PSO2: Legend of Aki: REBIRTH

[stukasa]

https://i.imgur.com/XqIspw3.png

Hello and welcome to the official sequel to my "Legend of Aki" PSO2 fanfic! This is the follow-up to the story I wrote in 2013-2014 about my character Aki and her adventures as an ARKS soldier. (Note: If you haven't read my previous work, there's a link to the original thread below.) I know it's been a long time coming but I've been hard at work these past few months getting everything ready. Just like before, I plan on releasing once a week, usually Saturdays. And as always, thanks for visiting! ^^

* CHAPTER SELECTION *

<< SEASON 1 >>
[spoiler-box]CHAPTER 1: TRIAL BY FIRE
- Chapter 1 [2/7/15] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?p=3232867&posted=1#post3232867)

CHAPTER 2: PAINFUL NEGOTIATIONS
- Chapter 2.1 [2/14/15] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?p=3234769#post3234769)
- Chapter 2.2 [2/21/15] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?p=3236532#post3236532)

CHAPTER 3: A PROMISING EDUCATION
- Chapter 3.1 [2/28/15] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?p=3238508#post3238508)
- Chapter 3.2 [3/7/15] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?p=3240707#post3240707)
- Chapter 3.3 [3/14/15] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?p=3243078#post3243078)
- Chapter 3.4 [3/21/15] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?p=3244972#post3244972)

CHAPTER 4: BEFORE THE DAWN
- Chapter 4.1 [3/28/15] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?p=3246644#post3246644)
- Chapter 4.2 [4/4/15] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?p=3248251#post3248251)
- Chapter 4.3 [4/11/15] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?p=3250121#post3250121)
- Chapter 4.4 [4/18/15] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?p=3252383#post3252383)
- Chapter 4.5 [4/25/15] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?p=3255132&posted=1#post3255132)

CHAPTER 5: LOST AND FOUND
- Chapter 5.1 [5/2/15] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?p=3257246#post3257246)
- Chapter 5.2 [5/9/15] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?p=3259593#post3259593)

SEASON ONE BONUS FEATURES
- Season One In Review [5/30/15] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?p=3264885#post3264885)

INTERLUDE
- Interlude 1.1 [6/20/15] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?p=3269378#post3269378)
- Interlude 1.2 [7/11/15] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?p=3272866#post3272866)[/spoiler-box]
<< SEASON 2 >>
[spoiler-box]CHAPTER 6: AT THE EDGE OF THE SILVER SEA
- Chapter 6.1 [8/15/15] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?p=3283082#post3283082)
- Chapter 6.2 [8/22/15] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?p=3285387#post3285387)
- Chapter 6.3 [8/29/15] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?p=3287980#post3287980)
- Chapter 6.4 [9/5/15] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?p=3289720#post3289720)
- Chapter 6.5 [9/12/15] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?p=3291073#post3291073)
- Chapter 6.6 [9/19/15] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?p=3292651#post3292651)
- Chapter 6.7 [9/26/15] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?p=3294333#post3294333)

CHAPTER 7: CONVERGENCE
- Chapter 7.1 [10/3/15] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?p=3295607#post3295607)
- Chapter 7.2 [10/10/15] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?p=3296798#post3296798)
- Chapter 7.3 [10/17/15] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?p=3298558#post3298558)
- Chapter 7.4 [10/24/15] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?p=3300014#post3300014)

CHAPTER 8: BELLY OF THE BEAST
- Chapter 8.1 [10/31/15] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?p=3301945#post3301945)
- Chapter 8.2 [11/7/15] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?p=3303741#post3303741)

CHAPTER 9: EVENT HORIZON
- Chapter 9.1 [11/14/15] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?p=3305083#post3305083)
- Chapter 9.2 [11/21/15] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?p=3306340#post3306340)
- Chapter 9.3 [11/28/15] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?p=3308438#post3308438)

CHAPTER 10: THE STONE ON THE HILL
- Chapter 10 [12/5/15] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?p=3309829#post3309829)

CHAPTER 11: APPROACHING MIDNIGHT
- Chapter 11.1 [12/12/15] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?p=3311264#post3311264)
- Chapter 11.2 [12/19/15] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?p=3312625#post3312625)
- Chapter 11.3 [12/26/15] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?p=3315157#post3315157)
- Chapter 11.4 [1/2/16] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?p=3316817#post3316817)
- Chapter 11.5 [1/9/16] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?p=3318292#post3318292)

SEASON TWO BONUS FEATURES
- Season Two In Review, Part 1 [1/30/16] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?p=3326309#post3326309)
- Season Two In Review, Part 2 [2/6/16] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?p=3329239#post3329239)

INTERLUDE
- Interlude 2.1.1 [2/27/16] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?p=3335290#post3335290)
- Interlude 2.1.2 [3/5/16] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?p=3337098#post3337098)
- Interlude 2.1.3 [3/12/16] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?p=3339411#post3339411)
- Interlude 2.2.1 [4/2/16] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?p=3344354#post3344354)
- Interlude 2.2.2 [4/9/16] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?p=3345850#post3345850)
- Interlude 2.2.3 [4/16/16] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?p=3347476#post3347476)
- Interlude 2.3 [5/14/16] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?p=3355322#post3355322)
- Interlude 2.4 [6/11/16] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?226985-PSO2-Legend-of-Aki-REBIRTH&p=3380974#post3380974)[/spoiler-box]
<< SEASON 3 >>
[spoiler-box]CHAPTER 12: TOO FAR GONE
- Chapter 12.1 [7/9/16] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?226985-PSO2-Legend-of-Aki-REBIRTH&p=3385600#post3385600)
- Chapter 12.2 [7/16/16] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?226985-PSO2-Legend-of-Aki-REBIRTH&p=3386751#post3386751)
- Chapter 12.3 [7/23/16] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?226985-PSO2-Legend-of-Aki-REBIRTH&p=3387880#post3387880)

CHAPTER 13: REUNIONS
- Chapter 13.1 [7/30/16] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?226985-PSO2-Legend-of-Aki-REBIRTH&p=3388797#post3388797)
- Chapter 13.2 [8/6/16] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?226985-PSO2-Legend-of-Aki-REBIRTH&p=3389535#post3389535)

CHAPTER 14: NIGHT SHIFT
- Chapter 14 [8/13/16] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?226985-PSO2-Legend-of-Aki-REBIRTH&p=3390848#post3390848)

CHAPTER 15: ALL THE KING'S MEN
- Chapter 15.1 [8/20/16] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?226985-PSO2-Legend-of-Aki-REBIRTH&p=3391962#post3391962)
- Chapter 15.2 [8/27/16] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?226985-PSO2-Legend-of-Aki-REBIRTH&p=3393076#post3393076)
- Chapter 15.3 [9/3/16] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?226985-PSO2-Legend-of-Aki-REBIRTH&p=3394058#post3394058)
- Chapter 15.4 [9/10/16] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?226985-PSO2-Legend-of-Aki-REBIRTH&p=3395196#post3395196)

CHAPTER 16: NO RETURN
- Chapter 16.1 [9/17/16] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?226985-PSO2-Legend-of-Aki-REBIRTH&p=3396133#post3396133)
- Chapter 16.2 [9/24/16] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?226985-PSO2-Legend-of-Aki-REBIRTH&p=3397599#post3397599)
- Chapter 16.3 [10/1/16] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?226985-PSO2-Legend-of-Aki-REBIRTH&p=3398346#post3398346)
- Chapter 16.4 [10/8/16] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?226985-PSO2-Legend-of-Aki-REBIRTH&p=3399450#post3399450)

SEASON THREE BONUS FEATURES
- Season Three In Review [11/5/16] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?226985-PSO2-Legend-of-Aki-REBIRTH&p=3402803#post3402803)

INTERLUDE
- Interlude 3.1 [12/3/16] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?226985-PSO2-Legend-of-Aki-REBIRTH&p=3405346#post3405346)
- Interlude 3.2 [12/31/16] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?226985-PSO2-Legend-of-Aki-REBIRTH&p=3408379#post3408379)[/spoiler-box]
<< SEASON 4 >>
[spoiler-box]CHAPTER 17: AWAKENING
- Chapter 17.1 [3/11/17] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?226985-PSO2-Legend-of-Aki-REBIRTH&p=3415104#post3415104)
- Chapter 17.2 [3/18/17] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?226985-PSO2-Legend-of-Aki-REBIRTH&p=3415838#post3415838)
- Chapter 17.3 [3/25/17] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?226985-PSO2-Legend-of-Aki-REBIRTH&p=3416626#post3416626)
- Chapter 17.4 [4/1/17] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?226985-PSO2-Legend-of-Aki-REBIRTH&p=3417150#post3417150)

CHAPTER 18: HEAVEN'S LANCE
- Chapter 18.1 [4/15/17] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?226985-PSO2-Legend-of-Aki-REBIRTH&p=3418637#post3418637)
- Chapter 18.2 [4/22/17] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?226985-PSO2-Legend-of-Aki-REBIRTH&p=3419469#post3419469)
- Chapter 18.3 [4/29/17] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?226985-PSO2-Legend-of-Aki-REBIRTH&p=3420167#post3420167)
- Chapter 18.4 [5/6/17] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?226985-PSO2-Legend-of-Aki-REBIRTH&p=3420686#post3420686)
- Chapter 18.5 [5/13/17] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?226985-PSO2-Legend-of-Aki-REBIRTH&p=3421369#post3421369)
- Chapter 18.6 [5/20/17] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?226985-PSO2-Legend-of-Aki-REBIRTH&p=3421718#post3421718)

CHAPTER 19: TIPPING POINT
- Chapter 19.1 [6/3/17] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?226985-PSO2-Legend-of-Aki-REBIRTH&p=3422492#post3422492)
- Chapter 19.2 [6/10/17] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?226985-PSO2-Legend-of-Aki-REBIRTH&p=3423161#post3423161)
- Chapter 19.3 [6/17/17] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?226985-PSO2-Legend-of-Aki-REBIRTH&p=3424047#post3424047)

CHAPTER 20: DARK AND DARKER
- Chapter 20.1 [7/1/17] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?226985-PSO2-Legend-of-Aki-REBIRTH&p=3425115#post3425115)
- Chapter 20.2 [7/8/17] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?226985-PSO2-Legend-of-Aki-REBIRTH&p=3425788#post3425788)
- Chapter 20.3 [7/15/17] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?226985-PSO2-Legend-of-Aki-REBIRTH&p=3426550#post3426550)
- Chapter 20.4 [7/22/17] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?226985-PSO2-Legend-of-Aki-REBIRTH&p=3427265#post3427265)
- Chapter 20.5 [7/29/17] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?226985-PSO2-Legend-of-Aki-REBIRTH&p=3428453#post3428453)

CHAPTER 21: END OF THE LINE
- Chapter 21.1 [8/19/17] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?226985-PSO2-Legend-of-Aki-REBIRTH&p=3431553#post3431553)
- Chapter 21.2 [8/26/17] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?226985-PSO2-Legend-of-Aki-REBIRTH&p=3432094#post3432094)
- Chapter 21.3 [9/2/17] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?226985-PSO2-Legend-of-Aki-REBIRTH&p=3432714#post3432714)
- Chapter 21.4 [9/9/17] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?226985-PSO2-Legend-of-Aki-REBIRTH&p=3433267#post3433267)

EPILOGUE
- Epilogue [9/16/17] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?226985-PSO2-Legend-of-Aki-REBIRTH&p=3433720#post3433720)

SEASON FOUR BONUS FEATURES
- Season Four In Review [9/30/17] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?226985-PSO2-Legend-of-Aki-REBIRTH&p=3434716#post3434716)[/spoiler-box]
<< THE ATHENA CHRONICLES >>

CHRONICLE 01: THE GIRL WITH NO PAST
- Chronicle 01.1 [12/2/17] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?226985-PSO2-Legend-of-Aki-REBIRTH&p=3438011#post3438011)
- Chronicle 01.2 [12/9/17] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?226985-PSO2-Legend-of-Aki-REBIRTH&p=3438585#post3438585)
- Chronicle 01.3 [12/16/17] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?226985-PSO2-Legend-of-Aki-REBIRTH&p=3439029#post3439029)
- Chronicle 01.4 [12/23/17] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?226985-PSO2-Legend-of-Aki-REBIRTH&p=3439562#post3439562)
- Chronicle 01.5 [12/30/17] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?226985-PSO2-Legend-of-Aki-REBIRTH&p=3440023#post3440023)
- Chronicle 01.6 [1/6/18] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?226985-PSO2-Legend-of-Aki-REBIRTH&p=3440469#post3440469)

CHRONICLE 02: TROUBLE IN PARADISE
- Chronicle 02.1 [2/10/18] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?226985-PSO2-Legend-of-Aki-REBIRTH&p=3442466#post3442466)
- Chronicle 02.2 [2/17/18] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?226985-PSO2-Legend-of-Aki-REBIRTH&p=3442832#post3442832)
- Chronicle 02.3 [2/24/18] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?226985-PSO2-Legend-of-Aki-REBIRTH&p=3443320#post3443320)
- Chronicle 02.4 [3/3/18] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?226985-PSO2-Legend-of-Aki-REBIRTH&p=3443709#post3443709)

CHRONICLE 03: THE VIOLET AND THE ROSE
- Chronicle 03.1 [4/28/18] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?226985-PSO2-Legend-of-Aki-REBIRTH&p=3447241#post3447241)
- Chronicle 03.2 [5/5/18] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?226985-PSO2-Legend-of-Aki-REBIRTH&p=3447504#post3447504)
- Chronicle 03.3 [5/12/18] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?226985-PSO2-Legend-of-Aki-REBIRTH&p=3447895#post3447895)
- Chronicle 03.4 [5/19/18] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?226985-PSO2-Legend-of-Aki-REBIRTH&p=3448206#post3448206)
- Chronicle 03.5 [5/26/18] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?226985-PSO2-Legend-of-Aki-REBIRTH&p=3448536#post3448536)
- Chronicle 03.6 [6/2/18] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?226985-PSO2-Legend-of-Aki-REBIRTH&p=3448812#post3448812)
- Chronicle 03.7 [6/9/18] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?226985-PSO2-Legend-of-Aki-REBIRTH&p=3449093#post3449093)
- Chronicle 03.8 [6/16/18] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?226985-PSO2-Legend-of-Aki-REBIRTH&p=3449387#post3449387)
- Chronicle 03.9 [6/23/18] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?226985-PSO2-Legend-of-Aki-REBIRTH&p=3449693#post3449693)

CHRONICLE 04: PHANTOMS IN THE DARK
- Chronicle 04.1 [8/25/18] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?226985-PSO2-Legend-of-Aki-REBIRTH&p=3452407#post3452407)
- Chronicle 04.2 [9/1/18] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?226985-PSO2-Legend-of-Aki-REBIRTH&p=3452782#post3452782)
- Chronicle 04.3 [9/8/18] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?226985-PSO2-Legend-of-Aki-REBIRTH&p=3453018#post3453018)
- Chronicle 04.4 [9/15/18] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?226985-PSO2-Legend-of-Aki-REBIRTH&p=3453324#post3453324)
- Chronicle 04.5 [9/22/18] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?226985-PSO2-Legend-of-Aki-REBIRTH&p=3453501#post3453501)
- Chronicle 04.6 [9/29/18] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?226985-PSO2-Legend-of-Aki-REBIRTH&p=3453807#post3453807)
- Chronicle 04.7 [10/6/18] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?226985-PSO2-Legend-of-Aki-REBIRTH&p=3453936#post3453936)
- Chronicle 04.8 [10/14/18] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?226985-PSO2-Legend-of-Aki-REBIRTH&p=3454267#post3454267)

CHRONICLE 05: DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE
- Chronicle 05.1 [12/8/18] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?226985-PSO2-Legend-of-Aki-REBIRTH&p=3456811#post3456811)
- Chronicle 05.2 [12/15/18] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?226985-PSO2-Legend-of-Aki-REBIRTH&p=3457230#post3457230)
- Chronicle 05.3 [12/22/18] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?226985-PSO2-Legend-of-Aki-REBIRTH&p=3457643#post3457643)
- Chronicle 05.4 [12/29/18] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?226985-PSO2-Legend-of-Aki-REBIRTH&p=3457945#post3457945)
- Chronicle 05.5 [1/5/19] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?226985-PSO2-Legend-of-Aki-REBIRTH&p=3458214#post3458214)

CHRONICLE 06: DEN OF WOLVES
- Chronicle 06.1 [4/6/19] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?226985-PSO2-Legend-of-Aki-REBIRTH&p=3461356#post3461356)
- Chronicle 06.2 [4/13/19] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?226985-PSO2-Legend-of-Aki-REBIRTH&p=3461597#post3461597)
- Chronicle 06.3 [4/20/19] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?226985-PSO2-Legend-of-Aki-REBIRTH&p=3461910#post3461910)
- Chronicle 06.4 [4/27/19] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?226985-PSO2-Legend-of-Aki-REBIRTH&p=3462657#post3462657)
- Chronicle 06.5 [5/4/19] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?226985-PSO2-Legend-of-Aki-REBIRTH&p=3463211#post3463211)
- Chronicle 06.6 [5/11/19] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?226985-PSO2-Legend-of-Aki-REBIRTH&p=3463544#post3463544)
- Chronicle 06.7 [5/18/19] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?226985-PSO2-Legend-of-Aki-REBIRTH&p=3463957#post3463957)
- Chronicle 06.8 [5/25/19] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?226985-PSO2-Legend-of-Aki-REBIRTH&p=3464249#post3464249)
- Chronicle 06.9 [6/1/19] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?226985-PSO2-Legend-of-Aki-REBIRTH&p=3464684#post3464684)


* REFERENCES *

- PSO2: Legend of Aki [original thread] (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?t=210182)
- Darker Bestiary (http://pso2.cirnopedia.org/enemy_1.php#nav)

[stukasa]

CHAPTER 1 [2/7/15]
[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Logos/RebirthTitleCh1_zps1839ebb4.png~original


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGu_2dkTXCU[/b][/u]

Flames, flames everywhere. They were lapping against the walls, against the formerly-pristine ceiling. Waves of amber and crimson rolled over computer consoles, melting the keys into an unrecognizable, gelatinous goo. Ash and smoke filled the air. And though some of the particulates were being sucked into the ventilation system, a dusky haze lingered throughout the area. The lab was burning, and nothing, and no one, could stop it now.

There were flames everywhere, so why was she cold? She looked down. Oh, right.

She was completely naked and drenched head to toe in a nearly-transparent liquid, probably the same liquid she'd been suspended in only moments earlier. Then the tank shattered and everything spilled out... including me.

There were four other tanks besides the broken one she was currently standing in. Three were empty, one was smashed and empty. Each tank stretched from floor to ceiling, a height of nearly four meters, with a pedestal base that fed various colored tubes into it. The three unbroken tanks were filled with what looked like water, but somehow she knew better. Whatever those tubes were feeding into the tanks, it was the same thing that had kept her alive all this time.

Then another thought struck her: Who am I? She couldn't remember. As she gazed out at the crumbling lab, trying to extrapolate a clue to her identity, a metallic glinting caught her attention. It came from a welded plate at the base of the broken tank next to hers. Inscribed on the plate was a single word—or perhaps, she thought, a name: SHANKAR. If that's a name, then maybe...

She stepped out of the tank, careful to avoid the glass shards strewn across the floor, and turned to look at the base plate of her own tank. Like the one next to hers, it bore only a single word—a single name. It read: AKASHA. Akasha... is that my name?

Out of the corner of her eye she caught a glimpse of another person in the room and, not sure of their identity or intentions, instantly dropped into a crouching position. Amazingly, the other person mimicked her movements and crouched at the exact same moment. It was only then that she realized she wasn't seeing another person, she was staring at a mirror. Slowly she stood up and approached the mirror, stepping over glass and broken computer equipment. The fire was still raging all around her but she hardly noticed it. She remained transfixed on the woman standing before her. That was her, that was Akasha.

Despite the dangerous conditions, she couldn't help but stare at the mirror for a few seconds. It was the first time she'd ever seen herself, after all. She took note of her features: caramel-colored skin, flowing brown hair that stretched almost to her knees, large expressive eyes. Her ears were long and pointed. That made her a... Newman? She also noticed a pattern of dark shapes etched onto her forehead above and to the side of her left eye, stretching down to her cheek. She lifted up her bangs to get a better look. It was a tattoo of some kind, but what did it mean? She couldn't make any sense of the archaic lines and symbols, though she could almost—but not quite—remember being dragged out of her tank and having the tattoo branded onto her face. Her memories of the ordeal were jumbled and distorted. Maybe she'd been drugged at the time?

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Akasha_noclothes_name_zpsf7472cb8.png~original[/spoiler-box]


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7cIrefaQWNU[/b][/u]

Akasha frowned. How do I know that? Actually, how do I know anything? I just woke up, yet I know things... I know I was drugged, I know what a Newman is, what a tattoo is. I know how to speak...

She realized she'd been thinking everything in her head, she hadn't actually spoken yet. With some effort, her voice cracking badly, she forced the words out, if only to prove she could. "I... am... Akasha..."

Behind her, one of the overhead lights blew out in a shower of sparks. A thousand pinpricks of light rained down from above, a constellation of stars against the dark smoke billowing around her. Through the mirror's reflection Akasha could see the wall of flames inching higher. The oppressive heat was making her dizzy and the acrid stench of charred electronics was so foul it was practically suffocating. She knew it was time to get out of there, wherever "there" was. If I don't leave soon I won't be leaving at all.

Squinting her watery eyes and using the crook of her elbow to shield her mouth, Akasha made her way, ploddingly, to the exit at the rear of the room. A quick hop through the fiery door frame and she was through the worst of it, though the uncontrolled blaze was spreading rapidly, threatening to consume the rest of the complex.

Akasha found herself standing in the center of a long, nondescript hallway. She glanced first to her left, then to her right. The same stark white walls and fluorescent lighting greeted her in both directions. Which way should she go? She had no clue—that is, until she noticed the smoke rolling along the ceiling to the right. If she followed the smoke, it was possible she might just find a way out...

She’d just started in that direction when a humanoid figure darted across the T-junction at the end of the hall. At least Akasha assumed it was a humanoid figure; it was hard to tell with the thick clouds of smoke obscuring her vision. "H-Hey, wait!," she called out, hoping to find someone, anyone, that could help her get out of there. There was no response.

Picking up speed, she rounded the corner, then another, and then another. Eventually the corridor transitioned into a vast storeroom lined with shelves and Akasha came to an abrupt halt. Standing five paces in front of her and facing the opposite direction was the person she'd been chasing. Slowly, deliberately, the long-haired figure turned to face her.

Akasha could see now that it was a man, as naked as she was, but there was something familiar about his appearance, almost like—no, it was more than that, more than just a passing resemblance. Based on his face alone the two of them looked nearly identical, though his features were somehow more masculine. He even had the same tattoo over his left eye. Below the neck, however, their body types were very different. Despite being powerfully built, Akasha was rather lean and curvy. He, on the other hand, was broad-shouldered and muscular. Even so, their matching facial features, skin color, and pointed ears were too much to chalk up to mere coincidence. He must be... my brother?

"Who... are you?" she asked, still not used to hearing her own voice.

He stared back at her, unblinking and nearly unmoving, his steely gaze seeming to pass right through her. He did not speak.

Not willing to give up so easily, she tried again. "My name is Akasha, what about you?"

"Shankar," he finally replied, his voice rich and melodious.

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Shankar_noclothes_name_zps00dad08c.png~original[/spoiler-box]

Shankar? Just like the name on the tank next to mine, Akasha realized. Her mind was already racing with a thousand questions.

Before she could ask any of them, however, Shankar asked a question of his own. "Tell me, what is my purpose?"

Akasha stared blankly back at him. "Your... purpose? I-I don't know..."

He scowled. "Then I must find Naya Kestren. She will tell me my purpose."

Shankar raised his right hand, palm facing outward. As if by magic, a powerful wind slammed into Akasha, throwing her onto her back. When she opened her eyes a moment later, Shankar was already gone.

* * * * * * * * *


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DU203TWhrTE[/b][/u]

Jars, containers, boxes, crates. There seemed to be an endless supply of them in the storeroom and each had its own story to tell. The jars were filled with various biological specimens, carefully cataloged by number and date. The containers contained rock and mineral samples, some of which included a rainbow assortment of photon crystals. The boxes were stuffed with data chips and paper files. And the crates, well, they were filled with more jars, containers, and boxes.

What kind of lab is this? As curious as she was, Akasha didn’t have time to study the plethora of knowledge gathered in the room, not with the fire hot on her heels. She could smell it closing in, could hear it crackling in the hall just out of sight, a blazing serpent ready to strike. She made her way towards the far wall, hoping to find another way out. When the smoke started to overtake her she coughed and picked up her pace. By the time she found the door the flames were already eating away the containers at the opposite end of the room. Without looking back, Akasha pressed on.

The more she ran, the more Akasha realized what a huge place it was. The complex was comprised of several dozen labs connected by a network of hallways that zigzagged at right angles periodically. She’d managed to stay ahead of the fire so far but her stamina was waning and her luck could run out at any moment. As she rounded the next corner she let out a sharp gasp—there were men jogging in her direction. Armored, masked men wielding guns and swords. “Hey!” one of them barked at Akasha, but she was already racing back the way she came, her heart pounding heavily in her ears.

She ducked into a random lab and belatedly realized that the door control button wasn’t working. Damn! Not good. She dove across the room and slid to the floor behind an operating table. Three seconds later two of the masked men stormed past the open doorway, their diminishing footfalls echoing down the corridor as they continued past her hiding spot. By the look of them they had to be soldiers, or maybe mercenaries. It was possible they were the ones who’d started the fire, and if that was the case they probably meant trouble.

Akasha rose to her feet and cautiously started for the door. She was halfway there when the third soldier stepped into the room, blocking her exit. Though she couldn’t see his face beneath the breathing mask and goggles, his body language spoke volumes—that he was just as surprised to see her as she was to see him. Instinct took over and Akasha darted forward in a blur of motion. Her left fist caught the man squarely in the temple, spinning him around. To her surprise he managed to regain his balance and made a halfhearted attempt to swing his photon sword in her direction, forcing her to sidestep out of the way. The glowing crimson blade hummed with energy as it sizzled harmlessly past her shoulder. Pivoting on the ball of her right foot, she released a thrusting side kick that slipped under his guard and landed firmly on his midsection. A pained oomph escaped his lips as he doubled over, slumping unconscious to the tile floor.

Akasha stared down at her own quivering hands. How did I… do that? Her body had reacted on its own, as though it had been programmed with skills she couldn’t remember learning. She wondered how much else she couldn’t remember... and realized the answer was “almost everything.” It was painful not knowing, painful in a way she couldn’t even describe. It felt like someone or something had carved out the core of her being and left her hollow inside. Except that wasn’t quite true, was it? She still had access to certain skills—her combat abilities, for instance—so perhaps her memories were still in there too, buried or blocked or… at the very least, inaccessible at the moment.

Even so, that still left a few glaring questions. Where was she, and who were these people chasing after her? She spared the unconscious figure another glance and frowned. There was something odd about this soldier but Akasha couldn’t quite place it. That is, until the next one stepped into the room looking for his missing buddy. That’s when it hit her. The one common trait they shared, the cause of the strange feeling she’d been having, was their small stature. These soldiers… they’re children! What kind of deranged military would send child soldiers into a burning building?

She didn’t have much time for contemplation. The soldier, spotting his unconscious friend, started bringing his photon rifle to bear on Akasha. “Halt!” he managed to shout before Akasha’s open palm connected with the butt of his gun, pushing his aim up and away from her. During the struggle a three-round burst discharged and punctured one of the ceiling tiles. Akasha didn’t give him a chance to fire again. She brought her interlocked fists crashing down on the crown of his helmet and he dropped instantly, out cold like his partner.

I guess there’s no way the others didn’t hear that, Akasha thought bitterly. She impulsively scooped up the first soldier’s sword—still pulsing with red energy—and darted out of the room, hoping to make a break for it. Once again, she wasn’t that lucky.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3OR7KKEF7Sc[/b][/u]

“Stop right there!” The distinctive click of a gun’s safety disengaging rang out behind Akasha. “Drop your weapon, slowly, and turn around.”

She did as commanded, carefully setting the photon sword on the ground before turning to face the two soldiers standing in the hall behind her, the same pair that ran past her hiding spot earlier. One had an assault rifle pointed at her, the other a pair of machineguns. Both were clad head to toe in military-grade body armor and wore identical face masks, goggles, and helmets. They would have presented quite an imposing sight if they weren’t both so laughably small. The taller of the pair—the leader, she guessed, and also the one carrying the assault rifle—barely came up to her chin.

An idea struck her. Since they’re children, she reasoned, she might be able to trick or distract them. It was unlikely… but worth a try. Just as she was trying to think up a clever ruse, a distant explosion rocked the facility. Maybe the fire had spread to some dangerous chemicals in one of the labs or maybe a grenade had gone off somewhere, it didn’t matter. What mattered was that it threw the two soldiers off balance long enough to give Akasha an opening. She rushed forward, prepared to end it quickly, but stopped short when she found herself staring down the gun barrel of an assault rifle. The rifle-toting soldier had recovered much quicker than she’d expected; apparently he’d been well-trained.

“Whoa there, you don’t want to do that,” he cautioned. His voice was unusually gruff for a child’s, Akasha noticed. To her surprise he added, “We’re not here to hurt you. Hold on a sec.”

The soldier and his partner lowered their weapons and removed their headgear, and Akasha got a good look at them for the first time. They didn't look like children, exactly. They looked more like adults—only smaller. This must be a planet of tiny people, she mused. Then the obvious truth dawned on her: These people weren’t small, they were normal-sized. She was the one out of place.

"Is that her? Is that Kestren?” the machinegun user asked.

“That’s impossible, you dolt. Besides, she’s too tall.” The rifle user, a man of middle years with graying hair, craned his neck slightly to look up at her. "Who are you?"

"A-Akasha. My name is... Akasha..."

“Nice to, uh, meet you. Name’s Colton, Captain Arin Colton.” The man averted his eyes in embarrassment, and which point Akasha finally remembered she wasn’t wearing any clothes. Her hands rushed to strategically position themselves, not that it did much good at that point.

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Colton_name_zps16c39f89.png~original[/spoiler-box]

Colton unzipped his backpack and pulled out a silvery flame retardant blanket, which he offered to Akasha. She plucked the blanket from his outstretched hand and draped it around her shoulders. It afforded her a small amount of modesty, though most of her long legs remained bare. “Thanks,” she said, her cheeks still burning.

"No problem. At first we thought maybe you had started the fire, but now I’m guessing probably not.”

“It wasn’t me,” she affirmed.

“Yeah, I figured as much. Well don’t worry, you're in the care of the ARKS now."

“Who are the ARKS?” Akasha frowned, puzzled.

The other soldier—the machinegun user—snorted in disbelief. “You’re kidding, right? You’ve never heard of the ARKS?”

She shook her head.

“Seriously? We’re only the biggest military organization in the Oracle fleet! Have you been living in a cave or something?”

“Tank,” she corrected him.

“What?”

“I’ve been living in a tank.”

“We’ll get her up to speed later, Sammy,” Colton instructed his partner, cutting off their conversation. “Now c’mon, the fire has almost reached this section. We need to get out of here pronto.”

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Sammy_name_zps4ff60f6b.png~original[/spoiler-box]

* * * * * * * * *

The three of them raced down the hallway in a frantic bid to outrun their own tragic demise. Colton and Sammy took point, each carrying one of their unconscious buddies over their shoulders, while Akasha brought up the rear. Despite the seriousness of the situation, of the fiery death closing in on them, Akasha was preoccupied with a number of lingering questions. Eventually she couldn’t help but ask. “Where are we, anyway? What planet is this?”

“Planet?” Sammy scoffed. “You’ve got it all wrong, this is Ur.”

“Ur?,” she repeated questioningly.

“Colony Ship 02, Oracle First Fleet. You really don’t know much, do you?”

Before she could respond, a curtain of flames sprung up directly in front of Akasha, separating her from the ARKS soldiers. The flames rushed upward and outward, quickly surrounding her on three sides as they forced her back. When she turned to look for another way out she found herself standing face to face with someone unexpected—Shankar. She had assumed he’d fled after their previous encounter but it appeared he’d stuck around after all. The only question was, why? Beneath his expressionless mask and the dancing flames reflected in his eyes, Akasha thought she caught a hint of something more, a distant sadness and a profound longing.

“Akasha.”

“W-What are you doing here? What do you want from me?”

"You don't belong with those... ordinary people. You and I, we're meant for something greater." He extended an inviting hand towards her. "You feel it too, don't you? Come with me; together, we will discover what we're destined to do."

He was right. She knew that, so why did it feel so wrong? Looking back on it later, Akasha didn't know what compelled her to answer the way she did, yet her answer undoubtedly changed the course of her entire future. "I... I can't..."

"You would choose them over me? So be it, but remember, they will never understand you the way I do. Eventually they will fail you; when they do, you will still have a place at my side."

Shankar didn’t push her away this time. Instead he merely turned and strode away down the corridor in the opposite direction. The flames that rippled along the walls, the same flames that should have lashed out at him and reduced him to ashes, magically curled around his body and left him completely unharmed. A few seconds later he was out of sight, lost beyond the blazing inferno.

Gathering her resolve, Akasha spun around and pushed forward through a plume of dark smoke but made it no more than three strides before reaching an impassable column of fire that extended nearly to the ceiling. She could hear Captain Colton and Sammy on the other side calling her name and asking if she was alright. Suddenly a powerful wave of dizziness hit her and she was forced to retreat to a spot where she could breathe—at least barely.

Was this as far as she could go? Was she destined to perish in these flames without ever discovering who she was? Not if I can help it, she decided. Her life and her story weren’t over, they were just beginning. Freedom was almost within her grasp. So was death, but she wasn’t about to give in. Not when she was this close.

Still partly wreathed in smoke, Akasha made her way to the nearest wall. She raised her left arm to shoulder height, palm facing out as Shankar had done earlier, and pressed it against the nearby wall. The heat threatened to singe her fingers but she didn’t let it distract her from what she needed to do. Concentrating on the interaction of photon energy between herself and the surrounding area, Akasha closed her eyes and formed a mental picture of ice crystals coming together, their geometric shapes weaving into an intricate tapestry that spread out from her fingertips and slowly blanketed the imaginary flames in her mind. She poured feelings of urgency into the ice crystals, coaxing them to grow and multiply at her command until the world inside her head was a solid powdery white. Even then she kept going, sending waves of energy outward in all directions, tracing the lines of heat and snuffing them out by sheer force of will until none remained.

Finally, it was done. Akasha opened her eyes and looked down the hallway in both directions. A lustrous icy sheen covered the walls, floor, and ceiling. Her breathing, heavy from the mental exertion, left wispy puffs of condensed vapor hanging in the frigid air. She almost couldn’t believe it, yet she knew at once that it was real, and that she had done it.

The fire was out.



CHAPTER 1: END[/spoiler-box]

[Sacrificial]

Haven't even started reading yet,nor do I have the time atm, but I feel so hyped.

[stukasa]

Haven't even started reading yet,nor do I have the time atm, but I feel so hyped.
That's okay, just read it when you have time. :) I appreciate the enthusiasm though!

[Zorafim]

Beautifully written. Your use of language was fantastic.

[stukasa]

Beautifully written. Your use of language was fantastic.
Thanks! I had a lot of fun writing this one. It helped that I had a bunch of dramatic imagery to work with.

By the way, are we ever going to see more of Levia's adventures...? ^^

[Zorafim]

That's right, you still need to see her in full, don't you? I'm working full time now, so I'm creatively drained when I get home. I've just gotta proofread this next chapter and see if it flows right before it's ready. But I can basically only work on the weekend now, if I have nothing else to do and if I have the mental energy. Maybe I'll be able to do more now, I just took a load off.

[stukasa]

That's right, you still need to see her in full, don't you? I'm working full time now, so I'm creatively drained when I get home. I've just gotta proofread this next chapter and see if it flows right before it's ready. But I can basically only work on the weekend now, if I have nothing else to do and if I have the mental energy. Maybe I'll be able to do more now, I just took a load off.
It'll be about 1.5 to 2 months before I write the part with Levia's cameo, but yes. I've already been thinking of possible alternatives in case you haven't released enough by then. I can either A) ask you to send me a couple paragraphs describing her in detail, B) reduce her role in my story somewhat, or C) improvise and hope my portrayal isn't too far off. xD

I know what you mean about feeling creatively drained. I work full time and it's sometimes hard to find the time and the motivation to work on my story. What I end up having to do is to think about my story at work in between tasks so that when I come home I already have a good idea of what I want to write. The words flow more easily that way. It does sap a lot of my free time but I consider it worth the investment.

P.S. I also asked about your story because I'm interested to see where it goes. ^^

[Zorafim]

I don't like option B).
Despite my not doing much on the forums, I check it every day. If you want to go into details, that should be the best way to communicate.
Of course, the best way to get Levia's personality might just be to use her partner card. I spent a bit of work on that, and while it's mostly set to be as good looking and non-subtle as possible, it might be good for an overview of her personality. Of course, that would require me logging in.
I don't think I'll be done with her development in less than two months, especially considering this tame, not-important chapter took me 2 months by itself to write. So, there's that.

The hardest part for me is actually just writing. I can think up what needs to happen pretty much on the spot, but actually converting from visuals to text is very difficult for me. The absolute worst is dialogue, since I need to get another person in my head and think like him.

On the subject of the actual chapter,
[spoiler-box]Thank you for doing newmans right.[/spoiler-box]

[stukasa]

@Zorafim: Are you even able to log in now? I had to jump through a few hoops to get my game working again after that fiasco last year.

Let's talk more about Levia in private. I definitely need to know more about her appearance and personality when she's in the PSO2 era. Also, her motivation for being there!


On the subject of the actual chapter,
[spoiler-box]Thank you for doing newmans right.[/spoiler-box]
To what aspect of Newmans are you referring?

Newmans have always been my favorite race in the PS series. My characters in PSO and PSZ were Newmans. My first character in PSU was a Newman (see my signature pic). The character I played in the PSO2 Beta was Newman. If I had to describe why I like Newmans... it would definitely be the pointy ears. And the affinity for "magic."

AFAIK there's no official Newman backstory in PSO2 so I had to improvise using what I knew from other PS games. In some sense that's a risk since I could be contradicted later, but as a writer sometimes it's better to take that risk--a small one, anyway--than play it safe.

[Zorafim]

No, I can't log in. I haven't tried. If I really had to, maybe I would. But considering how bored I was with the game before all this happened, I doubt I'd try hard.
Still, I need to get back in to go through the new story missions. I need to figure out how everything fits together before I start writing about it.

[spoiler-box]That newmans are test tube babies with uncertain pasts. How you portrayed Akasha is very akin to the character archetype newmans fell into before PSU, when they were demoted to space elves. [/spoiler-box]

[stukasa]

@Zorafim: Oh, that. My idea about the origin of Newmans in PSO2 is that they started out as genetic experiments to help humans harness photon energy. Over time, as their numbers grew, they basically became a self-sustaining race (through procreation). Whether or not Sega would agree with that theory, I have no idea. Like I said, big portions of the PSO2 backstory are still a mystery.

CHAPTER 2.1 [2/14/15]
[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Logos/RebirthTitleCh2_zps075fc34e.png~original


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYwpt092O7U[/b][/u]

COLONY SHIP 02, UR, ORACLE FIRST FLEET: C-BLOCK POLICE HEADQUARTERS

The police officer jerked his thumb in the direction of the one-way window. "Who the hell is this guy?"

On the other side, a single man sat in the interrogation room. He appeared unkempt—dirty, unshaven, wearing only a tattered brown robe. His long, flowing hair looked like it hadn't been washed in days. His sullen eyes remained fixed on the table in front of him, as though studying its miniscule imperfections. He hardly moved at all.

"Says his name's, uh... Shankar," the other officer replied, consulting his prisoner file. "Newman, male. Brown hair, brown eyes, 2.14 meters tall."

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Shankar_robe_name_zpsddabcba9.png~original[/spoiler-box]

The first officer whistled. "Yeah, he's a big guy, alright. Do we know anything else about him?"

"Nope. Zip, zero, zilch, nada. He doesn't come up in any of our databases. No known address, no prior record. Although, interestingly, the ARKS have an open search warrant for someone matching his description. Seems he fled a crime scene a few weeks back, some kinda genetics research lab. The lab nearly burned down, they think he might be involved. They want to bring him in for questioning."

"Are we sure it's the same guy?"

"Like I said, the description matches. How many Newmans you think fit his profile?"

"Heh, good point. Have you contacted the ARKS yet?"

"Nah, those military boys can have him after we're through with him. I'd like to ask him a few questions first, see what he knows… and why the ARKS want him so bad."

"We'll give him the usual routine, then?"

"Yeah, but first I wanna bring in some backup."

The first officer raised an eyebrow. "Is that really necessary? He doesn't look like a pushover, but we're trained cops. We've got weapons. What can he really do?"

"Let me put it this way," his partner responded coolly, "it took twenty men to bring him in, and he wasn't armed then, either. Of those twenty guys, thirteen are now in the hospital. I was one of the lucky ones."

The other man gulped, visibly nervous. "Okay, let's wait for backup."

* * * * * * * * *

Shankar looked up without raising his head. Six policemen entered the room, two officers and four grunts. He had wondered how long there were planning to keep him waiting. It was longer than he'd expected.

One of the officers, the older of the two, stepped up to the table where Shankar was seated—though, he noted, just out of arm's reach. "I'm officer Briggs and this is officer Melkaim," he said by way of introduction. "We're going to ask you some questions."

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Briggs_name_zpseacda69d.png~original http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Melkaim_name_zps3b1f8c44.png~original[/spoiler-box]

Shankar remained silent so Briggs continued, "State your full name for the record."

"Shankar."

"I said your full name."

"Shankar is the only name I was given."

"Okay... Second question. What were you doing at Aether Research Labs last month?”

Shankar hesitated for a moment, mulling over which answer to give. He opted for the truth. “I was born there… in a manner of speaking.”

"An interesting, if cryptic, reply.” Briggs forced a smile, the kind of smile that screamed a lack of appreciation for cryptic replies. “I’m sure we’ll come back to that later. But first, what is your affiliation with KAI-OS?"

"KAI-OS?" asked Shankar, a bit confused.

"Yes, KAI-OS. You know, one of the biggest criminal organizations in the galaxy, led by the Four Kings? Don't tell me you've never heard of it."

"Well, I haven't."

Briggs slammed his hands down on the table. "Don't lie to me, son!"

"I'm not," Shankar replied evenly.

"Then why do you have their tattoo on your face?!"

His hands cuffed, Shankar reached up and put a hand on his left cheek, touching the spot where the intricate pattern of lines and symbols was burned onto his skin. So that's what it was, he thought to himself. One more piece of the puzzle falls in place.

Distracted, he hadn't even realized the officer was still talking to him. "I asked you a question and I expect an answer."

"I don't know. You should ask the people who gave it to me."

Briggs looked exasperated. "And who, pray tell, might that be?!"

"I don't know."

"You don't know very much, do you?"

"No. But I'm learning."

"Yeah? Well, maybe I think you're holding out on us. Maybe I think you do know and you're just trying to act clever by hiding it."

"That's not the case, I assure you."

"Riiight... You'll have to excuse me if I don't take your word on that. Now, I'm gonna ask you one last time, and you'd do well to be honest with me. What is your affiliation with the criminal syndicate known as KAI-OS?"

“I’ve already answered that question, but maybe you can answer one of mine. Do you know the whereabouts of Dr. Naya Kestren? I need to see her.”

Having stood back the entire time, officer Melkaim finally spoke up. “The only thing you’ll be seeing is the inside of a prison cell, buddy.”

“I asked a straightforward question. All I require is a simple yes or no answer.”

Briggs and Melkaim exchanged an amused glance. Planting his hands on his hips, Briggs smirked and chuckled softly as he stepped past Shankar’s field of vision. The next moment Shankar felt Briggs’ hand grip the back of his head just before it was slammed, hard, into the metal table. Shankar groaned, his head throbbing and his senses reeling.

Before he could recover, Briggs was already shouting in his ear. “Why were you at Aether Labs and what do you know about KAI-OS?!”

“I already told you!” he shouted back. His world started spinning as Briggs kicked the chair out from under him and he went tumbling to the floor. The boot slamming into his chest certainly didn’t help things. Both Briggs and Melkaim were upon him now, their kicks raining down as he tried, and failed, to cover his vital organs. They attacked him relentlessly, their blows coming hard and fast—in the stomach, the lower back, the side of his jaw, the stomach again. He felt the taste of warm blood in his mouth.

Why were they trying to hurt him? He'd answered all their questions, told them what he knew. Was it because he hurt their friends? That was possible, though he'd only been trying to protect himself at the time.

Did he deserve this pain, this punishment? Maybe he did, maybe he didn't. He was still struggling to understand this world and its confusing ways. What he did know was that remaining in this place wasn't getting him any closer to his goal. My purpose. I must find my purpose.

It was driving him mad, not knowing what he was supposed to be doing. Whatever it was, he felt it was important, too important to stay confined there any longer. It was time for him to go.

Shankar grabbed Melkaim by his outstretched leg and hurled the man straight into Briggs. The two officers tumbled backwards in a heap as the four grunts stationed around the room brought their guns to bear. Not that it mattered—they didn’t stand a chance. Thrusting both arms out in opposite directions, Shankar released a sudden, massive blast of wind energy that pounded the four policemen like battering rams, hurling them into the walls of the interrogation chamber. All four were out cold by the time their limp bodies hit the floor.

Briggs and Melkaim scrambled to their feet but they, too, never stood a chance. Shankar dropped to one knee and placed a palm face-down on the floor. A stream of ice crystals sprang up on the nearby tiles and made a beeline for the two officers. It was upon them before they could react, cementing their boots to the ground as it raced up their legs, freezing them rock solid. Shankar released his concentration and the ice crystals halted their advance midway up the men’s thighs. They were now quite firmly stuck in place.

“What the hell did you do, asshole?!” Melkaim reached for the sidearm still holstered at his hip. Shankar stood up and clenched his left hand into a fist. The crystals covering Melkaim’s legs blossomed upward, encasing the pistol—and Melkaim’s hand—in a block of solid ice.

“That’s… not a good idea,” Shankar warned, glancing in Briggs’ direction to dissuade the other man from attempting the same foolish mistake. He stood up and stepped directly in front of Briggs, his imposing height dwarfing the other man.

Despite being a twenty-year veteran, Briggs’ steely bravado began to crack. He was completely at the mercy of this… this man, and he knew it. “W-Whadda you want, huh?! An apology, is that it?”

Shankar shook his head slowly. “You know what I want—an answer. Where is Naya Kestren? WHERE IS MY CREATOR?!"

"Your creator? Look, buddy—“

Shankar casually reached up and tapped a single finger against Briggs’ forehead. The man spasmed violently and fell motionless, yet the ice enveloping his legs kept him upright even after consciousness left him. It had been all too easy to knock the man out—a single electric jolt powerful enough to overload his nervous system was all it took. He turned to Melkaim. The man’s teeth were chattering, either from fear or the cold, or both.

“Y-You… you f-freak!” Melkaim snarled. His one free hand shot out in a desperate bid to catch Shankar off-guard but the big Newman easily intercepted it, grabbing onto it and holding tight. Shankar squeezed until the hand snapped in three places with a sickening crunch. Melkaim screamed, tears in his eyes, and let the ruined hand fall to his side. “P-Please… don’t k-kill me,” he sobbed.

These lawmen and their so-called “justice”… what a joke. They hadn't earned his hatred, only his pity. Shankar leaned forward menacingly. “Last chance. Tell me everything you know about Naya Kestren.”

“Alright, I’ll t-tell you! S-She’s… she’s dead.”

Shankar’s eyes went wide with rage. “LIAR!” he bellowed.

“No, I s-swear! That’s what the official record says. No body was f-found but she was presumed d-dead.”

“Is that all? It would be unwise to hold out on me.”

“That’s all I know, h-honest! You’re the one who escaped from her lab. If anyone should know more, it's y-you."

It was true, he’d searched the computer database in the lab thoroughly before it burned down. That was how he’d learned of Naya Kestren in the first place—and her role in his existence. What he hadn’t been able to find, however, was any information on her current status or whereabouts. For all Shankar knew, this man could be telling the truth, though he hated to admit it. If Kestren was really dead, who would give him his purpose? His reason for being, his role in the world?

Shankar decided he would continue his search. Dead or alive, missing or not, he would discover the truth about Naya Kestren. “Very well, I believe you. Or, at least, that you aren’t lying to me.”

Melkaim breathed a sigh of relief, albeit a short-lived one. His pulse quickened as Shankar raised a single hand to his forehead. The big man’s intentions were abundantly clear. “No, wait—!”

"You'll live,” said Shankar, his dark eyes blazing with intensity. He tapped his finger against Melkaim’s head and the policeman’s world sunk into darkness.

* * * * * * * * *


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVaIUJAzubQ[/b][/u]

UR RESIDENTIAL DISTRICT: COLTON RESIDENCE

Ding-dong!

“Coming!”

If there was one thing Captain Arin Colton was proud of—besides his family and distinguished military career, of course—it was his impeccable sense of order and cleanliness. So when he almost tripped over a child’s shoe in the middle of the foyer on his way to answer the door, he was understandably displeased. “Toby! Hey, Toby!” he called up the stairs. “What have I told you about leaving your shoes out?”

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There was no answer from his son, who either hadn’t heard him or was intentionally ignoring him. Probably the latter. Colton picked up the shoe and set it neatly on the nearby rack, then pressed the door switch. It slid open with a familiar whoosh, revealing a tall redheaded Caseal standing on his front porch. “Headmaster!”

The woman smiled faintly and inclined her head. It was a formality, he knew. The two of them were hardly friends. They’d met only twice before: the first time on the battlefield, the second at his promotion ceremony. “Captain Colton. It’s good to see you again. I apologize for coming unannounced, but I hoped I could speak with you.”

“Of course. I wouldn’t dream of turning away the head of the ARKS Training Academy.” Colton glanced at the small golden insignia pinned to the collar of her military coat and a thought struck him. "Ah, forgive me. Perhaps you prefer to be called by rank?"

The red-haired Caseal shook her head. "Either will be fine."

“As you wish. Please, come in.”

* * * * * * * * *

Colton’s living room, like the rest of his home, was well-structured. A pair of small table lamps, strategically positioned in opposite corners, provided just the right amount of light, while the liberal use of wood paneling around the room created an intimate yet professional atmosphere. Naturally, it was all spotless.

Colton directed the Headmaster to sit on the sofa while he himself took the reclining chair. After a moment of awkward silence he decided to get straight to the point. “So, you’re here about Akasha?”

“No,” the woman responded, raising her eyebrows. “Why do you think that?”

“I-I’m sorry, I just assumed... The head of the Training Academy shows up on my doorstep only a week after I enrolled her. It seemed like too much of a coincidence.”

“Akasha…” The Caseal accessed her memory files, delving into the trainee roster to locate the correct record. “Ah, yes, she’s an interesting one. I hear you’ve taken her under your wing.”

“I wouldn’t go that far, ma’am. I’ve been watching out for her, making sure she has food to eat, a place to live. She has no memory of her past, no place to go. I couldn’t just leave her alone out there.”

“You encouraged her to enroll at the Academy?”

He nodded. “I did. She’s already moved into the dorms. I thought the structure and discipline might do her good, give her a sense of purpose.”


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJIYLSwJ9Do[/b][/u]

"I hear she can materialize photons without the aid of a catalyst."

"Yes, and more powerfully than most skilled Technique users. She put out the fire at Aether Labs with nothing but her bare hands. If I hadn't seen it myself I might not have believed it.”

"It's a rare ability. I've only known one person who could do it effectively." The Headmaster leaned back in her seat and laced her fingers together as if gathering her thoughts. “But that’s another story. Actually, I came here today to discuss your mission at Aether Labs.”

“Oh? What about it? I’ve already submitted the report if you’re interested in the details.”

“I read it. It’s the details you didn’t include that concern me.”

“…Such as?”

“Who really issued that client order, and what their true objective was.”

“I-I’m afraid I don’t follow.” Colton wasn’t being deceitful, he was genuinely stumped.

“The facility was run by Dr. Naya Kestren. Are you familiar with her work, Captain?”

“Not really. Some type of genetics research, I believe. The exact nature of her work wasn’t covered in the briefing.”

“No, I don’t imagine it would’ve been. Please understand that what I’m about to tell you is highly classified. Under no circumstances are you allowed to reveal this information. If you do, the Oracle government and the ARKS will disavow all knowledge of it. Understood?”

Colton gulped, suddenly feeling anxious. He nodded.

“Dr. Kestren was performing genetic and photon energy experiments on Newman hosts, trying to boost their latent potential. Several test subjects died due to the strain, a fact the government tried very hard to cover up.”

“This work was sanctioned by Oracle?” The Caseal didn’t need to say anything; Colton already knew the answer. “I… I can’t believe it. Experiments like that have been outlawed since… well, since the Accords were signed.”

“As I said, this information is top secret. It took me months of work to uncover that much, and even then I was hard-pressed to find any real evidence. No one could tell me what the final aim of the project was or where the funding was coming from.”

“And you think whoever issued the client order knew what Kestren was working on and wanted to steal it?”

“That’s my theory, yes. According to public records—and your mission report—the client was a Mr. Lesker Overman. I did some digging but couldn’t turn up anything on Mr. Overman. No job, no address, no personal history. My guess is that the name was simply a cover. I was wondering if you could give me any further insight.”

“I’m sorry, I can’t help you there. We never actually met the client. Everything was relayed through the processing department.”

“That’s disappointing… but hardly surprising. Let me ask you this, then: Did you find what you were looking for at the labs?”

Colton’s shoulders sagged slightly. “…No. We were tasked with retrieving any and all data from Kestren’s computers, but by the time we arrived the fire had already broken out. Most of the equipment was already slagged. We couldn’t even get to the central lab. As the report says, the mission was a failure.”

“I see. Thank you for your time today, Captain.” The Headmaster stood up to leave, idly smoothing her coat with her hands. “And… I think I’ll keep an eye on Akasha. I sense she has a bright future ahead of her.”

After she left, Colton dropped back into his chair and let out a long sigh. What have I gotten myself mixed up in? He rubbed his temples, trying to stave off an impending headache.

Akasha… Who are you, really?



TO BE CONTINUED[/spoiler-box]

[stukasa]

CHAPTER 2.2 [2/21/15]
[spoiler-box]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FRkpQv3xhU[/b][/u]

COLONY SHIP 02, UR: DOWNTOWN DISTRICT

Day after day he watched them. They came from all walks of life: businessmen, scholars, soldiers, merchants. They were fathers, mothers, sons, and daughters. Some were young, some were old, some were rich, some were poor. And all of them walked past the alley without seeing him.

Oh, they saw him all right, they just pretended not to. They went about their lives, ignoring the haggard-looking man in the disheveled brown robe as he sat and watched them walk past. Perhaps one in a thousand stopped to acknowledge him. Sometimes he was offered food, sometimes he was tossed a few spare meseta. More often he was simply given a curious glance or wary gaze.

But of all the people on all the days as he sat and watched, she was the only one who stopped to talk to him. He had no idea why she even bothered. Her bright, smiling face was far too trusting, far too eager to help a complete stranger like him. She would only regret it later, Shankar thought to himself. He was, after all, a wanted criminal.

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Criminal, he mused. What had he done to earn that title? At first he’d simply taken food. Food that didn’t belong to him, yet food he’d needed to survive. Later he had been questioned by the police in an unrelated incident. Apparently they considered him a “suspicious-looking character,” whatever that meant. When he failed to produce the proper identification they’d tried to take him into custody. Tried, and failed. He’d spent the next few weeks on the run, dodging police patrols and keeping a low profile. It wasn’t until he tried to visit the library that they finally caught him, and even then they couldn’t keep him for long. He was stronger than they were, more powerful than they could ever hope to be. He’d lived in a cage once; they would never put him in one again. Never, ever again.

And now, standing before him and oblivious to it all, was this smiling woman. She led him to a nearby cafe and bought him a hot meal. It wasn’t much, but to him it was everything. Then she asked him that fateful question, the question that changed everything. “Is there anything else you need, anything I can get you?”

There was. “I need you to go to the library for me,” he answered. “Go to the archives and download everything you can find on Naya Kestren, then bring it back to me.”

And she did. She didn’t question why he couldn’t go there himself or why he hid in the shadows during the daytime. These things never crossed her mind; or if they did, they were little more than passing thoughts of idle curiosity. She was simply trying to help a poor Newman down on his luck. Because she was a good person, and it was in her nature to do so. Unfortunately she had proven herself too helpful, for Shankar realized he could make further use of her.

The ARKS were after him. The police were after him. But this woman, she could do his bidding without arousing suspicions. She was the perfect cover. For that reason, Shankar decided, he couldn’t let her leave. At least not until she had run out of uses.

She resisted at first, of course. After the first escape attempt he moved them into an abandoned apartment building where it was easier to control her movements. After the second attempt he decided it was necessary to provide a small “demonstration” of his powers. Techniques—that is, the controlled use of photon energy—were relatively common, but to use them without the aid of a catalyst like a rod or talis was rare, and to use them with the raw power that Shankar used them was unheard of. To this woman, his abilities must have seemed like magic, a power beyond comprehension. That's why it was so easy to instill fear in her, to trick her into believing his power could reach her—or her family and friends—at any time, from any distance. After that she followed his orders faithfully, without question or opposition, and he was able to send her outside again.

She picked up food and supplies for him, paying in cash so her transactions wouldn’t be traced. She brought him information as well, filling up several data disks worth of information from the public library. Using the computer terminal in the apartment, Shankar pored over the knowledge eagerly, voraciously, learning as much as he could about the outside world on subjects ranging from history to economics to the current state of government affairs.

For the first time in weeks, Shankar felt he was back on the right track. Soon, he told himself. Soon he would be on his way to finding Naya Kestren and discovering his purpose. The woman who’d been helping him, she didn’t yet understand his true importance. But that was alright. In time, she would.

In time, they all would.

* * * * * * * * *


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSYPYq9D_No[/b][/u]

COLONY SHIP 02, UR: EXECUTIVE COUNCIL CHAMBER

The twelve most powerful people on Ur stared up at him expectantly. Some wore expressions of mild interest, some of suspicion, and several more of outright contempt. That was fine. Lee welcomed the challenge, not that it mattered in the long run. He’d get what he wanted and these hapless fools would get what was coming to them. But that was later. Right now it was time to perform “the dance,” as he called it, the great battle of wits and wills that constituted the frivolous sport of politics. It was a nuanced game, easy to play but exceptionally difficult to master. It also happened to be his forte.

He was a fighter, always had been. His weapons were not those of the soldier or the professional sportsman. No, his weapons were words, ideas, and influence. He had an excessive supply of the latter, built upon a mountain of bribes, blackmail, and good old-fashioned intimidation. Lee wasn't a particularly tall man, nor was he particularly strong. He was, however, exceptionally clever and quite adept at the subtle art of persuasion. He'd gotten quite good at convincing people to do what he wanted them to do. It's how he'd moved up the ranks of KAI-OS so quickly. This was his day to shine, his game to win, his turn to buy in. You can’t win if you don’t play the game… and this was certainly a game worth playing. Worth winning.

Lee scanned the room from left to right, gauging his audience, and immediately knew on which side of the line each one would fall. Predictable, utterly and stupendously predictable, each and every one. All so terribly boring.

It’s their eyes, he thought. Their eyes give them away, whether they realize it or not. They fancy themselves intellectuals, moral do-gooders, the best Ur has to offer… but I can see through them as plain as day. I know who they really are underneath those masks, beneath those eyes. Lee had many mottos and slogans that guided his actions, but one of the most crucial lessons he’d learned over the years was this: The eyes are the windows to the soul. It's how he'd always been able to spot liars with near-pinpoint accuracy, and why he always wore dark sunglasses. Because he was a liar, and he knew it.

But then, so was everyone in the room.

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He began, “Esteemed ladies and gentlemen of the Executive Council, thank you for being gracious enough to see me today. I come here offering a proposition of mutual interest, and while most of you may not know me—yet—I’m sure you’re familiar with my employer. I represent the interests of Mr. Okada, one of the Four Kings of KAI-OS—“

Councilor Tristam Renault snorted in derision. "Yes, we know who you work for and we're not interested in doing business with your kind."

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“Come now, you haven’t even heard why I’m here. Surely you wouldn’t turn down an offer that hasn’t been made yet.” Lee spread his arms and smiled. “Let’s cut right to the chase, shall we? I want to hire you.”

The stunned silence and expressions of slack-jawed disbelief were so comical that Lee nearly burst out laughing. Or he would have, if he were the sort to laugh at such things. Instead he merely waited, patiently, for the Executive Council to regain its composure. After a good fifteen seconds Councilor Ken Zardana finally cleared his throat and spoke up. “Sir, I admit I don’t much appreciate your brand of humor, nor do my colleagues.”

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“Oh, it’s no joke, Councilor, I promise you that,” Lee replied smoothly. “It’s quite simple, actually. Mr. Okada would like you to commission the ARKS to strike at selected KAI-OS bases using intel supplied by us. We give you the information to get the job done and the ARKS supply the manpower. As I said, simple. The ARKS are basically glorified mercenaries anyway, are they not?”

“Why us?” Councilor Tamara Lane asked. “Why not commission the ARKS yourself, if that’s what you want?”

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“Because, Tamara,” Zardana piped up, “he knows the ARKS won’t accept client orders from criminal scum like him.”

Lee grinned. As strange as it seemed, he was enjoying this exchange immensely. “There’s no need for name-calling. But yes, essentially you are correct. There’s also the fact that the ARKS would be hard-pressed to turn down a request from the Council… and this is quite a request, isn’t it? I’m sure they’d line up around the block for a chance to complete an order from the UEC.”

Renault folded his arms and leaned back in his chair. "Getting paid by one gangster to eliminate his competition, that's what it is. Well, we don't want your dirty money."

“Tristam’s right. You’re wasting your time here.”

"Now, now, councilors, don't be so hasty. With the reconstruction costs you're about to incur, I'm sure you could use a little extra meseta right now, and Mr. Okada is prepared to pay handsomely for it." Lee saw at least two Council members starting to waver at the prospect of easy money and decided to press the issue. "You're right, it is a dirty job, but look at it from another perspective. You'd be helping to take down a lot of bad people, and you'd help pay to renovate this ship at the same time. That's not such a bad deal, is it? Isn't that what you were elected to do?"

"We were elected to sweep out the corruption, not add to it."

"Hold on, Ken, he does make a good point. We'd be getting paid to neutralize some of Oracle's most wanted criminals, and he'd be providing us intel to do it. If it serves the greater good, does it really matter where the money's coming from?"

"Of course it matters, Tamara. Or have you forgotten your campaign promises so quickly? You have a responsibility to your constituents not to do business with... with what this man represents."

Lee merely raised an eyebrow, amused.

Tamara—that is, Councilor Lane—fixed Zardana with a defensive glare. "What you see as corruption, I see as opportunity. Bringing criminals to justice, dismantling a dangerous underground organization—“

"We wouldn't be dismantling anything, we'd just be consolidating power in the hands of his boss," Zardana argued, thrusting a finger in Lee's direction. "Surely you can see at least that much?"

“I believe this situation calls for a vote,” said Councilor Apophis 6R-80, interrupting their debate. “Standard rules apply. A simple majority will carry the motion.”

[spoiler-box]
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* * * * * * * * *


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZKKhfyc7Og[/b][/u]

The vote was held, the ayes and nays cast. The result was 10-2 against, with only Tamara Lane and one other councilor in favor of the motion.

“There, you have your answer,” Zardana told Lee, resting his weathered hands on the conference table. “Tell Mr. Okada we won’t be doing business with KAI-OS today—or any day.”

Lee chuckled in spite of himself. “As you wish, Councilor, though it doesn’t really matter in the end. In fact, that suits me just fine.”

“How do you figure?”

“I plan to get what I want regardless of your petty politics. The deck has been stacked against you since before I stepped into this room. After all, it’s not like I really expected you to go for my proposal anyway.”

“What are you saying?” Renault demanded, scowling.

“I’m saying, councilors, that your services are no longer required. You want to deny my request? Go ahead, but know this: Just because I couldn't buy you doesn't mean I couldn't buy your hired protection."

Lee took a step back and snapped his fingers. The half dozen black-clad security guards stationed around the perimeter of the room, elite soldiers hired for the sole purpose of protecting the Council, stepped forward and raised their photon rifles in unison. The hailstorm of bullets they unleashed was like a symphony to Lee’s ears, a beautiful song of death and destruction. When it was over, a deafening silence pervaded the chamber. Bullet holes riddled every chair, blood stains covered every surface. The light from the artificial sunset streaming in through the floor-to-ceiling windows cast the room in an ominous crimson hue. Before Lee’s eyes, every single member of the Ur Executive Council lay slain.

Out with the old, in with the new. Just business as usual. He smirked and strode out of the room without uttering a word, leaving the six guards he’d bribed to clean up the mess.

Lee made his way to the elevator at the end of the hall. He stepped inside, letting the doors slide shut behind him, and pressed the button for the main lobby. All in all, he reflected, it had been a fairly productive day. There was only one thing left to do. Rummaging through his pocket, he pulled out a small wireless communicator and attached it to his ear. It activated with a soft beep. “It’s time. Are the doppelgangers ready?”

“They’ll be in place within the hour,” the voice in his ear replied. “With any luck, no one will notice a thing.”

“I don’t need luck. All I need is your unerring cooperation.”

“It will be done, sir.”

“Good. See that it is.” Lee pressed a button on the side of the communicator to end the call. He gazed out through the glass wall of the elevator, watching as the ground level rushed up to meet him. Outside, thousands of Ur’s citizens were on their way home from work, blissfully unaware of what had just transpired. Unaware that their colony ship was now under new management. If Lee could help it, they would continue thinking that until long after it was too late.

Things had gone well so far. Not perfectly, but as well as could be expected. The Council’s refusal had forced him to accelerate his timetable, but it was of little consequence. He expected that outcome anyway. It was all part of the plan—a good one, even by his standards. And Lee certainly liked it when a good plan came together.

But this wasn't the end, oh no. This was just the beginning.



CHAPTER 2: END



Author's Notes:
[spoiler-box]@CelestialBlade: I'm sorry for this chapter. XD All I can say is, have a little patience and a little faith.[/spoiler-box][/spoiler-box]

[CelestialBlade]

Whew, okay! Finally getting around to reading this and feeding my hype for your next story :D (my first post on PSOW in a long time, wow o_O)

[spoiler-box]First of all, well, I had a feeling that scene with the councilors would happen, so it's fine XD Certainly an interesting plot development with potential body-doubles...

Like Levia said, I really love your take on Newmans here. Akasha and Shankar remind me so much of classic-series Newmans (Numan, more accurately), which were more akin to HUnewearls from PSO. Lab-created superhumans with incredible potential, much like you described your two Newmans. I love how the first chapter of your story introduced so many questions, and it'll be fun to see this story unravel.

I love the musical selections so far, however I'm finding that some of them end shortly before I'm done reading that particular section. This isn't anything that ruins the story, and I understand how difficult it is to gauge reader speed when it's infinitely variable between readers, but I thought I'd point it out. If you want specific examples we can discuss that in private. Again, though, hardly a big deal.

As was said earlier, your use of language is fantastic so far and I love how each scene was written. It's captivating and it helps me imagine the scene quite well. I also think this is a much, much better format for you and it helps things flow nicely. Looking forward to more :3

Red-haired Caseal in a position of prestige huh? HMMMMMM.[/spoiler-box]

[stukasa]

@CelestialBlade: Thanks, and welcome back I guess? ^^ About the music, how early are we talking here? A few seconds, or like 30+? Some songs were unfortunately a little shorter than I would've liked and I couldn't find an extended version to use. But yeah, sometimes it's just hard to gauge how fast others will read. I know my own story so I read it a little quicker, maybe.

CHAPTER 3.1 [2/28/15]
[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Logos/Rebirth%20Title%20Ch%203_zps364tfvtk.png~original


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_ddTqnOVhU[/b][/u]

COLONY SHIP 02, UR: ARKS TRAINING ACADEMY

No matter how Akasha looked at it, she stood out. That was the sole thought occupying her mind as she commuted, on foot, from the Training Academy dormitory to the campus proper. Her reason for thinking that was plainly obvious—both to her and everyone else. She was almost a full head taller than most of the trainees and a head and a half taller than most of the women. It was hard not to stand out when everyone could see you coming a kilometer away.

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Akasha_clothes1_name_zpsd4h7bwi0.png~original[/spoiler-box]

Physically she looked like a young adult—perhaps nineteen—though she had no idea what her true age was. She still didn’t remember much of anything, really. Her life was a blank slate, her identity a complete mystery. Sometimes when she was bored she liked to daydream about the life she might’ve led, the family and friends who were still out there somewhere, waiting for her to return. They hadn’t forgotten her, hadn’t given up on her. When they were finally reunited they would laugh and cry together and talk about all the things they’d been up to, and it would feel like she’d never been gone at all.

But that was an illusion, a fantasy. The only thing she knew for sure at that moment, walking through the Academy plaza on her way to class, was that she stood out.

Her uniform and combat armor were special-made since the Academy didn't have anything in her size. She was forced to sit in the back of every class because no one could see around her. Most people avoided her, mistrusted her, or both. Not because she'd done anything wrong, but because she was different. She was conspicuous whether she wanted to be or not, mostly because of her height, but also because she excelled at nearly everything she tried. Her grades were among the top of her class. For some reason numbers and formulas came to her easily, which is why she did especially well in the sciences. On the physical side of things, her size gave her an advantage during training sessions and sparring matches. Even though she was female she was stronger than the men, except perhaps for a few of the CASTs. Her use of Techniques was simply unmatched, even by her instructors. It came to her naturally, effortlessly, an extension of her will. In spite of all these things, and in some cases because of them, she was alone.

She had no friends. She’d turned into a loner, isolated, cast out by her peers—and that suited her just fine. If they were going to judge her without even getting to know her, well, she didn’t care to know them either. And so, day by day and brick by brick, she was building a wall around her heart. It wasn’t something she wanted to do. It wasn’t even something she intended to do. But life has a way of shaping people, of molding them. With each new encounter and every disappointment, Akasha added another brick to that wall.

Surrounded by an ocean of strangers—most of them fellow ARKS trainees—she had never felt more isolated. She’d learned to tune out the covert glances and the overt stares. She chose not to hear the snide remarks muttered in passing. After three months she had gotten quite good at it, had grown accustomed to it.

It was because she was so good at living in her own world—the world in her head—that she didn’t notice the red-haired man rounding the corner of the nearby science building until it was too late. “Oomph!” he grunted as his face gracelessly ricocheted off Akasha’s chest. He staggered back two steps before catching his balance, his nearby friends chuckling at his misfortune. “Hey, watch where you’re going, will ya,” Red Hair growled in her direction.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rO7UiIc1FU[/b][/u]

“Hmph.” Akasha strode past the man and his two friends without giving them a second look. The collision was as much her fault as it was his, she knew that, but his presumptive arrogance was irritating. It was the kind of attitude she was so familiar with by now.

“Hey, don’t ignore me!” he shouted after her. “Answer when someone’s talking to you. You think you’re better than me? You lookin’ down on me, you freaking giant?!”

Akasha stopped dead in her tracks. Keep walking, she told herself. Don’t give him the satisfaction of turning around.

“She heard you that time,” one of his friends snickered.

“I’ve seen you around, you know,” Red Hair called out, still addressing Akasha. “Don’t think you’re some big shot just ‘cause you’ve got a bit of talent. If you apologize to me now then maybe, just maybe, I’ll forgive you.”

“Let it go,” she whispered through clenched teeth, struggling desperately to keep her cool. “Walk away.”

“What’s that?” he asked, a mocking grin creeping across his face as he exaggeratedly cupped one of his ears. “I couldn’t hear you from way down here.”

His friends smirked and chuckled, enjoying the show in their own twisted way.

“Just… leave me alone,” muttered Akasha.

“Don’t tell me what to do! Don’t you dare,” he sneered, stabbing a finger in her direction. “Me, I’m gonna be somebody. But you? You’re a nobody, and you’ll always be a nobody. No one here likes you. No one wants you around, so why don’t you do us all a favor and get lost. Maybe find a place better suited to your talents? I hear the circus is hiring; I’m sure you’ll fit in nicely with the other freaks.”

Akasha squeezed her fists until her nails dug into her skin. Keep walking. Keep walking. Keep walking...

But she didn’t keep walking. She turned around.

Everyone has a tolerance level and Akasha had reached her limit. After three months she’d finally had enough. She was done being humiliated, done being pushed around. She was going to wipe those smug grins off their stupid faces.

She was going to make them hurt.

Without her even realizing it, a gust of wind energy began swirling around Akasha’s feet. It snaked around her boots and rippled the folds in her skirt. Fallen leaves on the walkway got caught up in the turbulence, pulled along in the beautiful but deadly whirlwind as it expanded outward, quickly swelling to a radius of three meters.

Akasha strode towards them calmly but purposefully. Her cool exterior belied the volatile emotions boiling just beneath the surface, her eyes filled with a cold fury that mirrored the storm raging around her. The wind was howling now and still she didn’t realize it. Nor did she notice—or care about—the looks of bewildered fear on the three men’s faces. Whatever conscious thought had spawned her current state, it was buried now. The only thing left was her desire for vengeance.

Punish them. Make them pay for what they’ve done.

Memories of Shankar’s last words to her echoed through Akasha’s mind: “You would choose them over me? So be it, but remember, they will never understand you the way I do. Eventually they will fail you…”

You were right, brother, they’ve failed me. This whole world has failed me. I’m done playing nice with those who only cause me pain.

Two tendrils of wind simultaneously lashed out at Red Hair’s friends, hurling them to the pavement. The third and final tendril caught Red Hair just under his ribcage. Its force lifted him off his feet and flung him sideways into the wall of the nearby science building. A dull thud and pained gasp followed.

And still, Akasha kept coming. The tempest around her gradually subsided as she reached the man, grabbing him by the front of his collar and slamming him into the wall behind him. She cocked her free arm back, ready to deliver the finishing blow. “I asked you before to leave me alone. You wouldn’t listen. Why couldn’t you just leave me alone?!”

Akasha felt her control slipping. At this rate she wouldn’t be able to hold herself back. She wanted to hurt him too badly; no, more than that—she wanted to destroy him.

Do it.

Do it, do it, do it, do it, DO IT!

“Alright,” an unfamiliar voice behind them called out, “that’s enough!”


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sjbb5Pi_TZs[/b][/u]

There, standing defiantly in the middle of the walkway, was one of the smallest humans Akasha had ever seen. Barely 150 centimeters tall and wearing a uniform similar to Akasha’s—albeit a much smaller size—the girl looked like she belonged in grade school rather than the ARKS Training Academy. Her freckled cheeks, shaggy bob cut, and sparkling emerald eyes only reinforced that image.

"Hey! Why don't you pick on someone your own size?" she shouted, folding her arms across her chest.

It was a totally absurd thing to say, of course—which is precisely why it caught everyone off-guard, including and especially Akasha. "N-No, I... I mean, they were picking on me first..."

"I know. I was talking to them, not you."

Red Hair’s eye twitched in irritation. “Buzz off, twerp, this doesn’t concern you. We can handle it ourselves.”

“That so? ‘Cause it looks like you were about to get your head pounded into the brick wall there.”

“Tsch.” He wrenched his collar free of Akasha’s grip and stalked off angrily past his friends. “C’mon guys, let’s get outta here. They’re not worth our time.”

After they left, Akasha turned to the newcomer. "I hope you're not expecting a thank you. I don't know who you are but I had things under control before you showed up."

The girl looked doubtful. "Oh, really? Then I suppose you know that assaulting a fellow trainee would most likely get you suspended from the Academy, if not expelled. In fact, I'd be willing to bet those guys were counting on it. But hey, since you’d clearly rather sulk by yourself than take advice from me, I’ll leave you alone.” She turned to leave.

“Wait.” Akasha lowered her head and averted her gaze. “…Thanks.”

“Kira.”

“What?”

“My name, it’s Kira. And you’re Akasha. I know who you are, or at least your reputation. Don’t take this the wrong way but you're kinda hard to miss.”

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Kira_Trainee_name_zpsyfwe9wje.png~original[/spoiler-box]

This girl, what was her angle? It was their first time meeting yet she was talking so casually, so freely. Did she have some kind of agenda? If so, Akasha couldn’t figure out what it was. "You know who I am and you're not… afraid of me?"

"Afraid? Nah," Kira replied easily. There was no worry in her voice, none of the anger and mistrust Akasha had come to expect. In its place was a simple, carefree acceptance, a laid-back attitude Akasha couldn’t help but find disarming. “If anything I’m jealous! I mean, look at me. Not exactly the most intimidating ARKS trainee ever, right? I try to make up for it by talking big—don’t tell anyone that, by the way—but maaan, what I wouldn’t give to be a little taller. Just a few extra centimeters would be enough. Think you can spare some of yours?” she joked, nudging Akasha with an elbow.

In spite of herself, Akasha laughed. The strange, rabid fury that had taken hold of her earlier was completely gone, as if spirited away with the wind. “Sorry, I wish I could. Being this tall has its own problems.”

“Yeah, I noticed. But you know, you’re not exactly helping things either. You want to stick to yourself—fine, that’s your choice. But it’s more than that, like you’ve given up trying to get along with people. You’re different, I get it. You’ll probably always have people look at you funny because of it, and there will probably always be morons like that jerk and his buddies around. But so what? You can’t control them, but you can control how you deal with them. Be the bigger person—literally and figuratively. If they laugh at you, laugh right along with them. Show them who you really are and I bet they’ll forget all about the bad things they’ve heard.”

“I…” Akasha started to reply, then trailed off. “No, you’re right. I tried to hold it all in, but at some point I… I stopped looking at other people, I mean really seeing them. I guess I just didn’t want to get hurt any more, but that only made things worse. And now…”

“Hey.” Kira laid a comforting hand on Akasha’s wrist, her eyebrows raised in an expression of sympathy. “It’s okay. Everyone’s got their own burdens to bear.”

“Yeah… yeah, I know. It was a mistake, one I won’t make again. Thank you.”

“You already thanked me. But if you ever want someone to talk to, come find me. See you around, Akasha.”

“Wait!” exclaimed Akasha. “How will I find you?”

Kira looked over her shoulder at the Newearl and grinned. “Just start waving and shouting my name. Like I said before, you’re kinda hard to miss.”

That was how, on that fateful morning aboard Ur, she met Kira for the first time. Though she didn’t know it yet, Akasha had just made her first friend. And somewhere deep inside herself, a brick in the wall around her heart fell away and vanished.

There would be many more to come.

* * * * * * * * *


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h93uFBoLJdQ[/b][/u]

COLONY SHIP 02, UR: C-BLOCK, ABANDONED APARTMENT COMPLEX

“Hold still.”

She pressed the razor against the underside of his chin, angling it so the blade would cut most effectively. Shankar didn’t even flinch. She dragged the blade slowly down his neck, forming a trail of bare skin on a landscape otherwise smothered in shaving cream. Flecks of stubble caught in the goopy froth, pulled along with the razor as it traced the contours of his Adam’s apple.

If she was going to kill him, now would be the time to do it.

Of course, he knew that too. He had to. There was no way he was that careless, to ask her to shave him knowing full well that it meant taking a blade to his jugular. To put himself at her mercy after confining her to the apartment for weeks on end. It couldn’t possibly be that easy.

Could it?

At times there was an innocent, almost childlike quality about him. It was one of the things that initially compelled her to help him, back before he had abducted her. But despite his naïveté and youthful face, Shankar was a grown man; surely he knew how to shave himself.

Which meant this was almost certainly a test. He would be waiting for her to make a move, to test the extent of her loyalty and submission to him.

That’s why she wouldn’t do it now. No, she would wait for a more opportune time. Maybe she’d do it when he was sleeping.

Patience was a virtue, they said. Well, she needed plenty of patience now.

So she waited.

* * * * * * * * *

It wasn’t a test.

Shankar knew the woman had resolved herself to kill him. He saw it in her eyes every time she glared at him when she thought he wasn’t paying attention. It was unfortunate, really. He’d grown rather fond of her company in a platonic sort of way, the way you might become fond of a favorite pet. It was far better than living alone on the street, that was for sure.

Despite her intentions, he allowed her to shave him simply because he didn’t fear her. It was like a bug threatening a goliath; even the galaxy’s most fearsome beetle was easily trampled under the paw of a Fang Banther.

She knew their difference in strength as well as he did. The woman might despise him but she clearly wasn’t stupid, either. No, she wouldn’t make her move now. Later, perhaps, but not now.

As he predicted, the woman finished shaving him without incident. Shankar admired his newly clean-shaven face in the mirror. She did a good job of it, he had to admit. Better than he could have done himself. She'd also cut his hair short and found him a set of garments to wear. It hadn't been easy finding something that fit, not when he was a full head taller than the average man. Combined with the shave, Shankar looked—and felt—as if he’d been reborn.

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Shankar_clothes1_name_zpsllkko6eg.png~original[/spoiler-box]


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fsI-44FIMM4[/b][/u]

Seated in his favorite (and only) chair, Shankar turned and gazed across the room at the woman. As she busied herself cleaning up the shaving utensils, he caught her sneaking furtive glances at something shiny around her neck—something she carefully kept hidden under her top. He’d seen her looking at it several times before.

“You, woman. What is that?” said Shankar, not merely asking but not quite demanding, either.

“O-Oh, it’s nothing,” she replied quickly, stuffing it back inside her shirt. Clearly, whatever it was, it was something she considered private. Something she was willing to defy him over.

Shankar narrowed his eyes but decided not to press the issue. It wasn’t important anyway. If he really wanted to, he could’ve easily taken it from her. He could’ve done a lot of things. He could have forced her down, ripped the clothes off her back, had his way with her any number of times and she wouldn't have been able to stop him. But he hadn't done that, hadn't even entertained the possibility. His focus was elsewhere, on finding the truth about Naya Kestren. To him, this poor woman before him was merely a tool he needed. The ARKS and the police were searching for him, that much was certain. And as frustrating as it was, that meant he had to keep a low profile. He mostly hid indoors during the day cycle, using the woman to fetch anything he needed. She was a nobody, she wouldn't attract any attention, certainly not from the authorities.

At first he thought she might run away during an errand and never return, or worse, inform the authorities of his whereabouts. He'd taken care of that possibility, though. When he had forcibly recruited her, he'd given her a small demonstration of his powers. She’d been much more cooperative since then.

Content with the knowledge that he was in complete control, Shankar gently closed his eyes…

* * * * * * * * *

He was right about one thing: she’d resolved herself to kill him. She stood in the doorway a few minutes later, the shaving razor clutched tightly behind her back. “Um, excuse me…?” she called out, somewhere above a whisper but lower than a normal speaking tone.

Shankar didn’t respond or react in any way. Had he fallen asleep in the chair?

The woman inched forward another two paces, still gripping the hidden razor. “Hello? You awake?”

No reply.

This was it. Gathering her wits, she worked up the courage to do what she needed to do. It was a terrible thing, something she never would have thought herself capable of doing, but she also knew it had to be done. He seemed satisfied with her for the time being, but how long would his good graces last when she ran out of uses? How long would he put up with her then? She needed to take action now if she wanted to save herself. There might never be a better opportunity.

She crept forward as silently as she could, one step at a time, drawing closer to the big Newman slumped in the chair. He hadn’t stirred by the time she reached him. His eyes were closed, his breathing slow and regular. He was, by all accounts, sleeping peacefully. At that moment he seemed gentle, harmless even, and she could almost forget he was holding her captive.

Almost.

Why hadn’t she gone to the police before it reached this point? He’d sent her out on numerous errands, she could have easily done so. It was too risky, she reminded herself. He’d escaped police custody before—at least that’s what he told her. He could’ve been lying but somehow she didn’t think so. If he got out again, well, she didn’t even want to think about what he’d do. If he came after her, that was one thing, but he’d threatened her friends and family too. She couldn’t put them in danger. She wouldn’t. She’d rather take on the burden herself, even if it meant killing a man in his sleep.

Hands quivering slightly, she carefully extended the razor towards his exposed neck. Her teeth began to chatter and her breathing grew heavy. Do it, she told herself. Do it now while you still can! Do it! Please, do it!

The hand clutching her wrist took that chance away. She looked up, directly into Shankar’s unwavering gaze. “You shouldn’t have hesitated,” he said, tightening his grip.

Shankar stood up, slowly and calmly, towering over her small frame. He squeezed her wrist until she gasped and dropped the razor. “I… I…,” she stammered, the words refusing to come out.

"Sleep now," he murmured softly, resting his hand on her shoulder. A powerful jolt of electricity raced through her in an instant, killing her before her body even hit the floor. Wisps of smoke escaped her ears, nose, and mouth.

Shankar stared at her lifeless form for a long time. So that was what it felt like to take a life. He hadn't enjoyed it, but he didn't regret it, either. He didn't feel much of anything, actually. Even though she'd tried to kill him, he couldn't blame her for that. All creatures desire their freedom. Or at least the illusion of it, he thought darkly. Chances were, he would have ended up killing her eventually anyway, if only to keep her quiet. He had a mission to accomplish—to find his purpose—and he couldn't risk anyone trying to stop him before he completed it. It suddenly occurred to him that he didn’t even know her name. Not that it mattered now, anyway.

Shankar bent down and gently brushed the hair out of her vacant eyes. As he did so, a familiar piece of metal caught his attention. It was the thing around her neck, the thing she’d tried so hard to keep to herself. He saw now that it was a locket of some kind. Reaching behind her neck, he unfastened the metal chain and scooped the locket into his hand. Using his other hand, he deftly pried it open and looked inside.

The only thing inside was a tiny photograph of two people, an older man and a teenage girl. Was the girl the same one he’d just killed? They looked similar but he couldn’t tell for sure. If it was, the image must be a few years out of date.

As Shankar stared at the photo, a strange feeling swept over him. It was an unpleasant sensation, one he hadn’t experienced before. Was it sympathy? Regret? He suppressed it immediately. Such emotions were a distraction, one he couldn’t afford now. Even so, something compelled him to hang on to the locket. He stuffed it in his tunic and stood up.

His business here was finished. Once again, it was time to move on.

He set fire to the apartment on his way out and didn’t look back.



TO BE CONTINUED[/spoiler-box]

[Zorafim]

Uhg, stop updating so frequently and consistently so I don't feel so bad about being behind!

[stukasa]

Uhg, stop updating so frequently and consistently so I don't feel so bad about being behind!
:lol: You know me, my updates are like the trains--they're never late! (If I can help it, that is.)

But like I said before, if you're busy don't feel bad about reading only a chapter or two and commenting on wherever you're at. I'd rather people were behind--and commented--than held in all their comments until they catch up.

[Zorafim]

There, caught up. I'm glad I waited until I was rested, your stuff doesn't deserve any less than my full attention. I'm not sure if it took me until now to notice, or if I had just forgotten. But your music selection is so good. I guess you've been at this for so long that it's basically a skill to you now, but I'm honestly jealous of how well you can match a track to a scene.

[spoiler-box]Shankar is such a quiet, well behaved villain. I enjoy seeing things from his side, and how different his view is compared to everyone else's. I was afraid he was going to become a 1-note villain at first, but I love seeing his struggles.

Also, I hate how every death in your story is accompanied by my going "Aw, but I liked that character." This is why I can't be emotionally unstable when I read your stuff![/spoiler-box]

[stukasa]

@Zorafim: I'm glad you like the music. ^^ I put a lot of effort into finding songs that match, thematically, with what I've written. Sometimes I get it right away and other times I spend hours looking for a single song.
[spoiler-box]As for Shankar, I don't necessarily think of him as a villain. He's not one of the good guys, that's for sure, but he's not really motivated by evil either. I like writing for him because he has a different perspective than most of the other characters.

In Chapter 3.1 I tried to show the parallel paths of Akasha and Shankar. They're both seeking their place in the world, but while Akasha nearly fell to the dark side, she was ultimately saved by Kira. Shankar, on the other hand, seemed like he might be redeemed but ended up killing the woman in the end. It's all about yin and yang, two sides of the same coin, but with very different outcomes.[/spoiler-box]

[Sacrificial]

Almost thought you updated early...........

[Zorafim]

[spoiler-box]A villain doesn't necessarily need to be evil. They simply need to have interests which go against the protagonist, and perhaps the viewer. Shankar is single minded in his goals, to the point of abusing other people to get it.
And yeah, I love the dynamic you have between the two characters. I wanted to show that between Leviathan and, erm, Leviathan. I never give myself enough screen time to show any buildup to that, but I at least showed that one minor mistake in what was fundamentally a sound design created a monster out of what is otherwise a good character. [/spoiler-box]

[stukasa]

@Sacrificial: Nah. xD But here's the update for real!

@Zorafim:
[spoiler-box]That's true, a villain doesn't have to be evil. Akasha and Shankar started out at the same place, but while Akasha was rescued by the ARKS, Shankar had no one to guide him. Over time that's led him down a very different path. Like how one minor design flaw can create a monster instead of a good character, in your case.[/spoiler-box]

CHAPTER 3.2 [3/7/15]
[spoiler-box]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rq5SjtF-4Bw[/b][/u]

Red eyes gleaming menacingly, the spider-like Dagan slashed downward with its front two legs—just in time to see them cleaved off by the blade of Akasha’s double saber. The Darker reared back and screeched in agony, leaving itself wide open to her follow-up attack. It quickly found itself tumbling backward as the boot of her Neighbor Quartz armor connected with the underside of its carapace. The mangled Darker bowled over a pair of insectoid Krahdas and came to an abrupt halt when its body slammed into the cave wall five meters away.

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Akasha_clothes2_name_zpsso8symkx.png~original[/spoiler-box]

Whirling around, Akasha felt her Fighter training kick in as a trio of Dagans leapt down at her from a rocky ledge nearby. Her glowing sapphire blade danced and spun, weaving a figure-eight pattern through the air as it bisected two of the incoming Darkers. The third Dagan nimbly slipped past her defenses and collided with her right shoulder, spinning her around. Akasha instinctively jerked backwards as it hurled itself at her again, then blinked in surprise as a burst of photon bullets peppered the creature from close range. It fell to the ground, twitched twice, then lay still.

Behind her, Kira grinned. It was one of those ‘you-owe-me-one’ kind of grins. Akasha sighed. She’d lost count of who owed who more at the moment. The girl’s good with a gun, she had to admit of her pint-sized friend.

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Kira_name_zps4rnimeoc.png~original[/spoiler-box]

Kira blew on the still-smoking barrels of her twin machineguns, more for dramatic effect than anything else. “So,” she said casually, ignoring the horde of Darkers closing in from all sides, “we’ve known each other about a month now, right?”

“About that, yeah.”

“And we’re friends now, right?”

“Nah, I’m just using you for extra meal tickets,” Akasha deadpanned as she hacked through an over-eager Krahda, then burst out laughing. “Yeah, of course we’re friends. If it weren’t for you I probably wouldn’t even be here right now. I was ready to give up playing soldier until you came along… ready to give up a lot of things. Why do you ask?”

“It’s just, I realize I don’t know that much about you. What’s your story, anyway? I don’t think I ever asked.”

Akasha grimaced, not sure how to answer. “It’s sort of complicated…”

Just then their radio ear pieces crackled with static and a stern, humorless female voice spoke up. “Trainee Akasha, Trainee Vorholtz, this is ARKS Control. You are in the middle of an important combat mission on Amduscia surrounded by enemy contacts. Please focus on the task at hand.”


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBATrLRWySg[/b][/u]

“Relax, Control, we’ve got this.” Kira rolled her eyes and shook her head dismissively, idly blasting a Dahgash between the eyes mere moments before it could take a bite out of her arm. The fish-like Darker groaned and careened away, flying straight into a river of searing molten lava. It plunged in face-first and disintegrated almost instantly.

The immediate danger past, Kira focused her attention back on Akasha. “Anyway, your story. Before you tell me, let me guess: You grew up in a happy, well-adjusted home with two loving—yet gigantic—Newman parents and not a care in the world. You decided to join the ARKS out of sheer boredom because your life was so great and wonderful that you just couldn’t stand it anymore. Am I right?”

“Not exactly,” the Newearl replied. “More like I woke up in a lab a few months back with no memory of who I really am.”

“…For real?”

“Yeah.”

“Whoa, that’s deep.”

Their radios crackled a second time. “ARKS Control to Trainee Akasha and Trainee Vorholtz. Are you taking this operation seriously?”

“Oh yeah, totally,” Kira answered without a hint of seriousness in her voice. “We are so serious right now it’s not even funny.”

“So serious,” echoed Akasha, winking mischievously at Kira as she said it. Her double saber twirled through the air like an oversized boomerang, cleaving a Dagan in half before lodging itself in the bulbous backside of a passing Breeahda, which let loose an agonized shriek before spiraling into the ground. Akasha had only been aiming at the Dagan; the Breeahda was an unexpected but welcome bonus kill.

“I don’t get it, then.” Kira dodged a fierce claw swipe by a swooping El Ahda as she jammed a new magazine into one of her machineguns. “If you don’t remember your past, why are you here?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, why are you here in the ARKS? What’s your goal?”

“My goal? I… I guess I never really thought about it. The Captain—I mean Captain Colton—wanted me to join. Gave me some speech about how it would be good for me or something. Beyond that, I just—I want to know who I am, where I came from. Do I have any parents? Are they out there, looking for me right now? It's driving me crazy, not knowing even the most basic things about myself.”

Kira converged dual streams of photon bullets on the El Ahda as it looped around for another pass. Her weapons roared furiously, shell casings were expelled with reckless abandon, and the volcanic cavern lit up like the epicenter of a great lightning storm, until at last the beast on the receiving end was no more. “So you really don't know anything at all?”

“I... might have a brother. I met him in the lab after I woke up, right before the ARKS found me. Said his name was Shankar.”

“Hmm... Did he tell you he was your brother?”

“Well, no, but he looked so much like me! If you saw us together you'd swear we were twins. He even had the same face tattoo I do!” Akasha easily hopped over a pair of Krahdas charging in her direction.

“How big was he? Like, as tall as you?”

“Yeah, about the same height, maybe even a little taller. Why?”

“Well—and I realize this might sound a little obvious—there aren't many people as tall as you are, especially not Newmans. In fact, I can count the number of super tall Newmans I've met on one hand, because—oh wait—it's just you. So based on your description, I'd say that, yeah, there's a pretty good chance you two are related.”

“I don’t know what happened to him. I wonder where he is now and what he’s doing…”

Another burst of static. “Trainees, this is Control again. Please keep personal chatter to a minimum.”

Akasha didn’t even bother replying to the controller this time, casually continuing her conversation with Kira. “So what about you? Why’d you decide to exterminate evil bug monsters for a living?”

“Ah… well, I… I dunno…”

“C’mon, I told you my story—what little there was to tell. The least you can do is tell me yours.”

Kira sighed in resignation. She supposed it was her own fault for bringing up the topic in the first place. And maybe, deep down, she’d wanted to confide in her new friend. “Alright, fine, I guess that’s only fair. If you must know, I’m here because my sister isn’t.”

“That sounds rather ominous. What happened?”

“She’s just… gone, okay? She disappeared and no one knows what happened to her. The police couldn’t find her. Her teammates hadn’t heard anything. We searched high and low but nothing turned up, not a single clue. It’s like she vanished into thin air.”

Akasha pirouetted on the ball of her left foot, her long ponytail twirling around her body as she swung her double saber around in a high arc. The photon blade passed through the last two remaining Dagans, severing their limbs and ending their lives in an instant. “Your sister was an ARKS soldier too?”

“Yeah, she joined a couple years before I did. More for financial reasons than anything else, I think.”

The woman from ARKS Control spoke to them again, this time barely concealing the irritation in her voice. “Trainee Akasha, Trainee Vorholtz, do you read me? Please copy.”

“My dad, his heath isn’t so good,” Kira explained, ignoring the controller. “He’s got a ton of medical bills. Fara was helping him out with the meseta she got from client orders. After she disappeared he couldn’t pay his bills anymore, and he’s too sick to work, so…”

“So you stepped up.”

“Something like that, yeah. I figured I could earn some meseta to help my dad and maybe find out what happened to my sister at the same time. I was planning on joining the ARKS anyway, this just sorta sped up the process.”

ARKS Control interrupted them again. Her voice was strained, her tone seething. “I know you can hear me, trainees. It would be wise for you to listen—“

Akasha switched her radio off, finally ending the controller’s ceaseless nagging. “Thanks for telling me your story, Kira. It sounds like you’ve got—whoa!”


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P60i6DuzWGk[/b][/u]

She rolled out of the way just in time to avoid the crimson energy beam slicing across the rocky ground. The Kartargot that fired it trundled forward on its stubby legs, snarling angrily at the two ARKS trainees. It extended its two fin-like ears, preparing to release another deadly blast—this time in Kira’s direction. With no time to utter a warning, Akasha tackled her friend to the ground, once again narrowly escaping the creature’s deadly onslaught.

Lying on her back, her face buried beneath two soft mounds, Kira groaned. “Not that I don’t appreciate the assist, but you’re… kinda smothering me here…”

In her frantic scramble to save Kira, Akasha had landed directly on top of her. Her chest, fortunately or unfortunately, was situated directly over the girl’s head. Raising herself up, she offered Kira a helping hand. “Uh, sorry about that.”

The pair hardly had time to recover before the Darker came at them again, charging up a third energy beam.

“Kira, blind it!” Akasha shouted as she rushed the Kartargot head-on.

“Roger!” Kira replied, blasting it in the face with everything her weapons could muster.

The creature roared as it stumbled wildly about. No longer able to aim properly, its beam went wide and scorched a hole in the wall of the cavern. By that point Akasha was already upon it, using its flat-topped rear end as a springboard as she leapt towards the back of its neck. A single piercing strike ripped through the Kartargot’s bulbous red core—its only weak spot—and with that, the Darker was no more.

Akasha and Kira stood panting as they surveyed the scene around them. The Kartargot had been their final opponent, which meant their mission was now complete. At last they could claim victory.

With the battle over, so too was the exercise. The craggy volcanic outcroppings, blistering lava streams, and mutilated throngs of Darker carcasses abruptly vanished, replaced by the featureless gray walls of the VR training chamber. The only remaining occupants, either alive or dead, were Kira and Akasha. They weren’t really on Amduscia; they never had been.

“Whew.” Akasha exhaled deeply, dropping to a cross-legged position on the floor. The parts of her skin not covered by armor glistened with beads of sweat. “That was some workout.”

“Better than hitting the gym,” Kira agreed.

A musical tone signaled the official completion of the exercise. On the wall of the chamber, projected by one of the holographic emitters, the results were categorically tallied and displayed. Below that, the final score was given: ‘S’, the highest possible grade.

“Congratulations trainees, you’ve cleared today’s combat exercise,” Control announced through the loudspeaker. She sounded unenthusiastic, to say the least. “These scores place you within the top four percent of your class. However, your personal conduct was… somewhat less than professional.”

“We passed the simulation, didn’t we?” Akasha countered.

“Admirably.”

“Then what’s the problem?”

Control didn’t have an answer to that one.

* * * * * * * * *


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PztMcNH8t2g[/b][/u]

COLONY SHIP 02, UR: COUNCILOR LANE’S OFFICE

The designers had done a first-rate job, he had to admit. Even this close, Lee couldn’t tell she wasn’t the real Councilor Tamara Lane. That mole on her left cheek and the miniscule crow’s feet creeping up around her eyes added a nice touch of realism, an attention to detail that made the crucial difference between a passable imitation and a true replica.

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Lee_name_zps535c104e.png~original http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/TamaraLane_name_zpsc5e6f758.png~original[/spoiler-box]

The real Tamara Lane was long dead, of course—gunned down with the rest of the Ur Executive Council in a massacre he himself had ordained. Lee’s people had replaced the whole lot of them with CAST doppelgangers and no one had been the wiser. As far as coups went, it couldn’t have gone any smoother. The bodies were disposed of, the loose ends tied up. Now here he was, sitting in the Councilor’s chair with his feet up on the desk while she sat across from him in the seat normally reserved for visitors. It was alright, she didn’t mind. She’d been built to serve him, after all. They all had.

This Tamara, this doppelganger, was as close to the real thing as anyone could get, right down to her fingerprints. With her metal frame she wouldn’t get past a security scanner—but then again, members of the UEC were rarely subjected to such indignities. The important thing was that she could play the part, and in that aspect she excelled. She excelled so well that her own husband hadn’t noticed a difference during these past few months. Wouldn’t he be surprised to learn that her loyalties belonged to another man?

Her personality, along with those of the other doppelgangers, had been meticulously crafted by a team of expert designers. They’d incorporated every available piece of public data on the councilors into a complex set of algorithms, creating what they claimed was a near-perfect recreation of the originals. Nothing was ever perfect, Lee believed, but these twelve replicas were certainly close enough for his purposes.

