Chapter 21
Road to Tsukumi
Captain Guildo looked out over the bay from their hiding spot in the bushes just off the secluded beach where they hid their skiff. The natural cavity in the dense thicket provided a perfect refuge from prying eyes. A cool breeze stirred his hair as the rising gibbous moon reflected off the water, creating a sparkling effect. The bushes shook softly in the wind as he looked through the gap in the blind they created. Suko sat nearby with Sen, David, and Jubei tending to Sen's injuries received during the ambush. The thundering of helicopter blades began pulsing in their ears and everyone froze. Seconds later, a squadron of six gunships passed just fifty feet over their position with searchlights shining down on the beach. The searchlights moved from side to side as they moved on into the darkness to the west. A sigh escaped Guildo's lips as he looked back at his team. "That was close."
"Yeah," David agreed. "It looks like they were just patrolling."
"Most likely," Guildo said, looking at his watch, finding it broken. 'Damn…they broke my watch in the ambush. Anyone know what time it is?"
Jubei pulled out an old pocket watch and opened the cover. "It's seven-thirty, sir. We've been here since five this afternoon."
"Hmmm…that leaves only four and a half hours before midnight," Guildo mumbled. "I sure hope Master Akira gets back here all right."
"Don't worry about Master Akira," David stated. "My concern is that we may be discovered before…" He suddenly sensed the approach of a couple of diclonius. David crawled over beside Guildo, hissing, "Shit! They found us!"
Guildo sensed the approach also and frowned. He couldn't tell whether they were enemies or allies, so he decided to play it cool. "Keep down and quiet," he ordered. Jubei, guard our rear. Sen, stay close to Suko. David, you're with me. Let's just see who it is first."
He and David watched from their sanctuary for almost two minutes before four figures appeared from the tree line around the rocky outcropping on south end of their secluded beach. A young fiery-red headed diclonius man wearing dark camouflage carried an elderly Japanese man wrapped in a blanket. A pink-haired diclonius woman of moderate build wearing a black jumpsuit helped a middle-aged man across the beach, letting him lean heavily upon her. They trudged down the beach, walking in the edge of the surf to erase their tracks. "Intriguing," Guildo murmured to David. "They're trying to conceal their tracks."
"That doesn't mean they aren't a danger," David warned.
"True," Guildo replied. "But when was the last time you saw any diclonius helping a human? Besides, that one human looks familiar." He pointed to the man being helped by the diclonius woman. "I've seen him somewhere before."
The quartet stopped on the beach in front of Guildo, walking out of the waves. David tensed and Guildo placed a hand on his shoulder. "Just a moment, son…let's just watch them for a minute."
Once out beyond the waves, the red head settled to his knees and gently laid the elderly man down on the sand, sitting down next to him with a sigh. His companions did the same, making a perimeter around the elderly man. At this distance, Guildo and David could see the splints on the old man's limbs. The middle-aged man literally plopped down in the sand, out of breath. The diclonius woman settled beside him, asking, "Are you all right, Saito?"
"I will be," he panted. "Just need a minute to catch my breath, Naomi."
Naomi patted him on the shoulder. "How's the ankle?"
"Throbbing like a toothache," Saito replied. "I should've been more careful where I was stepping. Thanks for catching me back there."
Naomi smiled sweetly. "Not a problem. I just hope we can find Captain Guildo before someone finds us."
"So do I," the red head said. "The Fury has become so thick I can hardly sense anyone."
"How's the Emperor doing, Doug?" Saito asked the red head.
"He's still unconscious," Doug replied. "But he's still alive. I wonder why Master Akira told us to come here. There doesn't appear to be anyone here except us."
"I don't know," Saito murmured, holding his bad ankle. "But this is where he told us to come. He said Commander Guildo is supposed to be here waiting for him."
"So what do we do now?" Naomi asked.
"I guess we wait and pray no one sees us," Doug replied. With that, he sighed and looked at the bay, feeling very ill at ease.
A rustling in the bushes grabbed their attention. Doug and Naomi went into defensive positions, vectors out to counter any foe. Saito drew a .45 caliber automatic pistol from his coat, pointing it towards the bushes. A figure emerged from the bushes with his hands out in a peace gesture. "Who are you?" Doug demanded, immediately noticing the diclonius character of the figure and that his clothes were tattered from battle.
Seconds later, a second diclonius man came out of the bushes, calling out, "Doug…is that you?"
Doug blinked a moment, focusing on the second figure. Recognition lit his eyes and he answered, "David? What are you doing here and who's this?"
"Relax, my friend," Guildo said softly. "I'm Captain Guildo. Did I hear correctly that Master Akira sent you?"
"Yes," Doug replied. "We met him in Tsukumi and he told us to immediately come here. This whole fuckin' place has gone to shit."
Guildo chuckled. "You're telling me. Is that you, Saito Murata?"
Saito pocketed his weapon and heaved himself to his feet with Naomi's assistance, calling out, "Commander Guildo Jensu…I thought I recognized your face. I'm pleased that you received my warning in time."
A smile crossed Guildo's face. "I'm just pleased you managed to escape that insanity."
"Me too," Saito said. "Doug, Naomi…this is Captain Guildo and he is one of us."
"I figured that when I saw David with him," Doug answered, pulling his vectors back. He shook Guildo's hand, adding, "I'm glad to meet you, sir. But we have a serious injury with us and I don't think it's wise for us to be out in the open like this."
