The Flavros Project

For the superweapon of the same name, see Flavros Project

The Flavros Project
Date	??
Location(s)	Theia San Earendel Star The Loom of Fate
Characters
Lazuli Sapphire Sakura Diamond-1 Diamond-2 Clotho Daniel Peridot Black Opal Isla Amesidian Samekh Earendel Ariadne Wisteria

"The Flavros Project" is the eighth book and tenth major plot arc in the Ascendancy saga. Set a few months after "The World Machine", it follows Sapphire, Ruby, Lazuli, Isla, Sakura, Daniel, Peridot, Diamond 1 and 2 and Clotho as they discover and thwart the activation of a gargantuan superweapon known as the Flavros Project.

Plot

Premise

Synopsis

Ariadne, a professor of philosophy at the Sothro Institute, discovers that the appearance of new novae in the night sky pertains to a horoscope sketch she was studying, and correctly deduces the identity of the Three Fates of destiny. Just as she solves this, she is transported to a realm outside of existence which holds the Loom of Fate - a device used by the fates to weave past, present and future. Her sudden appearance startles the present fate Clotho, who is the only one remaining, causing the two to swap bodies and Clotho appearing at the Sothro Institute.

Daniel and Peridot stand at the blast door that descends deeper into the TERAPRO cavern, recalling that even Carbonado is unaware of what lurks beneath them. Using the access codes that he left them, they explore the original TERAPRO facility, discovering a Kaphi nursery. Peridot realises that the nurseries look as if Diamonds have recently emerged from them, compelling them to explore further. Finding another blast door, Peridot spots Amesidian - a vilified gem, and Carbonado's mentor. The two witness the birth of a new diamond only to see them promptly seized by guards and dragged past the blast door. Before they can investigate, they are held back by two diamonds, who reveal themselves as the unfused Carbonado. They explain that although Carbonado did indeed die in his body, their memories lingered from before Carbonado was "born", and thus do not share Carbonado's memories. They reveal the "Flavros Project": Amesidian is harvesting diamonds in an effort to subvert a well-known Kaphi prophecy involving the inversion of fate, although they are unsure of what this entails. Seeking their help, the Diamonds tell Daniel and Peridot to regroup with them and their friends at the main facility in three days. As a Kaphi, Peridot is deeply affected by the mention of the prophecy, and suggests that they contact Isla - an old benefactor of the other gems - despite her ties to the SDS.

Daniel and Peridot are introduced to Isla who arrives in a digiverse prism, who reveals she is already aware of the Flavros Project. She explains that she took Carbonado's corpse and brought Diamond-1 and Diamond-2 back to life as to not squander her investment, and has been co-operating with the Diamonds to unilaterally investigate Amesidian, fearing that the SDS would not react appropriately. She reveals that the prophecy that Amesidian has been preparing to tackle is already occurring, and that SDS intelligence has given her reason to believe the "present fate" is already on Theia. They learn that Amesidian is trying to "usurp" fate, leading them to believe she is trying to establish three new fates to control time. Peridot realises the connection that the Project has to the World Machine - Cormac's attempt to do exactly that. Isla corroborates this with Andrei's testimony of the Loom of Fate to everyone's surprise, and Daniel suggests that Amesidian's plan is to kill all three fates. The three agree that the present fate must be found, and her life preserved. Meanwhile Clovis, the administrator of TERAPRO, assassinates the present of Iujadogia under Amesidian's manipulation.

Lazuli, Sapphire, and the Diamonds arrive in the dormitories for the meeting. Sapphire takes an immediate disdain to Isla, mocking her for having given them the same treatment after the digiverse singularity was averted. After briefing everyone on the plan, Daniel and Peridot surmise that Amesidian may have been behind the World Machine as well, but are puzzled as to why she would run both projects at the same time if one was destined to fail. Suddenly, the PA system in TERAPRO announces an imminent lockdown and a declaration of independence from Iujadogia. Fearing that Amesidian and engineers of the Project have infiltrated TERAPRO, they rush to escape through the teleporter. A fight breaks out in the teleporter labs, and Sapphire successfully connects Isla with the computer network of the facility. Isla attempts to slow down the attacking guards by creating a bomb scare in the central core. They set the destination to Kaphi as they believe Black Opal's cooperation is integral to stopping Amesidian. They handle the onslaught and get in the teleporter just as everyone regroups. Just before they teleport, they see Amesidian emerge at the airlock, confirming their suspicions.

