Updated 1/19/2017

SEE CHAPTER 1 FOR DISCLAIMERS

PLEASE READ & REVIEW, AND TEND TO THE TROPE & CHARACTER PAGES

-CHAPTER START-

Off the Coast of Kamakura, Japan

The first inkling that Director Kakuzawa and his underlings got that something was wrong was when the data feeds monitoring Number 35's chamber abruptly cut out, being replaced by the typed message "YOU'VE BEEN HAD, SUCKA". Technicians were then able to get past this and discover that the chamber was totally empty, and false data had been fed to it for days. His attempts to contact or locate Dr. Kurama met with no replies and an empty office; the same happened for Saito, Shirakawa, and his new 'addition' Arakawa.

"Sir!" One of the base's soldiers came running into the office. "We've detected multiple aircraft approaching the facility in formation from the northeast!"

Flying low over the Pacific Ocean, 10 dropships – four UNSC Pelicans, a PLF Pelican, three PLF LAATs, and two Sangheili Phantoms – approached the island facility, which was now within visual range. A squadron of Koprulu-Terran AH/G-24 "Banshee" Tactical-Strike Aircraft flew in front, anticipating acting as anti-anti-air duty, while a flight of Sangheili Type-26 "Banshee" Ground Support Aircraft flew amongst and behind the dropship fleet as escort.

As they neared the facility, Kakuzawa's paranoid preparedness made itself known as several anti-aircraft guns emerged from hidden emplacements on the island. The Terran-Banshees immediately accelerated, locking on and firing a barrage of air-to-surface missiles. The two foremost Pelicans added their own ANVIL-II ASMs to the strike. About three-quarters of the guns were destroyed by the barrage, though one of the lead Terran-Banshees got a few holes punched in its tail, which it recovered from and kept flying.

Soldiers came pouring out from the facility, taking up positions and opening fire. One with a SAM launcher blew the wing off of a Terran-Banshee; the pilot & copilot ejected, but the latter was killed by small-arms fire while parachuting down. The Sangheili-Banshees zoomed ahead, firing plasma-cannon shots and fuel-rod blasts at the hostiles, killing the launcher-wielders and a handful of others. One got nailed by several well-placed shots, and began to plummet. As it neared the ground, the Sangheili pilot leapt out, using a facility soldier to fatally cushion his fall, and then immediately drew his plasma sword in one hand and his Needler in the other, quickly killing the rest of the terrified enemy squad he'd landed amongst.

A Phantom and two Pelicans took position first, dropping off their armed cargo in the courtyard. As they moved aside, the others moved up in sequence to disgorge their own troops. The 10 dropships then stayed on-station, lending their guns, sensors, and bird's-eye view to the cause. Gamma Team deployed from the UNSC Pelican Echo-419, Kaede F. and Teana using a DMR and Mirage Rifle single-shot, respectively, to take out several hostiles on the rooftops, including one with a sniper rifle; the man's shot went wide as he fell, missing Marie's head by three feet. Sigma Team emerged from the Phantom, along with Asa – who cast a shield spell that protected Ginga from a grenade launcher blast – and Sanae – who took the launcher-wielding man down with a DMR shot.

Kaede Kanade went to one knee and started using her Sangheili Type-51 Carbine to headshot several hostiles, and the few bullets that got past her vectors were deflected by the energy shields of the armor she was currently wearing (where once they were mostly the domain of Spartans, Protoss, and Sangheili, the coalition hoped to have energy shields for all combat personnel within a year; they were already becoming standard-issue for ODSTs). Upon seeing Kaede and Sanae, one enemy fireteam leader managed to inform those inside via comm. that a few Diclonii were amongst the attacking forces, which both made them more nervous and was enough for Kakuzawa to figure out why they were attacking.

"Reinforce all approaches to the test-subject holding areas" he ordered to all soldiers & guards inside the base. "Our attackers are trying to free the Diclonii."

The institute's outside defenders were being whittled down fast, and the survivors quickly retreated inside, the coalition forces in hot pursuit.

"Kanade, Shigure, you're with us!" Aqua told Kaede K. and Asa as she fired bursts of raw magic at the retreating enemy forces.

