Author's Notes:

The story here is not derived from any of the episodes of the Get Backers anime, so you'll notice that there are so many made-up characters here connecting the lives of the main characters of the anime. It's finished now so I hope you take time reading it because this is my first ever GB fanfic and it's also multi-chaptered for everyone's (especially my best friends') delight. This has slight fluffy moments but not really yaoi so that you guys can appreciate the adventure wrapped around this fanfic of mine. So, enjoy have fun…

VOLTS vs. Eclextia

Chapter I: The Meeting

Back in Mugenjyou, the VOLTS leader, Raitei had called the Four Kings to an emergency meeting. It was odd to have the Raitei summon all the 4 other heads of the V.O.L.T.S. Even the lower members of the group had a notion that this meeting was something extremely important for there were those times when the Thunder Emperor need not call all the top 4 leaders. As expected by the Raitei, the Kami no Tari, the Beast master, the Ginseihin no Nidiru, and MakubeX all heeded is summon. Exactly at five in the afternoon, they had all gathered back at the Underground, the place where the Raitei's headquarters was found. Here, the Thunder Emperor felt secured and that none of their plans and secrets were going to be revealed to the upper world.

Raitei stood up from his chair and stared at everyone who was present. Not one was spared from the dark penetrating eyes of the Thunder Emperor. His stares were so cold and frightening that the only thing every person wanted to do was to curl away and stare at a different direction. He was about to speak when one of the 4 leaders, the guy with brown long hair gestured at a dark looking man among the crowd. Raitei recognized that he was differently clothed and guessed that maybe he was not one of the members of the VOLTS. He pointed at the black man, who supported a black robe with 5 silver stitches on it, and as he did, a jet bolt of lightning struck him. The man evaded the attack, but as he did, another lightning bolt struck him, and this time, he did not have time to elude the bolt because of its suddenness. The effect was so strong that it created a great crater around the man.

"He's gone…The body's gone," whispered one of the men around the crater.

"His body has turned to dust! How frightening…," whispered back the soldier.

Everyone was startled to see what their great leader had just done. It was as though God Himself passed beside each man, that no one made another sound after the attack. Each feared that he might be the next one to be struck if ever he slipped one word. As the underground was filled with silence, the man with the long dark brown hair, the Kami no Tari, stood and smiled at the Raitei. Before Raitei could blink, the man disappeared and reappeared in the middle of the crater. He took the robe that belonged to the black man and examined it closely.

"That was a spy from the Eclextia System. His robe marks tell it," said the man. "Five stitches for the five previous Eclextias. So, how did you know it was him?"

Raitei walked down the stairs, leading to the crater in the middle of the floor. The other three leaders of VOLTS stared at his back.

"Shinaro Namori warned me, Kadsuki," answered the Raitei. "He said that Eclextia will dispatch one of its best spies today and eavesdrop on our meeting."

"So, any idea who that guy was? Besides the fact that he's one of VOLTS greatest enemies," asked the Beast master, who was lazily stroking the head of a beautiful raven resting on his shoulder.

"That was Namori," said Raitei. "He warned me alright, and though he was one of the enemies, I knew he would not do so unless he was told."

"You mean…"

"He just got orders from his boss in the upper level. They wouldn't let someone as high as Shinaro to come running up to me to spill out the beans. It was like suicide I guess," ended the Thunder Emperor. "It's a clever way of punishing him. He was likely to die so before he does, why not make use of him until the end?"

As Kadsuki looked at the robe he was holding, the man with dark eyeglasses suddenly threw a needle on the robe Kadsuki was holding. The effect was that the robe got pinned on the wall opposite Kadsuki and as it did, the robe suddenly exploded, leaving a big hole on the wall.

"I think that's enough damage for one day…," sighed Kadsuki as he rubbed his hand. It bled a little, for the white needle's impact caused a little scratch on his finger. He looked at the Needle Master and smiled at him. The man smiled back and understood that the smile was meant as a thank you. He approached Kadsuki and asked if he was alright. The latter said yes, but even though, the Needle Master brought out a blue needle which seemed to cure Kadsuki's little scratch.

