Sup everyone howler here. To start off I won't be writing here for quite a while. As I'm quite committed in completing my resident evil projects. Maybe after completing those, I'll come back here. So I need to give my all for this fanfic and for the lovely community of Blazblue. You guys really deserve my maximum effort.
Just remember readers this story is set after Central Fiction and before Blazblue Cross Tag Battle. I know, don't start on me that BBCTB isn't a sequel to Central Fiction; it's a spin-off. I'm fully aware of this fact. But in this fanfic, BBCTB is the sequel to Central Fiction. Yes, I've taken a creative liberty here. Don't hate me.
Alright, now that I've clarified few things here, it's showtime.
Disclaimer: I don't own Blazblue. All right belongs to Arc System Works. If I owned it I would be filthy rich by now.
Sector 7 was in ruins. It was dusk. But it didn't feel like it. As the entire area was engulfed in flames giving the feel of quasi-afternoon. The smell of charred dead bodies and screams of people who were stuck between life and death filled the air.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA..." Azrael laughed maniacally at the entire scene. He was jubilant. Finally, he was free. Finally found a way to fully satisfy his appetite. His time in Sector 7 prison was worth his effort. It was there he found where the Stone Burner was located at.
1st Hierarchical City of Ōkoto-NOL Headquarters
Noel was splashing some water on her face. She was in a bathroom. She was feeling restless for past few weeks. A feeling of anxiety. Lost memories.
She thought by going back to work she could distract her mind. It was clearly not working for her. She kept having those strange dreams every day. She remembered hugging a guy who wore a red jacket while crying profusely. She couldn't see his face. She felt that he was someone important to her.
Which was a ridiculous? She didn't even know him. She didn't know that red jacket man existed in the first place. What's even more ridiculous, Jin was there too. Crying while hugging that mysterious red jacket man. She had to ask Major about him.
Jin was in the gym breathing heavily after doing some bench presses, "Huff! Huff! Huff!" He was clearly psyched out by the current turn of events. Imperator turned out to be humanity greatest enemy Hades Izanami. She had sought to bring eternal death to everyone by destroying the Master Unit.
Then there was Terumi who had killed Hakumen and became the new Susano'o in his stead. But his (Terumi) ambition and his existence were put to an abrupt end by certain a man wearing a red jacket.
Now here's the funny part, Jin knew who that guy (Red jacket man) was but at the same, he didn't know who he was. Jin couldn't explain it.
He, Tsubaki, Makoto, Jubei, Kagura, Hibiki and the others were all there during the war. They fought and bravely resisted Izanami and Terumi. But it wasn't them who stopped those two abominations. It was red jacket guy. He practically won the war for the humanity alone.
Now nobody remembers him. Even Jin can't exactly say for sure that he remembered him as well. It was just like that story of legendary Bloodedge that Jubei once told him. One man, Bloodedge was able to hold off Black Beast for one whole year. Giving humanity the fighting chance against it.
What he knew for sure, nobody remained the same after the war. Everyone was broken inside. Broken men and broken women. Haunted by horrors of the unneeded war brought about by the Imperator on her own people. Hibiki, Kokonoe, Tsubaki, Noel, Carl, Mai, and Bang were all badly affected by it.
Jin decided to sip his water bottle in order to calm his nerves. He then hears someone entering the gym. He didn't even bother looking who it was. Jin was never interested in affairs of others.
That person started to move towards him. Judging from the footsteps sound it was that of a woman. Jin was no mood to talk to anyone.
"Ummm...Major!" Said the woman. Jin immediately recognized who that person was. There was only one person who would refer to him as Major, "Second Lieutenant!" As he looks at her coldly.
"Could we talk?" Noel had a look of uncomfort on her face.
Jin started to bench press, "What is it obstacle?" There was a lot of coldness in his voice which made Noel asked herself whether it was even a good idea to talk him in the first place.
"Ummm...I wanted to talk to about happened during the war?"
Jin didn't reply as he continued to bench press.
"You do remember him. That red jacket individual?"
Jin immediately stopped his workout and this made Noel uncomfortable, "Ummmm...Are you..."
Jin got up and looked the young girl in anger, "Are you some special kind of idiot? There are up to 28 witnesses to that incident. Among all of them you had to ask me for that?"
"Because I wanted to talk to you about it."
"We are done here trash."
"You were there. And you know it." Noel replied desperately.
Jin quickly turned his body around in a menacing manner, "You..."
"Don't you remember crying and hugging that red jacket individual? Don't you remember that I was there too?"
