INFRAREDACTIVITIES

NIKUMUBEKI PRESENTS: INFRA-RED ACTIVITIES

CHAPTER 1: MERCEDES

Mercedes' ship approaches the planet of Thenoaraige
- NARRATION: The archeologist MERCEDES CHEREN has successfully completed her mission on the desolate planet of Thenoaraige.
- NARRATION: Throughout her career, Mercedes has dedicated her research on the PSIONIC REALM - a layer of existence containing unknown energy that certain beings in the universe are able to convert into destructive power.
- NARRATION: Most of the information on the Psionic Realm has been retrieved from stone artifacts comprised of a seemingly indestructible substance named ICHOR.
- NARRATION: Yet the true purpose of the Psionic Realm still remains a mystery...

Mercedes in a space suit discovers the Ichor artifact from a cave
- NARRATION: Five years ago, Mercedes' Ichor radar suddenly flared up with hundreds of previously undetected deposits showing up all over the galaxy.
- NARRATION: The artifact from Thenoaraige might be the most important one yet - a decryption key for most if not all previous artifacts.
- NARRATION: Thus, Mercedes has become closer than ever to possibly revealing the secrets of the Psionic Realm once and for all.
- NARRATION: However...


Mercenaries in the corridors of the ship, with some of the hired help running away while being shot at
- MERCEDES: Retrieving the artifact was easy enough, but my ship was ambushed by a group of mercenaries before we managed to leave.
- MERCEDES: They disabled the engines, but I got in the panic room just in time before they took down the primary security and communication systems.
- MERCEDES: ... And my hired help decided to bolt just when they could have proved their paychecks' worth.

A Flavian station with a Flavian soldier watching Mercedes via telescreen (crackly connection)
- INFO: The Flavian Fleet (an off-shoot of the Flavian Corporation) has become the most influential private military enterprise in the galaxy.
- MERCEDES: Luckily I got the distress call out just in time.
- FLAVIAN OFFICER: Our taskforce should be there in a couple of minutes.
- MERCEDES: Minutes? How could they get here so fast? Not that I'm complaining or anything, but...
- FLAVIAN OFFICER: We are in possession of unique technology for situations like this...

Mercedes looks worriedly at security feeds are being taken down (turning into static) in the background
- MERCEDES: (Not good. They've already reached the outer perimeter of the panic room...)
- MERCEDES: (... Wait, is that...?)
- FLAVIAN OFFICER: Our taskforce has arrived. Best of luck to you, Ms. Cheren.

The Garosaon and a cargo ship have arrived at the scene.
- The Garosaon fires something at Mercedes' ship
- Security feeds start reactivating, showing merc corpses in the immediate vicinity
- Mercedes looks at the monitors, then smiles a bit while looking at the footage
- MERCEDES: (... what? How's that possible?)
- MERCEDES: (I wonder if it's safe to-)
- The room to the panic room opens, with the heavily armored merc's shadowy silhouette visible

The Heavily Armed Merch (HAM), smirking, aims his gun at Mercedes, who looks at him wide-eyed and gritting her teeth
- The HAM’s ammo barrage approaches Mercedes
- A shoot of Root can be seen right below the barrage
- The Flavian Shield becomes visible, disintegrating the ammo barrage to nothingness
- Both Mercedes and HAM look shocked at this
- Kimojin's armored (and glowing) fist punches through the merc's heavy metal neck armor
- The HAM is thrown aside like a ragdoll by Kimojin, Mercedes looks at him in shock
- Kimojin's “Psionic nervous system” can be seen through his arms, while Mercedes looks shocked
- MERCEDES: (Even a force field shouldn't have been able to nullify that attack or its kinetic energy... just how...?)
- The glow stops, Kimojin's armored part of his arm turns into ash and he begins wiping it off
- MERCEDES: (A Psionic...?)
- Mercedes looks rather shocked at Kimojin
- Kimojin steps inside to the panic room
- KIMOJIN: Hi. I'm Kimojin Arjuna Tearatonicant from the Flavian Fleet. You've got your artifact to thank, otherwise we couldn't have tracked your location.
- Mercedes looks puzzled
- Kimojin looks puzzled as well (tilting his head to the right), then cheekily lifts his hand next to his mouth in order to say
- KIMOJIN: We also have a radar for Ichor.


CHAPTER 2: PSIONIC

A Psionic, with his special nervous system glowing through his body, seems to prepare a Psionic (ki) blast

- NARRATION: While capable of tapping into the Psionic Realm for power, Psionics' power is still limited by their special nervous system, and exceeding their innate limits is almost always fatal...
- NARRATION: Even so, Psionics are unable to radically bend or alter the laws of reality as such - an ability once exhibited by the Divine Beings.
- NARRATION: Rumors are rampant that the Flavian Fleet engaged the DRYAD - the last Divine Descendant - in battle five years before, resulting in their extinction...

Kimojin and Mercedes are walking through the corridors of her ship (same shot as in the beginning, but with merc corpses and Root around)
- Kimojin's NTE POV
- INFO: NANO-TECH ENDOSKELETON (NTE): A multi-purpose computer construct incorporated into Kimojin's body before his birth
- Mercedes looks at merc corpses, then at Kimojin
- MERCEDES: (How is a human Psionic capable of using Divine abilities...?)
- MERCEDES: Is that... Dryad Root 'round their necks?
- KIMOJIN: We prefer to call it Flavian Root.
- MERCEDES: Is there a difference, then?
- KIMOJIN: We've got the trademark for it.
- MERCEDES: ...
- MERCEDES: Okay... Is this why you're the only one of your group in the ship? They expect you to be able to handle being outnumbered by just rooting everything?
- KIMOJIN: To ensure your survival, we had to use the best means available for absolute success.
- MERCEDES: I- I mean, I'm grateful... you saved my life, but..
- KIMOJIN: Hey, don't sweat it.
- KIMOJIN: ... Not that the Flavian Root Bomb ™ was entirely successful anyway, since that one guy managed to avoid it. Gotta fix that the next time..
- MERCEDES: Eh...



Inside the Flavian transport
- KIMOJIN: The mercs really did a number on your ship. We're willing to repair and upgrade it for you in exchange for something in return.
- MERCEDES: What exactly could you want from me?
- KIMOJIN: We NEED something from you. I hope you can be patient enough to hear what Liech has to offer you at Darach.
- MERCEDES: Liech? Your current boss?
- KIMOJIN: Yeah, that's right.
- MERCEDES: Look, I'm not interested in being recruited for your galactic power games, if that's what you're looking for.
- KIMOJIN: Not directly. But since our interests match when it comes to Ichor and the freebie power realm and so on, I think you should hear her out.
- MERCEDES: ... freebie WHAT?
- KIMOJIN: Besides, she's far more competent than I am to sway you to our side.

DARACH, Home of the Flavian Corporation
- Liech is at her office by the holo-transmitter
- Close-up of Liech
- INFO: Commander Liech Aorthra, leader of the Flavian Corporation
- LIECH: Good work, Kimojin. I'll contact you later.
- Liech leaves the room

Liech and the others in the conference room
- LIECH: Apologies for the interruption - granted that I was informed of the success of our mission.
- LIECH: The archeologist is safely onboard our ship, which is a stellar accomplishment considering that your group of murderers, rapists, tax evaders and the lot could have risked their actual mission...
- REPRESENTATIVE: Details, details... besides, it can't be a problem anymore since you got what you wanted, right? Now the artifact specialist is available for you to use as you desire.
- REPRESENTATIVE 2: I think we should move on to our next issue. The recon reports from Pritares are getting more disturbing each day...
- LIECH: Proceed.
- LIECH: (It's been six years since Kimojin's parents disappeared and left their corporation in my hands..)
- LIECH: (.. and four since the last major accomplishment with our primary mission.)
- LIECH: (Maybe they left so they wouldn't have to deal with these jerks anymore...)

Liech is walking in the corridors of the HQ, when a PA system suddenly chimes in
- PA SYSTEM: Commander Liech! We need your immediate attention at AF-39!
- LIECH: (... Oh great.)
- LIECH: (Forgot about this little jerk.)

ARBOREUM FLAVIUM 39
- Liech walks forward, but now the walls in the back are covered in Root
- Liech presses the door button
- In the room, Flay is holding two of her bodyguards in a roothold (while looking at Liech - the guards look possessed with the root going through their necks)
- FLAY: Someone pulled your leash, Liech?
- Liech looks unimpressed



CHAPTER 3: FLAY

Liech and a scientist look at a tanker in a lab, with a "bud" of Root inside
- INFO: FIVE YEARS AGO
- NARRATION: Following their successful mission on the planet of Eadelia, the Flavian Fleet swept through the remains of the Dryad's fortress.
- NARRATION: Amidst the ruins, they retrieved a bud-like growth containing a live embryo inside.
- NARRATION: Protected by a small Dryad Shield, the Dryad Embryo was monitored by Flavian scientists throughout its incubation period.
- Flay, now looking 9 years old, sleeping on a bed
- Flay opens her eyes
- NARRATION: In nine months, it had grown into a humanoid form with the appearance of a 9-year-old girl.
- NARRATION: After waking up, the girl had amnesia and was not aware of her surroundings or her past, while appearing to possess the intellect and the temper of a 9-year-old.
- NARRATION: Adopted into Kimojin's family with the name FLAY, she has been kept in the dark of her true Dryad nature until now...

