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Big Eyes, Small Mouth (BESM): Nexus Earth - Chapter Six: Session 1: Festival of Lights


Justin OOC

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Things had gone well enough for everyone in the last month. Everyone had thrown themselves either into training, their relationships,addapting to life in Neo-Tokyo, school or a combination of all of the above.

For Kai, Life was an interesting dichotomy. One one hand he was head of the student council, just one of many students at Jindai High. On the other he was the last of an Ancient Ninja holy family, dating the heiress to the throne of an intergalactic Empire and the contracted Master to the bearer of the Witchblade, perhaps the most power demonic weapon ever.

Thinking about Lily's heritage made him smile. Honestly thinking about her at all made him smile. They'd come along nicely as a couple since the return from Ikaris, even if her little brother Hayato seemed to dislike him immensely. He waited patiently outside her apartment after knocking on the door, clad in his Amaha Kimono. SInce everyoneone else would be wearing one he could get away with it for the festival.

Elsewhere, Noha and Saito were getting ready to put in their ordered appearances, Noha by Captain Hoshino, Saito by Akina, and later Kai as head of the Student council.

Amane walked with Georgi on the fairgrounds, She'd gotten the night off to be with him, and after their ordeal the two of them had been fairly inseperable.

Eiji had been tasked with Helping Masane watch over everyone, in part as part of their jobs as teachers, and so that they too could enjoy the festival. He was supposed to go and make sure Velocity was ready before showing up though.

Suprising enough, Ibis had woken up several days before, and with special permission, she'd been allowed to go to the Festival as well. Considering she'd only really bonded with Saito and Valerie, and her being up was to be something of a suprise for Saito, Valerie had been charged with helping her get to the Festival.

In the back courtyard the massive ampitheater setup was finished and final soundchecks were being done. Everyone knew the council had arranged for a music concert, but no one knew who it would be. What's more there were actually battlearmored memebers of CRT-13 patrolling, to keep anyone from ruining the suprise. For the most part Akina supervised that, while Raisho waited on the bridge of the Archangel, ready for anything should it be required. Akina stood there, a seemingly ordinary white-haired, yellow-eyed girl of seventeen who looked like she was only thirteen or so and watched everyone get setup for the concert.. She was Clad in a formal Yukata, though not the Captainl's uniform she was entitled to wear. This was a soft blue number, with cherry blossoms emproidered on it. She made her way backstage to The private room where Mercury Fire and the band were, and smiled. Kai would flip when he figured things out. She remembered once when he'd said how much he liked this group.

She knocked politely, and even though her voice was small there was no small trace of the authority inherited from Atsushi. "Pardon the intrusion, but I'm here to make sure you all have everything you need." I was rare in the extreme that a senior Captain spoke to the hired help, but she needed this to go off perfectly and was willing to do most anything to make it happen. She waited patiently for an answer.

(OOC (Deep breath) The school's front courtyard is the size of 3 football fields side by side by side. There are at least 100 booths here covering virtually every carnival game, and every kind of food you can imagine. On both side somehow the Courtyard has large stands of trees for people who want a moment of quiet. (A mystery how they're there.) The only PC already at the Festival is Georgi. The rest of you feel free to arrive and play whatever games you wish. They aren't rigged and most can be easily won by anyone in the party.

There are Satoshi guards present, though only about 5 are visible and they're the ones guarding the back of the school suprise.

Saito's special squad of CRT-3 memebers are present in regular yukata/kimono, enjoying themselves per AKina's orders. There is no posting order, simply arrive and partake as you will. You do not have to remain with who you were initially partnered with, that's just for explanation's sake.

Once everyone is there we'll continue on. Now Go, Play, Have fun!!!)

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The Kimono was something she had to get used to. Back home she wasn't familiar with these kinds of formal dresses. It had taken about an hour for her to accept the image in the mirror which showed her face which she knew and which was yet unfamiliar. She had grown accustomed and somewhat fond of her new skin color after her change and now she looked more or less normal. A pale western european red-head with a hint of freckles around her nose which she wasn't that fond of.

Velocity made sure to stay close to Eiji who had been assigned to her - well at least that's what she understood. This new place was very different and hard to get used to for her. Almost nothing was like home and even though everyone she met was more than compassionate and supportive to her she still felt a bit lost. It would take some time for her to fit in again. Velocity sighed thinking about the time when she went to school in her 'dimension'. She hated it and dropped out as soon as she could. Being a superhero was so much cooler than going to that dreaded place but here she was just another girl again.

She looked at Eiji and then back to courtyard. Velocity had never seen anything like this before. It seemed as if everything around here was just a few sizes larger than she knew. Maybe she would meet Kai and Amane here. Familiar faces did a lot to make her feel more comfortable - especially if Kai was around.

"Do you think Kai will be here?", she asked Eiji without knowing how to properly address him.

