Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to the Akame ga Kill franchise and this fanfiction has not been written for profit!
A/N: We've once again made our way to another new chapter! The last part of the 'Kill the Revolution' arc no less! Before we get started, just a few points to make:
#1. As always, thanks for reading and thanks for the reviews! I really appreciate them from the depths of my heart.
#2. In light of a recent review, I suppose I should make it very clear that this fic is a rewrite of the anime. I'm acting in the place of the script-writers. What that means is that Tatsumi and Esdeath aren't the focus 100% of the time. Nevertheless, they are the most important characters in the story as far as I'm concerned. Hopefully, this chapter and the next 5 chapters make that very clear!
#3. Lovehates333, I enjoyed the constructive review! I hope chapter 6 didn't turn you off this fic! There is a method to my madness. Although the universe-explanation for Tatsumi's explanation will be delved into throughout the next two chapters, I don't mind giving the out-of-universe explanation here and now. I think the original series gave Tatsumi an incomplete character arc. I just never really get the sense of solid growth as a character from him after Bulat's death. He also doesn't really seem to have any character flaws after that. As long as I write Tatsumi (or any character for that matter), there will always be character flaws. That's just my way of viewing things!
With that out of the way, here we go again!
Updated on 1/21/17 - Fixed prose and grammatical errors.
Episode 25: Kill the Revolution – Part 3
Tatsumi, Leone and Akame had been running back towards the fortress, no doubt to regroup with the rest of the army now that holding the line at the beach was no longer a feasible strategy. It was while running back that they spotted an explosion at the tower to the easternmost corner of the island. An explosion that was followed by the tall structure imploding into itself.
The three came to a sudden halt, Leone's eyes bulging at the uncanny sight. "You see that?"
To which Akame nodded her head. Tatsumi, on the other hand, was a bit perplexed; having just arrived on the island, he didn't really grasp the significance of what had just transpired. "What's the big deal?", he asked.
"Mein was on that tower!", Leone responded, her voice full of concern.
"Then there's no time to lose!", he shouted, quickly sprinting in that direction.
Akame and Leone nodded their heads, both in full agreement with Tatsumi's sentiments. However, before they could join him in his pursuit, they both paused, sensing the aura of a spirited adversary drawing near. Akame immediately called out to the Incursio wielder. "Watch out!"
But before Tatsumi could heed his red eyed companion's warning, he was smashed into the ground with an almost overwhelming force by a single dropkick. "Grand Fall!", said a familiar voice.
"Well I'll be!", Leone said, greetingly waving her hand in the air. "Hey there, Wave! Are we going to fight again? Gosh, we have got to stop meeting like this!"
The lone Jaegar readily regained his footing from his attack just then, turning his attention towards the feral assassin as he did. "Um . . . in case you haven't noticed, we're enemies!"
"Enemies, frenemies. What's the difference? Look, after we both beat the hell out of each other again, whadd'ya say we get hammered together? Your treat!"
"Surrender peacefully, turn yourself in, swear allegiance to the Grand Empire and then I might consider splitting the tab."
"All that just to split the tab?! You're the guy! You're supposed to pay for my drink! Or in my case, drinks and drinks and drinks, but still!"
"You're inviting ME, but I'm the one who has to pay for the . . . wait a minute, why the heck am I even having this conversation?!"
To which Leone laughed while shrugging her shoulders. "Who knows? It's weird, you know! Most of the people we kill totally suck as people, but you're different somehow!"
Akame placed her hand on the hilt of her imperial arm, preparing to unsheath her mighty weapon. "We don't have time for this."
Noticing this, Wave averted his gaze towards the feared red eyed assassin. "You're right, we don't. I wanted to settle the score with the 100 man slayer here, but you'll do just as well. I won't let Kurome dirty her hands by killing her own sister."
"Kurome won't be killing anyone", she said, swiftly removed Murasame from its sheath and pointing the blade at the Grand Chariot wielder. "And neither will you."
At that moment, Tatsumi began to regain his footing. The attack he had been hit by sent his body six clean feet through the ground, but he made his way out, albeit with a moderate level of discomfort. "There's that attack of his again. He damn near broke my back just now. Had Akame not warned me at the last second, I wouldn't have been able to brace myself and might have died. Will have to watch for that."
Leone took note of her companion's quick recovery, smirking at the sight. She then shifted her eyes back towards Wave. "All fun and games aside, you don't really think you're going to beat the three of us at once, do you? No offense, but based on our last fight, you'll definitely get your ass kicked."
"We can't afford to fight him together", Tatsumi interjected. "For all we know, Mein could be on the verge of death as we speak. Fighting him will only slow us down. You two go on ahead. I'll take care of him alone."
"You sure about this?", Akame asked her armored companion.
To which Tatsumi responded, twirling his spear around before slipping into a combat stance. "I'll manage. Get going!"
"You heard him, Akame!", Leone said, grabbing the red eyed assassin's free hand and sprinting in the direction of the eastern tower. "He's acting so cool right now! Lets not his moment!"
As they ran away, Wave didn't bother to give chase. Rather, he focused his attention on his fellow armored adversary. "You fled the last time we fought, but you seem more willing to engage me this time. Why is that?"
"Truth be told, I had no interest in fighting you back then. And even as we speak, I don't wish to do it. But you leave me no choice if it means protecting my friends."
"Your friends? Is that all this is about to you? Not too long ago, I lost a good friend to this madness. He was a good man with a wife and daughter. He didn't deserve his fate. But that's the price to be paid when a war is being waged, isn't it? And if this rebellion continues, his life won't be the only one to have been stolen from him. Many more innocent lives will be lost in the crossfire."
"Lives were already being stolen thanks to the Prime Minister! He's brought nothing but suffering and despair to this country! We're trying to change that!"
Without a second thought, the lone Jaegar leapt high into the air, tumbling mid-flight as he did. Then, like an anvil, he came plummeting down over his rival with an axe-kick. Tatsumi used both of his hands to hold out the shaft portion of his spear, using it to brace and block his opponent's attack. An attack with such power that the Night Raid assassin's feet sunk multiple inches into the ground as it landed.
Wave propelled himself off the shaft of the Incursio wielder's spear, leaping over his head in the process and mounting a follow-up attack from behind, this time a straight right punch. A move which Tatsumi readily addressed by swiftly turning around and catching the punch with his left hand. Having latched tightly onto Wave's right hand, the Night Raid assassin used his other hand to thrust his spear straight towards his opponent's throat.
The Grand Chariot wielder, however, caught the spear by its shaft with his left hand, narrowly avoiding the blade end. He proceeded to follow-up his attack with a straight right kick into the lone assassin's solar plexus, sending him hurling away several yards.
Tatsumi managed to regain his footing in little time, but was visibly reeling from that last attack. "That's odd. For some reason, it doesn't look like Incursio offers the usual amount of protection whenever I take any damage from this guy. I wonder if he has the same disadvantage."
Still holding Tatsumi's spear in his left hand, Wave promptly tossed it to the ground, walking towards his adversary as he did. "Everything you say about the Prime Minister is true and unlike some people, I'm not blind to that. But the ends never justify the means! It's your methods that are the problem. When I was in Reispan, I saw firsthand the kind of country your methods create."
"My methods? What have your methods gotten you?!", Tatsumi exclaimed before bursting towards his opponent like a cannonball.
"They've kept me from becoming a cold blooded murderer for one!", Wave replied, moving in the exact same fashion.
Both jolted towards the other with equal speed and intensity. And as they reached each other, they both threw straight right punches. Their fists collided against one another, creating a visible shockwave covering everything in a 10-foot radius.
Amidst the clash, thoughts of having assassinated the ambassador in Bestimmung once again resurfaced in Tatsumi's mind. But that wasn't going to stop him from pressing the argument. "And the Prime Minister is NOT a murderer? Esdeath is NOT a murderer? How is sitting back and doing nothing while letting other people do the dirty work make you any better?"
