[09 | Video | Canon Move]

[coolblueiceman]

I know I just asked about a place to move into a while ago... but I need to return to Midchilda for a little while. There are... a few things I need to see about. Some knowledge I need to gather, and a weapon for the Asura that needs to be fitted. I'm worried that things are going to go very, very south while I'm gone, but there's nothing that can be done for it, so I'll just have to manage, and work quickly.

[There's a long pause, before Chrono's expression grows even more somber.]

About the weapon... the Asura's going to be fitted with the antimatter cannon "Arc-en-ciel". It's got a massive range - its effect radius is several Terran miles - and objects struck with it are basically removed from existence. It's used only as a last resort. Honestly, I'm hesitant to have it equipped... because if I have to use it on the planet's surface, I'm going to be scorching homes, towns, and cities from the map. I'll be killing innocent people for the good of dimensional space.

It's hard, to know that you have such world-ending power ready to call to your hand at a moment's notice, and to bear the burden of knowing when to face the truth and use it... I do not want to be responsible for mass slaughter in the name of protecting the worlds from a greater evil.

[He sighs.]

Hopefully, we won't have to use it, and I'm just worrying over nothing. I will return soon... please take care of the girls while I'm away.

Comments

[deliver_my_feelings]

I can drop by Hayate and Nanoha's places, provided I give them a heads up first. Or maybe I'll ask one of Hayate's closer friends to visit her first.

[coolblueiceman]

Yes... I would appreciate that, Ayumi. I just can't keep an eye on them when I'm half the universe away, and I would feel extremely bad if something happened the one time I had to step away.

[deliver_my_feelings]

All right, I'll split my time and call up Nanoha, and see if I can't drop by her shop.

And then I'll ask maybe Aqua to look in on Hayate, or perhaps Rita.

[coolblueiceman]

All right. You have my thanks. I'll see if I can help on that end, too - there are more than a few of us that worry about her, so it shouldn't be hard to find volunteers.

[deliver_my_feelings]

I think the whole community worries about her. her, and Elle.

[coolblueiceman]

That's the understatement of the year. You almost can't not worry about her. I know she's scarily self-sufficient, but... there's just something... off about it. I know she trusts her family to take care of her, but I still worry.

...Ellie, from what I've heard, is a completely different problem. One I'm not equipped to solve, though I wish I could.

[former_endboss]

You know, that's pretty impressive. But I think I can top it-Ar Tonelico is the 'divine tree' of my world, a tower several hundred kilometers tall. It was equipped with weapons of course, which were only fired in anger once-and they cracked the crust and mantle of my planet and destroyed whole nations. So it should be no surprise that it was then sabotaged by fearful people, who did not understand what they did. And the blowback from that rendered the whole of the surface of the world uninhabitable.

So be glad that you do not have the biggest gun in the community. And weep for the damage this one has done to my world.

[coolblueiceman]

[Chrono's mouth drops open in horror. This was... pretty much the single thing the Bureau existed to stop from happening.]

Wha... what the hell? That's a superweapon to end all superweapons. How could such a thing exist...? Who would build something like that? Who would fire it? That... doesn't make any sense!

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[former_endboss]

The nation of Elmenia made enormous strides in the study of magic in the years between 2915 and 3040, though it peaked in the years after the turn of the 31st century of my world's history. The nations of the Sol Cluster, lead by El Duel, lagged significantly, and sought to redress their lack through more traditional military arms and industry. Thus began the West War, which ended with El Duel's countermeasures broken and the nations of Sol Cluster in flight. El Duel began constructing their own Megastrcture, the Tower of Harvestasha. They thought they could use it to counter Ar Tonelico, but saw fit to ensure their edge. they succeeded in damaging the first Tower, but they caused an uncontrolled power build-up that...basically, the planet was wounded to it's very core, and toxic gasses spread over the entire surface. Only the highest mountains and the Towers remained untainted.

Though, the fusion of magic and science that ended the world did provide some hints that it might be restored...if anyone would listen to me and act on them.

[coolblueiceman]

It's... just like the old stories... that's a Lost Logia of the highest order. Two of them, in fact. The whole world, basically destroyed...

...You're saying magitechnology is the key to restoring your world? I have to admit, I'm intrigued.

[former_endboss]

Three actually. I didn't mention Sol Marta, because it is slightly smaller and less powerful, but it still supports about a million people. And I would debate the 'lost' part, since if we had the space and resources we could build more.

