Fantasy Stellar ARMOR Satellizer (Ranix Aurus & Admiral19)

[Ranix Aurus]

"From OLYMPUS..."

Shouji gritted his teeth. Should he tattle or not? Either way, his life was over. It didn't matter whether it was the police or Aesir, both were bad end. The latter would be worse. The police at least still had some humanity left. He remembered the nauseating feeling that he got whenever he caught a rare glimpse of the Kaiserin, or Alfred's cold, unfeeling glance that looked at him like he was a bug...

"Aesir. That's the name of our group..." His mouth betrayed him long before his heart could. Once water started trickling in, the dam quickly broke into pieces. With nothing left to lose, he began telling Aisuke everything that he knew about his former "employer."

About the elusive Kaiserin, about her right-hand man, Alfred, about the three other medallion holders aside from him-- Aoi, Rui, and Aina, although whether those were real names or not were up to debate-- and most importantly: their secret underground base, hidden in plain sight under the guise of a public warehouse.

 

[Admiral19]

Shouji's information was all over the place; there were things he knew all about, things he didn't know enough about, things he had heard second-hand, things that were complete speculation. It was...ah, it was a lot.

"Shouji..." Aisuke chuckled. "This is all huge. I don't know how much of this is true, but it's huge regardless. If you're afraid of getting turned in, don't be; we don't know what that's gonna mean for us, given that we'll have to explain everything we're doing. And"—he raised his voice, almost daring Seiichiro to hear—"knowing Senior Seiichiro, not all of it was likely legal!"

 

[Ranix Aurus]

"... It's up to you whether you want to believe it or not..." Shouji pouted. He had always been on the expressive side, and letting of everything bottled up inside seemed to break some walls within him.

"That bitch Kaiserin is crazy. She wants to conquer the world or something, I don't know. And Alfred... I'll kick his butt even if that's the last thing that I' do-!"

---

At the lab, unbeknowst to Shouji, their conversations were being recorded through the security camera, although perhaps the young man already knew, but didn't care either way.

"...Do I look like such a shady guy??" Seiichiro turned to Shiori with tears on his eyes.

"No, Senior! You're... you're... misunderstood..." Shiori, not a good liar, avoided eye contact in order not to hurt his feelings.

"They have an underground base..." Akira murmured. This sounds more and more like an evil organization from those shows. It didn't feel real at all.

 

[Admiral19]

"I know, right?" Just like her father, she didn't want to take everything Shouji said at face value right away. But the vehemence that he talked about this Alfred person...hm. "Holy shit, imagine the stuff they could be doing under our noses..."

Aesir seemed to be something entirely separate from OLYMPUS too...them going this long without being found out was outrageous, if in fact that's what was happening...

Wait—!

Kanae suddenly stood and slammed her hands on the table. "The conference! The guy that disappeared! Was that Aesir's fault?!"

 

[Ranix Aurus]

"What guy?" Seiichiro and Shiori looked blankly at Kanae.

"The... important person, I forgot who, was making a speech downtown. He got... kidnapped," Mikawa weighed in.

"I mean, the possibility is always there, but are we going to think every incidents are Aesir's fault now? They're not Illuminati," Shiori retorted.

"...That guy is from OLYMPUS. The newscaster said so," Akira looked at Kanae. "Do you think Aesir is harming their own people?"

 

[Admiral19]

"Well," she said, calming down a little, "maybe not. Because if they're using OLYMPUS as their piggybank, then why would they snatch someone from OLYMPUS away? Mmmm..." Lines just seemed to get more and more blurred the more Kanae thought about it. And yeah, it was a bit of a reach to just start pinning Aesir on everything...

That being said, if this was Aesir's fault, then some considerable ground was probably just lost.

---

"Things are going smoothly. He should be arriving in a couple hours time."

Aina waited under the awning of a cafe a good ways away from the hotel Aesir's agents raided. She spoke carefully, choosing words that weren't too conspicuous, stringing them in a way that would throw others off. To any other attendee there, she was simply talking over an earpiece, probably something about some other thing related to a business. But Aina was speaking to someone that was probably far more important than the CEO of some old business.

"There's been very little interference, as well; seems everything got put through correctly."

 

[Ranix Aurus]

"Splendid. I knew that I can count on you, Holder of Scorpio. You have brought great contribution to the advancement of our project."

