Author's Notes:
With the addition of this new chapter, Rating has been bumped up to M for "Blood and Gore" and "Strong Language." Well, more strong language than usual...
Little disappointed no reviews of the previous chapter...i thought i did pretty good...guess it was too cliche huh? Well this one may be better....
Chapter 14: Stars Reborn
Blood…there was blood flooding the area in front of me…was it mine? Due to all my wounds, I probably couldn't tell if there was a new one or not, but from the scene in front of me the blood wasn't mine…
"Su-Subaru?" I asked softly.
"Y-yes?" Her reply was equally soft.
"Are you okay?"
"I…I think so…but…what's going on?"
"I wanted to ask that…myself…"
During that short instant before, I had dived on top of Subaru to shield her from the gunfire but…they didn't shoot at us, but at each other instead…the bodies of the shot cyborgs disappeared before they hit the ground, but their blood remained.
The orange robed cyborg simply turned to look at the mess before walking toward us and extending a hand out to me.
"Thanks for…your hard work," he mumbled. "Is that how…you say it?"
"Uh…I guess?" I answered slowly before taking his hand. When I stood up, one of the soldiers walked up to me and tried to support me by lending me her shoulder but I politely refused.
"You are the one who was talking to me when I was tied up…" Subaru asked the man as he nodded.
"Correct…I am Cyborg G1-1057. I am the…second in command of the troops…on this vessel," he replied in his usual monotone and broken voice.
""And G1-1057 is too hard to remember! Why don't we just call you 'Ghost'?" I asked as I struggled to stay on my feet. I seemed to topple over a bit since Subaru put her arm in front of me and helped me stay up. "Sorry about this…"
"No, it's okay," she replied quickly.
"Ghost? Ghost…"
Completely contradicting and destroying the image I had of this guy, he seems to be genuinely interested in accepting that as a nickname.
"Um…why are you calling him, 'Ghost'?" Subaru whispered to me.
"It's because this guy pops in and out like a ghost and his serial number can spell out the word 'Ghost' in English," I explained. It was a pretty simple and almost childish reason, but that's what I came up with. Subaru looked like she wanted to say something but was cut off by Ghost.
"In any case…we need to hurry…the operation has already begun…my forces are converging…with your comrades. We need to hurry…" he said as he turned around and headed into the ship. The soldiers fell in line behind him and Subaru and I have no choice but to follow.
~ - ~
The inside of the ship was…as expected…blue. There were a lot of soldiers running about but they were all part of the coup. It seems they identified themselves with the colors and symbols on their mask. Not that I could really tell in an instant like they can.
"You there," Ghost called out to one of the soldiers searching. "Where is alpha target?"
"Sir! We have reports he headed to the lower levels of the ship," the soldier replied.
"What? Wasn't he…in the bridge?"
"A few minutes after you left, he left as well. When you gave the order, two squads attempted to subdue him but we lost contact. The last transmissions suggests that he has a few 'M2' or 'M3' classes with him."
"That slime…what is he doing…?"
"What's at the bottom?" I asked.
"I am not sure…myself…it was some sort of…project…apparently he didn't…trust me enough to show me…" he said with a scoff. "Not that he was wrong…I suppose."
"What exactly are 'M2' and 'M3' classes?" Subaru asked.
"They are cyborg variants…the usage of 'M' classes have been…prohibited by our leader…after the war…" Ghost explained as we got to an elevator.
"Why? Were they dangerous or something?"
"It wasn't so much that…although they were…no…ARE dangerous…it was more due to…"
He was cut off by a message on his transceiver.
"Lieu-Lieutenant Commander…" came a weak voice.
"What's wrong?"
"It's…coming up…run!" His voice was cut off by a nasty sound…like something being crushed…
"What happened? Respond! Eii! All units…high alert! Be on the lookout for…M2 and or M3 classes!"
The soldiers around us began prepping their weapons as the elevator reached our level. Suddenly, a blade pierced through the door right through one of the cyborgs head and Subaru let out a small cry as it continued to stretch forward and stopped inches from Ghost's mask…or rather its because he stopped it with one of the claws under his cloak.
