Get comfy because this episode is the equivalent of a double-length special feature (by that I mean it's double the wordcount of the last few chapters)! This is the longest episode so far and it sets us up for the final major arc of the Elfen Lied Manga. Hopefully my final few chapters will reach a similar wordcount but then again it's all about quality not quantity right?
And before we get with the Episode, a huge round of applause for The Layman for writing a significant amount of Arakawa's flight from the research facility (I wonder if you readers out there be able to tell our writing styles apart by now?). He earns at least 56.78% of the praise for this chapter - a great help as always. So make sure you guys check out some of The Laymans work while your waiting for the next exciting installment of The Second Verse!
And I've given you a beefed up playlist for this chapter - probably about twice as long as it would take you to read anyway but oh well. You know what to do...Enjoy!
Track 8 - Playlist
Emilie Autumn – Unlaced
Dimmu Borgir – Spellbound
Alien Trilogy OST – BGM 02
Alien Trilogy OST – BGM 09
Alien Trilogy OST – BGM 08
The Darkness – Bald
Mustache – I Hunt Alone
Hellsing Ultimate OST – Gradus Vita
Berserk – Parasite
Dynasty Warrioirs 4 OST – EVE
Rob Zombie – Superbeast
Deathstars – Cyanide
Rammstein – Ein Lied
Dynasty Warriors 5 OST – Run, Run, Run
X-Ray Dog – Screaming Souls
Alien Trilogy OST – BGM 11
Skillet – The Last Night
Track 10: Dämmerung (黎明): Dawning
~Even though I like being cool in front of people, I'm a wimp when I'm alone...
I don't wanna die...~
…
BACK ON MAIN ESCORT FLEET:
"How is it?"
"It's bad. Number 12 is about to break."
CLICK. "I won't forgive you..."
"NUMBER 12 IS BROKE!"
"DON'T LOOK!"
…
"There's no doubt," Arakawa realised as she ran through all the tests she could think of...well, those that one could do in the space of five minutes. If these ghostly hands were what she feared they were, she wanted to be damn sure, "they're vectors... But, that can't be! To think that the vectors can reach a wavelength visible to the naked eye..." She thought about this for a moment before she realised it wasn't as far fetched as it sounded. The few times she was around the other scientists here, mostly in either the cafeteria or the locker room, she'd heard them talking about a Diclonius called Number 35. They said it had been so powerful that you could see its vectors coming through the massive container it was kept in.
Then the computer began to beep rapidly, new readouts popping up all over the screen.
It didn't lift her spirits that all of them were red.
OK, I know this shouldn't be possible; she thought as she studied these new readouts, I thought vectors were supposed to spread the virus, not-
Then it hit her.
And then the floor exploded.
…
"It's no good! There's no response from the main system and the hub system!" In one of the main control rooms, the researchers were already beginning to fear the worst had happened. One of the chief researchers yelled out more updates of the facility's status. "We can't restore the power..." As the Control Room Manager began wiping his brow, considering the multiple scenarios that they may be facing he called back down to his other staff members. "Tell them to evacuate immediately."
"It won't work," one of the female staff members shouted back, her voice indicating the sense of urgency these normal everyday working people had found themselves in. "Emergency systems down as well."
The Control Room Manger rubbed his chin as he realised the cards were down. This facility was designed to withstand earthquakes and tsunamis, but we never considered an explosion underneath...
What if those Diclonii underground got released! "ABANDON THIS FLOOR! EVERONE RETREAT!"
As the large number of staff made their way to the door and opened it, they were instantly confronted by a river of monsters: naked Diclonii with various shaped veils over their heads; some had two tiny circle eye-holes, others had three or even five whilst some had only one large ovoid hole on the centre, a small number of them had horizontal or vertical slits cut across their masks. But all the various patterns and designs of their masks were essentially to hide their mutant forms. These were the junk left behind from cloning experiments. These were the forgotten Diclonii.
But now they wanted blood...
"It's the humans!" The Diclonii horde whisked their heads around and began their revenge on their human captors.
"SHIT! CLOSE THE DOOR!" the Control Room manager issued his last order as every last person he had known in his working life had vanished in a curtain of blood. Only their legs remained intact, splashing into the crimson puddles which now flood the entire room.
"OH GOD NO!" the Control Manager's grief was short lived as he was shown very little mercy as well. He didn't have the chance to think about his wife or daughter in those last seconds. None of them could even contemplate that they'd never see their families or loved ones again...This was never anticipated, even in such a high-risk job.
But unfortunately, none of them ever had the chance to fathom this nightmarish reality.
...
A bit of rubble fell from the ceiling, bringing the brown haired scientist back to consciousness.
"Ugh..." she groaned as her eyes fluttered open, "what happened?" She tried to pick herself up, only to stop halfway when a dull pain made itself know in her side. "Atatata...what the hell was that?" she wondered. As she surveyed the room she saw that much of it had disappeared; her workspace now had a lovely Oceanside view. Wondering how severe the damage was (and wondering if the building itself wasn't going to collapse at any minute) she crawled to the edge and peered down.
And down...
And down...
And down...
