Fantasy Stellar ARMOR Satellizer (Ranix Aurus & Admiral19)

[Admiral19]

"That is concerning," Aisuke said, "especially if they made the Overdrive System only recently. The sort of strain that comes with wearing the ARMOR is exactly why it's forcefully removed if strain is detected...to bypass it entirely and bear that strain yourself...it has to be dangerous."

"You think we could forcibly disable Overdrive if we hit them long enough?" Kanae wondered.

"With how powerful a holder becomes after using it, they'd probably take you out first. It had to be luck that the three of you survived."

Sure, let's call it that.

"Akira." Very carefully, Kanae nudged Akira's side. "Earlier, when you tried to protect me from that holder...I know what you were trying to do, but why? Trying to fight them using Gemini on your own could have been a death wish!"

 

[Ranix Aurus]

"What are you saying," Akira patted his chest. "I'm your best friend. It's only natural that I'll do everything to help you!"

"Yeah, he should be able to do this much for your sake, it's nothing special," Hotaru mercilessly added.

"...Now I don't feel so good doing it anymore when you put it that way," he pouted.

"But... how would they do that? It's not as simple as disabling the strain detection system. Your body will still be drained after using ARMOR. It won't do anything... wait, what if... they're using the monsterification serum? It make sense, the monsters have heightened abilities incomparable to normal humans. What if they have their own antidote, and they're using them to suppress the serum's effect just enough to-"

"Senior!"

Seiichiro's muttering was abruptly stopped by Shiori. She had a worried look on her face.

"Don't you dare thinking about it! That's dangerous!"

"Ah... S-sorry," Seiichiro scratched his neck in embarrassment. "It's just a random thought. Don't think too much about it."

 

[Admiral19]

"But you know, Junior," Aisuke added, "dangerous thinking sometimes leads to breakthroughs. I'm not gonna rule out Seiichiro's idea entirely; in fact, it's the only way I can see this "Overdrive" system working."

In which case, they'd have to find a way to counteract it quickly.

Kanae rolled her eyes. "Ok, sure, tell that to your shoulder. You're lucky the system patches you up, or I'd kick your ass for worrying me."

Ah, this was the kind of normal Kanae preferred; back and forth between the three of them about anything and everything. She wanted this to go on for a good long while; no monsters, no enemy holders, no massive threat, just being with her friends.

A lofty little dream, but Kanae's always been the imaginative type.

 

[Ranix Aurus]

"Alright, alright, I'll keep that in mind," Akira sighed, although he was smiling all the same.

"Saitou, about your friends..." Seiichiro turned to Aisuke. "Are you sure that they're safe? Should we go over and protect them? With OLYMPUS- no, Aesir, having both monsters and medallion holders in their hand, normal security wouldn't be able to handle them. If the medallions fell to their hands instead..."

 

[Admiral19]

"Which is why I'm planning a trip to retrieve them before anyone else can. As it is right now, we can't leave any bases uncovered. At least if the remaining medallions are in our possession, we'll have a bigger advantage and a lot more leverage against Aesir. Whatever their Kaiserin is planning can't come to fruition if she doesn't have all the pieces."

That being said, making the trip to America would leave Aesir free to do whatever they wanted here in Japan...it'd be a risky trip, one that they couldn't waste time on. And if indeed a Holder was sent to chase after them...well, they'd just have to hold them off.

 

[Ranix Aurus]

"Are you going to... leave again...?"

Hotaru asked rather lightly, although it sounded like an accusation. You've returned to your child after so long, and you're leaving again just like that?

Akira glanced at Kanae. He didn't know how she would react to it. Not to mention, now that she had realized the scale of the situation... wouldn't it be best if she ended up going with her parents to America? Especially when she was the only one capable to protect them properly.

 

[Admiral19]

"After all this time? Of course not. In fact, all three of you will be coming with me."

Kanae's eyes widened. All three?! "Well, what if Aesir makes an attack? Nobody's gonna be here to stop them!"

