Ilivais X

Your own tale of two mecha.
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Gyra Solune
Posts: 79
Joined: Sun Nov 06, 2011 4:08 pm

Ilivais X

I have this posted on one other forum and a personal blog site. Neither of those are getting much feedback. So I thought I'd post it here. This is an original story, using my own designs (though my sketches are small and terrible, and I'd like fan art that looks at least decent).

It contains a fair few adult themes, gratuitous implications, and is generally a lime-ish thing. I HOPE the subject matter is okay here, but if it isn't feel free to tell me. I have up to Day 12 pre-written, so updates will be fast at first but slow down after that.

Without further ado...

Prologue

1519. The Iberian forces marched across the land, and with disease ravaging the population of the Aztec Empire, the fate of these mighty people appeared to be sealed.

But instead…they triumphed.

It is unsure if anybody knows precisely what happened. Some say the great Montezuma saw this beforehand, and unleashed supernatural powers to slay the invaders. Others say the Aztecs were supplied with Spanish weapons. It may well be some of both. What is assured though is that the annihilation of Cortes’ army and subsequent unexplained victories against the Iberians changed the empire. It grew rapidly, encompassing the entire landmass in less than 50 years. War between the two escalated. Spain launched surprise attacks on its own allies, and just as quickly the mighty Iberian Empire was born.

Research in technology to aid both sides seemed to explode, as the largest arms race in the history of warfare was born. The boundary of outer space was breached by 1752. Solar energy webs in orbit of the sun were deployed to fuel the nations just a decade later. Any neutral nations saw the Earth in turmoil and left for space colonies as soon as they could. The planet was a war zone, and it saw no signs of change.

2046. Combat has become swift and efficient. Battles lasted an hour at most. Neutral groups who hoped the Earth would be put out of its misery were disappointed, as despite the never-ending war, any damage was almost immediately repaired. Cities were advanced self-sufficient metropolises. Launching successful attacks for either side was highly unlikely, yet the fighting never ceased.

The Iberian Empire took action.

Traditional battleships, zeppelins and powered infantry could not triumph. They needed a weapon, one that circumvented any current counters. Those would be made, but any victory to bring them a step up was required. After three months of development, they had an answer.

They entitled it the Espada. The new sword they would use to decimate the battlefield. It was as large as a building, but as maneuverable as an infantry unit. Piloting it only required instinct and any foot soldier could use one effectively. This fast and destructive machine was geared for mass production. And it worked. The Iberians had managed to wipe out Saern and Ceohual, the two largest Aztec army bases. The capital of Tenochtitlan was in their sights, and soon chaos struck the empire.

They needed a plan before they were wiped out. And on the toll of midnight on the first day of 2047, they created one.

The Ilivais project was born.
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Gyra Solune
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Re: Ilivais X

Day 1: Sunrise of Heaven's Revolution

The four sat tightly in a small, sterile room, facing a large screen with two doors on either side, one of which they had come through. The instructions dictated to focus on one of the four points on the screen, for a final analysis and checkup, and lines of code and fluctuating meters spilled across the screen as they stared on blankly. It shifted to a flat blue, and displayed four machines; one was heavy and bulky, one was light and slender, one was clean and elegant, and one was sharp and dynamic. Each corresponded to the person facing it. They exited out the right door, and entered a large dock of sorts, with the full humanoid weapons awaiting their maiden flights. They weren’t supposed to know what these were, but it was hard not to hear things. These were four of the last planned Ilivais prototypes. The Phonos Weapons. The most powerful and dangerous units of them all. It had been 15 years since the Ilivais Project began, and they long since had a mass-production design from three previous units, but the project heads were smarter than that. Armies were only cannon fodder. A billion octaves were better spent on a sword of the gods than a thousand knives.

The four faced their respective units, level with their heads. The machines were faceless, aside from a vertical sensor web. The only thing telling the four heads apart were different facial attachments- a thick visor, long streamlined side fins, a slender blade running down the front, and two large vertical horns. The silver heads split apart like automatic doors, revealing spacious interiors that were black as night. Hanging from cables were four bands and a semicircle mask. The bands were both a harness and a motion control mechanism, and the mask went around the mouth, meant to enhance audible communication and to link with the brain to project its GUI. They stepped inside the cockpits, equipped the five objects on themselves, and accustomed themselves to their surroundings.

“Ilivais V, W, X, Y, all systems are green. Prepare to launch.” Large doors opened in front of the four units, and various docking equipment was released. The holographic interface of the four units sparked to life, displaying a basic flight path. “5…4…3…2…1…Launch!” The four blasted off, flying into the outside sky. It was the first time any of the four had been outside the confines of Tenochtitlan, the capital of the Aztec Empire. They were high above the edge of the city, and rolling green plains stretched beyond them, framed by a solid gray-blue sky. The rising sun bled weakly across the flattened clouds, diluted by the distant fog. The four flew off, varying a bit in formation but managing perfectly, and after 1500 meters, the course dictated them to turn around. They struggled to stay in line through a turn, especially considering their differences in agility, but any mistakes were corrected as it straightened out as they returned towards the capital, a mighty silver and gold city centered around the towering pyramidal palace, with multitudes of buildings breaking the clouds. All of this hovered over a perfectly rounded lake, with four massive sky bridges connecting the city to the rest of the empire.

“W, slow down. Your unit may be faster, but the flight path requires you to stay at a constant speed. X, your thoughts are beginning to stray, so remain focused. V, Y, continue as is. All four of you are syncing surprisingly quickly. We had planned the process to take a week or so, but it may only take a couple of days.” The flight path stopped short of returning to the base, where swarms of recon drones were launched, forming into four clouds.

“This next test will evaluate your combat initiative. Your drones vary slightly. V, your drones are equipped with energy knives. You must defend and counter. Y, your drones are moving in a quick funnel formation. Use your speed to dispatch them. X, yours have energy guns. Absorb them into your blades or reflect them. Y, your drones are thickly armored and higher in number. Use your strength wisely.”

V launched into the swarm, shielding itself and countering swiftly. W sped inside the tornado, destroying its targets in a helix formation. X fluidly took in the lasers, and simultaneously reflected them and slashed at the drones. Y charged in, taking multiple drones with every swing of its blades. All four of them finished at nearly the same time, then returned to formation.

“Excellent. Now we’ll see how you deal with Espadas.” Four unmanned Espadas launched from the base, past the Ilivais prototypes. “Destroy one any way you like. Be careful, they’ll fight back.” Y had no trouble at all, destroying its Espada in one swipe of its heavy blade arms. V waited for the Iberian machine to make its move before striking, while W danced around the enemy, whittling it down at mach speeds. X, however, did not move from in front of the base. “X, the Espada will not fight unless you take action.” There was no response. “Is everything all right in there, X?” An open radio link came to life from X.

“W-why…why do we fight? Why…do we exist…why do I exist?” The weak voice was barely audible, speaking in an odd low voice that both hummed and whispered.

“Well, damn. W, take it in. V, standby. Y, feel free to destroy X’s target.” Y instantly bisected the last Espada, while W swiftly came in to secure X who responded by attacking W, and though it didn’t hit, it put everyone on alert. “X…return to base. We won’t warn you again. We will not hesitate to use force.” X responded by taking another swipe at W. A line came from unit Y.

“Ha…ahahaha! It’s just as worthless as we all knew! A wuss pilot in a crap machine! We should just give my unit the shields and boost drive, and we can scrap X! I’ll do the honors…” Y charged forward, going in for a strike that promptly missed, and ended up receiving a pulsing stab in the torso from X. The open link from before turned on again.

“You never…n-no…I never…it didn’t…” The line closed.

“Oh damn…This can’t happen…We weren’t told this! I’M GOING TO DIE HERE!” The pilot of Y screamed in agony.

“V, take Y in immediately! She’s synced too highly…Y, it only hit the torso! Do not panic. Only a hit to the head will put you in danger. W, disable X if you can, destroy it if you have to! It’ll be a shame to lose such an expensive machine…but…X, we’ll give you one last chance. Return to base now, or be destroyed.” The radio line from X opened one more time.

“Is this…what you want? It isn’t…for m-me…” X fired a laser at W, so as to tell them that they had their answer.



About 5 kilometers away from this event, there was a group of people on a small hill, hidden by a cloaking field. “Hm…This is an interesting development. Sura! Essen! Adjustments can wait a minute! Come see this!” A well-endowed woman with long dark blue hair, narrow features and a somewhat motherly aura called behind her. She was wearing a black and gold uniform with a vague, if casual military overtone. Behind her were three black and yellow humanoid machines. A hatch opened on the torso of one, and a burly giant of a man with short black hair and the face and glasses of a scientist hopped out. His outfit was deep red instead of black. He sat next to the woman, took the binoculars, and observed the skirmish.

“…Interesting. Does any of your data suggest this, Mille?”

Mille shook her head. “No…All we know is that they’re prototypes V through Y, though that’s just intuition from the previous ones. I think they’re called the Phonos Weapons, though.” Frantic banging came from the inside of one of the mechs. “Uh, Sura…Get Essen out of there.” Sura hopped over to the source of the banging, and forced open the hatch, where a clumsy looking young man with messy brown hair and maroon eyes stumbled out. Sura handed him the binoculars, and he ran over to Mille, tripping and falling onto her.

“L-Lieutenant Mille…Agh!” He darted up rapidly. “P-please forgive me! It was an accident and I promise it will-“

Mille laughed quietly. “Essen, you worry too much. Everybody knows when you’re young and shy that compromising positions flock towards you. Especially when it involves D cups.”

Essen stammered. “Uh…the…are…are they really?”

Mille laughed again, looking down at herself. “Well, they were last time I checked, but that was forever ago.” She turned Essen’s head towards the battle. “Well? What do you think? I certainly don’t know why they’d have a revolt.” Essen put on the binoculars. The one with giant blade arms and spikes everywhere had huge amounts of damage to the torso. It was being assisted by a slower and heavier looking unit. The rebel was engaging with a very fast mech, and had just cut off its wings, leaving it unable to fly. The rogue looked around, and decided to run away. Towards them.

“Lieutenant…It’s…It’s coming here!”

Sura came up to Essen, snatched the binoculars away, and his eyes widened. “Everybody! Get in your Avespias! There’s a change of plans. We’re bringing a souvenir.” The three dashed into their mechs, and lifted off.



“…X has de-winged me…I knew I wasn’t up to it…” W fell from the ground.

“You did fine, we just…underestimated it. At least you could do something. Besides, that was an awesome fight there.” V held Y in the air, as drones were sent to bring it in.

“Damn it! Piece of crap mech got me off-guard…Well, once the pilot realizes the Phonos Weapons run off a substance used and controlled by our empire, I’ll get my chance to beat the crap out of X…” Y was brought in, and the drones were frantically trying to repair it. All the radios went silent for a minute.

“…Unfortunately, we don’t think it will be coming back.”

“…I guess it’s a given that it’ll just run off and burn out eventually.” V went over to gather W.

“…That will never happen. See…the thing with X is…we didn’t give it incredible speed or devastating strength or near invincibility. It’s performance is a median between all those. On paper, that would make it seem unimpressive for a Phonos Weapon. But…the Cyclic Engine makes up for it.”

“…Ugh…I never paid attention to what that was…I’m an idiot…” W had been fitted into its dock.

“None of you would know. It should be classified, but it’s more than likely the pilot will find out. The Cyclic Engine is incredible. A revolutionary invention. So of course it’s immediately designed for a superweapon. It’s possible that we could end the war peacefully. It required 80% of the entire government’s income, it took 30 years to find the materials it required, and then we found out it needs to be arranged in three differing components…It’s the pinnacle of all invention. It brought down a scientific proposition that for centuries was thought to be what limits us from true enlightenment. Because…it’s a perpetual energy generator. A very powerful one. …And now we don’t have it.” The staff on duty fell silent. This message was relayed to every public office. The entire government fell silent. It leaked, and was sent onto an emergency broadcast system. An entire empire fell silent. And any long-standing spies who inevitably saw this pop up onto their TVs heard, transmitting it to their superiors on the other end of the globe.

And in that second, in that minute, in that hour…the world fell silent.
Last edited by Gyra Solune on Sun Nov 06, 2011 5:46 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Gyra Solune
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Re: Ilivais X

Day 1: Sunrise of Heaven's Revolution (II)

The three Avespia units took off into the air, their black and yellow-trimmed bodies glistening with dew. They were somewhat insect-like, with a round head, a narrow torso, a large lower body, limbs splaying off from the side, and glassy wings. The three differed slightly; Sura’s was a little thicker and heavier, and it was equipped with a long sword and an assault knife. Essen’s was light and fragile, armed with an energy rifle and missile launcher. Mille’s emphasized the body shape, with the larger abdomen serving as a storage compartment, and it carried a repair omnitool and a resupply line, with a shoulder-mounted rail rifle for offensive purposes. Mille signaled to the other two, outlining the stratefy.

“Essen, you monitor the rogue, and make sure the net is strung right in its path. Sura, we’ll be the ones actually holding the net.” Mille pulled out a heavy cable net from her Avespia’s storage, and tossed one end to Sura. They kept the cloaking field up, and adjusted their position according to Essen’s calculations. It closed in…and suddenly altered its course upwards. Essen looked behind him, realizing that the hills rose sharply not too far back, and the target intended to keep a steady elevation above land.

“Hey! Ascend 150 meters, immediately!” Essen’s unsteadiness was wiped away completely in the middle of an operation. In casual situations, he seemed unfit for any kind of combat, but in battle he gained a whole new mindset. The higher-ups saw his strikingly contrasting military prowess, and it was for that reason he was eligible to pilot the high-end Avespia at all, considering him being in the same squadron as two ace pilots. Sura and Mille instantly complied, and intercepted the rogue perfectly. It did a little damage to the net around the head and legs, but it was capable of holding it perfectly. Despite seeming panicked in the battle before, they managed to wrap it up with almost no resistance at all, as if the rogue felt being captured was for the best. “Lieutenants! They’ll have the faster unit repaired in approximately 10 minutes, and the target’s sudden lack of presence is the same as painting a giant target on the ground! We may not have gotten as much information on the other three Phonos Weapons, but I think capturing one more than makes up for it. We need to return to Morask, now!” Sura and Mille nodded, and they flew off to the northwest, making sure to fly high and around the Tenochtitlan limits. Gracefully soon, they were over the Pacific, and made their way due north.

“Well, Essen, you did pretty nicely. When I heard the two of us would have a cadet on our squadron, I thought we’d just be babysitters with mechs. But you’re doing pretty well.” Sura tilted his hand with only the middle and ring fingers out, a casual salute among them. Essen rubbed his head.

“Eheh…thanks, Lieutenant Verandis. Truth be told, I was really stressed out, but I guess that’s just how it is when recon suddenly turns into securing an Aztec superweapon.”

“You’re already better than I am. People always think of me as some kind of ace, but…it was really just a series of contrived coincidences. That’s why I requested support equipment on my Avespia. Even then they still insisted it have mid-range capabilities.” Mille winked at the comm screen. “Anyway, we’ll be at Morask in an hour or so. Let’s keep the null field on just in case, because who knows how far the Aztecs’ drones have been deployed.” The three flew over the ocean, heading towards the northeast part of the Russian land. They eventually arrived at a walled-off city, landing in a snowy airfield in a military base.

“Graaaaaaah…It’ll be nice to get some fresh air, even if it’s freezing cold. Damn cockpits…so cramped.” Sura yawned and hopped out of his unit, stretching out. Essen and Mille both slipped out, shivering. Mille called the both of them.

“I’m gonna g-g-go report what h-h-happened…Y-Y-You two make sure the rogue s-s-stays here…” Mille tried to adjust her uniform to be warmer, but to no avail. Essen trudged around slowly, then glanced alarmed at Mille.

“M-M-M-Mille…Your…are…Y-Y-Y-You’re n-n-not wearing a-“ Mille ran off to a transport car to bring her to the base, prioritizing her task over small talk.

Sura poked Essen in a jokingly mocking way, “Kid, I admire the guts you keep getting cut off from, but you gotta be careful about what you point out. Do you just have like no tact at all?”

Essen made his way back towards his Avespia. “A-Actually, she t-told me to tell her these things. She n-noted that dumb and c-compromising stuff would l-logically happen to h-her a lot, and I-I’d be the one to encounter th-those situations. It’s p-pretty smart of her, seeing as she w-was exactly right. I don’t mind, and it’s her r-request, so…Anyway, it’s n-not like that would start anything with us. I’m barely 17, and I’m only a c-cadet…Besides, it f-feels like she’s more of a m-mentor. And…” Essen looked down. “…I think of h-her as my mom sometimes…”

Sura patted him on the shoulder. “Homesick, eh? Happens to the best of us. Don’t worry, it’ll pass. And anyway, if how you feel about her ever changes, or hell, even if it doesn’t, maybe telling her would do you good. Seems like the two of you get along fine, so she’ll understand. For a ranking officer in the rugged and gritty Gaia Forces, she’s pretty compassionate. Besides, I think if she lets you flat-out say that her clothes are way too tight or her underwear’s showing or stuff, then she must be pretty comfortable that way with you. Who knows? Maybe you’ve managed to find the love of your life that lasts eternities and you’ll sail away on the cosmos and eat sandwiches mushily or something.” They both laughed a little.

“I highly doubt we’re anything like that. But…that’s good advice. Thanks. Uh…it’s really cold, so I’ll just wait in the-“ The car came back as quickly as it arrived, and Mille stepped out hastily.

“Uh…aren’t you back really fast? I would think a report would take longer.” Sura saluted the troops in the car.

“The commander was really busy, so I just told him the situation over the phone. He said that we can’t have the Phonos Weapon on the base, because that’ll prompt a lot of aggression from both empires. We’re to set up in the woods to the southwest. We’ll go there, and examine this thing.” She looked to the captured unit, having managed to curl itself into a ball, which while intriguing allowed the net's integrity to hold and thus make transport easier.. “I’m a little worried, honestly. I’m sure there’s a pilot in there, but we haven’t gotten any response. We’ll head off.” She headed over to her Avespia, but quickly remembered something, and stopped Essen. “Also…no…I’m not. We were sent out really early, and I was barely awake enough to walk. Thanks for reminding me though. So let’s go and stuff.” Essen shrugged, and took off in his mech, as did the other two. Half an hour later, they arrived in a clearing in the woods nearby. They lined the Avespias on one end, set the captured machine on the other, set up a null field generator, and prepared themselves.



Mille decided she would do the inspections, as she was always better at reports and negotiations. Essen and Sura grabbed a rifle, just for security. Mille first walked around the unit, which was lying front-down with the head forward. It was an impressive-looking machine. Its face was smooth and silvery with a curved blade running down the middle, framed by an intricate sensor web and a black X imposed in the center. It had two big black fins that almost looked like a large collar. The arms were slender, with long blades extending from well beyond the hands to behind the elbows. The lower legs were also massive curved swords that extended up above the knees. It had four finned wings, and three long hooked cylinders on the back. They were labeled as Cyclic Engines 1-3, which Mille could only guess as to their function. These huge engines would suggest it utilized large amounts of energy, but it had no equipment aside from its blades. It was a very strange machine, much less straightforward than their Avespias or the Espada models.

