Hello my lovelies, this is the new version of the story that I have been promising for what feels like forever. I'm sorry about the wait, but here it is and I hope you like it. I have nothing else to say so I will just get on with the quote.
"Those we love don't go away. They walk beside us every day...unseen, unheard, but always near. Still loved, still missed, and very dear."
-Anonymus
o0o0o0o0o0o0o The Kunoichi's Revenge o0o0o0o0o0o0o
A heavily pregnant woman with beautiful, flawless skin that sparkled like diamonds under the light and long curly hair that were both every color of purple and pink that resembled a slice of the galaxy was walking around a barely furnished sterile white room.
"Tell me when your contractions get closer together Subject 332," came a male voice over a speaker into the cell. Hatred burned in the woman's eyes that changed to every different color imaginable to the humans she despised who had captured her and ripped her away from her husband.
"Don't worry little one," the woman whispered to the baby inside her stomach. "We'll get out of here together."
Just like that the woman could feel her contractions speed up which had her gasping in pain. Almost instantaneously, men swarmed into the room to pick up the woman.
"Unhand me!" she demanded in a melodic accented voice. The soldier like men paid no heed to her words as they carried her through the facility. As they moved, they could see most of the metal around them crunching into balls while pipes rattled dangerously behind walls, and the air around them whistled sharply past them. One of the soldiers swore as the sharp wind caused a cut along his face.
"Why do we have to carry her?" one questioned another when they were carrying the woman.
"Because she is giving birth to Subject 333," they retorted. "If we are able to separate 333 from 332 at birth, we might be able to mold her into one of our soldiers."
Pleased with that logic, the first soldier kept quiet for the rest of the way to what turned out to be an operating room where the soldiers were to carry her over to the delivery table. The woman fought in vain to free herself but with every contraction her attempts grew weaker and weaker. The soldiers took advantage of her weakening struggles and strapped her down onto the table with her legs apart for delivery. In a corner of the room, a doctor and a team of nurses were scrubbing up for the procedure. By the time the medical personnel were ready for the procedure, the woman began to give out shouts of pain.
"We need you to breathe for us Subject 332," the doctor told the woman who was glaring as much as she could through her pain.
"Γαμώστε τον βρώμικο άνθρωπο (Fuck you filthy human)," the woman hissed in barely contained anger. The neutral almost emotionless face the doctor had remained that way even though they could understand her words perfectly. The woman continued to curse in Kellonian at all the humans present as her body readied to deliver her baby. Seeing as though the doctor knew nothing of delivering a Kellonian baby, she waited for the baby's head to appear but was blinded by the bright light that came from the woman. Both the doctor and the woman gave out screams of pain, the woman because of the baby and the doctor because the light had caused third degree burns to pop up all over her face. The result of both screams was the disappearance of the bright light, the cry of a newborn, and severe white blistering skin all over the doctor's face that resulted in their death. The cries of the newborn came from a small infant who appeared to be made out of space itself. Luckily one of the nurses was able to catch the baby before it fell to the ground and held it securely.
"My baby," the new mother cooed in heavily accented English to the new babe who was still sniffling slightly. Unlike the usual practice of the doctor or nurse handing over the baby after delivery, the nurse turned away from the woman and walked away. The woman's face immediately fell when she realized that she wasn't going to be able to hold her child.
"Give me my baby," she cried weakly, the stars and the galaxies in her skin swirling erratically due to her distress. There wasn't much that the woman could to because of both her condition and the way she was tied down to the table. She could only watch as the nurse with her child left the room.
At first, the scientists and people in charge had decided that Subject 333 was not to be anywhere near her mother, but after failed attempts at making formula for the baby, they were forced to have the mother breastfeed. When the woman first found out she was going to be able to see her daughter, her stars shone brightly in happiness. The infant was first brought in in a pink blanket and mesmerizing eyes that flashed through every color imaginable looked up at her mother in curiosity.
"Ω, το κοριτσάκι μου (Oh, my baby girl)," the mother smiled softly to the bundle she bounced in her arms. "Η μάνα σου έχει. Ολα θα πάνε καλά (Your Mama's got you. Everything will be alright)."
She moved to sit in the chair they had supplied her in her cell and began to feed her child.
"Πρέπει να έχετε ένα όνομα (You have to have a name)," she insisted while the child suckled. "Και πρέπει να είναι ένα όνομα Kellonian, όχι ένας αριθμός που οι άνθρωποι σας δίνουν (And it has to be a Kellonian name, not some number the humans give you)."
A few minutes of silence, besides the sound of the nursing, passed before the mother spoke again.
"Με τη δύναμη που μου έδωσαν οι θεοί και η βασιλική οικογένεια της Κελωνίας, σας δίνω το όνομα Φωτεινή. Είστε η κόρη της Αλεξάνδρα, της Βασίλισσας της Κελλώνειας και του Ντάλν, βασιλιά του Άρη. Είστε το φως σε αυτή την πενιχρή ύπαρξη που ζουν σε αυτή την κόλαση (By the power given to me by the gods and the royal family of Kellonia, I give you the name Photine. You are the daughter of Alexandra, Queen of Kellonia and Dal'en, King of Mars. You are the light in this meager existence I live in this hellhole)."
