[Saber's Edge] Episode 1: Blaze of the Heavens

[Story]

It is the year 7 DW (Digitized World). About thirteen years ago, a game called Saber’s Edge was released to the masses. Saber’s Edge was revolutionary, as within it, you could raise creatures known as SABERs. It may not seem like much, until you downloaded your first SABER. They had revolutionary AIs that enabled them to act and think like humans, on the level of humans. Saber’s Edge was so popular that Shintsuki Productions was given a lab at the Revolution Science Center, where they were free to improve and produce AIs for Saber’s Edge. Suffice to say the military was jealous.

Within the Revolution Science Center, however, the Saber's Edge AI Laboratories and the Matter Encoding Project Laboratory were right next to each other. The head scientist of the Matter Encoding Project, Miroslav Cherubim, soon became one of Saber's Edge's millions of players, and to remain in contact with him, so did his son, Rufus Cherubim. Nobody knew that father and son would change the world... not even the assistant that accidentally mixed nitric acid and glycerin some distance from the two labs.

A chain reaction began to occur, explosion triggering explosion, before it hit the two labs. Dr. Cherubim was in the middle of an experiment, when the explosion damaged the containment chamber that the experiment was taking place in. It didn't help that he was borrowing one of the AI Labs' supercomputers to supplement theirs. The resulting explosion was a white orb, which began to consume the center... and eventually, all of reality. It was being digitized, the exact thing Dr. Cherubim was struggling to cause and harness, and to the exact level he feared.

When everyone regained consciousness, the world was chaotic. Signposts hung from flagpoles. Buses and cars had fused. Buildings were in the middle of roads. Whole continents had been shuffled, their geographies warped. Cities that once belonged near the sea, like Dr. Cherubim's home city, Kreisan, found themselves in the middle of deserts. What was worse was that there was a great toll of human life; those that had not emerged unscathed were half-consumed in cubic bluish-white crystals, later to be identified as crystallized electromagnetic noise.

But it would not end there, no. SABERs began to emerge from computers everywhere, much to the world's shock. While some SABERs remained with their owners, many ran off to exercise their new freedom. Of those that remained, a new world society began to form, with the aid of SABERs welcomed in reconstruction. The power of SABERs, however, would soon be misused, but not explicitly for evil ends...

[Special Conditions]

Unlike traditional RPs here on Geneforce, special rules will be enforced for this RP due to its nature.

Concerning canonization, the Saber's Edge series and everything related to it will be preceded with the tag [Saber's Edge]. Everything with this tag is considered non-canon with the Geneforce series or any other series that may begin on this site, but everything using the tag is canon within the Saber's Edge series unless the RP in question is explicitly non-canon. As an example, within this RP, Rufus will not have met Raem and Mystess before, while in the Geneforce canon, they have been friends for some time.

Concerning the RP itself, all characters are SABER commanders, with absolutely no exception, and cannot use combat-oriented abilities during traditional combat. This does not mean that you have to make a new character. The reason for this is because most of Geneforce's characters are, admittedly, far superior to the average human. This rule equalizes all the characters' power, at least to a degree, so that combat remains controlled and does not snowball into brawls that can destroy continents on a whim. SABERs are plenty powerful enough, anyway, especially the Administrator tier, so it's easier to simply rely on them. It also gives characters like Rufus and Lucy a fair fight against more powerful characters. Admittedly, this rule favors smarter over stronger characters, though stronger characters are permitted to spar with SABERs outside of normal combat.

Concerning SABERs themselves, traditional parties are always five or less, though it is possible to recruit new SABERs. Should the party limit of five be exceeded, there are multiple options to resolve this issue. A SABER, including the newest one, can be dismissed from the party, or it can be sent away to Rufus' house, where thankfully his computer is capable of storing a limitless amount of SABERs and take care of them at the same time. It is, however, impossible to recruit Administrator tier SABERs, due to their incredible power, but by no means will there not be any battles with them. During these battles, Geneforce characters are permitted to engage in combat themselves due to the Administrator tier's extreme power; it takes multiple Standard tier SABERs from multiple commanders to defeat an Administrator tier SABER, and even then it will be a pyrrhic victory.