She then decided to see if she could figure out why it hadn’t moved. She felt like an idiot for not securing it better, as it could’ve easily broken out of the net, but it had complied with everything they did. She went over to the face, and found a button near the neck to open it externally. She opened its cover, and prepared for what might be inside as she pressed the button. The face opened like an automatic door, and simultaneously the blade retracted to the top of the head. Inside, there was a girl, hanging from cables attached to her limbs. While she appeared quite young, her body appeared a touch too tall, and her hips outdid Mille's own. Her skin was so pale that the messy shoulder-length cloud of white hair blended right into her scalp. She wore what should've been a gray longcoat with a collar reaching above her head, but it was cut so dangerously close to the chest that it only had one button, and if she had any growth there it would certainly leave her exposed. Her black layered upside-down skirt only fell down from the top on the sides, turning into a downward-pointed chevron in the front, and complementing the outfit were white stockings that started above the knees and stopped well above the bare ankles. She seemed dead at first, but she moved her head slightly at Mille's presence, and the harness released as she fell limply to the lip of the cockpit. She was breathing softly, and slowly her eyes revealed themselves, irises dancing through a rainbow swirl of colors, contrasting with the soft expressionless voice sounding from her lips.

“…I…can’t…I-I couldn’t die…”

Mille knelt down to level, concerned with everything about this girl. “What do you mean, you couldn’t die?”

“…I w-was told…if I am captured…to shut down…and…and die…”

“…You can’t just decide to die. Why would you need to anyway?”

The girl glanced back into the dark, spacious cockpit. “…I’m…the c-core…a living processor…of…this machine…I need to die…so…the enemy can’t use this…But it doesn’t matter…you…will kill me anyway…”

Mille looked back at Sura and Essen, who eased their guard, not seeing the frail girl as an imminent threat. “We have no need to kill you.” Mille put her hand on the side of the girl’s face, and almost brought it sharply back upon discovering how she was colder than the snow around them. She felt compelled to try and warm her up, but it seemed that would be futile.

The girl’s eyes widened, and she sat up a little. “But…I’m y-your enemy…I’m a traitor to the Aztecs, a target of the Iberians, and a threat to everyone else…”

Mille smiled warmly. “You don’t look like a threat. You’re lying here on the floor, and you give the impression that a gentle breeze would shatter you.” The girl sat upright, and put her hand to her chest in pain, much to Mille’s alarm. “Huh? Are you alright? Do you need food or something?”

The girl shook her head, and looked around. “N-no…I just…I’m…uh…” She glanced down at Mille. “I’m…w-will you accept that I envy you...and...h-how well you f-fill out? Agh...”

Mille giggled pleasantly, if a bit hesitantly. “Yeah yeah…I’d like people to shut up about it, but…eh. So…what’s your name? I can’t call you ‘the girl’ forever.”

The girl stared widely at Mille, still clutching her chest. “…Ah…I-I’m…Iriana...yes…I-Iriana Estchell. And…this machine…” She recessed into her mind, and her demeanor went very mechanical for a minute. “This is the Aztec Dark Energy Phonos Weapon, Ilivais Prototy…er…I mean…th-this is my Ilivais X.” She went back to being tightened and somewhat defensive, avoiding Mille’s compassionate gaze.

“Huh…I’m still worried. Maybe you’re just…never mind. I’m Lieutenant Mille Chanteau of the neutral Gaia Forces. You two, get over here!” Sura and Essen marched over.

“I’m Lieutenant Sura Verandis. I’m the ace pilot of our squadron, though when one’s a rookie and the other is better at support, that’s not very hard.” Sura sat next to Mille, observing Iriana.

“Um…hey…I’m Essen Dywell. Uh…don’t you think you should cover up a bit more, Iriana?”

Sura shoved Essen playfully. “Bah, don’t mind the cadet here. Mille here has given him the impression that he must point out every slightly immodest aspect of cute girls.”

Iriana had backed up a bit, facing the other way, and glanced back at the three at this statement. “N-no…I’m not…please don’t think of me as…cute…I’m really not…”

“Iriana, I can understand not being flaunty and annoying, but too much modesty and self-depreciation isn’t good for anyone. Especially yourself. You’ll start to really believe it and you’ll have no confidence at all. Not like you seem to have much now. Besides…” Mille blushed a little. “Uh…how do I say this…I think you are incredibly adorable and I’d be surprised at anyone that doesn’t want to cuddle with you and take you home. …And I can’t believe I said that.” Mille covered her eyes embarrassedly.

“You know, I feel like a creep saying this, but I have to agree. You remind me of some kind of small kitten that just stares at you through the window while it’s pouring down rain, and the instant you go outside to take it in it just disappears. Since Essen won’t own up, we’ll just say he agrees too.” They all laughed at Sura’s statement, though Iriana just continued to huddle even further back in the cockpit. “…Are you alright? We’re just trying to lighten the mood. I know we captured you and all, but for a neutral military that’s trying to take down damn near the rest of the world a few notches, we’re incredibly casual. And that was intentional. Because all we can ever see in the empires are people living like cogs in some giant machine. They’re not human anymore. We fight for humanity, and the world we live on.” Essen and Mille nodded in agreement.

Iriana’s nerves calmed a notch, and she settled into a more neutral demeanor. “That’s w-why you fight…and…that’s why y-you exist…so…you’re not with the Iberians or the Aztecs…” She turned back around. “…Can…can I trust you?”

All three of them looked on approvingly. “I don’t know what your deal is…but for the pilot of some kind of superweapon, you seem awfully…broken. It makes me feel like some Aztec bastards did this to you for their own purposes.” Essen gazed at Iriana intently, who leaned towards them, wincing a bit.

“…C-can I fight with you? I…I need to…I can’t go back…b-but I can’t stand by either…and I can’t do it alone…so…can I?”

“…You know, you’re here in some crazy machine, and you seem awfully eager to fight…We have a ton of reasons for doubting your intentions…but…I can’t. I can’t see a double agent or anything in you. I get this impression that you’re a genuinely good person, who’s maybe had it rough, who maybe needs some friends.” Mille brought the two others closer to her, and offered a hand to Iriana. She refused it, shaking somewhat violently.

“I c-can’t have friends…I’m not a g-good person, and I have n-no right to say I’ve had a hard time…All you need to know is my offer. Please…just say yes or no…If you really are the kind of p-people who would make such positive judgments, then please understand this is unbearably p-painful, and don’t ask why…” The three looked at each other in concern, not understanding Iriana, considering their options, and realizing a terrible possible outcome if they rejected her.

Sura stood up first, analyzing the strange girl. “Iriana Estchell…I have no idea who you are or what your clearly evident issues are. But…on behalf of all three of us, I’ll accept you on our sq-“

Iriana quickly sat upright. “Open m-my door when we’re going to do something. Th-that is all.” She quickly backed up. “…Please m-move away.” The three darted backwards as Iriana quickly closed the hatch, and Ilivais X’s face blade extended very close to where they were just sitting.

Essen stood near the blank face. “Don’t you need…food…or something?” There was no response. He shrugged. They all decided to just take a nap, since they were tired and confused from recent events. They felt something within themselves. They couldn’t let this go. Inside that cockpit was a pile of mysteries, and every inch of this Ilivais was covered in questions.

But more than that…they felt a doorway. An insight to a side of the world they might never see otherwise. They felt a new story beginning to unravel.
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Gyra Solune
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Re: Ilivais X

Day 2: A Lost Thread of Fate

“…so we think this will work out. Apparently, unless we’re going out to fight or something, she won’t budge. Is there anything going on? …Wait, what? They sent…that one? …Strange…That city has been abandoned for decades. Why attack there? …I understand. We’ll go immediately.” Mille closed the link to base, and got out of the Avespia. She knocked on the face door of the Ilivais, with no response. Sighing, she went around to the neck with the button to open it, the blade retracted and the blank face split apart just as she expected. Iriana was hanging from the harnesses, sleeping like the dead. Mille couldn’t blame her. It was only a few hours after midnight here. She reached up and pulled on Iriana’s leg, instantly waking her up.

“…Where are we g-going?” Iriana wiggled around in her harnesses, prompting Mille to wonder if that was a comfortable way to sleep.

“An older city, called Hiroshima, on the Japanese Islands. After the Iberian Empire centered most populations in large cities, the lesser ones got left behind. I think Hiroshima could have been incorporated, but after the Iberians saw the frequency of earthquakes around there, pretty much everyone moved to the suspended Tokyo or Kyoto.”

Iriana shook her head in refusal. “I will n-not come with you on a sightseeing tour. Why would I g-go somewhere abandoned?”

“Because there’s an Ilivais prototype destroying random buildings there. To be exact, the very first prototype.”

Iriana put on the lower face mask, and it projected some kind of holographic display. One half looked like a map of the Japanese Islands, the other like some kind of schematic. “Ilivais A…why d-deploy that unit? According to this database, it’s outclassed by every other m-mech in existence. It likely couldn’t stand up t-to one Espada, much less a newer prototype.”

Mille looked down for a minute. “Uh…sorry to be rude, but…what’s with the way you talk? It’s not even that cold out today.” The snow at her feet was melted in spots, revealing rocky ground covered in lichen. She looked back up at Iriana, who had taken off the mask, shutting off the projections. She glared at Mille with the same cold and indifferent expression as she had been, but something was different. It was her eyes. They normally danced through the rainbow, not giving her a lively temperament but more of a neutral one, with all those moods cancelling each other out. Right now, however, they glowed a deep, malicious red. Her gaze paralyzed Mille in place, and it felt like hours before she spoke, this time with a murderous intensity.

“I have had this as l-long as I can remember. It is of no importance. You will b-be erased before you can finish mentioning it again, if you choose to d-do so.” Mille quaked in place. The day before, she seemed so broken and afraid, even if she didn’t show it. She blinked, and it was as though that exchange never happened. Iriana had the mask back on, and she was marking Hiroshima on her map, but Mille could see her eyes fading from red and back to the normal mess of colors. She ambled weakly back to her Avespia, waking the other two up, and they all prepared to launch.

“Sura, Essen, please keep this in mind. …No matter what you do, don’t acknowledge Iriana’s stuttering thing. Just…don’t.” Mille still felt dazed from the strangely frightening experience.

Sura and Essen nodded. “I think screwing with her in general is just a faster way of dying. I know yesterday we were being all mushy and whatnot to break the ice a little, but there’s a sabertooth tiger frozen in there. I think she probably took offense to use saying she’s all plushy. More than likely, she’s really freaked out, and the last thing she wants is for people to see her as weak.” Essen leaned forward, whispering slightly by general instinct. “…Guys…we need to be really careful here. We have no idea what makes Iriana tick, and therefore we have no idea what could set her off. Let’s use this fight to see how she does. No civilians, no need to worry about property damage. It’s a good opportunity. So let’s go.” The four lifted off, prepared to deal with anything Iriana might do. But she stayed right in front of them the whole way, not deviating from the course or causing any problems.



The Japanese Islands lay before them. The mountains did nothing to obscure the two massive floating cities, each suspended by multitudes of kilometer-thick cables that cut through the sky into the reaches of space. Neither of those two cities were current targets, but they certainly looked like they would come in danger. The three Avespias and the Ilivais in front dove down, with the decaying city of Hiroshima in their sights. The taller buildings were gradually being toppled as a swarm of grey machines fired at a single moving point.

Sura analyzed the situation. “It seems we’ve got a squad of Espadas on our hands. They’re fighting Ilivais A. Looks like they don’t like it being here, even if this place is a pile of trash.” The Espadas were slowly going down, dropping like flies against their opponent. They were small machines without heads, with the cockpit being a large black sphere on the left shoulder. It made logical sense for the left arm to have mounted guns on it, while the right arm was modular and could equip either a standard arm with a sword, a double-tube rocket launcher, or a maintenance tool with roating equipment.The legs were thin, and the boosters were mounted at the ends, where the feet would be if it had them. It was an efficient, if utilitarian design. If the body was destroyed, it could keep fighting as an armed escape pod. They certainly weren’t nice-looking, as the dated and lopsided design hadn’t changed at all since they were initiated, but they didn’t need that. The battle history of the Espadas was impressive. Had the Ilivais Project not started, the world would fly the Iberian flag.

“…It s-seems my prediction was wrong. Unit A is handling the Espada squadron well. We should w-wait unt-“ Iriana’s link was cut off. Three Espadas had decided to go after X, likely thinking of it as a reinforcement, but they didn’t seem to care about the Avespias. Iriana tried to fend them off, but the Espadas held her well. Two were gripping her arms, while one was attempting to pry open the head. She managed to stab one of the Espadas on her arms using the leg blades, but the other stayed out of reach. Discharging energy waves was only possible with the hands, but the Espadas were in the way of her aiming them, and the third was doing well at trying to open the cockpit. She dove towards the ground to get that one off, but unfortunately, the Espada was blocking the sensor web, so she had to rely on the altitude and angle gauges to pull it off.

She did not anticipate a building. The Ilivais flopped awkwardly through an aged office complex, causing alarms to ring throughout the cockpit. Damage to Cyclic Engine 2, Wing 3 in critical condition, left leg joints incapacitated. The Espada on her left arm was disabled, but the cockpit and it’s arm had detached, and it was working on blasting the head open. Iriana promptly stabbed it, only succeeding due to a chunk of ceiling hitting the escape pod. The one on the other arm seemed to still be active, but was hanging on tightly. She redirected energy to the left hand, blasting the second one’s cockpit. Though the pilots had been taken care of, the remains of the Espadas’ bodies still clung to the arms, making motion difficult. The last one had flown out the hole, and was charging in to slash open the head. Iriana tried to move upwards, only breaking down to the next floor. The strike barely missed and the fall damaged two other wings. The Espada came back around, floating ominously above Iriana, readying its sword for a downwards strike. Iriana saw one option. Only one.

The Espada was slammed between the bodies of its brothers in the middle of its charge. A second too late, and it would’ve succeeded in its strike. Iriana hung limply from her harness, reeling from the near-fatal fight. “M-Mille…Where…Where the hell were you three?!” She breathed heavily. Death had stared in her face. And it wanted one last shot. The cockpit of the Espada was shattered and bloody, but the pilot wasn’t dead yet. It twitched, and lunged forward with its sword, breaching X’s cockpit. Iriana saw the tip of the sword reach for her, wedging it’s way beneath the face blade. And…it stopped. It had come close enough to cut her nose, bringing a sudden urge to Iriana. It was not enough, the pain was a papercut compared to what she normally did. Iriana stuck her tongue out, and tasted the edge of the sword. The blood filled her mouth, sending a pleasant buzz throughout her. Pain was the antidote, and the wine it provided warmed her soul. With a low hum, she pulled the Espada away, causing pilot to fall out and impale himself on the face blade. There was still no word from the other three. Iriana managed to get the Ilivais upright, and had enough propulsion to force her way through the rest of the building. X was made to end fights swiftly and elegantly, not to engage in reckless brawls. Iriana ran a quick diagnosis, noticing the Cyclic Engines weren’t damaged, despite being alerted of one being hit. In fact, much of the wounds were healing themselves. Only two wings were still crushed, and they were inflating somehow. She was grateful for this auto-repair system, as now she could be confident that she might actually live through this.


The shells of Espadas littered the earth. A handful of the armed escape pods were flying around, but they were retreating to Kyoto. Only Ilivais A still stood, looking as though it had not been in a battle at all. It was a small unit, but the cockpit was the same standardized size, so the head looked disproportionally big. It had a more horn-like face blade, curving out from the bottom. It’s only weapons were two lower arm-mounted stakes, much like X’s but shorter. It was managing to stay upright on two bladeless yet pointed legs, since the small thrusters on its back couldn’t provide adequate flight. How it managed to easily take care of a small Iberian army while Iriana nearly died from three was a mystery.

“Iriana Estchell! I am disappointed. The bearer of the machine that could change humanity…nearly eaten alive by a small group of flies.” A video link came up. It was a man with wild and spiky silver hair, and eyes of steely gray. His voice sounded familiar to Iriana.

“…You’re…S-Seyne?” Iriana tilted her head.

The man simply clapped. “It’s admirable that you remember who I am.” Seyne looked strangely humbled, bowing a bit. “I see the string that has guided you to your destiny. Is it righteous, or is it futile? Even I am not sure.” He readied himself. A went into a stance that should not have been possible with no feet. “But it will only lead to failure if you have no strength! Come, Iriana! I challenge you to a duel…a duel guided by fate!”

Iriana closed her eyes. “Where are S-Sura…and Mille, and Essen? Are…are they dead?”

“No. A true warrior does not fight to kill. The only three deaths on this battlefield were by your hands. If you speak of the hornets that can only strike once, I have incapacitated them.” Seyne pointed off to the left. The three Avespias were lined up almost perfectly, worn from the battle, wriggling around in futility under crumbled ruins.

“…Why would you n-not kill them? They oppose you…” Iriana looked at her surroundings. The nearby buildings had been reduced to piles of rubble, and any poles or streetlights were rusted and fragile. There was nothing she could use to her advantage.

“A foe slaughtered is worth nothing. A foe defeated gains new knowledge, and knows that to fight another day, they must grow stronger, and in the process learn what it is they must fight for. Do not make the mistake of thinking you will survive only by having the strongest blade. An intelligent fighter can slaughter unskilled armies using only a stick. And even now, your sw-“ Iriana used this time to charge for a strike. Seyne moved out of the way, as Iriana thought he would. She reversed her thrusters for a back kick, only to hit nothing. A fell from the sky in front of her, and stabbed X in the chest.

“I am pleased you thought to plan ahead. But simple knowledge does not give you a strategy.” Seyne stepped backwards, and both units were the same distance apart as before, only the locations were reversed. “If you believe in what you fight for, and want to protect that cause, then you will defeat me. If your will is weak and your spirit flattened, then you will be in the same condition as your friends.”

Iriana looked down at her feet, shaking. “They’re…they’re n-not my friends…I come here with them because they m-must use me to succeed…”

Seyne’s eyes widened. “So…Why do you fight?! What prevents you from leaving this place, what is stopping you from realizing your destiny?!” He shouted intently at the screen, not breaking his gaze towards Iriana. “Do you truly ask a question you know everyone has a different answer for? Look into your heart…Why do you exist?!”

Iriana gazed back up, right into Seyne’s eyes on the screen. “...I f-fight…because…those three n-need me to…and…I don’t deserve a will of my own.” Seyne simply laughed.

“So that’s it…you’re only a tool. A means to an end. And that’s what you believe. …You are WRONG, Iriana Estchell!” He stepped forward, leapt into the air, and came down for a strike. Iriana barely had time to blink, much less cover her head. A’s blades sliced through the arms with a terrible grinding. Seyne went back. “If you believe you don’t deserve free will, then you believe you don’t serve a life. If what you said was right, you would be dead. You would have no reason to defend yourself. What you say is the position of an object, not a person. You want to fight. I can see it. You won’t simply leave…” He readied for a true battle to begin.

“…I…I am an object…why would I h-have the right to be anything greater? …And yet…I c-can’t leave…” She prepared for a battle as well. The sun rose through the mountains, creating a path of light where the two stood. They shone with the light of a duel, a duel to decide their fates.
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Gyra Solune
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Re: Ilivais X

Day 2: A Lost Thread of Fate (II)

The two machines charged at the same time, striking with the same hand, the same blade, and predictably those collided. Seyne wasted no time to hold his arm there, and instead swerved around, catching X on the back of the head. Iriana deployed blades out of X’s elbows, and charged them with energy, firing backwards at A. Seyne responded with swerving back around, sticking A’s pointed feet in X to swing around it. Iriana saw this as a chance to cut its leg off, but Seyne reacted too fast to that possibility, and grabbed X’s face, careful to avoid its blade, while pinning the arms down with its legs.

