Straight week of transition chapters?

meh.


Her teeth seemed to freeze as she hissed the icy air from between them. Her breath sounded loud and hoarse in the oxygen mask. She had no difficulty breathing, but the noise caused her to consciously suck air. She grumbled something aloud, although she knew the pilot couldn't hear her. Annoying.

Chizuru Kagura had just been bullied. No, humiliated. Nobody, nobody, dared demand anything of her. She was the boss, she gave the orders, and she didn't appreciate it when someone flipped the status quo. There wasn't a person on earth who could pressure her… well, perhaps the only exceptions were her two fellow sacred treasures, but they thought she was their fairy godmother, so nothing sinister came from them. Dammit! If Heidern didn't have Kyo and Iori caged up and under his thumb, he would have no leverage over her.

But he did, and he'd threatened to kill them, so she caved. Chizuru maintained a cold exterior for the sake of business, but she cared deeply for Kyo and Iori's well-beings. All three of them had gone to great lengths for one other, and she regarded them as, well... not quite family but something close.

Regardless of history or motivation, the fact remained. She would rescue them. They were being kept prisoner by that damn mercenary crew, and if her cooperation didn't free them, then she would fight. It took three minutes to prepare a teleport, thirty seconds to create mirror copies, and an hour to make a fully functional, savagely violent doppleganger of a person. All expended significant energy, but could be prepared beforehand within a reasonable timeframe. The mirror had other abilities, but the rest were moreso geared toward manipulation, sealing and trickery. She planned to use every power she had. As she sat in the passenger seat of the jet-fighter, she plotted. To her, only two things mattered, to repossess the full trio of sacred treasures, and to recompense Heidern for the humiliation offered her.

She leaned back into the bucket seats, focused on her mirror, and got to work.


Leona stumbled from the aircraft, coughing. Smoke billowed outwards from the downed helicopter and was immediately whipped away by the stinging winds, but the brief moments it took her to unstrap herself from the seats and stumble outside were enough to cause her lungs to burn and ache.

"Major! Ralf?!"

The crash had rattled her. When she hopped from the cockpit onto the field, she felt the impact travel up through her knees and into her hips. There was a gash on her forearm, it didn't feel deep enough to need stitches, but it proved uncomfortable. Her thermal goggles weren't working so she tossed them aside and continued calling. It was dark as death without the helicopter's spotlight.

"Ralf! Major Jones! Are you hurt?! Is anyone there?"

Strange for the helicopter to go down. They were in their own military compound for crying out loud! This should be their place of safety… how could this happen? Was there an enemy shooter in their midst? But who? And why attack us in out home base while surrounded by allies? Perhaps someone was conspiring with the Sacred treasures, or against them? Or did one of them somehow find a rifle and get a lucky shot?

There might be more than two potential dangers… Well, Iori shouldn't be able to move much, but best not to discount him…

"Ralf! Ralf!"

She stayed low to the ground, ready to spring at the sound of a gunshot. She knew the empty field had little protection, and if the shooter had nighttime, or thermal, goggles she was a sitting duck. But there was nowhere to hide. She needed to find her colleague.

"Major!"

She could make out a muffled voice travelling through the wind. It was very probable both were shouting just metres away from each other, but unable to hear. The atlantic wind really was something.

"Leona! Over here!"

Thank god.

It was dark and Leona had trouble pinpointing his voice through the howling wind. She felt along the wreck until, she came to the other side. The crash had caused a small fire to start in the tail-end of the Helicopter. Leona was so appreciative of the light, and the sight of her fellow soldier, that she didn't stop to consider how unnatural the bright flame was.

"Oy, Leo! If that arm's okay, phone in the rescue patrol. My radio got fucked."

Ralf shouted at her over the blasting wind.

"Yes, Sir. "

She pulled out her radio and called-in the five man rescue party that accompanied them from the ground. When they crashed, the spotlight was crushed and Leona lost sight of her grounded allies. They took cover behind the helicopter as she waited for the other line to buzz in. She shouted at Ralf as the wind whipped her hair.

"Ralf, is there a shooter?!"

"Don't think so!"

"How? It's not easy to take on a Chinook?"

"Throwing Rocks, maybe? Nobody else on Compound."

Leona frowned in doubt. The radio buzzed in, Leona pressed her ear against the speaker and shouted into the receiver.

"This is Leona and Jones! Give us your location!"

