9==|Chapter 01 - 2: Summon|==
Cradled in a ethereal ball of energy, a lone light was brought across universes, through the great expanse of the multiverse. A black, unsightly shroud covered it, sparking with malevolent red energy.
The soul within strained at its bonds, even as it could neither feel nor think.
Across the endless multiverse, this lone vessel travelled until it reached the world of its destination. It stopped, poised to break through the barrier that contained the world within.
And yet, before it could do so, white light illuminated the vessel. The black shroud held for barely a few moments, before it fell away, its energy dissipating into the void.
The soul was carefully, slowly brought to another holder, another being who watched the world underneath her from her carefully protected domain.
She inspected it, curious. She then examined the destination that it was headed for, the spell that contained it, and realised the dark designs meant for this soul.
Shocked, she reeled, but as she watched the light of the soul she held starting to fade, the entity quickly jumped into action. With as much speed as she could muster, she weaved a new spell about her, runes and spirals surrounding the soul until it formed a new container, one glistening with bright light.
The being turned her attention to the world below. Watching her people in turmoil and confusion as they watched their salvation spiral out of control, she quickly acted. A wave of her hands, and the singularity of energy stopped growing.
With it stabilized, the entity took the time to reform yet another spell, one more complicated this time. Imbuing it with her own essence and a link to herself, she ensured a better for the unfortunate soul that was destined for it.
With one final pang of pity, the being released the soul, and let it soar into the universe unhindered. She also found herself exhausted by her efforts, and fell into sleep herself.
Groaning, Phoenix clutched her sides as slowly pushed herself off the platform.
She watched her as her sisters, similarly struck down like her, also tried to recover from the pounding that her efforts produced on her base.
Around her, she saw several of her subjects rush onto the platform, anxious to see what had happened to their commanders. Using her staff as a support, Phoenix got to her feet, and turned to address them all.
"Is everyone alrig-" She began, but stopped.
All of her brethren were standing in shock, watching the shrine that she had erected. She turned to look at it, and she herself froze at the sight.
Beneath a strange sigil - a horizontally floating white band with lines appearing on its frontal side, a strange figure floated, wearing a strange outfit that she had never seen…
Except on pictures and memories of humans.
Dumbfounded, she looked at the sigil that hovered above the figure - or was it human? - trying to reconfirm that what she saw was real.
A human...and bearing the Seal of Ultra? Phoenix asked herself, unsure of what was going on. Why has the Goddess given me...a hum-
"What is this?" A forceful shout filled the air, and Phoenix turned to see Beacon push herself to the front. "Why...isn't…isn't this a human male?"
At Beacon's pronouncement, whispers appeared among their many subordinates, with some making their way to the front to see for themselves.
"That's a human? I thought they looked different…"
"Why would the spell produce a human?'
"Where are the weapons on...him? Do human males not have any weapons?"
As the questioning grew, Phoenix found herself forced to act. If this is something delivered by the Hidden Goddess, why weren't there any orders from her about this? She would have told me in advance...maybe…
Perhaps I did something wrong, and brought this human instead? Is that why I have no contact from the Goddess? No...that can't be it… what happen-
She looked up to see Beacon and her group getting closer and closer the the human. Caught between a rock and a hard place, as she furiously debated on why her leader would send her a version of the enemy, Phoenix decided to stall for time.
"Stop, Beacon!" As her rebellious comrade turned to look at her, Phoenix restrained the fear in her heart to speak even more clearly. "This human might be dangerous! Its best if we stay back."
"Oh? Phoenix, when did you get the ability to sense magic?" In a mocking yet dangerous tone, Beacon continued to defy Phoenix's orders. "Besides, if we have a human here that's so dangerous, wouldn't it be best that we…dispose of it as soon as possible?" To emphasise her point, Beacon grabbed the figure's arm - causing the light around him to fade and the motionless to figure to simply collapse on the altar - and prepared to drag it away unceremoniously.
Phoenix struggled for an answer, before finally retorting, "This is my order, and you will obey it now. Also, if we interrogate this human, we may be able to extract valuable information about their forces before hand."
Beacon stared at Phoenix for a few moments, before tossing the human at her, causing the figure to land on the platform with a thump. "Fine. Have your human. However, what about the warriors you promised?"
Facing Beacon's furious and accusatory snarl, and the rest of her brethren, Phoenix opened her mouth to respond, only to be interrupted by a cough and a groan.
Everyone turned their attention upon the figure lying at Phoenix's feet. More coughs came from him, even as his arms flailed about, searching for purchase on the platform, trying to push himself upright.
In a single moment, everyone summoned their weapons - flashes of lights appeared among the crowd as cannons, guns and torpedo launchers materialised into existence along their bodies. Some, still damaged, bleched smoke the moment they appeared, or had numerous cracks on their bodies, showing their state of disrepair. In a few moments all of these weapons were aimed and targeted at the human, set to fire with a single twitch.
The human finally managed to turn himself over, looking up with confusion on his face - and froze as he saw Phoenix towering over him.
