My muse strikes! Inspiration has returned for this series. I'm currently
working on eps 4, 5, and 6. You'll be seeing 4 soon, for sure, and five a
little later. 6 and on are in the works, but timing is going to be
unpredictable....
And, lets have a little more C&C this time around, huh? Please?
[Disclaimer]
[Theirs. Not mine. Pioneer in the US, and whichever nice Japanese folks
whose names I've forgotton this time in Japan. Unless I've gotton some
ownership issue wrong. Don't worry, I'm not making any money off this
anyway.]
El Hazard: The Continuing World
A continuation fanfic by Nathan Baxter
Episode 1: In Which Jinnai Finds Something and Makoto Thinks
The figure in the wall slot was tall and imposing, but far from
handsome. A face of planes and sharp angles was framed by dirt brown hair.
Broad shoulders and narrow hips connected by a starved looking torso created
an unfinished appearance. Long, thin limbs were interrupted by knobby joints
and swathed in steel cord muscles. Outsized feet and large, stranglers hands
added to his ghoulish image. The final touch of his appearance was the red
tunic, reaching down to his knees, over which was a black vest of light
armor, with similar bracers adorning both arms and legs.
The weapon lying at his feet was at rather simple. A steel gray
cylindrical head two feet across tapered to a point at one end, forming a
T-shape with a jet black pole that was attached a bit behind the midpoint of
the head's cylinder. Another, thicker bronze pole was arranged parallel to
the first, perhaps a third of the way towards the blunt end of the head. Two
steel gray braces connected these two, one perhaps halfway along their
six-foot length, the other within a few inches of their tips. The sides of
the head were studded with fist sized spherical blue gems, within which
glimmered a faint spark of electricity.
Katsuhito Jinnai was very happy.
"YES!! Finally I have found a way to defeat you Makoto Mizuhara. With
this weapon's power I shall sweep you from my path and punish you for all
your crimes against me."
Diva was not quite so optimistic. "I do hope that this will work
better than our last efforts Mr. Jinnai. Both Ifurita and Kalia backfired on
us, and I fear that we might not be so lucky as to survive a third failure."
He dismissed her objections with a wave of his hand, "Don't worry,
God's on our side, remember? The only reason that we've had problems before
is because Makoto twisted them away from us, and I have no intention of
letting him survive long enough to do it again."
He leaned down and picked up the staff, grunting and straining from
its weight.
The glimmers at the hearts of the gems exploded in brilliant flares
that filled each gem fully, turning them into tiny beacons of eye tearing
light.
That was enough to make Jinnai lose his grip on the staff, dropping it
to crash to the ground... right on top of his foot.
While he danced around and screamed in pain, and Diva watched in
bemusement, deep green lightening arced from gem to gem, and from there to
the resting demon-god.
Who, for his part, twitched, picked up his staff, and stepped into the
middle of the room. Not necessarily in that order, of course.
"Good evening," he said, "What can I do for you?"
Since Jinnai was still occupied with his pediatric pain, Diva
answered, "Our Empire has been decimated by its enemies, and we hope that
your power will alter the balance and let us rebuild our nation."
His lips quirked. "I live to serve."
* * * * * * * *
Peep. Peep.
ahhhhh-hahhhh.
Sound of frogs. Interesting, that El Hazard would have frogs, just
like Earth. Then again, they probably just SOUNDED like frogs. Like those
bird-fish... Things.
Peep. Peep.
ahhhhh-hahhhh.
Sound of breathing, the source a warming body, next to his.
Ifurita.
Heart of his soul, and he of hers. Perhaps it was destiny that brought
them to love each other. Perhaps it was luck. Perhaps it was just that no
one could look into someone else's soul, and NOT love them.
Whatever it was, he was grateful.
Peep. Peep.
ahhhhh-hahhhh.
Her face, first seen under his school, during an hour of frozen time.
Tender and caring, it had been. He had not understood what she had had to
say, but he had remembered.
Peep. Peep.
ahhhhh-hahhhh.
