ShardclawK: So far, it seems that a lot of you are enjoying how these revised chapters are coming, so I'll make sure to continue doing my best to keep the success up so I can get back to updating this monster I created pretty soon. I'd greatly appreciate the supporting comments, keep them coming. Anyway, here's another revised chapter dedicated to a much more intense battle between some of the good guys for this story against one of GreyWolf4's powerful OC villains, Shade with lots of new added twists, turns and interactions. Also, this chapter's got some special references based on both Ayashi no Ceres and from the recently released King of Fighters 2006 game in a flashback section of this chapter that most of you will like.
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Metal Gear: Soldier X
Chapter 8: The Inner Shade
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"Ocelot...it has begun." Solidus Snake's voice spoke, as he was seated behind Keele Lorenz's desk in SEELE headquarters. He was looking over a monitor that was recording the details of the confrontation of the fight between Gregory Kinezono and his group against the mercenary called Shade and his Death Squad unit. Revolver Ocelot entered the room after being called in.
"What is it now, King? I haven't finished interrogating Lorenz yet..." Ocelot complained, as he saw the images on the screen. "Ahhh...it's about time Kinezono started this. Reese was right about his arrival on schedule."
"He appears prepared for the battle ahead…" Solidus said. "Are you certain the Patriots have foretold about this, Ocelot?"
"I'm pretty certain about it. This is part of the plan, remember?" Ocelot replied.
"Certainly, this can only mean that Kinezono will have a bit of a difficulty against Shade's experience, reputation and abilities." Solidus spoke. "This could turn out into an intriguing battle, indeed."
"What happens if Shade gets carried away?" Ocelot asked. "His talents as a soldier go beyond that of even the top members of the old FOXHOUND and the members of the Cobra unit put together. He is a legend unto himself after all with all of his…unique battle capabilities."
"My, wouldn't it be a shame, then, if Kinezono and those who are accompanying him were to die before the real show begins and they wouldn't be around to attend it, right, Ocelot?" Solidus asked. "I do hope Reese knows what he's doing having Shade work for him like this."
"And what should be done about Yuina Hattori's fate?" Ocelot asked.
"She has her role to play as well in all of this. Things will certainly get more interesting from that point when Kinezono gets to her." Solidus said. "So...what's the word on Reese?"
"I got a report that he was found out by Kinezono himself moments before meeting Shade. That was expected, though...Reese's arrogance would soon lead to his own downfall if he intends to glorify himself by betraying his comrades." Ocelot said.
"Speaking of which, Greg has contacted his other comrades about Reese. I take it that Reese was nowhere near their headquarters by the time discovery was shared with the rest of FOXHOUND, am I correct?" Soldius asked.
"That is the case. He has taken care of recovering the data Dr. Clark has about Dr. Matthews' theory, so trying to emulate the same perfect gene that gave Gregory the power he has now shouldn't be a problem." Ocelot said.
"And in the case that if any mistakes should occur?" Solidus asked.
"You worry too much, King. Mantis has his share of the same data that Reese has, so obtaining it from him in case something happens should be no problem. Of course, part of the reason why I'm expecting Gregory Matthews to survive this encounter with Shade is to finally learn the truth about his past and what his father had done." Ocelot said, taking a seat. "In the meantime, let's enjoy the show."
"Too bad we have no popcorn to help ourselves..." Solidus said. "I'm betting Kinezono and his friends won't last more than forty seconds against Shade and this Death Squad."
"Fifty and you'll pay me double." Ocelot replied.
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Meanwhile, in FOXHOUND/Philanthropy headquarters on the other side of the planet...
Roy Campbell had had it up to his neck with Lt. Matthew Reese. After receiving the Codec data from NERV headquarters some twenty minutes ago from Lt. Maya Ibuki, he was now infuriated with the actions that Reese had been revealed to have partaken in, all in order to cause this situation for Greg. Now he was going to deal with the treacherous lieutenant personally.
Roy had taken five other fellow agents of FOXHOUND with him, all of them armed with average Berettas, who were assigned to arrest Reese for the actions he committed.
They all gathered outside Reese's own personal office and made no hesitation to wait for Campbell's command. They immediately forced open the door and three of the agents entered with their guns pointed outwards around the room.
Campbell entered soon after, expecting to be the one to tell Reese his rights, but to everyone's surprise, he was nowhere to be found. His laptop, his box of cigars, which he used to decorate his table with, was no where to be seen as well. The modem to his laptop was missing too.
"Find Reese at once and have him arrested! He shouldn't be too far away!" Campbell ordered the men in his room. They nodded to his command and exited the room. Roy sat down and started to shake his head in disbelief.
(How could I have let something like this happen?) He thought to himself. (Why didn't I sense this before if his actions were obvious?)
Knowing that he couldn't sit around and mope about this, Roy stood up and started to walk back to his office, when Mei Ling appeared before him in a look of panic on her face.
"Colonel! You have to come and check this out!" Mei-Ling exclaimed.
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"This can't be happening...this can't be happening..." Linn Aramaki said to herself over and over in a mantra like tone, her hands covering her face and shaking her head. Behind her, Garland Durev was trying to keep her calm, while Michael Hansen, James Masterson, Mana Kirishima and Kari Mondeau were standing near Lt. Maya Ibuki's console to watch the images of the battle ahead. Dr. Ritsuko Akagi, Emma Emmerich, and Shigeru Aoba were also watching the action on his console screen as well.
"This can't be happening!" Linn shouted aloud, letting everyone from both NERV and FOXHOUND listen. She was in a deep state of panic over the matter and only her comrades were there to try and calm her down. Just then, Solid Snake and Meryl Silverburgh entered through the door, while Misato Katsuragi entered behind them.
"What the hell's going on here?" Snake shouted, having overheard the ruckus. He was dressed in a NERV soldier's official uniform with a grey beret to match it.
"It's Greg...he and several of his partners from FOXHOUND have gone off to face Psycho Mantis to rescue his surrogate younger sister." Garland explained.
"Did you just say Mantis?" Meryl explained in shock. "How come he's still alive?"
"More importantly, how come we're being told of this now?" Snake asked.
"It's a long story. We only found out about it ourselves a couple of days ago." Michael replied. "The one responsible for this was Lt. Matthew Reese himself."
"Meryl, isn't he that old geezer who was also in charge of the new, current FOXHOUND?" Snake asked. "The guy who doesn't seem to be very popular with most of the members?"
"If one of those people included me, then yeah, that's the same guy." Meryl said seriously.
"He did some really atrocious acts recently to seal his confirmation as a spy for the Patriots." Michael said as he went on to explaining to Snake, Misato and Meryl about how Reese had resurrected Mantis and brainwashed him for his and the Patriot's needs, thanks to their assistance. When Michael got to the part when Mantis murdered Yuina Hattori's aunt, and then proceeded to kidnap her niece, it got Meryl into a fixed state of emotions.
"That's one of the most horrible things I have ever heard..." Meryl shook her head. "Mantis would never do that after what he had discovered before he died back at Shadow Moses."
"I have to say I can't help but agree with you there, Meryl...it seems Mantis has been refined into being even worse than he was when we first met him thanks to that Reese guy." Snake replied.
"That's not the half of it." Garland said, then explaining how Greg's family was attacked and now Greg, along with the help of Riku, Nagi and Tot, Team WARRIOR and members of the Shinsengumi, had set out to find Lilica Ebett. During the course of the journey, Reese had called and told them about his plan. Snake felt revolted to hear this was happening in FOXHOUND while Misato shook her head silently.
"This sounds really bad for you guys, huh?" Misato asked Meryl. "And here I thought NERV had it rough while the former Commander was still around."
"Well, it looks like we've got at least one thing that both our organizations have in common from now on…a traitorous superior." Meryl said bitterly. "Do you guys have any evidence about Reese's involvement with the enemy?"
"We have the conversation on tape. That's evidence enough to put him away for a long time, but I'm sure we all will need more than that." Michael said. He then saw the image screen flashing, indicating a call from FOXHOUND headquarters. It was Mei-Ling.
"Mei, what is it? Did you guys get Reese?" Michael asked while looking through the video screen of Maya's console.
"No, unfortunately, we didn't, Venom. Boy, the Colonel is not too happy about this...he just sent five armed soldiers to Reese's office for an arrest, but no one was there." Mei Ling answered. "There's another thing you guys should know...Reese hacked into Greg's records, and now they are nowhere to be found in any of the databases! It's as if Greg never joined FOXHOUND or existed to begin with!"
A loud gasp was heard from Linn. "Oh, no..."
"This really is bad." Michael said. "Where the hell could Reese be?"
"That old wanker must have known he would be found out, so he must have prepared himself for the worst and skipped out." Scorpion said.
"If we only knew Reese was this bad from before..." Kari shook her cotton glove wearing fist. Mana only placed a hand on her friend's shoulder.
"No one could have known, Kari. But as Michael stated, we have to do something about this..." Mana said.
"I agree. Someone like Reese means trouble for us if this continues." James, otherwise known mostly as Silent Scorpion said seriously.
"Commander Ikari, while he was still alive, would pale in comparison to this Reese after what he has done..." Misato said. "So, what are you guys going to do to help your friend right now?"
"I should be there helping him! I'm going to get the Harrier and travel there right now!" Linn stood up from Makoto Hyuga's seat. Before she charged out, a hand stopped her. It was Garland's.
"Garland! What are you doing? Let go!" Linn said. "I have to be there to help Greg and the others."
"Linn, we all know you want to be there just as badly as the rest of us do now. But even if it's you flying the Harrier, you won't get to Greg in time." Garland said.
"But..." Linn asked, but was stopped before she spoke any more.
"Listen to him, Linn." Snake stepped forward and patted the younger woman. "That jet's not fast enough to get to where Greg is in time and what if this was a trap that Reese has set up for you?"
"I know about the possible dangers, but those are our comrades fighting a very dangerous man!" Linn cried out. "I'm supposed to be out there helping them..."
"All of us want to do the same right now, Linn." Scorpion replied. "But, we did hear Riku's voice over the Codec earlier. If he's there with Crow and Usagi, everyone on that side should be fine."
"I do hope so...but I hate to say it to everyone here that Shade is not the type to be taken lightly. I'm now starting to have doubts that this would turn in Greg's favour when he faces him." Michael said, knowing his old enemy quite well enough to know the hard truth.
"So, we're supposed to stay here and just watch them get killed by this sadist?" Linn exclaimed.
"Linn, take it easy." Mana said to her, trying her best to ease her stress. "We're just as worried about them as you are too. The most we can do is just support them from the sidelines for now and hope that nothing happens which can put Greg and his comrades in serious danger."
"Greg…you idiot! Why did you have to go and do such a crazy thing without telling me first?" Linn shut her eyes as tears fell down her cheeks, as she had given up hope in believing that Greg and those who tagged along with him would make it out alive if they had to fight Shade. This was too much for her as she silently walked out of the room in a fit of emotions, trying her best to hide her tears.
"Linn!" Scorpion called out to her as he started to follow after her as well.
Garland was about to follow them as well, but he remembered he had to stay and help Michael give instructions to Greg and those with him when its time they encountered Shade.
"Mana, Kari, you should go with Scorpion and try to keep Linn company through this." Garland said seriously to the two girls. "We'll contact you if there's any good news from Greg's side."
"We'll do what we can for Linn, Garland. But to tell you the truth…we're just as worried about Greg, Riku, and those with them." Mana said to her comrade.
"I am too, Mana, but we can only pray for the best results if the Shinsengumi is with them." Garland replied. "Only a miracle can get Greg and Riku and those with them through this alive. We might as well start working on one that can work against the likes of Shade."
Mana gave Garland a sad and silent look as the two girls nodded at him before and left the Command Centre together. Garland turned to Michael as he was focused on giving Greg some useful advice on whenever he would run into Shade and what to avoid doing which could lead to dangerous consequences.
"My only regret is not being there in person to help them out, now that he's involved in this." Michael said sullenly.
"I know…I feel the same way, Michael." Garland patted his comrade's shoulder. "We can only tell them what it is about Shade that they have to be aware of before they make any grave mistakes."
"Greg's not willing to give up because of what Reese has done and he may need answers, I can support him because of that. But I do hope he's careful in not letting it get the best of his emotions and judgement." Michael said. "Considering he's still as a child, Greg is one to learn quickly from certain convictions."
"So, he may have a chance against Shade?" Garland asked.
"A small one at that, considering how much is riding on this mission Greg has taken up to rescue his loved one which is better than none." Michael said, turning his focus back to the monitor.
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"Hmm, this can certainly complicate things." Nastasha Romanenko voice spoke in a sullen and serious tone as she, Maki, Nanvel, and the biodroid, Seraph, were overlooking the progress of the team sent to rescue Lilica Ebbett and Yuina Hattori, acting as the Codec support crew for Team WARRIOR for the day. After just hearing the details of what Riku and his partners knew about the highly skilled enemy named Shade moments before, she began to have some doubts.
"Is there something about this Shade character that's bothering you, Nastasha?" Maki asked, noticing the look on her friend's face.
"Yes, it seems from the description that the FOXHOUND shinobi has provided Greg and Rio about him, it appears we will be having some problems if they run into him again." Nastasha said. "I have several reports confirming the existence of this man and some of his past activities with several governmental organizations from years past, he's always worked for the highest bidder. In the end, he's just another willing and loyal agent for the Patriots, just as Reese is, but with more of a better reputation than most spies ever recorded throughout history."
"Nastasha, what else about this guy you know?" Nanvel asked.
"As far as I know it, he also has taken part in several dirty jobs in the past around the world. Shade has worked as a mercenary and assassin for a variety of countries and other people and gained a reputation for being an exceptional but very brutal mercenary. He happens to have a list of some high profile among his list of victims." Nastasha spoke.
The two Warrior females in the room along with Seraph stared on at Nastasha in silence as she continued.
"Most of his crimes have even put him on the FBI's, CIA's and NSA's most wanted list for several decades running as some of them that he has under his belt included a fair amount of high profile victims, including past exploits in the Iraq war as well any related conflict that would employ harsh and brutal conflicts against insurgents sanctioned by the CIA. I should also note he has a vast experience in flying various warcraft." She said.
"So, this fiend also has experience in flying aerial crafts as well, am I right?" Seraph asked Nastasha.
"Yes, it appears so, Seraph." Nastasha replied.
"It's hard to believe that the same man who was responsible for it all is the one Rio, Maya, and Greg, as well as the others with them has to face." Maki spoke, placing a finger near her lips.
"Shade even had a record in Eastern Europe where he destroyed villages who helped his employers such as for instance, a village in former Yugoslavia who was helping the Croatians or Muslims for example and Shade would torch and burn the village while killing everyone in it, even the women and children weren't spared." Nastasha spoke.
"I remember hearing similar reports of something like that over the years." Maki said as she shook her head. "So, my fears surrounding Greg and those with him confronting Shade are now becoming true."
"Is this for real, Maki?" Nanvel asked. "Do you think Greg and everyone else stands a chance against that guy?"
"Well, Nanvel, this is a likely situation we have to face since this is probably outside of Warrior's routine of dangerous criminals and the like." Maki said. "To think someone like him actually exists…we'd better keep on our toes for other people like him from now on in case any other powerful foes with strengths like his may appear and become obstacles in the future."
"Does this mean that Greg and his friends that are helping him are going to have serious problems dealing with this foe named Shade?" Seraph asked.
"It seems that way, from what Riku and his partners mentioned before." Maki replied. "I know this may be hard to accept at the moment, Seraph, but this is a situation that I doubt Greg and everyone else will have an easy time accomplishing in this mission because of a foe like Shade confronting them."
Seraph looked on at the monitors in silence, before she nodded at Nanvel.
"I see, but even so, I have a feeling that they will have to get through and make it to Yuina and Lilica somehow." Seraph spoke. "Even if this man is stronger than anything they claimed to have faced before, there has to be a way for them to get to our loved ones. Even if it's just a faint feeling, I can still feel that Greg and the others will survive this encounter long enough to accomplish their mission."
"That's easier said than done, Seraph." Nanvel said. "But even you have to understand how powerful this Shade can be…do you really want to keep having faith in Greg and everyone else who are helping you get Yuina back?"
"I just know that Greg and those with him won't fail on their promises to me. My short time spent with you all has brought back the feelings I've lost when Mantis came into our lives in order to destroy Yuina's happiness and possibly her future. And now that you've gone through this much to help me, I must have faith in them for the sake of seeing Yuina again more than ever." Seraph said. "Something about the look in each of their eyes, as well as Greg's, tells me that they will not betray the promise they made to me."
"Seraph, you're really feeling that way about them, aren't you?" Nanvel smiled at the biodroid. "Well, I share your sentiments just as strongly. We can't afford to give up on Greg and the others at a time like this. Now I see what it was that Greg and the others were trying to let me know before they left about my capabilities. I really should thank them for the encouragement."
"Alright, Nanvel, since there's much about this Shade character that still mystifies us, we have to do something to level the playing field for Greg, Rio and the others." Maki said. "Nastasha, would you assist Nanvel in the information department about what you know about Shade and relay it to Rio and Greg?"
"Most certainly, my old friend. It is my forte." Nastasha said with a smile. "However, there is still much about him that I wasn't informed of, so even I am bound for some surprises if he pulls anything from his sleeve."
"I can use the reports you told us about him as a starting point and see if there are any connections." Nanvel said as she faced her monitor. "It would also help if he has a criminal record or two somewhere on the databases that may be of some help."
"Chances are that his tracks may have been covered by his employers in the past, but they could be several loose ends that they must have missed." Maki said. "Search every available option, Nanvel."
"Right, I'm on it." Nanvel replied, before snapping her fingers. "Oh, I've now remembered of something really important I should have actually told Greg before he left."
"What was it, Nanvel?" Seraph asked.
"Well, I don't know if this is a good time to tell everyone that I just recently stumbled on some helpful data for Greg that can give him a bit of an edge against this Shade guy and still stay in one piece by the time he reaches Mantis." Nanvel said, nervously rubbing her head and giggling. "I wonder why my timing of information some times has to be so bad sometimes."
"Contact Greg and the others right away and keep the line open." Maki said strictly. "We have to see their progress with our own eyes while hoping for the best for our team."
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Back in the sewers, the team of Greg Kinezono, Riku Hanabishi, Rio Kinezono and Maya Jingu were in a tunnel that was dimly lit, but was also barely used as a part of the sewage system. Considering that they were in a bit of a confined space, the group had to move fast before Shade caught up to them as they moved altogether in a sprint. They recently separated from five of their other comrades that had joined them for the mission. They were Nagi 'Mystic Crow' Naoe and Tot aka'Usagi Ninja', Riku's two partners who were part of FOXHOUND as well, along with the trio of the Shinsengumi swordswomen comprising of Dee Starling, Pei and Kanashii who trailed with them in the hopes of lowering the chance of being found by Shade altogether.
"Have we lost him yet?" Rio asked as Greg and Riku were trailing right after her with Maya Jingu tagging along as well.
"A good distance, but I can bet he's going to run into us pretty soon. He seems like the athletic type, meaning he's probably a faster runner than all of us." Maya said before catching a glance to Drakken. "Riku, do we really have to choose running rather than fighting this guy for the time being?"
"It's the only appropriate outcome if we want to come out of this alive, Maya. I did say that it was impossible to even kill this guy before, and I wasn't kidding." Riku replied. "I'm sure anyone else who has faced him before and has managed to live to tell about it would tell you the same thing."
"Well, this just sucks ass big time." Rio grumbled. "I knew from the start that we would be expecting some kind of problem, but this Shade guy sounds like we might as well be dealing with all of them rolled into one pretty soon. Are you sure you haven't left anything else out that's important that we all should know about him, Riku?"
"From what I've experienced while facing him, he has somehow involved himself in some forbidden and hidden arts of mysticism. I can go as far to say that he's managed to master most of these arts that even clan members from the Hokage and Uruha won't even dare to use, or even arts that we haven't heard of." Riku spoke.
"So, you're saying this guy is a collector of various, or if not all available jutsu arts as well?" Greg finally asked having been silent the entire time trying to get his body adjusted to Nanvel's custom enhanced Sneaking Suit and gauntlets, as well as analyzing the situation regarding Shade.
"It sounds pretty hard to believe, but it's the truth, my friend." Riku said solemnly. "He's likely even better at most of the techniques that I've managed to master and take them to new heights, making any encounter with him even tougher."
"Well, from all what I heard about him today, he sounds like one sneaky bastard, I can say for sure." Rio gritted her teeth. "So just how are we going to deal with someone with that amount of knowledge and strength to boot?"
"For one thing, we certainly can't go charging in fists first against him. He seems to be the type who is always thinking five steps ahead of us and one of the worst parts is that he's not vulnerable to psychics like me and probably Nagi too." Greg said as he glanced at Maya. "Aunt Maya, just how many weapons do you have with you?"
