In a busy clinic in Koza, the place was bustling with activity and the sounds of coughing, sniffling people.
The main office in the hall had not seen the good doctor since she had arrived this morning before the sun had even came up. But at least her office chair was getting used. Black messy strands of hair hung over the chair back as the head of the occupant gave a heavy sigh, looking again to the ceiling as a unit of blood fed into her arm through the attached tube.
24 ceiling tiles.
There are 24 ceiling tiles in Julia's office, Saya thought. Her burgundy eyes began to glaze over and she shook her head and took in a deep breath. I wonder if I can live without breathing? The chiropteran queen held still and held in her breath, trying to recall if she had ever in her immortal life tried to do this before.
Images of fighting and bloodshed came to her thoughts and she recalled going over the ship some thirty years ago, but she didn't recall hitting the water or going under. Hagi must have saved her.
Ugh! Not again, she chided herself, I must not think of him. I have to find something to keep my thoughts away from him.
It had been Saya's idea to go to Dr. Julia early in the morning on her own, but apparently the twins had the same idea. None of them knew or thought to even ask if the clinic might be busy. Apparently there was a seasonal cough going around Koza and all the locals were seeking help.
The twins received their transfusions in the only room left in the clinic- room 8. Room 8 was where the x-ray machine was. Poor Kanande lost the coin toss and ended up on the cold, metal table while Hibiki got a cushy chair brought in. It would have been nice to lay down, but who wants to lay on a cold, hard slab?
Saya agreed that she would just get hers in Dr. Julia's office while she saw patients. It wasn't like the doctor would be in the office any time soon.
So here she is. Saya. In the doctor's office chair receiving a transfusion... trying to keep her thoughts off the chevalier she had dismissed.
Slumped in the chair with her arms folded her eyes scanned the room for something... anything to distract her from feeling anything.
Her brownish eyes scanned the room, noting the usual items, the organized desk with family photos, the clean and neat file cabinets.
Her eyes came to a very neat and very dusty box on the floor beside the file cabinets, recalling that Mr. Joel had his secretary bring a number of items like this from headquarters. These items were very important items The Red Shield needed to keep hidden from possible spies.
She knew the trophies in the hall mentioned Dr. Julia as as a pioneer in genetic research. All were from various organizations- or claimed they were.
While Joel was here for his birthday party, he held a secret meeting, only those closest to him that were there when Diva was slain, were allowed to attend.
In the meeting, Joel had explained why these items were brought to the small clinic in Koza and what they were. The box was labeled as files for the clinic that needed to be shredded. The truth was that the files were records of projects that started before the Vietnam War and through the present. All of the notes on Cinque Fleches and Delta 67 had already been stored in these file cabinets.
The trophies were hollow inside, containing the last vials of Diva's blood- 6 in all. The other trophies were just hollow shells.
Saya rose from the chair and headed to the box. If she wanted to get her mind off Hagi, filing these folders was at least a start.
~0~
They had flown through night and were careful to avoid ships at sea as they traveled through daylight. By now the salt air had disheveled their hair and the cold of the Russian air was taking its toll. They were flying to a Russian wasteland in winter. Had Mary Frances spent more time in school, she would have known how big a mistake this was.
She shivered slightly. Even with her chiropteran blood, the weather was getting to her. Chunks of ice that had broken from the shore line reminded her of photos of icebergs.
Once the sun had set, the two made their way to the coast, bringing them closer to the coordinates Nathan had given them.
As they moved inland, being careful not to rouse the suspicion of local farmers, the pair hurriedly fed from what they could get their claws on- which wasn't much.
A glance at the terrain was all one needed to understand why this was a great place to defend and a terrible place to invade. It was nothing but snow and rocks! Mary Frances shook her head, mumbling, "Who would want to live here?"
"Someone that does not want to be found," Hagi responded flatly.
She smirked, "Liiike... an evil scientist bent on world domination by the use of the monsters he creates?"
No smile. Not even a smirk. She sighed audibly before she pushed through the air current to move past him and responded, "You might make more friends if you'd lighten up, damn it!"
As they passed the next rise of land, Mary Frances stopped with her mouth open, ready to pose a question. Large, circular storage tanks dotted the white landscape of the valley in grey. Snow covered them in a white blanket. Footprints indicated activity around 6 of the tanks that were nearest the main building.
