Hydraheads

Prologue: Neuordnung Part 1

"Mortal danger is an effective antidote for fixed ideas." - Erwin Rommel

A teenager lay motionless on the road. His leaning face was half-covered by messy hair, eyes closed. His black gakuran school uniform and matching trousers were soaked with sweat. One of the shoes almost successfully left his feet.

There were rumbles of distant lightning beyond the apartment complexes around the boy. A thickening overcast was gathering to hide the strange glow behind. At last, droplets of rain started to fall.

One drop met the teenager's cheek and caused his fingers to flinch. His monolid eyes opened weakly and blinked before squinting due to another drizzle invasion. He tried to move himself up with both hands as support. He coughed several times before looking up.

The teenager's eyes glowed. They reflected the heavenly radiance that peeked from behind the heavy clouds. It was like looking at the full moon, yet with much clarity. But it wasn't the Moon that he witnessed that night.

It was Earth.

Above the abandoned city, above the lumbering danchi public housing towers, was the expansive presence of the planet Earth that stretched over one end of the horizon to the other like a gigantic upside-down arch. Its oceans and seas were azure in color, its swirling clouds were white and ivory. There were patches of deep jungle green and several brown variations. Island chains were presented in all of their glory between the two continents. Needless to say, the panorama made the teenager's jaw drop.

"Nani... Nanikore?" sputtered the boy as he stood exhausted on the empty street. Around him were different glimmers from wrecked cars. It was as if a bomb just went off there.

The teenager held his right arm up, deliberately blocking the brightness of the overhanging Earth with the silhouette of his hand. For a moment, he played with the shadows made by the fingers before the entire view was completely darkened.

A figure stood before him. Not a man, not even a human. But a towering monster, unlike anything he had seen before. At a first glance, it looked like an enormous gorilla that was completely covered with armor plating. Its arms were disproportionately long with heavy ends and a series of sharp blades protruding from the sides. There were also large insect leg-like structures that jut out from basically everywhere from its body. Where the head should be was another, smaller humanoid figure attached to the main body.

The teenager heard the monster speak in an unintelligible voice. He also saw the creature's massive arm swing toward him for the deadly smite. More of the anomalous Earth vista was eclipsed.

There was an impact. There was a shockwave that radiated out in a blink of an eye. Raindrops were washed away. The six-wheeler cars were wrecked by the incredible air pressure. Windows and street lamps were shattered. The intense gush of wind struck the dazed teenager.

"Nice way to make yourself a seating duck, Rei-chan!" complained the nearby feminine voice.

The teenager glanced. To his right, a female warrior clad in obsidian armor was holding her weapon against the monster's massive fist. The drill-bladed sword spun at supersonic speed, glowing with a crimson energy signature that acted as a shield against the creature's attack. There were screeching noises as the two immovable objects collided. Their conflict only brought out another equally-powerful shockwave that made the teenager take a step back.

The warrior girl's helmet looked at him. No facial features were revealed by the tiger-themed protector, but it was clear that the wearer was furious. "Gogatsu Riamu, snap out of it!"

The humanoid upper body of the monster moved. It seemingly noticed the boy. It spoke again in a strange voice before his left arm began to change. Its armor began to bloat out. New insect legs began to spring from beneath the heavy plates, each ending with stalactite sharpness. Then, the monster swung the arm as it changed into a whip from hell.