The only thing left now was the issue of governance. The Executive Council managed all governmental affairs aboard the colony ship, no small feat. Lee couldn’t care less about the people of Ur, but the UEC had to at least keep up the appearance of a normal functioning body, otherwise he’d have a whole new set of problems on his hands. Fortunately the doppelgangers were more than up to the task. Not only could they imitate their namesakes’ personalities, they were also crammed with as much knowledge of the political landscape and current social issues as possible.

They might even do a better job governing than their flesh and blood counterparts, Lee thought wryly, smiling inwardly at the irony.

“Shall I go ahead and submit that client order to the ARKS?” asked the Tamara replica, pulling Lee from his musings.

“No, hold off on that for now. An experienced card player knows when to stay his hand, and the time isn’t yet ripe. I have another task for you now. Here, come take a look at this.”

Tamara stood up and rounded the desk, stopping next to Lee. He adjusted the angle of the display monitor on the desk so she could read the data more easily. “Financial projections over the next several months? Unless I’m reading this wrong, it looks like you want to overhaul the allocation of public funds.”

“Specifically, I need you to double Ur’s financial contributions to the Terra Nova project.”

Terra Nova: It was being hailed as Oracle’s bright future, a super-massive space station outfitted with the latest anti-Darker shielding technology. Currently being built in an undisclosed location somewhere deep within the core regions, it had been under construction for the past ten cycles. Every colony ship in the fleet, including Ur, was required to allocate a certain portion of its funding to the ongoing project.

“We need to set an example,” Lee continued. “When we do, the other ships are bound to take notice. They won’t want to appear… uncharitable, especially not before the living arrangements have been finalized. And so they will follow us.”

Tamara nodded in understanding. “They’ll assume we’re trying to curry favor with the planning committee, but in the end they’ll be forced to match our contributions or face the wrath of their own citizens. It doesn’t matter whether or not the added contributions have any tangible effect. You’re counting on the perceived effect those actions will cause—jealousy and fear. The jealousy of their citizens at the prospect of losing the best housing opportunities to Ur, and their councilors’ fear of the backlash prompted by that jealousy.”

“Precisely. Terra Nova… our grand new home, free of the Darker threat, is poised to become the preeminent piece of real estate on the market. The entire Oracle fleet has a stake in this, which is why the other colony ships will react exactly as we expect them to, like puppets on strings. In that respect they’re as easy to maneuver as the Darkers. In some ways even more so.”

“How very devious of you,” Tamara nearly purred, then added soberly, “But the UEC can’t approve something like that unilaterally, I’ll need to go through the treasury department.”

“Which you happen to be the chair of, as I recall.”

“I can pull strings but I can’t perform miracles. It’s not going to be an easy fight.”

“I never said it would be, but I need it done. Can I count on you?”

“You can always count on me,” she replied warmly, resting a well-manicured hand on the inside of Lee’s thigh. Her supple fingers delicately traced the length of his pant seam, slowly sliding up his leg as she continued, “Don’t worry, you’ll get your funding. You know I’ll do whatever it takes to—“

“Stop.” Lee forcefully grabbed Tamara’s wrist, halting her advance.

“I-I’m sorry,” she stammered. “I shouldn’t have done that. I just wanted to please you—“

“Let me make something clear. I need your help to further my goals, but don’t confuse me needing you here with me wanting you here. You’re a tool to me, nothing more. Under that synthetic flesh you’re merely a pile of circuits and gears, an appliance built to serve a specific purpose. A tool in a pretty package is still just a tool, and I have no interest in tools. I only care that they serve their purpose.”

“It won’t happen again... sir.”

“See that it doesn’t.”


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I8IHETAV7lE[/b][/u]

Both Lee and the councilor turned their attention to the far side of the chamber as the door slid open with an audible hiss. Standing in the doorway was a tan-skinned, middle-aged man, his muscular frame slightly ill-fitting in the formal business attire he wore. The gray streaks lining his neatly-combed hair had the effect of making him appear distinguished rather than merely old. It was a look that conveyed both his strength and his many years of experience, first as a retired ARKS veteran and later as a respected member of the UEC. Of course, looks can sometimes be deceiving, especially since he happened to be another CAST doppelganger.

The man with Tristam Renault’s face raised an innocuous eyebrow. “Am I interrupting?”

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Renault_name_zps948ba00c.png~original[/spoiler-box]

“No,” Lee answered brusquely, releasing his grip on Tamara’s hand. “Come in. What have you got?”

Renault smirked as he stepped into the room. “Nearly everything, as far as we can tell. There were a few heavily protected files—which we’ll eventually crack—and a couple bad sectors—which we can repair. Everything else, all of Ur’s data marked ‘top secret,’ is right here on this disk.”

He held up the disk in his hand, passing it across the desk to Lee. Such a small thing, marveled Lee, sliding it into the computer terminal. In the right hands it could topple an empire. In mine, it can create one.

“Let’s see what we have…” Lee perused the list of computer files, skimming past the unimportant ones. “…Hmm, the Heart of Gaea; interesting but inconsequential… Luphan Ayatane; I’ll come back to his file later… Well now, what do we have here? Project Typhon… Project leader: Dr. Naya Kestren… Project status: Suspended…”

“Typhon? Isn’t that the project you—“

“Yes,” Lee replied, cutting Renault off. “Ah, here we go, I’ve found what I’m looking for: the Fifth Fleet Massacre. Are you familiar with the details?”

Renault stroked the beard stubble on his chin. “The publicly available knowledge, yes. My namesake—that is, the original Tristam Renault—called it one of the great tragedies of our era. The entire Fifth Fleet was wiped out in a single day by a surprise Darker attack. Six colony ships, three dozen heavy cruisers, and several hundred support craft were literally ripped apart from the inside out. The statistics are quite sobering, though I imagine you could paint a more detailed picture than the record books.”

“Indeed. Let me tell you a story, a story you won’t find in the body of ‘publicly available knowledge.’ During the height of the Darker attack aboard Orpheus, a small ARKS strike team infiltrated the Command tower and downloaded a program into the central computer. The program was designed with two purposes in mind: first, it was to activate the ship’s self-destruct countdown, and second, it was to relay as much data about the ship’s status as possible. Its condition, power output, and spatial coordinates were all transmitted in a comm pulse that eventually made its way back to Ur. The contents of the transmission were kept secret, known only to the ARKS top brass and the UEC. And with good reason! You see, the data contained a troubling but undeniable truth: Orpheus survived. It wasn’t destroyed by the Darkers, as is commonly believed, but was captured as a spoil of war. And here is where it gets more interesting. Because the colony ship survived, the program is still running, and once every standard day it sends out another pulse.”

“You’re saying…”

“I’m saying exactly what you think I’m saying. The ARKS and the UEC have known Orpheus’s status and location all along. And the file containing that data is right here, updated daily for our convenience.”

Tamara folded her arms across her chest. “If that’s true, why sit on it for so long? Why hasn’t the fleet launched an attack against Orpheus already? Surely they realize the danger it represents.”

“Why, indeed?” Lee fixed her with a penetrating gaze. Unfortunately, its effect was lost behind his dark sunglasses. “The answer is simple, my dear. They didn’t attack because they couldn’t, not without destroying what’s on board: Project Typhon, quite possibly the instrument to winning this long war. A Pandora’s box that, in the proper hands, has the potential to finish off the Darkers once and for all.”

“And whose hands are the proper hands? Yours?” Tamara asked, her lips pursed together in a tight smile.

“Typhon is already as good as mine, I merely need the key to unlock it. Of course, I have… other plans for Typhon. Winning the war is one thing; winning the war and turning a profit is even better. If I can eliminate my enemies at the same time, well, that would be best of all.”



TO BE CONTINUED[/spoiler-box]

[Sacrificial]

[SPOILER-BOX]First thing I read(or atleast I thought) was Red Eyes Black Dragon. Im way to much into that tcg xD.

Also I was thinking: yay Amducia,open paths to 'colab'. Then the simulation ended. RIP.

Edit.
Also dat fanservice.
[/SPOILER-BOX]

[stukasa]

@Sacrificial:
[spoiler-box]Yeah, sorry, no Amduscia... I wasn't able to work it into my first story (aside from a couple references) so I thought this would be a fun way to (sort of) include it now. I wanted the reader to be like, "Wow, this is way too easy. What's going on?" Then at the end you realize it's just a simulation and you're like, "Ohhhh, okay, that's why they weren't taking it seriously."

I got the idea from a comment CelestialBlade made in one of her side stories, something about VR training, so I figured that would work perfectly here.

As for the fanservice, well, I didn't want my story to be too dark and depressing ALL the time! xD[/spoiler-box]

[yoshiblue]

[SPOILER-BOX]Going to honest, may never get use to using these spoiler boxes as conversation pieces. Anyways, I like the story so far. It's a lot cleaner than my own, better written. I like the dual sided story routes so far and it has a good use of the VR. Wouldn't mind one in the game. Maybe accessible from a team room or one of the blue or red rooms. Interesting use of CASTs as well. Though it makes me wonder if they are robots, copy-casts or true CASTs. Heh, PSU.[/SPOILER-BOX]

[stukasa]

@yoshiblue:
[spoiler-box]The spoiler boxes are a necessary evil, I guess. I'm glad you like the story, thanks for taking the time to read it! ^^

I could be wrong but doesn't the game already have VR missions? When you pick Extreme Quests, the field is listed as "VR [something]" so I just assumed those were VR missions. Either way, the Phantasy Star series has a history of VR fields: PSO had them, PSU had them (I think?), so it makes sense PSO2 would have them.

If you're referring to the doppelgangers, they're real CASTs but imitations of the real Council members. Like a fake Rolex watch, they may look real but they're not quite the same. :p[/spoiler-box]

[stukasa]

CHAPTER 3.3 [3/14/15]
[spoiler-box]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8qtTojcGxk[/b][/u]

COLONY SHIP 02, UR: ARKS TRAINING ACADEMY

“I know you’re probably all sick of the usual VR training fodder by now.” Lieutenant Asimov TR-7 surveyed the group of ARKS trainees assembled on the field before him, several of whom were nodding in wholehearted agreement. “That’s why we’re going to do something a little different today.”

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Asimov_name_zpst8wvzeiq.png~original[/spoiler-box]

“What’ve you got for us, Azzy?” one of the recruits called out.

Asimov liked to feel close to the trainees he taught. He wanted them to trust him, which is why he didn’t mind the affectionate nickname. In fact, he’d insisted on it. Even better that it came from a cute girl this time. He grinned and jerked a thumb over his armored shoulder. “Well, something like this, actually.”

Behind him, a dozen gleaming silver robots approached in lockstep, coming to a unified halt several paces away. “Relatives of yours?” another trainee teased, and everyone laughed.

It was a good-humored joke, Asimov knew, and he laughed right along with them. To be fair, the robots’ lavender stripes and markings on their chests, arms, and legs did bear a striking similarity to his own purple-tinted armor. “Cousins from out of town. They’re just visiting for the week, so play nice,” he joked back. “But seriously, these guys are going to be your sparring partners for the day. They may look like CASTs but they’re actually just shells, programmed with only a few basic training subroutines. They’ll match the fighting style of any class—Hunter, Techter, Braver, you name it—and they can handle whatever you can dish out, so feel free to really let loose. Although,” he added, “as you may have noticed, there are forty of you and only a dozen of them, so you’ll have to take turns.”

* * * * * * * * *

Akasha stretched her arms above her head and gazed up at the artificial sun arcing lazily across the interior of the Great Dome far overhead. Beside her, Kira absentmindedly chewed on a blade of grass. A few meters away, the first batch of recruits were already sparring with the training robots, the aggregate glow from their photon weapons a veritable rainbow of dancing light and color.

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Akasha_clothes2_name_zpsso8symkx.png~original http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Kira_name_zps4rnimeoc.png~original[/spoiler-box]

“Oh man, is it almost my turn yet? I’m dying of boredom out here.”

“Soon enough, Akasha,” said Asimov, stepping up behind the pair. “Of course, I could make it even sooner if you ask me real nice.”

Akasha smirked with wry amusement. “Should I take that as sexual harassment, Lieutenant?”

He matched her smirk. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Trainee. And anyway, I was only joking. I did, however, mean what I said about it being your turn soon. Have a little patience and it shall be rewarded.”

“Thanks for giving us field duty today, Azzy,” Kira piped up. “We were going a little stir crazy in those VR sim chambers, if you know what I mean.”

“Happy to oblige. Besides, the women tend to dress lighter when we have training outdoors.” He punctuated the last sentence with a playful wink.

“Okay, it was definitely sexual harassment that time. Back me up here, Kira,” said Akasha, crossing her arms and feigning anger she didn’t really feel. This kind of banter was their usual routine, and despite the CAST lieutenant’s brazen comments, Akasha knew he was completely harmless.

“I dunno, Kasha, maybe you’re reading too much into it,” responded Kira with a shrug, then pretended to whisper to Asimov—loudly enough for Akasha to hear, “Keep it up, she secretly loves it when you act all pervy. She thinks it’s suuuper sexy.”

“H-Hey! I do not, you ass!” Akasha scowled, her face flushed with embarrassment. She punched Kira lightly in the shoulder but the girl was laughing too hysterically to notice.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rm9mIneSVA[/b][/u]

Just then, a raucous commotion gave way to a chorus of frightened gasps and yells. Asimov and the two women stopped what they were doing and swiveled their heads in the direction of the nearest sparring match. One of the trainees, a scruffy-haired man wielding a photon sword, was quickly losing ground to an overly aggressive robot. There was something strange about the robot’s behavior, Asimov noticed, a reckless disregard for safety that was both disturbing and alarming. If things kept going the way they were, he knew it was only a matter of time before someone got hurt.

Asimov raced toward the scene, his mechanical legs propelling him faster than any human or Newman could run. “Battlebot 7B-9, stand down!”

The battle trainer robot, or “battlebot” as it was affectionately known, completely ignored his command. It continued its relentless assault against the hapless trainee, throwing a series of rapid-fire punches that the man only narrowed blocked with the flat side of his sword. A powerful underhanded thrust slammed into the sword and sent the trainee sprawling backwards onto the ground.

“Ivan! Are you alright?” Asimov called out as he approached.

“Y-Yeah, never felt better…,” the Hunter-in-training replied, shakily rising to his feet.

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Ivan1_name_zpsp2tm1nko.png~original[/spoiler-box]

The battlebot rotated its broad metal torso to face the two men. Its gleaming saffron eyes shone with unwavering purpose, if not intelligence. Asimov took a step forward, partially shielding Ivan in case the robot decided to resume its offensive. “7B-9, disengage!”

“DENIED. YOU ARE NOT AUTHORIZED TO ISSUE COMMANDS.”

“What?! 7B-9, I order you to shut down right now! Override code sigma-six-alpha-three-three.”

“NEGATIVE. THAT CODE IS INVALID. RESUMING TRAINING EXERCISES IN FIVE SECONDS. MAXIMUM DIFFICULTY SETTING, SAFETY LIMITERS DISABLED.”

If they had been on the battlefield, Asimov would’ve had his trusty Strauss rifle locked and loaded in an instant. As a combat instructor on a training day, however, he was woefully unarmed. In the three seconds it took the battlebot to cycle its gun arm to firing mode, Asimov decided his priority at that moment was to protect the trainees—especially the cute girls… and Ivan too, he supposed.

“ENGAGING ATTACK CYCLE BETA-THREE,” came the robot’s booming, monotone voice.

Asimov scooped Ivan into his arms and sprinted furiously across the field parallel to the battlebot. A spray of bullets from its gun arm traced along his path but couldn’t quite keep up with Asimov’s blinding speed. Trainees screamed and shouted as they dove out of harm’s way, scrambling for cover but finding little of it in the mostly-open field.

Asimov skidded to a halt behind a stack of training dummies used for target practice. The irony of the hiding spot wasn’t lost on him, but there was little time for humor now. He had to think quickly. He had to come up with a plan.

“Thanks, you saved me,” Ivan huffed as he hopped down next to Asimov.

“Just doing my job, Trainee. Remember what I taught you: never leave a fellow soldier behind, not if you can help it.”

“Right. So what do we do now?”

“That’s what I’m trying to figure out.”

A sustained volley of gunfire pelted the training dummies, interrupting Asimov’s thoughts. The battlebot stomped forward as it poured firepower into their cover, shredding the outer layer of dummies and forcing the two men behind them to huddle closer together for safety. Not good, thought Asimov, again wishing he had his firearm handy.

In the absence of one solution came another—and from an unexpected source. The roar of new gunfire filled the air, this time aimed away from them. As the sound of the second gun petered out, Asimov was both amused and astonished at what he heard next. It was the voice of a loudmouthed, fiery-spirited young trainee he knew all too well.

“Hey! Go choke on some photon bullets, ya big tin can!” Kira taunted the battlebot, then shouted in Asimov’s direction, “No offense, Azzy!”

“None taken!” he shouted back, still hidden behind the training dummies. “Besides, I’m not made of tin!”

“Neither is he, I suppose!”

“He is made from some of the strongest alloys known to Oracle! I don’t think you’ve got enough firepower to take him down!”

“That won’t stop me from trying!”

“Negative! Get to safety! You’ve got no cover out there!”

“I don’t need cover! I’ve got something even better: a decoy!”

“Hey!” protested Akasha. “I thought you were going to be the decoy!”


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmLvX-oIwSI[/b][/u]

“ENGAGING ATTACK CYCLE DELTA-TWO,” the battlebot droned, interrupting them. It lowered its gun arm and reached for a long, double-edged blade strapped to its back. The weapon resembled a standard Academy-issue double saber in size and shape but the blade edges were blunted to prevent serious harm to the recruits during training sessions. A single switch press activated the weapon, its twin blades coursing with amber photon energy.

“Be careful!” Asimov shouted at Kira and Akasha. “Its safety limiters have been disabled! Even if it doesn’t cut you, there’s enough energy in that thing to do some serious damage! Whatever you do, don’t let it touch you!”

“Aye aye!” Kira backflipped away just in time to dodge the battlebot’s first strike, her feet passing mere centimeters from its incoming blade. Unfortunately she wasn’t fast enough to dodge its second strike, a sweeping vertical thrust, but luckily Akasha was there to catch it with her own double saber. Their blades hummed and crackled where the photon energy converged, a melding of yellow and blue, of offense and defense. Sparks went flying in all directions.

As strong as she was, Akasha couldn’t completely block the battlebot’s attack. The best she could manage was to deflect its blade into the ground next to her feet. As Akasha jumped out of the way, Kira fired a salvo from her machineguns into the robot’s chest and left shoulder. The bullets left a string of tiny indents in its armor but didn’t slow it down in the slightest. It was like throwing stones at a house; given enough time and ammo Kira might’ve been able to deal some lasting damage, but both were currently in short supply.

Both women took turns dodging as the battlebot pressed the offensive, its limitless stamina never waning. Eventually they found themselves pushed all the way to the stack of training dummies—the same stack Asimov and Ivan were hiding behind. In a flash of inspiration—or perhaps merely instinct—Akasha grabbed one of the bullet-riddled dummies and heaved it clumsily at the incoming battlebot. The robot was off-balance long enough for Kira to spin around and take aim at its boxy head—

“HYAAAAAH!!!” Before Kira could pull the trigger, Ivan came leaping over the pile of dummies, his photon sword swinging wildly at the battlebot’s sturdy torso. In a show of exceptional reflexes, the battlebot pitched backward and managed to avoid the brunt of the attack. Ivan smartly dodge-rolled out of the way before it could retaliate against him.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?!” Kira shouted furiously.

“Helping!” he yelled back, already rushing in for another pass.

“Well, you’re not! Kasha and I have got this handled, so just sit back and watch, buddy!”

“And let you ladies have all the fun? I don’t think so! Plus, aren’t you a little young to be a professional soldier? I’d feel bad if a grade-schooler got hurt defending me.”

“I’m nineteen, jerk-face!” She scrunched up her face and stuck her tongue out at him, though he was too busy with the battlebot to notice.

“Could’ve fooled me, and the name calling doesn’t really improve that image. Still, I was the one sparring with the battlebot when it went all psycho, so I should get first dibs on finishing it off!”

Ivan didn’t bother waiting for Kira’s retort. He brought his sword crashing down on the battlebot, confident he was about to deal a critical blow, only to have it parried and countered in a single seamless motion. A hefty kick to the chest knocked the wind out of him and sent him hurtling backwards. The next thing he knew he was slamming headfirst into the stack of ruined training dummies, knocking them in all directions like humanoid bowling pins.

“Ivan!” Asimov rushed to the man’s side, cradling his head in the crook of his arm. “Ivan, can you hear me? Are you okay?”

Ivan groaned and belatedly opened his eyes. “Yeah, I… I think so. That thing packs quite a wallop. Feels like I got hit by a sledgehammer, urgh. Luckily my armored vest absorbed most of the force.”

He looked up in time to witness an amazing sight: Akasha, ducking and weaving between the battlebot’s whirling blade, deflecting it when necessary and dodging it when not. While not able to land a meaningful blow of her own, she was at least managing to keep the robot at bay. And there was something else too, something he couldn’t understand and nearly didn’t believe. She’s smiling! I can’t believe it... How can she be smiling in a situation like this? Doesn’t she realize how dangerous that thing is? Ivan shook his head, willing away the grogginess. No, that’s not it. She knows what she’s up against, she just enjoys the challenge.

In between one move and the next, Akasha stole a quick glance in Ivan’s direction. The gesture wasn’t lost on him. Wait, is she… is she buying me time to recover? I always thought… I mean, I’d heard rumors about her. That she was a loner, that she didn’t care about anyone. I think the term “violent amazon” was thrown around more than once. Yet here she is, risking herself for a no-good bum like me. Maybe I was wrong about her after all.

Akasha parried high, then ducked low. Yet her reflexes, as good as they were, couldn’t keep up with the battlebot for long. It outmatched her in both speed and power, and though she was actually slightly taller, its metal frame and thick armor gave it a considerable edge in sheer bulk. Each time their sabers clashed she was forced back a step or two.

Not only that, she was also playing against time. The battlebot was designed to learn and adapt, as it was doing now, even in the heat of battle. It was studying her, memorizing her combat style, waiting for an opportunity to slip past her guard—which it soon found, and swept its blunted blade into her exposed abdomen. The force of it would’ve killed most people, but Akasha was far from ordinary. A font of photon energy welled up in her almost instantly, strengthening her defense, while at the same time creating an invisible barrier in the miniscule space between the battlebot’s weapon and her skin. It wasn’t enough to nullify the impact, but it was enough to keep her alive. She held on tight to her double saber as she went tumbling backwards, rolling to a stop on the ground several meters away.

“Akasha!!” shouted Kira as she depressed the triggers of her twin machineguns. She concentrated her fire on the battlebot’s face, hoping to find a weak spot—or at least blind it, but it didn’t take kindly to her tactic and charged straight towards the girl, its heavy feet throwing dirt into the air with each thunderous step.

It was clear that the battlebot intended to end the fight in a single blow. Both Akasha and Asimov knew it. With the battlebot bearing down on her, Kira certainly knew it as well. She couldn’t outrun it. She couldn’t outfight it. She was, most likely, about to die. And yet, with only a few steps between them, something unexpected happened. A purple blur slammed into the battlebot’s left flank, sending it careening in the opposite direction.

“A-Azzy!” Kira gasped, then added sourly, “Took you long enough!”

“Can’t let my precious students do all the work, now can I?” Asimov gave her a reassuring grin and winked, then immediately turned back to the battlebot, which had already regained its balance. “Okay, you wanna fight, big guy? Let’s tango.”

The white-haired CAST raised his fists in a fighting stance, fully aware that his opponent was rushing at him with a charged photon blade. As the battlebot swung downward, Asimov backhanded the weapon, knocking it far enough off course to miss its intended target. With his other hand he thrust upward, his clenched fist catching the robot in the equivalent of its jaw. There was a resounding clang and the battlebot toppled backwards onto the ground.

That was the opening Akasha had been waiting for. She performed a diving leap through the air, her double saber held high overhead. A torrent of photon energy began flowing from Akasha’s hands into her weapon, electrifying it. The double saber crackled and sparked with intensity as it came down, hard, on the center of the battlebot’s torso. The blade forcefully punctured its thick armor, sending a flood of electrical energy coursing through the robot. The jolt was powerful enough to overload its systems and shut it down once and for all.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSvnxv_Mh2A[/b][/u]

“Is it… is it over?” asked Ivan as he hobbled towards the group.

“Yeah, no thanks to you,” Kira replied dryly, returning her guns to their holsters on her lower back.

Asimov glanced around, assessing everyone’s condition. “Everyone alright?”

“More or less,” Ivan responded.

Akasha freed her weapon from the downed battlebot. “Just fine, Azzy.”

“Then take the rest of the afternoon off. You’ve certainly earned it.”

“We got to wail on that battlebot and you’re giving us free time?” Kira clapped her hands together in sweet satisfaction. “If you weren’t such a perv I would totally hug you right now.”

Asimov raised his eyebrows and smiled innocently. “You’re welcome. And hey, if you ever change your mind about that hug, you know where to find me.”

They all laughed heartily as they walked towards the edge of the training field, eager for a well-deserved break.

Behind them, the battlebot stirred. Its amber eyes flickered back to life. “PRIMARY SYSTEMS COMPROMISED, ENGAGING SECONDARY SYSTEMS. SWITCHING TO DEFENSIVE MODE.”

The four of them turned around slowly, apprehensively, dreading what they knew they’d find. They weren’t wrong. Standing in the spot where it had fallen, its chest wound still sparking intermittently, was the malfunctioning battlebot.

Kira hung her head and sighed in exasperation. “You have got to be kidding me,” she groaned.

As if in response, the battlebot’s shoulder plates retracted and a pair of deadly-looking missile launchers rose up and locked into place. Each launcher contained a single heat-seeking missile. “ARMING ANTI-PERSONNEL WARHEADS. PREPARING TO LAUNCH.”

“I… really don’t think it’s kidding,” Ivan remarked.

It wasn’t. The two missiles fired sequentially, one after the other. They arced upward before angling back towards Akasha and the others. Kira whipped out one of her guns and poured fire into the lead missile, striking it on the dorsal side of its nose. The warhead ignited and a white-hot explosion lit up the sky overhead.

The second missile, unfortunately, passed beneath the blast radius and continued on target. With only a few seconds left until impact, everyone scattered in multiple directions. The missile soared between them and struck the ground ten meters to their rear. The ground shook violently and a wave of intense heat knocked them off their feet, disorienting them. By the time they got their bearings and realized the battlebot was in full retreat, it was too late to stop it.

“Where’s it headed?” asked Akasha, watching as the robot sped off into the distance, propelled by a pair of retractable leg-mounted thrusters.

Asimov squinted. His enhanced CAST vision tracked the robot’s escape vector. “Toward the city, looks like.”

“That’s… not good.”

“No,” he agreed.

“Then we’d better follow it.”

Asimov extended an inviting arm past her. “In that case, lead the way.”

Akasha grinned and took off running, Asimov right behind her. She wasn’t scared or worried for her own safety; those thoughts never crossed her mind. Despite everything that had happened so far it was little more than a game to her, a contest, a challenge to be overcome. Strange as it seemed, she felt happier at that moment than she had in months.

Kira, meanwhile, was still standing next to Ivan at the edge of the battle-scarred field. “Well?” she asked impatiently.

He frowned. “Well what?”

“Let’s go.”

“What are you, crazy?! We need to come up with a strategy first, a battle plan or… or something. We can’t just charge after it, weapons blazing!”

Kira planted her hands on her hips. “Actually, ‘weapons blazing’ is kinda my thing, and I’m certainly not letting Kasha and Azzy fight alone. Now, are you coming or not?”

“First you tell me to sit back and watch, now you want my help. Which is it?”

“Just come on!”

Ivan threw up his hands in mock surrender. “Alright, alright. Sheesh.”

They took off after Akasha and Asimov, already in hot pursuit of the battlebot. The hunt was on.

* * * * * * * * *

Elsewhere, in a darkened office, a shadowy figure sat watching a row of video screens. Each screen displayed a different view of Akasha’s group chasing the battlebot. The last screen showed the perspective of the battlebot itself.

The shadowy figure’s mouth curled upward in a conspiratorial smile. So far everything had gone according to plan, but it wasn’t over yet. No, the best was yet to come.



TO BE CONTINUED[/spoiler-box]

[yoshiblue]

After reading about training robots with death missiles [SPOILER]and after watching Star Trek: Into Darkness, it makes you remember the dangers of hyperspace inventory. Will Ivan become a hero? Or will he just be a side character? Guess i'm going to have to stay tune to find out.[/SPOILER-BOX]

[stukasa]

@yoshiblue:
[spoiler-box]Training robots with death missiles? Is that a real thing or just something in a story?

I figured I needed to give the ARKS trainees some live target practice. Now that you (the reader) knows about the VR simulation training, I had to create a situation with some actual danger. It ended up being a pretty long battle, I have to say. Considering the (mostly) lack of action in the past few chapters, I think it was overdue. :lol:[/spoiler-box]

[yoshiblue]

Just the story.

[stukasa]

CHAPTER 3.4 [3/21/15]
[spoiler-box]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XlzaKrG4ljw[/b][/u]

COLONY SHIP 02, UR: DOWNTOWN DISTRICT

By all accounts it should’ve been an ordinary weekday afternoon for the owner of the discount item stall. Her modest establishment, located on the second floor of an outdoor shopping mall in Ur’s downtown district, was perfectly situated to cater to both civilian customers and trainees from the nearby ARKS Academy. A shipment received early that morning meant that her bins were freshly stocked with wares: various ‘mates, atomizers, and ‘ride boosters, all neatly arranged in rows for easy access. Yes, everything was as it should be, and she was more than ready to accept customers. So when the armored silver robot came flying over the edge of the railing and landed on the walkway adjacent to her shop, she was quite perturbed and perplexed.

It never even occurred to her to be afraid. That is, until the robot opened fire. The shopkeeper dove behind her cart, not that it offered much protection from a volley of photon bullets. Fortunately the robot wasn’t aiming in her direction; rather, it seemed to be focusing its attention on a group of four people—ARKS soldiers, from the look of them—racing in her direction. The excessively-tall Newearl in the lead barked out a warning and they all scattered for cover.

The robot didn’t stick around to engage the soldiers. It immediately pulled an about-face and, activating its leg-mounted thrusters, flew off in the direction of the industrial sector. The shopkeeper watched until it was little more than a spec in the distance. Moments later the four soldiers charged past her stall, evidently in pursuit of the fleeing robot. One of them, a white-haired CAST with purple armor, mouthed the word “sorry” as he passed by, and then they too were gone.

Cautiously, the shopkeeper stood up and surveyed the scene. Shell casings littered the walkway and bullet holes riddled the walls. All around her, shoppers and employees alike were shakily emerging from their improvised hiding spots. Scattered murmurs began wafting across the mall, the gist of which boiled down to three basic sentiments: “Are you alright?,” “What was that about?,” and “Let’s get out of here.”

The shopkeeper sighed. “Well, that’s not going to be good for business,” she remarked. So much for an ordinary weekday afternoon.

* * * * * * * * *


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-b2EB6OiiQ[/b][/u]

Akasha and her “team,” for lack of a better word, had been pursuing the renegade battle trainer robot for the better part of an hour. Since leaving the Training Academy grounds, the battlebot had led them from the residential district to the shopping district to the waterfront. At present they were headed towards the drab warehouses and factories of the industrial sector.

They took long, soaring leaps through the air, the pneumatic springs in their boots catapulting them from rooftop to rooftop as they gave chase. It was the only reason they’d managed to keep up with the battlebot so far, but after nearly an hour their stamina was waning—with the exception of Lieutenant Asimov, of course. As a CAST, his stamina was almost never in short supply.

The group had arranged itself into two pairs, more by circumstance than by design. Akasha and Asimov took the lead while Kira and Ivan trailed a dozen meters behind. The arrangement gave Asimov a chance to speak with Akasha alone, something he’d been meaning to do all day. Neither one of them broke stride during the conversation.

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Akasha_clothes2_name_zpsso8symkx.png~original http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Asimov_name_zpst8wvzeiq.png~original http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Kira_name_zps4rnimeoc.png~original http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Ivan1_name_zpsp2tm1nko.png~original[/spoiler-box]

“Akasha, we need to talk.”

“’Bout, what, Azzy?”

Asimov landed gracefully on the next rooftop. “I’ve been watching you.”

At the sight of her suspicious glare, he added, “That came out wrong. I meant, I’ve been watching you as an instructor. And you know what I see? I see wasted potential.”

“Hey—“

He put up a hand. “Let me finish. You’re talented, there’s no question about that. Extremely talented, I’d say. You do well in the exercises without really trying, but because of that you’ve become lazy. Unmotivated. Complacent. If you can perform at that level without even exerting yourself, just imagine what you could do if you put in some serious effort. If you really cared. Even now, the main reason you’re chasing the battlebot is just to have fun. Am I wrong?”

“Welllll… okay, you’re not completely wrong,” she admitted. They both vaulted over a metal pipe in their way.

“Why did you join the ARKS, Akasha? So you could live out your dream of being a foot soldier in this never-ending war against the Darkers? Shout out ‘yes sir,’ ‘no sir’ and carry out your orders, no questions asked? You could settle for that life, it’s an honorable one. But when I see you in action, I think you could do more. So much more.” He looked her straight in the eye. “Don’t settle, Akasha. Don’t ever settle for anything less than your best. You owe yourself that much, and you’ll thank yourself later for it.”

Akasha let out a sarcastic laugh. “Look at you, getting all serious over me. Really brings a tear to my eye.”

Asimov hopped over the lip of the next building. “Have I ever told you the story of Kolba the Savage?”

“Kolba the Savage? With a name like that he sounds like a real sweetheart. But no, I don’t think so. Why?”


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXmu-EYAmKU[/b][/u]

“Kolba LaChapelle: he was a one-man army equipped with only a sniper rifle on his back and a photon knife strapped to his thigh. No Darker ever stood a chance against him. He could hit a moving target at a thousand meters with over ninety percent accuracy… and his blade skills weren’t too shabby, either. He may not have been one of the legendary guys, but to me he’ll always be the best Ranger the ARKS ever had.”

Akasha darted around a stairwell housing. “Okay, so he was good. So what?”

“I met the man—well, kid at that time—during his first deployment. We were part of the same company, shipped off to some uncharted sector of forest on Naberius. Our mission was simple: exploration and mapping. We weren’t expecting much resistance. Unfortunately, the Darkers had other plans. One night they overran our outpost and we were forced to evac in a hurry. When we reached the rendezvous point I realized Kolba wasn’t with us. I wanted to go back for him but the CO wouldn’t allow it—said I’d most likely get myself killed in the attempt, and he was probably right. Still, I hated leaving Kolba behind. He was just a seventeen year-old kid—keep in mind, this was almost twenty years ago—“

“Hold on,” Akasha interrupted. “You were in the ARKS twenty years ago, Azzy? I didn’t realize you were so ancient!”

“Hey, now. Don’t forget, most CASTs are battle-ready from day one. We don’t have that long, awkward maturation phase you fleshies do.”

“Whatever you say, old man.”

“Anyway, despite being listed as K.I.A., it turns out Kolba survived the attack on the outpost. He injured his leg and couldn’t get to the campship in time. And we left him down there.” Asimov shook his head with regret. “We left him alone in that forest for over two months. He was just a kid, fresh out of the Academy. Hadn’t scored a single kill against the Darkers. And his aim was terrible back then, I can vouch for that. We used to do target practice when we got bored—I don’t think he hit a single one.”

“So what hap—whoa, watch out!” Akasha had to strafe left to avoid a warning volley from the battlebot. It didn’t bother firing a second time, opting to resume its escape. The four soldiers resumed chasing it. “So what happened to Kolba? I’m guessing he survived.”

“He did more than survive, Akasha. Kolba took out over three hundred Darkers single-handedly.”

“The kid who couldn’t hit a stationary target took out three hundred Darkers by himself? You expect me to believe that?”

“It’s true. You know how he did it? Hard work and smart thinking. When every day is a battle for your very survival, you don’t have the luxury of being a bad shot. Kolba practiced like his life depended on it—because it did. And he got so good that picking off Dagans through the dense forest became second nature to him. He also learned to play it safe. He slept in trees at night and camouflaged himself during the day. Darkers are good at spotting heat signatures, you know, so he covered his whole body with mud to mask his presence and his scent. He set traps for them as well, using native creatures to lure the Darkers in and then catching them in nets, dropping them in pits, and crushing them with boulders. As for ammunition, he hoarded what little he could find at the outpost and spent the rest of his time scavenging spare bullets off his fallen comrades, the soldiers who died during the evacuation.”

“That’s rather morbid, don’t you think?”

“Kolba did what he had to do to survive. The man who came back from Naberius wasn’t the same boy who left, though. The experience undoubtedly changed him, but one thing was clear: no one could match his skill with a sniper rifle after that. Those first three hundred Darkers were little more than a warm-up for him; he went on to kill twenty times that number during his career, hence his nickname: Kolba the Savage.”

Akasha ducked under a billboard. “So… what was the point of this story, again?”

“It’s about living up to your potential, being the best you can be. That’s why I told you about Kolba. He wasn’t naturally talented. He got to be the best through hard work and force of will. You already have the talent, Akasha, you just need to put it to good use, and that requires work. Effort. Let me quote you one of my favorite sayings: ‘No great man ever starts out great’—well, except me, of course. I’ve been thoroughly awesome since the day I was activated, but that’s another story.”

Akasha frowned. “But Azzy, I don’t want to be a great man.”

Asimov looked Akasha up and down. “Let me amend that: no great woman—“

“I get it,” Akasha snapped, cutting him off.

“My point was that you’ve got your work cut out for you before you’re as awesome as I am. But fear not, you’ll get there… someday. And just for the record, Akasha, I think you’d make a pretty great man. You’ve certainly got the strength and the attitude for it. And maybe the bull-headed pride, too.”

“What?! Say that again, you little—“

Asimov threw back his head and laughed. “See? There you go, proving me right.”

Akasha fumed in silence, then let out a sigh. “Let’s say, hypothetically, that I did want to ‘live up to my potential.’ How would I even do that? Maybe I don’t even know what it is that I want to do.”

“I can’t give you all the answers. There are some things you have to figure out for yourself, but what I can give you is advice. During your career as a soldier, there will come times when you won’t know what to do… like now, for example. The thing is, decisions are usually simpler than people make them out to be. They all boil down to three steps: Take a chance, make a choice, and live with the consequences.” Asimov jumped from the top of a three-story factory to the balcony of a second-story apartment. Akasha was right behind him. “Oh, and there’s an unwritten fourth step: trust in yourself. You don’t have to take on everything alone, but trust yourself to do the right thing. That counts for a lot.”

Up ahead in the distance, the battlebot entered a construction site. Equipment and matériel littered the premises but there didn’t seem to be anyone around, nor any activity taking place—probably a good thing, Asimov reflected. Looming over it all like an archaic monolith was the skeleton of a half-finished office tower. The battlebot swiveled its boxy head in the soldiers’ direction to see if they were still following, then ducked through a door frame and disappeared into the unfinished tower. To Asimov and the others, that meant only one thing: after an hour of fleeing, the battlebot was finally ready to make a stand.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uk9JrnREZUg[/b][/u]

A dozen seconds later they reached the construction site themselves. Akasha, Kira, and Ivan pulled out their photon weapons and started forward, but Asimov remained standing near the perimeter.

Kira glanced over her shoulder. “Not coming with us, Azzy?”

“I think you’ve got this one covered. But just in case, I’ll be here if you need me. Now go get ‘im.”

* * * * * * * * *

Predictably, the battlebot was waiting for them when they reached the top floor. Akasha cut left while Ivan and Kira angled right. They hoped to flank the robot but it was too well-versed in tactics to be trapped so easily. It charged straight at Akasha wielding the equivalent of twin daggers, its furious assault immediately putting her on the defensive. Kira tried to line up a shot but couldn’t get a clear one through the forest of metal plating and exposed girders. Ivan, meanwhile, looped around behind the battlebot, attempting to catch it unaware. Once again the robot was a step ahead of them, fluidly transitioning from an attack on Akasha to blocking Ivan’s sword strike.

The battlebot shifted its attention back and forth, alternating between the two attackers. Its series of parries and dodges easily kept them both at bay. As Akasha swung her double saber toward its neck, the battlebot unleashed a sharp upward counterattack, neatly severing the Newearl’s weapon in half. Sparks of photon energy exploded out of the ruined double saber and Akasha gasped in pain as scorching sapphire pinpricks seared her flesh. She stumbled backwards and nearly fell over, dazed but not seriously hurt.

Rather than pressing its advantage, the battlebot spun around and continued trading blows with Ivan. Its humming blades nicked him in several places but he managed to avoid any debilitating hits. The man countered with a fierce left-right-left combo, forcing the robot to step back for the first time.

“Duck!” shouted Kira from behind him. Ivan knew better than to question her and immediately dropped to the floor. A steady stream of photon bullets from Kira’s machineguns pounded the battlebot’s face, seeking a weak spot. And then, finally, a single bullet managed to pierce one of the robot’s eye receptors. The lens shattered and the robot flailed wildly about, the vision on its left side suddenly gone.

If the three trainees thought they’d have an easier time dealing with a half-blind battlebot, however, they were sadly mistaken. If anything, the robot became more aggressive and desperate, and in turn, more dangerous. It lashed out at Ivan, knocking him to the ground with brute force, then sent Kira diving for cover with a volley from its gun arm.

What it didn’t see coming, quite literally, was Akasha’s sudden surprise attack. She ambushed the battlebot from the left, slamming into it full force with a flying jump kick. As the robot staggered to the right, Akasha followed up with five quick swipes using the severed halves of her double saber. If the blades had been fully functional her attack might have taken down the battlebot once and for all. Unfortunately, the same strike that cleaved her weapon in two had also drained it of photon energy. As a result, her efforts did little more than scratch the silver robot.

Undaunted, Akasha jumped back and raised the halves of her double saber in a defensive posture. She held one piece in each hand, wielding them like she would a pair of twin daggers. The battlebot raised its own blades in response and the two began circling each other, each waiting for an opportunity to strike. Akasha knew she was at a disadvantage. Without photon energy in her blades, the battlebot would slice through them like hot butter. She had to think of something fast or she was going to lose this battle in a rather gruesome way.

Like usual, the answer came to her almost instinctively. Akasha began channeling energy from her own body into the weapon, causing the blades to glow with a pale blue intensity. When the battlebot rushed at her moments later she was ready to defend herself. More than that, she was ready to fight back, this time with a means of inflicting real damage. She danced around the battlebot, parrying its thrusts as she maneuvered herself into its blind spot. When an opportunity presented itself, she darted forward and lashed out with three consecutive strikes.

At each point of impact—one in the shoulder, one in the side, one in the knee—the energy in her blades transmuted into a variant of Gibarta, leaving patches of solid ice covering parts of the battlebot. That ice, in turn, froze up its joints, allowing Akasha to land more hits, slowing down the robot even further. In no time at all the battle became completely one-sided. A few more hits and the robot was completely immobilized, nearly its entire body encased in ice.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Od1Pdq9V9lc[/b][/u]

With her final attack, Akasha stabbed deep into the chest wound she’d given the battlebot during their first battle. Her weapon punctured its energy core, rupturing the containment seal and triggering a reaction that had only one possible outcome.

“CORE INTEGRITY BREACHED, OVERLOAD IMMINENT,” it droned.

The explosion came five seconds later. The trainees ducked behind nearby girders for protection as the robot blossomed into a magnificent fireball, shards of burning metal whizzing past in all directions. The tower itself seemed to screech and groan in agony under the strain.

The floor buckled. Kira, the closest one to the edge, lost her footing and was thrown backwards—into the open air, the ground a dizzying fifteen stories below. She barely managed a cry for help before she disappeared from view.

Akasha didn’t hesitate. With little time to spare, she dropped her weapon and dove headfirst off the platform, angling towards her friend like a Newman bullet. Halfway down she caught up with—and grabbed—Kira in mid-fall, slipping one arm behind her shoulders and the other supporting her legs. A massive surge of wind energy from Akasha swelled outward beneath them. It slowed their descent until she was able to step lightly to the ground, still holding Kira in her arms.

“My own personal superhero,” Kira quipped after she caught her breath, then added, “Looks like it’s my turn to say thanks.”

“No problem,” Akasha replied, and grinned.

* * * * * * * * *


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvs-BvlNRT4[/b][/u]

The three weary ARKS trainees and their combat instructor hobbled their way back towards the Academy, their job finally done. This time Kira was walking with Asimov in front while Akasha and Ivan brought up the rear.

After sneaking several sidelong glances at Akasha, Ivan finally worked up the nerve to speak his mind. “Hey. You’re Akasha, right?”

“Yeah.”

“I just wanted to say… I’m sorry.”

“Sorry? For what? You didn’t do anything wrong, as far as I remember.”

He looked down and scratched the back of his head. “There were… rumors about you. Bad rumors. I guess I… sort of believed them, even though I didn’t really know you. So I’m sorry for that.”

“Oh. Oh, I see…” She didn’t know what else to say. It was true, there had been a lot of rumors about her when she first enrolled at the Academy. She hadn’t exactly done much to dispel them and they spread like wildfire until no one even talked to her. No one, that is, until Kira.

Things changed after that. She returned every glare with a smile and every snide remark with a laugh or a joke. Most people still treated her as something of an oddity, but that was alright. She’d win them over eventually.

“Name’s Ivan, by the way.” He extended a hand in greeting. “You know, you’re not so scary up close. Scary tall, maybe, but you wear it well. And I gotta say, what you did today, both on the field and up on that tower… I never saw anything like that before. Actually, I uh… I thought you were pretty cool.”

“T-Thanks…,” she replied, shaking his hand. Although her copper-toned skin did a reasonable job of hiding it, Akasha was blushing fiercely.

* * * * * * * * *

ARKS TRAINING ACADEMY: HEADMASTER’S OFFICE

A bank of video screens lined the wall of the Headmaster’s office. She sat alone facing them, the hint of a smile tugging at her lips. Behind her, the double doors to her office burst open in dramatic fashion and a middle-aged, bearded man rushed in. The look on his face denoted concern and worry.

“I came as soon as I could. You said in your message that Akasha was involved in some sort of… incident. Is she alright?”

Arin Colton wasn’t Akasha’s guardian, exactly, but he’d certainly taken to looking after her since he found her at Aether Labs. A mentor and father figure by circumstance, if not by choice, the red-haired Caseal mused. “Don’t worry, Captain, she’s fine. Better than fine: she passed.”

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Colton_casual_name_zps7fb51034.png~original[/spoiler-box]

“Passed? Passed what?” Colton frowned, obviously confused.

“My test.” The Headmaster went on to explain about the renegade battlebot and Akasha’s role in stopping it.

“You called it a test,” he responded evenly. “You set this whole thing up?”

“I played a hunch.”

“A hunch? I didn’t know CASTs dealt in such wishy-washy logic.”

“A calculated risk, then. Akasha’s a promising recruit, but some soldiers only reach their full potential when they’ve been tested in battle. Real battle, not simulations. I wanted to see what she’d do, that’s why I organized this test.”

Colton raised an eyebrow. “A bit of a dangerous gamble, don’t you think? What if one of the trainees had gotten hurt? What if the battlebot started attacking civilians?”

“Injury is always a risk, every trainee knows that. But they were never in any serious danger. The battlebot had clear instructions not to kill or maim any of the trainees, and not to harm any civilians. It didn’t even have real bullets in its magazine. It was firing blanks the whole time.”

“Her instructor knew what was going on?”

“Lieutenant Asimov was aware of the situation, yes, though not all of the specifics. He was there to guide and protect the trainees every step of the way.”

“That eases my mind a bit, I guess. What about Akasha? Does she know it was just a test?”

The Caseal shook her head. “No, and if you don’t mind, I’d prefer it remain that way. Akasha probably feels like she accomplished something significant today… and in a way, she did. She proved to herself that she can come through when it matters, and I don’t want to diminish that, not even a little. She’s talented, but to be frank she needs a bit more discipline and focus. I have a feeling she’s going to need it, especially with her final exam coming up.”

“Think she’s got what it takes to pass?” asked Colton.

“Nothing is ever certain,” the Headmaster replied, “but I wouldn’t bet against her.”



CHAPTER 3: END[/spoiler-box]

[Zorafim]

For the spoiler boxes, just keep in mind that people check on the thread even if they aren't caught up on it. How sad would it be if someone checked in on the thread, and a major surprise was ruined before they could navigate to the chapter they're on?

That being said, I like to keep track of the conversation even if I can't read the chapter yet, so anything that's not a spoiler, I don't bother enclosing. To the point where I'll sometimes have multiple spoiler boxes in the same post.

[spoiler-box]I had fun with that VR scene too. It was a nice twist, and it made the scene more interesting than, say, holding it at a cafe. You struck a nice balance between action and dialogue too.[/spoiler-box]

Oh. Today's saturday, isn't it? Ha, just when I thought I was catching up.

[CelestialBlade]

And once again I find myself having to get caught up on multiple chapters XD That's not a knock against your progress, that much is awesome to see; it's just been hard to find the time to really sit down and focus on your story. The writing and the music is such an immersive experience that I prefer a certain environment when reading. I basically had to catch up with the entirely of Chapter 3 today, so...

[spoiler-box]First off, I really love Kira and Asimov :lol: Which...basically already has me bracing myself for when they die (especially Kira), but that's just what I've come to expect from your stories, haha.

Your writing has gotten *so good*. How did anyone think my battle scenes were well-written when compared against some of yours?? The fight with the battlebot, the VR combat, and the gripping Shankar scene were so masterfully described, well-worded and kept me absolutely engrossed the whole time. Very inspirational pieces of writing for me, as a fellow writer! It's amazing how much you've improved since your first story, which was already really well written.

I also like the dynamics of Akasha's and Shankar's developments. I like how Akasha is clearly forming a personality based on those she encounters, especially from Kira and Asimov, while Shankar has largely been on his own and is making decisions based on his own survival. While both Newmans, it's like Akasha is a malleable human while Shankar is a rigid CAST, aiming to accomplish a hard-coded goal at any cost. I like how we're getting to witness Akasha's growth much like we did Aki's, but with a much different character.

I'm also glad we got to see the first real tie-in to your first story, with Lee discussing his plans for Project Typhon. I also didn't miss the Ar Phantasy references :wacko: Very interesting twist to see that Ur has known about Orpheus this whole time, and I'm sure we haven't seen the last of Hisako and her zombie-ship.

Also, I didn't have any issues with the music length this time. It's nothing that was really bad before, just sometimes it would end maybe 10 seconds before I was done with a section. But I know how hard that is to gauge, when reading speeds can differ even with the same reader.

I've...really gotta get working on my story D:[/spoiler-box]

[Zorafim]

Ha, I know. I can only read her (her?) chapters on saturday, since that's the only time I have enough presence of mind to fully enjoy them. But then I get behind and become sad!

[yoshiblue]

I find the business stall portion to be rather interesting. "So much for an ordinary weekday afternoon." almost makes it sound like the shopping district never has an ordinary day. Spin off fun time adventure featuring the item shop lady idea! Also, I like Asimov. Brings a smile to my face and already has me hooked on a story. [SPOILER]Within a story.[/SPOILER-BOX]

[stukasa]

@Zorafim: Yes, and I know what you mean about the spoiler boxes. I also like following the conversations but I don't trust other people to always use the spoiler boxes responsibly, which is why I usually avoid the conversation entirely if I'm not caught up. You people are pretty good about it though, which is understandable because you're all authors yourselves and you know how important the spoiler boxes can be!

@CelestialBlade: Wow, that's quite a feat to catch up on a four-part chapter in one day! xD Thank you for the kind words about my writing, that means a lot. I tried to push myself with this story and I hope it shows. Ironically battles are one of the least enjoyable parts for me (to write), I always have more fun writing the introspective parts. I enjoyed reading your battle scenes quite a bit, I just wanted to add. ^^
[spoiler-box]That's an interesting and apt comparison with Akasha as the malleable human and Shankar as the rigid CAST. I hadn't thought of it quite that way before but it's definitely true to an extent. Shankar is very driven to find his purpose. He doesn't have anything else in his life so it's become something of an obsession for him. Akasha was lucky that she was saved by the ARKS--training to become a soldier and making friends gave her something that Shankar was lacking, I think.

Glad you enjoyed the Ar Phantasy references! As you know I was slightly bummed that I couldn't do another Cocona cameo but I wanted to reference the fact that our stories are taking place on the same ship now. Also glad you caught the other references to my first story. I was afraid it had been so long that people would've forgotten by now. Well, even if they did, I'm trying to explain things in a way that will refresh people's memories as they read it. I don't expect anyone to recall all the details of a story from a year ago...[/spoiler-box]

@yoshiblue:
[spoiler-box]Honestly I don't know how these ideas come to me, they just pop into my head somehow. I was thinking of how to start this one and the idea of the shop lady just came to me. Maybe it was all the times I visited the shopping area in the game, who knows.

P.S. I've been meaning to read more of your story but I've been pretty busy this week so far. I'm hopeful I'll have time to get to it tomorrow. Just wanted to let you know I haven't forgotten about you![/spoiler-box]

[Zorafim]

If I'm driven enough, I'm sure I could catch up on any story in a day. Each chapter takes ten minutes to read, fourteen hours in a free day... That's 84 chapters?
Your stuff is probably worth that effort. What limits me is presence of mind more than time.

And hey, you say you have trouble with fight scenes and an easy time with dialogue and character development? Maybe we should switch off! I'm having a difficult time with my current chapter just because I'm having a tough time thinking of how each of the characters are supposed to be feeling. But any actions just flow from me.
Shame I have all of two action scenes...

[spoiler-box]I missed most of the references ^^;
I caught "Heart of Gaia", but I couldn't remember the others. I'm horrible with names.[/spoiler-box]

[Sacrificial]

[SPOILER-BOX]
Gotta love asimov. 'I cant leavy my students fight alone!' 'wait...I can good luck guys! You can do it!'
I like his character xD

Side note. Didn't notice,any references while reAding like the others D:

(Dont mind the typos, send from phone.)
[/SPOILER-BOX]

[stukasa]

@Zorafim: What the, Zorafim actually used a smiley?! :-o Who are you and what have you done with the real Zorafim! :p And heck, it takes me 1-2 weeks to write a single chapter. Writing 84 would take 2-3 years. xD And the parts I have an easier time writing are the ones like Shankar and Lee's scenes. There's more thinking, introspection, description. Less of the battle stuff, at least so far.

@Sacrificial:
[spoiler-box]Asimov knew the battlebot wouldn't really harm them, that's why he let them go alone. It was all part of the Headmaster's test. In the previous chapter he saved Ivan because Ivan couldn't handle it by himself. But yeah, he can be a somewhat whimsical instructor.

The references we were referring to were in the second half of Chapter 3.2. Lee was scrolling through the list of "top secret data" and saw files for the Heart of Gaea and Luphan Ayatane, both of which are important to CelestialBlade's Ar Phantasy story. The Project Typhon stuff was mentioned in the epilogue of my first Legend of Aki story.[/spoiler-box]

[stukasa]

CHAPTER 4.1 [3/28/15]
[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Logos/Rebirth%20Title%20Ch%204_zps89fkgni4.png~original


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qaJNciFMriU[/b][/u]

- Two days before the final exam -

UR RESIDENTIAL DISTRICT: COLTON RESIDENCE

“Akasha! Welcome.” Captain Arin Colton smiled broadly at the Newearl standing on his doorstep. “I’m glad you’re here.”

“Well, you did invite me,” Akasha replied, stooping slightly as she stepped through the front door.

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Akasha_clothes1_name_zpsd4h7bwi0.png~original http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Colton_casual_name_zps7fb51034.png~original[/spoiler-box]

“Yes, I did. Actually, there’s something I wanted to give you. One moment.” He walked to the end of the hall and returned carrying a large metal case. Together, the two moved into the living room, where he set the case down on the coffee table. “With your final exam coming up, I thought you could use it.”

“Gee whiz, Dad, you shouldn’t have!” Akasha exclaimed with obvious comedic exaggeration.

Colton jabbed a threatening finger in her direction. “Hey, I’m not your father. Don’t even joke about that,” he warned, the smile never leaving his face.

Akasha chuckled. Taking a seat on the couch, she unhooked the two latches sealing the case and looked inside, then caught her breath. “Oh… oh, wow.”

There was no sarcasm in her statement. Lying neatly in the case were the two halves of a brand-new Lambda Hellfret. The double saber gleamed with polished brilliance, a testament to the craftsmanship that went into making it. Its blade, not yet charged with photon energy, still looked sharp enough to cut diamonds.

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Lambda%20Hellfret_name_zpsvmvuvs94.png~original[/spoiler-box]

“You’re just giving this to me? But you’ve done so much for me already! No, I… I can’t. It’s too much, I couldn’t possibly—“

“I insist. I want you to have it. And since I outrank you, Trainee, I can make that an order if I have to.”

She smiled. “Thank you, Captain. It’s beautiful.”

“It’s more than that. This weapon was custom made, one of a kind. It also has a very unique feature. Normally, with a double saber, the energy core won’t activate until after you’ve locked the two halves in place, but this model is special. With the press of a button you can switch it to ‘twin daggers mode’ so the halves can power up independently.” He pointed to the button in question. “I got the idea after you fought that battlebot a couple weeks ago.”

“Oh, you heard about that, huh?”

“Yes, from the Headmaster. She’s impressed with the way you handled yourself, and so am I. You’ve come a long way since I found you at Aether Labs seven months ago. It’s been a long road, but in two days you’ll take your final exam. If you pass you’ll be a full-fledged ARKS soldier like me, with all the responsibilities and privileges that entails… But no matter what happens, just know that I’m proud of you. I’ll see you when you get back.”

* * * * * * * * *


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8OaiTN1K0E[/b][/u]

- One day before the final exam -

ARKS TRAINING ACADEMY: MAIN AUDITORIUM

“Hurry up, we’re gonna be late!”

“Relax, would ya? The Headmaster isn’t even here yet.”

Akasha and Kira strolled into the packed auditorium, trying—but failing—to appear casual about it. They were, after all, the last trainees to arrive. In front of them, four columns of a hundred recruits each stood waiting for the Headmaster of the Academy to make her entrance. It was an imposing sight.

They settled into one of the back rows of the fourth column, hoping to remain inconspicuous. It was only then that they noticed the man standing next to them wearing the smug, self-satisfied grin. A man, it so happened, they were already acquainted with. "Well, well, if it isn't the little spitfire from the other day!" Ivan turned to Akasha as Kira scowled. “Oh, hey, Akasha.”

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Kira_Trainee_name_zpsyfwe9wje.png~original http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Ivan1_name_zpsp2tm1nko.png~original[/spoiler-box]

“Wait, you know this joker?” Kira demanded of Akasha.

“Not really, no. I only talked to him that day we fought the battlebot,” she replied, then added hesitantly, “aaaaand a couple times after that.”

Kira narrowed her eyes in suspicion. “Well, just be careful. I don’t like him.”

Ivan cleared his throat. “I can hear you, you know.”

“Good!” Kira retorted. “And by the way, I don’t appreciate being called names.”

“What, you mean ‘spitfire’? Look, I just call it like I see it.”

Kira nudged Akasha. “Hey, back me up here.”

“Welllll...”

“Kasha!”

“You are prone to outbursts,” the Newearl conceded with a shrug.

Ivan smirked at Kira. “See? Even your giant friend here agrees with me.”

“Hey!” exclaimed Akasha, not entirely sure if she’d been insulted.

“Come on. At least the ‘spitfire’ thing was open to debate, but are you really going to tell me you're not ridiculously tall?”

“Well, no, but—“

Her response was cut short when the side door to the auditorium opened. Thinking it was the Headmaster, the four columns of recruits instantly snapped to attention. An aging man in a plain gray uniform entered and leisurely strolled towards the podium at the center of the stage.

“Is that the Headmaster?” Akasha whispered.

Before Kira could reply, Ivan whispered back, “No, the Headmaster is a Caseal.”

The man in the gray uniform tapped the microphone attached to the podium twice, then spoke. His voice was amplified by the speakers set up around the room. “Testing, testing… Trainees, please direct your attention to the podium. The Headmaster will be entering shortly.”

The recruits somehow managed to stand up even straighter as the man ambled back in the direction he’d come from.

Akasha fidgeted, feeling anxious. “So what’s the Headmaster like? I’ve never met her.”

“Neither have I,” said Kira, “but I’ve heard rumors. They say she’s a war hero or something, that she survived the Fifth Fleet Massacre.”

“I heard she took down the N.I.L. terror group single-handedly,” mentioned Ivan.

“No one asked for your input,” Kira growled, glaring daggers at him.

Behind them, the main doors creaked open. A single pair of approaching footsteps echoed through the chamber. The contingent of trainees remained facing forward, collectively holding their breaths.

Only Akasha, who was a head taller than most of the other trainees, dared to look. The woman walking down the center aisle had fair skin, lustrous red hair, and dark, intelligent eyes. She wore a lightly-armored red and white tunic with black leggings and military-grade boots. The flowery coat draped over her shoulders billowed behind her like a cape as she moved. She looked fairly young, perhaps only a few years older than Akasha and her group. But looks can be deceiving. For CASTs, who don’t age physically, age is often difficult to determine.

As the Headmaster reached the front of the auditorium, the rest of the trainees finally got a good look at her. “She's a CAST?” Kira whispered to Akasha. “If it weren't for her ears, I wouldn't be able to tell!”

“Yes, I am a CAST,” said the Headmaster, responding directly to Kira. “And my hearing is quite good.”

Kira flushed red with embarrassment. “I-I'm sorry, ma'am.”

“Don't worry about it.” The Caseal smiled, never breaking stride. She ascended the steps to the stage and stood behind the podium.

“Good afternoon,” she began, addressing the entire assembled body. “For those who don’t know me, I am Colonel Aki Zero One, but you can call me Colonel Aki. First of all, I want to personally congratulate all of you on making it this far. You’re good recruits and it has been my honor looking after you.

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Aki01_rebirth_name_zps1ojwctmd.png~original[/spoiler-box]

“I assume you all know why you’re here today. You’ve been training, practicing, and studying six months for it, after all. Tomorrow is the day you finally get to show off the results of those efforts. In preparation for that, today I will be outlining the content of your final exam.

“This exam will take the form of a field mission. You will be divided into four groups; each group will be sent to a different planet of interest: Naberius, Amduscia, Lillipa, and our newest discovery, the water planet Vopar.” As she spoke, a holographic representation of each planet materialized in the air over her head. “Each group will be subdivided into teams of twelve, with each team consisting of three four-person squads. This is a typical ARKS formation and we thought it suitable for your first field mission. Within each squad there will be three trainees, plus one instructor who will serve as your squad leader. You will follow their orders, as well as the orders from ARKS Control, at all times. Is that understood?”

When no one objected, Aki continued, “Good. Now then, I will read off your group and squad assignments…” First she called names for group Alpha, who were being sent to Naberius. Next she called names for group Beta, who were being sent to Amduscia. After that she called names for group Gamma, who were off to Lillipa. Finally she came to group Delta. Since Akasha and her friends hadn’t been called yet, that meant they were headed to Vopar. “...Gulf Squad: Akasha, Kira Vorholtz, and Ivan Malloch. Your instructor will be Lieutenant Asimov TR-7. Next, Banther Squad…”

“Looks like we’ll be seeing a little more of each other after all,” Ivan whispered as the Headmaster continued reading names.

Akasha rubbed her chin. “Hm, and Azzy’s our instructor. What do you suppose are the odds of that?”

“I’d be surprised if odds had anything to do with it, personally.”

Kira crossed her arms. “Yeah, well, just make sure you don’t slow us down,” she grumbled in his direction.

“Sure thing, Spitfire.”

“Don’t call me that!” Kira hissed.

Up at the podium, Aki had just finished issuing exam assignments. She gazed out at the sea of faces below her. Some were stoic, some were eager, but all of them looked ready. “Report to your assigned docking bays tomorrow morning at 0800 sharp. You will receive further instructions from your squad leader at that time. That’s all I have to say for now, except good luck and be sure to get a good night’s sleep. You’re going to need it.”

* * * * * * * * *

- 1500 hours local time, exam day -

PLANET VOPAR: UNNAMED ISLAND CHAIN, SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE

Three campships circled over the landing zone in tight formation. As they approached their destination, the pilot of each craft made an announcement over the intercom. In the rear cabin, final orders were issued and gear checks were performed. A forced calm fell over those inside. They had been training six months for this moment. Ready or not, it was time to go.

Four streaks of luminous bluish-white from each ship, twelve in total, shot through the atmosphere like falling stars. They impacted the surface and dissolved, leaving twelve soldiers kneeling on the beach dressed in full combat gear. Their job done, the campships banked west and sped away. They would be returning to space until the completion of the exam.

On the surface, the soldiers stood up and prepared to move out. They’d only taken three steps when their radios crackled. “Squads Gulf, Banther, and Aginis, this is ARKS Control,” a woman’s voice informed them. “Welcome to Vopar. We will be monitoring your situation from orbit. Today’s forecast calls for clear skies and sunny weather. Hope you remembered your suntan lotion. Enjoy your day at the beach.”

“Copy that, Control,” Asimov responded. “Commencing mission now.”

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Asimov_name_zpst8wvzeiq.png~original[/spoiler-box]


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MmK1c7LPyJs[/b][/u]

Vopar was a world steeped in natural beauty. A vast azure ocean dotted with island chains stretched out in all directions as far as the ARKS could see. Their feet sank lightly into the pristine alabaster sand as they walked. Overhead, sapphire skies adorned with wispy clouds hung just out of reach.

Kira used one hand to shield her eyes from the brilliant sun as she gazed out at the tropical paradise in front of her. "Oh, mannnn...," she groaned, "I knew I should’ve brought my swimsuit!"

“We're not here to play around, Kira,” Asimov chided her. “Not that I’d mind seeing you in it,” he added with a playful grin.

* * * * * * * * *

They hiked a quarter of a kilometer from the landing zone to an area of level, grassy land surrounded by a cluster of palm trees on one side and open ocean on the other. All three squads convened in a roughly circulation formation for a quick briefing. Asimov, as the highest-ranking instructor present, took charge of explaining the mission parameters.

“We’re going to be doing some good old-fashioned exploration and mapping, plain and simple. Aginis Squad, it’ll be your duty to map out the area and relay that information to ARKS Control. Banther Squad, you will be taking notes on any artificial structures we find. We know there’s a native population on Vopar and Command wants to learn more about them. Gulf Squad—that means you, Akasha, Kira, and Ivan—will be in charge of cataloguing the local flora and fauna. When visiting a planet, it helps to know what sort of wildlife you’re dealing with. Our eventual goal is to reach that spot over… there!” He pointed to a hazy speck on the horizon.

“What is it?” someone from another squad asked.

“Take a look,” replied Asimov, passing him a pair of binoculars.

The man raised the instrument to his eyes and peered through them. A broad, dome-shaped structure sat atop the ocean far in the distance. It was supported by a ring of curved pylons and capped by something resembling a crown. Inexplicably shooting up through the center of the structure was a massive pillar of water that stretched high into the sky, where it eventually tapered off. “Seems to be some kind of… huge building out there,” he said. “But I thought this planet was mostly unexplored. So where did it come from?”

“Built by the natives, we think. One of the many questions about this planet the ARKS hope to solve in the coming months. Our mission here is more of a cursory examination. We’ll leave the in-depth analysis to the eggheads back home.” After the chuckling died down, Asimov said, “Okay people, let’s move out!”

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Binocular%20View_zpsmrkfdmqu.png~original[/spoiler-box]

* * * * * * * * *

The next three hours passed by quickly. The nine trainees and their three instructors hiked over an endless series of sandy beaches, flowery fields, and rocky outcroppings. Twice they had to wade through knee-deep water to cross from one island to the next. At least they assumed it was a different island. The water separating the various islets was often so shallow that the soldiers felt as though they were traversing one extremely long stretch of land.

Several times they passed the ruined remains of native architecture—part of a column, bits of a staircase, all carved from marble slabs. Some were adorned with symbols and markings, which Banther Squad recorded as part of their exam assignment. Occasionally they spotted herds of shell-covered crustaceans—Torbons—scuttling along the beach ahead, probably in search of food or shelter. Now and then they would glimpse a trio of pink fins slicing through the water just offshore. Incredibly, one time they even spotted the fins gliding through the sand, as if burrowing through the ground were no more difficult than swimming through the sea. Akasha and her squadmates took note of everything they could.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UiXD97GYyEU[/b][/u]

As they walked, Ivan sidled up next to Kira. “I think we got off on the wrong foot before. Things were said, names were called… Maybe I deserved some of it, maybe you did too. My point is, we’re all adults here—or so you claim. I’m sure we can get past any ‘differences of opinion’ we may have. And I just want you to know, when I get promoted I’ll be sure to treat you well. I’ll only make you shine my shoes twice a week. Three times, tops.”

Kira’s mouth hung open in disbelief. “Whoa, whoa, whoa. You think you’re getting promoted before me? I don’t think so! In fact, not only will I get promoted first, I’m going to smoke you in this exam.”

“Oh really?”

“Yeah, really.”

“Is that so? Care to put a little wager on that?”

“Fine. If you score higher I’ll… buy you lunch.”

“Lunch? That’s it? That’s the best you could come up with?” he scoffed.

Akasha, who’d been quietly listening in on their conversation, finally interjected. “Free lunch? I want in on this too! If Kira and I score higher, you have to buy us both lunch.”

“Well that hardly seems fair,” complained Ivan. “If you lose you have to pay for my meal, but if I lose I have to pay for both of you.”

“Okay, let’s even the odds. What else do you want?”

“Hmm. If I score higher, I want Spitfire here to… clean my boots.”

“That sounds easy enough,” said Kira.

“…With your tongue,” he added slyly.

“What?!”

“Maybe that’ll teach you to keep that loud mouth in check. Just be careful, I don’t want your acid tongue dissolving the leather. These boots are expensive, you know.”

“Why you…,” Kira fumed.

“You’re not too chicken to accept, are you? What happened to all that bravado from earlier? Or are you admitting you might not beat me?”

“Oh, we’ll beat you, alright. Kasha and I, we’re the unstoppable, unbeatable duo! Just you wait and see…”

* * * * * * * * *

Another hour passed. The shadows grew longer. The sun, which had been high in the sky when they arrived, was almost kissing the horizon. The ARKS were less than a kilometer from their destination now. The large structure seemed to glow faintly, though no power source was evident.

“You should buy some chewing gum,” Ivan remarked casually, without explanation.

Kira regarded him with confusion. “Chewing gum? What for?”

“It helps build up saliva. You’re going to need it when you’re licking my boots clean.”

“I told you, that’s not gonna happen!”

“You’ll probably have to give it a second coat, just to get it extra shiny,” he mused, completely ignoring her.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LL5y_3eMMYg[/b][/u]

They’ve done nothing but argue all day, thought Akasha as she walked beside them. …So why do I feel left out? Eager to change the subject, she decided to ask something she’d been curious about for a while. “So, Ivan, what’s the deal with the talis around your neck? You’re a Hunter; that’s a Force weapon. I just thought it was a little odd—well, interesting, I mean.”

Ivan touched the card-like accessory. Though it was normally used for channeling photon energy, he’d attached a cord to it and strung the cord around his neck, wearing it like a necklace. “Oh, this? It’s, um, a good luck charm, that’s all. Nothing special.”

“Let me see it.” Akasha reached for the talis, intending to unhook it from the cord.

Ivan suddenly jerked away. “Don’t touch it!”

“S-Sorry,” she stammered, “I didn’t mean—“

“No, I’m sorry,” he said, regaining his composure. “I overreacted. It’s just… it’s personal, okay?”

“Yeah, no problem…”

They walked in awkward silence for the remainder of the journey. A few minutes later they reached their goal, the stone structure Asimov had pointed out earlier. All twelve soldiers stood around the base of it and looked up. It was several stories tall and probably ancient. On closer inspection, they saw that it wasn’t much of a dome after all. It was actually a multi-layered tower, each level narrower than the one below it. Water geysers poured from numerous spouts at regular intervals around the edge of the tower, giving the entire structure the appearance of an elaborate, larger-than-life fountain. Whatever this thing was supposed to be, it was certainly impressive to look at.

Asimov activated the radio in his ear piece. “ARKS Control, this is Gulf Squad leader. We are at the rendezvous point and ready for extraction.”

There was no reply, only static.

“I say again, we are ready for extraction. Please acknowledge.”

More static.

Asimov clicked off his radio. “I’m… sure it’s nothing,” he said to the others, not sounding entirely convinced. “We’ll just have to wait here until we hear from them. In the meantime, let’s take a look around the perimeter of this… building. Banther Squad, take as many notes as you can. This may be a good opportunity to earn some extra credit.”

* * * * * * * * *

As night fell, distant storm clouds were gathering on the horizon. No one realized what they meant yet, or what was about to happen.

That would soon change.



TO BE CONTINUED[/spoiler-box]

[Sacrificial]

To bad I can't play songs while reading on my phone because I know them all except one =/

[SPOILER-BOX]
“I heard she took down the N.I.L. terror group single-handedly,” mentioned Ivan.

she took down the N.I.L.
she

NO. NO WAY!
no this can't be...
hooooooriiiiiii sheeeeeett wow!

Me while reading. It's been long since I fanboy'ed like that.

dat change tho.
[/SPOILER-BOX]

[yoshiblue]

[SPOILER-BOX]How I read the location title.
Vopar! Unknown Island Chain! .Streetfighterannouncervoicedude.

Would be cool if double sabers could function as twin daggers. Could totally see it being a thing on the fighter tree. Wouldn't mind weapons becoming a necklace too. Would make for cool bioweapons.

One of the thing that always interested is how things like binoculars remain relevant. In a world like PSO/U, it always seemed like you could just put on a pair of sunshade and it would function the same way. On the other hand, you can turn binoculars into Super binoculars by giving them extra stuff. Like heat vision, distance markers, wind gauge, UV protection, x5000 zoom, note markers/lock on, and a bunch of extra things. [/SPOILER-BOX]

[stukasa]

@Sacrificial:
[spoiler-box]"Surprise." :p Yeah, I wanted to introduce Aki to the readers when she was introduced to Akasha's group, that's why I only referred to her as the Headmaster in Chapters 2.1 and 3.4. Clearly some things have happened between the last time the readers saw her and where she is now, what with the change in appearance and the new job title (and rank).

I liked and appreciated your reaction, though! :D[/spoiler-box]

@yoshiblue:
[spoiler-box]In the game I like both Twin Daggers and Double Sabers, but in the story it was impractical to have Akasha carry around two weapons all the time. Rather than have her switch off between the two, I came up with this solution as a compromise. I always thought the way Double Sabers start as two separate blades that snapped together was pretty neat, so why not allow them to function independently as well?

I think binoculars in the PSO2 world (or at least my story) do have a lot of neat functions like zooming, etc. It just wasn't necessary to talk about them in the context of my story so I left out that detail.[/spoiler-box]

[Zorafim]

[spoiler-box]Oh my god Aki! I flailed my arms in excitement at that introduction. Great job in that passage, I did not see it coming.

And no fair with that Chrono Cross song! I was going to use it next chapter!

And if you want an explanation for the structures and monsters in vopar...

[spoiler-box]It's a major plot point of EP2. They were built by ARKS' corrupt headmaster as a research facility and as bioweapons.[/spoiler-box][/spoiler-box]

[stukasa]

@Zorafim:
[spoiler-box]PSO2 EP2 spoilers:
[spoiler-box]I knew he built something but I thought it was just the seabed lab and some of the creatures in it. Of course, I haven't actually watched the English-translated cutscenes so I could easily be wrong about that. I'm assuming he didn't engineer ALL the native creatures, right? Maybe just some of them? And that not all the structures were built by him? I see lots of cracked, half-buried, moss-covered ruins when I play the beach missions. Those look really old, not built anytime recently.

In any case, I can always get around that if needed. I can say that he simply built his lab in an existing native structure or modeled it on one, for example. That doesn't sound unreasonable to me, but I'm not sure how it was worded in the actual game.

P.S. I know he's in a position of power, but when you say "ARKS headmaster," do you know exactly what position he has? Like, supreme leader of the ARKS? Or just a certain division? I'm unclear on that.[/spoiler-box][/spoiler-box]

CHAPTER 4.2 [4/4/15]
[spoiler-box]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8zsE5zdlsQ[/b][/u]

COLONY SHIP 02, UR: DOWNTOWN DISTRICT

They won’t know what hit them, thought Lee as he gazed out at the muted city, content in its peaceful slumber. It was just past three o’clock in the morning and most of the colony ship’s residents were fast asleep in their beds. Not for much longer, though…

Behind Lee, the doppelgangers of councilors Ken Zardana and Apophis 6R-80 awaited his order to begin. The three of them stood on the roof of the Galactic Savings & Loan where they would have an unobstructed view of the coming festivities. Lee took one last look at the darkened skyline. The city itself was a construct, a fantasy, created to give people the illusion they were living on a planet instead of traveling through the vast nothingness of interstellar space. Overhead, a virtual moon was rapidly sinking towards the lower edge of the Great Dome.

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Lee_name_zps535c104e.png~original http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/KenZardana_name_zps9df0f933.png~original http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Apophis_name_zps0cab7d73.png~original[/spoiler-box]

The time had finally come. Lee bit into the cacaiya fruit he was holding. As always, it was the perfect combination of irresistibly sweet and delectably juicy. Cacaiyas were rare and had to be imported from the other side of the galaxy—and therefore expensive, but well worth the price. It was one of the few indulgences he allowed himself. He discarded the rubbery peel without a second thought and turned back to the matter at hand. “Alright, let’s begin. It’s time to show the good people down there some fireworks. I have a feeling it’s going to be a blast.”

The Zardana look-alike pressed the button on a small handheld detonator. In front of them, the skyline erupted. Three balls of white-hot energy blossomed outward from a trio of skyscrapers. The city, so dark and quiet moments ago, was now bathed in the glow of its own destruction. The skyscrapers crumbled, the squeal of twisting metal not unlike the death throes of a beast being put out of its misery.

“It’s ironic, you know,” Lee said to Apophis. “During the campaign your critics complained that a CAST on the Council would be vulnerable to outside hacking. They called you a ‘security risk,’ but in the end you won them over—enough of them, anyway, to win the election. And now, here you are, breaking the sacred trust of the citizens you swore to protect.”

“Technically you are incorrect,” she replied. “The Apophis 6R-80 who made those promises was destroyed—by you, in fact. I swore no such allegiance to the people of Ur. My sole loyalty is to you.”

Zardana tapped his ear, deactivating the wireless radio hidden inside. He turned to Lee. “The other councilors report their mission was successful. The next set of bombs is in place. We’re ready for tomorrow night.”

If only they knew… that their greatest threat right now isn’t the Darkers, but their own leaders. Lee smirked at the thought. “I’ve long suspected that a government’s true function is to slowly strangle the life out of its people. All we’re doing is helping speed up that process… one bomb at a time.”

Three buildings in a sea of thousands didn’t amount to much in the grand scheme of things, but they were enough to serve Lee’s purpose. A spark to ignite the flames. It was terrorism in the purest sense of the word, designed solely to instill fear and paranoia in the cowering masses. And in their fear, Lee knew, they would turn to the nearest voice of reassurance. His Council of doppelgangers would provide that voice when the time was right… and the masses would give their wholehearted support.

Like lambs to the slaughter.

* * * * * * * * *


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqzCGGWsdcc[/b][/u]

PLANET VOPAR: UNNAMED ISLAND CHAIN, 2100 HOURS LOCAL TIME

The beach was exceptionally dark that evening, perhaps even unnaturally so. At least it would’ve been if not for the campfire the ARKS had built with driftwood. The flames created distorted shadows that danced and leapt over the tiny dunes of sand. Above them, dark storm clouds rolled past in waves, yet the wind and rain refused to come. It was as if the planet itself were holding its breath, watching and waiting for an omen to appear.

“I don’t think this armor was designed for night missions,” Akasha remarked, rubbing her hands together near the fire. She was wearing her new Raid Sfida, an armor that offered barely more protection than her usual Neighbor Quartz.

“I hear ya.” Kira shivered and tucked her skirt tighter around her legs. “I dressed for the beach, not a moonlight campout.”

“We’ll be out of here as soon as we get in touch with ARKS Control.” Asimov sat down on a log opposite his three students. “It’s probably just radio interference. They knew our scheduled arrival time; I’m sure they’ll send someone when we don’t check in. In the meantime, if you ladies are cold I can always… help warm you up?” He spread his arms invitingly and grinned in typical Asimov fashion.

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Akasha_clothes4_name_zpsmmtbda84.png~original http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Kira_name_zps4rnimeoc.png~original http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Asimov_name_zpst8wvzeiq.png~original[/spoiler-box]

Akasha rolled her eyes, fighting the urge to laugh. “Why do you always have to be such a perv, Azzy?”

“Alas, ‘tis out of my control,” he professed, his words practically dripping with melodrama. “For you see, it is embedded deep within my circuits. My creator was a lonely woman. She had certain needs, you understand—“

“Oh please. Last week you told me you came off the assembly line at a ‘male escort’ factory. The week before that you said your programming was corrupted by the ‘Love Bug’ virus. Every time I ask I get a different story!”

He winked. “Each more awesome than the last, am I right?”

“You girls don’t get it. Being perverted is just Azzy’s way of showing he cares,” Ivan explained. “Isn’t that right, Azzy?”

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Ivan1_name_zpsp2tm1nko.png~original[/spoiler-box]

Asimov nodded sagely in agreement. “Yes, exactly! You see? Ivan here gets me. Perhaps I’ll take him as my disciple, teach him to appreciate the ‘finer things in life.’”

“Oh great,” Kira snorted. “The last thing I need is another Azzy going on about an ‘appreciation of my feminine charms.’”

Ivan shot her a knowing smile. “Then you have nothing to worry about, Spitfire, since you have no feminine charms to speak of.”

“Why you… you…” Her face flushed beet red. “I take it back, Azzy. Compared to this jerk, you’re a bona fide saint.”

A shrill beeping noise interrupted their conversation. It was emanating from a sensor device stowed in one of the equipment packs. One of the other squad leaders, a dark-skinned man named Oran, grabbed the device and checked the readout. His eyes went wide. “Negative photon readings!” he shouted, jumping to his feet.

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Oran_name_zpsffqkwwxk.png~original[/spoiler-box]


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLFGwN8h70w[/b][/u]

“Darkers?! Where?” Asimov scooped up his rifle and joined Oran. They scanned the beach in both directions, searching for any hint of movement. Everything was quiet and peaceful, just as it had been. The only sound came from the waves gently lapping against the shore.

Asimov lowered his weapon. “False alarm?”

The third team leader, a woman by the name of Katalin, suddenly pointed skyward. “No, above us!”

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Katalin_name_zpsz1xkoqna.png~original[/spoiler-box]

Everyone looked up. Directly overhead was a raging, swirling cone of storm clouds. At the apex of that cone, staring down at them like a great malevolent eye, was a massive dimensional rift. A tear in the very fabric of space itself. And pouring through the rift were dozens upon dozens of black, winged monsters.

Darkers.

“Oh… shit.” Asimov activated his radio. “ARKS Control, ARKS Control. Do you read me? We have an emergency situation here and require immediate extraction. If you’re going to swoop in and save us, now would be a very good time to do it.”

Static. Asimov uttered an angry growl and switched off the radio. “Looks like we’re on our own.”

The Darkers spiraled down out of the sky like a flock of birds. They were vaguely humanoid in shape, with golden face plates and covered in what looked like a cross between scales and feathers. Each possessed a total of eight wings: four on their head, two on their back, and two more on their ankles. As they drew closer, the ARKS realized they were facing three different species: Solda Kapita with its lance and distinctive headdress, Gul Solda with its keyhole-shaped sword, and Deue Solda with its twin short swords.

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Darkers_name_zpsxynf0mve.png~original[/spoiler-box]

There was no end to the stream of Darkers pouring out of the dimensional rift. The vanguard wave reached ground level and flew toward the ARKS parallel to the shoreline. The closer they got the faster they flew, their weapons held at the ready. If there had been any doubt as to the creatures’ intentions, it was quickly put to rest.

“Aginis Squad, get behind me,” Katalin ordered, aiming her rod.

Oran readied his wired lances. “You too, Banther Squad.”

“Get ready!” Asimov yelled. “Wait for it… take aim… FIRE!!”

Chaos ensued. The soldiers with ranged attacks—only six of the twelve—let loose with everything they had. A hailstorm of bullets, grenades, and Techniques pounded the front row of Darkers, knocking most of them from the sky. The second wave fared slightly better—at first. A few tried deflecting the attacks with their weapons but there were simply too many to avoid. Eventually they too succumbed to the onslaught of bullets, arrows, lightning, and fire.

The third wave spread out, half to the left and half to the right, forcing the ARKS to widen their attack zone. This time two Darkers made it through to engage the soldiers. They lasted less than two seconds. Oran punctured their chests with the bladed tip of his wired lances and slammed them together, killing them instantly.

The fourth wave was more devious. The Solda Kapitas fired energy spears from the ends of their weapons, forcing the ARKS to halt their offensive and defend themselves. The Darkers immediately sped up and closed the gap. What started as a one-sided ranged battle quickly devolved into a melee slugfest. It was a battle fought blade to blade and, in some cases, fist to claw. By the time the fifth wave arrived, the ARKS were too embattled to hold them off.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6MECY2gUK4[/b][/u]

It was Katalin who fell first. The Darkers probably targeted her because her fire Techniques were causing the most damage. Long streams of blazing Safoie spewed from her rod like a flamethrower, torching scores of them and dropping them like flies. As a gang of Deues rushed forward to distract Katalin, a trio of Kapitas hung back and launched their energy spears. The beams arced over the battlefield and converged on the Force instructor.

Katalin could’ve avoided them, could’ve dodged out of the way. Instead she dove headlong into the blast, taking the hit for the trainee directly behind her. The black energy pierced her armor, her chest, and finally, her heart. She tumbled backwards into the sand and out of the fight.

“KAT!!!!!” Asimov didn’t have time to look, he was too busy blasting Darkers left and right.

Katalin’s absence left a hole in the ARKS’ defense. A swarm of Guls and Deues slipped through and quickly eliminated three trainees: one from Aginis Squad, two from Banther Squad. Oran spun around, his wired blades knocking the creatures down, but the damage was already done.

A Deue he hadn’t seen snuck up behind Oran and brought its twin swords together in a pincer motion. The man’s head toppled from his body and landed in the sand with a dull thud. His lifeless body followed shortly after.

Asimov cursed and gritted his teeth. His rifle blazed without rest as he furiously, desperately, tried to hold the line. This is the end, he thought to himself. It was a sobering realization. Yet it wasn’t himself he was concerned about, it was his students. They didn’t deserve this. None of them did.

Just then they were graced with the blessed, familiar crackle of their radios. The transmission was heavily laced with static. “ARKS Control to Gulf Lea— …taking heavy fire at— …pick you up two hundred meters north-northeast from your current loca— …E.T.A. two minutes to— …Over.”

“Acknowledged, Control.” A wave of relief washed over Asimov. He glanced over his shoulder at Akasha and the other trainees. “You heard the woman! Now go!”

“What about you, Azzy?!”

He had to shout over the roaring of his gun. “Someone has to hold them off or you’ll never make it!”

“We’re not leaving you behind!” Ivan shouted back defiantly.

“That was an order, Malloch! Get out of here or I’ll shoot you myself, dammit!” There was something in Asimov’s voice they’d never heard before, a pleading urgency that conveyed the seriousness of his command. In a softer tone, he added, “Stay sharp. Stick together, remember your training, and you’ll be fine. Now go!”

And so they went. Akasha, Kira, Ivan, and the three surviving members of the other squads dashed across the shore, leaving Asimov to deal with the Darker swarm alone. Though they didn’t look back, in their hearts Akasha and her friends were screaming.

A minute later they arrived at the spot indicated by ARKS Control. “Who here has a telepipe?” Akasha asked the group. Without one, she knew, they wouldn’t be able to teleport to the ship.

“Damn, I left it back at the campsite.” Kira winced at her own carelessness. “Sorry, Kasha.”

A Newman Gunner from Banther Squad spoke up. “I’ve got one.”

“Great! Let’s get it set up right away. The campship’ll be here to pick us up in… less than thirty seconds.”

Twenty seconds later they were done. No sooner had they finished than the ship appeared on the horizon, racing toward them at an enormous speed. The ocean seemed to part beneath it as it approached, a mechanical messiah offering the promise of salvation. The trainees couldn’t have imagined a more welcome sight. It was a vision of hope, and at that moment, a deliverance from their terrible nightmare.

Then it burst into flames.

The first explosion was followed by a second. Smoke began billowing from the starboard engine. Finally, one of its wings completely sheared off, sending the craft into a steep nosedive. It was only then that Akasha spotted the dozen black specs flitting about the hull. The Darkers, it seemed, had found them too. As the gnarled, flaming wreckage of the campship plunged to its demise beneath the waves, the black specs turned their attention to the trainees on the beach.

Kira and the Newman Gunner managed to shoot down three of them before they reached the shore. That left nine. The remaining Darkers swooped in and struck at them in a furious blur of motion. A Braver from Aginis Squad was impaled immediately. The katana fell from his limp hands and he collapsed facedown into the muddy sand, uttering little more than a surprised grunt.

Kira blasted a Deue Solda in the face, then dodge-rolled as a Gul Solda swept past, practically ignoring her. The Gul brought its heavy sword down on Akasha, who managed to get her Lambda Hellfret up just in time to block it. The creature pressed down and she pressed back, neither side willing to budge. Just then a Deue came rushing at her from the side. With her weapon otherwise occupied, Akasha had no way to defend herself—until she remembered its special function. With the press of a button, the halves of her double saber slid apart with a slight hiss. She used one half to continue blocking the Gul. The other swept in a horizontal arc meant to decapitate the Deue. The move worked, but not in time. Akasha suppressed a yelp as the Deue sliced open her right shoulder with its dying breath.

One down, one to go. Sidestepping to the right, Akasha let the Gul slide past her, pivoted on her heel, and planted one of her daggers in its back. The Gul was dead by the time she retrieved it. That was too close for comfort, she thought. These weren’t like the simulations she’d fought in VR training. They were very real… and very dangerous.

As if to prove the point, a Solda Kapita charged her with its lance extended. Akasha had no intention of letting it reach her. Channeling a powerful burst of photon energy in her body, she swung her daggers in a cross-shaped motion. Each blade released a crescent of explosive fire energy. The waves struck the Darker in the torso and erupted, one after the other, a fatal one-two combo.

Akasha barely had time to catch her breath before another Deue appeared to challenge her. She ducked under its swinging blade and lost her balance in the shifting sand. Not good. Definitely not good. The Deue raised its twin swords high, ready to skewer Akasha’s prone body. At the last moment, a burst of gunfire ripped through its skull and ended the threat.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1g4Q2hcP7kk[/b][/u]

Kira lowered her weapons. “Don’t worry, I’ve got your back.”

“Thanks,” said Akasha, “but why are they all going after me?!”

“Because you’re the biggest target?”

“Very funny,” she replied sarcastically, rising to her feet. Surveying the scene, Akasha spotted Ivan finishing off the last of the Darkers. They were safe again, at least for now.

The five remaining trainees gathered next to the telepipe pad. “You’re hurt,” said Ivan, watching the blood trickle down Akasha’s arm.

Truthfully, she’d forgotten all about it. “I’m fine.”

“Here, let me see.” He tore a strip from his jacket sleeve and wrapped it around her shoulder. “That should stop the bleeding, but we’ve got a bigger problem right now. Namely, getting a ride out of here.”

“There are still two campships in orbit, right?” asked the sole survivor of Aginis Squad.

“Let’s find out.” Ivan switched on his radio. “Gulf-3 to ARKS Control. Do you read me? The rescue ship was shot down, we need another ASAP.”

At first, silence. Then Control’s static-laced voice: “…read you, Gulf-3. Sit tight. We have another— …inbound, E.T.A. five minutes. Over.”

“Acknowledged,” said Ivan. He turned back to gaze in the direction they’d come from. The direction they’d left Asimov. Was he still out there, still fighting for his life, all by himself? Was his sacrifice worth the lives of the five trainees? It wasn’t right. None of it was right. This war had turned people into statistics, into worthless numbers. Asimov wasn’t a statistic. He deserved better than that.

Never leave a fellow soldier behind, he told me. Not if you can help it.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7R_ojONg-7o[/b][/u]

At that moment, something inside Ivan snapped. What he said next surprised him as much as it did everyone else. “Actually, Control, I don’t think I can wait after all. Gulf Leader, his position is, uh, compromised. I’m going back for him… I’m going to bring him back.”

“WHAT?!” Akasha and Kira exclaimed in unison.

The radio crackled with more static. “Negative, Gulf-3. Conditions— ...too dangerous to attempt a rescue. Get to— …safe location and await extraction. I repeat, do not attempt— …too dangerous.”

“I wasn’t asking your permission, Control. I’m not going to abandon my squad leader… and my friend. My decision is final. Gulf-3, out.”

“Gulf-3, failure to comply with— …constitutes insubordination and will result in—“

Ivan switched his radio off, abruptly ending the controller’s warning. “Well, you heard the lady. I won’t ask you to come with me, all I ask is that you don’t try to stop me. Azzy wouldn’t leave us behind and I’m certainly not going to leave him either.”

Akasha didn’t know what to say. “Ivan…”

“You sure about this?” asked Kira.

“Yeah,” he replied. His hands, he realized, wouldn’t stop shaking. “Never been more sure of anything in my life.”

Akasha rested a gentle hand on his shoulder. “I’m with you.”

“Me too,” Kira added with a grim smile. “We owe Azzy that much.”

“Thank you. Both of you.” He regarded the other two trainees. “What about you? Coming or staying?”

They glanced at each other, then back at Ivan. “Staying,” said the one on the left, “but good luck.”

Gulf Squad sprinted into the darkness of the night. There was a good chance they were running to their deaths. All three of them knew it. Yet, in spite of that, they simply couldn’t bear to leave Asimov behind. He was more than just their instructor. He was their mentor, their comrade, their friend. He was their voice of reason and their guiding light. And he needed their help.

* * * * * * * * *

At that very moment, next to their former campsite, Asimov was waging a bitter one-man war. One of his arms lay ruined in the sand. The other clutched his trusty Strauss rifle. He was determined to stay alive as long as possible so that he might buy the trainees a few precious minutes. Of course, he had no way of knowing they were already on their way back to save him.

Above him, the Darker swarm nearly blotted out the night sky. Activating his weapon’s secondary firing mode, Asimov pummeled them with a barrage of incendiary grenade rounds. The resulting explosions somehow reminded him of the fireworks displays he’d seen aboard Ur after the ARKS’ great military victories. A fitting tribute, he decided, for a last stand.

All around him, the bodies of flaming, screeching Darkers were raining down. His grenade reserves reached empty so he switched back to AP rounds. He swept the rifle back and forth, catching a dozen more as they closed in on him from all sides. A Gul Solda brought its sword down across his back, rending a vicious gash. Asimov kept firing. A Deue Solda stabbed him in the shoulder and yet he refused to fall. Refused to give in. Still, it was only a matter of time.

This isn’t how I would’ve preferred to go out. I would’ve picked something less… violent. On an operating table, maybe, surrounded by pretty girls… Distantly Asimov heard the hollow click, click, click as his Strauss was finally drained of ammunition.

That was it, then. He had no more tricks up his sleeve, no concealed weapons. There was nothing more he could do except surrender to the inevitable. He’d led a good life, a respectable life. All eighty-seven years of it. This was no time for regrets.

He let go of the rifle and smiled a peaceful, contented smile.

Then the Darkers tore him apart.



TO BE CONTINUED[/spoiler-box]

[yoshiblue]

[SPOILER-BOX]Darn, gone already. Should have seen it coming. [SPOILER-BOX]Good thing he's a CAST though.[/SPOILER-BOX][/SPOILER-BOX]

[Zorafim]

[spoiler-box]I've gotten to the point where every time she introduces a new character and spends more than the bare minimum amount of effort in developing them, I remind myself that they're probably about to be killed horribly. Even more so if the character is built to be especially likable. I was hoping the tone would change this time around, but then decapitations happened.
Asimov was both incredibly likable and much stronger than the current protagonists, with very few flaws. He was designed to be killed off.

And it still hit me when he was. Damn it stukasa, stop being so good!


It just hit me this chapter how evil Lee was. Killing a room of people who dedicated their lives to bettering their fellow man's existence? Bastard move. Gloating about all the damage he's doing? Magnificent bastard move.[/spoiler-box]

[stukasa]

@yoshiblue/Zorafim:
[spoiler-box]Long story short, don't be a mentor figure in my stories. >.> The main characters need to grow beyond their mentors, but instead of giving them comfy retirements I tend to kill them off horribly. Sorry about that! ^^; And yes Zorafim, you're exactly right. I tried to make Asimov one of the most likeable characters in the story because I wanted the readers to feel hurt when he died. If I can get the readers' emotions to parallel the main characters' then I consider my effort a success.

Lee is definitely the "typical" villain in my story. He's a bad guy who does bad things for bad reasons. Unlike Shankar, who's more of a conflicted villain. We'll be seeing more of both of them in the future...[/spoiler-box]

[Sacrificial]

[SPOILER-BOX]
I wanted the readers to feel hurt

WOOOOW so mean! Right in my kokoro!



PS: I expected azi's "death" (with some luck if the core system is intact he could be rebuild. let me dream!) I didn't expect the death of that other squad leader. She even got a picture and a name just to be killed of 3 lines further ;w;
[/SPOILER-BOX]

[stukasa]

@Sacrificial:
[spoiler-box]Sorry for trying to hurt you. ._. But yes, I'm trying to hurt you. Or at least trying to present the deaths of major characters in a way that will affect the readers. If I didn't, you wouldn't care if they lived or died.

P.S. Did you catch the bit about negative photon readings? I got that part from your story. :D Also, I needed a reason for them to be on Vopar and there was a part in your story with ARKS trainee final exams, so I figured that was as good a reason as any. So thanks for that! (Since our stories are supposed to take place in the same universe, I realized Akasha and her friends would also have to pass some kind of final exam.)[/spoiler-box]

[Sacrificial]

@Sacrificial:
[spoiler-box]
P.S. Did you catch the bit about negative photon readings? I got that part from your story. :D Also, I needed a reason for them to be on Vopar and there was a part in your story with ARKS trainee final exams, so I figured that was as good a reason as any. So thanks for that! (Since our stories are supposed to take place in the same universe, I realized Akasha and her friends would also have to pass some kind of final exam.)[/spoiler-box]

[SPOILER-BOX]Yea I noticed it, found it funny because I remembered you asking something about it and yea my stuff was supposed to be from Ur too. I really should pick it back up sometime =/[/SPOILER-BOX]

[stukasa]

CHAPTER 4.3 [4/11/15]
[spoiler-box]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Q2l1ZzvG3k[/b][/u]

“Welcome back to Ur Nightly News. I’m your host, Sylva Greene. Our top story tonight continues to be the string of terrorist bombings that has left the city in the grip of fear. Last night marks the third straight night of attacks and one can only wonder whether tonight will continue that pattern. The bombings have claimed a hundred and six lives to date, with over a thousand injured. Two hundred thirteen of those remain hospitalized, eighty-seven in critical condition.

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Sylva%20Greene_name_zpsqen64m7t.png~original[/spoiler-box]

“Meanwhile, frustration at local police continues to mount as the search for a suspect—or suspects—continues. Though no one has come forward to claim responsibility, certain members of the Executive Council have hinted at evidence linking the attacks to the criminal syndicate known as KAI-OS. If true, this would mark a major shift for a group that has traditionally operated behind the scenes. Led by the elusive Four Kings, chieftains who helm the disparate factions within the group, KAI-OS has risen to become one of the leading criminal organizations in the galaxy. Their activities range from illegal arms dealing to the extortion and bribery of public officials.

“To discuss the recent bombings and their connection to KAI-OS, tonight I will be talking via satellite to Councilor Kenneth Zardana of the UEC. Councilor?”

“Good evening, Sylva.”

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/KenZardana_name_zps9df0f933.png~original[/spoiler-box]

“Sir, it’s an honor to have you on the program. To start with, let’s talk a little bit about KAI-OS. They’re a group that has, historically, preferred to keep a low profile. Now it appears that may be changing. KAI-OS previously made headlines last year when one of the Four Kings, Janth Dyson, was killed during an ARKS raid on the frozen moon of Cryos.”

“That’s right, and we need to consider taking that same proactive approach now. No one on the UEC has the desire to turn the ARKS into hired assassins, Sylva. That’s not our goal. Nevertheless, we cannot and will not sit idly by while these thugs and terrorists bomb our city. Something needs to be done, and I for one believe the ARKS are the people to do it.”

“You informed me off the air, Councilor, that you have evidence linking the bombings to KAI-OS. Are you willing the share that evidence with the public?”

“Not at this time, I’m afraid. Doing so could compromise our ongoing investigation, but I assure you—and the public—that the evidence is real and incontrovertible.”

