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"It looks like your observations line up with the data we were able to get from TAO." Rei looked over the printouts and tapped three significant places. "Look here, the magnitudes all line up."
Second-year student Kazuhiro Amano nodded, and rifled through his own stack of papers to pull out the ones that directly correlated. The two had been at work for hours, pulling from the public data released by Tokyo University's research team in Chile–the TAO observatory–and from the measurements Kazu had been taking himself with Astronomy Club equipment. Kazu had asked Rei for help to confirm his suspicions as the two had been in club together two years before. "Yeah, but it's gotta be something the astronomers there missed, or there would've been an announcement by now. Either way, it's definitely something my contact at Tokyo University will want to know about."
"They must've missed the comet entirely, or at the very least miscalculated its trajectory," Rei agreed. "The data shows it's headed for a very close pass by Earth."
"It's theorized that an impact from a similarly-sized object some 65 million years ago caused the extinction of the dinosaurs, along with some three fourths of all life on Earth. And even further ago, it's thought the moon itself was the result of a collision between Earth and another celestial body." Kazu shook his head and began to coallate the reports and printouts into something resembling an order. "I'm not saying this is on the same scale as those events, but..."
"...but even a close pass by such an object could destabilize the Earth and cause earthquakes and tsunamis from the gravitational influence," Rei filled in for him. "It's not unreasonable to make preparations."
"And if these calculations are correct..."
"...then we have only six weeks until the comet's arrival."
***
OP: Seek Your Turn by OLDCODEX
***
In a dark space, coated in ice and mist, far away from the Earth, there was a room, and in that room was inscribed a magic circle. All around the circle were gathered gems of all sizes, colors, and qualities, but none of them glittered or shone, for there shone no sunlight. Within the circle sat a figure, cobbled together of quartz, beryl, topaz, and tourmaline. Its features were angular, but it was recognizably humanoid, and covered in a resplendent armor of a multitude of colors; however, it did not move.
Outside the circle, Bilhah Emerald knelt, and intoned. "O Master Dark Plasman, please grace me with your presence and offer your guidance." Bilhah was tall and graceful, clad simply in a short green dress.
With her summons, the rock figure within the circle rattled at first, then gathered power and stood: it was the Dark Plasman, personification of Coatl. "Bilhah, Zilpah. How goes the operation?" Its deep voice rumbled and boomed throughout the chamber.
Bilhah started, and looked behind her. Standing in the entryway was her older sister, Zilpah Sapphire. Zilpah was possessed of an inexplicable, inhuman beauty, and clad herself in a fine gown of various layers of blue. Zilpah spoke: "Sir. Just as planned, I am corrupting the ley lines across Eurasia and Africa. The pitiful civilization that inhabits the Earth knows nothing of magic. The planet's protections weaken more every day."
Bilhah rushed to add, "The Americas are also falling to our purpose."
"And the erasure of those who plagued us, five thousand years ago?" With every word, every syllable, it seemed the entire comet around them trembled.
"Yes. I've been able to drain a great quantity of the Water from the descendants of that time," Bilhah said. "Their blood is thin, and scattered, but drop by drop that Water only strengthens our cause."
"A large concentration of Water is in the East," the Dark Plasman stated, "guarded by those pesky Knights."
"The Knights are no concern of mine. Leah was weak, and fell prey to them because of her lack of planning. Let me go in her stead, and I will harvest the Water."
"So be it, Bilhah. Pray you do not repeat the mistakes of your sister." The walls of the chamber echoed with the unspoken threat.
"I am well ware that you are responsible for our creation, Plasman," Bilhah said as she stood. "I will not disappoint." She bowed and left the chamber.
"I will go also, and continue the disruption of Earth's energy." Zilpah bowed and turned as well, leaving the room empty but for the rock figure.
As the rocks quieted and the figure slumped once more, it rumbled aloud to itself. "...still there is no sign of the Princess Moon who turned us away so long ago. Has the age of that immortal shining jewel, the Legendary Silver Crystal, ended at last? Has its wielder, that Princess Moon, faded to obscurity? If one such as she is absent..." Finally still, the comet itself spoke within its heart: "...then nothing can stop our dark ambition!"
