Geneforce, the Next Generation Episode 4: Gates of Heaven, Depths of Hell

Garm: . . . . Out of my way... I want to speak to whoever is in charge. *he brushes past the bats and doesn't even look back at the now gone door. he starts walking up to the castle, glancing at the golden leaf tree. he subconsciously nodded back at it.*

Saber: *he and the others board the ship. Inside, something was at the captain's chair, typing away at a computer. The chair turns around and sitting there is a small tabby cat with a cut-ear. He glances at the kids and wrinkles his nose in disgust*
???: Oh great! You're the heroes that Lennox sent?! And here I was expecting Geneforce, not the kiddy brigade! I know who each of you are....Liola Faustus, the succubus. Steam, the famous Amalgam. And *he sniffs the air and turns away in disgust* The spawn of that Bone Witch, Charisma. Saber Materex.
Saber: Ummm.....who are you?
???: I'm called Ajax. I'm an Exceed, or Polymorphing Cat as your race calls us. You may know my idiot cousin, Nahn?
Saber: Nahn-chan?! *the image of Nahn on Grell's head flashes in Saber's head* But she's so adorable and you're so.....
Ajax: Yes?
Saber:....gruff.
Ajax: Well put. Anyway, I'll get you kids to Amazon, don't you worry. Just don't touch anything! This is MY ship. Just like the Bleak Nebula was Nahn's ship.
Saber: I thought the Bleak Nebula belonged to Dark Cosmos....
Ajax: LIES AND SLANDER! Nahn lost that ship, the little airhead, and those brigands Dark Cosmos stole it!
Saber: *he turns to Liola and Steam* Is this guy for real?...

Griffin: Don't worry, human! There is nothing stronger than me!
Archer: QUIT WITH THE LIES I KICKED YOUR ASS MORE TIMES THAN I CAN COUNT!
Griffin: So less than zero times? *he dives down towards the building with Archer still shooting at the figure*
Archer: EAT DARK BOLTS, YOU SICK EXCUSE FOR A FIGHTER! YOUR NOISE SMELLS LIKE A SEWER! I FART IN YOUR GENERAL DIRECTION! YOUR MOTHER WAS A HAMSTER AND YOUR FATHER SMELLS OF ELDERBERRIES!

Liola: I dont know, but I think he needs a little love~ *she picks up the cat and hold him close, petting his head.* Who's a good kitty? You are~

Ajax: O////O ............*he blushes wildly and starts to squirm* OI! LET ME GO! PUT ME DOWN THIS INSTANT, DEMON!
Saber: *he chuckles a bit* I think he likes you, Liola.
Ajax: OH SHUT UP! *he sniffs Liola* That smell...she smells like.....CATNIP! *his face relaxes into a stupid grin and he begins to cuddle up to Liola while making a purring sound*

Kyra: *She gasps angrily and fles in front of Garm, blocking his path.* Who says you can just waltz in there?! *She moves in very closely, showing off her aggressive personality.* You need to take an entrance exam! Then, yo-
Kulen: Kyra, ztop. *He slowly walks forward.* Ve can zee vhat avaits him inzide for himzelf... *He lowers a wing slightly, revealing his vampiric fangs.* Allow me to give you ze grand tour. I'm Kulen, and zis tramp iz Kyra. *He begins to head towards the door, Kyra stubbornly following.*

Steam: ... *He sweatdrops and chuckles sheepishly.*

Antonio: *Is dropped by Griffin and lands on the roof. He whips out his PDA and picks an icon of a Chollima SABER on it with a styler. In a burst stream of crimson pixels, a deep red Chollima burst from the PDA, spreading her wings as Antonio lept onto her. The Chollima landed on the ground below, facing the figure defiantly. Antonio grinned.* Ready, Baleus?
Baleus: *She snorts cockily, eyes full of rash determination.* I was born ready!
Karya: *She flings several dark bolts at the figure while flying around it at high speeds.*

[Kreisan]

The ball of noise exploded, spreading deadly energy all around. Griffin, Archer, and Karya were in the blast zone.

As for the masked figure, he quickly brought up a noise shield, blocking all of the shots. "Fire!" someone shouted.

Gunshots began to ring out, and bullets began to bounce off the noise shield. The paramilitary was on the offensive.

