A/N: So a large majority of you readers think that putting this story into it's final arc is better than dragging it on. Thanks for the feedback, I'll throw everything I have into making this the most EPIC end ever! Well, not sure if I can accomplish that but I will try! Well, considering that it is nearly Xmas, take this as my Xmas present to all of you! Read and enjoy! It is rather short though.
Angel Beats!
What We Live For
Operation 30
Face of the Enemy
Stifling a yawn, the young assault division member was wondering if anyone else from his squad was feeling slightly tired from all of this patrolling. Not really patrolling, as he realized just two weeks into his attachment into this group, but rather more like a stroll. Ein Shrewerz, the leader of the Assault division, had to keep up appearances in front of the other division heads, therefore assigning the different regiments within each squad to do patrols. Ein had a funny way of structuring his division as no other division had 'regiments'.
Every division had squads that handled different duties and within each squad, any further separation would be considered 'groups'. But Ein wanted to go with something more 'military' and called groups 'regiments'. That is completely wrong since regiments were made up of different squads, well, in the living World, that is. As for these patrols, Ein had told his division that this could be considered their 'time off' from training. His group walked around and corner and they ended up right in front of a vending machine. This route was planned, wasn't it?
"Oi, Yuugo, don't you have some change?"
One of his team members asked him.
"No, and I'm most definitely am not going to give you any even if I had some."
He stubbornly replied, earning a a scowl from his team mate.
"Stingy."
"If I recall, you still owe him one thousand yen, Kyousuke."
Another team mate butted in, which made Kyousuke scowl even more.
"Dammit, Maka, why can't you just leave guys to talk it out by ourselves?"
"Because your guy talk is usually trying to coax others into lending you money."
Maka snapped back at him.
"Ugh... fine, I'll just go thirsty for the rest of the week."
Kyousuke muttered, turning his back against the machine.
"There he goes again, with his stubborn baby act."
"Just ignore him, Yuugo. This happens every time"
With this being every time meant it was not a good habit. It was then Yuugo noticed something odd.
".. Hey, where did everyone go?"
He asked out loud, prompting the rest of the squad to look around.
"Is it lunch time or something?"
"No... even if it is, there would be students loitering around the place."
Maka narrowed her eyes at the end of the corridor.
"It's quiet... too quiet."
Yuugo then noticed something at the other end of the corridor. Something... black.
"Er... guys? I think... we're not alone any more"
"Shadows!"
"They're behind us as well! We're surrounded!"
"W-Where did these numbers come from? !"
"We need to warn Fort-"
"What? !"
Yuki shouted, slamming her hands onto her table, causing more cracks to form on the already broken desk. Normally, Ein would say something about her breaking desks on a daily basis, but now wasn't the point. Now... there was something extremely terrible going on.
"As I said, the enemy is attacking. It isn't just one or two of them. An entire army. The entire school is now swarmed with Shadows and Angels."
Ein reported once more. Yuki's body was shivering as the weight of those words seeped in. Her hand clenched up, crumpling the paper in her hand.
"Why wasn't this report made sooner?"
"Because it was too sudden for us as well. The first report came in from the third Frontal assault regiment over by Complex D and then it has been spreading throughout the entire school. Now there isn't even a single NPC left. The only ones in this World are the SSS2... and the enemy."
Yuki gritted her teeth, angry at this sudden turn of events. Has the final battle begun? They weren't ready. The SSS2 wasn't ready for the last battle! Years of building up this strength had also caused the organization to weaken internally. Divisions, squads, regiments... while the structure was there, the very foundation and the structure itself were weak... frail.
"... What the status of our forces?"
Yuki dared to ask. Ein closed his eyes.
"Unfortunately... the enemy appeared so suddenly that our forces were scattered and divided almost immediately. Guild is completely closed off to us as Shadows are flooding into the tunnels even as we speak. The intelligence division has disappeared completely and no one has heard from them. Our Diversion Division had taken the largest number of casualties. I have tried to recall my division back to the woods but so far only a third of my men have returned. Yuki, we need to evacuate this place. Pull back to the woods so that we can regroup."
Yuki refused to accept what was happening. How could everything she worked so hard for come crumbling down? These were just Shadows and Angels. They have fought them before. Why was this so different? The number of enemies? Their sudden appearance without notice? The internal struggles within the organization? Was it her own fault? Was it her own weakness? Why wasn't she stronger? Why couldn't she protect her people? Why couldn't she give the right orders? Why couldn't she keep them together?
