The Deathbringer

by Lakewood

The kidnappings of the Whispered are happening again in full swing. But, the major threat is not from the terrorists, but is inside of Souske. What horrible secret is Souske carrying with him? Will he be able to overcome it? Only the rain will tell.

9. The Rising of the Deathbringer

Disclaimer: I make no claim to the series, ideas, or characters of Full Metal Panic.

The Deathbringer

Chapter 9: The Rising of the Deathbringer

By Adam Lakewood Copyright 2004

He comes here often. This place is known to very few people. Very few people meaning only himself.

There is hardly anything here worth seeing, or worth coming around. It is simple, but he still loves it. He is in the middle of a forest. It is dark out and the crisp, cool, night air is always welcome as often as it is blowing. The moonlight provides little illumination through the heavy covering of trees. The most of the illumination is provided by the numerous lightning bugs gently flying through the air, making sure to stay clear of his personal space. His personal space is the water. The water is in a small indention in the ground that is no more than knee deep and is not even wide enough for a person to stretch out across. The pool of water is unnaturally clear for the area. It is the freshest of the fresh provided by the small waterfall spilling into the pond. He sits inside of the pool with the water covering his crossed legs. He sits with his eyes closed in a meditative state taking in the feel of the cool water, the sound of the waterfall pouring behind him, the sound of the crickets as they chirp lightly in the night, and the feel of his entirely relaxing surrounding.

He can feel it all. His position in the wind. The drift and flow of the water. The warmth of the moon. His spirit in the ebb and flow of the earth. All of this can be felt during his meditation, but only at this spot. No one can get this sort of benefit from this place as he can. Many envy him for it though. A lot of people know about it even though they have never been or cannot find it. He has been told by many that this would be a writer's haven, an artist's paradise, or a soldier's best friend. There is nothing special about this place. It is plain, hollow, and he has no one and he never will have anyone to share it with. It is hidden away from all of humanity, never to be found, never to be shared.

But, he comes here often.

Some may call it his 'place of escape', or his 'haven of solitude', or his 'own little private place, or his 'realm of meditation. He likes to call it his mantra.

Mantra is a common military practice that has been used for many years. It is to have the impact on a soldier what they wish at that moment. It is exactly like meditation, but used to have more than one fundamental effect. Finding a personal mantra and learning to control can put a person into whatever state or mood they need to be, but the foundation of the mantra is always the same. A mantra can be peace, chaos, love, fear, happiness, bliss, or any other emotion of the person's preferred preference. Sousuke's personal mantra happens to be relaxation in the form of his own private place, formed to his liking. He can use this emotion of fundamental relaxation to bring about any other state that he wishes, though it is generally used for relaxation. It is not limited to relaxation and can be used to clear the mind for logical thinking under pressure, or create an adrenaline rush while under calm circumstances. These among other things can be achieved through the use of the mantra.

The waterfall sounds louder than normal. Almost as if it is coming down in spurts. No, it sounds more like sudden gushes of wind. No, it is the swiping of the wind. It is the sound of helicopter blades cutting through the air. Is that a voice? Yes. Listen carefully; it is saying to you...

"Sir!"

The sound comes along with the accompanying sound of a loud, running engine and the rapid rotation of helicopter blades through the air.

"Sir!"

Sergeant Sagara's eyes flash open in surprise. He is no longer in his peaceful surrounding, but is instead surrounded by green metal on all sides of him with five other people sitting against the walls dressed in military fatigues. The air is no longer a cool breeze, but instead it is hot and humid. The peaceful sounds of the waterfall and the chirping of the crickets is replaced by the loud, drum-pounding, sound of an engine. He is inside of the helicopter. The helicopter he was put on in order to be rushed to Cuba on a 'Drop and Run' mission. His mantra was interrupted, and the dreadful feelings of the morning and last night returned to him. But, now was not the time to think about what all can go wrong. Now is the time for strategy. Now is the time for finding ways to prevent those things from happening. When they touched down, he would be fully responsible for his team. A group of five people would be taking orders from this person who was yet even technically an adult. He would be the one they would be counting on to get them home alive should anything go wrong. No pressure though. He looked over to the voice that was calling to him. It took him a moment to focus, but soon realized that it was Jill, his second in command.

"Sir!"

He shook his head slightly, hoping to better his focus on her. He knew that his team was skeptical about having such a young leader, and he didn't want to give them any reason to be. Being unable to focus after a mantra was a good reason that he could not allow them to have. His vision cleared and her voice became clearer.

"Yes, Corporal, what is it?

"Sir, we are in range proximity of the landing point. Should I PR scan the area for hostile activity?"

Obviously, his focus hadn't quite returned to him yet. Perhaps he hadn't had enough sleep. Maybe the stress was getting to him. Whatever it was, it was interfering with his ability, and he didn't like it. He could hear the words, but he wasn't quite capable of making sense of them. He let out a sigh of disgust and shook his head again. He took in a deep breath before speaking to her again.

"Hostile activity? What do you..."

He let out a groan of frustration and clamped his hands to his head as if to hold it together. He sighed once again and looked back up at her.

"Relay, repeat. The question was not understood."

He heard quite snickering as he lowered his head. He looked over at one of the men against the wall. The man kept his eye on him as he leaned over to the guy on his left and whispered something into his ear. Jill snapped around quickly to look the man hatefully in the eye.

"Shut your fucking mouth, Black! This man is your leader on this mission; treat him like it! I will not have you talking trash about him!"

Black, a middle-aged man from Scotland, smirked in reply. He threw up his hands in mock defeat.

"Whatevea ye say, but ahm just not too crazy about taking orders froom a kid who doesn't even know the lingo. I feel more like I'm baby sittin ere!" he said with a thick Scotish accent.

Sousuke felt his stomach drop. Those words struck home, but he actually felt as if he deserved it. He was after all, showing weakness; something that was not allowed in his profession. He knew he could do better than this, but he had already failed at first impressions, and worse, his subordinate felt so sorry for him that she was standing up for him to someone who was also his subordinate. She saw the look on his face and turned around once again with a spark of anger in her eye.

"This 'kid' is Sergeant Sagara, and he is your superior! You will treat him like your superior, or else you will have to answer to me. Got that?"

Black did a mock salute as he let out a laugh.

"Sure. Whatevea ye say, sir!"

He snapped back to attention and fell down in his seat laughing. Jill turned back around to Sousuke and sighed.

"I'm sorry, Sir. Please, excuse Black; I will deal with him later. He is has a superiority complex and tends to be a bit of a rebel. I wouldn't even put up with him if he weren't such a damn good combatant. I'm very sorry for his behavior, sir."

He finally looked back up at her and smiled.

"Don't worry about it. And, thank you."

She looked at him oddly. He realized his mistake when he actually showed gratitude to his subordinate. Another sign of weakness. He cleared his throat and quickly changed the subject. He raised an eyebrow when he looked back up at her. She was still staring at him oddly.

"I believe I asked for a 'Relay, repeat' that I never received."

Jill quickly snapped her eyes in realization. She quickly and nervously looked back down at the folder she had in her hand. She cleared her voice nervously before continuing.

"Yes, sir. Sorry, sir. Relay, repeat: We are in range proximity to the landing point. Should I PR scan the area for hostile activity?"

"Yes, Corporal. Be on specific lookout for guards. They would probably not be in close proximity to one another, but would be placed in strategic locations. They should not be close to our touch-down point unless the area is heavily guarded. Give me an exact number at coordinates spanning from B4/C12, B4/C21 all through the radius up to B8/D2, B8/D17. Note patrol patterns and land elevation changes. If patrol is within .4 kilometers of our touch-down point, then call for relocation. Commence."

"Yes, Sir!"

Jill snapped a quick salute of which he returned. She moved away to the other side of the helicopter and began situating equipment for scanning. Sousuke looked over at Black and the man sitting beside of him. Black kept his eyes locked on his as he nudged the man in the ribs. He smirked as he spoke to the man.

"Ay, geta load of that, KB. De kid actually seems like he knows what he's talkin about!" said Black before he began laughing.

The man beside him only shook his head at his bellowing friend.

"KB, I need your help over here. And, bring that funky gadget that you use for everything." shouted Jill from behind their huge crates of equipment and supplies.

