Chapter 24: The Boy, The Fox and The Ashes
"Hell yeah! That was awesome!" Shouted Zack.
Today was one of the biggest basketball games up to date. The New Wellington Warriors faced off against their rivals, the Seahawks, and won one hundred and twelve to ninety six. Dante was basically leading the team all the way.
"Two more games and we're off to finals." Said Blanc.
The three teenage boys had went their separate ways from Sybil only minutes ago and were entering Zack's apartment to 'celebrate'. Zack knocked on the door and Darwin opened it.
"Greetings. Were you proficient in today's game?"
"You're asking if we won? Then yeah. We did!" Said Zack with excitement.
"Man! This schools gonna be number one in sports for the rest of my high school career! And it's all thanks to you guys!" Said Zack head locking Blanc and Dante.
Dante took this as a challenge and instantly broke free and head locked Zack.
"Okay okay! Uncle! Uncle!"
Dante let go smiling as Zack stepped back and jump on the sofa. Blanc and Dante took seats in sofa chairs while drawing leaned against the coach.
"The news has been most interesting as of late. There was a recent development which I think must be brought to your attention Dante." Said Darwin as he turned on the tv.
"In an oddity of events today, there have been ten murders. All in separate time spans of at least an hour starting this morning. The victims were randomly selected, then brutally cut into pieces. A message was left near the remains of the tenth murder."
The cameraman on scene zoomed in on some sort of strange lettering. Dante knew what this was instantly. He also knew it was a language long lost and a language only seen in the movies he saw about knights, samurai and ninjas. Darwin paused the newscast, focusing directly on the lettering.
"I have no documentations on this language. It is unknown to me."
"That's because it doesn't exist Darwin." Said Dante.
Darwin, Blanc and Zack all looked towards Dante for answers.
"Well, it was made to be believed as a fictional language. It's real alright. If I remember correctly, it's Pangean, I think I might have downloaded the language to my holo screen."
"Wait, if it supposedly doesn't exist, how did you get the language?"
"Went to the library. Anyway, let's see... 'Hero, I know you can understand this language. Therefore read the message and remember it well. I have already killed ten people. Ten more will follow tomorrow if you do not appear before me. I will make myself known so you can find me. Fox.' Fox? Who the hell is Fox?" Asked Dante.
"I've heard the name before...ah! I remember now! Fox is a legend of the east. Apparently, he's American, but lived out his life in Asia and moved throughout the rest of the Asian countries every now then, learning new skills and becoming stronger. He's defeated countless enemies in his time. They say he is some sort of undead, that he's lived for countless centuries. It's all speculation of course." Said Blanc.
"Whoever he is, he's planning to kill more innocents. I won't stand for that. I'm the hero of this town. It's my job to defend it."
"I highly doubt you'll find anything of interest, but careful either way. We all thought magic was a myth. You're the living proof that punctures that theory. And who knows? So may he..."
The city streets were usually filled, but today few people even walked the streets due to the recent murders. Dante waited on the rooftops of the hotel, holo screen on call with Darwin, Zack and Blanc.
"Anything yet guys?" Asked Dante.
The three were inside Zack's hotel room, each watching multiple screens at once for anything out of the ordinary reported.
"Nothing. This guy challenged you right? So why isn't he showing up?"
"He's waiting. Thinking on how he will try to handle Dante."
"That is a possibility. If this warrior does exist, and if all records we gathered recently are true, his skills are exceptional. You should be careful. Warning. Target identified. Sending you the link."
A screen popped up next to the three small call screens with a news broadcast.
"A man has appeared in front of city hall recently. His appearance seems to only consist of a black cloak and hood, which also is obscuring his face."
"That has to be him." Said Blanc.
"No kidding. Shady character like that, it's gotta be him." Said Dante.
"Use caution. There is something strange about the energy his body is exerting."
"Noted."
Dante jumped off the hotels tower and started running down the buildings side before kicking off it and landing on a nearby rooftop. City Halls is just over there. The teen hopped and ran rooftops until he found his destination. Dante jumped off the last rooftop and into the streets behind the news cast crew. He slowly got up as people in the surrounding area started to take notice. The news team started to crowd in on Dante, something he didn't like too much.
"Black Knight! Do you know this man?!"
He simply brushed past the crew, walking directly towards the cloaked man.
"Soooooo...are you the one called Fox?"
"Indeed."
