AN: Hello guys. I know this chapter has been delayed for a very long time and I apologize for the long wait. I hope it will have been worth that wait...or at least kind of worth it :). Much of the delay stemmed from wanting to write a chapter, but then realizing partway through, that it would be way too long and felt too 'spread out' in subject matter. So I decided to break it into two parts, this being the first. Because I had to do this, I essentially had to rewrite part one entirely to fit this new format. Anyway, for those who sent e-mail/reviews in the past month, I'm really grateful for that. Really picked up spirits that had taken a beating over the past month (things are good now though!)^_^. I hope you enjoy the chapter.
*edit: Inserted a page break where one was missing midway through the chapter.
Time seemed to slow down for Bando as the decision had been made to evacuate the Maple Inn ruins.
The sensation caused a rush of panic to wash over him, recognizing the pattern of his shifting perceptions and sensations. It was always in moments like these, that his many thoughts and perceptions would slam together all at once in a the form of cold realization. The familiarity he felt was in the understanding that these feelings were his instincts telling him something was urgently wrong.
Arakawa and Takashi had returned with news that they were being pursued, but a great deal of time had been allowed to pass without any sign of pursuers. Bando realized, in the space of a second, that it meant they were being surrounded. Normally, a pursuing squad would engage them from the main entrance, following standard entry procedures for clearing an enclosed area. If an effort was being made to cover the exits, it meant their pursuers knew exactly what they were dealing with. Bando remembered suddenly that Takashi mentioned the American troops being outfitted for combat against Diclonius targets.
"Enough talk!" Takashi shouted, "I've got a humvee parked nearby. Let's move!"
As the group turned to head for the main entrance, Bando stood frozen, his instincts razor sharp and moving so quickly that everything else in the world seemed to crawl. Tree branches swayed slowly and hypnotically, the flight of birds sounded like a dull roar of displaced air, and the objects being lobbed over the courtyard walls seemed to move…
"GET DOWN!" Bando screamed.
Everyone dropped to the floor except Lucy, which Bando had expected. He imagined she was used to feeling generally invincible, so when Bando had shouted his warning, he began running towards Lucy immediately. He was met with shocked protest when he tackled her to the ground, just in time for the explosions. Bando tried not to think of what their physical conditions would be after the fragmentation grenades tore through their bodies. The best they could do was make themselves as small a target as possible.
The cries of shock were drowned out by the deafening sound of the blasts and Bando braced himself for the coming pain. When that pain didn't come, confusion set in, paralyzing Bando for a moment. Looking over towards Takashi, he saw a similar confusion in his face.
"What the hell?" Takashi began, "that…was…"
"Flashbang grenades," Bando said suddenly, rising to his feet rapidly and quickly scanning the courtyard, "fucking stupid of them. Why would they…?"
Bando forced himself to snap out of his shock. They had only seconds to react before they were taken down by the squad that would surely be coming in the wake of the grenade assault.
"Inside!" Bando yelled, motioning towards Maple Inn, "now!"
Bando knew the exits were covered. Trying to walk out of the front door would have been suicide. Their best hope was to retreat within the walls of the ruined building. It would buy them some time and provide them cover while they determined where to punch their way out of this trap. Takashi and Arakawa ran immediately to the relative safety of the house, but once again Lucy remained still, though obviously for a different reason as she still appeared to be in shock.
"Lucy! Move your ass!"
"I…can't feel them," Lucy said in a rising horror, raising her hands to her head, "can't concentrate enough to…"
"Shit!" Bando exclaimed, grabbing her arm and forcing her back with him to the house. Upon reaching the front steps, Bando heard gunfire from behind them. It tore at the structure around them, causing wood to splinter violently, and fly around like shattered glass. Bando heaved Lucy towards the door as he spun around and returned fire with his Desert Eagle, the sound of the gunshots like cannons as they blasted through the meager cover of the courtyard wall. Bando heard the sounds of men crying out in pain, and knew at least some of his bullets found their marks. He quickly ran inside, firing as he went. Once inside, he pulled the door shut, ejected the empty clip, and quickly replaced it with a fresh one, filling the room with the echo of the slap and metallic click as Bando chambered the first round.
"We lingered too long," Takashi said in frustration, "let them surround us…"
"Stay frosty," Bando commanded, "give us an exit plan."
Bando turned to Lucy who was still holding her head, "what the hell happened back there Lucy?"
"I don't know," she replied, shaken, "the grenades went off and then…it was like someone rang a giant bell in my mind, and it's still ringing. I can't call my vectors!"
"Shit," he said with a mirthless chuckle, "wish I'd have known all it took was flash bang grenades to flip your murder machine off. I think things might have ended a bit differently between us."
Lucy's eyes filled with anger and her hands dropped to her sides. Good. As long as she was pissed off, she wouldn't be thinking about what had happened to her. Bando had figured out very quickly that anger seemed to clear her mind of self destructive emotions. In that respect, she was a lot like many other people in the world, which still surprised him even knowing that the Diclonius were not really different from human beings psychologically. To him, Lucy still felt like an unfathomable nemesis. As if she alone represented all that was inhuman about the Diclonius. It was difficult to let go of a perception like that.
"It's more than just flash bangs," Takashi said, returning quickly from somewhere in the hallway, "they're dissonance grenades. I heard them talking about it on the comms just before both sides switched to secure lines and we lost contact with the Americans. They designed a new type of flash bang to explode in the sound frequency range that they use in the vector nullifiers. The headgear uses a steady, low intensity pulse, but these grenades create a short, high intensity shock. The effects are temporary, but it's usually long enough for a retrieval or extermination squad to get their job done quickly, and easily."
"Alright, so it's temporary. That's one mystery solved. Now, how are we getting through their perimeter?"
A volley of bullets interrupted them, slamming against the structure and piercing walls and windows. Arakawa screamed, and all lowered themselves to the ground.
"Get further inside!" Takashi shouted as he unhooked two fragmentation grenades from his vest, pulling their pins, and tossing them through an open window. Bando turned on his gun light to illuminate the dark halls of the inn as they moved. Here and there, pale light would spill into the hall from holes in the roof, but they were not enough to illuminate much around them. Most of the light that could be seen was coming from what looked like a dining area. Bando quickly checked the room, and motioned the others inside.
The room was a complete wreck, with numerous support beams having collapsed in front of what had been an exit onto a backyard patio. Most of the wall near the kitchen door had been torn apart in what looked like an explosion. Bando chanced a look towards Lucy, but it was too dim to clearly make out her facial expressions, though he was quite sure he did not need to see her face to know what she was feeling. Bando had occasionally entertained a silly fantasy of being invited here by Mayu's adoptive family, and getting to know the people who were so vastly important in her life. While he knew that would never have happened, he had hoped at least to come here when it was still full of life and warmth. It was little more than a corpse now, the ghost of a happy dream. He knew, however, that his feelings were nothing compared to Lucy's anguish. Lucy had lived this dream, and had it violently ripped away from her. Bando used to believe it was better to at least experience happiness, and lose it, than to never know it and always yearn for it. Watching Lucy and her haunted eyes, he knew without doubt how mistaken he would have been.