“I admire your thought process. Your tactics are sound, but childish. In a fair fight, I would lose instantly, but you haven’t realized your machine’s potential!” Seyne gripped the head harder, compacting the spacious cockpit.

“...Potential? X is s-simple, it can utilize and m-manipulate energy...”

“A sword is a long, sharp piece of metal. And yet, up until the Aztec Progression, it was the most feared weapon in the world! One could say, as fittingly as the Espada is named, that it still remains the most powerful instrument of them all! Do you doubt your blade, Iriana?”

“The other Phonos Weapons are b-better anyway! And…I was the worst of the p-pilots…”

“No sword is better than another. Over the course of history, this has been the greatest misconception anyone has ever had. If an Espada was better than an Ilivais, there would be no Aztecs! A blade too long cannot be wielded, no matter how powerful it may be. A blade too heavy cannot be swung, no matter how much it can withstand. A blade too light cannot kill, no matter how fast it can move. And yet these disadvantages have been used and exploited over time. Do you know your strengths? Your weaknesses?”

Iriana retracted the face blade, and plunged forward, deploying it once the head was against A’s face. It made a decent slash, not enough to cut off the hand but managing to set herself free. “What are you t-trying to tell me anyway? None of this has anything to d-do with winning.”

“And do you think winning is the important part? The world has been at war for centuries, all because each side wants to win. We have the technology and the knowledge to make resources and energy a trifling matter. And yet here we stand. Each battle is only a component of a device. What matters is the purpose of the device. This has become a war for the sole sake of being a war, like a machine that is designed to keep itself on and nothing else. Do you know what you intend to create? Do you know why this fight is different?”

Iriana flew up, prepared for a strike, then feinted and darted over behind Seyne. She charged forward in a corkscrew kick, grazing the backside. “What…what the hell are you t-talking about? This all makes sense, but…it d-doesn’t mean anything to me!”

Seyne’s expression darkened a little, and he sprung back a couple dozen meters. “So then…why are you doing this? You insist on fighting me, you insist on staying here…for what? What purpose do you serve?”

“I…I already told you, I don’t know! I’m fighting you because you’re here. C-come to think of it…Why ARE you here?”

“…Because of you. To see what draws you in.” Seyne lowered his weapons, or was in the middle of it before getting stabbed in the torso. “Wait…what?” He could’ve sworn an instant before X was further off, and it appeared to still be. He looked to the Avespias, but all three were still in place, though the pilots were outside of their mechs. His scanners showed only four objects present. X faded away, as did its radar signal. He was struck again from the back, but he turned around to find nothing. “What…what the hell is going on here?”

“You t-talk…far too much…about virtues, and purpose, and all these other things. And…they d-don’t apply to me. I fight because that is simply my response t-to my situation. You people…you d-did all this to me…I shouldn’t be this way, b-but…I am. Killing you w-won’t change that. Taking down empires won’t change that. And…I really d-don’t care. I’ll put it in your terms…” Another strike from nowhere, one more from behind, two from each side. Seyne closed his eyes in frustration, attempting to focus, only to have words break his concentration. “Swords d-do not change. I could wish to b-be a knife. I could wish to be a g-gun. I could wish to be anything. Wishing does n-nothing. Hope d-does nothing. All that can change anything is the t-truth. I am a grain of sand. Small, insignificant, worthless. But at the same t-time…I am every grain of sand. One after the other. Small, insignificant, worthless. In a s-sandstorm, that part does not matter. You will be eroded away, destroyed b-by the force, m-made helpless by the wind…and in the end there is no warrior. Only a sea of worthless sand.” Seyne was hit from all directions at once, including from above to breach the head, making him truly helpless.

“What…what are you doing? I don’t understand…” X faded back into existence, and as soon as it was solid, every alarm possible rang throughout the cockpit, alerting Seyne of A’s decimated status.

“The storm of sand b-blinds you. You can only scream as you slowly d-die. It had no reason to exist. It had no reason t-to destroy you. You can blame anything, everything, the sand won’t care. It’s just small, insignificant, and worthless. It has a wind to g-guide it. It does not resist or go with the wind. It knows nothing.” Iriana went forward, striking with the face blade, snapping off the one on A. “I hope you understand. Because I don’t. I am small, insignificant, and worthless. I do not know why I have succeeded. I made a futile attempt, and it worked. I have no reason to celebrate this victory, because it is no victory. Simply chance, deciding to go in my favor for some reason.”

Seyne shook his head in confusion, but then gazed approvingly. “…Is that it…No…I think you realize…We will certainly meet again.” He stepped backwards, and some kind of small aircraft flew from around a corner. “You will find your purpose. I have already found mine, for I am Seyne Estchell, the Blade of Justice!” Seyne grabbed onto this aircraft, and he flew away, disappearing into the horizon. The sun beamed over the rubble, and all was silent.



“Is…what he said…true?” Sura looked over the Avespias, which were extensively damaged.

“He is the B-Blade of Justice. I can’t say if that’s true or not…” Iriana was gathering all the rubble pinning the hornet machines down, tossing them off to the side.

“No, no, I mean the part of him being-“

“…I thought he died. …I shouldn’t have r-recognized him.” Once Iriana cleared all the debris away, she retreated upwards, hanging in the air as though X was suspended from the same tethers holding Tokyo and Kyoto in place.

Mille got back in her unit, flaring up the torch and repairing the other two, despite her own machine being in no better shape. “Iriana…who ARE you exactly? We really never got any information out of you…”

“…I am simply someone who was taken and calibrated into a k-key component for an Aztec weapon.”

“That can’t be all! What did you do before then?” A mixture of panic and irritation entered Mille’s voice, worried about the state of their new ally.

“I was nothing. Someone whose life d-didn’t matter, someone whose life could’ve been easily taken with no repercussions. That was maybe…three years of m-my life. Then…all that existed was t-training. I never knew why it was me, what exactly they d-did, or why…or why all I could see was pain…when everyone else enjoyed everything so much…” Ilivais X kneeled on the ground, opening the face, revealing Iriana to the wind, willing it to flow around and against her.“The air…it t-tastes like hate…the hate they all harbor inside…or is it simply my own hate? Do we enjoy being things and not p-people? D-do we enjoy b-being easily replaceable? …I don’t…” She hung there, unmoving, waiting for Mille to finish her repairs. Essen brought his own Avespia towards the Ilivais, climbing out onto the head, gripping the antennae to avoid falling off.

“So…what do you enjoy?” Though the Avespia was much shorter than the Ilivais, Essen was high enough to speak normally to Iriana, who glanced down briefly at him, but continued hanging there.

“…This…” She spoke even softer than normal as she turned towards the imposing puppet fortresses of Tokyo and Kyoto. “…Feeling weightless here, like something else bears my problems for me…Gazing at the strange and frightening and wonderful things of the world…I don’t care if I’m in a world where oppression is normalcy…it doesn’t change people at all. Everyone would think that a planet in this situation would be bleak and depressing, but…it’s not. And everybody wants to keep it this way. People can be so terrible…and then they turn around and do miraculous acts. Why? What d-drives people to their actions? Why do they live? Why do they c-continue wanting to exist, knowing in the great plan of the universe that their actions hold no true value?” Iriana sighed, and continued staring at the two cities, where the buildings not conform at all, but instead crowded on the floating island like flags searching for purchase. She had to wonder if the people truly were just cogs in a machine, or if they were willful dreamers that only did what they were told when it was necessary.

“So…you want to see the world, to know more about it. Maybe…maybe that’s why you fight. Because you still have things you want to see.” Essen did think the two cities were impressive, or at the very least more interesting than anything the Gaia Forces could produce.

Iriana shook her head. “To like is not to l-live for. If the world looked like our s-surroundings, I’d still fight. If all the hills and p-plains bore an endless gray, I’d still fight. This is just scenery. It makes me think, but I am c-consumed in thought for eternity. …Why do you l-live, Essen?”

Essen whistled, and looked up. “Boy…Hell if I know either. I’ve got a few rough ideas, I think. I’d like people to live free, and I want to help make that happen. I think being a pilot and flying everywhere, unbound by the land, is fun. And…I feel like I want to live for someone, to have a person I value above all else. I mean, sure there’s Sura, who’s a cool guy and fun to be around, and Mille helps me ease my doubts about being in the army, but…they’re my friends, and my teammates. That’s not what I’m looking for.” He looked back at Iriana, still hanging there like a doll. “…Someone I can depend upon, someone who depends on me. Someone I can say I can truly love. …I’m not going to be stereotypical and assume that person is you, just because we’re around the same age and all. I barely know you, and to be honest, I don’t know if I’d like being with someone who’d need somewhere around decades of therapy to be able to function in normal society. Maybe you’ll never function in normal society. Only time can tell. But…You’re interesting, Iriana. I feel some kind of weird obligation to help you. I want to help get you back together. I want us to be friends, I guess. It feels kinda cheesy, but who cares? I think you’re a nice person, who could us-“

Iriana instantly stared at Essen, her eyes shifting into a bright green, but staring as coldly as she always did. “D-don’t say I’m a nice person. You said you don’t know me. So you wouldn’t know that I’m irredeemable, c-condemned to always be like this.”

“But that’s just it! You don’t deserve that! You haven’t done anything wrong, but you insist that you only have a right to live in this cloud of hell that’s always around you. …Why? It’s…depressing. It kills a part of me to think anybody thinks like that!”

Iriana looked pained by his statements, clutching her stomach and cringing. “How could y-you know what I deserve? I’m not worth your attention…Just…you wouldn’t understand…”

Essen balled his hand into a fist, in an attempt to steady his shaking arm. Looking over at the edge of the open cockpit, he made his risky decision to leap forward, grabbing onto the edge of the head, and he steadily climbed up, standing half a meter away from Iriana but adjusting his gaze to the floor. “I…I just want people to be happy…That’s it. I want to see everybody free to do what they want, to have the right to realize their dreams. And then…right in front of me is the most unhappy, broken person I’ve ever met. I…I can’t stand by and leave you like this.” He walked forward and hugged Iriana, putting all his spirit into his action despite the fact that her cold body sucked the heat out of his own “…That’s all the three of us want. We’re concerned about you, confused by your actions. So…just know that we’re here for you. We’ll make things better for you. So…please, let us help you. We’ll help you really live.” Essen put as much warmth as he could into his statements, smiling gently and backing away briefly to look at Iriana, at which point the warmth dropped from his face. She hung wide-eyed, fearful, terrorized, clenching her teeth in pain. Essen was confused, wondering how this reaction was possible, convincing himself that he was just seeing things. But there she was, shaking like she was just tortured, staring dead ahead past Essen and everything else.

“Why…B-but why…Why would you…No, it’s…Why does that…” Iriana screamed in agony, startling Essen, who had no clue what was wrong. Tears flowed onto her face, still frozen in that terrified expression that stared dead into his eyes. “It’s…n-not your fault…It’s…mine…” She said this with even less tone of voice than normal, contrasting highly with how she was quaking in her harnesses and forming a puddle of tears on the floor. Essen could only shudder as his mind had the impression that he had killed someone, and all he could do was back away slowly and spring back onto the Avespia, scrambling down to the legs and narrowly avoiding slipping to his death. Iriana closed the cockpit, knowing she couldn’t let anybody close to her, but she hadn’t Essen to risk his life just to get near her. She had no idea how to tell them what was wrong, and no idea if they’d understand or forgive her, these thoughts mirrored exactly by Essen. He sat against the leg of his Avespia, waiting for hours as Mille and Sura fixed and polished up their units on foot making missing parts from whatever metal was around. When Mille went around to fix up Essen's unit, he felt compelled to ask her about what happened.

“Hey, Mille…Do you know why someone would be hurt if you try to heal them?”

Mille sighed, and looked up towards the Ilivais. “...I think I know what you’re talking about. …I have two suspicions. Maybe both of them are right. Maybe…she’s had problems with people getting close to her. You know…But…the other thing I thought…it’s a little off, but bear with me…Maybe she reacts to things way differently than she should. Maybe she doesn’t understand how we try to open up to people. Considering her entire life was spent being turned into part of a machine, her mentality can’t be like ours. I don’t know how that would work, or even if it makes sense, but…Seeing how she is, it isn’t going to be easy getting to her.” Mille put her hand on Essen’s shoulder, her default comforting gesture, as her preferred method of hugging tended to result in suffocation. “I know how you feel. You’d like to take all the blame, figure out what you did wrong, and the like. But you did nothing wrong. If you like her, you need to figure out how to get her to realize your intent, and not what she thinks that intent is. Just…keep trying. You’ll figure it out if you honestly want to.” She patted Essen on the back, and got to work buffing out the scratches on the Avespia's leg, leaving him to wonder how to communicate with Iriana, how to understand her logic.

How to understand exactly what she was.
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Gyra Solune
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Re: Ilivais X

Day 3: Berserker Eros

Iriana jolted awake, instinctively searching for the light. "...Where are we g-going?" As soon as those words escaped her lips, she realized nobody had woken her up. She sighed deeply, hoping to arise to warmer hearts than her own. More than likely, a bird had simply strayed too close to the silvery face, setting off the rather touchy auto-activate. She figured there was no better time than now to go for a short walk, anxious to taste the outside air again. Hesitantly, she opened the face, humming as her delicate foot found sharp purchase on snow-coated stones. Her weak lungs adjusted to the brisk air, and her pupils buzzed as her eyes zoomed in to focus on the mountain of junk in the distance. This particular mountain of junk was all the usable remains of Hiroshima, composed of wall plates and intact iron beams, along with piping and anything else they found useful. Iriana had begun mapping out a storehouse and base, and so far they had a basic frame up, a spindly prism of metal in the midst of a forest. The Avespias were parked on the concrete tiles that made up the base, right next to a small barracks in the corner, mostly so the other three could have the luxury of beds instead of sleeping in their cramped machines. Iriana refused having a bed, using an excuse of how they couldn't suspend her like she wanted, and she felt it was more convenient when she was needed.

Sura just happened to walk out of the hut at that time, much to Iriana's dismay, as she wanted to have this time to herself. “Yaaagh…Good morning…You enjoy dying for our sins instead of laying on a bed?” He chortled towards the sky, hands on his hips, standing at twice Iriana's height. “And hey…I didn’t know you could walk!”

“…Sura…if we’re going to have a b-base…don’t we need a name?”

Sura turned and looked up at where the main entrance was going to be. “I guess you’re right…We can’t call ourselves ‘Three Gaia Soldiers and Some Aztec Chick’. Doesn’t roll off the tongue. …You’re intent on this thing, aren’t you? I would’ve been fine with camping out in the woods. We don’t really NEED a base, right?”

“We d-do if we’re going to topple empires. …I wanted to m-make something anyway. Our surroundings are getting stale.”

“So…you’re a little less dumpy than you come across as. Or maybe you’re just that focused on beating up the Aztecs.” Sura ruffled Iriana’s hair roughly, making her strangely contented.. “…I thought you didn’t like physical contact. You sure didn’t yesterday. Yikes.”

“…Mmm…Uh…It was j-just…I wasn’t prepared, and…I can’t…”

“Look, from what I heard, the kid explicitly stated he just wanted to be friends. He really does try his best to cheer people up. He tried to be as helpful and warm as he could. I think what you did was really uncalled for, considering how freaked out he is, and how hard he’s taking it.”

“He won’t forgive me…its b-better that way…”

Sura went down to her level, though it only served to diminish his point as he was forced to crouch and kneel. “…I don’t know who you think he is, or who you think you are, but the fact is that you’ve hurt one of my comrades, one of my friends, and you have yet to apologize for it. He’s consumed with the thought that you’ll try to kill him once you get the chance, and even if you don’t that you completely hate him.”

“G-good. It’s best I create d-distance from me.” Iriana’s expression remained fixed, almost mocking Sura for his position.

“…Dammit! What the hell is your problem? We’re trying to become acquainted with you, to make you one of us. And before you say you aren’t one of us, that’s not the point. Instead of opening up a little, you only create more friction to stop that from happening. …Why?”

“…It will only hurt me. And when I b-become hurt, anyone close becomes hurt. The only way to avoid all that is to ensure n-nobody is close.”

“…Would you actually want to have someone close?”

“…I…m-maybe I would. But…I can’t. I can accept the f-facts, or I can accept you. Facts never change. People d-do. So I chose the most logical answer.” Sura began to say something, but was immediately cut off. “Wait…wait…No.” Iriana clenched her fists. “…Why…Why the hell c-can’t I just have a normal conversation for once? Every time I t-try to talk…It just…descends into this crap. I…I don’t understand…I d-don’t WANT to only talk to people like this.” Her words sounded impassioned, but her voice had the same usual uninterested tone, giving an off-putting effect.“So…If you have anything t-to say…As soon as it gets to this…I’m leaving. I am out of outside t-time anyway, thank you for w-wasting it.” She walked swiftly back to her Ilivais, closed the cockpit, and opened it ten seconds later. “A Tibetan manufacturing plant is being attacked by another prototype. Your Avespias are faster, so I’ll g-go ahead.” She swiftly closed up, and flew off.

Sura dragged his face across his hand. “Damn…what’s with this chick? …Maybe I’m just going about communication wrong…” And he went to wake up the other two.



The Avespias blasted into view of Iriana. “T-Took a little too long…we’re almost there.” The sights of a battle came into view, forcing a small groan from Iriana. “…The situation is exactly like b-before. Groups of Espadas, centered around one unit. …C-can we wait?” Iriana’s eyes flickered yellow, and she appeared to be trying to hide her face within her collar.

“…They’re Espadas. They rely on strength in numbers. And you’re in a highly advanced anti-Espada unit. We promise not to get taken out instantly.” Mille nodded in assurance. “Let’s get them all.”

Iriana sighed, as the Avespias went off, taking down several. Even Mille’s was doing well, and her Avespia was a support unit. She started up, but immediately was tackled by one Espada from behind. “You must be k-kidding me…” She tried to get the Cyclic Engine to boost her back up, but they refused to propel her. “…I have a perpetual energy device on my machine…and I can’t take on one Espada.” She forced away her frustration, focusing on the task at hand, purging energy from the Cyclic Engines to drive it away. She was still being forced downwards, yet stabbing it with the elbow blades yielded no results, as an Espada was only as large as one arm of the Ilivais, and the arms couldn’t quite bend back enough, resulting in the back becoming a large blind spot. Eventually she hit the ground, and could detect the Espada trying to tear into the unit, but it abruptly stopped.

“We’re going to have to do something about that.” Iriana looked back to see Essen was facing her from far off, rifle steaming. “They’re mostly gone. You go after the big one.” He flew off, shooting some more Espadas. Iriana checked her radar, locating the other Ilivais near the energy tanks. She picked herself up from the ground, and headed over there, awaiting the new opponent.

It was certainly a feminine-looking machine, if the two large domes on the chest counted. Their purpose was an enigma. The left arm was a large crossbow of sorts, the right had a normal arm with small stakes. The legs were short and knife-like and it had two small wings. The machine faced Iriana, its small inverted face blade gleaming, aiming its bow steadily. An instant later, alarms ringed out all over X’s cockpit, notifying Iriana that something had pierced right through the torso, thankfully not hitting an engine component. A small window came up over the alarm messages.