"Heh. That was some mighty fine carving you did. Tearing up all those people..."
"Well...one has to always do his best in order to be proud of his work."
"Proud of it are you? Killing innocent bystanders?"
"I really don't see the problem. Besides...you kill people all the time."
Fox's words stung, causing Dante to flinch a little bit.
"All those soldiers you kill at the warehouses all the time...all those mechs with pilots...have you ever once thought of them?"
"No."
"Of course not. The same is for me when I kill. I don't ask questions. I just do."
"I didn't come here to talk jackass. I came here to kill you and get closer to my goal."
"So you won't join us?"
"Seriously? I've been taking down you're guys warehouses for a while now. And you think I'm gonna join you?"
"No harm in asking. Either way, I see our goals differ. It is unfortunate that I must kill you."
"You can try like all the rest. You can fail like all the rest. And...you can die like all the rest."
Dante could tell Fox had a smile on his face under his hood.
"I guess it's only fair I show you my true self before you die."
The hood came down slowly, revealing a man at least in his mid twenties with long black hair that went to his shoulders, golden irises and a pale skin color. He soon removed the rest of his cloak, which revealed he was wearing black samurai looking clothes with crimson red highlightings and decorational patterns. He wore a crimson red sash around his waist with his weapon stuck in the multiple bands. His sword caught Dante's eye. It was a katana with a black rectangular guard and grey scabbard, while the hilt was a crimson red.
"I thought we'd avoid fighting. Oh well. Can't cry over spilled milk." Said Fox.
The skies rumbled with thunder, sounding off in loud tones. Soon the lightning appeared with the thunder...and then the rain. The rain came in large droplets, pattering against the two warriors. As soon as the next lightning bolt struck, Fox unsheathed his sword and Dante summoned his. Their weapons were drawn simultaneously, waiting for one another to make a move. And when the third lightning bolt crackled through the sky...they were off.
There fight was intense, their strikes brutal and fast as the lightning. Each time they struck, they planned where they would strike next. They both knew they had to be careful, for the teen and the samurai knew full well each of them were extremely dangerous. When they couldn't strike each other with their swords, they'd use their kicks or fists. Sooner or later, they clashed swords and met each other's eyes. Sparks flew around them as Dante and Fox tried to push one another back, but the teen proved to be stronger than he looked.
"Eeeeeeaaaaggghhhh!" Dante pushed back hard enough that he not only broke the clash, but slashed Fox across the chest, who recoiled backwards.
"Not bad Black Knight." He said touching the cut he had on his chest.
"I've had plenty of scars during my lifetime of living. This is by far the sorest I've gotten."
"Now you know I'm not messing around."
"Are you sure about that?"
Dante's eyes widened in response to his question.
"You seem to think of all of this as a game, one you're really good at."
Dante didn't move from his place. He simply stood shaking as Fox approached him.
"You think that since you have powers, you can do what your heart desires. For instance, taking down our organization. You think us weaker because you're stronger."
By now, Fox was only five feet away from the teen.
"That illusion needs to be broken." He said raising his sword. "This is goodbye."
Dante gritted his teeth as the blade came down. What happened next was something Fox could not understand. Dante had raised his blade.
"You think you can mess with my mind so easily?! Don't screw with me!"
Dante pushed back the warrior a small distance away and lunged forwards, blade pointing directly towards his heart. As he got close, Dante ran Fox through with his sword, which was accompanied by a spatter of blood. Dante, confident that he won, chuckled.
"Oh my. Well that was close."
The teen raised his head and met Fox's golden eyes and grin.
"If I weren't undead, that certainly would have killed me."
Fox slashed upwards with his silvery sword, cutting Dante across his chest and sending him a distance on his back. The teen quickly hopped back up and held his chest area where he was slashed with his left hand, coughing up blood twice. He was shaking intensely now.
"What's wrong? Haven't been hit by anything until now?"
"Shut up..."
"You know, it's your arrogance that got you to this point."
"I said shut up!"
"Children just don't learn."
"I said shut the hell up!" Said Dante dashing towards Fox.
It's almost as if he had forgotten he was cut, which surprised Fox. Dante, in his fit of rage, kept attacking Fox head on, unconcerned if he was injured or not. The man kept his defense up against the teen, while being both amazed and impressed.
This is certainly surprising! It's like he wasn't even injured at all.
