THE SOLITARY TROOPER

By: rx79guntank

Disclaimer: All characters of Striker/Spriggan are under the copyright of Hiroshi Takashige and Ryoji Minagawa. All other characters unless stated otherwise are obviously owned by me.

Author's notes: So far this has been the longest wait between chapters (6 months!!)and I apologize… A resurgence of my Gunpla-building hobby and my work commitments have sidetracked me and led me to procrastinate like there was no tomorrow. Again, sorry guys! This won't happen again!

And to thank a few:

Ominae: In a way man… Thanks for the mention; it was exactly how I would put it!

Lonely Whisperz: Don't worry, some explanations here this time! The face of the enemy is finally confirmed and revealed.

Kurai: Thanks for your heads up man. Glad you liked it. Fleshed up more on that part.

AnomolyIdiotic: Well I wouldn't want you exploding, lol, but thanks, Glad you enjoyed it.

Kurt Baros aka The Falcon: Thanks, a Ranma ½ /Spriggan crossover sounds like a good idea. I'll give it some thought.

Benji Himura, Timex & Shirogami: Thanks for your support!

Part 10: Snake Eater

The duty of a sniper is distinct; to kill a selected target from an extreme distance under the concealment of camouflage and utilizing minimal ammunition. A sniper, usually paired with a spotter or solo, is required to be able to calculate and compensate for the physics of the environment around him and be able to kill the target within a small window… It is rare that a sniper gets a chance for the target to reappear and even more rare to be able to kill it with successive shots after he has missed.

The sniper hiding in the foliage on Miyakonoshima was lucky to be experiencing that chance. However, he was also feeling extremely frustrated; He had the target in his sight for the entire night, only to have the target dodge his every shot! The other snipers of the Moroha Private Army were also feeling the same thing. It was like trying to kill a cockroach with a cannon- an extremely lucky and annoying cockroach…

And right now, that cockroach was cursing himself out for his own stupidity.

"11 minutes. I'm impressed."

A young boy with brown hair and bright blue eyes, maybe about 11, stood panting, his sweat beading off his face. Strikingly, he was holding an old-model M-16 rifle that was obviously way too big for his size and even larger, a towering backpack containing a full combat load, matching his pint-sized olive drab fatigues. He was somewhere in the forests of the Northeastern United States, near the Canadian border. But for all he knew, they were right in the middle of nowhere.

"It was nothing!" The boy grinned, breathing heavily. "That was fun! I could do it all over again as many times as you want!" To the boy, this was just nothing more than a game.

"Did you see the red flags on the trees? How many did you see?" At once, the grizzled old soldier who complimented crossed his arms staring intently at the boy. Immediately a cold sweat trickled down his already sweat-soaked collar. Did he do something wrong?

"No, I didn't…"

Almost instantly, at the very mention of denial, the old soldier lashed out with a sharp slap to the boy's face. The boy was shocked; not only because of the shock of it all, but that it was the very first time he had been hit by him, the man he had regarded as his father, no less.

"How many times do I have to tell you to be alert in the jungle!!!? You were so caught up that 'fun' of yours that you couldn't even notice such a glaring thing!!" The old soldier was a spittle-flinging drill sergeant now, merciless in the face of the shivering boy. Fate had cast him in this lot and now he had to grow up, fast-and hard.

"The jungle is not a place for the dumb and the ignorant. The slightest noise could be the enemy waiting behind the next bush; tripwires can be waiting on the ground if you're not careful… Being alert is the greatest weapon a soldier has… It can save him better than a piece of the best body armor…" He tapered off before resuming the attack.

"If you don't want to end up dead, or be having dinner, for that matter, GET BACK into the course and do it again! I want a faster time, and remember what I said! I want you to pay attention; I'm going to ask you another question again, and what you say better be right."

The boy nodded vigorously. Food was extremely important to an active, growing boy of his age, and they usually got hungrier faster than a normal man.

"For your sake, I hope you did, Jonny. There are a lot worse things that can happen to you that just going hungry."

