Fantasy Stellar ARMOR Satellizer (Ranix Aurus & Admiral19)

[Admiral19]

"G'morn." Kanae stretched out, letting out a big yawn. "No class today, but I don't wanna stay in bed for too long." Kanae doesn't like waking up early, but neither will she let herself sleep late; both would inevitably end up with her wishing she was in bed all the more.

Kanae thought for a bit. Y'know what she could use? Y'know what they all could probably use?

"I kinda wanna go get us some pizza for lunch later. Do you wanna come with, or do you still wanna rest?"

 

[Ranix Aurus]

"Pizza...!" Hotaru perked up. If she was a dog, her tail would've been wagging left and right. She quickly jumped down of the bed and changed out of her pajamas- actually, she just changed from one t-shirt to another. In Hotaru's list of common senses, if it didn't smell, then it was good enough.

Downstairs, a lofty aroma wafted over the living room. Akira had been up since earlier, and he was showing his skills in breakfast work by cooking some sunny-side up. Mikawa was wolfing his portion like it was the best meal he had ever had, while Seiichiro had barely touched his as he was immersed in reading the display of his phone. The data captured by the sensors from the vial kept changing from time to time. Was it the temperature? Or friction? It was difficult to determine.

"Delicious-! How are you so good at this?" Mikawa acclaimed. Akira gave him a wry smile.

"Let's just say that my sister is quite picky with her sustenance..."

 

[Admiral19]

"Yo!" Hotaru in tow, Kanae came downstairs to the smell of something fantastic. Yo, is that breakfast?! "Ooo, looks good!"

She should have expected this; when it comes to breakfasts, Akira could make them like no one else. Kanae took her own portion and looked over at Seiichiro's work. "Hmm...what kinda stuff is going on over here?" Whether he answered or not, Kanae heartily enjoyed her food as she looked, giving Akira a thumbs up in between mouthfuls. Best sunny-side she's had!

As she finished up, she looked over at Akira. "So Hotaru and I are gonna get pizza later. Anything you prefer, or can I just get whatever?"

 

[Ranix Aurus]

Akira smiled when he saw that Kanae was enjoying his creation. It filled him with pride, and happiness.

"This is the de-monsterification potion. Patent -and better name- pending," Seiichiro lifted up the vial. He gave it a shake, causing the glow to get a little bit brighter. "Or so I think. We can't really tell if it'll work unless there's a monster to test it on. Which is messed up, if you think about it. I've tried various compositions to see which one will interact with miss Tanaka's blood, and this is the best one so far."

He then shoved it to Kanae.

"Take this. Just in case, you know... we never know whether the lizard-octopus will return, or that unhinged ARMOR will try out that syringe to anyone else. I can't really guarantee the result though. We don't have any means to inject it directly so you can only pour it down their throat and pray that the dosage will be enough."

"You and Hotaru are going out? To buy pizza?" Akira frowned. "It's dangerous! What if I g-" He stopped dead on his track. In fact, Kanae was the safest person out of them. He wasn't so delusional to say that he could fight against any of those weird people in iron suits, or a monster like what Hotaru had turned into. "...Whatever is fine, just no pineapple."

Hotaru hissed at him.

"No pineapple," Akira doubled down. This was the hill that he would die on, even if it's against his sister.

 

[Admiral19]

"Ooo, good going, Uncle!" Kanae took the solution. "Hopefully we won't run into anything"—Flag!—"but I'll hold onto it regardless." Now here's hoping that it actually worked...

Kanae waved off Akira's concerns. "I don't think anyone's gonna try snatching any of you away after what happened last time. They saw what happened when they got Hotaru. Besides, best case scenario, this stuff works and we won't need to do that much fighting at all!"

They did need a name for it, though, 'cause "de-monsterification potion" was a mouthful and a half, and Kanae wanted her mouth free for pizza. "Name...can we call it Ymir?" There wasn't any rhyme or reason to it; she saw the name in a textbook once. It's how she names a lot of things, actually, which was fair enough.

Kanae hissed back at Akira's suggestion. One of the few things that could get the three of them fighting was opinions on food, and of those opinions, pineapple vs no pineapple on pizza was the one that brought out their most violent selves. One time, purely out of spite, Kanae had a box of pineapple pizza sent straight to the Tanaka residence. Needless to say, Kanae got a very angry phone call that night and Hotaru got a well-deserved dinner.

"C'mon, Hotaru," Kanae called, making her way to the door, "I can get a pizza specifically for the two of us, since this uncultured heathen doesn't share our immaculate tastes."

