Chapter 41: The Truth

Ten years prior, during the Demon Crown War…

More accurately, after the war. Bloody fighting had erupted all across the floating island after reports of an unimaginably powerful artifact came in from the first few teams of scout robots. Most of the countries of the surface world, enticed by the thought of owning the Demon Crown for themselves, had unleashed their strongest mechanical soldiers to retrieve it… as well as to cut down anyone in the way. Thousands of Mimiga and human settlers were killed, either through direct attacks from the robots or from merely being caught in the crossfire as the armies of nations all over the world clashed.

The carnage lasted four months before the Demon Crown was found, and just as quickly as the war had begun the island fell silent. Most of the remaining robots were either recalled to the surface by the defeated countries or simply ordered to deactivate on the spot. Their corpses were nowhere near as abundant as those of the innocent they had slaughtered, and yet the disaster was only just beginning.

Among the robotic armies was a single human soldier, General Miakido. A hulking, broad-chested man with a permanent scowl on his face, he led his troops to ultimately claim the magical artifact they had so violently sought. His aggressive and proud disposition made it easy for the Demon Crown to corrupt him, however, and not even a minute after putting the item on he had declared himself the new king of the entire world. Worse still, he was set to command an even deadlier army.

In a desperate attempt to keep themselves safe during the war, countless Mimiga resorted to eating the dangerous red flowers native to the island, mutating into horrifying Ravil monsters which could tear through entire squads of soldier robots singlehandedly. Miakido, with the artifact's power, soon realized that he was able to control the beasts. He subsequently planned to show off his newfound dominance to the world by releasing an army of Ravil onto the surface below. Against such terrible might, nobody dared to oppose him.

Nobody save for two particular robots.

A coalition of engineers, scientists, and combat experts from various countries had banded together during the war to create the strongest soldiers mankind possibly could. Understanding the potential dangers of the artifact their governments sought after, they ordered their fearsome duo to track down and destroy the Demon Crown before any more harm could come from it. They had not landed on the island until after the fighting had concluded, however, and were greeted with the sight of never-ending Mimiga corpses. In some areas, the two couldn't walk so much as fifty paces without seeing another charred, decapitated, crushed, or generally mutilated body.

Disturbing sights aside, very little could physically impede their progress. Any hostile creatures that attempted to ambush the pair were made short work of, and even Miakido's remaining robots were no match for them. Their top-level programming and impeccable teamwork carried them through the island all the way to the throne room at its balcony, where they confronted the twisted General together.


As they climbed one final staircase, Curly noticed something off about her partner. Quote, armed with a double-barreled shotgun and a small revolver, was taking deeper breaths than normal as they approached their target. Over two hours of continuous fighting were beginning to take their toll on him- on both of them- but they simply couldn't spare the time to rest. Miakido's Ravil army had already started deploying onto the surface, organized and united under the power of the Demon Crown. If they failed to destroy it, all hope would be lost.

"You holding up alright?" she asked, walking beside him.

"Not really," he admitted. He looked far less composed than her. "There's a lot at stake right now."

Curly let out a sigh.

"Yeah, I know. We're the last hopes for the world, after all. If we don't put a stop to this, I doubt anyone will."

"Think we can do it?"

"We've made it this far together, haven't we?" she replied with a small grin. "As long as we can keep the General on the defensive, we should be able to wear him down eventually. Or we can try to destroy the Demon Crown right away. That'll leave him powerless and make it easier for us to beat him."

Quote gave a hollow chuckle.

"That's if we can damage it. Our info on it is substantially lacking, so we really have no idea what we're up against. We could take one step into the room and be fried immediately."

"Always the optimist," she muttered under her breath. "We can't afford to doubt ourselves now. Let's just give it our all."

The pair soon came to the last thing standing between them and Miakido: a large stone door, covered in ornate carvings with a strange focus on eye-shaped symbols. Curly stifled a gasp when she felt Quote slip his hand into hers and give it a gentle squeeze. They hadn't known each other for long since their activation, but the two had a certain connection that nothing could break. Perhaps they had been programmed to get along for the sake of their assignment, or perhaps they just worked well together on their own merits. Either way, the two soldiers knew that without each other they had no chance of succeeding.

"Hey, Curly?"

"Hm?"

He was silent for a moment.

"Whatever happens… it was good to have your back on this mission."

Her face flushed a light pink, and she giggled at him.

"I wish I could get that in writing, this way I'll always be able to prove you said it. Tell you what, if we get out of this in one piece I'm going to frame that sentence and put it on a wall somewhere."

Quote smirked.

"We will get out of this. Even if I have to carry you out on my back, we're going to finish this job together."

"That's what I like to hear. Ready to save the world?"

Her friend held his shotgun ready, a determined look in his eyes.

"Affirmative. Let's go with Formation 3-C."

"With me leading or you?"

"Ladies first."

Curly rolled her eyes and primed her light machine gun.

"Such a gentleman. Let's do this!"

Wasting no time with a dramatic walk into the throne room, she instead burst through the door and opened fire on General Miakido immediately while Quote stood behind her. The olive-skinned human was taken aback by the sudden offensive and very narrowly rolled out of harm's way. Atop his bald head sat the Demon Crown, its large red eye staring straight at them.

"Now!"

Curly sank onto one knee as they'd agreed upon with their decision on a battle formation, letting her gun cool off from her initial assault. Quote, still behind her, laid down more fire on their opponent with his shotgun. The attacks were much less effective than she'd hoped, as he stopped the bullets in midair with a short flash of the Crown's eye.

