ReleaseD: Four Years

[Gen Gravy]

Hero for Hire - First Instance


"You are banished from Star Isle and all her realms forever!"

Those words still floated around Cole's head, even though it had been a month since his trial. Cole was strolling through the streets of Freelancer City, home of people he doesn't care about or like. He was there just to steal some work from Axl and his men. Cole was familiar with the workings of some of the individuals of the Red Alert Mercenaries, and knew that the greedy Wildroids might scare away potential employers if they weren't being offered a good amount of money.

Cole smirked as he approached the Red Alert Tower. He saw a reploid stumbling out of the main entrance, with electricity flying passed him. He figured Panter had something to do with it, or one of the other reploids that manipulated electricity, but it didn't matter. He found some work.

"You! You beasts are barbarous! How dare you attack me like that!" exclaimed the reploid with a flabbergasted look on his face. The reploid stood up and dusted himself off. He looked up and noticed Cole walking towards him. He cringed back and fear and said, "Oh God! Just take all I have, and please don't kill me!"

Cole snickered and rubbed his nose, "Relax! I ain't with those bastards, or some street scum! Name's Cole, and I am a Hero for Hire."

"Hero for Hire?..." repeated the reploid, "Like a mercenary?"

"Yah..." Cole rubbed the back of his head, "I guess..."

The reploid hugged Cole out of glee, "Oh thank goodness! I have been looking for someone to help me! I came here to get the help of the Red Alerts, but they-"

"Yah, I don't care," interrupted Cole, "Just tell me what I gotta do."

"Oh, heh, well... The job I brought to them was a simple retrieval mission," said the reploid, "I need a precious material called Supra Force Metal... To conduct some research."

"Eh? That's it?" asked Cole, "Fine. Tell me where to go, I could use the money."

The reploid smiled with elation," Excellent! Excellent! The facility holding the Supra Force Metal is in Hydra Cordatus! Once you arrive in the city, I will contact you with even further information!"

"Contact me? How? I don't even know your name!" said Cole.

"Seeya you in Cordatus!" the reploid said with a simple grin. He disappeared into beam of energy; he had teleported away.

Cole stuck his hands in his pockets and frowned. "Hydra Cordatus? Shit... I should have paid attention in my Geography class.. Sounds like a reploid city... So I guess I gotta head north..." He turned away from the Red Alert Tower, and made his away deeper into the city, to try and found a way to his destination.


Into the Mouth of the Beast - Second Instance

It was wet. It was cold. It was miserable.

Cole hated being wet, cold, and miserable, so he hated Hydra Cordatus. He was standing outside because he wasn't allowed in any of the shops, restaurants, or buildings because he was human. Apparently, he ended up in a part of the city where the reploids hated humans, and wanted nothing to do with them. Fantastic.

"Well, I see the Master's mercenary has shown up," said a metallic voice.

Cole looked to his side to see a butler-ish robot. His armor was styled to look like a suit, and he even stood in the rigid manner of a butler. Cole cocked an eyebrow and repeated, "Master?"

"Yes, Master Fenris. He was the reploid who hired you in Freelancer City," said the butler, "He used his optics to snap a photo of you, and downloaded your picture into my memory banks, and sent me out to find you," said the butler.

Cole blinked, "All that to find me? He could have just given me a freaking phone number to call, or something..."

"Master Fenris prefers security, which is why he choose to keep some things a secret from you," said the butler, "Regardless, I have the information you need for your assignment."

"And that would be?" asked Cole.

"The facility you are to infiltrate is right across the road from you," said the butler.

Cole slapped his face, "Of course. I have been standing here for hours only to find out the place I need to get into has been standing right in front of me... Anything else I need to know?"

"Security is tightest towards the top of the facility, which most likely means that the Supra Force Metal is being held up there," said the butler plainly.

Cole nodded, "Fine... I will be right back..." He made his way across the street, and pushed open the doors to the facility. Cole came into a large, white room with a reception desk at the other end of it. A female reploid sat at the desk and smiled at Cole.

"Welcome to KynaTech Industries, how may I help you?" she asked.

Cole approached the desk and leaned against it, "I am here for your Supra Force Metal, so if you would be so kind..." He looked at the reploid and smiled, "... Would you mind telling me where it is?"

The reploid frowned. Panels opened up on her shoulder-pads, revealing barrels to a machine gun. The guns began to spray bullets at Cole.

Cole yelped and dropped down. He grabbed his head and glared up at the reploid, "What the hell, you crazy bitch!?" he shouted.

"Infiltrator at reception!" shouted the reploid, "Targeted Human knows about Supra Force Metal hidden in building! Repeat: Infiltrator at reception!"

Reploids clad in black armor began to run into the room, they carried small machine guns, and aimed them at Cole. Their faces were obstructed with red visors.

Cole smirked and shrugged, "All you guys are totting around guns and are wearing big, scary armor! I don't see how this is fair at all..." His right arm begins to spark with pink electricity. The sleeve of his jacket rips away, revealing his arm. A gray, synthetic coating appeared over his arms. Green, luminescent markings appeared up and down his arm. Golden armor forms over his shoulder, arm, and fist. Spikes grow from Cole's shoulder and wrist. Markings appear under Cole's eyes, and his hair began to stand up. Cole's right eye turned black, and his iris turned yellow.

