Kira is Kage
Lacus is Hikari
Except when they're together.
What do you do? Put a double whammy chapter, that's what I do.
Author note: I'll be honest with you readers. I'm not very happy with the way the Prankcraft chapter turns out. I read it and read it and reread it again. The first half is good. The latter half was… forced. I tried too hard to create something funny, and in the end, it's not funny at all. I forgot the fundamental rule: simple is the best. In a word: that chapter was a disaster. The fourth wall breaking was lame. I don't like it at all. Some day I may tear that chapter down, replacing it with something better. But for now… let's just enjoy this mini disaster chapter to make it up. Personally… this is the way a disaster comedic chapter should be.
Oh, and question: what time and day you usually start opening up Fanfiction? Out of curiosity is all – I want to time my uploading a chapter with the time you readers start browsing.
NOTE:
"Doryaaaaaaaaaa!": normal talking
"Charge!": special case
'Darn!': thoughts
GWA HA HA HA! : Giant creature speech
DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING!
Please… read and review
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The first thing that Kira saw when he woke up is a breast nipple. Up close. But unlike before, Kira no longer scream or panicked, knowing full well who owned it.
Kira groaned as he woke up and gently pushed the naked Lacus off his chest. Just as he suspected, he can block their bed with a wall of bricks and she'll still find a way to go through it somehow… and to his disbelief he himself had gotten used to have Lacus sleeping while glued to him butt naked. Kira tolerated it provided she didn't try to strip him naked as well. Some people like to keep their clothes when they sleep. That… and… it's a nice added security measure. Everyone knows they can't get close to her for many reasons… (Beyond the fact she is the captain's 'girlfriend') With her sleeping next to him enveloping him in a miasma that only Kira was immune to, it's like Kira has shrouded himself with an army of invisible bodyguard during his sleep for 24/7.
Kira cracked his neck and got up the bed. Lacus moaned cutely on the bed. Kira turned and saw the girl sleeping nicely in her bed, smiling. Kira chuckled. 'A nice dream I suppose.' He looked back and saw his suit, placed neatly next to Lacus' armor.
It's a new black ninja vest and suit, specified by Mwu, made by Simon, and had just been delivered by Tolle yesterday, given the memo he found at the foot. Chain mail lined in between two layers of interwoven Kevlar cloth. The outer surface is also reinforced with separate steel plates on critical spots. Enough limited defensive power to stop a knife and even a bullet cold. The rest of the suit, the trousers, the undershirt, they were all made of Kevlar as well, but no armor plates. Kira wanted to be as mobile as possible. Boots and armguards still the same. Covered in layered armor plates, with pockets to place training weights. No Captain's coat yet… Prayer said they're trying to add more defensive measures into it, make it even tougher. As per requested, it can be increased up to tenfold the initial weight suit.
Then again, following the doctor's orders, he's not allowed such extremely strenuous training. And Kira had made a commitment to heal first, train himself to death later.
Kira put the suit back on. By the time he was done, Kage saw Lacus just woke up, rubbing her eyes. "Put your armor on. It's morning."
"Hmm…mh… uh-huh… but I hate that suit." Lacus answered dreamily, still half asleep.
"Thought you love Samurai suit."
"Yeah… but not if I have to wear them 24/7…" She widened her sleepy eyes as her head began to clear and saw Kira's new and improved clothes. "How come you're the only one who always gets a new suit?" She moaned.
"Mine's easier to break, easier to remake."
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It's now day four after the Marco incident, and thankfully for everyone, there haven't been any more attacks. The ship sailed calmly with their course set for Shanghai, one of Alliance Main naval Yard as well as the Gateway to Central Plain China. However, Murdoch was not happy. The Archangel is in a seriously sorry state after that last explosive trap. Sure, the steel hull was designed to handle a lot of damage, but the superstructure on the starboard hull is just busted. And who knows of any other damage this ship might sustain due to the blast? As it stands, Murdoch wasn't even sure if they'll make it to land. But they're still moving on course so that's probably a good sign… probably.
Nevertheless, Mwu and Kage told him to do his best.
"Don't worry, Captain Kage." George smiled in encouragement. "One of my biggest naval yards is located in Shanghai. Once we get there, I'll bring out my finest shipwrights to put this ship back together."
Kage brow furrowed. "Fixing this monster might bankrupt you."
"Bah. I'm bankrupt one way or another when this war is over. My company has been reduced to moving with IOUs for a while now. When the time comes I don't think the company will survive anyway."
Kage frowned at such a bleak future, and yet George still possesses some form of optimism. "Are you that sure that this war can end?"
"I don't know." George smiled enthusiastically nonetheless. "But if I don't believe it will end someday, I'll be quitting already. Quite frankly, I care not if I will not live to see this war end. But… at the very least, I would like to do my very best to ensure that my daughter will not live out her life while the world is still at war."
Love for the family, even in such dark times. Kage smiled behind his mask. He just couldn't find a reason not to respect this man. "Speaking of daughter… how's Fllay? She hasn't come out yet?"
"No. I decided that she must remain in house arrest. And there she must remain for an indeterminate amount of time until she sorted herself out." George mourned deeply at this necessarily harsh decision. "Also, I've cancelled her engagement with Sai."
Kage's eyes widened in surprise. "Are you sure?"
"Positive. Sai is a good lad. And he deserved better."
"Sai won't be happy. Engagement aside, I think deep down inside, Sai really loved her."
"I sure appreciate that." George crossed his hands before his chest. "I'm just afraid my daughter doesn't share the sentiment."
Chapter 42:
Arsenal Five
"AAAAAAAAARGHH!"
A soldier free fall straight into the iron decks of Archangel, plunging head first. At the last moment, he stopped a few inches away from the floor. He looked up and saw a black masked figure holding his leg while standing straight up on the wall. "Thank you, sir." He choked.
"I dearly hoped Simon hurry up and finished those bungee ropes I ordered." Kage groaned. "Can't be everywhere every time all at once!" Standing straight up with chakra on a vertical surface, Kage is currently making good of his promise. He began teaching some of his men wall walking, assisted with the other Shadowguards and few others who had gotten it, even the Captain, specifically Murrue, and… her lieutenant Natarle. Apparently Mwu haven't taught them that either. There's only a problem of safety of the makeshift facility, particularly when there are those who fumbled upon reaching certain heights, where the fall would prove to be lethal. Without counting those who still got bruises when they fell short off the mark. Of course, the fall won't kill, but it still hurts when you hit a steel floor. That being said his students proved eager enough that they are willing to bypass the security measures. Kage also personally think fear of death might work as a good push. They've been falling from this makeshift climbing wall Murdoch put together with scraps all morning and he hadn't heard a single word of complaint or giving up.
But, as Kage perched on the wall watching his men struggling to follow his example, he had to regretfully admit, it wasn't easy. His men had just begun to understand the basics of chakra generation. Taking it to the next step of using it, in this case, use it for wall-walking, will take some time. "Visualize your chakra on your feet. Imagine you're wearing a spike shoes with two inch drill bit."
As for the soldiers, the news of how Kage fired Sai, one of his most loyal Shadowguard was shocking. Then again, with such critical blunder being made with a Logos Minister was nearly killed, it was obvious why the Captain was angry. But this only shows that their captain does not mess around, even when it involved his closest friends. As Natarle would put it, when the Captain is firm and just, army discipline and respect is assured.
"KAGEEE!" A scream attracted everyone's attention.
It was Taka, and even without the mask, everyone can see he was as panicked as one can get. "KAGEEEE!"
Kage sighed and get down on the ground with a shunshin. "Yes, what is it Taka?"
"KAGE! I just heard! Was it true!? L… L… Lady Hikari was stabbed!?"
Kage groaned. "That was like 4 years ago. Where the hell were you!?"
"I was… well… I…" Gino gulped. four days ago, during Marco's attack, he was worried sick over what becomes of Karren. So he tried his best to be stationed at the same spot with Karren… to little success. The red head actively avoiding him, and he doesn't want to raise too much suspicion. He settled on guarding the ship carrying refugee near the ship guarded by Karren. He had no idea things will escalate to such degree that Lacus was nearly killed the moment he wasn't there to protect her when she needed it the most. He never felt more mortified as a knight.
Kage shook his head. "You still haven't made your peace yet?"
"It… It's… it's not that simple."
"No. But you sure as hell take time that we can't afford. Report back to Hikari, see what she has to say about this."
"Yes… sir." Gino choked. The knight in disguise walked away completely dejected.
"You're not gonna punish him sir?" The Soldier that Kage rescued earlier commented.
Kage glanced his way momentarily and shook his head. "Nah. She's Hikari's men. She'll decide what to do with him."
"Oh… is she as strict as you?"
Kage glared at the nosy soldier. "No. She's 10 times more sadistic. So stop asking questions, you owe me 100 squat jumps before you can try climbing again. Or would you like me to hand you over to her as well?"
"No." And the frightened soldier quickly did his penalty squat jumps.
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Meanwhile Hikari had just done marking the grades for yesterday's test. The result had warranted what every one of her students are enduring right now.
Which is another test. Just a simple 500 question test…
…that had to be done in less than 60 minutes…
…or else they'll get another 500 questions.
Everyone strained and bulged their eyes. It took all they had just to answer one question! "What's the name of the Enzyme responsible for human growth and explain further on its compositions. Oh dear, oh dear…" "Name all types of eye problem and explain? How many are there?" "Name all the bones that formed the chest ribs? Holy…"
And while everyone is stressing over their test, Hikari tended to another patient. One of the product of an Advanced quack doctor, Fuji. She had taken a sample of his blood and now analyzing it under her microscope. She sighed. "Well… whatever muck that Gates had been ladling into you… he clearly didn't want them undone."
"Umm… what was that supposed to mean?" Fuji murmured.
"What I mean is… he's been messing with you for a long period of time… it's not going to be an easy fix." Hikari sighed. The stuff some mad doctor can come up with…
Fuji blinked in surprise. "Can you really fix me?"
"Not with what I have." Hikari dejectedly answered. "I'm really short on ingredients right now… in fact I doubt even if I can restock… the sort of thing needed to counter your condition… it's not something you can make with over the counter substances."
But contrary to Hikari's downed mood, Fuji smiled gently. "Compare that to some of the glowing empty promises I've been given… that sounds more realistic to me, ma'am."
"Fuji, I can't even promise you if I can heal you."
"I'm already at peace with how I am right now." Fuji nodded. "So… if you say you need to take your time to make me better than I currently am… well, I'll be happy to wait."
Hikari blinked and smiled. "Oh… well… For now… I think we can make use of your size. Have you seen Sai?"
Indeed, with his size, Fuji is like a mobile gigantic living crow nest of the Archangel. He could see anything happening on the surface. "Sorry ma'am. Didn't see him anywhere. I think he's been staying in his room all day."
Right, Hikari's only wrinkle that day, is that her assistant was missing from today's class. 'He already drank his immunosuppressant… he should be okay by now… so… what could happen? Could it be that his body is also had something rejecting the substances inside the drug?'
The truth is far from it. Sai locked himself in his quarters as he tried his very best to figure out Lacus' homework, and he may be close to a breakthrough. Then again, this is his last flower. Concentrating his chakra into his scalpel… or at least… he think he did, and then gently… ge~eently does the tri-
"SAI!" Tolle banged the door of his cubicle, scaring the devil out of him and…
"YEOUCH!" …and Sai accidentally beheaded his last flower in a brutal and obviously wrong manner. He also cut his finger to boot.
Thus the reason why when the door was opened, Tolle was welcomed with the sight of the less than pleased Sai, holding his bleeding finger. "What!?" he barked angrily.
Seeing the bleeding finger, Tolle realized he just did something pretty bad. "Oops… ah… I'm interrupting something important didn't I? Hmmm… sorry?"
Sai groaned. "What is it? Spill."
"Well… it's just… haven't seen you around for a whole day. Not even in Lacus' class, so I thought something was up… and… I came checking up on you."
"Oh…" Sai anger diminish somewhat. "Well… that's just fine. I'm fine thank you."
Yeah, Sai was fine… until he came checking in. Tolle scratched his head in awkwardness. Then he peeked over Sai's shoulder and saw what he's been doing. "So… how's the flower arrangement assignment has been going?"
"Well, look at my finger; I think you've seen see how disastrous it is." Sai showed Tolle his bleeding finger. The Brunette boy winced.
"Well… that's bad. Sorry to disturb you."
"Nah. I might butcher that flower one way or another anyway." Sai then noticed some things… like the sun is already way up. "Oh dear Lord… what time is it now!?"
"Like… 9 o'clock. How long have you been doing this?"
"Since yesterday night… I think… 9 o'clock you say!? Oh man, oh man… I missed my class!" Sai desperately began cleaning things up, but at that point he realized it's futile.
Tolle shook his head at Sai's lively attitude. "Let's skip. You're as late as you can be anyhow."
"Skip? But I… Ooohh…" The bespectacled boy moaned in dilemma.
"Come on." Tolle patted Sai's back. "It's been a while since we hang out and skip like a good honest troublemakers. I wanna talk with you too."
Somehow, Tolle managed to convince Sai, and the two take their time strolling across the ship. It was… awkward, and yet strangely familiar. Awkward because now, they get saluted by soldiers every now and then, seeing everyone had acknowledged them to be warriors of some skills and repute. Familiar in that they've strolled together as friends many times before, skipping classes, making trouble as they go. If there's only one wrinkle, is that because currently, their usual group is one man short.
"Damn. I miss Kuzzey." Tolle mourned. He got over his death for some time now… but it's not easy to erase the sadness.
"That makes all of us." Sai conceded. "Come to think… he's the reason we finally get into all this right?"
"You ever regret it?" Tolle asked. "Becoming Shadowguards, fighting and all…"
"Me? I don't know." Sai shrugged. "There are things I've done that I'm regretful, and there are things I'm grateful. Like right now… I'm grateful to be here. Here at this place. I get to learn from such an amazing doctor… I've seen a lot of things… so many things I wouldn't see if I never do what I've done…" Sai's expression gradually turned from gloomy to a smile, free of burden. He looked at the sky. "I was like a… turtle in my shell… and now I get to see the whole wide world. And I'm grateful for that." Sai turned to Tolle now. "What about you?"
"At first… I'll be honest with you, I was okay…" Tolle looked at Sai's intent but light gaze. "Uh… well… but right now I'm not so sure anymore." Damn. They're supposed to have fun and he had to brought up the topic of Shadowguards. That's like the 'opposite' of fun. Well… since it all had come down to this… "Say… Sai… what do you think of Kira?"
"Kira? What's wrong with him?"
"What's wrong with him? Sai… don't you think he's changed ever since he put on that mask? He became more… distant. It's like the Kira we know was… disappearing."
Sai however, had a different theory. "…I don't know. I mean… we've known him for 3 years… 3 years out 17 year lifetime. 14 years is a lot of things that could happen to someone." Sai remembered he once heard Kira's nightmares made him moan out of control. He was screaming in horror, asking for help against something unfathomable. That's not a normal bad dream.
Tolle frowned. "You're saying that the Kira we knew all this time was the mask? That… this whole ordeal… simply bringing out his true old self?"
"I'm not saying anything. We simply know too little about Kira to make any rash assumption."
"Well, that's what bothers me." Tolle moaned. "Why didn't he tell us? Why won't he let us in? We're his friends aren't we?"
"Some things are not meant to be talked about in public, Tolle. I mean… would you dare to tell Milly that during the initial periods of you two dating you once tried to date with 3 "GYAA" other "AARGHH!" girls? "GYAGYGAYG" previously "GYAGYGAYGYAGYA" as a backup GYAGYAGYGAYA or something? YAAARGHGYAGYAGYAGYAGYAAAAAAARGHH! KEEP QUIEEETTT!" Tolle screamed in panic. Panting and gasping for breath, he looked at Sai asking if he had a deathwish.
"See what I mean?" Sai made his point. "You don't want such childish secret to come out. And we're talking about secret so powerful, so horrific, it haunt him in his dreams for live. I mean… you wouldn't want the secret of the sort of cheating "GYAGYAGYGYAGYA!" you've GYAGYAGYGAYGYAA!" Fed up, Tolle closed Sai's mouth with his own hands.
"I get it, I get it, I get it! Okay. So please… shut up my man! Milly is only 600 meters away from hereee!"
"So? She can see but can she hear what I'm saying?"
"The stuff that Lockon-sensei is teaching her…" Tolle gulped. Seriously, what is it with these snipers? Their eyes are incredible. Last time he checked, her girlfriend can even casually spot the number of toes on a gull perched on the bridge tower when she was stationed 300 meters away. Is there some kind of eye training or something? "Next thing you know, she can lip-read!"