The methods are complicated. Suffice to say, it involves preparing a very special piece of ordinance and firing it into the planet's core to restart vital processes.

[coolblueiceman]

Ah, I should explain - Lost Logia refers to a term we use to describe magical artifacts from a now-destroyed society known as Al Hazred. They built themselves up with dangerously powerful and unstable magical items, and then something happened that caused their colony to be destroyed. The Lost Logia they possessed were scattered to all corners of the universe. These days, the term tends to get applied to absurdly powerful artifacts even if they aren't of Hazrad origin.

That said... tinkering with a planet's core sounds like dangerous business. In this particular case I'm not sure things could get much worse, but it's not something I'd want to do in any but the most dire circumstances.

[precursorstone_gun_nest]

Holy hell. That's not a weapon, that's a natural disaster. And I like big guns. I don't blame you for not liking it.

What would you be fighting that needs something like that to kill it?

[coolblueiceman]

Let me tell you a little story. I'm dealing with an artifact called the Book of Darkness. It's a forbidden tome that makes a reappearance in various places across the universe every decade or so, finds its way into the hands of someone that wants to use it for evil, and they proceed to kill innocents, mages, and the occasional wild animal to fill its pages with dark magic. When it's full, it goes crazy and wreaks havoc against the entire world until the bearer is killed or the Book somehow destroyed.

Considering we tend to lose anywhere from several clerks to an entire damned starship to large parts of inhabited worlds every time this thing shows up, we're not particularly careful about getting rid of it, hence the Arc-en-ciel. It's a last resort, but... when the choice is between a city and a continent, we'll choose the lesser of two evils almost every time. It'll haunt me to be holding the key, but... it's that or court disaster.

[precursorstone_gun_nest]

Sounds like something I heard in an Earth movie once - "Nuke the site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure."

You put it like that, it makes sense. The question's basically just whether the collateral damage is less than what it would do in the time it took to bring it down with something smaller.

[coolblueiceman]

I think I forgot to mention the shields it can manifest, and the ball of pure dark energy the size of a few city blocks. Even if we could take it down through less-destructive means, we're likely to suffer severe casualties, and if the Asura is damaged in the process... then it's all for naught, and there's a real possibility we wouldn't be able to contain it if that happened.

[precursorstone_gun_nest]

Wasn't saying I disagreed which side you came down on. It definitely sounds like you need your Arkenseal, for all the damage it'd do.

[He completely misemphasizes Arc-en-Ciel, but French isn't exactly a thing in Jak!world]

If the city-versus-continent thing is an actual decision, it's hard to go for the city and not have it called sentimental crap. Sounds like that city'll be dead, or wishing it was, anyway.

I guess I've been kind of lucky. I usually manage to get that kind of crisis out of the way of a city. I'm just lucky Okuu wasn't too bright.

video;

[selene]

.. You know, I don't think you should use a weapon like that..

[ Usagi's pretty determined about this fact, after all. If there's anything she's stubborn about, it's her belief in the fact that there's always a way to save people without hurting others. ]

If you'll be killing innocent people.. then that isn't right! That kind of power is not worth it then..!

[coolblueiceman]

I don't want to use it. But if you were going to have to lose something, would you rather lose ten people and solve the problem for sure, or lose a hundred and maybe solve the problem?

Wielding the Arc-en-ciel is a choice I will not make lightly. But if it is the only way to protect human lives... it's a choice I must make.

[selene]

If there's a choice like that, then make it so you don't have to lose anyone..! [ It sounds foolish. And it probably is. But it's just not the kind of choice Usagi could ever accept, as stubborn as she is. ]

There has to be some way, sometimes you just have to think about it first!

[coolblueiceman]

If I do that... there's a strong chance it'll be me that doesn't make it home. I don't want that, either. Believe me, I want to find a way - that's why we're going back to do some digging - but there's no guarantee we'll find anything.

[selene]

...

So you're saying there's still a chance it'll all be alright, right? There's still a chance nobody will have to get hurt..?

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[pinkbefriendingbeam]

Do... do you really think we're going to let it get that bad?

[ Because just hearing about that gun is something that causes her whole body to shake. Sure, she knows that Chrono's not going to want to use it, but it doesn't change the fact that if he had to use it he'd be using it on her world. She... didn't want that to happen.]

[coolblueiceman]

By choice? Of course not. But that doesn't mean we can actually stop the Book before things hit critical mass.

[pinkbefriendingbeam]

Of course I didn't mean by choice!

We just have to stop it! We can't... we can't use that. We just can't.