[Fiction] Dark Fate (AU)

[Long]

The war had raged for a dozen years. In the beginning it was novas fighting for territory, but soon technology trickled down that allowed regular baselines to fight equally with lower class novas. Perhaps the greatest equalizer is Megaclipsol, a chemical that actualy forces novas to expel all their energy reserves and return to a baseline level for an amount of time determined by the dosage. In numbers, they could even take down more powerful Beta class novas. Each side of this conflict has it's champions, and in a bizarre twist of fate, it's odd that one of humanity's great champions is a nova of inhuman appearance, and a champion for The Teragen armies is so human in her appearance.

Ryu Hideyoshi is a Japanese nova born into an incredibly potent bloodline. His family has produced seven novas in the generation since The quantum reator exploded bathing the world in quantum energy. He and his brother Takashi are both First Class Alpha novas, rating among the top twenty strongest novas on the planet. The other Hideyoshi novas range fro Saori at Gamma level and Hohiro at Beta. The family contributes heavily to the defense of Kurotech heavy Industries in Japan, one of the main providers of the exo-skeletons that are used to give baselines a chance on the battlefield. At the Fore front of the battles, Ryu, known as Long, is unmistakable. at eight feet tall and over two hundred kilos, Long is massive, but it's his form itself that is mind numbing. He stalks the battlefield on digitigrade legs and hs body is covered in tawny and black fur. His head is that of an adult Bengal tiger. Large black talons rest sheathed in his fingertips. Despite his visible inhumanity, he is beloved by Japan, and revered as a National Hero for his actions defending Tokyo and Japan from all attacks.

His Counterpart is the Terat, Timeslip. Little is known about her, Other than her near complete mastery of time itself. She's slain hundreds of baselines, but somehow she has thus far seemed to avoid killing another nova. While humanoid in shape, her body and hair look as though a piece of the night sky descended down and took human shape. It is only beccause of her temporal abilities that she remains at large, having been one of only a handful of novas to escape a battle with Long. She proved willing to sacrfice her team to escape, evidently she knows too much to allow herself to be captured. She watched them die as she took the time to try and evacuate them. Much to her horror, Long slew them all with his sword, and would have claimed her life as well. This failure, the fear in her eyes that she saww reflected in his haunts her now. She's made it her personal quest to either neutralize him, or kill him.

The raid on a Kurotech MCS factory in rural China was going off well. As expected China had sent out their own response team, but the forty Teragen novas involved quickly overwhelmed the 4 Chinese Alpha and six Beta Class novas and 150 powersuits. The MCS depot had been destroyed and even now Deconstructor was doing his thing to neutralize all the MCS. The sky grew dark and TImeslip new what happened Next. Nippon's champions had arrived. Like avenging eagles the Raiden exosuits desceneded,viciuosly attacking in groups of at least four to one on the terats gathered there. Nippontai as the team was called boasted twenty Alpha Class novas, and half again as many Betas. Currently though only about half the team was present. Timeslip heard a scream from behind her and then felt something roll against her foot. She looked down to see Deconstructors lifeless eyes looking back up at her. She heard the tell-tale hum of his energy barrier, of his swords destructive aura. "Hideyoshi."

"Surrender, or I WILL kill them all." His words were distinctly clear, his brutish frme towering over the battlefield. He was clad in the Kusanagi class battle armor that had been the last thing many soldiers ever saw.

"I'll get them out first. You can't get us all. The MCS is destroyed. We win this time. Better luck next go-round, baka."

She started to shimmer, preparing to jump out as many of the other novas did likewise. "Alpha team spray every single one of them that's glowing, then, lock them down." "Copy Tai-sa." Dozens of hisses were heard across the battlefield as twenty-eight novas were doused with MCS. Their fields flickered and faded, as many were left naked, human and vulnerable on the smoldering battlefield. "Still think you've won woman? How typical. Timeslip immediately stopped shimmering and blurred her rage easily seen. She came at him, warping time around them both, but to no avail, The Tiger nova was simply proving impervious to temporal based effects. "I can harden my temporal pattern to a point where even your vaunted powers cannot affect me. Face it girl you're just outclassed. With your main trick out of play, you're just one more weakling who wasn't strong enough."

Rage contorted Timeslip's face. Fires burned within and then everything around simply turned to dust. Novas, humans, nothing was safe, except for Long. "You Self-Righteous bastard! I'll kill you for this I swear it!"

