Fantasy Stellar ARMOR Satellizer (Ranix Aurus & Admiral19)

[Ranix Aurus]

"We might not need to," Akira roared. He had to raise his voice if he didn't want to get drowned out by the endless rumbling around them. "That huge explosion of energy must be glaringly visible to the old man's boss. They should've noticed it already, but they'll need some time to get here. We should-- get out first!"

Another rock was falling above him, only to get sliced in two by a flash of light passing above them. True to what he said, Shouji didn't force Rui to fight the Kaiserin directly. He was focusing his attention at keeping the others safe during their escape.

But even if they got out, what then?

"Do you think we should... kill her?" Akira frowned. No, in the first place, could they? Akira could see that the Kaiserin wasn't simply turning into a monster like the others; she was far bigger, stronger, and not a simple wild beast. It would be a difficult battle. He wasn't even sure if the army could even handle this.

 

[Admiral19]

"Sure," Aoi said, "let's just kill something that's absorbed the power of every medallion, I'm sure that'll go great!"

"We can't afford to argue, Aoi!" She knocked another boulder out of their way. "The exit isn't far, we can figure this out when we leave!"

"My question is," Rui started, "how much of this did Alfred know? And why did he not tell us?!"

It wasn't something they needed to wonder about now, however; it's not like Alfred would be outside with an answer. All everyone could do right now is exit.

---

The entrance to the mine was made significantly wider by the time the Holders came out and the Kaiserin crashed through it. She made another screech that probably shook multiple stones from their places and stared down the prey that was running away.

Ah, if only those infernal Patriarchs could see her now! She was probably twice the size of them, at minimum!

 

[Ranix Aurus]

Akira rushed out of the entrance as fast as his legs could take him. He was the only one not wearing the ARMOR. Thick layer of dust in the air almost choked him to death as he coughed hard, his lungs burning with pain, scraping for whatever air he could take in.

They were out in the open now-- whether it was good or bad was up to debate. Fighting the Kaiserin inside was dangerous, but at least the cramped interior restrained her movements. Here, they were like ants in front of her; one simple slap would be decisively fatal.

Shouji-- and, on that note, Rui-- landed between Kanae and the other holders, staring blankly at the Kaiserin.

"Rui, if we don't fight her... I think we can't make it out alive," the eyepiece on his side of the ARMOR lit up as he muttered in exasperation. Was this really something that they could even handle?

 

[Admiral19]

"I know." Rui had to shake off their guilt, at least for now. None of them could afford to be merciful; this thing would be the death of them if they were.

As Rui said that, the Kaiserin's claws tore at the ground, kicking up massive rocks and sending them hurtling towards the group. Aina and Aoi managed to destroy most of them, but shards of rock pelting into ARMOR were still not the best thing in the world. Aina flanked to one side and tried to bring down one of the Kaiserin's legs; that was met with a swipe of the claw that was parried just enough to only send her backwards a little.

"Shouji, Rui, Leo, I hope you both realize this is a distraction!" Aoi called out over the Kaiserin's growls. "If we can't kill her, we gotta keep her restrained! Find something to restrain her with!"

 

[Ranix Aurus]

"Easier said than done..." Shouji harrumphed. He took the chance to retreat to a higher ground, and then let go of the blades in his hands. They disintegrated immediately. Raising his left hand, a different weapon materialized on his palm-- a bow. He took a stance as he pulled the string as hard as he could. An arrow made of pure energy soon appeared, ready to be shot.

"Rui, let's do this," Shouji mumbled before shooting it out. The deadly energy roared like a thunder as it cut through the air, aiming straight at the Kaiserin's head--

--until a flash of light descended from above in a straight line, clashing with the arrow. An explosion soon followed, and when the dust settled, there were silhouettes standing between Shouji's line of sight and the Kaiserin.

Alfred.

Draped in his white lab coat, the usual glasses was no longer framing his eyes. Another familiar figure was right by his side: Haru. Her transparent tentacles were sprawled behind her, looking slightly worn out.

"My Kaiserin... look at what you've become..." Alfred glanced at the sight behind him before letting out a rueful laugh. But he wasn't paying attention to her. Instead, his gaze was locked to the sky.

Large shadows were circling the sky above the mineshaft. Monstrous creatures flapped their collosal wings, their glares aimed at the figures below. On one of the beasts' head stood their leader. Three pairs of incongruent wings were spread out of her back, while her eyes glared at Alfred with unquenched rage.