 

[Ranix Aurus]

"Hmm, Ymir... yeah sure, why not? I've seen worse names. You won't believe what my colleagues in the field named their discoveries with. Frivolous, I'd say."

Seiichiro took a bite of his breakfast. Akira on the other hand was cringing at Kanae and Hotaru. He had this 'how could you do this to me' expression plastered on his face. Hotaru just stuck her tongue at him before following Kanae out.

"Pizza~ pizza~" the girl skipped on her way as she followed Kanae around. It seemed that the kidnapping incident didn't even faze her. Perhaps he didn't care about it as long as Kanae was with her.

At the campus, however, someone was anxious.

"Saitou? I haven't seen her yet today."

"How should I know? Maybe she doesn't have a class today!"

"Mochizuki, are you okay? You look pale-"

"Kanae..." the boy sauntered away from the crowd, looking like he was a zombie. If Kanae wasn't at school, then she must be in the city. It was a shame that he hadn't investigated where she lived yet. But maybe he could find her if he tried hard enough?

Forming a rather doubtful plan, Mamoru Mochizuki hopped into his car and drove away, his class for today be damned.

 

[Admiral19]

There was a certain atmosphere that an American pizza joint had. When Kanae was out studying abroad, her family hit up one of the many pizza shops that New York had; that was probably the best pizza she's had, not just 'cause of the taste itself, but because of the atmosphere, because of the music, the things they put the parmesan in so you can shake it out at the table, the soft drinks. It was an experience.

It was hard finding a place in Japan that had that same vibe to it, but they got pretty close with this place Kanae found on a walk about a week before she left. It even had the bell on the door that rang when you opened it, so that's great news!

"...and then there was this one girl I met there, right?" Kanae was in the midst of telling a story when they entered. "She taught me a bunch of puns in English. There was this one about eggs that I had to think about for a good damn while, but it was a really good one!"

 

[Ranix Aurus]

"Eggs..." Hotaru listened with sparkling eyes. She was a good listener, and enjoyed the interesting stories that Kanae would bring to her every time they met. Although the true reason might be related to her tendency for seclusion. Not the type that could generate lots of narratives by her own. Kanae's stories were the color that brightened her canvas, pulling her into that world which she yearned to be a part of.

The pizza store fascinated her in turn. They haven't been to this place yet, at least for Hotaru and Akira. It was a wonder that Kanae was always able to find new and exciting places like this one. Her discoveries had accounted for the majority of their outings in the past.

"Welcome! What would you like to order?" A waitress smiled as she gave them a menu to browse upon.

At that moment, a car has passed right out of the window. A few seconds later, it reversed back to the side of the store. The front window rolled down to reveal Mochizuki, his eyes staring right at Kanae's figure. As if possessed, he barged out of his car, not even remembering to lock it back, and then rushed into the shop.

"Kanae!" He yelled out her name during his entrance, startling the shopkeepers and the other customers.

 

[Admiral19]

It wasn't hard for Kanae to come up with a story to tell, even a fake one. She had this knack for improvisation and was out and about enough to see all kinds of people... she could string along a novel if she really tried! She never tried that hard, but still.

She took the menu with eagerness, even though she already knew part of what she was gonna order. What kind of specials did they have today, she wondered...? "Alright, let's see—"

Kanae halted suddenly, the menu half-open as she watched Mochizuki barge into the shop. What was he doing here? Normally he'd be at campus bothering some other girl...did he have no class today?

She glared at him. "What the hell are you trying, Mochizuki? If this is some elaborate way to ask me on a pizza date, I'm gonna have to decline."

 

[Ranix Aurus]

Something was off with Mochizuki. His eyes were bloodshot, as if he hadn't slept for days. His breathing was also uneven. Kanae's words seemed to be triggering something inside him. Something... carnal.

"Date... yes, yes, let's go on a date! Let's date!"

He suddenly grabbed Kanae's wrist without permission, and then began to pull her.

"...Stop it!" Hotaru shouted, followed with a slap on the boy's back. However, he didn't seem to feel anything from that hit, even though it was so loud. The other customers were whispering to each other, wondering what was happening, while the shopkeeper frantically tried to diffuse the situation.

"Sir, this is disrespectful, please stop-"

"Shut up!" Mochizuki snapped at him before continuing to drag Kanae out of the shop with surprising strength, comparable to her, someone who had used the ARMOR system more than once. Something was definitely wrong.

 

[Admiral19]

"Hey! What the—!" Kanae tried to pull back, finding very little success. How the hell was Mochizuki this strong?!

