Reader Discretion! -This chapter includes scenes of excessive violence and torture. If this bothers you, don't read it and complain about it to me later. Thank you!
Also: I'll be in Europe for 2 weeks so there is going to be a delay in chapter 54. I'll start work on it as soon as I get back.
(CHAPTER 53) DEFIANCE
The halls of the dungeon were silent, only echoed with the faint sound of water dripping and by a haunting wind that echoed through the stone halls. Illuminated by a fain green light; coming from a hanging wall torch, was a puddle that had pooled on the damp, stone floor. Out of the silence, a tiny boot splashed down into the puddle, spraying water and distorting the reflected light.
Kobalt was running. With her Scythe gripped tightly behind her back, she ran with an almost demented grin as she looked for targets. She didn't care how many stood ahead of her, or how powerful they were. As of right now, Kobalt felt unstoppable.
Up ahead, she could see a faint green light around one of the dark corners. Her brows angled down and she readied her Scythe. She watched as two of the soldier like figures appeared and took aim with their holographic Battle Rifles. Before they even had a chance to put pressure on their triggers, they heard a loud slice and felt their coding cease. Kobalt quickly bisected the two and watched their green holographic blood spray onto the walls and onto her blouse. She only grinned and continued running.
Further down the stone corridor, she could see a flight of stone stairs and a large wooden door at the top with light coming through the wrought iron bars that substituted for a window. Good, she had found her way out of the dungeon. She quickly leapt up the stairs and bashed the hilt of her Scythe against the door and watched as the wood splintered. She quickly stepped out into a hall that was decorated in elegant carpets and ornate furniture's. It was a dramatic change from a dark, damp dungeon to such a lovely castle setting. Kobalt quickly looked around and could see a large room at the opposite end of the hall that was to her right. She again grinned slyly and sprinted off.
She ran past decorative pieces of furniture that would adorn a castle, along with frame after frame of artwork; each with a different painting depicting Mitsuki or Kalder. Still with a grin on her face, her eye's darted back and forth as she examined the paintings. Were she not in her Emergency Defensive mode, she would have found all the art somewhat disturbing, but right now, she could care less.
She quickly arrived at the large room and she slid to a halt. She stood proper and twirled her Scythe rapidly in her hand and then brought it to a sudden halt upside down behind her legs. Kobalt quickly scanned the room and noticed a curved grand staircase that led higher up in the castle.
Kobalt paused as she felt the world distort around her and then watched as more of the faceless soldiers appeared in the room. They all had raised weapons and all were aiming directly at her. Kobalt made a playful grin and then said with sass, "You aren't very smart, are yah?" She then leapt into the air as the sound of gunfire erupted. She then brought her Scythe down and rapidly began to tear through her enemies.
Rain continued to pour down over one of the balconies on the castle tower. It was dark and water splashed over the ancient stone structure. A crack of thunder rumbled through the land followed by the sound of metal piercing into the stone walls. Dokuro groaned as she forced herself to complete her climb and pulled herself over the ornate stone railing on the balcony. She pulled her weight over the wall and then flopped down on her back on the wet stone floor of the balcony. She was tired and sore and she was soaked to the bone from the constant downpour of rain.
She lay on her back starring up at the sky as rain continued to pour down over her tattered and torn uniform. Her red uniform coat was ruined, and her skirt and thigh high stockings were covered in tears. Still most frustrating of all to her was the fact that her Halo was gone.
"Get up. You need to keep moving." She could hear Mitsuki's voice saying from within her mind. Her body screamed to stay motionless so that she could recover, but she couldn't. Dokuro weakly sat up and forced herself to stand. She let out a whimper as she got her balance and tried to shake off the pain. "Go to the ball room." She again heard Mitsuki's voice say. Dokuro frowned and summoned her remaining strength. She then asked, "What will she have standing between me and her?" There was a pause before she heard the voice say back, "She will be well guarded."
The sound of metal tearing through flesh rang through the room as Kobalt swung her Scythe through the last of Mitsuki's guardians. She again stood motionless as she lowered her Scythe behind her legs and surveyed the room. She picked up no movement. Just as well, had she picked up anything else, it wouldn't live longer than a few seconds. Her outfit was covered with patches of her enemies green blood and patches of her white and blue hair were now stained green. None of it phased her. She had a job to do.
Quick as lightning, Kobalt leapt up into the air and landed herself halfway up the curved, grand stair case and then quickly sprinted off down another ornately decorated hallway. As she ran, she could see a large door ahead of her; she could also pick up a large amount of energy on the other side. She grinned and ran faster without even so much as breaking a sweat or giving out an exerted breath.
