"Quickly now! We can't waste any time!" Kohta called upstairs.
Yuka was kneeling on the floor, most of her clothes spread out before here and an opened suitcase close by.
"But I can't decide what to take with me!" she answered.
Kohta grimaced.
"Just take something or leave it, we have to go, I'm not bent on getting killed at the hands of that psycho, it was painful enough when he threw me against the wall!"
"All right, fine!" Yuka said and just bunched up all of the items and stuffed them into the case, slamming the lid shut on top of them.
"Mayu, are you ready to leave?" Kohta called.
She came down the stairs, holding her pet dog Wanta by the line, wearing he school uniform.
"Yes." She said quietly.
It was easy to pack quickly when you didn't own much in the first place.
Meanwhile, Nana and Nyu stood to one side, watching as the three gathered together before the entrance. Nana had followed the idea of clothing that Ageno had, and fashioned robe-like clothing for both herself and Nyu from white linen. Nyu however was not coping with her clothing very well, seeing as it constantly slipped. She resolved it by grasping the folds of the cloth tightly. Yuka clutched her suitcase in both hands.
"Okay…we're all ready to go. Ageno said that we should take the train and head south."
"Why do we have to listen to what HE said?" Kohta said distastefully.
"Because…" Yuka didn't want to tell him about the deal she had made and what happened as a result of that. Kohta had been unconscious at the time. "Because he showed mercy and wants to spare us from death as a thank you for taking care of him and Nyu."
Kohta mumbled incoherently under his breath. Yuka stepped forward and hugged Nana.
"I'm sorry we have to leave…but I don't understand why we can't live together in peace."
"Thank you for…for everything you did for me…" Nana began to cry "…for taking care of me and giving me the chance to have a normal life…just like papa wanted me to have…"
Yuka moved on to Nyu and hugged her as well.
"Bye Nyu…you're now where you belong, with your race. I'll miss you." She let go.
Now it was Kohta's turn.
He shook hands with Nana
"Have a good life, Nana."
"Stay safe." She told him
Then he went to Nyu.
He stood there for a while, unable to move, his face twitching slightly. He took one last look at her, then turned and walked out the door as fast as he could.
"Kohta!"
The other two hurried after him and Mayu was just able to say 'bye' before they disappeared. Nyu however first looked confused. Then she began to realize that this was the last time she would ever see them.
"Kohta!" she called out. "Kohta! No!"
She made to run after them, but Nana grabbed her by the arm and held her back.
"No! You can't leave! You need to stay with the princeps!"
"Kohta!" Nyu cried.
Suddenly Nana's arm came loose. Nana fell backward while Nyu stumbled forward and landed flat on the floor. She stretched out a hand to the open door in a begging gesture.
"Kohta!"
Kohta was running up the long stairway away from the house, his pace pinched and tears streaming down his cheeks. He was followed closely by Yuka and Mayu, who had just enough time to note that a large number of military trucks had just rolled by in the street below.
I wonder what that was all about? Yuka thought as they chased Kohta to the station.


Ageno was at the tip of the spearhead formation that was he and his Diclonius. He could feel the blood rushing to his head, a sensation that made him giddy with expectation. It was the feeling that he got before he was about to kill, and this time there was plenty of killing to do. Through their telepathic link he could feel the same sense of expectation, the same bloodlust rising in his followers. Some more than others as he noted. Lena, number thirteen, could barely contain herself with the joy she was feeling. And she was actually humming, though what he did not know. He was sure that she would kill the most humans that day. Luka on the other hand, the senior of all the artifices, was very reserved. He assumed that this was because she had been in the facility much longer than anyone else, that she had been broken in her spirit to kill, that she had become compliant and forgot to hate the vermin. He would reserve his final judgment on her until after they entered battle. If she was too hesitant then she would be shot immediately. If she was going to be a liability to the rest, then he would kill her himself. He hoped that he would not have to resort to that; they were few as it was.
Few, but superior he thought. Though their numbers were very limited, they would not doubt be vastly superior to the humans, no matter what resistance they managed to put against them. Ageno looked forward to the slaughter. There were only civilians in that city, defenseless. The experience was going to be most satisfying.
That was when the siren started to blare. An alarm that was normally used to warn the inhabitants of Kamakura against and impeding tsunami. But there was no giant wave anywhere. Ageno realized, that they were the threat against which Kamakura was being warned, and almost fell into the water below him out of surprise. He was very displeased.
How did they know? This isn't possible!
If they were aware that the Diclonius were coming, then they would have some kind of measure in place to defend themselves, most likely the army. Ageno cursed himself for not seeing this coming. The one flaw in his plan he had not calculated into his scheme. He was not ready to go up against armed soldiers. The security guards were one thing, but the soldiers would bring machine guns, and no doubt tanks with them. He looked right and left at the artifices. Since they wore little or no clothing he saw that they were skinny, and appeared starved out. No wonder, they had been fed through tubes most of the last year. He recalled hoe recovery had been for him. He was not sure at all that they would be able to hold their own against the military. But there was no turning back now. Ageno plowed on through the water. They still had a slight chance of surprise on their side. The military would concentrate on evacuating civilians first. So by the time that Ageno arrived, they would be caught unawares, surprised, and hopefully, annihilated.