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Eiji wore his Satoshi kimono with pride, having given a large chunk of his 25 years in either training or operations. As the sponsor of the Kendo team as well as still being an on-call substitute teacher at the school he thoght his former students would appreciate him wearing his katana today. However they might feel he was unwilling to leave it behind while on duty, and with the Primary team exposed like this.

The woman who called herself Velocity was still largely a mystery to Eiji, despite being privy to those security assessments that included her amongst there many other items. With his recent role as head of Security and Law Enforcement together with his training, meditation and magical activities he had had little time to socialise with the other members of the Primary team and the various newcomers to the system. So he was glad to take this oppurtunity to make a better assessment of her.

"Oh, yes, Kai will be here. He is the Student President of this High School, and an active member of the Kendo club here. It was quite refreshing to see the club training during the time I spent actively teaching here."

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Originally Posted By: Justin OOC
In the back courtyard the massive ampitheater setup was finished and final soundchecks were being done. Akina stood there, a seemingly ordinary white-haired, yellow-eyed girl of seventeen who looked like she was only thirteen or so and watched everyone get setup for the concert. She was Clad in a formal Yukata, though not the Captainl's uniform she was entitled to wear. This was a soft blue number, with cherry blossoms emproidered on it. She made her way backstage to The private room where Mercury Fire and the band were, and smiled.

She knocked politely, and even though her voice was small there was no small trace of the authority inherited from Atsushi. "Pardon the intrusion, but I'm here to make sure you all have everything you need." I was rare in the extreme that a senior Captain spoke to the hired help, but she needed this to go off perfectly and was willing to do most anything to make it happen. She waited patiently for an answer.

Harm looked up from his guitar at the chick in the door before looking at Merc. Mercury was already gazing at the woman, assessing her and taking mental notes. She was... off somehow. Merc fought to keep her brow from furrowing as she tried to determine what it was that made her so odd. Without looking at the rest of the band, she said, "No, I think we're good. Just come knocking at five minutes 'till stagetime, ok?"
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So much had happened over the last several days since his awakening. While most of the memories of who he was and where he came from were still shrouded behind a mysterious veil in his psyche, he was aware of his prowess as a soldier. His remarkable gifts were both a result of chemical and genetic alterations, as well as generations of selective breeding. He was the culmination of a eugenics program that went back millenia. He was the 'everysoldier', in that he had the military knowledge and experience of soldiers from the past

2000 years. He carried a sort of 'genetic memory' of all these past soldiers. Unfortunately for Georgi, his individual experiences were still hidden.

Amane seemed to relish their time together. She could not wait to get time off so they could be here together. Now, at the festival, Georgi simply held her hand. Their bond was beyond words, though they did speak frequently about Satoshi and the others. Already, Amane had amasssed a small arsenal of stuffed animals and trinkets from the Festival's game booths. To Georgi, a game was like war, and he excelled at both.

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,,
Originally Posted By: Rorx

"Oh, yes, Kai will be here. He is the Student President of this High School, and an active member of the Kendo club here. It was quite refreshing to see the club training during the time I spent actively teaching here."

"I still have to get used to this school-thing. Back home I dropped out of school - I hated it. Here everything is so different.", she sighed briefly but tried to not let herself get dragged down by another fit of homesickness.

"Everyone seems so disciplined around here. Just like in old Japan. I'm so going to stand out even if I try to fit in. Are you a native or some kind of extra-dimensional tourist? Let me guess - you're a robot and actually just 2 inches tall and somewhere inside that head which is your cockpit?", it wasn't clear if Velocity was joking or being serious. After all everything was possible around here. At least from her point of view.

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Eiji smiled at Velocity's quip, given all that had happend it was not entirely outside the realm of possibility. "Actually a little of the former two, several of my grand parents and indeed great grandparents were trapped here after travelling from another dimension called Ikaris. Several of them had been mages there, and were still able to use their magic here with some limitiations and alterations. They were taken in and given a place within Satoshi and more specifically alongside some of the members of the Kage ninja who had joined Satoshi. So although human on both sides of my family it is a mixture of Ikarian human and Kage Ninja on both sides. This led to me being trained as a ninja from a very early age, as is traditional, and since I was 18 I came into my magical heritage as well. So I'm just your typical 25 year old spell using ninja with magical enchantments who is also trained in powerarmour and modern weapons who wields a magical soulsword." He ends with a broad grin and slight bow.

"And given you have heard my biography, how did you come by your abilities?"

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Akina nods. "Very well then. She leaves the backstage and goes to make her own rounds of the fair, seeing Eiji and Velocity together, and curiously, Masane by herself. "Kai must have sent her alone tonight. that means he's coming with Lily."

She sighs. "I hope she remembers we're supposed to remain hidden here."

She walks up to Velocity and Eiji. "Vanessa, Mr. Tanaka? are you enjoying yourselves?"