And then Sai was reminded that Milly is learning under the greatest Sniper in the division. Who knows what else Lockon would teach her? "Well… Milly has been a diligent student… unlike us…"
"KREAAAARGHHH! Mwu's not training me, he's murdering me! And with you learning from the good armored doctor, Kira suspended from training, all the other captains are FOCUSING on me!"
"Isn't that a good thing?"
"They don't know restraints man! Restraints!" Tolle's sparkling eyes were flooded in tears as he fell on his knees, begging for some sympathy and mercy. "I need some breaks man! I slept only 3 hours a day these days…"
And even Sai could not help to feel some form of pity. "So… what do you want to do?"
"REFRESHMENT! I've been holding it back for some time, but now: I. JUST. CAN'T. STAND IT ANYMOOORE! HEAR ME ROAR! GAOOOOOONNN!" Fire exploded at the background of Tolle's spirited figure.
"Eh?"
"I HEREBY DECLARE TODAY WILL BE THE DAY OF HAVING FUN! FUCK THE TRAINING! FUCK THE WAR! FUCK ALLOFIT! Just for today that is…"
"And what do you want to do to have fun?" Sai pointed out. "We're in a military ship. There aren't many things that can be used to have the kind of fun we used to do…"
And Tolle went from hyper happy mode to super grumpy mode in less than a second. "Yeah, I know, I know… we're in a military ship, and all the discipline and all that grumble… grumble…"
And suddenly Sai felt really bad. "Oh come on… Fine. I'll keep you company. But just this once okay?"
And before Sai can say anything, Tolle jolted up and grabbed his friend's arm and drag him, preparing to do God knows what…
But contrary to Tolle's enthusiasm, Sai gulped as he sweat buckets. 'I'm sensing a disaster at the end. I truly am.'
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First victim: Mwu
Mwu La Flagga never truly recovered from the irreparable damage that was caused to his psyche after the destruction of his entire collection of precious red-zone literature. When he found out about what happened, it's not like he can blame the culprit (as if a girl will apologize for destroying a man's porn). And even when he had Kira, to the boy's chagrin, replace the damages for his failure to safeguard the collection in installments for the next 10 years, it was no help.
With nothing to vent his stress on, Mwu was left in a perpetually foul and desperate mood.
That's why… when he found a porn book straying around on the floor out of wazoo, he lost all composure of a commanding officer, reverting back to his well known status as a full blown pervert. "WHUAAAHHHAHAHAHA! Wow! Did somebody drop this or something?" He looked around, thinking if there's some random guy looking for misplaced porn book. To his great pleasure and surprise… he found another book. "WHOOHOOOO!" Mwu charged full force and uselessly used his shunshin. And then he looked around… and another one.
The trail of bread crumb was left by none other than Tolle. Sai, carrying a pile of porn books in confusion wondered. "Last I recalled, all of Mwu-san's porn book collection was blown up by Hikari, and all other books were burned to the death by Murdoch during the seven days of flame. Where did you get all this stuff?"
"I managed to rescue some before Murdoch burned them all." Tolle grinned.
The trail continued throughout the ship until it reached a certain destination. Sai panicked when he saw where Tolle poured the entire stock as the final mother lode into the final destination. "Oi! Tolle! Isn't that a bit…"
Tolle merely grinned.
The two disappeared just as Mwu arrived at the very end of the trail. As he continued, the trail ended on a room. And there… his eyes bulged. The mother lode of all red hot zone books and literature is right there for the taking! "WHOOOOHOOOOOO!" And Mwu jumped straight into the mother lode…
…drowning in a pile of woman undies.
"What is that noise?" A girl walked out of the Angel's bath only to see a partially crazed Mwu… with half a dozen bras hanging on his head.
"KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGGHH!" "ECCHI! PERVERT! HENTAI! HEEEEAAALPP!" One call bring down ten more, ten calls bring the whole house down to business.
"Uhh! Ladies! Calm down! Calm down! I-WAAAAAAAARGGHH!" And a Captain caught pants down was no match when angry scratches and other showering utensils rain down upon him.
First victim - success.
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Meanwhile…
"Alright. That's enough for today's training." Kage clapped his hands. His men were relieved beyond belief. The other Juppongatana who trained with them is pretty much the only ones who can remain standing. "And now, we're off to studying." And everyone stopped relieving and back to terrified. Next to Kage, there are dozens of books piled together.
"Studying? Studying what sir?"
"THIS." Kage lifted a copy of book: Sun Tzu Art Of War.
"Where did you get that?" Murrue gawked.
Kage pointed at Natarle, who nodded. "Yes. I see now why you asked to borrow my old copy of Zun Tzu Art of War… but… Captain Kage… I remember my book… and… there are several torn of pages, thereby making several chapters completely unreadable."
"Well, lucky for all of us, I've fully memorized a copy of that exact same book years ago when I was forced to read the damn thing sentence per sentence 10 times a day." Kira scored badly in a written test about Sun Tzu art of war, and the coming detention was unforgettable. Unforgettable in so many senses. "This book I'm giving you is the complete version. Lt. Natarle, here's your book."
Kage returned the Sun Tzu art of war to a startled Natarle. It's thicker by several pages than when she gave it to the brunette boy. He had literally rewritten several parts of the missing pages. Natarle start reading her returned book and… she looked like a person who never owned the book.
Every Soldier jaw dropped. "But sir?"
"What?"
"I mean… that's a strategy book?"
"You guys can read right?"
"Aye, we can… but do we really need that?"
"Well… which would you prefer? Me calling down one surprise invasion after another to teach you guys strategy one arrow being shot at you at a time… or read its written version safely without worrying a sword to your gullet?"
A cold chill run down everyone's spine. The soldiers nodded and sit down, ready to study. "It's just… we fear it'll be too much for us, sir. None of us possess your intellect and all."
"First, if I possess something in excess, sharing it seems like a good idea for me. I learnt that one will always be overwhelmed by plenty. The greatest example of that is Hikari. Alone, she could not accomplish anything. Look what happened when she learnt how to share." Kage smiled.
The soldiers nodded in agreement.
"Two, I've made my point earlier. I wanted you guys to have your own damn mind. To have ideas and think calmly, even when I'm not around. One way is to teach you some of the things I know. Plus, while I encourage more physical training, I have no intention to turn the lot of you into muscle brained idiots. I don't want to rely on your physical strength. Put some brains into those muscles and you'll be a sharper sword."
Again they nodded.
"And three… well… open one book and you'll see."
The book was distributed to everyone and when they opened it… to their surprise, they don't see any writings. Instead, they see drawings of troop formation being played out. Movements, deployments, attack, defense, maneuvers. The format of the strategies had been greatly simplified, yet lost none of its underlying fundamentals. Some of the formations possess reference to other strategies.
"Ideally, I would prefer we practice these formations." Kage scratched his head as the soldiers turned to him with glowing eyes. "But we have neither the time nor space. Especially time. I know this is no time for long winded literature of the whys and whats to reach a certain goal. So I've made it as simple as I can. You just need to start learning how to memorize this. Learn it in your free time, learn it during break time, learn it during lunch. Live and breathe by this stuff guys."
The soldiers nodded excitedly. "So… this is where you learn all those stuff, Cap? What if we surpass you someday?"
Kage laughed heartily at that offhand comment. "When that happens, I'll gladly call YOU teacher. But… seriously, you guys still had a long way to go. Sides…" Kage smirked. "Just because I'll teach you lots, doesn't mean I can teach you everything, rookies." Kage chuckled. "Some things can't be taught, boys. These are all just foundations. Eventually, you will all bloom in your own way. Your own skills. I don't set you where you had to go. You decide that. You have brains. Use it."
The soldiers nodded as they gleaned at their books with enthusiasm.
Seeing the fervor, Kage immediately added. "However, let me tell you one thing…"
Everyone looked at Kage again.
"The core of my teachings is simple. There are only 2 principles: 1. If you're talented, you plan 2 or 3 steps ahead, and if you're really, really good at it, and you can plan several steps ahead of that first 2-3 steps ahead. And then, if you're even more talented than that-" Kage paused for a few moment, as if challenging them.
"Plan a few more steps ahead of that several steps!" Some of the eager soldiers answered.
To their surprise, Kage shook his head. "If you're even more talented than that, you let the enemy know those first 2-3 steps ahead."
Everyone jawdropped.
Kage chuckled, understanding their surprise. "Anyone like Chinese cooking? I do. They all look so delectable, so delicious. They were known as the cooking of fiery fires. Do you know why? Because if you follow the process, the actual cooking of Chinese dish really took 10% of the time with a really hot blazing fire to catch the instant of flavor when the fire cooks the ingredients. 90% of it was spent on preparations. Fighting battles is the same. In fact, battles are consequences of what you did before. They are waged, fought, and won during the preparations."
The soldiers were clearly confused.
Kage chuckled. Understanding that they don't understand what he's saying. "Well, it's okay if you don't understand it the first time. It took me a while to get that too."
One soldier raised their hand. "What about the second principle, sir?"
Kage snickered. "I'm sorry, the second principle is trade secret. I will only teach that once you understand the first principle thoroughly." A look of slight disappointment spread across the soldiers' faces. Kage nodded. "Which is another way of saying until I say yes. Cut with the long faces, boys. I don't want to add too many things into your head. There's still more to come, of that I can promise you. For now, be sure to memorize those formations. Now, class dismissed! Same time tomorrow!" Kage clapped his hands, and the soldiers slowly disperse. Murrue also intended to leave, but Natarle approached Kage.
"Captain, I truly believe teaching strategy and formation is a very good decision. However, this is all theory. Is it not possible that we arrange some practical exercise?"
"We're virtually standing atop a gigantic floating hunk of metallic wreckage. What space we had is now being concentrated on constructions, repairs… and the housing of refugees." Kage quickly added. "And we are currently MOVING! Slowly, but we are moving. Trying to train undisciplined amateurs in formations in a moving ship? Total nightmare."
Natarle frowned, trying to think a solution on this particular problem.
"I have an idea, though." Kage cut that thought short. "However, whether it'll be feasible ASAP will greatly depend on their training progress. As such, until the time comes, I suggest we drill them on wall walking and water striding, simultaneously, we will be pounding the theory of what they'll practice later into their heads."
"Wall walking? Water Striding?" Natarle blinked, grasping Kage's idea in full. "You're serious."
Kage nodded. "Very. Wall Walking. Water Striding. Drill it."
"Kage has a point." Meanwhile Murrue was looking down over the railings of the decks. "It's feasible at this height. So… Wall Walking… and Water Striding."
Natarle looked at her captain, gazing something. She turned and looked at Kage and nodded in approval. "Very well."
As the Captains and Lieutenants of the 12th division left, now it's the 7th division lieutenant Canard approached his captain. He waited until all the soldiers had left, and then he started with: "Nice speech. Nice idea with the formation book. But don't you think what you just said to those lazy fuckers… those things about the core of your strategic thinking… putting aside they may not have your brain power, isn't that a bit too loaded?"
Kage laughed. Profane language aside, Canard is actually a pretty learned person. "Maybe."
"Isn't it a bit too early?"
"I told Lt. Natarle that what I'm concerned about was space… but seriously… Time is the luxury we no longer have." Kage sighed. "A storm is coming. I need to make them ready to weather it when it comes."
Canard immediately got in one go. "The Pink Princess. You've been pokin' the fuckin' hornet's nest a lit'l too much Cap."
"Strange that I have yet to receive any form of response from Zaft after this latest poking. That Marco was a splinter group. Either Zaft really don't care about her, or this is just the calm before the storm."
"Well… we are soldiers. And we are in the middle of a fucking war. ShitStorm is coming one way or another." The long haired Canadian snorted. "But… let's just hope everything you've done won't be a God damn waste."
"Waste?"
"You've set a course to China. That's the HQ of the 10th division AKA Shit Storm central." Canard growled. "Their talent scouts will pick out those guys you've raised so painstakingly well, leaving just the poor ones."
"Can't I just say no?"
"It would be nice if it were that fucking simple." Canard groaned. "Those fuckers of the 10th division have their ways of convincing talents. And I'm not just talking about better wages and better equipments. These guys may seem to like you now… but… one session with those scouts… I won't be surprised if they wouldn't even miss you. Even if that doesn't work, a captain of the Regulars has the right to requisition forces from other divisions whenever it is needed."
At that point, Kage frowned. "How did Harlbarton handled it?"
"Like a champ. A losing one though." For a moment, Canard's scorn turned into a mournful gaze. "He couldn't stop them. At the very least, all he can do was to part with them in good terms."
"How would you handle it?" Kage chortled.
"I'll just say: Fuck Ya'll to Hell." Canard snarled and walked away, waving the book.
Kage chuckled. That answer is so like Canard. Then again… he had his own answers to that. As Kage turned around, he saw two figures approaching. "Yes, can I help you?"
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Second Victim: Murrue Ramias
Whenever she's not managing her troops or training her students (student after the latest events), Murrue would often spend her time maintaining her Iron Maiden Spear or practice with it.
But after parting with Kira's class, she had a new activity, reading this booklet. A booklet, three pages and she's already felt like she just learnt a crash course of 3 years worth of military strategies. Sun Tzu art of war can be expanded to variety kinds of applications.
And just as she's about to bury her nose even deeper into this pamphlet… door knocks.
Murrue put aside this immensely engaging book and answered the door. When she opened the door… no one. Murrue looked left and right. No one around. Murrue shook it off and she's back to reading. She barely go through the third footnote in the eighth page, the door knocks again. Murrue grunted and put down the book again and opened the door to find no one. "…?" Murrue slammed the door in slight annoyance. She thought for a moment, and then she snapped her fingers and wrote something on the table. A moment later, a plaque was hung on the door: "I'm away. Please come see me later."
Upon seeing that, two figures groaned. "Well, that spills it. Whatever she's doing, it's quite important that she doesn't want to disturbed and she doesn't want to leave the room. We could be waiting for hours."
"Oh well. There's plenty of other targets. Let's git."
"Hey, wait. Look!"
Finally undisturbed, Murrue returned to enjoying this wonderful booklet he handed them… page ten, and she had run out of reference book to compare with the strategies in that booklet. The formation was based on the Sun Tzu art of War, but she also saw influences from Roman Legion Phalanx formation to Chinese Ba Gua formation. From the piercing Sword Formation to Eight Trigram Encirclement. The boy's brain is a like an encyclopedia… no… a whole library of encyclopedias of warfare and strategy. No way in hell he learnt that from Mwu.
Murrue looked around and realized she needed more reference books. If she recall correctly, Natarle had more collection of books than her. Suddenly the door knocks again. And this time, Murrue was quite well pissed off. "If this is your idea of a joke, then let me tell you, it's in a VERY poor taste-" Murrue furiously opened the door, revealing a slightly startled Natarle. "Oh."
"Ma'am. Permission to enter the premises." Natarle stoically saluted. Though she still wondered why her captain looked angry.
"Permission granted. And at ease, Lt." Murrue sighed. "I'm sorry. Some childish people with too much time on their hands had been making fun of me… bah. Never mind. Is there anything I can help you?"
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Kage tucked his head on the railings, completely dead beat. Training his men turns to be quite tiring. He thought he did not need to exert his injured body a little too much, but perhaps teaching still drain some stamina. But that was nothing compared to preparing for what comes next.
"Rough day?"
"Well… not exactly. Still recovering. My wounds still hurt a bit."
"Well… if it were me… I could use some rest and relaxation. Probably go get some chow or something…" George smiled at him from behind. The elder Allister seem to have developed a knack on finding him. Then again, it seems these railings had become their official meeting spot.
"We'll have a chow soon. Talk to me."
"What?"
"Let's have another conversation like we did yesterday. That was fun. And relaxing for me." Kage smiled weakly.
"That was relaxing? You're sure?"
"Yeah… umm… let's see… we're going to China… and yesterday you told me that the Chinese faction was one of the strongest nations of the five states. I take it that formed the basis of the 10th division we're visiting?"
"Ahh…" George smiled. "Yes, and no. After the grand Alliance was made, the armies of all five states were dissolved, merged into one military body. The Alliance army. And while it's true that a great part of the Chinese state troops were added into the mix, they also congregate the armies from other five nations. The 10th Division decided China to be their HQ because China was the only nation aside from the United States that possess the infrastructure to support such huge number of troopers. However, it doesn't mean that the Chinese would willingly surrender their entire army."
Kage blinked in confusion. "Excuse me, I fail to understand. So… you're saying that there are two kinds of armies in China?"
"Again, yes and no. What I can say is, Chinese Government decidedly separates the Alliance military and their own government as two separate entities. Alliance can kept their own army and they will receive the Chinese Government full support… but…" George chuckled. "These Chinese were really wily. They also kept some army of their own… in form of schools."'
