more anger, "Well, I'd like to see how you ever maintained your ranking when all you do is sit behind that desk and order us around like service dogs!"
"You still dare to talk back to me, Ippongi!?" the Commodore snarls, increasing his glare at Ryuta, "Have you forgotten that symbol on your left arm!?"
Ryuta eyes the armband on his left arm, which bore the symbol of the Fire Civilization. All soldiers under the Commodore's command are required to wear an armband to signify the Civilization they serve to protect.
"As long as you continue to wear that armband, you are still under MY command! And if you want people to continue relying on you for assistance, you will stop these inferior backlashes at once!"
"Then screw you!" Ryuta snaps, grabbing the armband on his left arm.
"What the hell do you think you're doing!?"
"What I should've done when I saw just how pridefully selfish you really are!" Ryuta growls. Hayato watched in stunned shock as the HellBombing Commander tore off his armband and threw it to the floor without a seconds thought.
"You!" the Commodore snarls, throttling his fists, "You dare turn against those who have relied on you for many years!? Those who were inspired by your strength and determination!?"
"Why would you care!?" Ryuta seethed, "Even if others protest at my resignment, you're just going to shove your thumb up their ass and force them to follow your bombastic orders until they kill themselves doing grocery shopping in Moathen!"
He turns to storm out of the room. The Commodore snarls and glares at Atsushi, "Why are you just standing there!? Stop that traitor before our enemies drag him under their faction!"
Atsushi merely glances over to the Commodore before grasping the armband on his left arm. Both he and Hayato watched in dumbfound horror as the silent follower tears the band off with little effort, drops it to the floor, then walks out after Ryuta. The Commodore's seething anger increases as he glares at Hayato.
"You saw what they just did!" he yells, "Do something about it!"
Hayato snorts as he turns away from the Commodore, "You're right. I can't just stand here and let them get away with it."
He suddenly grabs the armband around his left arm and tears it off, increasing the shock factor of his commanding officer.
"You insist on betraying the Fire Civilization as well!?" he roars as Hayato drops the torn band to the floor.
"I know what Ryuta's planning to do. And I'm not about to let him steal all the glory while leaving me to be some prop to boost reliability to a mere Civilization."
The Commodore watches with dumbfounded anger as the former Sonic Commander waltz out of the room.
--------------------------
"You didn't have to quit for my sake," Ryuta said as he and Atsushi left Cairo and wandered through the unpopulated wasteland towards Draken territory.
"It was more than just your sake," Atsushi said, "The Commodore is becoming more selfish by the day. If I had stayed behind, he would've stuck me with someone who would be more strict with their orders than you were." he looks up to Ryuta, "What still bothers me is how you knew what he was thinking so fluently."
Ryuta snorts a chuckle as he places his hands behind his back, "Let's wait until we get off this hellish continent before I tell you what I know. The Commodore is probably coming up with some excuse to claim we betrayed the Civilization and will send their forces to try and stop us."
Atsushi remains silent for a moment before nodding in agreement.
--------------------------
"HAYATO!!!" shouts a voice. Hayato stops just as he had reached the gates of Cairo, turning to see Shinta run up to him with a confused and hurried look on his face.
"Is something wrong?" Hayato asked as Shinta stops and bends over to catch his breath.
"I was going to ask you the same question!" Shinta pants, trying to cool his systems, "There's rumor's spreading that you and Ryuta betrayed the Civilization!"
Hayato snorts a laugh as he turns around, "That bias Commodore. It's so typical of him to think of some excuse to maintain his superioirty over the force."
"So...it wasn't true?"
"I quit because I can't stand seeing Ryuta strut around this planet like he owns it. He wants to be some hero who knows how to put an end to this war; and I can't just stay behind and let him soak in the glory."
"But I don't understand! You worked so hard to become an icon of this Civilization! Why throw it away over what Ryuta did?"
"I'm becoming a different icon, Shinta," Hayato said, turning his head to look at his new recruit, "One that would be as much of a helping source as Ryuta, if not more."
Shinta furrows his eyebrows in more confusion, "But...how do you plan on doing that!? You can't just go around the world and automatically know who to trust!"
"I beg to differ," Hayato chuckles as he began to walk away, "I have something that will gaurentee me complete assurance that those who seek my help won't do so out of selfishness or evil reasons."
Shinta watched as Hayato heads out of Cairo's gates, compressing his lips before rushing out after him, "W-wait! Wait up!"