Meanwhile Georgi and Amane are wracking up an impressive amount of wins against the carnival games. Amane looks to him and smiles. "Isn't it nice to just be normal sometimes?" Wearing a bright red Yukata embroidered with green dragons, she would have stood out, even if it weren't for her supermodel good looks. Normal, she definitely is not.

"I mean I love my job, but I'm glad he talked everyone into this. I've had alot of fun being here with you tonight."

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As Kai walked up to the building Lily was staying in, she herself appeared in the balcony wearing a robe and waved.

"I'll be right down!" she called. "Me and Sasami are still trying to work this 'yukata' thing out, but I think we've got it!"

"Aksan!" Sasami's squeaky voice trilled from inside, "It's a BELT!"

She blew Kai a kiss. "I'll be out in just a few!" Then she was gone, back inside.

Kai waited patiently, but his spirits were dampened when he could dimly, through the walls no less, hear Lily shout, "It's not a belt! It's a hat!" Then Sasami yelping, "Don't pull you're going to break it!"

Then ominous silence.

He was on his cellphone, dialing a custom fitting clothiers he'd found on the internet when Lily appeared in front of him. Literally appeared, out of nowhere. Her face was a mask of grim determination...the same expression he'd seen her wearing while facing down cosmic demons and CRT Captain level beings.

She grabbed his arm and said, "Hold on, I'll get us there on time!"

"Lily wait!" Kai blurted, and looked up and down the street. Fortunately no one seemed to have witnessed her teleporting down to the street in her yukata.

"Kai, we don't have..."

"We're not supposed to do anything like that around the civilians," Kai reminded her through clenched teeth. He wasn't angry so much as worried. He was well aware that there was no appreciable delay between her deciding to teleport and actually doing it. He'd seen her flick around in the heat of battle like a badly animated character in a cartoon...moving from frame to frame without ever passing through the spaces between. Sometimes several times a second.

His comment seemed to reach her though.

"Oh yeah," she said, crestfallen. Her expression was so contrite in fact that Kai felt a little bad.

"We could teleport into the woods," he suggested lamely. "That's close by."

Lily shook her head. "There could be people in the woods, sightseeing. We'll just hurry up and run!"

It was easy for him to forget her superhuman strength until he wanted to stop her, take something from her, or move her. Then he quickly got an object lesson in what wrestling with a bulldozer would be like...if a bulldozer was shaped like a petite human girl.

She grabbed Kai's arm and pulled him behind her as she ran off towards the festival.

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Kai, bowing to the inevitable allowed her to pull him along. This was their first real date after all. He smiled, at least this time around he knew she really cared for him, as much as he did her. Their arrival to the festival was amidst another large group of students, many wondering not so quietly how Lily had managed to land Kai. Rumors abound, many of which that were far from flattering.

Knowing what Lily could do if she were angry, he gave her a squeeze on her arm as they walked, the two of them definitely looking the part of a young couple. "Don't pay them attention. I'd say most of them are just jealous and projecting how they'd try to gain my favor."

He saw Velocity and Eiji quickly enough and pointed them out to Lily. "There's Eiji, I think Akina giving him the security head position has been good for him. The young girl with him is Vanessa, or Velocity as she prefers. She's the one I told you about from that world of heroes."

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Originally Posted By: Rorx
"So I'm just your typical 25 year old spell using ninja with magical enchantments who is also trained in powerarmour and modern weapons who wields a magical soulsword." He ends with a broad grin and slight bow.

"And given you have heard my biography, how did you come by your abilities?"


Velocity didn't know if she had to laugh or cry. She decided for the former but tried to keep it down. "I shouldn't have asked.", she managed to say in between giggling and laughing.

"This place is so weird. I used to think that my home was pretty much "out there".", she gestured wildy with her hands.

"But 'your' world here is - I honestly don't know how to describe it.", the young teenager was slowly calming down from her laugh-attack. Looking at Eiji she smiled and ansered his question.

"My powers manifested about 6 months ago - most 'supers' are born with their powers or manifest around puberty. The scientists at home said I was born with my abilities but they were dormant until I hit a critical point in my life.", she looked into the distance as she recalled how she manifested. It wasn't a pleasant memory but her life changed completely after that day. From her perspective that was an improvement, even if she changed a lot physically.

She shrugged at Eiji reluctant to tell him more and fortunately Akina appeared just in that moment.

Originally Posted By: Justin OOC

She walks up to Velocity and Eiji. "Vanessa, Mr. Tanaka? are you enjoying yourselves?"


"I'm doing fine, thank you. I'm still trying to learn how to fit in but I feel like an Elephant in a room full of mice if you catch my meaning?"