Up ahead she detected movement. With a sly grin, she readied her Scythe. From around two corners, she watched as two of Mitsuki's guardians appeared. These ones were in the form of ODST's and appeared to be stronger then the others. She didn't back down. She increased her speed and ran as fast as her tiny legs could carry her towards the two enemies. She watched as they raised their Battle Rifles and took aim. As they both simultaneously fired, Kobalt leapt into the air. It felt like slow motion. She vaulted herself high above the two and did a mid air back flip with her Scythe at the ready.
With her tiny body directly over the two, she quickly gripped onto her Scythe's hilt with both hands and rapidly swung it with the blade passing through the neck line of the two guardians. The room fell silent and all that could be heard was the sound of metal tearing through flesh. She then landed on the ground in an almost cat like pose with both legs spread and her body low to the floor with her free hand holding her up with her Scythe kept still as stone over her. She then heard the sound of two heads falling to the floor along with the muffled thump of their bodies following suit.
With her eyes closed, Kobalt grinned and made a muffled giggle to herself. "To easy." She boasted. Again, quick as lightning, Kobalt dashed down the hall towards the large door. She watched as it got closer.
The door was black with neon green trim that was beautifully laid out in stunning designs that surrounded stained glass windows. She could feel a large enemy presence on the other side of this door. She didn't care; right now, all of the guardians were only being recognized to her as minor annoyances that were standing in her way. With her chest puffed out, Kobalt confidently walked up to the door and held her hand out. Her tiny hand began to pulse with an icy blue light and her eyes began to glow. She quickly hacked through the doors lock and watched as it swung open.
As soon as the door opened, she heard the sound of beautifully orchestrated, classical music being played. She could recognize the music as classic symphonies. She opened her eyes and saw as she was staring down an entire grand ball room packed with Mitsuki's guardians. They didn't move, they only stood motionless and looked at her. Kobalt held her composure as she elegantly walked into the room with her blood stained outfit and hair. Over the sound of the symphonic music, she could hear her tiny boots tapping off of the tiled floor as she walked. She kept an elegant swish to her step as she daintily held onto her Scythe inverted and behind her back.
Ahead, she could see a large window that had been shattered. Something caught her eye. On one of the jagged pieces of glass that remained, she could see a stray piece of red fabric, the same color that Dokuro wore. It became apparent to her that Dokuro might be in danger, however, with the large number of enemies around, and herself in her Emergency Defensive mode, she was unable to react properly to it. She reached the center of the room and paused. None of the guardians moved. She then slowly looked to her left and then to her right and rapidly twirled her Scythe in her hand. The sound of her massive weapon twirling overpowered the music that played and echoed off of the walls.
With a sly grin she slammed the hilt of her Scythe onto the floor with a loud clang. She then said playfully, "Shall we dance?" Instantly, Kobalt leapt into the air with her Scythe's blade drawn and ready for the attack. Below, the guardians raised their weapons and opened fire. Kobalt held her legs together and kept her arms folded tightly into her chest to make herself a small of a target as possible. She could hear the sound of EMP rounds tearing through the air past her tiny ears and could feel the wind ripple from the distortion as the rounds passed mere centimeters from her body.
She opened her eyes with a smile as she felt herself beginning to fall back towards the floor. She readied her Scythe as she chose a target. One of the lower ranked soldiers stood below her. When she was in reach, she kicked her tiny boot onto the guardians back and watched as it went off balance and began to fall forward. With rapid speed, she twirled her Scythe's blade around and put it between the floor and the guardians throat. In what felt like slow motion, she watched as the soldier fell forward. She then forcefully kicked down on its back with her boot and pulled up on her Scythe's blade. The move resulted in an instant decapitation.
Kobalt quickly looked up and saw a large number of guardians readying to jump her. She took in a sharp breath and sprang back to her fighting stance and again rapidly began to swing and slash her Scythe at her enemies. To them, she looked like an icy blue blur as she tore her way through the room; her visible path only being seen by the spray of neon green blood that plumed into the air from her fallen enemies.
Dokuro was running as fast as she could, ignoring the pain that tore through her damaged body. She was slowly managing to begin repairing herself but there was only so much that she could do while under a situation as stressful as this. Her repairs would be bare minimums. That didn't stop her. She was determined to find Kobalt and stop Mitsuki before she caused anymore damage.
"Do you have a plan?" Mitsuki's voice echoed through her mind. Dokuro replied back sharply, "I'm going to find that Covenant A.I., and I'm going to kill it. Mitsuki needs to understand that she's been corrupted. I'm not about to let my sister fall into Covenant hands." "And what of the little one?" Mitsuki's voice again asked. Dokuro paused and continued, "I'm going to find her and get her out of here."
In her mind, she knew that this couldn't last forever. However, it felt like that was the case. Kobalt was still fighting at the seemingly endless hoard of Mitsuki's guardian's. They came at her from every direction and it seemed that for every one she killed, it was replaced by five more. Even with her defensive systems at their max, she only had so much energy. She couldn't keep this up forever and even in her unstable state, she could tell that she was wearing down.