Aisuke smiled. "Not necessarily. There is one other holder on our side..."

Kanae thought for a second, then her eyes widened. "No. Dad, with all the respect I can muster, that is a fucking horrible idea! He doesn't even have a medallion now!"

 

[Ranix Aurus]

"I guess I can return Gemini to him," Akira said. "Although, we'll still have to find someone else who's compatible with this troublesome medallion. And then we'll need to ensure that Shouji is compatible with that person. Which I figure would be difficult."

When he think about it, Gemini was truly a difficult medallion to use properly.

"I think... it'll be fine," Shiori said. "Aesir didn't seem to target us specifically. They wouldn't be bothered to spend their effort attacking us directly if you guys take the medallions away from here. Right, maybe... you should take Senior as well."

She looked at Seiichiro.

"Senior is the one who was targetted by Aesir initially. He would be safer with you guys."

"Me?" He goofily pointed at himself.

 

[Admiral19]

"Very good point," Kanae said, "Uncle attracts issues like a damn magnet. The last thing you need is a target painted on you." Yikes, poor Uncle...

The idea of Shouji fighting with them...it wasn't an incredibly awful idea, she just wished it didn't have to happen. She still hasn't gotten over what Shouji did to Mochizuki and Hotaru, so needing to bring him along in case one of the Tanakas was out of commission...man.

"That being said, will you be okay here, Junior?" It wasn't just Shiori's safety Aisuke was worrying over, but the safety of their research. "We're going to try and be back as soon as possible, but..."

 

[Ranix Aurus]

"Oh, don't worry about me. Aesir wouldn't dare to touch my family. Yet," Shiori smiled. "But they might not care about consequences anymore if they grow too strong. So that's what you guys have to prevent at all cost. I'll keep Mr. Mikawa safe with us."

"Right, Mikawa had been preparing some publications," Seiichiro added. "It might not be much, but if we can sow some rumors, we might be able to weaken OLYMPUS's, and in turn Aesir's, grip on the general populace!"

"So... that's where we'll go next, isn't it? To America," Akira concluded.

---

Nakamichi Haru didn't return to the base that day. Same with the lizard-octopus monster. However, Alfred had assured them that everything had gone according to plan. They were simply in safe custody elsewhere.

The Holders had been called upon for a briefing, something that had never happened before. Usually they were given free reins to do whatever they wanted.

"Our operations in this country will be suspended for now," Alfred went straight to the crux of the situation. "The research has progressed to a most satisfying conclusion. We will be able to wrap up the experiments and begin the production phase. Thus, there's no longer any need to gather test subjects. However, that doesn't mean that there will be nothing for you to do."

He tapped on the giant screen at the wall, rousing it to life. The huge display shimmer in bluish light.

"The Kaiserin has something more urgent for you to do."

 

[Admiral19]

"Hello there, dear business partners!"

A face appeared on the display, dark hair and red eyes partially obscured by the darkness of the room she was in. The Kaiserin's voice was chipper as ever.

"Glad you all could make it! I have some fantastic news. For starters, I got a hold of an old research partner who happened to know where the remaining medallions were! In exchange for a certain something from us, I asked her to do two things."

She held a finger up on one hand.

"One: take some of our monsters overseas. I'll tell you what this will do in a second."

She held up a finger on her other hand.

"Two: figure out a way to draw attention away from us."

With both fingers, she then pointed at each of the Holders present.

"As for the four of you...I'm giving you all a construction project! You see, part of my great scheme requires the remaining medallions and for a certain type of building to be constructed. Now, of course we can't just build it right in the open...which is where our partner comes in! In addition to lending you a monster to clear out a building sight that I so graciously marked, her distraction will allow you to search for the remaining medallions! She swears to me that she was told who they went to, and while I don't quite believe her, there's nothing wrong with a little guess and check."

