Date: Fri, 2 Sep 2005 19:26:32 +0100
From: Chris Angel <moonknuckle@hotmail.com>
Subject: Messiah

Story Name: Messiah: Ac Causa Hic Novo Mundus

Date Begun: 15th August 2005

Date Ended: 20th August 2005

Story Rating: R

Language: English

Genre: Action/Romance/Angst

Chapters: 5

Albums listened to during the making of this fiction: Shadow Hearts 2
Soundtrack, Ixnay on the Hombre/Americana/Ignition (Offspring),
Facelift/Jar of Flies (Alice in Chains), Wiseblood (Corrosion of
Conformity), Dutty Rock (Sean Paul), etc.


Author's Notes: Messiah: Ac Causa Hic Novo Mundus (which is loose Latin for
Messiah: And For The Sake Of This New World) is the third collaboration
between Kaiser, Christine and Shadow Bunny. And it's by far the most
significant of them all. We all agreed that we wanted something hard and
gritty in a Anime-flavoured light, something to break away from the soft
heroism of Last Saga 4 and the simplicity of Circle of One. And this is the
end result. A story of over 48,000 words. Though we had only planned to
make it a 20,000 word story, we slogged our guts out and it ended up being
twice as long. Messiah was originally intended with hand-to-hand battles
rather than mecha ones. But after an entire week of watching Gundam Wing,
Gasaraki and Neon Genesis Evangelion (as well as playing Xenogears for the
first time ever), I convinced Christine and Shadow Bunny to let this be a
giant robo fiction. In the end it came out as a sort of angsty action/light
romance story with a particular flavour to it (sort of like Xenogears meets
Serial Experiments Lain meets RahXephon). So read and see what you think.
Be warned from now though. This story has a selectively mature outlook and
detail. It contains violence (physical, emotional, psychological and
sexual) as well as quotes from the Bible and romantic/sexual engagements
between both women and men as well as women and women (once again I managed
to convince Shadow Bunny to hold off on the guy/guy stuff. somehow). If any
of those ideas put you off then I suggest you stay away from Messiah. If
you're mature enough to handle it then read onwards.


The characters 'Terry' and 'Sophia' are the creations and property of
Shadow Bunny. The character 'Celaph' is the creation and property of
Christine. All other characters and Meta Suits are the creations and
property of Kaiser Ryouga 2. The three authors of this story reserve joint
ownership of it.


If you have any comments (and you've read this from a site that doesn't
have review capabilities) then you can send them to
moonknuckle@hotmail.com.


Okay then! On with the show!


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


Messiah: Ac Causa Hic Novo Mundus

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Hey ah na na

Innocence is over

Hey ah na na

Over

Hey ah na na

Ignorance is spoken

Hey ah na na

Spoken

Hey ah na na

Confidence is broken

Hey ah na na

Broken

Hey ah na na

Sustenance is stolen

Hey ah na na

Stolen

Hey ah na na

Arrogance is potent

Hey ah na na

Potent, yeah

What I see is unreal

I've written my own part

Eat of the apple so young

I'm crawling back to start

Hey ah na na

I repent tomorrow

Hey ah na na

Tomorrow

Hey ah na na

Is suspended my sorrow

Hey ah na na

Sorrow, yeah

What I see is unreal

I've written my own part

Eat of the apple so young

I'm crawling back to start

Hey ah na na

A romance is fallen

Hey ah na na

Fallen

Hey ah na na

Recommend you borrow

Hey ah na na

Borrow, yeah

What I see is unreal

I've written my own part

Eat of the apple so young

I'm crawling back to start

Hey ah na na.

Hey ah na na.

Hey ah na na.

Hey ah na na.

~ 'Rotten Apple', Alice in Chains


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


Chronicle One - because her name is 'Yumi Mishima'


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


Light pattered through a gap between two curtains that had not been opened
very often. That light traced itself as a beam across the carpeted floor of
Yumi's bedroom. Rolling all the way over to her pristinely re-made bed. Of
course she herself was not sleeping. In fact, that in itself was a task
without a steady supply of sleeping pills. But the treatments her doctor
had been giving her would have suggested otherwise. Which was why he cut
Yumi off of them. The time had come for her to 'work out her insomnia
without the use of drugs'.


If she had parents, they probably would have agreed with him.


But Yumi couldn't see it that way. And she never would. Which probably
meant that she would be this tired for the rest of her life. The door to
the young woman's bedroom (adorned with posters that had been dedicated to
her favourite band, Suicide of Claire) opened. And Yumi walked back into
the room with a steaming mug of coffee in her hand. She took one sip of it,
even though coffee wasn't the best choice of beverage for a confirmed
insomniac, and then sat down on the swivelling chair aside her
computer. Yumi put down the coffee mug and sighed, placing her fingers to
her keyboard. The scene she had left on her monitor came back to life with
the end of the screen saver. A window popped up showing the conformation of
the save of the very same thing she had spent nearly 230 hours
downloading. Yumi's light frown didn't leave her face. But her emotions,
quiet as they normally were, leapt at the thought of finally having
downloaded it. Trigger Mode 890. The newest software in the field of AWG
(Artificial World Generation). The known concept of Virtual Reality had
grown much in recent years. No thanks in part to the technological heads of
Protocol. The idea of forging your own virtual world and living it through
with the brain visor was a dream come true for many. After all, such tech
was not even in proper circulation to the public yet. But for someone like
Yumi, with the hacking skills of a demon, it was a matter of find and
take. Downloading this illegally would get her in trouble if she didn't
watch herself.


If she had a significant other, he or she probably would have been
concerned by the idea.


But Yumi was too good for that. To get the software she had to buy a
neo-broadband modem, one that would run for the amount of time
specified. Then she had to hack into the system of the Protocol
mega-database, break (or rather bend) its numerous firewalls, and then
download. Of course she couldn't just rely on that for 200+ hours. The
Protocol Database was a stringent user of 'Security Demons'. Which were
basically randomly coded security programs to detect criminal activity in
the server. They 're-spawned' every two and a half days, always with a
newer code for Yumi to deal with. But as said, she was no amateur in that
field. Security Demons had a bonus in the fact that they changed constantly
so they had no solid and consistent method of deletion. But because of
their randomly generated codes, Security Demons weren't always very
detailed. Thus they couldn't often detect the more secretive actions of
hackers. And more importantly, Yumi had a program of her own to deal with
the Security Demons. Her own invention. Something she liked to refer to as
a 'Counter Demon Wall'. With use of that she could hide her downloading of
Trigger Mode from the Security Demons.


The end result of that was this. Yumi took a blank CD from her drawer and
opened the case. And then slotted the CD inside her C-Drive for the
copying. In no time at all she saved the Trigger Mode software onto the CD,
and then broke her links with the Protocol database. She was a daring
hacker, but she wasn't stupid. You didn't wanna fuck around with an
organization that controlled the world for too long. Skill may have been
one of Yumi's strong points, but arrogance was not. Once she successfully
saved the software to the CD, she breathed a sigh of relief and grabbed her
mug of coffee. The eighteen-year-old took a sip and then relaxed
peacefully. Now that her connections with the database were over, she could
rest more easily. It was a dangerous business, hacking in the 22nd
Century. Even more so when the hacker messed with a global force like that
Protocol. This year of 2153 had seen the rise of the organization. The
force that was once the UN had subsided to it long ago. It was both a
scientific and political organization that acted as the world's first
global, non-unilateral government. A representative from every country was
sent to join a group known as the Upper Council. That group was the highest
known authority in the world. They decided on many things for all countries
in the world, or at least the parts that were under Protocol's
jurisdiction. When it came to things like agriculture and military force,
Protocol's heavy influence controlled everything.


Yumi leaned back on her chair, thinking about Protocol. It seemed a little
unbelievable, even in this day and age, that a political faction like
Protocol could exist. Especially one based on a theocracy. The world
government was as religious as it was political. Often talking of the 'end
of the world' and on 'human redemption'. Of course, Yumi was an embittered
atheist so she didn't really know much else about the religious aspect of
Protocol. Thankfully the group never really attempted to force their
theocracy on anyone. Even at college, the learning of Protocol's religion,
Messiahism, was a completely optional lesson. They had learned from the
mistakes of previous eras, it seemed. Besides. Those living the good life
in the world felt. indebted to Protocol.


Because, in some respects, they had restarted the world.


But rather than dwell on any thoughts of a war that took place nearly 148
years ago, the Japanese girl sipped the last of her coffee and stood
upright, stretching out her arms. The girl then strode up to the curtains
of the windows and pulled them open. She didn't like opening the curtains
of her apartment much. Mostly because she wanted her privacy, partly
because she preferred it dark in her rooms. It was an addition to a not
necessarily gloomy decor, but it suited Yumi in the way she felt about
things.


If she had friends, it might have bothered them.


Yumi was a lonely girl.


And there were only two things in her life that made it worthwhile. Her
exploits as a hacker, and her. other. The closest thing that she had ever
had to a friend. The woman known as Chizuru Matsubana. Even now, Yumi could
feel her cheeks flowering at the thought of her. Chizuru was no ordinary
woman, that was for sure. But those beautiful yet lofty fair-weather dreams
were all she would ever get from the woman. Such thoughts further served
the Mishima girl's depression. Yumi sighed once more then opened the two
windows of her room. Allowing all new fresh air to seep in. Whilst looking
outwardly into the wonders of the place known as Meta Tokyo. A regally
grand and bustling offspring of its former self. The towering skyscrapers
of Neo-Shinjuku could be seen as far away as Yumi's residential
district. That was the centre of business when it came to Japan. And also
the centre of the scientific/technological world. All twenty of the
Japanese research stations of Protocol were stationed around
Neo-Shinjuku. And when she looked down to the street she could see sweeper
androids clearing up the rubbish left in the roads by the biological half
of the city. Androids were an important part of life in this time. The
world population was at least 42% lower than what it had been 148 years
ago. Thus there was that little bastard issue called labour shortage for
the world to suffer with. Around the time that Protocol had risen, the
field of AI had seen massive growth. Mostly because scientists remaining
from the Great War had to push up the speed of android development to quell
the labour shortage. But also because the Great War had shown people just
how much they resented participating in warfare. Conscription had been one
of the tyrants of that particular war. Eventually the Protocol group made
the jump into android tech. Now, more than a century later, androids were
as commonplace as sex.


Once Yumi breathed in the freshness of the air that she didn't often
admire, there was a subtle chime from the speakers of her computer. A bell
that indicated that she had a new e-mail. That was strange. When she
started up her computer, none of her contacts had been online. Yumi walked
over to her desk and sat down once again to see what it was. She placed her
hand over her mouse and brought the cursor to an open window of her
explorer. She clicked on the address bar and then typed in the location of
chosen e-mail account. The window switched to that same site, and the
white-haired teen clicked on the icon that held her e-mail. Her inbox then
appeared. In which she saw the e-mail. Addressed to her from someone under
the title of 'anonymous'. The heading of the e-mail said nothing more than
'Yumi'.


She stared at it for a moment. It wasn't junk, her account would have
deleted it if it was. So who was it from? She wasted absolutely no time
pondering on that and opened the e-mail. When the window adjusted itself
she read out the text of it, reciting, "Yumi Mishima. The world is subject
to a constant cycle of Assimilation, Process and Reaction. The engine of
the universe to which all things -- biological and technological -- are
based. At the beginning of the time of the Seven Keys such distinctions
were completely foreign to us. As was the concept of 'distinction'. If all
is as destiny plans, that time will come again. You can remain as you are
no longer."


End of the e-mail.


Yumi blinked. "What is this? Some kind of riddle?"


No matter was this thing actually was, Yumi knew that she couldn't
understand a word of it. In her mindset she just ignored the content and
focused on the more glaring fact. Whatever moron sent this e-mail, he or
she knew her name. Her real name. The only person that knew Yumi's e-mail
address in the real world was Chizuru. And she wasn't much of a techno-buff
in any sort of way. So who was it from? And just how. did they know Yumi's
real name?


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


In this world, the importance of the military was known to all. Not always
as a method of destruction. But as a deterrent of it. That was the
sentiment that Protocol pushed to separate themselves from the image of
them as a bunch of unified despots. An image that was frequently being
shown in the media force of the internet. But there was no separation
between Protocol and military force. And in the centre of Meta-Tokyo, the
heartland known as Neo-Shinjuku, the central station of the Japanese
division of Protocol's military power existed.


Protocol's army had many bases across the world. This was only one of
them. It was called the Shinrai Complex. A gigantic hexagonal building
fenced off by nothing more than four long stone walls. Surrounded by a
layer of grass and trees that sought, in design, to brighten the layout of
the facility. It was bordered by the business skyscrapers of Neo-Shinjuku,
dwarfed in height but not influence. In fact, even the grassy grounds
around the walls of the building were off limits to unauthorized members of
the public. In terms of firepower in reserve, the Shinrai Complex was the
biggest non-armed military base in the world, under a square distance of
300 metres by another 345 metres, which included both building and
layout. It was more a centre for admin and direction to the lesser,
more-heavily armed bases around Japan. In fact the Shinrai Complex
possessed only a few hangers for mobile weaponry in means of defence. But
what it did have was a huge underground research facility, which connected
to many tunnels underneath the city of Meta-Tokyo. One stretched all the
way to Meta-Tokyo Bay as the primary escape route. The importance of this
base to the web of military bases across the country was
undeniable. Because this was the centre point of it all. Which made it
easier to understand why the Divine Blade, the division of the Holy
Protocol Army (which made total use of the weapons known as Meta Suits) was
stationed primarily at the Shinrai Complex.


In the upper levels of this administrative building was a certain office. A
richly designed one. It had a desk, and a computer and a large window for
much light to peer through, naturally. But it also had trophies. Along the
walls were armaments from bygone eras. The matchlock rifles that had been a
staple Japanese firearm until the 1800's. The katanas and naginatas that
this nation had been famous for. As well as pistols, axes, German
Zweihander swords and spears. All mounted on the walls of that particular
office. The reflection of a certain man's dreams, his fascination with the
art of warfare. And that of his heart, a warrior's heart chilled by the
taint of that which his superiors called peace. There was no greater pain
than for a soldier to suffer the lust for conflict in a world of peace
created as a result of conflict. That man, the one who suffered that same
pain, was standing by the bright light of that large office window.


That man's name was William Ank Celaph.


In the Shinrai Complex, he was referred to as Commander Celaph. He was not
a Japanese national. No, he was born far to the west, in England. But after
the much publicized terrorist attacks on Meta-Tokyo's ports three months
ago, the previous commander of the Japanese division of the Holy Protocol
Army had 'abdicated' his post in a rather swift way. It came to the point
where the Japanese military truly needed a new, charismatic and talented
leader. And thus they had sent for William Ank Celaph. The man famed for
his many successful string of victories against the rebels outside of the
Meta Cities. Celaph looked out to the window to the scene of the many
car-packed roads outside of the Shinrai Complex. The man of little more
than twenty-nine-years brushed his blonde bangs out of his eye line,
smiling unhappily. Meta-London was his home. But this would do for
now. Across from Celaph, on his desk, the intercom went off. And his
secretary, Mitsuko, called to him, announcing,


"Commander Celaph, you have been contacted."


"It must be the Triad of the Inquisition," He whispered, "please put it
through, Mitsuko."


The girl made a confirming noise and did just that. Above the desk, in the
ceiling, was a compartment. The doors to that compartment separated and
opened to reveal a video screen. The mechanical gears and pulleys holding
it up shifted the screen down slowly, so that the screen came into a
vertical position to be seen. Then the screen turned itself on. An image of
three shadowed figures, each bathed in darkness but glowing with their own
individual aura stood silently. Celaph turned around and fell to one knee
in esteem. It was truly a great honour. One that was not new to him but
very important.


"It is good to see you all once again, great sirs." He exclaimed.


One of the three holy men, known forever more as the Triad of the
Inquisition, spoke to Celaph with his biologically morphed voice box
pouring out a seething and oily voice. "Commander Celaph. The time we have
prepared for all this time, is finally upon us."


Celaph's eyes widened. "Do you actually mean to say. that the rebirth is
finally at hand.?"


"Yes," One other replied, ".the reunion of Eros and the Thanatos to the
birth of the Greater One. A Novus Deus after all our waiting. The time has
come. Which means that nothing can interrupt the process."


Celaph stood back up. "I see. Is that why you had me stationed in Japan? To
oversee the reunion?"


"No. We actually felt that your talents would be better issued to the
destruction of the rebels. We have great reason to believe that Chrysalis
is now operating out of Meta-Tokyo. They must be stopped once and for all."


"Hmm," The commander mused on the idea, "I see. Defeating them would more
or less leave EDEN defenceless. Do you wish me to mobilize the Divine Blade
for that mission? General Naam is a rather difficult man to
control.but. his skills in piloting Meta Suits are almost flawless. The
only one who surpasses them. is."


"Deploy the Divine Blade," One of the three answered, "Naam shall lead them
into battle. You shall formulate their pattern of attack. Now. How is that
one?"


"You mean the Thanatos? He is a. pistol. His recklessness knows no
bounds. But then. that recklessness is a result of that amazing tank of
energy he possesses. I've come to believe his significance. I just don't
see putting him into battle conditions as a good idea as yet. The Raum Meta
Suit is ready for him. but. I do not think that his mind is rational enough
to follow orders on the battlefield."


The second of the Triad of the Inquisition addressed that. "Contact between
the Eros and the Thanatos is not pivotal at this point. If he is not ready
then send him to Ix Nos Babel for the time being. For now, you will focus
your efforts on suppressing the insurgence of those following under the
banner of Bartholomeus. You are familiar with his granddaughter, are you
not?"


Celaph smiled solemnly. "We knew each other. once."


"Then no one is better suited to this operation than you, Celaph. The
completion of both the Oriax and the Raum Meta Suits is just the first step
in the plan. Use of them. might be necessary."


"Is Chrysalis that powerful? Have we been underestimating the Ark of the
Luria? Or do you have a different reason for this?"


The middle of the Triad shook his head. ".You needn't concern yourself with
that, Celaph. The important thing now is to secure the event to come. By
destroying those who would interfere with it. That should be your primary
concern."


That was enough for Celaph. "Fair enough. But then what of Eros? Should we
make sure that one is secured as well? Transportation to Ix Nos Babel would
not take long."


"We will handle that end," One of them replied to the English commander,
"you just concentrate on the rebels. If something should happen in that
respect, then, all issues concerned will be handed to you, Celaph. Do you
understand?"


The Englishman nodded. "Yes, sirs. I understand. So. It's finally
happening. The reversal of the events of the Seven Keys is finally at
hand. One can't help but be. excited."


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


It had been an hour or so since Yumi had downloaded the Trigger Mode
software from the Protocol mainframe. College had been out for the summer
for the past three weeks. She still had plenty of time before she had to
get to work on any of her mid-summer projects. It didn't much matter to
Yumi; most schoolwork of her own she did with great ease. It was never
really a challenge. But it was never an annoyance either. Putting it off
was a matter of convenience. Not for Yumi herself, but rather for
Chizuru. Who was the person that Yumi was going to meet today.


The white-haired teen had dressed in the best clothes she afforded for
herself because of her meeting with Chizuru today. A beige brown set of
shorts and a white top, one which had the phrase 'bad girl' on the
back. Yumi looked down silently and waited for Chizuru to make her
appearance. They had agreed to meet just outside of Yumi's apartment. On a
side road just ten metres down from the door to Yumi's building. She stood
leaning against the north wall of a bakery, smelling pleasantly the
fragrance of freshly cooked bread. One of her club heel sandals tapped the
other whilst waiting. She didn't mind waiting for Chizuru, even though
there were times when she could become impatient. But seeing Chizuru in the
flesh was a telling reason for her current patience all of itself. There
were few women in this world or the next that were quite so beautiful.


Then she heard the phrase 'what's up, Yumi?' from a short distance across
the road. Yumi's bright baby blue eyes blinked and she looked upwards from
her feet. Her normal frown was now replaced with a small but heartfelt
smile. And that all came from seeing that same girl of her dreams. Chizuru
Matsubana. Yumi's cheeks automatically blushed. Just from being aware of
the girl's presence. Never before and perhaps never again would Yumi be so
attracted to a single person. The hacker dared or willed herself to look at
Chizuru. To look at her long, flawless locks of raven black hair, inching
all the way down to the crests of her small and tight rear end. She forced
herself to admire Chizuru's long flawless legs, in their delicate yet
athletic posture, and her healthy bouncing breasts. What Yumi felt was no
more than sheer human attraction at this point. But she wasn't the kind to
circumnavigate the reasons for and against it. All she was aware of was the
beauty of the Matsubana girl. So much so that it caused a reaction in
Chizuru herself. The long-haired female smirked playfully when she came up
to the silent Yumi. Chizuru then pulled her hand out of her jeans pocket
and pressed it against Yumi's forehead, analysing something.


"Have you had too much sun?" She asked rhetorically, "cause if you have,
maybe we shouldn't be going out together?"


Yumi blinked, shaking herself out of her reverie. ".Um. no."


"Well then you can stop staring, Yumi," Chizuru said with a smile, "I'm not
that ugly am I? Or is it the opposite?"


Given that Yumi had not ONCE spoken of her feelings (physical) to anyone,
least of all to Chizuru, it should have struck her alarm bells to hear such
a comment from the dark-haired woman. But she was far too caught up in the
sweet, sweet beauty of Chizuru. They were not friends. Never once had they
called themselves as such. But what they had was a shared interest in each
other. Yumi was near enough bewitched by Chizuru's beauty. Enough to follow
her even into the fiery pits of hell. And Chizuru had her own reasons for
being around the hacker from time to time. She had never specified
them. But rather Chizuru had a habit of using harmless flirtation to avoid
the subject whenever it was brought up.


Times came when Yumi questioned why Chizuru, one of the most popular girls
at college, would even bother associating herself with one of college's
dregs.


Now was such a time. ".W-why. did you ask to meet me?"


Chizuru's face went still for a brief moment. Then she pulled a wide smile
at her current companion. "What kind of question is that, huh? Do I really
need a reason?"


"I suppose not." Yumi admitted.


"Yeah, well," Chizuru tugged a strand of her hair backwards to her ear and
then said, "I do have an ulterior motive. I need you to do me a REALLY big
favour. Could you do it for me, Yumi?"


"That depends on what it is."


"I need you to change something," The darker haired teen went into the back
pocket of her jeans, ones which, Yumi noticed, hugged very closely to the
globes of her ass. Still Chizuru pulled out something. It was an ID card,
"Could you alter this for me?"


Yumi took the plastic card in her hand and looked it over. "Is that all you
need me to do?"


"Well, I was hoping, if you're not too busy with your gloomy anti-social
life, if you'd agree to come see a movie with me? I just need you to tamper
with that card a little so that it says I'm 21 rather than 18. You'd have
to do that with your card too if you wanna come."


The Mishima girl blinked, astounded. "You. actually. want to. hang out with
me.?"


"Well duh! I just said so, didn't I? Don't act so surprised. You've done a
lot for me since we met during the first term. I guess this is the least I
can do for you."


It was then that Yumi's sudden peak of happiness mellowed out. So Chizuru
only thought of it as an obligation. A way to repay favours. No matter what
way Chizuru acted, she still couldn't see that Yumi felt something for
her. It was understandable in a ridiculous way. She was a typical trendy
bimbo in most cases. The only reason she had passed the flawlessly
difficult entry exams into Meta-Tokyo was because she majored in Drama,
which couldn't really be evaluated that way. And since they had met. all
that existed between them was a system of want help and take help. Chizuru
needed help on a certain homework problem from one of her secondary
classes? Yumi was there for her. If ever she needed a written essay typed
up on a computer then Yumi was the one to pull the all-nighter. You could
have said that Chizuru was. taking advantage of Yumi. And you would have
been right. But that little detail didn't really matter. to either of
them. Yumi was too caught up in Chizuru's beauty. And young Chizuru was too
caught up in herself.


Or so it seemed.


Yumi nodded as an acceptance of what Chizuru wanted. Chizuru replied with a
loud and childish giggle. But if they were going to get into whichever
movie that the taller girl wanted to see, then they would have to get back
up to Yumi's apartment. ID cards were laminated but she had a device to
change that. The two of them turned around to head back around to Yumi's
apartment. But then when they did, they noted that two men, both dressed in
dark black business suits, were waiting before the stoop of Yumi's
apartment building. Both girls became cautious. It was a quiet area that
Yumi lived in. These men seemed somehow out of place. And the focused
smiles on their faces showed that they had an agenda. Chizuru huddled
closer to Yumi while the pair of them walked over to the stoop. But before
Yumi even set foot on it, one of them stepped ahead, stopping her.


He pulled a smirk, lowering his shades with his fingertips. "Would you
happen to be a woman by the name of Yumi Mishima?"


A cold and blunt fear suddenly crept up Yumi's spine. What if this had
something to do with her illegal downloads from the Protocol mainframe?
".W-why do you want to know t-that?"


"Just answer the question," The second man barked, "are you Yumi Mishima?"


"Look, we don't want any trouble," Chizuru said hopefully, "can you just
let us go this time?"


The first of the suits laughed derisively. "This kid thinks that we're with
Meta-Tokyo's constabulary. Hmph. That's rich. Broads really are stupider
than they look. Hey there kid, d'you get that from your mom? All tits and
no brains?"


The sparkling twinkle of anger shot through Chizuru's eyes in all but a
flash, however she didn't act on it. Before she even would have had that
chance, Yumi stepped ahead of Chizuru and hid the other girl's ID
card. "Please leave us alone. If you're not the police, then-"


The second man growled, and then thrust his fist out. Yumi gasped as he
grabbed her by the throat, so quickly that she barely caught onto it. The
taller male sniggered rudely at her face. Watching her cheeks redden with
the sudden lack of oxygen from the throat. His grip around her neck
tightened, causing her to writhe, gag, and claw at his thick, muscled hand
to stop. But he wasn't stopping. And it became clear that he had no
intentions to do so, either.


"You're coming with us. Yumi Mishima."


This time Chizuru's frown was here to stay. "Hey! Let her go!"


Chizuru tried to get to Yumi before she choked, but the first of the suits
stepped ahead of her, blocking her pass. He then tugged a grin and drew his
hand up. Each of his fingers curled up into the palm, to form a fist. Then
he smacked Chizuru across the face in one hard but controlled
punch. Chizuru yelped and fell backwards, collapsing to the ground, her
cheek bruising a dark purple. Yumi's eyes widened with alarm, catching
sight of that. But no more so than when the tall business suit-dressed man
stamped his scuffed black shoe into Chizuru's face, as she lay prone over
the pavement. "Little bitch. Got something to say now?"


-- ASSIMILATION --


Yumi tried to yell at him to stop. She tried. But she could hardly part her
lips. And it seemed that with each second that passed, the grip of the
second man was growing tighter. Soon her feet began to rise up off the
ground, her sandals clicking against the pavement. This man was strong
enough to lift the teen right off her feet with just one hand. Which meant
that he was at least using muscle enhancements. Which also meant that he
was working for Protocol. Only they had that kind of performance-enhancing
therapy. But Yumi's concern was never for herself. All she did was stare
powerlessly at Chizuru. Watching that man step on her beautiful face like
it was a doormat. And so, at that point, something clicked inside of Yumi.


-- PROCESS --


Her eyes dilated. A sudden action that had nothing to do with the man that
was choking her. Yumi's head tilted backwards, almost as if she were in a
trance. And her large blue eyes suddenly thinned out, their previous blue
swiftly shifting into a subsequent white. The suit stared curiously at the
thin white of Yumi's eyes, but couldn't figure it out. But she was no
longer concerned by his actions. In Yumi's head, the scene with herself
being choked and Chizuru being kicked around vanished. And was replaced by
constant flashes. Scenes of a certain moment in time buried inside her
brain as deep and hidden as any old file in a computer system. This images
now ran unbidden in Yumi's mind. To a far different location. In her mind
she could see a hallway. A hallway of a lab. The white walls and chilled
air so vivid, as if she were there at present. Even deeper. she could see a
small girl of no more than five or six years of age. Her hair was white
like newly fallen snow, crying her eyes out in the middle of that
corridor. In her hand was a teddy bear. The other she used to rub the tears
out of her eyes. In between her sobs, she muttered 'Daddy' over and over
again. And surrounding her were the bloody, broken corpses of four men. The
red of their blood was smeared all over the ashen walls of that cold
hallway, their corpses laying lifelessly in pools of it. Their skulls were
broken open. The puréed matter of their brain tissue, in all its pink and
red glory, was splattered across the ground. The fragments of the bone of
their skulls and the scattered remains of their hair dotted the bloody
excess of their cracked heads. And yet all the same. that white-haired girl
stood, her frilly dress stained with blood and brain matter, stood crying,
murmuring only one word.


Daddy.


Then Yumi's focus returned to the current situation, not the deeply
suppressed images that dared to be thought of as memories. But the cause of
them would be all the same. Yumi's now thin white eyes locked firmly on the
one holding her by the neck. And a cold, almost chilling aura of silver
awoke from her. Yumi's body was surrounded in a silver-flaming force that
felt as cold as an arctic snowstorm. The coursing but frosty flames of
silver covered her hands, her head, her legs, her chest, her thighs; all of
her. All the while her snow-white hair rose up into the air, clearly
presenting the sudden shift in her expression. The man holding her, whose
body was now bathed in the glow of Yumi's silvery aura, blinked in alarm.


-- REACTION --


"Oh, crap!" He expressed, "Her Qi is awake! The biological lock isn't
holding! Aaaa-AAAAHHH!"


One flick of Yumi's eyes and the skull of that man exploded. In a bright
flash of cold silver force, that man's head burst open, spraying blood and
brain tissue over the stoop and over Yumi's emotionless face. His now
decapitated body fell backwards, releasing Yumi's neck from that choke
hold. It collapsed without motion, spreading the blood from the shattered
neck outwardly. Yumi remained hovering in the air. And her head slowly
turned to see the man on top of Chizuru. Both Chizuru and that man were
silent and shocked. With nothing more than a look, Yumi had. killed
someone. But in Chizuru's eyes. their was less in the way of shock. and
more in the way of worry. Yumi, her body alight with those cold silver
flames, floated across from the corpse of the dead suit to the torso of the
living one. She lifted her hand up, as if to strike him down, but couldn't
act. Her arm froze when it hit the air. Her whole body started to
shake. From the tips of her fingers to the tips of her toes. The white of
her eyes then revered back in blue, the wideness of them also
returning. Yumi had recovered consciousness. But now she was bitterly aware
of what she had done. And a haunted look framed her face. The cold fire of
her manifest Qi soon evaporated into nothingness, causing her to fall to
the ground. But Yumi's body still shook. She could. feel the blood and bone
scraps over her face. As well as hear the sound of blood dripping off the
edge of the pavement and into the drain.