Jonny, now as the old soldier called the boy by, did. He didn't care about what he said. The hunger that held him was enough already to make him comply. (1)

It was that type of conditioning that instilled Jonathan with the hardwired battle skills that were needed as a soldier. Skills and lessons he never once forgot, not even if he wanted too. But why did he just do that and why now? Feelings. He grumbled. They made him soft. Vegetarian crimes of war were being committed as the hidden Moroha Private Army forces lobbed grenades and fired wildly, just only blowing trees up and gouging deep holes in the landscape. The forest clutter made it harder to aim than not, and Jonathan managed to reach cover behind a large old pine. He jammed a new clip into his M93R (which he had the foresight to bring along) took a deep breath and spun
back into the hostile open, ready to kill…

"The Moroha Conglomerate."

"Are you sure? They are one of the most respected companies in the world-"

"Bullshit, Yu- you know these 'companies' usually have plans to backstab humanity in the ass- It's the law of the universe."

"Stop it, the both of you. This is important." "Jean? Please continue." Yamamoto asked to continue the debriefing. Pulling back his unruly long, blond hair, he began. Yu and Tea were gathered there as well in Yamamoto's office to hear Jean's words. They would have liked to let him recuperate a little more before the debriefing, but given the circumstances that had to wait. It was not like Jean cared anyway.

"They were responsible for the attacks on the local forward bases. They caught us totally off-guard." For the past few months, ARCAM bases and sites all over the world were hit by concerted military attacks, causing chaos through their ranks. The attackers seemed to disappear after their deeds, making ARCAM's job even harder; right now, it's forces were stretched thin with the equal tasks of replacing the loss of lives, safeguarding its remaining bases from further attacks and investigating into who was responsible.

Who the hell are these guys anyway to come in and bust us up? It's not like they're a part of TRIDENT or anything." Yu snorted. Obviously it was his first impression to kick the ass of whoever was threatening them.

"Wait," Tea interjected, "The name Moroha… Wasn't he the Japanese KGB agent you fought before?"

"Yeah, and he's dead-"

Yamamoto's brows furrowed in his trademark thinking pose. "The head of the Moroha Conglomerate itself is Saruta Moroha… could there be a connection?"

"Their attacks were a diversionary measure," Jean announced, getting the attention of the discussion. "At least that's what those idiots said when they tried to get me to spill. Trying to instill hopelessness and all that. So much for trying to break my spirit."

"So did you give in?"

"No, I didn't." Jean scowled firmly at another of Yu's friendly, yet malicious attempt at embarrassment. Jean didn't really mind though. Like two old lovers, pissing each other off was a favorite pastime of them.

"Then how the hell did you get caught anyway? It's not like you're a

"I was tying up a lead in our Guangzhou branch when those assholes decided to invade."

The attack on ARCAM's Guangzhou base started off like any standard military attack. First, it began with a covert attack to neutralize the defense, followed by a conventional forces assault to mop up the rest. Under the chaos that followed after the discovery of the bases' deactivated defenses, the distinctively-clad Moroha Private Army soldiers attacked. However, under the leadership of Jean they beat back the attack, in a reversal of the score that the MPA had inflicted on them since the beginning of their campaign of terror. But the worst was yet to come…

"It wasn't too much to handle; they were your standard weak, piddling special forces types. That was, until he came."

The defenders did their rightly-deserved cheering after the last MPA soldier had been shot down. Jean too gave the soldiers an approving smile. Smoke, dust and the smell of cordite hung in the air over the kill zone; the ubiquitous byproduct of a gun battle. But not one soldier noticed a shape of a figure in the dust cloud walking alone and unafraid, to the ARCAM soldiers. Eventually, one did notice the figure's advance and together with it the strange phenomenon of the dust receding before his path… By the time the soldier could figure out what was going on, he was dead, sliced into pieces by an unseen force. Rows and rows of the ARCAM soldiers met the same fate and soon, they were all minced, leaving Jean to face the new intruder.

