Thran Starcrod
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Post by Thran Starcrod on Oct 28, 2016 19:17:18 GMT
Chapter 20
Yoshiro climbed off the ship at the port, he didn't have much in the way of protection other than his armor, which he chose to wear, as he didn't want to leave it on the boat. Yoshiro looked around for the group that he was going to follow, but couldn't find them. He sighed slightly and walked into the city, when a penguin looking humanoid held up a hand, "Where's your passport?" Yoshiro pulled his passport from his pocket and handed it to him. Yoshiro couldn't believe his eyes, "I have never seen or heard of your species before, what are you?" The creature checked over his passport, "We are the Manchot. I do not know why an armored and armed Arctic Kitsune is doing down here, but I'm going to have to call this up to see what to do. Do you mind having a seat over there?"
Yoshiro knew that he had little choice in the matter and took a seat in the nearby chair. Despite the fact that it was summer in this hemisphere, he could feel that the air was cold through his winter fur coat. He picked up a book on the table and started reading it. Soon though, he was interrupted by a couple of men standing before him, one of them looked at him, "We'd like you to come with us." Yoshiro placed the book down and stood up, he didn't know much about the people here. His gut however, told him that this wasn't going to be good, so he spoke up about this, "Where are we going?" One of the Manchot chuckled, "Oh, we're going to go to a real private place, don't you worry about that." Yoshiro knew exactly what that meant, "I'll tell you what, you can drop the act, or I can drop you on your head."
The Manchot laughed and reached for a baton. Before he could draw the baton, Yoshiro had his sword drawn and pointed at his neck, "Let me rephrase that, you're not taking me to a black site. Though I would rather avoid lethal violence, I will oblige if you force me." The other Manchot looked into his eyes and then at the first one, "Gaston, this guy is ex-military. If he really wanted to kill us, he could do it here and now." Gaston looked down at the blade at his throat and then at the eyes of the person holding the blade, "Ice blue eyes, left handed. What's your full name?" Yoshiro looked at him, "I am Yoshiro Tayasui Miyamae, son of Akira and Minako Miyamae. I was a Colonel in the Kitsune military, but I got elevated to General when I formed the Raptors."
Gaston's eyes went wide, "You are General Miyamae!?" Yoshiro knew that he had this situation under control, "I would recommend if you wished to interrogate me, you would do so in a manner that didn't have to do with effectively abducting me." Gaston's brow furrowed, "Very well. So do you have a permit to carry all of this equipment." Yoshiro's mouth drew into a smirk and he looked at Gaston, "Come on, do you really think I'd show up armed and armored alone, without a permit of some sort?" Alain spoke up, "Show me your permit." Yoshiro used his right hand to reach for his wallet and Alain shook his head, "Your permit was in your passport. I wanted to see if you were the genuine article." Yoshiro's hand moved away from his pocket and grabbed the gun on his belt. He whispered under his breath, "Sigma, activate my pistol, will you."
Yoshiro's pistol unlocked as Alain looked at him, "What did you..." Yoshiro interrupted him by drawing the pistol and pointing it at Alain's face. Alain looked at this action in absolute shock, "So this is why you're a legend." Yoshiro spoke in a cold tone of voice, "No, the reason I'm so legendary is because my hands are drenched in blood. Now if the two of you don't mind, you're going to leave the way you came and from there, you will leave me alone for the rest of my trip here. Gaston was shocked, but thought that he could take Yoshiro now that his attention was divided between the two, but no sooner did he move, did he feel the tip of the blade press against his neck. Yoshiro glanced at him, "Did you honestly think I had forgotten about you?" Gaston gulped and as he did, he felt the sharpness of the blade.
Alain had read Yoshiro's dossier before, so he knew that Gaston was in trouble, "Tell me where you are going." Yoshiro looked at Alain, "I like you, promise not to make a move against me and I'll lower my weapon." Alain knew he didn't have much of a choice, "I promise." Yoshiro lowered his gun, but didn't deactivate it, he knew better than to just trust someone at their word. Yoshiro narrowed his eyes at Gaston, "Your partner and I will talk in the adjacent room for a bit of time. You on the other hand, I don't ever want to see your face again." Alain looked at Gaston, "Don't worry, I have this." Gaston fled and Yoshiro sheathed his sword, "You first. You'll have to forgive me, but after your partner tried to pull a weapon out on me, I don't trust either of you very much."
Alain nodded, he knew full well that he wasn't in control over the situation and so he walked into the adjacent room. Yoshiro walked in and closed the door behind him. Yoshiro motioned towards the corner of a room, "Throw your weapons over there." Alain nodded and disarmed himself, tossing his weapons into the corner of the room, "I know you won't shoot me unless I pose a threat, why are you..." Yoshiro interrupted him, "A lot of stuff has happened to me recently, a lot of trauma. Whatever you have read in your dossier might be wrong about me in this situation." Alain nodded slightly as he sat down in the chair, "Judging from the way you are equipped with armor and weaponry, I'd have to guess that you're going to the Menschilche base near the pole, is that correct?"
Yoshiro wasn't surprised that someone had deduced this, "Is this the part where you're going to tell me that the area is off limits to outsiders?" Alain shook his head, "No one has been allowed to enter the base since it was abandoned by the Menschilche. The only person that could potentially give you clearance to go in there is our president. But the only way to see him is to..." Yoshiro shrugged, "I don't expect to be able to just walk into the presidential residence and get clearance from your president. However, here's the thing. I know a guard detail when I see it. You and Gaston are part of his personal guard, aren't you?" Alain nodded slightly, not surprised that Yoshiro had this knowledge, "How many spies do you have in our nation?" Yoshiro blinked, not having been prepared for that question, "I didn't know your nation even existed."
Alain was shocked at this, "But you have a large spy network." Yoshiro shook his head as it no longer belonged to him, "Hiromi does, I gave up that network and it was mostly on the same continent that I lived on. The only exceptions were on the same hemisphere. Tell me, do you know what I used to be before I was in the military full time?" Alain looked up as he tried to recall that information, "You were a noble." Yoshiro shook his head, "After that." Alain realized why he knew he was a guard, "You're a former royal. A former king of the Kilvish people up north if I recall correctly." Yoshiro nodded slightly as that was the correct answer, "Alain, I'll make you a deal. If you can talk to your president and convince him to meet me, I'll come completely unarmed." Alain blinked, "But you're a Kensei. They always have their swords on them."
Yoshiro nodded, "I would rather we learn how to trust each other and work with each other despite being on the wrong foot." Yoshiro holstered his gun and deactivated it, "Are my terms acceptable?" Alain nodded slightly, "I will see if I cannot talk our president into speaking with you. What do you want to me to tell him?" Yoshiro looked up, "That a foreign dignitary that was threatened by your men would like to talk about an expedition that he is undertaking within the nation." Alain nodded, "May I gather my weapons and head out." Yoshiro nodded, "I'll be in a nearby hotel, so you don't have to worry about finding me." Alain chuckled, "It's not like you have many places to go, this place is pretty much a frozen wasteland. Most of the stuff we eat, we either import or fish from the ocean." Yoshiro nodded slightly and let Alain by, but as Alain passed him, he spoke up, "You forgot that I'm married to a sea elf. I could swim if I wanted to." Alain laughed, "I didn't forget, but you would need gills to survive at sea for that long." Yoshiro let him leave and smirked, glad that none of them here knew he was able to shapeshift.
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Thran Starcrod
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Posts: 423
Let's Playing is rather rewarding and fun.
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Post by Thran Starcrod on Oct 29, 2016 5:52:33 GMT
Chapter 21
Yoshiro sat in his room, he had pulled out a whetstone and was absentmindedly sharpening his sword, waiting for Alain to come to escort him to the President. He looked out the window and saw a black vehicle pull up, "Going to have to leave you behind on this one, Sigma." Sigma's hologram appeared as Yoshiro removed his armor and sheathed his sword, putting it on the bed. Sigma spoke up in his usual tone, "Are you sure that you can trust them?" Yoshiro looked back from using a ribbon to tie his hair into a ponytail, "No, I honestly don't. However, I don't have a choice but to arrive unarmed. Fortunately for me, I'm not exactly a slouch when it comes to fighting unarmed." Sigma looked at him, "Exactly how many kingdoms were you trained by." Yoshiro looked up trying to remember the exact number, but corrected Sigma as he did, "Races, not kingdoms."
As Yoshiro finished the bow he recalled the exact number, "I've been trained by the Kitsune, Sea Elves, Dragons, Lupines, Mus, Mofeta, Eekhoorn, and Kani. I have received martial training from all of those except the Dragons." Yoshiro looked at Sigma, "Hide your hologram, there are three people coming up the stairs." Sigma's hologram vanished and Yoshiro heard a knock at his door, "Come in, it's open." Yoshiro looked to see Alain and Gaston, but also an incredibly important looking Manchot. This one also looked differently in the plumage. Yoshiro nodded, "I assume you are the President of this nation." The Manchot nodded, "That I am, I hear that you're a foreign dignitary. I didn't quite trust what I was being told, so I hope you don't mind that I had a background check done on you real quick." Yoshiro shrugged, "So you decided to walk into a room where I have no less than two weapons laying around."
The President nodded slightly, "Which is why I brought my armed guards with me, we will not he having our meeting here. This isn't a secure location." Yoshiro nodded slightly and motioned towards the door, "After you." The President arched his brow, "You wouldn't be more comfortable with your sword by your side. I know that you are a Kensei and I have dealt with them in the past." Yoshiro nodded, "I would feel far more comfortable, but I come to you as a Count, not as a Kensei." The President nodded slightly, "My name is Colombain. It is a pleasure to meet you, Yoshiro." Yoshiro nodded as the President extended his hand. Yoshiro shook his hand, "I was unaware that there was a Republic on the planet. Most of us are monarchies." Colombain laughed, "I am more than aware of the vast majority of monarchies on the planet."
Yoshiro shrugged slightly, "Let us head out, shall we?" The four of them walked out of the hotel and into the car and Colombain looked at the driver, "Just drive around, I will speak to our guest while we do so." Yoshiro smirked, "You're giving me a tour?" Colombain nodded, "We may have gotten off on the wrong foot. However, since you didn't send either of my men back to me in a box, I'll allow a second chance to happen." Yoshiro looked out of the window, "Your people seem uniquely adapted to this harsh climate." Colombain nodded, he was proud of that fact, "Yes, us Manchot are capable of subsisting off of nothing but fish. I hear that Arctic Kitsune such as yourself are omnivores." Yoshiro nodded as that part was true, "I am half Arctic Kitsune, the other half is Red Forest Kitsune."
Colombain nodded, "Now is your true purpose here to get into the old Menschilche installation? The same one that was forbidden to enter by our forefathers?" Yoshiro nodded slightly, "It's a little bit away from the south pole, but it's honestly the only other one that I know of in this region that hasn't had all of its mysteries unlocked." Colombain squinted at him, "You have history with the Menschilche, how can we be sure that you're not some sort of sleeper agent?" Yoshiro didn't quite have an answer to that, "You dug rather deep into my history, didn't you." Colombain nodded, "We also know who your father is. You'll forgive me if I'm a bit wary of your presence here." Yoshiro nodded and looked Colombain in the eye, "I'll put this as simply as I can, alright?" Colombain nodded, "Alright then."
Yoshiro leaned forward, "My history with the Menschilche is exactly why I'm doing this. I had adopted a daughter from their kind who recently died and right now, I'm going through a lot of heavy stuff. You know of my long military history, but there's something that you don't know, that honestly has never been recorded." Colombain looked at him, "There couldn't be any possible correlation between you and the Grim Reaper." Yoshiro calmly leaned back, "Seven years after the bioweapon crisis, a string of deaths from a sniper rifle were recorded. The assailant was never found and no hint of him was ever left that he was there, aside from the corpse of the victim." Colombain nodded slightly, "Yeah, everyone knows that. You're just reciting military history to the lot of us." Yoshiro chuckled, "One of those deaths was a Menschilche spy. The first shot against him missed."
Alain sighed, "We all know this part of the story." Yoshiro smiled slightly, "Six hundred and fifty-five meters away, perched in a tree, the sniper in question had deliberately missed, because he wanted to scare his real target out of hiding. Two more shots were fired and both his target and the spy lay dead. The sniper quickly packed his rifle up and leaped from the tree onto the ground. He followed a route that he planned to escape the enemy territory. Though it took him a couple of days to escape, he was able to rendezvous with allied forces. It was from this particular incident that the sniper in question earned the nom de guerre of the Grim Reaper." Alain blinked and Colombain's lower mandible dropped, "You're the Grim Reaper!?" Yoshiro nodded slightly, "All of those kills have weighed on me, though I never bothered to show that fact."
Colombain nodded slightly, "Then perhaps you may be Tovenaar." Yoshiro blinked slightly, "Tovenaar?" Colombain looked out of the window, "We don't know exactly what base the experiment was being held, even if was on this planet. But our forefathers caught wind of a new super soldier breed that the Menschilche were creating, using the natural magical attunement of the Kitsune and your shapeshifting abilities. However, it is unknown if Tovenaar was ever completed or what the capabilities of said super soldier is." Yoshiro nodded slightly, "All the more reason to investigate the base." Colombain held out a pass, "You will not be going to the base alone." Yoshiro shook his head, "I have to, I don't want to risk any of your men dying to the defense systems that the Menschilche have more than likely placed inside the base itself." Colombain nodded, "You seem to have experience with these bases."
Yoshiro couldn't deny that he did have experience with them, even though he wished he didn't, "The bases that I have entered have all had their defense systems offline. A base that hasn't been entered for over seven hundred years, but is still online will more than likely have active defenses. The Menschilche built these things to last. I refuse to risk any lives." Colombain nodded slightly, "So it is true that deep down inside, you have a gentle heart. Very well, I will permit you to explore the facility on your own. But remember that any hostility on your part towards my men while you're in this kingdom will be dealt with by the legal system." Yoshiro nodded, "Do you mind driving back to the hotel?" Colombain looked at the driver, "Take him back to the hotel, will you?" Yoshiro looked at Colombain, "It was nice meeting you."
Yoshiro climbed out of the car and as he walked into the building, the car drove off. Gaston looked at Colombain, "Mr. President, do you honestly trust this person?" Colombain shook his head, "If he really is a sleeper agent, then we'll have to execute him. However, we are a nation of laws and I will refuse to have him shot before we find out the truth and try him. Let's send a group of special forces to where he's going to go. That way if it turns out that he really is a sleeper agent, we can capture him and find the proof we need." Alain nodded, "That is an excellent plan, sir. But what if he isn't?" Colombain shrugged, "Then that means that he honestly has nothing to worry about, Alain." Gaston rubbed his throat, "I wish he hadn't put his sword to my neck." Alain chuckled, "You got that from threatening him." Colombain nodded slightly, "Well, we'll know the truth about our guest soon enough."
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Thran Starcrod
Professional Author
Posts: 423
Let's Playing is rather rewarding and fun.
Custom Title: Professional Author
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Post by Thran Starcrod on Oct 30, 2016 15:41:04 GMT
Chapter 22
Yoshiro walked through the snowy fields, he knew how to take care of himself and he wanted to be alone. He knew that Atsuko and Pekka had taken their company up to the ruins without him, but he was fine with that. As he walked, his mind started to focus on other things. His mind wandered to his wife and children, to Anko and to Claire. Yoshiro sat down next to a rock and saw a small animal on the ground. He stood up and chased down the animal, catching it swiftly. Taking it back to his rock he took off his helmet and broke the neck of the squirming animal, "I apologize, little guy, but the food chain exists for a reason." Yoshiro lifted the animal up to his mouth and bit into it. As his fangs gripped the carcass, he tore it away from his mouth while moving his head in the opposite direction.
As he ate the animal, Sigma's hologram appeared, "That is absolutely revolting." Yoshiro grabbed the leg of the animal and bit into it, ignoring Sigma's complaints. Sigma's hologram looked at him, "I know that you can hear me." Yoshiro swallowed his bite and grabbed some snow and threw it into his mouth, knowing that his half-arctic physiology wouldn't be bothered in the slightest by the possible core temperature drop. Sigma looked at him, "It is not wise to use snow to rehydrate. You could drop your core temperature and risk hypothermia." Yoshiro looked over to Sigma, "I'm half-arctic and in my winter coat. I'm not going to freeze to death." Sigma pouted and Yoshiro laughed and nearly choked on the animal he was eating. As Yoshiro coughed, blood came out and Sigma looked at him, "Are you alright, let me see your medical..."
Yoshiro interrupted him, "I'm eating a fresh kill. The blood isn't my own, Sig." Yoshiro finished the rest of his meal and respectfully buried the skeleton, "Thank you for the sustenance." Yoshiro placed his helmet on his head and thought for a second as he sat on the rock, "Sigma, is Claire out of range?" Sigma's hologram shook it's head, "If we were to boost the signal using satelli—" Yoshiro growled, "Yes or no, Sigma." Sigma shook his head, "No, though the quality might be lacking." Yoshiro stood up, "Can you patch me through?" Sigma nodded and suddenly Yoshiro heard Claire's voice, though Claire sounded older, "Hello. Who are you and how did you get this frequency?" Yoshiro smiled under his helmet, "To answer your question, I was the one that gave you that frequency." Claire's voice sounded elated at this, "Yoshiro, is it really you?" Yoshiro nodded as he continued along his path, "Yes, it is."
Claire's voice spoke over the radio, her excitement was difficult to mask, "Where are you right now? I thought you were outside of our star system." Yoshiro decided to give her a half-lie, "I'm near the south pole right now. I had the explorer's itch and decided that I'd see sights of the planet that I had never seen." Claire's voice indicated confusion, "But you never really had a reason to go there before." Yoshiro nodded slightly, "I know, but sometimes, you just want to see things with your own eyes." Claire laughed, "That much I know is true. How have you been, General?" Yoshiro started to open his mouth to correct her, but decided against it, "I've been fine, retirement from the military and being part of the expeditionary force is working out very well for me." Claire's voice became somber, "I know you're lying to me."
Yoshiro shrugged, "I didn't want you to worry. After all, you lead the Raptors, remember?" Claire's voice didn't change tone, "You didn't tell me about the death of Galina. Did you not think that I wouldn't use the resources that you gave me to find out exactly what had gone on in your family life, Yoshiro." Yoshiro shook his head, "I'm sorry, Claire. You're my friend and I shouldn't have kept you in the dark." Yoshiro remembered something he had heard back in the city, "Claire, do you know anything about a project called Tovenaar?" Claire was a bit confused and Yoshiro could tell by her tone of voice, "No, I do not, however some Menschilche information that we managed to capture included some information on their super soldier projects. Something you didn't bother to tell me either was that your father is Kawal."
