Hey guys! I'm back with another chapter of Akatama! Enjoy!
A lot of messed up shit can happen on the other side of the line
Explosions were happening all over the Mothership as Shinpachi's cellphone rang "What's the matter? What happened?" The connection was constantly cut as the person on the other side of the line spoke "Sir… We're under-… They're destroying-… We're being overwhelmed!"
"How many attackers?" asked Shinpachi "One, sir! They're-….!" The connection died at the same time as the big explosion on the Mothership "Damn it!" cursed Shinpachi as he switched into a different channel "This is the Admiral. I'm on the contact ship with an Intelligence Soldier. Bring me a Stallion7-GTX and a unit to pick this man up"
"What are you gonna do?" asked Akira.
"Isn't it obvious? I'm going to take this guys down" Suddenly, a miniature bike/ship resembling a black horse descended and Shinpachi mounted it as he soared into the battlefield. Entering the damaged artificial atmosphere of the Mothership, a swarm of rockets flew in Shinpachi's direction. Dodging the rockets skillfully and getting them to hit each other, a single rocket emerged from the explosion made by the rockets' collision and went straight in Shinpachi's direction. Shinpachi jumped from the stallion before the rocket hit it and blew up. Thanks to the leaking artificial atmosphere, Shinpachi landed on the deck as if he weighted like a feather. The deck was flooded with space terrorists "Get him!" yelled one of them as they all either charged at him or were prepared to shoot him. "Hmph" Shinpachi unsheathed his wooden sword and charged forward with an unimpressed expression as he took down his enemies one by one. He decapitated one of the terrorists and used his headless corpse to shield himself from the bullets shot in his direction by some gunners positioned inside of the bridge before taking a plasma grenade from his own pocket and throwing it at the gunners, killing them all in one big explosion.
"Now, where is-" Shinpachi moved at insane speed as he dodged a large Plasma Halberd ".. Nice dodge there, pal. You're way better than those pathetic Goodie-two-shoes space sailors" said a large, purple humanoid with scars all over his body and face, wearing some sort of advanced military pants and a weird device attached to his chest. On the device was a tank containing a glowing, blue substance of some sort. Shinpachi turned to look at him furiously "Wah, scary~" said the man in a mocking tone "… Kirishima Takechi, Captain of the twelfth Unit of the Harusame. What are you, Pirate Scum, doing in a place like this? Did you and the Terrorists finally realize that by uniting forces, you'll actually have enough grey matter to make a brain?"
"You guys are seriously rude for a fleet of space sailors. It's none of your business with whom we cooperate, but since it doesn't matter either way, I'll tell you: The great Union of the Space Pirates, Harusame, has split in half. My loyalties no longer belong to the leader of the old Harusame, but to the future ruler of the entire universe"
"… And who the hell would that be?"
"Unfortunately, I don't feel like talking anymore" said Takechi as he charged in and kicked Shinpachi through multiple walls on the space ship. Shinpachi jolted back through the hole in the wall and stroke Takechi with his wooden sword. Takechi, however, didn't even flinch "You really underestimate me, don't you? Do you really think you can hurt me with that toothpick?" said Takechi as veins popped in his forehead from his obvious rage. He grabbed Shinpachi's wooden sword and slammed him against a titanium shaft door.
Looking at Shinpachi's getup, Takechi noticed a sword sheathed in Shinpachi's waist belt "Is that the fabled sword, 'Ujishige*'? I've heard some insane rumors about that weapon. How about you unsheathe that blade so I can test it myself? Maybe then you'll have a decent chance of figh-" stabbing Takechi right in the chest, Shinpachi pushed forward as he bulldozed through the walls of the ship before evading Takechi's Plasma Halberd. Takechi swung his Halberd furiously at Shinpachi, who avoided it, exposing a main powerline. Shinpachi grabbed the powerlina and attached it into Takechi's stomach. The potent electric shock sent Takechi flying into the space port of the Mothership and nearly falling off the edge, hanging from it and swing-jumping back in.
"Kirishima Takechi, you're hereby arrested under multiple crimes against the Galactic Union. Surrender peacefully, or I'll resort to lethal means.." declared Shinpachi as he entered the hangar himself. This enraged Takechi even further "You arrogant piece of trash! You think you can take me just because you're one of the Yorozuya three!? Let me show you what I'm truly capable of…" He said as he pressed a button on the device on his chest. The glowing blue liquid began to flow across his entire body as it filled his veins to the point of nearly ripping them apart. Takechi's muscles inflated and he grew to enormous sizes. The blue liquid got all the way to the veins in his eyes, which now looked like a pair of blue flashlights. Shinpachi took a step back in surprise.
"Scared? You should be. The liquid filling me right now is purified, liquid Altana" said Takechi with a voice fitting his monstrous form "What!?" said a shocked Shinpachi, whose surprised voice turned serious "Injecting foreign Altana into your body should be lethal… How is this even possible?"
