AN: I really feel like I'm spoiling you guys, I kept telling myself I would wait to post since I'm just cranking 'em out one after the other. I wanted to torture you all a little longer, for my own personal amusement if nothing else, but I had this chapter finished and it was just...NAGGING me. So be grateful. Seriously. You ought to be giving me candy for this.
That being said, I'm a little...iffy about this chapter. Pretty much everything rides on this, I looked over it and I like it but at the same time...I'm am perhaps just concerned about how YOU guys will react to it. So...you know the drill.
I Own Nothing In Any Relation Whatsoever To Guilty Crown etc. etc. Yadda Yadda Yadda ON WITH THE SHOW!
GUILTY MELODY
Happening
He felt so warm.
Warm, and safe, as if he sat in the arms of his mother, the one had never met. He had never really minded not having a real mother, he had never met her, so he could hardly miss her, but sometimes when he saw other children with their mothers, he wondered what it was like to have one.
He wondered what her voice was like.
His mind was in a kind of haze, but not in a bad way. It was as if nothing really mattered, nothing felt alarming or significant. He didn't really think because there was nothing to think about, nothing to focus on.
He didn't know where he was. He hardly knew what he was.
Though there was…something. He felt different somehow, than before. He didn't know how different, just not the same.
He was changing, he realized. But into what? For better or worse? He wasn't sure.
He heard something, or thought he did, which immediately captured his interest seeing as he had never been able to hear things before.
It sounded like… what was it?
It was beautiful.
…Singing. It sounded like singing.
It made him happy somehow. And sad.
What was sad again?
He listened more.
Who was it he wondered.
Is that you, Mana?
OoOoOoOoO
Yuu pursed his lips thoughtfully. He could feel the little one stirring, so perhaps their efforts were not all in vain, but he was no closer to awakening than he had been a year ago.
He stood back and gazed at the Cocoon, a beautiful centerpiece in their shiny new GHQ headquarters. It had been awhile since the Lost Christmas, almost three years in fact. They had been monitoring the Cocoon since they had brought it here, and trying out different 'tunes' in hopes of getting the thing to resonate and relinquish its precious cargo. They had only started a bit more than a year ago, since Yuu did not wish to rush the transformation going on within, but he had been monitoring the little ones growth himself and was sure that he was ready.
Even so, here they were, with the Cocoon still in one piece and its occupant in a semi-hibernating state.
"Stubborn one, aren't you." He remarked, not that anyone could hear him.
Yuu had begun to pace the breadth of the room when he heard someone else enter the chamber.
Shuichiro was a tall man; his features a mixture of the cold and hard angles of a person who chooses not to indulge in the more pleasant things in life. His hair was going prematurely grey, why Yuu could only make well in-formed guesses, though he personally thought it fitting such a coarse, distant man.
With the kind of purpose and authority military officers and politicians envy, Shuichiro walked up to the base of the pedestal-like protrusion that the Cocoon sat upon, like the bud of a huge flower that was simply awaiting the right season to bloom.
He was just standing there looking at it when Yuu decided to make himself known. Gliding over like some great bird of prey, he levitated himself just over his partners shoulder.
"Up to something, Shuichiro~?" He drawled pseudo-amiably, the kind of voice that raised the hairs on people's necks.
Shuichiro, to his credit, did not flinch. "Good afternoon, Yuu."
The boy smiled. "Good indeed, hm? I hear you finally cultivated the Void Genome, congratulations. We might actually be getting somewhere." He said cheerily.
Shuichiro chose not to respond. Yuu floated around him, looked at him thoughtfully, and smirked.
"That's not taking into account you're little experiments, still can't find a proper substitute? All those little orphan boys not enough? And some of them were kind of cute too…" He laughed maniacally while the man remained aloof, eyeing him coolly.
"I would've once thought you'd be against continuing looking for a suitable 'Adam' when we found it." He cut his eyes to the Cocoon, colorful and warm as always before them.
