((Author's notes: Well, this is my grand story based on Phantasy Star Online. It's a little different than one might expect, whereas I plan on creating an original work stemming from the game's theme. What it's not is a glamorization of a personal game character. Please don't expect that. In fact, I made it a point to expand the world of PSO in general and make the characters very human in nature. I hope you enjoy the read and hopefully give a review. I'd kill for those. ^_^))
Phantasy Star: The Pioneer Saga
Future's Past
A plan born of desperation, conceived in response to the imminent destruction of their home worlds.
As plans for the evacuation began, unmanned probes were sent into deep space to find a habitable planet. When a potential site was discovered, the first interstellar transport ship, Pioneer 1, was sent to establish a colony.
Pioneer 1 confirmed that the planet Ragol was a suitable location, and the initial colonists started preparing the planet for the main wave of refugees, beginning with the construction of the Central Dome.
Seven years later...
Pioneer 2 completed its long voyage with the main wave of refugees aboard. But as Pioneer 2 entered orbit and opened a communications link with the Central Dome, an enormous explosion shook the entire planet. All contact with the thousands of men and women of Pioneer 1 was lost.
Citizen Profile – R382Name: Legend (birth name not
on public files; stored in Oracle government archives)
Type: Human
Age: 32 human years
Sex: Male
Hair: Green (originally brown)
Eyes: Brown
Occupation: Hunter (ranger class)
Military Record: Trained from
age 18 in use of firearms and close quarters combat under Juno Corps 32nd
Division. Transferred to newly formed
United World Corps at age 22 due to expertise in firearms. Sanctioned to Peace Division at age 24,
later sent on peace mission #B42.
Criminal charges ensued. Subject
Legend then sent to Guidan State Penitentiary for Convicted War Criminals. Subject now serving special terms.
Personal Record: Subject's parents known to have been a part of the Pioneer 1
Project, now presumed missing with the remainder of civilians and
officials. No other known
relatives. Subject Legend served on
peace mission #B42, consisting of assassination of large-scale threat to global
reconstruction and unification, Darrek Trenting. Assassination completed successfully with a violation of direct
orders from a superior officer, resulting in the death of three fellow soldiers. Subject Legend is charged with major crimes
and sent to previously stated penitentiary, serving an 86-year term. Subject Legend has served seven years in
stated penitentiary, now given a new set of terms. New terms described as follows, in the words of joint chief of
security Richard Thornton:
"Legend will continue to serve under the United World Corporation aboard
spacecraft Pioneer 2. Supervision will
be issued by the official Hunters' Guild, of which Legend will follow all
orders given as a representative of stated guild. His presence on the planet of Ragol as a representative for the
full amount of time Pioneer 2 remains will result in the dismissal of all
previous charges. Subject Legend's new
term is currently being served."
--Joint security chief, Richard Thornton
Episode One: Venomous
Time: 11:17 PM
High rises with multiple crammed rooms littered the
city side. Hover cars zoomed by, the
sounds of their passing combining in unison with the echo of life below. As always, night on Pioneer 2 erupted into
its normal state of headache-inducing static existence. Above it all, one man watched. From the
ledge of the skyscraper he could view those less fortunate passing below, those
unable to obtain a citizen's license and get themselves a decent home aboard
the spacecraft. He didn't have to worry
about all that, though. Owning a
Hunter's license gave him privileges over the normal citizens. It didn't make his way of life any better,
but hell, at least it was living.
Trailing
his left hand down the brown trench coat he wore, it dove into one of the deep
pockets as his right hand raised a cigarette to his mouth. Lights from passing cars and law enforcement
units enveloped him in short moments and often times cast deep shadows in
contradiction. Even in this man-made
city filled with people separated from their planet of origin, law enforcement
and order prevailed. An entire city
section brimmed with life as though nothing had ever changed in the first
place. Resources had been transferred
in abundance to the project, obtained from many of Earth's nations in their
combined effort to make everything a success.
A section of the ship consisted of agricultural development pushed over
its own limits. There was even a
weather control center that managed the environmental conditions, keeping the
weather realistic as to the specific date on Earth. Hundreds of brilliant minds had joined the hopeful voyage,
contributing to the cause as much as humanly possible. Pioneer 2 served as a landmark creation; it
was a wondrous achievement in technology and served as a filler for the gap
between all of mankind.
