Chapter 5: Aftermath

Prelude to War Part 1: Legion; Online

A.N.: Hey, it's me. Yes, I know it's been a very…very long time since my last update. With issues in college and other things pertaining to life, I simply haven't had time to write. I even forgot for some time about this little fic of mine, mostly. Thankfully, my Brother is one of my readers, and was able to remind me that I made this story.

Well, I'll try to make it up to you guys as best I can, and I will try my damn best to not forget this story or any others again, promise. That said, things are really going to heat up soon. In the near chapters, we're going to get to see a bit of the namesake of Planetary Annihilation, I won't say what, but you'll see.

Mods: Metal Heck, Legion.

Still in shock over her actions, Louise had barely noticed the beeping sound in her ear. Reaching up to the device that Delta had given her, she hit a button, causing a holographic screen to appear in front of her, revealing the face of Henrietta, and she looked concerned. "Louise, what happened? I can see a huge cloud of smoke from here in the capital, and I heard an explosion not too long ago." She said, Louise looked down, her mind and body were still wracked with guilt over her decision. "Princess…I…I'm so, so sorry." She responded, finally.

"Louise, please, tell me what happened." At her friend's words, she sucked it up and began her explanation, about Delta's early arrival, his talk with Prince Wales, her arrival to Albion the morning after. "Ok, I don't see what it was that went wrong, but what do you mean? Delta's talk with Wales?" She asked, Louise then pulled out the odd device Delta had given her. "This…this is what I mean, Princess. This little device, it armed a beacon that Delta placed within the castle. It's…a remote, as he said." She took a deep breath, and continued. "This remote, armed a beacon for something he said was an SSX-1034 Laser Satellite. I didn't know what it was but, I had a dream…one that showed it firing, only, that dream came true."

Wondering what she meant, Henrietta used the device to search through the databanks. And what she found, it horrified her. "Oh Founder, Louise…what have you done. What has Delta done?" She quietly asked. "This…it's terrible. If word gets out, and I have no doubt that it will, the whole world will be against us." She turned her eyes back to the projection allowing her to speak with her friend. "You…you need to send your fam—Delta, away. If the same technology that caused the damage to Albion is found here, it will mean a war greater than anything this world has ever seen." She said, Louise closed her eyes, thinking. After about a minute, she nodded.

"I'll tell him, and once more, I'm sorry, Princess. I should've heeded what I saw in my dream. I should've known it was going to actually happen, but I didn't." At this, Henrietta sadly nodded, then cut off the transmission. When the projection faded, Louise was met by the confused looks of the others. "The headsets Delta gave us, I…well, it's too complicated to explain, I'll let him or Kayas do it." They shrugged at this, deciding it would likely be better to just let Delta explain. This is when they felt the craft slowing, the back of the pod began to open, showing that they were back at the academy now.

"Well, we're back. I guess we just…try to go back to our normal lives." Guiche said, trying to lighten things up a little, though he failed when they spotted something, odd. A Robot, equal in size to Delta was standing by the academy, this one had a single, cyclopoid eye on the upper part of its chest, and appeared to be much more heavily armored than Delta. Its optic focused on Louise, then it began a slow walk forward.

"Contractor, time of mission; 30:23. Mission registers as both a success and a failure." The machine stated, unlike Delta's voice, this one was much deeper, monotonous. Louise stared up into the Machine's eye, and spoke. "So, who are you supposed to be?" She asked it. "Unit Designation, Cyclops. New commander, new army. We, are, Legion." It responded. Turning to point one of its giant arms at a set of new, oddly designed structures, producing new units that the database had no name for.

This is when Delta's Avatar flickered into existence next to his contractor. "Louise, I trust that Cyclops hasn't caused any issues during my time away." He said, bringing her attention to him, at her glare, he raised an eyebrow. "You…you had me kill so many people, and some of them, even if they were commoners, were innocent citizens." She said, it was clear from her tone of voice, that she was very upset with him. "I conversed with Wales, and he agreed that it was the only option." He leaned in close to her, meeting her glare with his own. "There are many more weapons in my arsenal far more terrifying than a Sizzix. When you get the time, look up an LR-96. And once you see it, be glad that wasn't my choice." He said, then his expression changed.

"I overheard your conversation with the Princess, and I agree. It would be best for me to not be planet-side. That said, I have vacated all my units to the surface of the moon and beyond. If things get out of hand, simply send word, and we will return." He said, his avatar flickering out of existence. This is when Louise noticed that Delta's chassis was nowhere in sight. "Contractor, if you must know. Father used my body as a proxy for his avatar." Cyclops stated in his monotone voice. The giant then turned and began to stomp off towards the teleporter, but not before using his build arm to reclaim the factories he had built earlier.

The moment Cyclops stepped through the portal, explosions began to move across its frame, and the massive structure began to collapse, turning from a large building into a giant pile of scrap metal. The only thing Louise could see that was still on the planet, was the folded form of the Atlas Titan, covered in organic materials to make it seem like a structure that has been long neglected.

But now what would she do, now that her Familiar was unable to stay…planet-side, as he put it. "Miss Valliere." She heard the voice of Professor Colbert from her left, he had come out of the academy in a hurry. "I heard a noise out here, is everything alright." She responded by sadly shaking her head. "No, something terrible has happened, and my Familiar has had to leave. They're no longer on this planet. The only remnant of his forces are either the Orbital Defenses surrounding Tristain, or the folded form of the Atlas in the forest." She looked up to the moon, able to see something in orbit being built, even from far away, the object was clearly visible. It was…ginormous, bigger than the Atlas and Helios combined, and that really scared her.

"Whatever happened, I'm sure it will all blow over soon, and we'll be fine." The Professor said, "Now, you four should head to your classes, you already missed your first ones today, and the second classes are almost half-way through." At this, they all nodded and began their walk to class, but nothing would ever change what they saw on their mission.

Louise had summoned easily the most dangerous familiar in history, even more-so than Brimir's legendary familiars. The sheer fact that one shot from a Sizzix could blow a hole through an island, it was terrifying. And now, they had to worry about the constant feeling that war could break out over a single show of force. They were the first four to know, the world wasn't ready for something like Delta, or the newly built Cyclops. All they could do was hope, hope that war wouldn't break out.

End

So how was it? You guys know what to do. And if anyone's wondering why I still call the Familiar Delta, it's because, apart from a different design for the arms, and the shoulders being open, Invictus and Delta are basically the same chassis. So, they're pretty much fraternal twins, giant…robot…twins, but still.