Hotaru Wars, Return of The Miyagi [Part 1]

****Extra Perspective***********The Thinker, ”Houston” (Ethel Omega 7-A******

5PM Unified Ethel Time works for us. We’ll be waiting for him by the foyer to our safehouse. Do you have the coordinates? Omega typed into her phone. The message came back quickly.

Affirmative. Thank you for your cooperation. We will look into your next supply request and contact you as necessary. Over. The message read. It was so rote. She really expected something more spunky from her “best friend”. Omega sighed, glancing down at the photo on her desk. Three high schoolers bunched together and smiling. Her, Ame, and Naoko.

“Oh well.” She said out loud. “Back to it. I suppose.”

****Perspective:********************The Soldier, Hotaru Miyagi (632-E)*******

Hotaru pulled the trigger, dispatching his fifth would-be-assassin of the day. The buzz of his railgun and the arcing blasts it shot were the only familiar comfort he had owned for the last week and a half. And aside from the sight of yet another head being vaporized, he had very little to think about.

The readout in his helmet indicated another heat signature to the south. He hoisted his rifle about, stepped atop the nearest grave with a hop from the powersuit, aimed, and pulled the trigger, barely looking. A puff of red mist sprang up among the thousands of grave markers, and that was his sixth.

Hotaru sighed as he dropped back to ground level, falling nearly five meters from the top of the massive monument. The graveyards of Zolus-IV were apparently all like this, though this was his first time seeing any of them. As the crown-jewel of Ethel Zero-2’s intergalactic empire it stood to reason that it would house a monument to the cost of the great war with the Etherians. Hotaru was just shocked at how much it had taken.

Grave City, the locals had called it and the name stuck. The sprawling network of public trams and walkways outstripped that of major population zones. Were it not for the nature of this vast mausoleum it might have been a pleasant place to visit, as it stood it was a death trap. Some graves were as large as small houses, containing amenities as well as entertainment. Others were not so lucky and had been placed in one of the vast superstructures which sprang up among the grey pillars. These were between fifteen and fifty levels tall and were added to the sprawling landscape as necessary. Floor after floor stretching to the heavens and nothing but the simple graves of the common folk.

At least they all had one. Hotaru had thought earlier in the day. That was before three snipers had taken aim at the Empress from one of them. It had taken all his restraint not to level the thing in frustration. With her wearing only ceremonial garb he had to be always on his toes seeing as her head was exposed. And that meant at times standing in front of her while she paid her respects. Despite his armor, Hotaru knew he would bruise from the artillery shells he’d taken to shield her.

The Empress stood up, leaving a pair of roses at the foot of the grave marker twice her height. She had been kneeling for a few minutes, taking note of the thousands of names scrawled on the headstone which had read: “planet Corza, the decisive battle.” Her armor was a gleaming silver and red today.

The typical slats of overlapping metal were present, but this was a form-fitting design that emphasized her sex flatteringly. A long white cape billowed behind, her shoulders forgoing the large pauldrons for spikes that rose above her neckline. She wore no helmet today as her hair had been braided on the long side, extensively combed on the other. Instead, her unfurled antennae folded over the top of her head like horns, reminding Hotaru once more of her alien nature.

“Next, we have one more grave, snot-stain! The monument to the drop-soldiers of Chezzex-9.” The empress indicated, pointing up the hill between two superstructures where twelve large spherical objects made nest. “You good to go for another few hours, runt?”

“Yes, ma’am.” Hotaru droned in reply.

“With feeling, brother!” The Empress asked cheerfully, and for a moment the hard face of the empress reminded him of Alpha. He shook his head lightly.

“Yes! Ma’am!” He responded.

“Very good. Don’t slow me down or I’ll kill you!” She said, smiling.

The two marched out from between the rows of monuments and onto a wide path intersected with rails. On one of them, roof unfurled and charging in the red sunlight, was a large silver tram that had been their chariot most of the morning. Hotaru peeked in, gave it a scan to be sure there were no unwelcome guests or bombs and gave the Empress the okay. As she entered, he covered her back and double checked a few spots he had been suspicious of, you could never be too careful.