"You're so right," Guildo stated. "Please, pick your friend up and follow me. I have set up a temporary shelter in the bushes. David, please erase our prints from the beach, if you please."
"Yes sir," David replied as Doug gathered the Emperor into his arms. Guildo then led them into the bushes as David extended his vectors, sweeping the beach of their prints before disappearing into the bushes himself.
Once in Guildo's safe haven, Guildo looked over the elderly man. "Saito, who is this man?"
"Commander, this is Emperor Taro Fudo Watanabe," Saito reported. "He and I are the only survivors of the assassination attempt by the military in Tokyo a couple days ago."
"The military tried to assassinate you?" Guildo asked, puzzled by the news. "Why would they do that?"
"Because we refused to give them the authority to crack down on the general population in order to deal with the diclonius rampage," the Emperor murmured weakly, having just awakened and heard the question.
"Your majesty, please don't talk," Doug ordered. "You're too weak."
"Nonsense," the Emperor balked. "I'm strong enough to share what happened."
"What happened, your majesty?" Guildo asked.
"I became aware of factions within the government and military planning to seize control of the country," the Emperor whispered. "So I went to the meeting where Prime Minister Otomi was resisting their will to enact martial law and launch a genocide of the diclonius. I came in just as they were about to overrule Otomi and put a stop to it. I let them know of your mission to secure the Queen and let her decide our fates. They didn't like it at all when Otomi absolutely refused to hand our people over to martial law after hearing what I said. So apparently, they launched a missile attack on us right after they left to eliminate us. Saito and I were the only survivors. The Prime Minister didn't make it. According to Saito, they planned to call the missile strike a diclonius attack to turn the people against your kind. They don't know that we survived."
"Is this true?" Guildo asked Saito.
"It is," Saito replied. "If Master Akira hadn't sent Doug's team to retrieve us, we'd be dead too. Somehow he knew they were going to turn against us."
"This is not good," Sen commented.
"You're telling me," Saito stated. "Since the attack, the military has nuked seven cities, including Tokyo. Something is happening I don't understand. The people in those cities suddenly went berserk and slaughtered each other before the nukes fell. It's as if the diclonius fury somehow infected them, driving them to senseless acts of extreme violence. No one was immune, especially around Tokyo. Even the Self-defense forces fell prey to this insanity, turning their guns on each other. How is this possible?"
"I don't know," Guildo murmured. "But the Fury has been growing exponentially here over the last few days. Yoshitora is at the heart of this insanity. I can feel it."
"So what do we do?" Saito asked. "Do we have some place we can fall back to?"
"Captain Fargo lies just offshore on the Chimera," Guildo stated. "I received word from him just before you arrived that the mass insanity is spreading like a virus throughout Japan. Somehow, the diclonius Fury has infected the populations in these major cities. I suspect that the jump may have been caused by a handful of high-level diclonii who are using their power to create mass panic and hysteria in those populations. Whatever we do, we must not allow ourselves to be drawn into these areas where the Fury has tainted the general human population."
"I agree," Doug stated. "We barely escaped the dragnet the Self-defense forces set up around Tokyo. The humans were in a panic trying to escape the marauding diclonii and were being slaughtered by their own kind. Right after we slipped through, I felt something I never felt before. The Fury fell like a fog on the whole area and the humans went absolutely nuts. They attacked anything and everything that moved. On several occasions, we saw them eating each other like out of some zombie flick. It was grotesque. We had to plow through a crowd of them with our van. I remember looking one in the eye as he clung to the door trying to smash open the window with his head. It was like he had lost his soul. All that was left was a murderous animalistic instinct. They became brutes not even resembling a human."
"Where did you run out of the madness?" Jubei asked.
"Twenty kilometers outside of the Self-defense perimeter," Saito stated. "Once there, the people we saw were fleeing into the mountains with no thought of attacking either us or each other. I've never seen anything like that madness. It's like the madness we see in the rogue diclonius, but somehow it infected millions of people simultaneously."
"Do you have any idea of where the Fury is centered?" Guildo asked.
"We had to avoid the major cities," Doug stated. "The Fury-induced madness in the humans seems to be centered in the large cities for the moment, especially around Tokyo."
"Then how did you get all the way down here without going through the major cities?" Suko asked. "You just can't drive all the way here without doing that."
"That's because we didn't drive," Doug stated. "We sailed down the coast on a large yacht filled with refugees from Fuji." He saw the question in their faces and clarified. "We ran out gas at Fuji. While trying to find fuel, we encountered an elderly couple who were cornered by a couple of rogues. We dealt with the rogues and as a gesture of gratitude, they offered to take us anywhere we wanted in their yacht. In fact, they insisted when they saw we had the Emperor with us and that we were trying to get him to safety. When we boarded the yacht, we found we weren't the only ones on board. We saw two dozen other humans on the ship who were trying to escape the carnage. Strangely, they didn't care that we were diclonius. Maybe it was the fact that we were caring for the Emperor and Saito that swayed their opinion. Who knows? But they did watch us closely the whole time. The trip remained uneventful until just off shore down here. A volley of cruise missiles came out of nowhere and struck our ship, sending the yacht to the bottom and killing everyone but us. The others didn't have a chance."
"How did you escape the missile attack?" Jubei asked.
