Chapter 38 - Take It or Leave It
By fool_on_the_hill
That's him.
A gust of wind pulled at Dracule "Hawkeyes" Mihawk's cape ever so slightly before returning it to its proper position. He removed the pair of binoculars from his eyes and tugged at his beard.
He...is not what I imagined.
Mihawk looked through the binoculars once more. This John Sadar fellow was definitely not the warrior type. Or, he at least was not one who actively sought the thrill and challenge of a battle. He most likely was one who would only fight to protect someone other than himself. Mihawk knew all of this just from observing the man's stature and the way he carried himself. He was disappointed.
A waste of time, Mihawk let a small exasperated sigh escape his lips. He was about to put down the binoculars once more when something caught the corner of his eye. He quickly chased after it.
"A-ha..." A small smile crept onto his handsome face.
Located several blocks away from John Sadar, heading north, was a young man with a grass-top of a head and carrying not one, nor two, but three swords on his side. From the posture of his walk Mihawk knew this man was the same as him: One who loved to fight and sought only to improve himself in battle. Perhaps his time wouldn't be wasted after all.
He leapt from rooftop to rooftop, shadowing the man's steps. Once they reached a vacant lot, Mihawk landed on the ground. The young man was scratching his head, seemingly oblivious to his hunter's appearance.
"Hmm, now I'm sure this wasn't the way I came from. But, east is right on a map, so..."
"Lost, young man?"
The grass-head spun around, his hands instantly going to his swords.
"Good reaction," Mihawk nodded sagely. "You will be a most worthy opponent."
"Oh, is that so? Well, I'm always ready for a good fight, old man," the young man smirked.
"Dracule 'Hawkeyes' Mihawk."
"Roronoa Zoro."
"And now that we have introduced ourselves, come!" Mihawk reached behind his back and grabbed at his sword. Zoro charged.
John Sadar whipped his head around. He had the distinctive feeling he was being watched earlier, but now... There was no other sign of life in this end of the city. Snow fell languidly on the charred skeletal frames of the buildings that once crowded the area. The silence was deafening. A slight frown slid down his face.
The sudden blow of a freighter horn from the bay drew Sadar out of his revere.
Oh, that's right, the time... The man checked his watch; only half an hour had passed. I suppose it'll take the chief a little longer to find out.
He sighed. There was nothing to do but wait. The nagging feeling that someone had been watching while his back was turned still lingered.
"Emiri!"
Bang. Bang.
"Oy! I've brought you lunch! You hungry?"
Samson knocked on the door to Emiri's room once again. Still no answer.
"I'm opening the door now! If you're scantily clad, the answer is 'No, I'm not trying to take you to bed'! I'm just delivering food," Samson set the boxes of pizza on the floor.
"What was that about taking who to bed?"
Samson jumped nearly three feet in the air. He spun on his heels (nearly tripping over the pizza) to find a scrutinizing Clarice, hands placed very firmly on her hips, peering at him over the rim of her glasses. Samson let out a nervous laugh.
"Eh, nothing, nothing..."
"Uh-huh... Oh! Did you get lunch?" Clarice's mood picked up once she spotted the boxes. "I thought that Zoro guy was going on the food run?"
Samson knelt down and grabbed the food. He rubbed his temples. "He was. But, the guy's been gone for nearly an hour, so I decided to just do it myself."
"Huh, I wonder if he's alright...?"
Samson shrugged. "I think the guy can take care of himself. 'sides, I was glad to get some fresh air."
Clarice grabbed the top box of pizza and sauntered off. She sure knows how to put a man in his place, Samson thought idly. He turned around and twisted the knob of the door open.
"Emiri, pi..."
She was not there.
"...zza."
Where the heck is she?
A flash of silver sped towards Emiri's face. She barely ducked before the sword split her head open. The speed of her opponent's attacks was unbelievable.
"You cannot expect to evade all of my attacks for long," Byakuya Kuchiki remarked matter-of-factly. "Sooner or later, your stamina will begin to drop."
"Tch," Emiri wiped the sweat off her brow with her left arm. "So says you. I've barely done anything in this fight!"
"Indeed," Byakuya closed his eyes. "Want to know why?"
"I don't need to hear it!"
The long-haired Soul Reaper opened his eyes and cast an affronted glance at his opponent. "So be it."
Byakuya disappeared in a flash. Flash step again, eh? Emiri furrowed her brows. She had to be weary of the man's first strike; she could never spot him until the last possible second.
A sudden rush of wind let Emiri know Byakuya was inches from lopping off one of her arms. She back flipped, the snow cushioning her landing. She had enough time to scramble back to her feet and dodge a second strike.
Damn it! All I can do is dodge his attacks. I need a weapon or else this won't go anywhere...
"E-Emiri," a soft voice wheezed.
The girl glanced down in amazement. "Kira! Kira, why are you moving!? You're only going to hurt yourself more, dumbass!"
Kira lay at her feet, clinging onto her left leg with a weakened grip. He had crawled from where he had been knocked unconscious by the former captain of the sixth squad of the Gotei 13. He was covered in snow, dirt, and blood. Emiri was surprised he had enough energy to talk.
"Your sword...h-here," Kira held up Emiri's chain blade in his right hand.
"Kira," Emiri breathed. She could kiss him right there; never had she been so grateful to have him by her side. She took the blade. "Don't you die on me, you idiot. Once I beat this jerk, I'll get you patched up!"
Kira gave a weak smile and rolled onto his back. "That's my Emmy."
Byakuya, who had been watching from a distance, did not show any reaction to Emiri wielding her weapon. He remained impassive.
"Now, then, let's get started," a devilish grin sped across Emiri's face.
Byakuya raised the hilt of his sword to his face. "Scatter..."
In the blink of an eye, the chain of Emiri's sword wrapped around the Zanpakuto, halting the release. The girl pulled tautly on the chain, a ferocious glint in her eyes. Byakuya's brows were raised slightly in surprise.
"Shikai, is it? You're underestimating me!" Emiri pulled tighter on the chain. "I've heard about you from Kira; you're a former captain of that Soul Society. I want to fight you at your full strength! So, use that ultimate power of yours...bankai or whatever it’s called! I'll fucking destroy it!"
For a moment, Byakuya just blinked at her. He could not believe the words he had just heard. Destroy his bankai? This little girl?
"Such impudence..."
Emiri let the chain of her sword go lax.
"Very well, since you insist, I'll grant your wish," Byakuya's voice was cold and hard. "I'll show you just how utterly powerless you are."
The chain fell to the snow with a soft thud. Emiri stared wide-eyed as Byakuya turned the hilt of his sword upside-down. It seemed like an eternity, but the blade fell to the ground, like a drop of rain onto a puddle of water. Emiri's insides turned cold as darkness engulfed the world.
"Bankai, Senbonzakura Kageyoshi."
This feeling--!
Zoro glanced over his shoulder. A shiver went up his spine. Whoever it was that was fighting now had just unleashed an incredible amount of power. He could feel the energy resonating from miles away.
"I see..." Mihawk drawled. "Kuchiki has released his full power. Whomever it is he's fighting must be quite the adversary."
Zoro climbed to his feet, brushing off the dirt and debris that clung to him. He had been knocked into the wall of an abandoned building and had said wall fall on top of him. A trickle of blood ran down his forehead, but other than that, he showed no sign that he had been severly injured.
"This Kuchiki guy is strong," Roronoa commented, "maybe stronger than you, old man."
Mihawk chuckled. "Maybe, maybe not... I've yet to cross swords with him."
"Well, that's too bad."
"Not necessarily, I'm rather much enjoying this scuffle of ours, boy." Mihawk smiled at Zoro.
"Same here," Zoro returned the grin.
The bandana-clad swordsman placed a katana in his mouth and gripped the remaining two in his hands. Mihawk once again lifted his own blade. Zoro charged and sparks flew. The sounds of the swords striking rang in the air; a shrill cry echoing off of the shells of the buildings.
Emiri leapt from the branch of a tree just as a thousand glistening pink shards exploded.
Way too close!
A trickle of sweat ran down her neck. She flew towards the next tree, landing higher up. She barely had time to adjust her footing and leap once more before this tree too was engulfed in pink.
"You cannot escape!" Byakuya's voice rang through the air.
Damn it! I hate to admit it, but the jerk's right, Emiri scowled. She twisted in mid-air and landed on another tree trunk. A torrent of metallic petals rushed forward, threatening to engulf her. Emiri lunged forward. If she had no chance of escape then she was going to face it head-on.
She sliced through the barrage of steel with her own sword. Senbonzakura parted cleanly down the middle and Emiri emerged through the other side shockingly unscathed. She landed in the snow.
"You've left yourself open," Byakuya's voice boomed. "It's over, brat."
Emiri glanced to the sky; her stomach dropped. The shards of Senbonzakura gathered above her like a swirling cloud and then fell to the earth in a wave of steel and pink. There was nowhere to run, nowhere to escape...
The world was lost in an explosion of light. The girl was finished.
"Is that the best you got?"
Byakuya's eyes widened. "Impossible!"
The dust cleared. Emiri remained standing in a dome of light - a kido barrier. However, the barrier had not deflected all of Senbonzakura; Emiri had tears all over her clothes and she was dripping blood from where the blades had struck.
"You're gonna have to do better than that, pretty boy!" Emiri grinned madly.
"I see..." Byakuya's faced returned to a normal indifference. "You've survived everything I've unleashed thus far... I have no other choice; allow me to show you Senbonzakura's true form, in which it focuses entirely on killing the enemy." The shards of Senbonzakura disappeared and were replaced by a thousand floating swords encircling the two foes.
"Senkei, Senbonzakura Kageyoshi."
Emiri stared, wide-eyed. She had gotten lucky with the kido spell earlier, but now... A mingled sense of dread and excitement bubbled within her. Byakuya Kuchiki was unbelievably strong and he possessed a large arrary of skills; she couldn't wait to beat him. Yet, she also knew, if she was not careful she knew could lose her life right here and now.
"Be proud, you're only the third person to witness Senkei," Byakuya stated as a sword flew into his outstretched hand. "You are going to die by my own hands."
"Now this is more like it," a wicked grin stretched across Emiri's face.
Emiri charged at the Soul Reaper. The two engaged in a violent dance of strikes, all while barely evading fatal blows. Byakuya expected the girl's intensity to drop due to her injuries, but she was relentless in her attacks. She lunged at him with demonic speed. The former captain had to replace a couple of the swords he wielded after Emiri shattered them in half.
The tenacity of this girl is ludicrous, Byakuya mused. Is she really just a human?
The girl rushed at Byakuya. He dodged and stepped to the right. Emiri spun on her heels and their swords clashed, neither of them faltering. Emiri let out a yell of frustration and increased the pressure on Byakuya. The Soul Reaper had no choice but to recoil; however, as he jumped back, he grabbed a hold of the chain on the end of Emiri's blade. Emiri suddenly found herself struggling for balance.
"Enough of this!" Byakuya threw her with all of his might.
Tossed onto the snow, Emiri struggled back to her feet. As she regained a proper footing she saw Kuchiki pointing at her.
"Binding spell 61: Rikujo Koro!"
The wind was knocked out of her as she was pinned on all sides by six rods of light.
Shit! I can't move!
Byakuya raised his sword. "You put up quite the struggle, but it's over..."
Emiri waited for the blow.
It never came. She glanced around, her eyes going a hundred miles. Then, she saw it: Kira had blocked Byakuya's attack with his Zanpakuto.
"You--!"
"Don't...you dare...lay a finger on her," Kira wheezed. Their blades struck once more. Before Kira could strike a third time, Byakuya grabbed Wabisuke with his bare hands.
"Path of destruction four: Byakurai!"
Kira was shot square in the chest with the kido spell. He fell to the ground, his body limp.
"KIRAAAAAAAAAA!"
Byakuya glanced at Emiri in alarm. The girl...was breaking through the kido spell! The six rods fluctuated and then shattered. Emiri ran at full speed and leapt into the air. Their swords met.
"BASTARD!" Emiri howled in fury. Again and again their blades crossed. Byakuya was actually being pushed back.
Why?! Why is this girl gaining the upper-hand?!
"What's wrong? Did you forget?! Kira's Wabisuke doubles the weight of whatever it touches!!" Emiri cried, as if reading the Soul Reaper's mind.
Byakuya was in disbelief. He struggled to keep a grip on the hilt of the sword. Emiri raised her blade once more and violently swung it down. Byakua's sword shattered and the hilt was blown out of his hands.
"Now, DIE!"
Emiri's sword struck Byakuya's torso. Blood flew into the air and the former captain fell to his knees. The senkei vanished. Both fighters were gasping for air.
"...Well done..." Byakuya muttered and then he fell into the snow.
Emiri stared for a moment. She'd actually beaten him... It was the strangest sensation. Was she sure she hadn't imagined it? She rubbed at her eyes. Yes, she'd actually beaten him.
A smile flickered onto Emiri's face, but then she remembered...
"Kira!"
The girl spun around, sprinted to his side, and was promptly impaled through the right shoulder from behind. She gasped and glanced down. Was that…an arm? The appendage was pulled out of her violently from whence it came. Emiri turned around slowly.
"Sorry about that," a broad-shouldered man with dark swept-back hair, piercing blue eyes and a thin beard leered. "You should get some rest."
Emiri wobbled on her feet, her vision beginning to waver. She could feel the blood spilling out through her clothes. The bearded man ambled over to where Byakuya lay, lifted him up, and carried him beneath one of the arms. He glanced back at Emiri.
"I told you to sleep. You should listen to your elders," he gave a mock frown before an eerie smile crawled up his face.
Emiri could only watch as he and Byakuya Kuchiki vanished. And then, her whole world went dark and she collapsed, bathing the snow in a crimson red.
* * *
Hill tapped his foot restlessly. Usually, he was a patient man, but for once he found himself restless and anxious. He rested his whiskered chin on his cane and stared at nothing in particular. If only he wasn't injured...
"How long has it been now?" Allen Black asked before taking another bite out of his hamburger.
Keith checked his watch. "About four hours."
"Hmm," Allen said in mid-chew.
Hill's blue eyes narrowed. Four hours, huh...it had felt more like ten. When Allen had returned with some food for the three of them, Hill found he did not have the stomach to eat. He was too preoccupied worrying over Q. Now, the sun was setting in the west and there was still no sign from the female chief of police. The Englishman shivered slightly; the temperature was starting to drop again.
Allen finished the last of his burger and opened the door to the car. He stretched his arms above his head and exhaled deeply. Once again, silence returned to the vehicle. Keith puffed on a cigarette while Hill continued tapping his foot, his brows furrowed in slight consternation.
Keith glanced at Hill through the rearview mirror. "You've been pretty quiet back there, England... You sure you don't wanna eat?"
Hill continued to stare at the carpeting of the car floor.
