Prologue

The sky was leaden gray. Waves crashed in the distance. Unadorned crosses stood in rows in a graveyard on the shore near Portsmouth.

Teletha Testarossa was there, alone among the silent dead. She held two bouquets of red flowers in her arms, and the North Atlantic winds of January stung her cheeks as she walked. She knew just where she was going. I’m almost there, she thought. See?

Tessa’s final destination was a pair of crosses that stood side by side, intimate in their proximity. Inscribed on them were the names and dates of death of each of her parents. She stopped there, knelt, and laid a bouquet on each grave.

They’d been gone six years to the day, now. It felt like forever, and like no time at all. So much had happened since then, and so many things had changed. There was no more happy family time now. No one with whom she could casually share the incredible things she had learned. And the townspeople who had once greeted her every day, full of smiles... she would probably never see them again, either.

Yes, there was no going back. She was no longer the little girl who would cling to her twin brother and cry. She had no one left to turn to now. The gears of history, once thrown off their tracks, could never be restored.

With power came responsibility. That was why she had chosen to fight... even though she still didn’t know if she could really save anything.

She heard a soft voice behind her. “What a surprise.” A young man was standing among the graves. He had wavy gray hair and quiet eyes the color of a mountain spring. The man—Leonard Testarossa—was also carrying a pair of bouquets. “You really did come.”

“I’m surprised to see you here, as well,” Tessa responded, though her face showed no real sign of surprise. “I didn’t think you even remembered our parents.”

“But of course I do. That’s just the problem.” Leonard smiled innocently. “You’ve grown, Teletha. You’ve become much stronger and even more beautiful. I suppose the time you’ve spent with your little toy submarine has been good for you.”

“Yes, very.” Tessa turned her eyes away, and smiled. “I’ve lost many good men and women. I would be dishonoring their memories if I didn’t even try to learn from it.”

“The dead don’t care if you honor them.”

“If that’s true,” she asked, “then why did you come here?”

“I wanted to talk to you,” Leonard admitted. “And... I thought it would be my best chance to take you back with me.”

“That won’t happen. Because...” The silver-haired girl put a hand to the scarf around her neck and slowly unwound it. The wind caught its tail, causing it to flutter. “You’re now my enemy, Big Brother.”

An instant later, the air behind her began to waver. Points of pale blue light sprang into being, hovered and danced. From thin air, a white AS seemed to spill into existence: the ARX-7 Arbalest. The machine, having disengaged its ECS, remained kneeling, and pointed its shotcannon muzzle straight at Leonard.

But in that same second, Leonard elegantly moved his right hand, looking like a conductor leading a waltz. The exact same phenomenon played out behind him; wreathed in sparks of electricity, a red AS appeared out of nowhere: a Venom.

It was as if they’d each pulled a gun on the other. The wind blew cold around them: the two siblings, each with a giant at their service.

Eventually, Leonard chuckled. “I see, you came prepared. Then... let’s call it off for today. I wouldn’t want to taint your precious respect for the dead.” The Venom kept its gun carefully leveled as it proffered its open hand to Leonard. Leonard stepped into it, and sat down in the AS’s hand with a practiced motion. “Farewell, Teletha. And Teletha’s friend.”

The Venom rose to its feet.

Tessa shouted into the swirling wind. “This is my last warning! Stop helping them!”

“Teletha,” he replied. “You’re the one who should abandon that motley crew of yours.”

“I’ll never let you have your way,” she retorted.

“I’m leaving my bouquets. Place them, if you would.” As the Venom withdrew, it activated its ECS. There was a rush of wind and dust, followed by a flash and a jolt. The enemy was gone. She could hear its drive system fading into the distance.

Tessa and the Arbalest were alone in the graveyard.

“Colonel, ma’am. Were you injured?” At last, the monotone voice of the white AS’s operator, Sagara Sousuke, rang out from its external speakers.

Grave markers had been strewn about and toppled. Tessa picked up the two bouquets that Leonard had intentionally dropped nearby and whispered listlessly, “No... I’m fine. Let’s withdraw. Call the helicopter.”