"So, you are the ones who have been hindering my army," Miakido growled in a deep baritone of a voice. "Prepare for annihilation!"

The burly man pointed a broadsword in their direction. Despite how heavy it looked, he was able to swing it around with one hand as he charged them. Curly threw herself to the right while continuing to sprinkle him with bullets, but although she'd managed to avoid being harmed, she hadn't done much against her enemy. The thick chest plate Miakido wore withstood her shots like they were nothing.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Quote leap backwards to stay out of the sword's reach. He wasn't faring much better, as even at close range the Demon Crown disrupted his shotgun blasts. His teeth were tightly clenched as he narrowly avoided a slash at his neck. His nimble dodging didn't save him for long, as Miakido lunged forwards and grabbed him by the throat. Curly jumped to her feet and rushed over, fearing that if she didn't step in soon her partner would lose his head.

The General had his back to her, which she capitalized on by aiming another series of bullets directly at the Crown. It suffered no apparent physical damage, but based on the earsplitting screech it let out she'd obviously done something to the artifact. Dropping Quote to the ground, Miakido gripped his forehead with a cry of pain from the noise and/or from some mental link he had established with the Crown itself. He turned to face Curly with a snarl, and his eyes began to glow an unnatural red.

"Hate… hate…"

The entire room began to rumble, knocking her off-balance just long enough for him to close the distance between them. He drove a foot into her stomach, instantly sending her to the floor with a pained cough. Miakido clearly wanted to prolong his assault, as rather than bring his sword down on her he repeatedly smashed her face into the ground with his boot. Each kick sent a fresh wave of agony through Curly, and in her daze she wondered if this was how it would end.

Suddenly, the brutal attack stopped. Quote had gotten back up and was continuing to fire at the General with his pistol. The bullets did little more than distract him, but it was enough for Curly to reach her machine gun and shoot at Miakido from below. Her shots connected with a weak point in his armor just below the ribs, and this time he certainly felt it. The man staggered backwards, clutching at his chest and groaning from each hit.

"Thanks for the save!"

Curly rolled backwards, getting to her feet a few yards away from their enemy. His grip on his sword tightened, and he held it defensively in front of his body to deflect incoming shots from her machine gun. Quote aimed an attack of his own at the Demon Crown, resulting in the same effect as before.

"I think it's working!" he called over the screeching, which appeared to be coming from the Crown itself as opposed to its wearer. "Let's keep it up!"

Miakido roared, breaking his sword in half out of frustration. He threw the pieces to the ground and glowered at the two soldiers, his eyes no longer glowing but rather heavily bloodshot. He looked deranged, like his very mind had been taken by some unknown force. The red gem on the Demon Crown flashed a fiery shade of orange, and the quaking that rocked the throne room intensified to such a degree that Curly had to fight to stay on her feet.

"I can't get a clear shot!" Quote shouted, trying to stabilize himself long enough to attack again. She wasn't doing much better, and resorted to merely spraying her machine gun's bullets in Miakido's general direction. The very air around them began to feel heavier.

"Hate… HATE…"

"What's he doing?!" she cried over the noise.

"HATE!"

Curly's forehead suddenly felt like it was on fire, which had nothing to do with the kicks she'd suffered before. To her side, Quote seemed to be feeling the same thing and had dropped to his knees. An impossibly strong wave of energy washed over the two, wreaking havoc on their receptors. Looking up at their foe, she could see through a blurry red haze that Miakido was undergoing some kind of transformation.

"We have to end this now!" Quote groaned, shakily picking up his pistol and shotgun. Before he had a chance to do anything, however, the weapons abruptly disintegrated in his hands, leaving him staring wide-eyed in horror. Curly watched as he was thrown across the room by some unseen force from the Demon Crown and smashed headfirst into a wall. He collapsed to the ground, no longer moving.

"No…!"

The remaining soldier scrambled to reach her machine gun, laying on her stomach to give off the impression that she was staying down. Not that it seemed to matter; Miakido hadn't noticed her. Struggling to stay conscious, she took careful aim amidst all the noise and the distorted air and pulled the trigger.

Her energy bullet struck dead-on, hitting the General right between his eyes and leaving a noticeable scorch mark on his face. The Demon Crown's effects instantly stopped, and Miakido dropped to his knees with a smoking hole just above the bridge of his nose. Curly didn't let up, releasing everything her gun could manage before overheating. By the time her barrage ended, all of the skin on his face was charred black, and he fell backwards with one last groan.

"Have to… destroy… the Crown…"

She tried her hardest to stand up, but her legs refused to obey. All of the feeling in her body was gone, and her vision was growing foggy from fatigue. Curly could faintly hear someone speaking in the room, commenting on the situation before them.

"So, you managed to defeat the wielder of the Demon Crown… most impressive. Perhaps the chance I need has come."

The lizard-like voice was one she'd never heard before, and she could barely make out what he was saying at the moment. She couldn't even turn herself around to see who it was.

"Yes… I can foresee an end to this… but for now, you must recover your strength."

Was he talking to them specifically? Who was he? What did he mean? Her questions didn't have the opportunity to be answered, as everything went dark before her eyes.

Curly reawakened a decade later with no memory of her mission.


Author's Note: Me being me, of course I couldn't resist expanding on the backstory. There's still more to come, too! Keep an eye out, sometime soon I'm going to post a one-shot about how Quote and Curly originally met. It should come within a few days, and certainly before the next update to this story. See you then!