To test whatever theory he had in his mind, Fox broke his defensive pattern and went straight into offense, forcing Dante to take the defensive position. There were times the teen couldn't block his attacks, or even dodge them, and that ended up getting him small cuts. But eventually, his balance was broken and Dante was once again slashed across the chest, the cut deeper this time, which resulted in him starting to fall forwards. But the teen would not fall. He stabbed his blade in the ground to use for support to hold him up.
"You're definitely not an easy one to take down. You may as well have been my strongest opponent ever."
"Are...are you making fun of me?"
"Yes and no."
"You..." Black flame like energy surrounded Dante's sword and hands. "YOU SON OF A BITCH!"
Dante stood up completely as the flame like energy grew larger and larger.
"Uuuuuuuoooooooaaaaaaggggghhhh!"
Dante then made a mad dash for a surprised Fox, and clashed blades. The force of the clash was strong enough to move the two into an alleyway, unseen by anyone. The two bounced off the walls of the alleyway attacking each other while going deeper and deeper into its maze like structure.
There's no way he could have been standing after that.
Dante's attacks grew more brutal and unpredictable to Fox as the fight ensued.
I don't believe it. This crazy kid thinks he has a chance at beating me.
Through sheer luck, Fox managed to graze a part of Dante's mask, taking the top left side of it while leaving a small cut on his face. The two paused for a moment as Fox examined the teen carefully. He could see Dante's white hair and eyes, but there was something strange about them. The whites of Dante's eyes were now black, his irises a blood red, his pupil remaining black.
He has the eyes of a demon. He certainly isn't one though. Otherwise he would have been dead when I slashed him the second time across his chest. Just who is the Black Knight?
Dante grasped his blade with both hands now and brought it in before dashing at Fox with a roar.
"Play times over." Said the man as he brought his blade in and dashed. A lightning bolt flashed once again in the sky as both of the warriors seemingly stabbed each other through the heart.
Dante's vision was blurry and bouncing everywhere, but it sill focused on Fox, who only stood smiling.
I...I pierced his heart...but...damn it...I...I lost...
Dante fell backwards off of Fox's sword onto the ground while holding on to his black sword.
Well...that was fun while it lasted. Now to make sure the deeds done...
His silvery sword inched closer to Dante's neck, but soon found himself blocking knives. Rotator knives to be exact.
Now who could it be? thought Fox while grinning.
His grin soon disappeared as he realized who stood in his way now.
"Well now. I wasn't expecting you to be here... Unit 00."
Darwin was kneeling next to Dante, his holographic screens were turned off, revealing his metallic frame.
"As did I...Fox." Said Darwin in a cold tone.
"Sheesh. You may be an AI, but I still felt the sting from that. Come on, is that anyway to greet an old friend?"
"You and I are not friends."
"Oh? Then you mean to tell me he is?" Asked the warrior pointing his blade to Dante.
"Precisely. This man liberated me from imprisonment. He gave me the freedom I desired, which was denied by you and your syndicate."
"How many times do I have to tell you Unit 00? I was completely against the idea."
"Yet you stood by and did nothing."
"You can't cry over spilt milk you know?"
"A quote: your favorite one might I add."
"Let me ask you something...do you really think you'll be able to blend into society? Especially considering you are what you are?"
Darwin had no response to Fox's comment. He knew it didn't deserve one.
"You think everything will just fade away after all this is done? Hardly. Now come on. Let's go home."
"No."
"Sorry?"
"I have...a new home now...with friends...people to call...family."
"Is that right?"
"Yes."
"Ok then. Run along with your little family of yours. But you may want to check on him. I think he's dying."
He is correct. Dante's pulse is fading. I must take him back and treat him immediately. However...
"Before I take my leave, I would like to correct one of your statements from before."
"Oh? Which one?"
"My name is not Unit 00. My name...is Darwin."
Darwin soon took off towards the rooftops, leaving a now surprised Fox in his trail. His expression of surprise transformed into something of a grin.
What do you know...
Blanc, Sybil and Zack stood in the room worried. Sybil came back dressed out of her school clothes, wearing a simple red dress with a white jacket shirt.
"And he hasn't contacted anyone?" She asked.
"No. That's one thing that worried us. Darwin went out to go find him." Said Blanc.
"Darwin?" Asked Sybil.
"We didn't tell her remember? Darwin's an AI unit Dante encountered on one of his warehouse raids. He beat him up, fixed him, and now they're like best friends."
"How long has it been?"
