Clenching his jaw and struggling to keep from hyperventilating, Heero ran down the stairs, laptop tucked under his arm.  His horrified expression drew the other pilots' attention immediately.  Within the span of a minute, he had the other three gathered around him as he plugged in the laptop and brought the information he had learned onto the screen.  The four Gundam pilots watched in utter silence as information flickered across the screen and short video clips started playing.

*     *     *

Several hundred men in white lab coats wandered through endless rows of fluid filled columns, each containing almost thirty gallons of clear fluid.  Computers rested at the base of every glass tube, data scrolling across the screens rapidly.  Within the liquid, a single tiny form was present in each column, the largest of which was barely three inches long.  Tiny hearts could be seen beating through translucent skin.

One of the computers began beeping loudly.  The nearest doctor walked up to it calmly and glanced over the data on screen.  Reflexively, he glanced at the tiny figure in the glass column, frowning when he saw the tiny heart slow and stop.  Shaking his head, he typed in a command.  The synthetic embryonic fluid began to drain from the clear tube.  He typed another phrase into the computer before moving on.

Number 714:  Failed.  Experiment exterminated.

Not even slightly remorseful at his actions, he walked up to the next column and adjusted the chemical balances in the embryonic fluid.

*     *     *

Doctors swarmed the nursery, checking on infants that did not cry, even at only a few days old.  Intense violet eyes followed the white-coated men as they circulated between the cribs, administering injections.

One infant, a tiny boy, small compared to the rest of the children, let out a tiny whimper, causing the doctor to pause and peer at him closely.  Grunting sourly, he decided to let it pass this time.  Marking the number down, he made a note to keep an eye on the child.  They didn't need any crybabies.

In a foul mood that one of the children was already lagging behind, he moved to the next crib, intentionally being overly rough with the child.  The boy didn't utter a sound, staring at him impassively the entire time with cold, calculating violet eyes.  Nodding in satisfaction, he continued with his rounds.

*     *     *

Of the original fifteen hundred, only twelve hundred forty seven remained.

Officers walked slowly back and forth in front of the groups they had been assigned.  Each division had been assigned one hundred twenty five children from the original subjects, except for Chikara and Terekineshisu.  Chikara had been given twice that.  Terekineshisu had been assigned everything that remained, giving that particular program three hundred and seventy five of the original subjects.  From the strange occurrences among the Terekineshisu division, the program had been renamed to 'Terekineshisu to Terepashii'.  Despite the original numbers, not a single one of the projects had all of the subjects they had been engineering for each branch.  Every program had lost several of the violet-eyed children during the early stages.  And they were still being lost.

One of the generals in charge of the Mizu division spun to glare at the faces staring impassively back at him.  Roughly one in every six was female.  All of the subjects, whether they be male or female, were dressed in pale beige uniforms.  Each of the four-year-olds was standing perfectly straight, hands at their sides and faces impassive.  The boys had their hair cropped very short.  The girls had their hair just barely long enough to pull into a tight ponytail, the shining chestnut hair ending less than an inch below the hair bands.

Every group was frighteningly similar.  Every specimen standing at perfect attention, obeying every order and gesture, learning at a pace that no normal human could ever match.  And every last one of them was identical.

As a perfectly organized unit, they fell into a perfect line, presenting their arms as a doctor passed with a syringe.  The middle-aged man administering injections paused when he saw one of the girls breathing heavily through clenched teeth.  He gave her the shot, watching impassively as she convulsed and sank to her knees, clutching at her head in clear agony.  Without pause, the doctor pulled a revolver out of his pocket and put a bullet through her skull.  She collapsed to the ground, her tiny frame going limp.  The doctor glanced around, noting the expressions of the other subjects.  One of the nearby boys seemed upset.  Glaring angrily, he backhanded the youth for his display of emotions before he continued down the line, dispensing injections like he had for the last five years.  At the end of the line, he pulled out a clipboard and scribbled a quick note.

Number 132:  Failed.  Experiment exterminated.

"Number two-seventeen displayed emotions," he snapped.  "Half rations for all of you for the next week.  From now on, try to keep him in order."

The remaining group filed into the main building to go to their diminished lunches.  The doctors remaining on the grounds circled around the corpse of the deceased girl, intent on learning why she had failed.

*     *     *

Ninety-seven five-year-olds stood in perfect formation, staring stonily forward as several dozen generals dressed in immaculate uniforms circulated among them.  The doctor in charge of the Honoo division stood at the front of the room, watching for the slightest slip in position or expression.  When he was finally satisfied that the children were performing flawlessly, he grunted and glanced at the chart in his hands, snapping out a quick order.