"Right!" the two chorused, Asa reloading the PLF Lancer she'd taken along.

"Kanba, go with Alexei" Kaede K. said to her little brother, gesturing to the heavily-armored Russian Diclonius who was hefting a rather large gun as he and Kurt-051 led a group of marines in a charge. The boy nodded, reading an MA5C rifle, ensuring his Scattershot was ready, and then ran off, Keyblade in one hand and assault rifle in the other (he could always use a vector to brace the gun and arm for firing one-handed).

The attack force quickly made their way into the facility, engaging the guards & soldiers within. Kurt and Gamma Team worked together as a spearhead to strike against the bulk of the defenders, while Sigma Team and their two guest members slipped around and made their way in deeper, dealing with guards & soldiers as they went. Kaede K., recognizing the path she'd taken during her escape from the facility, directed the group as they moved onward. Ahead, a guard saw her leading the group, recognized what she was, and only had time to think 'Why is a Diclonius using a gun?' before a bolt from her Carbine went through his skull. She rounded a corner and came face-to-face with a pair of enemy soldiers, and immediately decapitated one with a vector while pulling her shotgun free and blasting the other one in the chest, putting him down.

Two enemy soldiers died quickly but gruesomely in two successive pink explosions, casualties of the Needler presently wielded by Erika. A high-velocity pink needle-spear punched through the cranium of another, fired by the Needle Rifle that Mariko had. Timmy fired a plasma pistol with respectable accuracy, Erio & Caro fired bolts of raw offensive magic, and Laicixa fired Fira and Blizzara spells from Midnight Roar. Two enemy guards tried to sneak around behind the group of well-armed kids, only to run into their rear guard: Nana, who promptly hosed them down with a Sangheili Type-51 Plasma Repeater. The last of the current enemy squad fell to a bolt between the eyes from Caro, and the group pressed on, Mariko leading the way to the nearest containment area.

Several soldiers fell as they tried to get into cover, away from the hail of death being sent their way. Alexei stood tall, body shimmering with an energy shield, and using his muscular arms and his vectors to hold a UNSC AIE-486H Heavy Machinegun, the ammo feed connected to a backpack full of ammunition (he also had a BR55 rifle slung over his back just in case). The evil men before him were armed with comparatively light weapons and armor, and had failed to even come close to harming him, as his weapon continued to cut them down or send them scurrying.

"Is like fighting children!" Alexei exclaimed/taunted. "What sick man sent babies to fight me?-!"

"This guy's a fucking beast!" one scared private said, shortly before a round punched through his upper chest.

"You are all so small! Is funny to me!"

A soldier tried to sneak up on Alexei from behind, only to suddenly hear a bang and feel a terrible pain. He looked down and saw a hole blasted through his chest, his body rapidly dissolving outward from the hole into glowing orange particles. As the body faded away, Kanba inserted another round into his Scattershot.

Scores of hostiles fell before the combined onslaught of Kurt and Gamma Team. A well-aimed plasma grenade thrown by the Spartan took out three soldiers (one of them with a rocket launcher), Marie fired a charged Dark Beam shot from Charon that killed a hostile with a shotgun, and one hostile narrowly dodged a DMR shot from Kaede F. only to take a bone-bullet through the eye from her. Sarah and Mai fired short bursts from their assault rifles – a Lancer and an MA5C, respectively – to score kills and keep the enemies' heads down, while Shion and Ahsoka used their energy blades to kill any enemy close enough. Teana had Cross Mirage in dual pistol mode, firing .50-caliber SAP-HE rounds with her two guns with perfect accuracy.

With one punch with Revolver Knuckle, Subaru smashed a metal door off of its hinges. The guards inside immediately opened fire, but her energy shields protected her long enough for her to get out of the way. As soon as the fire abated, Mana K. rushed in, a PLF-made DC-15 blaster rifle in her hands, and opened fire, taking down half of the guards before being forced into cover. Lancer fire from Asa finished most of the remainder off, and the last two fell to Kaede K.'s carbine. As the armored Diclonius stepped into the room, she looked left in time to catch sight of the scientist pressing himself against the far wall, and recognized him.

"You…" she growled, starting to advance on him.