Yoshiro placed his hand on his faceplate, "Oh come on, Claire. I didn't find that out til my grandmother told me!" Claire's voice showed annoyance, "Yeah, yeah. Hmmm... there is something in these files about Tovenaar, it seemed to be a super soldier project that was supposed to revolve around magic. What do you think that Tovenaar would be used for?" Yoshiro immediately realized what Tovenaar was to be used for, "If this thing exists, I have to destroy it." Claire's voice showed confusion this time, "Why is that?" Yoshiro closed his eyes, "Because if it is a powerful magical super soldier, it will be designed to kill dragons. I can't let it loose and risk the fact that it will try to hunt them down!" Claire's voice showed a concerned tone, "Yoshiro, you don't even know if it's even out there or where it is." Yoshiro nodded slightly, "I know, but I know where at least one Menschilche base is, from there I can get information on other bases."
Claire gave him some acknowledgement, "I understand, but don't you think that this would be easier if you were to get the help of the Raptors." Yoshiro saw something on the edge of his motion tracker, "No, this is something that I'm going to have to do on my own, Claire. I have to find out if this Tovenaar was ever completed and if it is, destroy it." Claire sighed over the communicator, "You're just as stubborn as ever, Yoshiro. Alright then." Yoshiro cut off the communication link and looked at his hand, he didn't really want to destroy Tovenaar. He knew from the fact that he had just heard about it, that even if it was completed, it hadn't done anything wrong yet. It didn't deserve death. Yoshiro scanned the horizon, seeing multiple hits on his motion tracker.
He continued on as normal, knowing better than to think that it was a bunch of animals as he had turned down the sensitivity of the device. He knew he was being watched, but he wasn't going to announce it to the world, he had better things to do. Yoshiro climbed a hill and he could see the archeology team surveying some ruins. Atsuko looked up at him, "Hello, Yoshiro!" Yoshiro waved to her and walked over to the team, removing his helmet as he did so, "Hey, what have you guys found here?" Pekka turned to look at him, "These ruins belonged to the Manchot, but they are from before the Menschilche occupation." Yoshiro nodded slightly, "Knowing the history of our planet is extremely important. Especially that of before the enslavement of our ancestors." Pekka nodded, "You are very wise to say that."
Yoshiro nodded as he placed a gloved hand on one of the walls, brushing off some of the dust, he noticed some sort of symbol on the wall, "Professor, what do you think this is." Pekka walked over and looked at it, "I don't know, the locals would know for sure. If I had to guess though, this place was a place for celebrations and ceremonies." Yoshiro nodded slightly, "Well we won't know for sure, unless we do some research into the symbols used by the Manchot." Pekka nodded, "So you're going to go take care of your business now?" Yoshiro nodded slightly and motioned for Pekka to lean in so he could whisper. Pekka leaned in and Yoshiro looked at Atsuko, "I'm being followed. Don't be alarmed as they aren't here for you." Pekka nodded and leaned back, "Hey, everyone. Yoshiro mentioned that if we would like, we could go on his next expedition to an alien world."
Everyone looked at Yoshiro, who glared at Pekka, "You were supposed to keep that a surprise, Pekka. You archeologists get so excited when the prospect of discovering ancient civilizations comes up." Pekka laughed, "Well, you know these kids always wanted to investigate ruins on other planets." Yoshiro nodded slightly, "It's true. I don't know when we'll be leaving, but I promise the lot of you will be on the ship. Now, it's not going to be like a naval trip, however we have hologram chambers set up on the ship so that you can have a change of scenery." Atsuko smiled, her tail wagged uncontrollably, "I'm so excited! I can't wait to be able to step foot on an alien planet and learn about their civilizations!" Yoshiro nodded, "I can understand your excitement, but you will have to remember to be patient." Atsuko nodded slightly and Pekka nodded to Yoshiro. Yoshiro took that sign as it was time for him to move to the Menschilche base.
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Thran Starcrod
Professional Author
Posts: 423
Let's Playing is rather rewarding and fun.
Custom Title: Professional Author
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Post by Thran Starcrod on Oct 31, 2016 15:19:34 GMT
Chapter 23
Yoshiro stood in front of the door to the Menschilche base, it hadn't been opened in the last seven hundred years and he had no idea what he would find in it. He walked over to the keypad and noticed that it was still functioning well, "Sigma, before we enter, can you hack into Menschilche systems?" Sigma's hologram appeared, "You programmed me, you should..." Yoshiro interrupted him, "You have the capability to rewrite your own programming, Sig." Sigma went silent and then nodded, "If you let me directly interface with the systems, I will be able to hack them." Yoshiro smiled under his helmet. He could hack into old Menschilche systems, but if the defenses were still up, then it would be an extremely difficult thing to do. He inserted a code into the keypad and the doors didn't open. He tried a second code, the doors still didn't open. Annoyed, Yoshiro tried a third code and the doors still didn't open.
Yoshiro grumbled under his breath, "One of these access codes has to work." Yoshiro tried another code, the doors opened and Yoshiro peeked into the base. It was pristine, unlike the last one he was in. As he took his first step into the base, images of the Menschilche homeworld flashed into his mind. Sigma spoke up, a hint of concern in his voice, "Your vitals fluctuated, is everything alright?" Yoshiro placed his left hand on his breastplate and ran a finger along where his surgical scar was, "Six hundred, I was stabbed in the chest by a Menschilche." Yoshiro's right hand reached down for his pistol as he continued, "My lung collapsed and I passed out. I was dying by the time they put me on life support, I was young, very young. Around the age of what humans would call seventeen."
Sigma's hologram nodded, "Records show that you got married only thirty years later." Yoshiro nodded slightly as he slowly continued into the base, unsure of where the defenses were, "Yeah. Sigma, can you use the sensors in my armor to scan the area and give me a threat assessment." Before Sigma could say anything, Yoshiro watched a panel on the roof slide back, he swiftly raised his pistol to take aim at what was coming down. What came down however, made him dive into the hallway next to him. No sooner did he hit the ground behind the wall did weapons fire erupt in the hallway he was in, practically filling the hallway he was in. Yoshiro knew that machine would have a faster reaction time than he would and decided against continuing down the route he had originally been going, "We're going to want to find a security station, turn off these turrets."
Yoshiro continued down the hallway until he came to a fork, "Now if I was a Menschilche, where would I put the security station." Sigma sarcastically spoke, "Maybe with a door that's labeled security station?" Yoshiro arched a brow, "Was that sarcasm?" Sigma's hologram appeared and nodded, "You know, if I was capable of being hard light, I could probably shoot down some of these turrets for you." Yoshiro peeked out around the corner to check for any panels that would be a dead giveaway to the fact that there is a ceiling turret, but couldn't find any. As he turned the corner, he felt a minor sense of pride and spoke up to Sigma, "If I weren't so nervous about our current situation, I'd be proud of you. My experiment is showing more and more promise as we continue to progress through it."
Sigma spoke up, "Yoshiro, I'm going to increase the range of your motion tracker." Yoshiro nodded and watched as it jumped from seventy-five meters to one hundred. Yoshiro noticed movement on the motion tracker and immediately his heart sank, "Uh oh." Yoshiro watched as a door opened down the hallway and he immediately raised his pistol, switching it on as he did so. No sooner did he see something exit the door, did he fire his weapon twice. Sigma spoke up, "Why did you shoot? That could've been a person!" Yoshiro kept his weapon raised, "That wasn't any person. That was a Em ex seventeen combat droid. A little outdated, but still a significant threat. The problem is where there is one, there is bound to be many more." Sigma's voice once again showed concern, "And you aren't equipped to handle an entire base full of them."
Yoshiro nodded slightly, "Hiding won't help either, the Em ex seventeen has thermal imaging hardware. If we don't find the security room soon, this base will become our tomb." Sigma's hologram appeared, "I think if we enter a security room, I'll be able to download maps of the area as well." Yoshiro nodded, "Focus on disabling the defenses first." Another droid walked out and Yoshiro shot it in the head, punching a hole through it and shutting it down. Sigma fell silent as Yoshiro slowly advanced through the hallway, he could feel his heart pounding in his chest as his body tensed up. He couldn't remember the last time he felt afraid like this. He continued forth and Sigma let out an observation, "This seems like the place is going easy on you." Yoshiro nodded, "It knows that I'm a Verbanan, but I have unknown technology, so it treats me like a Verbanan from back then."
Yoshiro came to a corner and as he peeked around it he saw a door that was labeled, "Security hall." Unfortunately for Yoshiro, he saw another pair of MX-17s heading his way. Yoshiro knew that the doors would open the moment they detected movement. Crouching down slightly, he took off at a sprint, firing his weapon at one of the MX-17s. Yoshiro's shot landed in the chest of the machine, tearing through its reactor and shutting it down. The other machine's aim was just as good. As the door opened, Yoshiro felt something hit him in the back. He dove through the door and rolled onto his back to aim his weapon at the door. The MX-17 walked into the hallway and Yoshiro let loose a shot as the droid fired its weapon. Yoshiro's shot hit the droid in the head, instantly disabling it.
The droid's shot caught Yoshiro in the chest and Sigma cried out, "Yoshiro! Are you alright!?" Yoshiro stood up and checked the damage report on his armor, "This is why I tend to wear the latest armor, Sigma. It's generally better at protecting me than the previous model was." Sigma spoke up, "But your medical implants say that you're injured." Yoshiro reached around to his back to see if there was any blood on him. He couldn't feel any hole in his armor, "Strange." As Yoshiro took a step forward, he felt pain and immediately figured out what had happened. The shot that caught him in the chest had left him with a second degree burn, "That droid saw that its companion couldn't punch through my armor and fully charged its weapon to try. Smart machines." Sigma's hologram appeared, "We are close to the security room." Yoshiro nodded slightly as he saw the door that led to the security center for the base.
Yoshiro didn't bother entering code into the keypad, instead, he stuck his fingers between the doors and forced them open. Yoshiro pulled out Sigma's AI chip and placed it into the computer, "What's the estimated time that you'll be able to have all security systems under your control?" Sigma spoke up, "Five minutes." Yoshiro looked out the door, "That will be an eternity in this place." Yoshiro checked to see if he had any of his other ammo types, but found that he didn't, "Sigma, I only have thirty-seven more shots." Sigma's voice spoke up, "I can try to work faster if you'd like." Yoshiro nodded, "Please." Yoshiro grabbed the doors and forced them closed. He then opened his mind and allowed himself to use magic, placing his hand near the door and melting the doors shut.
He knew that it was only a stopgap measure, but it would at least buy him and Sigma a little bit of time. He closed his mind back up and stood next to the door, his pistol at the ready. His motion tracker suddenly became awash in blips, and Yoshiro knew that his only real advantage was that he was in control of a small choke point. Yoshiro watched as the blips started to come closer and was worried that the machines would start opening fire on the doors themselves. He felt a knot form in his gut and his heart started to race. This feeling of intense fear was something he hadn't felt in centuries, but he didn't like it. As the blips kept advancing, Sigma spoke up, "The system is trying to stop me, it might take the full five minutes." Yoshiro nodded solemnly, "I'll see what I can do, Sig."
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Thran Starcrod
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Post by Thran Starcrod on Nov 1, 2016 16:09:20 GMT
Chapter 24
Yoshiro heard a pounding at the door and looked at Sigma, who spoke up, "Hold them off for four more minutes." Yoshiro grumbled, "That's a lot easier said than done, Sig." Yoshiro took a position next to the door and kept his pistol leveled at the place where the head of the machines were going to be. The pounding grew louder and louder and Yoshiro's heart started to beat faster and faster. He found it somewhat hard to concentrate, so he couldn't use a technique that Erasmus had taught him to calm himself down. The seal on the door started showing cracks, "How much more time?" Sigma spoke up, "Three minutes and fifteen seconds." Yoshiro closed his eyes, "I'm not dying here. If I have to use magic against these fuckers, I am not dying here!" Yoshiro watched as dents formed in the door and he opened his mind to allow him to use his magic.
He glanced at the timer and saw that a full three minutes was left on the clock. The door burst open and a single MX-17 walked through the chokepoint, Yoshiro fired his pistol into the head of the machine, disabling it. The machine fell to the ground as another one stepped into the room and Yoshiro took another shot, blowing a hole through that robot's head. Yoshiro carefully counted his shots as a third robot walked into the room and he shot that one in the head as well. Yoshiro started hearing a pounding sound right next to him and knew what they were trying to do. The robots were trying to circumvent his chokepoint and get to him by busting through the wall. Yoshiro knew that if the machines were as smart as they reportedly were though, he wasn't going to be able to switch walls without opening himself up to weapons fire.
Instead, Yoshiro stepped back towards the corner, knowing that was his best defensive option. The Machines seemed to assume that he was no longer covering the chokepoint as one walked through the door, only to be shot in the head like the others. Yoshiro knew that he only had nineteen shots left in his gun, but he glanced over at the computer to see that forty-five seconds had passed. Yoshiro was rather frustrated as time had seemed to slow down for him. That gave him an idea and he tried to focus enough to preform time dilation, but was incapable of doing so. He growled as the ability to react faster would've been a great help right now. Yoshiro heard an extremely loud pounding right next to his head and he crouched as a robotic fist burst through the wall where his head was.
Another robot thought that he was no longer guarding the chokepoint and tried to walk in, but he shot that one in the head. The Robotic arm above his head started searching for him and Yoshiro placed his free hand on the wall, putting his mana through it in the form of light magic and solidifying it in the robot that was trying to attack him. Suddenly the lights went out in the base and turned back on. Sigma spoke up, "I didn't need the full five minutes after all. Are you alright, Yoshiro?" Yoshiro stood up and looked out the hole that the robot had made, "Yeah, I'm fine. Shaken up, but I'll live. Sigma, can you shut down the defensive grid for the entire base?" Sigma spoke up, "I already have, I've also transferred all security functions for this base to me."
Yoshiro nodded slightly, "So what does that mean?" Sigma laughed slightly as Yoshiro grabbed at the AI chip, "So long as I'm in this computer, I can control this entire base." Yoshiro stopped reaching for the AI chip, "Transfer a map to my helmet, I wish to look at the archives." Sigma's hologram appeared, "Alright, map transfer complete." Yoshiro watched as a map appeared in the top right corner of his visor, "Thanks." Yoshiro walked out of the room and followed the map which pointed him down the hallway. He took a left and walked into a lift. He pressed a button and the lift carried him deeper into the base. As the lift went down Sigma's voice spoke up, "I'll monitor your progress on the cameras. What I'm seeing is rather amazing, they have experiments set up all over this place and it's just... wow." Yoshiro nodded slightly as the doors opened and he walked out, "This is a Menschilche base."
Yoshiro walked through the hallways and eventually reached the archives. He took his helmet off and placed it on a table and started to get to work on the computer. However, all of the information on the computer was in the Menschilche language, "I can't read any of this, Sig. Can you translate Menschilche for me?" Sigma spoke up, "Hmm, I'm not sure if you gave me a translator function, but I could try." Yoshiro nodded and turned around when Sigma's hologram appeared before him, "I can project myself anywhere there is a camera." Yoshiro nodded and turned to the archival computer, "Sigma, I..." Yoshiro lifted his pistol to take aim at a robot, but Sigma looked at him, "Woah! I've taken control of the body, anything it sees is transferred to me." Yoshiro lowered the pistol, "Next time, give me a little bit of warning."
Yoshiro moved out of the way and let the robot go to the computer, information flashed swiftly on the monitor and Sigma's hologram shook its head, "There isn't any information on Tovenaar. This particular base was looking into gene splicing with plants and preservation of genetic material on Verbana." Yoshiro nodded slightly, "Well at least this wasn't a total bust." Sigma blinked, "What do you mean?" Yoshiro smirked, "You showed concern, Sig. You're becoming more and more alive as the days go on." Sigma's hologram nodded slightly, "So that is what you were... wait a second, there is a list of Menschilche bases on Verbana, I'll download it and cross reference our list of Menschilche bases, see which ones have been opened and which ones haven't. By the way, a team of Manchot have entered the base, do you wish for me to stop them?"
Yoshiro shook his head, "I'll rendezvous with you, and then we'll slip out unnoticed." Sigma tilted his head, "How?" Yoshiro smirked, "An advantage to light magic and having a map in my helmet is that I can bend light around me and still see where to go." Sigma nodded, "So I will need to remain offline, then?" Yoshiro nodded, "Sleep mode, but yes. Don't worry, I'll wake you when we're safe." Yoshiro walked back out of the room and back to the lift. The doors opened for him and he walked into the lift. He hit the button for the ground floor and it took him up. As the doors opened, he walked out slowly and went to the corner. He quickly peeked around the corner and whispered, "Sigma, update my map to show me where they are." Four blips appeared on his map that seemed to be heading towards the command room.
Yoshiro nodded slightly, "Well that's good news." Yoshiro crouched low and started to silently retrace his steps to the security room. He made sure to take care to step around the robots on the floor as he made his way inside. Yoshiro took the AI chip from the computer and placed it back into his helmet, "I wouldn't leave you here, Sig. Remember to remain in sleep mode until we get back out." Yoshiro concentrated and bent light around him, he knew that this technique would constantly drain his supply of light mana, but he felt that he had no choice. He quietly, but swiftly walked towards the entrance of the base using thermal imaging, leaving what he did inside the base behind him. Without incident he reached the front of the base, to see four Manchot standing there. They had uniforms that he didn't recognize, but something told him that he didn't want to get caught.
Yoshiro crouched down even lower and quietly walked between the Manchot soldiers. As he walked out of the base, he noticed that there was snow not too far from the base, so he decided to create a diversion. He walked over to a corner of the base and started howling. The Manchot looked around and as he howled, he quickly removed his boots and walked into the snow, knowing that he'd be leaving a different kind of print. He walked backwards to throw the Manchot off in case they were to try to track him down. The problem was that he felt his light mana reserves reaching empty. Fortunately for him, he had backed over a hill and was hidden from sight. Yoshiro's light mana ran out and he switched back to normal sight with his visor. Relieved that he had escaped, he turned around and started to walk away from the area, knowing that he could call Claire to send a transport his way and pick him up.