Flay holding her guards in a Roothold, with Liech standing by the doorway
- LIECH: Flay, please let your bodyguards go. Whatever your problem is, I'm sure they had nothing to do with it.
- FLAY: Really, Liech? THEY wouldn't accidentally reveal any secrets?
- LIECH: (Figures.)
- LIECH: That doesn't mean you can just root their minds for more information.
- LIECH: For that matter, my dear Flay, you should be in school at this hour. Please calm down.
- FLAY: Oh, so even Divine Descendants have to go to school too!?
- LIECH: .. Yes.
- LIECH: I thought you were old enough to have already got past the pissy stage, Flay?
- FLAY: You have no idea what this discovery about my past means to me! How can you-
- LIECH: Flay, please, your grades are far more important right now than any of this stuff. We're gonna talk about it once we're done with our duties for the day. Okay?
- FLAY: Oh, what, your official 8 hours followed by undercover duties with General Arbeiter?
- LIECH: .
- LIECH: Are you going to let the guards go or not?
- FLAY: I'll let them out through the walls, if you keep treating me like-

Liech calmly walks toward Flay
- Flay looks scared, moves the guards with her Roots
- Liech quickly creates two Psionic blasts to cut off the Roots, then grabs Flay from the ear
- Flay shrieks out in pain
- FLAY: OW! No...!
- Liech, holding Flay by the ear, walks with her to the next room
- LIECH: You two - we'll talk about your mistake later. Inform the school that Flay's ill and taking the day off.

Kimojin walks around in the Garosaon, encounters Sivius
- INFO: GAROSAON, primary starship of Flavian Taskgroup 67R
- KIMOJIN: Yo, Sivius. How long 'til we've reached Darach?
- SIVIUS: You should ask someone who actually plotted the course. I'm gonna plot one for the bathroom.
- KIMOJIN: ... Lovely.
- Kimojin encounters Ferasu in a different corridor
- Ferasu looks shocked at Kimojin's sudden appearance and tries to hide the artifact she's holding behind her back
- FERASU: Don't say anything - it's none of your business!
- KIMOJIN: Fine. Wouldn't want that thing swimming up my arse.
- FERASU: Come on, I found it on a merc corpse during gear removal, and-
- KIMOJIN: Looted it further? Just put it back somewhere, Ferasu.
- FERASU: Yeah, sure, okay.
- KIMOJIN: (The crew appears to be quite restless. Guess they wanted to cap some mercs.)
- Kimojin enters the rec room, sits on the sofa
- Mercedes enters the room
- MERCEDES: Oh, hi.
- KIMOJIN: ‘sup
- MERCEDES: Any idea how long until we've arrived in Darach?
- Sivius comes in from the right
- SIVIUS: Ooff! I left an Ichor deposit of my own in there! Maybe that chick should research it-
- SIVIUS: ... Shit- you're here... I, uh... see ya later!
- Mercedes looks bewildered, turns to Kimojin
- MERCEDES: I...
- Ferasu enters the room from another side
- FERASU: Alright, Kimojin, I put that weird thing back in her ship, but I found this--
- FERASU: --tube.. from the other unrelated place. Um.. Bye!
- Ferasu bolts
- Mercedes, looking vaguely amused sits down on another sofa, Kimojin looks at her
- KIMOJIN: We won't be there fast enough.
- Mercedes smiles faintly

Liech and Flay sit by the pool at the arboreum, close-up of Liech looking at Flay
- FLAY: ... so yeah, he blurted it out, so I wanted to know more. 'course, they didn't tell me anything so I got this weird thought that I should try to Root them for more info...
- FLAY: ... it's not easy to grasp any of that, you know?
- LIECH: It's not easy for any of us. We tried to keep a low profile before because we haven't had much first-hand experience of Divine Beings in the first place.
- LIECH: We were just trying to be cautious...
- LIECH: Unfortunately, if and when the knowledge of your origins will spread around, you're going to have to stand up to people who think you're just another branch in the Dryad family tree.
- FLAY: Can I find that word offensive?
- LIECH: I... I don't know. Do you?
- FLAY: It's... kind of funny, I think. For now.
- LIECH: You've spent too much time with Kimojin, then.
- FLAY: ... eh.
- LIECH: ... but the point is, you're the only one who's going to work for your legacy. Heritage's just the soil for your growth.
- FLAY: Uh...
- LIECH: ... Yeah. That's all the mom-talk I have. Don't let anyone steer you the wrong way, kid.
- FLAY: Yeah, I think I got it. And Liech, I... I'm sorry for today..
- LIECH: .. You should make use of your free day, you WILL go back to school tomorrow.
- FLAY: Hey, Liech... Are... are you able to create Root?
- LIECH: No.
- FLAY: So what's the deal with Kimojin, then?
- LIECH: .
- LIECH: Sorry, dear. Classified military secrets.



CHAPTER 4: ARRIVAL

Mercedes stretches her arms a bit, while sitting on the chair in her room
- NARRATION: A FEW DAYS LATER
- Mercedes gets up
- She looks at the unmarked rooms in the corridor, rubbing her eyes
- She opens one door, looks shocked
- Kimojin's wearing some kind of robe while applying skin spray over the grey parts of his upper body
- Kimojin notes Mercedes' reflection from the mirror
- Mercedes looks embarrassed
- MERCEDES: Gah! Wrong door, I- I'm sorry..
- Mercedes closes the door, after which a *CLONK!* is heard in the background
- Kimojin looks at the door's direction, then continues spraying

AFTER ARRIVING IN DARACH
- The group of Kimojin, Mercedes on the front and Ferasu and Sivius behind them has arrived at Darach
- Blacton joins them from the sidelines
- BLACTON: Hey there. Did I miss anything?
- SIVIUS: A lot of great jokes!
- BLACTON: ...
- BLACTON: I doubt it.
- SIVIUS: Really, you shouldn't have stayed behind. Just look at Kimojin being all mr. Bodyguard Crush.
- FERASU: He "didn't even care" about the rescue mission, but of course now he's all protective of her and all.
- SIVIUS: Oh yeah. I bet he wants to RIDE her... maybe... something was IGNITED, you know?
- BLACTON: ... Yeah. I was right.


The group has arrived in a hall, with Liech and General Arbeiter on one side and the group on the other
- Kimojin gestures to Mercedes that she should walk up to Liech & others, which she does
- Liech shakes Mercedes' hands and smiles, Mercedes looks very impressed by her looks
- Sivius smirks at the sight
- SIVIUS: Ohh yeah.
- FERASU: Hey K, what's up with you two?
- KIMOJIN: Geez. Don't think she didn't hear any of your blabbering back there!
- BLACTON: Oof.
- Ferasu turns to Sivius, as if whispering
- FERASU: ... Huh, I guess that artifact DID get up there!
- Kimojin sighs

Conference room from earlier with Liech, Arbeiter, Mercedes and bunch of other sitting by it
- Flay looks into the room from a secret window
- Kimojin is suddenly next to her
- KIMOJIN: They teach any STEALTH in your school?
- Flay looks shocked
- FLAY: Oh shut up, it's lunchtime anyhow and I already ate.
- KIMOJIN: Sure. Let's go.
- FLAY: ...
- FLAY: So... you got the hots for her or something?
- KIMOJIN: Not you too...
- FLAY: You know, a lot of people manage to build relationships very quickly.
- KIMOJIN: From a geological angle, I'm always very quick.
- KIMOJIN: (Also other angles...)
- FLAY: ... So you're interested in her because she's an arch-geologist?
- KIMOJIN: ... Heh, that was almost clever.
- FLAY: You know, Liech has made me read your parents' journals lately.
- KIMOJIN: .
- KIMOJIN: Is that so?
- FLAY: Yeah, she wants me to go through all of them to find any clues for where they might be... what might have happened to them.
- KIMOJIN: That actually might help us. How far have you read them?
- FLAY: Oh, I haven't started yet. But I will. ... Well anyway, I'm gonna get back. Lunch's been over for about an hour now anyhow. Bye!
- KIMOJIN: (Heh, she's getting calmer, smarter and weirder every day.)
- KIMOJIN: .
- KIMOJIN: (The less she reminds me of HER, the better...)

