CHAPTER 9
Eyes widened as saucers as Houki gasps. It could not have been real. Though she was not on good terms with her sister, she understood the meaning of family. To lose her would mean to lose family. She respected her. Hell, a small part of her still loves her sister.
Getting out of bed quickly, she dresses in her Academy uniform and rushes out of her room. Dashing past the students, she increases her walking pace into a jog as she reaches the secret elevator leading her down to Tabane's hospital room.
Chifuyu saw Houki head to the elevator and immediately followed. Usually, the Brunhilde allowed Houki to see her sleeping sister to check up on her but not every day. This time though, this one felt like it was personal, like she was in a rush. Feeling something ominous cropping up made Chifuyu go after her. She found Houki by the door, whom she could not access because its scans were for Chifuyu's eyes only, as was the passcode.
"Shinonono!" Chifuyu called out. "What are you doing here?"
"Orimura-sensei!" Houki felt fear in her heart, fear of Chifuyu that is like she was going to be punished.
"What's wrong?" asked Chifuyu.
"My sister. She gave me this. I…I don't know how to say this, but I spoke to her. In a dream. I need to know."
Houki shows the hydrangea flower to Chifuyu, making the Brunhilde a little surprised. She recalled those were Tabane's favorite flowers. Yet how would Tabane ever give one to her sister in a dream?
The time for answers would have to wait as Chifuyu's eyes were scanned by the scanner and she entered the passcode. The doors opened before the two women yet what they saw horrified the both of them.
Tabane's condition had worsened. Her skin was now pale, her eyes sunken, her cheeks hollowed, and her body was gaunt like a stick. Her tank of rejuvenation was starting to lose its effects on her, the poison having adapted to its contents. With each time she was dipped in, the tank's effects would affect her more slowly and less thoroughly than it did before. And now her heart monitor and brain wave activity were going off the charts on a bad note.
Houki approaches her sister rapidly, likely in an attempt to wake her up.
"Nee-san? Nee-san, wake up! Please! You must wake up!"
"Houki! Get away from her!" Chifuyu commanded but Houki would not budge. Having no other choice, Chifuyu grabs Houki's right hand and drags her away from Tabane before securing her from behind.
"Let go! Let go of me!"
Chifuyu would not let go though. "Houki, you cannot approach her!"
"No! Nee-san! Nee-san!"
A long eerie sound was heard from the monitor as the line shows itself to be flat. Everything showed the number of zero. Houki's world felt like it started to fall apart once again as her eyes widened with tears starting to form.
Did her older sister, Tabane Shinonono, the creator of the Infinite Stratos, just pass away on her deathbed?
OP song: Suara – Musouka (For reference, look up on YouTube Utawarerumono Opening)
(Four loud bangs of metal are heard in four images in red. The first being the iron tessen, the second Cecilia, Rin, Laura, and Ichika, the third Tatenashi, Charlotte, and Houki, and the fourth being Raiden as he looks frontwards to the camera)
Kodomo no koro no yume wa iroasenai rakugaki de (Like the 1st opening of Infinite Stratos, it starts with the camera viewing the water as it moves forward before it views up to see the IS Academy until a flash of white)
Omou mama kakisuberasete egaku mirai e to tsunagaru (Ichika and the girls, in their IS, fly across the sky like the 1st opening before the scene changes to Raiden looking at the sky, viewing from the IS Academy campus as the camera zooms into him before zooming out, as the camera pans upwards with the leaves before it changes scene)
(Opening title is presented as Infinite Stratos)
Sumiwataru sora hateshinai hodo aoku (Raiden is viewed on the rooftop with some sake)
Mujaki na kokoro ni mitasare hikareteku (Raiden is viewed closer before he turns to look at the camera with a smile)
(Houki is shown three times in three images, each image bringing her closer to the screen)
Yagate jiyuu ni tobimawareru hane o te ni irete (Tabane is shown with holographic butterfly wings as she flies to the moon and spreads her wings out, the glitter of light coming off as the camera pans outwards while her image turns to the camera with a smile)
Muku na hitomi wa motometeku (Miriam Walker is shown for a few seconds before the camera moves closer as it shows Akane Fujimoto's back behind her)
sora no mukou e ikitai na (Ichika flies across the sky as he comes down with Yukihira Nigata SCENE CHANGE Raiden is shown activating his IS Lion Heart in its 2nd Shift mode as he points his gunblade to the camera as if giving the signal to charge)
Tomedonai negai kara (Houki slices a ATLAS as she goes through the horde, slicing and dicing with her two katana swords)
hitotsu dake kanau no nara (Cecilia, with her Starlight sniper rifle, hits a ATLAS with a butt of her rifle before turning around and firing two shots to more incoming ATLAS chasing her)
Dare ni mo yuzuritaku wa nai (Rin slices a couple ATLAS in a spin before she fires another with her Shock Cannons SCENE CHANGE Tatenashi slams to the ground with her spear stabbed as a group of ATLAS are destroyed)
yume o tsukamitai to omou yo (Laura slices another ATLAS with her wrist blades as she grabs another with her cables and flings it up SCENE CHANGE Charlotte is seen prepping her sniper rifle, ready to fire at the ATLAS thrown to her before the scene changes to a brief white screen)
Kodomo no koro no yume wa (Raiden is shown at night viewing the IS Academy as the sakura blossoms flow gently in the wind)
iroasenai rakugaki de (Tatenashi and her little sister Kanzashi are shown underneath a cherry blossom tree looking upwards to the sakura blossoms while enjoying some sake)
Itsu made mo kakitsuzukerareta (Chifuyu, Yamada-sensei, Scott Stalker, Jake Jackson, and the rest of the IS Academy students are shown in front of their school as the camera moves right to left. SCENE CHANGE The villains of the story are shown as the camera moves from the lower left corner to its opposite side, mainly Phantom Task all the way up to the main villain whose image is obscured in shadow)
negau mirai e to tsunagaru (In quick time montage scenes, the Kingslayer is shown three times as the camera pans outwards with the quick time scenes in between as the creature roars with flames decorating the background. First quick time image shows Project Akuruka, the next ancient fossilized remains of a winged and spiked lion, the last one the Eternal Throne from the Vault and the IS Sovereign Spirit sitting on it while imprisoned in crystal. The last scene ends with an image of GRIEVER unleashing the satellite weapon Amaterasu onto the Earth as all turns white)
(The camera moves upward to show Houki in her shrine maiden outfit with the iron fan in her hands as she dances with sakura petals falling as the scene fades to black with the petals still falling.)
Raiden, Laura, and Charlotte arrive via BMW X6 car by a Blue Suns driver. Once they arrived at the rendezvous point, the three step out and are greeted by another male Blue Suns operative.
"It's about time they sent me someone who looks like they can actually fight," The operative said. "They tell you what we're up against?"
"The recruiter at the counter in Afterlife was a little vague," Raiden said.
"We wouldn't get many hires if everyone knew the truth," the operative said unsurprisingly. "Jack's holed up in a building at the end of the boulevard over there. He's got a superior position, and the only way in is over a very exposed bridge. It's a killing ground. But he's getting tired, making mistakes. We'll have him soon enough."
"I take it you have a plan?" asked Raiden.
"A small team is waiting to infiltrate is hideout, but we need to draw Jack's fire so they can move in."
"And that's where we come in?" asked Raiden.
"Exactly. You'll be on a distraction team. Head straight over the bridge and keep Jack busy so the infiltration team can sneak in behind him."
