Chapter 23: Severed Ties
Cole P.O.V., 12 hours, 16 minutes following "Virtual Abyss"; 6:46 A.M.
"Hey guys, mail's here!"
As Cole braced himself for the incoming flood, the sound of multiple footsteps echoed across the Bounty. Jay, being the fastest of the bunch, scrambled towards Cole, arms stretched out to grab the envelopes. The rest of the crew soon arrived, Kai wheeling in, Nya close behind him, Yumiko and Marasu walking in together, the latter having a severe case of bedhead, and Kenshi filing in last, a steaming cup of coffee clutched in his hand. Cole kept the mail away from Jay's grabby hands until he had calmed, then scattered the letters across the table.
As Cole sorted through the various papers, he found one that stood out, an unfamiliar symbol etched on the front. Holding it out, he looked around the table. "Does anyone recognize this insignia?"
The three former mercs glanced at each other, a moment of hesitation that did not go unnoticed by the ninja. At last, Kenshi spoke up. "Yeah, that's the CTSO's emblem," he spoke softly. "Give me that, we need to see who it's from."
Cole wavered for a moment, before handing the envelope over, watching Kenshi closely. The captain furrowed his brows, before passing it to Marasu.
"It's from Marcus."
Enatsu's eyes widened at the announcement, then settled to a blank stare.
"He's dead," he stated bluntly.
Kenshi shook his head. "It's from Marcus, I'm telling you. Here, just read it."
Marasu took the letter, reading it over quietly. When he finished, he shook his head in disbelief. Giving the paper to Yumiko to read, he scoffed. "I can't believe it. After all these years, Marcus comes out of nowhere saying he wants to talk. What would Ryan say about this? I don't think he's even talked to Ryan in years, ever since he, left."
Who the hell is Marcus and Ryan?
Cole cleared his throat, before asking the question that had settled in both his and Jay's mind. "Wait, who's Marcus and Ryan, and why are they important?"
Yumiko chuckled ruefully, as if recalling a memory she wished not to remember. "Ryan and Marcus Ashina were two men we used to work with. A few years ago, Marcus went rogue, or so we thought. He stabbed Marasu in the back, quite literally.
He's known both for since they were kids, and they all joined Atlas around the same time, but split for different divisions. Marcus went to the CTSO, Counter Terrorist Special Operations, Ryan to the COIN, Covert Operations Infiltration Network, and Marasu the ATPD, Asset Targeting/Protection Detail."
Kenshi nodded, humming. "I remember the Ashina boys, they were hard-working and had a strong moral code, which was why we were confused as to why he had back-stabbed Marasu."
Marasu grunted, rubbing the old scars on his back. "We were like brothers, until Marcus betrayed us. We assumed he had joined some underground organization, but not as an undercover agent to gain intel. Hold on a moment, I have to tell Ryan about this." He began to walk out, Yumiko following behind him closely.
Once both mercenaries had left, Kenshi sighed softly. Shaking his head, he turned to the ninja. "I'm sorry if that was difficult to follow, those two have been through enough to compensate for another two lifetimes."
"How'd they meet each other?" Kai spoke up suddenly, his lack of a filter taking the others by surprise.
"Kai!" Nya began to scold him.
Kenshi chuckled, "No, it's quite alright; I've met more unruly recruits than him. If you really want some of the story, you should ask one of them. If you want to really get to know them, ask both. The two of them have truly interesting stories."
"But what about you? What can you tell us about them?" Kai pressed, suspicion not-so-subtly creeping into his voice.
Kenshi hummed, "That's not for me to say. Like I said, if you wanna learn more, ask them yourself. I know Bluebird's already tried with Marasu."
The rest of the room turned to Jay, who blushed and looked away in embarrassment. Kenshi chuckled, before beginning to walk out. He turned at the doorframe, looking back at the ninja. "If you fellas really wanna learn about them, please be patient. They've got enough layers of armor that any brash advances will just get bounced off. Enatsu might even start to throw punches if you piss him off enough, so just be careful."
Then ninja all looked at each other for a moment, before a silent agreement was decided upon.
