Relic
----------------------
A lone penguin walks the wasteland, an abandoned society of the humans.
Shadows of an abandoned metropolis are cast down over his face, his ruffled
feathers. A once great creation, now left to rot and die. And as the penguin
looks up, he sees the shape of man, but it is not a man. A
huge statue? No, something else, something that looks like a man, but
isn’t. Something that represents all the primal aspects of
the creature that is considered ‘superior’ in intellect and status. The
figure’s mouth is open, his ‘armor’ a dark hue of indigo. In his hand, an
ancient weapon long forgotten, a two pronged spear. On
the figure’s arm is written ‘E**-0----,’ but the last letters are scratched
out. The penguin soon looses interest as he walks on to another destiny.
...
“Dakara watashi o mitte!” ( “So look at me!”)
---Asuka Soryu Langley
...
...
...
...
...
“Work?! We aren’t even going to stay here!”
Kouryuu patiently tried to ignore Double’s plea for
mercy as she strapped a small pack across her shoulders, containing the bare
minimum of explorer’s materials. ‘Why did he always have to be so annoying,’
she thought irritably. ‘You’d think somebody with his type of training would
carry a certain amount of discipline...’
“It’s bad enough we have to deal with freeloaders like you,” she said
with a grimace. “Edge has been busy training. Yoshime has been helping with the
computer systems. But YOU---” She turned to stare intently at Double. “---YOU
haven’t done a damn thing since you got here!!!” As Double meekly cowered
beneath Kouryuu’s verbal lashing, she turned back to
her work. “The very least you could do is go on a recon mission with us.”
Edge entered the room with Yoshime, both of them wearing similar packs to
that of the rebel. Double’s left eye twitched involuntarily for a whole minute
as he tried to stare them down. But eventually he huffed off towards the supply
room to retrieve his own pack, mumbling various obscenities along the way. A
wry smile spread out upon Kouryuu’s face as she
watched him leave.
“You’re going to have trouble with that one,” she said to Yoshime, and
Yoshime simply bowed her head and sighed.
...
...
...
...
Iesu peeked about the corner, she wasn’t there either. He scratched his head
absently. Where could she be? That girl, Yoshime. She
was rather pretty, but something was keeping him from... from... what was it?
Iesu’s hand stopped scratching and clutched his suddenly throbbing head.
“What...what is this?” said Iesu as his head
felt as though it had just taken a blow with a jackhammer. A voice reverberated
loudly in his skull, telling him to do something, telling him to---
“Ora!!! You okay there?”
Iesu whirled about to find that he had stumbled into another room without
noticing it. The man who had called to him sat lazily at a rickety wooden table
sipping coffee from a mug. He wore a dark ruffled jacket, but a formal white
shirt beneath it.
“You look lost,” said the man. “You’re looking for that girl, right? The new one that just came?” Iesu
nodded absently, rubbing the hair on the back of his head. He still felt dizzy
from his sudden experience. The man pulled out another chair.
“Sit down, you’re not going to last if you keep standing.” Iesu complied with
the man’s words and felt his weight fall into the wooden frame. The man poured
another mug of the black liquid and slid it over to the boy.
“Looks like you could use a cup. I’m Pent. I
just work here.” Iesu took a small sip of the hot
coffee.
“I’m Iesu,” he said wearily. His head continued
to pound wildly, pain ringing through his ears. He had never experienced these
kinds of sudden headaches before, and he hoped he wouldn’t have to again. What
was this feeling? Why did that pain come? He had just thought about---
“URGH!!!”
Iesu doubled over violently, spilling coffee onto his white shirt.
“Oi oi!” said Pent,
straightening Iesu’s mug. “Maybe you shouldn’t drink
right now, guess the stuff doesn’t agree with everybody.” Iesu’s
head throbbed and he felt like vomiting. The voice was louder now, clearer.
“...korosu...”
(“...kill...”)
What did it mean?
Pent sank back into his own chair.
“Hrm,” Pent in thought. “I think that girl went
out with Kouryuu, on a scout or something. Good thing
you didn’t go, you look horrible!” Iesu sat back,
placing his mug on the table. Pent rambled on. “I saw you with her earlier, how
long have you known her? She’s pretty cute too.” Pent nudged Iesu’s side. “Bet you’d like to hook it up with her,
eh?” Iesu gazed at him, still half in pain.
“Huh?” was Iesu’s blank response. “Hook up?”
“Yeah!” said Pent. “You know, get together? I’d bet you’re hoping on
charming her out on a date, eh? You like her that much?” Iesu’s
head began to spin.