"Let's see…" Maya Jingu said as she looked up as if trying to remember what she had in stock for the mission. "I made sure to bring along at least five of my custom made handguns, three of them are Police Town licensed, while the others are two Warrior custom firearms. I also brought several flash grenades along with some hand and incendiary grenades as well. Also, I've got some other new prototypes I've been working on too."
"Wow, Maya, it seems you've been stocking up a lot on the explosives just for this mission." Riku said in an impressed tone. "But even so, it's going to require more than grenades to stop Shade."
"What is it that you had in mind, Greg?" Rio asked.
"Since we can't actually kill this guy, my plan is that we have to hit him hard and heavy enough to give us at least some running distance if ever we run into him again." Greg said seriously. "We are STILL on the start of a mission to save Lilica and Yuina, after all."
"You're right about that part. We need to conserve as much of our ammo, supplies and strength by the time we get to Mantis." Rio said. "So in short, we shouldn't waste too much effort keeping him down, right?"
"Yeah, but I'm sensing that he's the type who won't be letting us off that easily." Greg said looking at Riku once more. "Riku mentioned him having regenerative abilities which will just make this even tougher for us. Our stamina won't be able to last for the duration of the mission if we fully confront Shade as planned."
"I wonder if it would be alright if I used some of these babies to blow off an arm or a leg from that Shade guy. That can always work to at least slow him, right, Riku?" Maya asked holding up several explosive grenades as Riku rubbed his head.
"That sounds a bit tad extreme, but it will only work for awhile." Riku said to her. "Shade can regenerate very quickly…"
"Now, wait a minute! What do you mean by 'a while'?" Rio asked. "You're saying even if we blow off a couple of his limbs, he's still gonna be after us?"
"That's why I said that it's impossible to stop this guy. His will is as strong as the powers that are protecting him." Riku replied. "You can't afford to treat this guy like an ordinary person. Doing so will only buy you a quick ticket to the afterlife if you're lucky."
"Dammit! NOW this really sucks ass!" Rio shouted as Greg looked at Riku before coming over to him.
"Riku…" Greg said before patting his partner's shoulder with a serious look on his face. "I know this sounds like a lot, but we're counting on you to help us through this since you said you may know what kind of ninja tricks he is capable of while some of us don't. So, don't fail us, okay?"
Noticing the determined look in his psychic friend's eyes, Riku nodded to him. "That's not my intention today, Greg. You guys can definitely count on me to help you out. Besides, like I told you before, I am thinking of Lilica and Yuina's safety just as you are. I want to be there with you guys when they're safe and sound from this nightmare."
"Yeah, I feel just as strongly about that as you do, Riku. Thanks again for the willing help." Greg said before facing Rio. "And sensei…try your best to not to let that guy get to you emotionally, okay?"
"But how can you say that so calmly, Greg?" Rio asked, putting her hands on her hips and tilting her head. "This Shade guy has every intention of murdering the guys on this mission and getting into the women's pants without consent. I really am not in the mood to become that creep's sex toy and all you can do is just tell me about how I would react when we run into him again?"
"Sensei Rio, I really am not too comfortable about this guy being a serial rapist just as you and aunt Maya are right now. I remember some of the times I hung out at Police Town with you and the others during my teenage years, and I've actually seen several victims of that before and even after joining up FOXHOUND and dealing with several past missions, and as a human being, I agree with everyone who has a heart that not one person on this planet deserves to go through that kind of trauma and its after-effects." Greg said seriously as Rio stared at her surrogate son with a hint of surprise.
"Greg…I didn't know how you felt about this sort of thing all along…" Rio muttered as Greg sighed calmly before she began to think to herself. (That explains why during his school days whenever he stayed at Police Town while I was working shifts to study with Lilica, he would always cry to himself whenever the guys in the domestic crimes division and fellow officers would bring in victims of rape occasionally for reports and he never told me anything. Now I know why he would be distressed about it…)
"It was actually one of the main reasons why I joined the group so the most I can do whenever I or Linn ended up meeting or rescuing a victim of sexual abuse during a mission, the most I could to with my powers is at least console them of their pain temporarily." Greg concluded as he sighed heavily. "But what we're dealing with here is a serious professional. This is no amateur criminal or panty thief that you are used to beating up during a mission from your Warrior days. And from what I could determine so far, this guy has skills which are nothing to laugh at either. All I'm trying to say to you is…just try your best and keep a level check on your emotions until we get to Mantis, alright? We don't need to do anything to provoke this guy if we let him get to us."
(Maybe it is best I don't mention anything about Darkness to Greg and Rio right now at the moment with the way he's acting so tense about this whole thing with Shade.) Riku thought to himself as he observed Greg's reactions. They were now a little shaky than before meeting Shade a moment awhile back.
"Okay, I understand you." Rio nodded sternly. "Just promise me to watch both Maya's back and mine when we're facing him, just in case?"
"It's a sure thing, sensei, you can count on me." Greg said as he and the others began to sprint once more. It was then he remembered something Shade mentioned before to Riku when they first met moments before.
"Riku, I know now is kind of a bad time to be asking this, but I just want to get it off my mind in case I won't get to ask later." Greg spoke. "I heard that Shade guy mentioned meeting you, Nagi, and Tot at a 'Mikage base and boat' before we all separated. I have to assume that some mission you and your partners did had something to do with that, am I right?"
"Heh, I really can't keep secrets from you forever, Greg, but you sure know how to be really perspective without trying." Riku replied with a grin before his reaction turned serious once more. "It is true that around two years back, one of the most important, top secret missions that my partners and I undertook involved happenings surrounding the Mikage family at the time. In fact it was the first mission I did with Nagi and Tot. But what surprises me the most is that you would know about the name, Greg. Where did you hear it from?"
"I've only heard the name Mikage mentioned once from somewhere in the past, but I really couldn't recall it until I just heard it again. It just really surprised me that you were actually in contact with the Mikage conglomerate, Riku. I heard that family business was once ranked among one of the most powerful organizations around at the time with their involvement with developments in the field of science." Greg replied. "Though from what I've heard recently, the family eventually fell into decline for some reason…"
"Okay, but if you don't mind me asking you now, from whom exactly did you hear about this?" Riku asked as he glanced over slightly, so Greg wouldn't notice, at Rio who shrugged her shoulders in silence at him, indicating that she didn't know how Greg would have known about the Mikage, since she and Warrior secretly helped Riku out during that mission without Greg knowing it. But then again, both knew that the Mikage family had been a largely known influence the world over.
(Well, I know for certain that Rio and the rest of Warrior couldn't have told him about it. Even Rio herself agreed to keep it a secret from Greg until there was an appropriate time that he found out the truth about the C-Project and those who were a part of it.) Riku thought as he then heard Greg's answer.
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you that I was with Geese-sensei when he said this a long time ago. He actually was offered to do some business with the Mikage at some point, but he flatly refused them." Greg replied. "That was shortly after I joined FOXHOUND and when I wasn't busy with missions, I was in training with him at SouthTown while I was also hired to look into some of the happenings in the King of Fighters. In short, you can say I was obligated to oversee how things were running and report any suspicious movements from any of the enemy groups, both outside and within the KOF. It was kind of a side job that I had to undertake in order to get myself some of the available medicine I need to suppress my psychic powers, but it also came in handy when I wanted extra information that we could use as well."
"Well, it is kind of understandable if you think about it. KOF has had a lot of strong fighters that are constantly being targeted by the enemy groups when the tournaments are held over the years, even those from the likes of the Patriots no doubt." Riku said.
"The reason why Linn and I had to go underground into KOF and investigate it on occasion was not just because some of the missions we did were around the South Town vicinity, since most of the organized crime took that place in the States was there, but also to look into the tournament and those who compete in it as well." Greg replied. "Since the time we were a part of KOF, we found out about the underworld sub syndicate groups known as Kusiel and Mephistopheles under Addis who were trying to accomplish what NESTS failed to finish, all the while rumours that several of the new blood who entered KOF were busy trying to start up the revival of Orochi once more were also cropping up. Things were getting to become quite busy at the time, but luckily, Geese actually recommended some help we could use while we investigated the King of Fighters."
"Oh, yeah, that reminds me, Greggie, how is that bratty ninja friend of yours, Nagase, doing?" Rio asked all of a sudden as Greg simply grinned as he knew who Rio was referring to. "It's been a while since last year's tournament when you last heard from her, hasn't it?"
"We seemed to have lost contact since then, so I'm hoping Nagase hasn't gotten herself into any trouble, considering the number of enemy groups that are trying to take over KOF now. She still owes me some info from the last time we helped each other out too." Greg replied as he turned to Riku, who looked interested at what he was hearing. "I think you will make fast friends with Nagase if you get to meet her, Riku. She can be a bit more eccentric at times, as well as more flamboyant, than most ninjas you may have met before, but she's really a good-hearted kid and is really quick on her feet, not to mention she's got connections to some advanced surveillance gizmos that even Warrior or we in FOXHOUND haven't heard of yet."
"You must really have a lot of buddies in KOF to cover you and Linn when in trouble, Greg. I do hope my partners and I get to meet them some time when this is over, especially this Nagase you mentioned." Riku replied.
"Well, I do have my own fair share of friends and foes that exist within the run of the tournament each year, but mostly friends to say the least. And about meeting people from KOF, you most assuredly will, I can promise you that for sure. I already did mention you and your clan a bit to her before to a couple of the other fighters, Nagase included, and she says she pretty much has been informed of the son of the famed Recca Hanabishi, so you can imagine she herself is kind of eager in meeting and even sparring with you." Greg said to Riku.
"You already put in a good word about me in KOF, huh?" Riku asked with a grin as Greg shrugged his shoulders. "Thanks a lot."
"Well, it has been open to new fighters from just about anyone from anywhere on the planet these days. It's all for the sake of the growing publicity. I thought I could do you a favour by mentioning your name and your ninja clan's relations to the Urabutosatsujin tournament to Geese, you know?" Greg replied. "Of course, I did so without letting you and your partners knowing this, so I hope I wasn't rushing you into anything you didn't want to do already."
"No, it's not really a bother, Greg. I would be honoured to become a part of KOF since you know your way around it. And I'm sure Nagi and Tot would be pleased to hear that they've been accepted into the likes of that tournament as well when they hear this." Riku replied. (Man, if Shizuma or Ryoko and the other fighters from Daimon High hear that I've been accepted into KOF through a connection like Greg, they will waste no time trying to do the same by entering the tournament as well to compete.)
"However, just as long as you hold onto your end of the bargain and help us out with his Shade guy and we live through this, I'll give it some serious thought, okay?" Greg said as Riku nodded at him confidentially. Greg then looked at the passage ahead of him as he then thought back to how his activities into the King of Fighters got started.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Three years ago, in the city of SouthTown at the top of Geese Tower…
At the time, Greg, who was now still a part of FOXHOUND, was assigned as a temporary investigator for Geese, as his tasks were to look into possible clues which could link the Patriots's activities in the running of KOF at the time. Rumours about corruption amongst fighters and the rules used were looked into as other syndicates were vying for power at the time. Geese wanted the King of Fighters tournament looked into since he was the originator of the famed tournament and also due to the fact that corrupted organizations had ruled its progress for some years now before the Second Impact, but the FOXHOUND psychic had his own personal reasons for working for the crime lord.
Standing in front of a TV monitor in a an apartment room, Greg was getting himself changed into a plain dark brown t-shirt and dark black dungaree jeans, a gun holster strap was hung across his left shoulder while he listened to the news reports from the television. Most of them were covering the fall of Mephistopheles and the gang activities going on in SouthTown.
"The gang war in SouthTown has taken a drastic turn recently now that the organization known as Mephistopheles has fallen due to the intervention of the Soiree brothers, Alba and Meira." The male newscaster reported as pictures of the two men were shown on the television. "With Don Duke, the head of the organization which has been running the city for years now defeated, it is now up to the Soiree brothers and their gang to keep the peace in the city running and to restore the damage that has caused by Mephistopheles as well as the damage caused by the NESTS cartel years ago."
"So, does this mean that the gang war is over in SouthTown?" A female voice spoke as Greg turned to see Linn Aramaki step out of the shower room, wearing only a towel and was still dripping wet all over. Greg tried to keep his composure seeing Linn like this and focused back on the television.
"I hope so, but it seems from what Geese-sensei has told us about the situation, it is far from being that way." Greg replied, checking his nanowrist one more time. "Most likely, someone else from NESTS or outside of KOF's league could easily start up something again and that is probably what's upsetting him at the moment."
"Well, there are other factions that FOXHOUND has been keeping an eye on that may have been having movements towards the KOF so far." Linn implied. "We just have to know who the enemies are and inform KOF about them, isn't that right?"
"That's right. There's no need to get our hands any more dirty than they are since we are working under Geese for the moment." Greg said. "But it's not going to be easy, there are a lot options that need to be looked into."
"Still, is it really okay to be doing this when Reese can call us back anytime?" Linn asked, placing a finger at her lips. "Not to mention everyone else at FOXHOUND… how do you think they will react when they find out that we're doing such an activity under one of the most powerful criminals in history?"
"Hey, I'm about as happy about this as you are, Linn, but he did offer me a chance to help me with my powers, most notably after one of the only doctors in the world who had the right prescriptions to suppress them died awhile back and it was pretty hard to find a substitute. Through Geese-sensei's connections, he can help not just the two of us, but probably FOXHOUND with certain info, you know?" Greg replied.
"Yeah, you do have a point. It's not too beneficial to rely totally on Reese for information these days, if you know what I mean." Linn sighed as she got dressed into a grey and black jump suit which hugged her slender body just as it appeared. Greg gulped slightly as he saw her change into this and rubbed his temple.
"Are you okay with this, Linn? Working with me on this KOF thing that is?" Greg asked, trying to get his mind off any negative thoughts at the moment.
"Hey, someone has to keep an eye on you while you're outside of FOXHOUND. I bet Michael or Garland would have wanted you to stay out of trouble since you're not under their watch at the moment." Linn shrugged her shoulders.
"I know they mean well, but I can't just tell them about the kind of relationship me and Geese-sensei have if something like this comes up every time I'm needed here, not just yet anyway." Greg replied. "And you know for sure how Reese can be for letting recruits out of the headquarters without letting him know anything."
"Yeah, he can be such a pain about it at times. I guess you needed to save yourself the hassle by not telling him these days, huh?" Linn asked.
"We just have to hold on out on this until things get better for both sides, but for now, we'll focus on taking care of this gang war situation in SouthTown right now." Greg said, before patting his partner. "And I wanted to say thanks for coming anyway, even if it's just to look after me, Linn."
"Hey, I wouldn't have wanted it any other way, Greg. I will use any excuse to stick with you." Linn smiled as Greg rubbed his head and took up his motorcycle jacket.
"Right, Linn. I'll remember what you said and I'll try to be careful, though KOF has its share of troublemakers too. We've especially got to be on the lookout for a particular Ash Crimson as one of them." Greg said as the two left the apartment and walked down the passageway to Geese's office
"I read his profile. He's the French flame wielder who stole the Yata mirror from Chizuru Kagura some time back, am I right?" Linn asked as Greg nodded silently.
"Yeah, that's the same guy. Looks like he's trying to start up something related to the Orochi's revival that is reported to come about some time again, be it sooner or later." Greg replied. "Whatever the case, we should keep our eyes peeled for him before he starts something up again. I also heard both Kyo and Iori-sensei haven't taking a liking to Ash for what he did either."
"We could always just ask Geese for the whereabouts for this Ash." Linn suggested.
"Alright, we can start with the questions as the first procedure before we go looking around the city then." Greg said as the moment he and Linn stopped near the door, where Geese's two long time bodyguards, Ripper and Hopper, stood in front of it as they nodded silently to the two FOXHOUND operatives.
"The boss is in the middle of an important call right now, you should wait until he's finished." Ripper said to the two.
"It has got be another attempt to get his empire back on the go again by looking for a syndicate to take over." Linn leaned over to Greg and whispered to him. "I wonder who it is this time, Greg."
Greg remained silent as they heard Geese's voice as it roared from the other side of the closed double doors, swearing and cursing at the other end about striking a deal. After hearing the slam of the receiver from the room, Hopper fixed his glasses.
"Seems that deal went down badly." Hopper said.
"Did he ever mention who he was planning to strike this deal with, Hopper?" Greg asked.
"Yeah, the Mikage conglomerate." Hopper replied as Linn's eyes widened.
"You're joking, right?" She asked. "What is it that has Geese wanting to strike a deal with them?"
"Geese have been looking into their development structures, thanks to some leaked intelligence." Hopper said. "They seem to have a lot of secret, underground friends who are very interested in supporting the Mikage in their endeavour."
"And he's seeking to join the ranks, am I right?" Linn asked. "That seems a bit out of his league, don't you say, Greg?"
"Yeah, though by instinct, I can tell that this doesn't seem right somehow." Greg said in a low tone. "Do any of you know the name Mikage's original term?"
Linn and the two bodyguards simply shook their heads as Greg explained.
"Seishiro-san told me about it while he taught me on how to speak fluent Japanese in my younger years. The name Mikage name comes from the original term, onkage, which refers to people who expand their power in the shadows." Greg said as he folded his arms. "With a meaning like that, it would be obvious that something about the Mikage clan being so powerful must involve some shady dealings in order for it to become as it is."
"Greg, you're just saying that because the name sounds like bad luck." Hopper said as Greg shrugged his shoulders in reply.
"Well, I'm not sure if they are totally good or bad people unless I get to meet them. I just don't want Geese-sensei getting into something he can't handle, considering his situations these days." Greg said.
A buzzer was heard from the intercom behind the bodyguards as Ripper pressed the button as Geese's voice rang through.
"You can let them enter now." Geese simply said as he sounded a bit angry still. Greg swallowed as he really doesn't want to see his trainer on his bad side. Nodding to the two FOXHOUND agents, the two bodyguards opened the door to let Greg and Linn enter an office area, complete with a large TV monitor and seats in front of it. Geese Howard, dressed in a black open tuxedo, sat back behind on this chair, drinking whiskey.
"Sensei, are you alright?" Greg asked first while Linn stepped next to him.
"Yes, Greg. You just caught me in a bit of a bad mood, that's all." Geese said, emptying the full glass of liquor. "And just when I was seriously considering starting talks with the Mikage about the plan they had…well, good riddance to that. There are enough other opportunities I can grab at."
"What was it about them that got you so interested in doing business with them, sensei?" Greg asked.
"Do you really want to know?" Geese asked, raising an eyebrow, causing Greg to stare wide eyed at him while Linn spoke for him.
"Well, it could be important for the future while we're doing these undercover missions in KOF that we would look at the Mikage clan as well." Linn said.
"Yeah, it's as she said, sensei." Greg simply said as Geese shook his head, secretly closing a drawer that had several folders with the Mikage's crest written on the covers.
"It's best for both your sakes that you don't learn of what the Mikages are up to, take my advice." Geese said to them.
"We just heard you making quite the ruckus before about them." Linn said.
"One of their leaders got me all riled up and caused me to act that way. Of course, he has no idea who he's messing with." Geese said as he cleared his throat. "For over two weeks, I was using a hidden alias and voice decoder as a means to get my intel based on a man named Kagami Mikage, since I overheard talks that NESTS wanted something that his family was in the stages of developing and he was to be the head of it."
"Wait a second, NESTS wants a piece of the Mikage clan's action as well?" Linn asked surprised.
"Yeah, that's right. Knowing that the Mikage are heavy in the science field, NESTS won't be wasting any time in grabbing at an opportunity of being part of their workforce." Geese said.
"So, if things worked out according to their plans, it's possible they can go back into recreating the Kyo clones?" Greg asked, causing Linn to gasp.
"That's a possibility indeed, my student." Geese said. "Though something tells me it may be something else…"
"So what made you change your mind at the last second?" Linn asked.
"That is as much I'm willing to tell you two for now." Geese said in a near warning tone. "Just take my advice from today to heart and don't ever trust the Mikage clan, they are bad news."
"Surely, sensei, not everyone from that Mikage group can be that bad." Greg said as Geese waved an arm at him.
"You wouldn't know until you've met that arrogant, multilingual bastard who thought he could manipulate me with a stupid deal about his twisted science projects." Geese growled. "If Kagami Mikage dares to cross me, he'll be begging for his life if I get my hands on him."
(Geese-sensei really isn't much of a fan of this Kagami guy, whoever he is. I wonder why?) Greg thought to himself. "In any case, we should start our mission before any action relevant to it is missed."
"Yes, I'll be getting down to that right now. I need to take my mind off this matter anyway." Geese said as he turned off the lights in the room and the TV monitor came on as the faces of all the King of Fighters participants that ever joined the annual competition are shown onscreen. Faces from the first tournament to the current time are listed for both Greg and Linn to recognize. "You two are aware of the growing popularity of this tournament, right?"
"Of course we do. We know it only gets bigger each year." Linn replied.