Break down the mercs. Find more about them.
No P.O.V., directly following previous events; 7:02 A.M.
"Hello?"
"I need to patch a call through to Ryan Ashina, Staff Sergeant in COIN."
Marasu sighed, beginning to get annoyed. "Callsign Echo, ATPD; former."
Marasu turned to Yumiko, who was patiently sitting on the bed behind him, lowered himself to sit beside her. In return, Yumiko placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder, pulling him towards her, a gesture Enatsu leaned into, placing his head on her shoulder, resting in the crook of her neck. He put the phone on speaker, placing it between the two.
"Sir, I'm sorry to inform you that Ryan Ashina was killed in the line of duty two days ago. I'm very sorry for your loss."
Stunned silence.
The two were silent for a beat. Two beats. Three.
Yumiko was the first to recover, her free hand covering her mouth.
"Oh god."
Marasu's reaction would even be perceived as worse than if he were to normally respond; he was completely silent, only leaning farther into Yumiko, who was rubbing circles into his back, a weak attempt to console him.
What the two weren't aware of, was that Nya had been walking past their room when the news had been broken. Her ear pressed to the door, she slowly backed away, before walking about as if she hadn't just heard what she had. Despite her best efforts, she found herself in front of Kenshi's room, knocking on the door.
Behind the door she heard a muffled, "Come in!"
Opening the door hesitantly, she faced the rogue soldier with a sorrowful gaze. Noticing her mournful expression, he looked up from cleaning his handgun. "What's up? Why the sad face?"
Nya faltered, searching for the right words. Eventually she gave up, bluntly stating,
"Ryan Ashina is dead."
Kenshi gave her a hard stare. "Kid, that ain't funny. Cut that out."
Nya shook her head. "I'm not kidding. Enatsu just called someone, and I heard as I passed by."
The swordsman's face softened. He muttered a quick "thanks" before racing out to Marasu and Yumiko's shared room, rapidly knocking on the relatively soft door. A quiet conversation ensued, until a softer voice finally said, "I'll take it."
The door opened with a soft click, and Yumiko's face peeked through, warily looking at the older man. "Hey Takahashi, what do you need?"
"I know, Yumi, you don't need to hide it."
The girl stared at him for a few moments, before she softly exhaled, leaning against the wall. "You might want to talk to Marasu first; he won't say anything about it."
The older man smiled softly, slowly approaching the younger operator. "Hey Enatsu, how're you holding up?"
The latter raised his head, a mournful look in his eyes. "How do you think, Takahashi? I just got news that a man I knew as well as a brother died. What am I supposed to tell Marcus?"
"I'm not sure, but for now, I think we need to find him first, in case whoever killed Ryan will be going after him next."
Marasu sighed, reluctantly taking the hand Kenshi had offered him, and raised himself from the bed, much to Yumiko's delight. Eventually, after contacting Marcus' handler, they reached his number, found a safe, public area to meet, and set out to reunite.
Before the trio could leave however, they were stopped by Kai, who had blocked the door out with his wheelchair.
He scanned the three over, noticing a drop leg holster on Marasu, and hip holsters on Yumiko and Kenshi.
"Where do you think you guys are going?" He asked, eyeing a duffel bag Marasu had been carrying.
"What's it to you?" Marasu snapped, taking the others by surprise as he aggressively took a step forwards.
Yumiko quickly placed a hand across his chest, effectively stopping him, as he was one of the few smart enough to know not to cross her. "Hey, calm down. We aren't about to hurt one of the people who have given us a home the last few days. Just tell him whats in the bag."
Enatsu, stubborn as he is, hesitantly backed down, still staring daggers at the fire ninja. "Three Yokai, so I can set them up around where we need to be."
Kai still stared at the bag, noticing that it was quite heavy, seeing as Echo had been leaning towards that side. "No, there's more. I'll ask again; what's in the bag?"
Marasu looked pleadingly to the woman beside him, but she only nodded in approval. He sighed in defeat, opening the duffel bag. "My Remington 870 shotgun, three Yokai, a P226 loaded with blanks for Marcus in case, and an M4 Carbine for Yumiko."