Immediately, the other soldiers began to shoot at the hole in the elevator door but the blade had already retracted. Everyone stepped back as the doors opened.
At first I thought it was another masked cyborg, but it wasn't wearing a mask…it had a pale gray face and dark yellow eyes and its mouth was wide open with pieces of flesh attached to the top and bottom lips. It was less of a human and more of a beast than the cyborgs around me. The blade that had pierced through the elevator door was actually one of its arms…or legs…
"W-what is that thing?" Subaru asked as she back away even further, carrying me with her.
"A M2 class," one of the soldiers responded as they all opened fire on it.
It roared in pain as it jumped out of the elevator and landed on one of the soldiers, who let out a cry of pain, and jumped at Subaru and me.
"Kyaa!"
I shoved Subaru aside and materialized my sword and blocked its attack while it was still in the air. It bounced off my sword and attached itself to the ceiling as they continued to shoot it. It pulled out its legs and slashed at two of the soldiers right through their heads…
It then started swinging its limbs wildly at me. It suddenly stopped and its head retraced into its body and reappeared between its legs. "Holy shit…just what the hell is this thing!?" I screamed as I leapt away in horror.
As I did, it was impaled from its underside by Ghost's claws, and by instinct I slashed it's squirming head off. Even without its head it continues to move. The remaining soldiers closed in and kept shooting it until it finally fell limp.
"That…was a M2…a 'Slicer' to be…more precise," Ghost said. "Report!"
"01 is wounded and 07 is dead sir," one of the remaining soldiers said. "So are 03 and 05."
"Field-patch 01 and let's keep moving."
"Hold on a minute! You're telling me that…that thing…was a cyborg?"
"Like I said…a variant…we have to keep moving…" Ghost was in a real hurry to get Angra Mainyu…not that I'm against that of course…but I want some answers here…I guess they'll have to wait.
"Hey Subaru, are you okay?" I asked as I put my arm around her to help her up. She was shaken up pretty badly. Considering that she just saw three people get brutalized and that abomination of nature, I guess I'm the weird one for not being shaken.
"Wait…I thought you cyborgs warped away, when u get knocked out and stuff…how come those guys didn't?" I recalled quickly.
"We shut off the bio-vats when the Ms were sighted," one of the soldiers answered me. "You don't want them coming back do you?"
"Fair enough…" I mumbled as I shrugged my shoulders. "Come on, let's move Subaru."
I managed to get her up on her feet when Ghost's transceiver started sounding again.
"Lt. Commander! We are on route to the Dreadnought with the other mages that didn't come with the others. The other squads have finished clearing out the other ships and are converging toward the Dreadnought as well."
"Good…now all we need to do…is find the admiral and…it will all be over…"
"Huh? What's that…? Sir! There is something coming up from below the deck! I can't quite make out what it is from up here, but it's huge!"
"Damn. All forces…head to the deck!"
"Oi, Subaru get a grip!" I started shaking her and was about to smack her face when she finally came to.
"Ah…sorry," she said as she stood up properly. "I'm okay now…"
"Good, we need to catch up to the others…I don't want to be alone if another one of those things show up…" I said pointing to the corpse.
"Y-yeah…"
~ - ~
When we headed back out on the deck, we were greeted with multiple and loud-as-hell explosions. The entire deck was covered in flames and smoke as a huge monolith stands in the middle of it all. There were also a few people standing around it shooting at the coup d'état forces. I notice Ghost using a downed chopper as cover alongside a few other soldiers and the two of us ran over to them.
"Let me guess! Those things are M3s!?" I half asked half shouted at him over the gunfire.
"Correct…" He said simply as he fired a few shots from his pistol at them. "Titans. Their armor and shields are durable enough to…withstand a constant barrage…as you can see here. Their armor also…injects doses of morphine…when pierced in order…to let them continue fighting…despite injury…although I have no idea…what the big one is…"
I guess he supposedly sounds tense, but since he always talks in a monotone it's kind of hard to tell.
