-X- Introduction -X-
- Desolate Gail Redux
- Started on: 5-17-2004 / Posted on: 7-19-2004 / Checked on: 3-11-2005
- By: Zeronova
- Chapter 11: Top o' the warehouse to you, mate

- Text: Third person, Narration
- Text: First person, Thoughts
- Text: Interjection, the Narrator

X- End Introduction -X-

They each stood up haphazardly, looking one another, trying to read their emotions on the situation to justify or vanquish their own feelings, based on the other's. They were safe as long as they didn't step off of the elevator, it was their haven, a motherly embrace, Adam stepping from Eden, and they didn't want to. The Gears slowly climbed off of the edge of the walls where they trailed, over the small iron guardrail that separated the plunge into the darkness. The direction they entered the elevator was now their backs, them now facing what was a wall, the elevator shaft being on the farthest side of the Seikishidan possible. Ahead of them was the darkness unknown and untread in years.

The Gears moved rhythmically, their bodies moving around to stand in front of the open elevator, yet not touching it, knowing what happened then as long as the Fuuraiken was touching the steel of the elevator. There had to be a door like the one on Floor C at the far end of this secondary warehouse to get in and out, they wouldn't make one entrance two floors down that was just one small doorway, there had to be more, had to be bigger ones on different levels, and if there wasn't, how could they fit in the crates and boxes they had up here? Of course there was, there had to be. Those were the unspoken sentiments and hopes of the soldiers, Kiske's Biblical rousing doing next to nothing for the better half of them.

The monstrosities moved awkwardly, circling around the elevator best they could, transfixing their gaze onto the humans, picking targets, marking for death. Ky stepped forward, his toes touching the edge of the elevator before it turned to walkway, cement, and the ground of Floor E. He looked over his shoulder at the six behind him, smiling a little. They were walking into death itself, in front of them and surrounding them. There had to be about fifteen to twenty Gears, the ones that survived the onslaught on Floor C, weren't crisped by the electric charge on the elevator, and what was left were these predatorial hunters. The slow, more human Gears couldn't traverse vertically, so probably were ordered to find another way around.

"Hey Darton..." Ky said slowly, a follow-up sentence on his lips.

"Yes?" he replied, standing up, stretching out, his back emitting a low crack as his bones relieved pressure and popped back into place from the awkward sitting position previously.

"That sword..." Ky said, motioning to the one hanging at Darton's side lullingly. "You got it down on Floor C, right?" Ky could take all day talking, as long as he kept the tip of the Fuuraiken on the elevator, keeping the current running through. Quint nodded slightly, wanting to see where Kiske's interrogation was going. He hadn't sensed any hatred or anger yet in his words, they were a bit amicable, actually. "That belongs to the Seikishidan and is unfit in your hands." There was the demeaning Quint hadn't sensed, Murphy's Law kicking in.

"That's nice, and?" Darton sarcastically replied.

"You may not take it, it is property of the Seikishidan." Ky growled, a certain other robbery of a Seikishidan artifact springing to mind by another less than friendly former soldier.

"Listen Kiske, just shut the hell up. Either I use it or we die, it sure as hell saved my ass when you left me to die." The words carried a heavy weight, considering that Ky hadn't been brought to reality on his previous decision to leave Quint had only come back to bite him in the ass, proverbially speaking. Ky opened his mouth to retort, but quickly shut it, not knowing the right words to say. Yes, I left you to die, yes, I stand by my decision, and yes, you coming back did end up helping me. But, you are not dignified to have that sword, nor did your use of it against me turn out to be a good decision, on your part.

"I am a leader, and I decided what was best for my troops. Waiting for you jeopardized our safety, being in the open and not moving to our priority objective of escaping. Waiting for you would have killed us."

"Two of your men died down there on Floor C, what do you mean that it would have jeopardized you? They're dead, Ky, can you understand that?" Darton retorted. Kiske tried not to think about something like that until he needed to, the death would only stop him from surviving, and if he let down his guard for even a moment, that would be the end of Atlas, savior of mankind. Ky breathed in slowly, then turned entirely about face, his back to the Gears surrounding the exit of the elevator. He took a step forward, closer to Quint, the other five soldiers just standing and watching, still resting while the two quarreled.

"Yes, they died in the service of God. They died an honorable death, worthy of remembrance, fighting in this war for humanity."

"And all of the others that have died too? Over all of the years and all of the battles, were they worthy of remembrance? How many soldiers' names do you know? What were their names?"

"...They are and will be remembered when this war is over. How can you defy me and argue a point you are devoted against, resigning from the Seikishidan?" Ky countered Darton quite aptly, his silence proving that.

"...I am against the Seikishidan, but not humanity. I hate Gears, but I hate the Seikishidan, but I do not hate humanity."