Jin had a look of shock on his face, as he recalled he was feeling sad over that red jacket guy and yes Noel was there too. That memory looked so real and unreal at the same time. Jin then shook himself, "Enough Lieutenant. We're not going to talk about this. Am I clear on this?"
"But I can't...Major...I can't do my job properly...I'm haunted by this vision. I can't sleep ...I'm always anxious...I don't know what do now..."
Jin turned and started to walk menacingly towards the young girl, "Guess what? It is called war you daft. Everyone suffered. NOL soldiers, Sector 7 and the civilians. All of them had gone through hel. Not just you. But they moved on. If you can't do your job properly then maybe you should just quit."
"Do you really hate me that much Jin?" Noel asked while she looked at him emotionally.
Jin just for few seconds was taken aback. It was the first time she had referred to him by his first name. This slightly pissed him off. He sighed as he was about to answer this question as someone else entered the gym as the door opened, "Creak!" It was Hibiki.
"Major Kisaragi! Kagura has requested your immediate presence at the command center. You too Second Lieutenant."
Jin silently nodded as Hibiki closed the door and went away. Noel, on the other hand, wasn't sure whether she glad that Hibiki interrupted or not. For one thing, it postponed confirming her worst held fears.
"Glad you could join babes. I see you brought along Jinny too, nice." Kagura smiled as he sat in the center of a large rectangle table that had around 30 seats.
"Is there an emergency Colonel Kagura?" Noel asks worriedly as she sat on a chair next to Hibiki. Jin apparently took a next to Kagura.
"Apparently, The Mad Dog Azrael has escaped his bounds from Sector 7 and laid waste to it. Claiming several lives as a result." Hibiki replied.
"You expect us to stop it?" Noel asked with a hint of fear.
"Noel baby I'm not worried about you. You are quite strong, especially in that kinky robotic costume. It's Jinny I'm worried about. Protect him for me will ya?" Kagura winked at Noel which made her blush.
"Sir, that's quite an inappropriate comment." Hibiki reprimanded.
"Alright! Don't get on my case Hibiki." Kagura scratched his head, "But I'm kinda worried about you Jinny. You won't last much longer against the Mad Dog though. If you catch my drift?"
Jin then silently looks at Kagura, which made the Colonel chuckle nervously, "Hahahaha...you are no fun at all Jinny. If it was any other guy he would have lost marbles by now."
"Well according to our sources Azrael is heading for the Warheads Storage Facility of Sector 7." Hibiki continued to brief.
"It doesn't make sense. Yes, there are dangerous weapons being stored there like nukes. But what would he want with those warheads? He doesn't need them to be destructive." Noel analyzed.
"That's what I want you two to find out. If he intends to use one of those dangerous warheads than stop him by any means possible. We've already sent 4th Magic Division there. Also, you guys will be aided by the military personnel of Sector 7 too Good luck and Godspeed." Kagura briefed.
Noel gulped. Even with the assurance that they would be backed by the 4th Magic Division and Sector 7. She was afraid it wouldn't be enough to hold off Azrael.
If anything she was definitely more scared of Azrael than any other individuals out there. In her Murakumo Unit state, she could easily assess the power levels of various opponents. She was even able to assess the power levels of both Izanami and Dark Susano'o. But Azrael even in his Enchant Dragunov Level 1 he was beyond her assessment.
Noel than looked at her superior Jin for a moment. There wasn't even a hint of fear in his eyes. There always this strange bravado about him that carried in every battle. No matter how much odds were stacked against him. He would never cower in fear. Sometimes it felt as if he didn't care whether he lived or died in the end.
What motivated Jin to act this way? Besides Noel was much much stronger than he was. Yet she afraid of the prospect of engaging in combat with Azrael. What was he seeking in those battles? Maybe what he was seeking all along was a good death.
7th Agency Warheads Storage Facility
Noel observed that she was surrounded by hundreds and hundreds of men both from NOL and Sector 7. It almost twice the size of a single battalion (300–800 men) as per Noel's estimate. Normally she would've felt at ease in such situation.
But it was Azrael they were dealing with. He would've no trouble in dispatching most of them. It was as if he would be swatting some flies on his path.
A hologram image of Kokonoe appears in front of Jin and Noel, "Hey numbskulls, I hope you two have been briefed by Kagura. If not it would be quite a pain in the as for me to explain the entire situation again."
Noel was quite offended by the insult, "Hey! Who the hel are you calling numbskulls Kokon..." But she was stopped in midway by Jin who gestured her to stop.
