Chapter VII: Krieg und Frieden
"Stop here." Lucy spoke to their driver. Immediately, the lead vehicle in their caravan came to a halt, signaling the group trailing behind to follow suit.
"Are they close?" General Kanabe, seated across from the diclonius, asked.
Closing her eyes to better focus, Lucy searched for Lola. "Yeah, they're off the highway in the forest. She knows I'm coming."
Nodding, the general got up from his seat and opened the vehicle's door to step out. Exiting the hum-vee, Kanabe motioned for his men to follow suit. "Alright, dismount, we're heading the rest of the way on foot."
Kouta, sitting next to Lucy, unbuckled his seatbelt and went to slide out of the door when the girl grabbed his hand.
"Please, Kouta, please stay back." The girl pleaded once more.
"Lucy," he gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. "I won't get hurt. I promise."
"I don't know if I'll be able to protect you if things go bad." Tears began to form in her eyes.
"It'll be fine," he gave her a confident smile. "We'll protect each other."
"You're too stubborn." Lucy whispered, bangs casting a shadow over her eyes as her head slumped.
"I have to be if I'm going to keep up with you." Kouta teased lightly before letting go of her hand. When the two stepped out of the vehicle they saw the rest of Kanabe's men had already formed up. The VAC's formed an imposing site towering over the soldiers around them while Arikawa and Kurama, with Nana standing next to him, looked distinctly out of place.
"Lucy, you'll lead the way." The general informed her. Wordlessly nodding, Lucy used her vectors to propel her over the highway barrier and landed softly on the other side. Kouta, with much less grace, climbed over the obstacle while the rest of the unit clambered over with trained precision.
"This way." Lucy motioned as she stepped forward through the thicket. The others followed some distance behind with the exception of Kouta who remained by her side as they trekked onwards towards Lola.
The diclonius's expression grew grimmer as they moved forward. She was sure she could beat Lola, sure she could handle the rest of the diclonius following her. But could she do it while protecting Kouta, let alone the rest of the people there?
"Kouta, in case I don't get a chance later. I want you to know…" Lucy began, slowly speaking as she formulated her words. "I want you to know, being with you has been the best part of my life."
Chancing a look at him while they walked, she saw confusion and concern in his eyes. "I want you to know… I love you. I always have loved you."
"Lucy," Kouta tried to think of a response. "Don't be so grim. We'll definitely make it out of this."
He grabbed her hand as they walked, entwining her fingers in his. "But I love you too. Don't ever forget you have a family with us."
Nodding as a tear threatened to fall down her cheek, Lucy fiercely gripped his hand. "I won't."
A small car skidded to a halt just before the entourage of parked military vehicles. A moment later the large man inside stepped out.
"What the hell is going on? Why stop here?" Bando asked out lout as he approached the site. Looking around, he noticed a pair of indentations on the pavement and some matching tracks on the outside of the highway. "Out into the forest?"
The mercenary grabbed his gear out of the stolen car and jumped over the highway rail, following the tracks as they led into the forest. He couldn't make heads or tails of the situation. Was the JSDF going to execute Kurama and the others? Out here? That didn't make sense. But what else could it be?
"Or are they going after those other diclonius?" Bando hypothesized. If that was the case, he wasn't going to miss out on a fight.
Lucy paused as she felt Lola approaching. Not a moment later she saw the opposing queen's figure step out from behind some brush. Lucy noted her missing arm, though it didn't seem to be phasing the girl. "My, my, Lucy. What brings you here?"
"I'm here to put an end to this, Lola." Lucy responded, eyeing the shorter girl with fierce determination.
"And how do you plan on doing that? Are you going to try to kill me?" Lola goaded, a devilish smirk on her face.
"I don't want to kill anyone, I want to reason with you." Was the queen's firm reply.
"Reason with me? Ohohohoho. Don't make me laugh, Lucy," It was then that Lola noticed the man standing next to the opposing queen. "Did you bring your pet here to try and persuade me? What did you think that would accomplish?"
"Don't call him that." Lucy spat.
"My name's Kouta. I'm Lucy's family." Kouta responded before things could escalate.
"Family? A human? You think you can put yourself on our level? You disgust me with your presence." Lola looked on at the simple boy in revulsion.
"Kouta is my family," Lucy affirmed. "He was the first person to accept me for who I am, to accept our kind."
"Oh, I see. You've let yourself become indoctrinated by a human. Tell me, Lucy. Is he the reason you're so quick to sell out the rest of your kind?" Lola goaded.
"Kouta is the only reason you're still alive," Lucy shot back. "Kouta believes we can find peace, and I believe it too."
Kouta nodded. "If we work together, we can definitely create peace between humans and diclonius."
"Peace? You want peace? Lucy, you know as well as any of us the evil of humans. There is no peace, just slaughter as we replace them and take over this world." Lola threatened.
"I'm sorry for you Lola. You've only known the darkness of people so you think they're all bad," Lucy responded with a sad smile. "But there's kindness in this world. I've experienced it, more than I deserve. And I want all of us to feel it as well."
"If that's what you think, then you've failed as a diclonius, failed as a queen." Lola's anger rang out.
"You're right, I have failed you," Lucy replied, taking a step forward. "I hated the world, I was angry. And because of that all of you took on that same anger and hatred.
"But I was wrong. I condemned the world to destruction for the evil of a few. I made a mistake, so now I have to fix it." Lucy projected her emotions towards Lola, willing her to understand what Lucy knew.
"I understand that you can't be trusted," Lola spat, finally sensing the VACs hidden behind. Sending out her vectors, she cut down the trees and brush behind Lucy and Kouta, revealing the waiting JSDF forces.
"You're a traitor, Lucy. You can't be trusted to lead our kind." Lola shouted. Sending out a signal to her awaiting enclave, Lola readied herself for conflict. No sooner did dozens of diclonius burst out of the trees, forming up behind their queen.
"Wait!" Kouta shouted towards the group, pleading with them. "Please, we don't need to fight."