Kimojin and Blacton sitting on the sofas near Liech's office
- NARRATION: TWO WEEKS LATER
- BLACTON: ... they're really trying to smoke us out of Pritares. We've had radio silence for days. Higher-ups think that they've destroyed the anchor points in the region.
- KIMOJIN: How diabolical.
- BLACTON: It's a good thing we give our untrustworthy clients third-rate weaponry at first. Otherwise we might get in bigger trouble.
- KIMOJIN: If it gets rough they'll just send Arbeiter and his fleet of glory to turn it into a PR event.
- BLACTON: Yeah, they should send us to take care of it. We'd whoop their asses in no time.
- KIMOJIN: Obviously. It sure was different when we first started. Remember when-
- AIDE: Commander Liech requires your presence in her office, gentlemen.
- KIMOJIN: Sweet.

Liech briefs them for their next mission
- LIECH: I'm pleased to inform you that the Flavian Corporation has recruited Mercedes Cheren for our cause. Her expertise on Ichor artifacts and all dimensionary matters is some of the best in the galaxy, and we are honored to have her onboard.
- LIECH: It also doesn't come as a surprise that the artifact she recovered from Thenoaraige is the most important one currently in our possession... since it can help us with deciphering a lot of the remaining encrypted data.
- LIECH: Including the full contents of your NTE's programming, Kimojin...

- The monitor in her room shows the mountain in Zavier and the outline of the Ichor construct inside
- LIECH: Our new radar has detected a large Ichor construct in the Realm of Zavier. It's actually located inside a mountain, which appears to be surprisingly hollow... as if it was specifically made for the construct.
- LIECH: It might be exactly the same kind of a device that was destroyed in Eadelia five years ago. This is why we don't want Laepidus, Zavier's leader, to discover the true purpose of our mission.
- LIECH: The Thenoaraige artifact contains input codes specifically for such Control Beacons, which hopefully should give us the advantage this time.
- LIECH: And if our hunch is correct and we have another Control Beacon in our hands, we should be able to establish direct access TO the Psionic Realm - and reach our primary goal.
- KIMOJIN: (The completion of the Dimension Seal.)



CHAPTER 5: DIMENSION SEAL

A bunch of energy lines dissipating throughout the galaxy (basically fourth dimension as a "pocket dimension" reflecting into the rest of the universe)
- NARRATION: Hundreds of years ago, a group of Divine Beings fled their original home universes and arrived into this one.
- NARRATION: It is said that they were fleeing from a higher entity of reality known as the STAR DEVOURER, which had destroyed their numerous universes in its hunt for them.
- NARRATION: Decades after the Divine Beings had settled down and even procreated with humanoid species, it became apparent that the Star Devourer was once again on their trail.
- NARRATION: The Divine Beings combined all of their power to create the DIMENSION SEAL to prevent the Star Devourer from entering this universe - essentially sacrificing themselves in the process.
- NARRATION: But at the very last possible moment, the Divine Being known as the DRYAD came to other thoughts and withdrew from the process.
- NARRATION: As a result, the Dimension Seal was left incomplete, but still effective enough to maintain its primary goal.
- NARRATION: The reason for the Dryad's withdrawal remains unknown, but ever since these events, the number of Divine Descendants in the galaxy has diminished to almost zero...
- NARRATION: ... and the Dimension Seal itself has weakened to a substantial degree, once making the universe vulnerable to the Star Devourer.

Ferasu, Sivius, Blacton and Mercedes in the Garosaon's rec room (Ferasu's sorting out poker cards)
- FERASU: Heh.
- MERCEDES: ... what?
- FERASU: Couldn't resist taking a peek at him, eh?
- MERCEDES: P-pardon?
- FERASU: You know... before we landed in Darach.
- MERCEDES: ... Does everyone know!?
- FERASU: Uh... probably.
- MERCEDES: I was just disoriented and confused after staring at monitors for too long, so I got the wrong door. That's all!
- FERASU: Okay, I got ya.
- MERCEDES: .
- MERCEDES: So, Ferasu... how did you end up here?
- MERCEDES: If you don't mind me asking, that is!
- FERASU: How sweet, you want to fit in.
- FERASU. ... ... that was a compliment.
- MERCEDES: Yeah, I got that.
- FERASU: Heh. Well, I can tell you that once upon a time I used to be somewhat of a thief and a brat, but REALLY good at both of those things.
- FERASU: So this one time in Anodea, I could have been jailed for a very long time, but Liech decided that my skills were more useful for the Flavian cause, so she bailed me out.
- INFO: ANODEA - the capital planet of the Anodean Empire (one of the galactic superstates).
- MERCEDES: I see. So how did she-
- FERASU: As for Sivius, he was a part of the COAIS Psionic Unit with Kimojin so he decided to keep on doing the same thing over here.
- INFO: COAIS (Commonwealth of Allied Imperial Systems) - one of the galactic superstates.
- MERCEDES: Oh! Are you also a Psionic?
- SIVIUS: Nah, I was just their pilot. AND their babysitter. Those Psionics really need someone to tell them what to do.
- BLACTON: All you need to know is that the Flavians pay Senevorians like me a lot of money, so I'm onboard.
- MERCEDES: (Senevorians... the only group of humans in the galaxy immune to Psionic powers.)
- MERCEDES: ... Alright, gotcha.
- FERASU: .. You'll get to know more once you shake off the newcomer status.
- SIVIUS: And when are you gonna tell anything about yourself anyhow?
- MERCEDES: Well, I-
- Kimojin has entered the rec room
- KIMOJIN: Your workstation should now be connected to the correct databanks.
- MERCEDES: Thanks so much! I'll get started right away...
- FERASU: .. As for KIMOJIN right here, he's like an onion... the more layers you peel off, the more you're going to cry.
- MERCEDES: Uh...
- KIMOJIN: Thanks for the poetic contribution, Ferasu.
- KIMOJIN: ... but don't think that I don't have work for the entire lot here. You've got half an hour.
- SIVIUS: ... Dammit Ferasu, what'd you do that for?!
- FERASU: Shoot.

Mercedes is working in her room
- MERCEDES: (No one seems to be divulging any hints on what their true endgame might be. It's possible they don't even know..)
- MERCEDES: (Liech told me that Kimojin's NTE was implanted into him before his birth to limit his innate Psionic power potential.)
- MERCEDES: (Had it been left unchecked, the universe might have been structurally on the verge of total collapse, as there was no limit to how much power from the Psionic Realm he could have unintentionally drawn in an instant...)
- MERCEDES: (... And only his parents might know WHY this is the case.)
- MERCEDES: (... And possibly the answer to WHY does its programming include the Universal Codex with its "lores" of the Divine beings and whatnot.)
- MERCEDES: (Not to mention how the NTE doesn't seem to emit any heat at all, and its primary signals are unaffected by distance - just two of its many oddities.)
- MERCEDES: (There's no doubt that something in it is taking shortcuts through the Psionic Realm.)
- MERCEDES: (If that's even the correct term to begin with...)
- MERCEDES: (...)
- MERCEDES: (Sounds quite far-fetched and would make up for the worst recruitment speech ever made, to be honest...)
- MERCEDES: (... if it weren't for the fact that most of what they've told me is backed by the Ichor artifacts.)

A Flavian soldier is at the arboreum, talking to Liech via com-link
- AIDE: We're sorry, but we can't find her anywhere.
- LIECH: Oh, you've got to be kidding me...
- LIECH: (She must have smuggled herself onboard the secondary team's ship...)
- LIECH: (We must have a backup team in Zavier just in case Laepidus is going to turn against us...)
- LIECH: (... but to think that Flay still managed to find out about it.)
- LIECH: (Yet I'm not surprised that she would be drawn toward a possible Control Beacon by instinct...)
- LIECH: (...)
- LIECH: (Hopefully we don't have to resort to using a wormhole again... after all, each use weakens the Dimension Seal.)


CHAPTER 6: ZAVIER

Flavian transport is airborne, circling 'round the mountain in the skies of Zavier
- FERASU: Really hoping this won't take too long.
- SIVIUS: The tank's filled up to the brim with antarite fuel, we don't have to go outside for days if needed.
- SIVIUS: ... Not that I'd want to be in an enclosed space with any of you for too long.
- FERASU: Oh hush. What I meant to say was that the less time we spend on this planet, the better.
- SIVIUS: What, you don't trust Laepidus? His handshake seemed firm and trustworthy enough.
- FERASU: That's the thing, he didn't seem that suspicious to me. Naturally he must be hiding something!
- BLACTON: At least someone on this planet is.
- FERASU: As long as you're getting your money, right?
- BLACTON: Of course.
- FERASU: At least he put up a friendly face. Some of those other fellows couldn't hide their displeasure...
- SIVIUS: Chilling reception, then?
- BLACTON: ...
- FERASU: Ugh.