Hayato stops and looks over to Shinta as he stops beside him, "I wanna go with you! I'm sick of being used like some punching bag to satisfy people's anger!"
"You're not going to get any special treatment if you're thinking of joining my squad," Hayato said.
"I don't care. You're the only one who understands what happend to me. If I stayed behind, those other soldiers are going to keep pushing me around until they decide I'm not worth it and try to get me court-martialed."
Hayato continues to stare at Shinta before muffling a chuckle and continuing through the desert, "I guess you do have a point. Alright then. I'm going to need someone to help keep the troops in line anyway."
Shinta beams with relief and excitement, "Thanks Hayato!" he continues to follow after the renegade Commander through the desert towards a new life and dream.
|
|
|
Post by White-Jet on Oct 16, 2007 1:35:00 GMT -5
Learning to Trust - Part 1
Ryuta and Atsushi took shelter in a ruined house deep within the remains of Draconis. They planned to make use of the city's trading arcade to raise funds towards the start of their unnamed squad. Though attention was few, as Ryuta could only sell the smokebombs he considered to be of little use to him, the two were confident that they could accomplish something towards the goal they set up.
------------------------------
Hajime sighs as he stares at the large, digital map taking up one corner of the underground hideout in Vanallia Desert. The area was vacant, save the glowing entity of the Supra-Force Metal lighting up the otherwise dark room.
He rubs his restless forehead, reflecting back to when this whole SFM hunt began. The Tanakas were a happy, bright family who became a unit of their own in the research of Force Metal back in the Neo Arcadian era. The experience was fun and exciting, finding all kinds of ways to refine and duplicate Force Metal for use in reconstruction and protection against Maverick invasions.
Then, one day, one of their research factions stumbled upon a strange, glowing piece of metal buried under the remains of Eastern Maverick Hunter HQ. The Tanaka family recognized it as Supra-Force Metal and the faction they worked with immdiately ran tests to see if it was still salvagable.
Two days after bringing the glowing piece of rock into their lab, one of the researchers in the faction slips it on, testing out its capabilities. The high level of erison drove him insane, not only destroying his own teammates and ransacking the research facility, but also running rampant around town before the X-Guardians confronted him and destroyed him in one fell swoop; the SFM that caused the disaster was incinerated within his exploding body, obliterating any evidence that the reploid had terrorized the city by accident.
The Tanaka family, however, witnessed the devistation and feared the powers of the SFM. Upon research in their personal lab in the Vanallia Desert, they realize just how many of the fragments had rained down upon the land since the destruction of Redips in 22XX. They knew what had to be done; the SFM had to be collected and destroyed before it falls in the hands of the wicked or naive.
In order to maintain this vow, they seeked an underground engineer who specialized in BioCPU operations and traded in their organs and muscles for metal and wires. To further ensure themselves of a successful journey, they no longer ate or slept, relying on E-Cans to stay awake and alert.
Normally, a year or two following this diet would be a cinch, but when they spent nearly two millenia on a 24hr task consisting of nothing but collecting and stopping the duplication of Supra-Force Metal, the effects took its toll on the once happy family. Their restless minds began to spiral to random thoughts, blindly believing that the only way to stop the production of SFM was to destroy any research facility that specialized in research and dublication experiments.
Hajime, having more experience in fighting that the rest of the family, was tasked to accomplish these hellish onslaughts; breaking into research facilities and destroying everything used to study and clone Supra-Force Metal, then purge the machines and minds of those who carry the knowledge and blueprints of the SFM. At first, he didn't care, knowing that he was doing this to benefit the wellbeing of the world. But as the days turned to months and so on, he began to detest his alter ego, Scorpio Reaper, and what the name stood for.
He began asking for alternatives to this senseless form of retrieval. But all his suggestions get shoved into his face with promises of returning back to the life they once enjoyed; promises he feared would never stay above water. He wanted this nightmare to end, and he feels he's the only one who can stop it.
His thoughts were cut off by the sound of beeping coming from the digital map. Looking up, he noticed one of the SFM had wandered right into the Draken estate in Khemri. Hajime knew the Drakens, save the Grim-Wing, had little knowledge of machines and any add-ons that could increase performance. He grits his teeth in fright, knowing that, if the rest of his family were to catch wind of this, they would resort to violence to convey their message.