With that, the Kaiserin sat back. "Should all go to plan, the building should be finished by...sometime next month. All the medallions should be in your hands by then. Any questions from the floor?"

 

[Ranix Aurus]

Alfred stepped forward and handed them each a small object in the shape of a thumb drive. They had a simple button on the side, which when pressed would lightly spew out a thin layer of odor.

"This is our greatest advancement yet. After the success of the last experiments, we have managed to gain control of the monsters. At least, the ones created by the latest versions of the serum. Aoi, you might remember what had become of Fujita Hiroshi. Rejoice! That great strength is now yours to control."

He had a proud look on his face, a man who was one step closer to achieving his goal.

"It wouldn't be long before we will be able to control the monsters on individual basis, but as a whole. An army of monsters, at our fingertips. This... is what I shall offer to the Kaiserin."

 

[Admiral19]

"Our dear partner was given these as well," the Kaiserin said, spinning about in her swivel chair, "so once all of this goes smoothly, you can have Alfred to thank for our success! Now, if that's all for queries, then..."

"Kaiserin!" Aoi raised her hand. "With all respect, what makes you think this "partner" of ours isn't gonna turn around and gut us later, hm?"

The Kaiserin stopped. She stared headlong into the camera, her voice suddenly dead serious.

"Oh, dear Ms. Kaneshiro, she won't have a choice. I offered her something she can't possibly refuse. And if she happens to slight us later on, well..."

There was something decidedly unholy in her eyes.

"The devouring of the old world can sort her out."

All of the Holders assembled felt something...off-putting, something they couldn't quite explain.

"Anyhow!" And with a clap, she was back to carefree. Just who was this woman? "All the cumbersome equipment will be sent over separately, so all you folks have to do is pack your personals! You'll be out of here early next morning. I'll be staying behind, unfortunately, but I'll be with you in spirit. And hey, I'm never more than a thought away if you need anything! Have a good trip! Fly safe!"

---

The video feed blipped off, revealing the zodiac pattern again. The symbols for Cancer, Taurus, Scorpio, Leo, Gemini, Virgo, and Libra were glowing white. The remaining symbols didn't glow at all.

"Phew! Haven't talked at length like that in a minute!" The Kaiserin stretched her arms upwards before standing and walking to the far right of her quarters. Covering part of the wall was an old sheet of paper, with an odd mural scrawled on it in dark red.

The Kaiserin placed her hand on the mural, a pleasant chill running up her spine. "Not much longer, now."

The marking smudged when her hand moved. It seemed like she had drawn over this many, many times, painstakingly following each line.

"It's bad to leave a job unfinished. I'll take it from here, if you don't mind."

 

[Ranix Aurus]

It didn't take long for Akira and Hotaru to finish packing. It wasn't the first time for them to move away in the past few weeks, that's for sure, and the siblings had little attachment to their belongings anyway.

"It's funny. You've just returned not too long ago from the States. And now we're going back there again."

Akira joked offhandedly while playing with his phone. The lab had been hectic for a while now. Seiichiro was fussing about which tools he would have to bring with him, while Shiori was busy making sure that his daily needs wouldn't be forgotten along the way. She sounded like his mother instead of his junior...

"...And we're bringing Shouji as well..." Akira frowned. Sure, that guy was another compatible user, and with how fickle Gemini was, having a backup was a good plan. But he just couldn't get himself to view him in a good light.

Not to mention how he turned into an obedient puppy in front if Aisuke... it brought chill down his spine, in one way.

 

[Admiral19]

"Right?" Kanae, on the other hand, had taken a good hour to make sure she had everything she needed. It was important for her to do so, especially when traveling. "On the bright side, you guys get to visit too! There's a lot of cool stuff there!"

She sighed upon remembering that Shouji was indeed coming with them. "Yeah, I know it sucks, but it's kinda necessary. We can put up with him if it means we have contingency plans on hand." The last of Kanae's bags were checked and double checked. "Besides, if he really wanted to slight us, don't you think he would have done it by now? He's an aggressive guy! Or at least, he is for the most part."