***
The first few minutes, they ate in silence. Makoto surreptitiously snuck some of his pickled vegetables into Haruka's bento box, Haruka picked around them to get to his grilled mackerel and rice, and Nagisa tore into a second Iwatobi cream cake. Finally, Haruka broke the silence, voicing what all three had been thinking.
"About what happened last night... what do you think it meant?"
Leah Ruby, an athletic woman in skimpy red armor, was held fast by Geryon's Thousand Hand. Unable to deflect attacks with her blade, she was struck head-on by Selkie's Seeker Missile, and finally torn apart by Ocean's Swim Impact. Unlike the opponents they'd fought before, she screamed wordlessly as her body dissolved into a great quantity of Water, which shot out into the sky in streams. When the Water cleared away, her body was completely gone, leaving behind only a fist-sized ruby.
"All the previous Geminoids turned back into humans," Makoto said, picking through the rest of his lunch. "They couldn't really talk like she did, either."
"Doesn't it seem like a boss? Like in an RPG?" The two older boys turned to Nagisa. "Maybe she was their leader?"
"Leader, huh..." Haruka shook his head. "I don't think their leader would go down that easily."
"We haven't even awakened the fourth Knight yet," Makoto said. "Amakata-sensei told us we wouldn't be able to stop the attacks without all four Knights."
"Well, even if she wasn't the leader... it still proves there's an intelligence behind them, right?" Nagisa gestured with his snack as he talked. "If the attacks aren't random, there's got to be a motive behind it! We can predict the monsters and act ahead of time!"
"It'd be nice if we could," Makoto agreed.
The bell sounded, signaling lunch soon coming to a close. The three boys packed up, and Nagisa said his goodbyes and parted to rejoin his class at the other side of the building.
While Haruka and Makoto walked, Haruka picked up the conversation again. "That large ruby... you don't think it's dangerous, do you?"
At that moment, they crossed paths with a first-year girl with striking red hair. She called out to them: "Oh! Mr. Triceps! What were you talking about just now? A ruby?"
Haruka's eyes narrowed. Wherever he went, this girl kept turning up. "It's none of your business."
Makoto smiled and patted Haruka's shoulder in what he hoped was a calming mater. "Now, now, you don't have to be like that. We were just talking about... grapefruit! Ruby grapefruit."
"Grapefruit?" The girl frowned slightly as she thought. Haruka gave his comrade a dirty look, ruining any chance they had at the charade. Nonplussed, Makoto continued on.
"Yeah. Haru-chan's family sent him a crate of grapefruit. We were worried about eating all of them before they went bad... if you like, you could eat some with us sometime, Matsuoka-san?"
"Thanks for the offer, but..." She smiled at them as she spoke. "Grapefruit and I don't get along very well. Now if you'll excuse me, my class is in the first-year wing. See you around, Mr. Triceps!" She gave a little wave, then walked off.
Haruka turned to Makoto. "Grapefruit?" Makoto shrugged.
Once safely around the corner, the girl paused and leaned against the wall to consider. A large ruby... it looks like the race to collect Plasma Stones is really heating up! Well, I'll let them keep it for now... She smiled again to herself, then continued on her way to class.
***
"So they wouldn't listen to you?"
Early evening the following day, after the school grounds were closed, Rei and Kazu walked together towards Iwatobi Station.
"No. Just like you said, an amateur's findings are only an amateur's findings to them." Kazu sighed. "They wouldn't take my calls or faxes." He then tapped the folder full of documents he was carrying with his other hand. "I'll just have to meet them in person. I already contacted Dr. Ohzora, and he agreed to meet with me tomorrow to discuss it."
"Then you'll be missing school." The spring wind blew and Rei shivered a bit and tightened his uniform jacket around him; Kazu had called him out of track practice to let him know what was happening, but Rei had also insisted on meeting in person. He hadn't had time to dry off from his shower yet, but the train to Tokyo only came twice a day, and wouldn't take that as an excuse if they were late.