After regaining his composure, Raitei started the meeting as though nothing or no one has ever disrupted it and caused dilly-dally. "I called for all the heads of V.O.L.T.S. to tell you that we have to prepare everyone for a great war. Each head must prepare his group and organize them for battle. It is time to settle our dispute with the Eclextia System. We have endured everything for almost a decade. It is only now that VOLTS have once again come together that we have to finish their system once and for all, for our children and their children's children years from now. You see, they have done so much damage to everyone living in Mugenjyou. Their installation of great nuclear machineries beside the heart of Mugenjyou has affected the health of everyone living in the city and near the city. I also gathered information from our Northern command guards that the men of Eclextia killed some innocent people whom they thought were getting in the way of their nuclear reactor plant. We have to do something. As the leader of Mugenjyou, it is my duty to awaken everyone and prepare for the worst that is yet to come."

After saying this, he dismissed all the different groups and only let the heads of the four groups to remain. He called the Kings to a more private room where there were five monitors, one for each head. Each monitor showed the land ruled by each head, as well as the members of their command guard. The four took their seats and stared at the monitor. The youngest of the four, MakubeX, did not take his seat but remained standing, his back leaning on the wall opposite Kadsuki. Raitei turned on his monitor and pulled his chair. He was about to sit when MakubeX praised him.

"You know what, Raitei, you haven't lost your touch yet," said the young leader. "The way you aimed at Shinaro-san, it was like you never had the heart of a caring person. It was like you never became Amano Ginji in your whole life. You were just amazing…It's as if I saw a cold-blooded killer do his thing beside me…So with you Kadsu-chan. You're as fast as ever. You make a good team with Jubei-san. I doubt if Jubei-san did not help you enhance your skill for the past few weeks. You're always together. You really look good together. You make such a nice couple."

As MakubeX said this, Kadsuki stared at him. He had a hard time controlling himself. If MakubeX was not so close with Raitei and was cared for by him, he would have given the young man a punch or two. As he set his eyes on MakubeX he noticed that the boy's eyes were different, they were as if they thirsted for blood. They enjoyed the sight of bloodshed and violence. His voice was mocking and full of hatred. This is not MakubeX. These are not the eyes of the MakubeX he knew. Those were the eyes of a madman…

Raitei, on the other hand, did not heed the boy's words. He did not like to talk about his alter-ego Amano Ginji and though he did not like the way MakubeX talked, he chose to silence himself in that matter. He knew there was something wrong with MakubeX. There was something bothering the kid. But at the moment, this was least of his worries. What he worries the most was their nearing battle with the Eclextias. And as he thought of these things, it was as though these floated in the room, and the Beastmaster voiced out the opposite of Raitei's thoughts.

"You're losing yourself again Maku-chan," he said. "Where on earth have you gone again? We only parted for a month and you have found yourself another hobby… "

"Not really, Shido-san. Maybe I'm just feeling at the moment an aftermath of what I did last month. I happened to get lucky with the men of Otaru Sencho, the head of the Northern command guards of Eclextia," answered MakubeX happily at the same time rubbing his temple as though it pained him.

Raitei clicked his mouse and glimpsed at MakubeX. He took out a folder from the drawer and gave it to MakubeX. He opened it and saw several pictures of men in Eclextia Command uniform. One of the people in the picture was a man with a punk look and purple shades.

"Tell me Maku, are the people in those files the ones you had fun with in Eclextia North," asked Raitei in a very calm voice. "Those people are the ones in-charge of the lower levels of Eclextia. As you can see, Otaru is their leader. If I'm right, you finished one part of the Eclextia which will make our task easier."

"Yeah, these were they, alright," said MakubeX. He's face got a lot more serious and Shido thought Raitei's move had managed to turn back the kid to normal.

"Let's see," started MakubeX while pointing one by one at the profiles and pictures of the soldiers. His eyes were reading the profiles so fast that they became blurred when Shido looked at them.