*static… you fucking… da-... static… Leona? Oh thank god, go back and te-*

Suddenly Leona was blinded. Bright light blazed forth from all around her. The radio crackled and melted in her hands. She quickly dropped it before it burned her. She turned wildly to her collegue, only to find Ralf was… on fire.

"LEONA! ARE YOU BURNING?"

am I… oh no… it's Kusanagi… but I thought he was the peaceful one…

"No… ack!"

Something burned at her back, forcing her to step forward to avoid it. Ralf was feeling the same heat. Leona didn't see Kyo anywhere, but this was obviously his power. She was keenly reminded that Kyo was every bit as deadly as Iori, just that his temperament was generally much more cordial. What's going on?

The fire on their heels forced them to walk. They approached the corner of the prison and rounded it. The wind whipped wildly at the flames, and Leona hoped they would extinguish them. Of course, it was a vain hope. The fire was unnatural and grew more powerful as they drew nearer to the source. By the time they approached the open doorway, they were blazing.

And so was everyone else…


"You're being unreasonable! IKARI doesn't even have a research division?! How-"

"I don't care! I don't fucking care! Hell if I believe you!"

Kyo snarled at her and she fell silent as the flames scorched at her fingertips. After a moment, the burning stopped and Leona gasped. He glared at her then stuck his head out the doorway to look about. She sighed.

What did we do wrong?!

There were ten of them. Ten hostages. Three from the initial team, five from the rescue, Ralf and herself. Thrall was dead. Each of them had been fixed in place with either a purple or orange flame. Kyo was hyperactively scurrying about and checking for more troops. His flames blazed strongly. Iori was significantly worse for wear. He looked dead tired and Leona could hear his labored breathing from where she sat. She thought she saw his eyes roll back into his head a couple of times, but luckily he regained control before anyone burned. Although the purple flames were thin and weak, all were well aware of the damage they could do. They were melting grooves into the concrete, so nobody doubted their power. Iori, even in the state he was in, was no less threatening than his rival.

It's not supposed to be this way… what's happening!

Leona looked upon the white dust on the floor and mourned. Her stupid, stupid decision had led to the death of Oliver Thrall. It was almost unbelievable, the situation. Ikari had rescued the Sacred Treasures with nothing but good intentions in mind. Sure, her 'crush' - whatever, played a … large part in her decision to chase after them, but … gah! She dropped her head and gritted her teeth. This was a risk IKARI didn't need to take, but they took it at her request. Now they were paying for it.

Kyo and Iori… they could probably handle whatever the US had in store for them without our help. They took on Iceland! Just the two of them! They don't need our help, we ask for theirs! Your stupid idea killed a good man… damn, I can't believe Iori killed Oliver! I thought they were friends!

She curled up and rested her chin on her knees. Orange flames burst from her on all sides. Kyo had gone outside again, Iori was sitting on the cot a few feet from her, he was staring listlessly over the hostages and his chest heaved with obvious effort. He didn't seem to be watching anyone in particular and his eyes were glazed. Perhaps he had killed Oliver by accident? He didn't seem too focused, the nerve gas had messed him up pretty badly.

Why am I making excuses for him?... ugh…

She stood and gingerly approached, testing to see to what extent the flames would let her move. She got to the foot of the cot before she needed to stop.

"Iori..."

She called out tentatively to him, careful not to startle. After a moment, he turned his head to look at her. From the angle he had to twist, it was obvious his left eye wasn't seeing. He just watched her tiredly, waiting to hear what she had to say. She cast Thrall from her mind and fought to keep her tone steady. She spoke in English such that the rest of her group could understand.

"Do you remember me? I'm Leona. I'm a fan. "

A nod. He emitted a sad chuckle then mouthed the word 'sorry'.

"... sorry? Why? What's going to happen..."

He seemed to deflate. After a moment he tapped his throat, laid a gnarled hand over his stomach and went back into that listless state. He didn't look like he was particularly invested in this venture, and maybe Leona could sway him, or otherwise force him to divulge some information to her. Maybe she could convince him to let his hostages go, perhaps even fight on their side.

"Iori, if you let us use the radio I can get a medical team over for you. Just let… let Micky over there go, and he'll phone in. We can help, alright?... I don't know what Kusanagi told you, but we're not here to hurt you. I promise."

