Okay, here is the next chapter. Once again, it's really long (the longest chapter of all), but hopefully you'll find it entertaining since it's full of actiony goodness! And I'll give you ice cream if you fall asleep from boredom....hell, I'll give everyone ice cream! And if you're lactose intolerant or don't like ice cream then...well...I'll bring you to the store and you can pick out whatever you want ^_^
Red Rose
Chapter 32
"Come on, Kanae," Masaki said in a calm voice. "What are you waiting for? You know you want to kill him..."
Kanae continued to stare at Kouichi, her heart pounding so hard in her chest that it felt like it would explode.
"I...I..." Kanae's amber eyes gazed into Kouichi's sapphire ones.
"Please don't do it," Kouichi said miserably. "Please, Kanae..."
The pink-haired Diclonius clenched her hands into fists, dropping her gaze to the floor as she debated it.
"Do the deed, Kanae." Masaki's lip curled into a smirk. "Or are you too weak to carry it out?"
"No! Leave him alone!" Kouji cried out.
Takuya glared at Masaki. "He has nothing to do with this! Just leave him alone already!"
"I'm sorry, but I did not ask for your input," Masaki replied dryly. "Let us see what Kanae chooses to do. It is, after all, in her hands."
"Just do it," Kouichi grumbled.
Kanae's eyes widened in shock and she immediately reverted her gaze back to him. "Wha...what did you just say?"
"Yeah, what the fuck did you just say?!" Kouji exclaimed.
"You heard me," Kouichi answered, though his attention was directed to Kanae. "Just fucking kill me already... You already betrayed me... Why not just finish what you started?"
Masaki chuckled. "You heard the kid. Finish him off. You can even do it quickly if you'd like."
Kanae whirled around, tears burning in her eyes. "No.... I-I can't do it....I won't...."
Kouichi and his friends all gasped in surprise while Masaki's expression remained indifferent. He merely raised an eyebrow.
"You're closer to him than I suspected," he said emotionlessly.
Tears finally began to course down the pink-haired Diclonius's face. "That's right. I'm not going to kill him and you can't make me. So don't even try!"
"Kanae...." Kouichi stared at the girl in awe, not sure if he was believing what he was seeing. "You...you're not going to kill me?"
Kanae shook her head vehemently. "No. Although I was only using you in the beginning, I started to develop feelings for you. I knew that it was wrong of me, but it was so important at the time to find out about Zoe that I just ignored those emotions. But now that we're here and it's all coming down to the wire...I realized that I can't hurt you. I care about you too much..."
"Damn....." Kouji's voice trailed off as the others remained speechless.
Masaki shrugged. "Very well, Kanae. You're just as expendable as the others."
With that, one of his vectors shot out before Kanae had a chance to protect herself. It sliced through her chest, and out her back, piercing through her pulsating heart.
"Kanae!" Kouichi screamed, rushing over to her.
Masaki yanked his vector back out, letting her collapse to the cold, metallic floor. He watched as Kouichi gathered the girl into his arms, holding her close.
"Pathetic," the male Diclonius muttered. "I knew that she was weak...."
"You bastard!" Kouichi shouted despairingly, then looked down at the pink-haired Diclonius. "K-Kanae?"
Kanae smiled up at him painfully, the spot of crimson on her shirt rapidly spreading. "Told you that I wouldn't do it...."
Tommy and Takuya exchanged shocked expressions, while Kouji and Nana simply gaped in surprise.
Kanae reached up to Kouichi's face, pulling his down to hers. She planted a soft kiss on his lips, which Kouichi immediately returned. The girl could feel hot tears sprinkle onto her face, then felt Kouichi's body shake as he attempted to hold back a sob. Seconds later, Kanae's hold on Kouichi loosened, causing the young man to pull away from the kiss. He cried out, seeing Kanae laying there in his arms, lifeless. Her amber eyes glazed over, vacantly staring at where Kouichi was crouching.
"Kanae?" He shook her, hoping to get a type of reaction. "Kanae!"
"I can't believe that just happened," Takuya murmured.
"Kanae!" Kouichi repeated.
Tommy remained silent as he watched Nana crawl close enough to get into range. She used her vectors to pull her artificial limbs over to her, putting them back into place.
"Seeing how Kanae was incapable of disposing any of you properly, it looks like I'll have to complete the task myself," Masaki said. "Now who should I begin with...?"