“Love...” he muttered, and the voice was suddenly shouting in his head.
“KOROSU.”
Iesu’s world suddenly crumbled apart as his head exploded in pain, the tabled
tipping under the shift of weight from his palm, the coffee mug shattering into
a thousand bits of ceramic upon the concrete floor...
...
...
...
“A slow heartbeat, a gentle breath...”
...
...
...
...
“Mitte mitte!!!”
(“Look look!!!”)
Yoshime bounded over to an abandoned shop lined with abandoned silk
dresses in its dusty display windows. Edge sighed as he hefted his pack. Double
was grumbling the whole journey through, and Kouryuu
was taking up the point to stay away from his attitude. Yoshime took in the
whole event as though she were a kid in a candy shop.
“Oi oi,” said Edge. “This
is an excursion, not a shopping spree.” But Yoshime refused to listen as she
dashed from one store to the next.
“Cool!” she exclaimed excitedly. “I never knew there was so much cool
stuff in these districts! Look at all these clothes! Too bad this area was
abandoned...” Edge could do little but watch as Yoshime ran from store to
store, always coming out with a new armful of loot.
“You can’t take that all back,” said Edge. Yoshime simply made a face at
him.
“I know that, silly,” she said. “But it’s fun to think that I could
actually own all this stuff! It’s not like I can do this every day. Besides,
I’ve never gotten to go shopping before! You should at least let me do this
much!” Edge blinked in confusion as something suddenly caught Yoshime’s eye. She dashed over to a glass display case
where a brilliant long white dress, Chinese style in its weave and complemented
by a red sash at the waist, stood on its plastic frame.
“Waaaai!!!” cried out Yoshime. “I want THAT
one! It’s so perfect!” She dashed madly into the store, quickly but carefully
plucked the dress from its stand, and was into the back dressing rooms before
Edge could say a word. At that moment, Kouryuu
returned from her recon.
“Well, apparently our area is clear for now,” she said, then looked
around. “Where’s Yoshime?” Edge silently motioned toward the store, and Kouryuu nodded. “Since we finished what we came here to do,
I guess we can let her look around for a while. Not many people get a chance to
look through these kind of old ruins.”
Edge sighed and Double’s face lit up.
“Good!” said the assassin. “No more work! Looks like I’ll go check out
some of the local pubs, eh?” With that, Double was off
down the street. Kouryuu was already gazing absently
at some of the old weapons stores with interest, wandering down the broken side
lane. Edge sighed again.
“I hate shopping.”
...
...
...
...
“Eh?” mumbled Double as he pushed aside a huge plate of metal blocking
the back exit of an old shop. There was no door, only a stairway leading
downward.
“The hell...?” he muttered, and started down the stairs nervously,
letting his form loosen so that his forearms molded themselves into curved
blades. The stairway wound downward for what seemed like forever, and Double traced his finger on the ancient metal wall in
boredom. A fine layer of dust built up on his appendage, and Double
put his face near the metal to examine the architecture.
“No way...” exclaimed Double. He touched the wall again, only this time
his computers were set in motion, carbon dating the wall’s material in seconds.
“Pre-nuke era!”
He continued down the stairs at a
quicker space, though his sensors were on full tilt now and his arms bristled
with metal spikes. The stairs suddenly stopped, opening into a huge room. Huge
piles of machinery lay about the chamber and a multitude of cables led up to a
large containment unit that sat in the center. A single electric light was
attached to the ceiling, still illuminating the room after so many years.
‘There must be generators down here,’ thought Double.
His scanners picked up nothing but a fine layer of dust, so he let his form
settle back to its normal state. He picked his way carefully over the wires and
cables as his sensors worked madly to process his surroundings.
“Power is still running,” he muttered, moving over to a computer still
attached to the containment unit. He tried peering through the glass but it was
tinted dark. Scrubbing with the back of his hand yielded
nothing as well. His impatience rose as he turned his attention toward
the small computer before him, frowning with annoyance.
***Current Status: Non-operative stasis.
Double’s hands suddenly fell apart into a whirl of moving appendages, inputting
data at rapid speeds. His forehead furrowed itself into wrinkles, a frown crossing
his face as he worked. His curiosity overwhelmed him, overcoming any caution he
might have held. It was too late though. He had to know what was in there.
***New Command: Open Hatch. => Does not compute. Hatch cannot be
opened with out change of subject status.
***New Command: Reactivation of Subject. => Acknowledged, select
stasis: Limited, Full. => Full.