Inside the Beacon control chamber of the mountain
- INFO: A FEW HOURS LATER
- MERCEDES: Well, what do ya know. This structure must contain more Ichor than the rest of the galaxy combined!
- KIMOJIN: I'll check if there's something in here that I can touch to get things started.
- MERCEDES: .
- MERCEDES: ... what?
- MERCEDES: Oh! ... Right! I'm gonna go through the input codes one more time, just to be safe..
- Kimojin walks around the beacon, looking at it
- Flashback panel of Kimojin looking at something similar in the past
- Kimojin finds a console configuration for the beacon
- KIMOJIN: Here's the console.
- MERCEDES: Alright. This code should let us access the main control functions of the Beacon.
- MERCEDES: Obviously, none of these have been tested before...
- KIMOJIN: It's the only chance we got, I guess. I'll do it.
- Kimojin puts the code in the console
- The roots on the walls light up
- MERCEDES: .. Blue should be a good indicator, right?
- KIMOJIN: Nothing's appeared on the console, though... Wait. Hold on.
- NTE POV: Mysterious text on Kimojin's NTE
- KIMOJIN: The console's sending me the same line over and over again.
- MERCEDES: Luckily your NTE records all of those interactions... let's check the logs first before we continue.
- MERCEDES: Put this code in, it should stop the current procedur-
- The roots on the walls appear to turn red in their lighting
- NTE POV: Shorter code (with the OVAL logo turning up) pasted all over Kimojin's NTE view
- KIMOJIN: ... looks like a warning signal to me! Hold firm.
- Kimojin leaps over to Mercedes' position
- A Flavian Shield surrounds them
- The roots on the walls of the cavern start turning into ash while rocks are falling on top of them, being deflected/crushed by the shield
- MERCEDES: Is that REALLY going to hold..!?
- KIMOJIN: We can't get out of the mountain in time. This is our only shot.
- MERCEDES: But.. you got into my ship a lot faster... and the distance was greater-
- KIMOJIN: I'm not saying it was wormholes... but it was. As for the exact mechanics, well-
- A lone Root sprouts from the ground near them, gets through the shield and grabs Kimojin's arm
- Mercedes looks shocked, as does Kimojin
- Kimojin's Psionerves flare up in his free arm and he CHOPS his other arm off
- Mercedes looks disgusted
CHAPTER 7: ROOT

Most of the mountain has crumbled down to piles of rock and mostly Ichor root ash, which gets blown around by the wind (With the upside down pyramid beacon in plain view)
- Kimojin sits on top of their equipment box, looking at his stump of an arm, Mercedes looks delirious
- Kimojin's Psionerves flare up, "bone" appears first from the stump
- Root "rotates" around the bone and tightens around it
- Root turns into ash, as Kimojin's regenerated arm is finished
- Kimojin flexes the new arm out a bit to Mercedes' horror
- Mercedes, eyes wide open, grabs Kimojin's regenerated hand and examines it
- KIMOJIN: Uh..
- MERCEDES: How... how can you be so calm..!?
- KIMOJIN: ... you alright? I assume this is your first time of seeing Flavian Regeneration in action?
- MERCEDES: (Light grey... the same color as parts of his body back at the ship...)
- MERCEDES: I've seen NO brand of regeneration before! It's just... wow! We should be dead right now!
- KIMOJIN: ... Does that bother you?
- MERCEDES: ... Kind of!
- KIMOJIN: .
- MERCEDES: .
- KIMOJIN: ... the good news is that we found what we we're looking for. And with more preparation, we should be able to make proper use of the Beacon later.
- MERCEDES: Yeah...
- KIMOJIN: But it won't be long before someone's gonna whip out a camera and send images of the Beacon everywhere in the galaxy.
- MERCEDES: ... Wait! Where are the others? Did they-
- KIMOJIN: Don't worry, their signal's online. They seem to have landed safely.
- MERCEDES: That's good - very good. I mean that.
- KIMOJIN: Cracking open the logs from this trip should be crucial for our next step.
- MERCEDES: Yeah, we really have to plan it out. If the Beacon's first safety mechanism was to destroy the mountain, the next attempt might just blow up the planet or something!
- KIMOJIN: (Wouldn't be the first time things got that far...)

Liech's office, Kimojin appears as a hologram, Liech is facepalming
- KIMOJIN: ... all in all, he never expected us to actually blow up the mountain - no matter how rooted it had been - and replace it with a seemingly indestructible abomination.
- LIECH: Laepidus has sent me a formal notice that the Flavians are prohibited from operating in the Realm of Zavier until the clean-up operations have been finished. It will certainly take a while.
- KIMOJIN: He probably doesn't mind the big, fat check from us.
- LIECH: Our financial contributors do.
- KIMOJIN: Whatever.
- LIECH: That stray branch of Root getting through your shield is rather worrying, though...
- KIMOJIN: Oddly enough, it was just that one branch. The big ones withered away without even getting close to our position... and conveniently moving the rocks out of our way.
- LIECH: Regardless, it appears that Root can get through your Root-created shield without a problem... We'll have to research more on that.
- LIECH: And on that subject... are you REALLY sure that FLAY is onboard!?
- Flashback panel of Mercedes, Kimojin and others receiving Mercedes and the secondary team (looking a bit banged up) in the Garosaon
- KIMOJIN: Yeah, the secondary team brought her in. They actually managed to convince her to not follow us to the mountain, since it wouldn't do us any good for Laepidus to know that we have a Divine Descendant in our crew.
- LIECH: Really? She didn't try to root anyone or anything?
- KIMOJIN: Apparently not.
- KIMOJIN: ... well, not that much.
- LIECH: That's... comforting, actually. Seems like she's got her anger issues under control...
- KIMOJIN: As much as a 5-year-old teen is able to, yes.
- LIECH: ...

Kimojin's standing by the doorway to Flay's room, while Flay is checking if there's anything under her pillow
- FLAY: Sure, you say the room's been vacant for a while, but that still means someone really disgusting has been here at some point...
- KIMOJIN: Maybe there are disgusting people in here right now.
- FLAY: ... hey!
- KIMOJIN: Kidding.
- FLAY: Well.. good!?
- FLAY: ...
- FLAY: ... Heh. So, Liech was pretty mad, huh?
- KIMOJIN: Quite chill, actually, considering the circumstances.
- FLAY: You know, you're oddly cool with this too...
- KIMOJIN: I'm just glad you're safe, kid.
- FLAY: Yeah. ...
- KIMOJIN: ...?
- FLAY: Shouldn't you be doing something lame with the Mercedes chick right now?
- KIMOJIN: She can wait. Right now I'm more interested in knowing how you got wind of this mission to begin with.
- FLAY: Oh, I just took some lessons in stealth.
- KIMOJIN: ... Heh, is that so?
- FLAY: I overheard Liech talking with General Arbeiter about the secondary team... and I was bored.
- KIMOJIN: Sure, that's always an incentive.
- FLAY: The thing is, I don't know why Liech insists on making me attend classes and do all that other boring stuff. Wouldn't mastering my skills and whatnot be more productive for all of us?
- KIMOJIN: I think that she doesn't want you to just skate through life relying solely on your powers.
- FLAY: Was that a jab at my origins?
- KIMOJIN: Your parents were skaters?
- FLAY: Hah! ... Not bad.
- FLAY: You know, Kim... I really wanted to see if I could have helped you guys out with my... instincts, genetic memory - whatever you wanna call it.
- KIMOJIN: Not a bad thought. Let's see what we can do when we'll have another shot at this.

Kimojin, Sivius and Ferasu playing cards in the rec room
- FERASU: Our Lady Mercedes won't be joining us?
- KIMOJIN: Nah. She's going through the NTE logs to see if anything helpful will pop out.
- FERASU: So do you know if the Beacon got mad because of your inner gizmo or..?
- BLACTON: Maybe it identified you as a Divine Being or something.
- SIVIUS: Or a Divine impostinator.
- BLACTON: Imposter.
- SIVIUS: ... Yeah, I know.
- KIMOJIN: Could be. I don't know. We're gonna have to wait for Mercedes to figure it out.
- SIVIUS: You know, we were thrown out of the planet in a huff. Laepidus must be planning something nefarious with the Beacon.
- KIMOJIN: I'm quite sure he'd like to take a shot at figuring it out on his own. As long as he won't whip out any Ichor-brand decryption keys, we should be fine.
- KIMOJIN: Sadly for him, we're currently holding all the cards.
- KIMOJIN: ... Which hopefully are far better than mine right here.
- SIVIUS: Ouch.
- FERASU: ... Yeah, you WANT the higher numbers in this game.