"There won't be a fight, just a slaughter." Lola promised. At that moment a dozen diclonius shot forward, vectors piercing through the air to kill the two in front of them before moving on towards the humans gathered behind.
"Not on my watch." Lucy responded. Her own vectors launched to intercept, grabbing each diclonius in the air and throwing them well behind Lola.
Gritting her teeth, Lola sent out a telepathic signal for her diclonius to first attack the humans behind Lucy. Nodding in unison, a second group of her enclave launched their vectors into the earth, kicking up dust and debris in a distraction.
Lucy closed her eyes, using her sixth sense to track the diclonius. They weren't going for her, nor Kouta. Then their target was—
"Nana, catch!" Lucy shouted, grabbing Kouta with a vector and flinging him towards the smaller diclonius. Simultaneously, she propelled herself in the air with two more vectors, landing in front of the JSDF. Willing as many vectors as she could muster, the queen formed a virtual wall in front of the soldiers. Dozens of vectors slammed against her own struggling to try and break through. Lucy grit her teeth, breathing in dust as she struggled.
"Launch the nullification wave!" General Kanabe ordered. A second later the VACs sent out a pulse of energy, cancelling out the deluge of vectors thrashing throughout the air. When the dust settled, Kanabe was surprised to see Lucy standing in front of them. Even more, her vectors were visible, not having been stopped by the VACs.
"How is she developing so fast?" Arikawa looked on in awe as Lucy seemingly was unfazed by the VACs power.
"Those damn machines." Lola cursed the VACs.
"Lucy, are you okay?" Kouta asked as he approached the girl.
Sparing him a glance, Lucy gave Kouta a confident smile. "Don't worry, Kouta. I'm fine."
Turning her attention back to the diclonius ahead, Lucy launched herself into the air. "I guess I have to teach you a lesson."
Lucy shot her vectors out to intercept a group of diclonius that had formed up in front of Lola. The guards' vectors were completely overpowered as Lucy ruthlessly shoved them to the side before solidifying to punch each girl with a powerful fist.
Lola watched in fury as each of her sisters were attacked. Tearing branches off of the trees around her, Lola shot each limb of wood towards Lucy, intending to impale her with the projectiles.
Lucy quickly summoned two more vectors, the ethereal limbs vibrating at a high frequency as they intercepted and shredded through each makeshift bullet. Cocking her fist back, Lucy cancelled out each approaching vector of Lola's with one of her own before colliding her physical fist with her opponent's face. The girl spat out blood as she was thrown back by the attack.
"Damnit, I didn't want to fall back on this if possible." Lola muttered, shakily rising to her feet. Still, if they succeeded then there wouldn't be any survivors to tell the humans of her strategy.
Grabbing a flair gun from her dress, Lola aimed it in the air and pulled the trigger, shooting a bright red beacon into the air.
A moment later, six figures – three on each side – leapt out of cover behind the JSDF forces. A quiet click sounded as the helmets they were wearing fell off revealing crimson hair. Before anyone could respond the hidden diclonius shot out their vectors, obliterating the VACs that had no chance of reacting to the revealed diclonius.
The JSDF soldiers' eyes widened as the diclonius appeared. How had the VAC radar not picked up on them? Wasting no time, the group readied their rifles and opened fire on the targets. The diclonius struggled but were unable to stop the tungsten rounds being flung their way. Bullets shot through the girls, splattering blood onto the dirt underneath them as their bodies fell limply onto the ground.
"What the fuck was that?" Kanabe shouted. "How did the VACs not pick up on their presence?"
"I don't know, sir. One soldier in charge of the machines responded. "One second they weren't on the radar the next they were. They destroyed the VACs before we could respond.
"They were concealing their presence," Kurama explained, looking at the discarded helmets some ways behind. "At the institute, we were working on ways to inhibit the diclonius' vectors. Those helmets were designed to block the brain waves that a diclonius projects. But I thought we never got the design finalized."
"Is that how they infiltrated demo for the Gen2 VACs?" The general pondered out-loud.
"Most likely." Kurama nodded. Though he still didn't know how the diclonius had gotten their hands on working models of the inhibitor helmets. Unless their design had been finished, and Kakuzawa had chosen to never employ their use.
"Form up! Make a perimeter, I don't want a repeat of that ambush!" General Kanabe ordered. Instantly his soldiers created a circle to watch for any avenue of attack.
"Nana, keep an eye out in case any more of them attack, you're our best chance at a defense." Kurama asked of his step-daughter. The girl nodded in determination, readying herself for any attacks that may come.
"I'm sorry." Lola's sorrow manifested looking on at the death of her sisters. She knew they were probably being sent to their death, but those VACs needed to be destroyed.
Lucy stopped her attack to bear witness to aftermath, grimacing. Death had never bothered her before, and it didn't unsettle her, but she still felt some pain at the needless slaughter.
"I will avenge their sacrifice," Lola promised, steeling herself. "Your deaths won't be in vain."
"How many more will you send to their death?" Lucy spat, angry at Lola's actions. "If you had listened to me, they would still be alive!"
"If I don't fight, ALL OF US WILL DIE!" How dare that bitch put the blame on her. Before Lucy could react, Lola shot forward, vectors weaving out to attack. Lucy's eyes widened as she felt multiple vectors slam into her, sending her body flying back before slamming into a tree with a loud crack.
"LUCY!" Kouta yelled out as he ran for the girl. Cradling her slouched body, he helped Lucy to her feet.
"Don't worry, Kouta, I'm fine." Lucy bit back the pain she felt, turning her eyes towards her attacker.
Lola slowly paced towards them. "You would dare put the blame on me? Just for that, Lucy, I'm going to kill you last." A maniacal laugh followed.
"I'll let you witness every human you seem so attached to slaughtered. I'll punish you for turning your back on us. Only then, will you be allowed death." Lola's eyes took on a wild look as she monologued.
"You'll never get that chance, Lola. As long as I'm alive, I won't let you kill anyone else." Lucy declared, steadying herself from Kouta's support.