Did I. did. I. kill. someone.?


Yumi, stricken by the realization, clasped her head, curling up into a
fetal position. Her body shook constantly, over and over again, while the
blood from the dead man stuck to her face. "No. no. it's not true. It's not
true. It's not true. It's not true. It's not true. It's not true. It's not
true. It's not true. It's not true. It's not true. It's. not. true. it's
not. IT'S NOT TRUE!"


Yumi screamed out a bloodcurdling shriek of terror, one so loud that it
echoed throughout the block. And then just as easily as that, she lost
consciousness again. Her body jerked hard. Yumi's mind was emotionally
exhausted. Chizuru and the man above her were still speechless. But there
was someone else around who had seen the whole thing. Someone who was not
at all surprised by this turn of events. A shadowed figure rushed out of
the gap between two buildings across the road. His swift strides on his
brown boots got him across the street quickly. Once he was there, the young
man jumped up and swung his leg out. The last man in black didn't catch
onto this in time. The unknown blonde man kicked him hard across the face,
hearing him groan hard at the attack. The suit toppled over, robbed of his
consciousness. And the young man who had done that, landed to the
pavement. He beamed a stunning smile whilst running a hand through his long
blonde bangs.


"Are you okay?" He said to Chizuru, concerned.


Chizuru exchanged glances between Yumi and this mystery man, who now looked
to be western in origin. ".I. I."


The blonde youth caught onto Chizuru's wordless state and was going to say
something to soothe her, until they both noticed that a new flaming silver
aura surrounded Yumi's unconscious body.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


"What in the.? It's awakening?!"


Deep below the building known as the Shinrai Complex was a multifaceted
laboratory. The deep white of the walls and halls and the lab coats give
this away without doubt. Hundreds of rooms were built in the jurisdiction
of the lab. Each one used for separated purposes or experiments. Some
technological, some biological. Over five levels and all of them
underground, free from the risk of security breaches. Very few people other
than those in the upper echelons of Protocol knew of this place. Or of the
importance of it. Such information was considered top secret amongst
Protocol personnel. So much so that only a few hundred people (92% of those
people being the scientists that actually worked their) had even heard
about it. For secrets, those hidden even from lesser-ranked members of
Protocol, were aplenty in that place. And it was known as the Ochiai
Underground Research Facility.


In the highest level of that underground laboratory, a large research room
contained a certain something. A Meta Suit. These machines were gigantic
humanoid-shape mecha. Designed specifically for combat, but also adapted
for construction purposes. One particular Meta Suit stood upright in the
large white room of that particular section of the Ochiai Underground
Research Facility. At a towering height of 65.7 metres, with polished white
and blue armouring made from the finest titanium that man had ever
discovered. From its head came two thick and ear-like antennae that
extended backwards diagonally. Its face had been sculpted in a human-like
shape, with the contours of eyes, and those red glass eyes were glowing
brightly now. It was clearly a Meta Suit like no other. Hooked up to many
large wires which were also connected, at the ceiling, to a net of
harnesses that held them in place. The information that was gathered from
the body of that Meta Suit was fed directly to the computers in a separate
room via those cables. That room was right next to the holding chamber of
the Meta Suit. A thick glass pane allowed the three scientists inside to
observe what was happening to the machine armour from there. A given
safety.


One of them huddled by the computer terminals that was being fed
information from the opposing room. His glasses were illuminated by the
bright flashes of codes that was shown over the screen. So many at such a
quick rate.


"I don't believe it!" He yelled ecstatically, "these readings are off the
charts! Someone's Qi is coalescing with the essence of the Oriax! At this
rate, the suit will achieve activation in less than three minutes!"


The second scientist looked out through the window pane to see the status
of the Meta Suit they had dubbed as 'Oriax'. Its armour was now covered
with streaks of blue electricity, the sheen of the metal growing. The light
of its red eyes came alive. And all the cables that had been attached to
its arms, legs, chest, head and back broke off. They dropped from the torso
of Oriax, spurting out clear white gases and rogue electricity, as well as
a green substance in drops which closely resembled blood. The doctor
pressed his hand into the glass and expressed a dazzling smile of wonder.


"It's incredible." He said, "it must be the one. The biological lock we
were told about must be breaking. Now that it is free. it must be. acting
unintentionally as a beacon. But whoever that person is, they must not know
that."


A hard look came to him and he turned around to his colleagues. "Come on,
quickly now! The P.T.P (Phase Transport Phenomenon) will occur soon!
Contact Control Room and tell them to deploy at least three Meta Suits as
quickly as possible! And make sure that they inform Commander Celaph about
this!"


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


Above ground, in the upper levels of the Shinrai Complex, was the office
room of the commander in chief of Protocol's military affairs in
Japan. That same man was Commander Celaph. Now gone from the window, he sat
at the desk he had come to loathe for so long. It was such a place that a
soldier should never have had to adjust to in his mind. But there was no
real choice for him in the matter. The Triad of the Inquisition had given
him his orders. It was a soldier's duty to follow them. But this time he
was not the only soldier in that decorated office. Across from Celaph and
his desk was the very same man that controlled the Divine Blade division of
the Holy Protocol Army. The same man, clad in haughty red garbs with his
chest bearing the golden standard of the lion, that had won so many battles
against insurgents to the Meta Cities in the Eurasia area. The man that was
not born in the Meta Cities. but had a frightening will to prove himself to
those who were with his overwhelmingly skilled hand in the art of piloting
Meta Suits.


That man, that infernal warrior, was known as General Naam.


The tall, strident leader of the Divine Blade Meta Suit forces, who had
been stationed in Japan only two weeks ago. With a great wide grin and his
ornamental broadsword strapped to his side, General Naam stood before
Celaph, saying,


"Commander Celaph, is this true? You wish me to lead the attack against
Chrysalis.? Are those our orders from the Upper Council?"


Celaph shook his head. "No. Not from the council. These orders come
directly from the Triad of the Inquisition themselves. Thus you can
understand why I summoned you from your quarters at such short notice."


"Ah, I see," the general said sneakily, ".it makes sense. But I won't
pretend to care about the reason. Heh. All I care about is getting a second
shot at Beatrix and her damned team. They made a FOOL of me in that battle
at Shiratoo'i, the bastards! This time they will pay with their lives!"


Celaph smiled at the fiery Meta Suit warrior. "Do not underestimate that
woman's talents as a leader. We both know what she is capable of, do we
not? Such a situation demands more than brute strength. We need wiles and
intelligence to stop Chrysalis."


"I fail to understand just what it is that you're getting at. What are you
trying to say to me, Commander Celaph?"


"I have an informant who is following the movements of. a certain someone
that is fundamental to our ultimate plans. I believe that that informant
will soon have the details we need to both locate EDEN and launch an
assault upon it. Just have patience. In the meantime, I want you to ready
your men for the attack."


"Fair enough, but," General Naam suddenly became serious as stone when he
continued, "I had actually believed that when you called me here, you might
have had some information about. her."


Celaph held a hand to his chin. "Are you talking about the one who escaped
Ix Nos Babel? I had a feeling you would have inquired about her at some
point."


"Soldiers don't often ask favours. When they do it's often because they
have something important to handle. That alone should have been enough of a
warning to it."


"I suppose," Celaph replied, "but I wouldn't know much of it, now that I am
forced to fight with pen and paper. In any case, we still have not yet
caught up with her. But considering the calibre of the Meta Suit she pilots
now. that is understandable. She was connected to your family somehow, was
she not?"


General Naam dragged his fist across his grey beard. "That isn't really
important right now. If you haven't found her then so be it. I'll take up
the mission myself once Chrysalis is destroyed. Revenge is a certain
something I like to carry onto the battlefield, too."


The commander smiled softly at that, but that smile faded when he heard the
phone on his desk ring. Celaph lifted the receiver to his ear and listened
in to what they had to say. His eyes narrowed with understanding to the
comments being spoken into his ear, then he put down the phone. Shortly
afterwards a second smile came to his face while he chuckled acrimoniously.


Naam was curious. "What was it?"


"Heh, heh, heh." The commander leaned back in his chair, ".that was the
Control Room. It seems that the Oriax has finally awoken."


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


The cockpit of Oriax was unlike that of any other Meta Suit. Aside from the
leather seat and the controls around it, it was not metallic. The surrounds
of the cockpit were like a globular mass of water, fixed together to form a
barrier that might have looked fragile to the naked eye, but acted as
security the likes of which no one had ever known. For that strange cockpit
existed inside a relatively small dimension. One that had been miniaturized
with Qi manipulations for the 'womb' compartment of the Meta Suit. And the
whole thing pulsed in rhythm like a clockwork heartbeat, every few
seconds. Such technology was foreign fiction to all but Protocol. Their
power manifest by nothing more than the existence of this tech.


A wisp of silver flames chilled the innards of that cockpit. And those
flames formed into the girl known as Yumi Mishima. Teleportation as a
result of unknown forces moved her through time and space into the cockpit
of the Meta Suit. She dropped into the seat, her eyes resuming that pure
white, and her body still burning with cold fire. Inside that trance of
before, Yumi knew, subconsciously, what to do here. Her small hands gripped
the control sticks that were built around the seat that hovered in that
water-sphere womb barrier. In front of her appeared what looked to be a
video screen. One that showed her what was going on around the Meta Suit
from the eyes of the Oriax itself. Now she was in control.


Outside the Oriax, in the Ochiai Underground Research Facility, was the
layout of its holding chamber. In the separate observation room, the very
same scientists who had informed Control Room of these developments were
now marvelling at the sight of the Oriax coming to life. No one aside from
a chosen few could pilot it. This was truly a sign. From behind the sheet
of metal that acted as a mouthpiece for the Oriax, came a loud, bestial and
ethereal scream that rumbled throughout that section of the research
facility. That in itself was a testament to the fact that this. Meta
Suit. was not completely mechanical. The Oriax tilted its large head
backwards and 'looked' upwards at the ceiling of the room it was trapped
in. The polished breastplates of its armour shot open, one side swinging to
the other, which showed the circular gemstone-like device in its
chest. Acting as a kind of organ. That green 'heartstone' started
glowing. A light so bright that the scientists had to look away to keep
themselves from being blinded. Oriax released another bestial war cry,
causing a huge beam of searing, Qi-converted energy to shoot outward from
its chest. Filling the entire chamber with unearthly emerald light. That
energy beam burned savagely through the roof of the research
facility. Everything in its path was burnt to cinders. The floors, the
furniture, the scientists, the machines, the tests. Everything in the path
of that beam, that Jupiter Maelstrom, was obliterated before knowledge of
that obliteration came. It burned all the way up to the top level of the
compound. There were gasps from the nearby people when they saw a towering
pillar of light burst up from the gardens of the Shinrai Complex and
climbed up into the skies above.


The energy of the beam slowly faded away. With a hole successfully created
in the ceiling of the chamber, all the way up to the top of the complex,
Oriax jumped deftly through that hole with all the speed that it had been
blessed with. The Meta Suit leapt out from the crater-hole into the scenes
of Meta-Tokyo. All the people close enough to the complex could see both
the Oriax and the energy blast that had preceded it. Waiting for the Oriax
above ground were three Meta Suits. Each of them hovering in the air from
their energy propulsion systems. They were combat Meta Suits, a type known
as Zagan. They were armed with cannon rifles in their metallic, humanoid
hands. Their black and brown military colours contrasting the white and
blue of the taller Oriax.


One of the pilots of the Zagan yelled out through a com link, saying, "Is
that the new experimental weapon that the research department was
building?! I thought the only immediate forces stationed here were those of
the Divine Blade accompanying General Naam!"


"Idiot!" The second yelled, "Those four-eyed bastards didn't create that
thing for military use!"


The third one, the one in command, scoffed. "It doesn't matter. We were
ordered to bring the Meta Suit back down to the Ochiai labs so that's what
we'll do! Move out!"


".Roger!"

"Roger!"


The three Zagan Meta Suits then charged the Oriax through the air. Their
speed was far greater than that of land-based Meta Suits. But it did not
seem to be an issue for the Oriax. As they came at it, they all pulled up
their rifle cannons and fired continuous blasts at their target. The shots
from the Zagan suits rained down on the Oriax in a coordinated wave that
simply engulfed the machine. It was rocked by a series of compact
explosions that surrounded it in clouds of smoke and flame. The Zagan-types
fired on and on at the smoke cloud, burying more of their rounds into the
'enemy' Meta Suit.


Once a full number of 9,700 blasts had been fired, the Zagans lowered their
guns and scanned the scene for the result. The suit had to have been
disabled by all that. But when the smoke faded, they were all shocked to
see that the Oriax had not even been scratched. It had enswathed itself
inside a circular shield of emerald energy. One that protected it from all
of the shots fired by the Zagan's rifles. A second scream sounded out from
the Oriax and it evaporated its shield. The white-armoured suit burst
forwards with intense speed and grace, towards Zagan #1. The Oriax stuck
out its hand and thrust it straight through the centre of the machine. The
iron of the Zagan was no match for the titanium of the Oriax. The white
suit reacted its hand and zoomed away. Subsequently, the first Zagan
exploded in a bang of flame and metal; its remains falling out of the
air. The second Zagan tried in vain to shoot down the Oriax. But it was no
use. The line of fire now had a direct hit. But still the rounds could not
pierce the armour of such a Meta Suit. Yumi's mecha put out its right hand
to one side. Then a scimitar-shaped beam of energy formulated around
it. Born of pure Qi from the pilot herself. The machine then flew across to
Zagan #2. One powerful slash came down upon that standard military
mecha. Slicing right through it. The machine exploded violently once the
Gauntlet Blade had been dragged out of it. Leaving behind only one Meta
Suit.


The pilot was, by now, terrified. "This can't be. there's no way a Meta
Suit can be this strong! It's just not possible!"


The breastplates on the Oriax opened up again. The energy of the Jupiter
Maelstrom blast was already gathering up. And it was fired just as easily
as before. The third Zagan simply melted away within a roiling wave of jade
Qi-force, one that did not simply shoot down the Zagan, but left absolutely
no trace of it. The beam burnt right across the skies, travelling as far as
the Neo-Shibuya district. All the city dwellers marvelled at the sparkling
green light that brightened and darkened the air all at once. The light of
the heavens. Once it vanished with the end of the beam the Oriax was left
screaming its yell over the space of the city. It had destroyed three
Zagan-types with less than an afterthought.


>From the window of the head office, Celaph and Naam could see the Oriax
and hear its scream. General Naam was astounded by the sheer power of the
mecha, but Commander Celaph just grinned, closing his eyes with a dirty
chuckle. ".For all intensive purposes. this is a setback. But one cannot
speak of the consequences without first speaking of the lesson. as well as
the realities of that same situation."


Naam turned to Celaph. ".What do you mean by that?"


"You wouldn't understand. Because there are very few that actually
would. The bread of the body has been bitten. and the wine of the blood has
been sipped. The rebirth of a Novus Deus, a perfect God, will soon be at
hand."


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


Ask me no questions and I'll tell you

I'll tell you no lies

Well all is said and done

Does it really matter who's wrong or right

Don't ask me for a reason, I can't explain

Why we hurt each other again and again

As I lie here bleeding I still

I still reach for you


A thousand days, a thousand days

Have passed away

A thousand days, a thousand days

Were captured in her eyes


Your eyes are open now but you know

It's still hard to see inside

When action and intention

Are two separate things

Now I somehow wish I could explain

Why we hurt one and other again and again

Like someone on his dying breath I still

I still reach for you


A thousand days, a thousand days

Have passed away

A thousand days, a thousand days

Were captured in her eyes


Forever we've been

Trapped by our hearts

Trapped by our minds

I'd like to leave

I'd like to win at love


But I just can't let it go

And I just can't watch it slipping away

And I just can't let it go

And I just can't stand another minute


Maybe now someday our shattered lives

Will mend themselves again

But now a million miles away

I still wish I could

And though I somehow know, I can't explain

Why we hurt one and other again and again

Like someone on his dying breath I still

I still reach for you


A thousand days, a thousand days

A thousand days, a thousand days


'A Thousand Days', The Offspring


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


Chronicle Two - the battleship Leviathan


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


It's cold.


I'm so cold.


Why am I so cold?


"Why are you fighting it? That's your real question, ain't it? You can't
fight your true nature. That's what it's about."


I don't. understand.


"Is that the way you think? One who is shrouded in darkness must remain so
because it suits her? It's that kind of thinking that brought me to this
pass. Don't shirk your responsibilities and mistake that for wisdom."


What. are. you talking about.?


"Please stop it, you two. I don't want. I don't want to think about all
this right now. please stop."


Darkness. That was all Yumi could see. Pure and utter darkness. Cold and
inhospitable. Ill winds seeped in from an unknown location. And because of
that Yumi felt so cold. But she had no idea which direction the wind was
coming from. Because she had no idea where she was. The hacker stood
upright in the middle of a field of darkness. No one around her. No
trees. No grass. No water. No birds. Nothing. A spotlight crashed down on
her. Allowing herself to at least be seen. Though Yumi believed that there
was no one around to do that. Until three spotlights came down on three
select places around the girl. Which revealed three others.


Three select figures.


On a initial inspection, it might have seemed like Yumi had come into
contact with people she didn't know. But she did know them. In some odd
way. Because they were a part of her. Yumi looked to her right. The woman
standing there was Yumi Mishima. An older version of her. A
twentysomething. A jaded look crossed her face as she dragged a cigarette
in and out of her mouth, puffing out smoke. While her clothes were a
reflection. of at least one aspect of her. An outfit best described
as. slutty. The leather boots and the jacket and the break-away bra. All
her clothing reeked of cigarettes and alcohol, and was stained with
hardened discharge. She was a prostitute.


Hacker Yumi turned her eyes from Prostitute Yumi and looked over at the
spotlight ahead of her. The one that was in between Prostitute Yumi and the
other. She was a young girl. No more than a child. In her hand was a teddy
bear. With her other she wiped the tears from her eyes. Her frilly yellow
dress was covered in blood. Hacker Yumi locked eyes with Child Yumi,
watching her sob uncontrollably. The very sight of her was as frightening
as seeing Prostitute Yumi was shocking. Somehow she managed to take her
eyes away from Child Yumi. Then looked over to the left. Which was when she
found herself gazing at another version of herself. This one was far more
dignified and educated, dressed in a business suit with a female cut to
it. With one finger, Bourgeois Yumi adjusted her glasses by shifting them
up the bridge of her nose, while her cold glance observed Prostitute Yumi
with both disgust and attraction.


Hacker Yumi blinked. "W-what's going on here.?"


Prostitute Yumi sniggered at her. "Looks like the social recluse's got
somethin' to say. Ain't that rich? But then they do say that it's always
the quiet ones, don't they?"


"You have no soul," Bourgeois Yumi suggested, "Do you know that? You are a
complete and utter moron. You treat your body like a commodity for anyone
to sample. Is that how you think you can live? By debasing yourself?"


"But at the end of the day. I'm a lot happier than you are, right? And
isn't that what everyone wants? To be happy? How exactly do YOU fit that
role, you little elitist? Dignity's pretty cool, but, who needs dignity
when you're getting fucked?"


"Pervert!" Bourgeois Yumi yelled, "can you really believe that? You'd lead
this girl along by those selfish desires? When you know that she could be
doing so much more?! Would you honestly seek to free her from self
constraint? Knowing what that would lead to?"


Prostitute Yumi took a drag from her cigarette. Then puffed out a cloud of
smoke. "And if she didn't, would she have survived that attack by those
guys on her and that hot little number Chizuru? Man, do you see everything
in black and white?"


"Maybe that's true. But Yumi also needs restraint. Would you allow her to
live without that? If that is the case then who knows what might happen to
her in the future. If she wants to use her powers and love Chizuru at the
same time then she must do so with proper guidance. She can't do that by
following childish impulses and lusty urges!"


"So you're just gonna let her suffer with her guilt? That's just like you!
She's been coping with that for ten fucking years! That's why she can't
remember anything! Do you wanna reduce her. to that?!"


Bourgeois Yumi turned to the centre of their group once Prostitute Yumi
pointed there. And they both looked at Child Yumi. Who was still crying her
eyes out in her bloodstained dress, while whispering the word 'Daddy'
repeatedly. Both of the adult Yumi's and the teen hacker Yumi watched this
wholeheartedly. Eventually she calmed herself enough to speak to both
Bourgeois Yumi and Prostitute Yumi saying, "I wish. you'd. all. be quiet. I
don't care about power! I don't care about that! I just want my Daddy!"


".Well, this isn't going to be resolved," Claimed Bourgeois Yumi.


who was followed up by Prostitute Yumi, saying, "until you side with one of
us."


Hacker Yumi gazed at them with both confusion and surprise. And all three
of the other Yumis turned around to face her with very different
expressions upon their faces, but they said the exact same thing in unison
to her.


"Or do you choose. death?"

"Or do you choose. death?"

"Or do you choose. death?"


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


Yumi stirred, moaning slightly from the throat. In her semi-sleeping state
she could hear sounds. The sound of waves crashing lightly against
shores. As well as the sound of fire. Crackling with embers and bark. But a
controlled fire. It was not the fire of war. Yumi sighed for a moment, then
opened her sky blue eyes. Her head was propped up on a log. Because of this
she looked directly up into the sky. It was night. The moon was full. The
stars were shining brightly in the background. A dark bejewelled heaven
that cascaded over a setting that was not Meta Tokyo. But a region outside
it. Yumi groaned, feeling a throbbing pain inside her skull. Then eased up
on the log. When she looked around she started to adjust to where she
was. And who she was with. She was by the sand of a beach. At a sparse
campsite. In the centre of camp was a fire, lit with wood. And in the far
distance was the intimidating presence of Meta Tokyo. Its gigantic
skyscrapers dominating the city. Then she paid more focus to the ones
around the campsite. Across from her, sitting quite calmly on another log
was Chizuru. And adjacent from Chizuru was a Western male with whom she
felt no affiliation. He was blonde and looked to be about 20 or 21 years of
age. He had his hand stuffed into the pockets of his chestnut brown bomber
jacket, while a sheathed Japanese katana dangled from a strap around the
waist of his denims. He jerked his head with a smile, causing his ponytail
to fall over his shoulder, then eyed Yumi over.


"Hey," He said softly, "you okay?"


Yumi looked over at Chizuru once more, then gazed over at the blonde
guy. "Who. are you.?"


"Who me? It's Terry. Terry Hennig."


"Are you an American or something?" Yumi asked.


Terry sniggered. "Well I guess you could say that. My Mom was an
American. Hence the first name. And my Dad was a German. Hence the second
name. But that really isn't important at this point. What matters is you,
Yumi Mishima. And how you're gonna handle yourself from now on."


".First things first." Yumi looked over at Meta Tokyo, "explain to me just
how I got here. I remember that Chizuru and I were attacked by two men in
front of my apartment building. And then one of them grabbed me by the
neck. After that, everything gets.hazy."


Chizuru squirmed, finally speaking. ".Yumi. maybe it isn't a good idea. to
be thinking about all that right now. Please just try and get some rest."


".But. I want to know, Chizuru."


Terry sighed out of impulse and stepped into the space of the camp. He took
a seat at one of the logs he had managed to salvage for the night they
might be forced to spend here. ".I'll tell you. I guess the stress of your
first time piloting a Qi-Generator Meta Suit was too much for you."


Yumi narrowed her eyes. ".Qi.?"


"The lifeforce of all living things," Terry answered, "everyone has
it. Everything alive or that's been alive has it. The only thing that's
different between people in terms of Qi is the magnitude of it. Some people
have smaller reserves of it. Some people have so little Qi that they aren't
even aware of it until death. But there are others. who have huge levels of
Qi in their bodies. And you're one of them."


Yumi pointed at herself. ".Me.?"


"Yup. It was that Qi force of yours that brought you here, in so many
ways. Once your powers took form. your body teleported itself right into
that Meta Suit. over there."


Terry, Chizuru, and most of all Yumi, turned to the left in the direction
facing away from Meta Tokyo. Yumi's eyes widened when she saw it genuinely
for the first time. The Oriax. It loomed over the campsite with its large
shadow, still beaming with polish and sparkle. The three of them stared at
the bio-mechanical titan with awe and esteem, especially Terry, who said,


"That machine is apparently called the Oriax. A weapon developed by
Protocol for still unknown reasons. I don't know how or why, but that mecha
is connected to you somehow. Once your powers put you inside the suit, I
couldn't catch sight of you. But then I heard the battle that took place by
the Shinrai Complex. I knew that it had to be you. So I followed you
outside the city. And your friend here came with me. By the time we caught
up with you and the Oriax, night had already fallen. And you were
unconscious. The cockpit probably ejected you by itself when it realized
that you weren't able to pilot it any further."


Yumi was dumbfounded. Her eyes rolled up and down to take in the sight of
the Meta Suit. While her neck leaned back to get a full view of the
machine. She had actually piloted something like that? But she didn't even
remember doing it. And for that matter. how did she even know how to
operate it? In college the lessons in manning construction-type Meta Suits
were available to everyone. But not once at Yumi applied for them. It
seemed inconceivable that she could have known how to use something like
the Oriax.


While Yumi marvelled at the Oriax, Chizuru looked over at Terry with a
curious glare. ".I wanna know something."


".Shoot."


"How do you know these things?" Chizuru questioned, "just who are you?
Really? Are you a member of Protocol or something?"


Terry scratched the back of his head with a chuckle. "Me? A member of
Protocol? Heh! That's a laugh! But the fact that you girls have both left a
Meta City without permission of a checkpoint makes things a little
easier. 'Cause you're more or less outlaws now. So I guess there ain't much
harm in telling you. who I work for."


Yumi turned back. "Who. you work for?"


"Yeah. I'm a fighter in the Anti-Protocol Rebel Army. And we call ourselves
Chrysalis. We operate directly under the orders of Father Bartholomeus, the
leader of our sovereign demi-nation; EDEN."


"EDEN? Chrysalis?" Yumi shook her head, "What is all this?"


Terry picked up a twig from the sand and tossed it into the camp fire to
brighten it. "Look. I'm not good with the explanations. Suffice it to
say. that I'm not a Protocol ass-kisser. Those bastards don't give a crap
about who their hurt or who they exploit, just so long as they get their
way. And I'll be damned if we have to suffer them forever. Chrysalis is the
only hope left for mankind. Or what's left of it."


"So you're. terrorists?" Yumi stated.


Terry lowered his head with a grin. ".Not quite. but. I suppose you can see
it like that from your position. You are a Meta City citizen after all."


Chizuru didn't let up. "If you're a member of this Chrysalis thing then
what were you doing in Meta Tokyo?"


"I was looking for Yumi."


The hacker shifted on the log. "You were looking for me?"


"That's right," Terry answered, leaning back, "I guess right now you're
kind of thinking of yourself as a normal kid. But for some reason, Protocol
has an interest in you. And considering that you managed to assimilate with
that Oriax monster over there, I can't really blame them. Our informants in
Meta Tokyo managed to find out about that. So I snuck into the city to
protect you."


"Did you come to protect her or kidnap her?" Chizuru asked suspiciously.


Terry held a hand to his forehead. "Look, I know this is all coming as a
shock to you both. But I'm not here to put you in any nasty positions. For
the most part. we just want to talk with Yumi."


"We?" Yumi looked over at Terry again, "Who else?"


"Our leader. Head of the Ark of the Luria and ruler of the people of
EDEN. Father Bartholomeus. He's a wise old guy. He might be able to answer
some of the questions you've got."


"What if I don't want to go? What if I just wanna go home?" Yumi answered.


"Yeah, well, you don't have any choice in that respect."


Yumi scowled fearfully. "W-what's that mean?!"


"Are you forgetting what you did? It's not like you could have escaped Meta
Tokyo with flight alone. You downed three Protocol Meta Suits to get
free. Not to mention the fact that the guy you killed was an agent for
Protocol as well. If you go back, you'll be arrested for sure."


The claim of arrest didn't bother Yumi. But the comment that Terry made
about her killing someone did. The Japanese teen suddenly saw flashes of
what happened back in Meta Tokyo. Seeing that guy pummel Chizuru with
kicks. Having that other man almost choke her to death. It all came
flooding back. Which was when Yumi remembered what it is that she had
done. In front of Chizuru, she had used her Qi to kill the man that was
holding her. And she would have killed that other guy too if her senses
hadn't come back. THAT was what happened. That was the event that triggered
her union with the Oriax. Yumi had actually. killed someone. The moment
those horrible images came to mind, Yumi screamed hoarsely and grabbed her
head. Her brain ached maddeningly from the force of both sadness and guilt.


"Aaaah!" She yelped, rolling of the log. Terry and Chizuru hurried to her
side to see what the problem was, but Yumi couldn't focus on them, and
yelled, "IT'S NOT TRUE!"


Terry pressed a hand into her shoulder. "Hey, kid, are you alright?"


"Stay away from me!" Shouted Yumi, batting Terry's hand away. The girl then
hopped to her feet and dashed away, leaving the camp with tears pouring
down from her eyes already. Chizuru and Terry stood back watching her
leave. Though Terry was the one most shocked.


"I'll go after her." Chizuru said, then ran in the same direction to catch
up with her.


Terry stood alone, surrounded by the tall shadow of the Oriax and the sound
of the waves. Though his mission was based on Yumi, he couldn't help but
turn a little attention to Chizuru, stating, "Hmm. For a girl who just saw
her friend blow a guy's head into bloody mush. she seems. pretty calm."


Close by to the beach was a small forest area. With plenty of trees and
grass patches surrounding the area. The small forest animals scattered from
the grounds nearby when they all heard the sound of footsteps. Those
footsteps came to a stop when the accompanying sobs took on a new
pitch. The sobs of Yumi. The white-haired girl lowered herself to the
ground and cried, gripping herself by the shoulders. She couldn't believe
it. She just couldn't believe that she was capable of killing someone. It
wasn't her nature. It wasn't her way. And it was all a result of this
horrible power inside of her. Yumi wept, her heart swelling with
anguish. Why did it have to be her? Why did it have to be her who held this
power?


Shortly behind Yumi came Chizuru. The young woman stopped when she reached
the hacker. But she was in bits. Yumi had a very fragile heart by anyone's
standards. No matter how much she tried to distance herself from people. It
could never hide her weaknesses. And especially not from Chizuru.


The long-haired girl reached her hand out. ".Yumi, I."


