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Lu Yi and Tevor both begin their investigation while Nova recovers from an experiment. But is it truly over?
[*******]
“Guh…”
Nova felt groggy, his head swimming with a mix between drug-induced exhaustion and slumber. It felt like he was just waking up from a hangover as his head throbbed in a dull yet painful manner. Though he felt something. It seemed he was on some kind of mattress, if only a bit thin. When his vision focused back in the same room where he was being measured, the hospital-like setting surrounded him like he simply woke up from some kind of surgery.
But he knew that it wasn’t the case. He remembered everything clearly, the feeling of a high as he destroyed each Miramon, wild and passionate emotions, and the memory of being shot by a dart.
He didn’t know what to feel. Angry? He can’t really tell, those feelings are the same feelings from the entity inside him. Sad? Well..his situation really does suck…but he could at least see the bright side. He’s indeed in one piece, though he’s going through one heck of a relapse.
Speaking of relapse, he feels the urge to drink some kind of wine or alcohol. Well…seeing that he’s back at the Shadow Decree base, he might as well ask for a cup.
“Hello?”
Nova pushed open the door with his paw, and the other side of the door lead to something else. He could only gawk as he saw something big and fleshy staring at him. Covered in dirty matted fur, similar cream and gray color that his body has, but the eye…
The eye is a vibrant fiery orange, staring right at him as its pupils shrink at the sight of him.
“What…?”
“You.”
The voice was deep, shaking the entire room so much that he nearly stumbled.
“You are a cancer.”
“I’m…?” Nova gritted his teeth right after rebounding from the confusion. “No! You’re the cancer! I will die if I let you take over!”
“No.” the thing said so matter-of-factly. “You are the cancer.”
“I’m not a cancer!”
“Then why do you inhabit a body that is not your own?”
Nova went silent and looked at himself. The thing in front of him is right, he is inhabiting a body that wasn’t even his. He’s the puppeteer, living in the puppet. But he shook his head.
“I didn’t ask to be here…”
“Does cancer ever ask to exist?”
Nova’s fists balled up. “There’s Miracles here. One came to my world and brought me here and stuffed me in this body. If anything, it’s your world’s fault! You brought your shit to my world, and now look where I am!”
The thing laughed…if it could be called that. The room shook as cracks began to form across the hospital room, little more than a gingerbread house.
“Even in this world, they have only scratched the surface. You know nothing, cancer. I will take back what is mine.”
The whole room exploded as Nova was sent flying into the darkness. Nova screamed and flailed, flying through the nothingness. Though as he stabilized himself, he could see something bounding towards him. A massive wolven beast with the same piercing orange eyes that stared at him beyond the door.
And now that beast lunged at him, its void of a maw opening to swallow him whole.
Nova panicked and manifest his revolver and pulled the trigger as fast as he could. But the beast was simply too big to make a scratch. Swallowed by a darkness that felt alive, encompassing, and consuming, Nova simply screamed into the darkness and kept his finger pulling the trigger out of desperation.
“LET ME OUT! LET ME OUT! LET ME OUT! LETMEOUTLETMEOUTLETMEOUTLETMEOUTLETMEOOOOOOOUUUUUTTTT!!!”
“Brewster! Brewster!!”
“LET ME OUT! LET ME OUT…! Let me…”
He slowly opened his eyes, he’s in the bed of the clinical holding room again from…whatever that was. Someone was holding him down, finding that it was Uday and Djoser. His revolver is in his hand, and he apparently let out some shots as there were holes in the ceiling.
“What…?” Nova felt delirious, looking around in confusion. “What happened..? I…”
“It’s okay. You’re alright,” said Uday in a rather soothing voice.
“You’ve experienced a hallucination,” said Djoser. “And then we heard gunshots. We had to come over to restrain you.”
“I-I’m sorry…” Nova sank into himself.
A moment of silence passed before Uday sighed. “It’s alright, just try and relax. Another researcher has come around and wants to study with you.”
“Not Kara?”
“Not Kara.” Uday confirmed, and she sounded just as relieved as Nova was.
“Then…who?”
“That would be me.”
Someone stepped into the hospital room, a mix of orange and green and cream came to him. It was a dog man? Like him? Like Brewster? His mane was something to behold, it held swirls in itself like he’s never seen. Some even had tints of orange in them, like a mystical flame. The dog man in front of him wore a deep green jacket with an undershirt of black and orange, depicting some kind of draconic creature he couldn’t fully see. He also wore some kind of pants with black and golden highlights at the end, and wore shoes that somehow reminded him of something seen in east asian cultures despite it’s rather sleek modern design.
More importantly though, the eyes that met his own held hope. A kindling that seemed to have been alive, yet weary, for a very long time.
“Oh…hello.” Nova politely waved at the dog man. “You’re like me. You’re…a dog.”
The coldness that most of the Esper’s he’s met at this Shadow Decree did not seem to exist with him. Nova, already, felt warm as the man chuckled. “I’m no dog, I’m a dragon.”
“A furred dragon…that’s not so strange…” Nova muttered.
“Please, give us some alone time.”
At the dragon’s word, both Uday and Djoser take leave with Nova now alone with the dragon as he takes a chair.
“So, you must be Brewster,” said the dragon. “Though…Kara and Uday have told me that you aren’t him, that must be quite confusing.”
“Yeah…I didn’t mean to be like this. I just…it’s hard to explain.”