"Holy shit!" the formerly bespectacled (her glasses had somehow been lost in the explosion) exclaimed, "This must go all the way down to the Lebensborn cave, but..." Then her eyes caught movement on the ground outside; a bunch of naked girls, failed Diclonii clones, with sacks over their heads were surrounding a helicopter that was attempting to take off. Just as it began to clear the island something burst through it and it crashed into the ocean in flames.
"This island is hopeless..." she said as she stared at the burning wreckage in the sea. Her thoughts then turned to her vaccine. If I don't get the vaccine out of here than mankind will be annihilated.
Then she noticed that all the failed Diclonii were staring up directly at her.
"They saw me," she gasped, rushing over to her vaccine samples (which had miraculously survived the destruction before). "There's no way I can't die yet," she panted, hurriedly packing the vaccine up, "I'm the saviour of mankind!"
Suddenly there was a pounding on the door, startling the young scientist. It slowly began to creak open, revealing more of the failed Diclonii standing there.
"Don't come in here!" she cried, jumping over to door and slamming it shut. For extra measure she locked it as well.
That ought to hold them...she thought, taking a moment to catch her breath.
She was proven wrong a second later when she was thrown back and the door blown out of its frame and down into the newly made shaft.
Arakawa cowered back as failed Diclonii began to fill what was left of the small room.
No, she thought, I can't die in a place like this; if I do then it'll be as a member of an evil organisation, not as the saviour of the world...
The failed Diclonii shambled closer, reached out for her like zombies in an old movie.
"SOMEONE SAVE ME!" she screamed, throwing her arms in front of her face and shutting her eyes tight, waiting...
And waiting...
Why wasn't she dead yet? (Not that she wasn't grateful...) She slowly cracked open her eye...
To see that there were only half the clones left.
Namely, the failed Diclonii were missing half their bodies.
"Wh-...how?" she stammered. As what was essentially the legs of the failed Diclonii fell over she noticed a figure standing in the shadow of the door frame. "Hey there, who are you?"
The figure moved timidly out of the doorway and into the evening light. It was a little girl with two bone like protrusions poking through her pinkish blonde hair.
A Diclonius Silpelit! Arakawa realised. Great, out of the frying pan and all that... *Sigh*...I just hope she kills me quickly; at least if she kills me it'll be seen as some sort of justice being served-
"Myu?"
"..."
Arakawa was stunned, too much so to form words. She'd always heard that Silpelits were indiscriminate killers, and yet this one...
"Myu."
Vicious killers, right...
"You came here to help me?" she wondered. The scientist gestured the little girl to come forward, but when she tried she fell down before taking two steps.
"Waa! Are you alright?" Arakawa rushed over to the Diclonius and propped her up. The girl was wearing a clearly borrowed shirt and pants that looked a little too big for her. The shirt was left unbuttoned she could see the bandages wrapped around the girl's chest. "That looks serious, what happened?"
The girl looked up at the kind hearted scientist and suddenly burst into tears, hugging her and crying "Umyuuu!" into her chest.
Arakawa was shocked at first, but then her motherly instincts kicked in and she hugged the girl back.
She must be mistaking me for someone else, she thought, letting a smile creep onto her face. "There there," she cooed, "don't cry; you saved me." She brushed the young girl's bangs out of her forehead...
And felt something small and metallic that she was pretty sure was not a standard feature on little girls, Diclonii or otherwise.
"The hell...?" she said, pushing the rest of the little Diclonius' hair back. She didn't work with live patients much, (on account that she worked more on the micro-biotic scale most of the time), but the metal plug didn't seem too hard to remove. She got up and filed through a drawer before finding something she could use to pry it out with. "OK, I'll just have that thing out in a jiffy..."
"Don't!" someone shouted from the doorway. They then rushed toward the doctor and kicked the tool out of her hand and down the large hole to meet its new friends, Mr. Door. "What the hell is wrong with you, you want to get killed?"
"W-w-what the hell is wrong with you?" she countered, pointing emphatically at the newcomer. "Popping up out of nowhere and attacking people... And who are you anyway?"
"I'm from another research facility," he said. (Was he a guy? He looked and sounded kind of feminine...)
Arakawa didn't know what to say, she'd just always assumed theirs was the only facility of its kind.
"I'm getting out of here," the man (who looked kinda like a girl) said, suddenly turning on his heel and heading out of the room. "If you don't want to get left behind then I suggest you hurry up."
"So fast!..." she flustered, just before a tremor shook the whole building. Arakawa shrieked as she heard chunks of the building begin to break off.
This isn't good, she fretted. If the island keeps shaking like this, and if this hole really does go down as far as the Lebensborn cave, then it could very well sink! ...I don't want to die like that!
"Diana?" Arakawa looked back and saw that the young Diclonius, "Diana" apparently, had fainted. "Are you alright?"
As he bent down to examine the Mariko clone Arakawa was starting to get anxious. After all, the island they were on could sink beneath the waves any time now, and she didn't really feel like starting an underwater utopia that was ultimately doomed to fail from scratch any time soon.
"Hey you," she said to the man, wanting to hurry this rescue up a little, "how the hell did you get here anyway?"
"Did this girl save you?" he asked, completely ignoring her own question.
"Huh?" The question came completely out of left field and threw the poor scientist a bit. "Oh, uh, yeah. Why?"
"...Whatever, I'm leaving." He picked up the Mariko clone and headed out the door again, "Go hide in a locker or something if you don't want to die."