"Yuki! Snap out of it!"
Ein's voice called out to her with his hands onto her shoulder to shake her out of her uncontrollable thoughts. Ein knew that Yuki was getting worse each passing day, but now wasn't the time to get her to calm down. They needed to get out.
"Now isn't the time to doubt yourself! We need to abandon Fort!"
"A... ban.. don... Fort..."
Those words were like a sharp knife, piercing her heart.
"Yuki!"
Yuki snapped back to reality. She knew what Ein was saying was right. But... to abandon Fort. Fort, the place where it all began. The place where her journey to fight started. The symbol of their struggles. The last hope and bastion of the SSS2 against the tyranny of their lives. Against God. And she had to give it up? All without a fight? Throw everything she had just so that she could survive? Was she to live with the shame of being the only to survive again? !
"Don't think about trying to stay and fight, Yuki. Even with your skills, you cannot stand up to the number out there."
"Don't tell me what I can or cannot do! You, who doesn't hold onto an SSS ranked weapon!"
Yuki snapped at Ein, who closed his eyes. It was true. Out of all of the division heads, he was the only one without a high class weapon. Jinnai from Diversion was not the real head of Diversion, but rather more like an assistant to Awase. But what Ein lacked, he made up for in strength, training, and determination.
"I may not have an SSS ranked weapon... but you should know my abilities are able to exceed that."
Ein said firmly, his fist tightening. Yuki narrowed her eyes at him. Ein Shrewerz didn't become a division head solely due to his strength and skill... no... It was his mind that was strong. Despite his looks, Ein was a quick and firm thinker. His calculative moves were only second to Kenji, the Intelligence division head. Ein may not have a weapon capable of destroying nine Worlds, but he wasn't an enemy Yuki would like to have.
"... Fine. We will retreat."
Yuki sighed, nodding to her two assistants, who rushed out to relay the order.
"What of Kou and her Guardians?"
Yuki asked, hoping that they still had a ray of hope left. But Ein simply shook his head.
"We lost contact with them shortly after they initiated their latest Operation. That was about three hours before the attacks came."
Kou was lost... Yuki knew that it was rather impossible, but even Kou wasn't God. She was human who could die, could bleed. But even so... For Kou to drop out of contact... no, it cannot be.
"Yuki! Let's go!"
Yuki looked up and saw that a contingent of Wolves waiting by the door, waiting for her with their weapons all drawn and ready. Iori stood with Ein, expression showing clear fear and worry. If Iori was like this... then all hope was lost. Iori... a strong fighter chosen by Kou herself. Nothing would phase him... but this. This was hell. She thought they were prepared for anything, that they could fight anyone. Everything was lost... gone. Her work, her blood, her sweat... everything. Now lost to the winds... lost to the very enemy she trained her army to fight. Lost to the very enemy she vowed to defeat. How could she lose? How could it all go wrong? Why did it go wrong?
"Yuki!"
"... Alright, let's go."
Yuki glanced over to her office one last time. So many memories, so many trials. Her first discovery of this office. The place where she decided to make her stand. The place where she revived the SSS as the SSS2. It would be here that she thought she would be invincible, where she would be able to face all challenges. Her seat of power. Her destiny to change her cruel fate. Lost... All lost. She closed her eyes, trying to push the memories away but to now avail. The pain within her screamed out to be heard.
"I... I always thought I would make my last stand here."
She commented off-handedly, before she opened her eyes once more, focused and determined. She pulled out her pistol and pulled the slide back, chambering the next round.
"I will not let this end here and now. Iori."
Her sharp tone made Iori immediately respond.
"Yes, my queen."
Within him, Iori knew that Yuki was back. The one and only Queen of Fort. She was, and always will be, their leader. He was a Wolf, one who runs in a pack or alone. But more importantly, he was a Wolf of the Queen. Whatever uncertainty that was within him was dispelled immediately with her voice.
"Take your men and clear a way. We must regroup with the remaining Assault groups back in the forest. Gather all necessary and essential equipment and retreat."
Yuki ordered as she stormed through the hallway. Her presence made all of the panicking SSS2 members snap back into focus as they rushed to reorganize themselves back into a cohesive force. The presence of the Queen was more than enough to change the tide of the battle. But even that, Yuki knew that her presence would do little in the long run. They must retreat.