Cole smirked, "Now... Now it is fair... You guys are going to regret screwing with me..." He stood up, and clenched his right hand into a fist. The reploids stepped back out of astonishment of what just happened to Cole's arm, "Because now... You are going to taste first hand what I did to that bastard, the Hephaestus. Say hello to Model D!"


To Be Continued...

[Gen Gravy]

Model D - Third Instance


Cole drove his fist into the face of the reploid guard closest to him. He felt sickening crunches as his hand went right through the reploid's face, and out the other side of his head. Artificial blood was pouring from the reploid's head, staining Cole's armor and the floor. Cole placed his right foot on the reploid's chest, and kicked him off of Cole's fist. The reploid fell lifelessly to the ground, in a pool of oils and blood.

The guards stumbled back out of astonishment and fear. What was once their comrade's face was now a jumbled up mess of artificial skin, wires, and fragments of metal.

"Anyone else want to taste some golden fury?" asked Cole with a cocky grin on his face.

All of the guards stared at their dead comrade, and looked back to Cole. They all yelped and screamed as they ran about, trying to get away from the human intruder. Within seconds, they were all gone, only Cole and the dead guard remained.

"Way to be messy, you idiot," said a voice.

Cole growled and cocked his head to the side, "Jesus, D. Will anything I do every be okay with you?"

He looked to the pool of liquids left by the dead guard, and gazed upon his reflection. Cole had short, messy black hair pulled back into a ponytail. He wore a black, leather jacket over a red shirt with a white bullseye on it. Cole wore black pants that had tattered bottoms. This reflection slowly began to change.

A cyborg with golden armor was staring back at him. The cyborg wore a mask with slits for his eyes, and had gray protrusions that resembled spikes sticking out of his forehead and sides of his head. The cyborg's arms were crossed, and he had a rather sour look in his eyes.

"Your are on a job, Cole. Instead of waltzing in and chatting up with the receptionist, you should have broken into the back and quietly reach your goal," said the cyborg.

Cole stuck his pinky in his ear and started to twist it around, "Bah. What would you know? Your just a freaking Biometal. I am your master, and I do what I want when I want," he pulled his pinky from his ear, and flicked a yellow mass of ear wax away, "Your powers aren't exactly stealthy, y'know?"

The cyborg growled, "That is because you refuse to use any other powers I offer! You only think like a brute, and throw your strength around like a Draken! Model D has an infinite amount of possibilities that you have barely tapped in to!"

"I don't need to listen to this, I have a job to do!" exclaimed Cole. He kicked the puddle of liquids, distorting the image of the cyborg. After the puddle settled, he could see his own reflection again. He let out an annoyed growl, and walked past the receptionist's desk, and towards a rather ornate door. A panel with two arrows sat on the wall beside the door. Cole, out of curiosity, pushed the arrow pointing up.

The doors slid open, revealing a small chamber. He had found an elevator. Cole stepped into the elevator, and pushed the button for the highest floor. The doors shut in front of him, and he could feel the elevator moving up. He leaned against one of the walls inside the elevator, and closed his eyes, going into deep thought. Cole started to think about that phrase that continued to float around in his head. He started to think back, way back, to how it started.



Chivalry is Dead - First Rewind


Cole was sitting in a chair next to a bed. All walls in the room were painted white. The chair he sat in was white. The bed he sat next to was white. Everything he could see was white, and sickening. The sickening feeling could have just been caused by the fact that he was sitting in the hospital, and there were sick people all around him. Then again, he hates the 'color' white to the point of disgust, and even though he knew it wasn't a color, he didn't care. Cole wasn't at the hospital to talk about colors, but to visit his best friend.

A young man with blond hair was lying in the bed next to Cole. He looked like he was in bad shape, because he was wrapped from the neck down in bandages, but it wasn't as bad as it looked. At least, it did before, but the man had some time to heal. This man was Altus, the Elemental of Chivalry, and Cole's best friend. The two were inseparable since childhood, and even though the believed in different things, they were the best of friends.

A young woman walked into the room. She wore a white blouse, and a blue skirt. She held a bundle of books under her right arm. The woman's hair was blond as well and fell down to her knees. She looked from the man in the bed and then to Cole.

Cole blushed when he saw her, and looked away to try and hid it. He rubbed the back of his head and eyed the woman. Quite simply, and bluntly, he said, "Hello, Lixus."

Lixus smiled softly and walked over to Cole, "You weren't in school today... Why is that?" She stopped in front of Cole and placed her hands on her hips as she waited for a response.

"I have been here... Waiting," said Cole, "Your brother... Altus... Has shown some signs of improvement. I wanted to be here if he woke up. It has been a couple of weeks since we saved him from the Hephaestus, and I wanted to be here to talk with him about it. While under the control of the Hephaestus... He did things that he wouldn't be proud of, and I know that he would need his friends by him to counsel him through it."