Inside were twelve wide seats in a U shape along the walls, windows with shielded glass above them, and at the front of the tram a spindly automaton bolted to the floor which accessed the controls with twelve spidery appendages. It was cozy and cool compared to the outside. To boot, the trams were fast and self-sustaining on top of being nearly indestructible. A feature that had proven useful that morning.

“To the drop-trooper memorials, wastebin!” The Empress boomed. The automaton’s small dumbbell shaped head wobbled affirmatively as its hands fussed at the controls. Hotaru glanced out each window before choosing a seat in front so he could best see attacks from all angles. The Empress dropped into the seat across from him. “You can relax, you louse.” The Empress assured him. “Remember, the rear guard has cleared much of the grave city today so you’re just doing clean-up, snot stain. No need to be so uptight.”

“I’ve already had to take care of six today. That’s more than just clean up, isn’t it?” The Empress shrugged, giving him a wry smile that made his heart flutter. He still hadn’t gotten over seeing his crush’s face everywhere.

“Relax. That’s an order, louse.” She said, “Relax or I’ll kill you.” Hotaru obliged by pressing a button on his wrist. The liquid metal that maintained his helmet folded away onto his shoulders allowing him fresh air.

“So, Hotaru, how have you liked your internship?” She asked. Hotaru glanced out the window searching between monuments for a target. The gall she had, to call this an internship! Every day on this blasted rock had been a nightmare to him. His first day involved clearing out a nest of spiders ten times his size from her basement. And that was just “pest control.” His duties, ranging from bodyguarding to cleaning scarcely ended without a near-death-experience and scarcely began without the threat of violence from Zero-2 herself!

“Answer or I’ll kill you, snot-stain.” She said quietly, almost tenderly, snapping him out of his combat-mindset. He straightened up then turned to face her.

“I can’t wait for it to be over, your majesty. These ten days have worn me out.” He sighed, letting his head droop and feeling some life drain out of him.

“Hah! Honest as ever. You are a fun one, Miyagi. I can see why Alpha-632E likes you so much!” Hotaru perked up in his seat at that. The Empress smiled sarcastically causing him to blush. “Still, though, I’d have thought this would be a vacation to you! Given your background.”

“I never killed humanoids before.” Hotaru stated flatly, his eyes tracing lines in the floor.

“You get used to it, louse. It’s work, and believe it or not, you do it well.”

“Only thanks to this thing.” He said, tapping two fingers against his pitch-black breastplate which shifted in response like a living, breathing thing. Unlike the crude machinations of his timeline this suit was alive, a living network of interconnected tech that changed according to the needs of the individual. And as much as he hated to admit it, he was loathe to leave it behind.

“I thought you might like it, louse. Alpha said you were a techie.”

“And a stickler for rules.”

“She may have mentioned it. Or not.” The Empress lied.

“Is that why you shut me in the suit with my comms off on day one? Didn’t want me nagging you?” He asked, leaning forward.

“I figured you’d learn not to talk back to your superiors. Since that’s what got you here to begin with.” Hotaru leaned back, remembering himself. He didn’t apologize but he did break eye contact with his charge. “Got you! After ten days I’ve got you figured out completely. Sorry to give you up so soon.” She lamented. Hotaru nearly jumped out of his seat.

“Hold on! I’m going back?” He could scarcely hide his excitement. Zero-2 raised an eyebrow.

“Soon. Maybe, assuming your replacement arrives on time. It’s been a long time coming but I think I’ve finally nabbed my white whale.” She mused, closing her fist around an imaginary object.

“White whale?”

“It’s a metaphor. You’ve never read Moby Dick?”

“Moby’s Dick?” Hotaru scratched his head.

“Oh, I forgot, they got to your libraries before you finished high school, huh? Yeah, I was already squashing brood mothers before Alpha Ethel knew what a Naoko was. That’s okay, you’ll all catch up to me eventually.” Zero-2 said, as if citing some foregone conclusion.

