Fantasy Stellar ARMOR Satellizer (Ranix Aurus & Admiral19)

[Admiral19]

"Hm...! That ain't bad!" 2000 is certainly more than the Kaiserin thought she was gonna get, so that's great! It's a good enough audience to her! "And what of Leo...?"

---

Leo was...currently in an immense amount of pain.

Kanae could hear the roaring of hundreds of monsters far in the distance. For whatever infernal reason, it was giving her the worst headache she's ever felt!

Wait, no...was the headache already there, and the roaring was just making it worse? Either way, her body felt just as bad. She hadn't used Overdrive until today, but even then, it shouldn't be this bad!

"Stop her!" Rui called out from behind her. Before their sword could strike her, however, Kanae grabbed their wrist and threw them aside, farther than she probably would have thrown them normally.

There was a terrible ache in Kanae's mouth.

Aoi and Aina rushed at Kanae at the same time, only for both of them to get grabbed by their necks and slammed to the floor.

Muscle was burning as it grew unnaturally. Something sharp threatened to tear out of Kanae's fingertips.

Aina stood and shook off the fall. Unbelievable; even if Kanae was in Overdrive, it was still the three of them against her...then again, it wasn't as if she allowed them much of a chance to fight.

"Aoi, Rui, quickly! Enter Over—"

Aina was cut off. Strong arms, far stronger than a human's, held her up by the neck, choking her tightly. How fast was Leo just now?!

 

[Ranix Aurus]

"Leo... she should be taken care of. The three Holders are at it. And even if they failed, with this many monsters in their hands, would Leo stand a chance?"

Alfred smiled. For some reason, there was a hint of sadness on his face.

"My Kaiserin. You have given me hope, and the help that I need when I needed them the most. Thank you. Truly, thank you. I have given the recipe of the pheromone to your scientists. They will be able to improve and mass produce them however you need. This... is my last gift to you."

"Thank you for everything."

He turned the call off, and then threw his phone to the ground, breaking it. After landing on the ground, he saw Haru and Youmo coming from the direction of the village, with a large group of people following her.

People who had showed some sign of mutation here and there, and yet still retained their look as humans.

"Haru. It's finally over. And it's... finally beginning. For all of you. For all of us."

He waved for them to follow him out of the village. To the new world.

---

Something flew through the entrance of the warehouse. A rock, thrown at Kanae's head. A mere rock wouldn't even make a dent on someone in an ARMOR, not to mention when she was boosted with overdrive.

It was done solely to draw her attention.

Hotaru stood at the entrance, the waning sunlight casting a shadow on her figure. Her gaze were trembling, filled with disbelief. She was worried that Kanae would push herself too far, but this...

"No..." She murmured. "Stop it, Kanae... stop it!"

She rushed at the rampaging ARMOR as fast as her legs could bring her. That overdrive system was a mistake. Everything was a mistake! She had to stop Kanae before she lost her own self.

 

[Admiral19]

Kanae's head snapped in the direction the rock came from. If it were any other time, she would see Hotaru, standing there and trying to get Kanae's attention.

Kanae only knew that she had to get out of this warehouse. So the person she saw in the doorway was just another body keeping her from that, just another body to eradicate.

She dropped Aina(Aoi was quick to get in between her and Leo, only to see that her attention was divided) and stared hard at whoever was running straight towards her. Kanae charged forward to met Hotaru halfway. As she did, parts of her ARMOR began cracking and falling apart, revealing mangled amalgamations of human and beast. Her voice, bubbly and fresh on her best days and deflated like a balloon on her worst, became guttural, warped past the point of either extreme.

When Hotaru finally got a good look at Kanae, her facemask shattered, revealing half of a lion's muzzle breaking through, horrifically fused to her face, fangs and all.

The roar Hotaru heard as she was picked up and shoved into a wall was terrible.

 

[Ranix Aurus]

This wasn't the Kanae that she knew. The usual Kanae would have greeted her with a wide grin. The usual Kanae would have pulled her into a warm hug. The usual Kanae would have noticed her from the distance, no matter how far they were from each other. The usual Kanae...