He
hated it.
His
left hand rose from his pocket, carrying along with it an old lighter; it
served as a souvenir to him, dating back to sometime around the late 21st
century. Striking a flame, the end of
the cigarette lit easily and he replaced the lighter into his pocket. Pulling back a portion of his dark green
hair that had fallen forward, he exhaled a release of smoke into the night air.
He never liked to get too comfortable in any situation. It was inevitable he'd get called in right when he would start to get his mind off of things for once, and this time was no exception. From inside the trench coat, a small rectangular device emitted a chiming sound. In no hurry, he allowed himself a few seconds before finally pulling the object from his inside pocket. He flipped it open and cast his narrowed view at the holo-image portrayed inside, the faded electronic light casting a dulled blue on his face as he read. Moments later, closing his eyes and wearing a smug grin, he folded the device again and returned it within the coat. Glancing downward one last time to the carnival of lights and people, he turned and headed for the stairway, tossing his cigarette off the side of the building without so much as looking. Duty called.
* * * * *
Time: 4:36 PM (the next day)
"So
is Legend really your name?"
"You
could say that..."
He
wasn't exactly in the mood for conversation, especially not in the middle of
their current situation. In the midst
of green foliage, Legend, along with three other soldiers also signed to the
mission, stalked through the jungle area on the planet of Ragol. He held a photon rifle closely to his face,
keeping the barrel pointed forward at all times.
"Tell
me something. Why would it take a team
of three soldiers and a ranger like me to bring in one man?"
The
soldier next to him retorted in the same quiet manner. "Don't know for sure. Heard he's one dangerous son of a bitch,
though. Out of his mind, too."
Legend
grunted. That was all he needed to
know. He could care less what the
mission was about, having had no choice in the matter from the beginning,
anyhow. It was still an odd decision by
the Guild to have a Hunter accompanying a squad of Pioneer soldiers who already
knew how to do their jobs.
"All
right, we've reached the rendezvous point.
Everyone regroup," the lead soldier stated aloud.
Legend
hated this. It felt like his earlier
military days, a part of his life he'd rather forget. He disliked working in a team and taking commands. The leader continued to divulge his orders,
having each person split up and head in a separate direction. Legend enthusiastically obeyed, leaving the
rest of the team to their duty as he followed his own. This was more like it. It was shoot to kill, and that's what he did
best. Weaving through the forest maze,
rifle raised forward in its ready position, he focused on keeping his senses
alert. It wasn't simply one man that
served as a threat on this planet. The
bizarre wildlife also seemed fueled by one initiative: to kill any
intruders. It was just mankind's luck
that the most suitable planet to colonize was also the most life threatening.
As he
continued onward in his search he replayed the mission's briefings in his
mind. The target they were after was a
prisoner of the Guidan State Penitentiary for Convicted War Criminals; it was
the same penitentiary that Legend, himself, had spent seven years of his life
in. The guild refused to give him a
name, referring to the target only as Hyperon.
They also refrained to explain how this Hyperon smuggled his way onto
Pioneer 2, although the act of smuggling wasn't a very big secret. But target Hyperon couldn't simply become a
normal citizen. No, the detonation
device implanted in his back denied him that life. Now he was just a time bomb ready to blow. Tampering with the device would only trigger
instant obliteration. The man had no
choice, yet he still decided on running.
What a fool.
"Snakes
are always hidden in the grass, waiting to strike."
Legend's
eyes widened. The familiar statement
came from a short distance behind him and he instinctively swung himself behind
a tree as a hail of photon shots singed the bark. When he had the chance, he swung around the opposite direction
and returned fire in the direction of the shots, but the attacker had already
taken off into the forest. Legend did
the same, following Hyperon's trail as best he could. However, he couldn't help but feel a bit distracted. The last time he heard that sentence uttered
he had nearly been killed, and it led to an unexpected tragedy. How could...