Garm: A tour would be appreciated, thank you. And whats this about an entry exam? *his divine eye flashes as he glances over at Kyra*

Liola: :3 good kitty~

Griffin: *he rears up and dodges with Archer barely able to hold on to his tail* YIKES!
Archer: YEP! YEP! THERE IT GOES!
Helios: There what goes?
Archer: MY BRAINS! I JUST CRAPPED THEM OUT FROM HOW CLOSE THAT WAS!

Ajax: *he makes the cute kitten face then lets out an adorable sound* MEW!.....wait, did I just "MEW"?! I DO NOT MEW! *he wriggles free and jumps back into the Captain's chair* Enough foolishness! Off to Amazon! *the ship starts up and takes off*

~Ruins on Planet Rapture~
Raem: *he and Ouranos walk into a large white marble ruined chamber. In the center is a large pylon with glowing blue runes on it. Raem walks over and begins reading it* Kere akar weganos quarto.....yes, yes I think I got it. The stones are on Planet Amazon. And judging by the coordinates, the ruins they are hidden in is located deep inside the Keshin Alienage.

Kyra: It's so obvious! We don't let just anyone into our group! We're elite bounty hunters, the cream of the cro-
Kulen: It's an examination of variouz azpects of ze hunter. I'm not allowed to tell you vhats in it, though... *He leads Garm inside the castle, which is surprisingly pearly white, with a lounging area that several other demon Hunters were sitting in. To the right wall were several black portals.* Zose are ze umbrageous teleportation portals we use to travel ze universe to go to our mission area. *He then gestures to a large electronic screen to the right, where several names are listed. A scoreboard.* That's the leaderboard. It tellz us who ze best hunters in ze group are, and who ze most wanted demons are.
Kyra: Sivica's still number 1... *She looks to the top of the leaderboard, where the name is in gold letters as opposed to the silver lettering of other hunters on the list.* But your catching up fast, Kulen!
Kulen: No... ze feat of supassing Zivica... zat is impossible for me.

Ouranos: Right... *He hears something from behind and turns, hood still over face. Behind the heroes were at least a dozen Morians. Ouranos curses in anger, preparing to strike them down when he heard someone else approach with them. It is Frote in his SABER form, mane flipped dramatically over half his face. The Morian Corpusle sneers.*
Frote: You two got far on you little expedition... but now, in this chamber... you'll die. Plain and simple. *The dozen Morians shapeshift into various alien creatures, none would be pushovers. Frote merely stood back, deciding to watch the heroes struggle instead.*

Antonio: KARYA!!! *The Nyxie falls to the ground from the blast, unconscious. Antonio quickly returns her to his PDA and urges Baleus to the top of a nearby building to avoid gunfire. He then equips her Sniper Patch, waiting for Baleus to charge her deadly fireballs.*

Garm: Hmph. *he eyes the scoreboard.* I'll get up there soon enough...
*A dark yets girlish chuckle is heard behind the group. Approaching quickly was a dark blue teddy bear girl with lighter blue hair. Her hips swung as she walked and her skirt made her look... well... something better then attractive. On the crinson color shirt she wore, there was a bright gold badge.*
???: Who is this? a new rookie? Awww~ He's so adorable! But by your scent, You haven't taken the exam yet! *she flicks Garm on the nose with her neatly manicured claws*
Garm: . . . . The name is garm. And you must be the hooker of the group.
???: *a red fustration mark appears and garm smirks. She then jabs a claw inj the direction of the scoreboard.* Don't know me then? Im Kiko. Number 2 on the boards. You better get used to seeing me around. I just feel sorry for the poor sap that gets stuck with you... *her watch rings and she looks up at the board. The column where is says the demon's name starts moving. the name "Jinsei" appears next to her name* See ya rookie~ *she walks into one of the dark portals*
Garm: I hate her already....

[Kreisan]

The cloaked figure glared at the soldiers firing at him, and began to charge up noise. Although the soldiers were wise to run, they couldn't escape the beam of pure, concentrated noise. They were as good as dead.