They arrive in Kaphi, and Sapphire suggests that the group first try to locate their old friend Samnsonite. They find a body in Samnsonite's tank, but are shocked to pull out the body of a young woman, who reveals herself to be the present fate - Clotho. The group tell Clotho about Amesidian's plan, but are puzzled when Clotho says Amesidian's plan is doomed to fail as Ariadne has supplanted her as the present fate. She says that they must go back to the Sothro Institute where she first appeared to find answers. Meanwhile, at the Flavros Project, Amesidian shows Clovis the machine that she plans to use to usurp fate - using the innate power of the diamonds she harvests as an energy focus. Clovis inquires as to what Amesidian plans to do, but she does not answer.

Arriving at the Sothro Institute, the group look at the horoscope sketch that Ariadne used to decode the three fates' identities. Citing the novae, Daniel suggests that the Flavros Project is designed to disrupt the energy flows that power the Loom of Fate. They deduce that the existence of the Flavros Project means that Earendel and Minerva are still alive, and that the sketch can be used to locate them and safeguard them from Amesidian. Sapphire requests the assistance of Sakura, who in turn summons the help of the Gensokyo Space Fleet to help them travel to the tangible points of the diagram. On board the flagship Mandragora, Clotho experiences visions of Ariadne disturbing her at the Loom, which was what caused them to swap places. Passing out, she is awoken to find Peridot replaced with someone she doesn't know, and fears that Ariadne is tampering with the Loom in ways she does not know. Furthermore, anticipating a long journey to the Earendel Star, Clotho is shocked to discover that they have already arrived, further rousing her suspicions, but she does not disclose this to her friends.

The group arrive at the Earendel space station, and split up to search for Earendel. Clotho confides in Sapphire about her muddled perception of time, and experiences another vision of Ariadne. In the vision, she sees a flash of light on the Loom that corresponds to the Alpha Sol system, and Ariadne warning her that the Project is complete. Returning to reality, she is knocked off of her feet as the space station begins to shake. Clotho suddenly realises that the search for the missing fates was completely unnecessary and that the group had been misled about the true nature of the Flavros Project. Amesidian's face flashes up on monitors around the space station and speaks to the group. She reveals that the Kaphi prophecy was revealed to her as a child, and that her mission since then was indeed to usurp fate and do what her protégé could never have done. Suddenly, a blue flash of light near the star appears and a laser emerges from it, blowing up the star and nearly killing the entire group. They are rescued by Earendel and brought to the planet San, albeit having to be treated for extensive injuries. Clotho is happy to see Earendel but confused about why she was wrong about Amesidian's plan. Earendel reveals that Clotho should have trusted her judgement about Amesidian's ability to "usurp" fate, explaining about how it was a misleading metaphor. The Flavros Project is actually an extremely powerful and concealed superweapon that Amesidian is now prepared to use to conquer the universe, but given the apparent survival of the group, cannot use just yet as to not compromise the location of the Project.

Sakura arrives on San and visits Clotho, explaining how she attempted to infiltrate the Project only to find TERAPRO completely sealed from the outside world. Earendel is hiding the group within the city of Solanta, which has an exact digiverse copy of itself. The group feels defeated and does not know what to do to prevent the Project being used. Entering the digiverse, Clotho explores the city, only to be confronted by Sakura's elder sister Wisteria, who initially appears in her disguise as Aldren and Alana. Wisteria explains that Solanta was where she escaped to after the Miyaki Project. She also explains the nature of the digiverse, her true role in the Miyaki Project, and the partial responsibility she feels for the current state of affairs. Clotho feels disdain for how Wisteria treated Sakura, but nonetheless is thankful for her protection against Amesidian. Clotho reassembles with the rest of the group to discuss how to tackle the Project. Sapphire explains that a policy of assured destruction is how Amesidian intends to "usurp" fate, and Diamond-1 emphasises that as long as they remain hidden Amesidian is restricted in what she can do. Isla shocks the group by suggesting a surprise attack on the Project by baiting Amesidian to use it against them and infiltrate it through the portal that carries the superweapon laser. Sakura objects, suggesting that no ship existing could withstand a star-destroying laser, but Clotho suggests that a digiverse prism could. Isla explains that the bait could be laid using the Genian fleet, which further discourages the group from the plan, but ultimately they agree as no one else has an idea.

