Pinpoint Desire

Chapter 10: The Loss of Everything

"You are the greatest person in the entire world!"

Caren's exclamation when Kaede came back to headquarters along with, at this point, an unconscious Lilian was shared by everyone else. Even more so when they found out that they had made a decisive blow against the old general.

"It wasn't easy…" Kaede said. "We lost a few allies." It was true, many of the fleet members supporting Lilian had sacrificed themselves, both human and diclonius in order to stop Garder. One may have seen it as an unreasonable sacrifice to lose all those lives merely to take off the arm of one man. But the danger that single man presented made the loss of that arm account for perhaps 100,000 allies. That was the danger Garder possessed and the kind of victory this battle gained.

But that did not mean they could relax. In fact now that Garder had suffered such a powerful defeat, he would remain on his toes even better than before. Even with one arm missing, that did not mean his threat would get significantly worse. In fact, it wouldn't surprise anyone if he actually got some kind of prosthetic. Kaede was reminded of that burly soldier who had a vendetta against her. Missing limbs could be replaced after all.

Something suddenly smacked into her leg. The woman still rather tensed, calmed her mind and heart when her daughters, both biological and adopted, gladly hugged her as tightly as they could. Kanae's face beamed as radiant as the sun and Carlin's hug felt so tight she almost thought her legs would break.

It was those smiles that Kaede truly felt this had been a victory. Bending down, she ruffled the hair of each one of her children. This was the thing that made it all worth it. Even now, Kaede truly believed that she had done too much in her life to truly be forgiven. If she died, she truly believed that she would most likely go to Hell. But this was all worth it if she could make the world a better place for her family.

At this point, a good bite to eat and a great rest would be most welcomed.

Thankfully because of her natural healing capabilities, Lilian's wounds which could've kept a normal person out for several months would ultimately be healed completely within a few days. She woke up in one of the many soft beds of the hospital wing where two humans were busy looking over her.

"Good evening, hero." The male said as his female partner nodded her head.

Lilian needed a few minutes to gather her thoughts and recall back to what had happened.

"Kaede-sama did all of the work, I just got my ass kicked."

"Nonsense, we all heard. If it wasn't for you, this victory wouldn't have happened." The woman replied.

"Even still, I lost many of my men and friends because of that fight. They sacrificed themselves for me. I can hardly be glad because of their loss. But I am glad that we won at least. At the very least I know they didn't sacrifice themselves in vain."

She would not give up. Once her wounds healed completely she would head back out. She was still the Captain of the Pro-Diclonius fleet and no matter how many bones in her body was broken, that would not change.

"We won't bother you, please rest Captain Cents." The two bowed away and closed the door, turning off the lights. It was what she would have wanted. Lilian turned her head and snuggled up against the fluffy white pillow. Her body ached but the pain had subsided, allowing her vectors pull up the thick sheets of the bed over her legs.

Because the ship was currently underwater, the reinforced glass window did not show something outdoors. Instead she could see small schools of fish swimming by, illuminated by the S.S. Diclonius lights. She watched them go by, sometimes she would see a larger fish and she thought she often saw an even larger object in the distance like a whale, though she assumed it was a trick of the eyes.

Said eyes were getting heavier now. Her body was restless after taking a beating from Garder and the only thing the girl wanted was to sleep. Her head, heavy with fatigue, greatly enjoyed the touch of her soft pillow. She loved the soft warmth of the blanket.

But as her eyes closed, she felt something slide against her leg accompanied by a loud buzzing. She could not believe the phone in her pocket was still working. She jokingly thought that if her cellular device could survive all that, maybe they should work on using it to defeat Garder. She wondered who could be calling though. Anyone on the ship could have just visited her at the wing.

Most likely it part of the allies out at sea. Lilian Cents wasn't merely the captain of that one group, she was the captain of the entire pro-diclonius fleet. It occurred to her that after what had happened, many of them needed support on what to do next. Pulling out her phone, she opened the relatively old but apparently sturdy device. There were several cracks running through it and the screen was broken up.

It worked at least but the number, she didn't recognize it. Again with her fleet having to go through several changes to remain off of Garder's line of sights, this didn't surprise her.

"Captain Cents speaking…" She said softly.

"…Hello Lilian…"

She now became fully and absolutely awake. The young girl pushed herself up, leaning back against the front of the bed and narrowing her eyes. The aches of her body seemed to go away instantly. Taking a deep breath, Lilian decided to answer as carefully as she could.

"…It has been a while….father." Even though nobody else was in the room, she found her voice dropping to a low octave. She didn't bother asking how he got this number. She didn't bother asking where he was or what he was doing. She knew that whatever answer she got, would not be the ones she wanted. In fact she didn't say anything for right now and let the man on the other end speak.

"The news about what happened between your fleet and the Perfect Soldier is all the rage. It is amazing how quickly information gets passed around in such a short amount of time. I bet a lot of people died and suffered though in that battle. Was it worth it? Was it worth having so many people die and suffer?"

