Chapter 6: Demon Slayer

Demon Slayer (Andrew)

Saturday, January 31, 2253; 8:25 A.M.

Battlefield; 62W, 50S

Below us, Orange Star forces were being pushed back, little by little. Above us, our AWACS screamed orders. In front of us, a red demon laughed and fired.

"Andrew, let's go."

"Right."

The spell binding us broke and we split off. Azrael went after me first. He followed me as I zigged and zagged through the clouds, dove down to graze the smoke of battle, and soared high to reach the clouds again. Hakari would cross my path and shoot at the red eye behind me. But it only infuriated the demon as he changed his gaze to the other angel.

"Hakari! Go!" My mouth was dry, my voice a whisper. I screamed but no sound came out. Bullets created miniature clouds of dust as I raced behind the demon, desperately shooting at his vulnerable tail of fire.

"Ngh!" Hakari pulled a flip and sped off towards Marina. The demon lost interest in the fleeing angel and turned to face me. I could only rasp a prayer as we flew towards oblivion.

Words formed on my lips, but I could no longer hear them. I wasn't afraid anymore. The demon flew towards me at 500 MPH in a jet that could rip mine to shreds. He fired deadly rounds of bullets at my body. But I wasn't afraid. He passed me, and fired engulfed my view. The darkness came, and my mind drifted…

I lay next to Hakari as we stared at the night sky. No clouds, no lights, just us. I looked over to her, and she looked back. We smiled together as the stars shone brightly overhead.

Life (Hakari)

Saturday, January 31, 2253; 7:00 P.M.

Marina AB; 60W, 50S

Andrew didn't return from the battlefield. I didn't look back as the red plane attacked him. I didn't want to see him die. I was afraid…

I sat away from the lights, near the darkened hangar. The men of the base were drinking and talking loudly. We had completed our objectives, claiming Border City and establishing a new defensive line. But our ground forces were reduced to half of our original army, and two out of three planes down. Kira…Andrew…I was all alone once again.

"Captain Hachiyama, you shouldn't be out here like this." Sarah spoke softly, draping a blanket over me. "That's right, you're a captain now." She sat next to me and put her arm around me.

"Thanks…But now…I'm alone again."

"Hey, don't say that! You've got me!" She frowned and got up. She did her best too look imposing. Instead she looked like a cheerleader trying to do the splits and failing. I didn't care. Not now. Not when the dead were yet to be mourned.

"Hakari…" Sarah's downtrodden face mimicked mine. Someone from the medic tent called her over. She whispered a quiet "Good-bye", and left.

I sat back and looked at the book. It still had a faded cover and fading pages. I flipped through the pages until I found the last one with the ray of light. I almost dropped the book when I saw it.

As if by magic, the page now was colored in and words were freshly inked onto the page. I read the shiny black text in the dim light of the hangar.

"But then a ray of light pierced the cloud. The Azrael was shocked that such a preposterous thing could happen. What was this amazing miracle?

A young man stood sheltering a young woman from the dark cloud. His body showed signs of repeated cuts and bruises. His clothes were tattered and his face was beaten. But he sheltered the woman from the evil. The light came from his heart, and he sang."

I eagerly turned the page, but I only saw white. What was his song? Who? I looked back at the page, wondering if I was hallucinating. Again, the page was in strong colors and fine black ink. A miracle…

"Hey, Grave." A familiar voice. I looked up, and fainted.

Sunday, February 1, 2253; 7:50 A.M.

Marina Hospital; 60W, 50S

My eyes opened slowly, sleepily. I mumbled a few incoherent groans and sat up. A plush hospital bed and white, blank walls were my immediate surroundings. To my left there was an open door. Nurses and patients walked or rolled by. To my right lay Andrew, his body covered in bandages. He snored loudly and tried to roll over, but his right leg was propped up in a cast, so he wiggled around for a bit.

Sarah entered and placed her hand gently on my head. She nodded and pulled out the IV. Andrew got a menacing glare. Sarah poked him in the arm with her finger, and then slapped him. He got up with a startled yelp of pain, and quickly oriented himself to his proper position.

"Hey you perv, wake up!" She then proceeded to check his bandaged body parts. "Almost lost your manhood in the crash; too bad." She squeezed his right arm and he winced.

"I only touched her wrist!" He blurted out, which caused Sarah to slap him again. "Okay, okay…so I touched her butt. It felt warm and soft!"

I touched my backside and picked up my pillow. "Is his head tender?"

"Kind of…He's hard-headed."

"Hmm. How about his goods?"

