Chapter 22: A Moment, Scattering like Ashes
It's a quiet night.
Too quiet. Too…awfully quiet.
A few raindrops would be nice. It'd keep one's mind off the recent melancholy.
Mark sits alone in his office nearly catatonic as he stares out across the city where the warehouse burned down.
Forensics are still rummaging the scene for clues on what the HELL even went down.
They'd never figure it out. Would they even want to? That blistering inferno in the form of a man…
Battles fought at a speed the human eye could barely handle…
Mark's life had gone from reality to a work of fiction and he's been rattled by this more and more ever since Julius died.
He got up just to open the window. Get a little fresh air…
The moist dew of evening and the moss laid window pane was relaxing. But not enough.
No…not enough to quell the uselessness he feels. He pulled out the gun he had that night and his vision blurred as gunshots rang in his mind.
He then shoved the weapon into his pocket and punched his side, "I tried to kill another human!"
Wreathed in flames. Wrathful expression akin to a demon. But still…still human.
He let his anger get the better of him. He wanted to finally have a victory over the pain of loss. And because of that…Julius had to give his life.
"Idiot…!" He slammed his fists on the window pane and trembled.
He panted for a while and then pulled away, deciding to close the window.
But before it shut, he heard something lodge itself into the wall like a spear.
He cautiously opened back up and looked down to see a blade pinning a scroll to the wall.
He immediately stared out at the city and all he saw was evaporating mist surrounding a spot on one of the nearby buildings.
He bent over and pulled it out with ease.
"..." His heartbeat quickened.
"Yo! What are you doing, amigo?" Vida's sudden entrance made Mark hit his back of the head on the way up.
"Augh…shit!" Mark rubbed the sore spot and glared at his friend, who let out a sympathetic hiss.
"Seriously, what are you doing?" He asked again with concern.
Mark tried a quick sleight of the hand to get the scroll in his coat beneath his notice and then remarked, "I-I dropped my drink out the window…"
"Really?" Vida raised a brow and then his stern look had Mark worried he had failed.
Vida flicked his finger up and remarked, "Lemme tell you something amigo, you've been looking like rotten guano lately."
Mark flinched and then looked pitifully ashamed at himself. He could feel the bags under his eyes.
"...Yeah?" He murmured in melancholy, turning back out the window. A little honesty was fine here, "We just had an unprecedented terrorist attack in our city. And both our bosses and the government can't even give us a straight answer."
"Calling it a terrorist attack is just the default answer, hombre," Vida said, not holding back his opinion, "I heard the warehouse was holding highly flammable material. Some cheeky ladrons probably set it off. Though, there have been no bodies found at the scene."
"...I think it was Dregs." Mark murmured.
Vida gently smacked him on the back and said, "And what if it is? That's more incentive not to poke around in their business, amigo!"
Mark glared at him, but was too tired to really give a taste of what he was feeling inside.
Still, he backed off with his hands raised like he was under arrest.
He then brushed his hands out and walked over, putting his arm around his friend's shoulder and carrying him along towards the door.
"This isn't a request anymore. Get home. Sleep. Now. The city'll still be standing in the morning, superhero."
That last bit was playful enough to put a smile on Mark's face.
Mark stopped under the door and turned around, "I still have a bit of paperwork to deal with, Vida."
He stepped up, and Vida poked him in the chest with a rather stiff finger, "I've covered your ass so much, what's one more?"
Mark shook his head, "Exactly. Let me be responsible for my own mess, hermano.
Vida clicked his tongue and scowled, "Damn, you played the 'hermano' card."
He stepped aside and exited the door, wagging his finger back and raising his voice, "But if I still see you in here in ten minutes I'm cuffing you!"
Mark smiled and sheepishly waved him off and then shut the door, putting the lock on and letting out a sigh.
He pulled out the scroll and sat at his desk. After taking out the blade and putting it on his desk he unfurled the scroll.
There was writing on glossy parchment in a rough attempt at English, but the message got through clear enough: "Tell the master of machines to meet me in the mountains east of here. We shall settle our duel. No more interference."
Mark got pale, "T-The Ghost is still alive…?!"
And now, they knew where he worked…Dregs.
Swallowing deep, he fell back into his chair and felt like he'd throw up.
"I-I don't even know how to contact them…!" He laid his hand against his sweating forehead.
"...Maybe if I wait a few minutes they will." Was the best hope he had.
In the meantime, he looked through the paperwork stiffly. There were standard reports, a LOT of them after the warehouse incident.
And also…an envelope. Standard issue…no stamp or address.
Mark was dull enough to fear to just take it and open it. And out dropped a tiny earpiece.
