Author's Notes: What you are about to read is the origin story of my latest adopted character. It is written in a simplified version of what I like to call "script-fic" format, and throughout will contain links to musical cues and visual aids that I claim no right to. I'd also like to mention that a lot of the action and dialog here is written minimalistically, since I am aiming to have the aforementioned music cues work the imagination of the reader into filling in all the blanks.

-The tale begins simply with a reverse fade from darkness to light and the playing of ''Creep'' by Scala & Kolacny Brothers. The scenery that is illuminated as a result is a harsh one; a desert with craggy rocks and endless dunes of sand all in the process of being buffeted by a harsh wind. The camera maintains position for roughly a quarter of a minute until two figures emerge from the gloom, wrapped in multiple layers of protective coverings. The one on the right side of the screen appears to be shorter than the one on the left which, as the storm eases, can be discerned as a camel carrying its master's belongings. For roughly five minutes of camera time the focus is entirely upon this couple as they navigate over dunes, between craggy spires of rock and through narrow canyons, with each transition being marked by a dissolve that brings with it time dilation. There is even one instance where the pair are seen huddled inside a hastily put together shelter, braving the harsh winds atop a cliff face overlooking a valley of even more sand that stretches into the distance. The music ends following the transition from this scene that takes place the next day to this scene (with the figure on the left represented by the traveler's camel).-

-After taking several moments to survey his surroundings, the cloaked figure finally removes his balaclava and protective goggles, revealing him to be an aged Lee Tennyson who now looks up at the wreckage that he stands in the shadow of. From the massive slew of packs that he's strapped over the hump of his mount he withdraws a rifle, which he slings over his right shoulder, a pistol, which he sequesters beneath the layers of rag covering his person, and a flash light. He then pats the camel gingerly on the side and sets forth into the bowels of the ship through one of the many scar-like holes leading inside. Cue ''Eminence Front'' by The Who. This music is played out in its entirety over all other sound and during a second montage as Lee explores the ship and occasionally runs into trouble either through environmental instability or because of several different species of fauna that'd decided to take up residence inside the city-sized derelict.- (For a good idea of what certain portions of the interior look like, click here.)

-Once the music from the previous scene has ended, actual ambient sound returns to the world. We now find Lee in front of a massive blast door that he'd passed several times during the previous montage but however was unable to open it for one reason or another (i.e. lack of strength, lack of proper equipment, being chased by a giant bug, etc.). He pulls from out of his pocket a pair of key cards that he'd absconded with following his exploration of what was presumably the bridge of the vessel and, with comedic effort, manages to place them into the slots on either side of the door and turn them simultaneously, which causes said door to slowly rise upward with an ear-piercing cacophony of rusty metal grinding against more rusty metal. The interior of the chamber beyond is pitch black, and Lee's flash light does little to cut through the darkness. As he crosses the threshold, a brief cutaway shows him breaking the circuit of en electronic eye that was placed at ground level, and at once, all over the ship, eyes begin to light up inside the very walls themselves. After several minutes of failing to find the light switch, Lee becomes aware of the deck plates beneath his feet trembling, and that the air carried with it the sound of innumerable feet pounding across metal deck plating. Turning back toward the entrance to the chamber, Lee is greeted with the sight of countless robots storming down the hallway toward his position, all armed with a myriad of advanced looking weaponry.-

Lee: Oh COME ON!

