Hey everyone! This is an idea that came to me when I was listening to an intense tune on my playlist. This one-shot was inspired by Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Future Soldier's Air Ride, so I urge you to listen to it when you see the *. Enjoy!
"W-what the hell are they?" He slumped against the shaking wall of the train car.
"Ciel…" A tiny voice whispered from his side and he felt a small hand tug on his worn sleeve. Looking down, he saw the culprit; a small girl no older than ten with snow white hair that reached down to her knees and sky blue eyes that shone with a frightened light.
"It's alright, Lu. It'll take more than that to bring me down." He patted his sore ribcage, stifling the urge to wince. "Besides, I think we lost them when we jumped on this thing. We'll get off in a couple stops and go to ground for a bit. So don't worry." He tenderly ruffled her hair, skillfully maneuvering his hand around the curious horn projections peeking out from her brilliant locks. She always liked it when he did this, as she would hum contently and close her eyes at his touch.
But not this time. "But Ciel… they said 'there she is' when they tried to hit me. And then you got hurt trying to save me…" Tears welled in her eyes and sporadic sniffles hopped up her throat. He knelt down so he could look the girl in the eyes.
"Lu, I don't know why they might want you, but I promise you this; they will not hurt you. Okay?" Despite his reassurance, he was starting to think he might have gotten involved in something much bigger than he could imagine when his eyes laid on his companion's pointed ears.
Everything about this girl was a mystery to him. He didn't know who she was; even she herself didn't know. No known family, affiliations or origins. The only thing she seemed to remember was her given name; Lu. He found her beaten half to death in an alley with nothing but a burlap sack for clothing and bare feet. Despite some of her odd features, he felt drawn to the poor girl, took her in and nursed her back to health.
If he had to guess, she was probably one of those unfortunate victims of repeated child molestation and their attacker finally had enough of her, casting her out like a worn out toy. He saw them everywhere, but there was something different about her. She had this strange fire that would burn in the depths of her eyes at times, like another person was locked away deep inside.
While he never got to see this other side of her, he never remembered enjoying his time more than when it was with her. Every day was a new adventure, usually Lu getting into some kind of trouble and Ciel swooping in to rescue, but it was perhaps the most fulfilling experience he ever had. All he knew prior to meeting her was killing and deception. To give something more than death and lies was… enriching.
But it seemed that there was something bigger going on. Only moments ago, the duo was making their way back to their hole in the wall called home when they were suddenly surrounded by a sinister group of individuals. Ciel thought they were dark elves at first because of their dark skin, but last time he checked dark elves didn't have claws or glow with a malevolent magic.
That was when they pointed to Lu and said something about finding their target. The second one of them stepped forward Ciel had drawn one of his trusty gunblades and put a bullet right in between its eyes, killing it instantly.
Or that was supposed to happen at least. The damn thing just reeled back like a struck punching bag and then rubbed the bridge of its nose like it was sore. That was when Ciel knew that these things were not human and opted to grab Lu's hand and make a run for it. But the one he had shot dashed to them so quickly that he was glad he didn't blink, otherwise he would have missed it. He was barely able to block the backhand that was aiming for Lu's head with his chest, and he had to say; it hurt.
The blow had thrown them both down the alley a good ten meters, and the blasted thing didn't even look that strong. So, Ciel snatched Lu off her feet and ran as fast as he could, dropping one of his homemade light grenades behind him. Fortunately, it seemed they still needed their eyes, because once his gadget went off he could hear them crying out in confusion as the intense brilliance blinded them, buying him and Lu precious seconds.
He then wove through the filthy streets of this blasted city, his mind directing him with the utmost precision. He knew these streets like the back of his hand and knew exactly where to go; the high speed tram. If they could make it there, they could give these goons the slip by putting some distance between them and then getting off at a random stop. He had a few other safe houses they could lay low in for time being, but they had to get off this thing first. There weren't even any other passengers tonight, and the trams ran automatically, so they were the only ones on the transport.