"Big words. But do you think you can back them up?" Lola responded. Once again, she pulled out her flair gun. Pulling the trigger sent out a blue flair into the sky.
The agent realized the meaning of the flair gun at that second. Lola couldn't telepathically communicate with her diclonius wearing those helmets. So, she had to use other means "She's sending a signal for another attack!"
Six more diclonius shot out of the woods, helmets dropping behind them as they propelled themselves forward. The JSDF soldiers focused fire on the attackers, but were terrified to see that their bullets were being shoved to the sides by the enemy vectors.
"NO!" Nana yelled out, vectors shooting out to intercept the attack. She met each enemy with a vector of her own, struggling to focus on each of the six enemies.
"Papa… papa I can't—" Nana whimpered as she struggled. If she failed, everyone – including her papa – would die.
"NANA!" Kurama yelled out for his daughter. If this continued, she would surely die.
At that moment, Kanabe grabbed his specialty rifle, taking aim he shot at one of the diclonius. The girl struggled but was unable to stop the spiked ball from impaling itself into her abdomen. Two more shots followed before the remaining diclonius fell back to avoid the attacks. Using their vectors, they grabbed the injured members of their force, pulling the barbs from their sides.
"We need to be careful. I only have three more shots left." Kanabe warned, loading another ball into his rifle.
Kurama pulled Nana into a hug, letting the girl lean her back against his chest. "Are you okay?"
"Y-yeah," Nana panted, regaining her strength. "Did Nana do a good job?"
"Yes, Nana. You did great." Kurama patted her head.
"Sir, our tungsten rounds didn't do anything against these diclonius." One soldier warned their general.
The general took a look at their surroundings. When diclonius stopped most conventional bullets, they simply let them drop to the ground. However, there were bullet holes riddling the trees behind where the diclonius had been. So those diclonius couldn't have completely halted the shots. "They didn't stop the bullets, they deflected them. They're stronger than the last wave, but I don't think they can stop the tungsten rounds wholesale."
"What should we do, sir?" a worried soldier questioned.
"Time your shots. They need to be close enough to not have time to deflect the shots." Kanabe instructed.
"But sir, we don't know their vector range, they might be able to kill us before we can even fire back." He replied nervously.
"Maybe they will, but are you going to piss your pants waiting for your death? Or are you going to go down fighting?" The general barked.
"I-I'll fight, sir!" The soldier found his resolve and stood firm.
Lucy sensed the attack take place and turned around expecting the worst. To her surprise, the JSDF had stood their ground, if only just so. She was about to spring in to help them, before Lola's voice stopped her.
"I wouldn't go anywhere if I were you, Lucy," Lola taunted. "Turn your back on us and you or your boyfriend might suffer a serious accident."
"Lola, why do you feel the need to fight?" Kouta asked her, his words carrying no negative emotion.
"Because humans hate us. You want us dead." Lola answered plainly. Kouta shook his head.
"That's not true. I, at least, don't want you dead." Kouta denied.
"Then you're like Kakuzawa. You want to use us. All humans see us as are objects for their whims." Lola spat.
"I know bad things happened to you, to all of you. And that's…" Kouta choked up as he thought about it. "It's horrible. No one should be treated like that. But please. Don't create more suffering. Don't create more hate."
"When I'm done there will be no more suffering. No more hate. We'll wipe those things out when we wipe out humanity." Lola stated as if it were fact.
"And how many will die?!" Kouta shouted. "Humans, diclonius. How many of your kind are you willing to sacrifice for that?"
"This is war. People die." The diclonius replied.
"But they don't have to. We can end this. Right here, right now," Kouta pleaded. "No one else has to die. We can find peace."
"The only peace your kind will accept ends with us in chains or dead." Lola's eyes narrowed.
"That's not true. Maybe… maybe humans aren't ready to coexist with diclonius. But they will be," Kouta reasoned. "And until then we can hide you all away. Find some remote place to live until the world is no longer scared of you. That's what you've all been doing until now, right? Hiding? You know it can work. Please, let's stop this fighting."
"You know what? I'm sick of hearing your babbling. I'll kill you first." Lola spat. A diclonius next to her grabbed her shoulder.
"My queen, I think he's sincere. He doesn't want to hurt us. Please don't kill him." The diclonius quietly pleaded with her queen.
"You, you would betray us?" Lola's voice trembled in anger, turning her murderous gaze from Kouta onto the diclonius that had spoken.
"No, my queen, I just… I want to believe him. He's—" Before she could finish, Lola ripped her in two.
"We don't have room for traitors." Lola told her corpse.
"You monster!" Lucy shouted, propelling herself towards the opposing queen. Two vectors grabbed hold of the girl and threw her into a tree. The wood splintered as Lola's body shot straight through and landed some distance behind.
As Lucy shot after the queen, Lola fired one more, green, flair into the sky.
"Another attack?" Kanabe grew warry, scanning the trees for any threats. Six more diclonius dropped out of the tree tops, helmets unlocking as their assault began. Suddenly, a loud crack shot out as one falling diclonius was shot, body flying through the air as a bullet tore her apart.
"What the?" One diclonius shouted in surprise before another shot fired, this one tearing through her leg. She cried out in pain as the non-lethal shot all but severed the limb causing her to fall lamely onto the ground. The other four assaulters fell back, taking cover within the trees.
"Where are those shots coming from?!" The agent questioned.
"Could he have found us here?" Kurama wondered.
Stepping out from behind a tree, Bando revealed himself. Taking a puff from his cigarette, the mercenary grinned. "Kurama, how many times do I have to bail your ass out?"
"Bando, you son of a bitch." Kurama shook his head, sighing in relief.
"Mr. Bando!" Nana yelled out her greeting.
"Who's this?" Agent Kinaka asked the doctor, eying the stranger in surprise.
"Name's Bando. Ex-SAT member and certified badass." Bando gave his own greeting, approaching the group.