"You're talking about suicide here," Laura said.
"Pretty much. But you look like you can handle it. Head up to the boulevard and get to the third barricade. Wait until the signal is all clear and then you can go in."
"So that bridge is the only way to his hideout?" asked Charlotte.
"Exactly," The operative confirmed. "Jack collapsed all the underground passageways and sealed the doors to the lower levels. We've got teams digging, but it's taking too long. If they can get Claire Venora's IS flying again, that'll help. But I'm hoping the infiltration team will finish the job and we can all go home."
"They were using an IS to take out one person?" asked Laura.
"Yeah – and Jack shot it down. Used his own IS, Storm Ghost, to take care of it. He didn't destroy it, but he knew just where to hit it to disable it. It wasn't even a fair fight. At least not for us. But luckily, his IS is disabled by an Anti-IS EMP we used earlier, so we have an advantage over him."
"Where is the infiltration team now?" asked Raiden.
"On the far side of the bridge, near his hideout. But they can't get any closer without being seen."
"How did they even get that close without being seen?" asked Laura.
"More distractions. Claire Venora, the Blue Suns' leader, used her IS to keep Jack busy. We were able to sneak a few men into his hideout before he took it down, but they're stuck there. We need to keep Jack focused on the bridge so he doesn't find them and wipe them out."
"Then we better get going," Raiden suggested.
The operative agreed. "Good idea. Watch yourself on the boulevard. Jack's killed dozens out there already."
The operative then returns to his post as the trio were left alone.
"Getting in will be easy," Laura said.
"But getting out is a problem," Charlotte finished her sentence.
Raiden agreed to both. "Let's just focus on finding Jack. Then we will figure out how to get back."
Raiden, Charlotte, and Laura then begin to walk to their destination. They had to walk through the Eclipse and Blood Pack bases first as both groups merely ignored the three to focus on when it is their turn to deal with Jack. Laura and Charlotte stuck close to Raiden and remained focus, ensuring that they were not there to chat with the other groups.
Raiden passed by some sort of datapad that contained vital information regarding all three groups. Reading into it briefly, it mentioned something about Aria and an uprising. Seeing this as evidence against Aria, Raiden stashes it away in his jacket pocket without being seen.
The two then found themselves in an open courtyard with barricades used as cover for different parts. As soon as they entered though, one of the freelancers gets sniped in the head and thrown back. The trio went for cover and realize that they were now in the danger zone of being sniped by Jack.
A couple minutes passed by while they were in cover. Flushing out, they begin a walk towards the bridge. They see the final barricade against the entrance and see that their operative was right. The bridge is a killing zone and getting past it is not easy as it was littered with bodies and debris.
Laura then spots a brief white light emanating off of Jack's hideout and saw a red dot on Raiden.
"Cover!" cried Laura as she pins Raiden down.
A shot was heard as Laura pushes Raiden down. By then, a .338 caliber round zooms right past Laura at the back of her hair, trimming off some of it. Two more shots were fired as the trio get to cover.
Once the shooting stopped, Laura gets off of Raiden as the two stay down and in cover behind a crate box.
"He's armed with a McMillan TAC-338 Sniper Rifle," Raiden said. "That thing can puncture a head clean through."
"We need to keep moving then," Charlotte said as she was about to activate her IS. But Raiden stops her.
"No wait!" Raiden called out. "Don't use your IS just yet."
"Why not?" asked Charlotte.
"We don't want to fire back at Jack. He'll win that way."
"What do you mean?" Laura asked.
"We go along with the freelancers, and then on my signal, we can get rid of them and then get to Jack. We need him alive."
Speaking of the freelancers, the green light was given as the freelancer mercenaries began to hop over the wall towards the exposed bridge to lay down covering fire for their fellow mercs to push through.
"Jack doesn't have much time," Charlotte said with the mercs advancing on him.
"We better get in there, then," Laura said.
A couple of mercs soon fire on Jack who was under cover. One of them fired a grenade launcher which missed completely, making Jack come out of hiding and fire at the mercs in front of Raiden and the girls as they got over the barricade.
"Come on. Let's give these guys a surprise of our own," Raiden said as he cracks his knuckles and activates his IS Sovereign Spirit.
Laura and Charlotte also activate their IS and follow along behind a couple of freelancer mercenaries firing away at Jack. By the time they enter into the hideout, Raiden notices a freelancer mercenary working on an explosive device on the ground. Taking out his gunblade, Raiden fires away at the device which causes it to explode and take out all three of the mercs.
"He's with Jack!" cried one of the mercs from above the stairs. They fire away at the trio, but Charlotte provides cover fire with her rifles. Right now, there were only three freelancer mercenaries left and they were already firing away at them with their M16's.
One of the freelancers soon throws what appeared to be a normal frag grenade was, in reality, an Anti-IS EMP grenade. And it landed near Laura's left side, which was her blind spot.
"Laura, look out!" cried Charlotte, but it was too late. The EMP grenade went off and Laura was flung away, her IS disabled at the same time.
"Shit." Raiden exclaimed. "Charlotte, get to her. I'll handle these guys."
Charlotte goes out of cover to fire at the mercs to distract them as Raiden soon sneaks up behind from the stairs leading to the 2nd floor and uses his gunblade to cut one freelancer down. Deploying an ion cannon on his left hand, he fires at another one as the third runs for cover. The third mercenary fires back as Raiden goes to cover.
Then, Raiden spots a headlight above the mercenary as he goes out of cover to fire at it, bringing it down to hit the merc on the head and knocking him out.
The warm-up with the freelancers was over and Charlotte manages to wake Laura up and pull her up. The two went up the stairs to regroup with Raiden.
"You two alright?" asked Raiden.
"Dammit. My IS… It's permanently disabled," Laura said angrily. "That damn EMP blast from that merc."
"I'm sorry, Laura," Raiden said. "We'll be sure to get it fixed back at the Academy. But right now…"
The trio were right in front of the door leading to Jack the Ripper. Charlotte brings out her Shield Pierce to break down the door as it is blown away.
The trio enter through the doors and see Jack the Ripper adorned in an interesting suit. He wore a red-hooded leather jacket adorned in red, gray, and white. He wore a red mask underneath the hood. His gray shirt was adorned with a red skull picture up front but it also looked like there was some medium armor plating covering the chest and stomach area. With leather pants and steel-toed shoes, multiple buckles were strapped around his legs to holster his dual pistols, along with some flashbangs equipped on his belt. (Author's note: Picture him as the Red Hood from Arkham Knight Red Hood DLC)
"Jack the Ripper?" asked Raiden. But the Ripper gave a one second finger up to tell him to wait. The last freelance mercenary turned around the corner to spot Jack but was sniped down straight through the throat.
With time to catch his breath, Jack stands up before he removes his mask and sits down before putting on a black western style cowboy hat. His face was American, mainly Texan, but he had red hair and red eyes. What was unique was a large black eyepatch that shared a similar design to Laura's but had a dark purple outline across the edges and a black and purple emblem which was unfortunately too small to make out just now. Although at first glance he looked fairly tough and intimidating, the way he sat and was laxed in Raiden's presence showed a more prominent sense of pride and dignity, and his mannerisms as well.
"Raiden. I didn't want you to follow me."
Raiden realized who Jack the Ripper was, to his shock and surprise. He deactivates his IS, prompting Charlotte to do the same.
"Jake?! The hell are you doing here?"
"Just keeping my skills sharp. A little target practice," Jake said while tapping onto his sniper rifle.