Takura Isobe, the sadistic head of "research" at the facility, so dedicated to performing one horrifying experiment after another on captive Diclonii, reveling in their suffering all the while as he categorized them in his head as less-than-human animals. He had personally overseen several 'experiments' on Kaede herself over the last three years. Oh, how the tables had turned…

"It can't be…" he muttered. "Lucy…"

The girl's response was to slap him with one of her vector-hands, knocking him to the ground.

"Do not" she snarled "call me by that name… I am Kanade Kaede, daughter of Kanade Ichirō and Kanade Sakuya. And I am here to free my people, and get my revenge."

She then proceeded to use her carbine to blow out his kneecaps, and he cried out in pain, unable to get up. Then she reached out with a vector and snapped the arm that he'd been propping himself up with, leaving him lying on the floor on his back. She placed a foot down onto his chest, and aimed her carbine between his eyes.

"You'll never harm anyone again" she said. A flash of green from the muzzle in his face was the last thing he saw as she pulled the trigger.

As Kaede finished off Isobe, Ginga walked over to the room's central console. She let Blitz Caliber interface with it, and after a few seconds the console beeped, and a door in the back of the room slid open, revealing an elevator.

"According to the schematics Blitz has pulled," she said to the others, "this leads to one of the holding areas, as well as a "vector strength test chamber". From there, we can take a route that leads directly to the Director's office. …Shall we?"

"Yes" Aqua replied. "We shall. Come on, girls."

The kids' team continued their advance, Laicixa having already assumed – and been granted by the others – semi-official command of the group. They were making excellent time (despite having to stop for two minutes at one point when Erika needed a change), and had already disposed of their fair share of hostiles. One soldier with a shotgun charged at them, only to be hit by a double Blizzard spell from Laicixa & Erika's Keyblades, freezing him solid; a frag grenade from Tim then shattered him. Mariko continued to display her skill with a needle rifle; few hostiles had even gotten the chance to get within her vectors' range before being killed by her longer-range weapon. Erio & Caro focused primarily on demolishing the auto-turrets that the team had encountered here & there, turning their attention to live targets when the auto-defenses in each area were down.

Three more hostiles fell to Kanba's Scattershot as he continued his room-to-room sweep. A guard tried to sneak up on him from behind with a knife, only for the man's head to go flying as Kanba used a vector to kill him without even turning around. Out in the hallway, two enemy soldiers went down to shots from Alexei's BR55 rifle, and he then picked his HMG back up and continued on, Kanba coming out and covering him, MA5C readied.

"This is Sigma-1 to all personnel" Aqua said over the force-wide comm. "We have located and secured a holding area; captive Diclonii have been reassured and are awaiting treatment. I'm setting a NAV beacon at this location, and we will proceed deeper into the facility."

"Solid copy, Sigma-1" Col. Holland replied. "Diverting two trooper squads with medics to the beacon. Good hunting."

In the area in question, around 22 Diclonii of various physical ages sat, their modesty covered by sheets or robes that Aqua & Ginga had brought along in magical subspace pockets. Kaede K. was holding one who couldn't have been more than five years old; the little girl was latched onto her with all her might, sobbing into her shoulder and muttering "Thank you" over and over. With a little difficulty, she managed to convince the traumatized child that help was coming and that she needed to go do important stuff, and then rejoined Sigma Team and Asa as they advanced.

In another part of the facility, Erio gently draped a blanket over the shoulders of the Silpelit known by the institute's personnel as "Number 28", a quiet girl around Nana's age. Without saying a word, she promptly pulled Erio into a rather tight hug, which he returned (blushing a little as he felt her rather well-developed bare breasts pressing against the thin undershirt of his Barrier Jacket) as she cried softly, stored-up emotions coming out as relief and hope filled her. Nearby, Mariko fussed over a pair of physically-4-year-old Diclonii, who were holding each other in a tight embrace like life depended on it, two friends being able to touch each other for the first time. As #28 reluctantly released Erio, Mariko turned to her.

"Can you watch over these two?" she asked.

"Yes" the quiet girl nodded, as she made her way on unsteady legs over to the little ones, kneeling down and holding them close as they continued to hold and comfort each other. Timmy set up a NAV beacon with the seven Diclonii here, and he & the other five of 'Team Kid' then moved out.

