Oni paced back and forth inside the cottage, he stood bare chested in front of the mirror and stared at himself. Miko awoke and sat up in bed, clutching herself. She gasped and coughed, wiping her sweaty face on the soft white blankets.
"Oni! Sephiroth--"
Oni turned to her and shot her a cold look, "I know." Oni's cold and bitter personality was back to its bleak and cold familiarity for sure, but Miko hit a string. Oni was furious with anger and the mention of Sephiroth turned him into a loose cannon.
"We have a mission. To kill a man named Aurum. Ex-Soldier. Ex-Tviste. No information about him. He robbed a bank some time ago and is held up five miles south of here."
Miko nodded and got up. She headed down towards the bathroom and closed the door. The sink came on, the sound of water rushed down the drain. The shower turned on, more rushing water. The toilet flushed, more rushing water. From within the bathroom a ear-splitting scream was muffled by the sounds of pure rushing water. Oni turned his head away and closed his eyes as he heard the scream.
The water continued to run and the screams continued. Coughing, choking, screaming. Oni was at the breaking point and left the house as Miko screamed her head off from inside the bathroom. Even the thick walls of the house could not drown out her screams of pain. They grew louder and louder. Even when it seemed like it could not get any louder another piercing and even louder scream tore at your very soul. She was in great self-inflicted pain and each passing day it got worse, her body got weaker and weaker. She soon would become another being entirely if this progressed.
Oni stood facing the east and saw the twilight end and the dawn begin. It would be only thirty minutes before Han would come for them at first dawn to hunt down their target. Oni began to prepare himself mentally, remembering his training and what kind of mysterious person would be held up unopposed by local forces so close to the city.
For twenty more minutes Miko's screams penetrated Oni's thoughts and soul, tearing away at him piece by piece. Such suffering was unnecessary, but was a daily part of her life. As much as she tried to cover it up, it only served to increase the amount of stress he dealt with. At long last the screams died away and Oni came back into the house. The bathroom door was open and Miko was kneeling on the floor. The bathroom was coated in blood. The walls were smeared with her hand prints, her footprints on the glass and even up the walls. The shower glass was covered in dark crimson blood on one side, but the other was completely clean from the rushing water.
The floor was covered in hand prints, foot prints and splatter of blood. Miko's combat ritual was brutal and turned her into a monster, but this was excessive even for her. Normally she would cry and scream as she fought to awaken her body, but her body called for no more and had begun to fight her back. Although she wouldn't admit it she had to face the grim fate of reality, she was dying because of her own power.
"Oni…I'm ready." she panted. Picking herself up off the ground and smiling. Her grin was fake, she was in an extreme amount of pain.
"Miko…what did you do!?" Oni finally blurted out. He hugged her tightly and then pushed her away, shocked with himself.
Miko stood silent for several seconds, she stepped back against the wall and held her arms to her stomach, "Sephiroth will make me his wife and to be his wife I must be strong. So…I put more materia into my body."
Oni gasped and stared at her, she buried materia in her body to be absorbed. She cut into her chest and forcefully inserted compressed materia into her. Her body was a living weapon, once an experiment for Hojo, eleven years have passed from her savior rescued her from torture. Her body was just ten years old when she was brought to Hojo for experimentation. Her arm, legs, chest and shoulders were outfitted with special materia slots right to the bone. Whenever she wanted to use materia she simply had to think about it, but after she failed to control fire with materia Hojo abandoned the internal materia control system. A deadly weapon that allowed for hidden power in people even when unarmed. Now the time had come to prove herself, she crammed materia into her body.
However, as materia became more and more used it would grow larger and more powerful and inside her body it would need to be carefully removed and drained of its power and be replaced inside of her body again. Today was different, she cut open her arms, legs and chest and inserted marble-sized materia into ten new slots. Effectively increasing her magical power five times, but forcing her to suffer greatly for it. Her body got weaker and less stable, but it was a small sacrifice.
"Fire, Restore, Thunder, Water, Earth, Wind, Barrier, Ice, Shiva, Life."
Miko looked up to Oni and smiled, "I'll be able to save you if you are about to die." Oni shook his head slightly and put his finger over her mouth.
"Life only works if the spirit has not left it yet; unconscious yes, but if you are dead chances are you are staying dead." Oni corrected her. "Once the spirit returns to the planet all you will bring back is a shell devoid of emotion or feeling, incapable of anything."
Miko looked down and got to her feet and said, "Get your other coat, your chest is impressive, but I doubt you want to show that off to everyone."