"And I want to maintain that as long as the enemy factions from the outside don't interfere or else it will be bad for the business." Geese explained. "Enemy groups like the Patriots for example are just one of many of those groups that want these fighters for themselves and their own purposes."
"No kidding. They could probably target anyone these days." Greg said. "But how will we know which of the enemy groups are the right ones to be looking out for?"
"You're right about the problem of which ones to look for. Some of these groups aren't even on the roster of those vying to take over KOF, but they exist." Geese said. "Your duty is to gather as much intel about the enemy groups targeting my tournament and maintain its order in between matches."
"That much we already do know. But we certainly can't do this alone, Geese-sensei. There are many areas that are easy to miss." Greg said.
"Yeah, it would be really tough to gather information and keep a low profile while doing it, even though we're from FOXHOUND." Linn said.
"I never said you are going to do this alone, that is why from tonight, I'll be hiring a partner for the two of you from tonight on." Geese said as he smiled and the lights turned back on. "That's your cue, Nagase. Come introduce yourself."
"It's about time too, I was getting rather uncomfortable just standing here watching you get all ticked about the Mikage." A young female's voice spoke as Greg and Linn looked around and saw nothing but air around them.
"There's no one here…" Linn said as Greg remained silent and looked around for a moment, when right before them, a cloud of smoke exploded and the one who emerged from it was a cheerful looking teenage girl wearing a bright yellow and black vertical striped dress that ended as a miniskirt above her knees, complete with boots and gloves to boot. Two short swords were seen attached to her back in opposite vertical directions of each other. On one of her hands was some scanning device. Her dark hair was cut short, dyed and pulled back with a strand of white and yellow mixed to match her clothing. She was also sporting yellow tinted small rounded shades.
"This is Nagase, once a kunoichi working for Kusiel." Geese said, causing Greg and Linn to step back as Nagase held up one of her hands.
"Hold up, I'm not with those guys anymore." Nagase said, still in a cheerful tone. "I'm through working with the likes of my former boss, his style doesn't suit me after I found out he was just using me to his ends. Not to mention he kind of tried to kill me after that."
"Are you referring to the head of Kusiel? I've read up the file on the one called Jivatma." Greg said.
"But…you're still just a young girl!" Linn said exclaimed.
"Yeah, should that surprise you?" Nagase asked, placing her hands on her hips and walking towards the couple. "Besides, for FOXHOUND members, aren't you guys used to seeing child soldiers often in your missions?"
"She's got a point, which makes it less hard to believe in this day and age." Greg said in a sad tone. "So what is it that you're doing siding with Geese?"
"Don't get me wrong, I'm just freelancing to support myself." Nagase said. "It's been pretty tough for me since Kusiel fell years back, but I've been doing well thanks to some side jobs gathering information and the like here and there. The people in this city aren't too bad themselves, but that's probably my soft side talking."
(For some strange reason, she reminds me a bit of Riku when I first met him.) Greg thought to himself. (I wonder how they would relate if they ever met?)
"Geese has been filling me in on all that you told him about the Patriots' activities for awhile now, which has been going on for about a month. Kusiel even happens to have some beef with those guys from what I remember when I was still part of them." Nagase said. "Personally, I'm curious to see what is it that separates them from Kusiel and Addis in terms of what makes them so dangerous."
"Well, one of the reasons they are so dangerous is that they have been around much longer than all of us, Nagase-san." Greg said. "Not to mention they happen to have a lot of deep roots."
"Something tells me that I'm going to like working with you two from now on." Nagase said with a smile.
(At least this girl stopped being associated with the likes of Kusiel before it was too late. She still has much to experience living in this world, unlike some of the other young people I've heard about in KOF.) Greg thought to himself. (And the same could be applied to generally any one else who is part of organizations like Kusiel.)
"Nagase has exceptional skills as a ninja, so you can rely on her for backing you up for intel whenever you need it." Geese said. "Now, since you three have gotten off to a good start, you should begin the recon without a moment's haste. I've already gone over the details with Nagase before you came in."
"So, you were listening to us the entire time, weren't you?" Linn asked.
"Yeah, even I couldn't have sensed you until the last second." Greg said.
"And you're supposed to be the psychic out of your group? Well, that goes to show how useful I am." Nagase smiled, causing Greg to fluster.
"Hey, what is that supposed to mean?" Greg asked.
"Work on your brain a little and you'll figure it out." Nagase joked, causing Linn to chuckle.
"Oh, Greg. You're being teased again." Linn said jokingly.
"That's enough, you two. We should begin this mission." Greg said, as his face almost red from the fun he's being made out of.
"Alright, you three. The enemy groups won't wait on you, you know that." Geese said as Greg nodded his head.
"Yes, sensei, we will do what we can from here." Greg bowed to him as he then looked at Linn and then at Nagase. "Well, that pretty much sums the mission up. How about we get this recon mission started so we can finish up early?"
"I'm game with that." Nagase nodded with a confident grin as she pointed at Greg and Linn. "I will let you know from now on that I won't go easy on any suspicious characters we run into, got it?"
"Hey, we won't stop you. Besides, I doubt a high spirited ninja such as you would have any murderous intent for a recon mission unless it's a highly dangerous foe we're facing." Greg said. "You know, you almost remind of a friend who is also a ninja like you; it's hard not to make comparisons with your carefree personalities."
"My mood can change pretty quickly in case you didn't know, FOXHOUNDer." Nagase said as her voice lowered slightly and raised an eyebrow at Greg. "So try to stay on my good side, got it?"
"Alright, if that's what you want. My lips are sealed from now on, Nagase-san." Greg replied with a serious tone as she shook her head.
"Aw, forget it. I'm just messing with your head. You're not a bad guy yourself and from looking at you, you must have one heck of a reputation if you and your girlfriend there are from FOXHOUND." Nagase said as Linn suddenly placed her hands on her cheeks and blushed, while Greg coughed.
"His girlfriend?" Linn asked herself as Greg looked at Nagase puzzled.
"What are you talking about?" Greg asked as Nagase grinned.
"Man, you're slow, not to mention a bit insensitive. But I can understand why you would act that way in front of a babe like her." Nagase waved a finger at him. "In any case, we should get the mission started and save this conversation for later."
"You're right. Let's get a move on." Greg sighed as he and Linn began to walk while Nagase strolled aside them for the recon mission. They kicked off a rather good friendship from that time, one of the first relationships between FOXHOUND and KOF that will later herald a series of others in the growing future.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
"Those were less hectic times then." Greg said as he returned his thoughts to the present. "I'd hoped I would get in touch with Geese-sensei regarding the KOF this year, all that I heard from him was that he was planning something really big for this one with all the Angel attacks and what not as soon all of this is finished. He wanted it to be extra special for everyone entering or something."
"You sure it's not just a way for him to quickly bounce back to his former position as the king of SouthTown?" Riku asked.
"Well, there's that to consider too, though all I care about in that area is seeing my old KOF buddies again." Greg said. "In any case, it's high time we started focusing on how we can efficiently deal with Shade and the Death Squad that he's brought with him."
"Just remember that we're not going to run away from this battle, Greg. And you shouldn't be so tense about this thing with Shade, you know everyone is looking out for you and each other, so it should be alright for now as long we're careful." Riku told him.
"Right, I'll do my best, though I can't give any guarantees, Riku. Enemies that are stronger than Garland normally have me on edge, you know." Greg said as he then began to think to himself as he stared at his friend.
(Whatever kind of mission Riku and his partners were involved in that ran along the lines of the Mikage two years ago had to be some serious business going down at the time for someone like Shade to show up then. Which leads me to think back if those from that family are all truly bad or good to begin with once more...and more importantly, just what was it about them that could have made Riku be part of it?) Greg thought to himself.
Meanwhile, Riku lapsed into his own thoughts at what Greg had just told him about his and Linn's meeting with Geese.
(So it wasn't just the Patriots and NESTS that the Mikage looked to for aid in C-Project…they were even trying to weasel aid out of Geese Howard himself.) Riku thought to himself. (Alec and Gladys would have mentioned something about it if they knew, so…just how much information did Kagami and the rest of those higher ups in the Mikage family take with them to their graves? Maybe we should have questioned Wei and Asamu before we let them go…)
Riku then pushed those thoughts aside as he knew this was not the time to wonder on that matter.
"Well, I guess it's a crucial time that you should be putting all those lessons you've been learning from the sparring matches you lost against him many times to use, huh?" Riku asked, causing Greg to rub his head.
"Hey, I've been dedicating myself in bucking up for times like these in secret, Riku. I don't let myself relax at all when it comes to training or matters like this." Greg replied. "And besides, it's just like what Garland has always been telling us younger recruits back at HQ over the years: 'Every drop of sweat in training means one less drop of blood in battle.'"
"Ah, so you have been paying attention, huh?" Riku asked, causing Greg to redden in embarrassment.
"Hey, what is that suppose to mean, Riku?" Greg asked, staring at him wide eyed. Before the conversation went further, they began to hear their Codec tones ring simultaneously. When Greg looked at who was calling him, both the remainder of FOXHOUND and Nanvel was contacting them.
"We'd better patch both calls at the same time so we'd get to hear what everyone has to tell us." Greg said, touching the call button as he activated Nanvel's screen. "Panther here, what is it, Nanvel?"
"Greg, I was just going over several criminal records about this Shade guy you met and most of the pictures and stuff Nastasha has said about him aren't pretty to look at." Nanvel said.
"We can do without most of the sordid details, Nanvel." Rio lamented. "Could you fill us in on what we don't know already?"
"I'll do what I can." Nanvel replied as she cleared her throat and explained to Greg, Rio and Maya the same things Nastasha had told her and Maki about what she knew about Shade. It was almost enough to send a couple of shivers down Rio's spine as she heard his past atrocities.
"Here's what Nastasha and I have dug up on this guy so far. He happens to have gone by the name of Shingen Koga, so far nothing else is known about his age, nationality, race, or background." Nanvel spoke. "Shade has worked as a mercenary/assassin for a variety of countries and other people and gained a reputation for being an exceptional but very brutal mercenary."
"That much isn't hard to figure out. We can all tell by just looking at him." Rio said, shuddering. "What else did you find?"
"Remember when I just told you guys about the assassination of the former Secretary of Defence carried out by Shade and his escape which caused major casualties?" Nanvel asked. "This guy also took down not just one, but five Harriers using the Comanche attack helicopter that he used to make his getaway."
"This guy sounds better than Yuji and Greg put together in terms of flying." Maya spoke.
"Yeah, it's hard to believe it." Greg simply said as he listened in as he switched to FOXHOUND's frequency at NERV. "Garland, Michael, is all of that true about that guy?"
"Yes, it's also true that he's capable of killing without much of a second thought, Greg." Michael said. "At the time he killed off my unit several years back, it only took him a mere three minutes to do so. It's like a twisted nature that he's gotten from being so used to the slaughter over the years, it's become just a simple task to him."
"Garland, to think this guy is stronger than you, it worries me even more." Greg said looking at his monitor. "What should we do against the likes of him?"
"I know you must feel a bit tense about facing him, but you can't allow any of that to show, Greg. I know you're stronger mentally than that when you're up against the impossible." Garland replied. "Just listen to our advice on how to last long enough and everything's going to be okay. Riku is helping you out with what Shade is capable of, isn't he?"
"True, but still…" Greg replied before Rio cut him off with a stressed out tone.
"Even with Riku's skills and help, Shade's pretty much a smarter foe than the rest of us put together." Rio said.
"We're still basically pretty much screwed if we slip up fighting this guy, aren't we?" Maya asked, shaking her head and trying to forget much of the details she heard about Shade so far.
"What's your opinion, Nanvel?" Greg asked.
"Yeah, that's pretty much all of what Nastasha has been filling us in and concluding." Nanvel said. "You guys are in really hot water now because of the danger this single guy poses."
"So did you contact us just to inform us about that alone, Nanvel?" Rio asked.
"Well, not just that, but to tell Greg something very important that would give him a bit of an edge when its time to face Shade." Nanvel said as Rio's eyes widened from her Codec screen, as she turned to Greg.
"Did you hear that, Greg?" Rio asked as Greg nodded silently with a serious look on his face. "So, what is it about? It has to do something with the new duds he is wearing, right?"
"Yeah, but now it is time to give them a name Greg should use them by instead of just referring to them as another accessory." Nanvel said as Greg scratched his cheek.
"Okay, Aunt Nanvel, lets hear this name you have for this set of gauntlets you created then." Greg said.
"We shall now call them the Nan-Bracers, short for Nanvel's Automated Nano-enhanced gauntlets." Nanvel said in a cheery tone. "Pretty neat, huh?"
"Well, considering they were created by you, anything under your genius has got to be really useful if they come with a name like that." Greg said with a light grin. "Now, what is it about the Nan-Bracers that you needed to tell me about?"
"I've looked over the battle data this morning and forgot to tell you that you can use the Nan-Bracers gauntlets to conserve most of his psychic energy during a fight, then when you're ready to use them, can continuously use them in a succession of attacks for a due set of time." Nanvel said.
"So what you're saying is that all I have to do is just infuse the gauntlets with, for example, my pryokinetic abilities and I can just automatically summon them without going through the trouble of casting them?" Greg asked.
"That's pretty much sums it, Greg. I call it the Charge Drive, an ability you can use as long as you got the gauntlets equipped. However, you will be spending a lot more of energy that you normally use just to conserve the effects of the medicine you take when activated and it only lasts for only ten to fifteen seconds." Nanvel explained. "It's the trade off of offence and conservation; you don't have to use it if you don't want to, Greg."
Greg remained silent as he watched his right nano fist and nodded. "Well, if just one complete attack should be enough to slow down Shade, that amount of time has to be enough as long as I keep my distance. And besides, if I had more time to experiment with these features, I would have discovered some techniques worth using against him, but with what I've got now will have to do."
"Don't let it get to your head, Greg. Even with the technology you have, Shade is still strong enough to fend off most of your attacks. Not to mention his combat skills are near to invincibility." Michael said.
"I should also fill you guys in on that Shade is also immune to any form of mind control, so trying to attack him mentally won't work against him, Greg." Nanvel then got to report.
"Yeah, I managed to find out about that minor detail a little too late before. I tried to enter his mind using my powers to spot a weakness or at least attack it, but he knew about beforehand and I couldn't get through to him." Greg spoke.
"From what we could tell so far, he's a sadistic, calculating, very arrogant, and very cruel a man who kills for the fun of it." Nanvel spoke. "Not to mention, he's also able to draw on his chi, as your friend Michael said before, combined with his awesome hand to hand combat skills and unparalleled stealth abilities which results in you never knowing that he's on you and you only have a matter of seconds to react."
"Man, we're so screwed once the fighting starts." Maya spoke, feeling shivers run down her spine.
"Listen, you guys. You really don't need to defeat him since it's nearly impossible to do so, just survive long enough to buy some time." Nanvel spoke.
"She's right, it's not like we're taking him head on." Rio said. "Besides, I'm sure Greg will be taking care of the duty of covering for us each time Shade tries something, am I right?"
"Huh?" Greg asked, pointing a nano finger to his chest. "Why is that, sensei?"
"You're the psychic guardian, have you forgotten that?" Rio said. "And besides, you will have to stay in the best of shape when it's time to face Mantis, rather than wasting all your needed energy fighting Shade."
"You have a point, but in the way you put it, you make it sound easier than it looks." Greg said.
"Greg, keep the Codec line open so we can keep an eye on you and the other group." Nanvel said. "If you need any advice on the suit or Shade or just want someone to talk to, Maki, Nastasha, and Seraph are waiting right here to talk to you."
"Thanks a lot, Nanvel. I'll see what I can do from here." Greg said as he quickly switched to FOXHOUND's frequency as he saw Michael's and Garland's faces. "So, what's your input on this, guys?"
"As I've said before, the best thing to do about Shade is to continue retreating from him and proceed to locate Mantis." Michael said. "It would also be wise to regroup as it would be a better chance once you encounter the forces he would probably have with him."
"However, on the chance that you do have no other choice when you face him, the best option we can offer you is to conserve much of your strengths and watch each other backs against him." Garland offered his own advice. "It won't be easy considering he can overpower most of you though, even probably the Shinsengumi."
"Damn…" Rio muttered under her breath. "Then, we have to do our best to hit him hard, heavy and make a quick run for it."
"Since there's only one direction for Mantis' stronghold, you guys just have to head there, assuming that Reese's little army haven't taken over it." Nanvel said.
"We'll get there, there's still enough time." Maya said. "It would be pretty convenient for us if we had to face them and Shade a little ways before that, so if that doesn't serve as good news to us, I can't say what else is."
"Let's hope that's the case. By the meantime, we'd at least better make sure how Crow, Usagi, and the Shinsengumi are doing by their side." Riku said as he pressed his Codec button to contact Mystic Crow. Soon after finding his frequency, Nagi's face appeared onscreen.
"Drakken, Panther, how are things on your side?" Nagi asked.
"Still quiet over here, no sign of the enemy so far." Riku replied. "And you guys?"
"We haven't been able to run into any kind of trouble ourselves, but we can't help but wonder if Shade's still after us." Nagi replied.
"I know what you mean. Though, we can't be too careful, he has ways of being in two different places at once, if you know what I mean." Riku said.
"We know, Drakken. We'll be careful for any possible traps while we're looking around." Tot answered. "But so far, we haven't gotten any useful leads as to where Mantis really is."
"Yes, this place is more like a labyrinth, if you ask me." Rio asked.
"By the way, according to Nanvel's Soliton, you're not awfully far from where Greg and I are." Riku said. "It's best that we all meet back in ten minutes tops and regroup before going on ahead, but let us know if you run into something important."
"Roger that. And be sure you do the same too, Drakken." Nagi said. "Is that all?"
"Actually, you guys. I know we should have mentioned this before, but something's happened over at FOXHOUND HQ, regarding Reese." Garland said, causing Greg to stop in his tracks and everyone to gasp as they heard this.
"I don't know how to say this, Greg…but he wasn't in his office after the Colonel found out about him and went to arrest him. Then Mei Ling reported that your records no longer existed in the databanks." Garland said.
"So, is that what he meant by termination from FOXHOUND before?" Greg simply asked.
"Just what is it that he's trying to do by pulling something like this?" Riku asked as Greg shook his head.
"Reese…we can worry about him after all of this. By that time, I will already have enough ideas on how to make him talk about every little dirty deed he has committed and how they are related to the Patriots, I can assure you guys that." Greg said in a low tone before showing a confident smile. "But for now…let's just focus on getting Lilica and Yuina back while trying to get past this Shade with little problems as possible, alright?"
"Alright, Greg. Let's do this." Maya said with a nodding smile.
"Hey, what happened to Linn?" Rio asked. "We aren't hearing her over the Codec anymore."
"Oh, she left the Command Centre moments before." Michael's voice spoke as he shook his head. "It seems that this whole affair has gotten to her emotionally. She was worried out of her mind about you, Greg. I've never seen her explode like that before."
"I pretty much expected that today. Our relationship is going to totally hit the rocks if things like these keep up, especially thanks to Reese for today especially." Greg said in a sad tone. "I hate making her upset like this…"
"Greg, you can argue and make things up with Linn all you want after you come back to Tokyo-3 when this is over. What Reese did today isn't your fault and you shouldn't blame yourself for it." Solid Snake spoke, causing Greg to stare at him wide eyed.
"Snake?" Greg asked while Rio and Maya looked on in surprise at the Legend.
(Oh my God, this is Solid Snake?) Rio thought to herself. (But he looks older than I remember seeing him. Is it because of the fact that he's a clone that he's aging faster than normal?)
"Look, kid. Meryl and I just got wind of this whole thing." Snake spoke. "And while we don't approve of what Reese has been doing, we don't wish to see Mantis be used like this."
"He's right, you know. Mantis was a better person, moments before he died back at Shadow Moses." Meryl said in a sad tone. "Sure, everyone would remember him for what he had done to turn himself into a criminal, but only Snake and I…and you future generations of FOXHOUND, know the truth and what kind of person Mantis really was and still could be. Garland told us how you wanted to try and change him back to who he really was before he was brainwashed?"
"That's right. I have already made my mind up on that, Commander." Greg said sternly. "It's the only way things could ever be rectified for what Reese has done…and what lives were lost in the process. I know he was just being used against his will and how angry he was at the world. I can almost relate to that, I felt that I was not part of society until I met the people dear to me, Team Warrior, and Seishiro-san. They made me feel like I actually belonged to some special people and that was before meeting you guys as well."
"Greg…" Garland said quietly as Greg continued.
"Mantis must never have gotten such a chance of that, people who accepted and loved him for who he was, before he allowed himself to be taken over by the evils of others. I want to let him know that the world does indeed need people like us and that there's no reason to fight each other." Greg said. "And now…after one of my own family is in the enemy hands, it just gives me more reason to do this. I know it will be tough, but…I can't afford to turn back now, even if I have to face pain along the way."
"I see then. Well, can you humbly do us the favour by asking him to join us once you've managed to return him to normal?" Meryl asked.
