Arc 1: Dust in the Wind
- Prime Session 369: Dust in the Wind Prologue - Lonely Wind
- RS Session 1: Dust in the Wind Part I - Angels Have Fallen
- Alt Session 86: Dust in the Wind Part II - Chasing Shadows
- RS Session 2: Dust in the Wind Part III - Dust in the Wind
- Class Session 74: Dust in the Wind Part IV - Curtain of Iron
- RS Session 3: Dust in the Wind Part V - Carry On My Warward Son
- Class Session 75: Dust in the Wind Part VI - Crossfire
- RS Session 4: Dust in the Wind Epilogue - Hold On
Date: Prime: 10-608.2.1 / Alt: 10-605.7.23 / Class: 7.23.2240
Prime Session 369: Dust in the Wind Prologue - Lonely Wind
Location: James' Ship
Cheryl brings together a meeting for the Reality Strikers in which she underlines Wind having been missing for five years in the Nazi-ruled Classic reality whilst Seinrich has become prominent and rampant with his experimentation upon the Classic reality's eggs of its own dead Cheryl and points out its similarities to the Alternate reality's plights. The apparent return of Death Star is also touched upon.
The first order of business is to re-enter the Alternate reality and permananently cast aside what allows the Illium to enter Prime and vice versa, as well as provies their source of amber weaponry, then meet up with the resistance of Aya the Oracle and the remaining members upon her nebula planet.
After gaining their trust if need be, traveling to the Classic reality would be in order to locate the missing Wind or destroy its risen guardians to return the reality powers stolen to Wind and/or Cheryl herself. Knowingly, she forces Zephyr and Megumi to sit the sidelines for the first mission if they want to participate at all. Miyuki Nue volunteers to lead the primary assault.
Meanwhile, in the aftermath of Classic's own escapades, the group gets ready for another fight while licking its wounds and losses. John having been in critical since their last encounter, has had a donation from Aya to stabilize, but when he awakens quickly realizes at what cost. His arm succumbs to the taint of his motenk blood and goes berserk even while tranquilized "eating him from the inside," but Katrina's faith in him assures that he will overcome.
In Alternate, a month has passed and Aya, the Oracle, informs the group that she has located what the gods would do anything for and summons them to arrange their own assault at their behest, splitting them into two groups.
Back in prime, the group with Miyuki prepares to invade, and a hectic invasion fueled by fancy flying at Curali's hands the succeed in their hit and run and return to close the portal on Prime's side. Raiding upon the planet that the devices were located they take hostage of engineers after learning that warriors would never bend, separating them in a raid strike.
In Prime, the fact of Zephyr being pregnant is released and that her being soul split is having an unknown effect that cannot be predicted. On the asteroid base, Cheryl reveals their Reality Striker vehicle-- an advanced shuttle covered in tarot to hop realities and they prepare to venture out.
Date: Prime: 10-608.2.3 / Alt: 10-605.7.23 - 7.24
Reality Strikers Session 1: Dust in the Wind Part I - Angels Have Fallen
Location: James' Ship
Miyuki, Kasha, as well as their family and friends, gather to say goodbye as the twin foxes prepare to do the big reality striker mission. They head towards Asteroid C, where Darien, Angelos Aurica, Chii, Zephyr, Sarah, Cheryl, Cameron, Brony, Mem, Katrina, Curali, and Eleure board a shuttle. Denise comes running up, having been feeling sick lately, and Lisa helps determine that Denise and Sarah are going to be mothers soon.
The shuttle heads off and everyone takes their seats, heading towards the Alt reality to fight the sparkly threat known as the Illiums. Kat determines the date as 10-605.7.24, nearly two and a half years ago. Zephyr then starts sweating and collapses, Cheryl putting her in a medical bed and putting her around a barrier,the problems likely arising due to the two Zephyrs sharing a reality now.
10-605.7.23
The two teams prepare to launch, the Gods on one shuttle, the other team on another. Hale, Wolf, James, Setsuna, Cass, Zephyr, Miyuki, and Kasha fly off to their fate...