...no. No, it couldn't be. Could it?

Kanae tried to kick Mochizuki away, fighting against him as he dragged her along. He couldn't be. There's no way! "Hey! What the fuck are you trying to do?!"

 

[Ranix Aurus]

The cashier was already talking in her phone, most likely with the police. Outside, passersby were watching the scene of Mochizuki dragging a girl out of a pizza shop as they passed, some even frowning at the blatant display of abusive behavior.

"Kanae...!" Finally, he turned around to face her, and then grabbed her by the shoulders. His grips were strong, too strong, even. Perhaps he might had hurt her greatly if only the ARMOR system hadn't made adjustments to her physique.

"I like you! You know it, right? You're aware of it, right?? You accepted my flowers, so that means you agree to be mine, right?! Tell me that you'll be mine!"

He was practically shouting at this point. Hotaru was rushing over to them, while a pedestrian couldn't take it anymore and decided to intervene. He could clearly see that Kanae wasn't feeling comfortable.

"Hey, dude, hands off. Just talk it out-"

"GO AWAY!"

Mochizuki suddenly punched the guy on the face, sending him flying to the shop next door. The sharp ringing of the window breaking into pieces rang throughout the street. Someone screamed, and chaos soon ensued.

 

[Admiral19]

This guy was stronger than she was. That could mean one of two things; either he's been working out in his off time, or—

Okay, the way that guy went fucking flying was proof. Quickly, almost impulsively, Kanae shouted out. "Suit, up!"

With a red flash, Kanae tried once again to pull away from Mochizuki. The mask's eyes shone in a yellow that felt particularly angry. "Look, I thought you were a nice guy! Sure you go after women a lot, but you're harmless, you know? I took those flowers 'cause I wanted to be polite and not upset you, but this isn't it! If I wasn't turned off from you before, you've got no chance now!"

 

[Ranix Aurus]

With the ARMOR's power, Kanae was able to pull away from Mochizuki's grip with relative ease. The latter was left aghast. "No... it can't be. It can't be! Itcantbeitcantbeitcantbe-" His exasperated yell was devolving into incomprehensible clamor. Strangely enough, he didn't seem to care about the fact that Kanae was now clad in Lion-themed futuristic armor. All he could focus on was her words. Like a madman who was hyperfocused on his goal and his goal only.

"No!" He suddenly screamed while holding his head. When he looked at Kanae, his eyes were clear. "S-Saitou, get away from me... it's happening again... no! I... NO!"

His left arm was swelling up in an alarming rate. His fingers were merging together, his thumb grew larger, all the while hard, shell-like growth began to appear all over his arm, overlapping like a set of armor. "D-don't look, don't..." He grabbed his left arm as if trying to pull it off his shoulder, but to no avail. That was when a dark shadow jumped from the rooftop and landed behind him.

"Hey hey, little lion. We meet again!" That black ARMOR, that voice... it was that bastard kidnapper!

"Y-you...! No-"

"It seems that you're indeed compatible with the Jotunn. I haven't given you the second dose yet and you're already transforming on your own. Oh well," the black ARMOR dangled a syringe for Kanae to see. "Let's have some fun, little Leo. Let's have some. Fun. Revenge!"

Before Kanae could stop him, he had injected the syringe into Mochizuki's neck, prompting a painful howl from the boy.

And just like that, his body violently exploded in size.

It was even more visceral than what had happened to Hotaru. The smooth, curved shells that covered his left arm were growing all over his body, covering the entirety of his physique. His right arm were transformed into the same claw-shaped appendage as his left, while his head were completely covered within a helmet-like shell growth. His legs grew bigger, bulkier, like a pair of elephant legs. The increased mass alone was enough to make him sink into the pavement as the sidewalk bent from his weight.

"GROOOOOOHHH!!!"

Mochizuki's roar was primal, like a beast festering in anger. Standing almost two times his original height, he had turned into a monstrous crab-like monster, with shells as thick as an armor plating. But he hadn't made a move yet, as if waiting for something.

"Now, my good Jotunn... kill her!"

The crab monster stirred upon hearing the black ARMOR's command. He used his claws to grip on his car, and then effortlessly lifted it up before throwing it straight at Kanae, and by extension at Hotaru, who was standing right behind her.

If the passersby weren't screaming enough before, that was the thing that finally prompted them to do so. That was no longer at the level of street crime, that was something that only the self-defense force could handle, okay?!?