"Alright," Takashi said from his position at the hallway door, "this is our situation. We don't know how many of them we're up against, but my guess is that it's probably a scouting party out there. Probably around ten to fifteen men. If they'd had more than that, they would have already followed us in here to overwhelm us. They know, or at least expect, that a Diclonius is here, considering how they opened their assault…"
"And how the hell would they know that anyway?" Bando asked.
"I don't know," Takashi answered, "I didn't announce that I was transporting Lucy to a specific location. Ghost didn't mention my traveling with Lucy when we spoke, so I don't think he knew she was with me at the time. In any case, right now they're probably assuming Lucy is without control of her vectors, so they know they've got a timetable to work with. I'd ballpark somewhere around ten to fifteen minutes from the moment those grenades exploded."
"Which means we're running out of time," Bando said, "they're not going to let that window close without trying something."
"It's already too late for them," came Lucy's voice in a familiar, cold drawl. Bando looked over and to his shock, saw Lucy levitating the dining room table.
"What?" Takashi whispered in shock, "how?"
"I've been shocked like this before," Lucy said, "last year, when a S.A.T sharpshooter shot one of my horns off."
Bando saw Lucy stare meaningfully towards Takashi and something passed between them that Bando couldn't understand.
"It caused my control to slip," she said, "but…I was so angry, and so…" she took a breath, "my mind was already in chaos. The shock didn't break my control. It was like standing naked in the cold, and having someone touch you with ice. You almost don't notice it because you're already freezing."
"And you found a way to focus through all that chaos?" Bando said.
Lucy nodded, "this was like that. Instinct just kicked in, so the grenade didn't really…."
Suddenly, Lucy began walking towards the hallway door.
"Wait, Lucy?" Bando called out, "what the hell do you think you're doing?"
"We're trapped in here. It doesn't take a tactician to figure out our chances when they come in here after us. Or even if they don't. You and Takashi may be good, but we're trapped rats in here and every second we don't do something, is a second their reinforcements get closer. How many men do you think we can all fight off without any of us being killed? They're probably just holding us in here until they arrive, and then what will we do?"
"Lucy," Bando said, "don't be a fucking fool. Those grenades put your lights out. It doesn't matter how fast you can recover, all they need is for you to be disabled for five seconds. Just long enough for them to blow your fucking brains out!"
"Just shut up and cover me," Lucy said as she stalked down the hallway with Takashi in tow, "I'm going to see Kouta again, and these bastards are in my way. I swore to myself I would see him again, and that promise is worth more to me than every one of their lives!"
"No matter what I have to do, we'll see each other again…"
His words to Mayu. Were they his lie? Or his promise? He couldn't let it end like that. Not with lies on his lips. Not to her.
"Are you coming, or what?" Arakawa said, brushing past him, wielding her pistol. Bando followed them quickly down the hallway until they reached a hole in the wall which lead to the backyard. Takashi was already firing at soldiers outside who were taking cover behind anything and everything. Lucy stood against the opposite wall, fists clenched and a determined look in her eyes.
"Alright Lucy," Bando said, "whatever crazy shit you're about to do, I'm in."
Lucy looked askance towards Bando, who returned the look with a slight smile.
"I also made a promise to someone, that we'd be seeing each other again ," he said, "so let's get the fuck out of here."
Lucy nodded and turned to the group.
"I'm going to walk out there and get their attention. I'm guessing they'll try that grenade trick again."
"Almost certainly," Takashi replied.
"I can stop their fire, or I can use my vectors to throw their grenades back at them, but I can't do both. I need you guys to pin them down…"
Bando saw Lucy's fists tighten harder and the look in her eyes darken, "just give me three minutes…"
"Lucy," Takashi said, "be extremely careful. You aren't wearing body armor. All it will take is one bullet…"
"Takashi…" she said simply. Her gaze was almost pleading, her tone apologetic.
Bando saw Takashi close his eyes for a moment, and then position himself against the wall near the torn hole, gripping his assault rifle tightly.
"They will do as they must, and so will we," he said simply, "now go!"
At that command, Bando, Takashi, and Arakawa took aim and began firing at the soldiers who were scattered around the yard. Some refused to take cover once they saw Lucy run into the open, thinking they had an easy target. Bando didn't waste his time firing at them as they were too far from his pistol's effective range. He did however notice, with approval, Takashi prioritizing those long range targets with his rifle. One of Takashi's targets reeled in pain as a bullet slammed into his hand, with another striking the back plate of his armor, sending him crashing to the ground.
As expected, Bando saw the dissonance grenades being thrown towards Lucy who quickly snatched them up with her vectors, and sent them back to their owners. The precision with which she managed to catch them impressed Bando, though he remembered she had plenty of practice. There had never been a shortage of men trying to kill her in the course of her life.
The grenades exploded near the men, stunning them. Lucy broke into a run, approaching one group that had taken shelter behind a tool shed. Bando heard screams and saw parts of the shed start to collapse. When Lucy emerged, she was wielding an assault rifle.
"Alright!" Takashi shouted, "let's get out there and provide support! Flank left! Akane, watch our backs."
They moved as a single unit, emerging from the inn's ruins, and following the wall. From further away, Bando could hear new screams as Lucy converged on another group. Bando focused his own attack on men who had taken position near a stone fountain. Bando and Takashi flattened to the ground when they heard Arakawa's gun going off behind them, and began showering the stone fountain with bullets. Before long, they had taken down the two soldiers who had been using it for cover.
"We've got to hurry!" Bando shouted, "the ones in front will be coming back here to give support!"
More explosions rang out near them. Bando looked over to see Lucy riddling three opponents with rifle fire at close range. There were only a few soldiers left now, who didn't seem to know where to focus their defense, as both Lucy, and Bando's group, were closing in on either side. As Bando stood up, he noticed something at Lucy's feet.
"LUCY!" Bando screamed, "WATCH OUT!"
She broke into a run, knowing she wouldn't find it in time, but the explosion from the dissonance grenade she hadn't noticed was still close enough to knock her down. The remaining soldiers in the backyard chose to focus on her now that she was disabled; forgetting about Bando's team in their desperation. They broke from cover to finish Lucy off.
"NO!" Takashi cried out, bringing his rifle to bear, and unleashing a spray of gunfire along with Bando and Arakawa. The soldiers dropped, having only fired their weapons ineffectually in Lucy's direction. All three spun around to deal with the threat that was surely coming from behind them, but saw nothing. As the echo from the gunshots began to fade, Bando could hear general shouts of "retreat" being called out.
Takashi ran immediately to Lucy's side, helping her to stand.
"Lucy, are you hurt?"
"I'm fine," she said shakily, "but I'm feeling that ringing in my head again. I need a few minutes to…"
"You can recover while we run," Bando said, then turned to Takashi, "where's the car?"
"Around back, just over the wall."
"Alright," he said, turning back to Lucy, "it's not over yet Lucy, they'll be coming at us even harder now. We've got to get to Fujisawa. If what Takashi says is true, Ryota will help us. Ghost will be calling every available American Institute soldier in the vicinity to stop us from getting there. He has to know that's where we'll go."
"Right," she said, picking up another rifle from the ground, "I'm ready."