Her eyes widened and she visibly perked up when she saw Kai arriving in tow with a beautiful young woman. Her heart skipped a beat and at the same time she felt a brief pang of pain - was it jealousy? She knew he had a girlfriend but that didn't keep her own feelings in check. Instead of waving at him which was her intial intention she suddenly got very quiet and self-conscious.
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Valerie was kinda bored as it stood, right now she was standing inside the hospital Ibis was in, she had taken a long time to recover from their Ikaris adventure, even with the flowers they had worked so hard in getting her recovery had been hard and she was finally on recovery therapy, so good was her progress that she had been granted permission to leave the hospital for the night and go to the festival being held on the school.

But tonight Val was going to make sure that Ibis did not forget she had friends and didn't need to do anything by herself if she didn't want to, Valerie was going to help her remember why life was fun and that it always had its up and downs.

Yes, Val was sure tonight would be a great night, for everybody included on this festival!

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Akina smiles. "I feel much the same way at times. I have for a number of years." She follows her gaze towards the happy couple and chuckles. "Ah the Prince and Princess have arrived. I swear we have to teach them both punctuality. Though I suspect he was ready, and she was not."

"Go say hello, he won't mind. After all this festival is a time for friends to meet up and enjoy themselves. Besides it's not in his nature to turn away a friend."

Akina's smile was pure mischief incarnate. Kai was unaware thus far, having his atteniton mostly devoted to Lily. They looked like an almost fairytale couple. All around them seemingly unable to hear the conversation or not caring about it, the students and citizens of Neo Tokyo milled about enjoying the festivals boooths.

Akina looks to them both. "If not, then go enjoy the festival. Georgi, Amane, and Masane are here, along with alot of CRT-4. The mechanics and caretakers deserve a little break and those that didn't hit the bars or diners came here. So it isn't like we're among just civilians here." At that point a group of female students came up and pulled Akina away with talk of how she just had to see a particular booth.

Velocity was left with a decision to make, when she happened to see Amane standing there with a red-headed man she knew to be coach Georgi from the school.

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"Me too." Georgi gave Amane's hand a little squeeze to emphasise his empathy. This was like a dream, and he found himself wondering if he was still trapped in his mind, and if everything that had happened since was part of it. He found himself gazing into her face. "I wish this night would never end."

Georgi reached out and grabbed her other hand. "I know tomorrow, you and I will go back to being soldiers, because that is who we are. Before that happens, I want to let you know I have fallen deeply in love with you. And if I could, I would give it all up so that I could spend more time with you."

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Amane looks to Georgi and smiles. "You're so blunt. It's refreshing you know." She leans over and kisses him. "I'll never ask you to give up what you live to do Georgi. I just want you to be yourself." She looks up and notices the others.

"Well the students have arrived at last, including the Prince and Princess. we've almost got everyone."

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"Amane! Georgi! Akina!"

Lily beamed and rushed forward. The apparent negligent ease that she towed Kai, on her arm, with was the only hint that she was other than she appeared. With her normally wild hair carefully done up, she looked more formal than usual, and the yukata suited that look perfectly.

After a bow to each of her friends, Lily faced 'Velocity' and smiled her dazzling smile. By her skin and face she wasn't Japanese, but she spoke the language like a native.

"You must be Vanessa. Kai's told me about you. I'm sorry to hear about your circumstances, but it's still good to meet you. We'll all do everything we can to make you feel welcome." She gave her a friendly bow as well.

"I'm Lily."

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"I..I don't have anything to hide from you, Amane. I kept my feelings to myself for too long and they almost got both of us killed." Georgi was looking in her eyes. "I don't wan't that to happen again."

Quote:
"Amane! Georgi! Akina!"

"It is good to see you again princess. I hope all is well."

Georgi bowed to Vanessa. She must be the new student.

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Valerie awaited for Ibis outside the hospital, she was overjoyed to see the older woman walking by herself outside of the hospital, she was dressed in a rather sober gray yukata with a navy blue sash, very fitting for the collected Ibis. Valerie looked at herself, with a light blue yukata covered in pink cherry blossoms, she had instantly fallen in love with the yukata design when looking for one, she could vaguely remember a dream about a haze of petals all over the place, with it being the only color around her, but right now it was not the moment to dwell on it.

Valerie rushed Ibis as soon as she was close enough, and as a first instinct gave her a great hug and lift her from her feet, the tiny girl being able to emulate the strength of a cargo mech without much trouble. After twirling the girl around Valerie cleared some of the tears from her eyes. "I was so worried about you Ibis!" Valerie clinged to the girl, involuntarily crying on her shoulder.

Toki toki - toki Toki toki - toki Toki

Valerie could hear the sound of Ibis heart beating, it was irregular as she stood right there without being agitated, Valerie dismissed it for the time being as excitement. "Have you finally recovered? Will you be able to get out of the hospital more often?" Valerie as all smiles as she had missed the girl tremendously, "Well? Tell me!"