"Hey."
"Hmm? Pardon?"
"Food. You want some?" Keith indicated at the bag of food in his hand.
"Oh," Hill said after a moment. He was so lost in thought he had forgotten there was another person in the car. "I'm not very hungry, but thanks."
Keith frowned. "Suit yourself."
"Hey...I'm getting a little worried. Should we head down and try to find her?" Allen leaned in the open car door.
Keith was about to answer when the hand radio he carried on his belt crackled to life.
"...an...of...ou...give me a hand, here?"
"C-Chief?!"
"Q!"
"Finally! I've been trying to radio you guys for the last few minutes. Guess it got through this time," the chief's voice clearly replied.
"So? How was it?"
Q grabbed Keith's outstretched hand and got to her feet. Her clothes were covered in a thin layer of dust and her glasses were slightly askew. She readjusted her frames and brushed back a couple of stray strands of hair.
"Those tunnels go on for miles. I'm sure they run underneath most of the city." She patted the dirt off of her pants and jacket.
"No sign of those Iron guys?" Allen cocked his head to one side.
Q stretched her shoulders. "I don't know if it was the Order of Iron or not, but I explored one particular tunnel for several miles... It definitely stretched past the city limits and eventually led back above ground. There was evidence that someone had used the exit there; I found tire tracks and an oil trail, but...
"...that was all I could find. I didn't see anything else substantial," she finished, frowning.
"Well, that does leave the possibility open that the Order of Iron did manage to escape," Hill reasoned. Q caught his eye. He wore a weary smile on his face. "I'm glad you didn't run into anything serious down there."
The police chief let out a small sigh. She wished she had run into something serious down there. A silence fell between the group. All that time and energy, and they had nothing.
"What do we do now, Chief?" Allen's voice shook Q out of her thoughts.
"That's a good question. I'm...I'm not so sure myself," she admitted.
"I always find it best to start from the beginning... Just who would attack the Order of Iron, and why?"
It was Sadar again.
"You certainly have a knack for appearing at the most opportune moments," Keith muttered. The white-haired man gave him a smirk and ambled over to Q.
"I take it you're still not satisfied, Chief?"
Q narrowed her eyes at the man. "No. While I did find some signs of disturbance in those tunnels, I don't have anything concrete to fully prove your theory."
"Ah, but it did raise your curiosity did it not? Just why would the Order of Iron be forced out of their headquarters so violently?"
"What are you going on about, old man?" Keith put a hand on his hip. He was growing tired of the stranger's ambiguous speech.
Sadar pressed on, once again ignoring the detective. "Is there not anything you remember? Anything you might have witnessed first-hand?"
Q arched an eyebrow. How does he...?
"The zeppelin," Hill suddenly said. Q glanced at him. "Wasn't there..."
"...something written on the side!"
The police chief and the spy exchanged looks of dawning comprehension.
"Allen, pen and paper!" Q ordered. The detective fumbled through his pockets and produced a ballpoint pen and a small notepad. Hill, Keith, and Allen watched as Q scribbled several different phrases on the pad; she crossed out several in frustration, desperate to remember the right one. "A-ha!"
"'The Bird of Spamming is my name. Devour my spam to make me sane.'" Keith read aloud. "What the hell...?"
"...The Cool Mexicanos." The four looked up at Sadar. "As I thought."
"Cool Mexicanos?" Q asked.
"A rogue group who sought the key to eternal life. Sounds preposterous, I know," Sadar added upon seeing the looks on the others' faces. "But, their forces have been incredibly weakened.
"They are the only ones who possess a dirigible in this country, though. More specifically, one of them: A man by the name of Da Sombras."
Just how many mysterious organizations are running around in this country? Q rubbed at her temples. She was beginning to develop a headache.
"I don't get it, though. Why would these Mexicanos guys wipe out the Iron?" Allen intejected.
"Competition," Sadar answered. "They were both after the same goal. But, what you should really ask is how did the Cool Mexicanos know where to find the Order of Iron...
"The Order of Iron is a pretty allusive bunch. They like to stick to the shadows and aren't keen to reveal themselves until an opportune moment presents itself."
"Just what are you getting at...?" Keith took his cigarette out of his mouth.
"Somebody informed the Cool Mexicanos of the Iron's whereabouts." Sadar answered. "Most likely, that somebody was Michelle Ozzal."
"W-What?!"
"And why would Ozzal do that?" Hill asked.
John Sadar exhaled and turned to face the group. "Ozzal...she's known about the various organizations running around in her backyard since day one. And why wouldn't she? She is the current leader of Actonia, whether one likes it or not. She's done a good job at keeping track of everyone.
"However, all these secret organizations loose in her country pose a threat. Ozzal knows this. So, she did what any calculating strategist would - she pitted the groups against each other. What better way to get rid of your enemies than to have them take each other out? She'd barely have to lift a finger..." A morose grin spread across Sadar's face.
"There is an ulterior motive, of course," he continued, "The plan was probably to have all these different factions gone by the time of the Comedian invasion."
A collective gasp spread among the other four
"C-COMEDIAN INVASION?!"
Sadar closed his eyes and took in a deep breath.
"Ozzal has given permission to Comedia to invade Actonia two weeks from now. It's all a part of her grand scheme: The merging of Comedia and Actonia into one superpower, of which, Ozzal will be the ruler."
Q's stomach dropped. She couldn't believe what she was hearing...she didn't want to believe it. But, deep in the back of her mind, a little voice told her that this man was speaking the truth. She did not know where this voice came from nor why she listened so obediently, but she knew she could not ignore it.
"If...If Ozzal goes through with that, there'll be no one to challenge her power," Allen spoke in a hushed tone.
The others could only shake their heads incredulously.
"You certainly know a lot about what's been going on in this country... Why are you telling us all this?”
Sadar let out a small smile. "I'm just a Good Samaritan. I thought the chief of police had the right to know about what’s going to happen."
"That so?" Keith inquired. "And where's the evidence to support these claims of yours?"
"Unfortunately, you'll just have to go by my word on this, detective. It's up to all of you whether to believe me or not."
Hill eyed the man. And then he spotted it. A glass cross...!
"How good is the word of John Sadar?" he asked.
"Oh, when did you realize?"
"That’s not important. I'll ask you one more time, why tell us all this?"
Sadar contemplated for a moment.
"This country deserves a chance at peace, don't you think, Mr. MI-6?" he enjoyed watching Hill's eyes widen at this. "I spoke the truth when I said I was a Good Samaritan. Now, if you'll excuse me, it's getting rather cold." And with that, he bid them goodbye.
"Hey, you! You with the fuzzy hair!"
"Huh? Whaddya want?"
"Have you seen Emiri around?"
Mugen blinked.
"Emiri?"
"The feisty blonde girl with the manservant! She has two different coloured eyes..." Samson pointed at his own pupils.
"Oh! That chick!"
Samson nodded.
"Nope, can't say that I've seen her around lately." And with that, he strutted off towards the kitchen, still hungry, even after helping himself to two boxes of a large supreme pizza.
"Well, that went nowhere," Samson said aloud.
He was starting to seriously worry. Emiri had not been seen since well before noon and it was now dusk. He knew Emiri was tough and could stand toe-to-toe with some of the strongest fighters, but, he still worried for her. Samson worried about a lot of things these days. Even with the Order of Glass officially joining their side and the addition of the GAR Street Bar regulars, all Samson could feel was an escalating sense of dread. The fact that the Comedian invasion was only a few weeks away didn't help matters.
"Hey, why are you looking so down?"
Samson raised his head to find Kamina peeking at him inches away from his face.
"Ah! Lemme guess! You're worried about piloting the mecha! Well, be at ease, for the great Lord Kamina is here to alleviate any worries you might have! I'll take you under my wing and teach you everything you need to know about fighting in a giant humanoid robot!"
"Er..."
Before Samson could properly respond, Kamina slid an arm under one of his and dragged him away.
"C'mon, I'm gonna get you started on a specialized training regiment! With Lord Kamina as your instructor, you'll be an ace pilot in no time!" Kamina grinned.
"B-but, we don't even have any mecha yet..." Samson stammered.
"Bah! We can train without one! With mecha, it's all about hand-eye coordination!"
Oh God, somebody help me.
Kamina pulled Samson through the many halls of the bunker until they reached the large double door entrance that led back to the world outside. He was about to punch in the code to open when the large steel doors swung ajar. The whir of the gears moving and the scraping steel echoed down the corridor.
"Oh, it's the monk! Back from seeing the cops?"
Sadar stood in the doorway, his hands resting on his knees. Behind him, a silent flurry of snow fell onto the already blanketed grounds. He was visibly exhausted.
"KAIA!" he yelled. "KAIA! I NEED YOU NOW!"
Samson managed to unhook Kamina's arm from around him and approached Sadar.
"Father Sadar, what's wrong?"
The priest looked up and met Samson's eyes. A sudden fear crept into the young man's stomach. He almost didn't want to hear the priest's answer...
"It's...its Emiri and Kira. They...they've...I found them in the forest. They need help or they're going to die."
* * *
The full moon shone brightly through the crisp winter air as Walter stepped outside into the courtyard behind Comdot Estate. Making sure the secret passageway was closed securely behind him, he exhaled a foggy breath and pulled his gloves on tighter. It was an especially chilly night to be out, but that wouldn't keep Walter from doing his duty for his young mistress.
He started off across the courtyard, leaving barely visible footprints in the thin blanket of snow covering the ground. He could obscure those when he got back... it would be a short enough trip to the drop-box to leave his message, and before he knew it he would be back inside enjoying a nice cup of hot tea...
He reached the outer wall and, glancing behind him at the still-empty courtyard, began feeling along the surface of the wall until he came upon a pair of invisible wires. The vines that Starry had used for her secret escapes had long since died off, and so Walter had replaced them with his trademark wires, knowing that he would be the only one who would be able to find and use them. Grasping the wires tightly, he lifted himself up and began the climb up the wall.
"'ey there," called a voice from somewhere above him.
Walter paused and looked up. A figure perched on the top of the wall was leaning over and looking back at him, silhouetted against the bright moonlight. Then another figure, larger than the first, slowly peered over the edge of the wall. It seemed that the two of them had been there for some time, and Walter mentally cursed his carelessness for not having noticed them lounging atop the wall in his haste to perform his errand.
Walter slowly lowered himself to the ground, and the smaller of the two other men soon jumped down to join him.
"Nice night for a walk, eh?" The young man's face was now visible to Walter, and he realized with some dismay that his simple errand had just gotten a lot more complicated.
"That it is... Zeus," he answered nonchalantly. "I see that you and your... partner?" he guessed, as sure enough Kay El came dropping onto the ground next to them, "are enjoying some fresh air too?"
"Yeah, it's real nice," Zeus replied wryly. "Nowhere else I'd rather be."
"I haven't seen you around the Estate for a while," Walter continued, ignoring his sarcasm. "I heard Ozzal had sent you off on an assassination mission with those men who call themselves the Enigma Eight."
"Yeah, fun little mission that was. We had a real blast babysitting those Flying :|s. We could barely tear ourselves away to get back here. But oh well, I've got my own work to do, so they'll just have to try to get along without us."
"Oh? And what work is that?"
Zeus gave him a curious look, perhaps wondering why Walter was suddenly so interested in his goings-on. "I've got my own mark. You remember Emiri? Ozzal's old assassin who went all failtastic and ran off with her tail between her legs?" Walter nodded. "Well she's with the Syndicate now. Which gives me even more reason to track them down." He laughed bitterly. "As if I needed any more reason..."
"What do you mean?" Walter asked.
Zeus gave him a hard look. "Once we decided to ditch the Flying :|s, I tried to contact my father to see if he had any new leads on where the Syndicate had gone into hiding. And come to find out... my father is dead, and everyone knew it but me."
Walter frowned slightly. He hadn't realized that Ozzal had hidden Goda's death from his adopted son. And apparently, without any more information to go on, Zeus had come to the conclusion that the Syndicate was behind his father's murder. This could become troublesome indeed...
"So I came back to see what was going on around here..." Zeus continued, "and the first thing I see is Miss Starry's lackey sneaking out of the Estate in the middle of the night. How interesting... and fortuitous."
Walter's eyes narrowed. "I can't tell you anything about what happened to Goda, if that's what you're thinking. I don't know any more about it than you do."
"That wasn't really what I was thinking, actually, but it's interesting that you're so quick to play dumb. I was more interested in knowing who you're going out to see on such a cold night, and why you couldn't just use the front door."
That was a subject Walter really didn't want to get into with these two, but it didn't seem like he would get very far by continuing to play dumb. "I don't think that's any of your business."
Zeus crooked a strange smile. "And I think when the Angry God asks you a question, you answer him."
Walter didn’t give the man a chance to act; in an instant, he pulled out a thin sharp string of metallic wire. If he wanted any hope of defeating the two men, he had to finish this quickly. He spun the wire in the air and wrapped it around Zeus, pulling taut on the string.
Zeus let out a grunt in surprise as the wire dug into his skin.
“Now, let’s get rid of those bothersome arms of yours!” With his free hand, Walter withdrew two more microfilament wires. He threw the strings at the restrained assassin’s arms and momentarily let go of the string holding the man’s torso. He strung the metal through his mouth and clenched his teeth shut. Zeus was immobile, his arms stretched out parallel to the ground, a wire wrapped around each of his wrists.
“Well, well, the famous Dental Floss of Death,” Zeus managed to drawl out. “How lucky am I?”
“Luckier than him, at least,” a deep voice replied.
Walter’s eyes widened. Kay El was behind him?! When--?! A gargantuan elbow was suddenly brought down on top of the old man’s head, instantly knocking him to the ground. The pressure on the strings tied around Zeus fell. He untangled himself from the metallic coils, using a knife to cut through the more obstinate fibers. He stomped towards Walter’s prone form.
“You’ve gotten old, Walter Dornez. I can’t believe you actually thought you had a chance by going after me first!” He leered down at the man, a look of mock-pity on his face. “This big brute is a lot faster than he looks, don‘t you agree?”
Kay El administered a kick to the old man’s ribs with his boot.
“Now…” Zeus grabbed Walter by the collar of his shirt, lifting him to his feet, “you mind telling us where you were going?”
Walter said nothing.
Zeus frowned. “How disappointing…but if that’s how you wanna play…” He punched Walter in the face with the back of his gloved hand. The old man crumpled to the floor. Blood and a small folded piece of paper fell to the ground as well.
“What’s this…?” Zeus picked up the note.
“TALK!” Kay El roared.
Zeus read through the note while Kay El administered a few more kicks to the battered Walter. His eyes narrowed.
"Well, well, isn't this interesting..."
Kay El glanced at the note and raised his eyebrow. Zeus answered his unspoken question with a sly grin.
"Let's go see Princess Starry. Maybe she can tell us something."