"Waa! No way!" He was leaving her again. "Take me with you!"
"No," he said bluntly. Arakawa could believe her ears.
"But you have to!" she pleaded, "This island is going to sink soon."
"In that case just escape by yourself," he told her, an edge beginning to creep into his voice, "I'm looking for things here."
"Looking for things? What on earth could you be looking for?" Geez, could this guy be any more vague? Then she remembered the situation she was in, "You know, there's probably a lot of Diclonii right outside..."
He wasn't even paying attention to her anymore, he was was staring off into space.
"And...?" Arakawa persisted, starting to loose patience with this weird guy. He finally glanced over at her, giving her a less-than-a-second once over.
"It won't help even if I tell you," he said dismissively, turning back to the doorway. "Now tell me, where is the researcher that developed the virus?"
"At least look at someone when you ask a question..." the scientist lady bristled. Then the ground shook again and Arakawa was reminded that Atlantis was about to be founded. "Hey! We need to get out of here fast!"
"I said I was searching for some things," he said, "escape by yourself."
"ARE YOU BRAINDEAD!" Arakawa couldn't take it anymore; she wanted to win the Nobel prize dammit! And she needed to be alive to do that! "You are aware that hanging around here any longer means death, don't you? Or is what you're looking for more important than you life?"
What she said must have actually snuck into his brain and convinced all the little versions of him that worked there that living was the preferable choice.
"Guess it cant be helped..." he sighed, reaching into his jacket. He pulled out something that looked like a mechanical crossbow and then picked up the young Diclonius. "Let's go. Follow me."
"What's with the sudden big shot attitude?" she shouted at him as he left. She was about to rush after him when she suddenly remember the vaccine. I have to bring this with me, for the sake of the world.
...
"This ain't good." The Agent noticed their path was blocked by a dozen more Silpelit clones. He turned back to the half naked scientist, "Go and wake up Diana, I haven't got many bullets left."
"What!" Arakawa began trembling as she realised her prospects of getting out alive with at least some of her dignity intact was fading fast. "Hey you wake up!" Arakawa began shaking and slapping Diana's cheeks in a desperate effort to rouse the Mariko Clone. "Hurry up and help us like you did before."
As The Agent unleashed the last two spiked bullets into the mutant crowd he cursed to himself. "Shit, we're out of steel balls...Only 3 Tungsten Rounds left."
Arakawa seethed as she noticed the Diclonii were closing the distance fast. You gotta be kidding! I can't afford to die here! "Diana please!"
Just as some of the first few clones were about to reap their vectors onto the humans their upper bodies were torn from their lower halves. Arakawa looked back down at Diana, relieved that she had finally opened her eyes. "Diana? Thank God you're awake." Then her slight motherly tone was changed to one of determination, seeing the tables turn back in the scientist's favour, Arakawa waved out her hand and gave the little pink haired clone one simple order.
"MOW 'EM DOWN!"
…
"Hey, get off me ya' brat..." Bandou tried hopelessly to wriggle Mayu off his waist, the tiny girl lifting off her feet as he spun around, looking quite embarrassed. "Ohh screw it..." If some journalists were nearby they may have captured a million dollar picture of Bandou smiling ever so slightly.
Mayu looked up to her giant pal. "Bandou *sniff* I *sniff* knew *sniff* you *sniff*-"
"Geez kid settle down then try and talk!" Bandou advised as he rested his hands on Mayu's shoulders. "Aww geez...look, take this." Bandou offered the tiny black-haired girl a handkerchief so she could wipe the torrid amounts of tears and snot collecting down her face like a careless toddler.
"*PWWWWFFF*" Mayu blew all the air out of her lungs as she wiped her nose the way a child half of her age probably would, scrunching the piece of cloth as she rubbed her eyes until they were red. "Sorry Bandou-san, I've messed up your handkerchief now..." Mayu held out the slimy handkerchief as something green and possibly living dripped off the bottom corner.
"UGH! GOD NO YOU CAN KEEP IT!" For once it seemed even the mighty invincible S.A.T commando was grossed out by something.
"Bandou-san...I just knew you couldn't die." Mayu cupped her hands together as she swooned over her beloved Bandou.
And, showing he was still his truly old arrogant self, Bandou stabbed his robotic thumb to his chest, the swift movement lifting up his shirt enough to reveal the cache of mechanical organs which now constructed his lower body. "I thought I told you: As if my beautiful self could ever die..."
"Thanks for saving us Bandou-san." Mio walked over, showing a far more reserved reaction than her schoolmate. "I guess you weren't just some crazy man on the beach after all."
Bandou tossed his head up in the air in his heroic pride. "Well that's no problem, now you all owe me-HEY WAIT A MINUTE YOU LITTLE RUNT!"
"Hee-he-he!~" Mayu started chuckling at Bandou's somewhat childish behaviour. "I think what Mio-chan is trying to say is, you are a very reliable person we're very grateful you came back to save us."
"Geagh...Well you all owe me big time now!" Bandou snorted as he turned towards the ocean.
"Isn't it great Nana? Bandou's alive?" Mayu ran over and hugged her pink haired friend.
Nana still seemed quite plain in her expression, her jaw hanging loosely as she answered her more bubbly friend. "Yeah I guess it's great to see him back again..."