"…this guy, Mato Dainuchi, he was nothing… fell down after two blows…"

"Lukon Shimabaro, an ex-Mugenjyou citizen's also piece of cake…"

As Makubex described the people, Jubei looked at the folder and saw the pictures inside. He asked the boy about some people in the Command.

"…this one's a booboo too-- Kisano Haruko…he had this strange light-saber thing which blinded me every time he took a swing with it…after I got rid of the sword, he seemed helpless anyway."

"What about this guy," said Jubei, pointing on a man with deep blue eyes and spiky black hair. "How was your match with him?"

"…Mido Ban… I don't remember battling this guy…wait…ohhh…yes…I remember!" exclaimed MakubeX happily. As he mentioned the name Mido Ban, Kadsuki saw the Raitei's eyebrows contract above the monitor of the computer.

"He was this weird guy with the violet glasses. He was the last one whom I battled with. It was him who ruined my plan…I was about to enter the Access Gate of Eclextia when he suddenly leaped out of nowhere. I had a hard time fighting him. Though he wasn't able to scratch me or anything, I felt dizzy after the fight and as far as I can remember, I fainted or something during our battle," said MakubeX wondering. "The last thing I saw was the green ceiling of the building and then I felt him catch me. I tried to fight back but I lost consciousness. Then…after about an hour, well, it felt like an hour,…I came back to myself and then he was there, but he wasn't clad in the soldier suit of the Eclextia Command anymore. We were under a tree, I dunno…it was green, everything, the surroundings, well, something like that…I opened my eyes and then he asked in German if I had a good dream. He was staring at me. His eyes were somewhat creepy because their deep blue and there's something about them that scared me. I rubbed my eyes just to get away from his stares. And then…he was gone. I found Raitei beside me," finished MakubeX, closing the folder.

"You mean, you went through all those guys just to enter the Access Gate of Eclextia?" asked Shido in an amazed manner. "You're one tough kid Maku, really…I just realized that… I didn't know you'll go that far…"

MakubeX gave a sharp look at Shido and then Kadsuki saw both his eyebrows contract simultaneously, making him smile at himself. The boy looked funny though he was mad. Kadsuki felt his anger easily fly away as he watched the kid freak out Shido.

Raitei got back the folder from MakubeX and looked at the man with the spiky black hair and blue eyes. There was something special about this man. Besides that, he looks very familiar. He just can't remember where or when did he see this man. He was still fathoming the mystery of Mido Ban when it occurred to him that this man might be one of his alter-ego's friends or anything related to him. He tried to extract information from Ginji Amano's sleeping mind behind his brain and there he found facts about Mido Ban. He looked at MakubeX who was animatedly planning strategies and giving out ideas with Kadsuki, Jubei and Shido. Makubex felt his gaze and stared at the Raitei out of the corner of his eye.

"This man belongs to the upper class of the Northern Command Guards of Eclextia. He wears a different uniform. Well, besides that, he's classified here as lethal…deadly, I suppose," said Raitei in a serious voice.

"I haven't had a decent sleep since I saw him stare from those eyes," said MakubeX. "Mido-san has a penetrable stare and, well, I don't know if I'm imagining it, but I think he has the power to control people's minds through eye contact. What I remember is that, I began to collapse when I stared at his eyes."

"You felt that way because he used on you what the Elders call as the Jagan or Evil Eye," explained the Raitei. "People who possess the Jagan have the ability to control whoever meets their gaze. When you are under their control, you start to hallucinate about dreams or experiences of the past or they just improvise nightmares which will weaken your mind and your defenses."

"So, this means that Mido has finally met one of our V.O.L.T.S. leaders," concluded Kadsuki while crossing his legs. "Maybe there'll be a chance that we will get to meet him again when we penetrate Eclextia's walls. There's also a great chance that the enemies are preparing for an all-out-war because of what Maku-chan did."

Shido shifted from his seat and looked at the monitor instead of the folder, with brows contracted slightly.

"That is, if, Mido has returned to camp and had told his superiors about what Makubex did," added Jubei while he typed some proposals and strategies into his computer. "Remember, Mido was the only person who survived the siege made by MakubeX here."