It was like this all over the facility: coalition forces would steamroll through the institute's armed personnel, taking few losses, and encountering & freeing captive Diclonii here & there, setting NAV beacons for specialized teams to tend to and – if practical – extract them. The enemy couldn't stand up to the superior numbers and weaponry of the coalition forces, and were quickly ground down. It wasn't long before the good guys had full control of the ground-floor level and were moving through the subterranean levels.

Director Kakuzawa sat in his office, along with 15 of his best troops serving as guards. By all reports, the battle was going poorly. The attackers had superior numbers and technology, had a few combat-trained Diclonii (including Lucy, Number 35, a frighteningly skilled sniper, and a mountain of a man armed with a heavy machinegun as a personnel weapon), and – video footage confirmed – they even had what looked like actual aliens.

There was suddenly gunfire and small explosions outside the heavy steel door of the office. The soldiers inside got ready, as the fighting continued outside. Finally, all went quiet. After several seconds, those inside heard a muffled "Fire in the hole!" from outside, followed by a blast and a cloud of dust and fire as the door was blasted down. Immediately the guard-soldiers opened fire, shooting through the now-open entryway. Their shots bounced off of a translucent green barrier-shield that slowly advanced, Asa's right palm pointed out while Kaede K. and Sigma Team walked beside her. Soon, the guards' clips ran empty, and that's when Sigma Team struck. The barrier-shield went down, and Kaede K. rushed in, her M90A shotgun booming and her vectors slicing. Mana and Subaru were close behind, the two cyborgs lashing out with super-strength blows, while Asa and Ginga stood back and used their Lancers to thin the enemy's numbers even further.

Finally, the last guard-soldier fell. Kaede K. immediately used her vectors to throw the Director's desk to the side, exposing him, and then pinned him to the wall. She slowly advanced on him with cold fury in her eyes, as he struggled in vain to break free of the super-strong telekinetic appendages.

"Kakuzawa…" she snarled.

"Kanade…" he struggled out, trying to break free. At her slight surprise, he smirked. "I was listening in when you executed Isobe. To be truthful, I'd almost forgotten that 'Lucy' was a title we'd given you and not your real name."

"It's over, old man. Your soldiers are being butchered, your scientists are either dead or captured, and the people you've been torturing are safe and free. Now, before I kill you, I have to ask… Why? Why do this – all of this – to us? Why the torture, the pain, the terror, the suffering? And why was I so important alive?"

He glowered at her for a few seconds, and then began whipping his head back & forth… dislodging the toupee he'd been wearing, and thus revealing a pair of conical horns covered by a thin layer of flesh.

"Ages ago," he said, "the Kakuzawa family was powerful and feared. We were descendents of the First Diclonius. However, centuries of inbreeding with humans diluted our bloodline, rendering our horns small and our vectors nonexistent. The hornless people rose up and chased us away. My ancestors found this sacred island, where we waited for the prophesized coming of a messiah, a female purebred Diclonius who would return our clan to glory. You were the prophesized one, the fertile Queen with whom my son and I could sire the future Diclonius race, overthrow the base humans, and become gods of this world!"

Kaede's face was a mixture of disgust, anger, and ridicule. "You poor idiot…" she said. "Do you really believe all that? That you're a Diclonius?"

She gripped his throat with a vector-hand, not hard enough to stop his breathing but enough to stop his speaking.

"I have learned much about my people this last week" she said. "Firstly, we are human – Homo sapiens diclonius, a subspecies of humanity, confirmed via genetic analysis. Second, there are over 50 million of us on this Earth, living in hiding but in peace; if we wanted to, we could conquer the world, but we do not want to, instead choosing to live in peace and secret harmony with those around us. Third, if a Diclonius and a human have a child, that child will, genetically, be entirely Diclonius. Even if they were to start a chain of descendants with humans, each born would be whole Diclonius, with all capabilities; the bloodline would not 'dilute'. I myself am the daughter of a Diclonius father and a baseline-human mother. Fourth, all Diclonii can telepathically sense each other to varying degrees."

She got in his face.

