A/N: Okay, here it is. Part One of Chapter 7. I hope you guys enjoy it as much as I had making it. :)
Disclaimer: I own nothing but the characters I create.
Word Guide: Fang=Naga Myst=To be revealed C.H.E.S.S= CHemically Enhanced Super Soldier APAMR= All Purpose Anti-Materia Rifle
Reviews, comments, questions, criticism is appreciated.
I've left quite a few easter eggs in the chapter, find 'em and you get a cookie. xP
Special thanks to PoMPyromancer, for providing one of the most interesting conversations I've had with someone over the internet. Check out his story by the way, Final Fantasy XIII and the Unauthorized Parody, because everyone loves free advertisement! (You owe me!)
Special thanks to Lady Midday, for fixing my terrible spelling and grammar, as well as providing ideas. ($5 says that sentence was grammatically incorrect...this one too.)
And special thanks to that anonymoys person reviewing my story (I wish I could reply to you) and everyone else who clicked on my story and read it!
Awake
Chapter Seven: Paddra, Part One
Behind enemy lines, outnumbered, outgunned, and no way to escape. The only solution?
Kill. Them. All.
The little scouting mission that Lightning and C.H.E.S.S were sent upon made a turn for the worse. Paddra was a killing field. PSICOM had invaded the city in the night, massacring any living thing they could find. The streets were piled high with the dead corpses; humans, civilian and military personnel alike. Judging from the battle scars the city was suffering, PSICOM had dropped down into Paddra and had immediately gained the upper hand. What ragtag forces Paddra managed to form during the midst of all the chaos were retreating after every fight. PSICOM soldiers were still dying, but it seemed that for every one soldier that was slain, ten Pulsians fell.
It was a losing war. Just how C.H.E.S.S liked it.
Steering a train in reverse into a city wasn't an easy feat, but Knight managed to pull it off. But drawing too much attention to themselves would be suicide, leaving Lightning and the others to gather whatever supplies they could carry and get off the train. Setting out from the train station, Lightning was granted with a great view of the battle thus far.
Whole platoons of PSICOM infantry had invaded Paddra. Tanks, mechanical beasts, and aircraft served as a reminder to Lightning that overkill is definitely not enough.
Upon exiting the train station, C.H.E.S.S quickly found shelter in a nearby building. Any means of shelter wouldn't last long; once PSICOM was done checking the place out for anything of interest, the building was leveled to the ground.
"It's all empty, boss lady!" Bishop yelled out to Lightning.
"It's some sort of office building. Completely empty, and no signs of life."
Lightning, Rook, Knight, and Pawn had all met up in a parlor room of some sort, when Bishop finally regrouped with the rest. Pawn was fishing out various pieces of technology out of a duffel bag with Knight next to him, cleaning his APAMR, Mercy. Rook was standing by the door, making sure that Bishop's words were true: that no one else besides them were inside the building.
"So the building was abandoned by the time we entered it, Bishop?"
The black armored woman nodded. When C.H.E.S.S had to go into combat, Bishop, Rook, Knight, and Pawn all had special armor to use. All black plates of armor covered their body, a black, red visored helmet donned on the head to complete the outfit. The armor was used to provide protection, while the color allowed the user some means of stealth and camouflage. Lightning refused to wear one, preferring her natural agility and stealth over a bulky armor suit.
"Yes ma'am. We're lucky, the whole sector is clear of PSICOM and Pulsian forces alike."
Lightning nodded. Taking the lead, she strode out of the parlor. The others were quick to follow once they took note of their leader's absence. Down the numerous amount of hallways, she eventually found what she was looking for. Stairs. The soldier girl paused at the bottom of the stairs, waiting for the others to catch up.
"Okay, we're going up the staircase to the roof. Rook, cover our backs. I want no one sneaking up on us, okay?"
The hammer-wielding man silently nodded, and went to the back of the line.
"Pawn, once we reach the rooftop, I want you to scan our surroundings. Get an entire map of the city straight onto our data logs."
"Yes ma'am."
After giving the short orders, Lightning began to ascend the stairs.