 

[Admiral19]

Kanae instinctively stepped back, as if her body knew something bad was gonna happen. And sure enough, she spotted the carapace forming on Mochizuki's arm just before she spotted the armored ass that she fought just a couple days before! "Motherfucker...didn't get enough of a beating last time?!"

She couldn't focus on him, though; Mochizuki was turned in an instant just like Hotaru was, a snarling thing that was making the people around her scream in terror. She barely managed to catch the car that he threw at her in time for it not to crash into the shop behind her, grunting from the strain of holding up a ton's worth of weight.

"Everyone, out of here!" she growled, trying to usher the patrons of the shop to safety. "Hotaru, follow them! Get somewhere safe!" She threw the car back at Mochizuki, hoping that would throw him off enough for her to get a good hit in.

 

[Ranix Aurus]

The crab had enough strength to lift a car, but not enough dexterity to catch it mid-flight when it was thrown his direction. The piece of metal smashed into his thick carapace, bending from the sheer force during impact. Monster-Mochizuki, however, didn't seem fazed at all. He swept the totaled wreck away, crashing it to a nearby car. That section of the street was almost empty at this point; everyone were no longer in the mood for watching. They were running away as fast as they could. And screamed. There were lots of screaming.

"B-but, Kanae..." Hotaru trembled on her feet. Escaping without Kanae felt so wrong, but she was only a liability at this rate. She promptly locked eyes with the black ARMOR, who immediately recognized her.

"Hoho... there's another familiar face," Shouji grinned under his helmet. "I'll get my revenge on you too!"

Hotaru immediately bailed it out as the Gemini ARMOR rushed toward her. She was pulling her phone out, frantically pressing the quick dial for her brother.

 

[Admiral19]

Kanae almost chased after the armored assailant, but Mochizuki was arguably the bigger issue and needed to be dealt with. She could only hope that Hotaru would get somewhere safe and hold out for long enough to handle the monster.

She dashed towards one of his legs, swiping at it furiously with her claws...to very little avail, considering that he was absolutely covered in carapace. Honestly, she should have expected that, but it was okay! After all, she didn't necessarily have to fight Mochizuki...

She very quickly checked a compartment of her ARMOR...yep, Ymir's still there! If she could just get Mochizuki to swallow some of it...

In the interest of doing that, Kanae tried to fight as close to the monster's mouth as she could. Uncle, here's hoping this stuff works!

 

[Ranix Aurus]

Hotaru was running as fast as her legs could carry her... which was actually quite fast. Shouji was catching up to her, but considering that she had a head start, it would take several seconds before he could do so.

...How could this be? He was wearing the state-of-the-art OLYMPUS-made ARMOR! How was a little girl able to keep her lead against him?! With righteous anger, he leaped forward, his hand almost reaching Hotaru...

"Freeze! Don't move!"

Suddenly, he was greeted by a line of police cars, and several officers with their guns trained at him! Hotaru used that chance to dive into the blockade, finally getting through to Akira's phone. As a policeman helped her over to the side, Shouji was left with even more fiery anger than before.

"Curses! Just you wait!" He turned around and rushed back to Mochizuki and Kanae, ignoring the policemen shouting at him to stop.

Back at the street, Mochizuki had gotten sluggish the moment Gemini was out of sight. He swung his claw at Kanae once but the rest of the time he simply stood there taking her hits without a care in the world. It was as if there was a part of him that still hesitated.

His mouth, however... was quite hard to reach. It was covered by a layer of carapace, and he didn't seem to have an interest in opening it up.

"What are you doing?! Smash her!!" Shouji's irritating voice called out as he made his way back. It was like a switch was turned on all of the sudden. The crab monster raised his arms, and then swung it down in a swiping manner, destroying everything underneath. The earth under the walkway rumbled before collapsing, revealing the a gaping hole, a section of the sewer running underneath the city.

 

[Admiral19]

Kanae barely managed to move out of the way of Mochizuki's claw, leaving her off-balance enough to nearly tumble into the hole. Maybe if she could get Mochizuki down here, she could get on top of him and have much better access to his mouth...

But Gemini was controlling this thing, so unless she managed to catch it really off guard, that was gonna be tough.

She danced around the edge of the hole, trying to keep from being smashed by or caught up in those pincers. "Real nice," she shouted to Gemini, "taking advantage of a guy in love with someone!" She couldn't believe she was still defending Mochizuki after the stunt he pulled, but this was a matter of life and death. "What did you tell him, that he'd have a chance with me if he just tried to drag it out of me?! You've both got a twisted sense of love if that's what you guys think!"

