Leaning on the window, Hideki watched as the clear, starry skies began to disappear behind dark rain clouds, as thunder could be heard rumbling in the distance. Soon, the moonlight barely lit up the room and Tateyama flicked open the dim bedside lamp for some light. Sitting next to Takuya's wheelchair, Mamoru and Takuya leaned on each other as the two rested, tired from earlier's attack. The two were sleeping quietly together, sharing Mamoru's green scarf around their necks for warmth.
Bringing his wheelchair to Hideki's side, Tateyama spoke, massaging his leg to see if he could walk again, "How's your wounds?"
"They're not that bad; can't say I've been through worse," Hideki shrugged, rubbing his bandaged arms. He looked back at Tateyama and realized what he was really asking about, "Takehito didn't beat me up that bad. The wounds from yesterday just slowed me down, so don't worry about me, 'Teyama. The thing we have to worry about right now, is Homura."
Tateyama silently nodded in agreement, looking out the window to see rain beginning to drizzle and fall, "If she didn't come, we wouldn't be here. We wouldn't be talking like this," Tateyama saw the melancholic look on Hideki's face and tug on his sleeve to get his attention, "Homura will be fine. She has those powers of hers; she'll come back for sure."
"No. It's not that. It's just - I've been wondering," Hideki folded his arms and looked over his shoulder to Sanbey, who still rested silently on the bed, "Homura said that before she got her powers, she had to make a wish, and if Homrua said that thing over there doesn't contract girls, do you think it does for boys...?"
Tateyama turned his wheelchair to face Hideki, "Don't tell me you're thinking of-?"
"It's just something that's been on my mind. But, you think she came to our school to find people that she could recruit?" Hideki stared at Tateyama and asked him, "Doesn't that make sense? If Homura came with Sanbey to our school, it'd make sense if she was there to find people that could help her."
"Maybe. But we should just ask her instead," Tateyama suggested and wheeled away from the window, gripping his armrest for support as he tried to stand up, "When she gets back, w-we can ask her anything we want," slowly, Tateyama get back on his legs and hold onto the wall with one hand for support. He felt Hideki's arm helping him up as he balanced himself.
"I know... but, anything we can wish for in exchange for fighting monsters and magical powers?" Hideki pondered, looking outside the window as the rain outside became heavier, "We could fix every problem with just a few words..."
Tateyama couldn't help but agree with that notion. The idea of of having a cured heart piqued his interest greatly, but now was not the time to be thinking of such things. It had been half an hour since Homura had left the room and the hospital had been dead quiet for a while. On the wall, Tateyama picked up the hospital phone and dialed the front desk, only to hear a dead beep when he pressed the phone to his ear. Weird, as someone should've be answering the phone by now, even if it was around 10.30 PM. Placing the phone back on the receiver, the holographic interface of the dial disappeared and Tateyama began to wonder what was going on with the hospital staff members.
"Where... Where am I?" an unfamiliar voice suddenly rang in their ears. Hideki and Tateyama looked around to find the speaker, but found nothing as this voice woke up Mamoru and Takuya, too.
"What'd I miss?" Takuya rubbed his eyes, yawning.
Tateyama and Hideki looked around and when they turned their attention to the bed, they saw the presumed-speaker struggling to stand on all four legs on the bed. Golden fluid leaking underneath bandaged wounds, the fluid dripped to the bed as Hideki took a step back, "I-It talked."
Homura's M249 machine gun dropped to the floor as the girl reached for her shield. Standing with two regenerated arms piercing through the Puella Magi's bleeding abdomen, Clyde cackled as he breathed down on Homura's thin neck. Blood leaked from the corners of her mouth and dripped to the floor, "Don't worry, Homura. Once I get what I need from you, I'll be giving you a quick, painless death," Clyde didn't bother to hide the lies in his voice and in fact seemed to enjoy doing it.