Ibis smiled something akin to a motherly smile. "Yes Valerie, my recovery is progressing correctly. "I'm being helped on my therapy by a Dr.Isane, she is very skillful, I will be back on my own in no time, but tell me about you? How have things been going?" Ibis intently listened to Valerie as both of them walked towards the festival.

Toki toki - toki Toki toki - toki Toki

Valerie tried her best at ignoring the sound of her friends heartbeat, but no matter how badly she wanted to turn it into white noise, it kept coming through to her ears, an irregular beating, not the kind of irregular you get from being overexerted or overtaxed, a very rare form of irregular beating. Valerie stepped in front of Ibis, both of them were walking down a fairly well illuminated street, the lights of the Festival could be seen not very far off, and nobody but a military patrol on the far end of the street, for all intents they were alone.

"Ibis, you are not being honest are you?"

Toki toki Toki - Toki - Toki Toki TOKI TOKI

"What do you mean Valerie? Of course I'm being honest." Ibis face was as unreadable as ever, but for a second, if even that, her hands shook. "I'm fine Valerie."

"No you are not Ibis, I can TELL you are not fine, why don't you accept it? Is it that you don't trust me?" Valerie had a concerned face as she waited for Ibis answer, but the answer was something she was not ready for when it came, and the only thing she could do was console the older woman, for truly a whole era of her life had come to an end.

Valerie hugged Ibis, tighter than ever before, as she let tears of pain roll down her cheeks, she tried her best to help Ibis unload, because earlier that same day, she had been told that she would never be able to pilot a combat mech again, no matter what.rom her eyes

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Lily winces at Georgi's formal address and looks around.

With a big, perhaps overly-wide grin she playfully punches at Georgi's shoulder and says, "Hah, there you go with the nicknames again. Please just call me Lily or you'll embarrass me in front of my date."

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Eventually Ibis and Valerie made it to the Festival. Saito and Noha finally showed up each looking uncomfortable, but unable to beg off on orders from their superiors. Luckily for Noha, Klan and Mai had elected to come, and Saito was reunited with Kaname Chidori, his former caretaker. Everyone went their own separate ways, enjoying the festival.

After an hour or so the entire group gathered and began enjoying the Festival as one big group. Akina slipped off to go and tell Mercury to get ready and told the guards they were to allow people back to watch the show now.

The new Principal got up on the dias and called for attention. "Everyone please make your way back to the Ampitheater. In honor of the bravery shown by the students of Tokyo Jindai High, and indeed everyone who has worked so hard to rebuild our nation's capital, Satoshi Heavy Industries proudly brings to you tonight a special treat."

The stage was totally dark, and people crowded to within twenty feet of it but no one could see anything. Kai and the others had a nice spot centerstage and once most of the people were there, the show began.

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Mercury licked her lips one last time, adjusting the strap on the guitar in the darkness. She could hear the students, waiting and watching, and she felt her usual pre-performance jitters. She'd be fine once they started.

"We're a go," the earbud squwaked with her technician's voice, and Merc hit the first notes on her guitar. The familiar chords of Depths rang through the area, and Merc heard the gasps of shock from the crowd as they identified the song. The next moment, they were screaming and the red light was on, illuminating her in the center of the stage. Harm and Baldur were vague shadows behind her.

"You sink me low,

I cannot breathe

Trapped so far below

In this murk you call love

Let me go, let me go!

You could have my heart

Without all this, you know

You don't have to tear me apart!"

The crowd was going nuts as Merc continued through the song, playing her heart out. The lights came up as the song ended, bathing the stage in a rainbow of light. "Hey, Jindai High," Merc called, getting a fresh wave of screams. "How are you doing tonight?" They screamed, mostly affirmative cries that all melded into one voice. "Ready to rock?" This time, she could hear the screamed, "Yes!"

With a grin, she started the next song, basking in the adoration of the crowd. At moments like this, her homesickness was almost bearable.

Click to reveal..
Here's what Merc's music sounds like: Pandora Station
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Eiji enjoyed the byplay between the members of the Prime team as he thought of them, but kept an eye on the activities around him as he escorted Vanessa around the festival. Moving around the back to the stage area with the others he listened into the movements of the security detail on his earbud.

When Mercury was revealed his eyes were as much on the surroundings in case of any trouble as they were on the stage. It hadn't been easy keeping the identity of the act underwraps, but judging from the reaction it had been worth it. Putting a smile on his face and joining in with the celebrants around him, he reflected a little sadly that his structured upbringing with its heavy load of training had left little time for appreciating rock music, or indeed much of a social life at all for many years.

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Kai was dumbstruck. He'd mentioned to Atsushi once that Mercury was one of his favorite artists, and lamented not being able to ever see one of her concerts. That Akina would go so far... It really drove home how important the officers of Satoshi thought he was. He looked around to find her but she'd drifted well beyond arms reach. Me mouthed a silent "Thank You" and she bowed slightly. He'd find a way to settle with her after the show.

