- Chapter 6 -

Omoro Under Siege


"How in the name of..." Nathan began, but couldn't finish. He was completely thunderstruck. His precious Diva, thought to have been lost forever after her final showdown with Saya and the subsequent MET bombing, was sitting before him. Flesh and blood, not crystal.

"My associates managed to find and exhume the body shortly after the MET bombing. She was missing her legs and left arm, but was otherwise intact," Collins replied. "Cinq Flèches has complete records on Diva's biological data. I found samples of her flesh, skin cells, blood, bone marrow, everything. Using their resources and biotechnology, I was able to reverse the crystallization process, bit by bit."

Nathan looked at him. "So, in addition to your Delta 67000 virus, you've been trying to bring Diva back to life for the past five years?"

Collins nodded. "And soon, I will have succeeded. But that's not the end. I have also managed to acquire the remains of your late brothers, who are undergoing a similar reconstruction at this very moment. If I'm going to make an army of chiropterans to take over the world, I'm going to need generals, aren't I? And what better ones than Diva and her followers?"

Nathan still had one valid objection. "How are you so sure that they will even be willing to help you, or that they won't just get themselves killed all over again?"

Collins chuckled. "You and I both know that Diva despises humanity. They've caused her little more than pain and grief. She's the prime candidate for this, and her chevaliers will follow her like worker bees. Furthermore, the fluid you see in the culture tanks is none other than pure Delta 67000. When the process is complete, Diva and your brothers will be faster, stronger, and in every way superior than they were before. That wretched brat and her Red Shield cohorts won't know what hit them."

Nathan shrugged. He still wasn't so sure.

"And just in case Diva isn't willing to help me, I have a little... insurance policy in mind."

Behind them, Diva shifted slightly within the culture tank before settling back down.


The clock on the nightstand went off, shrieking its annoying, wake-inducing scream directly into Saya's ear. After her rough night before, Saya was not in any hurry to get up, and irritably slammed her fist down on the on/off button of the clock. She apparently put more force in it than she intended, as she heard a loud crunch and peeked out from under the covers to see a mess of mangled plastic and circuitry where the clock had been.

Well, that's inconvenient, she thought, but at the moment, she was too tired to care. Letting out a loud yawn, she rolled over on her belly and closed her eyes again, taking care not to disturb the twins, who were still curled up next to her. Unfortunately, at that moment, Kai's voice floated up the stairs.

"Saya, get your butt out of bed and come downstairs! There's someone here for you!"

Go to hell, Saya snapped in her head, but nonetheless slipped out from under the blanket and got out of bed, yawning and stretching her limbs. She took a moment to look at Kanade and Hibiki, both still sleeping peacefully, and remembered the night they were born, in the ruins of the battle-ravaged MET.

That night, she had fully intended to kill them and herself, to join Diva in death. Looking back on it, and watching the unbelievably cute scene of her nieces snoozing in her bed, Saya was glad that she had been convinced to let them live. They had all been given a second chance, and she was not about to waste it.

With that, Saya gently pulled the blanket back up over the girls, dressed herself, and made her way downstairs, where she was met with a pleasant surprise.

Haji was leaning casually against the wall, and sitting at the table with Kai, a steaming cup of coffee in her hand, was a young woman with dark brown eyes and matching hair tied back in a ponytail, clad in a college uniform. Saya beamed. It was her old friend, Kaori Kinjo.

Kaori smiled back, stood, and embraced Saya, who happily returned the hug.

"Hi, Saya," Kaori said as she released her. "It's been so long. How've you been?"

"I'm okay," Saya said, looking over her college uniform again. "I'm sorry I missed your graduation, Kaori. I was..." She trailed off, trying to think of something to say when Kaori replied with something she never expected.

"Don't worry, Kai told me everything," she said with a smile.

Saya stiffened at that, and Kai fidgeted nervously in his seat.

"Everything?" she asked slowly.

"Yeah! I knew something was going on when I saw that girl who looked like Riku and all those weird monsters in New York on TV. Then Kai told me the truth. That was your twin sister and you were fighting those monsters and everything?" Kaori said, as casually as if they were discussing the weather.

Saya spun to face Kai, seeing red both figuratively and literally.

"Can I talk to you for a minute? In private?" she asked. Kai didn't even get a chance to reply before Saya grabbed him by the ear and dragged him into the living room, where she slammed him down into the couch.

"You told her? How, when, why?" Saya demanded.

Kai gulped. "It was after she graduated. She came here one day and asked me where you were, and I didn't want to lie to her." he explained.

Saya still wasn't very happy with her brother.

"Saya, don't worry. She read Joel's diary and knows everything. She promised not to tell anyone and is committed to help in any way she can. Please, try to understand." Saya finally calmed herself down and sighed.

"Okay, I understand, Kai. But please, tell me these things in the future," she said. Kai nodded, and she smiled and helped him to his feet. They went back into the other room, where Kaori had sat patiently while the siblings had it out.

"So, now you know," Saya said to Kaori, who nodded.

