Author's Note
For reference.
Into the Chromasphere
Scootaloo booted up the desktop in her room. After playing through the old Final Fantasy series, she'd taken a break from gaming to focus on other things. By the time her birthday came around, her aunts had purchased a new title she'd been waiting on since its announcement. She looked over the features on the back of the case. The screenshots were reminiscent of a more down to earth Kingdom Hearts entry. Instead of keyblades, the main character preferred swords. Her fighting stance was exactly the same as Riku's in Kingdom Hearts 2, though hers appeared much faster and more aggressive. Where the games differed was the mechanics. There were four fleshed out story campaigns for each character with customization based on their gear and fighting styles. The advertising boasted a unique soundtrack and original story unlike anything before.
"I wonder why it was so cheap. Hopefully it's decent."
Scootaloo inserted the disc in her PC's CD drive. She unraveled her controller, plugging it into the tower's USB port. After a brief installation, the screen went dark. Scootaloo rolled her eyes.
"Why do companies always have to open up with their logos? We saw it on the case already."
After wading through a tirade of corporate imagery, the title screen finally appeared. The art displayed a futuristic city in the fictional land of Kansas.
"The music sounds like the choir effect from Saved by Grace. Wonder if the devs are into metal. Huh."
Scootaloo pressed the start button. She was presented with the standard options: New Game, Load, and Settings.
"Better check the options menu. Don't wanna have to restart."
She found the volume and control options relatively quickly, adjusting them to her liking. There was an option for subtitles, but she decided to leave them off.
"I should probably plug in my earbuds."
After making her final preparations, Scootaloo returned to the main menu. There were four difficulties to choose from: Human, Machine, Cyborg, and Angel.
"Wonder if there's any cheats posted yet."
She minimized the window, opening her browser. There were codes for max stats, max items, ultimate equipment, and unlocking all four stories at the beginning of the game.
"I'll save these for later."
She started the game on Angel difficulty.
The story began in the home of the protagonist: a young woman named Alvera Cenotaph. Upon her awakening, Scootaloo assumed control. She accessed the saved point south of the bed and checked the terminal to the north. She was introduced to the crafting and reinforcement system. Not only could she create new weapons using black market parts, but she could power up those weapons even further. She couldn't wait to see the other weapons. Until then, she decided to explore further. A cutscene began once she left the room.
"Well, I can tell she's a grown-up."
Alvera prepared a pot of coffee. She turned on the news. It appeared the new-model robots designed by the X-Tech corporation were going berserk. A name entry screen appeared. The level of detail resembled a real photograph.
"What should I name her?"
Scootaloo scratched her head.
"Aha! I got it."
She replaced Alvera's name with Mary: her mother's eastern translation. Mary changed into her clothes, retrieving her starter sword. The sword itself was modeled after a fantasy weapon: a cursed blade with a skull and bat-wing handle.
"Yep. They're definitely into metal."
Outside, the music became more energetic. It maintained its angelic song while simultaneously adding electronic drums.
"For some reason, I wanna watch Ginger Snaps now."
Halfway to her destination, another cutscene began. It was an advertisement from X-Tech touting the abilities of their new robot line.
"Classic corporate greed."
Scootaloo continued on until she reached the first battle with X-Tech's maniacal machines. She read carefully through the tutorial.
"Her teleportation power works like Vergil's darkslayer style in Devil May Cry. It should make avoiding enemies a lot easier."
To Scootaloo's delight, Mary's power was even more effective than Vergil's. The direction of her disappearance could be controlled by locking on to her opponent and tilting the stick in any direction. Scootaloo noticed two meters in addition to her health bar: one to the left and one below.
"If the bottom's EXP, what's the left one?"
Her question was answered the moment the bar filled. As it turned out, there were a number of special attacks she could unlock throughout the game. For now, the standard special was Angel Dive - a swift lunge which encapsulated Mary in a bright orange light.
"Sweet. There's I-frames."
Scootaloo quickly dispatched of the mechanical monstrosities. Mary teleported away.
"So far, so good. Hopefully the story picks up soon."
When she returned home, Mary was met with a strange man she'd never seen before. Scootaloo stuck with his default name, Jason Kurtis. He'd traveled a long way from his home state to find Mary. Apparently a monster was stalking people and attacking them during the night. Jason came to find her after hearing rumors of a girl fighting robots in the city. Mary agreed to help him dispose of said monster. Scootaloo was given free reign to prepare for the next mission. She returned to town and purchased several healing items from the previously blocked store.
"More robots. I should grind before we leave the area."
Scootalo ground to level 5 before moving on with the story. Jason told Mary where the monster would likely be that night. The pair waited in the park until dark. The monster turned out not to be a monster at all. It was a mechanical dog. Mary and Jason chased it into the sewers.
"Adding some horror influence. I like it."
Scootaloo searched high and low for treasure, fighting deadly animals and pillaging every nook and cranny she could reach. After what felt like hours, she finally confronted the boss.
"End of the line, bozo."
The fight lasted longer than expected due to Scootaloo's low level, but she ultimately emerged victorious. Once they escaped the sewers, Jason offered to let Mary stay at his place for the night. She graciously accepted. Even with her immense power, she wasn't used to fighting this long. This was a sign she needed to up the ante with her training. The real story was about to begin.
Into the Chromasphere (Part 2)
As the story progressed, Scootaloo learned about Mary's origins. She'd apparently been born with a mutation resulting in an overabundance of ACTN-3, otherwise known as the speed gene. Somewhere between the end of middle school and the beginning of high school, she discovered her powers. The next line intrigued Scootaloo even more. The design of X-Tech's original line stemmed from a discovery made by her old friend, Noah Parker. When Noah was fifteen, he refined the formula for iron and black carbon steel, combining the metals to create a brand new material - Exorioum.
"So X-Tech stole Noah's Exorium sample after he refused their negotiations. No wonder the robots are going haywire. They have no idea how to use it."
Mary returned home after spending the night at Jason's. They agreed to train together and track Noah down outside the city. They learned the robots' joints were thin enough to be destroyed with enough force. Mary's speed and Jason's street fighting style proved particularly effective for the situation. The screen went dark a second time.
When the game resumed, six years had passed. Mary and Jason were now happily married with two children: Ian and Ashley. Like their parents, the children were trained to defend the world against X-Tech's stolen machines, bringing Scootaloo's party to a full total of four. For the third mission, she was instructed to investigate an outbreak in the north pole. Before that, though, she crafted new gear and restocked her supplies.
"It's almost dinnertime. Better go back and saved."
Scootaloo recorded her progress before shutting down the game.
Later that night, Scootaloo completed the third mission, rescuing the scientists trapped in the chaos. Unbeknownst to her, she was already close to the end of the game. From here, only two missions remained...
