"Actually, I need to go back to the Empire. There's something I need to accomplish." Yuren finally spoke up as Naiola, Eri and Garra looked at him intently.
"Commander, there's something you need to know." Garra said after a moment of silence.
Yuren's attention fixated fully on her now, his concern, now stronger than ever.
"New android. Very powerful." Eri added.
"That's right. Shortly after you left, We engaged a new android, with very Meteorn-like abilities."
"Really?" Yuren's eyes widened at the news, showing his shock and confusion at the information they just gave him.
"Amalia VolStenthorn." Eri took one step towards her commander, her head turning to address the group of androids that quickly began to display the same befuddled surprise, including Yuren.
"Eri says that's who it was. So that means she found some way apply the process created by the Nova Genesis Project to a human." Garra finished translating the thought Eri projected to her in private.
"Doesn't that imply she can do it to other humans? And effectively replace the 701st with a stronger, resonance-using unit?" Yuren let out an exasperated sigh as a cold chill washed over him.
"Well at least I don't have to spell it out for you." Garra coughed, seeing that what Eri did could save so much trouble from explaining.
Yuren rubbed his temples, feeling an immense pressure on his head.
"Amalia bad." Eri growled.
"This is just too much..." Kuno began to pace around, visibly disturbed by the entire thing.
"Garra... if the Empire is making these new super androids with a human, then I think we have more than just a simple problem on our hands." Lina spoke softly, as she stared at the ground.
"I never said it was a simple problem." The red-head muttered.
"I still need to go. I have to speak with the Empress and ask her about what's going on in the Empire. And if there are more Meteorn androids like Amalia out there... I have to know." Yuren turned to walk towards the ship.
"Commander." Bei called out.
Yuren turned around and saw the blonde woman looking up at him with an intense gaze.
"Are we just supposed to stay in this area while you go to the Imperial Capital and ask your questions?" She asked.
"Yes. It's better this way." He answered honestly. "I don't want to lose anyone else."
"You're not doing this alone." Garra chimed in.
"Yes I am. Stay here." The young commander disappeared in a flash of distortion.
"Did he just warp like Eclipse?!" Kuno gasped.
"Of course he did! He's a fucking Meteorn!" Ola spat in exasperation.
"Enough!" Bei snapped. "Just get the camp finished for now."
Bei glared at Ola, seeing her put the gun down and head back towards the camp to start chopping some more wood.
Garra stared at the empty spot where Yuren was standing, a heavy feeling welling up inside.
"Eri worried too." Eri spoke softly, her vermilion eyes full of sorrow.
Garra didn't reply; she just placed her hand on Eri's shoulder, then walked away to get some much-needed rest.
***
In the capital of the empire, Yuren reappeared in the middle of the night, within a large park near the central district.
It was to usual scene of couples and groups enjoying themselves with each other in the middle of the night. The sudden realization that he was still in his military uniform sent a chill up his spine.
They'd think he was on delinquency patrol if anyone saw him like this. Quickly pulling his cap down to hide his face, Perhaps some shop nearby had clothes?
Quickly walking towards a small shop in the distance, he noticed that the lights were on but there were no signs of anyone inside.
He reached for the door and opened it slowly. A small bell ringing in response.
"A customer? O-oh... an officer..." the young clerk quickly stepped from behind the counter. "What brings you here?"
"I just need a change of clothes, something casual... is there a back entrance?" Yuren asked softly, pulling his cap off.
"C-Come this way..." The clerk showed the young officer to a small changing room and let him pick out whatever clothes he wanted.
Yuren quickly picked out a casual outfit for himself and then changed, returning to the front of the shop to pay for the clothes.
"Thank you. Have a good day."
"You never saw me."
"Of course..." The clerk replied in a nervous voice, keeping his head down and eyes to the ground as the officer paid and then left.
Yuren walked out into the streets and looked around. Maybe it was best to go and question his father about everything that had happened before. But first, he wanted to check his home to see if his father wasn't there and that the house wasn't ransacked or anything like that.
Taking in a deep breath, he took one step forward. And with that step, he was instantly transported to the quiet road in the southern district where he once lived, his house sitting there as if nothing happened to it.
Yuren walked slowly to his front door, opening it slowly, expecting it to be locked but to his surprise, it opened freely.
As he stepped in, he looked around and saw nothing seemed to be wrong. His family portraits were still hanging on the walls, the house looked exactly the same as the day he was taken away.
He walked through the living room and into the kitchen, once he turned on the lights he was met with several guns trained on him.
"Don't move."
These soldiers were military and not wearing any badges to identify them. But he should've expected something like this at the very least, considering his current position in the military and his situation in life.
"Nice and easy, hands up and come this way." One of them spoke to him as they gestured towards back to the door.