"Destroy all things we cannot bring with us. We must not allow the enemy to use our own weapons against us."
"At once. But what of our rear?"
Iori asked. At the moment only a handful of Wolves together with the Fort main defenders were holding back the tide of enemies, but even they would soon succumb to the sheer numbers that they face.
"That..."
Yuki gripped her cane and pulled her beret lower.
"... Leave that to me and Ein."
Chaos. That was the only description Yamato could describe the current situation. Just pure chaos. Bullets, rockets, lasers flying everywhere. Swords, spears, maces being swung about. Explosions everywhere, dead bodies covered the floor like a carpet. Blood ran across the hallways like a stream so thick it was like a bog, staining the walls with a red so dark it made school seem like it was covered with darkness. It was like hell. There was no other way to describe it other than hell. Kusanagi Yamato flinched when a stray bullet ricocheted off the wall a mere inch away from her head.
"I want to go home!"
Someone behind her cried. She turned around and saw that a whole group of frightened SSS2 members were taking shelter in the same classroom as herself. She took a moment to rethink of this situation. She was suppose to meet Kurogane Kou, the leader of the Guardians, after being accepted through her final test with Fujibayashi Kyou. However she was directed down to Fort first to talk with a guy called Musashi to collect her personal weapon. She was on her way there when all hell broke loose.
Shadows appeared everywhere as well as Angels. There wasn't a single innocent NPC left. Everyone who wasn't part of the SSS2 was an enemy. With the enemy's sudden appearance, Yamato immediately sought shelter in this classroom, holding out against the onslaught of enemies with a small group that managed to escape the initial massacre. But the group was low on supplies. Yamato only had a few rounds left in her shotgun and a few more magazines for her pistol. She had no idea what sort of personal weapons she had waiting for her, but it was certain that it was a better alternative to her current weapons.
With her current fire power, she could maybe reach the tunnels of Guild, but what if Guild itself was overrun as well? All contact with the other divisions were cut off without warning so everyone was on their own. The screams of an SSS2 being killed and devoured echoed through the hallway, making Yamato close her eyes in an attempt to shut it out mentally. There was nothing they could do for those poor souls. They were trying to survive on their own. If they rushed out to save every single one of those stranded SSS2 members, all of them would die. But the longer they stay here, the lower their chance for success would be. The only problem is... how to convince the others to follow her. By herself, she has no chance of reaching Guild. But with the combined efforts of the others, she just might succeed.
"Hey, I have to ask you guys-"
"You want to go down to Guild, am I right?"
One of the assault division members asked.
"... How did you know?"
Yamato asked back.
"It's the closest to our current position, and we can also stock up on provisions."
"... 'We'?"
"Yes, you don't expect us to simply stay here to die, do you? We're SSS2. We will always find a way out of this."
The SSS2 members all nodded in agreement. Even the ones who were crying and being all frightened before now had a more confident face.
"Besides, aren't you a Guardian?"
Yamato scratched her head at that. Though she did receive a black back, tying it around her hand, she wasn't formally inducted into the sixth division yet.
"As you are a Guardian, it is our duty to obey any order you give us, even if it should lead to our demise."
The SSS2 member stood up and placed his fist against his chest like he was taking a pledge. The others in the room all followed suite.
"We of the SSS2 pledge our lives to Guardians. We are the bullet of your gun. We live only to serve. Your will is our command. For the sole purpose of eliminating our enemies, we shall cast ourselves to the pits of fire. By this pledge we swear."
The SSS2 member chanted. The others all followed with-
"We swear."
Yamato wanted to protest, but she had more important things to do. She had to use this chance, whether it would cost the lives of others or not. But... Yamato smiled softly.
"Fine, follow me if you will. But I will not waste your lives. If each of you feel like you do not like my decision, feel free to leave or tell me. I have no intention of leaving anyone behind. Got it?"
The SSS2 members all looked perplexed at her word, but then smiled.
"As you wish, Guardian."
"... I see. I will take you for your word... Onii-chan."
Onii... chan? Katsuragi felt a strange sensation wash over him. What was this? It was like... strangely soothing. Like it was meant to be, but at the same time he was rejecting it. It was foreign, something that wasn't his being. What was going on? His head was... spinning.
