Chapter 11: Project Tundra and Project Ventus
As the Team walked back to the Makers' Forge...
"Kako Takafuji is a young aspiring singer and dancer that specialised in traditional Japanese dances. Many people knew her for having extremely good luck, often called 'The Luck Maiden' because of one special element existing inside her...The Element of Luck." Chris explained.
"Luck? What was it?" Death wondered.
"I myself not know it either, what I do know is that people who communed with her, will have good luck. I am not too interested in that myself. The only reason why I brought her up is that the programs we got...came from that Element itself." Chris frowned.
Flashback - Chris: 18 Years old, Alito: 24 years old
Guam, 13th June 2000 - Ending of Spring and beginning of Summer.
Continuing their Summer Vacation, Chris and Alito set foot among Japanese people's paradise - Guam.
The sandy beaches booming with people playing catch with silly grins on their faces, boys and girls playing beach volleyball, families hanging out under the shades or coconut palm trees enjoying their beverages, and Japanese Pop Idols having fun and filming their Music Video for their Summer PVs.
Chris and Alito were in Guam to discuss with the Prime Minister and President of Guam about diplomatic ties between Germany and the upcoming Project Adventurers' Guild. Things were going on smoothly, for now.
Despite Chris's still raw emotional wound, she and Alito managed to stroll through the beach incognito. The Icy Maiden clenching her fists discreetly as cold vapour exhaled from her mouth from time to time, it was a wonder that no one saw her snowy white skin.
"Everyone enjoying their times...be it single, together with their lovers, friends, or parents and children...It's good to see them safe and sound, no matter how rowdy they are." Chris spoke calmly.
"It sure is, my Lady." Alito agreed.
As they traversed through the beach, they heard a traditional Japanese folk song sung with a gentle, fluid, yet mature feminine voice.
Chris's eyes perked...
"Kiso..."
"Pardon, my Lady?" Alito wondered.
"Kiso...one of the famous Japanese folklore songs that my mom used to sing to me before bed every night, a symbolism of the humble life of farmers in the olden days and a reminder about humbleness..." Chris explained, clenched her fists slightly, and walked in a brisk pace towards the sound's source.
"Please wait, my lady!" Alito shot out.
The tracing of the sound led the two women to an Amphitheatre filled many people - families, teen boys and girls, and the elderly women and men.
In the center of it stood a female slightly shorter than Chris, the girl was wearing a blue dancing kimono with upper cloth only wrapping around her breasts and chest area, leaving a midriff on her belly area. Blue cloth spread from her waist down to her legs, multi-colored ribbons wrapped around her hip area while flowing like water in the wind.
The girl has short, black hair, a cheerful face, caramel eyes, and sideburns going all the way down to her cheeks. She was wearing a blue ribbon on her head and holding a paper fan in her left, blowing away colored paper while singing, in a melodious tone, the lyrics to 'Kiso'.
Upon hearing the lyrics Chris lowered her head and blurted out, 'Mom...', which surprised Alito.
As the girl blew several pieces of beautiful colored papers across the cheering crowd in Chris's direction, the colored pieces of paper temporarily blocked Chris's view as her vision changed from the girl, to that of her mother; the song inadvertently evoke memories of her last few nights with her mother before her death.
"Why...why does everything have to remind me of my parents death...WHY?!" Chris thought, keeping her emotions to herself while digging her fingernails deep into her palms, drawing blood out of her fists despite her calm demeanour.
"My Lady, are you okay?!" Alito shot out.
As soon as anot0068er set of colored paper flew past her vision, all Chris could see was a masked terrorist holding the performer at gunpoint amidst terrified audiences!
Chris instantly snapped back from her train of thoughts, her eyes widened despite keeping her calm soon enough.
"Everyone doesn't move! DO not even call the police or anything else! We have bombs set across the place, rigged to explode should anyone of you dare to do any silly stuff!" the abductor shot out in an Arabic accent.
"The Al Talien...looks like you finally revealed your arse to us, you heartless nitwits..." Chris frowned, walking slowly towards the abducted girl and the abductor.
The surrounding comrades pointed their guns towards Chris and Alito.
"Don't move an inch further or this girl will be dead!" the masked man threatened.
"Do it, if you dare...Besides, you will not kill this girl, but will instead kill anyone just to get her, right?" Chris calmly spoke; the surrounding people could feel the air around them becoming chilly as goosebumps rose from their skins.
"W...What?" the masked terrorist's eyes widened.