"I'll do just that. I imagine that there must be many things you want to talk to him about." Greg said.
"Panther, don't get yourself killed out there. Everyone's looking forward to seeing you accomplishing your mission and come back to us." Snake said to him as Greg suddenly saluted to him and Meryl.
"Understood. It's a promise I intend to keep for their sake and mine as well." Greg replied seriously.
"Greg, everyone, I'm detecting some enemy presence up ahead your way." Nanvel spoke from her screen. "It seems the time for leisure it's at its end."
"I doubt that. This is about time for the real fireworks to begin." Maya said, cocking the safety of her handgun while Rio took out her tonfars while Greg nodded silently as he clenched his gauntlets and Riku took out several kunai.
"Lilica, we're just on our way, so just hang on a bit for us, okay?" Greg said to himself as he began to charge the gauntlets with psychic energy. The group of four made their way deeper into the sewers as Riku suddenly stepped forward and stopped Greg, Rio, and Maya from advancing any further once they stepped out of the tunnel.
"What is it, Riku?" Rio asked. "Is it the enemy?"
"We have to be careful in case the enemy has prepared for us and laid some traps down here." Riku said as he looked around and carefully examined a dual passageway. "I'll see if that's the case before we proceed further."
"The direction to the stronghold is through the left tunnel, isn't it, Nanvel?" Maya asked.
"Yeah, just go that way until you see another dual passageway, then take the right tunnel of that one." Nanvel said before her eyes widened. "Look out you guys, I'm reading a bogey approaching from the right tunnel where you guys are."
Riku suddenly sensed a presence approaching him and, immediately recognizing it, leaped back and got into a fighting position as he landed near Greg, Rio, and Maya.
"Riku, what…?" Rio asked as from the darkness, Shade walked out dressed in his trenchcoat.
"Ah, I was getting rather bored just waiting for you and your friends, young Hokage ninja." Shade said as he placed his hands into his pockets. "It's too bad that your two other friends aren't here to see you die here, but I'll make sure to have them join you soon enough once I'm through with you."
Greg and Rio suddenly got into their fighting poses as Maya took out an assault rifle from her arsenal and aimed it at Shade.
"We're not running away, Shade. I told you before that I will not be intimidated by you and not to underestimate us." Greg said. "As for the rest of our friends, they're on the way to be joining us, so you might as well prepare yourself."
"Your spirit intrigues me to an extent, Gregory Kinezono, but you're just as fragile and weak as those with you, perhaps even more so. I, on the other hand, am set to show you that you're just too different to confront the likes of me." Shade said as he took out his arms out of his pockets. "So, which of you wants to die first?"
"I've had enough of your talking! Eat this!" Maya shouted as she opened fire suddenly at Shade, who sidestepped away from the line of fire in a blur, only to reappear closer to the group.
"Hmph, you like relying too much on your precious guns, don't you?" Shade asked as he swung his fists as Maya, who rolled out of harms way in time. Still holding unto the gun, Maya spun her body as she rammed her shoulder at Shade's blindside.
"Jingu Beat Rush!" Maya shouted, expecting to catch Shade with her attack, but the mercenary had already leaped away from the attack as he was above her by ten feet and was coming down at her with a double jump kick
"Maya!" Rio shouted as seeing her comrade flip out of the way in time, as Greg dashed to her position and pulled back his right nano fist while Shade came down. Executing a punch towards the aerial direction Shade was coming from, Greg ended up striking nothing but a smoking log as his fist punched through it.
(A replication jutsu, damn it.) Greg thought as he suddenly looked to see Shade coming from below him with a sweeping kick, as Greg leaped away from him in time and dropped a stun grenade in his position that was close enough to distract Shade for a brief time.
"I got him this time!" Maya said as she used her Weapon Draw move to take out her self named 'Omasu' rifle and fired at Shade's open leg area with several shots.
"Drive By Shooting!" Maya cried out as she dashed at Shade, firing at him even at close range, before sliding under him and firing about around his lower body.
"Is that all you've got?" Shade asked the group as he shook his head as if nothing happened. "You people are hopeless."
Maya and Greg stood side by side as they saw the wounds he took started to repair themselves.
"That is some freaky shit…" Maya said in shock. "What do we do now, Greg?"
"Just stick to the plan, Maya." Greg said as he stood up. "Now, Riku, any smart ideas we can use against him?"
"I'm still in the process of that, though all I can say is keep at what you were doing and maybe we won't have too much trouble. Just don't stick it to him too much." Riku said before stopping.
"Alright, Maya will attack using long distance while Rio, you and I will stick to close quarters." Greg nodded.
"Three of you want to attempt the impossible, is that it?" Shade asked, rubbing his neck. "Well, I won't stop you. Let me see just how capable you are altogether, though it is rather pointless."
"Shut the hell up, you barbarian." Rio muttered. "I'm doing my best not to get mad at you, so I won't fall for any of your tricks. But you wouldn't like to see my son get angry now, don't you?"
"That's enough out of you, wench." Shade said, causing Rio to stare at him wide eyed. "After I'm done killing your son, I'll see to it that I'll start training you to become my own personal slave, how do you like that?"
"How…how dare you say such things, pervert!" Rio shouted, suddenly taking charge at Shade as Greg and Maya tried to stop her.
"Sensei!" Greg called out as he gritted his teeth. "Aw, hell…Maya, Riku, cover me!"
"I got it!" Maya said as she took out a fire grenade and held it on the ready. Greg followed behind Rio as Shade started to easily sidestep from her tonfar swings, only to catch them once he found Rio's blind spot which was her abdomen. He suddenly planted a punch into her stomach as blood was vomited out of her mouth.
"Yes, that is what I want to see." Shade said lecherously as he used the right backside of his hand to slap across her face harshly. "It's your desperate attempts to stand against me that put on quite an amusing show, dear Kinezono."
Suddenly glancing up, Shade saw Greg coming down at him with a punch from his nano wrist, as Shade simply grinned at the psychic Marine and used a single standing uppercut to cut through his attack by landing it on his chest.
"You're too impulsive." Shade simply said as Greg was knocked off balance, but suddenly recovered fast enough to whip out a USP and fired it at Shade's chest, hitting it with two shots. It wasn't enough to kill him, but not enough to stun him either. However, Greg pressed on as he attacked Shade with his style of attacks.
"Kinezono Style: Panther Cut!" Greg shouted as he swung a right left punch combination at Shade's chest, before switching to another attack.
"Kinezono Style: Flicker Kick!" Greg said as he turned his body to deliver a set of one legged lighting fast bended kicks, sending Shade backwards from him.
"Give it to him now, while there's still time, Maya!" Greg called out as Maya nodded at him.
"Alright. Fire in the Hole!" Maya shouted as she threw her grenade, igniting Shade on fire. Then, Maya switched her 'Osamu' rifle into her 'Masaru' heavy machine gun as Shade was set on flames. Riku then threw a shuriken at Shade's left knee before conjuring up a single flame.
"Dragon Strike!" Riku said he used a fireball to envelope his right fist and struck Shade with it. Then he used a double aerial kick to give him some distance from him and the group, before suddenly using his Shadow Step technique to close in on him once more.
"Wyvern's Sting!" Riku said as he stabbed Shade with a couple of senbon needles at Shade's pressure points. He then quickly leaped away to give Maya a clear shot.
"Target Practice!" Maya shouted, as she sprayed about Shade's body with lead until the cartridges ran out of ammo. After about several seconds of Maya Jingu's continuous firing at the immortal mercenary, Shade's body collapsed to the ground where he stood in a smoking heap.
"Don't tell me that's it from him." Rio said, holding her stomach, until she grimaced a bit.
"I doubt it, it is as Riku's been telling us all along." Greg said as he stepped closer to beside Rio as he checked up on her. "You okay there, sensei?"
"Dammit! How did he get to me like that?" Rio muttered as she stood up, suddenly feeling weak.
Riku's eyes narrowed as he looked at where Shade had fallen and realization hit him.
"Wait a minute…Greg, Rio!" Riku called out as the two saw him draw his USP while keeping his kunai close. "Something about this just doesn't seem right…"
Greg remained silent as he took out his own USP. "What do you mean, Riku?"
"I meant in how we just dealt with Shade. Normally, he wouldn't even consider those kinds of injuries as serious and it's not that often we could have ambushed him at the same time successfully." Riku said as he cautiously walked closer to the spot Shade was.
The FOXHOUND shinobi walked with this gun pointed to the ground and then carefully kicked the body over its side to reveal a ghastly sight at his feet as he saw a middle aged male dressed in high tech armour with his eyes burnt out as was the majority of his skin.
"Damn it, that freakish technique again…" Riku muttered with groan as he recognized what this was.
"Riku?" Maya asked as she stepped close enough to see what made Riku groan. "Aw, man…what the hell…?"
Rio gasped as Greg looked on wide eyed as he watched the corpse and gritted his teeth as he spoke into the Codec.
"Nanvel, everyone…are you watching all of this?" Greg asked solemnly as Nanvel nodded silently.
"Looks like one of the people who have been living down in these sewers since they became inoperable after the Impact." Nanvel said sadly. "This man looks like he was a homeless guy travelling underground."
"But how can this be? We were just fighting that Shade freak!" Rio exclaimed as the area over Greg's eyeline grew dark as he got silent.
"That's what he wanted us to think, which was why he was probably using this." Riku said seriously as he held up a blood written tag of paper that had been imprinted onto the corpse's chest. "As I suspected, this was not the first time his arts have deceived me. That was a shikigami. And a perfectly distinguished one as well, it's no wonder you were tricked so easily by it because it looked close to the real thing, Rio."
"A shiki-what?" Rio asked, as she shook her head and snapped herself back into focus. "Now, hold on just a minute here, Riku! Are you saying that this guy can do crazy stuff like this?" She asked, as she and Maya were shocked to see what had happened before her as Riku gave a silent nod.
"I did say he's a master of these kinds of arts, Rio, though since I'm sure Warrior never had to deal with stuff like these before, so it must be new to you guys." Riku said. "Just try to be extra sharp from now on, Rio. If I hadn't notice what that shikigami was planning to do in time, you would have been hurt more badly than it intended to do with you. That or you may have wasted too much effort in destroying it and giving Shade an opportunity to take advantage that mistake."
"Ah, sure. You're right, thanks for the save, Riku." Rio said as her surrogate son watched into the distance, clenching his gauntlet fused fists as he spoke.
"So, he was testing us by using this innocent man just for his convenience?" Greg asked.
"I did say he was no ordinary enemy, Greg. It is as Tot said before…he's a living monster that enjoys these kinds of stuff." Riku said as Greg gritted his teeth.
"I've had enough of you and your hiding, Shade! Why are you so afraid to face us?" Greg shouted out loud, surprising everyone. "Are these the lengths that you're willing to go just to stop us from getting the mission accomplished? I told you before nothing you can do shall stop me from reuniting my family once more, do you hear me? Answer me!"
When no answer came out, Greg scoffed and pounded his nano wrist into the ground near his feet, almost on the verge of tears.
"Dammit, I screwed up." Greg muttered, his body shaking. "I should have seen something like this coming! But why…why am I so weak that I couldn't have prevented this…"
Rio stepped closer and hugged Greg from behind, causing the shaking of his body to cease for now.
"Its okay, Greg, none of us could have known Shade was using him before it was too late." Rio said to him. "I know you must feel responsible, but…this was not your fault. Come on, shape up. This was his fault to begin with, so we'll repay that bastard with interest for what he did, alright?"
"She's right, you know. This is how he used the shikigami the first time I saw him do it. It was a really shaky experience, but I've gotten over it." Riku said to Greg. "You should too if you want to rescue Lilica and Yuina if it means facing this guy from now on."
Greg remained silent for a moment as he passed his nano wrist over the corpse's open eyelids to close them.
"I'm so sorry for involving you in this." Greg said solemnly as he stood back up, breathing heavily. After opening his eyes once more, he looked at everyone with him.
"I'm actually starting to worry a bit about Nagi, Tot and the others after knowing Shade is somewhere else." Greg said calmly now.
"Greg, you know you shouldn't worry about them. I'm sure they're prepared to face Shade and his Death Squad without us until we get to them." Riku said to him. "In any case, we should hurry and meet them ourselves, the shikigami could very well have been a distraction for us."
Greg nodded as he stopped to glance at Rio who looked concerned as he smiled at her some.
"Thanks again, sensei. I know it's not entirely hopeless against the situation, especially with you around to guide me." Greg said to her.
"Well, I should be kicking myself for letting what that simple illusion said about me, heh-heh." Rio laughed nervously. "You know, Greg, you and I are almost alike…we try to act brave in the battlefield, but we're still afraid of the reality of it and it takes us by surprise like BAM! You don't have any idea what hit you until the crucial moment."
"Which is why I told you to watch your emotions, but even I still have long ways before I can control them myself." Greg said.
"Ah, I still think you're brave, talking all about reuniting the family and everything." Rio said with a smile. "You really sounded intimidating yourself back there, yelling like that."
"I just wanted to let out some steam." Greg said. "Now, come on, we're probably not too far from Nagi and the rest."
"And that's where we'll probably meet the real Shade and the lackeys that he's brought with him, right?" Maya asked.
"Yeah, that's most likely too." Greg replied as the group paced themselves and exited the tunnel areas of the underground passage, and as they did, they overheard several sword clashing sounds at a distance.
"Has the real fighting started already?" Rio asked as she and her group closed in and saw Nagi, Tot, Dee, Pei, and Kanashii already in a battle against fifty or so Death Squad troops.
"About time you showed up. We were on our way to meet you when these guys showed up." Dee said, as she happened to have enough time to slash at three of the D.S troops with only three vertical slashes of her sword.
Dee was firing shots from her assault rifle as her blood coated sword remained impaled in one of the troop's backs before taking it back out and striking two more down with it while Kanashii was using CQC as she sneaked in between the Death Squad troops' attempted attacks and began gutting one soldier after another near Nagi and Tot, who were holding their own against the Death Troops.
"Hyper Psych Shot!" Nagi Naoe shouted as he took five troops down with an enhanced psychic energy ball shot. It took down multiple enemies as the ball covered the passageway of the sewers.
Tot was cutting down enemies with her Muramasa blade, and at one point, she stabbed one troop with an upwards juggle strike, then she performed her Deadly Umbrella Spin, using her umbrella as a weapon. The enemy was caught in the multiple hit attack and was knocked out in an instant.
"We're here now and this time from now on, we're sticking together." Greg said, holding unto his USP.
"Feel free to join us anytime." Dee said as Maya nodded, taking out her 'Kiyoshi' named assault rifle.
"Where is that Shade guy?" Rio asked as she clubbed a few of the troops with her tonfars.
"He went with several others down that way, which is the direction where Mantis is located, according to Nanvel-san. You should be able to catch up with him while we deal with this set, Rio-san." Tot said to her. "Leave here to us and we'll be joining you soon."
"Are you up to it, Riku? It's time for us to get serious." Greg asked.
"Yeah, I'm ready, knowing you will back us up." Riku said as Greg switched the Codec's MP3 player on as the heavy rock/instrumental group, Rhapsody, began to play one of their famous hits, Holy Thunderforce.
"Good choice of music there." Riku said to Greg from the side.
"Thanks. I accidentally fell in love in the song while watching that infamous Devil May Cry 3 gameplay video that made TatsumaruBlack, a hardcore gamer, so famous when Lilica was browsing for AMVs years ago." Greg said as he ducked under a swung blade from one of the troops, before he countered by knocking the wind out of him and pushing him back using his palms.
"Kinezono Style: Panther Straight!" Greg said as he dashed at the troops with his right fist infused like a drill, mowing some of them down.
"Dragon Claw Slash!" Riku shouted, as he sped in front of several of the Death Squad's troops and using an enhanced attack of the flame blade from the dragon, Saiha. Three of them went down before they knew what hit them. Four others took their place, but two of them got several kunai into their chest areas as Riku whirled around to throw the blades at the newly arrived enemies.
Meanwhile on another spot, Rio had shot down over seven of them and was preparing to face more.
"Foreplay!" She shouted, clubbing one of the enemy with an upward strike, then with the tonfar, stunned them with a downwards blow. While the opponent was still stunned, she then went for an upward somersault kick, which juggled the enemy.
"Master Chief!" Maya Jingu laughed maniacally, taking down several Death Squad troops with her machine gun, as she changed into her 'Kazuma' named rocket launcher and blasted most of them to ashes.
Several minutes passed, and several of the Death Squad troops were laid about in the sewer waters, most of them either dead or knocked out. As the Team Warrior, FOXHOUND, and the Shinsengumi teams took down the S3 programmed soldiers and moved forward, more came along the way as they came closer to their destination.
"We're not out of the woods yet…" Pei said, suddenly throwing a frag grenade at five of the troops, while more of them still came at them.
"Damn, there are more of them?" Maya asked.
Greg then stopped in his tracks as he looked ahead a distance and saw Shade standing at the back, with his chakram drawn. Reaching for the metallic pole arm attached behind him, Greg took it out as it shone brightly in the darkness of the sewers while the serrated ceremonial decorated blade at the end was pointed downward.
"You're not running away this time, Shade. My friends and I will get through, whether you like it or not." Greg said to him.
"I have no intention of leaving an opportunity such as this." Shade spoke amongst the fighting. "As you did see how set I am to go beyond the limits in stopping your progress, Kinezono. I used that shikigami to see how powerful you really are, but it seems that I will need to test that for myself since those with you took it out before I could get any useful information out of it. Of course, it was convenient that such timing passed, or else I could have resorted to just killing someone dear to you to test the waters even further."
"Damn you, Shade. The kinds of people I hate the most are people who toy with the lives of innocents as if they meant nothing. And I hate to be the one to say this, but I'm sorry that I will have to put you into that category." Greg said, pointing the lance at him. "I know I may not be able to kill you, but… the least I can show you that my resolve is strong enough to buy my friends some time from facing you."
"So, do really you insist on fighting me?" Shade asked.
"That's right, I do." Greg replied seriously.
"If that's what you want, then you will not live to rue this day, Greg Kinezono." Shade said as he dashed out of nowhere to flank at Greg, who dashed away from one of the troop's katana swings and countered by slicing the lance like weapon upwards, before kicking him away.
"Kinezono Style: Cannon Spear-Shot!" Greg shouted as he threw his spear at several troops who were impaled through their chests, while Greg readied himself for Shade's attacks as he suddenly came up in front of him.
"Wave Crush!" Shade shouted as Greg used his right nano fist in time to deflect the thrown chakram from the energy build-up of his dark chi.
"Defence!" Greg said as he managed protect himself from the chakram, which managed to cut into the gauntlet, but not entirely into his arm. After stepping back from the attack, Greg looked at the minor damage done to his Nan-Bracer.
(Even with Nanvel's specially made super alloy metal to reinforce the power of the bracers, Shade's power manages to damage them like this.) Greg thought to himself. (I'd better be careful the next time he…)
However, before he can finish think, Shade threw a swift punch at Greg, who put his fist up again in time, but to receive a nasty blow across his right cheek from the impact of his gauntlet as he guarded his face.
SMACK!
(How did he…?) Greg thought as he stared blankly while his body spun and he landed on the ground, while Shade picked him up by the collar of his customized Sneaking Suit.
"You shouldn't underestimate my strength, Kinezono. I can break your body into many pieces if I wanted to, but let's have some more fun before I kill you, shall we?" Shade said as he held onto a momentarily stunned Greg, who suddenly gripped his arms with his left hand.
"Maya!" Greg shouted as he kicked away at Shade's chest, as he propelled himself upwards in a single leap and away from him as Maya had took out some of her special grenades this time around to use.
"I hope you're in the mood for a warm acid bath, freak." Maya said as she threw a vial of green liquid at Shade, who didn't get drenched, but a sizeable amount landed on his right arm, as the liquid suddenly started to instantly burn and eat away through his trench coat and into his arm and through it. In five seconds, the lower part of his right arm was gone.
"How unique. This is rare that such substances have been used against me." Shade said simply. "I see that you're willing to take drastic action such as this, but it will not work with me, I'm so sorry to disappoint."
"Damn! And it acted enough that it ate through him in no time too!" Maya complained. "He should have gotten it through the torso instead!"
(Please, aunt Maya, just don't remind me of THAT particular episode of Gantz.) Greg thought to himself as he fixed his jaw. (I don't need to remember that, my mouth couldn't stay closed through that whole scene when I saw it the first time. It was bad enough that the stalker girl and the actor fell in love at the moment they died too as well. They were my favourites too…but the acid was a good call while it lasted.)
"Then have a taste of this then!" Maya shouted as she threw two frags and three incendiary grenades at Shade simultaneously. But the result was more dead Death Squad troops and one Shade who still standing there as the right arm had totally regenerated.
"Aw, hell no!" Rio shouted in a tone of shock as she watched Shade's injuries were actually regenerating in front of her. "Tell me that did NOT just happen after taking all of that!"