Suddenly, two diclonius sprang from the trees, intent on killing the newcomer. Before they could reach their target, Kinaka unholstered a pair of heafty revolvers, shooting each diclonius dead.
Bando's cigarette fell out of his mouth. "I think I'm in love."
Ignoring his comment, the agent turned towards her general. "That's four down, which means there are still eight of them out there."
"I can sense them, they're circling around, trying to find a flank to exploit." Nana reported, feeling out for the enemy diclonius.
"Make sure they're left disappointed." Kanabe instructed his men.
Meanwhile, Lucy and Lola continued their bout. Lucy was on the offensive, enraged by the callousness of her opponent. "That girl. She did nothing wrong!"
Lola dodged an incoming vector, flinging herself along the forest floor. "She was going to betray us!"
"By believing in peace? By doubting your insanity?!" Lucy shouted, shooting two more vectors towards the opposing queen.
"There is no peace with the humans! Death is more merciful than what humans would do to her!" Lola argued, drawing Lucy further into the forest.
"You'll be lucky if I give you that same mercy!" Lucy snarled, vector fist punching into the dirt Lola had previously occupied.
'Perfect.' Lola thought to herself. Lucy was too far away to stop her plan now. Sending out a signal, two of her diclonius jumped into action. Lucy felt the call too, and her eyes widened in shock as she realized what was going on.
Behind her, two diclonius jumped for Kouta, landing beside him and grabbing the boy in their hold. Their vectors poised to strike as they waited on their queen's instructions.
"You got sloppy, Lucy. Now you'll pay the price," Lola mocked. "Say goodbye to your pet."
"NO!" Lucy shouted, disregarding Lola and running for Kouta.
Kouta looked at the two diclonius beside him, their faces stony. 'This is it, isn't it?' He had done it again, put himself into a situation that would get Lucy hurt. 'I'm so stupid.'
He saw her, running for him. But it wouldn't matter. He would die here. "Lucy," he called out. "I love you. Please, carry on for the both of us."
"KOUTA!" Lucy cried out, Vectors slicing through the air as she tried to save him.
'I'm sorry.' Kouta thought to himself, eyes closing as he heard the air around him being pierced. Strangely, he wasn't afraid of his own death. Rather, he was afraid for Lucy, afraid for the rest of his family. He didn't want them to feel sorrow.
"Look out, they're coming!" Nana shouted out as the diclonius prepared for another assault. Eight figures jumped from the trees in unison, coordinating beyond human capabilities in their assault.
The JSDF soldiers fired their guns to no effect as the bullets were redirected. "Steady your fire! Wait til they get closer!" General Kanabe yelled. Aiming his own rifle, He fired at one of the incoming targets. The spiked ball speared itself into one diclonius, reducing the incoming targets to seven.
He wouldn't have enough time to reload before the rest reached their mark. Throwing the weapon to the side, he unholstered his fifty-caliber pistol. Chambering a round, he took aim, ready for the moment one of the horned girls would make the mistake of getting close enough for him to kill.
"What, there's more?!" Nana exclaimed. Suddenly, six more diclonius sprang out. Unbeknownst to them in the confusion, Lola had fired a final – yellow – flair, signaling her last hit squad to reveal themselves.
"Papa! General, get back!" Nana yelled, pulling each man with her vectors before they could be killed by the incoming wave. Not wasting a moment, she willed more vectors out to intercept the surprise attack. "You. Won't. Take. My. PAPA!"
Yelling, Nana locked herself in a deadly struggle with the incoming diclonius while the JSDF soldiers and Bando fought off the diclonius that were nimbly avoiding their attacks.
'That girl just saved my life.' Kanabe looked on in shock at the spot he had been standing not a moment ago, now a crater courtesy of a vector strike. 'I'll be damned if she dies in my place.'
Grabbing his discarded rifle, Kanabe loaded it as quickly as he could, before taking aim at one of the diclonius Nana was struggling against. A pull of the trigger sent out a spiked ball right into the girl's chest. Wasting no time, he loaded his last shot and fired. The shot hit true and took out a second diclonius.
At the same time, Bando and Agent Kinaka were back to back, using their combined abilities to cover the JSDF soldiers.
"You're pretty good." Bando commented, unloading on an approaching diclonius, one shot grazing the girl's arm as she was unable to deflect it in time. The wounded diclonius fell back.
"Not too bad yourself." The agent replied, revolvers pointed in two directions as she shot at two separate targets.
"How many are left?" One JSDF soldier shouted, taking individual, careful shots to ward off the diclonius.
"Four—" Kinaka fired a shot, the bullet landing right in a diclonius's chest. "Make that three."
"Two!" Bando shouted as he struck a retreating diclonius in the kidney.
The last two diclonius stood side by side, gritting their teeth and panting. "We, we can't win this." One said to the other.
"What do we do?" The latter asked the former, visibly panicking at her fallen and wounded comrades.
"We have to fall back." The two nodded in unison and retreated into the trees.
"They're retreating!" A soldier yelled out in victory.
"Don't get too excited, there's still more of them." The agent muttered, turning towards where Lola's enclave was standing in wait. She visibly paled when she saw the civilian kid being seized by a diclonius.
Simultaneously, Nana had been continuing her battle. The fight was down from six on one to four on one, but Nana was still at a disadvantage. Grabbing a can of tear gas. Kanabe pulled the pin and threw it towards two of the diclonius that had grouped up. "Nana, fall back!"
Nana obeyed and jumped back as the tear gas grenade was thrown. The opposing diclonius, not knowing what the object was, shredded the can with their vectors. This proved a costly mistake as the compressed contents were released. The two girls fell to their knees coughing and wiping at their burning eyes to no effect. Kanabe immediately unholstered his pistol and shot each girl.
Fighting two on one, Nana had much less difficulty. These diclonius seemed much less powerful than the last group, and Nana was easily able to outrange them. Sending her vectors out, she grabbed onto each of the girls, slamming them harshly into the ground before picking them up to throw in the direction of Lola. As she released them, she saw Kouta being grabbed by two diclonius.