"All units withraw, operation has become untenable. All Nippontai are to evac now. Control release authorization has been granted." With that the Nippon novas and battlesuits leaving the remaining Terats turned to their leader. Long looked over his shoulder and smiled. his tail flicked once, and then every MCS'd nova there seemed to shudder and then fall over, their heads severed. Timeslip only raged more hurling attack after attack at him to no avail. Then the other terats came into play. Several were still armed and soon Long found himself dodging grenades of the worst kind, those filled with MCS. He turned and unleashed a blast of energy that vaporized three novas but not before they managed to lob their grenades. Timeslip was behind him holding him there. "It's going to get you too y'know, we'll both get sprayed and killed."

"I don't care, so long as you die from it too you arrogant bastard. Light began to shine around them both even as all three grenades detonated above their heads. They were both bathed inMCS, and each began to feel their powers fade immediately. There was a brilliant flash of harsh light, and then nothing. The two champions were simply gone without a trace.

[Long]

hree thousand miles away, Ryu Hideyoshi awoke, and began to curse. He was in his Baseline form. Long raven black hair fell to the small of his back and the scars of hundreds of battles covered his body. His battle armor was next to him, smoking and hissing. The smell of burnt circuitry permeated the air, even as it mingled with those of the Island. glad he'd opted for a hino-polymer undersuit he rose and began taking stock of the situation. Not ten meters off was another body, very female, and veryclose to nude. He lightly kicked the emergency pack on the battlesuit, which popped open dumping out it's contents. A small med-kit, a flare gun, a worldwide gps/radio and pistol. The flares for the flare gun had all been ruined and the GPS unit was cracked and had a piece of shrapnel lodged in it. He picked up the pistol and medkit and then turned back to where Timeslip was laying. "Stupid woman, now we're stuck with no way off this rock. That much MCS, we could be here a long damn time." He began working to free the sword from which his armor drew it's name, but all the locking mechanisms were still in place. He stayed with it for about an hour, finally manually releasing the locks. There was a faint sound of sand shifting and he turned, the pistol drawn directly at Timeslip's chest. She looked at him in both rage and shock, even as humans, they were both quite attractive. "You don't want to do that, unless you know how to fix the electronics in this machine."

"We're alive?"

"Of course we are, though you are moreso by luck than any of your own doings. When I saw the grenades coming I was already starting to dematerialize. you grabbed me and got caught in the quantum surge even as we both got hit with about ten ounces of MCS each. I couldn't control the location shift anymore so we just vanished. The uncontrolled shift fried all the circuits in my armor and all the electronics. I have the Gun and the sword right now, so I suggest you behave."

"Ten ounces of MCS? the effects are rumored permanent at eight." Timeslip was affraid. Being a nova was all she had, and now it was gone, quite possibly forever. "Just kill me now. I can't live as a baseline."

Ryu looked up at her even as he chambered a round, then he pulled the gun back. "You're of more use alive than dead." He rose up and ejected the round from the gun and reholstered it. The sword he clipped onto the connector at his right hip. "We're going to be here for some time, and you're going to help me."

"What makes you think that? I refuse to help you at all." She was defiant, but it was evident that she knew she held none of the cards.

"Well those clouds on the Horizon are a nasty storm. They are heading this way. Unless you plan to suffer through the storm in what you have on you'll help me build some sort of lean-to to keep us protected from some of the weather." He drew the sword and started walking off the beacch and into the jungle at its edge.

Timeslip was beside herself. The man she'd been trying to kill, been willing to die along with him so long as he died was here trying to keep them both alive. It didn't compute with her, and in a way she realized it didn't really compute with him either. In the end curiosity won out. She'd see just what he'd do, and wait for a moment to turn to her plight around.

IIt took roughly three hours but Long had managed to cut down enough trees to create a small lean-to for them. Timeslip had spent the time tying the large palm leaves together with the vines that were so abundant around them. Together they heaved the roof onto the top of the hut. Drops of rain were just beginning to fall as they tied it down and then they both made their way inside.

The storm raged for several hours, but the little hut stood under the assault. Neither had disappointed the other in their abilities this time. Long looked over at Timeslip who had begun to shiver slightly, despite her best efforts. He shucked off the Jacket portion of his suit put it on the end of his sword and held it out to her. "Take it. If you get sick you will be a burden." his voice lowered as he finished. "Besides your lack of clothing is distracting."

Timeslip thought about it for a moment thent ook the offered Jacket and wrapped herself in it. Even in his human form, Long was still much larger than her, and had nearly a foot on her in height. His jacket was almost a blanket. to her. Meanwhile she noticed that he still wore a sleaveless tanktop shirt beneath the jacket. "You certainly war alot of clothing."