"It is useless, I told you. I thought I made my point clear already." Shade said, as he raised his arms. "Now, I will deal away with you bothersome flies once and for all!"
"Oh, hell!" Maya shouted as the dark area around Shade started to spread over and around him while he motioned his arms.
"Lights Out!" Shade shouted, sprouting darkness all over the area. Soon after, Maya Jingu could no longer see anything around her, as did Greg and Rio.
"I can't see a thing!" Maya cried out as she was blinded by the attack, as Shade had already finished conjuring another attack.
"Full Eclipse!" Shade shouted, as the darkness surrounding the group began to produce heat that burnt through their suits and into their skins.
"What the hell?" Maya lamented, feeling her body start to burn. "My skin's burning up!"
(Aunt Maya!) Greg thought, feeling the scorching of Shade's attack sear into his skin. (Dammit, I got to try and break this technique before we're all literally fried! I guess this is the time to try that Charge Drive ability Nanvel told me about. But can it really fare against Shade?) Greg thought to himself. "Well, there's only one way to find out…"
Closing his eyes briefly, Greg drew a deep breath as he circled his arms around his chest as he began to mutter Japanese chanting for a short time. A small gust of wind could be seen generating around Greg's feet as Shade saw the psychic was momentarily open.
"Hmph, your psychic attacks won't stop me, so don't go pulling any tricks now and save your strength. They won't save you." Shade said as he generated a sizeable amount of chi in his fists. Nagi, who was at distance fighting two Death Troops, saw this and alerted Greg.
"Greg, look out!" Nagi called out as Shade smirked at Nagi with his power generated.
"It's too late for him, young one." Shade said as he fired a geyser of energy at Greg's direction. "Now, he will bathe in my Blood Shower!"
"Cursed Guardian flame, I seek the power to temporarily bestow upon me and my comrades, the blessings of the lunar shield. Oh, blue blue glass moon under the crimson air." Greg spoke as he finally opened his eyes in time as he plunged his right nano fist into the ground. "Kai…Tsuki!"
Before Shade's attack penetrated him, Greg had already surrounded himself in a wide, dark blue barrier that energy was swelling from within the ground he was standing on. The geyser deflected itself against the circular force field for a few seconds until it dissipated. Nagi, Rio and Riku looked on a bit stunned at seeing that Greg just deflected a powerful move delivered by the mercenary.
"He managed to defend himself in time from that attack, huh?" Riku asked. "Was it by instinct or just premonition from his powers?"
"Actually, Riku, I did hear your partner warn me ahead of time, so part of the reason I got to save myself in time was because of that." Greg said, as he stood up with his nanomachine infused gauntlets while he thought to himself. (The other half must be to the fact that Nanvel's new invention must have made my concentration time more efficient or else I wouldn't have generated that barrier in time before Shade attacked me with only a few seconds to spare.)
However, Greg started to pant heavily as he dropped onto his knees, apparently looking weak, much to Rio and Maya's surprise. He started to clutch unto his chest as he looked at his watch.
(What the…so much time has passed since we started the fight and already I need the medicine?) Greg thought to himself as he stood up to take out his lance from the corpses of the dead troops and assisted Maya to get up. (I got to hold out at least a little longer, slowing this guy down and covering for everyone else who is assisting me is more important.)
Shade observed Greg's actions and smirked to himself, knowing that he can fully take advantage of this.
"Well, I guess it's time I stopped playing around with you, Kinezono. I'll just press on the matter and see what happens when you don't take care of yourself." Shade said as he replaced his chakram with a combat knife and dashed at Greg, who countered the swing by deflecting it with his fists. Maya, who was still recovering from the minor burns, fired some shots at Shade's feet as a means to slow him down, pulled back her arm in time from the swing of a knife from one of the Death Troops.
"Son of a bitch!" Maya said as she looked at Greg defending himself from Shade, who was later ambushed by Rio from behind, spinning her tonfars at him.
"Spin Strike!" Rio cried out as she used a combo string of tonfar attacks at Shade, who effortlessly dodged away from them. Giving now was the chance for them to pull back for now, Greg and Rio leaped away in time from Shade, but the ninja had his sights on Rio and swung his right arm, a flash of diagonal light was seen across Rio's chest area, as Shade used his chakram to cut open only the top area of Rio's WARRIOR body suit almost exposing the top of her naked breasts.
"Ah, what a lovely view. Rio Kinezono, I'll make sure to enjoy you first to the fullest." Shade said lecherously, licking his lips as Rio breathed heavily; hoping the rest of the suit won't fall out after Shade made his attack.
(He intentionally did that so he would try to see me naked?) Rio thought in horror to herself. (This guy really is sick and out of his mind!)
"Shade!" Greg's shout stopped Shade as the psychic had his SOCOM pointed at him. "Did you forget about me all of a sudden? Aren't I the one you're supposed to be after?"
"And just as I was about to enjoy myself, how dare you get in the way, you insolent punk. You should know that I have no intention of playing with you, so stay out of my amusement." Shade spoke, raising his arm while Greg made his movements to evade his next attack.
"Needless concerns." Greg said as he quickly shook the thought and aimed at Shade as he fired a couple of shots at Shade's head.
However, the bullets which passed Shade suddenly phased through him, as if it was an illusion, while Rio suddenly ducked in time to avoid being hit by them.
"Greg, watch where you're firing!" Rio shouted, ducking for cover as Greg ceased his firing.
"What the…?" Greg exclaimed. "Not one of this tricks again!"
Then, Greg felt Shade's presence even closer as he felt an immense intent of evil behind his back, as he felt cold steel press against his back. Rio gasped as Greg slipped under the Shade's chakram and countered the attack with a spinning back kick that knocked Shade off balance a bit.
"Is that all the strength you have, psychic? That hardly was worth the effort if you're going to save someone dear to you." Shade said as he brushed off the area Greg kicked him. "Do you really think that you can actually defeat Mantis, as you are now with your so called increased psychic powers, combined with inexperienced use of them?"
Rio's eyes widened as she heard this a distance away from the two men. (How does he know about that? Certainly he wasn't informed about it by Reese…could he have probably sensed the limit of Greg's power by intuition alone?)
Greg's eyes lowered at Shade, the strong undeterred sign of determination still in them. He knew he may not be fully yet prepared to take on Mantis as he is, nor even match up to Shade, but still he had to make the effort as he clenched his fists.
"Even if I wasn't strong enough like this, I'm still trying anyway. I promised my family and a new dear friend in trouble that they will see their loved ones again and I do not intend to disappoint them. Lilica and Yuina will be reunited with them, which I will definitely make happen, Shade. Nothing and no one is going to turn me and my comrades back from this decision we made, not even the likes of you." Greg said sternly as Shade grinned arrogantly at Greg.
"That kind of wishing is not wanted on the battlefield, little boy. I shall permanently remove you from existence for having such foolish behaviour." Shade said, dashing at Greg who sidestepped in time to avoid being punched in the ribs by Shade's fist. The psychic went on a standstill as he raised his right arm over his head, revealing the prototype gauntlet he had. Clenching his fist, he used a haymaker punch above Shade's head, who simply blocked it with little effort.
"That was such an obvious tactic. Such old fashioned tricks won't work on me." Shade said to Greg as the mercenary was already set to deliver a counter blow against Greg as the immortal ninja gave Greg a powerful uppercut that caused Greg to lose his balance and was caught in a flurry of Shade's attacks.
"Genocide Prelude!" Shade cried out as he spun with a single back kick, then turning his body to perform a rising spin kick near the stunned, air borne Greg.
"Now, have a taste of my Genocide Bringer!" Shade shouted as he delivered a dual spin kick to the side of Greg's body, causing him to spin out of control from Shade's strength. But the psychic was far from giving up the fight; despite the fact he felt Shade's feet had broken something inside his chest.
(I'm certainly am not going to give up on this fight.) Greg thought, as he recovered from Shade's attack while suspended in mid air as he countered by performing an aerial spin kick, which avoided Shade's body. The ninja caught one of Greg's legs during the attack and threw him flat on his back in the dirty sewer waters, knocking some wind out of him.
"Make this easier for you and your companions and just give up." Shade said, pressing his boot on Greg's chest hard as he took out his chakram. "That way, I'll be more than happy on just letting the women live and I will complete my mission, so I can truly enjoy myself."
"Like hell! I'm not giving up on them!" Greg shouted, as he took out his USP and fired a couple of shots at Shade's chest, but the bullets didn't even faze him as Shade angrily made a slice across Greg's right nano wrist and grabbed his throat with his free hand.
"Really, you should know it is impossible to stop me." Shade said up close to Greg. "I don't see why someone like you should be worth enough to try and spill my blood. It is truly illogical that a psychic who doesn't even know his own strengths and weaknesses to challenge me."
Rio stood frozen as she helplessly watched Shade started to choke Greg with his hand. Shade was actually crushing her surrogate son's throat with his inhuman strength, but the policewoman wasn't going to let it happen.
Meanwhile, Greg suddenly felt a feeling in his right arm and looked around to see what he was touching. It was a handgun that he had snagged from one of the Death Squad troops earlier. Knowing this was his only opportunity, Greg quickly put as much energy as he could into a sudden powerful kick into Shade's stomach, knocking the mercenary back and making him let go of his grip on the psychic's throat. Greg quickly got to his feet and fired his newly acquired weapon at his enemy, who had already recovered from Greg's surprise attack.
However, the shots that came out of the gun felt like explosives went off in Greg's hand as they were fired and Greg felt the impact of the shots as his body shook from the vibrations. Shade suddenly stared at the direction of the shots as he simply grinned and took his chakram to easily deflect the shots, but the third one caught him off guard as it penetrated his left arm and it exploded on contact into a white flame, blowing a chunk of his muscle off.
"Well, it seems you really are not just an ordinary run-of-the-mill, Kinezono. I must commend you for still standing after taking such injuries." Shade spoke as the open wound he had that showed his exposed and damaged insides began to regenerate. "But, alas, I will have to put an end to your life now, since I was just moments away from having some fun with that woman you hold dear as family."
"I'm getting…really tired…just listening to you." Greg simply said as his arms hung, being spent of all energy. Then, he started to wheeze and cough heavily as he started to spasm once more.
"What's the matter, Kinezono? Are you out of breath already because of your powers?" Shade spoke in a taunting tone as Greg reached for his bottle of the medicine needed to suppress his power, but Shade was not going to give his opponent a chance to recover and dashed over and stabbed Greg through his left hand which was holding the pills. The bottle spilled over as the cover and all its contents rolled out of it and into the steel grating of the passageway as they fell into the dirty sewer waters below. Greg's eyes widened as he saw this and frantically reached for them, before Shade kicked him in his abdomen, preventing him from reaching the medicine in time.
"How does it feel to feel this humiliated, huh, Kinezono?" Shade said as he swung his fist at Greg's face, as Rio looked on in horror.
(No…Greg can't do anything in this state until he blacks out. Then that's when the real nightmares start!) Rio thought to herself. (Even if he loses control of his powers, Shade can still…no; I won't let him hurt my Greggie any further!)
(Sensei…) Greg's voice called out to her as Rio's eyes widened. (R…run. Get as far from this guy as you can.)
(What?) Rio exclaimed mentally as she saw the changed look in her son's eyes.
(It hurts, sensei. It hurts so much. You and everyone else have to go on. I…promise I will find a way to…catch up with you guys. You just…have to trust me on this one.) Greg replied to her in thought as he started to black out while Shade continued to punch away at him. Rio stood up as she clenched her fists.
(But, Greg…I can't leave you like this.) Rio cried as she got no response from Greg, seeing he has already blacked out. (Greg! Tell me…what should I really do? Tell me!)
Shade looked at Greg's bruised body before he simply dropped him as if he was a ragged doll. "It seems he couldn't take any more than I thought. Well, with him out of the way for now, I can start having my real fun, starting with you, Rio Kinezono."
Having seen enough of what the immortal ninja was capable of, Rio stood up with her tonfars in hand.
"You're just a freaking barbarian! What the hell makes you think you know better than the rest of us, huh?" Rio shouted.
"Ah, that desperate expression on your face, I just love it." Shade grinned lecherously as he took out his chakram. "I've gotten used to tormenting the lives of women for so long that even up to now I could never grow tired of it. Come, Miss Kinezono, I shall mark you among my female trophies as you'll be among the most beautiful to be ravaged."
Rio's face turned pale as she felt Shade came close enough to touch her messy, blonde hair as he suddenly grabbed it forcefully, making her cry out in pain before he slammed her head first on the cold ground.
"Greg! Wake up! Please!" Rio cried out as she stood up to try and defend herself against Shade, knowing it's useless up to this point. "Everyone needs you…please, come back to us."
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
(I hear a voice…its Rio-sensei's.) Greg thoughts ran as he found himself surrounded in darkness. (It seems distant. It's calling me to come back and help her and Riku and everyone else…but…I can't move my body anymore. My powers have started to take its effects…and I will lose control again soon. And without the medicine this time around, I won't be able to keep them under tabs. It's practically hopeless.)
(That's right, Greg. You don't need to fight it anymore. Soon, the pain will be all over.) He heard a voice spoke from behind as he turned around and saw himself in that barren landscape once more. Everything in it was empty and desolate as before, just as the man standing within it.
(Your body is weak, broken and tired from all the fighting. Let yourself fall into the depths of your dark desires and your solitude will be gone forever.) The voice surrounding him said as Greg fell onto his knees, shaking his head.
(No! It's not time for this yet! I still have many things left to do and many unfinished debts to pay!) Greg shouted. (Don't let me die like this! Not by losing control of myself just before I can settle everything.)
(How long will you continue to resist your own feelings, Greg?) Violent Greg's voice spoke as he walked around him. (You know that you can never, set things straight. You've been doomed to cause suffering ever since you've defied your own existence and now, it's time the favour has to be returned.)
"That's not true! I still have reasons to believe in my existence!" Greg cried out. "Enough reasons to make me go on without relying on you."
"Are you referring to your dear family and friends? Oh, give me a break." Violent Greg spoke. "They can't reach you where you are now. While that Shade is about to make your dear surrogate mother his next sexual victim, you're long past saving. Now, since he has done most of the work to get you this weak, I shall pick up where we left off all those years ago."
"You won't…I won't let you do it!" Greg said as he tried to resist, but couldn't move for some reason. (Why? Why isn't my body cooperating when I need it to?)
"In case you haven't noticed, I have long taken control of your body's responses. Now, I will take your mind and possess it as my own." Violent Greg smiled as Greg remained silent as he watched his counterpart moved closer towards him, raising his hand over his face. Greg could only shut his eyes before he made contact and the only thought that ran in his mind for that instant was an image of Lilica, him and Seishiro Takeda altogether during a spar on a vacant summer home located in the mountains.
"Greg! Are you going to give up this easily?" A young woman's voice called out as Greg opened his eyes to his amazement and saw Lilica Ebett standing in the mindscape wearing a long white dress. What also surprised him next was that Violent Greg seemed frozen just before him and the grey barren field disappeared into a clear, grass field. Greg got to stand on his two feet and faced Lilica as if she was the real thing.
"L…Lilica? Is that really you?" Greg stuttered as Lilica simply clasped her hands, sighing.
"It must be really sad and painful to be living a life such as yours, Greg." Lilica said, taking his hands and holding them. "But you shouldn't allow yourself to think that your existence is a hindrance to others, nor let what your own dark feelings tell you about yourself. Have you forgotten what Seishiro-san taught you all those years ago during the training to control your powers?"
"What?" Greg said simply as Lilica pointed to what it appears to be a memory of his past. He was in his teenage years, all dressed in a white and red track suit, sparring with Seishiro who was wearing a white karate dojo uniform and his eye-patch over his left eye.
"Now, I'm starting to remember. This was awhile after that incident, wasn't it?" Greg asked as he watched the memory play in front of him. "I was in the process of controlling my powers as I learned martial arts from him and you were visiting at the time to bring us something to eat."
Lilica nodded silently as they watched the younger Greg, who was panting heavily and covered in sweat, maintaining a fighting posture, even with a prosthetic for his right arm while Seishiro looked calmly at his adopted son and gestured Greg to come at him.
"Now, Greg, give me all that I've taught you so far in this strike." Seishiro told him in a stern, yet gentle tone.
"I most certainly will, Seishiro-sensei." Greg said as he dashed at Seishiro with a left thrusting punch which was dodged easily and followed by spinning back hand, which Seishiro simply caught before Greg could see he reacted to it. However, the young boy leaped in order to lift his body over and managed to free his hand from Seishiro's grip, as Seishiro took the opportunity to grab Greg by his left arm and twist it, causing some pain. Yet, Greg didn't let it show, as he used his feet to balance the landing and used his prosthetic hand to fire a small energy blast, which Seishiro managed to jump away from safely.
"That was very good, Greg." Seishiro said as he saw the left side of the abdomen area of his dojo uniform was now cringed by Greg's close range attack. "You have a quick sense of adaptation, which only expands this training of controlling your psychic gifts."
"I've really honed my skills, Seishiro-sensei." Greg replied to him in a confident smile, but the next comment from his guardian made him look at him wide eyed.
"It's fine to realise your ability now and again, but you still have much to learn, Greg." Seishiro said.
"I know. I can push myself further. I can still get better." Greg replied to him.
"Just be careful not to get ahead of yourself, Greg. There's a strong possibility of your powers running out of control because you've grown way too confident in yourself." Seishiro said. "Psychic powers run according to the personality of the person who wields them and shouldn't be allowed to overrun them in return."
Greg remained silent as he knew where Seishiro was coming from. Lowering his head a bit, Greg gulped as he remembered fully when his powers took control of him for the first time and he didn't do anything leading up to that point for it to happen.
"Why did it have to happen, Seishiro-sensei?" Greg asked sadly, causing Seishiro to look at him. "Why was I the one to have been given these so called 'gifts', if the only thing they did was took your left eye and almost got everyone in my family hurt in the process?"
"I know you of all people are still hurt by what happened and you need answers, Greg. But I'm sorry to say that I can't provide the exact ones on why it came to be." Seishiro replied.
"I think…everyone would still hate me because I'm a psychic, an outcast. That I have to commit myself for the rest of my life, just trying to keep this curse of mine in control before it can hurt someone else." Greg said. "I don't even remember doing anything bad for once in my life to have made me do this and yet this is still what I get as a reward for trying to live a normal life and living up to everyone's expectations."
"Greg, that's enough out of you." Seishiro said to him as Greg sternly. "It doesn't matter what or who you are in the past, now or in the future, Greg is Greg. That's all that matters to me, Maki, Rio and everyone else whose been dedicating themselves in raising you. They don't care about the powers you have, but the person who uses them, namely you. You shouldn't think of yourself as someone insignificant, even if it happens to be your own powers that are telling you this."
"But, Seishiro-san…" Greg said as Seishiro approached him closer and patted him.
"Nothing is going to be different about you as long as you keep looking at yourself with those thoughts about what happened when you realised your powers." Seishiro said. "That is why you can't allow yourself to think that you're not worthy of anyone's love and trust. It is one of the obvious reasons why certain psychics I've heard about in the past have lost their way. I don't ever want you to go down that path, Greg."
"Even so, what can I do when I feel like I'm on the verge of losing control?" Greg asked. "I try my best to fight it, but when I do it's just too…painful. My head feels as if it would split and my body feels like it's on fire each time it happens. How can I stand up to this pain and not lose control?"
"Just concentrate on the tips of your fingers, like this." Seishiro said as he stretched Greg's arms away from his body.
"Like this?" Greg asked.
"Yes. Then, close your eyes and think of what is most precious to you" Seishiro said. "Remind me again of what is most important to you right now, Greg."
"It's my new family, of course." Greg said with a smile.
"With that in mind, allow your body to respond to your mental signals. No matter how strong the pain will get, you must always hold on to that single thought of using what you've learned only to protect those that are dear to you." Seishiro said.
"Then, what will happen?" Greg asked, looking at his guardian.
"Well, I can only say that something good should happen, depending on the circumstance." Seishiro said.
"Hey, Seishiro-san, that's not really inspiring." Greg said, placing his prosthetic hand near his waist. "Even if you are not sure on what could happen if I concentrate mental energy of my powers while on the verge of losing control, why don't you just tell me so?"
"I don't want you to be scared of the fact that something dreadful will happen, Greg." Seishiro said, before wrapping his arm around his student's neck. "But knowing you, I don't think I will have to worry about it anytime soon."
"You really mean that, Seishiro-san?" Greg asked he then heard Lilica's voice calling out from the doorway of the house.
"Hey, you guys. Aren't you hungry by now after all that training?" she asked. "You've been at it for two hours straight now."
"Aw, come on, Lilica. Two hours is nothing compared to the four months I have to spend with Seishiro-san up here in the mountains for my training. I'm having a blast here and don't want to finish training any time soon." Greg said with the most enthusiasm before his stomach rumbled in front of Seishiro and Lilica. Greg looked down at his stomach and whimpered as Lilica giggled.