"Sure thing. And, that 'funky gadget' that you keep referring to is an Eciplion manufactured KLTM high frequency wave receptor."

"Just bring it over here would you?"

"Yeah, just a second; let me find it."

KB, the group's self-proclaimed 'techie' started sorting through his hand bag of electronics. He was much disorganized, but he seemed to know exactly where everything was in the bag. He was a little bit shorter than Sousuke, he had brown hair, blue eyes, and he wore a pair of glasses and an American baseball cap. He was said to be the best technician and electronics expert in the entire 1st Mithril Division. His name was Kyle Burton; everyone called him KB after kilobyte since he was a master of computers.
Jill Braxton, the second in command under Sousuke, was claimed to be a great leader. Fully capable of inspiring troops with just a few words. She was also a great tactician to boot. Why Sousuke was in command of this group instead of her, no one knew. Jill was a very nice person, but had a short fuse attached to her highly explosive temper. She found a home in the military at first because she needed a learn discipline since she someday wished to be a mother. The military life was a little bit more appealing than she had hoped it would be, and she seemed to fit in perfectly. So, here she is at twenty-eight years old, and expected to be out of here, married, and with two children and a white picket fence by the time she turned twenty-one. The military has a way of trapping people like prisoners. Prisoners that choose to be there.
Roland Black, a proud Scot was renowned for his combat prowess in every field. He scored incredibly high as a marksman. He set three different records for the basic training obstacle course. He was also the 1st Mithril Division's martial arts instructor: black-belt in eight different styles of martial arts. He had heard some say that he was a hero straight out of a comic book. This man was also a rather good tactician. His skills made him well-rounded to be the perfect soldier. But, then there was his attitude. He was much more of a qualified soldier than most people were; the problem was that he knew this. It angered him when he saw someone of higher rank than he was who didn't deserve it as much as he did, and he didn't hesitate to voice his opinion to the person of higher rank. He was quick to judge people, most of the time for the worse. And, he was a constant braggart. More than himself, he loved to talk about how grand of a country Scotland was. Get him talking about Scotland, and his mouth would turn into a river, constantly moving and never stopping.
Chief, who claimed to be the last of the true Cherokee Indians, had a name that was hard to pronounce and even harder to remember. Thus, everyone called him Chief. Chief was... traditional to his blood. He never spoke unless spoken to and even then with short replies. He was an odd one. He refused the use of all technology, saying that the world was corrupted by the use of technology and needed to revert back to the 'old ways.' He refused the use of technology even in the field where he refused to use any sort of communications equipment of even guns. Even his primitive weapons were hand made. He was a master of wilderness survival and could track a fly through the jungle. He was also very keen of the eye and ear. He would notice a lot of things just through his five basic senses that no other man or machine could pick up.
Finally, there was Malcolm Inde. Every group needed their medic in case of emergencies. Malcolm was their medic. Unlike everyone else, he was not the best in his field. But, that was not his only purpose. Malcolm was a jack-of-all-trades. He was to be a second opinion. He was also to take the place of one of the others in case something was to happen to them. Malcolm was quite. He spoke not much more than Chief. Most believe him to be really shy, but a quick glance into his eyes reveal something else that takes up the most of his time and thought process. Not many people see it, but Sousuke can. Focus and determination to the objective at hand is paramount to this man. Sousuke understands this way of thinking more than anyone.

"Excuse me, Sir?"

Sousuke quickly snaps out of his line of thought and into the in-line of the current task. He looks over to see that the request for attention came from KB.

"Yes? What is it?"

KB quickly takes off his ear phones and takes a final glance at his radar screen.

"Sir, this is strange. There are absolutely no guards anywhere around the area. The only thing around here is a small house; not a large mansion like I had originally assumed."

"Are you sure? That can't be. No illegal arms dealer would be without his security. Check again; we have to be sure."

"Affirmative, sir. But, this would be the fourth time I've checked. The previous two scans yielded the same results as the first. There are no guards around the area. I can only pick up two heat sources coming from within the small house. Could we possibly be at the wrong place?"

Sousuke knew the answer, but he rechecked the map anyway.

"No, this is the place. I'm sure of it. But, I am still confused by this. If I were this man, I would be expecting an attack by someone like us. So, why isn't he..."

Sousuke paused for a moment as his previous feelings of dread merged with his previous statement. I would be expecting an attack...

"Ambush."

KB and Jill looked up from the screen to look at him with puzzled looks. Malcolm and Black turned their heads to look at him with skeptical looks on their faces. Chief, who was previously in deep meditation, even contorted his face into that of one of confusion. Sousuke ignored the odd looks he was receiving and continued on with his explanation.

"This has to be an ambush. They must have been expecting us. We need to turn back. KB, radio through to direct contact with Commander Richard Mardukas. Tell them this is an urgent call of priority from Sergeant Sousuke Sagara, leader of Team Alpha 5-2."

"Yes, sir."

Corporal Jill Braxton looked towards him with a questioning look.

"Sir? You wish to turn back? This couldn't be an ambush. There is no way they could know we were coming."

"I know. But, I have the worst feeling about this."

He left out the part about having this feeling since last night because of a dream. They seemed to not trust him enough the way it was; the last thing they needed to know was that he felt uneasy because of a dream. The Scot would get a big kick out of that. Hearing his statement, Malcolm stood up from his position and walked over to Sousuke. He snapped a quick salute before speaking.

"With all due respect, sir, as your second opinion I would like to point out the strategic advantage of our given position. There are no guards and nothing around for miles. The area is smaller than expected. There are only two people in the house. I would guess that an area this small would not be the main estate, but more of a summer getaway. Security is not so tight here. The two heat sources would most likely be the target and his single bodyguard. It would be foolish to give up such a strategic advantage. The difficulty of our mission at this point would be reduced by a tenfold."

Sousuke sneered in agitation. There was something about this man that he didn't like. His words made since, but he was saying what he was for the better of the team. He wasn't quite sure as to what the man's intentions were. The advice sounded good, but it did not coming from this source.

"Thank you, Corporal. But, I am very aware of the strategic advantage we may have. I have been a guerilla fighter in my childhood. I have had more field experience than any of you in this chopper. I have seen this many times where you, Corporal, have not. My job is to make sure that I make the best decisions concerning my team. That is what I am trying to do."

"Well, ye don't seem to be doin a very good job at it. What is it day say? Don't send a boy to do a man's job." said Black while grasping his chin in consideration.

Sousuke quickly turned around with a look in his eye that sent a chill up Black's back. As quickly as he turned around, he brought up his finger and pointed it at Black. It was a gesture of insult, intimidation, and challenge all in one.

"And, you, Private. Need to watch it! I cannot threaten to have you discharged with only simply disrespecting your superior, so I will have to shut you up by other means. And, I will, one way or the other, make you silent."

The Scot stood up and walked imposingly over to Sousuke. The man towered over him. It was like comparing David to Goliath. The man's smirk faded from his face when he saw that the determined look was not fading from his superior's face. For the first time in a long time, he had failed to intimidate his target. In this case, he failed to intimidate a kid. Worse, the look in kid's eyes frightened him. He felt as if he could get lost forever in those endless hollows. Or, that they were pathways leading into the fiery depths of Hell itself. He turned around quickly and headed back for his seat. He felt a sudden pressure on his arm that would not let him move. He looked down to see Sousuke's hand gripping his arm. He turned around to glare at his superior.

"And, don't you ever try to stare me down."

Black tensed all of his muscles as hard as he could, and pulled away as hard as he could. His arm did not move an inch. Nor, did Sousuke's grip loosen. It was like his arm was chained. He felt embarrassed that he could not break away from the simple grip of this kid. The anger began to well up inside of him and his face reddened from anger and embarrassment.

"Boy, if ya don't let go of me arm right this secon, I swear I'll..."

"Go ahead. All I need is a reason to..."

"Sir! I got through to Commander Mardukas. He is on the line right now."

Sousuke immediately let go of the Scot's arm which caused him to stumble backwards. Sousuke quickly walked over to the communications tell. He placed the ear piece over his ear and held the input device up to his mouth.

"Sir! Thank you for accepting my call. I would like to request that..."