Thunder rumbled outside the window beside them, lightning crackled and the rain pounded on the windows. The flashes of lightning lit the corridors at random moments. Breathing in, Homura managed to reach for the back of her shield and retorted in a calm, yet defiant voice, "You... You can try," and before Clyde could quip, a small stun grenade seemingly teleported in front of his face and went off, blinding the Warlock as Homura pulled herself out of his arms and picked up her M249 to aim it at his face.
"When did she-?!"
The barrage of rounds that came forth pushed the girl back as the gun emitted a sound that could be mistaken for the rumbling thunder outside. Caliber rounds flew through the air and into Clyde, throwing him into a medicinal cart behind him as the cart's structure warped from the harsh impac. Keeping her finger on the trigger, the volley of bullets were seemingly assimilated by Clyde's clothes and skin. When the clip ran dry, Clyde looked back up to see Homura pressing the gun into her shield; it disappeared and she switched it for a long anti-material sniper rifle, twice the height of its wielder.
Clyde sprung over the cart and began dashing backwards on boots that minimized the friction between his feet and the floor. Summoning 2 M1918 rifles into both hands, Clyde knew that Homura wouldn't be reckless enough to resort to explosives here, and since it did not apply to him, Clyde raised and fired his weapons wildly at Homura. Ebony bullets whizzed through the air as Homura began to get closer and closer to Clyde through a sort of 'teleporation'. Cocking the rifle, Homura began to take aim as she teleported left and right.
"Interesting power you have there," Clyde non-chalantly commented and tilted his head to let a large caliber round fly pass, the sniper's gunfire echoing through the hallway, "Mind telling me what it is, sweetie?"
In a blink of an eye, Clyde gasped as Homura was suddenly behind him, the barrel of her large rifle digging into his back.
Click.
That was her reply as the shot sent Clyde flying across the hall with a gaping hole in his chest. Despite hearing only a single click, Clyde felt like she had emptied the entire magazine on him in one go. He then recalled one of his M1918s and used his claw-like hands to grab the floor, regain footing and continue sliding backwards while firing. His bullets zipped pass Homura, the Puella Magi teleporting to different spots each time the shots would connect, "Geh, that power of hers is getting annoying. I can't stay here to long; time for Plan B."
Summoning back his other rifle and reloading both of them, Clyde hopped over an unconscious nurse and took a sharp turn around a corner into a tight hallway with wet windows on both sides. Homura was trailing behind him fast with her powers, cracking another shot that hit Clyde as it blew a chunk off his left leg, spraying black ooze on the floor on impact.
Even with her slow rate of fire, this tight space gave Homura the advantage as she cocked the sniper's bolt-action again and took aim. Clyde could barely dodge, but this was his plan. Skidding to a stop, the Warlock then turned around and charged at Homura with a slasher smile on his mask. The Puella Magi put away her rifle in her shield and switched it for twin Uzis.
In a mere second, the two were in each other's face and as they engaged in a fight of quick gun kata. Smacking away each other's weapons when they would take aim and then aiming their own automatic guns to fire, the agility of the two and the speed of their movements would be registered as a blur to an untrained eye. Stray rounds flew everywhere as lightning flashed again, the windows on both sides shattering as shards of glass fell to the ground.
The falling glass created small cut on Homura's skin, Clyde laughed as he was struck across the face with the barrel of her Uzi, "I never had this much fun in my life!" he spun around and Homura ducked as his leg swept over her head. Reloading her Uzis, Homura jammed her guns up his chin and squeezed the triggers, blowing holes in his cranium as black ooze stained the ceiling, empty metal casings littering the floor with the rain blowing through the window.
"Big mistake!" Clyde dropped his guns and dug his sharp bony fingers into the Puella Magi arms as she fought his iron grip on her arms, Clyde's strength betraying the looks of his slim stature. The shield on her left arm activated as the inner circle of her shield opened up to reveal spinning, shifting gears. There was a loud click and then everything around them just froze in place: the rain, falling glass, even the stray bullets and bullet casings; the two were like in a world of their own as time had literally stopped.
"This is your power, huh?" Clyde cackled, maintaining his grip on her, "Lovely, my dear Homura, lovely!"