His family was currently off doing some research on generic Force Metal, trying to reduce erosion to prevent side effects from mucking up the status boost of the machines programmed to handle such add-ons. Hajime took this as a prime oppertunity to sneak out of the hideout and towards the Draken estate.
He sets the coordinates into the computer that presented the map, then heads over to the transportation pad near another end of the room, waiting as his body glowed and vanished in a beam of light.
------------------------------
"You won't get away with this, human!" roars a voice. Ryuta tumbles out of the Grim-Wing Village, his back riddled with the claws of the Drakens inhabiting the tribe. He laid on his stomach, his face twitching in pain a minute before scrambling to his feet and running through the forest bridging the paths between Draconis, Blood-Hide, and Grim-Wings.
Behind him, several Grim-Wings charged out of the village, snarling and roaring as they chased after him. Several spewed breaths of fire that Ryuta either absorbed into his Red Lotus Saber or took the flames without much damage towards his nearly torn body.
After running halfway from the village, Ryuta feels a sharp pair of claws wrack across his face, tearing his right eye shut and just about ripped him a new, disgusting appearance. Yelling him pain, he falls to the side, glaring at the Grim-Wing who had managed to get in front of him and attack him at full force. He smirks maniacilly as the rest of the oncoming Grim-Wings surround the fallen ronin, flexing their claws in eagerness to tear him to shreds.
"You made a terrible mistake trying to steal from the Grim-Wings, human," the Grim-Wing that attacked Ryuta snickers, licking his chops, "You'll make a fine meal for us when we drag your lifeless flesh back to the village."
"Bah! I smell metal among his flesh!" one of the Grim-Wings spat in annoyance, "He won't satisfy the entire village with his size and lack of meat."
"Then we will tear him open like a lobster," the first said, "Peel off the shell and dine on the fine meat within!"
The gang laughs in triumph as Ryuta struggles to his feet, throwing a hand over his right eye as blood dribbled through the cracks between his fingers, while trickles of it painted the right side of his face. His left fist clutches a second before it expanded, revealing a ball in its grasp.
"Smokebombs again!?" One of the Grim-Wings snorts, "You used those things to disorient the entire village while you tried to escape with the very thing that could've made our village strong!"
"And you can forget trying to use your other explosives on us," another Grim-Wing snickers, "Our tough hide will protect against any flaming weapon you could throw at us!"
Ryuta huffs a pained laugh as he threw the bomb to the ground, causing it to explode and send white clouds everywhere. But what made the clouds shocked the Grim-Wings more than give them what they expected.
The first Draken that attacked Ryuta screams in agony as frost began to form on his scales. The rest stare at him in horror as he drops to the ground in a frozen heap, twitching a few seconds before going limp. The rest stare at the ronin fighter with wide eyes.
"A...f-frost bomb!?" one of them shrieks, "He managed to hide those in his arsenal!?"
"I'm in an environment...run by Drakens," Ryuta grunts painfully, "You didn't really think I wouldn't be prepared for this...?"
The Grim-Wings glared at Ryuta as he swung his left arm around, sending more bombs flying around the forest, exploding and releasing more clouds of frost that froze everything in its path. The Grim-Wings began to back away from the increasing clouds, their eyes twitching in anger and fright over their choices.
"Filthy human!" One of them shouts as they began to make a hasty retreat, "Your scent will spread throughout our village, and remind everyone to slaughter you and anyone associated to you, should they set foot in our presence!"
They then turn tails and ran, trying to escape the frost before it covered their bodies. Ryuta watches before grunting in pain and stumbling back towards the city of Draconis, clutching one hand around his stredded right face while placing the other on his back to try and slow the bleeding. The journey was going to be strenuous with these wounds hindering his movements.
|
|
|
Post by White-Jet on Oct 18, 2007 2:35:54 GMT -5
Learning to Trust - Part 2
The city of Draconis is a large area of trade. Drakens of different tribes and other races visit here to buy or sell trinkest ranging from needless to important.
Hajime wanders down the streets of the center of trade, eyeing around for signs of the Supra-Force Metal he detected earlier back at the Vanallia Desert. He hopes to find the Draken tribe that has the SFM and reason them into handing it over without too much of a fuss.
Along the way, he comes across a rundown, slightly rickety house with a red blanket holding up some pyramid-stacked smokebombs. Curious, he walks closer to the stack, picking one up and examining it.