***Full Stasis acknowledged. Select power level. => Full.
***Acknowledged. Please wait, processing commands.
***Please stand by. Zero unit in process of activation.
“Zero unit...?” said Double, suddenly realizing he had no idea what he
had been doing, only that his instinct had told him that there was an obsticle to pass and he needed to pass it. It was a shame
he occasionally rose to the challenge without fully realizing what it was. “Goddamnit! What am I going to do?
Where is everybody? What the hell is a Zero unit?!”
Double slowly backed away as the containment hatch began to spray white
steam about the room. Computer lights flashed wildly beneath the haze, and the
hatch slowly rose until it nearly touched the ceiling. Double stared, mouth
agape as a dark figure began to rise from the dark coffin. The wildly spraying vapor
blocked out most of the light, making the figure but a silouette
in the cloud of mist. The shadow was built strongly about the forearms and
legs, two sharp, downward-curving horns protruding from its head. Double simply
swallowed as he contemplated on how to deal with the hand he had been dealt.
‘A demon?!’ though the killer. ‘Some kind of pre-nuke
era bio-genetic creature of death?! I’m not staying for this!’
He took a step towards the stairway and prepared to form the biggest
blade he could think of in hopes of slicing a path to the surface and escap---
“What are you doing?”
Double cocked his head at the sound of the high pitched voice and slowly
turned back towards the middle of the chamber. Most of the steam had settled to
the floor by now, and the flickering overhead light illuminated the newcomer
quite clearly. The bulkiness turned out to be full set of red android armor, shoulderpads and all. The ‘horns’ turned out to be a pair
of dark pigtails that complemented flashing red eyes. The young girl who filled
out the suit was only a bit shorter than he was, and wore an impetuous frown
that made her look more like a grade school child than a monster. Double simply
stared.
“E...eh?” stuttered Double. The girl stared at him for a moment, not
understanding his fear, before breaking into a wide grin.
“You can call me Zero!”) she said happily. “Yoroshikune!” (“Nice
to meet you!”)
...
...
...
...
Edge slowly made his way through the rubble, carefully picking his path
through the fallen building so as not to create a landslide of stone. His
gravity powers kept him on his toes just enough so that he wouldn’t fall. This
path was a bit more treacherous than the simple streets that the others had
chosen, but something about it stirred his curiosity. Something about it called
out for him to follow.
Something suddenly caught his eye as he peered ahead, a hole beneath the
pile of stone. Edge held out his hand, and a small wave of electricity moved
along it as his powers worked. With a low rumble, the stone lifted and moved
itself aside, allowing him to see past the previously blocked barrier. He
cautiously peered inside before lowering himself in. It was a chamber, an
underground passage that extended off in either direction. Without a word, he chose
a direction and began to follow, a small globe of light forming in his hand as
he ventured into the darkness. Curiosity slowly overtook him as he traveled
deeper and deeper into the cavern without heed to the consequences, but there
was nothing there to oppose his travel, the inhabitants of the ruined city
having long since perished.
Lights softly illuminated the hallways as Edge finally reached a simple
wooden door at the end of the twisting corridor. A brief scan was his only
precaution, and then he opened it, stepping into the room. Within, huge shelves
were lined up in rows, each holding hundreds of books. The ceiling spun high up
above his head, the walls wide and long as they widened out into a massive study.
The sheer stature of the room alone was impressive, but the fact that it was
stacked with volume upon volume of publications- most of the ancient tomes having
been assembled long before his time- was something beyond his wildest
imagination. Edge simply gaped at it all.
“A library?” he whispered to himself. His feet lifted small clouds of
dust as he walked down a row marked ‘legend and religion.’
“I wonder…if there is anything on the human race in here?
I really should try learn more…”
His finger pulled a thick book from the shelves named, The Human Spirit. He looked at it closely, examining the binding, then walked out of the aisle
and sat down at a nearby table. Edge began reading the first chapter of the
book he taken down.
“Chapter 1: True Human Spirit
Only a handful of humans will ever
attain the purest forms of nirvana. This is defined by a personal perfection
that one reaches, exceeding all points of divine purity. Perhaps through only
the most rigid devotion will anybody be capable of reaching this status, which
has been labled the ‘Shi no Tenshi’
by some. People often ask why they cannot seem to achieve something, when in
reality they should ask themselves why they are not trying hard enough. The
human spirit’s capacity is limitless but few ever realize it.
Kai of the legends sought nothing
more than a solution to his problem, to rid his village of the plague that was
set upon it. Later on, his goal shifted, evolving into something different as
his relationship deepened with the girl called Shinobu.