He was suddenly struck with an unseen force and slammed into a wall, momentarily stunning him. Nana, who had snuck up behind him for the attack, quickly rushed over to her friends. She easily sliced their chains with her vectors, jerking her head to the door.
"Guys, run!" She commanded them. "Go before it's too late! I'll help Zoe!"
However, before any of them could make a move, Masaki pummeled them each with one of his vectors, sending them sprawling to the floor.
"Foolish humans," he spat. "There's no way to escape me. Not even with Zoe's aid. And I'm afraid that she's still unable to help you."
Zoe had not moved a centimeter from her spot, facedown on the cold floor, barely indicating that she was alive by the rising and falling of her back as she breathed.
"Speaking of which, I better go check on her." Masaki walked over to the unconscious blond, his eyes filled with malice.
"Leave her alone!" Takuya leapt to punch the Diclonius, only to be tossed aside effortlessly.
"Don't worry, I'll get to you soon enough," Masaki told him apathetically. "But first, I want to check on Zoe."
He crouched down beside the blond, gently turning her over. Zoe's clothes were ripped and bloodied in places, and her skin was covered in an array of cuts and forming bruises. Masaki softly stroked her cheek with his index finger, running it over her smooth, creamy skin. After a moment he rose to his feet once again and turned around. Everyone was too paralyzed to move, knowing that no matter how fast they moved, Masaki would be much quicker. Kouichi, however, had not moved from his place on the floor. He continued to hold Kanae close, sobbing over her bloodied corpse.
"Now to destroy you all," Masaki said ominously, making his way to the group. "And Nana, I wouldn't recommend trying to fend me off. It'll only make your death more painful."
Tommy glared at him, protectively shoving Nana behind himself. Kouji pried Kouichi away from Kanae's body, dragging him away from the approaching Diclonius. Takuya glowered at Masaki, painfully holding his broken arm with his other hand.
"I think I'll kill you first, Takuya," Masaki told him nonchalantly. "But maybe if you beg enough, I won't span it out for too long..."
Just as he was about to strike at the brunette, he was suddenly lifted into the air and thrown into the high ceiling. He crashed into it, then fell back to the floor, only to break his fall by his vectors at the last second. Upon his landing, he whirled around to see Zoe standing behind him.
"Ah, so you're finally awake," he speculated.
Takuya stared at Zoe, relieved but anxious at the same time. The Diclonius's blond hair had crimson streaks throughout it and it hung in her face. A single emerald eye was visible through the stained strands, the orb filled with a cold malice.
"Zoe?" Takuya swallowed, memories flowing through his mind.
Zoe had had the same look in her eye only a few weeks back; just before she had ripped Nina Shirakawa in half. The blond Diclonius slowly walked closer to Masaki, the single green eye burning into him.
However, Masaki only smirked. "Ready for a round two? You don't look as though you'll quit without a fight."
Zoe did not respond vocally, but simply blinked. Masaki was then pummeled in the stomach and chest, momentarily stunning him. She struck him under the chin, knocking him off his feet and onto the floor.
Zoe glanced at Nana. "Go break the front exit open and leave. I'll handle him."
Takuya furiously shook his head. "No, we're not leaving without-"
"Go," she said in a low, monotone voice. "If I don't kill him now, he'll come after all of us again. I'm not running away this time."
Masaki chuckled, rising to a stand once again. "Smart logic, Zoe. Though I find it impossible for you to defeat me. You may be strong...but I'm stronger..."
"Nana, break the door open," Zoe snapped. "Now."
The purple-haired Diclonius nodded mutely, hurrying over to the door. One of the other doors that Masaki had dented beyond repair, was being pounded on from the other side. From the next room over, the guards that had been called down were attempting to break the door down, their mission to destroy both Masaki and Zoe. Now that Kakuzawa was dead, there was no reason to let Zoe live.
From the corner of the room, Miki moaned, slowly regaining her senses. While Nana used her vectors to begin the process of taking the door down, Kouji looked nervously at Takuya.
"What should we do about her?" He asked, motioning to Miki.
"Get her out of here," Takuya replied. "She was the one who helped me a few weeks ago. She told me that Zoe had been kidnapped by Yu Kakuzawa, remember?"
"Okay." Kouji and Tommy hurried over to Miki's side, pulling her up and supporting her.
Nana groaned to herself. "No matter how hard I hit this door, it just keeps bending. This might take me awhile...."