"We were on the deck when I saw the missiles coming in," Doug reported. "I grabbed the Emperor and ordered everyone to jump overboard. The missiles hit just as we jumped. The concussion threw us a hundred yards, knocking out the Emperor and Saito. Naomi and I managed to shake it off, but took some shrapnel in the back. It's stinging pretty bad right now."
"But how did you get ashore?" David queried.
"We weren't the only thing thrown by the explosion," Doug stated. "An inflatable lifeboat from the yacht landed close by and intact. We pulled the pin to inflate it and used it to get to shore where we met up with Master Akira several hours ago. He said he was going back to Aso to get Lucy and her family to bring them here."
"That's what he told us," Guildo said softly. "Sounds like you were very lucky today."
"I can't argue that," Doug murmured. "The madness in the humans is spreading like a virus. How we escaped Tokyo is a wonder. I don't know what's going on in the other cities in Japan, but the ones we had contact with, the people were either fleeing in panic or feasting upon each other in an orgy of killing. It's completely crazy."
"Apparently, the other major cities are falling to the madness too," Guildo stated. "The only place the madness hasn't yet reached is Hokkaido. But from what Captain Fargo told me, the diclonius Fury has jumped to the human population in nearly every major city in Honshu and Kyushu. Everywhere there was an outbreak of diclonius violence, the madness in the humans quickly followed. Our only hope is that we get the Queen back here, help her heal her fractured personality, and pray that she stops this madness by rebalancing the Collective."
"That's our prayer too," Naomi agreed. She suddenly sensed something ominous in the distance, something incredibly violent but not quite diclonius. "Captain, something's going on. I'm sensing a powerful signature in the distance. Its rage is incredible but it doesn't feel like any diclonius I've ever sensed before."
Guildo looked to the northwest across the bay with a very concerned look. "I sense it too, Naomi. A new player has arrived on the stage and you're right, it doesn't feel like a diclonius. But its rage and thirst for vengeance is incredible. I can't help but feel that Yoshitora is responsible for this new player."
"He might be," Jubei stated. "But whoever this is, his hatred for Yoshitora is driving his rage. He's looking for something important but I can't tell what it is."
"I feel it too," Doug stated. "This new player is consumed by his desires. I sense only one thought from him: retribution. He's very dangerous. We must be careful and hope we don't cross paths with this guy."
"Agreed," Guildo stated. "Whoever he is, I can sense he's on the island moving towards us. Though I don't think we're his target."
"We should keep our guard up regardless," David declared. "He's out there and the clock is ticking."
"So it is," the Emperor murmured. "I can't sense this person the way you can, but I can see from the looks on your faces that whoever this person is, he's someone we should not turn our backs on."
"Well said, your majesty," Guildo chimed. "So we'll wait and watch, praying Master Akira returns successful in his mission."
"Amen to that," Suko muttered.
A convoy of three armored RVs sped down the road from Akira's sanctuary heading toward Tsukumi. Lucy, Kohta, Yuka, Aiko, and Myra rode in the back of the second RV with Kagami at the wheel and Li Mei riding shotgun. Shen piloted the first RV carrying four of his human colleagues with Tao and Cai riding shotgun. Duncan drove the third RV with Jin Ryu riding shotgun and Nana, Mayu, Rachel, Kaya, and two other human colleagues riding in the rear, keeping down.
All went smoothly as they passed by Taketa. However, Shen felt nervous. The road seemed strangely deserted. "I don't like this," Shen muttered into his radio link with Kagami and Duncan. "I haven't seen anything since we left Sanctuary. This isn't normal for this stretch of road."
"I know," Kagami stated. "Something is up. Li Mei, can you sense anything?"
"I'm sorry," Li Mei replied. "The Fury is so dense I can hardly sense anything beyond the convoy. All I feeling is a pulsing mindless rage that's trying to penetrate my soul."
"I feel it too," Tao said through the radio. "We're in a very exposed state here. But so far, our cloaking ability seems to be confusing any nearby diclonius."
"I hope so," Kagami stated nervously. "We must hurry. I can feel a couple of rogue royals close by coming this way with nearly forty diclonii."
"How can you feel them through the Fury?" Duncan called through the radio.
"I don't know," Kagami replied, eyeing the woods as she drove. "I just can."
Lucy shuffled to the front, standing behind Kagami, holding on to the seat. "I feel them too," Lucy admitted. "They're close but I can't tell how close." As she spoke, the Fury descended on the convoy like a dense fog. "Oh shit, I can't sense anything now," she cursed.
Kagami gasped, she too having lost her ability to sense the rogue royals. "Me neither. How about the rest of you guys?"
"Something sinister is going on here," Tao growled. "I can't sense a thing and feel like I'm walking into a trap."
"Same here," Li Mei agreed.
Jin Ryu called through the radio urgently, "Eyes up, everyone! This is the same level of Fury I felt at Byodoin. The rogues are using it to camouflage their approach!"
"Right," Shen answered.
"I understand," Kagami chimed in. "Shen, go! Don't stop for anything!"
"Yes ma'am," Shen replied, stomping the gas pedal on the RV, sending it speeding down the highway at nearly 80 km/hr. Kagami and Duncan followed close behind.