The fire ninja nodded approvingly. "That's a helluva lotta firepower you guys are packing. Mind if I ask why?"
"Do I have to answer?" Enatsu asked dryly.
Both Yumiko and Kai responded at the same time, a tired "Yes".
"We're going to meet Marcus. We had set a time to get there, but I had planned on arriving a little early so that I could set up my Yokai to spot for anyone uninvited in case they were targeting Marcus as well."
As the merc finished, he noticed that Kai was gazing at him intently. At last, he wheeled aside, allowing them to leave. Enatsu all but raced out, hooking himself up to the railing with his rappelling gear, throwing the rope over the ship, and swiftly sliding down after it, just as he had done so many times in operations working for the S.A.T.
Yumiko soon followed after, vaulting over the railing and down into the city. As she touched back down onto stable ground, she noticed Kenshi beside Marasu, the latter not having noticed the former.
"Wait, how did you get down before me?" She asked, puzzled. She hadn't seen him go down before her, had she?
The swordsman only grinned in response. "Raven's Mist," he stated, much to the two operators confusion, and Marasu's surprise, having not noticed him, despite his keen senses.
Shaking off their shock, the three began to walk down to the rendezvous site as casually as they could with pistols strapped to them and a suspicious duffel bag in one of their hands.
Enatsu P.O.V., 1 hour later; 8:05 A.M.
As Marasu Enatsu finished setting up his Yokai across various places in the courtyard, he couldn't help but wonder if it was a trap. He had heard stories of men who were lured by the thought of reuniting with close friends, only to be captured by the enemy, spanning back to the first Ninjagian Revolution. The thought had been following him since reconnecting with Marcus, but he had to hope; after all, he had to know what had happened after, well, after he had been stabbed.
Finally finished, he walked to the bench that the three had occupied, activated his wrist-mounted device, and checking his Yokai, making sure that they were in good spots. Hefting the duffle bag up to his lap, he slowly unzipped part of the cover, carefully looking over the shotgun and carbine in the bag, making sure that it was ready for use as soon as shells or a magazine was loaded in.
As he set the bag aside, he heard a distinct whistle, one he knew very well; the whistle he and the Ashina boys had made to distinguish one from another without speaking. Looking up, he saw a man dressed in fatigues walk towards him, jet black hair slicked back, a briefcase in one hand, the other tucked in his pocket.
Enatsu got up, quickly striding towards the Ashina brother. Hand extended, Marcus greeted the operator with a small smile. Accepting the hand, Marasu shook his hand firmly, a determined glint in his eyes. "Before anything else happens, Marcus, why?"
Ashina sighed, looking everywhere but Marasu's eyes. "Masa, you wouldn't under–"
Echo punched him in the shoulder, glaring daggers at him. "Marcus, we've both grown, and you know it. Just tell me, dammit."
Marcus reluctantly continued, a nervous glance spared to Yumiko and Kenshi. "I had orders to join the Yakuza gang, and their initiationwas to take you out; they were still bitter after you halted their attempt to kidnap the S.A.T. captain a few years prior."
Marasu grunted. "I thought they'd forgotten about that. Anyways we need to get you outta here. C'mon, we need to get you a gun."
He waved him along, before fishing the handgun out of the duffel bag, pressing it against Marcus' chest. The group quickly got up, making their way back to the Bounty, cutting through alleys.
As they passed through one alley, however, in the blink of an eye, a group of masked men surrounded them, katana in one hand, a chain in another. One lashed out first, chain whip latching around Marasu's wrist. Struggling against the whip, Enatsu tugged in a futile attempt to loosen it; if anything, it made it tighter and tighter. Suddenly yanking on the chain, Marasu was dragged along, until he was face to face with one of the men, who quickly locked him in a choke. His hands instinctively flew up, clawing at the hands that were slowly cutting off his oxygen supply.
Yumiko reacted almost as quickly, moving behind Marcus, pressing a pistol against his temple. "It was you, wasn't it? You led them to us!"