“Aww…I kinda missed. Oh!” The pilot of the machine was an olive-skinned woman with short brown hair and bright orange eyes adorned on a round face. “There’s a cute one in there! Lemme check a thing…” She typed in something on a keyboard to her left, and the screen windows enlarged greatly. The pattern on the woman’s clothes matched the patterns on the machine, if you could call them clothes. It was more like two grey arrows covering her ample chest, probably there because she was forced to wear anything at all. “So it’s a pathetic girl, with no body to speak of, just like the report said. Unfortunate…Well, they were all like “Ashe Gogus, destroy the plant and stuff”, but now I’ve got a reported enemy on my hands…Hee!” Ashe giggled, making a big show of bouncing up and down.

Iriana glanced, with a bit of disdain in her eyes. “…Most people…I could care less what they’re like. You really p-piss me off though.”

“Yoooooouuuuu’re just jeeeeaaaalous!~” Ashe laughed teasingly. The distant explosions died off, and the Avespias came up, prompting Ashe to type in some code again, opening up a mass comm link that clouded everybody’s displays. “Let’s see…Hot sculpted hunk of man…Weak-willed little unmanly kid…And ooh! Someone with curves that compete with me in aaaaaallllll the important categories!” Sura had a small blush, but his composed face didn’t change. Essen grew a little angrier, and Mille simply shook her head in mild annoyance.

Iriana’s disdain simply grew. “We’re not really going to t-talk about unimportant physical attributes all day, are we?"

Ashe stuck her tongue out. “You don’t have to take it so hard, Miss Frumpy Face. It’s just how some people are born! Some, like me and your friend here, have it, while some, lik-“ That sentence was interrupted by Iriana appearing out of thin air behind Ashe, stabbing both of its arm blades repeatedly.

“Ahem…We’re not really g-going to talk about stupid breasts all d-day, are we?” Iriana stated more forcefully, staying perfectly calm while X wildly stabbed B repeatedly.

“Damn it! They just fixed up my B the other day, too! Crazy jealous bitch…heheh…I’ll bet you’ll never guess what the B sta-“ Iriana took out a wing, causing B to start to veering off, but not before stabbing X with its own stakes, which did nearly nothing. Ashe looked alarmed, just noticing the critical wound she inflicted before was now almost repaired.

“…What is with you p-people and your talking? Why do you even bother?” Iriana charged up X’s hands for a blast, as Ashe boosted far to the right, retreating back towards the plant.

“Gah…how am I going to win this…I have an idea…” Ashe landed in between two buildings, dodging all the supporting fire after her. She fired off the bow several times, barely missing its targets, winking at the screen. “Heh…Beneath these endless miles of lovely squishiness beats the heart of Artemis!” Ashe continued weaving through the buildings, all the while firing off energy arrows which whizzed dangerously close to everybody.

“Ugh…Iriana, can’t you just…poof over there, or whatever it is you do?” Sura grunted as an arrow grazed his armor.

“I need a sight line of the exact spot I want to go, otherwise I might end up trapped. And…I have n-no idea how I really do it. So it’s not assured.”

“We don’t need devices that can’t be guaranteed to work. We need a plan. This chick has some good aim, and we’ll be dead if we get closer. If we head aro-“ The line went static, as an arrow hit Essen, very close to where the cockpit was. Several explosions occurred in his Avespia, as it fell rapidly towards the ground, burning in a downwards spiral with no hope for anyone left inside.
Last edited by Gyra Solune on Sun Nov 13, 2011 5:44 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Gyra Solune
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Re: Ilivais X

Day 3: Berserker Eros (II)

…However, the Avespias were designed to eject the pilot the instant damage is sustained to the torso, so nobody had many worries as Essen floated down in the purged cockpit. Iriana took note of that, and how unsafe the Ilivais was, considering that the head was fragile and, on most units, completely affixed to the body. She and the others turned their attention back to Ashe's unit, which was steadily aiming the bow not at the Avespias or Iriana, but at the tiny pod parachuting down to earth.

“…You total bitch! I won't have comrades dying on my watch!” Sura roared and charged in, shifting from side to side in order to get closer safely, to which Ashe responded by calmly adjusting her aim from Essen to her attacker.

“You’re only postponing your own destruction…” She locked onto the bladed Avespia, and held the trigger, but an instant before she fired, an impact struck through B's back, throwing her aim a few feet off. She turned around, discovering X's leg had pierced her unit's body, though seconds before it had been more than a kilometer away.

“…The instant you b-believe a piece is not a hindrance is the instant it s-strikes you down.” Iriana pointed X’s hand to Ashe, filling it with energy and awaiting the right time to fire.

“…I can’t fail now…Actually, I won’t fail now.” The air seemed to freeze, and on the display Ashe’s eyes went blank. “…End Code…Arbalest…Initiate.” She dashed forward, lifting X in the air with the right hand’s stakes, aiming the bow point blank at the head. “Sorry, cutie, but you don’t make the cut. You’ll need to be a real woman to stand a chance against me. Maybe in a few years you could’ve managed to squeak out with your life, but you’ll just have to face the facts. I’ve been training for years to use this, and you just got that thing the other day. Maybe if I bring this thing back, I can get a chance to pilot it, but would be a shame to have someone else in the lovely Ilivais B I designed especially for me. Hm…They always could erase your recent memories and plant you in it. You’d certainly get filled out just by sitting in something I’ve piloted. …Hope you get lucky, Iriana!” She fired the bow, unaware at the now-opened cockpit, her attack ripping a hole in the back of the head. “…Wait…Why isn’t she splattered all over the inside of that thing?” Ashe noticed the energy flowing out of X’s hand from before, but now onto a spot on B’s right arm. Or rather, where the right arm should’ve been. It was cut clean off, and X fell to the ground, splaying out on the ground. But the energy was still gathering, its point rising until it was right in front of her face.

“…I hope you’ll r-regret me for this. …Drive yourself to k-kill me. Use that anger t-to fuel your fights…and if we b-both make it to then, we’ll s-see how we are.” Iriana floated up using the energy from X, her arms trembling, and she let out a blood-curdling cry, firing off all she could, which could’ve been infinite, but a good 30 seconds of blasting a wide hole in B was enough. Iriana fell to the ground, held at a safe velocity but still landing in a heap.

Every alert possible rang in Ashe’s cockpit, notifying her that B was running off backup energy, as the two main energy generators on the central body had been completely destroyed. “…You can’t…You don’t just HIT a woman there! Haven’t you learned anything at all? It’s indecent to take out her best fea-“

“Will you shut the h-hell up?” Iriana managed to project her voice while still sounding as indifferent as normal. “D-do you think anyone cares about that? Every single s-sentence you spit out s-sounds the same to me. The only thing I’ve l-learned is that you’re a shallow whore who thinks f-feeding glands make up for a l-lack of personality. Why c-can’t you be like Mille? She’s taken some k-kind of vow to not let that subject c-come up as often as it tries to, and yet it’s all you t-talk about. Just…g-go away. You’ve l-lost anyway. I just wanted t-to get that out.” Iriana climbed back in her cockpit, and put out one last blow at B just for good measure.

“…You can’t…just say those things…It really hurts…to have someone just flat-out state everything I always hope nobody will remind me of…Damn…Ilivais B, retreating.” Ashe jumped backwards, pulling out another one of those strange aircrafts from a warehouse, and sent a trail of clouds behind her as she sped off into the horizon.

Iriana merely gave a small smile at her words. “…Though I f-failed to destroy it, I planted a usable s-seed…Excellent.” She headed back to the base, giving the signal to return to her fellow pilots

The walls were coming up, slowly filling out the frame, and surprisingly, a lot of components fit very well. The integrity of the wall wasn’t very reassuring, but they had a plan for that. Iriana had sent a 3D blueprint of the final building to the Avespias, notified with a plethora of detailed aspects.

“Huh…did you make this, Ir?” Mille flipped the plan up and down, nodding in admiration.

“…What d-did you call me?” Iriana’s eyes shifted to that glowing red again, glaring at Mille through the screen

“Ahem…It’s short for your name.” Mille gazed back sternly, her face sharpening with a dash of determination, refusing to let herself be intimidated by the girl.

“…You’re n-not altering my name. Never c-call me that.” Iriana’s eyes glowed even brighter, but she was struggling, desperate to assert authority she didn't have.

“Ir, I asked if you made this. That’s the thing you’re SUPPOSED to answer.” Mille went back to looking inside and out the layout.

“…You…y-yes…I made it…its incredibly basic, and it’s not that impressive.” Iriana’s eyes continued to burn red, as she tried to vent out the frustration again.

“No, I’m not having that. It’s a well-designed base of operations, with emergency exits nearly everywhere, and it looks pretty nice to boot. You seem to have made it with the intent on us getting a logo or name, because there’s space below a crest on the front.” Mille gathered more stone panels, with the walls nearly finished.

“Why do you i-insist on that? It t-took me an hour to m-make at most, so it’s very h-hastily designed and requires such a s-superfluous amount of editing to the point where it w-would look entirely different.”

Mille paused her work, and threw a large chunk of building at the head of the Ilivais, causing a loud echoing within Iriana's cockpit, as she hadn't managed to react in time. “Stop that. Right now. I’m not going to stand by and have you kill off everybody’s morale.”

Sura sighed deeply. “Mille, just…give up on this. You’re not going to win.”

“Give up on her? Like she’s given up on herself? If we do that, she’ll pretty much die out there. She may be stubborn as all hell, but deep inside she just has no idea how to do things. I have to break through to her. That’s the best thing for all of us. Ir, the thing is, we’re building the damn base exactly as your blueprints instructed. So no matter how much you won’t believe our words, our actions back it up. Reality doesn’t lie, and right now reality is saying that you need to stop putting yourself down so much.” Mille went back to her task, convinced she got into Iriana's mind at least an inch.

Iriana stammered a bit, but words refused to align themselves for her, so she continued picking up materials, and laying them out like they needed them to be. They continued on into the day, beyond the sunset, but they didn’t have lighting set up, so as night fell work slowed down to a halt, leaving a truly imposing structure standing in the midst of the forest.



The Avespia pilots crashed on their beds, exhausted from sitting in a cramped machine all day, ready to turn off for the night, when there was a knock on the door. Iriana slid into the small house, sitting cross-legged in the middle and facing Essen.

“…I n-never got a chance…to apologize…I regret my actions.”

Essen smiled sheepishly. “It really doesn’t matter. I think it’s a given that…well, you’re not exactly sane. As such, I have no idea in hell how you work. Something that’s common sense to you might sound completely alien to us.”

Iriana averted her gaze from everyone, staring down at the cold stone floor. “Forgiveness is never that easy…I need to m-make it up to you.” She stood up, and grabbed Essen’s arm hastily. “…P-please, come with me…”

Essen looked around, looking in Mille and Sura’s eyes for advice, but they simply shrugged, though a grin crept across their faces. “…Uh…Where…are we going?”

“…The c-cockpit of my unit. Does that matter?” Iriana had a slightly forlorn and impatient expression on her face, which didn’t change how Essen turned into a nervous pile, while the other two broke into a fit, rooting Essen on.

“Wait…But…It’s…I’ve…I have no idea what to do!”

Iriana looked back with a trace of disdain. “I will t-tell you everything. Are you coming?”

Essen frantically got up, though he could barely stand. “Um…I suppose…” The instant he said this, Iriana rushed off, struggling to pull Essen along, leaving Sura and Mille in hysterics.

“Wow…just…wow. Didn’t expect THAT from the girl. Hope the kid is alright in there.”

“Oh come on, the first time is always a little awkward. There’s no way you can avoid that. We’ll hopefully see him in the morning.” Mille rolled over, mind buzzing over this development, but thinking over how strange and sudden it was. She started to believe that she was simply thinking in the gutter, as the relations between the two were no different between any of the other three. If anything, she supposed Iriana trusted her the most, likely because their first meeting was framed by the two men holding rifles. But she supposed her answers would come in the morning, so she tried to halt her thoughts and give into her fatigue.



Essen barely had time to land in the cockpit before it slid shut. He was out of breath already, and he had no idea how he would deal with this, only capable of watching as Iriana quickly put the harnesses on, raising her up in the air. “Uh…okay. …What?” Essen tilted his head in confusion as Iriana looked him up and down, and reached in a pocket on his belt, pulling out a survival knife and handing it to him.

“You may g-go ahead. Do n-not worry, only the heart and head will off me.” Iriana hung there, motionless. Essen’s heart raced. already feeling this wasn’t going to end well.

“Uh…what in the world do you mean?”

“…Take it out. I won’t d-die. Aren’t you impatient to t-try?”

Essen backed away. “What the hell? You want me…you want me to stab you? How will this make anything up to me?”

“…Do not even try to p-pretend you’re alright with everything. Everyone has a problem, d-deep down, that they want to let out on somebody. Even if one d-doesn’t come to mind…just try.” The harnesses tightened, and Iriana squeaked as she was pulled from every direction. Essen didn’t understand, but he wanted to understand. He stared at the knife in his hand, surrounded by the widely opened midriff that clearly was the target. And…he went for it, forcing the blade right in the middle. Iriana closed her eyes, in a positive zen-like state. “…Again…” Essen pulled the knife out, noticing that the blood on it quickly disappeared. The wound closed back up, as though nothing ever happened. And he went again. Iriana’s voice lowered to a warm whisper, softer and quieter than the low humming she normally spoke in. “…Now keep d-doing that. But…put your anger into it…All your sorrows, all your p-pain…and take it out on me.”

“But…I don’t want to take it out on you…You didn’t do anything wrong…”

Iriana rubbed Essen’s face gently, the icy touch piercing his nerves. “That’s not the p-point. I am simply the b-best outlet for this. We both can get what we want. Please…just try.” Her eyes flickered a deep orange, a desperate, hopeless orange. And Essen tried, complying with her requests. His worries stemmed from how would kill anyone else, but on Iriana it didn’t matter. He thought of how oppressed the world was, how he hated why humanity was locked in this war, of any regrets he ever had, feeling an uncomfortable darkness close over him. He needed to focus on something else, and looked up at Iriana’s face, which was full of blissful ecstasy, and she squeaked with every stab. And he stopped, clambering backwards, realizing exactly what was happening.

“You…You’re…you’re getting off on this!” He couldn’t explain how he felt, as his mind stated that he had been hurting her, refusing to believe blood could incite such a reaction.

“…Oh, you’re right!” Her voice sounded cheerful and fulfilled, as though she was indeed getting off. “I should’ve t-told you…I don’t think y-you understood. Why did you stop? Please don’t stop. I enjoy it g-greatly. ...So...greatly...it's inconsequential when I d-do it myself, but I've n-never had someone else do it to me. They d-didn't want to be responsible for my death, no matter h-how much I persuaded and convinced them that I wouldn't p-perish. I want it f-forever...please, don't s-stop now!”

Essen flung himself against the inside of the face, hoping there was a chance of simply going through. “This is insane! This feels…wrong! I don’t know what the hell that was…just please let me out!” The door opened on his request, and he stumbled out, running back to base without looking back. Iriana breathed heavily, satisfaction clouding her expression, still reeling from the euphoria flowing throughout her body.

“Two seeds of d-despair…in one day. …This will s-succeed. Everyone will c-clamor to be in the positions I will u-utilize them best in…” She laughed without joy, her voice humming a broken tune, sounding much like a machine attempting to express happiness.. “This…is p-perfect!”
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Gyra Solune
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Re: Ilivais X

Day 4: The Forest Throne of Gaia

Sura yawned, rubbing his eyes against the bright sunrise, as the base didn't have main doors put up, so the sun beamed through the barracks window in the morning. The event of last night came back to him, and he thought of maybe going to wake Essen up to grill him on what happened.

Upon seeing him curled up next to Mille, however, that clearly wasn’t what would happen. Sura had fallen asleep pretty much right as soon as Essen left, so he must’ve just missed him coming back. While Mille had always gone to bed late and woken up easily, he crashed hard and early. “Gah…now I’ve gotta be the girl’s alarm clock. Probably the best way of finding out what the hell happened.” He dragged himself out, and opened up the Ilivais’ cockpit, Iriana waking up as soon as he did.

“…Where are we g-going?” She didn’t show any signs of tiredness at all, as though opening the face was an instant on switch.

“…Depends on why I found Essen back in our place.” Sura sighed, and planted himself on the ground, feeling that the morning was no time to deal with the crap he believed the girl constantly slipped out.

“…He wouldn’t s-sleep here, unless he l-likes the floor. I suppose he didn’t appreciate how I d-do this. …Sura…maybe you could try. T-take out your knife, please.”

Sura simply yawned again. “…Blah…I don’t wanna comply with your BS. That what you did with Essen last night?” He felt oddly tired, confused at how little he cared about such a weird incident.

“…Yes. I f-felt he could use relief, and I can be the one to t-take it out on. I merely f-forgot to tell him that…it feels very n-nice. It’s not q-quite the same when I j-just do it on my own. …In all honesty, would you l-like to try?” Iriana closed her eyes, as if expecting it again.

“I’ll be fine…ugh…Uh, Essen doesn’t take things out with violence. He’s kind of a diplomat, he tries to fight with words and not actions. I won’t hit a young girl, so I especially wouldn’t stab one to death. And Mille, I think she looks at you like you’re her kid or something. But she also treated Essen that way, and…well, there they are now. You’ve maybe replaced him in that regard, who knows. But yeah…if you came here looking for some kind of sadist boyfriend, you’re out of luck.” Sura got back up to leave. “Oh…and if masochism really is your thing, don’t let it flare up too much. We really don’t want to see you getting high or whatever it is that incites in you.”

Iriana looked ahead, her eyes brightening a little. “I give you no p-promises. Victory is p-painful, s-so I must emulate my own d-defeat. …You…you w-wouldn’t get it.”

“Yeah…yeah…like hell I would. Just…whatever. I’m too groggy to care, really. If you’ve gotta shove a broadsword up your delicates to make it through the day, by all means go ahead, just not where we can see.”

Iriana looked upwards thoughtfully. “…I n-never thought of that. I should try one d-day. It would b-be quite intriguing…”

“Sure. Also…you didn’t ever really apologize. You should do that.”

Iriana shook her head. “I’ve p-planted a fine seed of despair. Emotions c-cloud judgment. So I must ensure those emotions are s-set up in a way to be optimal for my p-purposes. I have an idea f-for how to keep Mille in a good spot, but n-not you…”

“Woah woah. I dunno what game you’re playing here, but I’m not taking a part in it. And I don’t think the others want to either.”

“…They have n-no choice. I fight with them, they fight with m-me. I have conditions that cannot b-be fulfilled by simply asking, and I need to make sure n-none of you do anything foolish under the emotional influence. As you stated a while ago, you three s-seem to judge how I am based off of my regretfully soft appearance and the s-small amount you know about me. You’re d-driven to help me and to protect me, and I c-can’t have either of those occurring. They’ll act against all of o-our efforts. I hope y-you understand.”

“I understand precisely nothing. If weird crap starts happening due to your mind twisting stuff, I’ll do something about it, but for right now I can’t quite see what I would do. So…bye.” Sura stood up to walk away, unable to truly take to heart everything Iriana said.



When he came back, both Mille and Essen were awake, sitting on their own beds. Mille was casually reading a book, but Essen jumped as soon as Sura came.

“Uhm…Lieutenant…you…you saw that, right? Uh…” He searched around for words nervously.

