Disclaimer: I do not own Eureka Seven or Eureka Seven: AO. They are the property of Bones, Dai Sato, and everybody else involved in the project. All song titles used are the property of their respective owners. I do not make any money off of this work of fiction.

Chapter 1: The Outsider

"If you choose to pull the trigger, should your drama prove sincere, do it somewhere far away from here."

Okinawa, April, 2025

"Ao! Get up! You're gonna be late!"

Crashing and clattering broke the silence hovering over the house, situated on the south shore of the island. The sun was already baking the countryside, and, despite it being early morning, the air was already muggy. The sounds coming from inside the house were no longer as loud as they were a few minutes ago, but there was still a commotion being made. A brown haired child, with a severe case of bedhead, ran down the hallway, toothbrush hanging out of his mouth.

"Havh you seenh my shohes?" asked the boy, eyes wild and head shaking, as if looking for the missing item.

"Ao, how many times have I told you? You've gotta get up earlier in the morning! And they're by the door, where they're supposed to be!" came the reply, yelled from outside the house.

Ao ran back to the bathroom and finished brushing his teeth. "Gramps is right", thought the boy. "This is the third time this week I'm gonna be late!" He wiped his mouth off, making sure to remove all traces of toothpaste from his face. He then proceeded to look at himself in the mirror. He was of average height at twelve, with brown hair and a well-kept complexion. His school uniform, albeit a little wrinkled, was the common outfit for students his age. At first glance, he was no different than the rest of the young people on the island. What set him apart were his eyes. Instead of the normal brown eyes or the rare blue eyes occasionally seen on this island, his eyes were a purple tint, with a concentric ring in the middle of the iris. He was the only one on the island with that eye color, and the people of the island made sure to remind him of that. After running his hands through his hair in a pitiful attempt to fix the mess that was his hair, he threw on his shoes and ran out the back door. An elderly man waited by the garage, looking slightly irritated at the boy. His white hair stood on end, and his spectacles did little to hide the anger in his eyes.

"Ao, don't forget you've gotta pick up Naru today, too. I swear, she has more patience than anyone I've ever seen." muttered the man as he threw a pair of keys to the boy.

"Sorry, Gramps! I stayed up too late studying for that entrance exam I've got coming up!"

"Don't give me that, boy! I heard you on the phone with Naru until at least three! She's probably exhausted, too."

Ao sighed in resignation. His grandfather was right; he had stayed up talking to Naru most of the night. Sure, it started off with the entrance exam, but it quickly diverted to other topics and, before he knew it, it was 3 A.M. and her father had taken the phone from her, telling him that he had better hang up before he walked down to that house and knocked some sense into that boy. Ao turned to see the elderly man walking to his truck.

"Need a lift to the hospital?"

"Tch! And give you a reason to be late? Get going!" yelled the man, pulling on a slightly faded but immaculately kept coat.

Ao hopped into the seat of his car. Well, calling it a car isn't exactly accurate. It had the seating and frame of a car, but there were no wheels. Instead, a long ski was attached to the bottom. Ao turned the keys and lifted up on the steering controls, as a green light flashed out the back of the ski, and a stream of green particles ushered the vehicle towards the road. The elderly man watched the vehicle disappear down the road, wiping his glasses on the front of his coat.

"That boy." He muttered under his breath, as he started his old truck and turned in the opposite direction.

Toshio Fukai was a respectable man. Having served in the military as a young man, he was against any form of laziness or uncleanliness. That said, he found himself wondering why he was so tolerant of Ao's mannerisms. If the circumstances were different, he would have pounded his ideals into that boy's head until he could recite them in his sleep. However, he was forced to use a measure of self-control. His reputation was already tarnished by the fact that he was housing a child of a foreigner. If he should create a problem child, there was no telling what would happen, to the boy or him.

A young girl waited on the side of the road, eyes silently scanning the horizon. She stood straight, trying her best to keep her uniform from getting any sort of dirt on it, but the sweltering heat was already starting to create some small stains from the sweat that was already starting to flow. Her brown hair was long enough to provide shade from the sun, but not long enough to bring a meaningful sense of relief. Upon seeing the outline of a vehicle and its tell-tale green trail following it, her face picked up. Grabbing her satchel, she started jogging towards the vehicle. She didn't make it far, as she was overcome with a violent coughing fit. Reaching into her bag, she pulled out an inhaler and took several deep breaths, as the vehicle pulled up next to her.

