12. Start of the Journey

Another year has gone by and graduation was going to be tomorrow... The last year had passed by crazy fast and I was graduating early with honors, with a big recomendation from the government, who, along with every major tech company in the world, had offered high paying jobs and permanent job security If this had been any other situation, I'm sure I would have accepted one of the offers already, but not this time… nor ever again I suppose.

I had other plans, a week from now and confirmed by Hisotire, I would take the dimensional leap to Gamindustri to learn about my origins as a CPU and discover my powers.

Sigh... it hadn't been easy the last 2 weeks... when word came out that I would be graduating on my third year of college with such high honors, I was swarmed by news station for interviews and almost seriously hurt...well not anything that I could almost instantly heal. The situation got so dangerous that they had put a permanent military patrol in my neighbourhood to stop any acts that could risk my life.

Not only now, but in the last month, after all exams had finished, it seemed like every female student had taken noticed me and, by what I could tell from the explanations of some of the few friends I had made in the last year, they would do anything to get me to be their boyfriend... Not exactly ideal having over 1000 women going after your ass.

And, by what my main proffessor told me, some incidents had already occured due to the "Seras fever", as he calls it, that had been spreading around campus and several dozen people were hospitalized due to fights and such, all of them students. I really wondered if yanderes actually were possible in our society. The situation got so bad at campus that, one day, to avoid a major "love ambush", I had Neptune secretly fly me out of campus in her goddess form, out of the eyes of the media, military and generally any person of the opposite gender who was obssesed with me.

Yet something I heard Neptune mumble with her not realizing during that one time has my mind occupied.

"Who the hell do those idiots think you are...?"She mumbled"...your mine and no one else's…"

Her expression quicklly turned dark red afterwards without reason.

"God my life's turn even more upsidedown..."I sighed as I waited in a special"security zone" designated to protect me, with armed soldiers casually talking and ocasionally asking me a qustion or two to satisfy their own curiousity.

"Hey, it's the least the government can do".Sargent Hathrow,reassures me a soldier that I had gotten to know about in the last few days" We've almost had to put the entire area around San Jose and San Francisco under martial law for the ceremony. We were pretty sure that at least 40 terror plots targeted at you were stopped within the last 3 days and that's no easy feat, your simple presence has challenged our reaction to big events."

"And once again I am grateful that it's your squad keeping an eye on me Sargent."I tell him with respect"If it hadn't been for you yesterday, I would have been in a wheelchair for life."

That last statement wasn't true really, with my CPU-human body, my lesion regeneration rate was a matter of minutes to heal a otherwise mortal wound, so I would have not been put in a wheelchair anytime soon, but I wasn't going to tell the military about my origins and the powers I knew at that moment.

'...Now we shall begin with the handing of the titles to our students. Starting with the honors class.' I was not first, but it wouldn't be long until I would walk onto stage and recieve my well-deserved diploma.

I just had to make sure I spotted Neptune and my father, who had travelled back to the US to attend my ceremony. The reunion with him was rather strange really...

-Going back to a few days earlier-

"So Neptune..."My dad had asked her, she was transformed during this time to match whatever descrpition my mother had given him" Where are you from exactly?"

"Um..."She had been caught off guard there and didn't know what to respond, most people forget to ask her by the simple reason of being mersmerized with her form's beauty and charm."Well..."

"I knew it..."He said with a smirk"So my son's the one then huh?"

"Dad"I interrupt him"What are you talking about?"

"I've know for a long time..."He begins"My father had told me and I was going to tell you in a few years anyways..."

"What is he talking about?"I thought to myself.

"That someone from the world of the gods would sometime come to our world to ask one of our bloodline to be part of a profecy."He began" You see Mike, our family has 3 bloodlines mixed in. Your mother's. Ours, which dates back to the Knights Templar and that of a being of another world."

"What do you mean dad?"I ask, half knowing the answer

"Well..."He began" My bloodline was one that controlled the Knights Templar for centuries and, after a bloody battle during the Crusades for Iberia, a mysterious man, going by the name Sir Icarus showed up, carrying the Grand Master Jose Seras, with what appeared to be a mortal wound, but somehow survived to tell the tale."

"Grand Master Jose Seras..."I remember reading about him a long time ago…"Wait wasn't that during the 1300s?! How long did they keep it secret?!"

