Eternal Galaxy: Phoenix - Intermission

[Aria of Forbidden Magic]

Dropship | Prosperity Space

Terra moved onto her back again and exhaled. "Right... good." Terra had a feeling they'd be ok. She knew Phenom was worse for wear, but somehow she just couldn't imagine that he'd die. Amanda, too. They'd live. They would. They had to...

Terra continued to look up, not wanting to shut her eyes until she reached her bed. At least... she assumed they'd have a bed for her. Phenom and Amanda need beds more than I do right now, Terra thought. It's almost... silly... how that is. It's silly how they got so hurt and I didn't. I should have been hurt more, much more, than them. I'm weaker, more fearful... I wish they didn't have to feel pain. Terra clenched her fist and rested it over her heart. Please be alright...

[Cucoo5]

Palace

Achlys raised an eyebrow at Cortana's one comment before answering her next question. "Forterium is a special hybridization of any metal with a crystalline substance known as Corlaviri. Depending on the procedure, it exponentially increases the metal's strength and resistance."

"Our armor is made of Forterium Aluminum." Jac added. "Thermal and electrical conductance is reduced and overall strength is increased a thousand times. The only effective way of punching through it is with Gaia or Aura Energy. Physical trauma is virtually ineffective against it."

"Gaia and Aura energy is the life blood of the galaxy and Corlaviri is its vessel. Although Corlaviri is quite resilient, hence why Forterium exists, we cannot remove its affinity with those energies." Achlys explained as they reached the bottom passage. "And somehow the Nihiliods can interact with it and thus Forterium in such a way to render it useless against them." She then glanced about the group. "Ok now we have to move quickly. Because we had activated machinery near the core in order to prepare to evacuate, Nihiliods will most likely be attracted to that area." She gestured towards John. "You will accompany me and the main group to activate the core." She then motioned to Mara and the Doctor. "You two will go with the other group along with Jac to the labs to retrieve the necessary equipment to rebuild MIMI's body and Nemesis' code."

"Speaking of MIMI, isn't she in his armor?" One of the members of the squad spoke up. "Shouldn't she help those going to the lab?"

"Most likely she's gone dormant due to not having her own dedicated system. If we link her to the mainframe she can move to the labs through that. No point waking her now for a small transfer." Jac responded. "All set? Alright, let's move!" He then turned towards the one passage with one third of the group while Achlys and the other two thirds went down the other.

[Kilelicus]

Minutes Later
Prosperity Atmosphere | Space Station "Heaven" - Hangar 10

---

A small handful of Angels were scattered throughout the Hangar as the medical dropships landed, with Gaspard's dropship landing in the neighboring hangar so as to reduce clutter. The dropships containing Phenom and Amanda landed first, quickly opening their doors. The medical teams inside wasted no time, immediately rushing the Guardian Angels out of the bays and into Heaven's corridors, where they would be taken to the infirmary. They orchestrated it this way so Terra would not have to see the condition that Phenom and Amanda were in. Both had a plethora of wires and machines attached to them to support them, it would not be something they'd want the young magician to have to witness.

Gaspard entered the Hangar and knocked solidly on the door of the dropship that Terra was being held in.

"Open up." he commanded. The Angels within complied. "Welcome to Heaven, Terra. If you can walk, please come with me."

[Aria of Forbidden Magic]

Prosperity Space | Heaven
BGM: Umineko: When They Cry - Haze
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=DGI1XWx1szM

---

Two light taps on the floor signalled Terra's short hop off the gurney she had been resting on. Her legs held firmly beneath her. Why wouldn't they? They weren't hurt. Of course she could stand. So why did Terra feel like she might fall over? Her eyes scanned the area surrounding her. All was strange, unfamiliar to her, and she knew that she now stood not on a planet's surface, but in a structure suspended in space. Such a thought Terra found unpleasant. Or, more truly, she just didn't like being so far away from home.

Gaspard was still standing before her, waiting for her. Terra looked up, not quite meeting his eyes, and said, "Ok. Where are we going?"

[Kilelicus]

Prosperity Atmosphere | Space Station "Heaven" - Hangar 10
BGM: Umineko OST - Haze (Yes, I loved it that much.)
http://listenonrepeat.com/watch/?v=DGI1XWx1szM#Haze

---

Gaspard's eyes tracked the girl, and he lowered his head as she approached him. When she asked where they were going, he said nothing and simply turned around and led Terra through a nearby doorway into the corridors of Heaven. Their futuristic, mechanical, almost sterile looking surfaces contrasted sharply with the cloaks that the Guardian Angels wore, making Gaspard pop out from the background. He walked at a leisurely pace. Periodically, individual engineers would pass them in a hurried shuffle, most of them giving an offhanded greeting to Gaspard. It did not bother him that he was not greeted properly. They were not his subordinates: They were his family. He stopped in front of a window that gazed out at the planet's surface below and turned to face it. He then spoke so deliberately, that his random lapses into usage of French all but vanished, and all that remained was his accent.