Bando watched from the safety of a shadowy alleyway as the evacuation commenced. People were called out of their houses, carrying bundles of their most valuable possessions. All of them, he noticed, looked confused, some were still in their pajamas, having no doubt been roused out of their sleep. He retracted his head as a group of soldiers ran by. He had recovered his sniper rifle from the place he had buried it in the sand immediately after having confronted the Diclonius n the beach. He looked p and examined the buildings. One of the high-rise apartments or office buildings would serve as a nice vantage point, but he had to be careful so that he was not caught.
So he waited. When the civilians were gone, he would ascend the stairs in one of the taller houses, lie flat on the level roof and set his sights. With a bit of luck, he might be able to kill them all before they even knew what was going on.


They had arrived. Ageno's vectors touched sand, and he came to a full stop, allowing his Diclonius inferiors to gather around him. He lowered himself onto the ground, and the others imitated him. It was as he had expected. Even though the military was present in Kamakura, the defense line hadn't been even partially established. The infantry was busy evacuating the populace, the vehicles were not getting anywhere, and the tanks were to slow to have arrived in position yet. He smiled. It was not as bad as he had thought after all. Through his telepathic link he could feel them teeming, their hearts beating as one. They were poised, ready to wreak havoc on the city and exterminate the filthy humans. Ageno tasted this moment, letting it last. Then he gave his command.
Kill them. All of them.
The artifices walked forward, silently. Together they ascended the steps onto the street. It was far from empty, there were vehicles there, trucks and jeeps. And humans. So many humans. Some were military, but most of them were normal everyday people, clutching what little they could carry. At first the Diclonius went unnoticed, but soon enough the crowd began to become aware of their presence and began to point at them. They were and eerie sight. The naked female bodies, the long, oddly colored hair in various shades of pink, red and purple, the eyes, cold and evil, and the horns, clearly visible, sticking out of their heads.
They continued on, undeterred. There was not a single shot fired yet. It seemed like the military had not been very well informed on the threat they were facing. And they would ruthlessly exploit this weakness. They stopped walking, and formed a line, facing the crowd. There was no movement on either side for a moment, then a soldier stepped forward.
"Hey you! What were you doing? Swimming in the ocean?" he turned to his comrades.
"Give these some blankets and load them onto the trucks as well, we have to evacuate ASAP."
The soldier reached out to grab the Diclonius nearest him, which to his misfortune happened to be Lena.
"Come on, move!"
For a moment she stared down at the hand that was holding her arm, attempting to pull her out of the rank. She looked up into the man's eyes and smiled. That was when he knew that he had done something very wrong. In the next second it seemed as if he evaporated, as a red mist exploded into the air, staining the black tar with droplets of blood and dousing the Diclonius as well. The man had been simultaneously ripped apart by dozens of vectors.
For a moment there was nothing, and then complete pandemonium ensued. People began running away from the pale figures. Half the soldiers tried to maintain order, failing miserable and some ending up under the feet of the fleeing. People were pushed, shoved, tripped to the ground and trod on by the ones following behind. The remaining troops opened fire on the only source of danger, the Diclonius. Only, they were not standing sill any longer. They were attacking. Not in good formation, but in chaos, a wild horde, driven by bloodlust, with Lena in the lead, far ahead of her kin. She propelled herself into the mass of bodies, and began her bloody work, laughing with joy all the same. Next came Vena. Her priorities were different, dealing with the armed personnel first. Her five vectors were in constant motion, stabbing down and into the bodies of the soldiers, quick and lethal, her hair a bluish red, whipping about her as she turned and twisted to give her vectors the optimum range. It was hardly a fair battle, and the Diclonius left nothing behind except mangled corpses and limbs, leaning blood onto the street, running through the cracks in the surface and down into the drainage pipes. Ageno had watched, and now he slowly walked forward. His feet were soon slapping on the wet surface in a sickly manner. His feet were soon crimson, and the blood began to dry. His toga-like clothing was also covered in fine red dots from the spray that they had created when they ripped the soldier apart. He followed his Diclonius, who were chasing after the fleeing, leaving none of them alive. They knew no mercy, no compassion. Not a single life was spared. Ageno saw people of all ages, men, women and children, strewn all over the place, their blank eyes staring in an expression of shock and fear. He knew that they had temporarily gained the upper hand. But the city was large, and word would travel fast. Soon they would be surrounded, facing tanks as well most likely. He watched as Lena picked up one of the trucks that had started to drive, and was full of humans, and threw it into the air, over the heads of the running crowd. The truck landed and rolled over several times, crushing people under its weight as if they were ants and sealing off the escape. Then it started to burn. He listened to the sounds, the screams the less, and Lena's very prominent laughter. He felt that the Regina was somewhere near, and that Nana was with her. No doubt they were watching the slaughter from afar.
Enjoy the view, my queen, for this is for you, and for our race.