'No, Kouta…' Nana could only look on in fear.
'Kill him' Lola commanded. The two diclonius looked at each other and nodded. Truthfully, they held no grudge against the boy. He seemed harmless enough. But he was a human. And Lola wanted the human dead.
"I love you. Please, carry on for the both of us." The boy spoke, disregarding the fact that he was about to die. The two diclonius' eyes widened. Unlike so many other humans, this boy didn't beg for his life; didn't cower in fear. Instead, he used his last moment to tell Lucy, a diclonius, that he loved her.
Their vectors sliced through the air, shredding the ground next to Kouta while the boy was left untouched.
'No,' the two diclonius thought in unison. 'He doesn't deserve to die.'
"KOUTA!" Lucy shouted. Said boy opened his eyes at the voice surprised to see he was still alive.
"You, you didn't kill me?" Kouta whispered at the two in confusion. Then realization dawned on him. "LUCY WAIT!"
His voice reached her just in time as she came to a sudden halt, vectors centimeters away from impaling the two diclonius beside him.
"Kouta… you're… you're still alive!" Lucy shouted in relief as she ran for him, tackling her love in a fierce hug. "I was so scared, I thought I was going to lose you."
"It's okay, Lucy. I'm fine." Kouta assured her as he patted the girls back.
Knowing she didn't have the luxury to remain like this, Lucy let go of Kouta. She eyed at the two diclonius next to them skeptically. "What are you two doing?"
The two diclonius were just as shocked as Kouta had been. They had been expecting Lucy to kill them. Yet the boy had convinced her to spare the two. The one to the left spoke first. "We decided he didn't deserve to die."
"Yes. He put your existence above his own. If we killed him, we'd be no different than the humans." The diclonius to the right concluded.
Lucy wiped the tears from her eyes, looking at the two in gratitude. "Thank you."
The two diclonius looked at each other, speaking without words. Nodding in unison, the two turned back towards Lucy. "I follow you, my queen." The two spoke together.
Lucy looked at them in shock. "What are your names?"
The diclonius to the left, a short girl with salmon pink hair down to her shoulders and amber eyes spoke first. "My name is Karin."
"And I'm Yuki." The second diclonius with maroon hair falling down her back in curls and jade eyes, a few inches shorter than Lucy, responded.
"I promise you, your faith in me won't be misguided." Lucy assured them. Just then Nana arrived.
"Lucy, is Kouta okay?!" Nana cried out in worry.
"I'm fine, Nana." Kouta smiled, patting the girls head.
"Thank goodness," Nana sighed, before staring at the two seemingly passive diclonius. "Are they friendly?"
"Yes, Nana. They've come to our side," Lucy assured. "Let me introduce you. This is Karin and Yuki. Karin and Yuki, this is Nana.
"Pleased to meet you." Nana have the two a short bow which they returned.
"What are you two doing? I said kill him!" Lola shouted, landing a short way away.
"No," Yuki defied. "I won't kill someone who wishes us no harm."
"You would betray us too? Then die with the rest of them." Lola's vectors shot out towards Yuki, but were blocked by Karin.
"I won't let you kill another one of us." Karin's soft voice carried through the clearing.
"Aaaaaaaaah! Kill them, kill them all!" Lola screamed, ordering her diclonius to attack. The diclonius hesitated behind Lola, unsure of what to do, before taking regretful steps forward.
"Stop!" Lucy yelled. Immediately the approaching diclonius halted. "Lola, this madness needs to stop!"
"The only mad one here is you! Conspiring with humans!" Lola argued, growing increasingly frustrated.
"Look around you, Lola. How many have you let die today for the sake of your war. How many more will you let die?" Lucy fought back. "How many more will you kill for doubting you?"
The words left Lola's diclonius unsettled. What were Lola's priorities? How many of their lives would she be willing to sacrifice?
"Why… why did you have to come back? If you had just stayed dead, I would be queen. And I'd be able to make a world where we can be free." Lola protested, mostly to herself.
"You three, stay back. Protect Kouta and the others," Lucy ordered her companions. "I'll handle Lola."
The three diclonius nodded in unison. Satisfied that Kouta would be safe, Lucy stepped forward. "Lola, let's finish this, you and me. No one else has to die."
"Fine. I'll prove my superiority to you, Lucy." Lola agreed. She knew she couldn't match Lucy in raw power. But she had been fighting longer than her. She could fight smarter.
The two stood opposite each other in the small clearing, stony gazes giving away no other emotion as they sized up the other.
Lola was the first to attack, using her vectors to launch into the air, she ripped apart two nearby trees and threw the remains towards Lucy who expertly shredded them into dust. Using the momentary distraction, Lola grabbed onto a tree branch, using it to fling herself into Lucy's blind spot. At the same time, her vectors grabbed stones and other debris to launch at Lucy.
The queen deflected every attack, but not without effort. Lola was surprisingly strong. Though she lacked the number or reach of Lucy's own vectors, the strength they carried was undeniable.
And because of that, Lucy was caught off guard when Lola spun behind her, getting within reach to lash out her vectors towards her foe. Lucy's eyes widened in shock; she had barely enough time to avoid the attack, propelling herself to the side as one of Lola's vectors grazed her cheek. A crimson line formed where the vector struck, leaving a small trickle of blood.
Wasting no time, Lola continued her pursuit. Bobbing and weaving through Lucy's vectors, Lola's own struck out towards the usurper queen. Lucy, realizing she was losing ground on the defensive, used four vectors to fling herself a good distance away. Using the momentary respite, Lucy refound her center. Not a moment later Lola flew after Lucy, having no intention of giving her opponent a moment to rest. Lucy met her halfway, slapping away Lola's vectors with her own before plowing one straight into her abdomen. The junior queen let out a cough of spit and bile as she keeled over from the hit.
As quickly as she could, Lola's vectors tore into the earth. Kicking up as much debris as possible, Lola masked her escape in the dust. Calling on her sixth sense, Lucy searched for where Lola had retreated to.