A single sentence fell out of his mouth. "Why the fuck am I looking at Abyssals? Is this a dream, or what?"
At his words, a few of the Abyssals around him lowered their weapons, confused at how they had perfectly understood the human. Others still kept their weapons up, refusing to budge.
Phoenix herself simply became even more dumbfounded, unsure on how to proceed. For several moments, she stared at him, while his eyes continued to shift worriedly from side to side.
What should I do? Ultra, if please give me a sign on what to do, please!
Even after her plea, nothing happened, except for the continued shifting of her people as they watched the human dangerously.
Seeing no answer nor response to her mental cry of help, Phoenix decided to act. In a voice full of feigned harshness, she asked, loud and clear, "Who are you, human?"
The coldness in her voice - or was it her words? - caused the human's eyes to zero in back into her face. "I-" He began, only for him to stop, his mouth still hanging in the air.
The situation remained as is. As she felt the atmosphere around her harden, Phoenix grew more impatient - and worried. Getting on one knee, she leaned towards the human's face, causing him to stumble and fall on his back, shaken. Summoning all the fierceness she could muster, and growled, "Do you understand me, human? Who. Are. You?"
At her question, something inside the human snapped. Realisation flowed over his dumbfounded face, causing Phoenix to relax a little -
And that expression was replaced with one of utter terror. In a single moment he let out a horrified scream, and scrambled to get away. "No no no NO NO NO! This can't be happening! This can't be fucking real!"
Panic seized Phoenix as she watched the situation unravel again - she tried to grab at him, only for him to slip under her grasp. Hyperventilating, he got to his feet, only to stop when he looked around and found no way out.
Seeing all the twisted, terrifying figures all around him, the human slowly clasped his head, muttering in a fearful yet frenzied tone. "This isn't real this isn't real this isn't real…"
Phoenix, desperately trying to find a way out herself, tried to think of a way to settle the situation, but came up with nothing.
The voice of her mentor instead came high and clear over the air. "Someone knock him out." Rally ordered.
Two Abyssals walked out of the crowd, one suddenly seizing his arms, and the other laying a savage blow to the back of his head. The human dropped like a puppet with its strings cut, lying motionless on the floor.
Not one person spoke a word for the next few moments, as if waiting for some monster to spring out out of the human.
Finally, Rally yelled, "All of you, disperse!" At her words, the gathered crowd slowly filtered away, heading back to their rooms and homes.
Meanwhile, Phoenix looked at the motionless human, and back at the shrine - it was ruined, all four pylons broken into many pieces and the precious electronic devices gathered about it all black and smoking.
We won't be doing that anytime soon… Phoenix mused.
"So...a human, and not like the one's we see. In fact, he seems to be completely terrified of us." Beacon spoke, before taking a moment to viciously kick the motionless male in his stomach. He made no sound despite the fierceness of the blow.
"What shall we do with him?" Juri asked as she walked up. At her words, Phoenix recalled the sigil that had appeared over him when he was summoned. This is most likely Ultra's 'gift' to me...I have to do something.
"We can't just throw him to the sea." She blurted out in a moment of panic.
Beacon whirled on her. "We can't? Mind telling me why we can't? He's just a useless human. Best we kill him now lest we hear any more of his whining later."
"He could still be useful." Rally walked up, and crouched down to examine the human. "His clothes...I have seen them before. Every time a human wears this kind of clothing, the humans treat them with great care. They are like their leaders of a sort."
"If that is true, we could use him as a hostage." Juri's 'clone' walked up, standing behind Beacon.
"Not just that, Yuri." Rally spoke in a softer yet no less harsh voice. "If he is one of the human leaders...we could…extract some information from him, about the humans. Information that could save us. Judging from what I see of him...he could be easy to break."
"Wait!" Suddenly, Siren came bounding into the scene, overly eager to share some information. "I just checked the energy around him - he isn't human, he's one of us!"
With that bombshell, everyone stared at her, stunned. "Siren...what do you mean?" Phoenix asked, slowly.
"I checked the magic aura around him." Grinning, the overeager scientist walked up and leaned over the 'human'. "It's not like the aura that we feel from humans, but it feels and acts like one of our own. Therefore, he must be one of us?"
"If he is one of us, then, why is he wearing human clothes and acting like one? Besides, I have never seen a 'male' among any of us." Beacon asked, perplexed.
"I don't know!" Siren answered in a chirpy-yet-infuriating tone.
For the next few moments, no one did anything, wondering what exactly was going on. Phoenix, spotting an opportunity, ordered, "Whatever he is, we can address it later. Return to your jobs, all of you. We will discuss this later. Rally, have someone bring him to the cells and lock him there."
"Understood." As Rally compiled, the rest of Phoenix's subordinates dispersed. Even Beacon was too confused to think of firing a shot at her for 'commanding her'.
As two other soldiers walked up to drag the 'human' away, Phoenix walked away from the platform, making a beeline for her quarters.
I must consult the Goddess…what is going on?
==|Chapter 01 End|==