A
scream. He could hear it to his right,
over the small open hill. Picking up
more speed, his rifle held against his chest, he hurried to the scene; and what
a scene it was. Hyperon stood over a
near naked soldier, dressed in his victim's clothing.
"Stay
there, or I'll decide which limb you won't ever be using again." Legend
stood atop the hill, aiming his rifle steadily down on the target. His threat held true. He knew most of the areas on a human being
to shoot in order to rend certain appendages useless. "Turn around."
"Is
that any way to say hello to an old war buddy?" The man slowly faced him
with his hands above his head.
Legend
remarked him in a tone devoid of surprise.
Albeit, it was unexpected, but that would hardly be enough for him to
lose focus. "How many times do I
have to kill you, Devan? You better
stay dead this time."
"Sorry
boss, can't do that. Still got one
little priority before it's my time to leave.
And I'll only have one chance at it, so I'm going to get it right. Fortunately for me, this isn't the
time."
The
shot came out of nowhere. Legend never
saw a weapon on his enemy, but he had to drop to his back in order to dodge the
attack. He sat up enraged. "I'll take your head off!" Intent
to follow through with the threat, he raised the rifle and aimed as quickly as
he could. But Hyperon, now confirmed as
Devan, stood in the midst of a telepipe's circular pattern, apparently having
found it in the possession of the ambushed soldier. Wasting no time, Legend took his shot and watched as the photon
bullet passed through the fading image of its target.
Slamming
his fist into the ground, he knew Devan had planned this all along. The two other soldiers of the team caught up
to witness the scene, hurriedly asking questions. Legend explained the situation and was promptly given
instructions to return to the guild, that they could handle things on their own
from here. But he knew better. Devan
was capable of just about anything. But besides that, he was one of the men who
had cost Legend his freedom. He found
payback impossible to refuse.
---------
Time: 5:24 PM
Back in town and standing on the end of a busy street, overlooking traffic, Legend contemplated the matter at hand. So Devan was trying to bring about the destruction of Pioneer 2. It could be his only priority now. "Damn, he hasn't given up at all!" Why hadn't he seen it earlier? Devan was carrying his own brand of justice within his body and he planned on using it. That had to be it, to follow up with his original intentions; it was going to be something big. He knew the one place that would serve his purpose. Destroying it wouldn't literally take the spacecraft out of commission but, in a sense, it would destroy life on it. "He must be heading to the center of things. Shit..." There was only one 'center of things' on this ship, and that was the Principal's office, the main center of the spacecraft where the leaders of political and law enforcement laid. Devan planned on destroying social order. Legend shook his head and ran down the sidewalk, heading for the Guild once more. Sure, he hated life on this ship, but he wasn't about to let anyone get away with what Devan intended on doing. Not if he could stop it.
* * * * *
Time: 5:41 PM
"Give
me the information or I'll beat it out of you." Legend held the man by his
collar, pulling him halfway over the counter he was standing behind in the
Hunter's Guild.
"I-I
told you, sir! I can't give out
information to just any-"
"Still
lacking tact like always."
Legend
released the man and turned to the side, directing his attention to the
familiar voice. The man, not much older
than himself, stood by the entrance to the Guild, leaning against the wall with
his arms crossed. He wore a working
outfit: pants, shirt, loose tie, and a look of unusual authority. He shook his head with a smirk. "Long time no see, huh 'Viper'?"
"Not
long enough if you're still calling me that.
So do the police have something on me now? You always had a way with timing. If you've got something to tell me, make it quick."
The
man shrugged and stood upright, dropping his hands into his pockets. "All right, I'll get to the point. But just remember; I'm here as Chris, not as
detective Billiard."
"Whatever. It doesn't matter to me who you want to be
at the moment." Legend didn't have time for this. If the Guild wouldn't give him any
information, he had to--
"Devan's
already stolen a police car."
"What?!"
So he had info after all. But he didn't
expect Devan to make a move so quickly.
He must be running out of time.
Chris
nodded, more serious as he continued.
"He's not stupid. He's been
flying low on the static equator, the thin invisible line that all our digital
transmissions flow on. He's using the
carrying frequencies to mask his own.
The last reading we got, he was heading north in the Pacific
District. That was about ten minutes
ago. Probably plans on ditching the car
and taking to the monotrain system. I
think you know what he plans on doing.
