"The world sat on the verge of death. Science, created by men who acted as gods, assumed our image and betrayed its creators' purpose. Mankind signed a contract for great power and wealth…without realizing they had signed their own death warrant. I suppose it couldn't be helped with people wasting their minds on drinking, and worse. But the ones picking up the tab had quite the price to pay. Needless to say, it was a lot more serious than paying off the barkeeper. The blazing black sun…Ruins and wasteland stretching as far as the eye could see…Plants withered from the corrupt data of the sunlight and people turned to stone, trapped forever between life and death. The survivors were forced underground, far away from their old lives. The lucky few chosen by the Karma Society lived in a sanctuary formed of God's wisdom, oblivious to the chaos outside."
"Hell…That's what it was – hell."
-Fred
The fist collided painfully with his gut, and it was only the chair he was tied to that prevented him from falling to the ground. Something hard and sharp pierced his flesh, and his eyes bulged as soft flesh was sliced open. Red began to seep into his dirty white shirt, and his body alight with pain, Keiichi struggled to pull in a breath, finding it all the worse as his lungs seemed to catch fire. He tried to scream, yet his vocal cords were already singed to the point of uselessness, and so all that came out was a strangled rasp.
The copper giant, the source of his pain, turned and walked away with a growl. "Diarama" It rumbled, extending the hand that was most human towards Keiichi. The two circular disks that emerged from its knuckles began to spin, and Keiichi grimaced as his vision was filled with a soothing green glow. The pain began to fade instantly, and in its place came a maddening itch. The man ignored it however, all his focus intent on drawing air into his burning lungs. Gasping, he sucked in breath after breath, raising his head just enough to stare at the creature acting as both torturer and medic.
It had to be seven, eight feet tall, dressed in what appeared to be some sort of natural bone armor designed to imitate copper. The flesh that wasn't covered in the odd substance was a ruddy, rusty red, decorated with strange, purple-black diamonds. Towards the hands and feet, the diamonds grew to become the dominant color, the creature resting on toes that looked closer to fingers, a pair of metal discs similar to the one on its left hand imbedded between the thick digits. Its right hand, no, its right arm, consisted of a single, large weapon, looking vaguely like a Tibetan vajra that had melded with the entity's arm. He couldn't tell where the weapon began and the flesh ended on it. And its head…goddesses its head…A single, snarling mouth was its only humanoid feature. The flesh above it immediately dissipated into more of the coppery bone-armor, its head warping into a large, empty pit, as though something had cut a majority of its head off and scooped out what remained. Surrounding it was a copper halo, large and encircling, that was connected by some other means behind the back of its jaw.
It had no eyes-none that Keiichi could see-but he'd quickly learned that it was hardly handicapped, if at all.
"Just answer the questions, kid." Lethargically, Keiichi tilted his head to one side, meeting the concerned gaze of the vaguely Arab man at his side. "Who are you working for? Cuvier? One of the Karma Society's generals? Who put you up to this?"
His energy already sapped from the multiple heals the monstrosity had forced on him-goddesses, how many times had they been running in circles? Three? Four times?-Keiichi could only manage a weak grunt.
The man, Adil, frowned and looked towards the behemoth, his brow creased with worried lines. "Roland, we need to take a break. If we keep this up much longer we're going to put this guy in a coma."
Roland? Keiichi's tired mind wondered. Ah, that's right, Roland. The monster before him was Roland's Avatar, the monster the Atma virus had infected him with. The man had changed after forcibly dragging Keiichi back to his…headquarters, that's right, Keiichi was in Roland's headquarters, and had begun interrogating him.
"Not until we know his motives." Roland's voice was rough and scratching, vaguely reminding Keiichi of a lion's roar. "I'm not putting any more people in danger."
"Yeah?" Adil snapped. "And what happens if we find out this guy is innocent? Roland, you've pushed this man to the borders of death five times already! Five fucking times! He's human, like us-" the man caught himself, "-like me, Roland. He isn't a Tuner like that Cielo kid or-or you!"
Roland paused at the man's words, turning to face the human. "What are you trying to say, Adil?"
The man grimaced. "I'm saying you need to stop this," he said quietly, "before you turn into something you hate. Because right now, from my perspective, you ain't no better than one of Karma's soldiers."
Roland froze. Then, very slowly, walked towards Adil. For a second Keiichi's tired mind thought he saw the same, red veins that had preceded Roland's transformation appear once more on the creature, yet when he blinked no such veins could be seen. Instead the air seemed to shimmer around the monstrosity's form, and then Roland was Roland once more.
The man approached Keiichi, and the bound prisoner could do nothing as the silver-haired Tuner lifted his chin. Lackluster brown met heated gray, and then Roland released him, allowing his chin to drop once more with a grunt. The Lokapala leader sighed. "Let's…let's get him cleaned up." He finally said, and Keiichi looked up at him tiredly as Adil fiddled with his binds. "Kathy can take care of you, since she found you. At least until we can figure out what else to do with you."
Keiichi's head bobbed, eyelids growing heavy with exhaustion. He barely noticed the rope that tied him to the chair going slack. With sleep on the border of his consciousness, the man closed his eyes.
"You were never this violent before, Roland. What the hell got into you?"
The last thing he heard was Roland's fading voice. "It's the virus, Adil. It…changes people…not for the better. I…promise. Kill me…turn…them…"
And then came peaceful oblivion.
