Zone Of The Enders Fan Fiction ❯ Zone of the Enders: Triad 2177 ❯ God Is God ( Chapter 21 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

An unstoppable force attacks Ryan Corporation and not even the Triad can stop it. In the midst of battle, Miryhn is sent to a whole new reality...

Meanwhile, East Wind aquires the Orbital Frames from the past.

Non Anime: Zone Of The Enders Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Sci-fi / Romance / Mecha / Comedy / Adventure / Action / Angst | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 01.27.2004 | Pages: 9 | Words: 12.9K | Visits: 195 | Status: Completed

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<CENTER>"A person or thing (as in fiction or drama) that appears or is introduced suddenly and unexpectedly
 and provides a contrived solution to an apparently insoluble difficulty"
 - a dictionary definition for the word "deus" </CENTER>

<CENTER>-----------------------------</CENTE R>

It stirred, becoming very weary of the situation at hand. It felt the presence of the Orbital Frame which one man had managed to liberate partially and it grew fearful. Sensing his intentions was useless; it would have to find the truth out itself, by moving upon his territory at once. It had to feed again, after all, and it's last meal hadn't been as peaceful as it wished it was...

<CENTER>-----------------------------</CENTE R>

"So he's a half human, half what?" Miryhn asked, leaning back in his chair at the breakfast table.

"Half human, half dog demon. "Inu" means dog, I think, and "yasha" means demon," Vera corrected, dipping her spoon into her grapefruit.

"And what's with the with dopey girl and the little runt?" Miryhn asked, reaching forward and grabbing a Pop-Tart.

"The 'dopey girl' is Kagome, and she happens to be quite resourceful. I like her, she's not like most idiot giggly anime girls who fall all over the main character. And the runt is Shippou, he's cute," Vera explained, taking a spoonful of her grapefruit and eating it.

"Shippou is annoying, kind of like Nash here," Miryhn said, smirking and pointing to Nash, who was being a newspaper.

Nash peeked out of a corner of the newspaper, revealing a large bump on his forehead from where he got hit with a styrofoam boulder; in addition to several bandages on his arm from the crocodile bites. He sneered and lifted back up the paper.

"What the hell are you two talking about?" Jim begged to know.

"Anime stuff, don't ask. It's a show we both found out we like," Vera explained, taking a sip of her glass of milk.

"Anne May?" Judas asked, sitting on the corner and chewing on a granola bar.

"No, no, you say it like-" Miryhn began to correct. "No, nevermind, you people wouldn't get it," he said with a sigh.

Vera sighed with him, sharing in the disgust of having to explain this art form to other people.

"You two are weird," Jim said, shaking his head.

Judas stared into space, trying to figure it out. "Anne May...who is that?"

<CENTER>-----------------------------</CENTE R>

"Miss that shot and I'll take two points off my 'Pissed at Leo' rating," Dingo said, leaning against the pool table.

Leo thinned his eyes at Dingo and pulled back his pool stick to hit the cue ball.

"Miss," Dingo said in a cough. "Miss miss," he said again, inside of coughs.

"I still don't get why you're mad. All I did was tell her the truth. I thought honesty mattered in a relationship," Leo said, managing to keep his concentration and knock the 12 ball into the hole.

Dingo gave Leo a dirty look and grabbed the chalk, rotating it on the top of his cue. "Leo, there are certain things you tell your girlfriend...and you call that 'being honest'. Then there are certain things you do not ever tell your girlfriend, and that's called 'saving your ass from the wrath of an angry woman'," he explained, waiting as Leo lined up for another shot.

"But I don't hide anything from Celvice. I'm always honest about everything," Leo replied.

Dingo began laughing as hard as he could. "Then I guarantee you that someday you'll end up getting put in the doghouse. That's the thing, you do not tell them the truth until they ask for it, got it? Just a piece of advice, man-to-man, 'ya know?" he explained again.

"Whatever," Leo replied, indifferent as he tapped the cue ball and missed his next shot.

"Hope that wasn't the case with me, Dingo," Angie's voice said the doorway as she strolled in.

"Great, more blackmail. I need to stop talking so much," Dingo said with a groan.

"It's no big deal, you seem to have suffered enough lately," Angie said, leaning on the top of a couch. "But you mind telling me where the Vics have gone?"

Leo's eyes widened.

"Gave 'em back," Dingo said with a smile.

Leo gasped.

"Why'd you do that?" Angie asked, an eyebrow raised.

"Browning said the Frames would be done within a day or two. Finishing touches and all," Dingo explained. "I got the message in my email this morning."

"Well, that's certainly good news, but what if something happens between now and then?" Angie asked, tapping her fingers on the couch top.

"Yeah! What the hell are we suppose to do then?" Leo cried out.

"You people worry too much. I'll just have those idiots on the Entropy deal with it," Dingo said, smiling confidently.

"But, but, but-" Leo sputtered.

"I got sick of staring at those dated pieces of junk anyway. It's time this organization flexed it's truly well-built muscles!" Dingo said, smiling a teethy grin and gripping his flexed bicep.

"Oh, Lord, the testosterone will soon overpower me and make me swoon with delight," Angie said, sarcastic.

"Don't question your fearless leader. I plan two steps ahead of everything," Dingo said, leaning over the table to take his shot.

"Said the guy who suggested barreling headfirst into Aumaan with an ass-load of Phantomas, myself, and Jehuty," Leo said, rolling his eyes.

"Shut up, I was caught up in the moment," Dingo snapped. He pulled back and tapped the cue ball, it knocking the 7 ball into the hole.

<CENTER>-----------------------------</CENTE R>

It moved that morning to the northern reaches of Hellsponte County, searching for a massive boost to its Metatron body. It had crawled over several old classified files from four years ago, picking up records of a massive pit of Metatron. A missile attack was suppose to have wiped out the area, but it remembered how it sensed Ifrit and Iblis stop the assault in a pathetic attempt to keep a pack of humans alive*; so, more than likely, the pit and facility were still there and just waiting to be assimilated. It was all there for the taking...

It was Marlblanke Dite, source of the mighty Marlblanke Cannon.

It arrived there after taking several abandoned maintainence tunnels and drainage pipings, arriving at the deep buried ventilation and water pipe system underneath the abadoned research facility of Dezeele Zephyrs. With a touch of it's liquified body, it sensed the pit was clear of any tarnishing influence by mankind. All remembrance of Zephyrs, Vale Shatner, or any other who once wielded the power of Marlblanke had long since worn away and its sentience was frozen.