...The usual Kanae...

...No. This wasn't her Kanae. This was wrong! She couldn't accept it!

Hotaru was picked up so brutally by those hands which had touched her so gently not so long ago, before unceremoniously getting smashed into a wall. A huge hole was left on the concrete wall, the cracks spreading to every directions as a veil of dust rose from the sudden motion.

"Kanae... I... don't want it to end like this..."

Hotaru trembled in Kanae's grip. Her voice shaking.

"...If I am to lose you... then... I don't... I don't care anymore... Even if you'll end up hating me, I... I'll get you back, no matter what it takes!"

As the dust settled, ghostly golden eyes stared back at the mutating ARMOR. A layer of white exoskeleton was growing over her body, with her arms already covered like a pair of gloves ending with nails as sharp as blades. She grabbed on Kanae's wrists and began pushing them back, until there was enough space to launch a kick to her chest.

 

[Admiral19]

Kanae couldn't react to Hotaru's kick in time, flying backwards and landing not far away from the other Holders(a hard glare and a loud snarl kept them from interfering). By the time she stood again, Kanae was witnessing a transformation, one that she swears she's seen before...

Wait, no, that's impossible! This human is in her way! Human? Is she human? What is she turning into, then?

Kanae shook her pointless questions from her mind and lashed out again, aiming to claw at Hotaru's chest. It didn't matter what this thing was...did it? It doesn't!

 

[Ranix Aurus]

The exoskeletal armor stopped growing after it covered some parts of Hotaru body. Instead, three pairs of tendrils burst out of her back, arching up into the air. When Kanae lunged at her chest, Hotaru waited until the last moment before she dashed forward, catching the incoming claw at the wrist.

Her tendrils bloomed open. The topmost pair grew into wings made out of feather, the middle pair opened into radiant chitinous wings, while the wings on the last pair was narrow and transparent, with patterns of veins running through them.

The humongous wings swung down in a synchronous manner, sending a powerful draft of wind that pulled Hotaru up into the air, lifting Kanae along with her. And then, she stomped down on the ARMOR's chest, and let gravity do the rest.

As they smashed onto the ground, the wings surrounded them like a cocoon, concealing them from outside view. Before Kanae could break out of her grasp, Hotaru leaned down and...

Forcefully landed a kiss on her half-forming muzzle.

And then she bit on Kanae's lips until she drew blood.

Blood and saliva from her mouth mixed together with Kanae's, and soon the latter would feel it: the mutation from the serum beginning to die down, as if suppressed by its antithesis.

 

[Admiral19]

Kanae saw the wings bursting from behind Hotaru, backlit by the setting sun...then she saw the roof of the warehouse getting closer, and then pulling back even faster as she was kicked to the ground. She roared up at Hotaru, prepared to—

Her anger flickered slightly as Hotaru kissed her. It wavered as Kanae still tried to fight back, tearing at Hotaru's shoulders and arms and back with sharpened claws. It slowly, slowly died as whatever kick of energy she was given faded.

What had Hotaru done? What had she done...?!

What had...

Oh, what had Kanae done...?

"Firefly..." Kanae laid stone still, body back to normal, looking up at Hotaru...

The wings surrounding them both looked so beautiful.

 

[Ranix Aurus]

Tears were trickling down Hotaru's eyes. Kanae was back. Her Kanae was finally back...!

...But it was the end for her. For them. It had finally come to this...

"Kanae... I'm... sorry... it's because I'm such a coward that... everything..."

It dripped down like rain, one tear at a time.

The wings flapped up, opening like an arch, before they swung back down even stronger than before, catapulting Hotaru up to the air, with Kanae in her arms. The sky above the village was a scene of nightmare, with horrible winged creatures infesting the airspace. One of them, shaped like a horned beetle with talons for legs and wings like that of an owl, screeched at Hotaru the moment it noticed her presence, and it lunged right at her-

"Down, child."