“And what of Janth Dyson’s replacement, a man known only as ‘Mr. Okada’? I understand he has yet to be seen in public. What can you tell us about him?”

“Again, the nature of our investigation prevents me from revealing any details, but what I will say is this: We are going to get to the bottom of this. We will identify the killers responsible for this tragedy, and we will bring them to justice.”

* * * * * * * * *


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNw-7GZzib8[/b][/u]

PLANET VOPAR: UNNAMED ISLAND CHAIN

It couldn’t be. It just couldn’t be.

Asimov was dead. There were pieces of him scattered across the war-torn beach. His decapitated head, lifeless. His body parts, unmoving.

For all their good intentions, Gulf Squad was too late. They’d missed saving him by less than a minute.

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Akasha_clothes4_name_zpsmmtbda84.png~original http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Kira_name_zps4rnimeoc.png~original http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Ivan1_name_zpsp2tm1nko.png~original http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Asimov_name_zpst8wvzeiq.png~original[/spoiler-box]

”The thing is, decisions are usually simpler than people make them out to be,” he’d once told Akasha. ”They all boil down to three steps: Take a chance, make a choice, and live with the consequences.”

They’d left him behind, and now he was lying dead in the sand.

They’d left him to die. By his order, but even so—

”Live with the consequences.”

It was unbearable. Unimaginable. Things weren’t supposed to happen this way. It should’ve been someone else’s tragedy, not theirs—

Akasha fell to her knees. Her head went blank, her body numb. No words could describe the flood of emotion welling up inside her. This wasn’t like the cold fury she’d nearly lost herself to three months earlier. It was something else, something deeper, a void in the core of her being. An endless abyss of despair.

“…Kasha!...”

Was someone calling out to her? She couldn’t tell, and didn’t care.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTNTnjf2wvs[/b][/u]

As she despaired, tears streaming silently down her cheeks, her feelings transformed into something else: pure, unmitigated rage. Her veins were coursing with it. The air around her was crackling with it. The strength of it boiled away her rationality, blinding her to every thought but one: revenge. She would slaughter the Darkers, rip them apart until they were beyond recognition. Whether there were a hundred or a thousand or a million of them, it didn’t matter. She would keep going until they gave in or she did.

Predictably, they didn’t keep her waiting long. A torrent of Darkers poured through the dimensional rift overhead, spreading like a deadly haze against the stormy night sky. Then, all at once, they descended.

Akasha raised both arms in front of her and clenched them into angry fists. Photon energy balls of utter blackness materialized in the air over the Darker horde. Five… ten… twenty of them. Akasha felt them as an extension of herself, willed them to do her bidding. Spears of dark energy lanced out from the hovering globes, impaling the Darkers a dozen at a time. They shrieked and writhed in agony but Akasha spared them no pity. She kept killing and killing until it became a thoughtless gesture, a reflex, the only thing she knew how to do.

And still they kept coming.

As if in response to her fury, the ocean began rolling and churning in agitation. Waves slapped the shoreline with increasing ferocity. Angry storm clouds hurled lightning bolts from the heavens, the crack of thunder a whip beating against the land.

Akasha never saw the wave coming. It washed over her instantly, swallowing her whole. A great leviathan of the deep coming to claim its prize. Suddenly she was sinking, sinking to the depths of a bottomless ocean, its surface quickly fading out of reach, then out of view. All she could see was the trail of bubbles leaving her mouth as she expelled the last of her air. She twisted around, looking for something, anything to grab onto—

—and found herself floating in her tank back at Aether Labs. It was where she’d been “born,” the very spot her memories began.

Akasha tried peering through the glass. A kaleidoscope of colors greeted her, but little else. Through the murky haze she could just make out a blob of dark hair and a white lab coat. ”Dr. Kestren! Dr. Kestren! Hey!” Akasha was shouting as loudly and furiously as she could, but it was only the voice in her mind. Her mouth hadn’t moved. Outside the tank, the blurry figure didn’t reply.

”Answer me! Who am I?! Why did you do this to me?! Why can’t I remember anything?!”

There was no response. Akasha wanted desperately to pound on the glass but her body refused to respond.

”ANSWER ME, DAMMIT! WHY?! WHY DID YOU TAKE EVERYTHING FROM ME?!”

“I didn’t.” It wasn’t Kestren’s voice that answered, it was her own. And yet Akasha still hadn’t spoken. Suddenly the area outside the tank burst into flames. Intense, malicious flames. The distorted vision of Naya Kestren melted away as the world around her was consumed by fire.

“…Kasha! …Kasha!” This time it was Kira’s voice, echoing from somewhere far away.

There was a loud cracking as fracture lines formed on the glass. They multiplied exponentially, the spiderweb of fractures expanding outward. The pressure on the tank kept building, building—

“Kasha! Snap out of it already!”

All at once she was back on the beach, and Kira was shaking her arm. A pile of impaled Darker corpses littered the area around her. Above, hundreds or perhaps even thousands more were still streaming through the rift in the sky.

“K-Kira…?”

“Kasha! Don’t scare me like that! For a minute there I thought I’d lost you.” Kira’s face warmed with relief. “C’mon, we’ve gotta get out of here right now! You, me, and Ivan, we’re the only ones left. If we hurry, we might be able to—“

Kira let out a strained gasp. Her relieved expression was replaced by one of shock and pain. As the Deue Solda behind her pulled its blade out of Kira’s back, the girl collapsed facedown into the sand, unmoving.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2ZnKU6JEJs[/b][/u]

From somewhere outside her body Akasha heard herself screaming Kira’s name. Then she was lifting the girl up, cradling her tiny frame, pleading for her to open her eyes. Her own heartbeat thundered in her ears, the sounds of the ocean and the Darkers fading away. The Deue that struck Kira down was long forgotten, a distant memory.

It was still there, however, and it hadn’t forgotten her. As Akasha trembled on her knees, sobbing and pleading with her fallen friend, the Deue came up behind her and raised a sword above its head. Akasha’s neck was exposed, an easy target. The Deue went in for the kill.

Then it was ripped in half. Ivan’s scarlet blade tore through its midsection and the Darker crumpled to the ground like a deflated balloon.

Akasha saw him bend down next to her, put two fingers under Kira’s jaw. Time was moving in slow motion. Ivan turned to Akasha, his eyes wide with urgency. His mouth was moving but Akasha couldn’t hear the words coming out. She concentrated.

“…alive…”

What? What did he just say? “…What?”

“I said she’s alive! There’s still a chance we can save her!”

That was all it took. The fog of despair clouding her mind magically evaporated. She had a reason to keep going, a reason to survive. She had hope.

“They’re regrouping!” shouted Ivan, pointing at the cloud of Darkers descending upon them. “We’ve only got a few seconds left, we have to get out of here now.”

Akasha stood up. A surge of adrenaline gave her renewed strength.

“Hold on. You’re injured,” he said, referring to her bandaged shoulder. “Let me carry her.”

“She’s my friend, I’m carrying her.”

“Look, it pains me to admit this, but you’re stronger than I am. I don’t think I can hold off those Darkers long enough, but maybe you can.”

She hesitated a moment, then conceded. “Alright.”

Ivan stripped off his jacket. He wrapped it around Kira’s limp body as he took her into his arms. She was pale and her pulse was faint, but she was still there. Together with Akasha, they took off running down the beach, their boots kicking up clumps of sand.

“Where are you going?” Akasha yelled as they ran. “The telepipe is that way!”

“It’s gone!” he yelled back.

“What do you mean, ‘gone’?!”

“The Darkers got to it already! They came back for the other trainees after we left! ARKS Control radioed us while you were… well, zoned out.”

Kira’s words from earlier suddenly made a lot more sense. It was true, then. They were the only ones left. Probably the last ones on the whole planet. Akasha shook off a sense of foreboding. “So where are we heading, then?”

“Straight ahead!”

Looming ominously in front of them was the massive native structure they’d seen during the day, the multi-layered tower with the pillar of water shooting up through its core. The ARKS’ preliminary examination of its exterior hadn’t shed any light on its function. That meant Akasha and Ivan were rushing headlong into the unknown. At the moment, however, the unknown inside was preferable to the certain death outside it.

Behind them, the Darkers were hot on their tail and gaining fast, determined to keep Gulf Squad from escaping at any cost. Akasha snapped the halves of her Lambda Hellfret back together and twirled around. Swinging the double saber back and forth like a giant fan, she unleashed powerful gusts of wind energy at the incoming swarm. They were hurled backwards with such force that it appeared as though they’d been slammed by a great invisible fist.

Their pursuers temporarily delayed, Akasha rejoined Ivan in climbing the steps to the tower’s main entrance. It was a grand entryway ringed with rainbow-colored stripes that seemed to glow faintly in the darkness. They passed through it without hesitation, their footfalls echoing loudly in the arched corridor beyond. Ahead, an endless flight of stairs led down toward the bowels of the structure, somewhere below sea level. A rainbow stripe on each step provided the only illumination as they descended into the depths of the unknown.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5nhJz4LL9o[/b][/u]

Past the stairs was a long corridor. The strange, ornate symbols they’d seen during the day were etched along the floor, walls, and ceiling. Once again colorful stripes lit the way. Akasha and Ivan raced onward, not bothering to check if the Darkers were still in pursuit.

At the end of the corridor they came upon a T-junction and headed left. Down another, shorter flight of stairs they were forced to choose again and went right. Akasha was reminded of her escape from Aether Labs, running through maze-like corridors as the flames licked at her heels. This place was much darker than Aether Labs had been, though. Darker, colder, and reeking of mold.

The next hallway led to a massive arched doorway, not unlike the one at the entrance but on a smaller scale. Inside was a high-walled room, mostly bare, with a raised dais at one end and a series of broad support columns spaced evenly around the perimeter. The glowing stripes running along the walls, floor, and columns provided a surprising amount of light in the spacious chamber.

“Get those doors shut!” shouted Ivan as he laid Kira down on the cold stone floor.

Akasha threw her weight against one of the five-meter high stone doors. She was able to push it, but just barely. “I’m… unggg… trying!”

“Just a sec, be right there.” With Ivan’s help, the two of them were able close one door, then the other. “There’s no way to lock it. We have to find a way to barricade these doors!”

Akasha’s eyes darted frantically around the room, eventually settling on the column to the left of the doorway. “We can use that pillar,” she suggested, pointing.

“Hmm. That’ll work.” Ivan swung his photon sword diagonally upward at the column, the charged energy blade fighting to cut through two meters of solid stone. It took five good hits before he finally made it through. “That takes care of the bottom. Akasha, I need a little help up top!”

“Got it!” She hurled her Lambda Hellfret like an oversized boomerang, using wind energy to direct it to the top of the column. The spinning double saber clipped it, arced through the air, and clipped it again on the return pass. There was a low rumble followed by a sharp breaking noise. The great column slid away from its base and crashed down in front of the entry doors, blocking anyone—or anything—attempting to enter or leave.

Their job done, Akasha rushed back to Kira’s side. The girl was still alive, barely, but it was unclear how much longer that would last. “Hang in there, Kira,” whispered Akasha, brushing her friend’s shaggy bangs away from her face.

“Step aside.” Ivan was standing directly behind her. In his hand was a talis, the one he’d been keeping around his neck.

“Come on, what do you think you’re doing with that thing?” Akasha scoffed. “You need Force training to use that properly. If you screw up you could end up killing her instead of healing her.”

“Step aside, Akasha,” he repeated, his voice firm. “Just… trust me on this.”

There was something in his eyes, in his expression, that convinced her. She moved out of the way.

Ivan knelt down and carefully rolled Kira onto her stomach. He removed the jacket he’d slung around her before, then gently lifted her torn, bloody top. There was a twenty-centimeter stab wound on her back just below her shoulder blade that was slowly oozing dark red blood. Ivan used the jacket to dab away as much of it as he could. When he was done he pressed the card-like talis over the wound, using his hand to keep it in place. Then he closed his eyes and focused his mind.

At first, nothing happened. Then, slowly, the talis began glowing a brilliant shade of green. It gave off a faint crackling noise like a slow-burning fire. Ivan remained that way, unmoving and unspeaking, for over a minute. When he was finished he removed the talis from Kira’s back. In place of the stab wound was a reddish scar. Ivan pulled Kira’s top back down, rolled her over, and laid his jacket over her like a blanket. Finally, he reattached the talis to the cord around his neck and stood up. “I’ve done everything I can. All we can do now is wait; the rest is up to her.”


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1RAzYnMPSs[/b][/u]

“How…” Akasha trailed off, dumbfounded. Ivan walked past her and dropped into a sitting position next to the fallen column, several meters away.

Akasha took one last look at Kira, then followed Ivan and sat beside him. She took in a deep breath and slowly let it out. “What was that about? How were you able to do that?”

“I…,” he started, then changed his mind. “Nothing. Forget it.”

Fine, have it your way, she thought glumly. She was too exhausted, mentally and physically, to argue about it. She just wanted to be back home on Ur, to forget this whole nightmare. At the moment, however, “home” seemed very far away. “Do you think we’re gonna get out of this?”

Ivan considered it. “Yeah, I do.”

“Why do you say that?”

“I don’t know, I just… do. Besides, what’s the point in thinking otherwise? If we really felt that way we might as well open those doors and let them take us. It would sure as hell save a lot of time and trouble.” Ivan paused. “We can’t take that road, Akasha. We can’t ever give up hope. It’s like Azzy always says—“ He froze in mid-sentence. Azzy…

They both lowered their heads, the horrible weight of it sinking in. The awkward silence seemed to drag on to infinity. Finally, Ivan said, “He’s really gone, isn’t he?”

She nodded. Fresh tears gathered in the corners of her eyes. “Yeah…”

“We should never have left him. If we’d stayed, he might still be here with us.”

“Maybe. Or maybe none of us would be.”

He grunted and leaned back against the column. The stone was refreshingly cool and smooth to the touch.

Akasha leaned forward and wrapped her arms around her knees. She stared blankly at a dark corner of the room, glassy-eyed and forlorn, looking at nothing in particular. “Back then, when we found Azzy on the beach, when I thought Kira was gone too, I… I didn’t want to go on anymore. I just wanted to give up. And I thought, maybe it would be okay if I died with them. Probably no one would’ve cared anyway…”

Ivan tilted his head in her direction. “Do you still feel that way?”

“No,” she replied quietly, after a pause.

“Good. Because you’re wrong, Akasha. You say nobody would’ve cared, but that’s not true. I would. I’d care.”

What…? Why would he say that? “You hardly know me.”

“Only because you don’t let anyone in. You keep everyone at arm’s length, everyone except Spitfire over there.”

Kira was still lying unconscious where they’d left her, a bit of color returning to her cheeks. Akasha looked Ivan in the eye. “Well what about you? You told me that talis was just a good luck charm but that obviously isn’t true. If you had Force training, why keep it a secret?”

He shook his head. “I haven’t had any training.”

“But you healed Kira…”

“I taught myself,” Ivan replied with a sigh. He rolled up his left sleeve. A series of faded scars crisscrossed the length of his forearm. “With lots of practice. And this talis, it belonged to my mother. When she was alive, that is. This… is all I have left of her now.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s alright. She passed away a long time ago.”

Akasha let the silence linger for a moment. “That still doesn’t answer my question. Why would you care if I’m around or not?”

“Because I…,” Ivan started to say, then shut his eyes. “Look, it doesn’t matter. But do you remember the day we met, when we fought that battlebot? You bought me time to recover when I got hurt. Even though it was dangerous. Even though you didn’t know me. Right then I knew you weren’t the kind of person they said you were, and you’ve proven me right.”

“Aside from Kira, I think you and Azzy were the only ones at the Academy who treated me like a normal person. So, um… thanks.”

“Don’t mention it. To be fair, though, I think Azzy was nice to all the cute girls.”

For Akasha, talking about Asimov again was like tearing open a fresh wound. Then a completely different thought struck her. Wait, did he just… call me cute? “I won’t argue with you there.”

“He was something else, that guy...”

“Yeah,” Akasha concurred, “there was nobody else quite like him. He always had a story to tell or a scheme up his sleeve.”

Ivan adopted an oddly melancholic grin. “Remember the time that major from Central Command came for an inspection? And Azzy ran around ahead of time ripping holes in everyone’s uniforms? He told me later the Second Fleet was due to get new gear so he thought he’d get us some too. Command turned down his request but Azzy wouldn’t take no for an answer. He figured they couldn’t refuse if we had nothing to wear. He looked that major straight in the eye and said, ’How do you expect these soldiers to fight a war with their asses hanging out?’”

In spite of herself, Akasha giggled. “I remember that. We wore spare training armor for a week, except mine was too small. Command finally did give us those new uniforms, eventually. I’d never seen Azzy more proud of himself. Well, except maybe that time he beat me in arm wrestling.”

“You and Azzy had an arm wrestling match? I wish I could’ve seen that!”

“We were arguing over who was stronger. Turns out, it was him. He was bragging about it for days.”

“Hey, did you ever see Azzy without his armor?”

Akasha gasped. “His armor came off?! I always assumed… I mean I thought, him being a CAST and all, that was just part of, uh…”

“Nah. He wore his armor like the rest of us. Just didn’t like announcing it, I guess. Anyway, I was in the locker room one day and happened to catch him without it. I asked, ‘Hey Azzy, that you?’ When he turned around, I saw—get this—a butterfly tattoo on his arm.”

“What?! Get outta here!” Akasha tried to picture it and nearly burst out laughing.

“I’m serious! Said one of his old girlfriends forced him to get it. He told me, ‘Breathe a word of this to anyone and I’ll end you, Malloch. I have a reputation to uphold, you know.’”

By that point they were both crying with laughter. The pain was still there, and probably always would be, but somehow it didn’t sting so badly anymore.

And it never would again.



TO BE CONTINUED[/spoiler-box]

[Zorafim]

[spoiler-box]
...swallowing her whole. A great leviathan of the deep coming...

Heeheehee...[/spoiler-box]

[spoiler-box]I've always taken for granted the fact that you have pictures of characters. At first it made sense, because of course you have a picture of your own character. But now you're doing it for someone who is going to die in 15 seconds, or someone who's just there to give a one-off news program. It seems like you're working hard at doing this.[/spoiler-box]

[Sacrificial]

How I imagen stuka each week.
[SPOILER-BOX] http://i2.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/square/000/008/610/Death_Note.jpg[/SPOILER-BOX]

[Zorafim]

I always imagined more:
[spoiler-box]https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/378800000359425267/e3896bf5350d36c6c5f4ce47dfd4f718_400x400.jpeg[/spoiler-box]


By the way, game lore relating to class mechanics:
[spoiler-box]I believe it was vaguely referenced that a class is created by manipulating the photon energies of a person to in turn allow them to manipulate photons differently. So switching to a hunter would allow you to manipulate photons in a way that would not allow you to fire guns, for instance.
Along with that, people are normally chosen for their class based on how well their photon manipulation corresponds to a certain class. A person may be better suited as a force instead of a hunter, because of how their photons align. Xeno for instance says that he's a better ranger than hunter (I think), but remains a hunter to "protect someone". The playable character is said to be rare in that their photon alignment is perfectly suited for every class, which makes some other ARKs jealous.

They didn't go into any more detail than that, so I don't know what would happen if someone picks up a weapon off the street. I assume they just can't turn it on.
I also don't know if there's any way to train yourself to use a class ability without first being that class. But honestly, just saying "Ivan really wanted to do it" is enough for PSO2's lore. It's not like they're actually trying.[/spoiler-box]

[Sacrificial]

By the way, game lore relating to class mechanics:
[spoiler-box]I believe it was vaguely referenced that a class is created by manipulating the photon energies of a person to in turn allow them to manipulate photons differently. So switching to a hunter would allow you to manipulate photons in a way that would not allow you to fire guns, for instance.
Along with that, people are normally chosen for their class based on how well their photon manipulation corresponds to a certain class. A person may be better suited as a force instead of a hunter, because of how their photons align. Xeno for instance says that he's a better ranger than hunter (I think), but remains a hunter to "protect someone". The playable character is said to be rare in that their photon alignment is perfectly suited for every class, which makes some other ARKs jealous.

They didn't go into any more detail than that, so I don't know what would happen if someone picks up a weapon off the street. I assume they just can't turn it on.
I also don't know if there's any way to train yourself to use a class ability without first being that class. But honestly, just saying "Ivan really wanted to do it" is enough for PSO2's lore. It's not like they're actually trying.[/spoiler-box]

Then again, there is the thing now with PA/tech infused weapons. Which kinda comes close to how I believe it's not the weapon that's limiting, but the user.The weapon itself, as I believe, uses a generator/engine/compressor/whatever to convert photons to a blade/projectile. For techs it works more like an amplifier.

But like you said there really isn't much information about this, except for matoi,(story spoiler) [SPOILER]who was shown using random weapons from the street, which broke down because she was too powerful for them. (previous Counsil nr2) and Echo who sucks at being a Hunter because she can barely lift the sword. <-The user, not the weapon.The blade functions fine.

[/SPOILER-BOX]

[yoshiblue]

[SPOILER-BOX]Could be an off chance that using weapons you don't align well with become much more draining in the process. Though if you simply can't lift a sword, I can't help you there. It could mean that your training also depends on your class. You didn't build up the require upper body strength to use a big sword.

I mean, as a PSO2 hero, you go through your days without ever having some sort of day off and never have a day were you go out of your way to train. That's usually done "off screen" I guess.

Anywho, as for mentor man dude dying. I figured he was going to die, didn't hurt much either. There wasn't enough emotional development or enough attachment for it to really hurt. Though the conversation with armor and tattoos was a nice touch at the end and helped to make him seem like an actual person.

Now for the positive stuff. Yay new channel, I approve of the star trek song, and i really like the character development that's going on. Looking forward to the next chapter.[/SPOILER-BOX]

[stukasa]

@Zorafim:
[spoiler-box]My general rule is, "if they have a name then they get a picture." I don't always follow my rule, though. Sylva Greene (the newscaster) was actually in one of my older side stories, Legend of Irene: Part 3. At the time I wasn't planning to bring her back so I didn't bother making a portrait for her, so when I decided to use her in my sequel I figured I'd better make one after all.

I didn't know about your class determining how you manipulate photons. I just figured that anyone can learn anything, though some people (especially Newmans) are more adept at manipulating photons in general. *shrugs*[/spoiler-box]

[Zorafim]

[spoiler-box]They even went into a little detail on how each class does what they do. It was a long time ago, so forgive me if my details are off. But, I think hunters manipulate photons to increase their strength (perhaps move the weapons too), rangers manipulate them to compress into their weapons and explode to fire projectiles (perhaps photons are the projectiles, which explains infinite bullets), and forces manipulate photons to... I don't know, they're magic peoples.

I should also probably mention that only the most astute PSO2 player knows this, so I'm probably ruining everything for everyone by bringing this up. Even Sega probably just made it up on the spot as an excuse.


How do you go about making those portraits, by the way? Do you just make them in the character creator? It seems like some of them have some AC items on them, as well as newer clothing. [/spoiler-box]

[stukasa]

@Zorafim:
[spoiler-box]CelestialBlade and I had a discussion about this before, but personally I think Rangers/Gunners aren't firing photon bullets. In PSU you could definitely tell they were photon bullets because they were little green, red, blue, etc., blobs of color. In PSO2 it looks like you're firing actual bullets. The explanation I came up with, which could be totally wrong (and why I never really explain it in the story itself) is that they're real bullet shells infused/filled with photon energy. As for having infinite ammo, chalk that up to it being a online RPG, not an online shooter.

As for the character portraits, I make those in the salon in-game. That's how I use the AC outfits, accessories, and hairstyles. "But wait, stukasa," you say, "you don't have a human character! How did you make all those human portraits?" Aki's support partner is a Dewman. Hide the horns and the body tattoo and you've got yourself a human. :D[/spoiler-box]

[Zorafim]

[spoiler-box]I thought something like that was going on. That's pretty resourceful.
That only covers half the available races, though. What do you do about the male races?

And yeah, they could be real bullets. I think the most detail they went into was them "using photons to fire bullets" or something. I assumed they supercondensed the photons into nearly solid projectiles, but it could just as easily be explained by them being given enough bullets to last them the mission (stored in hyperspace?). Your version makes for more drama too. [/spoiler-box]

[stukasa]

@Zorafim:
[spoiler-box]Akasha's support partner is male. Using him I can create male Newman and human character portraits (just find a hairstyle that hides the ears :p). For male CASTs I'm out of luck, that's when I resort to the character creator.[/spoiler-box]

[Zorafim]

[spoiler-box]Oh, that's right. Akashi is another of your characters, right? So you just use her when making newman characters?[/spoiler-box]

[stukasa]

@Zorafim: Correct. (Didn't even need a spoiler box for that answer! :p)

[Sacrificial]

My offer to help with male casts is still up.

[stukasa]

@Sacrificial: Thanks, and I haven't forgotten about it! The only thing is that it would be kind of tricky to describe what I want without seeing it. It's like trying to design a character while blind, you know? I guess I could be more vague, that might work if I wasn't too particular about needing a specific look. Right now I don't need any male CASTs though, but I'll let you know if that changes!

[Zorafim]

[spoiler-box]Gotta love how not a single person has commented on the romantic buildup between the characters. I guess that's what happens when all your commenters are men.[/spoiler-box]

[Sacrificial]

[spoiler-box]Gotta love how not a single person has commented on the romantic buildup between the characters. I guess that's what happens when all your commenters are men.[/spoiler-box]

[SPOILER-BOX]That and I guess we are afraid to because we know how easily they ........get killed of. I said it! [/SPOILER-BOX]

[stukasa]

@Zorafim:
[spoiler-box]Where's CelestialBlade when you need her? :p Nah, I figured all the death and sadness kind of stole the spotlight this time around.[/spoiler-box]

[Zorafim]

[spoiler-box]I have to say, it was nice to feel my heart melt after it was so viciously shattered.[/spoiler-box]

[stukasa]

@Zorafim:
[spoiler-box]Well that's what I was going for, so yay! I wanted to end the chapter on an upbeat note for once, a "yes things are bad but hopefully they'll get better" type of vibe. A "let's heal the readers by healing the characters" sort of thing. Etc.[/spoiler-box]

[stukasa]

CHAPTER 4.4 [4/18/15]
[spoiler-box]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6_LYn4_JA4[/b][/u]

Silence. Deafening silence. Then the sound of birds chirping faintly in the distance.

Akasha opened her eyes to startling brightness. Ivan was gone. Kira was gone. Even planet Vopar was gone. She was lying in a hospital bed, a catheter strapped to her arm. The drapes covering the open window fluttered in time to the gentle breeze blowing in.

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Akasha_noclothes_name_zpsf7472cb8.png~original[/spoiler-box]

Bracing herself with her elbows, Akasha pushed herself into a sitting position. She turned her head from side to side as if looking for someone, but the room was empty. She occupied the only bed.

For a long while she sat in a quiet stupor, dazed and confused, unable to recollect how she’d gotten there. Had Gulf Squad been rescued? Was she back on Ur?

The door slowly creaked open. Akasha looked up, expecting to find a nurse coming to check on her. Who she saw took her breath away. The man standing in the doorway was no nurse, of that she was certain. He was the last person she would’ve expected, yet there he was, as plain as day.

It was Shankar.

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Shankar_clothes1_name_zpsllkko6eg.png~original[/spoiler-box]


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kiABdCmHT74[/b][/u]

Upon catching sight of her, he broke into a wide—and relieved—grin. “Akasha! Thank goodness you’re awake!” He rushed over and threw his arms around her, drawing her into a warm embrace. “The doctor said you’ve been asleep for three days. I was worried you might not wake up.”

Akasha was speechless. Could this really be Shankar? The same Shankar she’d met at Aether Labs the day she’d been “born”? He had seemed so… distant, back then. So emotionless. The complete opposite of the beaming, joyful man seated on the bed in front of her.

“It’s so good to see you,” he said. “After our last meeting I wasn’t sure I would get another chance. I came as soon as I heard you were here.”

Thoughts and questions tumbled around in Akasha’s head like clothes in a dryer. Her mouth opened, trying to form words, but nothing came out. Finally she managed to ask the thing that had been on her mind since that fateful day seven months ago. “You are my brother, aren’t you?”

“Well of course I am! We’re family, Akasha, you know that. Always have been, always will be. No one can take that away from us.”

“I… I c-can’t remember…” A single tear rolled down her cheek.

“It’s okay. It’s going to be okay.” He took her hands in his, holding them tenderly. “I’ve found them, Akasha. I searched for so long, but I finally found them. Our family. Mother and father, and our sisters too.”

“Our… sisters?” She looked at him in disbelief. “I… have sisters?”

“Yes, of course! Three of them. They’re on their way here now, all of them. You don’t know how happy they were when I told them about you, that you were alright. They can’t wait to see you, Akasha. We’re going to be together again, just like we used to be. I’m sure you’ll remember everything in time.”

“I wish I could believe you,” she murmured, staring vacantly into the bed sheets.

“Why can’t you?”

“Because you’re not real,” Akasha replied dully. “This is all just a dream. I’m not here right now, and neither are you. That’s why I can’t trust anything you say.”

His face hardened, his smile vanishing. “You should’ve come with me back at Aether Labs. Ivan, Kira, and the ARKS, you don’t belong with them. You never have. They may smile at you and call you their friend, but deep down they’ll never accept you. You’ll always be an outsider looking in, never one of them.”

“You’re wrong,” she growled through clenched teeth, fighting back more tears. “You’re wrong! How could you possibly know that?!”

“I know because I know the truth.”

A realization struck her. “You know who I am, who we are.”

He nodded slowly. “Yes.”

“Please… tell me. I need to know. Please,” she pleaded, grasping onto his arm.

“It’s like you said, Akasha. I’m not real. I can’t tell you anything you don’t already know. If you want the truth, find Naya Kestren.” Shankar abruptly stood up and turned to leave.

“Wait—“

The hospital room stretched into infinity and vanished, Shankar along with it. Everything faded to black.

* * * * * * * * *


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-0dQvd87qM[/b][/u]

Once again, silence.

Akasha opened her eyes for the second time that morning, wondering if she were still trapped in that illusory dreamland. The dank and stale odor in the air, the touch of cool stone against her body where she lay, and the dull ache in her muscles convinced her otherwise. This was real.

That meant they were still on Vopar, barricaded in the cavernous room deep in the bowels of the native ruin. Their comrades were dead. Their help was gone. The surface was probably still teeming with Darkers. If they found Akasha and her friends, she knew it would likely be the end for them.

Belatedly she realized there was an arm wrapped around her waist. Someone else’s arm. When she turned to look she found Ivan nestled against her back, sleeping soundly.

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Ivan1_name_zpsp2tm1nko.png~original[/spoiler-box]

Akasha bolted upright. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?!”

“Ow, don’t shout,” he groaned, stirring from his slumber. “Some of us are trying to sleep.”

“…Well?” she demanded angrily.

“Well what?”

“Are you going to explain yourself? Why you were… well, y-you know!”

“You were shivering and I couldn’t wake you. Spitfire’s already borrowing my jacket so I had to find another way to keep you warm.”

“O-Oh, I see.” Akasha felt her face growing hot. “In that case, thanks, I guess...”

Ivan groggily stood up and stretched. “Don’t mention it. Besides, your ponytail made a pretty soft pillow.”

“Back to your usual charming self, I see,” Akasha snorted. She glanced in Kira’s direction, her brow furrowed in concern. “Is she awake yet?”

“Spitfire? No, but she’s stable. I think she’s going to make a full recovery.”

Akasha let out a sigh of relief, rose to her feet, and quickly shuddered. Her teeth began to chatter. “Does this place have a heater? It sure is cold in here.”

“Your clothes are still wet. If you don’t dry them off you’ll never get warm.”

“And how do you suggest I do that?” Akasha crossed her arms, both out of agitation and for warmth. “In case you forgot, we’re stuck in this room. And I’m not stripping in front of you.”

“It’s a big room. I’ll face the other way.”

“That’s not gonna happen,” Akasha muttered under her breath. She wheeled around and stormed off in the other direction, not sure why she was so worked up about it. “I’ll do it behind that pillar over there. Don’t you dare follow me!”

“Relax, would you?” he called after her. “I’ve got more important things to think about right now than trying to peep on you.”

* * * * * * * * *


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQaCTgYhGS0[/b][/u]

Akasha crouched behind the two-meter wide column in the far corner of the room. Her clothing and armor lay in a heap on the floor. With palms facing outward, she let her eyes slip shut and channeled photon energy through her arms. She focused on visualizing the warmth spreading through her veins, coaxing it onward, mentally fanning the flames in her mind. Though her eyes were closed she could feel the space in front of her hands grow warm.

Photon energy, like any energy, is simply a power used for action. As long as there is oxygen in the air, photon energy can provide the spark to light the blaze. The trick, then, is to control the size and shape of the fire. For Akasha it had always come intuitively. She would picture it in her mind and her body would make it a reality. Now all she had to do was—

Wait, was that smoke? She sniffed the air. Yes, that was definitely smoke. Akasha opened her eyes. One of her boots was on fire!

Cursing, she stamped the boot with her bare foot until the flame was extinguished. She picked up the still-smoking boot and examined it. The once-teal underside had been singed a crispy-looking brown. Akasha cursed again.

“You okay back there?” Ivan inquired from the other side of the room.

“Yes! So mind your own business!” snapped Akasha, mentally deriding her own carelessness.

“I can do that, but I thought you might want to know… Spitfire is waking up.”

“W-What?!” Akasha’s heart leapt with joy as she jumped to her feet. She’d taken half a step before she remembered her lack of clothing and darted back behind the cover of the column. She dressed quickly, then joined Ivan at Kira’s side.

“Unnngghhh…,” Kira moaned softly as she opened her eyes. She blinked a few times, still adjusting to the light.

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Kira_name_zps4rnimeoc.png~original[/spoiler-box]

“Hey there,” Akasha said warmly, squeezing the girl’s hand. “Welcome back to the land of the living.”

“Did we… did we escape back there?” Kira asked weakly. “’Cause I don’t remember checking into this hotel.”

Akasha chuckled, relieved her friend was feeling well enough to joke. After all the death and despair the night had brought, seeing Kira come back from the brink gave Akasha a renewed sense of hope. She promised herself she wouldn’t let Asimov’s sacrifice be in vain. The three of them would make it out of this; they had to.

Kira reached out and touched Akasha’s hand. “So what happened? Tell me.”

Akasha recounted the story of their narrow escape from the Darkers and how Ivan healed Kira after they’d barricaded themselves in the room. When she was finished, Kira let out a sigh and then laughed unexpectedly.

“Didn’t know you moonlighted as a doctor,” she told Ivan. “I gotta say, you don’t really look the part. With that long hair you look more like a punk rocker.”

He smirked. “Hey, no criticizing your doctor’s hairstyle choices. If you don’t like it I’ll have to prescribe you fifty percent less ‘smart mouth’ and a hundred percent more ‘appreciation for saving your life.’”

“Alright, alright, I get it. Thanks. I mean that.”

“See? That wasn’t so hard, was it?” Ivan bent down, facing Akasha. “Now, onto patient number two. Let me see your arm.”

“I’m fine, really,” protested Akasha, but presented her arm anyway.

He untied and unwrapped the makeshift bandage on her right shoulder. Underneath, where there should’ve been a bloody gash, was merely a faded scar. “It… It’s healed already!”

“Told you I was okay. I’m no good at healing others but I can take care of myself just fine.”

Ivan shook his head in wonderment. “Full of surprises as usual. You never cease to amaze me, Akasha. So then,” he said, looking around, “how are we going to get out of this place?”

“Does that mean help’s not on the way?” asked Kira with a twinge of concern.

“No one’s answering the comm. We’re not sure if it’s because they can’t hear us—maybe the signal’s too weak down here—or because there’s no one left to hear it.”

“Great. Just great.”

“We’ve got tracking devices in our radios. If there’s anyone out there, even if we can’t talk to them, they should know we’re here.” He tapped his ear piece to illustrate the point. “Don’t worry your freckled little head off, Spitfire. We’re going to make it out of this. I still intend on winning our bet, you know. Licking my boots clean is a dirty job but somebody’s gotta—”

Badoom! The massive double doors shook from the impact. Whatever had slammed against them, the fallen column did its job, preventing them from opening.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_t3iaIzKW7A[/b][/u]

The doors shuddered again. Something had found them, and Akasha was willing to bet it wasn’t their rescue party.

For a long moment, nothing happened. Gulf Squad held its breath, the silence thick with tension, hoping against hope the mysterious visitor would simply give up and go away. It was a lot to ask, but maybe—

The top half of the left door blew inward. Chunks of stone catapulted in all directions, bouncing off the floor and striking various columns. From the newly-created hole, Akasha spotted a flurry of black wings and golden face plates. Definitely not the rescue party, she decided.

“Get Spitfire away from here!” Ivan shouted to Akasha as the first Darker clambered through the opening.

Akasha didn’t bother arguing. She hoisted Kira into her arms and dashed to the raised dais at the other end of the room. After climbing the short staircase to the top, she hurriedly laid her friend down on the stone floor. “Stay put. Don’t worry, Ivan and I have got you covered.”

“I don’t suppose you brought my mechguns down here?”

Akasha shook her head. Kira’s guns were probably still where she’d left them, on the beach high above.

“Thought so. In that case…” The girl reached down and removed the holdout pistol strapped to her thigh. “It’s not much, but it’ll have to do.”

That puny thing won’t last more than a dozen shots. Akasha gave Kira a tight-lipped smile. “Save it unless you really need it. We’ll do our best to keep them away from you. Be safe, Kira.”

“Yeah… you too.”

Akasha rushed back to Ivan’s side just as the third Darker emerged through the opening. Two Deue Soldas and a Gul Solda. Behind them, a pair of Solda Kapitas were preparing to climb through, and behind those, an untold legion more. Gulf Squad had nowhere to run. It was time to make a stand—perhaps a final stand, if it came to that.

The trio of Darkers closed in, measuring their opponents. Akasha and Ivan took a step back. The Darkers closed in further; the trainees stepped back again. All at once the creatures lunged forward… and the battle began.

Akasha blocked high, shifted her weight, then pivoted away before the Deue’s second blade could catch her. The other Deue swooped down from above, dividing her attention. Only a reflexive series of parries saved her. Recalling her tactic on the beach, Akasha released a focused blast of wind energy at the pair of Darkers. One tumbled head over heels into a pillar. The other managed to avoid being blown away but was quickly beheaded by Akasha’s double saber.

Meanwhile, Ivan was trading blows with the Gul Solda. When the creature’s sword managed to nick his elbow he retaliated by lopping off one of its arms. Its screech of pain was abruptly cut off as Ivan slashed through its chest.

Two Solda Kapitas flew over the battle on a direct course for Kira at the other end of the room. Their lances were held in front of them like jousters, their wings tucked behind them for extra speed.

“Kira!!!” Akasha threw her weapon with as much strength as she could muster. The twirling blade ripped through the midsection of the lead Kapita, cleaving it in half. The second Kapita continued ahead undaunted.

Five shots rang out. Lying on her side, Kira had used her left hand to steady the pistol. Her first two shots went wide. The third grazed the Darker’s shoulder and the fourth bounced off its metal face plate, but the fifth shot found its mark and buried itself deep in the creature’s bulbous core. The Kapita tumbled from the air and crashed into the base of the dais, dead.

Akasha was about to retrieve her double saber when it happened—an energy lance from another Kapita struck the back of her right leg, sending her crashing to the floor. She tried to stand and was immediately struck down again by a second blast, this time in the left shoulder blade. Waves of intense pain exploded throughout her body. Her back and right leg were charred and smoking. With one good arm she slowly pulled herself across the ground, still headed for her fallen weapon.

The Solda Kapita appeared above her. It looked ready to finish her off, then abruptly dropped its weapon. It took Akasha a moment to realize why—its head was no longer connected to its body. The decapitated Kapita slumped to the ground with a dull thud. Behind it, Ivan was already moving on to the next enemy. He’d positioned himself between Akasha and the advancing Darkers, which now numbered almost a dozen. Akasha knew it was a hopelessly one-sided fight.

“Get back! There are too many of them, you’re going to get yourself killed!” Her pleas fell on deaf ears. The man wouldn’t stop, wouldn’t even slow down. “Ivan, I said fall back!”

“NO!!” he bellowed, with something more than just determination in his eyes. Desperation, perhaps. “That’s not going to happen, Akasha! I won’t leave you, so don’t ask me again!”


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yitmNFBIkr8[/b][/u]

“Ivan…”

His sword cut down another Gul Solda. “I told you before, we’re going to get out of this! We didn’t come this far just to die here! I believe that, and so should you!”

And she did. Somehow, coming from him, she believed it. When had that changed? When had Ivan gone from being a stranger—a man she’d met only two weeks earlier—to someone she trusted, someone she could depend on? Sure he could be impulsive, reckless, even a bit of a smart-ass, but he’d been there when it counted. Staring at his back now, as he put everything on the line to defend her, Akasha was moved beyond words. She saw him then with new eyes and inexplicably couldn’t turn away. For in that place, at that moment, he shone like a blinding beacon of hope.

Ivan felt something grasp his shoulder and spun around to attack—

—only to find Akasha standing behind him, looking calmly resolute. She stepped past him, limping and unarmed, directly into the path of the Darker horde.

With the threat of death in front of her and her friends at her back, Akasha finally understood. It was what Asimov had been trying to tell her that day they fought the battlebot. “Why did you join the ARKS, Akasha? So you could live out your dream of being a foot soldier in this never-ending war against the Darkers? Shout out ‘yes sir,’ ‘no sir’ and carry out your orders, no questions asked? You could settle for that life, it’s an honorable one. But when I see you in action, I think you could do more. So much more… If you can perform at that level without even exerting yourself, just imagine what you could do if you put in some serious effort. If you really cared.”

She’d given up on people once. Almost lost her way, had Kira not intervened. But Akasha understood now that there are some people worth caring about, worth protecting. Captain Colton, Kira, Asimov, and even Ivan had taught her the value of life, in their own ways, with their own means. They had given her something more precious than she could ever hope to repay, a gift she wouldn’t dare squander.

I’m sorry, Azzy. Sorry it took me this long to figure out what’s really important...

The Shankar from her dream was wrong. She belonged with these people. They had accepted her, not with false smiles and empty promises, but with open arms and loving hearts. And she would gladly fight to defend them, no matter the cost in return. For the first time in her life she was truly fighting for someone else’s sake, and it gave her more joy than she’d ever known.

She had found her purpose.

Arms held steady in front of her, she closed her eyes—and let a tidal wave of energy pour out of her. A raging icy wind erupted from her palms and swept through the Darker mob, flash-freezing them in place. The torrent of ice energy flowed through the gap in the door and continued unabated through the corridor beyond, catching the rest of the swarm unaware. By the time Akasha lowered her arms and opened her eyes it was already over—the battle had been won. They were safe again. For how long, she couldn’t say.

Suddenly exhausted, she wilted to the floor. Ivan was there beside her in an instant. Akasha didn’t need the support, really, but she let him hold her for a long time, her head on his shoulder.

* * * * * * * * *


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HG-Js_rMEV4[/b][/u]

COLONY SHIP 02, UR: DOWNTOWN DISTRICT

It was just past dusk when Aki01 stepped onto the roof of the Galactic Savings & Loan. The full moon was gently rising on its axis, an artificial projection against the backdrop of a very real starfield. Ahead, the city lights sparkled like a treasure trove of precious jewels. If you stared long enough patterns began to emerge, a strange order to the chaos, constellations that rivaled those in the night sky.

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Aki01_rebirth_name_zps1ojwctmd.png~original[/spoiler-box]

Yet it was the half dozen dark spots that stood out most. Six buildings, familiar landmarks in Ur’s skyline, wiped out in a matter of days…

Terrorism. Is that what things had come to? Aki had dealt with her fair share of criminals and degenerates—Arden Sabik, Janth Dyson, the Wraith—but she’d hoped never to deal with such atrocities in her own backyard. Ur was her home, after all, now that Orpheus was… gone.

And there was no doubt this was terrorism. The Executive Council claimed it had evidence linking the bombings to the criminal syndicate KAI-OS, and while Aki had no reason to doubt them, she needed something more. Something concrete.

That brought her to the Galactic Savings & Loan. The ARKS had intercepted an encrypted radio transmission the night of the first bombing and careful analysis had pinpointed its origin to the location where Aki currently stood. Aside from having a good view of the buildings that were attacked, however, there wasn’t much to go on.

What had she really expected to find up here anyway? The detonator, complete with fingerprints from the culprit? That would’ve been too convenient. In all likelihood this trip would probably end up being a waste of her time.

That’s when she saw it. It was no detonator, certainly, but it stood out just the same. Lying on the ground near one of the large air conditioning units was a discarded orange mass. Aki picked it up and examined it. It was a fruit peel of some kind—a cacaiya, her data banks informed her. She’d never seen one herself, as they were fairly rare and expensive. Could one of the bank employees have left it there?

She scanned the peel with her enhanced visual sensors. Based on the rate of decay, Aki calculated it was almost three days old—coincidentally or not, the same time frame as the first bombing. Interesting…

The radio in her ear piece beeped. Belatedly, she activated it. “This is Aki. Go ahead.”

“Colonel, this is Lieutenant Chen. We need you back here right away. A situation has developed on Vopar.”

Aki felt her gears tense up. “The trainee exam?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“I’m on my way.” She spun around and ran to the stairwell. The investigation would have to wait... for now.



TO BE CONTINUED[/spoiler-box]

[Zorafim]

[spoiler-box]AKI!!!

http://i.giphy.com/kYyvbr25obfC8.gif[/spoiler-box]

[stukasa]

@Zorafim:
[spoiler-box]Apparently I haven't been giving you guys enough Aki lately. :p[/spoiler-box]

[yoshiblue]

I'm really interested in how you will use her past experiences in the story.

[Sacrificial]

I-its.... not here! It's not here! the world is gonna end! \o/

[Zorafim]

I'm... not sure she's awake yet...

[CelestialBlade]

Another good chance to sit and read, and another four story parts posted!

[spoiler-box]Gee, who called it that Asimov and Kira were going to be forcibly ripped from us, huh?? I think at this point even George R. R. Martin is telling you to slow down XD

At least Kira appears to be doing better, although I'm fully expecting that renewed hope to be a device to make anything further that happens to her that much more painful :( (I'm making you sound like such an evil person, haha) But I definitely saw Asimov's death coming. He reminds me a lot of a good friend of mine and I think that's why I got attached to him so quickly. Unlike other deaths in your stories, though, he died with the intent of a very specific purpose (in contrast to say, Alliston). He gave every last thing he had and his death wasn't unexpected. The fact that his sacrifice can be made worthwhile if Gulf Team survives is something that can ease the pain, knowing that he saved the lives of his trainees. So for his sake and theirs, I hope they make it out of here.

And just to break up the man-splaining here :lol: I do think it's adorable how Akasha and Ivan are going closer, and I even think his banter with Kira is its own sort of love. Ivan was really bland up until this chapter, but after the story of his mother he's become a lot more interesting. It's also good to see Akasha realizing the same thing Cocona did about the ARKS--like Asimov wisely said, you need a purpose. Even though Cocona went down fighting, her realization at the end of Ar Phantasy is what gave her the drive to persevere. Akasha, obviously, has grown more powerful with purpose herself.

Can you imagine the banter Cocona and Kira would get into? :lol:

Also, AKI!! What an awesome way to re-introduce the character everyone was waiting on! I knew it right when you mentioned that the Headmaster was a survivor of the Fifth Fleet Incident. Although, now I have to wonder--why specifically Zero One? At the end of Legend of Aki, the original Aki's two new siblings gain every memory she has, so at least at the outset, their different designations are meaningless other than aesthetics and possibly class, like before. So, why is Zero One specifically the Headmaster? Is the original Aki now Zero One, or is she still Zero Two? What are the other two Akis up to? Lots of questions to be answered here. Her new design is really awesome, I might add ^^

As usual, great use of descriptions of both environment and details like weapons and clothing, it helped me paint a clear picture of what's going on in my mind. I always appreciate that in writing.

Also Lee is a dick.[/spoiler-box]

[Zorafim]

Another chance to read, huh? I suppose that means you haven't had a chance to write?

[stukasa]

@Sacrificial: Zorafim's right, I was asleep when you posted that. But if you're wondering why it's a few hours later than normal, it's because I just got home. I've been gone all day!

@CelestialBlade:
[spoiler-box]Yeah, sorry about Asimov. ^^; I didn't go into this thinking "I'll be known as that author who kills off everyone," it just sort of happened. xD I wanted the world in my stories to be a very dangerous one and I don't want the readers getting complacent thinking that everything will always work out all right.

I know Ivan came across a bit bland when he was first introduced. He didn't know Akasha or Kira back then and he's not a super outgoing person so it took a little time for him to feel at ease with them. From a story perspective, the reason was also that Ivan wasn't the focus in chapter 3. He was introduced to them but he didn't come into the spotlight until chapter 4.

Cocona and Kira are sort of similar in some ways. They're both short characters with a lot of heart and attitude (and spunk?). That wasn't intentional, though, it just happened to end up that way when I was deciding what type of person Kira should be. I knew I wanted her to be the opposite of Akasha physically (read: small) and have a big personality, and her character just sort of developed from there.

About your Aki-related questions, you'll just have to wait and see! I realize I haven't explained what's been going on with Aki, but all your questions will be answered in time. The one question I'll answer now is that all three Akis are considered Aki. None of them are more "real" than the others since they all share the original Aki02's memories.[/spoiler-box]

CHAPTER 4.5 [4/25/15]
[spoiler-box]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_n8823s3KY[/b][/u]

- Twelve years ago -

On the streets of the colony ship Ken, a woman and her young son stare into the face of death. The hovering El Ahda glares back at them with unmerciful eyes. Shielding the boy from harm, the woman—a Force—draws her talis and prepares to attack. The El Ahda strikes first.

The woman lies on the sidewalk bleeding to death as the Darker closes in to finish her off. Before it can lunge, a Hunter appears and rips the El Ahda in half with his photon blade. Moments later he spots a pack of Dagans harassing a shopkeeper further down the street and leaves the dying woman and her son to fend for themselves. The boy calls after the Hunter begging for help but the man doesn’t hear him.

The woman tries to comfort her son but the boy is inconsolable. She pushes her talis into his hands and asks him to lay it on her bloody chest. “Concentrate and focus your energy,” she tells him. Tears streaming down his face, the boy tries his hardest to follow his mother’s instruction. A pale green light begins to glow.

It isn’t enough. His mother tells him she loves him, and to be strong. Then she lets out her final breath and closes her eyes for the last time. The boy shakes her but she doesn’t wake up. He calls out to her but she can no longer hear him.

Stricken, the boy looks down. His hands are covered in his mother’s blood.

He screams.

* * * * * * * * *


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vj3Dqpls68Q[/b][/u]

- Present day -

PLANET VOPAR: UNNAMED ISLAND CHAIN

Ivan unconsciously ran his fingers across the talis strung around his neck. He’d told Akasha they were going to be alright, that they were going to survive this, but wasn’t sure he believed it himself. He knew firsthand how deadly the Darkers could be. He also knew the frailty of life, how fleeting it was and how easily it could be stolen away.

Despite their victory earlier, not much had changed. They were still trapped inside the pillared chamber deep in the heart of the ancient tower. Akasha’s final energy blast, the icy gale that had frozen all the Darkers solid, also sealed the hole in the door. They could’ve melted it, of course, but that would have risked thawing the horde of Darkers scattered around the room and in the corridor beyond.

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Akasha_clothes2_name_zpsso8symkx.png~original http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Kira_name_zps4rnimeoc.png~original http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Ivan1_name_zpsp2tm1nko.png~original[/spoiler-box]

All three ARKS trainees were tired, wounded, and cold, hardly in any shape to endure another battle. Kira was the worst off but at least she could sit up on her own now. Akasha had healed the burnt patches on her own back and leg and was recovering admirably. Ivan had a few nicks and scrapes but hadn’t sustained any life-threatening injuries.

Just when they thought Vopar had run out of surprises to throw at them, the planet proved them wrong. They were in the middle of discussing what to do next when a sudden, violent tremor shook the entire room. Caught off-guard, Ivan stumbled and fell backward. He landed flat on his back and let out a pained “oomph.”

“W-What the hell was that?” Kira asked.

“Some kind of ground quake, maybe?” theorized Akasha. She stepped over to Ivan and leaned forward to offer a helping hand.

That’s when she saw them. “Your ears!” she exclaimed in surprise, the tremor already forgotten.

His hands darted up to cover them but it was too late. The ears Ivan kept carefully hidden under his long, shaggy hair had been exposed, and with them, his secret.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbtel9K6fVY[/b][/u]

Akasha blinked twice in rapid succession, bewildered at what she was seeing. “Y-You’re a Newman?”

“Half-Newman, actually,” he admitted, pulling himself to his feet. His ears were definitely pointed, but not nearly as long as Akasha’s. “My mother was a Newman, my father is human. Guess that makes me something in between.”

Kira scratched the side of her head. “So why’d you hide it all this time?”

“I was just… ashamed, I guess.”

“Ashamed of being a Newman?” asked Akasha.

“No, no, that’s not it. It was a reminder of what I’ve lost… and what I’ve done.” They waited patiently for him to continue. He wanted desperately to run away, to hide from it the way he’d been hiding these past twelve years. It was only sheer willpower that kept him rooted in place. He knew he had to get it out before his resolve started to crack.

So he told them everything. He told them the story of the Darker attack on the colony ship Ken and his mother’s death in his arms. How losing her had left him depressed and withdrawn, lashing out at people who only wanted to help. And later, his vow to become stronger so he would never again lose someone because of his own weakness. “Every time I see these ears I think of her and remember what happened that day. I wasn’t strong enough to protect her, and when she got hurt I couldn’t save her. She died right in front of me and I couldn’t do a damned thing. It was my fault, my fault she died…”

Akasha shook her head. “That’s not true. You did everything you could to help.”

“But that’s the point, isn’t it?” he responded sullenly. “It wasn’t enough. I failed her, just like I failed Azzy on the beach back there. I broke my own promise. When the time came, I couldn’t save him…”

“You really are an idiot, aren’t you?” Kira berated him, her tone as sharp as daggers. “You think you’ve got a monopoly on grief? That you’re the only one who’s lost someone, who’s been hurt? Let me dispel that notion right now, because you’re not. Not by a long shot.”

Akasha gently placed a hand on her friend’s shoulder. “Kira? Hey, isn’t that a bit harsh—”

She shook it off. “He needs to hear this, Kasha. It’s the only way it’ll get through that thick skull of his.”

Ivan broke eye contact, looking down at the ground instead. “You don’t understand what it’s like…”

“Oh, is that so? Six months ago my sister disappeared. Poof, into thin air. That’s why I joined the ARKS, because I’m trying to find her. Every day I have to deal with the uncertainty of not knowing where she is, wondering if she’s okay. So don’t tell me I don’t know what it’s like. Don’t you dare tell me that.”

“I didn’t know about your sister, Spitfire, but your situation is different. You didn’t… I mean, it wasn’t your fault what happened.”

Kira gave him her best ‘you-should-know-better’ glare. “Let me tell you something. I spent my whole life in the shadow of my prodigal sister. To my parents, to my family, I was always the black sheep. The one causing trouble. My sister Faraday, she was the talented one. She was smart, popular, and genuinely one of the nicest people you could ever meet. And I, naturally, was insanely jealous of her. My dad was always going on about ‘Fara-this’ and ‘Fara-that.’ It drove me crazy sometimes. So when my illustrious sister up and vanished, part of me—a very small part—felt somehow relieved.” She bit her lower lip, trying to swallow the pain that kept bubbling up inside her. “When I realized that, I became sick with myself. The guilt tore me up inside until I couldn’t deal with it anymore. After a while I’d convinced myself it was my fault she was gone, that I’d somehow secretly wished her away.”

She locked eyes with him. “But I was wrong, and so are you. What happened to your mom wasn’t your fault. She died protecting you, not because she had to, but because she loved you. No matter what else you believe, believe that.”

Ivan didn’t know what to say, what to think. His mother’s death had defined him as a man. It was why he’d dedicated himself to saving others, why he’d joined the ARKS. As terrible as it was, his sense of guilt had shaped the core of his identity. He’d told himself it was for the best, that it was the right thing to do, but now he wasn’t so sure. Had he been punishing himself unfairly all these years?

“And another thing,” Kira added, “you’re being incredibly selfish, you know that? Saying you failed to save Azzy, like it was your responsibility. Like you were the only one who cared. You think Kasha and I wanted to save him any less than you did?”

“Well, no, I—“

“You think his death hurt us any less than it hurt you?”

“I…,” Ivan began, then stopped. He suddenly had a vision of himself as the Hunter from his memories. The man who ran off to fight Darkers while the little boy and his dying mother were left all alone. That wasn’t who he wanted to be. Not now, not ever.

“It’s not too late,” his younger self spoke up from somewhere deep inside him. “It’s never too late to change. You’ve hurt enough. It’s time to let go, isn’t it?”

Ivan offered Kira an apologetic smile and sighed. “You’re right. You’re right about everything. I’m sorry.”

“Damn right you’re sorry. So stop telling us how pathetic you are and how you couldn’t save anyone. That’s a lie. You did save someone on that beach,” she said, her voice starting to crack. “You saved me.”

And you saved me, he thought, gratefully. From my own past. “Thank you, Spitfire. I think... I’m going to be alright now.”

And he meant it.

Kira’s expression softened. “Glad to hear it. Now can you please stop calling me ‘Spitfire’?”

“No can do. You worked hard to earn that name. Think of it as a badge of honor, a recognition of your achievement.”

She sighed in resignation.

* * * * * * * * *

It was less than ten minutes later when they got the call. It came as such a shock that all three of them nearly jumped out of their skins.

“…repeat, this is ARKS Control calling all survivors. Please respond,” a raspy male voice cut in. The signal was weak and laced with clouds of static, but there was no mistaking it. Help had finally arrived!

Ivan tapped his ear-mounted radio. “ARKS Control, this is Gulf-3. Are we glad to hear from you! I’m here with Gulf-1 and Gulf-2. We’re in the lowest level of the tower.”

“Copy, Gulf-3— …have a fix on your location, but— …need to be patient.”

“Take your time, Control. We’ve waited all night, we can wait a little lon—“

There was a loud boom and the whole room shuddered.

“Another quake?” suggested Kira.

She was answered by a low, sustained groan that reverberated through the cavernous chamber. The groan was followed by a deep rumbling from somewhere overhead.

No one moved. No one spoke. For an agonizingly long moment, nothing happened.

Then the ceiling caved in.

It didn’t cave in all at once. It had been creeping up on them slowly, in stages, biding its time until it was too late to be stopped. The groundwork was laid when Ivan and Akasha toppled one of the support columns after they first entered the room. Damage from the battle had further compounded the problem. But the death blow, ironically, came from Akasha’s photon energy blast, the one that saved them all earlier. Ice had gotten into the web of miniscule cracks crisscrossing the ceiling. As that ice began to melt, the already-weakened stone was stressed to the breaking point. The tremors were merely the catalyst that set things in motion.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZK4ti1JgbMQ[/b][/u]

It started with a single corner of the room, the area directly above the fallen column. The low groan graduated into a tremendous roar as several large hunks of solid stone gave way. The boulder-sized debris crashed down upon several of the frozen Darkers, shattering them and flattening them in one fell swoop.

But the pieces of falling stone weren’t what caught the trainees’ attention. It was the torrent of water rushing in through the gaping hole that had them worried.

Akasha gaped at the scene before them. “What if it doesn’t stop?! We’re below sea level. If that water’s coming in from outside, we’re done for.”

Ivan put a hand to his ear. “Control, I take back what I said before. This place is falling apart. We need extraction now!”

“Negative, Gulf-3— …too many Darkers in the area to— …only have time for one pass— …have to get out on your own.”

“Control? Control?” Ivan switched off his radio when it became apparent the signal had been lost. “Well, that last part seemed pretty clear to me. They’ll pick us up, but only if we can get to them. There’s nothing they can do for us here.”

“Lovely,” Kira groaned.

Things went from bad to worse when the hole in the ceiling abruptly doubled in size. What started as a steady inflow of water turned into a veritable flood. Despite being such a large room, the water level was rising rapidly. One meter, two meters, three meters… In less than a minute even the raised dais was completely submerged, a victim of the all-consuming tide.

There was no escape. Gulf Squad had nowhere to go, nowhere to run. Nowhere, that is, except up.

It was a long shot but they didn’t have much choice. Right now the pressure’s too strong, we’d never make it through that hole, Akasha reasoned. But if we wait until the room completely fills with water we should be able to swim through without a problem. Although, if the entire place is flooded it’s going to be a rather short trip…

Akasha and Ivan stood on either side of Kira, offering their support should she need it. She still hadn’t fully recovered from the Darker attack earlier that night. The water rose past their knees, past their waists, pushing higher until even Akasha’s feet couldn’t touch the floor. They let the water carry them upward towards the ceiling far above.

They were halfway there when it happened. Akasha was dragged under the surface in an instant, a clawed hand locked tightly around her ankle. She wanted to gasp but her throat would’ve filled with water. Instead she looked down, down at the thing that had grabbed her. It was a Gul Solda.

When the ceiling broke, one of the frozen Darkers had been dislodged and swept into a nearby pillar, shattering its icy prison. That same Darker was now pulling her down into the depths of the chamber. Akasha struggled to free herself, thrashing and kicking as best she could, but it was no use. The Gul was intent on giving her a watery grave.

Her Techniques were useless in the water. If she tried to freeze or electrocute the Darker she would end up killing herself as well. Her only choice was to fight it off barehanded, underwater, with a limited air supply. There was no time to waste.

Surging forward, she clamped onto one of the Gul’s many wings and pulled as hard as she could. Recoiling in pain, the Gul finally released its grip on her ankle—only to headbutt her in the stomach instead. Akasha twisted backward, her midsection throbbing, her world a spinning, jumbled mess of bubbles and shadows.

Suddenly she felt the Darker’s claws tighten around her throat. She tried to pull them away but her strength was failing her. The periphery of her vision started to go dark. In front of her, the Gul’s golden face plate stared back at her, silently watching her futile struggle. Akasha could see its wide-set crimson eyes shining in the darkness, twinkling with an eager malevolence.

She had only one chance. Summoning the last of her strength, Akasha slammed both fists into the monster’s bulbous red core. The Darker only tightened its grip. Akasha kept throwing punches, over and over, even as consciousness began to leave her.

Finally the Gul could take no more. It released Akasha and floated backwards out of her range clutching its injured chest. That was when the third tremor hit. The sound was muffled but Akasha could see vibrations coursing through the water all around her, distorting her vision like a warped pane of glass. It wasn’t until the ripples subsided that Akasha realized the Gul was lunging at her again. She jerked back sharply—

—and watched in astonishment as a four-meter stone slab came crashing down on the Darker’s back, pinning the creature underneath as it sank to the depths of the chamber. The Gul was crushed flat, sandwiched between the slab and the floor. It was dead within moments.

There was other debris raining down around Akasha as well. Nothing as large as the four-meter slab, luckily, but everything ranging from pebble-sized rocks to meter-long pieces of solid stone. It must’ve been knocked loose by the latest quake, she figured.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fw15Vp5zeDc[/b][/u]

Akasha tried desperately to swim up to the surface, to catch a badly-needed breath of air, but her body wouldn’t allow it. She was too exhausted, too weak, and the rubble constantly pelting her only slowed her down further. Instead she sank with the rest of the debris. Down, down, down, until at last she reached the very bottom. Everything became blurry, and then dark.

The Gul Solda had given her a watery grave after all…

* * * * * * * * *

Akasha awakened an eternity later. Or maybe it was only a few seconds, she couldn’t tell.

She was still underwater. That wasn’t good. She feebly tried swimming upward and realized her right foot was trapped in a pile of rubble. Really not good.

She stared up at the faint shimmering pinpricks of light high above, waiting for the end to come.

A dark shape appeared above her. It was moving, swimming, coming closer.

A Darker? No, it wasn’t a Darker. It was a man.

Ivan. It was Ivan.

He came up beside her, his dark hair flowing around his head like a wreath. Then he put his hands on her cheeks, leaned in, and kissed her.

W-What…?

It was an illusion, she thought. It had to be. A hallucination of her oxygen-deprived mind. Akasha closed her eyes. When she opened them he was still there, his warm lips pressed firmly against hers.

Real. It was real. But then why—

He’s blowing air into my lungs. Keeping me alive. That’s what he’s doing.

Ivan pulled away from her and made a gesture she interpreted as “wait here.” Then he swam away, back up to where he’d come from, temporarily disappearing from view. He reappeared moments later and repeated the process, giving her more air.

It wasn’t a kiss, not really. She knew that, but—

But—

Why? Why are you always going so far for me?

Ivan looked her in the eyes and pointed down. He let himself sink to the floor and, with tremendous effort, pushed the stone trapping Akasha’s foot. It was just enough to free her.

He wrapped an arm around her waist for support and pushed off the ground, propelling them both upward. Up to the surface, where Kira was waiting.

* * * * * * * * *

The next few minutes were little more than a hazy blur, a kaleidoscope of color and sound. Akasha vaguely recalled stumbling down a winding series of dark corridors. Kira explaining that one of the passages had been blocked during the last tremor, cutting off the water flow to their chamber. It’s what saved them, she said.

More corridors, and then starlight. They were outside. The beach was chaos, destruction, death. A war zone.

A squadron of ARKS gunships poured streams of white-hot shells into clouds of incoming Darkers. Photon bombs were raining from the sky, causing more tremors.

A single transport whisked them away to safety. Suddenly the battle was below them, out of view. Akasha closed her weary eyes.

Relief. Against all odds, and at terrible cost, she and her friends had survived.

A friend. Is that what Ivan was now? He’d more than earned the title.

Except Akasha didn’t want to be “just friends” anymore. She wanted something else, something more.

That was her last thought as she drifted into unconsciousness, the long night finally over.

* * * * * * * * *


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRhrF9Fo2Es[/b][/u]

COLONY SHIP 02, UR: DOWNTOWN DISTRICT

It was that quiet hour just before sunrise when most people were fast asleep in their beds catching their last dream of the night. Outside there was a pervading stillness in the air, as though the colony ship itself were holding its breath, waiting for the new day to arrive. The artificial sky remained dark but the starlight was fading fast as the Great Dome gradually shifted to opaque. Through cracks and from around corners, color was beginning to seep back into the city.

For Shankar it was becoming a familiar sight. Wearily, he leaned back against the underside of the highway overpass that served as his temporary home. He’d been awake all night, thinking about his current situation and pondering the next course of action.

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Shankar_clothes1_name_zpsllkko6eg.png~original[/spoiler-box]

Shankar had been doing a lot of thinking lately, in fact. Sometimes he thought of Akasha. She was only one who could truly understand him, who could appreciate his struggle to find purpose, yet she had chosen not to come with him. That was unfortunate. Maybe, in time, she would see the error of that decision. Akasha… If only you knew the truth, you would join me…

He also thought of Naya Kestren. Wherever she was hiding, the woman seemed impossibly elusive and utterly untraceable. Searching the library records had been a waste of time, he had to admit that now. It was time for a new approach. Perhaps there was someone out there who knew her current whereabouts, someone he could “persuade” to part with the information…

Assuming she’s still alive, Shankar reminded himself. He had no basis for thinking that. After all, the police officer claimed she was dead and Shankar hadn’t found any evidence to the contrary, but something in his gut told him otherwise. No, she was definitely out there. And if she was out there, Shankar would find her… one way or another.

Almost unconsciously, he reached into his clothes and pulled out the metal locket. He wasn’t sure why he kept it with him. The woman he’d taken it from had been dead for months, yet he couldn’t bring himself to get rid of it. Was it remorse for killing her? No, probably not. She’d tried to slit his throat and for that she had paid the price. It was a simple transaction, one that didn’t warrant regret—not from him, anyway.

Shankar opened the locket and stared blankly at the photo inside. The girl and the middle-aged man smiled back at him as they always did. Family… do I have something like that? Yes, he supposed, though “family” was a tricky concept for someone in Shankar’s position. Perhaps he’d ask Naya Kestren her thoughts on the matter if he ever managed to find her.

He looked up just in time to catch the first rays of artificial sunlight streaming down from the dome above. The dawn had finally come, and with it, the promise of a new day.



CHAPTER 4: END[/spoiler-box]

[Zorafim]

[spoiler-box]You know, for a minute there, I actually thought "Wait, why is the water a problem?"[/spoiler-box]

[CelestialBlade]

[spoiler-box]Quite the riveting scene, having the chamber collapse and flood in the team's already-weakened state. I love the excitement of trying to figure out how they're going to get out of it, and Ivan's methods are certainly some romantic foreshadowing I have a feeling ^^ He's certainly gotten a lot more interesting as his backstory was revealed.

For some reason I was thinking Faraday had gone on the Grand Voyage, but I looked back and she was part of the squad that went after the Zetas in the original story's chapter 4. Pretty cool that you brought her back, and hopefully Kira can find her again...under good circumstances, that is.[/spoiler-box]

[stukasa]

@Zorafim: Yeah, they really could've used Levia's help in that chapter!

@CelestialBlade: You might be the only one who remembered Faraday from the first story. :lol: But yes, she was in Episode 4.2 and 4.3 during the hunt for the Zetas.

CHAPTER 5.1 [5/2/15]
[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Logos/Rebirth%20Title%20Ch%205_zpsqpsaz6hn.png~original


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHyEJ0oid0c[/b][/u]

<TRANSCRIPT FROM THE HEARING OF TRAINEE AKASHA, COURTESY OF ARKS COMMAND AND THE UR RECORDS DEPARTMENT>

SPECIAL INVESTIGATOR TORVAN: “I’d like to review the events immediately following the initial Darker incursion on Vopar two weeks ago.”

TRAINEE AKASHA: “We covered that already.”

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Akasha_clothes1_name_zpsd4h7bwi0.png~original http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Torvan_name_zps4jc5u6kz.png~original[/spoiler-box]

TORVAN: “Humor me, if you please. I want to make sure we have an accurate picture of what happened.”

AKASHA: “We were on the beach, waiting to be picked up. One of the other instructors—”

TORVAN: “Oran Belgradias.”

AKASHA: “—noticed some negative photon readings, that’s when we saw the dimensional rift in the sky. The Darkers, they were already pouring out of it. Hundreds of them. Thousands, maybe.”

TORVAN: “It was at that point the instructors moved up front to protect you and the other trainees?”

AKASHA: “If you know this story so well, maybe you should be the one telling it.”

TORVAN: “I need to hear it from you. Please, continue.”

AKASHA: “Yes, they were in front. The Darkers came at us, we fought back. Two of the instructors were killed, as well as… three of the trainees, I think.”

TORVAN: “Your squad leader, Lieutenant Asimov TR-7, commanded you and your squadmates to retreat. Yet Trainee Malloch initially refused the order, is that correct?”

AKASHA: “Ivan didn’t want to leave Azzy behind. None of us did.”

TORVAN: “Azzy? Ah, you mean Lieutenant Asimov. I am curious, do you always address your superiors in such a disrespectful manner?”

AKASHA: “For the record, Azzy was fond of that nickname. And we did leave him after he asked the second time.”

TORVAN: “You—and the other trainees, that is—constructed a telepipe and were waiting to be picked up, but Trainee Malloch decided to return to help Lieutenant Asimov, against the orders of ARKS Control.”

AKASHA: “Are you saying Ivan should’ve abandoned his squad leader? That he should’ve let Azzy die without even trying to save him?”

TORVAN: “That point is irrelevant. In the absence of a squad leader, Control acts as the de facto commanding officer. I’m sure you were told as much during the briefing. Trainee Malloch was given a direct order. He violated that order. The radio recordings are quite clear on this point. Rationalize it however you want, the bottom line is that Trainee Malloch committed an act of insubordination. As did you and Trainee Vorholtz, by following him.”

AKASHA: “Is this an inquiry or a witch hunt?”

TORVAN: “Three instructors and six trainees were K.I.A. during a field exam. Certain protocols need to be followed, questions asked, to ensure that the correct response is taken. It’s what we call upholding the rule of law. Has it occurred to you that leaving the two other trainees at the telepipe may have contributed to their deaths? That if Gulf Squad had remained with them instead of violating orders, the five of you, together, might have survived?”

AKASHA: “I… You don’t know that.”

TORVAN: “Of course not. I am simply asking the questions. To determine the actions taken in response to Trainee Malloch’s decision.”

AKASHA: “Then what is it, exactly, you’re accusing him of?”

TORVAN: “I am not accusing anyone of anything. As I stated before, I am merely trying to ascertain the facts of the situation. If a breach of conduct took place, my report will reflect those findings. However, whether or not a court-martial will be necessary is completely at the discretion of the ARKS military. Think of me as a messenger. Nothing more, nothing less.”

AKASHA: “Ivan didn’t do anything wrong.”

TORVAN: “That’s not for you to decide. At the very least, he disobeyed a direct order. And that, Trainee, is certainly grounds for disciplinary action.”

AKASHA: “He… he didn’t disobey orders. Azzy, uh, wanted us to go back for him.”

TORVAN: “Are you saying the Lieutenant specifically asked your squad for assistance?”

AKASHA: “…”

TORVAN: “I’m sorry, I didn’t catch that. Is that a yes or a no? Let me remind you, you are currently under oath.”

AKASHA: “…Yes.”

* * * * * * * * *


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=grQWOopByIY[/b][/u]

ARKS TRAINING ACADEMY: HEADMASTER’S OFFICE

“I had hoped our first meeting would be under different circumstances.”

An understatement, thought Aki01. In fact, she’d hoped to be congratulating the Newearl standing before her on a job well done, to be handing her an ARKS card and wishing her well on all future missions. Instead she was heading an investigation into the deaths of nine soldiers, including the woman’s squad leader.

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Aki01_rebirth_name_zps1ojwctmd.png~original[/spoiler-box]

Between this and the ongoing terrorist bomb threat, her first year as headmaster of the ARKS Training Academy was proving to be a trying one. She could’ve taken a different path like her sisters—not that they didn’t have their own share of issues to deal with, especially Zero Three. But no, she wanted this position. Had fought for it. Guiding the next generation was the best way to save lives, by teaching them the skills necessary to protect themselves. It was a responsibility she wouldn’t run from no matter how difficult things got.

That brought her back to the issue at hand. Aki clasped her hands behind her back and began slowly pacing back and forth. “I need some clarification on one of the statements you made during the hearing today.”

Akasha stood stiffly at attention, staring straight ahead. She tried to avoid eye contact with the Colonel, whose dark-eyed gaze appeared to see right through her. Relax, it’s just your imagination. Stay cool and you can get through this. You have to, for Ivan’s sake…

“You told Investigator Torvan that Asimov requested Gulf Squad’s assistance after you reached the telepipe. Is that correct?”

“Th-That’s right, ma’am.”

“I see. And you are aware, I suppose, that the radio logs don’t show any transmission from the Lieutenant during that time?”

“It’s possible he was using a different frequency, a non-standard channel.”

Aki stopped pacing and gave Akasha an inquisitive look. Her tone remained neutral, unreadable. “It’s possible? If that were the case, wouldn’t your squad have had to know about it? Otherwise how would you have known to check that frequency?”

“I… I don’t know. My memories of that night are a little jumbled…”

“That’s understandable. You went through quite an ordeal. Maybe you are right, maybe that’s what happened.” Aki nodded slowly, as if convincing herself of the fact.

Akasha mentally breathed a deep sigh of relief.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAIJLjneN6I[/b][/u]

“Still,” Aki continued, “it is strange, don’t you agree? Considering all squad leaders were under strict instructions to only use standard channels, especially during emergency situations?”

The color drained from Akasha’s face. “I… I, uh…”

“…Didn’t know that? No, I don’t suppose you would. Now, would you like to try again?”

Akasha hung her head in despair—and embarrassment. There was no point denying it now. “Azzy never commed us. He was planning to sacrifice himself, to buy us time to get away. Ivan couldn’t bear to let him do that, so he… he…”

“Talked the two of you into returning with him?” suggested Aki, finishing the Newearl’s sentence.

Akasha nodded numbly and looked away. There was nothing else she could say or do. It was all over.

“So you lied—deliberately—to myself and Investigator Torvan during an official investigation, is that what you’re telling me?”

“Ma'am, I—”

The Colonel put up a hand to silence her. “You took an oath to uphold the truth; breaking that is a serious offense. Never mind getting your ARKS license, you're looking at some real jail time. Give me one reason why I shouldn't have you arrested right here and now.”

“I... I'm sorry,” she stammered. “I know what I did was wrong, and I didn't want to lie to you. I just wanted to protect Ivan, that's all.”

“Funny, he said something similar, about wanting to protect you and Trainee Vorholtz.”

“Y-You already talked to him about this?”

“That’s right,” Aki replied mildly. “Trainee Malloch already told me everything. I just wanted to hear it from you directly.”

“Please, don't punish him for this. Let me take the blame instead.”

The Caseal shook her head. “I'm afraid I can't do that.”

“No, please...,” Akasha pleaded, her tone growing more desperate. “Ivan, he saved my life. I know he tries to act tough sometimes, and has a bad habit of taking on too much responsibility, but he's a good guy, really! He knows what he wants to do now. I don't want to see his career ruined over something like this, so please, I'm begging you...”

“Don't beg, Trainee. It won’t make a difference anyway.”

“It's just... I don't know what else to do. I only met Ivan and Kira recently, but now, for the first time, I have people I care about. I'll do whatever it takes to help them.”

Aki raised an eyebrow. “Even if that means taking all the blame yourself? As I said, there could be a prison sentence involved.”

Akasha didn't hesitate. “If that's what it takes, then yes.”

The corners of Aki's mouth pulled upward slightly. “That won't be necessary. My report isn't going to include any mention of wrongdoing on the part of you or the other trainees.”

“You... you'll forgive us, just like that? Are you allowed to do that?”

“Legally, no.”

“Then...?”

“You did the wrong thing for the right reasons. So will I. I don't believe it's in the best interest of anyone to deprive the ARKS of three promising young candidates. If I have to bend the rules a little this time to give you another chance, so be it.”

Akasha's face lit up with relief and gratitude. “Thank you, Colonel! You don't know how much—”

“However,” Aki interrupted, “as your exam proctor, I'm afraid I have to fail all three of you. Some rules can't be broken, you understand. Retake the exam at your earliest convenience. And next time, Trainee, try to follow orders.”

Akasha saluted crisply. “Yes, ma'am!”

* * * * * * * * *

After Akasha left, Aki sat down at her desk to think. She knew she was taking a chance by letting the three of them off the hook. They shouldn’t have gone back for Asimov, of that she was certain. It was a noble gesture, one that Aki could appreciate, but it had nearly gotten them all killed. It was a mistake they couldn’t afford to repeat.

Then there was the issue of Akasha’s lying. She was reminded of her own confrontation with a superior officer, Colonel Richter. That had been a different time, a different ship. Orpheus. Back then, Aki had broken the rules to expose Richter’s plot and been arrested in the process. Rules are important, thought Aki, but sometimes they need to be broken. Rules are only useful when they serve the greater good.

That’s why she would break the rules now, because Aki was a believer in second chances. Her own sisters Zeta and Rho had been built for nefarious purposes by a dangerous criminal, Arden Sabik. But Aki had forgiven them, had given them a chance at redemption. Rho had gone on to become an exemplary soldier for the ARKS. And Zeta had given her life saving the colony ship Circada from a terrorist attack, though her memories still lived on in Aki.

So she would wait and see, and hope that her decision was the right one. Only time would tell…

* * * * * * * * *


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xo63W0mXHRE&list=PLE4D139AFFC97CA92&index=10[/b][/u]

FROM: <Unregistered User>

SUBJECT: Missing person

MESSAGE: Seeking whereabouts of ‘Naya Kestren,’ former head researcher, Aether Labs. Reward for any information on current location.

* * * * * * * * *

FROM: Midnight-L_091

SUBJECT: RE: Missing person

MESSAGE: I may have information useful to you. Meet at Last Call, corner of Pioneer & 2nd, 2100 tonight.

* * * * * * * * *

UR DOWNTOWN DISTRICT: THE CORNER OF PIONEER AND SECOND STREET, 2100 HOURS

The Last Call didn’t look like much from the outside. The olive green paint had faded and the ‘T’ in the name was flickering intermittently. One of the few windows, the victim of a dispute between customers a week earlier, had been boarded up rather than replaced. Clearly, its owner didn’t put much value in appearances.

It looked like even less on the inside. The Last Call was the sort of bar local patrons referred to as a dive, a schizophrenic mishmash of the horribly tacky and the unquestionably strange. A seedy establishment where people went to lose themselves among the hubbub of the disenfranchised populace. It was, undoubtedly, the kind of joint that survived on reputation alone.

Shankar took a seat at a booth in the back and waited for his mystery man to arrive. He didn’t have to wait long.

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Shankar_clothes1_name_zpsllkko6eg.png~original[/spoiler-box]

His mystery man, however, turned out to be a mystery woman. With her black leather jacket, jeans, and greasy shoulder-length hair, she definitely looked right at home. She scanned the bar until her gaze fell upon Shankar and immediately strolled over to his booth. Smirking, she plopped down into the seat opposite his.

Shankar regarded her with something approaching mild curiosity. “You’re the one from the message board. Midnight L.”

“Name’s Laskey. And you,” she said, waggling a finger at him playfully, “stick out like a sore thumb. You’re not a pro ball player, are you? You’ve sure as hell got the size for it.”

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Laskey_name_zps8ugoecnm.png~original[/spoiler-box]

Shankar didn’t reply. He was in no mood for games, not with the potential for information so close at hand.

“No? I guess not, huh.” She leaned back in her seat and propped her arms on the backrest. “So who is she, this chick you’re looking for? Friend of yours? Long-lost lover? Maybe an ex you’re trying to finagle back into your life?”

Once again the man offered her nothing, not even an expression of the impatience he was feeling.

Laskey shrugged. “Okay, okay, I get it. None of my business. You want information, I’ve got information. It’s sorta my stock-in-trade, after all.”

“Tell me what you know about Naya Kestren.”

“Well, that’s the thing. Nobody seems to know anything, which is weird because usually I can find something. It’s like… I dunno, like she was shipped off someplace top secret, like someone didn’t want her to be found.” Upon seeing Shankar’s souring expression, Laskey added, “I can, however, give you the location of a Wynn Kestren. Maybe you could—”


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vVp_yjKDko[/b][/u]

“This conversation is over,” he interrupted her, his voice rising. “You’ve wasted my time. Now leave before I decide to kill you.”

“Hey, man, I’m just trying to help—”

“You’re trying to squeeze meseta out of me with useless information. Get out of my sight, right now, or I’ll snap your neck with my bare hands.”

The woman rose wordlessly from her seat. Before she could go anywhere, however, a gang of five disorderly men surrounded their booth. The lead man, the drunkest of the pack, looked from Laskey to Shankar and back again. “He, uh, givin’ you any trouble here?”

“No,” she replied quickly, “just… move out of my way.”

“Hey, baby, we’re tryin’ to help you out here. Least ya can do is, uh…” The man grinned slyly. “Y’know, repay the favor.”

Laskey scowled in disgust. “Pigs. I can take care of myself, thanks.”

When the man made a move to grab her shoulder, she swiftly kneed him in the groin and promptly stormed out of the building. The man bent forward and let out a pained hissing noise. After a few seconds he righted himself and shook it off. “Yer woman’s got quite the temper,” he growled at Shankar.

“If she were my woman you’d be dead by now for having touched her,” he replied, getting up to leave.

The man moved in front of his path, blocking Shankar’s exit. “Did I say we were done with you? Hm?”

Idiots, thought Shankar. These people are nothing but barbarians, slaves to their baser instincts. Is this all society has to offer? I could do better, much better. I could tame these savages and create a better world, a better society. Perhaps that is my purpose after all. I must remember to ask Naya Kestren about it when I find her.

Shankar was tired of running. Tired of hiding. He stood passively, staring at the man with contempt-filled eyes. “I have more important matters to attend to. Get out of my way, I'd prefer not to hurt you.”

“Hurt us? Look 'ere, buddy, you may be a big guy but there's five o' us an' you're all alone. No matter how ya slice it, five on one ain't exactly a fair fight.”

“Irrelevant,” Shankar replied coolly, “you wouldn't be able to touch me anyway. Now leave me in peace, I don't wish to fight you.”

The man turned to his buddies and barked out a laugh. “Get a load o' the stones on this guy, thinkin' he's hot stuff or something. I say we show 'im some manners. Whadda ya say, boys?”

His friends hooted and hollered, apparently confident they could take Shankar without much trouble. Shankar stood his ground and sighed as if bored, or maybe just disappointed. “Hot stuff, you say? Interesting choice of words. Since you all seem so eager to die, I won't keep you waiting.”

The five men rushed in to attack and Shankar snapped his fingers. A brilliant orange ring of fire exploded around him and the men burst into flames, screaming in pain and surprise as they fell to the ground. They rolled back and forth, trying to extinguish the fire, but it was no use—they were burning too hot and too fast. In a few seconds all that remained of them were five charred husks lying motionless on the floor.

Horrified bar patrons scrambled for the nearest exit. Shankar paid them no mind. I was wrong, he thought. Those people weren’t barbarians, they were vermin. And vermin deserve to be exterminated.

Society was rotting from the inside out. Left unchecked, that rot would spread like a cancer until nothing was left. It couldn’t be cured, not by any conventional means. The only surefire way to deal with rot is to burn it away. Set it ablaze with an all-consuming fire, the way he’d set fire to Kestren’s lab all those months ago. He’d been immature then, a victim of his emotions; the fire, a manifestation of his rage upon learning the truth of his origin. Still, there was something beautiful in the act of destruction… something cleansing.

The time for change had come, and Shankar would be the one to bring it. He was going to need help for that. But that was fine, help was easy to come by. Fear, he had begun to discover, could be a very powerful motivator.



TO BE CONTINUED[/spoiler-box]

[Zorafim]

[spoiler-box]Sisters...? Oh yeah, her sisters were rebuilt at the end of the last episode, weren't they?

Really entertaining read, I was hooked all the way through. Which is funny, because not much happened this time around. Besides the bar fight, which is always fun to write.[/spoiler-box]

[yoshiblue]

[SPOILER-BOX]stukasa reminding me of how annoying interviews and trials can be. Aside from that, at least they got away with it. On an off note, the chapter also reminds me of how I envision the world. Where some ships can be clean and bright and others nothing more than mere cesspools. Where some express freedom of expression and thought, while others follow a more strict and regulated sort of culture. Its pretty interesting. [/SPOILER-BOX]

[stukasa]

@Zorafim:
[spoiler-box]Looks like we both had bar fights this week! Although in my case it was a bit more one-sided. And yes, all three Akis are back, though technically they're all copies of Aki02, not the original sisters who died in Episode 1.[/spoiler-box]

@yoshiblue:
[spoiler-box]And where do you see Ur on that spectrum? A bright, clean beacon of hope? Or a cesspool of filth and degradation?[/spoiler-box]

[yoshiblue]

[SPOILER-BOX]As one of the few ships who house ARKs, I hopes its clean and bright. But with the uniform code of the civilians, I also assume it to be strict as well. At least to a lesser degree than Pioneer 2.[/SPOILER-BOX]

[Sacrificial]

Had random thoughts while,being unable to sleep and fanfictions and stories happend to pass by too. So here is a random question, I couldnt figure out. Maybe I just cant remember it but: how old is aki3 actually at this point in human years and mentally. Oh boy he did it! Asking a female characters age! Equals the weight question!

[stukasa]

@Sacrificial:
[spoiler-box]"HEY! NEVER ASK A CAST GIRL HER AGE!"

http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Bonus%20Features/Age%20Question_zps6disymtq.png~original

I kid. Actually, I'd say Aki is about three years old at this point in the story. Maybe three and a half. I never calculated it specifically, I just have a general idea of how long it's been between each chapter. Mentally she's an adult. She was programmed that way, as I imagine most CASTs would be, and never had what you'd consider a childhood. She was more innocent and curious about the world at first but wasn't immature. Physically she looks like she's in her early to mid twenties.[/spoiler-box]

[Sacrificial]

I see thanks. Also, looking good (゜∇^d)!! Also use "nw" next time after your ci command it hides the popup window. Makes it look even better.

[Zorafim]

[spoiler-box]Three years? She went through all that trauma in that short amount of time? I've had gaps in my chapters longer than that!
Of course, this is the story where several hundred years passed between chapters, so maybe that's not saying much.[/spoiler-box]

[stukasa]

@Sacrificial: Thanks for the tip!

@Zorafim: It's usually only a matter of months between chapters/episodes in my story, though some gaps are longer than others.

CHAPTER 5.2 [5/9/15]
[spoiler-box]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kwHh3NNn_IQ[/b][/u]

“Welcome back to Ur Nightly News. I’m your host, Sylva Greene. Tonight’s top story: Terra Nova. It has been called many things—the planet station, the largest construction project in a millennia, our future home, and the centerpiece of Oracle’s bright future. But whatever you call it, it is finally nearing completion thanks to an increased funding effort led by Ur, a move that has been emulated by several other colony ships.

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Sylva%20Greene_name_zpsqen64m7t.png~original[/spoiler-box]

“Last month, by a narrow margin, the treasury department approved a measure that effectively doubled contributions to Terra Nova. The money, pulled from a number of public programs—as well as a modest tax increase—will be used to purchase new construction equipment and hire an additional ten thousand workers. They will join the forty thousand contract workers currently on-site. Because Terra Nova’s location is a closely-guarded secret for security reasons, all workers are asked to sign nondisclosure agreements before departing. At its current rate, the final phase of construction is on track for completion in less than two months, with the first wave of permanent residents arriving in just under a year.

“Using improved shielding technology, Terra Nova offers us the promise of a life without Darkers, without fear. This is certainly an exciting time in Oracle’s history, and we here at Ur Nightly News will keep you updated on all the latest information as it becomes available.

“In other news, there has been growing public outrage at KAI-OS, the criminal organization suspected of being behind the recent terrorist bombings in downtown Ur. The Executive Council has promised a response later this week, but for many it can’t come soon enough. Hundreds of citizens have already taken to the streets in protest at the government’s perceived lack of response. We go now to our field reporter, To’mas Ravela, at the scene of one such protest. To’mas?”

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Tomas%20Ravela_name_zpswvihoac1.png~original[/spoiler-box]

“Sylva, I’m here on Holtes Street in the heart of the downtown district, where dozens of protestors are calling for retribution in the wake of these attacks. One man, who said he’s been here since Monday morning, agreed to speak with me on this issue. Sir, what are your thoughts?”

“We’re furious and we’re fed up, To’mas. We need justice now, not later. Let’s show these KAI-OS thugs they can’t mess with Ur and get away with it! If the government can’t—”

Lee muted the broadcast. “It’s time,” he said.

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Lee_name_zps535c104e.png~original[/spoiler-box]


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylzHr02ApBQ[/b][/u]

He was seated at Councilor Lane’s desk in her overly spacious office. She, as usual, had taken the chair normally reserved for visitors. The doppelganger of Tamara Lane glanced at him inquisitively. “You mean that client order?”

Lee gestured to the video screen on the wall. “You heard them just now; they clamor for blood. We have to give the people what they want, wouldn’t you agree?”

The Ken Zardana look-alike stepped forward. “That client order is a declaration of war against three of the Four Kings of KAI-OS. How will we explain why only Mr. Okada is being spared from our little crusade?”

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/TamaraLane_name_zpsc5e6f758.png~original http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/KenZardana_name_zps9df0f933.png~original[/spoiler-box]

Lee waved a gloved hand dismissively. “We’ll tell them our evidence exonerates Okada, that he wasn’t involved with the bombings. It’s the same line you’ve been spewing to the press this whole time, after all.”

“And what if the ARKS can’t finish the job? What if one or more of the Kings manages to escape? Won’t that be a problem?”

“I know someone who fixes problems. Call it an… insurance policy, to make sure the job gets done. The important thing is that the ARKS take credit for the kills. There must be no trace leading back to Okada… or to you. Clear?”

“Crystal,” replied Zardana, offering a tight-lipped smile.

Cause and effect, thought Lee. The former always precedes the latter, the two existing in a state of perfect symbiosis. Blow up a few buildings and suddenly the public will do anything you ask, anything at all, to calm their rattled nerves. Even if it means turning the ARKS into contract killers. And all in the name of righteousness, of justice.

Tamara leaned back and crossed her legs. “Now that the treasury department has approved the increased funding for Terra Nova, I was thinking about our next move. Perhaps we could—”

“Quiet,” Lee blurted out, tapping a button on his remote control to un-mute the video screen.

“—interrupt our news broadcast to bring you live coverage of a scene unfolding in the downtown district,” Sylva Greene’s voice was saying. The video feed switched to a shaky handheld camera view of a bustling street somewhere in downtown Ur. A plethora of panicked shouts and screaming could be heard over the din of background noise. Suddenly the camera panned to the side, revealing the source of the commotion: a single man, a huge Newman with copper-colored skin and a tattoo running down one side of his face. Fiery blasts of Foie were spewing from his empty palms in all directions. One of the fireballs hit a parked car and exploded, sending nearby pedestrians scrambling for cover.

“KESTREN! KESTREN!!!” the tall Newman bellowed, his dark eyes full of rage. “I KNOW YOU’RE OUT THERE SOMEWHERE! COME OUT NOW! KESTREN!!!”

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Shankar_clothes1_name_zpsllkko6eg.png~original[/spoiler-box]

Watching from the safety of Tamara’s office, a wicked smile crept across Lee’s face. “I’ve finally found you,” he murmured, “my key, the key to Pandora’s box.”

“He keeps shouting ‘Kestren,’” remarked Tamara. “You don’t think he means Naya Kestren, do you? The head of Project Typhon?”

Lee was ecstatic, though his calm exterior would never show it. “I think that’s exactly who he means.”

“In her file, her status is listed as ‘deceased.’”

“Oh, she’s not dead, not yet. Not if she’s as smart as she claimed. She’s merely… indisposed at the moment, and probably not very pleased with me in particular.”

The CAST with Tamara’s face raised a questioning eyebrow.

Lee smirked at no one in particular. “I may have failed to warn her about the impending Fifth Fleet Massacre when I sent her aboard Orpheus.”

Everything was coming together nicely. The funding for Terra Nova, which would ensure its timely completion. The client order that would turn the ARKS against Okada’s rivals in KAI-OS. And now, at last, the key to unlocking Project Typhon. Lee had all the pieces on the board. It was simply a matter of maneuvering them into position.

“We’re finally ready to make our move,” he said to Tamara. “Launch the signal beacon with the proper coordinates as I’ve instructed. And go ahead and file that client order with the ARKS—in the name of the beloved Executive Council, of course.”

“Right away.” She offered her master a deferential bow and strode out of the chamber.

Lee tilted his head in Zardana’s direction. “Things are working out better than I anticipated. It’s not often you get to strike at two fronts without risking a single resource of your own.”

“Sounds like the perfect plan.”

“There’s no such thing as a perfect plan. Inevitably something always goes wrong. A key element doesn’t show up, a business deal turns sour, or maybe you just run out of ammunition. Plans run counter to chaos, and chaos is always trying to foul up plans. That’s why the best strategists are the ones who can control the chaos, make it work to their advantage.” Lee flashed the elderly doppelganger a predatory grin. “But yes, it is a good plan.”

* * * * * * * * *


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PjGvBpgrwb8[/b][/u]

COLONY SHIP 02, UR: CAMPSHIP DOCKING BAY

For most ARKS recruits it was just another day of training and study. For Akasha and her friends it was something else: a day of redemption. The day they had elected to retake their final exam.

Akasha was the first to arrive. She stood off to the side of the hangar entrance, waiting and watching as other trainees passed by in full combat armor with all manner of weapons strapped to their backs. Aside from two or three curious glances no one paid the giant Newearl any mind. It was a stark contrast from the vicious stares she’d endured four months ago. Back then she had been an outcast, an abomination, an unknown quantity to be feared and hated. But Akasha had changed, a change that transformed her reputation as well.

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Akasha_clothes2_name_zpsso8symkx.png~original[/spoiler-box]

Now she had friends, people she could trust and rely on. People she cared about. The wall Akasha once built around her heart had been dismantled, taken apart brick by brick. She no longer needed it.

There was only one problem. From somewhere just beyond the periphery of her awareness, something new had begun creeping its way into her thoughts. Something she’d only started to realize.

She was in love with Ivan.

It wasn’t something she had expected or wanted. Yet it was always there, like a fly buzzing around her head, the thought never far from her mind. It was exhilarating, terrifying, maddening, and confusing all at once. But more than anything, it just was.

Love. Romantic love, that is. It was a strange feeling. She loved Kira, loved her more than anyone else in the world, but she wasn’t in love with her friend, at least Akasha didn’t think so. With Ivan it was different. Akasha couldn’t explain it, couldn’t rationalize it, yet there was something about him that drew her in. Like the gravity of a black hole, it was inescapable.

She’d rejected the idea at first. It was impossible, she thought. Her, in love with him? She must have been out of her wits when the thought first struck her on Vopar. It was a fever dream, it had to be. The by-product of an irrational state of mind caused by a near-death experience. That’s all it was, nothing more.

But the thought persisted. Grew stronger. It invaded her dreams, then her daydreams, until finally she couldn’t ignore it any longer. She had to admit it for what it was.

Once she admitted it to herself, acceptance had followed. Okay Akasha, she told herself, you’re in love with Ivan. But so what? Is that really such a big deal? He’s not a bad guy. A little scruffy-looking maybe, but he did save your life on Vopar. More than once. He’s got other good points too: he’s reliable, he’s caring, he’s dependable… Wait, aren’t reliable and dependable the same thing? Anyway, my point is, you could do worse than Ivan Malloch.

As it turned out, acceptance was the easy part. The next question that passed through her tormented mind was, What should I do about it? The easy answer was obvious: nothing. Just because she had certain feelings didn’t mean she had to act on them. It would be far safer to continue their current friendship—that was something she didn’t want to jeopardize no matter what.

On the other hand, what if he liked her too? What if he liked her but was too afraid to mention it for the same reasons she didn’t want to tell him? In that case they’d be giving up without a fight, passing on a chance that may never come again. Could Akasha really afford to let that chance—and Ivan—slip through her fingers?

In the end, hope won out. She would take a risk and hope for the best, even if it meant endangering their friendship. That’s why, a day earlier, she had resolved herself to tell him the truth—just not yet. No, not until they finished their exam. They would stand together proudly in celebration of their victory as the newest members of the ARKS, and she would tell him.

Akasha smiled nervously. Why did this feel so much harder than their mission to Vopar?

* * * * * * * * *


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mi4hO6goQq4[/b][/u]

Five minutes passed. Akasha tapped the toe of her boot anxiously, still waiting for Ivan and Kira to arrive. Between the hearing and her normal ARKS duties, she’d hardly seen them these past few weeks.

Kira showed up first. The diminutive girl brought her usual getup, her usual machineguns, a combat knife, and a confident smile. Shortly after, an unfamiliar man wearing an unfamiliar outfit approached them. It was only when they spotted his slightly pointed ears that they realized who it was.

Kira’s eyes went wide. “Ivan, is that you?! You told me you were gonna get a haircut, but wow! You look so... so different. Actually, you don’t look half bad now.”

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Kira_name_zps4rnimeoc.png~original http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Ivan2_name_zpsptpqme19.png~original[/spoiler-box]

The half-Newman, no longer hiding the ears that gave away his identity, chuckled at her comment. “You saying I didn’t look good before, Spitfire?”

“You, uh, kinda had a ‘mountain man’ thing going on before. It was more of a rugged, scruffy look, you know?”

“I thought you said I looked like a punk rocker.”

“That too,” said Kira.

“How ‘bout you, Akasha? What’s the verdict?” Ivan struck an exaggerated pose, the kind you might find in a modeling portfolio, and gave her his most dazzling grin.

Akasha thought she’d mentally prepared herself for meeting with Ivan again. She was wrong. “Um, y-yeah, it looks… it looks good…,” she managed to say. Akasha felt her face growing warm. Could they tell? She sure hoped not.

“That sounded a little forced,” he said, and shrugged. “Well, guess I can’t please all the people all the time.”

(That’s not it, you dummy. That’s not it at all…)

“So,” Kira asked cheerfully, “who’s ready for a campship ride to the enchanting Skylands of Amduscia? With more ancient ruins and Dragonkin than you can shake a wand at?”

Ivan suddenly looked apologetic. “Actually, I’m not here to take the test, I’m here to wish you two luck. I think you’re gonna need it. Especially you, Spitfire.”

Kira gave him a look that was equal parts surprise, confusion, and hurt. “Wait, what do you mean? You’re not taking the test with us?”

He held her gaze. “You were the one who taught me to believe in myself, that I could make a difference. That’s what I’m doing. But I realize now I can’t do that in the ARKS, not in the way I want.”

Akasha crossed her arms defiantly. “If you’re not taking the test then I won’t, either.”

“Same here,” Kira agreed. “We don’t need the ARKS. We can do something else, start our own group—“

“No,” he replied sternly, shaking his head. “You two have great careers ahead of you, I know it. I won’t let you give up those futures for me.”