Alfred was in his private office, leaving the testing of the Overdrive System-- and in turns, poor Rui-- to his subordinates. They had attained the winning formula after Rui's sacrifice last time, so now they only needed to tweak the best possible configurations for their particular use case. Soon the other ARMOR users would have access to this new power as well.

"you may do as you please. Now that the test subjects are en route to our base, there should be little chance that anything could go wrong."

His round glasses was reflecting the harsh light of his computer display. On it were profiles of their new test subjects; people with best prospect to be compatible with their latest iteration of the serums.

One of them was Fujita Hiroshi, Vice-President of Research of OLYMPUS. While his abduction was merely by chance due to his medical records alone, his high-profile kidnapping was a blessing in disguise, as the police was now focusing their case on him, leaving the other, arguably less valuable, subjects ripe for the taking by their agents.

--Ichijou Gen, 47, a fisherman.

--Hosokawa Kaoru, 28, an environmental activist.

--Finally, Nakamichi Haru, 20, a college student, the only female among the group.

Her photo was showing at the corner of the display, and it was none other than... Kanae's schoolmate, the part-timer who had warned her about Mochizuki before.

---

"That's all I know. Is that enough, old man?" Shouji finally stopped his ramblings. While the viability of the content might need further scrutiny, he did had told Aisuke everything that he knew. Not his fault that he wasn't privy to the inner workings of the organisation, unlike Aina or Rui.

"...I have nothing on me. What do you want me to do?" He murmured weakly. "...I don't care whatever you guys do to me. Throw me to the cops or something. I... this is enough for me..."

Just being able to unleash everything that had been festering inside him... was incredible. Somehow, amidst all of it, drowsiness began to slip in as he felt heavy weights being lifted off his shoulders.

 

[Admiral19]

"Shouji, didn't I make a promise to you just earlier?" There was a smile on Aisuke's face. "I said that I wanted to help you. And what kind of help would it be if I turned you into the cops right after you said all of that? That's a direct violation of our agreement!"

He stood up, preparing to open the door. "We don't need you to do anything right now. But that's not to say that you'll be worthless. If you need some more rest, get some. You've helped us a lot, and now, if you and everyone else is willing, we would like to help you."

---

The door opened. Aisuke walked out with a proud smile on his face, nodding at his wife and daughter as if to say "I told you so."

"So, Senior," he said, addressing Seiichiro, "we have ourselves a plethora of leads. Where do you suppose we should start chasing?"

 

[Ranix Aurus]

"Saitou, you..." Seiichiro was flabbergasted. "Did you go to America to work as a CIA interrogator or something- ACK!"

His words were cut short by Shiori delivering a chop right on his head.

"That's just something a normal person can do! Unlike you, Senior!"

"...Uncle, if we're going by your usual modus operandi... we'll go storm their underground base, defeat this Kaiserin person, and take back all the medallions in their possession, correct?" Akira said, ignoring Seiichiro and Shiori's bickering.

"Correct!"

Seiichiro's response made Akira heave a long sigh. He glanced at Aisuke, pleading for help to explain to this worldly-inept researcher of theirs.

 

[Admiral19]

"Hey, can't get too mad at him." Aisuke smiled. "I wouldn't say I interrogated him...more like I helped him come around."

Fortunately, he was also willing to be the voice of reason. "Rushing into their base is asking to get shot. No, the first thing we need to do is find a way to handle the monsters. If we can do that, we can take care the bigger of two problems between them and the Holders. Now, you've gotten a good start already with that Mochizuki fellow...we'll need to start working on that a lot more."

"And what do you suggest we do until then?" Kanae leaned back in her chair. There was no way Aesir was gonna stay idle while they worked at the recovery serum...what were they gonna do to keep them off their asses?

 

[Ranix Aurus]

"Maybe we can disturb their activities in the meantime?" Akira suggested. "We've always been in the defensive. How about we actively find out what they're trying to do, keep annoying them, draw their attention to us, away from Uncle."

"That's too dangerous," Shiori interjected.

"Saitou, I'm happy that you have that much confidence in me, but I can't guarantee that I would be able to find the cure. Not that quickly, anyway," Seiichiro added. Perhaps because he already tried it out before, he knew the difficulty of creating a working serum. The last one was a huge failure, after all. Thankfully Mochizuki was able to revert back to normal somehow.

