Kira - Noir & Kage
Lacus - Hikari
Athrun - Rosso
Chapter 66
The Dance of Shadow and Light – Part 6:
Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum
That afternoon, the Gateway City of Februarius broke into a brief frenzy. Ever since Veia came with his army, a great number of magical creatures left the city and returned to the other side. But, enough remained in the city to feel the massive surge of magic when Ashem the Djinn granted his master's incredibly complex first wish. They think nothing of it. Until… this evening… when they felt that massive surge again… coupled with a voice… a booming echoing voice that reverberate not just on their minds… but also down to their very soul. Panic and riot erupted in an instant, every magical creature in that city was in such an upheaval, even Veia's knights were on the verge of being overwhelmed by the pandemonium.
The chaos settled down some time later, but now everyone was left to wonder what had happened. They did not have to wait for long for answer, because it came to them in the most heart wrenching procession.
A large number of children lead the way in a formation. They were sickly. Thin. Wretched. Broken. Yet their eyes glowed with grim determination. They armed themselves with crude knives and stick… Some of them carried stretchers on their backs, and atop them are unconscious men and woman, numbering six. But the centerpiece of this procession… is a Bicorn at the rear, dragging a stretcher gently behind him, its lone occupant was escorted by a knight brandishing a spear, and a blue haired boy with a broken sword in hand. Most of the children were massed here, forming a wall of men to protect their most honored laird.
"Alex?" A woman among the crowd jumped out in recognition of one of the children. "Alex is that you!?" She was carrying flyers, bearing the face of her missing son, thought dead in the fire two weeks ago.
"Mama?" One of the children, a child bearing the same face on those flyers, called back.
"ALEX!" The mother rushed, half blinded by tears towards her son thought dead. But before she can get closer, the other children held her at bay with their sticks and weapon.
"Ma! Stay back! Stay back for now!"
"Alex!"
Then, the crowd's eyes began to open. Many of these children were thought dead or missing during the two week period of bombing incidents. And there are many more they barely recognized, but they're children all the same… and yet… what's with their… horrid condition!? What had happened to them over the span of these two weeks?
As horror and realization began to settle, Godric, Hugo, Rowena and Salazar were amongst the crowd and the first to recognize the participants of this horrid procession. "Fayt!?" They rushed towards them in panic, but the children stopped them at stick's edge. "FAYT!"
"Lord Gryffindor!"
The response merely confirmed Godric's worst fears. Rowena and Hugo looked in horror at the stretcher dragged by the Bicorn. "Is that…!? Let me through! LET ME THROUGH!" The children were determined to let none pass, until Fayt signaled them otherwise.
The children immediately part ways and let the four adults pass. The Bicorn stopped briefly to let them see for themselves.
There atop the stretcher, placed in the bosom of the ruined wreckage of his armor, was Noir. Lifeless and unmoving. His mask still rests on his face, more cracked and broken than before, with bloodstains, unmistakably his, marring its dirty white surface. The crevice had widened, revealing more of his pale sickly skin and his purple lifeless eye, staring emptily to the unknown. His black cloak was torn viciously, dried blood marring its ragged edges. His thin, malnourished body can be seen beneath the jarring holes and tear of his shredded black cloak. It was beaten and bruised with… too many injuries…
When the four mages looked at Noir's lifeless body on the stretcher, Rowena was the first to collapse in tears. "My God… Lord Noir…!" Hugo's eyes began to water as he clasped his mouth in horror as he observed the many injuries marring a body that should not have born such wounds. "How… why…?" Godric and Salazar were speechless. But somehow, Godric can see what happened. Just look at all these children… broken, abused, and scarred children around him… and the story was told louder than a thousand pictures. Noir had taken the fight to the enemy, just as he said he would… and indeed, he did it. And look at what it cost him. This… broken shattered body, carrying a burden he never had the hope to carry, yet carry it, he did. Even the stoic Godric finally collapsed in tears and wailed in anguish.
Watching their heartfelt mourning, the children also cried. And soon… the crowd understood what Godric had understood. This boy… this man… this hero… had sacrificed everything for the future of these children. Their children. They silently approached the procession, this time with much reference. Some of the taller ones who can see at the Bicorn pulled stretcher gasped as the true form of the Dark Knight was revealed… "Dear God… he's… he's just a… boy… no older than my own son…!"
Soon, everyone tucked their head down in mourning and shame. How could they let this happened? This is still a child! A child who would one day grow strong, and be of great use to so many people! How could such a thing be allowed to happen to such a brave child!? What were they, the adults, doing!?
"He's still alive."
The Bicorn's telepathic voice cut through the mourning choir, earning him Godric's and everyone's undivided attention. "He is!?"
"Yes. He's teetering between life and death. He needs medical care, urgently. We need to bring him to her now."
Godric nodded to his friends and they understood. "Open the way! QUICKLY!"
The crowd jumped to attention and immediately dispersed to clear the way forward. Word were sent for the people ahead to do the same to ensure a smooth access. But before they can proceed, a group of Knights stand in their way. Godric recognized them as Goud Veia's men. "Get out of the way, you! This is an emergency!"
The Knights remained unresponsive. One knight took a step and replied. "You have in your custody a primary suspect to the incidents that has been plaguing this country. Surrender him to our authority, or else!"
"ARE YOU FUCKING BLIND!?" Fayt exploded. "Can't you see what's going on here!? He just went to the belly of Hell and back to rescue all these children! He's stopping the bombings at its source while you fuckers are bossing around in our country like you own the place!"
The knights didn't seem to care. "I repeat! Surrender him to us! Or else!" And they bared their fangs as they brought out their swords.
Even children can tell their less than friendly intentions. They fearlessly stand their ground, intent on not letting anyone harm their savior. And they're not alone. Godric's face was crimson with fury as he pulled out his silver sword and wand. Even Salazar readied his stuff, a look of utter disgust shot at the knights. Rowena pulled out his wand in threatening manner and Hugo wasted no word brandishing his hammer. But dwarfing everyone's anger was Fayt, whose body can barely contain his rage and blue energy begin to flare out from his small frame.
And more came. Who is defending this country, and who is placing them in harm's way… everyone can finally see with their eyes unclouded. And one by one, they all stand their ground in front of the knights, together with their children, defending the one who had given everything for them.
Even when faced with the prospect of fighting their way through an entire population of the city, the Knights did not lose their nerve. "Anyone who stands in our way will be deemed as equally guilty! Men! Stand ready!" They pointed their swords at the crowd. Some shirked, many barely flinched. "ATTA-"
CRASHH!
A palisade of icicles erupted and blasted away the entire front most battalion of Knights. Scores of them are now frozen solid in an array of icicles taller than houses in a bizarre display of their final moments. As the chilly mist settled, silence reigned, and they can all hear a bone chilling clanking of armored footsteps cracking frozen ice approaching the scene. Tracing the icicle from whence it came, everyone gawked as Goud Veia's ice cold furious eyes welcomed any who dared to look at the immortal Hakutenkun in his wrathful glory. His every step froze the ground in a crackling chill, which breaks under the weight of his rage. Brandished in his hand was the Regalia of Ice and Snow, Hyomaen.
Warm snow or not, as soon as the Hakutenkun made his presence known, everyone can feel a sudden chill down their spine as the temperature dropped a few dozen degrees in an instant.
He looked at the crowd and the broken boy they're so hellbent on protecting… and the heartless morons barring their way. "Open a path." He gave the order with a tone as ruthlessly cold as the ice he conjures. "Open a path… or I will carpet it with your corpses."
When a Hakutenkun gave a direct order, to even question it is certain death.
The knights quickly spread apart and open the path wide.
Veia gave Godric a gesture to go on. As they passed, Veia gave one more message: "If… I mean… When that kid wakes up again… tell him that I'll be waiting for him. He knows where."
Godric looked questioningly at first, but then smiled in gratitude. "Yes. Of course he'll wake up. He's more stubborn than I am."
The Hakutenkun nodded, and the procession proceed will all due haste for the salvation of the one they carry. The crowd also dispersed, leaving the Hakutenkun alone to deal with his men. Veia didn't say anything for a while as he quietly inspected the jagged icy blade of Hyomaen, checking it for chips and faults…
"Milord… we-"
"You know…" Veia's freezing tone silenced any attempt for back talks. "…there's one experiment I've wanted to try… If I freeze someone… if I encase them with ice, technically speaking I didn't kill them. But will the hypothermia that follows kills them? A slow, chilling… death. In a way… this place can be crueler than any place in the world."
The Knights didn't dare to move… despite the jovial tone, everyone can feel his murderous intent dripping from every word.
"There have been too many incompetent rats from the Church in my army as it is…" As Veia's silent bloodlust quietly fill his eyes with white cold light, the temperature rapidly drops, the air itself began to freeze. "I think it's pastime I clean house."
And no one will hear them screaming in their icy tombs…
0000000-8 years later-0000000
0000000-Lacus-0000000
"You know… when you leave… the 13th will just… lay the blame to… everyone else but themselves." Simca explained. "We're looking at a lot of… collateral damage."
"Hm. I don't suppose you can do anything about it?"
"At this point, I'm the last person who can tell them what to do. Given the amount of time I'm stuck with you – and I enjoy every minute of it – but in their eyes, I'm compromised."
"They're childish like that, aren't they?"
"With a boss like Corner? What do you expect, nee-sama?"
Lacus sighed. "And the other captains? Are they not in danger as well? Mwu-san, Murrue-san…?"
"This isn't their first rodeo with the 13th. They can at least assure their men will not be implicated… 10th still have Rena… but the 7th … without Kage-honey…"
"Hmmm… Whelp. Okay. Nothing to it then. Akasha? Be a dear, and Poison everyone in sight."
"…what?" Simca could've sworn she just heard something SERIOUSLY wrong.
The Serpent roared a hiss to the sky before she vomited a cloud of purple mist right at an amassed troopers firing at her. They walked out of the experience vomiting, urinating, and excreting uncontrollably and explosively. And they can't run any further because the poison's paralytic soon kicked in, and they were frozen in place.
"You get a poison!" The Akasha shot a burst of poison to the left, vomit ran rivers across the street. "You get a poison!" She shot another cloud to the right, a patchwork of snot and tears sprayed the ground. "Everybody get a poison!" Troopers ran in terror across the shit covered path as the giant white serpent's cloud of poison swallows them all, and Hikari cheerfully danced in excitement as the carnage unveiled all around her.
Simca watched in terror as her Hikari-onee-sama just committed a horrific crime against humanity so callously. "And what happened to, I'll never used poison!?"
"The poison's not lethal, the paralysis will wear off, but they'll keep losing bodily fluids until given the proper antidote. And you alone now hold the recipe." Hikari stopped dancing for once and gave the recipe to Simca. "This way, it'll be fair. Everyone gets poisoned because of me. 7th, 13th, 10th, everyone gets them. But everyone will survive. Now they can't say anyone is in cahoots with me." Simca could see Hikari gave her a meaningful wink.
"I see." Simca nodded. "Oh, you missed a block."
There's one block not yet infected with the epidemic of involuntary bowel discharge… Most uninfected survivors are garrisoned within the building for what little protection they can get.
One burst of purple poison later, and now it's probably the stinkiest infected building in the block.
In the end, that entire section of Shanghai will be covered in clouds of purple poison for the next several days. Anyone who entered it will immediately turn around and search for the nearest toilet. And stayed there for hours. Only soldiers of the 7th and the girls of Genesis seem strangely immune to this phenomenon.
0000000
The Wu Hu Xing tavern had endured much, especially ever since Kage came to town. He just couldn't understand. When he made this restaurant, the centerpiece of this restaurant, namely his massive fireplace, suddenly became constant source of… shall we say… umm… craziness?
First a captain, the lieutenant of the 10th, and some crazy armored doctor exploded out of the bonfire… then this morning a Chariot roared out… and now…
Now… when the owner of the Tavern saw this gigantic white snake unmistakably slithering towards him…
He. Had. Enough.
So when everybody else in Shanghai ran away in terror of the great white snake rampaging in the street, the owner of the Tavern first went into his cabin, and then he came out bringing his ancestral spear and stand his ground against the incoming snake.
Inside the Cobra, Lacus noticed this familiar angry man coming at her with a spear…
He steadfastly stand ready in front of his tavern, stabbing his spear on the ground, and didn't a budge a muscle even when the cobra is but 10 feet away. Lacus also had no intention on squishing this poor brave man underfoot so she immediately stopped her snake just an inch away from him.
"…ummm…" Lacus timidly pondered. "Can I help you?"
"You're gonna do it again aren't you, you devils!? Going in and out of my fireplace! MY FIREPLACE AIN'T A TOLLBOOTH TO THE NETHERWORLD!"
Lacus blinked. Rii~iight. That is de~efinitely her fault.
Understanding this, the Cobra opened her mouth to allow Lacus and Simca to climb down her mouth.
Seeing his stand elicit a response, the Tavern owner became even more emboldened.
"I'm so sorry. (koff)" Hikari immediately bowed her head low. "It was not my intent to cause so much problem to you. (koff)"
"Everyone keep saying the devil lived in my fireplace! How are you going to fix this!?"
"I'm afraid there will be no fixing this. (koff) Not in the days ahead. (koff)"
"What!?"
"I used your fireplace to travel via a floo network. (koff) It is a popular and often used method of travel by wizards and witches. (Koff)"
"She's saying that there will be others." Simca quickly followed. "You know that an invasion is coming right? There will be others. Witches and Wizards who can do the same thing, am I right? Would it be that easy?" Simca pondered this from a tactical standpoint. There are many fireplaces in Shanghai, if any of those can be converted into a magical gateway, the enemy can just teleport entire armies in an instant!
"Xing Ke was wary of the same thing. (koff) But there are several requirements and limitations. (koff) Your fireplace is not only of sufficient size. (koff) They are also Ancient. (koff) Dating back to several decades. (koff) And they're still often used. (koff) It is a perfect requirement to create a large scale floo gate. (koff) Those that will come; I fear they will not be as polite as I am. (koff)"
"…my family owned this restaurant for generations! I will not give it up to some damned witchcraft!"
"I know. (koff) That is why I turned your fireplace into a Floo Gate. (koff) Your Fireplace satisfied all the requirement to be a Floo Gate, but it's still fresh. (koff) It had never been connected to the network before, and thus it is vulnerable. (koff) Which is why I connected it in the first place. (Koff) Now preventative measures can be taken, and I will teach you the way to prevent that. (koff) It's very simple. Even muggles can do it. (koff)"
"Am I supposed to understand any of that?"
"No." Simca replied. "But it is important for you to understand, my good sir, that she's trying her damndest to save your life… and your restaurant. It has an unexpected strategic vulnerability the army had not foreseen. And she's trying to prevent you from being killed because of it, or worse, court-martialed. Accept her offer. And you'll be the owner of the most magically secure restaurant in Shanghai!"
"And you call that an apology, little girl!?"
"No (koff)" Hikari was writing something on the paper, which earned Simca's interest as she read the content. Once she's done, she handed it to the Tavern Owner. "This is my apology for the previous two times. (koff) Oh, and I also put the Floo blocking method in there as well. (koff)"
The Tavern Owner looked at the content of the papers and frowned. "Why would I want these!?"
"Because we're definitely gonna want that." Simca had seen it what's in it. "You keep that, mr. owner, and I assure you, you won't regret it."
The Owner sighed, then he turned away. "I need to buy the ingredients. This restaurant better still be here when I get back."
"I promise. (koff)"
And so the owner left, huffing and grumbling as he went. Hikari and Simca sighed in relief. "Well done. Now let's go before he changed his mind."
"Already on it! (koff)" Hikari whisked a handful of floo powder and went into the restaurant, where the fireplace was magically lit. Tossing the Floo powder into the flame, it roared even bigger and the flame turned from yellow red to teal green. In fact, the flame got so big, it bust through the restaurant roof. "Not to worry, It'll be fixed. (koff)" she already did that before, she can do it again. The problem is she need the fire to be THIS big in order for the whole serpent to go in. That's right, she'll be teleporting the whole snake! After all, Floo travel is still unstable for transporting multiple people. There had been plenty of accidents back when it was developed in Februarius. When they try to teleport multiple passengers, what came out was a spliced amalgamated mess! One way is to teleport people one by one. But that will take time and also costly, as the Floo gate need to be reignited for every person. Furthermore, frequent use of a single gate without pause or rest will destabilize it, causing the aforementioned issue to arise even on single person travel.
By her count, Lacus had used the Gate on this Tavern 4 times in total. 3 times to transport Kira, Xingke and herself. That one was pretty much a guaranteed success as it is this fireplace's maiden use. This morning, she teleported a Greater Daemon carrying several passengers through it. After such a large scale use, ideally she would've wanted to wait a little bit longer before she can use the same gate again, but the situation is pressing. And that is why she boldly used her Shut in Heaven Mobile Mode: Serpent of Akashia to the task. To transport so many people all at once, she'll have them swallowed by the Serpent and then the serpent will travel through the floo network, protecting the passengers from the vagaries of such a risky journey. She'd tried this before, though not with this many people… and one more thing: she had never tried this… carrying Null children inside her serpent. Especially twins.
