For the Humanity Within
Disclaimer: Megaman is owned by Capcom but the names used here are meant for fictional purposes. If real names appear here, this is out of coincidence.
Note: I would like to apologize for my delays, I was working the plot out and I have to revamp this chapter to fit the plotlines. Anyways, here's the next chapter
I give you chapter 11.
XI. The Writing Writer
The quiet morn gave its frigid start. The wind gave its welcome as seasons near its change in the moment. The silence upon the highway was discarded by the rushing velocity that takes its time to arrive. The speeding motorbike gave its revved sound, this streak of black rushed through the road. The wind caressed the golden lock of hair that trailed from the lower edge of the helmet. As the sun made its ascent, he continued riding as the anguish marked its scar upon his heart.
(Note: Flashback)
"Are you for real?" Kojiro's voice echoed, raised in thinking his brother would jest.
Klaha kept silent, feeling the glare of his brother being sharp. Within his heart, he felt the pain much more than anyone could imagine. Sorrow enveloped both brothers as they stood. Judging the eyes that gaze at Kojiro, he knew that it meant nothing else.
It can't be. Kojiro seemed to doubt the truth. But as he closed his eyes, he sighed. "What happened? Tell me, brother."
Knowing the tone that left his lips, Klaha gave a calm answer. Finding where to start, Klaha spoke.
"I'll tell you what I know. Father was killed during his trip. An ambush took place and Dad was caught up in the skirmish. I checked the site and asked around, finding that the Illuminati did this."
"What made you sure about this brother?" Kojiro asked as he calmly listened.
"There are a lot of factors that lead to this event. Dad had something that they wanted. Another thing is that the only ones that would send a unit that deploys itself in an ambush through phase transport would lead to them."
Kojiro froze as this crossed his thoughts. The wind passed with its frigid touch, blending with the cold pang in his heart. Sorrow mingled with anger, he could picture the suffering that has passed. Feeling this intense emotion, he clenched his fist to relieve the tension. Klaha could only watch his brother in his shaken state, his hand shivered within the glove that covered it. He heard no words but silence, his head bowed down. Yet a slight snap of a twig caught the attention of both men. They turned on the direction where it came from.
"Who's there?" Klaha called out boldly.
The bushes rustled and the grass echoed its crushed noise. From the shadows came in a slow appearance as a young girl revealed herself. The azure eyes gazed at Kojiro, her golden hair glimmered within the twilight. She recognized the glares that she has received during that moment, she felt uneasy as she stood before them.
"I'm sorry. I overheard your conversation." she apologized.
"No worries there, Ciel." Klaha answered, "Since you heard it, I would like you to do me a favor."
(End Flashback)
The wind passed on as he continued on the highway, rushing through the uphill. Upon dwelling on the past event, he smirked at the thoughts between while riding his way.
"What are you going to show me brother?" he asked quietly as he was getting close to the mountain trail.
Kojiro continued cruising through, the sun already making its first ascent from the east. The mind remained clouded with question as he continued, trying to leave the burden behind him.
(Note: Flashback)
"Kojiro, I'll be heading back to Mana. I'll see you tomorrow." Klaha stated his words as he turned his back, leaving him and Ciel behind. Even before his form was obscured by the woods as he went further, he gave a hint. "I'll meet you at the place where we last saw a memory that we treasured together."
No response came to air. Kojiro kept quiet as he stood, his head facing the waters of the lake. Watching the gleaming lights upon the twilight sky as it flashed and flickered through the water, he could say nothing. As Klaha left without any other comment, Ciel watched as she tried to figure out what he said. She turned to Kojiro, noticing the still and quiet demeanor that he displayed. She approached him and tapped his shoulder quietly. He kept his form still and instead slightly bowed his head.
"Kojiro…"
"Did you hear anything else?" Kojiro asked with his calm yet frank question.