"Hehehe-" Mayu suddenly stopped herself as she held Nana's hands. "Oh no I'm terribly sorry Nana-chan, your Papa still hasn't returned yet."
Nana's expression suddenly hardened to ice as she pulled her hands away from Mayu's and walked past her, leaving Mayu feeling awkward. "Nana?"
As she dug her heels into the soft sand with each step she stopped a couple of metres behind the man who she now owed her life to. "You're going after Lucy too right?"
"Aye..." Bandou nodded without looking back.
"I don't care if you say no, I'm going after her as well," Nana said with grave determination in her voice.
"Fine by me," Bandou casually responded as he took a few more steps away.
"Try and stop me if you will, but I-wait WHAT?" Nana suddenly realised what he had said. Did this mean they could finally be seen as allies?
"I said that suits me just fine..." Bandou turned back with a cocky grin. "In fact, I think I could do a few extra hands this time."
"Does Bandou-san still wish to fight Nyu-san?" Mayu stepped forward her with her hands lowered and a more sullen expression on her face.
"Hey! The two of us ain't through until one of us winds up being killed to death!" Bandou retorted in his usual more aggressive tone.
"Well..." Mayu averted her gaze as she pondered her decision. She felt as if she was having to choose between two of best friends at that point. Finally she turned back with a superficial smile "...If Bandou-san wishes to fight Nyu-san, then Mayu will fight with him."
"You kids can tag along for a while, but I swear if you get in my way I'll show no mercy to any of you!" Bandou swore as he clenched his human fist. "Anyway, I've still got a shitload of ammo left in this truck somewhere...You brats can help me unpack it as part of your debt to me now."
"Hai!" Mio saluted as she scrunched her eyebrows.
"Unn!" Mayu chirped with enthusiasm.
Nana turned back to Barbara's corpse, she frowned as she noticed the one-armed, one-legged girl sprawled quite awkwardly with her bloody head buried in the sand.
"At least you were lucky enough to have a Papa...I don't have any parents! I was born in a freaking test tube!"
Nana was quite startled to feel the large, mechanical hand of Bandou's resting on her shoulder. "I'll give her a proper burial when we get there."
The Human-sympathising Diclonius simply nodded as a few stray tears stung her eyes. She never knew the love of her parents...She only grew up to know of hate...Even if I cannot see you anymore Papa, I'm glad I was able to enjoy feeling loved...
As Bandou wrapped Barbara in his jacket and hurled the Diclonius over his shoulder he faced his three little recruits as he barked out his orders. "Right you maggots, move out!"
...
"~OOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!~"
"Truly spectacular, what a glorious display!" The Unknown Man marvelled at the Horned-Angel's Monarch. Lucy crawled back to her feet as heavy torrents of Anna's blood rained down upon her naked body. Anna's Goliath arm landed a hundred metres away, the limb with the weight of a small bus seemingly discarded by the Diclonii Queen with a mere flick of her empowered vectors.
"You people piss me-GURK!" Lucy froze up as she gripped her stomach in pain, coughing out something dark and crimson in complexion onto her hand. She stared at her trembling hand with shock and confusion. "Blood? What..."
"Your power has increased beyond our expectation my dear Queen." The Man continued preaching to his idol. "Now I will truly enjoy this!" The Man drew out his crossbow and fired a ball towards Lucy's abdomen. But the spiked ball held itself mid-flight as it continued rotating in its corkscrew motion before Lucy finally inverted the trajectory back towards her otherwise mortal opponent.
"Now your vectors can even push back something of this mass..." The Unknown Man darted on his feet as he circled Lucy's position waiting for a possible opening in her many invisible limbs. "COME ON LUCY, LET ME PROVE MY WORTH TO YOU!" The Man dived to the side as he fired another spiked ball at her left ribcage. Lucy snarled in her annoyance but was not able to stop the ball this time. The barbed projectile embedding itself into her ribcage and grinding against the bone, licking its venom directly onto the nerves and tendons which dressed her innermost flesh.
"GUUUUWWWWAAAAAARRRGGGHHH!" Lucy dropped back to her knees as the pain flowed into her side, pulsing across her entire body with each rapid heartbeat.
"I guess the altered spin on that last one was just a bit too much for your vectors to handle." The Man crunched his feet against the rocky ground as he grabbed a large bunch of Lucy's hair, lifting her head violently so he could see her wincing expression. "I don't care what Uncle said, I must have you Lucy! You and I will be the Adam and Eve of the new race!"
"F-Fuck you and your new race!" Lucy spat out with laboured breaths as she struggled to subdue the pain.
"I love a woman with passion...I have truly earned this treasure-KUKUKU!" The Man pulled Lucy by the hair back onto the hard rocky ground. Lucy groaned as the back of her head collided with a small rock. "Oh sorry dear Queen! I hope that won't make you become the cute innocent version again – I want you to roar and scream in your current form as I murder your insides!" The Man slid his tongue across Lucy's chest, moving up to her throat as he lifted the tip of her neck, lashings of his crude saliva trailing across her face. "How rude of me, I should have mentioned that I added a little muscle relaxant to that spiked bullet earlier...You won't be able to move for at least an hour. Plus with the nuerotoxin coursing through your body, you can no longer use your vectors." The Unknown Man moves his hand like a spider slowly down towards Lucy's legs. "Such a perfect combination, and I saved it all for you my precious Eve...Only an angel of your form truly deserves this. Now..."
