The Mellow Corridor

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Akira110
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The Mellow Corridor

#1 Post by Akira110 »

Doing a Two Story schedule again, one day will be Reaper's Eclipse, the next will be The Mellow Corridor.

Prologue

Ten Years After Heart of Broken Glass


A female Ram Tribe Eltiranan sat in her laboratory, she smiled as she continued to work on her new prototype android. She sighed slightly as she continued her work in coding the AI, she knew that she had based the design off of the legendary hero himself, except in his younger days and knew that she wasn't going to make it the same as the Kitsune Hero that had fought in countless wars in the distant past. She knew her heart couldn't take it if she did, but she had nonetheless installed combat subroutines in the AI of the android. Suddenly a motion sensor tripped a silent alarm and she pulled out a gun, pointing it behind her, when a voice spoke up, "That wouldn't do you very much good, I'm afraid, Professor Slinde." The professor looked around and the figure stepped out of the shadows to reveal itself to be Klaartje.

The Professor put her weapon away, "What are you here for?" Klaartje frowned, "I'm here to see Harumi, don't think I don't know that she's your closest friend on Eltirana. Also... I forgot what I was here for." Klaartje looked down and narrowed her eyes, "Oh right, why are you making a robotic copy of my best friend, Leticia!?" Leticia looked at her and ran a hand through her gray hair, "I'm not, I based his original design off your best friend, but I'm altering the design. The android will not only think like us living creatures, but act like one as well. I don't wish for him to realize what he truly is, for this will be my child, a child I shall name Yoshiro, named after your best friend and the legendary hero, in order to give him the luck that the same man had." Klaartje shook her head, "He was a super soldier."

Leticia nodded, "I know, I've also run simulations based on what would happen if he had acquired all of the imperial regalia at any point of his life, would you like to see?" Klaartje folded her arms and walked over to a holographic image of Yoshiro Miyamae as he was when he was alive, she recognized the exact age being six hundred years old, so being shortly after the death of Walthari Jaeger. She looked at the hologram and watched as each of the three objects attached themselves to the body of Yoshiro. At first, there wasn't an effect, but suddenly, the fur on the body of the hologram shifted to a golden brown color, not unlike that of the Fennec Kitsune and eight extra tails sprouted from his lower back. Leticia smiled, "Yoshiro was a unique magical variant of Super Soldier."

Klaartje nodded slightly, "His magical ability was uniquely powerful, something Yoshiko... once shared." Leticia frowned, "What happened to her?" Klaartje looked away, "She was a close friend of mine, I recently buried her. She died peacefully, Aiko was more or less devastated by the loss. Listen, if you're going to insist on continuing to make this thing that Yoshiro himself wouldn't approve of even on a good day..." Leticia frowned, "You could be more polite..." Klaartje sighed, "I'm an assassin, I don't need to be polite, by any stretch of the imagination. Not to mention, this..." Leticia looked into her eyes, "You loved him, didn't you?" Klaartje was taken aback, "I... I..." Leticia smiled softly, "What is your request, Klaartje?" Klaartje looked at her, "How did you know that... that I loved Yoshiro?" Leticia's smile grew, "Simple, the look in your eyes was one of hurt."

Klaartje shook her head, "Listen, I want you to promise me that you will create this android to give Aiko a partner to be with. Xander and Silvio are being a pain in my [censored] and the [censored] of Emiko and Amaterasu. They're trying to get them to be friendly with each other so that Kimiko can fulfill her promise to Walthari, but... Aiko is the only one that seems to want to be friendly with either. Though she and Silvio had a brief fling with each other." Leticia looked towards the unfinished android, "So what was the promise?" Klaartje sighed, "For the three of them to become a family when the three of them are reincarnated together. Unfortunately, things got messed up and the whole plan got ruined." Leticia placed a hand on her chin, "I'll do what I can, Klaartje. Just, can you keep the android part on the down low?"

Klaartje nodded and vanished into the shadows once more, leaving Leticia to continue work on the android. Before she knew it, she had company once more, this time a familiar face looked at her, "Hello, Leticia." Leticia looked at the person, "Brian, I thought you were on Verbana." Brian nodded slightly as he placed his hands in his coat pockets, "I was, thing is, I'm not sure you're allowed to build a robot based off of a person without this woman's permission." A sea elf with light purple hair walked into view and Leticia sighed, "So even his wife knows what I'm doing..." Elbereth shrugged, "Actually, I don't mind. It's my sister that's the problem. She and my husband didn't see eye to eye on issues while he was alive, now this is going on and she's throwing an absolute fit right now. Isn't that right, Lenwe?"

Lenwe came out and sighed, "I'm here to see my niece, nothing more. I refuse to talk to this person." Leticia shrugged, "That's fine with me, I'm not really here for your approval, I'm just here to build a new kind of android, one that won't just think or act like living beings, but be able to eat and drink like we do and fit in with society as if they were flesh and blood. I picked Yoshiro as a starting point for the design, because... he's a hero and I look up to his legends." Lenwe snapped at her, "Those are words he'd never want you to say! You take them back, right now!" Elbereth sighed and pushed her sister back, "What my sister says is true, if she's rude. My husband didn't want to be worshiped as a hero. It always annoyed him. If you're going to continue work on the android, make sure you don't do it to honor him." Leticia nodded, "Alright, Elbereth."
Been around this forum for over 8 years now. Everyone I've known has left, now it's my time to do the same.

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Akira110
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Re: The Mellow Corridor

#2 Post by Akira110 »

Chapter 1

Four Months Later


Leticia smiled slightly as she ran her final checks on the android, she was going to make sure that Yoshiro was born before she finally succumbed to her illness. She heard a noise at the door and looked to see a young kitsune woman walk in, "I assume that you're Aiko." Aiko nodded slightly, "Balthoron brought me here." Leticia sighed, "Oh great, out of the three kids on Verbana, it has to be Balthoron..." Balthoron walked into the lab with a frown, "Come on Professor, I didn't bang up your lab too much." Leticia looked at him and raised her voice, "It's Doctor Slinde! How would you like if I called you Mr. Miyamae?" Leticia started coughing and Balthoron frowned, "That smell... blood... how long have you been like this?" Leticia sighed, "A couple of months now, Dr. Miyamae..." Balthoron shook his head, "You could've called me, I would've tried to treat your condition."

Leticia smiled softly and stood up from the chair, Balthoron rushed over and tried to restrain her, but she fought against him, "Let me at least see my work activated before I die, Balthoron." Balthoron sighed and let her go, "My father was a roboticist and I'll never understand you people." Leticia sighed, "It's not for you to understand. Now please, Balthoron, what are you here for?" Balthoron sighed, "My oldest sister is on this planet, I need your help to find her." Leticia shook her head, "I promised her that I wouldn't give away her location. Your mother hates the fact that you kids are all scattered and don't really like each other anymore. But she also respects Harumi's decision. You're not getting any intel, you'll have to find her on your own if you really want to see her that badly." Balthoron sighed, "Fine, but are you sure you don't want anything to help with the... you know..."

Leticia shook her head as she hit a switch, which finally powered on the android's reactor, "Balthoron, go on ahead and leave here. Ask around other places, I have one last promise to fulfill." Balthoron shrugged and walked out of the lab as Yoshiro opened his eyes for the first time. Yoshiro looked around the tube he was in, "I'm... awake. How long has it been since I slipped into a coma, mother?" Leticia smiled, "Several months." Yoshiro placed his hand on the glass and remarked, "It is cold in here. I would like to come out." Aiko looked at him, "So what did Balthoron mean by Roboticist?" Leticia smirked, "I build robots to help people, it's not really an amazing thing. Those cargo loaders you saw when you first landed on the planet were a design by me."

Aiko nodded and looked at Yoshiro, "I was told that you would be my companion for a while." Yoshiro looked at her as the tube finally opened, "I wasn't aware of such a thing, but if that's what you want, then sure. I'd be more than happy to show you around Eltirana, it really is a beautiful world." Aiko nodded and Leticia pulled her aside, "Aiko, I need to talk to you for a few moments in private, alright?" Aiko nodded, "I'm going to go talk with your mother for a bit, alright, I'll be back." Yoshiro nodded, "Okay." Leticia walked to a room and laid on the bed as Aiko followed her in and closed the door. Leticia looked at her, "Yoshiro is a new type of android... he's... the most advanced..." Leticia started coughing, this time blood came up and she sighed.

Leticia looked Aiko in the eyes, "Please, Aiko, do not tell him that he's a machine. He truly believes that he's a living creature, he can eat, drink and do everything that a living creature can, aside from go to the bathroom." Aiko nodded, "Why did you make him this way?" Leticia frowned, "At first, for scientific purpose. But... I'm barren, I was never able to have kids, so I figured this would be my chance to be a mom. I'm glad to see my son come into the world, before I died." Aiko looked at her, "Wait, you mean that stuff you told Balthoron?" Leticia sighed, "If it for the life support implants that I installed, I'd be dead already. Please, go out there and bring my son to me, before I close my eyes for good..." Aiko nodded slightly and walked out of the room, "Excuse me, but your mother would like to talk to you."

Yoshiro walked into the room and saw Leticia on the bed, she looked even weaker than before, "Mother..." Leticia smiled and motioned towards the bed, Yoshiro walked over to it and Aiko frowned slightly as Leticia stroked the fur on Yoshiro's face, "I'm sorry that I wasn't able to revive you under better circumstances. However, I'm glad to see you finally awake from your coma." Yoshiro looked at her, "Mother, are you going to... die?" Leticia smiled softly as she heard sadness in his voice, she was happy that her scientific research had paid off in the end, even if it was the end of her own life, "Yes, my son. But..." She took off her bracelet and placed it around Yoshiro's left wrist, "I will always be with you, my son. No matter what happens. I love you..." Yoshiro closed his eyes, "Mother, please don't go!"