All of the sudden, thoughts of the Reispan ambassador's resurfaced in Wave's mind. Particularly how she nearly murdered everyone in the town of Sin Esperanza, how Bols ended up sacrificing his life to save everyone. Troublesome thoughts these were as the Jaegar constantly found himself wondering how things would've been different had he not defended such a loathsome woman from being assassinated by Night Raid.
[. . . . And the victor is . . . .]
Elsewhere, the eastern tower had been utterly desecrated. All that remained was smoke and rubbled remains. Even so, despite the massive destruction that had just been wrought, the sound of a young woman panting could be heard in the midst of it all.
It was none other than Mein who was lying eagle spread on her back, still with her hand loosely on the trigger of her imperial arm which was still in its long barrel form. What's more, the twin-tails on her hair were undone, leaving her long pink hair going straight down. Strangely enough, there wasn't a single trace a rubble lying around within a 5-foot radius of her.
As the genius sniper continued to inhale and exhale, the last ten seconds of the battle flashed through her mind so readily and clearly. There, Seryu Ubiquitous was about to launch a large armor enforced missile at her. The likes of which would surely kill them both were it to explode at the range the two combatants were standing at. Fortunately, the crazed Jaegar's right arm had been blown off, leaving her with no sufficient means of stabilizing the massive missile before firing it. As a result, the instant the auburn haired Jaegar fired off said weapon, it vertically veered off course, instead hitting the top of the tower. What ensued was the explosion that could be seen all across the island. And although neither combatant got caught up within the blast itself, the force of it was still powerful enough to knock them both to the ground.
Despite not getting caught up in the blast, there was still the matter of the tower imploding. The falling debris would surely crush anyone in or near the tower. Lying on her back and thinking quickly, the genius sniper fired several consecutive blasts to eviscerate any and all rubble that would have otherwise fallen on her. Given the pinch she was in, each blast she fired was more than enough to accomplish this.
But now, the genius sniper was reeling in pain. Getting knocked down in the fashion she did no doubt fractured a number of bones. She was without a doubt in need of some immediate medical attention. "No . . . not done yet", she said to herself, mustering up most of her strength to just to stand. "If I can just find a comfortable place to sit down and snipe, I'll be good."
"We're not finished yet!", said a voice nearby. Mein swiftly turned her head in that direction, only to notice that it was her crazed Jaegar opponent, or rather what remained of her. Seryu had managed to crawl her way out of the rubble that had fallen on her as a result of the explosion, only her legs were now missing and trickles of blood were now trickling down out of one of her eyes. Despite this, the Jaegar was using her remaining arm to crawl her way towards the Night Raid assassin.
"Good", Mein coldly remarked, walking towards her mortally wounded nemesis. "I get to kill you up close and personal."
"It's not over yet", Seryu growled. "Mark my words: EVIL NEVER WINS!"
"It looks like we finally have something we can agree on", Mein said, placing pumpkin's barrel up against the crazed Jaegar's forehead. "Got any last words before you rot in hell?"
And yet reason, hearing this taunt only made Seryu laugh in a devilish fashion. "Just two: KORO, ATTACK!"
Instantly understanding the implication, Mein jumped back, away from her maimed opponent's body. But despite taking this evasive action, she simply wasn't quick enough. Almost instantly, the beast like biological weapon jumped out of the ground in its large form., catching the genius sniper's left leg in its mouth as it did.
And much to Seryu delight, Mein screamed out in immense pain. Mortally wounded as she was, Seryu could not help but maintain a devilish grin at the sight of this. "See?! See?! I told you! Good always triumphs over evil! Finish her, Koro! Chew her to pieces!"
But without sparing another thought, the genius sniper immediately ceased screaming, instead placing the barrel of her imperial up against Koro's face "I don't think I've ever been in a bigger pinch!", she uttered with a knowing smirk on her lips.
Seryu widened her eyes at the very instant, the look on her face going from devilish delight to utter terror. "KORO, RELE-"
But it was too late. Out from the barrel of pumpkin came a blast of energy as wide as a humpback whale. The blast enveloped everything in its path, including Seryu and her biological imperial arm.
With that, Mein fell to her back and was once again reeling in pain. She glanced towards her left leg, relieved to see that it was intact. There were still remains of Koro's mouth surrounding her hip, but said remains were slowly winnowing into dust. "Not regenerating. I guess it really is dead this time. Thank God. I really don't have that much else in me."
"Mein! Mein! Are you all right?!", said a quickly approaching voice nearby.
Still on her back, the pink haired assassin turned her head to the right, only to see Leone and Akame running towards her. "It depends on what you mean by alright. Bunch of bruises bunch of broken bones and my hair is a complete mess."
"Yeah, but you're alive", Akame said, gracious to see that her comrade was still alive.
To which the genius sniper let out a small, albeit painstaking chuckle. "Damn. It hurts to laugh."
"We saw that blast just now", Leone noted. "What happened?"
Tears began to pour out of Mein's eyes, but she nonetheless smiled happily. "I finally did it. I finally avenged Sheele."
[. . . . No longer compatible . . . .]
From the fortress' rooftop, Esdeath marveled at the events unfolding throughout the rest of the island. The destruction of the eastern tower and Kurome razing many of the soldiers stationed on the beach as well as ones retreating back to the fortress. She also noticed a full battalion of imperial army soldiers marching up the beach unopposed. "This is turning out to be quite the show, eh Najenda?"
Of course, the Night Raid commander remained frozen solid in the Ice Queen's Grade Two ice, still merged with her imperial arm. She continued to try and think of ways to get out of her current predicament, but none came to mind. A fact of which Su was increasingly aware of.
Inside Su's mind was an astral realm of sorts. And there, both Su and Najenda appeared there in the form of astral projections.
"I'm sorry, but splitting apart is our only option", stoically said the biological imperial arm.
"No!", Najenda retorted. "Esdeath is still basking in the moment. We still have time to come up with a counter-measure."
"This isn't like you", Su responded, shaking his head. "You're usually more objective about the situation."
"I am being objective!", she fired back. "The minute Esdeath leaves this rooftop, especially now with her ice powers back, everyone downstairs is as good as dead. We have no choice but to come up with something."
"Esdeath is not yet downstairs. Once you're back in your body, you can plan something. Leave me behind."
"How many times must I tell you?! The answer is no!"
Just as he heard this, Su gave perhaps the most human expression he had ever mustered. The imperial arm sighed, only for a small but sincere smile to form on his lips. "I was created to be a tool. A living weapon. An instrument for any master I was compelled to serve. I've heeded to every order you've ever given, no matter how mundane. In my eyes, your word is law. Or rather . . . it was."
Najenda was taken aback by that last statement. "What are you saying?"
"I'm saying that as of this moment, we are no longer compatible. And so you are no longer my master."
Just as Su said this, the Night Raid commander's astral projection began to fade away. "Stop this this instant! That's an order!"
But her words fell on deaf ears. Su just stood there, watching as she vanished completely. Then, just as her projection disappeared, he smiled cheerfully, thinking back on all the pleasant times he had had with both her and the rest of the members of Night Raid up until then. "You are no longer my master; you are my friend."
Back in the real world, Esdeath watched with fascination as the biological weapon reverted back to its normal form, albeit still frozen solid in the ice. "Najenda must've flown the coop. A pity. That just leaves you then."
The Ice Queen pointed her rapier up again the part of the ice where the magatama on Su's chest was the closest to, glaring at it intently as she did.
[. . . . Out of the frying pan . . . .]
Down in the broom closet where Lubbock had been hiding, Najenda's eyes swiftly flew wide open and her real body was full of life once more. She promptly looked around the room, noticing her green haired subordinate as well as her chained up father. It was only then that she realized what had just transpired, gritting her teeth as she did. "Damnit Su. Why'd you have to go and do something like that? I could have found a way to save you!"
"Miss Najenda!", Lubbock exclaimed, surprised to see his commander awake all of the sudden. "Did you do it? Did you beat Esdeath?"
She promptly rose to her feet. "I'm afraid not. Esdeath is bound to be coming down here shortly and we're out of options."