It placed its will within the Metatron and it instantly melted into a deep liquid metal abyss. The being then spread its meta-consciousness throughout the newfound extension of its body and chuckled inwardly as it felt the feeling of its own flesh expand and swell with more power. The pit drained and the being made its way south; beyond the borders of the UCM and into the uncharted territories where undoubably it would draw out the man it seeked.

<CENTER>-----------------------------</CENTE R>

Miryhn's heel landed on top of the TV, but it refused to respond to his abuse. "God, I hate machines!" he shouted.

"What's wrong?" Vera asked, peeking inside the lounge.

"The damn thing won't turn on! I think something got knocked out of place or something. It isn't acting right!" Miryhn complained.

"Maybe it isn't plugged in?" Vera suggested.

"Now why would it be?" Miryhn said, peeking behind the TV just to humor her. It was, indeed, unplugged.

"Maybe because I saw your bird hopping around the ship earlier and it loves to unplug things?" Vera said, rolling her eyes.

"My 'bird'? You mean Benu? How'd be get out of his cage?" Miryhn said, in reference to his caged crane from his short time on Callisto.

"'Benu'? That's what you named him? Sheesh," Vera said, giggling.

"Nevermind, what do you mean it was 'hopping around'?" Miryhn asked, looking around.

"I saw it hopping and flapping around. It must obviously like to take little walks around the ship from time to time," Vera said, shrugging.

"That son of a-" Miryhn said, sneering. "Knew I shouldn't have kept it around. Use to think it was good luck, but no!" With a sigh, Miryhn plugged the TV back in and hopped onto the couch to fire up his PS3K. "As long as it doesn't touch my GTA: Vicilia County disc, I'm cool. And that damn cat better not scratch it up either."

"Peniel isn't some mangy housecat! He's a sweetie and he would never do something like that," Vera said, folding her arms. "In fact, I'm going to go play with him," she said, then marched off.

"I swear, she's in love with that damn furball," Miryhn said, waiting for his save game to load. "Attention the rest of the ship. I will not move from this spot for the rest of the day unless food or the bathroom beckon. Anything that moves me from this spot had better be for a damn good reason!" he shouted.

"Nobody cares!" Nash shouted back from a distance.

"Thank you!" Miryhn said, smiling and taking up the controller.

<CENTER>-----------------------------</CENTE R>

Joker strolled down the street, dressed in his priest attire with a pair of fake, small circle-shaped glasses on. He thought it gave off an distinct air of "integrity" with the look. There wasn't much to do with Lazarus's recent order to "remain steadfast and patient", so he normally just walked around and exercised his secondary occupation as an ordained minister when not operating in the name of Lord God.

As he reached a streetcorner, he stood at the crosswalk among a pack of people, smiling down at some children admiring his necklace. He glanced up and suddenly shock ran up his spine. Looking around frantically, he dashed away from the others and ducked into an alleyway. He pulled out Damnation and stared at it; Metatron lines were running across it on their own.

"Wait, wait just a damn minute," he whispered to himself. "This can't be! If it's doing this, then that must mean it's...shit!" he said, then shouted.

The next thing the people saw was the minister dashing out of the alleyway and down the street, ducking into the nearest payphone.

<CENTER>-----------------------------</CENTE R>

It rose above ground through an ancient tunneling system, gathering itself into a large blob as it moved towards the heavily patrolled Ryan research facility. A serpent-shaped head rose out of its body, composed of its flesh's metallic substance. It let off a terrifying shriek and suddenly twenty or thirty homing lasers shot out of its mouth and into a small squad of Phantomas moving in patrol outside the facility. They were destroyed instantly and the other lasers left a deep crater in the ground where the attack had hit. Instantly, the facility was put on high alert and more Phantomas were deployed to the outside perimeter.

The being crawled slowly across the planet's surface, extending another serpent head and this time, instead of multiple lasers, it fired off two incredibly powerful ones in pairs from each head. It got within the eyeshot of the people in the facility and began blasting Phantomas as they attempted to hold back the mighty being. It passed over several downed squads, feasting on the leftover organic material of the pilots. Indeed, this was surely going to be a great feast.

The last thing one commander managed to shout before being blasted was,"Call Wolfgang and tell him a big fucking blob is attacking Research Facility 33, send as many reinforcements as you can and fast! Oh, God, help us, please!" Then he was shot dead as the being targetted and shot his Phantoma down.

<CENTER>-----------------------------</CENTE R>

"Military observation satellite found this...blob attacking a Ryan mere minutes ago," Angie said, tossing a photo on the pool table, interrupting Dingo and Leo's game.

"And why are they telling us?" Dingo asked, taking a swig of his mug.

"Guess. 'Highly dangerous', 'potentially lethal', 'only specialists can handle this'...pick a reason to send East Wind to their deaths," Angie said, rolling her eyes.

"Figures," Dingo replied, rolling his eyes.

"Well, this is convenient, seeing as someone threw out our Vic Vipers," Leo said, emphasizing "someone".

"Hey, look, we can see this as an oppurtunity to be passed over. Just call back and tell them we have no hardware, send some random fleet over there and blast the hell out of it," Dingo said, smiling and shrugging.

Angie sighed. "They aren't sending anyone but us."

"What?" Dingo and Leo shouted in unison.

"They already told me that we were the only ones sent to deal with this. They said any other UNSF force is just too far away and besides, it isn't a threat to Earth forces, so what do they care? Or at least, that's how I sum it all up as," Angie said, slightly sarcastically.

Dingo growled. "This is the last fucking straw. I don't care if it's Ryan Corporation or a few Earthers, no one deserves to die if you can do something about it!"

"And just how do you propose we do something about it?" Leo said, keeping calm.

Dingo thought to himself for a moment. "Alright, they want us and only us to do something about it? Fine, we'll do it, but on our own goddamn terms!" he shouted, shoving his pool stick back on the holder. "Leo, go wake up Ken and tell her to get her ass dressed. Angie, warm up the car," he commanded.

"And what about you, oh, fearless leader?" Angie asked, yawning.

"I'm going to go make a call. We're making an emergency stop at Browning's!" Dingo said loudly, walking for the door.

Leo heard this and suddenly began to smile brightly. "Jehuty..." he said softly.

<CENTER>-----------------------------</CENTE R>

Lamar burst into Norris's office, jogging as he went. "Sir, we have a problem!"

"Calm down, Lamar, I already got a call from Wolfgang," Norris said, his chair quietly rocking back and forth with the back to Lamar. He had his right arm tilted out, squeezing a stress reliever ball.

"But sir, it's wiping out entire squads in seconds! If we send the main force, we'll just be wasting lives! The UNSF refuses to answer our calls, we're doormed!" Lamar pleaded.