"You probably want to have a taste of the Luck Element from that girl you are attempting to abduct, right? Do you think we do not know about the Fortune Lady - Kako Takafuji?" Chris frowned.
"Yeah...you're right! With her in our hands, we will be lucky, and liberate the entire world in the name of Allah! Our actions are a means to an end in this filthy world, because our ways are just!" the leader shot out, cackling maniacally.
"Your pride got the better of you...You think that by acquiring the Luck Element from Miss Kako you will be lucky and 'cleanse the world in the name of Allah', when all you goons do are hurt and kill innocent beings in the name of bloodlust without giving a damn about neither anyone nor your loved ones..." Chris breathed and exhaled at a much heavier pace.
"W...What?!" the leader gasped.
A burst of icy cold wind burst and swirled through as her fresh blood dripped from her palms mixed in with the ice. Alito transformed into Lifebane as Chris glared at the leader and Kako with glowing blue eyes, the victims nearly blown away by the torrential wind. The terrorists could not aim properly, with some terrorists' scope from their guns broke off and impaled their eyes out!
Chris recalled the few verses of the lyrics to Kiso...
Kiso no nah, Nakanori san,
Kisono Ontakesan wa, nanjara hoi!
Natu demo samui, yoi yoi yoi!
Chorus: Hah, yoi yoi yoi no, yoi yoi yoi!Awasho nah, Nakanori san,
Awasho yaritaya, nanjara hoi!
Tabi o soete, yoi yoi yoi!
Hah, yoi yoi yoi no, yoi yoi yoi!
"I will never let you hurt an innocent being...not even Miss Kako, the one who sang a tribute song sung by my late mom..." Chris's tattoos of Ice glowed brightly, the symbol of Audi glowing upon her forehead.
Before anyone could react, Chris grabbed knocked the leader's grip on Kako off and unleashed a teleport slash upon her foe, tearing his spine and body apart and stealing his life force away with Lifebane's chilling effect.
The crackling of the spine and body were short, crisp, yet brutal as the leader's lifeless body strewn across the floor.
Chris stepped upon the leader's skull with her right foot, crushing it with no effort at all...
"Come...fight me...like men, you worthless, heartless scrums..." her voices echoed.
Screams of anger, death, and anguish soon followed as Chris ripped apart, sliced, crushed, tore, and slashed them to death with her Lifebane.
Despite numerous rounds of bullets landing upon Chris's body, the Icy Maiden felt no pain despite blood loss; for what pain was greater than the lost of the Fuschias?
Chris stood in the middle of many dead terrorists, blood seeping from her chest, arms, mouth and even back due to bullet wounds. The scene shocked everyone, even the optimistic Lady of Luck herself...
"Advanced Triangulation...Go..." Chris struggled to stand up as she pressed a button on her communicator to triangulate the signal for the Al Talien's main base based on the terrorists' dead bodies.
Using the Portable Inter-Dimensional portal device that the members of the upcoming Adventurers' Guild invented within a few months, Chris managed to arrive several kilometres from the Al Talien main base in Rigestan Desert, Ganistan, despite struggling from her wound.
"Ten years I have spent in catatonia...and now that I'm out...you will feel my pain and vengeance of the people whom you all have killed..." Chris's eyes glowed blue as she stood up.
Within ten minutes, the Icy Maiden and her loyal servant wiped out the entire terrorist base. The base exploded, leaving no one alive nor any bombs or techs scavenge-able; everything in the base was lost to the flow of time by the explosion.
The people in Guam widened their eyes; Chris killed off one, if not, the most important Terrorist Organisations in the world. An organisation that the global government had issues struggling to break through despite their military equipment.
Kako's eyes widened once more; she instantly knew who the women were upon gathering her composure - Chris 'Quattro' Fuschia and Alito 'Ventus' Gnade.
Who would not know them after the slanderous, but eventual fake news about Chris and Alito's association with the Fuschia's E-Coli death?
Her train of thoughts snapped when she saw Chris stumbling for a few feet upon returning to Guam before succumbing to multiple stab and bullet wounds. Alito, too, fell unconscious due to energy draining...
Few days later - Guam Tropic Hospital
"Where...Where am I?" Chris groaned as she felt a rush of blood up her forehead while slowly opening up her eyes weakly. She winced as she felt a sharp pain pulsating from her back.
"My Lady..."
Chris heard a vague, yet familiar voice...
"A...Alito..." Chris's eyes widened slightly as she saw her confidante over at another ward bed, separated by a small space.
