Chapter 11: The Fiend - Part 1
Suzu was in the middle of a battle against what seemed to be a large group of common thugs out in a dark alley. She didn't seem tired out, but the same could not be said for the enemy. Many of the thugs were knocked out, but one was still standing.
"I don't know who you are, but you're dead meat!" the thug yelled as he ran up to Suzu with a sword. Suzu didn't seem worried about her fierce opponent. In a instant however, Suzu vanished out of sight.
"Where'd you go?!" the thug looked around to see where Suzu was, but it was too late. Suzu had re-appeared behind him, and had jabbed the thug in the neck with a quick karate chop, causing him to fall unconscious. Suzu looked at her downed foe with no absolutely no remorse for him whatsoever.
"Gunkan, this is what you wanted right? Im actually making a difference to the world now. But there's still one thing left to do..." Suzu thought to herself. A quiet noise from the corner of the alleway hindered her thoughts however.
"Tch, I can't just stay here and play superhero. I have to find HIM before he finds me." Suzu quickly checked her surroundings before teleporting out of the area. Once Suzu vanished, the source of the noise from before revealed itself to be a pair of red eyes hiding in the shadows.
"Damn it! That pesky bitch got away from my grasp again. If Im going to trap Suzu, I'll have to lure her in with another group of criminals. But it won't be that hard, seeing as how this city's crime rate is ridiculously high compared to others. Hehehe, I know you TOO well Suzu, I just knew you'd come out of your hiding place. Soon you'll be all mine." a mysterious voice said evily.
In another part of the city, Suzu was sitting in a seat in the middle of the street while sipping on a milkshake. "I thought that assassain would be in this city somewhere, a place where he could use his strength to rise to top place. But even if he's not here, I can still try my hand a wiping out all the evil that corrupts this city, one by one." Suzu sighed as she thought to herself. She began to stir her milkshake using a straw in boredom, until she began to sense something strange. She looked up to see a man wearing a yellow and black jacket, blue pants and brown shoes serving ice cream behind a stall. There was something odd about him though: he had a pink swirly head!
"There's something about that man I sense. Could he be a Babylon? I must find out." Suzu thought as she stared at the man in shock. As the man continued to serve ice cream, Suzu continued staring at him for a good few minutes. Soon enough, the street became less active as the man was out of customers. Suzu saw this as a oppurtunity and walked up to the man.
"Excuse me sir, I have a question to ask." Suzu requested.
"If it's about the ice-cream flavors, look below you." the man said in a unfriendly manner.
"No. This may sound personal to you, but, are you perhaps, a Babylon?"
"Never heard of them." the man insisted.
"Very well then. I sense something a different air about you. I want to fight you to see if my hunch is correct."
"Go away, I don't want to be disturbed!"
"Get ready to defend yourself!" Suzu teleported right in front of the man in a attempt to punch him, but the man gracefully dodged the incoming attack, leaving Suzu slightly shocked.
"So my hunch was correct. This guy can fight. I have to take him on further to see if he really can employ the powers of the Babylon." Suzu thought to herself. She teleported in front of the man again to repeat her above attack, sending in a barrage of punches and kicks, only for them to be dodged easily.
"You need to cool off a little." the man taunted. He and Suzu hesitated for a moment, until the man was knocked to the floor suddenly. Suzu had in fact appeared behind the man, who quickly got up in frustration.
"Tell me, who are you really?" Suzu asked.
"Tch, if you really insist. My name is Softon. Im one of the last of the Babylon, who owns a ice-cream store and fights with the power of Babylon." Softon explained.
"So you are a Babylon, a survivor of the massacre caused by the Dark Dragon Byakkyo 15 years ago?"
"That's right, but who are you and what do you want with me? Are you here to wipe my kind off for good!?"
"No. I should be asking you what you're doing here in such a corrupted city when you could accomplish much else?"
"Selling ice-cream, as you see."
"Why here?"
"Because I get a little respect from the thugs here. They actually buy my ice cream, you know."
"Mr. Softon, you are indeed a powerful warrior. I have a request for you."
"Oh what?"
"A journey to help me purify the world of it's ongoing chaos. With your skills, we could help a lot of people in need."
"Not interested."
"Isn't there anything you want?"
"No. Except for one thing."
"What is it?"
"I doubt it's even possible for me to obtain it now. And it's not like you could help me either."
"Tell me of what you desire."
"Hmph, you sound like a genie, asking me what I want. What I want, is to have the chance to see my little sister again. But I don't know if she's even alive. We were seperated from each other 6 years ago."
"Beauty!?" Suzu thought in shock.
"What's the matter?"
"It's... it's nothing."
"Hmph, how can you help me?"
"I can help you using my teleportation abilities."
"I'll think about it tonight. No promises but." Softon turned away from Suzu and began to walk off.
"In that case, I'll see you about it tommorow."
"Very well. Meet me here in the morning." Softon continued walking.
That night, Softon entered his appartment. He flicked a light switch on, only to reveal a man cloaked in black sitting on Softon's couch.
"You!" Softon got into a fighting position.
"Now now, there's no need for alarm. Actually, I've come here bearing very, very important information. This regards your reputation." the man clad in darkness stated.
"I don't like people entering my appartment without permission, but I don't really want to fight either. Fire away."
"Have you heard the news going around regarding how street gangs in this city are falling one by one without explanation."
"Yes I have, it's runing my sales."