Homura hissed and lifted her left leg to kick Clyde in the chin before she flipped into the air to escape, only for Clyde to pull her back to him and slam his mask into her face with a vicious headbutt; a sickening crunch could be heard from the impact, "Time for the finale!" Momentarily dazed, Homura opened her eyes and saw Clyde's upper chest beginning to twitch violent. Before he released her, every sniper round Homura had shot him with subsequently launched out of his chest like missiles. Coated in black ooze, they struck Homura's in her injured abdomen and sent her flying across the thin hallway and into a wall. The impact cracked the wall severely and the girl was left on the floor, gasping in pain.
Time was no longer frozen in place as Clyde reloaded his weapons and dusted his black suit, the wounds on his head and legs slowly regenerating.
Struggling to stand, Homura felt an immense burning sensation in her chest as her stomach churned. Despite how Puella Magi could shut off their pain receptors, the caliber rounds in embedded in her felt like hot iron as Homura gripped her wounds; she felt a slimy substance at where she was struck and stared at her hands to see a black substance latching onto her fingers like leeches.
"Obscurum poison, something I made myself," Clyde boasted, walking up to her with his guns twirling in his hands by the trigger guards, "You should already be familiar with its effects."
Legs limp, eyesight becoming blurry and breathing becoming difficult, these were the exact same symptoms she felt this morning and last night from her 'fever'. Homura tried to stand, but Clyde gave a hard kick to her stomach, making her slide into the metal doors of a nearby elevator and denting them as her back now faced the Warlock. Homura grunted in pain, gritting her teeth as a blood poured from her wounds.
Clyde's weapons disappeared into thin air and he cracked his knuckles, "Small doses take days for the effects to appear, which I think you know by now, but that was the entire package. Now that I have you, let's finish this before someone interferes with my job again," he grabbed Homura's shoulder, "I already have what I need about Walpurgisnacht, but let's see what-" pulling her shoulder, the piercing light and high-pitched noise of a stun grenade suddenly came, blinding and deafening the Warlock.
When he regained his vision, Homura was already gone and Clyde sighed, shaking his head, "Not again," he groaned as he then grabbed the dented doors of the elevator, pulling them to the sides with ease as loud metallic screech was emitted, "Such a persistent little girl."
The room Sanbey awoke in was cold and barely illuminated by a small lamp to his left. Lying down on some soft, white bed, Sanbey saw that the wounds on his body had been bandaged thoroughly as he heard what sounded like thunder echoing from the door, "Where... Where am I?" he thought and tried standing on all four legs. His left hind leg went limp and Sanbey panted, his ears dropping. Where was Homura, was she safe? he though, Closing his eyes, he tried to find out Homura's location through telepathy.
No good. He couldn't seem to detect her presence nor find her. All he could sense was the presence of a Warlock that was somewhere in the building. This troubled him until Sanbey's ears caught the voice of a young man.
"I-It talked."
Opening his eyes and looking amidst the darkness, Sanbey saw four teenage boys gazing at him. Sanbey blinked. These were the four boys from Homura's document and it seemed that she was successful in rescuing them, "Hideki Hakamichi," Sanbey called the one nearest to him, remembering their names, "Ikezawa Tateyama, Fujimaki Takuya and Tezuka Mamoru."
Sanbey's sigma-shaped mouth did not move as he communicated with them through telepathy, and from the looks of their faces, he could tell that this was disturbing them greatly; they would have to get used to this. His three striped tails swaying back and forth slowly in the air, Sanbey managed to sit up this time as fluid bleed a from underneath his bandages.
He felt a hand help him get up and Sanbey looked up to see Mamoru holding him. The boy was very much shaken from his tone, but he did his best to remain calm as Mamoru spoke to him, "Your name is 'Sanbey', correct?"
"Did Homura tell you about me?" he got a curt nod in response and Sanbey groaned from the pain in his aching wounds. His cat ears twitching, Sanbey looked around the room once more, "S-Speaking of Homura, where is she?" he asked weakly.