Hotaru's eyes glowed as she muttered her command. The monster halted at once, its vicious snarl suddenly turned into an obedient purr. She then hopped onto its back. The owl-beetle trembled for a bit before it dived back into the warehouse, and then quickly flew back up. On one of its talon was Mochizuki, who was almost forgotten throughout the entire hubbub.

The monster slowed its flight as it made its way into the mountain. Hotaru was silent, turning her gaze away from Kanae.

 

[Admiral19]

"Coward...? No, no no, Firefly, I'm just glad you're—"

They were in the air again, beholding a hell unlike any Kanae had seen. Even in the sky alone, monsters were floating about, causing havoc. And more than that...why could Hotaru command the one that went flying at them with just two words?

"Hotaru..." What are you, she wanted to ask, but Hotaru probably knew every single question that was coming to Kanae's head.

 

[Ranix Aurus]

Hotaru didn't reply. She didn't dare to. She just wanted to get this over with.

So her feelings wouldn't linger so hopelessly...

The beast dived down as they approached the mountain, going down to the side of the road. There secluded area had no traffic even at this time of the day, although part of the reason might have something to do with the carnage ensuing at the horizon. Not even Aesir, nor OLYMPUS, would be able to hide what happened here for long.

Perhaps they didn't even need to.

A car was waiting at their landing point. Surprisingly, Akira was the one on the wheel. He walked out of the driver's seat the moment he saw them coming down. He frowned when he saw the state of Kanae's ARMOR.

"You're crazy," he growled.

"I'll leave them to you, Tanaka Akira."

Hotaru waved her hand, ordering the monster to drop Mochizuki on the grass.

"...You're done playing pretend?" Akira turned his gaze at his "sister'. The white layer of chitinous armor had receded. She looked just like the usual Hotaru, except for those eyes, and the grotesque, anomalous wings on her back. They have been at it for nearly fourteen years. He thought that it would even last forever.

And yet...

"Hmm. I'm done running away," she nodded weakly, looking like she was going to disappear.

 

[Admiral19]

Kanae was stunned into silence the entire flight down. The past few minutes have been...god. Whatever Hotaru was, it was apparently important to these monsters...

"Pretending...?" Kanae suddenly turned to Hotaru. "Wait, what's happening? Firefly...Hotaru, just what the hell are you? What's going on? Is this what you've been hiding from me?"

 

[Ranix Aurus]

"I'm sorry, Kanae. I... I was too much of a... "

Coward.

She raised her hand, covered in white, overlapping chitinous layer, looking no different than that of the monsters back there in the village. She could pull these shells back, reforming her body as she wished, but what was the point? She could put any mask and it wouldn't change the fact that she was still a monster. Always had, always will be.

"...At the very least, I want to keep you safe... I'll finish what I couldn't do back then. And when it's done, I'll..."

She wanted to return back to her, but could she? This thirteen years, it was all a lie. She had every chance to tell the truth, and yet she still decided to keep up the facade.

If Kanae hated her for this, then it was fair enough.

Her wings unfurled, ready for flight. Casting her one last look, Hotaru showed a fleeting smile before she took off into the sky. The beast followed her right after.

Akira leaned on the car, watching everything unfolded. He didn't know what to say. He didn't know if he even had the right to say anything.

 

[Admiral19]

"Wait! Hotaru, please!" Kanae tried to chase after Hotaru, but she was gone by the time Kanae could start running.

Thirteen years is a long time to lie.

Kanae looked at Akira. "How long have you known? What the hell is she?"

---

The Kaiserin sighed.

"So. You're telling me the attempt to ransom the remaining medallions was stopped by Leo and her friend?"

"Her friend turned into a monster!" Aoi shouted into the phone's speaker. "She wasn't like the monsters we made, either! She took out Leo in seconds!"

"...Monster?"

"Yes! Six wings and everything! What were we supposed to do?! Alfred never told us about that!"

The Kaiserin smiled. Alfred had told her. Just a little bit, but enough that she would know about it when it came up.

"Alfred..." She whispered to herself. "So that's the Enjyuu you told me about." She began barking in the phone again. "I'll give you all one last chance. Capricorn, Aries, Leo. Those are the ones we're missing. Get them, send them to me. As for that girl...Find her, too. Keep her alive."