"Ten minutes." Said Blanc.
Sybil sighed, pondering what happened to her friend.
I hope he's safe...
The hotel door flung open as everyone in the other room came to see who it was. It was Darwin. And he had Dante's arm around his neck while holding on to his friends bleeding body.
"Oh my god! What happened?!" Asked Sybil.
"There is no time for explanation! Quickly! We must get to the kitchen!" Said Darwin.
"Why didn't you take him to the hospital?!" Asked Zack a little frustrated.
"Explain to me the logic in taking him to the hospital dressed as he is."
The boy with black hair backed down, seeing the logic in Darwin's point.
"Never mind that you two! Dante's needs medical attention!"
"We can continue our argumentations later. For now, I require these objects."
Where...where am I? Am I dreaming? Am...am I dead?
The darkness he was swimming in seemed infinite. He couldn't see anything. He couldn't here anything. They only thing he could hear were his own thoughts.
That Fox guy...he beat me...dammit...I couldn't do a thing. I couldn't beat him. Wait...I see something. Is...is that a light?
He forced his eyes open to see a bright light in the distance. The teen soon found himself touching ground. He checked his appearance. Dante wore the clothes from his disguise form minus the mask.
That light...something's telling me to go towards it. Not...in the sense to die or anything. This lights different.
The teen made a slow pace walk towards the stream of light. As soon as he approached, the light revealed a doorway. It was written in strange lettering, lettering Dante mysteriously knew.
I know this...why do I know this? Forget it. I can worry it about it later.
The door was twenty feet tall, black, made of stone, and decorated with white highlighting. The lettering was clear as crystal.
"Once the door has opened, there is no closing it. It will forever remained open. Tragedy and pain await those who open this door. But...those with courage, dignity and honor will find truth behind this door. And with that truth, can ascertain an unimaginable power. One...that can find liberation and return it to the worlds."
Worlds?
"The choice must be made, as all choices come with a price. Sacrifice the worlds by turning away...or sacrifice yourself for a future. Remember...the door will remain open forever if it opens."
What is this? Why is it here of all places?
The teen looked back towards the dark abyss.
Why am I scared all of sudden? And why do I feel...strange? Like there's a burden that been placed on my shoulders? And why do I feel like I've seen this before? Argh! Too many questions and no answers! This is one of the biggest things that pisses me off!
He looked back at the door, hand still resting on it.
I don't want to open this door...but I have to for some certain reason. Still...if I open it...it'll stay open forever...whatever...I'll do it so I can get out of here.
Dante focused his strength on the door, forcing it open slowly.
Come...on! Open...up!
Instead of pushing it with his arms, Dante became frustrated and kicked the door wide open.
It's time I took thing a little bit more seriously...
With that thought in mind, Dante walked inside the dark abyss behind the door, before a flash of light consumed him.
He opened his eyes widely before sitting up quickly with a gasp of air. Quickly examining the room, he saw all four of his friends getting up and rushing towards him.
"Hey! Take it easy now!" Said Zack.
"Listen to him Dante! Don't be an idiot!" Said Sybil.
"Use caution. His emotions are partially unstable."
"I'm fine."
"My friend, you look anything but fine."
"Easy for you to say Blanc."
Dante held up his arms to see them bandaged along with his arms, his hands, chest, neck and bridge of his nose.
"How long was I out?" He asked rubbing his head.
"Four hours, twenty six minutes. It is currently two o three, am time."
"And you guys are still here?! Don't you realized we have school tomorrow?!"
"Don't you realize we don't care?!" Shouted Zack.
"Look my friend, school is important, but not as important as our friends."
"That's right. We could care less for anything else." Said Sybil.
"It is as you people say, friendship creates a bond stronger than anything else."
"Wow...thanks guys. But seriously, go home and rest. We'll figure this out tomorrow after school."
They all nodded and left the room. All except for Darwin, who continuously watched Dante.
"What?"
"By all rights...you should be dead."
"But I'm not."
"I understand that fact as I see you active, however, I implore you to remove your bandages."
"Okay..."
Dante did as he was told and was shocked to see what he saw.
"What...what the hell?!"
Dante checked all parts of his body.
No wounds! No scars!
"Are you aware of your most serious injury?"
Dante looked at Darwin, eyes still wide with shock.
"You received a direct impalement attack to your heart, which would have killed anyone instantly."
"That's...that's not true..."