"Ah?" And now Kage truly lost. "Schools? What kind of school?"
"The Fire Emperor declared a state law that everyone, every single person who lived in Chinese soil must learn Martial arts as compulsory curriculum in their schools. Kinda like the replacement for the physical education that one would have in other schools. You understand what I'm saying?" George winked at Kage, whose eyes gleamed in epiphany.
"Oh yes… That's wily. That's VERY wily." Like that, other nations can no longer blame China for stockpiling armies. By forcing their 1 billion plus population to study martial arts, they've turned the entire civilian into a veritable army of martial artists. Amateurs and experts, 1 billion trained fighters are nothing to sneeze at. "That's what you meant by an army of some form. And the 10 division can easily draw in recruits from such a huge stock of trained warriors."
"Yes. Now by your own words, you've eloquently put it that there are two kinds of armies: the Alliance Regulars, and the Chinese State 'Militia'. Which one would you like to know first?"
He's going to China, and he's an Alliance Captain. He will be dealing with various Alliance parties. "Tell me more about the Regulars."
George readily nodded. "Right. The Regulars, as the name implies, and as I have explained earlier, are paid professional soldiers. They were given standardized equipment, standardized military training, and ready to answer at any call to arms with discipline. Currently, there are roughly 1.5 million Troopers stretched all across the world. 350,000 are currently stationed at China. Their base of operation."
"Now, Regulars are basically divided into squadrons. Each squadron is lead by a Sergeant, that is, grizzled veteran Troopers who had proven themselves worthy on several battlefields. Now, here's something interesting about these squadrons." George raised a finger. "As troopers everyone uniformly fought as one. There's almost no distinction of combat style between one trooper to the other. I mean… what's the difference? You just aim and fire at your targets. But… just the case, there are some troopers with lousy discipline, but excellent service record. Or, some troopers who had been banged quite well enough in various battlefield that they began to develop fighting styles unique to themselves. This range from using rifles at extreme close range as clubbing weapons, or someone who enjoy explosive a little too much, or some enjoy extreme range of his sniper rifle. Whatever the case, this people had found and matured their talent enough for command, that is the Captain and Lieutenant, to promote them to the rank of Sergeant. And Sergeants are given free reign to form their squadron: a specific group of troopers who possess specific sets of skills that a sergeant values, this in turn, created a series of very specialized Squadrons. Calamity Squadron is experts in demolition and long range siege. Raider squadron is experts in close combat shock troopers."
"Interesting. But… one point. Based from what you're saying, everyone was given… guns. Rifles. Firearms. I'm no expert in firearms… but… won't that kinda limit the diversity a bit? As you say… you just point and shoot." Upon hearing that, several of George's bodyguards chuckled. "What?"
"Hmm… Kage… am I correct in thinking that you've never fired a gun before?" George rubbed his chin.
"Yes."
"Ha. Thought so. Trooper? Hand Captain Kage your Dagger." George glanced at one of the Trooper and gave Kage his Dagger assault rifle.
Kage took it and looked at its design. The whole set is roughly 80 cm long. It has a wooden frame, reinforced with some bolted metallic straps. It has five barrels, a fuse at the breech, some rotary mechanism; both of the latter are trigger controlled. When the trigger is pressed, the fuse dropped and lit the gunpowder on the breech of the barrel, unleashing the bullet, and then the gears will turn the barrels, and new one will rotate into position, ready to fire. The Barrels rotate on an axis. Extending from the axis fore at the center of the rotating barrels is a long dagger. There's also a long handle, as long as the whole rifle, hanging above the barrels, stretching from the armguard to the foremost barrel.
"Go ahead. Try to squeeze off a few." George offered. Meanwhile, just in case, George and his retinues put a few steps away in a safe distance, giving the amateur rifleman some space.
Kage awkwardly pointed the gun to the sea, and pressed the trigger. The deafening roar was shocking, the fiery fire of the barrel was somewhat blinding, the resultant smoke, and then the burn smell assaulted his sense. But of greater shock to Kage… was the recoil. The sudden jerk nearly knocked him over as the gun barrel uncontrollably swung upward. "Whoa!"
Kage blinked. What was that involuntary movements? "This thing… it use explosion to propel projectiles?"
"Exactly. Do you understand now that Troopers aren't just about point and shoot, captain?" The trooper smirked.
To answer that, Kage suddenly grabbed the upper receiver of the Rifle and flipped it back. The long handle extended the rear stock… extending it into a pole arm. With the dagger extending at the front, the rifle suddenly turned into a spear. Kage began playing with the Dagger Spear expertly, spinning it around his body and then unleash a circular slash, spinning it again and unleashed a stab. Slowly he moved away from the watching George and the bewildered Troopers. And then in the middle of testing this rifle spear, Kage suddenly noticed that even when the shape transformed, does the function as a gun changes as well? Kage noticed the trigger is still in his hand… in a very firm state, as if it was inviting him to press the trigger while in swing. Curiosity overcomes Kage, and then, timing his moments perfectly, Kage pressed the trigger while he was still in the process of slashing the spear. What happened next surprised him yet again. This time, the recoil of the fired shot propelled the spear's blade concurrently with the direction of the swing, accelerating its swing to, in Kage's opinion, near uncontrollable speed. What's more the blade swing also became even stronger, and even Kage was carried off by the violent recoil and was forced to spin his spear several times in a very powerful and blurring slicing arcs. He barely managed to stop the spinning spear at the third spin. At that time, the damage was done.
"Kage? Are you alright?" George timidly asked as soon as the slice and dice whirlwind was done.
"I owe your men and every trooper of the 10th division an apology. You're right. It's not just point and shoot." To demonstrate this, Kage pointed the spear at the only victim of his accidental bladestorm: a steel beam. Kage gently tapped it, and the uppermost portion of the steel beam fell. The beam was clean cut, and the stump surfaces of both of severed steel beams were smoking orange hot. "More like… Point, Shoot, Strike." George's eyes widened upon hearing the final three terms Kage mentioned.
The elite troopers' jawdropped. It looks like they've never even seen nor heard that their rifle can be used that way.
Kage jumped back to where he was, folded the spear back into a rifle and handed the still smoking firearms to the flabbergasting trooper. "It's a good weapon soldier. Treat it carefully, and it will save your life."
"S-s-s-sir… y-y-y-yes sir." The Trooper stuttered. He looked at the oversized dagger bayonet of his rifle and to that cooled off steel beam stump. Suddenly, he gained a new dose of fear of his own weapon.
George looked at Kage and the rifle. His eyes looked like someone who just gained an eye opening epiphany. "Point… shoot… strike… I see… I SEE! Yes! So that's what he meant! The three things needed on an Arsenal gear!"
"Excuse me?" Kage blinked.
"I… Oh I'm sorry… It's… what you just said: Point, Shoot, Strike… it's the exact same word that man used to describe the usage of Arsenal gear."
Kage blinked in utter confusion. "Okay… slow down… who's 'he'? And… what's Arsenal gear? I remember you mentioned that yesterday. But… what are they?"
George paused for a moment. "How do I put this… the man I speak of is Rena Imelia's First Lieutenant. He explained it to me several times, but I never really get it. Something about the essence of a Gear is recoil, accuracy, and the combination of long and close range combat techniques." George looked at Kage again. "The words he used is the exact same as yours: Point, Shoot, Strike. After seeing your demonstration… I finally understand."
"And… what's an Arsenal Gear?"
"Arsenal Gear is a type of highly advanced firearms. If you're gonna ask what's the natural's equivalent to a Regalia… those gears would be the answer. Developed extensively during the Golden Age of Empire during the time of the two emperors. They are very powerful, very dangerous… but at the same time, very advanced and very, VERY hard to use."
"Hard to use?"
"The concept is to combine the flexibility of a close combat weapon with the range and destructiveness of a gun. But… as you have experienced yourself, it's easy to say it in theory… but in practice, it's quite difficult to perform."
"No kidding. Imagine the stray shots!" Timing when he had to fire the gun midswing was hard enough; he also had to worry where the bullet will fly in the middle of a fight just for some extra power boost. If he use it during a crowded fight, he's liable to get someone shot by mistake. "I get about the concept… so those Dagger Rifles are arsenal gears?"
"What? That? Oh dear no. The Dagger rifle really is just a bootleg copy. Its power and complicity pales before the original one. I hear tell that during the Holocaust, the Alliance used to produce them in mass quantities. But… after the Holocaust, we've lost much of the technical knowhow on what makes them tick. And we've lost capability on how to make more. Nowadays, there's only a few of them. And they're well guarded."
"Am I correct in thinking that the 10th division would have access to them?"
"Exclusive access in fact." George pointed up. "They have the Arsenal Five to show it."
"Arsenal Gear… Arsenal Five…" Kage quickly caught on. "So… kinda like… a special force like Juppongatana, I assume?"
"Well… if I'm to make a comparison, I think Harlbarton intended the Juppongatana to be his equivalent to sergeants. Arsenal Five is more akin to… ah yes. They're the equivalent to your Shadowguards, I suppose. Rena Imelia's inner circle of special Lieutenants. Yes Kage, unlike other divisions, the 10th division has more than 1 lieutenant. The Lieutenants, bar the First Lieutenant, are all members of the Arsenal Five." George further added. "They were once Sergeants with squadrons of their own. They've shown a particular aptitude in wielding some of the most dangerous personal weapon ever designed by Mankind, and thus they were entrusted with those weapons."
"Interesting. Can you tell me more about them?"
"Certainly. Well… for starters, there are always two. The Arsenal Technician, and the Tuner. The Technicians are the actual wielders of the Arsenal Gear. They possess the strength, the discipline and the focus needed to manipulate those weapons as if they were extensions of one selves. But as you might imagine, using guns in combat will result in the weapons developing wear and tear. That's where the Tuner comes in. They're the mechanic whose duty is to maintain and service those weapons."
"But I thought you said the Alliance no longer know how to make one."
"We can't make another one… but we do know how to keep one intact or at least in working order. Then again… very few people can do it. Some of these weapons are so… complicated. It's funny: hundreds of years ago, we invented them and now we have no idea how we make those things. Some of them are like Hieronymus machine. We put in a bunch of stuff and we just hoped it'll work, and it worked. All we can do now is replacing the parts that seem damaged or corroded… In fact… one day, we may no longer be able to use them at all, no matter how much maintenance or care we give to them."
"That's bleak." Kage frowned.
"Quite." George nodded. "Well, for now though, we've been using them to their fullest extent. And let me tell you… they are incredibly devastating in combat. You can compare the wielder to some living breathing weapon platform system, a tactical bullet you point and shoot at your target to take them out, and you won't be far off. A Technician who completely mastered the Arsenal Gear is a one man army."
"Nothing new there. No mean of disrespect, but my Juppongatana and even me had been likened to that several times."
George laughed. "Just… one thing."
"What?"
"I called them one man armies… but I guess that was a bit inappropriate… see… they're not even men."
Kage looked at George with widened shocked eyes. "You're saying…"
"Yes. They're all WOMAN." George chuckled. Some of the troopers around also winced.
Kage didn't say anything but his silence asked George to continue.
"Maybe… it's some kind of a personal touch… but Captain Imelia despises weakness in her army. She despise it even more when the Gender Stereotypical at work and synonymies woman with weakness. Such comment would usually result in a bullet to the head or worse. That being said, whenever there's woman soldier on board, she'll drive them to excel even harder. Captain Imelia has 10 elite squadrons that she personally trained, and they're all woman. That being said… some of the best troops in the ranks of the 10th division are woman. Hence, not so surprisingly, the Arsenal Five are all females." George then inquired, just in case. "You… have nothing against woman… do you?"
"I have no problem with woman who are smarter than me, and I really have no problem with woman who are stronger than me. Woman is to be respected, even woman who can kick my ass." Kage thought a bit. "Except maybe one particular woman who deserves to get her ass kicked." Everyone sweat dropped.
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"AACHOOO!" Lacus was caught off guard when she suddenly sneezed, accidentally shattering some windows.
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"So… who are they? These incredible girls?"
"Right… let's start with the easiest to get along… I think I'll start with a newbie first. She's a bit timid and greenhorn. But make no mistake. Girl got enough lead to wipe out armies."
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In a snowy plain of Tebet, at the base of the Himalayan…
300 Knights, or, what's left of the initial 3000 knights, ducked down behind the trenches for all their lives is worth. The area around them is a literal hell zone, with explosion after explosion rain down upon them, and no sign of stopping. And while some bullets landed to explode with incredible force upon impact, others penetrate 6 knights all at once, and some other bullets break apart only to unleash small pellets that rip a squad of knights apart.
The Girl kept the trigger of her massive weapon pressed. The words on the said firearms continuously blurred due to non stop shaking as the red hot barrel rumbled again and again, discharging shell after shell.
"This is crazy! We've been bombarded all morning like crazy and they're not stopping at all! AARGH!" several bullets finally got through the rucksack defenses and obliterated the knights behind it to a bloody unrecognizable pulp. "We need backup! We need a HELL lot of backup!"
Bullet casings, each so heavy that they sank on the ground upon landing, kept falling next to the girl's heavy boots. Each of those casing also has the number of its caliber: 30 mm.
"Hey look!" The beleaguered Knight pointed behind them. There's a sizeable group of Knights with heavy armor, the Forge Corps Legionnaires coming for their aid, braving the storm of explosions. Their thick shields and armor seemingly prevented the bullets from taking a heavy toll on their ranks.
The girl noticed this and stopped firing for one moment.
"Here! HERE! Hurry up! HELP US!" The Knight yelled. The reinforcement clearly heard the call, compounded with the fact that the rain of fire suddenly stopped.
The girl gritted her teeth and then swings her weapons backward, pointing the red hot long barrel behind. The muzzles of the said guns were designed to look like a ram's head. "Walter-san! We need something for heavy armor."
"Attaching Vladimir Impaler."
The Forge Corps hastened their pace, not knowing what's coming for them.
"NUOOOH!" The work was done; the girl pointed her weapon back forward. In the time it took for her to aim her next shot, the details of the weapon became clear. Basically it's a massive rifle: 3 times bigger than a normal rifle, and also 3 times longer and thicker. Its huge 30 mm reinforced barrel looked like a battering ram with a ram's head at the end of its muzzles. The main body was boxy, made and plated in large bolted plates of steel. It has some pipes, gears and wheels, complete with a pair of small chimneys that constantly piped out smoke and fire, a sign that there some kind of machinery within. It has a rather gothic design, as its exhaust vent for discharging spent casing looked like a demon's open mouth. Three long belts of bullets were attached to the underside of the giant gun to a three magazine drums attached to the girls' rear waist. The handle and the trigger is covered by a shield at front with checkered design, forming an X, the roman numeral of 10, signifying her status as a member of the 10th division. The handle is straight up, placed in a circular metallic frame. A massive conical pod was attached to the breeches of the said gun, bearing the word: Vladimir Impaler.
The one wielding the said Arsenal Gear was but a young woman with short neck length blonde hair of English descent with blue eyes. She's roughly 20 years old, with a noticeable bosom on her yellow suit. A pair of normal sized rifles was attached on her short but heavily padded yellow skirt, as if they were her side-arms. She wore a pair of boots as heavily padded as her hand gloves, with long black stockings that covered all the way up to her exposed thigh. The girl was pretty short…
…which brings an interesting fact that the whole gun was even bigger than her, and it's also longer by nearly twice as much.
Even without measuring its weight, it was obvious, the whole thing weigh a ton… which makes the fact that the said girl is currently dual wielding a pair of such monstrous guns quite unbelievable.
The names of the Twin Arsenal Gears were imprinted on the bolted steel bodies of the said guns: 'Feyd Rautha' on her left hand and 'Glossu' on her right, both with an epithet of 30mm-variable warhead Harkonnen Devastator Impaler Cannon.
"DORYAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" The Girl yelled and fired her gun. This time, the pair of Vladimir Impaler at the muzzles of the guns was fired with four rockets at the projectiles' rears propelling the spiraling giant bullets forward. The recoil forced the Battering ram barrels slide back, sinking deep into the rifle's body. The rocketing projectiles flew past the besieged Knights overhead and went straight at the approaching Forge Corps. In a timed mechanism, the Pod exploded from within, opening up the copper conical plating in a spiral, releasing uncountable spikes, each was as long as a man's arm, and the uncountable impaler spread over a wide area. Still carrying the momentum from the pod, the needles easily punctured the armor of the Forge Corps, making a beehive out of them all.
The 300 Knights could only watch as their reinforcements were wiped out in a single shot right in front of them. Following that, the rain of explosion and giant bullets continues. And that point… they all fell into despair.
Dropping their feeble swords and shields, the Knights stood up and raised their hands, as a sign that they've given up. The rain explosion still continues for some time… "Oi… you think they can see us?"