"Right now, you stand upon the absolute pinnacle of technological, medical, and scientific development in Earth's Twenty-Second Century. This technology is centuries before its time, all devised by the Engineers that you see bustling past us from time to time." Gaspard gestured towards the view on the other side of the window. It was part Earth-like Terrain, part vast, empty Space, with several visible stars, as they sat on the edge of the void. "And we currently reside in the 80th-or-so-Century. Our technology has become... more-or-less obsolete... based on what I've witnessed. Sorry, let me explain who we are and what we do."

Gaspard turned once more, continuing down the Hallway as Terra followed by his coattails, "We are the Global-and-Human-Defence and Development Organization, or G-A-H-D-D. Colloquially known as "God," by those not aware of our true identity. Over the centuries, our organization has served many purposes, ranging from incognito intervention in international incidents, genocide, Doomsday Scenarios and so on. Our directive, currently, is to ensure the survival of as much life as possible, which include good people, and evil people Sometimes we have to kill either. Those of us that are members of this organization know ourselves as "Angels." Myself, Amanda, and Phenom are what are known as Guardian Angels. While we do focus on life-preservation as you saw earlier, we have a secondary function. Normally, that function is protecting individuals deemed... Imperative... to the survival of mankind in one way or another. We call these individuals "Charges."

Gaspard spoke as though he had rehearsed this monologue of his a million times, One might think with how much he was speaking, he'd forget where he was going, but he continued.

"Recent circumstances have, however, nullified that function and we currently work to carry out only our prime directive... until now at least. Phenom has elected to designate you as his Charge. This means that he will protect your life no matter the risk to him. It seems you remind him of someone he once knew. Anyway... you might be wondering why such an important organization has so few members, as evidenced by the lack of traffic through these halls. The truth is... what you will be seeing during your time here is only roughly 1% of our capacity. Far fewer than that, even, to be sure. However, we must maintain our directive: As such... we engage in combat with high-threat targets such as or Null down there on the surface."

"All that aside, however... you asked where we were going earlier? Why we're going to get lunch, of course! Surely you must be hungry. As long as you're able to walk, I figured I'd bring you to the Mess Hall with me and get you something to eat since you haven't eaten in a very long time. We have an expansive selection of dishes there. Then we'll go to the infirmary and have Ms. Sana examine you to make sure everything's where it belongs. You seem to be human at the very least, and even if you aren't, surely your anatomy is similar to ours. How's that sound?"

[SUSTIC]

Outside Hospital - CY-001 - Nevaaras

As Astraea was swinging her blade in a dizzy fashion she eventually stumbled back a few steps and shook her head. Doing so she looked up at Ethan. Astraea's reaction was quite... interesting to say the least. She looked confused, shocked, and embarrassed about what the hell just happened. She looked on at Ethan with a confused expression, but the way her face was bright red showed her embarrassment.

"Ooooh noooo~! I just flopped bad!" She whined as she began talking to herself about various stuff about her failing and that the 'boss will be really pissed'. She stopped though as she looked at Ethan. Upon seeing him she began to examine him closely as though she met him before...

While she was looking at Ethan... she was going through her entire mental database over who he is... she eventually found it... Finding his identity in her database her smile went from a curious, clumsy one to a more sharp and... serious face as she backed up, clenched her sword and shield, and straightened her pose. Her eyes changed to a darker red glow as she got what looked like target reticles in her eyes.

"Subject Phoenix identified... Initiating combat protocols. Subject Ethan is Top Priority. Orders dictate to stop all current business to confront and subdue Project: Phoenix.." Astraea said in a robotic manner as she quickly dashed and performed a downward slice at Ethan's shoulder.



The Expense | Hallman's Office

"Well there are several reasons why we don't just fix her. Firstly... Even if we did fix her brain, which we can. We'd still have to use more time and money to put all that data back in. Secondly she is still excellent in combat. Third. It's fun watching her like this... bad for business I know, but she does AT LEAST... get the job done... eventually. Besides she's more gullible this way." Hallman replied as he rested his legs on his desk."Besides we're already working on a 2nd Generation of our Angeloid project. So we don't have the resources immediately available to fix her up."

[S121]

Palace

Cortana had many more questions to ask Achlys, but when the mission began to pick up momentum, she knew that she would have to wait until there was a lull in activity, or when they were back on the ship.

"I might need to pick your brains a bit more later.", Cortana said to Achlys before John finally spoke.

"What do propose we do to activate the core?", John asked Achlys as he followed her.

