Disclaimers 'n' crap: Haihai peeps! Sorry for the long update wait. I WAS going to go to my friend's house and FINALLY play Metal Gear Solid, but she's sick, so I thought "Hey! It's a dark, gloomy day. I can get some writing done!" So, here's da next chappie. Oh, a little note to AstarothTheFallen: that character of mine that I'm letting you use, Sara Matsuki, is mentioned in this chapter. Meryl also makes a very brief cameo. You guys already know what I don't own, including Meryl. Everything else is MINE. NO STEALING. Enjoy.
Near the top of a spiraling black tower at the center of Capitopolis, two figures gazed upon the destruction, the carnage, the remains of a recent battle.
2029, two years after I was assigned the Special Forces Unit: Cliffhangers. Yesterday was one of the most devastating defeats the Alliance, the army, the whole of E-Max had ever seen. We hadn't lost the war, but we had lost the lives of 1,000 E-Maxen troops. It may not seem like much…to a human, but for the E-Maxens, it was a disaster. Why? Because there are only two ways to kill an E-Maxen. Period. Drain all its blood, or remove its heart and or brain.
"The war goes well for us, Aelita," said the taller figure, a woman who would make perverts drool and children run in fear. It was Elaine Barringer.
"Does it, mother?" said the smaller figure, a pale-skinned young girl with waist-length grey hair who wore a simple black dress and held a rag doll in her right hand. Her eyes looked soulless. It was Aelita.
"What do you mean?" said Elaine.
"Mother," said Aelita "I have always questioned your reason for fighting with the ADC." Elaine looked coldly at her.
"I've explained this to you before," said Elaine "I'm only in this for the sex. The whole 'universal domination' thing is just an interesting added bonus."
"You also have revenge," said Aelita "For father, remember?" Elaine's face darkened.
"To this day," she said "I doubt even the Queen knows how Pastel and Lafayette were rejoined." Aelita bowed her head. The demon girl, like all demons, had no real parents. She and her brother had been created from the same dark energy, but her brother had been destroyed by The Crystal Alliance 27 years ago. When Elaine and Pastel had joined the Alliance of Dark Chaos, she had felt a kinship between herself and the demons. Perhaps it was the fact that they had once had physical relations with humans and, in a way, it made them more human. Aelita herself had been outcast once for being "too human". She was not Elaine and Pastel's daughter, but she had always thought of herself as that. Aelita clutched the doll to her chest. It was shocking at how innocent the mere presence of that doll made her look.
"I miss father," she said. Elaine knelt down and put a comforting arm around her foster daughter.
"We will find a way to bring him home," she said "But first, I have my own personal matters to deal with."
"You mean Scott?" said Aelita. Elaine grimaced.
"Not him, his unit," she said "With his old school chums by his side, Scotty is more powerful than ever. He's been chasing us all over E-Max for two years. Have you heard what they've been chanting?"
"'One day, Elaine will pay'," Aelita recited.
"Yes," said Elaine "However, at this rate, bringing Scott down along with his unit sounds so very appealing. I've had my fun with him." She started back inside.
"Come, Aelita," she said "We're launching another assault. This time, we're aiming directly towards the Cliffhangers Unit and I don't care if they don't stay in one place!"
Not much later that day, I was with the Unit, Snake, Raiden and some of their commanding officers, including Snake's wife and second-in-command, Meryl. We were discussing the impact of the war on some of the children.
"I think the war has actually done some good for Farrell," said Snake, referring to the 11-year-old E-Maxen godson of his and Meryl's who had become like a son to them "That night of the first attack…he and his parents wouldn't leave each other's sight for a week! I didn't think they ever would again! And to think, of all the times Farrell's complained about his parents not being around enough to spend time with him…"
"Connor wouldn't leave my side that night of my big motorcycle accident," said Scott, referring to his 12-year-old protégé "What a great kid."
That was the ADC's last attempt to off me. I had been driving my motorcycle through the outskirts of Capitopolis when one of their armored trucks zoomed out of nowhere and hit me hard. I woke up a week later at M.A.R.S. Program. The accident had ripped all four of my limbs off, but the guys there fixed me up in a jiff.
"Rikei and Charline worry a lot about me too," said Raiden, actually referring to his kids this time "But they've heard about everything I've been through before. So now every time I call, they always sound happy and confident."
"Sara and Isaac aren't Sara and Isaac anymore." Everyone turned to the corner.
Colonel Sally Matsuki. Under the command of General Raiden Kiyamoto. Her division had seen some of the bloodiest battles in the war.
"I've heard calls from home saying that they've been barricading themselves in the computer room for days on end," she said.
"I thought your kids were computer geeks, Sally," said Shelby.
"Yes but they've never used computers to excess like this before," said Sally "I have a feeling that they're using them as an outlet for their worries because of the war."
"It's better that what I've used as outlets for my problems in the past," said Scott, the Cliffhangers nodding in agreement. Sally sighed.
"First thing after the war's over, I'm going back to my examining table at the E-Maxen Royal Hospital," she said.
"Sirs! Sirs!" An E-Maxen soldier had come rushing into the room.
"What is it, Captain Caprice?" said Meryl.
"Elaine…and…her army…about 50,000 strong…coming…to…attack…" he panted, breathing hard.
"We have to face her," said Shelby. Scott nodded and turned to his unit.
"Alright, everyone," said Scott "All together!"
We chanted our slogan "One day, Elaine will pay!" for, what would be, the last time before we were called to arms.
Oooo…is this the end of the Special Forces Unit: Cliffhangers? Hell ya. But just how do Elaine and Scott come out on top AND bottom? Find out next time!
