Devilmom, I choose you!
use MINDCRUSH!
KO!
The office was spinning in circles. Her breath echoed, booming in her head and causing a dull ache in her ears. The floor wobbled. She felt nauseous. Her brain was scrambled, all her memories were jumbled. She couldn't make heads or tails of what had happened the past week, and her thoughts were spinning in a desperate attempt to put her life back in order.
What… how could this happen…
It was 1:45 am when she 'woke up' sitting in the dark. The entire building was empty, save the team of night janitors. Her office door had been locked up for the night. Her knees gave out when she tried to stand, and she clung to the edge of her desk to keep from sprawling on the floor.
One of her heels had snapped. Her other shoe was missing. Her hair smelled like tobacco and her palms stung as if burned. The mirror was cold against her heart. It pulsed. It's power had been expended recently… but for what? And why! What was I doing?!
She couldn't remember.
She couldn't remember!
She felt her breath quicken as she slowly lowered herself to the carpeted floor. She closed her eyes and unhooked her heels, tossing them away. Her hands shook uncontrollably as she pulled her knees against her chest and tossed her head back to stare at the white ceiling panels.
Chizuru Kagura had just lost a day.
Just a moment ago… rather, what felt like just a moment ago, she was sitting right here, at her desk, and it was 8am. She was about to buckle down and prep her case with the United States IRS when… when… what then? What happened?
She couldn't remember anything.
And that terrified her.
What happened? Why was she gone? Did she have an unknown medical condition? Had somebody drugged her? What was she made to do, if in fact, she had done anything at all? What were the consequences of said actions? Who had done this to her? Who had the power to do this to her? What was their motivation? What was-
...
She froze as something hot and wet ran down her cheek. She felt the salty liquid tickle her skin as it ran to her chin and dripped off. She barked a laugh, if only in an attempt to comfort herself.
She was Chizuru Kagura.
She stood at the helm of humanity.
For years, nobody dared raise their voices against her authority. She subjugated all of her opposition. Whether they fell by sweet words, or fiery power mattered not, all fell before her. She trampled them beneath her feet until there was nothing left in her path.
Every threat she saw, she struck preemptively. Every dissenter was cut to size. Every wayward sprig was trimmed and reprimanded until she had no enemies. She ruled over the hearts and souls of humanity. All loved her, none had ill thoughts of her. She gave lavishly to charities. Her company had saved tens of thousands of lives, curing even the most malignant diseases. All stood before her in awe. They could sing her praises ceaselessly. Parents strived for their children to be like her. She was the universal role model. She had meticulously built for herself the image of a gentle angel.
And whoever dared assault her, was subject to the rage of humanity.
So…
For fear of the masses, for fear of her - who dared attack her?! Who dared humiliate her? To seize her, use her for their own purposes, and leave her here like some tool which had served its purpose? Who had the gall to abuse her like this!? Who had the ability to pull this off?! There was nobody she knew of that wanted her dead. The Hakkeshu were dead and gone, occasionally returning to pester Iori - but nothing more. Ash Crimson had been killed. NESTS was running like rats from Heidern's scouring ey-
Heidern.
She had been silently holding her head in her hands until the name rang in her head. Her mind had never failed her, the conclusion had to be true. There was no other suspect. As she came to her realization, she doubled over as if in pain. Her hair had mysteriously come undone and fell in sheets about her face. Her mascara had likely begun to smear. She pounded the carpeted floor with her fist and howled in laughter. She didn't care if she scared the janitors. At this moment, she cared for nothing at all.
She raged.
Heidern… he didn't fear the masses. He didn't fear her boys either. He didn't fear her. He was the IKARI commander, famous for his unflinching stubbornness. Nobody could intimidate him. Nobody could force him one way or the other. He was a military genius who pulled all his resources to accomplish his goals. His schemes were elaborate and convoluted, and he held his secrets tightly. He was wary. He hedged himself in on every side. He-
He did this! There's nobody else who can…
Perhaps he uncovered her secret? Had he discovered the path which would inevitably lead to her death? He was brilliant, more so than Blue Mary but not nearly as impulsive. An inkling was all he needed to crush her utterly. He could make her dance in his palm. He could make her kneel and kiss his feet. He-
She collapsed on her side and sank her fingers into the carpet as it trying to tear the fibers out. She clenched her teeth until her gums ached. The nausea had become severe. She trembled violently and she felt bile fill her throat, yet she was grinning. Laughing as her world was torn down before her eyes.
Kyo… and Iori…
Was he plotting to turn them against her? Perhaps that was the reason he wished to retain them so badly, so he could convince them to hate her. It was why he wanted her gone as well, demanding that she scurry off and work on the cure. Did he think he could brainwash them so easily? Perhaps he would torture them? Perhaps this entire virus was within his plan! It was no secret that Heidern disliked her - she disliked him equally… but… would he kill so many to get at her?
He's ruthless. He's a soldier… he feels nothing.
Chizuru's head pounded. It hurt like there was a nail being driven through the back of her skull. She shut her eyes and lay down on the floor at the base of her desk. She rolled onto her back and concentrated on stopping her breath from hitching.