Every character starts with a single SABER, with your choice of nickname, species, and gender. Because, at the time of posting, the current Saber's Edge patches and species database is outdated, you have two options; you can take one of the unposted species or make your own. If you want to use an unposted species, simply tell me if you want a bipedal organic, bipedal inorganic, quadrupedal organic, or quadrupedal inorganic species, and I'll provide a list of groups that you can select a SABER from. If you want to make your own SABER, I need to know a few things, such as class patches available to it, its group, and so forth. PM me if you want to create your own species; I'll add them to the database for you.

[Character Roster]

Characters and Parties

Rufus Cherubim - Sleipnir (Arion M)
Lucy Feir - Aphrodite (Terpsichore F)
Beal Zebub - Ravager (Akuma)
Antonio Falkion - Baleus (Chollima F), Callisto (Pandursa M), Karya (Nyxie F)
Helios - Archer (Warlock M)

((Alright, done waiting for other people to join.))

"Urgh..." In the middle of a forest was a boy sitting on a stump. His face was firmly planted in his hands, his foot tapping in frustration. Nearby was a deep crimson winged horse, its face thoughtful.

"We already have defense and speed covered by me," it spoke, voice serene. "Consider recruiting a SABER that has a variety of uses. Not like I can do everything... though I wouldn't back away from the challenge."

"I know, I know, Baleus... but which one?" the boy replied, face lifted from his hands as he glanced at the Chollima. He stroked his chin thoughtfully, silent as he mulled over various SABERs he had been impressed by. He stood after several moments, decision made. "Where's the nearest city?"

"Over there. We passed it on the way over, remember?" Baleus replied as she spread her wings experimentally. "Are we going there next, Antonio?"

"Yeah..." He mounted the winged horse, then grinned. "And Antonio is too formal. I'll need to think of a shorter nickname or something." With that, they took off for the nearest city.

OOC: So am I. And shame Antonio wasn't in the desert... That's where Rufus' home is, Kreisan.

Some distance from the desert city of Kreisan, a young man was clambering down a valley to his favorite fishing spot, a river known to be populated by Unicorns due to its massive fish population. "Hup!" he gasped as he leapt down.

He walked closer to the river, where he could see the fish pretty well. "Huh..." he said. "Bass for dinner tonight."

With that, he pulled out what looked like a giant pen... which turned out simply to be a super-compact fishing rod. Attaching bait to the hook provided, he swung the rod as it unfolded, the hook flying through the air. This was his personal paradise.

Baleus grinned, her wings spread wide as she caught an updraft, circling higher to get a better view of where she was going. Antonio leaned forward slightly on her back, squinting as he examined the tiny landscape below. As the updraft faded, Baleus could get finally see where she was going to land. She arced her body into a dive, wings folded in to increase speed. Antonio wanted laugh as his stomach spun, metaphorically, of course, but opening one's mouth at such speeds wasn't exactly smart. Baleus spiraled over a flock of masterless Polyhymnia, a backwards glance inviting them to race her.

Oh boy... Antonio thought, eyes wide as he caught on. The Polyhymnia's exchanged looks before one of them dove at incredible speeds and easily kept pace with Baleus. Antonio groaned as Baleus barrelrolled to the right, narrowly avoiding a rather large tree. The Polyhymnia was close behind, face full of glee.

OOC: Oh, I should have mentioned... Polyhymnias don't fly. Or... they can, but with magic and not wings, and are by far horrible flyers. Perhaps I should have images drawn of them?

A few minutes later, the kid had caught a pretty large bass; it was large enough that he could have sworn it caused his fishing rod to creak. "Nice to meet you, dinner." he joked, putting it down on a cloth as it flopped around.

Suddenly, a loud explosion went off nearby. The kid didn't flinch, but simply sighed, "Not another Akuma."

True to his words, a gigantic war mech burst out of a rock face, in chase of an Arion that had dashed through a cave. He whistled in an attempt to get the Akuma's attention. Giving off some weird electronic noise, the Akuma charged at him. A very bad idea.

The kid kicked a stick that was conspicuously lodged in a pile of rocks. It caused a chain reaction, a landslide toppling onto the Akuma. When the dust cleared, stars were, literally, circling its head. "Wow, thanks!" the Arion cheered, walking up to the kid. "What's your name?"