…
?
~~How dare you let him take our body!~~
~~But I-~~
~~His inferior seed will sully our chances of a new world...He must be destroyed!~~
~~But it hurts...It hurts to use this power so much~~
~~You WILL use your power. Don't forget that you still owe me for the gift that I gave you...~~
~~This power, I have already killed enough with these hands, Kouta would still be alive if I hadn't-~~
~~Kouta – yes that stupid boy! He's dead now! And guess who took his very life? That's right, it was those foolish humans you are trying so hard to defend!~~
~~Kouta! He was killed by those men who raided the Maple Inn...Our home...~~
~~What point is there in defending those who killed the one person who ever truly cared about...Now that he's gone, should you be taking your vengeance out on these filthy rats?~~
~~Kouta...Kouta...Kouta...Yes...I will...I will make them pay...I will make them all pay...~~
…
"I hope you're paying attention my Eve, we're about to begin sowing the seed of our new race..." Just as the self-proclaimed Adam was about to combine with his Eve, he found his left arm being torn off from just past the shoulder. As he noticed the bone and flesh jagging out of his missing limb he smiled as he realised his own miscalculation. "You aren't going to let your Adam take the Apple as easily as I thought...Interesting..."
The Man jumped off of Lucy as she was about to slash her guillotine across his mug for a second time. She staggered back to her feet as she gripped the spiked ball in her side. "GGGGGGRRRRRRRNNNNNHHHHH!" She defied both pain and paralysis as she used her extra hands to finally pry out the offending ball, taking a fair chunk of her dermis in the process. "AAAAARRGGGGHHH!" Lucy bashed her vectors against the ground, in her enraged state she ripped out some of the many boulders which dotted the grotto, throwing them towards her despised enemy. The boulders reached their target easily enough, but they didn't seem to be doing their job in crushing the human into a fleshy pancake.
"MWAHAHAHAHAHA! YES! YES! MORE! I WANT TO SEE MORE OF THIS POWER!"The Man's grin nearly tore apart his very lips as his gums stretched to their limits in ecstasy.
"KOURGH!" Lucy spluttered out another bucket load of goopy red bile as she continued her rage. "JUST FUCKING DIE!" Lucy tore out a whole chuck of earth as she slammed the giant boulder down onto her opponent. But as the floating micro-island descended upon the Man, a clean dark line could be seen drawing across the middle of the boulder, drawing itself upwards until it expanded into a crack and splitting the giant piece of rock, cleanly in two. "What the fuck are you?" Lucy found herself asking as she continued gripping her stomach.
"GUHAHAHAHA! It looks like I was hiding one more secret from my Eve!" The Man – normally wrapped in a dark void of coats and attire gripped the middle of his jacket and tore open the middle, revealing his true form – a form that was so vile and disgusting, that even Lucy was cringing at the sheer sight of it.
His body could only be described as a living uterus. Long banners of intestines and organs coiled around his abdomen like the wires of a robot as the organic tubes pulsated, snaking and oscillating in an orchestra of autonomous living beings.
"Now you realise my dear Lucy...I am the only one with a seed worthy of your body. As the only man who can use vectors, I have been chosen as your Adam! Not even Anna could have predicted such a prophecy!"
"You really are a monster..." Lucy held one arm by her stomach as she limped forward. "You made yourself a human experiment so you could rival my own power?" Lucy was quickly thrown back into shock as she felt a number of invisible hands slither across her body.
"Not just rival...My hands have been given to me by God himself!" Lucy launched backwards as she pushed her vectors on the ground, dodging the Man's nerve snipping attack. "You saw right through that one- Geddit! MWAHAHAHA!" The Man still hung onto his crossbow with his one arm as he fired his last remaining round at Lucy, the bullet scraping just past her right thigh as she averted the strike much easier with her exponentially growing vector power. "Prepare yourself Lucy! HAAAHH" The Man growled like a dog on heat as he charged towards Lucy with his own vectors now flaring across the back of his body. Lucy dodged his animal charge as she scraped her insubstantial blades across his entire left side, carving through the soft flesh of his cheek to reveal more of his canines as his eyes slid across to meet her position. His smile grew asymmetrically larger as he quickly dug something out of his right pocket. Just hidden behind the veil of his flowing trenchcoat, he aimed what appeared to be a large handgun. With the two of them caught in such a close range, the barrel was aiming for her chest – the bullet firing out of its container, with Lucy's vectors managing to at least avert the heavy bullet away from her critical areas.
"GAAAGGHH!" The bullet only clipped her shoulder, but the heavy mass took a large chunk of her left shoulder in the process, revealing some of the ball joint.
"Did you just assume I would only rely on my vectors at this point?" The Man connected his hard boot against Lucy's inured shoulder, knocking her down onto her back as she continued writhing in pain. "Pain and death are beyond my current form, I am the one closest to God!" The deranged Man stood over Lucy pointing his gun at Lucy's head. "I only require your uterus, ovum and placenta...Yes-yes-yes, with Uncle's technology we can harvest the new seeds forever as long as we keep the reproductive organs alive Kukuku!" The Man rubbed his hands in his twisted plan as he paid his focus back on what he now saw as a mere incubator. "Well maybe if I just cut off your arms and legs, I can at least give you the pleasure of seeing your first child before you die MWAHAHA!"