"Nothing ventured, nothing gained." That is also the reason why she went and splurged the Shut-In Heaven for this. If it was just a simple transportation for the Orphans, she could've simply used Leraje for the Job. But… seeing she's carrying a hazardous cargo, she's minimizing the risk as much as she could. Shut-In Heaven had been proven to be able to withstand the twins negative aura. Serpent of Akashia is basically Shut In Heaven in snake form. So, theoretically, their negative aura should be suppressed as much as possible.
"Right." Seeing the flame is raging well enough, Lacus immediately returned to her serpent, who extended her forked tongue and swallowed her.
"Alright! Time to… go…?"
Lacus' words fell short out of her mouth as she was welcomed with a scene.
0000000-Kira-0000000
"Captain!"
"Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!"
Rygart, Jess and Kaite finally caught up to the captain. Somehow… even though everything around them is smoldering… even though everywhere they see corpses crumbling to ashes… the supernatural flame didn't even singe their clothes. It's like the flame knew who they must burn and who they must kept alive.
"…Captain, I've rigged the tank! It'll blow up in… Captain?"
Kage is struggling to keep himself upright as he hold on to the wall. As Guts promised, his head doesn't hurt even after he exert himself this much… but… that fireblast. The energy he used to suppress the injury was immediately used up. And the heat… now he knew how oven roasted pork felt like.
"Hang on, hang on. Take a few, my energy will soon flow through you again." Guts comforting words alleviate his concerns.
"Okay…" Kage panted as he turned Rygart. "You were saying?"
"Uhhh… I've… permanently jammed all the control valve and shoved a boat load of fuel into the boiler… it'll keep heating up until it explode."
"…The only thing I get is explode."
"I've rigged Atilla's steam engine into a time bomb. We have like… 15 minutes?"
"Okay." Kage nodded. Then the ground shook slightly. When the captain turned lightly to his side, the Alpha and his troop stand by the door. The Alpha is eying him suspiciously.
Kill me. Or don't. I'm not your enemy. Kage gave a few hand signals to the Gorilla, hoping he'll understand.
To the surprise of many… he did. The Alpha replied with his own sign language.
You. Black clad Naked monkey. Reek old power. Who?
Kage wasn't sure how to answer that. So he replied. Don't know. Not important. Great Gorilla. Two options. Fight with me. Or escape. Bring Troop out of here. Danger.
The Alpha growled back. Gorillas. No coward! We kill blasphemous naked monkey! We protect the forest!
Not your fight. Kage replied. Blasphemous naked monkey try to kill me. You helped me. Unintentionally. I'm grateful. More naked monkey will come. Use evil magic. Please leave. Stay safe. Protect forest.
The Alpha frowned. Now he began to understand why the humans were so weak. Based on his past experience, the Iron Serpent's skin is not only tough, whenever his people tried to get close, the many spikes across its metallic skin would breathe fire and spit metal. But today… the serpent is slow, and its spikes were suspiciously silent. Now he understands why. The naked monkey inside were fighting him. He's the Alpha of the naked monkeys. So… in essence… he's interfering in a turf war between the naked monkeys.
The Alpha finally made his decision. He growled to his troop and made several commands with his gestures. The gorillas nodded and some leave the way they came. But some stayed, including the Alpha.
More at stake. Sense more evil magic. Wounded go. Alpha stay. Best gorillas stay. Kill naked monkey with evil magic. Protect forest from this blasphemy.
Excluding the Alpha, four largest and least wounded Gorillas stayed. The Alpha dropped something to Kage's lap, and the Captain sighed in exasperation.
"Thank you, O wise and brave Gorilla." By then, Kage also felt Guts' power boost returned and he can get back to his feet.
"What was that all about?" Jass asked.
"They're going to help us fight our way to the other Necromancers."
"What… other Necromancer?"
"You don't seriously think they'll bring just one Necromancer to take ME on, do you? That would be fucking insulting." Kage showed what the Alpha had dropped to his lap.
The severed decrepit head of another Necromancer, with rotten blood still dripping from the stump of his neck.
0000000
True enough… the 13th didn't bring just one. They brought 5. One for each car inbetween the forward and rear locomotives.
One was vaporized; the other had his head torn off by the Alpha. And the remaining three had just been informed of the ignoble fates of their colleagues.
"I don't understand… the Gorilla I get, but how is it that the Captain can interfere with our magic? I heard he can't use any magic!"
"I did hear he was able to survive in that Undead infested Junius for a week… could it be?"
"Enough prattle! There's only one way we can get out of this. We must pool our power together! Channel it to the strongest spell we have!"
The three last necromancer began gathering all the unholy power at their command and concentrated into a single mass. The abominable quantity and quality of this wicked energy was such, even the living soldiers in vicinity was affected.
With such a massive magic being performed, everyone can feel it from miles away.
0000000
"The grander the magic, the more conspicuous it becomes." Kage muttered under his breath. This pungent air thickened… but because of it, even Kage can easily track them. The closer he get, the stronger the smell.
Evil magic. Come from segment ahead. Very strong.
The Alpha pointed at the door leading to the 4th car. Kage nodded and jumped across the gap to quickly close the distance. As soon as he get there, the rotten stench was overwhelming. But there's no mistaking it. This is the epicenter of this vile black magic. "Alright." But before Kage can do anything, the door before him opened up. A pack of trooper burst out of that door.
By that time, Kage's automatic response to any trooper that ran his way was kill on sight.
"STOOOOOOOOOOOOOOPPP!"
So one can say that trooper was extremely lucky that Kage heard his scream and stopped his knife millimeters away from puncturing his forehead.
The reason Kage was able to stop his arm was because, in that split second, he also saw that trooper dropped his gun the minute he saw him.
The Alpha roared behind Kage's back, but Kage gestured him to calm down and wait. The Captain glared at the trooper. "Give me one good reason."
"W… I… W… We're not… we're not with the 13th!"
"….and how do you expect me to believe that?"
"…only my words." To make his point, the trooper gestured his friends and they too dropped their weapons, and knelt with their hands behind their heads. "Judging by those Gorillas behind you, you can kill us at your leisure and we won't be able to stop you. On that account, you had the upper hand, sir."
"…" The Gorillas are still heaving menacingly behind him. Kage pondered his options. "…you're still alive. Explain why you should remain so. And quickly."
"…we're not 13th. I'm from 10th. She's from 6th, a medic. Some from 2nd, others from 9th…" Instead of answering further, the trooper grabbed a blood stained bag and poured its content in front of Kage. Dogtags. Bloodstained dogtags. Dozens of them. "They've killed my friends. Our brothers. You're looking at the only troopers left in this entire train who would not be complicit in this insanity and they've killed us for that. And now this!" The trooper angrily jerked his thumb at his back, from where this foul stench is emanating. "We just got here… fighting our way through what were once our friends. We fought and bled for the Alliance and this is how they repay us!"
"What do you want?"
"…a few minutes ago, we just want to survive. Leave you alone, and you leave us alone… but now…" The trooper gritted his teeth. "…now we just want revenge!"
And then Kage noticed what glowed in those dead and tired eyes. Anger and Madness. Betrayed by their colleagues for reason they could not accept. Now they just fought their way across this whole damned train. Losing god knows how many friends. And then to watch them rose up again as undead, forced to put them down, and losing more and more comrades to this blasphemy in the process. Their sanity had been pushed way past the limit of human tolerance. "…do you know where the Necromancers are? How many are there?"
"We saw three." Sensing the Captain is starting to believe them, the trooper dared himself to raise his voice and lift his head up. "We spotted them at the heart of the fourth train… channeling some kind of spell. Looks like Hell in there."
Kage pulled back his knife. The trooper who noticed relaxed a bit… but his glare kept them on their knees for now. "…I gave the Gorilla two options… I now give that same choice to you: run for your lives. Do not get in our way or we will kill you." Kage suddenly knelt in front of the trooper and pressed a knife on his neck. "Or… you can stand up and fight with me. We'll put an end to this insanity no matter what method we have to use."
"…" The trooper answered not with words. He dared himself to grab the rifle even though Kage still placed a knife at his neck. Fact is, the knife slightly cut at his neck, but the trooper didn't care. He endured far worse.
"…and the rest of you?"
Dead eyes full of determination answered back. If they're gonna die… let's die standing with their guns unloaded on those SOBs.
"Okay." The trooper nodded. "Give us an order, Captain."
"…my order is practically a suicide mission. Are you prepared for that?"
"…we came here ready to die. Tell us what you want us to do, Captain."
"…okay."
In total, there are only 8 troopers left. 8 troopers who had fought through hell and back. And each and every one of them is ready to die. No other troopers in this train are more dangerous than these 8. Men and women, ready to die. Nothing is more dangerous.
Nothing.
0000000-Lacus-0000000
"Alright! Time to… go…?"
Lacus' words fell short out of her mouth as she was welcomed with this scene.
Simca is lying in the pool of her own blood, coming from her punctured abdomen. The children are in panic, Setona, Marina, and the rest of the Orphanage staff, including Kaguya and especially Salamandine are glaring angrily at the source of this commotion, for that is all they can do, considering the circumstances.
Nike is holding Tien zi by the neck, his arms, though still bound, is poised to break her neck with a squeeze.
Lacus immediately tend to Simca before anything else. Massive puncture wound… several severed arteries… no vitals were damaged, thankfully. Pulling out several needles, Lacus immediately get to work and pierced several points in her body. The bleeding stopped almost immediately. And with that, Lacus performed a quick surgery. In a matter of minutes, Simca's wounds had been closed. It wasn't too deep, but she had lost a lot of blood.
Watching all this… was Nike. He was, like so many others, were in awe at Lacus' skill. But that awe quickly turned… into something else. "Amazing."
Hikari noticed the praise was directed at her. "Nike-san… calm yourself. Put her down, killing her will not do you any good."
"…I want…"
"Pardon?"
"…you're an amazing doctor. Simca told me that, multiple times. She swear, you're the most amazing doctor she had ever seen. Using methods and knowledge she never even heard of. And now I've seen it for myself… you really are amazing." Nike still remembered the glow in Simca's eyes, even though it's coupled with her terror of him. "…I want you to fix me."
"Fix you?"
Nike's lips were trembling. He swallowed a gulp and took a deep breath… as if he was forming the words very carefully. He wants it to come out right. "This thing… affecting me and my brother… the thing that you said making us Null Children exude that… negative aura thing… I want you to fix me. Remove the source, whatever it is. Cut it out or something!"
Lacus blinked at the request. The desperation in his voice was palpable. But he was also, for the first time, perhaps in his life, genuinely sincere. "…oh… Nike-san…" Her answer will break his heart. "…I can't."
"Can't or won't!?" Nike strengthened his grip on Tien Zi to make his position very clear. But Lacus shook her head.
"If I could… I would've done it, the first time we met. Understand this… you are a product of a science FAR beyond human understanding. Even my Master who was the greatest medical mind in history, even he could barely begin to understand how. What was done to you… is not the fault of some… specific organ or something… it's your genetics. The Old One tampered with the very base genetic material of the human itself. There's nothing to cut out, it's your very core of being and thus the very entirety of your existence itself!"
"No… No!" The despair in Nike's tone was painful to hear. "No… No… there must be something you can-!"
"There's only one thing YOU can do. You have to accept it. It's a part of you. Part of who you are. You seem to revel in it, but you secretly reject it. You hate it. That's why you're in so much pain. Simca told me your story… I understand. And she understands it too. Your Null capabilities caused people to fear you. To hate you. And eventually they keep trying to hurt you."
"HOW WOULD YOU KNOW!?" Nike screeched. "My brother and I were sold by our parents because of this curse! We were hated and shunned by everyone just for existing! How would you know!"
"Do you even know what it feels like to be me?" Lacus coldly replied.
0000000-8 years earlier-0000000
When they brought Noir back to the orphanage in that state, the horrific state of Noir's lifeless body shocked Helena to unconsciousness. Helga broke down in tears, howling and desperately shaking the lifeless body of her beloved apprentice like she just lost her own firstborn. And Lacus… if she had been anywhere near as devastated as the former two, she had taken great pains to not let it show. But she watched unblinking as Noir's lifeless body was brought before her, and she would remain in that shocked unresponsive state for a full five minutes. When she finally began to speak, her voice was cold and professional.
"Take him to the emergency room! EVERYONE! GET TO WORK!" When she said everyone, her Haros jumped into action.
The Haros transformed into their human form and quickly placed Noir's body in a gurney. Lacus ordered an entire wing of the Mansion to be isolated, and they brought him there. And once the door to the room was shut, it remained shut for the next… three days. No one comes in, no one comes out.
And during those three days, no cheer can be found. Not just in that house, but in every part of the city. People from all around the country came to their mansion in droves… but no one was allowed to come anywhere closer than the front door. They all wanted to offer their condolences or support… the people of the orphanage appreciates the thought, but they asked them all to return home.
Fayt, in private, debriefed Godric everything. Everything that happened, everything they did. It was outrageous and defied beliefs in so many ways. The Djinn, the portal, the secret Necropolis Lab… Then they were introduced to the Paladins… at least, the only one still conscious, namely Allelujah and his worst half Hallelujah. The other 6 Paladins remained in deep slumber, as if they were in some kind of hibernation. They still don't understand what has been done to them that caused them to remain so, and the only person who can answer this question is currently unable to even breathe without help much less talk.
"How's your body, Fayt?"
"Quite frankly, I can still feel it brimming at the edges of my mind… I'm trying not to get too excited, lest I lose control. It's difficult, and if I let up for a second, they'll bubble out… but… in time, I'll get a hang of it."
"Good. Good."
As for the children, those who are native to Februarius and still had their parents or relatives were returned to their family to be cared for. However… a great many more of them no longer even had parents, much less home. And so they all stayed in the orphanage for the time being. And considering what had happened, what they've learned, the orphanage will not allow anyone to claim them if the child in question refused.
As for Februarius, after that shameful incident in the streets, they began to hear reports that Veia recalled more than half of his standing forces as an apology. More unsavory rumor also ran about that he had used this chance to commit a massive purge of all of Church radical supporters within his army. The Hakutenkun chose to remain in Februarius for a little while longer, but he ordered the martial law of Gateway City to be called off.
On the fourth day, the sealed door was opened, but those who wished for hope were welcomed with… Lacus' horrifying expression and verdict.
"…there are 200 bones in human body. He fractured at least a quarter of them, especially on his right hand. Muscles torn… nervous system's a mess…" Lacus explained flatly. "Don't worry. In the last three days, I've fixed them all… technically he's healthy but…"
"But?"
"…he won't wake up. I've stabilized his condition and kept him on life support, but he's still in coma, his body in a complete shutdown. He's alive but only just alive. His vital organs still function but activity is extremely minimal. I detected no higher brain activity, no… no…"
It was then Helena came to her with a handkerchief. "Lacus-sama…"
"No… No…" Lacus was trying to finish, but Helena caressed her face… wiping the flood of tears falling from her misery filled blue eyes. "No… I… don't…" And she finally broke down crying. She looked like she's been through Hell.
And everyone can see this wasn't the first time. Later, her Haros told them that in the last three days, Lacus didn't sleep, never rest, she even forgot to eat. They had to force her to stop on the fourth day, because she had worked like a girl possessed, she had tried everything in her power, exhausted every ounce of her not inconsiderable wealth of knowledge in medical and magical arts to find a way to wake him up… if she can work herself to death, she will. Alas, even with such zeal, her most precious patient remained comatose, no matter what she tried. And with every failure, she would cry and wail in despair before Noir's unresponsive body, now submerged in a tube filled with amniotic fluid. Bizarre enough, Lacus stripped the Judge naked, but she made sure his face remained covered behind his already broken mask, the intravenous hose were slinked past the crevice of said mask.
"That mask is his life. Removing it from a Judge is like asking House Elves to wear clothes." Lacus replied when they asked. "It didn't interfere with his breathing. Besides… not one of us had the right."
"We understand."
"He really looked okay…" Fayt must admit, Lacus really did a spectacular job in patching him up, physically. He looked completely unscathed… but that one empty eye tell a different story.
"…I need a second opinion…" Lacus sighed, but then her ears perked. "…maybe the army of Elves approaching us from the front porch can tell us something."
"Army of Elves?" Everyone gawked.
When the occupants rushed out, true enough… an army of grim faced Elves in full gear, with leaf themed full armor, sword, and bow, stood at the ready at the mansion's front porch. The only thing that is friendly in this army is their leader… a familiar face.
"Lady Sakuya?" Lacus welcomed with a nod.
"Lady Lacus. My apologies for coming unannounced… and in this kind of circumstances."
"…Lord Veia is just a couple of blocks from here."
The faces of every Elf in that army paled.
Lacus knew more than anyone the terror Veia had carved into the heart of every survivor of the Magic War, especially the long lived Elves. "Which is why I just whispered to him to stand down. So… is it safe to assume you're here for him?"
Hardly a difficult question. Practically everything that has happened in this country for the last few months seem to always centered on him.