"Yes, Sergeant. I have been told of your request. I respect your judgment on the matter, and I can understand your concern given the situation."

Sousuke lowered his head and let out a sigh of relief. A smile played across his mouth.

"Thank you, sir. I..." he started before he was interrupted by Commander Mardukas.

"But, you will commence with the mission as planned. I repeat, you will commence with the..."

Sousuke did not wait for the transmission to be broken. He quickly threw down the microphone and violently jerked the earpiece from his ear. He threw it with full force to the metal floor. He turned around quickly to the side of the helicopter and kicked with all his might. A hollow 'clung' sound accompanied the vibration that was sent throughout the helicopter. KB took a quick look of shock to his face and abruptly ended the transmission.

"Fuck!"

He punched a wooden crate that was within his reach. The crate slid along the floor with a loud screech, and a jagged nail dug into his flesh. He tore his hand away from the nail violently, only tearing more flesh as he did so. His anger was so great that he seemed to not be able to feel pain, or maybe he just welcomed it.

"Shit!"

He then took the same hand, balled it into a fist and slammed it against the side of the helicopter. As he moved his bleeding hand from the spot, and a dent and a large blood splatter replaced it. Jill quickly ran over to him before he could take his anger out on the next thing.

"Sir, please calm down! Orders cannot be helped!"

He threw his hands up in disgust. Jill had to dodge the line of blood that was flung her way when he threw his hands into the air.

"Am I the only person that acknowledges that I am the leader of this team?! That I am the one that makes the best decisions for my team?! Commander Mardukas doesn't seem to think so! None of you seem to think so either! But, what do I know?! I'm just some punk kid, right?! Right?!"

Jill quickly grabbed hold of his hands and lowered them to his sides.

"No. No one ever said that about you, sir."

Sousuke quickly pointed his finger at Black who quickly lowered his head.

"He most certainly did. He made it clear from the start of what he thought about me."

"Sir, Black acts that way towards everyone. He has treated you no different than he would anyone else."

"I would disagree with that. The references of 'kid' and 'boy' certainly do speak loudly when he talks to me or about me."

He quickly moves his finger over to Chief, who is sitting in a meditative state on the floor with his eyes closed and arms folded.

"Chief over there doesn't even find me worth talking with. Despite the fact that I am his superior. I guess he doesn't want to waste his time talking to some stupid kid."

He moved his finger over to point at KB who takes a surprised look on his face and shakes his head as if to deny everything that was about to be said.

"KB has been so kind to not speak his mind about me. But, his eyes give it away. I can tell what he truly thinks of me."

He moves his finger in front of Jill's face. She takes a step back and stares at him pleadingly.

"Even you feel as if you have to take up for me. I'm not quite grown up enough to handle myself against the Scot over there, huh? So, you better stand up for poor little me, right?"

Jill lowered her head with a saddened look on her face. She hadn't realized it, but that's exactly how she had been treating him. She understood his anger, but there wasn't anything she could say without making the situation worse. He sneered at her and moved his finger over to Malcolm. His sneer deepened.

"And, I don't know what the hell he's thinking. I don't think he's acknowledged me as anything more than a tool. And, that pisses me off more than anything. But, that isn't much different than the way he thinks about the rest of you. You are all on equal ground as tools as I am. Right?" he says in an interrogative tone to Malcolm.

Malcolm only sighs as a reaction.

"If that is how you feel about me, sir, then there is nothing I can do about it."

Sousuke turns back around and sits down. He looks around at all the faces around him once again.

"You think I don't notice these things? Well, you are all wrong. I can see past your facades and see what you really think about this entire ordeal. What you think about me."

The group falls into complete silence. The most of them with contemplative looks on their faces. One would have thought that a mother would have just lectured her children. No one was saying a word and the most of them looked saddened by his words. His words were more a harsh realization of understanding than they were sad.

He leans his head against the cold steel of the helicopter and closes his eyes. He is not acting like a soldier. He is angry, infuriated, confused... panicked. This behavior will not do. Why is he so upset when any of this doesn't surprise him? He knows why. He knows that if they continue something bad will happen. But, now he has to measure his possibilities since the option of turning back is out of the question. He will be very careful; that is for sure. He will take every precaution possible before taking action. He will be as careful as the books say that no one ever bothers to take seriously. He will earn his group's respect. He will get them all out alive.

He opens his eyes quickly once he feels some cold liquid running down his hand that is not his own blood. He looks at his hand to see a female hand holding it into position and water running down his arm. Jill places the blood soaked wash cloth into the pan of water on the seat between her and Sousuke. After a couple of sloshes of the washcloth, the water is soon tinted a pinkish color. He watches, with fascination, his own blood being washed away like a riverbed being swept clean by the flowing water. The water mixes with the blood to turn it a very light red color. The red, almost pink liquid runs down to the ends of his fingertips and begins its plummet to the cold metallic floor below. The blood, like his mind, is flowing freely. There is no order to its streaming. It cannot be controlled; it cannot be predicted. This has to stop. There is no way he can do this when his mind is a river's wild. Then, he watches with just as much interest as the gauze bandages are wrapped around his hand and up his wrist to hold them in place. The blood ceases to flow from his open wound, but surely staining the bandages at the lower levels. The flow of his blood cannot be controlled of predicted. But, there are ways of slowing it and delaying it to a point where it reaches a predictable state. There can be softening barriers, barriers to keep the flow on track, to stop it from flowing in an order of chaos. Surely, his mind, like his blood, can be put back into flow.

"Sir, I'm deeply sorry if we have offended you. But, you must understand. This is new for us also. We are aware of the dangers of this mission. Though, we do not doubt from your words that you are more of a man than most will ever be, you still have the outer casing of a boy. You have never led a group of people before, I'm sure. You never would have expected either that you would be leading a team given your younger age. Well, we like you, never expected that we would be led by someone of your age. This is as new to us as it is to you. But, I think there is a lot we can all learn on this mission." she said while applying another layer of bandages to his hand.

He sighed and closed his eyes once again. Jill sighed out of feeling that her point had not come across to him, or at least that he did not accept it. All was silent again for a little while before Sousuke spoke once again.

"Thank you. I fully understand what you are saying, Corporal. I too, if I were you, would not trust me. Especially after the way I have been acting. I assure you that this is not normally how I act. And, I will be truthful. I have had a bad feeling about this mission since late last night. I do not know what do expect, but I have a horrible feeling that lives are in danger. And, given the situation, it would be our lives. But, I am sure that I can pull us through this. I have had experience in the field since I was eight years old. And, if there is anything that I have learned, it would be to follow your instincts. I have tried to follow mine, but it seemed that the cards were not stacked in my favor. Our fall- back has been denied. But, we can still pull through this. I do not expect all of you to believe what I am saying. I do not expect you to have this same feeling that I do. But, I do need your trust. I need total cooperation from all of you. We have all stepped out on the wrong foot, but that can be corrected. I promise, if all of you can trust me, then there will be no risk come to us, and we can all tell tales about how Sergeant Sagara had everyone on their toes because of foolish preband feelings. Those will make for some humorous war stories to tell our children!"

Everyone laughed about his unexpected final statement. Everyone settled their laughter but kept the smiles on their faces. Black was the one to speak.

"Will ya listen at dat? A man stuck in a lil kid's body!"

Everyone, including Sousuke laughed at the Scot's claim. Black got up from his seat with a groan as he stretched his back. He stiffly walked towards the bathroom. On his way past Sousuke, he slapped him playfully on the shoulder.

"Ay! I trust ye kid. Now, if ye'll excuse me; I gotta go take a piss."

"No one's stopping you." he says with a smile.

He looks over toward KB who is sitting on the floor punching in commands on his computer. His mind is working clearly now, and he knows exactly what to do. His mind, like a wild rapid, cannot be completely controlled though it can be directed.

"KB, scan once more for area hostiles. Run GPS DT; see if there are any hidden frequencies coming from the target area. If so, that means they are operating from underground."

"Yes, sir!" says KB as he puts on a pair of headphones and tunes in his different RD channels.

"Malcolm, go up front with the pilot. Check the air waves for any interrupting wave FQ. We are looking mostly for scout planes, so do not ignore the faint signals if there are any. If you detect any, give the pilot the order to cease continuance and then inform me immediately."