“It’s alright,” the dragon said understandingly. “Let’s start with the basics. What name do you refer yourself as?”
“Nova. And who are you?”
“My name is Fu Shi. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Nova.”
Fu Shi extended his hand, to which Nova shook. He continued the conversation. “I’ve been made aware that your time here has been quite a handful. I don’t want that kind of time between us.”
“You’re…not gonna put wires on me? Or inject stuff and make me go…”
The memories were strong and vivid, the mere thought of them made his head swim. Gravity seemed to tilt before suddenly going still, finding Fu Shi’s arm on his shoulder. Apparently, he nearly fell off the bed from the memory alone.
“Unfortunately, my experiment does include bringing this…new side of you, to the forefront. My area of research is in cases such as yours. Your data will provide valuable insight.”
"I don't…I don't want to do that…"
Nova felt himself shake in fear. But Fu Shi pressed regardless. "I know. But your circumstances can help people like you."
"Not…not exactly like me," Nova emphasized, if only to relent just a bit of his fate. "I just…want to go home."
"But you are here. And since you're here…all I'm asking is that you can do some good while you're with us."
"Like…for Embla?" Asked Nova. "I only heard of her from the Union, but. You're saying that my condition can help people like her?"
Fu Shi's voice trembled, if only for a moment. "Even if it doesn't. It will at least point us in the right direction."
Nova considered. It was a lot, in all honesty. There was a risk, a great risk, should he do this. But then again…he's got no choice. They can't harm him, he's too important to kill. But since he's here…maybe there is something he can do. However…
"Promise me that I won't…fade away. When the thing inside me takes control I…sometimes cease to be."
"The same thing has happened to other patients. I'll do everything I can. And then you can go home."
Nova slowly nodded. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath into a leap of faith.
"Then…you have my full support."
[*******]
Scheduled Miramon Wave Absent
Despite computer simulations and Wave measurements of the Starlight Miracle indicating the scheduled incoming wave of Miramon towards Utgard, the sudden abrupt absence has left many Miracologists and ready soldiers scratching their heads. Furthermore…
“An absent wave of Miramon…” Lu Yi repeated the newspaper. “This has never happened before, has there?”
“There have been cases where Wave measuring instruments have reported false alarms. That and along with human error,” said Tevor, who was also looking at a newspaper. “But this really is the first case where an accurate measurement of an incoming Miramon wave should have happened, yet didn’t. It’s only speculation, but I suppose it has something to do with your Nova.”
“Yeah but…even Brewster didn’t have the kind of firepower to take down that many Miramon.” Lu Yi pointed out.
“Right…” Tevor closed his newspaper and looked directly at Lu Yi. “When you were with Brewster while captured, did the Shadow Decree do anything?”
“Uh…well, we weren’t around enough to get through with anything like that,” he said. “But since Brewster is an artificial Esper, it’d probably have to do something with that.”
“Empowering Espers is not out of possibility…” Tevor murmured. “Wasn’t there an Esper that was empowered before?”
“Sieg? Yeah, he was also there with Brewster when they came back to break me out.”
“That could be the case then. They empowered Brewster, enough to take on hordes of Miramon. Question is where would they hide them.”
“You…wouldn’t know where they would hide Brewster, right?”
“I can get some info on my end. Just pull a few strings. And you?”
“Well…I think I can contact someone. However…we’ll have to see if what you find is true.”
[*******]
Having been calmed and also accepting of Fu Shi’s proposal to experiment on him on the premises that he can help others, Nova felt rather okay with his situation. Fu Shi seems to be a nice guy compared to the few people he’s seen of this Shadow Decree organization, even granting him permission to wander around a bit (but not too far) within the base.
“Can I get chocolate milk? And some beer too?”
Nova had asked that of Fu Shi, to which the dragon replied with a considerate statement. Other than that, Nova didn’t want to push his luck on such politeness. Still…he did get a tracking bangle on his wrist, just in case.
He went around, just observing the ongoings of the people. There was surprisingly little attention given to him, and Nova could only think that perhaps what he’s doing right now is a bit of a normal thing that happens here. However, he never said it like that. His dog ears picked up idle conversations on people, especially those who looked a little more…combat ready, in a sense. When walking through a massive hall with slowly winding turbine fans, he heard a conversation between the bull Djoser…and some ruffian looking wolf man wearing a dark vest, arm bracers, boots, and some very cool looking shades.
“You’re shitting me, right?!” exclaimed the wolf. “What the hell’s Kara cookin’ with Brewster!? You expect me to believe that a stump like him had that kind of firepower?!”
“It’s not Brewster, Freddy,” Djoser reminded. “It’s someone inhabiting Brewster's body.”
“Like a Goa’uld or something like that?”
“More like The Exorcist. Someone’s possessed Brewster, or Nova. That’s what he goes by now.”
“I heard it was first thought to be some split personality…”
“That’s not the case anymore. Anesidora’s on an expedition to a newly found ruin ever since the False Resonance happened, said that some instruments there had gone off. The reading’s should have indicated that a new Miracle was going to happen…though on-site camera feed didn’t show anything.”
“Bah, that’s a bit too complicated for me,” Freddy grumbled. “What’s it got to do with Brewster…or Nova, whatever.”
“From what I’ve seen. His weapon changed to something like a revolver. That’s never happened with any Esper before. Even then, it was capable of changing into…modes, so to speak.”
“Really? Well…who better to ask than the man himself?”