"MO. HYOGO!" Hotaru shouted, her voice burned with killing intent.

 

[Admiral19]

Holy fucking shit. "Hotaru!" Instinctively, Kanae called out to the swarm above.

"You..." The Kaiserin growled, multiple spider-like eyes focusing on Alfred, spitting her words like venom. "How could someone like I be above someone as grand as you? Alfred called me his Kaiserin because he was helping me! But you—Hyogo, Enjyuu, Alfa...when I said I wanted to better myself, to become stronger, you all denied me!"

Grabbing a boulder from beside her, the Kaiserin threw it upwards at the monster swarm.

"I looked up to you all! You all filled my head with dreams, dreams that you crushed beneath your uncaring sole!"

Kanae held Akira close as a monster fell from the sky, crashing and sending debris their way.

The Kaiserin screamed up to Hotaru next. "Your anger is deserved, Enjyuu! He chose to follow me until the ends of the Earth, to bring about the "new world", a world where monsters rule. But you're not absolved of sin either. How long did it take for you to be found out, hm?"

 

[Ranix Aurus]

Hotaru was blinded by her rage toward Alfred. She wasn't paying attention to the people around her until she heard Kanae's voice coming from below. It was like a bucket of cold water had been poured on her. The frown on her face was replaced by utter shock, then fear, then a sudden urge to run away.

The Kaiserin's throw jolted her back to reality. She flung her eyes toward the giant monstrosity at the center, and listened to her berating.

In the end, she had a slightly confused look as she stared at her.

"Do... Do I know you?" She timidly asked.

"..." Alfred had the urge to smack her on the head.

"Kaiserin," he turned around to face her. Haru and the other people around him quickly rushed forward to protect him from Hotaru.

"That power isn't suitable for us. You have to let it go. It'll corrupt you until your mutation is no longer controllable."

His eyes glow in gold as numerous tentacles burst out of his back.

 

[Admiral19]

Upon hearing Hotaru's question, the Kaiserin hissed indignantly. How dare she!

"This power isn't suitable for you." The Kaiserin glared down at Alfred. "Which can only mean one thing; this power is mine, and mine alone!"

Kanae waved the dust out of her face. "Pff," she muttered sarcastically, "surely it wouldn't kill ya to share, would it?"

...wait.

Wait!

Kanae looked down at Akira. "Are you okay? Hey, I think I have an idea. Everyone's got a medallion, right? I wanna...try something selfish. And really fucking crazy."

 

[Ranix Aurus]

Alfred had suddenly transformed. The cold man from earlier was no more. In his place stood a creature seemingly composed of writhing tentacles, with a bulbous head akin to an octopus. A pair of golden eyes glared at the Kaiserin as he made his stand clear.

"You are intoxicated by that power... I'll help you clear your head."

The people that he had brought aside from Haru followed suit, transforming parts of their bodies into monstrous forms, preparing for the inevitable confrontation.

At the side, Akira had an incredulous look on his face, but soon he nodded at her and put his medallion on her palm.

Shouji and Rui landed right beside them. He undid his transformation, separating the two back to their own bodies.

"Rui," the medallions were in Rui's hand. He wanted them to decide whether to believe in Kanae's plan or not.

 

[Admiral19]

"My head is crystal clear, thank you."

Aquarius and Capricorn were placed into Kanae's hands. The sounds of combat could be heard for miles. Aoi and Aina rushed over, undoing their transformations and taking cover from the oncoming fight.

Aoi looked at Kanae. "Have a plan?"

"Yeah." Kanae undid her own transformation and held Leo and Sagittarius in her hand. "I'm gonna need all of these."

"...You can't be serious."

Kanae glared. "Do you have a better plan?"

Aoi fell silent and tried to look over at Aina for insight, only for her to shrug. Taurus and Scorpio were swiftly placed in Kanae's hand, along with Aries, Virgo, Libra, and Pisces.

Rui walked up to Kanae. Quietly, just to her, they said:

"I...love him dearly."

Kanae knew exactly who they were talking about.

"I want to stay with him. I still haven't told him what I wanted to, so...please."

Gemini and Cancer were placed into Kanae's hands.

"Do what you can."

---

Kanae's watched plenty of shows like this.