 

[Admiral19]

"Well, we can't just leave them alone, can we?" Kanae's voice was gradually getting more frustrated. "They're gonna keep doing whatever the hell they're trying to do, more people are gonna get hurt, and we're gonna have to handle it anyway! There's nothing we can do!"

Aisuke placed a hand on Kanae's shoulder. "You're right. But...that is not a reason for us to get discouraged. Maybe we can't hold off Aesir, but while we have medallions in our possession, we might as well figure out how we're gonna make the best use of them."

Ah, that was a good point! Not to mention Akira got Gemini essentially by accident...Was it any stronger now that it had a new owner, or...

 

[Ranix Aurus]

"...What, why are you looking at me like that?" Akira frowned. He hesitated for a while before finally letting out a deep sigh. "Suit, up."

"ARMOR ON. BLACK TWIN STAR."

The Gemini ARMOR took shape around Akira, the smooth black plates shining with luster under the fluorescent light. Its form was practically identical to Shouji's. He moved his arms around for a bit to get a feel for it. The armor didn't impede his mobility in the slightest, as if it was a part of his own body. It was quite interesting.

"I don't feel anything different, to be honest," Akira said. "What should I do to test it?"

 

[Admiral19]

Almost immediately after he asked that question, Kanae smiled. "Suit, up!"

Seemingly knowing what his daughter was about to do, Aisuke got between Akira and the now-suited-up Kanae. "Alright, if that's what you're gonna try to do, fine, but you can't spar him inside."

"Why not?" Kanae asked, too excited to realize the ramifications of two ARMOR holders fighting in such a small room of a building. "And furthermore, where am I supposed to fight, huh? It's not like we can just go outside!"

 

[Ranix Aurus]

"Uh, we do have a blast room in the event of testing volatile substances, but... how strong of an impact are we talking about here? "Shiori rapidly moved her gaze from Kanae, to Akira, then to Seiichiro, the one responsible for designing these weapons of mass destructions.

"Not much, at most to the scale of a small hydrogen bomb," Seiichiro said in a very light tone.

"...Keep it in moderation, and don't aim at the walls," Shiori mumbled in resignation before leading them to the blast room.

Rather than an actual room, it was just a sealed metal enclosure occupying half of a large hall. The material was rather sturdy, but like Shiori said, a hit from the ARMOR's finishers would have punched a hole immediately. They would have to be careful about it.

---

Never in Fujita Hiroshi's wildest dreams would he imagine ending up in such an absurd place.

He was pinned down by two men in white lab coats, stripped down into a hospital gown, in a huge white room that resembled a madman's laboratory in books and movies. There were so many people around, yet none of them bothered to give him as much as a side glance. As if they weren't seeing him as a fellow human.

"Who are you guys? Let me go!" Fujita tried to struggle one more time, but he knew it was futile. The two men were too strong. All he could do was to wait until they finally revealed what they really wanted.

A task easily said than done as the screams coming from somewhere close by caused him to shiver.

"Chief," the two men, who had been quiet this entire time, suddenly called out to someone. Fujita looked up. There was a westerner in lab coat approaching them, someone apparently important enough in this godforsaken place for the men to pause their busywork and pay respect to. As he finally stopped in front of Fujita, the latter couldn't help but tremble upon seeing the cold, unfeeling eyes that gazed down at him.

"It's his turn," the westerner said. "What's the parameter?"

"He's type-B, Chief. The success rate..."

"...It'll be up to his luck."

What? What were they talking about? Type-B?

"W-Wait! I'm Fujita Hiroshi, from OLYMPUS! Whatever that you guys wanted, I can give it to you! M-Money! You want money, right? I have a lot of money! I'll give them to you! Just- just stop it! No! Stop it-!"

"I don't need your money," Alfred whispered as he injected the serum into his neck.

 

[Admiral19]

The serum was injected into the poor man without even the faintest hint of consent. For a few stomach-churning seconds, nothing happened...

Then feather shafts began to sprout from his neck, at a rate far too rapid for him to react to properly. In the end, he could only scream as feathers and chitinous material jutted out of his body at unnatural, uncomfortable angles. Hiroshi's body started growing rapidly, clicking mandibles burst forth from his jaw, wings tore out of his back. Within seconds, he was big enough that he had to crouch to fit comfortably in the room, a terrible mix of a vulture and a stag beetle that hissed and screeched and screamed.

