A/N: Well, I'm officially unemployed. I haven't been accepted into any University for Graduate studies and so... I'm officially a NEET. This sucks...
I won't say much about my delay, you guys know me too well by now. I went on a long holiday to Japan and Australia after I left the Military and did not touch my computer for sometime.
To answer my dear flamer's inquiry into why I don't write Original stories.
- For one, this story is 'successful' mainly due to its connection to an established story, therefore people who know the story would read it.
- Two, it does not mean that since I do not use the characters from the series (Which I actually do by quite a whole bunch), that it can be made into an original story. A story is made of its characters, settings, environment, plot and etc. I may not be using the original characters much, but I am borrowing the story setting and backstory. For example. If I wrote a story on hogwarts but none of the characters from the "Harry Potter" series pops up, would it still be considered a "Harry Potter" story? Or an Original Story? Obviously it is the former. All of the original characters are going through an 'Afterlife' School after suffering some injustice in their life. If I placed this as an original story, it will be drawing TOO MUCH from Angel Beats! and besides, the original Angel Beats! Characters are integral to my story.
- Three, I have tried writing original stories. They never end well... In fact, they just DO NOT END. Period. I do believe it is due to my constant writing of fanfics that even if I DO end an original story, I will simply find someway to write a sequel, and another sequel, and another. It is the inherent nature of fanfic writers to keep a story going after it has ended.
Well, enough about that. There is an official announcement from Key in Japan that I believe anyone still reading my story and any Angel Beats! story should know!
KEY HAS OFFICIALLY ANNOUNCED AN ANGEL BEATS! GAME.
YAY! Congrats to us all! Now obviously the game will be based on the anime and knowing Key and their works, it will be a visual novel / dating sim type of game. Does that mean you can now go on a date with Shiina? I really hope so.
Okay okay, now for the story. For those of you who need a recap, here is what is going on in the story thus far:
- SSS have returned to the Afterlife to find it in the middle of a war
- They team up with the leaders of the SSS2 and charge into the dark tower that is in the middle of the now-warped school grounds.
- They battle upwards the towers, defeating the Division leaders who are the key to starting the Apocalypse program with their SSS weapons
- Tachibana Kanade and Kamiya Yuzuru are heading towards the basement of the tower
Well, that's it for now. For those still not sure on where my blog is, it is this:
flamingnoodletoiletbowls () wordpress () com
Please fill in the blanks with the appropriate symbols.
Now enjoy!
Angel Beats!
What We Live For
Operation 50
Greed / "Two heads of Guild"
They ran. Ran because they knew that it would be too late if they didn't. They were now running against a clock they had no idea how much time was left on. They could not wait for the drowsiness of the hall of sloth to disappear completely, forcing their bodies to run as fast as they could up the spiralling stairway of the black tower. This entire war was on the brink of ending, and not in the way they wanted it to. The Apocalypse program, the one thing that they had all gathered together to stop, had been activated when Awase used her SSS weapons. The tower was starting to rumble and the walls tremble. Time was running out.
"Katsuragi!"
Shuusuke shouted as he ran to the front of the group to catch up with Rei.
"What is it?"
Rei asked without slowing his pace up the stairs.
"You do know that at this rate, we won't make it."
"You don't need to state the obvious. What are you thinking?"
Rei asked.
"... You know what I'm thinking of."
Shuusuke merely replied. Rei shifted his gaze to Shuusuke for the moment, before looking back forward.
"... It is reckless, not to mention difficult."
"But we have no choice and you know this."
Rei said nothing in reply as he had none. He knew what had to be done but the risks were too great and they only had one shot at this. The rumbling of the tower got louder, signalling the group to hurry in their pace.
"I hope this place doesn't start falling apart."
Kyou muttered, looking around nervously at the crumbling walls.
"They'll hold, until we defeat the last boss."
Yuri said in reply while she practically started jumping steps to speed her pace.
"What makes you say that?"
Kyou asked back.
"My gut... and the fact that it always happens in video games and movies."
"This isn't a game or a show."
"It is still a story. And besides, stories always have a strange habit of turning for the better."
Kyou wanted to refute that theory but she kept her words to herself. Somehow, she felt that what the leader of the SSS was saying is true, as much as she hates to admit it. Admitting it felt like losing and though in what exact aspect she might be losing in is unknown, it is still the fact that she would lose. She hates losing. Period.
"Alright boys and girls, I hope you've settled your little inner mental argument because we have reached."
Yuri spoke up, making all look up and see the large pair of doors that stood before them. On the door was the carving of men holding onto large chests and bags, each holding upon their shoulders and seemingly more than they can carry and yet still persist to carry or drag more bags.
"... This doesn't look so bad."
Yuri said, looking at the relief on the wall. The SSS2 members of the group, however, begged to disagree.
"This is bad. Real bad."
Kyou muttered. This was starting to tick Yuri off. Just how many times do these SSS2 want to prove her wrong?
"You said that about the previous one as well. Just how high of a hurdle are you guys putting up for yourselves?"
Yuri asked to which Rei shook his head.
"You do not understand, Yuri-san. The previous battle was dangerous mainly due to the fact that we had never faced a SSS2 Division leader who wields a SSS weapon before. Inclusive of the fact that Kinoji Awase has her stats like a wild card, constantly changing on a whim. At times she can be the third most powerful person in the SSS2, and others she can be the weakest. The one behind this door, however, is like a power house without a limit. A whole different level of dangerous."
Rei said, explaining to the SSS leader about the possible dangers behind this door though at this point it wasn't 'possible' dangers, but rather 'inevitable dangers'.
"So... the one behind this door is the strongest? Is it that... Kurogane person?"
Yuri asked, but Rei shook his head once more.
"Kou has her limits. Though she may be extremely powerful, her body is unable to withstand the power she exerts. The one behind here, however, is like a waterfall. Going on without limits, without pause. Always going at full force and never forgiving."
"That sounds... dangerous."
Rei smiled at that answer.
"Yes... Dangerous indeed, however in that unrelenting force, there is a weakness. For someone who only knows how to release all of their power constantly without pause, they would only charge off blindly."
"And who exactly is this person?"
Yuri asked as Rei walked forward and pushed the doors open. Pass the doors was a giant factory. No, not factory.
"This is... Guild? !"
Kyou stared in shock. Indeed it was Guild, more specifically, Big Site, and the group just walked into the main square where standing at the centre of the square was a young woman with her dirtied overalls hanging by her waist.
"... That is the one who fights without limits. The leader of Guild. Himura Yuuko."
The group walked through the doors and into the square of Guild. Or what seemed to be Guild. The space that recreated Guild was large, almost as large as the real Guild however there were some differences. The central elevator that leads from the train platform to Big Site was missing. The giant onsen palace at the far end of Guild was also missing. The last thing missing? People. Guild, Big Site in particular, was hardly empty and even Yamato had instructed several people to remain in Guild to maintain the factory despite throwing every person capable bearing arms to the front lines. This place wasn't Guild, but rather it was an empty copy of the glory of Guild. The structures, while solid and real, lacked the 'soul' of Guild. The smell, the cuts, the dirt. A ghost.