"S-stay away!" Yumi yelled, ".stay. a-away."


Chizuru sighed, shaking her head. Then she stepped forwards, walking up to
the emotionally-fazed Yumi. The unintentional pilot of the Oriax closed her
eyes to try and end her tears. Not knowing that Chizuru was moving closer
to her. Just until she felt Chizuru's arms wrap themselves around her
waist. Yumi gasped and her soft blue eyes shot open, her sparkling tears
falling from them in the moonlight. Chizuru settled her embrace of the
girl, resting her chin on Yumi's shoulder.


"Please stop crying." She said sweetly, ".I don't like seeing you this
way. You did what you did. to protect me. I don't see any harm in
that. Don't blame yourself.okay?"


".But.?"


Chizuru moaned softly against her ear. "Promise me, Yumi. Promise me that
you won't blame yourself for any of this. Can you do that one thing for
me?"


".Okay."


Yumi still didn't think she could put this behind her. But it did make her
happy to know that Chizuru didn't think of her as a freak. It was a
surprisingly understanding attitude from someone who was normally so
superficial.


"C'mon," Chizuru prodded in a whisper, "lets go back to the camp, okay? We
can't go back to Meta Tokyo now, right? I think we can trust him. You get
going and make up with Terry. I just need a moment to myself."


Yumi nodded slowly and finally got her breathing and crying under
control. ".Okay. Chizuru."


Chizuru released Yumi from her hug and they stood up together. Yumi looked
up at the slightly taller girl with watery eyes that wordlessly thanked
Chizuru for her support. And the look that she gave in reply told Yumi not
to worry about it. With that she walked back to the camp, leaving Chizuru
behind. Once Yumi was gone, Chizuru lifted up her wrist and pulled down her
jacket sleeve. A wrist watch, or something that looked like one, was under
it. And the Japanese girl spoke into it.


"16th of August. Tenth year of Tendo. Mishima, Yumi's Qi has been
unlocked. Contact with a Chrysalis operative has been made."


Over by the beach, Yumi walked back into the campsite. But now a new sound
had been added to the setting. The sound of large motors moving in unison
with tremendous horse power. Wind blew down on the beach, spreading the
sand across and blowing out the flames of the campfire. Terry stood in the
very middle of the encampment looking up into the night sky. As did
Yumi. But her eyes widened when she did so. A huge cylinder-shaped hi-tech
vessel of steel was hovering a good 200 metres in the air. It was
gigantic. So large in fact that it made the Oriax seem small. Yumi had to
yell to be heard over the sound of the running motors of that vessel.


"W-what the heck is that!?" Yumi wondered.


Terry grinned proudly. "Heh! That's Chrysalis's mobile air/sea/land
battleship. Yumi Mishima? Say hello to the Leviathan."


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


"Okay, now begins today's briefing!"


The Shinrai Complex had been on red alert since the escape of the
Oriax. All but those in the top ranks had been obsessing about it. More
guards had been stationed around the walls of the upper level. And Meta
Suits had been shipped in from the Tokyo Bay base for the defence of the
complex. But this was all just standard procedure. It didn't amount to
much. Because everyone knew that the Oriax was outside of Meta Tokyo by
now. Three surveillance teams had been sent out to scour the city. But
nothing had been found inside its districts.


These events were the talk of the Divine Blade. The highest ranking
officials of which had gathered together in the conference room of the
Shinrai Complex's second floor. Over sixty men and women, young and old,
had taken their seats in large rows whilst waiting for General Naam to give
his briefing on the next battle. But even before the briefing, talk of the
mecha that had escaped the compound was rife. Nobody in the ranks of the
Holy Protocol Army had more of an understanding of Meta Suits than these
folk. So it was logical that these events were considered highly
controversial by them.


General Naam stood at a large podium on a slightly risen stage next to the
front of the room. Behind him was a huge video screen which was now charged
for the briefing. Naam continued, saying, "As you all know. there was a
breech of security recently. Because of that, the experimental Meta Suit,
Oriax, has been taken from both the Shinrai Complex and Meta Tokyo. We know
this because our scout teams have discovered no trace of the suit. Thus our
upcoming battle may involve this machine. So I shall instruct you on its
capabilities."


The video screen behind Naam came on, presenting a computerized 3D picture
of the Oriax. The group gasped at the looks of it, while their general
continued, "This is the Oriax. Its capabilities are far superior to those
of normal Meta Suits. Thus fighting it will take a joint effort from
us. Because of the Qi-Generator inside of the mecha it cannot be piloted by
just anyone under the sun. Which should prove the significance of the
current pilot. Now. Its vital statistics. The Oriax possesses no thermal
energy weapons but has the ability produce a curved energy knife referred
to as Gauntlet Blade from its left hand. Both of the hands of the mecha
contain hidden twin Gatling Guns that hold a maximum of 8000 bullets for
either hand. It has the power to fire that ammunition at a 200 bullets per
second rate. It also possesses a Wave/Anti-Wave Generator in addition to
its Qi-Generator. This gives Oriax the power to produce sonic wave patterns
and counter other wave patterns with Anti-Wave ones. The power of sound is
useless against it because of this. Underneath the chestplate of the
machine is a jewelled form of energy that is connected directly to the
Qi-Generator. From this comes the attack known as the Jupiter Maelstrom. A
highly concentrated beam of energy well surpassing a heat of 2,500 degrees
at less than 50% of its full capacity. If you expect to stay alive. don't
get in the path of that beam. Those are the Oriax's skills in terms of
offence. In sheer capability, it manipulates Zero Gravity Movement;
i.e. flight. The Qi-Generator also has the ability to produce spherical Qi
Barriers to protect the mecha. Its strength, speed and firepower outclass
any individual Meta Suits that are in the possession of the Divine
Blade. However if we attack it in a series of coordinated waves I am sure
that it can be bested. Now. I want all of you to prepare for the next
battle. Soon we will being our attack on EDEN. Once our plans have been
finalized, you will be briefed on them as well. That ends today's
briefing. Return to your quarters at your own leisure."


General Naam then stepped off the podium, walking away toward the
door. Leaving his soldiers to ruminate on what he had told them. And on the
image of the Oriax on the screen. All the same, most of them stood up and
talked it over as they left. But three particular men (and one woman) of
the group did not move. They sat at the back of the conference room whilst
watching the representation of the Oriax on the screen.


The 'leader' of those four soldiers, a Swiss pilot - Kraepelin, smiled at
the video screen. "Hmm. It's an impressive beast, that's for sure. I can
see why the Upper Council wants the Divine Blade to deal with it."


A slightly younger Canadian black man, Steed, sneered at the suit and its
description. "The General is overreacting about it. It only took down three
Zagan-model Meta Suits. Our Amon-type suits outgun those old models hands
down."


"Don't underestimate it," Claimed the Welsh pilot Ry, eldest and wisest of
the bunch, "our Amons are powerful. but the Ochiai Research Team have
created strong mecha in the past."


The female of the group, the Australian girl known as Aria, crossed her
arms and chuckled. "I heard that those production-model Baal-type Meta
Suits that have already been deployed for the defence of Ix Nos Babel and
the Lunar Station, had their operating systems created here at the Shinrai
Building. Think there's a connection?"


"It doesn't matter, either way," Kraepelin added, "if we're ordered to
bring it in, we'll bring it in. If we're ordered to destroy it, then we'll
destroy it. We are soldiers after all. We don't have to worry about the
reason. Only the result. The one created by our hands."


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


The Leviathan was unlike anything Yumi had ever seen before. A vessel that
not even the Trigger Mode software she had downloaded could have
conceived. It was a technological paradise. Steel and iron framing almost
everything. The lifts, computers, vending machines, lavatories, showers,
televisions and internet terminals were all controlled or powered by a
central computer that acted as the brain of the ship. Such ships had often
been denounced as pure fiction on all the forums and message lists that
Yumi had toured in her time. Yet this was real. And it didn't have a single
scrap of metal supplied to it by Protocol. This technology was purely of
the world outside of the Meta Cities. The villager would that, until now,
Yumi had had no contact with. She, along with Chizuru, was led through one
of the many steel halls of the upper level of the Leviathan by Terry.


Once the ship had come to the beach, the three of them were allowed to
board it. And the Oriax had been taken up into it bowels. In the hanger
would be the Meta Suit itself. Along with a few combat Meta Suits created
by Chrysalis and for Chrysalis. The sky-mode ones were called
Uvall-types. The land-mode ones were called Gusion-types (they too had
flight capabilities but not to the same degree as the Uvalls). It was
certain that they were to be used against Protocol, at least in Yumi's
mindset. Which was when it finally sunk into her head that Terry was not
bullshitting her. He really was a member of an anti-Protocol group. But
what bothered her was the fact that she had never heard of them before. And
it was something she was sure to ask about when Terry got them to the
bridge. While the three of them walked through this particular corridor,
Yumi looked over at Chizuru. She was shocked by the advanced technology of
it, too. But she seemed to be taking special note of it. Which Yumi found
odd. For the most part, Chizuru had never really seemed interested in
technology.


Terry suddenly stopped walking when he reached a door. And so, Yumi and
Chizuru did the same thing. The blonde boy then turned his head and
smiled. "This is the bridge, girls."


The half-American, half-German swordsman grabbed the handle of the metal
door before them and opened it. He walked inside while motioning Yumi and
Chizuru to follow him. Which was when they were treated to the sight of the
bridge. Which was equally as hi-tech as the rest of the Leviathan. All the
terminals, dials, computer screens, sonar & radar meters showed that
much. Four people were manning the controls of the helm, with a huge video
screen in the background, curling around the head of the room. And aside
from themselves, there were two other people in there. Two women, who stood
at the upper platform above those at the helm. Obviously the ones who were
in control of the actions of Chrysalis and who ran the Leviathan. All
people on hand were dressed in gold and green army uniforms, each armed
with a small pistol as a firearm.


Terry saluted the older of the two women at the platform, an action that
Yumi took to mean that she was the commander of this ship. "I'm back,
Colonel! And I brought the very same girl that Protocol's been obsessing
over. Yumi Mishima."


The woman whom Terry had addressed as colonel crossed her arms, her
shoulder-long locks of forest green hair flailing about. Her eyes looked
Yumi up and down to observe her, then her gaze turned to Chizuru
Matsubana. ".And what of this one?"


".The name's Chizuru, lady," She replied indignantly, "and I'm with Yumi."


Terry waved her off when Chizuru and the colonel started glaring at each
other. "Uh. don't worry about Chizuru, Colonel. I can vouch for her and
Yumi."


"Fair enough, Lieutenant Hennig," She said, "let me introduce myself. I am
Cecelia Faye Beatrix. Commander in action of this group we call
Chrysalis. We follow under the teachings of the Ark of the Luria and
operate from this ship; Leviathan."


Chizuru scratched her temple. ".Ark of the Luria.?"


".I suppose you could call it our. religion," Beatrix said, "but for now,
let me introduce you to my crew. This young woman standing beside me is
Major Sophia Mariette. My. second in command."


Sophia nudged her spectacles up the bridge of her nose, nodding to both
Yumi and Chizuru. "A great pleasure."


Colonel Beatrix turned back around, her black shoulder cape flocking around
her right arm. Then she extended her hand to the people at the helm of the
ship's controls. "These are the helmsmen and women of the Leviathan. And
the man that brought you here is Lieutenant Terry Hennig. But I assume he's
already told you that. This ship is the very forefront of the Anti-Protocol
efforts. We have over 380 people living here at this point in time. Our
Gusion and Uvall Meta Suits are ready to be deployed at any moment for a
strike against them. With that and the Leviathan's Gamma Cannon to contend
with. it seems our existence has become a hot topic within the system. But
all we strive for is to do down the group that infests the world right
now. The fall of Protocol is our chief agenda."


The stereotypically ditzy Chizuru suddenly seemed quite serious when
dealing with them. "You're being a bit too trusting, don't you think?
What's to stop us from taking this information straight to the
authorities?"


Beatrix chuckled, shutting her eyes. ".Heh, heh, heh. Is that so? Has it
not occurred to you that you are an escapee? Leaving a Meta City without
formal written permission is a criminal offence under Protocol's
doctrines. Correct? In which case. you really don't have much in the way of
options. Such a crime carries a stiff sentence of at least five years
imprisonment. Or perhaps I am mistaken. Perhaps you would enjoy spending
the rest of your youth inside a prison camp."


Whatever outspoken attitude Chizuru had plucked up was now gone, because
she silenced herself in that instant. Terry winced at the sudden distaste
between Chizuru and Colonel Beatrix, and pressed a hand into his second
charge's shoulder. ".Um. why don't you try not to over-think things,
Chizuru. We aren't the bad guys here. We will take good care of you and
Yumi."


Beatrix looked away. ".We are not here to intimidate anyone. And I won't
force you into anything either. All I request is that you speak with our
leader. Father Bartholomeus. If do that then we can at least assure your
safety."


".I'll cooperate for now," Yumi said, "but I want to know a few things
first."


Sophia looked at Yumi. "Like what? What can we help you with?"


"EDEN and that Luria thing," Yumi put forth, "what is it all?"


It seemed that the Major would be answering that. "Sure. Well I can tell
you that EDEN is our home. You see, those who reject Protocol's way of life
have only two choices. To live in the outside world or die in the Meta
Cities. But the outside world is. extremely dangerous. The conflicts of the
Great War cast irreparable damage on the world. Living in the Meta Cities
is vastly different from the constantly unstable life outside of them. The
energy barriers that enfold each city gives them protection against most
natural disasters that occur as a result of that nuclear war. But for the
1.5 billion people out of the line of safety, that wasn't an option. So
forty three years ago, Father Bartholomeus led a campaign of salvation. And
he, along with thousands of other young men and women, built the
fortress-city of EDEN. It is the teachings of Father Bartholomeus that
guide us. And those teachings are called the Ark of the Luria."


Yumi nodded. ".I see."


"So what's your answer?" Beatrix questioned, "will you meet with him?"


Before Yumi could give her an answer, one of the helmsmen called out to
Colonel Beatrix in urgency. "Colonel! We've just received a message from an
unknown Meta Suit!"


"A Meta Suit? Where?"


That same guy began tapping a few keys on his terminal. The video screen at
the head of the bridge then flashed with an image of the night sky. It had
been a few hours since they had picked up Terry, Yumi and Chizuru from
those Japanese beaches. By now they were well over the Pacific Ocean, miles
from Japanese soil. The scene on the video screen reflected that. In the
far distance of the night there was a Meta Suit, hovering over the sea. It
was of pure black steel, lined in certain parts with streaks of white. From
its metallic back extended a pair of wings, giving it a total wingspan of
88 metres. Made of a silvery-blue energy that had to be the pilot's
converted Qi. The green eyes in the face of the mecha glowed brightly in
the darkness. It didn't move a muscle but just waited in a distant position
that put it directly ahead of the Leviathan. Everyone stared quietly at the
screen. Was this an attack from Protocol?


Sophia mused. "Is that a. Protocol Meta Suit?"


One of the helmswomen replied. "We aren't sure, Major. But it's less than
160 metres ahead of the ship. We'll crash into it in less than four minutes
if the thing doesn't veer off."


".Stop the engines," Beatrix ordered, "take us onto silent running on hover
mode. If this one is challenging us then we have to deal with it, in case
they follow us to EDEN. Measure its Qi level and scan for any other Meta
Suits."


"Roger!" Replied that helmswoman. She tapped some codes into her terminal
and figures appeared on her miniature computer screen right ahead of
it. She studied the mini-screen for a second, then gasped wildly, "oh my
God!"


"What is it?" Terry asked.


"There are no other Meta Suits around, at least not within the 2300 meter
range of the scanners, but the computer says that. this Meta Suit is
currently operating at a Qi level of over 11,000!"


Beatrix's eyes widened. "11,000?! Are you sure?"


"But that just can't be," Sophia whispered, "there is no pilot alive who
has a synchronization level high enough to produce a Qi reading of that
magnitude. Even the highest ranking pilots of the Divine Blade can only
muster a level of 6,500 at the most."


Beatrix pressed her hand into her hip. "What about that message? Patch it
through."


"Yes ma'am." The third of the helms people typed in a few codes into his
terminal. Then that static-ridden message was produced aloud from the five
large speakers on the ceiling and walls of the bridge.


".TER.RY. HE.NNIG.."


All eyes turned to the young swordsman of lieutenant rank. And he was
confused. As was everyone else. Terry pointed at himself in that
confusion. ".That pilot wants me?!"


Chizuru looked over at Yumi. ".For a moment there, I thought that it wanted
you."


".Yeah." Sighed the hacker.


Terry jerked his 'dirty blonde' ponytail over his broad shoulder and
smirked. "Dah well. If that thing wants me then that's exactly what the
dude's gonna get."


"Are you serious?" Sophia asked, "how are you going about it?"


The young man smiled at her. "With my Meta Suit, how else?"


One of the people at the helm, who also happened to be a mechanic for the
Meta Suits on the Leviathan, swivelled around in his chair to look at Terry
sincerely. "But Lieutenant Hennig, the Bishamon isn't completed yet! It
still needs a few adjustments before you even think of piloting it!"


"Don't worry about it," He said, "I've seen the specs. Its Operating
Systems, Gatlings and Zero Gravity Movement are all online. And that's all
I need for this one."


There was little any one could do to argue with him. Though he was a calm
young man, he could also be very hot-blooded. It showed in his great
piloting skills. Beatrix smiled grudgingly and nodded to him as
consent. She knew that he had to do it. Terry saluted her and then ran to
the door of the bridge. He opened it then shunted himself out into the
corridor. Terry rushed through the halls, past all the other Chrysalis
personnel about. At the end of that corridor was a lift. Once he got to the
far wall he tapped one of the buttons on the control panel. The metal doors
opened up. And he entered the lift. The button he pressed would take him
all the way down to the Meta Suit Holding Chambers. A few moments later the
lift went directly down to it. And the doors opened up for him once
more. Terry ran out. But this time he was surrounded by the sight of Meta
Suits and the towering railings that surrounded them. As well as the sound
of metal clanging against metal and the smells of oil and cold
steel. Across from him by thirty or so metres was the Oriax. Which,
thankfully, was not resonating with this mystery Meta Suit. Terry bolted
across the metal platform that was erected more than eighty-nine metres
above ground level of the hanger. Past the large heads of Gusion and Uvall
Meta Suits. Until he came to his own.


The Bishamon.


Terry grinned as he reached the head of the mecha from the upper
railing. It was of a different design to the others. More like the Oriax in
some cases. Except that Bishamon's body was painted a slightly dark
red. Its design was also less sleek than that of the Oriax. Yumi's suit had
a more lithe, feminine look to it. The Bishamon was stockier and
larger. Over its shoulders and thighs were multi-segmented plates of
armour, alike with Japanese Samurai armour. Next to the suit was a large
weapon. A 32-metre long Katana. Its true strength was that it worked with
thermal properties in connection with the Qi-Generator. Of course that
sword wasn't ready yet, so he couldn't use it.


Terry just ignored that for the moment and climbed down the metal ladder
next to the Bishamon. Which brought him down to the secondary metal
platform. Once Terry came into close contact with the 'stomach' of the Meta
Suit, its doors opened for him. Revealing the cockpit. The blonde boy
jumped into the dark opening and took a seat, grabbing the control
sticks. The doors then closed up for him, and the whole thing brightened up
when the Bishamon came online.


"I've missed ya, buddy," Terry muttered, ".I haven't fought with you in a
while, have I? Well, this is what Mom and Dad would have wanted, after
all."


Terry tapped on the keypad to bring up a visual image of one of the
helmsmen in the bridge. "Hey! Open the hanger doors!"


"Roger!"


The steel doors below the feet of the Bishamon opened slowly. The Meta Suit
dropped out of the Leviathan and into the skies that the Leviathan was
hovering in. Directly below it. Bishamon's Zero Gravity Movement ability
kicked in instantly. And blue trails of propulsion energy trailed behind
its feet when the suit flew forwards. The Bishamon flew straight out of the
shadow of the Leviathan, peeling up from its long underbelly, and out into
the open night skies. From this point on, Terry could see the unknown Meta
Suit in the distance. It really was waiting for him. But who was inside it?
That he would find out if he had anything to say about it. The Bishamon
flew straight ahead, crossing the gap between the Leviathan and the unknown
suit. The Bishamon flew to a stop when the gap between itself and the
mystery suit was only sixty metres.


Terry yelled at the thing from the speakers built into the mouth of the
Bishamon. "You called my name? Well here I am! Now what's your deal? Who
are you?"


The voice of the pilot also spoke through the mouthpiece of his/her own
Meta Suit. ".You may call this one. Asmodeus."


Internally, Terry noted that the pilot of the 'Asmodeus' had an
unmistakably feminine tone to it. "Asmodeus, huh? So that's the name of
your mecha? Fine! Now what do you want from me, eh?"


The Asmodeus didn't make an immediate reply, staying mute. "."


"Hey, are you listening to me?"


The woman inside the Asmodeus then replied with, ".You are
under-unarmed. Even with a Qi level of 5,600... you can only fight to 65%
of your Meta Suit's true capabilities without its weapon."


Terry sneered. ".Are you kidding me? Just what is it you want? A battle? If
you want a battle then why did you ask for me? And how the hell do you know
my name?!"


".You've grown up strong."


"Huh?" That one struck Terry hard, ".do you. know me.?"


The Asmodeus flapped its energy wings backwards, and it flew out of the
path of the Leviathan ship. The woman that was inside the Asmodeus answered
the young man soon afterwards. ".When you find yourself with all of your
strength. when you find yourself possessed by the demons of your past. you
will see me again. But until that time. goodbye."


The thrusters at the legs of the Asmodeus kicked in. And it zoomed away
like a jumbo jet into the darkness of the night. The Bishamon floated in
the air as Terry sat in the cockpit in confusion. Who on earth was that?
And what did she mean by 'demons of the past?'. As his Meta Suit hovered in
the air, a transmission came in from the Leviathan. The face of Sophia,
leaning over the shoulder of one of the helmswomen, came into view on a
mini-screen.


"Lieutenant, are you alright?" She asked, "what happened?"


Terry leaned back on his seat and exhaled. "You know. I'm not even sure,
Major. I think. that the pilot of that Meta Suit knows me somehow. But I
haven't got a clue who she is."


".I see. Well get back in the hanger. Don't waste any of your fuel on
this. fluke. Besides. EDEN is calling us."


Terry blinked. ".What makes you say that?"


"Just look ahead."


Terry lowered the head of the Bishamon so he could see what Sophia was
talking about. A good distance ahead, on the horizon of the sea, was a
metal structure. It seemed rather small from that great distance. But it
was definitely big. And definitely a sight for sore eyes.


In the cockpit, Terry grinned at that sight. ".Home sweet home."


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


The Ochiai Underground Research Facility had been on high alert since the
escape of the Oriax. But that had not stopped the flow of the experiments
that would be taking place there. Or the transactions that would be going
down either. In one of the many long white corridors that was built into
the laboratories underneath the Shinrai Building, the commander of the
Japanese Protocol forces, Celaph, was walking along. He passed by many
doors as he walked, right through the hallway. Until he reached a certain
door. The one he was looking for, number 347. On that pure white door was a
silvery metal plaque that read a sole name on it. "Freeman Ronove."


Celaph stuck a hand into his trousers and pulled out a key card. He swiped
the key card through the control panel by the door. And the automatic lock
was thereafter released. The door shifted open with a puff of very cold
air, and Commander Celaph walked in. The room was cold and covered in
frost. So much so that every time Celaph exhaled he breathed out a cloud of
chilled air. But the leader of the Japanese forces was not concerned with
himself. He only looked forwards to the glass cylinder in the centre of the
room. It contained a light blue liquid. And inside that liquid was the body
of a human. A naked young man, curled up in a fetal position.


Celaph pulled a smile. ".So. It's time once again to awaken you. I am sure
that the previous generation's Thanatos wasn't nearly as problematic as
you. Isn't that right, Mr. Ronove?"


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Far from reach

How the serpents preach

Life is a sin when the shepherds are breeding

In the quiet place

Force the mind to erase

So the people pray to the distant drummer

These are primitive times

These are primitive...

These are primitive times

No care, no less

Divine surplus

Be it man or...

Ashes cover the man

Which the decades demand

And paves the way for the sick and the dying

The devil hides his tail

Behind the virgin's veil

So the dead can dance to the distant drummer

These are primitive times

These are primitive...

These are primitive times

No care, no less

Divine surplus

Be it man or ...

Ashes fall like rain

As the blind go insane

The shepherds fall to the feet of their martyr

Baptized with gasoline

Holy flame, unholy scene

As the ashes rise to the distant drummer

These are primitive times

These are primitive...

These are primitive times

No care, no less

Divine surplus

Be it man or ash!

Not man or ash

Not man or...

Not man or ash

Not man or ash

Not man or ash

Not man or...

~ 'Man or Ash', Corrosion of Conformity

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


Chronicle Three - respect and/or hatred, the Garden of Eden

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


If a Meta Suit was to Leviathan what an ant was to a human, then the
Leviathan was to EDEN what a human was to a city. Yumi had thought that the
Leviathan itself was large. But EDEN was just something else. From a
distance it looked like an oil refinery. But once the Leviathan had gotten
closer to the structure, Yumi and Chizuru could clearly see that that was
not the case. It was a fortress city. Covering over one square mile of
territory, deep in the middle of the pacific ocean. The entire city was
held up from the sea by a series of metal underwater pillars. Ones that
reached all the way down to the bottom of sea level. Once the Leviathan
came to the edge of the way, the people at the helm made contact with those
at one of the fifteen Control Rooms of the rebel city. The operatives there
knew of the Leviathan. And so didn't even request proof of identity. The
gigantic bay overhanging the inner hanger opened up into two sections. Both
doors separating underneath the ship while beacon lights were flashing
across the east 'deck' of EDEN's ground level landing bay. The Leviathan
was cleared for entry so it landed into the east hanger through those
opening doors. The ship control centre of the Chrysalis slowly descended
from above to the darker innards of one of the four EDEN hangers. Dozens of
men and women yelled to each other with handheld beacon lights to help
guide the ship down. A good ten minutes later the ship safely touched
ground, the connection between the two echoing loudly. Despite the fact
that it was made with the lightest defensively sound alloys known to man,
the Leviathan weighed at least 800 tons. Such a loud sound was
inevitable. It was decided by Commander Beatrix that only a few people
would disembark, herself included. Their main priorities were restocking
the Leviathan with arms and fuel, repairing and upgrading their Gusions and
Uvalls. Besides that, this trip back was only for showing Yumi to the
leader of both EDEN and the Ark of the Luria. Father Bartholomeus.


>From the side hull of the ship, one of the doors slowly opened up. The
metal door extended outwardly until its tip touched the floor of the
hanger, 30 metres below. Out from that came Beatrix and Sophia. Behind them
was Yumi, Chizuru and Terry. And behind those three were a few others that
would be coming with them. The others of Chrysalis would remain on the
Leviathan until the commander came back. Yumi descended down the steps of
the extended door, then looked over to her left. From the lower left of the
Leviathan, its large side doors into the Meta Suit hanger had been
opened. She could see the large mechas Oriax and Bishamon being moved out
of the ship via a moving conveyer belt and guiding energy beams. But Yumi
didn't know how she felt when she looked at it. The Oriax had caused her to
leave Meta Tokyo and safety. Did she feel connected to that thing
regardless of that?


Chizuru put a hand on Yumi's shoulder. "Hey. Are you okay? I know that this
must all be a little. overwhelming for you."


".I-I'm fine," Yumi answered, ".I think I'm more concerned about you,
Chizuru. It's because of me that you've been dragged into all of this. I'm
sorry."


"Don't apologize. I'm okay with it. As long as I'm here with you."


Yumi turned a tiny little smile and blushed, while Terry looked ahead
towards the far wall of this hanger. ".I'll be taking the pair of you to
see Father Bartholomeus. I think you'll find him to be an interesting
man. We think very highly of him here."


"Why me?" Chizuru said, "Why am I coming? Not that I mind or anything."


Terry crossed his arms over his chest. "You're Yumi's friend, aren't you? I
know from experience that people feel more comfortable in foreign places
when they have someone familiar around. The two of you should stick
together here. EDEN can be a little intimidating when you're on your own."


Chizuru looked at Terry. It seems that comment meant more than he gave
off. She could tell that Terry had felt that way when he first came
here. The brave pilot of Chrysalis probably wasn't always so brave. The
group came off the long stepping way and touched their feet to the steel of
EDEN. A few men were already at hand to greet Commander Beatrix and Major
Mariette when they arrived. Beatrix addressed them for a moment then left
with the others to go about her business. They would only be stopping on
EDEN for a few days. After that they would move onto their next
mission. They marched from one side of that extremely large hanger over to
the furthest wall. To the south. The eighteen-metre tall doors into the
steel citadel opened for them when they came to it. This led them to a
separate corridor of the layout. It was a big forked hallway that they came
to.


Beatrix closed her eyes. "Lieutenant Hennig."


"Uh? Yes, ma'am?"


".Please take Miss Mishima and Miss Matsubana with you to see Father
Bartholomeus. No delays. I am sure that he is eager to meet with them."


Terry saluted his commander. "Yes, Colonel Beatrix."


Beatrix turned to Sophia. "Major Mariette? You'll be coming with me."


"Roger."


Then the group split into three. Yumi, Terry and Chizuru marched straight
ahead with Terry in the lead to direct them to Bartholomeus'
quarters. While the Chrysalis operatives along with them turned to the
right to reach one of the control rooms. It was them who would be
organizing the repairs necessary for the Leviathan and the Meta Suits it
had on hand. Beatrix and Sophia turned to the left. And kept walking until
they found a quiet side room for utilities. Beatrix took a key card out of
her pocket and swiped it through the control panel. Then opened the
door. They walked in and closed the door behind them. The two then stared
at each other for a moment. Then lunged at each other. Their lips connected
with a burning swiftness that truly displayed how passionate they were
about each other. Sophia moaned whilst Beatrix pressed her hard up against
the door of the utilities room. And they kissed fervently. Sophia wrapped
her arms around the taller Beatrix's shoulders and neck. And moaned again
when she felt the older woman slip her tongue between her lips. The
commander of Chrysalis ran her thigh between the younger woman's legs and
parted her dark green military skirt. Though her smooth pantyhose Beatrix
could feel Sophia's wetness as clear as day. The musky smell of it began to
rise into the air, joining the sound effects of their lips smacking against
each other. As well as the light moans and the sound of their uniforms
being ruffled in the embrace. Finally Sophia broke their kiss, gasping for
breath, feeling Beatrix's strong hand cupping her left breast through the
fabric of her uniform.