“Except for the peaceful universes.” Hotaru replied. “They seem to have things figured out.” Zero-2 bristled and cracked her neck. She always got testy when he brought up the other half of the council.
“Yeah, that’s just it though, at some point you have to take action. Etherians can’t be bought or reasoned with. At some point, you just gotta go to the hive-world and say: ‘hasta la vista!’” She said, forming finger guns like a kid. “That’s what I did, that’s why I’m so successful.” A loud crash echoed from outside. The two glanced out to see a bipedal creature holding the barrel of a rocket launcher. Moments later two massive creatures in dark armored suits clobbered him and dragged him off, leaving purple blood on the side of the road.

Hotaru shot her an incredulous look. The Empress rapped on the steel hull of the tram. “Successful!” She said, “Some of the best tech in the multiverse gained through constant expansion.”

Yeah, and constant loss of life. Hotaru thought, glancing out at the massive gravesite. It was humbling if nothing else. At least now he had a picture of how not to care for the fate of the universe assuming he was ever left in charge.

“I know that look. You’re judging me, louse! Out with it or I’ll kill you.” She insisted.

“I just think your approach might be a bit much. I think that at some point you have to say ‘enough is enough’ and stop fighting everything.”

“Spoken like a true louse. But, so long as you keep working I don’t have to kill you, louse. Ain’t that nice?” She asked, eyes gleaming, challenging him to speak out of turn again. The tram shuddered to a halt and the mechanical conductor spun around to look at them with bulbous camera lenses for eyes.

“Zone 15, area 51, drop trooper monuments.” The computerized voice groaned.

“Thanks, rustbucket. You’ve done good.” The empress stood up sharply and left the tram through the side door without much decorum. Hotaru followed but gave the conductor a nod which the robot repeated back to him. It really made him wonder how advanced his artificial intelligence was. He engaged his helmet again before stepping into the sunlight. He still didn’t trust that red light in the sky.

The wind whipped about them as they walked among the spherical monuments. The dozens of Stone spheres ten meters by ten meters sat atop wide rectangular perches. They were laid out in a grid-pattern far enough from each other that they didn’t feel crowded. Carved into the sides of each were the topography of the land and the names of those that died etched over where they had been deployed. (Those that were distinguished anyways.) The rest had a place etched into the metal base near where the planet’s name was indicated.

The Empress walked to the edge of the spheres and, upon confirming the placard represented the correct planet, gestured for Hotaru to join her. He obliged but glanced around the monuments as he made his way over, paying particular attention to the edge of the clearing where familiar stone monoliths surrounded them in rows and columns. That would be where I would hide. He thought absently.

“Mind placing these at the top?” Zero-2 asked as he reached her, handing him her last two flowers. “There should be a small planter at the top. Don’t worry, off-duty soldiers do it all the time.”

Hotaru took one last look around and set his railgun into the groove on his armor’s back. He accepted the flowers carefully, turned and kicked off the ground. He nearly overshot the monument with such a high jump but managed to course-correct at the last second and balance atop the sphere. Sure enough the top of the globe was scratched and weathered from boots and footfalls. Many soldiers had made that jump before. He looked down at the flowers in his hand, both roses had taken a beating. Nevertheless, he reached down and placed them gingerly in the small metal recess atop the globe where a puff of mist shot out to moisten them.

“Clear.” Hotaru said.

“Thanks louse, now quiet! I’m paying my respects!” She yelled back. At least she hadn’t threatened to kill him.

Were it not for his vantage point he would have missed it. Three spheres away, there was a slight shift in the shadows cast by one of the monuments. And then he saw a slight shimmer in the air. It was as if a small cloud was skimming the ground towards the Empress.

He heard nothing and he saw nothing. The instruments on his suit picked up no abnormalities. Nevertheless, Hotaru readied his railgun and fired into the dirt as quickly as he could. Blood, fire, chaos. A hand fell to the earth, scorched by the tungsten rod Hotaru had fired. A humanoid figure appeared in an instant, curled up on the sand, writhing in pain, clutching a stump.