"Nothing much in particular," Ciel answered, shaking her head. Feeling sympathy, she bowed her head. "I don't know what really is going on but I can tell you're going through a lot."
She paused on that moment. Kojiro clenched his hand and felt it shaking. It caught his attention yet he kept gazing at the waters. Ciel continued.
"But even if this happens, I know you'll be alright. You can get through this. I'll be right there to help you. Everyone will be there too."
Kojiro felt his lips quiver as he hardened his grip upon his fist. Closing his eyes, he fell down on his knees. Teardrops made their fall upon the ground. He was weeping, and this caught Ciel to move closer. Rushing to his side, she knelt beside him and saw tears trickling down his cheek. His hair obscured the sight of his face, covering the mourning expression. On that moment, Ciel felt sympathy follow its course.
If only I understood you Kojiro. Ciel thought. Without any words given, she held his head with her gentle hands as she brought him to rest upon her shoulder. Feeling the tears soak in its warmth, she held him in a wish to ease his pain.
(End Flashback)
The motorbike halted its journey, kicking a cloud of dust along the ground. Turning off the engine, Kojiro removed his helmet and laid it on the handle of the vehicle. He turned and noticed the bike that belonged to his brother, parked beside a nearby tree. And a few meters away from it stood a mansion. Sauntering towards the wooden steps, he neared the door.
"So this is it…" Kojiro sighed, his hand made its rest upon the intricate knob. "…the place where everything was treasured."
He slowly twisted the knob, the mechanism clicked out as the door creaked open. Kojiro was welcomed by the sight of memories. The wooden floor and its panels, the elaborate designs upon the walls with its beige shadings with the portraits and artworks hanging upon its surface along with its decorated lights, much have made him recall memories. Taking a step as he entered, he felt a familiar air caress his skin as nostalgia took its toll. Gazing at the living room where the sofa and the table stood, old memories danced upon his head as he smiled inwardly upon seeing it.
"I remember this place." Kojiro whispered to himself, picturing his brother and his parents sitting together. "This is where I received a gift from dad."
"And I'm sure you do remember those times where all of us would go to the mountain trail and have a jog." a familiar voice caught its response.
Kojiro recognized it easily and smiled without even turning to where it came from. He snickered as he heard footsteps echo within the room. "So you're here brother."
Klaha winced at his brother as he revealed himself from the shadows. He ambled his way to his brother. He removed the glove that covered his hand and laid his palm upon the wooden furnishings. Laying his hand on the wooden part of the table, he smiled as he felt the jagged surface where the dust has covered. Tapping away the dust, he smirked at the inscription that he remembered well.
"Cendrillon" The inscription read.
"It's just as I remembered it." Klaha mused with the idea. "This is it, Kojiro."
Kojiro silently looked at his brother, wondering what he meant by the words that he said. Turning to the inscription on the table, he noticed a strange occurrence. Aghast, he watched the glowing inscription as the bookshelf began to move back and slide open, revealing a passage. He turned to his brother, noticing a grin worn upon his lips. Klaha began to walk towards the passage yet halted as he looked at Kojiro and beckoned him.
"Kojiro, let's go." Klaha called, "It's this way."
Kojiro followed his brother as they entered the passage. They ambled through the spiral steps as it winded to a descent. The dim lighting of the passage seemed to blind but the two continued without halting. The light above them slowly darkens, noting that they're going deeper.
"How long does this go?" Kojiro scowled as he sauntered. "This keeps going like forever."
"Can't be sure but we're close." Klaha replied coolly as they went on. Eventually, the end of the descent was at their foothold. Noticing the light upon the door, he smirked. "We're here."
Klaha approached the door. Noticing the panel upon his right, he pressed a few keys and the door slid open. He then turned to Kojiro and snickered with a comment.
"From beyond this point, Kojiro, you'll see what Dad left us with." Klaha said to him then entered the room soon after.