"Sir!" says Malcolm as he gathers his belongings and heads towards to front of the plane.

All leaders that Jill Braxton had ever had before, she considered to be a joke. They were all pathetic leaders and even worse strategists. Critical thinking seemed to be one of the aspects that they all faltered in. She had longed to compare herself to a real leader; just to see where she stood on the scale.

"Chief!"

For the first time during the ride over, Chief's eyes came open at the commanding tone that addressed his name. He was alert and at attention in the blink of an eye.

"Hook the safety anchor to the far left wall and storage load-hatch. Look out and give the area a visual scan with your own eyes. I want to know of anything and everything suspicious looking that you see. I do not need you to be on the lookout for people; the scanners will take care of that. I want to know if anything looks fake. I want to know if there is anything wrong with the landscape. You are a master of spotting IMP traps, I want to know if an area would look suitable for any of those. Have Black assist you once he returns from the restroom."

An enthusiastic grunt of approval and acknowledgement was the Indian's response as he quickly made his way towards the rear of the plane.

"Corporal, run full equipment check. Double check all of the equipment and make sure everything is adequate. Lock and load all weapons and make sure they are all in working order. Run a test on all communications equipment that we have. We never know when we may need it. I want three BT markers marked, set, and ready to deploy as soon as we touch down. In the meantime, I will look over our maps for the best areas to plant the markers."

Jill smiled at the sound of a true leader. Sergeant Sousuke Sagara of the 4th Mithril Branch was the epitome of what a leader should be. It was not only his words, but the way he said those words. There was determination, experience, and wisdom in those words. He knew what had to be done, and he would make sure it would be done. He was a team player: having everyone do their part and to the fullest extend thus providing opportunity by having five additional right hands at his command. The orders were given with a spark in his eyes that said that he was a leader. She did not know exactly what that spark was of, but she knew that it was one that could only be attained by the greatest of men. She now knew the scale as to what a true leader was, and she realized that she still had a ways to go.

"Sir, yes sir!" she snapped an enthusiastic salute before going over to one of the crates.

Sousuke kneeled down on the floor and began scanning over the tactical maps with the utmost perception. His strategic mind began to take over. He could see the terrain clearly in his head. The numbers, coordinates, symbols, and scales began to merge in his mind not as pieces of a map, but as pieces of the landscape. He could see the terrain perfectly, and he was sure that the terrain that he saw in his mind was the one which Chief saw with his eyes. Good, now where to put those markers...

---

Sousuke's walkie-talkie gave a little bit of static once again for the third time. The static cleared and Malcolm's voice broke through it.

"Sir, the forth BT marker is in place. Ready for transmission!"

"Good."

He turned around to the table that KB was sitting at.

"KB, check the frequencies on an L4 axis pitch."

KB pressed a few buttons and turned a few knobs, and then the air was filled with the sound of a small 'bleep.' KB took off the earphones and turned back around to his leader.

"It's working perfectly, sir! Everything's good to go!"

"Perfect."

Sousuke tuned the channel on the walkie-talkie to the link-way so that way his next message would get out to all four of them.

"Everything is working fine. We are now on the frequency. All of our other frequencies and waves will be amplified by about 200x distance and efficiency. Good work everyone, now return. Sagara, out!"

He let out a sigh and went back under the pavilion that KB was operating the equipment from under. It didn't really offer very much shelter from the sun since the trees they were under did the job well enough. But, it would at least keep everyone and everything dry in case of rain. As soon as they had touched down, Sousuke sent Black, Chief, Braxton, and Malcolm to plant the four BT markers at strategic places that he had marked while on the helicopter. He might have been acting a bit too cautious, but he had never noted that to be a bad characteristic. Now, there should not be any reason at all for equipment failure. With the BT markers, they would get the strongest input and output possible. So, now if something bad were to happen like he planned, it would not be because of equipment failure.

"KB, now that the BT markers are out check the scanners once again. Make sure there are not any more hidden or masked heat sources."

"Yes, sir. I already did, sir. There are still only two sizeable heat sources. The rest are only animals, and our own people."

"Good job. It is better to be safe than sorry, right?"

"Of course, sir."

It took the four that were dispatched about half an hour to get back to where they were all set up. The markers were spread out about a mile away from the set-up point. All of the up and downhill treks did not help make the walking distance any shorter. Finally, when Jill got back, everyone was standing over KB as they watched him make additional scans of the area. She walked up and no one seemed to notice her; they were all staring intensely at the screen, except for Chief, who was once again leaned up against a tree meditating. She walked over and took her place next to Black to see what was going on. The entire screen was black and then it faded to gray.

"Sir, there are no strong frequencies or waves being given off in a ten mile radius except for three inside the house that belongs to the man that we are to execute. Those three are coming from a cell phone, a radio, and... a microwave." said KB with a slight chuckle.

"I see. Thank you, KB." said Sousuke before walking away.

Malcolm quickly followed behind him.

"Sir, what shall we do?" he asked with an obvious impatient tone in his voice.

"We will all lay low for a few days, and see exactly what happens. I am not satisfied that this is not a clever and well concealed trap yet."

Everything was quite and no one was moving. Even Sousuke had stopped in his trail to look at Malcolm. Malcolm, instead of falling out like he was supposed to, stood there. Jill swallowed and looked around nervously. It was almost like no one was breathing either. The tension between everyone in the air was so thick it could take a chainsaw to cut through it. Malcolm stared hatefully at his superior. It was obvious that he was distressed. Judging from the current situation; it seemed as if the team had been pressuring Sousuke to take action. Malcolm was the most distressed, having his opinion ignored especially when it was his job to offer his opinion. Sousuke locked eyes with the man and neither of them flinched.

"You have your orders, Inde. I suggest you do something besides stand there and brood."

Everyone was intensely silent. Not because of the words, but because Malcolm was still not moving. He took a deep and hesitant breath to still his nerves and dampen his anger.

"No, sir. I will not. I have offered an opinion from my better judgment, and you choose to ignore it. It seems as if you are the only person here that does not understand that now is the best time for action. I mean this with all due respect of course... sir." he said with sarcasm apparent in his voice at the end of his statement.

Malcolm snapped a quick, over exaggerated salute.

"I have given you your orders, and they are final! If you have a problem with them, then that is your problem. I repeat myself: We will lay low!"

"Then, I repeat myself: We should act now! We have set out the BT Markers as you ordered, and we are still not picking up anything on any of our scanners or waves that would seem to be in the least bit threatening to any of us. We will not have a better chance than what we have now. You claim that you are looking out for your team! I suppose letting this minimal risk opportunity go by is looking out for us! I suppose you would prefer when he does have the place swarming with bodyguards?!"

"Stand down, Sergeant! We will not act at this moment! These are your strict orders! You do not know the situation of which I know!"

"No, sir! I obviously know the situation better than you do! With such impudence in the field, there is no way that I can accept you as leader of this team! Yes, I have a bad problem with the way you do things, sir."

"Then, as I said, that is your problem."

"So, I suppose I will have to make it your problem."

"Are you threatening me, Inde?!"

"No, sir! I do not make threats; I make promises!"

Each took a step toward the other. It was obvious that when each was within reach of the other. Things were not going to be settled peacefully. Jill quickly made her way between the two men. She first placed her hands on Sousuke's chest and pushed him back as hard as she could. He took a few fumbled steps back but regained his balance. She then turned around and did the same to Malcolm who did the same.

"Both of you cool it!" she demanded.

"Inde, you are completely out of line! Sir, you are not much better off! Now, I suggest the both of you cool it!"

Sousuke pointed his finger towards Malcolm.

"This man needs to learn where his place is!"

Malcolm took an angered expression his face, took a couple quick steps forward, and pointed his finger at Sousuke.

"And, this kid needs to have some sense knocked into him!"

The two men walked towards each other again. Malcolm balled up his fist, ready to take the first swing when they were both covered with a dark shadow. He felt a firm hand on his shoulder. He turned around to see the figure of Black towering over him.

"I sugges ye both cool it, fore I put ye both in ye places!"