Yuu waved a hand dismissively. "Daath started them in the first place, they can act as a kind of plan B if ever we need one. Though our first option will always be the original, there are other useful things that can be attained from such research." He gave Shuichiro a smug look. "Although, watching your failure can be a useful pursuit in itself."
The man's lips twitched, an action mostly hidden by his moustache. He met Yuu's eyes with an icy gaze. "You go through so much trouble to protect that thing, and yet you do not know if he shall ever wake. How do you know he is even worth the trouble?" He turned to the Cocoon, and pinned it with his hard glare, as if it could feel it. "Kurosu's genes need not lead the new world, that child is unworthy of being 'Adam'."
Yuu made a contemplative 'hmm' and floated over to the Cocoon, giving one of his affectionate embraces by more or less lying on it with his arms spread.
"But that's where you're wrong, Shuichiro. It's because of this Cocoon, this abnormal crystallization that proves he is Adam, the one, the original. The virus has chosen him, accepted him as its King, and his transforming him to fit his role." He smiled as he listened once more to the soft stirring deep within the Cocoon. "Now, it is only a matter of finding the right song."
OoOoOoOoO
Gai Tsutsugami, formerly known as Triton, was contemplating whether or not he was suicidal. He was thinking it was plausible, seeing the situation he had gotten himself into this time.
For crying out loud he was a kid, why was he here, in Africa of all places, in danger of getting his head blown off? Was he insane?
Maybe a little, he admitted to himself mentally as he stood quickly from his hiding place, shot a few rounds, and threw himself to the ground behind another low wall while the other one was met with another rain of bullets.
He wasn't even sure who they were fighting or why, all he knew was what they looked like and that they were trying to kill him. Whose idea was it to use child soldiers anyway?
Something small and silver came flying and landed near his foot, a small blinking light visible on its surface. Gai's eyes widened to near impossible size.
"Shit!"
He got up, not caring there were bullets bouncing off walls around him, and ran for cover, preferably a ways away from that bomb. He had barely leapt behind another half-crumbled wall before there was an explosion and some random rubble came flying past him. He cursed in a very un-childlike way and scrambled to get his back against the wall, catching his breath as he gripped his weapon tightly against his chest.
I am insane. I'm going to get myself killed.
Maybe. It was entirely likely.
"Promise?"
He froze. He had promised he would become stronger. That was exactly why he had come here, to fulfill that promise. He reached into his thick jacket, and felt the silver cross inside his shirt, over his heart.
He had promised. He wasn't going to break it.
Another of those shiny little grenades landed not far from him, close enough to be threatening and induce another mad run for cover. But this time he didn't. Quick as a flash, he snapped it up and hurled it over the wall with all his strength. He had ducked down again before he could see the results but the explosion and screams of pain were enough to tell him he had been successful.
The steady flow of fire ceased, and Gai took his chance and ran. All he knew he had to do was shoot every enemy in the area, so all there was to do was keep going.
As he ran around a corner, a man ran straight into him, knocking him clean off his feet and slamming his back into the ground. Gai's vision spun while he heard the man, much bigger, much older, much scarier, say something in a language he didn't understand and suddenly he was very aware of the barrel of a weapon being pointed at him.
The boy screamed something unintelligible, pointed his own gun, and fired several shots without looking. When he dared to open his eyes again a few seconds later, all he saw was a big body sway a bit, then fall heavily to the ground. He just blinked it stupidly for a moment, briefly wondering what had just happened before he saw blood beginning to pool beneath the body.
I just killed someone. He thought, horror taking over.
Sure, he had been shooting a gun from a distance for a while, but he never knew if he actually hit anyone, and sure, he had just minutes ago thrown a bomb among a bunch of men, but all he'd gotten was some noises, and it had been a ways away.
This was different, it was up close and personal, and if he was honest with himself his first proper kill had been almost on accident, simply because he had been dizzy and overwhelmed with animal instinct when he saw the gun look threatening.