Oni went to the living room and grabbed another trench coat from the rack and put it on over his exposed chest. The trench coat was slightly heavier then his last one, but it had extra mesh inside to offer better protection in combat. He loaded it up with five grenades and put his machine gun onto his back, fully loaded and ready for use.
No sooner had he done that had Miko reentered and smiled at him. His sister always loved a fight, but Oni couldn't help, but notice she never once refused to do any mission he ordered her to do. That smile of hers always was a sign she expected a good hunt.
Han rushed up the steps and yelled, "Oni! Miko! Let's go!" He ran up the steps, holding both katanas in hand and looking overly eager to start work.
Montalo and the rest of Clan Arush stood around with heavy artillery and several old military machine guns. These men carried fifty pound weapons as if it was a child's toy. They were gathered around each other, wearing green vests and camouflage pants. Their strong arms and tough-looking faces had black on them. They looked like a guerilla force.
Miko gasped when she saw the Clan Arush, "Who are you!?" Montalo bowed to Miko and raised his arm outstretched towards the nine other members of the clan.
"Ma'am we are Clan Arush. Men among men. I am Montalo, the leader of the Clan." he said pointing to himself. "Next is Lance."
A strong and tough looking gunman raised his arm up and tightened his biceps in a showy pose. Although he looked almost no different from the other men in build, his short blonde hair stood out as much as Han's did.
"Next to him is Carl."
Another big man raised his hand up and waved to Miko. He could have passed as a twin brother of Lance if it wasn't for his jet black hair. He held a heavy 50 caliber rifle in his left arm and several stacks of ammunition belts over his left shoulder that went down to his thick thigh.
"That man over there is Janus."
Janus was skinnier then the other men by a small amount, he looked a lot younger, but he had a bold mustache that helped make him appear older. The man had to be in his late twenties, but still managed to carry a rocket launcher on his back with surprising ease.
Montalo pointed to another man behind Janus who carried a backpack loaded down with supplies on it, "This guy is Lars, our logistics and information mastermind."
Lars nodded and brushed his thick red hair beard back. His curly red hair covered his entire face, but in a strange sense it suited him very well. Stood about five inches taller then even Montao at a proud 6 ft 8 inches. He was even taller then Han. This giant of a man made Miko feel incredibly short. He was almost two feet taller then she was.
"Our back up is Zarus, another of our logistics. He's responsible for the heavy artillery."
Zarus have a loud cough and Montalo gasped, "Oh! He's also our demolition expert. Whenever you need something blown up, Zarus here can do it."
Zarus had a deep voice which boomed like a God when he spoke, "Thank you, Montalo. Pleasure to meet you ma'am."
"Our 7th member is Adam. Our expert marksman and sniper."
Adam straightened his vest and raised his high powered sniper rifle into the air. It was a Midgar model weapon. It had a telescopic lens and a long four foot barrel, the pinnacle of Shinra long-range shooting.
"Our last three members, Bevos, Jinn and Nav are expert close range shooters each preferring the Shinra standard shot pistol."
In the far back the three guy raised their hands. Unlike the rest of the Clan Arush they had four pistols in plain view on their side and possibly more hidden under their green vests. They each carried side packs full of magazines and an exposed phone on their chests as a direct form of communication with the other members at all times. The others must have had them in their pockets for reference. Bevos, Jinn and Nav relied heavily on each other and appeared to be similar. Each strong and fit, but scars on the face of each three tell the pain they each have suffered. The three had similar strong bold faces, but while Bevos and Nav had no hair, Jinn had a full head of hair that was simply cut short so it would not get in the way of combat.
Montalo pointed to Miko and asked, "What's your name missy?"
Miko blushed and called out, "Its Miko." The entire Clan Arush group bowed and yelled, "Nice to meet you Miko!" Montalo grinned widely.
"Alright, let's go south of here, our target has been held up in the house for three days, if we wait any longer we'll miss our chance."
The thirteen hunters moved south through the fields, and over the rough terrain. It took an hour to see the house in which the man was held up. Deep in the woods a wooden cottage stood out against nature. At about three thousand feet from the house Adam separated from the group to find a vantage point.
Lars took the lead and moved ahead of the group, everyone crouched down behind some underbrush as Lars worked closer. He moved stealthy between the trees and the rocks, getting closer and closer. At a range of five hundred feet he signaled everyone to move up. As they got closer and closer Lars began to suspect something was strange.
