Arc I Hub: Fort Earth

A full month has passed since the loss of the RISING Unit's original base, and the abduction of Dr. Amari Verbatim. The team has kept busy since then, but at last they have been able to find a new home, in a base  just south of the American Midwest, situated in a mountain range. Though bigger in surface area than the previous base, it was mostly above ground, spread across a few buildings for the superhumans and their support staff, surrounded and cloaked by mountains to make it harder to reach on land and by air without someone knowing. This was a much more secret facility, in that even RISING themselves hadn't known about it until more recently. Now... their activities begin anew, their resolve now clear: Find out information on where Verbatim was taken, and, though less importantly, where Xalia may have gotten off to...
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Item Shop

C-Ration - 90
D-Ration - 100
Repair Nanopaste - 110
Water - 2
Sports Drink - 70
Electrolyte Pack - 130
First-Aid Kit - 150
Chaos Disk - 250
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I still can't believe she actually did it... Fluut thought to himself, Though I shouldn't be surprised, either. Still, those parting words...? I can't help but wonder...?

Fluut stood up, having lain in his new room for some time. Unlike the previous, it lacked a waterfall. Fluut hadn't been mediating, or napping, just lying out on a bed, contemplating his options for the day. There simply wasn't much to do..

One sound Fluut had been hearing throughout this time, was the song of melencholy playing through the walls. Only his and Lusks hearing would be able to make it out through the walls, and Lusk didn't seem to realize this with his song.

Knowing Lusk...his thoughts were likely of Xalia as well...Fluut was sure of that.

--- --- --- --- ---
In his room, Lusk was sitting with his long legs crossed, lightly blowing his horn in a mellow tune. He was indeed thinking back to Xalia... and on the times he had sensed her discontent...

--- --- ---
Lusk seemed to sense Arashi's discontent, "If we take him in he won't be able to harm anyone.

Arashi gave a nod, before realizing Lusk still wasn't facing him. Before speaking up, Xalia's voice cut him off.

"Oh Lusk ♡, such a softy...just like always..." she mused. Glancing over at the fallen enemy, a certain contempt flashed across her expression as she continued, "But I wouldn't mind one last chat with him anyway..."

Turning his head back at last at that tone of familiarity, Lusk questioned: "Why's that?
--- --- ---

But he had never pressed her on it...and now she was gone, and so was the hostage. It was likely no coincidence, everyone agreed.  Lusk still remembered when he realized he was just a younger boy like Arashi or Nero...

--- --- ---
Lusk didn't seem very interested in any of that, listening out for ???'s heartbeat. It was still steady, as he glanced over his body. The man was fit, seeming to have developed his muscles carefully...efficiently. If he hadn't been holding off three RISING level fighters, like himself, things would have turned out differently.

Lusk also realized, not entirely surprised given the nature of this war, that the man was in fact younger then he appeared. Perhaps just a teenager...
--- --- ---

What was the connection between these two...Lusk truly had no idea. He had realized he knew little to nothing about Xalia's life or interest...despite feeling that he'd truly grasped her character. If only he had tried to talk to her about her reaction to ???...

Most spoke of her as a traitor, but Lusk wished to understand her reasoning a bit more then that...but it seemed that would have to wait.

The horn lowered from his lips, smoke shooting off from its surface, before revealing the small piece of metal in Lusks hand. He took a moment to admire it, and some progress he had made in this month...

"I would have liked to show you it, Xalia..." he said to himself out loud, standing off his bed. "My Kaihenjutsu..."

--- --- --- --- ---
OOC: Kaihenjutsu = Alteration Technique

At last, Fluut understood what should be done. In all that had happened that day, everyone had come up short. Everyone that had hung around. As a result, things were changing. Fluut himself was no better. Growing as big as he did didn’t yield the victory he’d hoped for; the man piloting that sentry was simply too good. He would need to call upon his memories, to dredge up the times he’d spent on his homeworld, and remember those times he spent on the fields, training…
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“Not yet… I’m not ready to quit for the day, just yet!”

The attitude Fluut possessed towards his chosen path, the path of the warrior, and the fire that he had pursued it with, baffled his fellow Nameks as long as he could remember. Though he could tell at first that the older Nameks were reluctant to train him, they soon warmed up to him, and began teaching him more and more. Even as a younger Namek, Fluut had not been one to call it quits until he could not physically lift his arms.

“Still…?” One of his trainers, Achat, eyed Fluut with a look that betrayed neither surprise nor concern, “Your eagerness, young Fluut, never ceases to amaze me… Very well, then.”