"Hang on, what happened to our helicopter?"
"It was forced…to land on the…other side of that…behemoth," Ghost replied.
"Teana and Ayumi! Are they okay?"
"I am…unsure…the ones escorting them…were shot down…"
"Eh? Tea is over there?" Subaru asked as the two of us peeked around the cover.
There was no activity coming from behind the giant mecha…so they are either hiding, or unconscious…or too wounded to move…I hope that the last one wasn't the case.
"Yuu-kun!" Subaru said as she grabbed a hold of me. "We have to go help them!"
"Y-yeah!" I said as I stood up slightly.
"Do you think…you can make it past them?" Ghost asked. He was probably talking about the M3's guarding the mecha…and probably the mecha itself, which has just finished riding the elevator to the top and was completely towering on the deck.
"Bwhahahaha!" A ridiculous laugh echoes across the battle zone and the gunfire stopped. "Behold my power!"
Multiple panels opened up from the thing and small turrets and cannons popped out and started shooting at everything…even the M3s…
"This machine! This Monolith! This is all the power I need to get rid of you!"
The Monolith easily stood at least thirty meters tall, and had a ton of armor on it. It had four large artillery type cannons on its back and its arms had small turrets on its side with the front of it being three more small cannons. There was also a missile pod below its chest and on both sides of its torso.
He turned the head of that thing towards me and I instinctively ran away from my cover. As I predicted as soon as it saw me, it began unloading its payload on me. Those giant gattling guns it was holding on both hands were insane. They were ripping through the weaker outer edges of my barrier and the spots where they hit were cracking under the strain…until finally…it broke.
A round it me right in my left shoulder and I was sent flying and spinning off my feet. My arm was burning in pain but thankfully it was still attached to my body…just dangling pretty far down from it…
Angra Mainyu let out another laugh. "It's over! DIE!!"
I was staring down the barrels of its freaking cannons as they bore down on me. I couldn't move and I couldn't defend myself…haha…what happened next…I don't think anyone would have been to see it coming…
Something small, white, and very fast flew at the cannon, straight down one of the barrel and (probably) hit the generator inside it, causing the thing to explode. And in that instant, Subaru came over, picked me up and moved toward the helicopter Teana and Ayumi were in.
The two of them were out cold but they didn't seem like they were hurt too badly…especially compared to the half-dead, bloody corpse that is I. I guess the cyborgs pulled them out and moved to a different location so they wouldn't be fired upon.
"AGH!" I groaned in pain as Subaru set me down as softly as she could. "Crap…this hurts…"
"I…I don't think the bullet is still in there…" Subaru mumbled softly as she checked my shoulder. "I think it just broke the skin…"
"Gah…great…so all it did was tear through my barrier and my armor as well as my skin…that's great news! Oh, how about adding the fact that I think it popped my shoulder out as well?"
I was hysterical at the moment. Within a short period of time I had my chest continuously pounded on, my back broken against cold hard steel, my side crushed, SHOT at by gun turrets, and now my shoulder is out…some body out there must really hate me…besides the man in the walking death machine.
Hell, I'm not even sure how I'm still conscious. Any normal person would probably be in a bloody coma or even gone crazy… hell even dead…yet I was still here…I was still sane…I was still awake…why?
"Urgh…would you keep your voice down?"
Teana seemed to have finally come to as she rubbed her head.
"Sorry to wake you up…princess…"
"You look like you could use some sleep yourself…"
"TEA!!" Our sort of routine event of hurling sarcastic remarks at each other was interrupted by Subaru who dived at Teana and hugged her. "You're okay!"
"You idiot…that's what everyone wants to say to you…especially since-"
"Agh! My shoulder hurts!!"
I quickly let out a fake cry of pain in order to shut her up. She was probably going to tell Subaru about Ed and the others…I don't want Subaru to know about that…yet…
She seemed to understand what I was doing as she looked away from Subaru for a bit before turning to me.
"Think we can pop your shoulder back in?" she asked as she gripped my shoulder tightly.