"He had long white hair; he even wore a white suit. I don't know, but when I faced the guy, I just felt afraid… I hesitated." Jean shivered. The rest did a little collective despairing. Not many things made Jean behave like that. "It took me a while to get that crap out of my head, and when I attacked, the bastard just raised his hand. The next thing I knew, a blast of wind hit me and I was cut all over." I knew rush him

"Strong wind… slash wounds… Weasel slash?!" Yu recalled.

"You're strong; I'll compliment you on that."

Jean collapsed in a pool of blood. It took 5 Weasel Slash attacks to bring him down, and Jean smiled defiantly, even as he struggled to rise.

"You haven't seen anything yet…!" Jean spat out, blood dribbling from his lips. Blood… my blood… The eyes widening at the sight of his crimson life-liquid, rapid breathing, increased muscle growth… One was going to see first-hand what happened if Jean saw his own blood.

"Now this is interesting…" Jean's opponent commented.

Even if Jean's Lycanthrope form threatened his well-dressed opponent with bodily harm, he remained calm. Immediately, three figures, jumped out from behind him to restrain Jean, only to have them ripped apart. No matter though, they were just the corpses of the soldiers killed in the fighting, being reanimated by the same Armani-suited necromancer tormenting Jonathan in the present, in a combination of mystic chanting and o-fuda burning as he stood by his well-dressed master.

Angered even more by the feeble zombies, Jean continued his charge, but again was halted by another blur leaping out lightning speed, at him. The blur struck Jean once, twice, finally knocking the maddened lycanthrope down. The blur slowed down to reveal a massive, flamboyant, muscular man… In his each hand were two Panzerfausts (2) which he wielded like clubs to strike down his enemies. Smirking at how he defeated the beast, He revealed the other purpose of his Panzerfausts, flicking a switch and launching their angular warheads and consuming Jean in an explosion.

But Jean was not dead yet. His lycanthrope healing factor made short work of his injuries, but left him severely weakened. The well-dressed opponent knew this and called out; "Lydia…?"

Finally the range of freaks that had been brought that day was complete. While the previous one was strange enough; a Panzerfaust-wielding musclehead bedecked all in green; flecktarn (3) camouflage pants, olive-drab PASGT (4) Kevlar vest, and a green Mohawk to top it all.

Even different, a young girl not more than 10, clad in a bright orange jumpsuit appeared clutching an oversized teddy bear and a hardbound book; Jane Austen's Pride & Prejudice. She made not a sound, as if she was gliding in smoothly like a Victorian demon-child, grotesquely adorable. With a sickening smile, the book opened on its own accord, suspended by arcs of electricity that emanated from the child herself. Pages separated from the book; Mr. Bingely and Jane's first meeting, Mr. Wickham's lie, Mr. Darcy's confession to Elizabeth… The very same arcs propelled the pages with enough force to impale Jean against the wall behind him. This was too much. Blood streaming from his wounds, Jean finally succumbed to unconsciousness.

And the girl giggled. "Paper cut…"

Saruta walked over to Jean, ignoring the scorch marks, debris and blood that covered the floor. One of the ways to get Jean back to normal was to let him wear off his bloodlust, and another, was to… well, knock him unconscious. Not the easiest way, but effective.

"Jean Jacquemonde… you've been a most unexpecting opponent…"

He turned to the green mohawk/musclehead; "Take him back. I'm sure he can be of some use to us…"

The musclehead saluted and picked Jean up.

"And now let's go pay a visit to Mai."

"Are you sure? You usually don't remember anything when you've gone wolf-"

"I do remember, alright!!!" Jean shouted, on an almost-friendly verge of beating Yu to a pulp.

"It would seem that they aiming to destabilize our defenses, or trying to distract us from another objective. One thing is for sure, they won't be attacking us again with our precautions in place." Once again, Tea's timely observations breaking up a juvenile fight.

"Yeah…"

But what Jean was worried about now was his encounter with Saruta and his 3 mysterious enforcers. He knew that he was one of the stronger Spriggans out there, and he'd barely managed to give them a scratch. They were truly frightening, unassuming yet powerful, and he was unsure if anyone else could be able fight them evenly. Yu and the others might have sensed it as well, and looked at each other unceasingly. But Jean's description was valuable. They now knew the face of the enemy, and plans could be made accordingly to fight them and put them down for good. They would need all the help they could find and there was one more Spriggan right now in Japan that they could use.