Mille didn’t avert her attention, continuing to leaf through her story. “Why are you so worried? We didn’t do anything.”

Sura raised an eyebrow, wondering the true verity of that claim. “Well, what WERE you doing?”

Mille sat up on the edge of the bed. “He came back in, scared out of his mind. I went over to make him feel a little better...and then he fell asleep. I couldn’t bear to just leave him that way. I feel a little bad for our rookie. He hasn’t quite adapted yet.”

Sura put his hand to his face. “Jeez…I thought you were doing something else.”

“That would’ve just wierded him out. Don’t you think it’s a little soon for that?”

Essen felt a burning passion to stop that train of thought. “Ahem…so what’s the plan of action today?”

Sura checked a device on his arm, agreeing with the subject change. “…No reports so far. …Wanna put a roof on this thing?” Mille and Essen complied, and they headed off to the Avespias to get more done with the base. The launch and loading bays would take more advanced work to get ready, but that would come. All the segments of stone and wall were smoothed off and attached firmly to each other, much to their relief. Iriana hadn’t moved in the slightest, and or some reason her Ilivais was still located outside. Though it was much bigger than the Avespias, but there was an opening specifically designed for it to be indoors. They worried it could be taken, but then again Iriana had hardly ever left the thing.

“Hey, guys…how exactly has Iriana been…surviving? She’s turned down all the food and water we’ve brought up to her.” Essen arranged a section of the curved ceiling.

“You know those little round things? Maybe they’ve got stuff in there…except they’re very tiny. That or her mech sustains her…somehow. That would explain why she hardly ever leaves.” Sura continued building stuff. Construction description gets tiresome, just like construction.

“Hey, the inside of that thing is gigantic. It’s the size of our current barracks. We have a reason for not sleeping in these, but she doesn’t.” Mille also continued building stuff, when a report came in. “…Let’s see. Today’s field trip is to…Hey…wait a minute…” She looked over the horizon, where a part of the forest not too far away was glowing and expanding. It wasn’t close enough to come too near the base, and the null field blocked all signals coming out, but it was still dangerous. “Everybody! We’ve gotta take care of whatever that is, immediately! Cycle Squad, move out!”

Iriana’s radio link came up, her weak droning filling the airwaves. “…M-Mille…when did we decide on a name?”

Mille simply pointed dramatically at the horizon. “To free this world of its old cycle of destruction! To bring in a new cycle of love and peace! That is the duty of the Cycle Squad! We know no allegiance; we fight for the justice of all! Sura! Essen! Ir! And our leader, the glorious and spectacular Mille Chanteau!” The sun nearly leaped off the horizon and burst into her palm with all of her spirit. “Death is only a hurdle for us! Our valor will rage across the heavens, we’ll fight with our lives on the line, all in the name of shining freedom!”

“…Who m-made you our leader, what the hell did you inject this morning, and where c-can I avoid it at all costs? I will at l-least TRY to live.” Iriana slowly lifted off, and joined the others, as they sped off towards the strange occurrence. “…I hope you realize t-too much hot-bloodedness will only kill you.”

“Ha! I have proven that you DO care about us! Or me at least! Our ideals have reached even this young girl’s frozen heart! Onwards we go, Cycle Squad, in the name of a new tomorrow!”
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Gyra Solune
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Re: Ilivais X

Day 4: The Forest Throne of Gaia (II)

A silver and green machine drifted around the forest, giving off a bright green glow. Its head was an orb with the standard vertical web, but inlaid into a darker helmet of sorts. One arm was a large segmented vine, while the other had two smaller ones intertwined. It was busy ensnaring trees, making them grow, before noticing the four other machines darting towards it.

“Ahh…About time. This was becoming incredibly pointless.” An aged man dressed in a green suit with short white hair and a beard stood in the cockpit. As per custom, he opened up a link with the other four. “I’ve been expecting you. Well, expecting our dear Iriana here. Omnes deduced you being around here.” He barely had time to finish before skirting out of the way of Mille’s stinger, which only managed to plant itself in the ground with her charge.

“…See, Mille? I t-told you…” Iriana shifted her attention to the man. “…O-Omnes, you said…that means you’re-“

The man abruptly struck a pose in his mech, almost as though he was pretending to be a tree. “We are GEKICOM! Great Elemental Kings In Command Of Machines! The life that is seeded throughout the earth…I shall harness that power! For I am Daimler Greene, Ilivais Prototype G!” He went back to a standard stance. “Now, my girl, I’d like to deliver you to Omnes without too much of a spat. So be a dear and come with me. We really could use that engine of yours.”

Iriana looked around. Nothing but forest and trees. Nothing she could utilize, once more. “…B-Because I’m most certainly going to hand this to your questionably d-driven coordinator. That would be an excellent idea.” She pointed at Greene, charging up energy in X’s hand.

“Now, now. Why can’t you children listen these days? I mean really. Now you expect some kind of reward for doing what you’re told. Alas…I suppose we’ll have to buy you a pony or so to get you to go.” Greene beckoned off to the side. “Now come along, lass.”

“…I was in t-training for a decade and a half. And you p-people are under the impression that I recently learned to walk. I can easily imagine someone making me l-look this way…” Iriana allowed herself a small smirk. “…Though that m-may be because you live in an empire of p-perverted creeps.”

Greene slammed his hand on a physical interface board, as the prototypes until V all had traditional, if large cockpits. “That is absolutely NO way for a young lady to speak! I believe I need to knock some sense into you!” He burst forward, bringing the dual vines in front. “HAND OF TERRA!” It forged into a rough hand, boosted in speed. Iriana hadn’t expected an acceleration, and the hand ripped right through X’s side.

“Egh…That v-vine thing…a normal vine certainly couldn’t do that…”

Greene laughed. “That is the power of G’s specialized bio-synthetic symbiosis! Half nature, half machine…granting me both adaptability and strength! Your time is short. Fall before my might! SWORD OF EARTH!” He shot forward in a bladed kick, glancing off his target and right into the path of a shot fired by Essen, while Sura was occupied with helping Mille get unburied. Greene went for another kick, only to be met by an opposing leg. Iriana fought off the instinct to try and push through, and slid around to cleave the other leg into G’s back, followed with a stab to the back of the head. The latter hardly scratched G’s helmet. “Too bad…you appear to underestimate me!” The gap in G’s back grew back almost instantly.

“…Another…auto-repair s-system…better than mine.” Iriana fired off an energy beam, but it failed to burn off one of the arms as she expected, simply eating away at it and inciting its regeneration

“Correction. Yours is a lesser version of mine. After all, all of these prototypes are little more than field tests for powerful new weaponry and armor systems. In a way, you could say it all went into a handful of our more important units. Yours is among those.” Greene’s dual vines shaped into a drill, charging through and eating away at the side of X’s leg.

“If this was that important, I’d have t-taken down the Emperor…” Iriana spun backwards to slice with both a leg and an arm. It stuck into G, and she struggled to get out.

“Hah! You’ve sat in your machine for hardly more than half a week! You expect to topple trained soldiers easily? I’ve been flying G around for over six years! You’re a young child for whom Excalibur has fallen from the sky, and you doubt the sword?”

“…If I was that important, then. …C-considering the nature of my existence, it’s one and the same.”

“But that’s just it! Excalibur does not arrive for anybody. It has chosen you, to entwine you into its destiny. Off the top of my head, I can think of elements of your machine derived from 12 other prototypes. And then there’s the Cyclic Engine…” Greene shoved into a spinning kick, only to pass right through X. He glanced around a bit, then realized what happened. Before slamming into the ground, he shifted his course upwards, only getting the rear sliced from X’s head, charging through the trees.

“You…y-you found out…?” Iriana loosened the harnesses from their usual tearing grip, giving her more motion data input instead of relying on thought strategy scans.

“Hoho! Yes, the Reality Projector! Quite the nifty device. Shame we can’t even develop a proper sensor for it. We didn’t quite expect one of our own to turn on us, after all. …LIFE WHIP!” G’s single vine arm extended, and snapped out towards X, catching it around the torso. “There we have it. Come along, Lady Estchell. If we work fast, we can still recondition you.” Greene flew off, trailing Iriana behind him. She desperately slashed and fired off, to no avail.

“Hell no! That isn’t happening! The Cycle Squad isn’t quite complete without the reason it can do anything at all!” Mille had been freed from the ground, and both she and Sura charged in, Essen firing off from behind. They managed to add onto a tear Iriana made before it regenerated again, but all four of them combined barely managed to slice off the arm.

“I c-can’t go back…Don’t make me…” Iriana noticed the remnants of the vine wither and fall off. “…Y-you…you got me out…” She looked around, and phased behind Greene, who had just turned around to notice his prisoner being freed. He promptly was forced to the ground, and G’s body was slashed to a near pulp.

“Blast! You little…I’ll get you for this!” Greene attempted to attack in some way, but X was too busy dicing G up with leg movements surpassing that of an Irish jig.

“Y-You think I’ll ever willingly return there? N-never…never never never never never never! Why…why do you curse me with insisting y-you need a human? Why d-did you c-curse me with existence, with sentience? You’ll just…d-destroy my mind, turn me into a perfectly obedient slave…a-and then…and then…” Iriana’s eyes went a blank white, and watered up. Her breathing went into a stammering staccato. “N-no! I’ll be trapped in that prison again, I’ll be held hostage within myself…And they’ll…” She jumped off, and pointed behind her at the shattered machine. With a loud, frantic scream, she blasted a heavy cannon of energy at what remained, and the instant she stopped, she fell silent, as if that never happened. Her demeanor returned to that unfeeling, doll-like state, and floated away.

“It can’t…No…it hasn’t…” Greene’s eyes went blank, and he ensured cockpit of G had been left intact. “End code…Demeter…Initiate.” The earth around him glowed, and all the trees in the forest shot towards the sky.



The earth roiled everywhere she went, and the woods grew impossibly tall. “…It c-can’t be…I heard the rumors, but…This shouldn’t be p-possible…” Iriana looked behind her to see G was regenerating alarmingly fast, and at the same time diffusing into the trees. It reformed as a giant lesion on the face of a skyscraper tree.

“The one thing you don’t do, lass…is mess with the GEKICOM Team!” Greene’s voice boomed, as though every plant nearby was a speaker. “I am the god of the earth, a descendant of Mother Earth herself! Face the judgment of the world, the power that drives all walks of life!” Vines shot up from beneath Iriana, entangling her unit. She already knew squirming wouldn’t do anything.

“…Where…are the o-other three?” She searched for an option for what to do.

“I don’t think you understand…The End Code is not merely an attack. It bends the will of time itself. Used on anything else, it would be an instant destruction. But your unit has one too, and as such you can witness my strength first-hand.” Greene tore his Ilivais from the tree, appearing as though it was built five minutes ago. The dual vine arm shot out at X’s head, and the other whipped repeatedly, battering the helpless target. “Your friends will be of no use to you. They will see you simply crumble away, eaten alive by the life force!”

Iriana felt the head compacting, closing in around her, and the controls wouldn't respond. She sighed, thinking of only one option. She shoved the head forward, and opened the doors, which the weakened head slash allowed for. G stood beyond her, whipping madly away. Iriana released the harness, and hopped onto the other arm, walking casually up to G’s head. The power of the End Code was blinding and consuming, and Greene was devoted to destroying the machine. Balance was difficult, but she made it safely to the helmet. She flipped open the small hatch on an inside lip of the head, and pressed the emergency opening button. The orb a little higher up slid open, and Iriana swiftly climbed up. Greene sat there, still paying no mind for a second before noticing his visitor, at which point Iriana shot her hand forward, staring at him intently. “…Release my unit and l-leave this place. …Unless you want to b-be flayed alive.” She slid her other arm along her hand, and a short knife came out from her sleeve. She promptly slashed open her side with it, filling her with a short-lived buzz. “Mmm…I won’t hesitate…g-give me your decision.”

The light slowly came back to Greene’s eyes. The trees shrank, and an alert rang in the cockpit. “…What…Damn it all! I wasn’t fast enough…and now I’m on the emergency energy…” He looked beyond Iriana. X was more than a little beat up, but that wasn’t destroyed, since it was in the process of gradually re-inflating itself.. “…Meddlesome girl…I’ll teach you one day.” He retracted all of the vines, and slammed the cockpit shut, forcing Iriana to the ground. “For when our battles grow rough, our lives are ultimately more important. Objectives may change, targets may surrender, but gods cannot be replaced. GEKICOM G, away!” Greene shifted direction, and darted off into the sky. The three Avespias came down, as X had landed in a kneeling position and Iriana couldn’t get up.

“What…just happened?” Essen stayed on lookout in case it was a feint. “You pulverized that thing, and instantly it flies off good as new…and the trees just seemed to spike up for a second…”

“…It’s an End Code. A l-last resort technique that nearly guarantees the opponent’s defeat. Normally they’re just full assault f-formations, but that was…different. It shouldn’t have run out of energy that q-quickly, though. The others can generally use it m-more than once…I never knew it could slow d-down time. It sounds ridiculous…but then again, perpetual energy does as w-well.” Iriana hitched a ride up Mille’s unit, and was back in the Ilivais in no time. “…One thing is c-certain. …We’re not facing these in alphabetical order.”

Sura rubbed his temples. “…That thing was flat-out ridiculous, though. It concerns me how we’ll fare in the future. I don’t want to face anything that can turn air into acid or something.”

“…The stakes w-will rise. This is only the b-beginning. …And we are safe no longer. They may well know where our b-base is already. We may be simply riding on l-luck. …N-never trust a victory. For in trust lies despair…”
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Gyra Solune
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Re: Ilivais X

Day 5: Flares of Another Time's Army

“Oh damn it…we were too late…” Essen slammed his control panel in frustration. “DAMN IT!”

“…Essen…to g-give into anger is to ensure more f-failure to come.” Iriana looked upon the smoldering crater. “…Though I can only say that b-because I enjoy the destruction…”

They’d given chase to Ilivais F early that morning, but it had managed to annihilate a weaponry manufacturing plant in a matter of minutes. Considering the explosion rivaled an antimatter mine, it was hardly surprising to any of them that only a few cut-off bridges signified a structure ever being located there.

“Don’t get like that on us. The last thing we need is you blowing the galaxy up.” Sura scoured through recent reports in an attempt to trace the target.

“…It is s-simply my nature. I could go f-farther than that, but none of you would wish that. Everyone desires something to b-be erased. I am simply more open about it.” Iriana analyzed a diagram that she supposed would help triangulate F's position. “Regardless, we are not d-dealing with some type of hyper-destructive doomsday machine. Prototype F was simply the optimal choice for destroying this l-location. A weaponry plant, while heavily defended, is n-no match for detonation. All it t-takes is for a single ember to reach any explosive, and the surrounding area is d-decimated. …Quite intuitive of them.” She sighed, and floated around upwards, feeling the weight of gravity trying to push her to the back. “…I wonder…why exactly are we d-doing this? We’re actively helping the Iberians.”

Mille glanced at her radar to ensure nothing was coming. “That’s just because they haven’t done anything yet. We’re stopping the war from escalating further by trying to reduce destruction.”

Iriana quickly flipped back upright. “…That w-won’t stop anything. Conflict naturally r-rises, until a turning point is reached. …In all honesty, we shouldn’t b-be chasing Prototype F. It can get rid of all it comes across until it retreats. We accomplish n-nothing fighting it and saving the victory for another day. We g-gain nothing from protecting the enemy. One side allying with us turns the other against us. It’s reducing the neutrality.” Iriana brought out her hand, as though she was trying to grasp the sun, and X did the same. She felt a fire attempting to thaw her heart. “D-don’t you understand? Two knights locked in an eternal struggle, only g-growing stronger and more dangerous as the fight wears on. There is finally another v-viable warrior, and we are standing here trying to m-mediate! No. We must k-kill them both. We must do it in our n-name. We must s-seize their armor before it wears too thin. We m-must establish our ideals upon the world.”

“For we are the Cycle Squad, the defenders of the world!” Mille flew in front of Iriana, pointing dramatically. “We must conquer the planet in the name of freedom!”

Essen shrugged, and set himself to Mille’s right, aiming the scope at the sun. “We must put an end to the oppression strapped onto the world! We must put an end to the use of lives for the sake of ascending in power!”

Sura went to Mille’s left, pointing his sword above him. “We must create a place where all humans can shine at their full capacity, not just those who rule with their titanium fists! We must soar to heaven itself, shattering the night sky!”

Iriana gave a small groan, dragging her fingertips along her face. “…I d-didn’t mean to bring it that far…” The other three simply broke into laughter.

“Wait, wait, we’re not done!” Mille cleared her throat, putting her serious face on. “These are our goals! To decide the destiny of the Earth! In the name of the Cycle Squad, we will never die until we have succeeded! Essen, Sura, Mille, and our mighty visionary and lovely leader, Iriana Estchell!”

Iriana looked down, startled by this claim. “…Wait…you were the l-leader…What are y-you on about now?”

“Come on! If I stayed in charge, we’d keep doing what we have been doing. And you made me realize that would be a dumb idea! We’ve wasted our days so far. I sure as hell didn’t see farther than the next battle. I expected that if we just brought you along, our goal would fall into place on its own. But nothing happens that way! Besides, why would we want the face of our team to be a boring support Avespia? Sure, we’ve got more charm than one of those lame Espadas, but just look at you!” Mille eyed X up and down. “First off, this thing is gigantic. Ours barely come up to your leg. Secondly, it’s really really cool-looking. Thirdly, it will never ever run out of energy, and it regenerates to boot, so it’s easily more impressive than our really standard things. Fourth…ly…we’d be utterly screwed without you. You said the End Code slows down time for anyone without one? Well, you’ve got one. Quite frankly, it scares the crap out of me that we could end up dying instantly, so if you go down, we all go down. And lastly, history will not be written in an Avespia. This is YOUR story, Iriana. And the story of her legendary weapon, her Ilivais X!” Mille giggled at the last statement, but Iriana simply gave a small frown.

“…But I’m n-not a leader. I have no idea what I’m d-doing half the time. I’ve won my battles with luck alone, and I’ve nearly d-died from these unimpressive Espadas. …And this d-damned speech impediment…it’s not the sign of a h-hero.”

Sura put down his sword. “Well duh, you’re not a good leader now! You got the job a minute ago. We’ve fought and won 3 times so far, and each of those times you were the center of the spotlight. We beat up some grunts and bailed you out a few times, but just as often we’ve gotten ourselves in a situation where we were by far outmatched. As creepy and uninviting as you are, I doubt any of us three have been or will be as important as you are. If you truly, honestly can’t do it, then we’ll see that. But you’ve led the way so far, the only difference is that we’ll build ourselves around that from now on.”

Iriana stared at the floor, lowering her voice to a practically inaudible whisper. “…That’s not how it was supposed to g-go…You n-needed…to use me…” She clenched her fists. “I haven’t s-seen far enough into them. They’re too…trusting…I…I’m n-not used to that, am I? …No…I have t-to rearrange my strategy…that’s it…” She cleared her throat, and felt the cold wash back over her, realizing she had gotten too impassioned for herself. “…I’ll a-accept that, then…if only because you w-wouldn’t shut up until I did.”

“…I suppose you’d be right about that…” Essen still felt uncomfortable talking to Iriana, as the other night kept flashing back to him.

