DISCLAIMER: I do not own Blood+.
I have another story on Fiction Press called "The Vitaris Insurrection". The link to my Fiction Press account is on my profile.
Chapter 1 - The Attack
The attack on Red Shield HQ, while not being the all-out assault that they had been warned of, was still devastating. Their defences had been easily overcome and over a third of their agents lay dead, with more dying by the minute, their weapons ineffective against the onslaught. No-one was sure why Diva herself was here, and with only one Chevalier, but her reason for coming was perfectly clear to Riku. She had come for him.
He had been able to hear her in his mind from the moment she arrived on the ship, almost as though she was calling out to him, like she was playing some twisted game of hide and seek. Even after reading Joel's Diary, he still unsure as to why he could hear her in his mind, but he had a fair idea that it had something to do with the events at the Zoo and something Julia called the 'D-base', which was apparently in his DNA. All he could remember from the Zoo was approaching a girl whom he thought was Saya, then trying to run when she grabbed and bit him, then nothing until he woke up on the ship.
Right now, however, he was concentrating on trying to open the vent he and Kai had found in the cargo bay they were currently in. He was not having much success with the two euro coin Kai had left behind, but was determined to at least try something, so he didn't feel completely useless.
"If only I'd had more time to develop my powers," he thought, "We wouldn't be stuck here. I could just tear the grate clean off."
He had almost removed one of the screws when he sensed someone approaching behind him. He assumed it was Kai, back from his search for better tools. Riku knew he would probably laugh at him for persisting with the coin, but he didn't care. He just wanted to get out of here, as far away as possible from Diva.
"Laugh all you want Kai, but I don't think I'm brave enough to just sit around and crack jokes with you." he called over his shoulder, "But I'll do my best."
"Dammit, there has to be something in here I can use." Kai said, searching the storeroom's shelves. He was looking for something, anything, he could use to open the vent and escape.
He was about to give up and head back to where Riku was, when something caught his eye on the end of second shelf. It was a large yellow screwdriver.
"Finally!" he thought, picking it up, "Our ticket out of here."
He had just turned to leave when he saw her. She was slowly advancing through the crates towards Riku, who was still trying to open the vent, oblivious to the danger he was in. Kai froze, dropping the screwdriver and reaching for his gun. He knew it wouldn't kill her, but he hoped it would keep her down long enough for Riku to get to safety.
"RIKU!" he shouted, "LOOK OUT!"
Upon hearing this, Riku turned and realised it wasn't Kai behind him, but Diva.
"Oh shit…"he thought aloud.
Kai fired his gun, hitting Diva in the side and catching her by surprise, sending her toppling to the ground. Kai looked up at him. "Riku!" He called, snapping his brother out of he trance he was in. Riku began to climb down off of the crate and had almost reached the ground, when he was startled by a hand grabbing him around the ankle. Looking down, he saw Diva already standing, her bullet wound healed.
"I've been looking for you." She said.
As she pulled Riku down to the ground, Kai charged into her, knocking her to the side and causing Riku to fall over the back of the crate. Diva grabbed Kai by the back of his shirt on his way past and sank her teeth into his neck. Kai cried out, struggling to break free of her grip, but her hold was too strong and his struggles became weaker and weaker, until he stopped moving altogether. Riku emerged from behind the crate upon hearing his brother's scream and froze when he saw Diva drop Kai's lifeless form at her feet and turn towards him, wiping the blood from her lips.
"He won't bother us anymore." She stated. "Don't be scared. Soon you will be mine." She whispered, still approaching, her eyes turning blue as she came closer.
Riku kept backing away from Diva, until he backed into a crate, frozen with fear. It was just dawning on him what she wanted to do with him. Their faces were almost touching; he could feel her breath on his face, when the door burst open, revealing Saya battling Karl in his chiropteran form. Diva turned, cursing inwardly that she had been interrupted yet again.
Saya had been battling Karl throughout the ship after he had come out of nowhere while she was searching for Kai and Riku, hoping to reach them before Diva did. His appearance meant that Hagi had been subdued, but she was sure he would be alright. She decided to look in a nearby cargo hold to see if Kai and Riku were in there. She moved to open the door, but Karl charged at her, breaking the door down when Saya dived out of the way. Getting up and dusting herself off, she was horrified by what she could see in the hold. Diva was advancing on Riku, who was pressed up against a shipping crate, a look of pure terror on his face. Kai was lying on the ground near them, unconscious and barely breathing. Her entrance distracted Diva, who turned to face the source of the interruption.
"You stay away from him!" Saya warned.
"But Big Sister, we were just getting started." Diva taunted.
Saya couldn't contain herself any longer. Letting out a scream, she raised her sword in front of her and charged at Diva. She ran he sword straight through Diva, but noticed she wasn't crystallising.