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The maneuvers he had learned through those days had left him—his enemies on Earth, his time on Earth, had left him soft, and he realized it now, faced with a skilled opponent. Said skilled opponent, he knew, would inevitably bring to the table far greater power than he could have ever imagined. To combat the threat he recognized Lacier as, he would need to train, to reclaim those instincts that had dulled, to recall those movements…

But such training required a partner, and Fluut could only think of one person for that job. That person was his fellow Namekian, Lusk. As he approached, he could hear the end of a song Fluut hadn’t heard before. Wondering what it was, Fluut increased his pace, catching Lusk only as Lusk finished what he was saying.

“I would haved like to show you it, Xalia… My Kaihenjutsu…”

Fluut shook his head just a little. Of course, Lusk hadn’t known what he did about Xalia. If all that, all this, was part of her plan...

Nameks were a peaceful people, leaving the mechanics of war utterly alien to Fluut. Weighing the outcomes, Fluut decided to keep his secret for now.

“Kaihenjutsu…?” Fluut asked, gaining Lusk’s attention.

"Ah..." Lusk said, "I'll explain it another time. What brings you here."

Fluut took in a short breath.

"There's no point in dancing around the matter. I thought back to what happened that day. Where we lost Verbatim and the base. Fighting against all those mindless drones... my more refined skills have atrophied. If I'd had the reflexes I'd honed from back then, then I may have been able to stop the other one from getting too far." Fluut summarized.

"So you need a sparring partner to help bring back that edge..." Lusk said, slowly standing up, his face composed. "I'm not so sure I'd be the best pick."

Fluut withheld a sigh. He had expected that much. While that was probably true for most reasons, the most important one still remained unchallenged. Besides, Fluut had to wonder if that statement was as true as it was when this all began.

"I'm sure with our participation in this effort that you've improved more than you realized. The development of this Kaihenjutsu of yours proves that. Besides, no one else on the team other than myself and you really know anything about anything concerning the martial arts taught on Namek."

"I see..." Lusk said, retrieving the hunk of metal that would shape into his horn at a moment's notice, "Well, I'll do my best."

As the two left, Lusk turned to Fluut. "Say, you've never faced me with my horn before..."

With the same smirk that had invited challenge before, Fluut turned to Lusk. "I'll look forward to it..."

While everyone else in the new base was busy with their duties arashi was in his new room bouncing a small ball of green Ki off the wall as he laid on his bed. He used to perform this exercise back when his skills at energy control were less than impressive. Now the young Saiyan could do it without much effort so long as the Ki sphere never exceeded the mass of a beach ball. That's when things would get out of hand.

In the months that had gone by the soldiers of them u.s. military were kind enough to replace the comics Arashi had lost in the attack. Though they were enough to lift his spirits for about a week Arashi was still left lingering frustration over Amari’s capture and not being allowed to leave the space didn't help.  After one last bounce off the wall Arashi’s ball of Ki disappeared the second he caught it. “That's it, i'm done!”

Using only his tail Arashi pushed himself off of the bed and right onto his feet. He rushed over to his closet in search of his new attire. Lately he seem to have developed a fondness for military clothing. In a matter of seconds he quickly changed from his “civilian” to all out soldier. Wearing a camo jacket and cargo pants with a black shirt underneath. “It's already been at least four weeks!!! I don't care if they think I'm just some dumb kid. We should be out there hunting for leads and getting Amari back! Not sitting in here!”

Arashi ran straight for the exit to his room, eager to find the commander and convince them to send Raising back into the field. After swinging the door wide open he was just about to run at full speed until he noticed Nero standing in the way. From the way the Androids hand was positioned in the air it seem like you was just about to knock before Arashi nearly ran him over.

"Woah! Sorry about that! Was in a bit of a rush! What can I do for you buddy?"

"Sorry, i just wanted to ask you something. what's going on?"

"Oh nothings wrong just-well! I mean i wouldn't say getting your mom back ISN'T important!"

"Well i mean, of course it's important!!"

"Just one problem. How do I convince a Commander to listen to ME?!"

Nero looked at Arashi with a confused expression as he asked "What are you-" Before getting the chance to finsh he eas cut off by his colleague. "I know this is dumb but I CAN'T stay locked up in here and WAIT anymore! We have to get her back!"

Nero pauses for a moment, closing his eyes as a sullen expression forms on his face.  "i know..."
"All this time we've been trying to recover from the attack...i think we're more than ready now." Nero opens his eyes, which begin glowing a dim light.  "There's only one way we're going to get out there. the commanders have to know we're ready"

Arashi lit up with child like excitement! There was finally someone else who shared his eagerness.
"So you're on board with me?! YES! Lets show em! We aren't the same as we were a month ago!"