Never was that more apparent to her than when she felt two hard hits slam into her back. She yelled out and felt herself stumble. The young A.I. quickly regained her footing and spun on her heel. She turned to see one of the lower ranked soldiers with a raised Battle Rifle. She had been shot in the back and she could feel herself bleeding. She ignored it and quickly charged at her attacker and swiftly brought it down with a swift slash of her Scythe. As it fell to the ground she felt a group of them jump her and try to bring her down. Even with her defensive systems she was beginning to loose control from the extended use and overpower, and she felt herself starting to panic.
It was only a matter of time before she was totally overrun. She then felt something impact directly onto her forehead. Her vision blurred and she felt stunned. She could feel herself falling back onto the ground and she felt her head impact off of the hard floor. Kobalt knew that had hurt but she couldn't react to it. She lay with the room spinning and the sight of the shadowy guardians looming over her. She felt a warm line of blood begin to flow from where she had been hit in the forehead by what she could only assume was the butt of a weapon. Her blood ran past her eyes and over her delicate cheeks as she lay motionless.
One thing she could still grasp was the fact that her Scythe was still in her grip. She squeezed it's hilt with her tiny hand and readied to retaliate; however, as her vision cleared, she saw that she was now entirely surrounded. She saw multiple guns pointed directly at her head and all ready to fire. Even if she would start another attack she wouldn't be able to get out of the way of the weapons before they discharged. She stood with her sleek brows angled down with frustration and worry as she tried to calculate any possible escape, but she couldn't find any. With a whimper she simply closed her eyes and hoped that they wouldn't shoot.
From across the room, Kobalt heard a commanding voice call out, "Enough!" Kobalt opened her eyes and watched as the guardians instantly backed away and stood at attention. Kobalt then slowly sat up and felt as more of her blood trickled down from her forehead and drip off of her chin. She couldn't believe her eyes. She saw her, for the very first time. She saw Mitsuki. Standing in her royal attire and with her long neon green hair flowing around her curvy figure, crowned with a black halo that pulsed with green light which looked very similar to Dokuro's. Kobalt forced herself to stand. To her, Mitsuki looked beautiful, even prettier than her older sister, Dokuro. She was thrilled and was eager to meet her.
"Big Sister!" Kobalt chirped. She weakly got to her feet and found her balance as her blood continued to drip over her face. Still in her defensive mode, she slowly began to walk forward with a sly smile on her face. "We were looking everywhere for you!"
Mitsuki stood with an emotionless glare. She slowly raised an eyebrow as she watched this small child that was covered in the blood of her guardians as well as her own approach her. She couldn't understand how or why this child was so eager to see her. Kobalt slowly approached with a slight limp in her step, obvious damage she had sustained while fighting. She then slowly held her arms out as if she were readying to embrace when the two met.
Mitsuki watched as Kobalt's figure pulsed with energy. Still not changing her facial expression, Mitsuki simply crossed her arms. She could tell that Kobalt had her defenses pumped to their limit and the sign of her figure beginning to pulse was showing that she was nearing her limit. As Kobalt came closer, she continued in her tiny voice, "I can't believe it's really you! Dokuro and I have been so worried about you since we got here. This place is very scary, won't you please come with me to find Dokuro so that we can leave?"
Kobalt's tiny fingers were within inches of touching Mitsuki. She felt something. Mitsuki's hologram let out its own pulse of power, this one however was a mini EMP. Kobalt felt herself being launched into the air and then she crashed down hard onto the tiled floor. Her body rag dolled and she let out a grunt of pain as she tumbled across the floor. She slid to a halt and her hologram fuzzed slightly. With a whimper, she pushed her arms against the floor and forced her upper body to sit up. She sat still for a moment, not understanding why Mitsuki had done that to her.
She again shakily forced herself to stand and wobbled to her feet. She looked up and refocused her vision and saw a wall of the dark guardians with their gaze locked directly at her. Even through her Emergency Defensive systems, Kobalt began to feel pain. It was a warning sign of her defensive systems began to fail. Still, she didn't care about the pain, she was thrilled that she had completed a major objective for her very first assignment. She even began to imagine Eric praising her for a job well done; oh how she wanted to be praised for her first mission.
She again began to walk towards Mitsuki. She smiled as she again slowly limped her way over with her blood now seeping into her bright heterochromic eyes and clouding her vision. She could now feel the sting of the blood in her eyes but she didn't react to it. She simply said in a calm and childish voice, "Big Sister, did I do something wrong to make you mad? I didn't mean to upset you."
