Initum Fanfiction: Where we Belong

Cosmic Break: Initum: Where we belong

Doing good, fighting monsters and saving people, all these things, followed by inevitable long walks and sleeping in the frigid night. Sometimes, thought Eris, she should have stayed in the monastery, where there was at least ample edible food and blankets to be had from the powerless village. It wasn’t as if anyone could stop her from taking over. No one, that is, except Resha. A little contemptuously, Eris stole a quick glance at the blonde kneeling by the fire. She was humming to herself as she removed a pan of sizzling mushrooms and wild shoots. The way she never stopped smiling was annoying.

“Would you like some?” she asked.

“Whatever”

Resha ladled out portions for both of them, filling up a pair of cracked porcelain bowls that were once someone’s prize collection, but that had seen far better days. Fishing around, Resha found a loaf of somewhat soft bread and broke it for them. They sat across the fire from one another, eating. To her own surprise, Eris found that the sad fare was rather appetizing. The bread, a half-week old hunk, was another story.

“Would you like some cheese with your bread?” Resha asked.
Eris frowned.

“I don’t believe it,” she declared. “You can’t possibly have—”

“Here!” Resha exclaimed, holding out a chunk of perfect Gorau Glas cheese. Eris took the forty-thousand-Union-Credit-a-pound cheese with incredulity.

“That’s…amazing,” she said, at length. It was more luxury than she had ever had in her life. Resha’s ever-present smile broke into a laugh.

“Oh, I had that for a bit,” she said. “I was saving the best bits for you.”

“Preachy types,” Eris muttered under her breath. The cheese was breathtakingly good. Being in Resha’s luggage had hardly taken away any of its flavor. Only when she finished did she notice that the piece of cheese in Resha’s hands was of an ordinary type. Catching Eris’s stare, Resha colored a little.

“Well,” she said. “I thought that you might enjoy it more. I had plenty of that stuff when I was growing up. It’s not a…”
Eris’s brows were darkened in anger.

“Um…” Resha squeaked.

“You preachy types,” Eris said, stomping off to the sleeping area. “You’re all wrapped up in your own little worlds, thinking that you can save others by pitying them. Keep the good food to yourself next time. I don’t need your charity.”

“Eris…” Resha murmured. Her lips puckered, but Eris was already soundly asleep. Sadly, Resha trod off to her end of the camp and settled down to sleep. She fingered the book tucked away beneath her robes and shivered. The dank night air bit at her, as it did, every night since the last few days she had spent tucked away beneath dresses, corsets and servants. She wanted to reach out to Eris, but profound differences always kept them apart. Eris, for her part, seemed used to being cold and exposed, and slept as soundly as could be. Resha sat up, and brought out her map. By the light of the dying fire, she traced the route they had taken, a jagged worm through troubled areas Resha was determined to go to. Eris grumbled but followed suit. To herself, Resha had to admit that she was a little guilty about bringing the girl through even more lean days. If she had her way, Resha would have sent Eris to her—Resha’s—own home, somewhere nice, sunny and warm, where she could have a normal life.

The general principle, she reflected, had also been applied with the cheese. Eris would not take it, and Resha had to be around to keep tabs on her. Suddenly, Resha felt like a worrying mother.
‘Silly,’ she scolded herself. ‘Go to sleep. You’ve got no right to mother Eris.’

Chapter I: Cosmic Ark


Cosmic Ark Port Area, 1030 hours

“So, this is the next town?” Eris asked. Resha looked at her strangely for a second.

“Well?”

Resha kept looking weirdly at Eris.

“It’s…not a town,” she said.

“So it’s a village?”

Resha blanched nervously.

“So, you’ve never seen a city?” she asked nervously. Eris colored just a little bit. “Didn’t you, um, travel?”

“Not that far; there’s few places that let monsters like me settle down. Are you surprised?”

Resha did not respond. Turning her nose, Eris marched onwards.

“What monsters will we be fighting now?” she called back. In three long strides, Resha caught up to Eris. They walked
abreast for a minute or so before Resha began to speak.

“When I was growing up, my nanny used to tell me a story,” she began. “I was scared to be alone at night, so she told me stories about a place called the Cosmic Ark, where powerful heroes fight against terrible monsters to keep the peace of the land. That’s what I grew up with. Of course, I was excited when I found out that it was a real place, but…”
She fingered the hem of her robes.

