Hm, continuing with my previous snippet:
Fall Maden's Safehouse; a few minutes after returning to the Safehouse
To say what passed for the safehouse's medbay was in chaos would be severely understating the situation within. The doctor and two nurses that Ospin explicitly trusted had been working the last few minutes trying to keep the man that saved Amber alive, but that duty is hindered by one thing: the armor he was wearing.
On the outside, it looked like rather thick body armor with a very sophisticated armored undersuit... but it was anything
but that simple. The undersuit was practically impervious to the equipment on hand... and probably even the best military hospital in Atlas as well... and less said about the thick body armor, the better. It would probably shrug off pretty much
anything less than a fire-dust autocannon and laugh it off.
That was when one of Doctor Green's nurse assistants started to call to her. "Dr. Green, whatever the suit is, it's trying to interface with our hardware," the male nurse mentioned as he tried to make sense of the data.
"What do you mean
trying to interface with our hardware?" Dr. Green exclaimed, "Nothing we have can do that!" Dr. Green was right on that, as nothing on Remnant is anything
like the suit, and that got him not only scared but also weirded out. This
suit was acting like it was actually sapient! Even Atlas's programs to improve their hunters with anything similar had been...
failures... and forced the 'synthetic hunter' program to move forward far faster than it would normally and skirting several ethical rules along the way.
"It
isn't something we have!" the female nurse complained, "... and the suit has just interfaced with the bioscanner! If I'm reading this right,
this guy shouldn't be even breathing, let alone do anything that he had reportedly done! He's practically a corpse walking!" The female nurse kept reading the information that was being given to her. "I'm getting
multiple fatal concussion and laceration indications, multiple fatal stab wounds, and multiple internal organs suffering some sort of fatal damage... and that is what the suit is giving me
before that assassin tried to use Dust weaponry on him."
"
Fuck!" Doctor Green cursed out loud, "No wonder his vitals are crashing! That suit has to come off
now or we'll lose him for sure!" That was when a hissing noise was heard as the outer plates unlocked, showing the undersuit completely. Ignoring what seemed to be a contrivance, Doctor Green quickly went to work, digging what Dust fragments he could before he would start the more invasive surgery. "Keep the patient alive and prepped for surgery!" The two nurses understood as they did their part in saving a rather selfless life...
_______________________
Ascended Realm; about the same time
"I've seen some selfless sapients in my time, but your champion easily gets into my top twenty," a bird-like being -a Chozo named Grey Voice- complemented the Ascended Ethereal right next to him, "Although, I'm surprised that his psionic powers are as impressive as they are... and you didn't take a piggyback ride either." The Ethereal -Terren- next to him simply nodded.
"His psionic potential actually surprised me," Terren replied, "... although it did take some rather aggressive and nasty meld treatments to forcibly awaken that potential." Then he looked at the situation that was developing. "When I found out that he had also become a specieal avatar... well... words couldn't really describe the surprise I had... although it did fit the pattern with his other abilities being supercharged..."
"You mean his somewhat suppressed talents as a spirit mage?" Grey Voice suggested, "I'm surprised with that too, given that Earth's humanity didn't have a
lick of magic for almost a millennia and a half. To see a spirit mage pop up like that is...
odd... to say the least. Compared to those that are his predecessors though, he still has a
lot of work ahead of him." Terren looked pensive as he sighed. "... although given that he also has gone -as the humans delightfully call it- 'Archon' and lived to tell the tale, he might just surpass them in ways they couldn't even dream of." Terren huffed.
"Given that your species has a not-so-insignificant fraction able to
divine the future..." Terren chuckled, "I'll take that as a prophecy." Grey Voice looked at Terren with disgust at that jab. "What? You can't deny that your species is the only one that can see the future!" Grey Voice simply sighed, knowing that Terren is right. "Sure it might be more limited than what everyone else assumed, but you can't deny that it has worked in your favor." Terren was referencing Samus Aran, the daughter that he never had... and the legacy of the Chozo and more than worthy for the title of Metroid.
"I'll give you that," Grey Voice commented, "but given the damage that your champion has gotten, he will die and be a permanent resident in the Ascended Plane. Despite the fact that he wasn't trained by former Metroids, he sure fought like one." Grey Voice and Old Bird were the last two Chozo that held the mantle of Metroid, and it was fitting that they would train Samus in the ways of the Metroid... but Aaron was almost as worthy of the title despite his upbringing and failings. "He needs to heal, and he can't do that when he's ascended."
"True to that," Terren replied, "but to do that, we'll need help..." Grey Voice smiled.
"Get someone that you can rely on, and I'll get someone that I can rely on," Grey Voice said with a smirk.