"I'm so sorry I'm late! Are you okay?" asked the brown haired driver.

"I'm fine! Why did you have to be late today, of all days?" replied the girl, before tossing her satchel into the vehicle and hopping into the back seat.

"Uh, you see, my FP didn't start up when I first tried to turn it on…" began the boy.

"Don't give me that, Ao! You always keep this thing in top shape. You overslept, didn't you? Don't lie to me again!" interjected the girl.

"Fine, Naru, you got me. I overslept." Ao sighed, admitting his lies were useless.

"Geez, how many times this week has this happened? Four? Five?" Naru asked, sarcastically.

"No! It's the… third." responded Ao, knowing there was no way out of the upcoming lecture he was about to receive.

"You know, if you keep this up, the teacher might decide to hold you back, right?" asked Naru.

"It's not all my fault, though! You were the one who called me last night!" cried Ao, trying to gain some sort of advantage in the argument.

"What?! Are you trying to say it's MY fault we're late?!" exclaimed Naru.

"If you weren't going on about your sloth not eating that cheap food you bought, I might have actually gone to sleep last night." said Ao, triumphantly, seemingly having found an advantage.

"Hey, it was you who debated about the benefits of feeding Noah the best food, remember?" countered Naru.

"Still, you started it." said Ao, trying to end the argument.

"Whatever, I'm done arguing with you." huffed Naru.

They sat in silence as the FP moved effortlessly over the countryside. It was turning into a beautiful day on Iwato Jima, with bright sunshine and fluffy cumulus clouds speckled across the sky. The ocean was calm, with waves gently rolling onto the shore. A slight breeze made the fields of grass appear to wave. The outline of the town appeared on the horizon.

"How do you think you'll do on the exam?" asked Ao, breaking the silence.

"I think I'll do okay. I'm more worried about you, though." replied Naru.

"What, now you think I didn't study for it?" asked Ao sarcastically.

"No, you idiot! I'm just worried they'll make the test harder for you, since, well…" said Naru, tailing off at the end as she turned her head to look out the window.

"It doesn't matter." replied Ao.

'What do you mean 'It doesn't matter'?! This exam is big for your future!" exclaimed Naru, surprised at Ao's response.

"It doesn't matter if they make the test harder. Just because they don't like me doesn't mean they're right. Just because they say I'm a foreigner doesn't automatically make me dumber than the people here." said Ao, irritation starting to seep into his voice.

"I'm sorry I said anything." huffed Naru, going back to studying the landscape. "Still though," she thought, "It's not fair for them to do that to you. You have just as much right to call this place your home as they do." Naru continued to muse on these things as the FP pulled into the school yard.

The bell had just rung, sending the students outside for a fifteen minute break. Naru and Ao walked outside the school, walking over to a lone oak tree in the corner of the school yard. Ao was clearly irritated at something, as his purple eyes flashed in anger every so often, as if replaying the moment that was vexing him over and over again. Naru wanted to get him to talk about it, but she also didn't want to risk another argument like they had earlier that morning. Finally, she broke the silence.

"I can't believe that teacher!" exclaimed Naru, in an effort to get Ao to talk about what was bothering him.

"I can. That miserable old man always says something to try to set me off." replied Ao, angrily.

"I mean, I know he can sometimes be a bit…harsh, but that's still no excuse for what he pulled today." said Naru, as she sat down underneath the oak tree.

"Is there ever an excuse for him to say what he says?! I mean, I get that he doesn't like me. After all, most of the teachers here don't. But still…." Ao began, gritting his teeth to keep from going on an even more bitter rant.