Leticia frowned, "Don't cry, my son... this way, I won't be in any more..." Aiko looked away as Yoshiro started to cry, "Mother..." He placed his hand on Leticia's shoulder and gently shook her, "Mother!?" There wasn't any response and Yoshiro started to cry even harder, "Mother, please, wake up!" Aiko placed her hand on Yoshiro's shoulder, "She'll live on forever in your heart, much like my mentor will. I know what you're going through." Yoshiro looked up at her, "You do?" Aiko nodded, "Yeah... I used to be trained by a clone of the legendary hero... and she was like a second mother to me. She passed away recently, it still hurts, but I promise to do what I can to make your heart hurt less." Yoshiro nodded, "Thank you, but I never got your name... my name is Yoshiro." Aiko offered him her hand, "Aiko Sano." Yoshiro took the hand and smiled softly, "Thank you, Aiko."
Been around this forum for over 8 years now. Everyone I've known has left, now it's my time to do the same.

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Akira110
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Re: The Mellow Corridor

#3 Post by Akira110 »

Chapter 2

Balthoron sat in the middle of a bar, he had spent a little bit of time looking for answers to his sister's location, when a biker gang walked into the bar. Balthoron didn't pay any attention til he heard the leader speak up, "Bartender, give my boys and I a drink, we're going to head over to Harumi's place a bit later here, but we figured we'd start some [censored] here." Balthoron placed money on his table and placed his drink down. He stood up and walked over to the table, where a bald, dog Tribe Eltiranan sat, "You know of Harumi?" The Eltiranan looked up at him, "What of it, Candyass?" Balthoron smiled slightly, "You're going to tell me where she is." The Eltiranan looked at him, "And who's going to make us?" Balthoron leaned in and put money on the table, "Maybe you'll listen to a bribe." The Eltiranan laughed, "Look at this guy. Thinks we'll sell out Harumi's location."

Balthoron went to pick up the money when one of the bikers, a Monkey Tribe Eltiranan started to pull out a knife. Balthoron let go of the money and smiled slightly, "So I see you guys are going to seek violence, eh?" The leader of the gang, the Dog Tribe Eltiranan looked at him, "We don't like it when little punks ask us incessant questions." Balthoron nodded and walked out of the establishment to his vehicle. He popped open the trunk and grabbed his shotgun out of the back and loaded it. He pumped the shotgun to chamber the first shell and walked over to one of the bikes and pointed the shotgun at it. He slowly started to squeeze the trigger, but the Monkey Tribe Eltiranan came out and yelled at him, "Hey! Get away from our bikes!"

Balthoron aimed the shotgun at him, "You threatened my life, I'm fairly certain you are unfamiliar with who I am." The Dog Tribe Eltiranan rushed out and rushed towards him, "I don't care who you are!" Balthoron sidestepped him and slammed his hand into the man's chest. Upon contact with his target, Balthoron sent fifty thousand volts running through his hand. The Dog Tribe Eltiranan's body quickly went limp and hit the ground as Balthoron pointed the shotgun at the Monkey Tribe Eltiranan with one hand, "Electrical magic is great. Now, tell me, who do you think I am." A Naga slithered out of the bar and looked at the Monkey Tribe Eltiranan, "You and your leader are the only members of your gang that are out here, you might want to think about why." The monkey tribe Eltiranan looked at him, "Oh [censored], you're... the Red Reaper, aren't you?"

Balthoron nodded slightly, "Of course, so you can put the weapon down, or I can show you..." Balthoron placed his free hand on his shotgun, "Just where I got that name from. I honestly would rather not, but... continue to physically threaten me... Hint. Hint." The Monkey Tribe Eltiranan looked at him fearfully, Balthoron noticed the smell of urine and arched a brow, "Really, you talk a big game, but when faced with an actual mercenary, you get so scared that you piss yourself. Screw this, I'm out of here." Balthoron opened up the shotgun to retrieve the round that was in it and removed the cartridge. He looked at the Dog Tribe Eltiranan, who was coming to as he put the shotgun in his trunk, "Thanks for all the information I needed, you're a biker gang and you know my big sister. Honestly, for threatening my life, your buddy over there is lucky."

The Dog Tribe Eltiranan looked at him, "You threatened my gang, there will be hell to pay." The Monkey Tribe Eltiranan spoke up, "Boss, this guy is the Red Reaper, we don't want to mess with him." The Dog Tribe Eltiranan looked at the Monkey Tribe Eltiranan and then back at Balthoron, "There's no way that this..." Balthoron whipped out a pistol and pointed it at the Dog Tribe Eltiranan's head, "Threaten my life one more time and I swear to all that you find holy, I will kill you, am I perfectly clear." The Dog Tribe Eltiranan suddenly became afraid, "You didn't even blink as you said that, just what the hell are you!?" Balthoron smirked, "I'm a Mercenary, I'm called the Red Reaper for a reason, do you know what that reason is?" The Dog Tribe Eltiranan shook his head and Balthoron nodded, "You can tell I've been through an enemy installation as the walls are painted in their blood... from my shotgun."

The Dog Tribe Eltiranan backed away, "Wait, you're the real Red Reaper... oh [censored]!" Balthoron sighed, "Your mouths are more foul than most naval officers I know. I'll tell you what, you give me my sister's exact location and I'll forgive everything that happened today." The Dog Tribe Eltiranan gulped, "She works at a place called The Flaming Fist. It's outside the city limits, the only bar between here and the capitol." Balthoron nodded slightly and lowered his gun, "Thank you for the information. By the way, I was going to let you go anyway." The Monkey Tribe Eltiranan looked at him, "Then why did you play us like that!?" Balthoron looked at him, "I meant what I said when I said that if my life was threatened one more time, I would kill one of you. That still holds true."

Balthoron walked over to the driver's seat of his vehicle, and started it up, "By the way, if I hear any news of you people starting up trouble while I'm on Eltirana, I will destroy your bikes, is that clear?" The Dog Tribe Eltiranan nodded, scared of him. Balthoron smiled, "Good to hear it." Balthoron put his vehicle into drive and started to drive down the road that lead towards his sister's place. However, he noticed that it was starting to get dark and sighed as he pulled into a hotel, "Harumi can wait for the night, I should get some sleep before I head down to go see her. Though I can't help but wonder how Leticia is doing... her condition should've been worse than it was if I'm correct about her diagno... oh crap, she's dead, isn't she..."
Been around this forum for over 8 years now. Everyone I've known has left, now it's my time to do the same.

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Akira110
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Re: The Mellow Corridor

#4 Post by Akira110 »

Chapter 3

Yoshiro looked out of the window at the sunset, it was almost a perfect metaphor, he had just awakened and his mother had already died. Aiko called out from the kitchen, "Yoshiro, I made some dinner for us." Yoshiro sighed and ignored her, but Aiko walked out and placed her hand on his shoulder, "I know what you're going through, you just lost your mother and you're very depressed." Yoshiro looked at her, "What would you know, I've spent the last few years in a coma... and upon waking up, my mother, who spent all this time trying to revive me, just dies before my very eyes." Aiko nodded and leaned against the wall, she adjusted her hair into a ponytail as she looked out the window, "Look, I'm not going to lie to you, Yoshiro, losing someone is always going to be hard, especially when the timing is like this..."

Yoshiro nodded slightly, "I'm sorry for lashing out at you like that, just... I'm feeling so very upset right now." Aiko nodded slightly, "It's alright, I'll tell you what, you come with me to eat dinner, and I'll go with you out on the town, I'd like to explore Eltirana and get to know the people and culture better." Yoshiro nodded, "We could go to the park, they have a statue of the greatest King of Eltirana there." Aiko nodded, she hid her amazement at the fact that the android before her was showing emotions like an actual flesh and blood person and was remembering things like a flesh and blood person. She couldn't believe that something like this could exist, but she smiled softly, "Alright then, you have a deal. We'll go have dinner and then we'll go to the park, does that sound good to you?"

Yoshiro nodded slightly and followed Aiko into the dining room, where there was a sizable meal prepared before them. Aiko chuckled slightly, "I apologize, just, I'm used to cooking for myself and I don't know how much you eat, so I made all of this." Yoshiro sat down in a chair and made a plate of food for himself. As the two of them ate their food, Yoshiro looked up at the ceiling, "I wonder what kind of man Stephanus was." Aiko spoke up, "He was a very good man, very generous and kind to his people. He always cared for his family and kept begging Erasmus to come back and be part of the family. Ever since his death, Erasmus has been in self-exile, having failed to protect his older brother when the day to do so had come. When training with Yoshiko, Erasmus would tell me stories of this planet, of its people."

Yoshiro nodded slightly, "So that's why you decided to come here to visit?" Aiko nodded slightly, "Yes. I wanted to see it all with my own eyes. But upon getting here, I've come to realize that... I don't know anything about this world or where to go. And you must be lonely, being the only other Verbanan that lives on Eltirana." Yoshiro shook his head, "There are thousands of Verbanans that choose to live here. Most of them are in Verbanan families, but I was an orphan, taken in by an Eltiranan scientist and a renown roboticist who couldn't have any children of her own. I made her happy, and she loved me for being me. I guess... I just feel alone, because I didn't have a family of Verbanans to be with." Aiko nodded slightly, "I understand how you feel... more than you could possibly know."

Yoshiro tilted his head, "How?" Aiko sighed and looked down and she wiped her mouth with a napkin, "My mother is Amaterasu and my father is Raiden." Yoshiro looked at her in disbelief, "You're kidding!?" Aiko shook her head, "My siblings are deities, and I'm the only mortal in my family... there are times that despite all the love that they give me, I can't help but feel like I'm alone out there. I can just imagine this is how my late sister, Minako felt." Aiko looked out of the window and sighed, "Now here I am, on an unfamiliar world, I don't know what's going on or where I'm going. But... I'm making my own choices in life and I've got to live with the consequences of those choices." Yoshiro nodded slightly, "You're the child of two deities from a family of deities, so this makes you feel lonely and being here doesn't help."