"She went out just now," Hideki interjected, sounding worried, "She hasn't come back since."
The white Familiar looked down on the bed and closed his beady eyes. This was not good, he thought, if she were to encounter Clyde in a fight, her chances of success would be slim, "Quick, I need you four to-"
"S-Sanbey..."
Another voice rang through their ears and they all could both hear and recognize the speaker, despite the heavy breaths taken between her speech, "Homura?!" Sanbey gasped, "Where are you? What's going on over there?!"
"I have... n-no time... to explain," her voice was hoarse, "I need you to... b-bring them... out of the hospital."
"H-Homura, what's going on?" Takuya spoke up, he could hear her stifling cries of pain under her breath.
"Just go! I-I'll meet up... with you all... soon..."
Her voice subsequently disappeared and Sanbey could no longer find her. If Sanbey was right - which he wish wasn't - Clyde must have shut down her powers and body with his Obscurum poison, a deadly tool Clyde had always tried to use on him as the poison was capable of blocking out his telepathy 'signal', but it seemed that the effects had yet to fully take place for Homura.
"What the hell is going on?" Hideki demanded an answer from Sanbey, "Where is she?!"
"Just follow what she told us to do," Sanbey advised and dropped down from the bed. His wounds slowly healing, it slowly became easier to walk, but each step provoked pain from at least one of his limbs, "If Homura says she will meet up with us, she will, so let's go. Homura is a capable person and fighter, I trust her word," Sanbey said, hiding the small doubts he had in that fact to at bring some comfort to them boys.
The boys looked reluctantly at each other, obviously feeling wrong about simply leaving Homura alone like this, "Should we really just go?" Takuya questioned and his answer came from Mamoru, who grabbed the handles of Takuya's wheelchair and spoke in a hesitant but decisive tone.
"If those are her orders... then so be it," Mamoru said, tightening his grip on the wheelchair handles as he looked back at Tateyama and Hideki, "Come, we shouldn't stay here any longer. And you, Sanbey, I want you to keep an eye out for Homura. I'm counting on your word."
"Alright," Sanbey replied with a nod. At the door, Sanbey used his small paws to slide the door to the side before poking his head out into the hallway. He couldn't sense presence of the Warlock as he gazed down the empty hallway, "Coast is clear, let's go."
"If those are her orders... then so be it," Mamoru said, tightening his grip on the wheelchair handles as he looked back at Tateyama and Hideki, "Come, we shouldn't stay here any longer. And you, Sanbey, I want you to keep an eye out for Homura. I'm counting on your word."
"Alright," Sanbey replied with a nod. At the door, Sanbey used his small paws to slide the door to the side before poking his head out into the hallway. He couldn't sense presence of the Warlock as he gazed down the empty hallway, "Coast is clear, let's go."
After a packing up a few things like bandages, first-aid kits, and a quick decision by Tateyama to leave his wheelchair behind and continue walking, the boys headed out into the dark corridors. Treading through the silent, creepy hallway kept the boys on their highest alert, the sound of thunder and heavy rain muffling the creaking noises of Takuya's wheelchair and the slow footsteps of Hideki, Tateyama and Mamoru. Sanbey was being carried in Hideki's arms, the striped creature keeping his senses sharp for Clyde or Homura.
"Where is everyone?" Tateyama whispered, his eyes scanning the dark, empty hallways. The silence was unsettling as no nurse nor doctor was in sight.
"Still can't find Homura?' Hideki nudged Sanbey, the small creature in his arms shaking his head in reply, "Damn it, where is she?"
They stopped at the door to an elevator and from the looks of the holographic interface, it was still operational. Mamoru clicked a button and the metallic doors opened. Steadily, they went in while Mamoru kept an eye out for anything down the hall or outside the wet windows. When the doors shut and everyone was now inside, only then he eased up after clicking the button for ground floor, "We should be safe."
"For now," Sanbey added, unintentionally making the boys feel even more tense.