“I found out that the Cosmic Ark is no longer what it was. A terrible, greedy force had taken over. The heroes are oppressed, the surrounding lands are taxed and the enemies grow strong,” she said. Unimpressed, Eris focused on an interesting piece of cloud. Resha continued saying, “Eris, I want to help them. We can drive out that evil. We can save the Cosmic Ark!”

“Honestly…we’re going through all this trouble to save your childhood fairy tale?” Eris asked. Resha stopped. Her cheeks were glowing red. Eris paused, turned, and looked at her curiously. Resha’s jaws clenched.

“You’re wrong!” she yelled. “It’s not a fairy tale! How can it be, if it’s real? I just want to help people!”

Eris resumed walking, leaving Resha behind.

“Resha, when I agreed to come with you, I was looking for someone stronger than me,” she began. “Didn’t we agree to look for somewhere we belonged to? We haven’t done anything like that at all. It’s just been going from village to village flushing out bad things. What have we done for ourselves?”

“This isn’t about me, you, or us. This is about other people!” Resha said sternly. “This is—”

“You living your childhood memories,” Eris cut her short. “That’s okay…I dream of the days when I was normal, too.”
She threw a glance over her shoulder at Resha.

“Don’t worry. I will stick with you, wherever you go,” she said, with just a hint of softness.

XXXXX

The city glowed in the light of the dying sun. A giant tower stood at attention amidst tall, glass and steel buildings. The tower was translucent, floating off of its base, and flashed every so often as groups of people and robots went in and out of the gap between tower and base.

“The Cosmic Ark transporter,” Resha said in awe. “Eris, we’re here!”

“How nice,” Eris said. “Do we spend the night in the city, or do we go to the Cosmic Ark?”
Resha thought for a moment, and then slowly shook her head.

“We spend the night here,” she decided. “Well, we need to rest. We have to make a good first impression, right?”

“Aren’t you trying to overthrow these…C.S. people?” Eris asked. Resha crossed her arms.

“We can’t do anything if they don’t let us in,” she said. “We’ll have to infiltrate the Cosmic Ark!” Her book snapped shut,
disappeared into her robes, and she fished out her purse, whereupon she began looking. As she looked, her distress grew.

“Oh,” she said. “I don’t think we have enough union credits.”

Eris’ eyes narrowed.

“Tsk”

“Sorry…”

“You were offered money and food everywhere,” Eris said. “You could have taken payment for our work.”

“That’s not what I believe in,” Resha said. “We’re not mercenaries!”

“Really…you’re an idiot,” Eris said. “Now, what do we do? Sell ourselves on the market?” Resha colored, squeaked and
hugged herself. Eris shook her head and sat down.

“Resha, you didn’t plan this very well,” she said. Resha frowned.

“I brought enough money from home for myself,” she said, and then pursed her lips.

“Sorry for dragging you down,” Eris said. Resha hastened to repair the damage.

“N—no, not at all,” she said. “Why would you say that? I don’t think that way.”

“I suppose I’ll have to think just like you, then,” Eris retorted. Resha opened her mouth, and then closed it again.

“You don’t have to blame yourself for anything,” she said, finally, after a while. Eris snorted.

“Sarcasm,” she said. “Can’t you at least recognize it?”

Resha shivered under Eris’ cold gaze. In the past weeks since the monastery, she had softened and then re-hardened. Resha felt her hold on Eris slip away by the day, and she was sad for it, because in the time they had spent together, Eris had
become something of a friend to her.

“Hey, Eris,” she asked, halting the topic. “Is there anything you want to get when we go into the city?”

“No; why do you ask? Aren’t we already short?”

Resolutely, Resha snapped her bag closed.

“That won’t be a problem. We’re getting jobs,” she said. “We’ll work our way in!”

Chapter II: Company Town

City fringes, Cosmic Ark port city

The outskirts of the city were literally covered in mud

Filth ran through the streets, instantly painting the girls’ boots matte black. Men and rusting robots lay in heaps, begging for food and un-rusted, workable parts. Hands reached pitifully towards Resha and Eris, starved ribs poking dry, bleach-white skin. Resha gagged as she tried to avoid the piles of human waste and the occasional piece of unrecognizable trash that looked something like the remains of a robot. A claw snatched Resha’s ankle, almost causing her to fall face first into the street. In a flash, Eris caught her, and one of her swords was pointed at the crab-like robot that had snatched Resha. It had one rusty claw, half a leg, and a gaping hole through its back. Creakily, it tried to loosen its grip, but the claw screeched, sent up a few sparks and promptly broke off. The robot uttered a wail of despair. Without hesitation, Eris sliced the still attached claw apart. Resha looked down at the moaning wreckage.