"Well, I know for sure that you're one of the most powerful men in this city. Im sure you can get rid of whoever's doing this. It will help preserve your wonderful ice cream sales. The world would suck without ice cream."
"Tell me, do you know who or what exactly is doing this?"
"I do in fact. A blonde girl that dons a yellow vest, white baggy pants, yellow anklets, black finger gloves, a black shirt with a red cross design. She also has dark pink eyes, almost brownish. That should help you."
"I did meet a girl today who met those exact descriptions!"
"Tell what happened."
"Well, I was about to close my store when this girl walked up to me. She seemed to sense my power, and tried to convince me to join her to help others for the greater good. I said I would think about it, and as a result, Im going to meet up with her tommorow morning."
"Really? That's PERFECT. Listen, that girl means big trouble for all of us, so once you see her tommorow, I want you to battle her to the death. But don't worry, I'll be watching from a distance in case you need a hand."
"Right, I'll battle her for both our sakes."
"That's what I want to hear. Now, good day to you." the man got off the couch and exited through the door.
"Im not actually sure what I want to do. I understand the girl's intentions, but I owe a lot to HIM. Yet if I was to defy his wishes, he'd take everything I have left from me. And even if I do go with that girl, I don't even know if where of if Beauty's still out there. I have to make a choice: either continue living this shameful life or accept this once in a lifetime chance." Softon thought deeply to himself.
The next day, Suzu was looking around the same area that she had met Softon. There was not a soul in sight however.
"Mr. Softon!" Suzu called out. There was no response. Suzu eventually gave up and sat down on a seat behind her.
"Where is he? I've been waiting here for over half an hour!" Suzu thought to herself. She failed to notice that Softon was standing on top of a building watching Suzu from above.
"She's waiting for me, just as promised." Softon readied his battle aura. He then did something rather unexpected: he jumped off the building and dived straight down to Suzu, who seemed to notice his presense as she looked straight up in shock to see him flying down. Softon landed besides Suzu without any injuries from his long fall.
"There you are Mr. Softon!" Suzu said. She suddenly took notice of Softon's battle aura, which seemed to rage.
"I thought about what you said. I know who you are now. You're trying to ruin this city, and I cannot allow you to do what you want, for that would ruin my reputation, and thus my life. Prepare to battle!" Softon yelled as he got into a fighting stance.
"So you know!?" Suzu asked in shock, but she did not get a answer from Softon, who lunged at her at a binding speed. Suzu only had time to teleport back from Softon.
"I see. You're truly going all-out now. Listen Mr. Softon, I do not want to kill you." Suzu admitted.
"Your teleportation is a tricky move indeed. If I can't hit you directly, I'll just have to show you the power of my BABYON SHINKEN!!! Rise, Babylon!" Softon yelled as the surrounding area became black. Behind Softon was a large, fuzzy image of Babylon. "Babylon is the one who gives me the strength to battle. You shall recieve judgement soon enough." Softon warned Suzu.
"He's used the power of his Shinken. I'd better wrap things up quickly with Mr. Softon." Suzu thought.
"Get ready!" Softon yelled as he bought his fist back towards himself, causing a portal to open in front of Suzu. Once Softon threw his fist forward in a punching motion, a giant fist appeared out of the portal straight for Suzu. Completely surprised by the attack, Suzu was hit by the fist and knocked back. More portals kept opening up, and before Suzu could react, she was hit with a barrage of Babylon's punches, knocking her to the ground. As Suzu got up, she saw that Softon was right in front of Suzu with his hand on her head.
"Babylon Shinken! Soul Transmute!" In a flash of light, Suzu was transformed into a yellow wall with strange symbols on it. Softon placed his foot on the wall and used it to jump far into the air away from the wall which was Suzu. In mid-air, Softon held his hands outwards as two portals appeared on both sides of the wall. Softon then clapped his hands, causing two of Babylon's hands to appear from one portal each to perform the same action as Softon, which smashed the wall to bits. As Softon landed from his mid-air flight, the surrounding area returned to it's original state as Babylon vanished. In a flash of light, Suzu reverted back to her original form. She was on her knees, clutching her heart in agonising pain.
"You did well to survive that attack. It's usually a instant kill, however, you survived due to how strong your soul is. But I must finish you off." Softon stated. He tried to move, but he was frozen in place all of a sudden.
"I..I can't move. Did I really use up that much power!?" Softon thought in shock.
"I won't let you continue." Suzu said defiantly.
"Is this your doing?"
"Yes, Im keeping you in place with my will."
"I see. You have PSI abilities. I didn't know that such thing really did exist. You really are strong. You know, I'd come along with you. But do you know if my little sister is still alive?"
"If you really want to know, then tell me, is the name of your sister Beauty?"
"Yes. Yes, her name is Beauty. Tell me what you know about her!"
"Enough! Softon, continue on with bringing this girl's death into existence. You were winning before, but now I see you're just living in the past. You upset me." a mysterious voice interrupted Softon and Suzu's conversaiton, who both looked to where the voice was coming from. It was the same man who spoke with Softon the night before!
"Wait! What's going on!?" Suzu became confused at this man's words.
"Oh, poor little Suzu, who's been wandering in the dark, has had the stage set for her at last. Your death awaits." the man warned Suzu.
Who is this mysterious man who has been stalking Suzu? And what ties does he have with her and Softon? Then there's the final question regarding Softon's true alliance. Find this and more in the next chapter.