Kojiro followed his brother in the room. His eyes wandered as what welcomed his sight. The room was filled with computer equipment, monitor displays, control panels. Along in that room was a table where papers lay upon its surface. It clearly defined the workplace.
"Brother, what's this place, a laboratory of some kind?" Kojiro asked.
"Yeah, this is where Dad does his work at times." Klaha replied nonchalantly. He approached the computer terminal and pushed a button. A hatched opened from the terminal and revealed a spherical lamp. With it, light made its projection and revealed an image. A hologram of a man dressed in a lab coat appeared before them. And what surprised the two was the face that they can recognize, noting the brushed up hair, the glasses that he wore and the lines on his face.
"Dad…?" Kojiro sighed as he saw an image of his father. Unable to fathom what miracle took place, he just kept silent.
"My sons, what you see right now is just a hologram that's run by my A.I. If ever you see this, it may mean that I'm no longer with you. But this is my gift to you in case I won't return."
Kojiro was mortified. His hung his head and felt his fist run tension. He grimaced as he bit his lower lip.
"Why do you have to say this calmly as if nothing happened?" Kojiro scowled. Lifting his head, tension lined his lips as he spoke. "Why do you have to leave us behind? What's the reason? Tell me!"
"The dead give no answers. But I'll answer anyway. I don't want you to fall into danger. This thing is as dangerous as it is. Now that it has come to this, it's time that I tell you everything."
Klaha could only watch his brother frown and grimace. But this was short-lived as it faded into a calm face. Klaha hid his own emotion as he felt a pang of pain within. The computer display ran static then an image settled in. A rush of images was revealed as it makes its point clear to Kojiro.
These images showed what has taken place. A still image of two men appeared on the screen. Both were in their lab uniforms, one of them being their father, the other was an older man in his 60's, sporting a beard and silver white hair. Behind them in the center were two cylinders of glass.
"I work with my maestro. The old man in the picture is my friend and mentor, Dr. Thomas Xavier Light. He's an expert in nanotechnology and robotics. With him and me, a genetics engineer, we initiated a project that we have dreamt of."
"That's Project Philemon, right?" Klaha inquired this as it had been familiar to him.
"Yes."
"What's that anyway?" Kojiro asked curiously.
"This project was our joint work. Thomas and I worked on this to make advances in making humans come into evolution. His knowledge in nanotechnology and robotics were blended together with genome technology. This project was backed by the military and the Zodiac Collective. And from that Collective were two people who aided us in our work. It was during those times that we almost reached the zenith."
An image flashed in a different window, overlapping the previous image. This revealed two more people in the same uniform. A man with long platinum blond hair tied in a ponytail stood with his hands laid in his pockets. His age was estimated to be in his 20's. The other was a young woman in the same age; her long golden shaded hair in its straight fineness flowed freely while a small pair of spectacles rested upon her face. One of them was recognizable to Kojiro but the other didn't show any hint. Yet it bore a striking resemblance to someone that he knew.
"Who're they?" Kojiro asked as he saw the image.
"The young man is Criel Delacroix; he's an apprentice of Thomas. He was well-versed in making the engineering of the genomes. The young lady here is Beatrice Revant, my assistant and apprentice. This young one happens to know more of an expert in programming AI and making script programs needed for the project. Both of them were a great help in our work.
"We were able to complete it thankfully. The first batch of the project, they're in this form."
An image popped up into the screen, overlapping the previous images on the screen. It was an image of a young boy inside a cylinder of glass and steel. The hair of black seemed to cover a part of his face, his body clad in a cobalt shaded fluid suit. The face bore resemblance to another person, bearing a strange familiarity to both Klaha and Kojiro.
"He looks like Kamui for some reason." Kojiro commented.
"And a hint of Takenori's looks there." Klaha added.
"Thomas used this to make it resemble his deceased son. He named this one 'Alecsi'. He is a success, being able to be a replica of a human being. They are capable of emotion and they possess personality. This one however, was not that close to being similar to a human. They can mature but they can't age. They're also unable to procreate. Thus, they're called Altered Humanity."