Aiko nodded with a slight smile, "That's about the gist of it." Yoshiro nodded, "So you do know how I feel, just, in a different way than I do." Aiko looked out the window, "Looks like the sun went down, I hear that Verbana is in the sky tonight, you still wish to go to the park?" Yoshiro stood up and smiled, "Yes, I do. I would like to get to see your homeworld." Aiko stood up and smiled as the two of them left the dining room and then the house. As the two walked down the sidewalk, Yoshiro pointed at places and explained to Aiko what each of them were and Aiko listened in amazement of the memories that Leticia had put into her android's memory banks. As the two of them finally reached the park, Aiko laid eyes on a statue of a dragon, "So this is Stephanus..."

Yoshiro nodded, "Yes, this is him. He was considered our greatest king and I respect everything that he did for us. Aiko, will you show me where Verbana is?" Aiko laid down in the grass and Yoshiro did the same, "The stars are in slightly different positions than on my homeworld, but that blue dot over there, that's Verbana." Yoshiro nodded slightly as he looked at it, "Verbana is a very pretty shade of blue." Aiko nodded, "You should see it up close, it really is a very beautiful planet and I rather enjoy living there. Though it's a fair bit colder than Eltirana." Yoshiro nodded, "I read that both Verbana and Eltirana exist within the habitable zone of our binary star system. However, the planets are close to the two extremes." Aiko nodded and closed her eyes, "Yeah, this seems like a good place to sleep." Yoshiro nodded, "I'll look at the skies all night, I've slept enough already."
Been around this forum for over 8 years now. Everyone I've known has left, now it's my time to do the same.

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Re: The Mellow Corridor

#5 Post by Akira110 »

Chapter 4

Balthoron found himself in front of his wife, Kazuko and a little girl that looked more Kitsune than Elvish. He looked at the both of them and smiled slightly, "I'm glad to see the two of you again." Kazuko hugged him and he smiled as he looked down at his daughter, "Hello, I'm not sure what your name is." The little girl nodded, "You didn't give me a name... Daddy." Balthoron nodded, "How abou... wait a second... the two of you aren't here, you're both gone... both of you are... dead." Balthoron watched as the scenery around him melted and he once again saw the corpse of his wife, except this time, she was standing in front of him, "If you hadn't sent me ahead, honey, I wouldn't have died!" Balthoron shook his head and suddenly a loud bang sounded out and Balthoron opened his eyes to find that he was back in the hotel.

Balthoron knew what was going on and he got out of bed and grabbed his pants and his shotgun. He put his pants over his smallclothes and checked the ammo of the shotgun. He also made sure that there was a round in the chamber, before he turned off the safety. He slowly opened his door and hid in the bathroom as he pulled it open, he heard a voice say, "We woke someone!" Another voice spoke up, "[censored]! Kill them, we can have no witnesses!" Balthoron sighed and placed a hand on his chin, stroking his well trimmed beard as he wondered if these people had any clue of what was about to happen. He watched as a person entered his bedroom and he gripped his shotgun in a two-handed grip and moved his index finger onto the trigger, he was intent on firing his weapon.

The person shot at the bed and then the closet and Balthoron held back a sigh, he was disgusted with the sheer sloppiness of the would-be assassin. Balthoron watched as the person walked towards the bathroom and he retreated deeper into the shadows. He knew that he wasn't like Klaartje and couldn't meld with them, but his training allowed him to use said shadows to his advantage. As the man entered the bathroom, he turned to fire his rifle into the shower, but Balthoron pressed the barrel of his shotgun into the back of the man's head, "Drop your weapon." The man tried to turn around, so Balthoron fired his shotgun. He knew that the noise was bound to attract attention so he quickly moved towards the window and opened it. As he heard the sounds of footsteps run towards his location, he jumped out the open window and quickly ran to the corner.

As he turned the corner, he saw a vehicle that wasn't there before. It wasn't a design he was entirely familiar with, but he knew that by the size, there had to be eight people in the hotel at most, including the one person who he killed. Balthoron pumped his shotgun to eject the empty shell and chamber a fresh one. He then used his off hand to hit a switch that changed the mode of his shotgun from pump-action to semi-auto. He watched as a two-man team rushed out the front door and turn towards him, Balthoron fired his shotgun and caught them both in the chest with the spread of the weapon. As the two of them fell to the ground, dead, he sighed slightly, "This is why I prefer shotguns." He knew that the rest of the five people would wind up coming out.

He also knew that if they were smart, they'd try a pincer attack, but that wouldn't matter much as Balthoron concentrated and focused every ounce of mana that he had into his hand. He closed his fist to hide the crackling electricity in his hand and pressed himself against the building as he watched three people walk out the front and turned to see two people walk around the corner, all of them with their weapons drawn. Balthoron opened his fist and released every bit of mana into his specific Mana Burst. Lightning swiftly arced from his hand into the chests of the remaining five people, Balthoron hit the ground as their bodies started to convulse and they started firing at each other and the air. He knew that they were already dead as the amperage of the shock was high enough to stop their hearts.

Balthoron switched his weapon from semi-auto mode to pump-action as the lifeless bodies fell to the ground. He was out of mana and wouldn't be able to use magic until he finally recovered after a good night's rest. He removed his finger from the trigger and switched back on the safety as he manually ejected the shell from the weapon and he inserted it back into the clip of the weapon. He sighed as he walked back in to see many people lay dead, but more people stood in the hallway, afraid of what was happening. Balthoron sighed, "You guys need to alert the authorities." Balthoron heard a voice speak up behind him, "We've already been alerted. Judging from the fact that you're half-naked, you're not one of these gunmen?" Balthoron looked back at the officer, "No, I'm not. Mind if I get dressed, I'll answer whatever questions you have after."

The officer nodded and Balthoron walked to his room to open the closet to find that his shirt and jacket had been shot up. He sighed, "Good thing I have a few spares in the car." He put on his socks and then his boots before walking out and the officer spoke up, "Several of the people here report that you had engaged these men. Is that true?" Balthoron nodded, "Yeah, I may be on vacation, but I'm still one of the Raptors." The officer looked at him, "Wait a second, you're Balthoron!" Balthoron nodded slightly, "Yeah..." The officer sighed, "So you tried to save these people?" Balthoron shook his head, "I was trying to survive. I had assumed that everyone else was dead." The officer nodded, "Well, do you mind staying here while we question the witnesses?" Balthoron shook his head, "I don't have anywhere to be in a hurry."
Been around this forum for over 8 years now. Everyone I've known has left, now it's my time to do the same.

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Akira110
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Re: The Mellow Corridor

#6 Post by Akira110 »

Chapter 5

The sun shined on Aiko's face and she opened her eyes, she saw Yoshiro standing over next to a tree, "Don't stare at the sun for very long, you'll hurt your eyes, especially with the proximity to our binary stars that Eltirana has." Yoshiro turned back and nodded, "The Red Dwarf is especially beautiful as it rises first. Our solar system is an eclipsing binary star system where a M class star revolves around a G class, correct?" Aiko nodded slightly, "It's why there are periods of the year the Red Dwarf doesn't appear in our skies. The winter on Verbana, especially where I live is a great example of this. Come on, we need to get back home, there's a lot we have to get done before..." A voice spoke up behind her, "A lot before what, Kitsune?" Aiko turned around to see a blond haired, blue eyed Ram Tribe Eltiranan standing behind her in regal attire and with guards surrounding her.

Aiko looked towards Yoshiro, "Um... you're the Eltiranan here, can you help me with this?" The Ram Tribe Eltiranan narrowed her eyes and a guard walked over to Aiko, raising his hand, "You do not treat the queen with such disrespect." As the man swung his hand at him, Aiko grabbed it, "Violence isn't necessary." Yoshiro turned to look at the guard, "I would advise against using your other hand against her." Another guard looked at him, "You want to go?" Yoshiro shook his head, "I don't wish to fight at all, I've done too much fighting in my life." The guard that Aiko had blocked decided to ignore Aiko's suggestion and she used the extra momentum to toss him to the ground, "Please, stop this. What is going on?" The Ram Tribe Eltiranan spoke up, "You came with Balthoron, you should know that he brings nothing but trouble where he goes."

Aiko blinked, she wasn't aware that Balthoron had such a reputation on Eltirana, "I mean sure, he's a mercenary and all and he's called the Red Reaper for a reason that I'm not quite sure of..." The woman narrowed her eyes further and her tone became cold, "Balthoron is responsible for the death of my sister. She was killed this morning." Aiko looked at the woman, "That's not possible, Balthoron isn't the kind of person that kills civilians!" The woman looked at her, "Do you even listen to yourself, you admit the man is called the Red Reaper, even if he doesn't directly cause death, it follows him wherever he goes. He cannot run from the legacy he has created during the Galactic War, he cannot even hide from the legacy of his own late father. You're willing to believe that he's a peace loving person? Pathetic."

Yoshiro looked at her, "Your eyes say that you have a heart full of hatred for Balthoron, what else has he done to you?" The woman looked at the android, and spat on the ground, "My parents were killed during the Galactic War because of him." Aiko looked at her, "That's no reason to hate him." The woman looked at Aiko and motioned towards the guards, "Perhaps, but you just assaulted one of my guards. You will be arrested." Aiko looked at her, "He attacked me first." Yoshiro looked at the queen, "You're being highly illogical here, your highness. Just because this woman came with Balthoron, you and your guards are treating her like she's has less worth than the dirt you're standing on right now." The Queen looked at the android, "And what would a Kitsune without any identification know of what this person is worth?"

Aiko took the glove off her right hand and raised her hand into the air, the back of her hand facing the suns. As the rays of light from the two suns reached her hand, the mark started to glow brightly. She then lowered her hand and showed it for the Eltiranans to see, "Enough of this, I am the daughter of Amaterasu Sano, Deity of the Sun. I will not be treated like I'm some animal, if you are willing to have a civil discourse, I will be happy to talk with you." The queen's eyes widened as she knew what her actions would mean, "Very well, you're free to go, but he isn't." Aiko lowered her tone, "You will let him go as well, he did nothing to you or your guards." The Queen was disgusted at this and didn't bother to hide it, "Fine."

