Chapter 7

a/n:

Well, a few more chapters to go! I am pleased at the way this fic is going. I don't think the characters are OOC too much… hopefully you agree.

But anyway, I have finished writing the fic, and just need to polish it a bit before posting it! Until then, enjoy chapter 7…


Hayami and Mutio began their journey to the base under the cover of night. Meeting up with Kino across the bay from the base, they made last minute preparations. The tiny group, with their mission fresh in their minds began their invasion. Hayami, with air tank on his back waded into the waters of the bay. The night was overcast, which would be to their advantage. While Kino would enter the base like normal, since she was on duty that evening, Hayami and Mutio would board the base via the shoreline. Taking a hold of Mutio's hand, the two dove down under the cool waves. With Mutio's strong and powerful swimming abilities at their best, the two approached the base silently.

Ditching the air tank, the two stealthily found the weaknesses in the security lines, just as Kino had explained. And soon they were inside the building.

Going not too far inside the darkened and cold military base, Mutio stopped suddenly and looked around as if expecting something to appear.

"What's wrong?"

"Her song..."

"Mutio?" He was concerned about her. She was not her normal self today. He had attributed it to the stress of the day and all that had happened, but now he was not so sure what was wrong.

"It was really weak yesterday... but now it is strong... and it is the same song, over and over..." She told him her red eyes full of worry. "It is coming from over here." Pointing in the direction of the song, Hayami gave her a questioning look.

"But Kino said she was this way."

"The song is this way..." Mutio said still looking down the darkened corridor.

Hayami nodded. Kino was only a lowly officer; they would not be so forth coming on all the information of the base. So there was a possibility that she was wrong. Hearing the footsteps of people coming from the direction Kino had instructed, Hayami took Mutio's hand and they went down the way she wanted.

The winding hallway proved to be some what tricky. There were many kinds of security panels that Hayami had to hack into using some special tools Kino had left with him.

He was thankful Kino was in the command center that evening. They would have been caught for sure by now, if not for the young sailor and a few others.


"In this room." Mutio said pressing her hand on the steel door standing between them and their goal.

"Well then, let's go and get your sister and go home." He said moving towards the control panel. "Damn it, Kino's code isn't working for this one... you must be right. Something very important is behind this door." Opening up an airtight pack from one of his still damp pockets Hayami took out a small electronic charge and set it over the control panel. A high density surge had always worked before when he needed to break into secure areas such as these in his days as a Hyena of the Sea.

Sure enough the door's control fizzled and Hayami slowly manually spread the doors open. Pulling his gun back to the ready, he entered first. Motioning to Mutio once he was sure it was safe, the hybrid ran into the room.

The couple began to get a better angle on their surroundings. Many large machines and tanks stood in the quiet room, pipes and wires went from one to the other like arteries pumping the room's life blood to and fro.

But the big ticket item was further into the mess, located in a tank filled with water. Wires and a mass of technology were connected to the lonely figure floating with in the large tank. Mutio ran ahead of Hayami, much to his dislike and over to the tank. Tapping on the glass and calling out to it, her fears were realized.

"Is she alive?" Hayami asked his eyes fixed on the Mutio in the tank. Her injuries were indeed severe, which was probably the reason why she was captured in the first place.

The sad tone that came from Mutio's lips next told him that the creature they had wanted to rescue was no longer living. Placing a hand on her shoulder, he gave her all the support he could offer.

"Let's get her out of there." Hayami said leaving Mutio's side and climbing up the scaffolding on the tank to get to the top. As carefully as he could, he used the wires to pull the limp creature to the surface and out of the water. Disconnecting the wires first, he held the other Mutio in his arms and made his way back down to his Mutio.

