PSO2: Legend of Aki [Updated 5/25/14]

[o0Kais0o]

This is pretty damn awesome, really enjoying it thus far although I'm slightly sad the sisters aren't a trio anymore.

[CelestialBlade]

I got chills reading through the last half of that chapter, pretty high tension and all kinds of drama building. Once and again I'm highly looking forward to what happens next!

[stukasa]

I'm not going to be around tomorrow so I decided to post this a little early. Enjoy!

@o0Kais0o: Thanks a lot, I'm glad to hear that!

@CelestialBlade: You won't have to wait long, then~

EPISODE 2.4 [8/23/13]

Spoiler!

PREVIOUSLY, ON "LEGEND OF AKI"...
Aki confronts Colonel Richter, who shoots Dr. Veruvias and has Aki and Zack sent to prison. The pair manages to escape and discovers that Richter is at SkyRing Labs. Vowing to stop him, they set off in pursuit.

[/b][/u]

Spoiler!

The commotion over the explosion at the ARKS Command tower provided the perfect cover for Aki and Zack as they made their way out of the administration building. No one paid any attention to two random ARKS members as they made their way down the street in search of transportation. That is, until a news broadcast appeared on the large video screens scattered throughout the city.

As they got closer to one of the screens, they heard the female reporter's announcement: "--reporting to you live from outside the ARKS Command tower, where a large explosion has just occurred. The top floor of the tower has been completely destroyed, though the loss of life appears to be minimal. We are being told by ARKS Command that this may be the work of two suspected conspirators, who are believed to have perished in the attack--"

"Just great," Zack growled. "Let's go before we find our mugshots all over the news."

* * * * * * * * *

Spoiler!

Colonel Richter doubled over as pain suddenly welled up in his chest. His escorts reached out to steady him, barely managing to catch him in time.
"Colonel? What's wrong?"
His hands were shaking now. The growth lodged in his chest was throbbing violently. He couldn't stop it any longer, couldn't hold it back.
No. No. No no no no no. Not now, not yet!
"Colonel? Colonel Richter!"
Just a little more time. Just a little... more...
It was too late. There was no stopping it now.

* * * * * * * * *

Aki and Zack "borrowed" a passenger car off the street and raced towards SkyRing Labs in the heart of the downtown district. Along the way they made an extra stop to meet one of Zack's associates, a weapons specialist who supplied them with a fresh pair of assault rifles and some spare grenades. They had lost their previous weapons during the leap from the Command tower.

Zack passed a rifle to Aki and clipped the grenades to his belt. One way or another, he resolved, they were going to end this.

* * * * * * * * *

Five minutes later, Zack parked the car across the street from SkyRing Labs. He and Aki trotted up the steps to the front entrance, wary of any guards that might get in their way, but there was no one there to stop them. Once again, things were going a little too smoothly for comfort.

The entire lab seemed to be deserted. Richter probably had everyone but his own men leave the lab for the duration of their "investigation."

As they moved deeper into the facility, the only sound they heard was the sound of their own footsteps echoing down the halls. They turned a corner and stopped dead in their tracks. In the center of a large testing room, its back to them, stood a single figure sheathed from head to toe in black armor. At its feet were the bloody, mangled bodies of four security escorts.

The thing seemed foreign to them, completely alien, and yet... Somehow, they knew. They knew instinctively who--or what--they were looking at.
"Colonel?" Zack choked the word out apprehensively.
The thing's head twitched.
"COLONEL RICHTER!!!" Zack bellowed, his voice echoing throughout the room.

It made no sound as it slowly turned to face them. The organic, obsidian-like armor plates covering its body glistened under the sterile lighting. With glowing red eyes and sharp, protruding claws, it looked like something that had crawled out of the darkest of nightmares, a true monster given form. Whatever it was, it was no longer Colonel Richter. It was no longer... human.

[/b][/u]

Aki and Zack glanced at each other with the same stern expression, each of them possessing the same thought: We will stop you.

They brought up their rifles and let loose a barrage but the bullets bounced harmlessly off the monster's armored chest plates. They continued firing as they backed away but the thing didn't intend to let them escape. It leapt at them, suddenly and furiously, before they could react. Zack tried to jump away but the Darker's punch caught him in the stomach and he went flying four meters back--directly into the wall, and collapsed to the ground.