Using a series of hand gestures Lars pointed out that the range was close enough for a shot or a look inside. The big man took out binoculars and looked through the windows.
Inside there was no movement at all. No activity. It became a battle of patience. Lars continued to look through and slowly put his hand into his pocket and pulled out the phone. He opened it with one hand, still watching the house windows through the binoculars. He spoke softly into it, no more then a whisper, "Adam. Lars reporting in. Do you see activity in the house?"
Silence followed for several minutes, everyone was on edge. Oni peeked his head over the rock, but Montalo dragged him back under the underbush and rock. Each time someone popped their head out from a rock or bush was a perfect chance to get shot.
"Don't be an idiot, Aurum is an expert marksman. If we get close you'll get your chance, but not a moment sooner." whispered Montalo as he scolded Oni.
At last the call came back to Lars, "Adam reporting. Need scope to check position, unsure of movement."
From far upon the hill Adam crept closer between two tight rock wall faces and pointed the barrel of his gun towards the window, checking the lower most window. Something was there, but he could not tell what it was.
"Lars. Something is moving, but I don't have a clear visual."
Everyone waited, Montalo scratched his head and looked at Zarus, "Figure the scope will do it?" Zarus looked back at Montalo and shook his head, "The telescopic lens will reflect the sunlight, we won't get a look unless Adam's using the twenty-two scope."
Lars nodded and spoke to Adam, "Adam. Use the twenty-two, if you can't get a lock, use the telescopic lens."
"Got you Lars. Something is strange about this house. I don't think he's left it." Adam voiced back.
Carefully Adam put on the twenty-two scope and checked the house, it was no good, the magnification was only a factor of eight. The object in the window was too hard to see still. Adam carefully pulled out the telescopic lens and fitted it onto his gun and moved the barrel out a little more. The window came into full view, and it appeared like a man was sitting behind the drapes, a gun was pointed outwards. Adam put the message through, "Lars. He's in the bottom right window, right side. He's targeting something. Take the shot?"
Lars looked back to Montalo and Zarus, "Possible target. We're being targeted. Take the shot?" Lars didn't dare poke his head out from the rock again, knowing that another marksman was waiting for an easy kill, "Take the shot, bring him down."
Adam replied just one word, "Roger." He carefully loaded a single armor-piercing high-velocity round into the barrel of his sniper rifle. He lined up the shot and stabilized the gun. He took the shot, the bullet shot through the window and knocked the figure to the ground, dropping the gun it held. Accompanied with the shot came a loud cannon-like explosion from the barrel of Adam's gun. The shot echoed through the trees and across the hills.
A minute later Adam voiced back to Lars, "Target down. Target down. No movement in the house." Adam continued to scan the building and once satisfied moved behind the rock and took off his telescopic lens.
Lars sighed with relief, today would not be the day they had to infiltrate the house and take the target by force. He looked back to Montalo and smiled, "Mission accomplished target down. Move in."
Adam stood up and began to move towards the group through the trees, "That was easy, I just saved your butts too."
Lars chuckled and replied with, "Not a chance, we were pinned down, but we aren't that dumb."
Adam moved down the rock face slowly between two trees, getting closer to the group, "Alright, I see you. I'll be right there. You can buy---"
From the house a loud gunshot rattled the windows and a single round burst through the air and slammed into Adam as he exposed himself for a second. Lars dropped his phone on the ground when he heard the shot connect, a terrible sound. Adam was struck in the chest, causing his body to crack under the force of the round as it broke through his body and out the other side into the rock where it exploded into pieces.
Adam had no idea what hit him, the shot was so powerful it killed him on contact, piercing through his lung and spinal cord, even if he was alive he would be paralyzed. Though a second shot rang out as Adam's body fell on the ground. The sound of the second shot rung through the phone, another crack. The round entered Adam's skull and destroyed any trace of his face.
Lars turned around to see the rock behind him and looked to see what had befallen Adam. Adam was without a head, blood coated the rock and trickled down its face to the brush below. Lars looked away and cringed slightly.
Everyone heard the shot, the first one killed, the second one was unnecessary, but only further terrified the remaining twelve. Montalo put his hand on the back of Lars and whispered, "We'll get that bastard. Adam got tricked by a decoy."
Miko buried her head into her hands and cried, just like that a proud man's life had ended and she heard the two shots that bestowed such a gruesome fate upon her new acquaintance.
Everyone exchanged worried looks with each other, and prepared themselves for a dangerous operation that lay ahead of them. Montalo put his hand on Janus and Carl, "Janus, let's blow up that damn house. Carl you Take watch for someone leaving the house, kill whoever runs."