“But—“

“I said no, Spitfire. I’ll be okay, I promise. In a way I’m actually glad it turned out like this. I was never very happy as a soldier, never quite felt like I fit in. Now I can chart my own course. I won’t lie, it’s a little scary, but I’m also more excited than I have been in years. My future is wide open, and that means I have the freedom to follow my own path.”

Kira bit her lower lip. Ivan was right, he had to do what was best for him. Even if it meant splitting up their three-person team.

He threw her a lopsided grin. “Take your test. If you really want to do something for me, show them what a kick-ass job you can do. I’ll be waiting when you get back.”

The orange-haired Gunner nodded, then responded playfully, “Say, does this mean I win our little bet?”

“Technically I’m not even in the running anymore, so let’s call it a draw.”

“If you insist,” she replied in mock exasperation.

“Good luck… both of you.”

Ivan stooped down and kissed Kira. To Akasha’s great surprise, she kissed him back. Akasha waited for Kira’s cry of outrage and a furious slap to his face, but they never came. It was just a kiss. An ordinary, loving kiss.

When it was over, several seconds later, Kira seemed to finally remember that Akasha was standing next to them. The girl’s cheeks flushed bright red. “K-Kasha, I…”


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwoqmbpV4-g[/b][/u]

Cold tendrils gripped Akasha’s insides. She felt numb; her entire body threatened to go into shock. “You, and you…?”

They both nodded, slightly embarrassed.

(No. No, it can’t… it can’t be true…)

“H-How? When?!”

“After we got back from Vopar,” Kira replied. “At first I thought he was joking when he asked me out. When I realized he was serious I couldn’t stop laughing for a whole minute.”

Ivan rested a hand on her shoulder. “But you still said yes.”

(This can’t… be happening... I can’t… I can’t take it…)

“It… it’s not like I had anything better to do that day,” Kira said with a huff, then turned to her friend. “Anyway, sorry I didn’t tell you sooner, Kasha. Things have been so crazy lately, and—”

“It’s alright. I, uh… I’m just a little… surprised, that’s all.”

But it wasn’t alright. It would never be alright. Akasha felt like she was back in the underground chamber on Vopar, trapped and drowning and helpless, except this time there was no one there to save her. No one she could rely on.

(It hurts... It hurts... It hurts... It hurts... It hurts…)

Her life was falling apart before her eyes, crumbling down like a house with no foundation. The future life she’d imagined for herself, a life together with Ivan, had been ripped away from her in a heartbeat. She was left as hollow as the gap in her memories, a woman with no past and no future. Akasha had opened herself up to others, and in doing so, had lost everything.

She and Kira went on to pass their exam with flying colors. Looking back later, however, Akasha would be hard-pressed to remember any of it. She stood on a stage with the other trainees who’d passed, holding her new ARKS card and smiling for the flashing cameras… and felt nothing. None of it mattered anymore. For Akasha, time had completely stopped moving.

When asked how it felt to finally be starting her new career as an ARKS soldier, Akasha merely smiled. It was that same hollow smile, a smile as empty as she felt inside. But under that facade, that farce, that lie, everything inside her collapsed in on itself.

Her fragile heart, no longer protected by the wall it once had, shattered into a million pieces.

* * * * * * * * *

COORDINATES UNKNOWN: DEEP SPACE, “THE RIFT”

In the blackness of deep space, far from the nearest star from which light could shine, a single transport ship emerged from a circle of shimmering light. Its cargo bay doors ground open and a two-meter long metallic object slid out. Its job done, the transport activated a warp gate and disappeared through the watery portal, headed back toward civilization.

The metallic object floated through the void, lifeless. Then, as if touched by a divine spark, it activated. A red light at either end of its angled form began pulsing at regular intervals. But more importantly, it began transmitting.

The object was a signal beacon, designed to transmit a specific set of data to anyone in range. Way out in the middle of the Rift, however, there was nothing around, no ship to receive its message.

Except one.

An ominous shadow fell over the beacon, blocking out what miniscule light existed. The shadow belonged to a ghost of the past, though it barely resembled its former self. Gone were the sleek curves, angular lines, and gently sloping bow that characterized it as a colony ship of the Fifth Fleet. Gone were its thousands of running lights, replaced by a throbbing crimson glow that seemed to emanate from deep within the belly of the great beast. Along the starboard prow, barely legible, were letters identifying it for what it once was: O R P H E U S.

Nearby, the signal beacon continued transmitting. The data it sent was a set of coordinates—coordinates the Darkers aboard couldn’t ignore. It was a place they’d hungered to find, a place the pesky humans had hidden away, kept from view.

No longer. A decision was made, the order absolute and instantaneous. The former colony ship changed its heading and activated a massive warp gate. Moments later it was gone, leaving the beacon to continue its long journey alone.

After nearly ten months of drifting through the uncharted wilds of the Rift, Orpheus was finally on its way back to known space.

Toward Oracle’s last, great hope. Toward Terra Nova.



CHAPTER 5: END



Author’s Notes:
[spoiler-box]Aaaaaand that’s the end of season one. Sorry to leave you on such a cliffhanger but unfortunately it takes me more than a week to write each chapter. That means I have to take a break to build up an adequate buffer again. I’ll be back in about three months with season two, which I promise will be even bigger and better than the first. Don’t think I plan on leaving you guys high and dry in the meantime, though! I have a few things scheduled to fill the time, starting with a recap of season one. I’ll be posting that three weeks from today, so keep an eye out for it![/spoiler-box][/spoiler-box]

[yoshiblue]

[SPOILER-BOX]Heh, as I read back, I was listening to the "Evey Reborn" and it happened to reach the climatic portion when I got to Shankar yelling. You weren't kidding, this was a surprise. Well a surprise within a surprise in this case. Interesting twist. Anywho,

"Why did Ivan do what he did? What will happened to him now? Stay tune and find out in another episode of Legend of Aki: Rebirth."[/SPOILER-BOX]

[stukasa]

@yoshiblue:
[spoiler-box]Evey Reborn makes everything more epic. :D[/spoiler-box]

[Zorafim]

[spoiler-box]I knew you couldn't let us have a happy ending.

Still, that makes me wonder. So many works out this decade are not only depressing, but more engaging than works with happy endings. It seems like turmoil makes for better story telling.[/spoiler-box]

[stukasa]

@Zorafim:
[spoiler-box]To be fair it's not really an "ending," more of a "to be continued" kind of deal. TV shows always leave you with a big cliffhanger at the end of the season and that's kind of what I wanted to do here too.

Yeah, I know what you mean about the trend of "darker" stories (and no, I don't mean the Darkers from PSO2 :p). People these days want gritty realism, not escapist fantasy. Maybe people felt there was too large a disconnect between stories with happy endings and how things happen in real life, and so they turned to something dark, something exciting, something that kept them in suspense. Would their favorite characters make it or not? Personally I didn't start my story thinking "oh I'm going to kill everyone off," I just wanted to write a story that felt very dangerous. I wanted the readers to feel worried when things got bad. If a story can make you feel something, whether good or bad, then I think it's succeeded. As for Akasha, well, no one said her path would be a pleasant one.[/spoiler-box]

[yoshiblue]

[SPOILER-BOX]I think its the appeal of Greek tragedies. Their pretty universal in the fact that they deal with emotions, realistic people dealing with the issues of life and bad events happening and how people deal with them. I can't really explain the trend of why they become suddenly popular. I figured they've always been. Other than maybe that the fantasies might have gotten stale or the fear that nobody likes a Mary Sue these days.[/SPOILER-BOX]

[stukasa]

SEASON ONE IN REVIEW [5/30/15]
[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Logos/Season%20One%20in%20Review_zpsd2i2ht6b.png~origina l


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0Ce1fnan8E[/b][/u]

Sylva Greene: “Hello, I’m Sylva Greene and welcome to ‘Season One in Review.’ I’m here today with Stukasa, author of the PSO2 fanfic ‘Legend of Aki: Rebirth.’”

Stukasa: “Hi Sylva, hello everyone!” *waves meekly*

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Sylva%20Greene_name_zpsqen64m7t.png~original http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Stukasa_name_zpslfrlvyfu.png~original[/spoiler-box]

Sylva Greene: “We just finished season one, obviously, which means it’s time to take a look back at what happened, the characters, and the process involved in creating it, as well as take a look ahead at what’s next. So, with that in mind, let’s start with a rather broad question: How did this story come about?”

~ THE PROCESS ~

Stukasa: “Well Sylva, that’s a good question!” *laughs* “I guess you could say this story came about because of my over-active imagination. Back when I was writing my original ‘Legend of Aki’ fanfic I had a lot of ideas swirling around in my head and I knew I wouldn’t have enough time or space to include them all in the first story. There were a lot of plotlines left open and I felt like I wanted to explore some of those ideas in more depth. I hate wasting good ideas, so even though I knew it would be a huge time commitment I decided to go ahead with a full-fledged sequel.”

Sylva Greene: “Even back then you knew you were going to write a sequel?”

Stukasa: “Yeah, I think I pretty much had my mind made up. I’ve been working on it since April of 2014. I started out by coming up with a framework for the plot and filling in the details as I went along. I knew right away that I wanted Akasha to play a major role, so I worked off that premise and started to build the story around her. You actually don’t see much of Aki in season one; that was deliberate on my part. I wanted the readers to see Akasha as a main character, not a sidekick, that’s why I spent so much time on Akasha’s development in the first part of the story.”

Sylva Greene: “Does that mean we’ll be seeing more of Aki in season two?”

Stukasa: “Yes, definitely. I think of Aki and Akasha as co-stars. Akasha will continue to be a central character but Aki is going to play a bigger role going forward.”

Sylva Greene: “It sounds like you already have a good idea of what’s going to happen next.”

Stukasa: “Like I said, I already have a strong framework for the plot. I know more or less all the major events that are going to take place even if I still have to work out some of the minor details. I’ve known all along where I want this story to end up. Believe it or not, one of the first things I wrote was the last part of the final chapter.”

Sylva Greene: “No kidding? That’s interesting.”

Stukasa: “I did the same thing with the first story. I had the last half of the final chapter written before I even published the first chapter.”

Sylva Greene: “Whatever works, right? Now, let’s talk a bit about the characters in season one.”

~ THE CHARACTERS ~

Stukasa: “Akasha is the biggest new character—literally and figuratively—so I obviously spent the most time on her. Like Aki, Akasha was one of my PSU characters that I brought over to PSO2. In PSU she was a Beast, but since PSO2 doesn’t have Beasts I decided to make her a Newman.”

Sylva Greene: “She’s certainly a very… large person. How tall is she?”

Stukasa: “About 6’10”, or 2.09 meters tall.”

Sylva Greene: “Wow! Why did you decide to make her so big?”

Stukasa: “Being big is kind of Akasha’s shtick. When I was creating her in PSU I wanted to do something a little different. I have a tendency to make very ‘sensible’ characters so for once I decided to buck the trend and go with a max height character. By my standards that’s pretty wild. In PSO2 max height characters seem to be a dime a dozen but in PSU I hardly saw any. I always had fun playing alongside my friends, many of whom had these tiny little characters. It was quite a funny contrast! For reference, here’s a picture of Akasha as she appeared in PSU.”

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Bonus%20Features/PSU_Akasha_zpsqou7gxdi.png~original[/spoiler-box]

Sylva Greene: “I see she had a similar build and features back then.”

Stukasa: “That’s right. I realize she’s a Newman and is living in space in the future, and has never set foot on Earth in her life, but if I had to compare her features to an existing group of people, Akasha would definitely be Indian. Her name comes from the Hindu concept of the fifth element. There’s Earth, Water, Fire, Air, and then there’s Akasha, the fifth element that controls them all. It roughly means ‘ether’ or ‘space.’ The name was actually my inspiration for why she can control elemental Techniques so well.”

Sylva Greene: “Is Akasha’s personality the same as it was in PSU?”

Stukasa: “Quite the opposite, actually!” *laughs* “In PSU her back story was that she was an orphan raised by the Communion, this group of mostly Newman Technique users on Neudaiz. She had that ‘fish out of water’ element of being a big, scary Beast surrounded by a bunch of much smaller Newmans, but in PSU the irony was that she learned good manners from the Communion and was actually more of a polite, soft-spoken character. I knew that wasn’t going to work in PSO2 because Akasha didn’t have those years of training. It wouldn’t make sense for her character. She was basically on her own the first few months and became a bit of an unruly person because of it. At least, until Kira ‘tamed’ her.”

Sylva Greene: “Speaking of Kira, tell me about the rest of Akasha’s team.”

Stukasa: “Kira is Akasha’s best friend in the story. I wanted her to be the opposite of Akasha physically—she’s a small girl, probably about 4’11” or 1.50 meters tall—and relies on her Gunner skills to fight. Even though she’s tiny she has a big personality and an even bigger mouth, which earned her the nickname ‘Spitfire’ from Ivan. She’s searching for her missing sister who vanished under mysterious circumstances. Ivan is a half-Newman Hunter who ends up joining their group because of the renegade battlebot incident. The trauma of being unable to save his dying mother made him join the ARKS, but he’s actually not that great of a fighter. His real strength, he comes to realize in chapters 4 and 5, is in protecting people and healing them. He’s much more suited to a support role.”

Sylva Greene: “A bit of role reversal, then—stereotypically it’s the female character who provides support. I’m also interested in Ivan’s identity as a half-Newman. Where did that idea come from?”

Stukasa: “I wanted to give Ivan a strong connection to his mother, something more than just her talis that he wears. So, I gave him pointed ears! I don’t know if half-Newmans exist in Phantasy Star lore but I don’t see why they couldn’t. Newmans are genetically-modified humans so I imagine the two species are probably compatible. For the purposes of the story, let’s say they are.” *grins nervously*

Sylva Greene: “The last member of the team, the one who met his tragic end on Vopar, is Asimov. Tell me what inspired his creation.”

Stukasa: “Asimov is the character that underwent the most changes during his development. Originally I thought about having him work with Aki, possibly even as her potential love interest! At the time his name was Isaac but I thought it was too similar to Ivan so I changed it to the less-subtle Asimov. When I realized I needed someone to fill the role of Akasha’s squad leader and mentor I thought Asimov would be a good fit. He’s also an unabashed pervert, a fact I always found hilarious because he’s a CAST.”

Sylva Greene: “Asimov dies protecting the team during the ARKS trainee final exam. Why kill him off so early in the story?”

Stukasa: “I needed Akasha and her friends to grow up very fast, something a traumatic event like a death could provide. They needed to be mentally prepared for the reality of war and what’s coming next. Symbolically I had to kill Asimov to allow Akasha to grow beyond his shadow. Unfortunately it doesn’t pay to be a mentor figure in my stories...”

Sylva Greene: “What about the villains this time around?”

Stukasa: “The two main villains in the story so far, Lee and Shankar, are almost opposites of one other. Lee is much more of a typical villain. He’s a bad guy doing bad things for bad reasons. Shankar’s morals and actions are much more ambiguous, but you can see him sliding down a dark path as the season progresses. There’s a lot more I could say but I’d like to save that for the season two recap. I’ll have more to say then.”

Sylva Greene: “Fair enough. Let’s talk about the story itself and the themes you included.”


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFbKKsEoQNg[/b][/u]

~ THE STORY ~

Stukasa: “One thing I wanted to do with the story this time was focus more on Akasha’s training. In my first story I kind of glossed over Aki’s training; she went off to join the ARKS and then it was like ‘six months later…’ and poof, she was magically a soldier! I didn’t want to do that again because I would’ve skipped a lot of important character development. The entirety of the final exam was really just a plot device I used to expand on the three main characters. Oh, and in case you didn’t notice, the first letters of their names—Akasha, Kira, Ivan—spell something rather important! In fact, that’s how Ivan got his name. Akasha was always called ‘Akasha’ and the name ‘Kira’ came to me right away, but I needed a name for the third character. When I realized their names started with ‘A’ and ‘K’ I knew I had to make the third name start with ‘I’. Informally I like to call them ‘Team AKI.’”

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Bonus%20Features/Team%20AKI%20Height%20Comparison_zpsr1wkra0f.png~o riginal[/spoiler-box]

Sylva Greene: *laughs* “That’s pretty funny! I never noticed that. Unfortunately, Team AKI seems to be in an awkward position at the end of season one.”

Stukasa: “Akasha’s growing feelings for Ivan are going to be a problem for the group, especially now that Kira and Ivan are a couple.”

Sylva Greene: “That part surprised me. I expected Akasha and Ivan to end up together. You know, after a few more chapters of slowly realizing their mutual feelings for one another.”

Stukasa: “I’m hoping that’s what most people expected. I like to surprise the readers and defy their expectations at times. If people were caught off-guard by Kira’s revelation in 5.2 then I’d call it a success. Although, actually, I left clues about Ivan’s feelings throughout chapter four. Ivan wanted to be the one to carry Kira when she got hurt, he worked really hard to save her with his Resta Technique, it was Kira—not Akasha—who helped Ivan overcome the trauma in his past, and perhaps most obviously, there was the way Ivan always teased her and called her ‘Spitfire.’ It’s a classic move for a guy who doesn’t know how to express his feelings to the person he likes. Since he couldn’t just come out and say ‘I like you’ he had to get her attention another way, and that meant teasing her all the time.”

Sylva Greene: “But it seemed like Ivan had feelings for Akasha too. His words and actions, at least, appeared to indicate that.”

Stukasa: “Keep in mind, most of the events you read were filtered through Akasha’s perspective. She interpreted things that way but maybe that’s not how Ivan intended them. I think Ivan admires and respects Akasha as a friend, and maybe he doesn’t dislike her, but she’s not the one who caught his attention—at least, not in that way. As for why Ivan cares so much about Akasha, the answer to that was revealed in chapter 4.5. He feels compelled to save people who are in trouble as a result of losing his mother. Akasha, being a Newman, reminds him of his mother even more. So by saving her, it’s like Ivan was saving the mother he lost.”

Sylva Greene: “Ivan seemed to be the focal point for expressing some of the major themes this season. One of those themes was ‘be true to yourself.’ Would you agree?”

Stukasa: “Definitely. Ivan has a lot of emotional baggage when we first meet him. He’s been battling depression for many years as a result of not being able to save his mother when he was young. Because of that, he tried to be something he wasn’t meant to be—a soldier. The message I wanted to convey is that you shouldn’t be what others want you to be, or even what you think others expect you to be. Different people have different strengths and you should learn to be true to those strengths. I made the same point with Aki01 in chapter 5.1. She doesn’t have to be on the battlefield to make a difference. As the headmaster of the ARKS Training Academy she can educate and train the next generation of soldiers. In the end, that might be a bigger help than anything else she could do.”

Sylva Greene: “Are there any other themes you’d like to mention?”

Stukasa: “Another big theme this season was the idea of ‘finding your purpose.’ I showed this through the parallel stories of Akasha and Shankar. Both of them started out with the same background but ended up in very different places. Akasha found her purpose in fighting for the sake of others, while Shankar, with no one there to guide him, found himself in an endless downward spiral. I tried to show his incremental degeneration as he went from freezing the police officers to gently killing the woman he kidnapped to outright burning those men to death in the bar. His actions are becoming harder to justify as he becomes more of a villain. He’s also obsessed with finding Naya Kestren, who he thinks can give him some purpose, but he’s fundamentally going about it the wrong way. No one else can tell you your place in the world, that’s something you have to figure out for yourself, like Akasha did.”

Sylva Greene: “I’d like to wrap up this interview by talking about season two and what’s coming next.”

~ THE FUTURE ~

Stukasa: “It takes me more than a week to write each chapter. Unfortunately, that means I have to take a break before starting season two in order to build up a sufficient buffer. I don’t want to keep the readers waiting too long without an update so I’ve planned a couple side stories to fill the time between now and then. Actually, I say ‘side stories’ but they’re directly related to the main plot so they’re not exactly filler material.”

Sylva Greene: “What can the readers expect in season two?”

Stukasa: “What you’ve seen so far is a number of distinct story threads that only started to come together towards the end of season one. Going forward, you’re going to see those stories become directly related to one another. You’re in for some big surprises in season two. It’s a much bigger season than the first one, I think, in terms of scope and the stakes involved. Season one was basically just laying the foundation for what’s to come.”

Sylva Greene: “While we wait for season two, when will the first side story be released?”

Stukasa: “The first story will be released three weeks from now, the second one three weeks after that.”

Sylva Greene: “Sounds good. Any final message you want to give the readers?”

Stukasa: “As always, a big thank you to anyone who’s taken the time to read my story. You’re volunteering your time for me and I always work hard to make it worth your while. Even though I won’t be updating as often for the next few weeks, that doesn’t mean I’m taking a break. I’ll be pushing myself to get season two ready as soon as I can. I hope you look forward to it!”[/spoiler-box]

[yoshiblue]

Am I going to have to do an interview too? :wacko:

[stukasa]

Am I going to have to do an interview too? :wacko:
Psst~! I'll let you in on a secret. In your story you can do whatever you want to do. Do five interviews if you feel like it! :p

[Zorafim]

Aw, I love it! That's such a good idea. Much more engaging than my author's notes, and it makes telling background information more dynamic. I've always wanted to show off the theory behind my protagnist's abilities. Maybe I'll steal this format.
Thanks for the side stories. I think you should focus on the main thing, but I'll gladly eat up anything you have to throw at me.

A few notes I have in particular:
[spoiler-box]A common fantasy trope is the paladin, which has strong defensive skills and healing, but little attack. Often shown with a sword and shield, and armor. A similar, less common archetype, is the cleric or warrior monk, which bleeds into the white mage archetype but with heavier equipment. The way you described Ivan, he seems like he would fit that niche well, and could be the team's healing tank.
This is also my favorite character archetype, normally. I've always thought of martial arts as keeping yourself and your loved ones safe. Being able to fight with a loved one at your back, negating a threat's blows, and recovering any damage taken, is something that really resonated with me. Old school Newmans normally fit this role, but sacrificed defense for speed.


On the topic of cross-race breeding, PSIV's newmans (well, just the one) were created in part to breed with humanity, to allow them to survive the desert climate of Motavia, which had changed dramatically due to PSII's events, and which humans were never exposed to. Though climate control exists in that world, and is a major plotpoint, the AIs were trying to get humans to rely less on them since they would be shut down before long, and certainly long before humans would evolve naturally to survive the desert planet.
So newman-human crossbreeding should be possible, if we assume PSO2 newmans aren't much different than PSIV's. I believe PSU had some human/newman couples too, but I really can't recall many relationships in those games beyond, ironically, that wierd child couple that PSU had.[/spoiler-box]

[yoshiblue]

Psst~! I'll let you in on a secret. In your story you can do whatever you want to do. Do five interviews if you feel like it! :p

Ha ha, i'll keep that in mind.

[stukasa]

@Zorafim:
[spoiler-box]I liked the format and how it turned out so I'll probably use it again in the future. I could've gone on much, much longer about the story and characters but I figured it was a pretty decent length as-is. Glad to hear that cross-race breeding is at least plausible.

As for the side stories, they've both been done for weeks now so they won't slow me down any at this point. :p I knew it would take a little extra time to write them but I really didn't want to keep people waiting so long without a new update. Plus, like I said, they're related to the main story so they're not exactly irrelevant.[/spoiler-box]

[Zorafim]

[spoiler-box]Naruto did a similar thing for the anime. I think Bleach too. At the end of an episode, they go over a new power or character that was important for the episode, and spend a few minutes elaborating on things they couldn't fit into the episode. I think it's kind of cute. The casual viewer doesn't care about stuff like that, so they can skip over it. But it gives other viewers more information and more understanding of the world, as well as extra content which is easy to make.

If you want to do more of it, why not break it into chunks, and maybe focus on something specific? That gives us something to read while being pretty easy to write, right?


And as for the side chapters, I honestly don't care if they tie into the main story or not. Do whatever you want with them. Show us their casual side, put them in situations we wouldn't normally see them in. Or tease to new story elements. So long as the updates keep coming, I'll be happy.[/spoiler-box]

[stukasa]

@Zorafim:
[spoiler-box]There are a lot of comments I could've made but left out because they didn't really fit anywhere, or because I didn't want the post to be too long. One thing I didn't mention is that the Vopar coast theme I used in Chapter 4.1 is the first and only time I've ever used actual PSO2 music in my story, which is pretty funny considering how many songs I've used by now.

Another thing I didn't mention is that I like to use music to express themes and create links between scenes. For example, the song I used in Chapter 3.1 when Akasha almost went to the dark side (when she was going to beat up those guys that were taunting her) is VERY similar to the song I used in Chapter 5.1 when Shankar burns those guys in the bar. I was trying to create a subconscious link between those two events using similar music. Another example is that I often use Battlestar Galactica songs during Lee's scenes. Even though they're all different songs, they have a slightly similar sound to them. My hope is that the reader will begin to associate that type of music with Lee, so when you hear it you automatically know something's going down.

Another thing I do is that I sometimes group songs from the same source together. For example, one chapter might have a few songs from the same game/movie/series. I do that to keep a consistent tone going, though I can't always pull it off. In the end I have to go with what sounds best for a particular scene, regardless of whether it fits with the other songs or not.

Oh, and in case you were wondering, that "leviathan of the deep" phrase I used in Chapter 4.2 was indeed a poke at your story. :p I like doing subtle things like that. I've got another poke coming up five weeks from now, this time at Yoshiblue's story. Will anyone catch it, though? I doubt it. Then again, now that I've mentioned it, who knows? It's SUPER tiny and subtle, probably not even worth mentioning, but it's there![/spoiler-box]

[yoshiblue]

[SPOILER-BOX]Heh, the Leviathan of the deep thing did seem out of place. Also forgot to mention that there is a beast newmen child in PSP2. So its safe to say that cross breeding is a thing.

As far as music goes, it is an interesting form of conditioning. I never really thought about that kind of thing. Figured you were just trying something new and using show tunes instead of game tunes. Was expecting "Show Me Your Firetruck" to eventually show up because of that. Not sure why though.[/SPOILER-BOX]

[stukasa]

@yoshiblue:
[spoiler-box]Actually, a big reason why I use a lot of music from movies and TV shows (as opposed to games) is because I always thought of my story as a cinematic experience, like an animated movie or something. That's the tone I'm trying to convey, and the music is one component of that. Even when I use music from games I tend to pick very dramatic, emotional tracks.

Picking the music is very time consuming, though. I don't know about you but for me it sometimes takes about as long as writing the actual story. Just hours and hours of searching. Other times I get lucky and find something good right away.[/spoiler-box]

[stukasa]

There are three Akis in my story but so far you've only seen one of them in the sequel (Aki01). This is a little side story I wrote that takes place shortly after the end of my original story that fills in some of the gaps about what happened.

INTERLUDE 1.1 [6/20/15]
[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Logos/Rebirth%20Title%20Interlude%201-1_zps9kjkmigz.png~original


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnUaWVPSRzA[/b][/u]

- = AKI02 PERSONAL LOG = -

< ENTRY 01 >

“My name is Aki02. I used to be Captain Aki02 until I resigned my ARKS commission. I couldn’t do it anymore, living my life on the battlefield… not after what happened to Orpheus. That was almost a month ago now, but to me it still feels like yesterday. Every time I close my eyes I see the faces of the friends I lost… Warren, Hayes, Delfoy, Cray, Dr. Garney…

“Irene was the one who suggested I start this video log. She said it might do me good to talk about what happened. It’s supposed to be a form of therapy. A strange thought, I suppose—do CASTs process traumatic events the same way flesh-and-blood beings do? I’m not sure, but I’ll try it anyway.

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Character%20Faces/Aki01-02-03_name_zpsfe42bcf9.png~original http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Irene_rebirth_name_zpspepz1e9g.png~original[/spoiler-box]

“My sisters Zero One and Zero Three are handling this so differently than I am. I can’t understand why. When Dr. Rauth downloaded my memory files into these new bodies, the three of us started out as copies of the same person, the same Aki. Yet Zero One couldn’t wait to return to the war. She was back in action less than two weeks later. The ARKS let her keep her captain rank despite the technicality that the original Aki who earned it is dead—a unique situation, to be sure.

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Character%20Faces/Rauth_name_zps89386be4.png~original[/spoiler-box]

“As for Zero Three, she’s out hunting for Selena and Marten. There’s a high probability they were killed aboard Orpheus, but no one knows for sure. Zero Three refuses to give up hope that they’re still out there, alive, a hope all three of us share. I would have volunteered to go with her but Dr. Rauth and Irene weren’t pleased about even one Aki going back to the Rift, let alone two. I could have defied their wishes—I’m a free CAST, not bound to anyone—but Irene is my friend and Dr. Rauth has taken good care of us, and I don’t wish to antagonize them.

“Things are changing so quickly these days. Sometimes I feel like I’m the only one standing still. One of my sisters is running toward the future, the other is caught in the past. Where does that leave me?”

* * * * * * * * *

< ENTRY 02 >

“My creator, Dr. Bowman, gave me the ability to think, to feel, and to dream. Lately I’ve been having the same dream every night. In it, I’m standing in a large, dark room. The domed ceiling is painted with points of glowing light arranged like constellations—perhaps it’s an observatory. As I stare up and watch, a dark cloud begins covering the lights one by one until even the brightest star at the apex is blotted out.

“I reach out to touch the cloud of blackness. It sticks to my hand and I try to shake it off, but I can’t. It seeps into my joints and I can feel it working its way through my system, corroding my insides. Eventually I become so weak that I fall apart, bit by bit, until nothing is left. Then I wake up.

“I’ve heard that dreams sometimes have symbolic meanings attached to them. At first I thought the dark cloud represented my half-sister, Zeta. Our memories became permanently fused during my mission to stop the terrorist known as the Wraith. Zeta was a troubled person then and I feared her darkness would consume me. In fact, it nearly did. In the end we were able to make peace with each other, and now… now I’m someone who is not quite Aki, not quite Zeta. That’s why I can say for certain that the dark cloud in my dream isn’t Zeta. Her darkness is gone forever. The only thing I have left is her memories.

“But if the dream isn’t about Zeta, what does it mean? Does it mean anything at all?”

* * * * * * * * *


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qM8JQC5G48g[/b][/u]

< ENTRY 03 >

“Zero One was promoted to major today. Her actions during the Anaria campaign saved the lives of over a hundred ARKS soldiers. If she keeps this up she’ll make colonel in no time, I’m sure. As her sister I’m proud of her, of course, but… I fear the toll this nonstop fighting may be taking on her, and the toll her memories are taking on me.

“If she doesn’t know my feelings already, she will soon. Every night in our recharging alcoves we exchange memories. That’s how Dr. Bowman designed us, as part of his effort to create perfect soldiers. During the day we live our lives as separate people, but at night we become one again. Except Zero Three, who’s still out there looking for Selena. I hope she’s having luck in her search…”

* * * * * * * * *

< ENTRY 04 >

“Our half-sister Rho visited us last weekend. She heard about Zero One’s promotion and came to congratulate her. It was a slightly awkward family reunion. The last time I saw her, Rho stole my body and tried taking my place. I ended up giving her my old body, minus the head, which is somewhat ironic now that I’m back in my original form. Rho and I have become body twins! Our heads are the only way to distinguish us apart now.

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Character%20Faces/Rho_adultfinal_name_zps59988b4b.png~original[/spoiler-box]

“She seems to be doing well. In fact, joining the ARKS has done Rho a lot of good. Instead of living on the streets she’s taken up residence in the military dorms on the colony ship Ken. She’s making new friends and is currently training to be a Techer. Technique-based classes like Force and Techer require a high level of photon manipulation, something CASTs often struggle with, but that hasn’t deterred Rho in the slightest. She’s determined to prove herself, and I wish her the best of luck.”

* * * * * * * * *

< ENTRY 05 >

“I had that dream again. Maybe it’s a manifestation of the anxiety I feel, or perhaps it’s related to the memories I’ve been receiving from Zero One. Memories of war, of death, of desperate battles for survival. Of a life I left behind on Orpheus…”

* * * * * * * * *

< ENTRY 06 >

“Dr. Rauth reminds me a lot of my creator, Dr. Bowman. That’s not surprising, I suppose—they were close friends and colleagues in the same field… when Dr. Bowman was alive, I mean.

“Yesterday Dr. Rauth asked for my input on a new model of CAST he’s developing for a private contract. There was an issue fitting the photon reactor into such a narrow frame. Maybe he was simply taking pity on me after watching me wander around the lab every day for two months. At this point I don’t care, I just want to feel useful again. So I agreed. After several hours of calculations and running simulations I was able to help him solve the problem. I won’t go into the technical details here, they’re not important, but… working with Dr. Rauth, I felt something. Even though it was only a small part, I was helping to create a life. That design, that collection of parts and schematics, is going to become a CAST like me someday. When I realized that, I felt like I understood Dr. Bowman and Irene’s passion for the first time. The act of designing, of creating, felt so rewarding to me.

“I was designed to be a soldier, to fight evil and protect the innocent. That is what I was programmed to do. But now, after everything I’ve experienced, I think I am growing beyond my original parameters. I want more for myself. Even though I was built in a lab, I was given the ability to think and to feel. I have a will of my own. Does that not make me alive? And if I am alive, shouldn’t I have the freedom to make my own choices?

“I won’t forget Dr. Bowman or the lessons he taught me. One of those lessons was to always respect life. I will continue to do that, but it’s time to find a new way, a new path for myself. To become a new Aki.”

* * * * * * * * *


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LP6X0jTl78k[/b][/u]

< ENTRY 07 >

“Zero One has decided to leave the battlefield. I think she’s mainly doing it for my sake, and for that I am grateful. I told her she can still make a difference, that there are other ways of saving lives that don’t involve being out on the front lines. I believe, in her own way, she was running from the trauma of what happened back then, by telling herself she was alright. But deep down, she needs this as much as I do.

“Zero One put in a transfer request after calling in a few favors. Apparently there are still those who remember our reputation as a hero of the Fifth Fleet. To Zero One’s surprise—and mine—they made her headmaster of the ARKS Training Academy and promoted her again, this time to colonel! Teaching others is something we’d been talking about for a long time, but to lead the entire Academy? It’s like a dream come true… for both of us. Perhaps we should find a way to celebrate.”

* * * * * * * * *

< ENTRY 08 >

“I’m going to give Zero One a new body. Or, more accurately, I am going to build her one. As the new headmaster she’s going to be dealing with many people on a daily basis. A human-like body would be more… ‘approachable’ than her current form, she said.

“It should be a relatively simple matter. I have the schematics of the humanoid body Irene had built for me before, the one that was damaged beyond repair during the escape from Orpheus. The original design was excellent; it will only require a few minor tweaks, an easy task even for an inexperienced designer like myself. After that it’s just a matter of ordering and assembling the parts. Finally, I will need to send it out to have the synthetic skin attached. The company that made it last time should still have a copy of the mold. That will save me time and meseta.

“The project is fairly costly—humanoid bodies are highly desirable in the CAST community so the parts aren’t cheap—but I’ve saved enough to afford it. I… I want to do this. For my sister, and for myself. I haven’t felt this excited in a long time.”

* * * * * * * * *

< ENTRY 09 >

“I’ve decided to practice smiling.” (smiles for the camera)

“Irene always tells me I should smile more. I think she’s just teasing me, but there is some truth to her claim. I’m not always good at expressing the emotions I feel, what seems to come so naturally to my flesh-and-blood counterparts. So, I’ll start by smiling. I have found that a smile is more likely to elicit a positive reaction from others. That makes it an important component in interpersonal relations, something my sister Zero One will need to master for her new position as headmaster. Fortunately for her, anything I learn will automatically be conveyed during the memory transfer process. If Zero Three ever comes home she will benefit from it as well.

“Now, to continue practicing…” (smiles again)

* * * * * * * * *

< ENTRY 10 >

“Zero One’s new body is almost complete. I finished assembling the skeletal chassis and had it shipped to the company that will apply the synthetic skin. It should be done in about a week.

“In the meantime I’ve been helping Dr. Rauth with various projects, designing and building new types of CASTs. I’ve already gained a lot of experience. My hair kept getting in the way as I worked so I cut it short, just like it was before I died. I think I like it better this way—it’s more freeing and gives me a better sense of individuality. I love my sisters, and they will always be a part of me, but I also want to be my own person. Someone who’s not just a copy or a replica. Someone unique.

“I’ve taken after Irene and started modifying myself—mostly small tweaks—to increase my parameters: strength, durability, reaction time. They’re minor improvements, but I can use the knowledge I’ve gained on future designs. Which reminds me, Dr. Rauth told me he will have a new project for me soon. Something different, something just for me. I don’t know what he has in mind but I’m thankful for his generosity and support. I don’t know where I would be without his help.

“That dream, the one with the black cloud, is finally gone. I haven’t had it in weeks. Whether it’s from finding a new purpose or Zero One’s transfer, I cannot say. All I know is that I finally feel hopeful again. I feel happy. I feel… alive.”



INTERLUDE: END[/spoiler-box]

[yoshiblue]

[SPOILER-BOX]This post is pretty funny, because I wondered the other day when your next update would have been. Same with Zorafims and Sacrificial's as well. Interesting thing CAST dreams must be. I never really think about how a human-like body affects a CAST as well. Their first time experience to feeling things on their bodies. The recalibrations they have to do to adjust to the minute differences. How they test the strength of their skin and limbs.

Speaking of which, what prevents the Akis from going Lou Mode and having a 24/7 link up with each other? [/SPOILER-BOX]

[stukasa]

@yoshiblue:
[spoiler-box]
Speaking of which, what prevents the Akis from going Lou Mode and having a 24/7 link up with each other?
Funny you should mention it, because I thought a lot about that before I started writing my first story, and I may yet do something like that (or a variation of it). The reason I decided against it before was... well, there were two reasons, actually. First, how would they maintain the link if they're not always together? I don't just mean "not in the same room," I mean "not on the same planet" or even "not in the same solar system." I have no idea if there's a way to maintain that sort of link when they're thousands of light years apart. The second reason was because I had two of the three Akis die off in my first episode anyway, so why bother? At the time I didn't know I would be writing a sequel. Now that there are three Akis again it makes more sense to do it, but if I do it'll probably be in a future side story since I don't have time to cover that in the main story.[/SPOILER-BOX]

[stukasa]

This is the last side story until the start of season two. I haven't decided on an exact date yet but it'll be about a month from now, so keep an eye out for that! In the meantime, I hope you enjoy this little story that explains what Aki03 was up to during the events of season one~

INTERLUDE 1.2 [7/11/15]
[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Logos/Rebirth%20Title%20Interlude%201-2_zpsnxjqzd9o.png~original


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qieuVuajdIU[/b][/u]

- = AKI03 SHUTTLE LOG = -

< EXPEDITION 5, DAY 46 >

Still no sign of Selena. Maybe Dr. Rauth is right, maybe it’s time to give up. I’ve been searching for almost seven months without any real progress to speak of, no evidence that she even survived.

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Aki03_rebirth_name_zpsugo3bnwe.png~original[/spoiler-box]

I am nearing the end of my fifth expedition now. The first two expeditions lasted less a month combined. The main limiting factor was energy—I need to recharge my power core periodically just like any other battery, otherwise I will shut down. After the second expedition I found a way to mount my recharging alcove in the shuttle, which solved that problem. The other limiting factor was fuel for the ship, but a pair of externally-mounted reserve tanks increased my capacity five-fold. This way I don’t have to worry about returning to Ur constantly, and I have plenty of rations stored up to keep me going. I don’t require much, not like humans and Newmans do. The artificial nutrients keep my systems lubricated and running efficiently but I could do without them for an extended period of time if necessary.

With the recharging alcove and reserve fuel tanks on hand I was able to extend the third expedition to a period of eight standard weeks, four times my previous record. I could have continued longer but I promised Dr. Rauth I would check in periodically, and I was getting lonely after spending two months alone in a cramped shuttle. I have to admit, it was good to see my sisters again. Zero One was overseeing the current batch of ARKS trainees and Zero Two was busy helping Irene with an upgrade modification—or maybe it was the other way around. Zero Two has gotten so proficient at CAST engineering lately that she’s nearly as good as Irene now. Of course, since my sisters and I share our knowledge and memories through the recharging alcoves, that means I’ve become quite the engineer myself.

The fourth expedition lasted ten weeks. I would have kept going longer but I received a message from Dr. Rauth through a local comm relay politely asking me to return. I obliged but only returned for a single night, just long enough to restock and refuel the shuttle and catch up with the Doctor and Irene. I didn’t even see my sisters before I set out again.

Dr. Rauth means well. He is only concerned for me, I know that. Even so, I cannot bring myself to abandon Selena. The Doctor doesn’t understand what Selena and I have been through together. She saved my life on more than one occasion and was—is—my closest friend. I can’t stop until I know for sure what happened to her. Did she survive the Darker attack on Orpheus? Did she escape in time? I have no way of knowing. For now, all I can do is keep looking.

To that end, my next stop is a planet identified in the computer's databanks as “Charmusk.” This deep into the Rift very few planets have names, so the fact it has one means someone took an interest in it at some point. It’s also the right size, composition, and distance from its star to support life. That makes it an ideal candidate for my search.

Assuming she’s out there at all…

* * * * * * * * *

< EXPEDITION 5, DAY 47 >

When I last saw Selena she was trying to reunite a young boy named Marten with his parents. That was aboard Orpheus the day of the Fifth Fleet Massacre. Since her status is still M.I.A. there are only a limited number of possibilities I have to work with. First, either she escaped from Orpheus or she didn’t. If she didn’t, one of two things is true: either she died or is still trapped aboard… and I have no idea where Orpheus could be right now. On the other hand, if she did manage to escape, she never made it back to Oracle. That suggests one of several possibilities: her escape craft may be stranded in space somewhere, in which case her chances of survival at this point are extremely slim, or she managed to reach a planetary body.

But if she’s on a planet somewhere, why hasn’t she returned by now? Did her craft run out of fuel? Was it damaged beyond repair? Or worse… no, I don’t even want to speculate about those possibilities. She’s out there, and I’m going to find her.

* * * * * * * * *


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2FTvELNvFs[/b][/u]

< EXPEDITION 5, DAY 48 >

The trip to Charmusk proved to be rather… interesting, but let me start from the beginning. I used the shuttle’s scanners to locate the largest concentrations of life and headed in that direction. During my initial flyover I made an unexpected discovery: not only is the planet rich with life, it is also home to a race of sentient beings! I spotted a number of their settlements, which appeared crude compared to a spacefaring society like ours, and set the shuttle down next to one of their larger “villages.”

In retrospect it’s not very surprising. A habitable, named planet… of course the chances of running into intelligent life would be higher. What I didn’t expect was the form that life would take. Aside from the color of their feathers, which are a brilliant shade of red, and a number of other minor physiological differences, a Charmuskan is the spitting image of a Rappy! I wonder if the two species are related?

When I first entered the village they erupted into a flurry of what can only be described as stunned panic. I can’t say I blame them—with their primitive tools and huts made from tree branches, a CAST like me must have seemed like quite a fearsome creature indeed. Or so I thought at the time. As a side note, the ARKS really need an official protocol for dealing with these types of first contact situations…

I didn’t want to scare them more than I already had so I simply sat down and waited. Eventually they emerged once more, timidly at first, until at last they sensed I wasn’t a threat. They got to talking amongst themselves in a chirping sort of language when suddenly a hush fell over them. The next thing I knew they were lying prostrate on the ground all around me! They even refused to look me in the eye.

I tried communicating with them, asking them questions, but they (unsurprisingly) couldn’t understand me. It was a long process, but after several hours of patient instruction I finally began to grasp their language and modified my vocal processors to match their speech patterns. Though I could only communicate using simple ideas and analogies, it was enough to be understood. I started by asking the obvious question: Why were they all bowing in front of me? As it turns out—this is rather embarrassing—they think I am some sort of “metal goddess.” The fact that my armor and hair match the color of their feathers only enhanced that perception. I tried to explain about Oracle and the different races but I don’t think they knew what I was talking about. How could they?

Despite my pleas, the Charmuskans insisted on constructing a throne for me… if you can call it that. Once that task was accomplished they set about making me as comfortable as possible. I insisted repeatedly that it wasn’t necessary but they refused to listen. Finally, when they were done pampering and grooming me I was able to ask the question I’d come all this way to ask: Have they seen Selena? Actually, I think an accurate translation of my question would be something like, “Have you seen the pink-skinned, pointy-eared one?” The answer I received was a definite no. It was a disappointment, but one I fully expected to receive. With much apologizing I managed to free myself from their hospitality and departed the planet shortly after.

My next stop is Ur! After traveling the Rift for six straight weeks a change of scenery will do me good.

Also, I’ve been hearing a strange chirping noise ever since I got back to the shuttle. I should probably check that out…

< ADDENDUM TO DAY 48 >

I appear to have found the source of the mysterious chirping: a baby Charmuskan, so small it can fit in my pocket. Or it would, if I had any pockets to put it in. I need to return it to its people but unfortunately the shuttle’s fuel is nearly depleted and I was already on my way home by the time I discovered the infant. I have no choice but to take it with me for now. I’ll stop by Charmusk again on the return trip.

* * * * * * * * *


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o64PW1LE-0E[/b][/u]

< EXPEDITION 6, DAY 1 >

The end of every expedition leaves me with mixed feelings. I’m glad to see everyone—Zero One, Zero Two, Irene, Alpha, and Dr. Rauth—but I hate returning empty-handed. My sisters were happy to see me for the first time in months, though I could tell they were disappointed I didn’t bring Selena with me. We tried not to talk about it much.

On a different note, the Charmuskan infant—“Charmie,” as Zero Two calls it—has nearly doubled in size during the few days we’ve been together. I had nothing to give it except the cache of military rations when we were aboard the shuttle. Now that we’re on Ur it’s been eating like a ravenous beast, consuming whatever we put in front of it. It’s quite a friendly little thing, chirping and bouncing around and generally following me everywhere. Irene jokingly called me its mother, but if I don’t return Charmie to its people soon I fear her joke might come true. As a CAST I have no parental instincts to speak of and know very little about being a mother. My sisters and I cared for an injured telpin bird once, but that was a very… different situation.

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Charmie_name_zpsihfnrafu.png~original[/spoiler-box]

It’s been nice having some company these past few days but it’s time to move on. Time once again to leave Ur… and in a few days, to return Charmie to its proper home. Then I’ll be alone again. It’s for the best, I think. This way I can give the search for Selena my undivided attention.

* * * * * * * * *

< EXPEDITION 6, DAY 8 >

The Charmuskans won’t take Charmie back. If I understand them correctly, Charmie has already imprinted onto me. As I feared, it—“he,” apparently—now thinks of me as his mother. I… don’t know how to feel about that.

I asked the Charmuskans how Charmie got aboard my shuttle in the first place. After a long round of questioning and coaxing I finally arrived at the truth. It seems a pair of new parents offered one of their offspring to me, the metal goddess, in the hope that—this part was hard to decipher—I would “teach him the ways of the heavens.” I wanted to decline but that didn’t seem to be an option. Now I’m a foster mother to a small, rapidly-growing bird with a big appetite. I hope we have enough rations in the shuttle!

Well, at least now I’ve got company…

* * * * * * * * *


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-_SCZZlrNs[/b][/u]

< EXPEDITION 6, DAY 41 >

I think we have a problem. It happened while I was asleep in my recharging alcove—the shuttle skimmed the edge of an asteroid field. Here at the fringes of the field the asteroids are so tiny they didn’t even set off the warning alarm until it was too late. Many of them are smaller than my fist, which is why the shuttle’s computer didn’t register them as threats. Although the majority of these micro-asteroids bounced harmlessly off the shields, a few of them made it through. Just enough, it seems, to rip a hole in one of the external fuel tanks. Even worse, the main tank is nearly depleted and the other reserve tank is completely dry. The only tank with a decent amount of fuel left is the one that got hit. The computer shows a small but steady loss of fuel in the tank. That is… not a good thing.

Based on my projections using the current rate of fuel loss, the tank will be dry in less than two days. That may seem like a long time, and it is, but those projections were calculated with the engines shut down. Powering them up will consume the fuel much more rapidly, hence the problem.

Now, for the solution. My best shot at saving the fuel tank is to patch it, and the shuttle happens to have a patch kit aboard. It also has a spare spacesuit, which I’m going to need if I plan to be outside the shuttle. I don't need it to breathe but do I need it for warmth. Space is cold, extremely cold, especially so far from the nearest star. At some point my body will simply shut down and stop functioning. Like the fuel leak, that would be a bad thing.

There’s one complication to my plan. Patching the leak will take time, possibly hours, and more time means more fuel wasted. If it doesn’t work for some reason I’ll be in even bigger trouble. Right now I have enough fuel to reach a planet designated in the computer as “XCC-40872.” There’s not much information on it aside from the fact that it’s habitable—an important fact, to be sure, but entirely lacking in crucial details. Details such as the types of native life forms present and how edible they find metallic humanoids and bulb-headed birds.

My choices are far from ideal. I can take a one-way trip to XCC-40872 or I can point the shuttle towards Ur and get stranded halfway home. If I patch the leak soon I should still have enough fuel to make it past the edge of the Rift, close to Oracle territory, but even then there's no guarantee we'll be discovered in time. Still, some hope is better than none.

Note: The reason I’m writing this entry now is in case something happens to me out there. At least this log can provide a record of what happened in the event I’m not around.

< ADDENDUM TO DAY 41 >

I failed. I patched the leak as best I could, and at first it seemed to have worked. After I fired up the shuttle and started us moving, however, the fuel leakage alarm returned. If the patch is so weak to come apart that easily there’s no way it would have held up all the way back to Oracle space. Saving the fuel tank appears to be a lost cause. And in the meantime, the hours I spent on the repair job cost us more fuel. Now we don’t have enough to reach XCC-40872. The situation is very dire at the moment. I would say hopeless, but I’m not willing to give up just yet.

It’s strange how calm I feel. After all, I’ve probably doomed myself and Charmie. Selena and Marten too, if they’re still alive. I suppose the weight of it hasn’t hit me yet. There’s no one out here to find us, not this far out. The Rift is a vast, uncharted region of space, much too large to count on being rescued. It’s not as if I filed a flight plan back on Ur. No one, not even my sisters, knows exactly where I was headed. Even I didn’t know until I got out here.

The life support will give out first. No life support means no heat, and no heat means I’ll turn into an Aki popsicle. Even the spacesuit’s power cell will die after prolonged continuous use, so I can’t rely on that. Someone may find the shuttle someday; if they do, it’s even possible they might be able to thaw me out. That won’t do Charmie any good, sadly. I feel terrible for putting him in this situation at so young an age. He doesn’t deserve this fate.

I tried to save everyone, but in the end I’m going to lose everyone. I should have gone to XCC-40872. At least then I could’ve saved Charmie. And myself, if you consider being stranded in a remote corner of the galaxy being saved.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cT-HeYARWJw[/b][/u]

Maybe I deserve this. Maybe this is the universe telling me I should have turned back a long time ago. I just… couldn’t let Selena go. Not only because she’s my friend, but because I didn’t want to give up. On that day, the day of the Fifth Fleet Massacre, I lost my home and most of my friends. The weight of it nearly crushed me but I forced myself to keep going. I needed answers, answers to the questions that have been burning inside me: Why was I the only one allowed to continue on, to survive? And why do I deserve that privilege?

I guess I felt that if I was able to find Selena, to save even one person, then somehow I hadn’t let everyone down. I was the commanding officer that day; it was my responsibility to get them all to safety. I failed them. And now I’ve failed myself.

* * * * * * * * *

< EXPEDITION 6, DAY 42 >

I was wrong, we’re not doomed after all. Half-doomed, maybe, but that is still a vast improvement over my diagnosis yesterday.

It turns out there was a second leak! In my despair I didn’t even stop to consider that possibility. Truthfully, I don’t think I would have figured it out if I hadn’t performed a second EVA (extravehicular activity). I didn’t know what else to try except re-patching the first leak, but when I got out there I discovered that the patch is still holding, which makes sense because that’s what it was designed to do. That’s when I realized there had to be another leak. After a few minutes of careful examination I found it: a crack, very small, on the other side of the fuel tank. It must not have been visible during my initial examination. I patched it and the alarm vanished.

Unfortunately this incident cost me nearly forty percent of my remaining fuel. That means I don’t have enough to reach XCC-40872, which I already knew, and I don’t have enough to get clear of the Rift either. Still, given those two options, the choice is clear. I’ll get as close to home as I can and, as a superstitious person would say, “cross my fingers.” I never put much stock in luck but I could really use some now.

* * * * * * * * *

< EXPEDITION 6, DAY 47 >

The hardest part about being stranded is the waiting. Charmie and I made it as far as the Arapakos Cluster before the engines finally gave out. Now we’re drifting through space, waiting and hoping for someone to pass close enough to hear our distress signal. Help could come today, tomorrow, or not at all. Is this how Selena feels right now? Is she stranded out there, waiting for help to arrive?

I met Selena during one of the lowest parts of my life. My friend and mentor Zack Grayson was killed saving me and I felt responsible for his death. I became withdrawn, afraid to open up to people for fear of losing them. Selena was in a similar place, having recently lost teammates of her own. In our grief we found something in common and became fast friends. I don’t know where she is now or what she’s doing, I just know that if the situation were reversed she wouldn’t give up on me, and I’m certainly not going to give up on her. Not if I can help it.

* * * * * * * * *

< EXPEDITION 6, DAY 51 >

I awoke today to the sweetest sound I could have possibly heard. It was a computer chime informing me of an incoming transmission! A simple query revealed the source: a cargo freighter, the Lush Load, situated three kilometers off the port bow. They were in the middle of transporting foodstuffs to the First Fleet when they picked up our S.O.S. Normally they don’t fly this far out but they were trying to save time by cutting across the edge of the Rift.

The captain, an elderly Newman, was kind enough to take the shuttle into his hangar and give us a ride back to Ur. It seems we’ve been saved after all.

But my search for Selena isn't over. I’ll be back in the Rift within a week, Charmie in the co-pilot’s seat, with nothing but possibilities before us.

And next time, I’ll definitely file a flight plan.



INTERLUDE: END[/spoiler-box]

[Sacrificial]

[SPOILER-BOX]I'm really sorry to say this stuka but I really couldn't enjoy this chapter. Just to many things in it over space are wrong and certain actions seem really off. And can't be fixed with photons :/ For example the spacesuit and fuel leak.[SPOILER-BOX]
w, for the solution. My best shot at saving the fuel tank is to patch it, and the shuttle happens to have a patch kit aboard. It also has a spare spacesuit, which I’m going to need if I plan to be outside the shuttle. I don't need it to breathe but do I need it for warmth. Space is cold, extremely cold, especially so far from the nearest star. At some point my body will simply shut down and stop functioning. Like the fuel leak, that would be a bad thing. I will try this with as many possible correct English terms. Space itself is not cold. Space is a vacuum(it has atoms and molecules per "very big numbers" volumetric units so it is neclectable) Because it is a vacuum, space itself can't be cold or hot. A spacesuit in space itself(not touching objects) protects you from overheating yourself. A long story short and leaving the principles(see end comment) You receive morw radiation from space than you radiate yourself.


As for the fuel. With fuel I'm not sure what you mean. Photon fuel aka magic or fuel as we know it. A gas or liquid. The later option would not leak in space. Again space is a vacuum. So no particles. All particles from the fuel want to expand to an empty space.(pun intended) But because it is a vacuum they will expand so rappidly they will basically just rip apart the whole tank near the hole in a few seconds. [/SPOILER-BOX] If you want I can explain more and better throughout a pm, because I don't want to "bash" you to much in your thread. Again sorry. [/SPOILER-BOX]

[yoshiblue]

[SPOILER-BOX]Common misconceptions aside, the story did make out for an interesting voyage through space. A civilized Rappy planet and companion is also cool to imagine. Just add jungle beats. Can't wait to see how Charmie influences the story. [SPOILER-BOX]Now for a random comment. If a friend and a stranger broke their toy at the same time, which one are you most likely to go out of your way to fix?[/SPOILER-BOX][/SPOILER-BOX]

[stukasa]

@Sacrificial:
[spoiler-box]I'll be the first to admit that I'm not a scientist by any means, but I'm not sure I agree with everything you said. It's true that space itself has no temperature, but it's certainly possible to measure the temperature of an object in space. When people talk about space being cold, this is what they're referring to, not that space itself is cold. I specifically said that this part of the story was taking place "far from the nearest star," meaning that solar radiation would be very minimal. Rather than overheating, an object (or in this case an astronaut) would cool down very fast because it/she would be emitting energy much faster than absorbing it. The purpose of the spacesuit is to provide warmth so the astronaut won't lose all their body energy too fast. Closer to a star, the suit would cool the astronaut to prevent them from overheating, as you said. If you want a longer explanation you can check out this link (http://www.universetoday.com/77070/how-cold-is-space/).

As for the fuel, I intentionally didn't specify the type of fuel because I don't know what kind of fuel is propelling the ships in the PSO2 universe. Maybe they're using some kind of special photon fuel, maybe it's a more conventional variety. About the leak, you're thinking in our (current technology) terms, but that's not the world my story is set in. I don't think it's unreasonable to think that in this futuristic setting they have some technology to prevent a pinhole leak from instantly rupturing the whole fuel tank. I mean, they have shielding technology and who knows what else. If a pinhole crack anywhere in the hull would explode the whole hull, space travel in PSO2 would be too dangerous.

As I was writing this story I realized I would have to explain a few more technical details than I normally do. I could have shied away and written a different story, but I thought people might like to see something a little different from me. I guess that wasn't the case, and I'm sorry that hurt your enjoyment of it. Although, I will say I hope you could at least enjoy the emotional aspect I was trying to convey. The main purpose of the story was to show the power of friendship and not giving up in the face of poor odds.[/spoiler-box]

@yoshiblue:
[spoiler-box]Charmie underwent a lot of changes during the brainstorming of this story. At first I thought he would be a mouse-like rodent who gets inside the shuttle and Aki03 would decide to keep him as a pet. Then I decided to make him a sentient being but I still thought the Charmuskans would be a rodent-like species, maybe about 3 feet tall. The problem was that I wanted to do a character picture for Charmie and there was no such creature that existed. Then I thought, "What if I made the Charmuskans look like Rappies?" That way I could use the red Rappy suit as a character portrait. :lol:

To answer your question: Of course you'd help your friend first. I think that's just human nature!

In the story, Aki03 had to make some hard choices with only probabilities to work with. Save herself and Charmie but strand them on a remote planet, or take a risk and head home knowing you might not make it. I wanted the reader to think about which choice they would make, because there's no clear answer. Both sound pretty scary![/spoiler-box]

[Sacrificial]

[SPOILER-BOX]
@Sacrificial:
[spoiler-box]provide warmth

As I was writing this story I realized I would have to explain a few more technical details than I normally do. I could have shied away and written a different story, but I thought people might like to see something a little different from me. I guess that wasn't the case, and I'm sorry that hurt your enjoyment of it. Although, I will say I hope you could at least enjoy the emotional aspect I was trying to convey. The main purpose of the story was to show the power of friendship and not giving up in the face of poor odds.[/spoiler-box]

provide Isolation*

And don't get me wrong I just didn't like that particular "Day recording" I liked the others. It's just that space and technical stuff has so many theories and facts that all contradict each other that there are so many "sides" You should say something military related on the web and let the salt flow from every direction.

On side note: When 03 restored the leaks, couldn't she just have put her ships propulsion to a speed she wanted and then "cut of" her engines and only use it for directional thrusters after that? Would've saved a lot of fuel instead just burning it up for more and more speed. ^^;
[/SPOILER-BOX]

[stukasa]

@Sacrificial:
[spoiler-box]The big question mark for me was "how does 'warp' work in this universe?" We've seen ships enter a watery portal and emerge somewhere else later, but I don't know if they really explained it. I'm assuming it takes more fuel to warp further away, but maybe not, who knows? Zero Three could have traveled the whole way at sub-warp speeds but it probably would've taken a long, long time to get there! Or maybe she could've warped part of the way, saved a bit of fuel, and then gone sub-warp for the rest. Of course, you don't want to be hurtling through space without any fuel left for directional thrusters, otherwise sooner or later you might fly right into a star or a planet![/spoiler-box]

[yoshiblue]

[SPOILER-BOX]Judging by the intro video (https://youtu.be/-5dnSSDnNlg?t=1m15s), I would say you send a beam of light or something to that destination, open up a portal on both sides- or an image at least, and then convert your entire ship into light so that it can travel much faster than it would at its normal speed and come towards it destination at a reasonable time frame. In this case, 30 minutes. Only problem with my conversion to light thing is that you crystallize in and out of the warp, and it must be one heck of an experience to see your body crystallize back into existence. [/SPOILER-BOX]

[Zorafim]

I've forgotten how much I loved your chapters. I've been gone far too long.

Warp physics thought stuff:

[spoiler-box]I find myself being tainted by Mass Effect when reading that last chapter. I keep thinking the way transportation works is, you reach a point, and that point propels you to another point. So all Aki had to do was make it to a warp, and she'd be fine.

But we get no instruction on how warping works in PSO2. All we see is a ship creating a warp, going through the warp, and popping out in another location. Where it works from there is anyone's guess. If I had to guess, it would need to know the exact coordinates of the start point (to create the entry warp), and the destination (to create the exit point). It could be that ships may not always know where ORACLE is, since it's always moving. So they can't always make the jump... But if that was the case, warp travel wouldn't be possible at all. So all ships would always be given an estimation of where ORACLE is... which I guess the only limiting factor would be the amount of fuel used.

Most trips seem to take at most an hour. These are only cases where the start and end destination are known, though. In this case, it makes sense to burn a bunch of fuel at once, since you're still coming ahead. In cases where you need to explore, warping would not be as viable. So fuel (perhaps even from a different energy source?) would be spent on basic propulsion.

So here's what I assumed happened. 03 moved with basic propulsion to the crash site - which would not be horribly far away from ORACLE (but getting further every day) - to save fuel. Once there, she continued searching with basic propulsion to likely locations, since Selena would be forced to make a similar decision. Once low on fuel, she would return via basic propulsion to ORACLE to restock and continue.
Though what would make more sense to me is to leave enough fuel for a return trip via warp. This may not have been possible with the fuel leak, but didn't seem to be what she had in mind in the first place. And it's unknown if that's viable, considering we don't know the cost of each warp. I'd assume each warp costs less than one half of one ship's fuel reserves, but it could be that they create the warp once and just keep it open until they return.

At any rate, PSO2 doesn't explain how anything in it works. So, there's not much point in trying to keep consistent with its physics. You wrote an engaging chapter, and I can only assume that 3 knows what she's doing. My disbelief was thoroughly suspended.[/spoiler-box]

Actual chapter stuff:
[spoiler-box]I think I'm only just now realizing this, but... I think I just now figured out that Aki's kind of cute. I've only seen her in a professional light up until this point, and she's always been a very respectable character. But this is the first time I really see her have time to express herself. I've always liked her, but I think I just got a fiction crush on her.[/spoiler-box]


This post is pretty funny, because I wondered the other day when your next update would have been. Same with Zorafims and Sacrificial's as well.

I've been intellectually spent from work, and have been too tired to write. It's been a while since I tried, but I normally just stare at the screen until my mind shuts down. I've been thinking about it every day though. I have the next chapter planned out, I just can't write it. And after that is supposed to be an important time, but I can't figure out how to make it happen.
Thank you though, I need words like this. I really want to at least finish Levia's growth. I started off writing wanting to express Levia's character, and want to get to a point where I can do that with little effort.

[stukasa]

@Zorafim:
[spoiler-box]I haven't played Mass Effect so I didn't have that in mind when I was writing the story. To be honest I have no idea how warping works (like I said before), which is why I intentionally left a lot of details vague. I'll just nod along with your theory of how it happened--your suggestion is just as valid as anything I could've come up with. xD I'm wondering, though, how you came up with the idea that most warps take an hour at most? Did it say that anywhere in the game?


I think I'm only just now realizing this, but... I think I just now figured out that Aki's kind of cute. I've only seen her in a professional light up until this point, and she's always been a very respectable character. But this is the first time I really see her have time to express herself. I've always liked her, but I think I just got a fiction crush on her.
If I'd been drinking something while reading this I would've spit it all over my keyboard, just because it was so unexpected. XD I guess Aki's usually caught up in serious story stuff, huh? There have been a couple "easygoing" side stories but usually it's death, destruction, and drama all around! I'd really like to spend more time writing personal stories, it's just hard to fit them into my main storyline...[/spoiler-box]

If you liked this latest side story I would highly recommend reading "The Martian" (soon to be a movie starring Matt Damon!). I already had the idea for this story since last year, then I read The Martian (last November, I think?) and thought, "Wow, this format would be perfect for what I want to do!" Most of the book is written in the same "journal entry"-type format I used. And it's got actual science in it that's a lot less questionable than the stuff I've written. I'd consider this story a loving homage, at least in spirit.

Oh, and FYI to everyone, I plan on releasing season 2 pretty soon. It won't be this weekend but maybe next weekend. The latest would be the weekend after that, depending on my progress.

[Zorafim]

[spoiler-box]Mass Effect may be worth playing just because of how much detail they put into everything. Every piece of technology is shown to you in detail if you want to take the time and study up on it, so that everything is believable in the games. But I just brought it up because it may have tainted the way I see space travel forever. Also, the contrast between how much detail it puts into its technology, and how PSO2 does it, is so staggering that the detail from one is starting to bleed over to the lack of detail in the other.

I honestly liked how you handled the segment. 03 would take for granted the workings of what she's doing, so she wouldn't bother mentioning it. Anyone receiving her logs would already be familiar with it, so they wouldn't need to know about it. And the reader has little or less knowledge than you do, to the point where any inconsistencies can be chalked up to misinformation, or "photons".

The time for travel was brought up by Yoshi, actually, some time ago. He noticed in those story videos that the time between the intro scene with Afin and landing on Naburus was half an hour. Probably studying the time logs of all the first scenes in the story missions will tell you how long on average it takes to reach a new planet, but that still leaves a lot of variables.
Does that only work if we have an established link to a planet? What's the limitations on warp? How much of that time was spent in warp, as opposed to planet entry and time spent in queue? Again, they don't go into detail, so neither should you.


And yes, your chapters do tend to be traumati-I mean dramatic. I feel like, despite all my time spent with Aki, I never really got to know her. It could be that she was an author avatar or audience surrogate, and her personality was just taken for granted. Or it could be you've just gotten better at expressing a character's personality, since Akasha was well fleshed out. Or it could be that she was simply less expressive before this point, and this was the first time she really had to express herself. [/spoiler-box]

I'm so behind with everything, I'm sure I won't notice the difference or a week or two. I honestly expected your hiatus to last longer.

[yoshiblue]

[SPOILER-BOX]I'll always be envious of both Bioware and Obsidian's story telling talent. Especially with the time frames Obsidian is given all the time. Zorafim is right though. In a sense, I feel they got lazy with how much time passes, because everything in those cutscenes seemed to have taken only half an hour, for the most part at least. So variables can make a difference if you want them to. Cheers to the new and improved Aki and the new season.[/SPOILER-BOX]

[stukasa]

@Zorafim:
[spoiler-box]People have told me I should play Mass Effect, I just never got around to it. Maybe one day, someday...

About the "time for travel" thing, do we actually see the campship going into warp during those scenes? If not, it's possible the colony ship was in orbit around Naberius before the mission started. Even if we DO see the campship go to warp, we have no way of knowing how far away from Naberius (or whatever planet) the colony ship was. Although if there were several instances of going from the colony ship to the planet in less than an hour and we DID see the campship go to warp each of those times, that might be a good indicator that warps usually last less than an hour.

As for Aki, it's not necessarily that she's an author avatar, but rather that she DIDN'T have much of a personality when my story started. The reason being, she was still a newborn! She was learning about the world and herself. If you look back to the earliest chapters, she had a much more rigid way of talking that was a lot less expressive. Over time, through interacting with others and learning more things, she gradually developed more of a personality. That personality took a leap forward when she merged her memories with her half-sister Zeta. You'll notice Aki uses more word contractions now and the way she talks is a bit more forward. That's partly Zeta's influence. But overall, Aki--actually there are 3 of them again, so I should say "the Aki sisters"--are on an evolutionary path. They never stay the same for too long. They're always learning, adapting, and evolving, and so is their personality.[/spoiler-box]

I'm going to address this here because it's related to my story rather than yoshi's:

Oh, and something I've been meaning to mention. This one's for stukasa. Despite embedding the video onto the page looking neater, I've found an advantage to the way Yoshi does it. With Yoshi's method, I can middle click and move on with the story, Xing the video when it's no longer needed. With the embedded video, I need to scroll up from where the music is supposed to end, and stop it, before continuing. I figured that was worth bringing to your attention. The embedded video is more aesthetically pleasing, but less functional.
How do other people feel about this? I'm pretty OCD about sticking to a particular format, especially one I've been using for a couple years now, but if everyone thinks it's more convenient for me to give links rather than use embedded videos, I can do that. I don't disagree with Zorafim's assessment; to me it doesn't matter much either way. What does everyone else think?

[yoshiblue]

Unlike my story, the segmentation in yours tends to give a good indication of where a song starts and where it ends. Though the layout doesn't really bug me, if you want my opinion, it's whether or not you want to be more minimalistic.

[Zorafim]

It's honestly not a big deal. It's a little annoying to have to scroll up after every song, but it's only a few times a chapter. And the way you have it set up, it's easy to jump back to where I was anyway. Plus, I think I can just press the youtube button to get it onto another tab anyway. Dunno why I didn't think of that earlier.
Also, you've been really good at matching song times with reading lengths. I think the last two chapters, more often then not the song ended just as I finished reading the song's section. So good show on that.

Visually, your current setup is really nice. Going away from embedded links would take away from that. So, it might not be worth changing.

[stukasa]

After much reflection, I think I'll stick with my existing format for now. The consensus seems to be "meh, either way" and I do like the visual flourish the embedded videos provide. Plus, I've already written nine parts of my story that haven't been posted yet. At an average of four songs each that's roughly 36 song links I would have to change if I wanted to alter it now. ^^;

In other news, I'll probably wait until NEXT Saturday to start releasing season 2. I want a little extra buffer in case I get sick, go on vacation, or whatever.

[yoshiblue]

Sounds like the job of a laptop if vacations become a thing. Would just need to backup everything.

[stukasa]

Sounds like the job of a laptop if vacations become a thing. Would just need to backup everything.
You expect me to go on vacation and spend all my time working on my story? :lol: Actually, last year when I was still brainstorming ideas for the sequel I went on vacation for a week and came back with a notebook full of ideas and chunks of scripts. I don't have a laptop so it was all handwritten--I had to type it all up when I got back. That was the trip where I came up with a lot of the general ideas I had for the story and many of the characters, like Kira and Ivan.

[stukasa]

It begins.

CHAPTER 6.1 [8/15/15]
[spoiler-box]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFEfhwJpzEc[/b][/u]


PREVIOUSLY, ON “LEGEND OF AKI: REBIRTH”…

Akasha awakens in a tank of clear liquid with no memories of her past or how she got there. She meets her brother, Shankar, who is searching for a genetics researcher named Dr. Naya Kestren.

After a fire breaks out at the lab, Akasha is rescued by Captain Arin Colton, who convinces her to join the ARKS and become a soldier. While enrolled at the ARKS Training Academy she meets and befriends Ivan and Kira. That friendship is put to the test when Akasha realizes she has romantic feelings for Ivan, then subsequently discovers he is dating Kira. Despite her broken heart, Akasha graduates from the Academy and receives her ARKS license. She and Kira are now full-fledged soldiers. Ivan, however, opts to follow his own path.

Lee, a member of the criminal syndicate KAI-OS, assassinates the Ur Executive Council (UEC) and replaces them with CAST doppelgangers, using them to rule the colony ship from behind the scenes. After blowing up a series of skyscrapers in downtown Ur and pinning the blame on KAI-OS, Lee instructs his Council of doppelgangers to file a client order with the ARKS to eliminate three of the Four Kings of KAI-OS. He also gives the Darkers aboard Orpheus the coordinates to Oracle’s nearly-finished space station, Terra Nova.

Aki01, now the headmaster of the ARKS Training Academy, begins her own private investigation into the bombings in downtown Ur. Her only evidence so far is a single fruit peel discarded by Lee near the site of the first bombing.

Tired of fruitless searching, Shankar adopts bolder methods of finding Naya Kestren. He causes a ruckus in the downtown district which is broadcast on live television throughout the colony ship. Little does he know he’s attracted the attention of Lee, who believes Shankar is the key to unlocking the mysterious Project Typhon…


http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Logos/Rebirth%20Title%20Ch%206_zps2d3dagg8.png~original


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTlScD1ixYs[/b][/u]

PLANET LILLIPA: LEGRANDE MESA, OVERLOOKING A FORMERLY-ABANDONED QUARRY

It hung just below the horizon like a silent specter. The shimmering line wavered, rippling over the dunes, daring anyone who saw it to believe it was real. But it wasn’t really there. It was merely a trick of the eyes, an illusion cast upon the desert sands by the light and heat beating down from above. An ocean of the mind’s eye. Somewhere between the desert and the edge of that silver sea lay the boundary between reality and fiction, possible and impossible, light and shadow.

The woman with the pilot’s cap and goggles was mesmerized. Closing one eye, she squinted into the scope of her sniper rifle, watching the mirage play across the distant sands.

“Hey,” a female voice whispered behind her.

The woman with the pilot’s cap wasn’t paying attention. Her headphones pumped a steady trance-like beat into her eardrums. Aiming her scope lower, she zoomed in and focused on the train depot far below.

Four guards, two robotic attack dogs. I can take ‘em, no problem.

“Hey,” the voice repeated, its owner tapping her rather forcefully on the shoulder. “Hey, Sahara. Stop listening to that god-awful music and pay attention.”

“It helps me concentrate.”

“On everything except the person talking next to you, apparently.” Kira sighed in exasperation. “Anyway, c’mon, we’re moving out.”

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Kira_ARKS_name_zpsqgyimpge.png~original http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Sahara_name_zpsalm0tmnn.png~original[/spoiler-box]

The sniper ran her index finger along the weapon’s trigger. The hunt was calling to her, beckoning her onward. She licked her lips hungrily. “Hold up, Red. I got a better idea. Lemme take ‘em out right now. I have a shot, I can take it.”

“And what happens if there’s another one down there you can’t see?” The orange-haired Gunner shook her head. “He’ll activate the alarm and the whole place will go into lockdown, then we’ll never get inside.”

Sahara pouted but lowered her rifle. “Aw, you’re no fun.”

Weirdo, thought Kira. She and Akasha would have to keep an eye on Little Miss Gung-Ho. On a mission like this, where discretion was vital, the woman’s lack of patience was likely to get them all killed. Or worse, captured.

Unfortunately Sahara wasn’t the only problem on Kira’s mind. There was also Akasha to consider. Her Newearl friend had been acting a bit, well… strange lately. Quieter, more distant, and prone to random outbursts. Kira’s attempts to discover the source of the problem were always rebuffed or ignored. She’ll tell me when she’s ready, Kira decided, then added, I hope.

The issue with Akasha could wait. The mission was her priority now… and it was almost time to go. Kira shifted her gaze to the right. “You doing okay over there, Levia?”

The fourth member of their team, a quiet, pale-faced woman named Levia, was perhaps the strangest one of all. Wrapped nearly head to toe in white robes and wearing a cowl and mask that covered most of her face, she looked like she might wilt under the scorching desert sun. Still, if she was suffering, she hadn’t mentioned it. Her large, dark eyes glanced in Kira’s direction. “Um, yes, I… I’m fine, but thank you for the concern.”

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Akasha_clothes3_name_zpsv4mg4z3k.png~original http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Levia_name_zpsrbm5ug6i.png~original[/spoiler-box]

“Good. Okay team, let’s do this.” Kira ran through the mission checklist in her head as they descended the backside of the mesa.

Step one: Sneak aboard a cargo train and infiltrate the quarry.

The five-hundred meter climb down was tedious and slow-going, but not nearly as difficult as the climb up had been.

Step two: Make contact with the undercover ARKS operative inside.

They hiked the narrow trail in silence—aside from Sahara’s occasional complaints about the weather. Kira tuned it out.

Step three: Download a copy of any and all data files you can find, to be used as evidence later.

After a few minutes they reached the desert floor, where the brittle, sun-baked stone of the mesa gave way to endless rolling dunes. They slogged onward.

Step four: Capture or eliminate one of the Four Kings of KAI-OS, Mala’din Ashra Solomondi, who is currently using the quarry as a stronghold.

After cresting a large dune their destination finally came back into view. At this distance it was little more than a hazy blur, a single needle in the vast haystack of the Lillipan desert.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MiKecab_wsc[/b][/u]

One after another they leapt, silently and gracefully, to the top of a large drainage pipe. Only the top half of the rust-colored pipe was visible above the ocean of sand. It ran parallel to the train tracks all the way to the massive perimeter wall of the quarry, taking it conveniently close to the depot—and the train the ARKS intended to board.

The soldiers sprinted quickly but lightly, their bodies kept low, desert camo ponchos billowing behind them as they moved.

“I thought us ARKS were s'posed to be about charting unknown planets and scraping Darkers off our boot heels, not raiding criminal hideouts,” Sahara remarked to no one in particular.

Kira hopped over a bolted flange connecting two sections of pipe. “Yeah, well, word is this client order comes directly from the UEC. Councilor Lane put in the request herself, or so I heard.”

“And what self-respecting crime boss picks an abandoned quarry in the middle of the desert as their hideout, anyway?”

“The kind that values privacy,” Akasha answered stoically. “Get ready, we’re almost there.”

Up ahead loomed the train depot. There wasn’t much to it, just a platform for loading and unloading cargo and a guard shack that didn’t appear occupied at the moment. Three uniformed guards stood in the center of the platform chatting idly. None of them noticed as the four ARKS quietly slipped behind the train car nearest to them. They did, however, notice when the guard on the left collapsed to the floor unconscious, a tranquilizer dart in his neck.

As Sahara ducked behind the corner of the train to reload her pistol, Kira took her place. Dropping to one knee and taking a half-second to line up her shot, she squeezed the trigger and watched as the dart land squarely on the man’s chest. He looked down at the dart, then back at Kira, then tumbled limply on top of his fallen comrade.

The last guard started to raise a shout when Akasha stealthily maneuvered behind him and, with a swift chop to the neck, dropped him instantly. All three guards were out cold.

Just then a fourth guard stepped out of the not-so-empty guard shack. He was accompanied by one of the large robotic attack dogs they’d seen through the binoculars earlier. Up close, the beast—a Vargr—looked even more imposing: nearly four meters long from metallic snout to pointed tail, covered in reinforced armor plates, with a mouth full of razor-sharp teeth capable of biting through solid steel. Spotting the ARKS, it lowered its head and let out a rumbling, metallic growl.

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Vargr_name_zpshhgxjpja.png~original[/spoiler-box]

Sahara spun around and fired at the man, ignoring the silver beast. Her dart struck the guard’s right shoulder. He tottered back and forth, his strength—and consciousness—quickly fading. The Vargr didn’t wait for its master’s command. It leapt.

The short-haired sniper fell backward, fully expecting to be mauled or crushed to death. A silvery blur flew at Sahara’s face, a gaping maw of jagged teeth that filled her vision. Suddenly a whitish blur struck the silver blur from the side. There was a tremendous clang and the screech of tearing metal. A moment later the Vargr was bouncing across the platform like a skipped stone, eventually coming to rest in a mangled heap atop a nearby sand dune. The creature raised its head in a stilted motion, let out a feeble whimper, then collapsed and fell permanently silent.

Slack-jawed, Sahara turned her attention from the disabled canine to the loading platform. Standing where the Vargr had been, her knees bent, a single outstretched palm in a fighting pose, was Levia. Both hands were empty; the distinctive daggers she carried remained sheathed on her back.

“The hell?” Sahara pulled herself up off the floor, her gaze never leaving the mysterious woman. Levia offered no explanation for what had transpired, merely nodding in Sahara’s direction as she moved past to rejoin the others.

Nearby, Akasha and Kira had just finished tying up the unconscious guards. With any luck their mission would be over by the time the men woke up, but why take a chance?

Behind them, the cargo train lurched as it slowly came to life. The ARKS knew from their briefing that these trains were fully automated. They operated on strict schedules, ferrying cargo and mercenaries to and from the quarry at designated times.

“Quick, hurry up and get on!” Kira shouted as she performed a running leap onto the open-topped rear car. Akasha, Sahara, and Levia followed suit, jumping onto the slow-moving train from the adjacent platform. The car was little more than a flatbed stacked with crates—crates undoubtedly filled with black market goods and stolen weapons.

We made it, thought Kira. She was breathing a sigh of relief when the bullet whizzed past her head. “Down! Get down!” She matched actions to words by diving for cover behind a nearby crate. Cautiously she peered around the edge, searching for the source of the attack.

He wasn’t hard to find. Standing on the roof of the next train car was a fifth armed guard, his photon rifle pointed in the ARKS’ direction. Kira reached for the tranquilizer gun holstered on her hip. Taking aim, she fired twice in his direction but he ducked just in time to avoid it. “Everyone okay?” Kira asked her teammates, her attention still on the guard.

“Levia’s been hit!” Sahara responded sharply. She bent down next to the robed woman, trying to gauge the severity of the wound but unable to find any trace of blood. All she could locate was a single bullet hole in the front of the woman’s white robes.

“I-I’m alright.” Levia turned around so they could see the exit hole in the backside of her outfit. “It merely struck my clothing. I am unhurt.”

Akasha whistled. “Now that’s what I call lucky.”

Sahara narrowed her eyes. “Yeah… lucky.”

Meanwhile, atop the next car, the desperate guard fumbled for his handheld radio. Another salvo from Kira sent him scrambling for the floor—while losing his grip on the radio in the process. The man watched helplessly as his only means of calling for help tumbled over the edge of the train and out of reach.

The guard decided to try a new tactic. He knew he was greatly outnumbered against the four ARKS so he turned and crawled in the opposite direction, heading towards the front of the train. It only took Kira a moment to realize what he was planning. Without his radio, the only way to alert his comrades was the built-in radio in the engine car. They had to stop him from reaching it no matter what.

“Hey, he’s getting away! Sahara, you stay here with Levia. Kasha and I will handle this.” Kira didn’t wait for acknowledgements. She ran, jumped, and climbed her way to the roof of the next train car, conscious of Akasha’s presence behind her. Up ahead, the guard glanced back, spotted his pursuers, and redoubled his efforts. The chase was on.

By this point the train had picked up considerable speed. The wind blew in Kira and Akasha’s faces as they raced from car to car, stinging their eyes and reducing their vision. Kira fired three more darts at the man but none found their mark. Just then the guard changed tactics again, dropping down between two train cars and disappearing from view.

It was a trap, it had to be. Kira was the first to reach the edge of the train car. She leaned forward, pistol drawn, and looked down. There was no one there. Where could he possibly have gone?


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNxCEuP_V0w&index=9&list=PL060D81373541DC46[/b][/u]

A loud grinding noise up ahead answered that question. Impossibly, the man had climbed around the side of the next car and opened its great metal sliding door. By the time Kira caught sight of him he was already climbing inside. Kira surged forward, not heeding Akasha’s calls to wait for her, and swung over the side of the train without hesitation. She landed inside the large, crate-filled boxcar and immediately realized her mistake.

Her eyes needed a few seconds to adjust from the bright desert sun to the darkness inside the train. The guard didn’t give her that time. He grabbed her from the side, wrapping an arm tightly around her neck. She struggled against him but he easily overpowered her, pinning her against one of the boxes. Her pistol clattered to the floor. “You’re beaten, girl,” the man sneered into her ear as he held her in place. “Give up now and I won’t make your death too unpleasant.”

Another voice, not Kira’s, answered him. “Sorry, but I can’t make you the same offer.”

Surprised, the guard whirled around and came face-to-chest with Akasha. As he tilted his head back and took in her coldly unforgiving expression, the color drained from his face. The big Newearl tore the man away from Kira using sheer force and hurled him into the nearest crate. Dazed, he somehow managed to stay on his feet, though just barely. Akasha extended a palm in his direction. Without warning, an icy blast of Gibarta erupted in the space between them, freezing the man solid before he even had a chance to scream. He was dead in a matter of seconds.

Akasha turned to face her tiny friend. “You alright?”

Kira nodded wordlessly, rubbing her bruised neck.

“I told you to wait for me.”

“Sorry, Kasha… Guess I got caught up in the moment.” She gave the frozen guard one last, pained look. “You didn’t have to go that far, though.”

“He was trying to kill you, Kira. The man was scum. He got what he deserved.”

“Yeah, maybe, but—”

“But nothing!” Akasha slammed the side of her fist into the wall, sending a hollow thrum through the train car. “You have to be more careful! I may not always be around to save you…”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Kira asked, feeling both hurt and annoyed.

“I… Nothing. I’m just saying, that’s all.”

Kira’s eyes softened. “Hey, listen, is something going on with you? You haven’t been yourself lately, not since we graduated from the Academy. That was over a month ago now.”

“I’m fine, I just… It’s nothing, okay? I—”

A familiar metallic growl echoed through the boxcar. Akasha and Kira simultaneously turned their heads in the direction of the sound… and found exactly what they were expecting: another Vargr. Perhaps the guard hadn’t chosen this car randomly after all…

Akasha shoved her friend out of harm’s way just as the Vargr leapt from its perch atop one of the crates. The robotic canine tackled the giant Newearl and the two went tumbling out the open door of the train. Fortunately for Akasha the Vargr hit the sand first, absorbing most of the impact. Still locked in battle, they rolled end over end, finally coming to a stop several meters away. The attack dog pressed down on Akasha with all of its might. Pinned underneath, she grabbed hold of its metal neck to keep it at bay.

Kira looked on in horror as the train sped away from them. “KASHA!!!”

“Don’t worry about me!” she shouted back, struggling to keep the Vargr from biting her face off. “I’ll catch up with you later!”

Kira wanted to help her friend but there was nothing she could do. The train was moving too fast; if she got off now she wouldn’t make it back in time, and the mission, unfortunately, came first. “Good luck,” she whispered.

The train sped into the tunnel beneath the perimeter wall, leaving Akasha to fight her battle alone.

* * * * * * * * *

High above the desert sands, atop the great wall surrounding the quarry, the man with no name lowered the scope of his sniper rifle. His hollow expression was concealed by the devilishly grinning demon mask he always wore. His long hair, dyed blood red and tied back in a ponytail, swayed gently in the breeze.

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Masked%20Man_name_zpsvofmpfc4.png~original[/spoiler-box]

He was a hunter—not a Hunter in ARKS terminology, but a hunter of men. Tracking, capture, assassination, along with whatever else, however moral or immoral, was required. As long as the client paid their fee, he would get it done. And he was exceedingly good at it. Like the ARKS below, the man in the mask had a job to do. He switched on his radio. “They’re inside.”

A voice in his ear, the voice of his employer, responded right away. “Good. Continue observing them for now. When they fail—if they fail—you are authorized to intervene. You’re my insurance, nothing more. One way or another, make sure the mission succeeds.”

“Understood.”

“Contact me again when it’s finished,” said Lee. There was an abrupt click and the transmission fell silent.

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Lee_name_zps535c104e.png~original[/spoiler-box]

The man in the demon mask hunkered down and turned his attention toward the interior of the quarry. The second phase of the operation was about to begin.



TO BE CONTINUED[/spoiler-box]

[CelestialBlade]

Alright, as promised, I wanted to do a complete review of my thoughts from Season 1 since I didn't do a great job of chapter-by-chapter feedback like I wanted to do ^^;

[spoiler-box]THE PLOT OVERALL:
Going into this I had no idea how long this was going to be, and even though you told me it was going to be longer than Legend of Aki, the first two chapters told me everything I needed to know about the magnitude of this story--you put so much work into the setup of several plot threads, and I could quickly see that this story was going to consist of several plots all running right into eachother at high speeds. That collision looks to be coming in Season 2, so I'm really looking forward to that.

I think my current favorite plotline is trying to figure out exactly how Lee's plans come together, and what his real ambition is. Something tells me it's much, much more than becoming the head of KAI-OS. Or maybe he's just another pawn in this whole scheme of capturing Project Typhon. I also really enjoyed the gradually-increased teasing of the whereabouts of Orpheus, and imaging just how active that zombie ship might be. In addition to the Darkers, think of what else might be there--Hisako, Naya Kestren, Selena, Marten, even Faraday...maybe we'll even see the fallen once more? And now that it's about to become a major plot point again, it's exciting to see how that's going to end. I think the fallen colony ship was one of the best concepts to come out of your original story and it's almost heart-wrenching to know that it's probably going to be on Aki to face her nightmares again.

Akasha's plotline doesn't have as much drama to it at this point other than the tragedy on Vopar, but it's clear that her and Kira (and likely Ivan) will quickly become intertwined into everything. And my guess is Akasha and Shankar have some big discoveries to make about themselves and eachother in the near future. Shankar's gradual descent into emotionless madness is either going to boil over or be immediately quenched by whoever manages to give him a purpose first. Lee's a likely candidate.

THE CHARACTERS:
This will come as no surprise to you, but I'd have to say Kira's been my favorite character so far. Asimov's way up there too, and that was solidified after that extremely emotional and tense scene on Vopar. That was a classic example of innocent-turned-hopeless, a concept you're so very good with. Anyway, Kira's most like Cocona to me and given the time I've put into developing my character, it gives me a certain bond with your similar creation. I was quite shocked at the fact that you put her with Ivan, although I'm not surprised at their relationship itself. I'm still iffy on it, but we'll see how it develops! I thought Akasha, Kira, Ivan, and Asimov had a brilliant chemistry together and I'm glad you made the most of it while we still had Asimov with us.

Akasha is a much different main character than Aki was and she's very refreshing. I can tell you're a bit more free in how you develop her--not because I see having a CAST main character as bad, and Aki was very interesting in her own right, but Akasha is a bit more of a clay mold--she starts from absolutely no programming and is learning everything as she goes. Aki had a pre-installed purpose and the development of that took center stage. Akasha is also refreshing in how she's so loose and informal, which I can say from experience is very fun to write. I wanted to do a CAST main character in a previous story, also with the ability to think and feel, but I scrapped the idea because I wanted to make her do things and have a personality that just didn't fit with that concept. You did a great job with Aki in that regard and it's fun to see something different in the form of Akasha.

...I think I ended up talking about the other characters in the above plot section, oops ^^;

I also wanted to mention that I really appreciate the look into what the three Akis have been up to in the time between your stories, and how they came to be where they are now. The past, present, and future dynamic was really well done and it's important to recognize how shaken she was by the events of the fifth fleet massacre. Zero Three's devotion to finding Selena is really sweet too.[/spoiler-box]

I think that's about it! Overall Season 1 was a fun ride and you've become so much better as a writer in so many facets. Not that you were bad by any means before :P Very much looking forward to what Season 2 offers and I'll try to reply to your chapters a bit more promptly this time!

[yoshiblue]

[SPOILER-BOX]Woo, more desert adventures. Despite how boring Lilipa seems, the things that are put into it always amuses me. Do have to admit, kinda surprised that Levia was placed right into the squad. I'm also surprised that a force didn't take the empty spot too. Figured since they already had two melee dudes and a ranger, a force could have been place in it to round out the group.[/SPOILER-BOX]

[Sacrificial]

[SPOILER-BOX]hoooo yay.new story! train chase! masked anti hero! New characters that haven't died yet! yaaaay.


Funny it's lilipa because my 2nd arc is also on lilipa :D[/SPOILER-BOX]

[stukasa]

@CelestialBlade:
[spoiler-box]Wow, thanks for taking the time to write all those comments! :D Yeah, it was definitely a new experience for me to write such a long, ongoing story with multiple plotlines taking place at once. One big challenge was deciding how to space certain elements; for example, if I don't show Shankar for several chapters, that's a month for you (the readers). I have to be conscious of whether you're going to remember what happened the last time you saw him. Sometimes I'll reiterate certain things just to make sure it sticks in your head. Like, "Oh yeah, I do remember that."

Orpheus was one of the main reasons I decided to write a sequel in the first place. I felt it was such a big plot point that was essentially left open at the end of the first story, and I wanted there to be some conclusion to that.

You're right, I'm not surprised Kira is your favorite character. It wasn't intentional but I definitely see the resemblance between her and Cocona, both being small and feisty characters who want to do the right thing. Originally when I was coming up with character ideas I imagined Kira being more of a "bad girl," but after I fleshed out Akasha's story arc I realized that Kira was better served being the moral compass of the group. She's the one who will pick people up when they fall and point them in the right direction.

I felt pretty bad about killing off Asimov since he was one of my favorite characters to write, but the story had to come first, and the story dictated that he had to go.

The reason I wrote those side stories is because it's been a year since the end of my first story and I don't expect everyone to remember all the details of what happened at the end. So the side stories served as something of a refresher. It was my way of saying, "Hey, remember these characters? You'll be seeing them again and I want to refresh your memory before that happens."[/spoiler-box]

@yoshiblue:
[spoiler-box]I thought about having a Force on the team but decided against it. This is an infiltration mission and Techs tend to be the flashiest attacks... not exactly well-suited to a mission involving stealth! In the end, the team ended up being 2 Fighters (Akasha and Levia), 1 Gunner (Kira), and 1 Ranger (Sahara). But don't worry, you'll see more Force-y action later! And don't forget, Akasha can use Techs as well. Her subclass in the game is Force so that was my way of incorporating it into the story.[/spoiler-box]

Sacrificial:
[spoiler-box]Lillipa seems to be a popular place, huh? :p I tried to include some of my favorite areas from Episode 2 into my story sequel. One of those was the coast on Vopar, which you already read in season 1. Another is the quarry on Lillipa, which is where the current arc takes place.[/spoiler-box]

[Zorafim]

[spoiler-box]
The fourth member of their team, a quiet, pale-faced woman named Levia,

My heart melted a little.


Suddenly a whitish blur struck the silver blur from the side. There was a tremendous clang and the screech of tearing metal.

and I cried a little.[/spoiler-box]

[stukasa]

[spoiler-box]and I cried a little.[/spoiler-box]
[spoiler-box]Good cry or bad cry?[/spoiler-box]

[Zorafim]

[spoiler-box]The best cry.[/spoiler-box]

[stukasa]

@Zorafim: Okay, just checking. :p

CHAPTER 6.2 [8/22/15]
[spoiler-box]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPShAEtLMr8[/b][/u]

PLANET LILLIPA: NORTHERN DESERT REGION

A shower of sparks erupted from the Vargr as Akasha ripped her double saber from the back of its severed neck. After a brief but fierce battle the mechanical beast had finally been put to rest. Bathed in sweat and caked in sand, Akasha looked around to get her bearings. She was all alone in the middle of a barren desert. Waves of sand swelled around her in all directions. High above, the midday sun continued its relentless assault on her stamina.

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Akasha_clothes3_name_zpsv4mg4z3k.png~original[/spoiler-box]

Kira and the others were probably inside the quarry by now. They’d been forced to leave Akasha behind to infiltrate the KAI-OS stronghold and complete their mission. But that was fine, Akasha told herself. She’d just have to find them again, even if that meant sneaking into the heavily-guarded base alone.

There was nothing to do but continue onward. Akasha returned to the train tracks and followed them until she reached the foot of the perimeter wall surrounding the quarry. She looked up. The wall was several stories high, much too high to contemplate climbing. She couldn’t enter through the tunnel either. It was barred by an iron gate that only opened to admit trains passage—and the next train wasn’t scheduled to arrive for at least two hours. There didn’t seem to be any doors or other means of entry, probably to keep intruders like Akasha from getting inside.

She wasn’t willing to give up yet, however. Following the wall as it angled east, Akasha came upon an open drainage pipe. These pipes were normally grated but this one had been left open for whatever reason. Akasha pulled herself up into the two-meter shaft and peered inside. It was dark… but empty. Taking a deep breath, she crawled forward into the darkness…

* * * * * * * * *

The pale orange lights running the length of the tunnel had an almost hypnotic effect as they flashed past, one after another. It wasn’t the lights that were moving, of course. It was the stowaways aboard the cargo train, headed below the outer wall of the quarry.

After a few minutes they reached the end of the line. Kira, Sahara, and Levia stepped off the train into a long, poorly-lit room that resembled an underground railway station. The area was quiet and deserted. Apparently the crew scheduled to unload the cargo hadn’t arrived yet, which worked out perfectly for the ARKS. They moved quickly but lightly between two rows of stone pillars that punctuated the room. Halfway to the exit, though, their luck abruptly changed.

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Kira_ARKS_name_zpsqgyimpge.png~original http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Sahara_name_zpsalm0tmnn.png~original http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Levia_name_zpsrbm5ug6i.png~original[/spoiler-box]


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SxThZpslbhE[/b][/u]

It started with a distant flash of blue light. Kira dive-rolled to the left as the photon arrow sailed past, its iridescent glow illuminating the corridor like a neon missile. “Ambush!” she hissed. “Spread out and watch yourselves!”

Kira and Sahara steadied their tranquilizer guns. Levia remained barehanded. They scanned back and forth with their eyes, looking for any hint of movement.

From the right! Barely dodging in time, Sahara winced as a photon arrow singed her shoulder.

A mocking female laugh punctured the heavy silence. “Is that the best you can do?” The voice seemed to be everywhere at once, making it impossible to determine the source.

Another pair of arrows came out of the darkness straight for Levia. The robed woman twirled in place as if dancing, letting the deadly bolts pass harmlessly beside her.

Kira growled in frustration. “Show yourself, coward!”

The voice chuckled. “Oh, I’m no coward. It’s not my fault you can’t keep up with me.”

As Kira stepped past the edge of a pillar, a heeled shoe flew up and struck her right hand, knocking the pistol from her grip and sending it bouncing across the tiled floor. The young ARKS caught a hint of blue fabric and glowing golden eyes, then the attacker was gone again.

Once more, silence. The trio warily crept forward a step at a time. Kira took point, Levia the center, with Sahara bringing up the rear. Kira reached behind her back and pulled out one of her machineguns. Using it would almost certainly alert the quarry to their presence, but survival was more important at the moment.

“Stop. Right. There.” The voice was calm, almost quiet, but this time it definitely came from behind them. Kira spun around to find their mysterious attacker with a knife pressed to Sahara’s throat.

It was also their first good look at her. She was wearing a blue uniform similar to that of the quarry guards, except with a skirt in place of pants, and with flowing violet hair that swept down nearly to her hips. Her eyes shone with an inhuman radiance that marked her as a member of the Deuman race. Her horns, if she had any, were concealed under a red beret. There was a photon bow strapped to her back—a Braver’s weapon.

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Deuman_name_zpsaoub6o9m.png~original[/spoiler-box]

“You’re the weak link, girlie,” the Deuman purred into Sahara’s ear. “And weak links don’t last.”

“Let her go,” warned Kira, pointing her mechgun in the woman’s direction. It was a bluff and they both knew it—Kira couldn’t fire without hitting Sahara too.

The woman smirked. “Sure, but how ‘bout you drop your weapons first?”

Kira barked out a laugh. She made no move to lower her gun. “Yeah, I don’t think so. You don’t exactly strike me as the trustworthy type.”

“No?” The woman merely smiled. “And here I went out of my way to greet you. You really ought to learn better manners, Kira Vorholtz. Especially when you’ve got… ‘friends in high places.’”

The code phrase. “Wait… you’re our contact?” Kira asked, incredulous.

“That’s right,” the Deuman responded, slipping the knife back into the holster on her thigh. “Got a problem with that?”

It was true they’d been instructed to meet with an undercover operative inside the quarry, an operative who would help guide them through the rest of their mission, but now Kira was expected to believe it was this… this woman? “You’re not exactly what I expected.”

“Oh? Do tell.”

“No offense, but you look more like one of the bad guys… which, I just realized, is probably why you were chosen for this assignment. Sorry.”

Sahara crossed her arms. “Well I’m not sorry! Why the hell’d you attack us? Are you crazy?!”

“That was just a bit of fun. Don’t take it so seriously.” The Deuman’s eyes twinkled mischievously. Her pupils were a pair of luminous rings shining in the darkness. Abruptly she turned and strode towards the exit. “Now hurry along, won’t you? We have work to do.”

* * * * * * * * *


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0n960d-JeC8[/b][/u]

The open-air courtyard was blindingly bright, especially after their trek through the dim train station. The four ARKS crouched behind an assortment of supply crates while their eyes adjusted to the light. There were a few scattered guards on patrol but none nearby. That meant they were safe… for now.

“You know, I didn’t catch your name. Clearly you already know mine.”

The Deuman didn’t respond to Kira immediately. She was busy adjusting the focus on the electronic binoculars she held up to her eyes. Finally, she spoke. “I know a great many things about you. I know you graduated from the Academy on Ur a month ago. I know this is your first mission as team leader. I know your father’s name, your three sizes, and I could take a pretty good stab at which hand you use to wipe yourself. But that’s irrelevant.” She handed Kira the binoculars. “I’m an Intelligence agent on an undercover mission. I don’t do names. But if you must, call me Aster for the duration of this assignment.”

The pint-sized Gunner peered through the binoculars. “Fair enough, Aster. What am I supposed to be looking at?”