"Well, it sounds like your stomach isn't having any fun, Greg." Lilica said, covering her mouth.
"Greg, have you been training on an empty stomach all this time?" Seishiro asked, causing Greg to blush.
"Uh…yeah, Seishiro-san. I was really looking forward to sparring with you today that I actually kind of skipped breakfast this morning." Greg replied as he rubbed his head as Seishiro simply smiled at him.
"Well, just be careful not to do that again next time." Seishiro said as he looked at Lilica. "So, Lilica, what is it that we're getting for lunch today?"
"Oh, I've brought up a wide variety of sandwiches." Lilica said, bringing out a big basket full of them. "I know Greg likes my recipe of mix sandwiches which I called, 'The Works', so I brought twice the amount than usual today. Make sure to eat enough to make up for breakfast, okay, Greg?"
"Okay, Lilica. Your homemade sandwiches are the best." Greg said. "So, Seishiro-san, should we call it a day for now?"
"Yes, I'm pretty famished myself. Let's go and join Lilica and the others for lunch." Seishiro said as he and Greg walked out of the dojo together, leaving the current Greg and Lilica standing there. The current Greg then nodded to himself silently as he looked at his now deformed right nano arm.
"Yes, that was one of the much more pleasant memories of my childhood I had with Seishiro-san and you as well." Greg said, looking at Lilica once more.
"That's right, he told you at the time that Greg is Greg. You can still remain yourself as long as you still hold on to the thought that is dear to you." Lilica said. "You must never let the pains of your past consume you, Greg, no matter what your darkness tells you. Only you can overcome it if you seek a reason for going on and remaining as you are."
"And my reason for going on is to see you safe and sound once again. And to fulfil the promise I made to Seraph as well." Greg said, lowering his gaze. "I have never had any intentions to break any of the promises I made to the others, and to Seraph as well, and I certainly don't plan to start now. I will not let my powers get the best of me this time."
"Then, before you go…" Lilica tip toed next to Greg to plant a gentle kiss on his now left scarred cheek. "Take whatever light I can give to you to help you protect Lilica and the others. Go and complete your mission, Greg."
Feeling Lilica's warmth well up inside him and taking Seishiro's words to heart, Greg smiled at her and clenched his fists.
"I most certainly will, Lilica. I'll be seeing you very soon." Greg replied as he shut his eyes and found his body to be limp once more. After a few seconds being enveloped in darkness, he heard several voices call out to him, waking him up from his unconsciousness.
"Greg, wake up!" Maya's voice alerted him as he suddenly shot up from his sleep. With her were Nagi, Tot, and Kanashii, looking a bit run down from before he passed out during their encounter with Shade.
"What the…owww!" Greg grimaced as he held unto his left cheek. He remembered himself was facing against Shade and during the fight, Shade must have taken a slice at his face before and it left two small vertical scars that ran to from the underside of this left eye to the side of his head. He then noticed Rio and Riku weren't there with him. "Where's Rio and Riku?"
"They're with Dee and Pei, taking on Shade as we speak. Rio was almost set to protect you while you were sleeping and Riku came in time to stop Shade before he got nasty with her." Maya said.
"All this time, we were busy trying to revive you since you were out of it for a long while now." Nagi said, as Greg suddenly widened his eyes.
"How long was I out for?" Greg simply asked as Maya answered.
"Only seven minutes." Maya replied as Greg groggily stood up. "Greg, are you sure you're alright?"
"Of course, I only just lost consciousness." Greg said. "What makes you say that, Aunt Maya?"
"Because you were mumbling Lilica's and Seishiro's name for two minutes straight afterwards while you were out and that bothered me." Maya said, causing Greg's eyes to widen even more.
(Was my head playing tricks on me again? I'm certain that vision of Lilica was real.) Greg asked himself, but shook his head. (I have no time to think whether I've gone delirious or already lost control of my powers…Rio and Riku are in trouble and I have to be there to help them.)
"Greg, certainly you know we can't go just charging in at Shade again this time." Kanashii said in a warning tone.
"I already know that. We have to just change the approach to him somehow that he hasn't thought was possible yet." Greg replied, as his body suddenly felt numb one moment, then heavy the next. (What's happening to my body now? Is this what happens after my powers have gone past its limit once I've taken control of them?)
"Well, what the hell are we going to do now?" Maya asked. "Rio's in serious trouble if she has to face that guy!"
"Maya-san, I know you're worried about Rio and we're worried about Riku, Dee and Pei as well." Tot said. "But I'm sure Riku will do his best to protect them until we get to them. That's the kind of person he is."
"And we both know that he won't go down so easily in doing so." Nagi added.
"Nagi and Tot are right…there's still time." Greg said seriously as he sighed. "We may not be able to kill him, but the more important thing is that we have to survive this. And that is the key for this part of the mission. So, when we get to Shade, I'll act as the decoy and attack him with everything I've got to distract him."
"Greg! Are you serious about this?" Maya asked.
"Don't worry, I never said I will be facing him alone, and I will be needing all of your help to assist me in this if we're going to pull this off." Greg said. "Here's what I've got in mind, while I ambush him, he will eventually try and counter most of the attacks. That's when you guys come in to follow up and cover me. Maya, I will need you to keep your rifle on the ready while Nagi will back you up with his psychic attacks. That's your job for long distance attacks. As for when things get close range, Tot and Kanashii will flank him from the sides. I will be sending telepathic signals to each of you when its time to attack him, got it?"
"Yeah, I understand what you're getting at. But, Greg, even with a plan like that, Shade won't go down that easily." Nagi said.
"You don't need to worry so much about putting him down for the count, just focus on surviving the encounter at any costs." Greg replied. "Just trust me on this, I know it has to work. I've run out of ideas we could use and I'm only trying my best not to let my powers get the best of me after what just happened, so please help me out on this, okay?"
"Alright, Greg. We'll try it like that for once, but if I sense anything wrong in that it could put us in danger, I'll be sure to let you know that there's a change in the strategy." Kanashii said.
"I understand. I have no argument." Greg seriously replied. "Now, let's get going and try and stop Shade from continuing his rampage at least for a little while. We haven't got much time left."
Maya, Tot, Nagi, and Kanashii nodded to Greg as they sprinted to locate their team-mates and Shade. It would be a brief five minutes sprint to the clearing where they met up with him the first time and Greg was still more worried about Rio and Riku.
(Come on, you guys. Please hang on until we get there.) Greg thought to himself.
Meanwhile, only several meters away from where Greg and his group were catching up to, Shade was in the middle of heated combat against Rio Kinezono, Riku Hanabishi, Pei, and Dee as he was getting the upper hand above all of them. Shade was in the middle of pursuing Rio while easily fighting off Riku and the two Shinsengumi women with him.
"You shouldn't be so rash now, Rio Kinezono." Shade said to her in a warning tone as he approached her while the numerous gunshot wounds regenerated. "A woman should be more behaved and refined, but seeing as you're not the submissive type, allow me to change all that. You should learn how to sweeten up and be more obedient to someone such as I, who will show you the things that you never thought were possible."
"Ugh, save yourself the trouble. If I only hear you call me sweet one more time, I'd vomit." Rio replied coldly at Shade. "There's no way in hell I'll allow a creep like you to even touch me, and the same goes for my friends and my son. So you can just keep on dreaming your sick fantasies about trying to stop us because I think you've underestimated just how tough Greg is."
"Oh, your dear student is no longer part of this world, I made sure of that." Shade said as Rio gritted her teeth. "I must give him credit for holding out this far though, he did give me quite a fight, but wasn't as refined as some of the much stronger psychics I've faced in combat, in fact Hanabishi's partner would make for a better fight. In the end, Kinezono just wasn't stable enough to be aware of the opponent he was facing and he was crushed by my own two fists."
"It can't be…you're lying!" Rio stuttered as Shade got close enough to grab by the long locks of her golden blonde hair. Rio screamed in pain as Shade was holding onto her by her hair. "Ahhhhh!"
"Now, that's more like it. I shall have quite an enjoyable time with you." Shade said, as he lowered one of his hands to reach for the front of the partially torn Warrior suit Rio was wearing, which suddenly shot back and clenched into a fist as it caught a flying kunai shuriken, thrown at him from behind by Riku.
"Don't you even dare think of trying such a thing with her, you creep." Riku said, readying some more shuriken to throw. "Or have you forgotten that I'm still here, Shade?"
"Oh, I have not, young shinobi. But I must thank you for the gift." Shade said as he simply crushed the blade with his fist, then taking the remains of it to stab into Rio's shoulder and through her shoulder bone, much to Riku's shock.
"Ahhhhh!" Rio cried out in pain as Shade grinned at Riku as blood suddenly rushed out of the wound she received.
"Rio!" Riku called out as he growled at Shade. (Damn, I should have known he would have seen the shuriken coming, but to use it on Rio…that's just damned heartless!)
"You know you really can't do anything as long I have this wench in my possession, so why not just give up now and let me use her to get some fun, hmm? I'll even let you watch and enjoy the show." Shade said, before his head turned to the side as Nagi, Tot, Maya, Kanashii and Greg entered the clearing. Greg and Maya gasped at the sight of an injured Rio being under Shade's grip.
"Sensei!" Greg shouted as Riku, Pei, and Dee saw him and was surprised to see him still alive.
"Greg, you're still alive!" Riku said, before turning back to Shade. "If I were you, I'd consider releasing Rio right now before Greg and Maya could do something nasty to you."
"I was never really dead to begin with, just in a deep state of sleep. And you know I won't quit so easily when I have family to rescue, Riku." Greg said as his eyes were fixed on Shade the entire time. "Shade, I'm going to ask nicely at this moment to unhand my master and let's finish this right here and now."
Shade simply leaned his head as he watched Greg's appearance. He still looked the same, but something seemed very different about him and it was not due to the fact that Shade was grabbing his surrogate mother by her hair. But the mercenary didn't let that bother him as he lifted Rio's body up by her hair.
"Now, I can't really do that now, can I?" Shade asked with a lecherous grin as Maya began to growl and aim her gun at him. "If I want, I can just twist her little neck and end her life, would you want that?"
"Grraggh!" Maya let out a cry, as Greg simply placed his nano hand on her wrist.
"No, Aunt Maya. We don't need to start something that could get her killed." Greg said to her. "But, I don't want to leave here without at least knowing I'm capable of using my powers to the fullest. While I was unconscious and on the verge of losing control once more moments earlier, I learned some valuable things…things that are worth standing up for, even if it's up against the likes of him. Somehow, my entire body feels a bit heavier than before, but it's okay. I've got everyone here to support me and that's enough strength to at least rescue Rio and continue the mission."
"Now, you're just starting to make me laugh, foolish psychic." Shade smirked as he tugged more violently at Rio's long blonde hair. "Give up now and maybe you all will probably live a little longer. I hate nothing more than dealing with your ridiculous attempts at righteousness, or perhaps, you gnats are just desperate for anything, hmm?"
"I warned you before, Shade. Get your filthy hands away from my mother." Greg said to him while clenching his gauntlet equipped fists as Shade lifted his head to look directly at Greg and his group. The gauntlets flashed with a white and bright neon coloured appearance as he stared at Shade. "Or else…you will see just how scary I can be once I get really serious."
"Your weak threats will not make me change my mind, Kinezono, but since you want to die that badly for the sake of protecting your dear family, I'll be happy to oblige. And I'll see to it this time you stay dead as well, you're becoming such a bother-some obstacle that I won't tolerate your existence any longer." Shade simply dropped the wounded Rio on the ground as he suddenly dashed towards Greg who reacted in time to parry a flying spin kick, which was briefly followed as Shade brought his right fist down on Greg, who suddenly dashed to the side and away from the immortal ninja mercenary in almost of the manner of an animal, his body lowered enough to dodge an incoming roundhouse kick delivered by Shade. It was enough for Greg to get some distance from him as he was already close enough to Rio's unconscious body.
"Sensei! Say something!" Greg shouted, stealing a glance to see if she was still breathing. He still sensed life from her, but she was badly hurt.
"Muunnnhhh…" Rio groaned in reply as Greg gritted his teeth at Shade.
(Dammit, it doesn't look serious, but with a wound like that, she could still lose a lot of blood if not tended to.) Greg thought to himself as he stared at Shade in silence.
"Oh, you don't like the fact that I had some fun with your dear mother, Kinezono?" Shade replied with a grin. "Well, don't let it bother you. I was far from done with her anyway until you and your friends showed up. And to think you are still breathing after I saw you come close to losing control of yourself. That's some valour that you have, Kinezono."
Rio, who was barely conscious, clearly heard what Shade just said and opened her eyes slowly as she saw Greg standing before her, still looking the same.
(Greg?) She thought to herself. (But…how is he able to stay as he is now? No…something's very different about him this time. He's emitting something quite…warm and assuring. Is he even aware of what's happening to him right now?)
Ignoring the need to directly explain why he hasn't lost control of his powers just yet, Greg changed the subject.
"Just answer me one thing, Shade." Greg asked. "Why is it that you want to stop me and my friends from continuing this mission so badly? Is it because of your commitment to the enemy or just a perverted sense of duty?"
Shade simply scoffed at Greg and lifted his nose at him as he replied.
"Let's just say that there's something about you that I'm willing to dislike the most, Greg Kinezono. And it's that look that you have in your eyes." Shade said with a sneer at him at Greg.
"And just what is that suppose to mean?" Greg asked seriously.
"You try to act brave, but the fact of the matter is that you're now frightened of facing me, knowing fully well what will happen to you in the end. Yet, your eyes are lying, they are telling me something else about you, that you want to selfishly throw your life away for no good reason, attempting to do the impossible by facing Mantis and you have no problems with it. That kind of determination is one thing I particularly dislike about you children who try and face me in combat and in the end, you'll just end up dead like all the other foolish ones." Shade explained.
"Don't act like you know me, Shade. That's where you're totally wrong." Greg said, maintaining his posture as only the right nano wrist was covering only the lower side of his face and his eyes were visible. "I'm doing this because I'm always a man of my word and I don't intend to give up on my family and friends. There's nothing in this world that will ever shake my faith when the ones dear to me are in need!"
"Ha! Do you really think that you can defeat me with such ridiculous and naive beliefs?" Shade said. "You truly are a fool, Kinezono and you will die as one, regretting the choices you made!"
Greg lowered his eyes as Shade suddenly rushed at him as he threw his chakram at the same time, but the psychic focused his strength into his legs and lifted himself up over the thrown weapon as Shade followed up as he was in the air as well with a confident smile.
"You've grown too dependent on your limited skills as a psychic, Kinezono!" Shade said as he spun his body to deliver a spin kick at Greg, who simply raised his nano wrist to defend the blow.
"Defence!" Greg shouted, deflecting the attack as he was close enough to Shade, he used his powers to create a blue platform underneath him, lifting himself even higher than the mercenary, then countered the attack with an aerial spinning back kick.
"Judgement Kick!" Greg shouted, but to his surprise, all that he hit was air as Shade was already safely under him on the ground once more.
"Too slow." He simply said as he swung his right fist upwards at Greg, but the psychic acted quickly as he cancelled his kick and ended up standing on his psychic created platform just over him away from the blow as he flipped over him.
(Nagi, hit him now!) Greg shouted telepathically as Nagi nodded, firing a charged psychic attack at Shade's blindside.
"Psyche Shot Plus!" Nagi shouted as Shade simply dodged the incoming psychic ball attack, which resulted in Greg already landing next to him. Right after that, the chakram was already returning back to Shade and was in the direction of where Greg was standing.
"Have you forgotten something else?" Shade asked with a grin as suddenly Greg lowered his body to execute a sweep kick as the chakram missed him by mere seconds. Shade caught the chakram as he dodged the sweep kick, but was in for something else as Greg mentally sent a signal to Maya this time.
(Do it, Maya! Spray him with lead!) Greg thought as Maya Jingu whipped out her Kiyoshi rifle and fired away at Shade's chest, while Riku noticed Greg's plan and nodded in accordance as he charged up his flames.
"Dragon Strike!" Riku shouted as a fireball enveloped his right fist and in a single strike, struck Shade's lower abdomen around several of the bullet wounds dead on. Staggering a bit from the bullets and the flame attack, the immortal mercenary simply shrugged off his wounds and dashed to the side away from the group as already Greg was now again close enough to him.
"I will not let you get the best of me, Kinezono!" Shade said as he spun his leg to catch Greg unwarily at his chest area, but the psychic quickly recovered in mid air as he suddenly pointed his right gauntlet leg downwards at Shade, coming down at him with a fast dropping speed.
"Kinezono Style: Grand Fall!" Greg shouted, knocking off Shade's balance with his kick, which was suddenly cancelled to a double haymaker punch, as a shockwave created by Greg's fists was seen from them.
"Kinezono Style: Heaven's Hammer!" Greg cried out as the gauntlets let off a green neon coloured light in the movement of the attack, which missed Shade as he sidestepped to counter with a Genocide Bringer.
"Genocide Bringer!" Shade shouted, rising into the air with his spin kick, as Greg was already set to defend himself once more.
"Defence!" Greg deflected the kick, as he then used the special feature Nanvel told him about of the gauntlets to release a charged attack from his psychic powers. Landing the mark on Shade's back, Greg jumped off of him and opened his right nano wrist as he mentally called on Riku again to ambush him while he executed a mid air attack.
"Activating Nan-Bracer limit. Unleashing Kinezono Style: Searing Kiss!" Greg shouted as he released an energy orb generated by his gauntlets that shot out six fireballs that homed in on Shade. The ninja mercenary leaped out of the fireballs path, only to come across another ambush lead by Riku.
"Double Dragon Strike!" Riku shouted as he uses his fireball to envelope both his fists and began to punch at Shade multiple times. Even with the constant stream of attacks, his wounds were still regenerating at their pace as Greg and his comrades continue to flank him like this.
(I see now, the psychic's brave enough to act as a decoy while his friends take part in ambushing me, is that it?) Shade thought to himself. (Well, I must commend on him for being able to strike me so much that it's almost making it hard for me to regenerate these wounds they have all given me, but it looks like I have to take things to the next level and start to take this guy seriously.)
During the third hit, he disappeared into a log as Riku stopped his attack briefly. The ninja quickly looked around to try to sense where his enemy had gone.
"Ah, hell! He disappeared again!" Maya shouted as Greg landed on his feet and watched around.
"He's still close, I can sense him." Greg simply said as he took out his handgun and looked around. "Maya, can you go check up on Rio while we still have a free chance?"
"Sure thing, Greg." Maya said as she rushed over to her injured friend and picked her up.
"How is she?" Tot asked as Maya was checking on her.
"Damn, she's got pieces of this thing embedded deep into her skin, but it's not that deep, so her shoulder's okay." Maya said. "Hey, Rio, wake up."
"Ahhh…Maya?" Rio asked, waking up, only to receive some pain to her shoulder. "Owww! What the hell happened to me?"
"Shade almost did you in, but we came here in time, Rio." Maya said as she treated Rio's wound with some disinfect and bandages with a smile. "Greg's even here with us."
"Greg is…" Rio stuttered as she looked to see Greg standing at a distance, talking things over with Riku, Nagi and the Shinsengumi, waving his hand about. Rio smiled slowly seeing he still has retained himself, knowing she saw him on the verge of losing his powers before. (So it's true…he did managed to stay the same without the medicine. It has to be a mental problem rather psychical then?)
"Greg!" Rio shouted, getting up as he turned to see her. "You're doing okay?"
Nodding at her silently, Greg replied. "Yes, though my body's still in a lot of pain right now from attacking Shade constantly just now."
"You should have seen him, Rio. He was something else and we got to help him as well." Maya said, punching Greg's shoulder lightly.
"Don't start to celebrate as yet, you guys. Greg did say Shade's still around, isn't he?" Pei said to the group. "You can sense him too, right Drakken?"
"Yeah, and after getting a beating like that, I doubt he would just give up so easily. He's probably changing his strategy while recovering from those attacks." Riku inputted. "We were probably lucky because Greg was able to react almost quickly to most them and was able to counter them with some of his own."
"And he will most certainly learn from that before he attacks us again." Nagi said.
"Then we just have to make a run for it while there's time." Greg said as he looked at a patched up Rio. "You think you can manage with that wound, sensei?"
(Damn, he started to call me sensei again. It felt kind of assuring when he called me his mother moments ago.) Rio thought to herself before replying. "Sure, I'll be fine. It's you I'm more concerned of, Greg. You don't have your medicine anymore thanks to that pervert."
Greg remained silent as he smiled at Rio as he pointed to his temple. "I don't think I will have to worry about medicine for the moment, sensei. As long as I've got Lilica's voice and Seishiro-san's teachings to help me, I should be fine."
"What are you talking about?" Rio asked, placing her hands on her hips as Greg nervously replied.