Miki hissed through her teeth painfully as the two helped her to the door, while Kouichi sadly lagged behind. He had debated on taking Kanae's body with him, but decided that it would've been pointless. She was gone now and there was nothing he could do to change it.
"So, are you ready, Zoe?" Masaki asked with an amused half-smile.
Zoe continued to glare at him. "The question is, are you?"
"No, leave her alone!" Takuya went out to punch Masaki, only to be tossed aside yet again.
"Takuya!" Zoe cried out as her boyfriend crashed and skidded to the floor.
"When are you going to learn?" Masaki sneered at the brunette. "There's no way you can even remotely hurt m-"
Before he could finish, Zoe stepped forward and shot her vectors out at him. To Masaki's amazement and shock, she had unleashed all four of them. He was stabbed through the shoulder by one of them and thrown into the wall by the other three punching him.
"Come on!" Nana's eyes teared in frustration as she continued to pummel the metal doors.
No matter which tactic she used, the doors only groaned and bent in protest with her hits. The hinges twisted when she tried to pry it from the walls.
"Calm down," Tommy said softly. "You can do it. Just concentrate."
Nana sighed, then nodded. "Okay..."
Zoe walked over to Takuya and grabbed hold of his shirt, pulling him up. She looked up into his face, her expression firm.
"As soon as Nana gets the door open, get out and run. And whatever you do, don't come back for me," she said.
With that, she planted a quick kiss on his lips, then pushed him over to where the others were. The guards were now shooting through the door that was blocking their access into the room, while Masaki was already up and making his way over to Zoe.
"Impressive," he mumbled. "I guess all of that pent-up rage finally helped you release your other two vectors. But you're forgetting one thing; you have four, but I have ten. And I don't intend to lose to you."
Takuya watched helplessly off to the side, mentally fighting with himself. As much as he wanted to step in, he knew that he would only get in the way. If he went out to help, Masaki would surely attack him. Zoe would then probably push him out of the way, leaving an opening for Masaki to defeat her. No matter which way he planned it in his mind, Takuya knew that he would only b Zoe's downfall if he interjected.
"Relax," Kouji said, attempting to cheer his friend up slightly. "Zoe's strong. She'll be able to hold her own, right?"
"I don't know," Takuya replied through clenched teeth. "I honestly don't know how this will end...."
The guards finally fired enough bullets through the door to break it down, running into the room with their guns ready. At the same moment, Nana had succeeded in ripping off the front exit to the facility, motioning for the others to follow. While Kouji and Tommy assisted Miki out of the building, Kouichi pulled a reluctant Takuya along with him. The brunette cast one last wistful look at the girl he loved before being dragged out of the facility completely.
"Looks like we've got company," Masaki noted, raising an eyebrow at the guards.
"Seems that we do," Zoe replied monotonely.
One of the guards stepped forward, his gun aimed at Masaki. "Don't move! We'll shoot the two of you dead if you so much as flinch!"
"But I thought we were going to kill them anyway," a young, clueless guard wondered aloud.
"Shut up!" The first one snapped.
"You're wasting my time," Masaki scoffed, immediately decapitating the man.
The other guards angrily fired at the two Dicloniuses, their eyes filled with fury. Masaki and Zoe both put their vectors up to shield themselves of the silver lugs, letting the bullets fall and clink to the ground. Masaki used four of his vectors to protect himself while he used his other six to slice several of the guards into pieces. Zoe used two of hers to attack the guards as well, not in the mood for their stunt. A few stray propane tanks were shot, causing them to explode and spray their surroundings with the flammable liquid.
"I'm in no mood for this," Zoe growled, tearing one of the men in half viciously.
Masaki smirked, ripping one of the guards' heart out. "You and I could make an unbeatable team. Are you sure that you won't just join me willingly?"
"I won't join you willingly or unwillingly. You'll have to kill me," she shot back, attempting to slice his head off.
Masaki blocked the attack, countering with his own. Zoe ducked away from the blow, cutting the legs off of one of the guards as he attempted to shoot her. A stray bullet hit a nearby pipe, causing an explosion in the corner of the room. Everyone stopped momentarily, watching as the flame connected with the leaked propane. The flame grew immensely, running its way through the stream of the flammable liquid. It quickly spread to the middle of the room, making its way to the front door.
"Now look what you've done," Masaki said to the guards with a sigh. "What on earth am I going to do with you guys?"
While many of the panicked guards attempted to run to the exit, Masaki immediately sliced them in half with his vectors. Within seconds, all of the guards were dead. There had been nearly one hundred of them altogether, but they had all been annihilated with ease. The room was now filled with blood, bones, organs, and severed bodies.