"Only for one day. It's six hours there and six hours back, but this isn't something I'm willing to wait on."
Rei nodded. "Having confirmation from professionals would be nice..."
Kazu laughed. "You're just as good as them, Ryugazaki. I still don't know why you gave up Astronomy to do Track & Field, of all things."
"It's because–" Rei sighed. It seemed everyone around him was questioning his choices. Do this, do that. Apply yourself. Be successful. With a mind like yours... it didn't help that he himself wasn't sure anymore. "I wanted to test myself," he admitted. The two of them reached the park outside the station; the train wouldn't leave for another 20 minutes, so they had a bit of time. He continued: "I wanted to see how far I could push my body. I've been told over and over, it takes talent, dedication, hard work... so I studied anatomy, sports medicine, theory, all of that. And now I'm going to work as hard as I can to apply it. To refine those theories."
"But you could do that with any sport. Or even as a manager, rather than an athlete. Why track?"
"That's..." Rei took a moment to contain his excitement, and adjusted his glasses. "That's because it's beautiful! The long, graceful movements of the runner... the exact angles and mechanics of hurdles, of the long jump! The ultimate thrill of pushing your time lower and lower, your distance and height higher... even the effortless grace of a baton pass in relay!"
Kazu laughed once more. "Even in junior high, you were always going on about this. Beauty this, beauty that. I remember you spent two months obsessed with materials science. It was all over my head, even a year ahead of you." He shook his head, then stopped at a nearby bench. "You're a genius, you know that, Ryugazaki? One in a million. Whatever you decide to do, you'll succeed."
Rei blushed and looked away, mind racing for an escape route. "I'll–I'll go buy some drinks! We still have time before the train!"
As he hurried away, Bilhah stepped into view from behind a tree, her dress shimmering with an inner light that defied the evening around them. "Pity. The younger one was cuter." Before Kazu could react to her presence, the Plasma Stone was buried within his body.
***
Why had he joined track? Rei kept running his reasoning through his head, but the pieces didn't add up. Sure, it was to test himself, sure, it was to push his theories of sports to the breaking point, and then create new ones... but why the interest in athletics at all? He reached the vending machine and barely glanced at the options before making his selections.
Really, wasn't it because... he needed to get away from his old self? Only studying for its own sake wasn't fulfilling. He needed a complete change of environment to refocus on what was important. And he couldn't help but feel he was missing something...
"Rei-chan?" The sudden voice startled him, and he turned towards it. Oh, it was that annoying kid from the other class. What was his name? Hazuki? "It really is you, Rei-chan! What're you doing out this late?"
"How do you even know my name?" Rei countered, and frowned. He wasn't used to being the center of attention and always felt self-conscious when Hazuki was around. "We aren't even in the same class."
"Rei Ryugazaki, upcoming star of the track team and number one potential recruit for–"
"I'm not joining the swim club. In the first place, does our school even have a pool?"
"Boo. Now you're jut being mean. What I was trying to say is–"
"Look," Rei said, exhausted. "Can we finish this later? Someone is waiting for me."
"I'm trying to say that we're the same!"
"...the same?"
"I'm Nagisa. Nagisa... Rei... don't you get it? We're guys but we have girly names!"
"...and that's your reason?"
"Yeah!"
The conversation was interrupted by a piercing scream. "That's–" Both boys immediately turned, but it was Rei with his months of hard physical training that was first to move. "Amano-sempai!"
***
"Sempai!" A black flame surrounded Kazu, and the scream from within shifted in pitch and timbre to something inhuman. Rei rushed towards him, but a mere moment after he made contact, the plasma energy welled up and shot him a dozen meters away, directly into a guard rail, which crumpled at the impact. Rei gasped in shock as the impact drove the air from his lungs, but strangely he felt much less injured than such an impact would normally make him.