".Cecelia." Sophia muttered breathlessly.


Beatrix pressed the tip of her finger to Sophia's lips to shush her, all
the while her thigh was stroking up and down the blue-haired girl's
underwear-masked vulva. ".Don't say anything. I probably should have waited
until we got to my room. But we have so little privacy on the Leviathan. I
suppose I just. couldn't control myself."


"I don't mind," Sophia admitted, "I feel the same way, Cecelia. We must
keep this a secret from the troops. It could cause complications if we
don't. And I can't honestly say that your grandfather would approve. But
I'm okay with that. As long as I can be with you. even for just a brief few
minutes at a time."


Although she didn't often do so, Beatrix smiled. Lustfully. "Oh,
Sophia. Hearing you speak like that. makes this so much harder."


Then she instantly dove at the flesh of the girl's neck. Sophia moaned
aloud and held onto the taller woman, feeling that stroke between her
thighs increase in pace. And while they expressed their 'love' in that
particular utilities closet; Terry, Yumi and Chizuru had made it to the
door of Bartholomeus' room. Thankfully he didn't reside too far from the
east hanger. The three of them waited at the door of the corridor until
Terry knocked on it. A light flashed on the control panel. One that
indicated that the door was already open. So he pressed the button and it
shifted to one side. Terry, Yumi and Chizuru walked inside and marvelled at
its innards. It was a large chamber. At least fifty by fifty-five metres in
size. The floors were covered in oriental rugs and multi-coloured throw
pillows. While the walls were decorated with scrolls that depicted direct
Latin excerpts from the Bible. Over to the far wall of the room was an
altar. Four candles of incense burned from it, and that particular smell
wafted around the room. Yumi didn't like it much but she could tolerate
it. Just before the altar there was a wooden chair. And on that chair was a
certain man. An elderly man that looked to be about seventy years of age
sat on that chair like a throne. His regal black and gold robes extended
all the way to his sandaled feet. And his long grey beard trailed down to
his lap.


Yumi stared at him. ".Are you. Father Bartholomeus?"


Terry nodded. "Uh huh. This is our absolute leader. Bartholomeus Beatrix."


Chizuru blinked. "Beatrix? Does that mean that you.?"


"Yes," This time Bartholomeus answered her, ".commander of the mobile army
Chrysalis; Cecelia Faye Beatrix, is my granddaughter. I am very pleased to
be meeting you. Miss Yumi Mishima."


"O-of course," Yumi gestured towards Chizuru, "this is. Chizuru Matsubana."


Chizuru bowed her head to the Father for a moment. "It's nice to meet you,
sir. I hope it's okay that I came with Yumi."


Father Bartholomeus stared at her for a moment, then bobbed his head in the
exact same way, replying with his extensive, lingering voice of
wisdom. "Think nothing of it, my dear. EDEN is a home for
humanity. Rejection of residence is not our way of life. And I am glad that
you have both reached here in good condition. The teams of soldiers sent
out by Protocol often track escapees from the Meta Cities without fail."


"What about the people of EDEN?" Asked Yumi.


"Out of the 950,000 people that live in the citadel," began the priest,
"less than 2% of them were born in Meta Cities. They only managed to join
us because of the cloaking abilities of the Leviathan. They escaped to it
and were able to flee to EDEN. Which I am grateful for. Because people
should have the option to escape the current way of life in the Meta
Cities."


Chizuru ran a hand through her hair. "So you built EDEN for that?"


Bartholomeus smiled. ".The name EDEN is an abbreviation of four Latin
words. The first e is for 'Ecclesia' which means Church. The d is for
'Deduco' which means to found a colony. The second is e is for 'Enimus'
which means at a distance. Finally the n is for 'Natio', which means
nation. My way of thinking, the Ark of the Luria, is based upon
contemporary Christian teachings. Those shackled to a force that it cannot
quite agree with it should be given the opportunity to shirk it, if they
wish."


". And what makes your way any different from Protocol's? It's not like
Christianity has always been a force for good." Chizuru asked directly.


"That is a fair comment," Bartholomeus said, "but to judge the dogma of a
faith by the way the followers of that faith carry them out is quite
unfair. Ark of the Luria offers choice above all else. From Protocol comes
the strain of which we are afflicted."


Chizuru locked eyes with him. "But you're prepared to remove a choice in
life by defeating Protocol, aren't you? Where's the option in that?"


".For many years we have sought to co-exist with the rule of Protocol. All
we asked was that those who do not wish to live under its reign were given
rights to govern themselves outside of Protocol's sphere of influence. And
we were denied that entitlement. Thus forced to live out our lives in
seclusion, afforded less rights than those of a criminal. People who
dislike Protocol's system of governing were reduced to no more than
political radicals. And so we were forced to flee elsewhere. To build a
free nation of our own. That is EDEN. But there are still billions of
people suffering Protocol's tyranny. For those people to gain freedom. the
chains that restrain them must be broken."


"But what have I got to with that?" Yumi wondered, "Terry said that
Protocol had some sort of interest in me. If they do then what is it? I'm
just a normal college student."


".Well," The old man began, ".I cannot honestly tell you that I am in the
know of Protocol's plans. But what little I do know. I will
share. According to the teachings of Protocol's scholars; thousands of
years ago there was a time when humanity was deeply connected to each
other. A time when life was plentiful and we understood how to live in
harmonious balance with nature. This was overseen by what Protocol calls a
'God' and was supposedly a period of great kinship and
knowledge. However. There was a sole human being who sought to monopolize
the shared knowledge of humanity. That person attempted it. Thus shattering
both the inter-connections between men and the connection with that
'God'. But it did not escape unscathed. It was corrupted by that act, which
Protocol calls the 'Second Sin'. That corruption caused it to become
imperfect. The God then seems to have died because of those
imperfections. I think that Protocol now seeks to. resurrect that God."


Though this was supposedly the first time that Yumi and Chizuru were
hearing this story, it was Yumi who was startled by it. "They actually want
to. resurrect a God?"


".Or rather an organism that acts in God's place," Bartholomeus replied,
"the events of the death of Protocol's God took place in the space of seven
days. And that week is known as The Seven Keys."


Yumi became thoughtful. "The Seven Keys.?"


"What is it?" Chizuru asked.


"I received an e-mail yesterday morning," She admitted, "I thought that it
was junk. But it did mention something about the Seven Keys. I remember
that."


Bartholomeus smiled. "I see that the e-mail I had my followers send
actually reached your computer."


"That was you?"


The modern Christian man nodded. "Yes. Because although it might not seem
it, Yumi, you are an integral part of their plans to revive this God of
theirs. So I must ask you. Have you ever dealt with Protocol in the past?
Do you have any idea as to what they plan to do with you?"


"No." Yumi said softly, ".I mean. I've dealt with Protocol no more than any
average person has. as far as I know I've never been heavily. involved with
them."


Bartholomeus pulled up an eyebrow. "As far as you know.?"


".Well. I don't have many memories. before the age of thirteen. So I don't
know what happened. until then. I have. no parents now. I think I
can. recall a father. but I don't even remember his face, let alone his
name. There are instances. when I see myself as a younger girl. I. see
myself crying. And. my dress is. covered in blood. with. c-corpses all
around me. but I don't know if it's a dream. or a. memory."


Father Bartholomeus ran his fingers through his beard. ".I see. It might be
possible that you had contact with Protocol before you lost your memories
of the past. But make no mistake about it. Our sources are sure that you
are important to them. I feel that way also. Even now I can sense
tremendous inner strength from you, Yumi. And if I might be so bold. I
would like to make a request?"


".A. request.?"


".We need your strength," He said, "to stop Protocol. And you need a home
to reside in from now on. I would like to ask you to assume citizenship on
EDEN. and assume a role as a member of Chrysalis."


Yumi's eyes enlarged. ".Join Chrysalis.?"


"Yes. Will you help us?"


There was a sudden flash of that dream/memory image of a child Yumi, her
dress stained in blood, running through the hacker's mind at that
point. With it came a throbbing pain in her skull. Yumi grabbed her head
and scowled, but retained her glance on Father Bartholomeus. ".Y-you mean
become y-your soldier!?"


"No, Miss Mishima, that is not what I-"


"W-well it seems like it to m-me!" Yumi cried loudly, her cranium in pain,
"I have this. horrible power inside of me! One that controlled me into
killing someone! I won't do that again! I'm NOT a killer! I just want to be
a normal girl! I won't be a murderer for you or for Protocol!"


Bartholomeus sighed at that declaration, looking downwards. Terry, who had
said quiet throughout all this, now spoke up. "C'mon, Yumi. I know that
this is hard, believe me I do, but if these guys really wanna bring back
some dead deity from the grave, you know that isn't not gonna be a good
thing. For all we know it could give them unlimited power. But we could
stop them. If you'd join us we would be so much better off. We could-"


"It's not my concern!" Yumi shouted, ".I just want to be normal!"


"Well. believe it or not, you aren't," Terry retorted, "you've got a power
inside of you that can protect both you and those around you. Even if it
means sacrificing yourself, aren't you prepared to defend those who have no
means to defend themselves?"


".It's not my concern." Yumi repeated.


Now Terry found himself getting angry. ".So you'll just sit back and
whimper when innocent people are crying out for help that you know you
could give? You'd turn your back to the millions of men, women and children
trapped inside the Meta Cities just like you were up until yesterday?!"


Yumi looked away, averting his gaze. ".Why should I care about the lives of
others. when I don't even care about my own.?"


A loud snarl tore through the room. Followed by the palm of Terry's hand
when he slapped Yumi across the face. The white-haired teen yelped and fell
backwards. Chizuru gasped and quickly kneeled to her side, while Father
Bartholomeus looked on with shock. Terry lowered his hand and scowled,
ignoring Yumi's tears. And the one of his own that ran down his left cheek.


"You. fucking. coward!" He barked, ".you're no different than those
Protocol bastards! If you can stand there and tell me that you'd ignore the
suffering of others just so you can feel better about yourself then you're
worse than they are! If you wanna stay there and sulk then that's your own
goddamned prerogative! But don't you DARE expect pity from me!"


The half-American, half-German youth turned his back to the sobbing Yumi
and marched out of the room, walking out through the doorway. Chizuru
cuddled Yumi by the shoulders, while Father Bartholomeus stood up from his
chair with a sad expression.


"Please. forgive him," He said to the pair, ".Terry Hennig is a good,
kind-hearted boy. But there can be times when his anger will run away with
him."


Chizuru helped Yumi back up into a standing position, holding her fast,
while saying, "What the hell is his problem? If Yumi doesn't wanna fight,
then."


The elderly priest looked on solemnly. ".He has a problem with people who
possess power. but choose not to use it for the greater good. His childhood
was. very traumatic. Not unlike yours I assume, Yumi."


Yumi held a hand to the bruise on her cheek. ".Like me.?"


"Yes. Terry has no parents. They were both killed when his village was
caught in the middle of a Meta Suit training exercise. I am told that he
was only eight or nine years of age when it happened. The proctors of that
examination were Protocolian pilots working for a constabulary from the
nearby Meta City. However. they did not act. And Terry's entire village was
destroyed. Out of the 500 people living in the village at that time, Terry
is thought to be the only one who survived. They were all killed in the
crossfire. Including his much loved parents. Ever since then he has had a
crippling hatred of those who abuse power. and those who shirk the
responsibilities that come with it. I think the two of you might be able to
understand each other better than I ever could."


Yumi held her sore cheek and cast a glance back at the door. All this time
and yet the blonde youth had been dealing with the same loneliness as she
had. ".Terry."


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


"Have I not kept this in reserve

and sealed it in my vaults?

It is mine to avenge; I will repay.

In due time their foot will slip;

their day of disaster is near

and their doom rushes upon them."


Deuteronomy 32:17 - 'The Song of Moses'


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


Night fell on the quiet pacific seas around EDEN.


It had been at least twenty hours since the Leviathan had landed in the
hanger, and Yumi & the others had disembarked. Twenty hours since Yumi and
Chizuru had spoken with Father Bartholomeus about Protocol. Twenty hours
since Terry's outburst. Yumi hadn't seen him since then. Thankfully one of
Bartholomeus' other attendants showed she and Chizuru around in place of
him. They had been allowed to check out a few things inside EDEN. But it
was the size of a small city, so she couldn't see everything that it had to
offer. But that was okay for now. By the time night had come down on EDEN,
Yumi had finished her touring of the structure. She just wanted some air
and the truth was that she couldn't concentrate on the layout of the
place. All day she had been thinking about what Terry had said. And what
Father Bartholomeus had asked of her. Which was why she went out to the
upper level of EDEN. She found herself on a small metal balcony sticking
outwardly from the eastern side of the city. From there she could look down
and gaze at waves of the sea, crashing against the pillars holding up
EDEN. Or look out unto the setting of the night and the stars that sparkled
in it.


The night was so very beautiful.


But always associated with darkness.


Yumi couldn't help but feel that she too was experiencing something of a
similar situation. This power boiling within her body was very influential
and important. But it had brought her nothing other than insecurity and
fear. Could she really use it to fight? She didn't want to kill people. She
could spare lives on the battlefield. but what was to say that that power
wouldn't overtake her again and kill them anyway? There was no assurance
that in the heat of battle, she would be able to keep her cool. If killing
one man instantaneously was just the tip of her strength, then it was truly
frightening to think that something worse would happen if she lost all
control. But she could make a difference with this power. Could Yumi really
turn her back on the people out there who wanted to be saved from Protocol?

Yumi leaned idly over the red-painted railing of the metal balcony and
sighed.


"What should I do.?" She whispered.


A male voice called out to her from behind. ".Yumi?"


She knew that particular voice. The white-haired girl looked up when she
heard that certain someone lean their elbows on the railing like she had
done. It was Terry. The blonde boy looked out unto the sea and stars,
admiring them.


".Beautiful, isn't it? The scene from here."


Yumi watched it. ".Yes."


".I'm sorry I hit you, Yumi." Terry apologized, "I had no right to do
that. And I should know better. My mom always told me never to hit a
girl. It's just. sometimes I get angrier than I want. I find it hard coping
with certain views. So I lash out. A shrink in the medical area told me
that I have unresolved mental issues brought on by trauma. But I guess
using that as an excuse would make me the coward."


Yumi lowered her head. ".Don't. apologize, Terry. What you said was
true. I. suppose I wasn't being very considerate. There are other people
with similar problems to my own. at least in a psychological sense."


Terry pulled a grim smile. "The Father told you then, huh?"


"I'm so sorry," Yumi said in earnest, "I know that it can't have been
easy. To watch your village be destroyed. And growing up without your
parents. I know how. lonely that feels."


"It's pathetic, isn't it? It happened over eleven years ago. but I still
can't move on. I remember. after those Meta Suits went home, I was too
afraid to leave. The village had been burned down but I couldn't leave my
Dad's corpse. My mom's body was nowhere to be seen. But I saw her get
killed. I spent an hour by my dead dad's corpse because I was too afraid to
leave the place that had been home to me up until then. When I finally
stopped crying I got myself together. I dug a grave, buried my dad, then
left. I drifted for days in the forests without so much a slice of bread to
eat. I collapsed from exhaustion at some point. By the time I woke up I was
in another village. A woman had found me in the forest and took me with her
to her home."


"A woman?"


Terry widened his grim smile. ".Colonel Beatrix. But that was before she
had become colonel. She was visiting a friend at that village and was
helping her pick herbs when she found me. Though she doesn't always seem
it. Colonel Beatrix is a kind woman. When it became obvious that I had no
home to go back to, she let me come with her to EDEN. Which was when I came
to regard this place as my new home."


"I understand," Claimed Yumi, "but then. why did you become a pilot? If I
had been in your position I would have hated Meta Suits from my heart."


"What would be the point of that, though? The Meta Suits were powerful. But
power isn't good or bad. It doesn't govern itself. Tragedy is caused by
people who abuse power by using it the wrong way. I'm not arrogant enough
to say that I'd know the right way to manipulate power. But. my mom taught
me well enough to know the difference between right and wrong. And Protocol
are wrong. They have to be stopped before they do that to anymore innocent
children. That's why I became a pilot. I'd give anything to assure that no
other little boy would have to make that choice."


Yumi smiled gently whilst looking at the sea. Father Bartholomeus was
right. Terry really was a kind-hearted guy. ".I can respect that, Terry."


The Hennig boy exhaled and turned, facing Yumi. He placed his hands on her
shoulders, turning her around to face him. He gazed honestly at
her. "Yumi. You don't have to fight if you don't want to. Like I said
before, I didn't bring you here to force you into anything you didn't wanna
do. Whatever you choose. I'll support you in it. I think that's the least I
can for you. Of course."


Terry's bright smile finally returned. ".fighting alongside a pretty girl
wouldn't be so bad, right?"


Yumi blushed and looked downwards, staring at her sandals. Terry chuckled
at that, letting go of her shoulders. "Heh, heh, heh. Relax. I'm not
hitting on you. It's Chizuru you love. right?"


".Y-you. know about that.?"


"It's all over you," Said Terry, ".have you told her yet?"


Yumi shook her head. ".No. I'm afraid. of what her reaction might be. I've
already asked a lot of her. and she's been so kind to me about. what
happened. in Meta Tokyo."


"Don't make my mistakes, Yumi." Terry told her, "if you have something you
wanna say to someone then tell them before its too late. 'Cause you never
know when something's gonna happen to prevent you from doing so."


".I suppose you're right. But still. it's never easy for people like us. to
share our feelings, is it?"


Terry didn't answer. At that point he was staring hard into the night
sky. Yumi expected some response so looked over at him when she didn't get
one. And she saw that serious expression on his face. He was looking at
something. Yumi cast her gaze in the same direction as Terry. Off in the
distance, there were lights in the sky. A few of them were. growing in
size. Then Yumi gasped when she realized that that light wasn't
growing. but rather moving.


Terry growled and dove for Yumi. "Get down!"


The two teens fell to the ground. And that light rushing their way came
straight at EDEN. It smashed into the iron frame of the upper level,
causing a huge explosion that swallowed up a small section of the
deck. Right next to the landing planes and cargo carriers. The combustion
rocked the immediate area and caused debris to be spewed from the explosion
point onwards. Including over the balconies. Terry shielded Yumi from the
blasted scraps of wood and metal with his back. He grunted at the pain, but
bore the weight of it. Flames rose up above. And smoke spread from that
point. EDEN had been attacked by a beam cannon. Looking out into the sky,
Terry could see hundreds of blue lights. Which he knew to be the exhaust
energy of Meta Suits. The blonde man rolled off of Yumi once the debris
stopped falling, and the girl stood up, looking confused as ever
before. "What. is happening.?"


".Ah! Why, those bastards!" Terry growled loudly, "It's Protocol! They've
found EDEN somehow!"


Yumi stared quietly at the Meta Suit army that was coming their
way. ".Protocol? But how. did they get here.?"


"Yumi!" Terry quickly rushed to the doorway, but looked back to address
her, "Hurry! Find one of the attendants and have them lead you to one of
the shelters! I've gotta get to my Meta Suit!"


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


The Shinrai Building.


As Commander Celaph sat on the chair of his desk, he once again found
himself looking up towards the ceiling at the screen coming out of it. And
at the images on that screen. Those of the three hooded men known only as
the Triad of the Inquisition. Once again they were enshrouded in
darkness. And once again they were speaking to the current commander of all
Protocol's military power in Japan.


Celaph clasped his gloved hands together. ".It is as you say. The Thanatos
has been awakened from his slumber and is now being shipped to Ix Nos
Babel. I find that his temperament has changed slightly. Perhaps cryogenic
suspension was actually beneficial for him in the long run."


"That may be so," One of the three said, "but there is still the matter of
his other half. The Eros. Our attempt to catch her was fruitless. And as we
all know. she escaped Meta Tokyo with the Oriax. This is no longer within
the jurisdiction of our abilities. You will have to find her."


Celaph smiled. "She has already been found."


All three men looked on, until the second said, ".You have located the
Eros, Celaph?"


"Yes," He confirmed, "she has been monitored for sometime now by one of my
informants. Not only has she successfully broken the biological restraints
on her powers with mere thought. it appears that she has taken herself in
with Chrysalis."


"Chrysalis?" One of the Triad members replied, "So she met with a rebel in
the outside world, eh? Interesting. What more have you learned from
this. informant?"


"The location of EDEN."


The first Triad member spoke. "You have found EDEN?"


"Yes," The commander separated his hands, "it is six miles off the Japanese
eastern coast. Shrouded by barrier fields strong enough to cloak it from
our scanners for all this time. So I sent Naam and fifty soldiers of the
Divine Blade to secure its destruction."


"You deployed the Divine Blade?" Said the second hooded man.


"I apologize for taking military action without consulting you or at least
the Upper Council. But I didn't want to waste time. Eros is with them. And
the anniversary of her eighteenth year is closing in. I had to assure that
she was secured before then. I am willing to accept the penalties for my
insubordination, sirs."


".We shall ignore that in this case, Commander Celaph," Claimed the first
of the three, "your actions were the correct ones, regardless of the
haste. However it seems risky to trigger a battle in an isolated place like
EDEN. If the Eros is killed. then it was all for naught."


"Do not be worried, sirs." He replied, ".she is far too strong."


The second of the three then said, "Very well. We shall entrust this
mission fully to your hands. However. There will be a slight change of
plans. The Reunion will take place at Ix Nos Babel."


"Ix Nos Babel?" Celaph mimicked absently.


"That is right. The Japanese branch has drawn too much attention to itself
with the release of the Oriax Meta Suit. Cold winter shall be the embrace
this time around. Make the necessary preparations once the operation
against EDEN is complete."


Celaph bowed his head to them in acceptance of that. "Yes, sir."


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


The regular forces of EDEN's defence were known as the Protectors of the
Ark. A symbolic name for their sworn fealty to the Ark of the Luria. And
their control room, their station of command for both the Meta Suit troops
and the foot soldiers, was a Seminal Control Tower of the central eastern
district. Below the steel roof of the upper level was the steel roof of the
control tower, protected from attacks by that level. Normally the
operatives inside the tower were only there to do sweeping checks of the
vicinity around EDEN every few hours. Not to command the city's troops in
the event of an attack. EDEN had never been attacked once in its
forty-three year history. But now the Divine Blade squad of the Holy
Protocol Army had made history.


They had attacked EDEN.


Now people were scrambling to and around the Seminal Control Tower for
guidance on how to act. Fifteen men and women from the upper levels had
come down to man the highly modernized computer terminals of that central
Control Room. And the leader of EDEN's military forces (in terms of
defence) had come, too. He was Colonel Vice Whitfield. The fifty-something
army leader crossed his arms and began giving orders to all the helms
people at hand. For them to relay his orders to counteract this threat. The
whole of EDEN was on red alert. In every hallway, corridor, dorm, hall,
chamber, hanger, shop and storage room, the alert siren was going off. A
repeated mantra of danger, joined by flashing red lights. Over the
intercom, all able-bodied men and women were ordered to make their way from
the city area to the shelters while the regular forces and the Meta Suit
forces scrambled to deal with the attack.


At the back of the control room, the automatic door opened up. Beatrix and
Sophia ran into the room in urgency, moving over to Colonel Whitfield in
the centre of the command post.


"What's going on?" Beatrix asked, "what is happening?"


Whitfield crossed his arms. "We are under attack. At least fifty Meta Suits
from the Divine Blade forces have attacked EDEN. They've already destroyed
at least 20% of the upper level. Now our own troops have to be deployed."


"Above the city!?" Sophia said seriously, "but have you evacuated all the
citizens up there?"


"There was not enough time." Replied Whitfield.


Sophia scowled. "What do you mean by that?! If those people get caught in
the crossfire then they are sure to be killed!"


"You're overstepping rank, Major!" Whitfield shouted, "this is a war we're
fighting, not a game! We have informed everyone to flee to a shelter! If
anyone remains then it's their own fault for not heeding our words! We have
no time this now! Or would you rather see EDEN destroyed?!"


After hearing that outburst from Colonel Whitfield, Sophia said no
more. While Beatrix tried to calm the situation down with another issue,
"what of my grandfather?"


"Father Bartholomeus is safe." Claimed Whitfield.


Beatrix thanked God for that. But she couldn't help but be concerned with
the fate of the upper level.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


High above the artificially lighted Control Tower was the surface of
EDEN. The beautiful night stars were now drowned out in brightness by the
flash of explosions and fire. Fire that burned across the entire east side
of the structure, and now spreading into the over-ground parts of the
city. Young and old alike screamed and ran for cover as the Meta Suits
zoomed high up above in combat. The Divine Blade soldiers rained down heavy
gunfire from their two-handed Beam Rifles. Viscous explosion after vicious
explosion rocked that level to the cast of the metal. People were thrown
off their feet from the strength of the vibrations that emanated from those
compressed bursts of combustion. Smoke seeped through the houses and shops
of the citizens of EDEN. As the townsfolk tried to run they coughed and
wheezed on that smoke. Constantly passing by the mangled corpses of the
current dead as they did. The attack was fast and furious. In a short time
the Divine Blade had done much damage.


The floor hanger doors on the eastern side then opened up. Out from it flew
the Bishamon. Alongside it were the dozens of Meta Suits deployed in the
defence of the city. The brown-coloured Uvalls and Gusions of Chrysalis, as
well as the green-coloured Halphas-type ones that had been created
specifically to defend EDEN. Altogether there was a number of seventy Meta
Suits that had come out of the hanger for the battle. The Bishamon was at
the head of that army. And they all flew in the direction of the attacking
Amon Meta Suits from Protocol's army. While he did, Terry looked down from
the video screen in his cockpit. At least half of the eastern section of
the upper city section was in flames. The Protocol scum had only attacked
around fifteen minutes ago and yet they had obliterated that which had
taken years to build.


"Damn those bastards to hell!" Terry seethed, "Are you with me, guys?! Lets
go kick some ass!"


The Uvalls, Gusions and Halphas' pilots all yelled their agreement and
zoomed into the thicket of the Divine Blade's assault. The purple-coloured
and heavily armoured Amons soon caught onto the mobilization of EDEN's
military and started firing from their beam cannons. EDEN's forces
exchanged that gunfire with their own. Soon the sight of blue and purple
gun energy was shooting through the skies like a pyrotechnic show. The
lights and sounds of the battle could be heard from miles off. And new
explosions took place. Those of destroyed Meta Suits on both sides. The
battle was on. The Bishamon flew through the engaged air above the
city. One of the Amons came flying in from the front. It pulled up its long
beam rifle then fired for Terry's mecha. The Bishamon pumped up its
thrusters and blazed to one side of the gunfire. Then the plates of
Japanese shoulder armour mounted on its shoulders reacted. They rose up
slightly. And out came the twin turrets of the Bishamon's Gatling
capabilities. Dozens of bullets were offloaded in rapid fire bursts from
the Bishamon's shoulder cannons. And the attacking Amon was trapped in that
hail of firepower. Right until it exploded into purple-painted shards of
metal and ash. The gatling guns, one on either shoulder of the Bishamon,
returned to their compartments underneath the armour. Which was when Terry
noticed one coming at him from the left. The Bishamon swung around in
reflex and reached behind its back with one of its large metallic
hands. Then pulled out that enormous Japanese-flavour sword. The thermal
energy Katana. The Bishamon unsheathed the weapon and charged it with
searing hot energy extending from the Qi-Generator of the mech. It then
rushed forwards on the power of its thrusters and slashed. Cutting that
Amon and its pilot into two even halves, with a long streak of jade fire
trailing behind it. The remains of the Amon exploded into nothingness. The
Bishamon flew back around and started hacking a path through all the mecha
in its way. Terry yelled fierce war cries from the crux of his throat with
each strike. Until he saw one particular mecha that caught his interest.


Terry froze in the cockpit, while the Bishamon recoiled from the
destruction of another Amon. He stared through the video screen at a
certain mecha in the battle that was definitely an enemy, but looked
different from the Amon-types. It was of a dusky-red, similar in colour to
his own Meta Suit. But that one had a design like a Teutonic knight. The
thick plates of Prussian/Germanic armour in polished red, with that big
golden lion symbol on its chest, screamed a certain familiarity to
Terry. But he couldn't quite place it.


"That suit." He said, ".where have I seen that suit.?"


Then it all came flashing back. His memories of the past were clear and
concise. When he looked back at the flames of his village, deep in his
memory, Terry could see that same Meta Suit.


That very same one.


".That's the one." He said, anger rising in every syllable, "that's the
one. that killed my father! That's the one that destroyed my village!
Bastaaaaaaaaaaard!"


The Bishamon turned on its thrusters once more and darted through the
crowds of battling mecha, through the explosion and gunfire, all the way to
the presence of that red mecha. While rushing towards it, the twin gatlings
under the Bishamon's shoulder armour came out from their short slumber and
fired. The red mecha, armed with both a mecha-sized broadsword and
mecha-sized wrist shield, caught onto this. The mecha swung around and
pushed forward its circular shield to deflect all the rapid fire
bullets. The Bishamon ceased this attack when Terry realized it was getting
him no where. The gatlings slid back into the shoulder plates. And the two
mechas were left facing each other in the middle of that loud, echoing
battleground in the sky.


Terry yelled out through a com-link so his voice could be heard by the
other pilot. ".You! Who are you?! Were you at the village of Eberbach
eleven years ago!?"


The pilot of the red suit laughed through the speakers of his own
com-link. "Hah, hah, hah! Eberbach! That takes me back. But who would ask
such a question of the great General Naam in the middle of a battle?"


Terry took note of the name and the familiarity of the voice but soon
answered with, "It was you.. You were one of the ones who ruined my
village. damn you."


"A citizen of Eberbach.?" Naam wondered, ".who are you?"


The pilot of the Bishamon snarled. ".Remember it well. Because it's the
name of your executioner. I am Terry Hennig!"


General Naam fell silent for a moment. Right before, ".Terry.? Hennig.? So
then. you must. be the son of Heinrich and. Lilith. So you actually
survived the contest. now that is something I never would have predicted."


".Heinrich and Lilith. that's my mom and dad. How do you know who they
are!? Why did you kill them?!"


Naam swung the broadsword of his Meta Suit to one side in an attempt to
provoke Terry. ".Fool. I'll not make the same mistake twice. What does the
past mean to soldiers in the thick of battle? Come at me in that Samurai
Meta Suit of yours! And see if you can best my Bahamut in a fight! Do you
want revenge?!"