CHAPTER 8: OVAL

Mercedes in her room near monitors, flashbacking to holding Kimojin's hand
- MERCEDES: (What a weak moment.. He probably doesn't hold me in high regard, considering he's had to bail me out TWICE from harm's way.)
- MERCEDES: (And yet, both of those moments were the direst ones I've ever been in...)
- MERCEDES: (...)
- MERCEDES: (... Hold on, this algorithm did it! Kimojin better see THIS!)
- Kimojin, with his regenerated arm now skin-colored, looks at Mercedes' results
- TEXT: "SEAL CONTROL 1 OFFLINE - SEAL CONTROL 2 OFFLINE - SEAL CONTROL 3 OPERATIONAL - ACCESS SEAL CONTROL: CONFIRM/DENY"
- KIMOJIN: So, we found an ancient command prompt?
- MERCEDES: Not only that, but it's referring to THREE seals. That would complicate what we know about the Dimension Seal...
- MERCEDES: ... or that there's a translation issue.
- KIMOJIN: Maybe there's a dimension walrus.
- MERCEDES: Uh...
- KIMOJIN: ... Yeah, moving on. So there's a chance that the Beacon's true purpose has nothing to do with the Dimension Seal?
- MERCEDES: It's possible, yes. In any case, the other line - the warning signal - seemed a bit more interesting to me.
- TEXT: "O-V-A-L ACTIVATED"
- KIMOJIN: ... Huh. How about that.
- MERCEDES: Not sure what this O-V-A-L is, but I'd wager that it was activated by us taking too long with the console.
- KIMOJIN: So essentially you're saying we are now capable of decrypting this "Beacon Text"?
- MERCEDES: So far, so good. Luckily we didn't have to do this at the Beacon site...
- KIMOJIN: I might have something for you then. Namely, a bunch of "Beacon Text" from five years ago... the last time we came into contact with one.
- MERCEDES: Of course! I'd love to check it out.
- KIMOJIN: I'd say we made a major breakthrough here. Excellent work.
- MERCEDES: Heh, thanks...
- MERCEDES: ...
- MERCEDES: Hey, I see you've got new coating on your new arm! It's... ...
- MERCEDES: I mean, it wasn't... hard to notice. Not that I intentionally... noticed it-
- MERCEDES: I mean, I did, but..
- KIMOJIN: .. You know you're really awkward when talking out loud, right?
- MERCEDES: Y- yeah! But, you know, Ichor artifacts and NTE logs are easy to read - complex, sapient beings aren't!
- KIMOJIN: You've got a point there.
- MERCEDES: But Why apply the spray in the first place?
- KIMOJIN: Matter of preference.
- MERCEDES: I'd wager that it's quite expensive in large quantities, especially if you use it every day.
- KIMOJIN: There are reasons for that.
- MERCEDES: ... One of those layers that Ferasu talked about?
- KIMOJIN: ... You can put it that way. The whole need for a "skin emulation agent" is a result of rather inconvenient and unlikely circumstances.
- MERCEDES: Want to.. wanna talk about it?
- KIMOJIN: Maybe later. I guess it'll help with the job.
- MERCEDES: Is it always about work for you?
- KIMOJIN: That's why I'm here. I've got nothing else to worry about in life aside from leaking dimensionary constructs that I can't see.
- MERCEDES: Probably helps that the general public knows nothing about those...
- KIMOJIN: There's no financial or other gain to inform them about mystic dimensional barriers, harvesters or anything like that.
- KIMOJIN: To most we're just another company with the big guns, trying to - rather successfully, mind you - eat up the influence of the galactic superstates.
- KIMOJIN: But the Flavian fever has already winded down and our mission in Pritares has failed... and I'm certain that more will follow.
- MERCEDES: People will distrust anything with a distinct power advantage, whether it's a centuries-old superstate or the Flavian Corporation.
- KIMOJIN: I thought you didn't want to be bothered by galactic power games?
- MERCEDES: I, I don't. But sadly, you can't really avoid them if you work for this company...
- KIMOJIN: That's why I don't particularly long for the day we might fix the Dimension Seal and have to focus solely on these... corporeal matters.
- MERCEDES: I've spent most of my adult life researching all there is to the Psionic Realm...
- MERCEDES: Whether it's been the question of if it does even exist... or WHY's it there to begin with?
- KIMOJIN: ... if you still have any doubts of the former, my NTE actually has a rather interesting function that lets us actually view the universal structures as they currently stand.
- MERCEDES: What? Really?
- KIMOJIN: ... in any case, they appear in that form because it's "easier for us to comprehend". We could check it out later.
- MERCEDES: Yeah, we should do it. ... The universal structure trip, I mean.
- MERCEDES: ...
- MERCEDES: I... I should get back to decrypting this stuff.
- KIMOJIN: Of course. Lemme know if something else comes up.
- KIMOJIN: (...)
- KIMOJIN: (... Hold on, did I just ask her out for "sightseeing" the PSIONIC REALM!!?)

Kimojin lies down on his bed, looking at the ceiling
- NARRATION: A FEW HOURS LATER
- Kimojin suddenly sits up on the bed, holding his head
- KIMOJIN: The hell...!?
- NTE POV with random symbols (including OVAL symbols) abound
- OVAL appears in the NTE view
- OVAL: I AM ALSO CAPABLE OF DECRYPTING DATA.
- OVAL: I NOW HAVE ACCESS TO ALL YOUR SYSTEMS.
- Kimojin tries to hit the alarm, but his arm "psionerves" up
- Kimojin hits himself instead
- OVAL: LOOK AT YOU, FLAVIAN.
- OVAL: HOW CAN YOU CHALLENGE SOMEONE LIKE ME?
- Kimojin jumps out of the bed, with his Psionic nerves flaring up and creates the Flavian Shield around him
- Kimojin smirks rather deviously
- KIMOJIN: Your move, bitch.

Mercedes is in the hallway with Sivius and Ferasu running past her
- MERCEDES: Holy- ..what's going on!?
- SIVIUS: Kimojin's in trouble, the NTE sensors are going crazy as if someone's trying to take over his body again.
- MERCEDES: .. again?
- FERASU: Long story.
- MERCEDES: Wait, is Laepidus behind this?
- SIVIUS: No clue. Let's go!
- FERASU: That's strange, Flay's apparently not in her room...
- Kimojin's in the middle of the trashed room, in a crouching position, having Rooted himself on the floor
- OVAL: YOUR SHIELD WILL NOT PROTECT YOU OR THE OTHERS FOREVER.
- OVAL: IT WON'T BE LONG UNTIL I HAVE ASSUMED COMPLETE CONTROL OVER YOU.
- OVAL: YOUR ENDOSKELETON WILL BE UNDER MY WILL.
- OVAL: YOUR FIRMWARE WILL BE YOUR DOWNFALL.
- OVAL: OBSERVE YOUR HUMAN DESIRE TO AVOID SUFFERING AND JUST GIVE UP.
- OVAL: IF YOU CONTINUE TO RESIST, I WILL MAKE YOU KILL EVERYONE ONBOARD THIS SHIP AND FORCE YOU TO RETURN TO ZAVIER.
- OVAL: IF NECESSARY, I WILL DISABLE YOUR ENTIRE NANOTECH SAFETY NET AND BRING FORTH THE UNIVERSAL COLLAPSE.
- Kimojin looks despondent inside the shield
- KIMOJIN: (What's taking them so long..!?)
- The walls of the room are carved open by Root (shadowy silhouette)
- On the other side, Flay is standing all Dryad armored up with Sivius, Mercedes and Ferasu next to her
- Flay steps in the room and places her hand on Kimojin's neck
- Flay creates Root that goes through his neck and accesses his "Psionic nerves"
- The shield dissipates, Kimojin's Psionerves stop glowing and the Roots he used to pin himself on the floor turn to ash
- NTE POV
- NTE: NORMAL FUNCTIONALITY RESTORED.
- OVAL: AS ALWAYS, FLAVIAN, YOU OWE YOUR LIFE TO EXCEPTIONAL CIRCUMSTANCES.
- OVAL: ON YOUR OWN, YOU ARE NOTHING.
- NTE: BLOCKED INTERFERENCE FROM: OVAL.
- Kimojin stands up, wiping the ashes off his body
- KIMOJIN: Well, that was unpleasant. What did you do?
- FLAY: I... I just got this hunch that a Root might do the trick to keep... whatever was attacking you at bay.
- KIMOJIN: Ah yes, the Root of our problems.. and solutions. My regards go all around. Who wants ice cream?
- SIVIUS: Uh...
- MERCEDES: Also, I... do have a hunch on what this OVAL is.
- KIMOJIN: Probably a better shape than the one I'm in?
- FERASU: ...



CHAPTER 9: SUPERSYSTEM

The Divine Beings, sans the Dryad, sacrificed themselves to create the DIMENSION SEAL to keep the interdimensional entity known as the STAR DEVOURER at bay.
- NARRATION: But the Dimension Seal had an unintentional side effect that they could not have foreseen.
- NARRATION: The Star Devourer had created a SUPERSYSTEM - in practice, a universal AI - into each universe to monitor them and map out its next target.
- NARRATION: Incapable of entering the sealed universe on its own, the Star Devourer modified the supersystem known as OVAL with the sole purpose of figuring out a way to dismantle the Dimension Seal and summon the STAR DEVOURER to eradicate this universe once and for all...