Kohta felt the peril closing in as he hovered close to Yuka and Aiko with Myra. His face suddenly fell with great concern as time suddenly seemed to halt just as it did just before Yuka fell to the hail of gunfire at Kaeda house. "What's wrong, Kohta?" Myra asked, seeing his expression. He couldn't answer as his mind suddenly saw through the fog of the Fury, seeing the trap with the royals blocking the road with a large tree, tossing cars, trees, and boulders at the convoy to stop them. The deadly hail of massive debris demolished the first RV, which exploded instantly when it slammed into the tree roadblock, killing all in the vehicle. Kohta's attention turned to the last RV with Nana and Mayu in it. The impact of a thrown car, tree, and large boulder hitting simultaneously crushed the side of the RV, sending it careening off the side of the road and down into a heavily wooded ravine where it to exploded, killing Mayu and Nana. Kohta felt sick. He wanted to cry out in horror but was unable to.
Then a hail of large tree limbs pierced the front windshield of his RV, impaling Kagami and Li Mei while cars and boulders pummeled the side of the vehicle. It toppled onto its side, throwing him and Lucy down. He heard a sickening screech of metal while the RV skidded to a halt. Dazed by the hit, Kohta looked around, seeing Lucy out cold with blood running down her face where she'd hit her head in the fall. Seconds later, the top ripped off and vectors flooded the RV. Three vectors snared him while the other vectors proceeded to chop Yuka, Aiko, and Myra to bits in front of him. "No," he cried in utter desolation, unable to do anything. He then saw the vectors grab Lucy and drag her out of the wreck. "Lucy, no!" he bawled, struggling against the iron vectors.
A malevolent voice echoed from the darkness outside the RV, "Your existence ends now, human. No human has the right to be my Queen's consort." Kohta felt the iron vectors wrapped around him suddenly become razor sharp, slicing through his flesh in an instant. He shrieked, feeling pieces of himself drop to the floor just before the darkness swallowed him.
Another voice penetrated his consciousness in the darkness, one filled with concern. "Do not let this happen, Kohta. Remember, even the smallest person can change the future. You have the power to change this fate, but you must act NOW!"
Kohta abruptly snapped out of the nightmare vision and shouted, "Kagami…look out, incoming!" He threw himself down on Yuka and Aiko, shielding their bodies as a car sailed out of the bushes, striking the RV broadside, tossing it on its side. The crash stunned everyone as it screeched to a halt. Kohta heard shouts and incessant pounding on the RV. He shook his head, trying to regain his wits from the hard hit to his head when the RV toppled. Looking around, he saw Kagami and Li Mei knocked out from the impact. Yuka and Aiko appeared unharmed and Myra lay against the side of the RV roof, moaning softly, barely conscious. Lucy's moan attracted his attention. He saw her pushing up and lying against the roof, holding her head as it bled from a large gash on her scalp caused from her hitting the door handle. "Lucy," he called out, crawling to her. She looked at him with a stunned look, her eyes glazed as she struggled to keep conscious.
Kohta became aware of sounds of battle from outside. Without warning, the roof of the RV ripped off. He became keenly aware of vectors flooding in. "Oh no you don't!" he snapped, sending his own vectors out as he threw himself between the vectors and Lucy. He managed to snare the vectors that were grabbing for Lucy while cutting down two fury-possessed diclonius girls standing outside the RV. They fell in pieces from his onslaught. But from behind, a single vector punched his pineal gland, rendering his vectors inoperative while also sending him plunging into darkness. His last memory was feeling cold vectors wrap around him, lifting him up as Lucy called out in horror, "Kohta!"
Just before completely blacking out, a menacing voice said, "You're more trouble than the King realized, human. He has plans for your sorry ass."
An undetermined time later, Kohta came to in a cargo truck. He heard muffled voices around him. "Why don't we kill him now?" one voice asked.
"We aren't going to kill him," another voice returned forcefully. "Do you really want to risk the wrath of the King? He has special plans for this one. Just consider us lucky to have snatched him and the brat and gotten away. When that American Queen and the traitor Akira showed up with reinforcements, we had to abandon our primary objective. But now we have a way to lure the Queen in. That's just what the King wants."
"I still say we should kill this abomination," the first voice stated. "He's not like us. He's a human with vector capability. It just isn't right."
"Shut up," the second voice snapped. "It doesn't matter. The King will dispense justice on this freak for his contamination of our Queen."
Kohta's eyes cracked open slightly, seeing blurry figures arguing. He remained quiet, listening to the exchange with a pounding headache and the sensation of being bound. He stirred and the first voice said, "He's waking up. Let me kill him now." Kohta became aware the voice was female and filled with hate and violence. He watched the second figure smack the first.
"I told you to leave him alone," the second figure snarled, now obviously a male voice to Kohta. "Do that again and I'll kill you myself."
"Then can I kill the brat?" she snarled. "Surely she is of no consequence to the King."
Kohta's vision cleared just enough to see the male voice attach itself to an incredibly hostile diclonius man and the female voice become a female diclonius. She suddenly choked and gagged. "No, you bitch!" the diclonius man growled. "We were told to bring them alive to the King and that's what we're going to do." The diclonius girl abruptly slammed against the side of the cargo van, knocking her out. She fell with a groan next to Kohta. The male diclonius suddenly looked down at Kohta, seeing him awake. "Lights out, freak," he hissed, clubbing Kohta with a vector, sending him once again plummeting into darkness.