And as he got closer to his goal, which he would achieve through the defeat of
the Demon God, Valkair, he realized that he was now
fighting for something that he had never conceived. His visit to my chambers so
long ago in the Temple of Ordeal had not been intentional. And for so long, he
had chose to fight for a selfless cause…”
Edge let the words immerse his soul as he read on.
…
…
…
“WHAT?!”
Double tried to ignore Yoshime’s outraged exclamation
as he led her down the staircase.
“It’s not my fault!” he protested. “I was just trying to see what was
inside, and I accidentally---”
“Opened the hatch?!” finished Yoshime, and Double almost seemed to color
at the cheeks. “What if this thing is dangerous?” Double fidgeted his hands
about.
“Well, you’re the computer expert. I thought you should be able to fix
it.”
“Yeah, great. I can be he first one to get killed too. If this
is just another sick joke…”
Reaching the bottom of the stairs, Yoshime spied the subject of Double’s
commotion, a short red android with shoulder-length pigtails holding her black
hair in place. The android smiled pleasantly.
“Hi!” she said. “I’m Zero!”
Yoshime stared at Zero for a brief moment before turning and frowning at Double.
“THIS is what you dragged me away from my shopping spree for?!” she
shouted. Double cringed beneath her voice.
“W… well...” he started, but Yoshime just threw up her hands in
frustration.
“Never mind,” she said. “I guess I shouldn’t try to reason with your
idiotic method of figuring things out. I guess the least I can do while I’m
here is run a system check on her.” She moved over to Zero and plugged her
personal computer in a socket below Zero’s neck.
“Hello!” said Zero. “Are you my new master?”
Yoshime grumbled beneath her breath.
“Why is it droids always look for a ‘master?’ ” she said in annoyance. “But I suppose so. My name is
Yoshime, and the idiot here that activated you is Double… hrm,
interesting. You’re definitely pre-nuke era design, but your internal
personality is designed almost like you still have a corazon
chip…”
“HEY!” shouted Double. “I activated her, aren’t I her master?”
“Double, for all you know you could have been activating a device to blow
up this whole sector.”
Double shut his mouth as quickly as he had opened it and Yoshime resumed
her work. She let her mind drift as her consciousness rode on Zero’s
thought-wave patterns.
“Everything seems to be all right,” said Yoshime. “But I’m not exactly
familiar with this type of system---eh?” A sudden presence invaded Zero’s
drive, something foreign and dark. She only had a second to notice it, and then
it was gone, leaving no trace that it had ever existed in the first place. A soft
chill ran down her spine.
“What…what was that?” she said unnerved. Zero didn’t seem to notice its
presence one bit. Or if she did, she hadn’t noticed it.
“Well,” said Zero, smiling meekly. “I guess I am kind of old, there might
be a couple bugs that aren’t totally worked out.” Yoshime nodded and tried to
dismiss whatever she had just seen.
'I doubt it's anything, probably just the age...' thought Yoshime. Unplugging
her self from Zero’s computer, she packed up her bag.
“Well, your system is something totally new to me, all pre-nuke stuff,”
she said. “I’d be nice if you could come back to the rebel base with us so I
could study your system further.” Zero smiled and nodded.
“Don’t worry about me,” she said. “I don’t have any plans, so I’ll be
happy to go! But…do you know if they have any Virtua
Fighter stuff?”
“Eh?” said Double. “Any what?”
“Virtua Fighter!” said Zero with a smile. “You know, video games! Sega! Fighting Vipers!”
Double’s left eye began to twitch spasmatically as he
turned to go back up the stairway.
“I guess that’s before our time,” said Yoshime embarrassingly. “People
don’t play many games anymore.”
Zero pouted and crossed her arms.
“Aw, damnit,” she said, and headed towards the
surface. “I was hoping to have some fun after that long rest. It gets boring in
there, you know...”
Double was already halfway up the spiraling case of stair, grumbling to
himself all the way.
“Games…” he mumbled.
…
…
…
…
The cover of yet another book fell open, Path to the True World, Words of the Goddess
Midori.
“...I doubt I will live to see the
next cataclysm, for the keeper of the sacred force changes with each movement.
The power of the Shi no Tenshi is something that will
not come through lust for power, greed, or selfishness. It is something else
entirely. This secret I shall keep
forevermore within the Temple of Ordeal. And for those who seek this
information, they may find it there. The key to my domain is the Orb of the
Demon God Valkair, a prize not easily won. The path to the truth lies beyond a wasteland
of lies. Reality itself is superficial. The only truth lies in the soul of each
individual and it is different for us all. Perhaps you will find what you’re
looking for in this holy place and perhaps you will not. I do not expect you to
succeed in your goal, only to find something you have been looking for. Mercy
is not the only justice in this world. Someday you will understand.