The dark energy from the Plasma Stone held Kazu immobile even as it transformed him. His skin began to blacken and crack; his bones elongated, stretching his musculature to the limit. Spines sprouted from his body, then settled along his shoulders and arms. Finally, the charred layer of skin and fat sloughed off, revealing a new carapace of hardened blue.
Nagisa held his hand aloft and called: "Selkie Power!". Rei could barely keep his eyes open, as in just a single instant, a brilliant pink light rose up and surrounded his classmate. A vision took him: Nagisa, standing alone atop a glassy lake, its surface reflecting the star-filled sky. The rosy glow spewed forth from Nagisa's breast, wrapping him in a ribbon of light; then in an instant, a beam of white light shot from the constellation of Piscis Austrinus, and where the light touched his body, it resolved into an armor. First, black and pink jammers; then, a jacket of white and brilliant baby blue. Atop the jammers, pure white sailor-cut trousers appeared, with two vertical stripes of pink on the outside of each leg. Each arm received a gauntlet, in pink with blue stripes, and finally the ensemble was completed with a pink-striped white sailor's hat and a pink belt. As the light faded, Nagisa stood, clutching a brilliant white spear–no, not Nagisa, but Selkie Knight!
"Blessed by the light of Piscis Austrinus, born of the lake! I am the sailor suited soldier of love and friendship, Selkie Knight! Be pierced by my Poseidon Spear and repent for your sins!"
The Geminoid was unimpressed with the speech. The spines on its back shifted and it reached behind itself with its left hand to grasp one and break it off. The spine elongated and sharpened itself into a sword, and the armed creature lept towards Rei with a scream. "Azuroid!"
"Get away, Rei-chan!" Selkie shouted as he rushed to get himself between the creature and his defenseless friend in time. Rei, paralyzed with shock, could only look on in horror as the monster charged forward. "Strike Missile!" A streak of light shot out from the Knight's spear, consuming the monster's arm and the weapon with it.
"Impressive. But that's not all my Azuroid can do!" Both boys shoot looks towards the voice, and were faced with a tall woman clad in brilliant green. "I am Bilhah Emerald, Green of the Comet! My blade severs the void!" As she called, a black plasma burst from her hand and formed into a blinding emerald blade; her dress also reshaped to form an armored breastplate and skirt. "I will be your opponent, Selkie Knight! Go, Azuroid, and tap the Water reservoir of that tasty snack!"
"Azuroid!"
"Not so fast!" Suddenly, backed by the light of the streetlamps in front of the station, two more silhouettes emerged. "The romance of space is a mystery that calls to all true dreamers! You dare to target those who study the heavens of the night sky... and I will not forgive you!" One step forward, and the silhouettes were revealed: clad in the same mystic white armor as Selkie stood two figures, one with deep blue accents and the other with bright green. "Blessed by the light of Delphinus, born of the ocean! I am the sailor suited soldier of justice and freedom, Ocean Knight!" The blue figure posed.
"The same goes for me, Geryon Knight!" The green figure posed.
"Those who threaten the peace and freedom of this city will be punished!"
"I don't care how many of you there are!" Bilhah ran, sword in hand, to Selkie, who barely parried her onslaught with his spear.
"Good! Then you won't mind if I do this!" Geryon reached his left arm towards the sky and his right to the ground, then slowly spun the two around until the left faced down and vice versa. As his arms moved, they seemed to multiply: from two to four, to six, to eight. "Doppelganger!" he cried, and his form blurred into four exact duplicates.
The creature turned its attention towards the newcomers momentarily, crouching down and bristling with spines. The spines shifted, then launched towards Ocean in a hail of blue. One of the Geryon duplicates interposed itself between the attack and the other Knight, just in time to bear the brunt of it: peppered with strikes, it collapsed onto the pavement and melted into mist.
The other three Geryons lept towards the Geminoid and surrounded it. "Give up, monster!"
"They've never listened to reason before," Ocean said as he ran to catch up and take his place facing the threat. True to form, the monster roared and charged one of the Geryons. The other two caught its limbs from behind, and for a moment it seemed the Knights had gained the best of it.