Lucy had to end this nightmare. She needed to find the answers to herself...But she wouldn't find them here in this cold and dreary underground lake. She noticed the giant lake monster which had been quietly observing the battle until now was finally making her next move, with her other remaining arm sweeping across in one huge arc as it knocked the Man off his feet and sent him flying across the grotto. The various stone structures gradually slowed his momentum as he broke through a dozen of the standing boulders before he stopped, leaving a huge trail of dust and powdered rock behind.
"ANNA! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!" The Man seemed insulted at Anna's betrayal.
"~You've been toying with Lucy for far too long...She must be killed...~"
"You aren't the one who decides her fate...That has been bestowed to me now!" The Man retorted in his crazed mood.
"~In order to protect Father, she must be stopped...You have no claim over what is rightly Father's~"
"You stupid girl. Uncle offered me this gift because he trusts me the most. You were just a lost cause, so he made you into a giant lab rat so he could gain some use out of your otherwise worthless existence!"
"~You're lying! FATHER LOVES ANNA!~"Anna threw down her fist against the Man's position but he sliced vertically across her arm, splitting it down the middle. "~OOOAAAGGGHH~"
"Foolish child, you should have just behaved yourself and-" SPLURCH. The Man paused as he noticed his heart staring in front of his vision. The vital organ kept beating rapidly as it hovered towards his face before it spontaneously imploded, gushing its swathes of blood onto the Man's pale and deathly face.
"I wish you two could save your family dispute for when I'm not around..." Lucy appeared behind the Unknown Man, her left arm hanging by a mere thread from her shoulder as she staggered forward. "I'm through listening to your Godly bullshit."
The Man's shades fell off as he revealed bagging eyes widened with shock and a quivering jaw. "L-L-Lucy my dear...Why would you want to betray your own kind? We can crush the humans together you know- pay them back for oppressing us for hundred of years...We were going to usher in the new age together...Just you and me-Screw Anna and Uncle, I have my own ambitions...You can see where I'm coming from right?"
The Man continued squabbling like a headless cockroach as blood continued spewing out of the giant hole where his heart one resided. "You're nothing even close to my kind..You're just a failed experiment..." Lucy showed what she really thought of his ambitions by chopping him down a leg or two.
"Lucy wait! We are on the same side after all! The Man hopelessly pleaded in desperation as Lucy broke each finger in succession on his one remaining limb. "YOU DAMN BITCH, I SAVED YOUR LIFE AND THIS IS HOW YOU REPAY ME!" Lucy tilted her head showing her slight acknowledgement of this depraved souls words. "That's right, when those soldiers had you cornered all those months ago...Who the fuck do you think killed them all? If it wasn't for me you'd be-"
PRRIIITTCH...The sound of Lucy twisting off The Man's head was like music to the Diclonii Queen's ears. Finally she no longer had to hear his annoying voice. She grasped his crude bald head with her vectors before she pushed them against the bony globe, crushing it into a wet, fleshy patty of grey matter and bone. "Foolish human, I know who saved me that night...And it wasn't your sorry arse!"
"~DIE!~"Anna tried to use this chance to finally end the Diclonius' life but like a giant doll, her other arm was pulled apart and removed. As the giant creature threw her whole body towards Lucy, the Diclonii Queen focused all her vectors upon Anna's huge skull, sawing diagonally through the giant head as a tsunami of blood splashed onto Lucy.
"You really were a stupid girl." Lucy regarded as she spluttered out more bloody phlegm. "But I guess this father of yours wasn't that cruel to you afterall..." As for myself, I never knew my Father nor my Mother...I was discarded by them much the way society has for my entire life...
"You have horns like an oxen...Oxen belong in a zoo! Hahaha!"
I never had a place to call home or a group of people I could call a family...At least that was until I met Kouta again and the people of the Maple Inn...
"When Spring returns it'll be a year since we first met Nyu...Those were the days huh?"
"She probably doesn't remember the first day she came here..."
"...And wet herself right in the middle of the corridor!"
'NYU!'
"HAHAHA!"
Tears soaked into the caked blood which stained Lucy's face. Her face frowning into sadness and sorrow as she wiped her eyes against her wrist. "Ungh...Kouta...Why can't I ever be with you again? What point is there in living if you're not around? I really don't know what my purpose is anymore..."
The underground cave was beginning to fall apart as tremors rocked the entire island. Giant boulders crashed into the water as the grotto began caving in. And as Lucy continued expressing her grief over the loss of the one person she truly found her sense of self with, Lucy began her long trek to find her answer...
…
BACK ON THE UPPER LEVELS OF THE FACILITY:
Things had turned once again for worst for Arakawa. After blazing through the mutant ranks they soon found their reliable Diclonii ally had been decapitated; her head taken off her body by a rogue clone with vectors longer than her sisters.
And to make matters worse, the bishounen gunslinger had used up his last bullets.
Now the two of them were teetering on the rooftop as the clones began their ascent up the stairs, slowly consuming every possible avenue of escape.
"Quickly, get in the lift!" The Agent ordered the pantsless scientist as she gently lowered the vaccine box in before lifting a leg over.