Starry sat up in bed gazing vacantly at nothing in particular. She hadn't been sleeping well these past several nights, and she was always especially worried while Walter was away. She trusted him, and knew he could defend himself if need be, but she couldn't help being a little bit paranoid with things the way they were now. At any moment, someone could discover her treachery, and her own life could be in danger...
A pounding on her door startled her out of her reverie. She was barely out of bed before the door swung open and two men came walking in. She recognized them as two of her mother's assassins, members of the Echelon group that Ozzal had just disbanded.
"Evenin', miss," the smaller one said, mockingly gesturing as if he were tipping his hat. "Sorry to disturb you so late. My name is Zeus, and this is my associate Kay El. We just need to ask you a few questions."
"Questions? At this hour?"
"It shouldn't take long, if you're forthcoming with the information we need."
"What's this about, then?"
Zeus grinned and held out the note he had taken from Walter. "Does this look familiar?"
Starry took the note, trying not to let the sinking feeling in her chest show. She read through it, pretending that she was seeing it for the first time.
R -
Matrix demoted, new scientists brought in. Working on new armored fighting suits.
Be careful.
<3 S
She handed the note back. "I'm afraid not. I don't even really know what it means."
"It's apparently some sort of message to the Syndicate. We found it in your lackey's pocket as he was trying to sneak out of the Estate."
She suddenly looked very worried. "Walter? What did you do to him?"
"Oh, just roughed him up a little. Same as we do to anyone who doesn't tell us what we want to know."
She frowned, sensing the subtle intimidation in his words. "I'm afraid I don't know anything about this," she said resolutely. "I'm sorry, but you'll have to go now."
"Awww, that's too bad. Must be Walter was the traitor the whole time. Maybe we should go back and finish him off." Zeus exchanged a snarky smile with his partner.
"Leave him alone! Walter is no traitor!"
"Oh really?" Zeus tipped his head to one side. "'Cause it sure looks like someone was trying to get a message to the Syndicate. And if it wasn't you, and it wasn't him... well, I think you see where I'm going with this."
He grinned at her, enjoying watching her squirm in the corner he had pushed her into.
After a moment of uncertainty, her face tightened into a stern expression. "I won't stand for this insulting interrogation. If my mother knew you were forcing your way in here in the middle of the night, you'd never set foot in this Estate again."
"Mommy can't help you now," Zeus said sharply. "Besides, do you really want her knowing that her little girl has been hooking up with one of those filthy traitors?"
Starry's defiant look faded as she realized that he was right, and she couldn't even rely on her mother's power to save her. She nervously looked between the two of them, and then desperately decided to try a new tactic.
"Didn't you know that the Syndicate was thrown into chaos after you killed their leader?" she said confidently, hoping that they'd been sufficiently out of the loop not to catch on to her little white lie. "I heard they disbanded and slunk off into the gutter somewhere. And with the new military power that Mother is pulling together, there's no way a piddling group of rebels will be able to stand up to us. So really there's no need for you to be concerned with the Syndicate at all."
"Is that so?" Zeus smirked. "You think just because Ozzal has Comedia's army and these new 'armored fighting suits,' she doesn't need a couple of lowly assassins to go tracking down what's left of that worthless rebellion?"
"That... that's right," Starry stammered.
"Well let me tell you something. It doesn't matter to me what Ozzal wants or who else she has doing her dirty work for her. The fact of the matter is that I have more than one very good reason for wanting to track down the Syndicate on my own."
He gave her a moment to see if she would show any signs of recognizing what he was talking about, but her expression remained merely perplexed.
"Aside from the fact that I have a score to settle with a bitch who ran off to join them," he continued, sneering a little at the thought of Emiri, "a very important member of your mother's administration was recently assassinated. And we've got a pretty good idea who did it, and why. And if those Syndicate dogs think they can get away with killing my father..."
"You mean... Goda? You think the Syndicate killed him?"
He glared at her. "Why not? I just offed their great hero, so why shouldn't they take revenge on me by killing my father? The only thing I want to know is how they managed to get an assassin all the way into the throne room and back out without anyone seeing them."
Starry suddenly looked very uneasy.
"You know something about this?" Kay El asked, looking at her intently.
"I, um..." she stammered nervously.
Zeus grabbed her arm. "If you know something you'd better start talking. I'm going to kill every last one of those Syndicate bastards, so don't think you can protect them by staying quiet."
"The Syndicate had nothing to do with it!" she cried.
Zeus momentarily looked startled, then tightened his grip on the girl's arm. "You'd better not lie to me, bitch," he hissed.
"I'm not lying," she insisted, looking him straight in the eye. "I... I saw it happen. And the Syndicate had absolutely nothing to do with it."
"Then who was it, huh? If you saw the whole thing?"
She faltered and looked down, unable to answer him.
He tightened his grip on her arm and raised his weapon to her face. "You're going to tell me what you know, or I'm going to slash your throat."
She looked apprehensively at the blade for a few moments, her face marked with fear and indecision. Finally she closed her eyes and relented.
"It was... my mother."
Zeus froze. And then, letting out an infuriated growl, he sent the girl reeling with a blow to the face.
"I told you not to lie to me!" he bellowed.
"Zeus, stop it!" Kay El intervened, putting a hand on his friend's shoulder. "She might be telling the truth!"
"She's just trying to protect her traitor boyfriend! Do you seriously believe that Ozzal would do such a thing?"
"Well... it would explain why nobody saw an assassin. And why the rest of the Echelon was disbanded so quickly..."
Zeus glared at his partner, breathing heavily with rage. Then he turned and glowered at the girl trembling on the floor in front of him.
"At the very least..." Kay El added quietly, "do you think she would sell out her mother if it weren't true?"
Zeus seemed to contemplate this for a few moments, and then went to Starry and pulled her up by the arm.
"Well I guess there's only one way to find out," he said in a steely voice, dragging Starry toward the door. "Let's go pay Mommy Dear a visit."
Ozzal had spent a long day in her office, going over reports and trading calls with her Comedian associates in preparation for the upcoming "invasion." She had barely noticed how late it had gotten, but now she was ready to put political matters aside and get some rest.
She stood up from her desk, yawning and stretching, and ambled toward the door, pondering if she should have Matrix bring her some hot Taquitos or just settle for a nice cup of cocoa.
There was a quiet but firm knock on the door. "Who is it?" she called.
The door moved slightly as if someone were trying to open it, but Ozzal had taken the precaution of locking it while she worked. She heard a muffled curse from the other side, and then a loud crack as the door was kicked in.
"What the hell?!" she exclaimed, retreating a few steps and reaching for her hidden pistol.
She stopped when she saw who it was coming through the door - her daughter, with a terrified look on her face, and the former Echelon's two top agents behind her. Zeus had the girl's arms pinioned behind her with one hand, and the other held his formidable weapon. It was clear that they weren't there for some nice cocoa.
Ozzal scowled. "What the hell is going on here? What are you doing with my daughter?"
"Nothing to get worked up about, Highness," Zeus answered, pushing the girl along as he and Kay El came farther into the room. "We were just having a nice chat with Miss Starry here, and we thought it would be nice for you to join in too. We've got a few questions for you. Your daughter just told us some verrry interesting things, so we hope that you can be just as cooperative."
Ozzal glanced from Zeus to Starry, sizing up the situation and trying to figure out just what her daughter might have told them. What could there be that Starry would know that Zeus would care about? Surely she would have no idea about what had happened to Goda...
"I found out recently that my father is dead," Zeus said bluntly. "And it seems that you conveniently forgot to tell me that before you sent me off on that babysitting job. Now how could you have neglected to share such an important piece of information?"
Ozzal looked mildly annoyed. "At the time of our last meeting, I had not yet received that 'important piece of information' myself. And once I did, after you had left, there was no way for me to contact you. Call it unlucky timing."
Zeus was unfazed. "Really. That is unlucky."
"You of course have my condolences," Ozzal said cordially. "It's been a tremendous loss for all of us. I've only recently gotten over the shock myself."
"Oh you have?" Zeus almost laughed. "That's kind of funny, considering that I've heard you were the one who pulled the trigger."
Ozzal's eyes narrowed imperceptibly. "Oh? And where did you hear such a ridiculous thing?"
"From someone who says she saw you kill him."
Ozzal's gaze once again settled on her daughter, whose anxious eyes told Ozzal everything she needed to know.
"And what makes you think that this silly little twit knows anything about anything? Do you believe everything that little girls tell you?"
"I believe what I want to believe. And right now I believe there's a good chance that you're a backstabbing liar."
Ozzal smiled. "Now now, Zeus, there's no need for childish name-calling. Surely we can discuss the matter like grown-ups."
Zeus bristled. "Don't give me that patronizing crap. If you are the one who killed my father, I want to know. So tell me the truth, now."
Ozzal regarded him appraisingly, almost smugly, seeming almost amused at his barely-contained rage. "And what..." she said deliberately, "if I did?"
Zeus' eyes widened in a moment of shock, more that she had admitted it so brazenly than that she had actually done it, and then his face twisted into an even more ferocious glare. "If you murdered my father..." he seethed, "then I'm going to make you watch your daughter die right here!"
He tightened his grip on both Starry and his weapon, waiting to see if Ozzal would show any remorse or try to stop him. But rather than seeming frightened or even concerned, Ozzal let out a hearty laugh.
"You think you can intimidate me? I'm not afraid of you. Go ahead and kill her if it'll make you feel better about poor old Daddy. Just remember that no matter what you do -" her expression and tone became suddenly steely "- you belong to me."
"Mother..." Starry murmured, her eyes wide with shock and fear.
Zeus let out a growl and brought his blade up, poising it to slice into the girl's throat.
"Zeus."
The Angry God paused at the sound of his partner's voice. Kay El generally knew better than to call off Zeus' strikes unless he had a really good reason.
"Let her go. She doesn't deserve to lose her life for this bitch."
Zeus scowled. As far as he was concerned, being that bitch's daughter was more than reason enough to kill her. And then his mind flashed back to a night many years ago, and the sight of a house full of people who had been killed simply because they belonged to a certain family... his family...
With another growl he tossed Starry to the side and leapt at Ozzal. She was the one who had killed his father, and she was the one who was going to pay with her life.
Ozzal was ready for him, though, and had her pistol drawn before he could even get close to her. She fired off two quick shots, and Zeus was forced to alter his trajectory to dodge them. Seeing her attacker momentarily thrown off-balance, Ozzal took the opportunity to dart through the door and take off down the hallway.
"You're not getting away from me that easily!!!" Zeus bellowed, quickly regaining his balance and charging out of the room after her.
As the sounds of the pair's boisterous departure faded off down the hallway, the two people who remained in the room were left in a sort of eerie silence. After a few moments Kay El sighed and took a few steps toward the door, pausing to look down at Starry. She looked up at him with eyes full of terror, and his eyes looking back seemed to offer an unspoken sympathy, as if he knew what it was like to be betrayed.
"If you want to get away... I'll make sure nobody goes after you," he said quietly. "But if you go to the Syndicate, I can't promise nothing bad will happen to you. So... just be careful out there."
She nodded, and he started after his partner.
"Thank you."
He paused for just a moment, as if to acknowledge her quiet words of gratitude, and then strode out of the room.
Starry pulled her knees to her chest and just sat there for several moments trying to compose herself. As much as she would have liked to cry over what had just happened to her, she knew she didn't have that luxury. She needed to get out of there, and if Walter was still alive she needed to find him and get him out too. And then, if the fates allowed it, she needed to get to Raef and his friends.
And so she got to her feet, and started off.
Zeus ran at full speed down the corridor, Ozzal only a few feet ahead of him. Every so often, she would turn around and fire a round at him. Fortunately for him, he reacted quickly and managed to dodge her shots. The gunfire and the sound of their feet hitting marble echoed throughout the hallway.
Plaster and concrete exploded as Ozzal managed to fire a shot only feet away from Zeus’ head. He ducked lower, his arms behind him, and sprinted. Ozzal reloaded her gun and fired at his feet. Zeus barely had time to sidestep the shots.
“Tch,” Ozzal frowned. She turned a corner and ran down the stairs leading into the atrium of the manor. She glanced back behind her out of the corner of her eye. Zeus was still on her tail.
Perfect. A sly grin crawled up the woman’s face. She skidded to a stop in front of the double wooden doors leading to the grounds outside.
“Decided to stop running, eh?” Zeus sneered. “Smart.”
Ozzal let out a low chuckle. Her shoulders still quivered as she slowly turned around to face the man. The leer on her face pushed Zeus’ buttons. She still had the audacity to laugh at him! Even now when she was cornered...
“What’s so damn funny?!” Zeus growled.
Ozzal’s grin just grew wider.
“As much fun as this game of tag has been, I’m afraid I have more important business to attend to,” the laugher in her voice still lingered. She opened her eyes and cast a malicious gaze on Zeus. “Sorry I can’t play with you any longer…”
“Why you…” Zeus was shaking with fury. He lifted his weapon, pointing the blade at his father’s killer.
Ozzal only continued smiling that sickeningly sweet smile of hers. She snapped her fingers. A hidden door in the stone wall to the left of Zeus slid open. He watched as a familiar figure crept out of the shadows and into the room.
“Kariya… What are you doing here?”
Kagetoki Kariya grabbed at the hilt of his sword tucked onto his obi.
“To be samurai is to serve. I am merely serving our lord, Angry God.”
Zeus narrowed his eyes at the man, the anger rising in him. “That so? And how much did she pay you?”
“That is of no concern. I am here to fulfill my duty,” Kariya answered.
“That he is,” Ozzal chimed in. She opened one of the large wooden doors and stepped into the chilly night air. “Play nice, you two.” The door slammed shut.
Zeus let out a roar and made for the door, but before he could slash at it with his weapon he was knocked back by a wave of raw energy. He regained his footing and stared angrily at Kariya.
“I’m afraid I cannot let you pass,” Kariya spoke in a calm tone.
Unable to hold back his rage, Zeus charged at the samurai. Their weapons clashed and sparks flew. Zeus unleashed a flurry of attacks one after another. Kariya parried each strike expertly with his blade. This only angered Zeus more.
The two men turned the once pristine marble atrium of the manor into a war zone. Stone and concrete fell to the floor as they each attempted to strike the other. Kariya even managed to cut one of the dozen pillars in the room in half.
Zeus roared in frustration. No matter what he did, Kariya would avert his attacks. If it continued this way, he would end up wasting all his stamina. The other man didn’t even appear to be breaking into a sweat.
“Damn you!”
At that moment, the wall opposite from which Kariya had emerged exploded. Both men turned in surprise. The rubble cleared and Kay El emerged. He had punched through the wall with nothing but his brute strength.
Zeus let a grin spread across his face. “You’re late!”
“Sorry,” Kay El mumbled.