“What…happened?” she asked.

“New here?” someone’s shrill voice asked.

“Yes; what’s going on?” Resha demanded. “Why are the people here living like this?”

“Can’t pay the rent,” the small robot that had spoken before stated. It rolled out of the gutter it had been nesting in. It was a
small, orange and black machine that was more like a box on treads than a robot. It had only a head, a body with a square-ish cannon barrel protruding out of it, and a base with small treads. It whirled around, splattering mud on more of Resha’s robes.

“C.S. kicked us out,” it stated. “Those of us who couldn’t keep up with their work hours; fifty sorties a day, half pay, and all the spare parts and upgrades are in Root.”

Seeing the confusion on Resha’s face, the robot quickly added, “C.S.’s money system, made to drain as much money from the heroes as she can. Work for a month, maybe get some fifty Root, spend it at a company store and get some crap. Sooner or later, you go broke and end up here.”

It gave the electronic equivalent of spitting onto the ground.

“Then there’s C.S.’s favorites,” it said. “Half-robots so powerful, they can clear swarms of Chaos robots with one shot. Even they sometimes lose their jobs. C.S. is recruiting ‘round the clock now and they don’t seem to get it. We’re not slaves, we’re robots. They keep treating us like shit, and they get to face the Chaos alone.”

It seemed to shrug.

“You came to a bad place,” it said. “Go home; this place is finished.”

XXXXX

It took a long time for Eris to clean her clothes fully and even longer for Resha to recover her wits. The hunt for jobs had come to nothing, which was not surprising, what with the thousands of unemployed roaming the streets, lacking even the basis of survival, scraping by. Their credits disappeared fast in a city where even a night’s food necessitated changing their last few thousand credits into a few measly Roots. Meanwhile, Resha was hunched up against a tree, hugging her knees to her chest, paying attention to neither the pair of wild rabbits Eris had caught nor the berries, shoots and mushrooms that she usually ate.

“I’ve never seen you so angry, Resha,” Eris said. “It means a lot to you, doesn’t it? This Cosmic Ark place…”
Resha’s hand slammed against the dewy, late night earth. They were sleeping outside the city; living quarters were twenty Root a bed per night.

“Eris,” Resha said in a hollow voice. “C.S.…I can’t forgive them for what they’ve done. I…it’s my childhood, Eris. I have to do this. Sorry.”

To her surprise, Eris sat down by her side, her countenance softening again.

“I know how it feels, Resha,” she said. “I know what it’s like to lose things. Even though this is silly, I’m still with you.”
Resha brightened considerably.

“Good!” she cried. “Then let’s get started tomorrow, Eris!”

The other girl tilted her head in surprise, and asked, “Start doing what?”

Resha hugged Eris out of the blue.

“Organizing the people,” she said cheerfully. “It’ll be a revolution!”

A hammer struck the mahogany desk of the presiding official of the trial now taking place.

“Order!” the robot roared. The sole occupant of the rest of the room stood to attention. She was a female robot, with one
leg missing and half of her equestrian legs shaved off.

“We hereby commence the investigation of the failure of Lazflamme to defend the following area against the Chaos,” the robot intoned. Silently, Lazflamme listened to the robot list out the areas that had been lost to the Chaos while under her command. Occasionally, a hoof-like foot clicked against the metal floor of the courtroom. The robot shuffled some files on a mobile reader.

“Do you, Lazflamme, stand by your claim that the ammunition and troops sent by Angel Force was insufficient for the defense of the aforementioned area?”

“I do,” she said. “The supply only lasted us ten days, after which we—”

“This court has read your report, and need not have it repeated to us,” the robot interjected sharply. “There were two thousand cases of ammunition sent to your station, all of which you received. Is that correct?”

“Yes, sir,” Lazflamme replied.

“Then how is it that your troops still ran out of ammunition?” the robot demanded.

“I think, sir, that you need to look at the estimated enemy forces again,” Lazflamme said calmly. The stump of her arm twitched. “Approximately thirty thousand Chaos robots were seen. Even ten of the Mass-Production Type Aquila Girls could not have held that many back.”

“You had all ten of the MP-AGs, three Destructors and even Crimrose with you!” the robot said.

“All of whom used up ammo like water, sir,” Lazflamme said. “The Destructors relied on their Titan Bazookas rather heavily.”

“Two thousand cases of ammo,” the robot repeated. “You should have wiped out an entire invasion armada with that much!”

Lazflamme gritted her teeth; her remaining hand gripped the podium.