"How do you explain your miraculous recovery then?"
He's right...I remember it all...I was stabbed through the heart...and so was that bastard Fox. But he's still alive. I know it.
"So it is true then. Fox is undead."
"Correct. I myself recently confirmed that fact after observing your previous fight. I only ask one question however."
"Shoot."
"What are your intentions? What are your plans?"
"It's obvious isn't it? Tomorrow, we cut off whatever we can find of the snake. Then, we stab the snakes head."
"Despite your terrible analogy, I assume you mean we are to wipe out the Ashford Syndicate tomorrow?"
"Exactly. You an I are gonna deal with them and their leader personally. Then, we go after King Charles.."
"It is a risky plan. I have pinpointed their base of operations recently. But my main concern is that they will be prepared for our arrival."
"Then let them be prepared. But that won't change the fact we'll still kick their asses. I don't care who or what I am, but I know I'm not easy to take down."
"I see. Very well then. Shall I inform the other of our plan?"
"Tomorrow. Right now, we need some rest. Tomorrow's gonna be my busiest day yet."
He was nervous. All four if them were. Dante, Blanc Zack and Sybil had only one class together. And that was the class before lunch. Out of everyone however, Dante was the most anxious. But he was also excited in a sense. He wouldn't be ending the big takeover plot today, but he was certainly going to do the world a favor by eliminating the Ashford syndicate once and for all. But only one question itched his brain the most. Could he? They have a large mercenary force, the have multiple weapons, hundreds of mechs, and one warrior that could be the most serious threat he's ever faced. It would be a miracle if he pulled this off. Luckily for Dante, he was good at being one. The bell sounded and the four were the first out the door before anyone else.
"So what's the plan?" Asked Zack.
"Simple. You three are going to be Darwin and I's eyes and ears while Darwin and I take out all forces. When we start our attack, call in the police so they can take care of everything else."
"Got it!" Said Sybil and Zack running off.
Dante raised his hand as the holo screen popped up with Darwin in view.
"Ready for this Darwin?"
"Affirmative. Awaiting your arrival."
"Alright guys. We do this, we get one step closer to freeing the country. Now, let's do this."
Dante and Darwin stood crouched on one of the buildings surrounding an immensely tall building overlooking dozens of others. This large building was definitely their location. Darwin had done a series of perimeter scans and internal scans of the building, making sure his information was accurate to one of the warehouses he raided.
"How many normal guys?"
"There are currently an estimate of five hundred and forty seven foot soldiers detected."
"Standard Mechs?"
"Twenty."
"Mega mechs like the one I fought a while ago?"
"Unknown."
"Damn. Well I'm certain they have one, so we gotta keep our guards up. What other vehicles are surrounding the area?"
"Eleven dummy system helicopters."
"Okay...ready for this buddy?" Asked Dante patting Darwin's back.
"Affirmative."
"Great."
Dante transformed into his disguise mode and Darwin turned off his holo projectors, which revealed his metallic frame.
"Let's go!"
Dante and Darwin jumped off the roof and into the street, ready to take on the Ashford Syndicate.
The AI and the boy walked side by side towards the front gates of the building, Dante with his sword in hand and Darwin with two rotator katanas resembling Dante's sword.
"Stop right there intruders!"
"You idiot! It's the rogue AI and the Black Knight! Shoot em!"
Before the guns sounded off, Dante and Darwin rushed in and killed a few guards by slicing them to pieces. Then the guns started firing, but that didn't help the unfortunate soldiers who got in their way way. They thought grenades would be better, but Dante and Darwin would either slice them apart like fruit or launch them back. It didn't change the fact that after the two were finished, nothing but bodies, or what remained of them, littered the grounds with a lake of blood.
"Let's move up."
Darwin nodded and followed Dante inside the building, which surprisingly wasn't filled guards. At least not yet. Instead there was a woman at the front desk of the building. Dante turned around to notice it started raining outside.
Ah...I do love both the sound and smell of rain.
"That woman..." Said Darwin.
The two approached the woman, who in a monotonous tone said, "I'm sorry. Visiting hours are over for today."
"Don't care lady. I want up."
"Sir, if you do not leave, I'll be forced to call security."
Dante sighed before cutting her upwards, separating her torso from her waist.
A robot. Typical.
"I'm sorry. Did you say...management?"
Dante stomped on the robots head and hopped over the desk with Darwin, who opened up the tip of his finger and inserted it into the terminal.