No more words were wasted as they made their way towards the backyard wall.
"Commander, the entry squad was wiped out," came the sterile, distorted voice from Ghost's radio, "targets are now escaping to the street from the east wall."
Ghost smiled as he sat in the passenger seat of a troop truck being driven by another soldier. He hadn't really expected the "trap" to catch anyone, though it would have been quite convenient if it had. The real purpose of the assault was twofold. Its first objective, was to find out exactly how many targets he was dealing with, and who they were. He had been relatively sure Bando was going to be there, but Lucy? That was one hell of a bonus. Something in his gut had told him to advise the assault team to open up with dissonance grenades and he was glad now that he had made that call. If they had chosen any other method of entry, the entire squad could have been wiped out instead of just most of it.
He wished he could have seen the look on that Diclonius bitch's face once those grenades went off and she realized she was powerless. It would, at the least, shake her sense of invincibility. It was truly pathetic how tough these monsters acted while hiding behind their shields. Once without them, they were like terrified children without an ounce of courage. He almost pitied the Diclonius for that, being born with an ability which effectively prevented them from ever knowing what true strength really was.
As for the second purpose of the assault…
"Are the intersection roadblocks in place?"
"Affirmative Commander. Final team just reported in."
Almost as soon as Ghost had ordered the attack, he had sent out a general call for reinforcements, but ordered them to fortify key road intersections. Mostly the ones which would lead most directly to Fujisawa Hospital, where the majority of Ryota's forces were congregated. Ghost had been hoping they would choose to flee in a vehicle, as a block by block search on foot would have been nigh impossible, and would have spread his own men too thin to be effective if Bando's group were encountered. Ghost figured his quarry would simply assume their victory over the assault team meant that it bought them time to flee. Instead, their struggle with the assault team bought Ghost the time he needed to set up the real trap. When that trap snapped shut, it would happen with all four runners conveniently wrapped up in a single, vehicular target. There would be no escape, and all four would be burning in a heap of rubble before any of Ryota's own men showed up to provide assistance.
"Very good," Ghost answered the soldier on the radio, "all squads stay sharp. The targets could hit any one of the blockades. Report immediately when you see them. Pursuit squads, standby for that report, and detach from your units to box the targets in. Be advised, the Diclonius' identity has been confirmed to be Lucy, and is not on the list of retrievable targets. You are clear to terminate the Diclonius, and authorized to employ heavy ordinance against all targets."
It wouldn't be as satisfying as Ghost would have preferred, but Bando wasn't going to escape this time. He would die as a hunted animal once the pursuit squads ran their vehicle down. Ghost imagined Bando surviving the initial devastation, just long enough for Ghost to get there and personally fire the bullet that would end his life. Too many times now, Bando had eluded his own execution. His luck couldn't last. Wouldn't last.
"Turn left…"
"Turn left here," Ghost said to the driver automatically. Why…what the hell?
Do you know where we're going?
Silence. Just the sound of rattling equipment and the dull hum of the engine. The driver complied with the order and continued down the street.
Why won't you answer me?
"You still think I'm instinct, don't you?"
…what?
"Two blocks down…then turn right…"
"What is this?" Arakawa asked once they had reached the humvee, and gotten inside. She had taken the front seat, while Bando and Lucy sat in the back. Arakawa had been instantly intrigued at the sight of the computer module fixed to the dashboard.
"Mostly use this as a database," Takashi answered, starting the car, "to get information on certain individuals. We also get tactical data like maps from central command, or reports with information pertinent to our mission."
Takashi pulled away from the sidewalk quickly, and began driving down the road as a less than comfortable speed.
"Are there any physical ports on that thing?" came Bando's voice from the backseat, "something that would accept a flash drive?"
"Right here," Arakawa said, noticing an area on the computer's side which possessed a number of USB ports.
Arakawa saw Bando's upper body appear in the front seat, and held something up for her to see. A flash drive.
"What is that?" Arakawa asked.
"Ryota gave this to me the day before our escape. He said it concerned Ghost…and…to forgive him for what I'd find on it."
A pit of dread settled in Arakawa's stomach. The sight of the flash drive suddenly seemed malevolent to her, and she didn't really want to know what was on it.
"Bando…"
"As much as I'd like to look at this myself, I don't think we're ever going to have the time. I'd offer to switch seats, but Lucy and I need to get this vehicle ready so we can fight off pursuers. I doubt this getaway is going to be clean…"
"But Bando," Arakawa protested, "he gave this to you, and you alone. Are you sure you want all of us…"
"We're all tied up in this Akane. Yes, I would prefer to be alone with this thing, but I'm not going to miss my chance to know the truth. Besides, after everything that bastard Ghost's put us through? I'd say we all deserve to know it too."
He pressed the flash drive into her palm, "do it Akane…"
He retreated to the backseat where he began talking to Lucy. Arakawa couldn't hear the words, and nothing else seemed to exist except the small object in her hand. With a shaking hand, she reluctantly guided the device into one of the computer's ports.
Ryota…I know you, felt your heart, saw the nature of your soul. I love you…I trust you. Whatever is on this flash drive…I know you had your reasons. I won't turn away from you, no matter what. I swear it…
Steadying herself, she searched through various menus until she found the location of the flash drive. Upon selecting it, she found in its contents a single folder, entitled:
Project: Atavist.
Taking a deep breath, she opened it and began to quickly read.
Ghost couldn't remember when his breathing had quickened. He had long ago stopped asking if the Voice's directions were leading him to Bando. Wherever they were going, Ghost was almost sure Bando would not be the ending destination. Something felt terribly wrong, as though their drive were taking him away from reality, and into the empty streets of an old nightmare.
"Sir," the driver asked hesitantly, "are we headed to some destination in particular? I know all the outposts nearby by heart. If you'd like, you can just tell me which…"
"Just drive," Ghost said roughly, "and stop asking questions."
"Ha ha ha ha…"
Arakawa began to relax somewhat as the initial contents of the flash drive seemed like rather standard stuff.
"What have you got?" came Bando's voice from the back.
"This file looks like an amalgamation of reports, and personal accounts," Arakawa began, "it starts with an essay written by Director Kakuzawa many years ago where he talks about Diclonius evolution. The focus seems pretty specific."
"What was it?"
"He was interested in Diclonius males," which was unsurprising, considering Director Kakuzawa had been a Diclonius himself, "and wondered if there was a similar relationship in their species' hierarchy as there were in the females."
"English?"
"He wanted to know if males could be divided into "Silpilets" and "Kings" in the same way that females are separated into "Silpilets" and "Queens". And if they could be, he wanted to know what distinguished one, from the other."
"Well? Did he find out?"
"He arrived at a hypothesis yes, but his curiosity over that appears to be peripheral to his true interest."
"Which was?"
"Just keep going," Ghost said nervously.
"Sir…we're actually about to exit the theatre of operations for this pursuit, are you sure about this?"
"You feel it don't you? The sand running out of the hourglass, the ticking clock slowly winding down. You've been getting closer to this moment day by day, hour by hour. Time's almost up…"
What moment? What the hell are you talking about?