As he turned, a couple more men and women stepped out from the living room and closed in on him as he walked, quickly setting their weapon sights on him.
"Don't try anything, we've got you covered." One of the men called out to him, as he slowly backed towards the door.
Yuren felt the barrel of the weapon against the small of his back, his heart racing as he wondered what they would do to him. Would they just take him in? Maybe question him?
After being led back outside and down the street, the group of soldiers pushed him into a small transport vehicle.
"We have him, head to base." A soldier ordered as Yuren was then left in the back of the small truck and taken away.
After what seemed like several hours, the truck finally stopped and Yuren was pulled out. As he came out he saw that he was on a small base with dozens of soldiers on duty.
They led him towards a small interrogation room, the man behind the table standing up and looking down at Yuren.
"Yuren Gotsutoa... do you understand the position you're in?" The man asked as he slammed a hand on the table and stood before him.
Yuren stood silent, unsure how to react or what to do.
"Where are the androids of the 701st? Tell me what you did with them." He demanded.
"Why?" Yuren asked after a moment, trying to stall for time.
"You don't get to ask any questions! Shut up. Answer what I asked." The interrogator was becoming more impatient and irritated at the young commander's responses.
"It's quite difficult to shut up and answer at the same time." Yuren answered without hesitation.
The man immediately struck Yuren with his handgun, a crack echoing through the room as Yuren fell to his knees, a bruise forming where the impact had hit him.
"Gonna play the smartass card huh?" He whispered as he pulled out another small tablet from his pocket and pressed a button.
Yuren felt a sudden surge of pain as the light from the window vanished. A purple-tinted film covering the entire room as it dimmed.
He knew this, the violent route was always an option for interrogation.
"Let's try another question; what did the Meteorn tell you?" The man questioned him again.
Yuren stood back up, a dark red glow forming in his eyes.
"Try all you want, resonance draining equipment was prepared for this room. You can try whatever you want. But I will beat you until I get answers." The man spoke in an unnerving tone, the voice that he was once so familiar with now sounding sinister and otherworldly. "Answer, and I won't hurt you. Don't answer and you'll may just end up dead."
Yuren walked over and sat down across from the interrogator and stared at him for a moment. "Your threats are empty."
"It's funny that you think that." He chuckled and then hit Yuren with the gun again, sending him to the floor.
"I can go on for hours. Let's see how long you can keep up that tough act." He mocked.
Yuren stood and snapped his restraints, although he didn't want to, harming the people here was the only way to leave the room alive, at least as far as he was aware. "I wasn't acting tough before, but now I am."
He grabbed the gun, bending it and pulling it out of the interrogator's hand. He then twisted it in his hand and smashed the butt end into the wall, then gripped the older man's neck and pushed him to the floor.
"Yuren, stop! Enough, there's no reason to be an enemy of Empire!" He cried, his voice a mixture of anger, pain, and panic.
"It's funny that you think that." Yuren repeated the same thing back at him, feeling a rush of power flowing through him.
The light within the room began to shift in color as the resonance levels rose and then fell quickly.
"I'll let you go, please! I'm begging you..." The interrogator gasped.
Yuren sighed and threw the man threw the door, resonance arching off of his arms as he did so. "Aren't I already considered an enemy?" The boy took slow and methodical steps forward, looking down at the interrogator.
"Wait! Wait! Don't kill me! I'll do anything! Please... I beg of you!" The man begged as he backed up against the wall. "I'm just doing what I'm told..."
"Why do you think I should care?" Yuren asked, standing over the man as his eyes began to glow with a reddish hue.
"I-I just... you were like us once! I've seen it! You could be like us again!" He cried out in a desperate plea.
With a snap of his fingers the interrogator dissolved into red wisps of light that faded away and evaporated in the air.
Yuren let out a sigh and rubbed his forehead, he was done with all this and it was tiring him out. "I need get out of here..." He muttered to himself, not sure what to do anymore.
Yuren stood before the entrance of the small base, wondering what to do next when suddenly a strong force gripped his entire body and lifted him into the air.
"When I heard they apprehended you, I didn't think it was true." A woman's voice echoed throughout the air as Yuren felt himself being pulled into the night sky.
The grip was tight on him as he tried to fight it, struggling as the wind rushed around him and he became more disorientated.
"But know I have you again. And this time I will finish the Nova Genesis Project. I have all the all the resources I need at my disposal." The woman's voice filled the air.
The grip was strong and his body began to feel heavy, the pain and force pushing against his chest was growing with each passing moment, he was being crushed.
"Nova Genesis... Amalia?!" Yuren shouted, as his vision started to blur.
"That's not who I am anymore. Amalia VolStenthorn is gone..." Yuren was pulled into the grasp of a android he didn't recognize.
'OMA-01' was what he could make out on her shoulder armor.
"It's very simple, you are the key that will propel humanity into a new era."
