Note: Hello, all. It's been a long time but here is the first chapter of the story. This will be the last installment of this series.

Chapter 1

The future. A dark, desolate world.

Tokyo, Japan. A city in ruins. It looked as if it'd been uninhabited for decades. Maybe even more. Almost every building has been damaged in some way, shape, or form. Some not as much while others were on the brink of collapse. The streets were mostly dark with the only light source being the patrol robots hovering above. The numerous robots made rounds throughout the city 24/7. They were looking for survivors of the calamity. From afar, one can see the occasional red light that they gave off when someone was found. The sound of the motor made the people who were taking shelter in the damaged buildings nervous. They were afraid of the patrol robots barging into their hiding places. There wasn't anybody stupid enough to go outside that wasn't desperate to do so. Most of the people around hardly had any weapons. Even if they did, it would be impossible to take down all of the robots who were around.

Food had started to become a problem. The scarcity has made people turn on each other for the bit of food that was available. The ones who were killed during this skirmish were eaten. The ones who were more fortunate were the ones who took shelter in a grocery store but even they weren't one hundred percent safe. Occasionally, people from the outside who were really desperate tried to fight their way inside. This taking place when the patrol robots weren't around, of course. They had very little money but that was of no concern when you resorted to all kinds of heinous acts for survival. Nobody would accept bribes. Even if they did, what would they do with a lot of money? It was only a matter of time before they completely run out of resources. What will they do after that?

Not only did this happen in Tokyo, but the rest of Japan. People who had to resort to violence to survive. Children were not exempt.

A young man in his early twenties was looking through the garbage near a hardware store looking for food. He had to move as fast as he could because the patrol robots would surely be making their way any time now.

"I found something," the man smiled gleefully when he spotted an apple core. He picked it up and looked at it as if he's found the Holy Grail. Before he could eat it, another man who appeared to be in his fifties showed up from behind and thrusted his pitchfork through the man's neck. This man's clothing was covered in blood. The reason for that being that he's killed many people inside the store trying to protect his daughter from the hands of murderous people. Before he could grab the apple core, he heard the sound of a motor. Before he had any time to react, a red light surrounded him. He angrily put his hands up and dropped the pitchfork. His daughter who was standing inside the store was heartbroken when she saw the red light.

A world of war, suffering, loss on two sides. Toji and anybody who dared to help them.

Within every major city were prisons that housed Toji and anybody who had lent them a hand. The prisons varied from city to city in terms of how cruel they were. After many people were gathered in the prisons, they were transported to one of the Five Traditions where they were executed. Minoseki hasn't been rebuilt but the location where it used to be is now a place where Toji and anybody associated with them were executed. At some point it didn't matter who was in there because once someone was inside, death was right at their doorstep.

In Kamakura City, the Origami Family Mansion was chosen as the location for the execution grounds against Yukari or the Sword Administration's will. In the area where the final match of the tournament took place in 2018, there were two long lines that were moving slowly. On one of the lines were Toji and on the other were any individuals who did even the slightest thing to help them.

An old woman looked over to a Toji with saddened eyes that said, "I'm sorry for not trying hard enough to keep you safe." The Toji did her best to be strong but the expression on the woman's face caused her to burst into tears. The woman deeply regretted not doing more to protect her. Not only could she have protected her, but she would've protected herself in turn. She had known her since she was a little girl.

Another Toji up ahead was standing side by side with her sister. Her parents were right behind. She had just become a Toji and now she was going to face certain death. The sight of the guards made her feel uneasy. She had created a group with a few other Toji with the goal of completing missions together. They were now all in the same facility.

Fighting an enemy we cannot defeat.

How did they let this happen? Why would they let this happen?

Not too long after a group of Toji failed to annihilate MacArthur, he got to work on a new weapon. On the side, he made another solution to extend the duration of the Omni Virus's short lifespan. After Tagitsuhime attacked him during that mission, he scrambled to look for the solution but saw that it had been stolen. It's still a mystery as to who was the one who did it. After many attempts at creating a new weapon, he was successful a year later. What was born was an entirely new bio-organic weapon. A humanoid standing at roughly 6'7" and with shiny, gray, scaly skin that resembled metal. MacArthur just couldn't figure out how to make it as hard as tungsten. Its face had no facial features except for the glowing yellow eyes. The eyes appeared to be angry all the time. On its chest was a glowing orb of noro. Without difficulty, MacArthur was able to produce countless soldiers.

What made this monstrosity more deadly than the VAT was that it didn't have to use okatanas to kill Toji. It could if it really wanted to. More than that, it was able to alter its appearance. It was able to transform to adapt to its current situation or environment. If it needed to engulf itself in flames, it was free to do so without hurting itself. It is also able to change its skin to be as reflective as diamond. Sentinels is what these monstrosities were called. They have a high success rate when it comes to bringing back Toji who had managed to escape. The ones who were brought back weren't sent to the prisons but killed on the spot.

The people who were left scrambling about town were the ones who refused to aid the Toji. They knew what happened if they did. Many were often caught by the patrol robots and the sentinels were the ones who captured them. They all served as guards with one of three roles in the prisons. They either kept the lines moving, kept watch from the towers or the ones doing the execution. The ones who kept the lines moving had a sentinel watching those guards. The Toji saw that it was impossible to resist but that didn't mean that some didn't try. Some died trying to fight the guards. Even if those guards didn't put up a fight, the Toji were then dealt with by a sentinel or two. Other guards were forced to execute the Toji by shooting them. The Toji had to be facing the guards so they could look each other in the eye before the heinous act. Some of the guards couldn't go through with it so they shot themselves. Others saw this a perfect opportunity to fire at the sentinel present in the room. Unfortunately, the bullets didn't do much to them. It would then kill both the guard and the Toji. They can always bring in a new guard to continue the execution.