"Oh yes, we may have to recall Jonathan from his current assignment. We may need his expertise."

"Yeah," Yu chimed in. "I envy him, man. He's got the cushy job… Looking after a girl, how hard can that be?" Jean too nodded in acquiesce.

Upon hearing the last part of Yu's complaint, Yamamoto swallowed. The subject of Jonathan made him remember something that had been dogging him, but somewhat unintentionally forgotten…

"What exactly is so special about that girl anyway?" Jean asked.

It was time for Yamamoto to clear his throat. "In actuality, the case was assigned by the American head office. Even I'm not too clear on what it is…"

This time, it was Tea who snapped to attention, after maintaining her calm composure throughout the meeting. Something told her that it wasn't all it seemed. Wasn't the mission was supposed to be the assignment of a bodyguard to Mai Shirahime to protect against an undisclosed threat from Neo Nazi organization's relic procurement division? And why are details being held back from Yamamoto? This is all puzzling. Whoever did this did so without her knowledge.

"Tell me Yamamoto, what was in the orders you received?"

"Protect subject at all costs. Facilitate and assist Agent Harker in any means necessary. The rest in the folder was classified; eyes only for Jonathan himself…" "Authorized by Arliss Garisson."

Damn, The most troublesome ARCAM official had to be involved, of course. What the hell is he planning to do?!

"We'll have to look for Jonathan now. He should be in Fukuoka now."

Jean and Yu looked, pained, at each other. Why do we have to look for that slacking little shit… "Uh, specifically where in Fukuoka?"

"How big could Fukuoka Prefecture be?!! Just go and look for him!!!"

And who would have thought that Jonathan himself would be fighting for his life in some forsaken island right out in the boonies. He spun round from his cover and fired back in the general direction. A single shot managed to penetrate the rifle scope of one, pegging him squarely in the forehead while another got a 3-round burst in the chest. These were purely lucky shots; he was wasting 2 shots for a single hit and with his limited ammunition, he wasn't going to stay around to kill all of them (which was usually the norm for him). He was more concerned with Mai's safety and getting her off the island. Asymmetrical warfare, guerilla tactics… In a moment's notice, Jonathan leapt out and ran, eliciting more fire from the hidden snipers. Situational awareness… If they were shooting at him from high ground, which meant that they were in the centre of the island… He figured that he'd gone about 50 meters from where he stashed Mai before the disorienting battle. If he got to the beach, that would draw them there and deny their cover, making it easier to engage them and blaze a path back to the mainland, if the sandbar hadn't drowned with the tide.

He stopped to take a breather. He had been running for almost 5 minutes straight. But could it be coincidental or by pure God's will that he would end up in a clearing; ripe pickings for a trap?

Quickly, like spiders from hell, enemy soldiers dropped down from the trees where they had been hiding. Rappelling, they were silent; Jonathan would have been oblivious if it was not for one of them hitting his leg against the tree…

He responded just as they landed, bringing up his gun. But the one in front of him was faster, his rifle already trained on Jonathan. There was only one thing left to do.

Instead of dodging away like any sane person would do, Jonathan instead ran straight at him. The soldier in front of him hesitated, just briefly, before pulling the trigger.

The sudden move had made the soldier's aim go off, but inevitably, his bullets struck home. As the distance closed, Jonathan brought his arm up to knock the muzzle fire away, proceeding to grab the soldier's gun arm, twisting it around and pushing the soldier in front of him as a shield; ignoring the pain from his wounds. While the soldier fired off his gun uselessly, the rest of his compatriots fatally hesitated on this revelation… and they paid for it. Jonathan unleashed a torrent of fire from his gun, a three-round burst each to put them down forever. And contrary to what you saw in movies, their Kevlar vests didn't even stop the bullets.

The soldier struggled impotently… In a final insult, Jonathan knocked his gun out from his arm, released him, and kicked the soldier's ass forward. Jonathan grabbed the free gun… The bullpup grip sure felt comfortable in his hands- and promptly unloaded what was left in the clip at the soldier.