There was someone near his side. Someone huge. Paralyzed, he laid where he was, unable to move as the creature slowly walked around him. Something cold and sharp pressed into his skin-just enough to threaten, not enough to break, and slowly began scraping down across his bare flesh. It trailed from his throat down to his chest, tracing delicate, dangerous circles that made him shudder. Down his chest and to his stomach and across his abdomen. I'll skin you alive. It hissed. I'll spill your innards and feast on your intestines…
Keiichi awoke with a start, finding himself lying on a hard cot. Breathing harshly, the man checked himself over, finding his shirt red and torn yet the flesh beneath whole and healthy. The mechanic stared at the holes in the cloth, large and ragged, the edges stiff with dried blood.
"There's some fresh clothes on the table next to you if you want to change."
Keiichi jumped, almost falling out of the cot as he struggled to find the source of the voice. "Who's there?"
From the corner of the room, a small light glowed in the darkness. It swayed back and forth randomly, and it took Keiichi a moment to recognize it as a cigarette head. "Whoa, whoa, take it easy." The light rose, moving from the corner and along the wall before pausing. "I'm not going to hurt you Bud." The lights flickered on, and Keiichi winced.
Blinking spots from his eyes, Keiichi looked towards the owner of the cigarette. A man stood leaning against the wall, standing next to a box Keiichi assumed was a light switch. He was pressing the lighted end against the wall, effectively putting it out while he observed him with thoughtful bright, blue eyes. "How you holding up?" The man wore a black bandanna over the lower half of his face, effectively hiding everything from the nose down. He wore a muddy yellow tactical vest rested atop a black jacket, cargo pants close to bursting with materials.
Keiichi sucked in a deep, calming breath. "Who are you?" He asked, carefully readjusting himself on the cot and pressing his back against the wall. The event left him breathless, and for a moment Keiichi stared at his hands, wondering why they were trembling.
"Johnny." The man responded, and Keiichi looked up, just in time to see the masked 'bandito' flick his cigarette off to one side and move towards the cot. "I'm Kathy's husband. Adil brought you here after Roland ripped you a new one." The man paused, looking Keiichi over for a moment. "Or three or four, give or take."
"I wasn't trying anything with you wife." Keiichi muttered. "Just…in case you were wondering." It had been one of the first things Roland had tried to get him to confess. A 'warm-up'. And then the punches had started…Keiichi grimaced, burying his face in one hand. "I've already got someone back home. And I'm not looking for someone else."
"I know." Keiichi blinked and looked up, jumping when a ration packet sailed towards him. The mechanic didn't have time to react, and the package lightly hit his shoulder before falling into his lap. The man looked up at Johnny. "Kathy told me what happened. My woman's a greedy, stubborn old hag when she wants to be, but she ain't a cheater." The corner of Johnny's eyes crinkled up in a smile. "Plus she's a shitty liar."
"Oh." Keiichi stared at the man for a long moment before dropping his gaze back to the packet in his lap. "Thanks." Weakly he tore it open and dug into the doughy cracker, savoring it as though it had been formed by Belldandy's own hands.
"Thanks for watching out for my wife." Johnny replied. "Most of the people here in the Lokapala are just normal folks trying to get by. Most of them are too afraid to go outside gathering resources, and my own job means I can't always be there to watch Kat's back. If you hadn't been there, chances are she'd have been killed by that Andres last night."
Keiichi swallowed the thick goop in his mouth, feeling vaguely like he was swallowing undercooked mochi. "Didn't do anything." He grumbled. "She still got hurt because of me."
Johnny shrugged. "She's still alive." He said. "She's up and walking, still has all her limbs attached…just cranky as all fuck because of Roland and the Embryon and eating her own merchandise. I can't complain. Neither can you. Hurt is better than dead out here."
Keiichi nodded dubiously, taking another bite of his ration. For a long while he chewed in silence, Johnny seemingly content to pull up a chair and watch him eat. "How is she?" He asked after finishing the last of the ration off.
Johnny tossed him another one, and Keiichi found his stomach protesting too much to refuse the gift. He caught it and tore it open.
"She's fine. Got her to finally wash the blood off her face when I got back. Damn near had to shove a Soma Drop down her throat to get her to eat. Didn't help her mood much." The man leaned back in his chair, scratching beneath his bandana. "She's watching the storefront right now. Told her we'd lose too much money if we closed shop this morning after everything that happened last night." The man sighed. "Course with her current attitude, it don't matter much. She's been scaring away any customers who so much as glance inside."
Keiichi cracked a smile before biting into the second ration.
"So now that you're here, what do you plan to do?"
The mechanic swallowed, a soft frown forming on his face. "I…I don't know." He confessed. "I don't know anything about this place other than what I've seen and been through since…last night." Roland's demonic, snarling avatar flashed across his vision, and Keiichi closed his eyes, frown deepening. "That Roland guy doesn't seem to want me around, so I know I'll be staying out of his way."
Johnny snorted. "Don't worry about Roland. The man's got other things to worry about than some lost kid like you. Especially now that that Serph guy is stepping up." The man laughed. "If Roland isn't careful, he's gonna find those Embryon guys running this place before Adil can even say 'demon'."
Keiichi smiled weakly. "Are there other places like this?"
"Refugee camps?" Johnny asked, and Keiichi nodded. "There are, but none of them are as fortified as the Lokapala's. Most of 'em live a sort of subterranean nomadic lifestyle, moving from one place to another to avoid demons. Those that are more stationary don't last long. When the demons hit 'em, they hit hard."
"So you're saying this is the safest place around?"
Johnny shook his head. "Safest place around is the Karma Society, if you're lucky enough to become a civilian." He said. "Become a resident there and you're safe from demon consumption." The man's eyes narrowed. "Course, that safety is sacrificed if you're a soldier or a scientist. Soldiers get infected with the Atma virus and the scientists are usually the first source of food for those who give in fully to their demon forms. When the soldiers go mad, they lose the right to live and become food for their brothers in arms, too." The man shook his head. "Nasty way to go. Demons are ruthless when they're hungry."