7.24
Aurica notices broken valves and key areas shut off. Miyuki, Kasha, and Denise start to search for a sabetour. Meanwhile, Zephyr starts feeling better. However, hours of searching don't really reveal much. However, Cameron may have found something. Meanwhile, the god shuttle approaches the planet which is protected by a large, cube-like object. A patrol starts to fly out of it and using their experimental stealth craft, manage to avoid it. 20 minutes later the hatch opens again and they rush for it, trying to get in. They manage to get in just in time, and the gods hop out, ready to get their powers back.
Meanwhile, Jame's group finds the city where the amber is being produced, and after a bit of deliberation, manage to land someplace hidden near a building with a giant hole in it. They manage to avoid a patrol, hijack an abandoned car, and drive to the building. While in it, a flash of light reveals some kids, alerting Illiums to their presence. The amber starts to creep towards them.
However, the reality strikers shuttle manages to save them before they are encased in the amber. An Illium fighter starts to tail them, but they manage to escape. It ends with Megumi declaring that she will kill "Zeph", the other half of Zephyr's soul and the one attached to A. Miyuki and A. Kasha, saying that it is the only way to save her Zephyr.
Alt Session 86 Dust in the Wind Part II - Chasing Shadows
Location: James' Ship
Ama's group makes it's way, or rather, is hurled at high speeds along a figher craft launching corridor. Coming out in a hangar filled with hundreds of fighters, they find Inari's clone, who declares she won't let them take her power, needing it to live. While Lisa and Isara work to heal up an injured Iceheart, who is impaled on shuttle glass in the stomach for the second time in two months, the rest face off with Inari. It is resolved when pointed out that Inari's powers are not actually all that useful and can be split amongst the two Inaris; Ama knocks her out with her mighty... tracks of land... and the group continues with an Inari gun in tow.
Heading above, the team encounters a Thara clone, which Thara herself takes on, but needs the help of the group to weaken. Scrambling into a side room, Thara persues the fake god but finds herself pinned. Lisa mercilessly fires into the back of the fake god's head, allowing Thara to chop it off and take back her power. Heading upwards, Kagu Jr. regains his powers when a trap the group sets takes out his clone at an elevator entrance.
Arriving in a clone chamber, the group faces a psychopath Tsuki clone, insane with grief over her Thara's death, who plays the old double switch, but is uncovered both thanks to having eyebrows, which Tsuki burned off earlier, and for failing Ama's personality test. Clone Tsuki is taken out and Tsuki regains her powers.
Meanwhile on the amber producing world, Megumi faces down members of the group very opposed to her idea of killing Zeph (the split half of Prime Zephyr's soul), who is also pregnant. As Megumi, and primarily Angelos begin to try talking each other down, Cheryl uses the distraction to get both Zephyr's aside to run scans. However, the talk with Megumi goes south when Angelos and Cheryl discuss Megumi's strange lack of degredation using her powers and her bloodthirst, when the idea that it might be Alternate Miyu and Kasha comes up after Angelos questions facts Airym pulls up 5 years ago and wondering if it is the pilots which would eliminate Megumi. Zephyr, who listens in through the Protocol, informs Megumi.
This turns Megumi's ire on the girls, demanding they get away lest they be sliced down. Both Zephyrs break out into the fight as they side with their pilots, since Alt Miyuki and Megumi are going at it, and a cage it formed of crystal by Meg trying to contain the girls. Denise, controlled by Soul, rushes into the fray to try and stop things and a blast with two Dragoon Bustahs within the cage sends all the assailants flying. This harms her baby and kills it.
Cae begins to attack Zephyr and Cheryl tries to stop her, but Cae ends up going berserk and attacking Cheryl. Busting out Cheryl's eardrums and injuring her, Benjamin is forced to fight Cae back and stun her out. Angelos steps in here to help Cheryl while Leyaeh reconstructing her eardrums.
Cameron is sent to work on healing Denise, finding himself working desperately to save a child. In his anger he tries to call the Zephyrs out as baby killers, to which Zephyr answers by breaking his nose and telling him off for his high horse and that it was Denise who rushed into the cage of two attacking assailants; the bloodied man continues working on Denise, writing off Zephyr as she walks away. Aurica joins Cameron, helping him recover the child by reversing time on the unborn baby, at great cost to her body, which Cameron in turn reverses using forbidden magic to save her, losing part of his soul in the process.
