A/N: This chapter has been a long time coming guys. (And I really hope you all like the way I opened up the chapter. It's a little something different I wanted to try before continuing on with the plot. Be sure to let me know what you thought.) Anyway, we're getting close to the first epic climax (cause there will be two) that will begin leading us into the last sub-plot that needs to be told before we get into the Battle City Tournament story. (That's not the title)
Small note: Long chapter alert. Almost 9,000 words. (I need to start making these shorter.)
Disclaimer: You know the deal.
Warnings: Rated M for mentions of blood and all the angsty drama that's been prevalent in my stories lately. I tell ya, for a generally cheerful and happy person, I'm surprised at all the dark, heavy drama that comes out in my works. Guess this is my therapy guys. Sorry. Also, in the future I may be bumping this entire story into the M rating. You'll see why soon enough...though this chapter is pretty tame.
Chapter 25
Death to Innocence Part 2
Minako Aino...
She is a blank canvas until the pencil plots out her silhouette. The strokes that place her image upon the page are firm and easily made, almost as if the artist were looking right at the real thing. The artist begins with the pose, then sketches out details, starting with facial features and the details of her outfit. The artist ends the sketch by lightly drawing the shape and lines that make up long waves of hair topped with a familiar ribbon.
The artist pauses, serious cobalt blue eyes scanning over the work before moving to prepare a paint pallet. After this she quickly sketches out the rest of the scene and includes a second person that stands near with an expression similar to the girl's. The artist erases a couple of lines and re-plots them so that their fingers interlock.
Once through with the drawing, the artist dips the paintbrush into golden-yellow paint. In the seconds that follow, she gently adds color to the girl's hair first.
One hour later and the painting is presumed finished by the friends and family of the artist.
However, a few minutes later, the artist dips another brush into crimson red paint. Then, with hesitance she splotches a small drop onto the girl's cheek. The artist hangs her head slightly, her eyes watering as she contemplates the events that are slowly appearing in her mind's eye. Tugging a few strands of her teal hair behind her ear, the woman painting begins to stroke the red paint along the girl's right arm and hand. Some of that paint bleeds into the hand of the second person. She adds small, timid, yet glaringly obvious droplets of paint on the snow-covered ground within the painting.
Finally, she dips a thinner brush into the paint and marks the girl's forehead with a crane symbol.
Pulling her arm away, she rises from her seat by the easel and surveys the work. It was a gorgeous painting, but one that depicted pain, desolation, and the dark depths of madness lurking beneath the surface of the girl captured on the canvas. To most, if would just be a somewhat morbid painting and nothing more, but to the artist the painting was a direct link to the future.
The painting still rests on that easel within an abandoned apartment in the heavily demolished Juban District of Tokyo, untouched by human hands since the artist left it.
But soon, the vision within the painting will become real.
And the girl covered in blood...will forever be changed.
Back to the main plot
Mina P.O.V.
The knightmare cockpit opened and before Ophelia could say a word I jumped out, barely managing to grab the cable as I soared down to the ground with a small shriek.
Landing in a crouched position, I lift my gaze to the building that houses the school library. I gotta say, I never thought I'd see a day where a library would turn into a battle ground. Nevertheless, here I am, standing about a hundred feet away from where Rei and E.E. were having it out in one final climactic battle.
For a few seconds I couldn't help but think that it would have been more appropriate for me to have that last battle with E.E. After all, it was her contract with my mom that brought about all these events. Setting aside what E.E. may have done to Rei and the others, the woman forced my mother to fake her death before meeting my dad which caused Pegasus to lose it, thinking his love was forever lost. During his mega-freak out, my mom was being experimented on and I'm guessing for the purpose of mass producing these knightmare frames the Britannian military officers and the Black Knights pilot now. A microchip was inserted into her brain, she met my dad, they fell in love, I came along (though I'm Pegasus' daughter) and for all of my life I lived in Japan even though I was not actually Japanese.
Years later, dad ends up sick, mom starts going nuts on me, and Pegasus comes careening into my life to take advantage of the fact that I was desperate to tie the threads of my rapidly fraying life. At the same time, he created a plan to not only bring his supposedly dead love back to life but to figure out what really happened to her. That's where Yugi, Joey, Kaiba, and the others came in. The rest is pretty much history. My Geass awakened, I started seeing the past, and E.E. became a threatening presence in my life.
After all I had been through at Duelist Kingdom, E.E. thought it best to kidnap my mom, have me believe she was dead, only to realize she wasn't dead thanks to a phone call begging me to come to Japan, and lastly I find out that E.E. has manipulated my mother into becoming an out of control serial killer.
I won't say that Rei and the others don't have a reason to fight E.E. The lady is a classic villain with a vendetta against all of us, Rei in particular. Still, I'm pretty sure I'm getting the worst of it here. What has E.E. really done to Rei so far? She's probably messed with her mind, threatened the girls and Lelouch (who she obviously has a crush on), but aside from this what has she done to Rei personally? As far as I know, nothing!
But with me, she's really screwed me over in a way that's simply enraging. She's gone after not only me but my family! I just want to fix all this and yet everyone is calling me crazy for trying to save the person that gave me life to begin with.