"Hmm... I've always wanted to see what my successors would do to my old workshop. Looks like nothing much has changed."
Chaa, the leader of Guild during the age of the SSS, said, stepping forward.
"Of course nothing has changed. Why change something that works?"
The young woman who stood at the centre of the square spoke up.
"I take it you are the new leader of Guild."
Chaa said, to which the young woman smiled.
"Yes. I am Himura Yuuko. Your successor in both name... and soul."
Yuuko pulled out from behind her a giant hammer. It wasn't the type of hammer you would normally find, but rather it looked strange like an old stone hammer used by warriors of an old age long past. It was similar in shape to the hammer on the Guild's emblem. Everyone seemed to be on edge at her action. All except for the leader of Guild, Chaa.
"Hmm, that's an interesting weapon you have there. I'm still not sure how you guys managed to pull off making weapons that exceed memories, but it sure looks interesting to try."
Chaa smirked, pulling out a pistol. At the sight of his weapon, Yuuko laughed.
"Ha ha ha! Is that all you have, Predecessor-san? A pistol? You should have brought a larger gun!"
Yuuko gloated but Chaa did not seem fazed in the slightest.
"A larger gun doesn't suit me."
He merely said, before raising the pistol and aiming it at Yuuko. It was at this moment that Yamato remembered something. When Yuri first appeared on the battlefield before Yamato and Kyou, she used a pistol to take down an Angel, and that pistol was surely not loaded with a normal pistol round. That would mean-
BOOM
Like the case with Yuri, Chaa's pistol shot off an explosion rather than a single bullet. And from the explosion, Yuuko was sent flying off in one direction.
"Most likely that would not have finished her off. You guys need to go on ahead. I'll deal with her."
Chaa told them before walking in the same direction as where Yuuko went.
"C-Chaa? You can't be serious! That's a Division leader! You have no idea what sort of power-"
"Don't worry too much, Yurippe. This is Guild. Though it is not the Guild that I built up and cared for, it is still Guild nonetheless. And as such, I will not lose. Trust me."
Chaa smiled, though Yuri was still not convinced.
"But-"
"Let's just let him do it. We are running out of time ourselves so it would be better if we leave this to him and move on."
Rei cut her off. That was the one thing that Yuri could not argue back against. She bit her lip and dug her nails deep into her palm.
"... Fine. We'll go. But remember this Chaa. I am giving you an order. Survive and win this."
Yuri said, before turning and heading off in the direction of the doorway that would lead to the other side. Chaa merely smiled at that.
"Whatever you say, princess."
"Chaa-san. Catch."
Rei tossed a small box to the Guild leader, who caught it and looked at it. It was a box of ammunition.
"That box contains five rounds with my essence in it as well as an automatic executing program for purging. It allows other people such as yourself to purge the madness, but only use it once the Division leader has been defeated. Physically, mentally and emotionally."
Rei instructed.
"You've been preparing for such an occasion, haven't you?"
Chaa asked with a slight smirk, to which Rei merely shrugged.
"It is always good to be prepared for all possible outcomes to occur. Knowing you SSS, you would most likely take this sort of course of action, not that it is a bad thing thought. Well, good luck, SSS Guild leader."
Chaa nodded and put the box into his pocket, watching as the group exited the hall, leaving him in the square.
"So, they're finally gone?"
Yuuko spoke up, stepping out from behind one of the buildings, seemingly unscathed.
"You're being awfully forgiving, letting the rest go just like that."
Chaa added, turning around to face the SSS2 Guild leader, who simply shrugged her shoulders.
"I have no qualm with letting them go, after all, the end is inevitable."
Yuuko smirked, slamming her hammer into the ground.
"But tell me something, my dear predecessor, what exactly is that gun? If you lack the memories, you couldn't make something out of the extraordinary, am I right?"
Yuuko quizzed, to which Chaa closed his eyes for the moment, before looking at her.
"When we first came back to this World, I realized that the very air and the place that we were used to had changed dramatically. The weapons that we were supplied with also seemed to be very different from the ones we were used to, as such, memories were no longer a necessary component."
Chaa explained, raising his pistol.
"Memories still make up the basic shape. Logic dictates how it works, but with this... 'black essence', as you all have taken to calling it, the end result is something off the charts."
Chaa failed to mention about the SSS's mysterious benefactor but he wasn't sure about who this benefactor was in the first place. Yuri and Yuzuru seemed to have some inclination on who that person is but they would not share their information with anyone else. Well not that that matters to Chaa. All that matters is that he managed to learn some very interesting new techniques managed to recreate the type of weapons used. In other words, he wasn't just any SSS Guild leader. He is a SSS Guild leader with a whole load of fire power.
But his opponent is someone who stands at a far greater advantage compared to himself. He wasn't all too sure whether he could take on the successor to his name but he was sure not going to let Yuri hear about it. Isn't it embarrassing to have a student to beat the teacher? Not embarrassing for the student, maybe, but for the teacher it would be a near death level of humiliation. Well, he wasn't her teacher in the first place but it was the same thing. So he would have to bet everything on his knowledge on weaponries, which weren't much compared to the types of ridiculous weapons the SSS2 were pushing out.
"Well then, predecessor-san, why don't we play for awhile? Let us see if the present... is better than the past?"
With that, Yuuko readied her hammer. Chaa sighed, shaking his head.
"This... is going to get tough."
[Boss Fight]
[3rd Division Leader: Guild]
[Himura Yuuko]
[Alignment: Chaotic Evil]
[Type: Greed]
[Level: 200
HP: 800000000
MP: 800000000
Strength: A
Agility: B
Endurance: S
Luck: D]
[Weapons List:
- Mjolnir (Rank SSS)]
- Weapons from Dirt (All created weapons are Rank A)]
VS
[SSS Guild Leader]
[Chaa]
[Alignment: Neutral]
[Level: 90
HP: 800000
MP: 5000000
Strength: A
Agility: B
Endurance: A
Luck: B]
[Weapons List:
- Weapons from Dirt (All created weapons are Rank S)]
Tough was not really a word to define the difficulty that Chaa was facing. Ducking under a giant swing from Yuuko's hammer, he rolled across the dirt and bringing his pistol up to aim. He fired a shot but Yuuko swung her ammo, knocking the shot away. The round flew behind Yuuko where it hit a building, causing a large explosion from the impact. Without waiting, Yuuko charged straight at Chaa, swinging her giant hammer down on him. Chaa had limited knowledge on Black Essence but he wasn't just sitting back during the past few fights. He had observed the battles, observed the weapons and their usage. He still not managed to get an overall grasp on the concept of Black Essence but it was enough at this point. Enough for him to grab a fist full of dirt and slam it into the ground.
Chaa realized that unlike during the time of the SSS, the presence of Essences made it possible to not only create weapons that were unique or could escape the logic of reality, but it could also speed up building time to be incredibly short. And such was this point when he grabbed the fist full of dirt. With one slam, he created a large thick metal stick. And using this stick he stopped Yuuko's attack but letting it stand and take the full brunt of the attack with the ground as a support. But Yuuko's hammer would not be so easily stopped and Chaa knew it. He quickly rolled away from under the hammer before the stick gave way and Yuuko's hammer crashed into the ground.