Aiko watched as the guards walked away with their queen, Yoshiro sighing slightly, "Hopefully our trip back home won't have people like her." Aiko started to walk away, she was reminded of Xander and she tried to hide her anger at this. Yoshiro took notice, "Aiko, what's wrong?" Aiko looked back, "I'm not in the mood to talk about the [censored] she reminds me of." Yoshiro nodded slightly, "Okay, but... is it an ex-boyfriend?" Aiko turned around and glared at Yoshiro, "Never tell me that Xander is my ex-boyfriend, ever again!" Yoshiro nodded slightly, "Very well then, I apologize that I spoke incorrectly about the person's relationship to you." Aiko sighed, "It's fine, I'm sorry for snapping at you like that." Yoshiro nodded, "It was I that was in error. I shouldn't have assumed that you and he were, you know..." Aiko turned around, "Come on."

Yoshiro followed Aiko towards the house, and as Aiko walked, she wondered what Balthoron's legacy was. She knew that he was a mercenary and she knew that he was involved in the Galactic War, but was he truly as evil as that Eltiranan told her? She shook her head slightly, she couldn't believe that Balthoron would target civilians. She had no idea where she'd find him, but she knew she had to. However, she couldn't leave the android behind, she had to take him as well. Aiko sighed a bit as they came to the front door of the house and Yoshiro looked at her, "Is everything alright?" Aiko shook her head, "No." Yoshiro nodded, "It is natural to have doubts when someone challenges everything you know about someone, but don't let it interfere with your work, okay?" Aiko nodded, "Alright, let's get some breakfast and then we can go start exploring Verbana."
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Re: The Mellow Corridor

#7 Post by Akira110 »

Chapter 6

Aiko heard a knock on the door, and she looked at Yoshiro who was still eating breakfast, "Hold on, I'll get it." Yoshiro nodded and spoke with his mouth full, "Your food is delicious, Aiko." Aiko sighed, "Don't do that, it's rude." Aiko walked over to the front door and opened it to see the Kitsune form of Julius, "Sia isthasy... bivai, myvish, si tepoha confn de Verbana lae si xurwka vi inglata ekess Yoshiko batobot si ornla qe mrith wux." Aiko honestly only understood the words Verbana and Yoshiko in the sentence, "Julius... I thought I said that I want to be on Verbana, alone." Julius spoke in Common this time, "I promised your previous life that I would take care of his reincarnation, no matter their affiliation or gender. Though I guess with you being a woman now, you'd be my sister." Aiko shook her head, "I am not your sister. Yoshiro and I are different people."

Julius nodded slightly, "Very well then." Aiko folded her arms, "Though I will admit, you are my friend, Julius. The only reason why I'm not going to flip out at you is because I know that you have it in your head that you're going to stay with me until either one of us dies. Much like Rogelio Sanez Lorca in the tales of old." Julius shook his head, "Rogelio was different. Rogelio had a life debt." Aiko nodded, she knew of the Mofetian life debt as her ex-boyfriend was Mofeta. Julius motioned towards the interior of the house, "May I come in?" Aiko sighed slightly, "Julius... I... ugh, fine." Julius nodded slightly, "Miss Sano, you need to come to grip with the fact that you will never truly be alone. People are always going to be by your side." Aiko nodded slightly, she understood that fact as Julius walked into the house.

Yoshiro looked up, "A Kitsune with green draconic wings, you must be a dragon." Julius looked over and his nose picked up a familiar scent and he wondered if Leticia really went through with the crazy plan he had warned her not to, "What is your name, 'Kitsune'?" Yoshiro looked up at the ceiling, "Yoshiro Slinde is my full name, why?" Julius nodded slightly and muttered, "Of course she did..." He walked in, "My name is Julius, I have no surname, but my brother... gave me one. He said that as far as he's concerned, I'm Julius Miyamae." Yoshiro stood up, "Then that means that you're one of the Legendary Soldiers of the Galactic War!" Julius shook his head, "I'm not legendary... and I would appreciate you avoiding saying that I am. However, I can assist the two of you if you need to travel."

Aiko looked at Julius, "You really mean that you're going to let us fly on your back?" Julius nodded, "Yes, I... I would like to see the Draconic Kingdom that was founded on Eltirana, though. Do either of you mind?" Aiko shook her head, "I wanted to explore Eltirana anyhow, I honestly do not mind, especially if we can get away from this kingdom." Yoshiro looked at Julius, "So what was the Galactic War like?" Julius sighed, "Something neither of you should be looking into reliving." Julius turned his back, "No living creature or android should bother even trying to live through a simulation of that war." Aiko felt it strange that Julius had stressed the word android, but Yoshiro didn't seem to be bothered, "So you would like for me to drop the subject." Julius nodded, "You're very astute." Julius looked back, "Remember this though, I don't like you very much. However, for Aiko's sake, I'll be polite."

Aiko sighed, "You couldn't have waited til I was at least out of the room to say that?" Julius turned his head towards her, "I was alive before Verbana had its liberation, I met Akira when he was still known only as Kawal. Do you honestly believe that I care what someone thinks of my opinion of someone else?" Aiko blinked, "That was unusually blunt, Julius." Julius sighed, "I'm aware, but I also honestly have earned that right." Julius turned around, "I'll be waiting outside." Yoshiro stood up, "Aiko, I'm going to go talk to him, find out what's going on." Aiko nodded, "Be careful." Yoshiro nodded slightly and walked out of the house, where he saw a large green dragon staring down at him, "Svabol tir wux tuor?" Yoshiro shook his head, "I do not understand what you are telling me."

Julius leaned his head down, "What do you want..." Yoshiro folded his arms, "Why don't you like me." Julius growled, "Because you are a ghost, nothing more." Yoshiro laughed, "I am very much alive." Julius looked into the android's eyes, "Why don't you search for yourself in the archives?" Yoshiro scoffed, "I'm not an android, I can't just connect to the archives." Julius shook his head and looked up towards the horizion, "When we go to Draconic Territory, I will take you to the archives, it is there that you will find out about your true nature." Yoshiro shrugged, "Whatever you say, Julius. Tell me though, what do you know of the Red Reaper?" Julius looked at him, "Where'd you hear that name?" Yoshiro shook his head, "Doesn't matter." Julius moved his face into Yoshiro's face, "Who told you the Nom de Guerre of Red Reaper?"

Yoshiro shrugged, "The queen of this kingdom." Julius nodded, "Yes, I know who the Red Reaper is, but I do not know of what he did on Eltirana. I was busy fighting on the Verbanan front at first and once Verbana was liberated, I joined Yoshiko in assisting the Draconic faction in their fight against the Thraxi-Neanderthal forces. However, I will not tell you who the Red Reaper is, for all I know, you could be some sort of spy." Yoshiro became angry, "I am not a spy and you know that." Julius sighed, "Even if you prove it to me, there's a high chance that I will not tell you, is that clear?" Aiko walked out of the house, "I see that neither of you are getting along... can you promise civility, Julius?" Julius nodded and looked up at the sky, "Yes, I can. However, that one should stop asking me questions that I do not wish to answer." Yoshiro nodded, "Very well then. Are we ready to go?" Aiko nodded, "Yes, we are."
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Re: The Mellow Corridor

#8 Post by Akira110 »

Chapter 7

Balthoron sighed as he climbed back into his car, he had been questioned for hours and had to keep himself in check when the media came as he wanted to punch one of the reporters. He started up the car and checked his mirror as he pulled out into the road. He took a road towards a mountain that had a biker bar on it and he sighed as he drove, the better half of the day had already been spent. Suddenly Balthoron saw a shadow go over him, a shadow that he recognized, "Is that Julius? No, it can't be... Aiko stated clearly that she left him behind on Verbana." Balthoron sighed slightly as he continued driving. He wondered how Harumi would treat him, and what Harumi would look like after all of these years. The war didn't hit Eltirana as hard as it had hit Verbana, but it still hit here.

It was evening when he finally reached the mountain and he pulled into a biker bar. He noticed one of the bikers looking at his car as he pulled up. Balthoron took off his seat belt when he watched the biker smash a club into the hood of his car. Balthoron sighed and reached into his glove compartment. As the biker walked around towards his window, he grabbed the gun and deftly switched the safety off. He grabbed the handle with the other hand and as he pulled the gun out, he shoved the door open and pointed it at the man's face, who he noticed was a monkey tribe Eltiranan. The Eltiranan laughed, "That thing isn't loaded, old man." Balthoron pointed it over the Eltiranan's shoulder and fired before centering it back on the man's head, "Loaded, safety's off and believe me, I'm prepared to fire this thing. You wouldn't be the first person I've killed."

The Eltiranan backed off when Balthoron heard Harumi's voice, "Bartolomeo, what did I tell you about starting trouble at my bar." Bartolomeo looked at Harumi, "He started it!" Balthoron switched his safety back on and Bartolomeo decided to try to take this as his advantage. Balthoron snapped his fingers and his hand crackled with electricity, "Touch me, and I'll stop your damn heart. You owe me for damages to my car." Harumi walked over and grabbed Balthoron's shoulder, "Let him go. The authorities will be here to arre... Balthoron!?" Balthoron turned to look at Harumi, "Yeah, it's me." Harumi lowered her sunglasses, "Why are you here!?" Bartolomeo thought this would be a great idea to rush Balthoron, but Balthoron raised his hand in his direction and shocked him until he lost consciousness, "I'm here to see you, big sister."

Harumi sighed, "You and Tsuyoshi fight all the damn time and yet you find the time to track me down... you really are something else, Balthoron. The thing is, I'm here, because I don't want to be found. I'm done with all the drama, ever since Hiromi died..." Balthoron nodded, "Tsuyoshi and I have been at each others throats. But that's going to change... I told him the truth about what happened, fifty years ago." Harumi sighed and folded her arms, "Balthoron, you're my baby brother and that will never change. I love you and I always will. But, things as they are, I'm happy here. But I'll tell you what, I'll be part of the family again on one condition." Balthoron looked at her, "Sure thing, sis." Harumi looked at him, "Tsuyoshi and Misaki decide to be part of the family as well." Balthoron shrugged, "I'm already halfway there, how hard can convincing Tsuyoshi be?"