“Time to end this!” Zeus yelled. Kay El got the hint.
The two rushed at Kariya. With the addition of Kay El’s brute strength, the samurai had trouble keeping both men at bay. He parried an attack by Zeus only to have to dodge one of Kay El’s fists as it attempted to make contact with his face. Zeus and Kay El were actually pushing him back.
Zeus brought down his spear once more. Kariya leapt aside, the weapon made cracks in the marble floor where it had struck. Kay El suddenly threw a piece of rubble at the samurai. He didn’t run, instead he faced it head-on and cut the slab of concrete in half with one clean swipe of his sword. Before the pieces fell to the ground, he had to dodge another attack by Zeus.
Kariya frowned. With no other choice, he swung his sword in a graceful arc; a burst of energy propelled towards his two opponents. Both men just barely managed to avoid the attack.
“Uchiha!” Kariya boomed.
Zeus’ brows raised in surprise.
The ninja too…?!
“You are having trouble, it seems,” the quiet voice of Itatchi Uchiha answered back. He stood atop the stairs leading up to the second floor of the building.
“And what the hell are you doing here?” Zeus asked. “Didn’t you have a mark to hunt?”
Itachi closed his eyes. “My prey has been surprisingly allusive,” he said in his usual emotionless tone as he made his way down the stairs to ground level. “Make no mistake, I would not be here otherwise.”
“Ninja also serve a lord, Uchiha,” Kariya addressed the man.
Itachi did not answer, he merely closed his eyes once more as he finally stepped onto the marble floor of the atrium.
“Keep an eye on him, you brute,” Zeus barked at Kay El, “he’s a tricky one.” Kay El nodded.
“Not the best choice of words,” Itachi’s eyes flashed open.
The next thing Kay El and Zeus knew, a flock of crows was flying out of the ninja’s red kaleidoscopic orbs. Hundreds and hundreds of birds swarmed at them, blocking out all light and plunging them into darkness. The world disappeared as they lost all senses.
And then it was over. The battered atrium of Comdot Estate appeared before them again. The samurai and ninja were nowhere to be found.
After blinking several times, Zeus found he was lying on the floor. How…?
“Zeus…” Kay El echoed his own thoughts.
“Genjutsu,” Zeus muttered darkly. He punched a fist into the cold stone floor, small drops of blood dripping onto the marble. “They’re gone.”
“We were out for ten minutes,” Kay El informed him.
“Damn you, Ozzal. You won’t get away with this!” Again Zeus punched a fist, the blood flying everywhere.
* * *
Samson paced nervously back and forth outside of the infirmary doors. He'd done this a lot over the last few days - tread over his steps over and over, deep in thought. This time, his thoughts were on Emiri and Kira.
It was morning. Samson had barely gotten any sleep he was so worried about the pair. When Sadar and Kaia had brought them in they were in critical condition; both had lost a lot of blood and were unconscious. Kaia had stayed up all night working her ki to heal them, but there was no word yet if they were going to make a recovery.
Samson spared a glance at Sadar. He was sitting in a nearby chair, his head resting on the palm of his hand, eyes closed. He'd finally gone to sleep after staying awake the entire night.
Who could have done this to them? Samson once again asked himself. Emiri and Kira were so strong... It frightened him to think that there was someone out there who could do that much hurt to them.
He turned his attention back to the infirmary doors. Kaia had still not emerged.
Just when we were getting on our feet... Samson's shoulders slumped. Not long after Kira and Emiri had been found, Roronoa Zoro had come shuffling back to the bunker. He was also covered in severe injuries, but he refused treatment; he claimed all he needed was some sleep and then he'd be fine. Nobody argued against him.
"If you keep on grimacing your face is gonna get stuck like that."
Clarice placed a tentative hand on Samson's arm and flashed him a small smile. Samson mustered up what energy he had and returned it.
Suddenly, the doors to the infirmary swung open. Clarice released her hand and Samson rushed forward. Father Sadar's eyes snapped open and he sat upright in his seat. Kaia emerged from the room, her hair tied back in a ponytail and a sheen of sweat glistening on her forehead.
"H-How are they?" Samson asked, the anxiety in his voice palpable.
Kaia wiped her brow with the back of an arm. "They're going to be okay."
A wave of relief swept over the group. Samson's stomach unclenched and his face brightened up.
"They haven't regained consciousness, but, they're no longer in any danger," Kaia continued. "I've done all I can. The rest is up to them."
Kaia's knees suddenly wobbled and she collapsed. Sadar caught her before she hit the floor.
"Good job, Kaia. I'm proud of you," Sadar whispered softly. He turned to the others. "She's just asleep. I'm going to put her to bed." He lifted Kaia into his arms and carried her down to her quarters.
Samson let out a large sigh.
"So, you want some breakfast?" Clarice asked.
"Yeah, breakfast sounds good," he replied. Clarice gave him a kiss on the cheek and they made their way to the kitchen.
The news about Emiri and Kira's condition quickly circulated throughout the bunker. The clamor could be heard in the hallways as the word spread from person to person. By the time Samson and Clarice actually sat down to enjoy their morning meal, most of the Syndicate had heard the news.
"Hah! I knew that Emiri girl was tough! She should come by the bar once this invasion stuff is out of the way. I'll gladly buy her a few rounds."
"She's underage, Kittan," Charles Beams said in between bites of scrambled eggs.
"She is? Aww..."
Quite a crowd had joined Samson and Clarice for breakfast that morning. Kamina, Kittan, and Charles sat on one end of the table gorging on eggs, while Proof and Cid sat on the other, whispering behind their boxes of cereal. Holland Novak sat apart from the group, chewing on a piece of toast and looking as sullen as always.
Despite the good news about Emiri and Kira's health, the group was relatively quiet. A collective uneasiness had taken root at the table. Everyone wondered who could have seriously injured the ex-assassin and her Soul Reaper aide. Samson once again had a frown plastered onto his face as he worked his way though several layers of pancakes. Clarice watched him out of the corner of her eye.
She put down her fork and turned in her seat to face him. He caught her expression and swallowed his food.
"Samson, I--"
"GOOD NEWS, EVERYONE!"
Lloyd came sauntering into the kitchen, arms flailing about and grinning from ear to ear. Hikki trailed behind him wearing an equally amused expression. The others only stared.
"Well, don't all look excited at once," the scientist's grin faded.
"What is it? We could use some good news,” Holland spoke up.
"I, through one of my various connections in the Land of the Big Rising Red Dot, have been able to acquire an additional Knightmare frame for our little group!" Llloyd once again beamed at them all.
"OH?! That's great!" Kamina got to his feet.
"You can never have one too many giant robots," Kittan added sagely.
"Indeed! This works out just perfectly! Kittan and I were just discussing last night that we'd be better suited to pilot our own mecha!" Kamina nodded.
"Oh-ho... The skills of two our most experienced pilots would be put to better use if they each commanded their own Knightmare," Lloyd stroked his chin. "But, that leaves the question of the other dual-cockpit model..."
Proof stood up instantly, knocking over his chair.
"I'll pilot that Knightmare, sir!"
Lloyd blinked. "That's great that you'd volunteer, but you'd need a co-pilot..."
"Me! Me! ME! I'll be his co-pilot!" Cid hopped on her feet, waving an enthusiastic hand in the air.
"Er," Lloyd's face faltered, "I-Is it really a good idea for the two of you to pilot one of these Knightmares together? Wouldn't you rather have Mr. Beams here as your co-pilot, Proof? He does have a lot of experience..."
"I would, but Charles..."
"...will not be piloting any mecha this time," Mr. Beams finished Proof's sentence. "It's time for the young people to shine, Mr. Asplund. I've had my time in the spotlight, as I told Proof yesterday; I'll gladly leave the robot piloting to him. I'll be leading ground forces this time around."
"I see..." Lloyd still carried a wary expression, but didn't push the matter any further.
"Zat just leevz ze ozzer Knightmare, zen," Hikki noted.
"I'll volunteer to pilot it."
Everyone's head turned to Clarice.
"W-WHAT?!" Samson nearly fell out of his chair in surprise. "NO! You can't, Clarice!"
"And why not?" She stared adamantly at Samson.
Samson gulped. "Well, um, you...that is, uh, you shouldn't...you're a girl and girls..." The moment these words left his lips, Samson knew he should not have said them.
Clarice folded her arms over her chest and her face morphed into a look Samson had only seen her use previously on Hikki. His insides actually squirmed.
"So, that's how it is," Clarice said acidly. "Women shouldn't be on the battlefield, am I right? Women should just stay home and wait for the men to come back."
"That's not what I--"
"That's exactly what you meant, Samson!"
Samson felt his world titling.
“What I meant was...I don’t want to see you get hurt... It scares me to think what might happen to you,” Samson muttered sheepishly.
At this, Clarice couldn’t help but let the stern expression slide off her face. She’d been caught off guard; she hadn’t considered he would legitimately worry for her safety. Her violet gaze softened.
“I don’t know what I would do if I lost you, Clarice,” Samson’s cheeks flushed and he stared down at his feet.
“Samson...” Clarice grabbed him by the chin and their eyes met. “That’s sweet of you. I appreciate the concern…
“But, I want to do this. I have to do this. I’m not just going to sit on the side-lines while you and Hikki risk your lives out there. I don’t want to be stuck here worrying whether you will be safe or not. I want to help.”
Samson stared at her, his mouth slightly agape. As the words sunk in, he realized he was not totally surprised. Clarice was strong-willed, determined, and independent; she wouldn’t change no matter whose “woman” she was. He’d still worry for her, of course, but...that was what Samson loved about her. He couldn’t help but smile.
“So, it’s settled then?” Lloyd stuck his face in-between the two, smiling expectantly.
“Do you think we have a choice?” Samson replied sardonically. Clarice grinned triumphantly.
Q buried her face in her hands. She was exhausted – mentally and physically drained. She had trouble sleeping the previous night; her mind was running on a full tank of gas, going over and over the events of the last twenty-four hours. What was she supposed to do?
The enigmatic John Sadar, leader of the Order of Glass, had informed her of a planned Comedian invasion that was less than a few weeks away. Q didn’t know how to react to the news. If only they had substantial proof that Michelle Ozzal was leading the country down the path of war...
Proof... Q ran a hand through her auburn hair. Without concrete evidence of Ozzal’s plan, she could do nothing.
Q turned her head and stared outside the open blinds of her office window. The morning sun was shining brightly, bathing the snow covered grounds in an ethereal glow. The cries of birds filtered in through the glass. It all contrasted with the police chief’s mood.
She hated feeling helpless... She sighed and rubbed her face once more. There was a sudden knock on the door.
“Come in.”
The knob turned and Hill stepped into Chief Holmes’ office. He carried two rather large cups in his left hand. He shuffled into the room, the ‘thunk’ of his cane on the wooden floor breaking the silence.
“Coffee,” Hill held up a cup, “I thought you could use some.” He sat down beside her on the couch, the cushions sinking underneath the weight.
Q grabbed a cup from his outstretched hand. “Thanks.”
Silence returned to the room as the two took sips of their beverages.
The Chief stared into the dark swirls of her drink. She felt adrift.
“Just what am I supposed to do…?”
Hill removed his drink from his lips.
“What can I do? I have nothing,” she continued, “God, if only I had some actual proof...
“But, I don’t.” She heaved a sigh, the paper cup trembling in her hands. She hated being seen like this. She felt exposed, naked. She didn’t like it one bit. “I really thought I could make a difference...that I could change this city for the better. Some police chief I am... I’m useless.”
“You’re not.”
Q looked the man in the eye. Blue orbs stared back at her.
“You’re in a position of authority; it’s natural to feel that way. But, you’re not useless,” Hill’s eyes pierced through her. “There are things only you can do. And you alone.”
Q let out a mirthless laugh. “Do tell, because so far, I haven’t been able to do much on my own.
“I have nothing to stand up to Ozzal with. No physical evidence, no authority, nothing...! I can’t do anything!” Her voice was beginning to crack.
“I know what you’re going through—“
“No, you don’t.”
“Yes, I do,” Hill’s voice was stern. He leaned in closer. Q could count the number of hairs on his chin. “I know you feel powerless, unable to lift even a finger against anyone... You want to help, but you don’t even know if you can. It’s what we go through most of the time, us spies.
“Sadar told you about Ozzal because he believes in you. He believes you will do the right thing.” Hill’s eyes softened and he smiled. “I do, too.”
They were nice words, but Q still felt on the verge of drowning in the enormity of it all.
“But what can I do?” Again, the question. She clenched a fist, opening and closing her fingers in the hope that all the stress pent up inside would just disappear. She repeated this until she felt a sudden warmth on her hand. She glanced down. Hill held her much smaller hand in his larger one.
“This city will most likely become a battlefield... Her citizens need to be protected,” he rubbed the back of her hand, drawing circles in her skin. “That’s the job of the police force, is it not? You can do plenty, Q... I mean, Chief.”
Once again, Hill smiled at her. It was a smile that reached his eyes and lightened up his usually serious profile.
“Don’t try to carry this burden by yourself,” the smile reached even his voice, “you have your subordinates…and, you have me.”
In that moment, Q found everything about him attractive. Still, she couldn’t help but raise an questioning eyebrow at him.
“Well, I do have my duty to my country. Ozzal’s power poses a threat to the rest of the world; especially if her plan comes to fruition,” Hill stated. “But, regardless, I’ll be here for you.”
Q’s face softened and she found herself smiling back. It was reassuring to know that no matter what would come in the next several days, she’d have him by her side. It was the one beacon of light in an encroaching darkness.
Cast of Characters (in order of appearance):
Dracule “Hawkeyes” Mihawk (One Piece)
Father John Sadar - FurionTassadar
Roronoa Zoro (One Piece)
Samson Monroe - MasterSamson
Clarice Rowe - QueenoftheDorks
Emiri - _Boxers_
Byakuya Kuchiki (Bleach)
Izuru Kira (Bleach)
Amshel Goldsmith a.k.a. “the man with the thin beard” (Blood+)
Hill - fool_on_the_hill
Allen Black - AlastourBlaque
Keith Douglas - k_dawg_3484
Chief “Q” Holmes - Q_chan
Mugen (Samurai Champloo)
Kamina (Tengen Toppa Gurren-Lagann)
Walter Dornez (Hellsing)
Zeus - Shuya_Nanahara
Kay El - Kagomes_Luver2789
Starry Ozzal - starryjelly
Michelle Ozzal - Mike Lazzo
Kagetoki Karyia (Samurai Champloo)
Itachi Uchiha (Naruto)
Kaia - namek_kaia
Kittan (Tengen Toppa Gurren-Lagann)
Charles Beams (Eureka seveN)
Proof - NoProof
Cid - cidthekittyisfun
Holland Novak (Eureka seveN)
Lloyd Asplund (Code Geass)
Hikki Follet - Kohikki
That's him.
