Mika: WHEE! DA FINAL PART OF CHAPTER TEN! THE END OF THIS BATTLE!
002: paper bag on it better be after what you did to me!
Mika: smirks
002: YOU HAVE NEVER OWNED ME AND YOU NEVER WILL! HA!
Mika: you just did the disclaimer...you are sort of useful.
0016's arm clashed with the false Diamond's sword. As they met, the false Diamond's appearance altered.
She no longer looked like Diamond, but had short orangey-brown hair and eyes. She wore her hair short, and had glasses. Diamond looked, speechless.
It was Amber.
"A...Amber, where h-have you b-b-been?" Diamond sputtered, shocked by her appearance. Her sister had been missing for almost six years now, and here she was, like they'd been together the whole time. Amber smiled, but didn't speak.
0016 took note of what had happened. Black Ghost would be so pleased to have 0017 plus another. She retracted the sword so her arm was in its place once again. Black Ghost wasn't even her creator.
Yugi, the same person who had helped Diamond was her creator. Black Ghost had found them them meaning both 0016s out doing something. They weren't even originally 0016; they had been called Black and Blue. Before, they'd both led different lives, as near to humans as could be.
But Black Ghost had stolen what Yugi had worked on and made it his own. Now called 0016, they had set out to destroy the rebels. Their minds had been altered so they didn't have compassion for anything but one another. But seeing Diamond had brought them out of Black Ghost's spell.
Not even thinking, she tapped into the power Yugi had given her. Instantly, all the gem girls shut down. Sapphire stood there, looking blankly at them. Diamond, too, was frozen. Amber wasn't moving, but she was holding the sword at ready position. None of them were moving, not even Alex had escaped her ream.
"Well then, now that they're out of the way, shall we truly battle?" 0016 asked, facing Joe.
Britain fired at her. She dodged all the bullets with unsurpassed ease. Picking up the sniper's rifle she had been using before, she jumped up into the sky. Something fell off her, though. A microchip hit the ground softly, noticed by nobody.
At 0016's will, the sniper's rifle became a normal rifle. She loaded it and fired at the remaining cyborgs. They fired right back at her, but missed. Again, she had dodged them. 0016 tried to do something, but it didn't work. She tried again, but was unsuccessful. Cursing, 0016 took off at top speed.
"Hey, what's this?" Britain asked, noticing at last the microchip. He picked it up and held it so the microchip gave him his reflection.
"Let me see, 007." Albert said, walking over to Britain. He picked the microchip up and held it in his own hand. Turning it over and over, he looked for what it had come from. Then it dawned on Albert: 0016.
Joe was in the process of unloading another magazine on 0016. All of a sudden, the scene changed. Instead of being out on the ocean, they were all in a deserted city. Nobody was there, except the cyborgs. It appeared to be night, since there was a gigantic moon hanging in the sky. Stars had been sprinkled all across the sky, so there was almost no black sky showing. Electric wires hummed all around them, as if anticipating something. if you've seen or read Lain, you'll recognize the electric wire thing.
0016 herself had taken a seat at the top or a lamppost. One by one, the other cyborgs turned around to face her. She clapped her hands together and smiled.
"Now that we're alone, shall we finish this?" 0016 asked, remaining at her post. Then she noticed Joe looking around in disbelief. "Don't you recognize this place, 009? It's Tokyo, yes. I thought this area of town would remind you of other events." She added, evilly smiling.
One of the trash cans fell over as a cat sprang out of it. The rickety houses swayed in a breeze, but 0016's lamppost didn't budge. She was sitting perfectly still, concentrating on the moon.
There was a sudden jolt in the ground, and the sky turned to indigo and the streets became a little better. Three boys came running down the alley. The lead boy was being chased by the other two.
"Joe, get back here!" one of the boys yelled. The older Joe present nearly fell over from shock. It was Tokyo, and he was seeing himself run down the alley. All three boys disappeared back into the shadows. 0016 watched them leave, them the scene shifted again.
They now were in a very overgrown garden, still at nighttime. Vines were all over; throwing their brambles at anyone who approached without caution. The pathway led out into a circular court, where atop a fountain statue, 0016 sat. The statue she was sitting on this time was of a very pretty girl, holding one hand up, as if trying to catch something. Her face showed sadness.
Another flashback was occurring, but this time, of an unrelated matter. A girl with blond hair came walking down the path. She bent over the fountain to look at something. A different girl came walking from a different path, and the first girl smiled, standing upright again. 0016, for a turn, showed pure terror. The second girl looked straight at 0016 and frowned.
"Sunaziki, what do you think? Should I do the honors or do you want to?" the second girl asked the first.
The girl apparently named Sunaziki pulled something large out of the fountain. It was a sickle. "I'll do it, Yugi. I don't think Diamond would like it very much if you did it." she said, drawing the sickle up to its full height. 0016 jumped off the statue. Sunaziki walked up to 0016.