Nova felt small the moment Freddy’s face turned to him. Djoser did as well, though his face was more of a cold indifference compared to Freddy’s malicious intrigue.
“Don’t rough him up, he’s supposed to be up for the next experiment by Fu Shi,” said Djoser, who seemed ready to leave. “I gotta help out some of our guys with other tasks, so…play nice.”
The bull disappeared down the hall, to some unseen door. Nova didn’t have time to wonder where he went before he realized the giant muscular wolf was upon him. With one swipe, he grabbed Nova by the hand like one would hold a fish by the tail.
“Well well well,” Freddy’s toothy smile greeted him. “You must’ve heard all that, right? I also heard you changed from that annoying little chihuahua to an obedient little puppy dog.”
Nova didn’t care about the insult. “You’re hurting me! Please, I’ll show it to you, just let go of me!”
Freddy looked more annoyed than anything. “Guess that’s true then. You used to cause so many entertaining events while you were your old self. Now look at you…….whatever, show me.”
“But…you didn’t let me-AH!!!”
The massive paw around his own squeezed, pain shot through his wrist.
“I’ll let you go when you show me.”
Nova didn’t think, he just did. He manifested the revolver and handed it to the big wolf. Freddy let him go soon after, to which Nova landed on his bum and winced, but otherwise fine. Freddy inspected his weapon, which looked almost small in such big hands.
“Interesting,” said Freddy as he aimed the gun coyly. “Does this have the same firepower like before?”
“I guess…? I wanted the gun to have a smaller area of effect and…it just turned into that.”
“Concentrated force. Just like a regular revolver…”
Freddy tossed the revolver back to him, to which Nova caught. However, with his eyes and mind focused on catching, he didn’t see the incoming fist.
“Guh!”
“Bahaha!” The wolf howled with laughter. “The old you had more skill, even while drunk! You’re pathetic!”
“Freddy, enough.”
Fu Shi appeared in a swirl of mist, his hand outstretched to Nova, which he takes as he coughs from the gut punch. Freddy’s smile from before disappeared as his face became more of a scowl.
“It was only a brushing touch. You can’t blame me for him being so weak…”
That particular statement hurt, and anger started to simmer. His trigger finger itched…but he suppressed it as the revolver disappeared.
“Come Nova,” Fu Shi referred to Nova. “The tests are now ready.”
[*******]
Just like the bridge that would lead to the heart of Utgard’s downtown area, the bounty hunter and the detective crossed another bridge that led to a golden city in the distance. Lu Yi had to admit it wasn’t easy to just ignore the dazzling scenery. Even in the cold winter’s noon the lights of the golden city northward shine bright.
“So…what are we looking for?” Lu Yi asked as he looked out the window, the golden city slowly zooming in as they crossed the bridge.
“Not what, who,” Tevor said as he drove. “My time as a detective has led to many strings I can pull, this is one of them.”
Side-parking the car, Tevor exited the vehicle as Lu Yi followed suit. What he saw was an immense building that imposed a sense of purpose and centricity, like the beating heart of Utgard. It didn’t take much brain power to realize that he was standing before a municipality building, though clearly government funded.
Utgard Urban Planning Institute
“I suggest you start contacting whoever you need.” said Tevor as he opened the door.
With how massive the public lounge for the whole building was, Lu Yi wasn’t picky on where he sat. He took the nearest vacant seat and pulled out his phone, and dialed a frequent number.
. . .
. . .
“Graywater Bounty League, how may we be of service?”
“I’m calling to set up a bounty.”
“Please state an intended description of the bounty.”
“I need an Esper with navigational skills. Especially ones that may deal with mazes.”
“Very well, when do you want this bounty to be completed?”
“As soon as possible.”
“How much are you willing to pay for this bounty?”
“Fifty-thousand gold.”
“And your name?”
“Lu Yi.”
“...May I ask why you are setting up a bounty?”
“I just need help finding-”
“Brewster?”
Lu Yi sighed, humored a bit. In all fairness, this was something that happened before, multiple times. “You could say that?”
“Did you check the dumpster? Or any of the bars he hasn’t been banned from yet?”
“No, it’s…more serious than that.”
“I see…”
. . .
“All right, the bounty has been set. Thank you for taking up the service of the Graywater Bounty League.”
[*******]
Nova walked with Fu Shi as he led him back to the lab. The room was full of a gloomy green ambience as testing equipment and measuring instruments were all around. Though the main highlight was the…well…Nova could only think of them as vat tanks. The glass cylinders were responsible for the ominous green glow, some casting translucent shadows as various people lay in them, dormant and suspended in water, oxygen masks strapped to their faces.
Some of them look like they’re in the process of transformation, which Nova had to ask, “Is…becoming an Esper quick?”
“What you’re seeing in the incubation pods are simply…half awakened Espers, as we have called them,” said Fu Shi. “Their physicality is showing expressions of becoming an Esper, though they’ve yet to actually awaken. Natural instances of transformation are rather explosive, and quick.”
“So…he reached that point then.”
“Yes, the Waves in his body eventually reached critical saturation, and the Esper Entity soon inhabited his body. And then they fused, forming the body you inhabit now.”
“Oh…”
Nova could only wonder what Brewster must have gone through while here. Though there was only a sense of unease and emptiness ever since he had come here. Fu Shi relieved that to some extent, but still…it never fully went away.
“Here.”