"Argh!"

Pain filled the void where the adrenaline ebbed away, the definite result of choosing fight over flight. His arm was a bloody mess, but the fright lay in the amount of blood anyway. His arm was grazed and gouged out; the distance too close for the bullets and too fast to lodge themselves. They had passed through cleanly, and even miraculously, the deep grazings on the side of his abdomen as well were the extent of his injuries. Nothing else to do but to bandage them up.

The examination of the dead soldiers' bodies was more interesting. They have the same weapons as the goons from the Seoul Moroha place… Jonathan observed. Their equipment were the ubiquitous black balaclava and olive drab fatigues with a light kevlar vest; and US desert night camouflage (5) parkas and overpants with combat webbing worn over the entire set. And of course, a pair of Russian PN-14K night vision goggles to finish the outfit. The weapons he found, was similar as well; the Moroha Private Army standard QBZ-97 rifle, along with its equally Chinese M 77B pistol and Russian SR-2 submachine guns. (6) Jonathan took one of the rifle and submachine gun and their ammo as well, electing to pilfer the 9mm ammo of their handguns to add to his own reserves. Finally, he can fight them off on equal terms.

He wiped the sweat of his face. It was time he got back to Mai.

It was dark. And cold as well. Naturally, he'd bring along an extra parka for these types of meetings, but for some reason, he forgot today. And now, as he sat in the dark soundroom, his fingers shivered ever so clammily on the formica table where a microphone perched in front of his mouth as well. Oh, how he would give for the warm, musty sting of a cigarette now. But that would be disrespectful. Especially in front of these people.

"Yes, we see Yamamoto. These revelations do march up with our current prognosis."

"It is regrettable that this has come to us at such a late stage; we are extremely disadvantaged for retaliation."

Disembodied voices sang in the darkness. One of the corporate worlds' biggest questions was; who was really in charge of the ARCAM corporation? 'The shadiest trading corporation in the world' was the trade wind going around. Unlike other businesses like Clovers Heavy Industry and the Takasumi Zaibatsu, which primarily did their covert work on the side, the ARCAM corporation was the opposite. Their PR execs were just about breaking even in maintaining their cover. For such a company as enigmatic as this, there had to be a driving force behind it. And rumors were having it that there is a higher driving force behind them, like a phantom board of directors, if you will.

In truth, nothing could be further from it.

This specialized room existed in all major branches of ARCAM to allow section heads to communicate and teleconfer with the Wiseman Committee, the mystery board of directors in charge of ARCAM proper. Confidentiality and solitude was what this room offered. On the stark bright dominating widescreen was thirteen black squares, each having an initial and representing an avatar of a board member proper.

The futuristic H.G.W, the deductive A.C.D, the fantasist E.R.B, the insane H.P.L, the adventurous H.R.H, the dramatic O.W, the technocratic J.V, the melancholy C.D, the whimsical O.W, the imaginative M.S, the dark B.S, the depressive E.A.P and the mysterious T.F.A… Each represented a facet of ARCAM that could not exist without the other. Under the withering light of their avatars, Yamamoto pondered, priming himself for his next, calculated response. (7)

A.C.D's avatar glowed. "As for now, you will continue with your current assigned mission. We will analyze the situation and inform you of our response-"

"About my mission, there is something I would like to know."

"Yes, Yamamoto?" this time B.S replied cautiously, unused to receiving a critical tone.

"I would like to know, what is Agent Harker's true mission?"

Silence.

"I still remember my orders; 'Support Agent Harker's mission in any way possible' Well, I've done that," he smiled. "But there's too much fog that came along, especially after Saruta Moroha mentioned about retrieving a certain 'Mai'… which I presume is also the very same person Agent Harker is supposed to protect. I see that why those Neo Nazis want her so much." "Now tell me the whole story; what's really going on in here?!!" Yamamoto shouted in a manner more befitting Ominae's outbursts. ARCAM had always been transparent… Why the secrecy now?