Both Zephyrs join their pilots in forming mechs, their fight growing massive just as Miyuki feels a change in her goddess.
Arriving at the gardens, Ama finds her clone who is tired and done with all that she was made to do. She introduces her handmaiden, a clone of Erevis named Ere who is a teenager. This breaks down Lisa's shell, revealing her motive to come was to try and find Erevis and the few people left she once had. Ama accepts the power back from her clone by breaking her neck and armed with it she finds a large mirror and senses that her Miko is in danger. She takes the group through to the mirror on Cheryl's ship, while Kaju Jr. takes the body of his cloned father with him before blowing up the rest of the fake god clones.
On the ship, the group finds Airym who has finished analysing scans and found an outside influence working itself on the Zephyrs. It seems that, most likely, the Illium used the Medieval World and the souce of Zephyr's link to tap into her. This news comes late though, because outside, the fight turns it's nastiest as Megumi unleases her dark matter, the explosion starts to drag everyone in, and they retreat to the ship. Angelos and Kagu Jr save Zeph and her pilots, while Ulieah summons Fenrir to try and save Zephyr and Megumi. Fenrir hurls them towards safety, but Megumi, in an attempt to save Zephyr, breaks their mech form and is pulled into the dark matter.
Kagu Jr manages to reel in Zephyr and takes her to medical, where they learn she is alive, the bond likely severed at the last moment, Megumi saving Zephyr's life. Learning what Airym has found, they seal away Zephyr in stasis and Alt Miyuki gives Zeph her fox bead to help her live. Absorbing the blow that Megumi Zhenmei is no more, the group begins to rest as Curali takes them away from the planet.
James is told to contact Oracle Base, however, all he gets is static, Cheryl orders top speed to get there. Power goes out on the Oracle Planet before emergency power kicks in and Illium vessels are seen lauching assaults on the base. Tako runs in and tells them there seems to be a leak somewhere, as the enemy has found them. Aya orders everyone to the bunkers, to begin the defense of their home, to hold out in hope of help arriving in time.
Reality Strikers Session 2: Dust in the Wind Part III - Dust in the Wind
Location: James' Ship
Power drops on Oracle Base as explosions rip into it and Illium vessels begin to move in. The children at lessons are all surprised, and look to Alt Megumi who is reeling from something happening to her Dragoon. It becomes up to the kids to take charge, only they are suddenly assaulted as a very stoic looking Alt Zephyr enters the room, forms a shotgun and starts shooting. The students put up a fight, but Eclaire urges them to run and throws up a Holy Barrier made of her energy to stall Alt Zephyr. Leaping out a window, the group finds their beloved playground on fire and Illium landing by the central base.
Eclaire attempts to herd the kids towards a nearby bunker, but several of the kids run off after their mothers, Alt Megumi and Alt Zephyr, who begin heading for the base as well. Eclaire's group reaches the bunker to find Alt Lemon ushering people in. Seeing Illium approach, A. Lemon ushers her daughter and the others inside and moves around to lure the Illium away. Su decides to help A. Lemon with tentacle attacks, which save A. Lemon from heavy fire but also direct the Illum towards the bunker again. They use a flying device that weakens god powers, A. Lemon and Eclaire take turns busting the device up while Su and A. Mizu rough up the Illium. One Illium attempts to toss a grenade into the bunker, which Eclaire shields and Su sends through the floor. The very last dives into the bunker to take a hostage, kicking the door to close. Eclaire tries to stop it but only manages to slow it long enough to let Su in to eat the Illium and A. Mizu to get in as well. Eclaire stops the last from grenade kamikaze-ing them all to death, catching the grenade. A. Lemon is locked out, forced to move away and hide.