Earendel informs them that a sector sweep of the planet is occurring and that Amesidian has almost found them. Isla remarks that it is the perfect time to alert Amesidian to their presence. She asks for their utmost trust, given that she is a computer and that she has run the maths. As they prepare to leave, Clotho experiences another vision after realising Peridot has returned to normal, and notes to herself that even if the Flavros Project has nothing to do with the Loom of Fate, the latter is still an issue of significance. The group boards Earendel's personal shuttle and only barely escapes San, crash-landing into the Mandragora's hangar. The fleet, having been pre-warned of Isla's plan, uses the warp drive to reach the planned "rendezvous point" with Amesidian, although without any explanation as to its significance. The PA system on board announces a period of maintenance, which quells any suspicions among the crew and allows the group to leave the Mandragora on a new shuttle. The group enter the digiverse using a prism on board the ship and watch the actions unfold on a live camera feed. Isla, piloting the shuttle, spots a scout ship, and notes that the plan is working. The group see the power go out on the Mandragora and a purple glow emit from its windows, deducing that Amesidian has made contact with the fleet to taunt them before what she believes is their inevitable death at the hands of the Project. As the shuttle flies away from the fleet, the portal to the Project opens and Isla increases power to the engines. Amesidian prepares to fire on the fleet, but it is too late to realise she has been tricked - Isla positioned the Genian fleet so that the superlaser would travel across the galaxy and strike Theia, thereby ensuring the Project's self-destruction. As Amesidian desperately tries to abort the attempt, which results in the laser being shut down, the shuttle enters the portal through to the ceiling of the Flavros Project and crash-lands into the laser emitter, severely damaging it but not destroying it.

Now back on track, Sakura exits the digiverse and takes a glimpse of the Flavros Project before picking up the prism and escaping. She reaches sub-level 3, and the group exits the digiverse. Sakura tells them that TERAPRO has descended into chaos, and reaching the surface to call for reinforcements will be impossible unless they quell it. Sakura brings Clotho, the Diamonds, and the digital Isla back up to TERAPRO proper, while Daniel, Sapphire, Lazuli, Earendel and Peridot stay in sub-level 3. Sakura and her group reach the facility to find it still under lockdown, and devise a plan to infiltrate the facility and lift the lockdown. Not far into their incursion, they are spotted by guards and head to the teleporter labs for safety, leaving Clotho behind. To their surprise, they hear the teleporter preparing to be used, and discover Amesidian on the platform. Amesidian and Sakura engage in a brief duel while the Diamonds battle their way into the control room. Sakura is knocked down into the teleporter, and fearing for her life, the Diamonds initiate the teleporter sequence, not knowing where she is headed. Amesidian taunts them for the futile attempt to save her, and in a panic Diamond-1 throws the digiverse prism at Sakura, hoping she can get inside to protect her from where she might end up. To everyone's shock, the teleporter malfunctions catastrophically, opening a chaos rift between TERAPRO and the teleporter's destination - Narakam. Before Sakura can enter the digiverse, she is teleported to Narakam as portals from the other world appear across TERAPRO, spewing lava, pumice, and alien life into the facility. Back in sub-level 3, Daniel's group notices the disturbance and panic when they spot lava pouring onto their hideout. Diamond-2's quick thinking shuts down the teleporter using Isla's hacking skills, but it is too late to close the chaos rift. Isla remains in the system to try and contain the disaster while the Diamonds escape to look for Clotho.

In Clovis' office, Amesidian scolds him for losing control over the facility, but pleads with him desperately to do his best to contain the disaster and keep TERAPRO from falling into enemy hands - more importantly, to prevent the lockdown from failing. Clovis is suddenly enveloped by a portal caused by the chaos rift and disappears into Narakam, leaving Amesidian to commandeer the post of Administrator to attempt to rally the defence of TERAPRO. Regrouping with Isla's digital conscience, Clotho and the Diamonds try to escape to the surface, but they too are teleported to Narakam, appearing in the Vannakaram research facility where the guards attempt to kill them. Realising that Amesidian has infiltrated other research centres, they decide to broadcast a message exposing the Flavros Project, which is now possible given that the Project is damaged and cannot be activated in retaliation. They successfully warn Gensokyo's military command of the Flavros Project and the chaos rift in TERAPRO, urging the need for reinforcements to fight their way through the facility and expose the Flavros Project to a head-on attack. They head to Vannakaram's teleporter to return to Theia, but are stopped by Samekh, who previously worked to guard the World Machine. Seizing them, Samekh attempts to use the teleporter to send them to somewhere where they will certainly die, but is stopped by Sakura who returns. Engaging in combat, Sakura realises that Samekh's combat ability is near-identical to Amesidian and realises that Samekh and Amesidian are twins. Sakura enters a fit of nervous rage, fearing that the two could potentially fuse into an unstoppable entity. Unable to stop them now, Samekh escapes as Sakura rescues Clotho and the Diamonds from death by reconfiguring the teleporter to return to Theia with them.