Bile rose in his throat, and he turned to hack up some of his measly rations onto a pile of rocks. When he was finished he gave the corpse a hard, thin-lipped look. He didn't want to kill people, he didn't want to see people harmed, but it was necessary. If he was going to be of any use, if was going to have to get used to killing people and be good at it. He would lock his heart away if he had to. He had to become strong. Strength was all that mattered in this world.
"You're not weak…"
Gai closed his eyes and clutched his weapon, steeling himself.
"You're kind. Don't ever lose that kindness, Triton."
He drooped for a moment. Shu was right. To be kind was not to be weak; what mattered was applying strength and leadership in the right places and tempering it out with kindness and understanding at the right times.
Wiping away a stray tear and hefting his gun, Gai smiled briefly. "What would I have ever done without you, Shu?"
OoOoOoOoO
The Cocoon chamber was fairly quiet, whatever personnel normally present absent, the resonance broadcaster to the side silent. The Cocoon sat on its altar as always, radiating pleasant warmth and light in the otherwise gloomy looking room.
Haruka sat beside it, leaning her side against it so she could feel the things steady pulsations. They soothed her after a stressful day, reminded her what she was fighting for, told her that life still existed within the huge crystal.
The young woman released a long sigh. "Three years, Shu. Three years." She laughed softly. "You're supposed to be ten by now right? You've missed a few birthdays, think of all the cake!" She laughed again, a bit louder, and hummed. "Tell you what, when you wake up, we'll have one big party, with lots and lots of cake, to make up for those years, okay?"
She laid a hand on the Cocoons side, felt the tingling of energy, the pulse of a heart just out of her reach.
"Okay…Shu?"
He didn't respond. He never did.
When her brother had told her that her son was inside of this thing, she hadn't really believed it, hadn't dared to hope. But the facts- however insane they were- crept up on her, and finally she had faced the reality: Mana was the host for the virus and had destroyed herself on Lost Christmas, and Shu, as her chosen partner, had been consumed and was now being 'incubated' by the virus. Shuichiro had given her a choice; she could help them, work as part of the newly formed Sephirah Genomics and ultimately Daath, and be able to see Shu when he was released, or return to her apartment, never speak a word of what she had seen, and find something else to do with the remainder of her life.
It was obvious what she had chosen.
Since, it had been three long years. Only recently had they actually started trying to awaken Shu, or Adam as the blonde Gravekeeper boy, Yuu called him. It had angered her at first; she wanted to awaken Shu as soon as possible, but when it became clear it wasn't going to happen she had eventually accepted it.
Shuichiro did a good job of putting her to work, and she was able to fall into a comfortable routine. The hope that she may see her son again had only been a kindling fire, now she had purpose, a job to do and memories that she cherished but didn't let shackle her to the ground.
Even so, at least once a week she came here to the Cocoon. Talking to someone who wouldn't answer back. It might seem strange to other people, but not to her. It helped her heart, the same way a pregnant mother might talk to the baby in her stomach. Even if he couldn't understand her, maybe he could still hear her voice, or feel her presence through the walls of the Cocoon.
If anything, it kept her sane.
"Haruka," Her brother's voice brought her from her thoughts. He stood by the entrance, calm and poised. He gave her a meaningful look. "It's time."
She blinked a few times, surprised, but got up nonetheless and joined them near the computer terminal. Yuu stood nearby and inserted a crystal into the device, then stood back and smirked at her. She was being given the honor apparently.
Haruka sat, put on her glasses, and began typing rapidly on the huge keyboard, eyes flickering over the multiple screens. She hadn't been aware they were trying another resonance today, but she had been present for every single one and knew exactly how it went. Since this computer was almost exclusively for resonance broadcasting, it only took about a minute to set up.
The actual broadcaster sat nearby, an antenna-like device of strange design she couldn't really describe. When she was finished, and the genetic match was confirmed, she started it and watched.