"G-go for it…" I'm breaking out in a cold sweat, but I'm not sure if its because I'm seriously dying or that I'm unsure whether or not it was a good idea to let her do something like this. "W-wait…I'm having second th-"
CRACK
"NnnnGGAYAYAYANNNOOWWWWWWWWwwww!"
"Oh shut up you big baby…"
"That was an amazing scream though…"
"Sh-shut up…"
"Where are you!?! Where did you run to?!?"
Oh crap…I forgot about that guy…
The Monolith was looking around, completely ignoring the damage it took as well as the fire from Ghost's troops.
"AHHHHHH! Anyone who is still alive! FIND HIM AND KILL HIM!"
One of the M3s that I thought had been killed by him stood up and leapt over the downed helicopter. None of us were ready for it. I was ready to throw myself like an idiot in front of it just to slow it down, because I sure as hell couldn't defend myself right now.
But a calm, cool, and familiar voice saved us.
"Now! Algor Vesica!"
It was an instant but the cyborg froze into a block of ice and was then pierce, and shattered, by a claw.
Both Alex and Ghost had come to our rescue.
"Everyone? Are you alright?" Alex asked as he landed beside me.
"I can't…have you dying on me…Kimura Yuuki," Ghost said as he landed behind Alex.
"Damn you…it was HER wasn't it? That woman is getting in my way again?" Angra Mainyu said as the Monolith faced all of us. "No matter! As soon as I kill all of you here, I'll kill her just like that boy's family!"
"Eh…?" Subaru's voice was quiet, but I could hear it very clearly and apparently so could Teana and Alex as they both turned away from her. "What is he talking about? Yuu-kun…Tea…Alex…?"
Subaru was slowing going into a state of shock.
"Then…Sakura-chan is…"
"Subaru Nakajima…focus on what's at hand," Ghost said as he placed one of his hands on her shoulder. "Answers…will come later…"
He then stepped toward the front and looked up at the Monolith like it was just a statue.
"Alexander Dalton…" Ghost spoke without looking at him
"Yeah?" Alex replied with caution in his voice. It looks like he doesn't quite trust Ghost, even though he helped save the rest of us.
"Can you see them? The exposed areas?"
Alex looked up at the Monolith as well and after a slight pause nodded.
"Where can you see them?"
"In the joints of the left arm…below the front missile pod…on the right leg…and right below the head…"
"Good…do you believe…you can reach them?"
"Probably…"
"I'll match your movement…whenever you're ready…" As he said that, Ghost pulled out a combat knife from under his cloak and at that moment, the two of them sped toward the Monolith.
"Like I'll let you!" All the guns started shooting at them, but none of them could hit them. I never thought Alex could move that fast…
When they got to its legs, the two of them jumped up and kicked off each other's feet and bounced over the gunfire onto the main body where they begin to cut it up.
"Subaru! Kuro! Let's go too!" Teana said as she started charging up her magic. "Let's use THAT formation!"
"Y-yeah!"
"Just don't get in their way!"
Subaru and I charged right in and because most of the turrets had been destroyed we had little to no problem reaching the Monolith.
Subaru's wing road began to wrap around the Monolith blocking Teana from its view and allowing Alex and Ghost to get out of the way of our attacks. The two of them had done quite a number on the thing. There was scrap all over the place and its remaining artillery cannons had been sliced off.
"Start now!!" Teana called me out to begin the attack.
"Ein!" I formed my sword and began slashing at the damaged parts of the Monolith that Alex and Ghost had so graciously left for me. The results caused it to lose one of its arms. "Teana!"
"DAMN YOU!!" Angra Mainyu cried out as the smaller turrets aimed at me as I was trying to land.
"Zwei!" Teana who had been charging her Crossfire attack, released all of the shots at the mecha and she skillfully controlled them into the barrels of the turrets, ignited the shells inside causing them to all blow up. "Subaru!"
"Drei!" Subaru said as she started pummeling the Monolith from her Wing Road by riding by it and delivering powerful punches all over it. She then made a wide turn away from the Monolith and sped right toward it. "Vier!"