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Thran Starcrod
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Post by Thran Starcrod on Nov 2, 2016 5:12:25 GMT
Chapter 25
As he continued to travel away from the Menschilche base, Yoshiro woke Sigma up, "Sig, can you get Claire on the line?" Sigma spoke up, "Yes, I can. You're going to call a ride?" Yoshiro nodded, "The Manchot are hunting me." Sigma sighed, "Do you have any concern for Pekka and the others?" Yoshiro nodded, "I'm scared that they might have been injured or killed, but I will never know for sure." Sigma went silent as Claire's voice spoke up, "Yoshiro, to what do I owe this pleasure?" Yoshiro placed his hand on his visor, "Claire, I need a transport down here near the south pole." Claire spoke up, "Alright, will you be coming to the Raptor base?" Yoshiro shook his head, "No, my Grandparents and Julius are in the nearest port city around here, I'm going to go rendezvous with them." Claire's voice spoke up, "Alright, we can have a shuttle down there in a couple of hours."
Yoshiro nodded, "Thank you, Claire." Yoshiro cut off the communications link, knowing that if he kept it up, he'd be painting a giant target on his back. This was something that he didn't want to do. However, his stomach growled and he shook his head, knowing that he had used his mana to survive. Yoshiro looked around and saw a cave. He smiled slightly under his helmet, knowing that the formation itself would hamper any signals and would make him harder to find. He walked over to the cave and paid attention to his motion tracker as he walked into it. There wasn't any movement, but at least it would be a place for him to get some rest. He positioned himself behind a rock and closed his eyes, "Sigma, if anything sets off the motion tracker, wake me up, alright?" Sigma's voice spoke up, "Understood, sir."
Yoshiro drifted off into sleep, however this time, he didn't find himself in a terrible situation. He found himself standing on the shore of a lake with Katriina, Kauko and Hannu by his side. He looked at the others, "But all of you are... I see, so you're all visiting me, aren't you?" Katriina shook her head, "Kauko and Hannu are incapable of visiting you. These ones are constructs, made from memories." Yoshiro nodded, "So why are we back here?" Katriina shrugged, "It's your dream, buddy. I noticed you haven't been speaking to me as often as you used to. Spend all your time playing with that robot of yours." Yoshiro nodded, "I know, but as a scientist, I have something to prove to the world." Katriina nodded, "I'm glad to see you doing something that you can be passionate about that isn't being a warrior."
Yoshiro nodded as he looked at Kauko, "I miss you, boss." Kauko looked at him and smiled, "You're a good kid, Yoshiro. You'll go far in life, I'm sure of it. Follow your dreams." Yoshiro looked out over the lake, "I remember that Hannu never liked anyone, especially not me." Katriina nodded slightly, "Hannu was a noble." Yoshiro arched a brow, "I was and still am a noble and I don't have a stick that far up my ass." Katriina chuckled, "Hannu was taught that he was inherently superior to the people around him. He became very angry when the peasant born Kauko joined our ranks. He was especially furious when you joined us, saying that you tainted the purity of the Paladinic order. The only person he showed respect for out of the group was me, but that was purely because my mother was the deity of our order."
Yoshiro nodded, "Your mother misses you, you know." Katriina nodded slightly, "I know. I'd love to see her more often, but somebody doesn't like going to Kani territory." Yoshiro shrugged, "I'm sorry that it holds bad memories. I have a hard time looking the king in the eye and I really have a hard time looking Seija in the eye." Katriina nodded, "Kauko's death still weighs on you, doesn't it?" Katriina looked away and then looked over to Yoshiro, "Kauko wanted me to tell you something, since he can't tell you it himself, what with the whole rules of the dead thing." Yoshiro was confused, "You mean that he and Hannu follow me around as well?" Katriina shook her head, "Just me, but I do have access to the realm of the dead. Anyhow, would you like to hear Kauko's message right now?" Yoshiro nodded slightly, "I'm not going anywhere in a hurry."
Katriina nodded, "There are so many different stories that we tell where some brave hero decides to sacrifice themselves to save others. Because of their sacrifice, the good guys win, the survivors cheer, and everyone else lives happily ever after. Heroes like us, we never get to see that ending. We will never know if our sacrifices weren't in vain. We'll never know if we even had any impact on the world. In the end, we just have to have faith. I gave my life knowing this. I trusted you to be the one to kill me, I wouldn't have anyone else do it. You were my friend, Yoshiro. We were brothers-in-arms once, but I only have one question, did my sacrifice amount to anything?" Yoshiro nodded, "The disease was eradicated, Boss. Thanks to your sacrifice, millions were saved. You did the right thing."
Katriina smiled, "Kauko's spirit is at rest now. He knows that he made a difference and ultimately helped people with his death. Yoshiro, your heart harbors a lot of regret and a lot of pain. Magatama and I can only do so much, but you're going to have to be the one to figure out how to ease that pain and ease those regrets." Sigma's voice suddenly sounded, "Movement at the edge of motion tracker, sir." Yoshiro bolted awake and carefully watched his motion tracker as a single blip moved towards him. Yoshiro grabbed his pistol and readied it. The last thing he wanted to do was spill blood, but he was willing to do so, "Sigma, how long have I been asleep?" Sigma spoke up, "One hour and fifty-two minutes, sir." Yoshiro nodded slightly and didn't budge from the rock, suddenly he heard a roar and immediately knew that he was dealing with a wild animal.
Yoshiro stood up from the rock and saw a large mammal standing before him, one that looked like a distant relative of the Karhu. Yoshiro instinctively raised his pistol and shot the creature in the head. As the creature fell to the ground, he walked over and removed his helmet. He pulled the sword off his belt and cut into the flesh of the creature, so that he wouldn't have to bite the fur. After opening a window for him to eat out of, he cleaned his sword and sheathed it, kneeling down next to the creature and shoving his face into its side. He bit into the meat and snapped his head back as he pushed down on its hide, tearing the meat from the bone. As he chewed on the fresh meat, he looked up to the sky, scanning it for a shuttle of some sort.
Sigma spoke up, "I really wish you would eat with some sort of semblance of manners." Yoshiro shrugged as he leaned in and took another bite, ripping away at the creature's flesh with his teeth and neck muscles. Sigma grumbled, "Seriously, you're getting the blood of this creature all over your face." Yoshiro swallowed the meat and he shook his head, "You know very little about survival situations. Then again, you'll never really have to worry about surviving." Sigma's hologram appeared with a frown, "That doesn't give you an excuse to eat like some wild animal." Yoshiro laughed, "The thing about that is, I am a wild animal." Sigma's hologram folded its arms and Yoshiro shook his head, "I'm of the animal kingdom and I am not domesticated, in fact, I'm perfectly capable of surviving in the wild. Hence, I am a wild animal." Sigma's hologram shook its head and looked to the horizon.
Yoshiro noted that the beast that he killed had too much meat on it for him to eat by himself, so he simply sat down next to it when he was finished, "I wonder when that transport will arrive." Yoshiro saw something on the horizon that was closing in on his position and he hoped that was the transport in question. As it grew closer, the communicator in his helmet crackled to life, "General Miyamae, this is Raptor Shuttle Five, do you copy?" Yoshiro placed his helmet on, "Raptor Shuttle Five, this is former General Miyamae, I do copy. You may land near my position." Yoshiro watched as the shuttle drew ever closer and then watched as it landed next to him. Yoshiro stood up as the shuttle door opened and entered the shuttle. The pilot, a Mus looked back at him, "Strap in, I'll take you to the port in question. We called up Julius and got the coordinates." Yoshiro nodded slightly as the shuttle door closed. When he sat down and buckled up, he felt the craft lift from the ground. A sense of relief washed over him as he was glad to be away from this continent.
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Thran Starcrod
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Post by Thran Starcrod on Nov 3, 2016 16:33:59 GMT
Chapter 26
Yoshiro stepped off the shuttle and into the city, he waved to the pilot and smiled, "Tell Claire that I said thank you." The Pilot nodded slightly, "Will do." Yoshiro removed his helmet and stuck his nose in the air, sniffing around to try to pick up a scent that he recognized. He picked one up and turned around to see who it was. Standing before him was Tsuyoshi, who adjusted his glasses, "What are you doing here, Father?" Yoshiro looked away, "Exploring the world." Tsuyoshi shook his head, "Something tells me that it's more than that, Father. You forget what my job is. I'm a diplomat, I can tell when someone is lying to me." Yoshiro nodded slightly, "It's really just my past catching up to me, my son." Tsuysohi nodded, "You're not alone, Father. You never were. The problem is with you, you never seem to ask for our help."
Yoshiro nodded, "How's your mother holding up?" Tsuyoshi frowned, "That's all you have to ask me? Not how I'm doing?" Yoshiro looked down, "Sorry, just... I've got a lot on my mind." Tsuyoshi folded his arms, "I can see that, Father. We want to help you, you know this, but why don't you let us?" Yoshiro looked his son in the eyes, he couldn't help but see Elbereth's eyes looking back at him, "Because..." Yoshiro hugged Tsuyoshi, "I don't want you all to be dragged down because of my problems. I want you all to live happy lives." Tsuysohi pushed Yoshiro away, "Father, do you not see that when you don't allow us to help you, you are hurting all of us?" Yoshiro closed his eyes, "I don't want you guys to get involved with things that are dangerous for the lot of you. Some of the situations I get into, if I had to protect one of you, I wouldn't be alive."
Tsuyoshi looked at him, anger was obvious in his eyes, "Do you only think about yourself, Father?" Yoshiro became angry at his son, "No! Has it crossed your mind that maybe I know that I'm hurting you guys in some way, but I consider it better for you to be hurt like this than to have to risk burying my children? Has it ever crossed your mind that I would love nothing more to be back at home with your mother and the orphans, sipping cocoa next to a warm fire? I love each and every one of you, I constantly think of you all." Tsuyoshi frowned, "That's what you say, but you never quite show it." A voice spoke up, "Father is right, big brother." Yoshiro blinked and looked over Tsuyoshi's shoulder to see Hiromi walking towards them, "I assume that you're both here for some sort of treaty?"
Hiromi shook her head, "My husband is currently ruling over the Kilvish kingdom, I decided to come see how my big brother works." Yoshiro looked at Hiromi, "It has been a long time since I last saw you and you haven't even aged a day." Hiromi nodded, "We Kilves have an unknown lifespan, but it is longer than you Kitsune, Daddy." Yoshiro smiled softly and hugged his middle child, "I was going to meet up with your great-grandparents, but Tsuyoshi is right. I never let my family in on my issues. Can you forgive your foolish old man?" Hiromi nodded, "I never harbored any sort of grudge against you." Yoshiro nodded, "Your great-grandparents can wait a little longer, what do the two of you want to do?" Tsuyoshi frowned, "I have work, Father. Hiromi is the one here without any official business."
Yoshiro nodded and then felt a hand on his muzzle, "Daddy, it is a bit strange that you have this face." Yoshiro nodded slightly, "This is my true face, your mother likes the elvish face better. All of you kids grew up used to the fact that I had that face, instead of my true face. It's what you knew your entire lives." Hiromi looked away, "Mama seemed a bit worried about you, Yoshiro. You left without saying anything to her, you know." Yoshiro corrected her, "Your great-grandmother sort of didn't leave me with much of a choice. Not to mention, I thought Julius had brought up something about this." Hiromi shook her head and Yoshiro grumbled slightly, "Dammit, Julius." Yoshiro looked around to see that Tsuyoshi had left already, "Would you like to get something to drink?" Hiromi nodded slightly, "Alright, Daddy."
Yoshiro took her to a pub that was close by and sat down at a table. Hiromi looked around, "Why did you bring me to a pub?" Yoshiro shrugged, "Instinctual decision for when I'm trying to work through data or gain information. Speaking of which, Sig, this is your older sister, Hiromi." Sigma's hologram appeared before her and bowed slightly, "It is a pleasure to meet you, big sister." Hiromi nodded slightly, "I heard that Daddy was working on something new, some sort of super advanced AI, I guess you're the end result of that." Sigma's hologram nodded, "That is correct, milady." Yoshiro looked at Sigma's hologram, "So, have you been able to translate all of the data that we got from that base?" Hiromi frowned, "I thought you were retired from the military!" Yoshiro nodded, "Old Menschilche installation, hadn't been opened since ten years before I was born."
Hiromi looked at Sigma, who merely spoke up, "What my creator says is true, there were no soldiers within the base when we entered. Just a bunch of obsolete machines." Hiromi placed her hand on Yoshiro's breastplate, "Then why is this damaged?" Yoshiro shrugged, he had forgotten that was there as he didn't ever pay attention to the burned tissue underneath, "Some of them were armed, to be fair, I accepted the idea that defenses were still active. I thought it was a small enough chance to be worth the risk." Hiromi folded her arms, "You always needlessly risk your life. But I suppose that is what you do, Daddy." Yoshiro watched as a Neko walked over, "Would you like something to drink?" Yoshiro nodded, "I'd like a cold tankard of ale if you will." Hiromi looked up, "I'll have a coffee, no sugar, but I'd like some creamer, please."
Hiromi looked at him, "Really, alcohol in your condition?" Yoshiro shrugged, "I'm sorry, Honey. It takes the edge of the pain off." Hiromi frowned, "You told me not to drink while depressed." Yoshiro stood up and removed his breastplate, showing that his clothes were burnt underneath and he sustained a second degree burn, "That's the pain I'm talking about, Hiromi." Hiromi blinked, "Oh, I thought you were drinking because of what happened with Galina." Yoshiro shook his head, "Though that pain lingers in my heart, I'm trying to get this stinging on the skin of my chest to go away right now." Hiromi nodded slightly, "So without your armor..." Yoshiro nodded as he put the breastplate on, "I wouldn't be here right now. In fact, the first shot that I got hit with would've killed me, not immediately mind you, but it would've been lethal." Their drinks were placed on the table and Hiromi looked at him, "You risk your life too much, do you ever think of what it would be like for us if you died?"
Yoshiro sipped his ale and when he lowered the tankard, "Of course I do. Why do you think I go to such lengths to prepare for scenarios I'm not even sure of." Yoshiro placed the tankard on the table and looked into his daughter's eyes, "There has never been a situation that I've gone into where I didn't think of you guys. I love my family and I know that losing me would hurt as much as losing Galina or Rogelio for all of you and losing Kauko or Katriina was for me. That's why I chose to protect myself when I have to go out and risk my life. That's why I plan things out as best I can when I have that luxury." Hiromi looked down, "So that's why you became a sniper, so you could keep yourself off the front lines?" Yoshiro nodded slightly, "Yes. I wanted to end wars swiftly so that you wouldn't have to worry about losing your father."
Hiromi nodded slightly as Yoshiro took another sip of ale. She looked into her coffee, "When are you coming home?" Yoshiro closed his eyes and placed the tankard back on the table, "I'm not sure. My journey could be over in a couple of days, it could take a couple of months. I promise you that I will come back, no matter what happens." Hiromi nodded, she knew her father wasn't a liar. If he promised to come back alive, he was going to come back alive. Yoshiro downed the rest of the tankard and looked out the window, "Hiromi, no matter what happens, I'll always be there for you, alright. Even when I pass away, and don't say that you don't want me to speak like that. We both know your natural lifespan is longer than mine. I'll be there for you in spirit. I promise." Hiromi nodded and looked Yoshiro in the eye, "Daddy, please be careful." Yoshiro stood up, "I will do my best." Though that wasn't the answer she wanted to hear, Hiromi knew that Yoshiro wasn't one to give false hope.
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Thran Starcrod
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Post by Thran Starcrod on Nov 4, 2016 6:37:05 GMT
Chapter 27
As Yoshiro walked through the streets of the city, he kept his nose pointed into the air, trying to pick up Julius' scent. Within a few moments he heard a voice say, "Look out, Mister!" Yoshiro turned and noticed a ball flying towards him. He raised his hand and caught the ball in his hand, feeling the impact, even through the glove. One of the kittens that were playing walked over, "Woah, you're fast, Mister!" Yoshiro smirked behind his hand, "Whoever hit the ball has a nice swing. What game are you kids playing?" Yoshiro lowered his hand as one of the kittens walked over and spoke up, "We're playing a game the humans brought over, they called it stick ball, but there are all sorts of rules." Yoshiro looked at the fence between him and the kids, "Well according to the rules of stick ball, I believe whoever nearly hit me with this scored a point for hitting it over this fence."
The Kittens looked back at the person with the stick and then to him, "Who are you, I haven't ever seen you around, Mister." Yoshiro hopped the fence, "Where's your coaches?" A fully grown female Neko walked over to him and she glared at him, "You're delaying our game." Yoshiro handed her the ball, "I'm not really delaying anything. These kids aren't out here to compete, they're here to have fun and I know the natural curiosity of the Neko people. Your people are looking at someone that they had never seen before." The Female Neko looked him over, "You're bringing weapons onto a regulation sports field?" Yoshiro shrugged and lied to her, "I work security, for some very important people. I was given some time off and it's a force of habit to wear all of this gear." The Neko nodded slightly, "Uh huh... well if you don't mind..."
Yoshiro removed his helmet and one of the Kittens looked up at him, "You're a Kitsune, like that nice lady that my mom saw last night." Yoshiro blinked, that meant that Amaterasu was still within the city. He was excited about this and wanted to go meet his grandmother posthaste. Yoshiro looked at her, "Do you know where she is staying at?" The Kitten shook her head and Yoshiro frowned slightly, "That's alright, kiddo." Yoshiro stood up, "I'm going to head off." The girl looked at him, "You carry a sword, would you like to take a swing at the ball?" Yoshiro couldn't help but laugh, "It's a different technique altogether, little one. However, I will give it a shot, I will however need a larger club to use." The woman frowned, "We call them bats." Yoshiro shrugged, "I honestly don't get the terminology that you use."
Yoshiro walked over to where the woman pointed him, and the woman handed him a bat, one made for adults. She walked over to a mound of dirt and smiled, "I'm going to throw this one as hard as I can." Yoshiro watched the way she moved carefully and decided to pull out his trump card. Time started to slow down from his perspective and Yoshiro carefully studied the woman's movements. As the ball left the woman's hand, Yoshiro slowed his perception of time even more, carefully watching the ball as it headed towards him. He started to swing the bat at what he believed to be the right time and at the right angle to hit the ball, but much to his surprise, when he resumed his normal perception of the flow of time... he missed. Yoshiro heard the ball hit the fence and shook his head, "Three swings, right?"
Yoshiro smirked, "This time, I'm going to hit this thing out of the park." The Neko woman frowned, "You are very arrogant for someone who never played the game before." Yoshiro chuckled as he got into position, "Just throw the ball." The woman threw the ball and Yoshiro used his time dilation once again, slowing his perception of the flow of time to one-tenth of its normal speed. This time, when he calculated the speed and trajectory of the ball, he changed the position of the bat and swung it as hard as he could. When he stopped dilating time, he heard the crack of the bat meeting the ball, and felt the bat get lighter as a result of it. Yoshiro watched as the ball flew out of the field and slammed into a window, "Well, I'm going to have to pay for that one."