"Oho? Predecessor-san, you're quite good, being able to create an object so quickly."
Yuuko mused, her fanged smile showing a hint of interest.
"Well, you're not too bad yourself."
Yuuko smirked, shouldering her large hammer.
"You're not using your full strength though."
Chaa noted, to which Yuuko merely laughed.
"Ha ha ha! Against someone like you, I don't need my full strength!"
"... But you are the symbol of Greed. Shouldn't you be going at full strength at all times?"
Chaa asked though he really shouldn't be asking such questions. It tends to be a death flag.
"... Now that you mention it, I guess that's right."
Yuuko said after some thought. Yup, death flag.
"Truth be told, each and everyone has a little sin within us all. But it is up to us just how we interpret each and every sin to our own selves. Now it is time for you to know why my SIN is infinite."
Yuuko smirked before she took her hammer and slammed it into the ground, causing a giant shock wave that rippled throughout the cavern.
"For my word is law."
[Program: Initialized]
[Corruption level: 1000%]
[Engaging DEMON protocol]
"I am the largest of all Sins.
I am the bottomless pit,
The dark abyss of infinity.
I am the great Earth,
Claiming all on my vast lands.
I am the corrupter of minds,
The defiler of intentions,
The infinite cycle of love and hatred.
I am one who can force the calmest of men to be a savage beast.
I am the dark poison that shall seep into your souls.
You more you seek the more you will desire,
An endless quest for the endless horizon.
Pursue those that do not matter,
Keep those that matter.
None are free from my reach,
None can escape from grasp.
History shall forever remember my name,
My power and my darkness.
Collection is my calling,
Hoarding is my creed.
I am the sin that can never be fulfilled.
I am Behemoth
I am Avarita
I am Greed."
[Behemoth; Activate]
[Boss Fight]
[Incarnation of Greed: Behemoth]
[Himura Yuuko]
[MJOLNIR; Activated]
[MJOLNIR equipped]
[Level: 300
HP: 10000000000
MP: 5000000000
Strength: AAA
Agility: B
Endurance: SS
Luck: D]
[Weapons List:
- MJOLNIR Armour (Rank SSS)
- MJOLNIR (Rank SSS)
- Tower of Babylon (Rank SSS)]
Chaa knew that his only chance to beat Yuuko was to finish her off quickly. Like her SIN, the Guild leader of SSS2 was seemingly absorbing the essence around her, making her more powerful with each passing second. It was not known just how much more powerful she could get. Dodging under the swing of her giant hammer, Chaa rolled to take cover behind one of the shops but his cover did not last long as the hammer smashed right through the shop house with ease. It was made worse for Chaa since the destruction of the buildings meant that Yuuko could absorb the essences around her faster. Much like how you would boil potatoes. If you leave the potato as it is, the boiling process would take some time. However if you were to break apart the potato and cut them into small chunks to increase surface area, they would cook much better.
"WHO CARES ABOUT A DAMN POTATO? !"
Chaa snapped, dodging another swing from Yuuko's hammer.
"Predecessor-san, if you keep getting distracted, your head will fly."
Yuuko said, slamming her hammer down.
"And potatoes are nice things to eat. Don't you like them?"
"I prefer rice."
Chaa said, jumping back from the impact. Yuuko stood back up straight, leaning against her standing hammer for support. Her MJOLNIR armour was like a mix of modern dressing and a terrible old man who worked at a steel factory. Her tight top barely covered the top half of her chest. Her pants was torn and the entire right side was gone. Wearing a coat that she buttoned only mid way, she had a strange device on her left arm that looked like a small shield but with such crazy attack power she had no reason to shield herself. The most prominent feature of her armour were the two strange floating... things, by her hips. They looked a whole lot like potato chips, if they were the size of her legs and be hovering around shooting things out from their tips and rocket boosting Yuuko around the place. Seriously, in terms of out-of-this-World ideas? Hers would take the cake. If there was cake in the first place.
"Oh, like these toys of mine, Predecessor-san?"
Yuuko smiled, patting on of the large floating things by her side like a pet dog.
"They're too unrealistic. How did you create them?"
Chaa asked, trying to buy some time while he made more weapons.
"You want to know? I'll tell you! It's because... IT'S ME!"
.
.
.
.
.
What? No seriously, back up a little. What did she say?
"You see, nobody in this World can create things that doesn't... that cannot exist outside the bounds of reality. But... Why?"
Yuuko asked with a slight curl of her fanged lips.
"Why can't we have something that we wish for? Why must we be tied down by the complications of life? Why can't we have everything?"
Yuuko raised her hand skyward, as though trying to reach for something, but then stopped, clenching her fist and bringing it close to her chest.
"This sort of life... is unnecessary. We were made to break limits, to break the bonds that were set for us! We evolved to be greater than anything else on this planet! We became the masters of our lives! We conquered diseases! We conquered disasters! We became masters of fate! ... And yet... we created limits for ourselves. Made the sky as high as we could go. Dig deep as far as to the core below. We became aware... of limitations."
Yuuko's voice became strained, darker.
"Why do we lie to ourselves? Telling ourselves that we could do whatever we wanted? Telling us that we could be whatever we wished to be? When all of it were simply lies. We cannot be anything more than what limits us. A farmer cannot be a politician. A teacher cannot aspire to be an astronaut. A sailor can never dream of a pilot. We are all locked in a fate that we created for ourselves. All limited... by our realities... and by time of our fragile lives."
Chaa knew what Yuuko was saying as he too had faced the pain and grievance of loss. He had sought freedom, acting outside of the rules of society but in the end it all amounted to nothing. To be someone or something when you were nothing is a fleeting dream. To obtain what was unobtainable was a lie. And even if you should be able to grasp in your hands what you could not, the dream would only disappear sooner or later.
"And so... when I came to this World, I decided on one thing."
Yuuko said, lifting up her hammer and shouldering it.
"In this World where time does not exist, where pain and injury can be reverted. Where death is only a word. I SHALL REMAKE THE LAWS OF LIFE!"
Raising her hammer high above her head, Yuuko used all of her might to bring down the heavy weapon into the ground, causing giant cracks to form all over.
"EXEC_ANGELPROGRAM : / / / SYSTEM_LINK WEAPONS_SKILL \ TOWER OF BABYLON; ACTIVATE"
Erupting from the cracks as the point of impact, a giant object shot out of the ground like a geyser. And that object was something Chaa thought he would never see again. A large cannon structure on top of a train flat bed. With a round so large it had to be holstered into the cannon's barrel with chains and pulleys.
"Look familiar, predecessor-san?"
Yuuko laughed, standing at the top of the large gun.
"Y-you, that weapon is-"
"The same one you tried to use back then against your enemy in an effort to stall for time for this large Guild site, didn't you? Of course, it didn't work for you back then because you all had feeble thoughts about it. Could not know how it worked nor actually believed that it would work. FAITH, however, can bring you only so far. What you needed... WAS ABSOLUTE POWER AND CONVICTION!"