Both men stood down, knowing that the Scot would make good of his word. Both knew this man's abilities and neither wanted to be in the position where they would be testing those abilities. Jill walked over to where the three of them were standing. She turned a bucket upside down and placed it on the ground. She took her seat on the bucket.

"So, is there something that we all need to talk about?" she said with an expecting look on her face.

Sousuke sneered at Malcolm and started to walk away.

"There is nothing that needs to be said. Everyone has their orders and I expect them to be followed."

He resumed walking away, assuming that his point had been made. He would leave them to talk about it all they wished. He knew that something bad was going to happen, and he would make sure that he would protect his team, no matter how much it caused them to hate him. He heard a solid click come from behind him. It was the sound of a Glock 17: fully loaded and ready to fire. It was Malcolm's voice that came after the clicking of the gun.

"Sir, there is a lot we have to talk about."

Sousuke turned around to see Malcolm standing about ten feet away from him with a gun aimed at him. He was breathing very heavily. He wasn't breathing hard because of exhaustion, but because of anger and nervousness. Jill slowly got up off of her bucket with her hands held non- threateningly in the air. Black took a step back slowly.

"Inde, calm down. There is no need for this. I'm sure Sergeant Sagara would be glad to talk things over. Now, just..."

Malcolm quickly turned his head towards her and gave her a stern look.

"Do not talk to me like I just snapped. I'm fine, and I'm just following my orders."

Jill looked at him oddly. She tried her best to recall orders slightly resembling this, and could not think of anything.

"W... What orders are you talking about?!"

"None of you would know about them. They were given to me only. Sagara was the one best suited to lead this mission. I don't know why, but that is what I was told. I was told that I was best suited after Sagara. I was also told that this mission is of the highest priority. I am here to take Sergeant Sagara's place if something were to happen to him. I am also here to make sure that he doesn't go against the mission. I am to kill him and take his place if he is to go against the mission."

Malcolm took a few more deep breaths as sweat poured off his face. He slowly let the hand holding the gun drop to his side. The weapon soon after fell to the ground. He lamely kicked it away from him and weakly put his hands above his hands.

"But, I can't do that. He is after all just doing what he would believe would be best for the team. Perhaps, he does know better than me." he said before sitting down hard on the ground and covering his face.

Jill looked over at him. She was astonished. She had no idea that this mission was so important. She believed Malcolm; he had never lied before. Why was it so important to assassinate this man anyway? What kind of weapons did he deal in? Whatever; it didn't matter. What mattered was to get the job done. She was starting to feel greatly unnerved. Her leader had almost been shot. Out of the few missions that she had been on; that had to be the most intense, nerve wrecking thing she had ever been through. Throughout the entire ordeal, she was unable to speak. She turned around to address her leader. Her voice cracked and pitched a bit more than she hoped for it to. She sounded extremely nervous.

"Sir, I think we should take action now! If we do.. we... we can get out of here. I haven't been here but for maybe three hours and I already feel like I've been here for months. I can't take this!"

Sousuke didn't know what to do or say. His team was starting to crack. It was true; they had only been here for a few hours and they were already starting to act like troops that had been in the field for a long time. His feeling of dread kept growing in him, and he guessed that the rest of the team must have been feeling it also. If he was doing anything by taking all of these precautions, he was making his team very nervous and edgy. He was not being a very good leader; he had just assumed that they were all experienced when in truth, Malcolm had only been in Mithril for about a year, and Jill had just transferred about two months ago. He had made a crucial mistake. But, the crucial wasn't his lack of assessment. It was his lack of perception. He now realized the truth.

He looked at Malcolm who was sitting on the ground. He sneered in disgust at the man and walked over at a hastened pace. Black held up his hand in protest, but it was too late. As soon as Sousuke got within striking distance of Malcolm his foot flew up to meet his face. Sousuke let out an angered scream as his foot connected with the man's face. There was a loud crack of a breaking bone as Malcolm's head flew backwards and a stream of blood shot forward onto Sousuke. The kick had a lot more strength behind than anyone could have expected. Malcolm lifted from his sitting position and went through the air for a few feet before landing and skidding on the ground.

"You son of a bitch! We were sent here to die; weren't we?! We were sent here to die! And, you were sent to make sure that I carried through with this suicide mission! Right?! That's why you're so anxious to take action! That's why there aren't any bodyguards around! This was an ambush all along! Say something you son of a bitch!"

Jill had to focus to steady her breathing and the rapid beating of her heart. This made no sense! Just a little while ago, Sousuke was the prime example of a leader. Now, he had completely lost it. He was standing there screaming at a man who was unconscious or perhaps dead. She looked over at Malcolm. There was a large amount of blood coming from his face in which it looked like a part of it was peeled off from the force of the kick. The back of his head was also bleeding from the impact at which he had landed. She covered her mouth with a gasp of shock and looked away. She bent over and started coughing. She felt as if she were going to vomit after seeing the gruesome sight that was Malcolm Inde.

"I can't believe I was so stupid! I should have known from when I first got bad vibes off of you that you were nothing but trouble! You have already stirred up trouble, and now you've turned my team against me! Did Mardukas send us here to die? Is that it? Why? Answer me, damn you!"

Jill looked back over at Sousuke due to his newest outburst. He was making no sense at all. He was talking nonsense. He didn't sound like the great person she had heard earlier. His voice sounded dark, sinister, crazy. And, his eyes... His eyes absolutely terrified her. They looked normal, but there was something about them that scared her unlike anything that had ever scared her before. His eyes... they weren't human. There was no way a person could have that kind of look in their eyes. They held every horrible thing that one could expect: anger, despair, sadness, confusion, mayhem, chaos... evil. Sergeant Sagara, no, this person, no, thing before her had a terrible look in its eyes. Its eyes showed death. Death to all of those around it.

This unreasonable fear of the man who was once Sousuke Sagara was elevated when he drew his gun and pointed it at the unconscious form of Malcolm. She screamed as she quickly looked away and covered her ears. She knew what was about to happen.

---

Sousuke woke up with a loud gasp. He sat up in a position ready to get up, but he didn't recognize where he was. He felt a cold liquid splashing against his body. He looked at his arm, confused to see water bouncing off of it. He looked around at the ground that he was sitting on and his confusion was alleviated. He saw the water also making puddles of water around him. He looked up at the sky to see some of the darkest storm clouds he had ever seen, pouring out the worst storm that he had ever seen. He looked around to see what confused him that he didn't see before. It was a log cabin. Not a large log cabin, but not a small one either. Either way, he identified it as the dwelling of the target. It definitely did not look like the cabin that would belong to a rich, illegal arms dealer. This only made him worry more about what was going on. He would have actually felt much better if it were a huge mansion with bodyguards patrolling the area. But, at least he knew for sure that the target was inside of the mansion. Multiple scans had shown it to be him. But, now for the question at hand.

How did he get here? What had caused that sort of dream? Why didn't he remember coming here? Why was he asleep? The answer came simply to him: stress. When soldiers are stressed out, it is not uncommon for things like this to happen. He sat back and tried to remember what had been said for him to come here; he couldn't remember. But, logic told him what he had said. It would have been something like this:

"This is the best chance we are getting to strike! I will not pass it up! If you will do nothing about it, then I will go! Black, you and Chief come with me. Braxton you stay here and..." says Malcolm while taking the situation into his own hands.

"No!"

Perhaps he is right. Perhaps this is the best chance they will have. If the target is eliminated, then they will be able to all return home. That would probably set a record for this type of mission considering everyone left out that early morning and they would be back in time for a late dinner. His group would be safe, and he would not have to worry about this any longer. That idea actually sounds pretty good, but it will not be any of the rest of the team that carries out the mission. He will not put their lives at risk. It will be he that makes the hit.

Everyone is looking at him expectantly. They may not listen to their leader, but they all still want to here what he has to say. They may see him as a coward, as a fool, but they still see him as their leader.

"Fine! We will take action! But, none of you are to leave this spot. I will take out the target; all of you just wait until you get word from me and keep in radio contact. I will probably be back in about two hours. If I am not out by then, you will all assume the worst and leave without me. Either way, you will all make it back alive. I will not be responsible for losing anyone on my team."

And, here he is now. He cannot recall that happening, but more than likely, that is what happened. That is what would have happened in order to have him here. Unless someone knocked him out and dumped him off here. But, that was highly unlikely.