"Well… I don't know… if they can accurately shot down an entire squad of Legionnaires from 3 Kms away, I think we would be as clear as day to them. I mean… I think we're only 2.5 kms away from the shooter…"
Well… 3.5 kms away from where the knights had raised their hand in surrender, a French trooper with a cowboy hat and an eyepatch looked at what happened through a scope. "Oi, Mignonette Seras! I think they've surrendered! You can stop firing!"
"Bernadotte-san…" Seras Victoria (6th Lieutenant, Nickname: The Police Girl, Squadron: Wild Geese, Specialty: Heavy Bombardment Weapons and demolition) finally stopped firing and shouldered her Harkonnens. Twisting the handle from vertical handle to horizontal state, the Harkonnen Battering-ram barrel slides into the rifle body, becoming more compact. The long rifles shortened into about nearly as tall as the girl, and now it looked more like an oversized gauntlet with a mechanized battering ram attached. "Will you stop calling me Mignonette!? I outrank you, you know!?"
"Then again Lady Seras, Bernadotte-san outscores you in the accuracy test." A wrinkled elderly man with tied hair and a monocle, dressed up like butler commented. He was lean, tall, and despite his wizened visage, exudes a calm aura that demands respect. "I think you should take a leaf out of his book a bit." Walter C. Donnel, Seras' Arsenal Tuner, chuckled. "Besides, our orders were to capture those Knights alive for questioning. Raining them with bullets like that might bar their escape, but it's also hazardous."
Walter's gentle scolding nevertheless caused Seras to humbly tuck her head down. "Sorry."
"Yeah, you should be sorry!" The One Eyed sergeant smirked. "I mean… the bill for your bullets were through the roof ya' know?"
"I just shot a squad of Forge Corps Legionnaire from 4 Kms away!" Seras growled and rattled at Bernadotte, who turned and looked back to check the status of their future prisoners. "And you wankers couldn't even land a shot!" Seras gloated again.
Bernadotte blinked his eye at the targets… "Ehh… Take a closer look, you retard." He handed his scope to Seras. She used it and looked at the situation…
The Knights had given up, that's true.
Problem is, the remainder of the Bernadotte's men, the Wild Geese units couldn't get close to them either. All the fire that Seras' shots had caused protected the Knights like a barrier, preventing the natural Troopers from closing in. The Knights realized it… and took their chance to bolt away and escape capture.
Seras blinked and looked at Bernadotte.
The French Cowboy merely groaned flatly: "Analysis incoming:
PRIORITY TARGETS: ESCAPED.
MISSION: FAILED.
Captain Rena Imelia's angry shouts: incoming upon report."
"KAAAAAAAAARGGHHHH!" Seras screeched.
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Back to Archangel…
A little while earlier…
"Yes. Actually, Captain, I came here to talk to you about this booklet." Natarle showed the booklet that Kage handed them.
Murrue's smile breaks. "Perfect timing! I was just about to talk to you about it too. They're wonderful aren't they? That kid is amazing."
Natarle still looked a bit apprehensive.
"You disagree?"
"Not at all Ma'am. I agree with you completely. However… there's just… one thing…" Natarle appears to be trying hard to choose her words. Murrue smiled kindly, encouraging her. "Speak freely, Officer." Natarle refrained from doing so, maintaining formal approach. "Did you recall 12 years ago? For 3 consecutive years, the Alliance began suffering a series of inconceivable defeats. Inconceivable, because, time and again, a numerically larger forces were defeated by vastly inferior number of Knights. And I'm not talking the usual 10 of us for 1 of them; I'm talking the impossible odd of 400 to 1."
"Aye. I remember that one. The drive was nearly unstoppable. Zaft began moving using an ingenious combat formations and strategies that was completely unprecedented throughout the war. I remember the push reached all the way to the Beijing Fortress, and we were just one step away from the Alliance being broken beyond recovery." Murrue quickly added. "And then the push just… stopped. Somehow, Zaft knights lost their momentum. They lose the edge, unable to utilize the massive momentum they built up. And we finally managed to start scoring wins, and push them back."
"Yes. I know. My father's bones are still buried somewhere in the base of the Peking walls, along with hundreds of others who fell that day. Which is why, after that, I've been studying the troop movements, all the skirmishes and battles that occurred during those three year periods. I've catalogued them all in my office." Natarle nodded. "And here's some point of interest. The many strategies that occurred during those 3 year period… they bear distinct resemblance in patterns and tactics with ones that… that Kage had used so far."
Murrue blinked. "Are you sure about that?"
"Positive. I've been studying some of the strategies laid out in this book, and they… they perfectly matched and countered some of the strategies used during those 3 year period."
Murrue heard the word match… but at the word Counter, her eyes widened. "Excuse me? I heard you right? COUNTERED!?"
"I've tried to arrange some scenarios. Using certain advanced strategies laid out in this book against a certain situation during that 3 year period. It was a perfect counter." Natarle explained. "If only Kage was already around 12 years ago, things would've been very different."
"Could Kira simply… you know… borrow the record from you or something?"
"Highly unlikely, I never told him I had the records with me. I just brought out the catalogue this morning. Captain Kage borrowed my Sun Tzu Art of war two days ago."
"Can I see them?"
And the two quickly made their trip to Natarle's room. There's a small library there filled with folders and archives of books and data. Charts and maps. For a moment, Murrue marveled at her lieutenants' collection. "Wow. Impressive collection, Natarle."
Natarle didn't react to the compliment, but she concentrated on finding her catalogue. Strange. She didn't found her book where she left it. But she found it anyway. "Here you go, Ma'am."
Murrue gratefully accepted it and opened the catalogue… "…Natarle… are you sure you gave me the right book?"
"Hai?" Natarle blinked in confusion. Murrue gave out a weird nervous smile when she handed the book back to her. Natarle took the book and looked at the content. "What the-! %5^*&&*^%&#^!~?" She's not looking at her own book anymore. The cover was the same… but the contents is filled with FxxK, SxX, xxx, more xxx, and nothing but good old, Honest to God xxx.
"True Story Novel Roman Porn… WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS!?" Natarle was red all the way up to her ears. She took the porn book in disguise and tore it apart to pieces. "Captain Ramias! I swear on my ancestors! The book-"
"…Was switched. I get it. That book is definitely not yours." Murrue quickly concluded. The world would have to suffer an apocalypse first before Natarle Badgiruel, her professional, strictly by the book and disciplined First Lieutenant can be found dead with a porn book in her possession. "I think you just got pranked by someone. Maybe Mwu?" Murrue chuckled. "I think you better check the other places. I doubt one book is the only thing he touched."
In panic, Natarle ransacked her entire room. End result: a pile of porn books as tall as her waist, all gathered on the table. Some books had been completely replaced. It must've been done when she left her room to meet up with Murrue. And to think, she was only gone for 15 minutes. Thankfully, as for the case where the book's contents were replaced, the original contents were unharmed, gathered together at a different corner of the room.
And while her own captain vouched her image and dignity, Natarle looked like she was ready to blow up. "Captain Murrue, this is completely unacceptable! Those records are valuable!"
"Definitely. Come, we'll go see Mwu right this instant."
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Much later, Tolle and Sai had done what they need to do. And now…
They're completely at loss on what they should do next. "ooh… Sai… We're having fun or what?"
"Well… if you put it that way…" Sai had to admit, it does his soul some good by reverting back to their old mischievous up to no good really bad egg ways every now and then. "Then yeah. I guess I'm having quite a bit of a fun."
"Wanna hit another one?"
"Who? Judging by what I'm hearing, you've got your payback on Mwu-san and Natarle-san. Which reminds me, they're going to kick your ass twice as hard in retaliation."
"Worth it." Tolle snickered. "…wanna try to get on Hikari?"
"HIKARI!? Tolle Koenig, you perish that thought right the HELL now! That stunt you pulled with Mwu-san and Natarle-san's study is already one thing, and you're going to target the Princess too!? You hurt one strand of her pink hair and Kira will reduce you to a shitstain!"
Tolle had a second thought and agreed. "Right. Bad idea. I shouldn't even think about it."
"The only person who has the right to prank her is Kira, and Kira alone. Let's both agree on that shall we?"
Tolle nodded in full agreement. But then he stretched his body backwards. "Uwahhh… I'm bored… so bored…"
Just then, Sai noticed a soldier peeked at them through the corner. Sai recognized him. He was one of the army cooks. "Yes?"
The Army cook timidly approached the two and asked. "Anoo… Sai-san, Tolle-san you two are friends with Kage and his Brother Kira right?"
"Indeed we are." Sai answered firmly while Tolle merely nodded in silence, head still up in super bored mode.
"Right… well truth is… can you please ask Kira-kun to cook again from time to time? It's been a while since we last saw him in the kitchen, and the troops and soldiers had begun complaining."
Sai blinked while Tolle raised his head. So that's how it is. Kira had spent so much time as Kage, he'd forgotten about his duty as Kira the chef. Sai nodded. "I'll be sure to pass it on."
"Wait…" Sai and the cook turned and saw Tolle. For a second there, life returned back to Tolle. "I'll cook."
"Eh?" The two echoed. Sai gaped. "Tolle, you can… cook?"
"Yeah. Of course I can. I've been watching Kira worked several times. I think I know what to do."
The cook smiled. "Then, I'll be grateful if you can take charge of today's lunch!"
"Show me the kitchen." Tolle smiled.
In short order, the kitchen…
Tolle and Sai was shown the condition of the kitchen. They were quite surprised of how little the spices that are available at this moment (discounting the fact a good portion of them were used during the prankcraft war).
"Head Chef Yamato had always used very little spices in his cooking. Just a bit of salt, pepper… and that's it. It's amazing what he can do with simple ingredients." The other chef reported.
Tolle merely smiled. "Okay. Let's see if I can do better."
"Oi, Tolle." A concerned Sai whispered. "You've done this before?"
"Come on. We've seen Kira doing it a thousand times. Plus, we've tasted his cooking ten times over! We'll just have to make sure our dish taste the same. Easy no?"
"I thought you wanted refreshment!?"
"Hey, swinging wok is a lot easier than swinging swords."
Sai can't argue with that… but he certainly still feels there's trouble brewing.
000000000000
"Police Girl?" Kage has no problem that a 20 year old girl can dual wield a pair of guns weigh in excess of 175 Kgs each. The only problem he sees is that nickname. "Why the hell they call a heavy weapons expert the Police Girl?"
"W-Well… if I remember correctly, her résumé clearly stated she was once a law security enforcer in downtown London." George explained. "They used to call her Police Girl, and the name kinda stuck."
"Hmmm… Next?"
000000000000
In a forest of Xinjiang, at the Northwest area of China…
A girl with green eyes and short pigtails on her ash blonde hair rose up from her knees. She wears a dark grey trench heavy long coat with white sleeves and collar. There's a large belt slung on her waist, laden with bags filled with rifle magazines. A badge with the Roman numeral X is placed on her belt. She also wore a pair of dark red shorts, and a Scottish checkered kilt on top of it. She wears a pair of armor plated boots, with straps of white belts covering the upper portion. Placed on her shoulder… was a scythe. A disproportionately big Death scythe, with a red and black zigzag pattern on the blade.
She walked across the forest, until finally, she reached a grass opening. There, a lone Knight with a gloating face was sitting right at the center.
"Hm? And here I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me." The girl commented.
"Oh? Why is that?" the Gloating knight smirked.
"Most of my targets tried their best to get away from me. Hiding behind objects… or… as is the case of what your friends had done, escape in the thickness of the jungle. But you stay right in the open, in plain sight."
"Well, what do you expect? I heard you never missed your targets. Why bother hiding?" The Knight chuckled.
"They exaggerate. I missed plenty times." The girl humbly admitted. "But that's why you missed. You learn from that, and you'll get better on the next try. Besides… if I'm as good as my Mom, I wouldn't be here."
"Your mom was that good?" The Knight inquired.
"She can shoot you all before you ran into the forest with her eyes closed. I still got a long way to go, God Rest Her Soul." The girl smiled, proud of her amazing mother.
The Knight breaks into a wider smile. "Well, I guess it's lucky for us then."
"Us?"
And then suddenly, from the surrounding forest, Knights poured out. Worse still, glimmers can be seen at the top of the trees, indicating that there are a bunch of Archer Knights with their crossbow pointed at the girl nested at a branch. Zaft's equivalents to snipers.
The gloating Knight smiled. "Here's a tip from one sharpshooter to another, missy: next time, keep your distance." The Knights snickered all around the girl.
The Girl sighed. "Right back at you, gentleman."
"Heh?"
"I didn't come this close just to see you in person." The girl cracked her neck. "I get into this range to make sure I won't miss every single one of you." And suddenly, the girl blurred, and her red and black scythe became a stream of reddened black as it swings down upon the first knight. The Knight gasped when he was suddenly weighed down by a giant scythe blade at the back of his neck. "Wha…"
The Knight glanced at the scythe on his back… then to the girl… then to the exact detail of the weapon the girl wield. It has a handle for bolt action, a large caliber bullet magazine, and a trigger. And then it came to him: the Scythe is a like a giant overweight bayonet… to a massive Anti Materiel Sniper Rifle. The Scythe is the sniper rifle's weaponized muzzle. Even a Knight would know what happened when the trigger is pressed.
The girl put her serious war face on, and pressed the trigger. The Gun roared, firing a bullet. The recoil propelled the scythe downwards as guided by the girl's arm, bisecting the said knight, armor and all, while the bullet flew on and finally, as well as accurately, bullseyed the first Archer knight sharpshooter perched behind the first tree right between the eyes.
The Knights gaped. And while they're still confused, the young girl buried her scythe to the ground and began firing her sniper rifle rapidly. Spent casings flew out each time she pulled the handle of her rifle, using the Scythe as a stabilizer. Each shot penetrated 1 or 2 knights all at once. The Knights recovered from their shock and charge forward, braving the onslaught of the armor piercing bullets. 7 of them had fallen to her shots, and the sharpshooters finally take action and opened fire.
The girl noticed the arrow coming at her, and she unlatched the scythe and jumped. And when she opened fire with nothing anchoring her down, the violent recoil propelled both the scythe and wielder backwards by a great distance, the bullet holing an incoming Knight by the chest while the incoming arrows hit nothing but empty air. Still midair, the girl shifted the direction of her scythe and fired her rifle scythe to another direction, headshooting one of the Advanced Sharpshooter while at the same time propelling her flight to another direction. Her feet never even touched the ground, she was still in the process of being carried away by the heavy recoil, floating a few inches above the ground when she pointed her rifle backward and opened fire again, and this time, the violent recoil propelled her to glide forward, charging straight at the unprepared knights, while the bullet accurately hit another hidden assailant. Her feet finally landed when she unleashed a second shot, killing another Knight, she used the propelling recoil and zoomed forward in an eye-blinding speed towards a knight.
Another gunshot was heard, a spent casing flew, a knight was bisected right on his waist and an archer had a new hole to breathe on his forehead. The girl unleashed yet another shot, propel herself forward and still carrying that momentum, she unleashed another shot while swinging her scythe. Another sharpshooter also bites the dust when the bullet pierced through his shot arrow and went straight to his brain. Meanwhile, she spins a full 5 times in less than 2 seconds, beheading several knights, while cleaving a few more to the death, ripping apart their thick shields.
The girl kept spinning her death scythe, firing the rifle midswing to propel her scythe to devastating proportions, cleaving through armored Knights like a whirlwind of blades reaping through wheat. She's doing the same thing as what Kage had demonstrated, using the violent recoil of her extremely powerful Arsenal Gear: the Witch Hunter Anti Materiel Scythe rifle to propel her scythe attacks, amplifying its power and speed many times over. What's more, she also used the recoil of her scythe to move around from place to place at a very rapid speed. The Knights tried to maneuver away from her range, but a gunshot later, she already moved herself forward at blurring unstoppable speed, her scythe beheaded a knight who happens to be in the path of her charge and she proceed to sling her scythe on another knight's neck. She swing around, using the knight's neck as a pivot and moved him to her front with her scythe pressed against his neck. She pressed the trigger, and the rifle shot another knight in the head while beheading the other when the blade pressed in due the violent recoil.
Another show that her control of her firearm is magnitudes beyond Kage, was that even with such violent movements and her seemingly firing her rifle haphazardly all over the place: she never missed. Every gunshot hit a target, while her recoil-amplified scythe attacks reap bloody tally in the process. Spinning, slashing, shooting in a whirlwind of steel, death and insanely accurate gunshots, blood, body pieces and spent casings filled the ground until it was down… to none.
When the girl sliced the last knight (and taking another head shot to the last Sharpshooter) she stopped and rested her weapon. She looked around to see if there's anyone she missed.