"...!" He picked it up and looked it over, then checked the envelope again, and out popped a note, "Thought you might need this."
Thus had Julius' fingerprints all over it. Tearing up, Mark grinned and said, "Even beyond the grave…"
He then put the earpiece on and let it run on its own.
It didn't take long for S.A.N.C.T.U.M.'s voice to come over the line, "Excuse me, who are you, and how did you get a hold of this network?"
Mark whispered with relief, "S.A.N.C.T.U.M, whew…! It's Mark."
"Sir Mark? I'm sorry, but I must request proof. AI voices are a thing."
"...On the night we met, your master called me Lieutenant Gordon."
"Good enough," His master's voice chimed in, "I can't believe Julius kept this. But don't abuse this privilege."
"Wait…!" Mark hiss through gritted teeth, "I need to talk to you directly. It's urgent…"
"...Haaaa. Fine. Meet S.A.N.C.T.U.M at the same building we were at before the warehouse assault."
The connection was cut, and he was surprised they didn't put up more of a resistance.
This was a good excuse to leave the station without Vida getting on his back.
He tucked the scroll away, then…decided to take a different car than usual out of the precinct.
After making it to the building he found the machine at the top. And it looked like he had been stationed there for a while, looking at the burning remains of the warehouse.
"Talk quickly." His master said.
Mark stopped and pulled out the scroll, "...Here."
S.A.N.C.T.U.M dislodged from the perch, marched over, and snatched the scroll from his hand.
After unfurling it, it took moments for it to be held lower and S.A.N.C.T.U.M to comment, "He is still alive…?"
To which his master said, almost hungering with hate, "Good."
Mark felt a chill in his spine, "Good…?"
"...Yeah. Never mind," He said with damned acceptance, "You're the only one who can fight this battle."
"No…" The voice made a puzzling remark, "But you can be damned sure I'm going to end it."
"How?!" Mark shouted, "Last time he beat you!"
"Everything's different this time. I. Will. Win. All you need to focus on is going home, and sleeping."
Mark grit his teeth and uttered, "...No. I can't."
S.A.N.C.T.U.M. was forced to look at him, his face consumed by a thick red light as the voice on the other line shouted, "This isn't a game! If you choose to stick around, you will have to come to terms with your mortality!"
Born out of tiredness and fear, Mark yelled, "I ALREADY DID…!"
S.A.N.C.T.U.M. backed down, and Mark threw his hand out and confronted that voice, "I saw my wife die in my arms…! Five…YEARS…I've had to remember that! You talk big…but I'm the one putting my life on the line here!"
He stopped and was forced to cough, a long pause drawing out this conversation.
The voice on the other line relinquished control back to S.A.N.C.T.U.M, and said in a more normal voice, "...It's not that I don't want to risk…Grrr…!"
"Ok, listen. I'm going to give you another chance only because Julius put faith in you. But we CAN'T have a repeat of what happened at the warehouse. We need to start learning to work together."
Mark uttered in a disgruntled, forceful tone, "...Fine. And we can start with you telling me more about yourself."
"...I legitimately cannot give away too much information…but I'll tell you this. Being a hero…runs in my blood. And heroes don't break promises. I would've gotten justice for your wife, even if you did decide to back down."
"...Really?" Mark said.
"...Go home. Get some rest. I'll report back to you tomorrow night."
As S.A.N.C.T.U.M. began to turn, Mark threw his hand out and shouted, "Hold on…!"
The robot paused, and he made certain to say, "...Make sure to question him about the fire five years ago."
The robot then left silently into the night, and Mark was forced to endure the agonizing wait of what comes next…
…
"..." As S.A.N.C.T.U.M. began scanning the mountain for any thermal energy, Lunalei remarked, "How could the Ghost still be alive? Were my calculations off again…?"
"If there's anyone the fault lies with, it should be me, Master Lunalei. I failed to defeat our enemy, and Sir Julius paid the price." There was an attempt at grief in her creation's tone, but a machine could only get so far in that regard.
"And I created you, so any failure of yours is a failure of mine!" Lunalei shouted out, making her creation flinch, "...Ghhh…"
"...If I may inquire, Master Lunalei, and perhaps this isn't the best of times to do so but…What will we do about reporting Sir Julius' death to-"
"NOTHING!" Lunalei transmitted in sheer frustration, "We can't tell anyone without exposing what I'm doing."
"...Is pride really worth not letting the Dark family have closure?" Upon saying that, S.A.N.C.T.U.M. cough and muttered, "I'm sorry, that was out of line."
"...I-I-I'll think of SOMETHING, focus on finding the Ghost."