Raem: We don't have time to waste on scrubs like you...*he makes his helm of Chaos appear and out from his shoulders and armpits burst the other 4 chaos arms. an Ashbringer forms in each arm and he holds the swords in different positions. He steps forward, swinging the blades as he tests their flexibility and his arms fluid motions.* Tell Mora that if he wants to take us out so badly, he can try it himself. *he prepares for the Morians to charge.*

*the ship lands on Amazon in about 10 minutes*
Saber: Wow, that was fast!
Ajax: Of course it was. The Maelstrom is the fastest ship ever conceived! 10x faster than even the Green Flash!
Saber: Anyway, thanks for the ride, Mr. Ajax.
Ajax: yeah yeah yeah....just keep the catnip girl away from me.
*the team exit the ship onto Amazon's main city of Barrow End. There are hundreds of beautiful human-looking people with animal ears and tails. there are also Celestio-Sapians, Iciaurian Wolves and Skunks, Mobians, Flayers, and Shifters. Behind the Market District where the Heroes are is a large wall with Anti-Madness generators on the tops that form a large bubble*
Saber: That must be the Alienage...

Archer: *he keeps shooting at the figure, trying to aim for his blind spots* CAN'T YOU KEEP YOUR ASS STEADY, LIZARD-LIPS?!
Griffin: YOU TRY DODGING BLACK NOISE AND NOT TWISTING SO YOUR BODY DOESN'T GET DELETED, YOU IMBECILE!

Kyra: Ugh! She's so-!!! UGH!! *Kyra crosses her arms angrily, glaring in Kiko's direction. She then glances at the right-most portal, seeing another hunter walk out. She gasps.* IT'S SIVICA!!! *Instantly, the whole room became quiet as a dark gray chinchilla anthro walked out of the portal, dragging a bag of loot in tow. He wore a crimson full body trenchcoat with spikes crawling up the forearms. His eyes were cold, and seemed to not even be focused on what was ahead. He then threw the bag into a mailbox-like device that was near the back of the room.*
Kulen: That's where we put any loot we steal from demons. It goes directly to the big man himself...
Sivica: *He sits in a chair in the far end of the room, his very aura seeming to push others away. Two golden butterflies flew in from the window, one flitting around Garm, the other around Sivica. Kyra gasped in shock, eyes widening. Sivica does not seem to notice the butterfly, but stands slowly, his powerful muscles rippling under his coat, as if the coat were a second skin... as if it were alive.*
Kulen: *He looks at Garm, then furrows his brows.* Our leader wants to talk to you... and Sivica?

Baleus: *She fires a blast of crimson fire at the figure.*

Frote: Like he'd deal with fleas like you. *The Morians attack using various abilities to overpower the heroes.*
Ouranos: *His hands glow with lightning and he jabs several Morians nearby at high speeds, only for their wounds to reheal. Ouranos growled, remembering that this species of creature was virtually indestructable to most kinds of attacks. Physical attacks would do next to nothing, and not many elements would damage them. The Morians lived on a volcanic world, so fire was out of the question... He roared as Madness rushed through his hands, forming a blade and shield of Madness. He practice-swung his Mad Armaments, taking out several Morians in a slimy mess. Judging from their now vibrating body bits, they'd reform soon. He and Raem would have to force their way out of here before then.*

Steam: Our first location?

[Kreisan]

Although the cloaked figure wasn't paying attention to them, their attacks seemed to be bouncing off something... like another, passive shield. He slowly turned towards them. "Laplace rejection." the cloaked figure said. "You cannot harm me, no matter how hard you try."

Then, oddly enough, a crack in space appeared, as if the cloaked figure's shield was cracking. "Huh?" he wondered, looking up at the crack with curiosity.

[Outside Kreisan]

Lucy and Beal were driving off in Lucy's car. Thankfully, she'd gotten her license beforehand, and they were driving off on the highway to Tesseract City. "... Lucy?" Beal asked.

"What is it?" Lucy asked, still panicking.

"... Are you sure you want to go to Tesseract City?" Beal asked, somehow becoming more thoughtful. "He might attack there next."

"Then where do we go?" Lucy asked.

"... How about we find a herd of SABERs?" Beal suggested, causing Lucy to stop on the shoulder.

"And let them kill us?!" Lucy replied. "Each and every SABER out there has a reward for our heads!"

"Better than staying around humans." Beal admitted.

"... I think Rufus rubbed off on you." Lucy commented, making her stop before she hit the gas pedal. "Oh my..."

Immediately, Lucy did a u-turn on a special U-road available on the highway. "Where're you going?!" Beal asked.

"I know who that cloaked figure is!" Lucy replied.