"... Rufus." the kid replied. "You alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." the Arion replied. "I made the mistake of pissing it off."

"I thought so." Rufus guessed. "Great, now I've gotta find a better fishing spot."

"Say, I know a good place!" the horse offered. "Come with me!"

Immediately, the Arion dragged Rufus off. "Whoa!"

((Haha, oops, my bad! I'll just pretend Baleus is going easy on them and the Polyhymnia are flying with said magic.))

"Baleus, please!" Antonio groaned, now feeling queasy as the Chollima executed sophisticated aerial manuevers. The Polyhymnia stared at Baleus, entranced as it slowly landed on the grounds below. Antonio sighed as Baleus gave him a sheepish smile.

"Now we're lost..." Antonio remarked, not recognizing the city they had passed by. Baleus rose up, catching an updraft once more. Antonio pointed to a nearby city. "Maybe we can find our target there?"

"What did you have in mind, anyway?" Baleus asked, landing on the outskirts of the city. Antonio slid off her back, trying not sneeze because of the pollen in the air.

"Ah... Ah... Ahh... Achayfall!" Antonio sneezed as he said the SABER he was after now. Baleus cocked her head to the side, the sneeze masking the name.

"I said, Rayfall. I figure a Rayfall could be a pretty good partner for you. For now, at least." Antonio said, stopping as he heard something moving in the forest behind them. "Baleus, we may have just found our prize..."

OOC: It's alright... I gotta work on my descriptions.

The Arion had brought Rufus to another bend in the river. "Unicorns like this place, so you might come across some resistance..." the Arion explained. "But this is the best fishing spot I know."

"Thanks..." Rufus replied as the Arion let him go.

The two heard a loud roaring... and then another... and a third. "Oh great, it's brought friends to the party." Rufus moaned. "Mind if I recruit you?"

"Right now, I really don't care." the horse replied.

With that, Rufus pulled out his cell phone, and set it to Recruit mode. Scanning the horse, the screen asked for his name. Rufus looked at his new SABER, and typed in "Sleipnir". "Sleipnir?" the horse asked, pronouncing it improperly.

"I'll explain later." Rufus replied.

The phone brought up a few new messages; Sleipnir already had a patch equipped, the Cavalier patch, and it activated it. Immediately, Sleipnir's current armor disappeared, and a saber appeared in his mouth. "Why don't you give that to me?" Rufus offered as Sleipnir dropped it in his hand.

Rufus quickly mounted Sleipnir as the Akumas arrived. "Ride!" he shouted, and Sleipnir charged.

"Here it comes...!" Antonio grinned, hands sweating furiously. Baleus' brows furrowed. These footsteps didn't seem to be right for a Rayfall...

A large brown bear-like creature lumbered out of the brush, leaves lazily hanging from its mouth. It chewed a nearby tree branch, smiling as the taste of it filled its being. Antonio blinked, pulling out his PDA to examine the SABER. He pulled a stylus out of the side, clicking a camera button on the PDA with it. It captured a picture of the SABER and Antonio grinned.

"A Pandursa..." Antonio sighed in content, the SABER not noticing the duo or not caring about their presence. Baleus frowned as she saw a Kawauso approach the giant Pandursa shyly.

"Watch this..." Baleus muttered, nodding to the Kawauso. Antonio followed her gaze, seeing the tiny otter SABER tug on Pandursa's leg. The panda looked at the otter and shifted to its level, ear turned towards the otter. The Kawauso held back a giggle, a look of mischief flashing across its face. Suddenly, several more Kawauso emerged from seemingly nowhere, ruthlessly chucking fruits at Pandursa.

"H-Hey! Stop that!" Antonio cried out, running forward, Baleus close behind. Antonio glanced at his PDA, clicking on a picture of Baleus and then on her Paladin patch. It activated and Baleus' wings became sharp and spiked, thick armor appearing on her in a crimson stream of squares. The Kawauso grinned in unison and charged toward Baleus in retaliation.

OOC: Do you want me to mod the Kawauso?

Sleipnir charged at the Akumas, who launched a salvo of missiles at them. "Move!" Rufus hissed, pulling Sleipnir to the left.