Fu Shi stopped and gestured to a particular vat tank. Unlike the others, there were large cables leading to the inside of the empty tank, all of it plugged into a device that Nova could only see as a giant battery tied to a chair with straps. Nova also saw that they weren’t the only ones in the laboratory. Uday was there, along with Freddy. Nova felt nervous about the wolf man being there, he punched him in the gut after all.
“Why is he here?”
“For safety reasons,” said Fu Shi. “Djoser is running some tasks, so he can’t be here at the moment.”
Even with Djoser’s cold attitude towards him, he would’ve preferred it over Freddy. The wolf has already made a first impression.
“And Uday?”
“She volunteered to be your handler, even during the initial mission infiltrating the Union to extract you. So she’ll be present with you throughout your time here.”
“Oh...”
“Sit in the chair.” ordered Fu Shi.
Nova did so, despite his reservations. The dragon set up the straps himself. His arms, legs, and forehead were bound to the steel chair. His heart began to race as he felt like he was going to be tortured, the situation just felt like that’s what was going to happen to him.
“Uh…is this going to hurt?” he asked nervously.
“You may feel a burning sensation, though prior trials have confirmed it was simply a result of first-time use,” Fu Shi answered. “Though later exposure to the device has been said to feel good in some way.”
“Exposure…?”
“Uday.”
His questions were left unanswered as his eyes glanced at Uday, whose fingers started typing across a wheeled terminal. With a simple command entered, the device hummed to life behind him as Nova could hear…music? And he could see something in the corner of his eye, some kind of…audio equalizer
“What…what is that sound?”
“Saturated waves of any type have been confirmed to have their own form of song,” Nova’s ears could barely hear the sound of Fu Shi’s voice. “That is what you’re hearing. And what you may see behind your head is a visualization of that saturation.”
And not long after, Nova started feeling the burning sensation. It started like pinpricks, grains of sand hitting his back. But those grains of sand started to sink further and further into his skin, soon to his flesh, and right through his core and to the other side of his body.
It was like he was on fire, the kind of fire that passed right through him and yet burned every single cell of his body to ash, only to revert time and thus continue the burning once more.
“AAAAAAHHH!!! AAAAAAHHHHH!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!”
He screamed at the top of his lungs, thrashing and kicking against his binds. He screamed until his throat was hoarse and covered in saliva, he thrashed until his muscles ached and refused to obey the instinct to avoid danger. And in a few mere minutes, all he could really do was sit there and burn.
By all accounts, he didn’t seem to be in any actual harm. His body was completely fine though the skin under the binds may have chaffed due to his struggle.
“Nova’s brainwave mapping is receding, as expected.”
Uday had said that, though Nova could hear none of it. He was…fading…as himself faded away, so did the pain, the effects of initial exposure having now come to an end. And indeed…it did feel good, like he was under a thick blanket that’s just been through the dryer. The faintest blip of consciousness remained, just as something, or someone, began to surface.
“Wave measurements rising, Esper Entity is now taking front.”
“Nova” was panting, covered in sweat, but alive. He looked around as Fu Shi slowly removed the straps binding him down. He hopped from the chair with surprising vigor, looking at himself. A brief spell of curiosity came over his eyes before disappointment came through.
“I have no idea why I wanted to be a chihuahua…”
“What is your name-”
Fu Shi barely had the time to answer before summoning his glaive. The reason why is that “Nova” summoned his weapon, Brewster’s weapon, and began firing upon him. Fu Shi’s elegant swings deflected the incoming bullets as they exploded on the walls or nearby equipment, shaking the entire room.
“I’M GARMR YOU ASSHOLE!!! YOU’LL PAY FOR YOUR INSOLENCE WITH YOUR DEATH!!!”
Uday and Freddy soon joined in on the fight. The wolf man rushed right at Garmr, though the mouth of the barrel aimed straight at his face. However, Uday’s powers soon took hold as a bubble formed and dissipated around the wolf just as Garmr pulled the trigger. The air exploded, but did not so much as touch the fur on Freddy’s arms. However, instead, the air and light distorted around the wolf as it absorbed the blow, but the sheer force sent the wolf through a wall. The shield that Uday provided, however, was all but spent on protecting Freddy from a single bullet.
“The hell?!” Freddy exclaimed as he went right back into the fight.. “How’s he stronger now?!”
“It must be because Garmr is the one in control!” Uday yelled over the dog man’s gunfire.
“FENRIR!!!” Garmr looked at Freddy with malice.
“GARMR!!!”
Bonk!
Just before the fight began to escalate, Fu Shi had used his own powers to disappear and reappear behind Garmr. And with the flat end of his glaive, he bonks the dog man before he drops to the floor, unconscious.
Only Freddy was the one panting since he exerted more physical effort than others. However, he scolded, but not to Garmr.
“Damn…he really threw me back with one blow…I gotta train harder then…” Freddy growled.
“Well, it still looks like Brewster,” said Uday, looking down at the unconscious dog. “I just…I don’t know, I thought that bringing around the Esper Entity would have done something a bit more dramatic.
“Is trashing this room not dramatic?” Freddy pointed out. “He woke up and chose violence.”
“Regardless of that…” Fu Shi seemed to smile. A smile that was worn, but one that felt deserved. Because something was finally within reach. “It seems the concept of repairing the broken states of unfortunate Espers is now possible.”
“So…looks like you finally have a solution for her.” murmured Uday.
And though Fu Shi’s usual regal-like composure faltered, he caught himself. He put his hand on his face, taking a deep breath and wiping away a few stray tears.