He grabbed Lily's hand and looked up at the stage. "She's as great in person as I'd always imagined. Don't you think so?"

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Though Lily had studied up on popular music as part of her prepwork for coming to Earth, she'd never really listened to it before. The original mission hadn't called for her to try to live among Earth humans, or she would have.

At first, she finds the volume and harshness of the electric guitars to be offputting and grating. That changes though when the lead singer, 'Mercury' starts to sing. The crystal clarity of her voice is electrifying, and it seems to merge with the discords of the instruments, providing them with the essential counterpoint they lacked before to transform them into soaring wails and shivering bass.

At the end of the first song, Lily looks at Kai, a bit dazed. "She's amazing," she admits, then bursts into a grin. "Her voice is incredible."

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Eiji grins across at his Captain, it seems her plan has had the desired effect. However, all this noise and action would be the perfect distraction if something were to happen tonight, so he steps back slightly and checks in with a number of secuity posts throughout the Festival and city.

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IT definitely wasn't his music. He was 'old school' preferrring classics like 'The 1812 Overture' and bands like 'The Who'. While he did like a racous tune at times, and the singer's voice was beautify, the message went right over his head. It's that generations gap thing, he reminded himself. He shrugged his shoulders and gave Amane a kiss on her forehead.

"The kids seem to be having a great time." He shouted, his voice almost drowned out by the music

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Velocity's voice died in her throat when she tried to answer to Lily. Her eyes remained locked on Kai. The similarities to Abel gave her shivers - he almost felt like Abel but he wasn't him.

She barely noticed the other 'guests' arriving and most likely breached etiquette by ignoring their polite introductions. Fortunately it didn't take too long for anyone to really take notice of the awkwardness that would have surely followed because suddenly the crowd went wild.

Mercs music brought her out of her reverie and it completely took the better of her. Finally something she was familiar with from back home. Velocity totally forgot about Eiji and Kai and jumped right into the fray enjoying the music. Soon she found herself yelling for encore.

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As Velocity disappeared into the crowd Eiji gave Kai and Lily a shrug and slight bow of the head before ghosting lightly through the crowd until he is a few steps behind her. She needed to have some space, but it was his duty to make sure she was ok, both as a Satoshi officer and as her escort for the evening.

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Several songs later, Merc was deep into the performance high, her body and soul responding to the cries and vibes of the audience. They finished the haunting melodies of Labyrinth, and Merc let her hands fall away from her guitar. She stepped back and got a drink of water, then quickly used a towel to catch the worst of the sweat raised by the hot lights. Harm and Balder covered her by playing short riffs, playing with the audience, teasing them a bit aurally.

Grinning, she took her center stage point again and said, "You're a great audience. Thanks so much!" They screamed back, and Mercury let them get it out. "I've been told tonight that this concert is in honor of all of you, so let's have a cheer for you guys! Jindai High!" She let them scream again, enjoying that she could work them into this state.

"I have a few people I was told to mention. But I'm not the kind of girl to just fling out names, so can we bring up the house lights for a second? I'd like to have the people wave at me when I call their names, and I'd like to be able to see them," she said, putting her hands over her eyes to block the glare of the spotlight. "Alright, yeah, that's better. So I need people to be a little quieter and settle down, so I can spot people."

She waited a moment then stepped to the front of the stage and said, "Georgi. Where is Georgi?" When he waved - or was pointed by students - she waved back. "And Eiji... oh, there you are! Hey. Valerie? Yeah, hi to you too! Lily? Right down front there... Vanessa, Vanessa? Oh, excitable little thing, aren't you? And Kai? With Lily! How convenient! You two dating?" She had to laugh at their blushes and the knowing looks from the rest of the student body. "Don't worry," she stage-whispered to them, "it's our secret."

Retaking her place, she moved her guitar back into the playing position. The lights slowly returned to normal as she said, "Georgi, Eiji, Valerie, Lily, Vanessa and Kai... this is for you guys.

"This world is full of horror,

Children die, lovers cheat,

Souls dragged down and made poorer,

People treated like so much meat.

"But sometimes, we see hope.

It comes in the form of an open hand,

Or a clenched fist, or a thrown rope.

Sometimes, it's just about making a stand."

The tempo picked up as the music smashed into the chorus, and Merc's voice filled with the corresponding volume and fervor.

"You resist the night,

You draw down light,

You finish the fight,

You are our might!"

She grinned at the delighted looks from those of the named she could see, enjoying their delight in having her serenade them - and their realization that this was a new song. It'd been written just for them, and she was delighted in their enjoyment of it.

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Originally Posted By: Mercury Fire
Right down front there... Vanessa, Vanessa? Oh, excitable little thing, aren't you?