The missiles missed them as the Akumas hissed. One tried to stomp on them, but they were too fast. Rufus was guiding Sleipnir in an attempt to get the Akumas to hit each other.

((Sure!))

Baleus stormed through the Kawauso, sending their small bodies flying with ease. But they kept coming back, and in stronger numbers as well. Antonio cried out as a Kawauso pantsed him. "Not cool!"

OOC: You're welcome.

One of the Kawauso triggered a trap, causing a branch that they had tied back to fly right at Antonio and Baleus. And Baelus would be the first casualty.

Meanwhile, Sleipnir managed to get an Akuma to hit another. The two began fighting on their own. The third one was still fighting them, though.

Baleus shielded herself with her wings, the branch broken to pieces upon impact. The Chollima spotted a somewhat larger Kawauso standing away from the chaos, telling the others what to do.

"Antonio! Their leader!" Baleus cried out, craning her neck towards the larger otter. Antonio nodded and pointed his PDA at Baleus, deselecting the Paladin patch and activating the Sniper patch instead. Baleus' thick armor dissapated in crimson sparks and a cannon emerged onto her back instead.

"FIRE!" Antonio roared, the command not even needed as Baleus braced herself for what was to come. Crimson energy swirled around the barrel of the cannon and with a thunderous cry from Baleus, a burst of scarlet fire exploded from the cannon, headed right for the leader of the Kawauso.

Eyes wide, the poor Kawauso gasped before it was launched like Team Rocket. Seeing the inherent danger, the whole swarm ran off, revealing other Kawausos in hiding. They were like a herd of lemmings.

The third Akuma crashed down, intent on killing Rufus and Sleipnir, but Rufus had other plans. Pulling Sleipnir to the right, they avoided the Akuma's leg... and began to climb up it. "Ragh!" Rufus shouted, slashing at it with Sleipnir's sword.

The Akuma was writhing around in an attempt to shake them off, but Sleipnir was a little more skilled than that.

"Whew..." Antonio grinned as he watched the Kawauso scamper away in fear. But, there was still one more loose end to tie... He turned around, seeing the Pandursa motionless, its face downcast in silent fury. Antonio slowly approached the panda.

"Hey, there... You okay? I chased off those troublemakers for you..." Antonio trailed off as the Pandursa clenched its fist. With a large roar, it tore off the nearest tree to it, swinging the large tree wildly. Antonio fell backwards, the evergreen tree needles grazing his face.

"Baleus... I think we found our new partner! Calming him is our first priority! Then, we'll recruit! Go, fire again!" As Antonio spoke, Baleus once again fired a blast of flame from her cannon, blasting the tree to bits right down the middle. The Pandursa stumbled backwards, its hands empty. Gritting its teeth, it let out a roar and boxing gloves covered its hands in green pixels. It rushed forward with great speed for its size.

It wasn't even close to fast enough.

Antonio quickly deactivated the Sniper and replaced it with Paladin once more. The enraged Pandursa slammed into Baleus, who firmly stood her ground. Baleus rammed her head into the Pandursa, then slammed the panda with her bladed wings. As Pandursa stumbled backwards once more, Baleus rammed into it again, knocking it over with its own momentum.

Antonio ran to Baleus' side and examined the Pandursa, whose face radiated shame. Antonio and Baleus briefly exchanged looks as Antonio's PDA beeped. Antonio pulled it out slowly, reading the new message on the screen. His face mixed confusion and empathy as he read it. He looked at the Pandursa again, whose eyes were fearful.

"I know about your pain. I want to help you, if at all possible. I also don't think living here is a good location for you. I mean, those Kawauso could come back any time to annoy you," Antonio said after reading the message. "Would you consider coming with me?"

The Pandursa closed its eyes for a moment or two, thinking about the outcomes of this decision. Antonio bit his lower lip, anxious. The Pandursa's eyes slowly opened, and nodded in agreement. Antonio helped the panda to his feet before checking his PDA again and pointing it at Baleus. The Chollima trotted to the panda, her body illuminated in red light as Antonio activated the recruitment patch. The panda took her outstretched hand and glowed green for a moment.