Janus breathed in and popped up over the rock where Lars peaked out and took aim. A gunshot rung out almost instantly as he popped his head over the rock, Janus was shot in the head and from the sudden shock fired his rocket into the air. Janus's head exploded when the bullet tore through, blowing it clear off his body. Showering the group below with blood and other matter.
Miko screamed first, from the initial shot of the gun and then again when blood splatted against her mask and cheek. She buried herself in to her thighes and fell into a fetal position. Terrified of what was happening.
Montalo turned white as soon as the shot was fired, he knew what happened. He winced and pushed the body of Janus up over the rock so it did not fall back onto everyone.
Zarus looked at Monalo and asked, "Shell the house?" Montalo nodded and added, "Be damn careful about it to! Don't expose yourself."
Zarus nodded and pulled out a pistol from his vest and pointed it at the body of Janus, "Sorry man." He grabbed hold of his comrades leg and shot into the chest shooting two holes in to his friend. Blood poured down the rock as the gaping wounds of Janus covered the rock.
Zarus looked at the house through the body of Janus and nodded, "We're going to have to shell the house and split up. Find your positions. We'll move as a team and storm the house. The gun he's using is custom, but its so powerful that its long range. Aurum knew our position, but he was anticipating Adam and waited for the shot. Move out, find his position and overtake him by force. Bevos, Jinn and Nav, you'll get your chance to storm the front. Oni move around back and cut off the escape route, if he gets to the trees we'll be back to square one. Han, assist me as a spotter. Miko…go with Oni, he'll need the back up."
Zarus pulled out two pistols from his pocket and handed one to Miko and one to Oni. They were painted green and were simple handguns, but it gave them power at least. The chamber was thin, but six inches long. The slide over it had been painted separately to not cause jamming. Even the receiver was painted to match the gun's camouflage needs.
"These are Shinra's standard MA1991 pistols. They are accurate and powerful, but have an incredibly powerful recoil despite their size. This gun fires 9 mm rounds and each magazine comes with just fifteen shots. Here take two extra magazines each. If you run out of rounds press the ejector here on the receiver and it will release the magazine. The sight is a little high, but just line the sight up with the target and pull the trigger, if you are anything under three hundred feet you should be able to hit it."
Lance and Carl pointed out two alcoves in the rock face which would hide their position from the house, but give them easy targets on the right and left side of the house windows. Bevos, Jinn and Nav found a winding path through some brush and rocks and trees that would get them close to the house. Oni and Miko's path would take them back away from the command position and around the back of the house. The rock face to the west would be a bad place to run to, but Oni and Miko needed to guard the east escape route which would be Aurum's likely escape route. Montalo would move alone around to the east side.
Montalo pulled out two phones and handed one to Oni and one to Miko, "Here, as Clan Arush members, you get these communicator phones, everyone is on a unified signal. Since you are hunters you already know the ins and outs of closing in. Stick the basics and we should be alright.
Zarus looked at everyone and asked, "Ready?" He held a shell over the launcher and it was aimed at the house. Everyone exchanged looks to each other and nodded. Zarus dropped the shell in and lit the fuse, the shell shot high into the air and arced down towards the house.
The explosion tore into the house and a secondary explosion went off, the wood splintered and flames began to consume the house. Everyone waited until the explosion before running off towards their separate positions. Zarus fired five shells into the house, each one whistling in the air before slamming into the house and destroying it entirely.
Bevos, Jinn and Nav ran through the winding path towards the house which was torched, the flames consuming everything. Their hand guns drawn they swiftly bobbed back and forth between the rocks. Stopping at the base of the burning house.
Montalo ran to the east side, jumping and running as fast as he could around to the back side of the housing. His muscular legs were strong and quick and he quickly got around to the back of the house and set up his position skillfully between a oak tree and a bush. His vantage point being directly over the house and having a clear view of the escape route. Han lagged behind, covering the line between Montalo and Lars and Zarus.
Oni and Miko darted and ran as quick as lightning through the trees, the shells still falling onto the house when they reached the western escape point. The two moved quickly and precisely in between two trees and crouched down.
Carl and Lance separated as the shells fell and took the two alcoves in the rock as their point. They got to watch the house burn and set up their guns first. The two hid behind the stone faces and pointed their guns out eagerly waiting for the chance to get the kill.
After the five shells hit Lars sent a message through to everyone, "Positions established?" One by one each member reported in. All eleven had confirmed they were set up in place within seconds of the shells landing.