Aki was slightly quicker and managed to avoid its first strike, but the second hit--a low thrust--sent her sprawling to the floor. The Darker tried to stomp on her chest but she rolled out of the way and came up firing. Unfortunately, the bullets were still ineffective. The monster charged forward, slamming its body into her with all the force of a freight train. Aki's left side sustained moderate damage as she tumbled away in an uncontrolled spin. She tried to hang onto her gun--tried and failed--as the weapon left her grip and went sliding towards the back wall.

Aki raised herself off the floor, anticipating the next attack. She didn't have to wait long. The Darker charged at her again, smashing through the lab equipment in its way. Aki steadied herself, bringing her fists up in a defensive posture. The monster tried to slam into her again, but this time she dodged out of the way at the last moment, rolling towards the wall as she grabbed her fallen rifle. The monster couldn't stop fast enough, crashing into a tank of opaque green liquid. The tank shattered and the liquid burst out in front of the Darker's face, momentarily distracting it.

Just then, a grenade came sailing through the air from the Darker's right flank. Zack was clearly trying to catch it off guard but the monster easily swatted it away. The grenade bounced into a corner on the far side of the room, and a few seconds later, it exploded. For the first time, the Darker grinned, a sinister grin that sent chills down Zack's spine. As it turned to face him, he readied another grenade.
"Eat this, you freak!" he shouted, blood dripping down the side of his face.

Before he could pull out the pin, the monster lunged at him again and knocked the grenade from his hand, sending it bouncing across the room and out of reach as it landed behind a row of metal cylinders. The thing grabbed him by the neck now, lifting him off the floor. Its sharp, spear-like claws began cutting into his skin as it choked him.

A burst of photon bullets hit the Darker in the side of the head and it snarled, angry at the interruption. Dropping Zack, the monster turned its attention back to Aki, who was slowly backing away with her gun raised. It stalked toward her and she continued to back away. She pulled the trigger and her assault rifle poured out a continuous hail of bullets, though they all reflected off the monster's armor as it continued to advance. Aki stopped firing. She was out of options.

From the shadows, Zack tackled the Darker and grabbed hold of it with everything he had. He didn't have enough strength to knock it over, but that wasn't his intention. He gripped the last grenade in his hand as he clung to the monster's chest.

"Aki! Do it just like you did last time!"
And then he pulled the pin out with his teeth. "You're only gonna get one shot at this. Make it count!"

She understood. She didn't want to accept it, but she understood. Nodding grimly, she jumped back several meters and raised her rifle to firing position.

The monster stabbed one of its spear-like claws into Zack's back. He groaned and coughed up blood but continued to hold on.
"You're not gonna get rid of me that easily, you bastard!!"

A second later, the grenade blew. A bright explosion engulfed the center of the room, temporarily overloading Aki's visual sensors. When it cleared, there was no trace left of Zack. As for the monster, its chest armor had been blown open--but not off. It wailed in a high-pitched scream that could only be described as "decidedly not human." In the hole blown open by the grenade, its red, bulbous core was beating. Within a few seconds, the armor would repair itself and the chance would be gone.

Aki didn't take that long. She fired a burst from her rifle straight into the monster's core, shattering it. The core stopped glowing and went dark. After that the monster abruptly fell to its knees, then collapsed face down on the floor, lifeless. The fight was over.

* * * * * * * * *

[/b][/u]

- Two days later -

The investigation had been thorough and quick. The administration wanted to keep the incident as quiet as possible, preferring discretion over accountability. Aki and Zack were cleared of all charges once they had ascertained the truth about Colonel Richter, and a report had been made to the Darker research division detailing everything they knew. It was tragically ironic, the report mused. He had become the very monster he feared.

Spoiler!

Faris and Tam'rin were released from the hospital just in time to attend the funeral. It was being held at a small cemetery on the outskirts of the city. The artificial weather system was in the process of transitioning from day to night lighting and the people gathered on the hill were casting long shadows under a deep violet "sky"--which, in reality, was merely the great dome of the colony ship.

A somber-looking official was speaking words of praise about Zack and his contributions to the ARKS' cause, but Aki hardly heard any of it. She was staring straight ahead, at the empty casket in front of her. Zack had been like an older brother to her, taking her under his wing after the death of her sister. They had fought many life-or-death battles together, their bond as comrades forged in mutual trust and respect. Now Aki was alone again. And once again, she was faced with the harsh reality that someone had made the ultimate sacrifice to save her life. She clenched her fists, not out of anger or sadness, but out of determination. She would get stronger. She would do better. No one else would die because of her weakness.