Inside the base, Aya and her geek squad are preparing for battle. Aya and Myria stay in command to get the systems back online and the guns blasting while Angela leads the rest towards the armory to get ready for the assault. On their way they encounter Mew Ai, Isis and Athena who seem very distressed. Angela seems to need only a moment's time to ask them where Zephyr is. Hearing the shots from command, she rushes back, while the others supply up in the armory. She finds herself chasing the kids there, and they find Aya shot in the face and A. Zephyr attacking Myria. A. Zephyr turns to download the Oracle systems and Angela seems to not even hesitate to fill her back with stun shots. The girls are able to bring down A. Zephyr, knocking her out. Myria works to get the systems back up and Angela makes sure Aya is alright, the shot to the face only a stun shot. The group is rejoined and A. Megumi, freed of A. Zephyr's hijack influences, rally together to defend the base with all that they have.
Prime Cheryl's team comes out of hyperspace to see the attack underway. Moving into the nebula, their presence is discovered by a pair of Illium battleships. The Reality Striker vessel flies between them and the group opens up full blast, one ship makes it out and tries to escape, but the injured Cameron summons a powerful Lightning Elemental such as when he was in the Medieval Realm against the ship, destroying it. The group moves in and finds a battleship focusing blasts on the hillside bunker. Darien, in the pilot seat, moves in for the ship and attempts a daring maneuver, almost foiled by Wolf having a derp moment at the tractor beam controls. The gods hurl the ship at the RS ship and Darien rams, letting loose a full salvo after dragging the enemy ship safely away from possible friendlies. The ship moves down to let people off to assist on the ground.
As this happens, Aya's team fights off an enemy commander, causing a large explosion which takes the hostage Inari's fur right out (we are later informed she never had any to begin with... eyebrows?). The group bunkers down again and holds out long enough for A. Lemon to reach Angela, together they go dragon and help wipe up the remaining enemies. The team mops up, with the base location revealed, Aya already sets about plans to relocate, 5 years of safety undone. Cheryl and Aya propose membership for Alt reality members in the Reality Strikers, various members considering possibilities as the mission to save Wind is outlined. With a bolstered force, Cheryl readies to head to the Classic Reality once the group is transported to
a new base.
Ama meanwhile attempts to make a deal with the surviving Illium, she gives the survivors a shuttle and then uses a mirror port to stop them before they can leave and transmit coordinates, however, they erase the information on Erevis, and the shuttle goes up in Ama's anger.
In Classic Reality...
The group, still recovering from the efforts of freeing London from the grasp of Senreich, now speeds towards the location of a base where Wind has been held for years. Hunter Station badly damaged, the group has very little power left to make an assault, but cannot wait with Wind already having been in the enemy's grasp for so long. John has woken from his comatose state to find the power of the Motenks is once again inside him, and it hurts. The group moves towards the enemy, readying for what really could be their final battle.
Date: Alt: 10-605.7.26 / Classic: 7.23 - 7.24.2240
Classic Session 74: Dust in the Wind Part IV - Curtain of Iron
Location: Second Oracle Planet
The Alt Group has begun to rebuild their resistance life on the fourth moon of the fourth planet in a far away system. The jungle planet was the ex-home to an ancient civilization that built temples now housing the resistance base, school and living areas.
The people amongst the different groups begin deciding who is and isn't going to join the Reality Strikers, notably Rosetta steps the leadership role of the stealth assault unit to her mother, the Alt Cheryl, to join the RS, Zeph, Inari, who has planted a tree presumably housing the Heart of Gaea that nurtures her spirit as well as the existence of the Kitsune. Picking up the tail end is the mad scientist Myria.
Some temporary patching up and reacquaintances later, Cheryl discusses the next move of the Reality Strikers' goals-- to find Wind, and if necessary, defeat him.
Class: 7.23.2240 (night)
In pursuit of Wind and Leviathan, the Hunter Station trudges at the brink of failing, falling apart and overheating all over, Katrina patching up reploids
A meeting to the bridge is called to discuss the upcoming mission. A distortion in time is at the heart of Seinrich's Sky Castle, likely concealing the signature of Wind and being produced by the Staff of Ra, hence not detecting him for some time now.
The state of Iceheart is degrading, one becoming childlike and the other quickly losing higher function on her memory chip, and the degradation has reached the point that her foxes Freyja and Chii are beyond concerned. However, it is raised that little can be done for her, the two wish to stay with her. The revealing of the Rune Blade is done by Iceheart and the runes are given out; Alternate Megumi receives fire, Katrina earth, and Harpuia wind.