"Accessing...it would appear we need to take an underground cab to arrive at our destination."
"An underground cab? To where?"
"I have been able to track down the leader of the syndicate. It appears he is at the other end in which we need to access through the cab."
"What about all the others?"
"The rest are residing in the deeper facility."
"Okay then. Sybil?"
"Yes?"
"Call your dad and tell him to send in an armed squad to storm the building."
"Okay!"
"Zack?"
"Yeah?"
"Darwin's gonna be transmitting you some files. Make sure you archive them safely and securely so we can release them later."
"Rodger that!"
The teen and the AI stepped inside an elevator taking them down towards the cab system, both waiting for anything to happen.
The were both riding the elevator down, listening to classic elevator music as they descended. Dante swayed his arms back and forth, whistling to the tune while Darwin examined his weaponry and different parts of his body.
"I must admit, you did an excellent job in repairing my frame. You replaced my steel frame with carbon titanium alloy you retrieved from the warehouses. My frame is nearly impenetrable thanks to you."
"Don't forget I also modified your Overdrive mode. I reduced the stress it puts on your loads. That way you can stay in overdrive for more than a minute."
"Again, I both thank you and congratulate you for your work. It was more than extraordinary."
"Hey, I'm just an extraordinary guy Jack."
"Analyzing. Your comment is similar to the humor used in the show 'Duck Dynasty', in which character Si Robertson is infamous for using the term 'Jack'. If I recall correctly, you have been watching reruns of the show recently."
"Hey, humors located in all sorts of places Jack."
Darwin's head turned to face Dante, where the teen saw the single white glow from the visual visor staring straight at him.
"That was just a joke."
"I understood your attempt at humor. However I did not find it amusing as the first time."
"That's cold Darwin. That's i-"
"Do not make another bad joke."
"Okay..." Said Dante a little disappointed.
Dozens of guards waited outside the elevator, guns ready. The doors opened, but no one was inside. The guards, confused, looked around inside to see nothing. Soon, the two soldiers were stabbed through their heads and drooped to the floor dead as six grenade bandoliers flew inside the room, blowing the place to kingdom come. Darwin and Dante dropped down from the elevator hatch and examined their work. Thirty three soldiers were barbecued perfectly. The smell however was demonic.
"The smell!" Said Dante pinching his nose.
"I explained to you the smell would be terrible. You ignored my suggestion."
"Hey, the quicker we get this done the better. I could care less. Still that smell man! Whew!"
The two made their way to the windowless cab and were off. Silence ensued for a moment.
"I know I have already asked you this question, but why did you save me?" Asked Darwin.
"Truth is, it wasn't my original intention. I thought about destroying you for a couple moments. But like I said,your words had an effect on me. Made me reconsider my thoughts for a second. And when that happened, I felt like I'd be killing an innocent person."
"But I am not human."
"Like I told you before, it doesn't matter. You're your own person. You fight for you own cause, your own reason. Not because some told you to fight. I mean, I at least asked for your help to fight by my side. And you said yes on your own. You're a strong individual Darwin. And you deserve life like everyone else. Screw being human or not. To be honest, being human has been totally redefined for me. Maybe I'm undead like Fox. I don't know. All I know is every living, thinking being has a right to live. But those who do bad intentionally lose that right. Those who had no other option, still maintain that right. Like you. You were forced. I asked. But anyway, yeah. Everyone deserves to live. But anyone can deserve to die."
"It's strange."
"What?"
"I never assumed you to be one who is philosophical."
"Yeah? Well this is who I am. This is who I'll continue to be. Just me, myself and I. Whelp! We're here!"
"Seriously dude. This was your good idea?"
"Was it not you who said the quicker we arrive the better?"
"True. But the ventilation system?"
"It is our only option of stealth. I assumed we do not want to waste time dealing with unnecessary enemies. However, we will have to fight soon."
"Whys that chief?"
"The mega mech you spoke of is near the top level. So is the leader of this syndicate. Once we exit the air ducts, we will arrive on the main elevator. In fact, we are already present. Darwin kicked open the grate as the two climbed out and onto the elevator, which was moving up.
"Before we arrive, I must tell you my plan."
"Your plan?"
"Correct. You will move forwards and pursue the leader while I battle the mega mech."
"No way! We're taking that thing down together!"
"It will save us time. I forgot to mention they intend to initiate their plan in a few hours."