Awesome! Velocity was totally into the music and into Mercury. The entrancing lead singer was just too cool. Velocity tried to get even closer to the stage shoving students to the side and jumping up like a crazy rabbit.

"Whhooohooooo!", she yelled and raised her arms. The excitement of the crowd and the music had her totally enthralled. If she could only get backstage and meet Mercury personally...
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Georgi stood from his seat and applauded the song. He had no idea that the band was doing a tribute for him and the others, who had fought so hard for them and others. For so long, he had worked in the shadows, fighting for nations who saw him as a weapon, to be thrown, expendable, at any enemy, perceived or actual. The song was a thank you of sorts, and he applauded them for it.

When he sat down, he saw a wry smile on Amane's face. Did she have anything to do with this?

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For the whole song, Lily stood where she was with her hands over her mouth and her eyes wide and shining with unshed tears. As it ended she reached over and took Kai's hand and squeezed it painfully tightly.

She'd never asked for, nor expected, recognition from the people of Earth. She'd known from the start that the authorities of Earth kept the truths of interstellar life secret from their people, and though she didn't know why exactly, she respected that.

So to suddenly receive what she'd never expected, after all she'd given up and gone through to get here...it pierced her in ways no energy blast or hypersonic bullet ever could.

"Was this your idea?" Lily asked Kai softly, never looking away from the stage.

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Kai, still enthralled by the song looks to Lily and shakes his head. "I wish it was, but this is all Akina's doing." He used the fact lily was already holding his hand tightly to pull her close and wrap his arms around her as Mercury contined to sing.

Amane looked to Georgi. "I helped escort her here, but as to her songs, no I believe that's all her, or perhaps Akina's doing."

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Valerie held onto Ibis´s hand during the way to the festival, once there she kept an upbeat and peppy attitude to avoid any suspicions. She dragged Ibis all over the place, going through every single food stand and fun games stand, winning prizes all over the place, she met Vanessa for the first time, she had heard of her but between her isolating herself and being pretty much daily on the hospital with Ibis, she had never actually met her.

She politely introduced herself and goaded Ibis into doing the same, and followed suit with everyone into the concert hall. She found some places on the seating area and waived at Kai, but before he could turn Lily held onto him and directed him closer to the front of the hall, and of course he followed along. Valerie felt a pang of jealous run through her, but she quieted it down, it was neither the time nor the place, tonight was not about her.

Going back to her seats with Ibis, she could catch a view of Coach Georgie and Amane with him, they looked really happy just sitting together, Valerie relegated herself to listening to the music which she had to admit was energizing, blushing tremendously when the spot light fell on her and just letting it clear as she concert went it's merry way.

Valerie just continued to spend her night with Ibis during the concert.

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The Concert was the highlight of the night for everyone. Almost as if on cue, the Night sky lit up with streaks and explosions of colors as Fireworks seemed to brighten the sky.

The crowd Stood and cheered, except for the Satoshi officers.

The Fireworks were not scheduled for another hour.

The ground shook for a moment and the crowd stopped cheering. More streaks plowed across the sky, and showed themselves to not be fireworks by impacting in the city causing massive shockwaves.

There was an odd sound which all who had fought Circinus Mecha before instantly recognized. Coming from where one of the Meteors had impcted, a massive black shadow stalked forward. Flanking it, a quartet of others followed. Each was over ten meters tall, painted in gleaming white and red, the symbol of the Circinus Federation First Fleet emblazoned on their legs and shoulders.

The First one had a massive bulbous dome-shaped head with antenna showing. In it's left hand it held a massive twin barreled particle cannon, over it's right shoulder it had what looked like a missile rack. Under it's right arm the multiple barrels of two rotary chainguns peaked out.

Following it was an even larger mech with missile racks over autocannon barrels on it's shoulders and it's arms ended in the massive bores of heavy lasers.

http://ppc.warhawkenterprises.com/intshots/maulersky.jpg

Behind it were two others each with a laser on one arm, a missile rack on one side of it's chest and a large autocannon over the left shoulder.

http://ppc.warhawkenterprises.com/diagrams/shadowhawkblue.gif

The Final mech sported dozens of missile ports over it's heavily armored body, and the barrels of lasers were over its wrists.

http://ppc.warhawkenterprises.com/diagrams/crusader0.gif

Akina and Amane, and Ibis knew all to well what they were called, Battlemaster, Mauler, Shadow Hawk, and Crusader, a fll star of groud assault mechs, which meant the Fleet had somehow managed to sneak insystem and through the defensive net and was ow hotrdropping forces on the target to lop the head from the snake, typical First Headhunter tactics.

All the machines swung their weapons to bear on the panicked corwd of festivalgoers, when suddenly one of pair of Shadow Hawks was obscured by smoke and explosions as dozens of missiles and autocannon shells slammed into it. It exploded as the Fusion engine lost containment, knocking down the other 'hawk and blasting armor from the other three remaining machines.