The elevator traveled down the hospital, the number lights above the doors switching from 5th floor to 3rd floor in a few seconds. And before they reached the 2nd floor, a sudden jolt came and violently shook everyone inside the lift, "What the hell?!" Hideki exclaimed, nearly dropping Sanbey as he held onto the walls, the lift abruptly stopping where it was. The light above them flickered, seemingly losing power before it finally died out. Then, a loud banging noise came from the doors, making the hairs on the back of Hideki's neck stand still. He held Sanbey in his arms tight and narrowed his eyes.
"Sanbey," Mamoru looked at the striped creature for help, "Can you - perhaps - 'sense' anything outside the door? That is, if you have such a power."
Sanbey blinked and for a moment, he didn't reply. The black stripes on his white fur shimmered golden before dimming down again, "No, I don't sense anything outside."
"If that's the case, then I'll check it out," Mamoru clicked the emergency switch on the elevator control panel and the doors opened to the sides. An empty, dark hallway greeted them, but nothing else was seen in front of the elevator, "Stay here," Mamoru advised, readily taking out his wood-carving knife from his breast pocket and stepping out outside the elevator. Holding the knife in the air, Mamoru saw nothing but the rain that fell outside as he slowly looked back at his friends over his shoulder, "It's clear."
A bleeding hand then sprung from the darkness and gabbed Mamoru by the leg from behind. The boy quickly shrieked and pulled away. Readying his knife, he pointed it at the crouching silhouette that sat at the sides of the elevator. Hideki came out to help, but upon closer inspection, what lied on the floor was no demon nor monster, instead, it was a normal man.
Tateyama and Takuya came out as well to see Mamoru and Hideki checking on him. Settling Sanbey down on the floor, Hideki took out his phone to shine a light on the person.
To their horror, it was one of the hospital's security guards. Barely breathing, the man was bleeding out large pints of blood from his wounds, cuts were all over his torn uniform, his cheek was raked in deep by some kind of claw and most of all - what made Tateyama and Takuya retreat back into the elevator in disgust - was that one of the man's eyes had been violently gouged out. But despite his injuries, the man could still speak, lifting his hand to grab Hideki's arm, "H-Hel... Hel...-"
"Just... Just hold on," Hideki looked to his friend for suggestions, the foul odor of the man making him grimace, "Mamoru, what do we do? We can't treat something as bad as this."
Mamoru shook his head, biting down on one of his fingers as he crouched down and tried asking some questions, "Tell me: What did this to you?"
"I-It was... a demon," the guard muttered weakly, his voice shaking with fear as his pupil was dilated. His hand still grabbing onto Hideki's arm, the boy could feel him trembling, "It... It killed them all... I... was the only one to escape... It... It left no traces of them behind... It drank their blood like a v-vampire..."
Sanbey gulped, thinking to himself, "Clyde... he finally used the vials."
"Y-You all must... run... get out.. of here," the guard began to choke violently, coughing out blood that sprayed onto Hideki's cheek as the boys could do nothing but watch. With one last breath, the hand that gripped Hideki's shoulder lost its strength and fell to the marble floor, lifeless. The man leaned on the wall, eyes wide with fear as he sat underneath the elevator control panel.
Mamoru turned away and Hideki kept silent. Getting back up the two were going to head back into the elevator, when Sanbey's ears suddenly perked up and his tails flickered. Before Mamoru could ask if anything was wrong, Sanbey then broke into a sprint and began running down the corridor as Tateyama and Takuya called out to him to come back. Hideki stood up and gestured Mamoru to get into the elevator, "I'll go get him," his voice was stern, "Get Takuya and Tateyama downstairs, I'll meet up with you guys. If I take took long, call me."
Not wanting to question him from the tone of his voice, Mamoru gave an affirmative nod and headed back into the elevator; the doors closed before Hideki could hear Tateyama momentarily protest against his actions. With a blood-stained school uniform and hands, Hideki chased after Sanbey.