At the last moment, she jumped off the Wing Road and it pierced right through the torso and she road across its body and met up with the Wing Road as it came out from the other side. "Tea!"
"Fünf!" Teana shot multiple magic bullets at one if its damaged legs and the resulting explosions tore it off. "Kuro!"
"Sechs!" It was my turn again and I had managed to get under its other leg as it was falling down. "Blade Impulse! Rising Arc!" I leapt straight up swinging my spear in a large arc as I did, slashing off its remaining arm and leg. I then turned around in midair and aimed my bow down at him. At the same time Teana and Subaru were also charging their spells.
"Climatic…BLAAAAAAAAASTER!!!"
"Divine… BUUUUUUUUSTER!!!"
"Phantom… BLAAAAAAAZER!!!"
"YOU BASTARDS!!" Angra Mainyu let out a huge roar as the spells collided at him simultaneously. The black, blue and orange beams caused one hell of an explosion.
"RAMAPGING STAR CRAAAAAAAAAAASH!!!" It was our ultimate formation that the three of us came up with during our days at Section 6 that we never got to use until now. Using all of our abilities and spells to neutralize the target without fail.
As the smoke started to clear I could see a shadow escaping from the scrapped mech. I felt my blood boiling as I flew toward him, grabbed him by the neck and slammed him into the wall. I waited until the smoke cleared before doing anything else. When it finally did, the only emotion I felt was pure rage.
The man in my hand was sort and portly and was gasping for air like a pig. I couldn't quite understand the emotion I was feeling. Was it disappointment? With a name like his, with everything he had done, with all the monsters he threw at us, with all the deaths he caused…what was I expecting? A monster? The devil himself?
Instead, all I see in front of me is a man that looks like he's going to soil himself at the mere sight of a weapon.
"You…you piece of shit!"
I gave him a sharp kick in his gut while still holding him against the wall. Even if he was something less than an ordinary man I was going to get my revenge. I wanted to hurt him to the point that he would either beg for mercy or try to commit suicide, and then prevent him from doing so.
Ignoring his pleas and screams of pain, I deliver hit after hit on every part of his body I could reach. I had never felt this way before. This sadistic feeling of causing him pain was increasing my adrenaline and I just wanted to continue to hurt him. I understand it now. This was the reason that I'm still fighting despite all my injuries. The sole thing that was keeping me upright was the willpower and desire to kill this man.
With each punch I give him I get an image of everyone who died. First it was Shou, then Kasumi, then Ed, then Oyaji, and last was Sakura.
With each image my attacks and rage grew fiercer, and when Sakura's face appeared I drew out my sword and released his throat and let him slide to my feet. I then grabbed my sword with both hands. As I did, that voice appeared again.
Do it…a pig like this doesn't deserve to live…
"Kuro!"
I looked over my shoulder to see the others come into view. My former captains and Kaa-san were also there.
"What do you think you're doing?" Fate-san asked quickly.
"Exactly what it looks like…I'm going to kill him…" My voice felt different. It was if someone else was speaking alongside me…and as if to prove my word I stepped on and crushed one of his fingers under my foot.
"Stop! We need to take him in alive!" Nanoha-san said as she tried to run up and stop me but Kaa-san stopped her.
"No…let him continue," she said coldly.
"But…"
"What if he still has supporters? What if they break him out of prison? What if even more people die because you followed all the rules?" Nanoha-san couldn't say anything back as she took a few steps back from her.
I turned back to my quarry as he tried to crawl away.
Come on…stab his hand…go ahead…
Following the voice I drove my blade into his other hand and forcefully pulled it out, flinging the blood everywhere. I heard a few gasp of disgust from Subaru and Teana but I didn't care. The only thing in my mind was inflicting as much pain as I could on the man in front of me before ultimately killing him.
After a few more minutes of playful torture, Subaru seems to have had enough.
"Yuu-kun stop it already!" She cried as she grabbed my hand and pulled me away from him. "Just stop it already!"