The researchers had to move back a bit in order to stay out of the beast's way, but they eagerly took notes all the same.

 

[Ranix Aurus]

"Alright, so... what should I do next?" Akira stood facing Kanae in the middle of the "room", with the others watching from the distance. Just in case. "Do I punch her or...?"

"Maybe just test out the Finisher?" Seiichiro chimed in.

"What's that? Sounds cool."

"It's the pre-installed weapon system. I think the activation command is 'Satellizer set up'."

"Satellizer set... up? Whoa!"

Satellizer ready.

Energy burst out from the core of the ARMOR, rapidly coursing into his right arm, causing it to slowly glow red from his fist to his elbow.

"Ah, damn it! I'll just try it out! Oraaa!"

He threw a simple, straight punch at Kanae. The energy was stronger that he had thought, catapulting him forward like a cannon. He closed the gap between them in an instant as he landed a strike on Kanae's armor.

...To a seemingly insignificant effect. The energy clashed with a loud clang, but quickly got dispersed after the impact.

"...Err, how is it?" Akira asked.

---

"This is... this is great, Chief! The growth rate is many times stronger than before! As expected of a well-curated test subject!" A scientist standing beside Alfred gushed as he stared at his tablet that showed recorded parameters from the creature. The screams were getting louder, so much that some people were starting to get dizzy just from hearing it.

"...Yet another failure," Alfred murmured.

"What did you say, Chief-? AAARGH!!"

The scientist was suddenly flung at the wall by a huge feathery mess that resembled a mutilated wing. Fujita Hiroshi-- no, the mutated creature, had grown uncontrollable. It lashed out its wings all over the laboratory, throwing tables and people alike as if they weighed nothing. The scientists, who had been so eager to note down the transformation earlier, were scrambling to run to the exit.

Alfred stood his ground without even a tinge of fear. In his eyes were only sorrow, and perhaps... fatigue.

"Get me a Holder," he muttered into his microphone.

 

[Admiral19]

Kanae braced herself as the energy engulfed Akira's arm...only to be...fairly disappointed.

"Uh..." It had barely felt like anything. "I mean, A+ for effort?"

---

The moment Aoi got the alert from a scientist, she was rushing down to the laboratory where the abnormality was. She was armored up by the time she reached the door.

"ARMOR ON. LONG LIVE THE QUEEN."

"Ah, that looks dangerous...!" She flung her spear at the monster's face, causing it to tumble backwards in an unprofessional heap. "Satellizer, set up."

Satellizer ready.

The spear returned to Aoi, flashing with deep blue energy. She charged towards the beast, spearhead leveled towards its chest. "Doryaaaah!"

 

[Ranix Aurus]

Akira stepped back, feeling a bit dizzy after using the Finisher. It was the usual fatigue that came with ARMOR usage. At least he wasn't forced out of the transformation with just one Finisher though, perhaps because Gemini's power was negligible compared to Leo?

"Great, now I'm feeling a bit sad for Shouji boy," Seiichiro huffed.

"It's not all bad. It doesn't have much power behind it, but it's still a good protective suit," Akira noted.

---

The Finisher hit straight on, causing a huge gaping hole in the monster's chest. It let out a heart-rending screech as it fell to its side, drenching the lab with a deluge of blood. The team waiting on the side immediately went forward with medical kits on hand, trying their best to patch up the wound.

"Thank you for your help, Holder of Taurus."

Alfred pushed his glasses up. His voice was a tad more melancholic than usual.

"It's yet another failure. Three out of four. What a shame..."

 

[Admiral19]

"Here's what I'm wondering, though." Kanae kept an eye on Akira, just in case he collapsed or something. "Dad said that all the medallions put together was wicked strong. And if Aoi used her Satellizer when I fought her, I would be fucked. If all the medallions have that sort of power, then what's the deal with Gemini? Surely the person isn't the problem, 'cause you and Shouji used it, and the Satellizer felt the exact same..."

---

"I know, right? Armor off." Aoi returned to normal and looked around the room in disdain. "Look at all the cleanup that's gotta be done! This room is gonna reek!"