The building was taller than they had imagined. Without an elevator the group had to climb the fifty stories or so. By the time they reached the rooftop, they were all officially tired.
The rooftop was a plain gray, cement square. About forty feet long and forty feet wide, and just like the rest of the building below, completely abandoned. Collapsing onto the floor, the group could see the entire city from their view point. They could see the whole battle play out from up here. By now, the battle was almost entirely one-sided. PSICOM forces pushed back any armed resistance until they were surrounded and killed.
"Aww...do we have to kill so many? There's just too much of them! We'd be here for hours killing all those guys!"
Knight groaned. He was right, massive numbers of PSICOM were in the city. It would probably take more than a day for the five of them to rid Paddra of the enemy.
Lightning stood up and paced around the roof, deep in thought. Rook stood by the doorway. Pawn began ruffling through his duffel bag again, pulling out his equipment.
"Man up, Knight." Bishop laughed and playfully punched Knight's shoulder. The two were sitting together on the edge of the roof, their feet dangling over the edge.
"C.H.E.S.S leads the Onion Life. We peel away one layer of the enemy at a time, and they cry all the way."
The two laughed at the bad joke before getting up and heading over to Lightning, who by now was ready to give out her next set of orders.
"Pawn, you finished yet?"
The man in questioned nodded quickly, and mumbled something under his breath. Turning around, he held up what he was looking for.
"Aha! Here we go, C.H.E.S.S' own Eye in the Sky. This little guy will give us a birds eye view of the city."
Pawn held in his hand what looked like a miniature satellite. A small, black canister-like center with two mirror-panel rectangular wings on the side. Antennae covered the canister. Taking the device over towards a small portable mortar, Pawn placed the device inside.
"You guys might wanna cover yer ears for this," he spoke almost as fast as he ran to the other side of the roof.
"Wait! What are you doing?"
Lightning looked at Pawn, stunned. She wasn't looking for an explanation of what the device would do, but what Pawn was actually doing.
"What do you mean, what am I doing?"
Pawn was looking as confused as Lightning was now.
"I'm launching the satelli-"
"Are you an idiot? We can't be attracting attention towards ourselves with explosives!"
Lightning interjected, waving her arms out to the side for emphasis.
She ran towards Pawn, lifting him up by the collar. Now that the two were at an equal height, Lightning could see the confusion and fear in the small man's hazel eyes.
"Turn it off. Now."
She spoke cold and stern. This was a mission, and Lightning couldn't afford a liability. Especially not from her own team.
"W-well...Uhmm...Well you see..."
"What? Spit it out already." the soldier girl shook Pawn violently.
What Pawn said was blocked out by the mortar firing the Eye in the Sky. Lightning could see his mouth moving, but just an explosion processed into her mind.
She dropped Pawn to the floor and snapped her head towards the projectile screaming into the upper levels of the sky. A puffy white trail followed the satellite's ascension.
Shit.
"We've gotta move!" Lightning unsheathed her gunblade and ran through the door. Knight, Bishop and Rook followed, leaving Pawn behind to grab his duffel bag of equipment and catch up.
Lightning flew down the stairs as fast as she could. Each nanosecond left on a step would be subtracting a nanosecond from her lifetime. Her mind was blank, everything now was just go, go, go.
Heartbeat quickened, and eyes widened as primal instincts took over. Kill or be killed. The world around her was silent, except for the sounds of her steel-toed boots hitting the next step and her breathing down the next gulp of air.
She had to go faster. Surely, PSICOM had been on their trail the minute they saw the satellite rocket into the upper atmosphere. Steps became jumps, and jumps became leaps as Lightning went down, down, down each flight of stairs. Out of the corner of one azure eye she could see that the others weren't even behind.
If they can't keep up, they're as good as dead.
Floor after floor after floor it was all the same. Perspiration ran down her skin as legs burned for more blood to be pumped to her body. It felt like her heart would explode at the rate it was beating.
The communicator strapped onto her hip began to buzz, the words of someone coming through.
"Boss lady, wait up! Why're we in such a hurry?"
Lightning couldn't tell whose voice came through the communicator as she ran. All that mattered now was run faster, faster, faster down each flight of stairs.