"Number eighty-six, come forward."

The named child moved forward automatically, stopping in front of the glaring man in his white coat.  He continued to stare straight ahead, not making eye contact.  The doctor pointed to the side, indicating a large block of metal.

"That is Gundanium, eighty-six.  Destroy it."

The child spun on one heel to face the one-ton block of metal.  His little face tightened in concentration.  White-hot flames sprang up around the slab of Gundanium, melting the edges of the metal.  After several minutes, he slumped forward, hands resting heavily on his knees as he panted for breath.  The block of metal was almost completely intact.  The doctor scowled.

"Go back to your place," he snapped, writing something on the charts he held.  The boy moved back to his position, managing to stand perfectly straight even though he was breathing heavily through clenched teeth.  The doctor glared at the group.  "If none of you can melt the block, you're all on half rations for the next month."  He paused, looking around the grave children.  So far, none of them had managed to do serious damage to the Gundanium, despite the constant threats and punishments.  His eyes narrowed.  "So be it."

Before he could write anything else in the charts, a solitary voice spoke up, shattering the silence.  The sheer audacity of the child to speak caused the doctor to stiffen in fury.

"Sir."

"Yes, fourteen?" he snapped.  The boy looked up, meeting his gaze.  One of the nearby generals growled, hand shifting towards his gun.  The children had been instructed specifically against meeting their eyes for any reason.  This one was trouble.

"I would like to try, sir."

"Would you?" the doctor sneered.  He flipped a few pages back in the charts, staring at the notes on the small subject speaking to him.  The numbers were slightly above average, but were nothing phenomenal.  He snorted at the impudence of the child, but at the same time, he waved him towards the block of nearly indestructible metal.

Undaunted by the harsh looks or the gun now trained on his head, he walked forward away from his siblings, stopping a good distance from the block of Gundanium.  He didn't hesitate before raising one arm towards the singed metal.  Glares were directed at him from every general in the room.  He had broken form by moving his arm.  Still ignoring the looks he was getting, he grunted slightly with effort.

Delicate lavender flames licked his hand, testimony to the inhuman powers that had been infused into his slender frame.  The same amethyst flames rose around the large block of metal, dancing around the shimmering metal harmlessly for a moment.  The boy's face contorted with effort.  In response, the flames leapt to a blinding inferno, engulfing the metal in the blaze.  Molten Gundanium spread across the floor in white-hot rivers.  A moment later, the violet flames died out, the intense light fading to show a winded child standing a few paces from a white-faced general, gun still clutched tightly in his hand.

"To your place," the doctor said weakly, eyes wide.  He made a quick note on the charts.  The boy had been holding back.

The boy nodded, spinning sharply on one heel to start back to where he was told to go.  He faltered mid-step, violet eyes growing wide and vacant.  As one, all ninety-seven faces whipped to the side to face the east wall.  The uniformed men moved back in shock at the unity of the movement, fighting the urge to run.  A moment later, they realized that they should have followed their instincts.

Ninety-seven shrieks rose unanimously into the silence.  Heads fell backwards as the screams grew in volume, violet eyes vacant.  Flames whipped around the tiny figures, rising into the air in a deadly flash of light.  A violet sphere began to form around the solitary figure in front of the group, expanding outwards uncontrollably.  The generals collapsed into ash before they were able to take two steps.  The amethyst sphere flashed outwards, incinerating ninety-six screaming forms in the deadly blaze.

In the middle of the flames stood a single figure, unharmed by the flames.  He remained motionless, head thrown back as he howled his fury to the heavens.

*     *     *

The same doctor that had shot the four-year-old girl a year ago circled the ranks of the Mizu division yet again.  The children, now five, stared back at him as blankly as ever.  He nodded in satisfaction before waving them towards the beach one at a time while several generals watched avidly from a safe distance.

"One eighty, forward."

One girl in particular had everyone's attention.  Her readouts were phenomenal.  At the request of one of the observing generals, he had waved her forward to demonstrate her abilities.  The ocean beyond her roiled violently, the waves rising hundreds of feet into the air before crashing back to the waters below.  One wave rose higher than the others, thinning into an aquatic whip that descended harshly on the beach far away from all of the observers and other children.  A small rift in the earth was formed from the impact, easily fifty feet deep.

The generals murmured among themselves.  Pleased at her results, the doctor waved her back to her place and motioned for another child to come forward.  The boy struggled to force the waves to the same heights as the girl before him, but was unable to manage the same feat.  He was preparing to form a smaller version of the whip when the waters fell out of his control.