"Understood."

The line cut off. Everything was right at the finish line, but...AAA, it was so frustrating not having everything in play!

It's okay. It's fine. Just three more medallions as well as that girl...the world will be hers soon enough.

 

[Ranix Aurus]

Ah, crap. She should have took him along. Now he had to face Kanae by himself... so that was what she meant when she said that she left them to him--

"First, get in the car. I'll explain on the road... if you're willing to listen."

As if nothing had happened, Akira dragged Mochizuki and threw him to the backseat. He then got up in the driver's seat, turned the key, and let the machine roar back to life. He looked at Kanae, his gaze inquisitive, as if silently asking her whether she really wanted to know about it. The truth.

About the lie that his entire life had become ever since that day.

 

[Admiral19]

Kanae piled herself into the the front seat. She wanted to know. She wanted to help Hotaru any way she can, and that started with understanding who Hotaru was. Kanae was naive in that way.

Gods, everything's become such a mess. And that's not even taking into account the monsters.

 

[Ranix Aurus]

Akira began to drive. Very slowly. The traffic was basically empty at this point, so they were able to cruise the road at snail's pace.

"I used to be a naughty child. Annoying. Selfish."

He began to speak. Not to answer Kanae's question, but more like a monologue.

"When my little sister was born, outwardly I showed them smiles. But inside, I was burning with jealousy. This girl will steal my parents' love, I thought. I didn't know whether it could even be called hate; perhaps it was normal to feel that way to your sibling. In my defense, I was barely a year older than her. I think I'm allowed to have childish thoughts."

He laughed wryly. At himself.

"I kept her at arms length. Lukewarm. That sweet little thing didn't understand it. My parents were showering her with love, spoiling her rotten. They might have done the same to me in retrospect, but for the little me, it didn't matter. No matter how much she wanted to stick to me, I quietly pushed her aside. Yet she wouldn't give up. She would keep chasing behind me, like a little tail. Perhaps over time, my heart softened because of it. We..."

He paused for a moment, as if trying to fish up the memory that had intentionally be buried deep inside. He wanted to forget, but ultimately he couldn't.

"...We rented a cabin by a lake. It was beautiful. Our parents went out to take a walk. Hotaru wanted to play by the lake, but I refused to let her out. Maybe I was too lazy to babysit my sister. Maybe I was just being a contrarian. We used to butt heads because of my stubbornness, but that day it was particularly bad. She seemed to be crying, I forgot. What I remember was her rushing to her room, while I stayed at the living room downstairs watching cartoons. And then--"

He bit his lips.

"Something fell from the sky. It crashed right into our cabin. Everything was a blur. I felt like my body was thrown all over the place. When I regained consciousness, the whole place was burning. I saw a shadow passing by, something that looked inhuman-- like a monster with numerous tendrils. It lingered for a moment before it left. That was when I remembered about Hotaru. I think one of my leg was broken at some point. I remembered crawling toward the staircase, which was no longer there. I could only see piles of burning wood, and the farther I go, the heavier the dread in my gut feels."

The car slowed until it came to a stop. Akira turned to Kanae, his eyes bloodshot.

"I saw my sister. I saw Hotaru. She was staring at me with her round eyes, her mouth slightly open, as if calling out for me. A wooden pillar was jutting out of her chest. The whole place... was splashed with red..."

If only he had brought her out that day. If only he followed her wish to play by the lake...

"My sister was dead, Kanae... And it is my fault."

 

[Admiral19]

Kanae's expression became more and more surprised the more Akira spoke. It didn't surprise her too much about what went on between them when they were younger; siblings get like that, doing things for stupid reasons and making each other needlessly upset. But...

Dead. No way. No, no, that was impossible. A monster crash-landed, and Hotaru was...and Akira...

"You let her die?!"

It wasn't truly his fault. Kanae knew this. But...she had to put the blame on something, if only for a moment...otherwise what was she to do?

Kanae frantically grabbed Akira by the shoulders. "You...Akira, what the hell was I friends with for thirteen years?! Why did you never...why did neither of you..."