"…" Sakuya was equally speechless seeing the state the Judge was in. But… unlike other helpless gawkers, she had her own insight. "He's alive?"
"I assure you, he's very alive. But… no brain activity, one heartbeat per minute… he seems to be in suspended animation."
"…is that so…" Sakuya placed her hand before the tube… "I see… I think I know what happened. I've seen these symptoms many times… except, in his case… it is exponentially worse."
"What is it?"
"…Ether Poisoning."
"Ether…!? Wait… isn't that…?"
"Yes. The exact same ailment that affects the people of Februarius. However… in your case, the poisoning happened slowly, little by little over the course of 2 centuries. In HIS case… it's like 200 years' worth of poison were dumped into his system in one instant."
"Wha…" Lacus blinked. "…how could that happened? Noir's a muggle, he can't use magic!?"
"And that is precisely why he's in this state." Sakuya shook her head. "As we all now know, raw Ether Mana is not the kind of substance that is beneficial to a human body. Wizards are capable of using Ether for Magic since they possess Magic Circuit in their body, the harmful effects of Ether were thus contained within the Circuit, albeit not completely. Mages had developed a measure of immunity, although not well enough that they still contract the shortening lifespan issue. Muggle may seem unsusceptible but that is a mistake. They cannot use magic like Mages, not because they don't have any Magical Circuit, they just don't have enough of it. So when an abundant amount of ether was forcefed into a body with barely enough Magical Circuit to contain them, the Ether's poison spilled out of bounds, contaminating the rest of his body."
"But… with Ether being that detrimental… how could he be alive with that much poison in his body?" Rowena pondered.
"What did he do that he can have that MUCH Ether flowing into him in the first place?" Salazar asked.
"Those are just some amongst the myriad of questions I wished to ask him, if not for his current predicament."
"…can you save him?" Helena pleaded.
"My dear… it took me centuries of study to even realize Ether is this harmful to human body. And even then the amount is infinitesimal. This… is a hundred times more potent…"
Lacus stopped hearing at that point. From the moment she heard the uncertainty in Sakuya's voice, although she did provide additional insight, as expected, she also had no answer. But this insight… was more than enough clue as to what she must do.
It's just…
00000000
Later that night…
Lacus knelt and presented the ruined Titanbane.
"…didn't I fix this barely a few weeks ago!?" The broken Titanbane was taken from her hands. "The first one was no easy fix, and now, the damage is at least a hundred times more severe."
Lacus said nothing.
"…you did a bad thing, Lacus."Lacus winced at the growling accusation. "The first time, you told me to make it a harmless toy for a defenseless child. The second time, you asked me to fine tune it for the precision of an artist. But this? The last time I saw a Titanbane THIS damaged, my great grandfather told me it suffered the War of Worlds. A Warrior's heart… needs a warrior's body."
"He will fight again."
"…I'll work on it right away. But I don't think it'll be possible to finish this any time soon."
Lacus can only bend her head down in gratitude. She really had been a demanding mistress. Soon, the other party disappeared, and not a moment to soon, a new one entered the conversation, albeit in a different manner.
"Why do you hesitate?"
Unbeknownst to everyone, Lacus ears picked a different voice addressed just for her. "…"
"You know what must be done. The Elf Queen knows it. She's just concerned over the immorality of the one cure that could save him. What about you?"
"It's not your place to decide." Lacus whispered inaudibly.
"No. Because it's not in my power to save him. It's in yours."
"What does it matter to you what happens to him? He already rejected you in the forest!"
"Irrelevant… it is in both of our best interest to see him survive this tribulation. You in particular have more reason than anyone."
"What is it that you want me to do, Zero!?"
Far away from that place… Zero stood calmly in the overlooking shadow. "The question is, Milady… What… are you prepared to do?"
Lacus didn't answer anymore. Zero merely chuckled. "She'll do it. And now… the future has taken root in the present."
C.C., standing behind the masked man, merely shrugged as Zero soon departed.
00000000
When Noir woke up again, he's in a rather surreal world…
The sky is blue, the cloud is puffy… there's rainbow flowing as rivers… birds that looked like Bert suits flying in the sky, flapping their wings so eerily… even the flowers in the grass had smiling faces, singing…
"…okay. Am I dead?" Because if this is Hell… he dread to wonder what Heaven look like.
"Do you have to start with that every time you wake up?"
Noir get up and looked for where the now familiar voice came from. As he wondered this… that's when he heard a humming in a familiar sweet tone. He looked around and saw her pink hair standing out amidst the field of white flowers.
"…" Instinctively, Noir just went there… and sat next to her. Lacus was sitting curled against her knees, humming the tune of this song. She didn't look at him, but he knew she acknowledged his presence as she stopped humming. Fact is… there's only the two of them here in this… surreal place. He had wanted to ask about the place… but somehow… what came out instead was: "You're alright?"
"…no."
"…why?"
"…I'm upset."
"…why?"
"…can't you tell?"
"Nowadays, I feel too tired to tell."
"Hm." Lacus chuckled sadly. "…I'm upset because of you."
"…"
"When I first brought you here, the idea was so that you can have a well earned rest. A vacation. Plain and simple. You're supposed to be having fun." Tears formed at the corner of Lacus' eyes. "Instead, you were hurled into one ordeal after another, grew increasing beaten and broken with every harmful encounter, and each and every time, you stood one foot off the grave!" Lacus finally broke down crying. "…where did I go wrong? Was it a mistake to bring you here?"
"…I don't know." Noir sighed. "…in retrospect you're spoiled of options. I could've gone to Septembrus or Decembrius, spending my days farming or hunting. Or maybe Novembrus, where Charles would treat me like royalty…" He snorted. "But then… I'd probably hang myself of boredom within the first week in the former. And in the latter, I'd be stuck working overtime from sunup to sunup preventing one fratricide after another. In the end, it probably doesn't matter where I get sent. It's me we're talking about here. I'll always get myself into trouble no matter what, alas."
"But… if I've never come here… I'll never know what warm snow feels like. If I've never come here, I'll never learn how to cook fine cuisine. If I've never come here… I'll never get to tease the hell out of Rosso, who always wanted to come to this fantastical realm. If I've never come here… I'll never get to know all these wonderful people: Godric, Salazar, Rowena, Helga… and so many more…"
Noir looked at Lacus. "You asked me once… why I did what I did. Why I went through so much pain, living such a bitter and cold way of life… Because I know… there were people… good people out there. They have no ambition. No eye for power. They just wish to live out the simple happiness in life. Eating warm food with family. Laughing with friends. Falling in love. Things the powerful and the rich taken for granted. In Aprillus… for all its faults, there are many such people… but it is hard for me to see them sometimes. Nowadays, it was so hard, I've forgotten they existed. My life… it became a succession of cases after cases. I forgot what I was fighting for. Then you brought me here… though I do have some misgivings over the way the law being enforced here… not to mention some of the questionable practices… it does give me a clear picture: this country is not perfect. It's full of flaws, full of problems. But in here… one can plainly see good honest people rewarded for their kindness, living joyfully in simple day to day happiness. This. This is worth fighting for. This is what I was fighting for."
"I guess what I've been trying to say is…" Noir and Lacus looked at each other. Noir's eyes curved up in happiness. "I'm glad. Of all the places I could go in the Empire, I'm glad I came here. So. Thank you. Thank you for bringing me to this place."
At that answer however, tears streaked down Lacus' eyes over her flushed cheeks. "…" She collapsed even further and covered her face to dam the flood of tears.
Noir panicked a bit. "Lacus? What-"
And before either knew it, Lacus' arms sling over his back in a hug, her head rested on his shoulder. "…Lacus…?" She hugged him tight, afraid that if she let go he will disappear. But she kept sobbing. "…whatever it is that ails you… please… tell me and I'll help you."
"I'm trying to remember."
"Remember?"
"…I'm trying to remember why I brought you here in the first place." Lacus mumbled. "…I know it wasn't out of charity… it was something very selfish… but… but… try as I might… I couldn't remember." She tightened her hug. Her cries and sob grew. "And now I realized I've stopped caring what it was. All I can remember are just… our days together. Every moment we spent during these three months… I… I…" They parted, and while Noir was stunned at the agony in her expression, Lacus can barely see Noir's face with her tears blinding her eyes. "…I can no longer remember any other happy days… any days where you weren't there." Lacus swept her tears so that she can at least see his face clearly. Yes. His face. That mask. That's not a mask, that's HIS face. "I never saw your face… but I can somehow always see it… your smiles… your anger… your pain…" One last swipe, she looked at his purple eyes with her clear blue eyes.
"…I hate you."
"…huh?"
Noir shrink back. Looking more uncertain than ever, and he could not muster any response. He thought about moving back or something… until he realized something else.
He couldn't move.
Try as he might, he really couldn't move a muscle. He couldn't even say a word. His mouth won't budge.
"I hate you." Lacus continued to cry… as she pushed Noir's paralyzed body down until his back pressed the ground. As Noir lay there, the scenery also changed. The field of white flowers turned black from where his back touched them as they grew and spread uncontrollably, covering every inch of the garden until the whole field was turned black. Thorny vines slither and creep around Noir's limbs, crawled lithely around Lacus' figure as she climbed over him. The thorns shred their clothes, but the innumerable black roses covered their modesty. When she lay on top of him, with her face just inches away from his, they were both blanketed by it. "…why… why do you have to be so kind?" She cried again as her teardrops fell on his mask. "Here I was trying to find an excuse! It would've been easier if I can make you hate me! Why…!? Why… do you…"
She slowly placed her fingers on Noir's mask. Tracing the terrible scar on his mask. More and more black rose gather around them, shrouding them from everything…
"…Now… now I will feel so much pain doing what I must do now. And for this… for this…!"
She grabbed his mask… and threw it away just as the black roses is about to shroud everything in darkness.
"…I will hate you… forever!"
And the last thing Kira can perceive was the shroud of pitch black darkness swallowing them both and her shadow engulfed him…
0000000-Lacus-0000000
People say… geniuses are blessed by the Heavens.
…they had no idea.
When Lacus was just one year old, she can already understand conversations. By two, she had already mastered arithmetic's to such a degree on subconscious level, she never had to count for the rest of her life – at least until a certain Judge figuratively beat her to it.
Lacus always felt that she can see… more. Perceive so much more. When she asked someone what they hear when they heard a sound… they described a single sound. But for her… everything she sees, and especially hears… it's like a multi spectrum flood of knowledge just pouring uncontrollably into her. It was weird. It didn't drive her mad… because she understands them. She doesn't have to think… she just knew all this… She would be the first to tell you, this is not a prescient vision. This a simple perfect understanding of causality and effect. A random twist of fate granted Lacus a monstrous era defining genius at a very early age. She saw minuscule amount of data… and through her intelligence, processed these data into information of near certain pinpoint accuracy. She can tell how many glasses of wine her father had drank just by seeing how he arranged his belt buckle. She can tell how her nanny will look like 10 years from now just by the way she do her hair. When asked how she would knew this, it was difficult for her to explain the thought process that led to that conclusion, just like how one had difficulty describing the fragrance of flowers. Consequently, everything and everyone… feels so slow. Everything feels so… out of pace.
It freaks everyone out just as much as it freaks her out. She was really scared. At least at first. Then she grew to enjoy it. Her incredible intellect and perception taught her one thing: this world is wonderful and beautiful. Despite all the problems that marred it, the world is so big, so vast… so many things happening, and yet no one see it but her? Everywhere she saw people lost and afraid on things they cannot understand and yet they all seem so obviously clear for her. She pitied them. So lost and confused. She wants to help them. If she can help them, they won't be so lost anymore. If only there was a way for them to see the way she sees. When she tried to explain this to someone out of her kindness, they were completely clueless as to what she meant. They couldn't even begin to understand her words…
If strangers reacted that way, she probably wouldn't mind. She's also blessed with patience. They'll see. Eventually, they will see. But when that someone is her own father… Her own sister! The realization was a shock: even her own family could not understand her. That was the first time Lacus felt so alone. If she were to liken it to something… it'll be like… like a bird that flew too high… too fast. She's high up in the sky, seeing this beautiful, wonderful world in a bird's eye view, and she's alone, seeing sceneries she wanted so badly to share with everyone… But they cannot go up. They cannot fly to her level. Yet. She needs to wait… or she needs to come down. But how? She doesn't know how. And no one knows how. No one can teach her. Not even herself.
And this was before her bloodline limit awoke at 2. If she thought her life was a lonely misery then… the day she awoke to her bloodline limit was the day her life turned to hell. The onslaught of information and knowledge that so disturbed her was suddenly multiplied by a hundred. Her ears became so sharp, so sensitive, she can hear so many things from incredibly far distances. To most Clynes, these are noise. A very uncomfortable annoyance that at worst can lead to aching ear. It's a human defense mechanism to prevent an overabundance of information overwhelming their sanity, the human mind instinctively reduced these excess incoming data into unintelligible noise.
But… Lacus realized that this Defense Mechanism didn't seem to work in her… her inhumanly intelligence allowed her to process all these noises into an endless stream of knowledge and information she never asked for. Too many. Too much! It was all too much! She understands too many things, all at once! She was almost too happy to enter the Clyne's specialization isolation room and waited until her bloodline limit stabilized. She took only a year to master her senses, but in truth, she already managed to do that in less than 3 months. The remaining 9 was the time it took for her father to convince her to come out. He almost failed. Up until before her bloodline limit awakened, the world was still a fun mystery toybox whose content she can vaguely guessed. Now… it's a terrifying vastness whose edges she had seen…
Then… she met her shishou. Her great master. He taught her on how to find solace in concentration and focus. To listen and see only what she wants to understand. He gave her focus in the Medical Arts. She can be very good at virtually EVERYTHING… but… minding her master's teaching, she adopted this attitude of single minded focus on only the things she liked, for her sanity's sake. And so she crafted this 'persona' of a bubbly airheaded childish princess who only cared about what she liked and little else. It did wonders to her reputation: many thought she's a selfish airhead and even mentally deficient at the worst. A part of her wished that was true. She was finally able to stop the influx of knowledge, but by then, the damage was 'done'. She knew too much. The world is a boring book whose ending she had read a hundred times over. When she's already that high up, trying to adapt to everyone still on the ground level… was downright impossible.
To use her earlier analogy, she finally learned how to lower her altitude and flew a little closer to the ground, just so that she can get a glimpse at others down below. And she did… only to find it all so… disappointing. She hated to say this so bluntly, but the world is really filled with… idiots. Everyone just whine about the same thing… saying so many things… but never going anywhere. Her poor father tried to push his reforms through a pack of thickheaded fools who refused to see things beyond what will enter their dining table tomorrow. Never even try to take the time to think long term, only concerned on their own thoughts.
She hated herself that she can harbor such terrible thought. Even if only for an instant. That little kind girl who used to want to help everyone understand how this wonderful world works… where did she go? This is dangerous. Lacus thought to herself. She doesn't want to think like that. She wants to stay as that girl. But how? Every time she tried to voice what she want to say, no one would listen. And those who were willing to listen couldn't understand her. They're only interested in heaping their own opinions, their own values, their own voices, upon the world around them, with no thought were given to understand them. There was nothing for her in Zaft… that's why she accepted her Shishou's request to take her to the Shinobi Academy in Orb. Kaguya called her cocky during her time in the Shinobi Academy… now that she thought about it, perhaps she was right. At that time, her persona as that bubbly headed, one track mind princess is crumbling… she was well on the way of becoming someone twisted in heart and mind.
The loneliness. It's what really hurt her more than anything. The unbelievable loneliness of being trapped at the top. That's why she crafted that persona of the bubble headed princess… it's her desperate cry for help… of wanting to be an idiot like the rest. She'd give up her bloodline, her intelligence… just as long as she doesn't feel so… alone…
Perhaps her master sensed that, bless him. So he gave her an impossible task. Save a boy whose 1/3rd of his body had been frozen. It was… impossible. Not even with all her intelligence and all her ingenuity… the boy will die. But her master was able to do just that. Using methods she can't comprehend. While it did show her that there's much she don't know, and she's grateful, but if the idea is to teach her humility… well… it's a hard stretch to say he had succeeded. Maybe her master sensed this too… so she gave her another task.
She had to nurse this patient back to full health. Or be expelled.
She thought it was preposterously excessive. How hard can it be to tend to a half frozen kid?
Even after she lost track of him on day one… she had no idea how much this task will change her.
Thinking back to what she was to how she is now… she's really glad she took that task to its… 'completion'. "I gave you and your brother a little taste of what it feels like to be me. And believe me… that was just a small fraction of my full power… a minute of inconvenience compared to the full package. You can barely handle for five minutes what I have to live with for the rest of my life."
Nike's expression was that of half denial. He's still trying to find a way to reject Lacus' words, but she can see he's faltering.
"Did you think all Advanced believed their powers to be a gift? To just as many, it's a curse. I know a kid who had a power so destructive, he accidentally disintegrated his father from when he was born. I know a girl with a power to be everywhere anytime but was doomed to never live past her twenties because of it. They would trade these powers… just so that they can be normal again. Just so that they can be Naturals. You're not the only one who's in pain. And you're not alone." Lacus extended her hand. "…I can help you. I want to help you. But not like this. Put her down, Nike-san."