Lubbock looked upon his commander with gleaming curiosity in his eyes. "Then what are we going to do?"
"The only thing we can do", Najenda heavily sigh before opening the door leading outside the broom closet. "Endure."
Hearing this sentiment, the Lord rustled and tussled his chains, still unable to break free "No, you mustn't face her! You cannot win!"
But Najenda paid her father's words no heed. She instead continued to address her lone subordinate present. "Lubbock, head down to the basement and retrieve every imperial arm. Afterwards, secure them on my personal air manta. You'll find it resting near the awning in the garden out back."
Lubbock, of course, was befuddled upon hearing this."What are you suggesting?"
"I'm suggesting that you take my father as well as the imperial arms and flee the island at the first opportunity."
"Miss Najenda, will all due respect, you can't be serious! You're asking me to leave you and everyone else behind. I can't do that!"
"But you must", she replied ever so curtly. "Think about it. As it stands, we can at least keep the remaining imperial arms from falling into the Prime Minister's grubby hands. That way, any future resistance that stands up to him will have far better odds. Also see to it that my father receives the best psychological treatment money can buy. The funds in the Revolutionary Army's offshore treasury should more than suffice. You'll need him. Once whatever Esdeath has done to him is cured, he'll be a damn good leader again. The rest of us will do what we can to minimize Esdeath's forces and slow her down."
Just the look on Lubbock's face; it was clear he was frustrated. This was perhaps the first command Najenda had ever given him that he gave a second thought. Nevertheless, he found the strength to swallow up his frustration and reluctantly nod his head. "Alright, I'll retrieve the imperial arms and I'll help your father."
To which Najenda returned his nod before immediately departing the room. "I can always count on you!"
Lubbock followed suit, running out of the room as well after closing the door behind him, but in the direction towards the staircase leading down to the basement.
Najenda meanwhile ran out of the fortress' interior, coming to a full stop as she saw legions of Revolutionary Army warriors protecting the main gates as well as legions running up from the beach. "Good. They're at least sticking to my plan. If my hunches are correct, the imperial forces will try to breach the gates directly. It'll remain a battle of attrition for hours on end, provided the Jaegars are otherwise kept in check. But that still leaves Esdeath open to attack our flank and I don't stand a chance against her as I am. Still, I've got to come up with something, at least to delay her long enough for Lubbock to leave."
The Night Raid commander turned around, about to head back inside the fortress' interior, when she noticed three of her subordinates approaching her out of the corner of her eye. It was Akame, Leone and Mein. Mein was hunched over Leone's shoulder, clearly unable to walk on her own.
"Boss, we've got a problem", said the feral assassin. "Somehow, Akame's little sister got a hold of an Ultra Class danger beast and used it to raze the beach."
Najenda didn't seem the least bit surprised however. "Esdeath . . . 'informed' me on the rooftop earlier. What happened to Mein?"
Despite her current posture, the genius sniper was still conscious and cognizant of her surroundings. "I'm okay! Or at least I should be in about a few weeks."
To which Leone laughed boastfully. "She's more than okay! She just took out a Jaegar!"
"First good news I've heard all night. What about the other Jaegars?", Najenda asked.
To which Akame responded. "Kurome is still razing the beach. We have yet to encounter the one they call Run. And Tatsumi is holding off the one they call Wave as we speak. We'll head back and assist him as soon as we've found a safe place for Mein."
But the Night Raid commander staunchly shook her head. "Negative. Lubbock should be in the basement right about now. Leave Mein near the stair case. He'll tend to her as soon as he comes back up. I'll need the two of you to assist me in dealing with Esdeath."
Akame's eyes widened upon hearing that last sentence. "What?! She's still alive? But I thought you had been fighting her on the rooftop."
"It's a long story, but Esdeath will be coming downstairs any minute now. Her ice powers are already back and we can't allow her to flank our forces."
"Where's Su?", Akame asked, sensing that something was off.
A question that made the Night Raid commander frown with a thin veneer of grief on her lips. "He went out bravely. He's gone now."
Hearing this filled Leone, Akame and Mein's eyes with sudden sorrow. Nevertheless, they had lost companions before. As seasoned as assassins as they were, they each knew full well that the middle of a mission was never a time to grieve.
The look in Akame's eyes went from sorrow to dreary serene sense of cold. "Esdeath will pay for this", she said, her words every bit as cold as the Ice Queen's ice.
To which Najenda nodded her head in agreement. "Let's go!"
And so the two assassins followed their commander into the interior of the fortress. Leone quickly set Mein near the staircase leading to the basement, before venturing further with her boss. They each then made their way their way up the fortress' main set of stairs.
Eventually, the trio reached the 5th floor, a floor that was mostly comprised of one massive medieval like dining hall, with enough tables and seating suitable enough to accommodate well over a thousand people. Reaching the 6th and 7th floors meant crossing this hall and using the stairway on the other side. And just as the three Night Raid members reached the middle of the room, however, they saw Esdeath walking out from the stairway they were attempting to reach. The blue haired general practically glowing with confidence like always and had her long rapier held out to her side.
"Well well well", said the Ice Queen. "And here I thought I would have to come to you. Shall we pick up where we left off, Najenda?"
But for some reason, Najenda returned her nemesis' smirk with a smirk of her own. "We'll pick up where we left off, but there's something you should know before we do."
To which the Ice chuckled. "Oh? Is it that you intend to use your subordinates to assist you this time? Will you abandon them like you abandoned your imperial arm? Susannoo I believe? By all means, use them as you see fit."
"You should be less worried about my subordinates and more worried about . . . Tatsumi."
The very instant she heard that name, the smirk on Ice Queen's face was eviscerated and replaced with a scowl. "What would you know of Tatsumi?"
Najenda's smirk quickly widened into a grin. "I know all about your ties to him, Esdeath. I suspected you'd be up to something, which is why I took the liberty of taking him hostage. He's my ace in the hole"
"You're bluffing. I saw Tatsumi this morning with my own eyes. There's no way you could've captured him in such a short amount of time"
"You think so? Then use that nose of yours; use that superb sense of smell you're so proud of. Tell me whether the scent from my subordinates resonates with you."
Being the seasoned hunter that she was, it took but one whiff from her nostrils to identify the validity of her nemesis' claims. And as she did, her scowl grew into a look of pure rage, very much in contrast to her usual demeanor. She walked towards the Night Raid commander, practically suffocating everyone else in the room with her growing murderous intent.
But Najenda casually gestured her to stop. "Call off this operation. Take your forces and leave the island. Do that or you'll never see Tatsumi again."
Esdeath stopped in her tracks, the rage and hatred in her eyes still clear. Yet for some reason, she was uncharacteristically hesitant. She stood there, frozen, seemingly unable to decide what to do next.
Seeing that her threat was having some effect, Najenda continued to up the ante. "What's it going to be, Esdeath? Are you really going to let the only person you actually love die?"
The Ice Queen continued to grit her teeth in frustration, practically snarling at her situation. Suddenly, a past memory dredged up from the inner recesses of her mind. It was one occasion in which she had observed an ant colony preparing to devour a rival ant colonies' queen. "That's what happens to the weak, right?", she had said to her father. "Yes Esdeath, this situation is exactly the same as when your mother was eaten by danger beasts. Make no mistake, this is how the world works. It may be sad, but your mother died because she was weak."
The Ice Queen's eye's widened as these words echoed throughout her head. Clenching her left fist as tightly as she could, in one swift and fluid fashion, she hurled it against her own forehead, the impact of which could be heard throughout the entire room. The sight of this alone made little sense to the three assassins present, all three of them visibly confused.
Esdeath then slowly removed her left fist away from her forehead, a small and slight trail of blood dripping down from the focal point where she threw her punch. Nevertheless, for one reason or another, the Ice Queen was all of the sudden calm and composed again. She still wasn't smirking, but it was pretty clear she had retained her composure. "Know this, Najenda. I, Esdeath, the strongest in the Grand Empire, yield to no one . . . ever. If Tatsumi is killed by the likes of you, it just means he was weak."