Anyway, if you want to catch him you're going to have to..hey!" He
looked up to notice that Legend had already past him by, walking through the
electronic doorway and out onto the main street. Chris followed quickly, stopping just outside the door. "Hey, where're you going? I managed to get you a temporary vehicle to
use."
Legend
still refrained from looking back as he continued forward. "I've got my own."
Chris shook his head, placing his hand on the back of his neck. "The guy never changes."
* * * * *
Time: 6:18 PM
The
doors to the monotrain slid open and passengers hurriedly began to fill its
compartments; Devan Mulliour was one of them, filing in anonymously with the
crowd and finding a place to stand with a window view of the city. Running a hand over his shaved head, he
watched the mass population in their nightly lives; coming and going, giving and
receiving, living and dying in their wasted existences. It brought him joy in the knowledge that his
own sacrifice would insure Darrek Trenting's original ideals. Finally, he would be able to throw the
balance of humanity back on track.
There was no need for any of what was currently happening, no point in
colonizing another planet for their own needs.
No, he would end it here and now.
"Nice
view, huh?" The voice of a passenger sounded behind him, meshing with the
noise of the train moving on its track well above the ground.
Devan
held still, not wanting to part with the view offered him. "It's the same as anywhere else,
really."
"I
can understand that. This ship's design
didn't leave much to the imagination."
"Yea.."
It wasn't exactly what he had meant, but he wasn't about to get into a heated
debate in the position he was in.
However,
the passenger decided on his own to carry on with the conversation. "Things are tough. Of course, everyone
back home thinks we're living it up here, being part of history. Heh, they don't know the half of things, you
know? It's not easy here, not easy at
all."
"If
you don't mind--"
"They
think it must be a utopia here. I mean,
the law's got everything under control.
Right, like that's the truth. Ah
well, they do their best."
Devan
was getting annoyed now, but he still had to keep himself from causing a
scene. Something was unusual, though.
"So
you get what I'm saying? Sure, we've
got low crime here. But out there,
without anyone knowing...there are always those snakes hiding, waiting to strike."
It
snapped in his head suddenly. That
feeling of relief had been knocked out of him like a punch to the gut. He'd been so absorbed in his intentions the
entire time that it was almost too much to fathom what had just happened. He'd been found out.
These
thoughts flooded his mind in the few seconds it took him to turn around, all of
it seeming to go in slow motion. But
his mind was jolted back to reality as Legend's right fist smashed across his
jaw, then the left struck him directly in the face, crushing the back of his
head against the glass window. He
brought his right fist in again, jabbing it into Devan's stomach. Grabbing him by the neck, he kept him on his
feet.
"Hope
you didn't think you'd get away from me that easily."
"Khh..I
knew better than that," Devan uttered with painful words. "You had me waiting, though."
"What?"
Devan planted an open palm onto Legend's chest. To his surprise, it started to hum and emit a growing light. "Shit!" He jumped back to dodge
the shot, hand-springing once in the middle of the aisle in between confused
and screaming passengers. "Get the
hell out of here! All of you!" Throwing himself behind a row of seats,
pulling his trench coat with him, he dodged a few more shots. So that's how he got that shot off
earlier. The freak has implants. He was prepared for something like this,
wearing his black ranger outfit under his trench coat and extracting a photon
handgun.
"Ha,
what's the matter, Viper? Thought I'd
be an easy capture? Think again, hot
shot. As you can tell, I've been
upgraded." Devan held his arm up slightly, the skin pulsating due to the
machinery working beneath. "To
tell the truth, I was waiting for you.
I wanted to see you die before I wrecked life on this ship."
Legend
had the chance to take a shot during his enemy's moment of distraction. He seized the opportunity, edged out
slightly from his protective position, and fired a few shots. Devan held out his hand as though he planned
on catching the photonic bullets.
Instead, they dissipated in the air inches before him, a circular wave
of light coming into view momentarily with each shot.
"I'm
also equipped with a high-density light barrier," Devan boasted.
"Your standard photon shots aren't going to work on me, Legend."