Yuuko slammed her hammer into the lever that triggered the cannon to fire.
BOOM
Chaa only managed to jumped out of his cover just in time before the wall he hid behind blew up from the giant round fired from the cannon that he had once thought impossible to build. The giant rail cannon. It was once used by the Germans during World War II but no one really knew of its specifics. If you looked it up hard enough you might be able to find it but for the builders of SSS, they did not know. Only pictures of it were all they had to go by with and thus they thought it impossible to build and make it work. This person however, was able to create it without using up time or materials that are necessary to make such weapons. Rather, with just one hit of her hammer, she somehow 'conjured' up the large weapon. And worse of all she made it work. Defying the laws of both the World of the living as well as the laws of this World, Himura Yuuko had just shown that she would be able to make anything she so pleased with her hammer. In other words, she could play 'God'. Anything and everything was at her disposal, free to be remodelled however she liked. Just how would he, someone who used the old methods to make limited weapons, be able to defeat her? This was impossible for him!
"HA HA HA! What's the matter predecessor-san? Getting cold feet? ! Here's another round!"
Yuuko laughed as she whacked another round into the chamber and slammed it shut, firing it off.
BOOM
Chaa dodged the giant round as it flew past him and blew up in the building behind him. The explosion knocked him off his feet and sent him into the wall of another building.
"Oi oi, predecessor-san, you're making it too easy for me. What happened to all of that bravado you showed earlier? Let your comrades go ahead? Ha! What can you do when you're so weak?"
Yuuko snorted, jumping off the large cannon. She tapped the cannon with the handle of her hammer and the giant cannon disappeared.
"Now it merely seems like I'm bullying you. Well, I can't say that bullying is not my image though."
Yuuko sighed, walking over to the fallen SSS Guild leader.
"So... is this the best my predecessors can offer? As I thought, the limitations set in place are ridiculous and were meant to be broken."
She muttered, walking up to where Chaa still lay on the ground. She slammed her hammer down the ground, making it stand on its head.
"Do you not see now, predecessor-san? That everything you can amount to is useless? How can someone who still stays within the boundaries of reality ever hope to overcome someone who has no limits? Who lives within the realms of absurdity? It's like trying to fight a tsunami with a knife. What can you do but fail?"
Yuuko laughed, but then stopped when she noticed that Chaa was holding onto something.
"... Even if it is a knife..."
Chaa muttered, his face isn't showing one of despair, but rather... he was smiling. That was when Yuuko realized what he was holding in his hand.
"It is still... something."
He pressed the button on the remote, triggering the the mines that were under Yuuko to activate and go off.
BOOM
Chaa was blown away by the explosion but he was further away than before and he struggled up to his feet. Using the time when she was chasing him around, he had planted mines all over Guild and he knew it would come handy sooner or later. The smoke from the explosion cleared and it revealed that Yuuko did indeed had some form of defences in place. The large object on her left hand extended outward to create a shield, and at the same time the two large objects that floated around her had placed themselves between herself and the explosion. Still, it wasn't all for naught as Yuuko did show signs of being affected by the explosion. Yuuko looked down at her sleeve where it was torn and singed.
"..."
It was at this point that Chaa realized something. While Rei and the others of the SSS2 were not wrong to say that Yuuko was the type to go all-out from the get-go, they did not include the fact that Yuuko had kept her power under control with her sanity. However like all other Division leaders, the darkness had consumed the leader of Guild and transformed her into something else. And for the very reason that all animals had held onto the very basic of all instincts, the instincts of survival. Even humans, who had long forsaken the many instincts and relied more on their ability to think critically, still held onto the basic instincts of fight or flight. It was ingrained in every human being that the moment they perceived the situation as a threat to their own life, that they would either choose to fight whatever stood before them, or flee if the threat presented was deemed far too great for them to handle. It was such a situation that presented itself to Chaa at this point. Though to others, it may seem as though nothing has changed from Yuuko's outlook, the presence that she held at this point was something that could not be classified as normal. The amount of malice that irradiated from the Guild leader was immense, suffocating and causing a great pressure to create cracks in the floor and the surrounding area.
"... You... did something... you should not have."
Yuuko glared at Chaa.
"Do not... destroy... what... is MINE!"
Yuuko snapped, bringing her hammer high into the sky and slamming it into the ground.
"EXEC_ANGELPROGRAM : / / / SYSTEM_LINK WEAPONS_SKILL \ TOWER OF BABYLON; ACTIVATE"
From the ground a giant tank like vehicle emerged. Fierce with spikes protruding forward, triangular in shape and having three main cannons.
"FIRE AWAY!"
Yuuko stomped her foot on the tank and the three cannons fired. Chaa ran, dodging most of the fire and debris from the cannon fire. Chaa brought out another remote switch, pressing the button and igniting the mines in the ground around the tank. Yuuko shielded her eyes from the explosions but the fire in her eyes did not die. She brought up her hammer.
"These irritating things... WILL NOT STOP ME!"
She slammed the hammer into the ground.
"EXEC_ANGELPROGRAM : / / / SYSTEM_LINK WEAPONS_SKILL \ ALL YOUR BASE ARE BELONG TO ME; ACTIVATE"
A giant shock wave swept out from the point of impact, sending an invisible wave all around her, even hitting Chaa. But Chaa did not feel any change. He tried to press the button on his remote but then... nothing happened.
"Wha-"
"Are you wondering about your little mines, predecessor-san?"
Yuuko laughed, tapping her hammer against her tank, forming a small remote device of her own. She took the device and pressed the ignition button, causing the mines around Chaa to blow up.
"HA HA HA! Did you really think that I would not be able to take control? I AM THE LEADER OF THE 3RD DIVISION, GUILD! MY WORD IS LAW! ALL WITHIN MY REALM SHALL LISTEN ONLY TO ME!"
Yuuko shouted as she stomped her foot on her tank and let it fire off once more. He had no idea just what she did but now she had complete control over his mines. An electronic wave that scrambled the signals on his mines? It can't be, she would need to know on what frequency he was using for his mines, scramble the signal and reconfigure them to listen in on a signal only she would produce. It all happened within that one split second? Just what sort of crazy thing did she do? ! Wait, she was crazy in the first place.
"For something like this to happen."
Chaa muttered, hiding behind one of the buildings left intact by Yuuko's mad attacks. He looked at his remaining options. He tried to grab some dirt and mould it into a usable weapon but the dirt simply crumbled away, refusing to be made.
"... I guess I've entered her 'turf', huh?"
Chaa sighed, tossing away the remaining dirt. The only things he had left was a knife and his pistol. Could he really make it work? To defeat someone crazy like her, he had to step up his game. He reached into his pocket and took out a small pill that he had received from Katusragi Rei earlier.
Two hours before
"These pills are for you all."
Rei said, handing small coloured pills to every member of the group.
"These are... the same ones used by Kyou and the others?"
Yamato asked, looking at the pill carefully.