Hearing this wiped the smirk off of Najenda's face. Replacing it was a look of disgust. "Typical. And here I was beginning to think that maybe, just maybe, there was at least some part of you that was willing to change. Earlier, I asked you why you came here. You've yet to answer my question."
"To do my job and eliminate the enemies of the Grand Empire. Why else?"
"Don't give me that. I know you pretty well. Even if you did suspect that my father was the leader of the Revolutionary Army, you would never have pursued such a lead, much less come up with such an elaborate means of wiping us out if it meant abandoning an opportunity to have a challenging battle. That is after all what you live for. Your job means nothing to you when compared to your endless thrill seeking."
"So what are you suggesting? That I had been intentionally staying my hand by allowing your father's organization to grow? That I had been disregarding opportunities to eradicate you all out of the belief that it'd be much more entertaining to fight you all at full strength?"
"Exactly. That is until you met Tatsumi. That is until you started to fall in love? Am I right? "
To which the Ice Queen simply shrugged her shoulders. "An interesting theory, but utterly beyond your concern. Where is Tatsumi?"
Leone immediately slipped into combat posture. "There's that diabolical aura of hers again! It's flaring up even worse than last time. My animal instincts are telling me run like hell, but I can't. Not this time!"
All of the sudden, Akame practically vanished in thin air, appearing behind the Ice Queen no more than a second later with Murasame unsheathed. She was in the midst of hitting the general with a one handed side slash, but Esdeath had already spun around and blocked the attack with her rapier.
"Too slow", Esdeath remarked, before kneeing the red eyed assassin in the stomach. Amidst this follow up attack, Leone was already behind the blue haired general, mid-air in fact; the feral assassin was about to tackle her.
But in yet another swift and fluid motion, Esdeath pushed Akame to the ground with her free hand, turned around before Leone could react and plunged her rapier right through the blonde haired assassin's heart. Blood immediately came pouring out of Leone's mouth, but Esdeath was unphased, having had to have seen similar sights hundreds of thousands of times in the past. She simply pulled her sword out from the girl's chest and let her fall to the ground.
"Damn it", Leone thought. "She's even stronger than I realized . . . if that's even possible."
Akame swiftly regained her footing, no doubt ready to continue. She placed her imperial arm back into its sheath, holding the sheath with her left hand as she did and resting her right hand on the hilt. She then bent her knees and slipped into a battōjutsu stance.
Esdeath, on the other hand, casually turned around to face the red eyed girl once more. She slipped into one of the more technical stances of classic fencing. Her right foot was forward, her blade was held at an oblique angle with the guard over her left hip and the tip of her rapier angling upwards to her left, pointing over her opponent's shoulder.
[. . . . Impasse . . . .]
Tatsumi and Wave continued their battle, neither making any headway against the other. Every punch was blocked, every kick was obstructed and every attempt to grab was avoided. Both sensing the stalemate they were in by fighting at this pace, they both quickly hopped back and away from one another swiftly standing five feet apart.
Beneath his helmet, the Tatsumi gritted his teeth at the situation he was in "If things keep going like this, we'll be here all night. Even worse, reinforcements are bound to show up at any moment and I'll never get to Esdeath in time."
Likewise, beneath his helmet, the lone Jaegar had a similar expression on his face. "The 100 man slayer lives up to his reputation, but he's not the one I'm itching to fight. I'd better finish him quick."
Wave bent his knees to the full extent he was able to, only to suddenly fire himself into the air so quickly that he may as well have been a human missile. Tatsumi watched his opponent soar into the sky, immediately realizing his next course of action. "I've got no other option. Here goes."
Within no more than half a minute, Wave was thousands of feet into the air. "Grand Fall Komet!' Using gravity as well as Grand Chariot's flight capabilities, he immediately began to plunge towards the ground; he was moving so quickly that the sheer amount of friction he was creating set his armor on fire.
Wave was soaring towards the earth, prepared to deliver another dropkick on his adversary, this one exponentially more powerful than the last. But as he was about to reach the ground, his eyes widened at the sight of something, or rather someone unexpected. Rather than the 100 man slayer standing on the ground ready to oppose him, it was . . . Tatsumi.
"How did he get here?!", the lone Jaegar thought, coming to a sudden halt in mid-air. He dropped to the ground, reverting Grand Chariot back to its dormant sword form. "Tatsumi, what are you doing here and where's the 100-man slayer?"
"The 100-man slayer is dead. He's been dead for months now. He gave me his imperial arm and I've been using it ever since."
Wave looked at the other young man in shock and disbelief. The implication was obvious, but he couldn't believe it. "Then that means . . . you're an assassin . . . that you're part of Night Raid?!"
"I am, but right now, I'd like to call a temporary truce."
"A truce?! You can't be serious!", the lone Jaegar replied, wincing his eyes as he did. "You're an enemy of the empire. You're MY enemy. Why would I agree to a truce with you?"
"Because when it's all said and done, you're a good person and we both have the same goal. We both want to save the empire. It's just our methods that are different."
"Too different in fact. Why would you reveal yourself to me despite knowing this?"
"I heard about what happened in Reispan. How you and my teammates came to temporary truce and I wanted to do the same"
"That was because hundreds of innocent lives were at stake!"
"And now the lives of the thousands of men on this battlefield are at stake all due to a senseless battle!"
"That's different! You guys are all part of a revolt that will surely lead to the deaths of thousands of civilians in the crossfire if it is not stopped!"
"Which is why I'm calling this truce!"
"Tell me Tatsumi: Do the people in your village know you're part of the Revolutionary Army? That you're an assassin? Are they all in on it?"
"No, I haven't told them anything."
"Good. Then you're the only one I have to deal with."
"Do what you want, but at least hear me out first!"
To which Wave sighed. "Alright, I'm listening."
"I need to talk to Esdeath. If anyone can end all of this chaos, it's her."
"You really think the commander will listen to you after she finds out who you really are?"
Tatsumi shrugged his shoulders. "As far as you're concerned, it shouldn't matter. If she doesn't, she'll deal with me herself, making your job even easier, right?"
"Listen Tatsumi, if you surrender here, I'll do every I can to see to it that you're treated fairly. I can't make that kind of guarantee if you go and see the commander yourself."
"I'll take my chances."
"Fine, then go. If you only intend to go see the commander, then I won't get in your way Don't say I didn't warn you."
"I won't.", the Incursio wielder remarked, a faint smile appearing on his face. With that, he then swiftly departed towards the fortress. As he ran in that direction, however, his mind couldn't help but linger on the cryptic comments his village elder had made about this particular Jaegar. "There's no way that could be right."
Wave, on the other hand, stood still while watching the Night Raid assassin veer off into the distance. "I suppose I'll be heading that way myself", he thought before turning his head in the direction of the crumbled eastern tower. "But first . . ".
[. . . . The Ice Queen's nature . . . .]
It had been no more than 10 minutes since the battle in the dining hall started and Akame was already on one knee, using her sword as a crutch to keep herself from collapsing; the red eyed assassin was panting heavily, sweat beading down her face.
Esdeath, on the other hand, was perfectly composed, clearly not having broken a single sweat. "I can tell just by watching you fight: You're not used to having to exert this level of speed for this long, are you? You're used to having the speed advantage and have never had to deal with someone whose raw speed and reflexes were at very least on par with your own.
Akame didn't bother to answer the question. She had probably tuned it out, more focused on continuing the battle. Using her sword for support, she slowly got back onto her feet and used both hands to place her sword out in front of her; she readily assumed a basic kendo stance, one which even a rudimentary practitioner would recognize as 'seigan no kame.'
The Ice Queen, however, didn't even bother to assume a combat stance. Rather, casually holding her long rapier in her right hand, she continued to talk. "Whoever trained you never took into account the possibility that you'd face an opponent you couldn't overwhelm with your natural speed, reflexes or prodigious talent for swordplay."