Legend
cursed to himself, moving behind the seats once more. This wasn't going to be as easy as he'd hoped. As Devan spoke, he began modifying the
settings of his blaster. If standard
shots proved ineffective, then...
"So
what are you doing now? Do you think
you have something powerful enough to actually affect me? I thought you had more brainpower than
that. Even if you could hurt me, you'd
most likely set off my explosive friend inside, taking this train and its
passengers along for the ride.
Huh." Devan smirked, pleased with the control he now had over the
situation. "Feel free to take your
best shot, though." He was sure to
call Legend's bluff.
That
ought to do it. Legend swung out from his hiding spot,
standing in the middle of the aisle in full view. He held his blaster tight in his hands and took careful aim as the
weapon began to hum with a slowly increasing volume.
"Come
on, that's right. Shoot me. Send us all straight to Hell!"
"You're
the only one going to Hell, bastard!!!" He pulled the trigger and a ball
of white energy formed in front of the barrel of his gun, swirling and growing
in seconds, then propelling itself forward into a thick beam of pure photonic
energy. Legend grit his teeth as his
muscles tightened, his palms squeezing the handle of the blaster with as much
force as possible. The shot hit the
startled Devan square in the chest, throwing him against the back of the train
cart and dropping him to the ground.
The force of the shot also threw Legend off his feet, landing him in a
seated position on the ground.
Legend
got to his feet and waited for Devan to stand.
The man, his body smoking from the impact, did so, yelling out his
rage. "You lunatic! You might have killed us all!"
"Too
bad," Legend bitterly retorted as he threw his gun to the side. He had managed to destroy Devan's light
shield by overloading the photonic discharge level in his blaster, but in doing
so it rendered the gun useless afterwards.
"I
underestimated you. Guess you're still
not too keen on life, even after all this time. Anyway..." Devan glared at his enemy, then swung around and
headed down the other carts to the rear section of the train.
Legend, pushing his way through panicking civilians and taking cover from blasts sent his way, followed his target, stopping at the entryway to the final cart where Devan stood at the end next to the opened door. Wind whipped through the room as they faced each other. Devan smirked and raised his arm to fire another shot and Legend instinctively stepped to the side in the section between the two adjoining carts to move from its path. As he pulled himself back, he caught a glimpse of Devan leaping through the door and onto the metallic track moving swiftly beneath them. He ran to the door, watching as Devan rolled along, stopped in place, and stood to his feet. "Son of a..." Without much thought, he followed Devan's example and leapt from the train.
* * * * *
"What's
up with these gung-ho types, anyway?
Always have to play the lone hero."
Chris
shook his head and smirked at his partner's remark. "I guess you just have to know the guy." His view
remained on the small visual monitor installed in the middle of their dashboard
as his partner weaved the police-sanctioned vehicle in between buildings. It was quite a view, but nothing
unexpected. Chris knew the type of
stuff Legend was capable of and the stunts he'd pull at the possible cost of
his own life. No, this was nothing new
at all. It was just like back then..
"Anyway,
what do you plan to do next?"
The
detective rubbed his chin in thought as he watched the escapee, Devan, leap
from the monotrain's track to smash through the window of a high rise, still a
few stories up. Legend did the same,
only making his entrance into a neighboring building. "Let's just keep watching for now."
"What,
are you serious? Those two are going to
tear apart anything in their way."
"Don't
worry. It'll be easier this way, trust
me."
Chris'
partner cleared his throat and shook his head.
"I give up. I can't ever
figure out what's going on in that mind of yours."
The
undaunted officer narrowed his eyes, his gaze never parting from the monitor's
screen. "Heh.."
* * * * *
The young man rolled along the pavement and slammed into a building wall, propelled by Devan's cybernetic arm, who then stepped into the vehicle and switched it to manual control. He had to hurry, what with his pursuer about to close in on him once more. But now he had transportation again; it blew his cover and forced him into the light of the police tracking system, but it didn't matter now. If the law units had planned to make a move on him, they would have done so by now. He had control over them and he knew it. With the newfound knowledge that their target could trigger his own detonation device whenever he pleased, it kept enough distance between them.
That's
where Legend undoubtedly fell in to place.