"Yamamoto! It is not your place to-" A.C.D's avatar flashed fiercely- "I will tell you." Unexpectedly, T.F.A's avatar interjected… The most mysterious member of the group, no one knew her face, who she was, or her real name. Her voice was Darth Vader-esque, digitally distorted, unlike the other who employed a bassonic version of their real voices. She rarely spoke, but when she did, it was usually of the utmost importance.

This time G.B.B jumped into the defense of the majority. "I protest! This information-"

"Yamamoto is one of our best operatives. It would be pertinent for him to be privy to this information and the current state of affairs."

G.B.B remained quiet and the opposition disappeared. They all knew that the events had come to a head.

"Yamamoto, are you familiar with the theory of reincarnation?"

"The notion or belief that someone is reborn after death…" He arched an eyebrow at T.F.A's question. "Yes, I am,"

"Then what do you know about the legend of Queen Himiko?"

"The ruler of the ancient state of Yamatotaikoku… some say she existed, others say that she was just a fabled legend, From her glittering dais she stood up, renowned through the land for her incredible beauty as well as her power. Her aura of awe and intimidation around her bewitched her people who followed her rule faithfully..." Yamamoto mouthed slowly, reciting a passage from an ancient text he had once committed to memory.

"In 189 CE, Queen Himiko entered a political alliance with the powerful Chinese shaman, Red Asia, conquering nearly half of what was then in that period modern Japan. The two most powerful shamans in the world, side by side, were finally defeated by Emperor Shujin under an alliance of free tribes. However, very few texts vaguely mention that under their rule they nearly destroyed the world."

"Destroyed the world?!"

"The Fire Orb and other mystic weapons they used would geologically destabilize the Japanese Archipelago for centuries to come. They said when they were finally struck down; they resembled something different than human."

Something told Yamamoto that there was truth in this. From his experience, you don't take legends lightly her in ARCAM.

"We have tracked down their reincarnation cycles, however this time…" T.F.A paused suddenly, as if to admit a (god forbid) mistake on committee's part. "A culmination of factors has elevated this into a priority-1 situation. It seems that Saruta Moroha has been identified as Red Asia's current incarnation."

"What?!"

"Somehow he has managed to regain his memories and is actively seeking to resurrect Himiko."

"And Himiko's current incarnation is-?" Somehow Yamamoto felt he knew what the answer would be, but just an inkling of hope burned in him to salvage the madness of the revelations.

"Yes." T.F.A acknowledged. "Mai Shirahime."

"And the Neo Nazis?"

"No doubt pressed into assisting Saruta with his endeavor. The Moroha family has had a long history of association with Nazi Germany in the Second World War. It is obvious they foresaw us as a threat and tried to preemptively destabilize us. Their recent attempt at kidnapping Dr. Mayzel too was part of it."

It was all coming into place now! Beads of sweat furrowed on his head as the different pieces of information and revelations were pieced together… and answers revealed. Why their bases were attacked, why was he given the unconditional orders to support Jonathan…? And to compound it all, Saruta with all of his unholy resources of the Moroha Conglomerate was pushing this though with his own agenda.

"But why only send Jonathan to protect Mai?!" Yamamoto shouted, dispensing with all formalities.

"We have… underestimate Saruta Moroha's resources." O.W replied. "Currently any covert or overt operation is out of the question. We can only hope for Agent Harker to secure the target."

"We should have done that from the start! Why wasn't I informed of this earlier?!!"

Mysteriously why indeed.

"Agent Harker's handler, Arliss Garrison is in charge of this mission-"

At the very mention of that name, Yamamoto's face took a shade of disgust. Him again! That crass pompous bastard! This had to stop now. With or without the sanction of the Committee, he was going to set things right. Just because of the ego of one man… all this had to happen. Was it by fate that Yamamoto kept on being assigned the youngest Spriggan agents? Ominae, Tashiki, Jonathan, Yamamoto thought of them all as his sons. Dealing with their destructive immaturity, watching them train, sending them off on their missions, the anxious wait and relief as they returned, and the grousing on how overworked they were… Mai had endeared herself to him the very first time they met. Offhanded her comment on his baldness was, but it made him feel… paternal. And hell hath no fury like a father whose daughter was in trouble.