"Wait aren't you getting in?" She yelled back as she saddled the lift railing.
"This lift can only be controlled manually. And if I don't control the break you'll crash."
"But-"
"Listen carefully, once you reach the ground, go left. There's a helicopter I came here in with armed guards," The Agent explained to her in clear urgency.
"But what about you?" Arakawa cried out as she slipped her other leg inside.
The Agent lifted off his shades, revealing sparkling eyes. With a sad smile he answered. "You have the vaccine...That's why I can't let you die."
As the clones began making their way up to the rooftop, The Agent gripped onto the brake lever, "I'm counting on you, please save mankind."
Arakawa was still shocked at his willingness to sacrifice his own life for her sake. "What are you talking about? Are you stupid or-WAAAGHH NOOOO!" Her screaming protests carried on down the building as she made her descent on the tiny lift.
"OKAY NOW YOU'RE TURN! HURRY AND GET DOWN..." As Arakawa lifted her neck up towards the rooftop she could see a fountain of blood raising its tragic form. "Dammit! How did it come to this?" Arakawa slammed her fists against the railing, biting the inside of her cheeks to hold back her tears of anguish. "What the hell have I done?"
But her self-regret would have to wait a little longer. Arakawa had to at least do the descent thing in return for that man and not let herself get killed. She jumped off the lift and stepped lightly on her feet as she took the left, poking her head around the corner of the building.
Okay this is it...But when she reached the Helicopter it had already been reduced to a burning scrap heap. More of the clones circled around the burning wreckage, admiring the fire and the death they had inflicted.
As Arakawa heard more footsteps approaching behind her, she began to smile past her tears. "Funny, I no longer feel afraid of dying." Because I haven't done a damn thing right in my life...Even with this vaccine, I cannot fully atone for my sins...
And as the Clones began circling around the Bachelor Degree Scientist who had gone from the simple life of working as a professor's aid to formulating part of the destruction of mankind, the plain looking woman cuddled her vaccine like a stuffed animal as her tears rained onto the case.
Yep, I'm definitely going to hell-
"UWAH!"
But alas, Arakawa wasn't going to be sent to Hade's Den just yet as a giant submarine craft leapt out of the ocean.
The giant craft which was lined with steel panels and glowing lights looked more like something an alien would use for transportation. It was out of this world, especially evident to Arakawa and the confused clones when the three globes on the top began rolling toward them like eyes.
SPWOOSH. The sound of mutant Silpelits having their upper bodies consumed by an invisible force engulfed the area. Arakawa was still unsure what side this weird thing was on. But as the mysterious craft clenched its giant invisible fists into the remaining clones it was soon becoming clear that at least it wasn't on their side.
"HEY PANTY GIRL GET IN!" a loud human sounding voice came from the giant craft. Still shocked and confused, Arakawa instinctively followed the voice as a hatch opened revealing a human inside. "Hurry, you have the vaccine, don't you?"
Arakawa nodded as she clambered up the bar rungs and through the main hatch into the strange craft. "What the hell is this-"
Arakawa was cut off as the man threw off his cape and gave it to her. "Put it on. Though there's only guys here we won't do anything weird to you."
"Hah?" Arakawa groaned in complete confusion.
But the Operative continued his solemn words. "I guess in the chaos, you suffered a lot of hardships right?"
"What the heck are you talking about?' Arakawa's eyes narrowed as she tried to get her answers.
The thick eyebrows Operative cast a confused glare as he pulled back from the weird woman. "What, weren't you raped?"
"HUH BY WHO?" Arakawa dropped her fists to her sides in anger. "This is my regular clothing! Are you stupid?" Arakawa flew back insults to the man who had saved her. Well now that she actually took the time to notice there were a few other men on board piloting the craft. "Better yet what the hell is this thing!"
"Firstly; is that the vaccine?" the man answered the angry female scientist's question with another, "That is one of the reasons why we're here."
"No you answer me first!" Arakawa exclaimed. "Who are you guys anyway? How can I trust you wierdos?"
"Commander, I'm detecting a huge Diclonius signal ahead!" one of the pilots turned back to the Operative to relay their current status.
"Commander, there are more tremors ahead, Vector Craft will fall apart at this rate!" another one of the pilots stressed out more status reports.
"Never mind! Continue heading towards the main signal." The Commanding Operative waved out his hand as he gave the order.
"You still haven't answered-"
"Silence Panty Girl!" The Operative cut her off as he rushed over to the control panels. With his jaw dropped in astonishment he glanced out of the window, a confident grin rising. "Lucky me!" The man's grin widened even further when he stared at the lone Diclonius standing atop a sinking island. "Lucy!"
"Commander the Island is sinking! We have to retreat!"
"NO! Attack her now!" The Operative spat out his orders, determined to fulfil his primary objective – killing the Diclonii Queen.
"Its impossible! She's too far away!" The sweat was rapidly building up on the pilot's bodies as they were facing the greatest threat to mankind. "Vector signals are emitting from Lucy! Vectors are coming."
The bright tentacles of light began making their way toward the craft. "Oh no!" Arakawa began to lose all hope again; any more and she'd have to start keeping a tally.
"START THE VECTOR CANCELLOR!" With that order the pilots began pushing a sequence of buttons. Suddenly Lucy's vectors of pure light had disappeared.