"You okay?" asked Raiden.
"Been better, but it sure is good to see a friendly face. Killing mercs is hard work, especially on my own."
"Is he…another friend of yours, Raiden?" asked Charlotte.
"He is," Raiden answered. "Girls, this is Jake Jackson. Close friend of mine and Scott's, Air Force captain, FEISAR commander, and another male IS pilot."
"Another what now?" asked Laura again for confirmation.
"You heard him," Jake said. "I too am a male IS pilot best kept secret. The world is not exactly ready for more male IS pilots showing up. So for now, I work for FEISAR, a private military corporation. PMC I am sure you have heard."
"You left the military?" asked Raiden.
"I was formally discharged once I signed up with FEISAR. But I still have to answer the executive branch's call for war."
Both Charlotte and Laura were shocked. Here they were in the worst place for criminals and meeting the 4th male who can pilot an IS. It is another one for the books.
"What even brought you out here on Omega?" asked Raiden.
"Aside from looking for a cure enzyme for Tabane, as I no doubt come to surmise that is why you came, let's just say I got fed up with all the bureaucratic crap back at the States. Figured I could do more good on my own with FEISAR backing me up. At least it is not a bad place to find criminals here. All I have to do is point my gun and shoot."
"Since when did you start calling yourself Jack the Ripper?" asked Charlotte.
"It was a code name I always used back then. And an unpleasant one," Jake's mind briefly flashes back to his earlier life before he shakes it off. Chuckling a bit, he says "I don't mind it but please, for your sakes, it's just Jake to you. Or Jackson if you prefer."
"How on earth did you even manage to piss off the three most powerful mercenary groups?" asked Laura.
"It wasn't easy," Jake said. "I really had to work at it. Plus, they were the only leads I could find to look for a cure enzyme for Tabane. So naturally, I had to get my hands dirty and get their attention."
Jake briefly looks outside to the bridge leading to his hideout.
"I am amazed though they teamed up to fight me. They must really hate me."
"You nearly killed us a couple of times, by the way," Charlotte said.
"Concussive rounds only. No harm done. Didn't want the mercs getting suspicious," Jake justified but the others were not convinced. "If I wanted to do more than give you a bruise, I would have done that. Besides, you were taking your sweet time. I needed to get you moving."
"Well, we got here," Raiden said. "But I don't think getting out will be easy."
"No, it won't," Jake agreed as he stands up. "That bridge has saved my life… funneling all those witless idiots into scope. But it works both ways. They'll slaughter us if we try to get out that way."
"We can't just sit here all day picking down targets," Laura said. "Not with my IS deactivated permanently."
"It's not all that bad," Jake concurs. "My IS is also deactivated permanently thanks to them. This place has held them off so far. And with the three of you…"
"What are you thinking?" asked Charlotte.
"I suggest we hold this location, wait for a crack in their defenses, and take our chances," JJ suggests. "It's not a perfect plan, but it's a plan."
"Their numbers won't help them in here, anyway. Plus it may be our only way out of here," Raiden said.
"Agreed. Let's see what they're up to…" JJ goes over to the window to check what is coming over the bridge. He brings his sniper rifle up to check out the enemy.
"Hmmm…" Jake said. "Looks like they know their infiltration team failed. Take a look. Scouts. Eclipse, I think."
Raiden takes the sniper offered by Jake and looks through the scope to see a multitude of mech units armed and coming over the bridge. Simple in design, they were bipedal humanoid security robots designed for security detail and guard duty in locations where manpower is an issue, or where the use of guards for "around the clock" shifts is unfeasible.
"That looks like a lot more than scouts," Raiden says as he hands the sniper back to JJ.
"Indeed. We better get ready," Jake agrees. "I'll stay up here. I can do a lot of damage from this vantage point. You… you can do what you do best. Just like old times, Raiden."
"Laura, take that sniper and assist Jake here," Jake points over to a spare .300 Win Mag with spare ammunition and Laura grabs it before setting up a position besides the American.
"Charlotte, you're with me," Raiden tells Charlotte as he activates his IS. Charlotte does the same as the two pilots go down a level to meet the enemy by the front door.
"Let's give the bastards everything we got!" JJ says as he lets off the first shot, striking one of the mechs in the head and destroying it before it self-destructed, taking out another two.
Charlotte and Raiden go down to the first level to meet the enemy head on as the latter uses his gunblade in its gun mode and one ion blaster on his left arm, he fires back. Charlotte uses her sniper rifle to take down targets, along with her assault rifles. The two deal with the targets closer to them while Laura and Jake begin sniping the incoming Eclipse mercenaries coming over the barricade to the bridge.
One by one, targets drop down to the ground like flies to a fly swatter. Most of these Eclipse mercenaries looked like rookies and that their strategy was simply to charge right in despite the bridge being littered with bodies. This felt almost too easy for the four but then again, for Eclipse, they were really eager to get rid of Jake due to getting under their skin lately.
Jake and Laura were killing the mercs with their sniper rifles since they were using real bullets. But for Raiden and Charlotte, their bullets could only knock them out. Still, it counts as a casualty for Eclipse.
Jake fires one last shot at one last Eclipse merc right in the heart as he collapses. Then, the Eclipse's leader of the group, Jang Hyung-cheol, steps out into the light to take this personally.
"If you want something done properly…" Jang said to himself. "Alright, Jack. Let's see if you can handle this."
Jang then deploys a large mech unit that had a large mechanical turret-like head whose shape gives the impression of a distinct face and snout. This was connected via a neck to a smaller body at the back of which are two large, hip-like structures. Like the head, the neck, body and hips were mechanical. All were connected via mechanical movable joints. The joint connecting the head to the neck allowed the head to turn 360 degrees. Attached to the hips were a pair of very strong legs with three-toed clawed feet and a single large claw on each heel. These legs, unlike the head, neck, body and hips, were biological, save for the claw on the heel. The legs were composed of artificially created muscle tissue cloned from the stem cells of ungulate embryos. Owing to this, the legs, despite largely being mechanical, strongly resembled the muscles of living organisms. It walked on their toes. Because each hip was connected to the body via a ball joint, the legs had a very large range of motion. For unknown reasons, the central front area of the hips had a warning sign forbidding anyone from trying to strike at this area.
Both atop the head and between the hips at the front of the body was a dome-shaped sensor capable of detecting visible light and infrared and is equipped with night vision and other enhanced imaging abilities, such as the ability to scan through solid objects. A Gekko also had aural sensors, enabling it to detect sound. It also carried two .50 heavy machine guns on top, tube launchers for anti-tank missiles, and an array of grenade launchers on the back of the head.
(Author's note: Look up the Gekko from the Metal Gear series)
"Damn. They're sending out the heavy mechs," Raiden radioed over, but Jake was alright with it.
"That problem should take care of itself." Jake said as the mech stopped in its tracks.
The large mech had orange electricity around its skin before it turned on the several Eclipse mercs coming over the bridge and open fires.
"Did you just—" Laura was interrupted by Jake.
"Hack into it? Yes," Jake confirms. "Figured they'd use this sooner or later so I took precautions."
"That's impressive," Laura commended.
The heavy mech was so out of control that it was stampeding wildly, firing off in all directions. This made all four members of the group to duck behind cover.
"I'll take care of the legs!" Raiden said to Charlotte. "You distract it!"