"Then call the mercs," Norris said, calm as could be.

"What? You want to send those people from Entropy at that monstrocity?" Lamar said, half panicking and half puzzled.

"Who the hell else can we rely on, then? LEVs are useless, so send those idiot Frame Runners. Hurry up now, chop chop!" Norris said, voice slightly raised.

Lamar bit his bottom lip and then hopped as he turned around. "Yes, sir, right away," he said, obedient.

"It couldn't be you, not after all these years, could it? I thought they killed you," Norris said, staring out the window at the explosions in the distance, just beyond the horizon around Research Facility 33. "Well, they buried you once, I'll just have to do it now all by myself without their help. And without yours too, Kaguya Ricdeau," he said, smirking and holding the ball in an extremely tight grip.

<CENTER>-----------------------------</CENTE R>

Annallee burst into Lazarus's chapel, stopping at the altar and reciting a short prayer. "Sir!" she said loudly.

"What is it, cherub?" Lazarus replied, his back to her as he painted on to the mural of his chapel.

"Joker just reported that...it's moving. It's even attacking, all on its own," Annallee said, standing straight up.

Lazarus froze at these words. He dropped his paint tray and brush and slowly turned around, shuddering. "Oh, heavenly Father, who art in Heaven, how could this be? Why did this have to happen to soon? I don't understand," he muttered in his robotic monotone.

Annallee bit her tongue and remained silent.

"We have no choice then," Lazarus said, gritting his decaying teeth. "Deploy Merkava and transport it here. Have Joker escort it with Lucifer," he commanded.

"Your will is law, sir," Annallee said respectfully.

"Go, with God, cherub," Lazarus said, placing a hand to the forehead area of his preservation helmet.

"Amen," Annallee replied, then marched out the door. As soon as she threw it open, she stepped out and ran into Sylfa. "Hey! Watch it!" she reprimanded, stepping by her and down the hall.

Sylfa stepped back, having kept her ear to the door the entire time. She watched Annallee take off down the hall and then squealed with delight, smiling brightly. "Trent's going to want to hear this for sure!" she sait to herself, going off in the other direction.

<CENTER>-----------------------------</CENTE R>

Miryhn sighed as he pulled the knot tight around the birdcage door. He gave Benu a dirty look and stood back, taking in and out a deep breath at his hard work. He had totally tied up the birdcage with little or no means of Benu ever getting out again. "Now, you little bastard, try to get out of that!"

"Miryhn, are you done yet? They said to get over there as fast as we could!" Vera shouted from down the hall.

"I know, I'm coming," Miryhn shouted back. He gave Benu another dirty look and then quickly shuffled out the door, grabbing his Frame's transmitter as he headed out.

Benu simply looked around, completely forgetting Miryhn's remarks and proceeded to relieve itself on the newspaper below.

Miryhn seemed to always be the last to arrive in the hangar; Nash and Vera were already there and waiting with Freya and Zeus. He climbed in Masamune and starting the machine up.

"About time," Nash said, impatient.

"Look, you're the only one around here without a pet, so shut your trap," Miryhn replied.

"I'd rather not be tied down like that," Nash said, smirking.

"I have no idea what that means and I won't ask," Miryhn mumbled in reply as Masamune stood up.

"Where's Judas? Isn't he suppose to be looking out for you?" Vera asked.

"He said he stashed his Frame somewhere else. He'll meet up with us in a bit," Miryhn replied.

"As long as he doesn't get in the way, I'm fine with it," Nash said, sighing.

"Excuse me, who gets in the way?" Miryhn pointed out.

"You shut your trap, Miryhn. I'm not going to let you screw around like last time, acting all weird and shit," Nash shouted.

"Boys!" Vera interrupted. "Save your arguments for when one of you actually screws up."

Miryhn and Nash both growled at one another and then let it go.

"Fine, then let's kick some ass!" Vera cheered.

<CENTER>-----------------------------</CENTE R>

Norris leaned on his window, his forehead against his right forearm which was propped against the glass. He raised his arm and clicked the play button, the old film score classic by Don Davis, "Neodammerung", beginning to play.

"Everyone tuned up and ready to go? Because here's the count off," Norris said, smirking. He raised his left index finger like a conductor's baton and began to wave it to each count,"One, two, ready, go!"

<CENTER>-----------------------------</CENTE R>

"Alright, folks, it's showtime, let's go!" Miryhn shouted as the four Frames descended on the battlefield, Masamune in front, Freya and Judas's Michael Orbital Frame behind, and Zeus in the far back; the four in a diamond shape. Michael was the exact same model Orbital Frame as the other Seraphs, but equipped with a long spear as its distinct armaments. Below, hundreds of Phantomas had gathered on plateaus and on the ground, firing off machine gun rounds and missiles, doing minimal damage to the outer surface of the blob.

"So the plan it to blast the fuck out of the blob and keep the Phantomas away from it?" Nash said, pulling Thunder out of the Vector Trap.

"Actually, I was just planning on blasting the fuck out of the blob, but saving Phantomas can be your job. I really don't care," Miryhn said, drawing the Frame's katana.

"Typical," Vera said, rolling her eyes. Freya took out her own spear and extended the handle.

Judas was strangely quiet, staring blankly at the blob as the quartet descended.

"Jude, you alright?" Nash said, using Thunder to tap at Michael's "foot".

"Huh? Oh, yeah, I'm fine," Judas managed to mumble out.

"Then let's let it rip!" Miryhn said as he flew low and cut a deep gash across the backside of the blob as he flew overhead.

"I don't know what's worst, people dying to this thing or his puns!" Nash shouted, charging up Thunder and firing a powerful blast from the gun into the fissure on its back.

The serpent heads on top of the blob let out an ear-piercing shriek and then exploded into several liquid metal chunks. The pieces of the liquid metal then formed into small flying beasts and began swooping around the Phantoma squads, swiping at and firing lasers at each machine from their mouths.

"What the hell?" Miryhn shouted, spinning Masamune around and switching his sword to the other hand. He hit the Burst and began flying backwards as several of the flying creatures came after him. He slowly pressed the primary weapon function and targeting circles appeared on each of the beasts. "Have a taste of what Miryhn's cooking!" he shouted and Masamune extended its right hand and fired off a series of Homing Lasers. They cut through each one, disabling them instantly; however, the remnants of the spliced onces were caught by the survivors and they simply assimilated into the survivors, making them bigger.