Next sight, a bed sunken into a altar, shaped like a coffin, with her
staff lying beside. Jinnai bursting in, winding her up like some kind of toy
soldier. Her face, cold and unforgiving. "I don't know you."
Peep. Peep.
ahhhhh-hahhhh.
Roaring fires of burning planters casting flickering shadows around
icy blue eyes. A theory tested to save the lives of friends. The ancient
religious wars that had laid waste to two of El Hazard's five continents,
seen through the eyes of the one who brought them to a close in a peak of
blood and nightmare.
Peep. Peep.
ahhhhh-hahhhh.
Driving into the Bugrom's heart to free Fatora from Jinnai's clutches.
The circuit at her heart destroyed, invisible manacles shattered. A casual
backhand, Jinnai flying in the first gesture of freedom or defiance she
could ever have known.
Peep. Peep.
ahhhhh-hahhhh.
An offer of a horrible reminder of slavery, turned into a caring
reminder of freedom. The understanding of that passing between them in a
warm, gentle gaze.
Peep. Peep.
ahhhhh-hahhhh.
The fight with Galus on top of the Eye of God had nearly killed him.
She had arrived just in time, an angel with silver-blue hair. The weapon had
been beyond the point of no return, so she had gone into its core to direct
it safely. She had disappeared down the shaft, but Mr. Fujisawa's strong
arms had held him from going with her. Then she was gone.
Peep. Peep.
ahhhhh-hahhhh.
When he had seen her sister in the valley of the Trigger of
Destruction, his heart had leapt with joy at her return. The disappointment
had nearly broken him. Then Kalia... He shuddered. Her mind had been filled
with blood, and had delighted in it. In the screams of the innocent, even if
they were not real. That Ifurita had saved him, then told him to look for
her. He was glad he had.
Peep. Peep.
ahhhhh-hahhhh.
When he had found the key to the Eye, he had given Rune and her allies
only three days to prepare for the return of the legendary demon. Even a
week later the thought of the bustle and agitation that had caused was
enough to bring a smile to his lips.
Peep. Peep.
ahhhhh-hahhhh.
When he had come through the dimensional wall, she had been leaning
against the fence, watching the sunrise. When she had seen him, her eyes had
lit up and her face had seemed to glow with joy. There were things that he
would not do to bring that expression, that joy, to her face again. But not
many.
Peep. Peep.
ahhhhh-hahhhh.
His mind had touched hers, and he had felt her fear. She was the most
feared weapon in history. The Eye of God was more dangerous, for horrible
things could be done with its portals, but she had left more fear behind.
What kind of people could welcome that into their lives?
Peep. Peep.
ahhhhh-hahhhh.
[Which], he thought wryly, [only makes Rune Venus more remarkable.]
Somehow, he wasn't exactly sure how, she had managed to turn the feared
destroyer's return into a hero's coming home. Not that it wasn't, but making
the people see that must have taken some doing. The party probably wouldn't
end until the end of the month.
Peep. Peep.
ahhhhh-hahhhh.
Gurgle.
Sound of upset stomach. He grimaced, and got up to visit the shrine of
the Porceline God. [Almost three years and I _still_ can't stomach alcohol.]
* * * * * * * *
"So, Tartarus, if we need numbers, not power, then what do you propose
we do?" Diva's voice was not sarcastic. It was too serious for that.
The demon-god in question was leaning against the wall, holding his
staff in one hand. "We make them, of course." He somehow managed to give the
impression of a bored slouch and crossed arms while still maintaining almost
perfect posture.
She somehow managed to make her tone even harsher, his perpetual air
was quite grating. "I beg your pardon?"
He lurched free of the wall and took a couple of steps forward, his
boredom vanishing with his interest in the _fascinating_ problem at hand.
"Well, this place," he waved his right arm in an all encompassing gesture,
heedless of his staff's weight, "Is a facility for the production of light
combat units. It can't turn out demon-gods, but what it can make can
probably take down anything you need killed."