Keiichi thought of the scorpion man and the owl-beast, of Roland and his rage, and nodded in agreement. "Guess I'm staying here then."
Johnny nodded. "Wasn't planning on having you go anywhere anyways." He said, and Keiichi blinked.
"Wait, what?"
"Kathy says you owe us a pretty penny after all that's been done." Johnny sent him a sideways look, and Keiichi's jaw fell open. "She told me you ruined our flower beds. That true?"
"I-what?" Keiichi sputtered. "You mean-you mean the flower I stepped on?"
Johnny's brows raised high enough to disappear beneath his dark bangs. "You stepped on one of our flowers?" He demanded. "Which one?"
"A white one?"
"A Jasmine?"
Keiichi shrugged helplessly. He knew machines, not flowers. "Maybe?"
"Son of a fucking bitch." The man covered his face with one hand, glaring at him with a frosty blue eye. "You know how much that cost us?"
Keiichi felt a lump of dread settle uncomfortably in his stomach. Slowly, he shook his head.
"Forty thousand dollars."
"F-forty-dollars." What was left of his ration fell from Keiichi's hand. "You mean like American dollars?"
"No I mean like Dogecoins." Johnny snapped, and Keiichi winced. "On top of that, you lost Kathy's knife-that was an anniversary gift by the way-and you've been supplied with free rations from our stock since Roland dropped you off with us. The clothes are from our supply room, too."
"But I don't have that kind of money on me!" Keiichi protested. "Most I have is whatever's in my wallet, and that might be a couple hundred yen bills, if even that! I can't pay off what you're asking."
"We know. We checked your wallet while you were still out cold." The man dug into his pocket and tossed the aforementioned item to Keiichi. "Yen won't buy shit since the economy went under. Nothing to exchange it for out here. So Kathy and I decided you'd work for us until your debt was paid off."
Keiichi stared at the man incredulously, mouth opening and closing like beached fish. Finally the man swallowed. "What am I supposed to do for you guys?"
"Kathy can't keep going out solo on our raids." Johnny said. "With Roland finally sobering up and these Embryon making changes for the better, I'm going to be out in the field more and more often. I need someone who can look out for her when I can't- she won't always be as lucky as she was last night."
The mechanic eyed the merchant warily. "You want me to be a bodyguard?"
The man shrugged. "Bodyguard, pack mule, clerk, inventory, storage…" He checked off his fingers. "Am I forgetting anything?"
"But I'm not-I don't know how to fight." Keiichi protested, staring at the man with anxious brown eyes. "I mean, not against, well, demons or anything. Sure, maybe I can take out someone pointing a gun at me when he's right next to me, but I-I've never killed anyone before!"
"Well, there's a time and place for everyone." Johnny rose to his feet, walking over and patting Keiichi on his shoulder. "You'll learn." He said, the humor that had been present in his voice throughout their conversation gone. In its place was a cold, hard seriousness. "Like it or not, you'll learn."
The next few days passed by faster than they had a right to.
Keiichi, in debt to the owners of the MAD MART, found his debt rising as Johnny provided him with room and board in the shop that was equally a home to the owners. Apparently, Keiichi had arrived a day too late, in the man's words; the Lokapala had recently released a great many refugees from the mysterious Internment Facility, and with nowhere to go the many people had taken residence in the Underground City. Any areas that had once been vacant were now filled with occupants.
Kathy had further warned him away from them. She'd explained the Internment Facility to him. How those who were taken there were held prisoner by a Tuner known only as 'The Jailer'. How easily the creature could capture those who tried to escape. The uselessness, the hopelessness, the despair that had run rampant within those cells…
How those imprisoned might occasionally bear witness to a demon being imprisoned next to them, mad and raving and ravenous. And how any day could be their last, as one by one prisoners were taken further down into the facility, where the sound of blades and whirr of machines was a steady and constant hum, and how those who went down there never came up again.
The woman spoke of the place with such an intimacy Keiichi suspected she'd gone through the hellish prison herself. Yet when he'd finally gathered his courage to ask her, Kathy did nothing but shake her head and smile solemnly, speaking of a devil's luck and an angel's blessing.
It had been Johnny, he later learned, who'd gone through the nightmare.
"People who go through that kind of experience change." Kathy had explained. "It's hard to trust anything when you spend so much time in that sort of environment. The only ones you feel you can really trust are those who went through it with you." She'd gestured to a small group of shell-shocked looking individuals who eyed her warily. "Outsiders are considered hostile. And people like that…who think everyone around them is a possible predator…well, just put yourself in their shoes and you'll understand."
He'd decided to take the store manager's word for it after that.
Neither Johnny nor Kathy taught him how to shoot, ironically.
That detail was left to a man named Joseph, an easygoing man who was quick to smile with a black crew cut and a stubbly beard. Johnny's twin brother, the man lived with the other guerrilla forces among the Lokapala. Keiichi had been introduced to him during his first 'dinner' in the Underground City. He and Johnny had lined up with others in a large cafeteria line, being served portions greasy meat and hard bread passed out by other denizens. The man had taken a seat across from him with Kathy at his side, sounding so much like the more familiar Johnny that for a moment Keiichi mistook the man for his twin.
They'd had a full on conversation for ten minutes before Kathy eventually stepped up and ended Joseph's joke, revealing the man as a familiar stranger before properly introducing the two of them.
Johnny it seemed preferred to eat his meals in private.