Grabbing the communicator she flipped it open and pressed it against her ear while she ran.
"A-are...you...stupid? PSI...PSICOM's going to look for us once they see that satellite!"
She spoke in ragged gasps, each word spoken taking away precious oxygen to fuel her burning legs.
Twenty-six...
Only on floor twenty-six? Lightning scolded herself for not being faster. It had only been a minute or so since the miniature satellite was launched and she had descended twenty-four floors already. She wasn't quick enough, they all weren't quick enough. Surely by now PSICOM would be surrounding the building?
This isn't working.
Lightning crashed into the wall, collapsing onto the floor. PSICOM would already be here, wouldn't they? Running outside would make it worse. Resting against the wall, she tried to catch her breath, the noisy mass of the others in C.H.E.S.S stampeding down from the upper floors echoed down to her.
She crawled over to a nearby window overlooking the street in front of the building.
Soldiers. Lot's of them. A few squads of soldiers had formed a perimeter around the entrance, a collection of military grade machinery for back up. A tank had its sights on the building. The assumption that PSICOM sent in a scout team to to search the building was the worst thought creeping into Lightning's mind.
"-boss lady, what's going on?"
Bishop's voice snapped Lightning out of her trance. The remaining members of C.H.E.S.S finally caught up with their strawberry blonde leader. Bishop reached out a hand to pull Lightning up, who abruptly pulled her down when contact was made.
"Stay low! PSICOM's outside. We can't be seen!" Lightning's words were hushed and whispered. Ushering the others to crouch low and remain hidden.
Lighting payed another look outside the window, nothing seemed to have changed.
Probably waiting for the search team to report...
"What're we going to do? Going outside would be suicide!" Bishop whispered, after taking a look outside for herself.
Lightning turned her head towards Pawn, his duffel bag sloppily and hastily strapped over his shoulder.
"Any ideas?"
Pawn looked through his duffel bag, taking out a small metallic object. A transmitter of some sort, Pawn held the small device in his hand for the others to take a look at.
"This little guy is a trap I set up incase we were ever surrounded by the enemy. Well, it looks like it's time to use it."
Pawn plugged the tiny transmitter onto his armor suit. A successful beep emitted from the device, as Knight shifted over to get a better look at it.
"What's it do?"
Pawn took a look outside the window before returning to his crouched position.
"It's my patented Mobile Mine Field. It's an invisible barrier emanating from this tiny transmitter here that will hack into enemy machinery and overload them."
Pressing a series of buttons on the tiny device, the sounds of people walking up the staircase gave the five nervous looks.
"Hurry!"
Bishop nudged Pawn's shoulder.
Time is of the essence here.
"The transmitter will interrupt current functions of the machinery it's hacked in to. It'll overload their systems with random and useless data, spam, pop-ups, and another miscellaneous things."
Lightning peeked her head around the corner, gazing down upon the eight or so metal-clad soldiers climbing the stairs. They were only a few flights below, and deathly silent now. They must've figured out that someone was occupying the building.
"So...what you're saying is...That little doohickey is going to overload the enemy's technology with porn and those stupid male enhancement ad's, right?"
Knight looked over towards Pawn, laughing as he asked the question. His hand was around his gun, Mercy, ready for a fight.
"Yup, essentially we're killing our enemies by porn." Pawn laughed and activated the device.
Lightning rose her hand, silencing the group. The PSICOM search team would be on them any minute now.
Suddenly, a series of small explosions racketed through the room, and the five could hear the shocks of surprise from the group of soldiers. The sounds of slumping bodies and cries of the dead followed.
The five peeked their heads out to see the spectacle below them.
Seven, maybe eight PSICOM soldiers lay dead on the staircase. Their weapons a smoky mess while the helmets were half blown off. Blood and electricity alike flowed out from the charred remains of the soldiers.
Lightning, Rook, Bishop, and Knight all stared with bewildered eyes at Pawn. The grin on his face gave away that he was responsible for the deaths of the search team below them.
"So...that was your Mobile Mine Field, right?" Knight inquired, still in slight disbelief.
Pawn nodded at pressed a few more buttons on the transmitter.