Kohta floated in a gray void for what he felt was an eternity. Suddenly a sharp pain hit him in the chest, chasing the void away. A sensation of tumbling uncontrollably in the darkness filled him as the pain moved through his limbs. Then as quickly as it started, it stopped. He heard breathing in the darkness. Then the pain of someone slapping his face with a piece of metal drove the darkness away. "Come on, you…wake up, damn it," a familiar voice growled. Kohta opened his eyes with a gasp as the owner of the voice slapped him. "About time you woke up," the voice hissed.
"What happened?" Kohta asked, suddenly aware he was free. "Who are you and where's Lucy?"
"The bitch is not here," the figure growled as Kohta's eyes cleared.
Recognizing the voice, he looked to the source of the voice and saw what he thought was Bandoh. But he couldn't possibly believe it. "Bandoh? But it can't be? I killed you in the kitchen with your own gun." He then saw a line of Stone Buddhas in the dim light of the emergency lights around the shrine.
Bandoh snatched Kohta by the throat with his cyborg hand and slammed against the rock wall, knocking the breath out of Kohta. "Don't believe for an instant that I don't remember that, either," Bandoh hissed as Kohta gasped for breath. "I should rip your head off for that, but that wouldn't do me any good."
Kohta regained his breath and focused, seeing a mutated cyborg version of Bandoh kneeling in front of him a metal hand wrapped around his neck. "And why not," Kohta wheezed from the hit. "You've wanted to kill me since you found out about me and Lucy. Now's your chance…go ahead, finish me off."
"Don't tempt me, shitass," Bandoh growled. "I'll do it and not think twice about it."
"Then why don't you?" Kohta asked, suddenly realizing what he was seeing. "Oh my god…what happened to you? You look like a Frankenstein monster made out of human and diclonius piece welded together with machinery. Who did this to you?" He also sensed Bandoh was like him, a unique hybrid of human and diclonius power.
Bandoh abruptly released Kohta and rose, turning his back to Kohta. Kohta saw his head sag with grief and anger. "Kakuzawa did this to me," Bandoh replied softly in a voice he'd never used with Kohta before. Kohta immediately noticed it. "Apparently after you blew me away, he had my body used in his experiments and created what you see here." Bandoh turned to Kohta, his eyes red with diclonius blood lust. "He turned me into the very thing he had me hunting. Now there's only one thing left for me: retribution. And you're going to help me get it." He released a vector and snatched Kohta by the shirt, picking him up and pinning him against the wall. "I want revenge on those who did this to me," Bandoh hissed.
"I'm not going to help you kill Lucy," Kohta declared. "She's not responsible for your present state."
"I didn't say I wanted to kill that bitch," Bandoh hissed. "The one I want is Sixty-six. He's the one who woke me. He's doing something that will kill us all if we don't stop him."
Kohta cracked a wry grin, seeing the irony of the situation. "I think I can help you with that if you promise not to hurt Lucy or my family. You may not know this but you and I aren't that different." In the blink of an eye, Kohta released a vector, prying Bandoh's vector off him effortlessly.
Bandoh backed up a step in shock, seeing the ghostly arm floating around Kohta as he leaned heavily against the wall. "You have the arms, how?" he asked, completely confused.
"It started with your attack," Kohta explained. "A diclonius named Jin Ryu Osabi rescued us when your bombs set the house on fire. He took us to a safe house and patched us up. Later, the safe house became compromised and we fled to Master Akira's sanctuary in Aso. On the way there, we were ambushed by a couple of royals with a small army of diclonius at Byodoin. Jin and his friends managed to fight them off, but not before I took a four-inch tree branch to the chest." Kohta peeled back his shirt, showing Bandoh the scar. "Akira showed up right after the fight and kept me from bleeding to death. But I needed a transfusion because of how much blood I lost. Lucy shared her blood with me, saving my life. But because she's the Queen of all diclonius, her blood altered me. I have vectors and their incredible healing capability along with a few other things I'm still discovering. However, I'm not diclonius and I'm not human. I'm something of a hybrid, just as you appear to be. I can sense your diclonius parts. That's how I am like them now, which brings me to the question why? Why did you rescue me from the rogues?"
"Because this crazy diclonius bitch who looks like Lucy told me to," he said. "She said I was like you and that we needed to help Lucy choose the fate of people everywhere. I really don't give a shit about anyone else. I just want to get that bastard who thought he was going to use me to kill you."
"You saw Izanami?" Kohta asked, astounded as he slid down the wall to sit down.
"If that's what you call her," Bandoh stated, sitting down in front of Kohta. "All I know is she looked like Lucy but she wasn't Lucy. I've never feared anyone. But when I looked into her eyes, I was terrified of what was behind those eyes. Anyway, she wants retribution for what's happening now and said you and I were key to ending this insanity. So since I am now one of those I hated and hunted, I figured that it was in my best interest to help solve this problem. I don't want to spend the rest of this life running."
"You sound conflicted," Kohta stated.
"I guess I am," Bandoh replied. "I want to gut both you and Lucy, but for some reason, it hasn't become that important anymore. I found myself asking why Lucy spared me when she could have easily killed me that last time. You know what I found out?"
"What?" Kohta asked.