The feel of a handgun in his grip had felt awkward at first, dismantling and cleaning foreign and clumsy to hands more familiar with wrenches and motors. He flinched with every pull of the trigger, with every echo of the gun going off, yet Joseph had proven to be both a patient and tolerant individual. "When a demon gets up close and personal, aim doesn't matter anymore." He'd instructed. "At that point, just fire in the general direction of the monster. Bullets won't do much against 'em unless they're either human or the bullets have elemental properties anyways, but a big enough spray will at least keep them back for a while. Hopefully long enough for you to run."
Sleep on those nights came with the smell of gunpowder and ringing ears as he fell into a restless slumber.
Eventually it all became so commonplace he no longer recognized it anymore.
His progress was slow, yet with Joseph's coaching Keiichi's aim slowly got better, his hesitation not quite as frequent as it once was. Occasionally one of the Embryon, those few dressed in uniform gray, would watch from afar as he practiced in the makeshift shooting range that had been set up in one of the less habitable than the rest. Even rarer, when it seemed as though the Tuners had some time to kill one or two would approach him, giving Keiichi further advice and, scarily enough, offering themselves as targets.
He denied their offers every time.
Until the day Joseph took the most persistent of the bunch, Cielo, up on his offer.
"You're serious?!" Keiichi almost screamed, brown eyes bulging in his skull as he stared at the older man.
Across from him, Joseph grinned, wrapping a friendly arm around the braided Cielo's shoulders. "Why not? You need to learn how to shoot at live targets sooner or later. This'll be perfect for you!"
Cielo mimicked the guerrilla soldier's action, smiling largely at Keiichi. "Dyaus can take a couple rounds easy." He said. "He's beddah wit' bullets dan I am."
Dyaus. Keiichi was still trying to wrap his mind around the fact that the Tuners had names for their demon forms. Dyaus, the female Prithivi, Gale's Vayu, Serph's icy Varuna, and Roland's Indra. They spoke of the beastly forms as though they were separate entities from their human selves. It was puzzling, and only further fueled his caution around the infected individuals.
Because of the many questions that came to mind, many of them were of his own morality in shooting other Tuners.
Cielo moved down the field, stopping near the bullseye Joseph had initially set up for Keiichi. The paper was littered with bullet holes on the outer rings, with one or two lucky shots having made it closer to the center. The lilac-haired man waved to Keiichi from the other end of the field. After a moment, Keiichi hesitantly looked at the Tuner through the scope that had been attached to the rifle, watching quietly as the air seemed to swirl around the uniformed man. Light began to emanate from his body, and in a sudden flash of light the demon that was Dyaus replaced the Embryon once known as Cielo.
The creature grinned at him from within its bony, white skull, hovering lightly in front of the target. The demon cocked its head to one side, and Keiichi jumped when it released a roar that echoed against the surrounding walls.
Keiichi raised his head from the scope, his face pale. "I don't want to do this, Joseph."
The older man stared at him from where he'd been leaning against a pile of debris. "You'll have to do it sooner or later." He replied. "Better now than when your life is on the line."
Yet Keiichi shook his head, lowering the rifle "I-no. No. I can't simply shoot at another person like this."
Joseph sighed and straightened, walking over of Keiichi. "Give me your rifle then."
The mechanic looked over at the soldier with startled eyes. "Ah, o-okay." He said, fumbling with the safety switch before handing the weapon over. The man took it without comment, yet rather than remove the bullet Joseph instead raised the rifle, toggled the safety switch, took aim, and fired.
The weapon's discharge echoed even more loudly than Dyaus's roar.
"What the hell are you doing?!" Keiichi cried, brown eyes wide with shock and horror. "Are you trying to kill him or something? What happens if you hit Cielo?"
Yet his words seemed to fall on deaf ears as Joseph reached into a cargo pocket, withdrawing a pair of small binoculars and passing them to Keiichi. "Shut up, you're distracting me."
Keiichi stared at the binoculars, than looked down the field towards Cielo-Dyaus. A confident scream arose once more from the beast, and after a moment's hesitation Keiichi raised the binoculars to his eyes. Another shot went off in his ears, causing the man to flinch. But not before seeing the demon's immediate reaction following the shot.
One of Dyaus's stiff arms, plated with an armor-like material that prevented the limbs from bending at any known elbows, angled to one side. Something sparked off the hard blue surface, causing the creature to momentarily twitch, but otherwise showed know visible damage. It straightened, once again tilting its head at an angle in curiosity.
Once more Dyaus screamed.
"Get it now?" Keiichi looked up, finding Joseph staring smugly at him. "Got nothing but normal bullets here. No elemental properties to 'em or anything special like that. Not even tracer rounds. Just the standard metal and gunpowder humans have used for decades on each other." The man offered him the rifle once more. "Your turn."
Keiichi swallowed nervously, taking the rifle and staring at it as though he was handling an angry serpent. He looked warily at his instructor, a frown on his face. "You're sure I won't hurt him?"
The man shrugged. "Worse that'd happen would be that he changed back on the trigger squeeze." He said. "But then, one less Tuner in the world's a bit of an improvement, wouldn't you say?"
Keiichi chose not to comment.
Instead the man grabbed the weapon, checking the chamber before reloading the rifle as had been drilled into him every day since Joseph began instructing him. Falling into a crouch, Keiichi braced the butt end of the rifle against his shoulder, wrapping the leather sling equipped to the ringlets around his arm for additional support. Resting his lead hand on one knee, the man looked through the scope towards his target, finding Dyaus oddly still from where it observed him across the field.
Nervously readjusting the grip on the rifle, Keiichi swallowed, taking in a deep breath and releasing it slowly. His finger moved to rest on the trigger, and once more the mechanic took a deep breath, trying to ease his frantic heart. Pull on the exhale.