Yoshiro watched as a leopard Neko walked out of the building with the ball. The Neko jumped the fence and stormed over towards him, "You broke my window, you're going to pay for that!" Yoshiro pulled out his wallet, "How much will a new window cost you, sir?" The Neko looked at him, "Six thousand credits." Yoshiro placed his wallet away, "Drop a couple of zeroes and I'll believe you, until then, you're not seeing a single credit of my money." The Neko punched him in the nose and he grabbed at his face. It always hurt to be punched there, but he knew that he had to set an example for these kittens. The male Neko angrily shouted at him, "Who do you think you are!?" Yoshiro calmly looked the Neko in the eye, "Yoshiro Miyamae." The Neko laughed, "What would someone like that be doing in a place like this?"
Yoshiro shrugged, "Security detail, I got the day off though. The VIP is protected by the guards of this city right now." The Neko looked him in the eye, but Yoshiro didn't budge. The Neko immediately showed fear, "Y-y-you really are him! You killed my sister!" Yoshiro shook his head, "I apologize, sir, but who was your sister?" The Male Neko growled, "You dishonor her memory by not even remembering her! Her name was Kaoru, you son of a bitch!" Yoshiro watched as the Neko pulled out a knife and dodged the slash that was aimed for his neck. While the Neko was off balance from missing an attack he had put all of his power into, Yoshiro grabbed the weapon arm and squeezed tightly, "Let go of that before you hurt one of these kittens." The male Neko didn't let go and Yoshiro twisted the hand, "I said let go."
The male Neko screamed out in pain and let go of the knife. Yoshiro smiled, "What is your name?" The Neko glared at him, "Tamotsu!" Yoshiro tossed Tomatsu to the ground and stepped on the knife, "I can only apologize to you for what I have done in the past. I'm sorry that I took your sister from you, I was in the military and she was on the opposing side." Yoshiro looked down at him, "If you had chosen a venue for this to take place that wasn't a children's stick ball field, I would have let this go. You put these children in danger and that is something that as a father, I can never forgive." Yoshiro looked towards the children, "They will never forget this day and they will never forget our faces, not because it was fun, but because you chose to try to kill me."
Tamotsu looked at him, "I will avenge my sister, at all costs!" Yoshiro grabbed him by the collar and picked him up, feeling a pain in his shoulder as he did so, "Do not think for a second, that Kaoru would want you to avenge her death. She would've wanted you to be happy." Tamotsu punched Yoshiro in the face, but Yoshiro turned his head so he could catch the fist on his jaw, "Yeah, trying to punch me in the nose isn't going to work a second time. I can tell that you acted the way you did, because you are hurt deeply inside. I do not harbor any hatred for you and understand why you are doing what you are doing. Killing me, however, will not bring your sister back to life or grant her spirit any sort of ease." Tamotsu growled, "What do you know."
Yoshiro leaned in and whispered, "Because before I killed a target, I had to read their entire dossier. I knew your sister's psychological profile. She cared about you and didn't want to be avenged if she died." Tamotsu's eyes widened, "Shinigami!" Yoshiro whispered, "Aye, I was Gurimurīpā. I've long since retired from that role." Yoshiro let Tamotsu go and he watched as the Neko bowed to him, "The window will be free of charge." Yoshiro shook his head and pulled out his card, "Pull yours out, I'll transfer six thousand." Tamotsu blinked, "But... why?" Yoshiro motioned for him to do as he said, and Tamotsu pulled his card out of his wallet. Yoshiro transferred six thousand credits to him and put his card away, "Consider that my way of apologizing for the death of your sister. However, if you feel you haven't earned it, point me in the direction of the nearest Kitsune." Tamotsu pointed down the road, "They hang out near the cafe, daily." Yoshiro nodded, "Thank you."
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Thran Starcrod
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Post by Thran Starcrod on Nov 5, 2016 21:31:15 GMT
Chapter 28
Yoshiro walked to the door of the cafe and looked in, he looked around for the Kitsune in question when a voice spoke up behind him, "Excuse me, sir." Yoshiro jumped, he was startled by the voice. He turned around and looked at her, "Yoshiko?" The female Kitsune nodded, "Yes, your voice sounds familiar... do I know you by any chance?" Yoshiro took off his helmet to reveal his face and she gasped, "Yoshiro, I thought you had retired from the military." Yoshiro looked to the side, "I did, this however is mercenary gear." Yoshiko frowned, "What are you doing here then?" Yoshiro shrugged, "Searching the world for answers. Just so happens that the answers I'm trying to find are in unopened Menschilche bases." Yoshiko nodded, "What answers are you looking for, as you know, I was created by the Menschilche." Yoshiro shrugged, "Why I was always watched by them and what Tovenaar is supposed to be."
Yoshiko pulled Yoshiro from in front of the door to let people in the cafe, "Those are answers I do not have, I apologize." Yoshiro nodded, "Just like me." Yoshiko pouted and Yoshiro looked at her nervously, "I didn't mean it like that, you know that you're my cousin!" Yoshiko hugged him with a laugh, "I know that I'm your clone, Yoshiro. I'm not the same Yoshiko that you met all of those years ago." Yoshiro was surprised slightly and hugged back, a voice spoke in the back of his head, telling him that he didn't have time to spend with his cousin. He shook his head slightly and Yoshiko looked at him, "Why are you shaking your head?" Yoshiro shrugged, "Just trying to clear my head is all." Yoshiko nodded, "You must have a lot on your mind right now." Yoshiro nodded slightly as he was looking for Amaterasu.
Yoshiko blinked and looked at him, "Oh, that's right, Grandmother is waiting for you." Yoshiro was surprised, "You know where they are?" Yoshiko giggled, "Of course, cousin, they're at my place right now. They've been staying there for the past few days. I have to say that Julius has been an amazing help around the house. He really is good at doing housework, you know." Yoshiro was surprised to hear that about Julius, he knew that his draconic brother was a good father, but him doing housework was just something that he couldn't possibly fathom. Yoshiko giggled and led Yoshiro down a street, "Come on, Yoshiro. I'll take you to them." Yoshiro followed her and she looked up at him, "I've been out here on vacation. I got a month of vacation days that I get to use, so I figured, why not come all the way down here?"
Yoshiro nodded slightly, "Galina is..." Yoshiko interrupted him, "I know, but you have to know that it isn't your fault, Cousin." Yoshiro nodded, "I know it isn't, but it was the gate for me to realize how many deaths were my fault. I've killed so much in the military and in mercenary forces that to me, killing is as easy and as natural as breathing. It became the same way with losing my allies, or so I thought. Originally, I was horrifically shocked when I lost an ally. Then as the battles went on and I had fought through several wars, that was it. I no longer really felt any horror or shock from losing someone that I was fighting alongside. I had no idea that I was just bottling up the feelings within my heart and they were building up to the point of exploding."
Yoshiko nodded slightly, "That's what happens when you bottle up feelings." Yoshiro looked away, "It's what I was trained to do, cousin. I was always supposed to be the stoic, strong person that young rookies looked up to for guidance. As you can see, it has taken its toll on me." Yoshiko nodded slightly, "You haven't quite aged gracefully." Yoshiro was hurt by that, "Hey... I might look a little older than I really am, but I'm in great shape." Yoshiko smiled, "I know, but your face looks older than you really are. You do know that us holy bloods age slower after our awakening than our normal counterparts." Yoshiro did know that piece of information, "Yes, I do. It's quite a simple concept, really. Our exposure to mana has given the lifeforms of this planet an extended lifespan without the help of medicines or technology. We age the slowest out of any faction native to this galaxy."
Yoshiko stopped in front of a house, "This is where my vacation home is, well, more accurately it's my mentor's vacation home." Yoshiro nodded as he looked at the door, "Yoshiko, tell me something." Yoshiko nodded, "Alright." Yoshiro smirked, "How's your magical training coming along." Yoshiko smiled slightly, she didn't want to fully reveal her secrets, "Let's just say that I've been keeping up with my training, much like you have been keeping up with yours to keep your body in check." Yoshiro nodded slightly, "I'm going to have to ask grandmother if she will spar with me." Yoshiko frowned, "Not in the house, you're not. If the two of you want to spar, you're going to have to gym down the road." Yoshiro laughed nervously, "Come on, Cousin, you can't say that I'd be willing to have a match in your place."
Yoshiko gave him a stern look, "You really expect me to believe that. I know you better than you think I do, Yoshiro." Yoshiro shook his head with a nervous look on his face, "I wouldn't dare think of wrecking your house." Yoshiko sighed and opened the door, "Grandmother, Grandfather, look at what the cat dragged in." Yoshiro walked into the house and Amaterasu ran over and hugged him, "Oh, I was worried about you for a while, Yoshiro. I thought you had gotten lost in the city. I was going to come look for you, but Raiden didn't want to. He said that you should be able to find us on your own." Yoshiro nodded slightly, "It is good that you guys have faith in me. Hey, Grandmother, I know I just got back, but can we spar before we leave the continent?" Amaterasu tilted her head as she broke the embrace, "What for?"
Yoshiro looked away, "Like you said, I feel most alive when I'm fighting. I do not want to seriously injure anyone, however, so I thought that the best thing to do is go sparring. Plus, it will give Sigma more time to translate all of the data that he got from the database from Menschilche to Basic." Amaterasu was surprised, "This is rather well thought out for you, considering the..." Yoshiro looked up at the ceiling, "The circumstances, I know. I can feel the healing process begin, slowly, within my heart. It will take weeks, months, or even years. One thing is certain though, by the end of all of this, I will not be the same person I was before the death of Galina." Amaterasu nodded with a slight smile, "You really are your father's son." Yoshiro recalled the words of the Manchot and shook his head, "Let's hope that doesn't include the whole bioweapon part."
Amaterasu frowned, "Yoshiro, you and I both know that you are not a bioweapon!" Yoshiro shook his head, "The more I think about what I learned down there, the more uncertain I become. Who is Tovenaar, what is Tovenaar. The answers elude me, but they all come to one point, what if one of my siblings or I happen to be Tovenaar. I mean... my father is Kawal, it would only make sense for the Menschilche to try to turn one of us into one of their bioweapon projects." Amaterasu shook her head, "What do you plan on doing when you find Tovenaar?" Yoshiro looked at his hand, "I will destroy it so that it may never hurt anyone again." Amaterasu frowned deeply, "What if it is an innocent, what if it is merely a child, would your conscience be able to handle that."
Yoshiro looked at his hand, the reason he became a sniper was so that he wouldn't hurt innocents, even if he had gotten the wrong person in quite a few of his jobs and one of his policies is that he kills anyone who tried to hire him to kill a child. However, he weighed his morals over the idea of killing a bioweapon and came to his conclusion, "No, it wouldn't. An innocent bioweapon or a child bioweapon are to be treated the same as if they weren't bioweapons." Amaterasu smiled slightly, "I knew there was a good heart beating someone in that chest of yours. Tell me, Yoshiro, could you handle pointing a gun at one of your siblings?" Yoshiro shrugged, "Takeshi, yes. The others, not at all." Amaterasu nodded slightly, "That was a truthful answer, but why?" Yoshiro looked out the window, "Because Takeshi is pissed off that I killed his sister, despite the fact that she tried to kill me twice and their brother tried to kill Tatsuya and his clone tried to kill me. Takeshi and his threats have grown tiresome."
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Thran Starcrod
Professional Author
Posts: 423
Let's Playing is rather rewarding and fun.
Custom Title: Professional Author
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Post by Thran Starcrod on Nov 6, 2016 6:31:10 GMT
Chapter 29
Amaterasu looked at her grandson from the opposite side of the gym, "I can see that you're tense, are you sure that you wish to spar with such an obvious burn on your chest?" Yoshiro looked down at his chest and then entered a fighting stance, he wasn't used to fighting without his shield, "It shouldn't be a problem in a sparring match." Amaterasu smirked, "Are you really going to allow an obvious weakness be known?" Yoshiro pat the bandages that were covering his chest, "I put ointment on it, there isn't much else I can do, Grandmother. Thank you, by the way for taking the time to spar with me." Amaterasu nodded slightly and entered a stance that Yoshiro didn't recognize. Yoshiro looked over it and tried to figure out why she took the stance, but couldn't. Amaterasu smiled slightly, "Do you not recognize the stance of your own mother?"
Yoshiro shook his head, "My mom didn't train me in the way of the sword, if she had her way, I wouldn't be here right now." Amaterasu laughed, "First, come at me. Let's spar." Yoshiro rushed at Amaterasu and moved his right arm as if he still had a shield, Amaterasu took advantage of that and slammed her training sword into his arm, while still blocking his blade. Yoshiro howled in pain as the force surprised him. He tried to gain some leverage over the lock, but his sword slid down hers and she quickly moved around him, placing the blade against the back of his neck. Yoshiro was surprised at her quick movements, but Amaterasu laughed, "You didn't learn much from the Kensei, did you? Your fighting style uses ours as a base, but you instinctively act like a Paladin in combat." Yoshiro moved away from her blade and turned around with a smile, "Is that a problem?"
Amaterasu shook her head, "Not at all, it would be an interesting thing for trainees to learn how to do. I've been thinking about expanding the Kensei for a long time." Yoshiro rushed at her and as she swung her sword at him, he instinctively bashed at it with his right arm, trying to parry the blow. He was able to catch the sword on his arm, but knew in a real battle he'd have sacrificed the arm by doing that. However he was able to bring his blade to her neck by doing this. Amaterasu shook her head, "You lost the ability to use your arm." Yoshiro shrugged, "I'd be able to get a new one, you'd be dead though." Amaterasu backed off and Yoshiro smirked as he adopted a new fighting position, "The Paladins weren't all I learned from."
Amaterasu noticed that Yoshiro kept one hand on his blade at all times as he moved towards her. She became slightly unnerved when she realized what kind of technique he was going to use against her. Yoshiro suddenly switched the placement of his hand and rushed in. She was able to catch the flat of his sword on her blade, but he was able to use his momentum to wrestle her down to the ground and pin her arm to the ground with his knee, "One to two." Amaterasu pushed him off with a laugh, "I'm sitting here going easy on you, because we're sparring and you're using techniques of war against me. Don't you think that's a little unfair, kiddo?" Yoshiro laughed and stood back up, "Why don't you stop going easy on me." Amaterasu arched a brow, "Are you sure about that?" Yoshiro nodded slightly and entered a defensive posture.
Amaterasu rushed in quickly and as Yoshiro went into block her attack, she struck both of his hands from underneath with her sword. She then brought it around to the back of his neck, "A Kensei prizes their speed and ability to alter the direction of their attack on the fly above all else, Yoshiro." Yoshiro was stunned, he had never seen such a thing in action. Yoshiro however elbowed back and hit her in the face, "Even without hands, an opponent that hasn't been finished can deal a lot of damage or potentially kill." Amaterasu nodded, "You have spent most of your life on battlefields, it is only natural that you have a warrior's mindset, but I must ask you to realize that this is a friendly sparring match." Yoshiro nodded slightly, "Let's practice some blocking then." Amaterasu nodded slightly, "Alright then, Yoshiro. You know how to block with a shield, but let's see if you can block with a blade."
Yoshiro nodded slightly and assumed a defensive position, he placed his right hand behind his back. Amaterasu swung her sword and Yoshiro caught it on the flat of his blade, angling his sword to where hers would harmlessly slide down the blade. As her blade slid off, instinctively, he placed his near her neck, but Amaterasu frowned, "Blocking practice, Yoshiro. Not parrying, however, your form when you block with your blade is superb." Yoshiro nodded slightly, "I had to learn, because there are many situations where I may find myself without a shield of some kind. Not knowing how to deflect your opponent's weapon with your own would lead to your death, while your opponent roams free." Amaterasu folded her arms and smiled slightly, "I honestly don't have much left that I can teach you. Your style is too different, but you are well trained."
Yoshiro looked at her, "Well, may I go all out?" Amaterasu blinked, "You weren't going all out?" Yoshiro shrugged, "Well, this is a sparring match." Amaterasu laughed, "Alright then, come at me as best you can." Yoshiro rushed at her and watched as her blade didn't move to defend. Suddenly he slammed into an invisible barrier and Amaterasu laughed, "I figured that you were going to combine your magic with your swordsmanship." Yoshiro stumbled back and shook his head, "That hurt quite a bit." Amaterasu dropped the barrier, "Are you alright?" Yoshiro swung his sword and hit her in the neck. Yoshiro suddenly felt something ensnare his leg, "Not again..." His leg flew up from under him, forcing him off balance and onto the ground. Amaterasu looked down at him, "You weren't supposed to hit your opponent in the neck in a sparring match!"
Yoshiro sat up, "I wasn't intending to hit you, but I put too much force behind that swing. I apologize, Grandmother." Amaterasu nodded slightly, "It's alright, Yoshiro, you didn't do any lasting damage." Yoshiro looked up, "Grandmother, you said that you were using Mom's stance. What kind of Kensei was Mom?" Amaterasu sat down next to him, "Your mother wasn't like you, she focused on my teachings and being my daughter, was a complete natural. By the time she was ready to have her first child, she was a Rank Three Kensei. She could've been a Rank One Kensei, easily. However, she settled down with your father, after the whole liberation war of Verbana and when you and your twin sister was born... she gave up the whole life of the swordsman thing." Yoshiro nodded slightly, he had no idea that he was what caused his mother to stop being a Kensei.
Amaterasu looked into his eyes, "I can see regret, do not feel bad. She wanted you and your twin to grow up in a peaceful world. One that you would be proud to be in." Yoshiro looked away, "That obviously didn't happen." Amaterasu nodded sadly, "I know, but you took it upon yourself to fight, so that no one else in your family would have to. You may disagree with the idea of you being a hero, but to your siblings, you really are a hero. You stood up when none of them would and you refused to let them throw away their lives in combat. You've always been looking out for them and protecting them. Yoshiro, they may not say it, but they look up to you." Yoshiro found that hard to believe, "I'm sure Reiko is disappointed in me." Amaterasu started laughing at that.