Once the baby was finished eating, the mother moved Photine so that she could burp her. As soon as the child was burped, she was ripped from her mother's arms and they were kept apart. The higher ups of that particular sect of the facility, when the child was no longer breastfeeding, decided to keep them apart and to train the child by themselves. It worked out perfectly until Photine's powers exploded in a flash that killed her instructor. This only served to scare the child so much that her powers got even more out of control, causing the whole building to shake. With no other choice they called for her mother who was the only one who could be in close proximity to her without dying. When Photine saw her mother, she immediately calmed down and launched herself into her arms.
"You see," her mother spat out to the watching scientists in her accented voice. "She should have been learning from me instead of you humans."
The scientists took the advice to heart and had the mother teach Photine about both her Kellonian powers and her Martian powers. When the little girl all but mastered her powers, the higher authorities decided that it was time to teach the young one the art of ninjitsu. Mother and child had been practicing her levitating, when the door to the room slid open to reveal a woman who looked to be 5'8" dressed in a black leotard uniform with a red foot symbol on her chest and gray sleeveless kimono like material over the black and ended at her thighs. On her feet and hands were gray boots up to her calves and gray gloves up to the middle of her forearm. A black hood that would have most likely hid her face was pulled back so that pale skin, chin length red hair, and green eyes could be seen.
"Subject 333," the woman began in an expressionless voice. "I am here to begin your training. You will address me as Sensei and you will follow my every order without fail. Is that understood?"
Photine shrank back at the tone of voice while her mother bristled in anger.
"How dare you-,"
"Hold it right there Subject 332," the woman said sharply. "With one order I can take Subject 333 away from you and have you chained up. Do not test me."
Alexandra was wise and kept quiet while she nudged Photine towards the woman.
"Go on ΜΙΚΡΟΣ (Little one)," she urged her daughter. "She's going to teach you how to fight."
Still unsure but trusting her mother, Photine stepped forward and her ninjitsu training began. Through the training of both her mother and her sensei, Photine blossomed into a very skilled kunoichi.
For years Photine trained in both body and mind. During her training, the rigidness in which Sensei had addressed her melted away until Photine called her Sensei August and August called her Miyako. Besides her ninjitsu training, Sensei August taught Photine the Japanese language and culture. On Alexandra's side of teaching, Photine learned the Kellonian culture and language as well as her Martian side of language and culture. Other subjects such as math, literature, science, geography, and history were given by different scientists who kept themselves emotionally detached from Photine. When Photine reached ten years old, it was decided that she was to start her missions. The first started out easy with simple stealing and threats, but escalated for the next three years. By the time she was thirteen, she had killed more than a thousand people. The first few killings had wrecked her conscious so much that she had terrible nightmares. Some time later Photine was able to suppress her feelings so that when she made the killings, she was detached from feeling anything. At first August wasn't that concerned with how Photine was taking her duties, but after three years of watching her pupil being tormented with what she had done, she planned along with Alexandra to get Photine out of the facility and to a normal life outside among normal people. The operation went smoothly until the last leg of their escape. Heat sensors had been installed without August's knowledge that tipped them of that they were trying to escape. In order to buy them some time, Alexandra stayed behind to fight the guards off. Photine had protested profusely at the idea, but with one order from August, Photine gave up the struggle and worked quickly to get them out of there. She would have waited for her mother when she was able to get out, but all she got was the building blowing up behind her. Photine held in all her grief until they managed to move to a two story house in Manhattan all the way from the facility in Maine. Luckily for the two, August's twin April had a six story townhouse waiting for them and they were able to slip in in the dead of night. For weeks Photine mourned her mother and would do nothing but sit in the room given to her and stare out her window, watching cars go by. Before long, August couldn't take Photine's zombie like behavior anymore and talked with her about losing her mom. Through the talking, Photine had cried out all of her pain and sorrow which left her heart lighter even if it was still sore. From there Photine continued her training as well as working on her own Earth disguise. August figured if she was to continue her schooling so she should look like the other children and have her own name. Photine was partial to the dark skin she saw on some of the people who walked by the house so she chose a rich mocha skin color with black hair the same curliness as her natural hair was down to her hips rather than her knees and amethyst eyes versus her normal eyes that changed from color to color. Once Photine decided on an appearance, August went to trusted people within the system that was able to have Photine put under her custody as Genevieve Addeline O'Neil.
For five years April, August, and Genevieve lived together with April working for Baxter Stockman, August working as a guard for hire, and Genevieve going through then graduating school. To celebrate Genevieve's graduation, becoming an adult, and becoming a regular model for Elite Model Management, August and April took her out to see Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.
"That poor boy," Genevieve sniffed as the group left the movie theater. All April and August could do was laugh at Genevieve's dramatics.