"And the whole vessel of destroying Gears you resign from? You're a hypocrite."

"And you're to talk, spouting God, yet you kill so much."

"I kill those who oppose God in the name of God. My service is the same as Michael's, abiding the word of Him."

"Sure, keep saying that. Back to what you want, because I'm getting tired of bullshitting with you, and I don't like being on this elevator."

"...Fine. Listen clearly, Darton, that sword...it has a history, maybe you'll get to know it some other time, but it was in here for a reason. One of those classified things that grunts like you are not privileged to know." He instantly regretted saying those words, as the other soldiers around him shifted their position, their emotions being conveyed as easily as reading it. Ky shifted his eyes around him, then continued. "Basically, it's a wind sword, as my sword is lightning, and the former Fuurenken was fire. Cut the air right, and it shoots the air forward, like waves in a pool. You drag a stick through a pond, and it displaces the water, then the water rushes to catch up."

"Yeah, I figured that out." Quint said, remembering the puppetry he enacted on the Gears in that way previously.

"I need you to clear our way in front of us for a second, so we can get off of the elevator without getting massacred."

"You need me to do it? And you tried to leave me for dead?"

"Just shut up and do it, unless you want to die too." Darton shrugged his shoulders, then walked ahead of Quint, brushing his shoulders against Kiske's, knocking him off balance a little, like a symbol of anger and hatred, their eyes locking as they both walked by, mirroring each other's dislike for one another. Quint stepped to the edge of the elevator, both feet touching the metal, the Gears in front of him in a semi circle, the darkness slightly choking them, but their vision tuned in to it, their red eyes weaving in and out of the slight blue glow offered by Kiske's sword. Small bits of light filtered in above them, the forty foot ceiling above them cracked from not being serviced in decades, the hillside's roots and shrubbery working its way onto the inside of the cement, cracking bits of it. Small slats of light rained down onto the warehouse, silhouetting crates and boxes, and a clear pathway straight from the elevator into the darkness, like a road to salvation. Quint slowly looked back to Ky, a smirk on his face.

"As I walk through the valley of the shadow of Death..." he said with a chuckle, a few of the soldiers choking out a stifled laugh as well, then returning to their sober demeanor at the icy glare of Ky. Quint slid one of his feet out of the elevator, the Gears jumping to life, programming realizing that the enemy stepped off of the elevator, prepare to attack. He brought his entire body down, his knees at about 45 degree angles, lowering his head to be level with his shoulders, looking out below his brow, his bangs covering over his vision, how he liked it. The front of the blade he pointed at the enemy, holding it with both hands at his kneecaps, running from one to the other, slightly hunched over his own legs.

Here goes nothing... Quint stepped forward with his left leg, crossing his right, then bringing his right back out in front of him, a crossed walk. The Gear semi-circle seemed to move out a little, the back ends closing in slightly, to circle Quint, the back few on a slanted view, because of the Seikishidan still in the elevator. Then, a grunt above the low ones, more pronounced, and heard. Quint looked over his shoulder, seeing a Gear emerge from the circle, taking lead, the first to seize the opportunity to fight. It wasn't part of the programming, which only dictated tactics and what to do, the actual fighting was another program, yet the Gears had some level of choice on what to do, and taking initiative was a built in thing for the program to let a Gear do if it such desired to do so.

It took one pervasive step forward, testing to see if it was allowed, then broke into a full sprint, the jagged sharpened bones jutting from the dead skin, hanging in long strips, flapping disgustingly along the rest of the body as the wind pushed it back. It brought its right arm up in full stride, fingers lengthening out as it did, to stab through Quint. It kept running, and ran right past Quint, who rolled to the side, sword extended, slashing through the side of its gut. As he rolled, he brought his sword horizontally with him, slicing through the meaty area between the ribs and hips. The blade cut through effortlessly, and the Gear kept running, Darton on the side that wasn't poised for attack. The wind burst followed the sword's attack direction, knocking two Gears that were behind the one rushing one, by each side before it broke the circle, who were flung into the darkness. The Gear whom attacked first ran right through the blade, and thus didn't catch any of the wind torrent, though it had a gash that cut through its intestines and a good amount of its waist.

All of the Gears started to rush in on Quint, at which point Ky intervened. He distracted enough so that the rest of the soldiers could get out, and Ky would go and help Quint, so he would not die. He disliked him, but wanting him to die...no, he needed as much man strength as he could get. The three Gears who kept watch of the Seikishidan in the elevator sprinted forward at the first confirmed step of Ky off of it, who blocked one of their attacks, following it with a searing torso slash, sending the Gear to the ground. The next on to his left was met with a short jab, which unbalanced the Gear, who was then stabbed three times by three different Seikishidan soldiers, following Ky who sprinted forward to the enclosing circle on Quint.