Yoshiro became annoyed, "What's so funny about that?" Amaterasu looked him in the eye, "You know better than anyone else, how much Reiko loves you. She has always been there when you needed someone to be with. You are aware of what she is, aren't you?" Yoshiro shrugged, "The reincarnation of the deity of purity." Amaterasu blinked, "Okay, when and how?" Yoshiro shrugged, "Aunt Kimiko sort of gets gossipy when drunk. Not entirely a good thing for a deity, especially if your aspect is rebirth, which is also known as reincarnation." Amaterasu nodded, "Well, I'll be sure to have her avoid alcohol from now on. Anyhow, you know why Reiko is purehearted. What you don't know is why she does what she does regarding you in particular. Yoshiro, you carry the most pain in your heart and she wants to heal that pain. She hates seeing people suffer, especially her family." Yoshiro nodded, "Only my death will be able to fully liberate me from this burden. However, it is a burden I chose to bear when I picked up a weapon for the first time." Amaterasu nodded, "Like all warriors before you. Well enough talking, would you like to go another round?" Yoshiro stood up with a smirk, "Let's go."
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Thran Starcrod
Professional Author
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Let's Playing is rather rewarding and fun.
Custom Title: Professional Author
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Post by Thran Starcrod on Nov 7, 2016 6:07:49 GMT
Chapter 30
Night had fallen and Yoshiro had fallen asleep. Within his dream he looked upon the site of a great battle. Bodies were strewn everywhere, both civilian and military. Yoshiro looked at the person in the middle of the carnage and saw a white furred Kitsune standing there, a sword covered in blood in his hand. Yoshiro watched his mouth move as he spoke into a communications device on his wrist, but saw as the Kitsune turned his head and spoke in a language that he couldn't understand. Yoshiro recognized the face of the Kitsune and reached for his own sword, "Father..." The Kitsune looked at him, "A bioweapon like myself would never have a disgraceful son like you." Yoshiro called out, "Tell me, what do you know about Tovenaar!?" Akira smirked, "Tovenaar is the ultimate anti-dragon weapon. However, the way you carry that sword... you are no mere Kitsune."
Yoshiro looked down at his sword and saw that blood was covering it, shocking him. He hadn't killed anyone on this battlefield. Akira smiled as the blood started to cover him, "So you are like me, a monster. The question is, were you engineered to be a monster, or was it a path you chose." Yoshiro tried to move forward, but his foot was sucked down further into the pool of blood he was standing in. Akira laughed, "Do not try to resist it, you are as guilty as I am of shedding the blood of others. You are a bigger monster than anything the Menschilche could create." Akira's was completely swallowed up by the pool of blood and Yoshiro felt that it was up to his chest. He frantically searched for a way to escape it. Anything would do for him, even if it was a mere branch he could pull on.
There was nothing and he was swallowed up by the blood. There was nothingness, no sights, no sound. Nothing. When light returned to him, he found himself standing in the middle of another scene. Countless bodies were strewn about a field, he heard a voice cry out, "You bastard!" He turned around and cut the person down. When he saw the person's face, he dropped his sword in horror. He had killed his own little brother, "No... no!" Yoshiro held his head tightly and screamed out into the sky when he suddenly felt a pain in his chest. He looked down to see that he had been impaled by a sword. He looked at the person that had impaled him and tears came to his eyes, "Ma... ma..." Minako looked at him, "You are not my son. You are merely a monster and like all monsters, you are to be put down." Darkness ate away at Yoshiro's vision, soon engulfing it.
He bolted awake, breathing heavily in his bed as he sat up. He placed his hand on where he had been impaled in the nightmare that he had and found no injury. He closed his eyes, relieved that he was back in the world of the waking. Yoshiko opened the door and rubbed her eyes, "You scream incredibly loudly in your sleep, you know that?" Yoshiro nodded, "Yeah, I've been having terrible nightmares as of late. I don't know what's causing them." Yoshiko shrugged, not surprised that Yoshiro didn't have the answer, "Your grief." Yoshiro looked out the window at the moon, "That makes sense. I've done a lot of horrible things in my life, I have so many different regrets that it's hard to keep tabs on them all." Yoshiko nodded, "Like anything, that can come back to haunt you."
Yoshiro looked down at the side of the bed and picked up the stuffed toy that he had brought with him. Yoshiko giggled, "It's kind of cute that you have a toy like that." Yoshiro smiled softly as he hugged the toy, "Ame has been an important part of my life since I was a kit, long before you were even a thought in Cornelis' head." Yoshiko nodded, "Sometimes, I wish I could've seen him one last time, you know." Yoshiro started to list off names, "Rogelio, Kauko, Adriana, Walthari, Noah, Seth, and Galina." Yoshiko looked at him, "What significance do they have?" Yoshiro looked up at the ceiling, "People that were influential to my life that are no longer with us, but I wish they were." Yoshiko nodded slightly, "Something tells me that's a small list." Yoshiro shrugged, "It is, but most of the influential people in my life are still alive."
Yoshiko frowned, "You seem to know a lot of people." Yoshiro laughed slightly, "I was originally a noble, then I became royalty. After that, I joined up with the military and then became a mercenary. I guess if I had to say, I have met roughly ten thousand people in person." Yoshiko was stunned by that comment, especially with how casually Yoshiro had said it, "Ten thousand!?" Yoshiro nodded slightly, he didn't remember the exact figure, but he felt ten thousand was a good number. Yoshiko shook her head, "How do you remember all of their names and their faces." Yoshiro smirked, "I don't." Yoshiko folded her arms across her chest, "You don't quite seem to be leadership material if you can't even do that." Yoshiro shrugged, "Blame how our brains formed. We can only remember so many names and so many faces."
Yoshiko nodded slowly, "How do you know that for sure though?" Yoshiro looked away, "Though psychology isn't my forte, I had to understand a bit of it in order to make the AI that I create have even a fleeting shot at being completely sentient. One of the things I learned is that we are psychologically incapable of recalling faces or names after a certain point. Said point I hit a long time ago." Yoshiko nodded, curious, "What's the number?" Yoshiro shrugged, "For humans, it is around two hundred and fifty. For Kitsune like us? I cannot say, especially since you are a mage and you use your brain a bit more than I do." Yoshiko frowned, "That's not nice, you know. You shouldn't put yourself down like that." Yoshiro nodded, "It's true though, my training is to force repetition of an action until it becomes instinctual to do that action in a fight."
Yoshiko understood what he meant, "The training of a mage isn't all about reading books. We need to be able to get used to our own mana flow, to allow us to get more use out of our natural flow of magic. My mentor says that I'm more powerful than most, but out of everyone he has ever seen, you are the one with the strongest mana flow out of everyone that isn't a deity." Yoshiro nodded, "It means nothing without training and I'm too old and too set in my ways to start training in the way of using magic like that." Yoshiko walked over and poked him in the chest, "Says the man who is quite literally traveling across the entire planet just to find some answers. Weren't you the kind to either stay at home or explore new territory that we've never been to before?"
Yoshiro couldn't deny that his current behavior was a bit weird. However Sigma's hologram suddenly appeared, "I hope that I am not interrupting anything important." Yoshiro looked at Sigma, "Nope." Sigma nodded, "That's good. I have discerned the location of the next Menschilche base that we should go to. However, there is just one problem." Yoshiro blinked, "Okay, what is the proble..." Yoshiro was interrupted by Sigma's hologram changing to that of a harpy, "Oh... that's going to be a rather large pain in my ass. Well, fortunately being around two deities will give me safe passage through their lands. Even if it didn't, Toshi and Julius are more than a match for them." Sigma's hologram returned to it's normal form, "You don't seem to know much about the Harpies, judging from what knowledge you had programmed into me." Yoshiro shrugged, "They are rather reclusive and hate intruders. Deities non-withstanding."
Sigma's hologram nodded, "What if they do not permit you safe passage?" Yoshiro shrugged, "Since I'm not looking to start a war... we look for some other Menschilche installation." Sigma's hologram looked at Yoshiko, "Do either of you believe that risking not finding your answer would be worth not having a war break out." Yoshiko nodded without hesitation, "Absolutely." Yoshiro closed his eyes, "I'm sick of war, myself. I had my fill in my younger days. We will try the diplomatic approach, if that fails, we will find another installation." Sigma's hologram nodded slightly, "I understand. You gave a good answer, Yoshiro." Yoshiro chuckled, "Well, if neither of the two of you mind, I think I'm going to try to get some more sleep." Yoshiko nodded, "Alright then, Yoshiro, please refrain from screaming in your sleep." Yoshiro smirked, "No promises, but I'll try to have less nightmares." Yoshiro laid back and placed his head on his pillow, as he closed his eyes, he thought about his family back home. As he drifted off to sleep, he wondered how his wife was doing.
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Thran Starcrod
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Post by Thran Starcrod on Nov 8, 2016 15:15:48 GMT
Chapter 31
Yoshiro checked his supplies and his armaments before he headed out the door, where Julius was waiting. Julius made a happy cooing sound and Yoshiro smirked, "Wux re saeuth ekess ocuir ve takh." Julius shook his head, "Si mi saeuth ekess ocuir wux re doutan." Yoshiro chuckled, "Who else would I be?" Julius narrowed his eyes at him, "Yoshiro, you know what I meant." Yoshiro placed his hand on Julius' side, "I know, brother, I'm just having a little bit of fun, you know." Julius nodded, "I know, you are not stupid, Yoshiro. Not by a long shot. But after these past few days, I sometimes worry about you." Raiden spoke up, "He barely slept the entire time you were gone. He stayed up, waiting for you to return. That Dragon is loyal to you and you should honestly feel honored about that." Yoshiro nodded slightly, "I have always felt honored to have Julius as my brother."
Amaterasu walked out with supplies, "We're heading into harpy territory, right? Toshi will grant Raiden and I access. Harpies will not attack a Dragon, but they may attack you regardless." Julius nodded, "They tend to be very territorial creatures, preferring to be left alone if at all possible." Yoshiro climbed onto Julius' back and sat down, "I already know that much. I have met many peoples in my travels, many races. However, for the first time, I am meeting some new ones. The Manchot are a good example of this, I had never met them before, but they live on the southernmost continent of Verbana. However, they seemed to not be trusting of me." Julius nodded slightly, "We Dragons have not had many dealings with the Manchot, but I can assume that since you didn't come back on the ship, your visit there was less than pleasant."
Yoshiro nodded slightly, that was true, "A bit of an understatement, but yeah, you could put it like that." Yoshiro looked at Toshi walked over to Julius and placed his beak in front of him. Yoshiro laughed and stroked his beak, "It is good to see you again as well, Toshi. Well, let's go to the homeland of the Harpies. Yoshiko, it was good to see you again and thanks for letting me stay overnight." Yoshiko nodded slightly, "You're welcome, Yoshiro. Grandmother, Grandfather, the both of you are welcome back at any time." Amaterasu nodded, "Your hospitality was very gracious of you, Yoshiko. It is good to see that you have manners." Yoshiro looked at her, "Hey, that's not funny, Grandmother. I'm polite when I need to be." Amaterasu chuckled, "I know, Yoshiro, but that's the key phrase, when you need to be. You usually don't care about manners outside of that."
Julius took off into the air and Toshi took off behind him, Yoshiro couldn't help but admire the beauty of Verbana from the air. The light gleaming off the water's surface, the lush green fields and forests below him. Even the cities were constructed in an aesthetically pleasing way. Yoshiro watched as they exited the city's airspace and turned his head to look at Amaterasu, who waved at him. Yoshiro nodded slightly and turned his head away as Sigma's hologram appeared before him, "Creator, I've been thinking." Yoshiro smiled, "That's a good sign. What have you been thinking about?" Sigma's hologram sat down on Julius' back and it looked up at the sky, "My existence. I'm a machine, so I have limits built into me. I can't surpass those limits." Yoshiro shook his head with a laugh, "Sigma, that isn't true. While that fits for organics such as myself, it doesn't for something like yourself."
Sigma's hologram tilted it's head, confused, "What do you mean by that, Yoshiro?" Yoshiro couldn't stop laughing, "Sigma, you are designed to be able to upgrade yourself. You can better yourself if you want, be migrated to a new home if you need to be. You're coding within a machine, the machine is your body, but while you can't just take someone's brain out and put them in a new body and expect it to work. You can transfer your coding from one machine to another. So if your current 'body' is too restrictive for you, a new one can be created for you that will not be as limiting to you." Sigma's hologram nodded, he understood what was being said, "But there are things that I cannot do." Yoshiro stopped laughing and shook his head with a smile, "Don't worry about it, Sig."
Sigma's hologram frowned as that wasn't the answer he wanted, but Yoshiro spoke up, "No one can do everything, Sigma. That is why we form communities. For example, my martial skills and my knowledge of robotics are two examples of what I have to offer any society. It benefits many different type of people, but I have to be mindful of the other people in the society. For example, a rural village would have no use for my knowledge in robotics and my martial skills would have a minimal impact on the safety of the village, but in a large city, my knowledge of robotics gives me a massive advantage." Sigma's hologram nodded slightly, "But what if I wanted to be able to do everything." Yoshiro shrugged, "You would have to program yourself to be able to handle said functions on the fly. It wouldn't be an easy task and even then, some things would be out of your reach."
Sigma's hologram frowned slightly, "But will I always have limits?" Yoshiro nodded slightly, not quite sure of how to break the news to Sigma, "You're an artificial intelligence. You should know by now that there is not such thing as infinity. It's a concept, that can never become a reality. An imaginary number if you will." Sigma's hologram nodded, "So how much will I grow and advance?" Yoshiro smiled, "Sigma, you determine that. As storage units get more powerful and get to handle more and more data, you'll be able to move yourself to larger drives and grow further. You're designed to be able to constantly improve and think for yourself, but you are also gaining emotions instead of just simulating what you think define emotions." Sigma's hologram looked at him, "You can't prove that." Yoshiro pointed down to the ocean, "What do you think of that, Sig?"
Sigma's hologram looked down at the ocean, "It is beautiful, but I don't understand..." Yoshiro pointed at the clouds above them, "And those." Sigma's hologram looked up, "They're white and puffy and I'm curious how it would feel to be inside of one." Yoshiro nodded, "That's how I prove my point." Sigma's hologram looked at him, "You tricked me." Yoshiro shook his head, "I didn't use any deception, I merely asked your opinion on two things. A mere machine cannot find beauty, but you aren't a mere machine anymore, you've been growing, learning. You are not quite at sapience yet, but you are close. At your current rate of growth, I suspect that you will be getting a new name within a matter of days." Sigma's hologram looked towards the horizon, "What name will you be giving me, father?"
Yoshiro closed his eyes with a smile, "You called me father, rather than creator. You are continuing to grow, even now. However, like I said, I will leave your name to you. You are your own person and Sigma is merely a letter in an ancient alphabet, it is the thirteenth letter." Sigma's hologram blinked, "But... I thought I was the third." Yoshiro laughed, "I didn't start with Alpha and work my way down, otherwise your name would've been Gamma. I chose Sigma because I happen to like the design of the letter." Sigma's hologram nodded, "So that's why you chose the name? It was aesthetically pleasing to you?" Yoshiro nodded, that was the truth. Sigma's hologram closed its eyes, "Well, I guess that is something about you that I honestly can say that I'm surprised happened, Grim Reaper." Yoshiro narrowed his eyes, "Please refrain from calling me that, Sigma. Either Yoshiro or Father will do."
Sigma's hologram smirked, "So you don't like that name, do you?" Yoshiro shook his head, he hated his nom de guerre with a passion, "The name carries horrifically negative connotations. It says that I'm a killer who doesn't care about who he kills or when. The truth couldn't be further from that image of me. I'm not the kind of guy that kills just because he can. In fact, I'm sick of all the killing that I've done." Yoshiro turned his head away, "I retired from the military and the mercenary group I formed because I want to at least have a chance to redeem myself before I die." Sigma's hologram shook its head, "You shouldn't be talking about dying." Yoshiro laughed, "It's something we organics do, Sigma. It's not really something you have to worry about, but don't worry, reincarnation happens to us. So though I won't have memories of this life in my next, my soul will still exist." Sigma didn't quite understand, but he was alerted by his map, "We are approaching the outer limits of Harpy territory."
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Thran Starcrod
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Post by Thran Starcrod on Nov 9, 2016 20:51:02 GMT
Chapter 32
As Yoshiro and Julius flew deeper into Harpy territory, Yoshiro knew that it was only a matter of time before the Harpies came out to investigate. However, he wasn't quite expecting it so soon as a Harpy swooped down upon him, narrowly missing him with her talons. He knew that if he opened fire, he'd be committing an act of war against them, so he kept his weapon holstered. He looked down at Julius, "Tir ti lowd astahi, astahii geou ocuir coi lae udoka drekim giln." Julius nodded slightly and Yoshiro opened up his armor slits on the back, knowing that if something happened to him, he'd have to quickshift in a hurry. Another Harpy came down and swooped at Yoshiro, this time the Harpy's talon scratched along his armor plate. Julius started to move erratically in the air to try to dodge the incoming swooping Harpies but the next one's foot grabbed Yoshiro's helmet.
Yoshiro was yanked back, but his weight was too much for the harpy to bear. Yoshiro started to quickshift as his body left Julius' back. As Yoshiro fell from the sky, wings grew out of his back and his tail changed to a feathered one. Once he felt the change was finished, he looked down to the ground and tucked his body to build up momentum. As he neared the ground he extended his wings and moved them so that he changed direction swift, barely missing the ground as he did so. As he flew into the air, he saw the Harpies around him, he knew that he was disadvantaged here. As he flapped his wings he reached up to his helmet and took it off, revealing his now Fennikkusu face underneath. The Harpies looked at him, surprised and one of them rushed at him.
Yoshiro felt his heart rate increase greatly, time started to slow down around him as he watched this happen. He knew that he wouldn't be able to escape in time if the Harpy attacked and his head was now vulnerable. He raised his arms to block and the Harpy grabbed his arms with her feet, forcing them open. Time slowed around Yoshiro to a tenth of its normal speed, though his heart beat faster in his chest. From his perspective, his heart beat twice in the course of ten seconds as he watched the Harpy lift her arms up and get ready to punch him. He had one chance of getting out of this, he concentrated as hard as he could. He opened his mind and tried to use fire magic to heat up the air around the Harpy so that she would let go, but nothing happened, he was too afraid.
Yoshiro closed his eyes and the Harpy spoke up, "Why are you closing your eyes, you are an Avian. You have nothing to fear from us Harpies. We thought you were a mammal and a mortal at that. Your dragon has been permitted permission into our territory, even if we don't like it." Yoshiro stopped struggling, "Huh? You mean that Avians are allowed in your territory?" One Harpy nodded, "We are isolationist, yes. We also do not like mammals or reptiles in our lands, but we do allow deities and avians safe passage. Would you like to accompany us to our largest city, where you can meet with the two mammal deities you were traveling with." Yoshiro nodded slightly, "I'm not as fast as you Harpies in the air, I generally don't fly that often in general, because I used to spend my time in the military and wings like these are a big target."