"Yup. It's only got a range of fifteen feet, so we need to stick close."
The other four nodded, and slowly began the trip down the remaining flights of stairs. With Lightning taking point and Rook covering their backs, C.H.E.S.S carefully and silently continued their escape. Careful examination of the bodies provided nothing of use. All electronic devices held by the soldiers were fried.
Moments later, the group stood before the entrance door, hidden by a few toppled pieces of furniture. The simultaneous beeping from the five was followed by a deathly silence, in hope that the small army of at least fifty or so hadn't heard.
"Hey! Our radar is up!" Pawn whispered, showing his data log to the others. A full overhead view of the city was visible on the screen. Lightning could roughly make out positions of PSICOM troops. Useful, but not at the moment.
We have to make it out of this fight first.
The group huddled together, ready for the plan Lightning was busy formulating in her head.
"When we get out there, we're going out gun's blazing." she began, rewarded with a sound of satisfaction from Knight.
"Pawn, I want you to see if you can take control of the enemy vehicles. Deactivating them is your main priority."
The man nodded, reaching for a small handheld computer.
"Rook and Knight, you'll be heading right into the center of combat. Bishop, what grenades do you have left?"
The woman searched through the bountiful amount of pouches strapped across her body. Drawing out four tiny green canisters.
"I've only got smoke grenades left, ma'am."
"Aww, no flashbang through the door?" Knight chuckled, receiving a death glare from Lightning.
"Perfect. When we rush out there, let a few loose. We'll need as much cover as we can get, but keep one or two around. If we need to escape, those will cover our tracks."
Lightning resumed her plan, leaving Bishop to strap the smoke grenades on her for quick and easy use.
Switching her Blazefire Saber into gun form, the soldier girl inserted a fresh clip of ammo.
"What about you, boss lady? What's your part in this?"
Lightning looked at Pawn and flashed him a few manadrives.
"What's my part in all this? I'll be providing a distraction. I'll shoot off Thundaga, Waterga, and Aeroga to distract PSICOM, hopefully killing a few in the process, while you guys do your jobs."
Inserting the small chips into her ammo clip, Lightning began to inch closer to the door, calling the others to her.
"On three, ready?" Lightning paused, receiving a nod or an okay from each of member.
"Even if we survive this battle, we might not make it out of the city alive."
"As long as I go by Pawn's Mobile Mine Field, then at least I'll die with some chick's fake tits bouncing in front of my eyes."
Knight chuckled, receiving a death glare from Lightning and Bishop this time.
"Anyway...Three..."
This is it.
"Two..."
C.H.E.S.S leads the Onion Life. We peel away one layer of the enemy at a time, and they cry all the way.
"One."
Lightning burst through the entrance door onto the sidewalk outside. They had managed to catch PSICOM by surprise, since they weren't shooting yet. Aiming her gunblade high into the air, Lightning shot three times, each bullet activating its respective manadrive. Whizzing past her, the soldier girl could see three of Bishop's smoke grenades bounce onto the street, covering the area in a thick smoke.
As the manadrives were creating a disaster upon the enemy, Rook and Knight ran into the fray with Pawn following swiftly from behind.
The torrential rain, bolts of lightning, and strong gusting wind reeked havoc among the ranks of soldiers. They opened fire blindly, the impenetrable smoke blocking sight.
A series of small explosions and someone yelling were only blocked out by the raging elements and gunfire around Lightning.
It looks like Pawn's Mine Field thing actually worked.
Switching to blade form, Lightning and Bishop followed Rook, Knight and Pawn into battle. The five worked as one, bullets, tech, and blade alike. The battle-hardened Pulsian elite killed swaths of the enemy while bullets and magic buzzed by them.
A smirk actually formed on Lightning's face when a charging group of infantry abruptly bursted into flames when they entered the mine field.
Their chaotic assault upon the enemy force had given C.H.E.S.S the upper hand, but when the smoke finally cleared, the five were surrounded.
A dozen or so PSICOM soldiers had them surrounded, laser dots right on their foreheads. The vehicles present were wrecked piles of flaming debris. The fifty or so small army had dwindled to a dozen infantryman, an Executor, and a Beta Behemoth.