Naru closed her eyes and thought about what had transpired. Mr. Kouzawa had long been known as a traditionalist and, more recently, a very vocal proponent of Okinawa's independence. As such, people he considered foreigners were never welcome in his classroom, and if they stayed, he was always rough on them. Ao was no exception. Kouzawa always made a point of stressing the differences between foreigners and the "common" people of Iwato Jima, how the common folk were of a better constitution, how overall "better" they were, and Ao just kept his mouth shut and went along with it. Today, however, was the last straw. In history class, Kouzawa brought up the Okinawa Scub Burst, the event that killed many of Iwato Jima's residents and sparked the independence debate that had been raging for the past ten years. Kouzawa was very emphatic on this day, and his comments towards Ao were even more barbed. Kouzawa mentioned how Iwato was relatively peaceful until a foreigner came to the island, and that this foreigner was responsible for all the destruction and that the island was better off with her gone. Ao had not responded to this kindly, slamming his fists on his desk and calling out Kouzawa on how one person could not be responsible for the actions of sentient objects miles away. Kouzawa retaliated that nothing of that sort had ever happened until she had shown up, and there must clearly be a connection. Ao pointed out that the people of the island had made the mistake, since they had congregated on the edge of the island that was enveloped in the explosion. Kouzawa lost his composure here, ranting about how it was typical for foreigners to place the blame on the native peoples, much like the United States had done when they colonized the world, and that Ao had no place to correct him, as he wasn't anything but the offspring of that infernal foreigner. Ao clenched his fists and prepared to lash out, but the bell had rung, and Naru dragged him out of the room before he did something he'd regret. Opening her eyes, Naru noticed Ao was staring at her. She looked away, a small blush creeping across her face.

Ao looked away as well. He knew Naru meant well, but he still didn't know how to approach her. He tended to ignore Kouzawa and his beliefs, but he couldn't help but notice them. How the people in town were never happy to see him, how at best, they were indifferent and, at worst, were hostile towards him. Naru and Toshio were the only people that treated him as if he was normal, and while he was grateful, he still couldn't understand them. Ao was also thinking about what had just happened, but he was fixed on one moment. When he accused the people of the island of being in the wrong by being in the blast zone, he immediately remembered that Naru and her family were in the blast zone. The resulting explosion had robbed Naru of her mother and took away her health, as the explosion had damaged her lungs and, as a result, required her to use that inhaler. Ao looked back at Naru.

"Hey, I'm sorry about what I said…" he began.

"What? He deserved everything you told him. That punk had the gall to accuse you and your mom of causing all these problems!" Naru exclaimed, looking at Ao.

"No, I mean, the part about blaming the people of this island. You and your family were there. I didn't think about that, and I don't want you to think what happened to you was your fault." Ao looked at her, his face betraying his regret.

"I know it wasn't, Ao. I barely remember what happened, anyway. Just a bright flash of rainbow colored light and a giant, standing between me and the light." Naru said, standing up to get ready to go back inside.

"Yeah, but…" Ao began.

"Hey, you two! Can't you be lovebirds somewhere else?" yelled a man in a pink short and askew brown hair.

"It's not like that, Gazelle!" replied Ao hotly, while Naru just chuckled and started walking back towards the school building.

"Come on, ya can't fool me forever! I see the way you two always hang out." Gazelle stated, a look on his face daring Ao to try to argue with him.

"Whatever. What's going on, guys?" asked Ao, referring to Gazelle's two companions.

"Nothing much, just making sure Gazelle stays out of trouble." said one of his companions, a tall man with a short sleeve vest and jeans. He had his arms behind his head, making him look like he had no care in the world.

"Come on, Han. You know I don't get into trouble." Gazelle replied, with a look of mock disappointment.

"Gazelle, you staying out of trouble is like Han staying off his computer. It never happens for long." said the other companion, a slightly overweight man with a floral print shirt and a buzz cut.

"Pippo, stay out of this!" Gazelle glared at the man, making him cower in his shoes.

"He's right, Gazelle. I don't remember how long it's been since you weren't in trouble." Ao stated, glad to have the attention off of him.

"Come on, guys!" Gazelle cried, pretending to be insulted.

"Anyway, what do you want, Gazelle? I've got to go take this placement exam in a few minutes." Ao said, starting to walk back towards the school building.

"Ah, yes. Ao, I need your help on a…project." Gazelle said, walking alongside Ao.

"What are you smuggling now?" Ao asked, rolling his eyes at Gazelle's endeavors.

"I'm not smuggling anything!" Gazelle exclaimed. "I'm actually recovering items now."

"Is recovering the new term for smuggling?" Ao asked Han and Pippo.

"Beats me." Han replied.