Swinging in half-circle motions around him, quickly and furiously, Quint kept the Gears at bay, who had learned to dig their claws into the ground and brace for the typhoon at each swing of the sword. Adaptive learning, a quirk of Justice's battle programming. While Siren wasn't an A.I., she had certain...abilities to learn simple things, such as if this soldier swings this sword, brace the Gears in the mathematical vicinity of the slash.

"Heaven or Hell..." Quint murmured to the oncoming Ky as he ran up, slashing right and left at any Gear he could as he tried to break the oncoming storm upon Darton.

"Let's rock." Ky said back, somewhat unconscious of why he did, but it just popped into his mind, an uncontrollable urge to do so. The rest of the Seikishidan soldiers, the five of them, ran up behind Ky, razing down two Gears amongst the total of them, teaming up to preoccupy one, the other stabbing it, then the first one slashing for the kill blow. They all culminated in the center near Kiske and Darton, each of them facing outwards to the twenty some odd Gears that circled and attacked around them. They each had to take two or more Gears, switching enemies every attack.

Jaygus was the last to follow into the circle of seven, including him, turning around on the toes of his left foot, which reached the center first, bringing his standard issue sword up above him and down through the arm of an oncoming Gear, shearing it off. The Gear assessed the situation in a second, the attacking arm now gone, splats of blood finding its home on Jaygus' uniform, and drips falling off of the sword that did the removing. It jumped forward to bite Jaygus. Its other arm, a gimped one, small and useless, like when the Gear was finished, Justice realized it only had one arm, and added one as an afterthought (Not literally added, since it is genetic, though that is how it looked) was useless, so battle protocol had it try and use its sharpened teeth. Bringing up his sword, the blood flying off of it as the wind rushed by each side, Jaygus stepped back, swinging his sword in a downward diagonal, the sword finding solace in the soft flesh next to the neck, behind the clavicle, throwing the Gear down in mid-air, collapsing on the ground in a final growl, then limp. Putting his foot on the dead carcass, Jaygus ripped his sword out of the sinew, and attacked another.

Unnatural flashes of blue lit the enemies for the Seikishidan soldiers surrounding Atlas, each slash from Ky bringing definition to the faceless enemy that onslaughted them from the confines of a midnight, also pierced by the golden arrows of God through nature's advents in the ceiling. Though God's arrows were deflected by Lucifer's shield, the blots of light shining through a pale gray of dust clouding the stagnant and repugnant air that carried the scent of innumerable carcasses littering Floor C, as well as the moonlight cascading a dull light, though light all the same, Lucifer's own intervention still showing his angelic side, though in mal-intent. It would be morning in an hour, it would be a great sight to see, though they had to get out of the warehouse, then up to Floor F, and hope to get out from there, through the sky light, as their last option.

Quint kicked out the foot of a Gear who ran at him, leaping strides with each of its animalistic lunges, though it stood up because of its massive speed, raising itself to attack as well. The hind leg reached forward, Quint stepping back, then kicking it out with his own foot, feeling the brittle shin snap as he kicked it. The Gear fell down on the broken side, all of its forward momentum twisting itself to the side, slamming into the ground. As it hit, Darton brought his sword upward in a slash toward the ceiling, twisting his entire body with it. The blade slipped between ribs, the sinew ripped, then the following tornado ripped through the ribs that the blade left untouched, pounding the internal organs to a pulp and sending the Gear racing along the ground, twisting as it rolled, smashing its features into a bloody mess. It finally rolled to a stop about fifty feet away in the darkness, its last breath seeping out of it, as well as everything else.

They all fought through their fatigue and through their hunger, through the sweat dripping from their hair, perspiring inside of their uniforms, their blades dull of use, hands shaky of shock and fear, disillusionment and hostility, the will to live and the will to persist. However much it hurt to keep fighting, however much it hurt to keep moving, they continued on. To die would be so much simpler, no more pain, no more sweating, no more hurt in every part of their bodies in every move and every breath, with every waking moment being Hell itself, when fighting for the glory of Heaven.

Stabbing in front of him, both hands on the grip, Ky's attack was deflected, the blade glinting off of the ground. He jumped backward, bringing the blade up in front of him across his body, his enemy's blade brushing off of his, and attacking again, and again. Ky couldn't see every attack, he didn't know what to do consciously, though he moved his body to fend off each blow from the Gear, and did so stunningly, as each volley was blocked and all of the momentum behind the attack diverted. The Gear attacking him then made one final attack, a stab, which Ky jumped back again into the circle, swinging the Fuuraiken in front of him in a circle, like a shield, though it was too far ahead of him, his arms not yet following his body's example, the sword slicing off the attacker's hand at the wrist.