"How soon can you produce the necessary units?"
He grinned. "Depends on how soon I can get the necessary resources.
Assuming that this 'Alliance' mines and refines the metals I need, and
assuming that the extraction efforts go off without a hitch, four, five
weeks."
"And if not?"
He shrugged. "Depends on the metal. No real way to say until it
happens."
He was about to leave, but she said, "There is something which
troubles me."
"Ah?"
"When we awakened Ifurita, she behaved very differently from you. Why
is that?"
He paused, framing his reply. "My makers wanted a efficient, adaptable
battlefield machine that could think for it's self on the fly. The Ifurita
series was designed by the nation of A'Aann. They were afraid that their
machines might turn against them... And designed accordingly."
"Ah. You may go."
He gave a mocking bow, and floated out.
* * * * * * * *
The city of Jazeld was situated far inland, in the Godshatter
Mountains. It was a mining node, a place for the many small mining companies
to bring their ores for refining, and for the larger concerns to stage
through.
The only nearby river was unnavigable, and the steep hills around it
made overland transport difficult, at best. If repulsor technology hadn't
survived the holy wars then the city would have been too remote to survive.
But repulsor tech HAD survived, and Jazeld had more air traffic than
even the capital, Floristica. There were dozens of craft in the air even
now, at dawn.
{And, given its primary business, a few of them will be carrying the
metals I need.} All he had to do was keep scanning, and eventually he would
find what he needed.
{Such a beautiful sunrise.} During the wars, he had always rather
liked waiting, it gave him time to think, and it meant he wasn't fighting
and killing.
He had seldom seen a better place to wait, either. The Godshatters had
probably gotten their name from their jaggedness, it seemed as though
immense glass shards had been jammed into the ground.
They glinted like glass, too, the rock must be run through with veins
of quartz. It was quite a sight, the dark gray rock, the white snow, the
blue sky and the brilliant sparkling facets of crystal, all tinted rose by
the rising sun...
{Beautiful.}
=============================================
APPENDIX A: The Great Holy War
The first thing that must be understood about the Holy War is that it
wasn't. Holy, that is. It wasn't even really about religion. That was just a
convenient way to stir up the masses for the war effort.
It was about four superpowers staring at each other across three
continents, and one of them blinking.
Within the span of a day, they each launched the entirety of their
arsenals at the opponent that they considered the greatest threat.
The strongest power, Te'kar, was eliminated immediately. The second
strongest, Roshtaria, would never recover its former power and was
essentially one of the many minor players on the sidelines of the war.
The remaining two, A'Aann and Zelara, would spend the next seven
centuries slugging it out.
The war's final and most lethal phase was opened by the introduction
of the first Class 3 demon-god by the nation of A'Aann. In less than a
month, that single Ifurita unit had crippled the Zelaran military and
leveled most of their major cities.
That phase - and, indeed, the war - was ended by the first recorded
firing of the weapon known as the Eye of God.
El Hazard: The Continuing World
A continuation fanfic by Nathan Baxter.
Episode 2: In Which All Sides Plot and A Plan Is Executed.
{Such a beautiful sunrise.} During the wars, he had always rather
liked waiting, it gave him time to think, and it meant he wasn't fighting
and killing.
He had seldom seen a better place to wait, either. The Godshatter
Mountains had probably gotten their name from their jaggedness, it seemed as
though immense glass shards had been jammed into the ground.
They glinted like glass, too, the rock must be run through with veins
of quartz. It was quite a sight, the dark gray rock, the white snow, the
blue sky and the brilliant sparkling facets of crystal, all tinted rose by
the rising sun...
{Beautiful.}
His eyes flicked towards one drifting mote in particular. {There.}
* * * * * * * *
"There." Ifurita's finger rested on the map, over a spot in the center
of a range of mountains. "The signature was in this area."
Rune Venus absorbed her newest advisor's words with a slow nod. "And
you are certain that it was another demon-god?"
"Yes."
Rune looked to her left, "Londs, has anything been observed in that
area recently?"