"Yes, it is to supplement additional fire power when you find yourselves driven into a corner. Because of the weapons and abilities of the adversaries we face, I suspect that the current state is that they will overwhelm us. This is to even the odds."
Rei explained.
"What does it do? Besides giving us access to the program, that is."
Kyou asked, having received another pill.
"... Well, when the division leader utilizes their power, they are in fact expanding the madness and insanity that they use as their power. The larger the darkness, the more powerful they get and the weaker we become mainly because we are not used to the madness and it cuts off our connection to the core program while they are powered by it. It seems that the madness and insanity that each Division leader uses is also specific to that leader, like how on Jinnai's floor everyone was acting lovey-dovey, Ein's floor everyone was hungry, Awase's floor everyone felt sleepy. Each time the Division leader expands their sphere of 'influence' through the madness and insanity, they mark that place as their own. In other words, a 'turf' battle."
"'Turf'?"
"Yes, a 'turf' battle. The more a leader is able to expand their horizon of influence, the stronger their attacks and the harder it becomes for us to attack. This pills is to allow you to by-pass anything blocking your connection to the core program besides increasing your own powers. In others words, you are able to make your own 'turf' within theirs."
Present
Looking at the small pill, Chaa had to wonder just how much of this information was reliable. In the first place 'turf' war? This was starting to sound a whole lot like another story altogether. This was still Angel Beats, right? Not some story about punk teenagers on jet powered roller blades and big breasted women, right? What were they called, ATAT? Wait, aren't those giant metallic camels? Really, he shouldn't be thinking so much. Looking at the pill once more, he took some offence to the small coloured pill. Did he really have to rely on something so small? He thought back to what Yuuko said. That in order to beat her, he had to step out of the realm of normality? In the first place, what was normal in this World? But if he had to fight her with these pills, then what was the meaning to it all? No, he had beat her with his current terms, using his way. Otherwise he would only be proving her right.
"The last thing I need is to make the situation any more worse than it should be."
He muttered, pocketing the pill.
"... But.. the turfs... huh?"
That made Chaa think. He grabbed a fist full of dirt and looked at it.
"... Hmm..."
Perhaps there was still a chance to win after all.
Himura Yuuko had always wondered how the previous leader of Guild was like. She had read the journals and knew of his style. She knew his way of handling those under him and how he had discovered the method to create weapons from dirt. Truth be told, she was very impressed by her predecessor. His discovery of weapons paved the path for the SSS, and subsequently the SSS2, to fight their battles. He had organized the rough band of young mis-fits to become a professional group capable of producing weapons of the highest quality. She was impressed, awed and undoubtedly idolized such a person.
But reality had to hit home. He was weak. Too weak to grasp what true potential he held at his finger tips. The power of the program and the essences were limitless. It allowed her to project whatever her hearts so desires and create them into physical realities. She knew that whatever she created would still be limited to the images she projects, which in turn are limited by her own imagination. Imagination that has its limit where how much she knows. She cannot create something new that her mind is not capable of comprehending. But it was a step in a direction that she wanted to take. No matter who may stop her, no matter what may happen, she will overcome it all.
"... Even you, Yuki-chii... Hm?"
She looked up and saw that Chaa had stepped out from his hiding place, standing there right before her.
"Hmm? So, predecessor-san, you decided to face the inevitable? I applaud your bravery."
Yuuko laughed, turning her tank around and getting the turrets to face Chaa.
"Do you have any last words?"
She asked. Chaa said nothing, but took out something from his pocket.
"... Hmm? What's that? A new toy? Don't you remember that anything you make cannot be used by you? Not while you're on my land, not while you're in my realm."
Chaa said nothing to her provocations, but merely took the object in his hand and-
BOOM
The ground around Yuuko exploded, causing Yuuko to lose balance, grabbing onto her tank to prevent herself from being thrown off.
"Wha- What? !"
She looked to Chaa and saw that the object he held in his hand was none other than the same trigger device she held onto. She looked down at her hand and saw that her device was still in her hand, but how did Chaa have the same device? !
"Not everything has to go your way."
Chaa smirked, tossing aside the device as it crumbled away into dust.
"H-how? ! That's not possible!"
Yuuko snapped. Chaa grabbed a fist full of dirt and clenched it tight before throwing it at Yuuko. The dirt that Chaa threw was in fact, a grenade. Yuuko brought up her shield just in time to stop the explosion from blasting in her face. What was going on? Why was Chaa able to create weapons? This was her realm, wasn't it? No one but herself should be able to create any weapons. So why? !
"This... cannot BE!"
"EXEC_ANGELPROGRAM : / / / SYSTEM_LINK WEAPONS_SKILL \ ALL YOUR BASE ARE BELONG TO ME; ACTIVATE"
Slamming her hammer into the ground, a giant shock wave shot out from the point of contact, hitting everything around her, including Chaa. But Chaa merely smiled. He grabbed a fist full of dirt and threw it. Once more the dirt became a grenade and exploded near Yuuko.
"A-Again? ! IT CANNOT BE TRUE! WHY? ! WHY ARE YOU STILL ABLE TO CREATE WEAPONS IN MY SPACE? !"
Yuuko screamed, bringing her hammer down on the floor once more.
"EXEC_ANGELPROGRAM : / / / SYSTEM_LINK WEAPONS_SKILL \ ALL YOUR BASE ARE BELONG TO ME; ACTIVATE"
Once again the same shock wave, but Chaa simply grabbed a bunch of dirt and threw it over and over again, creating more grenades that forced Yuuko to back off.
"This... WHY YOU-!"
Yuuko raised her hand into the air.
"I don't know what trick you managed to pull, but you're wrong to think that you have won just yet!"
The two flying tacos at her side shot out and aimed straight for Chaa.
"Why do I get the feeling of DRAG*OONs from Gun*am Se*d Destiny?"
Chaa muttered before noticing one of the flying machines was priming its main gun at him. He jumped out of the way just in time before the machine shot a laser beam.
"... LASER? ! OI OI! SINCE WHEN WAS THIS A SCI-FI STORY? ! I DIDN'T HEAR ANYTHING ABOUT A GOD-DAMN LASER!"
And the fact that those two things could fly in the first place never even crossed his mind.
"THINGS FLY ALL THE TIME!"
Not in that manner. Chaa dodged the attack one after another, jumping behind one of the buildings, only to have that building smashed through by Yuuko's hammer that was held by an enraged Yuuko.
"DON'T FORGET ME!"
"Who could forget?"
Chaa muttered wryly, jumping back as he reached back for his pistol. He drew it and fired it at one of the flying machines, causing an explosion with each round he fired due to the types of round he was using. The machine was damaged by his attacks but it was merely scratching its hard surface. He had to duck to dodge Yuuko's hammer as she came flying in once more. It was like a fighting game's combo attack. The machines would fire at Chaa, forcing him to dodge and Yuuko would go in for a strike.
"KORYAAA!"
Yuuko slammed her hammer down into the ground but missed Chaa once again. Her two flying machines flew back to her side, attached themselves to her waist belt and acted as booster rockets as they blasted her forward with their rear boosters.