A sound akin to the bomb going off in water snapped the street assassin out of his recollection. It sounded like it came from the next car behind them, so he carefully eased to the window and peeked through the dirty glass.
His heart leaped into his throat and a quiet gasp flew from his mouth.
"Ciel?" Lu inquired and the man brought a finger to his mouth, a signal for silence. The little girl clapped her tiny hands over her mouth.
"Shit…" he breathed. These things were definitely not human. Humans couldn't just appear from black circles that opened in the air itself.
"Spread out. Search car by car. The succubi above said they saw them enter this train. Find them and kill them!" One of the lanky looking creatures commanded as the rest dispersed throughout the car. But the one that really had Ciel on edge was the one that was thankfully going to the cars in the front. The thing was huge; easily over two meters tall and looked like one of those creepy dolls that had smaller ones inside them he sometimes saw in the shops, except with claws as big as its rotund abdomen. And the strength to match apparently because he saw it effortlessly tearing off the seats in the adjacent car and tossing them out the windows like they were no heavier than a feather.
"Lu," he whispered. "Let's play the Quiet Game, okay? First one to talk has to buy the other ice cream." Lu nodded her head excitedly and swept two fingers across her mouth. Nodding silently, Ciel carefully lead Lu away from the inhuman search party, taking care to avoid the windows. They moved to the next car, Ciel stealthily shutting the door behind them just as a group of their attackers entered the car they left.
They had to move faster, so he tugged on Lu's hand to urge to pick up the pace, which she did. They passed to the next car faster this time, putting some distance between them and their pursuers. Unfortunately, the car they just entered was the last one, and only the blurred tracks waited on the other side.
"Fuck!" He cursed silently and Lu bounded up and down like a ball.
"Yay! I wo-" Her victory was short-lived however, because Ciel clapped his hand over her mouth, bringing a finger to his own.
"We still need to be quiet, Lu." he chided and the girl nodded in understanding.
Fuck. Where's the next stop? They were in a tight spot. They couldn't run any farther down this train, and by the time the thing stopped, their enemies would be in their car and it would be over. And then there were also some eyes in the sky apparently, because that was how these things found them even after he and Lu gave them the slip in the alleyways.
Pressing against the front wall of the car, Ciel carefully peeked into the adjacent car. Seconds after he started looking, the door two cars ahead was pulled out of its tracks and tossed outside to the whipping winds.
"Where the hell are they? They were supposed to be on this train! When I find them I wi- GAH!" One of them started on an angry rant and then was suddenly interrupted by an exposed wire.
"Ha! That'll teach you to watch what you touch. You should've known that this thing runs on El, so you should've been more careful when you ripped a hole in the floor." Its partner laughed at its misfortune.
"Watch it, or you may end up on the tracks," the inhuman victim snarled as it continued to look into every nook and cranny of the train car. Slowly the pair was making their way to the back of the train where Ciel and Lu where hidden, but Ciel's brain was now spinning with ideas.
It was hurt by El. Are they vulnerable to that somehow? If they are… The assassin's hand dove into his jacket and started fumbling around, searching for something. Eventually, he withdrew a small wooden case from an inner pocket.
Lu tip toed to his side and peeked over his shoulder at the object as he cracked it open. Inside were twelve bullets glowing a ghostly blue.
"Wow… So pretty… What are those, Ciel?" she asked curiously, reaching out to touch them.
Ciel pulled the box out of her reach. "These are special bullets made with El infused casings I bought a few years ago. They were more like a collection than ammunition, so I never used them. Guess now's as good a time as any to try them out." With that short tale, he cracked open the chamber to one of his gunblades and let the useless kinetic rounds fall out of the cylinder. He then carefully picked each of the El rounds – six of them – and slid them into their slots. Locking it shut, he repeated the procedure on his other gunblade.