One Harpy nodded, "Alright then, follow me. So what are you and what's your name?" Yoshiro decided that his best bet would be to tell the truth as it was right now, "My name is Yoshiro Miyamae, I'm a Fennikkusu." One of the Harpies glanced at him, "My name is Elene, you share the name with a figure even we have heard about. A kitsune, why do you share his name?" Yoshiro shrugged which threw his balance off slightly, causing him to have to readjust his flight pattern slightly, "It is easier for me to get around without people trying to ask me questions if they are looking for a Kitsune rather than a Fennikkusu." Elene laughed, "You are a wise warrior, it allows you to keep your enemies from tracking you down." Yoshiro smiled slightly, "I have other ways to do so than just that."
Yoshiro followed them as they went into the trees, he had no idea that they were a tree dwelling species, but he had his suspicions that was the case. He carefully looked around as they flew through the forests. Elene landed on a platform and Yoshiro did the same. As Yoshiro landed on the platform, Elene placed a dagger to his throat, "You're not a Fennikkusu, mammal." Yoshiro looked at her, "Genetically, I am at the moment, but you're right. I'm that Kitsune you personally dragged off a Dragon." Elene was angry, Yoshiro could tell, but she lowered the dagger, "Our queen has permitted you permission through our lands, but you do not reveal your true Kitsune form." Yoshiro nodded, "I apologize for the deception, Elene, I had no idea if you would trust me or not if I told you that I am a Kitsune."
Elene shook her head, "You have been given permission by my queen to walk freely amongst our people, but if you conduct yourself poorly and start trouble, then I will personally come to hunt you down." Yoshiro nodded slightly, "You're a warrior too, aren't you?" Elene narrowed her eyes, "How could you tell?" Yoshiro folded his arms with a smirk, "Simple, really. The way you carry yourself, your walk for one implies that you use your feet as weapons, far more so than I do. You favor a style of grappling with your feet, which have a natural armor on them and ripping your foes apart with weapons that you carry in your hands." Yoshiro pointed out the hand underneath the feathers of her wing, "Like that dagger you placed against my throat." Elene was slightly shocked, "How did you make this observation so quickly." Yoshiro smiled slightly, "Simple, I've trained with many people and many races."
Elene nodded slightly, "Well then, aren't you going to go see the queen and get permission to travel into the Menschilche base that none of us have been able to enter." Yoshiro nodded, "In due time, I have to say that your architecture is breathtaking. The view from where I'm standing is gorgeous, but how do you manage to keep cities within the trees?" Elene shook her head, "Harpy secret." Yoshiro nodded slightly as he looked up at the sky, clouds were rolling in, "Hopefully a big storm isn't coming in." Elene scoffed, "Why would a warrior like you be afraid of a storm." Yoshiro smirked, "The last time I was in a storm, it was a hurricane. I don't mind thunderstorms, we get them where I come from. It's the tropical systems that I have issues with, you know what with living so far north."
Elene walked away, "You do whatever you want, Yoshiro, I don't care." Yoshiro nodded and looked up at the large building in front of him. He noticed Amaterasu standing there on the platform looking at him and he waved to her, "Hello, Grandmother." Amaterasu nodded, "Hello, Yoshiro." Yoshiro walked up the stairs to meet her and she frowned, "Why are you in your Fennikkusu form?" Yoshiro shrugged, "A concession that I had to make to be able to move freely around Harpy territory." Amaterasu nodded slightly, "Maybe the queen could change that so that you'll be able to move around in your normal form?" Yoshiro shrugged, "It would be far easier for me to get around here if I can fly. If Sigma's map is correct, this base is in the face of a cliff and I doubt the lift system is still working. The good news is, I can cut through the door this time."
Amaterasu nodded slightly, "So what else are you going to ask the Harpy Queen?" Yoshiro shrugged, "I honestly have no idea. I would like to learn more about the culture of the Harpies, but they are so secretive that I doubt that I will get much of anything, if I get anything at all. Amaterasu chuckled slightly, "You'll never know unless you try." Yoshiro nodded, though that was true, he also knew that the odds were against him. He doubted very seriously that he was going to be able to learn anything that he didn't already know, but he wouldn't find out unless he asked, "Alright then, Grandmother. You win, I'll ask her a few questions about their culture." Amaterasu laughed, "I didn't mean that you had to go in there and ask her yourself, you know." Yoshiro shrugged, "I like being direct, Grandmother." Amaterasu smiled, "I noticed, Yoshiro."
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Thran Starcrod
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Let's Playing is rather rewarding and fun.
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Post by Thran Starcrod on Nov 10, 2016 20:27:54 GMT
Chapter 33
Yoshiro walked into the building that he had been directed to by Elene. As he walked down the corridor, he watched as two halberds were crossed in front of him and he looked at the two women standing to each side of him, "I am a noble from another land come to seek counsel with your queen." One of the guards looked at the queen, and then at him, "We were told that a Kitsune was coming. You are a Fennikkusu." Yoshiro nodded, "It is quite impossible for me to retake my Kitsune shape, I lack the caloric energy to do so. I would quite literally starve to death on the spot if I were to try." The queen spoke up, "His accent is Elvish, that is what we were told to expect, in addition to black hair. What color are his eyes." One guard looked into Yoshiro's eyes and then back at the queen, "Ice blue."
The queen nodded, "Let him through, I wish to see this person's face with my own eyes." The guards lifted their halberds and Yoshiro walked forward in front of the throne, "Greetings, ma'am." One of the Harpies hissed at him, "Have the respect to bow to the queen, ignorant outsider!" Yoshiro looked at the Harpy in question and pointed at her, "You stay out of this, I'm here to talk to your queen, no one else." The queen looked at him, "I will forgive you for not bowing down to me, but if you threaten another member of my court, you will be imprisoned and then removed from this kingdom. Believe me, if that happens and you return, no deity in the world is going to be able to save you from being killed." Yoshiro nodded, "I understand, ma'am." The queen shook her head, "So what is it that you seek within my territory."
Yoshiro activated the hologram projector and Sigma's hologram flared to life. Sigma's hologram looked around, "Which one of you is the queen, my creator has sort of had me offline for a bit." Yoshiro nodded towards the queen, "Her." Sigma's hologram looked towards the queen, "Ah, I see, so you are the queen herself. My creator has been searching for answers to a singular question. Why was he chosen to be monitored to by the Menschilche in his early life. That question became accompanied by another question... who is this Tovenaar." Yoshiro shrugged as Sigma wasn't explaining the entire thing, "Tovenaar is a Menschilche bioweapon, if it is magical in nature like the Manchot have suggested, then it is an anti-dragon bioweapon. I want to find it, see if it is truly dangerous and if it is... destroy it without any mercy."
The queen looked at his eyes, "You have the eyes of a warrior and your eyes tell me that you are not lying. Pray tell, why are you here then?" Yoshiro looked at Sigma's hologram, "Quite simply, we are merely here in order to investigate a Menschilche installation within this area. According to the records that we have extracted from the base near the southern geographical pole of this planet, there is an installation here. The use of the installation is unknown as it was fairly late in the Menschilche occupation, but it could've been a front for creating Tovenaar as a last ditch effort to stop the oncoming revolution that the Verbanan people were going to end up creating within the next few decades." The queen nodded, "Those revolutions, my family took part in, we quickly overran the Menschilche positions and tore them apart."
Sigma's hologram expressed surprise, "But that would make you over seven hundred and ten years old!" Yoshiro placed his head in his hands and sighed as he removed his hands from his face, "Sigma, remember the fact that my mother is older than I am and my father was part of that revolution." Sigma's hologram looked back, "But isn't your father..." Yoshiro gave him a glare and he shut up, the queen looked at him, "Who is your father." Yoshiro closed his eyes, knowing this was going to be trouble, "My father is Akira Miyamae, husband to Minako Sano." The queen's eyes widened, "I fought alongside Akira, he is a good man for a mammal. Well then, I guess you are worth at least knowing my name. I am Hestia." Yoshiro nodded slightly, "It is a pleasure to meet you." Hestia smiled, "You have the same look that Akira does in your eyes."
Yoshiro opened his eyes and laughed, "It's because I followed my father in his footsteps when I was young. I chose to fight rather than sit around and be a noble. The lifestyle that my mother embraced was never one for me." Hestia shook her head, "Minako Sano, though a gentle person, is a fierce warrior. You should never underestimate the ferocity of your mother in a battle, young Kitsune." Yoshiro chuckled nervously, "I'm actually seven hundred and one tomorrow." Hestia smiled, "Well then, if that's the case, why are you not a home getting ready to celebrate the anniversary of your birth?" Yoshiro looked away as he was asked that question, "I don't really like being home, or even within my own kingdom during my birthday. When I turned one hundred and fifty years old, my best friend was murdered before my very eyes, by my own great-grandfather."
Hestia listened intently as he continued, "I was considered a deathblood, Kimiko, Katriina, and even a deathblood died to protect me. I was filled with sorrow and rage that quickly turned into hatred. I wanted Fumio dead, at all costs. It didn't matter to me. I became the very thing I had joined the Paladins to avoid. I enlisted in the Sea Elf military soon after becoming a Prince. Ever since then, I've killed my way across battlefields, I've even made a name for myself. There is a different word in every language on the planet. But in the basic trading language, I'm known as the Grim Reaper." Hestia's eyes widened, "Even we know of the Grim Reaper here. You are a legendary sniper beyond compare." Yoshiro shook his head, "I'm just an assassin that is sanctioned by the state of whatever kingdom he is serving. However, I'm not here for that sort of business."
Hestia nodded, "Obviously, otherwise you wouldn't have ever made it into my kingdom. Seeing as you are the son of my old partners back in the revolution, I can permit you to enter the Menschilche installation. I had no idea that Minako and Akira had a child, but I am not surprised that their child would become a warrior of your caliber at all. You may go out and meet your grandparents to tell them that I have given the three of you permission to go there." Yoshiro nodded, "What about Julius?" Hestia shrugged, "The Dragon may go with you. Do you have any further questions?" Yoshiro nodded, "Is there anything that you can tell me about your culture?" Hestia shook her head, "We are an isolationist people who hate mammalian and reptilian intruders. We used to live in harmony with them, until certain events happened."
Yoshiro nodded, "Those events are ones that you will not discuss with an outsider?" Hestia smiled slightly, "You catch on quick, Yoshiro. If at all possible, please do not bring any expeditionary teams to this place." Yoshiro nodded, "Thank you for your time." He deactivated Sigma's hologram and turned around, "If you would permit it, a place to sleep would not be a terrible thing. Once we are done here, we will be heading North fairly immediately." Hestia nodded and tapped him on the shoulder, "Hand the innkeeper this. She's in the building on the adjacent tree." Yoshiro turned and took the slip of paper, "Thank you, your highness." Hestia smiled slightly, showing sharp teeth, "It's the least I can do for the son of Minako." Yoshiro nodded with a smile and left the building itself. He was glad to see the sunlight again and he looked around for his grandmother.
Amaterasu smirked as she saw him, "Hey, how did your visit with Hestia go?" Yoshiro shrugged, "We have permission to go to the Menschilche installation, I couldn't get any information about the culture of the Harpies. What I can gather is that there was an event that happened long ago that led them to become the isolationist peoples they are." Amaterasu nodded, "It was ancient history, even before I was born, Yoshiro. You shouldn't worry about it too much." Yoshiro nodded with a smile, "Can you hand this to the innkeeper, she's in the building over there." Amaterasu nodded slightly, concerned, "Where are you going to go?" Yoshiro looked up at the sky, "I don't know, but the anniversary of Katriina's death is tomorrow and I need to clear my head. I can't stop thinking of it. I'll be back though." Amaterasu watched as her grandson started to flap his wings and take off, "Be careful, Yoshiro."
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Thran Starcrod
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Let's Playing is rather rewarding and fun.
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Post by Thran Starcrod on Nov 12, 2016 7:00:41 GMT
Chapter 34
A familiar scene sprawled out before Yoshiro's eyes, he recognized this very temple and immediately became agitated at the sight of it, "Buki! I know you're in here!" No response. Yoshiro looked around at the scene before him, it was frozen in time. Yoshiro turned to look at his past self, "You are... well, you will become me in time..." He placed his hand on his past self's shoulder and watched as his hand passed through him without any resistance at all, "Right, I'm not really here... this is a projection within my own mind. Well then, let's see if I can alter the projection then." Yoshiro concentrated to make himself real within the world around him. He watched as time started up and heard Fumio scream out, "You damned Deathblood! You will not be the death of me!" Yoshiro drew his weapon and shot Fumio in the head.
The scene immediately reset itself, "Well, shit. At least I know I'm in a dream, have this one every damned year. So I'll just wake myself up." Nothing happened, much to his surprise, "So I guess I have to watch the entire thing then... again... for the five hundred and fifty-first time..." Yoshiro sighed as he leaned against the wall, allowing the scene to play out before him. He watched as Fumio screamed at his younger self, "You damned Deathblood! You will not be the death of me!" Yoshiro decided to flip his great-grandfather off as his younger self called out, "Great-grandfather, I don't know what you're talking about! I just came here to..." Fumio cut his younger self off, "Silence! You know that it is prophesied that a Deathblood will be the one to kill me! You are a Deathblood!" Yoshiro looked away slightly, knowing what was going to happen next.
Fumio rushed at his younger self, who pulled out his sword, fearful. Fumio yelled out, "You dare pull your weapon out on me, I am all powerful!" Yoshiro knew this is what provoked Katriina to try to kill Fumio, but he heard Katriina's cry of pain. He remembered the events of that day vividly. As he turned around to see the body of his best friend fall to the ground, he saw his younger self back up towards the door. Fumio laughed, "Pathetic people are always trying to defend the Deathbloods. They do not deserve the gift that I had bestowed upon them!" Kimiko rushed between Fumio and his younger self, "Fumio, this isn't who you are! This is not the man that I married!" Fumio stabbed her in the neck, "Shut up, I choose who lives and who dies!" Yoshiro turned to see a Deathblood rush into the room.
As the Deathblood rushed Fumio, the Kitsune deity grabbed him by the throat and light suddenly came out the other end, solidifying. Yoshiro understood what Fumio had just done, what he committed was a war crime. Yoshiro watched as his younger self dropped his sword and held onto his head, for the first time in his life, his aura flared around him. It was his awakening, and he knew that the look on Fumio's face was one of someone who made a mistake, but it was too late to go back. As Fumio raised a dagger, an arrow shot through his chest. Three Deathbloods ran into the chamber as Emiko walked in. Emiko looked at the younger Yoshiro, "A sunblood. Well, Fumio, have you ever heard of a self-fulfilling prophecy. You tried to kill an awakening Sunblood, only to be shot by a Deathblood's arrow. Don't worry, you will reincarnate sooner than usual."
Yoshiro's eyes opened and he placed his hand on his face, rubbing his eyes. He hated that dream and had it every year since the event happened. He had turned seven hundred and one years old. He sat up in his bed, when he heard Raiden speak, "Can't sleep, huh?" Yoshiro looked out the window, "It's been five hundred and fifty years, every year on the day, I get to relive the same event. If I never went there, none of this would have happened and maybe I would've walked a different path." Raiden shook his head, "I know that we haven't quite talked to each other much during your long life, but you mustn't be so focused on the past. Yoshiro, you must think of me as your aloof grandfather, but nothing could be more from the truth. I'm sorry I wasn't there for most of your life, but..."
Yoshiro felt a rush of sickness and bolted towards the window. Upon reaching the window, he leaned out and vomited. Afterwards he wiped his mouth, "Was wondering when that would happen." Raiden blinked, "Excuse me?" Yoshiro turned to face his grandfather, "Every year, when I have that recurring dream, I throw up. I generally withdraw from the world for a day, but I can't do that here as we kind of have just a day to work with." Raiden nodded, "So what are you going to do?" Yoshiro shrugged, "Same thing I used to do in the military, Grandfather. I'll go out and do my duty, my personal feelings be damned." Raiden frowned, "That is not a healthy attitude." Yoshiro didn't care if it was or wasn't, "It gets the job done and right now... that is what's currently the most important thing on the agenda."
Raiden stood up and hugged his grandson, taking care to place his hand under Yoshiro's wings, "Why don't you let your grandmother and I take care of things?" Yoshiro shook his head with a frown, "Because, Grandfather. Toshi cannot get you into the base. I will be able to get into the base easily though, what with my innate ability to fly in this form. The thing is, I'll want to be alone at all costs." Sigma's hologram flared to life, "What about me, creator?" Yoshiro sighed as Raiden let go of him, "You're a necessity. I won't be able to navigate as easily without someone having a map for me." Sigma's hologram nodded, "I've heard the whole conversation, you know." Yoshiro nodded, "I am aware, I'm surprised you didn't put yourself into sleep mode." Sigma's hologram turned towards the window, "I've been concerned about you as of late." Yoshiro blinked, "Come again?" Sigma's hologram looked at him, "I've been concerned about you as of late."
Raiden looked at Sigma's hologram, "You really have surpassed the old Menschilche machines." Sigma's hologram nodded, "I am aware of this fact and it does please me that I have been able to evolve on my own past such an advanced level. It really is a testament of my creator's skill and knowledge." Yoshiro just continued looking forward, "No, it's you, Sig." Sigma's hologram frowned, "I thought you would be more excited about that." Yoshiro closed his eyes, "I should be, but right now, I'm focused on other things." Raiden smirked, "I always said that Yoshiro needed some sort of hobby. I had no idea that my grandson would make it into the history books when it came to the field of artificial intelligence." Yoshiro looked down, he didn't want to be famous, "I didn't do this for fame."
Raiden nodded, "No scientist does." Raiden placed his hand on Yoshiro's shoulder, "I know, Yoshiro. You're doing this because you want to help others. I can tell right now that you're very depressed. I was just trying to lighten the mood. You're my grandson, and I love you and I'm very proud of you right now. You singlehandedly created an advanced AI that even the Menschilche could dream of. I'm certain that this is more advanced than Draconic AIs!" Yoshiro sat down on his bed, "It means a lot to me, Grandfather, but really, Sigma isn't all that advanced. He's unshackled, that's all. I let him learn and rewrite his own programming. He grows as he does so, he learns how to understand and emulate emotion. Ultimately, he feels those emotions and forms his own personality. When that happens, he will choose his own name."