Keiichi slowly exhaled, centering the crosshairs of the scope on Dyaus's chest. He slowly began to apply pressure on the trigger…
And stopped.
The man raised the weapon, flipping on the safety once more with a shake of his head. "I can't do it." He said. "Joseph, I'm sorry. Even with everything-"
"Forget it." Joseph cut him off, irritation evident in his voice. "We'll stop for today. I'll go with Kathy topside tonight." The man rubbed his face with one hand, breathing a deep sigh. "Just….Go get Cielo. Let him know we're done."
Keiichi nodded, feeling a lump of guilt rise in his throat. Shouldering his weapon, the man waved towards the demon, gesturing him towards the two humans. Dyaus did nothing however, merely hovering in his same spot, occasionally tilting his head to one side in a mannerism that reminded Keiichi a bit too much like a dog. "Well, I know he doesn't have any eyes…I know he can see me though…" The man mumbled to himself, hesitantly stepping out into the firing range and moving towards the blue monstrosity. "I wonder how he sees if he doesn't have any eyes. Heat vision? Echolocation?" There was no way to tell without directly asking the Tuner himself.
"Cielo," was he supposed to call him Dyaus in this form? "we're done for the day." He called out. "You can go ahead and change back. I…needed a break from training."
The creature tilted its head to one side in curiosity, whatever means it used to hover coming to a stop as its feet touched the ground. Dyaus stared at him and…chirped, before cocking his head to the other side.
Keiichi stopped a short distance before the man-turned-demon, staying well out of range of its long arms. "Cielo?"
A blade popped out of the strange horn that rested atop Dyaus's head.
Keiichi started. "Cielo, what are you doing?" He asked in alarm.
The creature screamed at him.
And before Keiichi even realized what he was doing, the man found himself running, Dyaus hot on his tail.
The world seemed to narrow, his gaze centering on Joseph, who was waving and shouting something at him. A shriek arose behind him, and two somethings collided with his back, knocking Keiichi to the ground. The man released a shout as the ground came rushing to meet him. He caught himself and rolled, watching as something large and ominous flew above his head with enough force to create its own wind.
Dyaus soared past him before rising, and panting Keiichi stumbled to his feet, readying to make another run for it only for the ground in front of him to erupt with lightning. With a shout the mechanic stumbled backwards, shielding his face as the hair on his arms stood erect from static. The man looked up, finding Dyaus dropping into a dive towards him and cursed. "Cielo, what are you doing?!" He cried.
If the Tuner heard him, if the demon understood him, he gave no sign, instead shrieking as feet that all too easily resembled a raptor's talons spread apart.
Joseph was shouting something at him. "Shoot him, Keiichi! Shoot him before he kills you!" And gasping, his heart thudding in his ears, the man grabbed the strap his gun hung by, sliding it from his back and taking aim at the beast.
The man pulled back on the trigger, only to find it stop half-way. "Shit!" Keiichi swore, and as Dyaus swooped down on him the man dodged to the side, talons that could easily pierce his flesh finding purchase in earth and debris. The demon came close enough that Keiichi could have touched it if he'd wanted to, yet as it was the man was too focused on putting distance between the two of them before Dyaus thought to tear into him with the blade on its head.
Once more Dyaus launched itself into the air, this time launching a bolt of electricity from its maw as well. It was pure luck on Keiichi's part that the bolt didn't touch him, and fumbling with the safety the man once more aimed the weapon at the beast. This time, a spray of bullets launched themselves at the demon when the mechanic pulled the trigger, causing the beast to flinch in the air.
It did little to stop the demon, however, and once more Keiichi struggled to his feet, stumbling into a run in the hopes of outpacing the creature. A sound reminiscent of a jet engine arose behind him, and too frightened to look back Keiichi ran harder. The noise grew louder, and the mechanic felt something wrap around his upper arms. A brief glance revealed blue, almost hand-like talons, and Keiichi screamed as there was a sudden tug upwards.
And then his feet were no longer touching the ground.
Looking down, Keiichi watched with wild, terrified eyes as the debris of the Underground city began to grow distant, leaving the man at the mercy of Dyaus's grip. He could see Joseph beneath him, a grimace on the man's face as he lowered the rifle from where he'd been aiming at the demon. "Heat a' battle's a lot different from a practice range, isn't it?" A voice, rough and grating, somehow made its way to Keiichi's ears through the noise that surrounded him.
"C-cielo?" Keiichi gasped, his limbs flailing about wildly in the absence of the ground. "Was-was this all a joke?!" He cried, trying to wrap his hands around Dyaus's legs and finding the action painful; the demon's grip tight and unyielding to his own flesh and muscles.
"Stop struggling. You'll only hurt yourself." Dyaus advised. "I'm not going to kill you. Or even hurt you, for that matter."
"What, so that electricity was a joke back there?" Keiichi demanded, gingerly submitting to the fact that there was little he could do in his current situation and trying hard to ease the tension in his body. "Fuck man, don't tell me this was some sort of trick on your end." The man couldn't help but think back to the shrine and the numerous times he'd fallen victim to a stray 'Urd Bolt' during a sibling dispute. "Last thing I need is to find someone who can go toe to toe with Urd's magic." He grumbled.
A bellow that reminded Keiichi of an angry bull emerged above his head. It took him a minute to realize the demon was laughing. "Ah, so you are the consort of the middle Norn. Now I see. You are a long way from home, Mortal."