There had to be more. Akira had to say more.

 

[Ranix Aurus]

He let Kanae grab him. As if in a trance, Akira mumbled on, although his words started to become incoherent.

"She-- he-- it appeared. It was different from the shadow that I had seen before. It was like a chunk of flesh-- white, protected by overlapping shells. An arm was extended from inside the shell. Or was it growing out of it? I couldn't... remember... It had a pair of wings like a bird, but they were thin, with little feather left, as if they had been plucked off, and one of them was bending at a weird angle. It came crawling out from under the rubble. I didn't know how it could speak without a mouth, but I swear that it was talking to me--"

He was afraid of that thing, but he couldn't even feel it. His dead sister was like a chain that nailed him to the ground. He could only stare at it while cradling his dead sister.

"You're afraid, human."

He didn't reply. He couldn't. It was as if his brain had shut down at that moment.

"...You wanted that thing to live."

Perhaps it could read his mind. Or perhaps it was obvious just from a single glance.

"Human, what if we strike a deal?"

"...Hotaru can live again. Or something that looked like Hotaru could. That... thing... crawled to us. Its hand grasped at my sister, and then they... they began to... merge... I didn't know. I closed my eyes."

He wasn't brave enough to see.

"When I opened my eyes, Hotaru was looking back at me. But it wasn't Hotaru. Not anymore. Those pair of golden eyes were the proof that it wasn't my imagination. It-- she got up from my arms, and pulled out the log that was piercing her chest without breaking a sweat. I saw with my own eyes as the wound began to close. She could control her flesh. Grow it at will. Change it according to her desire. She was one of them. She called herself an 'Eldrian'. Her-- its name--"

"My name is Enjyuu. Ruu Enjyuu. Human, I will use you to hide from my enemy. In return, I will play along--"

"--As my sister."

Akira stopped. Silent tears were running down his cheeks, but he didn't seem to notice.

 

[Admiral19]

Kanae was crying with him. This whole thing sounded unbelievable. She didn't want to comprehend everything Akira said, wanted to call him a liar, wanted to say that Hotaru was just fine and he sounded like a fucking crazy person.

But strange things have happened. Nothing stranger than this, but enough that Kanae could believe anything else.

She let go of Akira. Everything felt...numb.

"Akira." She looked down at herself, she who had almost lost her entire sense of self not moments ago. "When I was telling you about Hotaru in the hospital..." It hurt to think about. Yeah, Hotaru was here, but...fuck, what the hell had she fallen in love with...?

...That's a stupid question.

Kanae pulled her phone out without another word and called her father.

---

Aisuke was getting anxious. Kanae had went off to rescue Mochizuki ages ago, and she still wasn't back ye—

His phone went off.

"Kanae! ...Oh, you have Mochizuki? Thank god—Monsters?! ...I understand. Yes, we'll meet you there with the medallions as soon as we can."

 

[Ranix Aurus]

Akira overheard Kanae's conversation with his father, but he didn't give any comment. He pressed the pedal gently as he steered the car to the side of the road. Since the others were coming, they should stay here for now so they wouldn't miss each other on the way.

He leaned his head on the wheel, his gaze hollow.

"...We never told you about our-- about my mother, didn't we?"

Kanae didn't ask. And yet, Akira kept muttering on. As if he wanted to spill everything that had been repressed deep inside for so long.

"We were taken to the hospital after the accident. I was treated for broken bones and several other injuries. Hotaru-- Enjyuu had left some wounds on her body to distract the medical staff. It worked wonder. They couldn't determine the exact cause of the incident, leaving it to a case of accidental gas explosion. My parents didn't think much about it, they were only happy that the both of us were safe. They didn't know-- I couldn't let them know. Only I knew the truth. Me, and Enjyuu. Or so we thought."

He tightened his grips on the wheel, so much that his fingers were turning white.