John and the others had already come up with a plan before setting out oin this mission, but considering how Achlys appeared to know more than their previous group, he found that it would be best to figure out what she knew.




Outside Hospital - CY-001 - Nevaaras

As soon as Ethan heard the woman speak his designated project name, he knew exactly what was going on and what was going to happen.

(Shit...), Ethan thought to himself as the angel girl dashed towards him with her blade.

Luckily for Ethan, Astrea had translated her intention to attack him long before actually doing so. If not for that fact, he probably would have been sliced straight in half by Astrea's sword, but right before the blade came down, Ethan had lunged towards her and dropped to the ground, sliding right beneath her skirt and behind her. As soon as he was clear of her, Ethan jumped right back onto his feet and turned to face his attacker.

"Whoa there, let's ease up a sec. I get that you have orders to kill me, but I'd rather not hurt you.", Ethan said to the strange angel-like android girl as he took a defensive stance.





The Expense | Hallman's Office

To be honest, Emil thought it was quite stupid of Hallman to keep his tools in disrepair, especially if it decreased overall efficiency and compromised mission success, but right before he was about to cut in, Hallman said something that caught his attention.

"Second generation?", Emil asked Hallman, quite curious about this new and upcoming project.

[Aria of Forbidden Magic]

Prosperity Space | Heaven | Hangar 10
BGM: Umineko: When They Cry - Haze
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=DGI1XWx1szM

---

"Uh... yeah..." Terra had to take a moment to wrap her head around everything that had just been communicated to her. Their neologisms floated through her mind, G.A.H.D.D., Angels, Charges... Lunch was on the back burner at the moment.

Phenom had decided to make Terra his Charge...? When? Before the battle? Most likely. She reminded him of someone? That name came back to her, Jamie, that unsettling, strange emotion returning. The way he'd looked at her, certainly not seeing her there. Did this mean that a similarity between herself and Jamie had already been formed prior to his breakdown?

He had deemed Terra... "imperative." Imperative to mankind's survival...? But... for what reason? Her eyes widened in horror.

"Wait, why did Phenom deem me of all people to be necessary?" It was phrased in an innocent manner. None of her underlying anxiety was visible, none. She was sure of that. If there was one thing she was good at hiding it was this thing. He couldn't have found out... right? So she asked. Interrogated. Questioned. Feared.

[Kilelicus]

Prosperity Atmosphere | Space Station "Heaven" - Corridors
BGM: Umineko OST - Haze
http://listenonrepeat.com/watch/?v=DGI1XWx1szM#Haze

---

"When a Guardian Angel selects their own Charge, there is usually a significant personal reason for it. I could not tell you for certain, but my speculation is that you remind him of a friend that he lost long ago. She wasn't much older than you. Died in his arms. He was 17 at the time. Was almost as close to him as his Operator, Lachesis, is. As I heard it, that day was also when the abilities you saw him display earlier first surfaced."

Gaspard shrugged as he continued leading Terra on.

"I don't know Phenom quite as well as Valli, another Guardian Angel, or Lachesis. If you want to know more, you'd want to ask them. But I CAN tell you that you're not being assigned some higher importance as far as the survival of the universe goes. Normally, Charges are assigned to us. That's not quite the case anymore. And Phenom's last Charge, whom he also became close friends with, also died when Earth was killed. And he was forced to watch that as well. He was here, on Heaven, when it happened, so he couldn't do anything about it. If I was correct in my assumption of who you remind Phenom of, I'd say he's selected you as a means of saying 'Never again,' if you catch my meaning. You know: 'This girl will survive no matter what, even if I have to give up my life for it.' So basically, you're sharing a role with Lachesis at this point. He may seem cold and callous on the outside, but on the inside, I think Phenom's a pretty nice guy."

[Aria of Forbidden Magic]

Prosperity Space | Heaven
BGM: Umineko: When They Cry - Haze
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=DGI1XWx1szM

---

Terra let herself exhale. He didn't know anything. He couldn't have known. Not so quickly. "I see. For a second I was really confused. Now it makes a bit more sense. He's protecting me because he wants to." She wasn't lying. She hadn't lied to Gaspard once. All those thoughts had crossed her mind. Not for the reason she was letting him believe, however.

Never again, Gaspard's voice echoed. Terra tried to imagine Phenom himself saying that. This girl will survive no matter what, even if I have to give up my life for it.

Gaspard was looking in the direction they were travelling. He could not see Terra's face. To the imperceptibly quick worry that flitted through Terra's eyes, he was oblivious. I hope you can, Phenom. Maybe you can be the reason why I survive. Just don't let me be the reason you die.

Feeling safe again, Terra asked Gaspard more questions. "So, how come you haven't had any other Charges in so long? And why have the rules shifted?