Charlotte flushes out of cover as she fires on the machine, grabbing its attention. She barrel-rolls and flees from the machine guns and missiles firing at her. Raiden sees the opportunity to come out of hiding to slice at the legs, bring it to its knees. But the machine tries to kick Raiden by swiping him, hitting him and making him hit a wall. Shaking off the impact, he picks up a flash grenade from one of the dead mercenaries and tosses it in front of the heavy machine, which explodes and blinds its optics.
Raiden then manages to sneakily get on top and stab the heavy mech straight in its armor. Using his gunblade as a control mechanism, he directs the walking machine around. Deploying his ion blaster in his right hand, he blasts at the heavy machine for it to fire its missiles and its heavy machine guns at the Eclipse who were scrambling for their lives.
Raiden was attempting to empty all of the armaments inside of it as he unleashed hell on the Eclipse, sparing no one from the crazy gunfire. Taking his gunblade out Raiden jumps in front of it and slices the machine vertically down before he dashes forward and chops the legs. The machine falls apart and explodes behind Raiden like he was in some action movie.
From the smoke, Jang Hyung-cheol came out with a K5 semi-automatic pistol and aimed it at Raiden's head.
"Raiden look out!" cried Charlotte from above.
But before Jang can pull the trigger, he was immediately sniped in the head and fell to the ground immediately. Raiden turned around to see Jang dead before he looked at the direction from where the bullet was fired. Jake's sniper left a smoking trail from the barrel.
Raiden gives a smile and mock salute.
"Looks like that's all of them. Come find me before they regroup," Jake called over the radio.
Charlotte and Raiden deactivate their IS and head back inside the hideout to meet back up with Jake. Eclipse was done for good.
10 MINUTES LATER…
"You're kicking ass, Raiden," Jake commended. "They barely touched me. And we got Jang Hyung-cheol in the process. I've been hunting that little bastard for months."
"Why were you after him?" asked Charlotte.
"Aside from holding a key ingredient enzyme for Tabane's cure I was working on, he's also been shipping black market IS goods all over the States. Half the goods I seized back at FEISAR came from his team here on Omega," Jake explains. "I took out a big shipment a while back and killed his top lieutenant in the process. Not surprised he decided to work with the other mercs after that."
"We've still got Blood Pack and Blue Suns left. Think we can make a break for it?" asked Raiden.
"Maybe. Let's see what they're up to," Jake looks out to the bridge contemplating the mercs next move.
"They've reinforced the other side… heavily," Jake said. "But they're not coming over the bridge yet. What are they waiting for?"
A loud explosion was heard beneath their feet about a couple levels down. A shake was felt as alarms went off.
"What the hell was that?" asked Laura. Jake goes over to his security cameras on the lower levels to check to see what happened. And it wasn't good news.
"Damn it. They've breached the lower level. Blood Pack troops are already swarming in," Jake said. "Well, they had to use their brains eventually. You better get down there, Raiden. I'll keep the bridge clear."
"Let's split up two and two – keep someone here to watch your back," Raiden suggested.
"You sure?" asked Jake in concern. "Who knows what you'll find down there."
"Laura, stay here. Keep Jake safe," Raiden told the German girl as she prepared her sniper rifle.
"Loud and clear, lieutenant." Laura said as she went by Jake's side.
"Thanks, Raiden," Jake appreciated. "You better get going."
"How do Charlotte and I get to the basement?" asked Raiden.
"Go down a level – the basement door is on the west side of the main room, behind the stairs. I'll radio directions if you need help… but you've got to get down there quick. Good luck."
Heading back downstairs with Charlotte, Raiden finds the door behind the stairs and enters through immediately.
"Find the large shutters and seal them," Raiden said to himself. "Shouldn't be too hard."
The first shutter was already in front of them, about thirty feet away. Sprinting towards it, Raiden presses the large button and gets behind cover alongside Charlotte as Blood Pack mercs appear. It took 10 seconds for the shutters to close as the loudspeaker announces the countdown. The first shutter was then closed, without Charlotte or Raiden expending any bullets.
"Just two more shutters. Let's get them closed fast!" Raiden said to Charlotte.
Turning to the right through a door, there was a large garage warehouse where Blood Pack mercs were already all over the place. They also brought along with them German Shepherd attack dogs, thus this was going to be a little hard for the duo so as to not harm the animals.
Cutting through the garage warehouse was easy as it was mostly a walk in the park. Charlotte focused her attention on the mercs with her sniper rifle while Raiden took care of the attack dogs. One of them tries to leap at Raiden, growling as it does, but Raiden pushes it aside and into a net. The next one he grabs and tosses into a cage while for the last attack dog, he roars like a lion, making the dog back off.
"Well, that worked better than I thought," Raiden said on his roar. But he turned his attention back to closing the shutters as Charlotte finished taking care of the mercs. Raiden presses the red button which commences the closing sequence. Raiden, utilizing his gunblade on its gun mode, fires at an explosive canister or two to distract the Blood Pack reinforcements coming in. The shutter soon closes afterwards after 10 seconds.
"One more shutter to go," Charlotte said as she blindly fired off her shotgun, incapacitating a hidden Blood Pack merc who was behind a crate.
"Jake, what's your status?" asked Raiden over the comm.
"Here they come. There's not too many yet," Jake responded over the comm.
"We better double time it," Raiden said as he and Charlotte left for the warehouse and went for the left side of the basement towards the last shutter. Opening the door there were multiple barricades set up. It provided cover for both the duo and the Blood Pack mercs, with a few equipped with flame throwers of all weapons. Cutting through the first few, Charlotte turns a corner, but Raiden pulls her back as a Blood Pack pyro merc unleashes its flame thrower.
Raiden huddles Charlotte close to her so as to shield her from the flames. They didn't hurt him thanks to his IS being a full body armored suit, but he was being cooked alive slowly. He was already starting to sweat, and Charlotte can feel the heat increasing on the armor.
Once the flame dies down, Raiden turns around sharply and uses his hand to grapple the pyro, burning his face with a metal hand before tossing him to a few other pyro mercs.
"Now, Charlotte!" cried Raiden as Charlotte fires away at the canister on the pyro's back. It explodes and takes out the other pyro mercs, along with a few unlucky crooks who were cooked alive.
"Better get those shutters shut, lieutenant. Jackson and I cannot hold these guys off for long," Laura said over the comm as she snipes a Blood Pack merc.
"We've just reached the last shutter. We'll be done soon," Raiden answered.
Raiden then commences the shutdown as he and Charlotte trade shots with Blood Pack reinforcements. Replacing the attack dogs were pyros as Charlotte and Raiden respectively utilize their sniper rifle and their ion blaster to shoot at the canisters on their backs and make them explode and burn the rest. The last shutter finally closes and the basement was secured.
BACK AT THE HIDEOUT…
"Get back here, Raiden. They're coming in through the doors," Jake radioed over to Raiden. But the door was quickly blown wide open as five Blood Pack mercenaries swarmed in, along with their leader, Garret Jones.
Garret Jones' body was a complete cyborg, the only "flesh part" being his head and face, the former being baldheaded. Specially customized to suit his needs, Garret carried two giant machetes that could be merged into a scissors-like contraption, pincer blades to be exact, to cause further damage to his enemies. (Author's note: Look up Sundowner from Metal Gear Rising Re-vengeance)
"Raaah! Rip them to shreds!" ordered Garret before he saw one of his men on his right get sniped in the head and another on his left sniped in the heart.
Garret turns to his left and sees Jake and Laura above with their sniper rifles, the latter unfamiliar to him.
"Watch my back. I'll deal with Jack and his puny princess!"