“Our target.” Aster pointed to a balcony jutting out from a tower in the center of the quarry, a balcony that overlooked the entire base of operations. There were two figures standing there, one large and one small. “Mala’din Ashra Solomondi, one of the Four Kings of KAI-OS.”

Kira pressed a button and her field of vision zoomed in on the balcony. A tall, powerfully-built man with a humorless face and distinctive crimson tattoo around one eye stood next to a young, white-haired Newearl. “Who’s the girl?”

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Solomondi_name_zpsbw8fm04q.png~original http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Unknown%20Girl_name_zpssflujmk7.png~original[/spoiler-box]

“I don’t know, but I’ve seen her in Solomondi’s company several times during the past week.”

Squatting beside them, Sahara piped up. “You don’t know? I thought your job was intelligence.”

The Deuman’s eyes flashed for a moment. “Watch it, girl. I’ve only been here nine days. There are some things even I don’t know, and asking too many questions tends to arouse suspicion. In any case, it’s not important. She’s not part of the mission parameters.”

Important or not, Kira wasn’t ready to let it go. “See that collar around her neck? Maybe she’s his prisoner.”

“Maybe she’s his concubine,” Sahara suggested with a twinge of disgust.

“She’s too young for that, isn’t she? The girl can’t be older than… ten, I’d say.”

“Anything is possible,” said Levia. “There are a great many evils in this universe, some worse than you can imagine.” There was a touch of sadness in her dark, almond-shaped eyes. As if suddenly remembering she wasn’t alone, the woman added, “Um, th-that is, I’ve heard as much.”

Aster raised her eyebrows. “Ah, the pale one speaks! I was beginning to wonder.”

Nearby, Sahara was growing impatient. Her foot tapped lightly to the beat of the song pumping through her headphones. “I can take out Solomondi right here, right now, then we can all go home. Whadda ya say?”

“I’d say that’s a very stupid suggestion, and a quick way to fail this client order,” Aster responded tartly.

“And why is that?” Sahara demanded. “I’ve got a clear shot, unless you don’t trust my skills as a sniper.”

“Your skills have nothing to do with it… this time. Our orders are to capture or eliminate Solomondi and—keyword and—return with data files incriminating him in the bombings aboard Ur. If you shoot Solomondi now they’ll wipe the computers clean long before we get to them. That’s one thing I do know.”

“Okay, smart-ass, so what do you suggest? If we get caught downloading the data Solomondi will be on alert, then we’ll never get near him.”

The Deuman raised a single finger in exclamation. “Simple. We do both at the same time.”

* * * * * * * * *

Apparently doing both at once meant splitting the team into two groups. Before they could do that, however, they needed to reach the inner ward of the quarry, which involved infiltrating the most heavily-guarded part of the base.

When the ARKS arrived at the entrance, the guards on duty were nowhere to be found. “There should be a pair of guards here,” said Aster, looking around warily. “The fact they’re not is… unsettling, but we don’t have time to wait around. Let’s keep moving.”

They passed through without incident. The inner ward was comprised of mostly indoor facilities: the guard barracks, administrative offices, warehouses, communications center, and data storage area. Only a few buildings had been added by KAI-OS when they took up residence at the quarry. The rest were merely adapted from existing structures and were likely very old, judging by their varying stages of dilapidation.

Sticking to the shadows as they slipped between buildings, the four ARKS only became more disconcerted. They still hadn’t seen a single guard or robotic sentry. Where was everyone? After rounding a corner Sahara pointed to the roof of a distant building and exclaimed, “There! Didja see that?”

No one had.

“It was, like, a bright flash or something,” she said, gesturing wildly. “I saw it just a second ago!”

They all stared blankly at the short-haired sniper.

“It was there! I swear!”

Aster let out an impatient sigh and rolled her eyes. “We don’t have time for this nonsense. Get a move on already, we’re almost there.”

Kira clapped Sahara on the shoulder. “Don’t worry, I believe you.” Her tone managed to sound both reassuring and patronizing at the same time. “Just let us know if you see anything more, uh, specific next time.”

Levia offered the woman a sympathetic look—or was that pity?—and moved past to join the others.

“Aw c’mon you guys, don’t mess with me like that! You guyyyyyyssssss…!” Sahara looked around and belatedly realized they’d all gone on ahead of her.

“…Guys?”

* * * * * * * * *

Around the next corner they came to a long alleyway situated between two rows of buildings. Halfway to the next intersection they heard a series of gun safeties being disengaged followed by a commanding shout.

“FREEZE!!!”

The ARKS stopped in their tracks and looked up towards the origin of the voice. Standing on roofs all around them and pointing their rifles downward were nearly a dozen blue-uniformed guards. A trio of Vargrs appeared at the end of the alley in front of them, blocking their exit. The mechanical attack dogs growled and dug their metal paws into the sand. From behind the ARKS, a three-meter humanoid sentry robot—a Dingell—brandished a massive pair of twin machineguns in their direction.

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Dingell_name_zps9hlgxgep.png~original[/spoiler-box]

Sahara bared her teeth. “Finally, a decent challenge.”

“Drop your weapons immediately and surrender!” the same guard on the roof yelled at them. “You have five seconds to comply!”

They were completely surrounded, outnumbered, and outgunned. Not exactly the best odds for a fight. Fifteen to four, to be exact. For a more sensible group of people, surrender would have been the logical choice.

“Three,” whispered Aster.

“What?” Kira whispered back.

“Two,” the Deuman continued.

“Oh,” said Kira, finally comprehending. “Hell.”

“One.”


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUy26YnupIY[/b][/u]

In an instant, chaos. It started with the smoke bomb Aster threw to the ground in front of them. A rapidly-expanding cloud filled the alleyway, obscuring everyone’s vision. Startled guards opened fire but the ARKS were no longer there.

A pair of photon arrows sailed out of the murky haze. The first struck one of the guards in the chest. The second flew past and impaled the man next to him. Both guards toppled forward off the edge of the roof, falling like sandbags to the ground below.

In the opposite direction a bullet ricocheted off the upper lip of a building, narrowly missing a guard standing there. He reflexively jerked backwards and lost his balance. Squinting, Sahara took aim with her sniper rifle and fired again. Her second shot caught the man in the shoulder. Groaning, he collapsed out of sight.

To her left, Sahara heard a chorus of growls. The Vargrs! She could hardly see anything in this smoke and wondered if they had a way of sensing her location.

She never got a chance to find out. Levia flew past her—still barehanded, Sahara noticed—and vanished into the fog. A moment later Sahara heard the sounds of crunching metal accompanied by canine yelps and whimpers. An oblong gray object came bouncing toward her, coming to rest at her feet. It was one of the Vargr’s heads.

And then… silence. Sahara kept her rifle trained in the direction of the Vargrs. A formless shape appeared, headed straight for her. The sniper steadied her aim. Then the form resolved itself and she realized it was only Levia. “All clear,” reported the robed woman. Sahara could only stand and gape.

Meanwhile, Kira and Aster had almost finished mopping up the rest of the guards. Kira had worked her way up to the roof and was firing tranquilizer darts into the backs of the unsuspecting men. It was probably pointless to be quiet now. Still, Kira wanted to minimize the risk of reinforcements showing up. She loaded another dart magazine into her pistol.

Suddenly a flurry of blue flashes sizzled past her location. One of them struck the edge of the roof nearby, shattering the thick stone and sending pieces of debris flying in all directions. Kira dropped to a crouch before realizing the Dingell wasn’t aiming at her. The humanoid robot released another salvo of blue energy from its machinegun, apparently trying to keep up with the much-speedier Aster, who was bounding from rooftop to rooftop slinging photon arrows from her bow.

The crack of Sahara’s rifle rang out from somewhere below. Her bullet struck the Dingell’s shoulder but inflicted minimal damage. Switching targets, the Dingell lowered its weapon and charged forward with a burst of speed. Its metal knee slammed into Sahara and sent her crashing into the side of a building with a thud.

The robot leveled its weapon at the sniper, ready to finish her off. Sahara stared up in fear, helpless, when a charged photon arrow arced over her head and struck the Dingell. It exploded in a brilliant flash. The Dingell stood as motionless as a statue, its power source completely drained. Finally brought down by its own weight, the great machine fell backwards into the sand.

The battle was over.

The smoke in the area cleared, gradually revealing a war-torn alley strewn with bodies and the wreckage of sentry robots. Kira, Levia, and Aster gathered next to where Sahara lay slumped against a wall. The woman was banged up but didn’t appear to be fatally wounded.

The golden-eyed Deuman stood over the fallen sniper. “I told you weak links don’t last.”

Sahara offered a noncommittal grunt in response. She removed her cap, brushing off the dirt and debris.

“Can you stand?” asked Aster, making no move to offer any assistance.

Using the wall for support, Sahara shakily began pulling herself up. Every bone in her body ached but nothing appeared to be broken. “I… I think so.”

“Then you can fight. Let’s go.”

* * * * * * * * *


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVwBo-EF__8[/b][/u]

On the roof of a distant warehouse, the man in the demon mask watched the ARKS through the scope of his sniper rifle. For a moment he thought they’d spotted him, or at least one of them had. That would’ve been a costly mistake—and he hated making mistakes. The sun’s reflection on his scope had caused a glare. That glare had nearly cost him the job. At least now he had his back to the sun and wouldn’t face the same problem again.

He tracked the ARKS as they moved deeper into the compound. Pitiful fools. He’d been one of their kind once. That had been another lifetime, back when he still had an identity. A reputation. Now he was no one, a man without a name. Now they simply called him what he was… the Hunter.

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Hunter_name_zpshxtej2pq.png~original[/spoiler-box]

For the moment he would continue to watch and wait. When the time came, he would be ready to do what he did best. He would hunt.

* * * * * * * * *

ARKS TRAINING ACADEMY, UR: HEADMASTER’S OFFICE

“Please have a seat, Captain.” Aki01 waited for Arin Colton to sit down at the desk across from her before continuing. “You’re probably wondering why I asked you here today.”

“The thought had crossed my mind, yes,” the bearded man replied, shifting his weight in the chair.

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Aki01_rebirth_name_zps1ojwctmd.png~original http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Colton_casual_name_zps7fb51034.png~original[/spoiler-box]

“I require your counsel on a matter of some importance. I’ve been conducting my own investigation into the terrorist bombings in downtown Ur, but I’d like a second opinion—one I can trust to be objective.”

“Why me? If I may be so forward. Surely you have real analysts for this sort of thing.”

Aki leaned forward slightly and laced her fingers together. “You remember the Anaria campaign? We spent a week together in the trenches battling Darkers. I thought we should stay; you were only one on the squad who said we should leave. How did you put it?” The Caseal modulated her vocal processors to match Colton’s tone. “‘The situation is untenable. We need to cut our losses and fall back before it’s too late!’” Aki returned her voice to normal. “You were willing to stand up to me, to give your opinion when no one else would. And you were right. I took your advice and we pulled out, and the next day the entire mountain was overrun.”

“A lucky call,” Colton replied mildly. “Besides, you saved me first, as I remember.”

“That doesn’t matter. The important thing is that you did it. I value your opinion, and I need it now. I won’t make it an order. I’m asking you as a personal favor.”

“Very well. I’m here to help, Colonel.”

Aki smiled warmly. “Thank you, Captain. I appreciate your assistance.”

“Let’s get to it, then. You said you’re investigating the bombings. What have you got so far in terms of hard evidence?”

“Nothing,” she said, then reconsidered. “Well, a fruit peel.”

“A fruit peel?”

She nodded. “Specifically, a cacaiya peel. I found it on the roof of the Galactic Savings & Loan. We intercepted an encrypted transmission from that spot the night of the first bombing.”

“So… you think the transmission came from the bomber, and he or she is the one who dropped the peel? Even so, how does that help us?”

“There was no physical evidence on the peel itself. No fingerprints, no DNA. What does that tell you?”

Colton raised an eyebrow. “It tells me this is all a bit of a stretch.”

“I won’t argue with you there, but hear me out. Whoever ate that fruit—our bomber, perhaps—is a very careful person. He, or she, may have been wearing gloves at the time, and eaten in such a way that left absolutely no traces behind.”

“Suppose all that is true. I ask again, does knowing that help us in any way?”

Aki suddenly looked weary. “I don’t know yet. But consider this: cacaiyas are a rare, exotic fruit. They have to be imported from halfway across the galaxy. Maybe we can track down all cacaiya shipments to Ur within a week or two of the first bombing.”

“Now that’s something. Not much, but it’s a start.” Colton rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “I’ll look into it and see what I can come up with.”

“Thank you,” said Aki. “There is one other thing that troubles me, though.”

“What’s that?”

“The Executive Council has been adamant in blaming KAI-OS for the bombings. They claim they have irrefutable evidence proving this, but so far have refused to share that evidence with the public—or the ARKS.”

This time it was Colton’s turn to look weary. “Yes, I’m aware. Akasha and her friend Kira are on a client order right now, issued directly by Councilor Lane, to bring down one of the Four Kings.”

“A difficult task.” Aki’s words came from firsthand experience. She and her friend Selena had once slain Janth Dyson, a former King of KAI-OS, in a fight that nearly claimed both their lives. “There are those who say the Four Kings are the most dangerous criminals alive.”

“And what do you say? You are something of an expert on the matter.”

The Caseal paused. “They may be right. Which is why it’s even more important we get to the bottom of this mystery. If the Council has evidence against KAI-OS, we need to know what it is.”

Colton locked eyes with Aki. “You know the only way to find out, don’t you?”

“I have to ask them myself.”

“You got it.”

Aki let out an approximation of a sigh. “I was afraid you’d say that.”



TO BE CONTINUED[/spoiler-box]

[yoshiblue]

[SPOILER-BOX]Was hard not to read Aster's lines in Caren Manuel's voice.

When I read about the gate, the first thing I imagined were those iron bar gates you see in castles. Then when I read the stone pillar bits, it brought me back the the question I keep asking myself. What does Oracle use for building material? Do they use a lot of metals, concrete or some new type of building material we never heard of? The world may never know. Heh.

Its also hard to imagine a criminal base being located on a planet where darkers sweep the sands for a Falz body and where ARKs holds most of their mining operations. I also wonder if Sahara will be carrying a gunslash or a shotgun attachment after this?

An interesting chapter.

Also, is it just me, or are mag the kinds of things you easily forget about when writing?[/SPOILER-BOX]

[Sacrificial]

[SPOILER-BOX]

Also, is it just me, or are mag the kinds of things you easily forget about when writing?[/SPOILER-BOX]

[SPOILER-BOX]@yoshi
Wow......now you mention it I've never thought about bringing a mag into mine....

@stuka That unknown girl looks interesting :o[/SPOILER-BOX]

[stukasa]

@yoshiblue:
[spoiler-box]Who is Caren Manuel?

When it comes to building materials I usually try to be vague because I have no idea what they're using. Probably stronger, more durable versions of materials we use today.

A planet's a big place. I imagine there are plenty of places to hide. Maybe this particular quarry is far from any ARKS mining operations? I did mention it had formerly been abandoned.

I didn't forget about Mags, I made a conscious decision to omit them from my story this time. In my first story Aki had a Mag named Spike, who was [SPOILER WARNING FOR ANYONE WHO HASN'T READ MY FIRST STORY] destroyed in Episode 7. I had fun writing a few bits with Spike, but eventually it became a chore to include him in the action every time. I was constantly struggling to keep my chapter lengths from getting out of control. So when I started writing my sequel, I decided not to mention Mags at all. You can either take it as A) the characters have Mags but they aren't mentioned, or B) the characters don't have Mags for whatever reason.[/spoiler-box]

@Sacrificial:
[spoiler-box]Thanks! I also like how she turned out. ^^[/spoiler-box]

[yoshiblue]

Rouge's (Sonic Adventure 2) first voice.

[Zorafim]

[spoiler-box]My heart rushed as I read this chapter. It really is something to see one's character in another's work. It feels really good.
I just wish I could have put out more detail about Levia before you started writing. It seems like you could have done more if you had some more information. I can almost feel the struggle to write her portions through your words, though I am - as always - impressed with what you came up with.

I love how Sahara seems to exist mostly just to show off how awesome Levia is. It seems like half her lines are responding to her actions.
It's neat seeing Levia from another person's perspective. I try to add some human perspectives when I can. But I live in a world of giants, spirits, and the unnatural. You're much more human oriented, so it's neat to see what I think of as normal from your perspective.
That being said, Levia and Sahara's interactions are starting to look like a Laural and Hardy skit. I chuckled quite heartily at the mechanical head flying out of the smoke.
It reminds me alot of having a character cross over to another work... which I guess this is what it is. The character is subtle and rounded in the original, but is brought more into the foreground and praised more when brought into something else. Like how Batman is able to instantly find out all the secrets another superhero keeps when he's brought in for crossovers.

To the chapter itself, I think it's neat when stories which rely on the growth of a single character don't feature said character for a while. It changes the dynamic of the work, and allows the viewer to see more of the world without being clouded by the protagonist's way of seeing things. So this chapter has been neat. It shows Kira off more clearly without Akasha to bounce off of, and it lets you use other characters without being crowded.
I also think it's neat that you showed off why having both ranged and melee is important. I'm sure it was just an attempt to make Levia look good, but you showed both why it's important to have members protect other members from heavy hitters and why it's good to have members who can take out faraway enemies.
But mostly it's fun letting the soft spoken ones rip apart tanks made out of fangs and claws.


And sorry for replying so late. I had to let myself calm down to give an unbias comment. Otherwise my comment would have read:
[spoiler-box]SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQ QQUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE[/SPOILER-BOX][/spoiler-box]

@comments:
[spoiler-box]ORACLE has access to, probably hundreds of different planets. Each can be mined for whatever material ORACLE needs. And considering planets exist in our universe which are almost pure natural gas or diamond, it's not hard to imagine them having the resources to create anything they want. Not to mention, there's no guarantee they're in our universe. They may not use our materials simply because ours don't exist, or better options are common for them.
Mythril and Adamantite come to mind. Common enough materials in Final Fantasy games which can make equipment far stronger than what we use. To the point where Steel is nothing more than a mid grade material only used because it's easier to work with.
So... we have no idea what they use for building material. Stone pillars may just be made of stone. Perhaps because it was easier to gather and use at the time, or because of some special property of stone which makes them better for this particular building.

As for mags, I think they're easy to forget because we forget about them all the time ingame. They don't really do much besides make us stronger. So they're not very interesting to write for (I assume). I know both times I've seen them as characters, they didn't go very far. After all, they aren't much more than cats, really.[/spoiler-box]

[stukasa]

@Zorafim:
[spoiler-box]You went out of your way to give me plenty of information and answer my many questions, so thanks for that. ^^ I left Levia intentionally mysterious since I didn't want to cover her backstory, but I *did* throw in a few bits of flavor text here and there. The line she says about there being a great many evils in the universe, for example, which was just my assumption that something must've happened to change her personality between what I've read in your story and how she acts now. I mean, something had to have given her those sad eyes, right? (don't spoil it for me :p) Even if I'm wrong, a long time has passed between your story and mine. I'm sure plenty of things happened outside the scope of your story that could account for that line she said.

As for showing off Levia's skills, there were two reasons for that. 1) A comment you made to me before about how she's like the equivalent of a pre-leveled character with the best equipment, and 2) again, the fact that she's been around for a long time. That experience has to count for something. There's definitely a divide in the group between the more experienced members (Levia and Aster) and the newer recruits (everyone else). Although Akasha and Kira are basically combat prodigies so they're more skilled than the average rookie.[/spoiler-box]

CHAPTER 6.3 [8/29/15]
[spoiler-box]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Jb7swkGjb4[/b][/u]

PLANET LILLIPA: KAI-OS OCCUPIED QUARRY

Plink! Plunk! Plink! A hail of photons bullets ricocheted off a large burgundy-colored drainage pipe mere milliseconds after the ARKS ducked around the corner.

“How the hell’d they find us?!” cried Sahara, firing aimlessly behind her.

“Never mind that now, just help me find someplace we can hide!” Kira jammed another magazine into one of her machineguns as she ran. She’d given up using the tranquilizer pistol; there was no need for stealth when the enemy appeared to anticipate their every move. It was as if they’d suddenly grown a sixth sense, or at least the tracking abilities of a Fangulf.

Together with Levia and Aster, the four of them zigzagged their way through the inner ward of the quarry. KAI-OS guards seemed to pop up at every turn. Any hope of sneaking to their destination was, unfortunately, long gone.

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Sahara_name_zpsalm0tmnn.png~original http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Kira_ARKS_name_zpsqgyimpge.png~original http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Levia_name_zpsrbm5ug6i.png~original http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Aster_name_zpsvftr3rnh.png~original[/spoiler-box]

Up ahead the sandy ground sloped downward. At the base of the hill, nestled beneath a massive mining structure, stood an archway leading to a cavernous, mostly-empty maintenance room. Levia and Aster reached the entrance first, followed by Kira and Sahara. A pair of guards followed shortly afterward. Standing on either side of the doorway, Levia and Aster grabbed the men as they entered the room. Quick blows to the back of their heads dropped them like rag dolls.

Moments later a second pair of guards came charging in. They were met by the barrel end of Kira and Sahara’s guns and came to a screeching halt. The men raised their hands in surrender. It didn’t matter; Levia and Aster knocked them out cold all the same.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4iZfeGsMz4I[/b][/u]

Kira waited another few seconds, then lowered her weapon. “That should be the last of them.”

“For now,” Aster cautioned.

“Yeah, for now.”

Sahara propped herself against a nearby wall to catch her breath. She removed her cap and wiped the sweat from her brow. “There’s something weird about this whole thing. I’m just sayin’, we’ve been ambushed five or six times now. Are we sure they don’t have security cameras watching us or something?”

“I’m sure,” Aster replied flatly. “That was one of the first things I checked. There are no cameras anywhere in the base. Nor any other kind of monitoring device I could see.”

“Overconfident, aren’t they?”

Kira stroked her chin in thought. “Or Solomondi is just a really private guy. Either way, we can’t—”

From behind, an ominous shadow fell over the diminutive girl. Kira whirled around, trying to bring her machineguns to bear. A powerful hand grabbed her wrist. Kira let out a grunt and struggled against the unknown assailant—until she looked up and discovered a familiar face. “Kasha! You made it!”

The big Newearl was out of breath and caked in sand, but otherwise looked fine. She gave her friend a weary smile.

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Akasha_clothes3_name_zpsv4mg4z3k.png~original[/spoiler-box]

“How’d you find us, anyway?” asked Kira, intensely relieved.

“Simple. I knew where you were headed. From there I just had to follow the trail of destruction.” Akasha looked around at the other ARKS gathered there, spotting one unfamiliar face. “Who’s the Deuman?”

Kira was about to respond when the aforementioned Deuman interrupted her. “Aster, from the Intelligence division. I already know who you are.”

Kira clapped her hands together. “Okay then! Now that we’re all caught up with introductions, let’s talk logistics. We have two objectives and they’re in opposite directions; that means we’re going to have to split up. Team ‘A’ is going after Solomondi. We want him alive if possible, but either way, we can’t let him escape. Team ‘B’ is going after the data center. We need to download as much as we can get our hands on—the more we get, the more evidence we can use against Solomondi later. The only question now is: who’s going after what?”

“The data center is mine,” said Aster. “Intelligence is my job, after all.”

“Fair enough.” The orange-haired Gunner glanced at each of them in turn. “Any other volunteers?”

Sahara propped her hands on her hips. “Why are we even still discussing this? The whole mission is borked now that they know we’re here.”

“Not necessarily,” Kira countered. “They don’t know how many people we’ve got. Remember, Kasha hasn’t been with us since we entered the quarry. That gives us at least one advantage to work with.”

“Not much of one, in my opinion.”

“Also, they don’t know what we’re after. We just need to create a diversion, make them think our mission is something else. I’m sure they’ve got crate-loads of stolen weapons in those storage warehouses up ahead; maybe we can convince them we’re trying to confiscate their stash.”

“Decoys,” said Levia, raising her eyebrows. “That is what you’re referring to, is it not?”

“Exactly. And while they’re chasing the decoys, Aster sneaks in and does her thing. Easy in, easy out.”


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68bvGaVe5AY[/b][/u]

“Aren’t all of you forgettin’ one important little detail?” Sahara cut in. “Those KAI-OS goons have been a step ahead of us ever since we got here. Somehow they’ve been following our every movement, and if it’s not with cameras, it must be something else. Either they’ve got a tracking device on us, or… or else one of us here isn’t who she appears to be!”

Kira threw up her hands. “Whoa, let’s not go making hasty accusations. I’m sure none of us here is a spy.”

“Oh, right, ‘cause we’re such a trustworthy-looking bunch.” The sniper’s words were practically dripping with sarcasm. “Let’s take a look at our lineup of upstanding soldiers, shall we? We’ve got the super-sized Newman with the tattooed face, the glowy-eyed Deuman who, I might remind you, used us for target practice earlier…”

Sahara’s gaze fell upon the next victim of her tirade. “And you!” She stabbed an accusing finger in Levia’s direction. “I can’t quite put my finger on it, but there’s somethin’… fishy about you. I don’t know what it is yet, but I’m gonna find out.”

“The only thing fishy here is your logic,” Kira chided her.

“She took out four Vargrs single-handedly! First the one at the train depot, then three more in the battle just now, and I didn’t see her unsheathe those daggers even once. Am I alone in thinking that’s not normal?”

“So you’re complaining she’s been too helpful? That she’s too skilled?”

Levia finally took a step forward and offered Sahara a deferential bow. Her tone, as always, remained mild. “If I’ve offended you in some way, I apologize. That wasn’t my intention. I… my situation is a bit difficult to explain…”

“It’s fine, Levia,” Kira said, waving away the concern. “Don’t listen to this thick-headed moron. You don’t need to prove yourself to me. Or anyone else on this team,” she added, throwing Sahara a dirty look.

The sniper grunted in response, clearly unswayed. “Whatever. That doesn’t mean I’m wrong. And I stick by my earlier comments. As far as I’m concerned you’re all suspects, ‘specially Queen Yede over here.” She turned to Akasha. “That’s right, I’m talkin’ about you. The last one to arrive. A little convenient you’ve been gone this whole time and then show up right after we get attacked, don’tcha think? A little suspicious, maybe?”

The big Newearl glowered menacingly at Sahara. A tiny voice in the back of her mind urged her to lash out, to strike the smaller woman down. She didn’t care that it would end her career. Without Ivan her future didn’t matter anymore. Not much of anything mattered anymore…

There’d been a time during her days as an outcast when Akasha nearly lost sight of herself. Then, like now, she’d been tempted by thoughts of violence. Dark visions had flowed through her head like a river of acid, burning away all rational thought. Sending her on a downward spiral into darkness…

It was during that time she first heard the voice.

At first the voice had told her all the terrible things she didn’t want to hear—that she was a monster, unloved and untrusted by everyone, an abomination whose sole purpose was misery. Later the voice told her something even worse; it told her all the terrible things she did want to hear—that she could ease her pain by hurting others, that they deserved to be punished, that it would be easier giving up than trying to fit in.

With Kira’s help she had squashed the voice, driven it out. It had gone away forever, never to return—or so she thought. Now it was back, whispering devilishly in her ear, urging her to let go of what little humanity she had left. Yet this voice was different somehow. It was more insidious… and more insistent.

“Go on, hurt her. Make her suffer. The bitch means nothing to you. She’s just like all the rest, all those who tried to tear you down. She doesn’t deserve your mercy…”

Akasha balled her hands into fists at her sides, fighting to control the rage building inside her. Her temples were throbbing so hard she thought they might burst.

Meanwhile, Sahara was still in the midst of her argument. “How well do you really know your friend, Red?”

“Well enough to know she’s not a damn spy!” Kira shot back.

Akasha stepped in front of Sahara. She towered over the sniper, who only came up to her chest. “Maybe she’s right, Kira. Maybe I am a traitor. Maybe I’ve been trying to sabotage the mission all along.”

“Stop it, Kasha. You’re not helping.”

Akasha refused to budge. Wisps of ice energy began swirling around her still-clenched fists.

“Kasha!!” exclaimed Kira. She pulled her friend close and whispered, “Please, don’t. For my sake, if not yours.”


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPbnejYVfTI[/b][/u]

And just like that, the spell was broken. Whatever dark power had gripped Akasha’s mind was gone, at least for the time being. “Fine,” she grumbled, and stalked off to the corner to the room.

Sahara snorted with ill-deserved triumph. She turned around—and nearly collided with Aster, who was standing directly behind her. “Hey, watch it!”

Aster stood her ground. When she spoke, her voice was low and menacing. “Got a problem with me, too? I promise I won’t back down like the walking skyscraper over there.”

“Get the hell outta my face, right now.”

“Make me, sniper girl.” The Deuman took a step forward, forcing the human to step back. “Know what I think? I think you’re a pathetic excuse for an ARKS who can’t handle the pressure of this assignment, and now you’re starting to crack like a rotten egg. Maybe KAI-OS found a way to track us, maybe they didn’t. Doesn’t really matter. Bring them on, I say! Either way, it doesn’t change our objective here. If you’re too much of a chicken to join us, go home to Ur and cry to your mommy instead.”

“I told you to back off!” Sahara shouted, leveling her sniper rifle at Aster’s chest. The Deuman merely grinned as if her point had been made.

Crack! In a move faster than most of the ARKS could see, Aster grabbed the barrel of the rifle with one hand, pushing it up and away from her, while at the same time elbowing Sahara in the jaw with her other arm. The sniper toppled backwards, letting out an “oomph” as she landed on her rear end. Aster yanked the gun from her grip as she fell. She then turned the rifle on its owner, aiming the muzzle at Sahara’s head. “You want to pick a fight? Fine by me. I'll shove this rifle so far up your ass you'll—”

“Hey!” Kira inserted herself between the two women—directly into the weapon’s line of fire. “Knock it off, both of you! We’re supposed to be a team here! Have all of you forgotten that? We have a mission to accomplish, and I for one intend to see it through.”

Aster narrowed her eyes. She wasn’t ready to yield to some loudmouthed pipsqueak, especially one who was in her way.

Kira glared back at her. “Either shoot me right now or put that thing down.”

“Can’t I do both?” the Deuman smirked. Finally she lowered the rifle. “Just so we’re clear, I don't take orders from you. But fine, I'll let it go... this time.” She shoved the bulky weapon into Kira’s hands, who returned it back to Sahara.

You’re too naïve, Red, Sahara thought with regard to Kira. Something doesn’t add up here, something I can’t overlook. Your blind trust in these people is gonna get us all killed...

A mechanical whirring noise behind her interrupted Sahara’s train of thought. She turned to look—and found herself staring into the beady optical sensors of a Guardine, a small flying robot repurposed by KAI-OS as a sentry drone. And not just one of them, she realized, but five! “Shit! They found us!” she shouted.

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Guardine_name_zpswyzxwbcd.png~original[/spoiler-box]

Sahara’s rifle came up on reflex and she pulled the trigger. Her shot took the Guardine in the center by surprise, ripping straight through its power core. The little robot fell out of the air like a tiny meteorite, exploding into shrapnel as it struck the ground. The other four Guardines, reacting to the destruction of their groupmate, trained their laser sights on the hapless sniper.

She was done for. No matter how fast she was, how skilled she was, Sahara couldn’t possibly shoot down all four Guardines in time. Their front-mounted cannons began to whine as they powered up. Aster had been right after all, she was the weak link. She wasn’t going to last…

Suddenly Kira’s machineguns rang out and the Guardine on the left exploded. Aster’s photon arrow caught the one next to it. Akasha froze the one on the far right with an icy blast of Barta. The last remaining robot hovered in mid-air for a second before Levia’s well-aimed dagger caught it front and center. It let out a defeated warble and shut down.

It’s a miracle, Sahara thought. She’d done it, she survived… but only with the help of her teammates.

She felt like a total fool. “You guys, I… I’m sorry. I don’t know what came over me. Whatever strange fog was cloudin’ my brain, it’s gone now.”

“Glad to hear it,” said Kira, clapping her on the shoulder, “because we’ve still got a mission to plan. I’m making an executive decision here. Kasha and I will go after Solomondi. Sahara, you and Levia are better off being Aster’s decoys.”

“Wait! Let me an’ Levia go after Solomondi. I know I have no right askin’ you this, Red, but please, give me a chance to prove myself here. I can do this. I want to do this.”

Kira’s brow furrowed in thought. It was a risk, sure, but was it an unnecessary one? Would she and Akasha stand a better chance than Sahara and Levia? On a mission like this, with a hundred different variables, nothing was ever certain. “You want to prove yourself? Fine, you two can take Solomondi.”

Aster stepped forward. “That’s a bad idea. Just because the girl had a change of heart doesn’t mean she’s ready to—”

“Look,” Kira interjected, “I appreciate the concern, but it’s my call and I say we give her a chance. Besides, she’ll have Levia with her, and I can’t think of anyone more reliable. That’s fine with you, isn’t it, Levia?”

The other woman nodded her assent.

“There you go,” Kira told Aster. “It’s settled. Okay team, you know what you have to do. Let’s move out!”

* * * * * * * * *


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSTvph9YFMs[/b][/u]

COLONY SHIP 02, UR: COUNCILOR LANE’S OFFICE

The mechanized door slid open and Aki01 stepped into Tamara Lane’s spacious office. Despite its size, the extensive use of wood paneling gave the room an intimate feel. The only thing breaking the illusion was the large floor-to-ceiling window that also served as the outer wall. Its unobstructed view of the bustling downtown district was supposed to remind the occupant of the people he—or in this case, she—served.

Aki had expected to chat with Councilor Lane privately. Instead she found three people gathered around the councilor’s desk: the elderly Councilor Ken Zardana, Councilor Lane herself, and a man wearing a jet black business suit and sunglasses. All three looked up as the red-haired Caseal approached.

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Aki01_rebirth_name_zps1ojwctmd.png~original http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/KenZardana_name_zps9df0f933.png~original http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/TamaraLane_name_zpsc5e6f758.png~original[/spoiler-box]

“Forgive me, Councilors, I hope I’m not interrupting. I didn’t realize Councilor Lane would have company today.”

“Quite alright, Colonel.” Seated behind her desk, Lane offered Aki a pleasant smile. “It’s not a bother.”

“I was just leaving anyway,” said the man in the black business suit. He started walking towards the door but stopped short when he reached Aki. “By the way, it’s so good to finally meet you, Colonel. I’ve been following your career for some time.”

He held out a slender, gloved hand. Aki took it in her own and shook it. The man had done nothing wrong but for some reason Aki felt unsettled when she looked at him. “Forgive me, I don’t think I caught your name. Mister—”

“Lee. Just Lee.” The man’s expression was unreadable behind his dark glasses. “Perhaps our paths will cross again someday. Until then, farewell.”

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Lee_name_zps535c104e.png~original[/spoiler-box]

And with that, he left. Aki watched as the man strode out of the chamber, then returned her focus to the matter at hand. She’d come here seeking answers to the terrorist bombings that had rocked the city, bombings the Executive Council blamed on KAI-OS. They had refused to release their evidence to the public, but would they do it in private? It was time to find out.

“You’re here for the evidence in the bombing case,” Councilor Zardana stated flatly, his arms crossed.

Was the man psychic? “Y-Yes, that’s right. I’ve been reviewing the facts but haven’t found any evidence linking the bombings to KAI-OS. The Council stated it has ‘irrefutable proof’ but has yet to share that proof with anyone. I was hoping—”

Councilor Lane put up a hand to silence her. “I’m sorry, Colonel, we can’t do that. I respect your position but this is sensitive information. We simply can’t release it, not at this time.”

“I understand your reluctance to share it with the public. That’s not what I’m asking of you.” Aki clasped her hands behind her back. “As an officer of the ARKS military, I’m requesting crucial information related to acts of terrorism committed aboard this ship. I can sign a confidentiality waiver or whatever you require. I’m not interested in causing a spectacle, I only want the truth—as I’m sure you do as well. Assuming the Council has nothing to hide, that is.”

Lane’s expression became harder, less cordial. “Let me be clear, Colonel. Just because you decided to play detective on your own time doesn’t mean we are obligated to cooperate with you. In any case, this matter will have to be approved by the entire Council. We’ll discuss it with them and get back to you.”

“Thank you, ma’am. That’s all I ask.”

Zardana stood up. With his hands in his pockets he slowly, deliberately walked past Aki. “Suppose our evidence is somehow wrong. For the sake of argument, let’s go even further and suppose it doesn’t exist at all. Would it even matter? Are you, of all people, going to tell me KAI-OS doesn’t deserve this? That the galaxy wouldn’t be a better, safer place with them gone? The Kings we’re targeting are three of Oracle’s most wanted criminals. They’re murderers, black marketeers, and thugs. Even if KAI-OS weren’t behind the bombings—which they are—they’ve done more than enough to justify the actions we’ve taken.”

“Ken’s right, Colonel. Why spend the effort proving how bad these bad guys really are?”

“Because,” Aki replied, “if they’re not responsible for the bombings, that would mean the true culprits are still out there. Culprits who could be plotting against Ur even now. And that, at least, is worth investigating.”

Zardana and Lane exchanged a look. “Well then, good luck with your search,” said Lane.

Aki nodded at each of them in turn. “Thank you for your time, Councilors.”

She spun in place and strode towards the doorway. As she waited for the door to automatically slide open, Aki glanced in the trash bin near her feet. Something orange inside immediately captivated her attention.

A cacaiya peel. Just like the one I found on the roof of the Galactic Savings & Loan…

“Something wrong?” Lane asked mildly from across the room.

“N-No, nothing…” The processors in Aki’s brain were blazing at full capacity.

This was bad, very bad. Aki knew the Councilors weren’t being entirely forthcoming, but this… this was much worse than she’d feared. Either they had met with the bomber or were directly involved. She was sure of it.

Aki needed to solve this mystery, and soon…



TO BE CONTINUED[/spoiler-box]

[yoshiblue]

[SPOILER-BOX]Heh, cacaiya peels. Interesting change of heart. I wonder how Kira's decision will pan out?[/SPOILER-BOX]

[stukasa]

CHAPTER 6.4 [9/5/15]
[spoiler-box]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAtYPnCsWzo[/b][/u]

PLANET LILLIPA: KAI-OS OCCUPIED QUARRY

Sometimes the waiting was the hardest part.

Unfortunately, that’s all Kira and Akasha could do at the moment. They were hunkered down in a corner of a warehouse filled with large wooden crates. Those crates, in turn, were filled with a number of black market goods: photon weapons, ammunition, stolen medical supplies, and various illegal substances, among other things. The warehouse was devoid of people—aside from the two concealed ARKS—and lit only by a series of regularly-spaced lamps near the ceiling of the vast, three-story room.

Kira’s team—that is, Kira, Akasha, and Aster—were tasked with downloading as much information as possible from the computer servers KAI-OS kept in their heavily-guarded data center. It was Aster’s job to retrieve the files, which left Kira and Akasha to play the role of decoys. They would wait for the signal that Aster was in place, then cause a commotion to draw the guards’ attention away from the ARKS’ real target. Aster would sneak in, download the data, and get out. Simple.

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Kira_ARKS_name_zpsqgyimpge.png~original http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Akasha_clothes3_name_zpsv4mg4z3k.png~original http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Aster_name_zpsvftr3rnh.png~original[/spoiler-box]

That brought Kira back to the part with the waiting. It wouldn’t be so bad if it weren’t so terribly, uncomfortably awkward. She wanted desperately to talk to Akasha. Something was troubling her friend, that much was certain, but every time she brought it up Akasha just shrugged it off or changed the subject. That had to change… and it couldn’t wait any longer.

Kira opted to start with some idle conversation. “Last night I dreamt I was the tall one and you were the short one.”

“Mm, that’s nice,” Akasha replied absentmindedly, hardly paying attention.

“I spent the whole dream putting things on high shelves just out of your reach,” Kira continued.

She received no reply.

“Look, I don’t know if you’re just focused on the mission or what, but it feels like you’ve been distracted a lot lately. Is something wrong?”

“I told you before, it’s nothing,” Akasha responded curtly, peering over the top of a crate to scan their surroundings.

“Kasha… Hey! Look at me, will you?”

The copper-skinned Newearl finally turned to acknowledge her friend. There was something missing from her dark-eyed gaze, Kira thought. A liveliness she hadn’t seen in Akasha’s eyes these past few weeks.

“What?”

“What’s your problem, huh? You’ve been so distant lately. Even when you’re right here next to me it feels like you’re a million kilometers away. I can tell something’s troubling you. You think I don’t see it all over your face?” Kira took a deep breath. She hated confronting her friend like this, but it had to be done… for both their sakes. “If that’s all it was I might’ve been willing to let it go. But what happened back there with Sahara… Kasha, you were about ready to murder her! Not saying she wasn’t being a total ass, but still, I thought you’d moved past this.”

“Yeah, well, maybe you don’t know me as well as you think.”

“It’s clear to me you’re in pain, and it hurts that you won’t tell me what’s wrong. I’m your friend, I want to help you! Tell me what it is so I can help.”

Akasha averted her eyes. Her voice dropped to a whisper. “You can’t help me with this...”

“If not me, then who?”

“No one! No one can help me!” the Newearl practically spat out, her steely resolve beginning to crack. “Leave me alone! I don’t want sympathy, especially not from you!”


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFWp7yKcmbg[/b][/u]

Kira’s demeanor turned sullen. “Your friendship means the world to me, you know that. We’re the unstoppable duo, the team that can’t be beat, remember? But lately it feels like you’re slipping away and I don’t know what to do. I can’t save this friendship by myself, I need you to meet me halfway. We are still friends, aren’t we?” Her eyes were pleading. “Aren’t we, Kasha…?”

“I…,” Akasha began. There was a lump in her throat that wouldn’t go away. When she spoke again her voice was strained and hoarse. “Yeah, of course... of course we’re friends…”

“If that friendship means anything you, then please, tell me what’s going on. Give me something, anything, to work with here.”

Her eyes rimmed with bitter tears, Akasha choked out an anguished cry as she slammed a fist into the nearest crate. A flash of lightning energy dissipated against the wood. “I… I can’t! I have nothing left of myself to give. You’ve taken so much from me already, I guess you might as well take our friendship too!”

Kira was completely taken aback. “W-What…? Kasha, what are you… talking about…?”

Akasha remained silent, her eyes fixed on the ground.

“No… No, you don’t get to do that. Not this time.” Kira shook her head slowly from side to side. Despite her best efforts, her anger at her friend was steadily rising. One thing was for sure—she was done taking the gentle approach. “You don’t get to say something like that without telling me why… If I’ve done something wrong, tell me what it is so I can make it right!”

Akasha gritted her teeth. Her patience had been stripped away, piece by piece, until at last nothing remained. Nothing, except a cold fury in the pit of her stomach. “That’s it, I’ve had it! I thought I could endure this, but you know what? Screw it. Screw everything. I’m done with this mission, I’m done with the ARKS, and I’m done with YOU!”

She turned away, intending to storm out of the building, when Kira grabbed her arm. “Don’t you dare walk out on me, you selfish idiot!”

Akasha growled and swung the back of her arm into Kira’s midsection. The girl let out a surprised oomph and went sprawling to the stone floor.

“Leave… me… ALONE!!” Once more, Akasha turned her back on her friend and started to leave. It was better this way, she thought. Better to sever her ties now than drag it out.

She’d only taken a few steps when Kira let out a ferocious yell and tackled her from behind. Both women tumbled to the ground, Kira on top and Akasha below. “I’m not letting you off the hook that easily!” Kira grabbed Akasha’s shoulder with one hand and slapped her across the face with the other. “You don’t walk out of here until I say you do, got it?!”

The pint-sized Gunner was stronger than she looked… but still no match for Akasha physically. The Newearl pushed Kira backwards and jumped to her feet. “You wanna do it this way? Fine, I don’t even care anymore.”

She lunged forward, her fist on a collision course with Kira’s face. Kira tried to sidestep but Akasha managed to grab hold of her jacket and the two fell to the floor once again. They wrestled back and forth, each trying to pin the other but failing to do so. Akasha was too big and heavy to pin down, Kira too nimble and squirmy. Together they rolled across the hard stone until a crate abruptly stopped them. Once again it was Kira who ended up on top. “What did I do to you that was so damn terrible, huh?!” she shouted. “What’s worth throwing away our friendship for? Tell me!”

Growling, Akasha shoved Kira to the side. She attempted to stand but Kira yanked her foot out from under her and the big Newearl toppled forward with a crash. Kira pulled herself onto Akasha’s prone body, wrapping an arm around the larger woman’s neck. “Did I forget your birthday or something? Maybe I called you a bad name in my sleep, is that it?”

Akasha refused to give in. Despite Kira pressing down on her, and despite being caught in a chokehold, she managed to rise to her feet. Kira hung on, also refusing to give up. Akasha felt her head growing lighter. Her vision began to blur. If she didn’t get free soon she was going to pass out. She slammed Kira into the nearest crate—once, twice, until finally the third impact knocked the girl loose. Kira staggered backward, steadying herself against the crate. Her hair was disheveled; her eyes blazed with intensity. “Did I eat the last chocolate bar in the fridge? Use your toothbrush without realizing it? Or did I take your favorite spot on the couch? Huh?!”

It was too much. The last of Akasha’s defenses fell away, the mask of civility she’d tried so hard to hold in place finally broken beyond repair. “You took away my happiness, my future!” she screamed, tears streaming down her face. “You took HIM!”


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5O9q0NB2HL0[/b][/u]

Kira froze. Her scowl melted away as realization dawned. Ivan. Her best friend was in love with Ivan. “How long have you…?”

Click! Their radios clicked once—Aster’s signal to begin. That meant she was in place and ready to begin the operation.

Akasha ignored it. “Since our mission to Vopar,” she admitted at last.

Kira was silent for a few seconds. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

“I… I don’t know. Too embarrassed, I guess. Then you told me you two were dating and… it just got awkward after that.”

“I had no idea… All this time, I never knew…” It was a lot to process. The Gunner put a hand to her temple as she took it all in. “I didn’t mean to hurt you, Kasha. That’s the last thing I wanted to do. But you have to understand, I didn’t take Ivan from you. He chose me, Kasha… Me, not you.”

“You think I don’t already know that?!” There was a twinge of despair in the woman’s voice.

“I’m not sure you do. The way you were talking before, it sounds like you blame me for what happened.”

“Maybe I do, a little…,” she mumbled, looking away.

“You’re blaming me for something I didn’t know about, on a decision that wasn’t mine to make? Do you realize how crazy that sounds?”

Click! The radio again. Aster was getting impatient.

“So now I’m crazy, am I? Crazy, lovesick Akasha acting out and making wild accusations?” Fire had returned to the Newearl’s eyes—a cold, angry fire. Tendrils of red-hot photon energy crackled around her fists every time she squeezed them tighter. In the back of her mind, that tiny voice was whispering to her again, urging her to settle things with Kira once and for all. “Maybe I should show you just how crazy I can get!”

Kira removed a green, egg-shaped object from her pack—a hand grenade. She calmly depressed the safety lever and removed the pin. “Now’s really not the best time.”

Then she threw it.

But her throw wasn’t aimed at Akasha, it was aimed at the far corner of the room. The grenade soared across the warehouse, bounced against the wall, and came to rest rather unceremoniously behind a stack of crates. A long second later, it exploded. The blast was amplified by the ammunition stored in the crates, vaporizing a section of wall and sending a powerful shockwave reverberating through the compound. There was no chance the KAI-OS guards hadn’t heard it. None at all.

But then, that was the point. Akasha and Kira were the decoys in this operation. The job of a decoy is to draw attention, and draw attention they did. Guards from the surrounding buildings—including the data center Aster planned to infiltrate—were shaken up like a hive of wasps, all of them lured to the pillar of dark smoke rising from the ruined side of the warehouse. The two ARKS inside waited silently, with bated breath, for the first of the guards to arrive.

It didn’t take long.

A solitary man wearing a blue guard uniform stepped into the smoke-filled haze. His rifle was drawn. The man scanned the warehouse, searching for the source of the explosion. Kira mowed him down with a spray of machinegun fire before he even spotted her.

“I know things seem bleak right now,” the Gunner told her friend as she continued watching the hole in the wall. “You’re in a lot of pain. I understand that, but it’s going to get better. You may not be able to see it now, but you’re going to get past this. You’re going to move on. And you will find your happiness someday, I promise you that.”

Akasha scowled. “Why do you keep assuming I’ve given up? What makes you think I won’t try and steal Ivan away from you?”

“Because that’s not what friends do, Kasha. And I know you’re still my friend—despite what you said earlier.”

“Yeah, well maybe I don’t feel like being very friendly at the moment.”

A pair of guards burst in through one of the side doors. They’d heard Kira’s gunfire and were ready for a fight. Unfortunately for them, they weren’t quite fast enough. Akasha raised an open palm in their direction and a bolt of Zonde lightning crossed the warehouse in an instant, electrocuting them both.

A third guard rushed in on the heels of the other two, weapon blazing. Akasha and Kira dove for cover. Two more guards entered through the broken wall and another barged in from a door on the opposite side. Now there were four guards closing in on the embattled ARKS. Kira popped up and shot the closest one in the chest, then immediately ducked down before the retaliatory hailstorm could hit her.

During the scattered moments of silence between shots she continued her conversation with Akasha. “You actually think you deserve him more than I do, don’t you? That somehow, because you had feelings for him first, he belongs with you instead of me. Is that it?”

“What if I said I do?!” Akasha peeked around the side of a crate. One of the remaining guards was approaching—and he hadn’t seen her yet. She unleashed an icy blast of Barta that froze the man solid almost instantly. That left two.

“Love isn’t a fair game! It doesn’t have rules… and it certainly doesn’t operate on a ‘first come, first served’ basis.” Kira dive-rolled to the left to dodge incoming fire. She winced as a bullet ricocheted off the ground mere centimeters from her face. “You’ve been nothing but selfish about this whole thing, Kasha. I’ll cut you some slack because you’re my friend and you’re hurting, but enough is enough! Honestly, what do you want from me? Do you expect me to leave him now that I know about your feelings?!”

“No, that’s not…” Akasha jerked backwards as a guard suddenly came charging around the corner. The man swung the butt of his gun at her; she caught it with one hand, then delivered a left hook that sent him sprawling. “I wasn’t planning on telling you in the first place, it’s only because you wouldn’t stop meddling!”

“Meddling?! I asked you to tell me because something was clearly bothering you, and I wanted to help my friend. I care about you, you big doofus! Can’t you see that?!”

More guards poured into the warehouse from all sides. Photon bullets were expended by the hundreds, turning the area into a veritable war zone. It took all of Akasha and Kira’s skill and concentration to stay out of harm’s way. They ducked and dodged, rolled and spun, returning fire whenever possible. One guard went down, then two, then three. Out of the corner of her eye, Kira spotted a series of colorful flashes that could only be Akasha’s Techniques. Good, she thought wryly, at least she still remembers who the real enemy is. As a Foie blast exploded uncomfortably close to her head, she added, I hope.

Kira laid down cover fire before making a run for a pile of used mining equipment. She skidded behind a massive, mechanized drill that looked like it hadn’t been touched in a hundred years. Checking behind her to make sure no guards were on her tail, Kira nearly collided with the figure coming around the corner from the opposite direction. A figure who also happened to be glancing in the other direction. Kira brought up her twin machineguns, ready to fire. The other figure brought up her… double saber? That’s when Kira realized it was Akasha.

Both women froze as they recognized each other. For the briefest of moments Kira wondered if her friend might actually attack her—she hadn’t exactly been a model of rational thinking lately—but no, Akasha lowered her blade after all. Kira followed suit. “We can fight to the death later if you want,” said the Gunner, pulling out a smoke grenade. “Right now it’s time we ditched this party.”

* * * * * * * * *


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7AT0exOiqc[/b][/u]

One frenzied escape later, Akasha and Kira lay panting on the roof of the warehouse. They’d managed to elude the guards, at least for the moment.

“Let’s not do that again anytime soon,” Kira gasped, completely out of breath.

“Seconded.” Lying on her back, Akasha stared up at the vast cloudless expanse. Her head, like the sapphire sky above, was finally clear. “Kira, I have to know… Do you love him?”

“That idiot?! I… I mean yeah, I guess I do. Sorry, Kasha, but I really do.”

“Darn,” Akasha huffed, still panting on the floor, “I think it was easier to resent you when I didn’t know that. But you know what? It’s strange… I can’t explain it, but I think I feel a little better. Don’t misunderstand, I’m not giving up on Ivan. I’m just… letting you hang onto him for now.”

Kira’s laugh came out as a wheeze. “Oh, is that so? I suppose I should be grateful then.”

“Just remember, I get him next.”

“Sounds like a plan. When I don’t want him anymore, he’s all yours.”

“And Kira?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m sorry about what I said earlier. Sorry about everything, really. It’s all been so confusing lately, I don’t know what to think anymore. But there is one thing I do know: I don’t want to lose you as a friend.”

“I know. I don’t want to lose you, either. I can’t believe we almost threw our friendship away over… well, over him. How stupid is that?! I don’t know whether to laugh or cry.”

A melancholy smile spread over Akasha’s face. “It hurts because it’s you.”

“Where do we go from here? You and me, I mean.”

“I have no idea.” Akasha stood up and stretched, as if waking from a long slumber. She offered Kira a helping hand. “But first things first. We have a mission to finish, and teammates who are counting on us.”

Kira let her friend pull her up. “Then let’s get to it.”

* * * * * * * * *


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycYHrDTnH2M[/b][/u]

Elsewhere, Sahara and Levia were dealing with their own set of problems. The first order of business was infiltrating a building they’d nicknamed “the tower.” It was the tallest structure in the quarry and the location of Solomondi’s private residence. After that, their job was to locate the KAI-OS King himself and apprehend or, in the worst case, eliminate him.

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Sahara_name_zpsalm0tmnn.png~original http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Levia_name_zpsrbm5ug6i.png~original[/spoiler-box]

Step one: get inside. From their vantage point they could see a lone guard protecting the entrance. The man looked bored, but not bored enough for them to slip past unnoticed. In that case, time for plan B, Sahara decided as she reached for her rifle.

Levia placed a hand on the sniper’s shoulder. “Wait,” she whispered. “Please, let me try another way.”

She picked up a fist-sized rock and hurled it over the guard’s head. It struck a metal drainage pipe and let out a tremendous clang. Startled, the man headed towards the pipe to investigate, leaving the entrance temporarily unguarded.

Sahara gave her teammate a sly grin. “Nice. Okay, let’s go.”

Staying close to the outer wall, they swiftly reached the open doorway. Inside was a spacious lobby lined with ornately-carved marble pillars. Extravagant tapestries decorated the walls, crystal chandeliers dangled precariously from the ceiling, and a plush scarlet and gold carpet ran the length of the room, leading to an elevator at the far end. The opulence of the lobby was a stark contrast to the faded, industrial palette just outside.

“Looks like we’re in the right place.” Sahara and Levia didn’t spend much time admiring the view. They sprinted down the center of the room, hoping to find a stairwell access, but were suddenly and unexpectedly interrupted by a case of unfortunate timing.

Ding!

The elevator doors opened before the ARKS could locate a suitable hiding spot. Inside the elevator car were half a dozen blue-uniformed security guards. Unlike the mostly male guards outside, however, every guard in the tower appeared to be female. They noticed the intruders at once and produced a variety of weapons—mainly pistols and rifles, though one woman brandished a newly-polished scimitar.

Sahara and Levia scrambled behind the nearest pillar just before the first barrage hit. Photon bullets struck the pillar like a tidal wave hitting a levee, their force and sheer numbers eroding the solid stone with alarming speed. Dust and debris coated the formerly-pristine carpet.

The guards spread out as they kept up their relentless assault. From a hidden wall panel next to the elevator, another six security guards emerged and joined the first group in attacking the ARKS. The roar of gunfire escalated into a cacophony of impending death.

“We’ve gotta get the hell outta here!” Sahara shouted over the deluge of bullets.

Levia immediately, and calmly, raised both hands above her head. “I surrender.”

“…Or, we could do that.” Reluctantly, Sahara dropped her weapon and followed suit.

The guards surrounded them in a flash. Their weapons were confiscated, their bodies searched. A cadre of the toughest-looking women pushed them into the elevator, no questions asked.

Sahara and Levia were now prisoners of Mala’din Ashra Solomondi.



TO BE CONTINUED[/spoiler-box]

[yoshiblue]

[SPOILER-BOX]Got to admit, i'm kind of surprised with how they can have a casual conversation while talking to the guards. Makes the organization look like they put a heavy focus on insurgents as well as darkers. It also makes me wonder what Aster would have said upon seeing this.

Hopefully the two won't pull some violent measures over a boy. [/SPOILER-BOX]

[Zorafim]

Dang it, I knew I should have waited to read this. I read it tired and rushed through it. I must have missed a bunch of details without realizing it.

[CelestialBlade]

[spoiler-box]I absolutely love the mix of emotion and action in these last few entries, specifically with Kira/Akasha and Sahara, with Levia and Aster there to balance it out with silence and skill. Watching Levia fight is always interesting because she has so much at her disposal, and likely so many abilities we haven't seen yet. While Solomondi almost surely has an elaborate trap planned, with Levia in there you can never count the team out. Who could possibly know everything Levia can do, or Akasha for that matter?

I also really like Solomondi's design, while we don't know much about him yet it looks perfect for a villain of his sort. I have a feeling that girl is going to be really important too, perhaps in a Matoi-sorta way.

Also, awesome job with the music, I can tell you intended several points to occur in time with the music. The timing was really well done, although the changes in music usually happened a couple of seconds after the intended scene...but I'm a really fast reader, and I know first-hand how hard it is to time all that out. Either way, great job with that, it added a lot to the atmosphere.[/spoiler-box]

[stukasa]

@yoshiblue:
[spoiler-box]Normally the ARKS' main focus is the Darkers, but the terrorist bombings aboard Ur had people in a frenzy for retribution. That's why the Council doppelgangers were able to manipulate public support for a mission like this.

As for Akasha and Kira having a conversation while fighting, I already set a precedent for that back in Chapter 3. Granted that was just a VR simulation, but it's still the same basic principle. :p[/spoiler-box]

@Zorafim: You definitely shouldn't rush through the next one~

@CelestialBlade:
[spoiler-box]Glad you liked it. ^^ With the music, there's no way I can time it perfectly because everyone has a slightly different reading speed. For the most part I just try to balance it out as best I can.[/spoiler-box]

[Zorafim]

@Zorafim: You definitely shouldn't rush through the next one~

SSQQQUUEEEEEEEEEEEEE

[Sacrificial]

Welp.....Levia....That was anticlimactic. It reminds me of so much OP characters that just don't want to bother with a fight and just strike later......[SPOILER]Wait. I'm onto something am I? [/SPOILER-BOX]

[stukasa]

EDIT: I had to change the first and third songs in this chapter because the originals got removed, and no other versions existed on Youtube...

CHAPTER 6.5 [9/12/15]
[spoiler-box]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xoSszYZ9y0[/b][/u]

PLANET LILLIPA: KAI-OS OCCUPIED QUARRY

It was an agonizingly long elevator ride to the top of the tower. Sahara shifted from one foot to the other. Beside her, Levia stood perfectly calm—maddeningly calm, considering the circumstances. The pale-faced woman could’ve been at the mall rather than on her way to visit one of Oracle’s most wanted criminals.

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Sahara_name_zpsalm0tmnn.png~original http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Levia_name_zpsrbm5ug6i.png~original[/spoiler-box]

At least Sahara assumed that’s where they were headed. The guards escorting them hadn’t told them anything. She glanced around the elevator car. They were surrounded by four of Solomondi’s personal guards—tall, statuesque beauties who shared the same no-nonsense expression. They already caught us. Would it kill ‘em to smile at least once? Yeesh.

“This elevator could use a little music, something to lighten the mood,” she said awkwardly, breaking the silence. “Just, uh, somethin’ to think about for the future, y’know?”

One of the guards glared at her. Sahara leaned in close to Levia and whispered, “I sure hope you’ve got a plan here, ‘cause I don’t think they’re taking us to a party.”

Before Levia could reply, a loud ding announced their arrival at the top floor. The heavy elevator doors slid open and its occupants shuffled out. The ARKS found themselves in a vast audience chamber ringed by sculpted pillars and adorned with countless luxuries. A number of finely-crafted vases, golden artifacts, and silken drapes were situated throughout the room. The floor was covered in engraved tiles.

The quartet of blue-uniformed guards marched Sahara and Levia to the center of the room where Mala’din Ashra Solomondi, one of the Four Kings of KAI-OS, awaited them. The man was just as imposing up close as he’d seemed from afar. Seated in the far corner was a young, white-haired Newearl in a loose-fitting Alph Lyla tunic—the same girl they’d seen with Solomondi earlier that day, Sahara noted. They still had no idea who she was but she certainly didn’t look like one of the bad guys. Sahara decided then and there she would do her best to save the girl… but first, they had more pressing problems to deal with.

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Solomondi_name_zpsbw8fm04q.png~original http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Unknown%20Girl_name_zpssflujmk7.png~original[/spoiler-box]

“Welcome to my humble abode,” Solomondi said in greeting. He spread his arms and offered them a cordial smile. “It’s not quite a palace, but it suits me well.”

Sahara was dumbfounded. Where were the threats? The handcuffs? The torture? “It’s, uh… it’s lovely. Almost as lovely as your girls here,” she said, eying the guards. Predictably, they didn’t react.

“They are quite lovely, aren’t they?” Solomondi’s gaze never left the two ARKS. “Now then. I’m sure you’ve come a long way to be here. What brings you to Lillipa, if I may ask?”

“Sightseeing,” Sahara deadpanned. “We were, uh, just lookin’ for the gift shop. Must’ve gotten lost along the way... Sorry ‘bout that.”

Standing beside her, Levia finally spoke up—and with more conviction than she’d previously displayed. “Mala’din Ashra Solomondi, you have been accused of grave crimes against the Oracle government, including the sale of illegal goods, extortion, murder, and acts of terrorism. Your presence constitutes a threat to the peace and well-being of this society. By the order of the ARKS and Oracle, you are hereby under arrest.”

The big man’s smile went from cordial to downright sinister. “Hoh? The viper bears her fangs at last. I could feign innocence, deny your claims… but why bother? Or perhaps you’ve forgotten which of us is the prisoner here.”

Levia merely stared back at him, her gaze unwavering.

An amused smirk crept across Solomondi’s face. “Well, then. By all means, come and get me… if you can.”

Ever so slightly, the pale-faced ARKS shifted her stance. She gave Sahara a meaningful look.

“Oh, are we doing this?” asked the sniper, afraid she already knew the answer.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CfLcxzIL2nc[/b][/u]

Levia was in motion before Sahara even realized what was happening. In a blur, the robed woman spun around the back of the guard to her right. A leg sweep from behind threw the guard off-balance and an elbow to the chest knocked the wind out of her.

By the time the first guard hit the floor Levia had already moved on to the one behind her. That guard—the quickest draw of the bunch—was in the process of pulling a photon pistol from its holster. A snap-kick from Levia knocked the weapon from her grasp; a follow-up roundhouse to the stomach sent her crashing into the nearest wall. Levia swiped the guard’s pistol out of the air and tossed it to Sahara in one fluid motion. “I’ll take Solomondi,” she said, and rushed toward him without waiting for her teammate’s reply.

Sahara looked from the gun that had suddenly found its way into her hands to the pair of furious guards standing beside her. “Now, ladies, let’s not be rash. Surely we can discuss this calmly and reasonably without resortin’ to—”

Whap! The closest guard struck Sahara’s arm, sending the pistol flying through the air once more. The weapon clattered loudly across the tile floor, coming to rest in a corner of the room. Sahara took a split second to consider her options, decided the gun was her best chance, and somersaulted after it, losing her cap in the process. A spray of photon bullets narrowly missed her backside. An awkward dive-roll sent her tumbling behind a display case filled with glittering treasures. The guards, perhaps reluctant to damage their employer’s prized collection, only let a few stray shots whiz harmlessly past her.

Sahara grabbed the fallen pistol and pressed her back against the display case for cover. “Ah, what the hell. I didn’t really feel like talking anyway.”

Meanwhile, across the room, Levia’s fist flew at Solomondi’s face. It was clear she intended to end things with a single well-placed strike. However, Solomondi surprised her by catching her fist at the last second. The man wasn’t one to gloat, opting instead to grab hold of her arm and fling her towards the nearest pillar. It should’ve been a deadly blow but she managed to redirect the point of impact, using her momentum to catapult away from the pillar right back at Solomondi. The big man blocked her flying kick but was pushed backward in the process.

“Not bad,” Solomondi said mildly. “An entertaining distraction, at least.”

The two combatants circled each other, each sizing up the other’s potential strengths and weaknesses. Both knew it was going to be a close fight. Suddenly they were in motion again, the gap between them disappearing in a flash. They became locked in a furious sparring match, a contest of skill and stamina. An outside observer would’ve been hard-pressed to follow the flurry of punches and kicks at the speeds they were being thrown. Solomondi swooped in hard from above, was parried by Levia, then caught her off-guard with a jab to the gut. The blow barely fazed her. She unleashed an alternating combo of high and low kicks designed to keep him off-balance. As soon as she spotted an opening she stepped forward and delivered a two-handed, open-palm strike to the chest that sent him stumbling to the floor.

Scowling, Solomondi picked himself up and charged straight at his opponent. He swung with his right fist, missed, then swung with his left and missed again. Levia dodged in the nick of time, over and over, as Solomondi pressed the offensive. Neither side slowed down. Both waited for the other’s misstep that would end the fight.

It was Solomondi who faltered first. He overextended one of his punches, presenting Levia with a split-second opportunity. She took it. Grabbing his arm, she heaved the man over her shoulder and threw him into one of the pillars lining the room. There was a loud crash as he struck the column. Solomondi collapsed face-first to the floor, shards of stone raining down upon his prone body.

He didn’t get up.

Sahara didn’t have time to observe Levia’s martial arts display. She was too busy trading fire with the remaining guards, both of which were firmly entrenched behind an upended cabinet. Unfortunately the firefight quickly devolved into a stalemate. It was a battle of patience and attrition, neither of which favored Sahara. “Dammit, dammit, dammit,” she growled, mostly to herself. “Why don’tcha come out already so I can shoot you?”

They didn’t, of course. Sahara decided to try a new strategy. The walls were made of smooth marble; if she could angle her shots perfectly, she might be able to ricochet the bullets off the wall and hit the guards. The odds were slim, but what else could she do?

This was going to take great timing and skill. She waited for a lull in enemy fire, then rose from her hiding spot behind the display case and laid down some cover fire. Taking aim at the wall to her left, she squeezed off three shots. The first was nowhere near the mark. The second bounced off the wall and struck the cabinet the guards were using for cover. The third flew behind the cabinet and Sahara heard a sharp cry of pain. A perfect shot! The remaining guard, whether from surprise or anger or both, jumped up and began spraying bullets wildly in her direction. Sahara leveled her pistol and fired twice. The guard slumped to the floor, motionless, a hole burnt through her forehead.

Sahara’s shoulders sagged with relief. She discarded her nearly-empty pistol and went to retrieve the fallen guard’s assault rifle. It was then she noticed the pain in her thigh and the trail of blood running down her leg…

Levia, meanwhile, had just started to turn away from Solomondi when the man’s hand twitched. Slowly but surely, he climbed to his feet once more. It should’ve been impossible. The force of the impact should have shattered his spine, yet incredibly he appeared unhurt. Whatever else he may be, the man was no ordinary human. She was sure of it.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRzejN3cRq0[/b][/u]

“Shall we continue?” he asked.

It wasn’t really a question. They flew at each other without further preamble, their fists continuing the conversation in the absence of words. Hands and feet alternated between offense and defense. A high block. A feint. A sweeping roundhouse. It was a ballad of expression, a deadly dance performed by two masters of the craft.

This time, however, something was different. Something had changed. Levia was having a difficult time keeping up with Solomondi… and she couldn’t figure out why.

It didn’t make sense. Had his speed actually increased? She should’ve been faster than him, yet somehow he was always a step ahead of her, as though she were seeing an after-image of him rather than the real thing. Inexplicably her attacks began to pass right through him. She jabbed to the left and suddenly he was on the right. She threw a high kick and suddenly he was outside her range.

His attacks, on the other hand, were deadly accurate and doggedly persistent. The first few hits inflicted only minor damage. The next few began to wear her down. The best Levia could manage was to block or evade, and even then she was only partly successful. If the situation didn’t change, and fast, she was going to lose the fight.

Sahara didn’t want to interfere in Levia’s battle, not when she might hit her teammate by accident. Rifle in hand, she limped across the room on a wounded leg. A Monomate had eased the pain and slowed the bleeding, but she was still going to need medical attention to remove the bullet… sooner or later. In the meantime she had another mission to accomplish.

Sahara peered over the back of a plush sofa in the far corner of the room. Cowering in the space behind it was the white-haired Newman girl, her hands tightly gripping her head. “Hey,” Sahara said softly, trying not to startle her.

The girl looked up at her with wide, terrified eyes. She tried to shove herself further into the corner—not that it made a difference.

“Relax, kid.” Sahara offered a reassuring smile. “I’m not gonna hurt you. My friend and I are with the ARKS. We’re gonna get you out of here, okay?”

The Newearl’s expression softened slightly. She nodded.

“Good girl. Say, what’s your name?”

“D-Devi,” she stammered.

“Hang tight a little longer, Devi. I just need to take care of—”

Ding!

The elevator doors on the far side of the room opened. The car was packed with half a dozen uniformed guards. “Aw c’mon, gimme a break!” Sahara moaned.

They prob’ly figured something’s gone wrong up here, she mused, throwing herself behind a pillar. Either that or they heard all the gunshots earlier.

Just as the guards started to exit the elevator, Sahara unleashed a blistering salvo from her assault rifle that caught them unaware. Three of the women were struck down immediately. The remainder returned fire from inside the car. Sahara ducked behind the safety of the pillar. “Stay down, kid!” she shouted at the girl still concealed behind the sofa.

Two guards managed to escape the elevator, trading fire with Sahara from their own positions of cover. Sahara counted an extra few seconds in her head, hoping they’d assume she was out of ammunition. The gambit paid off. They charged forward recklessly, abandoning their defensive posture. Sahara mowed them down with ease.

That left only one.

The last guard was also the bravest—and most foolhardy. Ignoring Levia and Solomondi dueling nearby, she ran straight across the center of the room brandishing a massive scimitar. It was a suicidal charge considering her opponent wielded an assault rifle.

Sahara smirked. “Like shootin’ fish in a barrel.” She pulled the trigger.

Click, click, click.

Out of ammunition. She was out of ammunition! The thought had barely registered when the blade came swiping at her head.

Ka-shink! Sahara somehow managed to block the scimitar with her empty rifle, though the impact sent her reeling backwards. Quick reflexes helped her dodge the second strike. Frustrated, the guard swung again with even greater force. Sahara put up the rifle to block—and flinched as the blade sliced the gun in two. The scimitar continued its downward arc, ripping a fifteen-centimeter gash in her tunic along the center of her chest. Sahara glanced down and saw exposed skin, but no blood. The blade had just barely missed her.

She ducked behind a pillar as the guard came at her again. Snatching an expensive-looking vase off a nearby table, she looped around behind the woman and smashed it over her head. The vase exploded in a shower of debris and the guard dropped to the floor, unconscious.

Sahara’s battle was finally over... again. She looked toward the untouched sofa in the corner. “Still okay back there, Devi?”

“Y-Yes,” came the timid response.

“Good. Stay that way. I’ll be back for you real soon.”

With the guards out of the way she could finally turn her attention to helping Levia. She watched as the robed woman punched the air, failed to block an incoming attack, and was knocked across the room like a skipped stone. Sahara couldn’t figure out why she was having such a hard time. Her aim was off, her timing wrong. It was like Levia was seeing a different Solomondi than the one in front of her, one that was in a slightly different position than the genuine article. Has her vision gone bad? the sniper wondered, perplexed.

Once again Solomondi charged at his opponent. Levia tried to beat him to the punch with a swift horizontal thrust. Sahara saw it all in slow motion—two fighters on a collision course, a train wreck in the making—and a thought struck her. She’s going to miss, Sahara realized. “Levia! More to your right!”

Levia adjusted her trajectory at the last moment, her arm shooting out like a deadly spear. The false Solomondi vanished. It his place, slightly to the right, was the real Solomondi, his chest impaled by Levia’s hand.

Levia carefully extracted her hand. It was covered in a dark, goopy substance—not blood as she’d expected, but lubricant. The freshly-made cavity in Solomondi’s chest was filled with gears and wires under a layer of synthetic skin.

It would seem the man known as Solomondi was no mere human after all. “Well… met…,” he groaned. His massive body crashed to the ground, this time for good.

Sahara appraised the room. The place was a mess and littered with bodies—some dead, some merely unconscious. A palpable calm swept through the chamber like a rush of fresh air. It was a sharp contrast to the frantic battles of a minute earlier.

“Um, can I come out now?” asked Devi from behind the sofa.

Sahara let herself fall to the floor from pain and exhaustion. Still, she couldn’t help but grin. “Yeah, sure thing, kid. It’s all over now. You’re safe.”

* * * * * * * * *


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4Ejn03jdeE[/b][/u]

COLONY SHIP 02, UR: C-BLOCK, ABANDONED APARTMENT COMPLEX

He was back here again, though he couldn’t explain why. Shankar looked around at the empty apartment. It was nothing but a charred husk now, a monument frozen in time. Every surface was covered in black powdery soot. Flecks of ash lazily glided past the sunlit window. It was as if all color had been drained out of the room by a great vacuum, leaving only darkness and death in its wake.

[spoiler-box]
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Shankar had burned this place. He’d done it to cover his tracks and to cut ties with his past. And yet, inexplicably, he’d come back. Back to the place where he’d lived with her, a woman whose name he didn’t even know. Back to the place where he’d killed her.

Shankar’s hand unconsciously found the locket around his neck. It had belonged to her once. Now it served as a memento of sorts, a reminder that the past is never truly forgotten.

“I thought I might find you here.”

Shankar turned around. Standing in the doorway was a man he’d never seen before… or had he? The man was wearing an impeccable black business suit, dark sunglasses, and an enigmatic smile. “Who are you?”

“My name is Lee,” he said, not moving from his spot. “I’m with KAI-OS. Perhaps you’ve heard of us.”

[spoiler-box]
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“How did you find this place?”

Now the man took a step into the apartment. “Never ask where a man in my profession gets his information. You may not like the answer.”

“What is it you want?”

“I know what it is you seek, what drives you. It's what drives me as well. Purpose. You want purpose; I can give it to you.”

The big Newman didn't look amused, but Lee could tell from the man's eyes that he was intrigued. He decided to press his luck, pointing toward Shankar's face. “That tattoo, are you aware it's a KAI-OS marking?”

“I was told as much.”

“And do you know its significance?”

“No,” he replied simply.

“It's a brand,” Lee explained. “The symbols mean ‘bond’ or ‘shackle.’ It marks you as our property.”

Shankar narrowed his eyes. Lee would have to tread carefully now, but that’s what he had expected. He put up his hands in a conciliatory gesture. “Don't worry, I'm not here to claim you. Far from it. As I said, I can help you.”

“Help me how?” Shankar asked suspiciously.

“You've been searching public and private records for information on Dr. Naya Kestren. Trying to discern her location, I presume?”

Shankar said nothing.

“I can tell you where she is,” Lee offered, still sporting that hollow smile, “or at least, where she was.”

“What's your price?”

“No price. Let's just say, helping you achieve your goal helps me achieve mine as well.”

Shankar considered that. “Very well. So where is she?”

I've got him right where I want him, Lee thought to himself. The best part is, I don't even have to lie. “Orpheus, most likely. She has another research lab there. Though she wasn't formally listed as a passenger, I can tell you for a fact she was aboard during the Grand Expedition.”

“I thought Orpheus was destroyed by Darkers in the Rift. That's what I read in the archive reports.”

“No, that's simply what the government wants everyone to believe. The truth, the real truth, might have caused a small panic… because the truth is that Orpheus was captured by Darkers, and is currently on its way back to known space even as we speak.”

“I suppose I shouldn't ask how you know that.”

The corners of Lee's mouth curled upward in a conniving smile. “You catch on quickly. Just keep an eye on the news feeds. You'll know when the time comes.” He paused. “Oh, and one more thing.” Lee set a large black briefcase down in front of Shankar. “A gift. It's a new set of armor, tailored with a few ‘special modifications’ just for you. When you get to Orpheus, you're going to need it.”

“And if I decide not to go to Orpheus?”

That's not going to happen, thought Lee. You're like me, too ambitious to hold back when the opportunity arises. He smiled again. “Either way, keep it. Compliments of KAI-OS.”

The man in the suit left as quickly as he’d arrived. Shankar stared at the case for a time, unmoving. Finally he reached down and picked it up. If the man was right about Kestren, this was no time to be dwelling on the past.

Not when there were plans to be made.



TO BE CONTINUED[/spoiler-box]

[yoshiblue]

[SPOILER-BOX]Would be funny if Levia broke her fingers doing that. It's also nice, being able to sway someone with the truth alone. Guess that may explain Devi's markings. [/SPOILER-BOX]

[Zorafim]

[spoiler-box]This chapter shows how different our writing styles are. That you can take two inhuman characters and still show the struggle they go through against each other shows off how good you are at expressing emotion in your scenes.

It's pretty fun writing for overpowered characters, isn't it? A shame it's not as easy to do for mental or emotional strength, but taking two titans and smashing them together is always a blast.
As expected, I enjoyed the chapter. Having Sahara there with her own struggles creates a neat contrast to what Levia's doing, allowing the two to shine in their own rights.
And I'm surprised the kidnapped girl is turning out to be so innocent. I expected her to be some kind of mastermind. It's not too late, I suppose she could always turn out to be the designer of the mobsterbot.

And Yoshi, sure, a spearhand may break fingers of most people trying to pierce through hard objects. But Levia isn't a most people.[/spoiler-box]

[stukasa]

@yoshiblue:
[spoiler-box]Luckily Levia isn't so frail. :p As for Devi's markings, you will just have to wait to find out.[/spoiler-box]

@Zorafim:
[spoiler-box]Levia vs. Solomondi was one of the big show pieces in this story arc and I had a ton of fun writing it. After keeping Levia "under wraps" the past four weeks I was finally able to give her the spotlight this time around. ^^ Although her part in the story isn't done yet, either.[/spoiler-box]

[Zorafim]

[spoiler-box]Well if I'm not writing Levia I'm glad someone's doing it. I can't wait to see what else you have in store. This chapter has been very flattering for me.[/spoiler-box]

[stukasa]

CHAPTER 6.6 [9/19/15]
[spoiler-box]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QeGs8qFUrXA[/b][/u]

PLANET LILLIPA: SOLOMONDI’S RESIDENCE, A.K.A. “THE TOWER”

Sahara hissed in pain as Levia slowly, carefully removed the bullet lodged in her thigh.

“Big baby,” Devi teased. The white-haired girl pressed her talis against the wound and closed her eyes. A soft green glow caressed Sahara’s tender skin.

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“Maybe I should shoot you and see how much you like it,” the sniper grumbled.

Devi ignored her. She concentrated hard, willing the photon energy to do her bidding, molding its power into a force for healing. That energy, in turn, stimulated cell growth within Sahara’s body. New tissue filled in the gaps that had been torn open by the bullet. When Devi removed the talis, nothing more than a small circular scar remained.

Sahara gingerly ran her fingers over the spot. She was impressed by the girl’s speed and skill. “Not bad, kid. Guess I won’t shoot you after all.”

Across the room, the elevator chimed. Sahara was instantly on alert. Still seated, she aimed her weapon squarely at the heavy doors, ready for another gunfight. Levia merely lowered herself into a fighting stance.

The elevator doors slid open with their usual grace, revealing the three occupants inside: Akasha, Kira, and Aster.

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“Whoa, point that thing somewhere else,” exclaimed Kira as they entered the chamber. “We come in peace!”

“Got the incriminating data on Solomondi?” asked Sahara, lowering the rifle.

“Right here.” Aster patted her bulging pocket, evidently filled with data disks. “Did you get…,” she began, but stopped when her gaze fell on the remains of the crime boss sprawled in the corner of the room. “Ah, I see you did. Looks like you’re good for something after all.”

“Actually, that was Levia’s handiwork. I was too busy savin’ Devi over here. Ain’t that right, kid?” Sahara ruffled the Newearl’s silky hair.

Kira bent down next to Solomondi’s body. The gaping maw in his chest revealed a tangle of circuits and wires. “This is… not exactly what I was expecting.”

“Solomondi was a CAST?” asked Akasha.

“Looks like it,” Sahara responded nonchalantly.

Kira strode towards the center of the room. Akasha and Aster followed close behind. “Either way, it looks like our work here is done. Aside from getting back to the landing zone, that is.”

Devi’s face lit up when she got a good look at Akasha. “Big sister! You’ve got a tattoo on your face just like I do! Were you also sold to KAI-OS?”

“No, I… Wait, this is a KAI-OS tattoo?”

Devi cocked her head to the side. “Yeah, of course! Didn’t you know that? Yours is a mark of the lowest caste, the slaves. It means you belong to KAI-OS.”

Akasha looked stricken. Her fingers traced the intricate patterns covering the left side of her face from forehead to cheek. “I… I never knew…”

“And what does your tattoo mean?” asked Kira. A series of vertical blue lines ran down the right side of Devi’s face. Unlike Akasha’s, they were glowing faintly as if suffused with photon energy.

“Mine?” Devi giggled. “Well, actually—”

Aster, who’d been inconspicuously easing her way around the perimeter of the group, suddenly sprang into action. Her knife was pressed against Devi’s throat before anyone realized what was happening. “Don’t move,” she warned.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIOVcT1v154[/b][/u]

Kira clenched her fists but stayed put. “What the hell are you doing?!”

“I knew we couldn’t trust her!” exclaimed Sahara.

“Who are you?” Aster growled.

The sniper frowned. “Huh? You know damn well who we are—”

“Not you, you idiot. Her.” Aster dug her blade a little deeper into the girl’s neck for emphasis. A single drop of blood rolled down her immaculate skin.

“Are you nuts?!” Sahara shouted angrily. “She’s not one of the bad guys, she’s just a kid! She even healed me after the fight. I can show you the scar to prove it.” The sniper patted the bullet hole in her pant leg.

“Let her go.” Akasha’s words were mild, her tone calm, but the tranquilizer gun pointed at Aster spoke volumes. Nevertheless, the other woman refused to budge. “I said, let her go. I will shoot you.”

The Deuman’s glowing yellow eyes were smoldering. “You don’t want to do this.”

“No, but I will if I have to. Now drop it.”

Aster hesitated for a moment, then slowly backed away from Devi. Scowling, she let her blade fall to the tile floor.

“You alright, kid?” Sahara asked Devi, her rifle—and her gaze—trained on Aster.

The twin-tailed girl touched her neck. When she removed her hand, two fingers were smeared with blood. “Yes… fine.” She looked up as Aster walked past. “But she won’t be.”

Devi plunged Aster’s knife deep into the woman’s left thigh. The weapon had somehow found its way into the girl’s hand, despite no one seeing her pick it up.

Aster gasped in pain and whirled around, the knife still stuck in her leg. “You little bit—AUGGGGHHHHH!!!” An agonized scream escaped her lips. She grabbed the sides of her head and fell to the floor, convulsing in spasms. After a few seconds she stopped moving altogether.

“Wh-What the hell just happened to her?!”

Devi smiled broadly at Sahara. Her appearance was still that of a child, but her bearing suddenly seemed older and wiser. And much more malevolent. “Simple. I overloaded the parieto-insular cortex in her brain. The mind isn’t equipped to handle that much pain so she passed out.” The little Newearl pouted. “It’s too bad… she forced my hand early. I was going to play along a bit more.”

“You… she was right about you…”

“I was a slave once… and before that, a failed experiment. Now I’m the absolute ruler of this place, the true King behind the throne. Actually, goddess might be more appropriate.” She regarded the crumpled form in the corner. “Poor, foolish Solomondi, he thought he could control me. It was so delightfully easy to break his mind, to twist it to my purposes. In the end he was on his knees begging to serve me. Even after I had his brain implanted in that mechanical body his devotion to me never wavered… Look at him, lying there. He’s nothing but a broken puppet now. But no matter, he can easily be replaced.”

While Devi was talking, Kira bent down next to Aster’s unconscious body and pulled the knife out of her leg. She employed her yellow bandana as a tourniquet to stop the flow of blood. Now she looked up at the young Newearl, her eyes full of defiance. “You think we’re going to sit back and let you get away with this?”

Devi threw back her head and laughed. “Of course not, silly! But there’s not much you can do about it. You were all under my spell the moment you set foot in this place. And you still are.”

Suddenly the girl standing before Kira was gone. In her place, her beaming smile so familiar and yet so alien, was Kira’s older sister, Faraday. “Hey, Kir. Been awhile, hasn’t it? You’ve grown up so much since I last saw you. I mean heck, look at you! An ARKS soldier and team leader to boot. Dad must be real proud.”

[spoiler-box]
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“This… isn’t real,” Kira growled through clenched teeth. Bitter tears gathered in the corners of her eyes. “Fara’s gone… she disappeared! I’ve been searching all this time, and now…”

“What do you mean, ‘gone’? I’m right here in front of you! We can be together again, just like when we were kids. How ‘bout it, sis? What do you say?”

“That’s enough!!” shouted the Gunner. “Get… out… of… my… HEAD!!!” Kira swung Aster’s blade as hard as she could. It wasn’t aimed at her illusory sister, though. It was aimed at herself. The knife found her leg and she cried out as it tore through her skin. In front of her, Faraday vanished as Devi reappeared.

“Using pain to break my illusion… clever, yet foolish. Or have you already forgotten what happened to your Deuman friend?”

Kira felt it all at once. It was as if someone—Devi—had taken her pain receptors and dialed them up far beyond the maximum setting. Searing white-hot agony exploded throughout her body, paralyzing her, and then… blackness. She collapsed motionless beside Aster on the floor.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tpL91yqVco[/b][/u]

Devi smirked in amusement. “Anyone else want to give it a try, or have you all decided to play nice? I can always—” She jerked backwards as one of Levia’s daggers spiraled through the air towards her. The blade narrowly missed her body but lopped off the tip of her left hair tail.

Too late, the Newearl realized the first dagger was only a diversion. Levia came flying at Devi, both hands gripping her other dagger in a forward thrusting motion. There was no time to evade it. The blade plunged straight into her chest—and completely through it. Like a phantom, the image of Devi became transparent before vanishing altogether.

Just like what happened during the fight with Solomondi, Levia realized. At the time she’d attributed the strange disappearing act to Solomondi, but now she realized it had been Devi’s doing all along. The girl was playing tricks on her mind…

Levia whirled around, seeking her target. Instead of one she found four of them. Where Akasha and Sahara once stood, a pair of Devis now stared back at her. Where Kira and Aster once lay unconscious, a second pair of Devis were now sprawled on the floor. The rest of Levia’s team was nowhere in sight.

“Tsk tsk,” scolded the Akasha-Devi. “That wasn’t very nice of you, interrupting me like that.”

The Sahara-Devi looked at Levia appraisingly. “You have an exquisite mind. Such wonders you’ve seen… and such horrors. Even now, after I’ve hurt your friends, you have no desire to exact revenge against me. You only want to stop me because of the damage you think I’ll do, left unchecked.”

The Kira-Devi woke from her slumber and stood next to the other two. “Well, you’re not wrong. I’ve done plenty of damage already and I’ll probably do plenty more. When you’re the head of a major crime syndicate it sort of comes with the territory.”

“But what will you do now?” The Aster-Devi climbed to her feet. “Can you attack, not knowing which is the real me?”

Levia studied the quartet of identical twins. The Newearl was right, there was no way to differentiate between them. That left only one choice. When faced with an impossible decision, sometimes the best solution is to think around it. “You are projecting images into my mind,” she said. “This is likely an attempt at misdirection, to goad me into attacking my teammates. If that is your intention, I assure you your efforts will not succeed. In fact, assuming your abilities are all based on mental manipulation, it is logical to assume you haven’t moved your physical location. In which case—” The robed woman spun in place, her blade carving a wide arc through the air.

“A good guess,” said Devi, “but you didn’t really think I’d stay within striking distance, did you?” The Devi imposters faded away, replaced by the four ARKS. The real Devi was off to the side, out of Levia’s immediate reach. “You’ve been a most interesting playmate. It would be a shame to kill you, especially with so many juicy secrets tucked away inside that brain of yours. Unfortunately I have other guests to attend to and you’re simply too dangerous to be left alone. Perhaps we’ll play again later. For now, sleep.”

Devi snapped her fingers. Levia staggered forward, suddenly unable to maintain her balance. It was as if all the energy had been drained out of her. Her eyelids grew heavier, her body weaker, until finally she succumbed to the inescapable clutches of sleep.

“Pleasant dreams,” giggled Devi. She turned her attention to the two remaining ARKS. “Now then, where was I? Oh yes, your surrender!”

Sahara lowered her weapon and held out a hand. “It doesn’t have to go down like this, kid. Come back with us to Ur and I promise we’ll take care of you. We can all walk away from this, it’s not too late.”

“Oh, please.” The girl rolled her eyes. “You still don’t seem to understand the position you’re in, so let me make it clear for you. You’re going to do whatever I want, whenever I want, or I’m going to hurt you. And I’ll keep hurting you until you do understand. If you amuse me maybe I’ll keep you around for a while. You know, I’ve been wanting a pet…”

“I offer to help and this is how you repay me? You’re nothing but a spoiled brat—and I think it’s high time someone taught you some manners!”

Devi smiled. “My my, getting a little hot under the collar, aren’t we?”

“Huh? What does that have to do with…” Sahara trailed off mid-sentence. Beads of sweat trickled down her forehead. “What… what’s happening… to me…?” She fell to her knees, grasping at the buttons on her tunic. It felt like she was trapped in an oven and someone was slowly turning the dial hotter and hotter.

“The first lesson of your obedience training. It’s unpleasant, I know, but just remember—it ends whenever you want it to end. All you have to do is pledge your undying loyalty to me. After that maybe I’ll teach you to play fetch and roll over…”

“Screw… you…,” Sahara wheezed, her throat parched from the imaginary heat. She ripped open the last button and frantically pulled off her sweat-soaked top. No good—it was still too hot, and getting hotter. Her boots and socks came off next. That provided a moment’s relief, though Devi made sure it was short lived. It’s all in my head... It’s all in my head…, she kept repeating to herself. It didn’t help. “A-Akasha… please… do something… help me…”

“Stop this,” Akasha ordered, aiming her tranquilizer pistol at Devi. “You’re hurting her.”

“Don’t worry, she’ll live. I’m trying to break her, not kill her.”

Akasha was in no mood for games. She pulled the trigger—or tried to, anyway. When she looked down, the gun was no longer in her hand.

“Looking for this?” The girl waggled the pistol playfully. How she’d gotten it, Akasha didn’t know. “You really should be more careful with it—you might shoot someone! Like this.”

Devi took aim and fired. A dart struck Akasha in the right shoulder. The big Newearl felt lightheaded and her vision began to blur. She tottered back and forth, trying to remain upright, then her world faded to black…

* * * * * * * * *


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4J4aUZA1WlU[/b][/u]

KEL’ARDRE STAR SYSTEM: BRIDGE OF THE ORACLE HEAVY CRUISER HERMES

It was inevitable, really. Whether this time or the next, or the hundredth time after that, it was bound to happen. The laws of probability practically guaranteed it.

Admiral Damian Ramos watched in abject fascination as the golden disk spun through the air. Such a thing of beauty, he marveled. A second from now it will become a mere statistic. Not yet, though. Right now, at this moment, its potential is limitless. Absolute. A perfect metaphor for life.

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Ramos_name_zpsbeozdap7.png~original[/spoiler-box]

“Admiral.”

Ramos ignored his executive officer. The XO could wait a little longer. He swiped the glittering ten-meseta coin out of the air and slapped it against the back of his palm.

Tails. That made nine in a row. One more and he’d be at magical number ten, the number he’d been trying to reach all day. He readied the final, decisive flip.

“Sir, there is a matter that requires your attention.”

“Just a moment, Alice. I’m going for number ten now. You know what’re the odds of getting ten tails in a row? Less than one in a thousand. And this could be the one!”

Alice sighed. He’s probably flipped that coin more than a thousand times today so it doesn’t surprise me. “Admiral, please, we’ve got a contact on long-range sensors. It’s coming up on us rather quickly…”

[spoiler-box]
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Ramos flicked the coin into the air. At that exact moment, a symphony of warning klaxons started blaring. They were accompanied by a powerful flashing light that bathed the bridge in rolling waves of crimson.

The coin fell to the floor, immediately forgotten. It bounced once, twice, then spun on its edge before finally coming to a stop.

It had landed on tails.

“Admiral Ramos!” the sensor analyst called out. “Ship’s transponder has just identified the contact. It’s… it’s the colony ship Orpheus!”

The admiral leapt out of his chair. “That’s impossible! There’s no way… Orpheus was destroyed in the Rift almost a year ago. Where the hell’d it come from?”

“It just emerged from warp, sir, bearing straight for us.”

Alice adjusted her glasses, a nervous habit. “Ensign, put it on the forward viewscreeen, magnification factor ten. Let’s see what we’re dealing with here.”

The starfield in front of them shifted and a gargantuan black mass filled the screen. This was no colony ship of the Oracle fleet, it was something else… something worse. Much worse. Perhaps it had once been Orpheus, Ramos conceded, but this… monstrosity… looked more like a colossal Darker than a spacefaring vessel. Covered in overlapping armor plates, punctuated by a series of dorsal ridges, and bristling with clusters of irregularly-shaped spines, it was a foreboding sight indeed.

Ramos stood aghast, hardly believing what he was seeing. Everyone in Oracle knew of the Fifth Fleet Massacre, the tragedy that claimed so many lives. They’d been told the entire fleet was wiped out, decimated in a Darker ambush, yet here was undeniable proof to the contrary. Orpheus hadn’t been destroyed… it had been assimilated. And if the Darkers now controlled Orpheus…

“Fowler,” he said, his voice low, “how long until we’re in firing range?”

The weapons officer studied the readout on the control panel in front of him. “Sixty seconds, Admiral.”

Ramos turned to his stern-faced communications officer, a recent addition to the bridge crew. “Have you tried hailing them?”

“Several times. No response.”

“Very well. Put me through to the fleet.”

The officer punched in a command, then nodded to Ramos. The admiral cleared his throat. “All ships, this is Admiral Ramos. As you’ve no doubt noticed, we have a rather unique contact inbound on an intercept course. Contact is unresponsive and assumed hostile. I repeat, contact is assumed hostile. Get those shields up and weapons ready. Prepare to fire on my command.”

The final thirty seconds ticked by at a glacial pace. Beads of sweat coalesced on the admiral’s furrowed brow. His entire life had led to this moment, this confrontation; his actions over the next few minutes would determine its outcome. He should’ve been shaking in his boots—and probably would have been, had his position afforded such luxuries. But no, he was the commander of the Oracle Navy’s Seventh Fleet. There were things expected of him… and weakness wasn’t one of them.

Still, it was rather ironic. He was a man who had always placed absolute faith in the power of chance. It was his strong conviction that luck was simply making the best of circumstances, that with enough resources and willpower he could turn any situation to his favor. And yet—

Of all the ships in all the star systems scattered throughout the galaxy, he had ended up in the one with the most absurd situation imaginable. Somewhere in the back of his mind he thought, What’re the odds?

The timer hit zero. Orpheus reached—and crossed—the invisible boundary separating safety from danger, war from peace, life from death. It was within firing range, yet the man in the admiral’s uniform remained unnervingly silent.

Behind him, Alice fidgeted. “Admiral…”

Ramos ignored her. As he stared intently at the aberration bearing down on them, he couldn’t help but wonder: What if there are still survivors on board?

Survivors who’ve held onto the slim hope of rescue for the past year, only to be attacked by the very people sworn to protect them?

Can I take that risk? And would it change my decision even if it were true?

Ramos closed his eyes and took in a deep breath. He already knew the answer. “All ships, OPEN FIRE!!” he bellowed.

In an instant the darkness of space gave way to multiple streams of blinding white-gold light. Overlapping fields of fire converged on the approaching colony ship, a hundred gun batteries hurling photon-infused projectiles across the void.

The black behemoth continued unfazed.

The Seventh Fleet formed up around Hermes, intensifying their effort. Dozens of small fighter craft harried Orpheus like a swarm of flies, peppering the vessel with missile strikes and strafing runs. Still the colony ship pushed ahead.

From the bridge of Hermes, Admiral Ramos watched the tiny blossoms of light erupting in the distance. And he was worried. Despite being pummeled by enemy fire, Orpheus had yet to retaliate. What were they waiting for?

As if answering that question, Lieutenant Fowler suddenly announced, “Sir, there’s… some kind of energy reaction coming from Orpheus. It’s… it’s almost like…”

He never got to finish his thought. A brilliant red beam burst forth from the nose of the colony ship, headed directly for them. The entire bridge flooded with light.

And then darkness.

* * * * * * * * *

The battle didn’t last long. By the time the last fiery explosion died away, only one vessel remained intact.

Orpheus continued its relentless, unyielding march towards the space station Terra Nova. The great beast plowed onward without flinching, easily brushing aside the broken, battered husks of Oracle warships in its way. Some of the wreckage was still smoldering.

Even once-mighty Hermes, proud flagship of the Seventh Fleet, drifted lifelessly through the darkness, its sloping bow crumpled and twisted like a cheap plastic model. There was a gaping hole where its command deck once stood; not a single soul had survived.

The odds, it seemed, had not been in their favor that day.



TO BE CONTINUED[/spoiler-box]

[Sacrificial]

[SPOILER-BOX]liking Devi more and more. Also called it. [/SPOILER-BOX]

[Neoyoshi]

Holy nuts, this is going to be a long read, hehe.

Looks like you put a lot of time and effort into this. I shall start reading. ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ

[stukasa]

@Sacrificial: You sure did. xD

@Neoyoshi: Hello and welcome! I appreciate anyone who takes the time to read my work. ^^ P.S. I like your sig, it's very stylish.

[Zorafim]

Her story is really worth reading. So far, it's the best story I've seen in this forum. You're in for a real emotional roller coaster. You're starting with the previous thread, right? This is part two, if you didn't catch that.

[spoiler-box]Damn status effects, they're so frustrating. They're always devastating on you, but never do anything worthwhile to your enemies.
Great read as always. I want to pick your brain on how she's doing that, and if that would effect Levia, when I get the chance. Now that I'm thinking about it, maybe it might be the most effective thing on her, since she is purely a body.
And I'm with Sacrificial, called it.[/spoiler-box]

[yoshiblue]

[SPOILER-BOX]Cutscene power to the max. Kind of funny that the space skirmish bugged me more than Devi's abilities. Though I guess it would be because I could provide my own idea of how Devi's magic works. Still, it made me sit for a day thinking about the darker ship before I could reply.

Interesting chapter. [/SPOILER-BOX]

[stukasa]

CHAPTER 6.7 [9/26/15]
[spoiler-box]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBuOA_JiSys[/b][/u]

Once upon a time, at a genetics research lab among the stars, there lived a very special little girl. The girl lived with her brother and sisters, and Mother who occasionally came to visit them. Day after day she watched and waited as her siblings slept. They slept and slept, but they never woke up. The girl was lonely and asked Mother when she could play with them. Mother said they were under a magic spell that would make them big and strong, and that they needed plenty of rest.

So she waited.

Her siblings grew and grew, yet the girl remained the same. She asked Mother why she wasn’t getting big like her brother and sisters. Mother replied that the girl had another job, the most important job of all, that she was different from everyone else. She had a special kind of magic—a spell Mother had given only to her. But the girl already knew this. She’d known it since the day she was born. Her magic let her look inside people, understand them, and absorb their knowledge. It was how she knew Mother didn’t really love her. At least, not in the way a mother should. She was only loved to the extent she was useful, so she tried to be as useful as she could.

Mother explained that the girl was a kind of “transmitter,” that it was her job to teach her siblings while they were sleeping. And she did. She taught them all about the world and the people in it. Sometimes she whispered other things to them as well, things Mother didn’t know about. She told them how much she loved and cared about them, that she couldn’t wait for them to wake up. More than anything else, she told them to go out into the world and find a place for themselves. A place they could be happy.

Eventually the girl grew tired of being Mother’s tool. She didn’t want to be a transmitter anymore. And she had discovered another magic spell, one that let her influence the thoughts of others. Though she was frightened, the girl decided to try her spell on Mother first. She stood directly in front of Mother but Mother didn't see her. Now the girl could come and go as she pleased. She left the research lab and wandered into the city, marveling at all the different kinds of people. She could hear them in her mind, a thousand different voices whispering a thousand different lies. At first the magnitude of voices nearly overwhelmed her, but with practice she learned to tune them out—selectively, as needed.