He nodded. "Yes, a transport disappeared on its way out of Jazeld."
Ifurita leaned across the table and asked, "What was that transport
carrying?"
Londs gestured for one of the servants. "Metals, mostly." He whispered
in the girl's ear, and then she left. "I have sent her to get an exact
manifest."
They sat. They waited. Rune sipped her tea. Londs disappeared to deal
with a budding crisis in the palace kitchens. Ifurita zoned out.
"Where did she come from?"
Rune looked up. "Hmmm?"
Ifurita's mind fell down to earth with an almost audible 'thud'. "This
new demon-god. Who built her, and when? What was she built to do, and most
of all, why is she active now?" She made an irritated little sound, half
sigh, half snarl. "Too many questions."
Sip. "After the Holy Wars, many places were made taboo. Most of them
are harmless, really, but there are a few which still hold dangerous
relics." Sip.
"Like the Forbidden Island."
Nod. Sip. "Yes. Recently, however, the survivors of the Bugrom have
been actively seeking out these places."
Ifurita's gaze grew sharp. "Jinnai is looking for an advantage. He
probably dug this unit up in one of these searches."
"That is what I concluded." Sip.
A quiet voice broke in, "My Lady?"
Rune looked up. "Yes?"
"The cargo list of the missing air transport, My Lady."
"Thank you." She read the list, and sipped her tea. "Hmm. Nothing
unusual." She passed it over. "What do you make of it Ifurita?"
She took in the information at a glance. "Several of the metals here
are vital to the construction of certain types of machinery."
"Like what?"
"Repulsors, energy weapons, any sort of combat unit..." Ifurita
trailed off. "If they have any sort of construction facility then we might
be having some serious problems."
"You think that they might be able to construct more demon-gods?"
A slow headshake. "No... Those were priority targets during the war. I
doubt any survived. But almost anything else could have. I am in poor
condition at the moment. If they know this, and use mob tactics, plus
whatever unit made this theft..."
Sip. "I see. In that case, I will send patrol boats to check to
forbidden sites for signs of activity."
Ifurita gave her a level gaze. "You know that they will simply kill
whoever finds them."
Rune's eyes were unflinching, but something dark walked behind them.
"I know. But the threat is too great to do any less."
Ifurita nodded, rose, bowed, and left.
Rune sipped her tea and looked quietly outside.
* * * * * * * *
The Alliance was looking for him. Somehow, someway, Makoto had found
out what he was planning and made his Alliance puppets hunt through the
forbidden places. Probably made Rune Venus give the order.
That didn't change the fact that, for the moment, Makoto simply had
more power than he did.
That meant he had to hide until he had more power. Humiliating, but
not really a problem. Bugrom worked nearly as well under ground as they did
above, and there was no way to tell if they were doing so from the air.
Still, there were some things that he just couldn't hide. Like this
factory, for instance. That meant that he had to defend them.
Except, if he defended a site, that must mean that there was something
there worth defending. The Alliance would know that, and just look harder at
anything he defended.
But how could they do that if he defended them all?
He couldn't, of course. He really didn't have that many troops, after
all.
Still...
The more sites he defended, the more sites the Alliance would have to
work to check. The harder he defended them, the harder they would have to
work to check an individual site.
That would take time.
He needed time, the factory had to be retooled before it could begin
production, and that would take a couple of weeks.
Weeks he could buy easily.
And when they were over, that vermin Makoto would finally get his.
* * * * * * * *
All told, there were about a dozen different types of Bugrom. One of
them could breathe water, and were excellent swimmers. Six were
airbreathers, and walked on two legs. The Royals also had two legs, but they
really had more in common with humans than with normal Bugrom.
And three castes could fly. There were the cat-sized scouts, the
hulking carriers, and the wasp-like fighters.
Scouts were almost useless in a fight, so the swarm (well, not really,
more like a few dozen) buzzing around the Alliance patrol (drawn mostly from
the nation Tezen, in the Godshatter mountains) consisted mostly of the other
two types.