---Midori 30:91:01”
“And what have you found, Edge?”
Edge whirled about to find Kouryuu in the
doorway. She was staring at the rows of books as Edge had strewn about him as
he searched through the shelves.
“Hmmm,” she hummed to herself. “A library. Didn’t
think any of these still existed. People don’t have time for literature when
they’re fighting for their lives. Anyways, we’re all finished here. Ready to
head back home?”
Edge nodded and stood up to put the book away when a small folded paper
floated out from the pages of the book. The rebel had already turned to leave,
but he quickly stooped and grabbed the paper before it touched the ground.
“What’s this?” he said to himself as he unfolded it and spread it out on
the desk. The paper revealed a full map of half the world, four of the planet’s
six nations, that spread out across the entire table. Kouryuu said nothing while Edge gapped at the map in
wonder. He recognized several natural landmarks, but none of the modern day
man-made structures that had been embedded in his mind were listed. A small
note in the corner listed the map’s date, an old script that Edge couldn’t
recognize. But the rest he could clearly read, including a small building
labeled “Temple of Ordeal.”
“Hmph,” mumbled Kouryuu,
looking over his shoulder as she came back wondering what was taking him so long.
“A picture of broken legends.” She pointed to the temple. “Legend has it that
that was where the Legendary Hero, Kai gained his true power, but nobody knows
for sure. They also say the land Kai lived in was actually Akuji
many eons ago, but know nobody really knows about that either.” Edge felt his corazon chip jump excitedly and he quickly scanned the map
into his memory banks. Opening the book again, he found the page he had been
reading right before Kouryuu had entered.
“The key to my domain is the Orb of
the Demon God Valkair...”
Edge closed the book and looked up to Kouryuu
with determination in his eyes.
“I want to go to the Temple of Ordeal,” he said.
Kouryuu’s stared at him coldly, and she said nothing for a full minute.
“I want to learn how to become human.”
“Edge,” started Kouryuu. “It’s just a legend, a
child’s tale.” She paused for a moment. “...but...”
She stopped again. What was it that was keeping her from telling him that
those stories were things parents told to their children as fairy tales? What
was it that kept her from blurting out that nobody wished for such whimsical
things anymore, that it was better to carve out what little life one could in
reality rather than cling to a semblance of a dream? What was it?
“..but...we’ll see about it later, okay?”
Edge stared at her for a minute, then smiled softly and nodded. Kouryuu folded the map once more and placed it back in the
book.
“Come on, there’re probably out there waiting for us.”
…
…
…
Why didn’t you say it? It’s just a
lie...
I can’t push Edge away like that. He’s too valuable an asset to the
rebels to loose. Besides, Yashiro wouldn’t like it if Edge got angry, he’d
probably take it out on me. .....
Is that all
...no. Edge is still... a child. The worst thing a child can experience is
discovering that all those dreams and legends he learned in his youth aren’t
true. That’s the worse thing one human can do to another; become a
disappointment to their expectations. I don’t want to be the person that breaks
Edge like that. He’s a good kid...
Kouryuu has a
soft side?
... maybe.
...
...
...
“Ara?”
Edge simply stared at the jumpy red android who
held out her hand in goodwill.
“I’m Zero! Nice to meet you!” said the red android.
“A--ah,” answered Edge. “I’m Edge. Nice to meet you as
well.” He had absolutely no idea where this new mecha
had come from until Yoshime began explaining.
“...Double had to go and do something stupid like that, he could have
killed us all! Insensitive jerk...I wish you HAD kicked his ass, ne Zero? He deserves it after all, especially with the way
he treats me! And I’m always so nice!!! I wish someone would just blah,blah,blah...”
Double sat down next to Kouryuu, who had chosen to stay out of the
conversation.
“This is all your fault,” he muttered. “I could
have just stayed at the base, but NO~! I’M the lazy one, so I have to come
along...”
Kouryuu tried helplessly to stifle a laugh.
...
...
...
...
...
“Yashiro-senpai!”
“Yes Pent?”
“Iesu is safely in his chambers and seems to be
recovering.”
“Good... did you ever figure out what was making him act like that?”
“Well, I was talking to him about women, guess
he had some kind of bad experience in his past.”
“Idiot. Your flirting is giving you ideas. All that coffee doesn’t help either.”
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
End “Relic”