He now had a weapon to kill these things, hopefully. But he was up against way more of them than he had bullets, so he had to get a little creative. With Lu watching in wonder, Ciel ripped a piece of his coat sleeve off and twisted it into a makeshift rope. After quickly checking the door, he pulled out two fragmentation grenades from the bandolier he wore and wrapped the rope around the releases and strung it through the handle of the door and the latch.
Satisfied that his trap was set, he checked outside the window. He saw that they were approaching a tunnel.
"Perfect," he mumbled. Lu cocked her head quizzically and made a quiet yelp when Ciel suddenly scooped her up and looked her in the eyes. "Okay, Lu. I need you to be very brave here. Things are going to get very loud, and I want you to hold onto me as tight as you can. No matter what happens, you don't let go. Do you understand?"
At his question, the girl looked at him worriedly, but nodded her head nonetheless and wrapped her arms tightly around his neck and pressed herself into his chest. While he would normally be absolutely ecstatic at having such a cute girl hold him like this, Ciel pushed those happy thoughts into a distant corner of his mind. They only had one shot at this, and if he failed, they would both die.
Taking a deep breath he checked the patrol that was heading their way. They were only five rows of seats away, close enough for him to see the malicious purple glow of magic on their hands.
He then waited for the longest few seconds of his life. As soon as the train passed into the tunnel, he snatched the pins of his grenades and pulled them with a satisfying ping. Not wasting a single moment, he threw open one of the windows to the car and pulled himself outside with Lu still hanging off him. Carefully, he pulled himself onto the side of the car and began inching his way back towards to the front of the train, his hands sidling along the roof and the tunnel walls whizzing by only inches from his back.
*Just as he made it to the link between the car they left and the one that was occupied by their pursuers he took one last look into the car. Their enemies were now moving to the door to make their way into the rear car.
1… 2… 3! He counted in his head and then swung himself off the ledge of the back car and onto the next one. The sudden movement caused Lu to groan frighteningly, but he performed the maneuver flawlessly. Just as he moved to the next car, their attackers started crossing the link to the other car none the wiser that they had just been flanked. And were none the wiser when they threw open the door to the last car only to have an explosion go off in their faces.
Their screams were drowned by the exploding grenades and the force blew the last car off the rest of the train and sent it spinning across the tunnel in a blazing wreck. Not even those things could have survived that, but their friends definitely heard it.
Taking the initiative, Ciel called out, "Here we go, Lu! Don't let go!" just as he crashed through the window and back into the train.
Now he ran, one arm clutching Lu's tiny body and his other holding one of his gunblades, ready to fire on a moment's notice. As he burst into the next car, he saw a pair of aggressors enter from the other side.
"There they are! They're he-" one of them starting calling before being interrupted by a glowing, blue bullet to its collarbone. It went down, howling in pain and clutching its new wound as black blood slipped out between its fingers.
Its partner stood stunned. It shouldn't be possible for a mere human to harm them; Unless they had access to some kind of weaponized El. As that thought flashed through its head, it caught its prey making a mad dash for the door behind it.
It swung a malicious claw at the Ciel's head, but it only struck air as the assassin slid under the blow and past its legs. And then one of its knees exploded in a diorama of black and blue as a second bullet found its mark, sending the creature to the ground in a cry of agony.
Ciel pushed himself over the rattling link and into the next car. This time there were three of the otherworldly pursuers in his way. Ten rounds left and two fragmentation grenades left. I need to pick my targets carefully. Ciel's mind was a storm of scenarios and planned action, but the course he settled on was flicking the barrel of his gunblade at one of the foul creatures in the front and pulling the trigger.
A streak of electric blue flew from the barrel at ear-splitting speeds, tearing through the air with a ghastly shriek before impacting its target straight into its abdomen. With a pained scream it dropped to the floor, hands pressing an oozing black hole. As its comrades howled in surprise, Ciel took aim at the next closest target without breaking stride and pulled the trigger.