A clapping came over the waves, accompanied by the chuckling of an arrogant voice. “What a riveting speech. I’d feel compelled to join you. But who knows what blood you people have? You’re probably descended from the back waters of the Eurasian continent. Or worse, you could be like Sycine and be from those wretched southern regions. It pains me to think the glorious Aztec land was once connected to that place. Brr.” Everyone looked around for where this voice came from, and on the opposite edge of the crater, as if teasing in a game of hide and seek, a small cloud of fire came up. They found the culprit, still at the scene of the crime.



A heavy-looking mech slowly rose out from behind a ridge. On the left arm was an intricate flamethrower, attached to a huge shoulder-mounted fuel tank. On the right, an eight-barreled machine gatling cannon, with a missile array on that shoulder. The head was narrow and pointed, like a bird’s beak. Unlike the other prototypes, it had sturdy legs with large wheeled feet, but it could fly with the stubby wings on its back. It slammed to the ground, crushing a boulder, and sliding down the side of the crater until it was flat enough to stand. The pilot opened a video link, revealing that he was a somewhat darkened man with round sunglasses and short black hair, an eternal smirk set on his face. “Well well. We’ve got three…things…and our runaway. None of you have the blood of the eagle, I can see it already. Although…” He glanced at Mille. “Wouldn’t mind her. Heh…Hey, you. Ditch these guys and get with a real man. Like En Arteya. Me. You can just call me Arteya though.”

Mille scowled, a small growl coming from her throat. “Screw off. I don’t get with pricks like you.”

Arteya shrugged playfully. “Eh. Wouldn’t get with Gallic people like you. Normally. You’ve got that something something for me though, even if I can’t see what’s down there in full. Heh.” He looked at Iriana’s link, and seemed surprised for a minute. “Hey…I remember you…Holy crap.” He raised his sunglasses, and a drop of sweat ran down his face. “…Damn…it’s gonna bite me in the ass…Nah.” He scoffed, and returned to his normal demeanor. “Well then. Certainly didn’t expect a weak nobody like you to get here. Don’t you come from like…really really backwater Serbia or something? Why the hell did they give YOU that thing? …Oh well. I’ve overpowered you before, I can do it again.” Arteya snickered, and fired a volley of missiles in every direction. The Avespia pilots scattered off to the side, but Iriana phased near the bottom of the crater, her eyes widening upon paying attention to Arteya.

“You…You w-were one of the ones…who gave me that s-strange gift…I’ve been intrigued b-by it to this day. Such p-pain…and at the same time such f-fulfillment…Should…should I thank y-you? Or…not? I didn’t understand…h-how to react…” She sped in for a strike, but was repelled by the flamethrower.

Arteya cracked up. “Oh my…Wow. Just…wow. Out of all the responses I could’ve imagined…I just can’t believe it. I just…” He broke into a wild laughing fit, slapping his controls over and over. Granted, he knew where he was slapping so as to fire more missiles. “Is it THAT easy? Then again…she wouldn’t get it anywhere else! She would’ve been thrown in the trash if not for her brother…”

Iriana shot all of them down, and fired at F, but the beam merely bounced off the legs. “…Seyne? What…What do you know of h-him?”

“Wait. Let’s not go there yet. What the hell were you two just talking about?” Essen focused on sailing around Arteya, attempting to fire his rifle from behind.

“Oh…nooooooooothing. You’re just a little wimp from like…” Arteya analyzed Essen’s face and complexion. “…Damn, it’s hard to tell. I’d say you’ve got something from those Saxon islands…and at the same time…China? Japan? Same thing, really.” He dodged support fire as surprisingly quickly as he dodged the question, moving surprisingly fast on land for such a bulky machine.

“You ass!” Sura bolted up from above, cleaving off half of the missile array before backing off. “I thought all that blood relation crap was dead for the better. Now answer his question!”

“Pah! I’m a descendant of the first Aztecs! Guess what they did? Conquered half the world, the half that wasn’t mostly wasted space. They built this machine too, and I’ll kick your asses with it. Guess what you Arabs…and/or Scandinavians did? Continually got taken over and flopped like a fish in your deserts. Discovered our grand continent but didn’t have the balls to do anything with it. Really, none of you have any Iberian blood in you, so I can’t even respectfully call you a worthy opponent. I’m just killing time while I wait for my next order.” Arteya managed to continually hold off most attacks, while hitting the Avespias quite successfully. Barely two minutes had passed and all three were either incapacitated or had lost their weapons. In Mille’s case, both, so she focused on repairing the other two.

“It falls to m-me…again.” Iriana splayed her fingers across her head. “Mr. Arteya…if you leave…and d-destroy more structures…we p-promise not to get in your way. We’ll make it a deal.” She hoped it would be the right decision.

Arteya scratched his chin. “Heh…Alright then. Let’s shake on it.” He brought forth F’s arm, and blasted out a thick stream of fire. “I don’t need your compromises. I’m gonna win here, so why quit now? This kickass machine’s cheap to repair if anything delays me moving on. Maybe I can bring you in, if you don’t decide to slam shut all your openings and retreat. It’s just not fun when they run away. You’d know that.”

Iriana looked to the Avespias huddled on the far end of the crater, extremely vulnerable to any sort of attack. “…They’ve p-put their trust in me. I can feel it. I won’t lose here. I refuse to let l-luck guide me. I…I need them…and…I c-can’t let them die!”
Last edited by Gyra Solune on Sun Nov 13, 2011 5:46 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Gyra Solune
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Joined: Sun Nov 06, 2011 4:08 pm

Re: Ilivais X

Day 5: Flares of Another Time's Army

Arteya yawned. “You gonna do something or what? Wait, don’t even bother answering. Ahem…” His eyes went blank, though it was hard to see under the sunglasses. “End code, Wechsel, initiate, all that jazz.” He floated a few inches in the air, revved up his wheels, and burst along the ground. Iriana envisioned being in a spot far-off, and was promptly rammed.

“…What…? The Reality Projector…” Explosions ringed around Iriana’s cockpit, as the head was hammered with missiles.

“…Doesn’t work in an End Code. We were told aaaalllll about you. All those confidential systems and weapons are common knowledge. It’s interesting. Looks like Ashe and Greene didn’t figure out just how the Reality Projector works. …You gonna hold still like before?” Arteya jammed the flamethrower right under X’s neck, lifting it up in the air. It opened the gatling gun’s fire on the head, cracking it in several places. The flamethrower sparked to life, expanding the hole in X and breaking up the torso.

“…M-my luck has run out. I need…to see…” Iriana focused all of her attention, and burst forward, bringing the flamethrower all the way through the chest so as to hang on the arm. She cut the pipes leading from the fuel tank. At the same time, she grasped F’s head, blasting energy onto it.

“Ahahah, nice going. Guess you can come with me.” Arteya bent the flamethrower arm upwards, hooking X in, and holding back its limbs. He peeled out from the near center of the crater, using the boost from the wings to get up the lip. He looked to the Avespia pilots’ links. “Well, that was fun. I’ve got my prize though, so I don’t need to keep this up. See ya, nobodies.” He winked at Mille. “I’ll see if I can change YOUR mind later. …Wait, what the hell?”

Mille had gotten up, despite her Avespia lacking a head or weaponry aside from the stinger. “Bastard! You think I’ll let you take our Ir without a fight?” She dashed over, her cockpit completely open. The head was where all optical equipment was located, and as such that was the only way she would see where she was heading. She kicked down F’s bent arm, and pushed X out, kicking her away.

Arteya sighed. “You chicks always gotta postpone the inevitable. Fine. I can’t just take one of those bee things you people have, so I’ll just rip it to shreds.” He snapped out, catching Mille’s Avespia with the flamethrower arm, and slammed it against a steep nook on the crater. Mille had taken a sharp blow to the head, and the thrusters were crushed. The legs were far too spindly to even consider walking on. She gave a small flinch as the gatling barrels sat meters from her face.

“…Ir…Iriana…Get out of here. Don’t forget those ideals we spouted off. Really, I wasn't ever useful at all, wasn’t I…I just lived...like a complete slut...” She closed her eyes, awaiting being hit with bullets the size of her head. A burst of wind came, and the gunshots fired off. But the blows never came.

She slowly opened her eyes. Iriana had phased in the small space in between the two. Anywhere off, and she would either have crushed the Avespia or ended up behind Arteya. “You’re not d-dying for me! I…I won’t allow it…” The bullets came to X’s head, shattering it even further. Several pieces of it fragmented off.

“Are you freaking kidding me? …Jeez, fine then. End Code, Wechsel, initiate. Again.” Arteya’s eyes went blank once again, his expression seeming a little exasperated. He picked up X, and heaved it overhead, springing up on top of it. “Who’s gonna save you now? Isn’t it great when you realize your advantage suddenly leaves you all alone? It’s only me and you. I wish I could just keep this thing on and then do whatever the hell I want. Sadly I’ve gotta sit around in this thing, and it burns through energy like crazy.” He typed a string of code in his panel, and fiddled around with the flamethrower pipe. He proceeded to weld X's arm and leg blades together, before firing another set of missiles, but this time aimed at Sura and Essen, who were frozen in trying to get their Avespias off the ground. “Whoops. Guess I missed. Better hurry, Iriana!” He finished off with a last gatling gun volley to the Cyclic Engines, and threw her towards the missiles. Moving incredibly awkward with fused limbs, she focused on the space in front of the two, hoping the End Code period would wear off. The missiles came ever closer, and she forced herself to not panic, as that would ruin any chance of getting there.

“…S-Sura…Essen…Please hear me…get away…move…do something!”

Half a second later, a series of explosions slammed X around. The heat from them flooded into the battered cockpit. She gave a small sigh of relief, looking around for the two Avespias, except they were still as far away as before. Arteya cackled madly, unable to contain his amusement. “Never did get to hit YOU with the missiles. It is an attack formation, after all. Can’t end until it’s pulled off.” He rolled backwards, and an instant later, the air displaced, and a second wave of explosions came in. The front face of Iriana’s cockpit was completely shattered, and shrapnel stuck into her at dozens of points. But Sura and Essen were safe behind her, appropriately stunned.

“What the hell? What in the world happened, Iriana?” Essen had only seen X and F fighting far off, before X abruptly popped in front of them and exploded.

Iriana shuddered, hanging limply from the harnesses. Only the relief from the shrapnel kept her from going into a panicked frenzy. “Sura…Essen…Leave. N-now. We’re not going to leave alive if we k-keep fighting.” The two nodded, and managed to get into flight. Sura quickly shot his sword out, breaking the welded points. Essen jetted off, but Sura looked back before leaving.

“Don’t take this battle hard. You’ve fought well, and it’s responsible of you to know when to fold. Should I help you get Mille?”

Iriana shook her head. “No. I w-will take care of that. Just r-return back to base as f-fast as possible.” Sura complied before she even finished. She looked back to Mille’s wrecked Avespia, which Arteya had wedged onto F’s flamethrower arm.

“Look what I’ve got here! Let’s make a deal on my terms, shall we? I get your prototype, and I’ll keep both you and the Gallic chick alive. With me. Or I kill you both, and I get X anyway. Your choice. I’m itching to see how well this bee roasts, but I’m also itching to see how this girl puts out. Either way, I bring back our most wanted, and probably get a few promotions. We can afford to kick out a higher-up or two that don’t have the blood of the eagle.” He laughed madly, his pupils widening with his sense of power. “I’m better than a Phonos Weapon! Nobody can stop me! I win! I always win! I’m indestructible!”

Iriana stared coldly at him. “…Or I can just l-leave.” She hoped to keep as many long periods of silence as she could. “I don’t even have p-proof that Mille isn’t already dead. If she isn’t…I’ll just d-do it myself.”

Arteya’s laughter came to a screeching halt. “…Wait…what? Uh…so then I’ll just take the chick. Less chance of a promotion, but hey! I get to do whatever I want with my prisoner of war.”

Iriana continued to glare at him. “I won’t l-let that happen at all.” She slowly built up energy in X’s hand. “I’m unsure why my attacks weren’t effective against y-you. But I won’t hesitate to end her life if you’re all that awaits in it. …Besides…what if I took her w-with me?”

“Have you SEEN your cockpit? One missile, and you’re done. I have plenty of those left. Hell, one BULLET and you’re done. I have even more of those. The instant you’re not there, I go with killing you both. What part of this don’t you get?”

Iriana loosened the harnesses, and started picking some of the shrapnel out of her. “…I c-can’t decide. …Arteya. Why do you d-do these things?”

Arteya yawned, checking his fingernails. “Cause I can. And cause the lot of ya shouldn’t be alive. The Aztecs are the master race, duh. I figure since we’re going to be the only ones left in the end, that it really doesn’t matter what any of you inferior people think of me. I mean damn, look at you! What the hell’s up with your complexion? And somehow your hair is even paler than that! It’s disgusting.”

“…And yet you did that s-strange thing for m-me…” Iriana was barely paying attention to what she was saying. She only needed time.

“Can you stop with that? Are you THAT much of an idiot? I mean, damn, your brother’s done more against the Iberians than the rest of us combined, and he’s sitting in an imbalanced heap that should logically collapse into pieces. And then here you are, unable to comprehend simple choices and actions. I did what I did because I was able to. That’s all. Look at the world. We’ve been in this eternal war for centuries, and for most of that time, borders and boundaries haven’t changed at all. I’m one of those born with power, to stand outside the mundane and prison-like life in the cities. I’m piloting one of the most powerful machines our army has to offer, one that actually works and doesn’t rely on dumb gimmicks like the rest of you. I’m probably the only pure Aztec pilot of one of these prototypes. So really. Why shouldn’t I do whatever I want? Nothing’s stopping me. The world has no means of enforcing anything. The world is without laws by nature, and the laws made by humanity don’t apply to me. There’s no reason I can’t declare my ownership of both you and this girl. I want the both of you and a promotion. Therefore, I’ll get them. It’s really simple.” He glanced up, and saw Iriana phasing above Mille. “That’s your choice, eh? Too bad.” He fired off a handful of missiles and a round of bullets at the cockpit, but he neglected to remember X's regenerative abilities, and so they merely cracked the fixed face. “…You’re…You…What the hell did you do?”

Iriana quickly pulled the Avespia off, and flew off to the right, barely dodging a sweep of Arteya's flamethrower. Iriana turned the torso of the Avespia towards X's head, with the door still opened. “…Mille…b-be alright…d-don't die on me...” She refused to take any chances, and opened her own doors, slowly bringing the motionless Mille to be held up on her back.

“Hey! You worthless trash, don’t you dare ignore me! End Code Wechsel Initiate RIGHT NOW!” Arteya rose up in a clumsy shoulder charge, completely missing Iriana. He desperately unleashed the rest of his ammo, which was only two missiles and a negligible force from the gatling cannon. Iriana began to fly away, and she could already feel the time flow returning to normal, yet the assault wasn’t even finished. “Get back here! I need to win! You cheater! You stupid, weak, freaky CHEATER!” He hastily fired the flamethrower, snapping open the pipe again. “You can’t just suddenly be fixed! I should’ve killed you! I’ve gotta have more ammo in this thing…End Code Initiate! Why won’t it initiate! Why can’t I move? I can’t be out of power! How…How did I lose?” He roared in futility, as F’s wings stopped glowing, and he plummeted towards the center of the crater. Iriana didn’t bother to look back. There was nothing more to say. She could count that as a victory, and she couldn't take chances like that ever again.



Mille stirred on Iriana’s back, burying her face in that cloud of white hair, uncaring of Iriana’s icy temperature. “…Am…Am I dead?”

Iriana turned her head, enough to feel the blood running down Mille’s face. She needed to remind herself that it would be painful for anyone else. “…No. You would have s-suffered a worse fate. One that I s-seriously considered killing you over to avoid it h-happening…Are…are you alright?”

Mille plunged her face onto Iriana’s frozen cheek, bringing herself as close as possible to Iriana, who felt the hot tears tingling on her neck. “I’m fine…Thank you. So much. …It’s good I made you our leader. I knew I could trust you. I can’t ever repay you…” Iriana simply nodded in silence, and turned back to the front. Mille went to sleep on the long path to the base, clinging tightly to Iriana’s back the entire time.

“…I r-ruined it. This breaks all of my plans… But…” Iriana cringed. “No. I have to go through with it. Everything w-will fall apart otherwise. …I want many things…but they’re not what I must have…”
Last edited by Gyra Solune on Sun Nov 13, 2011 5:47 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Gyra Solune
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Re: Ilivais X

Day 6: Electric Angel

The edges of the room grew dark, even as the sun began to rise, with light seeping into the base. The beds shifted in place, expanding and contracting. The doors and windows closed in, only to fleetingly retreat. Soft sounds of snoring blended together, melding into a light vibration.

But Iriana refused to leave.

Why am I here? She’ll be fine. …The cancelled Drive Core is failing on me, isn’t it? I had the third one…which was…Oh. Damn it. I’ve instinctually grown too attached, and their bonds are starting to reach me. I have…to stop it. But…I don’t know…how to utilize…the…

The circle of sight closed on her. The room tilted to the side in a weakened stagger, and all conscious senses failed.



“What do you think’s wrong with her?” Sura hunched over, sitting on a small stool. He supported himself sleepily on his elbows, observing the unconscious girl they found on the floor who now laid down in his bed.

“Well…she’s much colder than the room’s temperature, her eyes have shifted to black, and she’s not breathing at all…but there’s a heartbeat. An incredibly weak and infrequent one, but it’s there.” Essen started returning various pieces of equipment to the first-aid kit. Both of them glanced between Mille and Iriana, but Mille simply had a slight concussion, and had regular vital signs with occasional movement. Iriana showed all traits of being dead, except for that one small light.

“…What the hell do we DO about it, though? We’d be useful if we had more members, but we’ve just got our two Avespias that we still have to repair. There’s no way we could stand up to anything near what we’ve come across.”

Essen dragged his palm across his forehead, squeezing his temples. “…We wait it out, I guess. As much as I don’t like that option, it’s not like we’re trained surgeons or anything. And besides…” He poked the domes below Iriana’s ribcage, half-attempting to pull them out had they not been firmly grafted into the skin. “We don’t know what these are, and from what I feel, they go pretty deep.”

Sura edged closer, eying the gray domes. “…Weren’t they light blue before? And a little…glowy?”

“…I believe so. However, that doesn’t tell me what they do. I’m certainly not going to mess around with this. So…we wait it out. And…repair our Avespias. I guess.” They both yawned and stretched, until they noticed a stirring coming from the other bed. Mille rolled around, mumbling. Essen rushed to her side. “…Mille? You alright?”

Mille sharply sat upright, and promptly put her hands to her head in pain. “Agh…my head wants to eat me alive...” She sunk back into her bed, propping herself up with the cushions. “…I need a minute. We were…fighting some prick…and then Ir stopped me from being mincemeat…after that we…we started…Did I really?” Her face briefly turned a deep red, before she whacked her forehead and the color flushed out. “Wait, no…She just carried me off. But it’s all warm and dark and spacious…The…the cockpit, I mean…Ir’s very cold, but I was still comfy, and that didn’t stop-” She growled in frustration. “Gah! Memory! Fix yourself! I…she held me behind her and I spoke to her for a few seconds, and then AFTER that was…a very very lucid dream. …Yeah. I’ve got it now.”

Sura stifled a laugh, only to receive a sharp pinch on the neck from Essen, who kneeled to Mille’s level. “Well that’s good. Nice to see you well. By the way, I think Iriana’s in a coma or dead. Have any idea why she might have been unconscious in the middle of the floor?”