[Kilelicus]

Prosperity Atmosphere | Space Station "Heaven" - Corridors
BGM: Umineko OST - Haze
http://listenonrepeat.com/watch/?v=DGI1XWx1szM#Haze

---

"Ah, a pergunta do dia. To put it short... One of our former members went crazy, stole a powerful piece of technology- the power of God, if you will- and blew up the Earth with it. Or... Our Earth, rather. Seems there are multiple versions of it."

Gaspard stuck his hands in the pockets of his cloak and continued to elaborate on the lack of Charges of recent.

"Since we were initially dedicated to the sole defense of Earth and its people, our leaders- 'The Lords'- assigned, to us, individuals who had been deemed necessary for the survival and betterment of mankind as a species. As there is no more Earth, we were at a slight loss of what to do. So we set a random course, froze ourselves cryogenically, and waited for the station to detect a nearby inhabitable planet. We found it, worked on it a little, and left. Then we came here. The rest, you know. We've been in this galaxy for less than a week. When we got here, we changed our objective from "Defend Earth" to "Defend the Universe."

"Comme cela arrive, something is making stars disappear. We believe it has to do with something in - or related to - this very galaxy."

[Aria of Forbidden Magic]

Prosperity Space | Heaven
BGM: Umineko: When They Cry - Haze
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=DGI1XWx1szM

---

I see, the young girl mused. When they lost their home, they lost their goal of protecting it. She found such a notion tragic. To think, they couldn't save their world from being destroyed... What horrible guilt they must be feeling...

"The stars are disappearing...? That doesn't seem very good. What can you guys do to help?"

[Kilelicus]

Prosperity Atmosphere | Space Station "Heaven" - Corridors/Atrium
BGM: Umineko OST - Haze
http://listenonrepeat.com/watch/?v=DGI1XWx1szM#Haze

---

"We believe it has something to do with these creatures... Nihiliods... Something about them is unnatural. Je ne sais pas. I am not the one who analyzes everything we learn. I think we'll need to converse with that Ian character if we want to know for certain. Or maybe we already know. I cannot be sure. However..."

As Gaspard finished his sentence, the two exited the corridors that they had been trekking for the past few minutes and into a grand open area, covered with a large dome that provided a view of the sky. It strongly resembled a domed city, with gardens and homes spread throughout, as well as a number of black obelisks towering above the streets of Heaven. Far different from what the rather militaristic impression that the Angels give off. The elderly Angel began speaking once more.

"I think the rest of your questions can be answered over lunch! For now, welcome to the Atrium! It's not exactly bustling right now, but we hope to rebuild ourselves in this galaxy at some point."

[SUSTIC]

Outside Hospital - CY-001 - Nevaaras

As Astraea attacked Ethan in her battle-state she was clearly dead set on killing him, as she was quickly following up with strike after strike as she skillfully pursued Ethan. Every moment he made she was countering with a strike aimed at a different spot on his body. Her speed was also increasing quite quickly... Ethan will be struck... and when she finally strikes him, it will not be a pretty sight.

"I am not the one who should be worried about taking damage Project Phoenix" Astraea replied as she continued to chase after him.




The Expense | Hallman's Office

When Emil showed is clear curiosity and lack of knowledge about the 2nd generation of Angeloid's, Hallman chuckled as he turned to his right-hand man Emil and spoke.


"Oh? You have not heard of the Second Generation? Well you see Emil, I've been working on a newer, more advanced line of Angeloid's. It's one of the reasons why we can't simply use money to fix Astraea up or upgrade her. We're putting in a lot more tech and a lot more effort into this newer line of Angeloid's. It's also partially the reason why we are keeping Astraea around. The guys in the lab are currently studying her failures so we know what to try and prevent." Hallman replied as he finished the bag of small pretzels he had.

[Aria of Forbidden Magic]

Prosperity Space | Heaven
BGM: Umineko: When They Cry - Haze
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=DGI1XWx1szM

---

Once again, Heaven Sat before Terra, waiting to be beheld by her. If it weren't for the fact that it were on a spaceship, she might have thought it felt like home. At the very least, it was cozy. Her eyes lingered on every flower she saw in someone's garden, wanting to absorb their beauty, all of it, take it into her and never let it go. Perhaps she enjoyed flowers a little too much.

Lunch had not stood at the forefront of Terra's mind... until right about then. She thought that going to get lunch at such a time, right after a grueling battle, even before being taken to her infirmary, was a bit ridiculous, but now she realized that she did indeed feel hungry. She must have spent a large sum of energy fighting. Her stomach screamed for nourishment. Heeding her body's call, Terra asked "Exactly what are we going to eat?" Her hands covered her stomach, the hunger pangs she hadn't even noticed moments ago suddenly attacking her.