"Time to wake up Katsuo, and stop pretending you don't know exactly what the fuck I'm talking about. Time for you to stop pretending you don't know who I am…"
Ghost saw the driver reach for his radio.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Ghost spat.
"Calling for backup to meet us out here. We're off the grid and on our own in this sector."
"Not quite…heads up Katsuo…"
Ghost saw a rapid flash in his peripheral vision. He knew instinctively, and immediately, what it was.
"INCOMING!" Ghost screamed as the RPG slammed into the side of the troop truck.
The explosion violently forced the truck onto its side, shattering all of the windows. Ghost immediately felt pain from the shock of the impact, along with the flying glass that had shredded his face. He hung limply and painfully from his seatbelt as the truck continued to slide across the road on its side, emitting a terrible grinding sound. Ghost could already feel the heat from flames burning at the truck's underside. After a time, the truck stopped moving, and there was relative silence, save for the sound of burning flame. Feeling helpless from his hanging position, Ghost struggled to free himself from the seatbelt. As he slowly disentangled himself from the belt, he saw the driver lying motionless. Upon closer inspection, Ghost saw blood pouring from a gruesome throat wound, caused by a large shard of glass that had detached from the driver's side window, embedding itself in his neck. Ghost turned away from the scene and redoubled his efforts to undo the seatbelt.
"Fuck," he said with a wince, freeing himself at last, and shoving the passenger door upwards to climb out of the cab. His whole body hurt, but the pain was mostly manageable. If it hadn't been for his physical enhancements, he was sure he'd have been lucky to crawl away from this, let alone survive. With supreme effort, he hoisted himself onto the cab, and leapt off of it onto the ground. He jogged a few steps quickly away to put some distance between him, and the truck's gas tank, which hadn't exploded yet.
He crossed the street, to press his back against a building. He didn't see any alleyways he could duck into, but this would do for now to get him out of the open. Where the hell had the attack come from? Who fired it? Could it possibly have been Bando somehow? He always seemed to miraculously be one step ahead of Ghost. Could he have set this up.
Rage flooded through him, that goddamn Voice led him here.
"You goddamn motherfucking IDIOT!" Ghost screamed into the air, "was this your fucking brilliant plan? Get us blown to shit and stranded in an evacuated zone?"
"Time's up Katsuo."
It was in that moment, that he heard the clattering sound of equipment being dropped upon the ground. Looking towards the sound, he saw a single shot RPG launcher lying on the concrete, minus the warhead. Next to that…
"You," came a cold, raspy, feminine voice that began to fill with an awful kind of delight.
"I remember you…"
Fear suddenly emptied his mind of all thoughts.
"Kakuzawa was convinced that Diclonius males had once exhibited abilities similar to the females," Arakawa continued.
"You mean they could control vectors?" Lucy chimed in.
"Kakuzawa seems hesitant to refer to the males' abilities as vectors. He postulates that their abilities might have manifested themselves differently than they did in women."
"Does he say how?" Bando asked.
"He goes through a few theories, but the one he keeps returning to suggests some form of telepathy."
"How could he even guess at that?" Lucy asked.
Arakawa swallowed roughly, "I'm…getting to that. A lot of his conclusions seem drawn from the results of a massive experiment he codenamed Project: Atavist."
"Atavist?" Bando asked.
"The term describes the reappearance of a genetic trait in a species after being absent for several generations. Kakuzawa wanted to know if he could engineer a controlled ecosystem that would create a genetic environment conducive to the reappearance of male Diclonius children born with superhuman abilities."
Arakawa had already read past this point before she had resumed speaking. The more she read, the paler she became. She was still wrestling with the revelation she had unearthed while reading.
"And how was he supposed to have accomplished this?" Bando asked.
Arakawa closed her eyes, "that's…where Ryota comes in…"
The voice was familiar; cold and raspy like rusting iron in a frozen wasteland. It sent fear spiking through him so intense he thought he might wince from the sensation. The figure standing before him was wearing the remnants of a torn and tattered black dress, and a pair of combat boots. The dress hung off of the woman precariously and where he saw flesh, he could see dried blood. With fear gripping his heart, he looked up into the face of the demon who had broken him at the Institute. She looked a lot like she had back then; wild and unkempt, a vision of savagery. Much of her hair fell wildly in front of her face, but not enough to obscure her terrible, piercing gaze. Ghost trembled. He had believed himself ready to face Angel again. He had been a fool. He took a step back, and saw her smile.
"How do I look?" she said slowly, taking a leisurely step towards him.
"Like a monster," he whispered hoarsely. She quietly laughed, and took another step towards him.
"I admit, I'm not at my best right now…but I've had a lot to think about since last night and washing away the blood didn't seem very important to me at the time. I don't mind. I like what I see in the mirror now."
She stepped closer. Ghost found himself rooted to the spot, unable to move.
"Truth," she said simply, "I see myself, as I am. As I truly am. I see what everyone sees when they stare at that reflection. Only instead of accepting it, others merely study that reflection as though it belonged to someone else, so they would know how not to resemble that person in any way."
"This is your moment Katsuo! What we've been waiting for! KILL HER!"
Reality seemed to flicker and shift in Angel's presence. It was as though two worlds were trying to converge into one.
"Tell me. What did you see of yourself after I left you that night? When I ripped away your sense of power? Your presumption of strength? What remained?"
"I remained…"
"My name," Ghost said distractedly, spellbound by the fierce intensity of Angel's eyes upon him. Nothing human existed in that creature. Nothing.
"My true…name," he added.
Angel stared at him curiously as the world continued to shift around him. At times, she would occasionally look like that Diclonius girl he had spoken with long ago. The one who had destroyed herself right before his eyes. Angel's scrutiny upon him sharpened, as though trying to come to some conclusion about him, but he couldn't imagine what. Why was Angel here?
Why…was HE here?
You were leading me to Angel…weren't you?
"Yes…"
"How did you know where to find me?" Angel asked, her expression fixed in a state of almost childlike contemplation.
"I…don't know," Ghost answered, his voice trembling. Something was happening in his mind, some long forgotten memory, rushing towards him like a tidal wave. And all he could do was watch, and wait to be swept away.
"I think," Angel said, reaching behind her and drawing a large combat knife, "that you do."
This was it.
He was going to die.
"What the fuck are you talking about?" Ghost said in a rising panic as Angel stalked towards him.
She smiled darkly at him, showing teeth, and drew a slow breath. She exhaled quickly, and rushed forward.
Bando had stopped working for a moment while Arakawa spoke, leaving Lucy to reconfigure the backseat area. He'd almost forgotten about the danger they were all in.
"Project: Atavist," Arakawa began, "was a massive undertaking that concluded about two decades ago. It was an experiment in eugenics that had two objectives. The first was to determine if the ability to breed could re-emerge in female Silpilits, but the one that Kakuzawa considered far more important, was to determine if, given the appropriate genetic environment, Diclonius males could be born with the use of superhuman abilities similar to those present in Diclonius females. He…Kakuzawa's plan to create that "environment" was to first create a large group of "carriers" through proximity to Diclonius test subjects. As you can imagine, the first of them were Institute scientists and military personnel. I don't think any of them were aware of what Kakuzawa had been planning, or even that they were carriers."