"Tender."

"Good." I smashed the pillow into his groin, which immediately caused him to tense up in horrible pain. "Serves you right, you pervert."

"Ouch…" Andrew squeaked and slowly loosened his left arm, the only good one. He flashed a victory sign, but his jaw was clamped shut. It looked weird.

"You'll take care of him, won't you?"

"Oh, he'll be fine. Despite your little beating and my carefully timed slaps, he'll be back in good shape by the end of the week. It's quite amazing how he managed to survive that crash. And what's more amazing is he was able to walk out of it alive." She pointed to his various bandaged body parts. "Must be some sort of perv thing."

"Well, he's a nice guy, really. Just can't resist my charm, can't you?" I smiled at his wounded body. I quickly clenched my fists and held one towards him. The room turned dark and I became a fiery avatar of evil. "Touch my ass again and you'll wish I was never born." I swear he shrank back in fear.

"See ya!" I jovially left to get my things. The room lightened and I became the beautiful young maiden again.

Andrew groaned and rolled around. "Remind me never to piss off a woman again."

New Chapters (Hakari)

Sunday, February 1, 2253; 9:40 A.M.

Marina Barracks; 60W, 50S

The crew room was empty today. Probably because many of the soldiers were moving to re-occupy Border City. I didn't care. I needed to look at my old, beaten book again. I lay down on the sofa, and pulled the book out of my pocket. Now the cover glinted a little. Gold trim had been placed around the edges of the covers. The pages inside were fresh and clean, and the pictures crisp and sharp. The words almost came to life, leaping from the page in brilliant boldness. Once again, the last page with anything on it was the one with a young man sheltering a young woman from the dark evil.

"A young man stood sheltering a young woman from the dark cloud. His body showed signs of repeated cuts and bruises. His clothes were tattered and his face was beaten. But he sheltered the woman from the evil. The light came from his heart, and he sang."

"What song…?" I wondered softly, and then got off the sofa. It was now time for me to get my own things ready to ship out. In one week, our next big mission would begin.

Counter Strike (Andrew)

Monday, February 8, 2253; 8:35 A.M.

Border AB; 80W, 50S

General Gregory Ford himself appeared to brief us on the situation.

"Welcome, brave warriors of the land and air. Today we begin one of the most important and crucial operations of the war. Today is the day that we will counter attack Red Star. So far we have been on the defensive, and it has cost us many lives. But we cannot let Red Star claim victory. It is imperative that we deal a blow to their pride. Let's begin.

Here is Border City. The nearest enemy base is Bradley, a former facility of ours. Bradley used to house an entire ground-battalion. Therefore we expected the enemy to equip it as such. That is not so. They have added an airfield there, allowing Red Star to send bombers and fighters to our positions and keep the pressure on us easily.

The 1st Mechanized Battalion will advance directly upon the enemy nest. It will be tough, so I'll require that you two pilots will be able to provide direct air cover for them. Also, the 2nd and 3rd Infantry Battalions will attack from flanking positions to the NE and SE. It is crucial that they capture the facilities before the 1st can enter the base. The enemy has set up a new weapon known as an Electro-Magnetic-Shield, which is capable of forming a protective barrier around an object using a picket fence of EM generators. This will cause any mechanical unit that touches it to become immobile. Pilots, be very careful upon entering the airspace.

Our navy will provide supporting fire. Major Timothy Bakers will give the coordinates and lead the 2nd. Lieutenant Colonel Ian Lord will command the 1st. Lieutenant General Cory Jacks will lead the 3rd. Captain Hakari Hachiyama will lead Angel Team to victory. Isaki Drake, I expect you will be ready to fire upon request?"

All of the commanders barked a simultaneous "Roger!"

"Good. Dismissed!"

The hangar had a surprise for us.

"New planes?" I looked at the beautiful new planes parked in the hangar.

"Yup. Multi-role fighter class F-18M. Used for both sea and land operations by Orange Star in the last war. Most of them were kept in storage or destroyed, but these two babies were found just five days ago. They're all fixed and ready to fly." Colonel Roberts patted me on the back.

"Good luck. You'll need it out there. That Red Star plane you almost killed is known as the Bloody Eagle. Keep your guard up around him. Your plane is a good match for his, but he's got the skills of a war veteran. He likes to go for the kill with another pilot, so you'll have to stay alert." He walked away with those words.

"Andrew. It's time. Let's go." Hakari was unusually stern. Maybe because I copped a feel when she was unconscious. Of course, it was just there in front of me, so…

I'll never wash my left hand again.