"Maka, you missed one." A grunt from her back made her turned around.
The grunt came from a man of the same age with the girl, with white spiky hair and a bandana. He wear a tattered yellow Trooper's Kevlar jacket over a simple grey clothing and trousers laden with extra magazines, some parts and other widgets. He was dragging a knight behind him. The said dead knight looked like he had been riddled with bullets rather excessively. Clearly not the girl's dead shot work.
Maka Albarn (5th Lieutenant, Nickname: Deathscythe, Squadron: Soul Eaters, Specialty: Sharp Shooter and Shock Trooper), the Arsenal technician winced at the malformed state of the knight. "Sheesh… what happened?"
"Well he ran off midfight, apparently you scared him shitless." Soul Evans, the Arsenal Tuner for the Witch Hunter, muttered. "We thought we'll just stop him and arrest him… but then we opened his helm and he was… asymmetrical."
Maka blinked. "Asymmetrical. Really?"
"Yeah… I mean… his left and right was totally different. He lost an eye, he only got half a mouth, he only had one ear on the side, his teeth were uneven, even his hair was of different color… totally uncool. You understand why Kidd went nuts. That symmetry nut said he never seen anything that messed up."
Maka let loose a sigh, imagining how wild that must've been. "I suppose that's the reason why he spared the mole from obliteration."
The only thing untouched on the poor knight's beehive body is a giant mole right at the center of his forehead.
"He said that was the only thing that was okay." Soul flatly stated. "Let me check on the gun."
Maka handed her Arsenal gear to her tuner, and Soul worked his magic. In an instant, he cleaned the gun, disassemble the gun piece by piece, checking for wear and tear. "Yep, you wear off another barrel. But it's well spent. No misses this time as well. That's cool Maka. Truly cool."
"But I missed one." Maka moaned.
"What? No. That uncool guy ran off from you. He doesn't count. So turn that frown upside down. I'd say you're still cool, Maka." Soul smirked.
Maka blushed lightly. "Arigato, Soul!"
000000000000
Sai was somewhat… distressed. Yes. Distressed be the word.
It all started with how… try as they might… the taste of their creation is clearly far beneath Kira's level. And to think, the cooks swore that Kira only use a bit of salt, pepper and some garnishing. And THAT'S it. And then, the two finally realized: they were completely out of their depths. Kira is far more experienced in doing this then they do. It took a lot more finesse than just putting things into the pot. But then, Tolle, in all his unscrupulous wisdom, had a bright idea of grabbing a 'secret ingredient' and before anyone can ask what the heck is the 'secret ingredient' he bolted off to god knows where.
And now he's been gone for half an hour, and with another half an hour to go to lunch, Sai was as worried as one can be.
10 minutes towards lunch…
And Tolle returned… with a vial of blue liquid.
"Tolle! Where the hell were you!?"
"Sorry! Sorry. Just grabbing the secret ingredient." And before anyone could say anything, Tolle poured the whole thing to the broth. It was… blue… and glowing.
"Tolle… what the heck is that?"
"I don't know. But, I get this from Hikari's atelier… it says it taste nice, and gives a lot of nutrients and good for the body."
Sai is seriously, seriously, sensing a disaster is coming.
A big, BIG disaster.
Soon.
000000000000
"Fact is, the Witch Hunter serves as the basis for the existing Dagger Assault rifle. It is but one of the very few examples of Arsenal Gears that has been successfully reverse engineered to create a lesser but mass production capable variants." George pointed at the 5 barreled rifle of the Troopers.
"I see… so the Technician and the Tuner. The Technician is the one responsible for actually using the weapon, the tuner is the one responsible for keeping the Arsenal Gear in working order. But… won't that be like painting a target at the tuners?"
"Indeed. But it's not like you can underestimate these tuners. They're combatants of more or less the same levels to that of their partner, if anything happens to the technician, traditionally, the Tuners will take her helm." At that moment, the bells were sounded.
"It's lunchtime." Kage blinked in surprise, he didn't realize how fast the time passed. Come to think of it, it has been a while since he got close to the kitchen. Now he wondered what's for lunch.
"You… eat with that mask on?"
"If I have to. I usually eat alone… these days I eat with Hikari… just to keep her company… BUT… you go find Kira. He'll wait for you in the mess hall."
"Yes sir." George nodded in understanding while Kage disappeared in a puff, much to George retinue's bewilderment.
Roughly 15 minutes later, George had a 'run in' with Kira, who claimed Kage asked him to accompany George to the mess hall.
000000000000
Meanwhile…
Fortunately for Murrue and Natarle, they don't have to look for long. They saw Mwu running down the hall towards them…
…covered in blood, scratches, and steam puffing out of his face, a mixture of pissed off and scared shitless.
"MURRUE, NATARLE… GET OUT OF MY WAY; SOMEONE IS ABOUT TO GET SERIOUSLY HURT! THAT SOMEONE IS ME!" Mwu ran past a confused Murrue and Natarle. Behind him was an army of angry and bloodthirsty female soldiers chasing the perverted Captain.
"What in the name of…" Natarle gaped at such unruly chaos. Her discipline as a soldier quickly overwhelms her apprehension. "STOP THIS RIGHT NOW!" She raised her hand and the army of angry girls stopped on tracks. "What are you doing? No running in the hallways! What are you, kindergartens!?"
"Badgiruel-san! We-
"Lieutenant."
"We-what?"
"You will address a superior officer by his or her rank, soldier. You will address me as Lieutenant. You will address Ms. Ramias and Mr. Flagga as Captain."
The girls were somewhat perplexed. Addressing either Murrue, Natarle, Kage (especially Kage), Canard even Murdoch with their rank and file is okay… but that piece of shit of a blond haired captain just didn't deserve any respect. "But, Lt. Badgiruel, we found that pervert hip deep in our underwear!"
"I WAS BAITED THERE! HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU!? Some evil genius dropped a trail of bread crumb and baited me all the way to Angel's bath changing room!"
"Baited with what?" Murrue blinked.
"With this, Captain." The girls handed Murrue the proof of crime: porn book. Natarle saw the porn book and quickly looked at Mwu with a harsh accusing glare.
"Captain Ramias! Permission to speak freely!" Natarle barked.
"Granted."
"CAPTAIN FLAGGA! YOUR ATTITUDE IS AN INSULT TO YOUR OFFICE AND HUMANITY IN GENERAL!" She exploded. "PEEKING ON FEMALES, STOCKPILING ILLEGAL ITEMS, AND EVEN RANSACKING AND SABOTAGING MY OFFICE, RISKING COUNTLESS IMPORTANT DOCUMENTS-"
"WHOA,WHOA,WHOA! Slow down! That last one! Where did that last one came from? I haven't come anywhere within 10 feet of your office. I didn't even know where your office is!" Mwu gaped. "What happened?"
"Someone ransacked Natarle's room and replaced some of her military books with porn books."
"Really? That's clever. Maybe I shouldn't kill that guy yet when I found him, I could take some pointers." Mwu blinked in excitement.
"CAPTAIN FLAGGA!" Natarle roared.
Mwu's lack of regret over the venets that transpired had all completely convinced the girls that Mwu is truly the culprit. Everyone except Murrue. Something strikes her as odd, but she couldn't put her finger to it. "You know… I don't think Mwu did it."
"The proof is irrefutable, Captain Ramias!" Natarle retorted. "I move to have Captain Flagga to be punished under martial law!"
The girls, already united in anger of Mwu, also supported the decision. "Everyone in favor say aye!" "AYE!" Almost all girls raised their hands.
"What's all this noise?"
A word from Kira silenced the crowd in an instant.
Everyone turned around and saw Kira, George and his retinues approached them. "The lunch bell just sounded. Didn't you guys hear that?"
"Kid! Help me up!"
Kira looked at Mwu on the ground with a woman's underwear and a porn book in his clutches, Natarle, Murrue, and an army of angry girls look down upon him like he's the most disgusting thing on the floor. First look, coupled with Mwu's well known reputation and one can easily get the wrong idea. "I can't help you if you get what you deserve."
"No! Wait! Listen to me, kid! I was set up! Right from the very start! You gotta believe me on this one!" Mwu desperately begged.
Kira frowned. "If I help you… what would you give me in return?"
"I… errhh…" Mwu was lost for words. "…wait a sec… don't tell me you-"
"Planned this? Where on earth can I get my hands on pornbooks when you already charged me with that astronomical bill for your so called Limited Edition stuffs?" Kira smiled mischievously as he began constructing an image of the events. "Take that bill away from me and I'll help you. If I can."
Mwu twitched. Man. Extortionist to the end. "You win."
Kira smiled in triumph. "So what's the deal here? Can someone explain to me the chronological event?"
Murrue gave a brief explanation. "Basically, the girls caught Mwu hip deep in underwear in the changing room of the Angel's bath, woman section. And then, Mwu admitted that he was led by a trail of porn books. Natarle found some of her strategy books had its contents replaced with porn books. We came here to ask Mwu about it because he's the primary suspect. Then we found him being chased by these angry girls here."
"First glance… it looked to me like this." Kira came up with a theory. "Captain Mwu was up to his lecherous pervert nature and gets his hands on some porn books. He took it a step further and invaded the girl's changing room, trying to steal some panties, get found out and ran away. Then perhaps he tried to hide in a room, which happens to be Lt. Natarle's private study, hiding several porn books there, and then he got found out again and run." Kira quickly argued: "Am I the only one who thinks that sounds weird?"
The girls were given a moment to think things through. And some had already become somewhat confused.
"Question. If Mwu was stealing underwears… rule of a thumb of a thief who tried to escape: one must hide the proof of their crime. That could be the tool of the trade or the loot. While porn book can become a part of a peeping activity, would a peeper risk himself being found by carrying… this many porn books? Another thing… what exactly is the use of a porn book in a pant stealing or peeping activity? It doesn't make sense to me." Kira counted there are at least a dozen porn books scattered on the floor. "While I don't understand what the hell is with the porn books, logic dictates, if Mwu is trying to prove his innocence, he should be hiding his loot: your underwears, NOT porn books. So why didn't he do so?"
Everyone blinked and looked at each other, seeing sense in Kira's explanation. "And here's another thing. Mwu-san… why did you go to the Angel's bath?"
"I was baited with these things! Then I found a pile of porn books right in front of me… and I… well… I lost control and I just jumped."
"Question no 2. Mwu-san jumped into a pile of underwear filled with porn books. Now. Anyone care to explain WHY there's a pile of porn book in a basket full of woman's underwear?"
The girls blushed and roared uniformly. "NOT OURS! DEFINITELY NOT OURS!"
"I believe you." Kira's answer calmed them all down while startling some of them. "Good, honest girls all hate porn books. That's not an opinion, that's a fact." Every girl within earshot blushed. "Which is another way of saying that Mwu-san is telling the truth. He was baited there by someone… that is the same someone who put that porn book into those underwear, the same someone who had hidden another cache of porn books into Natarle-san's study." Kira looked at Natarle, whose frowns showed she was analyzing the situation, accepting Kira's train of thought. "We do know the culprit had access to a good supply of porn books. How many porn books were found in the study?"
"Waist high." Murrue stated simply, the girls gaped. Mwu gawked, while his eyes shined with gleams of excitement.
"There's another proof that Mwu-san's innocent. No way in hell he can run away carrying THAT many porn books without leaving behind a breadcrumb of fallen items. And even if he did hide those books, someone who's on the run won't have time to conveniently switch covers of the book. The best they can do is probably just jammed them in. He MIGHT if he's calm and all… but… based on what I see here… he's just in a wrong place and a wrong time." Kira turned to the girls. "Conclusion: Mwu-san not a culprit, girls. He's a victim, much like the rest of you. Then again… I hope he can pick the morale out of all this: perverts never prosper."
Mwu tucked his head down, cleared of all charges but completely dejected, while the girls all snickered and giggled.
"Go back to your stations. I'll personally get to the bottom of this. You have my word."
"HAAAAAI!" The girls chorused. And then they disperse. All the while they were giggling, cackling and blushing amongst themselves. "Kira-sama is sooo cool! Kyaaa!" "He's as awesome as it gets!" "Kyaa!" "Kyaa!"
George stayed on the sideline, watching in awe at the absolutely flawless way in which Kira handled the situation like a pro.
Kira snorted. "Now. Let's go grab something to eat. I'm hungry."
000000000000
Ramen.
That's lunch.
At least… that's what was written on the menu board.
But this… gloop… with blue colored broth, green colored… twitching… noodles… it physically resembles ramen and that's it.
Kira, George, Mwu, Murrue and Natarle sat on the same table, and this new kind of ramen distracted the latter three so much, they've even forgotten to discuss a certain matter with Kira. No one dared to take even a single strand. Everyone looked at Kira. It seems everyone is waiting for the chief controller of taste to give them all the green light that this thing is edible. Kira didn't blame them.
First he took a spoon and picked up some of the broth. He took a sip, tasting it, checking it up… "…" He didn't say anything, but his brows were knitted the whole time. Next stage of testing ramen, he took a strand of the noodle and taste it. "Hmmrmph…"
"…" Tolle and Sai sweat buckets.
And finally, Kira eat the noodle and broth together. He frowned… and finally passed the verdict: "…passable."
Which is another way of saying: bizarre appearance aside; it's eatable.
And everyone enthusiastically devour their lunch. And for some time, everyone slowly and gently savor their lunch. Mwu devoured his ramen, savoring it… even he nodded. They're not as good as Kira's but they sure didn't taste so bad. Nothing can seem to go wrong… until suddenly…
CRASH! TINKLE!
Mwu stopped eating when he looked what happened next to him. Kira's head is currently sinking into his bowl of ramen, having splashed down right into it earlier, splattering the eerie colored broth everywhere. "Kid?"
Mwu shook the boy several times. To his horror, Kira didn't respond. "Kid? Kid! Come on! Don't joke around! Kid!?" Mwu shook Kira some more times… he didn't react. He was completely stiff. He just dropped dead into his bowl. "Oh my God… He's not breathing! WE NEED A MEDIC HERE!" Everyone stopped eating. Tolle and Sai had their jaw on the floor. Did they just kill their friend VIA food poisoning?
As soon as Mwu said that, Kira suddenly get straight back up. At first, Mwu breathe a sigh of relief. "Oh God… oh Kid… there you are… you scared the devil out of me… does this thing really taste that bad?"
Kira didn't answer. His breathing sounds heavy and he looked very… very tense. And he's sweating like hell.
Mwu noticed this and he realized something's off. He just had yet to realize how bad things will become. "Geeze… maybe something in the ramen disagrees with you. Hey, kids, what the hell did you put in the noodles!? Looks like Kira got cramps here!"
Kira's breathing grew heavier as he clenched his teeth so hard… his fingers tightly balled to a fist… veins popping out of his hardening muscles… blue veins.
"Somebody call Dr. Hikari here, we have a case of food poiso-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGHHH!" Mwu's comment was instantly cut off when Kira suddenly lunged at him and BITE him by the neck. "AAAAAAAARGHH! ARGHHHH! GET HIM OFF ME! GET HIM OFF ME! GET HIM OFF ME!" Murrue, Natarle quickly bolted off and grabbed the crazed Kira off Mwu. They were shocked to find how strong the boy is now. Funnily enough, Kira let go off his bite quite easily, leaving only a bite mark shaped wounds on Mwu's neck which bleed out slightly.
Murrue and Natarle dragged the squirming Kira. He's screaming and yelling and foaming. His strength was just ridiculous. Several times Murrue and Natarle were almost hurled off their feet. But before the two Alliance officers can do anything, Kira wrest one hand free and turned around, and took a bit at Murrue's hand. "KYAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!" Natarle quickly grabbed Kira's back, pulling him away from her captain. She succeeded, but Kira turn around and BITE her in turn. "GAAARGHHH!" Reflexively, Natarle hurled Kira away, causing him to crash into tables and chairs.
Kira landed on all fours like an animal, his purple eyes went blank. His bloodied teeth gritted tight, drool, foam, and some of the residual blue broth sipping out of the corner of his lips. His muscles swelled badly, and he had blue veins popping out all over his skin.
"He… he…"
Kira turn his head left and right, his maddened eyes search for new targets. He saw a soldier and he roared. "HRAAAAGRH!"
"HE TURNED INTO A ZOMBIE!"
Kira blurred and disappeared from sight. CLENCH! A second later, a scream was heard from the soldier as Kira's mouth was suddenly latched to his arm when he suddenly reappeared right behind him. "AAARGHHH! ARGHHHH! HE BIT ME! HE BIT ME!"
Sai's eyes widened. Tolle was left without a word. And then Sai looked at George's retinue… they looked like they clearly recognized Kira as a threat, and they're ready to blast him to kingdom come. Only George' intervention stopped them from opening fire…
CRUNCH!