Sadly he gave the body to her. Mutio dropped to her knees and cradled her sister. Letting out several cries of pain and sadness, she grieved. He knew she tried to hold it back, or keep it as quiet as possible, but it was natural to be sad when faced with death. He wanted to stay quiet and gave her time to mourn, but he knew they could not wait long. They had to leave this place. Somehow the military had copied the Mutio's song to lure them there and he knew they had to escape. Looking around, he wanted to find some kind of sheet, or article of clothing to wrap the deceased in.

Noticing a lab coat on a chair near a messy desk, he took a few steps away from the two hybrids. He had picked up the coat and was about to return to her side when a shot came out of nowhere stopping him in his tracks. The doors, their only visible means of escape slammed shut and drew his attention away from his companion. A loud thud could be heard as it echoed in the still oddly quiet room.

The noise drew his vision back to her. His eyes went wide with anger as he saw that both hybrids were encased in a solid looking glass enclosure.

Mutio too was shocked to find the sudden cage surrounding her. Leaving her sister to lay on the floor, she went straight for the glass and began pounding. Her fists slammed into the enclosure with great power, but the glass did nothing. Hayami looked for the source of the gun shot. But his overwhelming desire to go to her aid took over and he took a step towards her, only to be stopped with another bullet fired in front of him.

"Don't even think about moving." The voice was familiar. Hayami looked above to a metal cat walk where two figures stood, both with guns in hand.

"Yuri. I should have known this was way the hell too easy." Hayami was mentally kicking himself. Even with Kino's codes, he had expected a bit more resistance. The only reason he could find was that his judgment had been clouded a bit more than he normally would allow, wanting to get in and out quickly.

"You should have realized it sooner. You really are getting sloppier then you were back in the academy."

"And you never change. Still the asshole."

"Now Hayami, don't be like this. We simply could not invite you to come, so we had to make sure you had a reason to come to us."

"What do you want now?" Hayami snarled at the men. The other, he recognized as the doctor from before moved to put his gun in his pocket and walked to the ladder. Slowly walking down to the ground floor, the doctor made his way towards the glass enclosure. Hayami watched his every move. If he so much as touched Mutio, he didn't care if Yuri was a good shot or not. He would die before she was harmed.

"We would have not needed to see you again, if it was not for something very important we discovered." The doctor said pulling a hand held computer from his pocket and a scanner. Holding the scanner up to the glass enclosure, he was trying to find something. Mutio was not cooperating very well, by moving around quickly and pounding on the glass, obviously startling the doctor.

Hayami smiled, that was his girl.

"Interesting." The doctor said as he nodded finding something particularly interesting. "I was correct."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Hayami questioned his eyes shifting back and forth between Mutio, and the man with the gun.

"When comparing the two hybrids, your companion seems to be adapting to life on land. Her body is almost evolving, or recessing, depends on your view point, but she is changing to better accommodate her for her new life... her lungs are now more powerful than her gills, her leg muscles and back are now able to support up right movement for longer periods of time... simply amazing... but what most interests me is... this."

The doctor walked to a near by computer screen and pulled up two pictures.

"This one is your Mutio. The left side is the now deceased Mutio... notice anything different?" He asked pointing at a small added blob on the picture. "It is there now, but only larger..." Pulling up the scanned picture he had just taken, Hayami and the others in the room were silent.

"It's simply amazing that her body formed a more refined reproductive organ in order to be more compatible for the complex differences in our species. Zorndyke apparently wanted our two species to be able to become more... compatible..."

"Are you saying that..." Hayami felt like he was hit in the gut with a ton of bricks.

"You have fathered the first multi-species child Mr. Hayami Tetsu." The doctor said it straight out.

"Disgusting." Came Yuri's reply to the news. "You couldn't find anyone in your own species..."

But none of Yuri's or the doctor's words registered with him after he was told he was going to be a father. Looking from the pictures to Mutio, he saw that she too was captivated with the news. Her red eyes were glued to the pictures on the screen. Slowly her hands and eyes went down to rest on her stomach. Hayami longed to hold her, and ask her how she felt at the moment… but he was still frozen with shock.