Night fell over the colony ship. Beyond the great dome, an ocean of stars sparkled brightly. Unnoticed to everyone but Aki, there was one more star in the sky than usual that night.

* * * * * * * * *

Deep within the bowels of the Orpheus, far below the ARKS Command tower, a single Dagan stirred in its cage. It was being called back home, back to the darkness from whence it came. Yet it remained trapped, unable to escape its prison, unable to heed the call.

With Colonel Richter and Dr. Veruvias both dead, there was no one left to oversee the solitary Darker. In time it became little more than a forgotten research project, written off and swept under the rug by bureaucrats who wanted to put the whole mess behind them. Eventually the lab under the Command tower was abandoned, the lights shut off to save electricity. Yet from the darkness, a pair of red eyes continued to shine. The Dagan was still waiting, still biding its time. Until the day it would return to its master.



EPISODE 2: END

[CelestialBlade]

.....

DAMMIT! JUST WHEN I GOT ATTACHED TO ZACK! NOOOOOOOOOOOOO ;_;

And the parallels in our stories just continue; we both had huge battles this week Great read and nice work on the action scenes.

[Zorafim]

That's funny. I put up my first fight scene on the 23rd, too.

[o0Kais0o]

Spoiler!

You really love killing your characters just as people start liking them don't you? Great fight scene, though I'm kind of curious how Aki will turn out, everyone she gets close to dies (cuz you're mean ), are we going to see her become somewhat withdrawn from others?

[stukasa]

Thanks for the comments, everyone!

Spoiler!

@CelestialBlade: Sorry about that...

@o0Kais0o: Aki is a constantly evolving character and you'll get to see her change from one episode to the next. Episode 2 will obviously have a big impact on her, so you'll just have to wait and find out when Episode 3 starts this weekend!

Aaaaand, just for fun, a few pictures from the past!

Spoiler!

Aki01 & Aki02 as they appeared in PSU:


Awesome Aki01 & Aki02 PSU fanart drawn by (and I'm not kidding) Aki03:


A Christmas sketch I drew last year:

[stukasa]

EPISODE 3.1 [8/31/13]

Spoiler!

[/b][/u]

LEGEND OF AKI: EPISODE 3: PARADISE LOST

Location: Planet Naberius
Forest Sector Delta-3

They walked through the forest, their feet crunching on the scattered foliage. Somewhere in the distance, a pair of udans were chattering. The sun was setting, casting long shadows through the trees.

This planet reminded Aki of Eldona, the planet where she had been built. During those early days, when she had trained with her sisters, Zero One and Zero Three. When she had learned about the world from her creator, Dr. Bowman. Those days felt like a lifetime ago.

Spoiler!

"So, what do you think about all this?"
Aki turned to look at the man speaking to her. "About what?"
"This war."
"I don't." She kept walking.
"This war against the Darkers is turning all of us ARKS into frontline soldiers. Not exactly what I signed up for, I'll tell you that."

They continued walking in silence, the twelve of them. Three ARKS teams, Alpha, Beta, and Gamma, had been assigned to this mission. She had been assigned to Gamma Team two days earlier and this was their first mission together. Naberius was a "site of interest" to ARKS Command after recent exploration teams had reported a high concentration of Darkers. But now the ARKS' Delta Post had stopped communicating, and it was up to Aki and her teammates to find out why.

"Well would you look at that." Warren, the man who had spoken to her earlier, pointed a finger straight ahead.
They had reached the highest point on the hillside. Ahead, the ground sloped downward, giving them a magnificent view of the valley spreading out below them. A flock of aginis birds flew past, their bodies silhouetted against the setting sun.
"We're not here for the view, Warren." Kuromatsu walked past them without pausing.
Warren grinned. "Aye aye, Cap'n."

Spoiler!

* * * * * * * * *

An hour later, the sun had gone below the tree line and darkness had settled over the valley. The ARKS members switched on their personal lights to see the path ahead. Beta Team was walking alongside Gamma Team now. Alpha Team was following twenty meters behind them.

Kuromatsu raised one of his arms. "Alright people, let's stop here for a bit. We're taking a thirty minute break. Eat your rations if you're hungry, you may not get a chance later."