"…" Nike didn't say anything… but his hands had yet to relax his grip on the Empress' neck… so Lacus had yet the time to relax either. What's more worrying for her… was the sound of Nike's heartbeat. A few minutes ago, that heart is beating a mile a minute. He was very scared. But… after she told him she can't fix him… his heartbeat grew worryingly slow. Like a killer who calmed his nerves before he makes the kill.
"I see."
Lacus winced at his deathly flat tone.
"So… you can't… you won't…" When Nike raised his sunken face, he showed a pair of dead eyes glaring back at her. "…fine. If it's my destiny to be hated by everyone… then I will hate them back even more."
"No…"
"I don't need your help. I DON'T NEED ANYONE!" Nike tensed his muscles and pressed it against Tienzi's neck… but he quickly found he couldn't. His muscles… he couldn't move even a muscle…
He was quick to notice these… spiders? Tiny tick sized spiders loitering around his huge arms, tying them in very thin string, they were almost invisible. "What… the… fuck…"
"HIKARI!" Kaguya gripped the strings tying Nike's arms. She was trying to pull those arms away, but dear god, he's even stronger than Corleone! "HIKARI-CHAN HELP ME!"
Lacus quickly made several handseals and slammed the ground. Multiple snakes burst out of the ground before unraveling into golden strings. They quickly coiled around Nike's arms before tightening. Even with Lacus' help, the best they can do is stopping Nike's arms from moving… but they still couldn't part Nike's hand from Tienzi's neck.
"RAAAAAAAAGHH!" Corleone screamed from behind and slide his arms beneath Nike's armpits before he pulled Nike's arms with all his might to the side. With the help of Corleone's raw brute strength, they were finally able to forcibly pry away Nike's hands from Tienzi's neck and she fell. The moment Nike's skin left Teinzi's, Salamandine bolted forward and secured the Empress in her arms before she pulled back just as quickly.
Meanwhile, Lacus, Kaguya and Corleone is still struggling to restrain Nike… until…
"GYAAAAAAAAA!" Corleone suddenly screamed. His grip loosened immediately as he sloughed down, a knife planted on his waist, courtesy of his straggler, Takeuchi Sora.
"What did I tell you brother? Hope… is only good for one thing… disappointment." Sora stood next to Nike just as he ripped the strings off his arms. When the twins are together, their negative aura expanded exponentially, unraveling all magic around them… with the exception of Lacus' half magic half jutsu Akashia.
"Just shut up." Nike's eyes are now filled with nothing but pure bloodlust. He will kill everyone in this space: Lacus, Kaguya, Empress, even Simca… even the children.
With Simca injured and Salamandine focused on protecting the Empress and the children, it's down to Lacus and Kaguya to fight.
"Okay. Let's change the scene shall we?"
Lacus created a circle with her fingers and giant wormhole opened right beneath their feet, all four fell through it before it closes.
All four popped out in another part of the serpent, away from any potential collateral damage.
Lacus sadly looked at Nike's murderous aura. Whatever hope she saw in him earlier is gone. Yet another patient she could not save because she couldn't get there fast enough. Now she had to stop him.
"Get your game face on, sis. I hope all those P.E. sessions you missed haven't bitten you back in the ass." Kaguya readied herself.
"Sigh…" Lacus nevertheless snapped her fingers, and 5 swords of various colors made of strings appeared all around her. And another five appeared in form of shields. Her haros in their combat form.
Nike and Sora already had their weapons and equipment removed. All they have are fists and limbs. But… Lacus' attempt to heal their broken psyche backfired. Both are now completely committed to kill them. Now they're men on a mission devoid of doubt.
Nike charged first, his first target was none other than Lacus. He sent a punch straight at her face, but one of the shields flew in and blocked it. Block it as in, it actually stopped Nike's fist… previous experience dictates his Negative Aura should've nullified Lacus' magic shield outright.
But Lacus had made some changes to her arsenal after that previous experience. Shut In Heaven showed that a fusion of Magic and Chakra can resist the Negative Aura… so she had all her swords and shield infused with her chakra.
While Nike is still wondering how he can get through, Sora stepped over his shoulders and launched a spinning drop kick from Lacus' blindside which she heard coming from a mile away. Another shield stopped that kick short. Lacus batted her hands to the sides, and the shields pushed the brothers away to opposite directions. "You ready?"
Kaguya pulled out a pair of scimitars and attached them together pommel to pommel to form a bow. "Ready!"
Lacus turned half of her Haro into swords not for her use. And they're not swords. Kaguya pick one sword and put in on her bow strings. She picked the red one, fire. And in her hand, the sword turned into arrow. She shot the arrow first at Sora. The elder Takeuchi easily dodged the arrow and charged past it… until he noticed Kaguya's smirk. A quick glance to his back and he noticed the arrow turned on an impossible angle and bounced back at him. Thanks to his quick reaction, the arrow only nicked him. But… he didn't realize Kaguya just shot another sword-arrow at him… specifically, the blue one. And to be even more specific… she wasn't shooting at him… she was shooting at the red arrow. The two arrows meet tip to tip in a well timed impact… right in front of Sora's face.
Fire and ice collided… and the resulting reactive force created a shockwave that blasted Sora a mile back with a very aching face. Seeing his brother's state, Nike roared and charged back at Lacus. This time Kaguya grabbed the green sword which turned into a split ended arrow. She shot it and Nike welcomed it with a punch. A split second before contact, the arrow breaks apart into smaller arrows that slither around Nike, leaving a trail of strings which quickly wrapped around the man, restraining him. The younger Takeuchi angrily clawed and wrestled against the restraints, tearing them apart… to no avail. Those strings were made of pure wind, yet they're as troublesome as an iron cord. They kept Nike in place. At least for a while.
Kaguya grabbed the yellow sword, earth, which turned into a heavy tipped arrow. She quickly shot it at the still paralyzed Nike. He had enough time to raise both hands to block it… and a good thing he did that because that arrow hit him with the force of a battering ram! It pushed him back for a few meters before it stopped and his arms are still trembling from the experience.
Lacus immediately sensed Sora had regained his bearings and rapidly, and stealthily, closed the distance. Not stealthily enough for her ears. Lacus raised her shield, but, to her surprise, he was very fast. He managed to slip past her shield before it can block him. Despite Lacus knowing him coming, she could not react fast enough. But Kaguya reacted even faster, catching back the green and red swords, she immediately shot both of them at the same time. Fire and Wind combined, turning into speedy rain of fire that homed in on the rushing Sora. Even Sora couldn't dodge this, as fast as he was, so he stopped briefly and kicked them down one by one. Doing this also gave Nike the chance to recover, and when Sora charged again from his side, Nike also zoomed in perfect concert. As good as Kaguya is at archery, there's no way she can cover attack from two directions. Or so they thought.
Wrong. Kaguya grabbed the Green Arrow and the Grey arrow of Steel. She shot it to the sky, and they break apart into a riotous shower of arrows that rained to all directions, bouncing haphazardly across the space. In concert, Lacus merged all her shields and created a dome of protection that shielded them both from the resulting chaotic rain of arrows. In fact, the barrier also added to the chaos as the arrows also bounced against the surface of the barrier. The arrows themselves didn't do much damage, but there are hundreds of them, and they're flying at blurring speed allover the place. The twins had to stop and do everything in their power to protect their vital organs like eyes and face. But that's still a lot of damage by a thousand cuts for the two brothers.
When the hail of arrows stopped, and Lacus dropped the barriers, the two brothers were covered in bleeding cuts from head to toe. In stark contrast, neither Lacus nor Kaguya had even gotten a single scratch. Lacus provide defense and ammunition for Kaguya to strike from afar as long range offense. The two former classmates fought as a single unit like a well oiled machine. "Oh, how I've missed this! Reminds me back in the Academy! Good old times, eh sis?"
"You and I remember the Academy very differently." Bunkering down in their room for days while being besieged by angry bankrupt competitors of her bunkmate's liquor black market business was hardly a fond school memory.
The twins stopped for a minute to analyze their condition. Namely, how now they're covered in blood. Their blood. Contrary to their dire situation, he smirked.
"Brother!" Nike called.
"Yes!" Sora sinisterly tightened his fist, causing more blood to squeeze out of his fist.
Lacus began noticed something alarming. The spot where the blood sprayed around them… the ground they stood on began to distort. Their negative aura was so all encompassing, even a single drop of their blood also emanate that aura. And now there are droplets of them everywhere…
Lacus' daemon familiar swords and shields began to distort. Sora resumed his charge and Kaguya shot another arrow, the fire. But this time, Sora didn't even bother to dodge. And soon it became clear why. When the arrow struck him, they splashed harmlessly against his body. The whole space is now suffused with greatly expanded Negative aura, the magical arrow was corroded midflight, even Lacus' chakra was not enough to maintain its integrity. By the time they struck Sora, they're as fragile as paper. Sora launched a straight kick, and Lacus put several layers of shield to block it. To her shock, his kick tore right through them until only a single paper thin layer was left. But Sora now know she can barely block it. Their defenses are broken.
On the other side, Nike came charging towards the preoccupied Lacus, but Kaguya kicked his punch down. She parted her bow back into her two scimitars, holding them in reverse grip. Nike growled and sent a punch to this obstacle, but Kaguya deftly parried it and even sent a return kick straight at his face, shocking him into backing down. Nike spit a blood out before realizing Kaguya will not make this easy.
A realization that quickly dawned upon Sora as well. Upon understanding her shields are no longer effective, Lacus transformed the rest of her shields into swords. But the way she used them was unlike anything Sora had ever seen. She made them dance; layered them one atop the other and they slide through the air like an elegant sash. Even though they're swords, they're as soft and pliable as a silk cloth. Sora scoffed and sent a tirade of kicks. But Lacus danced in response, and the sash moved in harmony with her dance as to perfectly block each and every kick as it elegantly slither around Lacus. It's like watching a dance recital of a ballerina. And for Sora, it feels surreal. It's like he's kicking water. Every time his kick landed on the interconnected swords, the sword slides. All the strength and weight he put into those kicks just… disperse away into nothing. Sora accelerated his kicks, he remembered he was faster than her, he can overwhelm her. But Lacus was also quick to adapt. All her swords are one unit now. She needs only to control one weapon. As long she kept her focus on one enemy and one weapon, she can make them move faster. Enough to match Sora blow by blow.
But to Sora's wonder, the doctor had not tried to attack back. She just kept defending, waiting for him to tire himself out. By comparison, Nike seems to be having more trouble with her classmate. Unlike Hikari, Kaguya doesn't seem to be as passive. Nike had launched punches after punches, but Kaguya bob and weave around them. When he threw a straight right, she tilted down and sliced his thigh. He tried to uppercut her and she slid past it and stab him in the shoulder… she kept slicing him several times with her scimitars whenever the opportunity presents. She's avoiding vital veins and organs, but it was obvious she was a bad match for his brother. Or… is it?
Kaguya had sliced Nike probably a few dozen times… the idea was that all those little wounds will eventually slow him down… but… what's wrong with this guy? It's like she's fighting a… zombie. His eyes are dead… but he kept attacking her so ferociously. She had sliced him several times in places she knew would've hurt… he didn't even grunt. 'He's completely broken…' Kaguya immediately surmised. Lacus compassion and honesty was a ray of hope to him… but that same honest prognosis of his doomed fate dashed that hope into absolute despair… Now all that's left is just pure bloodlust so thick, it overwhelmed everything else, including self preservation.
Kaguya made one misstep at this realization, and left a wide opening for Nike, who sent a well timed straight punch, hitting her right on her gut. Kaguya gasped for breath, only to have Nike's other fist went straight to her face. The Kunoichi flew across the floor with blood trailing from her torn lips and broken nose. She bounced several times until she landed right next to Hikari's feet, who finally noticed her classmate's plight. "Kaguya!"
That momentary distraction caused Lacus' dance to falter, and the twins immediately came in, from two different directions. Sora dashed from the ground sending a kick, Nike jumped high up and dropped a hammer fist aimed to shatter Kaguya's already bashed in face. Lacus moved the sash to block Sora's kick, then, as this still in progress, slide them away to welcome Nike's punch. And then, in one beautiful full motion, Lacus gave one huge spin, and the sash swirled in an elegant whipping spiral, slapping them both away. Sora in particular felt like he just got punched by Nike to his face, and Nike just had his gut kicked by his brother. The attack threw them both back a distance, nursing both pain and mostly shock.
"Aren't you guys a bit too violent considering you're fighting a pair of girls?" Lacus glared angrily as she stood defensively before Kaguya while she nursed her face.
"Aren't you girls a bit too violent to be calling yourself doctors?" Sora and Nike knew that both Hikari and Kaguya are the so called Medic Nins. But if one were to use the standards of the Alliance, they are by far the most brutal medics they've ever seen.
"Ahahaha-ouch… why don't you throw away that stupid stereotype of healers being fragile glass capable of doing nothing but heal." To make her point Kaguya had already got back up after she violently fixed her own bent nose, resulting in blood dripping out of her nostrils. "Kicking ass and taking names are the first things they taught us in the academy BEFORE they let us go on to field training."
"Our lives no longer belonged to us." Lacus explained further. "If we die, there will be no one left to keep everyone else alive. They literally beat those principles unto us. That's why Medic Nins are taught to be able to defend themselves against all kinds of attacks. Surviving anything anyone can throw at us." And this is Orb's standards: Medics are not glass cannon lab nerds… they're tanks. Heavy duty.
"Problem is, sister and I had a… different idea on how one defines the term: 'defend'." Kaguya, her face fully recovered, made a quotation mark. "Sis, switch."
"No." Lacus shot Kaguya a look of horror. "No. I defend, you attack."
"Your defenses are shot to hell and I'm pissed off. Switch." Kaguya's dangerously murderous smile through her bloody lips basically said: this is an ultimatum, not an order. She already made handseals.
"Sii~igh…" Lacus retracted the sash and split them back into 10 swords.
Kaguya took the blood from her lips and smear it on the markings tattooed to her hand. Then she made a series of handseals. "Your boyfriend isn't the only who managed to figure out the cardinal seals you know."
"But I still don't know where he gets it."
"I see." Kaguya finished the last seal. "Ninpou: Kuchiyose no Jutsu! (Summoning Jutsu)"
A puff of smoke later, and the two brothers had to bend their head up to look… at an 80 feet spider. It doesn't look like any species of spider they've ever seen. Its whole body from thorax to abdomen was covered in layered carapace that worked as armor, with spikes protruding viciously on its surface. Each and every one of its legs, each is just as heavily armored and spiky, each of its tip ended in a viciously sharp claw that looked like scythes!
"My idea of defense is basically waiting for you guys to tire yourself out." Lacus explained calmly. "…Kaguya's idea of defense is basically… crush them before they crush us." And this is why you don't punch a girl in her face, ladies and gentleman. Because hell hath no fury like a girl scarred in the face… and you never know if she had a contract with a specially crossbred 80 feet tall super spider designed for destruction.
"KURO-CHAN, ATTAAAACKK!"
In a speed that one wouldn't expect from something THAT big, Kuro crashed two of her front legs at the spot where the twins stood. They barely dodged the attack… only to find their clothes shredded. The mere wind from that scythe like legs can slice through their Kevlar jacket.
What's worse… this spider is NOT magic. It's Jutsu. A living creature summoned through the boundaries of space to fight at its master's behest. In other words, the twins' negative aura no longer worked. Kuro roared and chased the twins, her every step is a crushing death. The twins run with all their might, but the gigantic spider seems to always be just a breath away from their back.
"You know, this is the part where you start pew-pewing them with your magic?"
"Negative aura, magic doesn't work…!" Lacus groaned. And this is why she's perfectly happy being the shield. When Kaguya take the shield role, Lacus became the on board weapon and support system that can use magic as the situation requires. As this was done atop an armor clad 80 feet spider, they turned from an impregnable stationary fortress into a mobile tank at the cost of range and accuracy. Thing is, Lacus magic is mostly aimed towards disabling their target: stopping them from moving, preventing them from attacking back, shooting down projectiles directed at them. Anything short of killing them, as was her wont. In this mode, she made their enemies more vulnerable to the onslaught of this spider. But sometimes, Kuro-chan doesn't seem to share her sentiment, especially when the Spider smelled her master's blood in the air, a sign that her master had been bodily harmed. It won't end with just an ouch when a spider this big trampled allover you.
But then… when the spider is but one breath away from reaching the twin, Kaguya ordered Kuro to stop. The twins still kept on running for a bit to widen the distance… before they noticed the peculiarity… "What… why does it stop?"
Sora quickly realized something's wrong. When they turned around they saw the giant spider waiting some distance away… but when they try to move… they found their legs trapped on the floor. They looked down in horror and saw thousands of spiders skittering around their feet. Obviously the offsprings of that giant spider right there. They're not standing on solid floor… they're standing on a ground made of strings… a nest of spiders! Their legs are now wrapped in strings, tied to the so called floor, and they found themselves being pulled towards the big spider… no… the whole space itself is shrinking! The whole space is made of strings!? Worse, the little spiders skittered allover their body and wrapped them with even more strings. Before long, moving became difficult, and by the time they were brought before the great black spider, the twins could barely move.