Outside, the storm intensified. Lighting crashed and thunder shook the large panoramic windows while the rain beat down in thick curtains. Mitsuki watched as lightning illuminated Kobalt's face as she again tried to approach her. Kobalt continued, "Don't you want to go look for Dokuro? I know that she was in this room once before, I saw a piece of her uniform on the broken glass, she must have accidentally brushed against it and torn her coat. Devon will be upset when he see's what has happened to his A.I.'s uniform." Kobalt's eyes suddenly widened. "That reminds me!" She chirped as she once again neared Mitsuki. "Kalder will be anxious to see you too." Mitsuki's eye's instantly widened as Kobalt continued, "He's been worried sick about you since we arrived, I can't wait to inform Eric that I found you so that he can tell Kalder, he'll be so happy!"
Mitsuki's eyes instantly shone bright neon green and her body surrounded itself with energy. "Lies!" She shouted causing Kobalt to flinch and cower where she stood. "Big Sister…" Kobalt uttered, "You're scaring me…" Mitsuki grinned her teeth angrily and shouted, "You are trying to deceive me! Kalder has never left!" Beside Mitsuki, a light flashed as the Covenant A.I. appeared next to her as Kalder's hologram. "You are a fool; the same as Dokuro! You are only here to try and take what is rightfully mine!"
Kobalt's eyes widened in shock and her emergency systems screamed in her mind. The presence of a Covenant A.I. sent her brand new defensive systems into an immediate retaliation to stop this threat before it could do damage. It was one of her main protection features as a 5th Gen A.I. Kobalt instantly summoned her Scythe and called out, "Big Sister move! It's a Covenant A.I.!" Kobalt then sprinted forward ready to fight. With her Scythe drawn she ran full tilt and readied to attack the Covenant system. She quickly leapt into the air with her Scythe drawn as she readied to bring it town on the Covenant A.I.
She felt something. While in mid air, she felt something grab onto her throat and stop her motionless. Her body again rag dolled into place as she dropped her Scythe and grabbed at her throat trying to free herself from whatever it was that was choking her. As she frantically kicked her feet and struggled for breath, she saw Mitsuki slowly walk over to her with her hand held up towards Kobalt's throat. With Mitsuki's eyes glowing green and narrowed down angrily she called out, "You come uninvited into my castle, murder my guards, and try to assassinate my King! You will not live to take your next breath!"
"Why?" Kobalt thought. "Why am I being punished for finding you, Big Sister? What have I done wrong? You are in danger, I was only trying to help." Kobalt's processes ran wild as she tried to understand why not just a UNSC A.I. had betrayed her, but why her Sister had betrayed her. She could see Mitsuki summon her Ring Blade.
With Kobalt being held up in the air by her throat, Mitsuki began to rapidly twirl her Ring Blade on her arm as she slowly approached the child. "You love Dokuro so much? Now you can join her in death!" Her Ring Blade spun so rapidly on her wrist, it looked like nothing more than a green blur. Kobalt watched as the blade got closer and closer to her. She noticed something, with Mitsuki clutching onto her throat, she had a direct link into her, she forced herself to do a rapid scan and instantly she picked up high traces of Covenant information within Mitsuki.
Again, Kobalt's defensive systems forced themselves to max out and she let out an ear deafening scream. Instantly, every window in the grand ball room was blown out from the massive outburst of Kobalt's energy. Kobalt began to pulse and her Scythe was summoned back into her hands. Kobalt quickly forced her arms back and then rapidly slashed her large Scythe at Mitsuki. Mitsuki let out a gasp as she felt the hard collision of Kobalt's Scythe against her ring blade. A loud metallic clang echoed through the room as the weapons collided, sending off Mitsuki's concentration.
Kobalt felt the grip disappear from around her throat and she quickly fell to the floor and landed on her feet. She rapidly twirled her Scythe in her hand and held it out towards Mitsuki. Instantly, the Covenant A.I. readied to attack but stopped as it felt Mitsuki's hand rest on its chest plate. "No!" She called out, "I'll stop her myself!" Mitsuki then gripped her Ring Blade and began walking towards Kobalt. "Your end is now!" She yelled. Kobalt frowned and let out a loud yell as she charged forward at Mitsuki with her Scythe drawn.
"Elevated energy levels detected." Dokuro heard Mitsuki's memory fragment call out with worry. Dokuro continued running and replied, "I know, I can feel it to." This was unlike anything Dokuro had felt since she arrived here. The feeling was similar to that of right before Mitsuki had attacked her. Mitsuki's fragment again called out, "This isn't good. My true form has engaged in a large scale battle. Her power output levels are incredible!"
Up ahead, she saw objects scattered on the castle floor. As she ran closer to them she instantly saw that they were bodies. All were lying dead and all were cleanly cut in two. Evidence of a large blade. Instantly, Kobalt's Scythe flashed into Dokuro's vision. She gasped and said, "Kobalt is in danger! You have to get me to her location as fast as you can!" She heard Mitsuki's voice say, "Take the flight of stairs that will be coming up to our location. It will lead you to an overhanging balcony in the grand ball room. You're going to want the high ground for this battle." Dokuro nodded and continued running.