"I discovered neither of you were my real enemy," he murmured. "I was being used by Kakuzawa. Now I'm being used by this Sixty-six. He wanted me to catch you and Lucy and bring you both to him. Then he wanted me to kill Mayu. When I heard that, I decided I wasn't going to be used anymore."
"He wanted Mayu killed…why? She hasn't hurt or wronged anyone," Kohta asked, horrified.
"Apparently he thinks Mayu is proving to Lucy that diclonius and humans can live together in peace," Bandoh stated. "It's an influence he wants eradicated. Since I awoke and was like this, I've found myself questioning many things."
"Sounds like you're not just after retribution, but redemption," Kohta stated. "Do you regret having attacked us like that?"
"Not really," Bandoh growled. "But I know now it wasn't the best idea. If I had just left you alone, I wouldn't be this abomination I am now. Anyway, the point is we have a common enemy. I'm willing to bury the hatchet for now with you and Lucy if you'll help me take this bastard out."
"I think it's in both our interests to work together on this," Kohta said. "But you have to promise that you'll leave us alone when it's finished. When this is done, Lucy and I are finished with this blood storm. We just want to be left alone."
"Deal," Bandoh stated. "Just tell Lucy to keep her distance."
"Okay," Kohta agreed. "I'm sure she'll not want to be too close to you either. Now can you tell me what happened? All I remember is our convoy being attacked and I getting snatched while protecting Lucy."
"I don't know what happened when they first ambushed you," Bandoh stated. "I arrived after their ambush went wrong. This American bitch showed up and started taking out those who were attacking your convoy. Then an old man showed up with three other guys and they decimated them. By time the old man arrived, they had snatched you and Mayu, and retreated. I saw them put you and Mayu into separate trucks after the ambush and flee. Therefore, I arranged a little ambush of my own several kilometers up the road. I was able to take the truck that carried you, but the one with Mayu slipped by me. I'm sure they're taking her to Sixty-six."
"Oh no," Kohta breathed. "We have to go get her. Mayu doesn't stand a chance with Sixty-six."
"That's just what he's counting on," Bandoh stated. "I believe he planned on using both of you as bait to lure Lucy in. But now he's only got Mayu."
"Did you see Lucy or Nana?" Kohta asked.
"No," Bandoh answered coldly. "The fighting was so intense I couldn't see them."
"We have to go after Mayu and get her back before she gets to the Institute," Kohta declared. "We'll lose her if we don't."
Bandoh slapped Kohta viciously with his metal hand, drawing blood. "Don't be stupid, Kohta," he growled. "We can't just burst into the Institute and expect to get her back in one piece. That's exactly what Sixty-six wants. We must out-think him. We have to come up with a plan."
Kohta glared at him for the slap, rubbing his face, but conceded to Bandoh's military experience. "Okay…how do we do that?"
"Where were you going when those guys jumped you?" Bandoh demanded.
"We were going to Ohama," Kohta stated. "We were going to meet Akira there and go to a submarine waiting offshore. A man named Guildo is supposed to be there waiting for us."
"Then that's where we should go too," Bandoh declared. "A submarine would be the best way to get in under Sixty-six's nose. I assume these guys are military who are running the sub."
"Yes," Kohta stated. "But they are at odds with the government who are now nuking cities to quell the diclonius rampage."
"I noticed that," Bandoh hissed. "What time were you supposed to meet?"
"Before midnight," Kohta answered.
"That doesn't leave us with much time," Bandoh stated, rising quickly. He snatched Kohta by the shirt and lifted him roughly to his feet. "On your feet, boy…we have to get moving."
Kohta wrenched himself free of Bandoh's grip and growled, "You don't need to be so rough."
Bandoh glared at him. "I'll be as rough as I fuckin' well please to get this job done. We don't have time to pussyfoot around here. People are dying. You have to toughen up or you'll join them. We are in a time when it's survival of the fittest. So suck it up. We have to reach the beach in three hours."
Kohta sighed, knowing Bandoh was correct. "All right, Bandoh. Let's go. Just be aware that I'm still getting over a serious wound."
"Good," Bandoh hissed. "That'll remind you not to get your ass into that kind of trouble again. Let's go." With that, Bandoh and Kohta left the shrine heading for the beach.
Lucy groaned as Akira helped her sit. "Easy, Lucy," he murmured. "You took a pretty bad hit on the head."
"What happened?" Lucy moaned. "Kohta…where's Kohta?" Her voice betrayed a panic. "Please, someone tell me they didn't take him."
"I'm afraid they did," a strange voice announced. Lucy looked around, first seeing body parts of nearly twenty diclonii scattered around the road. Smoke drifted from the smoldering RVs. Then she saw a diclonius woman with a gray stripe over her right eye, wearing cut up fatigues and boots. "I tried to stop them but wasn't quick enough."
"Who the hell are you?" Lucy demanded.
"This is Charlene Kusanagi from America," Akira said, "She was in the thick of the fight protecting you when we arrived."
"What?" Lucy cried. "How could you let them take Kohta? You know how much he means to me!"
"We didn't let them take him," Charlene said. "This was a well-orchestrated ambush by two royals with a crew of thirty-six minions. Apparently, you were the main objective. I was fighting my way to you when I saw Kohta get between them and you. When they saw me coming, they grabbed him and left you behind, knowing I was going to stop them if I reached them."