7.24.2240 (Day)
Crossing the threshold of the Hunter Station being detected, Ire and Iceheart remain aboard to pilot it to the end into Seinrich's hold, while the rest leave aboard pirate ships to infiltrate it in the commotion. It doesn't seem like it will hold together, but the foxes reveal their presence still aboard and assist in cooling it long enough and getting off with Iceheart and Ire.
The impact on the Island Fortress creates a massive shockwave, and at the same time Cheryl appears with the Striker ship and fires into it to stoke the flames, announcing her arrival and business starting as they take the orbital elevator into the Sky Fortress safely.
Reality Strikers Session 3: Dust in the Wind Part V - Carry On My Wayward Son
Location: Sky Fortress
The Reality Striker's temporary forces are divided into three teams, each with a different objective. One team led by Cheryl to breach the bridge and find Wind and stop Seinrich; one by Prime Miyuki to find the source of the distortion and possibly Wind; and one by Seraphna to the labs and engines of the Sky Fortress itself in order to get to the bottom of the Cheryl clone and their purpose then disable the fortress.
The team led by Seraphna heads down to the labs, and after discovering her infamous grandfather Dr Wily guarding research there of harvested limbs and organs, they defeat another of his contraptions and drive him to a heart attack before his escape.
Within the lab they discover the purpose of the teenage Cheryl in Seinrich's hands, and Classic Katrina and Prime Kasha remain behind to fashion a retrovirus to a bug that will allow Seinrich to control the clone and take Cheryl's reality powers. The rest venture on and disable the engines.
Miyuki's group ventures beyond relapsing hallways after finding a trick due to Mem's senses not being fooled by visual sensory, and the trick enables them access to the Staff of Ra, where they fight hebrew golems, one of which Soul assumes control of before the power source's paneling, beholding a Classic Reality Erevis. Mem insists she takes Katrina's visage and she is taken with them.
Cheryl on the other hand, invades the bridge, where the revelation of the Iron General is revealed to be Death Star, and he turns on Seinrich at the key moment, Wind stepping from the shadows. Seinrich's trump card is pulled from the teen Cheryl as the Staff of Ra appears in his hand and he begins to siphon the reality powers from Cheryl until Wind steps in the way and both are knocked unstable.
C. Katrina and Kasha arrive to give the teen Cheryl the retrovirus and free her from Seinrich's influence, who therein desperately fights the group, ultimately being foiled by Ash wielding the Rune Blade and damaging the Staff of Ra to the point that it is breakable by the forces under Cheryl.
With the absence of Seinrich's influence, the unstable reality energy remaining is resiphoned by Cheryl entirely - even from Wind - and with a few misplaced words, is influenced into the undaunted genocide of all of the Nazi forces and related agents-- triggering Wind to make the grim observation that Cheryl is also not immune to the influence and capability of all-inclusive power and she must relinquish the reality powers soon...
Otherwise they may be facing Cheryl once and for all as well.
Date: Classic: 7.24.2240 / Alt: 10-605.7.26 - 7.27
Classic Session 75: Dust in the Wind Part VI - Crossfire
Location: James' Ship
Following the signs of reality changing destruction across Europe and down to Africa, the group chases down Prime Cheryl in the African deserts, just in time to catch Prime Cheryl and Chii being surrounded by the African Nazis there. As the Desert Fox, Rommel, orders his men to retreat and tries to distract Cheryl, a horrible misunderstanding occurs and leads to Cheryl erasing the Desert Fox inadvertently causing the wrath of Classic Lilith. Lilith comes after Cheryl and in her shock, Cheryl is shot down by enemy troops, though in her current state, unharmed. The group lands and moves out to try and convince Cheryl to calm down. Cheryl takes this offense personally and leaves the reality after bringing Rommel back, cutting the group off as she heads to the Alternate reality - leaving Chii behind as well. Ire meanwhile uses an orb he found to re-establish his pact with Lilith and since Rommel is back to life, he doesn't need Lilith to live.