"She wasn't Hotaru-- no matter how similar she looked, no matter if Hotaru was now a part of her, she was not my sister. She couldn't become her. At first, her drastic change of personality was attributed to trauma. My parents accepted it. My father accepted it better than my mom. They might have been okay with it even if the change was permanent, but my mom... she knew. She somehow knew. I didn't know if if was motherly instinct, but I could tell. At first, she didn't show any difference. But later on, she would treat Enjyuu differently. Before long, I could see her gaze gradually filled with suspicion. She--"

His voice choked at that particular moment.

"--killed herself. My father was out to work that day. I could tell that mom's temperament was putting a strain on him as well. I was watching television with Enjyuu. It was just like another day, until I noticed that my mom haven't gone down for a long time. So I went upstairs. The door to her room was cracked open. I peered into the gap to see a shadow hanging from the ceiling, swinging slightly from leftover momentum. I didn't know what to say. I didn't know what to do. I think I cried back then... or did I? Enjyuu was beside me, her eyes cold, looking at mom without a shred of emotion... only muttering that it was--"

Her fault.

 

[Admiral19]

Maybe was, in fact, her fault. But...Well, none of what happened to Hotaru was their choice. None of what Akira went through was his fault. Their mother...everything that happened with her, nothing that caused her suicide was Akira or Hotaru's fault.

"I'm sorry." She couldn't really think of anything else to say other than that. She wanted to say that everything wasn't his—or Enjyuu's—fault. But convincing someone of that was easier said than done.

She looked over at Akira. "Do you want a hug?"

 

[Ranix Aurus]

Akira looked at her face, then her arms. He looked tempted for a moment before laughing it off.

"Thanks, but I'm fine now. She's fine as well. After all, we've... met you."

His family had broken apart. What happened in the past couldn't be erased. But the future... was still bright. At least, as long as they still had Kanae-- as long as she still had Kanae.

"Are you angry that we've kept this a secret from you this entire time?" Akira murmured, his gaze grew serious. "...Do you regret it now?"

 

[Admiral19]

"If anything, I wish you guys had told me sooner!" Kanae's voice was fierce, but she wasn't upset. She couldn't be upset at either of them, not for this. "I understand why you hid it back then, but now that there's a looming threat over our heads...yeah, that'd be something I'd like to know! I'll have to reconcile with Firefly while we try to solve this plot..."

Thirteen years is a long time. Long enough for Kanae to grow selfish enough to care for the people she does.

"Anyone else might think this is rotten work."

Kanae smiled, the same smile those two have been putting on her for ages now.

"I don't think it is. Not if it's for you. Not if it's for her."

---

Aisuke and company arrived another ten minutes later. In Aisuke's hand was a suitcase that contained the last three medallions, camouflaged nicely in case any nosy snoopers wanted to think about getting the suitcase.

"We're here," he said, "tell me what you're trying to do with these."

Kanae smiled. "We're gonna hand 'em over to the Kaiserin."

...

"What?!"

 

[Ranix Aurus]

"Hell no!"

Shouji was the one who had shouted the loudest. He walked over with a crutch in one hand, looking absolutely furious at her suggestion. "That's ridiculous! There's no way that I'll agree to it! No way!"

"...I don't really mind," Akira retorted.

"What the hell?!"

"If you want to hand them over in order to wash ourselves clean of this business, then I'm all for it," Akira glanced at Kanae. "But... I have a feeling that that's not your real reason... isn't it?"

"Well... what's your plan, miss Saitou? Let's not keep us on edge now. The news had been scary as it is," Seiichirou wiped imaginary sweat over his forehead. They had been listening to the news on the way here. Chaos. It was chaos. Words of the tragedy happening at the village had spread nationwide. OLYMPUS had pledged to provide the self-defense force and the law enforcement with ARMORs in order to increase the security of the nation. It was as if they were preparing for a war.

 

[Admiral19]

"Think about it. This is a large-scale attack sort of thing, right?" Kanae vaguely gestured at the chaos behind them. "Aesir's getting bolder, which probably means that they're getting closer to their goal."

She pointed to Akira. "In shows like this, when the big bad gets bolder, that's when they'll show themselves. Akira, we've seen enough shows to know this. So, if we can trick the Kaiserin into thinking she won..."