“Your highness, get back!” Hotaru yelled, sliding off the monument in a single motion. By the time he hit the ground, the person was up, having tossed aside a bulky metal weapon for a blade.

They ran fast, brandishing the blade and turning it down towards the kneeling leader. He heard no words he could recognize but he knew the tone. A desperate cry of anger and pain as the person thrust their knife towards the ruler. Only for the weapon to be stopped by two thin white antennae.

Hotaru chambered another round and fired. Electricity surged between him and the enemy bathing the empress in purple and blue light. The blast vaporized the top half of the assassin and passed through three grey monuments before the tungsten rod had run its course burying itself in the fourth.

The Empress, undaunted, continued kneeling in silence by the monument. Hotaru scrambled about the scene searching fervently in case there were others. He picked over the remains of the assassin but couldn’t recognize much aside from that it was likely human. He glanced behind him at the hand he had severed with his first shot. Part of the now dead fingers curled around a long metal tube, fingers caught in a trigger mechanism of some kind.

On the wrist was a rusty silver watch with an analog readout which read: “Error”. And on the ring finger of the hand was an unmistakable small silver band with a diamond on it.

“Another widow, huh?” Hotaru flinched at the leader’s voice, directly behind him. She knelt, picked up the hand and flattened the fingers out before laying it back in the sand. “That’s what happens when you send all your men to war by themselves. You wind up with too few.” The Ethel stood up, brushed herself off and commented: “Well! Time to head home. I’m ready for a bath! How about you, louse?”

“Sure…” Hotaru breathed absently. “Yeah, sure…”

****Perspective:*********************The Soldier, Hotaru Miyagi (632-E)*******

The trip to Ethel manor was uneventful, Hotaru white-knuckled his weapon all the same. Ethel Zero-2 made no indication that she noticed or even that she was concerned. She stared out the window of her hovercraft the entire journey, humming a tune she had learned from the soldiery. Hotaru dreamed of dimension 99999-LC.

Once behind the blast doors of her fortress Hotaru was addressed again: “Soldier, I’ve yet to receive a message confirming the arrival of your replacement so for now, the usual.” She mentioned. Hotaru nodded. “The usual” meant filling her massive bath, testing the water, and calling the maidservants who would arrive with fruit and soaps. He was technically a bodyguard. But manservant felt more appropriate in instances like this.

Hotaru pressed the green button on his left wrist three times, pneumatic locks across the black armor released with a hiss and the suit folded back, allowing him to step out. Once out of the suit it folded up into a cube, not as perfect as the onyx metal cube it had been presented to him as, but a cube, nonetheless.

Meanwhile, a gaggle of twelve men of various bipedal species in tight suits had arrived and were fussing over Ethel Zero-2. They carefully and swiftly worked, releasing locks and pulling off her armor in sections. Beneath it she wore a white form-fitting top and sporty pants, her tight muscular frame straining the fabric slightly. Hotaru averted his eyes as best he could and set off across the room to where the Empress’s massive bath was housed. He had scarcely made it halfway when a blinding flash cut through the great hall directly behind the empress. The butlers scattered in surprise, each holding a precious piece of the Empress’s armor.

“Ah, you’re in luck, louse! I think your replacement might be here!” She yelled, just loud enough to hear.

The unmistakable crackling purple and blue electricity formed into a large octagon through which stepped three figures. The two larger figures, in full armor similar to Hotaru’s, held a small prisoner in a straightjacket each holding one arm.

“Welcome back, lovelies! Did you enjoy your rendezvous together?” Zero-2 asked mockingly. The left soldier pressed a button to close the portal, and another to open her helmet. Her face was gorgeous aside from tissues stuffed up her bloody nose, her hair was short and bleached a bright pink.

“Cut the crap, Ethel. We got her, prisoner H-666, right? Here she is.” She said, rudely shoving her captive. “And no we didn’t have ‘fun’ together.” finished the woman, the unmistakable twin of Ame Owari.