"This is a deserted storage facility," Hagi informed Mary Frances. "They are using the tanks closest to the warehouse for storage. "
"Storage for what?"Mary Frances asked. Before he turned to answer, she felt it. Her blood drummed I in her ears as a red haze covered her vision.
Suddenly she could see them, even through the steel exterior of the storage tanks. There were hundreds of them, some with her blood, and some with Kanade's.
Hagi wondered at her eyes once again. He glanced at her from his side, so he would not pique her curiosity. Her eyes glowed in rings, one red and the other blue, but the brown remained in the center of both. He was forming a theory when she broke his concentration with a comment.
"They're sleeping," she observed. "Like a hibernation." She turned to him as if to find an answer.
Hagi blinked and turned his gaze to the storage tanks before he replied, "Yes. The cold has the same effect on bears or deer. Their metabolism and heart rate drop." His eyes narrowed before he added, "It's why they came here- to build an unstoppable army and keep them hidden."
"Why would anyone want a bunch of sleeping monsters?" Mary Frances asked. "It's not like they're of any use to someone that wants to take over the world."
"He builds the army during the winter, but when the spring thaw comes..." Hagi began to explain, but knew he didn't need to finish the sentence.
They both knew that Argiano and Smith would have their army. At the end of winter, they would escape to a safe place, likely what was left of the facility in Iceland, and watch the world get destroyed.
In the spring, the chiropterans would break out of their holding cells and begin a feeding frenzy. The sheer number they would have created by then would easily overwhelm those fighting against them. Hagi knew without a shadow of a doubt, with Saya and himself being at odds, this battle would be over before it had even begun.
Mary Frances' brown eyes took in the number of tanks and imagined them all being filled with chiropterans and gave an ominous shiver. At least the cold was keeping them in hibernation. Their unexpected arrival was very much an advantage and she wondered what Hagi had planned, Certainly they were here to capture Argiano at least. After all those tests and holding her against her will… those taunting looks that damn Smith gave her, she wanted him dead. No force on earth would keep her from that man's throat. Absently, she wondered aloud, "What did these tanks used to hold?"
Without missing a beat, the chevalier responded, "Natural gas. This area is rich in oil and natural gas. They drill for it and ship it back to the states." Wind caught the loose strands of his hair and caused them to dance around his face.
The young woman's brown eyes opened wide as she turned to him. "Natural gas?" she asked in surprise. At his nod, she turned her attention back to the tanks and asked, "Is there gas in any of the outer tanks?
"It is not likely," Hagi responded. A figure was walking around the inner tanks, writing on a tablet and checking a screen attached to the side of one of the inner tanks.
Mary Frances let out a low growl as she recognized the man. the dark strands of hair danced around his stern face as he checked off a few things on a clip board. Her blood boiled as she recalled that nasty smirk he'd have when she was strapped to the table... and they took more than just her blood.
Her mind recalled a time he had finished with her. The professor zipped his pants up as his incapacitated subject lay on the gurney with the hospital gown they put her in askew, revealing her long, very female body.
She knew that he was curious about the fact that she never cried like most women that were raped. She would growl and snarl at him.
This particular time he asked, "What are you thinking? If it is about revenge you should think again." He placed a cold hand on her cheek, a touch she struggled to pull away from. "You'll never escape."
Icy Russian wind blew back her hood for a moment, revealing the rage that had set itself inside her heart, before she quickly righted it.
Nothing could hide what the young woman was feeling- not from the chevalier especially. Knowing what little he did from Mary Frances' life, Hagi knew she deserved to have a shot at revenge. His steadfast gaze came to the main warehouse and the chevalier quickly plotted his attack.
"Mary Frances," He said evenly, "You take Smith. I will go after Argiano." Noting the laptop on the scientist's arms, he added, "Be certain to get the laptop."
"Don't worry." She growled and added, "The laptop and I won't feel a damn thing." A wicked expression came to her face as she moved, eyes blazing in their customary rings.
For a moment Hagi pondered on them again. Both glowed in the same way as Saya and Diva...but just rings and not the eyes themselves. There was no time to dwell on it, however. Hagi had to move fast, before the commotion Mary Frances brought caused Argiano to come looking.
Mary Frances bound toward the oblivious scientist as he continued noting the storage tank. He stood nearly as tall as the young woman, causing her to briefly wonder why he had seemed so much taller and more imposing back then.