"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT? !"
A flying division leader. Didn't you say that things fly all the time?
"NOT PEOPLE ON THEIR OWN!"
She has stuff attached to her so not really on her own.
"DOES IT MATTER?"
Apparently not. Yuuko, with boosters attached, flew straight for Chaa at blinding speeds, swinging her hammer at the Guild leader. Chaa was using every ounce of his energy, agility, dexterity and luck to avoid even a single hit from Yuuko's hammer. One hit could spell instant death. Actually, Chaa might get sent straight into his third reincarnation if that thing ever connects. Talk about home runs.
"WHO CARES ABOUT BASEBALL? !"
You should, since Koshien is going into overtime. Chaa dodged the next attack by Yuuko, sliding around the corner and taking refuge behind one of the wrecked buildings.
"Hiding is all you're good for, huh? AND THAT'S ALL YOU'LL EVER AMOUNT TO BE!"
"EXEC_ANGELPROGRAM : / / / SYSTEM_LINK WEAPONS_SKILL \ DISPARITY OF SOCIETY ; ACTIVATE"
Slamming the hammer into the ground, the ground itself split itself, opening up a giant chasm. It split the building Chaa was hiding behind and made it disappear, forcing Chaa out into the open. It was not the fact that Yuuko had many more skills under her belt that made Chaa worried. It was the fact that this battle was being dragged out because he did not know what sort of skills she had. Thus far she had shown three skills. The first, "Tower of Babylon". From what he is able to discern, that skill is Yuuko's main skill, allowing her to create anything she wishes. The second, "All your base are Belong to Me", is an area effect skill that affirms Yuuko's territory.
Unlike other Division leaders, whose sphere of influence (or 'turfs' as Katsuragi Rei puts it) is merely to boost their own power whilst minimizing the power of others, Yuuko is able to cancel and even control the weapons and powers of anyone who is affected by her skill. That in itself is an extremely strong skill. The latest skill that Yuuko had shown, "Disparity of Society". He doesn't know much about it, but it seems to split apart and destroy anything she wants. No, it isn't only splitting apart and destroying. It was a complete and direct atomizing and absorption of anything she touches. It is a faster method of powering herself up rather than destroying everything around her and slowly absorbing the essences that are released by the destruction. In other words, it is a skill Chaa would not want Yuuko to use again.
Knowing that Yuuko would probably have more skills up her sleeves, Chaa would have to think his actions carefully. He took a fist full of dirt and compressed it. Thankfully this was still considered Yuuko's 'turf', so the dirt he compressed would be formed almost instantly. The problem was that his method to create weapons had to be different from what he was used to. After all, he was working on her 'terms'. He compressed it hard and looked at the device in his hand. The device held its shape but soon crumbled back into dirt.
"... It's harder than I thought."
He muttered, taking up a bunch of dirt once more and compressing it. And he opened his hand once more, holding onto a-
"... Potato?"
Yes, it was a potato. The shape, the size, the texture. Everything about it was a potato and no matter who or what says otherwise, it is clearly just a potato.
"WHO CARES ABOUT A FREAKING POTATO!"
Chaa snapped, throwing it onto the ground in a fit of anger.
"Dammit, playing around with me- ... Hmm?"
That was when Chaa noticed something odd about the potato he just threw onto the ground. It was... growing?
"That's too fast... Just what is going on? Wait... if the sphere is 'greed', and thus it was made from 'greed', thus it would inevitably grow to be the same as that Guild leader. In other words, that potato was the same as Yuuko. It was Greed itself.
"... Still, why a potato?"
Chaa muttered, shaking his head. He peered around the corner of the rubble, seeing how Yuuko was still going on with her rampage. It was a good thing this place was set up like Guild. Even if Yuuko had rebuilt the entire place, there were still a few short cuts around that survived both the destruction of his Guild, and the reconstruction into Yuuko's. And this is suppose to be a reconstruction of a reconstruction. How confusing. But since it was a faithful reconstruction, he believed that the tunnels would exist and he was right. Using the tunnels he managed to get in another direction from Yuuko's rampage and used this time to think. And the more he thought about it, the more the potato started to grow. Not only in size, but having weird stems shooting out and burying into the ground all over. Almost like something out of an alien film.
"... What an interesting thing to make."
Chaa muttered, grabbing more dirt and making more... potatoes. Chaa did not know if it would actually work, but he just kept making them. Who knows?
"FOUND YOU"
Chaa turned around and saw what could be best described as Ashura in the face.
"Oh shi-"
Chaa jumped to the side before Yuuko's hammer slammed down on where he was sitting just a second ago.
"Watch where you're swinging that! -But you won't listen to what I'm saying... so here's something!"
Chaa threw at Yuuko a grenade but Yuuko swung at it with her hammer. The grenade was hit far away, as expected.
"DO YOU REALLY BELIEVE THAT YOU COULD BEAT ME WITH JUST THAT? !"
Yuuko screamed, lunging forward.
"Not really, but there is a saying. 'Even with a lousy gun, with a thousand of them, you're bound to hit something'."
Chaa reached into his pocket and pulled out everything he had. Grenades all flew out of his pockets and towards Yuuko. Yuuko swung her hammer at them and sent them flying as well. Or so she thought.
"Wha-"
Large roots started to grow all over her hammer, entangling it as well as her hands.
"WHAT IS THIS? !"
She demanded as the roots became more dense and heavy. She looked up and saw Chaa standing in front of her, tossing something up into the air and catching it over and over again.
"What is it? It's simply this."
Chaa smirked, catching the object he tossed into the air and showing it to Yuuko.
"A... POTATO?"
What Chaa had in his hand was in fact a potato. Yuuko looked at her hammer and saw that the roots were all sprouting out from several potatoes that latched onto her hammer. Chaa mixed them with the grenades when he tossed them at her, however unlike the grenades, the potatoes clung onto the hammer when it hit them and started to grow.
"These are... Why are they growing so fast? !"
"Do you really not know? Maybe you've been so caught up in your rampage that you failed to notice it."
Chaa said. Yuuko did not understand what he was talking about. She looked at the potatoes once more.
"... ! T-This is-!"
Yuuko finally realized what they were. The presence they held onto, the power that they fed off from. The very existence they were.
"These are... me?"
Yuuko knew this feeling. They were not exactly her, but they were made from her very own essence.
"You see, the thing about your trick 'All you base are belong to us', is that you lay claim to an entire area. Unlike other division leaders that we fought previously, you are able to control anything that is within your 'influence'. But in order to do that, you must integrate yourself into whatever is in that area of influence. In other words, you have to spread your own essence into the ground. It is the basics of making weapons in Guild; you must use your memories and infuse them into the mould, otherwise the object will not form and in the end it would simply crumble."
Chaa explained.
"B-but how are these potatoes able to grow so fast? !"
Yuuko cried out as more roots sprouted from the ground to entangle her feet, trapping her on the spot. Those were from the potatoes that Chaa was making and planted them into the ground while dodging Yuuko's attacks.
"Because they are you. And you are the symbol of Greed."