Mille bolted up again, not caring about the pain this time. She glanced at the unmoving Iriana, before attempting to slide out of her bed. Sura and Essen gave a small start, but Mille put her hand out to them. “No. I’m going to see. Don’t stop me.” She trudged the short distance to Sura’s bed, and grabbed Iriana’s wrist. The weak pulse whimpered in her grasp, and they were spaced 15 seconds apart. “…What…Why would this happen…now of all-“ Mille stopped, and her eyes widened as she noticed exactly what was wrong. “Damn it, Sura, take her back to the Ilivais. Just…don’t even ask. I’ve got an idea of what’s going on.” Sura gave a small grunt in confusion, but picked up the frail girl and headed to her machine. Mille opened the door ahead of him, and Essen helped Sura set her up in the harnesses. Almost instantly, the gray domes glowed a soft pastel blue, and Iriana snapped back to life.

“…Where are we g-going?” Of course, instead of getting a reply, the other three simply embraced her at the same time, creating an awkward moment of closeness.

Mille wiped her dampened face. “…I’m so grateful…I was right.” She then slapped Iriana upside the head. “Now what the hell happened to you?”

Iriana simply looked contented by Mille’s actions. “Hm? Oh. I r-recall not falling asleep in here. From what I r-remember, I went to your room to check on you. It was early in the morning, so none of you w-were awake, so you didn’t notice me come in.”

The three shuddered, and opened their mouths simultaneously. “YOU MEAN YOU WERE SLEEPING?”

“…In a f-figurative sense. In realistic terms, I cannot eat, d-drink, or sleep. That is X’s job.” Iriana rubbed the two glowing domes. “These are b-basically my life support. X provides me with energy to function, and when it enters a sleep mode after a p-period of inactivity, it cuts off that energy until disturbed. As for nutrients, my body simply r-recycles everything, and if some are lost, I a-absorb it back, or simply intake from plants or the air. …Well…I c-could eat and drink, but I don’t have most internal organs in that area. It would just p-pile up around my chest, and assuming my lung hatches work in time, spill out of me. Which would be g-gross. I’ll absorb it eventually, b-but during that time I cannot breathe, and that poses a risk of bursting or so.” She breathed out sharply, and cringed for a minute, grasping her stomach. “…M-Mille…why are you out of bed? …You need to wait until that’s healed…” She gingerly brushed the top of Mille’s head.

“I’m not a wimp. I’m a soldier, and I’m trained to fight to the death. I believe in our cause, and I’ll-“

Iriana muffled Mille’s face, her eyes flashing a reddish magenta. “No. You’re staying here, and in fact, you’re staying here with s-someone else to attend to you, if we leave. Which considering the r-rest of this week, is highly likely. I won’t p-put both of our lives at stake just so you can go out and fight at a h-handicap.”

Mille pulled herself free from Iriana’s grip. “I was capable of walking here, wasn’t I? I’m only sitting down in the Avespia.”

“…Mille!” Iriana’s voice shifted to a higher and more impassioned tone, alarming everyone. “Shut up and l-listen to me! You plan on fighting in what r-remains of your weapon, and in a state where you c-could fall unconscious given the slightest provocation?” She grabbed her tongue in frustration, and seemed to focus a tiny bit more. “…I’ve…been trying to avoid this. I expected to be used more, how I’m intended to exist. I’ve been attempting to stop attachments from forming, for everyone’s sake.” The harnesses fell slack, and she kneeled on the ground. “But…it’s hard. It’s hard when I don’t have anyone else…and you’re making it even more difficult.”

Sura laid his hand on her shoulder. “You shouldn’t try to resist forming bonds. You’re really just making everything more difficult for yourself that way. So come on. We’re willing to open ourselves up to you, but you’ve gotta do the same. Without that, we can’t really trust you.”

Iriana softly pushed his hand away. “Y-you shouldn’t trust me. Because when I l-let you down, I’ll lose it and never gain it back…”

“How will you let us down? As long as you’re on our side, that’s impossible. And you asked to fight with us. So…will you at least try to let us help you?”

“But…what if I d-die? If I establish anything n-now, then you’ll go to greater l-lengths to save me. You shouldn’t. I asked to f-fight with you. I didn’t ask to be your friends or anything. I…I won’t be able to live with m-myself if anyone dies for me. It’s not worth it…”

Essen pounded the cockpit wall. “…She doesn’t get it. I don’t know why that is. But…these words won’t convince her. It takes a definite action, I think. …We’ve been stuck out in this place for almost a week. So…how about we celebrate surviving so far some time tomorrow? We could use a night out. We’ll head somewhere, maybe get some decorations for the base, and you know, just forget that our daily commute is in a giant war machine. How does it sound?”

Iriana’s harnesses tightened back up. “I can’t b-be outside of the Ilivais for more than a few minutes, as otherwise I’ll go into that s-same state you found me in. As I said, I’m intended to be a p-part of this weapon. I die when it d-dies, I stay where it stays. I am its mind. Neither of us can live alone.”

“…That’s not fair at all!” Mille prepared herself to head back. “I’m not gonna stand by that, Ir. By the end of the day, I’ll find a way to let you live. What you have isn’t living. It literally is being a tool. I thought every time you said that, you were just being all emo, but…that’s exactly how it is for you. But no more! I’m busting you out of there!”

Iriana stared at the floor, not moving and retaining silence, for the longest seconds. Finally, she allowed a weak murmur to escape her lips. “…you…you would d-do that…for me?” She squeezed her eyes, drawing out the blade from her sleeve. The others backed off accordingly, but Iriana only ran it down her chest, watching as the gash sewed itself almost instantly. Her head jerked back up, her eyes glowing and lively. “You really…would do that for me?”

Mille grinned warmly, but grabbed the top of her head in pain at the same time. “Yes. Of course I would. It’s not like you have anyone else that would. We can’t abandon you, when we realize what exactly you need. We’re your friends, as much as you won’t admit it. We’ll do whatever it takes so that you have something resembling happiness.”

Iriana’s eyes watered, turning the space in front of her into a dancing rainbow prism. For an instant, she looked incredibly grateful and joyous, but just as quickly snapped back to her usual expression. She flicked her hand at everybody, shooing them away, and slammed the cockpit shut. “I’m going to go demolish an Aztec b-base. You three stay here. I m-mean it. Repair your Avespias, paint the base, g-go back to sleep, anything as long as you stay around here. And…tomorrow we’ll go s-somewhere.”

Essen called out as loud as he could, while Sura helped to bring Mille back inside. “Wait! What if something happens to you?”

“…Nothing will happen. I…I now have a r-reason to try and ensure that. …I’ll be late, so…just trust m-me, okay?” And Iriana sped off into the sky, with no Avespias around her.

Yet it was now that all of her inner loneliness began to fade away.
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Gyra Solune
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Re: Ilivais X

Day 6: Electric Angel (II)

The island base of Mir Nau transitioned from a speck on the horizon to a looming shadow in the ocean, with a storm brewing in the distance. The Gaia Forces had intended to acquire the Pacific islands to sanction them off, but they considered themselves lucky to have Australia and the northeast corner of Eurasia. And the only reason they were even allowed on the planet was due to empty threats of an extra-planetary alpha strike.
A radio line saturated with static filled Iriana’s ears. “You are entering Aztec airspace. If you continue your approach, we will begin firing in 20 seconds, unless you transmit proper identification.”

“…This is Iriana Estchell. And Ilivais X.” Iriana continued her flight path without heed for warnings.

“Wait, Ilivais X? You’re not surrendering, are you?”

Iriana pointed at the base, and sent a full surge of energy, striking various installations and instilling reactions in unstable materials. “…Is this damage an adequate r-response?”

The anti-air cannons, assault chariots, and gunships let loose all the ammo they had, to no avail. Either the nimble target evaded, or shrugged it off. Iriana came with the sole intent of annihilating the base, and that’s precisely what the soldiers realized was going to happen. They sent out the MP Ilivais units once she got closer to the ground. They were small machines with fixed blade arms and legs, rounded blasters for shoulders and a small detachable drone on the back. They too fell quickly to the opponent, and the destruction escalated just as thunder sounded overhead. Rain poured in sheets upon the crumbling island, and foot soldiers scattered like mice underfoot. Iriana made it a point to only destroy battleships once it was full to the brim with passengers and about to shove off. Every aircraft lifted off and turned tail as soon as possible. The skies were the only chance of survival, and that was only lessened by the darkening storm. The sunset did not even shine through the thick clouds, the island simply descended into an inky night. The only sight came from emergency floodlights and the high-energy bursts that crumpled buildings. Many were confused between the two, and ran desperately towards what only revealed itself as a painful death. Slowly, the panic thinned out, as there became less people to cause the uproar. Iriana paused in the darkness. Only scattered screams and shattering buildings pierced the sky. Silent flames danced across the island.

Then, a heavy crash. A large hatch in the center opened outwards. As did several below it. The systematic clanging came to a close, and a shining electric bolt shot up towards the sky, breaking through the clouds. The pent-up lightning inside was drawn to the storm’s intruder, and a booming voice sounded from every corner of the sky.

“We are GEKICOM! Great Elemental Kings In Command Of Machines! The unstoppable force that roars across the skies…I shall harness that power! For I am Electra Vaiel, Ilivais E!” Electra dashed from within the walls of rain, blasting bolts of lightning upon everything. Iriana unflinchingly stood still in front of the now-closed shutters E ascended from.

“…D-don’t you think you should open an actual communication channel?”

Once again, words came through as though Zeus himself was speaking from the heavens. “Iriana Estchell! I have heard your tales! Are you truly a worthy opponent, to take on the Goddess of Thunder? …I suppose I will honor your request, at the very least.” A window opened itself off to the side of Iriana’s vision. A woman with murky graphite hair sending down bright yellow thunderbolt bangs, donning an ornate yellow robe, scowled at her foe. “I will take no words! They have failed my brethren, but they will not fail me! Now…Fight, child of the Cyclic Engine!”



Ilivais E continued to swim through the turbulent skies, refusing to show itself to the opponent. All that signified its presence was the lightning eternally chasing after it. Hovering above the ruined island would do Iriana no good, and she burst off into the clouds, breaking through into the starless night above. The shining sigil uselessly rained down its judgment on the empty land. Iriana took her chance, and let forth a beacon of destruction from X’s palms. But she underestimated E’s agility, and it only served to alert Electra of her presence. The storm’s light turned upwards on E’s command, shooting fury towards the edge of the planet.

But just as well, Electra underestimated X’s abilities. Iriana felt no need to evade. The lightning wrapped around her, and became its armor instead of executioner. She dipped into Electra’s unmatched territory, and charged forward to the hazed spark, gathering an electric aura along the way. For an instant, Iriana glimpsed the physical identity of her opponent, and believed she could use that chance to strike. But Electra jolted away, recalling X’s intangible shield to its rightful owner. Before Iriana could even think of aligning back into a desirable position, the clouds rejected their trespasser, and gave E the right to enforce that. A blade flicked X to the earth, cutting into the back engines and spitting Iriana away. She crashed into a charred building, and found in this situation, lightning could strike twice if it saw just one bolt unfit. Knife-like heat pierced the cockpit, and sparks crackled across the walls, climbing through the cables and zapping the hung pilot. Iriana squealed in delight of one of the sharpest pains imaginable, and quickly turned around to continue the fight. She forced herself to seal her mouth from asking for more. Her senses may have smiled at the skies’ rage, but it had certainly fried whatever mechanical organs churned in her body. She sniffed the aroma of her singed skin and hair, and drove all of her inverted pain to the enemy.

Electra descended slowly from the sky, like a dragon god delivering its final judgment. E was much bigger than X, with reversed legs that would reach well up X’s torso. Thick bolt-shaped wings pushed upwards with just a fractional amount less than gravity’s pull. The fists were coated with electricity from two pointed conductor stakes on either side, and a large conical horn sat in the center of the face. They flared up, in preparation to decimate the downed fighter. Electra surged forward at unthinkable speeds, and as usual Iriana waited until the last second to phase away. Instantly she observed it was just a feint, as Electra spun around, and the spiked fists rushed towards X’s head. Iriana launched forward fist-first, only to miss and receive another surge of electricity. She could barely resist the temptation to just stay there and let Electra keep going. She retreated backwards, waiting until her nerves weren’t so overjoyed.

“…How surprising. We’ve been exercising so much caution with you, and I went out expecting my odds of victory to be next to nothing. Why won’t you really fight me?” Electra refused to let her foe get away, and sped forward, the knees bending forward and hurtling as though carrying two spears. Iriana worried for a third electrocution that might overload her, but the legs slammed to either side of X, pushing it into a sturdy concrete wall. Before a sigh of relief could be uttered, both legs glowed with power, and sent yet a third shock to Iriana.

“N-no! I’ll…leave! Ooh…oh g-god...p-please don't stop...no, f-focus…” The voltage died down, but this was followed up with a surging horn headbutt. The electricity didn’t need to travel through the rest of the machine. The horn broke through X’s head, poised right in front of Iriana’s chest. She could barely even feel what followed, as it surpassed any and all things she had previously felt, prompting her to squeal embarrassingly high and long. She wanted more, and her mind briefly changed E into a more human figure. A familiar silhouette, one she knew could make her feel that sensation again. And just as quickly, reality flooded back.

“I’m not going to let you leave. I’ll focus on capturing you, or destroying you. It depends on whether or not you surrender.” Electra prepared another horn strike. The sharp cone promised to take her away, from either life or freedom. Before, Iriana would’ve allowed whatever choice. Good fortune was her first granted possession, and if it was seized from her, she would see no reason to refuse giving in.

But now the hope of true liberation filled every cell of her body.

Iriana tilted X’s head to the side, bursting off all energy she could as E’s horn came in. She slashed off the dreaded spike, and rotated around, facing the building wall. She freed the Cyclic Engines’ emergency vents, purging as much energy as she could right at E. All of this within the space of a second. Electra slid backwards, sending out small waves in the deep puddles on the ground from the tips of E’s legs. Iriana phased off to the edge of the island, staring down Electra, who arose for one last shot.

“…End Code…Kohryu…Initiate!” Electra’s eyes went blank, and she focused E’s hands in front of her. Everything that could produce electricity gathered it into a ball between those hands, with the storm circling back around just to pitch in. The wind and rain drove itself into a spiral, and with a loud battle cry, Electra released the ball. The condensed lightning sprung into a roaring dragon, lunging straight towards Iriana, determined to end its existence. The smallest fraction of time before it struck, Iriana dropped an inch, bounded off the ground, and rapidly ascended. The thunder dragon poured into the ground, splattering its energy across the earth. Iriana phased away in short bursts.

“…I shouldn’t h-have fought you. I accomplished my objective w-well before your launch. Let me n-not make that mistake again…”

Electra’s eyes went blank once more. As long as the storm raged overhead, there was no limit to her power. But the night shrouded her target, and Iriana faded away from her sensors. Electra couldn’t leave Mir Nau. If the air became peaceful over the ocean, then she was as good as dead. She could only sigh, floating slowly among the wreckage, hating the distractions that delayed her launch. “…Next time…I’ll get her. But…how many next times will there be?”



Sunset had long passed at the forest base. Sura and Essen had done all three of Iriana’s recommended to-do list. The once-wrecked Avespias sat good as new within the deep teal walls, and Mille was the only one left awake. The lamp shone a thin light as she worked furiously on some kind of cylindrical object. She both worried for Iriana’s safety and hoped for a delayed return, as it still had many sections left to go.

“…I p-promised you I would return.” Mille let out a yelp as she turned towards the door, attempting to hide her device. Iriana stood in the frame, having managed to enter without a sound. But out of all things, Mille could only avert her gaze and stare at the floor.

“…I didn’t manage to finish it. I…I’m so sorry, Ir…” She glanced back up, and Iriana was pulling around a chair that wasn’t even in the room before then. She placed it next to Mille’s, and seated herself delicately.

“…I still want to s-see it. I don’t care if I’m unsure what it is. …And b-before you say anything…I won’t go in the Ilivais until it is done. I want to wake up s-somewhere else. Not in a d-dark prison I deceived myself into b-believing was home. I don’t want to l-live like this for one more instant…”

Mille didn’t need to say any more. Iriana gazed on silently, but her eyes started to shut, and she stopped breathing. It was heartbreaking for Mille to watch. It genuinely felt like someone was dying in the chair next to her. A cold weight fell softly onto her shoulder, not impeding her work but driving herself to finish faster. She worked through the night, and sensed the next day slowly creeping from behind. But she valiantly fought off time and fatigue, and at last, in the last minutes it could still be called night, her work was finished. Or so she hoped. All that remained was for her to carry it off and place it inside the Ilivais. Mille cleaned off the table, set aside the chairs, laid Iriana in her bed as they didn’t have a fourth, and ventured into the earliest hours of the morning, placing the device in X’s cockpit. Before she ambled back to the base, she stared at the edge of the sun barely poking above the treeline. She closed her eyes, and set the ridge of her hand to her face, setting the first two fingers sideways along her nose.

“…Goddess of existence…Let my deed work well…All I want is to give her more than the nothing she has. I can see her hand in our destiny…and I hope her part is a noble one. I can’t let her cleansed yet tortured heart suffer more than my sin-stained soul. I plead I have seen through you the right way, and that my actions well help one who needs my assistance…If my spirit reaches into you, then please…let her arise with broken chains, with the twisted threads severed behind her and new, hopeful ones bound tighter in her path.” Mille pocketed her hands, and shuffled back in the doorway, unfettered by the prospect of needing to share her bed. Unaware of the bright sunrise at her back, spraying lavender and yellow strands across the celestial canvas, promising that a prayer would not be left unanswered.
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Gyra Solune
Posts: 79
Joined: Sun Nov 06, 2011 4:08 pm

Re: Ilivais X

Day 7: Unsafe Haven

“…Mille? Hey, Mille, get up. Weren’t you always a morning person?” Essen shaking Mille only elicited a weak murmur. “And besides, you’ll suffocate Iriana that way.” He tapped his foot impatiently.

“…bleh…but I’m done with school…I can sleep as long as I freaking want…” She didn’t even try waking up, only squeezing the lifeless Iriana closer to her, noting how she felt warm and cuddly when dead but stiff and icy when alive, a strange but sensible inversion.

“Can you at least explain why you think Iriana’s a stuffed animal or something?”

“Mrrrm…Iriana…?” She opened her eyes, to see a pale, lifeless face in front of her. “…Agh. …Why is she here again…oh. Oh…” She turned weakly back to Essen and lazily gestured out the door, her face reddened. “Get the…the…the thing…from the…the big thing…The Ilivais…thing. Gimme it.” Mille shifted back around, hoping he’d take at least five more minutes.

She had no such luck. Essen came out and back in within the span of 30 seconds, lifting the odd device over his head. It was a gray cylinder with two wired pads and two looped straps at one end. “You mean this thing?”