Sakura, Clotho, and the Diamonds return to TERAPRO's entrance on the surface to find that reinforcements have already begun to break TERAPRO's blockade, while Clotho has another vision where she pleads Ariadne to stop what she is doing, having lost her perception of time. Clotho says that it is too unsafe to regroup with the others because of the chaos rift, and suggests travelling to Yata to use the teleporter at Asolab to transport a strike team to the Flavros Project. The group ultimately decide to return to Kaphi once more and seek out Black Opal again. Arriving there, they find Black Opal, who fears Amesidian cannot be stopped, feeling sorry for having lost control over the Kaphi. Black Opal concurs Sakura's fears that Samekh is Amesidian's twin, and that if the two were to fuse they could not be defeated. The group try to convince Black Opal to break his defeatist attitude, finally doing so when Diamond-2 suggests the use of the Sceptre of Discernment to definitively kill Amesidian. Black Opal elaborates that it is an ancient relic of Kaphi origin used traditionally for executions, but was hidden by Carbonado on his orders when the death penalty was retired. Since Carbonado is dead, no one knows the location of it, but Diamond-2 suggests a risky maneuvre in which the two Diamonds fuse with Black Opal, hoping that the latter's resolve can withstand a corrupt fusion that can hopefully refuse the Diamonds into a stable form. In other words, it is a ploy to access Carbonado's memories. They decide to conduct the fusion, releasing so much energy that Clotho and Sakura are knocked out.

Back at TERAPRO, Amesidian falls deeper and deeper into despair, dissatisfied that the Genian incursion into TERAPRO is succeeding and that the Flavros Project is still not repaired. Daniel and his group watch from their hideout as Amesidian and her followers retreat past them back to the Flavros Project, and use security cameras to deduce that the blockade has been lifted and that they can return topside to regroup with the strike teams. This was a ruse to draw them out, however - as they attempt to return topside they are ambushed and captured by Amesidian. Clotho experiences another vision where she begs Ariadne to know why she has forsaken her, before she and Sakura wake up. Black Opal and the Diamonds have returned with the Sceptre of Discernment, and the group races back to TERAPRO for the final battle.

Daniel, Lazuli, Sapphire and Peridot reawaken in the control room of the Flavros Project, overlooking the superweapon. Sapphire questions where Earendel went, and Lazuli suggests he escaped and went to get help. Amesidian reveals she has a secret about Earendel, only to be interrupted by her guards informing her that the others have traversed TERAPRO and are closing in on the Flavros Project. She despairs, but claims that the Project is nearly ready to be used. Sakura, Clotho, the Diamonds and Black Opal arrive in the control room to confront Amesidian and they engage in combat. To their surprise, Amesidian unleashes a huge amount of energy that repels everyone against the walls, and they are powerless to move. She states that the Flavros Project is fully operational, and that it is now too late to stop them, activating the machine. Clotho has another vision of Ariadne, audibly calling out her name, to which Amesidian taunts her for still being stuck in the trap that she laid out concerning the prophecy and her metaphor for usurping fate. Earendel walks into the room unaffected by Amesidian's power, and Clotho is enraged thinking that he betrayed them. Amesidian reveals that Earendel's secret was that he foresaw the Prophecy, meaning that under his watch the Flavros Project was put into effect. Clotho lashes out at him for not averting it as his role as the future fate was to preserve the fabric of reality. There is a glitch in reality and many people in the room swap places; notably, Earendel assumes Amesidian's position at the controls of the Project. Clotho immediately links this to how she swapped with Ariadne, and her pleas for Earendel to stop the Project grow audibly glitched as the fabric of reality is slowly torn apart. As the distortion grows worse, Amesidian proclaims that Yata shall be marked for destruction with the superweapon.