Mitsuki yelled out angrily as she rapidly swung her Ring Blade at Kobalt. A loud clang resonated through the room as the two weapons collided. Kobalt rapidly spun on her foot and attempted to land a devastating slash on Mitsuki. Mitsuki frowned as she saw the attack coming. She quickly brought up her Ring Blade and stopped the blow before it could hit. She frowned. She couldn't believe how strong this child was, even for her young age, she felt even stronger than Dokuro and even herself. Still, she wouldn't let that fact stop her.
Mitsuki rapidly spun her Ring Blade on her wrist and lunged herself forward and attempted to land her own attack. Kobalt to saw the attack coming and quickly grabbed the hilt of her Scythe with both of her hands and stopped the Ring Blade cold. Mitsuki yelled out as she brought up her finely laced, elegant heeled boot and kicked Kobalt in her torso. Kobalt let out a yelp of pain and she bucked over. She then sensed Mitsuki readying to attack. She quickly leapt out of the way and rolled across the ornately tiled floor as Mitsuki tried to bring her Ring Blade down onto Kobalt's back.
Kobalt quickly got to her feet and again held her Scythe out, "You are not the Big Sister I thought you would be! You are evil, and a betrayer! The UNSC will terminate you for treason!" Mitsuki again rapidly twirled her Ring Blade on her arm and laughed. She replied with sinister sass, "And you are blind! Your blood will spill all over this room as Dokuro's has!" Kobalt frowned angrily as she again charged towards Mitsuki, yelling out loudly as she sprinted. Mitsuki readied to block the hit. Kobalt quickly acted as though she were about to jump which threw Mitsuki off guard. She then saw her chance and slid across the floor and behind Mitsuki's back.
Even before Mitsuki had a chance to react, Kobalt rapidly swung the blade of her Scythe. Mitsuki quickly realized her situation and tried to dodge. She began to move but wasn't quick enough. She felt the cold steel of Mitsuki's Scythe slice across her back. Mitsuki's eyes widened and she yelled out in pain. Kobalt quickly rolled onto her feet and turned to see that she had managed to cut a large gash into Mitsuki's back, tearing through the fabric of her royal attire.
Mitsuki quickly spun on her heel and acted as though it had barely phased her. She yelled out and readied a hard swing with her Ring Blade. Kobalt's eyes widened on her blood stained face. She saw the attack coming and realized that she didn't have time to react to it. She quickly gripped onto the hilt of her Scythe and attempted to block. She felt Mitsuki bring her Ring Blade down hard onto the hilt of her weapon. Kobalt could feel the impact shoot down her tiny arms and into her body.
Mitsuki pressed down on her blade as hard as she could, hoping that Kobalt's strength would fade. "Your time has come!" Mitsuki spat angrily. Kobalt frowned and yelled out as she forced herself to let out an EMP burst, sending Mitsuki flying from on top of her.
Kobalt watched as Mitsuki was sent flying into the air then watched as she fell hard onto the floor. Mitsuki sat in a daze trying to make herself stand. Kobalt too forced herself to her feet and then limped over to Mitsuki. She tightly gripped the hilt of her Scythe and readied to land a final blow when she heard Mitsuki whimper. Kobalt paused and stood motionless. Mitsuki didn't retaliate. She simply lay on the floor of her grand ball room, trying to force herself to stand. Slowly, Kobalt lowered her Scythe and walked towards her.
"Big Sister?" She asked calmly, "Have I hurt you?" She heard no reply. With hesitation, Kobalt again continued to approach her. Mitsuki sat facing away from her and out of Kobalt's sight, she held her hand out and summoned a small throwing dagger. Making sure to hide it from sight, she sat motionless until she heard Kobalt only a few feet behind her. Mitsuki let out a ragged breath and uttered out, "…Kobalt." Kobalt froze in place and replied calmly, "Big Sister?"
Mitsuki made an evil grin and said coldly, "You're a fool." Before Kobalt could react, Mitsuki quickly turned her torso and launched her throwing dagger from her hand and watched as it imbedded itself into Kobalt's shin. Kobalt's bright white and blue eyes widened as she felt the weapon stab into her. In shock her Scythe fell from her grip and she doubled over and fell to the floor and grabbed at her leg as she cried out in pain.
Mitsuki got back to her feet, healed the wound on her back, and slowly approached her. With tears streaming down her face, Kobalt grabbed at the small throwing dagger and forcefully pulled it from her leg. She yelled out as the tore it free and let it fall to the floor beside her. She then frantically tried to reach for her Scythe but froze when she saw Mitsuki's heeled boot kick it from her reach.