A gust of wind pulled at Dracule "Hawkeyes" Mihawk's cape ever so slightly before returning it to its proper position. He removed the pair of binoculars from his eyes and tugged at his beard.
He...is not what I imagined.
Mihawk looked through the binoculars once more. This John Sadar fellow was definitely not the warrior type. Or, he at least was not one who actively sought the thrill and challenge of a battle. He most likely was one who would only fight to protect someone other than himself. Mihawk knew all of this just from observing the man's stature and the way he carried himself. He was disappointed.
A waste of time, Mihawk let a small exasperated sigh escape his lips. He was about to put down the binoculars once more when something caught the corner of his eye. He quickly chased after it.
"A-ha..." A small smile crept onto his handsome face.
Located several blocks away from John Sadar, heading north, was a young man with a grass-top of a head and carrying not one, nor two, but three swords on his side. From the posture of his walk Mihawk knew this man was the same as him: One who loved to fight and sought only to improve himself in battle. Perhaps his time wouldn't be wasted after all.
He leapt from rooftop to rooftop, shadowing the man's steps. Once they reached a vacant lot, Mihawk landed on the ground. The young man was scratching his head, seemingly oblivious to his hunter's appearance.
"Hmm, now I'm sure this wasn't the way I came from. But, east is right on a map, so..."
"Lost, young man?"
The grass-head spun around, his hands instantly going to his swords.
"Good reaction," Mihawk nodded sagely. "You will be a most worthy opponent."
"Oh, is that so? Well, I'm always ready for a good fight, old man," the young man smirked.
"Dracule 'Hawkeyes' Mihawk."
"Roronoa Zoro."
"And now that we have introduced ourselves, come!" Mihawk reached behind his back and grabbed at his sword. Zoro charged.
John Sadar whipped his head around. He had the distinctive feeling he was being watched earlier, but now... There was no other sign of life in this end of the city. Snow fell languidly on the charred skeletal frames of the buildings that once crowded the area. The silence was deafening. A slight frown slid down his face.
The sudden blow of a freighter horn from the bay drew Sadar out of his revere.
Oh, that's right, the time... The man checked his watch; only half an hour had passed. I suppose it'll take the chief a little longer to find out.
He sighed. There was nothing to do but wait. The nagging feeling that someone had been watching while his back was turned still lingered.
"Emiri!"
Bang. Bang.
"Oy! I've brought you lunch! You hungry?"
Samson knocked on the door to Emiri's room once again. Still no answer.
"I'm opening the door now! If you're scantily clad, the answer is 'No, I'm not trying to take you to bed'! I'm just delivering food," Samson set the boxes of pizza on the floor.
"What was that about taking who to bed?"
Samson jumped nearly three feet in the air. He spun on his heels (nearly tripping over the pizza) to find a scrutinizing Clarice, hands placed very firmly on her hips, peering at him over the rim of her glasses. Samson let out a nervous laugh.
"Eh, nothing, nothing..."
"Uh-huh... Oh! Did you get lunch?" Clarice's mood picked up once she spotted the boxes. "I thought that Zoro guy was going on the food run?"
Samson knelt down and grabbed the food. He rubbed his temples. "He was. But, the guy's been gone for nearly an hour, so I decided to just do it myself."
"Huh, I wonder if he's alright...?"
Samson shrugged. "I think the guy can take care of himself. 'sides, I was glad to get some fresh air."
Clarice grabbed the top box of pizza and sauntered off. She sure knows how to put a man in his place, Samson thought idly. He turned around and twisted the knob of the door open.
"Emiri, pi..."
She was not there.
"...zza."
Where the heck is she?
A flash of silver sped towards Emiri's face. She barely ducked before the sword split her head open. The speed of her opponent's attacks was unbelievable.
"You cannot expect to evade all of my attacks for long," Byakuya Kuchiki remarked matter-of-factly. "Sooner or later, your stamina will begin to drop."
"Tch," Emiri wiped the sweat off her brow with her left arm. "So says you. I've barely done anything in this fight!"
"Indeed," Byakuya closed his eyes. "Want to know why?"
"I don't need to hear it!"
The long-haired Soul Reaper opened his eyes and cast an affronted glance at his opponent. "So be it."
Byakuya disappeared in a flash. Flash step again, eh? Emiri furrowed her brows. She had to be weary of the man's first strike; she could never spot him until the last possible second.
A sudden rush of wind let Emiri know Byakuya was inches from lopping off one of her arms. She back flipped, the snow cushioning her landing. She had enough time to scramble back to her feet and dodge a second strike.
Damn it! All I can do is dodge his attacks. I need a weapon or else this won't go anywhere...
"E-Emiri," a soft voice wheezed.
The girl glanced down in amazement. "Kira! Kira, why are you moving!? You're only going to hurt yourself more, dumbass!"
Kira lay at her feet, clinging onto her left leg with a weakened grip. He had crawled from where he had been knocked unconscious by the former captain of the sixth squad of the Gotei 13. He was covered in snow, dirt, and blood. Emiri was surprised he had enough energy to talk.
"Your sword...h-here," Kira held up Emiri's chain blade in his right hand.
"Kira," Emiri breathed. She could kiss him right there; never had she been so grateful to have him by her side. She took the blade. "Don't you die on me, you idiot. Once I beat this jerk, I'll get you patched up!"
Kira gave a weak smile and rolled onto his back. "That's my Emmy."
Byakuya, who had been watching from a distance, did not show any reaction to Emiri wielding her weapon. He remained impassive.
"Now, then, let's get started," a devilish grin sped across Emiri's face.
Byakuya raised the hilt of his sword to his face. "Scatter..."
In the blink of an eye, the chain of Emiri's sword wrapped around the Zanpakuto, halting the release. The girl pulled tautly on the chain, a ferocious glint in her eyes. Byakuya's brows were raised slightly in surprise.
"Shikai, is it? You're underestimating me!" Emiri pulled tighter on the chain. "I've heard about you from Kira; you're a former captain of that Soul Society. I want to fight you at your full strength! So, use that ultimate power of yours...bankai or whatever it’s called! I'll fucking destroy it!"
For a moment, Byakuya just blinked at her. He could not believe the words he had just heard. Destroy his bankai? This little girl?
"Such impudence..."
Emiri let the chain of her sword go lax.
"Very well, since you insist, I'll grant your wish," Byakuya's voice was cold and hard. "I'll show you just how utterly powerless you are."
The chain fell to the snow with a soft thud. Emiri stared wide-eyed as Byakuya turned the hilt of his sword upside-down. It seemed like an eternity, but the blade fell to the ground, like a drop of rain onto a puddle of water. Emiri's insides turned cold as darkness engulfed the world.
"Bankai, Senbonzakura Kageyoshi."
This feeling--!
Zoro glanced over his shoulder. A shiver went up his spine. Whoever it was that was fighting now had just unleashed an incredible amount of power. He could feel the energy resonating from miles away.
"I see..." Mihawk drawled. "Kuchiki has released his full power. Whomever it is he's fighting must be quite the adversary."
Zoro climbed to his feet, brushing off the dirt and debris that clung to him. He had been knocked into the wall of an abandoned building and had said wall fall on top of him. A trickle of blood ran down his forehead, but other than that, he showed no sign that he had been severly injured.
"This Kuchiki guy is strong," Roronoa commented, "maybe stronger than you, old man."
Mihawk chuckled. "Maybe, maybe not... I've yet to cross swords with him."
"Well, that's too bad."
"Not necessarily, I'm rather much enjoying this scuffle of ours, boy." Mihawk smiled at Zoro.
"Same here," Zoro returned the grin.
The bandana-clad swordsman placed a katana in his mouth and gripped the remaining two in his hands. Mihawk once again lifted his own blade. Zoro charged and sparks flew. The sounds of the swords striking rang in the air; a shrill cry echoing off of the shells of the buildings.
Emiri leapt from the branch of a tree just as a thousand glistening pink shards exploded.
Way too close!
A trickle of sweat ran down her neck. She flew towards the next tree, landing higher up. She barely had time to adjust her footing and leap once more before this tree too was engulfed in pink.
"You cannot escape!" Byakuya's voice rang through the air.
Damn it! I hate to admit it, but the jerk's right, Emiri scowled. She twisted in mid-air and landed on another tree trunk. A torrent of metallic petals rushed forward, threatening to engulf her. Emiri lunged forward. If she had no chance of escape then she was going to face it head-on.
She sliced through the barrage of steel with her own sword. Senbonzakura parted cleanly down the middle and Emiri emerged through the other side shockingly unscathed. She landed in the snow.
"You've left yourself open," Byakuya's voice boomed. "It's over, brat."
Emiri glanced to the sky; her stomach dropped. The shards of Senbonzakura gathered above her like a swirling cloud and then fell to the earth in a wave of steel and pink. There was nowhere to run, nowhere to escape...
The world was lost in an explosion of light. The girl was finished.
"Is that the best you got?"
Byakuya's eyes widened. "Impossible!"
The dust cleared. Emiri remained standing in a dome of light - a kido barrier. However, the barrier had not deflected all of Senbonzakura; Emiri had tears all over her clothes and she was dripping blood from where the blades had struck.
"You're gonna have to do better than that, pretty boy!" Emiri grinned madly.
"I see..." Byakuya's faced returned to a normal indifference. "You've survived everything I've unleashed thus far... I have no other choice; allow me to show you Senbonzakura's true form, in which it focuses entirely on killing the enemy." The shards of Senbonzakura disappeared and were replaced by a thousand floating swords encircling the two foes.
"Senkei, Senbonzakura Kageyoshi."
Emiri stared, wide-eyed. She had gotten lucky with the kido spell earlier, but now... A mingled sense of dread and excitement bubbled within her. Byakuya Kuchiki was unbelievably strong and he possessed a large arrary of skills; she couldn't wait to beat him. Yet, she also knew, if she was not careful she knew could lose her life right here and now.
"Be proud, you're only the third person to witness Senkei," Byakuya stated as a sword flew into his outstretched hand. "You are going to die by my own hands."
"Now this is more like it," a wicked grin stretched across Emiri's face.
Emiri charged at the Soul Reaper. The two engaged in a violent dance of strikes, all while barely evading fatal blows. Byakuya expected the girl's intensity to drop due to her injuries, but she was relentless in her attacks. She lunged at him with demonic speed. The former captain had to replace a couple of the swords he wielded after Emiri shattered them in half.
The tenacity of this girl is ludicrous, Byakuya mused. Is she really just a human?
The girl rushed at Byakuya. He dodged and stepped to the right. Emiri spun on her heels and their swords clashed, neither of them faltering. Emiri let out a yell of frustration and increased the pressure on Byakuya. The Soul Reaper had no choice but to recoil; however, as he jumped back, he grabbed a hold of the chain on the end of Emiri's blade. Emiri suddenly found herself struggling for balance.
"Enough of this!" Byakuya threw her with all of his might.
Tossed onto the snow, Emiri struggled back to her feet. As she regained a proper footing she saw Kuchiki pointing at her.
"Binding spell 61: Rikujo Koro!"
The wind was knocked out of her as she was pinned on all sides by six rods of light.
Shit! I can't move!
Byakuya raised his sword. "You put up quite the struggle, but it's over..."
Emiri waited for the blow.
It never came. She glanced around, her eyes going a hundred miles. Then, she saw it: Kira had blocked Byakuya's attack with his Zanpakuto.
"You--!"
"Don't...you dare...lay a finger on her," Kira wheezed. Their blades struck once more. Before Kira could strike a third time, Byakuya grabbed Wabisuke with his bare hands.
"Path of destruction four: Byakurai!"
Kira was shot square in the chest with the kido spell. He fell to the ground, his body limp.
"KIRAAAAAAAAAA!"
Byakuya glanced at Emiri in alarm. The girl...was breaking through the kido spell! The six rods fluctuated and then shattered. Emiri ran at full speed and leapt into the air. Their swords met.
"BASTARD!" Emiri howled in fury. Again and again their blades crossed. Byakuya was actually being pushed back.
Why?! Why is this girl gaining the upper-hand?!
"What's wrong? Did you forget?! Kira's Wabisuke doubles the weight of whatever it touches!!" Emiri cried, as if reading the Soul Reaper's mind.
Byakuya was in disbelief. He struggled to keep a grip on the hilt of the sword. Emiri raised her blade once more and violently swung it down. Byakua's sword shattered and the hilt was blown out of his hands.
"Now, DIE!"
Emiri's sword struck Byakuya's torso. Blood flew into the air and the former captain fell to his knees. The senkei vanished. Both fighters were gasping for air.
"...Well done..." Byakuya muttered and then he fell into the snow.
Emiri stared for a moment. She'd actually beaten him... It was the strangest sensation. Was she sure she hadn't imagined it? She rubbed at her eyes. Yes, she'd actually beaten him.
A smile flickered onto Emiri's face, but then she remembered...
"Kira!"
The girl spun around, sprinted to his side, and was promptly impaled through the right shoulder from behind. She gasped and glanced down. Was that…an arm? The appendage was pulled out of her violently from whence it came. Emiri turned around slowly.
"Sorry about that," a broad-shouldered man with dark swept-back hair, piercing blue eyes and a thin beard leered. "You should get some rest."
Emiri wobbled on her feet, her vision beginning to waver. She could feel the blood spilling out through her clothes. The bearded man ambled over to where Byakuya lay, lifted him up, and carried him beneath one of the arms. He glanced back at Emiri.
"I told you to sleep. You should listen to your elders," he gave a mock frown before an eerie smile crawled up his face.
Emiri could only watch as he and Byakuya Kuchiki vanished. And then, her whole world went dark and she collapsed, bathing the snow in a crimson red.
* * *
Hill tapped his foot restlessly. Usually, he was a patient man, but for once he found himself restless and anxious. He rested his whiskered chin on his cane and stared at nothing in particular. If only he wasn't injured...
"How long has it been now?" Allen Black asked before taking another bite out of his hamburger.
Keith checked his watch. "About four hours."
"Hmm," Allen said in mid-chew.
Hill's blue eyes narrowed. Four hours, huh...it had felt more like ten. When Allen had returned with some food for the three of them, Hill found he did not have the stomach to eat. He was too preoccupied worrying over Q. Now, the sun was setting in the west and there was still no sign from the female chief of police. The Englishman shivered slightly; the temperature was starting to drop again.
Allen finished the last of his burger and opened the door to the car. He stretched his arms above his head and exhaled deeply. Once again, silence returned to the vehicle. Keith puffed on a cigarette while Hill continued tapping his foot, his brows furrowed in slight consternation.
Keith glanced at Hill through the rearview mirror. "You've been pretty quiet back there, England... You sure you don't wanna eat?"
Hill continued to stare at the carpeting of the car floor.
"Hey."