One of the mercs points to Charlotte and Raiden who came back in the nick of time to deal the Blood Pack and come to Jake's aid. That said merc was soon gunned down by Raiden's gunblade.
With Blood Pack now inside the compound, things were going to get messy real fast. Garret Jones and one other Blood Pack merc, his personal guard, went up the stairs and threw the rest at Raiden and Charlotte.
Three of the five mercs plus an attack dog pinned Raiden and Charlotte down. The attack dog charges forward to find Raiden as the animal leaps forward and grabs Raiden's arm. Not feeling any pain, Raiden tosses the poor pup over to a net and throws the animal outside, making it land in an unknown destination.
Raiden and Charlotte soon come out of hiding with the attack dog out of the way as they engage the Blood Pack mercs, who carried AK-74 assault rifles. Charlotte manages to shield pierce one and launch it out of the window while Raiden slices another with his gunblade. Switching his gunblade to gun mode, Raiden and Charlotte both fire at the last merc straight to the head, knocking him out for good.
"Garret's got me pinned down. Laura and I need help here, Raiden!" Jake called over the radio, prompting Raiden and Charlotte to get up the stairs to the second level.
Laura was busy tending to the bodyguard of Garret as Jake was left to deal with Garret. With a high-frequency blade, Jake duels Garret but with his IS disabled, he was no match for him. Jake goes for an upward slash but is blocked by one of Garret's machetes and the British gives a horizontal slash, making Jake cover. But his footing is misbalanced as Garret trips him to the ground and kicks his sword away. Jake was soon down on the ground with no weapon available.
"You're done, Jack." Garret said as he combines his two machetes into pincer blades and raises them, ready to impale the poor cowboy. But he is soon tackled from behind by Raiden as they crash through a window and back down to the first floor. Landing on him, Raiden backs off as Garret gets up.
Garret is then met with a jump kick by Raiden when he uses both feet. Flipping backwards and landing perfectly, Raiden lands a gut blow to Garret, pushing him back to a wall and destroying it. Garret attempts to grab Raiden, but the lion dodges before he is kicked to the stomach, making him flip backwards. Garret then grabs an AK-74 from the ground and fires away at Raiden, making the blind boy use one of his wings to act as a shield.
Getting out of firing range, Raiden spins around and charges forward, picking up the pincer blades, and swipes the rifle away from Garret. Spinning around again, he impales Garret through, but the British tough guy holds his ground as he chokes Raiden with his left hand. Blood spurts from his mouth and onto his body as Raiden impales him even further. Raiden lets go and punches the sword clean through, coming out of the backside with the heart impaled at the tip. The innards were out as Garret looked at surprise, shock, and anger.
With that said, Garret Jones fell to the ground, with a hole in his chest.
"They stopped. Come find me," Jake called over the radio.
With their leader dead, Blood Pack was rounded up. Now only one group remained. And this gave all four time to catch their breath. Laura sat on top of the bodyguard she had managed to knock out with her sniper rifle resting on her lap as Jake sits across from her.
10 MINUTES LATER…
"Thanks, Raiden. They hardly got through to me," Jake said. "And we took out Garret Jones and his Blood Pack. This day just gets better and better. He was one tough son of a bitch."
"You fought him with him before?" asked Laura.
"Yeah, we tangled once. Caught him alone. None of his gang to help him. I still couldn't take him out, even with my IS. He was augmented cybernetically all over his body to improve efficiency, willingly took part in experiments just so he could be the strongest guy around. He's a freak of nature. He just kept at it until his men showed up. It was close, but I had to let him go," Jake then looks at Jones' dead body one floor below him. "Not this time."
"Only the Blue Suns are left. I say we take our chances and fight our way out," Raiden informed.
"I think you're right. Claire Venora's got the toughest group, but nothing we haven't faced before. Besides, she won't be expecting us to meet her head on—"
The window to the side suddenly breaks from a rocket deployed by an IS. It then fires a minigun spray all over the hideout.
"Watch out!" cried Charlotte as everyone gets to cover.
"Dammit! I thought I took that thing out already!" cried Jake as the IS goes out of sight. He goes for cover with Laura but unfortunately, his hand was snaked around Laura's stomach because he had to pull her in for cover, making the German girl blush a little.
"They're offloading troops! Watch your back, Raiden!" cried Jake as Blue Suns troops drop in through the broken window. They started firing all over the place as the four ducked and covered. By their counts, there were at least 5 of them.
Two of them held AEK-971 assault rifles while another two held Benelli M1 12-gauge shotguns. Their leader, who looked like a second in command to the Blue Suns, held a FARA 83 assault rifle.
"Raiden!" Jake cries to his best friend. "There's flashbangs over by the shelf!"
Jake points to the shelf as Raiden sees it in plain sight to his left.
"Cover me!" cried Raiden as he makes a break for it. Charlotte, Jake, and Laura go out and fire away to provide cover as Raiden gets to the shelf and grabs a few flashbangs. Setting one off and tossing it, Raiden gets back to cover before the flashbang goes off.
Distracted by the light, all five of the Blue Suns mercs tried to adjust their eyes but as soon as they did, Charlotte swipes one away with her shield pierce while Raiden cuts another down with his gunblade before switching it to gun mode and shooting at another with a Benelli M1 shotgun. Laura and Jake snipe the last Blue Suns merc with a shotgun before Raiden goes to fight the second in command.
But that fight was easy for Raiden as the second in command simply charged into Raiden and fired at him. The bullets were deflected off easily from his IS armor and Raiden simply kicked the merc back before he grabs him and tosses him out the window and incinerates him with his lascannons.
"They're rappelling down the side wall. Ground floor!" cried Jake as Raiden, Charlotte, and Laura go down to the 1st level of the hideout. Laura stays up top with her sniper rifle to provide cover while Charlotte and Raiden engage in close combat. Jake stays in the room to provide cover from the side.
Instead of five Blue Suns mercenaries this time, there were around 10 of them. While Jake and Laura were picking down targets from above, Charlotte and Raiden went up close. The only melee weapon Charlotte had was her shield pierce but even then, she had to back off and use her rifles to fire back.
Charlotte then feels a hit to her knee as she is brought low. She crawls back for cover behind a couch. Luckily for her, her knee was protected by the armor, but the impact shockwave hurt a lot. All she could do now was use her rifles.
Raiden utilizes his melee combat training to engage the mercs and cut each and every one in his way down with his gunblade. He kicks one merc in the gut to send him fly over to crash into another. Using his BITS, he sends them out like flying arrows to attack the mercs and knock them out unconscious.
Once the mercs were taken care of, Raiden goes to check on Charlotte behind her couch.
"You good?" asked Raiden.
"I'm okay," said Charlotte.
Back up above, Jake and Laura look around with their sniper rifles to see any more signs of the enemy. But it was quiet. Too quiet, for Jake's tastes. The Blue Suns do not go down easily, especially their leader who is persistent.
Suddenly, a loud noise was heard on Jake's left. It was the Blue Suns' leader.
"JACK!" cried Claire Venora in her Fang Quake IS that was adorned in blue and white. Jake spots her and pushes Laura out of the way before he goes to run for cover. But the Blue Suns leader unleashes her 4 barreled minigun on her left arm onto Jake, hitting his leg armor and making him crawl to safety behind a crate.
"Did you think you can screw with the Blue Suns!?" cried Claire.