He picks himself up off the ground and attempts to dust himself off. Unfortunately, dirt does not brush off of wet clothes. He sighs in frustration. So, here he was. It was time to complete the mission. Or, was it. He had to make sure. He checked his side to see that his walkie- talkie was still in place. He had to make sure of his place, and perhaps find out how he got there. He needed to talk with his team. He pressed the input button on the device and lowered his mouth to the receiver.

"KB, this is Sagara! Do you copy?"

He waited for a reply, but received none. He looked around the area to see that the trees were even thicker in this area. There was no way a signal could get out over the trees and a storm like this had to be doing something to the signal. These weren't the normal walkie-talkies; they were meant to get a better signal, but that signal could be cut short my many things unfortunately. Perhaps, KB's was just not picking up that well. Sousuke was after all, getting static. If there weren't any signals getting out, there would be no static to pick up. He decided he would try Braxton's.

"Braxton, this is Sagara! Do you copy? I repeat: do you copy? Over!"

The silence on the other end bothered him greatly. He was remembering his dream. What if that had actually happened? What if he had went berserk and killed Malcolm? What if the others tried to stop him and he killed them too?

He was thinking nonsense. There is no way he would kill his team for any reason. Also, he was not one prone to mental breakdown. Another thing, at least two of the people were as highly trained professionals as he was, and all of them were armed. There would be no way that he could kill all five of them. He was just thinking nonsense. So, what was the dream all about?

Stress. It could all definitely be blamed on stress. Stress can cause some serious problems with a soldier. So, he needed to get out of this stressful situation as soon as possible. He would hurry up and complete the mission, and then they could all go home. They would not have to worry about this anymore.

Also, he could get out of this dreadful weather.

He drew his Glock 20 from its side holster and approached the house at a quickened pace. All the windows were too high and the logs looked very slippery from the rain, so he would not be able to sneak in. His only options appeared to be the front of back door. The answer was obvious. Only a fool would engage the enemy by going through the front door.

Sousuke slowed his pace for fear of making too much noise as his boots splashed in the puddles of water caused by the tremendous amount of rainfall. But, then it occurred to him that the rain itself would be a sound buffer since nothing would be heard over the beating and loud pouring of the rain. He quickened his pace once again, quietly but quickly climbed up the wooden steps of the back porch, and leaned up against the side of the house just to the side of the sliding glass door. He peered from his angle into the glass door and could see a little bit of the kitchen. The kitchen wall was decorated with a few plaques that had witty kitchen sayings on them like 'Waste not, Want not' and 'Refrigerator: second home of man.' But, a glance into the mirror hanging on the same wall revealed the rest of the kitchen. It looked like a normal kitchen: stove, refrigerator, microwave, dishwasher, etc. But, his observant eye picked up on something odd. The kitchen looked like an old-time one. It looked like an old couple's kitchen, except for the appliances. That was the give away. The appliances were top of the line name brands and state of the art. The appliances were expensive and high-tech. Too high-tech and too expensive for a place like this.

So, he had been right all along. They were expecting an attack. And, this was just a clever setup to perhaps turn them away or to at least trap them. That probably also meant that they had a masking device to hide all of the guards from scanner detection. He would approach cautiously.

Since he had visual of the entire kitchen through what he could see and the mirror on the wall, he carefully reached his hand out and took hold of the wooden handle of the sliding glass door. Oddly enough, the door was unlocked: only furthering the assumption that this was a trap. The door slid open quietly and smoothly. He looked around for any odd wiring or bows in the floor that may signify a trap. There were none. Not in the kitchen. Unfortunately, he had not taken into account that the loud sound of the pouring rain would make its way into the house when he opened the door. He quickly slid the door shut, but a little to quickly. The door shut with a loud 'thunk.' Now that the rain was no longer impairing his hearing, he could hear quite and quick shuffling through the archway in front of the kitchen. He could see into the room to assume that it was the living room. He heard two sets of shuffling feet in the room. Perhaps he was wrong. Perhaps there was no trap. Perhaps his team was right. Perhaps this was the best time to strike.

Knowing that his cover had been blown, he quickly made his way to the far wall beside the archway leading from the kitchen to the living room. The boards in the floor creaked as he made his way across. He looked through the archway at the tan wall inside the living room. There was no one there, but he was at a bad angle for visuals. All he saw was a black couch setting on the tan carpet. But, he did see a mirror on that wall.

"Who's there!" demanded a male voice from the living room as more shuffling came from the same room.

He could use the same tactic as he used getting into the kitchen. He looked into the mirror to see a man holding a gun. The man was tall, black, and had black hair . He was rather skinny and he was dressed rather nice. This was the target. He matched the description perfectly. This was Rego Reggie, black market and illegal arms dealer. In the mirror he also saw something move out of sight of the mirror to what he would assume to be a corner. He caught a glimpse of what appeared to be skin on the fleeting figure. The scans were right. There were two people here besides him and his team. The two were in the same house. Rego Reggie and his personal bodyguard. He saw now that he had been overreacting the whole time. But, why was that horrible feeling still with him. And, why was his adrenaline on such a rush. The targets were in the next room, so there would be no problem getting rid of them in what he considered to be a 'cheap' way of doing things. He would use a high powered fragmentation grenade. That would mean that he could also keep clear in case there was the possibility that there were other dangers in the room. He took a grenade off of his belt, took three steps to where he was almost in the archway, looked at the man through the mirror, judged the distance and the angle for a ricochet off the wall, pulled the pin, and then threw the grenade. He watched in the mirror as the grenade bounced off the wall and rolled precisely where he planned for it to. But, in the mirror he also saw something that horrified him more than if he had seen an army standing before him with their weapons drawn.

It was a little girl.

The little girl looked to be no more than ten years old. She had long blonde hair and crystal clear, blue eyes. She was dressed only in a set of pajamas and was holding a teddy bear. She was looking down at the live grenade with a look of fear and confusion in her mind. The man looked over to see the grenade and immediately ran to try to cover the little girl. Unfortunately, the grenade was a short time at only four seconds. There would be no time. Sousuke gasped in fear as he watched in horror as the father went to cover his little girl. Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion. For some reason, at that precise moment, everything he couldn't remember before he got here, suddenly came back to him. The first thing he realized was that his dream wasn't a dream. All of that had really happened, plus a load more that he didn't remember.

Jill screamed in terror as she saw her leader aim his gun at the fallen Malcolm.

"No!" protested Black as he ran towards Sousuke from behind.

But, it was too late; the trigger had already been pulled. Everything was moving in slow motion for Sousuke. It was like he could feel everything around him through the air. He could feel the bullet as it slowly made its way out of the barrel of the gun. He could feel the vibrations off of Jill's scream. He could feel the waves going through the air as Black approached him from behind. He could feel the power of the single bullet as it tore through the air. He could feel the distance between him and the bullet he fired getting further and further away. He felt the waves through the air as Malcolm's head bounced from the impact of the bullet piercing through his cranium. He felt the blood flowing through the air as a splatter effect of the bullet coming into contact with Malcolm's head. He smiled at the sight he saw and the feeling he had. He felt a better feeling of satisfaction than he had ever had in his life.

Jill screamed in terror as she turned around to see a large blood splatter come from the head of Malcolm Inde. His head bounced lifelessly from the force of the shot. She looked back at her leader to see him smiling sadistically at the sight before him. This could not be Sergeant Sagara Sousuke. This thing could not even be human. No man could ever do such a thing and take such great delight in it.

Black was within distance of Sagara. He balled his fist up and tightened all of the muscles in his arm and shoulder, ready to punch him with all the force he had. He had never hit anything with all his force, fearing what may happen. He had always held back. Now was not the time to hold back. Sagara had just killed one of his teammates and the feeling he was getting that Malcolm would not be the only one. He threw his punch with all of his might. It was definitely enough to kill the kid, but that didn't matter. He had to ensure the safety of the rest of his team before anyone else got killed. There was a loud crunch as his fist sunk a few inches into the back of Sagara's skull, and blood spewed forth from the cut his fist made. The boy fell forward as limb as a noodle. His head hit the ground and bounced a bit. He was dead. He made sure to hit the vital spot on the back of the head to ensure that the young man would die instantly from the blow. Black sighed in disbelief as he approached the rest of his team. Braxton was badly shaken, Chief had an intense look on his face, KB didn't seem to even know what was going on, and Malcolm was dead. Chief quickly looked around nervously at the sky. Something was definitely on his mind, and it was bothering him greatly. But, what he saw around him did not seem to bother him. He quickly took off into a sprint and headed into the forest.