"Listen." Gazelle said, putting his arm around Ao. "You know how the Scub Coral creates all the trapar particles that allow our FP's to fly?"

"Yeah, I'm aware." replied Ao, removing Gazelle's arm from his shoulder.

"Well, there's a coral outcropping near the water boundary between Okinawa and Japan, and we went out there to explore." Gazelle began. "We found all kinds of interesting stuff on those coral plants."

"Like what?" Ao asked.

"Like this." Gazelle reached into the pocket of his shirt and pulled out a bracelet. It wasn't a complete circle, but it was close, with two silver end clasps and a vibrant green-blue band that stretched from clasp to clasp. He handed it to Ao.

"This is a pretty bracelet, but I'm sure anyone can make this." Ao said, holding it in his hand.

"You see, so did we." Han said from behind Ao.

"However, Han did some research, and found that this bracelet was made by a certain person, a long time ago." Gazelle added, taking note of Ao's face.

"Who?" Ao asked, as he slid the bracelet on his wrist.

"Your mother." Pippo added, gleefully.

Ao turned his head in shock, as a glow emanated from his wrist. Ao looked down to notice the bracelet had markings starting to appear on it, spelling out a name.

E-U-R-E-K-A

Ao ran back into the building, reaching his classroom with seconds to spare. Naru sighed in relief that he had made it, but immediately noted the bracelet now on his wrist. "I need to ask him about that later." she thought. The bell rang, and a young woman walked to the front of the room.

"I am the proctor for this exam. This test will determine what level you will be placed in when you graduate here and move on to secondary education. You will have one hour to complete the exam. Afterwards, you are dismissed for the day." she concluded, passing out the test packets for the students to take.

Ao received his test packet with a look of indifference from the instructor. "At least she isn't going to make this any more difficult." he thought, as he opened the book and began the test. The test questions were not tampered with, as Naru had feared, and he began to answer them. His mind was not staying on task, though. All he could think about was that bracelet, and what Gazelle had told him. Gazelle had told him that, when his exam was finished, to meet him on the north shore of the island, and they would go looking for more items. Ao immediately jumped at the chance, and had hurried inside to take the exam.

Ao looked up to realize that he only had twenty minutes left. Finishing up, he heard a thud. It was off in the distance, but he knew he had heard something. A second thud was head, and all of a sudden Mr. Kouzawa ran into the room.

"The exam is cancelled! There will be a makeup date announced. Everyone, please leave and return to your homes!" Kouzawa said, before rushing off to another classroom.

The proctor sighed and looked up from her book. "You heard the man, turn in the exam packet. Makeup dates will be announced when they are determined." She then proceeded to get up and start collecting exams.

Ao looked over at Naru, and Naru glanced at his exam. Ao then realized what would happen. If he turned in the exam incomplete, the teachers could potentially withhold it from him, saying that he turned it in like that and, as a result, demote him to another level. Quickly, yet accurately, Ao finished the rest of the exam, filling in the last answer when the proctor reached his desk.

"Your test, Mr. Fukai." the proctor said, holding out her hand.

Ao handed her the completed test, then got up and walked outside. He looked towards the area where the sound originated from, and could see a black cloud of smoke on the horizon. Naru walked up behind him.

"What's going on?" she asked, also looking towards the smoke.

"I'm not sure, but if it got Mr. Kouzawa fired up, it must be related to the independence movement." Ao replied, walking towards his FP.

Ao activated the FP and let Naru get in the back seat. Once inside, he grabbed the controls and turned it towards the south shore.

"Why are we going this way?" Naru inquired, looking out the back towards the ever-growing black cloud.

"I'm taking you home. If anything happened to you, your dad would make sure I'm the first one suspected." Ao said, pushing the FP to go faster.

Naru knew this to be true. Her dad was a member of the Okinawa Self-Defense Force, and he was very protective of her. He tolerated Naru's friendship with Ao to a point, but if anything happened to her, Naru didn't doubt that he would go after Ao with a vengeance. Naru then saw a bright flash, followed by another explosion.

"It looks like something big is going on at the north shore." she muttered.

"We're here." Ao said, pulling the FP to a halt in front of Naru's house. Naru got out of the FP, straightening her uniform and grabbing her satchel.

"Thanks for the ride, Ao. Are you going to help Toshio at the hospital?" she asked.