"Hmm? Pardon?"
"Food. You want some?" Keith indicated at the bag of food in his hand.
"Oh," Hill said after a moment. He was so lost in thought he had forgotten there was another person in the car. "I'm not very hungry, but thanks."
Keith frowned. "Suit yourself."
"Hey...I'm getting a little worried. Should we head down and try to find her?" Allen leaned in the open car door.
Keith was about to answer when the hand radio he carried on his belt crackled to life.
"...an...of...ou...give me a hand, here?"
"C-Chief?!"
"Q!"
"Finally! I've been trying to radio you guys for the last few minutes. Guess it got through this time," the chief's voice clearly replied.
"So? How was it?"
Q grabbed Keith's outstretched hand and got to her feet. Her clothes were covered in a thin layer of dust and her glasses were slightly askew. She readjusted her frames and brushed back a couple of stray strands of hair.
"Those tunnels go on for miles. I'm sure they run underneath most of the city." She patted the dirt off of her pants and jacket.
"No sign of those Iron guys?" Allen cocked his head to one side.
Q stretched her shoulders. "I don't know if it was the Order of Iron or not, but I explored one particular tunnel for several miles... It definitely stretched past the city limits and eventually led back above ground. There was evidence that someone had used the exit there; I found tire tracks and an oil trail, but...
"...that was all I could find. I didn't see anything else substantial," she finished, frowning.
"Well, that does leave the possibility open that the Order of Iron did manage to escape," Hill reasoned. Q caught his eye. He wore a weary smile on his face. "I'm glad you didn't run into anything serious down there."
The police chief let out a small sigh. She wished she had run into something serious down there. A silence fell between the group. All that time and energy, and they had nothing.
"What do we do now, Chief?" Allen's voice shook Q out of her thoughts.
"That's a good question. I'm...I'm not so sure myself," she admitted.
"I always find it best to start from the beginning... Just who would attack the Order of Iron, and why?"
It was Sadar again.
"You certainly have a knack for appearing at the most opportune moments," Keith muttered. The white-haired man gave him a smirk and ambled over to Q.
"I take it you're still not satisfied, Chief?"
Q narrowed her eyes at the man. "No. While I did find some signs of disturbance in those tunnels, I don't have anything concrete to fully prove your theory."
"Ah, but it did raise your curiosity did it not? Just why would the Order of Iron be forced out of their headquarters so violently?"
"What are you going on about, old man?" Keith put a hand on his hip. He was growing tired of the stranger's ambiguous speech.
Sadar pressed on, once again ignoring the detective. "Is there not anything you remember? Anything you might have witnessed first-hand?"
Q arched an eyebrow. How does he...?
"The zeppelin," Hill suddenly said. Q glanced at him. "Wasn't there..."
"...something written on the side!"
The police chief and the spy exchanged looks of dawning comprehension.
"Allen, pen and paper!" Q ordered. The detective fumbled through his pockets and produced a ballpoint pen and a small notepad. Hill, Keith, and Allen watched as Q scribbled several different phrases on the pad; she crossed out several in frustration, desperate to remember the right one. "A-ha!"
"'The Bird of Spamming is my name. Devour my spam to make me sane.'" Keith read aloud. "What the hell...?"
"...The Cool Mexicanos." The four looked up at Sadar. "As I thought."
"Cool Mexicanos?" Q asked.
"A rogue group who sought the key to eternal life. Sounds preposterous, I know," Sadar added upon seeing the looks on the others' faces. "But, their forces have been incredibly weakened.
"They are the only ones who possess a dirigible in this country, though. More specifically, one of them: A man by the name of Da Sombras."
Just how many mysterious organizations are running around in this country? Q rubbed at her temples. She was beginning to develop a headache.
"I don't get it, though. Why would these Mexicanos guys wipe out the Iron?" Allen intejected.
"Competition," Sadar answered. "They were both after the same goal. But, what you should really ask is how did the Cool Mexicanos know where to find the Order of Iron...
"The Order of Iron is a pretty allusive bunch. They like to stick to the shadows and aren't keen to reveal themselves until an opportune moment presents itself."
"Just what are you getting at...?" Keith took his cigarette out of his mouth.
"Somebody informed the Cool Mexicanos of the Iron's whereabouts." Sadar answered. "Most likely, that somebody was Michelle Ozzal."
"W-What?!"
"And why would Ozzal do that?" Hill asked.
John Sadar exhaled and turned to face the group. "Ozzal...she's known about the various organizations running around in her backyard since day one. And why wouldn't she? She is the current leader of Actonia, whether one likes it or not. She's done a good job at keeping track of everyone.
"However, all these secret organizations loose in her country pose a threat. Ozzal knows this. So, she did what any calculating strategist would - she pitted the groups against each other. What better way to get rid of your enemies than to have them take each other out? She'd barely have to lift a finger..." A morose grin spread across Sadar's face.
"There is an ulterior motive, of course," he continued, "The plan was probably to have all these different factions gone by the time of the Comedian invasion."
A collective gasp spread among the other four
"C-COMEDIAN INVASION?!"
Sadar closed his eyes and took in a deep breath.
"Ozzal has given permission to Comedia to invade Actonia two weeks from now. It's all a part of her grand scheme: The merging of Comedia and Actonia into one superpower, of which, Ozzal will be the ruler."
Q's stomach dropped. She couldn't believe what she was hearing...she didn't want to believe it. But, deep in the back of her mind, a little voice told her that this man was speaking the truth. She did not know where this voice came from nor why she listened so obediently, but she knew she could not ignore it.
"If...If Ozzal goes through with that, there'll be no one to challenge her power," Allen spoke in a hushed tone.
The others could only shake their heads incredulously.
"You certainly know a lot about what's been going on in this country... Why are you telling us all this?”
Sadar let out a small smile. "I'm just a Good Samaritan. I thought the chief of police had the right to know about what’s going to happen."
"That so?" Keith inquired. "And where's the evidence to support these claims of yours?"
"Unfortunately, you'll just have to go by my word on this, detective. It's up to all of you whether to believe me or not."
Hill eyed the man. And then he spotted it. A glass cross...!
"How good is the word of John Sadar?" he asked.
"Oh, when did you realize?"
"That’s not important. I'll ask you one more time, why tell us all this?"
Sadar contemplated for a moment.
"This country deserves a chance at peace, don't you think, Mr. MI-6?" he enjoyed watching Hill's eyes widen at this. "I spoke the truth when I said I was a Good Samaritan. Now, if you'll excuse me, it's getting rather cold." And with that, he bid them goodbye.
"Hey, you! You with the fuzzy hair!"
"Huh? Whaddya want?"
"Have you seen Emiri around?"
Mugen blinked.
"Emiri?"
"The feisty blonde girl with the manservant! She has two different coloured eyes..." Samson pointed at his own pupils.
"Oh! That chick!"
Samson nodded.
"Nope, can't say that I've seen her around lately." And with that, he strutted off towards the kitchen, still hungry, even after helping himself to two boxes of a large supreme pizza.
"Well, that went nowhere," Samson said aloud.
He was starting to seriously worry. Emiri had not been seen since well before noon and it was now dusk. He knew Emiri was tough and could stand toe-to-toe with some of the strongest fighters, but, he still worried for her. Samson worried about a lot of things these days. Even with the Order of Glass officially joining their side and the addition of the GAR Street Bar regulars, all Samson could feel was an escalating sense of dread. The fact that the Comedian invasion was only a few weeks away didn't help matters.
"Hey, why are you looking so down?"
Samson raised his head to find Kamina peeking at him inches away from his face.
"Ah! Lemme guess! You're worried about piloting the mecha! Well, be at ease, for the great Lord Kamina is here to alleviate any worries you might have! I'll take you under my wing and teach you everything you need to know about fighting in a giant humanoid robot!"
"Er..."
Before Samson could properly respond, Kamina slid an arm under one of his and dragged him away.
"C'mon, I'm gonna get you started on a specialized training regiment! With Lord Kamina as your instructor, you'll be an ace pilot in no time!" Kamina grinned.
"B-but, we don't even have any mecha yet..." Samson stammered.
"Bah! We can train without one! With mecha, it's all about hand-eye coordination!"
Oh God, somebody help me.
Kamina pulled Samson through the many halls of the bunker until they reached the large double door entrance that led back to the world outside. He was about to punch in the code to open when the large steel doors swung ajar. The whir of the gears moving and the scraping steel echoed down the corridor.
"Oh, it's the monk! Back from seeing the cops?"
Sadar stood in the doorway, his hands resting on his knees. Behind him, a silent flurry of snow fell onto the already blanketed grounds. He was visibly exhausted.
"KAIA!" he yelled. "KAIA! I NEED YOU NOW!"
Samson managed to unhook Kamina's arm from around him and approached Sadar.
"Father Sadar, what's wrong?"
The priest looked up and met Samson's eyes. A sudden fear crept into the young man's stomach. He almost didn't want to hear the priest's answer...
"It's...its Emiri and Kira. They...they've...I found them in the forest. They need help or they're going to die."
* * *
The full moon shone brightly through the crisp winter air as Walter stepped outside into the courtyard behind Comdot Estate. Making sure the secret passageway was closed securely behind him, he exhaled a foggy breath and pulled his gloves on tighter. It was an especially chilly night to be out, but that wouldn't keep Walter from doing his duty for his young mistress.
He started off across the courtyard, leaving barely visible footprints in the thin blanket of snow covering the ground. He could obscure those when he got back... it would be a short enough trip to the drop-box to leave his message, and before he knew it he would be back inside enjoying a nice cup of hot tea...
He reached the outer wall and, glancing behind him at the still-empty courtyard, began feeling along the surface of the wall until he came upon a pair of invisible wires. The vines that Starry had used for her secret escapes had long since died off, and so Walter had replaced them with his trademark wires, knowing that he would be the only one who would be able to find and use them. Grasping the wires tightly, he lifted himself up and began the climb up the wall.
"'ey there," called a voice from somewhere above him.
Walter paused and looked up. A figure perched on the top of the wall was leaning over and looking back at him, silhouetted against the bright moonlight. Then another figure, larger than the first, slowly peered over the edge of the wall. It seemed that the two of them had been there for some time, and Walter mentally cursed his carelessness for not having noticed them lounging atop the wall in his haste to perform his errand.
Walter slowly lowered himself to the ground, and the smaller of the two other men soon jumped down to join him.
"Nice night for a walk, eh?" The young man's face was now visible to Walter, and he realized with some dismay that his simple errand had just gotten a lot more complicated.
"That it is... Zeus," he answered nonchalantly. "I see that you and your... partner?" he guessed, as sure enough Kay El came dropping onto the ground next to them, "are enjoying some fresh air too?"
"Yeah, it's real nice," Zeus replied wryly. "Nowhere else I'd rather be."
"I haven't seen you around the Estate for a while," Walter continued, ignoring his sarcasm. "I heard Ozzal had sent you off on an assassination mission with those men who call themselves the Enigma Eight."
"Yeah, fun little mission that was. We had a real blast babysitting those Flying :|s. We could barely tear ourselves away to get back here. But oh well, I've got my own work to do, so they'll just have to try to get along without us."
"Oh? And what work is that?"
Zeus gave him a curious look, perhaps wondering why Walter was suddenly so interested in his goings-on. "I've got my own mark. You remember Emiri? Ozzal's old assassin who went all failtastic and ran off with her tail between her legs?" Walter nodded. "Well she's with the Syndicate now. Which gives me even more reason to track them down." He laughed bitterly. "As if I needed any more reason..."
"What do you mean?" Walter asked.
Zeus gave him a hard look. "Once we decided to ditch the Flying :|s, I tried to contact my father to see if he had any new leads on where the Syndicate had gone into hiding. And come to find out... my father is dead, and everyone knew it but me."
Walter frowned slightly. He hadn't realized that Ozzal had hidden Goda's death from his adopted son. And apparently, without any more information to go on, Zeus had come to the conclusion that the Syndicate was behind his father's murder. This could become troublesome indeed...
"So I came back to see what was going on around here..." Zeus continued, "and the first thing I see is Miss Starry's lackey sneaking out of the Estate in the middle of the night. How interesting... and fortuitous."
Walter's eyes narrowed. "I can't tell you anything about what happened to Goda, if that's what you're thinking. I don't know any more about it than you do."
"That wasn't really what I was thinking, actually, but it's interesting that you're so quick to play dumb. I was more interested in knowing who you're going out to see on such a cold night, and why you couldn't just use the front door."
That was a subject Walter really didn't want to get into with these two, but it didn't seem like he would get very far by continuing to play dumb. "I don't think that's any of your business."
Zeus crooked a strange smile. "And I think when the Angry God asks you a question, you answer him."
Walter didn’t give the man a chance to act; in an instant, he pulled out a thin sharp string of metallic wire. If he wanted any hope of defeating the two men, he had to finish this quickly. He spun the wire in the air and wrapped it around Zeus, pulling taut on the string.
Zeus let out a grunt in surprise as the wire dug into his skin.
“Now, let’s get rid of those bothersome arms of yours!” With his free hand, Walter withdrew two more microfilament wires. He threw the strings at the restrained assassin’s arms and momentarily let go of the string holding the man’s torso. He strung the metal through his mouth and clenched his teeth shut. Zeus was immobile, his arms stretched out parallel to the ground, a wire wrapped around each of his wrists.
“Well, well, the famous Dental Floss of Death,” Zeus managed to drawl out. “How lucky am I?”
“Luckier than him, at least,” a deep voice replied.
Walter’s eyes widened. Kay El was behind him?! When--?! A gargantuan elbow was suddenly brought down on top of the old man’s head, instantly knocking him to the ground. The pressure on the strings tied around Zeus fell. He untangled himself from the metallic coils, using a knife to cut through the more obstinate fibers. He stomped towards Walter’s prone form.
“You’ve gotten old, Walter Dornez. I can’t believe you actually thought you had a chance by going after me first!” He leered down at the man, a look of mock-pity on his face. “This big brute is a lot faster than he looks, don‘t you agree?”
Kay El administered a kick to the old man’s ribs with his boot.
“Now…” Zeus grabbed Walter by the collar of his shirt, lifting him to his feet, “you mind telling us where you were going?”
Walter said nothing.
Zeus frowned. “How disappointing…but if that’s how you wanna play…” He punched Walter in the face with the back of his gloved hand. The old man crumpled to the floor. Blood and a small folded piece of paper fell to the ground as well.
“What’s this…?” Zeus picked up the note.
“TALK!” Kay El roared.
Zeus read through the note while Kay El administered a few more kicks to the battered Walter. His eyes narrowed.
"Well, well, isn't this interesting..."
Kay El glanced at the note and raised his eyebrow. Zeus answered his unspoken question with a sly grin.
"Let's go see Princess Starry. Maybe she can tell us something."