Nero tries to smile at this   "Glad you agree, come on, we need to find the commander."

As they walked the halls of Fort Earth the two were able to find their way along well enough from their stay so far, but they had no idea where to find the base commander in charge of things.

They soon stopped by the shop area, two male shopkeepers at the counter. They decided to take the time and stock up, but Arashi eyed the products with uncertainty. "What should I---"

As he looked to Nero, he found the android already being handed several nanopastes in a bag for purchase.

Nero uses $880 (1500 -> 620) to buy eight Repair Nanopaste ($110 X 8 )!

After handing him the nanopaste, the shopkeeper had to ask: "You're really filling up on the stuff...got a droid workin with you in the field?"

The second shopkeeper suddenly nudged him with an elbow.

"Hey thats...." the second shopkeeper said, nodding towards Nero.

"Oh...!" the shopkeeper seemed to realize who Nero was, "So lifelike..."

The boy looked back, attempting a smile. "'Lifelike'? are you saying i'm not 'alive'?"

The shopkeeper's eyes grew wide, as he seemed to find the mistake in his words. "Oh...uh..."

"You could say that." Arashi suddenly caught the tension, giving out a laugh.  The shopkeepers looked at him like he'd said something even worse...but Nero chuckled as well.

"It's fine, i'm just nitpicking. But remember i am an artificial human after all."

"R-right. Sorry if I offended you."
--- --- ---

Meanwhile as Arashi was looking over the products, the second shopkeeper spoke to him. "Hey kid..."

Arashi turned at the remark, and gave a salute... "That's soldier to you fellow army man!"

"You're the young hot-shot from RISING, right? I've got just the thing for you..." the second shopkeeper said, raising a finger.

"Oh sweet, what is it?"

"Well," he started, digging around under the counter, " you're probably used to old rations, those C-Rations..."

Arashi gave him a blank look back, having not been in RISING long enough to ever use rations.

"Well I've got a fresh shipment of D-Rations in for you..." the shopkeeper finished, lifting up a small bar covered in simple wrapping. "Ever try one of these babies?"

"Nope." Arashi repied, "They taste good?"

The other shopkeeper at the sidelines had a sweat drop running down the back of his head at the remark. He glanced at his fellow worker.

"Oh they're the best..." the second shopkeeper said. "It's delicious chocolate packed filled to the brim with calories and nutrients...I'm normally...out of them right away, so you should buy up now!!"

[D-Ration: Restores 5% HP, 30% KP and 2 AP]

"So what do you say, soldier?"

Arashi gave it some thought, "How much?"

The shopkeeper lifted a box onto the counter. "A hundred. Each."

Arashi flipped through his wallet, and decided to buy five.

Arashi uses $500 (1500 -> 1000) to buy five D-Rations ($100 X 5)!

"Good choice... These things are gourmet lifesavers!"
--- --- ---

As Arashi was making his purchase, Nero spoke with the first shopkeeper. The shopkeeper looks over a product they have in stock but can never sell well. He lifts up a unique battery like object, a Chaos Disk. "Say, do artificial human's use this new 'Chaos Energy' stuff like droids?"

"I do," Nero confirmed, "Miss Amari built me with it in mind..."

"As for artificial humans...unlike normal androids, their are only two of us. As far as I know my 'brother' is the same."

The shopkeeper didn't have much of a reaction to that, simply continuing with the attempted sell: "You ever try out one these Chaos Disks?" he lifted the disk up further "Can fill up your reserves in a pinch."

Nero considered it. "I haven't tried them, no. I'd like two please."

"Nice sell...!!" the shopkeeper congratulated himself as he prepared a container with two discs.

"That'll come out to five-hundred total. If soldiers brought in more cores found in all the fighting, we could lower the price of these discs..."


Nero uses $500 (620 -> 120) to two Chaos Disks ($250 X 2)!

As Nero took the container he said, "Now i just...have one last thing left. Do you have anything that can heal normal people?"

"Heal?" the shopkeeper considered the term, before figuring... "Should try your hand at a First-Aid Kit."

He found some such kit and revealed it. "Its compact as you can see. Fit in either of your jacket pockets for instance."

"That's great, thank you!!" Nero called out in surprising excitement. "How much is it?

"Hundred n' fifty." the shopkeeper replied. He caught Nero's change in look as he eyed his own money.

"Oh...never-mind then." Nero replied.