"So, Blue, we meet again. Where's you're counterpart? Last time I checked, you were still friends." Then she saw 004. "Oh, I'm sorry for not introducing myself, gentlemen. My name is Sunaziki, and this is Yugi. You all are?"
The second girl, who at last emerged completely from the shadows, grinned at them. Her hair was almost as long as she was tall. 0016 stood up on the statue, balancing her weight.
"Don't you dare, Blue. I happen to know that now you're called 0016. May I called you that also?" Yugi asked, walking closer to 0016. She, too, noticed one of the other cyborgs. Without being called for, Sunaziki caught 0016's neck in the curve of her sickle and pulled the blade.
"That bastard. I had to pretend that she was him. I'm sorry it had to be done though, Yugi." Sunaziki told no one. "To tell you, you're looking at the present. Does it disturb you?"
Joe couldn't put what he had just witnessed into words. So that had really just happened, it wasn't his wild imagination. The two unearthly girls standing before him were human, like he used to be.
"I wouldn't say that if I were you." Sunaziki said, now holding the sickle at her side. "You don't even know that we're human yet."
"But I didn't say anything!" Joe exclaimed, shocked.
"You were thinking that. I must be leaving, but I leave you with these two items." Sunaziki told Joe, pulling two things out of one of her pockets. One was a blood-red feather and the other was a playing card, specifically the ace of hearts. Joe accepted them, but GB was unsure.
"Don't worry, I didn't do anything to them." Sunaziki commented, wheeling around. "That's a phoenix feather, in case you're wondering."
"We shall see you some time in the future, gentlemen. You will return home as soon as we're gone." Yugi told them, and with a flash of light, she and Sunaziki were gone. Something fell with a loud clunk out of one of the trees. It turned out to be Diamond. Her eyes snapped open and she sat bolt upright.
Opal came walking down a path coming from the left. Sapphire jumped out of another tree. She briefly looked at the two items in Joe's hand.
"Let's get back to the Dolphin, shall we?" Sapphire asked, "It's no use being here."
And with that, the ground whirled and the Dolphin came into view. One second later, they were all standing inside the Dolphin.
Alex rushed out to greet them, followed by Spinel and Morgan. Without even thinking, Morgan gasped, "You defeated 0016! How?!"
"Two people I know very well, from what I can draw from the evidence 009 has, helped. Possibly did it all." Diamond said, walking in.
"So, then, that's it?" Spinel asked, unsure.
"Sure is." Sapphire snapped. "Now let's do something we'd all like."
"What's that, Sapphire?" Albert asked.
"Watch me wake up and kiss 002." Sapphire replied, running into the infirmary. Everyone followed her in. Sapphire seized Jet's collar, and he jerked into consciousness. Looking at who did it, he flushed instantly. Sapphire grinned and relief washed into her face.
"May I?" he asked, sitting up.
"Why the hell else would I wake you up?" Sapphire asked him back. He kissed her. She returned the kiss.
Later at dinner, Sapphire was sitting next to Jet, a first. Aquamarine had found a nice place under the table, where she and Topaz were signing a peace treaty. When everyone was finished at it was time for desert, Garnet crashed through a wall and held up a large tray of ice cream sundaes and root beer floats. Jet felt ready to kiss her too, but Sapphire was giving him the look of death.
Zircon celebrated by making the ceiling imitate a starry night sky. As a side show, Britain stood up and started to impromptu dance. Both Topaz and Aquamarine poked their heads out to see.
After all the excitement, both Topaz and Pearl made their way outside. Ten minutes later, they called everyone else out. When they all got there, Topaz was standing on the water with Pearl next to her. Aquamarine knew what was going on, so she counted down for them.
In total synchronization, a dazzling display of blue fireworks exploded in the sky. Sea creatures danced through the water, maneuvering so they filled where the fireworks didn't. Aquamarine grinned and joined them. Fantastic geysers of water shot upward. As if on cue, Sapphire and Jet kissed. Morgan filled in by making it sound like there was a crowd sighing with pleasure.
Far above them, Mika smiled. Her job was done. But her life was far from being normal.
IT'S OVER! FADE TO BLUE IS DONE! Maybe not, but this story is! Check out Playing With a Full Deck, if you get the chance! There WILL be a sequel to Fade to Blue as soon as Playing With a Full Deck is close to being completed!
- In Playing With a Full Deck, this isn't how Amber arrives. Yugi and Sunaziki are also in P.W.A.F.D., just FYI. Whee, abbreviations! I got the idea from Brigadoon.
Thanks SO much to all my reviewers! Until the sequel!
-Mika
P.S. – The sequel will be called Shades of Green. I think. Unless my priorities change...