Prototype Zero

After hearing the secret behind Project Genesis’s design of biomechanical synchronization, a dead silence fell over the chatting session. Everyone’s faces came to a frozen state as they heard the news. Only the sound of Shun’s and Takashia’s voices broke the silence like a ball through glass.

Shun & Takashia: “We have to stop him!”

Kohana: “But how are we supposed to do that?”

Iteza: “I don’t know but where to start from?”

Daijiro: “Why don’t we find Tatsuya first?”

Daitaro: “We can get more details from him. “

Zero: “But we need to find any leads on him first.” I haven’t heard anything about him at all. I didn’t even know there was another designer that helped program Genesis in the first place until just now.”

Misery: “So now we have to see if we can use the security surveillance to see if we can find out what happened to Tatsuya on the day of the explosion. We know that Genesis caused the explosion but what happened to Tatsuya after that.”

Raijin: “So we can’t just go back to the Factory District and dig back into the old lab and find out what happened from the remains?”

Kohana: “Most likely no. We were lucky to find these remains buried here in the first place. Akihiko probably stored this stuff there so he can come back and dig it up when he has the chance. But now that we’ve found this box, we need to be careful of our steps for now. The contents of this box could’ve been watched over just in case someone else besides Akihiko found it.”

Iteza’s face becomes frozen as he remembers the sensation that he had earlier.

Iteza: “You may be right. I had a feeling that something was watching us the whole time. I couldn’t find out what it was but it was like something was studying us from above. Like they had a vantage point and could see everything. It felt weird but I couldn’t pinpoint anything. We should watch ourselves more carefully from now on.”

Shun: “I agree. We should travel in pairs from now on. At least two groups of machina and operator. We need to have each other’s backs from now on.”

Daijiro: “So our first mission is intelligence.”

Daitaro: “Then finding Tatsuya.”

Kaida: “Next we find Akihiko and stop whatever he’s planning before things get really bad.”

Shun: ‘I’ll get the information to Aione as soon as possible. She needs to hear this as well. Well Zero and I are gonna head to bed. We all need as much rest as possible right now. G’night guys.”

Everyone else says their goodnights and goodbyes as Shun clicks his mouse and ends the online conversation. Shun lets out a huge yawn and looks at the clock which is reading 4:27a.m. Zero detaches his sword from his hip and leans it against the closet door in Shun’s room. He walks over to his bed and lies down. Shun lies down and stares at the ceiling. He raises his hand and looks at the watch on his wrist. He lets out a deep sigh as he starts thinking about the recent events.

Shun: (Everything started because I met Aione. It simply started out as me trying to save her from some creeps attempting to attack her. Then I was swept up and almost crushed by a fall and saved by Zero. Then this watch gave me the power to stop harm from coming to my friends and those that I care about.) Shun clenches his fist in midair. (I must use this to save everyone. I have to do whatever it takes to keep all of us safe. This is a battle that we cannot lose.)

Shun sits up and looks over at Zero while he’s lying down and resting.

Shun: (whispering) “We can do this Zero. I believe in us.”

Shun lies back down and turns over as he goes to sleep.

Meanwhile, Aione is sitting on the rooftop to her house, staring at the moon with Mirage as she ponders about things herself.

Aione: (Everything is moving so fast. First I was a no body, but now I’ve made all these great friends in such a short amount of time. I feel like I’ve found a place I can actually call home.)

Aione closes her eyes and a voice screams through her head.

Man: “AAAAAHHHHHH it’s her! She’s come to destroy us!!!!!”

Visions of flames swimming through the backgrounds and through buildings were flashing through her head. People were screaming and running through the streets as Mirage was raining beams of light throughout the sky as it came down crashing amongst the streets and causing buildings to collapse. The visions of the dangerous scene scared her out of her daydream. She opened her eyes suddenly, panting and sweating a bit.

Mirage: “You ok, Aione?”

Aione: “I can’t let my past become a problem in my present nor mess up my future. I’ve got to do what I can to keep what I’ve made here for myself. I’m sure we can do it Mirage.”

Aione sighs and buries her head into her folded arms on top of her lap. She breathes deeply and picks her head up.

Aione: “Well I know that things will get better with time. I just hope that we will be able to return to our old home soon.”

Mirage: “Me too. We should head to bed, Aione.” We don’t want to be too tired from not sleeping enough. Plus you like to sleep in on the weekends anyway.”

Aione: “Yeah you’re right. Let’s go. “

Aione and Mirage walk back into the window. Aione gets into bed as Mirage joins her in a deep sleep.

*Several hours later*

The golden sun shines into Aiones room at the perfect angle as it shines on Aione’s face. She turns over and shields her face with her sheets only to realize that it’s not working well.

Aione: (Muffled under the covers, groggy) “I’m up now.”

Aione arises from under her sheets with a large yawn and stretches up as high as her arms will reach. She slowly crawls out of bed only to find a message on her phone.

Aione: “It’s from Shun. (Reading the message) Meet me ASAP in the Shopping District. I’ll be in the area and I need to fill you on some serious information that can’t be shared over the phone.”

Aione wakes Mirage up as Aione goes to take a bath and prepares for her day. Aione puts on a white shirt with black sleeves, a pair of black shorts and black and white tennis shoes. Aione and Mirage leave the house and catch the train to the Shopping District. Aione receives a call on her phone. She answers it.

Aione: “Hey Shun. I’m here in the Shopping District. Where are you?”

Shun: (Over the phone) “I’m by the pastry shop. I had wanted to get something sweet for later. Preferably something chocolate.”

Aione can hear Zero’s voice over the phone in the background as well.

Zero: “You shouldn’t always satisfy your urges and temptations. Have some self-restraint.”

Shun: “I’ve been through a lot and I deserve something every once in a while.”

Aione: “Anyway. I’ll see you two in a few mintues. I’m around the corner from you guys by the toy shop.”

Shun couldn’t respond to Aione’s message because he was still arguing with Zero in the background.
Aione hangs up the phone and proceeds walking towards the pastry shop.

*Ten minutes later*

Aione spots Shun and Zero at the pastry shop window while Shun stares into the shop with a stiff look.

Aione: “So what is this information that is so important, Shun?”

Shun: “Well for starters, Akihiko isn’t the only professor who was working on Project Genesis.”

Aione: “Who are the other people that worked on it then?”

Shun: “Not people just one person. A guy named Professor Yuta Tatsuya.”

Aione’s face went blank and her jaw dropped.

Zero: “Is somehtin wrong, Aione?”

Mirage: “It can’t be. Why you?”

Shun: “What’s going on?”

Aione: “They told me that you were missing but I didn’t think you were involved in this.”

Shun: “Who?”

Aione: “Yuta Tatsuya. He’s my uncle.”

Shun’s eyes widened as he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

Shun: “I can’t believe this. Professor Tatsuya is your uncle.”

-End