He snorted and looked down. "You never know when this can happen with the armor. It's best to be prepared."

[Long]

They went on a week like that. sending their nights watching each other until they fell asleep, and during the day they busied themselves with other needs for survival. He entrusted her to keep the roof of their little hut strong to weather the showers that cropped up, while he had managed to construct a large rain basin out of a few trees. The squalls provided them with drinkable water, but there were frew sources of meat for sustenance. only by luck were there a few edible fruits and berries growing on this Island, judging by those alone he figured they were somewhere in the Pacific, in the Tropics of Cancer. As needed he shored up the small lean-to with stronger timber.

He killed a rabit the eigth day there, and fought Timeslip away from eating it. "Why did you kill it if we aren't going to eat it?"

"I need bait if I'm going to catch us something larger." In the nearby lagoon he'd seen plentiful fish, but also sharks. "Those sharks won't bite an unbaited hook. This little critter will do nicely."

Timeslip looked on in disbelief as he cut the rabit into pieces and then used his sword's grappling feature and hook as a crude fishing rod. She left him to his fool's dream of actually catching a shark and went back to gather wood for th e night's fire and scout out a bit more of the island. It took 3 hours for him to convince the sharks to bite, and then over an hour to bring it in once the shark had taken the bait. He had to be careful not to burn out the small servomotor in the sword. Finally he managed to get the shark drub up into the shallows. Mind ful of both the grappling line and The Lemon Shark's mouth or serrated teeth he stood still as he the shark tried to swim back out. He let out a few meters of cable, just so the sword wouldn't be yanked from his hands at the last moment and then brought the blade high over his head and then down in one swift motion just be fore the shark's vertical gill slits. The shark thrashed about under the blow, even a its head was severed from its body. He looed the cable around the shark's tail and drug it back home, the head he speared with his sword and carried back as well. Back at the campsite He collapsed about ten meters from the firepit. "I told you I'd bring us home something a bit larger than one paltry rabbit.

The shark wasn't a large one, only about one hundred pounds, but if cured properly it would feed them for some time. They'd already spent a week as baselines, and she had started wondering if she'd ever be a nova again. She tried not to think about it, and when that failed to banish the despair, she tried to take solace in that she had deprived Nippontai of its most powerful member and leader. Yet here he was, surviving on a remote Island, seemingly unfazed by the loss of his considerable power. She kept a roof above them, and tended the firs, but he brought home the food, he kept them alive. It only drove her further into despair. She could take the sword from him now, and strike him down, but that wouldn't solve the issue. If her allies found her, she'd need something to justify the loss of so many novas, and the dead corpse of someone she claimed was Ryu Hideyoshi wouldn't cut it.

He released the sword to her, giving her the opportunity she'd hoped for. She had a weapon, and he was exhausted it was perfect. Yet she didn't strike instead she removed the sword from the shark's head and began using it to skin and cut strips from the main body. Long eventually got up and began preparing some of the strips to be cooked on the fire. The rest they basted with seawater and hung up to allow the sun to dry and cure them. Long stripped his wet clothing and placed it on a nearby rock to allow the sun to dry them out. He lounged about in his boxers and the belt that also had his pistol hanging from it. For the remainder of the afternoon he rested and watched as Timeslip prepared the rest of the shark. She had started relatively pale-skinned, but a week in the sun had considerably darkened her skin. He knew she was sunburned, so he didn't ask her to do much outside. He didn't suffer as badly, but he did try to stay at least partly in the shade. He knew it was possible he'd never be a nova again, That He could have lost everything, as such he would have to learn to server in another capacity, or if it was demanded of him by his Lord, he would obey the dictates of honor and offer up his sword and life for his failure to safeguard a valueable resource. The thought of an honorable death was comforting, but first he knew he had to get back to Japan. As he laid there he tried to figure out a way to get back home It wasn't lost on him how surreal this all was.

Two mortal enemies stranded on an island, away from all their allies, all their obliations, all their worries. They were in a tropical paradise with each othe, a man and a woman, each alone on the island. It reminded him of an old anime with the same premise. He chuckled to himself as the sun began to fade beyond the horizon and muttered under his breath. "Won't happen here, just too different." He looked at Timeslip as she sat across from him. He casually looked at her, noticing how even though not a very large woman her body was well toned and had all the right curves a strong nova female should. Her eyes met his, and she nodded. Evidently she had been observing him too.

Then again, would it be so bad if it did?