Lucy's rage boiled as Duncan walked up, cradling Nana in his mangled arms. She was barely conscious with all her prosthetic limbs gone and major gashes on her torso, back, neck, and face. Blood dripped from her as Duncan dropped to his knees with her. "They took Mayu," he moaned. "We couldn't stop them. There were just too many of them. I barely managed to save Nana but she is danger of dying from her wounds."
Lucy stared, seeing Nana lying in Duncan's arms and his tears dripping on her bloody chest. "No…it's happening again. I'm losing my family again!"
"No you aren't, Lucy," Akira stated. "Nana isn't going to die and we will get Kohta and Mayu back. What you don't understand is there are more players in this drama than us and Sixty-six. Charlene is proof of that. In fact, I am sensing a new, dangerous player who is in close proximity of Kohta and he's not with Sixty-six. But I can't tell which side he's on."
Lucy cocked up an eyebrow as she suddenly sensed the new presence with Kohta. "I can feel him too," she hissed. "But I swear, if he harms a single hair on his head, I will rip him to pieces."
"Calm your rage, Lucy," Akira cooed. "Now is not the time for it. Duncan, what happened to Jin?"
"He was knocked out when the RV rolled over," Duncan reported. "So we didn't get any help from him. We lost Rachel and Kaya is seriously hurt."
Akira cursed under his breath. "Let me see her," he ordered, taking Nana from Duncan. Holding her in his arms, he loosed his vectors and mended the damage so she wouldn't bleed to death. As he did, Kagami and Li Mei crawled out of the wreckage.
When Kagami saw Nana's condition, she became very concerned. "How bad did we get hit?" she asked.
"They took Kohta and Mayu," Lucy hissed.
"Oh my god no," Kagami breathed. "But why take them?"
"Bait," Lucy growled, knowing deep in her heart the reason for the live capture. "I was their main objective. When they couldn't get me, they snatched Kohta and Mayu in my place knowing I would come for them."
"She's right," Tao called out, staggering up carrying Cai. Blood ran down his face. "This was a trap meant to take Lucy and her family and kill everyone else. When Charlene showed up, then Akira with his boys, they had to abandon Lucy for their secondary objective. They didn't count on us having this much help."
"Let me have her," Charlene murmured, taking Cai from Tao. He gladly relinquished her to Charlene's arms.
"Who survived in your RV?" Li Mei asked, holding her bloody head with her hand.
"Just us," Tao growled. "Shen was killed instantly when they hurled a log through the windshield. The rest fell to a hail of tree limbs after they rolled the RV on its side then set it on fire. Cai and I managed to fight our way out of it but we both took some bad hits." He winced and grabbed his side, dropping to his knees. Li Mei caught him. "This was a military operation if I ever saw one," Tao added. "Did the royals get away?"
"One did," Charlene stated as she treated Cai with her vectors. "…the king of Korea. I killed his queen myself. Their fury is very disturbing. It felt like to me they were being controlled."
"I sensed that myself," Akira stated as he finished stabilizing Nana's condition. "There, that should keep her alive until we get to the Chimera."
"We should get out of here," Li Mei declared. "I can feel the other royals and their minions closing in on us and they are not happy."
"What about Kohta and Mayu?" Lucy demanded.
"We will get them back," Akira stated. "That's a promise. But we need more help. Kagami, how did Yuka and Aiko fair in the attack?"
"Just some bumps and bruises, otherwise all right," Kagami announced from the RV as she looked them over. "They're still sedated. Myra is out cold though. Looks like she took a pretty nasty fall when the RV rolled."
"Okay," Akira stated, rising with Nana still in his arms. "We need to move. Everyone get to my RV. It's just down the road a couple hundred yards."
"What about your fallen colleagues?" Charlene asked.
"I'm afraid we must leave them," Akira replied, deep sorrow evident on his voice. "We haven't the time to gather them. Preserving the living is our top priority. Take any personal items they have so we can remember them. Come on, let's go. The clock is ticking."
Duncan went to Charlene and said, "I'll take Cai. You help Lucy and her friends."
"Of course," Charlene answered, handing off Cai's unconscious form to Duncan. She walked to Lucy and squatted down. Looking Lucy in the eye, she said, "I'm so sorry I couldn't stop them from taking your friends. I know you are very attached to the boy. We will do everything we can to get him back."
"His name is Kohta," Lucy answered coolly. "And he's my choice. All we want is to be left alone."
"I know," Charlene said softly, offering her hand to Lucy. "I hope to prove myself to you and possibly be your friend, if you will have me."
Lucy sensed her sincerity and a soft smile crossed her lips. "I think I'd like that. Can you help Yuka, Aiko, and Myra?"
"Sure," Charlene replied. She released her vectors and gently picked up the three unconscious women, pulling them from the van as Kagami helped Lucy stand.
"Just hold on to me," Kagami said, holding on firmly to Lucy as they began walking down the road.
Charlene walked beside them with Yuka, Aiko, and Myra floating in her vectors. She kept a wary eye out as the survivors of the ambush followed Akira back to his RV.
Once at the RV, Akira took a head count of who was left as they boarded the vehicle. He had managed to secure Lucy, Nana, Myra, Yuka, Aiko, Kagami, Li Mei, Tao, Duncan, Cai, Jin, Kaya, and Charlene. Of his rescue team, only one diclonius man remained besides Akira: a middle-aged diclonius by the name of Bruce. After seeing everyone was there, he said, "Let's go, Bruce and step on it. The royals are almost on top of us. They're so close the Fury isn't hiding them."