"It may sound strange to everyone when I say this, but I happened to have seen Lilica just before I felt it was the end for me. I really can't tell if it was mind tricks or delusions, but it was still definitely her." Greg said as the group began to walk down the passageway. "She gave me a firm talking to and a reminder from one of Seishiro-san's lessons."
"Then…you're finally able to keep them under tabs for the moment, Greg?" Rio asked.
"Yeah, just for the moment." Greg replied as Rio grabbed him by his left arm, now looking more confident than ever.
"Well, I know now that can do this, Greg. We will get to save Lilica and Yuina and fix this matter with Mantis once we're out of the hot zone with this guy." Rio said. "You think you up to it?"
"Of course, I still have the strength. Besides, if we run away now, we'll lose everything." Greg replied.
"Then let's show this pervert what happens when you're serious and what we can really do." Rio said, placing her hand on her student's shoulder and standing next to him.
Greg nodded at Rio as he then stood up and sighed. "Come on, we have to keep going and find those Death Squad troops as soon as possible."
However, before Greg took another step as he turned around, he suddenly saw a black blur get between him and Rio as right before them; a fully regenerated Shade had sneaked up on the group and was armed with a large combat knife, ready to fall at Greg's direction.
"I don't think I can allow that to happen, now can I?" Shade said as he swung the combat knife at Greg, who only reacted in seconds by raising his right nano wrist as Shade stabbed into it. It managed to penetrate the gauntlet and pierce into his hand as the black and blue substance suddenly leaked out.
"Greg!" Rio shouted as she threw a spin kick at Shade who caught it with a free hand as he simply grinned at her.
"Now, where were we? As I recall, I was the one stopping all of you from advancing." Shade said as he flung her across to a nearby wall, knocking some wind out of her. Greg gritted his teeth as he saw this and attempted to take the knife back out, but Shade had already landed his fist into his chest with a powerful strike.
"I will not be mocked by weaklings such as you." Shade simply said as he grabbed a stunned Greg and took out another combat knife as he spun it and sliced it into his chest three times.
"Guunhh!" Greg cried out as he felt Shade mark his chest with the edge of the knife, but he didn't let it stop him as he used his left fist to catch the blade and lifted his body above Shade as he performed a cartwheel kick, freeing himself. Landing a distance from him, Greg felt the blood rushing out of his body and his body getting weak.
Riku and Nagi nodded at each other as Riku dashed to the side with kunai on the ready while Nagi fired his USP at Shade, who sidestepped out of the danger as he drew closer to Tot, Maya and the Shinsengumi.
"Wyvern's Sting!" Riku shouted as he threw a set of senbon needles at Shade who caught a few of them and charged at Riku, delivering a swift rising kick at him before grabbing him by his arm.
"You and your friends are really starting to annoy me. I shall put you out of your existence now." Shade said as he twisted Riku's arm severely, causing some agonising pain for the FOXHOUND shinobi.
"Damn you! Let Riku go now, you freak!" Maya said as she opened fire at him with her Eagle 6.0 gun, as it was the only gun she had now that was loaded, but she only hit air as Shade easily dodged the bullets and was now suddenly behind her, delivering a swift backfist to her head, followed by a series of knee blows around her abdomen area.
"Don't worry; I'll be sure to keep you in fine condition once I'm done with your dear friends that are constantly a pain." Shade said as he let her drop on her knees before facing Tot, Nagi and the Shinsengumi group. "Now, which one of you wants to join them next?"
"We won't be beaten that easily." Nagi said bravely at the immortal. "We will defend ourselves and our friends if we have to from you."
"How noble. You're almost the same as the other psychic who claims he is doing this for the sake of fulfilling the promises he made." Shade said. "But worry not about it, I'll see to it that I'll put an end to that very soon."
"You two, get behind us." Dee said, readying her sword as her two comrades stepped in front of Nagi and Tot to take Shade in.
"I grow tired of each of your heroics. I shall take you all out in one fell swoop as I don't have much more time to waste since the other psychic's nearing his death." Shade said as he clapped his hands for darkness to overcome the group once more.
"Full Eclipse!" Shade shouted as the searing heat produced from the darkness around him began to weaken Nagi, Tot and even the mighty Shinsengumi group.
From a distance, Greg sturdily looked in silence at Shade taking advantage of the battle and started to take on Nagi, Tot and the Shinsengumi at the same time, which resulted in them being beaten severely by just the power of his fists and swift movement. Greg looked to the side and saw Rio and Maya groaning in pain while Riku was holding unto his arm.
(It's hopeless. No matter how hard we try, we just can't hold out any longer. This guy…is just too strong for us. How are we going to rescue Lilica and Yuina like this when we were so close to finding them?) Greg thought to himself. (But this is so…unfair! We can't die here, not like this!)
"Now, Greg Kinezono…it looks like I'm close to accomplishing my mission." Shade said as Greg grunted. "All of your friends and family have fallen under my power and there's no one to help you now."
"You're not…going to get away with this." Greg simply said, lowering his eyes at him as Shade walked closer his limp body.
"I told you before, none of your nonsensical talk will do any good against me. Why can't you just give up?" Shade said.
Greg simply lowered his head as he thought back on what Seishiro taught him and what Lilica said to him during the vision earlier. He then focused on the time he promised Seraph he would return Yuina back to her and being able to resolve things with Mantis and eventually, himself. But all of that won't be able to help him this time.
(I'm so sorry, Lilica, Seishiro-san, Seraph, Linn…everyone. I tried my best, but I just don't have the strength anymore.) Greg thought as tears streamed out of his eyes. (Why…why the hell am I so weak? Why did this have to end like this?)
"So, you are letting me do the honours then, are you? You now realize that it's pointless to keep on going against me." Shade said. "So, in respect to that, I'll make sure to make your death as quick and painless as possible before I will finish the task by disposing of the others. Be grateful that I've chosen you to go on ahead first."
The immortal ninja simply smiled as he lifted his hands.
(It seems like I shouldn't have bothered thinking that I would have to summon my Orochi powers to finish this guy off, even though I've been only fighting at only eighty percent of my full power all this time.) Shade said. (It's a waste that I have to kill him now though…he was entertaining to an extent, but he still needs refining or else he could have given me a better reason not to hold back.)
Before Shade could do something else, he heard a cell phone tone ring coming from his pocket, while Greg was only watching as Shade stopped before him. Greg was confused as he watched Shade groan before him as he answered the phone.
(Damn, why did he stop?) Greg thought as he can see Shade move his lips, but nothing is coming out. (My ears are ringing so hard because of the pain; I can't make out what it is that he's saying…)
"You'd better have a good reason for calling me at this crucial time, Reese!" Shade said, causing Riku, Nagi and Tot who were still conscious to look on in shock.
"I'm sorry that I have to interrupt you, Shade, but I've been watching you take Greg Kinezono and his group apart and I must say that I'm really enjoying the show you're putting on." Reese spoke from the other end with a grin. "However, I have to say that is as far as stopping the group goes. There's been a change of orders…you are to withdraw this moment and allow them to proceed."
"Am I hearing you right?" Shade asked. "First you wanted me to kill them, now just before I can kill them, you want me to just let them go? What kind of scheme are you running, Reese?"
"Scheme? This is no scheme, I can assure you, Shade." Reese said simply. "As a matter of fact, you've done enough on your end to convince me of Kinezono's true powers. All this while, I've been collecting data based on his performances and they have exceeded what I had hoped for. Even you can see just how useful the man is under the right circumstances. The Patriots certainly don't need another dead corpse like Mantis at this time to revive and brainwash if you kill him off. Time is money, after all."
Fighting the urge to crush his cell phone after hearing this, Shade thought to himself about not being used like this the first time.
(So, once again, I've been used as a measuring tool to test a psychic's powers, just as that time back during the Mikage mission when that traitorous Crawford and his Schwartz group tricked me into doing the same with the other younger psychic.) Shade thought to himself. (This Reese claims he's an agent for the Patriots, but he certainly isn't fully acting out his role as one!)
Finally regaining control of his emotions once more, Shade continued to talk to the traitorous superior of FOXHOUND.
"I understand. However, I will not leave them without giving them a parting gift of my own." Shade said as he stared at Greg with cold eyes, before looking at Rio and Maya.
"This is an order to retreat now, Shade. I need to wrap things up myself with Mantis, after all, and better what better way is there to do that than by using this to have Kinezono learn of his true nature at the same time? In that sense, we're killing two birds with one stone." Reese said. "Therefore, I am not asking you to drop this fight, but I am ordering you to do so."
"You'd better have a long explanation for the superiors when I tell them how you can pull a stunt like this, Reese." Shade said to him.
"Oh, I already have, Shade. This is but part of a phase of something grand for FOXHOUND and those who challenge the Patriots. Leave the details to me." Reese replied.
"I knew I shouldn't have trusted you, but I will see to it that you pay back ten fold for having me waste my time like this." Shade said bitterly.
"Hmph, you shouldn't let it get to you, Shade. You will be well compensated." Reese said as Shade hung up the phone and scoffed as he turned his back while the battered Greg looked on in stunned silence.
(Wait. What just happened? Why is he…?) Greg thought to himself as Shade placed a boot on Greg's chest and pressed against it.
"You and your friends get to live thanks to your former employer, Kinezono. This was indeed a big waste of my time, but no matter. At least I got some sort of amusement from out of all this." Shade spoke. "I will see to it that the next time we ever meet, I will finish things between us on my own terms, before I deal with Reese for using me like this, whichever comes first." Shade then turned over to look at Riku. "Ah yes, Hokage brat, you and your partners were a disappointment compared to our last fight. The next time we meet, you'd better show me more of what you had back then, otherwise the lives of those with you will be forfeit."
"Graaggh!" Greg groaned as Shade lifted his foot and left his footprint on his Sneaking Suit as he started to walk away from the defeated group. However, Riku was the first to stand up and hurry over to his injured friends as he picked Greg up first.
"Is he finally gone?" Greg asked Riku weakly.
"Yeah, he's long gone." Riku replied to him, holding him up.
"Thank God…I almost couldn't breathe anymore." Greg grunted as he reached over and felt the wounds which covered most of his Sneaking Suit while one of his hands was shaking from the experience. From behind, he heard Rio and Maya call out to him as they were stunned hearing everything a moment ago.
"What just happened?" Rio asked. "He just upped and left us like this?"
"Did he really let us go?" Maya asked.
"It seems so, Maya. Reese actually called off our executions moments before Shade was going to pull something and he actually followed the order. This is actually a first time about the whole matter that I'm really grateful for." Riku replied.
"I wonder why he did a thing like that." Nagi asked, helping Tot get up, who wasn't too badly hurt. "It was rather strange of him to actually leave us like this."
"You know what, guys? I'm beginning to feel unsure about what's going to happen after this. Reese testing us using Shade or why we're still alive even now totally escapes me at the moment." Greg suddenly said, panting to catch his breathe. "I'm not even sure of why Reese started this mess in the first place, but right now, all I'm concerned about is that this matter has to be resolved, no matter how ugly it could get from now on. So, I'm still determined to see it through to the end."
"Of course, Greg. We all want the same thing seeing Lilica and Yuina safe again. So, if you want us to come with you still, we'll be more than welcome to do so." Tot said to him as Greg suddenly bowed to Riku, Nagi, and Tot in a sign of courtesy, surprising them a little.
"I really have to thank you three…for covering me back there against that guy." Greg said with this head lowered. "I know that it wasn't much that we couldn't have defeated him, but at least we did what we could to survive. You have to accept my apology for not doing a better job though at helping you, I really fought with all my strength and it wasn't enough."
"Greg, you did more than enough for everyone today against Shade, even though it wasn't enough so that we could have gotten him out of our lives forever, but then again that's an impossible task." Riku said as he patted Greg's shoulder. "I actually wish you, Rio and Maya were with us two years ago on the Mikage base and boat when we had to face him."
"Yeah, everyone who were with us had a harder time then against him to tell the truth." Nagi said. "You managed to do some things against Shade while relying on our help that we weren't able to do then."
"Nagi-kun's right. I've never seen anyone else who was that determined stand up to Shade like you before we met you." Tot said, causing Greg to widen his eyes.
"You three…it wasn't all a big deal. But thank you." Greg said as he scratched his cheek nervously. "I just followed what I've been practicing and experimenting with lately, that's all. And I did say I could be pretty much scary whenever I'm serious."
"Really, Greg. You were just using that 'Jump Cancelling' technique that you discovered that helped you gained some leverage against Shade." Rio's voice spoke as she was being supported by Maya and Dee.
"Jump Cancelling?" Nagi asked.
"It's one of Greg's current substitutes of levitation until he can fully utilize it. He can use an opponent's own body to keep his leverage above the ground and attack consecutively using that technique as long as he keeps on jumping on them like a springboard." Rio explained. "Combine it with his combat skills and Greg can pretty much do a certain number of his attacks more than once."
"Greg, you really have some unique attacks that at least proved useful against Shade." Riku told him.
"I really can't say they are. I still have ways to go on developing each of those strengths before I can discover any more secrets in accordance to my technique." Greg said as he looked at Rio. "But let's save the details of it for another time. Sensei, are you alright?"
Rio nodded before she threw herself into his arms, crying. "You truly are an idiot, did you know that? You broke a promise we made."
"Rio-sensei? What did I do now?" Greg asked as Rio wiped the tears from her eyes, yet she was smiling.
"You called me 'Mother' back there again, didn't you?" Rio said, causing Greg to look at her wide eyed. "You know you weren't supposed to do that until after the mission."
"Did you two actually make a promise like that, Rio?" Maya asked, smiling. "Well, it's about time he started to call you Mother."
"Ah, it was out of desperation at the time. How else could I have reacted?" Greg said, as he rubbed his head nervously as he noticed something. "Wait a minute, were you still awake all the time when I came in to stop Shade with Nagi and the others when you heard me said that?"
"Uh-huh, I heard your voice clear as day, giving Shade all those bad-ass threats. You have no idea how relieved I was hearing you're still alive." Rio said with a smile, before the shoulder wound made her wince. "Ittai…damn, this is going to leave a mark."
Greg simply smiled at her silently as he looked at the group, seeing everyone was bruised and shaken, but was still alive and fit enough to continue the mission.
"Are you three alright?" Greg asked the Shinsengumi trio as Dee nodded at Greg in reply.
"We're just fine, just a bit overwhelmed about what just happened. But we'll get over it. Normally, we wouldn't encounter too much trouble against ordinary enemies, but Shade does has more experience and strength than even Garland has. It was expected that he would give us trouble. But it's as you said, we actually got through that bit pretty much alright, thanks to you and your comrades." Dee said, wiping her brow.
"No, you really don't need to thank me. I think I didn't do too well back there myself, even though all I was doing was trying to get everyone away from the danger Shade posed with minimal problems." Greg said.
"Don't sweat it. You did your part rather exceptionally for today." Kanashii said to him. "Just be careful when we proceed further and don't be afraid to ask us for help again later."
"Right, I'll take that to mind." Greg replied
"Yeah, it's finally over…" Maya sighed, leaning back.
"But I doubt that will be the last time we'll be hearing of Shade. I'm sure he will want to finish things on his own terms sooner or later." Greg said as Rio shook her head.
"Please, Greg. Don't go saying things like that when you know it could come true. I don't need to go through that all over again." Rio said and then took a look at the wounds Greg had received during the fight with Shade. "Man, you need some serious patching up, Greg. Just hold still while I fix you up."
"I'm not sure if I can hold out any longer, sensei." Greg said, suddenly feeling dizzy. "I've used up most of my strength just trying to stay conscious after I blacked out the first time…"
"Greg?" Rio asked as she noticed Greg staggering forward, apparently looking weak.
"At least…let me catch some sleep since the danger is over for now, okay, sensei?" Greg said as he fell towards Rio, who ended up catching him, but dragged her downwards on her back as his head suddenly landed on her nearly exposed chest.
CRASH!
"Not this again!" Rio shouted as she felt Greg's weight on top of her as his head was cradled in the middle of her ample chest. Riku simply chuckled to himself as he leaned closer to Nagi.
"I'd hate to admit it, but I think Greg gets to have all the fun sometimes whenever he's with Rio." Riku said causing Nagi to nod and blush at the comment.
"You said it, Riku. I wonder what would happen if the other guys in FOXHOUND saw something like this and how they would react." Nagi said in return as Rio tried to lift the unconscious Greg off her body.
"You don't have much to be jealous about though, you've got Tot after all." Riku commented with a grin, causing the young psychic to blush even more as he tried not to imagine being in a position similar to Greg's with Tot.
"Greg! Greg! Aw, come on! Get up already!" Rio shouted as Greg blacked out into darkness.
"Allow me, Rio." Riku said as he walked over and took out a small bottle of green crushed leaves. He then kneeled down close enough as he passed the bottle near Greg's nostrils. After a couple of seconds, Greg suddenly shot up from his brief sleep.
"Ohhh…" Greg groaned as Rio cleared her throat loud enough for him to notice he was still on top of her, causing him to redden and suddenly move away from her. "Whoa! Rio-sensei, I'm sorry about that…my body just got so weak…"
"Ah, it's no biggie. Besides, I sort of missed the way you used my chest as pillows when you and I shared a futon when you were still a kid." Rio said as she stood up, causing Greg to redden even more in front of everyone around him.
"Sensei!" Greg shouted, as he sighed heavily. "Anyway, what was it that woke me up? It smelt like strong medicinal herbs…"
"That would be my doing. All I did was used a traditional ingredient for smelling salts on you." Riku said with a smile. "Sorry that I had to wake you up from your little nap, Greg, but now really isn't quite the time or place to be doing that. Are you doing okay?"
Groggily looking at Riku, Greg nodded slowly. "I should be fine for the moment…guhh!"
"What's the matter, Greg?" Riku asked suddenly.
"What the…? I've never noticed I was having this pain until now. I think I may have broken some ribs back there against that guy." Greg held his chest with his left hand. "What really happened just now?"
(Greg, you don't remember?) Rio asked mentally wide eyed as Greg suspected the worst, as the next words she spoke gave him a bit of a shock. (You didn't lose control this time, but it seemed that your powers suddenly gave you a boost just to buy us time against Shade until he retreated.)
(How did I…?) Greg thought to himself as he suddenly remembered now as he thought to himself. (I see…it was because of Lilica and Seishiro-san when I saw them in that vision before, wasn't it? They were right, I can't let myself give in to my dark desires or give up before fulfilling my promises I had made to everyone, including Seraph. Even if it wasn't the strength to defeat Shade, it was enough to protect myself, Rio, and everyone else that mattered when I needed it the most for the time being. Thank you, Seishiro-sensei and Lilica. I will continue my mission with your given strengths.)
"Greg, are you alright?" Maya asked as Greg nodded with a light smile.
"Yeah, I think everything's going to be fine from now on, aunt Maya." Greg suddenly said. "I think I suddenly feel a weight's been lifted off my shoulders for the moment, but I can't really say the same for the rest of my body."
"Here then, Greg. You can have some of my Life Medicine and bandages." Rio offered him two vials of beige coloured liquids and some packets of first aid gauge bandages.
"You sure you're okay handing out supplies freely like this while we're still halfway in the mission, sensei?" Greg asked.
"Hey, you're the one in much worse shape than the rest of us, considering that you don't have the exact medicine you will need for your powers, but it's the least I can do for you after all that you did just now for us." Rio said as her cheeks flushed a bit as Greg sighed lightly and smiled.
"Thanks then, sensei." Greg said as he wasted no time applying the bandages around his chest and right arm areas while he injected the Medicine into it afterwards. He made sure to keep the second vial in reserve just in case.
"You might as well use these too, it should make you at least feel better, Greg." Riku stepped forward as he took out three small vials of green and yellow liquids that had crushed herbs mixed in them.
"What is that?" Greg asked simply, looking at them.
"Oh, just some concoctions that I've been working on that is should be able to act as painkillers and stimulants using herbs. They should do a better job than those pills I've been seeing you taking lately, Greg." Riku explained, causing Rio and Greg's eyes to widen in surprise. "After all, unlike those, this is all natural."
"Hey, since when you were capable doing stuff like that?" Rio asked Riku.
"Yeah, I've just been thinking the same thing. I didn't know you were capable of acting as a medic too." Greg asked as Riku gave a sheepish smile.
"Well, a long time member of the Hokage clan, who is now actually the head medic for it, who knows her way around medicine ranging from modern to eastern techniques has been teaching me her ways around them for quite some time now." Riku replied as he took out a set of long pointed needles and smiled at Greg. "I even picked up learning acupuncture basics from her, which should also be able to help you if you're not feeling well…"
"Ah, I think I'll skip the acupuncture until my body feels at least more confident, thank you." Greg chuckled nervously before his tone switched back to its more gentle, yet serious tone from before. "But really, Riku, this is something unheard of, even from you. Once again, this is not the first time that your clan surprises me."
"Is this woman you learned all that stuff from someone we met at the mansion before?" Rio asked as Riku shook his head. "It's not your mother, is it?"