Selkie was faltering under Bilhah's onslaught. Her blade seemed to move as if it didn't even need to pass through the intervening space–here one moment, somewhere else the next, impossible to predict, and all he could manage against it was catching blows on his spear's shaft and on his armored gauntlets while continually giving up ground. Finally, at one crucial moment, Bilhah feinted–towards Rei. Selkie panicked and dove in front of the boy, exactly as she hoped, and her sword cut deep into his exposed left arm.
Geryon and Ocean advanced on the immobilized Azuroid and made a synchronized simultaneous assault, each roundhouse kicking the creature from the opposite direction. But the Geminoid flexed, and the spines across its back and shoulders rippled, then stabbed through the two Geryon copies holding him, and as they melted away it used its newfound freedom to catch the two attacking Knights' feet, one in each hand, and, using their own momentum against them, tossed the two past each other and in opposite directions. Geryon crashed into the nearby park bench, which shattered under the impact; Ocean rolled as he hit the pavement, but his path led him directly into a nearby drinking fountain, and even mitigating the force of the attack, the structure was torn from the ground, sending a spray of water into the air.
Rei stood, unsteadily and mind still clouded from the suddenness and strangeness of the events, and, sensing its target's movement, Azuroid turned towards him and crouched, sending a second volley of spines his way. Rei stood his ground and screamed out: "Amano-sempai!" All around him, an aura of purple energy spread. The incoming spines wavered in the air, then lost momentum and casually clattered to the ground without arriving at their intended target.
"What?!" called Selkie, and even Bilhah turned her attention from her prey.
"Haru! He's–" Geryon shouted as he rose unsteadily to his feet.
"Call it!" Ocean said, and in Rei's mind that voice cut through the haze around him. "Somewhere within you is a word. Find that word and let it free!" The Knight's piercing blue gaze shot through the intervening darkness, and suddenly, Rei understood.
"Kraken Power!!"
The ground shook, and it felt like the sky itself opened. Suddenly, Rei found himself surrounded by the starry sky above; he glanced downward and found he was ankle-deep in the waters of a glassy lake, perfectly reflecting the sky. And in those stars, he saw what was calling to him: Ophiuchus, the Serpent-Bearer. He willed its power to him, and the images above and below bathed him in their light. A violet glow surrounded him, caressed him, and in the blink of an eye he was clothed in black and electric blue full-length jammers and a white and blue jacket.
From his ankles up, ribbons of energy spun into white sailor trousers, and then from the waist down the outer seam was replaced by a deep violet trim. Purple and white gauntlets formed on both arms, light, but armored, and between them, a rod striped in white, purple and blue; then a sailor's cap in white with the same purple trim as below. Finally, a violet belt literally tied the ensemble together, and the transformation was complete.
Deep within himself, Rei began to awaken.
"From across the universe, the light of reason came to mankind; but it was mankind's own achievements here on Earth that transformed that reason into beauty! I will not allow invaders to destroy this beautiful civilization we have built!" As Rei spoke, with each word he became more and more convinced of the truth. He spun the rod in his hands, and gradually it elongated. "Blessed by the light of Ophiuchus, born of the bay! I am the sailor suited warrior of reason and beauty, Kraken Knight! My Eternity Pole will give the unbeautiful a sound thrashing!"
"Rei-chan!!" Selkie called, clutching his wounded arm. Bilhah cursed under her breath.
Kraken gripped the Eternity pole, faced the Geminoid, and breathed out. "Eternity Jump!" he called, then ran towards the beast. With each step, the pole grew; the end took the creature square on its chest, and then Kraken pushed it downwards. The Pole flexed as it drove the monster to the ground, and making use of his momentum and the pole's energy, Kraken lept high above. At the height of his jump, he pushed outward with his energy, and the pole flashed violet. Then, his weight and the power of the jump thrummed through the Pole as it collapsed back to rod size, driving the Azuroid powerfully into the ground–and shattering the pavement around it in the process–until the creature was left, stunned, in a three meter wide crater, with Kraken standing above it.