Clotho has another vision, reappearing at the first moment she met Ariadne, except this time, she experiences her past in the third person. Powerless to prevent her past self from being disturbed, she desperately yells to Ariadne to keep away from the Loom of Fate, and after much effort, Ariadne hears her pleas. Despite this, a supernatural force draws Ariadne closer to the Loom, and Clotho urges her stop the Project. Clotho realises that she is trapped in a time loop where Ariadne replaces her as the present fate, leaving her powerless to stop the Flavros Project. Clotho returns to reality as Amesidian prepares to fire on Yata, and weakly claims that it is too late for her to seize the universe. Amesidian dismisses her, and new glitches appear as a surge in elemental energy occurs. The Project unleashes the superlaser, which promptly destroys Yata instantly. The group watches in despair as Amesidian taunts them with the debris field of what once was a planet. She mocks Clotho, saying that she has finally usurped fate. Clotho has one last vision of Ariadne at the Loom, and realises that Ariadne is in her head because they are one in the same. Taking command over Ariadne at the Loom, she warps the present so that the events of the laser firing did not occur, causing Amesidian to lose control over everyone and dropping them on the floor. Clotho commands Ariadne to hold the laser until she has enough power to draw it back through the portal entirely. Sakura and Black Opal prepare to fight Amesidian once more as Clotho commands the rest of the group to retrieve a digiverse prism, which she claims is instrumental in destroying the Flavros Project. Earendel remains motionless in the corner of the room. Just as Black Opal and Sakura prepare to overwhelm Amesidian, Samekh enters the room, drawing Black Opal's attention and leaving Sakura to battle her alone.

The sustained flow of elemental energy begins corrupting reality again, and dead spirits began to appear across the room. Sakura sees Carbonado in the room, and Amesidian and Samekh use the distraction to fuse into an extremely powerful being, now known as Schadenfreude. Wisteria arrives on the scene, revealing herself to Sakura while also revealing her alter ego to be Sakura's employers Aldren and Alana. Before Sakura can fully understand that Wisteria had been pulling the strings for her all along, Wisteria embues her with traces of her old divine power that she lost at Anor Londo after the Divine Resurgence, giving Sakura the strength to take on Schadenfreude. As the two fight, Schadenfreude warns her of what destroying the Project will do, implying that even the Project alone is not enough to prevent what is yet to come. Sakura accuses her of insatiable greed, but Schadenfreude begins to convince Sakura of her idea. Schadenfreude suddenly disengages, remembering that the others left. Sakura chases her and tries to get to the group before she does, who are running across a catwalk back to the Project. Daniel is carrying what looks like a digiverse prism, and tells Sakura to catch it as he is going to throw it into the depths below to avoid it falling into Schadenfreude's hands. Sakura chases after the digiverse prism, only to discover that it is a crystal ball with the note "Sapphire has it" written on it. Realising that Daniel planned to deceive Schadenfreude, she races back to the catwalk only to see Daniel be brutally impaled and killed. She screams in horror, but knows that Daniel sacrificed his life so that Sakura could divert Schadenfreude's attention. She escapes, allowing the others to race back to the control centre with the real digiverse prism. Sakura, exhausted by the chase, and trusting in the others' success, allows herself to fall into the abyss and let Schadenfreude capture the crystal ball. Schadenfreude realises their deception, and race back to the Project just in time to see Sapphire hurl the digiverse prism into the laser, which Clotho has successfully drawn back through the portal. Clotho tells Ariadne to let go, causing the superlaser to unleash its full energy onto the digiverse prism, which causes a cataclysmic meltdown akin to the opening of the chaos rift. The Flavros Project is fully destroyed, and a distracted Schadenfreude is executed by Diamond-1 using the Sceptre of Discernment, killing both Amesidian and Samekh. The group escapes just as the superstructure of the Project collapses.

Watching from the bottom of the abyss, Sakura rejoices in the group's success, just as a mysterious figure beckons her to follow them deeper into the cave. The digiverse prism, full of the Flavros Project's energy, falls into the abyss, but not before another figure swoops from the walls of the cavern and catches it. The group reaches safety and celebrates their victory, but immediately questions whether Sakura lived. Wisteria appears and promises to explore where she went. A few days later, Isla, now back in her physical form, informs the Diamonds, Lazuli and Sapphire that they will be made part of TERAPRO's new board of directors; Clotho and Earendel embark on a new journey to find the third fate Minerva; and Black Opal and Samnsonite have been employed by TERAPRO too. Wisteria, on her journey to find Sakura, arrives at the bottom of the pit only to be beckoned by a mysterious figure to follow them. Hoping she will find Sakura, she goes deeper into the cave, only to fall through a portal that takes her back to Solanta. The guards pull her out of a fountain and are delighted to see their ruler return safe, and explain that someone wants to see her. Wisteria, expecting to find Sakura, is horrified to find her estranged mother - Camellia - in front of her.