"ARRRRGGHHH!" George suddenly screamed when a foaming MWU LA FLAGGA, completely zombified, sank his teeth deep into his shoulder.
"Oh my God!" The retinues gawked. They certainly didn't see that one coming…
CRUNCH! CRUNCH!
"ARGGGHHH!" CRUNCH! "ARGGHHH!" CRUNCH! "AARGH! MY ARM! MY GOD DAMN ARM!" CRUNCH! pretty soon, screams, yells, and crunching sound echoed everywhere. CRUNCH! Kira was the first victim and he was not the last. Murrue had just finished zombifying her fifth victim when Natarle started on her third, while Mwu and George had just finished with the entire retinue of his elite guards.
Following suit, the other soldiers who had eaten that Zombie ramen turned into Zombies as well and start biting the closest living being around them. CRUNCH! No one can escape… not that they could even if they want to. CRUNCH! The number of the zombies in that room quickly outnumbered the not-yet-but-soon-to-be-zombies. CRUNCH! CRUNCH!
Sai looked at how the mess hall had suddenly turned into a little residence of evil bio hazard. He turned to Tolle and shook him by the collar. "For the love of God, Tolle. WHAT THE HELL DID YOU PUT INTO THAT RAMEN BROTH!?"
Tolle grabbed the secret ingredient he whisked away from Lacus' atelier and read the label. "It says… Super Soldier Vitamin Pill Class Omega. A combination of steroids and condensed energy caloric drink with enough proteins, vitamins, and nutrients to make a soldier fight three days, three nights without sleep, eat, or rest. Taste pretty nice." It was Lacus' handwriting.
"Wait. What's that bump on the bottom of the bottle?" Sai noticed a sizeable bump on the bottom. The two quickly began scratching at the bump… and they pulled out a booklet. A small booklet. Sai and Tolle quickly read it. It seems Lacus had left notes that explain this… thing.
"Caution. Do NOT use it in liquid form before being diluted at least 5 times. Using the pure and undiluted form by even a single teaspoon is considered an overdose. The drug will not only deprive the subject the need to sleep and rest, it also increases the strength of the subject several times normal, however, it was so strong it also blow all senses away, lead to an unintended side effect of the loss of sanity and the total shutdown of all higher brain function. The infected will be extremely aggressive, extremely fast, with highly increased strength parameter far above the norm. If the subject was already strong from the beginning, then that parameter will be increased appropriately.
Symptoms include: salivating, drooling, increased muscle mass, increased aggression to the point of mindless savagery, unfocused eyes, physical condition will be visibly buffed up, and of greater mystery: infected subjects develop a POWERFUL urge to BITE the uninfected. Upon second observation, I found the compound is extremely infectious. Upon ingestion, within seconds the compound will be absorbed into the bloodstream at a very rapid pace. The compound was made from a virus, and thus it has an infectious nature. It will bind with the red blood cells, causing the swelling of veins, generating a distinct blue vein symptom. The compound will also bind itself to the saliva gland of the infected, and as that saliva laced their mouths, a bite is laced with that infectious compound. Seeing the bite is delivered with strengthened jaw muscle, the teeth will, without fail, always sink all the way down to the nearest blood vessel, which will generally deliver the compound straight into the bloodstream, effectively 'infecting' the victim.
NOTE: By no means are the infected victims dead. Observation of an infected victim's vitals found that the victim is still very much alive, extremely healthy and at top peak physical condition. But while under the effects of this drug, the loss of the brain's higher function resulted in the subject degenerate down to its baser instincts. Simply put, they will act like the stereotypical 'zombie'. However, fair warning: unlike the slow moving stereotypical zombies, these zombies are super zombies. They're fast, they're strong, and they're virtually unstoppable.
P.S.: Suggestion in the event of breakout: Make sure to leave behind a will."
The note ended. Tolle and Sai looked at each other… and then they turned to the mess hall… in the time it took for them to finish the note, they have become the only people within that mess hall that has yet been bitten.
Which is another way of saying they're being surrounded by roughly a few hundred living breathing zombies on super steroid, including their best friend who is a blacklist captain, and three other ranking officers, all of them are their teachers and every one of them is already as strong as hell to begin with.
Sai and Tolle quickly turned around, and bolted out of the back door of the kitchen.
And all hell broke loose as every last one of the steroid zombies charged through everything.
The two cause of all is now running for all their lives worth. Soon, the white dreadnought was completely overrun. Steroid Zombies began to swarm all over the place, crunching and converting everyone they can get their teeth in.
CRUNCH!
"Ah, Tenny? What are yo-GYAAAAAARGHH!"
CRUNCH! CRUNCH!
"GAAAARGGHHH!"
CRUNCH!
Pretty soon, the zombies began taking over the ship, one room at a time, one bite after another, and yet many still had yet to realize there's an outbreak happening…
"Oh captain, didn't see you there… AAAAAAAAARGHHHH!"
The worst part, the Captains had become infected as well. When people of that kind of power was being super doped… it's a disaster.
"What the hell men? What the hell!?" A bunch of guys were running for their lives as Kira used shunshin to teleport inbetween his targets and bite them by the neck one by one. "I'm not on the menu! I'm not on the menu!" Anyone tried to stop him were quickly put down with incredible precision and skills, then he bit them. It seems when all common sense was blown away, some things still remained within instinctive level. Unfortunately, constantly practiced combat skills are among them. "Since when a cook can-GAAAAAAARGHH!" Kira, and an army of zombies he turned personally swarmed the entire hallway, biting everyone in their way…
They tried to resist but…
A soldier was holding his spear with trembling hands… facing him was his trainer, Murrue, drooling, foaming… and another zombified guy was hanging by her clenched teeth. "GAAAAAAAAAARGGHHH!" Lacus' super soldier pill really makes these zombies unstoppable. Each one of them can go toe to toe with 5 people and come out screaming with 5 new zombie friends.
Soldiers remaining: 231
The door was kicked off the hinges by Mwu. "GAAARGHHH!" CRUNCH! A soldier crawled futilely under the table as the zombies yanked the table, ready to bite. "GAAAARRGGHHH!" CRUNCH! CRUNCH! A soldier screamed as he sank his nails to the floor while three zombies dragged him back to start biting. "HELP! GAWD! HEEEELPPP!" CRUNCH! CRUNCH! CRUNCH!
Soldiers remaining: 134
No escape…
Three soldiers ran to the rooftop, CRUNCH! Only one made it. CRUNCH! When he did, he was welcomed by a waiting army of zombies. CRUNCH! CRUNCH! CRUNCH! "GUOOOOOOOOOOOOOONNNN!" Even FUJI was infected! The giant zombie roared loudly swinging his fists like King Kong.
Soldiers remaining: 34
No exception…
A guy is still sitting on a toilet taking a dump when a zombie walked in. "Oh for fuck's sake-ARAAAAAAARGHHHH!"
Soldiers remaining: 12
NO MERCY!
Lacus was calmly working in her atelier when the door was busted open, revealing a maddened Kira. "Arara?"
CRUNCH!
Soldiers remaining: 2
The two being: Sai and Tolle who miraculously survived all this.
Now, they're hiding at the highest point of this ship, the Archangel Bridge Tower, hugging each other with clattering teeth. "What-should-we-do-what-should-we-do-what-should-w e-do-what-should-we-do-"
BANG!
"AAAAAAAAAAAAARGHH!" Both screamed, soiling themselves.
BANG! BANG!
The zombie had finally reached their spot, and now they're banging the door.
CR-CRASHH!
Arms suddenly smashed through the ceiling.
"AAAAAAARGGHGHH!" Both screamed even louder, snot and tears free flowing.
CRASHH!
Arms smashed through the floor!
"AAAAAAAARGGHH!" Both screamed and their souls fly out…
C-CRACKK! CRASHH! TINKLE!
Arms crashed through every wall! Every nook and cranny! There's no escape this time!
"MILLY I'M SORRY I CHEATED WITH THREE GIRLS WHILE WE'RE DATING!" Terrified beyond reason, Tolle screamed to no one in particular.
At that point, an arrow bust through the wall and landed right in between the two last survivors and an army of steroid zombies. The arrow was quickly identified as the green explosive sword arrow of the Midori Shiki. Of greater note, the arrow contained a vial of pink liquid. The green blade sword arrow promptly burst with green fire before it momentarily exploded full force. The entire bridge tower was engulfed in pinkish white smoke.
Sai and Tolle, still hugging one another, faces smeared with tears and snot, observe this weird phenomenon. The growling and yelling stopped. And then, one by one, the Zombies blinked several times as sanity returned to their eyes. Tolle blinked to make sure he wasn't hallucinating. "Hey… What the HEY!? They're back to normal!"
Sai looked at this pink smoke. "This smoke must be the antidote!" Sai further analyze the situation, and he managed to piece it together. "It's Kage and Hikari! No. It's Hikari! She must've had the antidote all along!"
Just as Sai had suspected, up on another tower, a cured Kira used the Midori Shiki to deliver the antidote given by Lacus, healing the ship's crews one shot at a time. Kage pulled the Midori Shiki and let loose another shot to another part of the ship, creating a towering explosion of antidote gas. With just a couple of shots, there were but a few infected zombies left, and they were quickly tracked and cured.
30 minutes later…
A battered and bruised Sai and Tolle, the two culprit of this whole Zombie incident was brought before the tribunal.
Which consist of a pissed off Mwu, a glaring Murrue, and an indifferent Kage.
"Sai Argyle… Tolle Koenig…! I hope you two had made your peace…!" Mwu cracked his itching knuckles. "There will be the devil to pay for all this…!"
"Of all the pranks you two pulled… this is by far the most devastating." Murrue frowned. "Don't expect us to pull our punches here."
"I'm afraid you will pull your punches." Kage suddenly spoke.
Everyone looked at Kage. Natarle clearly protested. "Captain Kage! They practically stolen a highly dangerous substance which they use with reckless abandon-"
"I'm the one who made sure the super soldier Omega drug will be poured into the noodles." Kage immediately admitted, much to everyone's shock. "Everything that happened was by design. I convinced the cook to try ask Tolle and Sai about the whole 'Kira needs to cook' deal. I'm guessing Tolle would take the initiative to volunteer and cook something. I also guessed that, with the shortage of spices, they'll be a bit desperate; desperate enough to storm Hikari's private storage of medicinal menagerie in order to bring some 'kick' into their dishes. They will DEFINITELY strike Hikari's atelier, seeing that's the only source for unique consumable items. Tolle, when you took the medicine from Hikari's atelier, I take it you find that one amidst other questionable materials? Materials like… bloat toad tongue essence and… and… pickled salamander eyeballs… the only stuff that seem edible amidst a macabre of disgusting stuffs you wouldn't want to put in your mouth?"
Tolle dumbly nodded, while everyone paled. "Yeah?"
"Thought so. I knew that you will try to find something that sounds less dangerous. I made sure Hikari locked away the most dangerous stuff, but leave behind a distinctly relatively safe item amidst a whole cohort of bizarre objects. When you're desperate… and you benchmarked something with the word 'taste quite nice' with other twitching and staring stuff… that would be pushing it." Kage smiled innocently behind his mask.
Tolle is seriously… SERIOUSLY freaked out. He knew Kira was a genius strategist… but that's like borderline prophetic. They were dancing in the palm of his hand like a puppet. "Kage…" Tolle gulped. "You're saying THIS is your idea of a prank?"
"No~o. I'm just your friend who had known you for 3 good long years. Known you well enough to foresee what you will do given certain circumstances… particularly when you have too much time on your hands… and too much imagination on your heads." And still Kira smiled like a Buddha behind his mask while his friends were completely scared shitless.
"Give them a taste of their own medicine." Kage added calmly. "Sides… how long does it take before you two will play some disastrous trick at me eh? Do unto others before the do unto you. That's my pranking motto. Hah!" Kage's eyes curved happily at the two fallen pranksters.
Everyone paled and solemnly swear to never encourage Kage into the pranking business ever again.
"Kid… I understand if you want to get back on them for us… but this is kinda overkill." Mwu laughed nervously.
"I'm not doing this for you. I've already got earlier contract. Here they come now." Kage motioned his two clients to come closer and reveal themselves.
Tolle soiled himself again.
"Tolle Koenig… You will explain to me about these 3 girls you cheated with while you're dating with me." a certain archer girlfriend who happened to know how to lip-read…
Sai sweat buckets.
"Sai Argyle… the sum of all the questions done by my students today are 13,500 multiple questions, 9,800 short question, and 10 4,000 words essays. For stealing a precious sample from my private storeroom, YOU owe me DOUBLE that amount." And a pissed off armored doctor who just lost an extremely valuable specimen.
And while the two convicted were dragged to suffer the wrath of a woman scorned that hell hath not, Kage turned to the masses. "Now, I just showed you all a practical application of my first principle of composing a good strategy: you let them know your 2 or 3 steps ahead, thus ensuring they will move exactly the way you wanted them to, while you planned several steps beyond those known 2-3 steps to deal with those incoming moves."
The dumbstruck soldiers nodded dumbly. Their heads nearly short-circuited. Nearly.
"Right. And here's the good part. While we've given you the antidote that returned your common sense, that super drug is still very much in effect and keep you on hyperdrive. You guys wouldn't feel hungry, you wouldn't feel tired at all for the whole damn day, hell, you might just as well skip on sleeping for the next 3 days. Plenty of time for all of us to have a super intensive training for 3 days 3 nights."
Everyone jawdropped. "EEEEEEEEEEEERGHH!?"
"Which means: NO REST! NO SLEEP! NO EATING! NO LOITERING! MOVE THOSE ASSES NOW YOU LAZY BUMS! START RUNNING!" Kage roared and the soldiers, nearly crying in utter sorrow, start doing their marathon across the decks of the 1.5 km long 800 meters wide battleship. "RUN! RUN! RUN! ONE! TWO! ONE! TWO!" They became more motivated when Kage added an incentive by aiming and firing his a breath of flame (at low output setting) at the asses of those who are at the last of the line, giving them an My-Ass-On-Fire speed boost to the front line. And so on and so on.
When they complained, Kage further added: "POP QUIZ! WHAT'S THE COUNTER FOR THE ARROW FORMATION!?"
The soldiers gaped. What the, he's gonna give them pop quizzes while they're doing an Indian running marathon?
BOOM!
When they can't answer in 5 seconds, Kage fired a Midori Shiki (again low output setting) randomly, blowing some of them until they're ash black. "IF YOU GUYS STILL HAVE ENERGY TO MOAN, READ YOUR DAMN STRATEGY BOOKS! ANOTHER POP QUIZ!"
Everyone gaped. So basically, they had to study their strategy booklet while doing a full speed marathon while they're being chased by their Hell's Instructor of a Captain.
BOOM!
And with this DAMN super steroid preventing them from sleeping or feeling tired, they can't give an excuse that they're tired. Not when they couldn't sleep even if they want to…
BOOM!
Welcome to Hell.
BOOOM!
Ever since that day, everyone gained a new respect for the concept of rest and recovery.
The menu: Hell's Sergeant Super Stamina Steroid Blue Ramen officially becomes the most hated dish on the mess hall.
Of another note, two screams were heard endlessly throughout their sleepless night…
"Milly! Please! NOT the ass! NOT the ASS!"
000000000000
The next day…
As expected, everyone is still feeling the effects of the super steroid. Kage called off their training at 3 AM under the promise they will continue at 6 AM: they were ordered to study the strategy book AFTER they washed themselves clean; every single one of them had tasted a healthy dose of Kage's Midori Shiki and fireballs and thus they were all ash black. At 6, they'll have an exam, with a promise of an even more intensive training to those who failed… or missed it. Detentions would include 2,000 squat jumps, 2,000 sit ups, and all other punishments and their thousands.
Meanwhile, Kage also took a break-so to speak-he doesn't feel sleepy or tired at all. That super steroid is just too good. There he saw George at their usual meeting place… he looked… weary.
"I'm truly sorry about this." Kage started.
"Ah, no worries, no worries." George chuckled. "Thanks to this drug, I don't feel sleepy at all and I can finally finish that book that always gets me sleepy whenever I read the damn story. Hah!" George laughed, but then he quickly stopped, holding his jaw. "It's just… I don't think I'll ever be able to remove the memory of biting my own personal guard with my own teeth. I can still taste the blood. Sorry boys."
The Elite Troopers groaned. They all now got a nice bite-mark somewhere in their body.
"And Fllay?"
"Oh she's lucky. The Civilian Area was relatively untouched."
"Of course. I don't poison my own men without making sure the civilians will be well away from danger."
"Pretty fortunate for the doctor to come up with the antidote."