"Yeah," Kaori said, and grinned. "Damn, girl, you're over a hundred and seventy years old? I hope I look that good when I'm your age."

Saya cracked up at that, and Kai and Kaori followed suit. Even Haji managed a small smile. In a way, Saya was actually glad that Kaori knew the truth about her now. Having another person to share her secret was a relief.

The moment was cut short, however, for just as soon as the laughing fit began to taper off, Saya knew something was wrong. She turned away from the others and looked at the front door, as if expecting something.

"What is it, Saya?" Haji asked, making his way beside her.

Saya was not entirely sure. For one thing, the streets outside the pub were unusually quiet, especially for this time of day. That unnatural occurrence combined with the fact that something was causing her hair to stand on end had Saya on high alert.

"Do you hear that?" she asked.

"I don't hear anything," Kai replied, but then realized that that was just what Saya was getting at. There was literally nothing to hear. Kaori realized the same soon after.

"Since when is Okinawa this quiet?" she asked. "What, did everyone pack up and go off to Tokyo for the day?"

"I wish," Saya answered. "Haji..."

Haji didn't have to be told twice. As he had done so often before, he opened up his cello case and withdrew Saya's katana, now covered with a layer of dust. Saya took the weapon which hadn't been used in years and blew away the dust. With practiced efficiency, Saya quickly unsheathed the sword and drew her palm across it, spreading her blood throughout the weapon, while Kai reached into his jacket and produced his gun, which he loaded with a clip of ignition rounds.

"Kaori," Saya said slowly and carefully. "Get upstairs, now."

Kaori hesitated, then nodded and dashed up the steps. She was just in time, as at that very moment, a massive fist slammed into the front door, knocking it clean off of its hinges, thus confirming that Saya's intuition was right. What stepped through the ruined door was a chiropteran unlike any that Saya, Haji, and Kai had ever seen before.

The beast was a hulking, semi-solid humanoid creature of similar proportions. Its skin was of a dark gray complexion, covered in what appeared to be scars and sutures. It had considerable bulk and muscle mass to it, towering over even Haji. Its face had more than a passing resemblance to James Ironside's chiropteran form, only with the addition of shiny yellow eyes. Its four limbs ended in three digits each, the fingers tipped with razor-sharp claws and a thin, wing-like membrance stretched under its arms. The creature stood there wobbly, as if it didn't know how to control its own body, and Saya observed with an eye-of-the-storm calm that its skin and flesh appeared to be moving.

Collins is behind this! He's gotta be! Saya thought frantically as the creature turned its shiny eyes on her, emitting raspy sounds as it breathed. It opened its mouth, revealing several rows of jagged fangs, and spoke.

"I am here for the children. Surrender them to me peacefully, and no harm will come to you."

Saya felt pure, unfiltered rage flood her mind and soul at that very moment. "Not a chance, you freak," she spat, her eyes beginning to glow. "You're not getting your slimy hands on my nieces."

At that, Kai raised his gun and fired off two rounds in rapid succession, the bullets whizzing past Saya and Haji and slicing right through the chiropteran like a hot knife through butter. After a few seconds, they exploded, spraying chunks of gray flesh and muscle tissue all over the floor. The creature let out a raspy hiss of pain as a massive hole appeared in its torso that the three could actually see through-

-but the chiropteran was still standing! The trio looked on in bewilderment: those bullets were designed by the Red Shield's top scientists to kill or at the very least disable a chiropteran, yet the creature shrugged it off like it was nothing. Kai took aim at the creature's head, but just as he did so, it drew back its right arm and shot it forward.

The creature's arm literally stretched past Saya and Haji, as if it was made of rubber, and its balled-up fist slammed full force into Kai's face, sending him flying backwards, totally airborne. The red-haired man slammed into the wall with his back, then hit the floor, blood squirting out of his nose.

Saya didn't have time to check on her brother's condition, for even as the chiropteran retracted its extended arm, she saw the massive hole in its torso begin to fill itself, new skin and muscle forming right before her eyes.

You've gotta be kidding me!

The process only took a few seconds, and just like that, it was as if nothing had happened to the hulking abomination. The creature, looking almost bored, let out a sigh and began to walk towards the red-eyed queen, moving in a distinctive, unnerving, almost-palsied gait even as it raised its left hand and morphed it into a double-edged blade.

"What a pity that it has to come to this," it said, sounding almost regretful. "Why do you have to be so stubborn, Saya Otonashi?"


Author's Note:

Well, looks like Saya and company are in deep shit, doesn't it?

The mutant chiropteran featured here was derived from two different sources: the Regenerator enemies from Resident Evil 4, and the character of Twelve from Street Fighter III. I also ran with the fact that all of Diva's chevaliers had forms and powers unique to themselves, so...

Next chapter features Saya, Haji, and Kai duking it out against a mutated Delta 67000-derived chiropteran who can shapeshift and regenerate way better and faster than any other. Will they survive?

Please R&R. Until next time...