Harumi sighed, "Balthoron, kiddo. You just tempted fate, don't ever do that. Plus you forget who our father was. Mom's plenty stubborn as well, but Dad... Dad was a special kind of stubborn." Balthoron nodded, "So you believe that Tsuyoshi is as well?" Harumi shrugged, "The man's my twin brother. I want you to think on that one for a second." Balthorn sighed, "Stupid question, I know... but seriously, Harumi, why are you making me jump through these hoops?" Harumi looked away, "Out of all of us, who do you think Hiromi was closest to?" Balthoron looked down, and Harumi nodded, "Yes... you. Do you not think that she'd want you to try to repair the family, to do what she always did." Balthoron looked at his hands and tears welled up in his eyes, "I don't think Hiromi would approve of me anymore... I've done things that I regret."

Harumi nodded, "Both you and Tsuyoshi walked down the same path that our father did. The two of you ignored his warnings and look at where it got the both of you. My twin is blind courtesy of you and has a bionic hand, courtesy of you as well. The two of you have spent the last few hundred years hating each other, but at the same time in an uneasy truce. I love the both of you, Misaki loves the both of you, but Balthoron, you and Tsuyoshi honestly need to cut the crap and start thinking about what you're doing. What Dad did, he honestly did fight to protect people, even after Uncle Rogelio died. He fought to protect, not just out of a sense of revenge." Balthoron looked away, "So what are you saying?" Harumi folded her arms, "Look up, Balthoron, stop hiding the fact that you're crying."

Balthoron looked up and tears streamed down his face, Harumi walked over and hugged him, "Baby brother, you use your ideals as an excuse to do what you want. I don't care if you follow down Dad's path, but at least follow down his path in the same way that he walked it. Both you and Tsuyoshi need to realize this." Harumi broke the hug, "Baby brother, you can't hide from your past and what you did during the Galactic War forever, you know. Eventually that past is going to catch up with you, but the question is, are you ready for it?" Balthoron looked towards the horizon, "No... I... I guess I need to be alone for a while. Harumi, can you watch over Aiko for me while I spend time out of our star system?" Harumi nodded, "Dad's reincarnation? Sure, I can do that. Beats being at the bar every day." Balthoron nodded, "Thanks, sis." Harumi smiled, "Any time, baby brother."
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Re: The Mellow Corridor

#9 Post by Akira110 »

Chapter 8

Julius landed in Draconic territory, he had arrived at the Dragon Palace and looked at the two passengers on his back, "This is where you two get off, I have someone to meet inside." Aiko nodded slightly as she and Yoshiro slid off, "Where do we go from here?" Julius raised his forepaw and pointed at a house, "They allow Eltiranans to stay there for a while. You'll have to forgive the size of Draconic architecture, it really isn't built with people of your stature in mind." Aiko nodded and walked over to the building with Yoshiro, leaving Julius to himself as he looked at the gate and sighed. He walked up to the gate of the palace and he was greeted by a guard, "Oden doutan." Julius looked at the guard, "Si mi Julius, jennu-autgabin di Bahamut, vur colonel persvek wer Verbanan angrimich." The dragon nodded slightly as he ran a scan over Julius.

The dragon motioned towards the door, "Good to see that you have not forgotten our tongue, Colonel." Julius shook his head, "I retired, just call me Julius." Julius walked into the palace, the scent of his own people was nearly intoxicating to him and reminded him greatly of the past. He remembered his parents raising him and his siblings with great love and how much Bahamut loved to dote on them. As he closed his eyes, a booming voice startled him, "Hello, Verbanan Dragon, how may I help you?" Julius recognized who that voice belonged to, a dragoness that was around the same size as his own great-grandfather and a deity herself, "Great-grandaunt Tiamat." Julius turned around to look at his great-grandaunt, though he wasn't exactly a runt himself, she towered over him, "It is good to see you again. I wish I had more time to visit, but..."

Tiamat shook her head, "You came because you wanted something, is that right?" Julius nodded, "I came to follow Balthoron, I've dug up some things on him that were in the archives back on Verbana, but you're the only one in this system that can increase my clearance level." Tiamat nodded, "If that's why you came here, why did you bother with the lie in the first place?" Julius shook his head, "Ever since Mom and Dad died and Great-Grandfather left the system to lead the Draconic faction, you've become all I have in terms of blood relatives within this system." Tiamat nodded, "While that is true, why do you want to learn more about Balthoron?" Julius sighed, "Because I heard rumors that he was the one that wiped out an Eltiranan colony back during the Galactic War and I want to see if there is any truth to this."

Tiamat nodded, "Understandable, what about the two that accompanied you here?" Julius sat down, "The android needs access to the archives in order to find out that he has no past. That all he is, is an artificial life form, not this being that grew up from being a child." Tiamat nodded, "He might be learning that the hard way anyhow..." Julius looked up at her, "What do you mean?" Tiamat sighed, "The surname Slinde isn't well liked with some of the Eltiranans around here. Leticia's father was sort of... how do I put this..." Julius answered for her, "A completely obsessed homicidal maniac that will murder ally and enemy in order to get to his goal?" Tiamat nodded, "Yes, how did you know that?" Julius shrugged, "Simple, I killed him." Tiamat sighed, "The calmness in your voice as you say that worries me a bit, Julius."

Julius nodded, "That is understandable, but the man was a monster. I broke into his lab as he was experimenting on one of my children. I had to put my child down, but not before I broke that man's legs. After I... killed my own... son... I killed Leticia's father. What was found left of him was too charred for even his own daughter to recognize with a DNA test." Tiamat nodded slightly, "I can understand what you feel, Julius. It is never easy to be forced to take the life of someone you love, especially your own child." Julius nodded slightly as Tiamat walked towards the throne room. He followed her in and watched as she sat down on a throne and gave him a bit of a smirk, "I'll tell you what, Julius, in the morning, you'll have full security clearance. However, your companions will not."

Julius nodded, "Thank you." Tiamat nodded slightly, "However, I will not let you leave the palace and do anything in the archives tonight." Julius looked out the window, "Why's that?" Tiamat pointed on the horizon, "Storm tonight, your friends would be wise to stay inside. Draconic technology can protect them while they're in buildings, but not when they're outside of them." Julius nodded, "I see. Well, so what are we going to do in the meantime?" Tiamat sighed slightly, "I don't know, but if any non-dragons find out about who created that android, hopefully Aiko knows enough of how to fight in order to stay out of trouble." Julius nodded, "She's a Kensei, she'll be able to hold people off." Tiamat nodded, "Daughter of Amaterasu if I'm not mistaken. I'll be sure to send a couple of my personal guard to help them, in case some trouble comes up. I would rather avoid conflict with the deity of the sun."

Julius nodded slightly, "Hey... do you think that... nevermind." Tiamat looked at him, "Julius, it's alright, you can ask auntie Tiamat anything." Julius nodded, "Do you think that Balthoron actually did what he is accused of?" Tiamat shook her head, "The only one who knows for real is Balthoron. The archives have conflicting evidence. Your best bet is to go find him and ask him yourself." Julius nodded slightly, "I understand. I'm going to head to the guest quarters, if that's alright with you." Tiamat nodded and pointed down a hallway, "They're that way." Julius nodded and walked down a hallway, before coming to a life-size statue of his cousin, Stephanus, "You were a wonderful king. Both you and Master Erasmus are the children of Tiamat, but your little brother doesn't want anything to do with the throne and has more or less exiled himself. I'm sorry, Stephanus." Julius looked away and walked towards his room, with thoughts of what he would find in the archives on his mind.
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Re: The Mellow Corridor

#10 Post by Akira110 »

Chapter 9

Aiko looked out the window as Yoshiro sat down on a couch. She sighed as the wind picked up, "Looks like a horrible storm, we might be in this for a while." Before Aiko could turn to see how Yoshiro was doing, she heard her door get kicked in. Before she knew it, two people rushed into the house and she reached for her sword, but one of the people pointed a gun at her, "Put the weapon down, we're here for the Slinde..." Yoshiro stood up, "Leave her alone." The other person laughed, "You think we'll lower our guard around a Kensei, you're dumber than you look." The person aiming their gun at Aiko growled, "Get on the ground, NOW!" Aiko got on her knees and got onto the ground. The other person spoke up, "Just shoot her, man, we can't have any witnesses." Aiko heard the sound of a gun be discharged and she felt a pain rip through her torso.

That was when Yoshiro became angry and punched the person that was standing in front of him. He heard a sickening cracking sound as his fist connected with the skull of the Eltiranan, "I said that you could take me! Not that you could hurt her! Aiko did nothing to you!" Yoshiro growled at the remaining member who drew a sword with an energy blade affixed to it, "I'll do what I did to your friend!" Yoshiro rushed the person and punched him in the head at the same time as the person swung the blade. The blade effortlessly cut through his arm, severing it at the elbow, but the hand had enough momentum behind it to hit the person, killing them instantly. Aiko looked up as the man slumped down and hit the ground, "You... killed them..."

Yoshiro closed his eyes, "I didn't mean to, I'm sorry..." Yoshiro opened them and looked at his severed arm, "I'm... a cyborg?" Aiko felt bad and shook her head, "No... you're not. Look can you help me up, I don't think their shot hit anything vital, but it came out of my leg and I can't stand up." Yoshiro picked Aiko up with his left hand with a frown and placed her on the couch, "What do you mean that I'm not a cyborg?" Aiko sighed, "I was told not to tell you the truth, but I can't bear it anymore, you're an android." Yoshiro frowned, "So what everyone's been saying about me is true, I'm just... a machine... unless you're also lying!" Aiko shook her head and frowned, "I have no reason to lie to someone that makes me feel like I'm not alone..." Yoshiro grabbed the sword that was on the ground and used it to cut off part of his face, when he raised it to his eyes, he noticed there wasn't any blood.