As Hideki ran through the corridors in the direction Sanbey was heading, he could hear the sounds of the rain getting louder. His legs ached with pain, but Hideki pushed on, the flashes of lightning being the only thing that gave some light in the dark hospital hallways. Seeing the entrance to the balcony of this floor up ahead, Hideki ran up to it and saw Sanbey sitting outside in the rain. With the rumbling thunder in the skies, he was just sitting there motionlessly as his stiped fur was dripping wet. Catching his breath, Hideki's cellphone rang and he took it out to answer its caller.
"This is Mamoru, have you found him?"
"Yeah," Hideki nodded, a hand on the doorframe, "Did you find Homura?"
"... Negative. No signs of her yet, but I'm coming up in the elevator right now."
"Call me if you find her. I'll get Sanbey," Hideki closed the phone, placed it back in his back pocket and walked out into the heavy rain. Shoes, clothes and hair wet, the blood of the security guard that stained his hands were slowly being washed away as he called out to Sanbey,. He had a feeling he knew where she was, "Where is she?" he asked, only a meter away from him now, but the striped creature didn't answer, "Where's Homura?" Hideki repeated.
Sanbey slowly turned his head to him and his beady, red eyes stared into Hideki's soul. Sanbey's voice was solemn as he stated his next words clearly, "Homura has given me the order to get you all to safety," his three tails flickered weakly, his paws soaked up in rainwater, "And also... to get out of here without her."
Hideki's eyes widened and he reeled back, "'Get out of her without her'?" he muttered, a frown spreading on his face, "What do you mean by that?!"
"She says that the chances of her managing to regroup with us is... unlikely," Sanbey replied solemnly once more, turning away from Hideki to stare at the wet floor.
Hideki didn't want to believe that what he was hearing was true. How could he just agree with this? he furiously thought. Curling up his hands in frustration, Hideki crouched down and slammed his fist into the wet floor. That action made the wounds on his hand reopen, making his bandaged hand ooze out blood that mixed with the falling rainwater, "What the hell is wrong with you?! 'Unlikely'? Aren't you going to help her?!"
"Homura told me to brief you all on the situation, if you charge head-on now, you'll-"
"Don't give me that bullshit! You came to her saying that you could help in the first place, but then why can't you do anything now?!" Hideki bellowed, glaring deep into Sanbey's eyes and thrashing the rainwater on the floor. His voice echoed, but most of it was muffled by the rain and thunder. Hideki grimaced when he remembered what was left of that security guard, "That man just now... the way he died.. you're saying that Homura will end up like him... No... nobody deserves to die like that and you should be ashamed for not even questioning her!"
Sanbey's ears fell and his tails stood still. Lighting crackled in the sky, momentarily shining some light on the two lone figures on the balcony. Hideki's nostrils flared, his hand continuing to bleed as Sanbey slowly walked over to him. Despite his unchanging facial expressions, when Hideki stared into those red eyes again, he could feel a sense of regret and guilt behind them.
"By meeting me... Homura and I had started a chain of events in this world that neither of us had expected," Sanbey cryptically stated, placing a paw on Hideki's bleeding hand, "I... I did come to her to help; to give her allies and give myself a reason to continue living in this world. But doing so awakened a powerful enemy that Puella Magi cannot best in battle. An enemy that I have spent so many years running away from."
"This enemy... who are they...?"
"Warlocks; ghosts of the past and Humanity's worst mistake. Until now, I never knew they were still alive, secretly planning in the shadows while the world moved on unaware of their existence," Sanbey said in a hush tone and stared deep into Hideki's soul, hand and paw still joined, "Hakamichi Hideki... if you truly want to help Homura, you must first do something that will surely change your entire life. A decision that will have to be made now: Bind a contract with me, and thus, you will receive the responsibility of protecting the people from the Warlocks. You will receive the power to defeat them, all in exchange for a simple wish."
Hideki gasped, clenching his bleedings hand, "So.. you...?"
"You've come this far, but are you sure that your conviction will not waver?" Sanbey continued, "The weight of the burden you would have to bear is immense as you will carry the weight of the world on your shoulders. If you truly desire this, then you must be able to look at death in the face without any fear nor remorse. Do you have that conviction? Can you do it?" Sanbey's words were cryptic once again, but they struck Hideki hard and the boy fully understood what he means to say.