Unfortunately, the enchanted round screamed right past the creature's left arm and broke through the window behind it. Ciel clicked his tongue in irritation. It was very difficult to aim properly with the shaking of the train, Lu's body blocking his arms to an extent and the swaying of the enemies' bodies. He didn't even care if he killed them, as long as they couldn't fight back. He was aiming at the things' center of mass, that way he had a very good chance of putting them down one way or another.
But a missed round out of twelve meant that was one more enemy still on their feet. By now, his adversaries had recovered from the initial shock of his sudden ability and wove intricate patterns through the air with their pointed hands. Trailing their fingers were streaks of black and violet, menacing colors that seemed to pulse with an evil heartbeat. Ciel dove for the divider, his only form of cover just as a pair of dark circles opened in the air where he once stood and spewed forth tendrils of shadows. His coat was clipped by the attack, and he noticed that it was shorn away, like a rabid dog had tried to take a bite out of him.
Pressing his back against the thin, metal divider, he brought his weapon to the ready.
"Ciel!" Lu shouted in terror as the sounds of the battle sent her into a fit of frightened sobs.
"It's okay, Lu! I won't let them touch you!" Easier said than done, though, as the precious seconds he spent reassuring her, one of the foul creatures charged forward while the other summoned yet another deadly circle of darkness.
"Call the Mistress! We found them!" The caster yelled down the train, likely to more of the nightmarish beings and slammed its hand onto the floor. Ciel was lucky he was looking down, because when he saw the hole of ebony open at his feet, he threw himself across the car to avoid the explosion of energy.
And right into the sights of the advancing enemy. Its hands pulsed with evil magic, leaving a trail of colorful shadows in its wake as they swung for the assassin's head.
With a grunt, Ciel bent backwards as far as he could go, the blow striking naught but air. His momentum carried him into the wall of the train and his opponent began to turn to make another strike.
It never got the chance. A cerulean bullet tore through the air and went straight through its cranium, the force of the round throwing its body into the divider Ciel was hiding behind moments ago. As it slumped to the floor, its partner growled in rage and prepared yet another spell. Ciel kicked off the floor as another attack exploded where he sat mere moments ago.
Only one bullet left in this chamber, Ciel thought to himself. Having missed a shot already, he had to conserve ammunition where he could, lest he find himself backed into a corner without a way to dispatch his attackers. So instead of spending the last round in his drawn gunblade, he charged forward at blistering speed.
His foe was surprised by the tactic, and those precious seconds of processing a proper reaction to it bought Ciel the time he needed to bull rush the creature and push out of the car. Once they were on the link, Ciel whipped his trailing leg in a sweep, clipping the thing's ankles and sending to the ground; which was the racing tracks below and its screams were promptly muffled by clattering wheels and a wet, grotesque crushing sound.
Satisfied that he was able to kill one of these things without having to waste a precious bullet, Ciel pressed on, sprinting into the next car; and came face to face with the creature that sent shivers up his spine earlier. The macabre, doll-like monster had already started to run head-first at the duo, intending to mirror Ciel's last victim's fate onto them.
Thinking fast, Ciel vaulted over the giant mass, dug the blade of his weapon into the base of its neck and pulled the trigger. The muffled muzzle shouted and the cerulean bullet went straight through the thing's body and through the floor. With Lu still crying in his arm, Ciel finished his maneuver with a rolling start and continued running, bypassing the stunned group of smaller monsters as he sprinted for the front of the train.
But then he heard a bestial moan behind him, and he dared a glance. He had just enough time to see the giant beast he thought he put down swinging a massive claw of malicious shadows at his back out of the corner of his eye. He twisted his body as far as he could with his tiny passenger and managed to avoid having the two of them being cleaved in two, but another black wreathed hand found its way to his side as he turned his body to take the blow for his tiny passenger.