"Orraaaagggghhh!" Terry left nothing to mere words after that. The Bishamon
flew forwards at blinding speeds at the Bahamut. The two thermal-capable
weapons clashed against each other with a warped ripple that passed through
the air in waves. The two Meta Suits locked swords, and their heads leaned
into one and other. The force of their clash pushed them both
back. Bishamon regained its sense of stability first and opened the
shoulder plates once more. A hail of bullets came flying from the turrets
of his gatlings once again. The Bahamut swung up its shield and blocked
them once again. But this time it advanced into a charge whilst guarding
against the bullet shower. The Bahamut's shield rammed into the chestplate
of the Bishamon. Terry and his mecha jerked back violently from that. Then
Naam followed up his attack, swinging the broadsword into the air. The
Bishamon replied. The two swords clashed once more with a loud, throbbing
bang. And they held each other off in this fresh weapon lock. The Bishamon
strained to hold off the heavier blade with its own. Which was when Terry
looked at his control panel. His sensors were reading General Naam's Qi
level at 6,450. And Terry, in his current state of mind, was bearing up at
only 5,200. Naam seemed to notice this too, because Terry could here his
laugher through the speakers of his Meta Suit's mouthpiece. The katana was
now losing ground to the broadsword, coming close to the head of the
Bishamon. Naam was overpowering him. And Terry couldn't focus. His mind was
to caught up with his parents.


".Dammit." He seethed in the cockpit, ".tell me. who are you, Naam? What's
your connection to my parents!? What do you know that I don't?"


Naam sniggered. "Stupid boy. just like your father. the reasons why don't
matter at all. All that matters is the result. And the result for me is
victory."


The Bahamut extended its long mechanical leg and kicked the Bishamon
straight in the stomach area. Which happened to be where the cockpit was
positioned. The samurai-like Meta Suit was knocked out of the sword lock
and thrown out of the air. It went careening into a layout of houses in the
city. The suit smashed into those homes without anything else to cushion
it. Crushing to death the families left trapped inside them. Rubble
clattered over the legs and chest of the Bishamon, while blood ran down
from Terry's forehead. The forceful kicks of the Bahamut were something to
be feared.


".Damn you." Terry seethed to himself weakly, right before he lost
consciousness, encircled by the sound of explosions and gunfire.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


Across the tract of EDEN, a separate team of Amon mechas attacked the
western side of the citadel. The residential area. That team was of four
particular Amons. Each one belonging to a particular pilot of high Divine
Blade rank. Those pilots were Kraepelin, Steed, Aria and Ry. Their Amons
were armed with either beam rifles or energy-charged broadswords linked up
to their generators via a thick cable. And each of them had given a
particular name to their Amons.


Kraepelin regarded his as 'Azazel'. Steed called his 'Bifrons'. Aria had
named her Meta Suit 'Crocell'. Finally Ry called his suit by the name
'Decarabia'. The four of them hovered over the western side of the town
without any EDEN mecha around. They were too caught up with the battle
taking place just a quarter of a mile away. The sound of it was vibrant
enough to be heard from that distance. But it was having no bearing on what
these four did. Those with beam cannons (Bifrons and Crocell) fired
ruthlessly upon the unguarded homes of those living there. Fire swept
through that part of the city wildly. Smoke rose up into the air while the
screams of those torched to death from the fire joined it.


Kraepelin laughed from the cockpit of Azazel while his two friends went
about blowing up innocent citizens. "Heh, heh, heh. Those two are so
zealous. They're worse than me!"


"General Naam should be pleased," Ry said from the safety of his Decarabia,
"the ring leaders of these fragile people should come out at some point. If
we have our way. this whole thing will go down into sea as a distant
memory."


While they spoke, Crocell had its long-snout gun aimed at another group of
houses. It was about to pull the trigger but halted when a family (a man, a
woman and two kids) ran out of the house and onto the 'street', for dear
life. Aria's smile widened and she focused the crosshairs of her rifle at
the four of them, yelling, "Some survivors, eh? Anyone who denies the will
of Protocol must die! Even children! So say goodbye, you little bitches!"


A second female voice yelled out through the speakers of a Meta Suit just
before Crocell pulled the trigger of the beam rifle. "Stop it!"


Aria looked to her right from the cockpit of the Crocell. From her side
cameras she could she a Meta Suit rushing towards her with a long, beaming
energy blade extended from its titanium left hand. But that was the last
thing she would ever see. Bifrons, Decarabia and Azazel became alert. The
energy blade of that Meta Suit slashed straight through the metal torso of
the Crocell. That mecha burst backwards from the hacked machine. And the
Crocell exploded violently in the air, killing Aria instantly. While the
family that she had aimed at continued to escape. Bifrons, Decarabia and
Azazel readied their weapons and stared down at this mecha. But they knew
it well. Or at least from what General Naam had told them.


It was the Oriax.


And its pilot, Yumi Mishima, was sitting on the elongated leather seat of
its watery trans-dimensional cockpit with her hands at the controls.


Steed growled angrily from his cockpit. "Damn you! Killing Aria was a
mistake you won't live to regret!"


"So that's the one." Ry commented.


"The Oriax." Kraepelin grinned, ".this should be fun."


Yumi yelled at them from the Oriax's mouthpiece. "I didn't want to fight! I
didn't want to kill again! But you attacked a peaceful haven for peaceful
people! I can't ignore that! Even if it causes me pain, I cannot let you
kill innocent people!"


Steed snarled at her, while the Bifrons leapt into a charging action
towards the Oriax. "Little girl! If you can't handle the battlefield then
stay. away!"


The Oriax watched the actions of the attacking Bifrons. It fired a hard
shot from its beam cannon. The Oriax vaulted upwards with its thrusters as
well as its Zero Gravity Movement. Then it protruded its right hand. The
palm opened and a Vulcan turret shifted out. The Oriax fired rapidly into
the steel torso of the Bifrons. Hundreds of bullets were buried into its
armour by the time it was done. Steed yelled a death cry when the whole
thing exploded, joining Aria in the great beyond. Decarabia rushed forwards
without a word coming from Ry and tried to slash the Oriax with its energy
sword. Yumi powered up the Oriax's Gauntlet Blade once again and slashed
back. The Oriax's energy blade burned straight through the sword of the
Decarabia and then down into its armour. It swiftly dragged the Gauntlet
Blade out of the Amon-type Meta Suit moments before it blew up. The oil
from the remains of the machine splattered over the chest and head of the
Oriax. But that left only the Azazel.


Kraepelin shivered in his cockpit. ".H-how can a Meta Suit be that strong.?
According to Azazel's readings. that suit is running on a Qi level of over
9, 500!"


The Oriax lifted its blazing energy wrist blade and pointed it at the
Azazel, while Yumi said to the pilot, "This does not have to continue any
longer! Please just leave!"


Kraepelin sneered however. ".Wrong! I won't leave. This is just a
setback. You're nothing but a kid! And I know exactly who you are! The one
that General Naam told us to capture. the pilot of the Oriax. Yumi Mishima!
Now it's all coming to a head."


"What are you talking about.?"


"It's simple," Kraepelin jabbed, ".you're too soft to be a soldier. I can
hear it in your voice. You're completely unprepared for battle. And it will
be your downfall!"


Yumi watched from the Oriax as Azazel opened a compartment in its metallic
wrist. A gatling gun of its own came up slowly from it. Then it pointed
directly towards the ground they were hovering over. "My sensors tell me
that there are at least fifteen living people inside the three houses that
are below me. I can offload at least 200 bullets in the five seconds it
would take for you to fly over here and chop my Meta Suit in half. That's
more than enough firepower to kill every single one of them! Even the
little baby bawling in its cot! Unless you surrender and hand over the
Oriax, I'll kill them all!"


"W-what!?"


Kraepelin grinned evilly. ".You have two choices. You can either attack and
watch me murder those pathetic bystanders just an instant before I die. or
you can submit and I'll let them live."


"Y-you're bluffing!" Yumi argued, "You'd kill them anyway!"


"Maybe I am bluffing. Maybe I'm not. But the real question is. are you
prepared to risk their lives to find out.?"


A bead of sweat dripped down Yumi's face. Her eyes shook. Even now she
could see flashes of that little girl version of herself covered in
blood. And the voice of Terry in her mind. 'I'd give anything to assure
that no other little boy would have to make that choice'. In that way. it
was obvious that she had no choice but to surrender. Even if this man was
bluffing (and there didn't really seem to be a reason as to why we would)
she couldn't risk someone being killed if there was something she could do
about it. Yumi sighed in defeat, lowering her head. ".You win."


Kraepelin sniggered. ".Good. I knew you'd see sense. Now get out of the
cockpit."


The Oriax slowly descended to ground level. It landed on a street of the
city, and the door forged into the stomach of the machine (the one that led
into the miniature cockpit-dimension) opened. Yumi stepped out of the door
to its innards and jumped down to the blazing fires of the streets
below. She looked up at the now lofty Azazel, which kept its gatling
gauntlet pointed at the houses Kraepelin had threatened to gun down. The
Azazel landed loudly. Its own cockpit door opened. And Kraepelin stepped
out with a gun in his uniformed hand. He jumped out off the Meta Suit as
Yumi had done and landed to the ground. Then walked forwards with the gun
pointed at the young woman. While he walked he stuffed his hand into his
pocket. Then pulled out a pair of handcuffs. He tossed them to the feet of
Yumi.


"Put those on." He ordered.


Yumi sighed and kneeled down. Taking the cuffs into her hands she attached
them to her wrists awkwardly. Kraepelin chuckled with victory. Then stepped
forwards, coming face to face with the securely restrained girl. He then
grit his teeth at her and smacked her violently over the face with the butt
of his gun. Yumi cried out and dropped to the ground, bleeding from the
mouth.


Kraepelin then sheathed his gun in its pocket holster. "That's for Aria,
Steed and Ry. Know this. Anyone who defies Protocol earns themselves a
one-way ticket to hell."


Yumi coughed from the smoke and heat, spurting up blood which splattered
over the metal floor. ".T-tell me. h-how. did you. find this. place.?"


"Hmph," Kraepelin looked over to the right, ".to regard it in terms of a
criminal offence. I'd have to call it an act of espionage. She's supplied
us with more information on EDEN and its military capabilities than you can
imagine."


Yumi rolled over onto her stomach to she could look to the right, as
Kraepelin had done. Though she had not noticed it before, there was a small
fighter plane nestled between two artificial gardens on the other side of
the road. It had been newly landed. And a woman stood astride it. Bearing
long black hair and dressed in a Protocol military uniform of dark green. A
woman. Yumi couldn't see her very well at first because of the smoke and
the shadows of the fire that was cast upon her. It wasn't until the woman,
that informant for Protocol, stepped forward that Yumi saw her face. The
hacker's eyes enlarged and her heart skipped a beat. The Protocolian spy
was.


".C-Chizuru.?!"


The dark-haired woman, now with a very serious expression on her
frighteningly dazzling face, stopped walking. "That's not my name. I am
Lieutenant First Class -- Chizu Yagata. Operative of the Special
Reconnaissance & Tactical Intelligence Division of the Holy Protocol
Army. And you, Miss Mishima, you once again belong to Protocol."


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

I am my own parasite

I don't need a host to live

We feed off of each other

We can share our endorphins

Doll steak, test meat

Look on the bright side is suicide

Lost eyesight I'm on your side

Angel left wing, right wing, broken wing

Lack of iron and/or sleeping

I am my own pet virus

I get to pet and name her

Her milk is my shit

My shit is her milk

Test meat, doll steak

Look on the bright side is suicide

Lost eyesight I'm on your side

Angel left wing, right wing, broken wing

Lack of iron and/or sleeping

Doll steak, test meat

Look on the bright side is suicide

Lost eyesight I'm on your side

Angel left wing, right wing, broken wing

Lack of iron and/or sleeping

Protector of the kennel

Ecto-plasma

Ecto-skeletal

Obituary birthday

Your scent is still here in my place of recovery

~ 'Milk It', Nirvana

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


Chronicle Four - the RE-birth of God

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


The Arctic.


That part of the northern hemisphere surrounding the North Pole; that which
is arbitrarily defined as the region lying N of the Arctic Circle (66º
32'N) or N of the tree line. And there was no Arctic continent. The greater
part of the region comprised the Arctic Ocean,

which was the world's smallest ocean. Arctic climate, fauna, and flora
extended over the islands and northern edges of continental land masses
that surrounded the Arctic Ocean (examples of which being Svalbard,
Iceland, Greenland, Siberia, Scandinavia and Alaska). The region
immediately at and around the North Pole was covered with rough sea ice,
and the depth of the water at the North Pole itself was more than 3,658
m/2,000 fathoms. If truth be told, the whole ocean was covered over with
sea ice, which varied in depth from 1.5 m/5 ft to 9 m/30 ft, with an
average of about 3 m/33 ft.


With all that in mind, the Arctic Circle region was not a good place for
man to settle. However 85 years ago, the group Protocol employed over 32
large Russian submarines as well as 35,000 able men from around the globe,
to build an artificial island in the middle point of the circle, an island
which would later become known as 'Kyoga'. It was a large land mass
considering the fact that it was built by mankind itself, at over 3.3 miles
in length and 4.2 miles in distance. Eternally covered in snow, only a
select few had ever seen the Kyoga. And so its existence was often rumoured
as a myth in some critic circles outside of the Protocol Organization.


There were some people who often called it the 'Second St. Helena', due to
the rumours that a well-known cyber-criminal had been imprisoned there for
his part in the spreading of a hyper-worm virus, which infected 2,500,000
computers worldwide. But what those few people could confirm, was that it
was the home of a gigantic tower forged in the centre of the icy synthetic
island. That tower was at a height of 23 kilometres and at width of 12
kilometres. The fact was, it could be seen from any distance upon the
island. Anyone in the upper ranks of Protocolian sway knew that this place
was the true HQ of the Protocol organization.


It was called. Ix Nos Babel.


And that was Terry's target.


Across the deep layers of ice on Kyoga Island, a large red Meta Suit flew
low across the ground, while light snow fell down from the grey heavens
above. It was the Bishamon suit. But now looking far different than it did
three weeks ago. Its frame had become smaller and sleeker, with extra power
diverted to the thrusters as well as a completely new Energy Katana
sheathed at its back. The suit was covered with all new polish which showed
its upgrades. A faster, stronger version of the previous model of the same
name. This was the Bishamon M-2. Terry's eyes hardened from the cockpit as
he looked ahead through its cameras. In the distance there was a long line
of armaments. Tall Amon-type Meta Suits standing guard alongside power
generators. Those that had been created to sustain an invisible (to the
human eye) wall of energy. In front of that energy wall were hundreds of
ground-based laser cannons running on the same operating system as the
power generators for the shield. Behind that wall of defence was the
distant presence of that Protocol base, Ix Nos Babel, just two more miles
inland.


".This must be the Second Defensive Line of the three, eh?" Terry
commented, "looks tougher than the one on the shoreline. But now nothing is
gonna stop me. Just you wait, Naam."


He poured more force into the thrusters built into the legs of the
Bishamon. It propelled him at a harder rate towards the Second Defensive
Line. A system of protection for the tower known as Ix Nos Babel. The
Bishamon shifted its arm up. The red metal wrist of the mecha opened up in
part. A compartment opened. A small but powerful wrist cannon, one running
on Qi energy rather than bullets or plasmatic/thermal energy, rose from
it. Terry aimed the crosshairs on his video screen directly for the chain
of power generators behind the shield. Then fired. A thin but extremely
high frequency blast of energy shot from the wrist cannon towards the
shield, burning the air around it. The power beam struck into the shield
violently and did its job. Breaking straight through it. The blast then
hurtled into the power generators as the target. The following explosion
echoed throughout the area. Metal and fire was tossed upwards as far as the
eye could see. Then those nearby Amons were caught up in that combustion,
flame spreading across the ground, too strong to be put out by falling
flakes of snow. The Bishamon returned its wrist cannon to its wrist and
then rushed ahead at the broken shield. It reached back and pulled out the
long Energy Katana sheathed on its back. Once awakened, the sword began to
charge itself up with bright streaks of powerful Qi energy, that of Terry,
magnified by the strength of the Bishamon's Qi-Generator. By that time the
Amons on guard were already flying up and leaving their posts to bring down
the attacker. Terry snarled angrily at the Amons coming his way.


"Bastards! You won't stop me!" He screamed, "I'll rescue Yumi and tear down
that tower all by myself!"


While watching the group of Amons charge him, Terry could not help but
remember the point at which he had been given this new power.


~~~~~~~~~~


The Leviathan had been a quiet place after the escape from EDEN. So many
things had gone wrong by now. The battle was poorly handled. All of the
Meta Suits at the disposal of the defensive forces should have been
deployed at once. But there were delays with getting to the launch bays,
because of the survivors hiding there. There were hundreds of them and they
had not been properly instructed into reaching the shelters. Thus delaying
support troops from reaching the battlefield once the battle turned against
them. Over 230,000 men, women and children had been killed. That figure was
an estimate. Of the 0.95 million people living on EDEN, close to a quarter
of them had been killed. The other three quarters were now prisoners. Once
the battle reached the hour mark, it was a lost cause. People who had not
been evacuated were jumping for escape crafts to get away. While the
Leviathan and ships like it took in as many survivors as possible. By the
time that Beatrix and the rest of the Chrysalis operatives had filled the
Leviathan to its maximum capacity, it had to leave. Protocol had gotten
inside. And the fire had spread down with them.


What added to that nightmare, was the fact that Protocol had somehow
captured Yumi and the Oriax. And her friend Chizuru was nowhere to be
seen. EDEN was now in the hands of the enemy. As well as the 718,000 people
still trapped inside it. That was two and a half weeks ago. The Leviathan
had by now flown to a separate hideout in the Gobi Desert. It was called
the 'Mouth of the Shenlong', and the 2,000 survivors that the ship had
escaped with were now being delivered there. The Mouth of the Shenlong was
far smaller than EDEN, with only a maximum number of 100,000 outsiders
living there. But it had plenty of room. And most of all it was safe.


Deep in the Leviathan was its large hanger bay. Walking through it was
Lieutenant Terry Hennig along with Major Sophia Mariette. The Major looked
over at the Lieutenant with pensive eyes. He had changed a little since the
capture of EDEN. Terry's demeanour had become angry and unhinged. Both
losing Yumi; the girl he had suddenly connected with, and facing defeat at
the hands of General Naam; leader of the Divine Blade and killer of his
parents, caused that deeply rooted anger to surface from his heart. Sophia
only hoped that this might do him some good. He was the best pilot in
Chrysalis, without a doubt.


"Lieutenant, I'm sure you're wondering why I brought you here."


Terry said nothing.


Sophia sighed. ".I can't say anything to make this feel any better for
you. But I think there might be something we can give you to at least help
the situation."


The pair of them stopped just before a Meta Suit that had been covered over
with a enormous brown rag. Sophia signalled to the two men up above to pull
the rag of the suit. With some effort they managed to do that. Terry's
frown transformed into a stunned glare when he saw what was underneath
it. A leaner, meaner, and tougher version of the Bishamon. Glistening in
the moonlight that came through the launch doors.


".Bishamon.?" Terry uttered in disbelief, "you've restored it.?"


Sophia nodded. "Yes. After our troops found you unconscious in it during
the battle, they brought you back to the Leviathan, just as you know. But
what you didn't know was that we also took the suit. It would have been
simple to just repair it. But then I, with Colonel Beatrix's permission,
ordered the engineering team to completely remodel it from top to
bottom. The titanium ore we were able to synthesize after the battle in
Shiratoo'i was used for it. The shoulder gatlings and operating systems are
identical to the previous model, but everything else is new. In the wrist,
a miniature beam cannon has been added, but it runs off the Qi-Generator
rather than an energy cartridge. Also the horsepower of the thrusters has
been overhauled. You can reach speeds of up to 700-mphs which will add much
more power to your attacks during Zero Gravity Movement. This is the
Bishamon M-2."


Terry looked up at the tall, intimidating Meta Suit. "Bishamon M-2."


~~~~~~~~~~


The line of thirty Amon Meta Suits pulled up their large hand guns and
began firing at the target. The Bishamon dodged past all that gun fire. It
flew upwards and downwards at lightning-fast speeds, dodging and darting
through all of the blasts. Manipulating speed and agility that the previous
Bishamon couldn't have hoped to have achieved. Then it slashed downwards
with the katana. A huge wave of Qi energy trailed along the movements of
the blade and then was hurled forwards from it, coming down in a sweeping
arc, in the abstract shaped of a bird of prey. The Qi wave sliced through
the troop of Amons. It cut savagely through the first line of ten. Then the
second line. Then finally the third. Vivid chain explosions of thirty
followed the attack. Huge pillars of smoke and fire rose into that cold,
cold air. Yet the Bishamon just flew through it. Then went about
slaughtering the remaining seventy Amons that were directly in its way. The
purple debris and black oil of the mecha littered the ground like flesh and
blood, while the men piloting the Amons stood no chance against the
Bishamon.


"Yaaah!" Terry howled a war cry, his Bishamon's sword hacking through and
destroying Amon after Amon, "D'you hear me, Naam!? I'm coming for
yaaaaaaaahh!"


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


".So you're finally awake.?"


Yumi moaned softly from her lips. Her eyes still felt heavy and tired. But
her body it seems was rejecting anymore sleep than what she had gone
through so far. Her tired eyelids started to flutter open. And her eyesight
was hazy. She must have been asleep for a while. The redness of her eyes
and the matter around them was proof of that much. All the same, Yumi
started to awaken. She opened her eyes fully, realizing that her head was
drooping downwards. From that position she could see a long white dress on
her body. While her bare feet dangled just a short distance from the
ground. Then she noticed ache in the joints of her arms. She was chained to
a wall with her arms reaching up diagonally. Forming her body into a sort
of Y shape. The hacker tilted her head back up. Then looked forwards. A
woman was standing before her by a metre. A woman dressed in a green
Protocol uniform. That woman was the one who betrayed Yumi. The one who had
supplied information to Protocol about the location of EDEN. The one who
had monitored Yumi in secret. The one who Yumi felt she could really care
about. Even now. it hurt Yumi's heart to know of her true colours.


and that woman was Chizuru Matsubana.


Or rather, 'Chizu Yagata'.


The Protocolian spy.


".Chizuru," Yumi whispered, almost in a sob, ".why.?"


The very serious and now prolifically non-ditzy Chizu crossed her
arms. ".I'm just following orders, Miss Mishima. It's nothing personal,
really. I've been tracking and monitoring you for years now. That was my
mission. To watch you and observe the development of your powers. Once you
entered college, you became more distant than usual. Living only through
cyber-space. So I was forced to recruit myself in the same college as
you. All for the purpose of getting close enough to observe your
progression. While delivering information of the location of EDEN to
Commander Celaph was not part of my orders, it was my duty to do so."


".B-but. I. thought."


"What?" Chizu prodded, "That I cared for you? I'm not heartless. I never
once pretended to be your friend or a potential lover. I hold no ties to
anyone but the Commander."


Yumi's heart ached. She could hear the quiver in Chizu's voice when she
spoke of her leader. ".The Commander..?"


"William Ank Celaph," Chizu uttered coolly, "my fiancée."


And that was the final nail in the coffin of Yumi's heart. Not only was
Chizu as spy, not only had she betrayed Yumi, not only did she not have
feelings for Yumi from the beginning, but she was in love with someone
else. The same man who had probably ordered the attack on EDEN. A heavy
sense of pain and betrayal infected Yumi's heart. There was no getting over
something like this. She could stand it if everyone else had betrayed
her. But not Chizuru/Chizu. That was the greatest agony of all. Yumi was
utterly devastated.


Chizu observed the white-haired girl for a brief moment, and then
sighed. ".At least be thankful that you still have your life. Many on EDEN
were not so lucky. Now that metal ocean city is under our control."


A tear dropped from Yumi's cheek. ".How could you.?"


"Very easily," Chizu answered, "it's my job. I was only following orders
like I told you before, Miss Mishima. The will of Protocol must be
upheld. As long as the people see that. then there is no need for
bloodshed. If any losses were sustained as a result of the battle then it
is the duty of the rebels to bear the responsibility. Our way at Protocol
is not destruction but rather preservation. That is our wish. In the
hallowed name of God, our righteousness will prevail. Insurrectionist
militias like Chrysalis, heretics like Father Bartholomeus, and
establishments like EDEN stand in our way. Thus they stand in the way of
God. And we just can't have that."


".You're not the woman I thought. you were." Yumi said in tears.


Chizu frowned. Then turned her back on Yumi. They were inside a circular
room. One that was shaped like a large hexagon. It was of pure white. And
Chizu walked towards the door. She pressed a few keys on the control panel
and the automatic door opened. A man was waiting out there. Yumi could just
about see him from that distance. An Englishman. Though Yumi couldn't quite
hear what was said, the man walked up to Chizu and said,


"Is she awake yet, Lieutenant Yagata?"


Chizu nodded. "Yes. Are you going to speak with her?"


"I will. By the way. An unknown custom model Meta Suit has just broken
through the secondary defensive line. Send orders to the North Control
Room. Have them station as many of the Baal-types as possible to bolster
the third defensive line. Then we'll dine later on."


Chizu saluted him. "Yes sir."


The spy then went off to do as commanded, while the Englishman walked into
Yumi's pure white holding chamber. The automatic door closed behind
him. And he walked up to the restrained Yumi, his cape flowing behind him
like a banner. The taller man stopped when he reached within a metre of
her. Then crossed his arms and looked over Yumi.


"So you are the infamous 'Yumi Mishima'," He commented, "a child female
with the ability to not only steal programs from our own mainframes and
pilot the Oriax Meta Suit. but change the world. Your Qi is enormous. Quite
frankly I've never heard of anyone possessing a stronger Qi force than
yours. Katsuragi was right about you all along."


Yumi observed this man. ".Who. are you.?"


"William Ank Celaph," He proclaimed, "Substitute commander for the Japanese
forces of the Holy Protocol Army. I was commissioned to come here by our
leaders for this. It's your eighteenth birthday today, is it not?"


The hacker stared at the commander. This was William Ank Celaph. He was the
man that Chizu was engaged to. Another member of Protocol. And he was the
one who ordered the attack on EDEN. When Yumi did not reply to him, Celaph
continued regardless.


".I imagine that this is all a shock to you. I suppose you should know that
EDEN is now in our grasp. The ring leaders and main operatives for that
group you had contact with, Chrysalis, are on the run. But it is only a
matter of time before we find them. Your decision to submit rather than
fight was wise. Please don't think I do not respect that."


Yumi looked away. ".I don't want your 'respect'."


"Well I can see as much." Celaph replied, "but I can at least inform you of
certain things. You might be a prisoner. but we only treat you so because
of your exceptional powers. Those shackles you are restrained in are made
from a particular kind of alloy. One that has a chemical agent mixed into
it. That chemical blocks out Qi force. We must take precautions with
someone such as yourself."


Yumi rolled her head to one side, looking around. Celaph noticed this and
spoke up once again. "Are you wondering where you are? This place is a
holding cell in a structure known as Ix Nos Babel. It is our
headquarters. The fact that you have been brought here must show to
you. your importance to us."


".What is it. that you want.?"


"From you? I suppose there is no harm in telling you this now. Ix Nos Babel
is built over an artificial island in the Arctic Circle. It may seem odd to
base our headquarters in such a strange place. However deep below the ice,
on the sea bed of the Arctic Ocean, there are certain buildings. We call
them the 'Ancient Ruins'. They are the last trace of the first ever human
civilization on Earth. 78 years ago a Protocolian submarine was damaged and
ended up very close to the Ancient Ruins. When our retrieval team went to
save them, they stumbled upon those ruins. We spent the next 28 years
excavating them. Which was when we discovered the Tablets of Destiny."


Yumi blinked. ".Tablets. of Destiny."


"The last remaining piece of literature of that civilization. It detailed
the events of the Seven Keys. And the results. You see. mankind did not
evolve from simians. Homo Sapiens were an instantaneous creation of a God
that came down from the stars. That perfect God, which we refer to as
'Novus Deus', produced an organism that we have called Bio-System. It was a
very intricately designed life-form, that had an unmistakable need to
assimilate information. Almost alike a computer. And it eventually began to
divide itself as the knowledge that the Bio-System gained gave it the
ability to do so. The Bio-System separated into multiple organisms that we
call humanity. However. humanity may not have had a biological connection
to each other anymore. but what it did have was a sustained psychological
correlation. Our minds were still connected in a synonymous network not
unlike the Internet. We call that the Interlink. Its power was so great
that if one man died on one end of the world, another man on the other end
of the world would know about it in seconds. All this was overseen by the
Novus Deus, guiding its children. But then tragedy struck."


"Tragedy?"


"A sole woman attempted to manipulate all knowledge to herself using the
Interlink to her own advantage. This caused the Interlink's
breakdown. Forever dividing mankind into a thousand races, hearts, minds
and souls. This event was known as the Second Sin. And it had a chain
reaction. For now that the Interlink was broken, the Novus Deus had no
means by which to sustain itself. It was polluted by the Second Sin, and
died. Its corpse then halved itself into two forms. The Eros and the
Thanatos. The Eros representing mankind's potential for life, and the
Thanatos representing mankind's eventual passage into death. Those events
took place within the space of seven days. Thus comes the term 'Seven
Keys'. Eros and Thanatos, those two organisms, those offshoots of the death
of the Novus Deus, became pivotal to the future of the world. Because they
are drawn to each other through time and space. Destiny proclaimed that the
Novus Deus would rise again, and that every 148 years, the Eros and
Thanatos would find each other and mate, to produce a new Novus
Deus. However. One would not be born until the impurities caused by the
Second Sin had been 'bred out' of the bloodline. Consequently. if a
particular generation's Eros and Thanatos still possessed too much of the
evil of the Second Sin in its blood, an imperfect Novus Deus. a 'Vulnus
Deus'. would be born. An imperfect God. eternally a trigger for tragic
event. So far there has not been a perfect birth since the arrival of the
original Novus Deus. Every 148 years the Eros and Thanatos mate and yet
they have created only Vulnus Deus. These Vulnus Deus then die shortly
afterwards, separating into two forms. Those two forms are embryos that
hibernate and evolve into the Eros and Thanatos of the next generation, 130
years later. Once they both turn 18... they mate. and the cycle
continues. And it will continue again and again and again until a Novus
Deus is born."


Yumi was shocked. She knew the general trend of that story from what Father
Bartholomeus told her, but there was so much more to it. Celaph watched
Yumi's reaction and said, "Since the Novus Deus died more than 6,000 years
ago, it should be obvious to you now that there has never been a successful
mating between the many incarnations of the Eros and Thanatos throughout
time. But we believe. that this time will be different."