"One forty-two, what are you doing?" the doctor demanded, glaring at the slack expression on the boy's face.  "Continue with the exercise."

The boy didn't seem to hear him, his blank gaze unchanging.  Before the doctor could yell at him again, a general tapped him on the shoulder, looking very worried.

"What's wrong with them?" he hissed, eyes wide.

"Them?" the doctor repeated in confusion.  He turned back to look at the remainder of the Mizu division.  A sea of dazed expressions met his gaze for an instant only.  A mere second later, every child pivoted to stare behind them.

The girl that had been on display only minutes ago suddenly howled, her voice raising in volume in pitch until it had an inhuman quality to it.  The others followed only a heartbeat behind her, their cries joining hers as they screamed to the clear skies.  Their voices were drowned out by the roaring of the ocean at their backs.

The doctor and generals turned to face the ocean just as it overcame them, responding to the cries of the small children.  The water pulled at them viciously.  The last thing the doctor saw was the girl prodigy amid the roiling waters, the only one among the children untouched by the deadly surge of the tide.  The last thing he ever heard was her animalistic shriek.

*     *     *

A small group of doctors and generals stood near a mountain range, watching the Daichi division at work.  Testament to the power in the slight bodies, the mountains surged in height, pushing towards the sky.  Only a few hours ago, there had been no mountain range at all.

One at a time, the five-year-olds moved forward, alternately creating or destroying a mountain within the range.  Several managed to call forth magma and trail it around for several minutes before exhausting themselves.  Looking extremely bored, one of the boys just stared idly at the entire mountain range on his turn.  Before the doctors or generals could say anything, he exhaled sharply, eyes flashing with concentration.

In an instant, the earth was flat as far as the eye could see.

"Three… three twelve, back to your position," one of the doctors stammered, eyes absolutely huge.

The doctor made a quick note on the boy's charts, reviewing past information.  Physically, he was of average strength of the experimental children, but he was horribly slow.  His running speed was among the slowest of all of the subjects, barely higher than that of a normal child.  He stared hard at the listed IQ, his eyes flickering up to the child before returning to the sheet.  It was over four hundred.  Adding that to the demonstration he had just seen, he came to an immediate conclusion.

The child was dangerous.

He made a quick note below the number.

Number 312:  Potentially dangerous.  Experiment to be exterminated immediately.

Tomorrow's injection would end the threat.  While the increased power in the child could be used to their advantage, they couldn't take the risk of one of the subjects being that intelligent.  It was simply asking for trouble to allow him to live.

When the doctor looked up, he saw the subject in question staring at him with a slightly amused expression.  He fought the urge to draw his gun and end the threat immediately.  The boy knew.  With his intelligence and power, he would also be prepared to counter anything thrown at him.  They had to be careful with his extermination.

His thoughts on the child's destruction ended abruptly.  Every one of the subjects had spun to face the main compound to the south, their expressions identical.  Blank.  Only the prodigy slated for termination deviated from the group.  He was kneeling on the ground and clutching his skull, panting in obvious strain.  Slowly, he lost whatever battle he had been fighting, his head pivoting to face the same direction as all of the others.

Screams rose from the previously immaculate ranks as they collapsed to their knees, the earth bucking below them.  A howl rose into the air from the prodigy, so primal that it drew the attention of all of the supervising doctors and generals.  They could only watch helplessly as a shockwave emanated from the boy, shooting outwards at a phenomenal speed as it drew the earth into an enormous roiling mass.

All of the generals and the majority of the doctors attempted to run.  Only two men in white coats stayed behind, watching their deaths approach and knowing that it would be impossible to escape the destruction.  They simply watched as all of the experimental subjects except one were destroyed by the cataclysmic power surging around them.

The rising dust from the shockwave did nothing to obscure the fiery violet eyes of the small genius standing among the bodies of his siblings.  Pure amethyst fury was the last thing the two doctors ever saw, his nerve-racking howls ringing in the air long after anyone remained to hear them.

*     *     *

Fully one hundred twenty of the Kaze division still stood.  It had the highest percentage of survivors of all of the groups despite having some of the strictest doctors and generals monitoring the group.

Despite the strict control, several of the subjects perpetually broke rank to sneeze, scratch itches or stretch weary muscles.  Something in the mix of administered chemicals had rendered a number of the children slightly unstable and fairly disobedient.  The doctors and generals had shown no mercy in reprimanding the errant youths.  Yet despite their efforts, one of the young boys perpetually defied them.  At the moment, he was sitting sprawled across the soft dirt of the field they were in, his head sagging as he napped, unconcerned that he was not standing at attention as was the remainder of the division.