"Onii-chan?"
Kou tilted her head in confusion. Ahh! W-What is this weird feeling? ! She called him 'onii-chan', and it made him all weird! What was this, some sort of sick twisted plot by Yukari to get him all flustered? Yes, that must be it! Yukari must be hiding somewhere, laughing her ass off as he gets weirder by the minute. What sort of fetish does she think he has? Merely by calling him 'onii-chan', doesn't make him waver one bit-
"You're acting weird, Onii-chan."
Kou said, leaning in closer to him. TOO CLOSE!
"GAAHH!"
He screamed, retreating backwards in a hurry. His back hit against the wall, causing him to wince. It was then when he noticed something. Something extremely wrong. His entire surroundings... they were... melting. Like water colour paint running down a canvas, they streamed down. The walls, the bed, the table, all of the furniture all 'melted' into darkness. Even Kou seemed to melt away with the surroundings.
"W-what?"
Soon everything around him was mere darkness. Pitch black. He looked around. The room was gone. Kou was gone. He reached out around him and felt nothing. Even the wall that he bumped into just now was gone. Replaced with emptiness. What was going on?
"Wha-"
A sudden bright light blinded Katsuragi, forcing him to shelter his eyes. He slowly opened his eyes, and noticed that the darkness was gone.
"What... is this?"
He was suddenly standing at a traffic junction by the light. It was a crowded street in some sort of shopping district and there were many waiting along side him for the light to change. Where was this? What was happening?
"Onii-chan?"
He turned and saw her. Kurogane Kou. Dressed in a simple t-shirt and jeans with worn out sneakers, she looked almost like cinderella from the stories... but. What was happening?
"Is something wrong?"
Kou asked, tilting her head at him.
"W-where are we?"
He asked, seeing as how everything around him was unfamiliar. Unfamiliar... but somehow he could not help but have the greatest fear of this place. Kou narrowed her eyes at him.
"We're at Shinjuku. We just finished shopping... Are you sure you're alright? You have been acting weird since yesterday"
He wasn't sure if he was alright. What was happening to him? Memory lapses? Or... something else?
"KYAA!"
A scream caused him to turn and look. A large truck was swerving out of control on the road. People were starting to run and scatter, trying to avoid the truck. But for him, it was too late. The truck swerved and tilted over, its large mass heading towards him. In that split moment, he noticed that Kou had her back towards the truck, unaware of the danger that was approaching. Instincts took over as he grabbed her and pushed her out of the way. Why did he do that? Why didn't he run away? Why? The truck was mere inches from him when-
"You have done something stupid. But then again, it was what I did as well."
Everything froze as a voice spoke out. He did not dare to blink, the surface of the truck just touching the tip of his nose. This was... really close.
"You've really put yourself into too many weird predicaments. I'm starting to think that you're a sucker for punishment. Are you a masochist?"
The voice mockingly laughed. Katsuragi turned around, trying to see whose voice it belongs to but... he could not identify the owner.
"While I would like to spend time to laugh at your pathetic attempts to solve this mystery, it seems that we have run out of time. We must talk."
The sound of snapping fingers echoed around him and everything around him disappeared, plunging him into darkness once more. Katsuragi looked around him, confused, puzzled, worried.
"Don't worry, I won't hurt you. Still, you look like a headless chicken set on fire."
What sort of analogy is that?
"Still, it must weird, talking to mere darkness. Well, I agree. It is faster and easier to talk face-to-face."
Stepping into view, as though the darkness was nothing more than a thin veil, a young man with dark hair and cheeky look stood before Katsuragi, dressed in the uniform of the NPCs. An enemy?
"Do not worry, I'm a friend."
The boy smiled. For some reason, he looked really familiar. That face...
"Hmm, you recognize me, don't you? You know me, yet I am a stranger at the same time. Don't worry, you're not crazy. The reason why I look familiar is because I.."
The boy smirked as he took a pause.
"I... am the twin brother Kurogane Kou. My name is Kurogane Kei."
A/N: Who ever said that Katsuragi was Kou's brother? If you looked at the earlier chapters, I did specifically say that Katsuragi had no blood relation to Kou. The mystery will be solved in the next chapter once and for all though the fighting will span another 2-3 chapters. So I estimate another 3-4 chapters before this will be done. May be longer, may be shorter, who knows?