"Halt! Drop your weapons and I'll make this as painless as possible."
The Executor strode up to Lightning, standing a whole head taller than the soldiers guarding him.
"They're going to arrest us?" Knight whispered.
"No, he just doesn't want to get his hands dirty when he kills us." Lightning said, her gun pointed at the Executor.
By now the soldiers had learned they should keep their distance away from the group. Charging directly into the group would result in a fiery explosion.
"Hah! Scared are you? Come on! Can't take down five ragtag soldiers, can you?"
Bishop punched Knight. "Don't taunt them, you idiot!"
Knight ignored her, and continued. He looked around and laughed, hanging his gun on his shoulder. He directed his gaze towards the Executor and the Beta Behemoth.
"Come on, you worthless pieces of crap! Do they let anyone into the military these days? Sheesh and here I thought I might just break a sweat!"
The Executor pressed a button on his gauntlet and directed the Beta Behemoth to attack the group.
"Come on! Your mother was a hamster, and your father smelled like elder- oh shit!"
Knight and the others leapt out of the way from an attack from the Behemoth.
"You idiot! See what you've done!" Pawn yelled at Knight, reaching for his dual pistols.
"W-well I thought he would've exploded like all the other suckers who got to close to us! What happened to your Mobile Mine Field?"
Knight yelled back, aiming his rifle at the mechanical beast.
"I guess it doesn't work on things bigger than a PSICOM soldier! We'll have to fight this one for real."
The five had the Behemoth surrounded, but they in turn were surrounded by the dozen infantry and the Executor.
"Just surrender. You're outnumbered, outgunned, and you've got no way to escape. Your only solution is to surrender and die quietly."
"True, but you're clearly outmatched!" Lightning said, baiting the Executor some more.
The Executor raised his hand, giving the order to his soldiers to be ready to fire.
He lowered his shaking hand, not an order to fire, but not an order at all. Everyone, PSICOM and C.H.E.S.S alike had their eyes on the sky. Something, something big was coming straight for them.
From down below, it looked like the debris of a building, or a tiny ship. A meteor perhaps. Whatever it was, the thing was falling out of the sky at an alarming rate. The ground began to shake and the air around them began to heat up.
Whatever the thing was, it crashed fast.
Shock waves and explosions surged through the area. Flying debris of rock, machine and human past by Lightning. The blast had knocked her and the other members of CH.E.S.S to the ground. Smoke entered her lungs and clouded her eyes. The world around her was feeling fuzzy and faint, a heavy pressure on her mind and body tempted her to give in and sleep.
Lightning coughed and writhed for air until the smoke cleared. Something heavy had landed on her, and she didn't know what is was. At last, she gave in to temptation, as her consciousness slowly slipped through her fingers.
Ugh...My head. It feels like an Adamantoise just stepped on me.
In the confines of the drop pod, everything was silent and still. The crash was painful enough to Fang, but whatever she crashed into was much much worse. The four chairs were destroyed, leaving the center platform and the walls slightly intact. The wall opposite of Fang was gone, melted by Blaze when he left.
Escaped, more like it. Damn fool is going to get himself killed.
Rock, cement and other parts and pieces of debris cluttered the drop pod. A healthy layer of dirt and dust covered Fang's metal suit. The crash had cause her to break free from the bindings and land, face first, onto floor.
"Determining current location..."
Fang's suit buzzed and came to life. The cerulean plates covering her forearms, ribs, and knees resumed their usual glowing. The HUD screen in her helmet came up before her eyes, allowing Fang to see the outside world. Half of the drop pod was lodged into something, while the other half was in the open air.
"Current Location: Office Building #24, Train Street, Paddra."
Part one of her mission was a success. Despite being sent off course by Blaze's actions, Fang managed to land into the city. Now, what was part two? It had something to do with meeting up with Project: Myst, she remembered.
Should be friendly, right? Being a Project myself and all means we're on the same side.
Getting up from the position she was on her back, Fang sat up against the wall. The wall acted as great support, since she had nearly no energy to stand up yet. The flight had left her sick, so it was probably best that Fang stayed where she was for the moment.
"Initiating Healing Process..."