The patrol was a heavy one, with enough firepower to (supposedly) deal
with anything that it might encounter. It had had six gunboats and a slim,
wickedly fast light frigate.
Three of the pot-like gunboats had been knocked out of the air in the first
few minutes of the attack, and another one fell later, when two carriers
latched onto it, their weight dragging it down as their free limbs hammered
at its armor.
Commander Jain Targa stood on the bridge of his frigate and looked out
at the battle and realized something. [We've found them.]
There was no other way to put it. They HAD to be here. His men had
already killed some of them, and not even the Bugrom would throw away troops
just to kill his ships, not after the way the Eye of God had smashed their
forces.
But unless he withdrew, they WOULD kill his ships. And fighter Bugrom
were faster than his gunboats. The frigate was faster still, but that
wouldn't save its escorts.
Not that anything _could_, but still...
He sighed. [No way around it.] "Helmsman, withdraw. Best speed. And
open a line to the gunboats." [They deserve to know why I'm leaving them to
die.]
====================================
APPENDIX B: Demon-Gods
The basic technologies involved in producing a demon-god worthy of the
name were first developed during the last third of the Great Holy War.
The original demon-gods, later labeled Generation 1 units, had
intelligence in the lower third of the human range, could lower their own
weight to perform extended leaps, generate energy blasts on approximately
the same level as a front-line trooper's firearm, and were about ten times
as strong as a human. AI technology would later improve, giving them mental
parity with their human commanders and comrades.
The Generation 2 demon-gods, introduced a century later, were a
quantum leap ahead of their predecessors. They could fly, with speed and
agility comparable to an air superiority fighter. They were ten times again
as strong as a Class 1, and their energy weapons could level a city block.
They were also durable enough to expect to survive a battle with an enemy
demon-god of the same level. They were the first group to actually be called
demon gods.
The Generation 3 demon-gods were introduced just before the end of the
war, and were as far beyond the Gen2s as those had been beyond the Gen1s.
The nation of A'Aann was able to shorten the development time for
their first Gen3 unit by redesigning their very successful Ifurita series.
Zelara, on the other hand, built their units using a completely new design,
the Kalia series, and lost the advantage because of it.
El Hazard: The Continuing World
A continuation fanfic by Nathan Baxter.
Episode 3: In Which Interesting Things Are Learned
Commander Jain Targa stood on the bridge of his frigate and looked out
at the battle and realized something. [We've found them.]
There was no other way to put it. They HAD to be here. His men had
already killed some of them, and not even the Bugrom would throw away troops
just to kill his ships, not after the way the Eye of God had smashed their
forces.
But unless he withdrew, they WOULD kill his ships. And fighter Bugrom
were faster than his gunboats. The frigate was faster still, but that
wouldn't save its escorts.
Not that anything _could_, but still...
He sighed. [No way around it.] "Helmsman, withdraw. Best speed. And
open a line to the gunboats." [They deserve to know why I'm leaving them to
die.]
* * * * * * * *
When Makoto had been learning about the Eye of God, he had needed
someplace to work, read, and generally just be.
He had mentioned this to Londs, and the majordomo had arranged for one
of the storage rooms to be furnished for his use. It was one of the inner
rooms of the palace, the ones usually used for storage, servant housing, or
anything else regarding the palace's support structure.
As such, it had a relatively low ceiling, not much more than he would
have expected to see on Earth, and had to be lit by lanterns, instead of
natural sunlight.
That made it much more comfortable, and he much preferred to spend his
time here, instead of in the cavernous quarters that had been assigned to
him. When he was looking for Ifurita, he had done his work here. He had
gathered together every ancient machine, every text, every scrap of
knowledge or materiel pertaining to the Eye of God that he had been able to
find.
It was probably fortunate that his explorations had also ended up
touching on other subjects as well, the power of the Eye had caused many to
believe that the less was done with it, the better. His associated
discoveries had soothed enough fears that he was allowed to proceed.