"Chief! Ye come back ere, Chief! We're leavin! We gettin out of ere, Chief! Come back!" he yelled desperately at the Indian.

Chief did not stop for a moment at the voices of his comrades. He had to find out something. Something here was horribly wrong. Not just that Sagara had killed one of his subordinates, but something else was wrong. The legend was wrong.

"KB, ye an Braxton pull ye selves getha an radio in for a pick-up. We need to be gettin out a ere. I'll go an look for Chief." commanded Black.

"Alright." said KB in a shaky voice as he got up to go over to Jill who didn't seem to hear what Black had said.

"Also, tell them what happened. Letem know that I killed..." he said before he was interrupted by an unknown voice behind him.

"That you killed who?" said the cold, dark, unrecognizable voice behind him.

He had a horrible feeling as to who that was without needing to look. He shivered from a cold chill that the voice sent through his body. He turned around and stared in shock horror into the face of Sousuke Sagara, the man he had just killed.

How could this be?! There is no way that ANYTHING could get up after a hit like that! Now was not the time to question. He had to get KB and Braxton to safety. His job, after all, was to protect them if the need should arise. And, now it had risen in the form of their team leader. The look in his eyes said that he was going to kill them all.

"Both of ye, get outta ere!" he shouted while reaching for his pistol.

His pistol was not there. He looked down in fear and dismay to confirm with his eyes what his touch told him. His weapon was not there. He looked up in fear as he heard the thing before him laugh in the most sinister, terrifying laugh he had ever heard or imagined. He shivered as he saw his pistol being twirled playfully around the thing's finger. It spoke to him.

"Is this what you're looking for? We can't have you shooting me, now can we? They say that you excel in hand to hand combat, isn't that right? Then, surely you would have no problem taking me out like a man! I'm just a kid, right? So, you should have no trouble at all."

He threw the pistol into the woods far out of sight and hidden amongst the many fallen leaves. Black was going to have to fight this thing hand to hand. He had the mind that no man could ever take him down in hand to hand combat, not even multiple men. But, this was no man. It looked like Sergeant Sagara Sousuke of Mithril, but it was no man, or at least not anymore. He was confident in his combat skills, but the blow that he delivered before should have easily killed him. If he was going to fight him, he could not fight him fairly. He would have to strike when he wasn't expecting it. He advanced forward towards Sagara with his arms spread out non-threateningly.

"Ay, I don't think I want to fight ye!" he said while advancing forward.

KB took this as his cue. He grabbed Jill and started running down the hill. He was one to only look things over rationally. But, there was nothing rational about this entire thing. Sergeant Sagara had just got up after a killing blow. That defied all laws that he knew of. He knew that if he didn't get himself and Braxton out of there, or if Black didn't stop him, they would all die.

Sousuke stared at the advancing Scotsman oddly. He knew he was up to something, but no matter, there was nothing that the man could do against him. He would amuse him; let him think he stands a chance. Black continued the conversation, hoping to advance closer for a surprise strike.

"There's no way I could be ye! That punch I gave ye shoulda killed ye! Tell me somethin... why are ye doin this? Why did ye kill..."

He was in close enough to deliver a surprise strike. This could be his best chance, and he had to take it. The punch came quicker than anyone could have possibly believed. It was a strong hit aimed for the thing's head that was meant to have enough force to break its neck. Why the strike didn't connect, no one knew? Except for maybe Sousuke Sagara who smiled and ducked under the strike like it was mere child's play. Black was confused as to how someone could move that fast and react that quickly. He gasped in total surprise when he felt a hard impact on the back of his legs.

Everything was once again moving in slow motion for Sousuke. He could still feel everything in the wind. He could feel himself in the position of the air; he could feel the tightening of Black's muscles ready for a strike. He could feel the uncoordinated footsteps of Braxton and KB running down the hill out of sight. He could feel Chief as he made his way through the forest. He could feel the fist and arm of Black breaking the wind with great force as the strike came towards his head. Perhaps now would be a good time to dodge the attack and put his foe on the ground.

He dodged under the upward strike that Black had thrown as a surprise attack. He saw and smiled at the look on his foe's face. He was kneeled down under him. He looked at his legs and remembered the fundamentals of combat. "Bring down the support to bring down the man." He did a quick, solid, perfect sweep kick on the man's legs. His leg stopped as soon as it connected and the Scot's legs flew upward as if they were propelled. The feeling he was getting from the motion of the falling was now coming out in numbers. He was three feet from the ground. Braxton and KB were exactly 102 feet and 11 inches away from him. Chief was 589 feet and 3 inches away from him. He quickly brought his leg back under him and with minor effort, went into a perfect aerial back flip about seven feet off of the ground.

Black watched in amazement as Sagara soared high into the air and did a maneuver that he would only expect to see in action movies while the people were suspended by wires. He hit the ground hard and prepared to roll out of the way. But, as soon as he opened his eyes again, he saw Sagara falling towards him at an incredibly fast descent. The heels of his boots were aimed straight at his shoulders. He had no time to react. The heels of Sagara's boots came down on his shoulders with tremendous force. The impact crushed every bone, muscle, and artery in his shoulders, as to that Sagara's feet were planted firmly on the ground with only a thin layer of flesh under each foot. Black screamed in pain as Sousuke landed on his shoulders and completely obliterated them. A quick jerk of both feet to the right by Sagara caused the arms to come completely off. Black started a scream that sounded as if it could have gone on for minutes.

Sousuke smiled a sadistic smile of satisfaction when he heard the banshick wail of pain. The scream was enough from this victim to satisfy him. He quickly brought his hand into the air, made it into a fist, and brought it down onto the screaming man's face. The man was instantly silenced as no blood came, but his face was compacted inward. His face was now horribly disfigured and resembled the shape of a bowl. Sousuke looked down in admiration at his beautiful work of art he had created. He quickly snapped back to attention when he felt a pierce in the wind followed by the sound of a gunshot. He looked around to see Braxton holding a gun, aimed towards him with a bullet making its way out of the barrel. He could feel the ripping of the wind as the bullet slowly made its way to him. 42 feet 1 inch away and closing at a distance of two inches per second with a velocity increase of 3 feet every .012 seconds. That gave him approximately .16 seconds to react. Plenty of time, so he might as well have some fun and see the look in her eyes when she realized what she was up against. He waited impatiently for the bullet to reach the point where it was within arms distance of him. The tree limb to the right of him was 13.21 feet off the ground. His hand would have form a perfect 180 degree angle and he would have to apply a minimum of 3,852.17 and a maximum of 5,213.4 pounds of pressure to the bullet in order to get it to get thrown off course and headed towards the tree branch with enough force to shatter it. That was no problem at all; not for him.

Braxton witnessed Sousuke brutally murder her comrade. This was too much and he had to be stopped. She felt the anger well up inside of her as she quickly drew her pistol and took an immediate shot. She didn't even give Sousuke a chance to turn around. But, it seemed that as soon as she pulled the trigger, Sousuke turned around waved his hand, and made a tree limb explode into several large pieces. She realized that he had deflected her bullet into the tree limb. He eyes went wide when she witnessed this impossible action performed by the man who was once Sergeant Sousuke Sagara. He only smiled. The smile looked so innocent, but it also made it feel as if her heart had stopped. She held her breath as she looked into those eyes. He quickly reached his hand into the air and caught a piece of the splintered wood that had flown his way after the 'explosion.' She tried to scream when she saw him bring his arm back, but she never had the time to.

He watched with satisfaction, her many different reactions to his actions. He saw a new look of fear in her eyes as he pulled back the hand that had the sharp piece of splintered tree branch in it. She saw her death coming: that was the look. He loved it. He felt a great glory within himself as he saw that look. That is all he needed from this foe. He would grant her the gift of her death now.