Ethel Zero-2 smiled broadly, hands on her hips. “And did you confirm this one’s particular qualities?” The empress asked.

At this point the right soldier disengaged his helmet, the spitting image of Naoko Hajime. “Yes, Empress. We’ve confirmed it. This one hates women.”

“Excellent.” Ethel replied, stepping towards them. Hotaru followed, finally getting a good look at the prisoner. She had jet-black hair cut short, patchy, and wild. Her frame was slight but dignified in the white straitjacket. Her face seemed familiar, but he couldn’t place it. Her right eye was covered by a large metal device wrapped tightly around her head with thick leathery straps. It looked like an eyepatch but made him think of a padlock.

“What’s your name?” The Empress asked, cradling the woman’s chin in her fingers.

“Up yours!” the woman replied, trying to bite her.

“Really? I was under the impression that your name was Hinako Takayama. Am I wrong?”

The woman glanced up with surprise, as if she hadn’t been addressed like that in years. She quickly averted her gaze, choosing instead to look at Hotaru who froze, not sure how to process this information.

“Men, please take Ms. Takayama to the training field.” Ethel ordered. Two of the suited men set down their pieces of armor and rushed in to take the prisoner’s arms. As they passed Hotaru, the rogue Hinako shot him a glance and spoke.

“Good luck going back! Now that you’ve tasted life outside your reality. The forbidden fruit is tasty, huh?” She said with a wink. Hotaru stared in silence as she was carried off, dumbfounded. What did she mean by that? He couldn’t help but wonder.

“Louse! You’re fee to go. Thanks for pinch-hitting these last few weeks.” The Empress gestured to the war-torn Ame and Naoko who had opened another portal and were waiting. Hotaru walked over quickly, trying not to skip for joy.

“Aren’t you worried she’ll try to kill you?” Hotaru asked, as he reached the leader.

"No more than I was concerned you weren't able to keep me safe. Here, this is earlier than expected but I have something for you." The Empress snapped her fingers and one of the butlers stepped forward, handing Hotaru a round metal disc with a skull on it. In the recesses of the eyes were a green and red button respectively.

“This is an interdimensional call-beacon. I use it for my agents in other parts of the multiverse. If you ever need help from me or my military, press the green button. Someone will portal to your location and offer assistance. If I ever need help from you the red button will flash, you can press that button and a portal will open next to you allowing you to travel to where I require assistance.”

The empress paused, raising an eyebrow at him. “I understand, your majesty.” Hotaru responded, a bit flustered.

“Hmph, okay. Now! If I call you and you can't make it, I understand completely. There's no need to offer an excuse. However. If you call for me and it's not necessary.” Ethel Zero-2 began to raise her voice and point at him. “If you call for aid from MY royal guard and it's not completely necessary I'll skin you and wear your skull on my shoulder pauldron! Understand!?"

"Yes, Ma'am!" Hotaru responded, for once intimidated by one of the Empress’s many threats.

"Well, good then!" She responded, placing a hand on his shoulder. Before he could react, she leaned into to him, her cheek brushing his as she sidled up to his ear.

“Have a good time Hotaru. Enjoy life, or I’ll kill you.” She whispered tenderly then released him and marched away. Hotaru felt hot around his ears and cheeks. He was so surprised he barely noticed the alternate Ame and Naoko dragging him by his arms through the portal and into a familiar place.

“Wait, is this?” He sputtered, glancing around at the dark, space-age hallway lined with geometrically flashing lanterns.

“Yes, it’s the council of Ethels.” War Ame droned, as if she’d been asked that a thousand times. “Hotaru, could you please step into the closet?” She gestured ahead of them to a tall black box with two double doors on the front.