"I'm gonna see if he needs help, but I'll probably just head back to the house. I'm not sure if people will want a "foreigner" giving them medical attention." Ao said, putting emphasis on the word "foreigner."

Naru sighed, knowing he was right. She turned to walk inside, but stopped, remembering to ask about his bracelet. By the time she turned around, though, Ao had already activated his FP and was driving towards the hospital. "You're not a foreigner to me." she thought, as she walked inside.

Ao was moving along at a brisk pace, but his mind was moving even faster. He wasn't going to the hospital, as he already knew that Toshio would just send him home. However, he still wanted to meet up with Gazelle and his friends. The opportunity to potentially find things from his mom was too much to pass up. But what he didn't understand was why Gazelle told him this. They hadn't been friends long. In fact, Gazelle was like the other adults, giving him a hard time about being a foreigner. That changed, though. One day, Gazelle was waiting at his FP, and apologized to Ao. He said that he was just mimicking his dad and, when he thought about it, he realized that mimicking his dad had brought him nothing but trouble. He told Ao that he wanted to be more of a friend to him, and Ao had reluctantly agreed, still thinking that it was just a setup. Ao shook these thoughts from his mind as he got closer to the north shore, and instead started wondering about what was happening on the horizon.

Gazelle and his friends were waiting on the shore, watching the scene unfold before them. Two ships were firing on each other, and several jets were involved in a massive dogfight above the Scub Coral outcropping that he had been visiting. Han was on his computer, keeping tabs on the conflict, while Pippo stood in knee-deep water, paying more attention to the fish than the battle. Another explosion split the air, as the remains of a jet fighter crashed into the sea.

"The Okinawa SDF has lost its fourth fighter. Japanese reinforcements are twenty miles out, almost within optimal firing range." Han yelled out, looking up from his computer to point out the new Japanese ships.

"This is bad." thought Gazelle. The conflict had started not long after he had arrived at the shore. Japanese ships had arrived at the coral outcropping, only to be met by the Okinawa SDF. Both sides were claiming ownership of the coral, with Okinawa claiming the main piece for trapar mining. The Japanese, however, claimed that, since a majority of the smaller pieces were in their waters, and they would be connected to the main piece, the Japanese had the claim to the whole of the coral outcropping. This had led to a heated exchange, and then a shot was fired by the Okinawan battleship. That had started this whole fracas, and the Japanese were easily winning the battle. Aircraft were scrambled by both sides, but the Japanese airmen were far superior in terms of technology and pilot skill. This battle was going to end in a slaughter.

"Ao better hurry up and get here!" Pippo yelled. "If he doesn't show soon, we won't be able to get to the coral."

"He'll be here!" yelled Gazelle. "There's his FP!"

Ao had pulled his FP onto the beach a couple hundred yards away, and he was just turning towards the trio. Gazelle sighed in relief. Ever since he found that bracelet, he had wanted to take Ao to the outcropping. He knew that he couldn't just make all of his previous teasings go away, but if he could give Ao something, anything, related to his mother, he might be able to prove to Ao that he was genuinely sorry. Ao pulled up next to Gazelle's FP and turned his own off.

"Well, this is great!" exclaimed Ao. "How are we supposed to get there now?!"

"Just relax." Gazelle said, walking to the driver side door. "We're going to the coral."

"What?!" Pippo yelled. "We can't just fly towards a battle!"

"Sure we can." Gazelle replied, nonchalantly. "We'll go on the other side of the coral. We'll be hidden by the main plant. I'm pretty sure that plant's size will make us pretty tiny, in comparison. "

"Gazelle's right." Han said, getting into the passenger seat. "Besides, those ships are too far away to quickly get people on the coral. If they send soldiers, we'll just fly off the coral."

Ao nodded, jumping into the back seat. He had spent almost an hour flying the length of the island, and he wasn't going home empty handed. Gazelle lifted up on the controls, and angled the FP to head towards the southwest section of the coral outcropping. Hugging the water, it only took a few minutes to reach the coral. Gazelle's FP was much more aerodynamic than Ao's, which got them there in half the time it would have taken Ao in his FP. Han was still keeping tabs on the battle, now obscured by the main coral plant.