"Maybe so," Yumi commented, "but what does ANY of that have to do with me?"


Celaph smiled at her. ".Hasn't it sunk in yet? The reason we have monitored
and kidnapped you so unceremoniously is because. you are this generation's
Eros."


Yumi's eyed widened. ".Me.?"


"Correct," Said the commander, "that is the reason you possess such strong
Qi force. And by now you may wonder what the Oriax has in connection to all
of this. Because by now you must have realized that it is not purely
mechanical. It was created with the remains of the last Vulnus Deus. The
creature you were spawned from. Its carcass was buried under the ice of the
Arctic Circle, produced by two research workers in 2005. It was that Vulnus
Deus birth that stimulated the nuclear war between Iran and the West. Which
consequently gave Protocol the means by which to govern the world after the
war ended. 30% of the Oriax and its brother mecha, the Raum, was created
from the cloned cells left of the Vulnus Deus. It reacts well with you. In
some ways. it was truly created for you."


Yumi was stunned. So she was the Eros. ".I can't. believe."


"This is probably all very overwhelming," Celaph said, "but it is not an
illusion, I assure you."


"But. what do. you plan on doing. if a. perfect. God is."


Celaph finished her sentence for her. ".Born? You might think that Protocol
is controlled by the Upper Council. But our true leaders are three
prophets. Aherg, Ein, and Karahi. As a unit they are known as the Triad of
the Inquisition. They are Protocol's unseen benefactors. And they have
declared our fate. Once the Novus Deus is born. humanity will become as one
organism. We will merge into a sole form, free from the divides of
language, thought, race, sex, sexuality, creed and physical
appearance. Humanity will be restored to its original Bio-System
form. Novus Deus will breathe new life into the planet. We shall all become
one."


Yumi looked on with fright. "B-but that's. crazy."


".Is it? You only think that way because of your imperfect individuality,
Eros. That will be gone soon. Mankind will once again assume one form."


The hacker lowered her head. "No. this isn't."


"You have no choice in the matter, Miss Mishima. Because you are a direct
descendant of a perfect God. And today you will give birth to a second
one."


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


After the success of the Divine Blade forces in the attack against EDEN,
their stationing at the Shinrai Complex of Meta Tokyo was officially
absolved. In the three weeks after that day, the Divine Blade had been
ordered to leave for Ix Nos Babel as soon as they got back from the EDEN
battle. Commander Celaph had come with them at the command of the upper
branches. No one, not even the leader of the Divine Blade, General Naam,
knew what the reason was for it. But most suspected that it had something
to do with the Meta Suit that had been re-captured. As well as the female
pilot that had 'stolen' it from the Shinrai Complex. Yumi Mishima and the
Oriax.


Most members of the Divine Blade were happy to go. Ix Nos Babel was like
holy ground for Protocol members. But ironically, the only one of the
Divine Blade who did not share that jubilation was General Naam.


Right now the haughty military genius stood in one of the thirty great
hanger bays of Ix Nos Babel. He looked up, staring blankly at the presence
of his knightly Meta Suit, the Bahamut. It stood with its broadsword
between its hands, the tip on the ground. Naam crossed his arms and
remained there. just staring at it. The damage it had taken during the
battle had been repaired days ago. Now his forces were just waiting for
orders from above. But Naam wasn't thinking about any of that. Though his
eyes were fixed on Bahamut, his mind was picturing that red Bishamon
suit. As well as the voice of the pilot that was inside it.


General Naam scowled, whispering to himself. ".It's like a revival from the
grave. They probably even look the same. His voice and his fire. just
like. Heinrich."


While dozens of the other Divine Blade soldiers around worked on updating
and repairing their suits, there was one guy who didn't need to. And he
walked over to the pensive general with a smile on his face. That man was
the Swiss Pilot Kraepelin. The man who had taken in the Oriax Meta Suit.


"General?" He said, "is everything alright?"


Naam turned his head. ".Hm. It's you, Kraepelin. Enjoying your promotion to
Captain, are you?"


"Yes sir," Kraepelin replied eagerly, "it was something that my partners,
Steed, Aria and Ry; always wanted for me. And it feels magnificent that I
got this promotion thanks to capturing the girl who killed them
all. They'll rest easy knowing that. And now that I'm a captain. it gives
me all the perks of custom-built mechas."


Naam looked over at the Meta Suit next to his own. The one that had been
given to Kraepelin as a symbol and reward for his promotion. It was a
custom-built mecha known as Eon. The armour was painted black and gold. It
had a leaner shape than the Bahamut but a stockier one than the Amons. Its
main weapons were its wrist gatlings and that powerful flamethrower rifle
connected to Eon by the upper right arm. Far more powerful than any Amon or
Zagan-type suit.


General Naam then looked back with a still face at the Bahamut. "Good for
you."


Captain Kraepelin twisted his face into one of confusion. "This isn't like
you, General. You are usually the most driven of us all."


"I met a certain warrior on EDEN," Replied the general, "I bested him in
combat, but. I spared him for some reason. Fighting him was like fighting
my past. I never thought I'd feel that way again."


".What's that mean.?"


Naam sighed. ".Did I ever tell you about how I joined Protocol, Captain? I
was born outside of the Meta Cities. In a German village called
Eberbach. It was a sleepy local. I hated it. It was boring, plain, and
simplistic. My fighting spirit was tortured from living there. But most of
all. I would have done anything to escape the shadow of my brother. By the
time I left. he had married the one woman I wanted to have above all
else. I swore that I'd come back and take my revenge on my brother and
Eberbach Village. So I joined Protocol and rose up in rank to become
general. Then eleven years ago I decided to fulfil my destiny and destroy
Eberbach. What better way than test out new mecha in a training program? It
gave me total freedom. And I got my revenge. Killing a man I wanted dead
since he was born. and 'killing' the woman. I did not want to kill. That
boy I met was a survivor of that day. a survivor of Eberbach."


Kraepelin had never been told this before. The young man ran a hand through
his bangs and wondered, "Fair enough. But can I ask you something.? Why did
you spare that kid?"


"." Naam said nothing.


"Was he someone you knew before leaving Eberbach?"


The General continued to look at Bahamut. Though his mind was clearly
elsewhere. ".He's so much like his father."


Kraepelin tilted his head to one side. "Huh?"


".That boy. is my nephew," Naam stated, "and the next time I see him. I'll
kill him."


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


The Bishamon M-2 blazed a trail across the snow.


Its clear blue exhaust flowed from the lower end of its legs as it rushed
forwards across the snow towards the mighty Ix Nos Babel. It was protected
by three rings of military defence. The Defence Lines. The Bishamon had
smashed his way through the previous two. Now as it came closer to Ix Nos
Babel, the third line was coming into view. It had no barriers. Just pure
military defences in its ranks. Twice the amount of cannons that the second
line had and four times the amount of cannons that the first one had. But
more than that, the third line had a different kind of mass-production Meta
Suit guarding watchfully. A new model. Terry could tell because of the
sheen, even in snowfall. Their armour was coloured an even lighter purple
than the Amons, and their hand cannons seemed smaller in size. But equally
new. They did not look ordinary somehow.


But by this point, Terry was too consumed by rage to care about the
capabilities of any new Meta Suits coming his way. But these were not quite
Meta Suits. Because they were the Baals. And they did not rely on a
pilot. They were controlled by an AI fighting system. A kind of brain to
control an unmanned Meta Suit. The Baal was the first in a line of that
which would come to be known as the Marionette.


Terry pushed forwards, looking at the line up from the cameras of his
cockpit. ".So. Saved the beef for last, eh? Just watch me, you
motherfuckers! Bishamon and I won't be stopped by no half-assed drones!"


The Bishamon, with his Energy Katana fully powered up, flew out to the
third and final line directly. Where over 400 large ground based cannons
and 70+ Baal suits were waiting for him. The frontal groups of those
cannons swung around aimed in the direction of the attacking
Bishamon. Before they got their shots off, Bishamon's shoulder gatlings
made their appearance. The shoulder plates of the mecha's armour rose up
and out came the turrets. It fired seconds later at a heavier rate of fire
than the old Bishamon could muster. Hundreds of bullets rained down on
three of the charging cannons, causing them to explode in a cluster of
flames. Those flames spread from force of the explosion. But at a smaller
distance than Terry had hoped for. His shoulder gatlings returned to their
position under the plates. But then came the gunfire. The first eight of
the cannons fired in unison at the target. A huge wave of laser-fire swept
across the fields of snow towards the Bishamon. Blasted at a speed far
higher than the cannons of the other two defensive lines. Bishamon kept up
the pace of its flying until it was bombarded by that gunfire. That wave of
cannon blasts stopped the process of flight dead in its tracks. Battering
the armour of the Bishamon with tremendous destructive force, knocking the
Meta Suit to and fro as if it were a tossed leaf on the wind


"Aaaah!" Terry cried. The force of the numerous impacts knocked the
Bishamon back. Hurling it out of that flight path. Terry's back slapped
hard on the seat of the cockpit, causing a rough cough from his throat. But
he toughed it out.


Sweat dripped down Terry's face once the first wave of gunfire ended. The
cannons stopped to re-charge for the next wave. But the results had been
felt. Already the Bishamon's sensors were detecting damage. The right arm,
left leg and right chestplate had been injured in the rain of energy. It
was not serious damage but it meant that the sword wouldn't be able to be
swung to the same degree of strength as before. By now some of the Baals
were rising up from their positions on the snow and were now flying
straight towards the floating (but un-moving) Bishamon.


Terry watched them come, closing one of his eyes and pulling an angry
smile, all the while his shoulders fell up and down from his tired, heavy
breathing. ".Bring it on! I'll do whatever it takes to avenge my mom and
dad. I'll fight all day and all night if I have to.!"


One of the advancing Baal's pulled up its hand cannon and fired. The shot
streamlined for the Bishamon. And that shot nailed its right
shoulder. Metal was blown from its source from the force of that compressed
blast. Damaging the Bishamon in one go.


".N-not bad." Terry admitted, ".how's this!?"


The Bishamon pulled up its arm and pointed at the incoming Baal type. The
compartment with the wrist Qi-cannon opened. And it fired another powerful
but condensed blast of jade force towards the Baals. The group of them flew
apart like a flock of birds, darting to all sides in a uniformed
pattern. The forceful blast from the Bishamon's cannon hit nothing but air.


Terry's bleak grin widened, though his situation was nothing to smile
about. ".Damn! They're faster than I thought they'd be."


The Bishamon activated its thrusters and locked on to the closest of the
Baal sentries. The flames of Qi-energy around the blade of its katana were
magnified. Then it vaulted forwards and slashed. The Baal was chopped
straight into two flaming pieces of steel, which exploded once cut. Before
the flames of the explosion ended a second shot then came from behind. The
back of the Bishamon was struck hard by the savage force, fracturing part
of the armour. Terry howled a scream of pain from the shockwaves of the
attack. One so quick and so forceful that the Bishamon was knocked out of
the air. It plummeted downward until it crashed loudly into the snow of
that imitation atoll.


The fifteen Baals who had taken it upon themselves to fight the Bishamon,
flew around it and encircled. They all pointed their rifles at the downed
Chrysalis mecha and fired. Chain blasts of vaporous golden energy blasted
the machine ruthlessly. The soulless machines showed nothing of mercy and
bombarded the Bishamon with as much firepower as their guns could
produce. And so the Meta Suit of Japanese design was pinned down by the
rain of laser fire. All the while its armour was slowly chipped down. Bit
by bit. The polish of Bishamon M-2 was becoming a thing of the past. But
Terry still held the controls defiantly, his head and ponytail jerking
which each blast that the Bishamon sustained. Blood was now dripping from
his forehead and how. But he wouldn't give up.


He would not give up.


".Never. ugh! .I'll never. ah! .give up. gah! I won't. ugh! .Stop
fighting. gah! .until I'm six feet under!"


"SO YOU'LL SAVE YUMI AND AVENGE YOUR PARENTS BY CHOOSING DEATH?"


Terry gasped when he heard a transmission come in from a different Meta
Suit. Delivered by a voice that sounded quite familiar. Terry became alert
when he heard the sound of an explosion. Not of his own Bishamon, but of
the Marionettes that were flocking around him like vultures. He pressed a
button on his control panel to allow him to use the rear view camera. And
he could see a dark, winged Meta Suit slicing apart the Baal-types. His
eyes widened with familiarity. It was the same suit that had challenged him
on the day that he had met Yumi. The suit known as the Asmodeus.


"What the hell is. that thing doing here?" Terry wondered.


By now the Asmodeus was making sport of the Baals at a Qi reading that fast
exceeded 12,000. The black-metal Meta Suit flew with amazing grace and
speed between each of the Baal around the Bishamon M-2. From its wrist
extended a Qi-generated Gauntlet Blade, much like that of the Oriax. But
this one was of a bright blue as opposed to the Oriax's light green. The
Asmodeus flew through the freezing air and slashed through the torsos of
the attacking Baals. One after the other. Some of them attempted to fire at
it. Once fire came it its direction, the Asmodeus moved out of its way, so
swiftly that it looked like a blur. It vanished and reappeared before the
remaining Baals. Then started hacking them down. After fifteen loud
explosions, with mangled Baal parts littering the snow around the Bishamon,
the cannons of the Third Defensive Line were ready to fire. Which they
did. A second unified wave of cannon fire surged forwards in the direction
of the seemingly defenceless Asmodeus.


"Look out!" Terry yelled to the pilot.


The Asmodeus spread open its arms, while its Qi-sparkling wings flapped
behind it. As the unholy angel spread its hands apart, a circle of bluish
Qi force grew from the action. The shield extended to a large size,
dwarfing the overall size of the Asmodeus itself. Lengthening itself from
three metres across to ninety metres across. Which both protected the
Asmodeus and the Bishamon from the attack. The golden beams of gunfire
hammered into the shield with increased frenzy. But did not break it. The
translucent shield held off the cannon fire until they stopped to
recharge. Once they did, the shield was dropped. The Asmodeus flapped its
wings and flew up higher into the air, while its head looked down on the
layers of armaments for the Third Defence Line. Now some of the 55 other
Baals were coming its way, no longer seeing the Bishamon as a threat. The
Asmodeus stopped flying upwards when it reached a certain height. Then its
hands performed a certain set of gestures. These actions were so fast and
fluid that they looked to have been carried out by biological arms, not
heavy mechanical ones. A separate orb of energy manifested in front of the
dark suit. An orb of over twenty-eight metres in diameter, created of Qi.


Terry looked on, stunned at the reading that the Bishamon was giving him
about it. ".No way! That thing has a magnitude of over 13,000 units of
force!"


The Asmodeus shot its hand out to elicit a command whilst hovering in the
air. The spherical ball of sapphire Qi force before it was thrown directly
at the attacking Baals and down towards the rest of them. And as the ball
shot downwards it stretched out in its size. It passed through the leading
Baals, callously burning them away, as effortlessly as paper to fire. The
tough metal they had been made of was simply blown into dust by the
incomprehensively forceful Qi of the attack known as the Genocide Orb. It
then crashed into the middle of the third line. Then there was the
explosion. A huge, tearing, consuming, rending, violent explosion that
spread outwardly at a startling rate. The sphere of the combustion reached
heights of over ninety metres. While its diameter widened to encompass over
two hundred metres of snow. Everything within that blatantly devastating
sphere, the cannons, the snow, the ground, the Baals; all of it was
destroyed. Terry closed his eyes from the brightness of the sapphire light
that shone everywhere as a result. The Bishamon was forced to grab onto the
ground to prevent from being blown back. The people monitoring the battle
from Ix Nos Babel were baffled as to how a Qi attack could be that
powerful.


And the Asmodeus just hovered over the blast, its arms crossed and its
wings fully open, looking down upon its work like the Angel of Death.


Gradually the force of the blast started to fade away. The smoke rose
up. And it exposed a colossal crater. More than 220-metres wide. Still
burning in certain places with sparkling blue Qi fire. The entire Third
Defensive Line had been obliterated in little above the space of three
minutes. All the Baals and Cannons were gone. In fact the only trace of the
Third Defensive Line left was the remains of the Baals that were laying
around the Bishamon.


Terry, and the people observing the battle from the control rooms of Ix Nos
Babel, were all astounded. The only difference between them was that the
Protocol control teams knew exactly what the Asmodeus was and who was
'piloting' it. If such a term could be used in this case. The Asmodeus flew
back down to ground level. Its metallic feet touched upon the snow. Just
next to the Bishamon.


"You're too reckless," The unknown pilot (now clearly female) said to the
downed warrior mecha, "throwing yourself into suicidal rampages is not
going to save Yumi. Nor will it be enough to defeat General Naam."


The Bishamon slowly pulled itself out of the deep trench it had made for
itself in the snow. While the Meta Suit was rising up, its pilot said,
".How do you know all of that? I don't remember seeing you at EDEN. were
you the one who gave away its location?"


"No. That was not my doing."


"Well what are you doing here?" Terry barked, "Why did you help me out? The
last time we met, you were looking to kick off a fight, weren't you?"


The Asmodeus' pilot chuckled gently. ".Would you rather die?"


"I don't care what happens to me. I'm gonna kill Naam. And I'm gonna rescue
Yumi."


The pilot of the Asmodeus took interest in that. ".You care for her, don't
you? It's only been three weeks but you feel something for her."


Terry grinned. ".I wouldn't have expected something like that to come from
a shit-kicker like you."


"The idea of me having power makes me seem incapable of understanding love?
You still have some of your childish beliefs in that stubborn head of
yours. It's time you started thinking more with your head and less with
your heart, Terry Hennig. This anger will only take you so far. If you want
to stop Naam and accomplish something. if you want to end their control
over the world. then you will have to focus. And storming Ix Nos Babel
alone will get you nowhere."


The giant machine turned its back to the Bishamon, spreading its Qi-force
wings out. "Heed my words, Terry. I could always. tell that you were
special. You are one of the ones. who truly has the power to change the
world. My power alone is nothing compared to that. I want you to fight
sensibly. Seek to attain goals within your reach rather then straining for
something you can't do. If you can know your limits. then I know you can
find a way to surpass them."


Just before the Asmodeus, left Terry called to the pilot. ".Wait! I only
have one question. Who. in the world are you?"


".You will have to find that out for yourself," The Asmodeus then pointed
in the opposite direction with its right arm, ".I think that those people
will be able to help you."


The head of the Bishamon turned to the right. In the distance, was the
sight of the gigantic airship Leviathan. It was a ways back, but the
Bishamon had more than enough fuel to make the journey. Then Terry heard
the sound of hi-powered thrusters launching something into the air. It was
the Asmodeus. The dark angel suit flew away into the cloudy grey skies,
amid the light snow fall. The Bishamon looked up at the Asmodeus while it
left.


".Thanks." Terry whispered, under his breath.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


The time had come.


Yumi had been moved from the wall she was chained to, over to a bed in the
centre of the large room. She was now chained to that. And was unable to
free herself. Even if she wanted to use her powers, she would not have been
able to thanks to the chemicals woven into the metal of her shackles. Two
scientists stood beside her on that simple white bed. One of them had a
syringe in their hand. Though Yumi could not have known it, she was being
watched by a select few people other than those two scientists. Those
people were Commander Celaph and his fiancée, Chizu Yagata. Beside them was
a young doctor who manned controls that read Yumi's life signs, as well her
Qi level. They watched the prone Yumi from another room, the window
connecting the two being high up the walls of Yumi's room. And of course
the Triad of the Inquisition, observing the events from unknown locations
and by unknown means.


The automatic door on the other side of the room opened. Out stepped a
young man of the same age as Yumi. Eighteen. His looks were not Asiatic,
like Yumi's, but more western in origin. Of course that was nothing more
than a consequence of development. This man was of the same biological
origins as Yumi.


The Thanatos of this generation, Freeman Ronove.


He came up to the trapped Yumi and beamed a sheepishly dark smile at
her. ".We two are as one. you and I."


".S-stop." Yumi strained against her bonds, knowing what was about to
happen to her, ".you can't. do this."


One of the scientists nodded to the other. Then he walked over to Yumi. He
held her by the arm and pressed the syringe to her skin. And then into
it. A certain chemical was injected directly into her bloodstream. With
effects that were almost instantaneous. By the time the scientist withdrew
the needle from her arm, she was already heavily under the effects of its
contents. Which did more than simply make her drowsy. It effected her
enough to cloud and trick her mind. Yumi's eyes grew heavy. And she could
only open them part of the way. Then the sight of Freeman and the cold
white laboratory/bedroom went away. In her eyes, the two scientists went
away. Being replaced by trees. The surrounding room disappeared and was
replaced with the sun, sand and sea of Okinawa. And the sight of Freeman
morphed into that of a bikini-clad Chizuru.


Not Chizu Yagata, the cold reality of that girl, but Yumi's mental
perception of the woman she thought Chizu was up until seeing her true
colours. Yumi, stuck in this dreamed up deliria, shed tears of happiness
from seeing 'her'. From seeing 'Chizuru'. The taller 'girl' came up to the
shorter one and mounted the bed in the middle of this 'beach'.


'She' whispered, ".Don't be afraid. It is our destiny."


Though Yumi had no idea what 'Chizuru' was addressing, but did not care,
either. 'Chizuru' leaned down and kissed Yumi against her neck. Dragging
'her' tongue around the hacker's collarbone and the indentation of her
throat. 'Chizuru's' hands slid up underneath Yumi's white dress. 'Her'
hands cupped Yumi's small, well-shaped breasts and caressed them, causing
their pink nipples to harden. 'Chizuru' then kissed Yumi's lips while 'her'
hands manipulated the girl's breasts, repeatedly and with increasing
fervour. Yumi moaned into 'Chizuru's' mouth and a wetness spread from her
vagina, moistening both her labial region and her panties. 'Chizuru' let
one of 'her' hands slip from Yumi's left breast. It then stroked all the
way down to her crotch. 'She' put 'her' hand under the thin protection of
those panties, massaging Yumi's vulva. The eighteen-year-old Jap girl
increased her moaning, though she wanted to embrace 'Chizuru' she felt
something invisible restraining her hands. 'Chizuru' fiddled with the lower
half of the bikini that 'she' was wearing. Then Yumi felt something press
against the opening to her vagina. It felt awfully phallic, but since Yumi
couldn't see or feel 'Chizuru's' other hand, she assumed that it was two of
the dark-haired one's fingers.


'Chizuru' broke their kiss and whispered, "Be strong, Eros. This is the
beginning of a new genesis for mankind. just the beginning."


Yumi muffled a slight groan of discomfort when 'Chizuru' pierced the thin
flesh of her hymen with a thrust of 'her fingers'. But that slight
discomfort was weakened when she felt the bliss of those two 'fingers'
prising apart the sopping wet folds of her vaginal walls. Yumi gasped and
breathlessly called Chizuru's name, while the 'girl herself' breathed
heavily. 'She' started thrusting 'her fingers' in and out of Yumi, whilst
strangely making light moans and grunts of 'her' own. As if 'she' were
enjoying this as much as Yumi was. That thrusting continued until Yumi felt
something hot and sticky shoot into her. She couldn't quite understand what
that meant, but was concerned only with sating herself on the 'fingers of
Chizuru'.


But in the real world, nothing like that was happening. Yumi lay out across
the bed with a dreamy, euphoric expression, constantly murmuring the word
'Chizuru' over and over. Freeman groaned with his premature ejaculation,
and pulled himself out of Yumi, his erect penis coated with his own semen,
as well as traces of Yumi's vaginal discharge and blood. He stepped back
and climbed off the bed, strangely tired. One of the scientists rushed over
to him and helped him out of the room, through the automatic door. Moments
after Yumi's penetration, she passed out, the chemicals in her blood stream
forcing the action. The last scientist, Celaph, Chizu, their
doctor/readings taker, and the Triad of the Inquisition watched with bated
breath, yet not disgust. The semen of Thanatos had been implanted within
the Eros. Now was the time for the birth of a pure, untainted God. A Novus
Deus.


Though she could not have known what was going on, deep inside there was a
reaction. The sperm of Freeman had already made contact with her egg at a
speed unknown to other men. It was already being fertilized. But
fertilization and birth was far different to what it would be for a normal
woman. That fertilized egg soon transformed itself into a mass of
energy. The energy was not quite Qi. but held all the properties of it and
much besides. That energy spread outwardly from her internal genitals,
through to the rest of her body. It moved through her cells like a small
but palpable wave of warmth and it expanded until her entire body, even her
skin, was glowing a bright forest green. Everyone looked on with awe as
that energy then lifted upwards from Yumi's body. The energy separated
itself from the Japanese hacker. But it had taken on a humanoid shape. The
glow from the humanoid-shaped body shone around the entire room,
overwhelming the leering presence of white. Up above from his own room,
Celaph covered his eyes and tried to see what was happened amidst all that
green light. Chizu did the same, but with a far colder expression.


"Is this. God?" She asked.


Its body was formed exactly like that of Yumi. From the shape of her
breasts to the length of her legs and the size of her small feet. The
entity reached out with its transparent green hand (made purely of that
foreign energy-matter) and carefully stroked Yumi across the cheek, saying,
".Mother.", in a ethereal, semi-feminine voice. The facsimile of energy
stepped back from Yumi and the bed. It lowered its hands and tilted its
head backwards, looking directly up at the ceiling. The glowing body of
that 'God' rose up into the air and flew upwards until it phased through
the stone ceiling of the room. The scientist, Celaph and Chizu (and the
Triad of the Inquisition) watched it leave. It floated through each floor
of the 300-floor tower, onwards and upwards, until five minutes later, it
phased up to the roof of Ix Nos Babel. Once it got there it stopped
moving. The being of pure energy opened its arms and pushed them forwards,
its breast-like proportions swaying while doing so. It opened its mouth as
if it was singing a hymn.


But nothing happened.


The expressionless entity looked downwards. A crack formed at its
thigh. One that spread up from that point. Its glowing, crystalline green
body started cracking in parts all over its limbs. It grabbed its face and
opened its mouth once again, as if to express a painful scream of some
sort, but no sound came out of its mouth. The creature rose up into the air
with bits of its body matter dropping from it like broken pieces of
pottery. From the satellite orbiting the area of space above the arctic
ocean, the cameras of it were taking visual images of this. Ones that were
beamed to the computer terminal in Celaph's room. He and Chizu watched with
disappointment at the screen. The being produced soundless screams and
writhed in what appeared to be agony.


It was apparent that this was no Novus Deus, but yet another imperfect
Vulnus Deus. A flawed attempt to recreate God.


The (assumed) 41st Vulnus Deus, the child of Yumi and Freeman, crumbled
away into nothingness. Its glittering particles of matter dissolved into
the freezing cold air of the Arctic. As if were never there. Two remaining
pieces of the Vulnus Deus were left. Those two pieces levitated from the
surface of Ix Nos Babel's roof, and then converted into two pieces of
light. They then shot away from each other at the speed of light, one going
west, the other going east. They were the 'eggs' of the Vulnus Deus. The
pieces of its carcass. They would go on to seek hibernation for the next
130 years. Then they would both transform into humanoid babies and become
the next generation's Eros and Thanatos. In Celaph's room, the air was
bitter with the stench of failure.


"It. failed." Chizu claimed.


The Englishman Celaph stared at the screen blankly. ".There's still too
much impurity in the bloodline. to produce a Novus Deus."


But then there was a different reaction.


"Commander!" The data-collector yelled by his computer, "there's an
abnormal surge of Qi coming from the Eros!"


Celaph looked out the window into Yumi's room. ".What?"


Inside Yumi's room, the glow of green produced by the Vulnus Deus born from
her womb was still there. It was not the energy of her child, but an
unknown after-effect that was not planned by anyone. The least of which
being Celaph. The emerald light enfolded Yumi's unconscious body until it
became a spherical floating ball. A shell of force, in many ways. It was
about two metres in diameter and it hovered over the bed of the room. With
Yumi inside it. Celaph and Chizu stared with mystification at this orb.


".What is this?" Asked the Commander, ".the Tablets of Destiny never
mentioned anything about further reactions within the Eros or Thanatos
after conception. so. what of Freeman?"


"His life signs are stable, sir," Replied the data collector.


Chizu watched the orb through the upper window. ".So it's only Miss
Mishima? What. in the world is happening?"


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


There was a large hall of darkness within an unknown location, far from Ix
Nos Babel. Inside that hall were the Three Wise Men; Aherg, Ein, and
Karahi. The Triad of the Inquisition. The three mysterious hooded figures
stood around a large circle which looked like a pool of water on the
floor. But it was a window to the activities that had taken place moments
ago. They had seen everything. The rise and fall of another Vulnus Deus.


".The bloodline remains tainted," Commented Aherg.


Ein nodded. "Yes. we were wrong. to think that the time has come. It still
needs more. time before a successful birth."


"Will Man ever be one with God again?" Wondered Karahi.


Ein bobbed his head. "Yes. We shall be. One day."


".In any case," Aherg began, "this is a setback. Not a defeat. If we cannot
save the world by unifying mankind. then we shall have to go to Plan B. We
shall conduct the second holocaust. But this one. will encompass the entire
human race."


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


Bury me softly in this womb

I give this part of me for you

Sand rains down and here I sit

Holding rare flowers in a tomb

In bloom


Down in a hole and I don't know if I can be saved

See my heart I decorate it like a grave

You don't understand who they thought I was supposed to be

Look at me now I'm a man who won't let himself be


Down in a hole, feelin' so small

Down in a hole, losin' my soul

I'd like to fly

But my wings have been so denied


Down in a hole and they've put all the stones in their place

I've eaten the sun so my tongue has been burned of the taste

I have been guilty of kicking myself in the teeth

I will speak no more of my feelings beneath


Down in a hole, feelin' so small

Down in a hole, losin' my soul

I'd like to fly

But my wings have been so denied


Bury me softly in this womb (Oh, I want to be inside if you)

I give this part of me for you (Oh, I want to be inside if you)

Sand rains down and here I sit (Oh, I want to be inside if you)

Holding rare flowers in a tomb. in bloom


(Oh, I want to be inside)


Down in a hole, feelin' so small

Down in a hole, losin' my soul

Down in a hole, feelin' so small

Down in a hole, out of control


I'd like to fly

But my wings have been so denied

~ 'Down In A Hole', Alice in Chains


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


Chronicle Five - Genesis & Revelation (a face of a Tainted Mirror)


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


"Lieutenant Hennig, you do realize that you're going to have to face some
sort of punishment for attacking Protocol without orders, don't you?"