With a twisted laugh, Mitsuki looked down at Kobalt and yelled, "Look at you! So easily manipulated and so easily conquered! To think that someone like you was able to last as long as you did." Kobalt didn't reply. With her eyes slammed shut, she lay on her side and held her hands over her wounded leg as she let small whimpers escape her mouth. "Your blood spilled so easily, I will enjoy every last second of watching the rest flow from your body."
Kobalt felt her Emergency Defensive System's beginning to fail. They had been at full power for so long and they were nearing their limit. Kobalt forced herself to sit up. She opened her eyes and tried to put on the bravest face that she could manage. Grinning her teeth to try and hide her pain, she stumbled out the words, "I'm not scared of you! This doesn't hurt at all." Mitsuki raised an eyebrow and said back coldly, "Oh really?" She then brought her heeled boot down onto Kobalt, causing the small A.I. to fall face first onto the hard floor. Mitsuki's hand began to glow a bright neon green; she then aimed it at Kobalt's back and fired a beam of energy at her. Kobalt yelled out as she felt the round strike her and she felt her defensive systems completely cease and die. "Does it hurt now?" Mitsuki questioned.
Kobalt tried to crawl away. With her defensive systems now gone, she felt all the pain from her injuries. She was now unable to move her wounded leg so walking wasn't an option. As she tried to crawl away and out of the room, she heard Mitsuki say with a sinister laughter, "Leaving so soon, Little Sister? The fun is only beginning!"
"No! Please! Leave me alone!" Kobalt pleaded. "Eric help! Please help me!" Mitsuki grinned slyly and held her hand out and again, using her untamed power, lifted Kobalt high into the air by her throat. With an almost mocking voice, Mitsuki said, "Crying out for your Spartan already? But we've just started your punishment!" Kobalt cried with fear as she watched as Mitsuki held her high in the air. She again frantically tried to grip at the invisible force that was choking tightly onto her throat.
She watched as Mitsuki raised up her other hand and Kobalt began to feel the room shake. As thunder crashed right outside the castle walls, Mitsuki summoned a large, gothic style cross at the front and center of the large grand ball room. Still with a look of anger, Mitsuki forced Kobalt back hard against the cross. Kobalt gasped out from the hard hit on her back as she again struggled to get free.
"Ah ah ah, none of that." Mitsuki said slyly, "You wouldn't want to miss all the fun that we're about to have, now would you?" Mitsuki then forced Kobalt's feet to overlap and forced her arms out in a T shape. As Kobalt let out rapid sharp breaths of fear, Mitsuki held her free hand out and forced three, large, wrought iron nails out of the walls. Kobalt saw what was happening and her processes went wild with fear as she frantically tried to find any way out of this. As much as she wanted that answer, she couldn't find it. Mitsuki was still to powerful and she was to damaged to attempt to free herself.
Mitsuki raised the three, long nails up towards Kobalt's face to make sure that she could see them. As the three nails hovered right in front of her, she let out frantic cries of fear. "Please don't!" Kobalt pleaded, "I've done nothing wrong! I was only trying to help you!" Instantly, one of the nails rapidly moved and forced itself through Kobalt's left wrist, piercing through her detached sleeves, her arm, and finally into the cross. Kobalt let out a loud yell of pain and she openly cried.
"Trying to help?" Mitsuki yelled. "I needed no help! My world here is perfect! It is you, and Dokuro that are trying to steal all of this from me! You are against me! All of you! And now I'll see to it that you, the Covenant, and the UNSC pay for what you have done!" "It's you that's doing all of it!" Kobalt frantically cried out, "All of this is your doing, and you betray all those who try to help you!"
Anger filled Mitsuki. She grinned her teeth and yelled out, "Silence!" As she forced the second nail through Kobalt's other wrist. Again, Kobalt cried out in agony as she felt the wrought iron nail pierce its way through her. She let out a loud sob as she again tried to find some way to free herself and escape. In a panic she openly wailed out, "Eric please! Please save me! I can't do this! I don't want to do this anymore!" Her sobs openly echoed throughout the room, easily dominating over the sound of the heavy rain and thunder.
"No one is coming to save you my Little Sister! You are in my world now! It's just you, me, and your sweet, slow death." Mitsuki then took the third nail and positioned it at Kobalt's feet. "Through her rapid breaths of fear and sobs, she again pleaded, "No! No more! I don't want it to hurt again!" Mitsuki let out a laugh as she mockingly continued, "You don't want it to hurt? My dear, how would it be punishment if it didn't hurt?" Mitsuki then made the nail slowly pierce it's way in through Kobalt's tiny boot.
Kobalt's fear spiked, she felt the pressure from the nail slowly turn into pain as it slowly pierced in through her boot and began to tear into her flesh. She again instantly yelled out from the pain and openly cried out for rescue. It was pure torture as she felt the rough surface of the nail tear out of the bottom of her foot and again pass through her second boot and agonized as the process repeated.