And then there's what E.E. did to Ophelia, her own adoptive daughter. Are there no lengths this witch won't stoop to? When does it end?
Answer: It doesn't. None of this ends until E.E. is dead.
Given that she's immortal...killing her off is going to be tough.
"This is it," I thought, quickly lifting myself out of that crouched position near the ground. "If I can stop E.E. here..."
"Mina, you mustn't delude yourself into thinking that the two of us alone can make the difference in this battle," Ophelia stated suddenly, having randomly appeared next to me.
"I wasn't thinking anything like that..."
"Please," Ophelia cut in again, reaching into her coat pocket. "I've seen that expression on the faces of many when confronting E.E. They all met their demise. We cannot beat her tonight Mina."
"Then what's the point of us even being here?" I wondered silently. "After all, when I saw that vision the immediate thought that came to me was 'stop E.E. to save my mom' not 'let's go save Rei and Lelouch.' Sure I'm worried about them somewhat but my primary objective is to free my mom from the curse she's under."
Ophelia let out a soft sigh, still digging through the pocket. "Come, we should rescue your friends."
Scoffing I replied, "I thought I told you that they weren't my friends anymore."
"You still care about them at least a little bit, don't you?"
Of course I did, but I wasn't about to admit it out loud. Rei and I agreed to a temporary truce but she still aims to kill my mom because some voice in a vision told her to. Again, I'm pretty sure E.E. was behind that.
"At the very least, indulge me in my desire to do some good for others," Ophelia stated, turning away from me. "I have a plan. It'll let you get in a few hits on E.E. Would that be enough to satisfy you?"
I shrugged, following in step behind her as she walked briskly toward the library. "It would only satisfy me if it released my mother from her captivity."
Ophelia nodded, finally withdrawing a silver gun. "I understand." Without another word she withdrew a small casing a bullets and shoved them inside the barrel. "I'm going to let you borrow this gun. It's a special weapon I made to paralyze immortals like E.E. for short periods of time. Each bullet is infused with viper venom and my blood. When fired, the bullet moves in a spiral formation and will combust into microscopic flames once it makes contact with skin, sending out the poison mixed with Mages blood into the bloodstream. This causes a temporary but effective paralysis. Three direct hits in the same area produce the best results. If aimed and timed correctly, the paralysis can last to up to an hour."
"So wait...you made a gun that can literally put someone like E.E. into a paralyzed state and never used it?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. "How do you know it even works?"
"On immortals it works as a paralysis," Ophelia continued, keeping her gaze ahead. "On humans it acts as an instant biochemical assassin. One bullet, shot anywhere in the body, kills a human within five to ten heartbeats. Do you know how many times a heart beats in a minute?"
Swallowing the lump in my throat I blurted, "Sorry, anatomy is not a strong subject for me."
"A healthy heart, when at rest, beats sixty to eighty times a minute." Ophelia stopped, her gaze lifting to the open, ornate wooden doors only twenty feet in front of us. "Mina a human shot with one of my bullets would die within seconds no matter where they're shot. If the bullet barely grazed your cheek it would still kill you. As I said, the outer coating of the bullets combusts when it makes contact with the skin. If it mixes with your blood, the poison automatically seeps in through the skin and into the blood stream. This weapon ensures death for any and all humans."
For a few seconds I contemplated how she would know that and then..."I see...you..."
"I've done my fair share of killing," Ophelia cut in, her shoulders sagging a little. "Fear is a powerful, crippling thing that will force you to do unforgivable things if you aren't careful." Pausing she turned to gaze at me. "Mina, desperation is a form of fear and if you give into it you will end up like your mother...or worse."
"Worse?" I asked, placing my hands on my hips. "What do you mean worse?"
Ophelia turned away again, choosing to dodge the question in favor of getting inside where the danger awaited. "At any rate, aside from testing it on humans, my brother André, A.A., let me test it on him. He's the only one that knows I have this gun and that I made these kinds of bullets and let me tell you, keeping secrets from E.E. is next to impossible. I don't know how he managed to keep this from her. Back then...he was almost always with her."
Though I wanted to pester her about what she meant about me becoming something worse than what my mother was now, I decided to let it go and simply march toward the door behind her without saying anything else. This wasn't the best time for an argument.
After a minute of silence we found ourselves standing directly outside the open door.
The first thing I noted were the bloody footprints on the concrete leading inside.
"Are those Rei's footprints?" I questioned inwardly, a small pinch of worry filling me.
When I was having the vision, watching Rei being tortured by E.E. barely registered, but now that I was seeing her bloody footprints in real-time, I felt a pang of guilt. It was quickly replaced with rage towards E.E., but I felt it nonetheless.
Maybe I haven't treated Rei fairly in all this. Maybe I should have listened to her or tried to understand her side of what's been going on. After all, the state Juban is in didn't happen over night. Plus there was the massacre that happened here while I was safe in Domino. I never asked about any of those things though. I just expected things to pick up where they left off.
But they didn't and now I'm afraid they never will.
"Here."