He feels nothing. He'll come after you… no, he'll ask you to come to him.
The pounding was fading. She was taking deep measured breaths and fighting to regain some semblance of herself. If her opponent was Heidern, she couldn't afford to be rolling on the floor feeling bad for herself. She was going to persist. She was going to win…
How?
She wasn't sure yet.
But if she was going to lose, she wouldn't do it quietly. She would fight with everything she had. She wouldn't fall until she'd shed her last drop of blood. Kyo and Iori were in his terrible grip. Her precious boys. Her precious power. What sort of things was Heidern doing to them? Chizuru didn't want to imagine it. She had hurt them enough, even if it was out of necessity, it hurt her soul. They had already suffered too much. Nobody would lay a finger on them.
If Chizuru Kagura was going to fall, at the very least, she would rescue the ones she loved. Heidern would get no satisfaction from her. She would cause him so much grief, he would wish he had never crossed her path. Now she was facing death. She had nothing to fear.
She stood and wiped away her tears, cleaning off the places where the makeup had smeared. Her unflappable, solemn air had returned. She turn toward the window and looked out over the city's blinking lights. Her eyes were hard. She smiled a small smile.
Heidern was her enemy.
And she was still Chizuru Kagura.
She would crush those who dared strike at her.
She would retain her power no matter what.
She sat down in her office chair and calmly smoothed her hair. She was at peace. She knew what she needed to do. The mirror pulsed gently against her heart and she shut her eyes… thinking.
Waiting.
When the phone rang, she smiled and picked it up. Her voice was sweet - a more gentle tone than she had ever used with him.
"Hello Commander."
*Kagura. Your dogs are running around causing trouble. I need you back here.*
"I know, Commander."
*...I see... I will prepare a convoy to your Orlando Headquarters. 9am. Don't be late.*
"I'll be ready."
K- We're gonna be late. Traffic sux
C - It's Heidern's fault.
K - Also Yag tried to kill me again
C - Also Hediern's fault.
K - A seagull attacked me and I dropped my icecream.
C - HEIDERRRNN!
* In this chapter, Heidern goes from "Rival ally who Chiz doesn't like that much" to "absolute enemy".
Summaries:
Ch 32: Everyone is on fire, but heatproofed. The moment Kyo/Iori lose concentration - are killed, pass out, knocked out etc... everyone burns. It was a strategy Heidern thought up when Yag was helping him do stuff with gangs. Now Yag is using it against IKARI. Leona is relaying info to IKARI headquarters over the radio. She's supposed to be relaying hostage demands, but Kyo doesn't speak english and Yag is like half dead and not listening. She's pretending to translate but is actually describing their situation. After a bit, Iori notices and Kyo turns around and throat punches Leo. He decides that he's gonna kill all the hostages now, but Devilmom (the real one) shows up out of the blue and makes them stop.
Ch 33: Clark and IKARI detain Chiz copy#1, and she does mental shenanigans. She's brain controlling the pilot who flew her over to IKARI base (has a copy up there too). She says either bring Kyo and Iori here (even though they're going freaking nuts) or I'll plow the Airplane into the command tower and kill yalls... unless you compromise and patch me to commander to negotiate for stuff. Clark is like ok. back with hostages, Real Chiz stops zoning out and tells everyone to turn off the fire. She lies to Kyo, saying that she asked Ikari to rescue them - and he's not in any danger.
Ch 34: Chiz copy is there to greet Heidern and Whip at the front gates. Talks shit to Heidern and almost pops Whip's eyes out.
Ch 35: Yag gets some medical so he doesn't die. Kyo is lurking around the room, wakes him up and throws him into a wheelchair. they go for a walk. Yag is the angery boi
CH 36: Kyo and Iori chat. Kyo is trying to apologize. Yag says what he did is his own fault, and he did it knowingly. Doesn't want an apology. Says he'll always be on Kyo's side no matter how batshit insane Kyo is. Kyo laughs and tells him he's gay. Iori punches him in the ear.
Ch 37: Ralf is pissed because Yag and Kyo killed Thrall and almost killed Leona. He wants to go after Team Murder. Heidern says no. Ralf is seething. Elsewhere, Chiz is getting info about the Seal from one of her ppl back in Japan. Some spiritualist is telling her that the seal is being pulled apart by tons of tiny little threads, and a single big force (that is, the life forces of all the infected people. the big force is Yag+Magatama). Chiz struck a deal with Heidern. She will go get a cure for the stuff. Heidern will keep Kyo and Iori here. Chiz copy goes to visit Kyo and Iori.
Ch 38: Kyo tells Chiz copy that the infected people were chanting the same stuff Yag does when he eats people. During this time, (not stated, but ref back to later)Yag tells Chiz about the additional voices in his head, and she's like... ok fine. They pillowfight. Meanwhile Heidern is chatting with not copy Chiz over the phone. She's being bitchy, and Heidern is like ugh... but realizes she pretty much saved Leona's life (who got surgery from chiz so she's ok) and the rest of IKARI squad so he decides he'll tolerate her.
More later. Chapters are getting shorter, but summaries are getting meatier lol