"This ends now!" cried Claire as she fires one salvo rocket. At the same time she fired, Jake goes out of cover in an attempt to shoot but the rocket explodes right in front of him, flinging him back to a wall and knocking him out.
"Jake!" cries Raiden as he gets to him and sees him unconscious, most likely wounded. He was too late and now has to make that damn IS pilot pay for harming his close friend.
"Laura, provide cover for Jake. Charlotte, distract the pilot and buy me some time."
"What are you gonna do?" asked Charlotte.
"Make her pay with every inch of her life. Now go!"
Laura gets up close to Jake and pulls him out of the way before she fires away at the IS. At the same time though, she cannot do much other than stay in cover since that minigun and the rockets trump over a puny sniper rifle like hers. Thus, to her annoyance, all she could do was stay in cover.
Charlotte crashes outside and uses her shield pierce to take on Claire, but the Fang Quake IS pilot had a knife in her hands that she used to block the strike. Bringing up her minigun, she fires away as Charlotte backs off and takes off in the air. The bullets barely grazed her IS but they were not enough to do some serious damage.
After all, she was just told to serve as a distraction by Raiden's orders and buy him time for something.
Soon, Claire unleashes her heat seeking missiles over at Charlotte. Cursing to herself, Charlotte decides to surge all power units and prepares for reverse thrusters. She had been working on a new technique where if missiles were following her, say Kanzashi's, she would use her reverse thrusters to spin herself along with the missiles until they come into contact with one another and destroy each other. The only downside is that it leaves her nauseous from all the constant spinning.
"Grr…" Claire was getting more and more annoyed. "Hold still, you piece of shit!"
To Charlotte, it seemed Claire was the type who'd get pissed easily over nuisances. Claire was already firing away at her with her minigun. Charlotte could not fire back lest she risk getting hit by any one of those bullets since they tore through everything, even IS.
"Charlotte! Now!" Charlotte heard Raiden's voice over the comm. Pulling up in front of the hideout, Claire followed her.
"This ends here!" Claire shouts as she arms the rest of her rockets, ready to fire at Charlotte. Charlotte however smirked, for she looked briefly behind her to see what Raiden was doing.
"Not today," Charlotte said as she pulls up to reveal her trump card. She lands at a safe distance away from this spectacular event.
Raiden is shown with his lascannons pointed forward directly to Claire from his shoulders. But the lascannons were powered up with blue electricity cackling off. Raiden used a portion of his Akuruka to overcharge up the lascannons.
"Sayonara, bitch! This is for Jake!" Raiden said as he fires away his lascannons.
Claire Venora could not escape from the two laser blasts that consumed her. In rage and in defeat, she screams Jack's name and curses him as she is incinerated into ashes. When the light dies down, Raiden retracts the lascannons and retracts them before deactivating his IS. He feels the sweet moment of vengeance pass through him before he remembers Jake's injury. Charlotte joins in with him.
Raiden goes to check on a down Jake, who was already covered in his own pool of blood. A small sense of despair crept through Raiden as he checks on his close friend. He had already lost his Mentor before, he was not going to lose his best friend.
*GASP* A huge gasp was heard from Jake as he woke up.
"Jake!" cries Raiden in realization that his friend was alive. But barely.
Raiden turns Jake over to see that his whole left side was severely damaged, with blood gushing out like a fire hydrant. His eye patch was gone to reveal an eye as black as night, showing a dark glow around the edge of his pupil, which was a deep shade of scarlet red. The shape of the iris was different as it was sharp and piercing like that of a serpent. It was an eye that could fill the bravest of men's hearts with fear.
For Raiden though, he has seen such an eye already and was more focused on getting his friend to safety. But to ensure his two friends do not see it, Raiden grabs a towel to cover it and put pressure on the left side of his face to hold the blood in.
"We're getting you out of here, Jake! Just hold on."
Laura takes out the first aid kit to provide bandages, but the wound was so bad that Jake needed to get to a hospital and fast. Jake's arm was also messed up, his ulna and radius bone parts of his arm were sticking out of his flesh. His wrist was also purple, like the entire wrist was shattered. His left shoulder was also out of its socket. Charlotte turned away briefly as she nearly barfed at the sight.
"Call Kanzashi! Get her to open a Groundbridge," Raiden told Charlotte.
"We need to hurry. He's in bad shape," Laura said.
Aria was in her car from a very far distance with Siren and one male elite guard, the latter being the driver. Truth be told, they all witnessed the battle taking place by Jack's hideout, every single event. Luckily, their presence remained hidden from both sides and were watching from the shadows in a black dark blue Mercedes Benz E400 sedan.
"Is this how you envisioned it, Aria?" asked Siren next to her.
"The three merc groups and Jack all taken care of by the second male IS pilot?" asked Aria. "It actually turned out better than I thought it would."
"And what about the blind lion?" asked Siren.
"He proved himself useful to me, one way or the other. And isn't that what really matters?"
Aria takes a sip of her Moscow Mule as she sees Raiden and his friends extract Jack through the Groundbridge Portal before that portal eventually closes. The building was all that remained of smoke, fire, and debris that was also littered with bodies of the mercs.
Aria also found herself an unexpected gift from Raiden. The attack dog he wrapped up in the net and threw landed in a pile of foam in the trash bin. Aria quickly had it captured and tamed easily, stowed away and brought to Afterlife.
"Call him in. He has a deal with me that he must live up to."
"Yes, Aria. Drive," Siren orders the elite guard as he starts up the car and drives back to Afterlife.
Aria only looks out in the window of Omega, relieved that her city is now ridden of Jack and the three merc groups who had been causing havoc for months. But now, she was looking forward to working with Raiden.
THREE DAYS LATER…
Raiden was in the Student Council room waiting and filling out some paperwork. He has only heard that Jake has been in an emergency medical care for the past three days. That rocket to the face not only damaged him but also tore up his left arm very well. It had to be amputated and replaced with a cybernetic arm. It had already been three days since Jake was in recovery and it took the best doctors and technicians to patch him up.
Tatenashi enters the student council room to give a report. Raiden stands up to greet her.
"Aruji-sama. We've done what we could for Jackson. But he took a bad hit," Tatenashi said.
Raiden lowers his head a bit. He can clearly recall the injury Jake had from that rocket.
"The doctors and nurses corrected with surgical procedures and some cybernetics. His entire left arm is replaced with a cybernetic arm like yours, something from his company FEISAR provided," Tatenashi explains. "Best we can tell, he'll have full functionality, but..."
The door opens up to reveal a walking Jake Jackson, with a medical patch on the left side of his face and a new acquired cybernetic arm. His face was mostly intact, but the patch was there to keep it together. On its shoulder was the head of a snake bearing its fangs and three spikes protruded right from the top. But like Raiden's arm, it was state of the art technology courtesy of FEISAR'S cutting-edge technology to act as a real-life arm complete with a synthetic nerve system connected to the brain, CMT synthetic muscle fiber, adamantium metal bone structure, and synthetic plasma blood.
Jake was also wearing his IS Academy uniform, indicating he is now a student of the Academy. Custom made as usual per his imagination, the shoes were a pair of formal black leather ones and his trousers had red trimming around his ankles. His blazer was somewhat similar to Ichika's but the collar was both flatter and looser which allowed a more prominent view of the Burgundy colored shirt and white tie he wore.
"Hey, Raiden," Jake greeted his best friend. Tatenashi was surprised.
"Wow. For a cowboy he is strong. I didn't think he be up yet."
Raiden could only smile as he turns to his best friend.