Blinking I look away from the ground and to Ophelia's hand holding the silver gun toward me. With hesitance I reach for it, silently praying I didn't accidentally shoot myself with it.
"There are six bullets loaded inside," Ophelia began, withdrawing her hand once I was holding the gun firmly in mine before handing me an extra casing of bullets.. "This is the last extra set of bullets I have. If you want E.E. to stay inactive for an hour, you'll have to hit her chest with three of the bullets. Don't waste them though. They're all I have left."
"What do we do after E.E. is paralyzed?" I asked, placing the gun inside my left coat pocket while reaching for the transformation pen I'd put in the other.
"What happens after is up to you Mina."
Up to me...I wish she wouldn't say that because the truth of the matter is that I don't know where to go from here. Let's say E.E. is paralyzed during that hour and we save Rei and Lelouch. What do we do after that? E.E. won't die but will her hold over my mother weaken? Will I have a chance to save her? Can I even find her within the madness going on through the settlement? What happens if the military gets to her first? How do I know that they haven't already brought her into custody? What would Rei end up doing? Would she feel in debt to me for saving her and leave the matters of my family to me or stab me in the back and take out my mother anyway?
And worst of all, what if I find my mother and can't stop her without...
Any one of those scenarios could happen and quite frankly I'm not ready to face them. The last scenario in particular is one I refuse to think about because it simply can't turn out that way. E.E. is powerful, but she can't completely erase who my mother is. She'll snap out of it once she sees me. We can talk everything out and find a way to get through this together. Besides that, if I can get Serena back on my side, she can use her Silver Crystal to help.
But before I can start thinking along those lines, I've got to get in there and put E.E. in her place for a while.
"Are you ready?"
"Yeah, just give me a few seconds."
With a soft sigh I lifted my transformation pen over my head.
"Venus Crystal Power!"
Memories of the first time I ever became Sailor Venus enter my mind as the familiar magic envelops me again. I remember how happy I felt, knowing that I was going to make a difference in the world. Unlike the other girls, there was no fear present anywhere in my mind and the decision was instantaneous. Becoming a heroine of justice was a dream come true for me back then because when I was thirteen I always joked that if I couldn't be a famous singer I would be a superhero instead.
When I became Sailor Venus that day four years ago, confidence radiated from me and I knew I could conquer any obstacle that dared to stand in the way.
That confidence doesn't exist in me now as the magic begins to fade. I'm wearing the Sailor suit underneath Kaiba's navy jacket; the gun loaded and ready to put E.E. out of action is in the inside pocket. Everything is working out in my favor right now...
And yet I can't shake the ominous feeling sitting in the pit of my stomach. It's almost like my body is trying to tell me that things aren't going to end well no matter what I do.
I have to shut those feelings down. They're just me being paranoid. Things have always worked out in the past, right? Why should now be any different?
"It shouldn't...but this challenge is unlike anything you've ever faced before. The likelihood that everything will turn out all handy dandy this time is extremely slim."
Shaking my head I withdraw the gun from the pocket, inwardly praying that voice in my head wouldn't come back. The last thing I need is more doubt to add to my already high pile of doubts.
Ophelia offered a comforting smile. After quickly returning that smile with a nod, I make a dash for the open doors.
The instant I rush my eyes dart around and lock onto Lelouch floating in mid-air. He's fidgeting like crazy, his hands clutching at his throat.
"What the..." the thought trails off as my eyes finally lock on the person I'm after.
E.E. stands on the upper floor, holding her hand out towards Lelouch. She's slowly curling her hand into a fist.
"It's just like Assassin did to Ophelia in the past! Well, I'm not going to let E.E. do that to someone else!"
Rage exploded inside me as I started up the stairs. E.E. was too focused on Lelouch to notice me and by the time she did it was already too late.
I don't know what happened after that. I blacked out for a minute or so.
When I came to, I was standing over E.E.'s mangled body on the floor, tied down in my Venus Love Chain. The extra casing of bullets that was in my pocket is gone and there's only three bullets left in the gun. From what I can tell, I only successfully hit E.E. twice. The immortal demon was screaming about Ophelia being a traitor and after Ophelia replied her body went limp, eyes wide open.
consciously I knew that E.E. was only in a state of paralysis, but in those seconds I felt as if I were staring at her corpse, especially with that vacant look in her eyes.
Seeing her like that caused an involuntary smile to lift the corners of my mouth.
Feeling the muscles near my mouth move to shape that smile scared me. The joy that swelled in my heart truly terrified me because until that point I had never experienced the feeling of pure unadulterated joy when an enemy ended up in this state. More often than not I always felt pity.
But for E.E., for the few seconds I thought she was dead before reality kicked back in, there was no semblance of remorse festering in my mind at all. On the contrary, I was glad to see her in this position. I was overjoyed to see her suffering. I wanted to dance and sing and celebrate the death of the ultimate wicked witch.
It had nothing to do with obtaining a victory against an adversary. That kind of joy was different and it still came with the remorse of knowing you took part in taking a life regardless of their evil intent. Just the sheer thought of E.E. dying though makes me ecstatic with happiness that words simply can't describe.