???: GAHAHAHAHAHA! Who'da thought the boss would want to see a newbie!? That's just rich! *the man who spoke is a Necral with black skin and vein-system tattoos all over his body. He is wearing an open black trenchcoat with no sleeves and black trip pants with a silver chain as a belt. Three metal spikes literally stick out from his skin on each of his shoulders. He is wearing black, single-strip sunglasses. He is in an owl-like position on one of the tables with his hands resting on his knees.* The name's Bonesaw Jeckaljeques. I'm ranked Number 4! *he tosses a brown sack full of gems into the mailbox* FROM THE DEMON DRAGON, IBARAK! NO PROBLEMS THERE! GAHAHAHAHAHA! By the way, lookin' good as usual, Kyra-chan!

Saber: Yep. Lennox said this Zeke guy would be inside that area.

Raem: *he leans forward and stabs the swords in the ground. He aims his horns so they are pointed right at Frote. Suddenly, energy begins to build in between his horns.* Cedo.....Grande... *he fires the same Gravity-like beam that Chaos used right through the Morians and at Frote*

Helios: *he notices the crack in the shield* THERE! GRIFFIN, ARCHER! HIT THAT CRACK WITH EVERYTHING YOU GOT!
Archer: SUCK ON THIS, NOISE-HEAD! *he fires his strongest attack at the crack*
Griffin: JUST WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK I AM!? *he fires his strongest attack at the crack as well.*

[Kreisan]

The cloaked figure quickly pulled up his active shield. Both attacks were absorbed effortlessly, but the crack was still there. "Insolent fools!" the cloaked figure shouted, charging up more noise...

"Catch!"

A wrecked car was suddenly thrown at the figure. As he didn't see it coming, it hit the passive shield, which shattered it. Beal was down below, hefting another car like it was a boulder. "You're not the only one that's gotten stronger!" he shouted, throwing the other car.

Growling, the cloaked figure vanished in a burst of noise. The car flew right by where he originally was, and crashed below. "... You're sly, you little..." Beal cursed, tired out from lifting those cars. Even his strength wasn't enough.

Garm: Finally. *he starts following the butterfly but then stops.* Thanks for the tour. *he continues to walk, accidentally brushing up against Sivica* Sorry...

Liola: *she gets hearts for eyes as she sees all of the wonderful merchendice* Oh this is just lovely!!!!!

Saber: Um...Liola-chan....what are you doing?
Vendor: *he pulls out a crystal necklace* How about this? A lovely necklace for a lovely lady?

Sivica: *He doesn't seem to notice, but his coat feels incredibly warm, like skin instead of cloth. He walks down a long hallway, the sides giant windows that show the strange environment outside. At the end of the hallway, the butterfly landed on the wall and formed half a door. Garm's butterfly did the same, completing the door so the two could go in the room.*
Kyra: *She looks away, flustered and face red.*
Kulen: Hrm... There's a recon mission up for grabs. *He points to a mission near the top of the board.*
???: It ain't an easy one. *Its a green hedgehog, with black pants and shoes. He sighed in annoyance.*
Kyra: Ashura...
Ashura: Takes place on a planet called Phantasia. There's some kind of energy on there that can rip holes in dimensions.
Kyra: If demons could get control of that...
Ashura: Exactly. Anyone want to team-up?

Frote: *Chuckles as he sidesteps, his Arion speed easily allowing a dodge.*

Antonio: What to do now... *He begins to think as Baleus snorts impatiently.*

Steam: Hey... Maybe we should ask around for Zeke, first. See if anyone knows him?

Bonesaw: GAHA! Let me come along, Ashura! I'm dying to see what kind of demons could be on that planet!

*the Morians around Frote weren't so lucky. Their entire beings were pulled into the blast by the gravity force and every cell was annihilated*
Raem: You won't get away that easily...

Helios: *he and Griffin land next to Antonio* That was some good Commanding you did, pal!
Archer: Its too bad Noise-head ran off, the coward.
Griffin: He was obviously terrified by my magnificent and deathly visage!
Archer: IN YOUR DREAMS, SCALES-FOR BRAINS!

Saber: Good thinking. Lets go ask around.

"Freeze!"

Helios, Antonio, and their SABERs suddenly found themselves surrounded by a whole platoon of paramilitary soldiers. "Disarm yourselves and lay down on your stomachs!" the commander shouted, pointing a pretty large rifle at them.