A few members of the group let out exaggerated sighs of relief. Everyone set down their weapons and found comfortable spots to relax--as comfortable as could be expected from a tropical forest at night.

A Newearl Fighter from Beta Team sat on a log near Aki.
"Is this your first mission on Naberius?" the green-haired woman asked, trying to make conversation.
"Yes."
"Mine, too. Command seems pretty gung-ho about this place, but I don't see what the fuss is all about. Just looks like a bunch of trees to me."
Aki stared straight ahead, a slightly mournful look on her face. "I used to live on a planet like this, with my sisters."
"Oh, you have sisters?"
"No, not anymore."
The woman's eyes widened. "I--I'm sorry."
"That's all right."

After an awkward pause, the Newearl extended her hand to Aki. "Let me start again. My name is Selena."
Aki regarded the hand, then took it in her own. "Aki."
"Nice to meet you, Aki."

Spoiler!

After they finished shaking hands, Selena opened a pouch on her hip and pulled out a ration bar. She broke it in half and offered a piece to Aki.
Aki had to decline. "I'm sorry but I don't eat that type of food."
"Oh, right, I always forget. CASTs like you and Captain Kuromatsu over there have a different palate than the rest of us."
"I consume solid and liquid synthetic nutrients. They are specially designed to be broken down and absorbed by my body for a variety of functions, such as keeping my internal fluid levels up and providing supplemental energy."
Selena stuck out her tongue. "Blech. No offense, but that doesn't sound very tasty."
Aki tilted her head slightly to the right. "It is not meant to be 'tasty.' It is meant to keep me operating at peak efficiency."
Selena laughed. "To be honest, these field rations aren't much to brag about, either."

* * * * * * * * *

Aki and Selena continued talking for the rest of the thirty minutes, then it was time to move out. Kuromatsu stood up and motioned the rest of the soldiers that break time was over. They grabbed their weapons and gear, then continued their march through the forest. Once again, Beta Team was walking beside Gamma Team.

"You know," Selena remarked casually, "this place isn't so bad once you get used to it."
"That is how most places tend to be," Aki replied.
"That's true," Selena chuckled. "Say, have you heard the latest out of the rumor mill? They say the military is trying to scrape together enough funding to supply us all with Mags by the next cycle. Not just the officers and special forces, but everyone."
Mags, small personal robotic helpers, were designed to assist the ARKS in a number of ways. They could be configured to help with everything from combat to analysis to medical services and more, depending on what their owner required. They would be an invaluable asset to any ARKS member. If what Selena said was true, then... "That would be... helpful," Aki commented.
"I know, right? I'm going to use mine as an alarm clock and I'll teach it to do my laundry."
Aki raised an eyebrow in Selena's direction.
"Kidding! About the laundry thing, anyway. I could really use a new alarm clock, though..."

Water droplets began falling through the trees, lightly at first, but soon it turned into a steady downpour.
Selena groaned. "Great, just when I was starting to like this place."
The humans and Newmans in the group pulled on their camo ponchos to protect themselves from the rain. The CASTs didn't have ponchos, but thankfully they were waterproof so it didn't matter.

An hour later the rain had all but stopped. At the base of the valley, they reached a clearing. Kuromatsu held up a hand to signal the teams to stop.
He turned to face them. "Delta Post is just ahead. I don't see any lights, which leads me to believe that the power is out."
Warren spoke up. "Well that would explain why they haven't been responding to our hails."
"Not exactly. They should have a backup portable generator on site. If they haven't been using it, something more serious must be going on. Stay alert, and follow my lead."

Kuromatsu turned and stepped into the clearing. The eleven other ARKS members followed him. They quickly reached the perimeter fence, or what was left of it. Most of it seemed to have been trampled by something. They stepped over it and into the remains of Delta Post. Illuminated only by the moonlight and the ARKS' personal lights, it was an eerie sight to behold. Crates and supplies were littered throughout the area. The small building that served as the command center was dark and empty. The ARKS teams spread out to explore the deserted camp.

A cursory inspection of Delta Post revealed what Kuromatsu already suspected: there was no one there.

"Kuromatsu to ARKS Command. Come in, Command."
No response.
"Rastin, try hailing Command."
"Sure thing, Captain." Rastin switched on his radio. "Rastin to ARKS Command. Command, do you read?"
Silence.
"Sorry, boss. Looks like the reception is bad in this part of the forest."