Before Lucy could react, Lola shot out of the ground. Using her vectors to tunnel through the earth, the younger diclonius had surprised Lucy with a sneak attack. Seven vectors shot out of Lola, each one finding their target as Lucy was mercilessly beaten back by the ethereal appendages.
Quickly, Lucy summoned her own vectors, batting away Lola's before they could do any more damage. In the next moment, Lucy's summoned a deluge of vectors, intent on overwhelming Lola. The younger queen quickly realized this and retreated before Lucy could harm her.
Taking a moment to regain her breath, Lucy reassessed Lola. The girl may be physically weaker, but she was no pushover. Lola fought smart, so Lucy would have to fight smart, too.
Wrapping her vectors around herself in a cocoon like manor, Lucy charged after Lola. The opposing diclonius sent her own vectors after Lucy, but they were unsurprisingly unable to penetrate Lucy's veil. Lola tried once again to retreat, but found her foot immobilized by a vector that Lucy had snuck underground. Lola turned her attention back to Lucy just in time to see the queen wrap a vector around her fist, reinforcing the flesh and bone appendage with the ethereal one to deliver a harsh fist straight into Lola's core.
The girl grunted in pain, but ignored it to the best of her ability as she grappled Lucy's arm with her vectors, using the opposing queen's momentum to turn 180 degrees and send Lucy flying away. The result gave Lola just enough time to free her foot from Lucy's vector and retreat away as Lucy found her footing, landing with grace unbecoming of her battle-worn state.
"Is this all you have? Lucy? For all your bluster, you have no chance," Lola goaded. "After I kill you, I'll kill your pet. Rip him limb from limb. It'll serve him right for turning you into a weak bitch.
"Then I'll recreate this world. Wipe the disease of humanity from existence in order to create a utopia where diclonius can thrive." Lola finished with a fierce snarl.
Lucy's eyes widene in rage, her commitment to a non-lethal victory quickly devolved into pure killing intent. As her anger boiled, the horns on her head began to grow. The emotional stress had finally awakened Lucy's full power not seen since that night on the Sea Candle. A split second later, she launched off after Lola, using her vectors to pick up fallen branches in a manner similar to what her opponent had done before. Flinging them at the opposing queen, Lucy created a momentary distraction to get up in Lola's face. Surprised at her speed, Lola was unable to dodge as Lucy's foot collided with her jaw in a pseudo roundhouse kick powered by Lucy spinning her body with her vectors.
Falling to the dirt, Lola shot her own vectors out towards Lucy. The senior queen deflected them as one of her appendages flew out to grab Lola and throw her against a nearby tree.
Stalking towards Lola, Lucy's anger was made manifest. "You tried to kill Kouta. You threatened his existance. For that you will suffer."
Two of Lucy's vectors sailed out, slicing clean through both of Lola's legs. While the limbs weren't severed, they were rendered useless by the deep gouges. Lola's cries of pain were cut short as another vector grabbed her by the neck, dragging her limp body up against the tree. Rough bark scraped across her back as she was lifted off the ground, air being choked out of her.
"Are you prepared to die? For all the pain you've caused, this almost seems too easy." Lucy mused. Lola barely comprehended the words as she thrashed uselessly against the vector squeezing against her neck. She tried in vain to summon her own vectors, to do anything. Dread began to fill the girl as she realized she was powerless to stop Lucy from killing her.
"You're pathetic. And you will die pathetically." Lucy's threat was more akin to a promise.
"Lucy, don't," Kouta approached warily. Lucy turned her head towards him before refocusing her attention at the choking Lola. "Don't do this."
"If I don't kill her, she'll kill us. There won't be any peace as long as she's alive!" Lucy argued, eyes narrowing on her foe.
"Lucy listen to yourself, you sound just like her," Kouta pleaded. "Don't become the same monster she did."
"Kouta, you don't understand. This is for our own safety." Lucy hoped he would forgive her. This had to be done. Lola had to die. Two vectors emerged from behind her, flying out to grant Lola a quick death.
"No Lucy, stop it!" Kouta yelled as he dashed in between the two. Grabbing a hold of Lola in a protective hug, Kouta felt to blades slice horizontally across his back.
Lucy recalled her vectors a moment before they could have cut through Kouta. Recoiling in shock, she began shivering. She had almost killed Kouta.
"Please Lucy, stop it. No more killing." Kouta begged, still guarding Lola. The vector strangling her disappeared, causing the girl to fall limply against the forest floor.
"I'm sorry. Oh god I'm so sorry Kouta." Lucy fell to her knees, clutching her arms together as she trembled.
Lola wheezed as she looked up through clouded vision. Had… had this human just saved her life? Why?
"W–why did you protect me?" Lola's soft voice questioned.
"Because, I don't want anyone else to die." Kouta explained. His kind expression startled her.
"Heh, a human saving a diclonius, even though that diclonius tried to kill him… how foolish." Lola mused, wincing at the pain in her legs.
"Well, I've been known to be a bit stubborn." Kouta admitted sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. Noticing her bleeding legs, Kouta's expression changed instantly. Taking his button-down shirt off, Kouta tore off the sleeves to use as makeshift bandages.
"Sorry if this hurts a bit." Kouta apologized in advance as he wrapped the cloth tightly around each of her legs before knotting them up. Lola bit back a cry at the pain. Soon after, the flow of blood slowed to a trickle. Tossing the remains of his shirt to the side, Kouta was left in only his undershirt. He shivered noticing a distinct chill from the mid-spring air.
"Hey, can any of you help her?" Kouta called out towards the group of diclonius standing at the wayside. They were startled by his request before two stepped forward. Gently, if warily, the two approached their fallen queen. "Okay, you two tend to Lola. I'm going to check on Lucy."
The two diclonius nodded, not bothering to worry about the implications of listening to a human, and set to work mending Lola's wounds. Meanwhile, Kouta made his way towards Lucy. Said girl was still huddled over, mumbling to herself.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry." She repeated over and over.