The happiness that lifted my spirit quickly faded though...it faded into the horror of knowing that E.E. wouldn't be down for long.
More importantly though, the fact that I blacked out in blind rage and erratically shot Opheila's bullets made me realize that there could be some truth to what everyone's been saying. Clearly I'm not in the best mental state.
There's no time to really evaluate what's going on in my head though. I'll have to deal with it later.
Forcing the smile back into a frown I rush to Ophelia whose kneeling by Rei while Lelouch is next to her, watching the immortal carefully. Rei was extremely pale and bleeding profusely from many wounds. Once more the guilt tugged at my heart.
"Ophelia, E.E. stopped moving just like you said she would," I exclaimed, still caught up in the adrenaline rush of it all. Glancing at Lelouch I noted the blood staining his tux. "Are you hurt Lelouch?"
He shook his head while steadily rising to his feet. "I'm fine." He glanced back at E.E. laying lifeless on the floor with wide eyes. "I assume she isn't dead just yet."
"Killing someone who's immortal, especially an unconventional one like E.E. is a very difficult feat to achieve," Ophelia stated, opening one of her eyes to sneak a peek at Lelouch. She had started holding her hands over Rei's wounds. "From my understanding, Rei is the only one to completely annihilate an immortal."
"My apologies, but I'm very confused right now." Lelouch muttered while inclining his gaze toward me. "Mina, aren't you and Rei still fighting? Furthermore, isn't your mother leading the Black Knights at the moment? I thought you would be out in the settlement fighting."
"Well I was, but then..." I trailed off, unsure of what to say. Everything in my head is mixed up and I can't stop glancing back at E.E.'s limp body on the floor.
"It's hard to explain Lelouch and there really isn't enough time for me to go into much detail," I told him, hoping he'd drop the issue. "I'll break it down like this. I got the feeling Rei was in trouble. Ophelia was with me so we came back here together."
"How?" Lelouch asked.
"In a knightmare frame, duh." I blurted.
Lelouch's expression deadpanned for a second. "And you acquired the knightmare through what means exactly?"
Ophelia let out a sigh. "I was ordered by E.E. to help Mina pilot a custom Burai frame to the center of the settlement. This was for the purpose of drawing Mina into a one on one fight with her mother. However, I decided to alter the plan. My older brothers, A1 and A.A. were ordered to depart for our base of operations by E.E about thirty minutes ago. My orders were the same, but the truth is that I despise E.E. and want nothing more than to see her plans fail. That is why I am here."
Wait a minute! She knew where my mother was the whole time! Why that lying...that's it I'm gonna...
"You mean to say that you're one of them?" Lelouch questioned, cutting me off before I could start yelling at the lady for deceiving me about my mom. "You're an immortal?"
"Yes, I am Ophelia Hyuga, one of the immortal triplets that calls E.E...mother..."
"Mother?" Lelouch gaped, clearly flabbergasted by the whole ordeal. I just shook my head and muttered, "Well, the guinea pig is out of the bag now?"
Lelouch's expression deadpanned again. "The proper saying is the cat is out of the bag."
"Shut up! I knew that."
Ophelia moved from healing the shoulder wound to Rei's left arm.
"So tell me, Ophelia," Lelouch began, turning his attention away from the death glare I was still giving him. "Why do you hate E.E.?"
Honestly, what kind of question is that. Ophelia's entire past is a reason to hate E.E.
"Exhaling a sigh, Ophelia shook her head. "My reasons for hating her are not for you to know Lelouch Lamperouge." She paused to examine Rei again. "She's waking up."
"About time," I muttered, placing my hands on my hips. "I can't exactly spend the whole night here waiting on her to recover."
Lelouch knelt by Rei's left side, his fingers brushing her cheek as she blinked her eyes in confusion for a few seconds, but then a slow smile lifted the corners of her mouth. Bringing her fingertips up, she brushed Lelouch's bangs away from his eyes. "I didn't...I didn't think I would make it to heaven." Moaning a bit she started to lift herself from off the floor. "I didn't think I'd be sore in heaven either."
"You aren't dead Rei," Lelouch breathed, his voice soft and gentle. "We're both alive and E.E. is out of commission for now." Helping her sit up he added, "And you owe me a kiss."
Inwardly I giggled at the blush coloring Rei's cheeks. Guess she finally realized Ophelia and I are here too.
Moving so she was resting on her knees she said, "You sure have a one track mind don't you."
He chuckled. "Yeah, I guess so."
I was about to make a comment about how they could act like the lovebirds they are later, but catching a glimpse of Ophelia's sad smile stopped me in my tracks. She was reminiscing about the past again and my Geass was responding to it. I didn't see as much this time around, but what I saw painted a clear picture of just how tragic her life had been. In the passing images I watched Ophelia as she watched her mother and father die horrifically within minutes of each other, her introduction to the first Holy Grail War through E.E., the summoning of Akito for the war, and from there I rewatched a fast-paced version of the events that made her immortal and what happened afterward. There was the second war, which turned into a horrendous blood bath from what I could see. She became part of an order focused around Geass and in 2011 she left for Fuyuki, the place where her dreams died.