He suddenly hears the sound of groaning, followed by the daunting smell of organic blood mixed in with reploid fluids. Hajime immedately whips around to see Ryuta stumble towards him, covering the slashed up side of his face with one hand while his free hand was clutched into a fist, glow seeping through the cracks between his fingers.
Hajime stumbles away from Ryuta, not because of his fright in being recognized by the ronin, but by the smell and sight of the blood drenching his back and face. Ryuta just stares at him, anemic from the pain and lack of energy, before heading over to the steps to the house. His foot hits the second step, causing him to trip and fall onto the porch; the jolt knocking his left hand open as a glowing piece of metal drops out and bounces a few feet from him.
Hajime's fright vanishes upon seeing the glowing metal and scrambles over to it, snatching it off the floor and clutching it in his hands. He makes a mad dash for the exit only to stop one step from the dirt-filled ground, turning to look at Ryuta, who struggles to get up only to topple onto his right side, trembling in pain. He stood there for a few seconds, looking between the ailing ronin and the glowing metal in his hand.
Ryuta felt a pair of hands rest on his body, one covering his right face while the other pressed against his back. He tries to shake the hands off, but barely had the strangth to exhale a series of groans.
Just when he was about to lose consciousness from the lack of energy, a strange, almost invigorating sensation fills his entire body. He opens his remaining eye to see the area around him glowing a greenish color as binary numbers surround him. Almost instantly, the pain in his right eye and back vanish as the claw marks he recieved sealed up, leaving nothing but a series of tears in his gakuran trenchcoat.
Ryuta slips onto his stomach and pushes himself onto his elbows, looking to see Hajime, crouched down beside him. He took his hands off, sitting back to sigh in slight exhaustion.
"Wh...what happened...?" Ryuta groaned as he tries to stand up. His head spun, causing him to collapse into a sitting position against the rails of the porch, groaning some more as he grabbed his forehead in dizziness.
"Try not to move so much," Hajime said, "The Force Metal Generator can only seal up mechanical wounds. It hasn't been designed to fully heal the organic side of the body."
"Force Metal Generator...?" Ryuta mutters. Hajime drops the glowing metal on the ground beside him and pulls his elbow-long, white gloves off, revealing a pair of white hands. The back of them had red crosses with blue borders surrounding them.
"I got them from a ruined lab a few years ago," Hajime began as Ryuta studies their appearance, "My vessel was attacked by daemonic crows and crashed into the lab. While looking for salvagable parts, I came across the blueprints to the Force Metal Generator and decided to install them into my hands for...emergencies...."
Ryuta hums a bit in interest. Hajime pulls his gloves back on and reaches into his poncho, pulling out a blue can with an "E" on both sides, causing the ronin's interest to turn into a stupefied look.
"You actually drink that stuff!?" he gags.
"Well...I admit these E-Can's aren't very tasteful," Hajime said, punching his thumb into one side of the can and creating an opening, "But it's the only thing that keeps me awake and active."
Ryuta's stupefied look increases, "Are you serious!?" he snatches the can from Hajime, causing him to freak out by the sudden apprehension, "Someone like you shouldn't even be drinking this crap!"
"Hey! Give that back!" Hajime exclaims, trying to grab for the can only to have Ryuta yank his arm into the air.
"I'm not interrupting anything, am I?" asked a voice. The two look towards the entrance of the house to see Atsushi standing in the doorframe, holding a wooden spoon riddled with grains of rice.
Ryuta shoves Hajime away from him and stands up, dusting himself off, "It's nothing."
Atsushi continues to stare before eyeing Ryuta, "The rice cooker has just finished preparing our lunch. There's enough for four servings."
Ryuta looks over to him, then Hajime, "Make it three. We're having a guest stay with us for a while." he immediately grabs Hajime's wrist and yanks him into the house.
"W-wait a minute! I didn't say you had to feed me!" Hajime exclaims as Ryuta flops him on a broken down couch inside the living room.
"It's called a show of thanks," Ryuta said as he took a bowl from the cupboard and began scooping several clumps of rice into it.
"But I'm not hungry!" Hajime complains, trying to ignore the smell of the rice as Ryuta sticks it on the coffee table in front of him.
"Your slobbering mouth says otherwise."
Hajime blinks before feeling something dribble down the left side of his mouth. He rubs the back of his hand against it and pulls out, seeing something wet seep into the fabric.
"I...It's because I'm thirsty, that's all!" he claims, "If you'd just give me back that E-Can, I wouldn't be drooling so much!"