Unwilling to give up, Akame moved at vanishing-like speeds once again, seemingly disappearing in thin air as far as Najenda and Leone could tell. Esdeath displayed similar movement speed in response, vanishing as well. As the two reappeared to the naked eye, the Ice Queen appeared behind the Akame and effortlessly bashed the back of her neck with the butt-end of her rapier's hilt, sending her tumbling down into one of the tables nearby.
Without delay, Leone used her immense strength to pick up one of the wooden long tables stretching throughout large parts of the room. With a heave and ho,she threw the sizable object at the Ice Queen as if it were a brick. Though with but a single touch from the fingertips of her left hand, Esdeath froze every inch of said table, effectively stopping it with but a gesture. As she did, she felt a tingling sensation in her ears; it was her acute sense of hearing at work. It was a sound she instantly recognized; the clicking of a handgun's hammer.
At that very instant, Najenda pulled the trigger on the handgun she had in her hand. No doubt a weapon she picked up downstairs to make up for the loss of her prosthetic hand and her imperial arm. She pulled the trigger 3 times consecutively, but the Ice Queen evaded each shot, her movements similar to a single blade of grass blowing in the wind. Before the Night Raid commander could fire another shot, Esdeath had already closed the distance between the two, slicing the handgun in half with her long rapier the instant she had gotten close enough.
This appeared to be another one of Najenda's tactics, however, as both Leone and Akame were already maneuvering towards the general on her left and right sides respectively. Both assassins had come to the realization that this was an opponent who could not be faced without rushing and attacking her simultaneously. Though the Ice Queen was not unprepared for such a tactic. With her left hand aimed at Leone, she promptly snapped her fingers.
"Schwere Stange!" A 30 foot rod of ice, 6 inches in diameter instantly appeared out of thin air. The very moment it was summoned, it launched itself clean through Leone's stomach, skewering her in a gruesome fashion while wedging itself into the wall onto the other side of the room.
Akame had used another battōjutsu strike, attacking with a strong and fast slash to the right as she unsheathed her imperial arm at an impeccable speed. A move to which the Ice Queen addressed by taking one step back, clearing herself from the full range of the red eyed assassin's blade. In that short instant, the general readied a riposte, intent upon thrusting her long rapier the very instant Akame had fully swung her sword.
But Akame stopped short of a full swing, instead only having swung her blade halfway. To Esdeath's surprise, Akame converted her swing into a thrust, sending the tip of Murasame's blade on a collision course with the general's throat. And t both Leone and Najenda's amazement, the blade hit its target, putting a display of relief on their faces.
That display, however, was short lived. Akame looked upon her adversary before her, expecting to see Murasame's ethereal markings coursing throughout her body. Instead, however, what she saw was an ice neck bracelet protecting her throat. Esdeath then immediately tapped her left index finger onto the broad side of the red eyed assassin's blade, encasing it completely in ice.
"Not bad. I had thought you'd be too exhausted and demoralized to pull off a move like that" said the general after following up by stabbing Akame through the flesh beneath her collar bone. She then used her free hand to punch the red eyed assassin clean in her right temple, immediately sending her tumbling to the floor. "Stay down this time, but not permanently. I might need to interrogate you for a little bit before you die."
Leone watched the scene in agonizing pain. A cylinder object was resting in her stomach and she was already standing in a puddle of her own blood. Not to mention the blood that was seeping out of her mouth. Even with her imperial's arms regenerative properties, she was barely alive. There was no telling how much longer she could live with this literal hole in her stomach.
Sensing no other option, Najenda grabbed a butcher knife off of a nearby table and ran towards the Ice Queen, launching a fierce jump kick as she did. Esdeath casually side-stepped out of the way. The Night Raid commander spun around as she did this, swinging her blade towards her opponent's face, mentally admonishing herself for her recklessness, but also realizing she had exhausted everything else in her toolbox of ideas. "I had hoped we'd at least be able to stall her, but she's managed to get even stronger than she was back when I was a general."
A move to which the Ice Queen effortlessly responded, parrying the kitchen instrument with her rapier in such a way as to knock it out of her adversary's hand. She then seized Najenda's throat with her left hand, squeezing it ever so tightly "Losing an arm and an eye has really taken its toll on you. You used to be much more formidable than this", the general said before lifting her up off of her feet and viciously slamming her back through a nearby table.
It took a moment for her nervous system to catch up, but as it did, Najenda could feel a substantial surge of pain flowing throughout her backside. She was actually fortunate how durable her past military training had made her as an ordinary human would've surely died just then. Yet in a situation such as this, perhaps 'fortunate' wasn't the best choice of words.
Esdeath placed her right foot in the center of the silver haired assassins' chest, slightly crushing into it with the heel on her boot. She then held the tip of her long rapier up against the other woman's neck, glaring down at her with murderous intent in her eyes as she did. "I asked you a question. Answer it: Where is Tatsumi? Talk while you still can."
"Talk? You want me to talk", Najenda responded, laughing for a moment and suddenly smirking despite the situation she was in. "Fine. I'll talk. Funny thing about danger beasts and humans. They cannot coexist. Even with air mantas, the most one can do is tame them into submission."
"I've hunted danger beasts my entire life. You aren't telling me anything I don't already know."
"No, this is something you seem to be oblivious to. See, you and Tatsumi aren't any different as far as that comparison goes. You're a vile monster, Esdeath. You always have been and you likely always will be. He may be naïve, but Tatsumi will never accept a vile monster. Sooner or later, he'll try to put you down himself if it comes down to it."
The Ice Queen narrowed her eyebrows, dragging the tip of her rapier across the surface flesh on Najenda's throat as she did so. "I'm not interested in your prattle. Answer my question."
"I've listened to the rumors spreading around the Capital. You wanted to try your hand at falling in love, am I right? So much so that you asked the emperor for assistance. You even gave him a specific list of qualifications. What interest does the almighty Esdeath have in such trifling affairs I wonder?"
"You're wearing my patience", Esdeath replied, the irritation in her voice rather notable.
"You constantly proclaim your disdain for weakness and yet you're desperately seeking something that you claim has the tendency to make people think and behave irrationally, right? How sad it is that you remain a vile monster when your true nature couldn't be any less obvious."
The Ice Queen practically hissed all of the sudden, immediately pressing her right foot down furiously against her adversary's chest. The heel protruded right through Najenda's skin. Advancing it any further would at very least rupture her heart. "I had intended to give you a quick death, but that's obviously no longer an option for you. Too bad. Needless to say, I'm going to enjoy finishing you NICE and SLOW! And I wouldn't worry too much about your subordinates. They'll all be joining you after I show them a similar degree hospitality."
But then suddenly, at that exact moment, the unpredictable occurred. One part of the wall on the other end of the room exploded, leaving a hole 10 feet wide and 10 feet tall. Esdeath, Najenda, Leone and even Akame immediately looked in that direction to see what was going on. Of course, the three assassins were merely able to look to the best of their ability, given the conditions they were in.
As the smoked clear from the aforementioned explosion, it was none other than Lubbock who could be seen standing on air manta hovering outside. Also on the air manta were Mein and the Lord. Mein was sitting down, clearly in no condition to fight. The Lord, on the other hand, was still chained up for obvious reasons.
"Sorry I'm late", said the green haired assassin. "You shouldn't be surprised though. The hero always shows up at the last second."
Yet seeing him show up didn't exactly set well with Najenda. "What are you doing here? I thought I told you to get out of here!"
Lubbock jumped off the hovering danger beast and into the dining hall. "Yeah . . . I'm not doing that."
Hearing such insubordination caused Najenda to let out a frustrated growl "You said you would-"
"Nope, I never said I would leave you or the rest of my teammates behind!", he interrupted. "You can yell at me later, but I'm taking you out of here whether you like it or not! And based on the look of things, it doesn't look like you're in much of a position to resist!"
Esdeath promptly removed her foot from Najenda's chest, instead turning her full attention to the latest interloper to get in her way. "And it doesn't look like you're in much of a position to flee."