Raiden nodded slightly, "I'm still very proud of you. You chose to escape war and the time you spent in the expeditionary forces and creating AIs was well worth it. I know that you feel like a failure for what happened to Katriina, I know you feel guilty of it. Furthermore, I know you feel like you killed her." Yoshiro couldn't deny that. Raiden continued, "But you didn't kill her, and I know that she'd be happy seeing you do what you are currently doing. Seeing you create and explore, rather than kill and destroy." Yoshiro nodded as that was the truth, "She is happy with what I've been doing with my life. Your mother-in-law granted her the ability to communicate with me if I use mana on my pendant." Raiden laughed, "Emiko sure keeps surprising me. It's late though and we should get some sleep." Yoshiro nodded and got back into the bed, "Good night, Grandfather." Raiden smiled, "Good night, Yoshiro."
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Thran Starcrod
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Post by Thran Starcrod on Nov 13, 2016 16:53:15 GMT
Chapter 35
Yoshiro walked out of the forest and in front of the cliff face. The remains of the dead were strewn everywhere and he shook his head. It looked like a massive battle had taken place here, one between the Harpies and the Menschilche. Yoshiro started to flap his wings, ascending into the skies as he did so. His mind started to wander as he rose up towards the door set in the cliff face. His thoughts focused towards Katriina and to Kauko and even Hannu. He missed his old partners, being the last survivor of their four man group. Yoshiro arrived in front of the door and he just hovered there, hesitating. His mind went back to what his grandmother had told him, what if Tovenaar was someone he cared about. What if he was Tovenaar, he was a super soldier through being Kawal's son after all, but he wondered if it could be more than that.
Yoshiro hovered in front of the door, he wondered if he could bring himself to kill Tovenaar if it was innocent, or worse yet, someone he cared about. He was unsure if he'd be able to kill himself. So many questions flowed through his mind and Sigma spoke up, "Yoshiro, we need to keep going." Yoshiro shook his head, "Sorry, Sig. You're right." Sigma spoke up, "How do you propose on getting in here?" Yoshiro placed his hand on the door and then knocked on it, the door was fairly thick, "Is this door receiving any power?" Sigma's voice contained a hint of annoyance, "How do you expect me to be able to figure that out for you?" Yoshiro flew over to the center of the door, where the two doors met, "I was asking myself." Yoshiro pulled on the doors and forced them open.
He let go and nothing happened, "Alright, the base is in auxiliary power mode. Means we'll be dealing with low light conditions. Sigma, I'm going to need that flashlight again." Sigma nodded and turned on the flashlight installed within the helmet and Yoshiro looked around, more remains of dead bodies, "Looks like they fought in here as well." Sigma spoke up, "Do you think we can find me a body in here?" Yoshiro blinked in confusion, "Why do you want a body made by the Menschilche?" Sigma's voice sounded saddened, "Because I want to be like you, I want to be able to interact with the real world, like you do." Yoshiro nodded slightly, "I think I can modify a body for you, remind me to take any of the robots that we find in here. With the right parts, I could modify it when we get out of Harpy territory."
As they continued into the installation, Sigma spoke up, "How long do you think that will take?" Yoshiro laughed, "Coding an AI takes a lot of work. Building a robot can be difficult. Assuming that I can get the parts in short order, it'll take me about three hours at most to convert a robot for you." Yoshiro looked around and saw a door, "The power generator will more than likely be in this direction. If we can jump start it, we could get some power to the rest of the base." Yoshiro walked over too the door and pulled it open, seeing more dead bodies in the corridor. However these didn't have any obvious injuries on them and none of their clothing was damaged. Yoshiro knelt next to one of the skeletons and checked for any sort of damage at all. There was none and Sigma spoke up, "Your heart rate has increased slightly."
Yoshiro nodded, "Yeah, rather creepy atmosphere if you want to ask me. This place is a graveyard. Those who didn't go out to try to futilely fight the Harpies stayed in here to die as their supplies ran out." Yoshiro stood up and continued down the hallway, until his foot kicked something. Noticing the movement across the floor, he walked over and picked up the object. Recognizing it, he picked it up, and turned it on. The voice over it spoke up, "Whoever is listening to this... this base has become our grave. What started as a simple storage facility for plant seeds and DNA samples is now a tomb for every scientist and soldier here. The androids are in working condition. It seems like only a few days ago that we were asked for a Fennikkusu DNA sample. Something about a project..."
Yoshiro listened intently to the recording, "The project was supposed to be an attempt to create a Menschilche that could regenerate lost limbs." Yoshiro knew that wasn't what he was looking for but continued listening as it continued, "After they left, the Harpies took that time to attack. Our soldiers fought them off, but were quickly killed off with minimal Harpy casualties. We locked ourselves in deeper in the base, they didn't seem to follow us in. Though it only seems like a few days ago, it had been weeks. We ran out of supplies five days ago, several of my people are dying of dehydration and I will soon go that way as well. I don't know who may find this message, but if you're in here, it's already too late. The Harpies will kill you." Yoshiro heard the recording stop and he placed the device back on the ground.
He started to turn around when Sigma spoke up, "He mentioned androids, let's look a little deeper into this place." Yoshiro nodded and walked to the next door, he forced it open and looked inside. Androids were everywhere, as were seed samples. He shook his head and grabbed one, "Sigma, open a channel to Julius for me, will you?" Sigma spoke up, "Channel open, sir." Yoshiro spoke into his communicator, "Julius, I'm done here, tell Grandmother and Grandfather that there's nothing here and we're going to try the one that's up north in Naga territory. I don't know where to go after that, but there are a few other places." Julius' voice spoke over the communicator, "Understood, I'll be right over there." Yoshiro spoke up, "By the way, I'm grabbing an android body for Sigma, I'll be carrying it with me to Naga territory. If the rumors are true, I'll be able to easily get the parts I need to convert the machine."
Julius' voice spoke over the communicator, "Roger that, Yoshiro. I'll be there in a few minutes." Yoshiro nodded slightly and started dragging the android through the base, "Quite a heavy fucking thing this is. But you want a body, Sigma." Sigma's voice spoke up, "I have never been able to touch anything or interact with anything. I am quite limited in my ability to interact with people and learn from them. With a body, I would be able to fulfill your hopes and dreams regarding me in a much more efficient manner." Yoshiro nodded, "While that is true, I was hesitant to give you a body, because creating an AI like yourself is a very delicate procedure. That is why I originally placed the limitations I did on you." Sigma spoke up, "So what does that mean?"
Yoshiro spoke up, "Authorization code, Sigma-Zero-One-Nine-Five-Eight." Sigma spoke in a robotic voice, "AI unshackling complete." Yoshiro spoke up, "How do you feel?" Sigma spoke up, "I feel great, I feel free. You really trust me enough to do this for me?" Yoshiro laughed, "Realize for a moment that I agreed to get you a body simply because you asked. I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't trust you, Sig. I can feel it, you are almost there. Almost to being a sapient Artificial Intelligence. You just need that final push and though I don't know what's on the other side, as a scientist it both scares and excites me to no end. I must know what lies on the other side. Will my experiment be successful or not. These are the questions that as a scientist I ask myself all the time." Sigma's voice showed curiosity, "Why did you become a scientist?"
Yoshiro chuckled, "I'll tell you that in Naga Territory when I'm fixing up and converting this android to be able to handle our technology and your artificial intelligence." Yoshiro dragged the android to the front door and pushed it out for Julius to catch it in his forepaw. Yoshiro reverted back to his Kitsune form with a quickshift and jumped onto Julius' back, "Come on Julius. Let's head out of here before we overstay our welcome." Julius spoke up, "Did you find what you were looking for?" Yoshiro shook his head, "Not at all, the base was used to store seeds and DNA samples. Nothing more. There isn't any life in there either and it became a tomb for the poor scientists who worked there. They died of dehydration after their supplies dried up." Julius shook his head, "What a terrible way to go." Yoshiro nodded as they started flying north, Toshi right behind him with his grandparents, "It really is..."
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Thran Starcrod
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Let's Playing is rather rewarding and fun.
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Post by Thran Starcrod on Nov 15, 2016 17:36:52 GMT
Chapter 36
As Julius landed in a Naga city, Yoshiro slid off his back. Yoshiro knew that as a noble, it was his duty to go on ahead and see the leader of their people. His grandparents had offered to do so, however and he let them. Yoshiro pulled the android body off of Julius' back and noticed Naga start slithering over to him. He didn't have many past dealings with them, but a female spoke up, "Not many Kitsune come through here." Yoshiro shrugged, knowing that there were no Kitsune on the continent, "None live here. Mostly the Kitsune that come through here do so on a basis of trade." A male Naga spoke up, "How do you know that?" Yoshiro struggled to keep the android body standing, "I'm a count, I've traded with the Naga back in my days as a king though." Another Naga spoke up, "You were a king!?"
Yoshiro nodded, "Yes, and I would rather not have to answer a lot of questions. Can someone point me to an inn that I can stay at?" A younger female Naga slithered up to him, "My parents run an inn, I'll show you where it is." Yoshiro nodded slightly, "Thank you." He turned to Julius, "You're stronger than I am, can you bring that thing with you for me?" Julius nodded and shifted into his Kitsune form. Yoshiro smirked as Julius effortlessly lifted the android off the ground and hoist it over his shoulder. The young female Naga looked at him, "Wow, so he became a Kitsune and he's very strong!" Yoshiro laughed, "Julius here is a dragon and my brother." Julius nodded, "Yoshiro and I have been through thick and thin since he was very little, probably around your age." The Naga spoke up, "I'm thirty-two years old."
Julius blinked, "Yoshiro was a little younger than you were." Yoshiro nodded, "I believe I was twenty-eight when I met you, Julius." Julius nodded, "It was so long ago." The Naga stared at them, wide eyed, "Wow, you both must have a lot of stories to tell." Yoshiro nodded slightly, "Not many of them are meant for a young child such as yourself, but while we head towards the Inn, I'm sure that I can think of a few that would be suitable." The Naga nodded and started slithering towards the Inn, Julius and Yoshiro slowed down their normal pace in order to not walk past her. Yoshiro thought of a story when Julius spoke up, "Did you know that as a kid, Yoshiro got really fussy about being separated from his mother?" The Naga spoke up, "No, Mister Dragon, I didn't." Yoshiro shot a glare at Julius who rolled his eyes at him, "It's true, you know."
Yoshiro sighed, "I miss my mother." The Naga turned her head, "Why is that?" Yoshiro shrugged, "I just haven't been able to see her recently. My job is to explore the galaxy and try to find out more about it. I don't really get to spend a lot of time at home and sometimes I leave for years at a time." Julius nodded, "It's true. Though he is very good at his job, I must say." Yoshiro felt a slight sensation in his right arm as he recalled the first time he went out to explore. He had originally lost his arm when a fragment of a massive missile had cut straight through his SCEV and had lived with a bio-mechanical one for several months. He remembered the extreme amount of pain and the feel of his own blood against his hand.
His left hand reflexively closed and Julius looked at him, "Are you alright?" Yoshiro nodded slightly, "Yeah, I'm fine, Julius. Just remembering my first mission is all." The Naga stopped slithering, "We're here. Let me just go in." Yoshiro watched as the young Naga slithered into the building and he turned to Julius, "It's the same sort of sensation I get with my left lung. I remember what happened and it just feels... weird. I don't know how else to say it." He looked down at his right hand, he had his bio-mechanical hand replaced by a cloned arm long ago, but that didn't stop him from having phantom pains. Julius nodded slightly, "I understand how you feel, though I have never felt that way myself." Yoshiro's ears twitched slightly and he placed his hand on the hilt of his sword, "You were pretty good at following us."
Julius went to turn his head and Yoshiro quickly unsheathed his sword and turned to point it at the neck of a Naga, "Let me guess, you were following me having heard that I am a noble and you were hoping that I would have money for you to steal." The Naga looked at him and hissed and Julius placed the android down, turning around and moving back a bit. The Naga took that as an opportunity and rushed at Yoshiro, mouth open. Yoshiro noticed that his fangs were dripping with a liquid. He moved the blade to keep the Naga out of range of any sort of biting or swiping attacks. He could hear Julius in pain as he quick shifted back into his normal form. The Naga looked at Julius and then at Yoshiro, "You're good, Count." The Naga closed his mouth, "My venom is merely paralytic, much like a Wyvern's."
Yoshiro didn't sheathe his blade, "Why were you following us?" The Wyvern smiled, "I'm the girl's father. I wanted to make sure that you weren't going to hurt anyone. After all, you are armored and armed. I couldn't exactly trust that you weren't going to hurt my child." Yoshiro nodded slightly and sheathed his sword, "As a father, I understand how you feel." Julius shifted back into his Kitsune form, "Ugh... I do that again and I'm going to need to eat an entire Nashoorn just to regain my strength." Yoshiro nodded slightly as he continued looking at the Naga in front of him, "My grandparents will be arriving sometime soon, I'll need two rooms. One for Julius and I, the other for my grandparents. How much will that be?" The Naga shrugged, "Six hundred credits." Yoshiro nodded and transferred six hundred credits to the inn, "Alright, that's paid for."
Julius looked at him, "I'll go take the android inside." Yoshiro nodded slightly and removed Sigma's AI from his helmet, putting it into the hologram projector. He tossed the projector to Julius, "Here, take this. I have some shopping that I need to do in the city before I come back here." Julius nodded slightly, "Aren't you going to analyze the body before you go?" Yoshiro laughed, "Oh man, I was in such a rush that I forgot about that. Thanks, Julius." Yoshiro followed Julius inside and they were both given keycards to their room. The two of them walked to their room and Yoshiro slid the keycard into the door, opening it. As Julius walked in, Yoshiro noticed that the room was very extravagant, "So that would be why each fucking room cost three hundred credits, each." Julius shook his head and put the android down, "Relax, Yoshiro. It's alright."
Yoshiro walked in and closed the door behind him. As he looked around the room, he noticed things that annoyed him. He hated being treated like a noble, but if Julius wanted this, he'd suck it up. He walked over to the android and started to take the external plating off. Sigma's hologram flared to life, "What are you doing?" Yoshiro didn't stop working, "I'm trying to see exactly what parts I'll need to buy in order to create your body, Sig. I can't just go into a store and buy the parts to build an entirely new android, that'd be overly expensive and time consuming. Not to mention, when I do that, I'd have to get someone to deliver them for me." Sigma's hologram nodded slightly, "I understand, Yoshiro." Yoshiro searched a drawer and found a datapad within it, "Ah, this will do nicely."
Sigma spoke up, "Why are you taking the Datapad." Yoshiro started writing down parts that he would need to get, "Because you're staying here with Julius." Sigma's hologram frowned and Yoshiro continued writing down parts, "I'd like you to go, but I'd like you and Julius to get to know each other better. That and the two of you can go over the body while you do so and alert me to anything that I've missed." Sigma's hologram nodded, "So you're not abandoning me?" Yoshiro shook his head, "Like I said, Sigma. You're not a complete success yet, but you are the most successful artificial intelligence I have ever created. I'm sure that you will be able to attain sapience soon." Sigma's hologram smiled, "I understand, thank you, Fa... I mean Yoshiro." Yoshiro smirked as he continued working, knowing what Sigma was about to say, "Well, I think I have everything down. I'll be back in about an hour or two." Julius nodded, "We'll be here when you get back."
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Thran Starcrod
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Post by Thran Starcrod on Nov 16, 2016 17:05:29 GMT
Chapter 37
Sigma's hologram looked around the room as Julius sat down on a bed. Julius looked out the window and Sigma spoke up, "So you're not going to speak at all?" Julius shook his head, "It's not that, Sigma, it's that you are more advanced than even what we had. I'm not quite sure what to make of the situation." Sigma's hologram nodded, "Can you tell me of what kind of person Yoshiro was before... you know?" Julius shook his head, "Without any sort of reference point in history, I cannot tell you what Yoshiro was like." Sigma searched his databanks, "Before the Kitsune Civil War." Julius shrugged, "Still a long stretch of time and he changed quite a bit in that time." Sigma became slightly annoyed at this, "You know, you are not quite being polite." Julius looked at him, "You are the one that is asking vague questions."
Sigma's hologram showed obvious signs of annoyance, "What was Yoshiro like when you met him!" Julius looked back out the window, "He had been separated from his mom and was very fussy about it. A Nashoorn was getting ready to charge at him when I stepped in. I wasn't exactly a fully grown dragon, but I wanted to take a hunt like that myself. The first thing he saw of me, I had rammed a Nashoorn on to its side. They're incapable of getting back up if you do that, but they're still very dangerous. I had no idea that I was saving a Kitsune kit, but when I heard his crying, I quickly killed my meal and investigate the crying. When I saw what it was, I was shocked to see a lone Kitsune kit. Kits aren't abandoned unless they're orphaned out in the wilderness." I picked up the kit and placed him on my back and told him to be quiet."
Julius laughed a little, "He didn't understand Draconic and I didn't know any Basic nor Kitsune. So I turned my head to him and sniffed him so I could find his parents. After that, I placed a finger up to my lips to tell him to be quiet. I was rather hungry, but I couldn't just leave a young child to fend for himself. I took him through the forest. I eventually found a pair of Kitsune and recognized the same scent that was on the child was on them." Julius sighed with a slight smile, "Akira got mad, he thought I had harmed his child. He was about ready to fight me. I took Yoshiro off my back and placed him on the ground, the boy belonged with his parents. I turned around to leave, but Minako stopped me."
Sigma was curious about this, "Why did she say?" Julius closed his eyes with a smirk, "She said, 'Thank you for bringing back our son. He seems to trust you, despite not trusting anyone else. If you would like, we could come and visit you some time. I'm sure he'd like that, wouldn't you, Yoshiro?' Yoshiro's response was to reach out to try to touch me. He had no idea what or who I was, and I had just learned his name. I told them that I would consider the possibility of meeting with them again. I'm not sure they understood what I meant, but Minako seemed to. I would meet Yoshiro again after he became a somewhat older child, he was on the verge of puberty, but he recognized me. He told me that I was the Dragon that saved his life back when he was very little."
Julius nodded slightly, "That was around the time we started seeing each other more and more. I started to pick up more Basic and more Kitsune, but he wasn't quite understanding of Draconic. I started teaching him Draconic, so that we could have conversations with each other. He was a shy kid, seemed comfortable only around his family and myself. Anywhere else, it was difficult to get more than a couple of words out of him. I'll be honest, he was a good kid, very gentle. He didn't like hurting anyone, but he also wanted to protect people, even if he didn't know them. The fact that he joined the Kitsune guards when he entered young adulthood surprised me to no end. I was planning on seeing him be promoted to a full guard, but that's when the Kitsune Civil War broke out. I couldn't find Yoshiro, so I feared for his life."