In the middle of the gap, both women saw Kako Takafuji clasping her hands, while expressing relief.
"Thank goodness! Thank goodness!" the Fortune Lady cried in relief.
"K...Kako?" Chris frowned.
"She, along with the audiences involved, managed to call for an emergency ambulance the moment we blacked out. The doctors said that despite multiple bullet and stab wounds, our body, which were enhanced by cryokinetic energy, allowed us to survive." Alito replied weakly.
"Thank you...Miss Kako..." Chris replied bluntly, trying her best to avoid eye contact on the Fortune Lady.
Kako placed her hand on her chest as her eyes gazed on Chris, then to Alito, as she said, "No...I should thank both you and Alito..."
Chris and Alito's eyes widened in surprise...
"I thought I was a goner...The fact that terrorists would even think of abducting me to abuse my powers...it's scary...But thanks to you, you have saved Guam, its residence, and the visitors from annihilation and total misery..." Kako simpered.
"We don't need your thanks...Miss Kako...we're just doing our job." Chris looked away upon glimpsing at Kako's simper.
Kako knew about the fake and slanderous news regarding Chris being the symbol of sabotage for the Fuschia's near-extinction; the Icy Maiden was the only surviving Fuschia member left.
"Even when the news is falsified...the damage has been done...Wounded souls indeed..." she thought.
Not fearing Chris's coldness, Kako asked, "You said...the song that I sang reminded you of your late mom, right?"
Silence...
"Yes...The song you sang, reminded of my late mom...You knew about it, huh? Such a cruel media world; one fuck up...our sins will be forever recorded in the minds of many..." Chris replied solemnly, her tone hurt, yet stubborn.
Kako gently placed her palms on Chris and Alito's hands, not affected by the Icy maiden's stubborn tone.
"It's not your fault, Chris...neither is it your confidante's fault too." Kako replied.
"Not my fault? I stood in front of my parents and my loved ones, watching them as their life slowly draining away...I could have done something to save them but no...I didn't..." Chris clenched her fists, squeezing Kako's hands hard.
The Fortune Lady winced slightly, but smiled wistfully...
"My loved ones left me a will...one that told me to protect the humans, the innocent beings, from any heartless morons, supernatural forces, or even natural and man-made disasters. We protect you and the visitors of Guam...because we do not want to see any more innocent beings and families torn apart by such atrocities. We do not need your thanks; we only want to prevent history from repeating itself...and to carry on the Fuschia's last will." Chris continued and hesitated before continuing...
"And because I don't want anyone who is able to sing 'Kiso' well to die under a terrorist's hands..."
"And why is that?" Kako simpered.
"For my late mother, she loves to sing it to me when I'm young." Chris replied bluntly.
"Your mom is happy that you always think of her even after her passing, I'm sure of it. The entire residence of Guam and the visitors who were victims on the fateful day expressed their gratitude despite their shock at the incident. No one has died thanks to both you and Alito. The fact that you think of them because you are willing to carry on the Fuschia's last will proved that you still love them; you still are something, instead of nothing..." Kako simpered.
"I am not about to stand here and do nothing, with or without luck. I promised my parents and loved ones that I will continue their last will, that is all." Chris nodded softly.
"Both you and Alito have something that made you more human than before - your undying love for your parents and relatives...Why then, would you want to carry on their last will?" Kako smiled softly, not giving up despite Chris's stubbornness.
The Icy Maiden and Alito's eyes widened; for once, they were utterly gobsmacked.
"What is this...what is this strange feeling...what the fuck is this?" Chris shook her head.
"One of these days you will know that you are still human. You still possess the love and care you are capable of, and though you might not know the meaning of humanity yet, you will find it. Even if it takes you a few years, you will know what I and everyone meant when we said that you aren't nothing...you are something." Kako simpered as she caressed their palms once again. Except this time, the cherry blossom necklace that she wore around her neck began to glow warmly.
"You have heard of the Element of Luck, yes?" Kako asked.
Chris lowered her head down slightly, "We have never believed in luck, only in skills." Alito nodded along.
Kako simpered once more. "Even if you don't believe it, my gifts of gratitude will serve you well...Carry forth your parents' last will, Chris and Alito! One day, you will know that all along, humanity has not being lost on the both of you..."
"Do you think...I still have Humanity inside me?" Chris wondered, this time with eyes of concern.