Ryuta sighs in defeat as he slaps the E-Can on the kitchen counter, "I'll tell you what. If you can last five minutes without eating that rice, THEN I'll give this back to you."
Hajime's aggrivation increases, resting his ankle on his knee and crossing his arms, avoiding his gaze at the bowl of rice below him. Half a minute into the wait, his face starts to twitch as the taunting aroma began playing with his nose. Saliva began drooling out the corners of his mouth, but he sucks them back in, trying in vain to ignore the smell.
Finally, without even thinking, Hajime tackles the bowl and tears it off the table, shoveling the entire serving into his mouth and swallowing it in the split second that it left the table. Ryuta and Atsushi stare at him in shock and disgust.
"Do you chew before you swallow!?" Ryuta exclaims, "It's a miracle you didn't choke!"
Hajime just stares at the empty bowl, his eyes wide with shock and horror over what he had just done. Ryuta wrinkles his nose in more disgust as he takes the can off the counter and heads over to the sink.
"I believe that savage stunt you pulled did more than prove my point," he said as he dumped the entire contents of the E-Can into the sink. He then turns his glance over to Hajime, seeing his entire body shaking in fright, "I can't even begin to imagine how such a bright kid like you ever got to this point in the first place. You're just as sad as that Maverick, Scorpio Reaper."
"You sound like you feel sorry for him," Atsushi said.
"Feel sorry for him?" Ryuta snorts, bringing up the glowing metal between his index and thumb, "He's the main reason I was forced to resign from that hellhole called 'goodwill fighting'! Him and this stupid piece of metal!"
"What will you do with the Supra-Force Metal?"
Ryuta drops the metal into his palm and clamps his fingers over it, "I don't know, maybe I'll just pawn it off to a research facility in New Giga City." He picks up a red striped ball and pulls it open, revealing a half-full content of gunpowder, "At least the reploids there know how to take care of Supra-Force Metal than any other research facility in Utopia."
Hajime continues to stare at Ryuta, in frustration and anxiety, as he drops the SFM into the ball and snaps it shut. He then pulls out a ribbon and ties it around the ball as some form of reminder of what was inside. Hajime feared if he didn't get the SFM out of their hands, they were going to start another conflict that would result in another war for possession of the Supra-Force Metal. He knew there was only one thing to do in order to prevent this fiasco from reaching that point.
|
|
|
Post by White-Jet on Oct 18, 2007 22:12:19 GMT -5
Learning to Trust - Part 3
"Honey...I'm worried about our eldest son...." mutters a woman as she walks over to the man wearing the brown poncho. She, too wore a poncho, its color lavandar; her blonde hair a wavy mess that almost reached her knees.
"Yes, he worries me too," the man mutters, tinkering with something covered by a thick, brown blanket, "He goes from pleading for alternatives to disappearing everytime our back is turned. I feel he is starting to become poisoned by the lies of those researchers trying to duplicate the Supra-Force Metal."
"Poisoned...? Then...we should find a way to bring him back to us and remind him of the dangers these glowing pieces of metal have done to those who try to obtain them...."
"There's no point, my dear.... Those who start believing in the power of the Supra-Force Metal cannot be reasoned with. We have no choice but to put an end to him before he comes after us and steals what we have worked hard to collect."
"But he's the only one strong enough to accomplish most of the tasks the rest of us wouldn't be able to do on our own."
"I am well aware of that. Which is why I have constructed a perfect replacement, ensuring us that we will get what we need without anyone trying to hinder us into believing such lies...."
The man finishes by throwing the cover off, revealing a body with the mask of Scorpio Reaper covering its face. The arms and legs were missing and several tubes surround the openings in its chest. The woman stare at the body in sorrowful awe.
"He is not finished yet," the man continues, "But once he has been completed, we will set out and discard that defected son of ours and continue with our work unhindered." he trembles as he seethed some snickers behind his teeth.
------------------------------
Late that night, a figure trudges through the silent city of Draconis, his hooded, violet poncho and three-holed mask hiding any form of identity. He stops at the house where Ryuta currently hid in, finding the entrance as it's always been, wide open.
The figure steps towards the door, glancing around the dark living room. Atsushi was nowhere in sight. Ryuta, on the other hand, could be seen laying sideways on the broken down couch, seeming to be fast asleep. The figure frowns behind his mask as he pulls out a black can and pulls the key out, dropping it to the floor as smoke sprayed out of it.