He was the only one who could possibly get close enough to do anything
significant. As much as he hated to
admit that, it held true enough. Devan
wanted to see Legend's face as he brought the ship's progression to a halt; he
wanted to have the satisfaction of seeing his enemy's defeated expression just
before he died. Unfortunately, it
looked as though escape was inevitable at this point. It was disappointing, really.
He wanted Legend to be there up until the very end. However, somewhere in the back of his mind
he had a feeling he'd regret that wish...
As
soon as Devan's newfound hovercar lifted and accelerated, Legend came smashing
through the window of the building overhead.
His arms and legs tucked in to protect his body as shards of glass
shimmered and fell around him, outstretching again just before landing
forcefully onto the hood of the moving car.
In a moment of surprise, Devan swerved the vehicle to the left and
ascended higher, pushing directly into active traffic and forcing others out of
his way. The rough wind pushed against
Legend as his grasp held firmly into the top section of the hood. He kept his head pressed against the metal
as his body was jostled around by the frantic driving. At one point, he felt the heat from a
passing car that had barreled out of the way of a head on collision just in
time.
You
bastard. I'm not letting you get away
from me. You'll never get away. Legend
gritted his teeth and pushed his head up, the harsh wind whipping his hair
forward. He stared Devan directly in
the face now, who returned it with a sick grin of his own, fingers tightening
around the control handles. Slowly,
controlling his actions, Legend drew back his arm. He continued to stare Devan in the face with a look of
unsympathetic hatred. At that moment he
was an automaton, fueled by the sole desire of winning this
"competition" and getting what he wanted: simple revenge.
Legend's
fist swung forward, pounding his knuckles onto the durable glass frame with as
much strength as he could afford. The
impact webbed the glass with cracks, and he drew his arm back again. Devan's frustration grew and he continued to
raise their flight altitude. The second
punch succeeded in shattering the windshield and passing through, only to be
caught into Devan's open palm.
"What?"
Legend had pushed through, but now he was in a bad situation. The hand grabbing his fist began to crush
it, with extra strength unfairly added by Devan's implants.
"I
don't think you'll be shooting any more of your guns after this, Legend,"
Devan remarked with a sneer. He wanted
to handicap his opponent even more than he already was.
"Huh,
you think so?" With his free hand, Legend extracted a circular device with
jagged clutches on the ends. He held
the object up for Devan to see and nodded to it. "Timed mine." Devan watched in horror as he slapped it
onto the hood, the clutches digging sturdily into the metal construction. He quickly set the timer. "We've got five minutes to live."
In
anger, Devan released his hold on the hunter and quickly set the vehicle to
auto-navigate, proceeding to kick the driver's door from its hinges. He took hold onto the roof of the car and
pulled himself out and on top of it.
Legend
yelled and tackled him as soon as he had the chance, throwing each of them
across the top of the car and bouncing off the rear section. They slid as the car moved beneath, hanging
each of them off opposite sides. They
stared at each other again, each guessing the other's next move. But Legend couldn't have guessed what Devan
would do next. He watched as the
convict raised his feet to the car and pushed off. He floated backwards through the air in a suicide jump and was
suddenly pulled off course as he caught hold of a car passing by.
"Goddamnit!" Legend furiously pulled himself into the car, took hold of the controls, and veered it toward Devan in pursuit. He was going to get his revenge, no matter what the cost. Nothing was getting in his way now; not the law, not the danger of the situation, and not even the fact that he had less than three minutes left before the car erupted into a fireball.
The
car sped up, pushed nearly to its maximum speed. Two minutes and forty-three seconds remained on the time bomb
Legend had set. Somehow, he had to
catch up to Devan and ditch the vehicle as soon as possible. It was impossible to shut off the explosive
at this point; all he could do was find a place to freely let it go.
"This
isn't going to be easy.." Devan hadn't hesitated to keep moving, dropping
from the side of the hovercar he had grabbed a hold of, ricocheting from the
roof of another, and crashing into yet another building multiple stories
up. "The guy's a friggin'
monkey."
Two minutes and twelve seconds.