"Oh yeah?", Lubbock smirked, using his hand to gesture the Ice Queen to come closer. "Then bring it! Strongest in the empire my ass! Like some chick wearing high heels is gonna beat me! Show me what you got!"
"With pleasure", she responded, moving at the speed she had been moving while dueling Akame earlier. In almost no time, she closed the distance, appearing right in front of Lubbock and swinging her rapier in such a way that she was about to slash the green haired assassin's throat. This was despite him having already hopped backwards in an effort to get out of the way.
And yet for some reason, Lubbock was smirking deviously. An observation the Ice Queen had made in a fraction of a second, mid-swing of her sword. In that split instant, he eyes wandered to the immediate floor and ceiling, only to notice multiple grenades all being held in place by the wires from this interloper's imperial arm. Even worse, the pins on them had been pulled.
"Mahapadma", the general thought, crossing her hands together somewhat perpendicular and somewhat parallel. And just like that, everything around her literally came to an absolute halt. All time and space was frozen. A testament to this truth was the fact that the Ice Queen could see the grenades around her frozen amidst the process of igniting.
Without delay, she picked up the grenades and threw them out the hole in the wall Lubbock had created. "I probably could've just used my Grade Two ice again like I did with Najenda, but it feels oddly draining. I'd much rather stay at full strength albeit with the loss of my ice powers for a certain amount of time."
She then looked towards Lubbock, clenching the hilt of her long rapier rather tightly. "Fascinating. This one may not look like it, but he's every bit as dangerous as Najenda and certainly more reckless. He might've died as well had I not stopped time. Even worse, he's not lacking a right arm and a right eye. Better deal with him immediately just in case he has any other tricks up his sleeve."
With no delay, Esdeath promptly thrusted her sword towards the green haired assassin's chest, well on the verge of skewering his heart. But before her blade could pierce his flesh, she suddenly felt the knuckles of an armored right hand blindsiding her and hurling itself into her left cheek. A move which sent the general tumbling into another direction.
Reactively regaining her footing, the Ice Queen widened her eyes in disbelief, flabbergasted that something, or rather someone, had just hit her despite time and space being frozen. She looked up to gaze her eyes upon the culprit who had initiated this impossible surprise attack. It was none other than the wielder of Incursio. "The 100 man slayer? But how?"
Suddenly, time and space unfroze once more, proceeding to move on like normal. Lubbock looked around, surprised to see that Esdeath was not in the same place she was just standing and equally surprised that the only explosions he was hearing were one's dozens of yards out into the nearby sky. Even more surprising, however, was who was suddenly in the room. "Am I seeing things? What the hell is going on?"
Najenda was equally surprised at this turn of events, but actually managed to logically deduce what had just transpired. "I see. She must've used her trump card to stop time, but Tatsumi is all of the sudden here in spite of that. That could only mean . . ."
"Sorry about that", Tatsumi said, his attention focused on Esdeath. "But you were about to kill my friend, thus left me no other option but to-"
Though the Ice Queen was in no mood for a conversation. She lunged towards the Incursio wielder at a vanishing speed. Her speed was so great in fact, that Tatsumi could barely react to it, blocking a slash from her rapier by suddenly manifesting his spear in his hands. "I don't know how he moved during stopped time, but it doesn't matter!"
With Esdeath preoccupied with fighting who she believed to be the '100 man slayer', Lubbock seized this opportunity by running towards his other three companions in the room. "Just keep her busy Tatsumi."
"Esdeath, just stop for a second and I can-". He stopped, mid-sentence, gazing into her eyes. These weren't the eyes of that caring woman he had spent the previous night with nor the eyes of the woman he had spent time with that morning. There weren't even the eyes of the woman that had tortured that air manta back on the uninhabited southern island. These eyes were beyond anything he had ever encountered. They were the personification of death itself.
It was upon gazing into these eyes that Tatsumi also became cognizant of the Ice Queen's killing aura. This was the first time he had ever perceived it. All he had to go on in the past was Leone's description, but actually seeing it firsthand was a different experience entirely. Suddenly, all thoughts of talking things out escaped the young man for he had suddenly lost his nerve.
"The demon dragon armor: Incursio. It's said to be nearly indestructible." she thought, glaring at her current opponent calculatingly before gazing down towards the blade on her rapier, the blade still being coated with her Grade Two ice "Lets see if it truly lives up to its reputation."
And just like that, the Esdeath suddenly started coming at Tatsumi like a hurricane, unleashing a series of thrusts from her rapier that may as well have had the intensity of an F5 tornado. Najenda watched the uncanny sight, amazed that her nemesis was suddenly fighting in a fashion far more serious than she had against Akame several minutes ago.
Tatsumi himself was purely on defense against this vicious assault. He had defended against the general's initial attack both to protect himself and because he had no desire to fight. But now his lack of desire to fight was irrelevant. Even if he wanted to fight back, it wasn't an option. "She's . . . too fast."
Esdeath was fighting with such intensity that Tatsumi wasn't even parrying all of her attacks. Many were hitting his armor. Even more troubling, however, was that her attacks were starting to leave cracks. Upon noticing this, the Incursio swiftly leaped away with a swift backflip, landing on a nearby table afterwards.
Lubbock was utterly mystified, his mouth hanging wide open. He couldn't believe anyone could fight like that, but quickly refocused his attention on the task at hand. "Just hang on Leone. I'll get you out of here", he said wrapping a wire around the cylinder ice rod that was protruding through the feral assassin's stomach. He wrapped his wire around two areas: The area immediately in front of his companion's stomach and the area immediately behind her.
Despite the agonizing situation she was in, Leone could not help but crack a smile. "Hurry up, would yah? I would say I was gonna hurl, but there's really nothing for me to hurl at this point . . . besides ice . . . owe."
With a quick tug of cross tail's wires, the Lubbock managed to cleave both ends of the ice his companion had been trapped in. Even so, there still remained the ice plainly sitting in Leone's stomach. Lubbock was about to push it out with his bare hands, only for Leone to quickly gesture him to stop. "I have no clue how much of my insides are going to come pouring out should you remove that. Just leave it in for now."
"You sure about that?", he asked.
To which the feral assassin responded while trudging her way towards the air manta hovering outside, "Owe. No. But I kind of like doing this thing called 'staying alive', so I won't take any chances."
Lubbock then turned his attention towards Najenda, noticing that she was already back on her feet, albeit with some pain in both her back and her chest. "Sorry about this, but . . ." He twirled a large bundle of his wires around in the air like a lasso and threw them towards his commander.
"Hey! What is the meaning of this?", Najenda said, struggling to get out of the wires that had suddenly been wrapped around her arms and her waist. "Release me!"
Lubbock, of course, merely shook his head. "Sorry, but no can do! We both know you'll never retreat under these circumstances, so I'm instead taking you captive. That way, you don't really have any choice in the matter!"
"Right now, thousands of men are counting on me to lead them. I can't just abandon them!"
"And you're not! I'm taking you against your will. Their deaths will never be on your conscience. They'll be on mine and mine alone! I'll take the blame for what happens here! But this is battle that cannot be won. You know that! If there is to be any hope for any future rebellion, we cannot afford to lose you! I cannot afford to lose you!"
"Lubbock", she muttered. "Don't do this!"
Without giving the matter a second thought, he threw Najenda over his shoulder, only to run towards the hovering air manta waiting outside "I'm doing it and that's that! Once we're out of harm's way, you can execute me yourself for my insubordination!"
Lubbock gently set the Night Raid commander onto the flying danger beast, only to then turn his attention to Akame. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that she was desperately crawling on the floor with the hilt of her imperial arm tugged in her mouth. She was crawling towards Tatsumi. He ran up to his companion, grabbed the sword out of her mouth and helped her up to her feet as he did. "What are you doing?", he asked.
"Tatsumi . . . doesn't stand a chance", she replied. "I've got to help him."
He placed one of the girl's arms around his shoulder, and began helping her walk. "You're in no condition to fight. Come on, I'll get you out of here."
"But Tatsumi", she said, deeply concerned.