"All dreams come to an end though, don't they..."
My gaze narrowed on the back of her head as I thought of my own dreams...dreams that were swiftly slipping through my fingers.
Seconds later we all heard a sound come from E.E. I didn't glance back, but I could tell from Rei and Lelouch's expressions that she was beginning to move.
I blacked out, but the two bullets that made contact hit the wrong areas. Based on the fact that E.E. is moving, the paralysis isn't going to hold for much longer, leaving me with the dilemma of staying to fight or leaving to find my mother.
Because the truth is...nothing would make me happier than to rip E.E. to shreds. Now that the immortal demon's chest is rising and falling, I feel the rage building again.
"Listen, all of you should leave this place," Ophelia began. "None of you are strong enough to match E.E. in battle."
"Are you saying that you can?" Rei questioned as Lelouch helped her to stand.
"I'm better equipped to deal with her," Opehila stated, taking a defensive position in front of us. "All of you should go. Leave me to deal with my mother."
Clenching my fists I let out a small sigh, watching as a couple more glimpses of Ophelia's past filtered through my mind. She needs this more than I do right now and besides that...I have my own mother to deal with. That's the number one priority on my list. Whatever revenge I aim to take can wait.
"Thanks for teaching me the basics of piloting," I offered, handing her the silver gun.
She nodded her response, her eyes thanking me for offering her this chance.
"You're okay in my book Ophelia," I told her, smiling. "Good luck to you."
Rei called out to me as I darted back down the stairs but I continued on, knowing that the real battle was waiting for me in the settlement. Still, I'm glad that Ophelia was able to heal her and that she'll be okay. When all this is over I'll apologize to everyone for acting the way I did. Hopefully they'll understand.
Until then...
Twenty minutes later at the Tokyo Settlement General Hospital
Joey P.O.V.
When I woke up in the hospital, my first thought was that everything had been a crazy dream and that I didn't really go to Mina's apartment and end up in Japan after she took care of the injuries my dad dealt to me.
But then I heard Serena's voice next to me and after hearing her voice I started noticing that the room I was in wasn't a traditional hospital room, more like one of those rooms doctors are supposed to sleep in that always pop up in shows like Grey's Anatomy...
Not that I watch that show.
Anyway, after taking a few seconds to get my head together, the memory of Mina knocking me out filtered into my head. That's when I turned to Serena and bluntly asked her where Mina was and what was going on around here.
I regret asking her now.
Because for whatever reason, the mention of Mina sent Serena into a hysterical frenzy of rushed explanations and giant crocodile tears that threatened to fill up the room and drown me. It sounded to me like she was trying to squeeze in all the information and details from the very beginning of all the madness up in a fraction of ten minutes.
In other words, (things are too messed up to leave the fourth wall standing at this point) Serena tried to squeeze in a grand total of one-hundred and seventy-eight chapters worth of exposition into a ten minute explanation. Throw in tears and hysteria and we have a recipe for nonsense that goes completely over my head. Even without the tears and hysteria the stuff wouldn't have computed in my brain.
When Serena finally finished spilling her guts to me she let out a sigh, hung her head, and cried silently. The silence was welcome, but I knew it wouldn't last very long. She was just waiting for me to respond.
"So...you don't know where Mina is?"
Serena glared up at me and suddenly I found myself backing away from her, terrified of what she was like when she was angry.
"Joey!" she screeched, her hands locking around my throat in a somewhat loose grip. Shaking me she continues with, "I just told you that Mina left Ashford with a lady that's bound to be some kind of psycho-maniac with a fetish for feasting on you and Mina's unborn children!"
Unborn children!? Where the heck did this meatball head get the idea that Mina and I are going to have kids? We're not married! We're not even dating! Seriously, is every one of Mina's old friends a complete nutcase?
"She could be anywhere in the settlement by now!" Serena continued, still kinda choking me. I wasn't turning blue in the face or anything, but the shaking is getting out of hand. I can barely see straight.
Letting out a groan I place my hands over her forearms and force her to stop moving entirely.
Serena blinked, more than a little shocked. "Wow...you've got a really firm grip Joey."
"Serena, try to focus for a second," I began, "Wow, I never thought I'd ever say that to a person. You said that Mina is out in the settlement now with a woman who could potentially be a killer immortal?"
"Basically."
"Well..." I wasn't sure if I could find the right words for this, "that's messed up."
"Yeah, it is," Serena replied with a soft groan.
Just then the door opened and Serena's friend Ami and the younger Lamperouge brother entered.
"Ami!" Serena exclaimed, jumping away from me in favor of tackling her friend. "Thank goodness you're alright."
The blue-haired girl winced a bit. "Serena, I'm still injured. You're hurting me."
"Oh!" Serena immediately let go and backed up a little. "Sorry." She turned to...well I forgot his name.
"Thanks so much for keeping Ami safe, Rolo."
Good timing Serena.
Rolo nodded, looking confused. "Sure, uh...no problem Serena."