Nothing seemed to be getting through that carapace so far...She jumped up on one of Mochizuki's claws, trying to climb up to his mouth. If he wasn't gonna open up, Kanae would make him do it, dammit!

 

[Ranix Aurus]

"Hah! Cocky much?" Shouji was joining in the action as well. This time, the Jotunn was following his orders, unlike with Hotaru. By coordinating with the crab monster, he tried to get his own attack in. The two ARMORs were having a strange dance with the hulking monstrosities at the center as they dashed and weaved around Mochizuki. When Kanae jumped on top of his claw, Mochizuki was about to pull up instinctively, bringing her closer to the small opening of his mouth, but Shouji immediately ordered otherwise.

"Throw her down!"

Mochizuki's huge body lurched forward, dragging Kanae along with it into the sinkhole. The monster splashed into the brownish sludge on the bottom with a loud squelch. Shouji was taking that chance to jump up in the air. As gravity pulled him down, he readied his fist, and then swung it down.

"Satellizer. SET. UP!"

Red flash flared from the core of his ARMOR, expanding in straight lines toward his fist.

Satellizer ready.

"HAAAH!"

Power gathered within said fist until it was glowing hot, crashing down like a meteor right at Kanae.

 

[Admiral19]

Falling into the sickening bile below her became the least of Kanae's worries the moment that she saw Shouji charging up...and that move looked like what Kanae did to that other monster when she first got her ARMOR. "Oh, fuck me...!"

She couldn't let Mochizuki get hit by that; if it was as powerful as hers was, it'd tear him to shreds. Even once she turned him back to normal, they'd have to deal with the cleanup! And if she just let him miss...who knows, that might create a shockwave that could rattle the whole city's foundation!

So, not wanting to take chances on literally anything, Kanae climbed up on top of Mochizuki's head and jumped towards Shouji, taking the full brunt of his attack. Hopefully, the system would have built her up enough to be able to withstand this...!

 

[Ranix Aurus]

"Fool! Eat this!!"

Shouji's fist connected with Kanae, sending ripples of shockwave throughout her body. The impact blasted her away, smashing her into the walls of dirt surrounding the sinkhole. His finisher definitely hit! He staggered on his feet as he felt his energy drained by that strike.

But, that was it.

Kanae would've noticed that even though she felt like she had been hit by a truck, her ARMOR actually withstood it all. There didn't seem to be any lasting damage to her internals either. At worst she would only feel pain from the impact.

That punch was undeniably weak. Tremendously weaker than Kanae's own Finisher.

 

[Admiral19]

Now, let it not be said that Kanae didn't feel that hit. In fact, it hurt like nobody's goddamn business. But that's all that it was; a really, really hard punch that—not that she wanted to brag—she could probably recreate with relative ease if she wanted to.

Rather than comment on it, though, Kanae stood and stumbled, shaking dirt and dust off her armor. "Fuck. Is that all?"

Upon a swift confirmation that it was in the form of Shouji staggering, Kanae dashed towards him, grabbed him by the waist, and heaved, throwing him to the side while she dealt with Mochizuki. With any luck, he's still trying to recover from the fall into the sinkhole...this could be a chance!

 

[Ranix Aurus]

"WHAT?!?"

That was a Finisher. An extermination weapon built into the ARMOR system for the express purpose of decimating the opponents of the Kaiserin. While Shouji wouldn't delude himself into thinking that his Finisher was comparable to the likes of Aoi's or Aina's, for it to deal so little effect on this Leo bastard?

HOW?!?

The poor guy was swept off his feet by Kanae's maneuver. His mind experiencing a whiplash from both the eventual realization that his ARMOR was a sham, and the abrupt application of G-force throwing him to the dirt wall. Even with his ARMOR protecting him, he was knocked out cold for that split second.

Without Shouji's command, the crab monster was turning dormant once again. Combined with the shock from the fall, its movement had turned sluggish. By instinct it swung its giant claw at Kanae, but with that speed he might as well just stood still.

 

[Admiral19]

Kanae hesitated before she rushed towards the monster. She couldn't, in good conscious, leave Shouji here...

Before anything, Kanae hefted Shouji over her shoulder. With Mochizuki now dragging his feet, it wasn't especially hard for her to swiftly dodge the claw swinging down at half-speed towards her as she started approaching the monster. "Mochizuki, I'm gonna need you to open up quick," she said, "because I'm gonna carry both of you out of here soon enough...!" She brought out the vial of liquid, bringing herself to the monster's mouth.

Alright, Uncle, time to see your craft at work...