Raitei thought of this over and finally said: "I think they have not prepared yet for war."

All the Heads, except for Shido, looked at the Thunder Emperor and their gazes were asking if how he could say that it was possible that the enemies have not yet prepared themselves for war against Mugenjyou.

"Mido Ban happens to be Ginji Amano's best friend. They have formed a new group which accepts retrieval jobs, called the Get Backers. It is unlikely for him to have informed his comrades of the attack MakubeX made when according to Maku-chan, he had left him alive and he was clothed in ordinary civilian clothes and not in the uniform of the Northern Command of Eclextia. It's like he has turned his back on the System and chose to have a partnership with Ginji again. This Mido Ban is actually a good man, though sometimes he has a tendency to lose his temper when people do terrible things to his friends and loved ones."

"How did you know that?" asked Shido. The raven on his shoulder had perched on MakubeX's shoulder. MakubeX stroke the dark feathers of the bird which acted as though it was enjoying the caress made by MakubeX's light fingers.

"I borrowed these facts from Ginji's memories," explained the Raitei while pointing at his temple. "He's not a big problem at the moment. What we should consider first are the tactics we need to use once we have entered the System. I'm sure Eclextia VI himself has devised many plans and had set up many traps on their territory. We have to make sure we can evade and foresee these traps so that no one from our side will get hurt."

There was a murmur of agreement from the four kings. As the Raitei finished telling them all his plans, he assigned every head to do their job on organizing each command under their scope. The meeting of the VOLTS went smoothly without arguments.

"Listen now, Kadsuki, you're in-charge of the Southern Command of Mugenjyou, right? Make sure that you have assigned lead archers in your group. It will be easier to coordinate and execute plans when you have heads assigned to each offensive party."

"Don't worry about the archers. I've already talked to Kaisshin-kun about that matter. She said she'll make sure not one Eclextian will be able to strike back once they shoot their fire arrows," said Kadsuki with a tone of assurement in his voice.

"Good then. Shido, your job is to infiltrate the System from the Western Gate. Those guys are not so tough over there, just watch out for Kudo Himiko. She's a good leader. Once you put her down, everything will be alright. All the other men would be confused when no one will give them orders," said the Raitei.

"You mean, I'm actually going to kill a girl?" asked Shido, with brows slightly raised.

"You don't need to do the job yourself Shido-kun," said MakubeX.

"How can you say that? I'm the one Thunder Emperor here set in-charge. And of course, the final battle will be between the two heads right?" asked Shido, a little bit confused.

"Let's say, MakubeX has a nice point and so have you," said Kadsuki, finally looking away from Jubei. "We can't say that there'll still be a final battle. Do you really think you'll have time to make a deal with them and have a one-on-one battle with Kudo-san? I think not. All of the Eclextians will be busy fighting your group of wild animals and that definitely, will keep them occupied. So, if that's the case, you can send one of your animals to go attack the girl. That way, you'll be able to carry out your job and at the same time, spare yourself from the conscience of directly killing a woman."

"I think that's a good idea," said Jubei while removing his jacket and revealing a blue shirt under. It was hot in the underground at that time. "So do you think it's ok Raitei if Beastmaster doesn't do the killing himself?"

"No problem, as long as he does the command in the fastest way he could," explained the Raitei. "I know he can't afford to lose his pets, so he'll have to direct the first attack to the leader."

"I'll do my best to not hurt the girl directly" said Shido. "If they can help it."

As he said this, he saw MakubeX and Kadsuki give him a smile. They knew that enemy or not, Shido has an unexplained compassion for women who are talented, well, that's what they saw with Madoka. Raitei then continued on his plan.

"Jubei Kakei, you're in-charge of the Eastern Command, and you'll be infiltrating the Eastern Gate of the Eclextia System. You will likely meet the leader of the Command, Saitotsu Kamori. He's half-soldier, and half-ninja. He worked previously with the Sinsen Tankun group, a paid assassin group of the government years ago. He's pretty good with weapons, and known to work stealthily and with great caution so you better prepare yourself. His weapon of choice is a scythe, just to let you know" said Raitei in an alert voice.