"Don't worry. As soon as I've helped you, I'll help him as well."
Esdeath continued to engage Tatsumi, still believing that he was not the young man she loved, but rather . . . "100-man slayer, it occurs to me you had engaged one of my subordinates on Mt. Fake some time ago", she said, amidst continuing to relentlessly hurl thrusts.
Tatsumi continued to evade . . . to the extent he was able. The cracks on his armor were getting larger. "Just what is that sword of hers made of?"
"You were the one who engaged my subordinate when I had assigned him to watch Tatsumi. Yes, it all makes sense now. You're the reason he disappeared that day and you must be the reason he was taken hostage today!"
"What?!", Tatsumi exclaimed, having no idea what the Ice Queen was talking about. "No, look: You've got the wrong idea. The truth is that-" But there it was again. He stopped mid-sentence once more, finding himself unable to communicate the truth while looking into such malevolent eyes. Tatsumi found himself wondering what would happen if he revealed the truth here and now. Thoughts of his villagers came to mind. What would happen to them? He thought he had understood the Ice Queen, but the person engaging him was a completely different person than the person he had come to know and even care about.
"Cat got your tongue, 100-man slayer?" She suddenly stopped hurling thrusts, instead resorting to a downward one-handed slash. Tatsumi instinctively raised the shaft of his spear to block, but was shocked to see his opponent cleave the weapon in two with that one strike alone. "Now that I've gotten a whiff of you, I know I'm right. You're practically drenched in his scent! You're the source of it all. I can practically feel it!"
Now grinning with wicked glee, the general followed up with a powerful and vicious upwards slash to the right side of the Incursio wielder's helmet, leaving a large and noticeable crack in it. "Your very existence is intolerable. You are unaffected by my power over time and space. Worse yet, you dare get in the way between Tatsumi and I. That, I will never forgive!"
Tatsumi could feel blood flowing from the right side of his forehead, down to his right cheek. That last attack must've been immensely severe for him to take such a wound despite the protection his armor offered him. "I want to say something . . . but I just can't!"
Esdeath hurled another thrust at him, this time towards the crack she had just created on his helmet. The young man bobbed his head to the left to avoid it, avoiding what may have been a fatal injury. Nevertheless, the blade still glanced across the right cheek segment of his helmet, creating another sizable crack in the process. She instantly followed up with a lightning fast left legged roundhouse kick, precisely to the area she had just cracked.
Tatsumi's brain was rattling all of the sudden. He started wobbling on his feet, quickly recalling his duel with Budo and how the great general had nearly caved his head in with his orichalchum enforced maces.
"Now you die!" Esdeath's grin widened and she followed up with another thrust aimed towards the right side of her adversary's helmet. Mid-motion, she noticed that a large portion of the Incursio wielder's helmet had been shattered with that last attack. In plain sight was the right side of her opponent's face. The face of . . . "Tatsumi!"
She came to a sudden stop, the tip of her blade a meager inch away from Tatsumi's right eye. Getting a full gaze at him, the murderous aura flowing throughout her vanished as did the wicked grin on her face. She loosened her clench on the hilt of her rapier, so much so that the weapon slipped out of her hands and fell to the floor. Her legs also appeared to give out on her as she then fell to her knees. Just looking at her facial expression alone, it was obvious that the general had slipped into a stupor of sorts. "I . . . don't . . . understand."
Tatsumi simply stood there, gazing upon the general. Yet for some reason, despite the sudden change in her disposition, he still found himself unable to utter even a word. He just looked at her for several moments, flabbergasted at her demeanor as he had never seen her like this. More than likely, no one had. He continued to maintain his gaze before seeing a lasso of wires wrapped around his arms and chest.
"C'mon, we gotta go!", Lubbock said, pulling the wires while standing on the hovering air manta outside.
But the Incursio wielder did not listen. He remained standing in place, still gazing upon the Ice Queen who was still ever so dazed.
Lubbock pulled with all his strength, but it was no use. Tatsumi was a great deal stronger and heavier while wearing his armor. "We don't have time for this!", Lubbock sighed.
Leone stood up and grabbed the end of the wires Lubbock was pulling. "Let me take a crack at it" Using her super human strength, she tugged the wires as if she was pulling the rope on a town bell, effectively yanking the Incursio wielder from where he had been standing and all the way back to the air manta in one go.
Noting that everyone was aboard, the green haired assassin began maneuvering the flying danger beast away from the fortress and instead higher into the sky. "Alright! Lets get out of here before she goes on another rampage!"
Esdeath did not give chase. Perhaps she didn't even realize that she had just inadvertently let every remaining member of Night Raid escape, but none of that appeared to concern her. All she could think about in this unusual dazed state of mind was . . . "Tatsumi."
[. . . . Impending dearth . . . .]
The plethora of remaining Revolutionary Army soldiers continued to maintain their positions at the fortress' main gates, protecting it to the best of their ability. Legions of soldiers from the imperial army had already made their up the beach incline and were currently outside the gates, attempting to breach the wall. Amongst the imperial army forces was none other than Run, who appeared to be leading the charge.
The blonde haired Jaegar smirked with satisfaction at the current state of the battle. "It doesn't matter how well they defend these gates. The commander can flank them at any moment. And with her abilities, it'll be child's play. This skirmish is basically over regardless of what cards Night Raid has up its sleeve."
All of the sudden, Kurome dropped out the sky, landing right next to her fellow Jaegar. She looked around the immediate area for a moment, only to then sigh in disappointment. "You chased Night Raid back here, right? Where's Akame?"
To which Run replied, "She's probably inside. If you want, you could use that dragon of yours to raze this place much like you razed the beach."
Kurome innocently shook her head in disapproval. "Nah. Wouldn't want to risk hitting Akame as well. I'll go in the old fashioned way."
"Look, I know you're strong, but that's a LOT of men guarding the gates here. Even you'll get killed trying to go in there on your own."
"But if I don't go, the commander might get to her before I do. Once I see an opening, I'll sneak in."
"Suit yourself", Run shrugged.
[. . . . Sorpresa del Diablo. . . .]
Though many of the imperial soldiers had left their warships to attack the Revolutionary Army fortress on foot, all of these ships still remained manned and ready for combat. Within the Jaegar's flagship, Warrant officer Stewart noticed something most peculiar while examining the ship's radar. "Another unidentified air manta! This one seems to be flying AWAY from the island."
A lower ranking officer approached the warrant officer as he made this observation. "What should we do?"
"Commodore Run has left explicit orders to shoot any air mantas flying to or from this area. Alert all other ships to shoot it down!"
Up in the skies, Lubbock, effectively steering this danger beast, was in the process of flying his companions to safety. That was until he noticed cannon fire from the warships below. "Holy crap!" He had the air manta jerk itself away from being blasted, causing everyone on the beast to hold on tight.
Tatsumi gritted his teeth. "This is bad! When I flew here, I wasn't even able to get onto the island without my air manta being blown out of the sky."
Lubbock jerked the beast in another direction, once again narrowly avoiding death. "Gee, that would've been useful information 2 minutes ago! Now what are we gonna do?"
"Can't this thing go any higher or faster?!", Leone yelled.
Akame shook her head. "Air mantas are useful for transportation purposes only. Their many limitations make them impractical for combat, much less high-speed getaways. We're pretty much a flying target in the sky just waiting to be hit."
"Damnit all!", yelled the green haired the assassin. "We were so close!"
Najenda sighed. "I wonder if this is karma."
For a few moments, there was silence amongst the assassins, none of them sure how to accept what seemed to be their fate. That was, until one of them did the unexpected.
"Mein", Lubbock remarked, noting that she was now standing on her feet while using Pumpkin as a crutch to support her weight.
Despite her disposition though, she had a smug look on her face. "Well well well. You guys have gotten yourselves into a real pinch this time. Lucky for you, you've not only got a genius sniper watching your backs, but THE genius sniper to save your collective asses!" Much to Tatsumi and Lubbock's annoyance, she started laughing.