“I wrote clearly that there were two armadas!” she yelled. “Read it! Our Destructors were trading fire with them the entire time! None of them survived!”

She would have continued, but the robot began banging its gavel, crying, “Silence, or you will be charged with contempt of the court as well!”

“I won’t!” she shrieked. “I don’t even care anymore! The Chaos is gaining ground every day because we have no one to fight with anymore! Your rules are killing our fighting strength! Everyone is getting kicked out because they can’t pay some stupid—”

“TAKE HER AWAY!” the robot roared. “LAZFLAMME, YOU ARE HERBY CHARGED WITH CRIMINAL NEGLIGENCE AND CONTEMPT OF THE COURT AND SENTENCED TO FIVE YEARS OF HARD LABOR AND A FINE OF TWO HUNDRED ROOT, AND BARRED FROM EVER RE-ENTERING THE COSMIC ARK. YOUR PROPERTY IS FORFEIT TO THE ARK.”

“Go to hell!” she yelled back, and kicked the first incoming guard robot in the face, sending it flying. Her hooves slid apart, dodging a spear swipe, and her rear hooves planted in the second guard’s chest. Her hands wrapped around the robot’s spear, and hurled it at the judge’s podium, impaling the robot through the gut. Outside, jet engines were humming as three MP-AGs hurtled towards the courthouse. Lazflamme burst out, almost stepping right into a shower of blaster beams.

“Shit,” she muttered. One of the guards’ combat magnums was in her hand, though it wouldn’t do much to a circling AIR-type robot. The transporter to the port city was literally right outside, but the moment she left she would be eating blaster beams. Behind her, the judge struggled to its feet and snatched the magnum of the other guard.

“S—stop!” it croaked. Lazflamme answered with a clip of bullets in its face. It was a C.S. employee, and will not be missed at the Cosmic Ark. She retrieved the other magnum and put it away. Picking up the robot, she hoisted it over her hind legs, arranged it face down, hiding the bullet holes, and held the magnum to its core. The MP-AGs have yet to receive their full HUD and sensors, and could not tell at a distance between dead and alive without seeing any damage. They would not fire upon a C.S. employee to get at Lazflamme—or so she hoped.

She was wrong; the robot’s body sizzled as a ring of blaster beams homed in and burnt through most of the body. Lazflamme squealed, kicked the burning pile of metal away, and outright bolted. Beams rained down, destroying pavement, and her booster blew up. She tumbled forwards, glanced off of a shop stand, and the air was knocked off of her as a rack of viper shields fell onto her back just in time to save her from a barrage of shots. She looked up, and saw the shopkeeper grinning down at her, as much as his robotic face allowed.

“Oops,” he said. She smiled; he motioned with his eyes, she nodded, and punched him square between the eyes. With an exaggerated yell, he fell forwards, and she grabbed a shield as he flailed, running for the exit. A grenade launcher fell mysteriously across the road, bursting into flames. Oily fumes obscured the sky for just a moment, during which Lazflamme dove into the transporter…

“Laz,” someone called. “Is that you?”

Lazflamme struggled up on one arm, wildly looking about.

“Over here!” a stack of crates called. From inside, a girl with spiky pink hair poked out her head.

“Winberrl!” Laz exclaimed. The girl nodded, looked around and motioned for Laz to come inside. Painfully, Laz crawled towards the crates. Winberrl pursed her lips. Overhead, the buzzing of engines could be heard.

“Sorry, Laz,” she said. “You gotta be fast.” She stuck out and arm and began spitting a stream of thorn-shaped beams at
Laz. Laz cried out in pain as the beams wrapped around her good arm and dragged her inside. Bleeding in a dozen extra places, she glared at Winberrl.

“As thorny as always?” she asked sarcastically. Winberrl ignored her and immediately began tending to her. She whimpered when she saw the missing arm.

“Is it really that bad inside?” she asked.

“Oh, yea,” Laz answered, sometimes wincing when Winberrl’s ministrations hit a sore spot. “You were right; I should have left a while ago.”

Winberrl shook her head.

“I’m sorry I left, Laz,” she said, hugging the one-armed girl. “I left you all alone in there, and I left my duty to the Cosmic Ark. If I’d been there, then…maybe…”

“There would’ve been no difference,” Laz said angrily. “Nothing…would have changed. Nothing could change. We’re obsolete now, anyways.”

“Well, don’t say that!” Winberrl exclaimed. “Just…don’t”

“Nah,” Laz said. “It’s the truth.” Then, seeing Winberrl’s face fall, “what is this place, by the way?”

Winberrl brightened considerably.