Brown eyes widened in surprise. "Norn…you're a god?!" Keiichi cried, once more greeted with the bull-laugh. "But-Cielo, what about-"
"This is not Cielo speaking, Keiichi." The demon roared, the beast's wings tilting at an angle that sent the duo spiraling upwards nauseatingly. "Cielo sleeps right now, when the solar noise is at its strongest. This is Dyaus, Father Sky himself." An odd chirp echoed hollowly in the creature's throat. "Urd and I practiced magic together many a time as children. It is good that she was so careful with her magic then. Though it may not show, Urd is a very disciplined goddess. If you were indeed accidentally struck by her bolts, then it was only through her own mastery of magic that she did not kill you."
Keiichi gaped at the demon, staring up at the creature in shock. "But you-Cielo is…what's going on?"
The demon snorted. "We are fortunate to be so far underground. The Sun's rays are blocked down here, and when its light grows strongest I was able to temporarily take over rather than the partial, more maddening transformation that undertakes my Avatar when the Noise grows too great." The demon explained.
Keiichi understood about one in five words in all the demon said.
"You smelled different to us upon our first meeting, Keiichi." Dyaus continued to explain. You made Varuna curious, my son Indra, suspicious. You smell too much of gods and demons for us to simply dismiss." The demon paused there before continuing after a moment. "I apologize for Indra's behavior. He is a wild god that does not always know how to control his temper. It is bad to see that he has chosen a faithless drunkard like Roland as his Avatar."
Keiichi could think of no response for the strange apology. "I don't know how I got here." He explained. "From what I remember I was back home in Nekomi, making some modifications on my bike when I came to here."
"You are in an alternate Earth." Dyaus explained, swopping into a steep dive that left Keiichi's stomach doing flip flops. "One with an Ultimate Destruction program that has been initiated. The humans here have taken to calling it 'God', despite the fact that those very creatures, and their demonic counterparts, are what have come to possess their comrades."
"A what?" Keiichi asked, his heart leaping into his throat at the mention of an ultimate destruction program. "You mean like the Lord of Terror? But we defeated that thing! We got it on to a floppy disk and Skuld wiped it clean!"
"That is in your world, not in this one. There is more than one Ultimate Destruction Program. The humans of this world have evolved to the point where a test is needed to ensure they are fit to continue to call this planet home. They have destroyed their ecosystem to the point of almost unrepairable, and because of that they have awakened their own Ultimate Destruction Program. We have come, gods and demons alike, to test the will of those strong enough to house our spirits."
"I-I don't understand." Keiichi stammered, "Are you telling me that everyone here is supposed to die? Why would you…why aren't you stopping it!?"
"It is not my place to stop it, nor is it yours. I have lent my power to one who bears the strength to change that path, however it is up to Cielo and the rest of his tribe to decide how that path must be changed. You come from outside this domain, and thus you can do little but bear witness to the end, should it come. I have only the strength given to my Avatar. I cannot send you back to your home dimension."
"Then what will happen to me, to everyone, if Cielo and the others fail?"
Then like the rest of humanity, you too shall die. This world shall undergo Conception once more, and a new race shall try to succeed where Humanity has failed." The demon's descent slowed, gliding to the ground with ease. "My time is almost up. Cielo shall return once more. Do not speak of our conversation, Mortal."
Keiichi's feet touched the ground, and Dyaus released him. "Varuna believes you are here for a reason, though it is too early to tell what that may be at this point. Be on guard, Consort of Norns, and do not try to seek out that which is familiar to you. This a land built on the need of survival. Survive, Keiichi Morisato, and show us the strength that lies within one loved by many goddesses."
Keiichi stumbled to a stop as Dyaus glided over his head, body moving low to the ground before immediately slowing, landing gracefully farther off. The demon's body glowed once more, and then Dyaus was gone, replaced with the human Cielo once more. The lilac-haired man turned to look at Keiichi, and for a brief moment the mechanic saw the demon, the god, that inhabited the Tuner's body. The youth stared at Keiichi with unnaturally intense golden eyes, his features shadowed by an unknown light source.
Then the man blinked. The light vanished, and eyes that matched the color of Cielo's braids smiled at Keiichi. "You good, Mon?" He asked. "I dinnah mean to go so wild wit' ya." The man walked over and clapped a hand on Keiichi's shoulder good-naturedly. "You tink you can go out and watch out for Katy' an' de oters now?"
Farther down the field Joseph was running towards them, sprouting curses and concerns over the two individuals.
Keiichi looked down at his rifle, rubbing the cold metal with a thumb. The demons were humans. The demons were gods. The man took a deep breath. Survive. Dyaus's words echoed in his mind.
"I don't know." He admitted.
That night Joseph took Kathy out to scavenge, leaving Keiichi behind to mind the store.
He did his best to ignore the disappointment on both their faces, and tried even harder to ignore the lump of guilt that settled in his chest when they left.
Johnny left that night as well, departing for places unknown in support of an upcoming combined attack by the Lokapala and the Embryon.
Which meant the Embryon were gone as well. Keiichi wasn't sure if he was grateful or not for Cielo's departure.
And so it continued for the rest of the week. Night would fall, Kathy would leave with Joseph as her backup, and Keiichi was left behind to brood in their wake. Sometimes they would return with multiple rations and other supplies in their possessions, quietly bickering to each other as Kathy unloaded the items for Keiichi to organize. Other times they were not so fortunate, returning with obvious injuries that spoke of one too many close calls, Kathy pale and shaking with an injured Joseph not far behind her.
There was little talk during those times. Little time to talk with the need to care for injuries ranging from light bites to rotting tissue, mild burns to horrific frostbite. Oftentimes a chunk of the supplies gathered were in turn used on the obtainers, healing wounds and curing poisons before they became life-threatening.
Each time they returned, the guilt in Keiichi's chest swelled a bit more.
It wasn't until the following Monday of a bad raid that things took an unexpected turn for the worse.