Antonio pointed his PDA at the Pandursa, who was sucked into the mobile device in green pixels. A small icon with Pandursa's face appeared on the screen and a question asking for a name. Antonio thought for a minute before grinning.

"I'll call you Callisto."

OOC: I'll edit the SABER in.

Rufus and Sleipnir finally managed to confuse the Akuma, and Rufus dealt the finishing blow. For some reason, he felt so agile... Rufus leapt into the air, far higher than he normally could, and came crashing down on the war machine. The Akuma slowly disintegrated into noise as Rufus and Sleipnir landed on the riverbank, unharmed. The other two had knocked each other out. "Phew... we win." Rufus said. "You're good."

"Gee, thanks!" Sleipnir replied, letting Rufus off. "Say..."

"Yes?" Rufus asked.

"Mind if I stick around? You seem like a swell guy." Sleipnir requested.

Rufus went slightly white. "What?" Sleipnir asked. "I'm officially recruited by you. I stick with you, right?"

"Er..."

Antonio slowly stretched, glad he had diverted a possible disaster. If left unchecked, Callisto might have wrecked the city nearby. Speaking of which... Antonio deselected Baleus' Paladin and recruitment patches and climbed onto her back. Antonio stroked her mane, silently urging her forward. The winged horse began to trot through the grasses, a cool breeze sweeping over the expanse of land.

Antonio absentmindedly stroked Baleus' mane, lost in thought. Strategically, Baleus was a physical wall and currently his fastest SABER. Callisto boasted high physical strength and high intelligence. Both were great SABERs, there was no doubting that. But, Antonio knew just these two wouldn't be enough. He would need some sort of SABER that could be a good supporter. Or maybe a distraction for a counterattack? Maybe a SABER that had unparalleled healing capabilities? Antonio sighed, once again unsure of himself. Perhaps a night at the city's inn would help clear his mind.

A few minutes after the tense, awkward moment, Rufus had gone back to fishing while Sleipnir was munching on some grass nearby. "Phew..." Rufus said as he finally caught another fish.

"So, you like fishing, huh?" Sleipnir asked. "You must be popular with Unicorns."

"Actually, I don't often see them." Rufus admitted. "Maybe they're too busy."

Antonio rode into town, slowly pulling himself out of his trance. The town square held a large rectangular patch of grass, with a fountain spurting water in its center. Magnifecent bushes of flowers covered the grasses edges, and two large oak trees stood tall on both sides of the fountain. Antonio smiled as he felt the light and merry atmosphere of the town.

"This place seems like a good place to live," Antonio murmured, urging Baleus towards the inn.

"Yes, it does. But what about the Rayfall? Are we still going to go after one?" Baleus asked as she stopped in front of the inn. Antonio dismounted her and dusted himself off.

"I'm still not sure. Capturing Callisto has affected the balance of the team whether we like it or not. I'm not entirely sure I want to capture Rayfall now." Antonio replied. Unbeknownst to the two, a SABER watched them from the shadows of the alley by the inn. It grinned maliciously, before fading into the darkness.

Night had soon fallen, and Rufus and Sleipnir were eating dinner. Rufus had pulled out a pretty large bass, and had already cut it up into smaller, easier-to-eat pieces. Sleipnir had been grazing for quite some time, and was pretty much full. "Phew..." he said as he lay down. "So... do you live at Kreisan?" Sleipnir asked.

"Yeah, I do." Rufus replied. "It's the only city for miles."

"So, what's it like?" Sleipnir asked, in curiosity.

Rufus thought for a moment. "Why don't I show you tomorrow?" he offered.

"Sure!" Sleipnir immediately agreed.

Late that night, Antonio sat on his inn room, reading several files of various SABERs. He rubbed his eyes, tired, and turned off the lamp light as he sat on his bed. The PDA beeped and Antonio picked it up, seeing a picture of Baleus' face. Recalling that he had returned her to the mobile device, he clicked on her face. A text appeared next to her.

'I feel uneasy.' An electronic voice spoke from the device, reading it aloud. Antonio turned over the device several times, also uneasy. Somehow, this paradise would be a calm before a storm. Antonio had a gut feeling about it. He heard a rustle in the bushes outside and walked to the window. He saw a dark figure run out of the town's main store, a large bag on its back. It ran a few steps before disappearing completely. Antonio narrowed his eyes, then clenched a fist. The figure wasn't human, no human could run like that.