"No, she didn't come up with anything. She already has the antidote. It's an old creation of hers. She made the antidote a long time ago. And I've procured it before I started the whole thing. I would never start a disaster without making sure I can put an end to it myself. That's the second-"
"The second-?"
"No. Never mind. Just talking to myself. Ha-ha." Kage chuckled grounded to a halt, replaced by a cold gaze as he observed his men walking around the fortress from where he was standing, mumbling and grumbling around as they studied the book that he gave them. '…that's right. That's my second principle that I haven't taught to my men, as well as my answer if they ever turned against me: The Deterrence Principle. Always think of two: the plan and the counter plan. Anything I create… plans, weapons, people… I also know how to UN-create them.'
"Umm… Kage?" George peeked at Kage's cold gaze. Kage's cold ruthless gaze momentarily reverted back to his kind eyes. "Sorry. Kinda lost in my own thoughts. By the way… you still remember where we were before we were interrupted yesterday?"
"We were talking about the members of the Arsenal Five. The Technician and the Tuners. I've mentioned Seras and Walter, Maka and Soul."
"Right. About those tuners. The way you put it, those tuners are essential in keeping the Arsenal Gear in working capacity. You mentioned if the technician was killed, the tuner will have to take up the mantle. What happened if the Tuners were killed anyway?"
George nodded. "As you say, there will always be death toll amongst the tuners. That's why they have a facility used to train tuners. And some technicians also possess some idea on how to fine tune their own weapons, seeing some of them were ex-tuners. Why, there's one Arsenal Girl who is both a technician and a tuner!"
000000000000
Shanghai…
In a certain workshop with the word Genesis written on the signboard…
"I told you before, your sniper rifle is okay!"
"Okay shit! I can't even bullseye a target 800 meters away! I want my money back!"
"B… But a sniper rifle was not designed to fire farther than 610 meters! Well, at least ordinary sniper rifles… ANYWAY! No refund!"
"Well then at least get someone else to fix the rifle will you!?"
The clerk girl's protesting face turned gloomy. "Someone like my boss!?"
The protesting Trooper's ferocious face also instantly turned into a blushing fanboy's face. The jig is out. "Oh… well, yes! I want her to check up on my gun! And probably… ask her out on a date or something…"
Veins popping out of the clerk girl's head. Everyday it's the same story. Some Trooper became an instant fanboy who fell in love at first sight at her boss, and then tried to find any excuse, complaining about any inexistent damage, troubling the interns to no end with irrational request that all boils down to one thing: they just want to woe her. "Sorry. She's not here right now."
"WHAT!?" The man roared again. "Where is she!?"
"Outside. Doing her thing."
"Her… thing!?"
Yep. There's another reason why this fanboy problem will never cease to exist…
On the roofs of shanghai, a girl with a voluptuous figure were jumping from rooftop to rooftop.
"Ahaha!"
She wears a plain single-piece white clothes that reached down her waist and it barely covered her butt. She also wear a officer's hat and a pair of goggles. A badge with an X symbol is placed on the said hat.
"Kyaha!"
Despite her rather revealing clothing, the girl seem oblivious to the fact that the provocative sight of her lower area is attracting unwanted attention (hence the reason for the Fanboy Problem). In fact, she was laughing and yelling as she skate her way, jumping from rooftop to rooftop at incredibly high speed. Eventually she reached the end of a rooftop and she just jumped to the air, with nothing to land on but the ground several stories below. The girl smirked at such certain death predicament.
"Ha!"
On her feet, her legs are covered in black stockings that reached up to her thigh, and yet she also wears a metallic high heeled boots. Of particular interest on her high heeled boots is that the front sole of each boot has four wheels, arranged inline. This allows the girl to skate her way on the rooftops of the cities houses and buildings. And yet… it's not some normal inline skate shoes either. The whole boots stretched up all the way up to just below her knees. With armors and various others metallic parts, it's more akin to a High heeled feminine greaves. The said girl is also equipped with a pair of gauntlets that covered all the way up to her elbow. There's a stylized writing on the boots, naming its Arsenal Gear: Messerschmitt Stiletto Magnum Derringer Skater Armature.
She pointed her heels to the back and stretched out both her arms backward. And then with a loud roar, the hidden high powered gun installed on her heels and gauntlet armguards suddenly discharged, its powerful recoil violently propel the skater girl even farther across the ground, higher up to the sky, and of greater importance to the girl, even blindingly faster. She squealed in exhilarating happiness when she got her wish.
"YEAH! WHEEEEEEEE!"
She acrobatically spiral around as she flew, closing her eyes, stretching her body to feel the wind blowing against her chest. Her smile showed she enjoyed every minute of it. When she reluctantly opened her eyes again, she was welcomed with her next destination, a narrow gangway of two buildings, filled with gauntlets of obstacles of pipes, wires, and a bunch of other life threatening obstructions for someone currently moving at her speed.
The girl smirked. She had no intention of slowing down. If anything, she would rather go faster. She narrowed her body and narrowly entered the slim opening. A pipe was blocking her way, but she stretched out her hand grabbed the pipe and hanged by it, swinging around by it several times, not to slow down, but to built momentum for an even faster ride. She spin several times with the pipe as the axis, and on the nth spin, she fired her Heel gun again, hurling her high up to the sky. Her inline skate wheels touched the wall and she literally skate vertically up. Some wires are coming towards her. She flexibly twisted her body, dodging and avoiding the wires by paper thin margin, making through the narrowest of openings. She parkouring her obstacles up the wall. In fact, she even made a sport out of some of the obstacles. Turning pipes into tracks for her inline parkour skating.
Finally, she reached the final opening with another discharge, she burst high out of the buildings, welcomed by the rays of the sun illuminating her womanly figure to a silhouette. Her laughing face was obvious as she flew in the air, dancing in the blue and white sky. As before, she closed her eyes, enjoying the feeling of wind allover her body. This time, she kept her eyes closed a little longer. She's in complete ecstasy and she loathe to let it pass so soon.
However the thing that awoke her from her daze of happiness was something that increased her joy. The chirping of a swallow bird.
The girl opened her eyes and saw her friend, the Swallow. "Hi there, Messerschmitt the 2nd! Aww, you win!" The girl happily touched the swallow's talon while she's still float in the sky, riding the momentum. The bird, which has been given the same name as the Arsenal Gear of the said girl also happily chirped at its mistress. The girl spotted a tall pagoda, some distance away from the two. "Race ya?"
The swallow chirped in an agreement.
And Simca (4th Lieutenant, Arsenal Gear Master Tuner, Arsenal Five Second in Command, Nickname: the Migratory Bird, Squadron: Genesis Tools Tul To, Specialty: Aerial Parkour expert, High Agility Free running combat, CQC) once again boosted away as to the sky as two raced once again to the goal line.
000000000000
"Oookay… now it's getting really weird." Kage scratched his head upon finished hearing about Simca's addiction to her highspeed sky race utilizing her Arsenal gear, which takes form as Gauntlets and greaves.
"Weird? What weird?"
"It's just… the way you describe them: the way they fight, their preferences… Why do I get the feeling I've seen this pattern before…" Kage racked his brains trying to remember. Something seems awfully familiar about the way George describe these five girls. "Umm… so… we have a… a heavy weapons experts whose heavy weapons is both an anti tank semi automatic rifle mixed up with battering ram for punching gloves… then we got a sniper whose rifle is also a scythe… and then we have a skater girl whose gauntlets and greaves are lined with large caliber magnum derringers… this is just a guess… the next one… will incorporate along the line of… swords?"
George blinked in surprise. "And how did you know that? The next Arsenal Five is indeed a swordswoman!"
"I'll explain later. You continue on sir."
"The next one is… well… She likes going solo. And… she's an ex-Tuner turned Technician. It seems anyone who tried to use her Arsenal gear just ended up dead. Then she finally used it herself, and she become its technician AND its occasional tuner ever since. Simca constantly complained that every tuner she paired with her ended up dead as well. Thusly, she doesn't have tuner – well… she constantly changed it because they kept getting killed… so instead, she had an undertaker for a partner."
000000000000
The floor was cold.
A group of at least a hundred knights surrounded an old sack, besieging it.
"H… Hey…" a weak voice muttered.
"What's all this about?" A senior fire knight suddenly appeared and approached his besieging Knight.
The Knights flabbergasted. "Ah, my Lord!"
"I feel… cold…" the weak voice in the darkness continued.
The Fire Knight looked at his junior Knights. They all looked weary, battered, and more than anything, completely scared shitless. "What are you guys doing here?"
"Sorry, my Lord. But just a while ago, we were under attack." The Knight began explaining. "It started with a simple supply line attack, two days back. We saw some Alliance soldiers escorting a carriage of supplies. We attacked them. We took care all of them and get our hands on the supply."
Another Knight followed suit. "But then again, one managed to escape. We know he would undoubtedly report back, so we give chase. The guy's a runner for sure."
"Am I going to die…?" the weak sound followed.
"No, you won't." a firm voice gave an answer, coming from atop the weak sound. The owner of the weak voice is resting on the firm voice's owner's lap.
"Next thing we knew, we were ambushed. One moment it was there, a moment later it was from another direction… it's… it's like a ghost. We were being shot at from every direction. We… don't know how many are there. We panicked and we sent a runner, asking for some help." The Knight quickly get to the important point. "But right after that, Waldo got a lucky shot and nailed one of them. That's when we realized there were only three of them."
"THREE!?" The Fire Knight gaped.
"Yeah. We got one, the other two quickly grabbed her and retreated. We give chase."
"Her!?" The more the Fire Knight heard it, the more ludicrous it sounded.
"I… wanted… to do more… I'm… sorry…" the weak voice in the dark grew steadily weaker. The wound given to her by the knight is bleeding her life out dry.
"Ssshh… say no more." Another voice replied more gently. "Rest. You'll be fine."
"Let me get his straight. You dunderheads get battered by a girl!?"
"Actually all three of them are girls." One Knight commented. But that only made the Fire Knight grew angrier.
"We chased them, and now, we managed to corner them up in that sack over there." The Knights finally pointed at the old beaten sack, where their three quarries are laying inside.
Meanwhile, inside, the dying girl's condition continues to deteriorate. The remaining two girls exchanged looks, with the first girl's blue eyes met with bespectacled green ones and both understand what will happen soon. The Blue eyed girl looked down at the dying girl. "Hey… what's your color?"
"You mean… my favorite color?" The girl chuckled as blood trickled on the edge of her lips. "…yellow. I like yellow."
"Yellow. The yellow burns like gold. Gold, color of royalty and sunflower. Good color."
The girl smiled. But she choked several times again, spurting red blood. "It's only been awhile… Lt. but… it's… f…" the girl's hand went completely cold as her breathing stop.
The remaining two girls understand the girl had passed away. The blue eyed girl gently removed the girl's head from her lap and placed her on the ground. "Deadmaster… you know what to do." She turned to the green eyed girl who nodded.
The Fire Knight growled in annoyance. "So it's just 2 girls and one soon to be dead girl. What the hell am I doing here? Can't you guys handle it?"
"We're about to. Sorry to trouble you My Lord."
The Fire Knight shook his head and turn around, preparing to leave. "Report back to me immediately as soon as you're done."
"It shouldn't be too long my lord. Besides, it seems the only one who can fight is that one tiny albino skinned girl."
Upon hearing that certain characteristics, the Fire Knight stopped on his tracks. "Albino skinned girl?" the Knight turned around and looked at the knight. "About so high? With black twin tailed hair? One longer than the other?"
"Yes."
"Blue eyes. Often wearing a black string bikini with a big scar on her exposed waist?"
The exact details that the Fire knight described began to trouble the other Knights greatly. "…yes!"
"And carrying around one really BIG gun?"
And now the Knights were really confused. "…how did you know…?"
Upon that confirmation, the Fire Knight's eyes widened in horror. "Arm yourself! ARM YOUR GOD DAMN SELF!"
No sooner than he said that, they heard a short humming from inside the shack, and the next instance, a burst of hot blue stream of fire blasted out of the sack and hit the Fire Knight in full. The next moment, all that was left of the unfortunate fire knight was the burnt stump of his lower waist.
The Knights turned to where the blast came from. All they saw, is a smoking barrel from a big ass gun, a large glowing white hot blade attached to the underside of the said gun… and of greater horror than all of this combined… a pair of cold blue furious eyes glaring at them from the dark. They rubbed their eyes in disbelief. The left blue eye looked as if it was blazing with blue fire.
Metallic footsteps were heard as the blue eyes girl walked out of the shack. Just like the late Fire Knight had said. The girl wears a string bikini top, and a pair of shorts, with bags for stashing supplies and equipment including a pair of Katana rested on her left waist. A pair of sidearm was slung on her chest, strapped beneath her chest garments. A large scar that looked like a giant cut can be seen around her midriff. Over her minimal clothing, she wears a long unbuttoned trench jacket, made of a very dark blue colored Kevlar, with white stripes along the edges and on the long double sleeves, the loose ones reaching just above her elbows and a skin tight ones covering all the way down. Said jacket also supported a hood, albeit it's currently swept back. Both of her hands are covered in armored black gloves, also covering her skin tight sleeves. She wears thigh-high stockings with straps to mount various tools and equipments. And her legs are covered in armored greaves.
Her left arm brandished a massive gun that's about as long as the wielder. It was made entirely of black metal, with nuts and bolts tied everything together in several parts. An equally massive blade can be seen at the underside of the barrel. The girl's arm vanished beneath its massive armguard, no doubt holding the trigger of this disproportionately huge firearm. Which brings them the unbelievable fact that the girl is holding the gun with one arm without even straining herself. But the most interesting equipment is a massive star like apparatus attached to her rear waist. It shares the same black metal design with the giant gun, and it is composed of five large rombhoid shaped cases arranged in the shape of a star pointing up with a reversed pentagonal centerpiece. One case at the uppermost part was missing, and at the center pentagon there's a Badge with an X numeral on it, a symbol for all members of the Arsenal Five. Of greater interest, her badge also supported a star at the background, denoting her position as something more.
The girl has a white skin, almost pale rather than creamy, with clear glowing blue eyes, almost luminescent in the shade of the shadows. But of greater attraction was the glowing blue tattoo encircling her left eye, drawn in the likeness of a blazing fire. The unnatural glowing made it looked like they were blazing like real fire.
Inside the shack, her partner began singing a requiem for the dead.
Requiem æternam dona eis, Domine,
As the Dead Master sings, one Kuroi Mato (3rdLieutenant, Arsenal Five Team Leader, Nickname: Black Rock Shooter, Squadron: None, Specialty: Commando, One (Wo)Man Army), burst out of the shack, carrying her Arsenal Gear, out for blood.
et lux perpetua luceat eis.
Hurling to the sky, the Black Rock Shooter aimed her giant gun at the army of knights. It momentarily hummed again as if charging. A cylindrical part of the giant black gun glows hot as it spins faster. After a short charge, the Arsenal Technician pressed the trigger, unleashing another blast of white hot blue stream of high pressurized flame. Kuroi swing her giant gun, and the stream of blue white fire sweep across the field like giant fire blade, incinerating every knight in its way, vaporizing them armor and flesh. Upon landing, the superheated blade cleaved through another knight like butter.
Te decet hymnus Deus, in Sion,
Using her giant gun-sword, Mato sliced the first three knights, bisecting them to separate pieces. A Knight charged forward, trying to flank the girl. She pointed her giant gun and fired another burst of flame. The knight tried to block the burst, but the flame was too hot. It easily penetrated his shield, melting everything behind it. But a while later, the stream of fire ended abruptly. The Arsenal Technician pressed the trigger of her gun several times. Nothing came out. Out of ammo. Without stopping, the girl spun her giant gun and grabbed the still hot barrel. With a yank, she tore away the huge center gun of her Gear and she jerked it. When she did, she seems to have activated some internal spring mechanism, as the barrel shortened to nearly a third its original length, folded in, and the two plates enclosing its sides enclosed the shortened barrel, becoming a compact rombhoid black metallic case, exactly identical with the other cases on her back. And with that, she put the case back to where it belong, the missing upper case of the Star apparatus. Without stopping, she grabbed a second case.
et tibi reddetur votum in Ierusalem.
The Knight clearly won't let her to her own devices and charged in. Mato easily dodged some of their attacks, and then counter attack with the giant sword of her gun, easily cleaving the knight in two, and then swing her blade horizontally to sever the legs of the other knights. This bought her some time to finish her work on this case, which is to attach the case on what appears to be the hardpoints of her giant gear. Upon entry, something was unlatched and the case opened to the side, and a 6 barreled black Gatling gun extended out, complete with a crank and a tripod extended out. She grabbed something from the apparatus behind her and pulled out a belt of ammo, attaching it to her gear. Taking aim and holding the crank, she began spinning the crank and out the rain of bullets. The Gatling gun took a terrible toll on the knights, as they did not expect a one shot flamethrower suddenly turned into a rapid firing gun.