"And I do not sense you, nor did I sense your son. You are not a Diclonius. No-one in the Kakuzawa line is or ever was one. You're just base, regular humans with a freaky skull defect. Nothing more. Your clan must've come up with that ridiculous myth in response to the persecution you faced because of your mutative defect. I killed your son partially because I was disgusted by what he had planned, and partially because he actually believed that sad, ridiculous bullshit he was spitting out, and so putting him down was a favor to him.

"…On some level, I pity you and your family. You were tormented by other people for being 'different', just for having those growths. But you are not one of me. You are not Diclonius, and never will be. And even if you were, I would never allow you to have me. There is already another I love, a human boy to whom I have given my heart, and to whom I plan to give my body soon. He is pure, and kind, and gentle, and just. You, however, are a cruel, vicious, heartless monster of a man, an angry mutant with delusions of godhood. Thousands of lives have suffered at your hands, and I intend to ensure that their souls are given retribution!"

The old man felt his whole world crashing down from all that Kaede had told him, and then he felt a coldness as all four of her vectors inserted into a single point in the center of his torso. Then, they switched to 'cutting' mode and all slashed outward at the same time – one straight up, one straight down, one to the left, and one to the right. Director Kakuzawa fell to the ground in four pieces, innards spilling out, a look of horror frozen on both of the separated halves of his head.

"All teams, this is Sigma-1" Aqua reported. "Objective 2 accomplished: Director Kakuzawa is dead."

"Roger that, Sigma-1" Teana replied over the comm. "Sierra-51 and Gamma Team are helping mop up the rest of the resistance. Already a significant portion of the survivors are surrendering."

Kaede K. was now seated at Kakuzawa's computer, which was stationed on another table against the wall. The console's security was pathetic, protected only by a simple password ("LUCY", of course); the old man had never expected anyone other than himself to use it. As she perused over the records and schematics, she came across something that caught her by surprise. She read it intently, shocked and sickened by one more act of barbarity she'd been unaware of, this one done to a human. After reading everything she needed to on this subject, she got up and looked to the others.

"Have this computer's data uploaded to Command" she said. "I need to head down to the lowest level of this facility. There's something I need to deal with."

-65 MINUTES LATER-

The battle was over. Most of the institute's soldiers & guards, and a good chunk of the scientists, were dead, and the rest had either been captured & detained or had surrendered willingly. The facility's comprehensive records were being compiled and gone over as evidence. All in all, 126 captive Diclonii had been found alive and brought to the facility's ground-level exterior courtyard (where several tents had been set up as a makeshift field hospital), and were presently being overviewed, treated for injuries, being given basic psychological help (more dedicated counseling and treatment would have to come after post-battle cleanup was done), and given food & water (in small amounts, with specialized diets and medications, to avoid Refeeding Syndrome). 18 Diclonii's vectors had been disabled temporarily by Nana, Sanae, or Alexei after they were deemed to be potential risks to themselves or others (thankfully nobody was killed discovering this), though the trio in question felt that none of them were beyond recovery, and thus that the disabling would likely not be permanent in any of them.

The more mentally-together ex-captives were providing some testimonies and information; some of the healthiest were also assisting the coalition personnel in caring for their less-able brethren. Number 28, in particular, had taken or been given (depending on how you look at it) the position of babysitter/child-wrangler for the younger Diclonii, displaying a quiet, gentle, motherly kindness that drew the children to her and provided a sense of comfort and security for them, and they in turn did what they could – intentionally and not – to help keep her together and provide comfort and reassurance to her. Erika, Mai, and Subaru were assisting her in her role; presently, Erika was bottle-feeding a little one who looked no older than two, Mai was letting a physically-six-year-old one huddle up to her, and a physically-seven-year-old was giggling wildly as Subaru tickle-attacked her.

A Phantom flew in, hovering over a landing pad. From the gravity lift descended Kōta, Yuka, Mayu, Nozomi, Nyū, and a single Sangheili in white Ultra armor. Zhal Arum looked around at the courtyard filled with injured soldiers and the recently-freed Diclonii, and walked off to find the squad leaders to get their reports in person, being saluted as he went. The Maple Group quickly made their way to Nana and Kanba.

"Where's Kaede?" Kōta asked.

"In there" Kanba replied, pointing to a smaller tent nearby.