He opened the window wide, before leaping out. Thankfully, he was on the first floor, so he landed with a quiet thump. He was sure the figure had ran into the forest, so Antonio ran in that direction, the sense of dread knotting up within him.

OOC: Just curious... will the two ever meet? That is, Rufus and Antonio?

By the way, since you'll be doing something during the night while Rufus isn't, I'll mod any SABERs you come across. That okay?

((After what happens to Antonio tonight, I can hopefully have him heading Rufus' way. I'll let you know when you can start modding.))

Antonio silently crept through the town, heading for the treeline to chase after the being he had seen. He slipped through an alley, finding the foliage behind it to be thick and hard to navigate. Antonio took a step back, unsure of how to proceed. His foot bumped into a structure behind him and he turned to look at it in confusion. It resembled a mailbox, but held a single large antenna on it. Antonio was sure he hadn't seen this strange contraption earlier. Suddenly, he felt cold metal against his back and a shiver ran down his spine.

Antonio was roughly shoved around, seeing an Illusion pointing its missile launcher hand at him. Antonio felt his heart pound as the Illusion led away from town, and into a forest clearing. Probably where he found Callisto, now that he thought about it. In the middle of the clearing was a person dressed in a black suit, with a matching black fidora. Another strange mailbox was to their right. The person slowly lifted his head as the Illusion brought Antonio forward.

"What's this? Someone snooping around when they shouldn't be? We can't have that..." The person said, the voice female. Before Antonio noticed, the Illusion was at the woman's side, sneering at Antonio eerily in the moonlight.

"Better quiet him on what he saw..." She pushed a button on the machine, and a pulse of noise rumbled out of it. Several SABERs staggered out of the wilderness, obviously masterless but following this woman's orders. Though the darkness threw him off, Antonio identified five SABERs: an Usagikogo, two Seishinkishi, a Blazefire, and a Polyhymnia. The five seemed confused, like not under their own power. Then, there was also the Illusion...

In a burst of crimson and emerald light, Baleus and Callisto appeared by Antonio's side, both determined to win. They seemed unaffected by the strange noise, which seemed good to Antonio who examined the confused SABERs. They seemed fairly young and inexperienced. Hopefully, the battle would go quickly. The woman in the suit laughed, her voice malevolent yet chiming.

"Attack the snooper, my dears!"

((You can mod the five SABERs and the Illusion now.))

OOC: Traditional parties are five or less. One of the six SABERs cannot participate, so I'm going to distract it. Take your pick on what'll stay out against this SABER; that one you're going to command.

A burst of darkness flew from one of the trees, right at the dazed party. None of them got hit, but what phased into the physical world scared everyone present. "You will not enslave these SABERs..." it quietly commanded, as it stood up.

It was every commander's worst nightmare. A Nova was on the attack. It stood up, glaring at the woman and her Illusion. He seemed to be ignoring Antonio, Baleus, and Callisto, thankfully.

The woman took a step back, surprised by the new arrival. She quickly regained her composure, smirking as she cleared her throat.

"You're lucky this device can be used on five SABERs at a time, Nova. Umbra, prepare for battle!" The woman declared, her seemingly mute Illusion standing in front of the Nova.

"It seems like that device is controlling the SABERs..." Antonio mused.

"It's a high pitched sound. I suppose only SABERs can hear it." Baleus replied.

"Like a dog whistle...?" Antonio muttered. "So, destroy the device, free the SABERs?"

"Looks like it." Baleus murmured, her hooves digging into the dirt.

Outstretching its claw, an absolutely gigantic saw-toothed scimitar formed from black noise. The Nova clenched its claw around its handle, and immediately attacked Umbra by leaping at it, brutally bringing down the gigantic sword.

The Usagikogo quickly changed class patches, becoming a Summoner, but did nothing apart from that. The Seishinkishis, on the other hand, became Samurais, and charged at both Baleus and Callisto, their bladed limbs preparing to use Single Slice. While the Polyhymnia did nothing, the Blazefire whinnied, running right at commander and SABERs.