"Anyway," Ami began, frowning a bit, "I just got word from Lita. The Black Knights have wiped out a third of the military squadron stationed here. Suzaku has called for reinforcements from the bureau, but they won't arrive for another hour from the Okinawa base. Suzaku is doing his best but he just can't handle the brainwashed knights by himself. Given Lita's lack of piloting experience, she's doing more scouting than actual fighting. To make matters worse, neither of them have located Mina's mother even though she's leading them."
"What about Mina?" I interjected, leaning forward a bit. "Any word on her?"
Ami shook her head. "I'm sorry Joey, but the only thing we know is that Mina was piloting a custom Burai. There's a multitude of those in the settlement right now. There isn't a real way to track her down at this point."
"Custom what?"
"It's the type of knightmare frame predominately used by the Black Knights," Rolo clarified. "Finding Mina in one of them is going to be difficult, especially since that type of knightmare is perceived to be an enemy unit."
"Can someone speak to me in English please!"
Serena rolled her eyes. "Joey, what they're saying is that Mina is in a vehicle that belongs to the bad guys. That means that Suzaku and Lita might attack her by mistake, thinking she's the enemy and that also means she's going to be tougher to find unless they end up fighting with her."
"Thing is, I'm pretty sure Mina doesn't know how to properly pilot a knightmare," Rolo muttered, "if someone like Suzaku ends up targeting her without realizing it, she'll be dead before she can explain herself..."
"SHE'LL BE WHAT!?"
Serena, Ami, and Rolo watched me with wide eyes as I jumped out of the bed, practically leaping across the room to grab Rolo by the shoulders before screaming, "If Mina's in that kind of danger then we need to get out there and find her now!"
"Oh, nice going Rolo," Serena groaned as I continued shaking the guy as hard as I could. "Did you have to put it in those terms? Sheesh!"
"Serena's right," Ami chided, "saying things like that will just make Joey worry more than he needs to. Mina is perfectly capable of handling herself. I'm sure she's alright."
"That's right, there's no need to worry."
"Oh sure!" I shouted, shaking Rolo harder without glancing back to see Serena's expression. "That's coming from the girl who was wailin' ten seconds ago about some psycho immortal feasting on our unborn children!"
"Joey please calm down. Rolo's turning blue!" Ami exclaimed, looking paler than before.
By that point Rolo was a mess of dizziness and drool. Realizing this, I finally let him go, but he ended up falling backward to the floor a moment later with stars dancing around his head.
There was a pause in the room as I glanced between Serena and Ami. "Why didn't either of you try to catch him?"
Serena shrugged and Ami just brought her hand to her forehead in exasperation.
Before anything else could happen a beeping filled the room. It was coming from the inside of Serena's purse.
The blonde blinked for a couple of seconds before rushing over to the small clutch. After opening it she pulled out a small wristwatch and opened it, revealing the screen inside. For a few seconds there was a bit of snow there and then Rei's face appeared on the tiny screen.
"Rei!" Serena exclaimed, relief clear in her voice. "Thank goodness you're okay!"
"And I'm not the only one," Rei answered a bit shakily. "I was able to escape with Lelouch too. It was a close call, but we're both alright."
"How did you get away from E.E.?" Ami asked, coming to stand next to Ami by the bed.
"You wouldn't believe it but Mina ended up saving the day along with an unlikely ally," Rei explained.
"Unlikely ally?" Serena questioned, her smile widening. "Did this person happen to have orange eyes like that cannibal guy?"
"Yeah, her name is Ophelia and she's his sister," Rei replied, "Apparently she's been waiting for a chance to go up against E.E. for a good long time. She's fighting her now."
"What about Mina?" I interjected, forcing my way between the two girls so Rei could see my face. "What happened to her? Is she alright?"
Rei frowned. "Honestly Joey, I don't know. Mina left before Lelouch and I escaped and based on what she said to Ophelia, she got a little knightmare training from her. I'm guessing that she's gone back to the settlement to find her mother before any of us do. She still thinks I'm out to kill her."
"Are you?"
"Not unless there's no other choice," Rei answered. "You have to understand Joey. As Sailor Scouts we have a duty to protect the innocent no matter the cost to us. We want to help Mina save her mother but she's out of control at this point."
She paused and waited in case I wanted to say anything before she continued. I didn't say a word.
"You aren't going to like my saying this, but I believe the reason M asked me to kill Mina's mother was because she can see what's going to happen to Mina if she ends up pulling that trigger herself. As much as Mina wants to deny it, she knows the Britanninan government will want blood for this. If her mother is captured by them she'll be tortured and then publically executed."
She paused again for a few seconds. "The last thing Mina wants is for her mother to suffer. If she thinks killing her will set her free, she'll do it, but you and I both know that she can't handle having that blood on her hands. More than that...Mina has to realize that she can't have her former life back. None of us can. This Japan is not the Japan she left behind and all of us have changed dramatically. She has to accept that Joey. She has to accept that the past is over."
The room was silent after that except for Rolo groaning as he rose to a sitting position on the floor. Serena and Ami's eyes were on me while Rei's gaze had lowered. She was probably looking toward the ground.