Nobody spoke for a while. Even the normally bombastic Ralf was sitting against the wall glaring at nothing. The Rescue Patrol had freaked out when they saw what were the supposed remains of Oliver Thrall, and had been beaten into silent - in some cases, unconscious - submission by Kyo. Ralf was subject to the same treatment and was wearing a black eye and a couple of burns. It seemed that both treasures were capable of maintaining their flames without a direct line of sight, but needed one for ignition purposes- that's why he lit up the tail of the helicopter… so he could see us.

The red-haired man turned, almost laboriously, to look at her again. She felt bitterness in her chest as she regarded him. Where was that fearsome man who cared for and feared no one? She had only ever seen him standing on his feet, tall, strong, and usually laughing. Someone who suffered the same Orochi curse that she did could romp about like the freest person on earth, and she aspired to that. To have enough inner strength to laugh at her own demons and do whatever she wanted, regardless of who or what stood in her way. Freedom!

Maybe he saw the pity in her face, or perhaps he guessed what she was thinking, but he laughed aloud. The normal richness of his voice was gutted, and it sounded more like choking. The sad expression was consumed by a twist of violence on his features, and he spoke to her in a half-snarl.

"Who… (haah)... would you believe?... you have no… right… (haah)... to pity me."

A murmur ran through the troops. Leona gritted her teeth and tried again. At least he was willing to talk to her. Once she found out what they wanted, they could get their guys of of this situation. Strange that they haven't demanded anything yet… what are they waiting for?

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend. I simply assumed that you were seeking medical attention. What do you need, surely you're holding us for some purpose."

A growl devolved into hacking. When he finished, there was blood in his palm. He seemed a bit more animated, although still short of breath. He patted his stomach and added a red stain in the bandages.

"This was… (haah)... your… doing… don't speak… (haah)... anymore."

To that, Leona had no response.


Riot tattled on Leona. She kicked him in the guts way back when.

Velociraptor Kyo still at it

Devilmom joins the fray. (Smash Bros music)

Summaries:

Ch7: Kyo wakes up in Iori's Apartment. Starts breaking stuff and goes outside. Realizes Iori killed a ton of his neighbors and gets really mad at him for it. Breaks everything else in the apartment. Decides he's gonna leave Yag to die and get out of the place. Steals his Mustang and leaves the apt. Meanwhile, Iori's spent the evening Rioting. Kyo can tell where Iori is (proximity) by the burning in his blood. ie) Orochi Radar. It detects Iori, Leona, and Hakkeshu. But the signal is really diffuse right now and Kyo is sorta confused by it.

Ch8: Kyo's driving around in Iori's car, drinking his beer and feeling good. He almost kills a zombie dude and the guy flips him off. Kyo is reminded that the Zombies are actually concious and starts feeling bad. Then he freaks out again about how Iori killed his neighbors, and decides he'll kill him if he encounters him. He recognizes the burning in his blood is saying Yag is really closeby and stops the car to fight him. Yag's nowhere to be found and instead the car gets mobbed by screaming zombies who want to eat him. He starts running people over. A sniper punches a hole through the roof of his car, and he turns into a small alleyway to avoid. Riot throws a stopsign at the helicopter.

Ch9: Three US military dudes in Helicopter. They're on recon and see T1- which is Yag, cuz he killed Dimas's team. They designate Kyo as T2 after he sets stuff on fire and decide to bail cuz they can't snipe them and Mango doesnt wanna machine gun the civilians. Mention that a Private Military Company is stepping in (IKARI)

Ch10: Riot is killing people. He reflects on how the 'King' (as in, the strongest guy in Iori's head) sent him out to do a job and that he needs to finish before he comes back. Also he's collecting ppls earrings. Ikari prepare to fly to ST to do some biological sample extraction for US army.

Ch11: Kyo shouts at the retreating helicopter, burns some people, and gets cut when he punches a hole through the mustang's windowpane. He originally thinks he got bitten and does 100% freakout until he realizes its just glass. Kyo notices 2 things concerning the Zombies behavior. 1) Iori is higher priority than he is. 2) The zombies say 'eat' when hunting him. 'kill' when hunting Iori. Kyo watches Riot fight, and realizes that it's not Iori at all cuz the fighting style is so different. Gets ready to duke it out and kill Yag.

Ch12: They fight. Kyo figures out Riot's fight-style and is about to punch off Yag's head when Iori takes over and saves his own ass. Accuses Kyo of stealing his car.

Ch13: Kyo's driving Iori back home, and just laying it on thick. He's really pissed and spends half the chapter just tearing yag a new one. When he gets around to yelling at Iori for teamkilling, Yag apologizes. They're okay after that.

HAPPY 2019 BROOS