Terry nodded, his hands pressed into his hips. Even now, when Beatrix was
telling him what was what for disobeying orders, he felt like a little kid
being scolded by his/her own guardian. It wasn't such a distant memory that
Terry recalled himself being saved by this woman. The young blonde man had
returned to the Leviathan as soon as the Asmodeus had fled. Once he
returned to it in the Bishamon M-2, the field/engineering team went to work
on repairing it for the next battle. Thankfully the damage that Terry's
suit sustained whilst fighting the Baal Marionettes wasn't too extensive in
any way. Nothing that couldn't be taken care of. And now he had come back,
Terry was prepared to face the consequences of his action. It wasn't
desertion, but launching a single-handed attack on Ix Nos Babel was an
arbitrary act of recklessness that could have gotten him killed. That alone
was enough to incur the wrath of Beatrix.


But hostility wasn't quite what Terry got.


The Lieutenant stood on the rising platform of the bridge of the Leviathan,
alongside Colonel Beatrix and Major Mariette. Beatrix crossed her arms and
sighed, watching her subordinate. ".But for now, I'm just glad that you
haven't been killed."


".Colonel.?"


".Terry." Beatrix said, ignoring rank, "have more respect for the life that
I saved, huh?"


Sophia pulled a smile at her lover as did Terry himself. People might not
have believed it but women like Beatrix could show kinder sides to
themselves when needed. Just as the Major and Lieutenant had thought all
along. But now there was no time for such things. Chrysalis was going for a
collision with the power-base of Protocol. Because there was just no better
time than now. Beatrix looked out over the railing of the platform to the
giant video screen on the front of the room. On the screen was the
not-so-distant image of Ix Nos Babel, out in the snow and snowfall. Yumi
and the Oriax were somewhere inside that tower.


Major Mariette spoke for her. ".You're probably wondering why we are here
in the first place, Lieutenant. Father Bartholomeus has given us orders to
retrieve Yumi and the Oriax before Protocol can use her to 'resurrect'
their God."


"How many troops do we have?" Terry questioned.


"570 soldiers, 352 Meta Suits," Sophia said, "we would have brought more
suits but the Leviathan couldn't take anymore than that. We've been pushing
it up till now as it is. But we just need to retrieve Yumi and the
Oriax. The military forces of the Divine Blade are tight, and they've been
stationed in Ix Nos Babel. but we don't have any other choice. And now that
the three Defensive Lines have been destroyed it's only a matter of time
before they take action too."


Terry nodded. "I gotcha. So what about reinforcements?"


"Don't expect any. No ships are running yet from the Mouth of the
Shenlong. So I seriously doubt anything like that will occur. If we drop
below a certain amount of Meta Suits then we'll be forced to pull
out. Right now we need every able fighter on the battlefield. And that's
what the situation is."


Beatrix pressed her hands into the metal railing. ".It's a sad fact. We are
outnumbered on this occasion. as well as on their territory, but.. I don't
think there's a better chance than now to get Yumi back from them. So our
hands are. tied. Launch all Meta Suits!"


The four men and women at the helm all yelled 'Roger!' back at their
commander, then began giving those orders to the soldiers in the suit
hangers of the Leviathan. Terry smiled, strangely happy to have his allies
with him now. He then turned to Sophia and said, "Hey, Major, you're a bit
of hacker, right?"


"Yes. why?" She asked.


"I need a favour."


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


The Main Control Room of Ix Nos Babel was big. Very big, in fact. It was a
large hexagonal shaped hall. Surrounding the three upper walls of it were a
long line of analytical data collectors. Each of the nineteen data
collectors were sitting before their own terminal from which to follow
orders, carry out defensive weapons commands, relay orders to others from
the leaders, and analyse the Qi readings they got from Meta Suit
pilots. Both those of their own forces and of enemy forces. In some
respects this was the nerve centre of Protocol. In the centre of that arc
of data collectors was a white stone platform not unlike the one on the
bridge of the Leviathan. From the far door of the hall were the automatic
doors. They opened swiftly and Commander Celaph, as well as his subordinate
and consort, Chizu Yagata, walked into the room. They strode up to the
platform and stopped there, overlooking the thin paling to the wide screen
on the far wall. It showed a visual picture of the outside. In the distance
was the Leviathan. The hanger doors on the underside of it opened and Meta
Suits came pouring out in the dozens (which looked tiny compared to the
Leviathan).


"Commander!" One of the data collector yelled, "a very large enemy
battleship is operational and stationary 0.3 miles southwest of Ix Nos
Babel!"


Celaph crossed his arms. ".I see. It's the Leviathan. Which means
Chrysalis. and Beatrix. So. My old friend has challenged us on our playing
field. One can't help but respect that. But what about the defensive lines?
Aren't there any remaining suits or marionettes?"


"No sir," The second replied, "they've all be completely decimated. An
unknown custom-model Meta Suit was the one to destroy the first two. It was
then that the Asmodeus attacked and obliterated the final one."


Celaph's light eyes widened. ".The Asmodeus? Is it working in conjunction
with Chrysalis.?"


The fourth data collector answered that one. "We have no idea, sir! But it
seems the Asmodeus has fled Kyoga. If that is an indication of anything
then I highly doubt it!"


Chizu looked up at her future husband. "Commander.? Do you think that
General Naam is aware of this?"


"Probably not." The Englishman commented, "But it does not matter in
this. He made his choices. As did we. There is only one thing we need to
think of. Defending Ix Nos Babel and its interests from Chrysalis'
attack. Deploy all able Meta Suits of the Divine Blade! It's time Beatrix
and I dealt with our rivalry in direction. Lets see what they've got."


The fourth of the data collectors nodded to that from his seat, adjusting
his head set. "Roger, sir! Informing the Divine Blade now, as ordered!"


Then the fifth yelled to the commander with urgency. "Commander, I'm
receiving a message from the Triad of the Inquisition!"


Celaph sighed once again. ".It must be with regards to the failure of the
Reunion. Patch them through for me."


The fifth data collector nodded and tapped a few keys on his control
panel. A smaller video screen, one connected to the ceiling above the main
video screen, switched itself on. And the three hooded leaders of Protocol,
the Triad of the Inquisition, appeared on screen. Celaph looked up with
humility.


"Greetings, honourable sirs," He said, ".I am truly regretful for the
failure of our plans. I was as certain as anyone that bloodline had finally
been rendered pure, but. it seems that is not the case."


Ein was the first to speak. ".The bloodline has failed us. A perfect God
will not arise now. What we must be concerned with is the fate of this
planet."


"I agree, sirs." Celaph admitted.


"The very stagnation of humankind," Karahi started, "is this planet's
mortal bane, Commander Celaph. Our plans to save the world by unifying
humanity before its divisions tore it apart has failed. A trade of emotion
now would be sufficient."


Neither Celaph nor Chizu liked where this was going. Though Celaph was the
only one there with enough authority to question the Triad of the
Inquisition. ".What do you mean by that.?"


Aherg replied. "Resurrection is not possible without death. Protocol may
have a system of control over the global political sphere. but we control a
world that is tainted by the festering wounds of the past. The Great War
did much to devalue everything we own before we were even able to regard
them as possessions. If the Novus Deus cannot bring about our salvation
then we shall emancipate the world ourselves. Activate the Anti-Matter
Cannon."


Everyone, including the data collectors, gasped at that. The Anti-Matter
Cannon? It was a huge mortar built in Protocol's only footing in space, the
Moon-based compound called the Lunar Station. It ran on a specific form of
crystallized Qi. That physical Qi material gave the cannon power to disrupt
the very atoms of matter. Destroying (.or at the very least, distorting)
the fabric of the target, causing its collapse. The beam itself wasn't the
destructive thing but rather the waves it produced after hitting the
target. A shot from the Anti-Matter Cannon could demolish a skyscraper that
was miles away from the blast point. Its blast radius could be expanded at
a rate of three miles every time the force of the beam increased by
1%. Which meant that its maximum blast radius was little under 300
miles. Which also meant that it had an area of effect that covered an
estimated 1200 miles (at full power). That was more than enough firepower
to wipe out a major city. The Anti-Matter Cannon was to the 22nd Century
what A-Bombs were to the 20th Century. Which perhaps made it easier to
understand why it had never been used before. Its very existence was top
secret. Below the Triad of the Inquisition, only Celaph and the Upper
Council had the authority to use it.


".The AM-Cannon?!" Celaph said in disbelief, ".But-"


Karahi spoke next, instantly silencing Celaph. "Did you not hear us,
Commander William Ank Celaph? Your targets are the Meta Cities of Meta
London, Meta Cape Town and Meta Tokyo. You will give the order to fire at
maximum capacity. Once we see success of the attack we will give you
further orders. Is that clear?"


The Englishman lowered his head, his fist shaking at his side. One of the
targets of the AM-Cannon was Meta London. His home amongst homes. The Triad
knew that perfectly well. They had probably put the city on the list as a
test of Celaph's resolve. Chizu stared with worry at her lover, but he
answered soon enough, still looking downwards. ".Affirmative."


The dark image of the Triad of the Inquisition vanished off screen. Leaving
a very quiet room behind. Because they all knew what the prospects of
successful fire would be. If the AM-Cannon was fired then none of the
people living in those cities would survive. There was no doubt about
it. Even their allies would be killed. Before they even knew what had hit
them. Chizu turned to Celaph.


"William," She said, dropping formalities, ".we can't."


The Commander struggled to harden himself. ".We can. And we w-will. I maybe
be the current commander of operations. but I'm still a soldier at
h-heart. And soldiers do not question the orders that are given to them. We
fight only to follow and accomplish those orders. How long will it take to
charge the AM-Cannon for three consecutive blasts?"


The sixth data collector answered. "Uh. I. about 900 seconds, sir."


"Fifteen minutes, huh? Fine then. Begin charging the cannon."


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(Who. am I.?)


WHO ARE YOU


(What. am I.?)


WHAT ARE YOU


(.I am.)


YOU ARE.


***********


".Yumi. Mishima."


**********


It was dark. Dark again. Where she found herself. Dark and. cold. Cold like
the ice of the arctic. But it wasn't the location. it was herself. The girl
breathed out into the darkness. A puff of chilled air leaving her lips. She
cuddled herself moments later. Running her hands up and down her arms,
crossed over her chest. Which was when she realized her own nakedness. Yumi
shivered at both the thought and the cold aura around her. When her eyes
adjusted she looked out into the distance. A short few paces ahead of her,
under a spotlight in the middle of the darkness, was a child version of
herself. That same Child Yumi that had been haunting her for years. The
Child Yumi that cried incessantly. Her teddy bear hanging from her loose
grip. Her lips occasionally whispering the word 'Daddy'. Her frilly dress
covered in so much blood.


Yumi looked down at the child version of herself. ".Who are you?"


She sobbed and sniffled before replying. ".Y-Yumi M-Mishima."


".What are you?" Asked the taller one.


".I.I'm." Child Yumi gazed upwards with tearful eyes, ".you."


The two facets of the tainted mirror stared at each other. The naked older
version staring into the big innocent eyes of the bloodied younger
version. Neither of them understanding the significance of the other. Adult
Yumi and Child Yumi remained that way. Staring at each other. Not
understanding the reason for this. Nor what their meeting meant. It was not
the first time. but it would be the most important.


Two edges of the same coin.


the two hearts of Yumi Mishima.


**********


"WHAT AM I?"


**********


* What is all this? Who is that girl?


**********


yumi mishima.


**********


* She is you.


**********


"WHAT AM I?"


**********


* That girl is the same as me?


**********


Yumi Mishima.


**********


* Yes.


**********


"WHAT AM I?"


**********


* Why is she covered in blood?


**********


YUMI MISHIMA.


**********


* Why do you still carry her scars?


**********


"WHAT AM I?"


**********


* Her scars?


**********


yUMI mISHIMA.


**********


* Her pain. Her sadness.


**********


"WHAT AM I?"


**********


* I don't want it.


**********


iMUY aMIHSIM.


**********


* Yet you still have it.


**********


"WHAT AM I?"


**********


* Is this all my fault?


**********


aMIHSIM iMUY.


**********


* No.


**********


"WHO AM I?"


**********


* So why must I go through this?


**********


mISHIMA yUMI.


**********


* It's up to you.


**********


"WHO AM I?"


**********


* Me?


**********


MISHIMA YUMI.


**********


* Yes.


**********


"WHO AM I?"


**********


* Why me?


**********


Mishima Yumi.


**********


* You are special.


**********


"WHO AM I?"


**********


* What's so special about me?


**********


mishima yumi.


**********


* You are the one God chose, Yumi Mishima. Thus you must.


**********


".OPEN THE DOOR."


**********


Adult Yumi broke her gaze with Child Yumi when the sound of a creaking door
was heard up ahead. A short distance behind Child Yumi was a door. An
ordinary-seeming door made of wood. But it stood out in the
darkness. Attached to no wall. Simply standing in the middle of the bleak
and lifeless void. Yet despite its simple nature, voices came from it. The
voices of a young girl and an older man laughing together. Adult Yumi could
not place the laughter of the older man, but she knew the giggles of the
young girl to be the infrequent giggles of her younger self. It was a door
to the past. A past that had been closed off in her mind for more than
eleven years. And she was compelled to discover what lay behind it. The
spectral body of Child Yumi vanished into thin air. Leaving Adult Yumi and
the door behind. The white-haired hacker stepped forwards, one bare foot
after the other. When Yumi came to the door she stopped. She pressed her
hand against it. It was warm. Much unlike the rest of this place. With one
hard push. the door was opened.


And Yumi walked into it.


or rather, into the past.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


The numerous Meta Suit hangers of Ix Nos Babel. The rumours of an attack
had been confirmed over the intercom. One of the many data collectors in
the Main Control Room had given all available pilots orders to board their
Meta Suits and launch. Hundreds of pilots were now doing that. All members
of the Divine Blade came down to one of the Meta Suit hangers, the ones
that held their own personal, mass-produced mecha. Though Divine Blade
members were scrambling to get to their Meta Suits, none of them were
surprised about the command to launch or the idea of attack. It was
unlikely that they would have been commissioned to such a degree if there
was no chance of combat. These was the thing they had been brought to Ix
Nos Babel for.


They all came down through the lifts and stairwells to the hangers, boarded
their suits, then made a few adjustments to the computer systems that
operated the suits. On each level that those 440+ members of the Divine
Blade waited, in time for the hanger doors to open. One after the other,
the thin steel doors standing before each available exit opened up by means
of the tower's giant super computer, Behemoth. Then soon afterwards all of
the Divine Blade suits were launched from them. Meta Suit after Meta Suit
flew out of the many gateways of the hangers (which all looked like
miniscule specs compared to the height of the tower itself) and darted into
the cold skies of Kyoga Island, their suit's armour chilled over by the
freezing cold winds and snowy downpour. Those 440+ mechas all joined in
flight together, headed by none other than the Bahamut. The red knight Meta
Suit piloted by the leader of the Divine Blade, General Naam. He was
closely followed by the newly promoted Captain Kraepelin, who was grinning
deviously from the cockpit of his new custom-model Meta Suit, the Eon. In
the close distance they could see one thing. A thin but elongated cloud of
Chrysalis Meta Suits. The two armies; the Chrysalis paramilitaries
numbering at 350, consisting of Uvalls, Gusions and patched up Halphas
suits; and the Divine Blade battalion, at a number of 455, made up heavily
of Amons and Zagan-type suits. Along with the Zagans and Amons were a new
type of Meta Suit. One not built for high-speed aerial battles, but
assistance to such battles from below, on the terrain. Those were the slow,
ambling Allocer-type Meta Suits. Heavy and clunky in design. With thick
stumpy legs and a complicated targeting system. But on their shoulders was
a very powerful beam cannon. Those rifles could only fire one round at a
time but their force was twice as powerful as a blast from a standard Baal
Marionette hand-rifle. The Allocer pilots, numbering at only 35, were not
in any way a cavalry for the Divine Blade. Only a support force that was
used in important battles. They would be doing their jobs today.


The two armies flew at each other high above the snowy build up of the
island, over the ruins of the Third Defensive Line. Then began the exchange
of fire. The Uvalls at the head of the Chrysalis army lifted their beam
cannons up and fired the lasers straight at their targets. The Divine
Blade's frontal Amons did the same thing. The mix of lights of colour
throbbed around what was now the morning chill of Kyoga Island. Thereafter
began the explosions. Meta Suits from both sides began to fall to the
gunfire of the other. When the two armies met each other in the skies, the
clashes took off.


The Bahamut flew into the lines of Gusions. One of them, Gusion #224, came
at Naam's Meta Suit from the front. It lifted its hand cannon and fired,
attempting to blow the Bahamut out of the sky. The Bahamut swung itself
around whilst moving to one side. Dodging the blasts, it then slashed its
large broadsword. The gigantic weapon hacked through the steel of the
Gusion #224. It blew up brusquely with the Bahamut flying through the cloud
of its remains. It zoomed towards three other suits for Chrysalis. Gusion
#108, Uvall #89, and Gusion #202. The Bahamut flew right into the face of
Gusion #108 and extended its free hand. That hand grabbed the head of the
mecha, preventing it from moving anywhere. The red knight suit then
re-gripped his broadsword and thrust it into stomach of the
Gusion-model. The metal titan exploded shortly afterwards, spitting its oil
and remains over the Bahamut's armour.


The pilot of Gusion #202 sneered from his cockpit. ".Bastard!"


That same Gusion lifted its hand cannon and fired repeatedly. As did Uvall
#89. The Bahamut leapt even higher into the air to avoid the blasts and
turned back down in an arc. It came down at Uvall #89 from above. Then
slashed downwards in a straight vertical cut. The Uvall was destroyed
instantly, Bahamut's sword cutting through its main engine. Naam's mecha
then rushed at Gusion #202. It then whacked the head off in one clean
stroke, the head of the Gusion falling out of the air. While the rest of
the body was swallowed up in fire. Bahamut bolted off from that point and
went on to take up its fight with other mecha. And just thirty metres away
in that new battlefield of the sky, the Eon (or rather its pilot,
Kraepelin) was cutting down its own targets. Gusion #109 and Uvall #12 came
at it from the left and right. The Eon extended both arms outwards. The
wrist compartment of the left arm opened up, unleashing its gatling. The
Eon fired the gatling and buried dozens of bullets into the attacking Uvall
#12. It exploded once bullets pierced its engine. Then Eon focused on the
Gusion coming from the right. But its right arm was the one that had that
new flamethrower rifle. Seconds after the Eon turned its head the rifle
spewed out a blazing cloud of flames at Gusion #109. The Gusion was
engulfed in fire. And it took only brief moments for the thing to find
itself incinerated from the strength of that fire. When the Eon ceased its
attack and lowered its arm, Gusion #109 was nothing more than a molten
clump of metal. Smoky and burned, the pilot already dead. It fell out of
the sky battlefield.


"Ah!" Kraepelin said with a smirk, "This was what I have been waiting for!
A powerful suit. Aria, Ry, Steed. This one's for you. I'll rise up in rank
even further with this Meta Suit. I will become the new leader of the
Divine Blade. Just you watch me!"


The video screen in the cockpit of the Eon could see the battle. But
Kraepelin's interest was not the battle, but rather the colossal thing
behind it. His sensors focused on the Leviathan. "Destroying such a large
and magnificent beast would make me legendary, would it not, Eon? Let us go
and demolish it!"


The Eon continued its advance, activating its thrusters. The mecha of the
Swiss Captain pulled up its right arm and fired the flamethrower at the
Gusions that came its way. Kraepelin had no time for them. He was looking
towards only one thing. Leviathan.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


"How goes the battle so far?" Asked Beatrix.


One of the four men and women surrounding the frontal terminals of the
Leviathan's bridge pressed the keys on her panel. Which brought up a
separate set of readings on her mini-screen about the current details of
the battle. Those that the Leviathan had been able to pick up on.


The data collector replied with, "Twenty Chrysalis suits destroyed, six of
them Uvalls and the other fourteen being Gusions. While twelve enemy Meta
Suits have been downed. Four Amons, seven Zagans and one Allocer."


Beatrix gripped the rails of her platform. "Hmm. It seems that Celaph isn't
holding back this time. What have you got up your sleeve this time, old
friend?"


Across from the platform at which Beatrix observed the battle, to the side
of the bridge, was a computer terminal that Sophia had gotten herself
to. The young woman exchanged swift keystrokes with periodical adjustments
to her glasses. All the while Terry leaned over her shoulder, watching the
data go by. Sophia was a hacker just like Yumi was. And though she didn't
have Yumi's overall skill in the art, what she did have was the ability to
surpass Protocol's quick and regenerative Security Demons without use of a
Security Demon Wall. Eventually she got inside the database of
Protocol. And onward to the files concerning the Holy Protocol Army. A
particular thing of notice was the Army's registration. It contained highly
top secret data. Like the head count of the H. P. A (31.2 Million) and the
military bases that each of those men operated from primarily. But her
chief concern (more Terry's) was for a data file on General Naam. Sophia
typed his name into the searching-software of her own making (plugged into
this terminal). One file came up concerning him. Sophia opened it.


And it read..


- GENERAL NAAM -


NAME: WALTRECH NAAM HENNIG

DATE OF BIRTH: 24TH AUGUST 2110

AGE: 43

SEX: MALE

WEIGHT: 168 LBS

HEIGHT: 6' 1"

NATIONALITY: GERMAN

CURRENT RANK: GENERAL

PAST RANKS: PRIVATE, LIEUTENANT, CAPTAIN & MAJOR

ACCOLADES: IRON CROSS, BRONZE CROSS, GOLD CROSS


- NOTES -


CURRENT LEADER OF THE DIVINE BLADE FORCES OF THE HOLY PROTOCOL ARMY. JOINED
THE PROTOCOL ORGANIZATION IN 2130 AND ROSE UP IN RANK SWIFTLY TO BECOME
GENERAL IN 2150 AS A CONSEQUENCE OF HIS EXCEPTIONAL SKILLS IN THE PILOTING
OF META SUITS. HIS CURRENT SUIT IS THE BAHAMUT CUSTOM MODEL, 4TH MOST
POWERFUL SUIT OF CUSTOM CREATION IN THE HOLY PROTOCOL ARMY'S ANALOGUES. HE
HAS PARTICIPATED IN THE BATTLES OF ROME, SHIRATOO'I, ST. HELENA, KYOTO, AND
EDEN. ELEVEN YEARS AGO (2142) HE PARTICIPATED IN A TRAINING SESSION OF HIS
OWN SUGGESTION AT A VILLAGE CALLED EBERBACH. THE TEST CAUSED NUMEROUS
DEATHS AT AN ESTIMATED TOTAL OF 300. CONTROVERSY WAS CAUSED WHEN IT WAS
CONFIRMED THAT HIS META SUIT HAD BEEN THE ONE TO FIRE THE FIRST SHOT AT A
CIVILIAN. THAT CIVILIAN WAS THOUGHT TO BE HEINRICH HENNIG, BROTHER OF
GENERAL NAAM. THE CHILD OF THIS MAN, TERRY HENNIG, IS ALSO THOUGHT TO HAVE
BEEN KILLED. THE MOTHER OF THE CHILD, WIFE OF THE BROTHER, AN AMERICAN
IMMIGRANT; LILITH HENNIG, WAS INJURED MORTALLY IN THE SESSION. NAAM LEFT
WITH HER BODY AND BROUGHT HER TO IX NOS BABEL FOR TREATMENT AS A REWARD FOR
HIS BRILLIANT LINE OF SERVICE TO THE HOLY PROTOCOL ARMY. HER BODY WAS
REVIVED BUT COULD NOT SUSTAIN ITSELF. THEREFORE LILITH HENNIG HAD HER BODY
INCORPORATED INTO 'PROJECT A'. THE TEST SUBJECT WAS ATTACHED TO A
LIFE-SUPPORT SYSTEM BUILT INTO THE MOST POWERFUL CUSTOM MODEL META SUIT IN
EXISTENCE, THE ASMODEUS. A MONTH LATER THE ASMODEUS ESCAPED FROM IX NOS
BABEL AND HAS BEEN MISSING IN ACTION EVER SINCE. THE FACT OF GENERAL NAAM'S
ENGAGEMENT IN THIS SCENARIO HAS BEEN DEBATED BY THE UPPER COUNCIL AMID
CALLS FOR HIS RESIGNATION AS GENERAL. NOTHING CAME OF THEM.


Terry looked up from the screen with a stunned expression on his face. Now
everything fit into place. Everything made sense. General Naam, or rather,
Waltrech Hennig, was his uncle. The brother of his father and the brother
in law of Lilith. He had used Eberbach on purpose. And killed Terry's dad
in cold blood. Then before his mother died, her body was fixed by
experimentation into the suit known as Asmodeus. That winged black Meta
Suit that had saved him out there in the cold, was the Asmodeus. That
suit. was his mother.


Sophia looked up at him. "Does that help you at all, Lieutenant?"


".Yeah." Terry said, in a downcast tone, ".Thanks, Major."


Terry stepped back and looked downwards. He finally had all the answers to
his questions. Now he knew the truth. But he couldn't say that he felt some
great jubilation from it. Since his youth he had thought that his mother
and father were dead. Although his father had ascended to heaven, his
mother had not. Thanks to Naam she was trapped inside that horrendously
powerful Meta Suit, the Asmodeus. If she tried to leave it, she would
die. All thanks to that Naam. But Terry felt little anger now. Only the
resolve to end this chapter of the Hennig family. He had to know why Naam
had chosen to virtually attack Eberbach Village. and why he took his mother
away to Ix Nos Babel. If he could find that out and defeat Naam. it would
close this book of the Hennig legacy once and for all. Terry jerked his
head, tossing his ponytail over his shoulder, then turned back to Sophia.


"Hey Major," He said, "I need another favour."


Sophia nudged her glasses back up the bridge of her nose. "I keep giving
you all these. favours. So what is it?"


"I need permission to head out onto the battlefield with Bishamon. I know
that I broke orders by attacking the tower without permission but I could
really use this chance. It might be my only opportunity to settle things
with that guy. So can I?"


Sophia sighed in defeat. ".Fine. You and I are friends, after all. The
repairs should be complete by now. So I'll take responsibility for it. Just
remember that you owe me one, Terry."


Terry pulled a smile. "Thanks. Sophia."


He then ran for the far door, opened it, and left. Out into the corridor
and down it toward the lift. Terry tapped a few keys on the control panel
and it opened for him. He ambled inside, the door closed behind him. And it
took him all the way down to the Meta Suit hanger. The doors opened for him
and he ran out across the upper metal railing that spanned across an empty
hanger. Empty except for one suit. The Bishamon M-2. Terry ran up to the
section that had his Meta Suit and climbed down its ladder. Some of the
young engineers who were patching up some of the damage were still at work,
but scattered when they saw Terry climb down to the secondary railing. He
opened the stomach-area door which showed the cockpit. Terry jumped in and
sat down on the seat, setting the operating system online. Everything was
operational. Just as Sophia said it would be.


The door into the cockpit automatically closed when Terry settled down. He
pressed his hands into the controls, gripping the control sticks, while the
hanger doors began to open up beneath the feet of the Bishamon.


".Stay strong for me, old friend," Terry remarked, "we've just got one last
battle to fight."


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


The meanings of dreams for Yumi were often hidden.


- ASSIMILATION -


This world that Yumi found herself in, this world within her own mind,
seemed somewhat abstract. Up until now. The door had been opened. And now
the faces of her memories started to reappear to her knowledge. The faces
of the mirror that had been buried deep in her subconscious, so many years
ago. Yumi found herself as a spectral wisp. Her dress and body
transparent. She was hovering over a certain scene. It was a compact but
well stocked laboratory. Full of beakers, Bunsen burners, tripods, mats,
chemicals and scalpels. As well as many computers around the room. Above
the door was a crest. A shield and lion. One of the three crests of the
Protocol Organization. This place, wherever it was, was being funded by
Protocol. There were three people inside that small lab. Not including the
spectral image of Yumi watching it all. One of three was just a random
white coat with glasses, standing over the keyboard of a side computer
typing in certain codes. His name was Shugo Yamamoto. The other was much
more significant. A tall man of about 45 years of age. His long dark hair
had been tied into a ponytail which flowed down his white-coat back. His
name was Katsuragi Mishima. Though his birth name was Kazuo Mishima,
everyone had nicknamed him 'Katsuragi' because of a famous Japanese doctor
of the same name. One that Dr. Mishima greatly respected, and based most of
this physiological theories and scientific methodology on. And the good
doctor stood in front of a large beaker. Large enough to contain the body
of a 'human' baby. A child that looked to be no more than a year of
age. Even now she had a small mop of white hair. And that baby. was
Yumi. The third person in that small laboratory. Floating in a vat of
liquid that seemed to be oxygenated. Enough to allow the child to breathe
in her stasis.


Katsuragi looked at his assistant by the computer. ".Yamamoto. Do you have
the readings yet? What do they say about the Eros?"


"She's amazing." Yamamoto claimed, ".she's actually as strong as the
Thanatos. Her Qi-level is well over 500 right now. That's more than 50
times the level of a normal child of this age. And every hour it rises by a
few more points. Just imagine what she could do if she were to synchronize
with a Meta Suit."


"She is still a child," Katsuragi said, "nobody should be thinking about
synchronizing her with a Meta Suit right now. And yet the Shinrai Complex
has already begun work on the Raum and Oriax Meta Suits. I can't believe
that the Triad of the Inquisition entrusted the DNA of the last Vulnus Deus
to those maniacs."


"You don't think highly of them, do you?"


Katsuragi chuckled with amusement, looking into the watery jar with little
Baby Yumi inside of it. ".Not really. But how could I really hold them to
scorn? Look at this girl. Ignorant. Unknowing. Completely unaware of her
destiny. She will give birth to God. But to do that. we will have to
imprison her here for the next seventeen years. How can I look this child
in the face when she matures? Knowing that I stole her childhood from her?
It's things like that that make me question Protocol's methods. And yet I
feel guilty for even thinking that about the benefactors of my research. I
am much too weak and pathetic to pass judgement on the Ochiai Research
Team."


"Don't sell yourself short, sir. We are working toward a new genesis for
mankind, remember? A new beginning within the grace of God. It will come
whether we are involved or not. At least with us this girl won't be treated
like some sort of pawn."


Katsuragi crossed his arms. "I'm suppose that's one thing that Yumi can be
thankful for. I know I made the right choice in taking over her
guardianship."


Yamamoto's eyes widened. ".Yumi? So you've named Eros after your biological
daughter, have you?"