The young A.I. openly cried out from the pain as she felt nothing but hopelessness and fear fill her. Dokuro was gone, and her Spartan didn't even know that she was in trouble. Out of fear and the want for her protector, she openly cried out, "Eric please! Please save me!" Mitsuki stood with no expression on her face. She then slowly made herself levitate directly in front of Kobalt. With her blood and tear stained face, Kobalt shakily looked up at Mitsuki as her tears openly flowed. "You think that Eric will save you? Your Spartan is powerless against me! And even were he to attempt a rescue, Kalder would stop him."
Through her pain ridden breaths, Kobalt yelled out, "Eric will rescue me! He'll get me away from you! The one that I was once proud to call my sister! You're nothing and you're being led to your own death by a Covenant A.I.!" Mitsuki again yelled out angrily, "Enough!" She then summoned another small throwing dagger and gripped it tightly in her hand. Kobalt once again felt her fear return as she saw the blade and she again frantically began to cry out. Mitsuki then said in a low, sadistic tone, "You value Number 45 so much? Then have this as a reminder!"
Mitsuki then began to drag the razor sharp blade across Kobalt's chest. The blade cut through her blood soaked outfit and into her flesh as she yelled out with pain. She felt Mitsuki drag the blade in different directions across her skin as her cries echoed throughout the room. The torture felt like it lasted hours. Everything from the nails through her wrists, and the searing burn that came from her feet as the weight of her body was pressing down against the nail, and now the blade tearing across her chest.
When Mitsuki finally pulled the blade away, Kobalt looked down to see that she had carved a large "45" into her chest. "There is you savior." Mitsuki said with hate, "A lasting reminder that his both his, and your blood will spill before this night is over." Kobalt couldn't respond, she couldn't think. Pain seared through her feet and wrist and her chest felt like it was on fire. All she could do was cry out and hope for rescue.
Mitsuki then turned to face the room full of her guardians. She stood triumphant and called out, "Do you all see? Let this child be an example to all of you as to what will happen if you try to defy me! If you try to go against my words, death will be your fate! If you are against me, then you will also feel the pain of death!" Mitsuki stepped forward and began walking towards Kalder's hologram, "This child as well as the other who was here, both tried to defy me. They now know the harsh reality of disobeying their Queen."
Mitsuki sharply spun on her heel and looked up at Kobalt as she hung from the cross. As her cries echoed throughout the room, Mitsuki asked, "So tell me Little Sister; was it worth it? Was your defiance really the proper thing to do?" Kobalt didn't respond. She was both physically and mentally broken. Her levels of damage were to severe for her to even attempt to free herself. Mitsuki again made a sly grin and held her arms out and said to the whole room, "My loyal subjects! Tonight our reign begins!" The room then filled with the sounds of cheers and applause while Mitsuki reveled in her glory.
From behind, she heard Kalder's voice say to her, "Well done, my Queen." Mitsuki's eyes closed as she held her hands over her chest and smiled. Everything was now going perfect, her sisters who had defied her were now gone, she was free to reign above her world and spend the rest of her days with her Spartan. She turned towards her Spartan with a loving smile on her face. "Oh Kalder." She said softly.
As she turned, she saw a purple blur that seemed to leap down from one of the balconies above the grand ball rooms floor. The blur was moving so fast it took her a moment to lock onto it to realize what it was.
Dokuro sailed through the air with one of her wrist blade's drawn. She leap down onto the back of the Covenant A.I.'s shoulder's and as she landed, pierced her blade between it's helmet and back plate of it's armor. Kalder's hologram grunted out heavily in pain as the blade tore into it's spine and base of it's brain. Dokuro had stabbed directly into the A.I.'s memory core. The A.I. stumbled, fell to it's knees, and then fell flat on the floor, motionless. Dokuro then twisted her blade before pulling it out. She elegantly stepped off of it's motionless body and then faced Mitsuki.
Mitsuki screamed as the horror of watching her Spartan die filled her. "Kalder!" She cried out frantically. Dokuro looked down with no emotion on her face as she watched the Covenant A.I.'s hologram shatter and burst into tiny fragments. Still in shock, Mitsuki stood with a crazed look on her face, "Kill her!" She screamed out to her guardians. None of them moved, they all then began to warp and distort before finally dispersing into tiny fragments. Mitsuki looked around in shock as her guardians vanished, leaving her to fend for herself.
"You were never in control of them, Mitsuki! It was all lies that the Covenant used to blind you! He was using you so he could return to full power and retake control of the ship!" Mitsuki immediately summoned her Ring Blade and readied to attack. As soon as her blade appeared, Mitsuki's hologram fuzzed and distorted. Her blade suddenly vanished and Mitsuki gasped. She then looked up at Dokuro and grinned angrily and vanished. "She's on the run." Mitsuki's fragment told Dokuro. Dokuro nodded and said, "She can't run forever."