"Nobody would give me a mirror. How bad is it?" asked Jake.
"Hell, Jake, you were always ugly," Raiden quipped. "Slap a face tattoo on there, and no one will even notice."
Jake got a laugh out of that one, but it immediately transitioned to pain. "Ha-ah! Don't make me laugh, damn it. My face is barely holding together as it is. Ah, probably for the best. Everyone was always ignoring you and hitting on me. Time for you to get a fair shot at it."
Raiden could only roll his scarred eyes in amusement as Tatenashi smiles and takes her leave, leaving the two best friends alone to catch up. Once she exited the room, Jake moved on to more serious matters.
"Frankly, I'm more worried about you," JJ said. "Phantom Task, Raiden. You sure there is no more of that brainwashing gunk inside of your head?"
"You doubt me, JJ?" asked Raiden as he tosses to him his flask of pure scotch.
"No," Jake denies as he catches it. "But I know you are never good with your past, especially since it is rapidly catching up. I've already heard some bad things from Scott regarding you." Jake proceeds to take a gulp of his favorite alcohol.
"That's why I am glad you are here, Jake. If I am walking into hell, I want someone I trust at my side."
"You realize this war of yours has me walking into hell, too right?" JJ jokingly asks. "Hah. Just like Somalia all over again."
Raiden would adhere to that. Somalia was the one place he and JJ wished were stuck in for a few days, pinned down by the militia. Jake's chopper was shot down by an RPG and Raiden evacuated him to a safe area, all the while committing guerilla warfare tactics just for them to get out of the militia's aim and back to base.
"My cure will be ready soon. We should head down and check on Tabane."
"Good idea."
Both the boys start walking from the student council room over to the underground hospital room. It was a little quiet for the both of them. Back in their military days, those two were always together, sometimes with Scott. Memories were brought back to the surface from the back of their minds. Those good days of old when they were just young soldiers.
"By the way, what were still doing on Omega while I was out of it for three days?" asked Jake.
"I'd rather not talk about it," Raiden said as his mind flashes back to his "personal reward" from Aria.
FLASHBACK…
Raiden and Aria were sitting together on the couch, closer than ever. Being served drinks by Siren, they engaged in casual talk.
"Perfect," Raiden said to Siren as she pours him his drink, which was a vesper martini on the rocks.
"Would you mind if I ask you a business question?" Aria asked with her Moscow Mule in hand as she scoots closer to Raiden.
"Depends on the question," Raiden said.
"It has to do with…death."
"A subject in which you're well-versed," Raiden observes as he takes his drink into his hands.
"And how would you know that?"
"Only a certain kind of woman who is the pirate queen of Omega wears a casual outfit whilst carrying around a Model 629 .44 revolver inside her jacket holster."
"One can never be too careful when facing handsome men wearing customized IS Academy uniforms carry Berettas strapped to their hips." Aria counters. "I am correct in assuming you took care of Jack?" Aria asks curiously.
"Yes," Raiden answers immediately yet casually.
"May I ask why you needed him alive? It's obviously more than just intel that he had."
"Rumor has it he carried a cure for Tabane Shinonono, who is currently at the Academy and dying. Plus, coming to you for his whereabouts was the only way to find him."
Aria takes a sip of her drink slowly. Raiden was good and crafty, yet she still thinks, in her prideful mind, that she is better.
"You'd be careful about what you wish for," Aria said. "Not many people can simply come to me asking for information."
"Information is power, as you said," Raiden reminded her. "Speaking of which, you may want to take a look at this."
Raiden hands her over a datapad that, when read, showed information about Claire and the other leaders plotting to overthrow Aria. It had information of a meeting location with other minor gang leaders who sought the same thing. It also contained names and locations of weapons shipments, money drop-offs, trafficked girls, and even foreign contacts with gangs outside of Omega.
"Interesting," Aria said. She then violently threw the datapad over to Ken, who took over Seo-yun's place for today.
"Would someone like to tell me how this information slipped the net?" Aria demandingly asked.
"I'll look into it," Ken said as he and a few other guards went over to the back to decipher the information.
"Thank you for the drink, Raiden," Aria casually smiles as she hands her drink over to Siren. As she gets up though, Raiden gently grasps her hand to hold her back. Amused, Aria sits back down gently.
"You put on a good show," Raiden said. "But ever since we sat down together with drinks in hands, you haven't stopped looking at a couple of your regular guards by the bar. Truth be told, they are spies. All three of them served one other ruler of Omega before you took over and they were immensely loyal to him. Even after you took over, they still bore hatred for your 'usurping', seeing their boss made as your trophy. You know you cannot touch them because they answer only to Patriarch, their former ruler, and yet he does nothing to get back at you and rightfully so, which makes them tick. He knows not of this coup despite the mercy you granted him so long ago."
Raiden then turns Aria's wrist over gently to see what appeared to be a cuff mark. "The cuff mark on your wrist shows that you were the favorite dancer to Patriarch. He treated you fairly but also like a slave. You didn't usurp his rule to simply make Omega more vibrant and healthier living for the people. You also did it for yourself because you wanted them to know that for as strong as he was, you were the better. And all this time under your rule, those three men have plotted with the three most powerful gangs on Omega to conspire and lead a coup to overthrow you and bring back those 'glory days.' With all three of the gangs gone, now they have taken this personal. They will kill Patriarch and you will have no one left. And even if you discovered it, it will have been too late and you will be returned to that horrid position you were before."
"You know nothing about it," Aria said. Raiden then whispers something into her ear.
"I know when a woman is afraid and pretending not to be," Raiden responded.
Aria then asked one question seriously. "How much do you know about fear?"
"All there is and more," Raiden said.
"But not like this," Aria said. "Not like him."
"I can help you," Raiden said. "We made a deal after all."
Aria was stuck for once in her life. She could not find her way out of this. Yet for all her pride, she knew Raiden was her best chance to ensure her safety and continuing rule of Omega.
"And how will you help me with this?" asked Aria.
"Let me deal with them. And I will confront Patriarch about this," Raiden said.
Aria looked deeply into Raiden's blindfold, as if she was trying to pierce his eyes. She was still unsure of what exactly will happen, but she now had to leave everything up to Raiden and hope he will use any means necessary to get rid of those three men.
"When you leave, they will confront you and kill you," Aria said as Raiden briefly turns to sense the three rogue guards. "You will extract whatever information you can out of Patriarch and deal with this coup alone. If you survive, meet up with Siren by tonight. She will take you to my house, where we will discuss the reward."
Aria then whispers in his ear, "Very nice to meet you…Kingslayer."
Aria then takes her leave to attend to some other business, leaving Raiden alone on the couch. He spots the three guards making a move. Sensing it was time, Raiden drinks the rest of his martini and gives it back to Siren.
Walking back down to Afterlife, Raiden is soon confronted by the three rogue guards, all of them Malaysian. The on in front of him was larger and tougher while the other two were slightly older but more fit. Raiden turns to see himself surrounded.
Pretending to stand down and surrender, Raiden starts to go down to his knee before he uppercuts the large guard in front of him. The other two go for him but Raiden kicks one guard in the knee and deflects an incoming attack by the other. Keeping the one he knocked in the knee down to the ground, he engages with the other before he swipes his face with a claw and palm strikes him in the chest.
The first guard he uppercut earlier then tackled Raiden and brought him down to a pool area below Afterlife. The two only stood on a circular platform 20 feet in diameter, two large great white sharks circling around them.