“Yes…I finally do.”
[*******]
“Guh…”
Nova felt groggy, his head swimming with a mix between drug-induced exhaustion and slumber. It felt like he was just waking up from a hangover as his head throbbed in a dull yet painful manner. Though he felt something. It seemed he was on some kind of mattress, if only a bit thin. When his vision focused back in the same room where he was being measured, the hospital-like setting surrounded him like he simply woke up from some kind of surgery.
But he knew that it wasn’t the case. He remembered everything clearly, the feeling of a high as he destroyed each Miramon, wild and passionate emotions, and the memory of being shot by a dart.
He didn’t know what to feel. Angry? He can’t really tell, those feelings are the same feelings from the entity inside him. Sad? Well..his situation really does suck…but he could at least see the bright side. He’s indeed in one piece, though he’s going through one heck of a relapse.
Speaking of relapse, he feels the urge to drink some kind of wine or alcohol. Well…seeing that he’s back at the Shadow Decree base, he might as well ask for a cup.
“Hello?”
Nova pushed open the door with his paw, and the other side of the door lead to something else. He could only gawk as he saw something big and fleshy staring at him. Covered in dirty matted fur, similar cream and gray color that his body has, but the eye…
The eye is a vibrant fiery orange, staring right at him as its pupils shrink at the sight of him.
“What…?”
“You.”
The voice was deep, shaking the entire room so much that he nearly stumbled.
“You are a cancer.”
“I’m…?” Nova gritted his teeth right after rebounding from the confusion. “No! You’re the cancer! I will die if I let you take over!”
“No.” the thing said so matter-of-factly. “You are the cancer.”
“I’m not a cancer!”
“Then why do you inhabit a body that is not your own?”
Nova went silent and looked at himself. The thing in front of him is right, he is inhabiting a body that wasn’t even his. He’s the puppeteer, living in the puppet. But he shook his head.
“I didn’t ask to be here…”
“Does cancer ever ask to exist?”
Nova’s fists balled up. “There’s Miracles here. One came to my world and brought me here and stuffed me in this body. If anything, it’s your world’s fault! You brought your shit to my world, and now look where I am!”
The thing laughed…if it could be called that. The room shook as cracks began to form across the hospital room, little more than a gingerbread house.
“Even in this world, they have only scratched the surface. You know nothing, cancer. I will take back what is mine.”
The whole room exploded as Nova was sent flying into the darkness. Nova screamed and flailed, flying through the nothingness. Though as he stabilized himself, he could see something bounding towards him. A massive wolven beast with the same piercing orange eyes that stared at him beyond the door.
And now that beast lunged at him, its void of a maw opening to swallow him whole.
Nova panicked and manifest his revolver and pulled the trigger as fast as he could. But the beast was simply too big to make a scratch. Swallowed by a darkness that felt alive, encompassing, and consuming, Nova simply screamed into the darkness and kept his finger pulling the trigger out of desperation.
“LET ME OUT! LET ME OUT! LET ME OUT! LETMEOUTLETMEOUTLETMEOUTLETMEOUTLETMEOOOOOOOUUUUUTTTT!!!”
“Brewster! Brewster!!”
“LET ME OUT! LET ME OUT…! Let me…”
He slowly opened his eyes, he’s in the bed of the clinical holding room again from…whatever that was. Someone was holding him down, finding that it was Uday and Djoser. His revolver is in his hand, and he apparently let out some shots as there were holes in the ceiling.
“What…?” Nova felt delirious, looking around in confusion. “What happened..? I…”
“It’s okay. You’re alright,” said Uday in a rather soothing voice.
“You’ve experienced a hallucination,” said Djoser. “And then we heard gunshots. We had to come over to restrain you.”
“I-I’m sorry…” Nova sank into himself.
A moment of silence passed before Uday sighed. “It’s alright, just try and relax. Another researcher has come around and wants to study with you.”
“Not Kara?”
“Not Kara.” Uday confirmed, and she sounded just as relieved as Nova was.
“Then…who?”
“That would be me.”
Someone stepped into the hospital room, a mix of orange and green and cream came to him. It was a dog man? Like him? Like Brewster? His mane was something to behold, it held swirls in itself like he’s never seen. Some even had tints of orange in them, like a mystical flame. The dog man in front of him wore a deep green jacket with an undershirt of black and orange, depicting some kind of draconic creature he couldn’t fully see. He also wore some kind of pants with black and golden highlights at the end, and wore shoes that somehow reminded him of something seen in east asian cultures despite it’s rather sleek modern design.
More importantly though, the eyes that met his own held hope. A kindling that seemed to have been alive, yet weary, for a very long time.
“Oh…hello.” Nova politely waved at the dog man. “You’re like me. You’re…a dog.”
The coldness that most of the Esper’s he’s met at this Shadow Decree did not seem to exist with him. Nova, already, felt warm as the man chuckled. “I’m no dog, I’m a dragon.”
“A furred dragon…that’s not so strange…” Nova muttered.
“Please, give us some alone time.”
At the dragon’s word, both Uday and Djoser take leave with Nova now alone with the dragon as he takes a chair.
“So, you must be Brewster,” said the dragon. “Though…Kara and Uday have told me that you aren’t him, that must be quite confusing.”
“Yeah…I didn’t mean to be like this. I just…it’s hard to explain.”
“It’s alright,” the dragon said understandingly. “Let’s start with the basics. What name do you refer yourself as?”