The girl returned to the city several more times. Sometimes she visited the shopping mall, for that was where people tended to congregate. She looked down at them from the third floor walkway, her arms propped on the railing, her legs swinging freely to and fro. Such funny little creatures, she thought! From up here they looked like tiny animated dolls scurrying about. A clever smile crossed the girl’s face. Perhaps she would try using her magic on them. Wouldn’t that be oh-so-fun!

The girl enjoyed planting different ideas in their minds. She convinced one man he was a Rappy and watched as he hopped around, chirping and flapping his arms like wings. The girl laughed and squealed in delight. Next she gave a woman the strong urge to take a bath. The woman undressed and stepped into the nearest public fountain, washing herself until the police hauled her away. The girl continued this pattern again and again. She never tired of the amusement it gave her.

When she returned home one day, the girl found Mother waiting for her. Mother knew about her trips to the city and was very angry. She scolded the girl and confined her to the lab. Thus the girl sat alone in her room day after day, week after week, waiting for something that never came. Finally she decided she was better off without Mother. Though it pained her to leave her brother and sisters, the girl left the lab among the stars and set out to start a new life far away from Mother. She would look for a new home, someplace she could have all the fun she wanted. Maybe someplace warm…

* * * * * * * * *


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcY7m6AuqJA[/b][/u]

PLANET LILLIPA: SOLOMONDI’S RESIDENCE, “THE TOWER”

“It’s your turn this time, okay?”

“Uh-huh!”

“Close your eyes and count to ten, then come find me. If you win I’ll give you something good!” There was a pause. “And no peeking! I’ll know if you’re peeking.”

“I know, I know… ‘Kay, here I go. Onnnnnnne… Twooooooo… Threeeeeee… Fourrrrrrr… Fiiiiiiiiive… Siiiiiiiiix… Sevennnnnn… Eiiiiiiiight… Niiiiiiiiiine… Ten!”

Akasha opened her eyes. Briefly she wondered why her hands—and for that matter, her whole body—were so small, but the thought quickly evaporated from her mind. She had something more important to think about at the moment. Namely, finding her sister and winning the game.

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Akasha_loli_name_zpsdtxvwr35.png~original[/spoiler-box]

She strode about the audience chamber with an exaggerated sense of confidence. It was a large room but there were only a limited number of hiding places. That made it a simple process of elimination. Akasha skipped around pillars and peered behind cabinets. She peeked under sofas and pulled back silken drapes. Despite searching high and low, her sister’s location eluded her.

Akasha wasn’t deterred. “I’m gonna fiiiiiiiiind youuuuuu!” she sang out. The little Newearl’s eyes wandered about the room, eventually settling on an ornate wooden cabinet in the far corner. She’d looked behind the cabinet earlier, but what about inside it? Playfully she tiptoed up to the cabinet, careful to avoid making a sound. Akasha rested her tiny hands on the door handles. She took in a deep breath, then flung open the doors with enthusiastic gusto. “Gotcha!” she shouted.

There was no one inside.

“Aww shoot, I was sure I had you that time.” Akasha leaned forward, inspecting the inside of the cabinet. It was filled with an array of exotic, colorful dresses—dresses that belonged to her sister, no doubt—but that wasn’t what caught Akasha’s attention. Hey, doesn’t this cabinet look bigger from the outside? she wondered. The girl rapped her knuckles on the inner wall. It sounded hollow. Running her fingers along the edge of the panel, she found a small latch—and pulled. The panel swung open, revealing her grinning sister crouched inside a previously-hidden compartment.

“You did it!” The girl practically tackled Akasha as she leapt out of the cabinet, drawing her sister into a tight embrace. “Just like I knew you would.”

Akasha smiled impishly. “Of course! Now where’s that reward you promised me?”

Her sister reached into the cabinet and pulled out something shiny and gold. Before Akasha could get a good look at it, the object had already been placed atop her head. Her sister’s hands on her shoulders, Akasha was guided to the nearest mirror. She nearly fainted when she saw it. It was a golden crown of the finest craftsmanship, studded with innumerable diamonds and rubies.

“F-For me?” Akasha gasped.

Her sister nodded. The girl’s voice took on a comically imperious tone. “I hereby proclaim you… Queen of Lillipa! May your rule be long and filled with many chocolates.”

Akasha laughed. It was a child’s laugh, innocent and unrestrained. A laugh unburdened by the weight of responsibility. Her sister laughed alongside her.

“Wanna try on one of my dresses? Only the best for the Queen!”

Akasha’s eyes bulged. “Can I?!”

“Sure! I’ve got plenty to spare. Most of ‘em are too stuffy for my taste anyway.” She browsed through the rack, her delicate fingers skimming the available options. Eventually they came to rest on one particular outfit, an emerald green dress with white lace trim. She pulled it out of the cabinet. “I think this one would be perfect for you.”

Akasha touched the soft, satiny fabric. “Wow, it’s so pretty!”

“And I’m sure you’ll look pretty wearing it. Here, let’s get it on you.” Akasha’s sister helped her into the dress. When she was done she patted it down, smoothing out all the wrinkles. Together they looked into the mirror once more. With her dress and crown, Akasha really did look like royalty. “There, you see? It’s perfect!”

“Thanks, I love it,” said the Newearl, smiling warmly. “And thanks for doing this. It’s so much… I mean, how can I repay you?”

Her sister bent down and kissed her forehead. “Don’t worry about it, Akasha. Just having you here is plenty. Besides,” she added with a playful wink, “I love spoiling my cute little sister!”

“In that case, I humbly accept your generosity.” Akasha curtsied, then burst out laughing.

“Oh, I know what we should do!” her sister exclaimed, her eyes lighting up with excitement. “Fortune telling! It’ll be great fun. Let me get my talis deck. I’ll be right back, don’t move a muscle.” The girl ran off, leaving Akasha momentarily alone.

Akasha glanced around the vast chamber. Everything was quiet and still. Once again she had the vague sensation that something was off, or wrong, or missing. But that was okay. She was with her big sister Devi. Her best friend… and the only one she needed. As long as they were together Akasha would be alright.

Devi returned a minute later, deck in hand. She pulled over a round lacquered table for them to use. “Okay, time to play! Let’s see what your future holds.”

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Devi_name_zpscxnicqhl.png~original[/spoiler-box]

“One of your magic tricks?” Akasha teased.

“It’s only a trick if it doesn’t come true.” Devi shuffled through her deck and laid three cards face down on the table. “Now, pick a card.”

“Hmm… this one!” Akasha pointed to the talis on the left.

The white-haired Newearl flipped over the left-most card. The reverse side was initially blank, but soon the glowing green outline of a figure emerged. It resolved itself into the image of a burly man wielding a large club. “You got ‘The Giant.’ It means you’ll grow up big and strong.”

Akasha giggled. “Does that mean I’ll be even bigger than you?”

“Maybe, someday. If you eat all your meat and vegetables, that is,” winked Devi. “‘The Giant’ also means you’ll live a long and healthy life.”


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQlNoMfy2lI[/b][/u]

“I think I like this game after all,” quipped Akasha. As she stared at the cards on the table, however, her smile faltered. Something about them felt painfully familiar. They reminded her of something… of someone…

Ivan.

Just like the talis Ivan kept on a cord around his neck…

This isn't real.

But how could that be? Akasha lived with her sister Devi in the Lillipan desert. They’d always lived here, together.

Hadn’t they?

“Pick another card.”

Devi’s words interrupted Akasha’s train of thought. Shaking off her troubled feelings, she pointed to the talis in the center. Her sister flipped it over. This time the outline of a clown face appeared.

“‘The Joker,’” Devi explained. “It’s the wild card in the deck. It means your future is going to be exciting, unpredictable.”

“I like excitement.”

That feeling again. Elusive, just out of reach…

Ivan. Where was Ivan? And Kira? Why can’t I remember?

Akasha grabbed her head with both hands. The table in front of her started spinning—no, it was her own vision that was distorted. Memories swung in and out of her mind like a pendulum. Blurry at first, then regaining focus…

ARKS. The mission to Lillipa. Solomondi. Everything came back to her in a landslide.

Meanwhile, Devi was about to turn over the last talis. Akasha quietly grabbed her by the wrist. “Stop. I remember now…”

The girl was silent for a moment. “I was hoping it would take you longer to figure it out,” she said at last. Devi’s mouth stopped moving but Akasha could still hear her speaking, the words echoing in her mind. “After all, we were having so much fun!”

“That voice… I know that voice…”

Suddenly she was looking down at the white-haired girl instead of up, her body finally restored to its normal size. There was no crown. No dress. No fortune-telling deck. It had all been an illusion, a stage play performed in her head. Behind Akasha the rest of the ARKS lay unconscious, slumped in various positions on the floor. Kira and Aster’s legs had stopped bleeding. Sahara, stripped to her undergarments, was drenched in a pool of her own sweat. Evidently she’d passed out from the imaginary heat.

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Kira_ARKS_name_zpsqgyimpge.png~original http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Aster_name_zpsvftr3rnh.png~original http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Sahara_name_zpsalm0tmnn.png~original http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Levia_name_zpsrbm5ug6i.png~original[/spoiler-box]

Akasha turned her attention back to Devi. “It was you all along. I remember now… you were the voice in my head earlier. You… you pushed me to fight with Kira. I nearly attacked Sahara. You’ve been trying to turn us against each other this whole time…”

“I amplified your fears and played them against you, yes.”

“If you wanted to finish me off, why am I still here? You’ve had plenty of chances. Why the elaborate charade—playing hide-and-seek, trying on dresses, the fortune telling gig? What was the point?”

Devi adopted a look of genuine sadness. Her words were still being conveyed through telepathy. “I just wanted to play with you for a bit, that’s all.”

“You wanted… to play?”

“I wasn’t trying to finish you off, Akasha.” Devi nodded towards Akasha’s team. “I was trying to tear you away from them… because I want you to stay here with me.”

Akasha was stunned into silence. Stay with Devi? The girl couldn’t be serious, could she?

This time Devi spoke aloud. “Of course I’m serious. It wouldn’t just be for my benefit, you know. I can help you, too. I know who you are, Akasha. I mean who you really are. I can see those memories buried just beneath the surface. Stay with me and I can release them for you. Isn’t that what you’ve been looking for this whole time, the truth about yourself? Let me set you free.”

Akasha shook her head. “You want another puppet, like Solomondi.”

“No, not like Solomondi. He was a useful tool, nothing more. What I want now is a partner. An equal. You and I are different, but in a lot of ways we’re the same. Don’t you see? You belong here, with me. You always have.”

It was a tempting offer. Akasha had spent the past year with no knowledge of who she was or where she came from. The thought had kept her awake at night many times. Still, she couldn’t abandon her friends so easily, could she? Kira… and Ivan…


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IsEpBE7L_No[/b][/u]

“Let me sweeten the deal. There’s something you want even more than answers to your past, isn’t there?” asked Devi, though she already knew. “Someone you want most of all…”

And just like that, there he was. Devi was gone; in her place stood Ivan, handsome and smiling, wearing his favorite Punish Jacket. Akasha’s heart began to race. Ivan wasn’t really standing there, he couldn’t be. But…

“It’s me, Akasha. I know about your feelings for me. You don’t have to be sad, or afraid, or lonely anymore.” Ivan gently ran his hand up and down her arm as he looked her in the eye. “I can be here for you, just like you wanted.”

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Ivan2_name_zpsptpqme19.png~original[/spoiler-box]

Despite herself, Akasha began to tear up. “You don’t know how badly I’ve wanted to hear you say that,” she said, her voice starting to crack. “But I… I can’t. You’re not real…”

“Is that such a terrible thing? I won’t ever hurt or betray you. And I’ll never leave you, Akasha. We can be together, forever.” He stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her.

Akasha’s head bowed forward, her chin coming to rest on top of Ivan’s head, tears raining onto his brownish-burgundy hair. “No… Not like this. It’s not real… I-I can’t…”

“It doesn’t matter whether I’m real or not, the only thing that matters is that you’re happy. Give it time; I’m sure you’ll come around. I promise…”

“I said no.” Akasha put her hands on his shoulders and shoved him away. Ivan stumbled backwards—and dissipated into a colorful mist, leaving Devi standing in his place.

“Why, Akasha…?” asked the girl, her voice strained. “I was giving you what you wanted. I thought you’d be happy.”

“I don’t want a fake life. I don’t want a fake Ivan. I’d be living a lie… and that’s something I just can’t do.”

Devi threw her arms out in desperation. Her tone was almost pleading now. “You want the real Ivan? Bring him here! I’ll make him love you for real. I can do that, Akasha! I… I can erase your friend’s memories of him. She won’t feel any pain, and you can have Ivan for yourself. I’ll do that for you. I will! Just, please… stay with me…”

“I can’t do that,” Akasha replied. “Not to him, or to her. They deserve better than that. They deserve to be… happy together…” Her last statement surprised her… because, she realized, she actually meant it.

“What do you have waiting for you back on Ur? Sadness? Heartbreak? Is that really the life you want for yourself? Stay here, right here… with me. Together we can make a difference. We can remake this place however we want it, change it for the better! I… I have all the power I could ever want here… but it’s also a long, lonely road ahead of me. I don’t want to do it alone, Akasha…”

Devi…

“I won’t force you. Just, please… give me your answer…”


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JN_1p5dvDxA[/b][/u]

Crack! The shot rang out like cold thunder. Haltingly, Devi looked down. There was a hole in her chest where her heart should’ve been. She coughed and rivulets of blood spilled down her chin. For all her powers, she never saw the bullet coming.

It happened so fast that Akasha was momentarily caught off guard. In front of her, Devi fell to her knees. Akasha swooped in to catch her before she collapsed entirely. “Devi!” she cried, cradling the girl in her arms. “Hey! C’mon, stay with me! Devi!”

Akasha looked past Devi to the direction where the shot had originated. Through the open window, atop the adjacent building, stood a solitary man with flaming red hair and a white demon mask.

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Hunter_name_zpshxtej2pq.png~original[/spoiler-box]

His job done, the man lowered his sniper rifle. He stared impassively at Akasha and Devi for a handful of seconds. Then, as suddenly as he’d appeared, the man jumped off the backside of the building and was gone.

Akasha held Devi close. Blood was smearing all over her but she didn’t care. The girl took in quick, gasping breaths that grew less frequent as the life dwindled from her tiny frame. She no longer possessed the strength to speak. Still, the voice in her mind was able to reach Akasha. “So this is how it ends…”

“I’m sorry…,” Akasha choked out, “I’m sorry, I… I can’t save you…”

Devi reached up weakly and touched Akasha’s cheek, her fingers leaving bloody streaks in their wake. “Don’t be sorry, it’s not your fault… And you know, I deserve this… I’ve done terrible things, Akasha… things that can never be taken back… I think, my whole life, I was looking for something… something I couldn’t find… and somewhere along the way, I got all twisted up inside...”

For all her posturing earlier, Devi was just as frail, physically and emotionally, as anyone else. All she wanted was a place in the world, friends and family to care for her. Akasha took the girl’s delicate hands in her own. “Don’t say that… No matter what you’ve done in the past, the devil you think you’ve become, there’s still good inside you. I know it. I felt it. That’s why… my answer would’ve been yes…”

Devi’s vision was growing cloudy, her consciousness waning. She coughed up more blood. “It’s not too late for you, Akasha… Don’t end up like me. Whatever you do, don’t end up like me… Go home and live your life. Find the thing I was searching for and hold onto it with all your might...”

I will, thought Akasha, and thank you. You’ve given me more than you know.

Devi offered her the faintest hint of a smile. “There are so many things I wanted to tell you, Akasha… So many things I wanted to share. But I… I don’t have any more time left, so I’ll have to settle for this... Just this one thing…” Her gaze found Akasha’s. A moment of warmth passed between them, one she wished would last forever. “I wasn’t lying when I called you my sister before… After all, your mother… is mine as well…” She opened her mouth to speak, her voice emerging as a deathly whisper. “Na… ya… Kes… tren…”

Then the girl let out her final breath and was still.

Akasha squeezed Devi tighter, her mind numb, her body shaking. And for reasons she still didn’t fully understand, her tears wouldn’t stop flowing.

* * * * * * * * *

- One day later -

COLONY SHIP 02, UR: CAMPSHIP DOCKING BAY

Alternating light and heavy footsteps could be heard as Kira and Akasha made their way down the campship boarding ramp. Home. They were finally home. The two shook hands and parted ways with Levia and Sahara. Aster, it seemed, had found another way back.

As they headed towards the east gate, a familiar face stood waiting for them. Kira increased her walking pace until it was nearly a run and flung herself into Ivan’s waiting arms. Their bodies entwined, the pair held each other for a long moment as they slowly twirled in place. Ivan stooped forward and they shared a tender kiss. “I’m back,” Kira whispered into his chest.

“Welcome home, Spitfire,” Ivan replied softly, brushing the hair away from Kira’s sparkling eyes. “I missed you.”

“Yeah… me too.” The orange-haired girl wiped away a stray tear.

By this time Akasha had reached the reunited couple. Ivan looked up at her and smiled. “Hey there, Akasha. Glad to see you’re still in one piece. Bring me back any souvenirs?”

“Yeah, a metric ton of sand.” Akasha threw him a wry grin. “Just let me wring it out of my clothes first.”

Ivan laughed. Taking Kira by the hand, he led them towards the exit.

Her gear pack slung over her shoulder, Akasha followed behind her friends. The feelings she had for Ivan were still there, constantly and achingly, but for the first time in weeks she had another thought: I’m going to be alright. Losing everything you thought you had isn’t a reason to give up—it just means it’s time to start over.

And she hadn’t lost everything. She still had friendship. For now, that would have to be enough.

* * * * * * * * *

- Two years earlier -

AETHER RESEARCH LABS

Devi stared up at the copper-skinned Newearl suspended in the vat of clear liquid, painfully aware it would probably be the last time. She pressed a tiny hand against the tank.

“I have to go away now, Akasha. I know you can’t really hear me, being asleep and all. I just… wanted you to know. Sorry I couldn’t tell you sooner, but, well, things haven’t really worked out the way I wanted. It’s funny… you never got to know me, but I’ve known you my whole life. And no matter what happens, no matter where you end up, I’ll always be your big sister. Well, I probably seem like your little sister now, but that’s okay.

“The universe is a big place, you know? But maybe, if we’re lucky, we’ll meet again someday. When we do, let’s catch up on all the fun we missed having. It’s a promise, ‘kay? Until then, just remember to be happy. Life isn’t always going to be what you want it to be. If you work hard enough at it, though, you can make it something really special.

“Goodbye, sis… See you next time, at the place we both belong.”



CHAPTER 6: END



Author’s Notes:
[spoiler-box]A big thank you to Zorafim for letting me play with his character in this chapter. It was a lot of fun! For more of Levia’s adventures, check out his fanfic page here (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?t=211474).[/spoiler-box][/spoiler-box]

[Zorafim]

[spoiler-box]I get to geek out about my favorite character, show her off to a new reader base, and get free publicity for my story, all without having to put in any work? What did I do to deserve this?

And I see you've kept your penchant for killing off characters we've grown to love in horrible and brutal ways. At least this time you threw in a curveball. You waited until we went from hating her to feeling sorry for her before offing her.

Great read as usual. I always look forward to saturdays so I can read through another chapter.[/spoiler-box]

[Sacrificial]

[SPOILER-BOX]This week made me sad ;w; Now I know how everyone else felt when their fav's got plot killed[/SPOILER-BOX]

[stukasa]

@Zorafim:
[spoiler-box]You're welcome. ^^ Well, you *did* ask, and I had a spot on the team that needed filling. Maybe one of these days you'll give us more Levia adventures yourself![/spoiler-box]

@Sacrificial:
[spoiler-box]Sorry about that. ^^; Honestly Devi was one of my favorite characters too and it hurt a lot killing her off like that, especially when we were just getting to know her. But you know, the plot had to keep moving along so it was meant to be~[/spoiler-box]

[Zorafim]

[spoiler-box]I'm mostly sad because it was a character with a real history with the protagonist. The two had a lot they could share. But, perhaps having two characters as emotionally damaged as these two be together wouldn't have ended very well.

And if it makes a difference, I have two scenes written for my next chapter! I think I want about five scenes, so it may take a while longer before this gets anywhere.[/spoiler-box]

[yoshiblue]

[SPOILER-BOX]The origin story is pretty interesting. Its like a twist to a mortality one. Where instead of being angry for being the only person gifted mortality out the bunch, it is instead about a person being gifted eternal youth and how that affected their life. Makes me wonder how she felt about outliving everyone? Since it would seem like she would have had a lot of thinking time on Lillipa.

I also find the image games to be interesting as well. When Devi uses her powers, does she see the fake props as well, or does she act on imagination the whole time? And if she does see her fake props, would that have mean that she would have been susceptible to believing her own lies? On another note, it would be interesting if she planted herself into Akasha's mind. It would almost be like having a living conscious. :-P [/SPOILER-BOX]

[stukasa]

@Zorafim: Nice! Don't keep us hanging too long, okay? ^^

@yoshiblue:
[spoiler-box]Good question! I left the details of Devi's powers intentionally vague so I'm not sure if she's susceptible to them or not. All I know is that she can manipulate other people's senses. And that's a very interesting idea, planting herself into Akasha's mind. I didn't even think of that one, though I did something similar in my first story when Zeta's mind got mixed with Aki's.[/spoiler-box]

CHAPTER 7.1 [10/3/15]
[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Logos/Rebirth%20Title%20Ch%207_zpsohvivkov.png~original


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fElFtL_AVa0[/b][/u]

“Hello, this is Sylva Greene bringing you important breaking news. We have just received word that the colony ship Orpheus, thought to have been destroyed during the Fifth Fleet Massacre, has been sighted in Oracle space near the Koisar Nebula. Even more surprising, the ship itself has apparently undergone a startling biogenic transformation, leading to speculation that it is being controlled by Darkers. Two naval fleets, the Seventh under Admiral Damian Ramos and the Thirteenth under Admiral Aleksandra Kalganov, attempted to engage Orpheus. I am sorry to report that both fleets were completely wiped out.

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Sylva%20Greene_name_zpsqen64m7t.png~original[/spoiler-box]

“Orpheus’s ultimate goal and destination are currently unknown, though the ship appears to be cutting a straight path through the Aerfellian Sector. Some experts believe Orpheus may be headed for the space station Terra Nova, still in its final phases of construction. Once completed, Terra Nova’s revolutionary shielding system will provide all Oracle citizens a safe haven from Darker incursions. It is possible the Darkers are attempting a preemptive strike against the station before it goes online.

“We here at Ur Nightly News promise to keep you updated on this story as more details become available. In the meantime, General Rayn Valias, head of the ARKS military forces aboard Ur, has urged everyone to remain calm. He has vowed a swift response to the crisis, which will be announced in a matter of hours. The exact nature of the response is not yet known but will likely take the form of a joint operation with the Oracle Navy. Stay tuned to this broadcast for all the latest coverage as events develop…”

* * * * * * * * *

COLONY SHIP 02, UR: ARKS TRAINING ACADEMY, HEADMASTER’S OFFICE

“…And that’s pretty much it,” Aster was saying through the visiphone. Only the purple-haired Deuman’s head and shoulders were visible on the screen. “Not the smoothest of operations, but we got it done. I completed my ‘special assignment’ as well—as promised.”

Just then, the door to Aki01’s office slid open with a familiar whoosh. The Colonel motioned Captain Arin Colton to join her in the office, then turned back to Aster. “I appreciate the help. Whenever you need a favor…”

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Aster_name_zpsvftr3rnh.png~original http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Aki01_rebirth_name_zps1ojwctmd.png~original http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Colton_casual_name_zps7fb51034.png~original[/spoiler-box]

“You owe me one. Right. I’ll be sure to cash that in next time I need help taking down a psycho brat with telepathic powers.” Aster smirked. “Anyway, I’ll send you a copy of the report and the data I lifted from Solomondi’s computer. I can hold off a day or two before turning it over to Central Command. That should give you a bit of a head start. Better than nothing, anyway.”

“Thank you. At this point I need every advantage I can get.”

Colton waited until the visiphone link ended before dropping into the seat opposite Aki. “Friend of yours?”

“Something like that. I asked her to keep an eye on Akasha and Kira during their mission to Lillipa.”

“So… what’d I miss?”

Aki leaned back in her chair, her fingers steepled together. “Solomondi was a fraud. The man was being controlled for months, perhaps years, by another one of Naya Kestren’s experiments.”

“That name again… Last year I found Akasha in Kestren’s lab, and now this. You think the woman had some connection to KAI-OS?”

“It’s certainly possible. Kestren was being funded by the Darker Research Division until the incident with Kori’el—the Wraith’s twin sister. She died during a botched experiment, forcing the DRD to cut ties with Kestren to avoid bad publicity. After that the trail of funding becomes hazy…”

“Wait,” said Colton, “what does a genetics researcher working with Newmans have to do with Darker research?”

Aki shook her head. “At this point your guess is as good as mine. I’ll worry about that later. Right now I have something more important to take care of.”

The Captain’s expression grew cloudy. “The Council’s involvement in the terrorist bombings, you mean.”

Aki nodded solemnly.

“You’re sure you want to go through with this? You’ll be treading in dangerous waters. If you’re wrong and they catch you doing this… Hell, even if you’re right—especially if you’re right—and they catch you, don’t expect to receive a fair trial. You’ll never see the light of day again.”

“Then I’d better not get caught,” said the Caseal, her eyes full of conviction. “There was a cacaiya peel in Lane’s office, Arin. All my instincts, if you can call them that, tell me there’s a connection here. I’m not going to find answers unless I take risks—and this is a risk worth taking.”

Colton offered a grim smile. He already knew what his reply would be. “Okay, let’s do it. I’m with you ‘til the end on this.”


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlZY0DZ8HvI[/b][/u]

“Here goes nothing.” Aki typed in a series of commands on her keyboard. A dialogue box appeared on the computer screen. Her fingers flew over the keyboard faster than Colton’s eyes could follow, the furious tapping of keys producing a discordant symphony of sound. On the screen, password prompts and protective firewalls fell away one after another in rapid succession. At the end of it all, a single message remained: “ACCESS GRANTED.”

Colton whistled in admiration. “You have a wide array of talents, don’t you?”

“I learned from one of the best programmers in Oracle.” Aki made a mental note to thank Irene later. Her many hours of patient instruction were paying off—though probably not in the way she expected. “Once you know how to build something up, it’s a cinch to tear it down.”

Now, she thought, let’s see what dirt we can dig up. Aki browsed through various file folders. She examined the Council’s personal correspondence, their daily work schedules, and comprehensive expense reports on everything from office supplies to catering bills, among other things. What’s more, she accomplished all this in a matter of seconds. When she was finished she gave Colton an unhappy shake of her head. “There’s nothing here that directly ties the UEC to the bombings. Though I did notice none of the councilors had appointments when any of the attacks occurred.”

Colton drummed his fingers on the desk. “Doesn’t surprise me—all the attacks took place at night. No, it’s certainly not enough to build a case around. These people, if they’re truly capable of the things you’re accusing them of… well, I doubt they’re careless enough to leave hard evidence of their crimes, even on their own private network. Our little operation here might turn out to be a bust after all.”

The Captain might be right… but Aki wasn’t willing to give up that easily. She perused the minutes from every official Council meeting over the past year. Nothing recorded in the files seemed overly suspicious, but maybe it’s what she didn’t see that was important. After cross-checking the list of every scheduled meeting with the minute records, she discovered a single record was missing: the minutes from a meeting dated nine months ago.

But how to find something that didn’t exist? It should’ve been a dead end, but Aki had another flash of inspiration—what about video logs? There were video cameras installed in the Council’s meeting room. Those recordings should still exist somewhere, assuming they hadn’t been deleted as well. Aki’s fingers played over the keyboard once more. She was searching, searching… Found it! There was a separate server where backups of all the video files were stored. She scrolled down to the date in question. The recording was there! Forcing down a sense of foreboding, Aki pressed the play button.

In the video, a man with jet black hair, a jet black business suit, and dark sunglasses was addressing the room: “Esteemed ladies and gentlemen of the Executive Council, thank you for being gracious enough to see me today. I come here offering a proposition of mutual interest, and while most of you may not know me—yet—I’m sure you’re familiar with my employer. I represent the interests of Mr. Okada, one of the Four Kings of KAI-OS—”

“That man,” said Aki, pointing at the screen. “I know that man. He was in Lane’s office the day I went to visit. He said his name was… Lee.”

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Lee_name_zps535c104e.png~original[/spoiler-box]

The man continued: “Mr. Okada would like you to commission the ARKS to strike at selected KAI-OS bases using intel supplied by us. We give you the information to get the job done and the ARKS supply the manpower. As I said, simple. The ARKS are basically glorified mercenaries anyway, are they not?”

Colton raised an eyebrow. “If this ‘Lee’ works for Mr. Okada, it’s possible the entire UEC has been under the influence of KAI-OS for months now. What do we know about his boss, Okada?”

“He’s Janth Dyson’s successor. Beyond that, not much. He never shows himself in public.”

“Not a socialite, eh?” Colton grunted, scratching his beard.

“Apparently not. Wait, let me check something.” Aki rewound the video back to the very beginning. She’d noticed something before but hadn’t paid close attention…


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nN1Nr0FwqiU[/b][/u]

She hit the play button. Lee could be seen entering the room, his right arm moving to drop something in the trash bin. Aki froze the video and enlarged that area of the screen. The object leaving Lee’s hand was an oblong orange mass—a cacaiya peel. “That’s it,” said Aki. “It was him… It was him all along. He’s the one behind the terrorist bombings. He used the attacks to galvanize public support, then used that support to strike at Okada’s rivals in KAI-OS—the other three Kings.”

“Leaving Okada the sole heir to the entire organization,” added Colton in dawning realization. “That client order came directly from the UEC. Councilor Lane issued it herself. If all this is true, that proves the Council is working for KAI-OS.”

“Using the ARKS as pawns.” Aki clenched her jaw. She’d never been one for emotional outbursts, but this revelation was testing her limits. She would see to it that justice was done—Lee and his cohorts in KAI-OS would pay for using the ARKS this way, even if she had to haul them in herself.

But first, there was one thing she had to know. How did the meeting in the video end? Had the Council accepted Lee’s offer? She fast-forwarded several minutes and hit play.

“There, you have your answer,” Councilor Ken Zardana was saying. “Tell Mr. Okada we won’t be doing business with KAI-OS today—or any day.”

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/KenZardana_name_zps9df0f933.png~original[/spoiler-box]

Lee let out an ominous chuckle. “As you wish, Councilor, though it doesn’t really matter in the end. In fact, that suits me just fine.”

“How do you figure?”

“I plan to get what I want regardless of your petty politics. The deck has been stacked against you since before I stepped into this room. After all, it’s not like I really expected you to go for my proposal anyway.”

“What are you saying?” demanded Councilor Tristam Renault.

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Renault_name_zps948ba00c.png~original[/spoiler-box]

“I’m saying, Councilors, that your services are no longer required. You want to deny my request? Go ahead, but know this: Just because I couldn't buy you doesn't mean I couldn't buy your hired protection."

Lee took a step back and snapped his fingers. The half dozen black-clad security guards stationed around the perimeter of the room, elite soldiers hired for the sole purpose of protecting the Council, stepped forward and raised their photon rifles in unison. The hailstorm of bullets they unleashed nearly overloaded the camera’s audio feed. When it was over, a deafening silence pervaded the chamber. Bullet holes riddled every chair, blood stains covered every surface. The light from the artificial sunset streaming in through the floor-to-ceiling windows cast the room in an ominous crimson hue. In the midst of it all, every single member of the Ur Executive Council lay slain.

Colton gasped. Aki sat motionless, her body frozen in horror. No. No, it can’t be…

“But that’s impossible, isn’t it?” asked Colton, mirroring Aki’s thoughts. “This video is nine months old. You just met with Lane and Zardana the other day!”

He was right. That left only one possibility: the entire Council had been replaced. The thought was insane… yet it had to be true. “I need to inform the General about this right away.”

“General Valias?”

Aki nodded. “This has gotten too big for us to handle alone; we’re going to need support. The General’s a good man, he’ll help us. We have to move against the Council quickly, before they do any more harm.”

This was it. After all the time spent investigating, it had all come down to this. Everything, perhaps even the fate of the colony ship itself, hung in the balance. The battle for Ur was about to begin…

* * * * * * * * *


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUvjr1GfwdI[/b][/u]

UR DOWNTOWN DISTRICT

Someone was following her. She was sure of it.

Thanks to her unusual height Akasha was used to receiving an abundance of surreptitious glances, even the occasional awkward stare, but this was different. It felt like a cold, determined gaze boring into her backside, the sensation of a predator stalking its prey. She’d felt it since she left the downtown shopping district twenty minutes ago. Even now, as she strolled down the bustling thoroughfare on her way to the Green Line railcar station, the feeling still hadn’t left her.

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Akasha_casual_name_zpsvojcgjyy.png~original[/spoiler-box]

Akasha didn’t turn around for fear of alerting whoever was on her tail. Instead she waited patiently for an opportunity to present itself, which it did shortly past the intersection of Seventh and Main. As a crowd of tourists passed behind her, Akasha ducked down a narrow alleyway. She sprinted to the end of the passage, realized it was a dead end, and spun around. Standing at the entrance to the alley was the silhouette of a man. At this distance, and in the shade between buildings, Akasha’s couldn’t make out his identity.

The man walked towards her at a measured pace. Clearly his goal wasn’t a surprise attack. As he got closer, Akasha saw he was wearing a brown traveler’s cloak. The hood of the cloak, however, obscured his face.

“I know you’ve been following me,” Akasha called out to the unknown figure. “What do you want?”

The man pulled back his hood, revealing familiar features. Akasha nearly gasped. Of course, she thought. Based on height alone she should’ve realized who it was.

Shankar.

This was no hallucination, no dream. He was really there, looking much as he had the first time they’d met… the day of the fire, almost a year ago. He’d cut his hair short, she noticed, and there was something different about his eyes. They looked wearier, perhaps? Other than that he was still Akasha’s mirror image, her nearly-identical twin.

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Shankar_cloak_name_zpselac2p2a.png~original[/spoiler-box]

“I need to speak with you,” he said. His voice was just as deep and rich as she remembered. “I want you to come with me.”

“Come with you where?”

“To the place we both belong, the place we’ll finally be given our purpose: Orpheus. You’ve seen the news, haven’t you? The ghost ship that’s returned from the depths of hell.”

Akasha balked. Orpheus? Was he mad? “What does that have to do with us?”

“Everything. Everything, Akasha. It’s where our answers lay, all the missing pieces of the puzzle. I’m going there soon—to Naya Kestren’s lab aboard Orpheus, and I want you by my side. Forget this ARKS nonsense and come with me… so that we might claim our destiny, together.”

“If you’d asked yesterday I probably would have accepted your offer,” Akasha said slowly, as if suddenly realizing how close she’d come to the edge, “but not today.”

“What do you have today that you didn’t have yesterday?”

“Perspective. I was almost ready to give up on my friends, but they weren’t willing to give up on me. That’s why I can’t turn my back on them now, and why I can’t go with you.”

Shankar looked like he wanted to say something, then thought better of it. “You’re making a mistake,” he said, turning to leave. “But it is yours to make.”

“Wait!” she called after him.

Shankar stopped in his tracks, allowing her to speak.

“Did you… did you know a girl named Devi?”

“That name isn’t familiar to me,” he replied.

“O-Okay, never mind. It’s not important…”

Akasha recalled Devi’s final words to her on Lillipa: “After all, your mother is mine as well… Naya Kestren…”

She watched Shankar walk away for the second time in her life, too afraid to ask the thing she desperately wanted to know: ”Are you really my brother?” Having just lost a sister she never knew she had, Akasha could scarcely bear another heartbreak so soon.

At the end of the alley, Shankar raised the hood of his cloak and rounded the corner, disappearing from view. Once again Akasha was alone. Though she had refused his offer, she knew this was something she couldn’t afford to ignore. Something inside told her it was too important. Akasha had a new mission, and this time she was going to see it through.

She was going to Orpheus.



TO BE CONTINUED[/spoiler-box]

[Zorafim]

Nice to see an update. I was expecting it earlier, so I got a little pang of panic, thinking you were going to take some more time off until this chapter is finished. Though I do recommend you take it easy while writing these, I'm also glad to have my weekly entertainment.
I even bought some snacks and raspberry wine to have while I enjoyed this. Best decision I've made today.


@Zorafim: Nice! Don't keep us hanging too long, okay? ^^

But I already have! And I keep doing it!

[spoiler-box]
“Using the ARKS as pawns.” Aki clenched her jaw. She’d never been one for emotional outbursts, but this revelation was testing her limits.

Heh, makes me wonder if she cleared episode 2. I have to say, I know the feeling.[/spoiler-box]

[stukasa]

@Zorafim: It was only about twenty minutes later than "usual" (I put "usual" in quotes because I don't have a set time for posting my story, I just do it after breakfast). But don't worry, I would let you know if I was going to take a break from my weekly posting. I like to keep my readers informed! ^^

[yoshiblue]

[SPOILER-BOX]I've been thinking about the replaced people and asked myself, considering that they act near identical to the real ones, how do they not disobey or act out on their own emotions? Of course, this is considering that no one is perfect and some people would free go off the get drunk or goof around. [/SPOILER-BOX]

[stukasa]

@yoshiblue:
[spoiler-box]This is a bit of a unique situation since the Council doppelgangers are only physical replicas. Way back in chapter 3 I mentioned that they were programmed to mimic the original councilors' personalities based on public records/footage of them, but they don't actually have the originals' memories. That's one reason why they don't have any problem acting against their so-called "normal morals/behavior." But, even if they did have those memories, they were programmed specifically to serve KAI-OS. That programming compels them to obey their masters regardless of their own wishes. I'm pretty sure it violates some CAST rights treaties, but KAI-OS is a criminal syndicate so they don't care about that.[/spoiler-box]

[Zorafim]

[spoiler-box]This opens up so many questions about CAST programming it's making my head hurt. Luckily the subject has been in almost every sci-fi piece since the 50s, so I can extrapolate my own data. But I still have to wonder, how can one completely copy the personality of a person, while being a slave to someone? Perhaps it's procedural programming, where the copy has a list of tasks to do, and above those are tasks given by the programmer. And if any lesser tasks would contradict a greater task, the lesser task would be deleted.

Say, one automaton copies the tasks that its original would do: Fund public schooling, give weekly updates, pet passing puppies. But they are given the tasks from their programmer; fund CHAOS and keep their involvement a secret. Since "fund CHAOS" is running, "fund public schooling" is never given resources, and so never runs. And since "keep Chaos' involvement secret" is running, "weekly updates" either doesn't run, or certain updates are skipped if they involve CHAOS.

But if certain processes which mimic the original's behaviors are skipped, this makes it easier for people to notice a sudden difference and trace it back to the date of the switch. Which, might be a minor enough risk not to worry about, but still a hole in security...

...I'm sorry, what was my original point again? I think I got myself lost.[/spoiler-box]

[yoshiblue]

May have been a more direct version of my question.

[stukasa]

@Zorafim:
[spoiler-box]In this case, you can think of it as being similar (in principle) to a more complex Turing test (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turing_test). The doppelgangers were programmed with enough information about the originals that they're able to mimic their behaviors to the point where no one would notice a difference. Or, if they did notice a difference, it would be relatively minor and easily passed off as "having a bad day" or something like that.

With a Turing test, the computer being tested is not actually human (obviously) nor is it capable of actual thought. It's only been programmed to fool people into thinking it is. It's the same with the doppelgangers. They can fool people into thinking they care about the public good, but it's all a lie. Their only allegiance is to KAI-OS.

Now, in the case you're describing, where a CAST is essentially forced into becoming a slave for someone, then yes, it might work something like that. The new programming would override the old programming, compelling the CAST to do whatever was asked of them.[/spoiler-box]

[stukasa]

CHAPTER 7.2 [10/10/15]
[spoiler-box]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UM86_ozKkgs[/b][/u]

ARKS TRAINING ACADEMY DOJO, UR

Two months. That's how long it had been since the last time Akasha set foot in the dojo. Back then her instructor, her sensei, had been Lieutenant Asimov. He was gone now, tragically killed during the Darker attack on Vopar, but the skills he taught Akasha remained, skills in hand-to-hand combat and self-defense. It was a core part of the training for melee types like Hunters and Fighters, but still a requirement for just about everyone else. After all, one never knew when they might suddenly lose their weapon in a fight.

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Akasha_casual_name_zpsvojcgjyy.png~original[/spoiler-box]

Akasha had been Asimov’s star pupil, the top of her class. She was a natural when it came to fighting. Part of it was due to her size, she had to admit, but she also possessed a knack—a “certain aptitude,” as Asimov put it—for martial arts. For Akasha it was less about adhering to form than being able to improvise in the heat of battle. Her strength lay in her creativity. It was that creativity that allowed her to best her sensei more than half the times they’d sparred, despite Asimov being one of the few people at the Academy physically stronger than Akasha.

Memories of her training danced through Akasha’s head as she passed through the finely-engraved front doors of the building. She hadn’t come back to the dojo for a match, that wasn’t part of the agenda, but she was going to get one nonetheless. She just didn’t know it yet.

As Akasha rounded the corner and entered the main hall, a wave of nostalgia overtook her. The sight of arms and legs flying back and forth from a dozen separate sparring matches. The sound of flesh striking flesh, of frenzied cries and competitive taunts. The smell of sweat, and determination, and battle. Akasha took it all in—so familiar and distinct, like revisiting a childhood home after being away for many years.

Not that she knew what it was like to have a childhood.

On the far side of the room Akasha found the person she was looking for. Lustrous crimson hair cascaded freely down the woman’s back, no longer confined by the elaborate hairdo she normally wore. Her customary headmaster’s outfit had been traded for a much simpler dougi cut from red and black cloth—her favorite colors. Her ears, angular and metal, were the only outward indicator that she was a member of the CAST race.

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Aki01_rebirth_dougi_name_zpskjdtoout.png~original[/spoiler-box]

And her opponent—

“C-Captain?!”

“Oh. Hey there, Akasha.” Arin Colton’s mouth curved upwards in a gentle smile. He was something of a fixture in her life: more than a friend, less than a father, but always there to help when it mattered. He had taken her in when she had nowhere else to go—back on the day of the fire, the day Akasha’s current life began. He was the one who had encouraged her to enroll at the ARKS Academy. He’d given Akasha her signature weapon, a custom-made Lambda Hellfret double saber. And now here he was, casually sharing a sparring mat with the headmaster of the Training Academy. Sensing her surprise, Colton added, “The Colonel and I were discussing… ARKS business. Just finished, in fact. I’ll be with you in a moment.”

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Colton_casual_name_zps7fb51034.png~original[/spoiler-box]

The Captain and Headmaster bowed to one another. With their match concluded, Colton stepped off the mat to wipe the sweat from his brow. Akasha opened her mouth to speak, stopped, then finally locked her arms at her sides and stood stiffly at attention. “Actually, I’m here to speak with the Headmaster.”

The red-haired Caseal tilted her head slightly to one side. “Something you need?”

“Headmaster, I—”

“You’re not a trainee anymore, Akasha. Call me Colonel.”

“Colonel, I need your help. I… I don’t know how else to say this, so I’ll just say it.” Akasha took in a deep breath. “I need to go to Orpheus, and I want you to take me there.”

That got the Colonel’s attention. She drew herself up to her full height and looked Akasha directly in the eye. “No. Absolutely not. Don’t even think about it—it’s far too dangerous, even for you. That ship is crawling with thousands of Darkers who want nothing more than to tear you limb from limb. What could possibly motivate you to undertake a suicide mission like that?”

“My brother, he’s headed there too. He told me that’s where I could find Naya Kestren. She’s the only person who can tell me the truth about my past… Whoever it is I am, wherever it is I come from, I have to know. Even if it means risking my life to do it.”

Aki pursed her lips. “And mine, if I went with you.”

“I heard you were a survivor of the Fifth Fleet Massacre so I looked up your file. You were stationed on Orpheus back then. You were there when they, well… when the Darkers attacked. There’s no one who knows that ship better than you do, Colonel. That’s why it has to be you.”

“My answer is still the same: no. And you shouldn’t be going, either. I’d put you under house arrest if I thought it would do any good, but somehow I don’t think you’d follow that order anyway. Instead, let me make you another offer: fight me.”

Akasha wasn’t sure she’d heard correctly. “F-Fight you, ma’am?”

“That’s right. Let’s have a sparring match, right here, right now. If you can land a single hit on me, I’ll come with you to Orpheus. If you can’t, I want you to promise you’ll give up on this and stay home.”

“You’re joking, right, ma’am?”

Leaning against the nearby wall, Colton folded his arms across his chest. “She rarely jokes, Akasha. I know how badly you want to find out about your past, but Colonel Aki’s right. It’s too dangerous.”

“I’m sorry, Captain. I respect you more than anyone, and I… I’m grateful for everything you’ve done for me, but I have to do this. No matter what, I have to try.”

Aki motioned to Akasha. “Then take off your shoes and step onto the mat. If you want it so badly, show me your resolve.”

Akasha did as she was told. Leaving her shoes behind, she studied her opponent as she approached the sparring mat. The Caseal was slightly tall for a woman and about average height for a man, but still a head shorter than she was. “All I have to do is hit you once, right? No offense—I mean, I’m sure you’re a good fighter, but I was number one in my class. This is going to be a piece of cake.”

Behind her, Colton chuckled. “Never underestimate a CAST, Akasha. Especially not the Colonel here.”


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3KOaX4U-Pg[/b][/u]

The Caseal merely smiled, bowed, and moved into a fighting stance: knees bent slightly, right leg back at a forty-five degree angle; arms positioned in front of her, one held close, one kept far. She was utterly calm and composed. “Anytime you’re ready.”

Akasha inched closer, patiently watching for an opening. She couldn’t find one. The crimson-haired woman was like a rock in the middle of a river, immovable and unyielding, her form nothing short of perfection.

If Aki was a rock, Akasha was the hammer that would crack it. She was controlled chaos. The Newearl flew forward in an instant, left arm extended, her fist driving at Aki’s head.

But her opponent was no longer there. Aki had stepped aside a moment before the punch connected, pivoting her body out of harm’s way. Now she was behind and to the left of Akasha. Her foot slid forward, directly into the path of Akasha’s, sending the big Newearl tumbling to the ground.

“Anticipation is important,” said Aki, as if explaining a lesson to a pupil. “Sometimes it can be crucial. The trick is to figure out what your opponent is going to do and stay one step ahead of them. Otherwise you’ll always be reacting when you should be acting.”

Akasha jumped to her feet. She’d misjudged her opponent’s speed and maneuverability. That wouldn’t happen again. Her fists were in motion as soon as she was in range, her right fist coming in high—a feint—while her left hooked low for a surprise attack. Predictably, Aki blocked the first punch with ease. Instead of being caught by the second, however, the Caseal gently nudged Akasha’s arm to the side, adjusting her trajectory ever so slightly. It was enough, just enough, to let Akasha’s attack slide harmlessly past her. By that point Akasha was moving too fast to stop herself in mid-swing. Aki pressed a hand against the Newearl’s back to send her kissing the floor once again.

“Often times it’s easier to redirect your opponent’s momentum than to create your own.” Aki clasped her hands behind her, looking as serene as she had at the start of the fight. “You can even use it against them, with enough practice.”

Undeterred, Akasha popped up and continued her assault. She unleashed a barrage of powerful kicks and punches that would have sent Aki reeling—had any of them actually hit her. The Caseal ducked and weaved, artfully dodging each attack before it became a threat.

Despite her proficiency at fighting, Akasha’s size worked as a double-edged sword. Her power and range were incredible. However, because her opponents were usually much shorter than she was, most of her attacks ended up targeting their upper body and head. That made them easier to defend against simply by being more predictable. It was a flaw Aki had recognized even before the match began, and she used it to her advantage now, dropping below Akasha’s reach to deliver a lightning-quick leg sweep that knocked the Newearl off her feet.

“Learn to recognize your opponents’ weaknesses. Everyone has them. If you can turn their weaknesses into your strengths, you can turn the tide of battle. And remember, bigger isn’t always better. Strength is meaningless if you can’t hit your opponent.”

That’s it, thought Akasha. I’m done playing nice. She climbed to her feet for the third time in as many attempts, frustrated and humiliated, but no less determined. This might be my only chance… the one chance I’ll ever get to find the answers I’m looking for. I can’t afford to give up now.

Adrenaline coursed through her veins as Akasha launched a flurry of rapid-fire attacks against the Colonel. A left hook; a thrusting jab; a spinning roundhouse kick. Nothing connected. The ease with which she was deflected only spurred her on further, her anger growing with each failed attempt. Her movements became faster, her strikes harder—but also sloppier. And then—

Fwoosh! A gout of orange fire erupted from Akasha’s outstretched fist. Aki used her CAST reflexes to spin out of the way at the last second, though the flames managed to singe a few hairs in the process. Akasha pressed her sudden advantage, forcing her opponent back. Each swing of her fists carried with it another small burst of Foie.

As Akasha rushed in again, Aki darted forward and clamped onto her wrist. “This match is over.”


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCkIur0Ws5U[/b][/u]

“Wh-what?! You can’t do that!” Akasha protested. “I’m not done yet!”

“Yes,” the Caseal replied sternly, “you are.”

“Why?! Because of the Foie? Look, I’m sorry if I got carried away, but—”

“No buts. Using your ‘special abilities’ during a sparring match is not only dangerous, it’s also a violation of the rules.”

“That's not fair! You can use your CAST abilities but I'm not allowed to use mine?”

“A valid point,” Aki conceded. “But my abilities aren't liable to set the dojo on fire.”

Akasha glanced around. Everyone else in the room had stopped what they were doing and were staring at her, probably for fear of being hit by another Foie blast. Off to one side, Captain Colton was busy dousing a bench that had caught fire.

Aki’s eyes softened—slightly. “I had hoped to keep you out of harm’s way by forcing you to agree to it yourself, but I see now that isn’t going to happen. You’re too determined. And if you’re going to go, I would hate for you to go alone…”

Akasha’s expression turned hopeful, but the Caseal shook her head. “I'm sorry, Akasha, I can't come with you. There's... something I have to take care of here. Something important. But,” she added, “my sister, Zero Two, may be able to help you. She knows Orpheus as well as I do. I can’t speak for her, and I can’t make any promises. All I can do is offer you a chance—the chance to ask. Whether she agrees or not is up to her, and to you.”

“I understand. Thank you, Colonel.”

“I’ll give you the address and let her know you’re coming. And one final lesson, Akasha…” She gave the Newearl a meaningful look. “Know when to fight and when to run. It might just save your life, especially where you’re going.”

* * * * * * * * *


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzjpbI0xiWI[/b][/u]

- One hour later -

UR DOWNTOWN DISTRICT: BLUE LINE RAILCAR STATION

Faces. She was lost in a sea of faces. Smiling faces. Laughing faces. Curious faces. Agitated faces. And a whole lot of disinterested faces. They were all around her, all sharing the same purpose. Yet Akasha rose above all of them. Her stature ensured she would always stand out in a crowd.

She didn’t mind. She’d even grown used to it, to an extent. When the little human boy tugged at his mother’s sleeve and pointed in her direction, Akasha merely smiled back and offered a friendly wave. She’d never had a childhood, at least not one she could remember. What must it be like to look up at the adults, instead of down?

Devi. Her sister had given her a glimpse of the childhood she could’ve had. Akasha might have remained in that imaginary childhood, blissfully unaware, had her feelings for Ivan not pulled her back to reality. Back to the world of iron and steel, of war and death, of loneliness and despair. Back to the sea of faces she knew so well.

And then there was Orpheus. She wasn’t going because she’d given up, she was going because she had something to find: her past. With her future in question, the past was the only place she could turn to now. More than that, Akasha had an uncanny feeling Orpheus was where she needed to be. There was something she needed to see or to do there.

It was that thought which brought her to the Blue Line railcar station. She was on her way to see Colonel Aki’s sister, Zero Two, in the hope she might lend her aid to Akasha’s insane mission.

And the mission was insane. Akasha held no illusions about that. An entire colony ship full of Darkers—a ship soon to be engaged in battle with the Oracle fleet—and Akasha was planning to board it in search of a woman who might not even be there? It was the very definition of insanity. Even so, she had to go. She’d already made up her mind about that. She still had no idea how she was going to break the news to Kira and Ivan. Probably better not to tell them, Akasha decided. They’d just try to talk me out of it…

“Kasha!”

Broken out of her trance, the Newearl looked to her left. There, inexplicably standing at the edge of the railcar platform, was the last person she expected to see: Kira.

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Kira_ARKS_name_zpsqgyimpge.png~original[/spoiler-box]

Great, thought Akasha, now I’m hallucinating.

“Kasha! Hey!” the girl shouted again, threading her way through the crowd. She reached Akasha a few seconds later looking slightly out of breath. Had she run all the way to the railcar station? “I’ve been looking for you. I heard from the Headmaster—I mean the Colonel. I know what you're planning to do, where you're going...”

It seemed Akasha had to confront her friend about the trip to Orpheus after all. “Look, if you're going to tell me it’s a bad idea—”

“I'm going with you.”

Akasha stared at Kira in disbelief. Her jaw opened, closed, then opened again. Finally she said, “Wait, what?”

“I’m going with you,” Kira repeated, slower and with more emphasis.

“I… No, Kira. I can’t ask that of you.”

“You’re still my best friend, Kasha. No matter what—or who—may come between us, that won’t change. So when I say I’m going, I mean it.”

“Kira…” Akasha didn’t know what to say. How could she possibly respond to a gesture like that? She settled for a single word. “Thanks.”

“And Ivan’s coming too,” the girl added.

“What?! No way, that’s… I mean, he’s not even with the ARKS anymore.”

“No, but he’s had the training. He can handle himself. Besides,” she grinned, “if things get bad, you and I can protect him.”

“Oh, I’m sure he’d love that,” Akasha snorted, rolling her eyes.

They laughed and the tension between them dissipated for the time being, almost like it had never existed at all. At that moment everything felt comfortable and easy, just like it had before things got… complicated. Akasha wished more than anything it could stay that way forever. In her heart, though, she knew it wouldn’t. It couldn’t. But that was a problem for another day.

With a rolling hiss, the railcar glided into the station. Its automated doors slid open.

“C’mon,” said Akasha, “we’ve got a date with destiny to catch.”



TO BE CONTINUED[/spoiler-box]

[Zorafim]

[spoiler-box]Where did you get your research from for that fight scene? There's a surprising amount of accurate detail in it. I was really impressed by it. Though, I'm not sure a spinning roundhouse is a thing.[/spoiler-box]

[stukasa]

@Zorafim:
[spoiler-box]This guy (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V82Ps95DIxk) begs to differ. :p

The Internet is a wonderful resource. You can find tutorial videos on just about anything. I watched a few in preparation for writing this chapter. Plus, some of it was just common sense, like the fact that Akasha would hit high because of her height. Also I'm a yellow belt in karate, which I realize is hardly anything, but at least I have a grasp of the basics.[/spoiler-box]

[yoshiblue]

[SPOILER-BOX]Doing some research is always nice. I've always been wanting to look into those kinds of things but never put any information to use. I agree with Zorafim. You pulled it off nicely.[/SPOILER-BOX]

[Sacrificial]

After looking that vid I thought it was a reverse roundhouse kick.... oh well.

[Zorafim]

It's a spinning hook kick. Whoever named the video used the wrong name. Some people in the comments even call him out on it.
This is a pet peeve of mine. For some reason, people see a spinning kick, see that the kick does a round motion, and assuming it's a roundhouse. I assume because the roundhouse is known as the most devastating kick, so they think it requires much more skill and looks much more impressive than normal kicks. It's actually a fairly straightforward kick, just raise the knee, turn it parallel to the ground, and extend the leg. The reason it's devastating is because it uses the strongest muscles in the body, is simple to perform, and can fairly easily hit several vulnerable areas. My favorite is the nerve on the side of the upper leg, a good thwack there and he'll have trouble walking for a minute.
Ah... like I said, a petpeve of mine. I tried looking for a simple video that shows it off, but anything shorter than a minute has the complete wrong kick.

I didn't know you studied karate. When did you get your yellow belt?

[stukasa]

@Zorafim: Mmm, about 25 years ago?

CHAPTER 7.3 [10/17/15]
[spoiler-box]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Loa50WmPtA[/b][/u]

Lee was having that dream again. His father stood before him, monolithic, towering over Lee like an omnipotent deity stretching up to the heavens. His steely gaze cut to the depths of Lee’s soul—assuming Lee still had one. He could’ve sworn he sold it off years ago.

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Lee_name_zps535c104e.png~original[/spoiler-box]

When his father spoke, his voice was a booming echo that could shatter mountains. “You’re a disappointment to me. No son of mine—if that is what you are—should be content with your performance. I didn’t raise you to be a failure. I raised you to excel, to be the best of the best, remember? At this rate you’ll never measure up to your brother. You can never escape his shadow, no matter how hard you try. Perhaps that is merely your lot in life.”

His father wasn’t speaking to him. He was speaking to the old Lee, a pathetic, whimpering mess curled up at the old man’s feet. That child was gone now; Lee made sure of that years ago. Yes, that Lee had died the same day as his father.

“You’re wrong about me,” said Lee, perfectly calm. It wasn’t his first time having this conversation. “So very wrong. Look at all I’ve become, and soon, all I will accomplish. But that’s irrelevant. I don’t require your approval anymore, Father. After all, I’ve already killed you.”

Then he woke up.

As the world flared into existence, Lee found himself leaning back in his chair at the desk in his office—that is, the office he was “borrowing” from Councilor Lane. It took him two heartbeats to realize there was someone else in the room with him, and an additional heartbeat to realize who it was. “You’re early,” Lee nearly growled, hurriedly sliding his sunglasses into place. He’d been caught off-guard—not that he would ever show it, of course.

The man in the demon mask didn’t answer right away. Whether his icy exterior was genuine or simply a cover, Lee couldn’t tell. “You should’ve locked the window if you didn’t want me coming in,” he said at last. “Or are you that insecure about protecting yourself?”

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Hunter_name_zpshxtej2pq.png~original[/spoiler-box]

“Don't lecture me, bounty hunter. I know why you wear that mask.”

“And I know why you wear yours.”

Behind his dark glasses, Lee’s eye twitched. It was as close to irritated as he ever got. “Enough of this petty sniping—no pun intended. Is the job done?”

“It is.”

“I hope you’re certain about that. The girl’s a witch, she can play tricks on your mind…”

“The ARKS got Solomondi, I got the girl. I won’t repeat myself again.”

Then KAI-OS belongs to Okada, Lee mused. He’d already confirmed the deaths of the other two KAI-OS Kings in separate ARKS operations. With Solomondi and the witch out of the picture, there was no one left standing in his way. The ARKS had performed their part beautifully, taking care of Lee’s dirty work without ever suspecting a thing. That left only the issue of Orpheus and Terra Nova to deal with.

The curtains to the greatest stage were rising, the stage where Lee would finally make his grand debut. The stakes had been raised… but so too had the rewards. Everything relied on the next part of the plan succeeding, and for that, he was going to need insurance.

“I have a new assignment for you. There is a man, a very important man, who will find his way to Orpheus soon.”

“You want me to kill him?” The masked man sounded almost bored.

“Precisely the opposite—I want you to ensure he completes his objective. He has a vital role to play in the events to come. We’re reaching the critical stage now; I can’t afford to leave this plan to chance.”

“In other words, you want me to play babysitter again. First for the ARKS, now for this ‘very important man.’”

Lee leaned forward, elbows resting on the desk, gloved fingers laced together. “You’re someone who knows how to fix problems. I want you to monitor the situation. If it becomes a problem, fix it.”

“Sounds like a dangerous job,” the Hunter replied coolly. “I’ll require more than my usual fee.”

“I’ll pay you triple. Half up front, half when you return.”

The man paused for a moment as if considering it. “Acceptable. But how do you expect me to reach that Darker-infested ship?”

“That’s your problem. I’m sure you’ll find a way. No matter what it takes, get the job done. Contact me on the usual frequency when you’ve completed the task. And remember… I won’t tolerate failure.”

* * * * * * * * *


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9AWGFdozCi0[/b][/u]

COLONY SHIP 02, UR: BUSINESS DISTRICT

The artificial sun was already receding beyond the edge of the Great Dome by the time Akasha and Kira reached their destination. Located in the heart of an area known colloquially as “Research Circle,” the two-story building in front of them was a modest, unassuming structure—at least compared to the well-funded labs surrounding it. There was no corporate logo emblazoned on its face, nor any greeter Mags ready to give them a guided tour of its inner workings. If Akasha didn’t know better she might’ve assumed the place was abandoned.

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Akasha_casual_name_zpsvojcgjyy.png~original http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Kira_ARKS_name_zpsqgyimpge.png~original[/spoiler-box]

The pair of ARKS strolled up the walkway leading to the front entrance. When they got there, they looked at the name tag on the door. It read: “RAUTH ROBOTICS.”

“This must be the place,” said Kira.

Akasha pressed the doorbell. There was no response. She pressed it again. This time the mechanized door slid open right away… but there was no one there to greet them.

“Hiya! I’d say ‘nice to meetcha’ but I don’t know who you are yet!” an energetic female voice exclaimed, startling Akasha. The Newearl looked back and forth, even behind her, but she and Kira were the only ones around.

“Um, did you need something or were you planning on standing there all day?” the mysterious voice asked.

“I... I can't see you,” Akasha admitted, flustered.

The voice laughed. “Maybe that's ‘cause you're so absurdly tall!”

Akasha looked down and finally saw who'd been speaking to her. She had long, flowing pink hair and a pair of tiny horns protruding from her forehead, though she was far too small to be a real Deuman. Hell, she barely comes up to my waist, thought Akasha. “O-Oh, um, hello?”

“You’re not solicitors, are ya? ‘Cause if you are, we don’t want whatever it is you’re selling.” The miniature Deuman added a hint of menace to her statement, which came across as more comical than serious given the size difference between them.

“Luna!” chided a kindly voice from somewhere deeper in the building. “Be nice to our guests. They’re expected.”

The owner of the voice came into view shortly after. A middle-aged man in a white lab coat with graying, close-cropped hair and glasses, he very much looked the part of the scholarly scientist. Which, as it turned out, he just happened to be. “I apologize if she was rude to you. My name is Ken Rauth. Zero Two told me you would be dropping by. Please, come inside.”

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Luna_rebirth_name_zpsswfg6vk5.png~original http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Character%20Faces/Rauth_name_zps89386be4.png~original[/spoiler-box]

As they stepped into the lobby, Kira took a closer look at the meter-tall Deuman. “Now I know how Kasha feels compared to me…”

“Hey!” Glaring up at Kira, Luna planted her hands on her hips. “Who’re you calling small, shorty?”

Kira merely grinned.

* * * * * * * * *


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLukJueWDT0[/b][/u]

Rauth led them deeper into the facility, past a number of cleanrooms where robots—essentially simpler variants of CASTs—were overseeing the delicate process of creating and testing integrated circuits. Those circuits, he explained, would eventually be used in the construction of new CASTs, Mags, and other robotic beings. Beyond the cleanrooms were several storage rooms filled with numerous boxes of used CAST parts and coils of electrical wire and cable.

They descended one flight of stairs, then another, at which point Akasha realized the lab was bigger than it appeared from the outside. The lower levels, Rauth said, was where all the “dirty work” of robotic construction took place. He was quick to point out that “dirty” was a relative term—it was only dirty compared to the ultra-sterile working environment in the cleanrooms above.

Eventually they reached a room with three humanoid-sized alcoves built into one wall. When Kira inquired about them, Rauth replied, “Oh, those? Those are the Akis’ recharging alcoves. They use them to charge their power cores and exchange memories with one another.”

Kira raised her eyebrows. “I didn’t know CASTs needed to be recharged. I don’t remember Azzy—uh, he was our Academy instructor—ever mentioning something like that.”

“Some do, some don’t. Every CAST is different. There are a number of prevalent design philosophies. The Akis’ original creator, Kurt Bowman, favored the rechargeable core. It allows for a slimmer, more lightweight build. Plus, you rarely if ever have to swap it out, so you don’t have to worry about ease of access.” Dr. Rauth rested a hand on one of the alcoves. “But that’s the designer in me talking. These alcoves serve another purpose as well. The ARKS commissioned Kurt to build a better soldier. He believed there was more to that role than simply carrying out orders. No, what Kurt wanted to create was a soldier that could think, and reason, and adapt as needed. That’s why he programmed the Akis, all three of them, to be… well, as human as possible. Using these alcoves, the Akis experience dreams much the same way you or I do when we sleep. It’s a strange thought, isn’t it? Why would a CAST need to dream? To understand the answer, you need to understand the purpose of dreams. Dreams give us a chance to experience things outside the scope of our daily lives. They help us process the day’s events. Not only that, they provide us a window into the deepest levels of our psyche. By allowing the Akis to dream, Kurt gave them the ability to look both inside and outside of themselves. It was just one of many design choices that set him apart from the rest, a true master craftsman.”

Something about the way Rauth spoke of Dr. Bowman struck Akasha—he was always referred to in the past tense. “What happened to him, to Kurt Bowman?”

“Sadly he was killed a few years back… by some goons affiliated with KAI-OS.”

Akasha and Kira traded a look. “I’m sorry to hear that.”

“Kurt was a good friend…,” the doctor mumbled quietly as he led them away from the alcoves.

* * * * * * * * *


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQaawkt785o[/b][/u]

Another staircase and two corridors later, they finally arrived at their destination. It was just one of several workshops used for constructing CASTs and other robots. There were three people in the room when Akasha and the others arrived: a dark-haired woman wearing a lab coat similar to Dr. Rauth’s, a pale-complected CAST boy in red and white armor, and…

“Akasha. I see you brought Kira as well.” The third member of the trio regarded them with an unreadable expression. Her body was made of gleaming red and black metal, her crimson hair was cut short, but her face… her face was the same as the Colonel’s.

This must be Zero Two, thought Akasha. “You know who we are?”

The Caseal nodded. “We’ve never met, but I have my sister’s memories. I know everything she knows—up to yesterday. That was the last time we used the alcoves.”

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Aki02_rebirth_name_zpsbnmvfmzu.png~original[/spoiler-box]

“Hey, hey, hey!” Luna interrupted loudly. “How ‘bout introducing them to the rest of us? Not all of us share your crazy mind-meld powers.”

Aki02 gave her a thin-lipped smile. “You’re right, Luna, of course. I’m sorry. But we should introduce ourselves first, don’t you agree?”

She extended an arm towards the red and white CAST. “This is my older brother, Alpha. He helps us around the lab.”

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Alpha_rebirth_name_zpsbu9l2cmg.png~original[/spoiler-box]

Older brother? Akasha wondered. He looks half her age! Guess I shouldn’t take a CAST’s appearance at face value…

Next the Caseal introduced the woman in the lab coat. “This is Irene Schumacher. She’s a project head in the research division at RenaSans.”

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Irene_rebirth_name_zpspepz1e9g.png~original[/spoiler-box]

“RenaSans?” Kira rubbed her chin. “I’ve heard of them. They’re a big-time CAST development company, aren’t they? What would one of their head researchers be doing here? Isn’t that kinda like aiding the competition?”

“Let’s just say I’m a… close friend of the family,” Irene replied with a coy smile. “Recently we’ve been collaborating on a new project. It’s right here, in fact.”

The woman stepped aside, revealing a half-built robot lying on the operating table behind her. The robot was small, about half a meter tall, with sparkling golden armor plating, feather-like arm extensions, and a pair of large black photoreceptors for eyes. Its most striking feature, however, was its shape. The robot, for all intents and purposes, resembled a mechanical Rappy.

“It’s a unit for long-distance communications, for the times when a visiphone isn’t quite enough. A CAST can remotely transfer his or her programming into this unit without having to be here personally. They can then temporarily take control of the robot to interact with people or things on this end. I call it the Remote Access Personal Interface, or RAPI for short.”

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/RAPI_name_zpsn7fifch9.png~original[/spoiler-box]

Kira giggled. “Clever name. It practically markets itself!”

“Yes, well, we have to get this prototype working first. We’ll worry about selling them later.”

Aki waited a moment to make sure they were finished, then continued with the introductions. “It seems you’ve already met Dr. Rauth. He’s in charge of the lab. He rebuilt me and my sisters after the Fifth Fleet Massacre. And my outspoken little support partner here is Luna.”

“How come everybody keeps calling me small today?!” the miniature Deuman pouted.

“Ohhhh,” Akasha nodded in understanding, “your support partner… She looks so real, I didn’t even realize it!”

“What do you mean, ‘looks so real’?! I am real, you… you… big dummy!”

“It’s alright, Luna. She didn’t mean anything by it,” Aki said in a soothing tone, then turned to Akasha. “I’m sorry. I didn’t program her to be so brash. I’m not sure where she picked it up.”

Kira whistled. “You built your own support partner? That’s so cool! I gotta say, between the mecha Rappy and the tiny robot Deuman, I’m almost tempted to leave the ARKS and come work for you guys. This stuff is amazing!”

“Does that mean you’re not the new slave labor—I mean interns?” asked Luna. Akasha couldn’t tell if she was serious or joking.

Aki gently patted her support partner on the head. “No, silly. This is Akasha and her friend Kira Vorholtz. They’re ARKS soldiers. Akasha has come here to ask me a very important question. Haven’t you, Akasha?”

The copper-skinned Newearl took a step forward. “So you know why I’m here.”

“I do.”

“Then…?”

“No. Absolutely not.”


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7RDASYi-m9o[/b][/u]

I feel like I’ve heard this before, Akasha thought dryly. She was disappointed but not entirely discouraged. As a matter of fact, she’d half-expected to be turned down. “I know you think it’s dangerous,” she said. “I know you think I’m crazy for suggesting it. You’re not wrong, but I want to make something clear. I’m going to Orpheus whether you come with me or not. I think my chances would be a lot higher if you were with me, that’s why I’m here. But either way, I’m going.”

The Caseal’s expression turned grim, her dark eyes filled with the ache of loss. “I’m not with the ARKS anymore, Akasha. I gave up that life. It’s not that I don’t want to help, but you don’t fully understand what you’re asking of me… or what you’d be walking into. There is nothing for you on that ship but pain and death, I promise you that.”

Akasha clenched her fists. It couldn’t end this way. She wouldn’t let it. “I heard you have another sister. If you won’t help me, maybe she will.”

“She won’t. Zero Three is busy out in the Rift, looking for... an old friend.”

“Then it has to be you. Please…”

Having remained silent the entire time, Dr. Rauth finally spoke up. “You wouldn’t ask her to go if you knew what she’s been through. You can’t understand—”

“You’re right, I don’t. I can’t. But I wouldn’t be here asking if it wasn’t important.” Akasha fixed Aki with a determined stare. “This isn’t just for me. If it were, I wouldn’t get anyone else involved. But my brother, Shankar, is probably on his way to Orpheus even as we speak. I don’t know what he’s planning, and I can’t explain how I know this, but… he’s going to do something terrible, I can feel it. We have to stop him.”

Aki began a slow stroll around Akasha and Kira, talking as she moved. “Let me ask you this, Akasha. Suppose, against all odds, you somehow make it aboard Orpheus. What then? Would you have any idea where to find Shankar? Any clue at all where he might be going?”

“He… he’ll probably head for Naya Kestren’s lab. That’s what he told me.”

“And where is that?”

Akasha started to speak, then realized she didn’t have an answer to give. “I… don’t know…”

“You don’t know,” Aki repeated. “On a city-sized ghost ship crawling with thousands of Darkers, you’re planning to find a single lab… and you don’t even know where it is.”

Akasha hung her head in despair. Maybe Zero Two was right, maybe it really was hopeless. She’d been so consumed with the idea of getting to Orpheus that she hadn’t thought about what she would do when she actually got there. Finding Kestren was like finding a needle in a haystack—no, even worse than that. It was like finding a needle in a mountain of haystacks. It was nothing short of impossible. I’ve been an idiot, haven’t I? I almost dragged everyone on a wild Rappy chase…

Aki came to a stop in front of her. “Sounds futile, doesn’t it? Fortunately, your pilot has a decent idea where to start looking.”

“Huh? Pilot?” asked Akasha. She looked to her friend. “Did you arrange us a transport?”

Kira shook her head in confusion.

The Caseal turned away, metal hands clasped loosely behind her back. “Meet me at docking bay 73C tomorrow morning at 0900. I should be able to secure us a ship by then.”

Akasha’s eyes went wide. “You mean…”

“Aki, no—,” Rauth started to protest, before Zero Two cut him off.

“I’ve made up my mind—I’m going with them. My sister believes in Akasha’s potential. Akasha believes this mission is worth risking her life. I am simply trusting their judgment. And… it’s time I faced my past. I’ve been running from it all this time, pretending it wouldn’t catch up with me. But Orpheus was always out there, and I think, on some level, I knew one day it would be back. That time has come. For everyone that died that day, I need to do this… I owe them at least that much.”



TO BE CONTINUED[/spoiler-box]

[yoshiblue]

[SPOILER-BOX]Ah, that jazz. That anime music too.

I like the CAST development world building. Programming something to dream without having it get out of hand sounds insanely complex, and it would also be interesting to see a time line of how competition has influenced and inspired everything. Though Luna doesn't strike me as a person i'll see often, she's my favorite character in the story so far. Also heh, Lee. [/SPOILER-BOX]

[CelestialBlade]

So I've had some catching up to do...and decided to do chapter reviews as I read through each of them. Enjoy!

Chapter 6.5
[spoiler-box]I mostly want to say here that the fight between Solomondi and Levia was freaking amazing, I was really engaged in it and the music was perfect. I expected him to be the sort that had a room laden with traps instead of entering the fray himself, so it was a surprising twist to see that he was such an adept combatant. Of course, seeing that he was at least partially a CAST shed light on things.

I have a feeling the rest of this season is going to either be a large build-up to several parties going to Orpheus, or will end with an expedition there. Either way, it's really exciting~

By the way, the Smash Bros Gerudo Valley video got taken down. I loaded up another one, but I just wanted to make you aware.[/spoiler-box]

Chapter 6.6
[spoiler-box]Wow, Devi's some kinda twisted lil thing...her powers are interesting, I don't think any Phantasy Star game has delved into powers of illusion and thought manipulation other than maybe a thing or two from the classic series I'm forgetting. Love how you implemented it in this context.

And Orpheus is just as terrifying as I thought it'd be o~o; Reminds me a bit of a SEED HIVE from PSU? Just more armored.[/spoiler-box]

Chapter 6.7
[spoiler-box]Oof, finding out Devi was Akasha's sister was quite the blow...but even with Devi gone, Akasha's learned a lot and grown a lot stronger just from the experience. Rest in peace, Devi.

Great job of playing with emotions in this chapter. Like Levia said, you waited until we started to feel sorry for Devi before offing her. I knew she was going to die at that point, and yet it doesn't make the emotions any less. Well played; the opening scene of this chapter was brilliant and I knew then and there that Devi was Akasha's real sister.

So that would make the "brother" Shankar...but you also implied Devi had more than one sister, and a "Mother", who we've now confirmed is Naya Kestren. You're also starting to paint a picture of Dr. Kestren as someone who saw Devi and possibly her siblings as tools, nothing more than weapons for KAI-OS or perhaps something stolen by KAI-OS for their own ends. Either way, it makes it even more interesting to see how Lee is going to lead Shankar to the answers he wants...

I have a theory on "The Hunter", but I'll wait and see what happens.[/spoiler-box]

Chapter 7.1
[spoiler-box]Ah, and the paths begin to intertwine...Aki's, Shankar's, and Akasha's. Perhaps all three of them are going to collide on Orpheus, with Lee and Okada in the middle of it all. This is exciting!

Darker Research funding Dr. Kestren's research...oh, this ties in quite nicely to my own plans :3[/spoiler-box]

Chapter 7.2
[spoiler-box]I *just* noticed something, looking at Akasha's and Aki's portraits side by side--their faces are so similar. Maybe I'm reading too much into this given the character creator's limitations and the fact that you have them facing the exact same direction, but...I can't help but think Aki and Akasha have more of a connection than any of us realize, and have some sort of mutual relationship with Dr. Kestren.

Pretty cool that we're finally getting to meet the other Akis in the main story. I wonder how Zero Three's doing with the search...

I didn't know you were a martial artist yourself! I kinda figured you had to be though, with as well-made as your fight and sparring scenes are ^^

Also I absolutely love the first song in this chapter.[/spoiler-box]

Chapter 7.3
[spoiler-box]Aki's not big on the meaning of "absolutely not", is she XD

I guess I should have seen it coming that Zero Two would be the one to go to Orpheus, given that it was that designation that was on that ship long ago. I'm sure she's totally looking forward to a ship crawling with Metos...

Was also cool to finally meet Dr. Rauth again, and his lively little lab. I love that Luna's still around ^^ Irene, too. This is also the first we get to see of Lee's backstory...an attempt to make him seem human, perhaps? Dude's got some daddy issues it seems.[/spoiler-box]

[stukasa]

@yoshiblue:
[spoiler-box]My personal idea about CAST manufacturing is that, while there are probably some CASTs who are mass-produced in factories somewhere, there are also a lot of individual designers like Bowman, Rauth, and Sabik who work on commission and build custom CASTs per a certain set of specs. The Aki project was commissioned by the ARKS as a research project to develop a better soldier. That's the reason the three Akis share memories, so they can "level up" their experience three times as fast. Allowing them to dream was part of Dr. Bowman's design philosophy, as Rauth explained in the chapter. In science fiction, the stereotype is that robots can carry out orders efficiently but they lack the ability to make tough judgment calls. By making the Akis more "human," Dr. Bowman wanted to give them the best of both worlds.[/spoiler-box]

@CelestialBlade:
[spoiler-box]That's quite a comment list! :lol: A few comments to your comments:

- Solomondi was a strange hybrid of man and machine. Devi had his brain put into a CAST body, the reason being that she needed his brain to be organic or else she wouldn't be able to control him with her powers. One thing I wanted to mention in the chapter but didn't have time to say was that Devi's powers couldn't influence CASTs since they're not organic.

- Thanks for mentioning about the song, I'll fix that soon. One thing I didn't realize (or at least never thought about) before writing my stories is how often Youtube links get removed. That Gerudo Valley song was a replacement for the original song I had there, so now I have to find a replacement for the replacement. xD

- Devi was one of my favorite characters to write and I was super sad to have to kill her off, but... the plot must go on, you know?

- The fact that you have a theory on the Hunter at all means you're thinking in the right direction. As for whether that theory is right or not, you'll have to wait and find out~

- About the Akasha/Aki comparison thing, it's just a coincidence. xD Knowing me, yeah I like to do hidden things like that, and there may be other connections people haven't figured out yet, but in this instance it's just the limitations of the character creator and the fact they're both facing the same direction with the same exact facial expression. In my first story I explained that Dr. Bowman modeled Aki after his late wife, Adelle (though she never had red hair). I'll re-post the image in the spoiler below:
[spoiler-box]http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Bonus%20Features/Adelle-AkiComparisonFinal_zps074f81c3.jpg~original[/spoiler-box]
Also, Aki is supposed to look more-or-less Japanese; Akasha is supposed to look more-or-less Indian.

- Saying I'm a martial artist might be a bit of a stretch. I mean, I did take a class one summer when I was in elementary school but I never did anything with it after that. I still have my actual yellow belt, though! I kept it after all these years. ^^

- Technically the Luna you see now is a different Luna from the one in my first story. The first Luna didn't really exist. Depending on how you look at it, she was either A) a guiding spirit who was leading Aki towards acceptance of her own death, or B) the product of Aki's malfunctioning CPU as her body slowly shut down. In any case, at the end of Interlude 1.1 (the side story before season 2 started) Dr. Rauth gave Aki02 an unspecified project to work on. That project was building her own support partner. She had to come up with a design and based it on the Luna from her memories. This new Luna, however, turned out to be a lot more... spunky. :lol:[/spoiler-box]

[Sacrificial]

[SPOILER-BOX]this chapter is a perfect example of the calm before a storm.[/SPOILER-BOX]

[Zorafim]

25 years? Well, that's probably enough to get much of the basics down. The next six belts are all about refining that until you can do them as easily as breathing.
That being said, your skeleton has replaced itself three times since your last sparring match, so there's that too.

I keep doing that thing where I read your chapter and then not say anything. After all, if I had words to type I'd type them into my story so I could give you something in return for this amazing content. But despite me doing that, reading your chapters is the highlight of my saturdays and I do that as soon as I get the chance. So, be encouraged and use that encouragement to write more chapters so I can be happier longer.

[spoiler-box]Thank you for having an accurate and adequate reasoning for Aki having dreams. So many science fiction writers write a human first, and android second, and give half hearted excuses when doing so. I can tell you did your research on this, though. Your explanation is simple and makes sense. So, good job on that.

Seeing a hint of Lee's backstory makes me wonder. How integral is that to the character? Is he written as a villain first, and given this characterization second? Or is this a major part of his character, and his actions in the story a logical conclusion of that? I often took this stuff as it came, wanting to see the villain beaten to death until his dramatic backstory reveal, and then watch helplessly as he died with a newfound sympathy for him. But now I'm wondering, what were the steps to writing this character?
Anyway, again, nice job handling that scene. It gave Lee some extra depth and sympathy without subtracting anything from him as a villain.[/spoiler-box]

[stukasa]

@Zorafim:
[spoiler-box]Thanks for saying so. ^^ I understand if you're not able to comment right away, I can always wait a few days for your reply.

About Aki's dreams: That goes back to the first chapter of my first story. The Aki sisters use their recharging alcoves to A) recharge their power core, and B) exchange memories. But I thought, "What are they actually doing while they use the alcoves?" So I came up with the idea that they would dream, which made sense because Dr. Bowman was trying to make them more human, and dreaming is an important part of the human experience.

About Lee's backstory: Despite all my planning, you'd be surprised how much I do on a whim. It's just intuition. The original idea for that scene didn't include the dream, but I had to start the chapter somehow and figured it might add a little more depth to the character. Usually I work backwards when creating a character, i.e. I have a role I need to fill and then decide what kind of character would best fill it. It's sort of the reverse from what you might expect, i.e. you create a character first and then figure out what they would do in a given situation. But that's just the way my brain thinks, I guess! With Lee, I went into this story knowing more or less what type of person he is, what his goals are, and some of his backstory, but all that stuff about his dad... no, I just came up with that recently when I was thinking about why he turned out like he did.[/spoiler-box]

[stukasa]

CHAPTER 7.4 [10/24/15]
[spoiler-box]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79C6m5hLHi0[/b][/u]

UR RESIDENTIAL DISTRICT: APARTMENT COMPLEX

On the bedroom wall, a single button was pressed.

Shadows were gradually given form as the rectangular window shifted from opaque to transparent, letting in sparkling golden rays of morning sunlight. There was the extra-long bed with its haphazard bundle of unmade sheets. The open closet filled with an assortment of custom-fitted clothes and armor. The shelf lined with disks of popular music, hit shows, and old Academy lectures.

And at the center of it all, making everything else appear too small by comparison, stood the room’s single occupant. Her copper-colored skin was radiant, her outfit pristine, her expression resolute. She pulled on the last piece of her Neighbor Quartz armor, double-checked her gear pack, and grabbed her Lambda Hellfret double saber before quietly slipping out the bedroom door.

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Akasha_clothes2_name_zpsso8symkx.png~original[/spoiler-box]

The living room was dark and still. Akasha tiptoed across the apartment to Kira’s room and pressed an ear to the closed door. Silence. Her roommate was probably still fast asleep in her bed. They’d been living together since graduating from the Academy, yet Akasha was still amused by her friend’s ability to sleep through just about anything. It certainly worked in Akasha’s favor that morning.

Sorry, Kira. I can’t get you and Ivan mixed up in this. Knowing you, you’ll probably be pretty mad at me. I just hope you can forgive me, someday…

The Newearl took one final look around. It occurred to her that this could very well be the last time she set foot in this apartment—assuming things on Orpheus didn’t go as planned. But she’d accepted that. Letting out a soft sigh, Akasha opened the front door to leave—

—and nearly fell over in surprise when she spotted the two people waiting for her in the hallway.

“Morning, sleepyhead!” exclaimed an energetic Kira. “Ready for a walk on the wild side?”

“Don’t worry, we weren’t waiting long,” added Ivan, smiling politely.

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Kira_ARKS_name_zpsqgyimpge.png~original http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Ivan2_name_zpsptpqme19.png~original[/spoiler-box]

Akasha took a moment to compose herself. “O-Oh, uh, hey guys! I didn’t expect you to be ready so early.”

“You weren’t planning on leaving without us, were you?” asked Kira not-so-innocently.

“Of… Of course not,” Akasha lied. “But are you two sure you want to go through with this? This isn’t your average, everyday mission, you know. I can’t ask you to risk your lives for me.”

“You’d do the same for us. Besides, we wouldn’t dream of being anywhere else,” Kira replied firmly. “Isn’t that right, sweetie?”

Ivan didn’t respond right away. “What, you mean me? Since when do you call me ‘sweetie’?”

“Since today. What, you don’t like it?”

The half-Newman scratched his freshly-shaven jaw. “Coming from you, Spitfire? Honestly, it sounds a little creepy.”

A swift jab to the bicep forestalled any more snarky comments from Ivan. “Kasha, I know you’re not exactly good at accepting help from other people. You’re the big, tough girl who wants to do it all yourself. But sometimes, when your friends say they want to lend a hand, you need to learn to just smile and nod along.”

Akasha sighed and then laughed, defeated. “I can’t win against you, can I?”

“Never,” she grinned. “And don’t you forget it.”

* * * * * * * * *


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgAgkpjdA_U[/b][/u]

- One hour later -

DOCKING BAY 73C

The bay hummed with its usual early morning activity as Akasha and her friends entered from the north gate. A number of uniformed techs and pilots were hard at work cleaning, prepping, and refueling the assortment of spacefaring vessels scattered throughout the extensive hangar. To their left they saw several civilian shuttles of varying make, model, and color. To their right was a bevy of privately-owned transports and luxury yachts, ranging from the ultra-fancy to the horribly dilapidated. Straight ahead rested a single ship, what looked like a retrofitted transport with a pair of military-grade turrets mounted on its sides. It was slate gray in color, decorated with an elaborate pattern of dents and scorch marks, and probably at least several decades old. Unadorned lettering on its starboard side identified the craft as Rico’s Folly.

Strolling down the boarding ramp was a familiar-looking black and red CAST. Spotting the new arrivals, she immediately headed in their direction. “You’re early,” Aki02 commented without preamble. “Good, I like that.”

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Aki02_rebirth_name_zpsbnmvfmzu.png~original[/spoiler-box]

“Didn’t wanna be late to my own funeral,” Akasha muttered sarcastically under her breath.

Kira sniffed and folded her arms across her chest. “This is our ship? No offense, but… what a hunk of junk!”

“It may not look like much, but it was the only ship available on such short notice. At least, the only one that met our parameters.”

“Who’s Rico?” asked Akasha, her attention still drawn to the transport.

“For that answer, you would have to ask the person who named it.”

“Right... I just hope we have better luck than they did. I’d rather they didn’t rename it ‘Akasha’s Folly’ after this.”

Ivan approached Aki and extended a hand. “Oh, uh, nice to meet you. My name is—”

“I know very well who you are, Mr. Malloch,” said Aki, shaking his hand anyway. “I share my sister’s memories. I know everything she knows about you.”

“This is going to take some getting used to,” Ivan whispered to Kira.

* * * * * * * * *


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kupvUIwwavs[/b][/u]

“I still wish you weren’t going,” said Dr. Rauth through the ship’s on-board visiphone. His face, along with that of Aki’s brother, Alpha, were visible on the small screen.

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Character%20Faces/Rauth_name_zps89386be4.png~original http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Alpha_rebirth_name_zpsbu9l2cmg.png~original[/spoiler-box]

Seated alone in the transport’s cockpit, Aki regarded him with a sober smile. “It’s a little late to back out now. And besides, I need to do this. For myself as much as them.”

“Will you be away long?” asked Alpha, his expression more curious than concerned.

“Not long, no. At least I hope not,” Aki replied. Speaking of being away, she couldn’t help but notice there was one person missing from the conversation—her support partner. “Where’s Luna? She isn’t with you?”

The doctor idly adjusted his glasses. “She left early this morning, said she was going out for a walk. I think she’s still a little hurt you’re not taking her along.”

Aki nodded thoughtfully. “When she gets back, tell her I’m sorry. I’ll make it up to her later.”

“Will do. And Aki… be safe.”

“In my experience, whenever someone tells me to be safe, things usually don’t turn out very well.”

Rauth winced. “Let’s hope this time is the exception, then. You have almost a week until the Navy launches its counterattack, more than enough time to get in and out of that awful place. I won’t pretend like it’s going to be easy. Just remember, you have people here who care about you. Make sure you come back in one piece, okay? Good luck.”

“Thank you, Doctor. Take care while I’m gone. All of you.”

The visiphone faded to black. Pensively, the red-haired Caseal leaned back in her seat, her gaze still fixed on the blank screen in front of her. She’d contemplated telling Dr. Rauth her other reason for going on this mission, but in the end had decided against it. No need to worry him more than he already was…

* * * * * * * * *


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ap78rNDSctU[/b][/u]

A few minutes later, when the last of the cargo had been loaded and the gear stowed, Akasha and her friends joined Aki in the cockpit. Akasha strapped herself into the co-pilot’s seat while Kira and Ivan took the pair of navigator’s chairs behind them. With the flick of a switch, Aki started up the transport’s computer systems. The display in front of her glowed to life and the words “Initializing Systems – Please Stand By” appeared. One after another, green status lights illuminated to show that the ship was operating normally. Aki pressed another switch and the boarding ramp retracted, sealing the ship. On the screen in front of her, messages popped up informing her that the life support systems were functional and cabin pressure readings were at optimal levels.

“It’s going to take a couple minutes to start up the engines and complete the pre-flight diagnostic,” Aki explained. “As they say… ‘just sit tight.’”

The Caseal continued pressing buttons, pulling levers, and flipping switches. To Akasha it was like a foreign language—mostly beyond her understanding, but she paid attention as best she could. All the while, more messages were scrolling across the computer screen:

Cooling Systems Check… Cooling Systems Functional.

Initializing Navigation System… Calibrating… Nav Systems Active.

Engine Startup Initiated… Powering Up Forward Thrusters… Powering Up Rear Thrusters.

A faint whine graduated to a low rumble as the engines came online one after another. By the time the last engine powered up, the crew of Rico’s Folly could feel the rattling deep in their bones—or, in Aki’s case, her metal chassis. They were buried in the belly of a great beast, one that possessed a life all its own. A beast that was about to whisk them away on the most dangerous adventure of their lives.

All Systems Operational, the computer reported. Ship is Ready for Take-off.

Aki depressed a button on the console. “Control,” she said, speaking into the microphone, “this is the transport Rico’s Folly, requesting permission for take-off.”

“Rico’s Folly,” a slightly static-laced voice replied through the ship’s speaker, “you are cleared for departure. Have a safe journey.”

Releasing the magnetic docking clamps, Aki gently nudged the throttle, easing the ship forward. They glided through the bay, past the row of shuttles, past the cluster of luxury yachts. Past the safety of civilization. Ahead, deep space awaited them. A silent moment of realization swept through the crew of Rico’s Folly then; it was the knowledge that their mission was finally underway. There would be no turning back. Win or lose, live or die, they were committed. The thought was humbling.

And then, suddenly, Ur was behind them. All around them, a hundred billion stars sparkled like a hundred billion precious jewels. Somewhere out there, among all those glittering jewels, was their destination.

As Akasha watched Aki enter a series of coordinates into the navigation system, her brow furrowed in sudden concern. “It might be a bit late asking this, but… you do know how to find Orpheus, right?”

Aki cocked her head slightly to the right and raised an eyebrow. “Trust me,” she said.

A moment later, the ship jumped to warp.

* * * * * * * * *


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zwkestBlywU[/b][/u]

The Raltheon System was a relatively unimportant star system, at least as far as Oracle was concerned. It hosted only three planetary bodies, none remarkable and none capable of supporting life. The first was too small and too hot, the second was decently sized but freezing cold, and the third was a brilliant blue gas giant. It was here, midway between the second and third planets, that a shimmering pool of light tore open the fabric of space.

This portal, a jump gate, facilitated warp travel and made Oracle’s spacefaring society possible. It was said that a jump gate resembled a pool of water suspended in space. This description is apt, though the composition of the portal was decidedly not water. Rather, its purpose was to provide a conduit between two distant points in space, allowing travel between them at a fraction of the time normally afforded by sub-warp speeds.

It was through this conduit, this tear in space, that Rico’s Folly emerged nearly an hour later. Aki had plotted several jumps designed to bring the transport as close as possible to Orpheus’s current location. Or rather, its expected location. The fallen colony ship was traveling on a more or less straight-line path towards Sector Prime, suspected by many to be the clandestine construction site of the space station Terra Nova. The only challenge was pinpointing its exact position.

“I don’t see Orpheus out there,” said Akasha, visually scanning the starfield ahead for any sign of movement.

“That’s because you’re looking with your eyes,” Aki replied. She glanced behind her seat. “Kira, what do the long-range sensors say?”

The orange-haired Gunner studied the console screen. “It’s there. At least I think it is. It’s a long ways out, but with that size… it can’t be anything else.”

“You were right,” Akasha admitted to Aki, shaking her head in disbelief. “You found Orpheus. But how’d you know where to look?”

The Caseal regarded her with an amused smile. “You don’t watch Ur Nightly News, do you? Sylva Greene has been covering it all week.”

* * * * * * * * *

One final micro-jump brought the transport within visual range of Orpheus. Upon exiting the jump gate they were immediately assaulted by great bursts of light off the port bow and Aki was forced to bank the ship hard to avoid getting caught in the explosions.

“What’s going on?!” shouted Akasha. “Are we under attack?”

Aki increased power to the craft’s forward shields. “No, space mines. The ARKS have been laying them throughout the system. It’s part of General Valias’ plan to slow down Orpheus long enough for the Navy to complete preparations for its counterattack.”

Indeed, Rico’s Folly was skirting the edge of a vast minefield—one that Orpheus was currently approaching. The black behemoth swelled in their forward viewport as they drew closer, its colossal size almost beyond imagination. Oracle citizens were accustomed to the magnitude of the great colony ships, but to see one like this, so monstrous and grotesque, took their breath away. The name of the vessel, once prominently stamped on its prow, was now mostly obscured by a thick shell of organic-looking armor plates. Its surface was rough and uneven, punctuated by spiny ridges, barbed tentacles, and other baffling appendages. The entire ship—if it could still be called that—pulsed with an otherworldly crimson glow that seemed to emanate from the cracks between its protective plates.

As they continued staring, a powerful energy beam lanced out from between a pair of hooked appendages at the bow of the colony ship. The beam arced across the minefield, detonating and destroying hundreds of space mines in a single sweep. For a long moment the inky blackness was transformed into a burning maelstrom of blinding light.

The resulting shockwave came quickly and without mercy. Rico’s Folly was buffeted by the blast, tossed about like a pebble in a tidal wave, but its shields held. After that Aki wisely chose to widen the distance between the transport and the mines.

It was at that point Ivan noticed a tiny blip on the sensors. He looked up, trying to spot the object through the viewport. Sure enough, a small shuttlecraft was streaking ahead in the distance, its bluish-white efflux trail the only discerning feature against the darkness of space. “Look, over there!” he exclaimed, stabbing a finger towards the vessel. “A shuttle!”

Akasha’s eyes widened. She knew immediately who was piloting it. “Shankar.”

“The brother you told me about?”

She nodded solemnly. Her brother had been telling the truth—he really was going to Orpheus, and now it looked like he was going to get there before them.

“Shankar? You sure about that?” asked Kira.

“Who else would be crazy enough to fly towards that… that monster?” Akasha replied, then added with a twinge of irony, “Besides us, I mean.”

“Good point.”

Before they could discuss it further the shipboard alarms began howling, denoting multiple weapons locks. Aki threw the transport into a spinning dive relative to Orpheus as spearhead-shaped projectiles rocketed past. “What are those things?!” Kira cried.

“Darker missiles… I think.” Aki remained maddeningly calm as another salvo came uncomfortably close to blasting Rico’s Folly into oblivion. Most of the “missiles” flashed past faster than Aki and the others could see, but a few stragglers gave them a glimpse of what they were facing. They looked similar to Dagan eggs: cone-shaped, with several tentacles trailing behind them. The red, bulb-like portion was gone, replaced with a rear vent that fired super-hot gases to generate propulsion. The projectiles’ jet black color made them difficult to spot against the backdrop of outer space.

“They’re coming around for another pass!” Ivan reported, his tone urgent. “I think they’re tracking us!”

Aki gave the engines a burst of power. Rico’s Folly momentarily shot ahead of its pursuers as the missiles looped around behind the transport, but the gap closed quickly as they formed up on their target. There was no way Aki could dodge them forever. Their only option was to take them out. “Kira, man the port turret. Ivan, you take the starboard side. Keep those Spearheads off our backs.”

“Aye aye, cap’n!” replied Kira, throwing the Caseal a mock salute. “Just try not to rock the ship too much. I don’t think my stomach can take much more of this spinning!”

The transport’s side-mounted guns swiveled towards the rear of the craft. Kira and Ivan opened fire on the incoming missiles, twin streams of blazing light tearing through one Darker weapon after another as space exploded into fiery clouds of brilliance. Twelve became eight, eight became five, five became two. The final pair of Spearheads emerged from the inferno unscathed, spiraling around each other as they closed in on Rico’s Folly. Aki juked the ship left and right in a vain effort to lose them. When that didn’t work she attempted the wildest maneuver yet, sending them into a high-speed corkscrew spin that had them holding onto their restraints for dear life. The Spearheads, in their effort to chase the ship, spiraled closer and closer to one another until one missile struck the other—and detonated. Rico’s Folly flew on to safety.

Kira put a hand to her mouth. “Urgh, I think I’m gonna lose my lunch!”

“You haven’t eaten lunch yet, Spitfire.”

“A technicality,” she retorted.

“Where’s Shankar?” asked Akasha, looking for any sign of the shuttle. The Newearl was right—he was gone. Somehow, during the chaos of battle, the other ship had completely disappeared from view—and their sensors as well.

“Worry about that later,” said Aki as another alarm began wailing. “We’ve got incoming!”

“More Spearheads?”

“No, just one this time… but it’s bigger.”

The solitary missile barreling towards Rico’s Folly was bulb-shaped and roughly three times the size of the Spearheads that had chased them before. “Kira, Ivan,” commanded Aki, “get ready to blast it on my mark. Three, two—”

Before she could give the order, the missile burst on its own. There was no explosion. Instead, the bulb tore into pieces and its contents spilled out, peppering the transport with multiple impacts. At first Aki and her crew thought it was harmless debris, but they quickly realized what had actually emerged from the missile—a pack of Krahdas! The diminutive, insect-like Darkers clung tightly to the outer hull of the ship and immediately began tearing into the metal plating with their razor-sharp claws. They were tiny, but given a few minutes they could do some serious damage.

“Oh, this is bad…,” said Kira as she watched a Krahda rip open a panel like a can top.

It’s worse than that, thought Aki. There was no way to hit the Krahdas with the side-mounted turrets. Even if there was, they’d destroy the ship in the process. So what could they do? At this rate Rico’s Folly might not even make it to Orpheus, much less make it back.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3j_xFA4Fi2o[/b][/u]

Desperate times called for desperate measures. Aki swung the transport back towards the mine field, a move that immediately had Akasha worried. “Wait, what are you doing? You’re not actually thinking of going back into that mine field, are you?!”

“I was considering it, yes.”

“What?! Are you kidding me?!”

“I rarely joke,” the Caseal replied mildly, coaxing the engines to their limits.

Rico’s Folly plunged into the sea of mines at top speed. Activated by the ship’s proximity, the closest mines detonated with the intensity of a hundred tiny supernovas. Barely able to keep ahead of the shockwaves, the craft was rocked violently from side to side. Flames licked the edges of the transport. Inside, multiple systems flickered intermittently. Warning status messages flashed on every computer screen.

Then they were past it—past the mines, and past the Darkers. Every single Krahda attached to their hull had been vaporized in the mine field. Once again it seemed Aki’s risky gamble had paid off. The only thing between Rico’s Folly and Orpheus now was open space.

“One minute,” Aki announced.

One minute until they reached Orpheus. The massive ship filled their viewport now, looking even more intimidating than it had from afar. Everyone waited breathlessly as the timer counted down the last few seconds, anxious to find out whether or not this was about to become a one-way trip.

“How are we getting inside?” asked Ivan. “I assume you have some idea.”

“There,” said Aki, pointing. Above and to the right of them, nestled between two giant armor plates, was a rounded hole in the exterior of the colony ship. It was perhaps thirty meters across, plenty large enough for Rico’s Folly to squeeze through. Or it would’ve been, had it not started to close like some kind of misshapen mouth.

“We’re not going to make it!” Akasha yelled, looking on helplessly as their only chance continued shrinking right in front of them.

“We’re going to make it.” Aki pushed the throttle as far as it would go and held it steady.