Yoshiro threw it down, "No... no... I'm a Kitsune, I served in the war... I'm a life form! I'm not a mere machine!" Aiko stood up and tried to take a step before falling to the ground because of her leg injury. Yoshiro looked at the arm that had been severed, "All this time, I was someone else... my memories are fake and I'm just a thing!" Aiko crawled towards him, thankful that the shot also cauterized her wound. A loud clap of thunder was heard and she looked at the door, "Yoshiro, that storm sounds rough." Yoshiro looked at her, "What's my real name!?" Aiko looked at him, "Your mother, Leticia called you Yoshiro, that is your real name. Just because you're a..." She grabbed an end table and used it to pick herself off the ground, "Unh... just because you're an android, doesn't mean that you're a lifeform of some sort."

Yoshiro looked up at her, "You... mean that?" Aiko started to drag her leg as she moved towards him, "Yeah, look, I'm the reincarnation of the legendary hero, Yoshiro. When I found that out, I thought that was all I'd ever be, just the reincarnation of some hero from the past. I had to be taught that I was my own individual, I had to learn that I was my own person." Yoshiro nodded slightly, "And you are a person, I'm just a..." Aiko slumped down and hugged him, "You're an artificial life form called Yoshiro Slinde, your mother is Leticia Slinde. Just because your birth wasn't like mine, doesn't mean that you're any less of a person. Your mother took great love in making you alive, you have emotions, you eat, you drink, you laugh... and you might even love."

Yoshiro looked at her, "I loved my mom... or at least that's what my memories say I did... the memories she gave me to lie about how I'm a living creature." Aiko sighed, "Your memories up until recently are fake, yes, but look... she did that out of love for you. She loved you, you are her son. Whether you want to believe this or not, she made you a person. She made you an individual separate from the person she named you after... from my first life." Yoshiro looked down at her, "You're hurt, badly... and yet you are trying to be here to comfort me?" Aiko shrugged, "Balthoron taught me about medicine and anatomy. Despite the shot having pierced my body hasn't hit anything major. I'll live, even if it is painful."

Yoshiro frowned, "Tell me, why are you so fixated on calling me a life form?" Aiko looked into the eyes of the android, "Because, you are one. You may not have a soul, but she gave you a heart. You might not admit it, but you have shown that you care for me..." Yoshiro nodded, "You're my friend. I just hope you don't mind that..." Aiko interrupted him, "You're not a bucket of bolts. And yes, I'm glad to be your friend. Originally, I didn't know what to think of you, but the last two days have been... interesting to say the least. You're a very good person at heart, Yoshiro." A new voice spoke, "Looks like we're late..." Yoshiro watched as a Dog Tribe Eltiranan rushed over to them, "Looks like you were damaged and Aiko got shot. Hmmm... you must be the Slinde android."

Yoshiro nodded slightly as Aiko was pulled off of him as a Rabbit Tribe Eltiranan came over to him and picked up the severed arm that was on the ground, "We'll be able to repair you. Doug, how's the Kitsune?" The Dog Tribe Eltiranan from before spoke up, "She's injured, but it's not serious. Hmm... ma'am, this is going to hurt." Aiko nodded and gritted her teeth, but as Doug pressed on the wound from both sides, she yelled out in pain. The Rabbit Tribe Eltiranan spoke up, "My name is Elise. Doug and I are personal guards for Tiamat. we help around when we can, especially when she has non-draconic visitors. We would've been here earlier, but the story was impeding our progress." Aiko nodded, "That's alright, thanks for being here." Yoshiro looked up at the ceiling, "So what am I... really?" Both Doug and Elise spoke at once, "An artificial life form."
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Re: The Mellow Corridor

#11 Post by Akira110 »

Chapter 10

Yoshiro looked out the window as the sun rose beyond the horizon, he had sat in the window sill for a while now and didn't really care about the fact that he was wet. He couldn't sleep with the revelation that he was an artificial being and raised his severed limb to his face. He looked upon it sadly, frowning as he did so. He closed his eyes and sighed to himself, when a voice spoke to him, "You're no mere machine, kid." Yoshiro opened his eyes and looked around, "What? Who's there?" A figure appeared near him, "I'm not supposed to interfere with the living, but technically, you're not alive so, yay for loopholes!" Yoshiro looked at him, "Am I hallucinating?" The figure shrugged, "I'm a ghost appearing before you, and your first question when you have a neural network instead of a brain is, 'Ami I hallucinating?' Seriously, kid..."

Yoshiro looked down, "So... what does that mean?" The ghost sighed, "Well, let me introduce myself, my name is Hiroshi Misawa. I'm not supposed to be reborn for another few hundred years. The point is, there's a loophole, I'm taking advantage of it and I'm here to help you, kiddo." Yoshiro looked out the window, "I'm an android... that's all I ever been..." Hiroshi sighed and placed his hand on his head as he shook his head, "Man, getting through to you is going to be difficult. Do you even realize how difficult this is and how much trouble I'm already in? If you think you're the only one that can see or hear me, you're wrong. I might be dead, but the dead aren't exactly silent and since I can't appear to you in a vision, I have to make myself at least partially corporeal." Yoshiro looked over at him and reached for the ghost.

Hiroshi moved, "Look, I was watching when your mother created you, alright... but..." Yoshiro sighed, "Just leave me alone." Hiroshi shook his head, "I'm trying to tell you something important." Yoshiro heard someone clear their throat and turned to see Emiko standing there. Hiroshi turned around, "I'm in trouble, aren't I?" Emiko nodded and pointed at the door. Hiroshi lowered his head and walked out of the house as Emiko looked at Yoshiro, "Sorry about that, he's a bit of a handful." Yoshiro nodded and continued to look out the window, "It's alright, thanks for getting him." Emiko left the house and Elise walked into the room, "You never bothered going to sleep... who was in the house?" Yoshiro looked away, "Just a couple of people wanted to talk to me is all." Elise nodded, "Well you should at least get some rest."

Yoshiro shook his head, "I do not require sleep, I don't require anything your organics need..." Elise sighed, "I wish you'd stop talking like that, Doug and I already told you that you're an artificial life form. I know that it'll take time for you to adjust to what you really are. But look, we accept you for who you are, Queen Tiamat accepts you for who you are and ordered us to come protect you. I'm sorry that the two of us were late, but, we came as fast as we could." Yoshiro sighed and looked at Elise, "Tell me then, why was I created?" Elise shook her head, "Only Dr. Slinde knows the truth and she left a lot of recordings for you in the lab. However, Julius wants to visit the archives later today and I know Aiko is curious about what they hold as well, why don't you join us?"

Yoshiro shook his head, "I wish not to join you. I've already learned more than I could possibly imagine, and I already have access to the unclassified data in the archives. I spent all night reading about the past. Specifically about the legendary hero that I was apparently based off of." Elise nodded, "I can understand how you feel, but it would be easier for me to repair you if you came with us. After all, I'm pretty sure that you would like to be able to use your hand again." Yoshiro shook his head, "Like I said, I'm artificial, I can just create a new one." Elise sighed, "You do realize that how people like Aiko and I get back lost body parts is to clone a new one, right?" Yoshiro shook his head, "I didn't know that... I'm sorry." Elise nodded, "There's no need to be sorry, Yoshiro, it's fine."

Doug walked into the room, "Aiko's going to be fine, she's stabilized quite nicely. She'll need to walk with a cane for a while, but other than that, she'll make a full recovery." Yoshiro looked to Doug, "Thank you for fixing my only friend." Doug shrugged, "Well I didn't fix her, but I did nurse her back to health. Elise here is a robotics expert, while I have medical training. Don't worry, Yoshiro, she'll be able to get you repaired and fully functional as soon as we get to her lab. The lab is located close to the archives, so you don't have to worry about being left behind or anything. We just need to wait for Aiko to wake up." Yoshiro nodded slightly and looked back to his severed limb, "Do you know what purpose I have?" Doug shook his head, "Chances are, knowing Leticia as I do, your purpose is to live."

Yoshiro nodded slightly, "If that is my purpose, then that is my purpose. I will await to go to the lab until everyone here is done with their affairs." Elise nodded slightly, "Would you like some breakfast before we head out, I'm told that I can make some very good food." Yoshiro sighed, "I do not feel hunger, nor do I need the sustenance, but I find that I like food and I like eating. It sates my curiosity about people like you." Elise sighed, "This is going to take a while, Doug, why don't you go wake up Aiko, I'll get to work on breakfast." Doug nodded and walked out of the room as Yoshiro looked at the floor, "I'll be waiting here, Elise. I'm not going anywhere, and even if I did, I wouldn't exactly know where to go in the first place." Elise nodded, "Alright then... breakfast will be done in half an hour."
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Re: The Mellow Corridor

#12 Post by Akira110 »

Chapter 11

Julius walked out of the the castle in his Verbanan form and regrouped with Aiko in front of the archives, "Come on, let's go inside, but first, what are you trying to find?" Aiko looked away, "Answers." Julius sighed slightly, "Going to have to be more specific so I know what to ask the administrative AI program in there." Aiko looked away, "I wish to keep what I want to find private, if that's alright with you." Julius nodded slightly, "That's alright. I'll go first, do not be alarmed, the AI looks like any other Dog Tribe Eltiranan, but it's not a physical being." Aiko nodded as the two of them walked into the building. Julius held out his arm to stop Aiko, "Biometric scanner, it will only accept one person inside of it at one time." Julius walked into the scanner and the AI popped up for him, "Julius, you have the highest form of clearance."

Julius walked out and Aiko walked in. The AI spoke up, "Registering new Biometric scan, what is your name?" Aiko spoke up, "Aiko Sano." The AI nodded and spoke up, "You have basic clearance, you may enter." Aiko nodded and walked out of the scanner. The AI looked at Julius, "What are you looking for?" Julius sighed, "Information about my nephew, Balthoron. Specifically anything pertaining to incidents within or near Eltiranan colonies." The AI nodded, "Scanning, you will find the information in the section of the archives dedicated to War, specifically in the subsection for the Galactic War." Julius nodded, "Thank you." Julius turned to Aiko, "You must be curious about something, do not be afraid to ask the AI to send a copy to accompany you." Aiko nodded, "Thank you, Julius." Julius sighed sightly, "By the way, how's Yoshiro?" Aiko shook her head, "We were attacked last night..."