Masaki's slightly amused face suddenly turned dark. "This is your last chance. Either admit defeat now or I will resort to other means to bring you down. I have no problem with ripping each of your limbs off. Nana survived that, and you can too. So, think hard, Zoe. Make your choice."
Zoe remained silent, her emerald eyes burning into his navy ones. She then scanned the room, which was quickly filling with the fire.
"We'll both die here if we don't get out soon enough," she observed. "Even with our abilities, we will have no chance if this building collapses with us inside of it."
"Precisely. We can only fend off the flames for so long," the male Diclonius added. "So you better make your choice soon, before it's too late."
The blond reverted her gaze back to him, looking at him through her crimson-streaked hair. "If I costs me my life to take you down, so be it."
With that, she sent her vectors flying at him at full speed. Masaki stopped the four ghostly arms with four of his own, sending his extra six at her in retaliation. Zoe jumped away from the attack, quickly striking him under the chin with one of hers. Masaki hissed as blood dribbled from his cut chin, dripping down his face and down the front of his black sweatshirt.
"You just made your death wish," he growled, sending all ten vectors slamming into her.
Zoe grimaced, feeling the sharp pain in her back as she was rammed into the wall. The room was now half-filled with smoke and flames, the beams hanging from the ceiling beginning to fall around them. One of them sank deep down into her stomach, a squirt of blood spraying out of the large hole. However, she quickly pried the vector out with one of her own, sending her other three at him. Masaki managed to stop two of them, but miscalculated the third one and missed it. He groaned as it sank through his already wounded shoulder, wetting his clothes with another squirt of warm blood.
"You're fast, Zoe. But not fast enough!" He lunged at her and whipped his ten vectors at her limbs, just barely missing her arms and legs as she jumped away.
Masaki glared at her, immediately attacking her second time. Zoe hissed in pain as one cut deeply into her left leg, about three inches above the knee. Blood ran down her leg and she limped slightly as she walked backwards away from him. She quickly slammed one of her vectors into a beam that had been plummeting to the floor just above her, hitting Masaki with the heavy metal object.
Masaki grunted as it hit him in the stomach, as he had not expected the hit. He could feel as the heat drew closer to them, now nearly blinding them with the smoke. Zoe coughed, her eyes tearing as the billowing smoke burned them.
"What's the matter, Zoe? The fire getting to you?" Masaki sneered, sending all of his vectors into her.
Zoe screamed, feeling them sink deep through her flesh. She had one in each shoulder, one in each forearm, two in her chest, two in her stomach, and one in each leg. The female Diclonius was pinned to the wall, feebly attempting to pry four of his vectors out with her own. However, each time she tried, he sank them into her even deeper. Blood spurted out of her limbs and body, spraying the wall and mixing in with the dangerously approaching flames.
"You could've had it all, you know." Masaki's face was only inches away from hers, though she could not see it clearly through the thick smoke. "But you decided that you'd rather die... Foolish choice, if you ask me."
"I didn't ask for your opinion," she hissed, before completely surpising him.
Although her legs had been virtually impaled by his vectors, Zoe had managed to find the strength to rip the one out of her right leg using one of her own vectors. She then used the other three vectors to help her propel her leg forward, slamming her knee directly into Masaki's groin.
Masaki screamed, the force of the blow twenty times that of a normal kick. He lost concentration and withdrew his vectors from Zoe's body, falling to his knees to the floor. Zoe used this opportunity to pummel the young man with her four ghostly arms, sending him flying across the room. The blond walked towards him, now almost completely blinded by the smoke. She coughed and hacked, feeling it fill and burn her lungs. She continued on though, making her way to him through the dark gray billowing. As she walked towards him, she accidentally kicked a hard, metallic object. Reaching down to pick it up, she discovered it to be the metal helmet that Kakuzawa had intended to use on her.
"You...can't...beat me," Masaki sneered, wiping ash off of his face as he slowly rose. "You could never beat me, and you know it."
Zoe did not respond, but used her vectors to shove him backwards. Masaki cursed, attempting to steady himself to keep from falling. At the same time, another beam from overhead fell from the ceiling. Just as Masaki regained his balance, Zoe lunged at him. She attempted to ram the helmet over his head, only for it to be knocked out of her hands by one of Masaki's vectors.