"Kokonoe, if my Intel is correct. Then this suppose to be Azrael third raid in the Sector 7 Warhead Storage facility. He wasn't interested in nukes and other weapons of mass destruction there. Which he's looking for a specific WMD."
"Even I can deduct that genius." Kokonoe growled, "I have a slight suspicion what he's after though. But at this point, it's all speculation. Your job is only to protect all of the warheads in this site. Got it? Also, I'm sending Tager to assist you guys in this battle. This is Kokonoe over and out."
Suddenly Noel hears the sound of a jet booster. When she looks up it was Tager who about to land on their location. She backed away in fear of not being burned by Red Demon's jet booster.
Tager landed on the ground in a very superhero-ish style; down on his knees with his right fist planted on the ground. He suddenly got up, "Major Kisaragi and Second Lieutenant. It's an honour to fight alongside you people again."
Jin didn't shake Tager's hand which made the famed Red Devil feel uneasy, "Ummmm..." While he was still holding out his hand. Noel decided to intervene by shaking his hands in Major's stead, "Likewise Mr. Tager."
"I appreciate that you NOL people are assisting Sector 7 in times of our need." Tager continued.
"Well we didn't have much choice, do we? Since we were ordered by the Colonel."
"Erm...I don't know what to say about that." Tager was feeling uneasy with Jin's rude behaviour.
"I'll be honest with you. These soldiers won't last long. You certainly are well aware what the Mad Dog is capable of. This going to be a slaughter. They should leave while they still can."
"Yes, I'm well aware of this fact. However, it wouldn't be wise to ruin the soldiers' morale Major Kisaragi at this moment of time." Tager said as he adjusted his glasses, "Let me be honest with you as well, Major. You're a talented sword fighter no doubt about it. Probably the best I've ever seen. But you're the real weak link here. You're skilled enough to evade all of Azrael's blows. But If the Mad Dog even lands one blow against you, then you're as good as dead." Tager analyzed.
"Pfffft!" Jin crossed his arms, "Well I'll make sure he won't. Besides Red Devil, I'm more worried about you. You and Sector 7 seems to have specialized in failure."
"I apologize for my earlier remarks Major. I had no intention of offending you." Tager explained.
"You were ruining my morale." Jin sarcastically replied.
Noel was Jin's secretary so she had never seen him how he acted during the time of war. Sure they fought alongside each other. He even carried that same confrontational attitude during the time when they were going after both Terumi and Izanami. But leading your men to battle is totally a different thing from fighting with very few people.
But if this is how Major conducted himself during the times of war she didn't know how he was able to lead his men to battle with such a rotten attitude.
It was just like Noel feared; the combined forces of Sector 7 and 4th Squadron couldn't halt Azrael advance to the Warhead Storage Facility by one bit. He swatted all of them away like some flies. Some of those brave soldiers were dead. But most of them were walking the thin line between life and death.
Jin's sword attack was easily being stopped in midway by Azrael. It only took two fingers (index and a middle finger) for Mad Dog to hold off Jin's attack.
With a terrible show of power, Azrael shoves Jin away as if he was a three old child, "FA-THUD!"
"Yukianesa!" Azrael smiled, "The Unbreakable Blade. A marvelous weapon that you're not worthy of Major Kisaragi."
Jin struggles to gets up, "Huff! Huff!... Then who's worthy of this..." As Jin took a battle stance with Yukianesa,"...Blade, Mad Dog?"
"Hercules, Achilles, Arthur, Beowulf, Sigurd, and Bloodedge. You know, the truly legendary warriors of every era. Oh! it will be such a joy to battle against them. When they'll battle me using your blade."
"Hercules, Sigurd, and Bloodedge? Pffft! You truly are mad. You really live up to your name Mad Dog."
Azrael laughed manically, "Hahahahahahaha...Only the crazy is the true sane in a crazy, mixed-up world."
"Ummmmm...But how do you hope to achieve that? Surely you are incapable of raising the dead?" Noel asked.
"I'm glad you asked that young lady. I'm going bring back all of those heroes from different eras in our timeline with the help of Stone Burner."
"Stone Burner?" Jin was shocked, "Are you a moron or something? Among all the weapons of mass destruction in this facility including Nukes and H-Bombs. You want a useless weapon whose blast radius is even lower than Davy Crocket missile?"
"Hahahahaha...Davy Crockett? I guess you NOL pawns are still in the dark regarding the true potential of Stone Burner. Allow me to educate you. Unlike nukes and H-bomb, Stone Burner releases J-Radiation. Because of J-Radiation Stone Burners are quite versatile. It could do as little damage as Napalm. It could do thrice as damage as Tsar Bomba."