But the question was where exactly Jonathan and Mai were? In another darkened room in the ARCAM building Tea Flatte sat at her microphone, thumbing an intelligence report sent in by the enigmatic Oboro. "There. Unagami." She tapped on the page. "I pray we get there in time…"

A lone taxi puttered down an empty road in the dark. It suddenly stopped, motioned by the dark passenger in the back seat.

"Are you sure sir? This is quite a distance from Unagami." The driver asked.

"It's alright." The passenger replied. He paid the fare and got off, walking into the night. He came all the way from the Philippines; walking an extra distance to his destination wouldn't hurt.

The taxi driver shook his head before pushing off. There were so many strange folk in these parts these days…

It was like that anime series, Ayashi no Ceres. Everyday normal girl thrust into world of danger she doesn't understand, rescued by heroic bishounen, etc… It was what Mai had dreamed of everyday in her mundane life, but now she was not so sure.

She still couldn't believe what Jonathan told her. However, a glimmer of truth in his eyes told her that this was real. So what if it was reality now? People were trying to kill her… why? Jonathan had just run off; and now she heard gunshots from that direction. It now occurred to her that he could get killed fighting them… She just sat down and wished for it all to go away…

No, that would not be her. "You've been a strong girl Mai." She thought to herself. "You came by yourself to Tokyo and survived, didn't you? You can either sit down and cry or be brave… That's right, I'm Mai Shirahime, the most popular girl in Mizuno College, best DDR player and I have a super kakoii gaijin boyfriend that will kick your ass!

Boyfriend. Maybe when this is all over they could have a normal relationship-

"There she is! We've found her!!" Black balaclava-masked heads peered in, pushing the foliage away, and one of them put him arm in to pull Mai out. "Get away!!!" she kicked furiously, and screamed.

Team no. 7 of the MPA was tasked with finding Mai and they were relieved to have been assigned that task. From what they heard, the other teams were being annihilated by the Spriggan. At least with their mission accomplished, they could get out of that hellhole. "C'mon, give me a hand…" The soldier grumbled as he began pulling her out, fighting and screaming.

"No!!! Leave me alone!!! Jonathan!!!!"

And instantly, a gunshot rang out and a MPA soldier fell dead. He had arrived. Injured and blood-soaked, Jonathan glared at those who would dare hurt Mai. He was going to kill them.

"It's the Spriggan!" They were surprised… From relief to absolute terror in an instant. Without even seeing who it was, Mai was quickly dropped back into the trunk as Team 7 faced their enemy

"You think you can take us all on Spriggan? You're injured; you don't even have your armored muscle suit!" The leader of Team 7 sneered, feebly attempting to bolster him and his team's confidence. Jonathan just glanced at his bloody arm. "Yeah, I believe I can."

That was the cue. The leader snapped. Like hell they were going to be killed so easily like their other comrades. All hell broke loose; the team opened fire. Jonathan ran sideways, returning their hate with the purloined rifle from his hip. From a team of eight, five remained as two fell, one whacked earlier. Again he took cover behind one of the large trees, switched to his trusty M93R and took a potshot from the side, dropping another one with a well-placed shot to the neck.

Tired of this, the leader motioned for a new tactic. With the Spriggan taking cover, they would attack from both sides in a pincer. The rest agreed and they charged, two each on the left and right. However, one made the fatal mistake of being too eager…

As soon as the muzzle of the soldier's rifle came into view, Jonathan grabbed the rifle and threw the soldier against the tree and holding him. Everything happened fast- with the rifle under his control; he peppered the following leader dead before putting one into the trapped soldier's head. The ones on the left broke off their charge too late to help the others, and found themselves face-to-face with Jonathan, who proceeded to drop them with a burst from his Machine Pistol each, the edge of his lips curled in a smile.

Her butt hurt. Of course, since the soldier had practically thrown her back into the trunk. Everything went quiet after the gunfire and shouting… what happened? Suddenly; the sound of footsteps. Mai cringed and got ready to flail madly in case the soldiers came back…

"Are you all right?"