"How does it feel to be an adult?" April teased the 5'5" girl who was skipping beside her guardian and aunt.
"Truthfully, I don't feel any different."
"Technically, you're only a half adult," August added with a twinkle in her eye. "You're not a full adult until you can drink."
A snort came from Genevieve as she rolled her eyes and April laughed.
"Well,well, what do we have here?" came a feminine voice from behind the group. April tensed in fear while Genevieve and August sighed inwardly. They both knew they could take care of some street thugs very easily.
"It's the bitch who took out some of our fellow brothers."
This time August let out a groan. Just a few days ago when she was walking home, some Purple Dragons had tried to jump her, but she had been able to knock them all unconscious. It looked like the higher ups were looking for a way to get revenge.
"I think we should teach her a lesson."
August instinctively went into an offensive stance while Genevieve put an arm out in front of April and pushed her back into the shadows where she made both of them turn invisible. They both watched on in silence as they watched August single-handedly take down all of the Purple Dragon members until there were none left. Or so she thought. It was then that about twenty ninja appeared from the shadows with the owner of the female voice came forward. She was dressed similar to what August had worn when she had worked for the facility with short dark hair with a blonde undertone and red markings on her upper eyelids.
"I thought that was you Shinku no Kunoichi (Crimson Kunoichi)," the female spoke up wit an arrogant voice. "We've been hunting you for years."
Miyako, get out of here! August sent to Genevieve when the severity of the situation hit her. Now is not the time to take them on. Go home and I'll meet you there.
Before Genevieve could get the her and April out of there, she was able to catch one sentence from the woman.
"Where is Subject 333?"
She made quick work of phasing both her and April through a couple buildings before she flew them back home. Even when she reached the house, she phased them through the roof until they reached the kitchen on the first floor. Genevieve carefully sat April on a chair at the kitchen table while she levitated the both of them to the ground.
"What-What was that?" April asked in shock of what had just happened.
"Do you remember what August told you about where I came from?" Genevieve asked while she went about making some hot chocolate to calm April's nerves.
"Yeah," she answered slowly, taking the offered mug. "She saved you from being experimented on in a facility in Maine."
"Well the people who showed up in the black were the ones who ran the facility. The Subject 333 they're looking for is me."
Silence passed between the two as April took in the information.
"So have they found us?" April ventured softly.
"They know we live in New York City, but I don't think they know exactly where we live."
Both women were on high alert as they waited for August to return. When they heard the sound of someone on the terrace right outside the kitchen, Genevieve flew right in front of the doorway that connected the kitchen to the terrace. Glaring at the entrance, Genevieve ripped open the door only to see August fall in through the doorway and fall with a flop. Concerned about her guardian being followed, Genevieve pulled August in with a rush of her levitating powers and shut the doors. Once the doors were locked and the curtains were closed, she rounded on August to see that she was bleeding profusely from her side.
"Sensei!" Genevieve exclaimed in shock, dropping down to kneel beside her teacher.
"Auggie!" April exclaimed in fear when she saw her twin bleeding out on the floor. With a flick of her wrist, Genevieve was able to turn on the water and extract some water from the tap and gathered it in a glob around both of her hands.
"Hold on Sensei, I'll have you healed in no time," Genevieve assured August while holding the glowing water up to her side. "What happened? I thought you could handle them."
"They fought dirty," August ground out through her pain. "They ambushed me with fukiya darts."
"What was her name? Was it really the Foot Clan?"
"She's Karai. She's the right hand woman of the leader of the Foot Clan."
"She will pay for this," Genevieve seethed, her natural multicolored eyes flashing.
"Miyako, do not let your heart fester in revenge," August said sternly. "Remember what I taught you."
"Hai Sensei," Genevieve smiled through the tears that had just begun to fall down her cheeks.
"Let me see the real you Miyako."
There was no hesitation or protest as her human disguise melted away until she had her nude galaxy skin and her hypnotizing eyes that transitioned through every color imaginable.
"There's my girl."
Tears now fell heavily down both Genevieve's and April's faces at the sight of their dying family member.
"The both of you need to quit your crying," August told the two gruffly. "I've already accepted that I'm going to die. The both you you need to accept it too."
"I can't Auggie," April sniffed. "We still need you."
"I can't lose my mother and then you to the Foot Clan," Genevieve sobbed while the glowing water wavered from the lack of control she had from her raging emotions.
"You two don't need me. Miyako, April, you two can stand on your own two feet and when you can't, you have each other. I love you."
The two were able to say 'I love you' to August one final time before she drew her last breath and her eyes shut forever.
o0o0o0o0o0o The Kunoichi's Revenge o0o0o0o0o0o0o
There we have it my lovelies. I hope that you all like it. Right now I am working on finishing up the first chapter and right now the word count is 8661. It's safe to say that I may have went a little overboard with the chapter, but I am quite proud of it. I hope you all like it and if you have any questions, comments, or concerns, feel free to leave a review or shoot me a pm. Remember, reviews are magic!
-White Wolf