"Three Okinawan jets remain. The Japanese have lost no fighters. The ships are currently engaged in evasive maneuvers, but the Japanese ship has taken more damage." Han reported, taking a sip of his drink.

"I'm surprised our ship hasn't been sunk yet." Gazelle said, preparing to land the FP on the coral plant.

"It's taken damage as well, but the Japanese ship was hit at the waterline." Han replied, typing some information into his computer. "At this rate, the Okinawan jets will be shot down within the hour, but the Japanese ship, barring a retreat, will sink as well."

"It sounds like we'll be pressed for time. Both ships will probably send soldiers to make a physical claim, so we've gotta be fast." Gazelle said, opening the door to step out. "Han, let us know if they deploy troops."

"On it." Han said, setting up his equipment on the coral surface.

"Let's go, Ao." Gazelle said. "I'll show you where we found that bracelet."

Ao's eyes lit up, hurriedly running after Gazelle in an effort to catch up. This was the biggest chance he'd ever had to finding clues about his mother and where she had gone. He silently hoped that any clues he'd find would eventually lead him to her.

On the northeast side of the coral, the two ships were locked in an ungraceful dance of metal and fire. Both ships were damaged heavily, but the Japanese ship was definitely the worse for wear. Two holes at the waterline had the ship listing heavily, and the captain was working the pumps as hard as he could. He had called for reinforcements just after they were fired upon, and they were just now arriving on the scene. After providing the coordinates of the Okinawan ship, he ordered his own to turn and retreat. Just after issuing the order, though, a large explosion ripped through the ammo deck, splitting the ship in half. As the Japanese cruiser sank beneath the waves, its only remaining cannon fired one last shot at the Okinawan battleship.

Ao and Gazelle were at the north side of the coral plant. Standing close to the edge of the plant, Gazelle pointed to a disturbed section of the coral.

"That's where we found it. It was by itself, though." Gazelle said, turning back to see Pippo running towards them.

"Guys, we gotta get out of here!" Pippo yelled. "The reinforcements are within optimal firing range!"

"Give us five minutes!" yelled Gazelle, as he turned back towards Ao. "Looks like our time is up, man."

"But, I haven't found anything yet!" Ao yelled, looking frantically for something, anything, which could potentially give him a clue.

"I know it sucks, but we can't be caught here!" Gazelle yelled back. "If we get cau…"

A loud explosion ripped across the water. Both Ao and Gazelle looked over to see the Japanese ship split in half. Gazelle grabbed Ao and pulled him towards the FP.

"We've got to go! The Japanese aren't gonna show any mercy now!" Gazelle yelled, dragging Ao back towards the center of the plant.

"We still have time!" Ao yelled. "Let me go!"

Ao tried to wrench himself free, but Gazelle held onto his collar even tighter. Suddenly, a loud whistling filled the air, as a chunk of coral a few feet away exploded, knocking Gazelle and Ao down.

"They're firing on us?!" Pippo yelled, running in a panic back towards the FP.

Ao found himself knocked free from Gazelle's grip. He stood up and started to turn away, but something flashed, catching his eye. Gazelle got up shakily, and started walking towards his FP. Ao noticed the flash was coming from something metallic. Reaching the blast crater, Ao noticed it had a pod-like shape, with gray and black markings. Touching the side of the pod, it slid back, startling Ao and knocking him down.

"What are you doing, we've gotta go!" Gazelle yelled, looking back to see Ao sitting next to the crater.

Ao didn't respond. Instead, he slid into the opening. It revealed a single black seat and a series of controls, similar to his FP. Ao sat in the chair and looked around. He saw two sets of keypads in front of each armrest, and a heads-up display directly in front of him. A blue light pulsed from the heads-up display, showing the outline of a handprint. Ao looked at this light, trying to make sense of what he was looking at.

The Japanese ships had arrived, just in time to watch the ship they were supposed to aid split in half and sink beneath the cerulean waters. A young man, dressed immaculately in military dress, stood on the bridge, a look of anger written across his face. The captain, an older man with a full beard and a uniform decorated with numerous ribbons, stood behind him.

"We are now within firing distance, Mr. Nakamura." The captain said, placing his hands behind his back.

"Very well, Captain Hiyozaki." Nakamura replied, turning to face the captain. "Have your cruisers obliterate that battleship. We must avenge this dishonor."