Thunder crackled above, and with burning eyes brim with determination, Hideki answered, "Yes. I do have that resolve. If you will grant whatever I desire in exchange for a life of fighting, then I accept that burden. If Homura cannot do this... then I will."
"Very well," Sanbey separated his hand from Hideki's and his three tails swayed in the air, "Then close your eyes, and with all your heart, make your wish."
Doing as Sanbey instructed, Hideki clasped his hands together as rain poured down on his head and shoulders. He knelt down on the wet floor and closed his eyes. His wet clothes sticking to his skin, Hideki quietly made his wish as the stripes on Sanbey's began to glow brighter than before. The two then started to tremble, seemingly hurt from the wish-making process. But soon, Hideki felt the pain wither away and a warm sensation rose in his chest. Opening his eyes, Hideki saw a bright, blue light glowing on his chest before dimming down to reveal a blue, diamond-shaped gem engraved beneath his collar bone.
It was like a wave had hit him as Hideki felt his senses become sharper, his muscles tense and his body overall becoming more powerful. He felt like a new person from his wish: His wish to receive the strength to protect those he cared for. As he stared at his bandaged hands which no longer bled, a black suit akin to a body glove with no sleeves began to appear and wrap around his body, covering up his school uniform from leg to neck. The blue diamond on his chest shimmered as Sanbey suddenly went limp and fell to to his side, landing on Hideki's quickly extended hand.
"Sanbey!"
Sanbey breathed heavily, eyes looking at a glowing object behind Hideki, "L-Look..."
Hideki turned around, and behind him, a sparkling blue, ornate knife materialized in front of his eyes out of shining particles. It momentarily hovered in the air and Hideki grabbed a hold of it with his free hand before it could fall to the floor, "Is this... my weapon...?"
"N-No," Sanbey answered, his body staggering to sit, "That... is your Soul Key. A-As I said before, you must have the courage to face the enemies that you will be fighting - If you truly do, then you will have no problem plunging that blade into the Soul Gem on your chest."
He analyzed the blade, brushing a hand on the rain-water drenched surface while seeing his reflection on the polished blade, "My Soul Gem?"
"If you can prove yourself to be a worthy person, your S-Soul Gem will grant you powers unrivaled and equip you with the tools to fight. Hideki Hakamichi, I ask you once again: Do you.. have the conviction... to..." the Familiar fell unconscious in Hideki's hand and the boy placed the blade down to try and wake him up. His sharp ears then picked up the sounds of someone approaching and he looked back to see Mamoru running up to them.
"Hideki-! What... What happened here...?" Mamoru looked at the scene, eyes blinking as his eyes were directed at the suit Hideki was wearing and the blue Soul Gem on his chest, "H-Hideki, what did you just do?"
His friend did not answer, but merely stood up and slowly went over to him. Hideki handed the unconscious creature over to him and said, "Take him down with you, I'll... I'll be bringing back Homura," Hideki went back out in the rain and crouched down again to pick up his Soul Key from the wet floor. The sight of the blade made Mamoru worry.
"What are you doing?!"
Turning away and spinning the key in his hand, Hideki looked up at the dark skies and pointed the tip of the blade against the glass-like surface of his Soul Gem, "Mamoru, head down before things get messy. I'll take care of Homura, I promise," he looked over his shoulder and gave Mamoru a small smile.
Mamoru gasped, "Hideki!"
Inserting the blade into his Soul Gem, glowing lines traveled all over Hideki's body glove as he felt an enormous amount of energy course through him. One knee fell to the watery floor as Hideki clutched his abdomen, trying to process the energy inside his body while fighting to keep his conscious steady. His breathing hoarse, his eyes narrowed, the gem on his chest shining bright like a star as the blade disappeared into his Soul Gem. Hideki looked up at the dark skies above and when he reminded himself of the duties he now had, the pain seemingly flowed away, leaving him gasping for air.