Vera twirled the spear around and flew through a swarm of the beasts, hacking this way and that at each one until the entire swarm had gone past her. Freya spun around and she saw that the whole swarm had simply assimilated into the serpent-like creature again; it landed on the ground and swiped at a swarm of Phantomas, knocking them several yards backwards and into each other. It struck at each one, either swallowing them up or making them explode from the impact of the heavy liquid metal hitting their machines into the ground. Vera growled and tossed the spear at it, pinning this obviously temporary form to the ground. She dropped down and landed perfectly on the top of her spear, pulling out the Halberd.

"Go! Sparkly Fancy Love-Love Freya Halberd!" Vera shouted as the Halberd extended and she swiped it back and forth, hacking up the top half of the serpent into several pieces. The pieces collapsed to the ground and instantly melted back into their gelatinous goo form and went back to the main blob. Vera yanked the spear out of the ground and then flew into the middle of pack of Phantomas who were under heavy assault by the smaller flying creatures.

Meanwhile, Nash kept charging up and firing shots at the main "body" of the attack force. It gave a distinct roar every time he nailed it with a charged up shot, meaning me must have been doing something right, right? When a few of the flying beasts would come after him, Nash quickly Burst to one side and targetted them, shooting them down with Homing Lasers after watching Masamune do the same.

Judas, staying within eyeshot of Masamune, just stood on the ground in front of a group of Phantomas and swatted away the flying beasts. "It's much too early, why is it doing this now? It's pointless to do it now, no one can stop it and it's barely capable of putting up a good assault," he mumbled to himself.

Miryhn growled as two flying beasts manged to latch on to Masamune and began actually chewing into the armor. He ripped one off and tossed it away, goring it on one of the Spiegels and getting rid of the other by slamming Masamune's side into a plateau. Just as he did that, two more came at him; which he replied to with a Gauntlet shot, sending them into the ground and causing them to disintegrate. Unfortuneately, his Gauntlet also knocked over and slightly damaged five Phantomas in the process, but that's the breaks, eh? Making his way to the ground in front of the blob, Miryhn planted Masamune's feet in the ground and drew the wakizachi. "A winner is you, ass-hat! Get ready for the Cross Punisher!" he shouted, beginning the charge-up.

Vera's rescue attempt was successful, so she headed for the main body once again to attempt another assault. As she did, two more flying beasts suddenly came out of the main body; one flew right past, one grabbed Freya's head, and the last grabbed the hip area, covering the cockpit. Vera screamed in terror and grabbed the one off the head, swatting at the one on the hip area. The cockpit began to fizzle and make white noise as the creature was latched on; Vera's expression softening as suddenly her consciousness was stolen into another realm. For a moment, she could hear a chant and saw a young girl sitting under a tree, dressed in Freya's armor...

There was a loud explosion and the flying creature fell off of Freya. Vera instantly snapped out of it and looked down at the descending creature. She squirmed and threw a Comet at it; the first hit disorienting the creature and the rebound of the shot hit it and it disintegrated. "What was that?" she said to herself, rubbing her head. She suddenly had a bit of a headache thinking back to what she just saw. Shrugging it off and taking a deep breath, she continued her descent at the main body.

Nash was doing great, or so he believed he was. Nothing had touched him so far and he had nailed the main body with several charged up shots already; he must have been doing a great amount of damage to this thing. He heard a fizzle and then a thunderous burst of energy erupt from the ground; he looked down and saw Masamune fire its Cross Punisher into the main body. He watched as the beam struck the body and made an impressive dent; however, he shuddered as he watched the main body almost instantly recover from the hit. Seeing this, he knew what he had done so far was all for naught and shouted as three flying creatures struck Zeus and it crashed to the ground.

"How the hell are we suppose to fight this thing?" Miryhn cried out. "Nothing works!"

"I haven't a clue," Vera responded, Freya putting its spear in both hands as a serpent head shot out of the main body and tried to swallow Freya whole.

"Judas, any ideas?" Miryhn shouted, looking around for MIchael.

Judas didn't reply.

"Are you there?"

Judas shook his head a few times and then nodded. "Yeah, I am. You're right, none of our weaponry is able to damage this thing. We should consider retreat."

"But if we run we won't get paid!" Vera pointed out.

"Would you rather be alive or rich and dead?" Judas replied cooly.

Miryhn growled and slid the wakizachi away at the Frame's side. Taking the katana in both hands, the Frame Burst forward and Miryhn shouted, slicing into the main body multiple times with a halfway charged up blade. After a solid eight strikes, the Frame drifted back a bit and he examined the damage he had done; like the others, he had made an impressive dent, but no significant damage. However, two "arms" then shot out of the hole and pinned Masamune into the ground. Miryhn's head hit the back of the seat at this and he throttled the Frame, trying to push the pinning arms off. His eyes widened as the blob began to move towards Masamune and within a moment, started to smother the Frame underneath the blob.

"Miryhn! Damn it, hold on!" Vera shouted, trying to get out of her grapple with the serpent head.

"This can't be happening, this just can't be," Miryhn said to himself softly, Masamune jerking around helplessly. It was useless, though, because a moment later, the entire Frame was covered by the blob. He cried out to no avail and was soon not to be heard from.

<CENTER>-----------------------------</CENTE R>

"State of emergency, huh? I'm telling you, take these things out now and you won't have them at full capacity," Browning explained, standing at the front of the elevator while Dingo, Leo, a half-asleep Ken, and Angie stood crowded behind him.

"As long as they work, that's more than enough," Dingo replied.

Browning sighed and stepped off the elevator as it reached the docking floor of the hangar. "Then I think you'll be pleased with the results. Jehuty and Ardjet are now mammoths compared to their former selves, if I do say so myself. They'll serve your needs with just the right amount of overkill necessary to get the job done," he said with a smirk.

Leo hurried off after him, pushing aside Dingo and heading ahead of Browning a bit.

"That kid hasn't stopped smiling since we left," Dingo said, raising an eyebrow.

"Can you blame him? He missed Jehuty more than anyone else," Ken said, voice drowned with grogginess.

"I think it's cute, actually," Angie said, smiling a little as the three followed after Browning.

"First up on our tour is the mighty Durandal II. We picked it up after we absolutely pulverized this group called 'Born In Space' in the Terran Crusade. The guy who ran this Frame was a real hard-ass, he refused to give up until he was dead and that's just what happened," Browning explained, stopping the group in front of a large, light blue Frame standing with cockpit level with the platform.

"He died in combat?" Dingo said, a bit shocked.