"Because, like I mentioned before, this is purified Altana. While it's still lethal, it'll take a little longer for it to kill me, but at the very least it'll give me enough power to take YOU out first!"
Shinpachi took a step back, analyzing his surroundings "Trying to find an escape route? I guess that the stories about the 'Konjihoshi Massacre' were right; you're just a pathetic coward who can only save himself!" Shinpachi's cybernetic right eye twitched and began to glow red "…. I was planning on arresting you… But then again, why should I put so much effort with trash like you. I'd rather get rid of you" said Shinpachi with a cold tone as he sheathed his wooden sword and reached for his Katana. He grabbed the scabbard and unsheathed his sword, Ujishige. At this point, blood mixed with liquid Altana began to spray from Takechi's arms as he furiously tightened the grip around his Plasma Halberd "…I'LL KILL YOU!" he yelled as both he and Shinpachi prepared to attack each other. Shinpachi's sword began to glow red as electronic lines appeared all over the blade. The ground sunk under Shinpachi and Takechi's feet as they both charged in with lightning speed at each other, appearing in opposite sides of the hangar in flash speed, facing away each other.
"… So the rumors were true… Hehe… Just how much is left of you, I wonder" said Takechi "You can probably see for yourself- I'm only half the pair of glasses I used to be" said Shinpachi as he sheathed his sword. Almost instantly, a large, blood-spewing cut appeared across Takechi's chest. Takechi's upper half fell to the floor and his lower half kneeled before falling as well. At the same time, a huge, X-shaped cut appeared across the Mothership. Akira, who was being escorted by members of the Seiheitai**, watched in shock with them as the huge Mothership was split in four ways. Explosions were all over the place and Shinpachi got into a ship inside the hangar, looking back at Takechi's split corpse in thought before he was shaken by the falling debris and started the ship's engines, getting away from the exploding Mothership.
After heading back to the Headquarters of the Galactic Union, Shinpachi was speaking to a soldier in a hallway "... Okay, thanks. Dismissed" said Shinpachi to the soldier as he finished informing him and dismissed him. Suddenly, he ran into an elderly man wearing an outfit similar to his, but with more detail and a lot of medals on his chest "Grand Admiral, sir!" saluted Shinpachi "At ease, Admiral. What's the situation with the delivery convoy and the attack on it?"
"Yes, sir! I managed to take down most of the Terrorists in the group attacking the convoy, including their leader, which turned out to be a former Unit Captain in the Harusame"
"-Not to mention that you also destroyed the main ship in the convoy" the Grand Admiral raised an eyebrow in slight disappointment "I'm sorry sir, that was a decision made in the spit of outrage, I take full responsibility about it" apologized Shinpachi as he bowed down to him "raise your head, Admiral. What about the 'precious cargo'?"
"Unfortunately, the scans of the ruined ship revealed that a large portion of the crates carrying the crystalized Altana went missing. From what we could gather from the Intelligence soldier rescued during the attack, their estimated numbers seemed to be significantly bigger than the estimated amount of bodies counted back at the field, suggesting that some of them managed to escape the scene with the Altana"
"… I see"
"That is all we could gather, sir. The injured soldiers that we could save are now being treated in our medical stations in planet Mars. Perhaps they could share some additional info regarding the attack. Now, if you may excuse me sir…" said Shinpachi, quickly bowing down and then proceeding to walk past the Grand Admiral, only to be gently pushed back by his hand "Where are you hurrying up to, Admiral Shinpachi? Your wife called me earlier, she requested from me that I bring you back, even if for a short while" Shinpachi frowned "You know, being a family man myself, I know very well how important it is that you spend time with your family. Even if it is for brief moments. You can't cast away the ones you care about the most just for the sake of protecting them; they need you just as much as you need them. Besides, you've been accumulating way too many vacation days, I'd rather kick you off instead of getting kicked off by the universal administration of Employees" said the Grand Admiral with a warm laugh, however Shinpachi found no humor in his joke.
"My family isn't as weak as you portrait them to be, even my useless son can fend for himself. I'd rather protect them and never see them again than staying with them and endangering them as well as the entire universe. They don't need me around. Now if you excuse me, I must speak with a certain 'Pirate King'…" said Shinpachi as he moved past the Grand Admiral and they both went in opposite directions "They do need you, Shinpachi…" said the Grand Admiral with a sigh before moving on.
Back on Earth, Togeshiro and the gang entered the mountain as they traveled through a cave and reached the gates of a huge metallic wall blocking the path. "So Sonya, if you got exiled the second you went out, doesn't that mean they won't allow outsiders in?" asked Shinoyama. "Every underground city has its own rules; some are more conservative while others are more lenient. I learned that while going from city to city in Ryu no Sōkutsu. Though you might want to change your appearance- Despite some of the cities being more lenient towards migrating Amanto, all of them hold their grudges against humans" explained Sonya. "Okay, so let's head to the city and buy some costumes" suggested Shinoyama.