The hero's backed against the wall. The great evil monster is wreaking havoc, and if it wasn't stopped here, humanity's fate would be uncertain. In a last-ditch effort, everyone's power was brought together. And even if it had the chance to kill its host, even if failure was imminent...

There were so many medallions in Kanae's hands right now. She chuckled when she remembered Hotaru's reaction when she first saw Leo. That felt so long ago.

She held the medallions close to her chest, closed her eyes, and breathed.

 

[Ranix Aurus]

A burst of power.

It was raw. Devastating. At the same time, captivating. The battlefield seemed to go into silence as tremendous power spilled out of the medals like flood, a re-enactment from a past once long gone.

Alfred was stunned. A scene resurfaced from the gene-memory passed down by his King. They had seen this happened before, in that time when their race was barreling down toward extinction. The chosen warrior of that clan, the progenitor of the human race... it happened exactly like this, when the twelve medallions were combined in a last-ditch effort to finish all the rampaging Eldriari...

"NO!" Hotaru screamed as she dived down from the sky, desperate to stop Kanae. She stopped at the last moment when Akira jumped in front of her, blocking her way.

"Move, Tanaka Akira!"

"No," he replied, firmly. "Kanae wanted me- wanted us- to trust her, so I'll do it. If you want to stop her... then do it over my dead body."

Hotaru gritted her teeth in anger. Not like she could do much. She, and the rest of them, could only watch as Kanae had to conquer the outpour of energy by herself.

 

[Admiral19]

This much power...it was nothing like Kanae expected. There were things happening around her, but she could only focus on her tightly-clenched hands. A thousand thoughts raced through her head, but she had to shut them all out. Someone was shouting to her, but even that was covered by her heartbeat thumping loud in her ears. It steadily got overwhelming; her body became sore, her vision blurred, everything became distant, like she was getting further and further away from it. An entire species' worth of strength was changing her body, and it was euphoric and painful, and it was like she was dying, and wanted to die, and had already died in the space of seconds.

In that space between life and death that she kept phasing through, Kanae realized two things.

1) She was in over her head. She had been from the start, when she had first gained Leo's power.

2) Even so, Kanae wanted to protect. She wanted to save. Everyone she loved, everything she knew...she wanted to be able to come back to it.

Selfish through and through. But that was fine! She wanted to hold on to what she loved! And she loved this world, and every damn thing that inhabits it or has inhabited it! And how dare anyone try to take it from her?

The raw power began to take shape, forming over one side of her body. At the same time, the other side grew and stretched, taking on a more animalistic form. A final shockwave kicked up dust.

One side was covered in scarlet armor, golden accents giving it a distinctly futuristic look. The other was lionlike, muscular, ancient symbols swirling in red patterns on her fur. The medallions were embedded into Kanae; three onto each arm, two on each leg, and two right in the center of her chest.

"KAISERIN!"

Kanae roared at the monster before her, louder than anyone has ever heard her.

 

[Ranix Aurus]

This energy signature... there was no mistake. The same thing was happening again. That scene from the end time of their race. The sacrifice-

"Kanae!" Enjyuu-- Hotaru-- yelled her name. She wanted to stop her. She has to stop her. But it was useless. The enormous power had surged toward a single point, a single human. Nothing could stop it from happening at this point. Nothing could change what would happen afterward.

"Well, well. I didn't expect it to escalate this far."

Looking over them by the cliff, Luca Sternz showed a faint smile. Genki Tanaka stood by his side, accompanied by tens of people in white uniform.

"I must say, you guys don't know how to be subtle. It's practically a firework show. I could see your energy signatures going wild even from far away."

""Aolfa..."" Alfred and Hotaru groaned.

"Hmm? I could understand Hyogo, but even you, Enjyuu? I'm hurt."

"Cut the crap," Hotaru pointed at Kanae. "Help me find a way to reverse that."

"Unfortunately..." Luca's smile widened. "I don't think it's up to us anymore."

As the transformation was over, Hotaru watched askance as Kanae, brimming with power in her new form, confronted the Kaiserin right away.

She didn't look human anymore. One might even say... monstrous. But for Hotaru, she was beautiful.

Hyogo raised his tentacle-arms, ordering his Eldrians to prepare for a fight. If this human wanted to hurt the Kaiserin... then she'd have to go through him first.