Aoi didn't think too much of Alfred's concerns. Sure, she answered to the Kaiserin, but Alfred...he genuinely freaked her out. Aoi didn't know why, but part of it had to have something to do with the experiments.

She wouldn't dare talk shit around him, though. Ears like a fox, she swore he had.

That being said..."You think there's something we've got wrong? I mean, the third attempt is when most people might start giving up, or at least rethink something..."

 

[Ranix Aurus]

"Maybe it's the runt of the litter? There's twelve of them. I'm sure that not everyone can be as powerful as the others," Akira said. He then turned to Seiichiro. "Uncle, you're the one who designed this thing. What's your idea?"

"I just made the base ARMOR design. The power of the medallions are the ones that changed the system. I don't have any input in this," Seiichiro pouted. "Maybe Gemini is supposed to be a support system. Or maybe there's hidden functions that we just haven't unearthed yet. It's hard to tell without further testing."

---

"You guys got nothing wrong. It's me," Alfred duly said. The scientists merely carried upon their experiments based on his theories. If any of it went wrong, it was all on him. Alas, even after all these years, he still couldn't create a stable specimen. Such was the difficulty of his vision.

"There's still one more subject. You are welcome to watch, if you'd like," he said offhandedly to Aoi before making his way to the next room.

In the sterile white chamber, Nakamichi Haru was trembling in fear. She had been kidnapped on her way to her part-time job, and now she was thrown in this foreign place, with two burly men forcing her to stay in place while people in lab coats watched her from the distance with cold eyes. Her tears had long since dried up. The test chambers had thick walls, but even those weren't enough to filter away the horrible inhuman screams coming from the other mutated subjects. That was enough to send her to bottomless despair.

When Alfred stepped into the chamber, she immediately screamed for her life.

"Please, please let me go! I don't know anything! I... I'm just a part-timer! Please..."

Unfortunately, her plea fell into deaf ears. Her eyes flailed wildly across the room until they landed on Aoi, the only person who wasn't dressed like the rest of these maniacs.

"Please... help..." she pleaded, hoping that Aoi would be able to save her.

 

[Admiral19]

"Then we oughta do more testing, right? For all we know, the medallion's power just got worn out with time..."

"All of the medallions would be like Gemini if that's the case," Aisuke said, "and we wouldn't have the accident that kicked all this off. Considering we don't even know why Akira can use Gemini in the first place, I'd say we have to think a little harder."

---

Ah, this girl. Aina was the one who told Aoi about her...for the most part, she seemed rather innocent. Oh well.

"Look, you seem like a good girl and all. Got a job, probably in school, probably get decent grades. I don't hate you, I'd like you know right now."

Aoi did not move even an inch forward.

"But I'm not aloud to help you. Look at the bright side! You're probably gonna end up helping us!"

 

[Ranix Aurus]

"Well, nothing we can do about it," Akira waved his hand. "Maybe it's the kind of power that only awakens in specific situation? Like when my life is threatened. What if you use your Finisher on me? Maybe it'll trigger something."

His words caused the others to glare at him.

"That's out of the question. I don't approve of you youngsters endangering yourselves," Shiori exclaimed.

---

"N...No..."

Nakamichi Haru was thrown into despair at Aoi's heartless words. She fell limply on the floor as Alfred stepped closer to her.

"Chief, it's Type-A," a scientist handed him a syringe. He then proceeded to push the tip into Haru's neck. The vile serum trickled into her bloodstream, sending her body into overdrive. With a painful scream, she writhe on the ground, the serum beginning to reconstruct her flesh and bones from the inside.

"Ah... AHHH!!"

Her body swell in size, as well as turning elongated in shape. Thick, cracked scales grew to cover her skin. On her back, a strange, soft mass began to pour out, until tendrils made of said materials sprout out from each directions, making a sickening splash as their tips bounced on the metallic floor.

The scientists took a step back in horror. The girl had turned into a bizarre amalgamation of a nondescript reptile and a gigantic jellyfish. Its lizard-like head split open in two, letting out a guttural scream that echoed inside the chamber. Like the other test subjects, it screamed, screamed, screamed, until suddenly its head whipped downward, a pair of white, misty circles that made up its eyes staring straight at the person responsible for its predicament.