"Systems check: Operational."
Turning her head to the outside, Fang was thankful for the helmet over her face, covering her eyes from the intense bright light. From what she could see, the street was in ruins. A fight had previously gone on. Bodies of PSICOM soldiers and pieces of broken machinery littered the streets. Large chunks of rock and cement were in unorganized piles in the street. Thick, black smoke rose from the roof of the building, and several other buildings around her were the same.
Looks like I crashed the party, huh?
Reaching for her spear, Fang placed the blade onto the ground, using the spear as a walking stick. Getting back onto her own two feet wasn't so hard now, her weight supported by the spear.
"Healing Process: Complete"
Cool air was breathed onto her skin from the suit. The chemical blowing onto her skin felt good! Her body returned to normal, and full of energy again. Now it was time to hit the road, someone was bound to notice something falling out of the sky and crashing into the city.
Looking over the edge, Fang noticed that the drop pod had crashed into a building. The small ship was a few feet off the ground, which Fang quickly cleared with a simple jump. Shaking the feeling of vertigo when she landed, Fang looked around.
The building the ship crashed into was demolished. Everything was in messy piles of debris. The drop pod was in no functional shape. It didn't bother Fang much, she knew this was going to be a one-way ticket.
She moved into the center of the street, observing the remains of the fight. She didn't figure out much, the crash must've sent things all over the place. The only interesting piece of evidence was the wrecked remains of a Beta Behemoth. She tapped a button on her neck, releasing the helmet from the rest of the armor. A few short bursts of steam escaped, leaving her armor airtight no more. Breathing in the air of Paddra sent Fang coughing. Dust and smoke filled her lungs until she managed to control her breathing.
It was nice having the helmet off. Fang could feel the sun's warmth on her skin, the wind blowing through her wild hair...the missile coming straight for her? A projectile flying at her at an alarming rate passed through the space between two buildings.
Just my lucky fucking day.
Raising her hands against the missile, energy from her brand flowed through her body. Projecting that energy around her, Fang formed a shield. The Inertial Barrier spell, formerly used by Cie'th, surrounded her body, a translucent spherical dome. The missile collided with the shield and exploded on contact. While she was saved from the blast, Fang was hit by the impact. The force sent her flat on her back, the fiery remains of the missile disappearing in the wind.
Well...I guess that's the welcoming committee.
Fang got back onto her feet. Taking a look around, she couldn't find the place where the missile was fired from. But location didn't matter, it was best to get moving. If the whole city was a war zone, than it was best to find the people that were supposed to be on her side.
Reattaching her helmet to the rest of her suit, Fang randomly chose a direction walked down the street.
She was told to meet up with this Myst person somewhere. But where was he? Or she for that matter. Fang only got a name from PSICOM, she'd have to find out the rest on her own. The sounds of guns firing echoed through the otherwise silent city. Things seemed like a ghost town, walking past block after block everything was all the same. Piles of PSICOM soldiers and humans Fang assumed were the civilians of Paddra filled up the streets. All were dead. The trails of tanks driving through the street gave Fang a place to go to. If she wanted to find Myst, finding her allies would be good too. Following the path, the sounds of a firefight became steadily louder.
"Determining current location of: Project: Myst..."
The sounds of a battle were getting louder as Fang got closer. But the nearer she got to the battle, the less visible the world was. A thick, cloudy fog was ahead of Fang. Her gaze couldn't pierce the wall, whatever lay beyond was a mystery.
"Current location of: Project: Myst, found. Ifrit Avenue, Paddra."
A map on her HUD marked the location of her target. Myst was somewhere ahead of Fang, inside the wall of fog.
Well, I guess if this is how Myst makes an entrance, he must be a really creepy guy.
Clearing the doubts from her mind, Fang strode into the fog blocking her sight. She held her spear in a defensive position, ready for an ambush to take place. Inside the wall of fog, the building's previously around her vanished from sight. The street below Fang's feet seemed to be gone as well, making it appear like she was walking on air. She could hear nothing but the sounds of the battle ahead of her somewhere. Shot's being fired, men yelling out orders, people dying, all making strange echoes that bounced around inside Fang's mind.