Jonathan! He's back!! But Mai's smile evaporatedwhen she saw he was hurt.

"You're bleeding."

"It's nothing," he reassured, sitting himself down to rest. But without a word, Mai had already begun bandaging his wounds with her torn sleeves.

"Wait, I-ah…" Jonathan wanted to interject but Mai's close proximity, plus a whiff of her hair fragrance just made him shut up, blush up and sit down.

"You shouldn't be getting yourself hurt…"

"What do you mean?" Jonathan asked.

"Y-you're going to get killed because of me…" Mai looked away in anguish. "I don't want to see you like this…"

"Oh this? That's nothing! It'll take more than a flesh wound to kill me!" He laughed feebly to get Mai's spirits back up.

"NO!!!"

He failed.

"I just don't want to be alone anymore… I don't want anything to happen to… you." The tears started welling up in her eyes again. She was now all-too aware of the sad fate of a soldier… "Why can't we run away?"

Jonathan held her tightly in a reassuring embrace.

"We can't. But I'll promise you, I'll see this to the end."

"All teams… have been eliminated."

"Excellent."

"Excuse me sir?" The last remaining soldier asked his commander. The person in question stood staring out to sea, quiet contemplation. Commander of the MPA detachment, the Armani-suited man seemed not to care about that statement, instead played with this goatee in satisfaction. "No matter how many die, as long as you kill him and retrieve the girl…" He recited slowly, softly.

"Isn't that right?" He suddenly snapped back to his assistant; the soldier, with an unearthly grin, as if he had just discovered the secret of the universe. The soldier just muttered in affirmation.

His name was Dorian Gray. (8) A code-name, but his skills were unquestionable. Saruta hired this mysterious necromancer to join his personal bodyguard cadre but it appeared he had his own agenda. Of course, the reason he went for this assignment was the chance to fight a Spriggan. To be able to kill one of the most powerful people on Earth…

The point where Dorian and his assistant were waiting at now wasn't by coincidence. The bluff they were standing on offered a great vantage point to the sea, which was crucial to the next phase of his plan. Pushing back his straight centre-parted hair, he approached the moss and lichen-encrusted ancient wall behind them and studied it intently. His assistant followed, curious to see what he was doing… when without warning, Dorian whipped back and threw him against the wall, slitting his throat in the process.

"Every good cast needs a sacrifice." He remarked, shaking the blood off his tanto that he used to do the deed. In actuality, hiding behind decades of foliage in the wall was a small shrine, dedicated to the appeasement of the spirits of the people who died in the surrounding waters. Slowly the blood from the slumped corpse of the assistant began seeping into the shrine. Dorian clasped his hands together in a cryptic signal and began chanting…

Spirits of the dead,

Begrudged of the deep,

Hear the call of your Master,

Appear!

Dorian briefly glowed, channeling all of his energy into the chant, and strangely, everything was still and quiet. But slowly, dark, wretched figures began rising out of the water and on to shore… (9)

"And now the real fun begins!"

Misc. Notes:

1) A flashback to Jonathan's training in his early days.

2) Anti-tank rocket launcher used by the German army in WW2. Its lineage continues today with the Panzerfaust 3.

3) Type of camouflage used by the modern-day German army.

4) Stands for 'Personal Armor System for Ground Troops' the name for the combination of the Kevlar helmet and vest of the US army. Its vest is especially distinctive.

5) A type of night camouflage consisting of a grid-like pattern over a drab green base. Supposed to make the wearer unseen by Night vision goggles. Tested in the first Gulf War by the US and found to suck a lot. Standard special forces kit for the MPA.

6) The MPA utilize modern Russian and Chinese weaponry as they have quite good ties to the corporation and easier to get than most western firearms.

7) The high authority or 'The Board of Directors' in ARCAM. Of course Tea is the real boss of it all, but they are there for reasons of anonymity. Each initial actually represents a name.

8) The first of Saruta's personal bodyguards (or boss) to challenge Jonathan. Has a suave and a creepy and erratic behavior. He's a necromancer so expect a lot of supernatural hijinks from this guy.

9) Water zombies…