The Gear curdled in pain, jumping back, gasping with the haggard and torn jaws it had mutated into, but only for a moment before Siren and programming subroutines re-routed its nervous functions to an inhibited sense. A tooth ripped through its own gum and up through its face. It had bored its own tunnel through bone to rest through its upper cheek, and was more than eight inches long. It retracted into its skull as its lower jaw opened to scream, and pierced through the opening again as it clenched its jaws, the clench in sync with the blade that stuck through its gut, finding air back again through the top of its back. The unholy sword stuck through all of the major organs, up from its belly to under its neck. Ky ripped his sword out, the top hole emitting a small black smoke as the internals charred themselves on the electricity surging through them. In the few seconds Ky had to look at the dying Gear in front of him, partial victory, it was abruptly interrupted.

"Gaaah!" he screamed, falling down onto one knee. He didn't know why he screamed at first, nor did he know why he fell, his adrenaline was too high and the instantaneous turn of events left him mentally unprepared for what happened. He looked upward, his hand still clenched on his prized sword, seeing the Gear above him grinning at its handiwork, readying for the kill, its eyes turning in the flesh-barren eye sockets, the red hue to the eyeballs, removed of all moisture. "Die!" Ky screamed, swinging his sword in a horizontal low arc from his kneeling position. The Gear above changed its facial expression with the small amounts of flesh it had to use, a small uncertainty then pain, and finally, anger. It toppled backward, removed from its ankles, and was then met with the Gear killing blade through its sternum. Ripping his blade from the center of the dead Gear, Kiske stood up straight, his eyes guiding him to the next Gear. He leaned forward to run, and fell back down to his knees, gasping hard and angrily. What's happening...am I dying? Why can't I get up, come on, move…What did it do to me? I can't feel anything...I want to get up, to move, to kill the Gears who scorn these holy grounds, yet I cannot move! Come on, Kiske! Get up, move! The adrenaline and resolve pumped in his veins, so much so that nothing else mattered or lived in his own perceptions, except for himself at that moment. He stood up slowly, picking himself up, wondering what had happened. Then, he took a step forward, his body arching again, yet he kept himself on both feet, then saw the drips of blood formulating under him. It was a bright crimson, still alive, not like the coagulated globs the Gears had, their dark, oily blood that seemed to ooze. It flowed, it was lively and a testament to the difference of the real humanity of Gears or humans.

Oh no...Where? Where is it? Did it hit anything vital? I can't feel it! Kiske stood slowly, now aware he was hurt, and then felt the twinge of pain running all along his body, centralized in his back, and spreading from there. Seikishidan medical procedure says that most...pain is from the back, as it is...the, shit, it's the...center of nerves and... The blood loss was starting to get to him, the fatigue not helping, and jogging his memory in the few moments were proving more difficult. Also, his demeanor had started to change. In the most animalistic of behaviors, morals and teachings were pushed aside to ferallity, considering Kiske would never use curse words.

He swung his sword again, the blade now heavier in his hands and his eyes ringing in darkness, grunting and yelling a wordless slur of anger.

Ky reached up behind his neck once the tip of his sword clanked to the ground as one of his hands left the hilt, bringing his hand back in front of him, the blood dripping from his fingers. He fell to both knees, looking at his hand again, the crimson now turning dark, his vision jumping, turning darker. He gripped the Fuuraiken tight, with all his will, yet his hand seemed not to move with his commands of his brain, and he heard the echoing thunder of it on the ground like a distant memory, the metallic bangs flying miles away. He blinked, trying to restore his vision, but it pounded on heavier, then he fell flat on his face, feeling the sword lying underneath him, and it went all black.

-X- Author's Notes –X-
- Zeronova's Notes:
- Well, I added in one conversation in the beginning I forgot to put in last week's chapter. This chapter on the whole was smaller than the rest of them, but I feel that I got all of the points I needed to hit done perfectly in it, so I didn't need to use more words. In plus, I was a little bit over the word limit with a few other chapters, so this should fit in nicely to round off the 55k marker, and if it is a little bit short, big deal, the next chapters will go over 5000 words by a couple hundred, and will make up the 1200 word deficit this chapter has. Anyway, you can start to see the differences in this chapter compared to the old version of the story. Also, and maybe this is just me, but I think that certain parts of my old story and this one would work better altogether. This one changes some things that I would rather have remained as they used to be, but I can't change that now. And, things here trounce the old ones by far. On the whole, I'd pick Dual Enmity over the original, but I feel nostalgia towards my previous offering, seeing as it was my first real public writing and my pet project I wanted to do great things with. Oh well, this is way too long for an author blurb, time to cut it off.
-X- End Author's Notes –X-