"What the…" She thought.
"Don't you think you're being a little hasty Saya?" Diva said, looking down at her sister. "You forgot to add your blood."
Looking down at her sword, Saya realised she had, in fact, forgotten to add her blood to the blade. She tried to pull it out and try again, but Diva grabbed her arm and threw her into a nearby crate. While Saya struggled to recover herself, Diva walked back towards Riku. "Karl, take care of Saya for me. Make sure we don't have anymore interruptions."
"My pleasure." Karl replied. He leapt towards Saya, but was knocked aside by a flying cello case. Looking up, Saya saw Hagi descend from the upper level of the cargo hold, distracting Diva in the process and allowing Riku to slip past her. Karl lunged to attack Saya, but Hagi grabbed him by the arm before he could land a strike.
"Saya, are you alright?" Hagi asked, holding Karl back.
"Riku and I are fine, but Kai, he's not." Saya answered, gesturing towards Kai's limp form.
Hagi looked over at where Kai lay. The two had never really gotten along, but Hagi knew that Kai meant something special to Saya, that he had made her happier than Hagi could. Seeing how upset Saya was at his condition angered him enough to crush Karl's arm and throw several daggers at him, one striking him in the face, the others hitting him in the arm as he moved to shield himself from the attack. Hagi readied himself for another attack, but stopped when an explosion overhead brought pieces of the ceiling down between him and Karl.
David and Louis were standing in the doorway, armed with shotgun and grenade launcher, respectively. The two ran into the room, Louis firing another grenade at Diva, which Karl blocked. The explosion brought more of the ceiling down, boxing Karl and Diva in.
"You need to get off the ship." David announced, firing his weapon. "We're going to sink the ship with Diva inside, hurry!" He and Louis continued to fire, allowing Riku, Saya and Hagi, with Kai slung over his shoulder, to exit. The pair followed after they had successfully contained Diva and Karl under the wreckage.
On the helipad, Joel stood waiting behind a railing, looking for any sign that David or the others were coming. David had told him to leave without him if he was not back in time, but Joel was going to stay and wait until the last minute. He was beginning to lose hope, when he saw David leading the others out of a doorway. Upon climbing the stairs, David informed him that Diva had been isolated in the hold, and that now was the time. Riku had just finished helping Hagi to load Kai into the helicopter, when he noticed he had stopped breathing.
"He's not going to get help in time." He said, looking towards her."Saya, you have to give him your blood. It's the only way."
"I can't. I've already stopped your time. I don't think I can do the same thing to Kai." She replied.
"But you can't just let him die, can you?" Riku asked. He was struggling to hold back the tears; the thought of losing his brother was almost too much for him. "Kai's the only brother I have; I don't know what I would do without him. Please save him Saya, our family wouldn't be the same without him." Tears were starting to roll down his cheeks as he finished speaking.
"He won't be the same-"
"I know, but he'll be alive, that's what counts." Riku interrupted."Please, save him before it's too late."
Saya looked at Kai, before cutting her palm with her sword and pouring some blood into her mouth. She leaned closer to him and kissed him, depositing the blood in his mouth. She moved back while Riku, David and Hagi held him down, waiting for the transformation to begin. David turned to the pilot. "We need to leave now!" He shouted, as Kai started to scream and convulse. The helicopter was about to lift off, when they saw Karl fly out of a hole in the deck with Diva on his back. He fired a few shots with his right arm, one narrowly avoiding David's leg. Saya and Hagi jumped out of the helicopter to face them. "We'll have to create a diversion for you, hurry!" She said, looking back at David, a look of concern on his face.
"What are you going to do Saya?" He asked.
"Please, just hurry up and go." She answered, not looking back.
He nodded and turned towards the helicopter. "Alright."
Riku made to follow Saya, but she stopped him before he could get out of the helicopter."Riku, go with them. Kai will need you there with him when he wakes up."
Riku was about to protest, but he knew now was not the time to argue and obeyed. He sat down at the back of the helicopter next to Kai, still unconscious, who had already been secured in a seat by Louis, The helicopter took off, leaving Saya and Hagi standing on the deck facing Diva and Karl, surrounded by flames and smoke from the auto-destruct sequence.
"It looks like they've left you behind, big sister." Diva taunted.
"No, I stayed to defeat you." Saya shot back."I'm going to finish this once and for all."
"I wonder how it will end." Diva thought aloud.
"I'll kill you." Saya said acidly. As she spoke, a series of explosions ripped through the ship, bringing the funnel down and cutting the ship's power supply, plunging it into darkness.
In the helicopter, Riku looked back at Saya as she began what could be her final battle with Diva. When the explosions and smoke blocked his view of them, he could only sith back and hope that Saya would come away from her battle with Diva alright.