"As you wish, Minister." Hiyozaki replied. "Men, turn broadside and fire all guns. We're ending this now."

"Yes sir!" an orderly replied, immediately turning and maneuvering the ship into firing position.

"What about the coral plant?" Hiyozaki asked. "An errant shell might destroy parts of it."

"That plant is dormant." Nakamura replied. "Besides, anything less than total destruction won't stop the production of trapar."

"Very well." Hiyozaki replied, walking to the front of the bridge.

"Considering that we might have to forfeit this plant to the Okinawans to avoid an international incident after this, it might be better if we do damage the plant." Nakamura thought, as he walked out on deck to watch the fireworks.

Gazelle glanced back to find Ao had disappeared. Wondering if he had fallen off the edge, he started walking back towards where he last saw Ao. Suddenly, several loud booms were heard off the water, and three shells slammed into the coral plant. The resulting explosions blasted chunks of coral off of the top of the plant, sending them hurtling below, right where Ao was.

"Ao, look out!" Gazelle yelled, as the shockwave knocked him off his feet.

"Gazelle!" Pippo yelled, running back and grabbing Gazelle to see if he was okay.

"Where's Han?" Gazelle asked, getting up and brushing himself off.

"He's bringing the FP to us. Where's Ao?" Pippo replied, looking for their companion.

"He just disappeared, and those falling chunks are gonna get him." Gazelle said.

Both Gazelle and Pippo looked over towards their friend, just as the falling coral slammed onto the surface.

Ao sat inside the machine, trying to figure out what to do. He was looking at the blue light, trying to figure out its significance, when he heard a massive explosion. Looking up, he saw large chunks of jagged coral falling towards him. Twisting in his seat, he frantically started looking for the way to close the hatch, when he placed his hand on the heads-up display in front of him. Suddenly, the pod slammed shut, and an electrical shock ran up Ao's arm and through his body. Jerking his hand back, he saw the machine starting to light up, with the following appearing on the display.

Welcome Back.

Ao looked on in shock, as the machine started to groan and creak, straining against the coral it was trapped in. As Ao placed his hands on the controls, the following appeared on the display.

Data Analysis Complete: Hello, Ao.

Ao didn't know what to do. "This machine knows me?!" he thought. Suddenly, the machine started lurching forwards and backwards. Strapping himself in, Ao noticed two triggers on the backside of the controls. "Should I use these?" Not waiting for an answer, Ao closed his eyes and squeezed.

Nakamura looked on as the Okinawan battleship sank. Every cannon on the three Japanese cruisers had fired simultaneously, and, aside from three errant shots that hit the main coral plant, every shell hit the battleship on its starboard side. The ship was all but destroyed now, as it began to founder beneath the waves.

"Serves them right." he said, to no one in particular. "Insolence begets destruction."

'Sir, the battleship is destroyed." Hiyozaki said, walking up to Nakamura. "However, we are getting anomalous readings from the coral plant."

"Hmm?" Nakamura hummed, turning to face Hiyozaki. "How so?"

"Well, our motion sensors detected small scale movement on the plant. After scanning the plant, we saw one vehicle fleeing the scene." Hiyozaki said, a stoic look on his face.

"Probably just some bystanders watching the battle up close." Nakamura said, running his fingers through his jet black hair. "No issue there. Now, about..."

Just then, a loud series of popping sounds emanated from the northern side of the main plant. Turning to see what the commotion was about, a large cloud of dust obscured the north side of the plant, as large pieces of coral fell into the sea.

Han piloted the FP away from the plant, as Gazelle sat with his head in his hands. Pippo stared out the back of the FP, trying to catch a glimpse of whatever would happen.

"We left him." Gazelle muttered to himself, despondently.

"We had to." Han said, not even looking over at his friend. "After the battleship was destroyed, the only logical action would have been to advance on the plant. Also, the Japanese fighters had shot down the remaining SDF jets. Aerial recon was gonna pick up, and escape would have been impossible."

"But still!" Gazelle yelled, slamming his fists on the dashboard. "We took him out there to find something that might be connected to his mom, and we've abandoned him to the mercy of the Japanese!"

"Hey, remember that coral collapse?" Pippo chimed in. "He might already be crushed by that."