“Nova. And who are you?”
“My name is Fu Shi. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Nova.”
Fu Shi extended his hand, to which Nova shook. He continued the conversation. “I’ve been made aware that your time here has been quite a handful. I don’t want that kind of time between us.”
“You’re…not gonna put wires on me? Or inject stuff and make me go…”
The memories were strong and vivid, the mere thought of them made his head swim. Gravity seemed to tilt before suddenly going still, finding Fu Shi’s arm on his shoulder. Apparently, he nearly fell off the bed from the memory alone.
“Unfortunately, my experiment does include bringing this…new side of you, to the forefront. My area of research is in cases such as yours. Your data will provide valuable insight.”
"I don't…I don't want to do that…"
Nova felt himself shake in fear. But Fu Shi pressed regardless. "I know. But your circumstances can help people like you."
"Not…not exactly like me," Nova emphasized, if only to relent just a bit of his fate. "I just…want to go home."
"But you are here. And since you're here…all I'm asking is that you can do some good while you're with us."
"Like…for Embla?" Asked Nova. "I only heard of her from the Union, but. You're saying that my condition can help people like her?"
Fu Shi's voice trembled, if only for a moment. "Even if it doesn't. It will at least point us in the right direction."
Nova considered. It was a lot, in all honesty. There was a risk, a great risk, should he do this. But then again…he's got no choice. They can't harm him, he's too important to kill. But since he's here…maybe there is something he can do. However…
"Promise me that I won't…fade away. When the thing inside me takes control I…sometimes cease to be."
"The same thing has happened to other patients. I'll do everything I can. And then you can go home."
Nova slowly nodded. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath into a leap of faith.
"Then…you have my full support."
[*******]
Scheduled Miramon Wave Absent
Despite computer simulations and Wave measurements of the Starlight Miracle indicating the scheduled incoming wave of Miramon towards Utgard, the sudden abrupt absence has left many Miracologists and ready soldiers scratching their heads. Furthermore…
“An absent wave of Miramon…” Lu Yi repeated the newspaper. “This has never happened before, has there?”
“There have been cases where Wave measuring instruments have reported false alarms. That and along with human error,” said Tevor, who was also looking at a newspaper. “But this really is the first case where an accurate measurement of an incoming Miramon wave should have happened, yet didn’t. It’s only speculation, but I suppose it has something to do with your Nova.”
“Yeah but…even Brewster didn’t have the kind of firepower to take down that many Miramon.” Lu Yi pointed out.
“Right…” Tevor closed his newspaper and looked directly at Lu Yi. “When you were with Brewster while captured, did the Shadow Decree do anything?”
“Uh…well, we weren’t around enough to get through with anything like that,” he said. “But since Brewster is an artificial Esper, it’d probably have to do something with that.”
“Empowering Espers is not out of possibility…” Tevor murmured. “Wasn’t there an Esper that was empowered before?”
“Sieg? Yeah, he was also there with Brewster when they came back to break me out.”
“That could be the case then. They empowered Brewster, enough to take on hordes of Miramon. Question is where would they hide them.”
“You…wouldn’t know where they would hide Brewster, right?”
“I can get some info on my end. Just pull a few strings. And you?”
“Well…I think I can contact someone. However…we’ll have to see if what you find is true.”
[*******]
Having been calmed and also accepting of Fu Shi’s proposal to experiment on him on the premises that he can help others, Nova felt rather okay with his situation. Fu Shi seems to be a nice guy compared to the few people he’s seen of this Shadow Decree organization, even granting him permission to wander around a bit (but not too far) within the base.
“Can I get chocolate milk? And some beer too?”
Nova had asked that of Fu Shi, to which the dragon replied with a considerate statement. Other than that, Nova didn’t want to push his luck on such politeness. Still…he did get a tracking bangle on his wrist, just in case.
He went around, just observing the ongoings of the people. There was surprisingly little attention given to him, and Nova could only think that perhaps what he’s doing right now is a bit of a normal thing that happens here. However, he never said it like that. His dog ears picked up idle conversations on people, especially those who looked a little more…combat ready, in a sense. When walking through a massive hall with slowly winding turbine fans, he heard a conversation between the bull Djoser…and some ruffian looking wolf man wearing a dark vest, arm bracers, boots, and some very cool looking shades.
“You’re shitting me, right?!” exclaimed the wolf. “What the hell’s Kara cookin’ with Brewster!? You expect me to believe that a stump like him had that kind of firepower?!”
“It’s not Brewster, Freddy,” Djoser reminded. “It’s someone inhabiting Brewster's body.”
“Like a Goa’uld or something like that?”
“More like The Exorcist. Someone’s possessed Brewster, or Nova. That’s what he goes by now.”
“I heard it was first thought to be some split personality…”
“That’s not the case anymore. Anesidora’s on an expedition to a newly found ruin ever since the False Resonance happened, said that some instruments there had gone off. The reading’s should have indicated that a new Miracle was going to happen…though on-site camera feed didn’t show anything.”
“Bah, that’s a bit too complicated for me,” Freddy grumbled. “What’s it got to do with Brewster…or Nova, whatever.”
“From what I’ve seen. His weapon changed to something like a revolver. That’s never happened with any Esper before. Even then, it was capable of changing into…modes, so to speak.”
“Really? Well…who better to ask than the man himself?”
Nova felt small the moment Freddy’s face turned to him. Djoser did as well, though his face was more of a cold indifference compared to Freddy’s malicious intrigue.
