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The end starts early
Fighting it starts young
But the end is already old
And we shall be late





An alien invasion met with overwhelming human ferocity. Two hundred years ago, the world had briefly united to combat an oncoming menace, seen long in advance. With great minds and tireless work, great weapons of war were forged in anticipation of the superior civilization. When at last they touched down, their efforts were not in vain. For two months the world burned, but humanity had kept them as but embers. Victory was won, and few questioned the cost.

Surrounding massive defensive cannons, the new major cities of the world had phased out the old, rife with novel and powerful technology. In their fear, mankind continued its martial progress, never ceasing in its quest to raise greater and greater weapons of war. It was only when their old enemy resurfaced did they halt the machine.

The old enemy was themselves.

With the threat of self annihilation imminent, as it had been for many decades before, the nations of Earth agreed to cease the mad dash into the apocalypse. Progress slowed, but remained no less fervent for success and imagination. The world saw "true" peace once more, returning to old ways. But with the latent power of those organizations that had spearheaded the scientific sprints still alive and well, the structure of power remained irrevocably changed.



珊
瑚

Shanhu stands at the center of it all. A hulking city upon the sea. A grey cancer spreading over blue waves. Surfaced from the joint efforts of Pacific states, now the monarch of the wider world. Shanhu is the largest city on Earth, nestled at the center of the Pacific Ocean where it links greater Asia and North America with two massive transportation bridges. Once a mere rest stop for several nations transporting cargo at expedient rates, its focal point as a place to exchange ideas, and its intrinsic value as a technological marvel attracted more and more research centers. Eventually, to carry the weight of the rising population, Shanhu became more like an urban sprawl than a research outpost.

Now it is home to millions upon millions.

Massive blocky structures layer the city at its core, while spires pierce the skies at its skirts. Disk-like platforms, hoisted by trios of towers, glimmer with greenery amidst a skyline of silver and black, whereupon the world's elite tread peacefully. Dark and narrow streets spindle as an impossible web through the lower rungs, hiding Shanhu's despondent within. The city embodies stratification.

Not content to rule the world in its expected aspects, the city would inevitably serve as the vanguard of an even more powerful force to be born into the world.



From deep beneath the waves, a mysterious energy rose. At first chalked up to the remnants of a forgotten weapon, its effects would not long be dismissed. Shanhu's residents began to notice peculiar events in every corner of the city, from strange apparitions to the appearance of unusual characteristics in its newborn children. The word 'magic' touched the lips of every citizen, at every level of the city.

Indeed, something truly arcane now haunted Shanhu. To some it was a gift -supernatural powers graced the bodies of a lucky few. To others, it was an omen -creatures both malevolent and beneficial lurked among the populace. The force did not stop in Shanhu, either, continuing on to infect the wider world insidiously, without obvious notice. Some took it in stride, while others found only destruction in its touch. The North American west coast fell to catastrophe during this "Awakening", reduced to an abandoned ruin of its former self in a maelstrom of unknowable events. Only transportation, hailing from deeper within the Americas, ever pass though now.

So near to the source of these strange forces, Shanhu remains the "supernatural capital of the world", as if it weren't at the apex of everything else already. Numerous notable individuals rose and fell in the early days of the Awakening, but none ever surpassed the excellence and notoriety of a particular few.



The Final Five.

Once but part of the dime-a-dozen "heroes" of Shanhu, the Final Five became the greatest in the world after one fateful day. Rising from beneath the Pacific waters, entities of pure blackness, dubbed "Abyssals" came to rain obliteration upon Shanhu. Their impervious bodies seemed utterly undefeatable by countless heroes trying to save the city. None could halt their march until the Final Five stepped in. Miraculously, be it by the willpower in their hearts, or the nature of their abilities, they stemmed the tide and eventually defeated the Abyssals, banishing them to a place none yet know.

Since the days following, the members of the Final Five have disappeared, leaving the public to wonder what had truly happened to them. Had they abandoned their identities to live in peace? Did something more powerful spirit them away? Only their remnants -the caretakers, allies, and officials of the Final Five's inner circle- remained. But in their stead, five new heroes had taken up the mantles.

Jin-Sun Takeda
Tian-Gui Jian
Runa Yggdrasil
Iphigenia Courtlandt
Kyouko Hiruma


Five young upstarts followed in their stead, fighting against the ills of the city (and abroad) which yet remained.