"What are you talking about?" Yuren asked as he felt the pressure growing more and more unbearable.
"No longer will we be such a frail and feeble race. All I need is your blood, it's resonance purifying ability. I'll then add my own to the project and recreate your very existence." She answered as she began to ascend into the sky.
Yuren could barely see anything, his vision now blurry.
"I'll tell you straight. The last of the 701st's XMV androids were created from the samples of your core spliced into normal cores; The last living male Meteorn on this planet. Your control over resonance and ability to condense and refine or purify it. Once I figure out how it factors in to how a Meteorn regenerates and adapts to life, there'll be no more restraints upon humanity!" She cried out with an ecstatic tone.
"You're crazy..." Yuren's voice was soft and weak, barely a whisper.
"Yes, I am. And the most perfect being that'll ever exist!" Her tone changed, and her grip tightened.
Yuren's eyes began to fade, his mind slowing down as the android continued to ascend.
Suddenly, a bright explosion of resonance erupted before OMA-01 and blasted her into a cloud of red light.
"Impossible..." she whispered, stabilizing herself midair as she watched the energy arc around the cloud, a figure at the epicenter. "YOU! NO!" She shouted with a mix of surprise and rage.
The figure had no discernible features as they walked through the clouds of red light; their body was a mass of darkness that resembled a cloak.
The darkness surrounding the figure turned into burning red energy, swirling around its form. Once it fully emerged from the clouds, black and white body armor, long silver hair, billowed in the air. His red eyes pierced through the sky and met with hers.
"What are you?" Izanami demanded.
Yuren's eyes glowed, a familiar sensation rushing through him. "I see... so that's what happened... I understand, I will deal with her." He spoke in a voice that didn't sound like his own.
He began to rise into the sky, red energy arching off of his form, a brilliant spectacle of light filling the night sky. Catching one of the bolts, the transformed Yuren launched it at Izanami.
She narrowly dodged as the bolt of energy flew past her and exploded into the streets below. The city had gone dark immediately afterward, with the blast radius having blown out the power sources.
Her eyes widened as she realized just how much energy must've been thrown at her and just how much stronger Yuren was than any other recorded Meteorn in the databases. She immediately began a desperate onslaught of attack, dozens of energy bolts, energy swords, and spears formed and then unleashed towards the boy, who deflected and dodged them effortlessly.
"You cannot defeat me. The only way you can survive is to surrender."
Izanami clenched her jaw; she was clearly struggling against his newfound strength and resilience. She charged up all the energy she could and unleashed it at Yuren, shooting a massive beam of energy that pierced the dark clouds and illuminated the entire city as it sped towards him.
Yuren remained still and reached out his hand, red light arcing across his palm.
The massive blast of energy slammed into his hand, the beam piercing his flesh as he absorbed it and absorbed the energy that it was releasing.
He closed his fist, and the beam vanished.
Izanami stood in silence, stunned.
Yuren was the first to speak, "I'm taking it back." He appeared right before her and grabbed her by the neck.
"This ends... right here."
The red energy began to glow brighter, expanding in size as Izanami cried out in panic. "Wait, stop! What are you doing?"
His other hand reached for her chest, placing it directly over her core.
"No! You can't do that! I worked too hard for this! Stop!" Izanami struggled and attempted to push Yuren's arm away, but to no avail.
The Meteorn's fingers dug into her chest and began to draw out the small core as screams of agony filled the air.
"No! Stop! My evolution!" She cried in pain as her body was wracked with agony, her core vanishing from her chest as her body's armor began to dissolve.
Yuren held the core in his hand, staring at the small object. "The end of that story has already begun."
Izanami's armor and core had disappeared completely; only her now human body remained. No longer the android she once was.
"Your exploitation ends here, Amalia." Yuren whispered in the fading resonance that surrounded her.
"Please... don't..." The now powerless Amalia wept.
"I will."
Her face became one of sorrow and despair, "If you do this to me... there'll be nothing left. No future."
"For you." Yuren answered flatly.
She fell silent.
He considered dropping her from this height, but couldn't bring himself to be that cruel.
Yuren descended back down into the city; his power and body were still recovering. But he had to see this through, no matter the cost.
"Never touch another Meteorn ever again." He said as he dropped her.
She landed on the ground with a hard thud, then looked up at him and stared for a moment.
Yuren turned around and walked away, but as he began to walk away, he felt something in the back of his mind. The familiar voice of Amalia speaking to him.
"Yuren Gotsutoa..." Her words were soft and pleading.
Not saying another word, he disappeared into the dark city streets, leaving Amalia alone in the middle of the road.
"Yuren..." Amalia whispered.
A single tear fell from her cheek as she slowly began to crawl away from where she'd landed, not even looking back as the sun rose and filled the dark city with its morning glow.