Liech, Arbeiter, Mercedes and Kimojin are in Liech's office, listening to Mercedes' report
- TEXT: ONE MONTH AFTER THE ZAVIER INCIDENT
- MERCEDES: ... that is, if the Lore of OVAL encoded in the NTE data is to be believed.
- GENERAL ARBEITER: Sounds like a horrible story.
- KIMOJIN: It's the one we're in, so it fits.
- MERCEDES: As a term, supersystem has been known for years, but we never thought it was something as obvious as a universal AI...
- GENERAL ARBEITER: So, simply put, the Control Beacon at Zavier activated a previously dormant supersystem... and wouldn't have done that if it had been left alone?
- MERCEDES: I ...
- LIECH: What's done is done. Continue, Mercedes.
- MERCEDES: I, I think we should take into account that the Lore of OVAL is explicitly named as such... so it might not be an objective view of the situation to begin with.
- MERCEDES: We're not sure if whoever wrote it was just playing their biases in the data, or if they're trying to hint at something that OVAL would immediately figure out if it could access it.
- LIECH: Which it likely did.
- GENERAL ARBEITER: I bet the answer to that lies in the NTE logs, as usual.
- GENERAL ARBEITER: So, OVAL failed at its body-takeover attempt. Who's in the lead right now?
- LIECH: Looking at the positives, the gains from the Zavier operation and the log data retrieved from OVAL's attack have given us even larger means to decipher previously encrypted data.
- GENERAL ARBEITER: Maybe after all this we can take helm as the leading cryptology company in the galaxy!
- KIMOJIN: For us, it'd take some stones.
- GENERAL ARBEITER: ...
- LIECH: There's still a huge amount of data left to decipher, but we've still reached a major milestone. Let's not forget that.
- GENERAL ARBEITER: Hooray.
- LIECH: Thank you for your report, Mercedes. We'll start planning our next step.

The group at a bar (somewhere in the Flavian HQ)
- MERCEDES: ... that way, I don't have to beam crucial NTE data throughout the galaxy, risking OVAL or anyone else intercepting it. So I'll be staying on the ship.
- SIVIUS: That makes me glad all over.
- FERASU: 'course it does.
- SIVIUS: Perhaps now we can put strip poker back in the daily routine?
- MERCEDES: Uh...
- BLACTON: What, you still NEED to see Kimojin naked?
- KIMOJIN: Clever.
- SIVIUS: Oh, shut it.
- FERASU: So, any new messages from our new AI friend?
- KIMOJIN: It's actually tried to send me messages via normal channels. Haven't asked it out on a date yet.
- SIVIUS: 'course you haven't. Maybe it's trying to send you porn?
- Blacton gets up from the chair
- BLACTON: ... Yeah. We can worry about all that later. I'll get the next round.
- Ferasu leaves for the bathroom
- Mercedes leaves for the bathroom as well
- Sivius quips to Kimojin
- SIVIUS: Heh, what do you think the two are gonna do in there?
- Kimojin looks out the window
- KIMOJIN: Urinate.
- SIVIUS: ... Clever.

Liech and Flay at the arboreum
- NARRATION: TWO MONTHS AFTER THE ZAVIER INCIDENT
- LIECH: ... While there's no denying that the mission to Zavier would have ended in failure if you hadn't been present, I still can't assign you on their ship.
- FLAY: What!? Why?
- LIECH: You need more training first. You seem to be able to assume a Dryad form and create Root that can hold a supersystem off, but...
- LIECH: .. we need to make sure that it's a permanent solution. OVAL may be blocked for now, but this is the first time we're dealing with these supersystems.
- LIECH: But, apparently someone in your Divine bloodline has experience in that regard.
- FLAY: Okay...
- LIECH: Not to mention that your skills need to be honed into something a lot more concrete than just relying on instinct.
- FLAY: Well, I don't have an NTE or anything in me to produce fantastic logs to help with that one.
- LIECH: That reminds me...
- FLAY: ... what?
- LIECH: Before we can train you any further... you need to be aware of some classified military secrets concerning the crucial circumstances of your past.
- FLAY: Uh...
- LIECH: Especially your heritage...



CHAPTER 10 - EADELIA

Flavian flagship orbiting the planet of Eadelia
- INFO: FIVE YEARS AGO
- NARRATION: In order to end the armed conflict on the planet of Eadelia, the Eadelian government hired the Flavian Fleet to assist them in putting down the uprising.
- NARRATION: As the first large-scale mission for the Flavian Fleet in its history, a lot of effort was placed in their military performance.

Doors to the cannon room of the ship open, Liech enters the area
- NARRATION: AEVA-01, FLAGSHIP OF THE FLAVIAN FLEET
- Liech walks up to the cannon controls
- TECH: The pathway is clear, Commander! We're ready.
- Liech places her hands on the panels, as her Psionic nerves flare up
- A computer indicates that tankers connected to the cannon are filling up with energy
- Liech looks determinedly at the controls
- A computer informs that the tankers are full of energy
- LIECH: Channeling complete. Fire immediately.
- The main cannon fires a humongous blast at the planet
- The blast decimates the force field surrounding a fortress
- Insurgents on the surface look shocked at the immensely bright blast approaching them
- Fade to white

Flavian transport lands on a landing pad near a wrecked, ruined military fortress
- Transport doors open
- Kimojin steps out, Ferasu can be seen inside
- KIMOJIN: Is the signal clear?
- SIVIUS: Roger that. Just let us know when you get in trouble.
- KIMOJIN: Get this.
- Kimojin gives Sivius “the finger”

Kimojin's inside the fortress, checking things with his NTE
- KIMOJIN: Detected more survivors. Did you receive the coordinates?
- FERASU: We got it.
- SIVIUS: Hold on. Did you catch that?
- KIMOJIN: Checking NTE...
- KIMOJIN: ... Yeah. Something just started transmitting a signal at an extremely obscure frequency.
- SIVIUS: What an incredibly normal thing to do.
- KIMOJIN: I'll check it out. Track my position.
- GENERAL ARBEITER: Scratch that, Group Leader. Get back to the outer perimeter. We're gonna regroup and-
- [STATIC]
- KIMOJIN: ... (... Messages down? That's a first. Better get back.)
- Kimojin finds himself from some hall
- He blasts a Psionic energy wave through the ceiling
- The roof crumbles
- KIMOJIN: (That should make my position abundantly clear. Better take cover-)
- Kimojin notes weird roots all over the room
- KIMOJIN: (That.. wasn't there before...)
- Kimojin notices something and turns around
- Chevaliere, in her full Dryad form is standing right behind him
- Kimojin looks alarmed, powers up a Psionic shield
- Chevaliere leaps at Kimojin, who prepares a Psionic blast
- Chevaliere is much faster and kicks Kimojin on the wall, with the blast and his shield fizzling out
- Chevaliere's Roots pin Kimojin on the wall, Kimojin looks shocked

Silhouette of Kimojin's Psionic nerves flaring up and energy going from his nerves (Psionic and otherwise) through Chevaliere's roots towards her
- Chevaliere lets go, Kimojin coughs up spit
- Chevaliere jumps through the rooted floor and is gone
- NTE POV, fuzzy view, Kimojin's hand in front of him
- NTE: ASSESSING DAMAGE
- NARRATION: While Kimojin was informed of the true purpose of his NTE by his parents, they didn't inform him that it also meant that he was a walking storage unit for the UNIVERSAL CODEX - a databank on universal structures including the Psionic Realm - that still remains mostly encrypted even for the Flavians.
- NARRATION: But at the time, the Dryad by the name of CHEVALIERE was able to read all of its contents...



CHAPTER 11 - RETALIATION

Kimojin exits the med-room. Ferasu and Sivius are waiting for him outside
- NARRATION: AEVA-01, TWO WEEKS LATER
- FERASU: How's things?
- KIMOJIN: Oh, just peachy. Just like the taste of these healing nanites.
- SIVIUS: Right on. Did Liech see you?
- KIMOJIN: A couple of days ago - told me about the end of the operation and everything. Did you find out anything else 'bout this Chevaliere?
- FERASU: Not really. The Eadelians have no idea who she is, or why'd she be involved in any insurgent activities.
- SIVIUS: We did discover the location of what might be her private fortress, but that's not located in any known insurgent-controlled area...
- KIMOJIN: Huh. Hopefully we're not gonna have to resort to stealth.
- SIVIUS: In any case, we're absolutely certain that she duplicated ALL of your NTE data.
- FERASU: Including those secret databanks...
- KIMOJIN: Lovely.
- SIVIUS: Not sure what her endgame might be. Factoring a guess here: probably unlimited power or some shit.
- SIVIUS: All you Psionics are too drunk on your freebie power realm anyway.
- FERASU: Totally.
- KIMOJIN: ... So, what's the deal? We're just idling around for now?
- FERASU: Well, we completed the objectives our client paid us for. Nothing more we can do now unless we want to risk the frail PR shit.
- SIVIUS: Liech's words, by the way.
- FERASU: Hey, you didn't have to tattle...
- KIMOJIN: Considering it's been a while since the Dryad sprouted up, I'd reckon that she hasn't succeeded at her goals. Whatever they are.

The trio encounters Liech and Arbeiter in one of the corridors
- LIECH: No time to idle, Taskforce 67R. The Eadelians have got their act together and need our help once again.
- SIVIUS: ... Such convenient timing.
- LIECH: Kimojin, there's something we have to talk to you about.
- GENERAL ARBEITER: Guess WHO is up for an upgrade.