Kuro's mandibles snapped angrily at the twins. The smell of her master's blood is heavy on them, especially the big one. "Settle, Kuro-chan…" Kaguya gently patted the spider, and she heeded her master's words. When she's this angry, only Kaguya's words can calm her down.
But the twins had one last trick up their sleeves. Moments before the webbing rendered them completely immobile, Sora handed his knife to Nike discreetly and without sound. And he used that to slowly cut the strings, the sound of which did not reach Lacus, because Kuro's mandible kept clicking angrily.
As this happened, Lacus and Kaguya were still discussing what to do. "I'm not saying to leave them here. But… bringing them back to Beijing is risky."
"Isn't that what you would've wanted? Proof that the Eunuchs were trying to actively kill the Empress?"
"Remember that food tester Kage arrested? We tortured him day in day out. He won't say a word! Actually, he said a whole lot of things… I even choked him with truth serum: he doesn't even know the Eunuchs wanted to kill the Empress. Stupid as they are, they're very good at covering their tracks."
"Then what do you suppose we should do? Kill them?"
"If I want to kill them, we wouldn't be having this conversation, sister. All I'm saying is we should paralyze them. I had some experimental neurotoxin recipe I can cook up right now."
"Your neurotoxin is dangerous. I've tried it once, Kage won't wake up for 3 days!"
"Not my fault you OD'd your boyfriend. Whatever you want to do sis, do it quick. We're wasting a lot of time." What's more, Kaguya noticed that Kuro grew increasingly agitated. She's been soothing her several times, and still she won't calm down. "Kuro-chan? What is it?" She kept clicking her mandibles at the twins, as if trying to convey something she noticed to her master. Finally, Kaguya too begin to suspect something and she eyed the twins more carefully…
But by then… it was too late. In her anger, Kuro leaned her mandibles a tad too close…
Nike had just finished cutting some of his restraint… and in one swift motion, he sliced upward. And cut off one of Kuro's mandible.
The Giant spider recoiled in shock and pain, her tantrum threw both of her occupants off her back. Kaguya was caught completely off guard and she fell on the floor… head first. The impact instantly knocked her unconscious, with blood spilling from her wounded head. Lacus also hit the floor hard, but her armor protected her from most of the damage. But when she came to, she watched in horror as Kuro has gone berserk, wildly trashing the place, howling madly in rage and pain. Pain of her injury… and rage because she caught the scent she hated the most: the scent of her master's fresh blood in the air. She had been wounded… again. Her wrath is now incandescent.
When she's like this, only Kaguya can stop her. But where's she… oh dear god… she lying unconscious, right under the rampaging Kuro. In her enraged state, Kuro can't watch where she planted her destructive steps. Her scythe like legs had landed perilously close to her mistress several times already, and Kuro was too angry to notice. Before Lacus can figure out what to do, she noticed Nike had just cut his brother free. The twins wasted no time and are now closing the distance towards her.
Lacus only had enough time to reposition herself properly and turned all her swords into one giant shield by the time they're right in front of her. The twin sent a double straight kick at her defense. They shattered the shield, but it prevented a direct hit upon Lacus' being… but the resulting shockwave shot through the protection and struck Lacus full by the stomach, sending her flying several meters back… slipped past Kuro-chan's stomping legs by sheer dumb luck and she landed right next to Kaguya.
"GuHak!" Lacus vomit blood right inside her helmet. Her pink bile dripped through the seams of her gas mask. Her inner organs had taken a hit. Thankfully in this space, her poison is self contained, so it won't spread… and Kaguya also had her own immunities.
Around that time, Kuro-chan redirected her attention back at the twins. She wrathfully stomped towards them, slashing and stabbing with her scythed legs. Her every step had the force of a cannonfire. Her swipe can slice through solid steel. She used 4 out of her 8 legs to barrage her two preys with such an assault, but they moved at such blurring speed, it's like there were more than 4 limbs that are attacking them. The twins had to use all their skills and agility to dodge the furious assault.
This gave time for Lacus to check up on Kaguya, and hopefully, wake her up. Fortunately, she's fine. Out cold. But fine. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like she'll wake up any time soon.
In the mean time, Kuro-chan put up her own fight against the brothers. After fruitlessly slashing the twins to no effect, Kuro momentarily stopped to rethink her strategy. Angry as she was, she's not that far gone to be completely devoid of tactical cunning. She sprung back a bit… before she raised her rear abdomen until it jut upward. Her rear end erupted and out came a burst of web strings. Within moments, the air is raining web.
Sora and Nike had enough experience on what happened when these webs hit them. But even amidst all this, Nike still looked hatefully for the armored doctor. He quickly spotted her, safely away from all this carnage. Oh, he would kill for a gun right now. His blatant bloodthirst to this doctor who had plunged him into despair could not be overstated, but Sora quickly slapped him back to his senses. "Focus, brother. We need to deal with this monster spider first! Then we can deal with those 'doctors' at our leisure!"
Nike grunted… and decided his brother's right. "What should we do about these webs? She'll cocoon us before we get any closer than 6 feet."
Sora laughed. "See brother… this is why skimping on those biology classes do you no good."
Lacus had completely strip searched them and removed any object that they can use as a weapon, from knifes to needles. But apparently, a match doesn't classify as a weapon in her book. And he already re-confiscated the butterfly knife from that Corloene oaf, with an extra: a flask of whiskey. Sora showed this whiskey and match, and Nike nodded. "We won't have much time. We gotta deal with that Spider, FAST."
"Okay." Nike quickly caught on to his brother's plan, and the two get into a stance, identical to his brother, only a mirror opposite. And then the two brothers start running… in circles. At first, the behavior confused everyone… but then, they get faster, and faster… and faster… even Kuro began to notice this gust picking up, carrying away her webs along the flow. And then, when the gust reached its peak, Nike and Sora suddenly stretched out their hands and grabbed one another. And in that instant, Nike went from his top speed to into a sudden full stop. And still carrying the momentum from that spinning run, with veins bulging across his powerful arms, he carried Sora in a massive roundhouse swing, and let him go at the fulcrum of the spin, having transferred all his momentum to Sora. Carrying that momentum, Sora was thrown spinning to the air, and, without missing a bit, added his own powerful spinning kick to it. He kicked so hard, one can actually hear the sound barrier broke.
This may looked like children playing… but these two are VERY powerful fighters. All this actions was done in under a few seconds, and the amount of strength they put into this maneuver is no laughing matter. The momentum carrying the strength of Nike's powerful punching arms combined with Sora's powerful leg… it was powerful enough to propel the wind… into a tornado that was shot from Sora's spinning leg straight towards the surprised Kuro.
The Tornado plowed through Kuro's webs and engulfed the great spider. Lacus watched in concern for the spider, and disbelief that Naturals can actually do this… and then also… confusion. Because… did she smell ale in the air? Wait, that's HER Thor Class Ale!
Her wonder of the situation quickly turned into horror when she noticed Sora's end goal. He had emptied the extremely volatile concoction and let it be carried by the tornado he created… and he just lit a match and let the gust carried it into the tornado.
In a burst of explosion, Kuro screeched in pain as she was engulfed in a firestorm. To make matters worse, her webs also caught on fire, scattering the flames to every direction, turning the whole space into an inferno.
Thinking quickly, Lacus summoned the blue sword to her hand and quickly pointed it to the firestorm. A stream of blue light shot out of the tip and went straight into the heart of the storm. Once inside, the light exploded, unleashing a cold wave of water that immediately disperse and douse the flames. But… Lacus knew the potency of Thor class ale, the combustion it make is really explosive. When the fire was gone, poor Kuro-chan is still standing, but she curled in pain, with multitude of burns marring her body.
But before Lacus can do anything to alleviate them, Sora fell from the sky with a flying straight kick, and Nike had charged from down under and launched an uppercut. Both hit Kuro's abdomen at the same time. The shockwave of the two attacks from top and bottom collided at the center inside Kuro's abdomen and damaged her insides, severely. Venomous blue blood burst out of Kuro's mandibles before she collapsed.
The twins glared sinisterly at the last girl standing, Hikari, whose light of defiance had yet to dim from her eyes.
"You had this coming, witch." Nike growled. "It would've been better that you had never filled my head with dreams. Worst case, I would've killed you quickly. Now I'll make you suffer!"
"I can't even begin to imagine how painful life had been to you. But your… curse… does not justify your response. They hurt you… and you decided to hurt them back. You gathered all your anger, all your pain, and you lashed them outward… to all the people around you. Pain begets pain… don't you see? The more you inflict pain on everyone, the more pain you inflict upon yourself! Until it just… broke you. Look at what you did to poor Simca! You love her. But… your expression of 'love' is… inflicting pain upon her. Physically. Mentally. You never understood any other way to express your emotion, because that's all you knew. But you cannot justify the choices you make all your life by blaming it on your inheritance! It is not responsible for the monster you've become!"
"I don't give a shit anymore." Nike snapped. "If I was born to be a monster… then I'll be the most horrifying monster there is."
"You done pontificating?" Sora and Nike soon began running towards Lacus.
But Lacus merely snapped a finger, and summoned her swords, combining them into a sash, she whipped them around herself.
This time, the twins knew what they're up against. That sash captured kinetic energy from punches or kicks, and then redirects them to somewhere or someone else. It's like the principles of Gentle Palm. Now it's just the matter of overwhelming that defense. The twins began attacking… but this time, they uniquely time and target their attacks. When Sora landed a light kick on the sash, he immediately withdrew, giving space for Nike to push in with a light punch right on the spot where his brother first landed his kick.
Lacus was startled by this tactic. The twins began launching a barrage of punches and kicks at very rapid pace. Each and every one of these attacks are but a fraction of their usual strength, but they're hitting every inch of her sash. And they're fast enough that Lacus was hard pressed to defend herself. Like a lake, a single huge ripple will eventually disperse to nothing, but when multiple smaller ones are hitting on multiple locations across the surface, the ripples will enhance one another and on and on it'll went… until the calm lake became irreversibly turbulent. The ten swords that composed the sash became dangerously unstable.
But despite her predicament, Lacus smiled. Mischievously. Something that, thanks to her gas mask, her adversaries will not notice until it's too late.
For the final blow, Sora sent another kick and Nike threw a punch. Both struck the sash simultaneously… and it unraveled. But before they can capitalize on it, the twins suddenly noticed another complication: they can't pull their limbs back.
"What the-"
"Fuckin' bitch!"
The sash unraveled… into strings that immediately converged together upon the outstretched arm and leg, and then bound them together in a blink of an eye.
And thus Sora and Nike were left dangling in an awkward state: with Sora's leg yanked around by Nike's arm which was weighted by his brother's leg. "Break out of this thing, brother!"
"I'm trying!" But try as he might, these strings bound them tight!
"Wait the second… what happened to our negative aura!?"
"Your negative aura will only affect magic." Lacus answered. "And if I had used my own Magic strings, yes. You would've broken out of them easily. But these are NOT my strings." In all fairness… Lacus did learn her string fighting techniques from Kaguya. She always found them beautiful. She's pretty sure Kaguya wouldn't mind if she borrowed some of her spider strings for the occasion. "Now stick around while I go wake Kaguya in a bit."
"…Grrrggghh!" Even in this ridiculous circumstances, Nike's hatred to Lacus hardly abated. In fact, it just gets worse and worse. What they fail to understand is that Lacus genuinely dislike killing anyone. No matter how much that opinion differ with everyone around her, friend and foe alike. Apart from her greater daemon summons, all of her spells and fighting tactics are, for better or worse, non lethal. They always aim to restrain or disable. However… between this, her genius, and her mischievous nature… they always ended up causing an unexpected and hilarious side effect, leaving them in a embarrassing state – like being left paralyzed with a giant afro on their heads, partially cemented to the wall in funny poses, dyed in multiple colors, etc, etc. Lacus think nothing of it. Better an injured pride than an injured body, and it's not like they're permanent. Unfortunately, more than a few translated this humiliating circumstances and her lack of killing intent as an insult, that she did not take them seriously. The twins, and especially Nike, easily fall within this category.
Sora's anger to the doctor is less incandescent however. While the doctor is busy tending to her friend, he looked at the options. He still had his knife… but when he tried to cut the strings… the blade won't even penetrate. So he tried to buy some time, goading the doctor as he did.
"Coward." Sora growled. "You're just defending, trapping… leaving the messy work to your friend!?"
"If you've fought Kaguya alone, she'd already killed you right from the start. She's not as merciful as I am."
"Then why didn't she do so?"
"Because she knew I will, and can, stop her if she tries. She respects my principles… or at least… understand well enough what a problem I would be if she had tried to offend it. She'd rather have me as an ally than foe."
"This won't hold us forever you smug bitch!"
"Really? That's exactly what Goud Veia said when I put him on that same knot after he tried to kill me." Lacus chuckled. "Arguably, he was roaring drunk at the time… but 8 hours later, his arms are still stuck on his ankles."
The twins froze. Goud Veia? That immortal monster? She hogtied the legendary Hero of Zaft when he tried to kill her? All things considered, that actually doesn't sound too out of bounds… his Boyfriend did finish him off…!
This is bad. Suddenly Sora and Nike understood this much. If she woke up her friend, they will be overwhelmed… Sora looked at his knife… and Nike's arm. And his brother seems too angry to care… Not even sparing a glance at Nike, Sora raised the knife, eying that wrist.
Lacus perked in horror as Sora's arm muscles told her everything she needed to know. She didn't even have time to confirm this; she quickly rushed back towards Sora to prevent this brutality. She was in such a hurry, she used shunshin to immediately close the distance. She managed to slapped the knife away but-
CRUNCH!
Lacus vomited blood for the second time that day… as she naively fell into Sora's bait, hook, line and sinker. The moment she closed the distance in her zeal to prevent a feigned tragedy, Sora and Nike landed a satisfying double critical punch to both side of her waist. Lacus almost lost consciousness over the pain of her digestive organs rocked by the colliding shockwave. Nike didn't even waste time to wait for her to faint, he grabbed Hikari's neck with a deathgrip from his one free arm, squeezing every strength he can spare into that neck crushing fingers to snap it.
Lacus, choking for breath, futilely trying to claw Nike, but her two crippled arms vs Nike's muscular one arm was never a match. But as Lacus raced against the loss of oxygen… she noticed something that brought horror into her eyes. Not Nike's manic expression of pure bloodlust…
…but the raised claw of Kuro-chan's spindly limb jutting up from behind the entangled trio.
What happened next was faster than what anyone can comprehend. The first thing they noticed was that all three were covered in blood when this giant chitinous scythe-like claw dropped from the sky right in their midst. Someone was injured… but who? Lacus knew… it was not her. The blood was normal dark red. Not a drop of her venomous pink blood can be seen. So… it's down to the twins. A quick check on Nike… the shock had forced him to let go of her neck… still two legs, no giant hole anywhere in his muscular body… and his arms… intact… wait… Sora's severed leg is still bound to his other arm.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRGGGHHHHHHH!" The realization he just lost one of his most prized limb finally dawned to Sora as he screamed in pain, holding on to the bloodied stump. "AAAHH! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGHHH!" He rolled in pain, roaring and howling almost hysterically.
Lacus scampered away from the carnage, and Nike also widened his distance from the claw… wary of follow up… But… Kuro didn't move… she fainted due to her injuries… but this was her last gasp for today.
It did save Lacus… but… seeing the vicious tear on that leg stump… she didn't see how it can be attached.
Nike looked at this brother's mutilated limb still stuck on his arm… and he turned to his brother, howling and almost crying on the floor… and found he was hardly moved by it. He realized he didn't feel anything… anymore… He's so completely broken that even his brother's current misery didn't even affect him in anyway. When he ripped that bloody severed leg off his arm… he pitilessly threw it away, completely ignoring Sora's wails, and brought his murderous attention back to Lacus… who watched everything with knowing look.
"You still want to save me?" Now it's down to just the two of them.
"…it was never a question for me." Lacus replied back firmly as she get back up. "The question is… do you want me to?"
"…you know… it's funny… there was a time seeing my brother like this would elicit some kind of… response from me… but now… now I feel… nothing. No anger… no joy… no sorrow… nothing."
"Don't do this."
"And you still won't give up on me?"
"I've told you already… the only one who needs to accept you… is you. You can't blame that to anyone else."
"But… I do accept it now. What I am now. But I had a feeling this is not what you had in mind. You did this to me, you know?"
Lacus decided she no longer had to glorify this statement with any denial. He's too far gone. But: "I'll still try to save you. One way or another."
Nike scoffed a hollow chuckle. "You're a kind person. You really are a doctor through and through. You're probably the first person who showed this much kindness to me. I appreciate that. Fine. I won't kill you. Instead, I'll kill everyone around you. Let's see how many of your loved ones I can kill before you break." Nike gestured something that made Lacus' heart stop.