She also found it weird how Shouji listened to her dad's every word. It was better than the alternative, but still...hm.

 

[Ranix Aurus]

"Hmm, I want to sightsee with Kanae..." Hotaru mumbled in a spoiled manner as she hugged Kanae from behind. She didn't seem to be bothered from the sudden travel, although perhaps it was because Kanae was with her.

"Saitou, Tanaka, you're here."

Seiichiro's head popped up in the entrance before he tiptoed into the room like a thief. He seemed to be avoiding someone.

"I have something to give you guys. So..." He glanced at Hotaru. "Hmm, I guess it's fine if you know this too. You're involved, after all."

He pushed a few buttons in his phone. A moment later, a notification sound could be heard coming from both Kanae and Akira's wristbands. When Akira pulled it closer to take a look, the display was showing a render of a capsule-like device, accompanied by some text.

"Overdrive... system?!"

Akira and Hotaru shot an angry look at Seiichiro.

"Uwah! Don't glare at me like that! It's just a prototype that I hastily got together based on your description and what we have at hand. We only have some derived substance from the sample I received from Mochizuki, so that's what I've been using. As for the neutralizing serum, it's been perfected... somewhat. But I can't really guarantee whether it can even work or not."

"It's just that..." He rubbed his neck, "I have a feeling that things will get really dangerous in the future. I know that Shiori will kill me if she find out, but... I thought that you guys have the rights to know. I don't think we'll ever need it, but just in case..."

He showed them two capsules with the same appearance as the ones displayed on the wristband.

"You can place them in the wristband's external slots. The software that I've sent to you will take care of the rest. It only have a few shots in it, though."

 

[Admiral19]

"Don't worry!" Kanae gently ran a hand over Hotaru's head. "We'll be able to see so much while we're there!"

She shot a similarly dirty glance at Seiichiro when she realized what he had given her. "Even so, we don't know what else Overdrive is gonna do! That holder certainly didn't tell us about anything!" Kanae was always in favor of a way to get a step over her enemies, but was this the kind of step safe? There was really only one way to find out, but it made Kanae concerned!

But it wasn't like they had a choice. Seiichiro was right, things were only gonna get more and more dangerous as they went on. They'd need to be ready for anything.

So for now, Kanae reluctantly took the capsule.

 

[Ranix Aurus]

Hotaru engulfed Kanae into a tight hug, seemingly unwilling to see her taking the capsule. "Don't... We won't let you use it... We will protect Kanae!" She exclaimed. "Big brother will work hard!"

"Wait, so in the end it's me who's doing the hard work?!" Akira retorted.

In the end, he still took the capsule as well, albeit reluctantly.

"I've calibrated the dosage to be controllable by your ARMOR system. It's not supposed to be used all at once! Remember, only use them as little as possible!" Seiichiro warned them again and again. He had confidence in his work, but still, a dangerous technology like that wasn't something he could give with full conscience. The risk was as big as the benefit.

 

[Admiral19]

"Trust me Uncle, we're gonna try our best to use this as sparingly as we can. Thanks!" Despite Hotaru's hug, Kanae inspected the capsule before placing it into the slot Seiichiro marked. Whatever happens just happens by this point.

After a while, Kanae's phone went off. "Ah, hey! Mom said that she and Dad got our ride packed! We'll be off to the airport soon, but, uhhh..." She shot a suspicious glance at Seiichiro. "Are you sure Customs isn't gonna detain you on the spot, Uncle? Will we be fine?"

 

[Ranix Aurus]

"Don't worry, your father has taken care of everything. I think. I mean, it's not like I did any crime, right?"

"Senior, you haven't finished packing your stuff yet."

Shiori had suddenly appeared at the doorway, to Seiichiro's chagrin. He ended up getting dragged away just like that.

"...Right, we should get ready ourselves then," Akira sighed.