This place feels so familiar...
"The whispers of things unseen.
A raging ocean where beasts of claw and Fang cannot escape.
Vast and endless, cold and deep,
Where we find ourselves adrift."
Fang stopped moving, the mysterious voice setting off her paranoia. Her spear ready to strike, Fang spun around, looking for the speaker. All she could see was the fog, surrounding her and clouding her vision. To Fang, it felt like her mind was playing tricks on her.
"To follow instinct is to kill yourself, and all that you love.
They stick to the back of your mind."
Fang swung her spear around her, attacking the air. She felt a presence, but she couldn't see anything!
"Come on out! You scared to fight me?" her words were not answered.
This was stupid. Voices talking to her? Fang must've gone crazy.
"Change your thoughts, and you change your world.
Unleash the hero.
It is never to late to be what you might have been."
Fang broke out into a running stride. She had to escape the voice. But where was it? The indescribable words replayed over and over, following her every footstep.
"The dogs of war will rip the head of god off with claw and Fang.
When the blood of divinity rains, none will stand before you."
The mysterious voice seemed to be silent after that, allowing Fang to exhale a sigh of relief.
The wall of fog imprisoning Fang seemed to move away. Colliding into itself on one single point. The mass of fog began to take shape, an armored humanoid being the source of it all.
The metal-clad creature was crawling along the walls of a building, attention away from Fang. With her vision free again, Fang was able to look around. Her running had brought her into the crossfire of the battle she was hearing earlier. She was on another road now, but the design was nearly the same as the one she had landed on earlier. Piles of rock, cement, and debris littered the street, making some kind of cover for the fighting soldiers. To the left, the remnants of the PSICOM force. The wounded or dead bodies of the soldiers were kept on the sidewalks, so the surviving force could continue fighting. A tank, the one Fang assumed was making the trail she followed, was wrecked. The canon and turret armature was blown completely off, leaving a gaping hole on top of the tank. The front side of the tank was crushed, driven into the side of a building. Scorch marks surrounded a second gaping hole, but wait, why was she being analytical now? People were shooting by her yet Fang stood with her gaze intent on Myst.
"H-hey, hey! Project: Naga! Over here!" someone called out to Fang.
She found the speaker on the PSICOM side of the firefight. Quickly rushing over to avoid being shot at she crouched behind a pile of debris, the soldier who called her over with her.
"It's good that you arrived. We received word that your drop pod had landed, and at just the right time too. Rebel Pulsian forces are still resisting. We have Project: Myst here, but she thinks that with you here we can push the rebels back."
So, Myst is a girl. Huh...creepy girl then.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I get it. You want me to kill stuff. Just sit back and watch how it's done, kay?"
Fang gave a thumbs up to the soldier, who saluted in turn, and peeked her head out to see the rebel side.
While much more numerous than the PSICOM force, the rebels were less experienced. More men were dying by the minute by PSICOM's hand. Superior technology played a factor as well, but the rebels large numbers still overwhelmed their enemy.
Her eyes went back to Myst. The armored woman had leaped off the side of the building and right into the fray of battle. Instead of casting spells, the Project shot cords of razorwire into her enemies, before pulling back. The weapon was brutal, meant to pull, tear, and rip the flesh right off the enemy while they were still alive.
Clearing the distance between the two, Fang charged into combat alongside Myst. A Ruinga spell was used to disperse the rebel forces cornering the Project. She collided into one the rebels, tackling him to the ground. Straddling him, she raised her spear above her head, ready to perform the killing blow. The look of fear in the man's eyes made Fang hesitate.
I shouldn't be doing this! PSICOM is the enemy, these people are probably just fighting out of defense! They want to protect their home...
But Vanille...PSICOM has Vanille! I need to rescue her! I promised I would protect my family, and I'm not going to break that now. Vanille's all I have left!
Her hesitation gave the man enough time to recuperate. Freeing his legs he kicked Fang off, getting into a crouched position, the man raised a pistol to her head.
"Die, Cocoon scum!"