Bando saw the carnage from the roof of a building in the center of Kamakura. It gave him a good overview of the whole city, and on what was happening to the people below. Bando was a cold killer; he would not hesitate once to put a gun to someone's head of he was paid to do so. He was used to killing, to murder, to seeing bodies, but this…this was entirely different. He saw soldiers, professionals of the trade getting cut apart as if they were toys. He didn't feel any particular sympathy for them while they were being slaughtered, but it angered him that it seemed like nothing could be done against the marauding Diclonius. They had split up it seemed, because fires were burning all around him in the streets. Even entire buildings stood in flames. It seemed to him as if there were about a dozen hostiles. A dozen. Versus several hundred of what was supposed to be Japan's finest. He couldn't kill them all, that was an impossible task, but he would at least kill their leader. If he managed to take down several others in the process, that was just an added bonus. He didn't expect to survive this. He took the sniper rifle from his shoulder, hefting it to his shoulder and staring down at the streets, ignoring all the bodies, searching for his target. Eventually he had to show himself, it was just a matter of time. The three of them were almost at the station when they heard the explosions. Each of them turned their head in wonder. They saw plumes of smoke rising from the dense cluster of buildings that was the city center. And through the air, even though they were rather far away, the screams of the panicking citizens could be heard.


Yuka clasped her hands over Mayu's ears. Mayu looked away from the sight; she couldn't bear it any longer.
"Those…those people will be okay…right? Right?"
Yuka averted her eyes. Instead, her gaze fell on Kohta, who stared at the scene as if transfixed.
"Kohta? Are you all right?"
"I need to go back."
Yuka looked surprised and slightly confused.
"What?"
Kohta started to shake.
Yuka realized what could happen and dashed over to him.
"I cat leave Nyu behind!" Kohta shouted, trying to rid himself of the clasping grip Yuka had on his arm.
Yuka meanwhile was struggling, digging in the heels of her shoes into the ground to stop Kohta from running off into what would certainly be his death.
"No Kohta! You can't go back! You'll get yourself killed!"
"I can't leave her! Let me go! I need to go to her!"
A hand impacted on the side of his face and he reeled, thrown off balance, stumbled and landed on the ground. Yuka was standing over him, her hand drawn back, ready to slap him again.
"Kohta you idiot! Nyu is gone! She won't come with us! She doesn't belong with us! She is supposed to be with Ageno and the rest of her kind, and you should leave her!"
Kohta looked at her, dumbfounded.
"Get up! We're leaving!" she said and stormed away "Come one Mayu."
Then she stopped and turned around, giving Kohta a long scrutinizing stare.
"Ageno gave us a choice. We can run and live, or stay and die. I chose to live, for as long as I still can."