Time
was running out in every way. Not only
did Legend have to think about the small box of death embedded in the hood of
the car he currently occupied, but all this time Devan had been getting closer
to the Principal's office. They were
only a few miles away from the location now.
Legend
swung the car around in the air and positioned it in front of the building that
his target had entered. Grabbing for
the internal car phone, he dialed a specific number and yelled into the
unit. "Give me full control of
vehicle 5CS438, now!" He quickly brought his right hand down, moving it
from the main control stick to another lever that controlled vertical hovering
movement. All normal passenger vehicles
had more complicated abilities available, but without main law enforcement
headquarters electronically activating them, they served no use to standard
civilians. The lever hissed and clanked
out of its locked position and Legend immediately dropped his altitude in a
near free fall, simultaneously using another panel for horizontal control as he
dodged cars below him.
One minute and twenty-four seconds.
Devan
already had a head start, weaving back and forth down the stairway of the large
edifice, bringing himself closer to the street level below. Thirteenth floor, twelfth floor, eleventh
floor; Legend was dropping at neck break speed, determined to intercept Devan
before he had a chance to exit out into the alleys, where he'd have a difficult
time following.
Twenty-one seconds.
Fourth
floor, third floor, second floor.
Legend slammed on the brakes, pulling up harshly on the lever. The vehicle came to an abrupt and painful
stop in front of the second floor of the building, miscellaneous parts falling
off from beneath due to the extreme stress the car was being put through. "Where is he?!" Staring
frantically through the broken windshield and the glass front of the building,
into the stairwell that Devan was using, Legend tried to catch sight of him.
Nine seconds.
Where
was he?! He couldn't have gone any
other way.
Eight seconds.
"Damn,
I must've passed him."
Seven seconds.
Or
maybe he had already gotten to ground level?
He couldn't move that--
Six seconds.
Suddenly,
from the upper stairway, Devan came into view as he ran down to the second
floor. Legend grinned. "There you are."
Five.
Devan
froze halfway down the stairs, staring out the window in a few seconds of
surprise.
Four.
"Shove
this up your ass, punk!" Legend smashed his foot across the acceleration
lever, forcibly breaking and bearing it into a forward position.
Three.
From
two stories up, Legend leapt from the side of the car, which had been missing
its driver's side door since their earlier scuffle.
Two.
He was
halfway to the ground now. Legend knew
how to land as safe as possible, but that's not what worried him in that split
second.
One.
The
building swallowed the car as it drove through the glass and into the
stairwell, exploding in a production of flames and debris that altered the
position of Legend's body from overhead as he fell. He felt his descent speed increase, pushed down by the blast, as
he was forced into a more hazardous posture. Damn...
He
couldn't recall exactly what happened during the impact, but his left arm sure
did hurt like hell. It was the pain
that almost forced him unconscious, but also the realization of it that kept
him awake. In any case, it was enough
for him to roll against the building as a large chunk of the lower part of the
structure crashed down from above. In
light of a more wise decision, he stood and glared up at the building, which
was burning on the outside. Oh well.
Rescue crews would come along soon enough to distinguish the flames. Whatever it took, it was worth it as long as
he won.
The
sound of a running engine came from around the side of the building and Legend
turned his attention in its direction.
Before he could even fully conceive the situation, the hovercycle flew
by him with Devan as its driver. He turned again and felt something wrap around
his neck, something painful.
"A
photon whip?!" Legend was jerked from his feet, finding himself getting
dragged behind the hovercycle that Devan manned with one arm; the other was
held back, the bluish-white whip extending from his mechanical arm, which had
its artificial flesh torn into ragged pieces by the previous explosion.
Devan
laughed as they sped along. "That
was funny! That was pretty damn funny
back there! Now I'm taking you along
for the ride. Hope you enjoy."
Legend
slid along the ground, rising up and slamming down onto it every few
moments. He brought his hands to the
photonic collar, singing his palms and neck as he struggled. He grit his teeth. He was dirty, bloody, and
one eye had been forced shut. But from
what he could see, they were nearing the main entry to the Principal's
office. As they did so, Devan careened
the bike up the stairs to the main lobby doors, pushing through the outside
guards and crashing through the glass front.