Oh no, not the Auto-clothes-inator. Hotaru thought with a grimace. Nevertheless, he opened the door to the broom closet sized room and stepped inside. In contrast to his previous experience with the auto-clothes-inator this time He managed to catch a glimpse of the large metal arms that were about to change his clothes before the doors shut behind him. Then, holding perfectly still he felt several rushes of air and a few slight pinches as they ran up and down him changing his clothes. 30 seconds later, no less, he was pushed out the double doors and the small walk-in closet slid away down the hall.

He glanced down, relieved to be wearing a Hiwara high school uniform again. “Looks great on you.” War Ame said with a smile. He couldn’t help but return the gesture.

War Naoko cleared his throat. “We need to debrief you before sending you back.”

“Hit me.” Hotaru said, folding his arms.

War Naoko spent the next few minutes relating the current plan to him. Explaining that the Ethels in 99999-LC were trying to set up Ame and Naoko on a date and that it would be his job to simply keep an eye on Naoko. As usual. Houston didn’t require him to do anything else this week and that the current plan was just to have Hotaru acclimate back to school life for a bit while remaining as close as possible to Naoko.

Hotaru couldn’t shake the feeling of having a Naoko tell him to keep an eye on Naoko. And after the information had been relayed, he couldn’t help but ask: “Why haven’t you two gotten together?”

The suited up Ame and Naoko glanced at one another, a bit surprised at the question. “Why haven’t you gotten together with Ethel Alpha 632-E?” War Ame asked.

“W-well, I uh!” Hotaru sputtered.

“What about our Ethel, Zero-2? She seemed to get along with you.” Naoko added. Hotaru blushed. Remembering the whisper in his ear that had happened just a minute or so ago.

Ame sighed and relaxed her posture before continuing. “Listen, Hotaru. Sometimes things don’t work out. That’s just how it goes. As for us, we know too much. Even if we wanted to get together it’d be too awkward. We’re not from the same timeline, we only know Zero-2 because she pulled us out of Council lock-up and put us to work. We don’t know anything else.”

“Still.” Naoko interrupted. “She can’t help but keep us together on missions and tease us. It’s something inherent in Ethels. I don’t know. It just seems like they can’t help but try to put us together no matter what. It’s…” He trailed off.

“Frustrating.” Ame finished, typing into a rectangular display on her wrist. A large portal opened up on the floor behind them. And without much decorum the two grabbed Hotaru and gave him a firm shove.

“Have a nice life, Hotaru. You earned it.” He heard one of them say. But it was lost in the rush as he fell face-first into the living room of the Ethel safehouse in universe 99999-LC.

He stood up, whirling around the suspiciously empty “control room” with it’s monitors and massive computer towers unaccompanied. He glanced to his left toward the hallway and the foyer where an entire house of Ethels were patiently looking at the foyer wearing party hats and ready with joy buzzers.

He cleared his throat and they finally noticed him. Then the air was filled with the sound of party poppers, joy buzzers, and so on. Primitive Ethel tossed a water balloon from the back of the group soaking him as the rest mobbed him and patted his head yelling, “welcome back!” and “Good to see you!” et cetera.

In the entryway, Alpha hung back. Leaning against the wall she gave him a wry smile then walked away upstairs. Behind her, standing in the entryway was Hinako, his Hinako. Or at least the one he knew. She wore the same Hiwara uniform as before, long black hair and deep bangs covering her right eye. As they made eye contact, he heard a voice like a whisper in his head: “Welcome back, Miyagi-kun.”

Hotaru took a step back, shocked. And with that, Hinako gave him a nod, casually. And walked upstairs without a word.

****Perspective***************************************The Final Ethel******

“You should give him a hug.” Ethel told Ethel in the quiet of the hallway.

“Shut up! Maybe you should give him a hug!” Alpha groaned.

“You agree, don’t you, Hinako?” Final asked, hoping to get some encouragement from the quiet girl.

“Give in to the passion of the moment and you could ruin yourself. Give in to the stoicism of the moment and find peace.” Hinako said. The entire hallway of Ethels looked at her funny. Hinako adjusted her glasses.

Final bit her lip in frustration. What was that? She thought, kicking the floor with frustration.