"Yes," Replied the elder scientist, ".I was never there for my other
daughter. I was too busy in Ix Nos Babel preparing the Asmodeus with the
other engineers. So when both she and my wife Mariko died in the fire. I
wasn't notified until the funerals. I will never forget that feeling. And I
want to do right by this child now. I hope that making a success of
parental guardianship over my adoptive daughter will appease the spirit of
my biological one."


Yamamoto shook his head. "This might sound odd coming from your
subordinate, sir. but you don't sound like a scientist right now. We can't
let our personal feelings enter into this."


"Hmph," Katsuragi scoffed with a smile, "you youngsters are far too prim
and proper. We're not machines, you know. Forsaking our emotions is
necessary for certain situations. but to live out a life of indifference to
the suffering of others is truly a vile practice. Once Yumi gives birth to
a new Novus Deus. all such evils and all rituals that lead to them will be
extinguished."


Yamamoto smiled. ".Well I think that's at least one thing all we scientists
share. Romanticism. But whatever God this child creates. I can't see it
changing the world so radically. Mankind's future lays in machinery and
science. God need only guide us. That's what I believe."


"I suppose we'll never agree on the subject," Said Katsuragi, "but what we
can agree on is the importance of Yumi to the world. We have to make sure
that we do our best. Both for her and for ourselves. The greater data we
collect the less chance of her being shipped to the Shinrai Complex or Ix
Nos Babel itself."


The floating image of the adult Yumi watched this conversation between
Yamamoto and Katsuragi Mishima. Who Yumi now knew was her adoptive
father. She kept watching until the setting changed around her.


- PROCESS -


Time and space shifted ahead before her eyes. So much so that when she was
laying her eyes upon a stable image of the world, it was a completely
different setting. She was floating above a canteen of the same white
background as before. This was obviously another part of the research
facility that Katsuragi and Yamamoto were based in. Katsuragi sat by one of
the many tables in that empty canteen with a bowl of ramen before
him. Sitting next to him was little Yumi. Dressed in the same cream/yellow
dress that spectral Yumi had seen before. But this one didn't have any
bloodstains on it. The child Yumi, who was now around seven or eight years
in development, slowly sucked on the straw of a carton of apple juice,
while her other hand held onto her plush teddy bear.


"Finally," Katsuragi expressed, ".I can get some time away from the
lab. I've been working far too hard. And nobody has found it more taxing
than you, have they, Yumi?"


The cute little girl pulled a wide smile and shook her head from side to
side. Katsuragi smiled back and pressed his hand into her flourishing
tresses of snow white hair. "That's a good girl."


"Daddy?"


"Yes?"


Yumi kicked her legs under the table. ".What's the outside like?"


".Where is this coming from?" Katsuragi asked.


"Uncle Yamamoto said that a girl as sweet as me should see the outside
world once. What'd he mean, Daddy?"


Katsuragi put his hands together. He'd surely chew Yamamoto for stirring
this up later on. ".He meant that you are a special girl. And because
you're a special girl. you should be able do to special things. that not
many other 'special girls' can do."


Yumi gave Katsuragi another bright smile. ".I'm special!"


".Yes, you are," Katsuragi said softly, a brief hint of nostalgia in his
voice, ".yes you are."


- REACTION -


Once again the scene that the spectral entity of Yumi saw changed. Time
shifted at a lesser pace forwards. Until a new setting had been staged for
her. It was a long white corridor in that same research complex that
Katsuragi and Yumi had been living in. It was the same corridor that Yumi
had seen endlessly in her dreams but had done nothing to understand. Not
that she ever would have until now. In that corridor was Child Yumi. Who
had only aged by a few months at this time. She stood behind the leg of the
taller Katsuragi, who guarded her along the path of that long corridor. He
guarded her from three other men. All of them were dressed in dark black
suits. Not unlike the two men who had harassed Yumi and Chizuru/Chizu in
the real world. They all had unsheathed guns in their hands. Aimed not at
Yumi but rather at Katsuragi.


The doctor spread out his arms and sneered. "I should have known that the
Shinrai Complex would have tried something like this! What business do you
have here?!"


The first of the men in black smiled at him, aiming. "We want you to hand
over the girl. She will be placed in our care. And we will take her to Ix
Nos Babel for the time being. Unlike the Thanatos. her powers are not
completely stable. And we feel that you are not quite capable of
maintaining the role of her guardianship."


"What are you talking about?!" Dr. Mishima yelled, "I was the one who
placed the biological lock on Yumi to keep her powers under control! I have
already assured the Ochiai Research Team of it!"


The second suit sneered. "Don't be ridiculous. These orders come directly
from the Triad of the Inquisition. Your feelings for this child have grown
beyond simple test subject and researcher. Can you honestly say to us that
you don't think of the Eros as your own daughter? Sentimentality has no
business in this line of work, Doctor Mishima. For someone of your high
scientific stature to make this mistake is. troubling."


Yumi wrapped her arms around the older man, still clinging to her teddy
bear. "Daddy. are they gonna take me away? I don't wanna go away! I wanna
be with you!"


".You heard the child." Katsuragi said, "leave at once.!"


The third rogue grinned. ".I'm afraid that neither you nor the Eros have a
choice in the matter. And since you are obstructing a direct order from our
leaders. I am afraid I have no choice. Goodbye, Dr. Mishima."


The third man pulled the trigger. Off went the sound and out went the
bullet. Straight into the skull of the good doctor. Blood splattered over
Yumi's face as the force of the bullet burst open the back of the
scientist's head. He was knocked back by the sudden shot, briefly
whispering 'Y-Yumi.' right before collapsing to the ground. Dead. Young
Yumi kneeled down to his side frantically, screaming 'Daddy, Daddy!' over
and over again. But it was no use. He was dead. And Yumi was old enough now
to understand death. And understand the fact that the dead would never come
back. The three suited men slotted their guns into the sleeves of their
blazers. They were not ordered to kill Katsuragi, but it was necessary if
he planned to interfere with the plans of their masters. They all smiled
with victory. But their smiles ended when they heard the crackling of
Qi-flames. It was Yumi. Her body was surrounded in bright silver spirit
energy. Far stronger than anything they had ever seen before. Even at that
age, Yumi's powers were ferocious. And her reaction to her father's death
was utterly appropriate. Though she had no control over herself during that
moment.


"AAAAAAAGGGGGGGHHHHH!" She bellowed furiously.


The silver fire, the silver fire that was so deeply cold, flashed from her
torso and was thrown ahead in three powerful arc-shaped waves. Those waves
sliced through the torsos of her Father's killer and his cohorts. Their
blood and internal organs were ripped from their backs and it was all
sprayed across the thin walls of that white corridor. The pureed remains of
the three suits oozed down the walls and the pools of blood around their
mutilated bodies spread outwardly. Yumi's body was surrounded by that
blazing/freezing silver fire. And it began to effect everything around
her. The walls started to darken from the singeing effect that her Qi Force
had. The upper light rods that brightened the corridor exploded from the
cold energy that was generated from the girl. One after the other. The
glass from those exploded light lamps fell to the ground in a trail. While
the security cameras that had monitored the whole thing also exploded. The
shards of their metal were thrown across the corridor along with the glass
of the lights. Whilst Yumi's force circulated against no restraint.


Other than her conscience.


The cold silver fire around her body started to regress. As did the
dilation of her eyes. Her pure white hair fell back into place. And the hem
of her dress stopped flocking with the winds generated from her Qi. When
she calmed down. she caught sight of what she had done. And what had been
done to her father. Blood was everywhere. All over her dress and her teddy
bear (which she had not let go of) as well as the walls and the corpses of
the three men she had just killed. Not to mention her father. It was
frightening and horrifying to her. Not only to know that someone had killed
her father but to know that she had killed them, too.


Yumi closed her eyes and sobbed, standing in welling pools of blood and
surrounded by bloodstained walls, the floor of the corridor tainted with
shot and dissected corpses. Then all of a sudden. that energy inside of her
returned. And the young child vanished into thin air. It was Qi-Force
controlled teleportation. Leaving that bloody corridor and the anonymous
research facility it had been built in; behind.


- RESULT -


Spectral Yumi was closed her eyes for a moment. She was finally
understanding the meaning of herself in that bloody corridor as a
child. When she opened her eyes again she was looking into a whole new
setting. It was alike a hospital. But less intensive. A line of beds were
against a windowless wall. A ceiling fan span monotonously up above. The
third bed down contained a certain girl. That girl was Yumi. But no longer
as a child. She was a teenager of thirteen years. Yumi Mishima had grown
beyond the frightened girl in the corridor at this time. But her eyes were
closed. And they had been for some time now. Spectral Yumi watched from
above as two people walked up to the unconscious Yumi's bed. One of them
was a nurse. The other seemed to be some kind of dignitary from Protocol.


The nurse adjusted Yumi's feeding tube whilst addressing the Protocolian
dignitary. ".Is this the one? Our little Jane Doe?"


The man nodded to the nurse. "This is the one. Her name is Yumi
Mishima. Where exactly did you find her?"


"She's been comatose for at least five years," The nurse said, "long before
I started working here. Her previous doctor told me that she had been found
in the forests just outside the city when she was no more than a little
tyke of eight. And she was brought here soon afterwards. She's been
assessed time after time, but we've found nothing physically wrong with
her. We guessed that the thing maintaining her coma is some sort of
psychological trauma."


The delegate crossed his arms. "Hm. Protocol should be able to handle
this. We have better resources than this place. I'm taking this girl into
my custody. If you have any reservations then I shall give you the legal
affidavit when the arrangements are made."


It was then that Yumi Mishima's eyes flashed open after five years of deep
sleep. And the Spectral Yumi could remember everything from that point
on. That was when her current memory began. Now Yumi understood
everything. All her past. Why it was that she could not remember anything
from before the age of thirteen, why she always pictured herself as a
little girl surrounded in blood. It all had come to this. The memories of
that hospice faded away into the annals of her mind. Unlocked but still
dormant. Yumi had all that she needed now. Which was when her physical body
started to react to the developments in her mind.


The girl was deep inside the energy of her own Qi after giving birth to the
failed Vulnus Deus. But her body was surrounded by more of her silvery cold
flames and teleported from its innards directly into another
compartment. That of the Oriax. Her body landed into the seat of the
cockpit. Gone was her look of sadness, misery and fear. That was now
replaced with a stern glance that beamed with all new awareness and
power. Power that was making its mark on the Oriax itself.


Higher above in Ix Nos Babel, inside the Main Control Room, Celaph and
Chizu observed the battle with quiet expressions. Neither of them were
thinking about Chrysalis. But rather the impending destruction of their
home Meta Cities. Until one of the nineteen data collectors got new
readings on his console.


"Commander Celaph!" He cried, "I'm getting life signs from inside the
Oriax! Someone is inside its cockpit!"


"What?" Expressed Celaph.


Chizu uncrossed her arms. ".Is it Miss Mishima?"


The data collector nodded. "It has to be! The Qi-anomaly inside her room
has vanished! But that's not the least of it! Mishima's Qi-readings are off
the charts!"


A second one confirmed that. "He's right, sir! The current Qi-level is
reading at 14,000 and rising! .15,000... 17,000... 21,000... 29,000! Aaah!"


The console that that particular data collected suddenly exploded, causing
everyone to judder with shock. The Qi-readings of Yumi inside the Oriax had
risen so fast that it broke down the computer just trying to keep up with
it. At this rate she was probably well over 30,000 in Qi-level. All that
destructive force in one person, the idea was just. incredible. Celaph
watched as some of the workers ran to the flaming computer and put out the
fire with cool gusts from fire extinguishers. Yumi had somehow unlocked her
true power. but. just what she plan on doing with it?


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


The Bahamut zoomed up to Gusion #25 in the sky battlefield above the snowy
island of Kyoga. Leading with his broadsword, he stabbed it straight
through the torso of the metal titan. The sword reappeared from the back of
Gusion #25, covered in a thick build up of oil. The Bahamut ripped the
sword out of the Gusion and zoomed backwards, escaping the vicinity of the
subsequent explosion. It turned around while backing up to strike down an
Uvall that was coming his way. Uvall #19. The Bahamut pulled back its sword
to strike as it came close to mecha. Until some bullets were fired rapidly
in its direction. The Bahamut jetted to the left to avoid the bullets of
that attack. And it didn't come from the Uvall.


They came from the Bishamon M-2.


The Bahamut and the Uvall #19 looked back to the south, a short distance
from them in the air. Waiting there, surrounded by the sounds and sights of
a Meta Suit Battle, was the Bishamon. With its shoulder gatlings
unhidden. Inside the cockpit of the Bahamut, General Naam was smiling
vigorously. It was the one he had fought in EDEN, alright.


Terry opened communications with the pilot on Uvall #19. "Hey man. You let
me handle this one, while you go and back up the other troops against the
Divine Blade."


"Yes sir, Lieutenant Hennig!" The pilot yelled, right before his Meta Suit
flew out to continue the battle elsewhere. The Bishamon and the Bahamut
turned to face each other. It had been a good three weeks since they had
last met on the battlefield. But much had changed. Both in what the pilots
knew and how they now saw each other.


Naam called out to Terry. "Ah. You must be the nephew of mine that I
defeated on EDEN. Terry Hennig. Or am I mistaken?"


"I know everything now," Terry replied, "I know that you're my uncle. I
know that you killed my Dad, your brother. And I also know that you were
the one who put my mom inside that Asmodeus Meta Suit. So I don't wanna
hear any of this 'or am I mistaken' bullshit. Tell me. Why did you do it?
Why?"


General Naam sniggered. ".Curious. Just like Lilith is. She was the most
beautiful creature on Earth, you know. She might have been nothing more
than an undignified American. but there was no mistaking her beauty or her
kindness. I would have done ANYTHING to have such a beautiful flower in my
possession. When she married Heinrich. it was the last straw. I left
Eberbach to seek out the power I needed to take my revenge. And so I did. I
didn't intend for your mother to be caught up in the crossfire. But she
loved that pompous brother of mine. I took her away to beg those at Ix Nos
Babel to heal her wounds. It was a success. but not in the way I
wanted. Lilith became that unstoppable mecha, Asmodeus. I lost the one
thing I wanted above all else. And every time I hear your voice. I hear the
voice of Heinrich. Chastising me about it all. Once I take care of
you. I'll be free of it!"


Terry snarled angrily. ".You that's why you let them put my Mom in that
damn contraption. Fine! Lets do this! I'll avenge my father once and for
all!"


The Bahamut swung its massive sword to one side then advanced. Then
Bishamon retracted its shoulder gatlings and reached behind its back. It
unsheathed the katana from its scabbard then charged ahead in the exact
same way as the Bahamut did. The two mechas came hurtling towards each
other, both pilots exchanging fearsome battle cries while closing the gap
of distance between them. The Bahamut swung its sword around in a
horizontal position that hacked around in an arc. The Bishamon focused its
power into its blade and repelled that strike in one hard, powerful motion.


Naam blinked at the readings he was getting from Terry's mecha. "What?! His
Qi-level, it's."


The moment that the blade of the Bahamut was repelled, Bishamon flashed
forwards and span around in tandem, shifting behind Naam's meta suit, back
to back. The Bishamon turned its energy katana backwards and thrust it
behind. It impaled the solid armour of the red knight suit. Slashing right
through the stomach of the Bahamut. Oil ran of its tip like blood. The
Bishamon then withdrew its blade from the body of the beast. Then flew from
it, placing some distance between the two. General Naam grinned with
defeat. The sensors in his cockpit were now flashing red. For alert. Terry
had struck the engine of his mecha in one move. This was his end. By the
hands of the son of his brother. Almost like the ghosts of his past had
come back to life. ".So. The Revolving Slash. I suppose that Lilith taught
you that one."


Terry replied, his face serious. "She taught me a lot of things back
then. You wouldn't understand."


".I suppose not. Heh. I'll tell Heinrich you said. 'hello'."


The Bahamut then blew up into a flaming cloud of smoke and fire. Its
remains were spat into the cold air of the arctic, the corpse of the pilot
unable to be seen. That was the end of General Naam. And it was hopefully
the end of that phase in the Hennig Family's saga. The young blonde man
looked up to the readings of his own performance from one of the
mini-screens in the cockpit of the Bishamon. ".A Qi-level of 7,300? Not bad
at all. Thanks for believing in me. Mom."


At that point there was a huge explosion. One so loud and vicious that
everyone on the battlefield and everyone on the bridge of the Leviathan
could hear and see it. That explosion came from Ix Nos Babel. The tower
itself was around half a mile high. But that explosion came from a far
closer position to the bottom of Ix Nos Babel. About 1/9 of the way up. A
large cloud of smoke surrounded the large hole that had been created from
that explosion.


Then a quick blur of white and blue came screaming out of that cloud of
smoke. It flew out into the battlefield above the island. That blur then
set its targets on the Amons, Zagans and Allocers. The troops and machinery
of the Divine Blade. The white and blue blur flew right past three Zagans
and three Amons without looking to have done anything. Seconds later, all
six mecha separated into two even halves that exploded into
nothingness. The blur then began doing the same thing to other mecha for
the Divine Blade. As it moved forwards through the battlefield in
lightning-fast strides, all the machines in its path were reduced to pieces
of metal that were surrounded in flame and smoke. Terry became worried when
the blur started heading his way. The Bishamon pulled put its sword into a
defensive stance, to await the attack. But it never came. Once the blur
stopped moving, the true image revealed itself. It was a Meta Suit,
alright.


The Oriax.


Terry's smiled widened. ".The Oriax.? Yumi!"


She was piloting it. But she was different now. And so too was the
Oriax. The Meta Suit had changed slightly. His sheen was still intact but
there were streaks of green, lightning-like Qi energy running up and down
it. From its back extended a pair of angelic, feathered wings. They were
formatted from Qi, obviously, but they looked completely organic. The aura
of the mecha had changed now. It looked more like a Machine God rather than
just a human tool for warfare. And Yumi had changed too. In the alternate
dimension of a cockpit, her expression had changed from one of eternal fear
and confusion to one of resolve and determination. She had been beaten,
betrayed, abused, kidnapped, raped and broken. But her mind had come
through it all. And a new chapter, a new awareness, had been awakened
inside of her. The last of the biological lock that had been placed on her
by Katsuragi Mishima ten years ago was gone. All of her power was now at
her disposal. But she had full control over it.


Yumi opened a com-link with Terry. ".Terry, are you alright?"


".I'm fine," The young man blushed, "Man, this is a switch. We all came
here to rescue you. but it seems like you're the one who's rescuing us,
huh?"


Yumi blinked. "You came to rescue me?"


"Well, yeah. You didn't think we'd leave you in the lurch, did you?"


Yumi was going to answer that, until her new senses, as well as the sensors
of the Oriax, caught onto something moving near the Leviathan. Something
with enough firepower to level it if its flamethrower was aimed in the
right place. The Oriax extended its wings to their full wingspan and then
bolted forwards, diving through the crowds of the battle. It dashed from
point to point in a blurred rush of movement, inching ahead until it drew
closer to the Meta Suit it had its eyes on. The Eon.


In the cockpit of the Eon was Kraepelin. Who had his heart set on the
destruction of the Leviathan. Until that blurred image of the Oriax flashed
into his way. It stopped like a bolt of lightning and remained
there. Kraepelin sneered when he realized what suit this was.


"The Oriax, huh?" He remarked, "I don't how you escaped Ix Nos Babel and I
don't know you took the time to remodel your suit. But if you stand in my
way. know this. you will fall!"


Yumi, her face hard as stone, responded. ".I'm sorry for what I did to your
friends. I've never wanted to kill or be killed. But I've learned something
throughout all this. Things won't change until someone takes a stand
against people like you. And if it means controlling my own feelings of
remorse and guilt on the battlefield I will do that. I will be the soldier
of the unspoken. And I'll build a peaceful new world by taking down the one
force that prevents such a world from taking shape. Protocol."


".Silence!" The Eon lifted its rifle arm and then pointed its long
flamethrower at the Oriax. The flames were spouted from the tip and burned
outwards in huge gusts. The Oriax didn't move from that point, it only
flapped its wings and leaned forwards slightly. The Wave/Anti-Wave
Generator inside it was now going to be used. There was a loud, throbbing
sonic blast fired from the mouthpiece of the Oriax. It moved in an
invisible pattern of outwardly radiating decibels that disrupted the cold
air that it moved through. It sounded like the shriek of an animal. Those
sonic waves bombarded the flames of the Eon's rifle and nullified them. The
pillar of fire was scattered into loose embers.


Kraepelin gasped, then looked at the Qi-reading he was getting his sensors
in regards to the Oriax. ".Impossible! A Meta Suit with a Qi-level of
32,000!? That just can't be! It can't be!"


".You're nothing to me." Yumi chided, ".death is not my way. But a man like
you knows no other way. does he?"


The powerful, curved energy of the Gauntlet Blade had been active since the
Oriax had broken out of Ix Nos Babel. It charged forward at the Eon and
swept its arm to one side. The Eon was chopped into two halves. It then
burst into flames. The two pieces of the Eon fell out of the air with
Kraepelin inside, falling to what would inevitably be his death. Yumi
dissolved her Gauntlet Blade and sighed.


Just then, a transmission came in from the Leviathan to all suits connected
to Chrysalis, which included the Oriax. "This is Major Mariette! All of you
be alert! We have just detected a large mass of energy being charged on the
Lunar Station! It could be being aimed at the battlefield so watch out for
yourselves!"


Yumi closed her eyes and searched her senses. ".It's a cannon. A very
powerful one. Aimed at the Earth. It will not be easy. but."


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


"Rejoice, O nations,

with his people,

for he will avenge the blood

of his servants;

he will take vengeance

on his enemies

and make atonement for his land

and people."


Deuteronomy 32: 18 'The Song of Moses'


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


The Oriax began crackling with energy. Yumi was about to do something. The
Meta Suit programmed with the DNA of the 40th Vulnus Deus vaulted into the
air and vanished. Not unlike the same teleportation of Yumi's normal
powers. High above, not on Earth but in space; something was proceeding. On
the space base built into the surface of the moon. One of the 279 vault
doors on the steel complex opened gradually, without the backdrop
supplement of sound to indicate that it was happening. The slow-moving
metal of those gates unbolted part of the way to create an aperture. Then a
very large cannon head poked out of it. The AM-Cannon of the Lunar
Station. It was a one of a kind make. Completely unstoppable in any normal
circumstances. And energy was boiling inside of it. Fully charged. The
darkness of the inner part of the cannon disappeared when the cannon began
the firing process. Then came the soundless bang that broke the silence of
space. A GIGANTIC white-coloured blast of anti material power was thrown
straight into the direction of the Earth sphere. Slicing through the
darkness and stillness of the cosmos. That blast was then followed by two
more, shot from the AM-Cannon. Each of them aimed for a certain city on
Earth.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


"Great and marvellous are your deeds,

Lord God Almighty.

Just and true are your ways,

King of the ages.

Who will not fear you, O Lord,

and bring glory to your name?

For you alone are holy.

All nations will come

and worship before you,

for your righteous acts have been

revealed."


Revelation 15:3 - "Seven Angels with Seven Plagues"


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


Down in the streets of Meta Tokyo, things were as normal as ever. People
shopped, talked, walked around, sold things, bought things. No one expected
anything out of the ordinary to happen. Until the skies began to brighten
much more than usual. A light that transcended that of the sun came down
towards the city from the heavens. People covered their eyes and looked up
into the sky at the newfound brightness. Their gasps were those of awe and
esteem. But those gasps of amazement changed into those of fear when they
saw that that light was not ordinary. And it was coming their way. The
Light of God was moments away from swallowing up the entire city of Meta
Tokyo in destruction. Until the Oriax teleported directly in front of
it. The Meta Suit extended its hand and pushed forwards. Its Qi Barrier
materialized around it. But then it did something unusual. The barrier
unravelled itself from behind like the peel of an orange. Then the shield
extended outwardly until it became a circular one rather than a
spherical. The wideness of that circle increased until it grew enough in
size to accommodate the width of the first blast of the Anti-Matter
Cannon. The blast then crashed fiercely into the defensive force of the
Oriax's shield. Yumi grunted at the weight of the Qi it took to repel such
an attack. But she stood her own. And held off that titanic beam of energy,
one that was strong enough to destroy millions of lives. Then the energy of
that blast shattered into tiny fragments. The blast dissolved away, unable
to break the wall of force that the Oriax had shielded Meta Tokyo
with. Once the threat of danger to Meta Tokyo was over, Yumi teleported the
Oriax out of the air. The Oriax reappeared over the skies of Meta Cape
Town. The second Anti-Matter blast descended towards the city like the
first had done at Meta Tokyo. The Oriax expanded its shield again and
resisted the second blast. Once the energy of that vanished, the Oriax
teleported to the air above Meta London.


And for the final time, she resisted the Anti-Matter blasts.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


In the Main Control Room of Ix Nos Babel, three monitors had been turned on
to see the outcome of the Anti-Matter Cannon's attacks. Each of them had
been deflected. And now on the main screen, there was the image of the
Oriax, standing triumphantly at the defeat of the force of the
AM-Cannon. Deep down there was a sigh of relief from most of the people on
the bridge. Disaster had been averted by the enemy. but who there could
begrudge that? Certainly not the majority of the data collectors.


Chizu was stunned, staring at the image on screen. ".Yumi.?"


One of the data collectors yelled out to Commander Celaph from his
seat. "Commander, all three shots from the Anti-Matter Cannon of the Lunar
Station have been nullified by the Qi Barrier of the Oriax. Should we. make
a second attempt?"


Celaph crossed his arms seriously, ruffling his cape. "Absolutely not!
Cancel any further attacks!"


"But, Commander!" Cried one of the data collectors, "We were given strict
orders from the Triad of the Inquisition to."


"I'm overriding those orders. That girl just risked her life to save a
world that has done nothing but abuse and dehumanise her. We have to at
least be as brave as she was. I'd rather die with self-respect than live in
constant guilt. Tell the lunar base to cancel any further attacks with the
AM-Cannon. Then sent out commands for the withdrawal of the Divine Blade."


Chizu blinked. ".Commander.?"


"This battle has no meaning to it now," He answered, "it would be foolish
to continue fighting. Carrying on would only waste more lives. If being
human means betraying the will of the soldier, then, I have no right to be
called such. Now all of you! Send out the order!"


Three of the data collectors confirmed that. "Yes sir!"


Celaph sighed, knowing that he would incur the wrath of the Triad of the
Inquisition for this. ".For the children of today. those who are the
soldiers of tomorrow."


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


It had been four days since the battle at Ix Nos Babel.


The events of that day seemed so long and inescapable. Somehow Yumi had
managed to get through it. And change herself. Many things were changing
now, though. Celaph had taken full command over the Holy Protocol Army. And
one of his first acts (after the pull out from the battle at Kyoga) was to
lift the occupation of EDEN. Which was where Yumi was now. The girl stood
out, leaning over one of the metal railings of a balcony. Her arms dangled
from it. And she looked down at the waters surrounding the many pillars
that kept the city afloat. She had thought at one point that she would
never see EDEN again. But Yumi was happy that she did. She didn't feel
scared or frightened anymore for some reason. After learning the truth
about her father, she was finally able to put that all behind her. Without
those ghosts hanging over her shoulder. Yumi Mishima could finally move
forward in her life. Whilst looking out into the distant sea, a second
person came up from the door leading back inside. It was Terry. Fully
dressed in his Chrysalis uniform. The half-German, half-American youth
strode up to the balcony railing and smiled.


"How come your not dressed in your uniform yet?" Asked Terry, "We're
meeting up with Celaph to get these ceasefire talks up and running. Even a
'young soldier' can push for peace when his rump lands on the thin end of
the bush."


"It'll be tough seeing Chizuru again." Yumi stated.


"Yeah," Terry said, thinking of her, "who'd have thought that such a pretty
girl was a Protocolian spy? Still. she and Celaph are making an
effort. Father Bartholomeus is excited about it. I can't get in the way of
that."


Yumi nodded. "I know."


".I know that Protocol screwed around with you pretty badly. But I don't
want you to think that."


"Don't worry, Terry." Yumi answered, ".I don't hold it against any of
you. I joined Chrysalis of my own free will, didn't I? Peace is our main
objective. And that's what I came here to bring about. If that means
dealing with Protocol I'm prepared to do it. Because there are still so
many things on the Earth. that I want to protect."


It was hard for Terry to believe that such a comment would come from Yumi
after everything she'd been through. ".Oh yeah? Like what?"


Yumi smiled at the blonde youth. ".You. We're friends, aren't we?"


"Yeah," Terry smiled back at her, as the two of them were bathed in the
light of the high sun above them, "that we are."


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


Far, far away in locations that very few men had ever seen, was the great
hall of darkness that the Triad of the Inquisition; Aherg, Karahi and Ein
resided in. Three hooded wise men stood quietly in a circle in the middle
of that unknown chamber. The air around them was grim. Grim with the weight
of the events that were unfolding in the Earth Sphere.


"It is hard to overlook the past when the future seems so dismal. Is that
why Celaph has done this?" Aherg wondered.


Ein sneered (though it could not be seen). ".Celaph has betrayed us. He
possesses far too much influence in the Protocol Organization to be
overthrown with any form of ease."


"Yes." Answered Karahi, ".it seems that way. But the seeds of failure
sometimes bare fruits of success when plucked from the tree at the right
time, do they not?"


Aherg nodded to that. ".The Qi anomaly that formed around the Eros after
the Reunion somehow allowed her to evolve to the next level. She is more
significant than we gave her credit for. I didn't think that anything other
than the Vulnus Deus could achieve symbiosis with the Heart of the
Astaroth. Especially not a mere human. But life is not something you can
easily predict. Besides. We possess our own avatar, is that not so. Freeman
Ronove?"


A short distance behind Aherg was Freeman, father to the 41st Vulnus Deus,
owner of the Raum Meta Suit. His body sizzled with a smouldering purple
flame aura. He kneeled down before the Triad of the Inquisition, his dark
and evil grin spreading across his cunning face. ".Yes, sir. My body is
yours."


Aherg chuckled and looked upwards. ".The new world that we seek to
create. the new beginning that we presume to deliver. that shall be our
only focus. That shall be our divine purpose. Even if we must free the
Enemy of God itself."


In the far darkness of that hall was a large, intimidating and anonymous
presence. A Meta Suit. One that glowed with a bleak amethyst aura that
resonated tremendously with that of Freeman. But it was not the Raum. It
was something.


far more sinister.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


END OF MESSIAH: AC CAUSA HIC NOVO MUNDUS


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~