The group together thinks up the plan to contact Centerpoint and ask Jamie to send them to Alternate. As they use a wickerman to do this, Cheryl begins to help the Alternate Reality. Appearing in A. Aya's command center, Cheryl upgrades the team's technology to help them track the Illium better. A. Aya then answers when Cheryl asks what they would like done, and has the forces around the Illium's Light Gate to their galaxy decimated, she even decimates the forces on the other side. Reappearing, Aya doesn't hesitate to ask for Earth to be freed as well.
Cheryl basks in the glory and thanks of millions of freed people and begins to move on her own. A. Dawn smacks Aya to try and bring some sense to what Aya has done, ordering the execution of thousands upon thousands of the enemy; this doesn't seem to dissuade Aya, but A. Angela is able to convince her to let the group examine Cheryl before sending her out. Unfortunately, Cheryl doesn't return.
The Reality Strikers appear in Alt and follow the lead to discover Cheryl on a colony wiped out by the Illium, the Illium people now living over the graves of the slaughtered and using their possessions. The group is brought to Cheryl - who is invisible and spying on the colonial Illium families - where she addresses them, surprised to see them following. Miyuki and Chii are able to convince Cheryl to come back with them and stay her hand. She agrees and the group returns to the Oracle Base. Before giving her powers up, Cheryl uses her powers to ressurect Classic Cheryl and brings back Chou using the core.
Cheryl holds a meeting and comes to realize she must pass on the power. Half going to Wind, and half, as the group suggests, to Prime Miyuki. Once the power is transferred, Cheryl is weakened and sick while P. Miyuki gains a ninth tail. However, the group has a final task, they head back to Classic to examine the damage. What they find is people cheering at their rescue, the Neo Reich still has a definate hold in some areas of the world, but Zeraphna and the united reinforcements are quickly overwhelming the technologically backward enemies.
However, Zeraphna pinpoints multiple locations where doomsday weapons are activating, Senreich's final legacy. The group teleports to multiple locations throughout the world and have to disable an explosive powered by a Rune each. They teams manage to work together and recover the Runes, however, Cheryl's group arrives late and seeing the Dark Rune already leaking energy, Cheryl stuffs the bomb into Teddy and sends him on a teleport loop. Teddy's head and core survive, but the Dark Rune is destroyed for the Classic Reality, or at least, missing.
The group returns back to the Alternate Reality just as Oracle Aya is taking a group out to investigate a meteorite. As they walk and notice the shuttle landing, Aya sips her coffee, and falls down dead from poison. The cup reads on the inside, 'For mercilessly ordering the deaths of so many.' The group rushes Aya to P. Cheryl's shuttle, with dim hope. Either the new base has an infiltrator, or the Alternate team has a traitor in their midst.
Reality Strikers Session 4: Dust in the Wind Epilogue - Hold On
Location: James' Ship
The healers of three teams work in unison with Wind and Prime Miyuki to heal Alt Aya, in four phases the healers take turns while the unified Reality Power makes it possible for them to restore Alt Aya's brain damage and stave off the poison. As they work, Myria and her team of geniuses are able to restore Iceheart's data chip, returning her to normal.
Alt Lemon leads a small group out to investigate the meteor crash, where they find a crystal barrier under a sinkhole. Inside is Prime Megumi, who Kasha reveals for them by busting the crystal open with a food induced punch of doom. As this happens, Prime Zephyr readies to commit suicide but is stopped by P. Miyuki. This makes Megumi's awakening, induced by Eclair showing off her power to yell loudly in a Famfrit's ear, slighty less rude. Miyuki makes herself the watcher of Prime Zephyr and shortly after Zephyr and Megumi reunite; Megumi promises to stick by Zephyr no matter what.
Alt Cheryl hunts down the killer and after brilliant deduction, discovers it to be Lunchara, Alt Ama's lunch ladies. She admits to her attempt and tells them it was because of her anger over being disappointed by the act of barbarism that she had hoped the team wasn't capable of. Denied self sacrifice, she decides to leave until Ama appears to talk her down. The next day, the group is
brought together and given a final chance to choose whether to join the Strikers or not. The plan in place is for the group to head back and forth between the Classic and Alternate Realities to fix up any lingering issues, such as the Nazis, over the next week before they return to the Prime Reality and open up the hidden areas of the station and offically open up the Reality Strikers.