“Don’t rough him up, he’s supposed to be up for the next experiment by Fu Shi,” said Djoser, who seemed ready to leave. “I gotta help out some of our guys with other tasks, so…play nice.”
The bull disappeared down the hall, to some unseen door. Nova didn’t have time to wonder where he went before he realized the giant muscular wolf was upon him. With one swipe, he grabbed Nova by the hand like one would hold a fish by the tail.
“Well well well,” Freddy’s toothy smile greeted him. “You must’ve heard all that, right? I also heard you changed from that annoying little chihuahua to an obedient little puppy dog.”
Nova didn’t care about the insult. “You’re hurting me! Please, I’ll show it to you, just let go of me!”
Freddy looked more annoyed than anything. “Guess that’s true then. You used to cause so many entertaining events while you were your old self. Now look at you…….whatever, show me.”
“But…you didn’t let me-AH!!!”
The massive paw around his own squeezed, pain shot through his wrist.
“I’ll let you go when you show me.”
Nova didn’t think, he just did. He manifested the revolver and handed it to the big wolf. Freddy let him go soon after, to which Nova landed on his bum and winced, but otherwise fine. Freddy inspected his weapon, which looked almost small in such big hands.
“Interesting,” said Freddy as he aimed the gun coyly. “Does this have the same firepower like before?”
“I guess…? I wanted the gun to have a smaller area of effect and…it just turned into that.”
“Concentrated force. Just like a regular revolver…”
Freddy tossed the revolver back to him, to which Nova caught. However, with his eyes and mind focused on catching, he didn’t see the incoming fist.
“Guh!”
“Bahaha!” The wolf howled with laughter. “The old you had more skill, even while drunk! You’re pathetic!”
“Freddy, enough.”
Fu Shi appeared in a swirl of mist, his hand outstretched to Nova, which he takes as he coughs from the gut punch. Freddy’s smile from before disappeared as his face became more of a scowl.
“It was only a brushing touch. You can’t blame me for him being so weak…”
That particular statement hurt, and anger started to simmer. His trigger finger itched…but he suppressed it as the revolver disappeared.
“Come Nova,” Fu Shi referred to Nova. “The tests are now ready.”
[*******]
Just like the bridge that would lead to the heart of Utgard’s downtown area, the bounty hunter and the detective crossed another bridge that led to a golden city in the distance. Lu Yi had to admit it wasn’t easy to just ignore the dazzling scenery. Even in the cold winter’s noon the lights of the golden city northward shine bright.
“So…what are we looking for?” Lu Yi asked as he looked out the window, the golden city slowly zooming in as they crossed the bridge.
“Not what, who,” Tevor said as he drove. “My time as a detective has led to many strings I can pull, this is one of them.”
Side-parking the car, Tevor exited the vehicle as Lu Yi followed suit. What he saw was an immense building that imposed a sense of purpose and centricity, like the beating heart of Utgard. It didn’t take much brain power to realize that he was standing before a municipality building, though clearly government funded.
Utgard Urban Planning Institute
“I suggest you start contacting whoever you need.” said Tevor as he opened the door.
With how massive the public lounge for the whole building was, Lu Yi wasn’t picky on where he sat. He took the nearest vacant seat and pulled out his phone, and dialed a frequent number.
. . .
. . .
“Graywater Bounty League, how may we be of service?”
“I’m calling to set up a bounty.”
“Please state an intended description of the bounty.”
“I need an Esper with navigational skills. Especially ones that may deal with mazes.”
“Very well, when do you want this bounty to be completed?”
“As soon as possible.”
“How much are you willing to pay for this bounty?”
“Fifty-thousand gold.”
“And your name?”
“Lu Yi.”
“...May I ask why you are setting up a bounty?”
“I just need help finding-”
“Brewster?”
Lu Yi sighed, humored a bit. In all fairness, this was something that happened before, multiple times. “You could say that?”
“Did you check the dumpster? Or any of the bars he hasn’t been banned from yet?”
“No, it’s…more serious than that.”
“I see…”
. . .
“All right, the bounty has been set. Thank you for taking up the service of the Graywater Bounty League.”
[*******]
Nova walked with Fu Shi as he led him back to the lab. The room was full of a gloomy green ambience as testing equipment and measuring instruments were all around. Though the main highlight was the…well…Nova could only think of them as vat tanks. The glass cylinders were responsible for the ominous green glow, some casting translucent shadows as various people lay in them, dormant and suspended in water, oxygen masks strapped to their faces.
Some of them look like they’re in the process of transformation, which Nova had to ask, “Is…becoming an Esper quick?”
“What you’re seeing in the incubation pods are simply…half awakened Espers, as we have called them,” said Fu Shi. “Their physicality is showing expressions of becoming an Esper, though they’ve yet to actually awaken. Natural instances of transformation are rather explosive, and quick.”
“So…he reached that point then.”
“Yes, the Waves in his body eventually reached critical saturation, and the Esper Entity soon inhabited his body. And then they fused, forming the body you inhabit now.”
“Oh…”
Nova could only wonder what Brewster must have gone through while here. Though there was only a sense of unease and emptiness ever since he had come here. Fu Shi relieved that to some extent, but still…it never fully went away.
“Here.”