"Lucy, hey, Lucy." Kouta called out as he approached. The diclonius paid him no mind, so wrapped up in her mindscape.
"Hey, Lucy." Kouta called more firmly, kneeling down in front of her and grabbing her shoulders. It was only then that she looked up to notice him.
"Kouta?" Lucy immediately wrapped her arms around him, rocking back and forth. "I'm sorry, Kouta, I'm so sorry. Please forgive me I'm sorry."
"Lucy, calm down," Kouta softly patted her back. "We're okay. Everything is fine."
"Kouta, I almost… I almost… Oh god I almost killed you." Lucy whimpered into his shoulder.
"But you didn't," Kouta replied tenderly. "And I know you never would."
"You're too kind for your own good." She mumbled, desperately gripping onto the back of his shirt.
"I just do what I think is right." His hand rubbed up and down her back, gently running across the slight bumps of her spine.
"I love you. I love you so much." Lucy confessed once again. She needed him to understand just how much.
"I love you too, Lucy. I always will." Kouta replied.
The two stayed like that for some time, the world seemingly dissolving around them. It wasn't until they were approached by an entourage of footsteps that they ended their moment. Kouta helped Lucy to her feet as the two stood up. Looking up, Lucy was made aware of the group gathered before her. Nana, Karin, and Yuki stood at the forefront, while Lola's diclonius stood a bit further back. Lola was with them, being held up by the two diclonius that had mended her legs to the point where there were no visible wounds. She still couldn't stand on them, but at least she wouldn't bleed out.
"What do we do now?" Karin asked first.
Lucy stood up, being helped by Kouta. Recomposing herself, she pondered the question. The girl didn't have an immediate answer. Where did they go from here?
"I guess we should start by trying to reconcile; find peace, right?" Kouta offered his opinion.
"Yeah, yeah I guess you're right," Lucy replied, nodding. Walking over towards the gathered diclonius with Kouta, Lucy called out a name. "Lola."
"What, come to gloat about your victory?" the girl spoke with as much venom as her tired body could muster.
"No," Lucy shook her head. "All I wanted to do, from the beginning, is reason with you. Show you that we could exist without fighting, without killing."
"Do you honestly believe that? We aren't human, they'll never see us as anything but monsters." Lola argued.
"That's not true, Lola," Kouta interjected. "Humans and Diclonius, we aren't all that different. We feel happy, sad, love, anger. It's the same for you, right?"
"Hmf, like it matters. You've won, right Lucy? You're the queen now, do what you want." Lola spat bitterly.
Lucy bit back a cynical retort. No, now wasn't the time for that. How would Kouta react? "If that's how you feel, then help me lead them."
"What?" Lola looked at her in surprise.
"You know them better than I do, been with them longer than I have. Let's work together to ensure their future. Our future." Lucy explained, giving her a kind smile.
"W-why?" Lola could hardly comprehend Lucy's change of face.
"I've had enough enemies in my life. Maybe it's time to make some allies instead." Lucy explained. Kouta nodded in agreement.
Lola didn't know how to respond. But she could feel how her enclave, now Lucy's, were responding. They wanted to trust Lucy. "Okay."
"Come with me." Lucy requested. Lola nodded and, with some help, followed Lucy. The queen took Kouta's hand in hers as she approached the JSDF forces and the waiting general.
"It's done then?" Kanabe asked her as she walked up to him.
"Yes." Lucy responded simply.
"So, what happens now? What do you intend to do?" The general asked her hesitantly. He knew he was at a disadvantage. Even if they had more VACs available, Kanabe knew they would be no use against the queen.
"All I want is peace and safety for my kind." The diclonius requested.
"Something like that… I can't do that." The older man replied. Lucy narrowed her eyes.
"What? After everything Lucy did, you're not going to at least hear her out?" Kouta interjected defiantly.
"Don't misunderstand. I can't make peace between us. I don't have that kind of power," Kanabe explained. "The best I can do is let them go free. Here and now. If they can escape somewhere safe, I'll trust in Lucy to keep her people in check."
"Maybe, maybe that will be enough. Humanity may never understand us. But maybe they can accept us." Lucy accepted.
"After today, I can't pretend to hold onto prejudices. I wouldn't be alive right now were it not for a diclonius," Kanabe admitted. "I may not have the power, but I will do my best to show the world that diclonius deserve to exist. Deserve to belong."
"Why?" Lola muttered. "Why do you pretend to care?"
"You really hate humans, don't you?" Kanabe turned his attention to the wounded diclonius.
"As much as you hate us." Lola spat.
Kouta tried to calm Lola down, but was stopped by the aged general. "You're right, I have hated diclonius. Hated you for killing us, for mutating our children into more of your kind."
Kanabe's voice grew more commanding, and for a moment those around thought the situation might escalate. "My wife died giving birth to a child that she so dearly wished to love and watch grow into their own. And before I could even carry on that wish of hers, our child was taken. Taken because she was born as a diclonius. And I hated your kind for that, too.
"But today has shown me something. Shown me that I'm tired of hating. I'm too old for it," His voice unexpectedly softened. "And I realize now, she wouldn't have wanted me to. She would have loved our child, regardless of what they were born as." Kanabe let out a sigh, the emotional weight of his words taking its toll.
"So, in order to create a world where my daughter could have been accepted, I'll work towards those ends. I don't care what you think of me, as long as I can do that." He finished. Lola looked down at the ground, unable to retort against the man's sincerity.
"Thank you," Lucy replied. "You're a good man, General Kanabe."
"Hmm, how am I supposed to accept praise from a diclonius?" Kanabe mumbled amusedly, before directing his attention towards Doctor Kurama. "Well, doctor, looks like we have our work cut out for us."
"We? You propose we work together?" Kurama questioned.
"Today seems to be the day of making allies out of enemies. What's one more?" The general replied.
"I can hardly say no to that sincerity," Kurama answered. "Okay, I look forward to working with you, General."