_______________________
Fall Maden's Safehouse, MedBay; a few minutes later
"I've got most of the dust fragments I can," Dr. Green stated as he wiped his forehead, "once we figure out how to open the undersuit, we can get the rest out." That was when the room was quickly bathed in a hue of gold and light velvet. "What in Dust's name is happening now?"
"Do not be afraid," one bird-like
being -the entity was too different from a faunus to be one- said,
"We're here to help. Now, please, tell us the situation that our charge has gotten himself into." Doctor Green faltered for a moment as he got his bearings.
"We feel that right now our charge doesn't have much time before he dies."
"Um, we've gotten most of the weapon-forged dust that we can easily access," Dr. Green answered, "but we have to operate
now to get to the rest of it." Dr. Green covertly pressed a button and the various hunters and Ozpin entered the room, ready for combat.
"Now this is
interesting," Ozpin commented, "I've worked with strange things before but this is something else." Ozpin raised his cane, quickly unfolding into a hybrid weapon. "Now,
get away from the patient. He has done so much for me and my compatriots despite being on death's door
and not being invested in our fight that I will
not allow him to be harmed." That was when the door flew off its hinges and showed a very
irate Amber.
"You are not harming my savior!" Amber exclaimed,
"So get away from him or by Dust I will vaporize you!" The four beings looked at Amber -bristling with the energy of the Fall Maden- like she was outright insane while Ozpin and his compatriots simply rolled their eyes. The four beings moved closer, and in response, Amber sent a lightning bolt -only powerful enough to send someone through a wall- at one of them. The thin bird-like being simply raised it's hand and
nullified the attack. Everyone but the three other beings were flabbergasted at the sight.
"As we said, we're here to help," the thin bird-like being said,
"and we would like our attempts to help to not be responded with violence. He is someone that we would allow to join the ranks of our greatest warriors." The thin bird-like being then frowned. "He has sacrificed much in his war, and we would like to repay those sacrifices." Ozpin frowned, with his cane at the ready. The situation was volatile, that much he was sure, and it looked like these beings would do whatever they can to do what they were planning to do, regardless of his group's input. Given that these beings had thoroughly penetrated the numerous layers of security that every Maiden safehouse had like it was nothing...
"Why would you help him?" Ozpin asked politely as he kept his cane at the ready, "I'm more than aware of
any sapient being's failings, what is your angle on saving him?" Ozpin was more than knowledgable on the various failings of sapient beings, given that he has seen them again and again over the many,
many,
many,
many centuries that he endured.
"My angle, as you so elegantly put it Ozpin," a very alien being with four arms explained,
"is that this man is something of my champion even though I initially didn't know it. I am repaying him for his sacrifices, for he deserves to live a life that isn't dominated by death and destruction and heal his physical and mental wounds, where he has a choice in his own matters. Sure, I will have to teach him some of the more esoteric abilities that he will possess due to my opponents' schemes, my race's insane corporeal cousins attempts at immortality, and his own species that decided to play god with our science without knowing what it can do, but I will assure you he will live a life that he can be proud of here." The face the being had was barely decipherable, but it gave the vibes of someone that just had no fucks to give.
"Grey Voice, we must begin the ritual immediately if we are to succeed here."
"So, Ozpin, what part will you play?" the thin bird-like being -Grey Voice- asked,
"Will you play the part of the ignorant fool who assumes that they can solve the problem despite the fact that it will surely kill him? Or will you play the part of the man who understands where he is in the schemes of the universe and allows those who are higher up on the scheme of things to save him?" Grey Voice simply stared into Ozpin, stared right into -Ozpin assumed- his very own
soul and as such Ozpin simply chose his words with incredible care.
"You leave me with few choices, and fewer positive outcomes," Ozpin answered, "I will have to concede to you
despite my better judgment. This man has saved someone I made my mission to ensure was protected, the least I can do is ensure that he will live a life here and not wallow in the darkness." Grey Voice simply nodded and then started his preparations.
"You're not going to let them..." Qrow began before being stopped by Ozpin.
"It is taken out of our hands Qrow," Ozpin sagely answered, "Given that they no-sell a lightning bolt from Amber -one of the more experienced Maidens mind you- without being phased at all, we have
no choice but to let them do what they wish." Qrow simply gashed his teeth and complained under his breath. Amber, understanding what Ozpin said, frowned.
"You better save him!" Amber stated in her empowered state,
"Or the next lightning bolt will not be a love tap!" Grey Voice
chuckled at Amber's declaration.
"I understand and wouldn't have it any other way," Grey Voice chuckled out before clearing his voice,
"We shall commence with the ritual. Healers, you may begin with the surgery, we'll help you as much as we can while we're doing the ritual." The doctors and the nurses looked at the four beings in amazement as they began the surgery.