"He was a well guarded secret for two hundred years."He told me" It because of him, we learned new methods of fighting and managed to help the rising Castillian kingdom reclaim the land of the ancestors. During that time, every Grand Master Templar was a member of the House of Seras, since he refused to talk to any other for some reason."

"Wow..."I was shocked, 'Sir Icarus' had come to our world over 700 years ago..."But what happened to him?"

"After the crusades of Iberia had ended and the struggle against the Ottoman Empire had begun"He responded"He was invited to join the House of Seras, and married the only daughter of the then last Seras Grand Master, Lucas, thus mixing our bloodlines together. When his wife passed away 30 years later, he dissapeard into the sky, as some of the family legends tell. I can only guess he went into deep space to die, not being able to live without the one he loved..."

"Dad..."I say very suprised, to be honest, I did not know that my dad was carrying a over a half a millenia family secret"..."

"Now son, I will talk to your mother"He tells me" But I will keep our family secret. I will tell her that you have decided to be isolated for personal reasons and told me that you did not know when you would return."

I nod.

"And you Neptune."He faces her" Take care of my son. He may be strong, but he still needs protecting. And I wouldn't think of a better god incarnation to do so."

"Sir..."She talks back"Call me a CPU, not a god incarnation. That's what I am and that's what Mike is. We're gods, but of a world that has only mixed very shallowly with yours. And your son is the deepest link in that connection."

"I understand."He smiles."Still, take care of my son please."

"I will" She assures him" I swear on my life."

She had again swore on her life to protect me... Neptune...

'...Mike Seras, please advance to the stage please.'I hear the head director call me over the speakers.

Well, it's show time I guess!

A few hours later, after the ceremony because im too lazy to write the whole thing…

After the ceremony, came the graduation dinner, a small gathering of my friends, teachers and my dad, of course Neptune's here aswell.

"You did a good job there champ."My father dinged my glass. "Cheers!"

"To Mike!"I see one of my proffessors raise his glass. I invited him since he pretty much kept me way ahead of the class and helped me graduate early." Because of him, now I'm a world famous teacher!"

Everyone clinged their glass and laughed. He was right but still it was a very funny statement.

"You ready for the trip?"Neptune whispered in my ear" It's this Sunday."

I nodded to her.

"I've already packed the few things I need." Tell her in a low voice" Histy said that the necessary shares have been collected."

"Well it's good to know that your sister is more reliable on work than you are"I tease her.

"Oh shut up."She jokes"Your a meanie."

She grins and puts her head on my shoulder.

"Im glad your going back with me"She says in a very mellow voice" I don't think I could have gone back by myself..."

She's right, we had gone through a lot together in the last few years and I had been there to support her... Just as she had been there for me.

Later that week, we prepared for our departure… Not before something extremely bizzarre and awesome happened.

The day before leaving…

"Hey Neptune, have you seen where my travel bag is?"I yell through the open door of my bedroom."I need it to carry my stuff for the trip!"

"I think you left it on the table in the kitchen!"I hear her respond in the distance.

I head to the kitchen and sure enough, there it was, on the table, just like she said.

"Where is she?"The question pops in my mind suddenly.

I head in the direction towards where I thought I heard her voice and end up at the balcony.

"Neptune?"I call her name out."You out here?"

I hear the sound of metal and a loud dooonnnng sound above me.

"Oh Mike!"I see Purple Heart's head peek over the ledge above me"I'm just trying to fix the antena before we leave, I did a modification Histy told me to make so we could communicate with her in the first place."

And she dissapears again.

"Modification?"I yell"What kind of modification?"

"It's a basic transmitter Histy had Nepgear make"She explains"The way she explained it is that it allows her to communicate with devices on Earth from Gamindustri….almost got it…."

The loud sound of metal crunching fills my ears before I see a flash of purple fall over the balcony onto the ground below. It takes me a second to realize what just happened.

"Neptune!"Without thinking, I jump after her, into the void.

For a couple of seconds I dive towards her and manage to catch her, then suddenly, we stop falling.

"What...just...happened..."She rubs her head, dazed by what caused her to fall."...the transmitter must have exploded or something..."

"Neptune are you alright?"I ask

"Yea I think s-"She begins to say before her face turns to pure suprise"Mike?! YOUR FLYING!"

"What are you…?"I begin to ask before I notice it myself."How am I…?"