"Haru!" called Geryon, as the severely weakened Geminoid stood unsteadily.
"The water that flows through all living beings is connected. Disrespect it and it will bear its fangs and attack! Deep...... Ocean.......... Diving!!"
Ocean Knight's dive struck Azuroid with the force of a tsunami. The plasma within it sputtered and died, and the Water it had twisted boiled off and escaped into the sky. "Disqualified!" As the last of the water escaped, the monstrous form vanished, leaving Kazuhiro Amano. Kazu fell to his knees, exhausted, and from his hand fell a marble-sized lapis lazuli, now cracked.
"Hmph! I wasn't prepared for four of you. I'll retreat for now, but this isn't over, Knights!" Bilhah's form was momentarily engulfed in a green flame; when the fire vanished, so too had she.
"We did it! Rei-chan, you're one of us now!" Selkie ran to Kraken and tackled him with a hug, but Kraken pushed him roughly away. "Huh? But..."
"One of you?" Kraken shook his head and turned away. "Foolishness. I know why you approached me now. You wanted me as your ally."
"That's not–"
"Let me tell you one thing. I have no intention of joining you."
"What?!"
"The source of this power... the true identity of those monsters... knowing nothing of these things, you merely play at being heroes! What is your plan to stop them? Where is your offensive?!" Kraken began to walk away, and as he did, he let his transformation dissipate. "Your foolishness will only be in my way." Reconstituted, Rei Ryugazaki looked one final time behind him and adjusted his glasses. "I'll discover their purpose and put an end to them myself. You three have fun wasting your time." He calmly knelt next to Kazu's still bewildered form, and wrapped his former colleague's arm around his shoulders.
"But we–"
"Nagisa!" Ocean's voice sharply cut through the quiet night air. "Let him go. The freedom to grow at his own pace... he needs that as well."
"Hmm. Today was also interesting!" All eyes moved towards the source of the feminine voice, to be met with none other than famed pirate Loof Merrow in full regalia. "But you missed the most important part." She tossed something into the air which glinted blue briefly before she caught it again: it was the cracked lapis lazuli. "Goodbye, Knights!" And just as quickly as the mysterious thief appeared, she vanished, leaping up to a nearby treetop and then away faster than any of the exhausted Knights could pursue.
Rei stood, helping the barely revived Kazu to his feet, and led him away from the station. "Don't worry, Amano-sempai. There will be a train tomorrow, too. One day's delay isn't worth your life."
The remaining three Knights exchanged glances.
***
"Bilhah... Emerald. That's what she said." Nagisa addressed his friends as the three sat in Haruka's apartment later that evening.
"That makes two... Leah Ruby and Bilhah Emerald, both directing those Geminoids to attack." Makoto motioned to the table. "Leah left behind this..." He pointed to a fist-sized ruby, brilliant red, but marred by a fissure than ran fully half through its diameter. "...and the Geminoids, smaller gems." He indicated the cool yellow peridot, an inch across and also cracked, being the only Plasma Stone they'd managed to recover without Loof Merrow's interference.
"There has to be a meaning behind it," Haruka said, looking between the two gems.
"If only Rei-chan wanted to help..." Nagisa rested his face on his arm as he slumped over his edge of the table. "He'd figure it out for sure!"
"Well, that aside, at least there are four Knights now," Makoto said.
"That's true, but..." Nagisa replied
"Leave it," Haruka said. "More Knights is more Knights, together or apart. We can cover more ground this way, too."
"Still, I wish we could fight together... the Four Knights of Artuqa! With Rei-chan!"
***
ED: Everlasting Moonlight
***
"Even at school, Rei-chan is ignoring me! But shouldn't we work together, since we're all Knights? His reckless plan puts the track team's Sano-sempai in danger, and the Geminoid is too powerful for us! What can we do? Next time on Artuqa Knights - Act VI: Ally. May you find freedom in the waters of your heart."