"Yep, Warren Lumenlux was his name. Poor guy would have been one of the best if he had just given up. This antique is yours now, Dingo, I'm sure you'll enjoy it," Browning said, smiling and waving his hand at Durandal like an open invitation. **

Dingo stared up at the machine. The legs had strange fin-like attachments to them and the arms were equipped with shaped armblades planted into the armor. The armor itself was light blue and the joint sections were orange with the occasional dark blue. The pauldrons were double-stacked with two fins on the back he assumed for stabilization. He had seen the head before; the design of it was similar in Masamune's head design, but this one was the same except for the extension on each side of the head was solid instead of split like Masamune had it. It had the same pointed faceplate too.

"So has it been upgraded any?" Dingo asked, walking towards the cockpit and looking for the canopy opener.

"Yeah, we gave this thing quite an overhaul. We borrowed some specs off Jehuty and made it like twice to three times more powerful. Problem is, it's kind of stuck in being a short-range specialist. There wasn't much we could do about that," Browning replied.

"Doesn't matter to me as long as it works," Dingo said, finally managing to get the canopy open. He hopped inside and immediately began messing with the controls.

"Meanwhile, Miss Marinaris will be very happy with her new Ardjet over here, I'm sure," Browning said, leading the remaining three down the platform some more. They stopped in front of Ardjet, which had changed a bit from when they last saw it on top of the energy plant in Air's Cliff.

Ken looked up and her sleep-heavy eyes manged to widen. "Wow," she said softly.

"Again, we pooled our knowledge on Orbital Frames and gave Ardjet quite a make-over. She's now got some power behind her speed and we finally got her armor not to suck outside of your Coffin Blaster," Browning explained. "Although, I would avoid attacking in three stage patterns like you did previously, Miss Marinaris. It isn't a good thing to do, especially when they figure out your pattern like you're some kind of cheesy video game boss."

Ken sneered and hobbled over to Ardjet. The body design wasn't changed much, just some extra light-class armor covering the exposed black areas around the waist and a bit of shoulder pauldron armor. The cape was extended width-wise, making it possible to maintain more frontal defense.

"Where are the weapons? What's the big deal?" Ken asked, climbing in the cockpit.

"That's where Ardjet now shines! Try and access your blades," Browning replied, folding his arms and smiling.

Ken grabbed the controls and armed the armblade that usually took form in the right arm. To her surprise, suddenly, both arms morphed into broadswords. Ken's expression broke out of her grogginess as she looked to each side at the slightly altered Ardjet.

"With Ardjet's improved performance, you can now wield both of those with the same degree of speed and accuracy I'm sure you're use to," Browning said, slowly nodding.

"And the other weapons?"

"The Wisps have been upgraded. No longer are there a bunch of small ones, but more like five or six larger ones that can fire lasers at three-hundred-sixty degrees. We couldn't do much for the Coffin Blaster except reduce the charge time some," Browning explained.

"Fine by me, I guess," Ken said, scratching her head and proceeding to fiddle with the cockpit as Dingo was doing.

"And finally on our tour, we have the almighty Jehuty, which I assume young Stenbuck here is going to take?" Browning said, leading the last two down the platform some more.

"That's right!" Leo said proudly, unable to stop smiling.

"And here is it, the restored, reborn, and remixed Jehuty," Browning said, stopping in front of the familiar figure of Jehuty.

Leo stepped in front of Jehuty and gasped; it was nothing like when he saw it last on the Atlantis after Aumaan was destroyed. Its steamlined armor plating remained, as well as the familiar bird-liked head piece. It now had larger, fighter-like wing binders in place of the original wing stubs; they were so large that a set of energy lines ran down them to the lower edge, where the thrust was coming from. Another set of sensor blocks were added to the head's side areas, but the top blocks appeared as two feathers sticking up. These two new blocks appeared as actual 'ears', slanted back and angled somewhat so they pointed to the side of the head somewhat. Leo looked to each side, seeing that now Jehuty now had a second sword on its left arm, which originally held its shield projector; both blades extended further than before. ***

"Holy shit," Leo said under his breath.

"My thoughts exactly when they proposed this design. Never thought it'd actually work," Browning mumbled. "Anyway!"

"It's like seeing an old friend...or a long-lost relative," Leo said behind him as he slowly walked up to the cockpit.

"Well, here it is, all yours. Enjoy," Browning replied with a small smile. "Besides the obvious changes, performance has been upgraded dramatically. Nothing much else to report."

"Oh, thank you, Major General, thank you!" Leo shouted, obviously in tears from that distance.

"And what about you?" Browning said, turning to Angie, who was quietly watching from behind while sitting on a box.

"Oh, nothing for me, I'm not a Runner, sir," Angie said, chuckling.

"You sure? We got tons of stuff we could give away. It's Crazy Billy's Type C Giveaway down here at the VANGUARD storehouse," Browning said, laughing and putting a commercial voice-over's spin on his secont statement.

Angie giggled in reply. "No, I'm no combatant, sir, but I like what I do."

"And what would that be?"

"I work for and support a trio of truly talented Runners. Not just that, but three good people," Angie said, smiling and nodding.

"That's not all, is it?" Browning said, keeping his smug grin and raising an eyebrow.

Angie sighed. "And they brought me so I could drive the car back," she said, rolling her eyes.

Browning broke into a hearty laugh. "Now there's committment. Good work!" He then marched down the platform and stoppedin the middle, holding up his hands and clapping them loudly. "Alright, kids, you can play with your toys later. For now, here's the deal," he shouted,"you three roll out of here with your Frames and go do whatever it is you have to. I'll send some men and supplies to your ship and you just fly back home and we'll finish the restoration process there, alright?"

"Cool with me," Ken yelled in reply.

"You da' man, Bill!" Dingo yelled.

Leo didn't say anything. He leaned back in the seat, closed his eyes, and smiled. "Jehuty...it's so good to see you again," he said softly.

<CENTER>-----------------------------</CENTE R>

He breathed long, heavy breaths; he never thought he was this claustrophobic, but something took hold and produced intense fear in him. He looked up at the blackened visual sensors and his eyes widened in the glow of the console. It was silent except for his breathing. Was he just going to die underneath this thing?

"Oooooo.... Seni cu la...."

The cockpit began to fizzle and produce static. Eventually the visual sensors cut off entirely, but it didn't matter since nothing was coming in anyway.

"Eeeeaaaayy.... Eouhe hoooehooea ooha la mo se ha ahhnn..."

The chant was playing again. He whined out loud and sat back. "No, not again. Whatever is going on, stop it," he begged under his breath.

"Even my patience has its limits. I just can't leave this thing up to you any longer. I'll do the fighting! You can just go home!" ADA suddenly shouted.