The man pulled the trigger, but the bullet never connected. Four hooks of razorwire shot through the man's body, piercing through skin, muscle, and clothing alike. It was Project: Myst; four thin cords shot out from a gauntlet on her right arm. She pulled back, dragging the man kicking and screaming to join his dead brethren. The four trails of blood led up to a much larger puddle of blood where the dead body was.
Shaking her head, Fang got back into the mindset of fighting. She smirked, remembering how three years ago, PSICOM soldiers and Cocoon civilians would be saying something similar to her. It was ironic now, that the enemy was now Cocoon and not Pulse in the eyes of the people. She got back onto her feet, joining Myst by a pile of dead rebels.
The first thing Fang noticed about Myst was her height. Fang towered over Myst, the smaller Project coming only up to her chest. Her suit was the same design as Fang's except with a glowing green emanating from her helmet instead of Fang's cerulean.
Myst turned to Fang, sizing her up as well.
"Come on," she pointed a finger down a nearby street.
"We're probably needed elsewhere."
Myst started walking, without as much of an introduction. If Myst was supposed to be a girl, then Fang couldn't tell. With the helmet covering her face, her voice gave no clue to what sex Myst was. Fang followed from behind, taking one last look at the pile of dead rebels.
Catching up to Myst, Fang tapped her on the shoulder, getting the shorter girl's attention.
"What? There isn't much time to talk, Naga."
"Who are you?" Fang asked, when a better question didn't come to mind.
Myst sighed, flailing her arms in exaggeration.
"I'm Project: Myst, genius. You're Project: Naga. Our mission is to kill these guys so PSICOM can claim Paddra. Good? Okay, let's go."
Myst spoke fast, she sounded annoyed. Not one for much introduction either, Fang stepped in front of Myst again, blocking her path. Taking off her helmet, Fang shook her head.
"First off, you can call me Fang. But, I mean, what's your correlation with all this? Do you know what's going on?"
Myst sighed again. When she tried to move past Fang again, the taller woman blocked her path.
"You would have to talk to Blaze. He knows more than I do...By the way, where is Blaze? He was supposed to come with you."
Fang half-laughed at this, rubbing the back of her neck. How to explain?
"Blaze is uhh...Ummm...Blaze left to be on his own. But anyway, what's next?"
Fang moved out of the way, allowing Myst to take the lead. The shorter woman was certainly interesting. Trying to rush out of the conversation, and sounding like she didn't really want to be talking to Fang anyway.
"PSICOM is based at city hall, so we'll head there. Now before you go all talking again, I don't want to hear anymore questions from you."
Fang growled. She was getting annoyed now, if Myst and her were to be partners, Fang would probably kill her along the way.
Okay, not being one for formalities is fine. But she won't be bossing me around! Time to see what's under that helmet...
With a devilish smirk on her face, Fang tackled Myst onto the ground. Taking the smaller girl by surprise, Fang was easily able to restrain her arms through her superior strength. The girl writhed and bucked, but Fang remained on top. Dominant.
"Wha...Get off of me!" Myst struggled and continued to resist, but couldn't free herself.
"Now...Now that I've got you, let's take a little peak under that helmet, yeah?"
Fang pressed the button on Myst's neck, a jet of steam releasing from the armor. Pulling the helmet off and throwing it to the side, Fang gazed upon the face of Myst.
Myst's flawless snowy skin grew a rosy red. She was blushing while Fang looked at her, mouth agape. Her bright, sparkling emerald eyes were fixed on somewhere other than Fang. Her glossy lips formed a discomforted look, wanting the inspection to end. She tried shaking her head around, her bright red hair covering her eyes.
Fang shook her head violently and pulled Myst up on her feet. Her arms still on Myst's shoulders, Fang had a looked with disbelief at who she was looking at.
Her. She was her family. The one she promised to protect. The one who she had been friends with while everyone else made fun of her. The one she loved.
Vanille.
A/N: Whew! Dramatic chapter! What is the fate of Lightning and C.H.E.S.S? Why is Vanille Project: Myst? Where was the pie I had promised in this chapter!
Oh, and another note...Chapters which featured Myst/Vanille had Vanille acting waaaaay out of character. It is all intentional, which you'll learn more about that when Part Two is released. :P