Chaa explained, tossing the potato he held in his hand aside as it started to grow roots.
"A potato is one of the sturdiest roots known. It can grow extremely quickly and doesn't require a whole lot of water. In fact, leave a sack of potatoes in a dark cardboard long enough and they would grow into plants. Or not. But if these potatoes, who are able to grow quickly as they are, are made from an essence that lays claim to everything, what do you think would happen?"
Greed. A sin that represents the insatiable desire for more. Unsatisfied with what they have already, those of Greed would forever be condemned to seek out what they do not possess, to reach out what should not be theirs, to aim for what they cannot get. In such sense, a potato formed upon such sin would only grow and grow and grow. Forever till it consumes everything. Reaching to entangle everything it can get its roots on.
"Ha... ha... ha ha ha ha ha!"
Yuuko suddenly broke down into laughter, making Chaa somewhat confused.
"This is rich! DA HA HA HA HA HA! Using my own sin against me? ! THIS IS SIMPLY TOO MUCH! DA HA HA HA HA!"
Yuuko continued to laugh, making Chaa slightly on edge.
"Ha ha ha... This is too weird... ah well... predecessor-san, you've got me there. I never expected that I would be the cause of my own downfall."
Yuuko sighed, shaking her head.
"I guess that's how it is suppose to be. In the first place, we were all simply delusional children, thinking that we could all be something more than we were. We were thinking that with this power, we could be Gods! But... that is simply a fantasy that can never be. It's my loss."
Yuuko admitted with a smile.
"... It's rather fast of you to give up."
Chaa said. Yuuko merely shook her head.
"No, it isn't. In fact, we should given up before it all went out of control. But maybe it was this course that we needed to take in order to better understand where we stand and how to better see what we missed out... Still, I cannot let things end like this since it has come this far."
"What? You're still going to fight? Even after giving up?"
Chaa seemed confused, to which Yuuko smiled.
"What are you saying now, predecessor-san? We can't let our spectators down with just me losing to potatoes. Do you know how long they've waited for this fight to reach a climax?"
"What the hell are you talking about? !"
"Now now, don't be so angry. You're still the winner of our fight, I assure you. It's just that I don't feel satisfied with this ending like this. I like to go out with a bang, you know? Don't worry, if you are able to defeat me just now, I'm sure you can do the same."
Before Chaa could stop her, Yuuko used all of her might, breaking free of the roots that restricted her hands and she lifted up her hammer into the air, slamming it into the ground.
"EXEC_ANGELPROGRAM : / / / SYSTEM_LINK WEAPONS_SKILL \ TOWER OF BABYLON (OVERLORD PROTOCOL) ; ACTIVATE"
From the ground, a giant structure like object shot out of the ground, lifting Yuuko up into the air with it as it towered above Chaa. It was...
"A GUN*AM? !"
Greed. A sin that was without limits; It had none; It knew of none. It was a sin that could bring down nations, create disparities between the rich and the poor. It wasn't limited to material wants, however, as Greed in itself was the desire to have more. While most people would classify Greed as the over-wanting of material goods, it isn't only that as Greed is also the nature in which all life must thrive to exist. Sins by themselves are the excessiveness of a certain trait and in terms of greed, it stems from the basic needs for survival but grew out of proportion as humans and their societies evolved. It was used as the foundation for modern society as humans began to create things to make their lives easier, building things for the ease of access, to harvest more, to create more, to expand their cities, conquering the wilderness.
It didn't stop there. To feed their ego, to build their cities, to expand their power. Then it went further. It created a rift between the people. It made them turn upon one another. It made them want more. Want more than what they need, more than what they can use. It made them something other than human. It changed them into monsters. But greed in itself is a sin that is filled with flaw. It is without end, and strives to be without equal. That insatiable need for more would be its eventual downfall. Greed in itself is a self-destructive sin and the longer it goes on, the more it destroys itself. If faced with another like itself, the two will compete until one is taken over, or both are destroyed.
"ENOUGH ABOUT LONG AND BORING MONOLOGUES! AND LET'S GET IT ON!"
Yuuko charged with her giant robot at Chaa, who made a quick device and detonated the mines around the giant robot, causing it to lose balance.
"NOT YET!"
Yuuko pushed the controls in the cockpit of her robot and quickly made it get back on its feet. Priming its gun at Chaa, she pulled the trigger, firing off a few rounds but Chaa took cover behind some buildings, planning his next move.
.
.
.
Himura Yuuko, daughter to an engineer of the JSDF. She grew up on the base and as a result, became extremely familiar with the weapons of war. She was gifted with the mechanics of the weapons, guns, tanks, planes, anything the base had, she knew its workings in and out. She was considered talented and could have aimed to join the military as well. But things were not so simple. For starters, she did not even want to be an engineer, let alone join the JSDF. She had aspirations to be something else. An astronaut, a singer, a race car driver, a teacher, an idol, a news reporter. She had dreams to be so many things. As she grew up in a base where the military of different nations would also have some presence, she was taught that a human being can aspire to be anything they wanted.
It was no lie, she knew that well enough, but what she did not know at that time was that to reach those aspirations, one must be prepared to make the sacrifices, take on the consequences, and have the opportunity to go for it. Humans are not all able to do every job that is available. She could not be an astronaut as she did not meet the physical requirements. She could not sing as she was slightly tone deaf and her voice could not meet the standard. She could not be a race car driver as no team would hire a woman to drive. She could be a teacher but her grades were not good enough. She did not pass the auditions to be an idol. She could not read most of the kanji written for a news reporter. She could not be what she wanted to be. The limitations set upon her were too great for her to overcome. Even becoming part of the JSDF was difficult for a girl.
It was at this time that she realized that the life she dreamed of will never come true. That those dreams she had as a child were so easily crushed. Reality was a cruel thing to face. She knew it back then. She knew of what she wanted would be impossible. To even get a good paying job would be difficult. She lived in a World where results were all that mattered. A simple marking on a piece of paper. Just some ink was enough to bring a person up to just mere mediocre success, or send them plummeting into the depths of despair. With results, she could get into a good school, from there, she had to bring herself in the good light of others, study hard, get into a good university. Get more good results and then? Would that really bring her to her dreams? Would that lead her to become what she wanted?
By following the system, she merely became a product of the system and would end up as nothing more than another mindless office worker. Was that what she wanted to be? To aim high yet achieve nothing? No. She would not stand for it. She would aim high, and aim for all. She will become more than anyone, more than anything. She will not allow anyone or anything to stop her. And that thought was what drove her insatiable thirst and hunger for more. To know more, to own more, to be more. No matter how impossible the odds, she would face them head on and claim them as her own. That same drive carried on when she came to the Afterlife after dying while trapped in an exploding ammunition depot. She was quick to join Taeno Yuki and under Yuki's leadership, she claimed Guild as her own. She envisioned a World of her own, a place she would make the rules, be the rules. But the creation of things outside of her memories proved impossible, it infuriated her. Until the discovery of the program. With such power at her fingertips, she became a God. And the first thing she did with such powers was the Tower of Babylon.