"Alright. This should do" said Togeshiro when he finished putting on his disguise; He painted his skin orange and put two fake horns in his head and wore a cloak on top of his school uniform. "Yup, we're all ready to go" said the voice of Shinoyama behind him. "Good. Then let's- WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU WEARING!?" yelled Togeshiro as he pointed at Shinoyama, who was wearing an E.T. costume "It's an alien costume. Did I put it backwards?" asked Shinoyama as he checked his back for the zipper "There's no way they won't catch you with that costume! In fact, you're being incredibly offensive with that, take it off!"
"It's okay, the Ryu no Sōkutsu people aren't familiar with human culture after the Edo period; those who were perished a long time ago from shortened lifespans and sicknesses in the underground" said Sonya coming out from behind a rock wearing a cell costume "You're pushing it too far, you know? And why did you even disguise yourself in the first place!? Weren't you an Amanto to begin with?" asked an extremely pissed off Togeshiro.
After some more complaining and blabbering from Togeshiro and Togeshiro getting beaten by Sonya and Shinoyama, they eventually headed into the gate and Sonya spotted an intercom. Sonya pressed the intercom and after a while, a voice responded from the other side "Yes, what can I help you with?"
"Umm, we wish to enter Ryu no Sōkutsu, sir" answered Sonya politely "Are you human?" asked the voice from the other side "No we're Amanto. We're from the Andromeda Galaxy"
"The Andromeda Galaxy, huh? From which planet?" insisted the voice with clear disbelief.
"Uh… We are from planet.. WhydoyouevencareyoustupidalienpieceoftrashIhopeyouandyourdescendantsallburninhell! In the southern part of the Galaxy" Togeshiro facepalmed with his now exposed cybernetic right arm "Hmm… Planet WhydoyouevencareyoustupidalienpieceoftrashIhopeyouandyourdescendantsallburninhell doesn't appear on my list… I'm sorry, but I'm gonna have to check you up and-"
"Yo, Cedric! How's work day?" asked another voice in the intercom "Uh, we have a bunch of kids claiming to be Amanto and wanting to get in. So how was vacation for you, Lars?" replied the first voice, which seemed to be Cedric "I've been hanging up in the northern district. That place sure is for the rich, I tell ya. Here, let me show you some pictures"
"… Wow, the 'Love District'! You sure had some fun, didn't you? Wait… That person looks like Lyra in the background. And why do you have my wife's scent all over you!?" yelled Cedric. From the sound of it, he slammed Lars into a shelf and they both began to argue and fight out loud "Whoa! Is everything okay there? Maybe you should chill out, guys!" said a worried Togeshiro into the intercom.
"I'm sorry.. Cedric… Please… Forgive me!" said Lars while he sounded like he was being choked "Aghhh!" yelled Cedric. Something heavy was tossed, sounds of glass breaking echoed and eventually multiple sounds of stabbing, followed by heavy breathing "Umm… What Happened? Why did it sound like someone was murdered? Why did it sound like some awful crime was taking place in the other side of the line? Is everything okay over there!?" asked a pale Togeshiro. Low swears could be heard from Cedric as he most likely just realized the intercom was still on. Sounds of throat clearing could be heard and eventually Cedric's voice resumed on speaking from the other side of the line "I'm sorry, but you guys are clearly humans trying to sneak in as Amanto. Faking your own race in addition to trespassing is a serious crime, you know?"
"There was clearly a bigger crime occurring with you and that Lars guy!" yelled Togeshiro.
"What are you t-t-talking about? Everything is fine over here, am I right Lars? 'Yeah, everything is cool, we just had a little argument ha-ha-ha', you see?" answered Cedric while obviously trying to mimic Lars' voice "Don't bother, we already know what happened: That guy Lars was sleeping with your wife, so you murdered him in cold blood" said Sonya, who sounded like she couldn't care less about the situation going on the side of the line.
"Listen kids, I'm telling you that nothing happened, so let's just leave it at that, okay?" said Cedric, losing his patience "But we have you recorded-"
"NOTHING HAPPENED, OKAY? DO YOU WANT TO GET INSIDE OR NOT!?" yelled a desperate Cedric from the other side of the line "Yes, yes we want to!" said Shinoyama.
And with that, the gates to the city opened and the trio stepped in.
*Tegarayama Ujishige- The sword owned by Nagakura Shipachi (the character on which Shimura Shinpachi was based).
**Nagakura Shinpachi used to be the captain of the 2nd squad of the 'Shinsengumi' a military police force. After many quarrels and clashes with Kondo Isami, the Chief of the Shinsengumi, Shinpachi left the Shinsengumi and went on with other former members under the direction of Harada Sanosuke and they created the 'Seiheitai', a rogue military force in which Shinpachi worked as a Deputy.
And that was it for chapter 3. Expect chapter 4 to come around the same time this chapter was updated. Thanks for reading and don't forget to review and ask questions if you have some. Bye!