The Truth Will Set You Free

*** Twelve Months Earlier ***

Itsuki couldn't believe what he was experiencing. 

His brother, who was several years younger than him, had just finished trouncing him in their favorite combat game. 

"What the hell..." Itsuki exclaimed. "How much have you been practicing??"

"Only a little..." Shin teased, tickled pink by his victory. 

"Stroke of luck. Let's go again!"

About three minutes later - BOOM! - another knockout with Shin receiving the victory. 

"I don't get it..." Itsuki stammered. "I've researched so much. Battle tactics, proper combos... How is it that you're so good?"

"You might be smart and read a lot," Shin responded. "But you spend a lot of time on trial-and-error and fluff. Whereas I, on the other hand, focus on finding the truth."

"The...truth?"

"Yeah! I found the truth - and I practiced that a ton! Since I didn't waste time testing out a bunch of things that weren't going to work, I got better quicker!"

It seemed silly, especially coming from his twelve year old brother. Whatever Shin was trying to say, though, it was clear that his methods worked. 

Before Itsuki could respond further, there was knocking at the front door. 

"Oh, that must be Amane!" Shin exclaimed. "She said she'd come over to hang out and cook dinner, right?"

"That she did," Itsuki replied as he stood up and put down the controller. "You'd better thank her big time for this...and don't think you're off-the-hook about this whole 'truth' nonsense!"

Itsuki turned from his brother and began down the hall to open the front door. 

"Just remember, Itsuki!" Shin yelled after him. "The truth will set you free!"

*** Present Day ***

Itsuki instinctively dove forward to try and shield Yuna from the shockwave. Wooden shrapnel and shards pelted his back. None of them hard enough to pierce flesh through his cloak, but still not particularly comfortable. 

Before he could react further, Yuna had grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him over to the side. Itsuki instinctively resisted, but Yuna forced him over with the strength of a small horse. 

He wasn't sure when Yuna became this freakishly strong. Perhaps it was in relation to her newfound powers. 

She grabbed her bow as she moved Itsuki to safety. It immediately began to glow gold as her golden wings sprouted from her back and her eyes shifted color. She eyed the doorway, taking in the situation. 

The two guards posted outside had been incapacitated and mutilated. Standing there, looming over them and staring into the room, was a humanoid creature. It was dressed in full-black from head-to-toe, and wore a silver mask to cover its face. 

"State your intentions, now!" Yuna's voice echoed with divine power as she drew her bow. "Move, and I will shoot..."

The creature didn't seem phased at all by the threat. It did not move, however. In fact, it didn't seem like it had any aggressive intentions at all. To itsuki, the creature almost seemed robotic. 

It's head snapped to Itsuki's direction. The rest of its body turned a moment later. 

"The Judge has been located..." it spoke aloud in a metallic voice. "Itsuki, come with us. The truth will set you free..."

Itsuki's eyes widened.

"What...did you say?"

It didn't respond. Instead, it flew back into the wall as Yuna's arrow blew a hole through its torso. Two more arrows followed, aimed at the guards themselves. Like in Velmoria, their bodies began to patchwork themselves back together. 

"Don't just stand there!" Yuna exclaimed as the guards dumbfoundedly looked themselves over. "Deal with that thing!"

At Yuna's words, they got their wits together. They drew their weapons and charged towards the assailant. To both Yuna and Itsuki's surprise, it did not fight back. Despite having critically wounded them both before, it chose to remain motionless as the guards tore it apart. 

As the creature was torn apart, blood and flesh was not what came out - it was wires and metal. 

--A robot?? Here in the Fallen Lands?

Itsuki didn't have much time to ponder the thought. Screams began echoing outside, drawing both his and Yuna's attention to the window. 

It was not just one of them - it was dozens. They had slowly surrounded the tavern like a force of nature. Any people that crossed their paths were grabbed and subdued. If they remained motionless, no harm seemed to be inflicted. 

Those that tried to move and fight back got terminated. 

As they began to charge into the tavern, Yuna broke open their window and began firing shots into the sea of adversaries. The arrows perfectly found their targets and shredded them apart, but it was fruitless. When one went down, two more quickly filled it's spot. 

They were appearing out of thin air, as if teleporting into existence. 

"We can't fight that many!" Yuna exclaimed. "We have to run!"

"That won't do us any good!" Itsuki shot back. "There's going to be hundreds of them soon enough! They'll capture us before we get far..."

Then a thought crossed his mind. It seemed obvious, but he wasn't sure if it'd work. 

"The pond!" he called out. 

Yuna paused and processed momentarily, but quickly realized the plan. She quickly turned and drew her bow. 

She aimed not at the first robot that had appeared, but at the wall behind him. 

"I haven't tried this, yet," Yuna admitted. "Here we go!"

As she focused in, the arrow began to glow vibrantly. It was as if the arrow was charging up like a battery, growing in width and size as it did. 

By the time Yuna fired the shot, it had grown to the size of a large metal rod. It easily blasted open the wall beyond and created a large opening. 

It was aggressive, but effective. The pond sat about fifty years away - a mesmerizing platinum glow radiating from its surface.

"Jeez, Yuna...what the hell!"

Yuna didn't respond. When Itsuki turned towards her, he saw why. 

After firing that giant arrow, she had completely lost consciousness. Her wings and bow both faded, and she was teetering. A couple of seconds later, she began to fall towards the ground. 

Itsuki moved quickly, clambering off of the bed and catching her. He got a good grip and picked her up in a bridal carry. He wasted no time making his way towards the pond. 

The guards held off what they could, but they were quickly overrun. Yuna was pretty light, but Itsuki was still slow. The army of enemies was approaching him quick. 

--We're not going to make it!

He got so close. Within about five feet, before one of the robots managed to catch up. It dove for him, grabbing hold of his ankle and knocking him off-balance. He toppled over face-first, sending Yuna rolling away towards the pond. 

-- Not yet!

He kicked the assailant in the face, pushing him back momentarily while he panic-crawled towards the pond. It only took a couple of seconds for them to be on top of him - pinning him down and preventing further movement. 

Fortunately, before that happened, he was able to make physical contact with both Yuna and the pond itself. 

"Amane!" he yelled out with all he was worth. 

The next few events passed by faster than he could fully process. The lake began to glow a bright silver as it filled with energy

"I won't let you have them!" Amane's voice radiated over the pond like a divine command.

A pulse of energy radiated out from the pond, like a fantasy-powered EMP. It immediately frying every robotic adversary within the vicinity. 

A moment later, both he and Yuna disappeared from the Firefly Pond in a flash of golden light.