.
.
.
The Tower of Babylon. Such a tower does not exist in history, nor does it exist in the physical sense. To Yuuko, it represented something that could exist and should exist. In ancient texts that tell stories of high towers, they had always made inclinations to man's desire to reach the sky. They were a symbol of man's arrogance to challenge the Gods. A sign of their greed for reaching out for more, unsatisfied with what they held on the ground, the hunger they had for a higher status. Babylon was an ancient city that was seen as a gleaming gem in the desert, a city that was able to grow and prosper besides all odds. The gate of God, as it was known, Babylon became a prized symbol and wars were fought over it. At the height of its glory, Babylon was a city that stood as the testament to the greed of man, the holy grail that all wanted, could touch but could not hold on for long. And thus the tower of Babylon, the symbol of man's unnecessary greed in the city of sin, was the one thing that Yuuko had to bring forth her dream. To pave her path with madness.
.
.
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Chaa. A mysterious young man who looks much old than he really is. He dropped out of school and became part of a gang of similar delinquents. He had no wild dreams for the future nor did he really care about anything else, other than what was the day going to be like, what he wanted to do at the moment, and... his wife. Though he married young, Chaa did not mind nor did he care at all about what that may be. He loved her and she loved him, that was all he needed. But... it wasn't meant to be. He wasn't like Yuuko, who craved more. He was satisfied with just the simple things. Yuuko wanted to prove that she could overcome any barrier that was put before her. He did not need to prove anything. Yuuko lost everything. He lost everything. They both founded Guild, created and built it up in their own image.
They both led their people well and was respected for it. But Chaa was different from Yuuko. Yuuko still hungered for more, still wanted to achieve the impossibles. He simply faced it all on with what he had. She believed that to defeat the enemy, they needed the ultimate weapon. When a stronger enemy appears, make an even stronger weapon. The cycle goes on. He believed in making things that would last. Things that would leave a mark in history. The tunnels and the weapons stockpiles he built stood as a testament to that. Two different people with different ideals. They would have never met and probably will never see eye to eye. But they have something in common. A junction in which they both met. The Guild. And it was from this Guild that they would find the answers to their despairs. One who would find solace and meaning to his life through the friends and comrades they made, and the other finding madness and darkness through the never-ending struggle for power.
.
.
.
Chaa knew that this was Yuuko's last gamble. That giant robot was armed to the teeth, firing away cannons, machine guns, rockets and all sorts of other heavy fire power. He knew that one he beat her in this, this would solidify his victory but... how? Yuuko did say if he did the same as before, he would definitely win but this is a giant ROBOT. Just how big of a potato does he need to make? Wait, who said anything about a potato? But Chaa had other ideas. He grabbed the soil and with it he formed a rocket launcher. He fired a shot at the robot, hitting it in the joints, forcing the robot to stumble and fall on all fours. Yuuko knocked her head in the cockpit, and she shook her head to clear away any disorientation. But the moment she looked up, she saw something on her visual screens. Chaa was standing right before her, and in front of him were ten multiple rocket launcher system vehicles. All connected by wire to a single device that was sitting in Chaa's hand.
"That old fox... when did he prepare something like this?"
Yuuko smirked despite facing what she was facing at the moment.
"I am the Guild's leader. I always make the best of what I have and I am always prepared for what is to happen. That... is what it means to be Guild."
Chaa merely said. Yuuko could only smile at the scene before her before Chaa pressed the button, unleashing a storm of missiles that flew out of the multiple rocket launcher system vehicles and blew up Yuuko and her robot.
He stood above her, standing on top of the burning wreckage that was her final creation, the giant robot. With twisted metals and wires all over, it was a complete mess. Yuuko sat there, in the exposed cockpit with a steel pipe lodged in her abdomen. Chaa attempted to help her out but Yuuko shook her head, having a smile on her bloodied lips.
"No need... it's no use, after all."
Yuuko said, coughing up some blood.
".. That was some fight... As expected of predecessor-san."
She laughed though winced at the pain she was experiencing.
"Funny how it had a lot of strange twists that made no sense... not to mention how short the battle seemed despite it going on for so long."
"... You wanted it to be longer?"
Yuuko smiled playfully at that question.
"Maybe a little longer, especially the robot part. I just brought it out and then we go into long monologues that hold little to no meaning and then... I lose... But sometimes... we can't have everything we want... The moment you figured out... how to create weapons in my field... I guess it was all over... How did you do it?"
Yuuko asked. Chaa closed his eyes and reached into his pocket, pulling out a brick.
"This is the key. Guild is connected to whoever built it, be it in the concept or the idea. As I had built Guild from the ground up, I am its founder. You simply took what I had and rebuilt it, improved it and claim it yours. But in its foundation it was still my idea. By understanding this, creating weapons would not be impossible but it was hard to do due to your influence. However it occurred to me that if this were your field and it was all pointing back to you, then all I had to do... was to create the things the way you did it. Your field of influence would prevent the dirt from becoming anything I would want to create since it would reject anything that is foreign to you. But by following your method of creating things, I was able to re-establish my foothold. Not everything has to go your way in order for you to succeed. Sometimes... following the path of others can lead you to success."
Chaa said, thinking back to his times when he was content with being with friends that he trusted and with the woman of his life.
"Or it can lead you elsewhere."
"... So there is no answer in the end."
Yuuko sighed, leaning back and staring blankly to the ceiling of Guild.
"No... that is an answer. Whether you choose the walk the path that others have done so before you, or start upon a new road without knowing what lies beyond... both are right and wrong. Life isn't about the hurdles that are stacked against you. Life is about whether you choose to overcome them or not. It is not a matter of whether you can or cannot, but whether you want to or not."
Chaa simply answered. Yuuko sighed, shaking her head.
"If only it were that simple. By the paths that I wanted to take on, the hurdles were too high for me to take them. I understood my options the best as I knew what I had."
"But you did not attempt them. You resigned to your own weakness. And whoever said that the alternative was a bad choice? You will never know what awaits for you at the end of the path until you have walked through its entirety."
Yuuko smiled at his answer.
"Well... it's all too late for it now. Just do what you need to do."
Yuuko said. Chaa took out the small box of bullets that Rei gave him, chambering the round he picked out and slotting it manually into the chamber of his pistol.
"You know, I would have preferred dying by a bigger gun."
Yuuko smirked as Chaa pointed his pistol to her head.
"We don't always get what we want, so we always make do with what we have."
"Even when it is not enough?"
"... It will never be enough. But living each day to its fullest, is the best way to know just how much is enough."
Yuuko stared at Chaa, before smiling.
"That made no sense whatsoever."
[Chaa used Gear Bullet]
[Access: Insanity Streak]
[Corruption absorption in progress]
[...]
[...]
[...]
[Purge complete]
"... Always wanting to get the last word."
Chaa muttered before he looked over to the other end of the hall where the exit was.
"... I hope the others face less pain in the ass opposition."
A/N: By next week, you people will know why I took so long for this chapter. If you placed me in your author alerts then yes... if not... then you can check my profile by next week... don't shout at me for this!