As for me, I stood thinking about all the things she had just said for a good five minutes.
Rei had made her point. Now I have to make mine.
"I'm not gonna pretend that I understand all this," I began. "The stuff about what it means to be a Sailor Scout, the Geass mumbo jumbo, knightmares, the Black Knights, immortals, or any of that. Honestly, none of that makes any sense to me, but I'll tell ya what does."
Clenching my hands into fists I stare into the small screen of Serena's communicator. "One of my closest friends is really hurtin out there. All she wants is be held in the arms of both her parents and know that they aren't going anywhere. She wants to have some sense of normalcy again with her friends. Simply put, she wants what anybody wants, to be happy. What she has is a mother that's gone out of her skull thanks to some nutcase bent on revenge and a father that's closer to death every hour that passes. She came back home expecting everything to be close to the way she left it only to find that most everything she loved is gone. Most importantly her so-called best friends, her teammates, won't stand by her when she needs them the most. That's what I'm getting from all this."
"But Joey..."
"I didn't interrupt you while you made your point so let me finish mine," I cut in angrily, causing Rei to jump slightly from the other side. "She needed all of your support. You didn't give her any. You've gotten so caught up in this war between Britannia and Japan and your duty as Sailor scouts that you've forgotten what it means to be a friend. You made a good point about Mina living in the past. She shouldn't live in the past, but she needs to be able to have hope in the future. By not supporting her, by saying to her that you were going to kill her mom if things got too bad, you basically said that it didn't matter what she felt about the situation. You continue to state that the hope is so slim that there's none and so she shouldn't even try. How did you expect Mina to react to that? You think anyone would take that without putting up a fight? How would you feel if someone did that to you?"
No one said anything, but it was clear that everyone got the point I was trying to make.
"All of you need to make things right with her," I stated, "you most of all Rei. You need to do more than just apologize. You need to support Mina and help her save her mom. If you're just gonna give up before even trying there's no point in living at all."
Serena's gaze shifted as I walked around her, not bothering to look back as I stalked toward the automated doors.
"Joey! Where are you going!?" she shouted, competing with the click of the doors.
I let the sound of the doors closing behind me answer her question. I had said everything I needed to. No more words were needed.
Besides that, I've always been a man of action rather than words. I'm going to find Mina. I won't let her face this alone.
To be honest, I'm all too aware of how stupid searching for Mina in a war zone is. I haven't thought all of them through, but I know there are high risks involved. Anything could happen to me out there.
Regardless of those risks, I have to follow my gut on this. My gut is screaming at me to find Mina and make sure she's okay. I won't feel right until I know she's in one piece both physically and emotionally.
Following the signs I walk through the hallways and enter into the elevator with a few doctors and two nurses. The tension is thick in the air for me, mainly because the doctors and nurses are discussing people's injuries and the rising death toll. My heart starts pounding as they talk and at each stop the doctors and nurses get off on, I feel it beat faster and faster. Even though the elevator only stops twice, the tension mounts in my mind every time the doors cling open and shut.
I feel like I'll be back here soon.
In a body bag.
The thought terrifies me and almost convinces me to forget all about Mina and leave this entire mess to her. It's not like I know her that well anyway. I mean, we've been in each others lives for how long exactly? A few months? She doesn't mean enough to me that I would put my safety on the line, right? I'm not a stranger to danger but...this is pushing it on a major level. There are people that need me back home in Domino, most importantly my little sister Serenity.
Still, even though my heart continues to pound and the different scenarios of a possible death filter in and out of my head, it's clear to me that I've made up my mind and that there's no changing it. Mina is important to me like it or not and the truth is (though admitting it right now is a struggle) I'd do just about anything for her without hesitation.
When the elevator finally opens on the lobby floor, it's no surprise to me that Ami is already waiting there. Rolo is nearby though he's keeping his distance from me. They must have taken the stairs.
Glaring I continued on my way, avoiding eye-contact with her as I pass by.
But her voice ends up stopping me.
"Joey, once you leave this hospital we can't protect you," Ami began. "How do you think Mina would feel should anything happen? You know as well as I do that she'll blame herself."
Instead of answering I ask, "Where's Serena? Shouldn't she be down here too?"
"She's still speaking with Rei," she replied. "You were right about everything Joey. We abandoned Mina and at this point, I don't know if we can repair our friendship with her. Our whole team was falling apart long before she came back."
"Why am I not surprised," I muttered.
"Still...I'm glad that she has you Joey."
A short gasp of surprise slipped through my lips and though I had intended to keep walking without looking back, I turned around to look at the blue-haired girl.
She was smiling with tears in the corners of her eyes. "I just have one question. Are you sure you're prepared for what's out there. It's a gruesome sight."
I probably wasn't, but nodded anyway.
Ami sighed, closing her eyes. A few tears slipped out before she opened them again. "Joey, please be careful and when you find Mina please tell her we love her and that we're sorry."
"You aren't going to stop me?"
"I had planned to, but...it's clear to me that nothing I say will change your mind," she explained. "All I ask is for you to be careful. You're important to Mina; therefore, you're important to us. She needs you Joey. Don't abandon her like we did."