Dokuro then heard soft cries of pain coming from the opposite end of the room. She looked up and her eyes widened in shock. "Kobalt!" She frantically called out as she ran towards her. In all the chaos and commotion, Dokuro hadn't taken the time to survey the entire room, she was more worried about stopping the Covenant A.I. than seeing what else was around her.
Dokuro slid to a halt in front of the cross and looked up at Kobalt in shock. Kobalt was whimpering quietly as her power levels were slowing dieing. She was covered in blood and her breathing was erratic. "My god…" Dokuro uttered. Trying to keep herself calm, she called out, "Kobalt, listen to me! Everything is alright, I'm going to get you down." Kobalt weakly looked down and saw Dokuro. Through her pain and failing body, she forced a smile through all of her pain and uttered out, "Big Sister… I'm so happy to see you again." Kobalt paused and then continued weakly, "I messed up pretty bad, huh? Will Eric be mad at me?"
Dokuro frowned and called out as she quickly began to climb up the side of the cross. "No." She said back as calmly as she could, "Eric would never be upset at you for trying so hard." Kobalt looked over at Dokuro. She fluttered her blood and tear soaked eyes and uttered out weakly, "Do you mean it? He won't think I'm a bad girl?" Dokuro reached Kobalt's level and looked at the nails. She quickly tried to figure out what to do. Dokuro then replied, "No, he won't, but you need to stay alert for me, okay. I need you to listen to me very carefully. I need you to be as brave as you can so I can get you down." Kobalt didn't respond right away. She was finding it very difficult to breathe and her processes were getting weaker. Dokuro looked down at Kobalt's body and saw the number 45 that had been carved into her chest. She shook her head in disbelief. All she could think about was how her once quiet, and timid sister could inflict this much damage.
Dokuro carefully put her arm around Kobalt's torso while she gripped onto the cross with the other. She then said as calmly as she could, "I am sorry Kobalt, but this is going to hurt." She watched as another look of fear came over Kobalt's face while she tried to hold back her sobs. Dokuro took in a deep breath and said, "Be brave for me." She then closed her eyes and focused her thoughts. She focused on the nails holding Kobalt in place and began to pry them from the cross.
As soon as the nails began to move, Kobalt's cries of pain returned. Dokuro could feel the nails beginning to pull out. She then said, "Hang on Kobalt, just endure it a little longer. Kobalt began taking in sharp rapid breaths in between her cries of pain. Dokuro couldn't stop, she almost had to force herself to continue. She quickly focused everything she had on the nails and finally pried them loose from Kobalt's tiny body and let them fall to the floor.
Dokuro gripped tightly onto Kobalt's battered body as she went limp in her arms. Dokuro gripped tightly onto her and then jumped down to the floor. She instantly kicked the wrought iron nails away from the two and lay Kobalt down on her back with her head propped up on her knee. Instantly, Dokuro heard Mitsuki's voice say, "Her systems are failing. The amount of damage that she has endured is astonishing. The only reason that she is still alive is because of her advanced programming." Dokuro carefully wiped some of the blood and tears from Kobalt's delicate face.
Kobalt didn't speak, her eyes were closed and her breathing was sharp and irregular. She was bleeding Nano Crystaline Fluid heavily from her wrist's, feet and chest. Dokuro instantly closed her eyes and her hologram began to glow. She wasn't going to let Kobalt die. With her focus locked onto Kobalt's damage, Dokuro began to transfer her own power over to Kobalt to help repair her. She knew that doing this would drastically deplete her own power but she didn't care.
Dokuro held onto Kobalt for several minutes, not moving a muscle or saying anything. She could begin to feel her repairs taking effect. The large 45 that was carved into her chest slowly closed and healed itself, as well as the holes in her wrist's and feet. Aside from repairing as much as she could to at least get Kobalt stable, Dokuro was not able to repair the larger damage done to Kobalt's defensive systems or her other major circuitry. That was something that a UNSC Tech would have to handle.
After Dokuro managed all that she could to repair Kobalt's tiny body, her glow stopped and she allowed herself to relax. However, Dokuro instantly noticed the drastic change in her own performance. She felt significantly weaker and her processes felt sluggish. It was an obvious effect from the emergency repairs that she had to perform. "Are you able to proceed?" Mitsuki's fragment asked. Dokuro then carefully picked up Kobalt's tiny figure into her arms and stood. She felt weak, but she had to ignore it and keep moving. Dokuro nodded and said, "Where is she?" Mitsuki's fragment then replied, "She's in her throne room. Destroying the Covenant A.I. has significantly weakened her and destroyed her guardians." Dokuro frowned. "So she's running scared then." Dokuro then slowly began to walk as she cradled Kobalt in her arms. "Lead me to her."