In all the chaos that ensued after Kuro dropped her claw, Kaguya was lying right behind Nike.
Nike start running towards Kaguya with the full intent of crushing her still unconscious head… and Lacus quickly realized she won't be able to defend her in time. She won't hesitate going mano a mano with her latest psychotic patient… but she was quite sure more than a few of her ribs are fractured… the pain was quite too much. She's not sure she can defend properly while preventing Nike from harming anyone else in this space. So, she made her decision.
Quickly overtaking Nike, Lacus sling her arms around his muscular waist. Momentarily stunning Nike with this act.
More than enough time for Lacus to open a portal that sucks them both in.
Outside, one of Akashia's scale opened up before Lacus and Nike was hurled out into the open real world. They fell not to gently on the dirt, the impact separated them both yet again.
Nike growled angrily at this stubborn girl who keeps annoying him to no end. "Fine. You wanna die for me so badly!? THEN DIE!"
Nike quickly closed the distance and sent his punch.
BANG!
Lacus was in time to erect her string shield. To Nike's shock, his fist could not unravel it.
"The problem with twin null children." Lacus panted. "When they're together with their twin, their Negative Aura is abnormally strong… but alone… not so much."
But Nike also called in the bluff… namely, Lacus' shield was noticeably thinner than what she had created inside the Serpent. He quickly deduced erecting that massive serpent must've taken up a lion's share of her strength; leaving her with barely enough to scrape up this pathetic defense. "Let's see how long you'll last!"
BANG! And Nike dropped another punch upon Lacus' last defense. BANG! She can already see these cracks forming on her magical barrier. BANG! Lacus gritted her teeth, straining what's left of her power, trying to see what she had left… only to find there are none left.
Nike raised his fist, preparing for one last punch…
But then he coughed. Once. Twice. When the next cough caused his body to lose all strength, he knew right away that something's wrong. "W… What…"
"About time. (koff)"
"What did… you… do…?" Nike actually fell to his knees as he kept coughing harder and harder. He began to see this strange white substance flowing through his bulging veins.
"Akasha's a snake. (koff) And you just spent quite a while in her belly. (koff) Of course it's poisonous. (koff) A paralytic neurotoxin. (koff) That's why I had everyone take the antidote before they boarded. (koff) Everyone except you two, that is. (koff)"
"…I'm… gonna… kill… you…"
"…and I want to save you. (koff)"
Nike gritted his teeth in frustration. The Neurotoxin had been slow acting, but now it's quickly spreading allover his body, pretty soon he won't even be able to move a muscle.
Lacus eyes is filled with pity, while Nike's eyes are filled to the brim with hate.
Was it wrong for her to answer him with such a brutal truth? But if she answered with lies, it would've been worse. Sometimes, the bitter truth is, there never was any right way to help.
"Grr…"
"…!"
"GRHHH!"
Lacus watched something unbelievable. By sheer force of will, Nike, despite the abundant amount of toxin running through his veins, began to move.
And before Lacus can think on what to do, Nike roared and lunged towards her, his hand raising Sora's knife with the intent on plunging it into her heart.
…the only thing that hit said heart is… droplets of blood… coming from this clean cut stump where Nike's arm used to be.
"…huh?" Nike had yet to understand why he's missing an arm…
He looked around… and there he saw it… his arm, still gripping Sora's knife, lying neatly on the floor covered in a puddle of blood… with this really massive Katana stuck on the ground right next to it, soaked in his blood.
"Wh… who…" He looked to the side… only to see this gigantic lariat landing right unto his face. The rock hard bicep hit him with the force of a cannon shell and sent him flying off the ground in a near straight flight, stopping only after he was cratered to the wall, where he immediately fell limp in blessed unconsciousness.
Meanwhile… on the harbor… where Jane Houston, still watching the ongoing event unfolding around the White Snake… immediately dropped her telescope as well as her jaw in absolute shock. "What the… how… why…!?"
Lacus stared wide eyed at this new figure entering the fray.
He's a dark skinned, heavily built giant of a man of Brazilian descent, with shoulder length dreadlocks tied to a ponytail, and clear blue eyes. He's big enough to give Andrew Waltfeld a competition. He didn't wear anything above the waist, leaving his well toned body bare… but he draped his white overcoat over his broad shoulder, tied neatly by a single band at the center to keep it from slipping. Beneath this is what seems to be a Japanese yukata in hot rod red color with orange lining, but the muscular man took the liberty of completely unraveling the upper part until it fold down over his belt, which sport several pouches, forming a waist cloth that covered a black trouser underneath. On his waist… rested two massive katanas. Well… massive for normal sized people, but for him, they're of perfect size. One of those two katanas still rested within its sheath. The other… was the one responsible for severing Nike's arm.
"Boa noite, meu valente Gantiha. Do I have the honor of addressing senhorita Hikari, Kage's charming namorada?" Despite his brutish form, he was very eloquent and gentle.
'…Portuguese?' "Sim. (koff) A quem tenho a honra de me dirigir? (koff)" (Yes. To whom I have the honor of addressing?)
"Muito prazer em conhecê-lo, Senorhina. (Nice to meet you, lady) Por favor?" The huge man gently extended and offered his massive hand so that Lacus can pull herself up. Lacus gratefully accepted it.
"…muito obrigada, senhor… (koff) but again I must ask… who are you? (koff)"
The gentle giant smiled and politely bowed. "Capitão Edward Harrelson, ao seu serviço. You may know me as Ed the Reaper."
And with that inexplicable addition to fray, the conflict immediately grinded to a full halt…
0000000
Simca had yet to pick up her jaw in her disbelief. Edward Harrelson. Ed the Reaper. One of the Alliance's most powerful Captains. One of only four Blacklists in the whole bloody world. Here in Shanghai. Right in front of them all, in the flesh. She knew Rena had called for him all the way from Brazil… But what are the odds of him just appearing right here… right then and there…!?
"I don't approve on how you do it, Senhor Harrelson…" Lacus just placed her finishing touches on Nike's cast arm. Thankfully the cut was clean so she was able to reconnect it easily enough… "…but I thank you nonetheless for saving my life."
Ed merely bowed.
Another sight that Simca find hard to believe… was the sight of her tormentor and personal nightmare… Takeuchi Nike lying down lifelessly in such a pathetic state. He's still alive. She can see that easily enough from that heaving and panting… but… those eyes… he was wide eyed, but unfocused… manic… and his body is completely still… "Is he…"
"…he's alive… but… I think his mind's completely broken." Lacus surmised mournfully. "…he's so broken… the shock of this defeat completely shattered his psyche… and in self defense, he's retreating into himself… I don't think you'll get any response from him."
"…" Simca looked again at the face that haunted her nightmares and kept her awake at night with mixed feelings. She frowned. Then she did something unexpected. She sexily saddled Nike's unresponsive body by the groin and cupped his cheek so that she can look at him in the eye. But even with this, there's still no response. "…I don't know if you can hear me." She looked at those confused broken eyes with cold hatred. "But if you can comprehend me… I want you to know… that I always feared you. I do get that you liked me. And knowing what I know now of your circumstances, I DID pity you. And I still do. Hikari-nee-sama still believed there's hope for you, even now. Even after everything you've done to her. You better understand just how lucky you are… Because as far as I'm concerned… being dead of body and mind suits you better. Because I will never… ever… let you touch me… ever again!"
That was an outpouring of a lifetime of suppressed pain and rage from Simca's lips. And she finalized it with a spit on Nike's unresponsive face.
When Simca jumped away from Nike's body, she was significantly calmer… and livelier. All her pain that so tortured her was finally unleashed. Already she's returning back to that cheerful persona Lacus had always known. But she's still a bit sullen as she turned to Hikari. "Nee-sama… I've been causing you no end of trouble today."
"It's all good, Simca." Lacus eyes curved behind her mask, assuring Simca she bore no ill will whatsoever. She had helped someone recover from their livelong pain today. That's good enough for her.
And then, one of the scales of Akasha opened up, from the hole Kaguya appeared, dragging a body sealed in a cocoon. Sora was wrapped with so much webbing only his face was visible. "Restraining Kuro-chan was a pain. I had to dose her to stop her from eating this creep. You owe me for this, sis."
"I certainly do. (koff) Make sure you keep her severed mandible intact, so that we can reattach it later. (koff)"
"Way ahead of you, sis." Kaguya nodded. "…but I don't think even you are good enough to fix this guy's legs, yes?"
"…it was that bad? (koff)"
"Worse. We can't reattach the leg… the stump's too rough… knee's completely gone, crushed. And then there's Kuro's poison. Some of her blood had entered his system, probably from when she cut off that leg. I've removed as much of the poison as I could… but… I was too late. By the time I've administered the antidote, it had permanently damaged the marrows on ALL of his leg bones." And Kaguya was late because she did not regain her consciousness fast enough before the damage went that deep.
"And that means…?" Ed asked.
"It means even though he still had one leg left, it's useless. He will never walk again for the rest of his life."
"Merda. That's what you get for mistreating your senhora." Ed winced.
But, the three ladies once again turned their full attention to this new character. Especially Lacus. She knew all about the infamous Blacklist of which her boyfriend is part… but she never met this one in person. Yet he seems to display a casual familiarity with her… and Kage…? "You said, you owe Kage a debt… I'm not sure I understand…?"
"Alas, adhoravel senhorina, to tell the tale of Edward will took up e muito of your limited time. I pray we meet again someday so that I can regale them to you. But for now, you had somewhere else to be, nao? Just understand… Kage had done muito. For me. And minha familia. And even doing this, knowing who you are… doesn't even begin to pay my debt to him."
Lacus heard all this… and found no lie in his words. She still had so many questions, so many things that confuse her… but… one things she knew with absolute certainty is that this man is telling the truth. Whatever it is Kage had done for him, his gratitude was genuine. "…that does sound like Kage alright."
"Oh? You believe my words?"
"I believe your debt." Lacus smiled. "…saddling people with a debt they'll had trouble repaying is a habit of his." That's her Noir.
And there's one thing that was also true, she's pressed for time. The sun is going down, and she had a promise to keep. Hikari looked at Simca one last time.
A much more solemn and determined Simca nodded. "Don't worry. I'll take care of things here."
"This has been a blast." Hikari extended her hand and Simca welcomed it into a shake. Of both friendship reaffirmed and apology conferred.
Tien Zi and Salamandine likewise thanked the Lieutenant. In a way, she had been their host. "Umm…" Tien Zi started. "Thank you for your services. Y… Your… assistance had been… of great help."
Simca blinked… and then broke into a heartwarming smile. She happily knelt down to her knees before the little empress. "Your humble servant, ever in your service, thank you for this honor… your majesty."
Tien Zi graced Simca with a timid nod. Once the twins are loaded into (swallowed by) the Akasha, Kaguya soon followed and now only Lacus remained. She took one last look at Simca and Edward, before the latter gave a nod. "Vamos la!"
Hikari nodded and jumped back into the Akasha. As soon as she did so, the great serpent came to life and without further ado, slithered into the great green flame of the tavern's fireplace. Once the last bit of the serpent disappeared into the flame, only then did the fire died down and the whole tavern returned back to normal as if nothing ever happened.
"So… what's your story, sir?" Simca asked.
"Ooohh… Gantinha… this is going to take a long while… and a good drink."
0000000-Kira-0000000
The insides of the 4th car had been drastically altered. Mutated. The mechanical nature of the train had been twisted by the vile energy pulsing at the center into something resembling the bowels of a living creature. A malevolent and purely evil creature. Sensing overwhelming danger and shocked by the Captain's incredible aptitude in slaying undead, the Necromancers rendezvous and pooled together their power. Alone they're vulnerable, but together, they might prevail yet. A good portion of what's left of the 13th was tasked to protect them until they're done. But such was the potency of the Necromancer's black magic, it transformed even living humans in nearby vicinity into undead. A fact many did not know before the spell took effect.
Now, overwhelming Zombies roamed the hallways of the now monstrous 4th car. And yet the pulsating energy from the Necromancer's profane ritual had yet to fade. In fact, the increasing frequency of the pulse indicated that the ritual is still in the process reaching its peak. At which point, the ritual will be complete. The Necromancer's only hope now is that the swarm of undead they have raised will prove enough obstacle to buy them time.
"At least… that's what I imagine awaits us: a shitload amount of zombies to get in our way."
"What's the play Captain?"
"The Gorillas and I will go on a frontal assault. While that happened, I will need you boys and girls to prepare something. A backup plan in case shit turn sideways."
"Ummm… a full frontal assault against… every undead they'll throw at you?" The Medic raised her concerns. "I know this is suicide but… won't you just… die?"
"I may not look much, but Undead is kinda my specialty." Kage looked at his weapons. The combat knives he had appropriated from dead troopers along the way had snapped at some point. Caked by so much blood and gore. "This might be a stretch, but… do any of you had a… blade or sword I can use? Call me old fashioned but no guns. I've had enough of them for today!"
"Funny you should ask that, Capt." The lead trooper unfurled something from his back. "We found this in the armory, gathering dust. Maybe it was impounded from Zaft prisoner or something… I used it just until I gathered enough ammo… now it's just deadweight."
Leading the Alpha and three gorillas, Kage walked into the mutated hallway wielding a massive broadsword in his hand. It's a thick, broad and unornamented long sword… and it's ridiculously heavy. Three times your normal sword. He may not be able to practice much back in Zaft, but Ray Yuki taught him the ABCs of all kinds of weapons. The trick of using a heavy great sword is not brute force, but using that weight and balance, utilizing the centrifugal force. Great sword is a stopgap in-between spear and sword: shorter range than spear but heavier destructive force. Still… if Kage had not done all that weight training, he would not be able to carry the blade with one hand as he did now.
Naked monkeys. Do not trust. The Alpha growled. He was referring to the 8 troopers Kage had assigned to a special task.
"Neither did I." Kage replied. "But our forces are limited and the situation grew increasingly dire. We cannot afford not to take a little risk. That's why I've asked you to spare me one of your Gorillas to watch over them. I'm grateful for that by the way."
The Alpha grunted his displeasure. Black clad Naked Monkey. Can you fight? Foe is Living dead. Will that steel thing work?
Kage didn't answer. Several zombies are crawling towards them. They're slow, mishappen, a horrific abomination, slobbering towards them in an unstoppable gait, driven by endless insatiable hunger.
He faced worse in Junius. "These are not Genmas." In a blur, a single powerful swing later, and all the zombies were beheaded… and they crumbled to ashes as they fall. "…but they die all the same by my hand."
The Alpha was momentarily stunned when he saw the unique way these walking dead died. And he fought Genma!? Well that explains a LOT.
"But if I learned anything, great Gorilla; Undead are no easy pickings. Be careful." As if on cue, a literal flood of zombies came pouring in, drawn by the scent and noise of the inevitable carnage to come. Raising the great sword over his head, Kage sighed. "Let's do this."
The Gorilas roared as one and charged the undead horde head on. Using their size and brute force they smashed apart the concentrated mass of undead flood into scattered pockets. They threw this pocket at Kage on purpose. Kage slashed his way through these pockets and make quick work of them with his wide reaching broad sword and his undead killing powers.
Indeed, Inferi are vastly lesser version of the dreaded Genma. Genma are demons inhabiting the body of corpses, trapping the soul of its former owner in a prison of one's own corrupted flesh. That's why they still possessed the skill and power they once had in life, amplified and twisted beyond recognition by the influence of the demon that corrupted them. By comparison, Inferi is just using magic to play puppet. Puppet made of soulless human corpses. To the ignorant, they're zombies all the same. You die by their hand and you become one of them. In this, and this alone, they are similar – although Genma's infectiousness and lethality is vastly superior. To those who had fought and survived in the mouth of hell that is Junius… the difference is as clear as night and day.
The Inferi is vastly slower, mindless, frail, and weak. Their only strength is in their numbers. Scratches and small bites meant nothing as long as you don't die from it. The Gorillas' iron hard fur had shrugged off bullets! What are pinprick scratches from tiny dead corpse fingers or bites from the zombie's crumbling teeth? The issue is their number… and the fact they're already dead. The biggest problem with fighting undead of any kind is that they will never be quite dead. Even if the gorilla can rip them in half, those halves can still cause problem in the long run. They have to thoroughly squash them to tiny pieces. And that takes time. Time that the overwhelming number of zombies would use to overwhelm them. Scratch and bite from one shambling inferior zombie is one thing… but pile hundreds of them together and that's death by a thousand cuts. Some of the Gorilla's ranks were overwhelmed earlier in such manner… and now there are 10 times more than what they have previously faced… but now… now they have the Alpha of the Naked Monkey! And he made all the difference.
Kage gradually grew used to the weight of this long broad sword in his hand as he slashed undead left and right, killing 2-3 zombies all at once with every increasingly faster swing. In fact, when one Inferi managed to get close, Kage grabbed him by the throat and choke him. The inferi crumbled to dust in his hand. This is perhaps the Necromancer's biggest mistake. If they were still humans, with guns and all, they'll be a far bigger threat to Kage. But… they've turned them all into mindless zombies. Their only threat now is in their numbers. Even with his undead slaying capabilities, Kage alone might be overwhelmed by the numbers. So the Gorillas simply scattered the large number of zombies to bite sizes that Kage can then permanently kill to ashes. There's nothing deader than ashes.