The two big mechs, the Battlemaster and the Mauler recovered the quickest. The Battlemaster sent it's Cerulean streams of particles up into the air at the lone YF-25 attacking them, followed by rub lances from all six of its medium range lasers and the Tactical missile launcher on its shoulder.

The Mauler added its own emerald green lances from its heavy lasers, four shotgun-like blasts of Luballin autocannon shot, and two score of missiles into the air as well.

The shots mostly missed, but the missiles slammed home all over the nimble fighter, which seemed to explode, but then emerged from the Explosion minus all its advanced armor, right as the Crusader filled the sky with threescore missiles. These once again covered the Veritech in Flames but it merged, it's wings sheered away, mechramorphsing into its Batloid form, its heavy autocannon blazing as it ran a stream of fire up the Mauler's centerline into its boxy face. The head disitegrated and the big mech fell backwards.

Akina and Kai were screaming at everyone to get back and get out of the area. Amane was organizing the power armor squads onsite and requesting a status report.

The Veritech came in low, autocannon blazing, cutting both legs out from under the second shadowhawk. The big Battlemaster chased after it, It's Particle cannon destroying at least two buildings as it tried and finally tagged the smaller fighter. The entire right arm fell away as the neotitanium bones were devoured in the cerulean blaze, even as the Autocannon spat out its last round, straight down the barrel of the massive cannon. It exploded removing the battlemaster's arm, and then it became a close range slugging match. One the Eighty five ton Battlemaster would win thanks to it's sixty ton weight advantage.

The Veritech pilot was desperate and it showed as he Drew his mecha's combat knife and carved a slab of armor from the torso of the Battlemaster. A vicious Kick disabled the Thrusters in the Veritech's lower right leg, and the Veritech slammed the combat knife home in the Battlemaster's dome-shaped canopy.

The bigger machine toppled back decapitated, and the Crusader opened up on the hapless Veritech, its lasers blasting away the left arm and combat knife, and missies shredding armor all over. The beefy sixty-five tonner moved in for the kill and began raining blows over the shoulders and upper torso of the veritech, but it wouldn't go down. Armless, and virutally armorless, the crowd could see sparks fly as its servos protested each blow, its superstructure threatening to buckle under each hit.

"Punch out dammit!" Akina screamed at the pilot.

The speakers crackled, and Saito's voice rang out. "I cannot comply."

Kai made to say something but Akina beat him to it. "Saito dammit, I order you to Punch..."

The Crusader reared back its right fist, and drove in a vicious haymaker to the center of the veritech's chest, pistoning straight through it, tearing open a gaping hole where the cockpit and their young friend had been moments before.

"..Out.."

The Crusader turned to the crowd after shucking the lifeless corpse of the veritech and all its missile bays opened. Then no fewer than ten streams of autocannon shells lit into it. Skull squadron came in blazing, each member seeking to avenge their comrade. The Crusader toppled backards before exploding, And Akina out of Reflex more than anything elese errected a barrier to protect everyone from the debris.

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The concert just turned into some kind of sci-fi flick. Velocity's combat reflexes kicked in and she tried to break away from the fleeing crowd. What she needed was room to manoeuvre in order to put her speed to full advantage.

Her mind shuffled the options until it rolled back to one specific piece of information - Kai had no special powers except for being a key - at least that's what she understood. He was helpless without protection. The young mutant searched frantically for him, hoping to find him before the invaders did.

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As the false fireworks lit up the air Eiji got on the radio, "Control, this is Tanaka, the city is under attack, instigate a code Omega 2C. Get everyone off duty suited up and the civilians into the bunkers. Priority is to clear the festival site. Shit, we got mechs landing here. Get things moving, Tanaka out."

With the warning out, and hopefully as many civilians as possible to be saved Eiji turned to the more immediate situation. As always Kai and Lilly had to be his priority, so he quickly made his way back to where he had last seen him. By the time he got there there were few of the original crowd still around them, most people having enough sense to leave the festival site.

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Seeing Saito arrive on the scene lifted some of the tension he was feeling, but Eiji knew his fellow Lt was dreadfully outnumbered. Useless though it might be against the Mechs he activated his forcefield spell, and as he was surrounded by fragments of the elements he drew his sword Inazumi - immediately calling upon it to assume it's full battle form.

"Inazumi Hai!"

The Katana he had drawn from his hip sheathe lengthed and widened to assume the form of No-Dachi, electric sparks running up and down the blade.

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"SAITO!" Lily shrieked, horrified. Only Kai's yelp yanked her back as she realized she'd been tightening her grip on his hand way too much.

"Kai...can you tell if he got out? Did they have some kind of...teleport escape system?" she pleaded...then before he could answer she shook her head and said, "Akina will know! We have to get to Akina!"

With that she started pushing through the crowd, pulling Kai along with her.

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