"Hyogo... not so fast," Luca snapped his finger. Roots poured out from his clothing; from his sleeves, out of his pants' legs, his form contorted into a snaking mess of impossibly-long branches. Behind him, Genki pulled an ampule, placing it right above the ARMOR wristband's slot on his wrist. The rest of the uniformed people followed suit, ready to transform at a moment's notice.

"Well... crap," Akira cursed. This... might not end well for all of them.

 

[Admiral19]

"How..." The Kaiserin stared in bewilderment at Kanae's form. "You...you should have died! That's far too much power for a person! How?!" A misshapen scorpion tail thrusted forward to impale Kanae—

And was promptly stopped by a shield that had materialized on Kanae's arm. Cancer's shield.

"Your plans caused me a lot of trouble, you know!" Scorpio's piledriver appeared on her other hand, and she charged forward towards the Kaiserin. "I had a perfectly fine life! I had just come back from being abroad! I was gonna catch up with my friend and his sister, and we were gonna pig out on food while I told them everything about my travels!"

Kanae slipped past a gnarled talon, ducked under a pair of snapping mandibles, jabbed the piledriver through a leather wing.

"But you...you had to hunger for power! You had to enlist someone to create monsters for you! And you had to send that monster that tore apart my friends' house to get these medallions! You turned my life sideways because of your greed!"

She lifted an arm to stop an attempt to grab her, and then sent a shockwave forward, making the Kaiserin stumble backwards.

"You're gonna pay. For every time we were in danger, for every person you hurt, for every dream you tried to kill!"

 

[Ranix Aurus]

A giant mass of tentacles sprung up in front of Kanae, blocking the Kaiserin behind it. Broken roots scattered off its rising visage, a leftover from the previous battle.

Alfred- no, Hyogo- emerged from the writhing mass of purplish blue, his gigantic upper torso covered in scales. He reached his hand out toward Kanae, the sharp claws a visible threat.

"Enough!"

The bulbous, tentacled head shook as he roared. The pair of slitted golden eyes eyed Kanae dangerously.

"I won't let you do as you please in my presence!"

With a flick of his hand, the mass of monsters on his side converged behind him, their gaze showing reckless courage to fight to the death.

 

[Admiral19]

Monsters were in her way, aiming to tear Kanae in two. Nothing new...she wouldn't let them.

In her hands, a scythe materialized, its edge sharp and shining with power. A beast foolishly began to approach, and Kanae swung, taking off its snakelike head with ease. Spurred into action, more and more beasts charged forward to protect Hyogo, and Kanae cut them all down, slowly and steadily making her way towards Hyogo...and the Kaiserin.

"You're still defending her even now, huh?!" A beetle's horn came within inches of gutting her before it was snapped off. "What makes you think she wants your protection, Hyogo?!"

 

[Ranix Aurus]

"It doesn't matter. Those who threaten the Eldrian shall perish!"

Giant tentacles erupted from the ground, swinging their weights down toward Kanae. The mindless beasts under Hyogo's command rushed over at the same time, using the tentacles as cover from Kanae's strikes. At that moment, a whip of transparent tentacle slashed through the air.

"Kanae..."

Haru landed in front of her, stinging tentacles launched from her back.

 

[Admiral19]

The swinging scythe halted. Kanae's expression was pained.

"Haru. I don't want to fight you."

It was as simple as that. Poor Haru didn't deserve any of what happened to her. But with that being said, how was Kanae even supposed to help her?

...Same way she's helped everyone to this point.

She dodged out of the way of the stinging tentacles. "I haven't known you for long, Haru, but I know this isn't you! I'm not gonna hurt you!"

 

[Ranix Aurus]

Haru gritted her teeth. She wasn't prepared for this kind of life either, but...

"...I'm indebted to Sir Alfred. He saved my grandmother's life. That's why... that's why!"

Following Haru's tentacles, the abominations pounced at Kanae, intent to maul her to pieces. At the last moment, numerous winged beasts rained from the sky, engaging the monsters.

A strong gale forced the gigantic tentacles back as Hotaru landed beside Kanae.

"Kanae, you... it's my fault..."

If only she didn't befriend this girl, perhaps things would've been different. She wouldn't have been exposed to danger like this, turning her into this... thing...

But there was nothing left that Hotaru could do except staying by her side until the end.

"Go! Finish this!"

Hotaru flapped her wings, launching herself at Hyogo's monstrous form. Her arms mutated into claws, nails turning into sharp talons, as she crashed straight at him, pushing the creature to the side by sheer force.