"No, this is wonderful." The doctor smiled. "Added to that news we now know that several of our old weapons will have considerable effect on them."

"Weapons?" Hayami was woken from his momentary stupor. "What the hell have you boys been up to? There is a peace between us, or have you forgotten?"

"Sorry, that we all can't have a hybrid as our personal whore, but some of us have been working to make sure the human race stays the dominant one." Yuri said gripping his gun tightly, still keeping his aim on Hayami.

"Never mind that, we surely can't test the new modified ones on her now... not with this miracle child coming." The doctor smiled walking back towards the glass enclosure. Pushing a button on a device from his pocket, the doors opened quickly and in came several heavily armed guards.

Hayami's options of escape were dwindling. But survival for himself became irrelevant when the armed guards centered around the cage that held Mutio.

"Don't worry Mr. Hayami, we shall take good care of her and the child." The doctor said as he once again took out a vile of medicine. Hayami knew they were going to sedate her... and after that he knew he would likely never see her again. Both she and their unborn child would be test subjects, a freak show for the military. He would not let that happen.

Moving swiftly, Hayami made a run for the Doctor. Getting halfway to the glass enclosure and the doctor, Hayami jumped in an attempt to stop the man. In the process Yuri opened fire, hitting Hayami in the leg below the knee once and then in the shoulder.

The force of the bullets stopped Hayami's attempt to strike the doctor. Instead, he hit the cold floor and groaned in pain. Grabbing his leg, he tried to apply pressure to stop the bleeding. Looking up with hatred in his eyes towards Yuri he wondered what was going to happen now.

Not caring if his body was wounded, his attention went to his companion in the glass. Her eyes were full of fury at what happened. Inside the glass she beat on the see through walls with out mercy or stopping.

Enraged cries and screeches in her language shook the glass. Coupled with the sheer force she was using, the glass finally showed signs of weakening. Several more well timed scream and strike combinations gave way and a large crack began to form. Hayami could only watch as she continued to fight back. The doctor and even the armed guards looked worried, many taking aim at the creature.

"Don't kill her. We want her alive!" The doctor shouted making sure the guards would not kill their only remaining living sample.

The warning came seconds before the final blow on the glass was struck. Out of nowhere a solid pipe came flying at the glass enclosure. The object was the final blow needed to shatter the glass. Everyone was stunned, even Mutio who blinked several times after she let her hands drop after shielding herself from the falling glass.

"Now Yuri, put your gun down." A feminine voice said from behind the military man. Hayami looked and couldn't help but smile through his pain and worry to see their savior, Kino.

Mutio took this opportunity to run past the guards and towards Hayami. Throwing her arms around him tightly she began mumbling incoherent things to him.

"You have to run. Get away from here." Hayami told Mutio returning her embrace the best he could with a wounded shoulder and leg. But she did not listen. The sounds of the guards' guns being raised did not cause her to run. Instead she turned and placed herself in front of him.

The doctor and everyone else in the room stood in shock. Mutio was not going to budge, no matter what was going to happen to her, Hayami would not die because of her.

"Be a good girl now." The doctor said taking out a needle and filled it with the medicine in the vile. "If you cooperate, no more harm will come to him."

"Stop lying!" Hayami shouted through clenched teeth. Trying to forget about the pain, he could not let her do this. "Mutio, they won't do it. You need to get out now!"

Once the needle was full of liquid, the doctor put the vile away and pulled out a gun in his free hand. Pointing it at Hayami to add extra pressure on the hybrid, the doctor took a few steps towards the pair. The gun shook in his hand, showing how intimidated he was by the hybrid before him.

Mutio's stance stayed strong and unmoving no matter Hayami's pleas for her to run, or the doctor pointing a gun at them. From behind her, Hayami desperately tried to convince her to move. When that didn't work out, he tried to get up... he had to help her.

His efforts became even more frantic when the doctor got close enough to touch her. Watching the doctor put his gun down and reaching for her arm, Hayami pushed to get to his knees.