As he was locked in the chokehold, endless thoughts raced in Enatsu's mind. Is it finally my time? Before I even got the chance to propose to Yumiko?
Is this how I go? Choked out by someone I don't even know in an old alley?
As he watched the situation unfold, he noticed an ever increasing pressure on his airflow, until he began to find it impossible to breathe, and the world went black, Yumiko's cries falling on deaf ears.
Although he wouldn't hear it, a loud crack split the air, and a body crumpled to the floor.
Cryptor P.O.V., 12 hours following "Virtual Abyss"; 7:05 P.M.
"Is he still unconscious?"
And inspector stepped forward. "Yes sir. But before you enter, you must know this; we checked the implant, and it was only partly functional. Something must have damaged it over time. If you try to use to override protocol, there is a slight chance it may not work, and instead activate the enhancement agents."
Cryptor sighed. Curse the medical team's inherent inability to implant one thing correctly. He would have to speak to them about that later. Striding into the dilapidated room, he saw a crumpled body in the corner, unmoving. Treading lightly, he slunk towards the prone figure, delivering a swift kick to the gut. A loud cracking noise followed. The prisoner groaned, shifting onto their back, eyes opening slightly, weakly clutching their ribs.
"Been a while, Enatsu," the nindroid chuckled darkly. "The last time we had met you were asking Justin for his blessings to court Yumiko."
The general sneered when Marasu didn't get up, and delivered another kick to his ribs, eliciting another pained groan. "Get up, I'm not finished with you."
"Do you remember what we did to you? The ideas we planted into you mind?" Cryptor stalked around Enatsu, who struggled to get up. Eventually, he rose, stumbling into the cement wall. Cryptor backed away, giving him space to breathe.
"Wh–what do you mean 'what you did to me'? You don't even know me!" The younger man croaked, his voice hoarse from lack of use, as he gently held his obviously broken ribs, leaning against the cold wall.
The general laughed, the sound reverberating off the walls. "You never loved Yumiko. Before enlisting, you had your eyes set on Mei Lin. We planted the idea that you loved her instead to enforce obedience, seeing as you had a track record for disobeying superiors."
A problem we shall soon fix.
Enatsu coughed, his entire form rattling along with it. "No, no that's not true. That can't be true."
The former soldier was visibly shaken, much to Cryptor's pleasure.
Weakling. If only you realized how much you truly loved her.
"Oh, but it is. I'll make things easy for you; either join me, and betray her and the ninja, or I use the recall code, and I force you to do it either way?"
Marasu shook his head in disbelief. "Who are you anyways? And why would I do anything you say?"
Because I am your worst nightmare.
The nindroid held his tongue, chuckled instead, rushing forwards and pushing him against the wall, hands pressed against his throat. "Submit, and you will not suffer nearly as much as I want you to."
Daring to look him in the eye, Marasu spat at him.
"Like hell I'd ever side with you."
Cryptor sneered back, reciting the trigger phrase as clearly as he could. "The rain falls when it may."
And now, you are mine.
Feeling the younger man go slack, the general let go of his throat, taking note of the angry red marks left on him after both his kidnapping and his most recent choking.
"Will you comply now?"
The man hesitated, then answered with absolute confidence.
"Yes."
Hey fellas, sorry for dropping outta nowhere again. You might have noticed that this chapter is significantly longer than normal. That's for compensation, and this chapter will serve as the last two weeks and this week's. Hopefully I can get back onto schedule soon, but I'm not sure.
Anyways, this is actually a pretty important chapter, because the introduction of Marcus will later on expose what caused the fall of Atlas.
And I've said too much.
Oh well.
Oh, and Enatsu's been brainwashed(?). I'm not really quite sure what I did either, which probably isn't good, but I think Cryptor brainwashed him.
Oh, oh I get it now. So basically, all Atlas soldiers have a special phrase that I think makes them completely obedient, even if their mind disagrees. Think of it as an inhibitor chip. So Enatsu's phrase was "the rain falls when it may".
Well shit. I guess Masa's working for the bad guys now. I have absolutely no regrets.
Anyways, have a good day/night
~The Titan's Shadow