“It’s an underground!” she said cheerfully. “Robots from all over come and work to earn their keep here. We all trade in the old union credits, and the parts suppliers don’t mind, either, so it’s kind of like having the old Ark back together!”

“Is that so?” Laz’s face lit. “Well, that’s nice. Who runs the place?”

“Everybody!” Winberrl explained happily. “There’s no one in charge, just the robots looking after themselves and each other!”

Laz frowned disapprovingly.

“This is a mess,” she muttered. Winberrl stroked Laz’s hair and pulled her close.

“Laz, come on, drop that regimental stuff already,” she cooed. “Hey! We don’t need anyone telling us what to do, do we?”

“So what do you suppose we do, then?” Lazflamme snapped. “There’s no discipline, no control. If the Chaos were to attack
right now, who would coordinate a defense?”

Winberrl’s smile grew pained.

“Laz…C.S. is keeping the Chaos down…we don’t need to do anything,” she said. Laz shuddered. Winberrl grabbed her tightly.

“It’s just us now, Laz,” she whispered. “Just…the rest of us trying to scratch a living”

Her hand ran over the scratches and dents on Laz’s armored parts, and then over the soft Geo-Cell flesh.

“It’ll be like old times,” she whispered. “Pretend that we’re still at the Cosmic Ark, alright? We deserve our retirement after so many years, you know.”

“This is no retirement,” Laz said bitterly. “We’ve been kicked out.”

XXXXX

Office of the Directorate, C.S. HQ

Dainty violins wove a thin, spider-like web over the magnificently decorated office. Underneath the silken tranquility, a young woman with mint-green pigtails sat reading through reports. She had on light gray robes of a monastic type, and her slight frame was quite lost in the heavy mahogany seat that seemed to wrap around her an infinite number of times. Outside, the sky was dark, and few brave stars hazarded a peek through the violet cosmos. A clock chimed 2000 hours, and the girl looked up. The center of the room began to swirl with a sinister red mist. Accompanied by a cacophony of whirlwinds, the crimson vortex reached a climax, and burst. A cascade of hair as silver as the full moon parted, and out came a cold face, the face of a girl that the world had far too often abused, and who no longer cared for the universe.

“Right on time, Ambassador Ivis,” the robed girl said. Ivis inclined her head.

“Director C.S.,” she said. “The pleasure is all mine.”

C.S. gestured to a seat set up in front of her desk.

“Sit down, Ivis,” she said. “I shall have refreshments sent up soon enough.”

“That would be lovely; thank you, Director.”

“It is only what courtesy demands,” C.S. said. She rang a bell twice. Ivis sat in perfect posture, both hands in her lap, her modified arm nowhere to be seen, but her eyes burned into C.S. from underneath the deathly pale bangs. The doorbell
clinked, and through a trapdoor along the side, a dish of small cakes and a pot of steaming coffee were pushed through. Personally, C.S. retrieved the platter, and set it on the gilt mahogany desk that sat with its back to a transparent set-topaz window.

“No sugar, with a small cinnamon roll, as always, Ivis?” C.S. asked. Ivis nodded, taking the snack with a few words of
thanks. The girls sat across from each other, seemingly having tea as any other pair of young ladies of privilege, but each scoured the face and body of the other for telltale signs.

“Director, you will excuse me for being abrupt,” Ivis said. “But I must skip to the business.”

C.S. smiled and licked her lips.

“Yes…” she said. “The last consignment of tune materials from the Chaos arrived with little trouble, and I must thank your leaders dearly for the new supercomputer system that finally cracked Aquilla Girl’s Core sequences. The Cores of Mialy and Rouche, too, are being decoded as we speak. Rest assured that the data will be shared as soon as we have it.”

Ivis nodded, drumming her fingers on the table surface.

“That…” she says. “Is all well; the war goes on, to the profit of all of us. However, I see that you are about to retire your
entire AIR force in favor of mass-produced Vector Eagles and Aquilla Girls?”

“Correct; there is no longer need for me to retain any of the old stock,” C.S. said. “They have served their purpose admirably, but not anymore.”

The girls traded looks of icy daggers.

“Then, you know what I ask,” Ivis said. C.S. nodded.

“It is done,” she said. “Pick up the package at the docks, port 5666; the pass code is the serial number of the package. Consider it my thanks for all your hard work.”

Ivis suddenly shivered, as if a shock had gone through her. C.S. smiled behind her mug.

“Once we have completed negotiations for the next trade, it is all yours,” she said. “Well, then, shall we begin?”