He thrust his hand forward with lightning speed, and the sharp splinter flew faster than any bullet. The long splinter stuck into the woman's forehead and she fell to the ground. He was so thrilled by his actions, by his power, by the death around him that he laughed. He was having the time of his life. KB would be the next to go.

He heard gunshots and then that was it. He heard no other sound from below the hill. Logic told him that by now, both Black and Braxton were dead. Shortly after is when he heard the most horrible sound he had every heard before. Laughter. The laughter sounded unnatural, but he knew it could only be coming from the vocal cords of Sousuke Sagara. He was probably the only one still alive up there. He was a coward and he was proud to admit. Being a coward had saved his life many a time, and now might be another one of those times. He was breathing hard; he was scared. He held his breathe as soon as he saw Sagara standing on top of the hill. Hopefully, Sagara couldn't see him. He was pretty sure that he was hidden by from all sight by the bush he was under. Sagara smiled as he headed down the hill towards him. Had he been seen? No, that's impossible. He was too well hidden. When he looked back up, he saw the boots of Sousuke Sagara standing in front of the bush that he was under. KB ducked his head down and held his breathe. He began to pray that he hadn't been seen. The boots stayed in their place. Perhaps he hadn't been seen.

"Come on out of there, KB. Have a little bit of dignity."

The voice sounded as if it was directed at the bush he was hiding under. KB let out the breath he was holding. He managed to still his nerves for his final moments. Normally, he would have been crying his eyes out and begging for his life. But, he knew it would be pointless. He did not know why, but he knew it would be pointless. Sagara was going to kill him despite their being on good terms. Today, he would be brave. He would not die a coward. He braced on his left knee and stood up from the bushes. He came up and met Sagara with eye contact. Sousuke only smirked.

"I think I'll be kind, or at least cliché-like. Do you have any final requests?" he asked with a mocking tone.

KB looked him in the eyes, not even flinching. Today, he would be brave. Today, he was stalwart. Today, he would be a respectable man in the face of danger.

"Yeah, just make it quick, alright, sir?"

"Granted."

Without anymore words or without any warning, Sousuke's leg lifted off of the ground and the bottom of his boot connected underneath KB's chin. The death was quick and painless. His head threw back with great force. There was a sickening cracking sound as the head snapped backwards and then rotated back and to the left. The lifeless body of KB remained standing before it finally fell to the ground.

This did not please Sousuke that much. The death had not been as exciting as the others. So, he would have to make the next one count. Chief would die more painfully and more slowly than any of them. He stopped for a moment to feel of the wind. Chief was now 411.38 feet away from him. He had stopped moving and was now still. Chief was waiting for him. He must have somehow sensed what was happening and was now waiting for him where he would have the advantage. He was in the middle of the forest. Unfortunately, he, like Black, did not know that he could get in a surprise attack on him. But, like Black, he would also entertain Chief by letting him think he might stand a chance. He looked in the direction from where he could feel Chief and began walking in that direction.

There it was. The thing of Cherokee legend. The think that had killed his teammates. It was standing there on the ground with its back facing him. The legends were right, but inaccurate. It should not be here, and it should not have been able to take over Sagara. Now, he, being the only person left, being the only remaining Cherokee who knew the legend would have to stop him. He would sacrifice his own life in order to bring this creature down. He could not allow it to live. It was now looking around as if looking for something even though it knew he was there.

"Come on out, Chief. I'm done playing. I can't leave you alive, now can I? I can't have anyone telling everyone else what I have done here. Come on out, because I promise, if you don't, your death will be that much more painful when I find you. And, I will find you."

Chief leapt down from the tree he was in, but Sagara kept his back turned. He enjoyed feeling his presence than he did seeing him. But, for some reason, fear did not radiate from this man like it did all the others.

"I know; you don't have to tell me. I have some words to say, but I do not want to say them to you. These words are for Sagara. Sagara, I'm sorry this fate has befallen you. I will have to deliver you from this world as a result. I have nothing against you, but the thing that shares your body. I cannot allow either of you to walk this world any longer."

With that Chief unlatched his large, stone, hand-made, tomahawk, and took as swing at the creature in front of him. It was much bigger and heavier than the ones depicted in the movies and museums, but it was also much more efficient. This would be the sacrificial weapon he would use to end this creature's life. Sousuke turned around with a smile on his face. This would be fun. He would make the Indian scream a thousand times before he died. His pain would be unlike no other and it would last for a long time, until his need for pain was satisfied. His first action would be to show the Indian exactly how powerless he really was. He would do this by getting rid of his ancient weapon.

Sousuke quickly turned around with a frightening grin on his face. He held his hand above his head with his index finger held skyward. He easily and quickly sidestepped the huge axe as it cut through the air where he was standing. He brought his finger down in a chopping motion and the axe shattered to pieces when the finger struck it. Chief stared at the creature in disbelief, but with no more amount of fear than he had before. It was like he had been expecting this to happen. This only angered Sousuke, for that look of fear was not present in his eyes. As if to make the point, lightning struck in the distance and the rain came down even harder.

"You are not human." said Chief stating what he knew to be the obvious.

Now came the fun part.

The vision ended with the horribly mutilated corpse of Chief lying in a pool of his own blood and Sousuke standing above it laughing like a madman. The rain poured even harder, spreading the pool of blood even further.

Sousuke gasped in surprise when he the flashback ended. He now realized what had happened. He had killed them all. No, not him. But, if not him, who? The thought was too much to bear. He stared at his hands in disbelief. His hands were covered in a blood that wasn't there before. He screamed as the flashback resumed.

Sousuke looks down once again at his newest piece of art. The Indian really was a beautiful work of art, or at least when portrayed like this. He smiled as he turned around and headed off. There was still more death that he could cause. He might as well complete the mission while he was here as long as that promise of death was there. Suddenly, he felt a tight grip around his ankle. He should have felt that, but for some odd reason he didn't. He looked down to see the bloody, shaking, hand of Chief holding onto his ankle. The Indian spit out some blood and sputtered out his dying words as best as he could.

"D... Do not... go any... further. You can't. If you do, you wi... will only bring more death. You are what the l... legends have warned my... people about for all of these centuries."

He could not see the vision, but the words were still loud in his head. He looked around, confused. He was in the house of the target. Then, he realized what was going on. The grenade rolled to a stop on the floor. It let out its final click before detonation. He saw the man running towards the little girl in the corner in hopes of shielding her from the grenade. He would never make it in time.

"NO!" screamed Sousuke.

He realized now that he had already killed all of his teammates. He could not let anyone else die. Especially not a little girl. He quickly ran around the corner into the living room. He had to absorb the blast. If he could make it, he would be able to save two lives and end his own, which actually seemed like a good choice.

"You... you are the one... that is to walk the world and bring... bring death, destruction, chaos, suffering where ever you are. You must... must not do this. Please, I beg of you. Do... not go on. Innocents... will die!"

He leapt through the air in hopes that his body would cover the grenade and absorb the entire blast. But, it was too late. There was a bright flash as he felt several pieces of metal stuck into his body. He fell to the floor, only pressing the shrapnel further into his body. He felt light headed and everything started spinning. He looked up to see the most dreaded thing he had ever seen before. He saw the man lying on the floor with shrapnel stuck all in his body. But, the little girl. The little girl was still standing up. Not because she was still alive, but because she was pinned to the wall. Most of the shrapnel had managed to fly her direction. Her entire body was pierced, including her head and one of her eyes. She should have been dead, but she wasn't. She screamed. It was a scream that Sousuke would never forget. It chilled his blood as he watched the little girl scream. He could not do anything, and everything was starting to go black. As light faded to darkness, the only thing he heard was the continuing scream of the little and the final few words of Chief before he died.

"You... will kill everyone you come across. The legend... it says this much. You are Death. You... are the Grim Reaper. You ... are the Keeper. You are the... Crimson Death. The Dying Breathe, the Ravaged Fallen... the Gatekeeper."

Darkness and unconsciousness had completely overtaken him. It was a warm welcome. The little girl was no longer screaming, but he could still hear her. He had killed his entire team, the man lying on the floor, and a little girl. Perhaps what Chief had said was true.

"You are the Deathbringer."

TO BE CONTINUED