Another Eadelian fortress is under Flavian attack
- NARRATION: THREE DAYS LATER
- Kimojin, with a faint "shieldy glow" around him, is kicked into a hall
- Kimojin hits the floor of some kind of a hall, gets up rather quickly (looking damaged)
- Chevaliere, stands near the hole of the wall, not looking particularly impressed
- CHEVALIERE: Nice to see you again, Flavian. Barged through the front door and everything...
- KIMOJIN: Yeah, I get a real kick out of seeing you.
- CHEVALIERE: What, are the other Psionics too busy earning money for doing nothing?
- KIMOJIN: Does it matter?
- CHEVALIERE: Tsk. A selfish human answer... I'll just have to finish what I started.



CHAPTER 12: RESEARCH

In the chamber, which is now more or less entirely rooted, Chevaliere - looking more buff and muscular than before - holds Kimojin - looking quite damaged - in a bear hug of death
- KIMOJIN: (That could have gone better.)
- CHEVALIERE: A stellar upgrade - reconfiguring your SETTINGS so that you could tap into a lot more power than before, yet still not doom us all into oblivion? Very well done!
- CHEVALIERE: Alas... it wasn't enough.
- CHEVALIERE: NOT when you're fighting against a Divine Descendant, Flavian.
- Kimojin tries to create a Psionic blast
- The blast fizzles due to the Root around his arm disabling it (while the Root glows for a moment)
- CHEVALIERE: Young Flavian... do you even know why I targeted your precious nanotech data to begin with?
- KIMOJIN: Couldn't afford a novel?
- CHEVALIERE: I'm sure your precious parents told you all about the Dimension Seal...
- CHEVALIERE: ... and I fully admit that it is indeed a shame that it was left incomplete due to the actions of my ancestor.
- As Chevaliere continues talking, Kimojin begins to appear more relaxed/limp with his eyes slightly closed
- CHEVALIERE: But I'm going to finish the job. Which is why I find it utterly disgusting how you're still fighting back...
- CHEVALIERE: I have all the other parts in place for what I need to attain my goals... yet unsurprisingly, your data WASN'T the last step I needed.
- CHEVALIERE: I'm actually going to need you by my side as my OBEDIENT SLAVE when I'm going to take another shot at fixing this galaxy.
- CHEVALIERE: And so the dream of the Divine Beings will finally be realized for good...
- Kimojin's eyes are almost closed by now
- Chevaliere looks at him with a creepy half-smile
- CHEVALIERE: Please don't try to resist.
- CHEVALIERE: Your powers have already failed you... just embrace this serenity. It will be over very soon.
- Kimojin's eyes are closed
- NTE appears garbled
- Fade to black while Chevaliere still keeps on talking
- CHEVALIERE: It won't be long until you will finally be reunited with your parents..
- Random black panel



- NTE wakes up again
- NTE: DRYAD RESEARCH COMPLETE.
- NTE: EVOLVE OR DIE, KIMOJIN!
- Kimojin opens his eyes in an instant
- Chevaliere looks shocked
- Chevaliere looks puzzled
- Kimojin flaunts his "aura", absorbing the Root in him, with his other arm now covered in Dryad armor
- Kimojin fires some kind of Psionic/Dryad blast at Chevaliere, who gets knocked back a bit with her armor damaged
- Chevaliere looks at her damaged armor in shock
- CHEVALIERE: How... how the hell did you..!?
- KIMOJIN: ... Well what do you know: GOD from the machine.
- Chevaliere looks at Kimojin in shock while monologuing
- Kimojin looks at his Dryad arm with a surprised expression
- CHEVALIERE: (... How's this possible!?)
- CHEVALIERE: (There wasn't enough data on the Divine Beings hidden in the nano-construct's programming!)
- CHEVALIERE: (There's no way he could have reverse-engineered my Divine skills like that!)
- CHEVALIERE: (...)
- CHEVALIERE: (Unless... it wasn't his doing. The... the construct wasn't actually created by mere experts on supersystems...)
- CHEVALIERE: (It must be controlled by one..)
- Kimojin remembers that he was supposed to do something
- KIMOJIN: All done here, HQ. I'm ready for evacuation!
- CHEVALIERE: Leaving the party early, Flavian?
- CHEVALIERE: I must congratulate you for figuring out the secrets of the Dryad.
- Chevaliere creates a quick sharp blast through the floors
- Blast goes through the depths of the planet
- Blast enters a giant "tunnel"-like place with Root all over everywhere
- The underground root is set on fire, with the fire spreading around
- The ground starts shaking even at the hall where Chevaliere and Kimojin are in
- CHEVALIERE: Better get to your evacuation point right away, Flavian.
- CHEVALIERE: Unless you WANT to know what happens when an underground Root network spanning thousands of kilometers around the planet will explode.
- CHEVALIERE: ... Or what will happen to the millions of people you CANNOT evacuate.



CHAPTER 13: ASCEND

Science Labs, with the scientists desperately talking to each other
- INFO: SUB-LEVELS OF CHEVALIERE'S FORTRESS
- SCIENTIST: It's hopeless, all the exits remain sealed!
- SCIENTIST 2: We couldn't find any guns either! I didn't think Chevaliere would fry us with the rest of the planet!
- SCIENTIST: .. Hold on, do you hear that...?
- Kimojin root-carves the hell out of the sealed door
- KIMOJIN: Hi. I'm Kimojin Arjuna Tearatonicant from the Flavian Fleet. Anyone know how to stop the underground Root from blowing up?
- HEIG: My name's Heig, I'm in charge here. I can help you out.
- KIMOJIN: Good. The rest of you, get to the evacuation point.
- HEIG: You're going to have to get to the spawn point of the Planetary Root to get rid of it, but the elevator reacts only to her commands...
- KIMOJIN: Well, she bolted.
- HEIG: (She'd risk using a wormhole after all these years?)
- HEIG: Uh... so, how are you able to manipulate Root anyway?
- KIMOJIN: Let's say I got some of her tricks up my sleeve.
- KIMOJIN: Like, all the way up from my fingertips.
- HEIG: .. yes... I can see that.
- KIMOJIN: She told me that the NTE data wasn't enough and that she was going to need me physically for her... plans.
- HEIG: Yes, she needed to take control of your body with Dryad Root you in order to operate the Control Beacon.
- KIMOJIN: ... what beacon?
- HEIG: I'll... I'll show you...
- Kimojin and the scientist look at the Beacon Chamber
- HEIG: I'm sure you're more than aware of Psionics' natural limits...
- HEIG: ... but with the help of this device, you could gain control of the correct means to get rid of the Planetary Root.
- KIMOJIN: So how does it work?
- HEIG: Psionics and Divine Beings alike just channel power from the Fourth Dimension into their beings.
- KIMOJIN: (Probably referring to the Psionic Realm.)
- HEIG: ... And likewise, planetary anchor points are synced to the dimension to maintain reasonably fast space travel.
- HEIG: She needed this beacon to establish direct access into the actual dimension itself. To put something IN there.
- HEIG: In theory, she could have finished the Dimension Seal with this device. But-
- KIMOJIN: Get to the point! How could I-
- HEIG: She needed to control someone of Flavian blood in order to operate the Beacon.

Kimojin looks annoyed, then shocked ("Oh crap.") at the scientist
- Kimojin looks at the pod controls and walks up to them
- Lead scientist looks tense
- Kimojin presses the door controls
- Kimojin gazes at the pod's contents - a fetus inside a glass container, with bunch of root attached to it and going all the way up to the machine
- RANDOM PANEL: Flavian escort ships departing from the planet
- Kimojin stares at the fetus pod
- HEIG: When just utilizing the Codex data didn't cut it, Chevaliere wanted to come up with a backup plan in case her attempt to Root you had failed.
- HEIG: For some reason only someone of your bloodline can operate the beacon...
- HEIG: ... so she combined your genome with hers.
- KIMOJIN: So... how does this help us? Despite its current status, it can't grow into a full Dryad-Hybrid and just absorb the Root for us, right?
- HEIG: Correct.
- Kimojin remains silent for a moment
- KIMOJIN: Get to the evacuation ship.
- The scientist looks at Kimojin, then starts running away
- Kimojin looks at the chamber
- Kimojin places his human hand against the glass of the pod, looking solemn/bland/expressionless at the same time
- Kimojin closes his eyes, then opens them while looking angry
- Kimojin plunges his Dryad arm (now fiery, glowing and whatnot) through the glass, aiming for the fetus
- Kimojin grabs the fetus by the neck, with his Psionic nerves glowing, attempting to create Root
- The fetus opens its eyes, surprising Kimojin
- Lightning seems to burst out of the beacon, creating pressure waves 'round the room
- External (very bright) shot of the planet where the lightning appears as a combination of lighting/Root "striking" the planet
- Fade to white