The group headed over, Nana joining them. As they approached, they could hear talking inside.

"I know that my father was an evil man" a little girl's voice said. "And I know that the things he did to your people, and to me, are unforgivable. But, still… I can't help but be sad that he's gone, even though I know I shouldn't be."

"I'm sorry" Kaede K. replied. "But it had to be done. Otherwise, he'd have found a way to make more people suffer."

"I know. I don't blame you for it, and I don't hate you for it. Father brought it on himself. …And… thank you for sparing me, even though I'm the daughter of the man who…"

"It's okay. When I went down to that underground lake and saw the… thing… he had turned you into, I could sense that it wasn't your real form, that it was a shell that had grown around you, even though you yourself thought the shell was your real self. I'm just glad I was able to free you, and get you out of there."

"…I have seen the Sun for the first time in years… I have set foot upon the ground once more... I can eat again, sleep again, be a normal person again. Thank you so, so much for that, Kaede-san."

"Kaede?" Kōta called out.

"Kōta! Come in!"

The Maple Group entered the tent, and saw Kaede apparently tending to a little girl clad in a cheap robe, looking around 8 or 9 years old, with upper-back-length black hair. The girl hid partially behind Kaede.

"Everyone," Kaede said, "this is Anna. She was the subject of an experiment performed by Director Kakuzawa… who was also her father."

Outside, Natsuko Arakawa walked through the field hospital. She soon came across Kanba, having a seat next to him. He turned to look at her and smiled innocently, and she couldn't help but find it adorable.

"So it's finally over…" she voiced aloud.

"Yeah…" Kanba replied. "These people will be able to get the help they need, and the people who hurt them will never be able to hurt anyone again." He gave a content sigh. "The wonderful feeling of a mission accomplished, a job well done…"

"Almost as good as the feeling of a hot shower…" she replied.

He giggled. "I remember when you took that long shower back at Maple House after we rescued you guys. I was getting something from just outside the bathroom and I heard you make some… interesting noises…"

Natsuko blushed; shamefully, the feeling of a simple hot shower after so long had been enough to earn a few pleasured moans that day, moans that could easily be construed as being because of… something else…

Kanba scooted over to allow a Huragok to place a box of supplies where he'd been sitting, ending up pressed against Arakawa, who was now sandwiched between a stack of cushions and a disturbingly cute, somewhat-girlish boy. Kanba yawned cutely and stretched, his joints popping.

"I haven't been this tired in a long time" he said. "But it's a good kind of tired."

Without saying anything, Natsuko pulled the cute little boy close so his head could rest on her shoulder. He blushed lightly as he looked up at her, but then accepted it and allowed himself to rest, his eyes going almost closed. She couldn't help but smile.

In the little tent, as Yuka and Nyū fussed over Anna, Nozomi had a seat next to Kaede K., smiling at her; Kaede returned the smile, feeling her face heat up just a bit. It was really no secret to either of them anymore that they found each other attractive, and Nozomi had subconsciously hinted that she would like to get to know Kaede on a deeper level. Kaede was thus dropping hints to Kōta to see if he would mind sharing her with someone else, at the very least as a 'friends with benefits' thing. He probably wouldn't mind.

"S-So what happens now?" Nozomi asked.

"I hear they're going to set a trap here" Kaede replied. "They'll send out a command to all of the institute's agents stationed throughout the prefecture, ordering them to return. Then, when they show up, they get jumped by our forces and arrested. Also, our people are going to comb over the records on each and every Diclonius here, living or dead. Maybe we can find the parents that a lot of these girls were snatched away from."

"One can hope."

"So you're sure that you want me to stay at you guys' place for a while?" Anna asked Yuka. "I mean, after all that…"

"We won't blame a child for the sins of her father" Kōta replied. "You are welcome to stay with us for as long as you want. Besides, it seems Kaede's taken a bit of a shine to you."

The girl closed her eyes and smiled. "I owe her my life…" she said softly.

It was a few more hours on-site before the Maple Group caught a Pelican back to their house, each and every one of them feeling content and victorious. That night, Kaede K. slept soundly, Nyū cuddled up to her.

-SCENE BREAK-

Rest assured, there is more coming; there are a few loose ends that the next chapters will tackle.