"Smith," she called out, causing the scientist to turn. There was that face! Her blood boiled. His dark hair was pulled back, revealing a long scar on his jaw. The once pristine skin was marred from what looked like a chiropteran claw. She smirked and drawled, "So, you thought I'd never escape- that I'd never come for revenge, but here I am."
The man returned the smirk. His dark eyes glinted at something sickening. "You think you have me cornered? Perhaps we weren't expecting to be found this soon, but don't think we haven't taken the necessary precautions." His hands typed a command into the laptop, causing a heavy metal door on the storage tank to groan in protest.
Her eyes became wide in surprise as she took in the size of her opponent. The beast was twice as tall as any she had faced. The skin looked like lava trickling between black rocks. It's energy was powerful.
"Do you like it?" Smith's pompous voice asked, causing her eyes to return to him and then back to the beast. "We created him from Kanade's blood."
The beast's eyes opened, glowing brilliant aqua blue. Mary Frances replied as she readied herself for battle, "Almost as ugly as you, asswipe."
The creature lunged at her as she heard the metal door groaned as it closed back down. Mary Frances jumped high and released her wings, surprising both the man and monster.
Smith breathed, "Truly a masterpiece."
The massive scythe came across the creature, releasing a massive blood spray. It roared it's outrage as its fast-moving tormentor delivered another blow to its back.
"If I am such a fucking masterpiece, why don't you create another like me..." She dodged as the creature thrust razor sharp 12 inch claws at her. "Why waste time on this worthless shit?"
He raised a brow as she took a hard blow to the side. The beast growled viciously as its massive claws flexed, anticipating the delectable meal that would soon be sating it's hunger. The eyes glowed an eerie aqua as the creature came down on all fours, pinning it's prey beneath itself.
But this victim was not so easily killed. Before the saliva from its mouth had a chance to splatter on her leg, she twisted her long body to the left, with a show of strength too powerful to be human, and the blade in her boot jammed 3 inches into the chiropteran's side. The power behind the kick caused the massive creature to lose it's balance and fall on its uninjured side with a howl.
As Mary Frances found her feet, she heard the confused scientist scoff, "No masterpiece like you can come from a mere princess. We needed a queen, but even a queens blood does not have a result like this."
"You were beginning to believe the fool was innocent, weren't you?" Smith smirked.
Rings of red and aqua burned brightly as the vengeful spark burst into flame within the young girl. Said rings turned as hands lengthened to claws and deep purple wings stretched wide. Claws gripped the pouch at her side as the other fingered the scythe. The button released the extra 2 blades in a zing of singing metal.
The creature thought it had an advantage as her back was turned. The lumbering mass roared as it came upon her. She could nearly smell it's breath when her body turned in a move as smooth as silk, but faster than lightning. Her eyes locked on to the pools of angry aqua while her arching body released a massive net.
The net landed like a disc and then flowed down the sides of the giant head to its jaws and shoulders. Powerful claws came up to tear the mesh from its sight, but Mary Frances had deftly landed her spin on one foot as her thumb depressed the button at her side.
In a loud buzzing roar, blue lightning crackled around the creature's head and neck as she held the button firmly. Her eyes took on a vengeful glee as she pictured her real nemesis jiggling the dance of electric death.
But she knew this would not end the creature's unnaturally long life. Gripping the shift of her massive scythe firmly, Mary Frances calculated her next move.
The scientist stood, immobilized in awe and horror as his prize creation was beheaded. No guillotine was as sharp or precise. The princess, dashed forward with the blade extended behind her in one hand. It sang the melody of its razor edge as it sliced through the air. A loud, deep, growling cry could be heard as she sped down the path to its distruction.
Electrical arcs still surrounded the beast's head as the mercenary princess came upon it. Swifter than the human eye can blink, she had released the button and brought her other hand to the staff. She turned her body as the blade came up, arching between the beast's head and shoulders.
All Smith saw was the body separating from the head as Mary Frances landed on one knee, body facing away from what was to come. Suddenly, a deluge of blood and guts sprayed out of the headless body as the dark cloak shielded her from the mighty spray.
Her blazing eyes opened as the blood settled. Blue and red rings locked on Smith as she ground out, "No where to hide, pervert."