---

The journey to the airport was generally smooth, except for one small detail: Shouji was riding with them, and just like Akira and Hotaru having a dislike for him, the feeling was mutual. They sat as much apart from each other as possible, leaving Kanae with a lot of space in the middle.

 

[Admiral19]

Kanae felt like a...severely awkward mediator. On one hand, it was for the best that she stayed between these two so that one of them doesn't start fighting the other. On the other...ah, she couldn't think of anything to say! The atmosphere felt too dense for Kanae to say anything funny, reducing her to the occasional throat clearing. Ah, this better not be how the whole flight is like...

When they eventually arrived at the airport, customs was a smooth trip, mostly thanks to Kanae's wonderful cover story for the medallions and wristbands("Souvenirs from a fair! There was this game where you piloted this tiny mech and fought these monsters, and the bands and medallions were replica prizes of what you used to control the mech!"). There was the waiting game for their gate to open up, during which Kanae finally decided to check what seat she'd be sitting in...

"Uh, Shouji...out of curiosity, do you have a seat in row 30?" Because if he did, she hoped it wasn't next to seat 30A.

 

[Ranix Aurus]

Shouji stared at her with an annoyed look upon noticing the reason why she asked that question. She would be in row 30. Which was shit, because the number on his ticket was also 30. Seat 30B, even.

Akira and Hotaru creeped behind him. Tragically, they were assigned seats on row 28.

"Oi, exchange your seat with me," Akira didn't even bother to act civil.

"...No, give your ticket to me," Hotaru followed suit. The Tanaka siblings were glaring death at him, while Shouji shrunk away, not even comprehending what the deal actually was.

"Sir, Ma'am, I'm sorry, but you... you can't do that..." The attendants standing guard on the gate had a helpless look on her face.

 

[Admiral19]

"No, it's fine! Really!" Kanae raised her hands defensively. "Look, it's better he sits with me than one of you guys glare daggers at him for the whole flight. I can handle him for a few hours." It'd be a tough few hours, but still. Kanae's been through much worse at this point.

Their gate opened and it became time to board. The Tanakas were only a couple rows ahead of her, yet it felt like a much greater distance, somehow. Uncle was a row behind, and her dad and mom were right across the aisle. Perfectly fine.

"Have you ever been flying before?" While they were waiting for takeoff, Kanae might as well try to make some talk with Shouji. She didn't expect him to say anything, but it was worth a try, wasn't it? "The view's pretty nice, I'd say."

 

[Ranix Aurus]

Akira and Hotaru finally settled down after much huffing and puffing, although they indeed were acting a bit childish at this point. Shouji on the other hand had really calmed down these days. He wasn't making any scene like usual, but he was still as anti-social as before. He wouldn't speak much with anyone aside from Aisuke.

Once seated, he closed his eyes, and seemingly fell asleep. Kanae's words seemed to have fallen to deaf ears. After some time had passed, however, he suddenly mumbled out an answer. Sort of.

"No. Never."

He grew up a pitiful orphan. Flying on a plane was merely a worthless dream. But even after he was here after so long, he still didn't feel anything special about it.

Reflecting back on his life so far, he really had nothing going on for him in this world.

 

[Admiral19]

Okay, that was good. Kanae got two words out of him, which is two more than she thought she'd get. "Hm. Well, I was pretty freaked out the first time I went flying. I kept thinking about how high up we were, and it made me a bit nauseous. I'm fine now, though!"

It occurred to Kanae just how little she knew about Shouji, besides what he's done as Aesir's former Gemini. Fortunately, they had so much time to kill, so it was just a matter of getting a decent conversation going!

Start simple, then. "Uh...favorite food? There was this udon bowl I had once that nearly knocked me out, it was so good! There's a lot of good food in America, too, especially southward...me and my folks went to Georgia one week as I was studying abroad, and we had peach cobbler...you make this fruit filling and then top it with some dough, but it's not quite like a pie...it's really good!"