Battle Field: Earth
Chapter Six: Shadows
By: Sci-Fi Raptor
Disclaimer: See chapter one.
Volvograd, Russia
June 2000
Somewhere Near Mamayev Hill:
It was night, and raining heavily. It was very quiet too. The area hadn't seen any military action since World War II.
Three, two, one, Gab thought, and quickly stood up to release a short burst from his automatic rifle (AR). He ducked just as the enemies returned fire. Giving up his position had made the enemy go into a frenzy, all of them shooting at him at once. It would seem that he was at a disadvantage to some, but this was what he was waiting for. By firing at him like idiots, they all gave their positions away. He enervated a few grenades and let death rain over his enemies. He fired his gun, hoping that if there were any survivors, they would still shoot at him. Fortunately, there was no response. Even if it did seem that the enemy was down, he still cautiously crawled his way to the nearby building and took a defensive position. Within moments, a light skinned woman with long green hair and cold blue eyes followed him. They warmed up when she realized that they were done killing.
"All enemies are down, sir," she said.
"Good. Lets just get this thing and go," Gab said, who had finished reloading a Soviet he had managed to pick up on his way. He slung it over his shoulder and cocked his AR. The woman discharged her Uzi's spent clips and replaced them. They quickly made their way to the fourteenth floor and shot a few more people from behind. They reached a safe that Gab quickly cracked and the two scanned its innards. The woman found what they were looking for first. She stuck it in her shirt and motioned to Gab that she had it. They left the room quickly, going up the stairs to make their extract.
As he was about to make his first step, Gab said, "If this were an American building, this would actually be the thirteenth floor."
"Why's that?" the woman asked in a surprisingly pleasant voice.
"The reason is that they have this superstition that the number thirteen is unlucky, so they try their best to avoid using it."
"That's silly," she said as they passed their first flight of stairs. Unfortunately, the 'fourteenth' floor exploded, causing the two to be hurled up a few feet.
"I should have expected that," Gab said unnaturally cheerfully. "I forgot that Americans built this place."
"And you choose now of all times to tell me!" the woman complained, hurriedly scampering up so that she could keep up with Gab. Without any other incidents, they reached the roof and walked up to the helicopter. Gab insisted the woman go up first and followed her in. But the worst thing happened; one of the guards had managed to follow them and shot Gab just as he set foot on the helicopter as it started to rise.
The woman swiftly ended the guard's life with a controlled burst of her Uzi and scrambled to keep Gab from falling off. She laid him on the floor as the power door automatically closed and ripped his shirt apart. There were two holes in him. One was through his shoulder and another just under the middle of his ribcage. She wasn't sure, but there was a large possibility that his stomache and liver may have been punctured.
Nekomi, Japan
Late September 2002
Outside the Morisato Residence:
"Skuld is really late today," Belldandy said worriedly. "I hope nothing happened to her."
"Don't worry so much Bell," Keiichi said. "Skuld can take care of herself. Remember, she's not alone remember; she has Noble Scarlet to help her if she needs it."
"I guess you're right," Belldandy said and continued helping Keiichi on the last touches on the motorcycle he would use on the university sponsored Racing Cup 2002. Keiichi was given the honor after ranking 2nd in the 'Off Road 2002' championship. The 1rst place winner would also be racing against him tomorrow, though Keiichi hadn't really seen the guy.
A little bit later, the sound of a motorcycle could be heard approaching. The driver stopped in front of the Temple's entrance and someone got off of the bike. From what he had seen and heard, it sounded like a bike from the Kawasaki Ninja line. Just like that guy who managed to dodge that truck, Keiichi reflected, remembering that night from a few months ago.
The lighting was bad, but Keiichi and Belldandy could tell that it was Skuld who had gotten off. She talked to the driver for a little bit, giggled and kissed him on the cheek. He said something and put on the helmet that she had taken off. He revved up his engine and started burning out. He probably said goodbye, since Skuld started to wave at him. He did a 180, keeping his front tire on the same place and let go of his front brakes, sending him lunging forward. Skuld stayed there for a little bit longer and finally made her way to the Temple.
"Was that Gab?" Belldandy asked when Skuld was close enough to hear.
"Yeah…" she said, her face still red.
"He seems like a nice person," Keiichi said.
"I think I love him…" Skuld said as she went into the house.
"Love?" Keiichi and Belldandy said together. It's only been two days… they thought.
Back in the Temple, Urd intercepted Skuld before she could go to bed. She gave her an annoyed look and said, "And where were you all day? I finished making my tracker spell and you were nowhere to be found. You didn't even come with Benpei and Sigel!"
"Gomen…" she said.
"You better be sorry," she said, irritated. "I put so much energy into that dumb spell and you didn't even use it. If you weren't wandering around, you could have visited him today. Or at least found him and gotten his number!" Urd saw her sister was still going to her room as if what she had just said didn't matter. "Hey… where are you going? I'm not done with you yet."
"I'm kind of tired after today," she said.
"Why's that?" Urd said, taken by surprise. Her sister was usually full of energy from all of the ice cream she ate. She threw something to her as she made her way to the main hall.
"I was with him today," she said. As if in after thought, she giggled as she entered her room.
Urd looked at the thing that Skuld had thrown to her. It was a few pages full of photo stickers. The first column was a picture where Skuld looked like she was dazed, the flash of the camera reflecting off of her eyes. The rest of the columns were filled with more composed poses, as if Skuld had suddenly found out she was in a photo booth. Urd also noticed that a sticker was missing from each column. I'll ask her later about it, Urd thought, smiling. Guess she finally found someone, Urd thought a little later. And the best thing is it seems that its actually true love. Her face soured a bit when she realized something else. Too bad I couldn't test that new love potion formula on her…
(Outside, as Skuld kissed Gab on the cheek)
How DARE she kiss another man! She is MINE and MINE alone. I NEVER gave her permission to do anything like that. But if she had the gall to do something like that, I know she isn't loyal to me anymore. And if she isn't loyal, I can't have her. And if I can't have her, no one can!