Saturday night's raid had been bad, and with Johnny's temporary return from the latest raid, Keiichi had been allowed to sleep in that day. And so it was unfortunate that the morning was hailed with a shriek from the storefront.
The scream startled the man badly enough that he fell from the bed Johnny had set up from, him, only to quickly stumble to his feet as the sounds of shouts and crashes followed the initial scream. His heart in his throat, Keiichi quickly raced down the stairs that led to the storefront, only to freeze in the stairway's threshold at the sight that greeted him.
It was a demon.
A type he'd yet to encounter, the creature consisted of a leering jack-o-lantern's head with a green wizard's hat and a blue cloak, floating in the far corner of the room next to the store's entrance. The man could see nothing beyond the cloak other than a white glove, which held a small lantern whose flame burned with an internal light. It glared with baleful, glowing red eyes. "I told you, ho!" It shrieked, its voice high and strangled at a pitch no human could ever achieve. "It's Me-heee!"
From behind the counter, a wild-eyed Kathy tossed what looked like a grenade at the creature. Keiichi dove for cover, and the grenade exploded upon impact, coating the creature and the corner it was trapped in with ice. "I don't care what you say!" Kathy shrieked, grabbing another grenade from a box that had been torn open and hoisting it above her head threateningly. "First you come in here claiming to be my brother-in-law, and now you're calling me a whore!" The woman raged, frantic and trembling as she pointed to the monster. "I'll fucking kill you for even stepping foot in here!"
The woman's arm went back to throw the second grenade, and warily peeking over the Mad Mart counter Keiichi found his eyes meeting the demon's . "Morisat-ho!" It screamed. "You gotta stop her! It's me-hee, Joseph!" It wailed.
"You're kidding me…" Keiichi muttered, staring at the pumpkin demon with wide eyes. "Joseph, what the hell did you do to yourself?"
The creature formally known as Joseph didn't respond, instead screeching hee-ho before thrusting his lantern into the air. A strange, blue aura engulfed the creature, and then Keiichi found himself dragged to the ground as a secondary grenade collided with the blue energy.
The explosion was strong enough to make the building's foundation shake, loose tile from the ceiling raining down on the duo's heads. Kathy pushed herself off Keiichi, a snarl on her face as she snagged another grenade. Keiichi grabbed her. "Stop." He hissed. "You're going to bring the roof down on us! Didn't you hear what that thing said? It's Joseph!"
The woman tore her hand out of his grip. "It's a demon." She told him flatly. "It needs to die."
"Need's to-" Keiichi stared at the woman in shock. "Did you forget who-what saved our asses when I first met you?" He demanded.
"Did you forget what tried to kill us?" Kathy retorted. The woman lurched towards the shelf beneath the counter, withdrawing a handgun that had escaped Keiichi's notice. "I'm not going to be killed by that thing," she growled, "whatever it was before, it's not human now. And I'm not about to let myself be eaten by a demon."
"He's your brother-in-law!" Keiichi snapped, his conversation with Dyaus returning to him. "Just because his form's changed doesn't mean he's lost his humanity!" The mechanic grabbed the woman, struggling to wrestle the weapon from her grip. From farther in the shop, Keiichi heard a distinct 'hee-ho' from Joseph, causing the man to grimace. Fighting to keep the gun's barrel away from his chest, Keiichi shouted, "Joseph, turn back! You need to change back!" Kathy's leg's flailed about, her face a mask of terror as she fought against Keiichi. The man ignored it however, pinning the frightened woman to the ground and directing the gun to the ceiling.
And not a moment too soon, either.
The gun recoiled as Kathy pulled back on the trigger, causing the woman to cry out and for Keiichi to flinch. Drywall and tile rained down upon the duo's head, and for a long moment nothing but silence reigned in the building. Keiichi could hear his heart beating madly in his hears, and beneath that, Kathy was panting heavily. There was a heavy, near-deafening clatter as the handgun slipped from Kathy's fingers and fell to the cold floor, and beneath him the woman whimpered with a start. Keiichi winced.
"K-kathy?" A voice, male, human, and with more than a slight twinge of fear, penetrated the heavy silence. "H-hey, it's me, Joseph." The man called warily. "I'm-I'm human now. You don't need to-" The man paused. "I'm human. I swear to god I am."
Slowly, Keiichi removed himself from Kathy's person, creeping over to where the gun had fallen and grabbing it before the woman thought to snag it first. Unloading it, the man moved for the grenades at a faster pace, grabbing the torn box and dragging it out of the woman's reach.
Kathy didn't move.
Footsteps crunched on what Keiichi realized was ice, drawing close before ultimately stopping. His own cautions getting the better of him, Keiichi pressed himself close against the counter, hesitantly rising and peeking over the surface. Joseph, human once more, froze in his spot, one leg raised in step and his right arm clutched closely to his chest. The fingers were a pale blue, and shards of ice were lodged into the right sleeve of his jacket like cruel, clear spearheads.
For a long while the duo stared at each other, each eyeing the other in a fashion reminiscent of a pair of dogs waiting to be attacked. Joseph's eyes darted towards the counter. Kathy? He mouthed, and Keiichi grimaced, sliding back down the counter and disappearing from sight.
The woman in question had pushed herself off the ground and against the counter, clutching her head, her fingers buried in her hair. "Kathy?" Keiichi asked softly, watching as the woman's body tensed at her name. Hesitantly, he reached out, lightly touching her shoulder only to have it immediately swatted away. "Go away." The merchant muttered. Her voice was trembling.