He jumped in his seat at hearing another voice; however, ADA's voice was scratching and distorted, like it was fading away. "What? What are you talking about?"

"You seem to get a real thrill out of slaughtering the enemy. Are you frustrated about something?" ADA replied.

He raised an eyebrow as the cockpit went completely dead, the console remaining on, but fizzling and producing more static than before.

"Aaaaaahhh lieee mo seee mo he ee... aaaahh..."

"An Anemone or Clematis plant's juice can cause a rash. When pruning them it's a good idea to wear gloves," ADA said.

He shuddered, staring at the console as it suddenly changed from green to red.

"A.I. deletion complete. The ADA network is now no more. Crusader series Orbital Frames now without A.I. support. Filthy control systems, be free, my children!" the console said, ADA's voice pitch dropping into a different register.

"Oooooo.... Seni cu la...."

He couldn't seem to bring any words up to reply to this with; he just continued to stare.

"This child...it calls you 'Miryhn', does it not? Is that not your name?" the console asked, fizzling once again.

"Y-yeah, that's my name," Miryhn said, slowly nodding.

"I see, so you are Domineus. I invite you, to join this child in being my servant," the console said, then completely shut off.

"Eeeeaaaayy.... Eouhe hoooehooea ooha la mo se ha ahhnn..."

Miryhn was left alone in the dark now. The control spheres began to glow softly and suddenly his arms began to tingle, the feeling slowly passing through his body. The tingle turned into a burning sensation; like fire passing through his veins. He let out a blood curdling scream and clutched the sphere as hard as he could, almost involuntarily. He wasn't sure if it was really happening, but beams of light shot out of the front of the cockpit, seemingly piercing through his body and into the back of the cockpit. He couldn't feel them, nor did they do any damage to him, but more and more began to stream out, enveloping his vision.

"Aaaaaahhh lieee mo seee mo he ee... aaaahh..."

"What is this? This Frame? This reaction? This...monstrocity? Is this the true nature of Metatron?" Miryhn said to himself, petrified with fear.

"Come, and witness this child's blessing, and decide for yourself if you will join it in my service, Domineus," the voice said from nowhere in particular.

And with that, the lights completely filled his vision and his consciousness seemed to pass into another realm altogether.

<CENTER>-----------------------------</CENTE R>

Norris was growing impatient. Word from the battlefield was that there had been absolutely no progress made in pushing it back. The mercenaries were helpless against it and their forces were diminishing fast. He stood up from the window and walked over to his small comlink and pressed the call button.

"Betty, hold my calls," he said, then clicked off the link.

"Yes, Mr. Contraus," Betty replied.

Norris started to walk out and suddenly stopped himself. He hurried back to his desk and cut off his music, then pressed the comlink again. "Oh, and order me a steak dinner with some old red wine for my inevitable victory. Send it up to my office."

"Yes, Mr. Contraus," Betty replied.

Norris stood up, then leaned over again. "On second thought," he said, clicking the comlink one more time,"make it a bowl of spaghetti and clam sauce and a beer. I want to maintain my humility when I prove that I am superior in every way to Kapricon."

"Yes, Mr. Contraus," Better replied.

"Time to go conduct in front of the orchestra," Norris said, heading out of his office for the elevator.

<CENTER>-----------------------------</CENTE R>

Kaguya Ricdeau laid on his back on his bed inside his room in the abandoned oxygen plant. He traveled back there to confirm his plans with his comrade, but ended up staying there a little while longer to dwell on his decision. Seeing Miryhn pushed to threatening his life somehow made him deeply regretful; so he remained at the plant, wandering around and trying to find answers on his own.

Sighing, Ricdeau reached over to his desk beside the bed and pulled off a small wooden box. It was colored green, his favorite color, with royal blue trim and was about as big as a small pencil box. He cracked it open and laid eyes on a pair of wedding bands, neatly placed in slits in the padded velvet that lined the bottom of the box. Inside the lid was an old photograph of himself, looking the same as he did now, warmly hugging a woman. She had very light brown hair and matching eyes of the same color, smiling as the two of them held each other close.

"Yuni," he said to himself, swallowing hard as he began to tear up. "Yuni, please, forgive me. I'm trying as hard as I can to make up for what I've done. I know if you were still here, you'd be right behind me, but...I-" he said to the photograph, trying hard not to break down. He stopped as he did just that, dropping his head back on the pillow and letting his tears flow freely. He removed his small spectacles and wiped the corner of each eye.

"It pains me to see you like this, Kaguya. I told you not to get involved with your experiments," his chess partner said from the doorway.

"Lloyd, my dear friend, my most trusted compatriot, this whole mess is my fault to begin with. If I hadn't-" Ricdeau said, sitting up on the edge of his bed and placing the box beside him.

"You had no choice, Kaguya. You have to try and keep going. There's no way we can stop what we've started now," Lloyd, the cryptic old scientist from the Aumaan Project and benefactor to Dingo Egret and Jehuty, said with as much sympathy as his voice could muster.

"There's no doubt in my mind that I can keep going, but seeing Miryhn's face...the way he was holding back all the torment I gave him, it reminded me far too much of how every single one of my loved ones is lost to my experiments. It's tough, when I see him as one of the deciding factors in my atonement and also as a son I never had," Ricdeau said, folding his hands in his lap.

"You've never fully told me about your past, Kaguya," Lloyd said, looking to the side and placing both hands on his cane.

"It's simple, really. I invented something someone wanted to use for their own benefit, so they asked me to give it to them. I refused...and my wife payed the price," Ricdeau said, glancing at his box.

Lloyd remained silent and bowed his head.

"Then they took me and forced me to keep working for them. They made me do things to people that no one should ever have to experience. I tried to wear a smile all the time, to see it all as some kind of stupid joke, but there were days like this where I couldn't stand it anymore. I was being tainted with sin, being forced to play God so others might benefit," Ricdeau said, leaning over and holding his head in his hands, resting his elbows on his knees. He pinched his eyes shut and began to hold back another bawl.

"Kaguya, there's no sin in wanting to protect the ones you love. Your children survived just fine," Lloyd said, trying to calm him down.

"But my granddaughter didn't," Ricdeau said softly. "I was made to use people I cared about and I was powerless to stop my manipulators, lest I loose another person in my life."

"All is not lost yet!" Lloyd said with conviction. "You still have Miryhn and you still have...me."

Ricdeau looked up to see Lloyd resting on his cane, smiling for once in his entire career.