-Cue ''Invaders Must Die'' by The Prodigy as, in slow motion, Lee sweeps his cloak back to reveal the rifle that he'd brought with him. At the same time all of the robots, in the process of coming to a halt, begin to raise their own weapons. At time index 00:28 time returns to normal and both parties open fire on one another at the same time, with Lee scoring several direct hits on several different opponents with what're revealed to be explosive rounds that do well to clear out a good couple dozen of the mechanized horde, allowing Lee to charge through the gap left behind. (Note: Lee hadn't used his rifle before up until this point, just his pistol.) Until the song ends the action focuses on Lee's attempts at weeding out the numbers with his admittedly piss-poor ballistics skill, with the results mimicking some of the funnier moments of the first episode of Trigun. In the end the music stops when Lee finds himself back inside the very same room in which this whole mess began, 'cept this time several inches of bullet proof glass separate him from the remaining robot guards. As well the room is now illuminated thanks to a stray shot from one of the robots chasing Lee into the room literally flicking the light switch into the 'ON' position.-

-With the third act and its musical accompaniment over, actual sound returns. Lee is panting and slumped behind an overturned desk while muffled gunshots, ricochets and the pounding of mechanical fists on glass can be heard faintly in the background. After several moments with which he uses to compose himself, Lee finally takes notice of his surroundings; a laboratory. Curious he gets to his feet and begins to go over the room, not stopping until he literally stumbles across a very different looking automaton that shares looks with Kireek from Sega's Phantasy Star Online sprawled across the floor. (...)-

Lee: Nothing ventured, nothing gained...

(I apologize to the readers for the sudden glossing over of the story, but you have no idea how long I've just sat here trying to figure out just how to describe Lee's discovering of a mysterious watch-like device that, when activated, encompasses him inside a set of technorganic armor that bears striking similarities to the aforementioned Kireek. The initial transformation, however, is almost identical to this, with the exception that Lee has no idea what's going on throughout the "installation procedure" and that something like this follows almost immediately afterward as the armor's systems come online. I may come back at some point in the future, but for now please just enjoy what's here.)

-Looking through Lee's eyes, the audience watches him stumble about the laboratory, obviously disoriented, until he finds a mirror, in which he sees what appears to be an anthropomorphic fox of cybernetic make and roughly his own height staring back at him.-

Lee: What... What is this? What's happened to me?

(The AI voice that follows Lee's inquiry tells him that he has been bonded with a super-powered exoskeleton that is essentially an amalgamation of an Orbital Frame and the Manus armor from Genndy Tartakovsky's animated television series Sym-Bionic Titan called an Animus Frame that contours to and subsequently enhances the genus of the wearer; in this case a male fox. The AI and thus the suit itself then identifies itself as AF-01-A7 "Briareos".)

-Throughout the conversation the camera, which had been briefly cutting back and forth between the Kireek look-a-like, suddenly focuses upon it completely as its eyes ignite and its head snaps toward Briareos' location in the room.-

Briareos: Warning! Energy spike detected! Proximity alert!

-Cue ''Menouthis'' by E.S. Posthumus as the audience, through Lee's HUD, whirls around just in time to be punched in the face by what is now clearly a second animus frame donned over a human body. Lee is sent flying through several walls and bulkheads before tucking into a roll and coming up into a kneeling position.-

(As before the fight lasts for the duration of the song, with all ambient and forefront sound extinguished in order for the music to do the storytelling. I promise that I will make an attempt to expand upon this segment soon, but for now I will give you a gist of what happens: For the first minute the two frames battle inside the vessel, for the second they battle in the night sky above it, for the third they take off into the canyons outlying the valley and for the final minute the fighting takes place between a now heavily damaged Briareos and its sibling until a lucky punch manages to deactivate the armor at the last second, allowing an emaciated human corpse to collide with Lee as opposed to a death blow. Once the music ends and the star is able to use his voice properly once again, Lee asks Briareos just what that was all about. Briareos admits that its data is insufficient to answer that question, but that their opponent had been an "unfettered" AF-02-A7 "Menouthis". At this time the sun crests the horizon, prompting another dissolve that shows Lee leaving the area with a little something extra on his wrist, which in turn sets up it up for another dissolve that shows Menouthis' watch lying discarded in the sand, now quite clearly capable of reactivating again once another host presents itself.)

To Be Continued

Lee Tennyson © Yours Truly & Zipperface
Briareos © Yours Truly & Pollo-Chan