"So you are reduced to murdering millions of people. I thought you were better than that Azrael. I never took you for those world destroying type of cliché villains." Jin mocked.
"Hahahaha...You insult will have no impact on me Kisaragi."
"But still how will killing millions of innocent people will help you achieve your goal fighting the legendary heroes from the past? It doesn't make sense." Noel protested.
"I don't need to. I need few thousand sacrifices for that. In case you've forgotten. Stone Burner is quite versatile not only in its destruction capacity but if focused well enough it could create a cleavage in the space-time continuum. Thus allowing the legendary heroes of the past and future in our own timeline."
Suddenly Kokonoe hologram appears in front Noel, Jin and Tager, "Oh my God!" Even though it was only a hologram Noel could clearly see the look of terror on Kokonoe's face.
"Professor Kokonoe is that true? Can Stone Burner really cause cleavage in the Space-time continuum?" Tager asked.
"Of course it can. But there's 98.79% probability instead of bringing legendary heroes into our timeline like our dear friend Azrael wants he could actually cause collision of multiverses. Not only that will annihilate the entire population of our reality but the population of other realities that have collided ours."
"He can't take such a risk? It would be inhumane." Noel screamed.
"Apparently he can Noel. He's the only one who can survive the multiverse collision apparently." Kokonoe answered, "Listen to me people. Now I got a plan. But you need to do exactly as I say. Tager! Find a dummy warhead in the warheads storage facility. After finding it, transport that dummy along with Major Kisaragi to Daedalus Zone. That would act as a nice decoy and also there are no civilians in Daedalus Zone right now."
"Alright Professor Kokonoe. I will begin the extraction of dummy warhead posthaste." As Tager flew away to grab the dummy warhead.
"Professor Kokonoe! Is there a possibility that he (Azrael) could listen to our conversation?"
"No Noel, he can't. I've put barrier ars around you three. Even if the Mad Dog is two meters away from you he still can't listen to this live feed."
"Ummm...Professor! I got one more question?"
"Yes!"
"Wouldn't Azrael eventually find out that Tager and Major would be carrying a dummy warhead?" Noel asked.
"Of course he will. That's the part of the plan. But you have the most important part of this plan."
"Ummm...Really!" Noel meekly asked.
"Yeah! Because I intend to blast that Stone Burner on Azrael's as. It will be enough to kill him. For that to happen I need the help of Sword of Doom!"
"You mean my Murakumo Unit form Professor?" Noel asked.
"Exactly!" Kokonoe replied, "I managed to hack your NOL ID cards Hardy (Jin) and Laurel (Noel). By inserting both of your ID cards on the Stone Burner it will allow you two to activate and deactivate bomb on your command. As of right now, I've preset the Stone Burner timer to thirty minutes upon the insertion of both of your ID cards."
"Ummm...Professor! Is it really okay to trust us with the Stone Burner activation and deactivation?" Noel asked.
"No! I wouldn't even trust you two with my hairdryer let alone a weapon of mass destruction. But we're running on shorthands here. So I guess you two will do." Kokonoe than looks at Jin, "Hardy(Jin)! Give Laurel (Noel) your ID card now."
Jin slowly gives Noel his ID card. The two of them exchange glances for few seconds. Noel could clearly see that there was no fear in his eyes. Everyone involved in this horror show was in some sort of distress except for the Major. It was as if he lived for this moment.
She again wondered what motivates him to act this way? Did Jin never cared whether he lived or died from this ordeal?
"Don't screw this up!" Jin said in a low tone. This made Noel gulp. This made Noel wonder. Did Jin really hate her? She never really got her answer back at the gym.
"Wow! Great pep talk Major. You're quite charismatic among your men." Kokonoe sarcastically replied.
Upon receiving Jin's ID card, Noel than transformed into her Mu-12 form and flew inside the warhead storage facility.
"It would take Tager no more three minutes to extract that dummy warhead. For the time being distract Azrael. For one reason or another, he seems quite interested in conversing with you. So go talk with him." Kokonoe instructed through the hologram.
"So Mad Dog! You seem quite interested in talking with me. Might I ask why?" Jin said.
"Are you a facking retard Jin? He will clearly see now that we're desperately trying to stall some time here, you moron." Kokonoe reprimanded him, but Jin completely ignored her.
"So you've noticed. Well, I wanted to catch up with the family member of one of my greatest rivals."
"Family?" Jin raised his eyebrows.
"You're the brother of the infamous Bloodedge after all."