Julius nodded, "That's all I need to know for now." Aiko frowned and Julius walked away to go find the answers that he sought. He didn't know what he would find in the archives, but he felt curious. His hand grabbed at the pendant that he was given by Yoshiro over a thousand years ago. Though he couldn't figure out a way to make it bigger, he wore it around his neck in this form, "Your son did something, and I don't know if you'll approve of what he did." Julius had a flash in his mind as he walked into the war section of the archives. Memories of a life that was long since past. All of the engagements that he had gone into with Yoshiro at his side or on his back, all of their travels and trials together. Despite being with the reincarnation of Yoshiro ever since she was found, to him, it wasn't the same.

For old time sake and a bit of nostalgia he spoke up, "Excuse me, AI. Can I access the hologram projector to project any hologram I wish?" The AI spoke up, "Yes, you may." Julius walked over to the projector and spoke up, "I wish to see Yoshiro Tayasui Miyamae, age seven hundred in civilian clothing." The hologram flickered to life. Julius saw Yoshiro standing there at the age he had finally retired completely and settled down as a civilian. Three hundred and twenty-five years would pass before he died. Julius heard a voice behind him, "Julius, sia isthasy, vinxa ihk drekim tenpiswo ihk ve. Sia hianag loreatir tepohaic jivntirvi ezoukea sia kornari." Julius turned to look behind him, but nothing was there, "Yoshiro... is that you?" There was nothing but silence. Julius sighed, "I guess I'm remembering things again..."

Julius looked at the hologram, "Thank you for being there for me, Yoshiro. It was because of you that I got to explore the world outside of my own kingdom, and even though our lives weren't easy, nor were they great. You helped me in so many ways and I know that I helped you. I only wish I could know what was going through your head when you walked in there alone." Julius sighed, "However, that information will be lost to the ages. Klaartje's doing..." Another voice spoke behind him, "Klaartje's doing what?" Julius turned around to see the Eekhoorn behind him, "Klaartje! What are you doing here?" Klaartje shrugged, "Balthoron left, Aiko left, and you left. I was curious as to what was going on, that and I've not had a meaningful break from work since Yoshiro was alive. Speaking of which, why do you have his hologram there?"

Julius shook his head, "I wanted to see him again. Anyhow, computer, can you bring up what happened regarding Balthoron during the Galactic war in terms of attacks against Eltiranan colonies." The AI nodded and the holographic projector changed to show multiple reports and recorded evidence that Balthoron's flagship during the Galactic War attacking an Eltiranan colony. Julius was shocked and then asked the AI, "Do you have any recordings of what went on inside the ship?" The AI spoke sadly, "No, I do not. All records were deleted. However, records indicate that Balthoron was rescued and imprisoned on Stephanus' ship for questioning. The fact that he was released suggests that he did not order this attack to be carried out." Julius nodded and turned to Klaartje, "Do you have any more information about this?" Klaartje shook her head, "I dug as deep as I could, the only people who know the truth are Balthoron and the people that were on the ship at the time."

Julius nodded, "So all we have to do is find that shi..." The AI interrupted, "The vessel was destroyed in a conflict with the Thraxi-Neanderthal alliance. Everyone on the ship at the time was killed." Julius sighed, "Well, I was hoping to avoid bringing up painful memories with my nephew, but..." Klaartje nodded, "Let me do it, then." Julius looked at her, "Why, though?" Klaartje sighed, "Julius, I will never believe that he trusted me over you, you knew his deepest secrets. He would let you in when he'd let no one else. But Julius, I loved him and I never stopped loving him after what he did for me." Julius nodded, "Yeah, he was a good man. Not just anyone will assassinate an assassin for one of their friends." Klaartje nodded, "Which is why I feel like, deep inside my heart, Balthoron didn't do this." Julius nodded, "I hope you're right."
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Re: The Mellow Corridor

#13 Post by Akira110 »

Chapter 12

Aiko walked through the corridors of the archives, she had no idea where what she was looking for was. The AI spoke up to her, "Aiko, would you like assistance with finding what you are looking for?" Aiko nodded slightly, "I would like to know more about Walthari Jaeger." The AI nodded slightly, "We have a SI program of Walthari, would you like to converse with it?" Aiko arched her brow, "You have an SI program of him?" The AI spoke up, "Yes, we have a simulated intelligence program of all of the people documented in the archives. It allows for people to learn more about that person, without having to go through all of their files." Aiko nodded slightly, "Yes, I would." She held it deep in her heart that she wanted to find out why Xander was the way he is. A hologram of a Lupine with black hair and blue eyes appeared before her and spoke in a voice that felt familiar, "What is your inquiry."

Aiko looked at him and reached out to touch the hologram, "Why is it that you sound familiar to me, I've never heard your voice before?" The hologram shook its head, "I have no information about why that is, do you perhaps have another question for me?" Aiko grabbed at the pendant that she held and focused her mana into it like Yoshiko had told her. Aiko looked to her side and sighed when nothing happened, "Yoshiko were you wrong? You said that Yoshiro would do that to speak to Katriina... but... she's not here and I can't reach Yoshiro." Aiko looked up at Walthari and sighed, "Wait... you're the adoptive brother of Yoshiro Miyamae, aren't you?" The hologram nodded, "Walthari Jaeger was adopted by Minako Sano and Akira Miyamae. He was a few years younger than Yoshiro Miyamae and the two of them were close."

Aiko nodded, that would explain why Walthari felt familiar, she had seen a picture of him in her past life's memoirs. She smiled slightly, "Why is Walthari Jaeger considered one of the Legendary Heroes of Verbana?" The Hologram looked forward, "That information was classified by... that pendant it is Yoshiro Miyamae's, correct?" Aiko nodded, "Yes, it is." The hologram nodded slightly, "Unlocking files, my creator locked those files, to be unlocked by the one who carries his brother's pendant." Aiko nodded slightly as she grabbed a chair and sat down in it. The hologram continued, "Walthari Jaeger died in the Bardron system above the planet Aketi. His last action was to enter a berserker rage in order to give Yoshiro's SCEV the power boost that it needed to destroy the remaining missile that was posing a threat to the Neanderthal colony on the surface of the planet."

Aiko nodded, "So, Walthari was a good person at heart?" The Hologram nodded, "Walthari Jaeger was an incredibly selfless person at heart. He realized that he was a berserker at a young age and decided that he would remove himself from society in order to avoid conflict with others. When he found the sacred mountain of the Lupines, he was able to learn from Erasmus, a Draconic Monk. Walthari's training focused purely on controlling his berserker nature and his rages so that he wouldn't be a danger to everyone around him. According to files recovered from his SCEV, he knew that he was going to die that day and chose to die to save millions of people. This trait of his, combined with his actions are what made Walthari Jaeger one of the Legendary Heroes of Verbana." Aiko nodded, "Well um..."

Aiko closed her eyes and sighed, "Kauko Aaltonen, please." The hologram changed to a Kani that she had never seen before, except in pictures of old Kani royals, "In Yoshiro's memoirs, he regrets never being able to ask you how you felt about your death. Tell me, how did you feel?" Kauko's hologram looked at her and Kauko's voice spoke up, "Kauko Aaltonen was killed by Yoshiro Miyamae during the brief Human-Verbanan war. Kauko was the host of a degenerative brain disease and died to preserve his brain. A cure was found because of his death and the disease has been eradicated from the galaxy." Aiko nodded, "But... what were his last words before he went out there to die by Yoshiro's hands?" The hologram looked at her, "This will take a little time to find, is that alright with you?" Aiko nodded, "Yes, I can wait for a little while, don't worry."

The hologram flickered and then a hologram of the actual Kauko appeared, "I hope this will be found some day, but... I'm Kauko Aaltonen, king of the Kani. I've been losing my memories for the longest time. My mind is a haze. The doctors say that there isn't a cure for my condition, that I don't have much longer to live. The reason there isn't a cure is because people selfishly cling onto life. I choose to die, but I can't just simply die. I'm a knight... I have to die in battle. Fortunately, I know the person I can trust with this. Yoshiro, if you're hearing this, I don't want you to hold it against me. Because you see... you... I'm sorry, I'm not so good at this. Look you know the stories that are told to children, where the hero saves the day and there's a happy ending?" The hologram sighed and moved out of frame. The picture moved to show Kauko staring out of a window.

As Kauko looked out, a ship took off from the planet, "Well, because heroes like us... decide to give our lives... people are saved. Those people cheer, and they live happily after our sacrifice. But, we'll never know if our sacrifices made any difference. We'll never know if we saved anything. We... never get that ending, it's not for us. In the end, we just need to have a little faith that we'll make a difference. It's the most we can do. I hope someday, you'll find this message and you'll understand why I did what I chose to do. Goodbye, my friend." The hologram shut off and Aiko nodded slightly, she couldn't understand why, but that gave her a sense of inner peace, "Thank you, I have all the answers I need." As she stood up, she placed her hand on her chest, "I know you're watching, but you can't interact with the world of the living. It's why I asked... for you."
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Re: The Mellow Corridor

#14 Post by Akira110 »

Chapter 13

Klaartje walked over to where Aiko was, "I heard what you said..." Aiko was startled and she turned around to look at Klaartje, "What are you doing here?" Klaartje shook her head, "I followed Julius, nothing more." Aiko nodded, feeling like there was something more to this, "It's Balthoron, isn't it?" Klaartje nodded slightly, "That's part of it, but there's more, Aiko... look, there's something you need to know, would you like to come with me?" Aiko nodded and looked at her cane, "I hope I won't slow you down with this." Klaartje shook her head and smiled softly, "It's alright." Aiko and Klaartje walked towards the exit of the archives when Aiko looked at her, "Neither he, nor I recall you ever smiling like that." Klaartje nodded, "I know, I was always too busy with being an assassin to really learn how to enjoy myself. I guess... it took losing him to teach me how to relax."