Kojiro seemed to find this information profound. Yet he hasn't found the reason why this has taken place. He wished to raise his voice to ask a question or to say a word but he felt tongue-tied. He patiently stood there and waited for the narration to continue.
"Troubles came to being as this creation happened. Your mother met an accident on that time. This gave me grief that it hindered me. I cared about your mother. As we were heading for the second phase, creating the other pieces, a virus infected the system. It affected the project that it caused anomalies in our work. At that same moment, a man came to me and introduced himself to be one of the Illuminati. He offered support in exchange of utilizing this project. Thomas didn't agree, being the head of the project. With that, I chose to refuse. Then, the financial support of the military was withdrawn. It impaired our work much more, but we continued with the Zodiac Collective's support. As we were able to complete the two pieces, named X and Zero, an accident took place. This claimed the lives of the personnel and civilians. My son Shuen was said to have died in that incident and it almost took your life Kojiro."
What? Kojiro felt a shock upon hearing those words. Klaha, on the other hand, knew the whole truth as he hid it from all of them. Fully aware as he knew more than they did, he kept it to himself. "Could you tell me what happened?"
"Model Zero was intact yet during that incident, you were in that explosion that it almost killed you. As I have recalled, something happened when I encountered a Renegade. But from what I can remember, model Zero merged with your body, now it's in you." Klaha expounded his opinion as he recalled the incident vividly. "I guess you can't recall that incident. It was three years ago when the accident took place. What Dad is trying to say is that he doesn't want you to die."
"Years later, I regret my actions that I isolated myself. I made this house and hid every trace of my work here. I shall leave you some things that will aid you. Use this facility as much as you would wish. It's my gift to you."
Moments later…
Klaha sat quietly on the sofa where the fireplace stood. The cold evening brought its chilling air to motion. Watching the flickering flames upon the fireplace, he dwelt upon thoughts regarding the earlier incident. Placing his hand upon his face, he remembered Kojiro's look. His face upon hearing the truth that bore an awed look. Yet there are things that remained in him as he closed his eyes and leaned upon his seat.
I guess some things are left to be hidden. Klaha thought to himself as he sighed and recalled an earlier conversation.
(Note: Flashback)
"You still look bothered, is there something wrong?" Mana's voice crossed his ears in a gentle marking of concern. Her hands lay upon Klaha's chest, resting upon the bare skin and cloaked by the dark night.
Klaha gazed at Mana as she leaned her head upon his shoulder, noticing the nearness of her face. He clasped her hand and smiled at her gently, the sheets covered their forms within the evening. "It's something that I have to do tomorrow. I feel…jaded upon the matter."
Mana crept closer to him as she lay upon his chest, gazing at him face to face. "If you have to do something, do what you thing is needed. You may tell Kojiro everything but it's your judgment. But, be honest about things ok?"
Klaha placed his hand upon her face, gently running its touch to her hair. "I know. You told me that for how many times now. But I'm worried about something."
"I know, I am also worried but…save it for tomorrow." Mana closed her eyes upon saying those words, placing her lips to close upon his. Running in its passion fueling the flames, her palm encased in his palm, she gave her affection as the moon gave its watching light from the clearing of the clouds.
(End Flashback)
Klaha winced as the thoughts regarding Mana came into his mind. He kept his palm upon his face as it engulfed half of it. Being weary, he can't help but remember.
"I wonder how she is doing. I could sure use her help right now." Klaha whispered as he started to dose away.
Kojiro lay awake on his bed. So many things had taken place that he had felt the weight of such matters. Silently, he felt a cold feeling inside him. A rush of thoughts came to cloud his mind, reminding him of what has taken place.
I can't believe this. Kojiro thought. This is getting me on my nerves. I lost my mother, father and brother. I get chased and ambushed by those weird beings, and now this? When will this madness stop? I hate it.