"Mein?", Leone asked. "What are you up to?"
"My crowning moment of awesome of course!", she said with a boastful wink.
To which Tatsumi responded, narrowing his eyebrows in frustration "This is no time to try and act cool!"
Mein reacted with a soft chuckle. The smug look on her face quickly evaporated into a cheerful one and she took two steps back, her feet mere inches away from the edge of the flying danger beast's body. "Hey Tatsumi. I know we've had our differences in the past but . . . you're alright."
Tatsumi looked confused; he couldn't recall the last time this girl had given him a compliment. However, before he could ask her about her sudden change in demeanor, the genius sniper allowed herself to fall backwards, down towards the sea below.
"Mein!", the other 5 assassins exclaimed simultaneously!
Tatsumi directed his attention to his green haired companion. "Hey, don't just sit there! Use your wires to catch her!"
"I can't! At that velocity, breaking her fall with cross tail would definitely cause her bones to snap or even cut her in half completely!
And so the genius sniper went, plummeting upside down, head first towards the sea below faster and faster with increasing velocity. And as she fell, she had her imperial arm aimed towards the battalion of warships getting in the way of her group's escape. Pumpkin yet again assumed the mysterious form it had assumed when she had briefly engaged Esdeath earlier in the evening; the barrel suddenly manifested itself into a form similar to that of a double barreled shotgun and ominous purple light outlined various parts of the weapon. However, unlike last time, the ominous purple light extended to forming ominous purple light markings all throughout the sniper's body
And as she continued to fall, she recalled an event that had taken place roughly two years ago. Both her and Najenda were on a beach by themselves. Mein had been using Pumpkin's sniper form to effortlessly shoots birds thousands of meters away out of the sky.
"Very good!", Najenda had said, patting the younger assassin on the back. "You're getting better at this every day."
Mein had blushed, having been very unaccustomed to compliments up to that point in her life. "It's nothing really."
"Don't sell yourself short. You may not know it yet, but you're a genius when it comes to marksmanship!"
"You really think so?"
"I know so! But simple sniping alone isn't always enough. Sometimes, you need an ace in the hole!"
"An ace in the hole?" Mein had asked, curious to know what her commander was talking about.
"That's why today, I'm going to teach you how to use Pumpkin's trump card. But I need you to promise me that you'll only use it when I tell you to."
"Well sure, but didn't you say you wouldn't be going on any more missions with me? How am I going to use this trump card if you're not around?"
"Because I don't want you using it unless I know with certainty that there's no other option but to use it. The technique I'm about to teach you can not only claim the lives of hundreds of civilians by mistake, but even yourself if used recklessly! That's why it's imperative that you ONLY use it when I tell you to use it. Do you promise?"
Mein had nodded her head eagerly. "It's a promise!"
"Good! To start, this ability is top secret. Even my former colleagues know nothing about it. Thus, I'm going to label it with a codename. We'll call it 'Contingency Plan: M57.' Of course, you may call it whatever you like, but any time I say those words, you are to use your trump and you are to ONLY use it in the fashion I'm about to show you, got it?"
"You got it, boss!"
"As you know by now, Pumpkin's power and range is entirely dependent on the proportion to the level of danger the user is in. We call this danger 'a pinch.' But even the biggest pinches we encounter in this line of work are never anywhere close to the amount of range and power Pumpkin is truly capable of wielding. But artificially induced pinches are a different story!
"Artificially induced pinches?"
"Pinches that operate by inducing just about any level of stress on the body. Were you to artificially induce the right kind of pinch, pulling out Pumpkin's full power would be a cinch. The only problem is that that kind of power is bound to cause collateral damage and may even kill you depending on how much stress you induce."
Back in the present, Mein kept her eyes trained on the legions of warships before her. Another few seconds passed and she was but a mere 100 yards from hitting the waves below her. "I'm sorry, boss. Who would've thought that I am just as big a liar as Lubbock . . . at least when it comes to this sort of thing. It's strange. I wanted to see a day where this country would be free of discrimination as well a day where Reispan was saved from its oppressors."
Another second passed and she was 60 yards from crashing into the sea. Akame, Lubbock, Tatsumi, Leone and Najenda's faces flashed throughout her mind "Yet even though I'm not going to ever see that, I feel so . . . so happy."
As she was but a mere 20 yards from hitting the water at maximum velocity, she pulled the trigger on her imperial arm in complete bliss. At the very instant, an astronomical blast of violent purple energy, 400 yards wide and 400 yards tall emitted out Pumpkins barrels. The beam of energy instantly vaporized every single warship in its path, taking out one third of the ships present. But that wasn't even the full scope of the destruction that was being wrought. The sheer force of the blast created tsunami level waves splitting in multiple directions, the likes of which wiped out every remaining warship in proximity to the island.
[. . . . Troublesome loose end . . . .]
Just about everyone remaining on the island noticed the massive beam of energy blaring off into the distance as well as the ensuing tsunami level waves that followed. Waves which surely would've swept everything on the island as well if not for its inordinately high ground. Thus, as a result of much of the island being well above sea level, the tsunamis only did superficial damage and had very little impact on the ongoing battle between soldiers of the Revolutionary Army and soldiers of the Grand Empire.
Near the crumbled remains of the eastern tower, there was a peculiar sound echoing throughout the immediate area. It was the sound of maniacal laughter. Maniacal laughter that belonged to none other than Seryu Ubiquitious. Or rather, what remained of her. Indeed, despite her climactic battle with Night Raid's genius sniper, she was still alive, though not in a favorable condition. All but her head had been destroyed during Mein's last attack, but she somehow retained her life. Whether this was the result of Dr. Stylish's genius or her sheer will to live, one couldn't say.
"I am living proof!", laughed the crazed Jaegar. "Evil can never win!"
She was laughing so loudly and so obnoxiously that an unknown figure could hear her nearby.
Hearing the sound of footsteps getting louder and louder, Seryu shouted aloud, "Who's there? Show yourself! If you're an evil doer, don't think you have the edge against me. Even in this state, I am still formidable." She quickly opened her mouth, revealing the hidden gun that had been stored in her throat.
As the figure was within several feet of the crazed Jaegar, however, his identity was readily clear. "Wave!", she yelled out, overjoyed at his presence. "You found me! Even though justice is blind, it's always looking out for its servants!
Wave looked down upon his comrade, or rather what remained of her. But the expression on his face was not one of joy or relief, but of simple indifference. "There you are."
Seryu didn't detect anything strange however; she remained overjoyed that someone had come to save her. "I may not look like much right now, but once we get back to the Capital, I'm sure the commander will find a scientist that can build me a new body. I'll be as good as new in no time!"
"Who said anything about going back to the Capital?", Wave asked, suddenly using his imperial arm to revert back to his armored Grand Chariot state.
Seryu looked at her comrade with confusion in her eyes. "Aren't we going back to the Capital after-"
But Wave didn't allow her to utter another word. Rather, he proceeded to stomp his right foot onto the crazed Jaegar's head, crushing it in one move. After doing so, all that remained was blood, tissue and electronic parts.
And so it went, the loss of another Jaegar . . . only this one was killed by a fellow Jaegar. And upon committing this deed, he stood there in silence, gazing up at the sky and no doubt remarking upon the end of Seryu Ubiquitious and the wretched chapter that was her life. Though unbeknownst to Wave, perhaps this decision of his marked the beginning of a far grander story to be told.
A/N: Wow! Can't believe I got this out in under a month. I know one of you voiced displeasure with Mein. To be honest, I'm actually in agreement as far as the manga/anime iterations of the character are concerned. Like Tatsumi, she is in incomplete character in both mediums who is reduced to nothing more than random pairing fodder for Tatsumi. I attempted to give the character a little more justice before sending her off, hence the focus she has gotten in the last two chapters.
Anyways, lots of ground covered and 5 more chapters to go before this particular fic is over! Love it? Hate it? Meh? DoomMarine54 [yes, there you go, some free attention! ;) ]?Lemme know what you think! And as always, thanks for reading!