The path to the Kaiserin was now clear.

 

[Admiral19]

Kanae frowned. She wanted to say that it was fine, that Hotaru shouldn't apologize, that Kanae loved her with the heat of a thousand stars. But there wasn't time. She could say what she wanted once this was over.

For now, she took advantage of the path she cleared.

The Kaiserin's roars grew more and more frustrated. "You're just  determined to die, aren't you?!"

Tendrils tripped Kanae over. Claws swiped at her body. Shockwaves pushed her back, her own blood stained the ground. But Kanae didn't halt...she didn't even slow, still charging at the Kaiserin's monsterous form.

"I'm determined to live!"

Kanae's claws burned bright red, flaming comets in their own right. Human ingenuity and ancient might worked to disarm each of the Kaiserin's attempts to stop her.

"You..." The Kaiserin didn't understand. They both took the full might of the medallions. They should both have the same strength, right? So why...why...?!

The scorpion tail reached out to stab Kanae again—

Only for her to grab it and practically rip it off.

"How?! You...you can't be stronger than me! We both—!"

Kanae drove her claws into the Kaiserin's side. Fire spread all across her body as Kanae made slash after slash.

"This isn't just your Eldrian power, Kaiserin!" Kanae shouted with the force of a hurricane. "These are my hopes and dreams! It's everyone you threatened to take from me! It's everyone you turned against me! It's the life I deserved that you tried to destroy!"

A tendril grabbed Kanae and tossed her high into the air.

Big mistake.

A glow bathed the sky in bright red. Not unlike a meteor, Kanae began to fall from the sky, straight towards the Kaiserin.

 

[Ranix Aurus]

Akira stared at the sky, his gaze trailing over the brilliant light that fell from the sky. The rampaging battle surrounding him had quietened into a standstill, awed by the shining beacon that signified the end.

"No!"

Hyogo roared in anger, desperate to stop Kanae, but Hotaru was keeping him occupied, helpless to lend his aid.

"Go... you can do this."

Akira muttered with a smile, toward the light of the new dawn.

 

[Admiral19]

A thousand scenes from a thousands shows played in Kanae's head, scenes just like this one. The last great attack, made with every ounce of strength the hero had. It was as if everything went silent, and all she could hear was roaring wind and her own heartbeat.

She had promised something to Aolfa before. She promised she would do her best for everyone; humanity  and the Eldrians.

And those who knew Kanae knew that she always kept her promises.

"Nemean..."

The red comet descended.

"STRIKE!!"

 

[Ranix Aurus]

A streak of lightning— an arbiter of justice.

The red light struck like a starfall. What followed was a deafening silence.

"Marvelous... simply wonderful!"

Aolfa's gleeful voice echoed throughout the dying battlefield. The uprooted tree raised its thick arms, covered in snaking branches.

"This is the true power of Eldrian— of humanity! Kanae! Use this power to cleanse the world of its cancerous past! You understand, don't you? This world belongs to you humans! Us Eldrians have no business to linger any further after our moment has passed! I implore you— lend us this power! Help me eradicate those who shall no longer belong!"

As if awoken from their trance, Aolfa's men stirred awake, their mutated forms ready to resume the fight with the rest of the Eldrians.

 

[Admiral19]

The silence was so strong that Aolfa's voice startled her. It seems like this fight wasn't quite over.

"I can't do that, Aolfa!" Kanae glanced at Hotaru. Selfish. "There's gotta be another way! It doesn't have to be just humanity!"

She didn't know if her words would reach him.

 

[Ranix Aurus]

"Another way? Look at what they had done to your world."

Aolfa pointed at the pillars of smoke rising in the horizon. The world had been thrown into chaos. A lot of the humans had been mutated into Eldrians through the contaminated water supply. Some might have managed to save themselves right at the nick of time, but the real danger was the swarm of Eldriaris from the many more humans who had failed the mutation lottery.

The world would no longer be the same.

"There is only one cure. Eliminate all the Eldrians and Eldriaris. Let humanity rebuild. You have the power to do so! Make the right decision, Kanae!"

At the side, Hyogo and Hotaru had stopped fighting. The former looked drained, his visage shrunken in defeat. Meanwhile, Hotaru approached Kanae, her feathery arm shakily reaching out before pulling back in shame.

"I'm sorry, Kanae... because of me... because of us..."

She could no longer return to her previous self.