He clenched his fist as images of the Necro Legion came to mind. Gritting his teeth together, he quietly recalled the tragedies that passed him by after all these years.
"I can't let anything go to ruin. I can't let this happen." Kojiro whispered.
Ciel's image came to mind out of nowhere. He remembered her smile. He vividly remembered her gentle voice and how it soothed him. He then remembered the time she shed her tears. Kojiro closed his eyes and went to sleep.
I have to do something. Protect everything.
The night passed on quietly. As they rested, the moon only kept vigil. Morning came as it continued, a new day starting anew.
Kamui sauntered under the dark sky, anticipating the rising sun. Crossing through the woods blind in the dark, he nimbly continued without being hindered by the trees. He gained momentum and his pace increased, traversing through the woods with much speed. Quickly he jumped from the ground, hurling himself into the air and landed upon the high branches of the trees. He then continued as he hopped at each branch and crossing each tree. Light was about to reveal itself, the sun's rays showing its curtain of gold. And the woods was about to reach the end, the mountain being close to sight. He was closing in towards the end. At the right moment, he launched himself from the tree and was able to land upon the trail on the mountainside.
"Was I quick enough?" he asked without looking as he stood erect. He felt someone else's presence cast its familiar notion.
"You improved for just a few days. We'll continue this routine for the following days. Is that clear Kamui?" the voice gave its instruction and comment.
"Understood brother," Kamui replied as he looked at Takenori.
Takenori gazed at the boulder blocking their path. A thought came to being as he remembered the training exercise that he taught to Kamui. He smirked as he turned to his brother.
"So, you think you could pull off the technique that I taught you?" Takenori asked casually.
Kamui said no word as he knew what his brother meant. He stretched his hand and quickly summoned the array upon his hand. The ring materialized and circled. Soon after, the protruding array in its hexagonal motion revealed its form. Placing his free hand upon the array, the formation changed as the array duplicated and changed its formation. Now, two hexagonal arrays are summoned. The protruding bars folded back as they decreased their length into a shorter scale. Kamui brought his hands apart from each other as the two arrays displayed its miniaturized form. Energy began to channel upon both hands, the aura surrounding him displayed its cyan light.
"Here goes." Kamui said as he stretched his right hand and glared at the boulder.
He unleashed a massive sphere from his hand. The white sphere of energy made its move as it rushed towards the boulder. The impact caused the cracks to be evident as half of it was blown away. Without any word said, Kamui raised his left hand and unleashed the second shot. The charged sphere collided with the remaining boulder and it finally destroyed not only the boulder but the tree behind it was blasted into splinters as the remaining log fell off the cliff.
Takenori clapped his hands as he watched his brother accomplish the technique. He approached him and placed his hand upon Kamui's head, ruffling his hair with his fingers.
"You quickly mastered the Double shot. Now you have two techniques, the Dragon Helix and the Gemini Spheres." Takenori said to him. "Now to teach you the next technique…"
Takenori sauntered through the trail as he entered the cave. Kamui watched his brother enter the cavern that waits him. After all this time, he was able to learn.
"I have to be strong to protect everyone." Kamui said to himself. "After all, the battles that will be coming forth are going to be harder that before."
Kamui followed his brother in the cave. Knowing that the next lesson to be taught is going to be an addition to his skill, he continued to train for the sake of lending his strength as a shield.
(End of Chapter 11)
Author's tête-à-tête
What hides in the mirage of deceit? Thinking that innocence could be clouded as a cloak of disguise, the eyes of truth will reveal everything.
Well, another chapter done. I might take long to make the next chapter. Heheh. Well, no new characters on this chapter but see it on the next. Well, looks like something surprised you guys….
Anyways, I appreciate your reviews, suggestions and comments. Flame me if you want. Please review. I'll see you again, and happy holidays.
Sydney Grise