Fu Shi stopped and gestured to a particular vat tank. Unlike the others, there were large cables leading to the inside of the empty tank, all of it plugged into a device that Nova could only see as a giant battery tied to a chair with straps. Nova also saw that they weren’t the only ones in the laboratory. Uday was there, along with Freddy. Nova felt nervous about the wolf man being there, he punched him in the gut after all.
“Why is he here?”
“For safety reasons,” said Fu Shi. “Djoser is running some tasks, so he can’t be here at the moment.”
Even with Djoser’s cold attitude towards him, he would’ve preferred it over Freddy. The wolf has already made a first impression.
“And Uday?”
“She volunteered to be your handler, even during the initial mission infiltrating the Union to extract you. So she’ll be present with you throughout your time here.”
“Oh...”
“Sit in the chair.” ordered Fu Shi.
Nova did so, despite his reservations. The dragon set up the straps himself. His arms, legs, and forehead were bound to the steel chair. His heart began to race as he felt like he was going to be tortured, the situation just felt like that’s what was going to happen to him.
“Uh…is this going to hurt?” he asked nervously.
“You may feel a burning sensation, though prior trials have confirmed it was simply a result of first-time use,” Fu Shi answered. “Though later exposure to the device has been said to feel good in some way.”
“Exposure…?”
“Uday.”
His questions were left unanswered as his eyes glanced at Uday, whose fingers started typing across a wheeled terminal. With a simple command entered, the device hummed to life behind him as Nova could hear…music? And he could see something in the corner of his eye, some kind of…audio equalizer
“What…what is that sound?”
“Saturated waves of any type have been confirmed to have their own form of song,” Nova’s ears could barely hear the sound of Fu Shi’s voice. “That is what you’re hearing. And what you may see behind your head is a visualization of that saturation.”
And not long after, Nova started feeling the burning sensation. It started like pinpricks, grains of sand hitting his back. But those grains of sand started to sink further and further into his skin, soon to his flesh, and right through his core and to the other side of his body.
It was like he was on fire, the kind of fire that passed right through him and yet burned every single cell of his body to ash, only to revert time and thus continue the burning once more.
“AAAAAAHHH!!! AAAAAAHHHHH!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!”
He screamed at the top of his lungs, thrashing and kicking against his binds. He screamed until his throat was hoarse and covered in saliva, he thrashed until his muscles ached and refused to obey the instinct to avoid danger. And in a few mere minutes, all he could really do was sit there and burn.
By all accounts, he didn’t seem to be in any actual harm. His body was completely fine though the skin under the binds may have chaffed due to his struggle.
“Nova’s brainwave mapping is receding, as expected.”
Uday had said that, though Nova could hear none of it. He was…fading…as himself faded away, so did the pain, the effects of initial exposure having now come to an end. And indeed…it did feel good, like he was under a thick blanket that’s just been through the dryer. The faintest blip of consciousness remained, just as something, or someone, began to surface.
“Wave measurements rising, Esper Entity is now taking front.”
“Nova” was panting, covered in sweat, but alive. He looked around as Fu Shi slowly removed the straps binding him down. He hopped from the chair with surprising vigor, looking at himself. A brief spell of curiosity came over his eyes before disappointment came through.
“I have no idea why I wanted to be a chihuahua…”
“What is your name-”
Fu Shi barely had the time to answer before summoning his glaive. The reason why is that “Nova” summoned his weapon, Brewster’s weapon, and began firing upon him. Fu Shi’s elegant swings deflected the incoming bullets as they exploded on the walls or nearby equipment, shaking the entire room.
“I’M GARMR YOU ASSHOLE!!! YOU’LL PAY FOR YOUR INSOLENCE WITH YOUR DEATH!!!”
Uday and Freddy soon joined in on the fight. The wolf man rushed right at Garmr, though the mouth of the barrel aimed straight at his face. However, Uday’s powers soon took hold as a bubble formed and dissipated around the wolf just as Garmr pulled the trigger. The air exploded, but did not so much as touch the fur on Freddy’s arms. However, instead, the air and light distorted around the wolf as it absorbed the blow, but the sheer force sent the wolf through a wall. The shield that Uday provided, however, was all but spent on protecting Freddy from a single bullet.
“The hell?!” Freddy exclaimed as he went right back into the fight.. “How’s he stronger now?!”
“It must be because Garmr is the one in control!” Uday yelled over the dog man’s gunfire.
“FENRIR!!!” Garmr looked at Freddy with malice.
“GARMR!!!”
Bonk!
Just before the fight began to escalate, Fu Shi had used his own powers to disappear and reappear behind Garmr. And with the flat end of his glaive, he bonks the dog man before he drops to the floor, unconscious.
Only Freddy was the one panting since he exerted more physical effort than others. However, he scolded, but not to Garmr.
“Damn…he really threw me back with one blow…I gotta train harder then…” Freddy growled.
“Well, it still looks like Brewster,” said Uday, looking down at the unconscious dog. “I just…I don’t know, I thought that bringing around the Esper Entity would have done something a bit more dramatic.
“Is trashing this room not dramatic?” Freddy pointed out. “He woke up and chose violence.”
“Regardless of that…” Fu Shi seemed to smile. A smile that was worn, but one that felt deserved. Because something was finally within reach. “It seems the concept of repairing the broken states of unfortunate Espers is now possible.”
“So…looks like you finally have a solution for her.” murmured Uday.
And though Fu Shi’s usual regal-like composure faltered, he caught himself. He put his hand on his face, taking a deep breath and wiping away a few stray tears.
“Yes…I finally do.”
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