Standing up on the slippery platform, Raiden and the rogue guard circled each other, waiting for one to make a move. The guard tries to hook but Raiden easily dodges and hooks back. The guard stumbles as Raiden nearly falls off the edge, the shark almost biting him.
Raiden is then gripped from behind, lifted up by the guard, and slammed to the ground on his back. It makes him drop his Beretta M9. Seeing this, the guard picks it up as Raiden stands up. The guards points the gun at Raiden but Raiden holds something else in his hand: the empty cartridge.
"Good luck with that," Raiden said. The guard was surprised and shocked as the cartridge was empty. But while he was busy tinkering with the gun, the guard was snatched from one of the two sharks from behind and dragged down to the watery depths to be food. The other shark joins in.
Partially deploying his IS, Raiden uses its boosters to get back up, only for a gun to be shown into his face by one of the downed rogue guards. But that guard was soon kicked in the face by Siren with her heel. She then offers a hand to Raiden.
"Thank you," Raiden gestured as he takes Siren's hand. But then as he is pulled up, Siren briefly kisses him and whispers,
"Thank you… For saving Aria."
LATER…
Aria received word of what had happened with Patriarch. Apparently, he was in a little coup of his own. Well, more like assassination attempt by his own men. After the three rogue guards were taken care of by Raiden, the blind boy immediately set out to look for him in the lower parts of Afterlife. He was told, by one of the elite guards of Afterlife, that after much digging around, a few of Patriarch's men turned traitor and were on their way to end him for being in a sorry broken state, a 'trophy slave' to Aria as they would call it. But Raiden easily took care of it, keeping Aria's trophy alive.
Aria was already in her shower, washing herself off. Naked in all her glory, she rinses her hair as she looks at her right wrist to see the cuff mark on her. Briefly, images of her days as a personal slave dancer to Patriarch rummaged through her mind but they were soon blown away as she felt a presence behind her, slowly grasping her hips as he nuzzles her neck.
Aria knew who this was as she smelled his long silver hair like that of a lion's mane. She shivers at the cold touch as lust carves through her body, bringing her old self out.
"I like you better without your revolver," Raiden said from behind as he kisses Aria's neck and bringing his fingers to touch at her core.
"I feel naked without it," Aria replies lustfully as she turns around, grasps Raiden's head and passionately kisses him.
Their tongues intertwine as both grasped one another's body. Aria tasted like Omega itself according to Raiden, whatever Omega's taste was exactly. Raiden's hand slithers down her spine before he grabs her right tush, making her wrap a leg around his waist. She then felt him enter inside of her willingly as he squeezes her left breast firmly. Then began the intimate thrusting that left Aria blissful.
A passionate night was all that was left for the rest of the evening as both the pirate queen and the blind lion engage for two hours in the shower and on the bed, climaxing more times than one could count.
Next Morning…
Morning rays shone through the room onto Raiden's form. He slept pretty well last night. Yet as he wakes, he senses he is in the wrong room and in an unfamiliar place. But he immediately remembers last night.
Except the person he was sleeping with was now gone. Luckily for him, there was a note left on the table next to the bed.
You made my night unforgettable and amazing. Come back again soon.
-Aria
Raiden merely chuckled at that note as he tucked it away in his pocket. Exiting the bed, he puts his clothes back on and makes his way out of Aria's house and on his way to the Academy via escort by her elite guards.
FLASHBACK ENDS…
Preparations have all been made for this moment. The cure was at last ready. With the enzyme retrieved from Omega, it was mixed and synthesized with the other treatment cures. Soon it turned from a yellow liquid to a black transparent gel-based paste.
With an IV fluid bag of the stuff hanging onto the IV stand, one was pumped into Tabane's stomach. Jake also had a hypodermic needle containing the cure and gently inserted it into Tabane's forearm, mainly into the artery.
Slowing inserting the cure in, everyone could only watch and wait for the results. Houki holds on to Tabane's left hand to her cheek as she watches for any sign of her sister waking up. Everyone else waited behind the glass window, Raiden included. All of them were watching this supposed miracle take place.
Thirty seconds in and it seemed like nothing had happened. Tabane's body remained the same as it was. Houki tightens her grip on Tabane's hand, feeling a sense of lost hope and despair as her tears just start to form.
'Nee-san…please, wake up. Please… I can't live in a world without my sister.'
But yet always, hope endures in the end.
A small beep is heard from the monitor. And then another. And then another. Color slowly revealed itself on Tabane's skin as her blood warmed up. Brain wave activity also started to increase back to its normal readings.
Slowly, but surely, Tabane's eyes fluttered open. At first all she saw was a blur and a bright light.
She was only looking upwards at the lights. Her sense of feeling was starting to come back to her, the first being a breathing mask on her face that was supplying her with oxygen. But the second one was her left hand grappled by something, like that of another hand. It was soft and warm as Tabane slowly clenches her hand with it.
Slowly turning to her left, she saw the one person she'd thought she would never see in tears.
"Hou…ki…chan?" asked a drowsy Tabane.
"Nee-san?"
Houki then saw on her sister's face the one thing she would never have expected. Water forming at her eyes as the two sisters look at one another. Whether they were tears of joy or sadness, no one but them really knew.
"Houki...chan…" Tabane grips her left hand into Houki's. Her voice sounded very happy despite the drowsiness of waking up. Houki then felt joy leap into her heart as she hugs her gently yet tightly as tears start to form.
"Nee-san!" Houki cries in her sister's chest quietly as Tabane also sheds her tears.
The cure had worked. The readings were all looking normal and the tetrodotoxin within Tabane's body was starting to be eradicated. Though Tabane needed to catch up on the last two years and go through some therapy and rehabilitation, she was at least alive. Everyone behind the window breathed a sigh of relief, Chifuyu included as she closed her eyes and smiled, relieved to have her friend back.
"Nee-san, I'm so sorry," Houki said as she looks at her sister. "For everything." But Tabane shook her head.
"No," Tabane interjected in between breaths on her oxygen mask. "Don't be. I'm the one who should apologize. I was…never good with guilt, especially with…what had happened." Tabane soon smiles. "I am just glad…to see you happy."
Houki smiles as her forehead touches her sister's in an affectionate sibling manner. Perhaps now after all of this, the bridge has been mended and fixed between the two.
"I'm back…little sister."
"Welcome back…Nee-san."
Author's note
So...Jake Jackson. Makes me curious as to how many of you thought this was going to be Jake coming in of all people. A Mass Effect 2 reference for one of the earlier recruitment missions but perhaps also one of my favorite. I felt it was perfect the perfect mission to introduce everyone's favorite mean demon killing machine. And to show he is not OP, I gave him a few limitations before and afterwards but they will be broken later on.
I made a lime scene for Aria and Raiden. After all, a deal is a deal and when a particular individual does something for the Pirate Queen of Omega, boy will he get a reward of a lifetime. And a very, very, very rare one.
And now Tabane is back to health, alive and kicking. But let's be real, you didn't think she would die that easily, right? No? You did? Well, if there is one thing about Tabane, it is that rabbits, especially intelligent ones, do not die that easily. At least Houki has her sister back. But now comes rehabilitation for Tabane for being in a coma and death-like state for two years, of which I intend to explore.
Note: I also want to give a shoutout to Storm-Ghost for allowing me to use his OC, Jake Jackson. Go check out his story The Devil amoung the Angels: Return of the Ripper featuring the said OC. All rights to his OC are his alone as I asked permission from his to use it.
Like, follow, favorite, and review at your leisure!