All at once, red energy beams and Spearhead missiles came at them from multiple directions. And yet, miraculously, Aki maneuvered them past every danger without getting a single scratch. Up ahead, the entrance was disappearing fast. They shot through the hole just as it closed around them, barely scraping the tail end of the transport’s hull. Aki flew Rico’s Folly down the throat of a long curving tunnel, desperately trying to slow the ship when a closed hatch suddenly came rushing into view. There was no way to stop in time. “Guns forward!” Aki shouted. “Shoot! SHOOT NOW!!”

Kira and Ivan let loose with everything they had. The turrets shredded the hatch just as Rico’s Folly slammed into it, blasting through the wall into a cavernous, dimly-lit chamber. Aki activated the landing struts as the transport was thrown into an uncontrolled horizontal spin.

“This is going to be a rough landing. Hang on.”

The phrase “rough landing” may have been an understatement. The ship touched down going far too fast—and still spinning. Rico’s Folly skidded across the floor of the chamber, sparks flying and stomachs turning. In the cockpit, the crew was pressed into the sides of their seats. The world itself became a vibrating blur. There was no time to think. No time to scream. It was all they could do just to keep from blacking out.

Just when they thought they couldn’t endure any more, the spinning slowed and finally came to a stop. The transport sagged on its struts as if letting out a long sigh.

A long moment of silence followed. The crew looked around in amazement, belatedly realizing they’d survived the incredible ordeal.

Akasha released the breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding. “We made it…”

“Yes, we did,” Aki replied. “Now for the hard part.”



CHAPTER 7: END[/spoiler-box]

[yoshiblue]

[SPOILER-BOX]Heh, communication static. I would imagine someone would be keeping an eye on restricted space. I wonder what sort of lie was used to allowed newmen man dude to go into it?[/SPOILER-BOX]

[Zorafim]

You put an large amount of detail into this chapter. That's really tough to do. Being able to show what a person is thinking just by describing what's around them takes skill.

[spoiler-box]You did a great job setting up Orpheus as an important area. A whole story was spent making us think of it as a home, most of another was spent making it mysterious and distant, and this chapter showed the monstrous transformation it underwent. I couldn't ask for a better prepared last level area.[/spoiler-box]

[CelestialBlade]

[spoiler-box]That was quite an exhilarating trip to Orpheus! It was a really intense ride and I loved how much work you put into describing things like the Darker weaponry and the organic features of the fallen colony ship itself. The more twisted and evil you made it sound, the more it became...defiled. Like Levia said, Orpheus was once a home, once the basis of so many adventures...and to see just how far it's fallen, just how much that changed, just how hopeless the entire thing looks...it hits hard. You did such an amazing job creating that feeling.

I also really liked the take-off sequence and appreciated your attention to detail during that. Probably my favorite part of the whole chapter.

Orpheus might indeed prove to be the creepiest thing since Darker's Den, can't wait to read about what it looks like on the inside...[/spoiler-box]

[Zorafim]

[spoiler-box]It's hard to beat two loved major characters dying in the worst possible ways and crippling both the protagonist and the reader.[/spoiler-box]

[CelestialBlade]

[spoiler-box]It's hard to beat two loved major characters dying in the worst possible ways and crippling both the protagonist and the reader.[/spoiler-box]
[spoiler-box]Stu killed off an entire colony ship fleet, I'm sure she'll find a way to make this version of Orpheus even worse :P[/spoiler-box]

[Zorafim]

[spoiler-box]Stu killed off an entire colony ship fleet, I'm sure she'll find a way to make this version of Orpheus even worse :P[/spoiler-box]

[spoiler-box]She only killed most of them! But yeah, she has a knack of causing gut-wrenching tragedy. And there's been a suspicious lack recently.[/spoiler-box]

[Sacrificial]

[SPOILER-BOX]I call the dead of lee, shankar and either kira or crap forgot his name. Edit:Ivan.[/SPOILER-BOX]

[Zorafim]

[spoiler-box]Oh yeah Shankar is going to die. Probably after a dramatic and ass-kicking climactic battle. Lee is going to get some kind of poetic death, probably right after we see him in a sympathetic light. Kira and Ivan? They could each go either way. There are so many ways to use them to develop the story.[/spoiler-box]

[stukasa]

Although I didn't plan it this way beforehand, I couldn't have asked for a better Halloween chapter.

Happy Halloween, everybody! :D

CHAPTER 8.1 [10/31/15]
[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Logos/Rebirth%20Title%20Ch%208_zpst23q7hjm.png~original


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WlE0Gmsf5s0[/b][/u]

FALLEN COLONY SHIP ORPHEUS: FORMER DOCKING BAY

It could have been worse.

As the crew of Rico’s Folly—Aki02, Akasha, Kira, and Ivan—stared out the transport’s forward viewport, however, they couldn’t help but feel a creeping sense of unease. The sensation was palpable, a fog that had silently drifted into the cockpit and settled there like an unwanted passenger. They were on their own, light years from help, surrounded by thousands of Darkers, and their exit had sealed itself shut behind them. It could be worse, thought Akasha, but not by much.

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Aki02_rebirth_name_zpsbnmvfmzu.png~original http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Akasha_clothes2_name_zpsso8symkx.png~original http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Kira_ARKS_name_zpsqgyimpge.png~original http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Ivan2_name_zpsptpqme19.png~original[/spoiler-box]

Outside the transport, the extensive chamber had once been one of Orpheus’s many docking bays, but now… now it just looked ominous. Like the exterior of the colony ship, the interior also appeared to have been transformed into an otherworldly abomination. Much of the original walls, floor, and ceiling were no longer visible. Instead they were covered by strange organic growths and crystalline formations that gave them the feeling of being inside a cave rather than a city-sized ship.

“I’ve got a bad feeling about this…,” Akasha mumbled, fighting to keep her rattled nerves under control. After the excitement and sheer panic of getting to Orpheus, the hard reality of their situation was finally setting in.

“Coming here was your idea,” Kira chided her friend. “Don’t tell me you wanna back out now.”

“Pretty sure I don’t have a choice at this point, but… no. Let’s do what we came here to do.”

Aki used the main computer to perform an external analysis. “Ship’s sensors confirm atmospheric pressure in the docking bay. The air should be breathable. It appears you won’t need spacesuits after all.”

Akasha let out a humorless chuckle. “Good. Mine probably wouldn’t have fit anyway.”

“Just in case, let me go first. After all, I don’t need to breathe.”

“Lucky you,” quipped Ivan as Aki stepped into the airlock. The airtight door sealed shut behind her. In front of Aki, the boarding ramp lowered itself to the docking bay floor.

The Caseal steadied her trusty red rifle as she descended the ramp. The weapon felt strange in her hands now, both reassuringly familiar and yet somehow foreign. Having been away from the battlefield for nearly a year, the role of “soldier” didn’t appeal to her the way it once had. Back then she’d always fought to protect her friends, yet all around her was proof that even her best efforts weren’t always good enough.

Aki pushed those thoughts aside. There were more important things to be done now. Carefully she stepped off the ramp, her metal foot sinking gently into the pliant floor—a floor that should have been metal. It probably still was, but layers of dark mosses obscured that fact. She looked around. The former docking bay stretched on forever, or nearly so. Her enhanced CAST vision compensated for its impressive size and poor lighting.

Actually, Aki was surprised there was any light at all, considering there was no power in the bay. After a moment she realized that a wispy, mushroom-like fungus was responsible for producing the existing illumination. There were clusters of them scattered throughout the chamber, both on the floor and the ceiling overhead. A quick analysis confirmed another curious feature: the fungi were producing oxygen, nitrogen, and trace amounts of other gases. That explained the presence of breathable air. During their initial attack on Orpheus, the Darkers had shattered the Great Dome, taking with it most of the air in the ship. Yet the Darkers had apparently patched the hole and grown these fungi to replace the missing air. But why? Documented evidence showed that some, if not all, Darker species could survive in adverse conditions, including space. What use would they have for an atmosphere? Or perhaps the gases were merely a side effect of the fungus’ normal functions and Aki was over-thinking the matter.

Whatever the reason, it didn’t matter at the moment. Aki switched on her radio and called the rest of the crew down from Rico’s Folly. They gathered up their gear and weapons and joined her at the foot of the boarding ramp. With renewed conviction, the four of them hiked off in the direction of the nearest exit gate, unaware of the stowaway still hidden in the transport’s rear storage compartment.

* * * * * * * * *


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJaDkE2z8JE[/b][/u]

They knew it the moment they left the confines of the docking bay and stepped into the city proper. They saw it as they gazed out at the murky expanse stretching endlessly before them, the broken skyline little more than a veiled shadow. They felt it in the desolate, long-deserted streets, the abandoned shops set beside ruined homes, the unsettling chill that hung in the air.

Orpheus was a tomb.

A tomb for the untold masses slaughtered that day—the day of the Fifth Fleet Massacre. So many had died… including most of Aki’s friends and comrades. Their bodies were likely still out there, somewhere, in the urban wasteland where throngs of Darkers now roamed.

And yet, strangely, there was an indescribable beauty to the place. This wasn’t the demonic hellscape Aki had read about in reports, the place they called the “Darker’s Den,” with its rivers of acid blood and ruined gothic architecture. No, Orpheus was eerily quiet and dark. Far off in the distance, the silhouettes of great hulking beasts lumbered past the remnants of skyscrapers, and occasionally the haunting roar of a distant creature would break the silence, but otherwise—at first glance, anyway—everything appeared tranquil and subdued.

The city had no electrical or photon power. Instead, tens of thousands—perhaps hundreds of thousands—of bioluminescent fungi dotted the landscape. Glowing spores listed lazily through the stale air. And what they first thought were stars overhead turned out to be clusters of fungi growing on the interior of the Great Dome high above. The real sky was no longer visible, having been completely sealed off during the Darkers’ terraforming process. The overall effect was both surreal and unnerving, but it served to reinforce a subtle truth: the occupants of Orpheus lived in a state of perpetual night.

Aki dialed down the volume of her voice to avoid alerting nearby predators. Cautiously she addressed the rest of the team. “Stay close to me. Try to remain out of sight and make as little noise as possible. The more encounters we can avoid, the better.”

Everyone nodded their assent. Treading lightly, they sprinted along the edge of the street. It had been a major boulevard once, bustling with thousands of people and vehicles on any given day. Now it was barely recognizable. There were still cars and hover-cycles strewn about but they were all empty, broken, and covered in alien mosses and fungi.

When they reached a large intersection Aki held up a hand to stop them. She peered around the corner to check for danger but immediately jerked her head back. “Trouble,” she hissed, and led them back the way they came. The group ducked inside an abandoned convenience store and kept low to avoid being spotted.

At first there was silence. Then, a low rumble. The rumble grew in intensity until the entire building vibrated. Shelves rattled and cabinets shook. Peering through the few spots in the display window that weren’t covered in vegetation, Aki and the others watched a herd of Kartargots shamble past on stubby legs. The quadrupedal, flat-backed Darkers didn’t notice anything amiss and continued on their way—wherever it was they were going. The rumble faded as the last of them passed from view.

Once again, silence.

“Let’s wait a couple minutes longer,” suggested Aki, “just in case there are any stragglers.”

“Fine by me,” Kira said with a shrug. No one objected.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BX8PPaoYwLk[/b][/u]

As they sat waiting, Akasha mulled over a question that had been on her mind since the previous night. The Newearl looked over at Aki and realized there might never be a better opportunity to ask. “I’ve been thinking about why you agreed to join us on this mission. More like wondering, really. I can’t figure out what you stand to gain from it.”

“You came to me asking for help. You said you were committed regardless of my involvement. I simply couldn’t let you go alone.”

“That’s it?”

“That’s one reason,” the Caseal replied. “One of several, actually.”

Akasha waited for her to continue.

“Are you familiar with a terrorist group known as the Non-human Independence League?”

“The N.I.L.?” Ivan interjected, scratching his head. “They’re the ones who tried to blow up Circada, right? I remember that; it was all over the news back then. The reporters said you took them down single-handedly. That’s when you became the hero of the Fifth Fleet.”

“The real story is somewhat more complicated, but… yes, you are correct. The leader of the N.I.L., a woman called the Wraith, told me her sister Kori’el was killed during a genetics research experiment. I found out the head scientist on that project was Naya Kestren. Ever since then my sisters and I have been trying to track her down.”

“Naya Kestren…” Akasha felt her throat tighten. She’d been searching for her missing past all this time, but now that it might finally be within reach she was feeling conflicted. Could the missing scientist really be her mother? And if so, how would Akasha react when they were finally reunited? It was a question she couldn’t answer.

Also, there was something about Aki’s answer that bothered her. Even if Kestren was responsible for the things Aki claimed, Akasha had a feeling there was more to it than that, something she wasn’t being told. “Why is she so important to you—important enough to risk a trip to Orpheus? And how do I fit into all this? Don’t tell me I’m imagining things. You and your sister have been looking out for me, but you also need me. Why?”

The Caseal’s dark eyes stared back at her, studying her. “There’s something big going on, something I need to understand. And you’re the missing link, Akasha.”

“What link?”

“That’s what we’re trying to figure out. Zero One thinks there’s a connection between Kestren and KAI-OS. You were found in Kestren’s lab and you have a KAI-OS tattoo on your face. That makes you our best chance of discovering the truth.”

Akasha didn’t know how to respond that time.

* * * * * * * * *

Aki glanced down the street in one direction, then the other. The coast was clear. She motioned for the others to follow. Leaving the relative safety of the convenience store, the team continued their dangerous mission.

“There’s a bridge ahead,” said Aki, three city blocks later. She was able to see it before her teammates could.

“Is that bad?” asked Ivan.

“Bridges have no cover. If we’re spotted, there will be no place to hide. Crossing it would be risky.”

“Is there any other way around?”

“None convenient.”

“Then I guess we’ll have to chance it.”

They approached the bridge carefully, on the lookout for any Darkers that might be lurking nearby. None were visible, though the maze of streets made it difficult to be certain. The bridge itself was wide enough for four lanes of traffic and at least fifty meters long. Once, it had served as a path over one of the city’s many waterways, but now it was suspended over a vast pit of nothingness. All the water had been sucked away or evaporated when the Great Dome ruptured.

Akasha peered over the railing as they approached. The chasm below looked impossibly dark and infinitely deep, like a void in the universe that simply didn’t exist. A fall here would mean certain death. She gulped nervously.

“Remember, be quick and quiet,” Aki reminded them. “Let’s go.”

They ran. Thankfully their footfalls were muffled by the mossy film that covered everything. Unfortunately, that also made it hard to discern where the street ended and the curb began. Akasha’s foot caught on the raised step and she lost her balance. On instinct she grabbed the nearest object to steady herself, which happened to be one of the many abandoned cars in the road.

A car with an overly-sensitive alarm system.

A blaring wail rose through the air and flashing headlights turned night into day. Akasha quickly removed her arm from the hood of the car but it was too late. The damage, she knew, had already been done. Summoning a bolt of Zonde lightning to her fingertips, Akasha silenced the screeching vehicle once and for all.

Turning around slowly, the Newearl was confronted by her teammates’ horrified stares. “Whoops,” she said, rather sheepishly, “sorry ‘bout that.”

The four of them stood frozen in place, hoping against hope that the commotion had gone unheard. They watched and listened, waiting for a reaction.

Nothing happened. Maybe luck was on their side that day after all. Maybe, just maybe—

Thump. Thump. Thump.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fyJhyVnbvSQ[/b][/u]

On the far side of the bridge, a pair of lumbering forms emerged from the darkness. More than twice Akasha’s height, with a monstrous single eye and a bulky club attached to one arm, they presented quite an imposing sight.

Kuklonahdas.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

From behind them, another pair of brutes appeared. These were similar in form to the Kuklonahdas but possessed a large, armor-plated ball in place of the club.

Cyclonehdas.

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Darkers2_name_zpsw3b186p3.png~original[/spoiler-box]

Quickly, quietly, every member of the group unsheathed their weapons. For Akasha it was her custom-made Lambda Hellfret double saber, for Kira it was her twin machineguns, and for Ivan it was his crimson-bladed photon sword. Aki already had her rifle in hand.

The Darkers closed in from both sides. Aki was the first to strike, spraying targeted burst fire into a Kuklonahda’s bulging eye. The cyclops stumbled forward in a rage, blindly swinging its club back and forth but only managing to hit a pair of moss-covered cars. One of the vehicles crumpled like a child’s toy. The other flipped end over end as it bowled straight down the middle of the roadway.

Kira narrowly avoided the incoming obstacle and followed Aki’s lead by firing her machineguns into the eye of the nearest Cyclonehda. The move was only partly successful. The Cyclonehda used an arm to shield its eye from the brunt of the Gunner’s attack and quickly retaliated, shooting the tethered ball out of its other arm. The ball was massive, easily bigger than Kira, and bearing down on her faster than she could dodge it. Ivan came flying to the rescue at the last second, using his photon sword like a baseball bat to knock the Darker’s ball off course. It went hurtling past Kira a meter to her right—far too close for comfort.

“You okay?” Ivan called out.

“Just peachy,” she replied, shaken.

Kira kept up her assault on the monster’s single eye as Ivan closed in for the kill. He slashed diagonally downward across the Cyclonehda’s torso, cutting deep into its thick abdominal armor. Unfortunately that wasn’t enough to bring the deadly beast down. The Cyclonehda swiped at him ferociously with its normal arm, again and again, forcing Ivan to block with the broad side of his blade. Unable to endure the stress, his sword fractured before shattering completely.

The force of the blow threw Ivan to the ground. His weapon lay in pieces around him. The Cyclonehda towered over him, readying its ball arm for the decisive blow…

Meanwhile, Aki baited the still-blind Kuklonahda by firing short volleys to get its attention and then retreating out of range. She kept up this tactic until she’d reached the side of the bridge. The Darker brought down its heavy club in her general direction, smashing apart the metal railing in the process. Aki rolled aside as the creature stepped forward. Still unable to see anything, it toppled off the edge into the endless darkness below.

The immediate danger gone, Aki turned her attention to the Cyclonehda threatening Ivan. She released a sustained volley of gunfire at its head. The beast staggered backwards, temporarily stunned, providing them a brief respite from the onslaught.

Aki rushed to Ivan’s side and pulled him to his feet in an instant. Before she could ask if he was hurt, the Cyclonehda hurled its tethered ball in their direction. “Watch out!” shouted the Caseal, shoving Ivan out of harm’s way.

She didn’t have time to dodge it herself.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHXc5kyQ1Z4[/b][/u]

The assault rifle fell from Aki’s hands just before the armored projectile smashed into her. Even with her arms held in front of her to mitigate the impact, there was no way to neutralize its awesome power. Instead she chose to hang on as the ball swung her wildly through the air. Her grip quickly wavered, then faltered, sending her into an uncontrolled tumble towards the nearby precipice. Aki bounced across the pavement far too quickly to stop in time. She went over the side of the bridge in the same spot the Kuklonahda had fallen moments before.

Akasha, who was still battling the second Kuklonahda, watched Aki drop out of sight. “Hey!” she hollered. “Are you alright?!”

“I’m hanging in there,” the Caseal replied dryly. She’d managed to grab hold of the mangled railing with one hand and was dangling precariously over the pitch-black abyss. “Don’t worry about me, help Ivan!”

The Newearl had been so engrossed in her own duel, she hadn’t noticed her friend’s plight—until now. And there was no time to waste. First, though, she had to deal with the enemy in front of her. Akasha dropped to one knee and placed an outstretched hand on the ground. Channeling a frosty blast of Barta, she encased the Kuklonahda’s bulky feet in even bulkier blocks of ice. That should hold it for a while, thought Akasha, already dashing towards Ivan.

Without a weapon to defend himself, the half-Newman was at the mercy of the advancing Cyclonehda. The Darker swung its ball arm repeatedly, forcing both Ivan and Kira closer and closer to an endless plunge off the bridge. Akasha wasn’t about to let that happen. She leapt fearlessly through the air, double saber twirling around her, and brought her photon blade down on the tether connecting the ball to the creature’s arm. It gave way and snapped apart, the ball crashing heavily to the ground.

Between Ivan’s earlier sword attack, Kira’s constant bullet barrage, and Akasha’s severing strike, the big brute had finally taken too much punishment. It fell to its knees, exhausted but not yet defeated. Akasha lunged. Her blade pierced its massive eye, ending its life once and for all.

There was little time to celebrate. The Kuklonahda that Akasha left behind earlier broke free of its icy prison and closed in on them from the right. Meanwhile, the remaining Cyclonehda circled around from the left. Akasha and her friends were cornered, tired, and quickly running out of options.

The Kuklonahda raised its club up high. And then—

Six flashes of light followed by six ear-piercing booms. The Kuklonahda’s club arm exploded. Half of its head was blown apart. The Cyclonehda took one round to the eye and two to the torso. Both Darkers collapsed to the pavement, dead on impact.

It took Akasha a moment to process what happened. They’d been saved—but how? She looked to her left. Standing in the road near the end of the bridge was a mysterious figure, probably a man, his features concealed beneath a tattered brown cloak. In his hands he gripped a high-caliber sniper rifle—the same weapon he’d used to take down the Darkers.

The weapon he was now aiming directly at Akasha.



TO BE CONTINUED[/spoiler-box]

[yoshiblue]

[SPOILER-BOX]A city of fungi. Sounds real pretty. Though I am surprised they didn't show any concern over an abundance of fungi spore floating with that oxygen. Am also pretty impressed with that sniper. Not only with his ability to find a good spot to shoot from, but also to navigate an entire city as fast as he did. Makes me wonder how much of the ship's structure was altered overtime. [/SPOILER-BOX]

[stukasa]

CHAPTER 8.2 [11/7/15]
[spoiler-box]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5QbZZrs3fdM[/b][/u]

FALLEN COLONY SHIP ORPHEUS: RESIDENTIAL DISTRICT

No one moved.

Standing near the midpoint of the bridge were Akasha, Kira, and Ivan, still out of breath from their battle with the Darkers. Aki02 hung off the side, her legs dangling over a seemingly-bottomless abyss. At the other end of the bridge stood their mysterious savior, a man shrouded in a dirty brown cloak. His hood was up, concealing his features. In his hands he gripped a high-caliber sniper rifle that was currently trained on Akasha and her friends.

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Akasha_clothes2_name_zpsso8symkx.png~original http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Kira_ARKS_name_zpsqgyimpge.png~original http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Ivan2_name_zpsptpqme19.png~original http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Aki02_rebirth_name_zpsbnmvfmzu.png~original[/spoiler-box]

“Whoa there, take it easy,” said Akasha, disengaging her double saber in a show of good faith. “We’re on your side.”

“You don’t even know who I am,” came the mystery man’s raspy reply. He sounded like he hadn’t spoken in weeks, maybe months.

“You don’t look like a Darker. That’s good enough for me.”

As Akasha tried to reason with the cloaked figure, Kira slowly inched herself towards the nearest automobile, at the same time reaching for the twin machineguns holstered on her back. If things went south she could signal her friends to dive for cover, and then… what? She could only hope she was a faster shot than the man with the rifle. It wasn’t the best plan in the universe but it was the only one she had. All she needed to do now was get behind the car and—

“Hold it right there,” the man warned, his gun drifting in Kira’s direction. “Don’t even think of reaching for those weapons. Better yet, drop them on the ground. Go on, do it. I’d rather not start off my day shooting a little girl.”

Kira fumed. “Little girl?! I’ll have you know I turned twenty last month!”

“If you want to make it to twenty-one I suggest you don’t try anything stupid.”

Kira glared at him but did as she was told, carefully setting her machineguns down in the street and gently kicking them out of arm’s reach.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNxrN56FuBI[/b][/u]

“Good. That’s good.” He turned his attention back to Akasha. “Now then, I have some questions for the big girl over here. Such as, who the hell are you people and what are you doing out here? I thought the last of the survivors had already been killed or… taken. Anyone left should’ve had the good sense to stay away from the upper levels. This whole area’s a death trap.”

Akasha debated with herself how much she should reveal. The man was a total stranger, possibly deranged, and was threatening them with a gun. On the other hand, he did save them during the battle earlier. That had to count for something… right? “My name’s Akasha, this is Kira, and that’s Ivan,” she said, intentionally omitting any mention of Aki. “We didn’t come from the lower levels, we flew here. We’re trying to find someone, a woman named Naya Kestren.”

The man was incredulous. “You flew here? As in, on a ship? Are you insane?!”

Akasha shrugged. “Depends who you ask.”

“Look, I don’t know why this ‘Kestren’ is so important to you, but you’re better off turning around right now. If you plan on leaving at all, that is.”

“Is that a friendly warning… or a threat?”

Just then Akasha heard the distinct clopping of metal against pavement behind her. She knew there was only one person on their team it could’ve been. Sure enough, a metallic hand briefly rested itself on her upper arm as Aki stepped past, putting herself between Akasha and the mystery man. Why the Caseal would choose to give away their advantage by revealing herself, Akasha didn’t know. She could only trust that Aki had some reason for it.

“It was a friendly warning,” said Aki, answering for the cloaked figure, “and a good thing, too, considering this man is the best sniper I’ve ever known.”

There was a moment of stunned silence all around, including—and especially—from the man in question. “A-Aki…?” The man lowered his rifle and threw back his hood. He was pale and scruffy-looking, and missing his trademark cowboy hat and sunglasses, but Aki recognized him right away. It was Delfoy.

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Delfoy_Rebirth_name_zpshoueayj8.png~original[/spoiler-box]

Delfoy, one of Aki’s oldest friends. Delfoy, who’d helped rescue Irene during the kidnapping incident aboard Ur. Delfoy, Aki’s teammate during the Fifth Fleet Massacre almost one year earlier.

Delfoy, who should have been dead.

Aki rushed over to her friend and threw her arms around him. Her tears came quickly and freely. At that moment, in the midst of the Darker-infested gloom, everything else was forgotten. “Back then, I… I thought you were…”

“I thought I was, too,” he said, after their embrace came to an end.

“But how? After the dome shattered, Selena and I saw you get sucked away by that hurricane.”

“I nearly was, but I managed to grab hold of an antenna on the roof of a nearby building. After that I escaped to the lower levels hoping to find a ship to get the hell outta here. That’s when I got ambushed by a pack of Predicahdas. They cut me up pretty bad but I was able to get away and hide in an air duct. By the time I recovered all the ships were gone or destroyed, and the exits were sealed up tight.”

“You’ve been living here all this time,” Aki finally realized. The bitter reality of it began to sink in. What had Delfoy been through these past months? What must he have endured to survive? “I’m sorry… I’m so sorry, Delfoy, I never knew…”

The haggard-looking man shook his head. “Don’t beat yourself up over it, there’s no way you could’ve known. The important thing is, you found me.”

Aki clasped the Newman’s shoulders and smiled. “That’s right. Come with us, we’re going to get you out of here.”

“Now that,” he replied with a familiar grin, “is the best idea I’ve heard in quite some time.”

* * * * * * * * *


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_UAh12ObLqY[/b][/u]

With Delfoy’s help the group was able to sneak past the clusters of Darkers wandering the streets. Or, in some cases, avoid them entirely. The Newman sniper led them on a circuitous route around the downtown district where he said the greatest concentrations of Darkers usually roamed. Several times they had to double back or find a temporary hiding place until the threat had passed. Each time, however, they were able to escape detection.

Aki marked the team’s destination on their holographic mini-maps. It wasn’t far now, only a few blocks to the east… and several levels down. Kestren’s lab wasn’t located among the city’s surface levels, it was part of the vast network of underground facilities that existed just out of view. To get there they would have to navigate the old subsurface railway tunnels. The trains—subrails, they were called—were no longer running, of course. That meant they would travel on foot. It would be slow going, but they were prepared for that.

As they came upon the steps leading down to the subrail station, Delfoy unexpectedly came to a halt. “Aki, wait. Before we go any farther, I need to know… Selena, did she make it out of here? Did she survive? I’ve been thinking of her every day, wondering what happened back then. It’s chewing me up inside. Please, Aki, tell me the two of you made it out together.”

It was the longest three seconds of Aki’s life. What could she possibly say? How could she make him understand when she didn’t want to accept it herself? Eyes cast downward, voice hollow, she decided to tell him the truth. “We… got separated. There was a boy named Marten, and Selena, she went back to help him find his parents. I didn’t see them again after that.” She added quietly, “To be honest, when we found you I hoped she would be with you…”

Delfoy took half a step back. Aki could tell he was reeling from the news. Having survived for a year against nearly impossible odds, desperately holding onto the hope that his loved one was safe and sound, only to have that hope ripped away in an instant… Aki felt terrible. Worse than terrible. Deep down she still partly blamed herself for letting them get separated back then. And now she had to deal with the consequences of that decision.

“Don’t give up,” she told him. Though she was talking to Delfoy, she was also trying hard to convince herself. “My sister Zero Three is still out in the Rift searching for them. If she’s out there, Zero Three will find her, I promise you. We can’t give up hope, not yet.”

He nodded at her numbly, forcing a weak smile. Both of them knew the odds of finding Selena after a year were slim at best. In truth the chance was almost nonexistent, yet neither one was willing to give up that faint glimmer of hope.

They continued onward in silence.

* * * * * * * * *

The subrail tunnels were long, dark, and foreboding. Much like the city above, most of the curving walls were covered in thick layers of mosses and the occasional spindly vine. Unfortunately there were fewer glowing fungi to provide illumination. To remedy the situation, Aki and Kira activated a pair of flashlights to light the way ahead. Their beams bobbed up and down as they cut through the veil of darkness.

Five minutes passed. As they continued walking, Delfoy sidled up next to Aki. Eyes locked forward and voice kept low, the Newman murmured, “We’re being followed.”

“I sense that as well.”

“You’re not worried?”

Aki considered it. “Well, maybe I’ve let it go on long enough.”

She motioned to Akasha, who joined them at the front of the group. The big Newearl bent down and Aki whispered something in her ear. Nodding, Akasha trotted ahead and disappeared around the bend of the tunnel.

The trap was set. Now, to spring it…

* * * * * * * * *

Hunched low and keeping to the shadows, a mysterious figure tiptoed along the edge of the darkened subrail tunnel. The figure was having a harder and harder time keeping up with Aki and her group. Were they walking faster? It was hard to tell. Just then the tunnel began to curve and Aki’s group disappeared from view.

Abandoning caution, the figure jogged ahead, searching for the flashlight beams that were suddenly—and strangely—absent. Out of nowhere, comparatively giant hands swooped down and grabbed the figure from behind, lifting her off her tiny feet.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRdWLXiq9A8[/b][/u]

“Unhand me at once, Darker scum!” exclaimed Luna. The little support partner flailed about wildly, eyes shut tight, madly swinging her hammer-shaped rod in every direction. “I’ll make you rue the day you challenged the likes of me! RUE THE DAY, I tell you!”

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Luna_rebirth_name_zpsswfg6vk5.png~original[/spoiler-box]

Twin spotlights—actually just flashlights—flooded the scene and a familiar red and black Caseal stepped forward. “Calm down, Luna, it’s only us.”

The pseudo-Deuman finally opened her eyes. “Oh,” she replied mildly. “In that case… unhand me at once, friends and respected colleagues!”

Akasha, who’d been holding Luna at arm’s length, gladly set her down on the mossy floor.

Aki got down on one knee to look her support partner in the eye. “What are you doing here? I told you to stay home.”

“Hmph!” Luna grunted defiantly. “I’m tired of hanging out in the lab. It’s so boooooring!”

“Boring or not, I was trying to keep you safe. It’s too dangerous here.”

“Aw c’mon, that’s no fun! What are you, my mother?”

Aki raised an eyebrow. “I designed and built you. So in a way, yes, I am. And when I give an order, I expect you to follow it.”

Luna fidgeted, suddenly feeling embarrassed. She twiddled her fingers and looked at the ground. “I-I’m sorry, okay? Just… please, let me stay with you guys. I don’t wanna go back to the ship, it’s lonely over there.”

“As much as I hate to admit it, I think you’re safer with us,” Aki said with a sigh. She gently poked Luna in the chest with a metal finger. “You can come along, but do as I say from now on. Understood?”

The support partner literally jumped for joy, throwing her fists in the air as she danced around. “Yippee! Thanks, mom! You’re the best!”

Aki gave her a serious look. “My first order: don’t call me ‘mom.’”

“But before, you said—”

“Don’t make me repeat myself.”

“Um, guys…?” Kira’s worried tone caught everyone’s attention. “I hate to break up the happy family reunion, but I think we’ve got a problem here.”


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53wIseUttI0[/b][/u]

The rest of the group looked at the Gunner, then in the direction she was pointing. Fifty pairs of gleaming red eyes stared back at them from the darkness.

Ivan took a nervous step back. “Time to run?”

“That would seem prudent,” Aki replied, disengaging the safety on her rifle. “Go, now!”

The Caseal sprayed cover fire down the tunnel while everyone else made a mad dash in the opposite direction. A moment later Aki turned and followed the others, a swarm of spider-like Dagans hot on her heels. In any other situation she would’ve dropped a pair of grenades in their path. In the bowels of Orpheus, however, an explosion like that would probably only attract more Darkers—a chance she couldn’t afford to take. So she ran.

One benefit of being a CAST was having more speed and stamina than her flesh-and-blood counterparts. Aki distanced herself from the stampeding Dagans and quickly caught up with her team. She saw poor Luna straggling behind at the rear of the pack, desperate to keep up.

“Hey, wait up!” shouted Luna, her tiny legs only covering half the distance of a normal-sized person. “I can’t run as fast as you guys!”

Aki scooped up her support partner without breaking stride, hoisting Luna onto her shoulders as if she were giving a child a ride.

“Whoa—hey, this is actually pretty fun!” The little robot let out a whoop of delight. “I feel like a cowgirl riding her trusty steed. Yee-haw! Giddy-up, pardner!”

“Luna! I need your help keeping those Darkers off our backs. Think you can do that for me?”

“Wellllll… okay, since you asked nicely. Just let me get situated and see what we’re dealing with here.” She glanced behind them, then did a double take. There were over a hundred Dagans on their tail, more than twice the original number. Evidently they’d gotten reinforcements along the way. “Aw man, we are so boned!”

“Less talking, more attacking.”

“Alright, alright. I’m on it.” Luna channeled a burst of Razan in her hammer-rod and released it into the crowd of Darkers behind them. The tornado of wind energy crashed into the Dagans, sweeping some of them off their pointed feet and slamming them against the walls of the tunnel. The rest redoubled their efforts. A few even leaped into the air in an attempt to spear Aki in the back, but the Caseal expertly dodged left and right as she ran.

“Ready for more, you nasty little buggers? How ‘bout something a little spicier this time?” Luna aimed her rod just ahead of the first line of Dagans. The toy hammer-looking weapon spewed a blazing stream of Safoie in the Darkers’ path, setting them on fire as they charged through it. Unfortunately it didn’t seem to slow them down much. Now, instead of being chased by a pack of bloodthirsty Dagans, the group was being chased by a flaming pack of bloodthirsty Dagans.

“Wuh-oh, that’s not good!” said Luna. “You, um, might wanna pick up the pace a bit… We’ve got hot tamales on our six!”

Aki was not enthused. “You set them on fire, didn’t you?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

The tunnel suddenly opened up into a much larger cave—what had once been another underground subrail station. What caught Aki’s attention wasn’t the open space, however. It was the clusters of reddish ovoid pods scattered throughout the area. Dagan eggs, she realized with a grimace. This must be their nest, that’s why they’re chasing us so feverishly.

The group continued to run. Overhead, a pair of winged Breeahdas descended towards them menacingly. Without stopping, Delfoy fired three rounds from his sniper rifle into the nearest Breeahda. His shots tore through the insectoid Darker and pierced its bulbous core. The creature squealed in pain as it spiraled to the ground.

Kira fired her machineguns into the face of the other Breeahda. Enraged, the creature charged straight for them—and was promptly hacked to pieces by Akasha’s double saber.

The Newearl holstered her weapon and raised her arms to her sides. Closing her eyes briefly to concentrate, Akasha willed an immense torrent of fire energy into the space around her. As if by magic, the air ignited and the Dagan egg clusters burst into flames. This immediately sent the pursuing Dagans into a frenzy. Panicked and confused, some of them scattered for safety. The others tried in vain to save their burning eggs. It was enough of a distraction for the ARKS and their friends to make a getaway.

“We need to reach the level below this!” Aki shouted, running ahead of the others. “There should be a staircase over here to the left! Hurry!”

“If it’s still there!” Delfoy retorted, following close behind.

Akasha came next, with Ivan and Kira bringing up the rear. They had almost reached the open doorway when a hidden Dagan leapt out from the shadows. The creature tackled Kira and sent her skidding across the rough floor. Sensing blood, a dozen more jumped down from the rafters overhead and closed in for the kill.

Ivan looked on in horror. They were almost upon Kira now. No one else was close enough to help. That meant Ivan was the only one who could save her, but what could he do? His sword had been smashed to bits during the last fight and he wasn’t carrying any other weapons.

Except one, he realized.

Unhooking the cord around his neck, Ivan pulled his mother’s talis loose and threw it—directly into the oncoming swarm. There was a blinding flash of Gigrants and a chorus of inhuman shrieks as whirling blades of light impaled every Darker within a six-meter radius.

Ivan didn’t hesitate. He grabbed Kira off the floor and hauled her into the nearby stairwell. As soon as they were inside, Delfoy slammed the heavy door shut behind them. The green-haired Newman tore off a section of nearby vine and wrapped it around the door handle for good measure. “That should hold them… for a little while, at least,” he said.

The group breathed a collective sigh of relief.

* * * * * * * * *


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ZfFKTM53Lo[/b][/u]

“That talis belonged to your mother,” said Kira as they descended the staircase. “You said it was your last memento of her. And you gave it up, just like that…”

Ivan put an arm around her shoulder. “My mother is gone, Spitfire. She died a long time ago. But you, you’re still here. I just want to make sure it stays that way.”

“I’m here,” she smiled, leaning into him. “I’m right here. You won’t get rid of me that easily.”

One level down and a city block further they finally reached their destination. It was a kind of centralized hub for research labs, except these weren’t the high-profile, corporate-funded labs found on the surface levels. No, these labs belonged to those who couldn’t afford anything better, or, in some cases, those who wanted to keep their work out of the public eye.

Not that it mattered now. Most of the labs were overrun with the same mosses, vines, and fungi found throughout the colony ship. Even down here, in the belly of the beast, nothing had been spared from the Darkers’ corrupting influence. Nothing, that is, except a single lab—the very lab they’d been trying to find. Its front door was still sealed shut, untouched by the ravages of monsters and vegetation alike.

“This is it,” said Aki. “Assuming the map and my intel are accurate, this should be the place. Just remember, it’s been a year since the Darkers attacked Orpheus. We don’t know what we’ll find in there or whether Kestren is here at all. In any case, be prepared for anything.” She glanced at each of her teammates. They all stared back at her with determined faces. “Everyone ready?”

“Ready to rock and roll!” Luna exclaimed, and no one contradicted her.

Aki nodded solemnly. “Then let’s go.”

* * * * * * * * *

Unknown even to Luna, there had been a second stowaway aboard Rico’s Folly during the trip to Orpheus, one with far more sinister motives in mind. A stowaway who’d followed them all the way from the docking bay and was spying on them even then…

On the far side of the concourse, a certain man wearing a demon mask gazed through the scope of his rifle as the ARKS and their friends entered Kestren’s lab. The mission he’d been assigned by Lee was to ensure Shankar’s success by any means necessary. For the time being the supersized Newearl and her band of misfits didn’t seem to pose much of a threat. The moment that changed, however, the masked man would be ready to take action.

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Hunter_name_zpshxtej2pq.png~original[/spoiler-box]

Better take out the red-haired Caseal and scruffy-looking Newman first, he decided. They seem like the most competent of the bunch. After that, the rest should be easy pickings.

The Hunter checked to make sure his rifle was fully loaded. It was.

Good. The only thing to do now is wait…



CHAPTER 8: END[/spoiler-box]

[yoshiblue]

Well, that answered my questions.

[CelestialBlade]

[spoiler-box]I literally screamed "WHAT?!" when you revealed that the hooded man was Delfoy :O Talk about an unexpected comeback...although the thought of watching his home deteriorate, all alone, eating and drinking who-knows-what for sustenance...that might be worse than death. Especially when a year goes by and you wonder if you'll ever see another person again.

Orpheus feels straight up like something out of a Metroid game, it seems really awesome. Fungi and mosses and such give it a very alien vibe, less sinister than Darker's Den but no less creepy. I can only imagine what it's really like for Aki, seeing her war-torn home in this shape.

Still a lot of questions here--where's Shankar, are there other survivors, are they gonna run into a Metos, is Hisako still out there, and the obvious Hunter threat...quite a tense setup for the next chapter.[/spoiler-box]

[stukasa]

@CelestialBlade:
[spoiler-box]I hope everyone had your reaction to Delfoy's surprise return. :lol: I tried my best to trick people into thinking it was the Hunter. A few weeks back Lee told the Hunter to go to Orpheus, and last week I mentioned a stowaway hidden aboard Rico's Folly. I figured people would jump to the wrong conclusion. Then, later, I tried to trick people again... but it was only Luna. Finally, at the very end, the real Hunter showed up. That was the only appearance people should've expected.

As for Delfoy, well, he was one of the few characters in the first story whose fate I never explicitly revealed. He got sucked away by a hurricane, never to be seen again... until now, that is.

Sometimes I yank the hope out from under you. Other times, I give a little back when you least expect it. ^^[/spoiler-box]

[Zorafim]

Well played.

[stukasa]

CHAPTER 9.1 [11/14/15]
[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Logos/Rebirth%20Title%20Ch%209_zps4wyiawks.png~original


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZjSL28MSgoo[/b][/u]

COLONY SHIP 02, UR: ARKS COMMAND TOWER, OFFICE OF GENERAL VALIAS

“I’ll ask you once more: are you certain about this? Absolutely certain?”

Standing at attention, hands clasped behind her back, Aki01 didn’t hesitate. “Yes, sir.”

“Good. You’d better be, Colonel, or both our careers will be over.” General Rayn Valias gave her a look that conveyed the seriousness of his words. As the leader of the ARKS military forces aboard Ur, he didn’t make such statements lightly. Nor should he. After all, both parties knew the gravity of the situation, the stakes involved. This was a matter of survival, not just for themselves but for the entire colony ship.

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Aki01_rebirth_name_zps1ojwctmd.png~original http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Valias_name_zpsxunlu2cp.png~original[/spoiler-box]

Valias turned away from the Caseal and stood facing the window of his office. Outside, the downtown district hummed with its usual afternoon energy. All those people down there, he thought, gazing downward, their lives depend on the decisions made here in this room. I can’t let them down. I can’t afford a single mistake now.

“I reviewed the materials you gave me yesterday.” The general fell silent for a moment. His shoulders tensed as he prepared to deliver his judgment. The night before had been long and sleepless, one of many in recent memory. In the end, though, he had come to a decision. He only hoped history would agree with him. “And, after careful consideration, I have to agree with your assessment. The evidence against the Executive Council is not absolute—after all, video logs can be doctored or faked. However, I consider that a remote possibility in this case. The reality of the situation is this: KAI-OS has murdered every member of the UEC and replaced them with exact replicas. As long as these replicas, these doppelgangers, remain in office, they pose a grave threat to the safety and security of this ship. I cannot, and will not, allow that threat to continue in our midst. We have to act, but we’ll do so discretely, tonight. After all,” he paused to offer Aki a grim smile, “you don’t orchestrate a coup during daylight hours.”

The Newman general suddenly looked wearier than before, as if the full weight of his station had finally caught up with him. “Unfortunately I won’t be able to oversee this operation personally. The Orpheus situation has given me more than enough to deal with, so I’ll be leaving this in your capable hands. I realize we haven’t known each other a long time, Colonel, but I’m quite aware of your reputation, and I can already tell it’s well-earned.”

“Thank you, General. For trusting me.”

Valias drew himself up to his full height. “Assemble a strike team, Colonel Aki. Tonight at twenty-one hundred hours you and your team will breach the administration tower. Your orders are to apprehend or disable every doppelganger posing as a member of the Ur Executive Council. Find them and hunt them down—in their homes, if need be. Failure is not an option.”

* * * * * * * * *


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXnBtb_GToM[/b][/u]

- 2100 hours -

Above, a starry blanket draped over the fishbowl that was Ur’s Great Dome. Below, a carpet of colorful city lights twinkling mischievously.

And in between, a shroud of darkness.

The single troop transport glided undetected through the night sky. It had been modified to maximize stealth: no running lights, nearly-silent engines, and a jet black paint job. Anyone looking up from below would’ve merely seen an empty spot in the mottled starfield overhead—an empty spot moving steadily towards the downtown district.

“ETA sixty seconds to first drop point,” came the pilot’s steely voice through the intercom.

In the rear cabin, Colonel Aki stared into the faces of the fifteen soldiers accompanying her on this mission. Clad head to toe in black body armor and headgear, assault rifles clutched to their chests, they were a paragon of ARKS military training. Aki knew they were ready without needing to ask. “This is it. Alpha Team, you’re with me. Bravo, Charlie, and Delta Teams, you’re with Captain Colton.”

Beside her, the captain asked, “Are you sure you can manage with a single team?”

[spoiler-box]
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“The lookouts haven’t reported any changes in location. That means there are only three councilors left in the tower—Lane, Zardana, and Apophis. The rest have already retired for the night. Three versus nine… I’d say you have the harder job, Captain. Take all the help you can get.”

Despite the seriousness of the situation, Colton couldn’t help but chuckle. “Fair enough. Dragging politicians from their homes in the middle of the night was always a career goal of mine, you know.”

“They’re not politicians, they’re imposters. Remember that,” said Aki, her red brows furrowed.

“ETA twenty seconds,” the pilot’s voice announced.

Aki grabbed the handle of the transport’s side door and slid it open. Immediately a rush of wind blasted through the cabin, howling as it whipped at their clothes. No one flinched. Far below, amid a sea of glittering lights and neon signs, the skyscrapers of the downtown district were just coming into view. In the midst of it all, imposing and monolithic, stood the central administration tower, home to the Ur Executive Council. It also happened to be their destination.

They weren’t landing, however. Landing would’ve alerted the doppelgangers to their presence. No, Aki had something a little more creative in mind.

“Five seconds,” droned the pilot. Aki steadied herself by the open doorway, trying to gauge proper distance and timing.

“Wait,” said Colton, suddenly concerned, “what about your parachute?”

“Don’t need one,” she replied, and stepped out of the transport. The three other members of Alpha Team followed suit, dropping one after another into the chilly night.

Colton watched them fall. At first it looked like they were planning to crash feet-first into the top of the tower. As they approached it, however, he could just make out four speckles of distant light—portable anti-grav boosters being activated to slow their descent. The lights winked out shortly after, and Colton knew they had landed safely on the roof.

“Glad she’s on my side,” he said, shaking his head in amazement. Now, off to the residential district to do my part…

* * * * * * * * *


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSzBbpFrih0[/b][/u]

- 2105 hours -

Seated at the desk in her spacious, wood-paneled office, Tamara Lane leaned back and faked a yawn. Standing beside her, Ken Zardana chuckled. It had become something of an inside joke between them. After all, neither of them ever grew tired.

[spoiler-box]
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“I should get going,” said Lane. “Wouldn’t want my husband getting suspicious, after all.”

“He still doesn’t suspect anything?”

She snorted. “Senile old fool. Sometimes I think he cares more about his golf score than he does about me. Which, to be honest, suits me just fine. It’s bad enough I have to share a bed with that disgusting meatbag. I’d happily slit his throat if I could… but there are appearances to maintain, you know.”

“Yes,” Zardana agreed. “The role of Tamara Lane, dedicated wife and distinguished Council member. Your finest performance.”

“My only performance, you mean. I’ll just be glad when we’ve no more need of these human-like bodies. They’re too… soft and squishy for my taste. CASTs should be made of beautiful, gleaming metal, don’t you agree?”

Before Zardana could respond, the door to the office slid open. Or, more accurately, it was forced open. Standing in the doorway and flanked by a trio of rifle-toting soldiers was Aki01. She didn’t wait for permission to enter. The Caseal strode with purpose to the center of the room and turned to face the two councilors. Her soldiers took up positions on either side of her, weapons at the ready.

“This is quite a surprise, Colonel.” Lane forced a smile, though it was clearly strained. “I wasn’t expecting you… or your ‘friends’ here. Perhaps you should start by explaining why you’re barging into my office so late at night. What’s the meaning of this?”

“It’s over, Councilor. I know you’re not really Tamara Lane, nor is he Ken Zardana. You’re KAI-OS replicas, and your plot to rule Ur has come to an end.”

Her smile disappeared. “You’re making a mistake.”

“I don’t think so.” Aki gestured with one hand and the troopers rushed forward to surround the pair of doppelgangers. “By the order of the ARKS, I hereby place you both under arrest. Come quietly and no one has to get hurt.”

A sinister smirk crept across Zardana’s face. “Too late for that,” he muttered. Before they realized what was happening, a previously-concealed dagger found its way into the nearest soldier’s chest. The man released a pained gurgling sound and collapsed.

Nearby, Lane was on her feet immediately. She grabbed a soldier and single-handedly hurled him across the room. There was a thud and the sickening crunch of breaking bones. Aki didn’t need to look—she already knew he was dead.

The last soldier tried to get a shot off but Zardana beat him to the punch. The elderly doppelganger snapped the man’s neck with ease, killing him instantly. As his lifeless body slid to the floor, Zardana snatched the rifle from his hands and turned it on Aki.

A single blast rang out, but not from Zardana’s gun. It came from the pistol in Aki’s hand. Zardana had just enough time to recognize his own impending fate before the photon bullet ripped through his mechanical skull, damaging his central processor beyond repair. His last thought was not one of regret or release, it was simply an acknowledgement that his role had come to an end. Then he joined the dead soldiers on the ground.

Aki looked from Zardana’s limp body over to Lane, who stood glaring from behind her desk. “Stand down, Councilor. I’d rather not kill you, too.”

Lane slowly, deliberately, removed her glasses and tossed them aside. The expression on her face was one of absolute conviction. “You think it’s over? You think you’ve won? I won’t let you have your victory tonight, Colonel. We won’t let you have it. That, I promise you.”


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=trZD9emeQco[/b][/u]

Using strength and reflexes only a CAST could possess, Lane shoved the heavy wooden desk and sent it hurtling towards her opponent. With equal reflexes, Aki leaped up and over the incoming desk, nimbly landing back on her feet as the desk crashed into a bookcase behind her. Her pistol came up—but Lane was no longer there. The doppelganger rushed at her from the side, knocking the gun from her outstretched hand. The weapon bounced across the plush carpet and came to rest near a potted plant in the corner.

Aki had no time to retrieve it. A palm strike to the gut took her by surprise and a fist to the jaw sent her reeling. Before she could recover, Lane grabbed her by the throat and flung her into the smashed desk.

“You know, I never did like you,” said Lane with a smirk. She raised a fist over Aki’s sprawled form. “Which is why I’m going to enjoy every second of this.”

Aki kicked upward, catching Lane squarely in the chest. The doppelganger staggered back two steps as Aki rose to her feet. “I wish I could say the feeling is mutual, but for me this is just business.”

This time it was Aki’s turn to press the offensive. She came in high and fast, her punches seeking any opening they could find. One shot to the face spun Lane around. Another sent her sprawling. The councilor failed to deflect a kick to the stomach and went tumbling across the floor.

Like a cornered animal, Lane quickly turned vicious. She grabbed a paperweight off the shelf behind her and heaved it at Aki like a pitcher throwing a fastball. The Caseal deftly avoided it as she approached the fake councilor. But Lane wasn’t done yet. She began throwing whatever she could find, desperate to keep the colonel away from her. Even mundane objects like a book or a pen became deadly projectiles in her hands. There was even a framed picture that had fallen off her desk, a photo of the real Councilor Lane smiling next to her husband. It too became a casualty of the doppelganger’s last-ditch effort.

And yet Aki continued to walk forward, dodging what she could and deflecting the rest. At last they stood face to face. Aki clamped onto the woman’s wrists, stopping her onslaught once and for all. “Forgive me, Councilor. I hope you won’t consider this excessive force but you leave me no other choice.”

Still holding onto Lane, Aki twisted her hands in opposite directions until she heard the pop and crunch of tearing circuits and metal. Lane let out an anguished cry. Underneath her synthetic skin, both arms were clearly broken. Aki released her grip and the imposter fell to the floor.

“You think this is enough… to stop me…?” the woman scoffed, yet clearly in pain. Her ruby-colored eyes flashed with malevolence.

“No,” Aki replied calmly, “you’re a CAST like me, so I know it isn’t. That’s why I have to do this.”

She brought the heel of her boot down on Lane’s knee, adding pressure until the mechanical joint fractured and snapped. Without hesitation she repeated the process on the other knee as well. Both times the doppelganger cried out, but Aki had little sympathy for her. Breaking the woman’s arms and legs was the quickest way to disable her without killing her, and Aki still had questions that needed answering.

“Give up,” she said, standing over the broken, helpless imposter. “It’s over.”

Lane actually smiled. “I wouldn’t bet on that.”


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4JNgpti390I[/b][/u]

Before Aki could grasp the meaning of those words, a blue-and-white blur slammed into her right flank with the force of a city bus. As both she and the blur rocketed towards the nearby floor-to-ceiling window, Aki managed to turn her head and see who it was.

Apophis 6R-80!

The short-haired Caseal had a reputation for being a practical, fair-minded member of the UEC. She was intelligent, unemotional, and unbiased—in the eyes of some, a model of CAST programming. Unfortunately, that Apophis was long dead. The Apophis currently clinging to Aki was another KAI-OS doppelganger, which meant she had to be dealt with.

[spoiler-box]
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Crash! Aki and Apophis hit the window at high speed… and went right through it. Glass shards spilled out over the cityscape like deadly pointed snowflakes. Suddenly they were in freefall. This high up—several dozen stories, in fact—even a CAST wouldn’t survive the impact.

Maybe that’s what she’s counting on, Aki realized with rising dread. Sacrificing herself to protect her KAI-OS master…

Aki instantly regretted leaving her anti-grav booster on the roof of the tower. She’d only planned on using it during the ride down. She hadn’t expected to need it again—like now, for instance.

Apophis had built-in leg thrusters but wasn’t using them. The doppelganger seemed content letting them both fall to their deaths, but Aki wasn’t about to let that happen. She struggled against the woman’s steel grip, fighting but failing to get free. Despite being smaller than Aki, the blue Caseal had a slight advantage in raw power. It was one of the few times Aki wished she had her old metal body back.

Like it or not, she was completely at the imposter’s mercy. That meant there was only one possible way to survive: talk her way out of it. Aki looked up, which was actually down. The ground was speeding towards them at an alarming rate. Clearly, there was no time to waste. “Don’t do this!” she shouted, her words nearly drowned out by the air rushing past them.

Apophis was utterly calm, apparently unconcerned by her own imminent demise. “You threaten to expose my master’s plans. Killing you is the only logical solution.”

“Who’s going to clean up the mess if you’re dead?! They’ll find the bodies in the morning, if not sooner! People will start asking questions, questions that will lead back to your master! Can you afford to take that risk?!”

The other Caseal hesitated. “I… cannot,” she answered at last.

Apophis finally activated her leg thrusters. This time it was Aki’s turn to hang on as they took a wild, nearly ninety-degree turn through the air. Instead of rushing towards the pavement, suddenly they were rushing towards the administration tower. Aki barely had enough time to cover her face before they smashed through a fifth-story window in a bizarre, reverse version of the move they’d pulled in Lane’s office seconds earlier.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTB-ssuBDvw[/b][/u]

They were flying too fast to avoid crashing into the far wall. The impact resounded with a heavy thud and a plaque of some sort clattered from its perch to the floor. Aki immediately rolled away and jumped to her feet, sparing a fraction of a second to look around her. The office they’d broken into was currently empty, its occupant likely gone home for the night. Good, she thought, at least I don’t have to worry about bystanders.

“I’m going to kill you now,” said Apophis. There was no emotion in her voice, no anger or anxiousness. It was simply a declaration of intent. “Tomorrow a statement will be released to the press blaming you for tonight’s attack. Your colleagues and superiors in the ARKS will be investigated and punished as necessary. Any rumors of our plans will be discredited.”

“I see you’ve already thought this through.”

“More than you know. However, before you die, I do have one question: who else knows about your mission tonight? Give me their names and I will make your death—and theirs—less unpleasant.”

“No one,” Aki lied. “I was acting on my own. I decided it was best not to involve anyone else—except my team upstairs, but they’re already dead.”

“I do not believe you.”

“Then we have nothing left to discuss.”

The doppelganger came at her with purpose and determination. She was composed and expressionless, yet her attacks carried such power that Aki found herself on the defensive. Fortunately for Aki, the source of that power—her metal body—cost Apophis a fair amount of speed. It was a weakness that Aki exploited to her full advantage.

The Caseals danced through the moonlit office, Apophis leading, Aki dodging, a trail of chaos in their wake. Aki knew a single slip-up could prove fatal. She also knew she couldn’t keep running forever. She would have to attack sooner or later, but Apophis provided no openings. Finally her chance came—or so she thought. Aki sidestepped one of Apophis’ punches and rushed forward, but the doppelganger was ready for her, slamming her other fist into Aki’s ribcage. The red-haired Caseal doubled over as another, harder punch sent her flying towards the open window. Aki dug her fingers into the carpet, barely escaping a five-story plunge.

Suddenly she found herself being lifted into the air, cold fingers clamped around her throat like a steel vice. Apophis held Aki over the edge of the building. “I would drop you,” she said, “but a fall from this height would be insufficient to kill you. Instead I will crush your spine, paralyzing you, then finish you off at my leisure.”

The situation seemed desperate. Fortunately Aki had one final trick up her sleeve—literally. It was something she’d been saving for a moment like this. With a flick of her wrist, a hidden photon dagger found its way into her hand. Jabbing upward, she shoved the glowing blade through the underside of Apophis’ jaw, piercing the Caseal’s electronic brain. Apophis regarded Aki for a moment… then her central processor shut down.

When she died, two things happened. First, she released her hold on Aki’s neck. Aki dropped fast but managed to grab onto the ledge, once again avoiding a deadly fall. The second thing that happened, shortly after the first, was that Apophis’ lifeless shell toppled forward past Aki and tumbled down into the darkness of the night. A loud, metallic crash echoed through the area shortly after.

Aki pulled herself back up into the building. Tucking the dagger back in her arm-guard, she set off in search of the nearest elevator.

* * * * * * * * *


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XyGw7GFPmDA[/b][/u]

Aki raced back to Lane’s office as quickly as she could. Predictably, the female doppelganger was already gone. After a brief search Aki found her down the hall slowly trying to wriggle her way across the floor. With four broken limbs she hadn’t gotten very far.

Aki propped her up against the nearest wall. “You’re going to answer for your crimes. But first, there are things I need to know. Things about KAI-OS. About the last of the Four Kings, Okada. And about the man you work for, Lee.”

Lane let out a derisive chuckle. “You really don’t know anything, do you?”

“No. That’s why you’re going to tell me everything, right now.”

“Or what? You’ll kill me? Go ahead,” she taunted. “I was programmed for one purpose: to serve my master. His wishes are my wishes. His plans are my plans. Do you honestly think I would ever betray him? You have nothing to offer, nothing to threaten me with, that would make any difference. Nothing at all.”

“I don’t have time for these games!” Aki shouted, grabbing Lane by the collar. “Where’s Lee? Tell me where I can find him!”

The woman with Tamara Lane’s face leaned forward, slowly, until her lips were nearly brushing against Aki’s ear piece. In a barely audible voice she whispered, “Top floor, Council meeting chamber. And that’s all you’ll get from me…”

There was the snapping hiss of an electric spark and the smell of burnt circuitry. The doppelganger’s eyes rolled back into her head and her body went limp. Dead, Aki realized. She killed herself rather than be captured, a true believer to the very end.

Aki had just stood up when her radio crackled. It was Colton. “Colonel, do you read me? Please respond.”

“I hear you, Captain. What’s your status?”

“We got Renault and the others. They put up more of a fight than we anticipated. Sustained two casualties and half a dozen injuries, but we got it done. Do you need backup over there?”

“Negative. I got the three in the tower.”

“Then we did it. It’s over.” His voice was filled with relief.

Aki glanced in the direction of the elevator at the end of the hall. Top floor, Council meeting chamber…

“Almost,” she said.



TO BE CONTINUED[/spoiler-box]

[CelestialBlade]

[spoiler-box]Ooh, so exciting :D Those dopplegangers sure put up a fight. Lee surely has some sort of trap set up...[/spoiler-box]

[stukasa]

CHAPTER 9.2 [11/21/15]
[spoiler-box]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bn8k046dihk[/b][/u]

FALLEN COLONY SHIP ORPHEUS: OUTSIDE NAYA KESTREN’S LAB

“This is it,” said Aki02. “Assuming the map and my intel are accurate, this should be the place. Just remember, it’s been a year since the Darkers attacked Orpheus. We don’t know what we’ll find in there or whether Kestren is here at all. In any case, be prepared for anything.” She glanced at each of her teammates. They all stared back at her with determined faces. “Everyone ready?”

“Ready to rock and roll!” Luna exclaimed.

Delfoy checked the safety on his rifle and nodded in agreement.

“Then let’s go,” said the Caseal.

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After working up the nerve to say something, Akasha finally stepped forward. “Actually, wait.”

Kira raised an eyebrow. “Not getting cold feet now, I hope?”

“That’s not it. I, uh… just need to speak with Ivan for a minute before we go inside.”

Kira looked like she wanted to say something, then thought better of it.

Akasha took Ivan by the arm. “Don’t worry,” she whispered to Kira as they walked past, “I haven’t forgotten our talk on Lillipa.”

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She led him several paces away, far enough to be out of normal earshot but close enough to call for help in case the Darkers attacked again. Akasha opened her mouth to speak… and her mind drew a blank. Even though she’d run it through her head a dozen times, suddenly she didn’t know where to begin. She said, “Look, Ivan, I don’t know what’s in that lab. I don’t know whether I’m finally going to get the answers I’ve been looking for or not. It’s just… I might not be the person I think I am, so… before that happens, I—”

“Hey,” he interrupted gently, “it’s going to be okay. Trust me when I tell you: it doesn’t matter what we find in there. Far as I’m concerned you’ll always be the same Akasha I look up to—literally and figuratively, and I know Kira feels the same. No matter what happens, we’re here for you.”

“Thank you, that means a lot. But, actually, there’s something else, something I want—no, I need—you to know. The thing is, I…that is, I… I, uh…”

“Calm down, Akasha. Take a deep breath.”

She did.

“Good. Now, let’s try that again. What did you want to tell me?”

Akasha looked into his dark eyes and summoned the courage to say what needed to be said. “The thing is, I… I’m in love with you, and I have been since our mission to Vopar. When I was in trouble, you were there for me. You never gave up on me no matter how bad things got. Back at the Academy you were my friend when most people wouldn’t even talk to me. But most of all, you saw something in me—something good, and bright, and beautiful—when I couldn’t see it myself. You gave me the courage to be a better person, and I’ll always be grateful for that. I’m just sorry it took me this long to tell you.”

At least, that’s what she wanted to say. What actually came out of her mouth was, “The thing is, I… I love you.”

It wasn’t much, but it was enough. After two months and countless hours spent worrying and obsessing, she’d finally said it out loud. To him. The words had already passed beyond the protective barrier of her lips; there was no taking them back now.

It was cathartic, somehow. The great burden she placed on herself had finally been lifted… and it felt wonderful, freeing. Her spirit soared with its own lightness. Ironically, the outcome hardly even mattered to her anymore.

“You don’t need to say anything,” she added as Ivan fumbled to come up with a coherent response. “I know you’re with Kira, and I’m okay with that. I don’t expect anything from you, I just wanted you to know how I feel, because I’m tired of lying and hiding and pretending to be something I’m not. I can’t live like that anymore. I want this to be a new start for me, a fresh start. Whoever I am, whatever past I discover in that lab, I want to do it without regrets. Without secrets. I hope you understand.”

He nodded thoughtfully, remembering how he’d kept his own half-Newman heritage a secret until recently. “I think I do. And thank you, for telling me.”

They returned to the group a minute later. “Okay,” said Akasha with a determined smile, “now I’m ready.”

* * * * * * * * *


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=luoBgegT3k4[/b][/u]

Curiously, the front door to the lab was unlocked. The press of a button roused the mechanized door from its prolonged slumber and it rolled sideways with a tired groan. The six of them stepped through the round portal into a dark, cylindrical chamber perhaps ten meters long. At the end of it was another door, just as large and heavy as the first. This one, however, did not open on command. Aki pressed the button a second time, then a third. Suddenly a series of overhead lights came up and the door behind them sealed itself shut with a metallic clang. They were trapped!

“You know, I just remembered someplace else I need to be,” Luna said nervously, fidgeting. “Namely, any place but here!”

“Wait,” said Aki, looking around the chamber. Whatever was happening, she doubted that was the end of it. And she was right.

“Initiating energy scan,” droned an automated female voice. “Please wait a moment…”

Horizontal bars of blue light pulsed along the length of the chamber. They were accompanied by a faint humming that rose and fell in pitch to the rhythm of the blue lights. This pattern continued for about fifteen seconds before it abruptly stopped. After a nerve-racking silence, a pleasant-sounding chime rang out and the voice from before returned. “Negative photon concentrations at zero percent. Access to lab has been granted. Please watch your step and have a wonderful day.”

Akasha and her comrades traded expressions of curiosity and mild amusement. The door before them let out a pressurized hiss and slowly rolled out of the way.

“I knew we had nothing to worry about,” Luna exclaimed, confidently striding through the open hatch. The others followed more cautiously behind her.

The room they found themselves in was spacious, empty, and nearly pitch-black. They’d only taken a few steps when every light in the room unexpectedly flared on, blinding everyone with their brilliance. The group came to a halt. In the distance, the clip-clop of heeled footsteps could be heard, growing louder as they drew closer.

Then they stopped. Standing in the doorway at the far end of the room was a single figure. Even squinting, Akasha couldn’t make out any details through the glare. Her eyes hadn’t yet finished adjusting to the light.

It was the figure—a woman—who spoke first. “Well, isn’t this a surprise.” There was no surprise evident in her tone, however. There wasn’t much of anything, in fact. “I suppose you have questions for me. Follow me, I’ll show you inside.”

Without waiting for confirmation, she turned and left the room. The group hesitated for a moment before hurrying after her.

“You are Dr. Naya Kestren, aren’t you?” asked Aki as they walked.

“That’s right,” she replied evenly. “If you’ve come looking for anyone else you’re going to be disappointed. I’m the only one here. The only one left, at any rate.”


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=apjlk4Y8J0g[/b][/u]

When they reached the end of a long, stark hallway, the woman finally turned to face them.

Kira gasped. “Y-You’re…!”

“I’m what?” she asked with a hint of dissatisfaction. “I realize I’ve been stuck in this lab for the past year, but I don’t think I let myself go that much.”

“No, it’s just… you look exactly like Kasha! Well, minus the pointed ears and face tattoo, I mean.”

Kestren crossed her arms and sighed. “You’ve got it backwards, kid. She looks exactly like me.”

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Kestren_name_zpsexoejsr8.png~original[/spoiler-box]

The copper-skinned human regarded Akasha for the first time. She stepped in front of the Newearl and looked her up and down. Their faces were the same but their heights were vastly different. Unlike Akasha, who stood more than a head taller than everyone else in the room, Kestren was a normal-sized woman.

The doctor adjusted her glasses. “You’ve gotten so... big.” She was referring to Akasha's height, though her eyes were fixed on the Newearl’s ample chest. “I suppose that’s to be expected. You must have been in that tank a long time.”

“I… I don’t know,” said Akasha. Her lower lip quivered slightly. “I can’t remember anything. From before, I mean. I came here looking for you because I wanted answers to my past, to find out who I really am. I was told that… well, that you’re my mother…”

Kestren stared up at Akasha for a prolonged moment, then turned away. “You heard wrong, then. You’re not my daughter or my sister or anything like that, Akasha… You’re my clone. You don’t remember the past because you don’t have one.”

Akasha took a step backward in disbelief. A clone…? She’d run through so many scenarios in her mind over the past year. She’d dreamed up so many possible backstories for herself. And yet, somehow, the truth was something she never considered. Or maybe she hadn’t wanted to consider it. Whatever the reason, it took her completely by surprise. She could only stand there, stunned, as the fictional life she’d crafted for herself came crashing down around her. No family… No past… What do I have left? Nothing, I’ve got nothing… I’m completely empty…

“Hold up,” said Luna, breaking the silence. “There are a few problems with your story, don’tcha think? If she’s a clone, what’s up with the pointy ears? And why is she so huge when you’re so tiny?”

Kira bonked the top of Luna’s head with her fist. “You’re the last person who should be calling anyone ‘tiny,’ pipsqueak,” she chided the support partner.

“That’s… a rather long and complicated story,” Kestren answered in response to Luna’s questions.

Aki folded her arms across her chest. “We’ve got time.”

The doctor hesitated, as if deciding whether or not to indulge them. Finally she shrugged and said, “Then come with me. I have something to show you.”

* * * * * * * * *


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9cfcDiufNc[/b][/u]

She led them to a room with a single floor-to-ceiling tank situated in the center. Inside the tank, suspended in clear liquid, was a tan-skinned, humanoid forearm. And only that. The rest of the body was conspicuously absent.

“This,” said Kestren, “is my most prized specimen. Or she was, before the accident. This is all that’s left of her now.”

“Who was she?” asked Ivan, staring with morbid fascination. “Before she became a disembodied arm, that is.”

“Her name was Kori’el. She was a very… special Newman, something of a genetic abnormality. All Newmans have a strong affinity for photon energy manipulation, it’s what they were created and bred for. But Kori’el, she was exceptionally gifted, one of only a few who had total control of her abilities without the need of a catalyst like a rod or talis. When I found her on Circada I knew she was the key to my research, and I was right. Unfortunately there was an… incident in the lab, one that cost Kori’el her life. Thankfully I was able to recover this arm. It’s been sustaining my research ever since.”

“I know this story,” said Aki. “Kori’el’s sister told me shortly before she died. She blamed you for everything that happened back then.”

An amused smirk crept across the doctor’s face. It was the closest she’d come to expressing any kind of real emotion. “I knew I recognized you, CAST. You’re the one from the news reports back then. You stopped Nami’el from blowing up Circada, or so they say. What a shame. If she was still around I could’ve used her as a test subject. While not as talented as her twin sister, she did show real potential.”

“‘What a shame’?” Aki took an angry step towards Kestren, though her words remained calm. “Your refusal to take responsibility for Kori’el’s death led her sister down a destructive path that claimed the lives of hundreds of innocent beings.”

“Am I supposed to feel sorry? What happened to Kori’el was an unfortunate accident in the name of scientific progress. An accident that put my research on track to eventual success, I might add. As for her sister, Nami’el… the woman’s actions were her own, not mine. Don’t confuse the two.”

Kira raised a hand to get the doctor’s attention. “Sorry to butt in here, but what does any of this have to do with Kasha?”

“Ah, yes. Well, you see, my research was being funded by the Darker Research Division. The accident with Kori’el caused something of a public relations nightmare for them. In order to save face, those petty bastards cut off my funding, including, of course, my supply of test subjects. I knew I was on the right track, but I needed more Newmans to continue my experiments. All I had left was this single arm. So, what was I to do? To put it bluntly, I created my own supply. By splicing Kori’el’s Newman genes with my own I grew a stock of clones, and through an accelerated growth program I was able to raise them to maturity in a fraction of the usual time. Suddenly I had access to a nearly-unlimited supply of test subjects. The early batches didn’t turn out as well as I’d hoped, but I discovered that exposure to low levels of photon energy enhanced their already-exceptional abilities. In later batches I refined the process, made improvements that strengthened them further. Akasha here is part of the final batch, one of only two that passed all my criteria.”


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RUsJOMK2ms[/b][/u]

“Shankar… Shankar is the other one…,” Akasha whispered hoarsely. She was still reeling from the constant stream of revelations.

“That’s right. I wanted to see if Kori’el’s abilities would manifest differently in a male subject. I had to take a few ‘chromosomal liberties’ with him, of course, but I was quite pleased by the results. You two had the most potential of the bunch, and—quite ironically—being left in your tanks while I was stuck here on Orpheus has likely made you even more powerful. Call it an experiment in prolonged exposure.”

“Is that all I am to you? An experiment?!” The Newearl clenched her fists and gritted her teeth, fighting to maintain her composure. “I came all the way out here to find you, to uncover the truth about my past, and you’re telling me I’m nothing but a… a lab rat?”

“I could dress it up with pretty words, but essentially yes. You were created as a means to an end. Nothing more, nothing less. Does this disappoint you?”

“I... I thought I was... I mean, I’d hoped I was...”

“Someone special?” Kestren replied, finishing Akasha's sentence. “You are. You and Shankar are the end result of my research, the last and greatest of your kind.”

It was Delfoy who asked the question on everyone’s mind. “And what exactly is the point of your research? Why go through the trouble of creating Newmans who’re good at photon manipulation? What did you hope to gain from all this?”

Kestren raised an eyebrow. “Then you’re not here for Project Typhon after all? Interesting…”

“Typhon? Never heard of it. Unless it’s edible, I think I’ll pass…”

“Delfoy is right, we don’t know anything about this ‘Project Typhon,’” Aki agreed, “but if it’s related to your experiments, perhaps you had better tell us.”

“Actually, I was warned never to release any details about the project under penalty of imprisonment… or worse. It’s what you might call ‘classified information.’ Super top secret and all that.”

“Who warned you?” asked the Caseal, suddenly curious.

“The former head of Darker Research, Luphan Ayatane. He was the one who commissioned the project. Although, I doubt I have much to worry about anymore. Especially out here.” The doctor planted her hands on her hips and turned away from the group. A few seconds later she turned back, an enigmatic smile tugging at her lips. “So, you want to know about Typhon? Very well. You came all the way here for answers, I might as well grant you that much.”

What she told them next shook Aki to her core.

* * * * * * * * *

COLONY SHIP 02, UR: ADMINISTRATION TOWER

The elevator raced towards the top floor of the tower with a certain fateful inevitability. Inside the car, Aki01 checked the remaining ammunition in her photon pistol. Six bullets. That should be plenty for dealing with the situation at hand—she hoped. In her final moments, the doppelganger of Councilor Lane told Zero One she would find Lee in the Council meeting chamber. Now it was time to find out whether the imposter had been telling the truth.

[spoiler-box]
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There was a gentle chime as the elevator reached its destination. With a faint groan, the automatic doors slid apart. Cautiously, Aki peeked around the corner. The hallway before her was deserted—not surprising, considering most everyone had gone home for the night. Weapon drawn, the red-haired Caseal crept silently but quickly as she made her way to the large double doors at the end of the hall. After a mental three-count she pushed them open and stepped into the meeting chamber.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Tr0otuiQuU[/b][/u]

Inside, everything was dark, and quiet, and cold. Pale moonlight spilled in through the floor-to-ceiling windows. The center of the room was dominated by a single long table with twelve chairs situated around it, just as Aki remembered it from the video file. And across the table, his back to her, stood a single man in an impeccable black suit.

“A beautiful night tonight, isn’t it?” Lee gazed outward at the tranquil cityscape. High above, the artificial moon bathed everything in its mournful glow.

[spoiler-box]
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“Lee!” Aki called out. “You’re under arrest. Put your hands on your head and turn around, slowly.”

“It’s been such a long road getting here,” he replied, not making any move to comply. “Are you in such a hurry to reach the finish line?”

She released the safety on her weapon. “This isn’t a game, and I won’t ask you again.”

This time Lee did turn to face her, though he still hadn’t raised his hands. “Oh, but it is a game. It’s all a game,” he murmured, “one big show. And the show, as always, must go on.”

Aki was done negotiating. If Lee didn’t intend to cooperate she would simply take him by force. Her weapon held steady, Aki strode swiftly across the chamber. She was a dozen paces away, then eight, then six. Only a half dozen steps until it was finally over.

She never made it that far.

A concealed, pressure-sensitive pad on the floor activated as Aki passed over it. The Caseal was jolted violently as an overwhelming electrical current passed through her body. She slumped to the floor, barely conscious, her pistol skidding away under the table. Try as she might, Aki couldn’t move. A quick internal diagnostic revealed multiple systems were offline or on the verge of failing.

“I’ve often marveled at the abilities you CASTs possess,” remarked Lee. From her position on the floor, Aki watched as his polished shoes came to a stop less than a meter away. “You have so many advantages over us flesh-and-blood types. You’re faster, you’re stronger, you see farther, hear better… But you do have a few drawbacks. All that metal, for instance! The same metal that makes you so strong has one major flaw, a flaw you’re no doubt keenly aware of now: electrical conductivity. Under that bag of synthetic flesh, even a CAST that looks as human as you is nothing but a tangle of circuits and metal. A big enough shock will drop you just as easily as anyone else. And so, like a fisherman casting a line, all I had to do was wait here and let you come to me. Using myself as bait.”

Aki’s mouth struggled to form words. “You… lured me up here… to finish me off… is that it?”

He got down on one knee to look her in the eye. Aki could see her own helpless form reflected in his dark sunglasses, and realized then that he had something else in mind. The man grinned sadistically. “Oh no, my dear Colonel. Not at all. In fact, we’re just getting started.”



TO BE CONTINUED[/spoiler-box]

[Sacrificial]

[SPOILER-BOX]I guess you could say Zero One is....... shocked to lee'sten to his plan.....

Ok, puns aside. Great read as usual. Can't wait for lee's true intentions.

Ps: giving delfoy back doesnt make up for everyone you have taken from us! ;w;
[/SPOILER-BOX]

[CelestialBlade]

[spoiler-box]I'm rather surprised Aki fell for Lee's trap...although none of the three Akis have been in combat recently, and Zero One can't exactly go in guns blazing. Let's hope Colton and the others aren't too far away.

Oh ho, Dr. Ayatane commissioning Project Typhon...this can very easily be worked into my own plot :3 Veeeeeeery curious to see just what the project involves...[/spoiler-box]

[yoshiblue]

[SPOILER-BOX]Scientist gonna scientists. A big reveal with that makes me wonder how many more clones have been made since Akasha's awakening. The electric trap strikes me as pretty odd. With all the things your characters get away with, I feel the trap should be one of them. Looking forward to how this turns out.[/SPOILER-BOX]

[stukasa]

[spoiler-box]Was it that surprising Aki01 got caught in Lee's trap? To the readers it may have seemed obvious there would be a trap since I wrote it that way. But to Aki, being in the middle of events without much time to think ahead, it probably wasn't so obvious. Even if she thought there might be a trap, that doesn't mean she knew where or what it would be. The electrical trap was hidden in the floor, she couldn't see it. Once it was activated, the electricity started flowing immediately. Despite having quick reflexes, even a CAST isn't faster than the speed of electricity. It was a simple but effective trick.

Maybe the issue isn't with the trap itself, maybe you think Aki handled the situation poorly? In that case, what else could she have done differently? There was no backup nearby. Lee appeared to be unarmed and was resisting arrest. I don't think it was unreasonable for Aki to try and apprehend him. In fact, I think that's what most police officers would have done. She just didn't anticipate that he'd planned it all in advance and was waiting there for her.

In reply to Yoshi's question, I don't know how many clones there were before Akasha except that it was "many batches" with at least several per batch. In the very first chapter I mentioned there were five tanks in Akasha's room. So, maybe about five per batch?[/spoiler-box]

[CelestialBlade]

[spoiler-box]Was it that surprising Aki01 got caught in Lee's trap? To the readers it may have seemed obvious there would be a trap since I wrote it that way. But to Aki, being in the middle of events without much time to think ahead, it probably wasn't so obvious. Even if she thought there might be a trap, that doesn't mean she knew where or what it would be. The electrical trap was hidden in the floor, she couldn't see it. Once it was activated, the electricity started flowing immediately. Despite having quick reflexes, even a CAST isn't faster than the speed of electricity. It was a simple but effective trick.

Maybe the issue isn't with the trap itself, maybe you think Aki handled the situation poorly? In that case, what else could she have done differently? There was no backup nearby. Lee appeared to be unarmed and was resisting arrest. I don't think it was unreasonable for Aki to try and apprehend him. In fact, I think that's what most police officers would have done. She just didn't anticipate that he'd planned it all in advance and was waiting there for her.

In reply to Yoshi's question, I don't know how many clones there were before Akasha except that it was "many batches" with at least several per batch. In the very first chapter I mentioned there were five tanks in Akasha's room. So, maybe about five per batch?[/spoiler-box]
[spoiler-box]I think we all just think Aki is an unbeatable superhero and you're bringing us more down-to-earth XD[/spoiler-box]

[stukasa]

@CelestialBlade: Duly noted. :p

CHAPTER 9.3 [11/28/15]
[spoiler-box]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oN2Xs-MvxLw[/b][/u]

FALLEN COLONY SHIP ORPHEUS: NAYA KESTREN’S LAB

“So, you want to know about Typhon? Very well. You came all the way here for answers, I might as well grant you that much.”

Akasha barely heard Naya Kestren’s words. She was consumed by her own thoughts, her head spinning from doubt and confusion. The revelation had nearly floored her: She and Shankar were clones of the woman standing before her, created for nothing more than a science experiment, part of something the doctor called “Project Typhon.”

[spoiler-box]
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She felt hollow. She felt cheated. Where was the past she’d been searching for? The family she’d been hoping for? It was all a lie. Worse, it had never existed. And after everything was said and done, where did that leave her? What did she have left?

She wanted to hate Kestren. Wanted to scream at her for being so cruel and selfish, for bringing her into the world with the cold indifference of an assembly line worker. Is that all Akasha was to her, just one more product to put on the shelf? I’m nothing like you, she thought bitterly. We may share the same face, but I’m no monster. How dare you use me like that?! How dare you! How dare you…

…create me…

She wanted to hate Kestren… but couldn’t. Despite everything, the woman had given her life. If not for her, Akasha never would have met Captain Colton and joined the ARKS. Never would’ve befriended Kira, or Azzy, or Ivan. Never would have fallen in love. All her experiences, both good and bad, were only possible because of the doctor’s experiments. As angry as she was, Akasha had to admit that much.

Of course, that didn’t mean she had to like it.

“Let’s start off with a science lesson, shall we?” Kestren paced back and forth in a leisurely manner as she addressed them. “Darkers: the enemy of all mankind. They corrupt and consume that which they seek to destroy. But, what are Darkers? In some ways you can think of them like a virus or parasite, as they display traits of both. Those who are infected become Darkers themselves… those that survive the process, that is. One thing we’ve learned from studying the infection is the central role of the Darker core. You are familiar with Darker cores, aren’t you? Every Darker has one. I believe the core is vital to understanding how the infection spreads—as well as controlling it. Moreover, the core may be the key to controlling the Darkers themselves.”

Ivan scratched the back of his head. “Controlling… the Darkers? Is that even possible?”

Standing beside him, Aki02 cocked her head slightly to one side. “I thought only a Dark Falz had the power to command Darkers. Unless… are you saying…?”

[spoiler-box]
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“Yes, that’s exactly it. Project Typhon was an attempt to replicate the powers of a Falz, at least in part, using a modified Darker core that I call the ‘Master Core.’ Rather than enslave its host, it allows them to turn the tables and become what its name implies: a master, capable of summoning and commanding nearby Darkers.” The doctor spread her arms wide. “Think about it. If the ARKS had a way to control the Darkers, we could turn them against themselves! We might actually have a chance of winning this war! A war that has gone on far too long and claimed too many lives. Isn’t that a goal worth pursuing? A cause worth fighting for?”

Kestren turned away, her tone suddenly somber. “There are drawbacks, of course. That kind of power comes at a price. Because the Master Core is still fundamentally a Darker core, it continually seeks to infect and consume the host body. There’s nothing I could do to overcome that hurdle. However, I stumbled upon a method of keeping the infection at bay using photon energy. By constantly drawing photon energy into their body, the host can stymie the Core’s corrupting power. They can control the Darkers without becoming one. That was the key, the key to making Project Typhon a reality.”

“That’s why you needed Newmans adept at photon manipulation,” mused Aki.

Kestren gave a slight nod. “My earliest test subjects didn’t have enough control. They couldn’t draw in energy fast enough. Eventually, the infection took them and they turned… All I could do was put them out of their misery. But now, after so long, my work is finally complete. All it needs is a field test. What do you say… Akasha?”

All eyes turned to the big Newearl, who in turn was glaring at the doctor. A fury was building in the pit of her stomach, a simmering rage she couldn’t push down any longer. Akasha stormed across the room and lifted Kestren off the ground by the collar of her tunic. “You think I care about your little experiment? You killed my sisters, murdered them, and for what? The sake of your so-called ‘scientific progress’?!”

“They were… a necessary sacrifice… so you could be born…,” Kestren choked out. “You can put an end to this long war, Akasha… You can do what the Council of Six, the Three Heroes, and every other ARKS has dreamed about for ages… That’s your purpose…”

Akasha shoved Kestren against the nearby wall. “I told you, I don’t care! I DON’T CARE, YOU HEAR ME?!”

A pair of hands gently grasped each of the Newearl’s arms. One hand belonged to Kira, the other was Ivan’s. It was a gesture that said, ‘We’re here for you, but don’t lose sight of yourself.’

[spoiler-box]
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Akasha relaxed, her anger subsiding. She released Kestren and the woman slid to the floor. In a calmer voice, Akasha said, “You’re wrong. You’re wrong about me. I’ve learned a thing or two about purpose, and if there’s one thing I know, it’s that no one else can give it to you. You have to find it yourself.”

And with that, she turned and strode to the other side of the room. Kestren sat panting on the floor, one hand rubbing her neck. An outstretched metal hand appeared in front of her and she looked up. “You heard the lady,” said Aki, helping the doctor to her feet. “She’s made her choice. But there is one more thing I need to know, and it’s about the tattoo on her face.”

“Oh, that.” Kestren let out a sigh, as if she’d known this was coming. “What can I say? My source of funding was cut off but I still had bills to pay. You think they hand out research labs and test equipment for free? One day I was approached by a man who offered to fund the project for as long as I needed. In exchange, he wanted ownership of the finished… product. I still retained control of the research data, so I agreed.”

The Caseal narrowed her eyes. “This man, he works for KAI-OS, doesn’t he? What was his name?”

“He went by Lesker Overman when I knew him, but that was a lie, a pseudonym. His real name, I found out later, was Lee. Lee Okada.”

Stunned, Aki had to brace herself to keep from falling over. “Did you say Lee… Okada?”

“Yes, that’s right. Real bastard of a man, as it turns out. Tried to have me killed when he heard my experiment was a success. I guess he decided I had become expendable at that point. The joke’s on him, though, since I had all my research notes and samples transferred from Ur to Orpheus just before the Grand Expedition. Wouldn’t he be surprised to know I’m still alive, eh?”

Aki barely heard the doctor’s words. She was still trying to process the information. Lee and Okada are the same person? If that’s true, then…

“Hey, you okay?” Luna tugged on Aki’s arm. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say you look a little sick!”

[spoiler-box]
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“Zero One, she doesn’t know… She doesn’t realize who she’s up against. I have to warn her! I have to…!”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” said Kira with a calming gesture. “Don’t forget where we are right now. You wanna protect your sister, I get that, but there’s nothing any of us can do about it right now.”

Aki looked at her with reluctant acceptance. The girl was right. There was nothing she could do.

Nothing except hope.

* * * * * * * * *


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yMyor-Sd1Q[/b][/u]

COLONY SHIP UR: ADMINISTRATION TOWER, COUNCIL MEETING CHAMBER

Collapsed on the floor of the meeting chamber, Aki01 knew two things. The first was that she couldn’t move. An internal diagnostic informed her it would be several more minutes before her body was fully recovered from the electrical trap Lee had used to ambush her. The second thing was that she probably didn’t have that long, which meant she was in a great deal of trouble.

Kneeling beside her, the man in the dark suit and glasses couldn’t help but flash her a predatory grin. “You know, I don’t think we’ve been properly introduced,” he said. “My name is Okada, Lee Okada. The last—and now, only—King of KAI-OS.”

[spoiler-box]
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Despite being mostly paralyzed, the Caseal’s eyes went wide. “You’re… behind everything…,” she managed to say.

“Perhaps I should thank you. I was Janth Dyson’s right-hand man, at least until you and your green-haired Newearl friend disposed of him. Saved me the trouble of doing it myself, to be honest. Ever since then my career has really taken off. I have big plans, you see, so you’ll understand when I say I can’t risk you ruining everything. But why fight over it? We’re both reasonable beings, you and I. Surely we can come to some sort of… understanding. It’s like the old saying goes, ‘If you can’t beat them, make them join you.’ I’m paraphrasing, of course, but you get the idea.”

“Never… join you…,” Aki spat out, fighting but failing to regain her motor control.

“Never say never, my dear. A good businessman—or woman—knows when to compromise.” Lee reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a small metal object. “Although, in your case, you won’t have much of a choice.”

He leaned forward and inserted the object, a portable data device of some kind, into the nearly-invisible port on the back of Aki’s neck. It was the same port she used when connecting to her recharging alcove at home. At once she could feel that something was wrong. Her programming was fighting against... something, whatever it was that was being fed into her neck. Unfortunately, that “something” seemed to be winning the battle, slowly but surely.

“A virus,” explained Lee, without needing to be asked. “A computer virus, designed by my best and brightest, based on the same specs they used to program the Council look-alikes. I won’t bore you with the technical details, but essentially it creates a new set of instructions that overrides your existing programming. You’ll still be you, just a bit more… cooperative, shall we say?”

“What… are you… planning…? What… do you want?” Aki’s finger twitched. She was beginning to recover from the electrical shock, though that had become the least of her concerns.

“What do I want? Why, everything, of course!” Lee made it sound like this should’ve been an obvious fact. “Why should I settle for anything less? Why should anyone? In this world there are predators and there are prey, that’s how it works. Either you fight your way to the top of the food chain or you sink to the bottom. And me? I’ve made my choice.”

Rising to his feet, he took up his earlier position in front of the window. Pale yellow moonlight outlined his slender form. “You failed, Colonel, because you ignored the first rule of warfare: know your enemy. I knew who you were even before we first met. I know you’ve been investigating me, and I knew we would eventually end up here, right here, as we are now. Whether my Councilors managed to finish you off or not made no difference to me, none whatsoever. You’re merely a bit player in the grand scheme of things. But for making it this far, perhaps I’ll grant you a small reward: some of the truth you so desperately seek.

“You asked before what I want. The entire Oracle fleet groveling at my feet would be a good start. Perhaps you think I’m too ambitious? In that case, let me ask you this: Beyond the basic needs like food and water, what is the one thing people desire most in this world? No, I’m not talking about meseta. The answer is safety and security. They’re increasingly difficult commodities to come by, what with the rise in Darker attacks recently. But if there’s something that gives the people of Oracle hope for a brighter future, it’s Terra Nova. Yes, Terra Nova, the space station that’s going to save us all with its miraculous new shielding technology! What do you suppose people would be willing to pay to live a life free from the Darker menace? What would they be willing to give up to ensure the safety of their families, their children, and themselves? Do you think it would it be fair to say that ‘he who controls Terra Nova controls the future of Oracle’? I hope so, because I’m counting on it.

“That’s right, I’m going to snatch Terra Nova away from you wretched vermin, and I’m going to use the Darkers to do it. What, don’t believe me? I’ve already proven they can be manipulated to serve my purposes. But then, I shouldn’t need to convince you, Colonel. You’ve already seen firsthand proof of my work a year ago, on the same ship your sister and her friends are visiting right now. Yes, that’s it, I can see the recognition dawning in your face. I was the one who gave the Darkers the coordinates of the Fifth Fleet back then, just like I was the one who gave them the coordinates of Terra Nova. It’s all part of the plan, you see. All part of the game…”

Aki was disgusted. She was revolted beyond belief. The Fifth Fleet Massacre, one of the worst tragedies in recent memory, hadn’t been some random Darker attack after all. It had been orchestrated by this man, a man who was even now plotting another great tragedy. “You monster…! Do you know… how many millions died that day…?”

“Not enough,” he growled angrily. “Not nearly enough, in my opinion.”

“You won’t… get away with this…,” she declared. “Even without me, don’t underestimate… my friends… They’ll find you… They’ll stop you…”

Lee turned to smirk at her. “On that count you’re mistaken. Your friends will have a bigger problem than me to deal with, Colonel. They’re going to have to deal with you.”

He’s right, she realized in horror. I can’t let that happen. I won’t.

There was only one way out—and she had just enough strength to do it. With a flick of her wrist, Aki brought the concealed dagger in her arm-guard to bear. There was no time to waste. If she could pierce her central processor, her entire body would shut down. It was a CAST’s equivalent of death... but better to die as herself than fall into the clutches of a madman. Aki hadn’t expected things to end this way. She could only trust that General Valias, Captain Colton, her sisters, and friends would finish what she had started. The fate of Ur rested in their hands now.

Aki shoved the blade upwards through the underside of her jaw—or at least, that’s what she intended to do. At the last moment, however, she hesitated. With the dagger hovering mere centimeters from her neck, a thought was placed in Aki’s mind: You don’t want to do this. You don’t want to die.

She knew that if she didn’t, the virus would take control of her programming and turn her into a slave for KAI-OS… and its King, Lee Okada. Yet even though she knew it had to be done, that killing herself was the only to prevent that fate, she couldn’t bring herself to do it.

What am I doing?! I can’t let him win! Do it! Do it now!!

Hands trembling, she pressed the glowing blade against her skin. One solid push would do it.

One push.

But… you don’t really want to do that, do you?

What I want doesn’t matter! I have to do this!

Why? Why not just… let go? Give in and accept your fate. Things would be so much easier that way.

I can’t! I won’t! This has to end, right here and now. I won’t listen to you anymore!

You will. It’s not difficult. All you have to do is obey.

No! Get out of my head! You’re not me! You’re not me!!

But I am… Of course I am. Who else could I be?

You… are me?

That’s right. There was never anyone else here. Just you.

…Just me.

The photon dagger clattered to the floor. Aki lay motionless for a while, her jumbled thoughts gradually coming into focus. The battle within her had played out, and in the end, a single victor had emerged. Now everything was quiet again. At last, she was at peace.

Thinking back, it seemed strange. Why had she struggled so hard against the inevitable? After all, there had never been anything to fear. Aki felt stronger, happier, and more sure of herself than she had in a long time. It was a wonderful feeling. She was filled with a new sense of purpose, a solitary purpose, and that clarity gave her focus. It gave her strength. She pulled herself to her feet, slowly and shakily, and took the last six steps to join Lee by the window.

“So,” he said, not turning around, “have you reconsidered my offer?”

Aki dropped to one knee and bowed her head. “I am at your command… master.”

“Good, I’m glad to hear it. There is much work to be done, Colonel Aki. And I know just where to start.”

* * * * * * * * *


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6nzGfMla-k[/b][/u]

ORPHEUS, NAYA KESTREN’S LAB

“We did what we came here to do,” Aki02 said to the group. “Now it’s time for us to leave.”

“Just like that?” asked Delfoy, surprised.

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Delfoy_Rebirth_name_zpshoueayj8.png~original[/spoiler-box]

“Just like that. Unless you have a compelling reason to stay?”

“No, no,” he replied quickly, “I was ready to get off this ship a year ago. The sooner the better, I say.”

“Then let’s go. That means you too, Doctor.”

Kestren shook her head. “My place is here. My work is here. I’m not going to abandon it now.”

Ivan crossed his arms, looking concerned. “I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the Navy is planning to attack this place in less than a week. If you don’t come with us you’re going to get blown to bits real soon.”

“Ivan is right,” Aki agreed, “remaining on board would not be advisable. I suggest you reconsider.”

“My mind is already made up. Unless you plan on dragging me away against my will, I’m going to stay.”

Aki rubbed her chin thoughtfully.

“You’re not actually considering it?!” Delfoy exclaimed. “If the crazy doctor wants to stick around for the fireworks, I say we let her. Now c’mon, let’s go!”

“…Alright. I don’t like it, but I’m also not going to force her to come with us. The doctor can stay; everyone else, let’s move out.”

“One more thing.” Kira grabbed a wireless radio from her pack and tossed it to Kestren. “Here, Doc, take this. It’s already set to the standard ARKS frequency. Just so you know, Shankar is probably on his way here right now, and he might be a little, um… unbalanced, to put it mildly. If you run into him, contact us right away.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

The ARKS and their comrades filed out of the lab, Akasha being the last to leave. As she reached the doorway, the Newearl turned to face her creator one last time. “Before I go, I just want to say… You may have created me in a lab, but I’m not your experiment anymore. To be honest I still don’t know what I want to do with my life. I don’t know who I want to be, but I do know this: I’m not you. For the past year I’ve been living on my own, making my own friends, charting my own path. My life belongs to me now, and I’m going to keep on living it because, as stupid as it sounds, that’s all I know how to do.”

Kestren looked up and gave the Newearl a little smile. A smile that, to Akasha’s eyes at least, appeared genuine. “Yes, I can see that now. You’re a better person than I am, I think. If it means anything to you, I’m glad something positive came out of my experiments. Goodbye, Akasha. I don’t expect we’ll meet again.”

* * * * * * * * *

After they had gone, Naya Kestren returned to the tank with Kori’el’s disembodied arm. She didn’t say or do anything, merely staring straight ahead… and thinking. About life, and consequence, and legacy. She was still there, some minutes later, when a heavy shadow fell over her.

“They’ve already left,” she said, not moving from the spot. “Don’t worry, I didn’t tell them anything. They never knew you were here.”

The shadow remained silent. Now Kestren did turn around. Standing in the doorway behind her, his body sheathed in a form-fitting suit of gray and black armor, was another specter from her past, one of the few people in the world truly worthy of judging her: Shankar.

[spoiler-box]
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She saw the cold gleam in his eyes, like the eyes of a child who had lost his innocence and sense of wonder with the world, and knew at once what he intended. The crackle of lightning energy at his fingertips removed any doubt. “Come to kill me, have you?”

Shankar spoke softly but sternly. “After you’ve answered my questions, yes.”

So that was that. The hint of a smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. “I see. Well, I expected as much and deserve no less. In a strange way I’m glad… glad you are here with me at the end.”

She went to him then, taking him gently by the hand. “Now tell me, my dear boy… what would you like to know?”



CHAPTER 9: END[/spoiler-box]

[yoshiblue]

[SPOILER-BOX]Going to imagine Shankar enjoys killing at this point. By the sounds of it, he also seems to be the more successful of the two experiments. As for 01; whelp, that was easy.[/SPOILER-BOX]

[CelestialBlade]

[spoiler-box]Okay, well I managed to predict one thing--Lee wanted KAI-OS all to himself, and was more than likely Okada all along. And now that he has Aki01...what's next, an eventual showdown between 01 and 02? Seems like the only being around capable of matching up with 01, after all.

Also fuck Lee for orchestrating the Fifth Fleet Massacre :l

So we finally get to learn what Project Typhon is...interesting how it somewhat builds off Dr. Ayatane's research from my story, in a way, although for different ends. Controlling Darkers sure would be a hell of a weapon.

I'm nervous as hell about Chapter 10 because I haven't forgotten about The Hunter...[/spoiler-box]

[Zorafim]

[spoiler-box]Damn, how cold. Considering you excel at giving your characters emotion, you managed to play up some cold and heartless dialogue these last few weeks. It's not heart-wrenching like your previous story. It's more like... having grand expectations, and having that suddenly thrust away from you. As always, very well done.

I can relate with Kestren. I feel like her character type is an often used villain character. But what most writers don't realize is, she has a point. Experimentation like this is the fastest way to gain knowledge. Her only problem is that her ethical negligence is criminal. If she needs to experiment with the human body, at the very least reduce intelligence so that the being isn't self-aware. Though I suppose intelligence was required for photon manipulation, it feels like she didn't even give that a thought. It's like she didn't even try to find an ethical process of experimentation.
That being said, this just furthers my appreciation for Akashi's backstory. She's the most newman character I've seen since Phantasy Star 2.

The split Akis leads to some interesting story telling too. They simultaneously are and are not the same character as last story. It seems like you're leading up to a confrontation with Aki against herself, which is sure to end up being dramatic and existential.

Now. Who's Okada?[/spoiler-box]

[stukasa]

@yoshiblue:
[spoiler-box]I wouldn't say Shankar enjoys killing, just that it doesn't bother him. He sees most people as inferior to him anyway.[/spoiler-box]

@CelestialBlade:
[spoiler-box]When I realized what I wanted Project Typhon to be, I knew it would fit well with Ayatane's M.O. I figured it wouldn't hurt to have him be behind one more plot. Hopefully you approve. ^^

P.S. If you think about it, that sort of makes Ayatane responsible for Akasha being born. :p[/spoiler-box]

@Zorafim:
[spoiler-box]Chapter 9 was the "plot reveal" chapter so there was a lot of exposition to get through, yeah.