The counter groaned lightly, and Keiichi looked up, finding Joseph's concerned face staring down at them both despite the injury Kathy had inflicted on his arm. "Kat, listen I-"
"Not a god damned word out of you, Joseph." Kathy cut him off. The woman raised her head, glaring up at the man with baleful eyes. "How dare you. How dare you! You-you gave up a piece of yourself for that-that thing!" She snarled. "After everything that's been done to us, after everything that you've seen-" The woman bit her lip, and Keiichi became all too aware of the tears that streaked her face. "You turned yourself into one of those monsters, Joseph. You went out like Roland did and got yourself infected, and now you need to eat other people to survive!"
Joseph grimaced. "Roland infected himself for the sake of the Lokapala. For the sake of humanity, Kathy. He saw something none of us did when those Embryon guys appeared. He saw hope."
"He's damned himself to his own personal hell-"
"For our sakes!" Joseph roared. "He turned into a monster so that we wouldn't have to, to go out under that fucking black sun and fight off everything else that wants to make a meal out of you, me, Johnny, and everyone else here!"
"And what happens when he's the one trying to eat us for lunch?" Kathy demanded. "Well Joseph? What happens when you come barging in here ravenous because you can't control that monster that's in you? What happens when you try to kill Johnny, or me, or Keiichi?"
Joseph's face screwed up tightly. "I-" The man paused and grit his teeth, clutching his arm as he sucked in a deep breath. "I'll-"
"It won't come to that."
The two in-laws paused in their verbal dispute, turning to regard Keiichi with a pair of matching expressions that claimed they'd forgotten his presence. Keiichi flinched at the sudden attention, but held his ground. "It won't come to that." He repeated. "I-I'm sure of it." The mechanic swallowed, willing his voice to be stronger as Kathy's expression darkened. "Roland…if he really did become a-a Tuner for the sake of everyone here, then he's probably already got a plan in case something goes wrong…He seems like the type who'd rather die than endanger the lives of those around him."
"He's a drunk, Keiichi." Kathy retorted. "He's-after Greg died, that man all but abandoned us. He stopped leading us and did nothing but waste the days away on whiskey."
"That's not the Roland I met, though." Keiichi replied softly. "He-he messed me up pretty bad when he interrogated me, Kathy. And I saw that monster you're afraid he might become. But he stopped. One of his friends stopped him before he went too far…like he was expecting it to happen. He's trying to find a way around it, just in case he can't control it." The man turned his gaze to Joseph. "And there's nothing that says you can't control it, either."
Joseph nodded in agreement. "I took on this power…this curse, so that I can further help the Lokapala-the Embryon, in any way I can." He explained. "Kathy, I'm sorry I didn't tell you, but you need to understand. This is for everyone. If my strength can help save even one person…if I can take down a single Karma soldier with Pyro Jack's flames before that man can change and devour my companions, then it'll be worth it."
"And what happens when the thing gets too powerful?" Kathy asked quietly. "What happens when you need to feed and there are no other demons-soldiers around for you to prey on?"
The man smiled. It seemed more mournful than anything else. "Well…that's what my comrades are for then, right?"
The words were despairing, even to Keiichi's ears, and the man felt a lump well up in his chest. "It doesn't have to be that way." He said. "You shouldn't have to-"
"Enough."
That single word silenced Keiichi before he could argue further. "I've heard enough. From both of you." Slowly, Kathy picked herself up off the ground, her eyes glaring a hole into the floor. "Get out." The woman walked past Keiichi, heading to the staircase that led to the second floor."
Neither men moved. "Kat-"
The woman froze. "Didn't you hear me?" Kathy demanded, keeping her back to the duo. "I said get out. Get the fuck out of here! My store isn't open to suicidal cannibals or the idiots who defend them. Now get out before I force you out!"
Without another word the woman stomped up the stairs, the rage emanating from her person strong enough to cause more dry wall to dust down from the ceiling. Somewhere a door slammed shut, followed by the shatter of glass.
One of the ceiling lights fell to ground, and Keiichi jumped. Beside him Joseph released a deep sigh before turning and heading towards the shop's exit. Uncertain of what else to do, Keiichi trailed after him.
"Looks like I fucked up, didn't I?"
And while Keiichi could have thought of many things to say to Joseph to reassure him, the man found himself settling for silence instead.
"I'll talk to Johnny about Kathy when he gets back. Warn him. He'll be able to calm her down, I'm sure."
Keiichi sent the man a sideways glance. "Why would you need to warn him?"
Joseph's smile was crooked and tinged with regret. "We're twins, Keiichi. It's almost a universal law that what one twin does, the other is sure to imitate." He shook his head in disdain. "…I wasn't the only one who decided to become a Tuner."
The mechanic stared at the man in surprise, and then slowly nodded. "I see."
"Do me a favor. Don't tell Kathy none a' this shit, you hear me?"
"I-I hear you."
"And watch her back for us-me and Johnny. We-we won't always be around now that we're Tuners." The man's voice was tight, and Keiichi closed his eyes. In his mind he could hear Dyaus's voice once more, rough and gravely and only barely human.
These mortals have awakened their own Ultimate Destruction Program, Keiichi Morisato. They have become their own demons, they have become their own monsters, and with it they can do little but fight to survive. Watch them, Consort of the Norns, and show us the strength carried within those who desire life above all else.
Comments of a Madwoman: For those not as familiar with the Megaten series, Pyro Jack (Joseph's demon) and the demon Jack Frost are known for adding 'hee ho' throughout their dialogue. Joseph wasn't actually trying to insult anyone. It's just how Pyro Jack talks. Note-most of what happens through the storyline, aside from a couple of things to keep the timeline accurate, is never noted to happen in DDSAT 2, though there is a Pyro Jack that claims to be Mad Mart's Johnny's brother.