"No this is someone you guys missed, unfortunately, but I'm sure she will be rather amused knowing I've got good friends like you two and Maya, though she will impress you guys by her level of formalness. She really is someone you'd want to start respecting right away." Riku replied with confidence.
"It wouldn't hurt to ask for the name of this person you speak so highly of now, wouldn't it, Riku?" Greg asked, taking the concoctions from Riku.
"Why would you want to know, Greg?" Riku asked.
"I just wanted to keep in mind the name of someone who will probably save my life one day using her knowledge, that's all." Greg shrugged as he replied. "I never actually used herbal medicine as treatment before, but if you say this was learned from someone who is the head medic for the Hokage clan, now's as good a time as any to start it since we have that much faith in you guys."
"Aww, Greg. You really had to put it like that?" Riku replied, rubbing the back of his head with an embarrassed smile. "Well, since you had to rub it in, her name is Oboro, though I normally address her as Oboro-dono."
"Oboro of the Hokage clan, I'll definitely remember that name as I will take this medicine you took the time to learn how to make it from her." Greg said as he opened up one of the vials and lifted it to his mouth and drank half of its contents before swallowing it. "Ah, it tastes bitter."
"I know, I should have told you that it's not entirely flavoured for taste, but it will get the job done." Riku said.
"I can't begin thank you enough, Riku." Greg said patting his ninja friend.
"Hey, what are friends for, right?" He replied as Rio sighed with a smile looking at Greg looking a bit more relieved as she called out to everyone.
"Come on, everyone. We all still have to face the hard part of the mission." Rio said to her comrades in a near sad tone. "We should at least count our blessings that most of us came out of this unscathed before we have to face another powerful enemy probably soon, so stay on the guard."
"Yes, we should continue the mission without any more hesitation." Dee said. "The time for your friends safety is starting to run out now from the looks of things and even some of us will need swift and proper medical attention from the encounter with Shade and his troops. We need to be more careful from now on while proceeding."
Everyone in the group nodded at each other as they began to walk in the direction where Nanvel had pointed where they will finally locate Mantis's stronghold from before. However, Greg was still a bit stunned over everything that has happened moments ago and said nothing to anyone in the group, but looked at the darkness behind him.
(With all that had happened back there, my life has been spared today…twice.) Greg thought to himself. (First before my powers could have gone all screwy on me when I lost that medicine and before Shade could have killed me, but didn't. Now, I know for sure that I'm going have to take even extra caution with how everyone and I will go through this mission from now on and still make it out of this place alive with Lilica and Yuina.)
(And it also shows you just how weak you are as well, Greg. You're not doing quite well on this mission and that Shade guy surely showed you that.) A haunting voice echoed into his ears as Greg looked up around him and sighed heavily.
"I don't want to deal with you right now, so just leave me alone." Greg replied silently. "That guy…something about him wasn't human. It is impossible for one single human being to be that ruthless and powerful in battle that he can't even die. Surely, even you must have felt his essence, didn't you?"
(Oh, yes, I certainly did. He really is a force to be reckoned with.) Violent Greg's voice spoke from within his mind. (That Shade truly is something to be on the watch for from now on, as I don't need anyone else to take what rightfully belongs to me. You are mine to control and use to only my tastes and when I'm done with corrupting everything you touch using your own mind and body, I will take away your precious light that is keeping you as you are and it will be all over for you, my dear Greg.)
"Don't make me have to warn you a third time. Leave me and let me complete the mission." Greg replied coldly to himself as he heard a small cackle from his dark counterpart.
(Ohh, so where did this little tinge of intimidation come from all of a sudden, hmm?) Violent Greg's voice spoke. (And all that time that Shade guy was having several close calls with that surrogate mother of yours, all because of your incapability, your weaknesses, Greg. It must be from the fact that you now know that there is someone of that level of power, skill and must I add, sanity, who actually exists and is one of your newest enemies, isn't it? So now, you decide to act brave for your dear comrades, but in actuality, you're frightened of what's to come when you get to Mantis, aren't you?)
"I said SHUT UP!" Greg's voice echoed in the passageway as a loud thudding sound came right afterwards. Rio turned her back suddenly and saw her surrogate son, clutching unto his right nano arm with his natural left one, some fresh blood covering their studded knuckles.
"Greg, are you okay?" Rio asked, stepping closer to look at him, only to gasp in shock she saw him as she saw Greg stand up and wiped off some blood from a newly inflicted bruise on his right cheekbone.
"Y-yes, sensei, my body just wasn't feeling as energized as it's used to. I'll be okay now." Greg nodded as Rio's eyes lowered as she inspected the look in her student's own.
(Oh, Greg…you know you don't have to lie about your powers like this.) Rio thought as he heard them clearly.
(I'm sorry, sensei. But as I said before, let's not talk about anything regarding my powers until we clear this matter with Mantis first. And besides, I don't want Riku and everyone else to be any more worried about me than they probably are right now if they found out everything.) Greg replied in thought, then to himself. (Though, I'm sure when we get to Mantis, everything will be revealed to us about why this is happening.)
"Well, as long as you're doing fine, that's okay with me." Rio patted his shoulder and faced the group. "Let's go on everyone."
"Stick with us closer this time, okay, Greg?" Nagi said to him as he nodded silently in reply, even though the new bruise he'd given himself started to hurt like hell.
"Yeah, I'm right behind you, Nagi." Greg called back solemnly as he shook his head and began to trail behind his comrades into the lighted secret passage in the old Tokyo sewer system to conclude their mission.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Back at the Command Centre in NERV headquarters, everyone who had gotten wind about what had just happened were anxious as to what was going on with the recent developments regarding Reese betraying FOXHOUND. Having only to act mostly as spectators for the drama unfolding before them, the combined members of FOXHOUND and Philanthropy were now on edge at having to see their own comrades battle it out against an invincible and experienced soldier while the staff of NERV were getting a chance to see some actual combat action.
"You think our guys would have had a chance against the likes of Shade?" Hal Emmerich asked Snake as he was among the newest group of people who just overheard what was happening and joined the people at the Command Centre who had been watching Greg and his group outlast their encounter against Shade. Among him were Emma Emmerich, his step sister, Raiden and his wife, Rose, and Dr. Naomi Hunter.
"According to what Garland and Michael have been filling us all in about this guy, even I'm starting to doubt it." Snake replied in a gruff tone. "The fact that he regenerates would make it harder for any of the recruits to handle."
"Yeah, you did see what happened just now when he took those gunshots, right?" Misato asked. "That Shade guy really must not be human to shrug off something like that. I don't want to imagine this guy invading this base one bit if we're under attack, it's too damn scary."
"Commander, you will have to be forewarned that the chance of that happening is very strong since he's working for the enemy." Michael said to her without looking at her. "Someone with that ability in battle would surely be among the top pick of assassins for the Patriots."
"So that is why they selected him to try and stop your friends in their mission?" Ritsuko asked.
"I'm afraid to admit that is the truth, doctor, but it is." Michael replied in a sad tone.
"How unfair, for people young as them to confront a veteran in combat like that. It's inhumane." Ritsuko said as she shook her head sadly.
"I know, it must be cruel for our recruits to face such an enemy, I was thinking the same thing and how much more I want to do for them right now." Michael said. "But all we can do is just sit here and try our best to warn them about Shade and wait for some kind of good news."
"Man, this is so twisted and unfair indeed." Otacon said, folding his arms. "This reminds me a bit of something out of an old anime created by Gonzo animation called, 'Gantz'."
"I was thinking the same thing over here." Raiden said suddenly causing Shigeru to turn to the two Americans.
"So, you two have seen it huh?" Shigeru asked.
"Yeah, I heard it was a big hit over in Japan once the DVD versions of the uncensored and uncut episodes of the series went on sale. It really was hardcore from start to finish that broke all the rules in mainstream anime." Otacon explained. "When I look at this situation, it's really something out of that Buddhist statue arc which really was the climax of the series."
"I think I remember that arc when I was a kid, but I refuse to think back on it too much because of all the gratuitous violence." Maya Ibuki said as she shook her head a bit and began to think to herself. (I guess that's why I can't tolerate seeing stuff like this on my day job because of that Gantz anime…)
"Are you boys done making reviews on a fad and focus on the matter at hand?" Naomi said, causing Raiden, Otacon, and Shigeru to rub their heads.
"Yeah, she's right. It's your friend's lives that are on the line out there." Emma spoke, folding her arms. "The most you can do is offer up some advice to them."
"Sorry, E.E. Didn't mean to go there." Otacon said. "But if you do look at it, our guys had a really difficult time getting by this Shade guy. If only it were easy to say we knew what could at least weaken him, then perhaps…"
"But it's as Garland and Michael has been telling us about this guy, it's impossible for him to die." Misato said as a thought crossed her mind as she spoke to Michael. "I don't think ordering an N2 bomb strike on this guy is going to stop him now, would it?"
Before Michael could reply as he looked at her quizzically, everyone then heard Rio's voice over the open Codec lines.
"Hey, Greg, have you still got your Codec?" Rio asked him clearly as Garland picked up his ears to the sound of her voice.
"It couldn't be…you mean to tell us…" Garland looked at Michael with a tinge of hope in his eyes as the bridge bunnies switched on the main monitor.
"Why is it you want to know about that?" Greg asked, before Rio snatched it from his ear as she made sure her face was close enough to the monitor for everyone to look at her and her almost shredded Team Warrior clothing. Seeing that he was still hooked up and Rio was almost exposing herself, Greg tried to stop her, but couldn't.
"Sensei, what are you doing?" Greg asked, before he realised something. (Oh, no! It's still on the live video frequency and I forgot to turn it off! Now everyone is going to flood me with messages asking about her and the rest of Team Warrior after this, I just know it!)
Some of the males from NERV, FOXHOUND, and Philanthropy altogether swallowed at the sight of seeing Rio like this.
"Whoa, she's super hot." Shigeru said lowly, causing Meryl to glare at him.
"What was that?" The FOXHOUND leader said as Shigeru lowered himself from her stare.
"Is that really Greg's surrogate mother?" Garland asked himself, trying his best not to get attracted to her. (It's a good thing that Maggie isn't here with me to see this.)
Meanwhile, some of the female staff of NERV kept looking at the size of Rio's chest and theirs for comparison.
(It's not fair…) Maya Ibuki thought sadly as she looked at the monitor. (They're twice mine AND sempai's size!)
(If women like that do actually exist in this world, now I know it's hopeless for me.) Emma thought as a dark cloud hung over her head.
"Ah, sensei…" Greg stuttered as Rio shouted her protest over the Codec.
"I hope everyone who's comfortable over there in Tokyo-3 is enjoying the show right now while we bust our asses against this guy." Rio said loudly in a near sarcastic tone to the active Codec screen which was directed to NERV headquarters as Greg was right with her.
"Sensei, now's not the time to be letting your emotions get the best of you, especially in front of the only defence base on the planet that's capable of fighting Angels." Greg said to her in a nervous tone. "I think everyone back at Tokyo-3 was very concerned about us with how things are going; I doubt they are enjoying the fact they have to even know about this."
"Uggh, I just can't believe just how tough that guy was. It's really starting to get to me and I doubt we even came close to slowing him down." Rio spoke, breathing heavily as her breasts heaved up and down, causing Greg to redden and several nosebleeds to flow back at NERV headquarters. Twitching his right eyebrow, Greg simply snatched back the Codec from her and switched it back to the 'Audio Only' frequency for now.
"What are you doing?" Rio shouted at him, as Greg covered her mouth with this gauntlet equipped hands.
"I'm trying to mostly save your pride, sensei." Greg said. "The Codec was still on live video when you took it and now, every single one at NERV must have…seen you."
Rio's face turned red as she shook her fist after looking at her torn outfit to club Greg on the head.
"So, why the hell you didn't turn it off sooner?" She shouted.
"Damn, that hurts, sensei! Why are you blaming this on me?" Greg asked, rubbing the sore spot on his head. "You're the one who took it before I could have gotten a chance to do anything!"
"Well, I just felt like doing it since I wanted to let off some steam." Rio said, as she folded her arms as she stuck her tongue out at Greg, before smiling at him.
"That's not reason enough." Greg replied sourly as Riku smirked as he was watching this a bit before getting back to his serious side.
"Just hang on a little longer, you two. We should be able to deal with him some how." Riku said as he talked to everyone over at NERV using his codec. "Everyone, you can breathe easily for now, Shade actually retreated from the scene a while ago."
"He retreated? Something about that doesn't seem right." Michael said, surprised at hearing this. "Why did he leave?"
"We overheard Reese called in and stopped him during the fight." Tot spoke.
"Why would Reese do that?" Garland asked. "Venom's right, this doesn't seem right at all. You guys have to be extra careful from now on, I'm really starting to not like where this is heading."
"All that we're grateful for is that he spared us since we were near death and that finding Lilica was so close." Maya Jingu spoke.
"I was beginning to doubt we could have made it, but here we are." Rio said. "It was something else. We were there with Maya when she fired those grenade rounds at him and he didn't even slow down, even with the extensive burns he had!"
"His regenerative powers must move at quite the accelerated rate…probably more than the nanomachines we at FOXHOUND use and I mean if they aren't working on overtime to heal the serious wounds we sometimes get." Greg said. "And his strength…I've never felt this uncomfortable facing a man of that strength, even in some of the King of Fighters tournaments I've taken part of in the past."
"Is that so? Can you recall who from the KOF would be this tough to beat?" Riku asked as Greg looked thoughtful a bit before speaking.
"Well, we've got several candidates, namely those who had inherited the bloodline of the Orochi and those who serve him." Greg said. "Iori-sensei happens to be one of the cursed as well as Leona Heidern, but we've also got the likes of Yashiro Nanakase, Shermie, and Chris serving the purpose of Orochi as well. There's a big difference type between those who serve and were cursed by the Orochi bloodline in terms of power and strength, but it all boils to another common trait that doesn't separate them from the other…their sanity."
"Like Ryuji Yamazaki, right?" Rio asked.
"Yeah, he's a certified nut who also has Orochi blood in him." Greg said. "Then there's also Rugal Bernstein and Goenitz, not to mention those two assassins who assist him, Mature and Vice. They have lost some of their sanity by gaining some of that cursed power in the past. But…no, it can't be possible…not even for that monster we're facing."
"Hold on, Greg. I know you think a lot during a situation, but don't go giving me any more ideas to worry about." Rio said. "If you're beginning to think that Shade punk is also part of the Orochi clan as well…"
"There's a strong possibility of that, though I really can't tell because he really hasn't started to fight at full strength up to now. It's probably just a bad assumption I'm having." Greg said. "Just thinking about that worries me the worst."
"Well, it seems that ability that the gauntlets Nanvel spoke about before are starting to giving you an edge in battle so far." Rio said. "Unleashing those attacks at the same time while rushing Shade during your special combat training was something I didn't know was possible."
"Yeah, but he wasn't slowed down from even the successive hits I made on him so far." Greg said. (And to think it increased the risk of me losing to my powers even more when I used that Charge Drive ability awhile back too…)
"Even so, Greg, we won't be able to maintain it forever the next possible time, Shade would be able to outlast us more than everyone else." Riku explained. "In any case, it's best to try and stay on our guard when we run do into him again."
(Which I'm hoping has to be never.) Greg thought simply.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
"It's time, Yuina!" Mantis beckoned Yuina Hatori to him. "Kinezono is getting closer, I can sense him. It's time for you to prepare for his arrival."
"NO! Please...don't make me do it!" Yuina cried out. "Don't make me hurt anybody using..."
"Silence, girl! I had enough of your insolence and now, you'll finally submit to my command or suffer the consequences!" Mantis said, grabbing her arm.
"NO! Don't!" She cried out, as she was taken from her cell. "Please...don't make me use the password! I beg you! Leave Seraph alone!"
Lilica, who was overhearing the commotion, could only watch in horror as she prayed for some kind of miracle to rescue her and Yuina from this hell.
(Oh, God…Mantis is going to do something terrible to her, I just know it.) Lilica thought as she clenched her hands together. (Rio, Maki, Greg, everyone…where are you guys? Haven't you gotten my signal yet? If you have, please hurry up and make it here for Yuina's sake...)
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Back at the Kawasaki household...
"You think they will be alright?" Nanvel asked, while tapping on her keyboard. "We've lost contact with them for over several minutes now. I'm worried about them and Greg ended up showing some unusual readings in his psychic abilities for almost six minutes. What do you think happened, Maki?"
"I wish I could tell, but don't give up on them." Maki said. "They have to be alright somehow, even if the situation does look dim."
"They have to be fine, or else…" Seraph stopped midway as she sighed heavily. "I'm sorry, this has started to make me worry as well. I'm in need for something to calm myself."
"You sure you don't want me to get something for you instead?" Nastasha asked as Seraph shook her head to the Russian woman.
"I'll be fine, Romanenko-san. You have to continue assisting Nanvel and Maki and you shouldn't leave your position in case something happens. I can manage just well." Seraph said to her.
"Okay, then, Seraph. There's some newly brewed tea I made for everyone in the kitchen, you can help yourself to it." Maki said with a smile to her.
"Thank you, Maki." Seraph said as she left the room and headed to the kitchen.
"She is capable in her own unique ways, isn't she?" Nastasha asked.
"Yeah, sure is. I'm glad we were all able to become friends with her." Nanvel said before she thought to herself. (Which makes me wonder if there are possibly other biodroids like her around?)
In the kitchen room, Seraph had stepped in to help herself to a cup of the tea that Maki had made earlier. She was a bit overly anxious of all the action that Greg and the others had just gone through, but she was still feeling confident that things would be okay and she would be reunited with Yuina soon.
Just while she was pouring the cup, her body started to receive a sensation, as if it was being taken from where she stood by an unknown force. Suddenly, she could feel Yuina's mind. Seraph recognized the vision.
"Mantis...?" Was all she muttered, before she collapsed, her large white angel wings emerged, shining, out her back, then suddenly her body disappeared from the kitchen leaving the cup she was holding to crash onto the floor. Nanvel then stepped in moments afterward and noticed the mess in the room.
"Seraph?" She called out, fearing the worst. (What the hell just happened? Whatever the case, it can't be good. I've got to warn Greg and the others fast!)
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
ShardclawK: Okay, I got quite a long explanation of what's been going on with me since the last revision update to all the eager readers, so here's what's been going on as well some small Easter Eggs.
First off, I really have to apologize to the eager set of new and old readers of the Soldier X revision up to this point for the really looong delay for this revised chapter to be posted, my reasons being, (mostly bad and some good ones in between) I had been really busy with work lately especially since the Christmas rush is coming, not to mention the internet café close to my home had been closed down for awhile since August, so I had a big lag in the researching for the references and inspirations I have been using for the revisions recently. To make things worst, I even got a skin infection close to my left eye awhile back in October and I had be admitted at the hospital for awhile too just recently after the eyelid had swollen to the point I couldn't open it for at least three days! Don't panic, though, it was taken care of before it got any more serious and it's back to normal as before. Also, I've been busy playing one of the best games on the PS2 thus far, Okami, and the new Tales of the Abyss game lately, and even an early finished copy of Final Fantasy 12 which has also taken up most of my revision time as well. (I had been seriously lagging in gaming this year lately and been telling myself I would at least finish a number of several games in my collection before the year is over…)
Anyway, I hoped everyone liked it from the major changes and additions made to this one. And again, I couldn't help but not include some more Tales of Legendia references, one of them which happened to be a battle quote Will Raynard used when he drills Senel at the end of a battle, since it would make sense that would be the closest thing Garland would tell any of the younger FOXHOUND recruits in training. Another were dialogue inserts used in one of its skits including Senel and Will, while there's another reference to the Mix sandwich recipe. Okay, so I'm just still a really big Tale of Legendia nut. While I love Tales of the Abyss, it could have been a little better if they only had the voice acting like they did in Legendia…
Another reference used for the chapter was the verse Greg used before executing his Kai Tsuki move which is the same quote used for Lunar Legend Tsukihime. Also, I want to thank DarkFusion for suggesting how Greg should relate to Seishiro in the same fashion Kyo Sohma does with Kazuma Sohma from Fruits Basket, which became one of my recent favourites this year. I hoped everyone liked that touching flashback I included.
And a few more references which was made during the revision was to an anime that Otacon mention which I was hooked on during my hiatus, Gantz, made by the same people who were behind Hellsing, Last Exile and the recent Basilisk (fans of that one would have seen three names from it mentioned in this chapter, which means that yes, that anime will be part of this story later on, so keep your eyes peeled for details during the future revisions), Gonzo Studios, in which the complete series was released by ADV films. A word of warning though for those who want to check it out, it breaks all barriers on the explicit content, (not to the mention gratuitous violence and character deaths you'll see almost EVERY episode) but it does have lots of action, some fan service and some dirty comedy on the side, so it's worth a look at.
I'm midways done with the next revised chapter, so you can be expecting it to show up eventually very soon, God willing.