Minaki Fukimaki and her parents were brought into a room to be executed. The eyes of the man who was forced to execute Toji grew wide the moment he saw them come in. The man was a neighbor of theirs and naturally, he was a family friend. The reason he was here doing such a heinous act was because the moment he learned of what's become of the ones who help Toji, he decided to make a break for it. Unfortunately, he was caught and brought here.

No. No. It can't be. I can't do this... thought the man when he saw their terrified faces. He recalled the times he was invited over. He remembered being proud of the day Minaki became a Toji. Now here he was with a weapon in hand and a monster standing near him.

Building up courage, he readied his weapon and pointed it at the family before him. Minaki and her parents shrank back as they prepared for death. The Toji shut her eyes. At the last moment, the man angrily wiped his tears, turned around, yelled and shot countless rounds at the sentinel.

The bullets damaged the creature but not enough to render it useless. In response, the sentinel turned both of its arms into lances. He stabbed the man and tossed him to the side. It then went over to the terrified family. It used both lances to pierce Minaki's parents. It pulled the lances out and transformed the right arm into a sword. With one quick swing, it sliced Minaki in half horizontally.

Another individual was brought in and he was ordered to remove the bodies. The sentinel stood to the side with sparks coming out of its body and bright light shining from its bullet holes. Slowly but surely, it healed.

Kashima Shrine...

"Come on you bastards!" Akira Inago yelled as she gripped her okatana tightly. She was sweating and her arms were shaking. She had managed to run around Japan without getting caught by these monsters but luck has start to run out. She can hear a few of them arriving. Just what are these things? They are at another level from the aradama or parasitic monsters I've fought before. Akira has heard about what kind of power these new enemies have. She is terrified of what they're capable of.

One sentinel flew over and landed with a thud. Akira felt that tremor when it landed. Not wasting a second, she dashed towards the sentinel and struck it a few times. She left some damage but it was still standing as if nothing happened. Before she can even think about landing more strikes, two more landed with a thud. Akira shrank back at the sight of the three in front of her. With a yell, she ran towards the one who had taken damage. Before she's even able to attack it, it ran towards her. It grabbed her by the head to jump over to land behind her. Since she was caught off guard, another sentinel got close and punched her in the chest. Akira coughed up blood and dropped her okatana. The sentinel who was behind her grabbed both of her arms.

"No! I can't die here!" Akira yelled as she was flailing. She tried kicking the sentinels. It was futile but she didn't know what else to do.

The sentinel who delivered the punch grabbed her legs. Both sentinels who had a hold of her started pulling. It's as if they were trying to tear her in half. The pain was too much for her to bear she started screaming. Just then, the third sentinel grabbed her okatana and sliced her in half. One of them dropped her upper half while the other one tossed her legs to the side.

That was another Toji dead.

Are we destined down this path? Is the future truly set?

What happens to the individuals who are executed?

Just outside of the execution grounds, there were large areas set for the bodies to be dumped in. Nothing is done to them but left to rot. The smell was nauseating, and several prisoners have thrown up.

One the dumping grounds near the execution area made of the Origami Family Mansion, the rotting bodies of Chie Setouchi, Kiyoka Musumi, and Kofuki Sichinosato can be seen. They weren't executed but rather trying to save certain Toji. They died in a battle that didn't last long. One that they had no chance of winning but still tried. The goal of the fight wasn't so much as to win but to buy time. Deep down, they knew they weren't going to win. Also located in those dumping grounds was the head of a clown. It had a ghastly expression, and the eyes were torn out. Blood had streamed down it face from his now-empty eyes, giving him an even more unsettling appearance. The very same clown that was born from the heap of noro left behind by the VAT. Its toro with its left arm attached was on the street nearby with its other arm and legs nowhere to be seen. The arm would occasionally move around a bit before stopping. The most it did was drag the torso a few feet. It wanted to attach the head to itself in hopes of bringing him back to life but it was too far away. It was likely that the clown died fighting the sentinels as opposed to fighting Toji. Whether he was targeted by the sentinels or not is unknown.

Another dumping ground was near an unexpected place. The place was near MacArthur's base. The pile consisted of all kinds of B.O.W.s. Garradors, Regeneradors, the insect monsters Novistadores, and the like were all rotting away. The doors to MacArthur's base have been smashed opened with black smoke coming out of it. Several of the rooms of the facility were currently on fire. The sentinels have attacked MacArthur's base. They were currently looking for someone but had no success. The remaining scientists who have remained loyal to MacArthur have been killed. Since they couldn't find the person they were looking for, they had no choice but to leave. They were confident that they were going to find this individual.

Several important questions arises in the minds of many. Where are the Toji who failed to exterminate MacArthur? Where have they gone? Are they even still alive?

For the people who are doing their best to survive, another important question came up. Where was MacArthur? There was not a single sign of him. Nowhere that indicated that he was in charge. There wasn't a single billboard or propaganda poster of any kind. Maybe he was taking control of it all from the shadows.

Note: X-Men: Days of Future Past is where I drew inspiration from for this chapter.

Where is Kanami and the rest of the group? What happened to MacArthur? How did the clown get caught up in all this? What are these new creatures?