Aiko nodded as they left the building and she looked at Klaartje, blushing slightly under her fur. She never realized how beautiful she was, "Klaartje, can you tell me the real reason why you're here with me?" Klaartje sighed and closed her eyes, "Your mother may not approve, but I tried to think of you as your own person, but..." Aiko nodded, "Every time you see me, you think of him... of Yoshiro, is that right?" Klaartje nodded slightly, running a hand through her long black hair, "I fell in love with him and never fell out of love. The man did more for me than I could ever possibly repay and he just wanted to be my brother figure. He..." Aiko closed her eyes, "Took out an assassin for you and raised your children as your own, is that correct, Klaartje?"

Klaartje nodded, "You memorized his memoirs." She sighed and looked up at the sky, "Aiko... I just want..." Aiko looked at her, "You want me to fall in love with you?" Klaartje shook her head, "Though that would be nice, I was wondering, since you are his reincarnation, and you're you're own person... if you could... dammit, I'm not good at this." Aiko walked over to Klaartje, and her cane slipped on the ground, causing her to fall. Klaartje swiftly caught her and helped her back on her feet, "Are you alright, Aiko?" Aiko nodded slightly, "Thanks, Klaartje." Klaartje frowned, "I'm sorry if I'm making things awkward for us." Aiko shook her head, "I barely know you, but he knew you very well. He understood your feelings for him, Klaartje. He loved you back, but in a platonic way. He always felt bad that he couldn't reciprocate your feelings."

Klaartje nodded and looked into Aiko's green eyes, "Your eyes are different from his." Aiko nodded and looked into Klaartje's brown eyes, "I... I never noticed you..." Aiko tried to move away, "Ahem!" Klaartje giggled slightly, "You're adorable when you're embarrassed." Aiko blushed deeper, "I'm not embarrassed! I just... I don't know how to handle this situation." Klaartje laughed, "Under your fur, you're redder than a star apple. Look, uh... I know you want to be your own person and all, but um... do you think that we could go out sometime?" Aiko looked at Klaartje, she was stunned and she knew that even though Yoshiro couldn't convey it to her, he was stunned at this as well, "What?" Klaartje frowned, "It's just that we're in peaceful times now and you're well... the daughter of Amaterasu." Aiko sighed, "So was big sister." Klaartje nodded, "You remind me of a combination of Minako and Yoshiro..."

Aiko frowned, "I don't know what to say... I really don't, Klaartje." Klaartje placed her hand on Aiko's shoulder, "Think about it, you don't need to answer me, immediately. I mean I'm a demi-deity, I've got time." Aiko nodded, "Well, are you sure that Julius doesn't need you?" Klaartje shook her head, "Julius is a Dragon, he'll be entirely fine without me, Aiko." Aiko nodded, "Then would you like to accompany me to go pick up the android. I need to take him back to Leticia's lab, apparently she left some things for him there." Klaartje nodded slightly, "Of course I would." Aiko nodded, "Thank you. So why aren't you with Xander or Silvio?" Klaartje chuckled, "Your mother and I decided to go behind your grandmother's back and hand Xander off to Bruno. Bruno is an expert... well expert isn't the right word, more of a specialist when it comes to troublesome people."

Aiko didn't like the sound of that and wondered what it meant. Klaartje laughed, "Don't worry, Xander will be whipped into shape. Bruno's a close friend of mine. He's not going to hurt Xander... much. The point is, Xander will never have to see the inside of a hospital." Aiko blinked, "And you're sure that this is the right thing for Xander to go through?" Klaartje nodded slightly, "Xander needs to learn discipline, Bruno is the person that you go to in order to teach someone discipline." Aiko nodded slightly, "But what about Erasmus?" Klaartje shook her head, "As you've read in Yoshiro's memoirs, Erasmus teaches control, not discipline. Erasmus would be a great person for you to go to if you say... wanted to stop yourself from getting revenge. Not like that actually helped the last time someone did that..." Aiko looked at her, "What was that?"

Klaartje shrugged, "It's nothing, Aiko. As for Silvio, he went back to the Kani territory to get more training. It seems that he feels more comfortable there than anywhere else. He called it home, shortly before he left and got upset when I suggested that the Mofeta Kingdom would be his home." Aiko nodded slightly, "He's a Paladin, to him, that's his family as he never knew his father and his mother died shortly after he entered puberty." Klaartje nodded slightly, "I see, so that's why he reacted so harshly." Aiko nodded, "Yeah, I only know about all of this, because he and I dated." Klaartje nodded, "I know about that. Hey, you think we could talk while we walk? I think we might look a little suspicious standing around here." Aiko nodded slightly, and the two of them started to walk to the lab where Yoshiro was being held, the two of them talking as they did.
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Re: The Mellow Corridor

#15 Post by Akira110 »

Chapter 14

Julius sighed as he continued to go through the archives, there was so much information that he lacked on the Galactic War. He regretted not serving in the Verbanan military during that time, having instead chosen to serve alongside his people at the behest of Yoshiko. Julius closed his eyes, "Yoshiko, you... you left me without so much as saying goodbye... I loved you like a sister, Yoshiko." Julius turned around and saw a Kitsune standing there, "Aiko?" The Kitsune shook her head, "Sorry to disappoint, Julius, but I'm not my granddaughter." Julius sighed, "Oh." Emiko frowned and folded her arms, "You've never seemed so disappointed to see me before, why now?" Julius shook his head, "Just, every time I see you, I see Yoshiro." Emiko laughed, "Aiko is his reincarnation, and you swore yourself to be by her side at all times, right?" Julius nodded slightly, "Yeah, but she wants to be alone and I want answers."

Emiko nodded slightly and looked at the information, "You've been doing a lot of research on those years. Tell me, why now, why all of this?" Julius looked down, "Simple, really. I only saw one facet of that war, only one front. Balthoron... he saw everything." Emiko nodded slightly, "I remember the day he arrived after his wife's death, he looked saddened, horribly so. He didn't want to leave my temple, he was crying. I could tell that his hands were stained with blood and this weighed heavily upon his mind. However, I had no choice but to send him to the resistance. He would've been killed and Yoshiro's sacrifice would've been completely for nothing." Julius sighed slightly, "That massacre is what drove me to fight alongside my people. Hiromi... she didn't deserve what had happened to her, she never did..."

Emiko and Julius walked towards the exit of the archives as Emiko spoke up, "No one in that city did, they were minding their own business and then suddenly, death rained from the sky. More civilians died than military personnel. I was angry myself, but I couldn't involve myself anymore than I already had." Julius nodded slightly, "So tell me, Lady of Death, why exactly are you here?" Emiko sighed, "Well aside from a troublesome soul, I knew why you arrived on Verbana in the first place. Answers, you seek them. Unfortunately for you, the only survivor from that day is Balthoron himself, so the only person you can learn the truth from is him." Julius nodded, "I know that, but I don't know where I'm going to be able to find him." Emiko shrugged, "You have a communicator, don't you?" Julius nodded and pulled out his communicator. He looked down at it and sighed slightly, "Well, here goes."

Julius set the frequency to Balthoron's personal frequency and pressed the button. He placed the ear piece in his ear and listened to the connecting tone, suddenly there was a click and he heard Balthoron's voice speak up, "Hello, Uncle Julius." Julius nodded, "Hello, Balthoron." Balthoron's voice sounded over his earpiece, "Decided to check up on me, huh?" Julius shook his head, "You know why I'm here, Balthoron." Balthoron's voice instantly lost all of its warmth, "You're accusing me of that attack as well?" Julius sighed, "Balthoron, you're my nephew and Klaartje doesn't think you did it, but I don't have all of the facts. All I know is that the entire planet thinks that you're guilty of doing so and I know that you've already had at least one group of assassins sent after you." Balthoron's voice became cold, "How do you know that?"

Julius placed his hand on his forehead, "Listen Balthoron, do you honestly think that eight people with shotgun wounds on them wouldn't reach my ears? You're not exactly the most subtle person in the world. Listen, I just want to find out what really happened on that day, but we need a place where you, your great-great grandmother, and I can speak alone." Balthoron sighed on the other end, "Emiko is here too?" Julius nodded slightly, "Yes, and I'm fairly certain that she would like confirmation on what she believes happened that day." Balthoron sighed slightly, "Alright, I'll tell you what... I'm going to reschedule leaving here. I'll give the two of you forty-eight hours to back here. I'll be in Leticia's lab, so you know where to find me." Julius nodded slightly, he knew where that was, "That's where the android that was designed off my brother was made..."

Balthoron's voice didn't warm up, "Listen, Uncle Julius, that's the only place where I can think of where we'll have any sort of privacy. If you cannot accept that, then I'm going to take the first shuttle off world and leave the system. I plan on setting up a forward base for the Raptors on a different planet." Julius growled, "Fine, we'll be there later today, or tomorrow morning, depending on the weather. But when we get there, we'll be wanting to talk with you in person, Balthoron, am I clear?" Balthoron merely said a single word, "Crystal." There was a click and Emiko looked at Julius, "Judging from what you were saying to him, he's still quite a bit rude." Julius looked at her, "Yes, he is. He's going to give us forty-eight hours to get to Leticia's laboratory. After that, he's leaving the planet, no matter what."

Emiko shrugged, "That's not that hard of a trip for a dragon like yourself, I mean it's like what... the next city over?" Julius shook his head, "Three hundred kilometers away." Emiko nodded, "So we're going to fly?" Julius sighed and took the earpiece out of his ear and quickshifted into his dragon form, "As much as I don't like it, yes, I will be ferrying you over there to see him." Emiko shrugged, "What is it that you have against me, Julius?" Julius closed his eyes, "Nothing personally, your ex-husband is a man that I've yet to forgive. But to be honest, I've not been fond of either you nor him. Yoshiro trusted you though as you kept him from doing something stupid, so that's the only reason why I'll allow you on my back, Emiko." Emiko nodded, "That's fine, it's not like the two of us ever got to know each other. So, what will you ask Balthoron?" Julius looked up to the sky as Emiko climbed on, "I don't know..."
Been around this forum for over 8 years now. Everyone I've known has left, now it's my time to do the same.

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