"Yes, Master Akira," Bruce replied, sending the RV racing down the road toward Ohama.
Akira went back into the RV and looked over everyone, seeing everyone sitting around nursing his or her wounds. Only Yuka and Aiko escaped any kind of major trauma. He sat down next to Nana on the bed. Lucy sat next to her, watching over her in her own special way as Akira stroked Nana's hair. A sigh escaped his lips.
"What's wrong, dad?" Kagami asked, holding an icepack on the large bump on her head.
"This attack is not like the other attacks," he murmured. "It was carried out with military precision. Diclonius have not used these kinds of tactics before. It reveals a merging of diclonius wills. We have a serious problem on our hands."
"Oh you finally noticed that?" Lucy asked sarcastically.
Akira was about to answer when Nana moaned. He leaned over Nana from one side while Lucy hovered over her on the other side. Nana's eyes fluttered, and then opened. She saw Lucy first, then Akira. Sobs bubbled up and bloody tears flowed down her cheeks. "I'm so sorry," she cried. "I couldn't protect Mayu. I just wasn't strong enough."
"It's okay," Akira murmured. "You did everything you could. That's all that matters."
"But I failed her," Nana sobbed softly. "I was supposed to be her protector and I failed her."
"You didn't fail, Nana," Akira cooed. "You fought bravely for your friend and that's all that matters. You fail only when you give up. You never gave up so you didn't fail."
"But I couldn't stop it," Nana whimpered through her pain. "…and now Mayu's dead!"
"No she isn't," Charlene said, standing over her. "They took her alive just like they took Kohta. They didn't kill her so that means we can get them back."
"She's not dead?" Nana asked. Suddenly, it registered on her what Charlene had told her. "They took Kohta too? Oh no!"
Akira placed his hand on her forehead and said, "Don't worry. We will get them back. That's a promise."
"Is it true, Lucy?" Nana asked, looking up with pleading eyes at Lucy.
"Yes," Lucy whispered. "But I swear they will pay for this. This madness has to stop. I'm not going to stand for this any longer. The Fury wants a war, a war it will have and when I'm done with it, it shall know what true fury is."
Her words sent chills down every spine in the RV. "Be careful how you deal with the Fury, Lucy. It can swallow you as easily as any of us," Akira warned. "Before you can do what you need to do, you must resolve your fractured personality. Only as a cohesive unit will you stand a chance at waging war with the Fury."
"Then that's what I will do," Lucy snapped, staring him down with fire in her eyes. "I'm done being the victim. Now those who stand between Kohta and me will know what it's like to be on the receiving end…human or diclonius. This is not just purely a human problem or a diclonius problem. It affects everyone. I fix this problem with the Collective, then Kohta and I can have the life we want…free of hatred, blood, and violence."
"How do you plan on dealing with this?" Kagami asked.
"Oh…you'll see," Lucy hissed. "For those who stand against me, diclonius or human alike, I am their end." When Lucy saw the concern on their faces about her declaration, she added, "But those who are tolerant will live to see another day. All I want is to be left alone with Kohta and my family."
Akira saw the fire and determination in her eyes. "You are close to knowing your place, Lucy," he said. "But you must temper your wrath with mercy. Mercy and life go together and will show you the way into the Collective. Are you able to sense Izanami?"
"I'm not sure," Lucy admitted. "I feel something calling for retribution…something that I know isn't the Fury. It wants retribution on whatever caused the Fury to run out of control."
"Interesting," Charlene said. "I'm feeling something similar."
"Me too," Akira declared. "This war is fixing to move to the endgame stage. The players are in place and starting to move."
"I don't care about endgames or players or any shit like that," Lucy growled. "All I care about is getting Kohta and Mayu back. They believed in me when no one did. They are my family. If I have to, I'll go back to the Institute and tear that place apart brick by brick to find them."
"And so you shall," Akira stated. "Returning to the Institute is something you will have to do before you can face the Fury. I sincerely hope we can get Kohta and Mayu back before they get there because the Institute is going to be the battleground where we have to take down Sixty-six. It's going to be a very bloody affair."
"So be it," Lucy hissed. "Maybe then I can live in peace with Kohta and my family." She looked down at Nana, who had been listening in fear. A soft smile crossed Lucy's face as she patted Nana on the head, adding, "That includes you, Nana."
Nana's fear changed to joy. Tears dripped out of her eyes as she whimpered, "Thank you, Lucy."
Lucy nodded, declaring, "I don't care what it takes. We are going to get Kohta and Mayu back."
A/N: Welcome to the endgame. The rogues kidnapping of Kohta and Mayu have galvanized Lucy's resolve to end the conflict with Yoshitora and the Collective. But will she heal her fractured mind in time to do it? Moreover, how will she react when she discovers Bandoh was responsible for Kohta's escape from the rogues? Will she be able to trust the man who wanted her dead more than anyone else alive? Moreover, will they be able to work together to save Mayu from Yoshitora's clutches? And how will Yoshitora, aka Sixty-six, react to Bandoh's betrayal? The blood storm is rising to its climax and the all important question is who stands atop the corpses in the end: Yoshitora and the Fury or Lucy? Keep reading to find out. All the questions will soon be answered.
Beowulf Caverias