"Birth is the dawn of all life, the beginning of the day and the beginning of life itself. The birth of life and the dawn are beautiful in all things, yet like all things, every dawn must have dusk, an end. Yet through your sacrifices, you have saved more sapients from their dusk than most would accomplish in numerous lifetimes. While you have suffered, you will recieve your just reward."
"For your willingness to sacrifice for the lives of others, you have become my champion," the four-armed being said as sigil like constructs started to form all around ,
"While I never sought for you to become my champion, you are the sort that I would want in my champions. As such, I will repay you with a life that you would be glad for the rest of your days. A life where you can heal your wounds, be physical or mental, and continue your life as you see fit." The sigils soon glowed with greater intensity as they shifted to gold and violet.
"My race has a title for sapients like you, my champion, Vas-Lar-Knowl -Life Saver. Despite your sorrows and what my coporeal cousins did to you, you have more than earned that title. Your sacrifices will not be in vain at home, I will ensure it."
"Aaron," Grey Voice stated,
"We Chozo also have a term for beings like you. In the darkest hour of your race, you have become it's greatest warrior, it's greatest protector. As such, we give you the title of Metroid -Grand Protector. It is in your soul to protect people, allow it to guide you in your new life ahead. The process of healing will be hard, it will be long, but you will find your peace among new and old friends." As the last Dust fragment was extracted, something
different happened.
"Terren, the MELD is activating some sort of unknown protocol," the other four-armed alien said,
"We must move quickly to stabilize." With those words uttered, Aaron started
morphing into something else. Something
inhuman.
"Understood," the first four-armed alien -Terren- replied as he moved his lower arms, brining up some sort of interface,
"I'm working with the MELD now, trying to keep him as human as possible." With that, the metamorphisis
shifted, trying to keep Aaron as human as possible, but some
inhuman elements remained. His back sprouted a pair of bat-like wings, his legs became some sort of digitgrade, his skin became more of a tan-cream color, a second pair of arms grew forth under his first pair, muscules visually increased in size, his ears
shifted and transformed into some sort of hybrid between rabbit and fox ears, his nose and eyes increased proportionally in size as his head grew, and everyone but the four alien beings didn't know what the
fuck was going on with his various organs.
Soon the room was engulfed with a brilliant flash of golden and violet light...
Now for some reasoning of some of the things I've done narratively...
First, the psi-suit and its capabilities. Personally, the Psi-Suit/Armor is something that XCOM doesn't really understand much about. They reverse-engineered the stuff that it is made up of (and, personally, with some help in the form of a certain Qui-gon like Ascended Ethereal in the form of putting XCOM on the right track)
but they don't know all the exact details of how it works all together. Add to the fact that it is designed to stop plasma weapons
cold... some things got added in to help with that, which included something akin to a very watered down SECOND (given that Shen was able to make some rather sophisticated AI in the time between XCOM and XCOM 2 with the equivalent of a
box of scraps...) to keep the more...
self-destructive... psykers from basically overclocking themselves to death...
The reason that in my XCOM/MLP:FiM fic that the suit wasn't going to do the shenanigans here was... the ability to teleport things (with that, they can simply remove the suit without any problems) and the lack of nearby computers capable of taking the data.
Second, the inclusion of the Chozo... now, the Chozo have extensive knowledge and I wouldn't be surprised that they went dimension hopping as well. Given that the Chozo tend to try to find a
permanent solution to threats that they deem 'beyond redeemable' or 'beyond destructive to civilization', they would try to find a way to stop the corporeal ethereals permanently. They are the sort of beings that the Chozo would
exterminate without hesitation or remorse... and would probably consider it basically the equivalent of putting down a rabid dog. Also, they're probably one of the few beings in the multi-verse that can save Aaron in fatal condition.
Third, Amber's characterization is... nonexistent. But given that she is basically bottled up and her first showing has her helping someone (even though it was an illusion)... she probably understands that she has to be hidden and yet wants to go out and help people despite that, but helping people requires one to not be an obvious target...
Fourth, Terren is, as in the XCOM/MLP:FiM fic, the Qui-Gon of the Ascended Ethereals, and isn't against helping out in the 'push the mortals in the right direction' sort of way. Ascended Ethereal politics isn't straightforward (politics
never are unless things like nostalgia are involved), but the end-goal basically is (in this case, eliminate their insane corporeal cousins and be weapons against some threat that has
them going 'BROWN ALERT!') with the myriad of factions involved, with all their little intricacies and what not.
Fifth, the method of Aaron being saved from perma-death. Given that there isn't an incredibly powerful, effectively unknown, magical artifact in play here, I had to get something else to do the deed...