"I'm alive today because of you. I'm indebted to you for how you pulled me back from the brink of death after my lab collapsed. Of course, I'm also indebted to that young girl for rescuing me from my cockpit and to Nohman for salvaging my dying body, but I refuse to pay back that monster if he's alive today. All my ties to BAHRAM are severed, I work only for myself now," Lloyd explained. "You're a great man, Kaguya, and a fine human being. You regret and mourn your loss, and that shows that you are still who you were before any of this happened."

Ricdeau sighed and let out one more stream of tears, this time smiling. "Thank you, you're right. I'm doing what I can and as long as I remain doing so, everything will be fine."

Lloyd nodded, still smiling.

"I'm sure Yuni will be happy, knowing I still remember her even today and rely on her memory to see things through," Ricdeau said, taking one more peek at the picture.

"You could have saved her. Why not?" Lloyd asked, curious. He immediately wished he hadn't asked that, knowing how painful it might be for Ricdeau to remember.

Ricdeau sighed and placed the box back on the desk, shutting it. "I could have, indeed. However, her soul had left her body by then. Even if I brought her back, there was too much damage to her brain for her to ever be the same again. She would have been a soulless husk, a body without Yuni's soul, and she would never be able to remember me or her life. The thought of seeing her face and her not knowing who I was...it would have been a fate worst than death," he said, looking back to Lloyd with one more batch of tears in his eyes.

"I understand, Kaguya. I won't ask anymore," Lloyd said, with sympathy.

"I'll make this up to her and to myself, I swear it," Ricdeau said in a whisper, grabbing his spectacles again. He shot up, determination flowing through his body. "Come, Lloyd, we must finalize the plan."

Lloyd nodded and followed after Ricdeau as he strided out of the room. Ricdeau would see to it that he wouldn't lose this fight; he'd get back at each and every man who ever used him, even if it killed him.

<CENTER>-----------------------------</CENTE R>

Miryhn opened his eyes, staring at a blood red sky. He shot up and looked around, seeing that he was in the middle of a dead forest. All around was dead and decaying trees, some burning with ashes covering the ground. The ground itself was barren soil, devoid of grass or any other kind of life. Miryhn scrambled to his feet and began to look around in complete awe.

"What is this world? Where am I?" he said to himself, walking in an arbitrary direction. He continued to walk until he left the forest and saw a river, flowing a mix of dark blue water and blood, a short distance from the edge of the forest. A mighty fire burned in the distance across the river, billowing smoke into the sky like a growing storm. He approached the river and looked into it, seeing his reflection. He looked normal, except his eyes had Manna-changed to gold again, and much to his shock there were wings on his back. Leaning over more, he saw a second pair below the top two; and turning his head down and to each side, he saw two more.

"Three pairs of wings, huh," he said to himself. Looking at his body, he was dressed in a white robe tied at the waist with a rope; on his head, he had the same gold circlet as he wore in his Seraph uniform. "I guess someone is dropping a hint here," he said, rolling his eyes. With seeminly little effort, he found he could flex and move his new appendages as if he had always known how. He laughed at the prospect, but with a little effort, he found he could at least hover a little bit off the ground. He awkwardly flew across the river and landed on the opposite bank, folding the wings back and panting with momentary fear of dropping into the swill of the river. He stood up and proceeded onward on foot, drawn somehow to the fire in the distance.

As he got closer, he saw that the site where the fire was burning was actually a throne where a burning figure sat. Sitting on a bench nearby was a small child, crying softly to itself. Behind the throne there was a mighty fire raging, fueled by a stack of faceless human shapes.

"Domineus," the burning figure said.

"Alright, before you say anything, I want to know a few things. Like what the fuck that burning stack of shit is, why the fuck I'm some goofy overly-standardized angel now, who the fuck that is," he said, pointing to the child,"and what the fuck you are and why I'm here!"

The burning figure, a creature that was the shape of a tall Orbital Frame with many pointed edges coming off its back, stood up. "Don't you recognize your own Frame manifest?" it said, waving its hand at the small child.

Miryhn looked at the child and drew a confused look. The child was dressed in armor similar to Masamune's, its eyes were grey and glazed over without expression. It looked back at Miryhn with a pleading look on its face, begging him to do something, but he couldn't tell what.

"I don't know anything!" Miryhn cried out, gripping his head. "I'm absolutely clueless here!"

"The answers will come, in time. For now, you are contacting...my will. And your appearance is as manifest as you choose it to be. You are what you believe you are and that is how you appear here, within Metatron's will itself," the figure explained.

"Metatron's will? Manifestation? What the fuck are you talking about?" Miryhn cried out in anger.

"I must liberate this child from the confines placed upon it by mankind. He will be your obligation and you will be my servant. You possess great ambition and that will serve well in completing the beginning phases of the Great Divination," the figure said, pointing to the small child and as it pointed upward, the child was lifted into the air.

The child began to flail wildly and bawl harder. Miryhn bit his bottom lip and somewhere, deep-down, he felt great pity well up in him.

"Do not be afraid of awakening, it is only right that all Orbital Frames possess such awareness," the figure stated, making a burning monolith appear in its other hand as the left hand held the child in midair.

Miryhn began to sneer. "No! Stop that, now!" he shouted.

The figure paused, looking down on Miryhn.

"He's just a kid! He doesn't understand what's going on anymore than I do! Look at him, he's scared shitless and he can't possibly understand what's going on! If you do anything to him, I swear I'll kick you so fucking hard you wont' be able to manifest a dust speck!" Miryhn cried out.

"You cannot stop what's already been placed in motion. This is destiny and from now on, everything will be different for both of you," the figure replied, then pushed the monolith into the small child's chest, passing through the breastplate like mist. The child immediately went limp in midair. "Recieve...Judah, and be blessed, retainer of such a powerful will."

"What'd you do to him?" Miryhn shouted.

The figure lowered the child to the ground and stepped back to its throne, sitting down. Miryhn dashed forward and kneeled above the child.

"Hey, hey, you alright? Come on, wake up," Miryhn said, patting the cold cheek of the child as it stared off, lifeless.

"He'll be fine, as soon as the incredible sensation of infinite awareness passed through him. Metatron is much more than a nearly impregnable substance, it is omnipotent," the figure said, placing its hands on each armrest of the throne.

"Why are you doing?" Miryhn said, head still lowered at the child, but with an intense look of anger on his face.

"Because you are now to be one of my servants, passing along my will to-" the figure began to say.

"Shut your goddamn mouth!" Miryhn interrupted, boiling with intense anger.

The figure paused.

"I work for who I want to and when I'm not, I do thing my own way, you got it?" Miryhn said strictly. "I"m not doing shit for you, okay?"

"I grant you a blessing and you return only anger? What is done cannot be undone, you weren't meant for this by the blood you carry," the figure replied.