Lars looked to Zarus and gave him a high five, "Alright. We'll let Jinn's group storm in?"
"Sounds fair, let them go in."
Lars called out to everyone, "Alright, Bevos, Jinn and Nav. You three are up. Storm the house from the gaping hole Zarus made and take him out." Lars watched through the binoculars, anticipating a quick end to the tension situation. The target was definitely inside and was trapped.
Bevos ran through the still smoking and burning hole made by the first shell and entered the building. The smoke was thick and choking, but a figure stood out in the room.
"You scum! Eat my lead!" Bevos yelled as he opened up his pistols and fired at the figure, but it moved like water and moved across the floor gracefully only to deliver a powerful uppercut to the chin of Bevos.
The cry Bevos made as he was hit was heard through the phones and Jinn and Nav burst through firing at the smoke. Dozens of shots were fired, but then the sound of flesh being penetrated by rounds and a blood-curdling scream that echoed through the phones was heard. Since Bevos, Nav and Jinn all wore their phones on them activated all the time the cries were amplified sending out feedback which made everyone flinch. Though the sound of a body falling to the floor was definitely heard.
"You…you shot me…" gasped Bevos as he lay on the floor, three bullet holes in his chest. His phone transmitted his voice to everyone, and at once everyone's joy turned to horror. Bevos gasped and gurgled as he tried to get up, his futile efforts made everyone freeze in their tracks.
Jinn approached Bevos and pointed the gun at his comrades face, "I'm sorry Bevos." The sound of a single round shot through the phones as another burst of loud feedback. Bevos' body fell motionless and Jinn fired another shot directly into the phone, cutting its transmission instantly.
Jinn lead the way, Nav followed behind, both of their pistols were drawn, ready for their unseen attacker. The crackling of the flames and the creaking of the burning building overtook their senses to the less obvious, the sound of a gun cocking.
Nav shouted to Jinn, "GET DOWN!" Though it was already too late. A red hot explosion came from inside the burning house as a third bullet was fired and shot Jinn in the heart, instantly destroying his phone and killing him at close range.
"JINN!" screamed Montalo and Nav through the phones.
Nav burst in and fired wildly at the source of the fire, but a third shot silenced the angry man. Nav was shot in the head at close range. Nav's lifeless body fell to the ground and the sound of rustling was heard.
Miko was crying in the background. Montalo was growling in pure anger. Lance and Carl were softly cursing terrible words in anger, but Oni stood quiet.
Aurum picked up the phone of Nav's body and raised it to his lips, "You have thirty seconds to leave here, before I kill another one of you."
Miko let out a muffled scream and her body broke down, her wounds opened and blood poured down her arms and thighs, she was unable to take the carnage inflicted like this, but even worse was her body was failing her.
Oni stood perfectly still, waiting for the opportunity to kill whoever or whatever left the house. Montalo stood defiant in his position and didn't move, only prepared himself for the next shot.
Thirty seconds passed and nothing happened.
Everyone became tense, it was a stand off with a man trapped in a burning building. Then another volley of shells shot into the air from Zarus and Lars position. The five shells slammed into the house and the house exploded and fell in on itself, everything burned wildly in the inferno. Then only the sound of the raging fire remained. The fire died down a little, only large pieces of timber burned wildly and even they to died down in time.
Soon an hour had gone by and the sounds of the fire crackling through the phone died out as the phone was destroyed. Montalo sighed and spoke first, "The phone is dead. No one could have survived that. Let's pack it up. Lars how are you?"
No response came through.
"Lars? Lance? Carl? Oni? Han? Miko?"
Suddenly Oni cursed and yelled into the phone, "BREAK!" He grabbed Miko by the hand and ran off into the woods. Han from his carefully hidden position took off in an opposite direction.
Montalo gasped and remarked at his own stupidity as he heard the sound of three phones being smashed against the ground. As he backed up he felt a metal object be placed against his back.
A cold and murderous voice filled him with dread, "Montalo Riga." Montalo turned and to look at the man, but the gun fired and instantly killed him before he could get a look at his murderer. Shot in the back Montalo slumped against the tree, his hand still on his weapon.
The bodies of Lars and Zarus lay dead in their camp, their throats slit through the voice box, cutting off any chance of alerting the others. Lance and Carl lay dead in their alcoves, their throats also silently slit. Aurum had killed the entire Clan Arush a little over an hour, but his sights were trained on the three Ex-SOLDIERs now.