"AMAZING!" Arakawa beamed in rejoice. "How did you do that?"
"This is a Vector Craft." The Operative explained in his victorious tone. "By enlarging the organs which generate vectors we can produce long-range vectors. In addition, by using vectors with an inverse phase, we can cancel out Lucy's vectors." The Operative began laughing quite sadistically as he revealed the implications of this vector generating device. "The Vector Craft I built is invisible; Lucy is just a little girl and nothing more."
"COMANDER LUCY'S MOVING TOWARDS OUR POSITION!" The pilots quickly reported the alarming turn of events.
"Impossible! She shouldn't be able to use her vectors!" The man noticed the angel of death gliding down the sinking building as she pushed her vectors against the water, creating a huge valley of water as she flew towards the Vector Craft at breakneck speed.
"COMMANDER WE MUST RETREAT!"
"SHE'S TOO FAST"
"Restart the vector canceller!" The Operative leaned in closer concentrating his efforts into defeating this 'little girl'. As the vector shield lit up again Lucy continued her advance without a slight diversion or decrease in speed. "What is she doing?"
Arakawa could see the bone crunching determination in Lucy's eyes as she thrust towards them, with just a few metres until she reached the craft, just like switching off a light, Lucy turned of all her vectors, her body's momentum floating her across the air as she held out her leg in a supersonic flying kick against the eye shaped window of the craft.
"OH MY GOD!" The Vector Craft Pilots entered a panic as their enemy was inside the very craft which was meant to impenetrable for her. Lucy didn't give a moments notice as she slayed all three pilots in an instant by slicing off their heads.
"K-K-K-Ku" The Operative backed himself into a wall, hiding his complete fear under a crude smile. His hand crawled down his pocket as he lifted out a small gun. "DI-" Lucy's grabbed his hand and with her extra limbs bent his entire forearm until it broke off from the elbow. "GAAAAAAAGGGGGHHHH!" The Operative squealed in agony as he held down the legged bone protruding from his elbow. "LUCY I"LLLLL-"
SQUELCH. Only silence came from the Operative's trachea as it was ripped out of his neck. The windpipe organ worming onto the ground at a frightened Arakawa's feet.
Oh God this can't be happening! That man said the Vector Craft was invisible. I swear this is the last time I get fooled by a man...But wait, I'm really about to die for real...Oh God have mercy on my soul!
The awakened beast that was Lucy glanced down at the cowering Arakawa. Her expression hardened as she noticed she was clutching something in her arms.
No she knows I have the vaccine...She want to kill me and destroy the vaccine...My whole life has been pointless to the very end...
Arakawa wailed much like a child of younger age as she stared into Lucy's cold eyes. "MAMA...PAPA...DID I MAKE YOU PROUD?"
SPLOOSH...
...
THE NEXT MORNING:
"Kouta...How much longer are you going to keep me waiting?" Yuka prayed that she would see Kouta's eyes open once again. She brought some flowers to leave by Kouta's bedside.
As she made neared Kouta's ward she wrenched open the door handle with a sigh. "Good Morning Ko-"
The room was bare, with an open window allowing a whistling breeze to brush past the silk curtains...Yuka dropped the flowers, the colourful petals and pollen flying across the room as she dropped to her knees – jaw dropped and eyes widened.
"No...Kouta...where'd you go...?"
…
Tiny waves splashed across the beach as the current brought in a large white pod-like container. Rubbish almost always anchored itself on this beach, but such a large item would have otherwise raised irksome attention for anyone straying across the sandy strip along Kamakura's shoreline.
The white pod released several high pressurised jets of steam as the door slowly opened. The mermaid emerged from her cocoon onto the sandy carpet which awaited her maiden arrival.
"Do you still believe those humans will accept you after witnessing your true nature? Do you still think their inferior society will allow a murderer of their kind to simply return to live a 'normal life'?"
"*Sniff*-Ungh." Lucy's eyes filled with bittersweet tears. For once she could claim to be free; her will intact – no longer under the influence of Nyu, and liberated from the island prison which she had been held captive for most of her life. Yet her freedom seemed all in vain, for she could no longer spend it with the person she loved.
Kouta...I need to know...What is my purpose for existing in this world? Was I truly born just so I could wipe out the human race? I thought I found my answer when I met you...But now that you're gone...
Lucy grit her teeth as she wiped the burning tears away from her eyes. I'm really afraid of myself...I don't want to kill anymore but-
"It sure has been a while..." Lucy was drawn towards a weak voice calling from the shadows of the concrete wall. "I've been waiting a long time to speak to you again."
Lucy's eyes widened with complete and utter shock as the one she thought had been taken away from her had appeared right before her tear-filled vision. "Kouta?"
Elfen Lied: The Second Verse - Episode 11 Preview
"Why didn't you fulfil my promise?"
"We can no longer intercept them."
"Kouta, please be alright."
"Now my Angels...Begin your flight to the heavens!"
"No fucking way? Bw-Bwehe-Bwaha-BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
As the Queen returns to her beloved knight, the procession of death continues as the demons we try to keep beneath our feet rise against the very heavens. Is Lucy truly free from Kakuzawa's grasp just yet? find out in the next dramatic installment of Elfen Lied: The Second Verse...