The current level of technology was extremely uneven. Antigravity
devices were in common use, but airfoils and internal combustion engines
were unheard of. Radios were standard on every vehicle, but the only
recording medium of any sort was ink or paint. Indoor plumbing was available
only to the very rich.
His and Mr. Fujisawa's descriptions of Earth technology had given
several boosts to the general standard of living, and his research had given
many more. He had actually begun to gain a reputation as a great sage!
Not that that mattered at the moment.
Jinnai had found another demon-god.
More, he was still hiding, which meant that either he was much weaker
than they had thought, or he had found something else, something that he
would need time to use.
That idea, that 'something else' was the reason for his current
project.
Several months earlier, his searches had led to what looked like a
small military outpost. In it, had been examples of Holy War era weapons far
superior to the ones available to Roshtaria and the Alliance. The Alliance's
factories had been able to take those specimens and duplicate them. The
first results of that would be reaching the garrisons within a couple of
days.
Something else had been in that outpost, as well.
Maps.
Maps that marked every farm, every town, every military site of the
Holy War. The only problem was that they were in a language that even Dr.
Staloubough had trouble translating, a language that hadn't been used since
the end of the War.
Since he had been given a royal charter to gather all information on
the Holy War that could be found, the maps were his to deal with. Happy
happy, joy joy.
He wrote a translated place name on the new copy of the map, then
looked at the original.
[Production facility 23-K. Hmmm... K means... DEMON-GODS?!] "Oh shit."
* * * * * * * *
The time had come.
Diva rather wished that it had not, for she cared for her youngest
daughter and wished to keep her safe, but it had. After all, she was getting
on in years, and even if she hadn't been, she could not have repopulated the
empire alone.
And so the time came, the decision was reached, and the message of
awakening was sent.
Deep in the girl's mind crustal plates of thought shifted and
realigned, revealing memories and influences that had been deliberately
hidden in the mental mantle.
She reached up a hand to scratch at her forehead, _just so_, and pull
loose the band-aid-like strip of false skin that had concealed her secondary
eyes. Her antennae _flexed_, pushing loose the constructions of fake
cartilage that had concealed them.
She changed clothes, putting on a backless shirt and a pair of shorts,
then going out in the garden. She wanted to spend a few minutes there before
she left.
Floristica lay near the southern edge of the continent, on the shore
of the long, narrow inland sea that was called "The River of God." It never
felt winter, and the garden's vines had used that year-round warmth to climb
every vertical surface available and spread along the tops and bottoms of
the pavilions' stone roofs.
Most of the blooms in the garden were open only in daytime, but the
treya had unfurled their long, wispy blossoms with the coming of dusk.
Makoto had once compare them to a tree he called a 'weeping willow', but she
couldn't imagine anything like them. They draped the entire garden in a
cascade of many-shaded purple, going from almost black at the beginning of
the blossom to palest lavender at the end.
They were so beautiful.
She was Aika; Princess of the Bugrom, but the part of her that was
Alielle would always treasure this moment taken to say goodbye.
She pulled her wings free of the skin that had concealed them, then
went to meet her mother.
====================================
APPENDIX C: DEFINITIONS
EXCERPT, WORLD BOOK ENCYCLOPEDIA
_TARTARUS_, TAHR tuhr uhs, was a dark place below the earth in early Greek
mythology. It was as far below Hades as the earth is from heaven, and a
falling stone would take nine days to reach it. A river of fire called
Phlegethon circled Tartarus. Zeus put the rebelling Titans in Tartarus, and
any god who swore a false oath was kept there for nine years. According to
later belief, Tartarus was a place of punishment for the most wicked
sinners, and was part of Hades (see Hades). It resembles in some ways the
Christian idea of hell.
You like?
Be well, all.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Nathan Baxter, Grand High Emperor of the Lobsters.
Author, Bubblegum^5, El Hazard: The Continuing World
(Now, if you've heard of both of these, THEN I'll be
impressed.)
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"Das ist ein Geheimnis!"
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