Lena had the time of her live. Finally free from that stinking cell and out in the open. She could finally kill as many of these puny humans as she wanted. They were the ones who had made her life hell, who had imprisoned her. She had been called a freak, but what did that matter now? Now that they were out in the open and free to roam!
We're not freaks she thought as she cut a swathe through a mass of humans armed with some of their puny weapons we're just better
She laughed as she decapitated three humans with one swipe, pausing a moment to appreciate the fountains of blood erupting from their necks. She was a strong Diclonius and she knew it. Not a single bullet had so much as grazed her, even though they filled the air. She cut the last man standing into ribbons and surveyed her work. It was an art really, she thought as she regarded the mass of bodies oozing blood all over the place. She heard a sound, a loud mechanical rumbling from down the street. She turned towards the noise and saw more armed humans coming from there.
More to kill she thought.
But the noise was generated by a large vehicle that moved slowly in her direction. Then, at the other end of the street, it came to a full halt. Lena knew there was something weird about that thing. Even the humans kept their distance from it. Then there was a huge explosion. Something raced towards her through the air, so fast she didn't even see it. She just had time to dodge out of the way, and the thing that missed her hit a building to her left, shattering the glass front into a million pieces in a giant ball of flame.
"Nice toy" she hissed "But your thunder machine won't stop me!"
She slowly walked towards the thing. She saw the humans backing away further. They probably expected her to be dead by now. There was another loud boom. This time, Lena saw it coming. One of her vectors snatched the thing out of the air. It was a conically shaped metal…thing. Whatever it was, it was supposed to kill her, and made huge explosions when it hit something. That was good enough.
"Hey!" she called out to the humans "Have it back!"
She threw the thing as hard as she could towards the humans. It hit the ground in front of the machine. It exploded, momentarily blinding her. She had a ringing in her ears from the sound wave it made. When the dust settled, she saw that the machine was a wreck of twisted metal, and scattered all around it were humans, some charred to a cinder, but all of them dead.
"Aww…" she sighed "Was that all?"


Ageno stood on top of what he perceived to be a gate, even though it wasn't a gate to anything really, just some giant wooden frame standing in the middle of the street an didn't seem to serve any purpose, apart from now being a vantage point to him. It was from here that a wide street from the bay up into the city. At the moment, the street was littered with burning cars and military trucks, and of course a lot of bodies.
This must have been some kind of assembly area; they drove all the humans together here and load them into trucks, then use the wide street to evacuate them.
It would have been a good plan, had Ageno not stumbled on the street, and proceeded to murder anyone in sight. He had approached from the south, where the ocean was. The military had a defense ring established, and after Ageno had slaughtered those soldiers, it was an easy, if very tedious task to clear the square. Now the dead littered the avenue. Hundreds of them. The metallic bitter taste of blood wafted into Ageno's nostrils and he breathed it in deeply. It had been hard work. But now he called his Diclonius to gather together here. He wanted to see if they were all in good condition. Besides, this was where he had told Nana to bring the regina. Here her new subjects would welcome their queen. Then they came. Their bare bodies were all almost covered from head to toe in blood, proof of the many humans that had fallen victim to their rampage. He was pleased that they had followed their instincts so readily. All of them. From his vantage point he watched them approach him from all sides. One thing he thought was odd though. Many of them seemed to drag themselves to him. It looked like they had lost the energy they had so readily displayed. Ageno wondered why this was. He leapt down from the gate as soon as they had all gathered. Luka was the first to speak.
"My princeps" she said, bowing her head slightly, her face shrouded by the long hair that had fallen forward. "All humans in this part of the city have been exterminated."
Good Ageno said, still communication telepathically then we must move on, there is still far to go.
He proceeded to lead the Diclonius up the avenue, but stopped when he noticed that they weren't following him.
What is this? He demanded.
"My princeps…we are hungry, we must eat."
Of course. They had been fed through tubes for months, maybe even years. They had been unmoving, their muscles in decline. Now that they were doing more physical activity than they had done in their entire lives, their bodies couldn't take it anymore. After all, he needed two days to recover after only a few months of imprisonment.
Then eat
Luka looked puzzled, an expression that was almost too human.
"But…there's no food around, my princeps."
There is an abundance of food at hand
He felt confusion among his Diclonius at this statement. Among all except Lena. Previously she had been panting, but now the wicked smile returned to her face, and Ageno knew that she understood. Lena looked around, then went to the nearest corpse, kneeled down, and started to devour the human, using her vectors to slice him apart, and stuffing chunks of meat into her mouth with her bare hands. The other Diclonius watched her for a second, then imitated her, and in no time they were all eating. Ageno heard the wet slaps as the edible parts were separated from the rest, followed by satisfied chewing. He noticed then that he was also hungry; the fighting had worn him down as well. He kneeled down next to the corpse of a young woman. He remembered killing her clearly. He had ripped the heart clean out of her chest, for it now lay several meters from where she had fallen. Her round face still displayed an expression of surprise. There was a scent of fresh bread that stuck to her person. Probably she has been a baker; just making the day's pastries when she had been evacuated. Ageno then began to feast on her remains. 'Tender' was what went through his mind.


Many thanks to Princess Of Darkness22 who graciously let me borrow her Diclonius, Lena, for my own series.