She's right…finish this up already…it's getting boring.
"Stop it Kuro!" Teana said as she also walked up toward me. "Don't end up a murderer!"
"Yuu-kun! Enough is enough!"
"Shut up!" I shouted as I threw them off of me. "I'm going to make him pay for everything! I'm going to get my revenge!"
I walked back up to him and put my foot under his stomach and flipped him on his back and stepped on his stomach.
Yeah that's it! Do it! Right between the eyes!
I flipped my blade around and lifted it back and brought it down with all my might…but at the last second I heard a small voice in my head.
I don't want this!
The voice of a crying child reached my ears and I moved my sword just before it hit his head and it hit nothing but the ground instead.
I released my blade and took a few steps back as I looked at my hands. My gloves had blood all over them and now that I noticed, there was blood on my clothes as well…although I'm sure most of it is mine. Out of the corner of my eye I can see Ghost sighing a bit before ordering some soldiers to secure Angra Mainyu.
"Looks like he couldn't do it after all," Kaa-san said with a sigh of relief.
"I…I…" I wasn't sure what to say. My mind was becoming fuzzy as my body was releasing all the tension and adrenaline that it had built up. At that moment my legs gave away and my body fell limp. Luckily Teana and Subaru were close enough to catch me. "I…couldn't do it…I couldn't kill him…I…what the hell am I supposed to do now?"
The real reason that I kept on fighting had slipped through my fingers because I wasn't dedicated enough to follow through with it. At that moment, I felt that everything was worthless.
Before I realized it I was crying as Subaru embraced me tightly.
"It's okay…everything will be okay," she whispered as she patted my head.
"Excuse us," one of two cyborgs said as they placed a stretcher beside me and with Subaru's help they loaded me on it.
"Our ride is here…" Ghost said pointing to a small vessel that had just emerged from the water. "We'll be taking this…to our ship. We'll be able to…treat any wounds…as well…"
As I was separated others as, according to them, I was to be given top priority due to my heavy injuries, which I seem to notice a lot more now that I'm doing nothing but laying around. "Adrenaline does wonders for the body" were my last thoughts before I ended up passing out.
~ - ~
When I came to I was staring at some lights attached to a ceiling…and the first thing that comes to my mind is, "Amazing, they aren't blue…"
Seriously, I'm sick of the color blue.
I wonder if we made it to the main ship of the coup yet. The equipment around here sure looks pretty high tech and plentiful, so I'm pretty sure this is their flagship.
"Haha…that's right…we won…" I mumbled as I covered my eyes with my arm. "But why do I feel like crap?"
"It may be because of all the medicine in your body." The voice's owner came through the door holding a clipboard. She sat down at the desk in the room and started flipping through some papers on top of it. "Amazing…you were the most injured yet you were the first one to wake up. Is this the power of the Devil Ärms?"
She seemed to know what she was talking about as she nodded her head.
"Who are you?"
"My name is Asakura, and this is my ship; the Stargazer."
The missing lights begin to return to his path towards the future. There is still hope for him to reach the tomorrow he strives for as well as the answers he seeks. Next time on Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha StarS: The Metal Mask
Author's Notes:
You know, when i was writing this chapter, I was having boatloads of fun. It was probably because i'm finally nearing the end of this arc, which was the part I've been dying to write for the last few months. Also writing a hidden deranged and sadistic side of Yuuki is kinda fun as well. But as I was writing, I was becoming increasingly annoyed with how Subaru refers to Yuuki (Yuu-kun) due to the fact that they have so similar pronunciation. I decided that i'm either going to have her drop the "-kun" or just call him Yuuki in the future. Anybody have a particular preference? I'm fine with either. Let me know via PM or review...maybe i should start "charging" for this fic by review count...nah that's not cool. Basically i like...no I LOVE reading your reviews, it motivates me to keep on writing and it lets me know that people are actually reading this, not just clicking on the link and then leaving it. So really please...just click on the review number at the top of this page and leave me a review telling me how you think I am doing.