Lixus blinked out of astonishment. For all the time that she has known Cole, she had never knew him to be caring. "I never took you to be someone that is so kind..." she said, "I can see why my brother is friends with you."

Cole's face turned even redder. He growled and said, "Yah well... Don't get any wrong ideas! Altus may be my best friend, but I am not going to go all gay and start talking about my feelings and shit like that!"

Lixus giggled, "Of course, Cole. I wouldn't have expected you to."

The man in the bed began to groan and move around. Cole and Lixus immediately snapped to attention, and moved over to him.

"Brother!?" exclaimed Lixus. Her voice was filled with astonishment.

"You okay, Altus? Old buddy?" asked Cole with a weary look on his face.

Altus sat up, his face was emotionless. He looked down at his hands, which began to shake, and looked over to Cole and Lixus. His face contorted with a frown, and his eyes became cold and cruel.

"Chivalry is dead," he said, "And you will pay for killing it, Cole!"


To be continued...

[Gen Gravy]

Shining Byakko – Fourth Instance


Cole could hear roaring, and it wasn’t too far off. He snapped out of his little trance, figuring he’d have time to reminisce later. The elevator came to a slow halt, but Cole was hesitant about leaving from the safety of the elevator. He could hear howls and screams from the other side of the door. Something was up here with him. Something beat him to the top.

This pissed him off. Someone has beaten him to the prize, and he wasn’t about to sit back and lose to some bargain bin mercenary. Cole clapped his hands together, causing swirls of pink energy to envelop him. Sleek, golden armor began to appear over his body. A trident-shaped spike appeared on his forehead, and smaller spikes extended from his shoulders, wrists, back, and ankles. A mask appeared over his face, which was plan except for two black markings under the slits for his eyes.

He drew back his foot, and swung it with all his strength at the elevator door. The door was knocked out, the metal bent and broke as if it were wood. Cole stepped out of the elevator and looked around his new environment. Artificial blood was everywhere, along with the dead bodies of guards that have been horribly mutilated. Many machines were in the room, leading Cole to believe that it was a lab of some sorts. Most of the machines, however, had claw marks all over them. Something happened here. Something big.

Cole gritted his teeth as he began to make his way across the room. At the other end of the room was a set of doors that have been ripped open. Claw marks were all over the door, leading Cole to believe that whatever happened to this room, has made its way into the next one. He stepped through the door, and stopped in his tracks. Cole was overcome with fear for the first time of his life.

A magnificent reploid with white armor stood in the room. Black stripes marked his armor, making it resemble the hide of a tiger. His face was round like a cat’s, and he had glowing, blue eyes. The reploid’s armor was sleek, and his legs inverted. He had long claws that looked like they could slice through Cole with ease. The reploid was stained with blood.

“Another guard?” hummed the reploid, “No… This one is different. Those guards are weak… I can tell that this one is strong…”

Cole stood motionless. He could feel that this guy was powerful. Cole remembered seeing him somewhere before. He just couldn’t pull up any memories regarding him. His current problem was standing before him, and he didn’t have time to try and remember where he saw him.

“What is your name, warrior?” asked the reploid.

Cole snapped out of his trance, and took one step back. He balled his hands into fists and growled, “Name’s Cole…”

“Do you have a surname, Little Cole?” asked the reploid.

Cole pressed his thumb against his chest, “My first name is all you gotta know! I have no family anymore, so I don’t need a last name!”

The reploid began to chuckle. He was starting to like this spunky kid, “Fine then, I will not press the matter any further, Little Cole. I am Shining Byakko, the White Tiger of the West.”

“Fancy title,” said Cole.

“It is more than just a title,” said Byakko, “But that doesn’t matter right now. What are you doing here, Little Cole?”

Cole snorted; this guy was starting to annoy him. He said in a flat tone, “I am here to steal some Supra Force Metal. What’s it matter to you?”

Byakko chuckled as he reached behind himself. He pulled out a clear capsule with a large, shining metal fragment sitting at its bottom.
“I was sent here for the same thing,” he said.

“Well then, I guess I have no other choice than to take it from you!” shouted Cole. He began to overcome his fear as rage began to fuel his body. His boots began to hum to life as small thrusters hidden in the soles of his feet activated. He dashed towards Byakko at blinding speeds, roaring a battle cry as he did so.

Byakko chuckled as he suddenly disappeared from sight. Cole’s eyes widened as he felt claws dig into his chest, and rake across. He spun out, and crashed into a wall at the other side of the room. Cole tried to push himself back up, but suddenly felt an intense, hot pain in his stomach.

The White Tiger was standing over him. He held a metal spear that was sticking out of Cole’s stomach. He chuckled as he glared down at Cole, “You disappoint me, Little Cole,” he said, “I thought you’d be a challenge.”

Cole coughed up blood, and cursed at Shining Byakko. The pain overwhelmed him; he never felt such a sensation like it. He has been knocked around before, but this was different. It was if Shining Byakko was stabbing him all over, digging into his body with his spear and claws. The pain got the better of Cole, causing him to black out.

To Be Continued…