"Hey, aren't you forgetting someone?" Arikawa interjected.
"Oh, are you volunteering your help?" Kurama asked amusedly. Arikawa bit her lip before responding.
"I never felt right about developing the vaccine," the woman admitted. "I know it was necessary, after what Kakuzawa did. But I hated knowing I had condemned a species to extinction. Now is a chance to set things right."
"The way I see it, the more the merrier." Kanabe welcomed her help.
"What do you propose we do now, Lucy?" Lola asked of the older diclonius after recovering from Kanabe's words.
"You had a place where you hid away, right? We'll go there. If need be, we can find somewhere more remote." Lucy explained.
"Of course. We can lead the way." Lola agreed.
"Lucy, what do you plan to do with Nana?" Kurama asked, momentarily pausing his talks with Kanabe.
"I think it would be best if she stayed with you," Lucy decided. "More than anyone, she can show the world that diclonius can coexist."
Lucy sighed, steeling herself for the inevitable outcome of her decisions. "And she can keep Kouta and the others safe."
"Lucy, let me come with." Kouta interjected.
"Kouta… I can't ask something like that of you." Lucy responded with a heavy heart.
"You're not asking me, I'm offering." Kouta reasoned, grabbing her hand.
"Do you understand what you'd be doing? You'd be giving up on your life to come with us. Everyone else at the Inn." Lucy tried to argue.
"And if I stayed, I'd be giving up on you. I can't do that, Lucy. Not again." Kouta replied.
"Please, Kouta. Don't let me ruin your life." The girl responded, not daring to look him in the eyes.
"You couldn't. A life with you couldn't be anything but good." He tenderly lifted her jaw, raising her face to look at him directly. She immediately latched onto him, gripping Kouta in a warm embrace.
"Thank you, Kouta. Thank you." Lucy whispered into his neck.
"The Inn will be a lot quieter without you two," Kurama mused out loud, honestly a bit sad to see the pair off. "Good luck to you, all of you. Stay safe."
"Of course," Kouta replied, detaching himself from Lucy. "Tell the others I'll miss them. And that they've been the best family I could ever ask for."
"I will," Kurama promised. "You and Lucy take care."
Seeing Bando a few feet away, Kouta smiled. Mayu was right, the man really was more than he pretended to be. He approached the mercenary, wanting to thank him. "You were unexpectedly a huge help, Mr. Bando."
"Tsk, I don't need praise from some damned kid." Bando stuck his head up, not bothering to look at Kouta.
"Of course, of course." Kouta sweatdropped. "Look after Mayu and the others, if it isn't too much trouble."
"Like I take orders from a brat," Bando spat. "I don't need you to tell me to do that."
"As expected." Kouta mumbled with some amusement. As he turned to leave, Bando threw something at him. Kouta barely caught it.
"Take this kid. In case you all ever get in over your heads." The man was still refusing to look Kouta in the eyes.
Kouta looked at the object with some curiosity. It was an old flip phone.
"It's untraceable, but that phone has my number on it. If you ever need someone gone, just give me a call. I'll shoot 'em dead." Bando explained before walking away. He'd had enough dealing with people for today.
"Wait, I thought you said you didn't have a phone." Kouta remarked in confusion.
"I lied." Bando replied, not bothering to look back.
Kouta let out an amused laugh as he pocketed the phone, returning to Lucy's side.
"Are you ready?" Lucy asked him hesitantly.
"As ready as I'll ever be." Kouta replied, shaking away the nerves that accompanied such a life changing decision.
Lucy, Kouta, Lola, and the two diclonius helping Lola walk, returned to the rest of the diclonius to relay what had just happened. They were surprised to hear that the humans were going to let them leave, find a life that – while isolated – would let them live in peace. And though the other diclonius were warry of trusting the humans, they conceded to Lucy's authority. What surprised them more was that Lucy's human would be accompanying them.
Nana looked down in sorrow. She supposed she would have to say goodbye to her papa.
"Nana, you stay with Kurama. Keep working with him to make peace between us." Lucy instructed. Nana looked up in surprise.
"W-what? I'm not coming with?" Nana asked, eyes wide in surprise.
"No, you have the chance for a real life. So, I'm trusting in you to help make that possible for the rest of us." Lucy replied kindly.
"O-of course!" Nana pledged. "Leave it to me!"
Kouta nodded in agreement. "Nana, look after everyone. And make sure you and Mayu have lots of fun. Make a bunch of happy memories with everyone."
"Y-you got it Kouta," Nana replied through her tears. "You and Lucy take care. I'll miss you."
"Don't worry, Nana," Kouta ruffled her hair. "We'll definitely see each other again. You should be able to find us anyways, right?"
"Y-yeah, you're right." Nana nodded with some contentment at the thought. Hugging each of them tightly, she gave a wave as she trotted towards Kurama.
"I guess this is it, huh?" Kouta let out a breath.
"Yeah, I guess so." Lucy replied, taking his hand. "I'm going to carry you, don't be too startled."
"Oh I'll be fi—" Kouta let out a startled cry when he felt himself be lifted up by one of Lucy's vectors.
"Fine, huh?" Lucy snickered.
"It was just sudden, is all." Kouta defended.
Shaking her head amusedly, Lucy turned towards Lola. "Lead the way"
The group of diclonius took off into the forest, flying through the trees. Kouta, being carried by Lucy, looked around in awe.
"Wow, this is so cool." Kouta commented.
"I wouldn't be too overjoyed. You just decided to give up on your life as a human to live with me. Are you sure you won't regret it?" Lucy chided him gently. Truthfully, she was overjoyed that Kouta would be with her, though she knew that was a selfish feeling.
"I'm sure." Kouta affirmed. "Whatever happens, we'll face it together."
Zu abgeschloßen sein…
AN: Sunday still counts as the end of the week, right? Also, my German is a bit rusty so I hope the "to be concluded" translates correctly. Comments, questions, concerns? Leave a review and tell me what you think.