Starry sat up in bed gazing vacantly at nothing in particular. She hadn't been sleeping well these past several nights, and she was always especially worried while Walter was away. She trusted him, and knew he could defend himself if need be, but she couldn't help being a little bit paranoid with things the way they were now. At any moment, someone could discover her treachery, and her own life could be in danger...
A pounding on her door startled her out of her reverie. She was barely out of bed before the door swung open and two men came walking in. She recognized them as two of her mother's assassins, members of the Echelon group that Ozzal had just disbanded.
"Evenin', miss," the smaller one said, mockingly gesturing as if he were tipping his hat. "Sorry to disturb you so late. My name is Zeus, and this is my associate Kay El. We just need to ask you a few questions."
"Questions? At this hour?"
"It shouldn't take long, if you're forthcoming with the information we need."
"What's this about, then?"
Zeus grinned and held out the note he had taken from Walter. "Does this look familiar?"
Starry took the note, trying not to let the sinking feeling in her chest show. She read through it, pretending that she was seeing it for the first time.
R -
Matrix demoted, new scientists brought in. Working on new armored fighting suits.
Be careful.
<3 S
She handed the note back. "I'm afraid not. I don't even really know what it means."
"It's apparently some sort of message to the Syndicate. We found it in your lackey's pocket as he was trying to sneak out of the Estate."
She suddenly looked very worried. "Walter? What did you do to him?"
"Oh, just roughed him up a little. Same as we do to anyone who doesn't tell us what we want to know."
She frowned, sensing the subtle intimidation in his words. "I'm afraid I don't know anything about this," she said resolutely. "I'm sorry, but you'll have to go now."
"Awww, that's too bad. Must be Walter was the traitor the whole time. Maybe we should go back and finish him off." Zeus exchanged a snarky smile with his partner.
"Leave him alone! Walter is no traitor!"
"Oh really?" Zeus tipped his head to one side. "'Cause it sure looks like someone was trying to get a message to the Syndicate. And if it wasn't you, and it wasn't him... well, I think you see where I'm going with this."
He grinned at her, enjoying watching her squirm in the corner he had pushed her into.
After a moment of uncertainty, her face tightened into a stern expression. "I won't stand for this insulting interrogation. If my mother knew you were forcing your way in here in the middle of the night, you'd never set foot in this Estate again."
"Mommy can't help you now," Zeus said sharply. "Besides, do you really want her knowing that her little girl has been hooking up with one of those filthy traitors?"
Starry's defiant look faded as she realized that he was right, and she couldn't even rely on her mother's power to save her. She nervously looked between the two of them, and then desperately decided to try a new tactic.
"Didn't you know that the Syndicate was thrown into chaos after you killed their leader?" she said confidently, hoping that they'd been sufficiently out of the loop not to catch on to her little white lie. "I heard they disbanded and slunk off into the gutter somewhere. And with the new military power that Mother is pulling together, there's no way a piddling group of rebels will be able to stand up to us. So really there's no need for you to be concerned with the Syndicate at all."
"Is that so?" Zeus smirked. "You think just because Ozzal has Comedia's army and these new 'armored fighting suits,' she doesn't need a couple of lowly assassins to go tracking down what's left of that worthless rebellion?"
"That... that's right," Starry stammered.
"Well let me tell you something. It doesn't matter to me what Ozzal wants or who else she has doing her dirty work for her. The fact of the matter is that I have more than one very good reason for wanting to track down the Syndicate on my own."
He gave her a moment to see if she would show any signs of recognizing what he was talking about, but her expression remained merely perplexed.
"Aside from the fact that I have a score to settle with a bitch who ran off to join them," he continued, sneering a little at the thought of Emiri, "a very important member of your mother's administration was recently assassinated. And we've got a pretty good idea who did it, and why. And if those Syndicate dogs think they can get away with killing my father..."
"You mean... Goda? You think the Syndicate killed him?"
He glared at her. "Why not? I just offed their great hero, so why shouldn't they take revenge on me by killing my father? The only thing I want to know is how they managed to get an assassin all the way into the throne room and back out without anyone seeing them."
Starry suddenly looked very uneasy.
"You know something about this?" Kay El asked, looking at her intently.
"I, um..." she stammered nervously.
Zeus grabbed her arm. "If you know something you'd better start talking. I'm going to kill every last one of those Syndicate bastards, so don't think you can protect them by staying quiet."
"The Syndicate had nothing to do with it!" she cried.
Zeus momentarily looked startled, then tightened his grip on the girl's arm. "You'd better not lie to me, bitch," he hissed.
"I'm not lying," she insisted, looking him straight in the eye. "I... I saw it happen. And the Syndicate had absolutely nothing to do with it."
"Then who was it, huh? If you saw the whole thing?"
She faltered and looked down, unable to answer him.
He tightened his grip on her arm and raised his weapon to her face. "You're going to tell me what you know, or I'm going to slash your throat."
She looked apprehensively at the blade for a few moments, her face marked with fear and indecision. Finally she closed her eyes and relented.
"It was... my mother."
Zeus froze. And then, letting out an infuriated growl, he sent the girl reeling with a blow to the face.
"I told you not to lie to me!" he bellowed.
"Zeus, stop it!" Kay El intervened, putting a hand on his friend's shoulder. "She might be telling the truth!"
"She's just trying to protect her traitor boyfriend! Do you seriously believe that Ozzal would do such a thing?"
"Well... it would explain why nobody saw an assassin. And why the rest of the Echelon was disbanded so quickly..."
Zeus glared at his partner, breathing heavily with rage. Then he turned and glowered at the girl trembling on the floor in front of him.
"At the very least..." Kay El added quietly, "do you think she would sell out her mother if it weren't true?"
Zeus seemed to contemplate this for a few moments, and then went to Starry and pulled her up by the arm.
"Well I guess there's only one way to find out," he said in a steely voice, dragging Starry toward the door. "Let's go pay Mommy Dear a visit."
Ozzal had spent a long day in her office, going over reports and trading calls with her Comedian associates in preparation for the upcoming "invasion." She had barely noticed how late it had gotten, but now she was ready to put political matters aside and get some rest.
She stood up from her desk, yawning and stretching, and ambled toward the door, pondering if she should have Matrix bring her some hot Taquitos or just settle for a nice cup of cocoa.
There was a quiet but firm knock on the door. "Who is it?" she called.
The door moved slightly as if someone were trying to open it, but Ozzal had taken the precaution of locking it while she worked. She heard a muffled curse from the other side, and then a loud crack as the door was kicked in.
"What the hell?!" she exclaimed, retreating a few steps and reaching for her hidden pistol.
She stopped when she saw who it was coming through the door - her daughter, with a terrified look on her face, and the former Echelon's two top agents behind her. Zeus had the girl's arms pinioned behind her with one hand, and the other held his formidable weapon. It was clear that they weren't there for some nice cocoa.
Ozzal scowled. "What the hell is going on here? What are you doing with my daughter?"
"Nothing to get worked up about, Highness," Zeus answered, pushing the girl along as he and Kay El came farther into the room. "We were just having a nice chat with Miss Starry here, and we thought it would be nice for you to join in too. We've got a few questions for you. Your daughter just told us some verrry interesting things, so we hope that you can be just as cooperative."
Ozzal glanced from Zeus to Starry, sizing up the situation and trying to figure out just what her daughter might have told them. What could there be that Starry would know that Zeus would care about? Surely she would have no idea about what had happened to Goda...
"I found out recently that my father is dead," Zeus said bluntly. "And it seems that you conveniently forgot to tell me that before you sent me off on that babysitting job. Now how could you have neglected to share such an important piece of information?"
Ozzal looked mildly annoyed. "At the time of our last meeting, I had not yet received that 'important piece of information' myself. And once I did, after you had left, there was no way for me to contact you. Call it unlucky timing."
Zeus was unfazed. "Really. That is unlucky."
"You of course have my condolences," Ozzal said cordially. "It's been a tremendous loss for all of us. I've only recently gotten over the shock myself."
"Oh you have?" Zeus almost laughed. "That's kind of funny, considering that I've heard you were the one who pulled the trigger."
Ozzal's eyes narrowed imperceptibly. "Oh? And where did you hear such a ridiculous thing?"
"From someone who says she saw you kill him."
Ozzal's gaze once again settled on her daughter, whose anxious eyes told Ozzal everything she needed to know.
"And what makes you think that this silly little twit knows anything about anything? Do you believe everything that little girls tell you?"
"I believe what I want to believe. And right now I believe there's a good chance that you're a backstabbing liar."
Ozzal smiled. "Now now, Zeus, there's no need for childish name-calling. Surely we can discuss the matter like grown-ups."
Zeus bristled. "Don't give me that patronizing crap. If you are the one who killed my father, I want to know. So tell me the truth, now."
Ozzal regarded him appraisingly, almost smugly, seeming almost amused at his barely-contained rage. "And what..." she said deliberately, "if I did?"
Zeus' eyes widened in a moment of shock, more that she had admitted it so brazenly than that she had actually done it, and then his face twisted into an even more ferocious glare. "If you murdered my father..." he seethed, "then I'm going to make you watch your daughter die right here!"
He tightened his grip on both Starry and his weapon, waiting to see if Ozzal would show any remorse or try to stop him. But rather than seeming frightened or even concerned, Ozzal let out a hearty laugh.
"You think you can intimidate me? I'm not afraid of you. Go ahead and kill her if it'll make you feel better about poor old Daddy. Just remember that no matter what you do -" her expression and tone became suddenly steely "- you belong to me."
"Mother..." Starry murmured, her eyes wide with shock and fear.
Zeus let out a growl and brought his blade up, poising it to slice into the girl's throat.
"Zeus."
The Angry God paused at the sound of his partner's voice. Kay El generally knew better than to call off Zeus' strikes unless he had a really good reason.
"Let her go. She doesn't deserve to lose her life for this bitch."
Zeus scowled. As far as he was concerned, being that bitch's daughter was more than reason enough to kill her. And then his mind flashed back to a night many years ago, and the sight of a house full of people who had been killed simply because they belonged to a certain family... his family...
With another growl he tossed Starry to the side and leapt at Ozzal. She was the one who had killed his father, and she was the one who was going to pay with her life.
Ozzal was ready for him, though, and had her pistol drawn before he could even get close to her. She fired off two quick shots, and Zeus was forced to alter his trajectory to dodge them. Seeing her attacker momentarily thrown off-balance, Ozzal took the opportunity to dart through the door and take off down the hallway.
"You're not getting away from me that easily!!!" Zeus bellowed, quickly regaining his balance and charging out of the room after her.
As the sounds of the pair's boisterous departure faded off down the hallway, the two people who remained in the room were left in a sort of eerie silence. After a few moments Kay El sighed and took a few steps toward the door, pausing to look down at Starry. She looked up at him with eyes full of terror, and his eyes looking back seemed to offer an unspoken sympathy, as if he knew what it was like to be betrayed.
"If you want to get away... I'll make sure nobody goes after you," he said quietly. "But if you go to the Syndicate, I can't promise nothing bad will happen to you. So... just be careful out there."
She nodded, and he started after his partner.
"Thank you."
He paused for just a moment, as if to acknowledge her quiet words of gratitude, and then strode out of the room.
Starry pulled her knees to her chest and just sat there for several moments trying to compose herself. As much as she would have liked to cry over what had just happened to her, she knew she didn't have that luxury. She needed to get out of there, and if Walter was still alive she needed to find him and get him out too. And then, if the fates allowed it, she needed to get to Raef and his friends.
And so she got to her feet, and started off.
Zeus ran at full speed down the corridor, Ozzal only a few feet ahead of him. Every so often, she would turn around and fire a round at him. Fortunately for him, he reacted quickly and managed to dodge her shots. The gunfire and the sound of their feet hitting marble echoed throughout the hallway.
Plaster and concrete exploded as Ozzal managed to fire a shot only feet away from Zeus’ head. He ducked lower, his arms behind him, and sprinted. Ozzal reloaded her gun and fired at his feet. Zeus barely had time to sidestep the shots.
“Tch,” Ozzal frowned. She turned a corner and ran down the stairs leading into the atrium of the manor. She glanced back behind her out of the corner of her eye. Zeus was still on her tail.
Perfect. A sly grin crawled up the woman’s face. She skidded to a stop in front of the double wooden doors leading to the grounds outside.
“Decided to stop running, eh?” Zeus sneered. “Smart.”
Ozzal let out a low chuckle. Her shoulders still quivered as she slowly turned around to face the man. The leer on her face pushed Zeus’ buttons. She still had the audacity to laugh at him! Even now when she was cornered...
“What’s so damn funny?!” Zeus growled.
Ozzal’s grin just grew wider.
“As much fun as this game of tag has been, I’m afraid I have more important business to attend to,” the laugher in her voice still lingered. She opened her eyes and cast a malicious gaze on Zeus. “Sorry I can’t play with you any longer…”
“Why you…” Zeus was shaking with fury. He lifted his weapon, pointing the blade at his father’s killer.
Ozzal only continued smiling that sickeningly sweet smile of hers. She snapped her fingers. A hidden door in the stone wall to the left of Zeus slid open. He watched as a familiar figure crept out of the shadows and into the room.
“Kariya… What are you doing here?”
Kagetoki Kariya grabbed at the hilt of his sword tucked onto his obi.
“To be samurai is to serve. I am merely serving our lord, Angry God.”
Zeus narrowed his eyes at the man, the anger rising in him. “That so? And how much did she pay you?”
“That is of no concern. I am here to fulfill my duty,” Kariya answered.
“That he is,” Ozzal chimed in. She opened one of the large wooden doors and stepped into the chilly night air. “Play nice, you two.” The door slammed shut.
Zeus let out a roar and made for the door, but before he could slash at it with his weapon he was knocked back by a wave of raw energy. He regained his footing and stared angrily at Kariya.
“I’m afraid I cannot let you pass,” Kariya spoke in a calm tone.
Unable to hold back his rage, Zeus charged at the samurai. Their weapons clashed and sparks flew. Zeus unleashed a flurry of attacks one after another. Kariya parried each strike expertly with his blade. This only angered Zeus more.
The two men turned the once pristine marble atrium of the manor into a war zone. Stone and concrete fell to the floor as they each attempted to strike the other. Kariya even managed to cut one of the dozen pillars in the room in half.
Zeus roared in frustration. No matter what he did, Kariya would avert his attacks. If it continued this way, he would end up wasting all his stamina. The other man didn’t even appear to be breaking into a sweat.
“Damn you!”
At that moment, the wall opposite from which Kariya had emerged exploded. Both men turned in surprise. The rubble cleared and Kay El emerged. He had punched through the wall with nothing but his brute strength.
Zeus let a grin spread across his face. “You’re late!”
“Sorry,” Kay El mumbled.
“Time to end this!” Zeus yelled. Kay El got the hint.