She reaches for my face, carresing my cheek, her expression almost hypnotizing.

"Your eyes…."She mumbles"They're not normal... You've gone HDD!"

I open my eyes even further now.

"Let's head back to the apartment, we'll be spotted if we stay here any longer."She says before flying on her own and dragging me along with her."You've got to see yourself!"

A miinute later, she drags one of the full body mirrors from inside the house to the balcony.

"Before you can see yourself, promise not to freak out..."She says at first"And not be mad at me."

"Alright, just show me the mirror!"I say impatiently

She steps to the side and the mirror presents a person of my height, but with hair completely standing, the same shade as Purple Heart's hair and dark blue eyes stare right back at me with the mysterious power button shaped pupils.

"So…"She balances herself on the balls of her feet."What do you think of your HDD…?"

I'm speechless for a couple of minutes before I muster a question.

"Neptune, is it me or..."I ask"...does my HDD seem strikingly similar to yours?"

She looks at me with a face of curiousity and stands next to me to look at the mirror. Considering that we were from opposite genders, we look remarkably similar, my combat suit was a male version of Purple Heart's, my hair was the same shade as hers…

As if I had been a male copy of Neptune…

Her Guardian...her….Knight.

My father had already left to go back with my mother and the drama with my graduation had died rapidly, by the time I left, the world would forget the name Mike Seras...well at least until someone freaks out and starts a search for me.

"Well are you ready?"She asks offering her hand, already in her HDD form, ready to go to a spot where we had agreed upon with Histoire, it's just a matter of us being there on time.

"Yep, let's do this"I say to her as I reach for her hand. I quickly look back at the penthouse and remember all the crazy memories that had happened here. A lot of good ones but also a few bad ones. I would never forget this place.

A few minutes later, we land in a meadow well north of San Francisco, the spot where we would be transported to Gamindustri, according to the oracle.

"Okay..."I look at wrist watch I had attacked to my travel bag"I remember you say that Histy would start the transfer around now right?

We see clouds appear above us, with a slight blue light emanating from it.

"There's our ride."She looks up." Let's get in position."

I nod and we stand right under the center of the cloud. I spot very small shiny spots flying in closer to us.

"Well dammit..."I curse under my breath"...I didnt think they would scramble fighters that fast… and they're moving in pretty damn quick."

The Air Force fighters must have seen the sudden cloud and turned on their afterburners...

"This is bad..."She says worried"If the cloud's shot, it could injure Histy."

"Histoire, hurry up..."I plead under my breath

Just then, a ray of blue light comes down on us. Phew, too close... I look to my right where I spotted the fighters not long ago and can now perfectly see F-16's closing in...Dammit can we go up faster…?!

"They're going to shoot the cloud if they spot us."Neptune says very worriedly"Histy could be seriously hurt if we dont get through soon.

Then the ray of light starts rising us up much faster than before. Histoire must have noticed that something bad was going to happen.

In a matter of a minute , were practically inside the cloud. I can hear the jet fighters slowing down their engine spooling, like their inspecting the cloud. That's the last sound I hear from Earth. because now were flying fast through what I assume is a interdimensional wormhole. GOD IM GONNA HURL!

A while later I open my eyes, I must have blacked out, because I'm lying on a hospital bed in a room with green lines across the ceeling...

"Hey Mike you awake?"I can hear a very familiar voice..."I can understand it may have been a bit nauseating, but i think passing out was taking it out of context."

I sit up on the bed and rub my eyes.

"Man that was a bumpy ride..."I say with a very tired voice.

"Well your awake then!"I hear that voice again.

I open my eyes and catch a sight of something I'd never thought I would see: All the CPU's, including Neptune, infront of my bed.

The person who was talkig to me was Vert, who had sat down on the end of the bed.

"Welcome to Gamindustri!"She smiles.

Now I remember what had happened before I had woken up, me and Neptune had entered a cloud that had transformed into a interdimensional wormhole, then after getting major motion sickness, I passed out. I'm guessing I arrived unconscious.

"I'm finally here..."I whisper.

Gamindustri, the answer to all my questions... and the key to controlling my powers standing in front of me.

With Mike leaving Earth and Arriving in Gamindustri, a new journey is about to begin, one of rediscovering and rebirth, as if a pheonix rising once again...

Nexus From the Ashes: The Guardian's Journey