Within minutes, what was once a horde of screaming dead is now a pile of ashes along the hallway.
The Gorillas revel in their victory, but the two Alphas did not share their jubilation.
Something's wrong. The Alpha warned Kage.
"I agree. Even if they don't know about my Undead killing abilities, this is too easy." Kage looked at this pulsing across the fleshy veins that now corrupted the train's interior. The frequency of the pulse is increasing. They're not trying to stop him, they're trying to slow him down. "…let's hurry! The center of this car is just ahead!"
One human and four gorillas raced through the increasingly mutated hallway. The closer they get to the source, the worse the corruption becomes. Hordes of zombies came at them several times, but Kage was able to take care of them without much delay. By the time they arrived VERY close to the epicenter… the scenery no longer looked like something from the world of men. The door to the source of all this evil was barred not by metallic doors, but by the crisscrossing of jagged fangs of some unimaginable monstrosity spilling from within. Kage gave one last glance to the Gorillas to prepare themselves before he raised his great sword over his head. With a cry, Kage sliced through the fangs and flesh…
And in an instant, Kage, the Alpha, even the rest of the Gorillas were instantly thrown back by this dark wave of malevolent force spilling out of that small crevice. The other Gorillas were pressed against the fleshy walls, the Alpha had the time to claw the ground and kept himself from being thrown about, and Kage anchored himself to the floor by stabbing his blade to it. "Wh… What the…"
The slit was quickly torn from the inside into a gaping maw, and the tidal wave of evil and rot overflowed in all its horrid entirety.
And at the center of this maelstrom of damnation… an abomination. The three necromancers now fused to the very energy they had amassed, melded into this… fleshly abomination, with the dark energy that doomed them pulsing at the center. The beating Heart of Darkness. Their tendrils stretched all across the chamber, mutating and corrupting everything they touch into aberration.
"Oh you fucking nutcases!" Kage roared. But his curses landed on ears that can no longer had the wit to understand. The Necromancers realized too late they had overreached. This foul spell they dabbled with overwhelmed even them. What they are now is just an amalgamation of mindless flesh, locked in a single directive of maintaining, and expanding this foul spell. Every beat of the Heart expand a shockwave that propagate across the veins. And with every surge, the corruption spreads.
The entirety of the fourth car had been corrupted. And now… its corruption began to spread from car to car. This spell was aimed to transform the entire Qin Shih Huang into a giant undead monstrosity. That it wiped out most of the occupants and warped its caster was an unexpected side effect, but by that time, the dark magic is in full effect. Maybe it's some kind of instinct, or the residual intelligence from the Necromancers… but the corruption seem to know that it needs to corrupt the head of the snake, the Qin Shih Huang forward locomotive.
Perhaps it was good thing Kage had prepared something rather nasty in that head.
The minute the tendrils of corruption had reached the edge of the forward locomotive, the jury rigged bomb that is the Atilla's tank steam engine had reached its final stages of destruction, the whole thing is blazing red hot, steam hissing out of the seams of the boiler pushed to breaking point.
When the tank finally exploded, the damage to its surroundings was massive. Pieces of the Atilla were shot to every direction at destructive speed, to say nothing of the misfiring ammunition leftovers at its magazine. The Forward Locomotive suddenly bulged to contain the blast until some of its rivets snapped off. Its insides were a mess. But bigger damage still was inflicted to the locomotive main steam engine. Unlike the Atilla's relatively smaller steam engine, it is a complex marvel of engineering. It's not something that should have a bomb parked right next to it.
Atilla's explosion severely damaged the Qin Shih Huang's main boiler. How severe, even if the engineers were still alive, none can say. But it started a chain reaction, triggering multiple series of explosions across said car. What Rygart had done to the Atilla is now happening to the much bigger machine… and it began to overheat uncontrollably. But now… as the damaged machine gathered heat, it also gathered more and more power, smoke and fire erupted out of the chimney… and the whole train now unexpectedly picked up speed. It will explode, eventually… but until then, the train will go faster and faster… until oblivion comes. That is… IF the black Magic corruption had not reached the forward car. Unfortunately, it did. Atilla's explosion delayed the process, but the tendrils reached the locomotive just the same. The corrupting magic infected the locomotive and in so doing, the corruption inadvertently reinforced the whole structure, allowing the boiler to take pressure that would've torn normal engine apart. Yet it did not slow the now runaway train down, and so it'll just keep accelerating.
This sudden acceleration was felt to all occupants of the train. The Alpha roared in anger at this bedeviled human contraption they're trapped in. Kage obviously also felt the jerk of the sudden acceleration. "What the hell just happened…?"
Kage tried to analyze what happened… that big tremor that shook the whole train. That was definitely the jury rigged bomb. The explosion should've damaged the main boiler but instead of stopping, it accelerated…? 'Think Kira, think! What did Athrun say about the ABC of steam engine… it works by turning water into steam… and it needs heat… the hotter the boiler gets, the more heat it creates, more steam, more power, more speed… we're speeding up… so… the engine must be blazing... what else… what else… to control the heat so as to not explode, there are control valves… let's assume worst case scenario: it get blasted. So… supposedly the engine will continue to overheat and we'll continue speeding up… but only until the engine can't take it anymore…' They've been speeding up for 5 minutes straight now. The engine should've exploded by now… so why didn't it explode…?
Somehow, Kage's gut instinct is telling him the cause is right in front of him… literally.
ROAAAAR!
The Alpha Gorilla growled as he made his way towards that malignant power, clawing his way forward with his hands. The shockwaves from the Heart of Darkness slammed the Gorilla head on, but the mighty beast withstood it and kept crawling forward until he got close to Kage.
COME!
Unlike the muscular Alpha Gorilla, were it not for the heavy sword anchored to the floor, Kage's frail built would've seen him thrown around by the shockwaves. The Gorilla just told him to climb on to him. He'll push him until he's within striking distance.
Kage nodded, plucked the sword out before he hopped on to the Gorilla's shoulder.
Carrying the Captain and his heavy sword on his shoulder, the Gorilla kept crawling forward, bit by bit. But the closer he get, the harder the black heart beats, and the stronger the shockwave that struck him down. Even worse, the frequency of the beat increases, and so is the barrage of shockwaves, and there's still quite a distance to go. Another shockwave pulsated and struck against the Gorilla's face so hard, the Alpha could barely keep himself conscious… his arms were about to falter when suddenly he felt something struck him from behind. His horror as he glanced to his back turned to smile. His three Gorilla underlings had picked themselves up and are now pushing his back. With their help, the Alpha continued his crawl.
But finally, even with the help of the three Gorillas… the Alpha can only get so far. He only managed to push himself one more time… at which point the repelling force became too much to bear… it's like trying to push a mountain. But by that time, Kage is only three steps away from striking distance with his great sword.
"My… turn…" Kage slowly crawled down from the Alpha's shoulder and took the first step. The shockwave hit him like a hammer across his whole body. His bones groaned under the pressure… He planted his heavy sword to the ground before he was propelled back. "You…!" The shockwave grew even worse now… Kage could barely take another step. "…G… Guts… I need… the boost…"
"…if I do that… your head-!"
"DAMN MY HEAD! IF WE LET THIS THING BE, WE'LL BE SENDING A TRAIN OF THE DEAD TO SHUHAN! It's ALL OR NOTHING!"
"…Alright."
The warmth in Kage's head moved to his limbs, and with it, incredible strength coursed through his veins. But at the same time, that ache in his head began to build up again… he probably had less than a few minutes. The golden glow in his left eye burst out, and with this new strength, Kage easily covered the last two steps. He raised his sword over his head and with a roar, he brought it down… only to see the blade halted by a barrier.
"WHA-!?" Even with extra boost of strength from Guts, the blade would not go any deeper. "YOU…!" Kage grunted and pushed the blade as hard as he could with only his willpower to bring out what little strength he can contribute. The blade struggled against this last barrier, and the energy pulsated outward as it tried to pierce through… in fact, for a moment it felt like it was about to do just that… but then, Kage began to notice the three necromancers melded together are turning their heads at him. They weren't paying attention to anyone earlier… and now… they sensed this genuine threat… and they focused all their attention at the source. Him. In an instant, the counterforce that repelled Kage's great sword magnified twofold. The outwardly flowing waves suddenly turned around and flowed back towards the blade. Kage watched angrily as his blade is slowly being pushed back. "…f… fuuuck…!"
It was at this moment… in this critical edge between life and death, Kage's mind wandered… to that other thing he had prepared.
"Look, no need to worry about me. I'll say it again, Undead is my specialty. And with that being said… I know how troublesome they can be. Especially when they're cornered. So… we need to prepare a backup plan."
"What do you have in mind captain?"
"Rygart, you once said about the special ammunition for the Atilla is in separate car? The fifth car, if I'm not mistaken?"
"Ye… Yes…?"
"How many are there?"
"Three."
"Retrieve them all. Bring them to the fourth car."
"You said that like it's the easiest thing in the world!" Rygart bawled. "Those things are a thousand pounds a piece, how exactly are we supposed to carry them here!?"
"And not to mention that place will be crawling with undead!"
"Like I've said… this is practically suicide mission. But consider what's at stake here. This… dark magic… is turning this train into a monstrosity. If we don't stop this thing here and now, the other Fortress will be swarmed by this evil. We CAN'T let that happen."
"Well… I've told you we're all ready to die anyway… what do you want us to do with those shells when we get it here, Captain?"
"Arrange them like this…"
Three cannon shells, each is over a thousand pounds… Good thing the Alpha loaned one of his Gorilla to watch over them. Now, he can carry two of these shells. But the remaining shell? 8 people had to bite down and carry that sucker on their shoulders from the 5th car to the 4th, ON FOOT. That's a 500 feet journey at the least.
That they were able to make the journey from the 3rd car to the 5th without encountering further undead is one thing… that they were able to make the return trip from 5th to 4th while carrying this heavy load virtually undetected was an outright miracle. And yet a miracle happened anyway. When the Captain and the Gorillas took the offensive against the zombie, they really clean house. The noise they make drew in all the zombies towards them, leaving the path clear for the troopers to complete their mission with little to no obstacle.
Now… they need to place the shells in a specific location that the Captain had designated before he and the gorillas went on the offense. It is located at the bottom floor, right at the center of the train. Considering the fact that location was heavily corrupted, it's easy to guess that they're at the epicenter of the chaos. He ordered the shells to be fastened so that it will point firmly upward.
The captain ordered them to plaster these suspicious looking talismans at the bottom of the shells.
And as the troopers do this and make sure these shells are secure and fastened, the leader of the troopers stated: "Someone needs to go up there and tell the captain we're in position."
"I'm on it!" A female trooper from the 2nd division took the liberty and dashed away.
The Troopers is starting to get an idea, more or less, on what the captain is up to. The question of whether or whether or not it's necessary is what everyone needs to know.
The messenger ran as fast as her feet can carry her. They got guns, they got train that can move across country in a day… but they're still having a hard time communicating, relying on word of mouth and messengers. A long time ago they say the Alliance had the technology to communicate over vast distances and in an in an instant. Most of them were either missing or forgotten during the Holocaust. No one knows how to make more of them. Those who found them didn't even know how it works and in their ignorance they broke it beyond repair. So… apart from fighting Zaft, Alliance placed a premium priority on any old world technology. They'd kill for it.
Well… that's the way it should be… in theory.
This TRAIN is an old world technology… look what they've done with. Look at what they'LL do to it now!
The messenger zoomed across the hallways… the place is a mess… But… no undead. All she saw was… ashes… did the Captain… did this? No wonder there's no undead getting in their way…
Seeing all this corruption however, the messenger followed it to the place with the worst condition… she had a feeling that's where the captain would be… and she was right. Only… she didn't expect this.
The Heart of Darkness beats, sending shockwave after shockwave… and there she saw him… his back is against her, but there's no mistaking it… the dark clad Captain, and the Gorillas… in that state. One breath away from vanquishing this evil, but they're locked in a stalemate. She quickly put two to two together and rushed in to help… but the shockwave! The Captain needs the help of the Gorillas to get that close, a mere trooper like her stood no chance. But… unlike the captain… she had a gun.
She took aim, struggling to make sure it's the most accurate shot she will ever make in her life. That… blob had three heads… surely she can take out at least one…!
BANG!
The bullet flew through the air, pierced through the shockwave… slinked past the Captain's shoulder… And one head of the Heart exploded when the bullet hit its mark, shocking the remaining two. One brief lapse of their concentration… and Kage's blade pierced through only to stop again, millimeters away from the corrupted flesh when the barrier re-erected at the last second.
One head turned towards the shocked trooper and before she can fire again, a shockwave slammed against her and pressed her helplessly against the wall. It felt like her bones are being crushed by an invisible wall and she's on the verge of losing consciousness altogether… but… not only she managed to earn that monster's attention… she also earned the Captain's. She can see that he's glancing at her. She grinned.
It's ready…
She can barely mouth the word.
And Kage read her lips easily enough. Struggling against the endless point blank shockwave, he dared himself to free one hand to make a handseal. "…Katsu!"
Around that time, the talismans planted on the bullets lit up. The troopers noticed the deed is done, and they all had seconds. Maybe less.
BTOOM!
Less.
The explosive tag ignited the fastened cannon shells. And they misfired. To… chaotic directions. That's the reason why bullets need to be fired through a barrel. But apparently the captain doesn't want accuracy… he just want… chaos and destruction. Not necessarily in that order.
Not all bullets did something… but whatever they do, it happened almost simultaneously.
One bullet tore through out the window leaving a giant hole before it explode a few miles away from the train… that one was a dud.
One bullet went straight up, bouncing across the floors as it went through them. This bullet was a bullseye. It went straight up, reached a certain floor… and it erupted right under the heart of darkness. It missed the Heart by the inches… but it tore its fleshly cage apart, pulverize another head before it burst through the roof. Only one head left and it screamed in pain. The corruption stopped… in fact, in some parts, they receded. The frontmost locomotive, especially. With the corruption losing strength, the boiler is once again trudging towards oblivion.
But the last bullet… this one… was a big miss. It also went up, at first. But after it pierced the first floor, it bounced and spiraled out of control and got stuck a few floors above… and it exploded. The 4th car was splayed open from the inside. The explosion erupted right underneath Kage's feet, just as his blade finally touched the abomination's skin.
But the explosions engulfed everything… and everyone. Including Kage.
0000000-8 years earlier-0000000
When Noir opened his eyes again… he found himself lying on a bed, looking up a ceiling. "…" W… What happened? His body felt so heavy… He was so tired; he couldn't even muster the strength needed to open his mouth. At least he know he's conscious. Slowly, he began to will himself to move. At least, let's start with his neck. Move… move… move… His brain keep repeating this order to a neck muscle that won't move… and then… his neck finally moved…
CRASH!
A very shocked Helena just dropped her tray of tea in her shock upon seeing Noir's conscious form. "M… Master Noir… Y… You're… You're…!"
Around that time, Noir can finally tilt his head. "He…" His partially paralyzed mouth can only spout out one syllable…
"MAAA~AAAA!" But that was enough for Helena to go out running in hysteria. "MA! HE'S AWAKE! HE'S AWAA~AAKE!" And already Noir can hear the chaos erupting in his wake.
When everyone arrived, Noir had only managed to recover his head and neck. They all shout and scream and yell things he can barely hear. He can lip-read them but there were too many mouths saying too many things all at once. And then finally, plowing through them was a dark haired lady with long pointy ears. The Sylphan Elf Queen, Sakuya.
She took his unresponsive hand and placed hers over it, trying to measure something…
"Incredible." Sakuya gawked. "The bulk of his Ether Poisoning was cleared overnight. There's still trace amount of it, but this time, it's easier for me to mend."
Sakuya placed her hand on his chest and began to chant. It felt really warm in his chest, and it began to spread across every inch of his veins. It felt so… comfortable… like a warm blanket of the sun… Noir's eyes soon began to flutter down and closed…
"He fell asleep again?" Salazar snorted.
"But this time, it's a rest we know he'll wake up from." Sakuya smiled with certainty as she pulled back her hands once she's certain Noir's in deep sleep. "Let him sleep. Anything we have to say can wait."
"I'll go get some food ready! He'll be hungry when he wakes up!" Helena happily rushed to the kitchen.
Godric smiled in relief. Hope has been restored.
Sakuya predicted Noir will wake up tomorrow morning.
Defying her expectations, Noir woke up later that afternoon, this time, he can even talk. And again, shocking Helena into another hysterical panic.
"I've heard youngling's lifeforce are nothing to sneeze at, but yours are just beastlike." Sakuya shook her head in disbelief. In the time it took for the occupants to reassemble in his sick ward, Noir had recovered enough that, with some help from Helena, he can even bring himself up into a crude sitting position.
"I'm still an Advanced you know. If I can take pride in anything… it's that I'm a very fast healer."