Bando already didn't like where this was going.
"Those people," Arakawa went on, "typically lived in neighborhoods that had been erected through Institute funding, for their employees. It took many years, but Kakuzawa eventually created his own microcosmic 'community' of carriers. When urban sprawl reached the area, and it became more of a town than a neighborhood, the people already living there became less inclined to leave. Kakuzawa had his fertile ground. All he had to do now was wait. Eventually, the first Silpilits were born."
From the corner of Bando's eye, he saw Lucy stop working.
"Some of the people started to panic, and word started spreading. Kakuzawa states that at this time, he felt a degree of control over the people, and the rumors, was necessary. He also needed a reliable way to keep track of the Diclonius children being born in this community, and monitor their behavior to ensure any potential problems were stopped before they started, or covered up if problems already existed. He also needed the truth of this covered up as much as possible among his own people so they would not suspect his hand in it. This task, Kakuzawa turned over to Institute Special Forces…"
Arakawa paused for a moment, then went on, "the flash drive contains a list of S.A.T reports that span the course of several years. Bando…the signature on those reports…"
"Is Ryota's…" Bando finished for her, knowing she was going to say that. She nodded without turning around.
"He was in charge of what Kakuzawa called the "Quiet Quarantine". It was Ryota's job to ensure that no word ever went beyond the town regarding the birth anomalies, terminate Diclonius subjects that were becoming dangerous, transport others to the facility, dissuade key subjects from moving away by whatever means necessary. It…doesn't specify what measures he took to achieve those goals but…aside from the occasional leak, Kakuzawa seems to believe Ryota successfully carried out his objective."
Ryota…what did you do? Why were you a part of this? Why?
There had to be a reason. Had to be more to this story, and he was goddamn going to find out. Bando closed his eyes and sighed.
"So Kakuzawa engineered some twisted plan where he played with hundreds of people's lives," Bando said with disgust, "and for nothing."
When he opened his eyes again, he saw Arakawa's hand over her mouth and something that looked like a dossier on the screen.
"Akane?"
"I can't believe it…" she whispered.
"What?"
"It…wasn't…for nothing Bando…"
Ghost cried out as Angel cut a deep gash across his cheek. He pressed his hand to the wound, feeling blood seep from between his fingers. Angel paused then, studying his reaction. Ghost was confused. She could have killed him. Right there. Right that second. Unless of course, she just wanted to torture him to death.
That was probably it. She was going to drag this out as long as she could and there was nothing he could do about it and no one to help him. He had traveled too far away from his own reinforcements. He thought he had been ready for this. Panic threatened to overwhelm him.
"You did not even try to defend yourself," Angel said mockingly, "you at least fired your gun at me last time…while you ran…screaming."
She closed in again with blinding speed. Ghost threw up his arms to mount what was sure to be an ineffectual defense. She swung the knife at his face and he screamed, stumbling backward several steps as she laughed.
"You had somewhere to run that night. There is nowhere to run now. Perhaps this is what drains you of courage so quickly?"
"Please," Ghost found himself begging. He gripped the pistol in his holster tightly, but couldn't make himself draw it upon her. All he could see was the memory of what she had looked like that terrible night. Covered in blood that slid down her flesh and dripped from her fingers, smiling like a wild creature in a bloodlust. She looked more calculating now, but the torn dress and dried blood still gave her a terrifying visage. Especially since he knew what she had done to earn that look. Could nothing stop her?
"You absolutely disgust me Katsuo. Without me, you'd be nothing! DO SOMETHING!"
"I became the man I am without you!" Ghost screamed, provoked by the Voice, temporarily forgetting the danger in front of him as his eyes slid to the side, "when did I ever need your bullshit in my head? When did you ever exist before now?"
Angel stopped moving. The sudden stop made Ghost snap to attention, realizing he had just answered the voice out loud.
"Who," Angel said, "are you talking to?"
"I was.."
"Because it wasn't me…" she said, cutting him off, her smile growing wider, "and there's no one else here."
Angel let out a soft chuckle, "perhaps I did more damage than even I had thought," she paused, giving him a considering look, "and I think…perhaps something more."
"Fuck you," Ghost said with equal parts hate and fear, "just…fuck you!"
"There's something different about you," she said as she started to slowly walk towards him. Her voice was inquisitive, curious.
"It's not your fractured mind," she continued, "or maybe…that's part of it."
"What the hell are you fucking talking about!" Ghost said, taking slow steps backward to keep her at a distance.
"Something…feels…different. About you. I want to know what it is."
His mind worked frantically, trying to figure out what she could possibly mean. As he thought about the Voice, his mind suddenly started rushing towards an answer. An answer he instinctively knew, he didn't want.
"Shut up," Ghost screamed. He quickly drew his gun and fired at Angel, who had already rushed him as he'd gone for the weapon. She pushed his gun arm to the side and with sheer might, forced him onto his knees. Ghost had only just realized his vulnerable position when Angel shoved his body again, forcing him onto his back, with Angel straddling him. Fear crawled through him but with each passing moment, he was beginning to realize it was not really Angel that he feared.
She leaned close to his face and he couldn't take his eyes off of her own. Deep red Diclonius eyes. He remembered what eyes like that could look like when filled with laughter.
And familiarity.
"NO!" Ghost screamed, "STOP!"
"When you look in the mirror, you do the same thing everyone else does. If what you see displeases you, you do whatever it takes to prevent that reflection from becoming your reality. But you…you've already accomplished that departure from your true self. When you look in that mirror now, it's just to make sure that truth…isn't…showing."
"Please," Ghost begged, "don't. Just…stop…talking!"
It occurred to him, very suddenly, that he wasn't really afraid of her anymore. He was afraid of something else…lurking inside of him. A memory…of truth. A truth the Voice had hinted at.
"But it is now, isn't it?" Angel said, starting deeply into his eyes, paralyzing him with their fathomless depths and single minded intensity, "that truth is crawling out of you. I feel it…I feel it as certainly as I feel your pulse in my hand and your breath on my face…"
She was even more horrifying than he had remembered her. She looked monstrous and smelled like blood and gunpowder. But the fear of her was being eclipsed by something else…
"Angel…" he said pleadingly, "…I'm begging you…please…"
"Please…what?" she whispered.
"Please…just fucking…kill me…"
But then it was too late. In that moment, the memories came back.
"What do you mean?" Bando said roughly.
"There was a disaster in that town, which effectively put an end to the project for good. The source was unknown at the time, but Kakuzawa was convinced that some massive psychic event went off in that town like a bomb. It drove the Silpilits living there into a frenzy. Over the course of several days, some twenty to thirty Silpilits rampaged throughout the town, killing and destroying everything in their path. Kakuzawa called for a massive mobilization of S.A.T, but Ryota refused the order and went by himself, claiming that he knew the area better than anyone, and could effectively round up, and put the rampaging Silpilits to death."
"Christ…Ryota fought thirty Silpilits? Alone?"
"And won," she continued, "there were no survivors in the town…save for one that Ryota picked up. A small boy…a child who had wandered the streets unharmed for days, a child who was taken back to the Institute for study and who was eventually discovered to be the source of the psychic event."