The leading doctor scowled at his lax figure, considering having him terminated again.  They had tried once almost seven months prior, but the lethal injection they had administered had not killed the child.  He had merely been nauseous for a few days.  The head physician had been afraid to try again, worried that the subject would become suspicious and retaliate.  Although extremely stubborn and insubordinate, the boy was exceedingly powerful.

The man in the white coat cleared his throat loudly.

"Three eighty-three!"

With a loud snort, the sleeping five-year-old came to attention.  Grumbling softly, he staggered to his feet and stumped his way to the front of the group, blinking dazedly at the doctor that had called him forward.  While waiting for his orders, he scratched his ass absently, further rumpling his already disheveled uniform.

When he didn't receive an immediate order, he scowled up at the doctor still watching him apprehensively.

"What now?" he demanded, huffing slightly.

"Normal exercise," the doctor snapped, trying to sound as if he were in control even though he was honestly unsure of the situation.

Snorting, the boy turned to face a mobile suit in the distance.  Without pausing to think about it, he made a slashing motion with his arm.  The unmanned suit dropped instantly into two pieces.  Several seconds later, a backlash of wind roared across the ranks of subjects and doctors.  The generals had already taken cover.

Before the winds could die down, one of the doctors pulled a gun out of his coat and leveled it at the insolent youth, pulling the trigger several times while the boy was still distracted.  The supervising physician took a horrified step back.  The slugs had stopped a foot from their target, the small bits of metal hovering harmlessly in the air beside the small test subject.

Calmly, the boy turned to face the hovering bullets.  A moment later, his gaze flickered to the frozen doctor still holding the gun.  A bored look settled on his face.  With a negligent movement of his fingers, he sent the bullets back in the direction they had come from at well over twice their original speed.  The armed doctor swayed slightly before collapsing, blood pooling around his still form faster than the earth could absorb it.

The head physician stared in shock, mind reeling.  The child had actively attacked them.  Despite all of the training and mind control they had exerted on the subjects, he had fought back.  His dark eyes locked with deadly violet.  The boy had stopped, but he had still killed a doctor.  Worse, he wasn't sure that they'd be able to terminate the subject if they tried.  Taking a deep breath to steady his nerves, he made a decision.

"Kaze division," he said loudly, projecting his voice to the entire group easily.  He was inwardly surprised that his voice was still steady.  Steeling himself, he waited until every eye in the group rested on him, awaiting his order.  "Exterminate three eighty-three."

Silence met his order.  Every eye moved to stare at the insubordinate subject still standing at the front of the group, but no winds rose to follow the command.  The boy slated for termination looked at him steadily, a small smile on his pale face.

"What are you waiting for?  Kill him!" he bellowed at the group.  All the blood drained from his face when the boy smirking at him raised one hand to point at him.

"Kill him," three eighty-three called over his shoulder, his eyes never leaving the doctor's face.

The officers watching in horror saw the air around the doctor shift slightly.  An instant later, a fine pink mist rose into the air around a pile of shredded flesh and blood.  Seconds ticked by slowly, dragging through time as an eternity, broken only when one of the younger officers collapsed to his knees and retched loudly.  The sound broke the senior officers from their shock, many of them attempting to flee.  Only the three oldest of the generals remained, watching with a numb sense of finality as the group of children looked to the rebel subject for instructions.

The insubordinate child opened his mouth to order the group to something, falling short as his glittering violet eyes glazed over in a heartbeat.  The remaining generals watched with a growing sense of horror as every face whipped violently to the southwest to face the main compound miles away.

Pained howls ripped from the subjects' throats as their tortured minds responded to whatever was tearing at their very souls.  The weaker children were ripped apart instantly, unable to withstand the fierce winds.  Within seconds, some of the stronger subjects began to fall to the slashing blades of air, blood pooling in the winds as powers amassed.

The observing generals were obliterated instantly, the retreating officers moments later.  One of the younger officers who had gotten much further than his peers glanced over his shoulder in time to see a single figure still standing amid the gore of his former siblings.  Unopposed, the power of the last subject roared to its zenith, sheer energy bursting free of former constraints to flatten the terrain for miles in every direction.

To Be Continued…

Originally, I was intending on posting ALL of the Shinigami divisions in this section.  But then I realized that I haven't posted in forever and that people were probably getting impatient.  I'll finish with the remainder of the divisions in the next part as well as the reason behind their sudden insanity.

R&R!!!

Um… translations… yeah…

Honoo – fire

Mizu – water

Daichi – earth

Kaze – wind

Did I miss anything?  Oh well, the next section will have an almighty list at the end with stats and numbers and stuff.  I'm sure I'll get it all then.