Suddenly, Arashi's arm crossed over Nero's shoulder, and the silverette looked to to the tailed boy.

"Don't sweat it." Arashi said calmly, before raising up a v-sign, "I don't mind paying for you!"

Nero smiled, "Oh, really? Thanks!!"

Arashi uses $150 (1000 -> 850) to buy a First-Aid Kit for Nero!

With his arm around Nero, Arashi started to pull the two away from the shop.

"Okay! I think we've got everything we need." he said, before pointing a finger dramatically forward. "Let's go meet up with the boss!"



A shopkeeper spoke up behind them: "Boss? You mean the commander?"

Arashi and Nero looked back, "Yeah, her! We're trying to see if we can convince her to send us back into the field!"

Nero gave a nod, but the two shopkeepers seemed to be holding back laughter.

"'Her'? Oh if he heard the kid say that..."

"Guessing you two have never met with the base commander?" the second shopkeeper said. Both clearly replied no. "I see...Where you'll probably find him..."

--- --- ---
One explanation later...
--- --- ---
"That's my guess." the shopkeeper finished.

"But if the commanders keeping RISING out of the field still...it may be for good reason." the other added in. "What are you both so eager for?"

Arashi and Nero froze for a moment, but words found Arashi's mouth first." Well to be honest with you...even if its not the smartest move..."

"Right now there's a mistake I need to correct and a woman that my brobot here needs save!"

The shopkeepers looked surprised at the young boys, Nero nodding in absolute agreement.

"So that's it..."
"Dead set on things like that...you boys have become real men."

Both were quickly overflowing with enthusiasm.

"Wouldn't have expected a casanova out of you, Silver!" the first shopkeeper said, referring to Nero's hair color, believing the girl who needs saved to be a crush or such.
"Keep on coming back, we'll gear you up to get your girl back as often as needed."

As Arashi and Nero left the shop soon after, Nero couldn't help but point out...

"...They completely misunderstood..."

Arashi smiled back at him.

"The spirit was right..."

As Nero and Arashi walk down the halls, in search of the commander, Arashi speaks up.

"I know this might not be the best time to ask this but was that Android really your brother? And if he was why did he steal those gems?"

Nero suddenly halts, Arashi does the same, Nero then looks to the floor, trying to figure out just how to say this..

"This might come as a surprise..but...Amari..." "She used to work with the E.L.A, before this war."

Arashi's face goes white as he processes this, sputtering as he responds "W-WHAT? WHY??"

Nero turns to Arashi, locking eyes with him. "She didn't know what they planned to do, it was mainly because they gave her an opportunity to continue her research, that was all" Nero responds. "And that android from before...."Reptile" i'd never really thought about it before...but if she worked with them, and created the technology needed to create "Artificial Humans" like me...of course she was already working on one. I guess she couldn't take Reptile with her when she left..."

Arashi nods, "Ok at least that makes sense, But why didn't she just take both of you? Why leave behind an artificial human that could be just as strong as you?"(edited)

Nero crosses his arms, again looking to the floor. "She couldn't take both of us cause i didn't exist yet...as for Reptile...she never told me about him, but...i have a theory."

"Which is?"


It..has to do with how Amari made me, and i presume, Reptile." Nero continues,"Basically, she made the physical framework of our minds, our "brains" effectively, and gave them very basic functions. Afterwards we were hooked up to a program that would run our minds through Simulations, millions of them, to develop certain parts of us, Motor function in relation to our bodies, communication skills....emotions, basically anything you can think of. "

"That sounds like a lot of Tony Stark level stuff" Arashi responds "jeez just how smart IS your mom?"

"Amazingly,...but anyway, if Reptile were still being run through the simulations...there's no way she could have taken him with her, his mind would have been underdeveloped. Just how much would depend on what stage he was on" Nero pauses before continuing. "And before you ask, she couldn't just put him back in. we can't be hooked back up for more simulations after being taken out of them... Miss Amari did that to make sure we couldn't be tampered with after the fact."

"So does that mean . . . there's no way to save your brother?" "..i don't know." Nero Responds "he didn't seem...entirely like me. but if there's one thing i know from my own experience, it's that looks can be deceiving. i think he still has a choice in what he does, they couldn't take that away from him. But we won't know untill we meet him again, and we can't if we're stuck here. so we should get moving"'

at this, Nero turns away from Arashi and begins to run down the hall, motioning for Arashi to follow.


for a second, Arashi stands there stunned. "wow...he's really got a fire going. it's hard to believe he's the same quiet android i met before..." Arashi thinks. before following Nero down the hall.