But as the man's hand was about to clamp down on Mutio, a bullet went flying through the space near the doctor's hand. His actions were stopped and all eyes went to the fight on the cat walk.

Above them Kino and Yuri struggled for the gun Kino had used to stop the doctor. The small girl gave a good fight, but when Yuri, a seasoned veteran saw his chance, he quickly knocked the girl unconscious.

Hayami closed his eyes seeing the girl's frame hit the metal catwalk. Things looked bad.

"More monster lovers." Yuri spat as he aimed the gun at Mutio.

"Now my dear, won't you cooperate?" The doctor asked motioning for the guard to take a stronger position around them.

Her snarl made the doctor and guards stop. She showed her feral side by flashing her teeth in defiance to their presence.

From the cat walk, Yuri shifted his aim and fired a shot to remind her he was there. Hayami hissed in pain as the bullet whizzed past his face. Blood trickled a little from the area the bullet had grazed.

Mutio's eyes went to Hayami as the momentum of the shot sent him back on to his butt. Her eyes were full of concern and fear.

"Now, you're going to shut up and come quietly or else I won't miss next time." Yuri smiled seeing the hybrid fall to her knees.

Things were getting bleaker for the pair. Mutio crawled slowly over to Hayami and whimpered a bit as she placed her head to his chest.

The beating of his heart that usually soothed her now made her heart ache. She would never see him again... she would be subjected to unthinkable things, and the worst was that the life she had been so unaware of until today would never get a chance to see its father... or ever be free.

No, she could not let that happen... no matter the outcome... she would not just surrender.

"Mutio... don't give up. Don't go with them. I would rather die." Hayami whispered to her as he ran his hand through her hair. Her worried whimpers and chirps made his heart pound with agony.

His luck had caught up with him once again.

"Mutio will protect our child." She whispered to him as she lifted her head from his chest. Quickly she moved to kiss him; it was full of emotion and longing. Hayami didn't want to let go... "I love you." She breathed against his still wet lips as she released him enough to look into his eyes.

"That's quite enough!" The doctor said grabbing Mutio's arm and pulling her off Hayami.

"Mutio!" Hayami yelled but was quickly silenced by the look she gave him.

Out of no where the peace loving hybrid gave off a scream of rage. Turning on the man holding her arm with unseen brute force she snapped his neck and lunged for the guards. The room was filled with screams and gun shots.

Yuri and the others were shocked and tried to hit the hybrid but they failed often and would only end up wounding their own due to her fast movements.

That was not to say that she was uninjured. Her arms and legs were marred with cuts and her dark blood coated many parts of her body.

"Stupid bitch!" One of the guards screamed as she charged at him. While she was not aware, a second guard came and landed a solid blow to the back of her neck with the butt of his weapon.

This sent her flying. Hayami could only watch as her body lay silently on the floor. If Hayami had been able to see anything else but his lover's body lying still, he would have been proud at the amount of damage she had inflicted on the guards and the room itself. But he could not be worried about that...

As the guards slowly and cautiously regrouped, Hayami awoke from his stupor as he saw her body take a gasp of air.

Was he going to just sit there? Just be worthless in saving the person he loved again? That was when Hayami knew he would rather end it all than be left alone again.

Hearing a gun fire, he moved quickly ignoring the pain. His body covered Mutio's and he willingly took the bullet that was meant to end her life.

There was little pain as the piece of metal ripped through his back. All he felt was Mutio beneath him. Her body moved below showing she was still alive, and if she could survive... somehow that made him happy. Kino and the others would eventually save her. He had faith. Kino and Huang would do everything they could to help her... and his child...

"I love you..." He spoke in a cracking voice. His body's urge to sleep was winning over his desire to stay awake. "I am sorry..." and the world went black.


a/n:

Oh man… that poor guy has all the luck.

So things have gone from bad to worse in a short time… the end of the fic is near! The most important question remains, happy ending? Or not?

Review to find out!