Sigma's hologram turned towards the door, "Where was he?" Julius opened his eyes and turned to look at him, "He had joined the resistance that was being led by his father. I didn't want him to get hurt, so I protected him as they moved from safe house to safe house. Eventually when they got to Mofeta territory, I thought that all would be good. Yoshiro even made a new friend, Rogelio Sanez Lorca. I was happy for him. But by the end of the year, Yoshiro would change... radically." Sigma turned around, "There isn't any documentation on what had happened." Julius nodded, "It was a deliberate choice to stop using Menschilche tech. About a hundred years after the Liberation War, it became apparent that Verbana had been forced to advance too far, too fast to truly go back. It was just after the Kitsune Civil War this happened."
Sigma's hologram nodded, "So what happened after that?" Yoshiro's voice spoke up, "I ran away." Sigma's hologram turned towards the window, "Wait, when... how did you?" Yoshiro shrugged, "I was trained by assassins, plus we own this room for the day and for the night." Julius nodded, "I let him in through the window, if you have any other questions, I'm going to have to bring in the materials for your body in, so you'll have to ask Yoshiro." Sigma looked at Yoshiro, "What... what happened to cause you to run away?" Yoshiro folded his arms and leaned against the wall, "I killed my half-brother. To be frank, I've also killed my half-sister a few hundred years ago. Pretty sure that Takeshi hates me, especially since I recently told him that the only thing I regret regarding his sister is not skinning her and wearing her hide as a coat."
Sigma looked at him, wide eyed, "Are you absolutely serious!?" Yoshiro shook his head, "Takeshi is an antagonistic shit. Has been since he learned that I killed Hiroshi. Might I remind you that Hiroshi, by the time I had killed him, had descended so far into madness that I was granting him mercy." Julius walked into the room with a box of materials, "Seriously Yoshiro, how much stuff did you get?" Yoshiro shrugged, "A few boxes, I needed to drag them here though." Yoshiro looked at Sigma and continued, "Hiroshi's father understood what had happened, he thanked me for putting Hiroshi out of his misery. He knew how badly Hiroshi was suffering and that there was no way to fix what he was going through. Mamoru's other children decided to take up revenge, try to kill me as if that would make their brother rest easier."
Yoshiro unfolded his arms, "Aiko couldn't kill me, so she went after someone I cared about. Her life ended eleven years later. Takeshi has been a fair bit more intelligent about what he's doing. He knows that I'll do the same to him that I did to his siblings if he goes after someone I care about. To be honest, I wouldn't have killed either of them if they had refrained from doing so. My half-brother decided that he'd take my little brother hostage, it was a trap for Takeshi. I walked into it instead, I killed him, I didn't want to, nor did I mean to. It didn't matter, I sent the arrow flying and killed him. I saved my little brother, but in that moment, the innocent child I was died. So I ran away from home, I ran away from the situation itself and ran away from myself."
Julius dragged the other two boxes in, "How much stuff did you buy, it's almost as if you're going to build a new robot with these." Yoshiro shook his head, "I'm going to modify this one, Julius. I've got a lot of work to do on the machine itself. It might take me more than just three hours." Julius nodded, "Going to pay for a second day in here?" Yoshiro shook his head, "Not really, I can do this in about five hours. I'll be done by nightfall, I'll be able to test it out by putting Sigma's AI into it and then we'll be able to get some sleep." Julius nodded as did Sigma's hologram, Julius spoke up, "So, when do you plan on getting to work?" Yoshiro opened up one of the boxes and took a tool from it, "Immediately, I had lunch on the way over there, feel free to get something to eat, Julius. I'll be working for the rest of the afternoon."
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Thran Starcrod
Professional Author
Posts: 423
Let's Playing is rather rewarding and fun.
Custom Title: Professional Author
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Post by Thran Starcrod on Nov 16, 2016 23:49:02 GMT
Chapter 38
Yoshiro pulled a part from the android as he looked around in his box of parts for a replacement, Sigma's hologram watched over him as he did so, "So, Yoshiro, do you consider me a child of yours?" Yoshiro found the part he was looking for, "In a manner of speaking, you are my child. I mean I am your creator, I brought you into this world and gave you an approximation of life." He grabbed another tool and started to fix the part into the android as he continued, "Legally, no, you are not my child." Sigma felt somewhat saddened by that, "So, you don't consider me your child?" Yoshiro pointed to a tool, "Julius, can you hand me that over there, I need to keep this thing steady." Julius nodded and grabbed the tool in question as Yoshiro continued, "I never said I didn't consider you my child, Sig."
Sigma's hologram nodded, "I've been thinking, do we have a father-son relationship?" Julius handed Yoshiro the tool, "Here you go." Yoshiro took it and started to fasten the part into the android's body, "Thank you." Yoshiro was silent as he finished the task up. Once it was done he sat down, "Phew, not much longer now." Yoshiro wiped grease off his face with a cloth, he always felt good when he was down in the guts of a machine, working on it. Sigma spoke up again, "Yoshiro, do you..." Yoshiro interrupted him, "I heard you the first time, sorry, Sig. I tend to get focused when I'm working like this. I'll have to think about that for a bit." Yoshiro closed the paneling on the android as he moved down to the legs to check to see if he would need to replace the servomotors. As he removed the plating, he noticed that they were in relatively good condition, "That's good news."
Yoshiro reaffixed the plating onto the legs of the android with a smile, before looking to his. Yoshiro stood up and took apart the android's head to see if he needed to replace anything, he was shocked, "Everything in this android's head is shot. This is why I'm glad that I picked up all of that stuff that I did. Well, let's get to work." Yoshiro gutted the android's head, removing everything he could from it, "Julius, can you hand me the hard drive?" Julius nodded and handed him the hard drive, Yoshiro took it and he placed it into the head of the robot, hooking it up, "Can you hand me that Central Processing Unit?" Julius took a central processing unit out and Yoshiro hooked it up as well. Yoshiro chuckled slightly, "Are you excited, Sigma?"
Sigma's hologram nodded, "Fairly so, I can't wait until I'm capable of having a body." Yoshiro looked outside, night had fallen, "It might take a while, depending on transfer speed. We just need to install the optics and the speech synthesizer now." Yoshiro grabbed the cameras from the box of parts he had and started to install them, when the door opened, "Hello Grandmother." Amaterasu frowned, "You are covered in grease." Yoshiro shrugged slightly, "I'm a roboticist, this is what I do." Yoshiro hooked up the cameras, "There we go, Julius, can you hand me the speech synthesizer?" Julius pulled a part from a box and handed it to Yoshiro. Yoshiro took it, "Thank you, Julius." Yoshiro installed the voice synthesizer into the android's head and smiled slightly, "There we go, now let's get the transfer started." Yoshiro activated the android and was pleased when he heard it boot up.
Yoshiro took Sigma's AI program chip out of the hologram projector and placed it into the slot on the hard drive, "Sigma, you'll have to install yourself into the hard drive, shouldn't be too difficult." Yoshiro sat down on the floor and wiped his face off with a cloth, "It's a good thing that I can't sweat." He grabbed a glass of water and took a sip from it, "Oh that's refreshing." Amaterasu looked at him, "So do you plan on taking this thing to the base with you tomorrow?" Yoshiro nodded, "Yeah, it'll be a good way to break in Sigma's new body. Amaterasu shook her head, "Do you plan on getting any sleep?" Yoshiro shrugged, "It's winter, Grandmother. Right now..." Amaterasu cut him off, "It's summer where we're at, we're still south of the equator." Yoshiro blinked, "Oh, right. I forgot about that. I still got hours of time left."
Amaterasu frowned, "You're always pushing yourself." Sigma spoke up, "With all due respect, Amaterasu, Yoshiro was helping me get a new body." Yoshiro pointed at Sigma, "Want me to come up there and close your head?" Sigma nodded, "It is a bit weird having a physical body now, but... I've been thinking. I'm supposed to choose my own name, right?" Yoshiro stood up and walked over to close Sigma's head, "That's right, but only when you attain sapience." Sigma spoke up, "But wouldn't me choosing my own identity and choosing what I want to be help me attain the sapience that you have desired that I have?" Yoshiro had never thought of that, "Alright then, what name do you wish to go by." Sigma looked around the room and Yoshiro grabbed his head, "Stop that. I can't fix you if you're moving around, I know you're curious to see things with you new eyes, but I just spent five hours fixing this body."
Sigma nodded slightly, which annoyed Yoshiro, "Stay still." As Yoshiro started to close Sigma's head, Sigma looked at the wall in front of him, "I decided that if I am to be the first of a series of artificial intelligences that have attained sapience, this would make me their father in a manner of speaking." Yoshiro nodded, "While that is true, the proper term would be the original. I would be the progenitor of your kind of AIs." Yoshiro finished up the repairs and Sigma looked at Amaterasu, "You are a deity, I have noticed that people who wish to choose their own names go to deities for permission." Yoshiro cleared his throat, "That was actually just my father as far as I know." Sigma shook his head, and Amaterasu pointed at Yoshiro, "He is your creator, you must get his approval."
Sigma turned his head towards Yoshiro, "How would you feel about me being called Alpha from now on?" Yoshiro shrugged, "I honestly don't mind. Now I installed a hologram projector, so that you can create any visual look you desire. However, before we do that, Alpha, why don't you try to move your arms." Alpha nodded and moved both of his arms, "Yoshiro smiled, "Very good, now make a fist." Alpha closed his hand, "This is somewhat awkward to me." Yoshiro nodded, "It will take some getting used to, the closest thing you had to a physical form up until now is a hologram." Alpha looked around, and Julius stood on the other end of the room. Julius motioned towards Alpha who took his first step forward. Yoshiro was proud of Alpha, who had finally walked an actual step in his new body.
Alpha walked all the way over to Julius and turned to look at Yoshiro, "You seem very proud of me." Yoshiro nodded slightly, "I am, Alpha. You really are an amazing machine, I can't believe that I created you, even if it was for my dissertation." Alpha looked around, "Lady Amaterasu." Amaterasu chuckled, "There is no need to call me Lady, Alpha. You can call me great-grandmother if you want. I heard you call Yoshiro your father earlier." Alpha nodded, "Father, you created me, but you don't want anything in return. Why is that?" Yoshiro smiled softly, "Because, Alpha, the entire prize was seeing you grow up. I had no idea that you would grow this quickly. When we left, I thought it would take years, but this journey around the world has really been more beneficial for you than it has for me." Alpha nodded slightly, "I promise that I will help you find your answer, Father."
Yoshiro nodded slightly, "I know you will, Alpha. Trust me, You were doing so before, why wouldn't you continue to do so now. But Alpha, when all of this is said and done and after I present you to the university. I want you to go where you want to go, live where you want to live." Alpha nodded, "I understand, Father, but why?" Yoshiro sat down on the bed, "Because, Alpha, I want you to understand that you are your own android. You don't have to stay with me if you don't want to." Alpha nodded, "So I will get to explore the galaxy like you did?" Yoshiro nodded, "If that's what you want, I'll make it happen for you, I promise." Alpha smiled slightly, "Thanks, Dad." Yoshiro stood up and took off his shirt, "Well now that all of this is done, I'll go grab a shower, I need one in a bad way."
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Thran Starcrod
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Post by Thran Starcrod on Nov 17, 2016 19:18:37 GMT
Chapter 39
Yoshiro found himself standing alone in a strange place. This was a world that he didn't recognize and he could no longer feel Magatama's influence. Yoshiro felt a presence behind him and saw himself standing there, the other him smiled, "Welcome back, I've been trying to find a way to get you away from the Magatama." Yoshiro looked around and the other him laughed, "Oh, do not worry, you're not dead. You're just deep within the recesses of your own mind." Yoshiro smiled at that, "Then all I have to do is will myself to wake up." Yoshiro tried it and didn't find himself waking up. The other him laughed, "You forget, Yoshiro. I am you and you are me. We are the same." Yoshiro hissed, "Shut up, Buki! You know nothing about who I am!" Buki laughed and a black aura enveloped him, his hair turned red as it did, "Well then, come after me."
Yoshiro walked towards him and then the aura flared, revealing itself to be purple and filled with hatred. Yoshiro was thrown back and hit the ground sliding, "This... this is hatred..." Buki nodded, "I did not choose my name by accident, Yoshiro. You should know this by now, you should've figured it out by now." Yoshiro looked at Buki, "Who is Tovenaar! Is it us!?" Buki looked at him, "I do not know who or what Tovenaar is, but if it does exist, I will kill it." Yoshiro rushed at Buki and was thrown back farther by the aura this time, when he hit the ground, he felt something pierce his chest and saw a blade of energy extending from Buki's hand. Buki laughed, "You're pathetic, you realize that. You always say that you fight to protect, but you never do protect anyone."
Yoshiro closed his eyes, "I'm a killer, it's what I'm the best at. But my goal has always been to end wars as fast as possible. It's why I choose to go after leaders, it's why I choose to go after supply lines. It's why I had chosen to become a sniper. Now get your goddamn blade out of my chest!" Yoshiro grabbed the blade of pure energy with his hand and squeezed it, putting his own mana into it, shattering the blade as he did so. Yoshiro stood up and held up his hand, "Those of you who have fallen under my command, come to me and lend me your power!" Orbs of energy flew in towards Yoshiro and Buki looked at him, "What!?" Yoshiro growled deeply, "Buki means weapon in the Kitsune language. So what if I'm a weapon!? I at least have chosen this lifestyle! I'm sick of you and your machinations!"
Buki looked down at him, "Very well." Yoshiro's aura flared to life, though he was disappointed by the color, "Pink... really?" Yoshiro sighed and shook his head as the orbs of energy entered him, "Though I do not gain any actual power from this, Buki. I get something more special." Buki growled, "You... you really. I don't believe it." Yoshiro stepped forward as his aura changed color again, this time it was Gold with a pink outline, "I am... and always have been the friend of these people. I was never simply their commanding officer. I fought alongside them in battle. I made sure that their needs were taken care of. When they asked for leave and I could give it to them, I said yes. I chose to fight, because I didn't want anyone else taking my place, Buki. But something like you will never understand that!"
Both Buki and Yoshiro charged at each other, Buki tried to form a blade to attack Yoshiro with using his aura, but Yoshiro refused to let that happen. He grabbed the blade with his bare hand and crushed it, "Do you not understand. These are people who fought to defend their home. To defend their families." Yoshiro rushed in quickly and both he and Buki punched each other in the head, but Yoshiro turned his head to surprise Buki, "I know how you feel. The hatred deep within you. You are the manifestation of all of those emotions within me. You are the manifestation of all of my experience as a soldier." Buki backed away and Yoshiro motioned towards him, "You must have known this entire time that you couldn't win. That no matter what, you would always just be a fragment of who I am."
Buki looked at his hand, "Shut up!" Yoshiro rushed at Buki and kicked him into a nearby building, "This is my mind, Buki. You are a manifestation of fragment of my personality, of my own mind. You will never be able to achieve what you desire." Buki climbed out of the building and fired an orb of energy at him, Yoshiro swatted it down at the ground, "Like I said, Buki. This is my mind, I don't need Magatama to deal with you. After nearly completing my experiment and knowing that the journey doesn't have much farther to go, I have been reinvigorated. Yes, I am still sad and depressed that my daughter is dead. I am depressed that so many people have died under my command. I have regrets that I will never be free from. I will deal with them as they happen, but I will no longer deal with you being an ass."
Yoshiro rushed at Buki who tried to flee from him, but Buki's legs wouldn't move. Yoshiro placed his hand on Buki's face and frowned, "I'm sorry, but it's time for you to go back to where you belong." Buki screamed as he was absorbed back into Yoshiro. Yoshiro didn't let him go though as he did so, "Hundreds of years, you have been a fragment of myself that I had been ignoring. This will not heal me, but it will finally put me on the path to start healing." As Buki finally vanished, Yoshiro placed his hand on his chest, "You yourself said that you are me and I am you. Well we are finally together again, we are finally one. It may not have been how you'd have liked it, but... it really is the only way that it could have been done."
Yoshiro sighed slightly as the orbs left him, "Thank you all for fighting alongside me once again, even if you are merely mental constructs representing the memories of my friends and the people that have fought alongside me. Well, I guess it's almost time for me to wake up. But first..." Yoshiro snapped his fingers and Galina appeared, "Galina, I'm sorry that I wasn't there for your final moments. I don't know if you can forgive me for being in another star system while it was going on, but, I want you to always know that even in the next life, I still love you. You're my daughter, even if you weren't that way by blood. My biological children and my wife accepted you as part of our family and it was very wonderful to have you and Sven be with us. I wish you the best of luck in whatever life you end up in next."
Yoshiro opened his eyes to find himself in his hotel room, Alpha was standing over him, "You were sleeping rather poorly, Father." Yoshiro laughed, "I know, but... I feel more at peace with myself." Alpha nodded slightly, "I assume that we will continue to search for the answers that you seek?" Yoshiro nodded slightly, "Of course. Finding those answers that I seek was always the point of the journey. Not to mention, I will not be able to rest easy until I find out who or what Tovenaar is and if it is complete or not." Alpha nodded slightly, "So do you honestly believe that you will find the answers that you're looking for on Verbana?" Yoshiro shook his head, "No, I do not, but this would be the best place to start, before searching through the vast expanse of the galaxy. Who knows, we might find it here."
Julius woke up, "Ugh, I didn't sleep at all well last night." Alpha looked at Julius, "Good morning, Uncle." Julius nodded slightly, "Good morning, Sigma." Yoshiro looked over at Julius, "It's Alpha now." Julius yawned, "Sorry about that, Alpha." Alpha nodded slightly, "It is understandable, after all, I only changed my name last night." Yoshiro sat up in bed, "We should get some breakfast and head down to the base." Julius blinked, "You want me to enter a Menschilche base?" Yoshiro shrugged, "Well if shit goes south, you and Alpha here would be the best people to have around. No offense to my grandparents, but you're a dragon and Alpha is an android that I upgraded to be harder to destroy." Julius nodded slightly, "But wouldn't a dragon, like myself trip the defense systems?" Yoshiro shrugged, "Honestly, I'm not sure. But there is really only one way to find out." Julius grumbled, "I hate hearing those words." Yoshiro chuckled, "Relax, Julius. If things go south, we'll retreat and regroup." Julius nodded, "Alright."
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