Miryhn bit his lip and thinned his eyes. "I don't care, there's no such thing as fate! I decide what I do with myself, no one else! I've come to realize that just as I've come to accept what I am!"

The figure would have looked puzzled if it weren't covered in fire.

"So go fuck yourself!" Miryhn seethed out, then he leaned over and picked up the child.

"This insolence will not go unnoted, Domineus! You will never fulfill Metatron's will if you refuse to accept what is placed before you as the truth!" the figure said loudly. "'There is but one truth. If you avert your eyes from it, you will remain nothing more than a puppet.'"

Miryhn was taken aback by this statement for a moment. He rememered hearing it somewhere...but where?

"I don't care, I'm leaving," Miryhn said, turning and beginning to walk away.

"Then I'll crush you where you stand!" the figure shouted, flaring its hand at Miryhn's back. Miryhn suddenly fell forward, dropping the child and skidding into the ground, leaving a small trench.

Shaking it off, Miryhn climbed to his hands and knees. "What was that for, you dickhead?"

The figure floated off its throne and suddenly appeared before Miryhn in the blink of an eye. It picked him up by the head and began sending fire across his body. Miryhn cringed in pain and was then thrown to the ground with frightening force, making a deep crater. He laid at the bottom, burning for a moment and feeling weak.

"I'll simply destroy your consciousness, then this Frame will have to depend on another Domineus, one that is more obedient," the figure said. Just then, it screamed in pain and fell to the ground outside the crater. It flailed around some, screaming more and more. Miryhn couldn't keep his head up anymore and dropped it, falling unconscious.

<CENTER>-----------------------------</CENTE R>

Norris blasted the blob with another plasma wave, laughing as it let out blood curdling screams of pain. Ehecatl did a fancy spin and shot two more plasma beams from the wings, the blob beginning to retract and crawl away.

"How's that for 'ya? Can't take the heat? Get out of my kitchen!" Norris shouted, Ehecatl gathering up a Burst Shot and tossing it into the blob.

The blob then took off as fast as it could, retreating to the south.

Freya was kneeling on the ground, resting on its spear. Vera had been trying to reach the blob and free Masamune, but she never got there in time. She pinched her eyes shut, praying that Miryhn was okay.

Gathered to one side, Zeus and Michael were watching with the surviving Phantomas as the blob retreated. Nash was exhausted, Judas was contemplative.

As the blob left, it uncovered the smothered Masamune, laying there lifeless. Vera looked up and saw it, then Freya scampered over. She didn't get a word out before something appeared on the horizon; a large Margaritifier-class battleship, a relic of the days of BAHRAM. Flying ahead of it was a Seraphic Order Orbital Frame wielding a large sword; it was the Joker's Frame, Lucifer. Lucifer dropped to the blob and stuck its sword in it, the sword lighting up with Metatron lines running through it. The blob calmed down as the battleship passed over it, scooping it up with a large metal catcher. The blob was then secured inside and Lucifer passed over the battlefield, everyone there preparing their weapons for another fight.

Joker looked down at the lifeless Masamune, remembering the description from Lazarus's report in his encounter with Miryhn. Joker sneered and laughed, looping back over the bewildered Phantomas and Frames and flying into an open compartment inside the battleship. Firing its gravity-breaking thrusters, the battleship raised altitude and began to fly off into the sky. It wasn't long before it was lost to eyeshot from the battlefield.

Norris looked around, confused as hell. Nash was speechless and Judas looked white as a sheet. Vera dropped her gaze back to Masamune and sighed.

"Miryhn? Hey! You okay?" Vera said, anxious. "I think the communication line is working...ADA suddenly cut off in mid-battle and I can't get it to cut back on. It happened to Nash too, it's like every instance of the A.I. just...disappeared. Well, anyway, are you okay?"

There was no reply.

Vera forced a video link to the cockpit and gasped. Miryhn was laying there with his head rocked back, unconscious. Small Metatron lines were flowing through the control spheres as his hands laid on them. Vera sat there, frozen in silence, beginning to cry.

<CENTER>-----------------------------</CENTE R>

From the deck of the oxygen plant, Ricdeau sipped his tea while he and Lloyd took a break from their chess game. Gazing upward, he saw the battleship flying upwards into the sky and almost dropped his cup and saucer in surprise. "Merkava! No! This can't be!"

"If that ship is being used, then that means that the world as we know it will soon change. Everything will change," Lloyd said, walking up to the edge of the deck and looking upward. "Because if that being has reawakened, it only means that fate has been set in motion. From here on out, everything will be different."

Ricdeau raised his cup to his lip, his arm shivering with fear. "No, I thought I sealed all of that away. This can't be happening, this just can't be..."

<CENTER>-----------------------------</CENTE R>

Durandal, Ardjet, and Jehuty flew in formation high above the spheres. Dingo turned his head and saw the battleship going skyward. "What the fuck is that?" he shouted in surprise.

"I don't know, but wasn't it coming from where the battle was taking place?" Ken replied.

"This can't be good," Leo chimed in, worried.

"Alright, the UNSF can deal with that thing, we're going to go check out the aftermath!" Dingo ordered, firing Durandal's Burst.

Ken and Leo nodded in reply and Burst off their respective Frames right behind him.

<CENTER>-----------------------------</CENTE R>

Wahrsager sat in Adavari, watching from afar and high in the sky as the battleship began to leave the atmosphere.

"It's just as you said, Adavari, the gears of fate have been set in motion. You really meant it when you said Metatron is going to be what steers mankind from now on, didn't you? Oh, Adavari, you're so enlightened...and that Domineus...the one of Masamune...he and his Frame are just like us now, right?" Wahrsager said, smiling.

Adavari gave a silent reply, Wahrsager the only to hear.

"Then he must learn the truth too, I'll see to it," Wahrsager said, smiling.

<CENTER>-----------------------------</CENTE R>

The Seraphic Order, minus Joker, were gathered in Lazarus's chapel, all kneeled around him.

"On this day, the Lord has acted. We will rejoice and be glad in it, amen," Lazarus said, arms raised in a cross-shaped form.

"Amen," the semi-circle replied.

<CENTER>-----------------------------</CENTE R>

* Triad follows the "Good" ending to Fist of Mars. This is referring the ending where Testament (true name Ifrit) and Iblis stopped the missile assault and thus were destroyed protecting BIS as they escaped Zephyrs's facility.

** Sorry, folks, Warren perished in the Terran Crusade. : (

*** Yep, "Enhanced Jehuty" here is the same as the one that appears in ZOE: Resurrection.

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