"That's right, a lot of people I knew suffered and died today. Every day people I know and care about die trying to make this world better for both humans and my kind. Father, what are you doing? Whose side are you supposed to be on?"

She heard a chuckle at the other end of the line.

"I am here only for myself. My entire purpose in life was to create a world of absolute suffering. I relish in this pain the world has caused. Your fighting against the Perfect Soldier has created a strife that I enjoy to the utmost degree."

"I don't believe you…"

"Oh?" The voice sounded confused. "What else reason would there be? Do you have any idea the atrocities I have committed?"

"I am well aware of them. Nor do I think you're secretly some good person at heart. But there's more to it and even you may not know it. Do you have anything important you want to tell me? Let's get down to any specific business if there is."

"Nah…I merely wanted to congratulate you and the rest for a job well done. It's not often that the Perfect Soldier is dealt such a powerful defeat. I will let you enjoy you rest and moment of victory. It's so interesting watching everything unfold, wondering how it will all turn out. I relish every single moment of this war so please don't disappoint me. For some reason despite gaining all that I wanted, all this suffering and pain, I miss something. I have corrupted even the purest of souls and yet I miss something.

There had been such great challenges and expectations in the past. So many different people in the past like that lovable brat who first ended my life so many years ago. I transcend lives, always moving forward because I never give up. But I miss something, a challenge of sort. I suppose when you have attained an existence like mine, you are prone to missing a few things."

As usual, it was impossible to tell what had been going on in that head of his.

"If there is nothing else, then I will leave…father?"

"Aye?" He asked.

"…You are a man who has committed some of the single most heinous crimes in the world. Personal crimes, war crimes, murder, torture, manipulation. You are the one who helped to torture my best friend Elrya Alya and turned my other friend Miriana insane. I can never forgive you for the crimes you have committed and one day we will stop you.

But…"

She paused for a moment.

"…You are still my father…and I love you."

*Click*

The phone was turned off.

Somewhere, sitting in a comfortable arm chair was an old man with graying hair with shades of blonde and wrinkles over his face. He wore a dirty onyx colored coat, one sleeve hanging loosely out. There appeared to be several long and painfully sharp rods of blackness jutting into his shoulders and near his neck. He was leaning back against the restful arm chair with the phone against the ear where the only thing he could hear was the dial tone.

He just held it there, his face somewhat perplexed as it was hidden behind the shadows of the dark room with only a candle light to give him in any color to that room. As the flame flickered back and forth, he grinned softly.

"All of you are truly…quaint." Vladimir Cents uttered under his breath.

…..*Beep*

….*Beep*

"Mmm?" Garder slowly opened up his eyes as he too laid against a soft chair with some kind of monitor beeping by his side. He instantly looked over to his side and raised his shoulder a bit to see where his missing arm was. There was nobody else around the hospital like room and he wondered exactly when he had been knocked out.

Memories flourish inside of his head.

"I see…" He muttered to only himself. "How long has been, since I've actually lost a fight?" He mused as he got himself up, as he pulled the wires away from his body, he must have started off some kind of an alarm because a few of his men raced inside of his room.

"Director! You shouldn't be moving around like that, you're injured and…!"

"It is nothing. The loss of my arm will not impede my journey to saving the world. Is my coat around here?" Although anyone else would've asked the Director to stay, they followed the orders that were given to him.

After he single handedly tossed the brown coat over his body which he could feel was ripped apart because of the previous battle, he pushed his fingers up the bridge of his nose. It was an instinctual thing on his part as he always wore those thin spectacles despite being completely blind.

"Sorry sir, your glasses probably came off when you were in the ocean."

"I see, it doesn't matter in the end. Contact everyone and get them prepared, I will be making the next steps to the annihilation of the diclonius race. Enjoy your victory Kaede, you will find my next encounter more than you have bargained for."

"We do have other news to report."

Listening to the soldier, Garder narrowed his white slit eyes.

"There was a subsequent attack at the Research Institution Weapons Center. We are unsure about the details but we are sure it is was the male diclonius that once worked for you."

"Julius Javel…" Garder expressed solemnly. "The day will have to come where I must kill you as well."

"We have reported dropped off supplies in Europe that will be picked up by Synth's team."

That's right. Though they were both enemies who would have to eventually fight one another. But they were both enemies to the witches Onyara and Lagusa. The enemy of my enemy is my friend as they say.

As for Julius…

This was the sad truth that both of them understood. He liked him, Julius and Victoria may have been diclonius but they were intelligent people. But he could not relent his pursuit to saving humanity.

Saving. The words repeated inside of his head. How many people had he actually saved? How many people would have to kill before he could finally stop? His entire life has been nothing but war. He is a soldier, the most powerful and perfect soldier in the world. He has killed thousands and thousands of people in his life time.

"I have somewhere I want to go…" Morotisan answered sternly. "Get my flight ready, it'll be a long journey and we may have to stop by somewhere to refuel."

"Where are you going?"

"South America."

It has been a long time since he came here.