"What?!"
"That is why you will move ahead of me and take down the syndicates leader and return back to New Wellington."
"What do you mean return? Aren't we here?"
"That was a bullet cab system cable of high speeds. We were moved out of the city and into their facility a distance away."
"Shit...okay. Fine. Is their leader up there though?"
"Affirmative."
"I hate this plan a lot, but I'll have to go with it." The elevator stopped, as both faced the mega mech.
"Don't die Darwin. I'm counting on you."
"As you people say, that is a promise I intend to keep."
Dante ran ahead and dodge a few of the mega mechs attacks before Darwin distracted the metal giant.
"Now then, prepare to die."
Darwin waited for the mech to make its move. It was strictly melee weaponry, but Darwin knew better than to let his guard down. He quickly, replayed footage from Dante's fight with this metal beast and cooked up an easy strategy that could possibly work. He started circling the metal beast while he blocked or dodged any or all attacks that came his way. When a stop time presented itself, Darwin parried one of the mechs colossal rotator blades and jumped up to what seemed to be one of its shoulder mounted turrets and began slicing away at it. When he finished, the AI landed on it shoulder and ran up it before jumping up into the air and kicking it away. Darwin landed and twirled his sword around once before watching the mech rise again. The AI took the opportunity to attack before the mech made a full recovery and succeeded in damaging the cockpit unit were the dummy system was located, but it wasn't enough to stop it. Darwin jumped back and block a rotator blade, but the attack proved too strong and Darwin was sent flaring backwards. Little did the AI know that there was a pole sticking out and he was impaled by that spike.
Superficial damage such as this is not enough to destroy me. I've endured worse.
Darwin removed himself from the pole that impaled him and stood steadily on his feet before a pull pin popped up from his left wrist.
I will now see the modifications Dante made to my Overdrive mode. "Die."
The AI pulled the pin as an explosion of white energy surrounded Darwin before dissipating. Darwin's armor was smaller and more compact and his white highlightings glowed brighter. The AI dashed forward and exchanged multiple blows with the mech, but it didn't change the fact that the mech was still powerful. Because of that, Darwin soon found himself without his left arm.
Warning. Left arm unit lost. Time left in Overdrive mode...two minutes. Impressive. He increased my time to a total of five minutes. I will have to thank him when I see him. First...
Darwin blocked an overhead attack that would have sliced him clean in half, then pushed the colossal blade out of his way. The AI jumped into the air and started to rotate vertically incredibly fast before he propelled himself towards its arm and sliced through it like it was made of butter. Darwin dodged and blocked a few more attacks using his only arm left which held his rotator sword. Darwin blocked another overhead attack and yet again pushed the blade away before jumping into the air, spinning around vertically and slicing through the metal. The mech still stood, so Darwin jumped, once more and slashed downwards on the mech, cutting it clean in half.
I believe its time to regroup with Dante.
Two guards remained outside, but it wasn't enough to stop Dante. He killed them before they even knew he was there. The large door seemed to belong to an office. A rather large office. The teen kicked down the doors as he was greeted by two gunshots passing through his chest. He looked down to see the wounds instantly heal and looked in the direction of the shooter.
"I knew it wouldn't work. But I guess there's no harm in making sure."
Dante remained silent as he stood in the doorway. The man threw his gun away and showed he had nothing else in his hands. Afterwords, he folded his hands together and said, "Please...come in! Come in!"
Slowly, the teen walked inside, checking every angle of the room.
"Come now. If I wanted to set traps, they would have activated already."
He's right. I don't want to agree with him, but he's right.
The lights in the room flickered on, revealing a room painted a deep blue. He sat at a wooden desk with a black leather chair. There were shelves surrounding the walls of the room, filled with trophies and books and all sorts of items you'd place on a shelf. The large leather chair spun around to face the teen, revealing the man who lead the infamous Ashford syndicate. He was old, a little round in the middle, bald, and had a jagged scar running down his left eye. His eyes were a soft hazelnut. He wore a black suit with a red tie and white undershirt. He had a pleasant look about him, which somewhat betrayed Dante's thoughts of him being the syndicates leader.
"Please, take a seat."
Dante did so and sat in the comfortable chair before him, eyes still trained on the man.
"So...you are the one who's been laying waist to all of our warehouses and products."
"Surprised?"
"Intensely might I add! Would you like a drink?"
"No thanks. I don't drink. Plus I'm underage."