Mamoru took a step back inside, silently watching from the side as a bright, golden aura shined around his friend, making him turn away to avoid being blinded.
When the boy got back up on two solid feet, the aura dimmed down as Hideki stared at his hands. His hair flickering from a passing breeze, Hideki Hakamichi no longer felt that he was a normal person. He could feel it in his veins as energy coursed through his body. Taking a deep breath, two large, sharp jet verniers that pointed outwards materialized on his back, with smaller versions appearing on the back of his legs as they attached themselves to his body glove with metallic harnesses. They let out a small, high-pitched whine as a pair of gauntlets materialized on his forearms.
A loud gust of wind came and the thrust that propelled Hideki into the air nearly blew Mamoru off his feet, sending water flying everywhere. Running out onto the balcony, Mamoru was amazed and stunned at the same time as Hideki soared to the upper floors above in mere seconds.
Clyde busted out of the elevator shaft and jumped out of it to land on the 6th floor. Glancing to his left, Homura was lying there, trying to crawl away while leaving a trail of thick blood behind her. Smiling to himself, Clyde grabbed Homura and slammed the near-paralyzed girl to the wall. Her eyes sunk as she coughed out blood in his grip, Clyde readied his sharp fingers to dig them into her neck when suddenly, a bright light came and flooded the corridor with intense luminosity. Sensing a presence he had never felt before, Clyde dropped Homura to the floor and summoned his guns to his hands.
"What now?!" he groaned, looking at the window behind him where the source of light was. Looking through the light, the silhouette of a person appeared, hovering outside the window, "What the hell?!" Clyde aimed his guns at the mysterious figure, only for the unknown enemy to break through the windows and charge towards him with shocking speed. Glass flying everywhere, the figure grabbed Clyde's neck and his right hand with an iron grip that Clyde somehow felt pain from. He let out a rare howl of pain as the figure tightened his burning, strong grip and snapped his hand by the joint.
"Get the Hell..."
The figure muttered with anger blanketed by a cover of tranquility.
"Get the Hell... away from her!"
The power of the figure's jet verniers increased tenfold and the two soared through the hallways, crashing into medicinal carts, pillars and other hard obstacles in the hallway with Clyde's back suffering from the harsh damage. He could not fight the power that grabbed onto his neck, threatening to break his windpipe. The two then reached the end of the hallway and broke through the large window at the end. From the great height they were on, they dove down to the front-yard below and Cyde crash-landed on his back, the impact throwing his new enemy off and far away from him. The unknown enemy was lying on the ground meters away, but it was just far enough for Clyde to use his guns.
"I don't know what the fuck you are, but you're dead meat!"
Standing up with his broken arm burning away, Clyde summoned a rifle to his remaining arm and aimed it at his opponent. The gun spat out its dark bullets at the new-found enemy that could harm him, as the figure then stood up on both feet and emitted a force field that made Clyde's bullets bounce off in other random directions. Clyde squeezed the trigger, but all of his rounds simply ricocheted of the energy field, bouncing off it helplessly. Around his opponent's body, something began to materialize around his body.
Clyde could do nothing but fire helplessly and watch as his enemy was then encased in sleek, decorated, dark blue armor that seemed tough, but light-weight at the same time, locking in place with the jet verniers on his back and legs. Covering his upper torso, his waist, legs and arms, a glass visor that ran from the back of his neck to his chin came. In his hands, a large, stubby broadsword was materialized and gripped tightly as the new-found enemy then swung the large weapon through the air, striking a battle stance as the energy field dispersed.
Clyde froze in place and dropped his gun to the floor, an expression of fear crossing his face for the first time. Thunder rumbled in dark skies as everyone could see this: Mamoru and Sanbey from the balcony, Takuya and Tateyama from the lobby windows, and Homura, who leaned on the window from her floor, was watching as she saw the first person that had been recruited, begin his mission with a battle against a Warlock. Breathing in, she muttered a few words in a hush tone, before closing her eyes and passing out on the floor, "Puerum Magi..."