"I wonder though…" whispered MakubeX to Kadsuki as he stared at the file of Saitotsu Kamori in his monitor. "How come his choice of weapon is a scythe? Isn't that thing some kind of a long curve blade with a long wooden handle?"

"Yeah I think it's something like that, but why are you so worried?" asked Kadsuki. "His weapon is the least of our worries. What we should worry about is the way his men will be fighting because there's a possibility that he might have trained his men as ninjas rather than as soldiers because of his previous job. So, why worry about a scythe Maku-chan?

"No…Nothing… Never mind. Like what you said, it should be the least of our worries," concluded Makubex.

Though he said this, Kadsuki still thought that this simple fact was bothering the kid. But as he looked at it, MakubeX had a good point of view. Why a scythe though? From what he had heard about ninja groups, only women usually enjoyed using scythes. Maybe this man has just a weird kind of taste for ninja weaponry, or, if his guess was right, this Kamori can simply be…

"---- then the access point in the main gate will be infiltrated by me. You four just catch up afterwards. I suppose after you finish with the guys in the four main command systems, the enemies' defense system will be pretty low at the moment. Inside the fortress, I'll deal with their boss. Is that understood?"

"Ok," answered Shido. "We get you boss…Well I have to go then if I need to inform the whole Wild about your plans…Ja..."

Shido stood up and turned off his monitor. He went out of the room and gave a thumbs up to Raitei who grinned. Kadsuki and Jubei did the same and walked towards the door.

"We just have to pray for the best then," said Kadsuki while reattaching his bells. "It's easy to plan alright. But it will be a different scene when we get to the battlefield itself."

"I know, that's why I called you all," said Raitei, while turning off his monitor and fixing the papers left for him to examine. "Oh, before I forget, Kadsuki…"

"Yes? What is it?"

"Kindly check on the Central Command and inform them about our plans," said the Thunder Emperor. "Tell them that they'll be the ones in-charged of the defense of Mugenjyou while we're away with the other Commands. I can't drop by there after this. I still have to check these papers and the Central people don't like being disturbed at night."

"Ok," answered Kadsuki tersely as he walked towards the door, following Jubei.

"This means… leaving the central command behind… you'll go alone?" asked MakubeX, his eyes disappearing beneath his silver- colored bangs.

"I have to," answered Raitei. "I can't bring along the rest of the Central Command with me. They have to stay here in Mugenjyou and protect the residents. We don't know if Eclextia will launch a counter-attack. Who knows? If I'm right, they'll take the chance to attack Mugenjyou and bring it down while the VOLTS are away, fighting in Eclextia."

As he said this, there was worry on his face. MakubeX looked at him and saw that though he was going alone, he could swear he saw the Thunder Emperor smile at him and appreciate his concern.

"I'm going with you!" exclaimed MakubeX, his facing turning crimson. "What if you die? What if something bad happens to you? We can't afford to let that happen! Besides, the Northern Command Guard is good enough without me. My presence won't affect the abilities of the Command and---"

MakubeX did not have the chance to finish his sentence because as he was talking, Raitei had already stood up and walked towards him. He gave the boy a hug which was a sign of thanks for his concern.

"Though how much I want to, you can't come with me. You have to lead your Command. They won't work out well without you. Like you said, I might die out there, and I can't afford also to let you come and die with me. You're a vital part of VOLTS MakubeX, remember that… VOLTS will never be the same again without you."

As he said this, his hug tightened in a more caring way and MakubeX, who was half-shocked felt his heart beat extraordinarily. The last time he could remember Raitei treating him like this was when he was still Ginji Amano and not the Thunder Emperor. Could there still be a part of the Raitei which has the same friendly and caring, Ginji-san? MakubeX didn't know, but as he felt the warm arms of Raitei wrap around his neck and shoulders, he felt that he was with his long lost friend, who would rather die than to live and see his friends suffer…

To be continued…