His hands were trembling. As if today wasn't traumatizing enough, SABERs had to appear. It was clear the commander had faced some trauma at the hands of SABERs. Beal, down below, decided to escape while he could in spite of his flashy entrance. "Lucy, we'd better get outta here. I think I pissed him off." Beal said, getting in the car Lucy was waiting in.

"Rufus seriously rubbed off on you." she commented as she revved the car, driving off. This time, not towards Tesseract City.

Garm: *he follows Sivica through the doors*
*Kiko walks back through the portal, skirt torn up the side slightly. She is hauling a large bag and a black and diamond crown sits unevenly on her head.* All from Jinsei. Try and beat that Kyra~ *she winks and mockingly blows a kiss before walking into one of the louge rooms, but stops.* Did you say recon? *she dramatically spins around, causing her torn skirt to fly up a bit, and walks back to the group*

Liola: *she pulls out her mouey bag* Yay! Its so pretty!!!

Vendor: Here you are, miss! That will be 30 double dollars!
Saber: I'll give you 35 if you can tell us anything about a Celestio-Sapian named Zeke.
Vendor: Zeke? Yeah, I saw him about a week ago. He looked around 19. He had a muzzle instead of a mask, like he was in danger of biting people. He also had a purplish glow about that pitch black skin those Celestio-Sapians have. He wore a black straight jacket and his feet had these weird-looking metal boots on. Almost like he had hands on his feet. He even had a metal tail! I've never heard of Celestio-Sapians having tails, but go figure. He asked me how to get into the Alienage, and I told him how to get in. I don't know why he would want to go in there, though. The place is crawling with Keshin. And Keshin, well....they aren't very well thought of around here. Not since the Keshin war.

Bonesaw: You heard right! A recon mission! OOOOOOOOH I CAN'T WAIT TO GO OUT THERE AND CRACK ME SOME PHANTASIAN DEMON SKULLS! Phantasia does have demons, right?

Antonio: Sir, please. We're just here to help... *He puts his hands up, PDA still in hand.*

Sivica: *The doors close behind them and there is only a single candle flickering on an ornate table in front of them. Avoice rings out.*
???: Top Hunter Sivica, I want you to send the Rookie Hunter through the exam. Don't hold back at all. If he dies, then he dies. *A small hologram of a imp-like demon appears from the table.* Hunt down this demon for the exam. It was last spotted on Kokugen. Failing would be most unwise, Rookie. You two are dismissed.
Sivica: Yes, master Quin. *He walks out of the room quietly, arms crossed behind back.*

Kyra: Grrr!! Kiko, you bit-!
Ashura: *Cutting her off and ignoring Kiko's skirt flip.* Yeah, Phantasia probably does have demons. But, the planet is full of creatures we've never encountered before. They're... not something nature could produce. There may be demons, but I think they'll try to blend in with these strange lifeforms. So, the group is Bonesaw, Kiko, and me?
Kyra: Let me in on this! *Her face puffs up in anger.* Can't let Kiko beat me!!

Steam: Hmm... We should check out the Alienage then.

Bonesaw: I can't wait! *he smiles insanely and laughs while sticking his tongue out, which has a weird line-like crease in the center of it going horizontally* THIS IS GONNA BE GREAT! NOT ONLY WILL I SEE NEW DEMONS BUT I MIGHT SEE A CATFIGHT! I'M ROOTIN' FOR YA, KYRA-CHAN!

Saber: And how do we get into the Alienage, pray tell?
Vendor: Simple, you walk on in. The guards will advise against it, but they won't stop you. Getting out is whats going to be the tricky part. Nobody EVER comes out of the Alienage.

Helios: Griffin, got any ideas.....
Archer: I got one. *he steps forward* Hey, knock knock.
Officer:......who's th-
Archer: BOOM! *he lets off a flashbang after equiping Proteus-light. Helios grabs Antonio and his PDA and throws them on the back of Griffin. Archer jumps onto his usual seat and covers Helios and the others' escape with a smoke grenade*
Helios: Whew! that was close, eh?
Griffin: ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND, ARCHER?!
Archer: Hey, I thought you liked chaos.
Griffin: NOT WHEN MY ASS IS ON THE LINE!