Exaudi orationem meam;
"What the-" A knight were ripped in half when the bullets tear through his body. The Knights quickly recovered their shock and brought up their shield. As soon as the Gatling gun aimed at the shield, the said armament was quickly filled with bullet dents, and the projectiles ricochet allover the place. The Black Rock shooter stopped, pulled her crank back and simultaneously shifted the Gatling Gun Extension back into its compact case form. In a blink of an eye, she expertly exchanged another case. Pulling a lever, the case turned into single slightly larger barrel than the Gatling gun, but significantly longer than the Flamethrower Extension, this set also comes with a sniper scope, and a muzzle extension. She attached the long Sniper barrel extension, and fired. The armor pierced the shield and punctured the wielder's chest as well. Pulling the lever to eject the spent casing, she shoots and shoots, taking down the knights. But one knight managed to approach her. Mato swing the blade of her gun, firing the rifle mid swing. Its recoil propelled her swing and cleaved the knight dead.
ad te omnis caro veniet.
One particularly heavily armored knight endured the incoming armor piercing bullets, despite it has already made several holes on his body, and rapidly closed his distance with the girl. Perhaps it has something to with his bloodline limit that granted him some resistance to such individual attacks. Kuroi stopped firing, took off the sniper extension and grabbed another case. By the time she finished attaching the new one, the large knight is already right in front of her. Without so much as a panic, the girl stabbed the blade of her gear deep into the Knight's chest. The knight endured the stab from such a huge blade with a grunt and smirk. That is… a cocking sound and then a LOUD bang later, and the giant knight was thrown 50 feet away from the girl, missing the entire portion of his back after Mato pumped and fired her large triple barreled combat shotgun extension at point blank range. Pumping new ammos, she fired again and again, spraying the other knights with pellets of small spike balls. This time she took an active role and rushed forward towards the remaining knights, firing the shotgun at close range. The Knight's armor could not withstand the shrapnels from the shotgun, particularly when they're being blasted wholesale at close range. When they try to defend, the BR Shooter slammed her blade with force, piercing his shield and then she fired her shotgun point blank, blasting the shield and the knight to scrapheap.
Requiem æternam dona eis, Domine,
There's only a few of them left, alas, the shotgun stopped firing. Out of ammo. The knight tried to seize this chance and approached her again. Thinking fast, she detached the shotgun extension and yanked it out midair. She kicked the extension to an approaching knight, hitting him hard by the head, knocking him back and the case bounced to the sky. While the shotgun case is still midair, Mato grabbed the last case, pressed the right lever, and the case opened up, revealing the normal arm cannon extension. Attaching the extension, Mato quickly shoot every approaching knight in the head, firing huge slugs that cratered its target to a bloody pulp. Using the recoil from each firing, the Technician swing the large gun in a roundhouse arc, shooting every approaching knight that fell into her aim in the horizontal sweep. The last knight was too close, but it didn't matter. The last shot propelled her gun into a slash and the last knight was cleaved clean in the chest. When the last knight fell dead, the Shotgun extension case finally fell and landed accurately into her open palm.
et lux perpetua luceat eis.
Just as the Dead Master finished her requiem song, she also stopped hearing the sound of battle. Concerned, she glanced through the hole of the shack to check on the situation. Mato stood there on the ground covered with blood and misshapen bodies of knights. The result of her rampage. Mato looked at her bespectacled friend. "Yomi? You're done?"
Takanashi Yomi the Dead Master nodded. She wears a pure black gothic garment, a one piece short lacy skirt, and thigh high stockings and boots. She wears a short see through dark veil over her head, as if in mourning. Her hair is black, with a pair of curly strands of hair framing her face. Her green eyes gleamed behind her glasses. The green eyed girl noticed some blood splattered on Mato's face. "Mato." She approached her and then gently wiped the blood off her face. "It's done." As soon as she said that, the blue fire tattoo on Mato's left eye mysteriously disappeared.
Mato looked indifferent. She detached the shooter, folded it into a compact case and placed it back to the apparatus behind her together with the other weapon cases, completing the star shape. She lifted the blade part of the gun and placed it on her back, the star apparatus serves as a sheath for the blade. The blade, specifically the hardpoint where all the gun extensions were attached also showed a plaque, the name of the Arsenal Gear: Stella Grey, Variable Threat Response Arsenal Blade.
Mato looked dejectedly at the shack where her latest tuner just died. "Simca's gonna rattle me again."
"Let's go, Mato." Yomi replied.
"She's a good girl." Mato replied emotionlessly. "She likes yellow. That's a good color. She's a good girl."
"Mato…" Yomi suddenly embraced Mato's left arm. "Come on. It's done."
The BR Shooter looked at the Dead Master. "She's… a good girl."
"I know." Yomi nodded and looked at Mato. Her green eyes looked almost pleading. "I know. Let's go. Ok, Mato?"
Mato finally moved and start walking with Yomi at her side, leaving the carnage behind as Yomi rested her head on Mato's shoulder.
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"Right… who's the last member?"
"The last member… I'm afraid to say I don't know." George mourned his lack of knowledge. "I've never seen the fifth member in person. And yet all four known members insisted to maintain the name Arsenal Five."
Kage blinked. "Hmm… is it not the Captain? Captain Rena Imelia? Won't it be somewhat awkward that her crew possesses super weapons and she did not?"
"Well, Captain Imelia does possess her own Arsenal Gear… but rumor has it she rarely needed it. In fact, another rumor suggests that she once fought with all five members of the Arsenal Five and won WITHOUT her Arsenal Gear."
"Interesting."
That was when Kage noticed Murdoch was coming their way, looking pale and somewhat frightened. He's looking at him and motioned something. It seems he had something to report.
"Mr. George, excuse me for a moment."
George watched as Kage talked with Murdoch. He couldn't quite catch the topic, but the tanned man looked quite pale as he explained something to Kage. And when he's done, Kage tucked his head up. He turned to George. "Mr. Allister… I have good news and bad news."
"Let's hear it, captain. The good news first?"
"Good news. At the present course and speed, we'll be reaching Shanghai Harbor in… a week. Maybe less."
George nodded and smiled. "I see. Bad news?"
"Bad news is… when we get there, we won't stop. This over 100,000 long tons worth of floating solid steel is going to crash uncontrollably into one of the busiest and most densely populated harbor in the world."
George eyes widened. "Oh… okay. I can see how that will be bad for business."
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House of Clyne
Part 2
At roughly this time, George finally established the Zaft Empire, and was crowned the new Crimson Emperor, and Laweyna, though she will never became Queen, was named the Hakutenkun. The first one ever, she was below only one person but above millions of others. Many clans come to pledge loyalty to newly crowned Emperor: Zala, Vi Britannia, Joule, Elthman, and, to Laweyna's surprise, Clynes. From them, Laweyna learnt that the rest of her clan had finally learnt what truly happened and who she really is. They told her that ever since her exile, her family had done everything in their power to erase her existence from every record, pretending she never existed, and everyone had thought she was but a crippled maid. When the truth came out they were enraged by her family's treatment of Laweyna, and the other Clynes banished her family and now had come before her to firstly beg for forgiveness and then pledge their loyalty to her, electing her as the new head of the Clan. After much contemplation, Laweyna accepted. However by tradition, the head of clan must have an heir. Laweyna, in a very un-traditional manner of interpretation of the said tradition, married her youngest brother, the mild mannered and gentle 14 year old Siegfrein Clyne, while she herself was 27 at the time. It was a marriage of convenience with no love involved, but going all the way through with this bastard marriage, Laweyna gave birth to two children that would carry on the Clyne name, her bloodline limit, and would later inherit her position as the new head of the Clyne Family when the time comes. Laweyna taught her children everything she knows. However, her children could not comprehend the full scope of Laweyna's mastery over her bloodline limit, each was able to master only half of the aspect, much to her slight disappointment. The Daughter, inheriting her mother's beauty and mercilessness, mastered Laweyna's offensive and elemental voice manipulation techniques, while the Son, inheriting his father's gentle demeanor and wisdom, mastered Laweyna's more subtle mind manipulation techniques and her voice sensory prowess.
However, distrustful of everyone other than her children, Laweyna refused to teach other members of the clans the secrets of her powers. It seems, even after all these years, Laweyna could not shake off the bitterness she felt over what her own clan had done to her. However, Siegfrein greatly disapprove her sister's monopoly on her revolutionary techniques, seeing in her skills the power needed badly by the ailing Knights of Zaft at the front, especially when the Naturals began to assault their empire more fiercely than ever. While his son shared his father's ideas, convincing the more stubborn daughter was a different story entirely. With the combination of the Clyne's manipulative sound technique from the son and the father, compounded with the daughter's close bond with the son, the daughter finally relented and began teaching her mother's ways to the rest of the clan in secret. Soon, the Clynes were divided into two: those who followed the subtle manipulative teachings of the Son in the way of Song of the Siren, and those who mastered the aggressive ways of the daughter's way of the Wail of the Banshee. Regardless, Laweyna remained the sole master of the Bloodline Limit who was able to master both ways, and none had managed to follow her achievements.
The Clynes were to benefit greatly from this, as in battle, they became a rightly feared warrior and strategist, while in the political arena, as a savvy diplomat and politician with unparalleled oratory skills. But when Laweyna learned of how her clan is mastering her ways with the aid of her own children without her permission, she was infuriated. But by then, it was too late. Her children had mastered their respective ways so thoroughly, vastly improving them with concentrated effort to such degree that, while Laweyna can still defeat them in single combat, when her children teamed up, she was no match for their combined might. Laweyna also realized the futility of her wrath. Her clan had learned her ways, and whether she likes it or not, her teachings are there to stay. Finally, reeling from her first ever defeat, Laweyna finalized the establishment of a formalized form of a school that will teach the Clyne's Tome of Songs to the entire Clyne clan, taking up the title the Matriarch of Silence as both the head of the school and clan.
But by then, the war had escalated. When news came of how the Head of the Alliance had gone crazy enough to summon daemons, Laweyna and her cello (by now had become her official symbol of office and favored 'weapon') came out of her early retirement to once again stand next to George on what would become their final campaign. As it turns out, the intensity of this battle was so unlike anything she had ever witnessed. With Regalia at their side and daemons as the enemy, it was a battle between demons and gods incarnate. Laweyna was much scarred by this ordeal, both physically and mentally, seeing and hearing too many horrors that would've driven lesser soul mad. The toll proved too much, and Laweyna seemed lost decades of her youth within weeks as her golden hair turned white overnight. Upon seeing her pale figure and hag-like appearance, Laweyna felt something… a feeling she may never come back alive from this campaign. And so, a day before her departure Laweyna summoned her family and there she named her successors: her gentler and wiser son will become the head of the clan, with his father as the Advisor, while her daughter will become the head of the School. No words were exchanged between them during this meeting. But when Laweyna is but a step away from departing for her final battle, she turned around and for the first and last time in her life, her cold, distant demeanor cracked, revealing a loving mother and wife beneath as she kissed her children and husband, bidding them wordless but heartfelt goodbye.
Laweyna finally fell in the blaze of glory during the battle of the Daemongate, at the final stages of the battle, when George attempted to close down the Daemon portal. Laweyna and a cadre of Knights as well as an aiding Samurai squad defended the First Crimson Emperor as they slaughtered all daemons that attempted to disturb him in his final task. One by one, her knights fell all around her, and she herself was struck down by a gun barrage on her being. Dying in the pool of her blood, the First Hakutenkun fell into despair… until a miracle occurred. At the end of her life, Laweyna suddenly spoke. Somehow, someway, the genetic defect that rendered her mute was gone, and thusly, for the first and last time in her life, Laweyna utilize the full range of her birthright, combined with her mastery as the Matriarch of Silence. Combining the destructive Wail of Banshee and the mind manipulation of the Song of Siren, Laweyna unleashed a scream so loud, it was said that every living creature on earth that was not within ground zero, no matter how far they are were pushed back a feet away from the epicenter of the sound explosion. The backlash thoroughly destroyed her body, but in the process also unleashed an ultra-quasi-sonic explosion of sound that blow up the insides of every enemy within range, wiping out a huge chunk of the enemy and one tenth of the planet, allowing reinforcements to push through and turned the tide long enough until George finally completed the act, sacrificing himself in the process and closed the Daemongate for good.
And while Laweyna had immortalized herself as the greatest Hakutenkun to have ever graced the house of Clyne, what her family did next seem to besmirched said sacrifice. The Zaft empire were greatly saddened and angered by the loss of their beloved Emperor. But for the Clynes, the anger was double fold. In addition to losing the Emperor, they've lost their honored matriarch. Laweyna's daughter was infuriated and proposes that they strike back at the naturals in revenge. Her son, though more patient, had also showed more inclination towards retaliatory strike. This was further supported by other prominent families, particularly the Zala. However, with their army still in tatters after the latest conflict, they're not in position for another open war. And so they came up with another solution. Back when the Land Creator was first used, Zala and Clyne both conceptualized the use of the Land Creator as a weapon of mass destruction. George of Glenn silenced such thought, calling it a murderous council of a mass murderer. Both family were convinced at the time, shelving the idea in honor of the Emperor. But now, with George passed away, the two went ahead with their plan and utilized the Land Creator in a way that is anything but wise. They raised 11 new Plant Continents in the process, but in the process it broke the Regalia, and bring about the collapse in the process. Even worse for the Clynes, the faulty use of the Regalia killed the Son, the shock of which caused the daughter to be mentally devastated, leaving the clan leaderless for some time. Siegfrein had no choice but to momentarily take control, but alas, he was not his sister, as he was unable to control and unify the clan. During that time, his clan was also blamed for the massive destruction of the world and the irreparable damage to the Regalia, the House of Clan was branded forever after as a family of sinners by the Church. Their status as a privileged clan was forever rescinded. Siegfrein, unable to cope with so much mounting pressure, disappeared for some time in a self imposed exile for a soul search. Years later, he returned, older and wiser, just in time to take charge of the once mighty clan, now in tatters and but a shadow of its former glory and had begun a slow descent to extinction.
Where they used to be aggressive and warmongering, Siegfrein began championing peace and pacifism, a proponent voice of lessening the aggression between two factions to broker peace. To make his point clear, he started by dismantling the Diamond Doom troopers, the Clyne's infamous heavy troopers, by destroying one of their trump cards: the Meteor Chariot. He personally burned the blueprint as well as ordered the destruction all existing exemplar but one. Of course, at first, these decisions were met with ferocious opposition. The Clynes were well known warriors at the time, and they loathe straying away from that path. Siegfrein was undaunted. The Clynes need to repent for their mistakes and he did not see repentance in spilling the blood of their enemies. The conflict went so bad, it threaten to tear the clan apart in two: those who supported peace, and those who wish to continue the fight. The final hammer stroke fell when, after years in melancholy, Laweyna's daughter finally regained her sanity and returned to lead the clan. When she saw what her father had done, many members believed that the Daughter would oppose her father. They were wrong. Traumatized by the death of her beloved brother, the daughter was fed up with violence and war. She supported her father's peaceful ways, and encouraged her followers to do the same, rallying the rest of the clan in the process, ergo securing Siegfrein as the new head of the clan, and paving a path towards a peaceful House of Clyne. Their vast riches, once used in the war effort, were redirected for philanthropic activities: rebuilding of schools, hospitals, farming, etc. However, many other members of the family was embittered by these changes. Some of them left the clan in pursue of their own agenda. Many of them were but minor warlords that vanished in the pages of history, never able to rise up to prominence, bar one warlord who started the London Lohengrin Crisis. But even that was brought to a swift end and became nothing more but a laughing stock by the rest of the world. Today, while the Clyne is still considered a sinner's family, they're still amongst some of the politically prominent family of the Zaft Empire, with close ties to the Emperor. Yet unlike before, no one in Zaft can synonymies Clyne family with violence. They became champion of peace and patron for all endeavors that will lead towards a peaceful end of the conflict. Then again, with the Bloody Valentine coming to pass, their effort had yet to show significant results, though in the end, Siegfrein's descendants never stopped trying.
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Laweyna is based on that cellist coordinator that often appeared on some screenshots; it's that poor girl that was getting shot by some Blue Cosmos terrorist. Only while the chellist was black-haired, Laweyna is yellow haired.
SOOO…
Seeing some of the previous reviews… with all the G-Weapons, even Jaegers and Pacifista… I can't help but ask:
When I said 'not men…'
Seriously, what were you folks thinking the first time?
Take it easy folks. This is no time for giant larger than life creatures.
That one comes later.
Much later. You have been warned.