"I'm sure you will understand it one day...You are willing to make things right for everyone despite your predicament. It's not always easy; most choose to wallow in self-pity, but you and Alito choose not to. For that, your parents will be proud of you..." Kako simpered.
As Kako sang the lyrics to Kiso once more in an ambient tone, Chris's left eyes and Alito's right eyes became the symbol of ice and wind. A huge surge of power engulfed both women as they soon fell unconscious, their bodies trying to get use to the Element infused upon them.
The last words they heard were a jubilant, "We will meet again, Chris and Alito...Thanks once more!"
Flashback end...
"So...that's how the Project Programs came to be?" Death wondered.
"Not quite...After we woke up, ready to discharge from the hospital, Kako was gone. She left a note expressing her gratitude and said that we will meet again. By then...Alito and I were experiencing throbbing pains occasionally from our eyes, it got more frequent as the days went by. Whenever we walked, trails of ice soon follow, or in Alito's case, even the hottest areas during the summer became very breezy. When we came back to the Fuschia's Mansion, we went for a diagnosis test with several scientists whom the Fuschias have hired since the beginning of the third generation." Chris frowned.
Flashback - Fuschia Mansion...
"This is...This is beyond measure, Miss Fuschia." a German blonde scientist frowned upon viewing the diagnosis on the LCD.
"What is it?" Chris asked in concern.
"That throbbing in your eyes caused by an energy surge...Have you come in contact with anything that infused you with a certain power or some sort?" the blonde replied.
Chris and Alito nodded as they recalled what happened in Guam.
"Kako? Kako Takafuji? Fuck...that means..." the blonde scientist quickly accessed several of the databases and diagnosis she looked through earlier.
"You know her?" Chris wondered.
"Who doesn't know the Lady of Fortune? Renowned throughout the entire world for her hidden talents, and even unlocking hidden talents from others, since she was eight years old! Heck she was an America and Britain has Talent winner! Do you know the Reality TV show before it became crap recently? Yeah, that one." the blonde-haired woman replied.
"So..." Alito wondered.
"The Luck Element, right? It has been rigged into your biological systems and rewritten your DNA such that you both are able to carry arcane magic of unbelievable and expandable potentials!" the blonde scientist showed the results in a projected screen.
"What?!" Chris's eyes widened, the symbol of ice glowing bright on her left eye.
"Unfortunately, no amount of human mental capabilities or biological augmentations that you now own can hold that huge surge of power for long. We need to carry out instantaneous software and hardware upgrade to accommodate that surge of power. Codename Project Tundra for you, and Project Ventus for Alito." a brunette scientist, who was working on solutions, followed.
"How?" Chris wondered.
"Since the biological augmentations are built by you and installed by we all, you will need access to your augmentations and rewrite certain structural codes, codex signals, and master software before we can boot up the upgrade; it will take some time." the blonde replied.
Chris closed her eyes amidst the throbbing pain on her left eyes.
"Kako, why are you helping me? What do you mean by, 'You still have humanity left in you'?"
The tunes of Kiso, however, rang upon her mind...
"Just what is Humanity? Am I really not alone? Is it really my fault that the Fuschias' died? If that's all the answers that I have to find, then so be it. As long as I carry forth the last will of the Fuschias, I would not mind." Chris resigned to her own fate, resolving to prevent anyone from suffering the same fate as her, the Icy Maiden nodded.
"Began schematics codex upgrade!"
Flashback end...
"I always wondered about Kako's intentions about helping us. Why does she want to help us when she knows that we have no hope at all; that we are nothing due to the pain we have? Why does she think that we still have humanity? In fact, what is Humanity in the first place? Is a just a fancy word, or is there something more?" Chris asked as she turned to the Pale Rider.
"You are the eldest of the Four, right? You should know more about Humanity then I do...Please, tell me...what is humanity?" Chris asked.
"Ours are not to judge what Humanity is and will be. All I can say is this...I wish that Absalom could see what you and Alito were capable of." Death sighed.
Death took his leave leaving a calm, yet helpless, Chris behind as Alito consoled her with a soft pat on the Icy Maiden's left shoulder.
"Remember our promise...my Lady." Alito reminded.
Chris had resigned that she would be unforgiven for 'betraying' the Fuschias despite claim that she was not. Therefore, the burden of asking the question of Humanity shall take a slightly lesser toll on Alito and her.
"Thanks...Alito..." Chris simpered.
Thus began Chris and Alito's journey in finding the meaning behind Humanity, a journey that would take two years to find...
Starting now...