Thankfully, the blow was with the palm of the titanic hand so he was not carved into ribbons, but he did feel every rib on that side shatter like glass. And this was not including that the attack was powerful enough to send him flying across the length of the car and into the door frame. The force of the impact threw the air from his lungs and his vision blurred until all he saw was splotches of color and shapeless forms.
"Ciel!" Lu's cry snapped his mind back into gear and he shook his head to clear his vision. What he saw was easily a dozen of the smaller creatures, along with the towering brute that just struck him, slowly advancing, their hands covered in dripping shades.
The taste of blood tickled his tongue, he must've bitten his cheek or something when he was thrown into the door frame. And while every breath he took just hurt more and more, he forced himself to roll his head to his destination: the next car over.
It was empty. The warning from the foe earlier must have drawn away all the remaining enemies to the car they were in.
Perfect.
"Ciel, please don't die!" Lu was hysterical, squirming in his grasp to break free and help him up. So he tightened his grip on her and holstered his now empty gunblade.
"I won't die, Lu. I promise. But I need you to keep holding onto me. And cover your ears. It's going to really loud." He gave her a reassuring pat on the head before he flung himself across the gap between the train cars, drew his full gunblade and took aim on his target
There were too many enemies to shoot down with only six bullets, but that was not what he was aiming at. He was aiming for the axles that rattled under the car he just vacated. He paid no need to Lu's cries and the now-running assassins. He just squeezed the trigger over and over again, lines of electric blue carving gashes in the air and impacting the spinning steel.
CLANG. CLANG. CLANG.
Ciel didn't keep count of how many bullets he fired into the thing, but he probably spent those last six bullets. But he didn't care about that. He cared about the thick bar of steel finally snapping and sending the car into a frenzied wobble.
Its occupants, now aware of the street assassin's intent, made one last attempt to reach him. Instead, they were greeted with Ciel's remaining grenades exploding in their faces and violently throwing off the car from the rest of the train.
Crashing iron, pained screams and booming explosions filled the air as the wreckage was flung off the tracks and rolled over into a spinning pinwheel of death, whipping the cars behind it in every direction. But the duo was spared from the destruction as they finally left the tunnel now turned furnace.
It was over. They had escaped, albeit barely. His chest ached with every haggard breath he took as he lay on the rattling floor. Lu, noticing that the danger had more or less passed, freed herself from her companion's arm and knelt over him.
"Ciel, are you okay?" she shakily asked, and then she noticed his breathing sounded too shallow, like he was wheezing. "Ciel!" She hurriedly started to the task of removing his coat, to which he didn't resist. He was too exhausted and in too much pain to up any sort of fight.
But that was when they heard them. Like raptors soaring above, watching their prey, they came down on wings of ebony. They flew alongside the wrecked train, their gleaming, red eyes peering through the windows. And that was when Lu met one of their gazes with her own terrified stare.
"Wow, what do you know? They survived. Guess those bums weren't up to it." The little girl saw the winged woman sneer, sharp canines glinting in the moonlight. "Looks like we get to derail your escape plans. You better hold onto something."
Ciel heard this and sprang to his feet and took aim at the creature outside. But he was greeted with the most terrifying sound when he pulled the trigger.
Click.
It was empty. His mind was a whirlwind of panic and dread, but when he felt the car leap off the tracks and crash back down on its path he snatched the girl at his feet and made a break for the nearest handrail.
"Hang on tight, Lu!" he shouted as he pressed her in between him and the railing as he clung onto it for dear life. The next time the train left the tracks, it stayed off, a sickening feeling of vertigo taking over before it plummeted to the ground below.
This was by far the worst day Ciel had, but he was glad it was with her. And, to his good fortune, it would not be the last…
And we all know what happens after. This was an idea I had for a while, just didn't have the time or motivation to put it up. With the release of the new tutorials on the KR server, this is not exactly canonical, but who cares. It's more exciting right? Please Read and Review. Until next time!