Spoiler!

The forest had gotten quiet. How long had it been so quiet? Kuromatsu had a bad feeling about this.

"Aki?"
"Yes, Captain?"
"Round up the teams. I want everyone back here as soon as possible."
"It may be too late for that, Captain. We're surrounded."
Kuromatsu looked to the tree line. A hundred glittering red eyes stared back at him from the darkness beyond.

Behind them, they heard screams. Without hesitation, Kuromatsu spun around and ran full speed toward the cries. "Everyone, red alert!!"

[/b][/u]

On the other side of the command center, Kuromatsu found two members of Alpha Team face down on the ground, either unconscious or dead. Standing over their bodies were half a dozen Dagans, the spider-like Darkers he knew all too well. He pulled the two halves of his double saber from his back and attached them together, then lowered himself into a fighting stance.

Kuromatsu and the Dagans circled each other, each waiting for the opportunity to strike. When the Dagans began charging forward, Kuromatsu whipped his double saber around in a blinding fury, slicing four of them in half. He caught the fifth one with his heel, kicking it away as he sliced through the sixth.

"Captain!!"
Kuromatsu heard Warren's call coming from the center of the outpost and took off running. He arrived just in time to see Rastin fall to the ground, his body covered in wounds. Four other soldiers had already been killed and the swarm of Dagans was closing in on the survivors from all sides.

Letting out a war cry, Kuromatsu charged into the swarm. His blade was an extension of himself, knocking the Darkers left and right as he pressed forward. The swarm erupted into chaos, its attention divided between the four remaining ARKS and their captain.

* * * * * * * * *

At the center of the swarm, Aki and Selena stood back-to-back. Aki's rifle let loose a barrage that kept the advancing Darkers at bay. Selena's twin daggers sliced through any that managed to get too close.

Selena had to shout over the sounds of the battle. "There are too many of them!"
"I know!"
"We have to do something!"
Aki thought about it for a moment, her gun still firing relentlessly. "If we work together, we might be able to create an opening!"

"Leave that to me!" It wasn't Selena who replied, it was Kuromatsu. He burst into the center of the swarm and joined the other four ARKS. All five of them were now completely surrounded by dozens of bloodthirsty Dagans.
"Glad you could join us, Captain." Warren smiled grimly over his shoulder.
"You should be. I'm here to save your sorry ass."
"Yeah? You got a plan or something?"
"Something like that. Aki?"
"Captain?" she asked back, her weapon blazing.
"I'm going to give you the opening you need. Take Warren, Selena, and Hayes. Get to Epsilon Post and tell them what happened here." Kuromatsu struck down another Dagan with his blade.
"What about you?"
"I'll hold them off as long as I can."

This time it was Warren who replied. "Captain! We can't abandon you here!"
"I just gave an order, soldier. I expect you to follow it. Besides, I don't plan on dying just yet!"
And with that, Kuromatsu plunged into the swarm like a tornado. Darker bodies went flying into the air as his assault plowed a hole straight through the enemy line.

Wasting no time, Aki and the others ran through the opening before the Dagans could reorganize. They continued running as they passed Kuromatsu, who turned to block the Dagans' pursuit. As they reached the edge of the tree line, Warren was the only one who looked back.

Kuromatsu's white armor shone brilliantly in the moonlight. He stood facing the Darkers with the calm resolve of a veteran soldier. Warren wanted to go back for him, to help him, but he knew the captain had already made up his mind. This was his fight alone.

"Warren! Come on, let's go!" Hayes was motioning for him to catch up.
He took one last look at Kuromatsu before turning to leave. "Fight well, Captain..."

Spoiler!

TO BE CONTINUED

[CelestialBlade]

Tremendous combat scene this chapter, I highly enjoyed reading that. Kuromatsu's a total badass, and while both of our stories tend to focus on ARKS in training, it's nice to see how a veteran fights. You'll be seeing that in my story as well in a few chapters.

Your music choices are always great but I really liked the track for exploring Naberius. Can't wait to see where this episode is going.

[o0Kais0o]

I really wish the game had darkers be as threatening as you and other writers on the site portray them, in game they're just so much meh. Another great fight scene, although that could be my bias for all things CAST talking lol.