Sakuya just shook her head in disbelief. He can already talk so fluidly too. This kind of recovery takes more than just a fast healing factor.
"Master, we're just so happy to see you awake and well." Goidric wiped away a tear from his eye.
"I'm awake… I don't know about well… Half of my body still feels numb… and I can just about talk…" Noir chuckled. "But I can talk. And I imagine you, Lady Sakuya, had plenty to say as well."
"There are… so many questions." Sakuya sighed. "…but perhaps… it is best if we start with your side of the story, Dúrrandir. If you are guilty of anything at the moment, it is that you've been keeping too many secrets for yourself. Even from those who trusted you."
"…in which case, I suppose I'm guilty as charged." Noir sighed as he fixed his form so that he can tell his story properly.
"…it all began… when I just discovered that the Unicorn Horns were used to create the Super Soldier serums, and how living Unicorn Horn can further improve the formula. However… I also discovered… that the scientists who lead the experiment also ran into the same problem you mentioned earlier, namely, despite the incredible boost provided by the living Unicorn Horn, the overly chaotic nature of the potent ingredient made even the most stable super soldier formula useless as the rampant magical energy is impossible to control. At least by normal means. At that point, I too hit a dead end. I see the same thing the scientists must've seen: whatever their hopes are, Living Unicorn Horn is a cure far worse than the disease, it is a very poor choice to rejuvenate this costly program. Even if they can try, the cost would soon outweigh the potential success, no one would ever want to try it again… or so I thought at the time."
"During that momentary period of slump, I find myself drawn irresistibly towards a particular book. I can't put my finger into it, but once I've mastered the three dialects of Elven language in my solitude, I must've read that book at least a hundred times, page to page… but I feel like I was missing something. Something about the content of that book feels… off… I spent some time gathering other books as reference… History of the Sundering, Dictionary to the Three Dialects of Elven language, to name a few. And then I had some help… and from there… I inadvertently learned the truth." Noir calmly stated: "There's no way the Elves could've written the Chronicles of the Magic War."
And for the moment… the audience was at a complete loss of context. Everyone except Sakuya, who shot Noir a VERY concerned look.
"I… I don't understand…" Rowena in particular was more confused than the rest. It was her book, after all. "What could that book have anything to do with all this?"
"Everything." Noir in turn, looked back to Sakuya, as if asking for her permission to continue. The Elf closed her eyes, contemplating… and then she gave Noir a nod. A permission.
With permission granted, Noir proceeded with: "…why do you think there are three Dialects to the Elven language?"
"!?" The audience looked at each other. Helena answered timidly: "Because of the Sundering. The breaking of the Elven Society into three distinct subspecies?"
"But what caused it? Scratch that: why did they have to break up the first place? I'll spare you the boring details as to why and how… however, with the current three existing separate sub species still calling themselves Elves, it stood to reason that, there was a time… a long time ago, when they are of one people. There was a time… when they only have one language, before it was split into three."
"Hold on…" Rowena is starting to get it. "You don't mean…"
"…I always find it interesting. Your spells. Those words… what do they mean? Where do they come from? How is it speaking such words allows mages to control the flow of Ether and thus control the elements around them, vis a vis, Magic? What language did they come from? And then… the Bicorn told me that every magical creature in this world had two names. One that was given to them, which they used freely in public… the other… was their True Name, one they already had since they were born, one that they must never told anyone. This is because learning a True Name is to invoke absolute control over the being's very existence. Not only you can tell them what to do, you can even alter their very existence as you please… just like how Mages can control and manipulate Ether to alter the world around them with Magic. That got me into thinking… the spells… the true names… why are they so similar in function? Could the words that compose them… might they come from the same language?"
Noir frowned. "And not just any language. A primal language from which all magical spells, all incantations were derived from. A language which composed the True Name. Heck, the very fabrics of magic itself, your precious three laws, the Law of Deep Magic… these were all constructed by this Language. And from my studies of the Chronicle… I begin to hear this name every so often: The True Language.
Noir spoke the last words in the True Language. And when he did, everyone winced. They heard the meaning of the words booming straight into their mind, but their ears couldn't recognize the words he used to say it. Sakuya in particular held her ears, as if they were hurting badly. The ground, the very air itself trembled in trepidation at every syllable of that word. "Never before had any mortal lips uttered any word of that tongue in this world or the next!" She shot Noir an angry glare.
But Noir was decidedly unapologetic. "I'm not the first Mortal who managed to crack the code, yes? Someone else managed to do it… a long time ago."
Rowena caught on. "The Deceiver."
"That's right. Name Hunting. The action which earned the Deceiver his hateful reputation. He wasn't just after the True Name of any one creature; he was deconstructing it, studying it… just like how I deconstructed Goblin names to learn Goblinese, he deconstructed the True Names of various creatures to master the True Language. Anyone who mastered the True Language has the power to control the very fabrics of Magical reality itself."
"And… that book?" Rowena felt faint.
"I don't know why he did it, but at some point, the Deceiver preserved his life's work by penning a tome. One that no Elf would ever write: a tome which contains all three Elven dialects, the three languages that formed the building blocks of the original True Language, the Chronicles of the Magic War." Noir sighed. "I used the book, out of curiosity, to study and master the Elven language from ground up. Turns out, I had used that book the way it was meant to be used. I figured it out too late, by the time I've realized what happened… the language had constructed itself in my head."
"B… But… if mastering all three Elven Dialect is the prerequisite of mastering the True Language… why are you the only one who succeeded?" Salazar asked. "There are many of us here who can speak all three dialects. Rowena can, her daughter can, lady Lacus… even I can!"
"If it were that easy, anyone would do it. But… imagine hearing a Goblin and a human speaking the same words in Goblinese. I'm quite sure they would come out quite different." Noir explained. "Words and language are used to give voice to a thought and intent. Even if you speak it, if your intention is different to what you say, it would come out wrong. And the True Language is unforgiving in extremis. In order to speak it, your thoughts must match your words and your intent perfectly. Vocal ticks. The intentional slip of the tongue. Everything is unforgiving. Everything must. Be. Perfect. And Elfish language is complex enough as is, a single word can have more than one meaning. And the prerequisite being you have to master them the way an elf would – that's just the easiest one. There are other hurdles, but ultimately, no mere human working on his own will ever make it."
"And you can do that?"
"I had help. Right, Dobby?" The House Elf popped out right next to his master, looking very pleased with himself.
Sakuya gasped seeing the emaciated creature. Of course, she's used to see House Elf looking miserable… but this one… first, he's clothed in rags… and there's this lively spark in his bright beady blue eyes. "You helped him?"
"I assure you, milady, it was not intentional. Not entirely." Noir gripped Dobby's shoulder firmly in defense and support, the supposed master and servant exchanged a close friendly look. "You Elves sundered your own language and culture into three distinct divisions to prevent anyone from knowing the truth. No elf, whatever becomes of them, would ever help anyone master the True Language. And yet that is precisely what is needed for a human to master the True Language. A willing help of an Elf. And… that's why the Deceiver did it."
"Did what?"
Noir gestured at Dobby. "That's why he created the House Elf. Using his mastery of True Language, he corrupted and transformed one of the three Subspecies of Elves to create an Elf designed specifically to be subservient. One needs only to give them the right order and all the secrets of the True Language will be laid bare. At least… that was his plan."
"It didn't work?"
"Not quite what the Deceiver had planned. He underestimated the willpower of the High Elves, deformed as they are." Noir looked at Dobby with respect. "You CANNOT order them to do it. Even if you blatantly ordered them to willingly teach you the True Language… word per word… it won't work. They'll find a way to twist your order and their teachings. You'll never get it unless a House Elf WILLINGLY helped you out of their own free will. They have to be free. But… whatever becomes of him… Dobby… every House Elf was once the proud Tareldar. They too know, at some instinctive level, of what's at stake. That's why they were so scared of being free. They would try everything in their power, even debasing themselves into servitude, so that no one will ever realize this truth."
The audience slumped in disbelief. Suddenly, the things they never understood make so much sense. Sakuya heard everything and rubbed her forehead, nursing a headache so bad, her forehead had gone numb. "How is it… that an 8 year old boy who only spent less than 3 months in Februarius can know so much more than even Elves who had been alive for hundreds of years?"
"Maybe it's because… I can understand him. The Deceiver, that is." Noir chuckled. "As I read that Chronicle, despite myself, I was able to relate with the Deceiver. His motives. His methodology. Then it occurred to me, it was because I was just like him. That's what you're afraid of. The second coming of a human who had done so much pain to your race. Still… there's one crucial point of which I'm completely different to the Deceiver."
"And that is?"
"He's a wizard. I'm a Muggle." Noir gestured at his current half dead state. "I think I've shown you that knowing the True Language is one thing… using it… is quite another. In theory, the Language are construction blocks to whatever spell I want to create but… but to actually use that spell… I will need a proportionate amount of mana to fuel it. I've tested that theory for you… look at what happened to me. And I need to be in Februarius to make it work. Outside this place… saying True Language without dense enough Ether Mana in the atmosphere will serve me no better than spouting gibberish."
Sakuya blinked… and remembered why Noir was in that state to begin with. Utilizing the True Language even briefly had poisoned him with so much Ether he nearly died. She sighed. They've been strangely fortunate this day. The person who mastered the True Language just happened to be the least physically qualified person to use it.
She gave a signal…
Only then did the human audiences in that room were alerted that what they thought to be rustling leaves on the overlooking tree just outside the window… is actually a hidden army of at least a hundred camouflaged Elves who, up until a moment ago, were aiming their poisoned arrows at every inch of what is still the most dangerous half dead 8 year old human in the world. They still breathe a sigh of relief as they put down their weapons.
"I see… you were prepared to kill me. A reasonable precaution."
"Reasonable? You can barely get up from your bed!" Godric was outraged.
"Considering the fact I can literally order them to die with a word? Yes! If I was in Lady Sakuya's position, that's exactly what I would've done." Noir further added. "In fact, if I were you, I would've had me gagged. Don't let me speak even a word, force me to write everything."
"The thought crossed my mind, but this is you, Dúrrandir." Sakuya smiled. "You've come this far, and you have yet lead anyone astray. On this, you're nothing like the Deceiver. The only thing that ever came out of your lips so far has been truth."
"I'm still growing, we'll see. Maybe I'll turn into a murderous high functioning psychopath in the future, you never know."
At this point, Sakuya was relaxed enough to get the joke and chuckled. But the other audience is still far from relaxed. Salazar more than anyone: "Wait… back up a little bit: you can order someone to die just by telling them to in True Language!?"
"This is the same power that bound all who had Ether Mana flowing in their Circuit to your infallible Three Laws. This is the power of Deep magic itself. In True Language, my word is the law. LITERALLY. Everything I say, goes. As long as I'm in this continent, I, without any modicum of arrogance, am the most powerful being in the universe." Noir pointed at the prime example: "That's how I was able to stabilize the rampant magical energy tearing Fayt apart. That's how I was able to order those insane Paladins to go to sleep. I ordered the Ether inside them to calm the hell down! The more magic you have flowing in your veins, the more vulnerable you are to its influence."
As her eyes widened, Rowena was the first amongst the audience who finally connected the dots. "…THAT'S… that's what they need? The key to stabilize the Paladin project!? The True Language!"
"Correct!" Noir sighed in relief. Finally, they see it.
"Lady Ravenclaw… I… I don't follow?" Hugo replied.
"Remember what Master Noir said: the Living Unicorn Horn improves the potency of the potions used in the Paladin project, but they are incredibly unstable. Their power is too strong, it is uncontrollable. But what if you have the means… a way… to exert absolute control over even the most chaotic of energies? What if you can tell a raging river to calm down and then you harness its power with just a word spoken in the right language!?"
The audiences were once again left aghast as the understanding sets in. Using the True Language, they can harness the awesome power of Living Unicorn horns while suppressing the resulting chaos and a Magical Super Soldier unlike anything that has come before would be possible.
But then, Sakuya's face also paled as the alarming implication slowly sets in. There was another. Another soul out there with significantly less than honorable bearings who had mastered the ultimate power. "…is it safe to assume… that any copy of that Chronicle had been destroyed?"
"Lady Ravenclaw was lucky – or unlucky enough that hers was a complete copy. Once I found out what's in it… I had Dobby burnt it. And then, over the course of these two weeks during the bombings, I've located and destroyed every copy I can find in this city. In all cases, many of them had pages missing, or words faded and damaged beyond repair. I destroyed them anyway."
"How did you find them?"
"Easy: the original copy was written in ink made of Unicorn Blood mixed with Unicorn Horn dust, written on pages made of specially processed parchment. The Bicorn can easily sniff them out, and I've memorized the unique color. Also, the original copies are enchanted. In Februarius or in Magically rich atmosphere, they're virtually indestructible. Simple explosion won't just destroy them. So I had Dobby burn them all with his still potent elven magic."
"To ashes and cinders!" Dobby chirped, and Noir gratefully pat him in the head. "Once I'm certain every copy I can find in this country has been destroyed… I seek out the enemy in his lair, for I know he too must've owned a copy. I did found it, the seventh. But it was… damaged. The book was not invulnerable to the ravages of time and nature when it's outside Februarius borders. Some of the pages are missing. It was being mended, but I see to it that it was burnt to ashes."
"…this is ill news regardless. One human understanding the True Language is bad enough. Now you say there's another, and I suppose it would not be farfetched to say he's fully capable of using it?" Sakuya frowned.
"Not entirely. For some reason, his mastery over it is imperfect. After all, the serum he created is still… imperfect as well. That's why we have these bombings; he's looking for a complete copy. To complete his own mastery. I don't know the extent of his current mastery though. He did have that book far longer than I am, flawed as it was."
"Then there is a silver lining to all this, Master Noir. If the enemy had that book for as long as he did, and his mastery is still imperfect… chances are, he had searched high and low throughout the entire breadth of the Empire, and yet that imperfect book is all he had in the end. To say you've destroyed the only physical copy left in this world is a good bet, I reckon." Rowena was happier than anyone about this. She never even realized one of her prized collection contained such a devastating secret.
"Where is he now?" Sakuya asked.
"You need not search for him." Noir frowned. "I've seen to it… that he will… come to us." His one eye began to flutter. He tucked his head down, holding his aching temple. He just recovered from near death, and he had forced himself to talk for hours under the threat of unseen death.
At that, Helena quickly rushed to his side. "Enough… Master Noir, you must rest."
"Wait… wait…" Allelujah hastily followed. "Please… just one more question, My Lord Judge! How do you know he will come here, this… mastermind?"
"We've destroyed… the production facility where he can make new Paladins… we destroyed all samples of the new serum… after a fashion…" By sheer willpower alone Noir continued his explanation. "But you mentioned… that the important chemical lab where they made the potions had been moved off site! This will never be over until we find that lab and destroy it as well!"
"So he would go there, because we've already destroyed his primary base of operation in the Basilica." Allelujah caught on. "But where can that chemical lab be?"
"R… Remember… what that scientist said…? How… their potions became more stable… once the lab was moved… off site?" Noir panted and gasped. "…there's only one place… where location… can influence… the stability of magic potions… a place where… magic… unusable… in other places… be…came… u…sa…ble…"
Allelujah and all Februarius natives gasped in realization. The hunt finally leads them back to their own home front!
"But where can it-" Hugo's question was cut short when he realized Noir had used up what little strength he had and collapsed in blessed unconsciousness.
"Master Noir…!" Everyone went silent as Helena placed a finger on her lips. She gently placed the very exhausted boy back to his bed and covered him with a warm blanket. He very much earned this rest.
"Please care for him well, milady." Godric stood up with grim determination. "He's done more than enough. Come, Brothers and Sisters of Februarius. We have a hunt to finish."
"No." Rowena wiped her tears. She had cried enough. "No, there won't be any lengthy hunt. I can pretty much guess where that place might be."
"Oh?"
"Master Noir had taught me much. What a poor student I would be, if I did not pick up a thing or two?" Rowena bring out her own deductions. "If there's a facility on Februarius, it must be a place that used to be owned by a church. One in which we, as Februarians, would rather leave untouched. I know of only ONE place that fits that description."
"Such a place… one can expect it to be well guarded." Salazar added.
"Then we bring more men. More forces. More wands to the fight. Come what may, we're putting an end to this, TONIGHT!" Godric roared.
"I'll fight with you." Allelujah raised his spear. "My debt to the Lord Judge is now payable only with blood. I shall see this through to the end, in HIS honor!"
"What will you do, Sakuya?"
"…this crisis imperils not only Februarius. It endangers every fae-folk in Alpheim as well." Sakuya nodded. "Leafa!"
"Milady!" A blond haired female elven warrior maiden stood ready.
"Leave 20 elves here to protect the Lawkeeper and this house. The rest come with me! Prepare for war!"
00000000000000
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Originally, I had planned for Kira to also be a Null Children. His Undead Killer being a derivative of the Null Children abilities. This was hinted at several times before throughout the previous chapters… but after much consideration, I've decided against it. Kira's already special enough as is with his Undead killer ability and his intelligence. Adding more and more to an MC would just be in bad taste.