Arakawa turned around to stare directly into Bando's eyes, "his name, was Katsuo Rin. The proof of Project: Atavist's success. Do you understand what I'm saying Bando?"
No…
It couldn't be…
"It's Ghost!" Arakawa said, "he's…a…fucking…Diclonius!"
Ghost's emotions assaulted him; a torrent of fear and pain. His whole world was pain. His whole life defined by it. Pervading though everything…his memories…his childhood…
"We're prisoners here…because of you."
A woman's voice, from long ago. So familiar…
"I don't want to look at you. Fucking animal…"
"Mom…I'm scared…what's going to happen to me? Where are we going?"
"You're going where you should have gone the second you were born. With them, so they can figure out what you are, and maybe let us go."
He had known his parents never loved him. He hadn't cared. He had been a child, and they his parents. That was his understanding of the world, and as skewed as that understanding was, he had felt relatively secure in that understanding. But that had been about to fall apart. He couldn't understand why they thought he was so ugly. He didn't even have horns like the girls who were his playmates did. In fact, he didn't really think he was particularly unusual physically, save for the color of his hair being white. It had been other things that seemed to bother his parents. Such as knowing things about them that he had not been told or verbally answering questions that they had not asked aloud. He didn't realize what he was doing. Didn't understand why his parents hated him for doing it
He hadn't shared his parents' view that his friends were ugly. To Katsuo, it was just a fact of life that his friends had these horns. His mother and father hated them. Hated his friends, and hated him. He had been too young to understand what they had been talking about. Too young to understand a couple being forced at gunpoint to raise what they considered an abomination.
But he was old enough to understand the fathomless pain of finally realizing, in a way he hadn't before, just how wretched and alone he was, and how alone he was going to be. Old enough to understand that no matter where he was going, his life was over, and the few things he had learned to care about, would be gone.
It made him despair…
And then it made him angry…
And then the anger turned to rage…
And then he felt his heart twist, violently wrenching out an emotion that would define the rest of his life:
Hatred.
He heard the slap upon his face, but didn't feel the pain. The only thing that existed, was a rage that was threatening to burn out of control. A rage that would never end, or be satisfied. And then, in a single, terrible moment, that rage broke and his mind shattered like glass….
…no…it had actually been glass shattering. All the picture frames and nearby windows. Father's glasses, sending shards of glass into his eyes. Everything else was blurry, and he could just remember screams, and the sounds of bone snapping, flesh tearing.
Then he was alone, amongst the dead. Knowing he had killed them somehow…
It was too much to bear…and he hadn't believed it really happened. He had shut the memory out, preferring to be a scared victim than a monstrous killer.
"I knew it," Angel hissed, a savage smile on her face, "I could feel you getting closer…and when you crawled out of that truck, I almost could not believe it."
She began to laugh softly, and then more loudly until she was almost howling with mocking laughter.
"Of all the ironies I have ever witnessed in life, this is the greatest of them! You…are one of us!"
She succumbed to another fit of laughter, "you…the killer of monsters…are a monster yourself! Perhaps…dare I say…family?"
She laughed again, and then…hatred ignited in him with incredible force and virulence. A force that he could no longer control. His anguish roared through him along with the pain of being unable to deny the truth. The tumult of his agony exploded in him with the final straw of that monster laughing at him.
"GET THE FUCK OFF ME YOU GODDAMN BITCH!"
Ghost screamed, lost in a savage rage and felt the air around him pulse as though reality itself had a heartbeat. The sound of it erupted from the walls around him like the sound of a sonic boom. Angel had used her considerable strength to leap away from him at the last moment when he unleashed a powerful wave of force from his mind, shattering window glass in nearby buildings, blowing doors off their hinges, and cracking the pavement around him. In that one, terrible moment, everything came back to him. The knowledge crashed painfully into him, and the truth of what he was burned everything else away.
His whole life, everything he had done, his reasons for being alive. All lies.
Ghost started screaming in anguish, again and again, grabbing his hair in both hands as he contorted his body involuntarily from the shock and disbelief. He couldn't make himself stop screaming…he had lost control.
He…was one of them. He had been one of them all along. He was one of the monsters all this time. He had caused the disaster in his hometown. While it had not been his hand, he knew he was responsible for all of those deaths. He was the worst of all the monsters he had ever killed. All this time…it had been lurking inside of him. He screamed in horror.
"Why?" Ghost screamed, "why didn't you tell me? WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME?"
"You weren't ready to hear it. I thought if I told you too soon, that you would just bury me again. You had to come to it gradually. I knew this was the right time…
"Fuck you! FUCK YOU! It's not true! I'm not…this can't be happening! This can't be real! I'm not one of them! I'M NOT ONE OF THEM!"
"All your life, you've run from this Katsuo. You've run from me. But you can't anymore. Can't shut me out like you could before. Now face it! Face me!"
"NO!" Ghost screamed, still trying to deny it, and being hopelessly unable.
"We killed your parents…"
"STOP!"
"They had it fucking coming! All they had to do was show a little fucking kindness, but that was too goddamn hard for those assholes. And they thought they were just going to get away with all of that bullshit without consequence? Fuck that. You and I gave them exactly what they deserved."
Through the storm of his anguish, he remembered now. Remembered that Voice he used to talk to that comforted him when he was afraid, or in anguish over the constant, daily hatred that his parents had given him. He couldn't remember when he had first heard it, but it quickly became his closest friend. Towards the end, as his Diclonius friends began to suddenly disappear one by one, the Voice became his only friend.
"No…" Ghost wailed, beginning to sob, "no…why did…what about the rest of it? Why did everyone else have to die? Why did my friends have to lose their minds? Why…"
"That…was not your fault. You were young, and so was I. We felt the same anger, the same rage. You wanted to lash out and I wanted to help you. I wanted them to pay because you wanted them to pay. I didn't know how bad it was going to be when I threw that door open wide and gave us the strength to avenge ourselves. It was out of control. We gave our endless rage to all those innocent minds. All we wanted to do…was kill. And because it was what we wanted, it was what they wanted."
"But…why didn't…?"
"Why didn't they kill us? For the same reason they didn't kill each other. We…were the same. They could feel it. It was the only thing that cut through the rage. Among the humans, they saw only tormenters. Among themselves, they saw only friends."
Friends. Ghost's eyes opened with realization, "Ryota…killed…them all…my friends. They…"
He screamed again at the realization. He had already shut out the truth of his own responsibility for the destruction of his town. He had felt safety at Ryota's display of skill, and proud of his bravery. Ghost hadn't realized he was watching Ryota murder his friends. One by one. Hadn't realized that for all their power, Ryota was up against brain damaged children. Of course he won against them. What chance did they really have against a warrior experienced in killing those like…
…those like him.
His mind was reeling, and Ghost felt like a stranger to himself. He couldn't quite remember when his voice had grown so hoarse from constant anguished screams, but suddenly the pain forced him into relative silence. He shook and clawed at himself, as though he could simply pull the infection out of his body.
"You locked the awful shit along with me in the deepest, darkest corner of your memory. You buried me Katsuo, but you didn't kill me. You can't kill me, because I'm a part of you…and you can NEVER…escape that."