Without warning, it lunged at Alfred. The man stood unflinching even when the scientists around him scrambled away in fear. Instead of escaping, he lifted his arm, stopping Aoi from taking any action.

The monster stopped right in front of him, seemingly blocked by an invisible force. And then, beyond everyone's expectation,

"Why- why- why... why?!?"

It spoke. Its mouth parted slightly, and what came out from within were a facsimile of a human's voice, but it was, without a doubt, words.

"W-what the hell-?" A scientist murmured in disbelief.

"I don't want- I don't want! I don't... I... what don't I want...? Who am... I...?"

The creature trembled, its "voice" laced with uncertainty. While the other scientists were in terrible shock, Alfred was different. He was shaking. He was--

Grinning from ear to ear.

"Welcome... welcome! Welcome to this world! Today is finally the day of your birth! My beloved, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"

He laughed like a madman as he stretched his hand forward until his fingers touched the creature's scaly surface.

"I... Cannot... Who... am I...?"

"You are Nakamichi Haru-- no. You have shedded that old life, and be reborn! From now on, you are MoZu. MoZu Horyuu."

"Mo...Zu--"

Hot, steaming veil of mist burst out off the creature, washing over the people inside the chamber. The monster were rapidly shrinking in size, smaller, smaller, until it finally took a humanoid form once more. What stood before Alfred was once more Nakamichi Haru, the human, except that parts of her skins were still covered in scales, and soft, slimy tendrils were jutting out from her back, trailing down to the floor.

"Ah..."

Alfred caught her as she fell to her knees. He was holding her like she was a delicate treasure, causing the people watching to shiver. That was not normal, their Chief would have never acted like that!

"Take her to rest in a guest room. Make sure that you give her everything that she needs. Or else," Alfred handed her over to the guard, who trembled on their feet at the tone of his last addition. As they carried the girl off, he turned to face Aoi.

"It is a joyful day, is it not, Holder of Taurus?" He spoke in a very amicable tone. "This experiment has been a great success. I would prefer if you would refrain from informing the Kaiserin about this just yet. I would like to keep it... a surprise, for now."

 

[Admiral19]

"What's more, I'm not just gonna hurl a Satellizer at you full force! What if it doesn't work, huh?" Surely there were better ways to figure out how this medallion worked than literally throwing the strongest move Kanae has at him. "Maybe we should make some training dummies, or something. That's gotta be a better way to stress-test, right?"

---

Aoi expected yet another failure. She didn't know what Alfred was trying to figure out(he certainly hasn't told her), but from how he's reacted to the last fail, it clearly wasn't working for him.

Which is why, when Haru transformed and lunged at Alfred, Aoi was prepared to suit up again and—

Alfred stopped her just as the monster halted. And then...

"Good god..."

It was speaking. She was speaking, Haru was speaking, MoZu was speaking. Aoi could do nothing but stare in disbelief as Haru tried in vain to understand her situation.

Meanwhile, a smile broke out on Alfred's face. It wasn't a smile Aoi's seen—no...none of the holders had seen Alfred smile like this, not even Shouji. It was almost sickening, how happy he was...

Aoi felt a strange sensation in her stomach, the kind you'd feel when you're about to throw up. She only nodded at Alfred's request.

"Say, Alfred." She watched the door that the scientists carried Haru—MoZu—out of. "What exactly were you trying to do?"

 

[Ranix Aurus]

"Well, take it easy. Armor, off."

Akira undid his transformation. He then took out the Gemini medallion from the wristband, lifting it up against the ceiling lamp. Even after close scrutiny, he couldn't find any clue on how to properly use it... if they weren't already. It was such a strange artifact.

"I mean, it's not like we need all of them to be powerful, right? Maybe there are more of them like Gemini. The weaker ones. That would make it easier for us to get them. It's a good thing."

---

"I'm trying to make my master's dream a reality," Alfred solemnly said, still with a sickening grin on his face. "It is wonderful. Truly wonderful. Ah, thank you for being born... I'm glad. So glad."

It was as if a huge burden had been lifted off his shoulders.

"Miss Aoi, I'm feeling really good today. You may tell Rui to take a break from the experiments. The stress wouldn't be good for their developing body. Exercise in moderation, exercise in moderation..."

He uncharacteristically patted her on the shoulder before leaving the chamber, whistling a strange tune on his way out.