Mille grasped at it without bothering to look, sleepily sitting up. She rubbed her eyes to glance at a few displays, and woke up a notch. Picking Iriana up, Mille turned her around, fidgeting with her limp arms. “Uhm…crap.” She glanced back at Essen. “…Turn away…or something. …Don’t ask.” Essen confusedly obliged, and Mille undid Iriana’s top, fitting the loops over her shoulders. She hurriedly re-buttoned the shirt's single fastening point, and stuck the pads onto the grayed domes on her stomach. “…Let this work…”

Mille laid Iriana back in the bed, and stepped back in anticipation. Slowly, the domes lit up. Iriana opened her eyes as soon as they were fully lit. “…Where are we g-goi-“ The room’s surroundings weren’t part of her usual starting up routine. She sat upright, moving around her arms and legs, squinting in the light. “…Did…d-did I get captured...No…” She observed her surroundings, noticing Mille and Essen. “…Wait…You…” Iriana tapped the glowing instruments on her midriff, running her finger along the wires, realizing the weight of the device stuck to her back. “…I’m…M-Mille…what is this?”

Essen and Mille smiled, relieved at this development. “It’s a battery, basically. Fully charged, it diverts a passive energy localized to those receptors for about 68 hours. It’s a weaker form of what resonates in your Ilivais, and it has a two hour charging time. You’re not gonna run a marathon or anything this way, but I didn’t think you were the type to-Mmph!” Mille bolted awake in surprise from Iriana leaping up to kiss both her and Essen.

“I n-never expected…I…I don’t know what to say…” Iriana’s eyes flashed between a plethora of colors, indecisive on what to settle on. “…Where’s S-Sura?”

Essen blushed, rubbing his head modestly. “Eheheh…He’s out making sure our repairs went well. We were just lazy asses, buffing out the Avespias and touching up the place a little. And we went to bed at like…17 or 18. The battery thing was all Mille.”

“…Oh. Well…Sura is q-quite tall, so I worried how to get up to him…No use w-wasting the last shot I built up.” She reached back up to Mille once more, more forcefully this time.

Mille, already flustered, was reduced to a crimson staggering wreck from Iriana’s icy lips meeting hers again. “…Oh wow…that was…strangely nice…but don’t just DO that! I’m…not good with that kind of stuff…agh…”

Iriana lifted an eyebrow. “…But you went out of y-your way to give such a wonderful gift to someone you’ve only known for a few days. And you’ve b-been willing to put yourself on the line for me multiple times. And you elected to stay close to m-me instead of simply sleeping on the floor or so twice. And in general you p-prioritize me over others. …I’m c-capable of seeing signs like that. Or is there s-some other reason?”

“What? Oh…Oh no! I’m just showing common courtesy. …Okay, MAYBE I’m being a little affectionate. That’s just…how I do things, I guess. …The subtext has been a little heavy, recently, and I get if that bothers you. I mean, the guys never mind. So yeah…” Mille stepped back, staring at the bare floor.

“…No...that is an unsuitable r-reason for altering your ways.” Iriana strode to the door, rubbing Mille’s head along the way. “I implore, c-continue as you please. ...I s-suppose I shall enjoy my m-mobility now...” She gave a low, yet pleasant hum, and turned the doorknob, only to be nearly tackled by Sura charging towards the barracks.

“Woah! Uh…Good to see Mille’s thing works. Great for you to be out of there. Now…both Aztec and Iberian forces are on the way to Morask. It’s not a joint operation at all. Both simultaneously-“

“Sura. What is M-Morask?” Iriana’s interruption requited a moment of silence.

“It’s the capital of the Gaia Forces! Anyway, the point is we’ve gotta drive them off because they’re both intent on raiding the place, they’ll both fight each other, and then we certainly won’t have a place to resupply. Which we needed to do anyway.”

Iriana gave a small sigh. “…Barely five minutes…and I m-must go back again…” Her resolve swiftly hardened, and she adjusted her mind for battle. “But I MUST g-go back again. And after this…We’ll have our night off.” She stood before her three comrades. Well, two and a half. Mille was still out of it. “Cycle Squad! Let us strike.”



The battle already raged at the snow-struck city. Dozens of MP Ilivais units, hundreds of Espadas. Several of the taller buildings were knocked over, but those were few and far between. The more intelligent architects opted to build down instead of up. The Cycle Squad intended to preserve as much of the city as they could.

“…Strange. I can’t see any command units.” Sura went off ahead, examining the battlefield. “Unless the commanders are in standard machines. Which I highly doubt.”

“They’re l-likely using satellite tracking of some kind. …But why send a mass p-produced squadron? The Aztecs have always f-favored and succeeded with specialized and p-powerful units.”

“Doesn’t change anything. The place is being wrecked.” Essen prepared his rifles. “Now unfortunately, that means Iriana can’t do much here. We’ve gotta keep the infantry away from X. Any special units show up, that’s her thing.” The Avespia pilots snickered.

“H-hey…what’s that supposed to mean? I c-can take care of them…”

“So our suspicions are confirmed.” A familiar voice rang in the ears of all on the battlefield. “The Cycle Squad condones destruction, yet swoops in to save Morask.” A video link came up onto everyone’s screens.

“…We d-don’t condone wanton destruction, unlike you deviants. We strike tactically, even if we’ve only d-decided on that recently. But how would y-you know that, Seyne?”

Indeed, Seyne’s steely gaze cut through the cockpits once more. “Iriana Estchell! Our first battle was a mere sparring match. We were incapable of proving each other’s worth. Have you answered your own query?”

Sura signaled to Mille and Essen. “Well, Iriana, we’ve got the mooks covered. You take care of that business.” And they went off to hack apart enemies.

Ilivais A sprung off from a rooftop, sparks spraying from its legs as Seyne slid out from the streets. “Let me witness what you have learned! Our dueling field is the same as before. Now come!”

Iriana refused to move. “…Seyne…what do y-you think of me as? I still r-remembered you…I hung on to the one memory that could tell me the truth…But…”

“Silence! You have no right to ask me such things! I saved you. I gave you a life, what you may never have had otherwise, and you repay me with such goals? You should be ashamed of your dishonorable actions.”

Iriana drifted on a breeze, descending like a leaf towards a street below. “…You…you h-hate me…You t-talk as though you are in the right…But…I want to see you once m-more. Why stay with an endless w-war…when it’s so blatantly wrong?”

“And what? Join you? You know nothing! You’re instated as leader of what aims to be the bringer of a new order, and you have no means to enforce it. You’re weak, and you always have been. You might as well surrender now, and deliver X to me. You are not fit to be its mind. …You truly are not fit for your purpose.”

No energy flared up. No valorous moves were made. The stagnant mood remained, freezing the air between Seyne and Iriana. “You s-say that as though I am bound to the Ilivais. But…I am free. …I can do whatever I want! …Today I w-will realize that dream.”

Seyne nodded in approval, clapping his hands softly. “I admire your resolve, with knowledge of your constant fight. You refuse to break from my intrusions. But no more talk. People are not simply words. People are not simply actions. You must prove yourself with both!”

The wings on Ilivais X clicked off like a light, and Iriana fell through the sky, straight into the heart of Morask, where the light shone down a street just as before. The battleground sent her to their first encounter. Luck for learning had departed. It was up to her skill alone to succeed.

“I h-hoped you would say that. Dialogue is t-tiring.”

And as these words spilled out, a great light in the form of the Iberian Flag blanketed the city. A massive shadow floated above, intent on a destination. The battle ambience in the background faded, as all looked towards the sky. A voice sounded from the dark shape, booming through the air.

“Im Namen der Iberer! Die Feinde sollen meine fallen könnte! Alles ist nichts! Alles ist in meinem zerstört, nein, unser Weg, den Gerechten Land des neuen Reiches zu bestellen!”
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Gyra Solune
Posts: 79
Joined: Sun Nov 06, 2011 4:08 pm

Re: Ilivais X

Day 7: Unsafe Haven (II)

Time seemed to stop as the massive airship hovered menacingly over the city. The booming voice continued ranting in the Old Language of the Germanic lands, until sounding a throat clearing.

“I apologize for my speech. I do realize none of you understand me. But I among many others refuse the International Diction Treaty. I shall NOT let the world’s spoken culture die for the sake of an ancient peace prospect that failed anyway!” A video link popped up as usual, revealing a handsome blonde man with icy eyes, a reserved but easily shattered air cemented around him. “I, Commander Gegner Einen of the mighty Iberian Empire, order all our troops to abandon strategy and flatten this useless village. We are showing weakness to the opponents, and we must demonstrate to the world that we shall grasp everything in our name. These are the words of the Holy Empress, and frankly I couldn’t agree more. Soldiers of the motherland, attack!” At this command, thousands of Espadas swarmed from the airship, spreading wanton destruction where they flew. The MP Ilivais squadrons were overwhelmed quickly, and every instant it seemed the clouds of machinery thinned, more spilled from the airship.

“…S-Seyne…this is not the time or the place…is it?” Iriana kept the Iberians at bay by firing off in every direction from everywhere she could.

“I agree. Our battle must wait. I shall see you another day, and then will I be able to judge you properly.” Seyne took a step back, preparing to retreat, but Iriana thrust a hand out to him.

“Please…f-fight with us. Fight with m-me. You are proficient in your ways. Leaving now…would be c-cowardice.”

Seyne stared towards the massive flying fortress, spewing Espadas as though it contained a dimension consisting only of mechanical infantry. “…You…are right. I aim to examine your ways, but in doing so, have nearly forgotten my true allegiance. That to the mighty Emperor of the Aztecs, to destroy the Iberians at all cost. …Let us ally today, so we can live to fight tomorrow.” He grasped the hand, and Iriana blasted off towards the sky, dragging the wingless A behind her. They came up in full view of the airship, which looked similar to older metal battleships, but much larger. It hovered on four diamond-shaped flight drives, bristling with artillery cannons and all sorts of missile ports. What appeared to be the bridge was heavily armored and well defended. It appeared they learned the mistakes from the easily-targeted command centers of old.

“…I h-have no data on this. Since all information I have is contained within myself, basically I have never heard of this b-before. Do you know anything, Seyne?” Iriana attempted to avoid sight, to no avail. The lower cannons opened fire on her, aiming worryingly well.

“It’s an Iberian Mobile Empirical Ship, or an MES for short. This is actually the very first test type, and as such is the smallest. …I’m not very comfortable like this.” Seyne dangled helplessly in Iriana’s grip, and it was sheer chance that anything that hit struck Iriana instead of him. “Bring me onto the MES. The closer we are, the fewer guns we have to deal with.”

“…That sounds p-preposterous. But since I h-hardly know what I’m doing, I’ll take your w-word for it.” Iriana feinted a dive, then abruptly burst towards the looming dreadnought. She kept believing she was almost there, but the MES was larger than she had anticipated. She was convinced her Ilivais, wings and all, could slide easily into the barrels of some of the larger cannons. Seyne’s observation proved to be correct, however. The guns had a short range of movement, presumably to avoid backfiring upon the MES. Seyne leapt off onto a damaged launch platform, and was promptly shot by a high-power rifle.

“Iriana! Don’t let him ambush you! He’s right on the enemy battleship!” Essen floated into view, guns smoking. In all her operations, she had neglected to inform the others about the situation.

“…Cycle S, R, M. Ilivais A, and h-hopefully any MPs remaining, are assisting us against the Iberians for the t-time being. Hold fire against any and all Aztec u-units. …Status r-report, please.”

“…S, R, M?” Sura valiantly fended off a group of about 10 Espadas from an entirely above-ground restaurant, where a few dozen people were trapped.

“Your designations. Mille’s unit is the Avespia Support Variant, or Avespia S. Essen’s is the Ranged Variant, or R. And yours is the Melee Variant, M. Simple enough.”

“…Right. Well…Espadas keep coming. And I-Oh DAMN it!” At the instant Sura had bisected the last attacker, a volley of cannonballs from the MES flattened the restaurant, reducing it to a sparse pile of rubble. “…I’m gonna close the link. Don’t contact me unless something is desperately needed. I’ll be fine.” With a low groan, Sura did exactly what he said he would do.

“…Same here. Avespia R, out.” Essen went off to blast more Espadas.

“Uhm…It would be best if I kept it sound-only…Or just…I’m fine. I’m taking cover and firing off what I see.” For a brief instant, a video window popped up, and Mille gave a small yelp, but it just as quickly disappeared.

“…Whatever’s going on, s-save it. …Seyne, I’m going to head inside this.” Iriana phased a short distance away, in the face of another launch platform. “…Any r-recommendations for you?”

Seyne was busy assaulting the broken hatch door. “Go ahead. I shall attempt to gain access from here. Do not worry about me.” Before he could even start the second sentence, a new wave of Espadas launched, and Iriana caught sight of the MES’s interior. At that point, from the outside world, she had simply disappeared.



Quite clearly, the inside of the Iberian airship was not meant to accommodate a building-sized Aztec weapon. Iriana could barely navigate the hangars. Mechanics and pilots scattered in her wake, and Espadas tumbled like dominoes. She hoped to arrive upon some weak point without much brute force, but that soon wasn’t an option. Charging up the Cyclic Engines to full, Iriana let off a relentless burst in an expanding radius encircling her. The hangar was decimated, and rooms below were converted into slag. All for the better. If she couldn’t find something reactive, at the very least the MES would have the consistency of swiss cheese. Despite her continuing to decimate the airship, however, it didn’t quite seem to descend.

“Warrior of the unconquered lands! I, Gegner Einen of the mighty Iberian Empire, shall force your presence from my glorious ship! …How you got in is a mystery, but I care not! Begone!” As he said this, a black and red machine rose from an intact compartment. Golden spines unfurled from all over the headless body, hooking in the black sphere in the chest. Long, slender claws came forth from the elliptical hands and the backs of the footless legs. It was slightly larger than an Espada, but based on the frame. “Tremble in fear of the Bose Klaue, my machine of destruction…and…Uh…” Gegner eyed the Ilivais up and down, and glanced around at the decimated interior of his battleship. “…What have I gotten myself into?” He barely managed to dodge the beam cannon Iriana fired off at him.

“…I m-mustn’t…believe myself invincible…” Iriana scanned the area, and located an access to a central chamber of the battleship, sending the location to Seyne. “If y-you’ve gotten in, set something off there. I’ll fend off any opposing forces.”

“…I assume this is the central engine? Fair enough, though A isn’t exactly the best for the task.” Seyne cleared the door, clambering throughout the ruined insides of the MES.

“What? I can’t let you blow it all up! Damn Aztecs…you stop at nothing to destroy all you can. Barbarians!” Gegner rushed towards the central engine, promptly halted by a wall of energy scything through the air from the imposing Ilivais.

Iriana hovered into his path, forming a narrow cone wall of energy around the Klaue. “No…you c-can wait here. Regretfully, your battleship will be no longer. You h-have two options. Stay and die…or f-flee on your own. Choose wisely.” The deathly barrier closed in on Gegner, soon forcing him back to the edge of the wrecked area. Behind him was an escape hatch, too small for the Klaue to break through.

“…You…Damn it. …Men who are dead have no value. …I can say nothing more…” The black sphere of the Klaue was released, and it slammed into the escape hatch, piercing through the thin door and bouncing along the snow below. Just after, Iriana focused the energy, flattening the customized Espada into a molten slab.

Seyne returned from the central engine, his Ilivais struggling to find purchase on the uneven ground. “There were no explosives of any kind so that I could destroy this thing. I believe you should-“ A high-powered cannon of light shot forth from X at the central engine, and thunderous explosions sounded from within.

“You have t-twenty five seconds. You’re not the k-kind to die so easily from something like this, Seyne. Goodbye, for now.” Iriana phased through a jagged hole in the ceiling, illuminated by a ray of sunlight. All she heard from Seyne was short, appalled laughter, as though congratulating her. Then static, as the flying fortress burst into flames, slowly crashing towards the icy earth below. The remaining soldiers either retreated or were shot down, and the sounds of war permeating the city gradually eased away.



“No, no, we didn’t do anything! It was all this pretty little thing here!” Mille hoisted Iriana from the corner of the booth, standing her up on the chair. “Give a cheer for our leader, Iriana Estchell!” Surprised gasps and applause rang through the bar, everyone in a decently good mood from their city not being entirely destroyed. “Come on, Ir, give them a speech or something! We’re supporting characters anyway, you’re the one who’s gotta announce our victory and all that jazz!” Mille brought over a karaoke microphone, stuffing it into Iriana’s weakened grip. She stood there awkwardly for a minute or two, with everyone in the building awaiting her in silence.

“…Uhm…h-hello. I d-don’t…know any of you…” Iriana brought the microphone away from herself. “Mille…I don’t w-want to do this…p-please don’t f-force me…” She fell down, landing neatly in the seat and huddling herself in the corner again. Murmurs sounded out from everyone in the bar, slowly pushing Iriana to hide her face in her sleeves. Mille grabbed the instrument from her hands, giving a small sigh of disappointment.

“It’s alright, people. She’s just…shy, I guess. But that shouldn’t get in the way of how she’s a badass on the battlefield, and if she doesn't mind me saying, she's probably got the best butt out of everyone here!”

Sura tugged the microphone in his direction. “You’ll have to take her word for it, she’s the one who should know!” Mille brought it back embarrassedly, but she felt better about lightening the mood away from Iriana, who could barely walk the instant they brought her into the bar. She sat back down, tossing the microphone off to the side, and holding Iriana’s shoulder warmly.

“Hey. You alright? You’ve been kinda…mopey. You refused for us to buy nicer clothes for you to go out in, and mostly you’ve just been following us around, like you’re not interested in anything. Granted, the aboveground stuff is pretty wrecked, but it’s not as bad as it could’ve been considering a dual-empire attack. Anything we can do for you? Us three could’ve gone months stationed out there, but we did this to cheer you up a little.”

Iriana shoved her head further into her sleeves, but slowly reached for the side of Mille’s dress. She brought her face out, pale even in the warm light, and eyed Essen’s dress shirt. She searched for Sura, who was busy at the bar counter, recounting the story to the ladies. “…Stop…w-worrying about me. I’m…fine. …You three look nice, though. I don’t n-need anything else. I have three possessions that m-mean everything to me. My outfit, my machine, and this…” Iriana reached around to the battery on her back. “Each of them is a g-gift. Seyne gave me these c-clothes, though they used to cover everything. You gave me this device, which brings m-me here today. And the Ilivais…I’ll s-say it’s a gift from fate. It gave me the power to craft my own d-destiny. And not the one of misery p-promised by its creators.”

Essen nodded, sipping on a mug of ale in silence. Mille gestured to him to say something, but he refused to acknowledge it. She rolled her eyes, and pulled Iriana away from the corner an inch. “So what do we mean to you? …What…what do I mean to you?”

Iriana apparently couldn’t support her weight enough to sit upright, and slid heavily onto Mille’s shoulder. “…Why d-do you ask these things? And why are our interactions m-more frequent than anybody else’s? …It’s n-not a good balance. …Essen, I should t-try being with you more.”

Essen slid his mug around a little. “…I’m fine. …We should just keep our distance, okay? It’s just…I’m still uncomfortable near you. No offense, but that…thing…you had me do…It still disturbs me.”

Mille took this as an invitation to bring Iriana even closer. “…I still haven’t repaid you. I can’t ever. …I’ll do everything I can for you. It’s just…I don’t want it to feel like a debt. …I don’t know how to explain it, but…I like it this way…Don’t think any less of me, please…”

A soft light started to pulse, deep within a more tangible space in Iriana’s heart, obscured by her coat.

An appeal, is it? …I hope I am not giving in. But I can use what I thought to be my disadvantage. I find it hard to see within my true soul…but no matter. The Drive Core will work…for me, and not itself…

“You n-needn’t worry, Mille. I have no r-reason to think less of you. …Maybe I l-like it too…”
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