"I don't have a brother. Bloodedge? Have you lost your mind Mad Dog? The unsung hero of the Dark War came a century before my birth." Jin hissed.
"Yes, yes, the very same Bloodedge. Ragna was his name. I think he was successful in making everyone else forget about him."
"Yet you didn't. That explains your mental state."
"Keep on insulting me, Major. The only reason that prevents me from not giving you a horrible is that I've respected your older brother." Azrael replied calmly.
"For the last time, I don't have a brother." Jin gritted his teeth.
"You do. You have ambiguous dreams about him. That red jacket man hahaha. How do you explain the sudden defeat of both Izanami and the Dark Susano'o? Did you defeated them Kisaragi? Did Kagura defeated them? You don't have an answer this question do you?"
"I suppose you have the answer to this mystery." Jin asked.
"I do. It was obviously Ragna The Bloodedge. He had defeated them (Izanami and Dark Susano'o). After that, he proceeded to erase himself from existence making everyone forget that he ever existed. But I'm beyond the influence of Master Unit."
"Tager has extracted dummy warhead already. So get ready." Kokonoe instructed Jin via the hologram. Jin fully understood what the plan was. He and Tager would carry the dummy warhead as a decoy and lead Azrael to the now deserted Daedalus Zone. Where they will engage in battle against Azrael and hopefully distract him long enough until Noel brings the real Stone Burner and use it against him.
Immediately Tager landed in front of Jin and carried him (Jin) to air while carrying the dummy warhead with him (Tager) at the same time.
Azrael started to run after them as he screamed, "YOU THINK YOU COULD ESCAPE ME? GIVE ME BACK MY BOMB!" Thankfully Azrael took the bait.
Inside The Sector 7 Warheads Storage Facility
"Now Noel! I've already fed the location of Stone Burner on your GPRS system. Summon your Steins Guns and they'll carry the Stone Burner for you." Kokonoe instructed via the hologram
"Okay, Professor!" Noel then summons the Steins Guns; as the six small white orbs flew towards warhead that was shaped like an egg with a diabolical green eye in its center. The six small orbs then generated energy ropes on the egg-shaped warhead and started to carry it away.
Daedalus Zone of Sector Seven
Although there were some buildings there, it was mostly deserted due to Azrael earlier attack. It was a perfect place to battle the Mad Dog without any concerns for collateral damage.
"See! You can't outrun me!" Azrael grinned.
"We weren't trying to outrun you Azrael." Tager replied as Makoto, Mai and Litchi arrived, "We were waiting for our reinforcements."
Jin took out his sword, as he knew that this wasn't going to be easy, despite Professor Kokonoe well-formulated plan. Things could easily go wrong. But then again he never truly cared about the outcome of the battle no matter how good or bad it was. What he cared the most was that he played his given role well. That's what he gonna do today. Jin along with fearless four immediately charged at Azrael.
It didn't take Azrael more than six minutes to dispatch all five of them from the warhead. Now his prize awaits him as he opens the giant container, "Destiny awaits us." But when he touched the egg-shaped bomb he realized it was, "A dummy?"
Suddenly both Mai and Jin attacked Azrael; more specifically they targeted his Enchant Dragunov, with Mai stabbing his chest with her spear and Jin mounted on his back attacking his shoulder blade.
"We've deactivated your Enchant Dragunov Azrael. You won't go beyond level 1!" Mai said.
"YOU THINK I NEED TO GO BEYOND LEVEL 1 FOR YOU FLIES?" Azrael slaps Mai away. Then he punches Tager who falls down on the ground as if he was a toy.
"HAAAA!" Litchi screams as she charges at Azrael with Mantenbō. But the Mad Dog grabs her by the throat, "AAUGH! AAUGH!" She was gasping for air. And then he throws her far and far away.
Finally, Azrael grabs Jin who was still mounted on his back, pins him down on the ground and breaks some of his rib cages by pressing his (Azrael) palm on Major's chest, "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Jin screamed in pain. It was such a loud scream that it could be heard far away.
On hearing her superior's blood-curdling scream, "JINNNNNNNNN!" Noel panicked as she flew as fast as she could. She feared something terrible might've happened to Jin.
A/N: Yes, the first chappie ends in a cliffhanger. Yes, I do hate cliffhanger. I'm quite a hypocrite I know.
Yes, I again took a creative liberty here that Noel is still a Second Lieutenant in NOL army instead of you know a nun.
And most importantly this going to be miniseries lasting no more than 4 chapters. Yes, no more than 4 chapters.
Anyways this was Howlin Blood speaking signing off.