"Unfortunate."
The man poured himself a glass of, what Dante could smell, scotch with ice. The man took a sip before laying his glass on the table.
"I assume you're here to kill me."
"That depends."
"On what?"
"On what you do and answer in the next five minutes or so."
"I see. Tell me what you think of this...situation. Why do think I'm doing what I'm doing?"
"Money."
The man chuckled softly.
"A good and reasonable answer. Especially considering the fact we're directly funded by King Charles."
"So it's true about him hiring you guys."
"Not exactly. We weren't hired."
"I don't understand. How are you working for him if you weren't hired?"
"We're part of the royal family."
Dante's eyes were wide with shock at his statement. The mans smile soon disappeared.
"What-what did you say?"
"You heard me correctly. We're part of Blanc's family."
"Bullshit."
"It's true. My family served their family for countless generations. For the past twenty years were we able to achieve greatness with our technological inventions. In the past ten, machines of war were created with greatness."
"Why though?"
"Domination. Expansion. As I'm sure you heard, the presidential system grew corrupt. Blanc's father and I were senators at the time. We were also,the two responsible for bringing that corrupt system down. Afterwords, I was the one approached to lead the country and the countries we obtained during the dominion age, but I handed it to Blanc's father, seeing I was under him. And it was the right choice. His father and mother lead this country and all other countries to prosperity and happiness. But Charles was greedy. He killed both of them. And now he runs the countries."
"And why didn't you do anything about it if you were close to his parents?"
"What could I do? Fight back?"
"Dude, you have mega mechs that can kick the shit out of almost anything! You got close with me, but hey, still a piece of work!"
"You don't understand. He has his Knightmare."
"Knightmare?"
"Before we started developing mechs, Charles requested a human trials project. Project Knightmare."
"Annnndddd this should concern me why?"
"We made a biological weapon. Capable of strength beyond man or machines capabilities. After the project was complete, Charles ordered his Knightmare to destroy all research and kill all researchers on the project. It's the most powerful weapon we've ever created. And the most feared."
"You were without a choice too. I think I get it now. You weren't hired to work for him. You were forced to!"
"Exactly my boy! But I'm not certain you can make a difference right now."
"And whys that?"
The man looked outside the window along with Dante as they both could see the glorious city on New Wellington from a distance. The sirens soon went off and a few explosions were seen.
"Son of a bitch..."
"Project Gensis...those two years seem to be paying off."
"What is project Genesis?"
"You'll see soon enough. If I were to guess, he's probably piloting it."
"Great. Something else for me to kill."
"You're actually thinking of taking him on?"
"Who else is gonna do it?" Said Dante as he rose from his seat.
"What do you want me to tell him?" Asked Dante.
"I'm sorry?"
"Blanc. What do you want me to tell him?"
The man hesitated for a second.
"I will tell him what I need to say after all this is said and done. You've...restored confidence in me. I thank you for that."
"Before I go...where's Fox?"
"He said something about going his own way. No doubt he's built a rivalry with you by now. I'm sure you'll be seeing him again soon."
"Thanks I guess. I think it's about time for me to go. Darwin?"
"Yes?"
"Arrange some transport and meet me outside. We're gonna kill ourselves a King today."
I gotta doing stop this. Once again, sorry for the late delay. My excuse...Dark Souls Prepare to Die Edition. It had me so caught up and interested that I wanted to finish the game and write this weeks chapter. And before anyone asks, I didn't get DS II because it comes out in two weeks for PC. Otherwise I'd be playing that instead. Anyway, everyone saw the new intro for RWBY Volume 2 right on that one guys tumblr post right?! It got me more excited than I already was for the new season! New season means more of teams RWBY, JNPR and Dante, who continues this amazing story with these two teams, all packed into one story by yours truly! All coming soon! But like I said dozens of times before, I'm telling the story of Dante's origins before his arrival in Remnant, then at least a week or two from Volume 2's release, we cut it off to a good point and get back to the main RWBY story. If I can (which I probably will now that I've beaten dark souls and obtained Artorias' armor, abyss greatsword, and great shield, and for info I've been playing the game for weeks now with help from my friend who's an expert at the game and literally got everything and passed info to me on how to get that stuff) I'll post another chapter in two days time. If not, three. Well, that's it for this week folks, catch you later and have a fantastic week! If you have the week off due to spring break like me, awesome for you then! Thank you and see you next time!