"Shit," she cursed, hearing the heavy object bang to the floor and roll out of her sight through the thick curtain of smoke.
The falling beam hurtled down towards the two Dicloniuses, only a few feet away from them. Zoe and Masaki barely jumped out of the way at the last moment, the beam missing them by mere centimeters. However, the heavy object landed directly on a nearby propane tank, which had already been in the process of being set ablaze. The fallen beam caused it to be crushed and spray its flammable liquid to burst into flame, a large explosion sending Masaki and Zoe flying backwards. Each of them slammed into the wall with a heavy thud, their clothes slightly charred.
Masaki was the first to rise back up, a low chuckle emerging from him. "You're putting up quite a fight, Zoe. Trying to use that helmet was a pretty intelligent idea. Too bad you weren't fast enough."
He walked over to where the blond was sprawled on her back, crouching by her side. Her body was now gushing blood from the injuries she had received earlier on in the fight, and more wounds were forming on her hot skin.
"Looks like we can die here together." He brushed the hair out of Zoe's face, marveling down at her. "But not before I kill you myself."
He released his ten vectors, all of them hovering menacingly above his head. Just as he went to ram them down in the girl, Zoe sent out hers in retaliation. She quickly stopped three of his by entangling them in hers, still letting seven of them free. However, just as Masaki went to pierce his down into her body, Zoe gave him one last frantic swipe at the top of his head, then promptly heard a gasp.
The female Diclonius cried out, looking down to see one buried in her stomach, just below her ribcage. The six other vectors Masaki had intended to impale her with had missed their target, burying themselves through the thick metallic floor. Zoe looked up to see Masaki staring down at her, his mouth open in surprise. She then saw his horns slide off his head and clatter to the floor in two small pools of blood. The male Diclonius's vectors vanished, including the one embedded into Zoe. His head continued to bleed and the stunning attack caused him to topple forward.
He landed on top of Zoe, pinning her beneath him. The blond let out a muffled groan, the flames growing closer with each passing second. She then attempted to push Masaki off of her, glancing into his vacant-looking eyes. After several seconds of struggling, she finally managed to free herself from under him, weakly pulling herself into a standing position. She began to walk away from him, when she heard the sound of his voice again.
"I don't believe it," he whispered, almost inaudible.
The fire was now directly next to where Masaki was laying. Zoe could feel the flames heating her skin and hair, now completely blinded by the thick curtain of smoke. Masaki chuckled one last time, as if the fire and heat was not affecting him.
"Zoe, do you remember what I told you from our first encounter?" Masaki asked "About the roses?"
"Y-yes..." Zoe coughed again, tears running down her face.
"One might assume that you would represent the red rose, as you have sacrificed yourself to save your friends," he continued. "However, since you are the cause of so much bloodshed, you are not worthy of being tied to the red rose. You are not innocent, and you have been the reason why so many innocent people have lost their lives. You are more accurately bound to the black rose, as you represent evil, no matter how hard you try to deny it. You will always be a monster, just like me. I am bound to the black rose, and I will die like the black rose since I have virtually murdered you...."
The blond fell to her knees, her head painfully spinning. "Yes...I suppose...."
"We will both perish in agonizing death." Masaki paused to cough, the smoke in his system burning his throat. "Then again...maybe you have more potential than I think....Maybe...you are the red rose...."
The fire was now beginning to eat away at his clothing, starting with his jeans. Zoe attempted to crawl towards him, blindly trying to make her way over to him. I have to kill him once and for all, she thought to herself. If I don't, then I'll regret it. She could vaguely hear Masaki whisper one last sentence as she weakly moved her blood-soaked body.
"Maybe....you'll rise once again with a second chance..."
At the same moment, another nearby propane tank exploded, causing one last burst of flame right next to the pair of Dicloniuses. The intensity caused Zoe to be propelled far away from Masaki, who had now disappeared from behind the billowing flames. Zoe landed on her back, only a feet feet away from the front exit of the building. She attempted to roll over onto her stomach and crawl out, only to collapse back down. She felt extremely light-headed from her injuries, as well as smoke that had entered her system. She struggled to keep her burning, teary eyes open, yet could not find the strength.
Seconds later, the building that had once been Director Kakuzawa's cherished research facility, succumbed to the flames. Melted steel, shattered glass, and chunks of concrete fell from the building, plummeting down to the first floor. There was one last billow of fire, before the entire facility crumbled and collapsed completely.
O.O What's gonna happen?! Read and find out! And review....please....