He brought the cycle to a sideways stop, flinging Legend across the room
and sending him rolling sideways along the floor before dematerializing his
technological whip. "Here's our
stop."
Legend
sat up against the far glass wall, watching as the normal working civilians
fled in complete terror. He waited
until everyone was out of sight. He
knew it would take too long before more guards would arrive on the scene. "I'm going to stop you.." He
coughed.
"Huh."
Devan dropped the cycle onto its side.
"And how're you going to do that? You can hardly walk now. I brought you here for a special
reason. Once I destroy your nervous
system and render you unable to move, you'll be able to enjoy having this
building, the core of society, fall on top of you. All I have to do is reach the top and it's all over. It's my farewell present, after all."
Legend
smirked painfully, blood running down the left side of his mouth and chin. "You forgot the meaning of my codename,
didn't you? Heh...you've already been
bitten.." Legend struck his right arm out, a pointed projectile soaring at
his enemy. Devan reacted quickly,
bringing his ravaged arm upward to defend.
He felt no pain as the triangular knife plunged into his mixture of
flesh and bionics.
"Really,
that was pretty pathetic. Guess you've
gotten delusional since then." After Devan's words, the smooth sides of
the knife fell open, bending at the edges and grabbing hold of the arm. "What?!" A static electrical
current emitted from the knife, sending its shock through its victim's
body. Devan yelled as Legend quietly
picked himself up and tried to remain standing. Soon, the shock subsided and Devan laughed again, his eyes
rolling awkwardly with a newfound insane madness. "Idiot!" He pulled the knife from his arm and threw it
to the side in disgust. "Did you
think you'd win like that? Did you
really?!"
Legend
was still grinning wearily, leaning forward slightly as he resisted the pain
that racked his body. "No, not
really."
Devan
smirked, triggering his photon whip once again...except nothing happened. "What..what did you do?!"
"Do
you really... really want to know?"
"Tell
me!!!"
"Your
arm isn't working too well now, is it?
I guess that means I also disabled the circuitry that bypassed our
control over your detonation mechanism.
Let's find out." Legend's right arm rose, holding some sort of
trigger device. "When you get to
Hell, tell Darrek that Viper sent you."
"You
piece of--!!"
There was no hesitation, no thought otherwise as Legend pressed the trigger. In that instant, his senses felt numb, his perception cloudy. He wondered how close to the blast he had been. But it didn't matter. As his body was projected in reverse, it didn't matter. As glass shattered around him and he flew out into the night, it didn't matter. As he lay there on the steps of the building, cold and released from the world around him, it didn't matter; none of it did. He had gotten the revenge he so desired, and that was enough...right? It had to be. There was nothing else but that left, so what did he live for now? His dreary eyes received no answer from the star-filled space that lingered above, his deathly grin made nothing but a silent statement to the night. Perhaps it was time to die.
* * * * *
Time: 12:34 AM
"Thousands
of meseta worth in property damage, both business and residential, eight
civilians injured, three traffic accidents caused, twenty-eight miscellaneous
laws broken, and the list goes on.
Jesus, what a night."
Detective
Chris Billiard leaned back in his noisy seat behind his desk, sighing with a
grin and loosening his tie. He closed
the manila folder with the cluttered report strewn inside. "I wonder how I'll be fixing your mess
this time, pal."
A
voice came from outside his office; the voice of a woman. "You know you have to, though. It's your job, after all."
"Yea, I know." Chris sat forward, his folded hands resting under his chin as he stared at the file, covered in the soft glow of the twentieth century-style lamp that sat at the left corner of his desk. "I know..."
* * * * *
Self Titled: He Awoke to an Uncertain Future
Time: Unknown
Eyes open...
Is this reality?
Breath. Breath means life...
Building...
Hospital...I'm here again...
The bed. Healing. Pain...
The arm is bandaged. It won't
move...
Light shines from the window. An
indication of day...
Reality...this must be real...
A bed of warmth and pain...
The woman. Red hair...an image of the
mind...
"I see..."
Silence. Tired and unrelenting...and
everlasting...
Memories. Not yet cast away...or not
yet experienced...dreadful things...
"...so I'll be the last one sent to Hell."
(end of episode one)