After welcoming a certain young Kyouko Hiruma onto the team, the Final Five experienced their first taste of what an Abyssal could achieve. Rampaging through a highway, a strange mechanically-altered Abyssal was engaged by the five heroes and ultimately destroyed. In its wake, a strange black orb was left, which they secured before moving on to a mission delving beneath Shanhu.

A research facility, hidden beneath the waves, was to be investigated for its apparent relation to the modified Abyssal. Within, they discovered a ghost town, eerily devoid of scientists and guards alike. What they found instead, was an equally haunting entity of shadow that assailed them. It took their utmost effort to deter the otherworldly entity, but they came out in one piece.

Returning to the Final Five's humble headquarters, the team enjoyed a pleasant dinner, and a not-so-chance encounter with three young women -the heirs of the Thremont Corporation. When an alert was made of an intrusion into the Final Five headquarters, the team rushed back to find the penthouse under attack by an unknown force, only to quickly realize that the Thremonts themselves were the cause. In the violence, former member Ling was pronounced KIA.

Stealing the Abyssal orb they had recovered earlier that day, the Final Five regrouped, planning to retrieve the mysterious but clearly important object.




With the Final Five reduced to four, John Cornell sought to fill in the spot. A cyborg mercenary by the name of Jin-Sun was recruited, and after partaking in a discrete side-mission, he quickly proved himself a formidable replacement.

A new 'Operation Cerberus' was to commence, ultimately seeking to retrieve the Abyssal Orb from the Thremont Sisters. By infiltrating their company -Heavyware- in Japan, they would accost the sisters, and find out where they could get the orb.

Their mission was initially easy-going, using disguised cover to enter the massive megafactory. When their cover was blown, they went loud. Meanwhile, Jin-Sun uncovered a massive aerial fleet being constructed within the factory, and fended off a cyborg attack.

All too late, the Final Five reached Valentine Thremont in an office, before she disappeared in a flash of light. Thanks to Tian-Gui's utter defensive ability, the group was spared from the impact of a massive cannon's projectile, mercilessly aimed at the building they were in.

The fleet that the Thremonts had constructed rose to life, becoming the greatest flying armada the world had ever witnessed. What's more, it appeared its flagship featured and impenetrable shield. Impenetrable, except by a single method...




To get inside the bubble shield surrounding the sky fleet's flagship, the Final Five would have to make a round trip to Mars and back, utilizing older tachyon technology. The group prepared for their first ever space flight, and boarded the Styx Accelerator.

On their way through tachyonic space, their shuttle was assaulted by an old friend; the strange shadow entity that had attacked them in the subaquatic facility. They defeated it once more, and reached the Mars facility. There, they found a strange temporal anomaly had gripped its halls, which Kyouko managed to unwind, ultimately freeing a familiar face...

Gigakill, the mechanical member of the original Five, had appeared to have been stuck on Mars all this time due to the anomaly. Together, the current Five and Gigakill faced down the original reason he had come to Mars:

A massive Abyssal stood upon the red planet's surface, and was preparing an apocalyptic strike against the Earth for years, still in the midst of charging. With everything they had, the Final Five felled the gargantuan Abyssal, saving the Earth, but annihilating the Martian facility in the process. Gigakill gave final farewells before his form disappeared in light, leaving the Five to wonder where he might be found next.




Using the Styx Accelerator to return to Earth, the shuttle found itself hurtling through the atmosphere inside of the skyfleet's shield. As they exited mid flight, a battle of epic proportions transpired through the sky. The Final Five wore down the fleets ability to fight back, culminating in a battle against Mary Thremont as she piloted a bleeding-edge mecha to combat them.

In the end, the team successfully breached the flagship, and wound their way through the mazelike interior. Tian-Gui and Kyouko battled against Valentine Thremont, who bore a strange technology to her suit, affording her the ability to fight toe-to-toe against two heroes. She too, was inevitably defeated, lying helpless upon the cold ground.

Once the group gathered inside the flagship, they reached the pinnacle, and found none other than the Thremont's head himself. Above them, the Abyssal orb they sought after seemed to be used for powering the flagship, and possibly even the entire fleet itself. After a brief exchange of values and intentions, the parties fell into mortal combat. The greatest foe they had ever faced nearly laid waste to the Final Five, but with an unexpected and unknown ally pouring their power into them, they triumphed.

In the aftermath of the battle, the fleet was destroyed, Thremont was killed, and the world rejoiced. An unstoppable tyrannical force had been vanquished, and the Final Five of the day were catapulted into worldwide stardom.