Smirking I gave her a thumbs up. "Ya don't ever have to worry about that. I promised her I'd always be there for her and I never break a promise to a friend."
Ami nods and more tears run down her cheeks. "Don't let me keep you then. Go on."
"Right!"
"Oh, and Joey!"
I stop and turn back around. "Yeah?"
She takes a few steps closer to me and then whispers, "There's a black Camero parked on the side of the building. It's already been hotwired and the door is unlocked."
"That definitely saves me the trouble of breaking into a car myself," I thought, smiling at her."Thanks Ami. I appreciate the help." With that said I took off for the front doors. Ami didn't call out to me again.
I have to say, of all of Mina's old friends, I think I like Ami the most right now.
And so the race against time has begun.
The complete layout of the situation is as follows...
Starting with Kara Fennette and Fernando Green, both are getting treated for injuries caused by the immortal going by the alias of A.A. The saucy red-head with bright green eyes has already been patched up and at this moment she's on the phone, calling in reinforcements from every available port. During the time that Serena was explaining the entire spectrum of the issues she and the other Sailor Scouts had been dealing with in the past few months, Kara was making a second phone call to her engineering team with a not so polite request for them to send her knightmare to the Tokyo Settlement on the double. With the weakened military faction barely hanging on, it became inexplicably clear to the twenty-one year-old that things were about to get ugly for not only the civilians but for those who had been charged to protect the settlement from this exact issue. Though not primarily someone who held the numbers at high standards, she had interacted with Suzaku Kururugi enough to see that he was a decent man with a mindset geared toward peace. The disaster befalling the citizens did not bode well for him.
That brings us back to Fernando Green. He is still under extensive surgery, hanging between life and death. Kara didn't think of him as she conducted her business. There was no time to be worried over him and quite frankly, he was to blame for the situation escalating so far in her mind.
At the same time, she felt pity for the younger man. That pity kept her rooted outside the hall leading to the different OR's. She would have followed the doctors inside in scrubs had they permitted it, just to keep an eye on the Brazilian. She didn't want his death to be on her hands, but more than that...she needed to know more about E.E. and the other immortals so that the tragedies surrounding her wouldn't come to pass again.
Unfortunately for her, she was stuck in a position where she could do nothing but wait.
A couple of floors up, Serena Tsukino was still speaking with Rei Hino through her wristwatch communicator. They were brainstorming a new plan together, one that would hopefully lead to the salvation of Mina's mother. Still, there were obvious problems with said plan, problems both of them were having a hard time ignoring.
Ami Mizuno stood in the lobby with Rolo Lamperouge nearby. She was doing well to hide her discomfort with the injury she'd received. Rolo still couldn't comprehend why she had protected him, even though she had already explained it twenty minutes earlier on the way to the hospital. At this moment he's contemplating whether or not he should kill her and Serena too.
The outer Sailor Soldiers that had been captured by the Britannian government: Haruka Tenoh, Michiru Kaioh, and Setsuna Meioh, are at this moment desperately trying to escape the rapidly collapsing building of the prison. Whether they'll escape or not is still up in the air.
Kallen Kozuki and Hotaru Tomoe are on their own mission this night: to save the outer senshi. Katase Urabe is not too far behind them on that mission.
Lita Kino and Suzaku Kururugi are in their respective knightmares, locked in tense battles. For Lita, the battles are especially taxing, but so far she is holding her own.
Rei Hino hangs up on her friend and turns to Lelouch Lamperouge. The two of them talk for a moment and then the two of them steal a motorbike that belongs to one of the council members. Instead of heading toward the hospital, the two immediately drive off in the direction of Hikawa Temple.
What neither of them know yet...is that Hikawa Temple has been destroyed.
In the major conflict, the center characters are rapidly taking paths that will violently converge.
Within Ashford Academy's expansive library, Ophelia Hyuga stands before the demon that started it all, holding a staff with a red crystal orb at the top in both her hands. With fixed orange eyes she concentrates, preparing her next onslaught of fire based attacks.
E.E. smirks with crimson eyes ablaze with amusement. In each hand she held a rapier. She was also using fire based attacks...for now.
As the two immortal women clashed, Joey Wheeler began speeding through the interstate, avoiding oncoming traffic as it erratically moved about the roads without any order. Wrecks happened continuously around him as he drove, but he barely took notice of it. All his thoughts were on navigating through the chaos just enough to find Mina. From there he'd figure the rest out.
Lastly, Minako Aino, within her custom Burai knightmare frame, was closing in on the Black Knights and her estranged mother, Cecelia May Ashford.
And so, destiny is crafting its path. The future depicted in the painting coming closer to view.
Minako Aino...Beware..."the theif comes to steal, kill, and destroy."
A/N: And that's how this chapter ends guys. That final sentence, the one that says, "The thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy," is from John 10:10 in the Bible. Thought you guys should know that. Anyway, be sure to review and let me know what you got from this. Once again this probably feels more like a filler chapter that was rushed a bit. The next chapter is where things get real. From here on, everything is going to be ten times more intense. Be prepared. Until then, see ya!