Switching to his built in oxygen tank, the figure manages to avoid taking in the oderless smoke as he wanders into the house, looking around before spotting the ball sitting on the counter near the small kitchen. He immediately picks up the ball and heads for the door only to be stopped by a warm feeling a few inches from his back.
"Leaving so soon, Scorpio Reaper?" asked a voice. The figure turns his head to see Ryuta standing behind him with his Red Lotus Saber pointed at his back, "I figured you'd show up to try and take that Supra-Force Metal, so I switched over to my oxygen tank before going to sleep." Scorpio Reaper continues to stare at Ryuta before making a dash for the exit of the house.
Two steps from the house, a firebomb hits the ground behind him and explodes, shoving him onto his stomach three feet from impact. The jolt knocks his mask off his face, sending it bouncing several feet away from him. Scorpio Reaper lifts his head, trying to scramble for his mask when Ryuta slammed his foot onto his back, pinning him further onto the ground.
"You're not getting away from me this time, Scorpio Reaper!" Ryuta declares, pointing the Red Lotus Saber at his captor's back, "I have a score to settle with you after what happened at the mine a few months ago!" Scorpio Reaper struggles to push his foot off only to feel the sandwiching pressure increase, "Back then, we would've felt sorry for you because of the saddness burning in your soul." he took his foot of Scorpio Reaper, "But right now, I want to return the pain you caused us when you pinned us to the floor and walked out with the Supra-Force Metal we were tasked to protect."
Ryuta kicks Scorpio Reaper on the side, the impact flipping him over. Upon landing on his back, the hood drops to the floor, revealing Hajime squeezing his eyes shut and gritting his teeth at the sharp pain of the kick. He opens his eyes a few seconds later to find the ronin staring at him, his eyes wide with shock and his grip on his Red Lotus Saber tightening to the point of throttling it.
"You...!" Ryuta squeaked before frowning in anger, "So that's why I started sensing a liking to rice whenever I look at you!"
Hajime's face twitches in fright as he scrambles to his feet and runs down the street for Draconis' exit. Ryuta grits his teeth in more anger as he swung his arm in a diagonal angle, firing several bombs into the air that explode upon impact around the fleeing Maverick.
Hajime stares at bursts of fire surrounding him seconds before feeling something slam into his body, pinning him to the ground again. He grunts as a hand grabbed his shoulder and threw him onto his back, finding himself staring straight into Ryuta's frowning face; his hand tight around the collar of his poncho.
"You sadistic little brat!" he seethed, "I atta scewer you like a piece of meat!"
"Then do it already!" Hajime yells, "Kill me and prove to everyone just how heroic you are!" he dug his fingers into the ground, tearing up clumps of dirt into his hands, "You think you're the only one who wants a piece of Scorpio Reaper!? Even the most lacking in machine technology wants to lop my head off and make everyone happy that they won't have to lose their 'precious' Supra-Force Metal or have their duplication machines destroyed!"
"If you hate being the center of hated attention so much, why did you continue breaking into Force Metal facilities and destroy everything associated with Supra-Force Metal!?" Ryuta demands.
"You think I asked for this!?" Hajime exclaims, "You think I wanted to spend the rest of my life going from lab to lab and destroying things just to convey a message!? I didn't care back when my Dad stuck that task on me because I knew I was doing something to eradicate those damn pieces of metal!" Tears well up in Hajime's eyes as his body trembles with agony, "But after spending years staring into the eyes of those terrified scientists and listening to them beg for their lives, I became sick of it! I was sick of being called Scorpio Reaper, and I was sick of being chased by everyone who wants to kill me just to boost their pride and attention! I tried getting them to look for alternatives to this act of defiance, but all I get are promises only I know will never be kept!"
Hajime jerks his head away, shutting his eyes as the tears spilled down his cheek, "But why would you care!? The only thing running through your mind is extracting your revenge on me and getting on with your life, relieved that you won't ever have to think about Scorpio Reaper again!"
Ryuta's frown increases as he stabs the Red Lotus Saber into the ground beside him, "You're right. That is the only thing on my mind right now." he drew his fist back and jabs it into Hajime's mid-section, causing him to gag from the impact before going limp on the ground, "Now it's not."
Hajime trembles in pain as Ryuta threw him over his shoulder and heads back into the rundown house just as the stars begin to vanish at the arrival of the rising sun.
|
|