The two rushed at Kariya. With the addition of Kay El’s brute strength, the samurai had trouble keeping both men at bay. He parried an attack by Zeus only to have to dodge one of Kay El’s fists as it attempted to make contact with his face. Zeus and Kay El were actually pushing him back.
Zeus brought down his spear once more. Kariya leapt aside, the weapon made cracks in the marble floor where it had struck. Kay El suddenly threw a piece of rubble at the samurai. He didn’t run, instead he faced it head-on and cut the slab of concrete in half with one clean swipe of his sword. Before the pieces fell to the ground, he had to dodge another attack by Zeus.
Kariya frowned. With no other choice, he swung his sword in a graceful arc; a burst of energy propelled towards his two opponents. Both men just barely managed to avoid the attack.
“Uchiha!” Kariya boomed.
Zeus’ brows raised in surprise.
The ninja too…?!
“You are having trouble, it seems,” the quiet voice of Itatchi Uchiha answered back. He stood atop the stairs leading up to the second floor of the building.
“And what the hell are you doing here?” Zeus asked. “Didn’t you have a mark to hunt?”
Itachi closed his eyes. “My prey has been surprisingly allusive,” he said in his usual emotionless tone as he made his way down the stairs to ground level. “Make no mistake, I would not be here otherwise.”
“Ninja also serve a lord, Uchiha,” Kariya addressed the man.
Itachi did not answer, he merely closed his eyes once more as he finally stepped onto the marble floor of the atrium.
“Keep an eye on him, you brute,” Zeus barked at Kay El, “he’s a tricky one.” Kay El nodded.
“Not the best choice of words,” Itachi’s eyes flashed open.
The next thing Kay El and Zeus knew, a flock of crows was flying out of the ninja’s red kaleidoscopic orbs. Hundreds and hundreds of birds swarmed at them, blocking out all light and plunging them into darkness. The world disappeared as they lost all senses.
And then it was over. The battered atrium of Comdot Estate appeared before them again. The samurai and ninja were nowhere to be found.
After blinking several times, Zeus found he was lying on the floor. How…?
“Zeus…” Kay El echoed his own thoughts.
“Genjutsu,” Zeus muttered darkly. He punched a fist into the cold stone floor, small drops of blood dripping onto the marble. “They’re gone.”
“We were out for ten minutes,” Kay El informed him.
“Damn you, Ozzal. You won’t get away with this!” Again Zeus punched a fist, the blood flying everywhere.
* * *
Samson paced nervously back and forth outside of the infirmary doors. He'd done this a lot over the last few days - tread over his steps over and over, deep in thought. This time, his thoughts were on Emiri and Kira.
It was morning. Samson had barely gotten any sleep he was so worried about the pair. When Sadar and Kaia had brought them in they were in critical condition; both had lost a lot of blood and were unconscious. Kaia had stayed up all night working her ki to heal them, but there was no word yet if they were going to make a recovery.
Samson spared a glance at Sadar. He was sitting in a nearby chair, his head resting on the palm of his hand, eyes closed. He'd finally gone to sleep after staying awake the entire night.
Who could have done this to them? Samson once again asked himself. Emiri and Kira were so strong... It frightened him to think that there was someone out there who could do that much hurt to them.
He turned his attention back to the infirmary doors. Kaia had still not emerged.
Just when we were getting on our feet... Samson's shoulders slumped. Not long after Kira and Emiri had been found, Roronoa Zoro had come shuffling back to the bunker. He was also covered in severe injuries, but he refused treatment; he claimed all he needed was some sleep and then he'd be fine. Nobody argued against him.
"If you keep on grimacing your face is gonna get stuck like that."
Clarice placed a tentative hand on Samson's arm and flashed him a small smile. Samson mustered up what energy he had and returned it.
Suddenly, the doors to the infirmary swung open. Clarice released her hand and Samson rushed forward. Father Sadar's eyes snapped open and he sat upright in his seat. Kaia emerged from the room, her hair tied back in a ponytail and a sheen of sweat glistening on her forehead.
"H-How are they?" Samson asked, the anxiety in his voice palpable.
Kaia wiped her brow with the back of an arm. "They're going to be okay."
A wave of relief swept over the group. Samson's stomach unclenched and his face brightened up.
"They haven't regained consciousness, but, they're no longer in any danger," Kaia continued. "I've done all I can. The rest is up to them."
Kaia's knees suddenly wobbled and she collapsed. Sadar caught her before she hit the floor.
"Good job, Kaia. I'm proud of you," Sadar whispered softly. He turned to the others. "She's just asleep. I'm going to put her to bed." He lifted Kaia into his arms and carried her down to her quarters.
Samson let out a large sigh.
"So, you want some breakfast?" Clarice asked.
"Yeah, breakfast sounds good," he replied. Clarice gave him a kiss on the cheek and they made their way to the kitchen.
The news about Emiri and Kira's condition quickly circulated throughout the bunker. The clamor could be heard in the hallways as the word spread from person to person. By the time Samson and Clarice actually sat down to enjoy their morning meal, most of the Syndicate had heard the news.
"Hah! I knew that Emiri girl was tough! She should come by the bar once this invasion stuff is out of the way. I'll gladly buy her a few rounds."
"She's underage, Kittan," Charles Beams said in between bites of scrambled eggs.
"She is? Aww..."
Quite a crowd had joined Samson and Clarice for breakfast that morning. Kamina, Kittan, and Charles sat on one end of the table gorging on eggs, while Proof and Cid sat on the other, whispering behind their boxes of cereal. Holland Novak sat apart from the group, chewing on a piece of toast and looking as sullen as always.
Despite the good news about Emiri and Kira's health, the group was relatively quiet. A collective uneasiness had taken root at the table. Everyone wondered who could have seriously injured the ex-assassin and her Soul Reaper aide. Samson once again had a frown plastered onto his face as he worked his way though several layers of pancakes. Clarice watched him out of the corner of her eye.
She put down her fork and turned in her seat to face him. He caught her expression and swallowed his food.
"Samson, I--"
"GOOD NEWS, EVERYONE!"
Lloyd came sauntering into the kitchen, arms flailing about and grinning from ear to ear. Hikki trailed behind him wearing an equally amused expression. The others only stared.
"Well, don't all look excited at once," the scientist's grin faded.
"What is it? We could use some good news,” Holland spoke up.
"I, through one of my various connections in the Land of the Big Rising Red Dot, have been able to acquire an additional Knightmare frame for our little group!" Llloyd once again beamed at them all.
"OH?! That's great!" Kamina got to his feet.
"You can never have one too many giant robots," Kittan added sagely.
"Indeed! This works out just perfectly! Kittan and I were just discussing last night that we'd be better suited to pilot our own mecha!" Kamina nodded.
"Oh-ho... The skills of two our most experienced pilots would be put to better use if they each commanded their own Knightmare," Lloyd stroked his chin. "But, that leaves the question of the other dual-cockpit model..."
Proof stood up instantly, knocking over his chair.
"I'll pilot that Knightmare, sir!"
Lloyd blinked. "That's great that you'd volunteer, but you'd need a co-pilot..."
"Me! Me! ME! I'll be his co-pilot!" Cid hopped on her feet, waving an enthusiastic hand in the air.
"Er," Lloyd's face faltered, "I-Is it really a good idea for the two of you to pilot one of these Knightmares together? Wouldn't you rather have Mr. Beams here as your co-pilot, Proof? He does have a lot of experience..."
"I would, but Charles..."
"...will not be piloting any mecha this time," Mr. Beams finished Proof's sentence. "It's time for the young people to shine, Mr. Asplund. I've had my time in the spotlight, as I told Proof yesterday; I'll gladly leave the robot piloting to him. I'll be leading ground forces this time around."
"I see..." Lloyd still carried a wary expression, but didn't push the matter any further.
"Zat just leevz ze ozzer Knightmare, zen," Hikki noted.
"I'll volunteer to pilot it."
Everyone's head turned to Clarice.
"W-WHAT?!" Samson nearly fell out of his chair in surprise. "NO! You can't, Clarice!"
"And why not?" She stared adamantly at Samson.
Samson gulped. "Well, um, you...that is, uh, you shouldn't...you're a girl and girls..." The moment these words left his lips, Samson knew he should not have said them.
Clarice folded her arms over her chest and her face morphed into a look Samson had only seen her use previously on Hikki. His insides actually squirmed.
"So, that's how it is," Clarice said acidly. "Women shouldn't be on the battlefield, am I right? Women should just stay home and wait for the men to come back."
"That's not what I--"
"That's exactly what you meant, Samson!"
Samson felt his world titling.
“What I meant was...I don’t want to see you get hurt... It scares me to think what might happen to you,” Samson muttered sheepishly.
At this, Clarice couldn’t help but let the stern expression slide off her face. She’d been caught off guard; she hadn’t considered he would legitimately worry for her safety. Her violet gaze softened.
“I don’t know what I would do if I lost you, Clarice,” Samson’s cheeks flushed and he stared down at his feet.
“Samson...” Clarice grabbed him by the chin and their eyes met. “That’s sweet of you. I appreciate the concern…
“But, I want to do this. I have to do this. I’m not just going to sit on the side-lines while you and Hikki risk your lives out there. I don’t want to be stuck here worrying whether you will be safe or not. I want to help.”
Samson stared at her, his mouth slightly agape. As the words sunk in, he realized he was not totally surprised. Clarice was strong-willed, determined, and independent; she wouldn’t change no matter whose “woman” she was. He’d still worry for her, of course, but...that was what Samson loved about her. He couldn’t help but smile.
“So, it’s settled then?” Lloyd stuck his face in-between the two, smiling expectantly.
“Do you think we have a choice?” Samson replied sardonically. Clarice grinned triumphantly.
Q buried her face in her hands. She was exhausted – mentally and physically drained. She had trouble sleeping the previous night; her mind was running on a full tank of gas, going over and over the events of the last twenty-four hours. What was she supposed to do?
The enigmatic John Sadar, leader of the Order of Glass, had informed her of a planned Comedian invasion that was less than a few weeks away. Q didn’t know how to react to the news. If only they had substantial proof that Michelle Ozzal was leading the country down the path of war...
Proof... Q ran a hand through her auburn hair. Without concrete evidence of Ozzal’s plan, she could do nothing.
Q turned her head and stared outside the open blinds of her office window. The morning sun was shining brightly, bathing the snow covered grounds in an ethereal glow. The cries of birds filtered in through the glass. It all contrasted with the police chief’s mood.
She hated feeling helpless... She sighed and rubbed her face once more. There was a sudden knock on the door.
“Come in.”
The knob turned and Hill stepped into Chief Holmes’ office. He carried two rather large cups in his left hand. He shuffled into the room, the ‘thunk’ of his cane on the wooden floor breaking the silence.
“Coffee,” Hill held up a cup, “I thought you could use some.” He sat down beside her on the couch, the cushions sinking underneath the weight.
Q grabbed a cup from his outstretched hand. “Thanks.”
Silence returned to the room as the two took sips of their beverages.
The Chief stared into the dark swirls of her drink. She felt adrift.
“Just what am I supposed to do…?”
Hill removed his drink from his lips.
“What can I do? I have nothing,” she continued, “God, if only I had some actual proof...
“But, I don’t.” She heaved a sigh, the paper cup trembling in her hands. She hated being seen like this. She felt exposed, naked. She didn’t like it one bit. “I really thought I could make a difference...that I could change this city for the better. Some police chief I am... I’m useless.”
“You’re not.”
Q looked the man in the eye. Blue orbs stared back at her.
“You’re in a position of authority; it’s natural to feel that way. But, you’re not useless,” Hill’s eyes pierced through her. “There are things only you can do. And you alone.”
Q let out a mirthless laugh. “Do tell, because so far, I haven’t been able to do much on my own.
“I have nothing to stand up to Ozzal with. No physical evidence, no authority, nothing...! I can’t do anything!” Her voice was beginning to crack.
“I know what you’re going through—“
“No, you don’t.”
“Yes, I do,” Hill’s voice was stern. He leaned in closer. Q could count the number of hairs on his chin. “I know you feel powerless, unable to lift even a finger against anyone... You want to help, but you don’t even know if you can. It’s what we go through most of the time, us spies.
“Sadar told you about Ozzal because he believes in you. He believes you will do the right thing.” Hill’s eyes softened and he smiled. “I do, too.”
They were nice words, but Q still felt on the verge of drowning in the enormity of it all.
“But what can I do?” Again, the question. She clenched a fist, opening and closing her fingers in the hope that all the stress pent up inside would just disappear. She repeated this until she felt a sudden warmth on her hand. She glanced down. Hill held her much smaller hand in his larger one.
“This city will most likely become a battlefield... Her citizens need to be protected,” he rubbed the back of her hand, drawing circles in her skin. “That’s the job of the police force, is it not? You can do plenty, Q... I mean, Chief.”
Once again, Hill smiled at her. It was a smile that reached his eyes and lightened up his usually serious profile.
“Don’t try to carry this burden by yourself,” the smile reached even his voice, “you have your subordinates…and, you have me.”
In that moment, Q found everything about him attractive. Still, she couldn’t help but raise an questioning eyebrow at him.
“Well, I do have my duty to my country. Ozzal’s power poses a threat to the rest of the world; especially if her plan comes to fruition,” Hill stated. “But, regardless, I’ll be here for you.”
Q’s face softened and she found herself smiling back. It was reassuring to know that no matter what would come in the next several days, she’d have him by her side. It was the one beacon of light in an encroaching darkness.
Cast of Characters (in order of appearance):
Dracule “Hawkeyes” Mihawk (One Piece)
Father John Sadar - FurionTassadar
Roronoa Zoro (One Piece)
Samson Monroe - MasterSamson
Clarice Rowe - QueenoftheDorks
Emiri - _Boxers_
Byakuya Kuchiki (Bleach)
Izuru Kira (Bleach)
Amshel Goldsmith a.k.a. “the man with the thin beard” (Blood+)
Hill - fool_on_the_hill
Allen Black - AlastourBlaque
Keith Douglas - k_dawg_3484
Chief “Q” Holmes - Q_chan
Mugen (Samurai Champloo)
Kamina (Tengen Toppa Gurren-Lagann)
Walter Dornez (Hellsing)
Zeus - Shuya_Nanahara
Kay El - Kagomes_Luver2789
Starry Ozzal - starryjelly
Michelle Ozzal - Mike Lazzo
Kagetoki Karyia (Samurai Champloo)
Itachi Uchiha (Naruto)
Kaia - namek_kaia
Kittan (Tengen Toppa Gurren-Lagann)
Charles Beams (Eureka seveN)
Proof - NoProof
Cid - cidthekittyisfun
Holland Novak (Eureka seveN)
Lloyd Asplund (Code Geass)
Hikki Follet - Kohikki