"You're not helping, Pippo." Gazelle growled, gritting his teeth. "What do we tell his grandfather now?" he muttered to himself.

"We tell him the truth." Han said, a look of sympathy on his face. "We tell him that we thought we found something related to his mom, and an errant Japanese shell trapped him there."

"I can't tell him that!" Gazelle cried out. "What if…"

A loud crash was heard. Turning the FP to see what was going on, they saw a large cloud of dust on the north side of the plant. Suddenly, a flash of green erupted out the side of the plant, as a gray machine flew into the air.

"Are you seeing this?!" Gazelle yelled, straining against his seatbelt.

Han and Pippo didn't answer. They couldn't believe what they were witnessing, either.

Ao opened his eyes, and instead of darkness, he saw the overwhelming blue that was the sky and sea. He looked around to see that he was free of the coral plant, but couldn't believe what he was flying. The machine had a form like a man, with two legs, two arms, a head, and a torso. The controls were just like his FP, so controlling the movement wasn't too difficult. The machine was gray and black, with green pieces of metal scattered all over. It was also standing on a board, where green particles were coming out from behind it. "What is this thing?" he thought. As if reading his mind, the display lit up.

Nirvash

"Nirvash?" he thought. "So that's your name."

Ao turned the Nirvash until he saw the Japanese cruisers. He then noticed that the guns of those cruisers were aiming right at him.

Nakamura watched as the gray machine flew out of the plant, green trapar trail behind it. "The Mark I?!" he thought. "That thing's been missing for years!"

"Sir, it's coming right for us!" an orderly yelled, getting the attention of the captain and minister.

"Is it operating automatically?" Hiyozaki asked, returning to the bridge.

"No sir, there seems to be a young pilot at the helm." the orderly replied.

"Suicidal imbecile." Nakamura muttered. "A kid thinks he can use that against the Japanese navy?"

"Sir, how should we proceed?" Hiyozaki asked, turning to face Nakamura.

"Firing warning shots, try to get it to land. We need to recover that thing." Nakamura said, unable to look away from the machine.

"As you wi…" Hiyozaki began, only to be cut off.

The coral plant suddenly shook violently, as new pieces of coral rocketed out of the sea. The plant flashed a dull green, and a splash of particles filled the air around it.

"The coral plant is now active?!" Nakamura thought.

Suddenly, a massive column of rainbow colored light erupted out of the sky. Concentric rings of different colors were suspended around the column of purple-white light, bright enough to eclipse the sun. Gazelle and his friends landed their FP on the shore and stared dumbfounded. Ao brought the Nirvash to a near hover, also awestruck by the sight before him. Nakamura and Hiyozaki stood on the deck of their cruiser, but instead of awe, they felt fear.

"Orderly, activate motion scanners!" Hiyozaki yelled. "There are reports of a nightmarish creature that appears with these lights." he thought. "We won't be alone for long."

On the island, Toshio Fukai was standing outside the hospital, awaiting the casualties the battle would inevitably bring. He had overheard that there was a clash between the Okinawa SDF and the Japanese military, but he figured it would be just a minor skirmish. When reports came that there were two sunken ships and several downed fighters, he had made his way out of the hospital. He knew his hospital would handle the influx of patients, so he saw no reason to stay inside the building when he knew he'd be there for hours. As he began to turn to go back inside, the sky had flashed, and a brilliant column of light erupted from the sky. Toshio had stared at the light as well, but he knew what it meant. When the nurses went outside to stare in amazement, they saw he had a look of sadness on his face, but when they tried to ask him, he just shook his head and walked away. Many of the people in the hospital saw the light as well, and many were in awe. But several sat trembling in their beds, with the same thing repeating in their minds and on their lips.

G-Monster

The column of light was still shining brighter than the sun, but a region of darkness was appearing in the midst of the light. An unearthly shriek rang out, and the darkness began to take shape. Sleek and reflective, several black shapes began to emerge. They coalesced around a central piece, forming a fragmented mass, black and purple, which hovered over the water. As quickly as it had appeared, the column of light vanished, leaving behind this new creature. In that moment, everyone knew. They knew the reports of a creature that accompanied the light were not unfounded. And Ao, who had moments before uncovered his own machine, knew what he had to do.

TO BE CONTINUED…