The Voice. That part of him that knew and remembered who he was. And most importantly, what he was. It was doing now, what it had done before. Trying to protect him. Trying to give that power back that he had lost.
"Why…" he whispered in a cracked voice, "why now? Why did…you wait so long…to come…back…?"
"Because every time you conquered a Diclonius, it was like you were conquering me. Forcing me back down with every kill. It was like you were addicted. You needed that act of violence. It was the ultimate way for you to disassociate yourself from what you really are. Up until now, you were always victorious, and so I remained silent. But that all changed a few days ago…"
Her. The Beast. She had conquered HIM. She had taken him to a place he hadn't been for so many years. A place where he was surrounded by blood and death; utterly helpless to protect himself. She had woken the Voice with her terrible violence. She…had set him on this path to the truth.
At the thought of Angel, Ghost raised his head slightly and saw her standing before him, some ten feet away, watching him. She did not speak, and she no longer smiled. Her stare was cold, and she looked half alive. In the pale light of the sun, and the cold breeze that blew about the remnants of her dress and tangled hair, she seemed wraithlike and inhuman, but strangely no longer as menacing as she had been before. As they simply watched each other, Ghost couldn't help but find the sight of her familiar. Not in that he had ever known her, but he recognized the displacement of mind and self. A wanderer in a wasteland. A wasteland that was now his own reality.
"I did not want to interrupt," she said with a smile, "you seemed to be in the middle of a rather important conversation."
His old instincts and habits were screaming at him to yell insults, proclaim her death, and draw a weapon against her. But it just seemed so pointless now. He could use none of the words from his old life to reply to her, but not having any words prepared for his new one, he simply remained silent.
"I have known every kind of pain," Angel said slowly, no trace of mockery in her voice now, only haunted shadows, "I have experienced it, watched it, and given it to others. In all the ways a person can be hurt, I believe one stands above all others."
She returned the knife to a rip in her dress which held it like a holster, and began to walk towards him.
"Nothing hurts more…than being born," she said.
When she reached him, she did the unthinkable. She did not attack him, or make any attempt on his life.
She offered her hand.
Something inside of him told Ghost that he could strike out now, and utterly destroy her. She would have no chance, but…how would he "strike" out? He had no idea how to control this strange power, and he still wasn't sure he wanted to. As he moved past this thought, he wondered if he really cared about killing Angel. Most of his reasons for wanting her dead…were not reasons he had ever truly believed in. He was not an exterminator of monsters. He was just another addict who had needed his fix.
Sure, there was revenge on what she had done to him personally but…that…didn't seem so important now.
He reached out, and grasped her hand. Her skin was cold to the touch, and the strength in her grasp belied the slender albeit muscular frame of Angel's body. He could see the phantom muscles coiled intricately through her arms and legs as though they were a part of her. He wondered if she could ever separate flesh from vector now without destroying her body in the process.
She lifted him to his feet and released him, stepping away slowly.
"Why?" he asked with a whisper.
"I want to know what you see, now that there are no more lies shrouding your sight. What remains in your vision?"
What had he been fighting for all this time? Nothing. That was the answer. He had been fighting for nothing. He had killed in order to keep his past buried, but that was not a cause. Certainly not one worth fighting for, especially now that his past had dug itself up from the grave. It would not be going back.
He had believed the Diclonius were monsters, deserving of being purged from the world. In some ways, he still believed that. Perhaps especially now. Creatures like him, and Angel, deserved to be destroyed, but who was he to be that executioner now? He could try and return to his old life. He could try to pick up where he left off but it would be a lie. A lie he would be unable to live.
And what about Ryota? He had known all this time what Ghost was, but had never told him. Ryota had slaughtered the only friends he had ever known, right before his eyes. That it happened so many years ago mattered nothing. The reclaimed knowledge made it feel like it had happened only moments ago, and he mourned for those that he, and Ryota, had destroyed together. If only Ghost had been stronger. If only he hadn't shut out the truth, could he have saved them? Did they really have to die?
Ryota would have the answer to that. He was the only one with that answer. Ghost was going to get it…even if he had to tear it out of his lying, murdering guts.
Ghost closed his eyes, as tears escaped them. He hadn't really meant that did he? Kill Ryota? Even now, he still felt like a father to Ghost. He'd been more a father to him than his real father. It wasn't fair that Ghost had to suffer constantly without reprieve. It wasn't fair that…
Ghost's eyes opened as anger swept through him. He saw Angel take notice and cock her head curiously but he said nothing.
Bando. Why did he get to have the things in life that Ghost deserved, and was deprived? Why was he the one to have respect from so many even though Ghost had fought his entire life to earn it? Why did Ryota treat him more like a son than Ghost, even though that son of a bitch hadn't been in Ryota's life for almost a decade? And why the FUCK did Bando deserve to have someone who loved him, when Ghost had nothing? Hadn't he earned the right to some shred of happiness? Hadn't he suffered enough? Was it because Bando was human and he was…
…a monster?
Rage clouded his vision. That motherfucker…was living…the life…that rightfully belonged to him.
No…he had stolen it somehow. Made it his own, and left Ghost with the pain. It wasn't right. So much of it wasn't right.
But he could make it right. He could do that. THAT…was worth fighting for.
"You want to know what I see?" Ghost said quietly, and colored by virulent hatred, "I see a world full of liars and thieves."
"So," she said with a small, satisfied smile, "you see with my eyes."
He was so angry he wanted to bring down the buildings around him. He wanted to tear the flesh from every person who had a home where they were welcome. He wanted to reduce the city around him to ashes so no one would have anything to go back to. Just like he didn't. He wanted people to feel the way he felt. To…
And then he understood. He knew why she did not try to kill him when she had the chance a moment ago.
"Yes," he said in a whisper, "I…do."
She remained a moment longer, then turned away from him and started walking.
"Wait," he said, not believing he'd said it, "where…are you going? What are you going to do?"
"To where I parked your supply truck," she said, "I'm keeping it. I did not think you would mind."
He had noticed a missing vehicle when he'd arrived at the destruction of the convoy. It was strange actually when he thought about it. He hadn't known about a resupply to any of the outposts, but then again he had only assumed command very recently. Considering who the thief was, Ghost was almost sure that there were weapons in that truck Angel took.
"And then?" he asked. She stopped moving but did not turn around.
"She can't see it yet," she replied, "what you see, and what I see. But only because she thinks she has so much to lose."
She turned her head to regard Ghost, "you…I'm guessing…had nothing to lose."
He remained silent, allowing the silence to answer his question. But who was she…
"You're talking about Lucy, aren't you?" he said, not really knowing how he knew that. It had just come to him suddenly like a bright flash of light shocked the senses of a person in a dark room. It was a focused thought that had such conflicting emotions attached to it that the answer seemed to force itself into his mind. He knew this was his power manifesting without his input or control. It was like it had been before, when he was still so young.
Angel stared at him a moment longer, then looked away.
"She's wrong," Angel said with a growl, "it isn't just me who can see things, and people, for the way they truly are. I…had been…conflicted…about that after last night."
Ghost remained silent as Angel paused.