To protect the world, he has even gone as far as to kill his family. He has killed his daughter. He has killed his granddaughter. He has killed his brother. He has killed his niece. He has abandoned the promise he made with Jessica to protect her daughter. He has killed so many people for the sake of protecting the world. He doesn't care about himself. He doesn't care how much he is hated.

If he must become the evils of the world to protect humanity then so be it. He doesn't care if he must lose his sight or his arms to get the job done. He doesn't care if he his hated by everyone in the world because he truly desires to protect them all.

He truly desired to keep Jessica's promise. As much as he tried, he really wanted to believe he could do something to keep her alive. But in the end, he could not abandon it all. He is a man who has killed so many people and now that stoic face of his is finally beginning to crack.

The place Garder F. Morotisan is nothing new. It's a sad place but has sentimental values to nobody but himself. It is a place in South America, the place where he was born and raised in. It's the location where he first met and got to know his good friend Girikuson Vorono before he too died in this never ending war.

Garder F. Morotisan stands before a family grave near his old home that still stands, untouched even to this day except by time. There are only a few grave markers, and because of his lack of sight, he cannot tell which ones are which. He only knows that they are his family grave, all of which are now dead. His entire family is dead, many of which who have been ended by his own hand.

*Pit* *Pat* Patter*

It was raining. It felt so cliché to him but it was starting to rain. But he had no way to cover his head. Something ran down his face, they may have been tears but he had for so long closed off his emotions that his he could feel his heart cracking in despair in his chest.

Until now.

Could the loss of his arm represented more than just the physical loss? After all this time Garder F. Morotisan realized his own humanity and weaknesses. Because of his overwhelming power and skill, there had been nobody who could lay a finger on him. So this may have been what has caused him to feel the struggles of his heart.

Garder was not an evil person, but he was a person who had lived a hard life trying to do the right thing.

"Ishori Alya"

The marker had this name on it. It was the name of Garder's younger brother. He was a good man from Japanese who had come to South America and met his wife. They started a family over in South America and had a beautiful daughter. But the man had found out about Garder's job within the dark side of the world. So what had Garder done? To protect the world because of the chaos that Ishori's declaration could cause. The old man had murdered his own brother.

"Nicholas Vega"

This marker was for his son in law. He was a young man who had also been in his regime, the fiancé of his daughter. Like the rest of his family, Nicholas was a kind hearted man whose life had been snuffed away in that war.

Garder's legs wobbled slightly.

"Veronica Vega"

This was the grave of his daughter who died when she was about 20 years old. She had been a horned girl though back then Garder and the others had not known about the diclonius race. She was just a normal person with a bone mutation. But a diclonius is still a diclonius. It did not take much for that poor girl to lose everything and then lose herself to despair.

So Garder had killed her.

It hurt. His heart was hurting and his head was in pain.

"Ilya Vega"

This was his granddaughter's grave. Veronica had given birth during the war and this child like her mother was also born with horns. To be truthful Garder never spent much time with his granddaughter. The girl never even knew that he was her grandfather in the end. She was the first of his family to arrive at the institutions and she was yet another person that Garder had killed for the sake of "saving humanity."

That was what one of the grave markers said. A woman who died young, killed by her own daughter. Many years ago he had made a promise that he would protect that daughter of hers from harm. He had failed there. That woman had been so kind and the kind of woman that Garder respected.

*Crraack!*

This one hurt. This one physically hurt him. Though he stood there without blinking, his chest really hurt. It hurt more than anything he had ever felt in his life. But there was still one more grave left. One he had personally had placed with the rest of his family.

He stepped up to it, seeing nothing but knowing it was there. The rain fell hard on his skin and weighed him down heavily. But it was light compared to the cracking weight of his broken heart and mind. The last grave there, added in at the last moments.

"Elrya Alya"

He had failed. He had failed to protect that girl. He had failed to keep Jessica's promise. He was not worthy of being part of this family. He was just a bona fide killer, no different from Vladimir Cents. In that moment he realized just how much he had lost. He realized in the end that Vladimir Cents had completely and utterly defeated him. He could kill his family, he could kill innocent lives then and there. But the one time he could have killed Vladimir Cents, he refused.

And he finally understands now. There is literally only one man in this world who can understand him. The very person who helped to corrupt and change his world for the worse. This has without a doubt been the final straw that was broken.

*THUNK!*

His knees hit the wet grass, his fingers brushing the grass uselessly when he fell. There is nobody around, only himself and his family grave. He is alone in this world with nobody to comfort the old man who wanted to save the world. There is nobody who will wipe those tears from his eyes or mend mind his shattered heart. Nobody will tell him it will be alright. Nobody will hold him or wrap their arms tenderly around him to give him warmth. His family is dead, his friends are dead, his comrades are he has nothing but himself which has fallen into despair.

He will continue of course. Like Vladimir Cents he too can't give up. But it is not for himself. Because that man has nothing left but to move forward.

There is nobody around, so nobody can comfort that man.

…

…

"AAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Nobody will ever be able to comfort that despairing scream of regret and turmoil.

Author's Note: Another chapter completed.