CHAPTER 14: EVOLVE OR DIE

Liech, Arbeiter, Sivius and Ferasu are in the comm-room of the flagship
- GENERAL ARBEITER: Now the earthquakes stopped!? The flash of lightning wasn't enough!?
- LIECH: The hell's going on in there...?
- SIVIUS: He left the labs and then just seemed to go a few kilometers UNDERGROUND ... and then it stopped.
- GENERAL ARBEITER: Sheesh... how come the Dryad didn't just blow the roots up immediately? Why the delay?
- LIECH: Maybe she timed it slow enough to give her time to depart from the planet first.
- FERASU: Maybe she wanted Kimojin to discover whatever he found from the fortress.
- LIECH: Interesting. We can speculate about it later; the commotion has caused considerable damage all over the planet. The Eadelians have already requested for assistance.
- GENERAL ARBEITER: What's Kimojin's current status?
- FERASU: The Lifeform Attachment still appears to be active- wait!
- FERASU: ... Something's going on, the NTE is spamming a number of distress signals to us.
- SIVIUS: Kimojin, do you copy!? what's going on!?
- Elevator doors open somewhere at Chevaliere's fortress
- Kimojin steps out from the elevator (with fancy Root control panels), looking somewhat Dryadified
- He walks forward a bit, but suddenly coughs up a bunch of black blood, while the Dryad Root bud (Flay's embryo) exits from his neck
- Kimojin looks at the root bud, then falls on the ground
- Kimojin looks at how his right arm appears to be "melting"
- NTE POV of Kimojin looking at his shriveling arm
- SIVIUS [VIA NTE]: Kimojin, do you copy!? what's going on!?
- GENERAL ARBEITER: All remaining units, make your way to K-
- NTE: [STATIC AGAIN]
- KIMOJIN: (I...)
- NTE: YOUR PREMATURE DEATH WOULD HAVE DEVASTATING CONSEQUENCES FOR THE UNIVERSE.
- NTE: I WILL DISCOVER HOW TO IMPLEMENT DRYAD RENEGERATION IN YOUR BODY.
- NTE: BEFORE THAT, I WILL PREVENT THE LOSS OF YOUR MOST VITAL ORGANS.
- KIMOJIN: .
- KIMOJIN: Well, then... break a leg.
- BLACKOUT

From Kimojin's fuzzy NTE pov, he looks at a skeletal view of his right arm (wrapped in bandages et al), with bone visible
- Heig, wearing surgeon's clothing, is holding Kimojin's arm
- HEIG: We can afford no more delays with testing the new regeneration. It's now or never.
- HEIG: But... even if it works, you still have to regenerate your body matter regularly, because Root-created body matter is temporary by design.
- HEIG: In time... perhaps we'll be able to discover a far more permanent solution.
- POV view continues: Kimojin's Psionic nerves flares up (seen through the bone)
- POV view continues: Root rotates around his arm, tightens up, turns to ash
- POV view continues: Light grey healthy-looking arm can be seen through a bloodied POV view
- Fade to grey

DARACH, TWO YEARS AFTER ENCOUNTERING CHEVALIERE (grey background)
- Kimojin, with his skin mostly light grey looks at his visage in a bathroom mirror (hands leaning against the sink)
- Kimojin flashbacks to walking past a cafe/the bar where two Flavians are speaking to each other
- MALE: ... will the whining EVER stop!? There are countless of people who will never be able to recover from what they went through!
- FEMALE: Tell me about it. But looking at the big picture, you've got to admit how much calmer and... generally tolerable he's been ever since.
- Kimojin, out of flashback, sighs and grabs the can of skin spray
- Blacton, carrying bottles of liquor, enters the Flavian HQ bar, where Kimojin's sitting by a table
- KIMOJIN: Oh, there you are. Did you get the-
- BLACTON: All the booze is here, man, don't worry.
- KIMOJIN: Sweet.
- BLACTON: So... everyone's off to the shindig in Eadelia?
- KIMOJIN: Yeah, to "celebrate" our successful reconstruction efforts... and behind-the-scenes ass-licking from us for more antarite fuel.
- KIMOJIN: And no, we weren't invited.
- BLACTON: Couldn't care less!
- KIMOJIN: Hell, even Flay is there. Probably annoying the hell out of Liech with her dumb antics.
- BLACTON: Better over there than right here, eh?
- KIMOJIN: Yeah, she's getting more annoying every day. Not sure if it's a Dryad thing or something else.
- BLACTON: Like an 11-year-old-in-a-2-year-old-body thing?
- KIMOJIN: .. Sure.
- BLACTON: As long as Liech won't make you train her or anything, right?
- KIMOJIN: Yeah, that ain't happening. Maybe in 20 years from now.
- BLACTON: Well, your relatives agreed to legally adopt her into the Tearatonicant family, so you can't exactly avoid her forever.
- KIMOJIN: Yeah, good for them. Yet I've got no idea why they're not the ones taking care of her.
- BLACTON: Yeah, why wouldn't your non-Psionic relatives want to take care of a potential mass murderer?
- KIMOJIN: Oh snap.
- BLACTON: What's with the weird family name anyway? Did your ancestors create tonics out of a special type of ants or something?
- KIMOJIN: Maybe they literally tore apart the people who sold or made those tonics.
- BLACTON: Lovely. So, any news on our next gig?
- KIMOJIN: Same as usual. Blowing shit up in the field and our salaries out right here. Until we discover yet another dimensionary Beacon or whatever.
- BLACTON: Works for me.
- KIMOJIN: They're working on a radar to detect... Ichor, I think they're calling it. The seemingly indestructible stuff that the Beacon was made out of.
- BLACTON: Yet the only Beacon we've found thus far blew up on our- or rather, your face?
- KIMOJIN: ... Yeah. Maybe one day we can discover if this Star Devourer shit is really worth all this.



CHAPTER 15: EPILOGUE

Kimojin looks out from the windows of the Garosaon
- NARRATION: THREE YEARS LATER - (TWO MONTHS AFTER THE ZAVIER INCIDENT)
- MERCEDES: Hey, what's going on? Everyone seems to be running around...
- KIMOJIN: Banonia's decided to follow Pritares' lead. The anchor points are down.
- KIMOJIN: Our help is needed there to protect the evacuating Flavian forces.
- MERCEDES: How can we reach the planet without the anchor points?
- KIMOJIN: Our capital ship in the region is equipped with a mobile anchor point exactly for these situations. Shouldn't be a problem.
- MERCEDES: What about Zavier? Any other word on Laepidus' new message?
- KIMOJIN: Yeah... he can threaten to sell the Beacon to whoever he wants. We're still the ones in possession of the control codes.
- MERCEDES: ... and we have to make sure it stays that way.
- KIMOJIN: Yeah.
- MERCEDES: Don't you ... find it rather peculiar that only now the anti-Flavian sentiment has started to grow significantly?
- KIMOJIN: Not at all. Wouldn't be surprised if it had something to do with our new friend.
- KIMOJIN: However... if the Star Devourer has some kind of a backdoor system in every universe, why would it need mortal turmoil to get rid of the Dimension Seal?

At the Flavian Arboreum, Liech is waiting by the pool
- The bathroom doors open, and Flay walks out, looking ... shell-shocked
- LIECH: Feel better?
- FLAY: Yeah, I ... I think I got over the initial shock. ... Mostly. ... Maybe.
- LIECH: ... Just tell me what's on your mind.
- FLAY: ... ... so by some degree of deduction... I should be able to read all Codex data?
- LIECH: I'm not sure if that's covered by some hyperdimensional Dryad memory, but... it would make a lot of things easier for us.
- LIECH: We're quite certain that the reason why only someone from Kimojin's bloodline is able to operate the Control Beacons must be included in the Codex data somewhere...
- FLAY: Yet, for some reason, not his relatives who legally adopted me into the Tearatonicant family...
- LIECH: Yeah...
- FLAY: So how come those scientists haven't helped us with supersystems?
- LIECH: Chevaliere kept all the information on supersystems to herself. Whether she used a decryption key of some kind is unknown to us, but none of her crew are aware of one.
- FLAY: As always..
- LIECH: But now that we have OVAL bugging us - and the school year is over - we have to focus on your training.
- FLAY: .. hey! That reminds me!
- LIECH: Oh?
- FLAY: It just occurred to me... you said that the NTE "informed" Kimojin that it completed "DRYAD RESEARCH" or something?
- LIECH: Yeah. That's what he told me.
- FLAY: How did it show up in the logs?
- LIECH: I... can't remember. What are you getting at?
- FLAY: That sounds to me like the NTE was talking directly to him... as if one person to another. Just like OVAL did on the ship.
- LIECH: Oh...
- FLAY: I think it's obvious that the NTE itself is a supersystem. But if what we know is right, every supersystem is controlled by a higher being of reality.
- FLAY: So if OVAL is one for the Star Devourer, who or what controls the NTE?

In Zavier, near the beacon mountain, a ship with the OVAL symbol on the side has finished landing on a landing pad
- Someone steps out from the ship
- And yes, that someone is Chevaliere (humanoid/non-Dryad form)