Metallic, glowing rings appeared around the top of the resonance broadcaster, and after a moment a smooth note filled the room. After it came another note, and another, and soon a gentle, almost lullaby like song was being broadcast.
Haruka was surprised; the kind of tune the virus seemed to favor were nothing like this, this was gentle and beautiful, not the eerie, high pitched ringing they usually tried. She looked to her brother and Yuu in askance, but both of them, with their respective expressions of aloof and amusement, had all their attention on the Cocoon. She decided she would ask later and returned her gaze to the crystal as well.
What a pretty song, she thought. This is definitely more Shu's style.
As the song continued, nothing seemed to happen.
Then the Cocoon began to glow. The rainbow light trapped within its depths seemed to stir, shifting like the surface of the ocean. A low, steady humming began to come from it, increasing in volume as the song continued. The glow from the Cocoon gradually grew brighter until they had no choice but to avert their eyes.
The song ended.
The glow died down. The humming stopped. They all looked at the Cocoon expectantly. Haruka didn't know when she had stood from her seat; it had never reacted this way before, if that wasn't a resonance then she didn't know what was.
A minute passed and the Cocoon was silent, and dull. Haruka suddenly wondered if they had somehow killed it, panic briefly overtaking her mind.
Then it cracked.
The pristine crystal surface cracked right down the middle like an egg. It got almost halfway of the Cocoons full height before the single crack split into three, then five, then twelve. Like a capsule with a cover being broken instead of removed, the whole upper front part of the Cocoon spider webbed with cracks, then small pieces of crystal started to fall off.
The Cocoon shattered in an explosion of crystal and a sudden thrum of energy.
What lights had been on in the room had gone out sometime during the resonance, now the only light was the soft myriad of colors that licked over the broken Cocoon like flames. In the cavity that had formed something moved, and Haruka rushed forward.
"Shu!" She looked into the cavity, where a small, completely naked body sat.
Whatever had gone on in the Cocoon, it hadn't stunted his growth, he looked older, and like the ten-year-old he was. His hair was longer, untamed the brown locks fell around his thin shoulders messily. His eyes were redder than she remembered, very red all things considered, but they held the same innocence, the same kindness and curiosity. They were Shu's eyes.
Haruka felt tears well up and a smile of pure happiness burst across her face.
"Shu…" Unable to contain herself, she reached into his broken egg and hugged him. She couldn't be happier: Shu was alive. Kurosu's son was alive. Her son was here in her arms. She wasn't alone anymore.
"…Ha…ru…ka…?"
She smiled and nodded. "Yes, Shu." She pulled back so she could smile at him tearfully. "Welcome back."
Shuichiro stood where he had, stiff and grim. He didn't say anything, but Haruka's tears somehow softened his initial discontent.
On the other side of the computer, Yuu smiled as he observed Haruka wrapping her lab coat around her son's bare shoulders.
"Adam has awakened."
OoOoOoOoO
AN:
...BLERGH. O-o
So, you like? Have you noticed my absolute love of cliffhangers? I swear, the entire chapter system is based around what would or would not be the best cliffhanger. It's almost sad.
About Gai's section, I left his age ambiguous because I honestly have no clue what would be a reasonable age for a child soldier, and actually saying in text that he was only ten years old seemed almost TOO outlandish, so I just left it kind of out there, so it could have occurred any time during the years between him leaving and him returning.If you're wondering where I got the African thing in the first place, Shibungi mentioned at some point that he met Gai in Africa, as a child soldier, and I felt like since Gai is a main character too, I ought to incorporate what he was up to during this time, and since I love to torture characters (especially my favorites) I gave him his own little section involving losing some of his innocence with the conscious murder of another.
So anyway...I hope this...was...okay. Please don't leave me because I have issues when it comes to plot. Read, review, suggest, have a cookie, bla bla bla bla blaaaaaaa. :P
MB