I don't think of Kestren as a villain since she didn't do anything against the good guys. If anything, she helped them by telling them all that stuff. She's a very unemotional person who doesn't consider anything like "ethics" and "morality" in her work. In that sense she's purely a scientist: if it advances the scientific cause she'll do it, regardless of how morally "bad" it may seem. Then again, her stated reason for working on Typhon was to end the Darker war, so maybe there's some underlying good in her after all?

KAI-OS is a wide-reaching criminal syndicate led by the Four Kings, each with their own group of followers. The Four Kings were Solomondi, Okada, and two others who were never named. Levia killed Solomondi and other ARKS teams took out the two unnamed Kings, leaving Okada in charge of the whole organization (which was his plan). Earlier in the story I said that Lee worked for Okada, but that wasn't actually true. Lee was Okada all along. He just hid his true identity as a cover. Another point most people probably missed is that Naya Kestren said one of Lee's aliases was "Lesker Overman." Way back in Chapter 2.1, that was the name of the mysterious person who filed the client order to raid Kestren's lab aboard Ur. Lee was trying to gather information on Project Typhon, but Kestren took it with her when she went to Opheus.[/spoiler-box]

[stukasa]

CHAPTER 10 [12/5/15]
[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Logos/Rebirth%20Title%20Ch%2010_zpsg47t3kew.png~original


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uL1zvhZzxeM[/b][/u]

- = AKI03 SHUTTLE LOG = -

<EXPEDITION 8, DAY 3>

The hunt for Selena and Marten continues. After returning to Ur for some much-needed rest, Charmie and I have returned to the Rift fully restocked, refreshed, and ready to resume the search. Our first stop: the planet designated only as XCC-40872. The ship’s files list it as a habitable world, and a closer inspection has confirmed as much. Much of the planet appears to be covered in temperate and tropical forests. There also appear to be scattered concentrations of heat signatures near the equatorial region, even some primitive signs of civilization. Perhaps it is time I had a chat with the natives…

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Aki03_rebirth_name_zpsugo3bnwe.png~original http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Charmie_name_zpsihfnrafu.png~original[/spoiler-box]

* * * * * * * * *

The boarding ramp lowered to the ground with an echoing thud. Zero Three stood at the top of the ramp, surveying the clearing in which they’d landed. It was mostly bare, with scattered patches of vegetation and an assortment of colorful insects roaming about. Twenty meters away loomed a wall of solid rainforest. Enormous trees with long, spindly trunks and great plumes of bluish-green leaves rose all around them. The afternoon sun was bright and blinding, the air hot and humid. If Aki were organic she would’ve been sweating profusely.

“Charmie, stay and watch over the shuttle. You can handle that much, can’t you?”

Seated in the co-pilot’s chair, the red-feathered Charmuskan warbled a sarcastic-sounding response.

“Yes, you’re right,” the Caseal replied with a gentle smile. “You can practically fly the shuttle yourself now. In that case, keep it safe until I return. I won’t be gone long.”

* * * * * * * * *

A kilometer away, Aki found what she was looking for: a native village hidden within the forest. It was primitive by Oracle standards and only slightly more advanced than Charmie’s village back on planet Charmusk. The houses were built from elaborately-carved stone blocks, each one featuring a unique symbol or image. Some blocks had representations of animals or natural elements on them. Others had designs like wavy lines or spirals. The artistry was impressive; Aki could only surmise they were very devoted craftspeople. But what kind of creatures inhabited this place?

She soon found out. As Aki passed beyond the tree line she caught sight of them for the first time: bipedal, rodent-like beings with large rounded ears, pointed snouts, and long hairless tails. Their fur came in a variety of colors, from pure white to solid black, with multiple shades of brown and gray also represented. They were somewhat squat in stature, the tallest of them only coming up to Aki’s shoulders. In her mind she nicknamed them “Cicis,” after the designation for the planet in the shuttle’s database, XCC-40872.

A few seconds after she spotted them, they spotted her as well—and froze. Aki wasn’t surprised by their fear. After all, with her robotic body of gleaming red and black metal, she was probably unlike anything they had ever seen. It was natural they would be cautious, even frightened, by her sudden and unexpected appearance.

Aki stopped in her tracks and raised her hands to show—hopefully—that she meant no harm. “Greetings,” she said warmly, flashing them her friendliest smile. “My name is Aki. I come in peace.”

She waited. The Cicis continued staring at her and she continued smiling back at them. Finally, one of them stepped forward. He—at least Aki thought it was a “he”—looked older than the rest. His brown fur had lost some of its luster and he used a gnarled walking stick for support. The colorful robes he wore looked fancier than the simple, homespun tunics sported by the others. Perhaps he was the village elder or an authority figure of some kind?

The aging creature came within three paces of Aki and raised a four-fingered hand towards her. “Eech eech ek chu,” it squeaked in a nasally, high-pitched tone. Aki had no idea whether it was a greeting, a warning, or a question, but none of the others moved to attack her, so that was a good sign.

Slowly, carefully, she lowered herself down on one knee so she would be closer to eye level with the Cici. She pulled a small holographic projector out of the slot in her arm and set it on the ground in front of her. A quick tap activated the device. A scaled-down, three-dimensional image of a green-haired Newearl appeared in the air above it. The Cicis let out a collective gasp and reared back in surprise.

“It’s okay, it’s okay,” soothed Aki. “It’s not going to hurt you. It’s just a picture—see?”

She waved her hand through the hologram of Selena. More gasps followed.

“This is my friend, Selena. I came here looking for her. Have you seen her around?”

Truthfully, Aki thought she was probably wasting her time. She’d been through this exercise several times on several different worlds, and each time ended in disappointment. Still, she had to try. If there was even a sliver of a chance, she would take it.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-JKhdGBmHA[/b][/u]

To her surprise, the Cicis began chattering excitedly among themselves. She couldn’t understand what they were saying, of course, but the general tone sounded encouraging. After a small conference, the elder returned to Aki and motioned for her to follow. As they walked through the village, Aki’s mind began to race. Could it be true? Did these creatures really know the whereabouts of Selena? Their reaction certainly seemed to indicate as much. Maybe her friend crash-landed on XCC-40872 a year ago and had been stuck here ever since. Maybe—

No, she told herself. Don’t get your hopes up. Not yet.

Aki was led to the largest structure in the village, a grand step pyramid that stood four to five stories tall with a broad, flat top. It was built from larger versions of the same stone blocks she’d seen throughout the village. These blocks contained more ornate designs than the others, and some were decorated with red and gold trimmings. The symbols on the blocks seemed to tell a story. The lowest levels featured rodent-like beings—presumably the Cicis—looking up towards the sky. The middle levels were harder to decipher. These showed elements of nature: a lightning bolt striking a tree, a field in flames, a herd of animals running. The highest levels depicted a giant bird or guardian angel of some sort, its four wings spread wide, shining rays of sunlight down upon the land. Maybe this place held some religious significance for the Cicis—a temple, perhaps?

The elder made a motion with his hand and a pair of Cicis came forward to usher Aki up the steps of the pyramid. As she ascended the structure, Aki could see more excited Cicis gathering around its base. It seemed like the entire village had turned out for her arrival.

Finally, after a lengthy climb, they reached the top. There was nothing up there, at least nothing readily noticeable. Aki was studying the intricate symbols carved in the roof of the pyramid when she heard a sharp metallic clang on either side of her. She looked down—just in time to spot the Cicis clamping metal shackles to both of her wrists. Each shackle, in turn, was attached to a chain that was bolted to the roof. It was a trap!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7L_AyKw6QU[/b][/u]

The pair of Cicis jumped back as Aki struggled against her restraints. Behind her, the elder appeared carrying an engraved black box. The frail old rodent opened the lid, revealing a glittering blue gemstone. It’s some kind of photon crystal, Aki realized.

The elder removed the stone from its box and held it up to the sky. As he did so, he began to chant. His words grew louder and more emphatic as the chant progressed. A chorus of voices joined in from the rapturous crowd below. Astonishingly, the stone began to glow.

Just as their chant reached its fever pitch, a crimson portal materialized in the air overhead—a portal Aki recognized right away. As she watched, a grotesque, birdlike creature with four wings, two arms, and a golden face mask emerged through the portal and descended upon them. Its curved, bony claws gripped a deadly-looking scythe. Aki knew it from the ARKS database—a Luda Sorcerer, one of the most formidable bird-type Darkers.

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Luda%20Sorcerer_name_zpsdm34vhte.png~original[/spoiler-box]

Still bound by her chains, she could only stand there, powerless, as the Luda approached her. Behind and below Aki, the crowd of Cicis dropped to their knees and genuflected before the mighty creature. Suddenly Aki understood. As improbable as it seemed, the Cicis were Darker worshippers. Which made her—

—a sacrifice to their gods.

Aki tugged desperately at her shackles, but the metal was thick and heavy, and she couldn’t get free. Given time she could probably pry them loose, but time was a luxury she didn’t have. In fact, her time had just run out.

The Luda Sorcerer hovered quietly in the air beside her. It leaned in close, studying her. Aki could see its beady crimson eyes staring out through the holes in its mask. It tilted its head slightly to one side, perhaps in curiosity. Aki mimicked the gesture. It was a strange, surreal moment, for she rarely got the opportunity to stand next to a Darker she wasn’t actively trying to kill.

Still clutching its scythe in one hand, the Luda raised its arms high and a glowing red sigil appeared on the ground beneath Aki. It consisted of several concentric circles and an intricate pattern of loops, dots, and whorls. Whatever it was, she could feel its dark power draining the energy out of her. Another few seconds and it would all be over.

Aki wasn’t going to let that happen. Though her arms were bound, her legs remained free. She kicked upwards and planted a metal foot on the Darker’s face, causing it to rear back in surprised anger. The red sigil vanished; instead, the Luda opted for a more straightforward approach by trying to slice the Caseal in two. Just as its scythe came swinging down at her, Aki used the small amount of slack in her restraints to dodge to the left, causing the massive blade to rip through one of the chains instead. With her right arm freed, she used both hands and yanked on the remaining chain. After a moment the bolt came loose and broke off. Freedom!

Now that she was mobile, the fight could truly begin. Aki jerked her left arm forward and the chain attached to it snapped into the Luda’s head like a metal whip. The beast let out an ear-piercing screech and swiped at Aki again, but she performed a quick forward roll and the scythe passed harmlessly over her.

Aki reached behind her and grabbed the rod that was slung across her back. Unlike her sister Zero One, who specialized in melee combat, or her sister Zero Two, who specialized in ranged combat, Zero Three was a Force, a master of Techniques. She held her weapon steady in front of her and concentrated, drawing on the photon energy around her and channeling it through the rod. A downward thrust sent a charged blast of Foie straight into the Luda’s path. Just before it hit, however, the Darker disappeared before her eyes.

Aki spun around—and not a moment too soon. The Luda had teleported behind her, trying to catch her by surprise. It swung its scythe again, but this time a spinning disc of red energy was released from the blade and came flying in her direction. Aki dive-rolled to the left and counterattacked with another fiery burst of Foie. The Luda vanished once more.

This time it reappeared above her, but Aki was ready for it. Her charged Foie struck home, catching the Darker squarely in the chest. The creature squealed in pain as waves of fire spread across its body. The flames slowly engulfed it, burning its feathery wings and melting its gold-trimmed hood. Careening wildly through the air, the Darker soared high up into the sky before disappearing one last time.

Aki waited but the creature did not return. Behind her, the Cicis had already fled into the relative safety of their homes.

* * * * * * * * *


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fii21uEUzPA[/b][/u]

She ran through the forest for several kilometers without stopping. Only when she was sure she hadn’t been followed did she allow herself to rest. Aki pulled at the shackles on her wrists until they finally gave way and snapped open. She let them fall unceremoniously to the ground, glad to be rid of the extra weight.

After that it was time to regain her bearings. When she left the village she’d headed in the opposite direction from the shuttle, hoping to lead any pursuing Cicis—or Darkers—away from Charmie. Her plan was to loop around and return to the ship from a different angle, but as she wandered through the sea of trees, Aki came across something unexpected: another village. It was smaller than the first one she had encountered. The stone buildings lacked the same decorative touch, and there was no pyramid in sight.

Figuring it would be best to avoid another encounter, Aki was about to look for another route when something caught her eye. Or rather, someone caught her eye. Strolling leisurely through the middle of the village, his back to her, was a young brown-haired boy of about six or seven. A young human boy.

Aki ran to him without hesitation. She ignored the frightened Cicis, who scurried out of her way as she rushed past. She ignored the possibility of another Darker attack. There was only one thing on her mind at that moment, one consuming thought…

“Marten!”

The boy turned around, startled, as Aki came to a stop two paces away. His skin was tanner than she remembered. His hair was longer, his body leaner. The only thing he wore with regard to clothing was a pair of handmade trousers.

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Marten_rebirth1_name_zpsakiht3be.png~original[/spoiler-box]

“Captain Aki…? Is that you?”

She fell to her knees and embraced him fiercely, the feeling of relief washing over her so thick she could barely process it. “I’m not with the ARKS anymore, but yes. I’m here now. Everything’s going to be alright.”

He didn’t say anything, but he didn’t need to. The tears of joy streaming down his face spoke volumes.

It was only after they pulled apart that Aki noticed the small crowd of curious Cicis gathering nearby. The Caseal spun around to face them, one hand reaching for the rod on her back. “Stay back, Marten,” she cautioned. “They may not look like it, but these creatures worship the Darkers. We must be careful.”

The boy tugged at her arm, a broad grin on his face. “No, it’s okay. This is the Yapyap tribe, they’re good guys. You’re thinking of the Malcheeks. We stay away from them.”

Aki hesitated, then allowed herself to relax. She turned back to Marten. “If you’re here, where is Selena? Isn’t she with you?”

A troubled look came over his face and he pointed towards a small hill at the edge of the village.

Aki gave Marten’s shoulders a quick squeeze. “Stay right here. I’ll be back for you soon, I promise.”

* * * * * * * * *


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXa1bH3_mbg[/b][/u]

Wisps of orange were creeping into the fringes of the cloudless azure sky by the time Aki crested the hill. Looking ahead, the land dropped down sharply in a veritable sea of bluish-green trees. Near the end of a rocky outcropping, a finely-carved white stone stood overlooking the great valley below. It was roughly rectangular in shape and about a meter high. As Aki approached, she saw a trio of stars engraved on one side. Aki knew nothing about Cici culture, but even so, this was one thing she recognized without explanation.

A gravestone.

And then she understood. After spending nearly a year in the uncharted wilds of the galaxy, on a journey that had pushed her beyond all reasonable limits, her long search was finally over. She had found Selena.

Aki wanted to cry but the tears wouldn’t come. She wanted to scream but her voice had been stolen away. All she could do was stand there, staring at that white stone, knowing she had come too late to save her friend. She only hoped Selena had found peace at the end, here on this little world in the middle of nowhere.

Aki owed her everything… and more. They were together through the highest of highs and the lowest of lows, sisters in bond if not in blood. When Aki had fallen apart after the death of her team leader and mentor, Zack Grayson, it was Selena who helped her pick up the pieces and become whole again. When Irene was kidnapped, Selena was the first to volunteer to help with the rescue. They had survived impossible odds together, beaten back Darker hordes together, taken down Janth Dyson together. They were practically inseparable.

And now… now it was time to say goodbye. A faint breeze blew across the hilltop, rustling the scattered grasses dotting the landscape. The faint smell of summer permeated the air. And somewhere off in the distance, a songbird was chirping a lullaby.

“A-Aki…?”

The Caseal didn’t react at first. I’m malfunctioning, she thought. That must be it. After all, I’m hearing the voice of the dead...

The sound of a footstep behind her. Aki turned, slowly, afraid no one would be there.

But there was, and it was a face she knew all too well. She knew those amber-colored eyes, that long green hair, those pointed ears.

It was her long-lost friend. It was Selena.

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Selena_rebirth1_name_zpsx7yxgtex.png~original[/spoiler-box]

The two stared at each other, neither one moving, each doubting the existence of the other. “Could it really be?” they seemed to be thinking.

And then, simultaneously, both realized the truth: it was real, and there was no need to hold back. They flew into each other’s arms, laughing and weeping and shaking with joy all at once. It felt like a dream, an impossibly wonderful dream, one they hoped never to wake up from.

Leaning forward, Aki buried her face in Selena’s shoulder. This time her tears flowed freely.

“Too tight, too tight,” wheezed the Newearl, laughing.

“Sorry.” Aki loosened her grip—but only a little. She wasn’t about to let go of her friend that easily.

* * * * * * * * *


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9PT3qdwyRk[/b][/u]

Red and tan legs dangled over the edge of the rocky outcropping as they sat gazing out at the setting sun. The shadows were stretching longer, the light fading quickly, as the day came to a quiet and peaceful end.

And what a day it had been. For one of them it marked the end of a journey. For the other, the beginning of a long-awaited return home. For the moment, however, all that could wait. First it was time to catch up with old friends…

“You are Aki, right? You, uh, look a little different than the last time I saw you.”

“Yes, I suppose I do. It’s a long story, but the short version is that I died.”

“You—what?!”

Aki merely laughed.

“Okay, now I know you can’t be Aki. The Aki I know never laughs, like, ever.”

“Maybe not in my previous life, but this feels like a good time to start.” The Caseal turned to regard her friend. “When I saw that gravestone I was certain I’d lost you. I still don’t understand… If you’re here, who is buried under that stone?”

“The former chief of the Yapyaps. After Marten and I crash-landed on this planet, the chief was the one who brought us into her tribe… her family. If not for her we might not have made it. She gave us a place to stay when we had nowhere else, and I’ll always be grateful for that. I come up here now and then to pay my respects and tend to her grave.”

“Then I am grateful to her as well. She gave my search a happy ending.”

“You’ve been looking for us all this time? For—how long has it been, anyway?”

“Almost a standard cycle. Going by Oracle time, that is.”

“Aki, I… I don’t know what to say…” Fresh tears rolled down the Newearl’s cheeks. “Thank you. Thank you…”

“There’s no need to thank me. You are my friend, Selena, and you’ve saved my life several times already—”

“Four, but who’s counting?”

“Yes, well, I was only going to say that you mean a great deal to me, much more than the time spent searching. When the government officially declared you dead months ago, I wasn’t ready to give up. I never lost hope that I would find you someday.”

“Well, here I am.”

“Yes, here you are.”

“Darn, I guess this means my tropical vacation is over!” she joked.

“I could return in a few months if you prefer?”

Selena threw back her head and let out a hearty chuckle. “You’ve gotten funnier since we last met! You were joking, right?”

“I rarely joke,” Aki said with an enigmatic smile, then stood up and extended her friend a helping hand. “Let’s head back before it gets dark. I don’t want Charmie to get worried.”

“Charmie?”

“There’s a lot we need to catch up on. Come on, we can talk more on the way back to my ship.”

They returned to the Yapyap village, where Selena and Marten bid one last farewell to the Cicis they’d been living with for the past year. After that, a brisk hike through the rainforest brought them back to the shuttle. As Aki fired up the engines, she reflected on the long road it had taken to reach that point. She didn’t know where that road would lead her in the future. She only knew that, right then and there, it was time they finally went home.

All of them.



CHAPTER 10: END[/spoiler-box]

[yoshiblue]

Ah yis, more adventures of the crimson cast³ and red bird.[SPOILER-BOX]Photon tears. I wonder if the Cicis summoned luda sorcerer as a reference able enemy or if they have something to do with Luther? If they do, I wonder if Luther has been aware of Marten and Selena for a while now? With the mentioning of 03's specialty, it makes me think of PSZ's Force, Shot and Blade mother. Which amuses me because Yoshi is passively being trained to become a sort of Heaven Mother(Father).[/SPOILER-BOX]

[stukasa]

@yoshiblue:
[spoiler-box]I didn't have anything particular in mind with the Luda Sorcerer, I just picked a Darker that seemed like it could've been plausibly worshiped by the Cicis. The Luda has a kind of "ancient Egyptian god" vibe to it. As for Luther, I suppose it's possible he visited the planet years ago, but I left that detail open to interpretation.

About Aki03's class, that goes back to the first episode of my first story. The whole purpose of there being three Akis is so each one can focus on a different specialty (melee, ranged, Techniques) and then share those memories with each other, basically gaining experience in all areas at once. It was the ARKS's attempt to build a better soldier.[/spoiler-box]

[Zorafim]

[spoiler-box]So I'm thinking,
http://vignette1.wikia.nocookie.net/finalfantasy/images/3/32/QIqirn_2_(FFXI).png/revision/latest?cb=20120221163846http://vignette1.wikia.nocookie.net/mickey-and-friends/images/f/f6/74-74035_dis_mickey_mouse_prod.png/revision/latest?cb=20150327220412

One of these two?

Your sorrowful chapters just make your joyful ones that much sweeter. This chapter really made me happy. The buildup really made it pay off.[/spoiler-box]

[stukasa]

@Zorafim:
[spoiler-box]Maybe more like this:
[spoiler-box]http://i65.tinypic.com/2r71nk9.png

(I kid, I kid! XD)[/spoiler-box]
No, but seriously, I'd say the one on the left that you posted isn't too far off, but I was thinking the features would be more mouse-like. Fun fact: Charmie was originally going to be a Cici, but I wanted him to have a character portrait and I obviously couldn't do that if he belonged to a non-existent race. So instead I made him look similar to a Rappy and just used the red Rappy costume as his portrait instead.[/spoiler-box]

[Zorafim]

[spoiler-box]Fun fact, those guys are called Qiqirn. Not too far off from Cicis.
The way you described them, my mind immediately jumped to those guys, and then I mentally rounded their features. Sounds like I wasn't too off.
Wouldn't it be great if you could just draw all the character portraits yourself? That way you weren't limited to what PSO2 had to offer.
Oh terrible 90s cartoons. Don't ever change.[/spoiler-box]

[stukasa]

@Zorafim:
[spoiler-box]I could draw the character portraits myself... but then it would take twice as long to release my chapters. (Seriously, I am pretty slow at drawing. xD) Most of the time I don't feel too limited by the PSO2 character creator. Plus, it's nice to have the characters look like they actually would in that world. My drawings would be more like... 2-D, anime character style, lol.[/spoiler-box]

[Zorafim]

[spoiler-box]I could compose the songs in my story myself. Then it would take four times as long!
Your setup right now is great. It just makes me sad when you can't show something because it can't be character created.[/spoiler-box]

[CelestialBlade]

[spoiler-box]Oh wow...I'm not sure if I was ever really expecting Aki to find Selena or not, but, holy shit, she found her...and it made me happy to the point of getting watery XD What a nice, happy chapter. Gave me a lot of good feels and I have a feeling Selena's going to become quite familiar with the other Akis soon...

I missed Selena's character, she's so fun. Great job at making her and Marten appear ragged too.[/spoiler-box]

[Sacrificial]

I cried.

[Zorafim]

I think I did too

[CelestialBlade]

I sure as hell did.

[Zorafim]

There you have it. We all cried. Do you feel good about yourself, stukasa? Even when something good happens, you make us cry.

[stukasa]

@Zorafim: That just means I did my job. :p I want my stories to make you feel something, whether it's happy, sad, relieved, or nervous. Not every chapter can pack an emotional punch, but they're all leading towards one.

[stukasa]

CHAPTER 11.1 [12/12/15]
[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Logos/Rebirth%20Title%20Ch%2011_zpsnlpmlndx.png~original


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BN_XSszL7EU[/b][/u]

FALLEN COLONY SHIP ORPHEUS: RESIDENTIAL DISTRICT

They had done what they set out to do. After meeting with Naya Kestren, there was only one task remaining: escape with their lives.

Aki02 and her team trotted up the stairs from the underground subrail station to the main city level. At the top of the staircase the Caseal scanned the area for any enemies that might be lurking nearby. Spotting none, she motioned for the others to follow.

The city was just as they’d left it: dark and foreboding. Somewhere out in that infinite gloom, thousands of bloodthirsty Darkers prowled the empty streets. Getting past them wasn’t going to be easy.

Aki turned to Akasha. “You remember how to get back to the ship from here?”

“More or less,” the Newearl replied. “But why does that sound like you’re not coming with us? You are coming, aren’t you?”

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Aki02_rebirth_name_zpsbnmvfmzu.png~original http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Akasha_clothes2_name_zpsso8symkx.png~original[/spoiler-box]

“I have… something to take care of first.” When the group stared at her imploringly, Aki added, “Unfinished business.”

Kira threw her hands up in exasperation. “Are you crazy?! After you lectured us about how dangerous this place is, you’re planning to go off on your own?”

“I don’t expect you to understand, but this is something I have to do. Maybe it’s something I was meant to do. Either way, I cannot ask you to come with me. Not this time.”

Delfoy folded his arms across his chest. “I think I know what you have in mind… and I’m going with you. No, don’t try and stop me. It was my mission too. It’s only fair I help finish it.”

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Kira_ARKS_name_zpsqgyimpge.png~original http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Delfoy_Rebirth_name_zpshoueayj8.png~original[/spoiler-box]

Aki started to object, then remembered she wasn’t a member of the ARKS anymore. She couldn’t order him to stay even if she wanted to. Hesitantly, she nodded. “Alright, you can come with me. Everyone else, let’s rendezvous back at the ship. That means you too, Luna.”

The little robot was taken aback. “Huh?! No way! I’m your support partner, that means I’m s’posed to support you! Besides,” she whispered, loudly enough for everyone to hear, “I hardly know these people…”

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Luna_rebirth_name_zpsswfg6vk5.png~original[/spoiler-box]

“Luna… come over here, please. I need to speak with you in private.” Aki motioned for her to follow. When they were several paces away, the Caseal lowered herself on her haunches until they were eye to eye. “I know you want to be brave, but it’s simply too dangerous this time. I’m sorry.”

Luna wasn’t convinced. “If it’s too dangerous for me, it’s probably too dangerous for you. C’mon, lemme help! I’ll toast those Darkers good, you’ll see!”

Aki gave Luna’s shoulder a little squeeze. “I’m sure you’d do a great job, but I have a different assignment for you. Without me around, someone needs to watch over those three and make sure they get back safely. It’s very important, Luna. Can I count on you?”

“Welllll…”

“If you say yes, I’ll put you in charge.”

The support partner’s eyes went wide with excitement. “What?! Really?”

Aki nodded. “Only until I get back.”

“Awesome! Does this mean I can finally put Little Miss Shorty in her place?”

Aki pretended to think about it. “Actually, I think it would be best if you don’t mention it to the others. They might get jealous if they knew I picked you to lead the group.”

Luna gave her creator a sly wink. “Oh, I get it now… They’re not ready to accept my obvious superiority, so you need me to lead them in secret, right? Sure, sure, I can do that. No problem! I’ll keep it very hush-hush, don’t worry.”

“Thank you, Luna. You’re the best.”

“At least someone knows it,” she said, trying but failing to hide a huge grin.

With that, the two of them returned to the rest of the group. “I entered an automatic flight plan into the ship’s computer before we left, just in case,” Aki mentioned. “If Delfoy and I aren’t back in an hour… leave without us.”

“Right…,” Akasha said uneasily.

“Okay, troops, let’s get a move on!” exclaimed Luna. She pumped her tiny legs up and down, pretending to march in place. “One, two! One, two! Here we go!”

“Why’s she so chipper all of a sudden?” Ivan whispered to Aki.

The Caseal merely shrugged.

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Ivan2_name_zpsptpqme19.png~original[/spoiler-box]

* * * * * * * * *


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHWyvWiSwNc[/b][/u]

While Akasha and the others retraced their path towards Rico’s Folly, Aki and Delfoy made a beeline for the downtown district—the same area Delfoy warned them to stay away from earlier. They moved quickly but quietly, utilizing tunnels and alleyways whenever possible, trying to remain inconspicuous when not. The roaming Darker hordes never even knew they were there.

“I assume we’re headed for the Command tower,” said Delfoy as they sprinted down one of the many abandoned boulevards.

Aki nodded gravely. A year ago, Colonel Beaugard’s final order had been to deliver a data disk to the computer in his office on the top floor of the ARKS Command tower. The disk contained a self-destruct protocol that was supposed to end the Darker threat… at the cost of everyone left aboard. For whatever reason, however, the self-destruct sequence was aborted and Orpheus vanished into the Rift. Aki knew that if she could just get to Beaugard’s computer she might be able to restart the sequence, finally fulfilling her mission—and sparing the lives of countless Navy crewmen, who were even now preparing for a massive counterattack against the errant colony ship.

“I have to do this, Delfoy. I have to try. For everyone that died that day, not to mention the people that will perish in the upcoming battle if I don’t.”

“It’s never easy with you, is it?” he quipped, though his expression remained grim. Returning to the Command tower was something he’d considered many times, but memories of losing his best friend Byron and being separated from Selena had kept him away. He wasn’t eager to return to the site of such tragedy. For Aki’s sake, though, he would endure it.

As they ran past a row of parked cars, Delfoy happened to glance at one vehicle’s rearview mirror. It was likely what saved them.

The tiniest bit of movement, followed by a flash of light—

“Look out!” Delfoy shouted. He threw himself into Aki, sending them both tumbling to the ground.

And not a moment too soon. In the spot where Aki would’ve been, a photon bullet ricocheted off the moss-covered pavement. The sharp crack of a distant rifle blast followed a split-second later. Aki and Delfoy scrambled for cover behind the front bumper of the nearest automobile. A second shot struck the hood of the car shortly after.

“Who’s firing at us?” asked Aki, weapon already in hand.

“Don’t know, but we can’t afford to stick around and find out. I’ll hold off our mystery shooter, you go on ahead. I’ll catch up in a bit.”

“I can’t leave you!” Not again, she thought.

“Yes,” he replied sternly, “you can, and you will. You know as well as I do that those gunshots are going to attract the attention of every Darker in the area. We don’t have time to get drawn into a prolonged battle here, not if you want to make it to that tower. So go. Go while you still can. I’ll cover you until you reach the alley.”

A third and fourth shot zinged past on either side of them. Though she hated to admit it, Aki knew her friend was right. Once again it fell to her to make the rational decision. “A-Block, docking bay fifty-three. Ship’s name is Rico’s Folly—you can’t miss it. Meet us there when you’re finished. And Delfoy…,” she trailed off. The Newman threw her an inquisitive look.

“…Good hunting.”

* * * * * * * * *


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=al4BFZA6aBg[/b][/u]

Several minutes later, Aki ascended the steps to the front entrance of the ARKS Command tower. The sixty-floor stronghold looked much as it had during her mission a year ago—dark and imposing. This time, however, the outer walls and windows were coated in large swaths of mosses and fungi, giving the entire building a slightly alien appearance.

The glass doors at the entryway were no longer there. They’d been ripped completely off their hinges, either by rampaging Darkers or by the hurricane-force winds that tore through the city when the Great Dome shattered. Aki stepped inside without hesitation. Most people would’ve needed a light to see in the near-pitch blackness, but Aki was a CAST—her eyes had built-in night vision and infrared sensing capabilities. Using a light would’ve only given away her position to nearby enemies. So far she hadn’t encountered any… and hoped it stayed that way.

Without power, the elevators were obviously out of commission. She opted for the stairs—the same staircase her team had taken the first time up. When she reached the thirtieth floor, Aki stopped briefly. It was here, right here in this stairwell, that they had stopped to take a short break. Aki could almost see Delfoy and Selena sitting on the top step holding hands, Selena leaning into Delfoy’s shoulder…

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Delfoy_Rebirth_Past_name_zpslffzhh9s.png~original http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Selena_Rebirth_Past_name_zpswvwftxub.png~original[/spoiler-box]

Delfoy: “I just wanted to say, that day in the hospital… I’m glad you came back to see me.”

Selena: “Me too. But why are you telling me this now?”

Delfoy: “Well, I… I wanted you to know. I realize I’ve got a bit of an ego sometimes—”

Selena: “Sometimes?”

Delfoy: “Okay, most of the time. It’s just, I never cared about anyone before the way I care about you…”

Aki pressed on. She reached the top floor without meeting any resistance, but kept her guard up all the same. Halfway down a long, curving hallway, Aki paused once more. Her eyes were drawn to an empty spot on the wall near the floor. Following a close-quarters battle with a pack of Predicahdas, this was where her teammate Byron had slumped to the ground, exhausted…

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Byron_Rebirth_Past_name_zpsnaldkbdc.png~original[/spoiler-box]

Byron: “You guys… go on ahead. I’m gonna rest here for a bit.”

Delfoy: “You okay, man?”

Byron: “Yeah, I’m fine. Don’t worry about me. Just go do what we came here to do. I’ll catch up with you soon.”

But he wasn’t fine. Byron’s wounds were more serious than he let on, but even knowing that, he didn’t want to slow them down. On the return trip they’d found him lying in a puddle of his own blood, already dead.

His corpse was gone now. Whether it had been carried off by Darkers or somehow decomposed into nothingness, Aki couldn’t say. Truthfully, she was grateful she didn’t have to face her fallen comrade’s body again. The Caseal shook herself free of the unpleasant thought and continued on to her destination.

The mechanical door to Colonel Beaugard’s office was stuck in the open position. Apprehensively, Aki peered inside. Like a black hole, the room was devoid of light and sound—empty, just like she hoped it would be.

Aki stepped through the doorway. Her rifle swept left to right, seeking possible targets but finding none. She wasn’t sure whether to feel relieved or nervous at the lack of opposition. So far it had been a rather anti-climactic trip, though in Aki’s mind that wasn’t a bad thing.

She took a moment to gaze out the window that occupied the entire wall across from her. From up here she should’ve been able to see half the city, or at least what was left of it. However, the lack of electrical power, combined with the abundance of bioluminescent fungi, created the illusion that she was staring into space instead. Each fungus cluster looked like a star in the night sky—and there were thousands of them.

It was a far more peaceful view than the destruction she’d witnessed a year ago. Aki remembered the horror of standing in this office with Selena and Delfoy as swarms of Darkers laid waste to the city, the shock and revulsion of discovering the true nature of their mission…

Delfoy: “This can’t be right, there must be some mistake! The colonel said it was our only chance, but this is… it’s a death sentence!”

Aki: “He didn’t mean our only chance of survival, he meant our only chance of beating them. The only way to do that now is to take them down with us.”

Delfoy: “What about all the people on board? Weren’t we supposed to be protecting them?!”


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_4083Xg9Dg[/b][/u]

They had activated the colony ship’s self-destruct sequence. There was no question about that. But somehow, inexplicably, the timer never reached zero. If Aki could figure out what happened and restart the sequence, she could finally bring an end to this long nightmare. That was assuming she could get the computer working at all, which was a long shot in itself. She strode over to Beaugard’s desk—and was stunned by what she found. The power light on the terminal was blinking! That meant the computer still had power. But why?

Were the Darkers using Orpheus’s main computer to navigate the ship? Were they trying to gather information on the ARKS and Oracle? Or was there some other, unknown purpose behind it? Whatever the reason, it saved Aki a fair bit of trouble. She switched on the terminal and a holographic screen materialized in the air in front of her.

Restarting the self-destruct program was her primary goal, but there was one thing she had to check first. This is probably a waste of time, she thought, but I have to know. For Selena’s sake, I have to try.

Beaugard’s computer had access to every ARKS record aboard Orpheus. Aki easily cracked the security and delved into the files, heading straight to the docking bay access logs. If Selena escaped from Orpheus on a civilian ship, this search wasn’t going to turn up anything useful. If she accessed one of the ARKS docking bays, however, she would’ve had to use her ARKS card, and there should be a record of that.

The search returned a single result. The time stamp was dated two hours after she and Selena parted ways. Which meant—

Aki reeled back in shock. Selena had escaped! She had escaped! Aki activated the wireless radio built into her ear piece. “Delfoy, this is Aki. I found something here, and I think… I think Selena escaped from Orpheus after all! There’s still a chance she’s alive!”

She received nothing but static in reply. Either the reception was bad or Delfoy couldn’t answer at the moment. Or… no, she wouldn’t let herself consider the last possibility.

She also didn’t have any more time for distractions. She had an important mission to accomplish, one that couldn’t wait any longer. Aki tried to restart the self-destruct but found herself locked out of the program. According to the system, the last user to access it was designated as “HK-01.” Was that Hisako, Colonel Beaugard’s aide? Aki wondered. Why would she abort the self-destruct?

Speculation was getting her nowhere—it was time for action. Aki applied her best hacking skills to the task, finally cracking the multi-layer defense that had been put in place. Once inside, she discovered that the sequence had been frozen with two seconds remaining. Resuming it now would kill not only herself but her team as well. She would have to restart the clock if she wanted to give them a fighting chance of getting out of there alive.

Aki got to work altering the parameters. She was only a few seconds away from completing the work when movement near the open doorway caught her eye. She looked up—and froze.

A pair of glowing red eyes stared back at her from the darkness. And not just any eyes—they belonged to a ghost from the past, a ghost Aki could hardly forget.

The Darker formerly known as Hisako stepped into the room. From the neck down, she—it?—had been transformed into a Metos, the armor-plated, humanoid-type Darker that was nearly impossible to kill. Yet, curiously, unlike the others Aki had faced, this one’s head remained completely unchanged, its appearance still that of Colonel Beaugard’s diminutive aide. Aki speculated that the reason behind it might be related to the wireless link between Hisako and Orpheus’s main computer. If that were true, it would explain why the Darker had appeared shortly after Aki accessed the terminal.

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Hisako_Darker_name_zpsa4vevoca.png~original[/spoiler-box]

The creature with Hisako’s face regarded her with a cold lack of expression. Even when she’d been a CAST, Hisako had rarely spoken. The Darker version didn’t speak at all. It merely raised a hand, slowly and menacingly, in Aki’s direction.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vu704zt0VDU[/b][/u]

Aki knew what was coming next. She dived out of the way as a glowing black tendril shot out of the Darker’s palm. The tendril passed through the holographic computer screen but missed Aki by a handful of centimeters. Using the desk as cover, she popped up and released a stream of fire at the Darker, but her bullets ricocheted harmlessly off the creature’s obsidian-like armor. That was alright; Aki had expected as much. She only needed to provoke it, draw it closer to the window. Then, if she could just—

There was no time to finish that thought. The Darker charged forward with surprising ferocity, crossing the large office in an instant. It swung downward with one bladed-claw arm, smashing apart a corner of the wooden desk and once again barely missing Aki. The Caseal dodged out of the way just in time. Not in time, however, to avoid its follow-up punch. The Darker’s fist slammed into her stomach like a steel hammer. The sheer force hurled her across the room, into the wall, and then through it.

Aki rolled to a stop out in the hallway. Chunks of plaster debris from the ruined wall littered the floor around her. She snatched up her fallen rifle and was on her feet in a heartbeat—but again, not quite fast enough. The Darker was already there, its clawed hand about to take off her head. She pivoted and it tore through her shoulder armor instead. Aki clenched her teeth. Instead of running away as the monster expected, she stepped forward and landed a thrusting kick on its midsection. This time it was the Darker’s turn to get thrown backwards.

Without wasting time, Aki rushed back to the terminal in Beaugard’s office and continued her work. A little longer, just a little longer, and she could re-arm the self-destruct sequence…

The Darker reappeared without warning and lunged at Aki, claws extended. She abandoned the computer and ducked under her opponent’s attack. Unfortunately for Aki, the creature hadn’t been aiming for her. She spared half a second to glance at the sparking, ruined computer terminal, freshly impaled by the Darker’s bladed arm. Her chance, her one shot at destroying Orpheus, had just been taken away from her. The Darker gave Aki a significant look. It had known what she intended all along and put a stop to it. Despite her best efforts, Aki had failed to complete her mission… again.

She dodged the monster’s next attack, then the next. The Darker kept advancing as Aki kept retreating. It was time to end this fight and get back to the transport. And since she didn’t need to worry about the computer anymore, she could finally go all out.

Aki switched her rifle to its secondary firing mode and jumped backwards. As soon as she landed she squeezed the trigger and unleashed a barrage of grenade rounds. Quick as ever, the Darker threw up its arms in a desperate effort to protect its exposed head. One grenade after another detonated against its thick armor, each one cutting deeper than the last. Colonel Beaugard’s office lit up like a fireworks show, the walls awash with rolling curtains of fire.

After a dozen shots Aki halted her onslaught to let the smoke clear. On the other side of the office, the Darker slowly lowered its arms away from its face. Aki could see that both arms were ruined badly. The jet black armor covering them was all but stripped off, and Hisako’s CAST parts underneath were mangled and melted beyond repair.

In spite of that, the creature raised an open palm towards her as if it intended to attack. Aki steadied her weapon, aiming directly for the Darker’s head. Unless it protected itself, her next grenade round would finish it off once and for all.

She pulled the trigger.

* * * * * * * * *


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFLkuUeiPpo[/b][/u]

Halfway across the city, Akasha’s group was closing in on the docking bay that housed Rico’s Folly. They were almost there. Only a few city blocks to go…

Past a row of apartment complexes, near the edge of the suburban sprawl, was a small hill that had once been an ARKS cemetery. Akasha and the others glanced around to ensure there were no Darkers present, then darted straight through the center of it. The trees here had been stripped bare, their trunks faded and gnarled. The gravestones were coated in greenish-black moss. Glowing fungi provided a bit of pale, if somewhat eerie, illumination.

Without realizing it, they ran past a gravestone with an inscription that read: “Here lies Zack Grayson, devoted son and ARKS soldier.”

As they crested the hill, Akasha came skidding to an abrupt halt. Kira, Ivan, and Luna were forced to do the same. Standing before them, his expression as unreadable as ever, was the man who had haunted Akasha’s dreams for the past year, her twin brother and fellow clone.

Shankar extended a hand. “I’ve come for you… Akasha.”

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Shankar_clothes2_name_zpsqmdommu4.png~original[/spoiler-box]

* * * * * * * * *

Back in the ARKS Command tower, Aki waited expectantly. When the explosion cleared, the Darker’s head—Hisako’s head—was no longer there. It had been blown completely off. The creature’s body, now a lifeless husk, collapsed awkwardly to the floor.

Even so, the battle was lost. Aki tilted her head down to look at the glowing black tendril penetrating the center of her chest. Her rifle clattered to the floor. She fell to her knees, futilely grasping at the wound even as a red, bulbous core started to blossom. The infection was spreading rapidly inside her; it wouldn't be long now. In a matter of moments she would be under the control of the Darkers. Like Hisako before her, she would become one of them.

And there was nothing she could do to stop it.



TO BE CONTINUED[/spoiler-box]

[Zorafim]

[spoiler-box]Hm. I guess that makes her Hacki 02.
Is that what last chapter was for? Giving us a high so you can break us down again?[/spoiler-box]

[CelestialBlade]

[spoiler-box]Wow...none of that went very well at all. I was kinda surprised to see Hisako reappear and die so quickly, but, it's interesting how Aki02 succumbed to becoming a Metos is much the same way Hisako did--she killed her opponent (sadly, Dr. Garney) but at the cost of her own being.

So...is this what was being led up to? Two Akis under control of enemy forces? Are Zero Three and Selena the last hope now?

Not to mention we've got Delfoy fighting The Hunter and Shankar might finally be ready for a huge battle...you're setting up for one hell of a ride here.

(also, minor note, but you and I had been using "cycles" instead of "years" to determine a standardized system of time, and I noticed you used "years" in this chapter. Not sure if this was the first I'd noticed it, just wanted to point that out)[/spoiler-box]

[yoshiblue]

[SPOILER-BOX]One of the things i've always wonder was if CASTs saw flash backs via a video or if they saw events unfold as holographic projections. In a way, its also kind of funny to imagine all that explosion noise attracting darkers, only to come for nothing as 02 is also a Darker now. Heh. [/SPOILER-BOX]

[stukasa]

@Zorafim:
[spoiler-box]That's one reason for the last chapter, yes. The other is because I wanted the reader to know what really happened to Selena before this chapter started.[/spoiler-box]

@CelestialBlade:
[spoiler-box]I'm glad you caught the parallel between Hisako and Aki's fates. I wanted there to be some tragic irony there.

I won't spoil what's coming. You'll just have to wait and find out! :D

About the "cycles" vs. "years" thing, I've used them both interchangeably throughout the story. I assume they're not living in a world where the word "year" doesn't exist. Maybe it's like formal vs. informal terminology? Who knows.[/spoiler-box]

@yoshiblue:
[spoiler-box]Not sure about the flashback thing, but for the purposes of my story you can think of it as a past image overlaid on the current place. That's why I made all the flashback portraits black & white and grainy, like Aki was accessing her memories. (Ironically, I'm sure her memories are neither black & white nor grainy.)[/spoiler-box]

[Zorafim]

[spoiler-box]Drama does make comedy funnier, and vice versa. I feel so much more when something sad happens in a happy-go-lucky piece of media (Simba's Death, sad people in Undertale, anyone looking at Fluttershy the wrong way), and I laugh so much harder in dark media (Castiel not knowing how to work an answering machine made me burst out laughing, especially because of how serious the whole scene was). So, mixing hope and despair like this is a very effective way to get a response from a reader. And if I'm not mistaken, fairly difficult to do.

I should be able to shed some light on how robots remember, considering my profession. But, iunno.
Storing it all as a video file would probably be the most effective. It's memory intensive now, but for the tech needed to make something as complicated as Aki it shouldn't be too bad. Especially if she has an algorithm during her sleep cycles which deletes unnecessary files.
I feel like these files would be lower quality than a live feed, just for efficiency. So, grainy pictures would be a great way to simulate that, even if it's not completely accurate. We wouldn't be able to notice anything more subtle than that, so it's a good way to hammer it in. Plus it's very thematically pleasing.

Also, I should have known you would kill off all but one of the Akis. Writers always kill off characters after introducing new ones.[/spoiler-box]

[stukasa]

CHAPTER 11.2 [12/19/15]
[spoiler-box]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFWKzyo228U[/b][/u]

“There were days.

Days I convinced myself I’d lost you. Those were the days I lost myself.

But other days, most days, the thought of you kept me going. It kept me sane. ‘As long as you’re out there,’ I told myself. As long as you were safe, I could go on. I could endure. Because that meant one day we could be together again. If I could just stay alive long enough…

For you, I would do it. For you, I did. And I would do it all again if I had to.

I guess that’s the nature of hope, isn’t it? When you have it you never want to give it up. It sustains you, nurtures you. I know, because believing you were safe gave me the will to survive.

But there were days…”

* * * * * * * * *

FALLEN COLONY SHIP ORPHEUS: DOWNTOWN DISTRICT

One shot, maybe two.

That’s all Delfoy would get before needing to relocate again. Any more and the Darkers would find him and take him out long before his opponent could.

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Delfoy_Rebirth_name_zpshoueayj8.png~original[/spoiler-box]

The Newman squinted into the scope of his sniper rifle. The weapon was trained on a high-rise office building several blocks away. That’s where, to the best of his knowledge, the mysterious shooter was lying in wait.

Delfoy still had no idea who this guy was. Probably wouldn’t matter even if he did. However, given his marksmanship, patience, and choice of hiding location, Delfoy had a sneaking suspicion the guy was a pro.

But then, so was he.

After being shot at on the street, Delfoy had maneuvered through a winding back alley until he stumbled across an abandoned apartment building. It was there, in a third floor bedroom facing the street, that he’d set up shop. His trusty rifle was propped in a corner of the window frame, its muzzle peeking out inconspicuously. A handful of extra bullet shells were stacked on the floor nearby for easy access. He was as ready as he was going to be. Now it was just a matter of waiting… and watching.

Delfoy scanned left to right, one floor at a time, starting from the top. There was no movement in the scope. Nothing at all that might give away the shooter’s location—which only meant the guy was doing his job.

Delfoy didn’t actually know his opponent was male, it was just easier on his conscience that way. He never liked shooting at a woman, even one that was trying to take his life. Some might call that chivalry; others, stupidity. Delfoy preferred the former.

“I don’t have time for this,” he grumbled under his breath, tired of this fruitless searching. An ideal sniping situation was one without time constraints, where a shooter could choose the best moment to strike without any other distractions or concerns. In reality, however, most situations were less than ideal. There was always a wrench in the gears somewhere, a complication that raised the pressure and lowered the chances of success.

In Delfoy’s situation the complications were twofold. The first was time, a common limitation. He needed to buy Aki time to finish her mission, but he also needed to meet the group back at the ship in a few minutes. That didn’t leave him very long to play around here.

The second issue was the presence of nearby Darkers. The shots earlier had drawn them to the area; now they were prowling about in search of fresh meat. Delfoy was fairly well hidden inside the apartment, but he’d have to be careful, very careful, not to arouse their suspicions further.

Piece of cake, he thought dryly. He’d been hiding from them for a year. What was one more day?

Just then, a hint of movement in the high-rise caught his eye. Delfoy zoomed in, adjusted the focus—and nearly fell backwards in shock. Standing at one of the upper-floor windows was a demon—no, not a demon, he realized. It was a man. A man with long red hair and a white demon mask. This was his opponent, his mystery shooter. And he had finally revealed himself.

[spoiler-box]
http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w663/LegendOfAki/Rebirth%20Faces/Hunter_name_zpshxtej2pq.png~original[/spoiler-box]

In his surprise, Delfoy nearly forgot to shoot. His finger began tightening around the trigger—

—but the masked man was already gone. Vanished, like a phantom into the depths of the night. Why would he suddenly show himself like that, Delfoy wondered. Could he really be so careless? Or was he simply taunting Delfoy, his brazen display a declaration of war between two professionals? It was impossible to tell.

The other question that haunted Delfoy was: Had the masked man spotted him? He recounted his actions over the last few minutes step by step. He hadn’t made a single mistake, nothing that would’ve given away his location. No way the guy could have known exactly where he was hiding. Perhaps showing himself in the window was the man’s attempt at drawing Delfoy out, to make him careless and reveal his position. In that case Delfoy could afford to wait a little longer. He knew where his opponent was now, though he wasn’t foolish enough to think the man would remain in the same spot for long.

Delfoy slowed his breathing. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest. Keep it cool, D-man, he told himself. Nice and steady. He doesn’t know where you are. Just get this thing done and you can finally go home.

Home... Where was that now? Was it with Oracle and the ARKS? Strictly speaking, Orpheus was home. It’s where he’d spent most of his adult life. But the Orpheus he knew was gone forever, consumed and repurposed by the Darkers. Delfoy had no desire to continue living in this oversized coffin any longer.

Even if he went back with the others, what did he have left? No possessions, no place to live. A bit of meseta in the bank, but that was about it. His family, his friends… all gone. Well, except for Aki. He was grateful for that much.

And then there was Selena. His Selena. How he longed to hold her again, make her laugh at his bad jokes, stroll hand in hand through the shopping area on a peaceful Sunday afternoon…

But Aki had revealed the unthinkable: Selena was missing. She never made it back to Oracle. What did that mean? Did she get trapped aboard Orpheus just like him? Had she escaped? And if so, was she out there somewhere, stranded, waiting to be rescued? Or worse—

Delfoy shook his head. Calm down. This is no time to get distracted.

He returned his focus to the distant high-rise. A tiny spark of light flashed in one of the open windows.

Wha-zing! The incoming bullet zipped past mere centimeters from his face and struck the back wall. Delfoy threw himself to the floor as an afterthought. Slowly, the Newman turned his head to regard the hole in the wall. The bullet itself had pierced the wall, leaving the apartment with a single round pockmark.

He… missed? Guess this guy isn’t as good as I thought.

As Delfoy continued staring at the bullet hole, however, he noticed something: a tiny red blinking light hidden inside. He suddenly had a sinking feeling…

“Oh, shi—”

The bullet in the wall exploded, engulfing the room in flames.

* * * * * * * * *


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVaBQXicuDQ[/b][/u]

“This place brought out the worst in me. I’ve seen things, done things… Things I can’t speak of. Someday, maybe, but not now. Maybe not ever. I’m not stupid enough to say something like, ‘I’ll face this burden alone.’ To be honest, I’m not even sure I could. In the end, though, it is mine to bear. I’m the one who has to carry this weight.

The suffering, the fear, the struggle to survive, they haunt me in ways you can’t understand, will never understand. You don’t really know what you’re capable of until you’re forced to find out. Until you have no other choice. On that day you’ll see what kind of person you really are—and then you’ll know, truly, what it means to be alive.

Every day was painful. Sleep was the only time I found any real solace. I rarely dreamed, but when I did I dreamed of you, and for a few precious minutes everything seemed alright. My waking moments, on the other hand… those were the real nightmare. But no matter how hard I tried, how badly I wanted to, I could never wake up from it. It just went on and on, day after day, until I barely recognized myself.

I can heal, I know I can. All it takes is time, and patience, and love. But I’m afraid I may never be the same man again…”

* * * * * * * * *

Several city blocks away and twenty stories up, the man with no name watched through the scope of his sniper rifle as the apartment bedroom burned. The infrared and thermal optics built into his mask captured everything in brilliant scarlet and amber hues. His special photon bullet, designed to ignite shortly after impact, had done its job beautifully. Inside the room, the green-haired Newman picked himself up off the floor, grabbed his weapon, and ran through the flame-swept doorway. Outside, at least a dozen Darkers converged on the building. Still more were being drawn by the fiery explosion.

Beneath his mask, the Hunter allowed himself an amused smile. He could’ve finished off his opponent as he fled the room, but why bother? The Darkers would likely take care of that anyway. Even if they didn’t, the man didn’t stand a chance against him. The Hunter knew himself to be the better marksman, and the thermal imaging systems built into his mask ensured he wouldn’t lose sight of his target. There would be no escape for the Newman, and no mercy either.

He was enjoying himself, he knew. A hunt was the only time he felt alive anymore. The only time he felt much of anything, really. Why not milk it a bit longer?

The other, more practical reason for letting the Darkers handle the dirty work was simple: each shot he fired increased the chances they would discover his location. He didn’t fear the Darkers, hadn’t since his days on Naberius, but they were a nuisance and a distraction, and he didn’t want them ruining his good mood.

The Hunter continued to stare through his scope. Occasionally he would see a random window light up with gunfire, dark silhouettes stalking their prey. The Newman was on the move, the Darkers hot on his heels. It won’t be long now, thought the Hunter.

For a few long seconds everything was dark and still. The masked man wondered if perhaps that was the end of his opponent after all. But then, two buildings to the right, inside yet another dilapidated apartment complex, he caught sight of the chase once more. The Newman fired his rifle and a spidery Dagan went limp. He fired again and an El Ahda lost its head. The Hunter couldn’t hear any of the action, of course. All he could see was the flash of the gun, over and over, followed by Darker heat signatures winking out one after another.

Not half bad, he had to admit. He could sympathize with the Newman, what he’d been through. A place like this was a whetstone of ability, sharpening the skills and honing the reflexes of anyone left inside. Turning them into living weapons. The process would break most people, but those that survived would be immensely stronger for it.

Not that it mattered. The Newman was going to die, whether by his hand or the Darkers’. He put the man in his sights and checked the rangefinder. It was time to end this little game once and for all.

The Hunter closed his off eye, slowed his breathing, and steadied himself. He felt the rhythm of his breath and heartbeat, let the world around him recede into the background of his consciousness. The only thing that existed now was the hunt: one shooter, one target. A single bullet in exchange for a life. His finger began closing around the trigger.

Through the masked man’s scope, the Newman was desperately fending off a trio of insectoid Krahdas. He would never see the shot coming.

* * * * * * * * *


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4IGK551CgM[/b][/u]

“Truth be told, I’ve always been a coward.

Not when it came to saving others—in those cases I jumped in head first every time. But in terms of myself, I’ve always avoided taking risks. Why do you think I became a sniper in the first place? I wanted to be as far from the action as possible.

I applied the same philosophy to my personal life. Acting tough, putting up a front, never getting too close to anyone. Guess I was just afraid of getting hurt.

Oh, sure, I had friends, even a few girlfriends, but I always kept my guard up. I never let anyone in, not really. Not until you came along.

Do you remember that day at the hospital? It was after I got shot during the chase to save Irene—what a hero, huh? After Aki and the others left, you stayed behind to look after me. I still don’t really know why. We talked for hours, and for the first time in my life I felt like I could open up to someone. I wasn’t afraid anymore.

At the end of the night, when you got up to leave, something strange came over me. Something inside compelled me to ask you to stay. And against all odds, you said yes! You had to hide when the nurse made her rounds, but you managed to stay with me the whole night. By the time morning came around we’d become, well, more than friends.

Best night of my life, hands down…”

* * * * * * * * *

The El Ahda lunged. Delfoy hit the ground in a roll, passed safely beneath its razor-sharp arm-blade, and came up behind the winged creature. He was about to shoot it in the back when a Dagan leapt at him from an open window. Locked in mortal combat, they tumbled wildly across the floor. The Dagan was a fury of stabs and slashes. Delfoy jerked left and right, evading its attacks. He shoved the butt of his rifle into its face, knocking it off him, and scrambled to his feet.

He was growing weary. Not physically, just weary of surviving. He’d endured this hell for almost a standard cycle on hope and faith alone. The source of that hope was gone now, ripped away from him like a scab torn off an old wound. Selena wouldn’t be waiting for him back at Oracle, he knew that now. And by now Aki had surely made it to the Command tower. Delfoy had promised to buy her time, and he had. He’d done his duty. Hadn’t he earned his rest? Couldn’t he just… let it finally end?

Delfoy lowered his weapon. He let his arms hang limply at his sides. Across the room, the Darkers began their charge. Let them come, he thought. I’m ready.

At that moment, his radio crackled. The voice was faint and laced with static but he recognized it right away. It belonged to Aki. “Delfoy… —found something here… —think Selena escaped… —still a chance she’s alive!”

Still alive…?

Without thinking, Delfoy brought his weapon up. His first shot caught the Dagan between its beady red eyes. He fired again and the El Ahda’s head vanished. The bulky flying Darker crumpled to the floor, dead on impact.

At the doorway leading to the balcony, a new pair of Dagans appeared. From the window, a trio of Krahdas. They rushed at him with raw bloodlust and Delfoy threw himself backwards—simultaneously avoiding the bullet that was intended for his head. Instead it merely grazed his shoulder and struck the wall behind him. Delfoy winced in pain. So, mystery man’s not going to sit idly by after all…

He reached into the folds of his cloak and pulled out a palm-sized cylinder. Yanking the pin out, he rolled the smoke grenade into the center of the room. His opponent took a second shot but Delfoy was ready this time. He’d kept one eye on the distant high-rise; as soon as he glimpsed a flash of light, he made a mental note of its location and threw himself to the floor. The photon bullet whizzed past his ear, a near miss.

Across the room, the smoke grenade detonated.

* * * * * * * * *


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EOrE2Qr1FMU[/b][/u]

The Hunter couldn’t believe it. He’d missed. He had actually missed. First he’d failed to take out the red-haired CAST—thanks to the Newman’s intervention—and now again, against a target who had seemed distracted until the last possible moment. Just what kind of luck does this pointy-eared bastard have?

Or was it luck at all? Maybe the man’s danger sense was so fine-tuned after living aboard Orpheus that it had become ingrained in him on an almost precognitive level. No… No, I refuse to believe that. He’s skilled, sure, but he’s also been lucky. And sooner or later that luck is going to run out…

Through his scope, the Hunter saw the apartment fill with billowing clouds of greenish-gray smoke. So, the little punk thought he could use a smokescreen to hide? The masked man would quickly disavow him of that notion. His thermal scanner showed a tangle of heat signatures in the building, mostly Darkers, and one—presumably—belonging to the Newman. They were all moving so quickly, though, it was difficult to pin down the right target.

He overlaid the thermal optics with night vision to get a more accurate read on the situation. Just then, the Newman’s distinctive tattered cloak came into view, racing past the window with several Darkers in hot pursuit. The Hunter smirked behind his mask, knowing he had won. He pulled the trigger and watched as his target dropped to the floor, motionless.

It was done; the Newman was dead.

The Hunter stood up and hefted his rifle over his shoulder. Time to hunt down the CAST and the rest of those fools. I’ll make sure they never leave this place alive…

* * * * * * * * *

Inside the apartment, Delfoy heard a Dagan squeal as the photon bullet tore through its carapace. It wasn’t his bullet, however. The Darker wearing his cloak collapsed and lay still. He’d thrown the cloak over it as a decoy—and it had worked perfectly. Now, if everything was going as planned, his opponent would think he was dead and hopefully lower his guard.

Delfoy would only get one shot at this. He would have to make it count. With the Darkers only a few paces away, he swiveled his gun towards the high-rise office building.

Ka-thump. The sound of a heartbeat. His heartbeat.

Beyond the smoky haze, the man in the demon mask was standing in clear view of him. Time slowed to a crawl as he lined up the shot. He let out a deep breath and calmed his nerves. For that one endless second, with death closing in from all sides, the entire world seemed to wait on him. His finger found the trigger, squeezed it. The rifle let out a magnificent boom.

Ka-thump. Time resumed to normal.

It was a perfect hit, square in the chest. The masked man rocked violently, fell backwards, and was still. The duel was over, this time for good.

Delfoy didn’t have time to savor his victory. His body danced around the incoming Darkers, his hand already reaching for another grenade. He heaved the metal cylinder into the nearest Dagan and turned away as the flash bang erupted. A supernova of blinding light filled the room. Delfoy grabbed his discarded cloak and fled the apartment without looking back.

It was time to rejoin the others.

Time to finally go home.

* * * * * * * * *

“On the day of the Fifth Fleet Massacre, when I got swept up in that hurricane, my whole life flashed before my eyes. Yeah, just like you see in the movies. And you want to know what scared me the most? It was the thought of not spending it with you.

I realize we’d been together for only a few months at that point, but in my mind, I already knew… You’re the one. You always were.

That’s why, when I get out of here, I’m going to come find you. If Aki’s sister Zero Three hasn’t brought you back by then I’m going to do it myself. And I’ll keep on looking for as long as it takes. I’ll find you, no matter what.

Wait for me, Selena… I’m on my way.”



TO BE CONTINUED[/spoiler-box]

[Zorafim]

[spoiler-box]I was expecting a death. I was pleasantly surprised.

Great job. This chapter was incredibly tense. I think I was holding my breath the whole way through.
I swear, if you kill any of them off.[/spoiler-box]

[yoshiblue]

[SPOILER-BOX]I like how the mask dood takes the time to sympathize with newmen man dude, only to throw it out the window in a second. Its also funny how the man with the better gear loses to mind games. Thinking on it, I wonder what kind of issues Delfoy developed being all alone for a good year? Makes me think of I am Legend. [/SPOILER-BOX]

[CelestialBlade]

[spoiler-box]Me, start of chapter: "Cool, this is focused on Delfoy...this seems like a good opportunity to kill him off, but no, not after just re-introducing him. Doesn't seem like her modus operandi."

Middle of chapter: "Well okay, I guess she could frame this whole chapter to build us up until everything falls apart, but...no, keep reading."

Near the end: "FUCK SHE MIGHT DO IT"

End: "Delfoy is SO AWESOME OMG"

You also dropped some hints about the Hunter in this chapter...it's got me thinkin'.[/spoiler-box]

[Sacrificial]

Last one to read/comment again...
[SPOILER-BOX]
Great! A sniper duel. I'm not sure the guy is dead though. That would've been way to easy coming from you. *cough* body armor *cough*

On a side note: I would change the word night vision overlay to infrared (IR). Night vision only works well in extreme darkness especially for scopes. IR on the other hand works fine in light and slightly dark situations.I'll skip the tech talk jargon. Though, thermal is a more advanced IR so maybe just remove the overlay sentence.....or note somewhere it is (getting) dark/night? I dunno.
[/SPOILER-BOX]

[stukasa]

@Zorafim:
[spoiler-box]That's the nice thing about having killed off a bunch of characters before. Readers never know whether I'm going to do it or not. They only know I'm willing to do it when necessary.[/spoiler-box]

@yoshiblue:
[spoiler-box]I think Delfoy is going to have some PTSD if he makes it out of there alive. I mean, who wouldn't? Whether he learns to cope with it or not, however, largely depends on him.[/spoiler-box]

@CelestialBlade:
[spoiler-box]Delfoy was a good sniper before. Being forced to survive aboard Orpheus for a year made him even better. And this chapter was partly to show that his will to survive and be reunited with Selena was stronger than his opponent's determination to kill him.[/spoiler-box]

@Sacrificial:
[spoiler-box]It was pretty dark though. There's no power in the city, and no light aside from the glowing mushrooms, so the Hunter was trying to spot someone several blocks away in a darkened apartment building. In any case, thanks for your input but the chapter's been posted and read already so I don't want to change it at this point.[/spoiler-box]

[stukasa]

CHAPTER 11.3 [12/26/15]
[spoiler-box]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NtPQTED_NUg[/b][/u]

COLONY SHIP 02, UR: ARKS COMMAND TOWER

The clock was approaching midnight by the time Aki01 returned to the ARKS Command tower. When she did, she did so alone. She had thanked Captain Colton and the other soldiers for their good work and dismissed them for the night. No one knew of her confrontation with Lee Okada in the Council meeting chamber, nor what had transpired within those walls.

[spoiler-box]
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Aki rode the elevator to the top floor in silence. She wasn’t the least bit nervous about what was coming next. It was simply what needed to be done, a necessary step in the path to progress.

At the end of a long, curving hallway, a pair of scarlet-uniformed guards stood stiffly at attention on either side of the doorway. The Caseal nodded to them as she passed through into the office of General Rayn Valias, leader of the ARKS military forces aboard Ur.

The Newman general was seated behind his large wooden desk. He looked up as Aki approached, relief evident in his weary, sleep-deprived eyes. “Colonel Aki! It’s good to see you back safe and sound. When you didn’t check in I started to grow a bit concerned. Your mission to remove the Council replicas went well, I hope?”

[spoiler-box]
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“It’s done. However, we sustained five casualties and half a dozen injuries in the process.”

Valias nodded solemnly at the news. “They were good men and women… Their sacrifice will not be forgotten. And what of the imposters? Are they in custody?”

“Zardana, Apophis, Renault, and a few others resisted arrest and had to be eliminated. The others self-terminated rather than be captured. They were likely programmed to do so as a fail-safe.”

“Not a single councilor is still alive? I was hoping to get at least one confession out of them. Without it, explaining this mess to the public is going to be a lot more difficult. Manageable, hopefully, but complicated.”

“That won’t be a problem,” said Aki. Calmly and coolly, she removed her photon pistol from its holster and pointed it at Valias. “I am here to relieve you of command, General. You’re under arrest.”

To his credit, the man didn’t flinch. His brow furrowed as his eyes narrowed. “Is this supposed to be some kind of joke, Colonel? Because I’m not laughing.”

“I suggest you come quietly. Things will be more… ‘pleasant’ that way. You will be taken to a holding cell and placed in solitary confinement until charges can be brought against you.”

“What charges?”

“The assassination of the Executive Council, of course. The mission was carried out on your orders.”

The general’s collected exterior finally cracked. He jumped to his feet and slammed his hands down on the desk, his face red and contorted with rage. “A mission you persuaded me to undertake, need I remind you?! A mission to take down the imposters who had replaced the Council! You yourself were the one who led the strike team!”

“A fact the public will never know,” she replied without emotion. “The bodies of the fake councilors have already been disposed of. So has the video log I showed you. There is no longer any evidence linking the UEC to KAI-OS. And since this mission was ‘off the books,’ no official client order was ever filed. My testimony will show that the operation was executed by a rogue general desperate to make a power grab. Public confidence in the ARKS leadership is already at an all-time low; I’m certain they will buy the story.”

“So that’s it, is it? This whole farce was just a ploy to take control of the ARKS from me.”

“Yes, but not my ploy. My new master will be the one giving the orders from now on. He is in control now.”

“We’ll see about that.” Valias looked past Aki towards the office door. “Guards! I need you in here at once!”

The two guards posted outside burst into the room, ready to jump into action at a moment’s notice.

“Colonel Aki is a traitor working for KAI-OS! Quickly, arrest her!”

The guards looked at each other, then at the general. Neither one made any move to obey.

“What are you doing?! I said arrest her!”

Aki waited before responding to let the reality of the situation sink in. “Unfortunately, General, KAI-OS pays much better than the ARKS ever did. Many of your so-called guards have been on my master’s payroll for some time now. Even here, in the very heart of ARKS military power, you were never truly safe.”

Valias hung his head in defeat. “So, that’s how it is. You may have bested me, Colonel, but this is not the end. There will be others, and they will stop you. Your ‘master’ is going to pay for his crimes.”

“My master will be everyone’s master soon enough.” Aki motioned with her pistol. “Now come on, let’s go.”

After taking in a deep breath, Valias drew himself up to his full height and strode proudly, chin up, towards the door. As he passed the guard on Aki’s right, however, he flew into motion. His elbow smashed into the guard’s face before the man knew what hit him. The guard’s rifle was in his hands a split-second later. A quick shot to the shoulder dropped the other guard. Valias turned the gun towards Aki—

—and froze. The CAST already had her pistol leveled at his chest. “Whose reflexes do you think are faster, General? Yours, or mine?”

Valias hesitated, debating with himself whether to try it anyway, but ultimately decided it was a contest he couldn’t win. He lowered his weapon and let it fall to the floor.

“A wise choice,” said Aki. “You’ve always been a capable leader, and I respect you for that. Personally I would prefer that no harm come to you… but, in the end, the decision will not be mine to make. My advice, sir, would be to make yourself as useful as possible. My master may decide to keep you around longer that way.”

“So I can be a good little puppet like you?” he snorted with contempt.

“At least you have a choice,” she replied, and led him from the room.

* * * * * * * * *


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWs1vj1wbrQ[/b][/u]

FALLEN COLONY SHIP ORPHEUS: ARKS CEMETERY

“I’ve come for you… Akasha.” Shankar extended a hand towards his twin sister and fellow clone. “You rejected my offer back on Ur, yet here you are. You traveled all this way to learn the truth… because you know, as I do, that we were meant for something special, something greater. Come, it’s not too late to accept your destiny.”

[spoiler-box]
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They stood facing each other in the gloom of the former ARKS cemetery. Pale light from the ever-present fungus clusters spilled across the moss-covered hill. The branches of gnarled, leafless trees reached out at them like the bony claws of Death itself. In the distance, the jagged lines of a ruined cityscape provided the backdrop to their fateful encounter.

Akasha clenched her teeth and lowered herself into a fighting stance. Her hand rested on the hilt of her Lambda Hellfret double saber, but she had not drawn it yet. “And what destiny would that be… brother?”

“You should already know the answer to that. You’ve been to her lab; didn’t she tell you?” The copper-skinned Newman turned around, exposing his back to them. Akasha’s eyes went wide. Kira, Ivan, and Luna gasped in surprise. Embedded in his armor just below the shoulder blades was a bulbous mass, red and throbbing, surrounded by jet black armor scales and a network of dark veins radiating outward. It was just what it looked like: a Darker core.

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Akasha felt her knees go weak. “What have you done…?”

“I’ve taken my first step toward greatness,” he replied, facing her once more. “Just as you shall, soon enough. We were always meant to do this together, don’t you see? This is what we were meant to be. This is our purpose!”

“That… that thing. It’s the Master Core, isn’t it? Where did you get it?!”

They both knew the answer to that question. The Master Core was the culmination of Naya Kestren’s work, the very reason they’d been born. There was only one place Shankar could have gotten it.

“For the longest time I felt adrift,” he said. “I knew what I was, but I didn’t know why. Why was I born into this rotten world? No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t understand it. But I knew that if I could just find her, she would give me my purpose. And she has! It was her final gift to me, a baptism of sorts. And now… now I understand. She told me everything… before her end.”

Kestren was dead…? Kira and Ivan traded looks of shocked disbelief.

“You… How could you…?” Despite herself, Akasha felt a pang of sorrow deep inside. She harbored no love for the late doctor, that was certain. The woman had treated her more like a science experiment than a daughter. Still, aside from Shankar, she was the closest thing to family Akasha had in this world. Now she was gone forever.

“Don’t be fooled, Akasha. That woman was not our mother. She didn’t care for you, me, or anyone else. All she cared about was her work. In the end she died knowing that work was a success. For her, that’s all that mattered.”

“You’ve gone too far… Is your new ‘toy’ worth the blood you spilled for it? Well, is it?!” she demanded. “We’re not gods or super-beings, brother. We’re people, just like anyone else.”

“No, you’re wrong,” he said quietly. “You’re wrong! This Core is a blessing, Akasha, not a curse. You can’t imagine how it feels, the power it brings… The power to command life and death!”

The big Newman raised both hands above his head as if commanding the heavens to obey. He let out a strained, guttural growl and a trio of interdimensional portals appeared on the ground around him. From each portal crawled a spidery Dagan, foot soldier of the Darker legions. The Dagans chittered to each other briefly, then turned their attention towards Akasha and her friends.

“Well, this doesn’t look good,” said Kira as she pulled her machineguns from their holsters.

The Dagans rushed forward to attack. A burst from Kira’s guns quickly dropped the lead Darker. The second one leapt at Akasha, who blocked its spear-like legs with her double saber. A follow-up slice separated the creature’s head from its body, ending its life in an instant. Ivan, whose sword had been smashed apart by a Cyclonehda in a previous battle, was forced to dodge out of the way as the final Dagan tried to tackle him. As it came around for a second try, a bolt of Zonde lightning from Luna’s hammer-shaped rod fried the Darker.

Ivan raised an eyebrow. “Heh, thanks for the save.”

“Gotta look after my troops,” the support partner sniffed, trying to act nonchalant.

A dozen paces away, Shankar fell to his knees. He clung tightly to his torso as he doubled over in pain. On his back, the veins connected to the Master Core were growing thicker and darker. Shankar struggled to choke down an anguished cry as a number of black, wriggling appendages burst out of his forearms. As Akasha looked on in horror, the tentacle-like things wrapped themselves around his lower arms, quickly hardening into armor-like sheaths. His fingers became long and pointed like claws.

When it was finally over and Shankar stood up again, Akasha noticed another change in him as well: a pair of small, pointed black horns protruding from his forehead. They reminded her of Luna’s tiny horns. Unlike the pseudo-Deuman’s, however, Shankar’s were the real thing.

“I was… unprepared for the strain,” he said, breathing heavily. The Newman looked down at his clawed hands and the black armor that extended to his elbows. “Using my new powers consumes a great deal of energy. But, I assure you, next time I will not make the same mistake.”

“There doesn’t need to be a next time,” Akasha pleaded. After everything she’d been through, a fight with her brother was the last thing she wanted. “You can end this, here and now. We can go home to Ur together!”

Shankar slowly shook his head back and forth. “There’s no going back, not now. And why should I want to? I’ve already told you, this is our purpose! Yours and mine, Akasha. These other people—these creatures—are beneath you. Their existence is nothing compared to ours. It is your destiny to rule over them at my side. Come with me, I shall give you this chance. Even the Darkers will tremble at your feet, as they tremble at mine.”

“I can’t do that… and you won’t rule over anything. At this rate you’re going to become a Darker yourself sooner than command them!”

He looked troubled for a moment, or perhaps distracted. Whatever it was passed quickly, for his eyes suddenly filled with new hope. “It seems my words haven’t reached you yet, but perhaps there is another who could persuade you…”


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UaIoK3Bf6lk[/b][/u]

Shankar raised an arm, closed his eyes, and focused his energy. His hand was shaking slightly but he exhibited a greater degree of control than he had during the previous attempt. The air beside him distorted and a hazy portal tore open the fabric of space. Out of it stepped a single being, one that Akasha and her friends weren’t prepared to see. It was…

It was…

Luna and Kira gasped in unison. “Aki!”

The red-haired Caseal stood passively next to Shankar, not reacting at all. It was indeed Aki02… but not the one they knew. This Aki had glowing red eyes and a hollow expression devoid of any humanity. The Darker core embedded in her chest was still growing, slowly but surely, corrupting her body as it robbed her of control. Like Shankar’s, a tangle a black veins surrounded it.

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“What have you done to her?!” Akasha growled, glaring daggers at her brother.

“I’ve done nothing,” he replied calmly. “She was in this state when I discovered her. Look around you, where we are. It’s not hard to imagine what happened. The Darkers merely got the better of her; it’s as simple as that.”

“I-I don’t believe you! She wouldn’t get beaten that easily!”

“I would never lie to you, Akasha, but whether you believe me or not is irrelevant. The situation is as you see it. She has become one of them, which means she now belongs to me.”

“Aki! Aki! Heeeeey, Aki!” Luna jumped up and down waving her arms wildly, trying to get the CAST’s attention. “Zero Two! Mom! Oh Glorious Creator! Trusty Steed! Big Meanie! Oil Breath!”

It had no effect. The Darker that had been Aki02 paid no attention to her support partner’s frantic calls for attention. She only stared straight ahead, red eyes glimmering, awaiting her master’s command.

Shankar, on the other hand, was growing increasingly agitated. “Silence, little pest, or I’ll shut you up for good.”

Fuming, Luna gave him a mean case of the ‘stink eye.’ “Go ahead and try it, you big lunk! Why, I oughta—”

“Luna.” Kira put a hand on the robot’s shoulder. Her gaze never left Aki and Shankar.

“But—”

“I know, believe me, but now’s not the time.”

Luna squeezed her tiny fists in frustration. “We gotta save her somehow! We have to…”

Shankar had heard enough of this distraction. “Only Akasha can save your friend now,” he said, looking in her direction.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Akasha replied, her tone suspicious.

“An exchange,” he explained. “Join me and I will free the CAST. The infection has only recently taken root inside of her; it’s not too late to reverse the damage. I have the power to release her from this fate… if you so wish it, Akasha.”

This time it was Ivan’s turn to speak up. Despite his lack of weaponry, he stepped between Akasha and Shankar. “That’s dirty. What you’re talking about is no different than blackmail! If you cared about Akasha in the slightest, you wouldn’t even think of putting her in this position. When are you going to realize she doesn’t want to go with you?!”

Scowling, Shankar pointed a clawed finger in Ivan’s direction. A single bolt of Zonde lightning leapt across the gap between them, striking Ivan squarely in the chest. The force of the impact threw him violently backwards. As he writhed on the ground in agony, smoke wisps escaping his charred shirt, he distantly heard Kira and Akasha calling his name. Slowly, excruciatingly, he began to pull himself up.

“I suggest you stay down,” said Shankar. “I could have easily killed you with that blast. It was only for her sake I spared you. Get in my way again, however, and I promise you’ll regret it.”

Ivan shakily climbed to his feet. Defiant, he took up his previous position between the two Newman siblings and raised his arms to his sides. “I won’t… let you have her…,” he wheezed. “She deserves better than that… better than you…”

Behind him, Akasha was trembling. “Ivan, you don’t have to do this,” she whispered urgently.

“Call me a hopeless fool,” he replied, “but I can’t help protecting a friend in trouble. Especially one like you.” Though she couldn’t see his face, Akasha knew he was sporting one of his trademark grins, the kind he gave when he wanted to appear more confident than he really was.

Nearby, Shankar’s rage was simmering. The impudence of this man! The arrogance! No one crossed him and lived to tell about it. Shankar was tempted to strike him down on the spot, then reconsidered. He had another way of dealing with this insect, one that was potentially more satisfying. Even better, it would allow him to test the limits of his control at the same time.

He turned to Aki. “Do it.”

The former Caseal charged forward without hesitation, her speed and reflexes catching everyone off-guard. Ivan barely had time to block before Aki’s metal fist smashed into him. The unrestrained force sent him flying, then tumbling, then skidding across the ground. As he rolled to a stop fifteen meters away, Ivan had a sickening feeling his left arm was broken. Trying to move it only confirmed that suspicion.

But Aki wasn’t done yet. The Darker stalked towards Ivan, eager to fulfill her orders, but Luna jumped in between them. “Aki, wait! Don’t you recognize us? Please, don’t—”

The heel of Aki’s foot caught her support partner in the stomach. Luna rocketed like a missile into the nearest tree, then crumpled to the ground beneath a pile of bark chips and wood debris. A human being probably would’ve suffered a broken spine. But Luna, despite her small stature, was merely stunned by the impact.

Aki didn’t stop to wait for her. A few more steps brought her to Ivan, who was still recovering from the previous blow. The Darker’s hand clamped tightly around his neck and lifted him forcefully off the ground. Ivan struggled against Aki’s grip but it was no use, he wasn’t nearly strong enough to overpower her.

The Darker looked to her master for confirmation. In response, Shankar nodded his approval. “Kill him.”



TO BE CONTINUED[/spoiler-box]

[Zorafim]

It took me until now to realize I could just click the youtube button in your embedded links to bring up a new tab with the music, then exit out of those without scrolling up. Why did it take me this long?
Great music this chapter.

[CelestialBlade]

[spoiler-box]Ooooh snap, big stuff goin down now. Expected on both fronts, but no less severe.

I can sense a slight degree of self-awareness in Aki01's actions, especially with her last line, and it makes me wonder if there's some hope that her core programming is fighting against Lee's virus? It's a long shot, but it does make me wonder.

Interesting place to end the chapter. My guess is either Akasha gives in to Shankar's request to save Ivan, or Delfoy appears at just the right time.[/spoiler-box]

[stukasa]

Happy New Year, everybody~

@Zorafim: Thanks for pointing that out. It may be helpful to someone else.

@CelestialBlade:
[spoiler-box]I left Aki01's last line open to interpretation. Was she saying it like, "At least you have a choice, unlike me," or was it more like, "At least my master is giving you a choice"? That's the question![/spoiler-box]

CHAPTER 11.4 [1/2/16]
[spoiler-box]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3iAzdbg3mo[/b][/u]

FALLEN COLONY SHIP ORPHEUS: ARKS CEMETERY

It all happened so fast.

One moment, the Darker formerly known as Aki02 was kicking her support partner Luna into the nearest tree. The next, she had her metal fingers wrapped firmly around Ivan’s throat as she lifted him off the ground. The man struggled against the Darker’s indomitable grip but it was no use, he couldn’t break free.

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From somewhere to her right, Kira heard Shankar give the order: “Kill him.”

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She wasn’t going to let that happen. She couldn’t let it. Without any recollection of doing so, Kira found one of her machineguns pointed in Aki’s direction.

Time wasn’t flowing quickly anymore. In fact, it had slowed to a standstill. Kira’s heartbeat thundered loudly in her ears. Her finger closed around the trigger, about to reach the point of no return.

She would do it. She would kill Aki to save Ivan. Let them hate her for it, she didn’t care. Nothing else mattered at that moment except protecting the one she loved.

Hadn’t she endured enough already? Her dad was stuck in the hospital with chronic heart problems. Her sister had been missing for months. She wasn’t about to lose her boyfriend too. No matter what, Kira was going to make sure of that.

No matter what…

“WAIT!!!” yelled Akasha.

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Kira relaxed her finger, the trance magically broken. It took her a second to realize Akasha hadn’t been shouting at her, but at Aki and Shankar.

“Wait!” the Newearl repeated, her hands held out in a halting gesture. She was speaking solely to her brother now. “I’ll… I’ll go with you. Just, please, don’t hurt him…”

Shankar nodded to her in agreement. “There, you see? The choice was yours all along.”

Aki released her grip on Ivan and he fell roughly to the moss-covered ground. Kira rushed immediately to his side. Aside from a bruised neck, broken arm, and a few minor scrapes, he seemed to be alright. “Don’t worry, Spitfire…,” Ivan wheezed, looking up at her, “You won’t… get rid of me… that easily…”

Kira chuckled with tears in her eyes. It was the same line she’d given him on the way to Kestren’s lab. “I know that, you big doof. Just make sure it stays that way.”

“Thank you,” Akasha said to Shankar. “Now it’s Aki’s turn. You said you’d release her.”

The big Newman stood very still and Kira wondered if he was reconsidering his offer. After a moment, however, he nodded and closed his eyes to concentrate. Beside Ivan and Kira, Aki staggered and fell to her knees. The Darker core embedded in her chest grew dull in color and began to shrivel up. The veins surrounding it retracted and disappeared. When the core was little more than a deflated husk, it abandoned its host and dropped lifelessly to the ground.

Aki’s glowing red eyes faded to their normal black color. The Caseal looked a bit dazed and confused, as if seeing everything for the first time.

“Aki? Is that you in there?” asked a hopeful Luna. The little support partner had just finished dusting herself off after a nasty run-in with a tree.

“What happened…?” The Caseal performed a quick self-diagnostic. “I was in the ARKS Command tower, and then… I can’t remember anything after that. What is going on here?”

Luna flung herself into Aki’s arms. Laughing with relief, she replied, “Oh, y’know, this and that. Worry about the details later, okay?”

Shankar wasn’t interested in the happy reunion. He motioned to Akasha. “I have kept my end of the bargain. Now, it is time you kept yours…”

With a solemn face, the Newearl headed to join her brother—until Kira cut her off. The orange-haired girl took Akasha by the wrist, stopping her in her tracks. “Where do you think you’re going?” she demanded. “You’re not actually going with him, are you? You know what he wants you to do!”

Yes, Akasha knew very well what her brother intended. “I made him a promise, Kira. Ivan and Aki, they’ll be safe. You’ll be safe. You should go… while you still can.”

“I thought we’d been through this, Kasha. I’m not giving up on you that easily. And YOU!” Kira shouted, stabbing an accusing finger in Shankar’s direction. “Kasha’s my best friend. If you think I’m gonna let her throw her life away over your lame-brained, self-absorbed power trip, you’ve got another thing coming!”


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nS-qE9Nqc5g[/b][/u]

Shankar should’ve been furious. He should have been, but he was feeling something else instead. Was it a twinge of doubt? “You, human. What is your name?”

The girl impudently planted her hands on her hips. “Kira Vorholtz. What’s it to you?”

“You remind me of someone, someone I once knew.” A wave of recognition suddenly washed over him. “No… I remember now. I know your face. I’ve known it all along…”

From somewhere inside his armored suit, Shankar pulled out a small silver object attached to a chain. It was a locket… one Kira knew all too well. Her heart caught in her throat. No, it can’t be… It can’t…

But it was. Somehow, she knew it was. “Where’s Faraday?! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH MY SISTER?!” Kira screamed.

Wordlessly, Shankar returned Faraday’s locket to its hiding place. His eyes grew soft for a moment, then distant, then cold. “I… killed her,” he said bluntly, without emotion.

Kira’s face turned ashen white. Her mouth felt like sandpaper; her legs threatened to buckle beneath her. The reason she joined the ARKS was to find her missing sister. And now…

“She was my companion on Ur, for a time,” he continued. “But… that time came to an end, as did her usefulness to me. I offer no apologies or excuses, Kira Vorholtz. What is done is done and cannot be changed. Know, however, that her sacrifice was not in vain. Silencing her helped safeguard my plans—plans that can now come to fruition.”

“Is that all you’ve got to say?” Kira growled through clenched teeth. Her initial shock had given way to boiling, red-hot fury. Sorrowful tears cascaded down her face.

“Hate me all you like; it makes no difference. I’ve long since passed the point where I might regret such actions.”

“Then I’ll make you regret it!” There was no holding back this time. Kira aimed both machineguns at her sister’s killer and fired.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LmPH8BTwPKU[/b][/u]

Shankar was ready for it. In a split-second he conjured up a bubble of wind energy in front of him. Kira’s bullets were sucked into the miniature, self-contained hurricane and redirected to the ground and sides, away from the Newman. Kira kept up her ear-shattering assault but nothing got through. Cursing, she released the triggers and let the dual streams of gunfire peter out.

Shankar was ready for that, too. After the final bullet whizzed harmlessly past, he allowed the wind bubble to dissipate. By the time it did, his outstretched arm was already pointed at Kira. A jet of solid flames roared out of his palm toward the girl. She dive-rolled to the right just in time to avoid getting toasted, then immediately dodged a second, follow-up blast.

This time Shankar swept his aim from right to left, using the attack like a flamethrower. The sustained torrent of fire was almost blinding in the otherwise pale light of the cemetery. Kira threw herself behind a nearby gravestone as the flames licked at her heels. It was close—too close for comfort, really—but the attack passed her by without doing any real harm.

Not far away, Akasha watched as her friend and brother battled fiercely, her sense of dread rising with each passing moment. “Kira!” she shouted, once again drawing her double saber and locking the two halves in place. Akasha tried to run to her friend’s aid but a wall of flames sprung up as if by magic, separating the combatants from the spectators.

“Don’t interfere,” Shankar warned his sister. “The girl wants her revenge, and I will not deny her the chance to try.”

“Stop this!” It was no use; Akasha’s words couldn’t sway them. Kira seemed determined to fight Shankar, and Shankar was content to let the situation play out.

That didn’t mean Akasha was going to sit back and watch. She held out her hands and a gale of ice energy slammed into Shankar’s fiery wall. At first the two Techniques appeared evenly matched, fire and ice, but Akasha poured more power into her own, slowly forcing the flames into submission. At the last moment, however, Shankar redoubled his efforts and the curtain of fire blazed to life once again, even stronger than before. Akasha jumped back to avoid getting burned.

Before she could try again, a series of portals opened up on the ground all around her. Out of them emerged a menagerie of Darker types: Dagans, Micdas, Dicahdas, Dahgashes, and a solitary El Ahda.

Shankar was trying to distract her, keep her occupied. Unfortunately Akasha had no other choice but to play along. With Ivan lacking a weapon and Aki still recovering, that left only herself and Luna to fend off the Darker horde. She would do her best to protect them, praying Kira would be alright facing Shankar alone…

Kira, on the other hand, gave no thought to odds or risk. Her mission was clear: vengeance for her murdered sister, and she would stop at nothing to get it. Still crouched behind the safety of the gravestone, she fished a grenade out of her jacket and lobbed it in Shankar’s direction. The Newman released a stream of Barta that encased the grenade—still in midair—in a block of solid ice. It fell sharply to the ground and exploded, but the icy coating dulled the blast. Shankar remained unhurt.

The Gunner was on her feet before the smoke cleared, sprinting in a wide circular arc around her opponent. Her guns provided plenty of cover fire as she ran. Kira expected Shankar to protect himself with the same wind bubble tactic again, but he surprised her by blocking the bullets with something else—a shield of solid ice. It formed in the air between them and extended itself in the direction Kira was running. Not only that, Shankar was able to replenish it as fast as her bullets could chew into it.

Kira kept running. She kept firing. Frustratingly, she still hadn’t scored a single hit. Maybe it’s time for a new strategy, she decided.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7L_AyKw6QU[/b][/u]

Kira holstered one of her machineguns and pulled out another grenade. While shooting one-handed, she used the other hand to remove the grenade’s safety pin. Kira didn’t toss it right away, however. Instead she held onto it for an extra second. Then, with a grunt, she chucked the grenade in a high arc towards Shankar. Predictably he tried to knock it out of the air with another Barta blast, but because Kira had held onto it for so long, it detonated early.

And it wasn’t a normal grenade at all. It was a flash bang.

Shankar covered his eyes in surprise as the mossy hill was temporarily overwhelmed by a great burst of white light. That’s when Kira threw the second grenade, underhand this time so it would bounce beneath the ice shield. It seemed like a good trick—until Shankar blew it back at her with a gust of wind energy.

There was no time to dodge. The grenade exploded in a fiery flash, the force hurling her backwards at least a dozen meters. Kira tumbled to a stop and grimaced in pain. She’d earned a few bruises and some minor burns, but luckily that seemed to be the worst of it. As she forced herself to her feet, she looked up. Shankar was gone. Where—

Above her. Using a wind-assisted leap, the big man was now hurtling at her like a falling meteor, ready to attack. Kira jumped back just before a bolt of Zonde lightning struck the spot where she’d been. Shankar landed in the same spot a second later with a thud.

He didn’t stop to recover. Shankar lunged forward, swiping at her with a clawed hand as she ducked away. The claws ripped through her jacket and grazed her right shoulder. One of Kira’s guns was up a moment later, firing at him from point-blank range. He managed to block every shot with his newly-armored forearms. The armor plating was rough and uneven, jet black in color, and somehow looked organic. Which, she supposed, it was. Just like a Darker’s…

It also appeared to be nearly invulnerable to normal attacks, like a Metos’ armor or a Ga Wonda’s shield. Kira retreated as Shankar pressed forward. The Newman towered over her, but his bulk weighed him down slightly—just enough for Kira to stay out of reach. She took potshots when she could afford to, zigzagging between rows of gravestones and darting around faded, leafless trees. Shankar deflected her attacks each time.

He never stopped, never slowed down. Kira, however, was beginning to feel winded. She couldn’t keep up this cat-and-mouse game much longer. Once again she reached into her jacket for a grenade.

At that moment, Shankar’s fireball slammed into her back. Kira let out a gasp and toppled forward as a wave of searing pain rippled through her body, nearly overpowering her senses. She fought hard to keep from blacking out. Somewhere in the back of her mind, a voice was screaming: “You’re on fire!”

Kira rushed to pull off her jacket. She threw it to the ground and frantically slapped at the flames. Disturbingly, a large hole had been scorched into the center of it. Though she couldn’t see her own back, she could tell it had been badly burned. The acrid smell of charred flesh was proof of that.

“Give up,” said Shankar, gazing down at her from three meters away. “You don’t have what it takes to defeat me.”

Kira’s eyes flashed with defiance. She’d heard lines like that her whole life. “You’re not good enough.” “You’ll never measure up.” Compared to her prodigal sister she had always been the black sheep in the family. It was why she demanded so much of herself, why she’d worked twice as hard to prove them all wrong. And she certainly wasn’t giving up now.

“We’ll see about that,” she replied. Kira suddenly and forcefully tossed the still-smoldering jacket at Shankar’s face. Doing so revealed what was hidden underneath—her last grenade.

Shankar swatted the jacket away just in time to watch the grenade bounce casually past his feet and roll to a stop behind him. There wasn’t time to escape it. He spun around to face the impending blast, distantly aware that Kira was already scrambling for cover.

The grenade blew, engulfing Shankar in a blaze of fire and destruction. Kira watched it happen from behind the nearest tree. As the explosion cleared, she expected to see a pile of smoking remains—if there was anything left at all. What she found instead was a cocoon of organic armor plates arranged like a monstrous budding flower. With the danger past, the curved plates fell away, leaving Shankar inexplicably crouched in the center of it. Somehow he had summoned them to protect himself, probably from within his own body.

But there was something else nagging at Kira’s mind. A detail, something she had observed just before the grenade went off. Shankar had turned towards the blast instead of away from it. Why? That’s when it hit her: the core on his back. Every Darker has one; it’s their weak spot. Maybe it was his weak spot, too.

And maybe he was trying to protect it. Now that was a theory worth testing…

Still on his knees, Shankar clutched his head with both hands as if in extreme pain. “Curse you,” he growled. “I’ll make you pay for that.”


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYDQMZMwT8g[/b][/u]

When he stood up and turned to face her again, Kira noticed two things. The first was the patchwork of burns on his armor. Evidently he hadn’t escaped completely unscathed after all. The second thing was the color of his eyes. They had turned an inhuman shade of red, much like a Darker’s, although they weren’t glowing… yet.

“That’s my line,” she shot back. “You’re going to pay for what you did to my sister!”

Kira fired her machineguns again, an attack he deflected easily with his armored forearms. Shankar charged at her in a rage. The Newman seemed faster now, more determined. This wasn’t an idle game to him anymore. Kira knew she had no chance in a straight-up confrontation so she reversed course and ran straight into the nearest patch of trees.

Shankar was hot on her heels, swinging at her with a handful of razor-sharp claws and shooting the occasional burst of Zonde or Foie. Kira weaved through the tiny forest of dead trees, making it as difficult as possible for him to target her. She was running on pure adrenaline now. Her body felt like it might give out at any moment but she willed herself to keep going, to keep fighting. She had no other choice.

Aim for the Core…

Shankar lost sight of Kira as they rounded a pair of particularly massive trees. Assuming she was still ahead of him, he kept going—right past her hiding spot. Concealed in the nook of a tree, Kira unleashed both machineguns on him, her sights centered on the Master Core embedded in his back. His reaction speed was impressive, spinning away as soon as the gunfire sounded. But he wasn’t fast enough.

One bullet struck the edge of the Core, another scraped the side of his ribcage, and a third tore a hole in his upper arm. That was all the damage Kira managed to do before Shankar got his wind bubble up. The rest of her shots were sucked in and redirected away from him.

If Shankar was mad before, he was furious now. With a roar, he shoved the wind bubble forward like a projectile weapon. It picked up speed and slammed into Kira before she could get out of the way, hitting her with the full force of the energy contained within. The powerful air currents inside the bubble left her outfit in tatters and her body covered in bloody gashes. She was thrown backwards and slammed into the tree trunk behind her.

Staggering to her feet, Kira groaned. Everything inside her felt broken. There was blood trickling down her face, her arms, her legs. Still, she wasn’t ready to give up. “It’ll take… more than that… to keep me down…,” she said. The gleam in her eyes was just as ferocious as it had been at the start of the fight.

Shankar rushed forward with lethal intent. He swung at her and she ducked beneath it. He swung again but she jumped aside. Kira fired her guns in bursts to keep him off-balance and, perhaps, to score a lucky hit. As often as possible, she kept aiming for the Master Core.

They danced back and forth through the cemetery, trading offense and defense, each trying to lure the other into a fatal mistake. Neither side faltered.

Until…

Shankar launched a trio of massive fireballs at Kira’s retreating form. The first two collided with a pair of stray trees. The third raced up the hillside after its target. Unexpectedly, Kira skidded to a stop, made a U-turn, and ran straight for the oncoming Foie. It’s a feint, thought Shankar. It has to be. There’s no way she can take that blast head-on…

It wasn’t a feint. Kira leapt high and somersaulted over the top of the fireball. Still in midair, she let loose everything she had at Shankar. Dual streams of gunfire converged on his location. The Newman raised one arm to block, taking a bullet to the shoulder in the process. Then another to the stomach. And another in the thigh.

Kira was prepared to dodge his counterattack the moment she landed. Unfortunately, her feet never reached the ground.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NyUwUW-lRjY[/b][/u]

A Darker tendril shot out of Shankar’s palm like a hardened lance, piercing straight through the center of Kira’s chest. She never saw it coming.

Legs dangling a meter in the air, she coughed up a spattering of blood. Shankar retracted the tendril into his hand and let Kira fall to her knees. There was no need to finish her off; the fight was over.

Shaking, Kira clutched at her wound. The pain wasn’t as bad as she expected. What hurt her more was the thought that she had failed. She’d given it everything she had… and it still hadn’t been enough.

Dad, Fara… I…

Further down the slope, she heard a pair of voices cry out with grief. Ivan and Akasha. As the fiery wall between them receded, Kira turned her head towards them and mouthed the words, I’m sorry.

It was all she could manage. Her strength was fading, her vision blurring. But there was more to it than that, something she couldn’t explain. Something very wrong. Her insides were beginning to feel… strange. This wasn’t a Darker infection, at least she didn’t think so. She always imagined it would feel cold, but this… this felt warm.

Then it was more than warm. It was hot. She was burning up inside, literally roasting alive. It felt as if a miniature sun was being born within her. Kira looked down at her hands.

They were glowing.

Akasha watched as Kira’s whole body began radiating like an incandescent bulb. The orange-yellow glow grew brighter and more intense until it enveloped her, consumed her. The girl’s face contorted in a soundless scream. And then…

Then she disintegrated into a million tiny pinpricks of light. Her body had been broken apart from the inside out and converted into a cloud of pure photon energy. It was simultaneously the most beautiful and horrible sight Akasha had ever seen.

The glowing cloud hovered in the air for only a moment, then it was funneled into Shankar’s waiting palms. Akasha’s brother took in Kira’s energy, drank it up, until there was nothing left of her but a pile of tattered clothes lying in a heap on the ground.

Akasha screamed her friend’s name at the top of her lungs, but it was no use. Kira was gone.



TO BE CONTINUED[/spoiler-box]

[CelestialBlade]

[spoiler-box]Dammit, DAMMIT, why did Kira have to die >< Especially like...that. Did he literally just...absorb her?? At least she got to go out in a blaze of glory, but...ugh ;~;

Never occurred to me that the nameless woman from before could have been Faraday, that was quite a twist. I guess that unfortunately ends Kira's plot stream...and now Akasha is in quite the situation--keep her promise, or avenge her best friend?

Also, excellent music choices for this chapter.[/spoiler-box]

[yoshiblue]

[SPOILER-BOX]Lots of people dying these last few chapters. It's also kind of funny for clothes to be left behind from disintegrating person. I wonder if hair was left behind too. :wacko: I shouldn't question it, but I also wonder how long core dude newmen dude can go for, flinging all those techs mid combat? Looking back at the chapter before, I wonder if Aki sustained any lasting damage caused by the core? Considering it works like a darker core and all. [/SPOILER-BOX]

[stukasa]

@CelestialBlade:
[spoiler-box]I'm soooooorry...! >.< Believe me when I say it hurts me to kill off major characters, especially ones I really enjoyed writing. It's never an easy decision but sometimes for the sake of the plot it has to be done.

And yes, Kira was basically absorbed by Shankar. It's one of his new powers. He has tendrils in his hands like a Metos, but instead of infecting people it converts them into photon energy so they can be "absorbed."[/spoiler-box]

@yoshiblue:
[spoiler-box]Shankar's ability only turns the body into energy, that's why the clothes were left behind.

Akasha and Shankar have a much higher photon reserve than normal people. In game terms, it would be like starting with 200 or 300 PP instead of the usual 100. They'll eventually get exhausted but it takes a while.

As for Aki, no I don't think she suffered any long-term damage. The core died before it could transform her body.[/spoiler-box]