"How fortuitous," she continued, "that you found me. Watching your rebirth…and knowing you see the world as I do, I am no longer so conflicted. I know that I am right. She will see that too."
"And then?" he asked, "what happens then?"
She went silent, though he was not sure if it was because she didn't have an answer, or simply did not want to give him one.
She was lying. He knew that. She was lying about her conflict. He could feel it in her like a savage war for control of her mind. He wasn't really sure what the conflict was about, but he could almost hear the whispers of names and the ghostly images of faces that weren't there. One in particular stood out.
"What does Vanith have to do with any of this?" he asked her. He had blurted the words out from the shock of realizing he occupied a large part of her mind.
She whirled around to face him, and suddenly everything simply shut off. He could see nothing, feel nothing. It was as though she realized what he was doing, and just…closed her mind. She did not provide an answer for this question either, though it had clearly unbalanced her.
"He's there you know," Ghost said, "at the hospital."
Nothing. No response.
"You're going there, aren't you?" he asked.
"Yes."
So she had her own circle to close. That, he understood.
"Going to try and stop me?" Angel said, mockery coming back into her tone.
It was a fair question. When he rejoined the unit, his mission would still be to capture her. At the moment, he didn't feel an overwhelming need to fight with her, and try as he might, he could not dredge up the old hatred that had often propelled his violence against the Diclonius. Finding out that he himself was a Diclonius…sort of took wind out of his sails in that regard. But, in the end he was still a soldier. And a soldier, had a job to do.
"Only if you get in my way," Ghost said simply, "we go our separate ways now, but if I see you again…"
"Fair enough," she replied.
With that she began to walk away. Ghost didn't follow, or try to surprise her with a bullet, though he was rather sure he could if he'd wanted. He needed time to think, and there were other memories slowly coming back to him as well. He just…needed…
"Relax Katsuo. Worst of it is over. I'm not going to ditch on you now."
"Thank you…" he whispered.
"Still think you should have wasted that bitch. She made a fool of us back at the facility. I fucking hope you don't intend to just let that slide."
"Then show me how," he said, "help me remember what I've forgotten…and the next time we see her…we bury her."
He felt an aura of approval from somewhere in his mind. Ghost turned around and started walking in the other direction, back towards where he knew his men would be.
"And what are we going to do about Ryota? Now that you know the truth about him?"
"I don't know," he said truthfully, "I just…need to…talk to him…I…"
"Alright, we'll cross that bridge when we get to it…but Bando?"
"Is fucking dead…" Ghost said with finality. There was something oddly comforting in realizing that even through this awful revelation, that mission remained unchanged, as did his reasons for wanting him dead. Though perhaps now, he wanted it a little more than he did before. Bando had no idea what he would be facing the next time they met.
"You're goddamn right about that. Nothing can stop us now. We could bring this whole world of hypocrites and liars right the fuck down to its knees if we wanted. I'll show you how, like I tried to show you then."
Hypocrites…he almost laughed at the word. He was the biggest hypocrite of them all. If he didn't deserve to live for that reason, than neither did anyone else.
"Alright…then talk to me. I'm listening."
Perhaps bringing the world to it's knees was too ambitious a goal, but at least he could drag a few people to hell with him that deserved to burn. Besides, from what he had felt of Angel's depthless rage, he was pretty sure that if there was a way to burn the world to ashes, Angel would find it. There was enough hate in that woman to breed doom for every man, woman, and child on Earth.
And if there was anything Ghost understood…it was hatred.
The shock of the revelation almost made Bando deaf to Lucy's sudden cry.
"Ahhhh! Fuck!" Lucy screamed from beside Bando, snapping him out of his shock. She had just finished collapsing the backseat so that Bando could have more room to fire from the back windows when she clutched at her head and screamed.
"Lucy!" Bando called out, "what's happening?"
"Christ…" she breathed, grabbing fistfuls of her hair and curling into a ball, "can't…think…something big just…I can't explain it. Can't focus…"
"Guys!" Takashi called out from the front seat, "we're in trouble!"
Bando turned from Lucy and grabbed the front seats to haul himself closer. What he saw made the breath catch in his lungs. They had just turned a corner with some speed to reveal the shocking scene of an intersection heavily fortified with soldiers, and two tanks. Off to the side, Bando could see men with RPGs positioned upon rooftops that were taking aim.
"Holy shit!" Bando yelled, "Takashi, get us the fuck out of here!"
"Hang on!" he cried out as he frantically swerved the vehicle into a u-turn. He slammed on the gas, taking them in the other direction just as the first rockets hit their marks, perilously close behind them. Arakawa screamed as shrapnel flung against the truck and the windows, shattering the back windows, and jostling the vehicle. Bando picked his head up from cover to look behind them and saw three humvees detach from the barricade to give chase.
"What the fuck were they doing there?" Bando yelled, "were they goddamn waiting for us?"
"Dammit!" Takashi exclaimed, "I was hoping I was wrong!"
"What?"
"Those soldiers back at the inn, they weren't meant to stop us. They were only buying time for this barricade…"
"And?" Bando prompted him, hearing something unsaid in his words.
"…and I have a bad feeling that this isn't the only barricade. We're cut off from the hospital. I'd wager every major intersection between us and the hospital are similarly fortified…Bando…we're in trouble."
"Shit," Bando said, grabbing one of the assault rifles in the back. He looked over to Lucy who seemed to be recovering.
"Lucy, are you alright?"
She took a deep breath to steady herself before glancing at Bando, "I'm fine, it's passed."
"Good, because we're in a world of shit. We're cut off from the hospital and we've got a heavy tail. We've got no choice but to fight our way out. You ready for this?"
Lucy looked towards the approaching vehicles, her eyes slowly becoming hard set.
"They won't keep me from Kouta," she whispered darkly, "nothing will."
Bando shoved a rifle into her hands and crawled into the backseat, clearing away some of the broken glass.
"I'll take that as a yes," he said roughly, "now get back here and let's fucking do this! We've got to keep them off us. If they get a round into one of the tires, we're done. Can you block their shots?"
"Going to be difficult with the moving vehicles but I'll do what I can."
He nodded, then motioned towards Takashi, "Takashi, hit all the intersections! Keep moving and get a call out to Ryota for backup!"
"Already sent it out before we hit the first barricade," he yelled back, "but I'll update him with our current sitrep. What's the plan in the meantime?"
Bando chambered a round into his rifle, Lucy following suit.
"The plan is decimation, I want to drain their barricade's defenses on every fortification. We'll pick off their pursuit squads and have Ryota hit those motherfuckers hard in one of the barricades. All their backup will be too busy chasing us to save their asses when Ryota fucks a hole through their perimeter," he said, "once you find out where Ryota's attack is being concentrated, take us to that barricade and we'll hammer them from the other direction. These assholes have no idea who they're fucking with!"
"No," Lucy replied coldly, bracing herself and aiming her rifle out of the window, "they really don't."
Bando's mouth turned upward in a small smile as he took aim. Soldiers began leaning out of their windows, rifles drawn, preparing to fire.
I'm coming Mayu…
"Target the drivers! Open fire!" Bando screamed.
They pulled the triggers and gunfire roared.