"Right. My apologies, Master Lunalei." He continued to project his thermal vision over the mountain until finally, he caught a blip out of the corner of his eye.
"There…"
With determination powered by her frustration, Lunalei commanded, "Let's finish this…"
The machine boosted across the sky and landed atop the mountain peak, holding down a cautionary stance in Swordmaster Mode.
Sitting a few feet across from them, much like in their last encounter, was the Ghost. With two big differences…
His left arm had been fried clean off, and his mask had been shattered with the shards now wedged into his jaw.
"So…you have arrived…" He remarked, his tone relaxed.
"How are you still alive…?" Lunalei wondered.
"A miracle…Ha. No…luck, and nothing more…" The Ghost stood and gently slid his sword along the ground at his feet.
"When the detonation happened, I had mere moments to react…I pushed his body towards the ceiling, and cowered towards the ground. It was the perfect spot to avoid the epicenter of the blast…but a stray bolt of electricity still managed to split my arm clean from my shoulder, while the shockwave from the blast rattled the rest of my body."
He raised his blade at a slant and looked at it, "...I called that man a dog, but there was more respect to his actions than I could have predicted. He gave everything he had, body and soul, not for corrupt, American ideals…"
He pointed his blade at S.A.N.C.T.U.M. 's head, and Lunalei felt a sting across the neurospace, "But to protect 'the future'."
He put his sword down and took a deep breath, "I was not wrong to have sought vengeance against your corrupt institutions. Every limb of mine could be shattered and I would still not back down…"
"But perhaps…I was wrong to mark every man, woman and child born under the umbrella of corruption as guilty."
"..." Lunalei took a moment to pause before remarking, "Julius had people he cared about…He had a family. That didn't make him a good person. It just made him human."
"What you did is STILL murder though…!" Lunalei yelled, "I don't care that you suddenly feel guilty about it! You're a criminal trying to upset the peace!"
"I see…" The Ghost muttered with a hint of disappointment, "I wonder…perhaps he wasn't referring to you when he said 'the future'."
"...! What do you mean by THAT?" Lunalei spat back, insulted.
"Tell me, if our roles were reversed…would you struggle to adjust, or would you fit right in like a glove?"
"...I fight for justice, for the future…!"
"I see…" The Ghost raised his blade before his face and remarked, "See my blade? How it is marked with ashes? I have taken lives…but I am not so heartless as to bury them to be forgotten. They live on in my blade, and fight alongside me. And now, that man, Julius you call him, is a part of my battle."
"If you defeat me…how quickly shall my ashes scatter from your memories?"
"...Don't. Pretend. Like you KNOW me!"
"That you cower behind a machine says plenty," The Ghost remarked, "But fine…if you wish to prove me otherwise, then put all of your spirit into your weapons' blades, and I will judge you as all samurai had done in the past."
"S.A.N.C.T.U.M.?" She said to her presently silent creation, "We're not wasting anymore time. Get ready to fight…"
"Wait…" The machine suddenly spoke independently of her wishes, causing enough of a pause to let him speak upon gesturing his hand out to the samurai, "Sir Ghost…five years ago, there was a fire in a museum in Seattle that took the lives of a police officer, and a curator working there. Were you aware of this?"
The Ghost raised his brows and froze, "I am…unaware of this incident you refer to."
"I see…"
"S.A.N.C.T.U.M….!" Lunalei blurted out angrily.
"How curious, that you did that independent of your creator's wishes…Why?"
S.A.N.C.T.U.M. gave a calm and concise answer, "Answering that question will help bring a father peace of mind. That is part of my function."
"I see…" The Ghost whispered, "But it is true what I said. I have never caused a fire in this city until recently."
"..." Lunalei had her doubts, for as much as she gave him crap for not understanding her, maybe she didn't really understand him fully either…
With her command, she forced S.A.N.C.T.U.M. to finally draw his swords and grip them tightly.
"The time for talk has ended…" The Ghost murmured, clutching his sword tightly in his sole hand, "Then let this be our final encounter, metal man, and 'heir to the future'."
The two stood on fairly even ground, pacing clockwise under the moonlight peeking through the clouds.
The Ghost's eyes widened and he charged in to make the first move, attacking the machine from the side.
S.A.N.C.T.U.M. jumped just enough to land atop the blade and halt his enemy's flaming slash, and then swung his swords down towards his shoulders.
The Ghost concentrated his flames into his sword and created an explosion to knock the machine into the air.
S.A.N.C.T.U.M. flipped upside-down and then used a series of rapid fire boosts to drill towards his foe.
The Ghost jumped to a higher perch on the mountain as S.A.N.C.T.U.M. drilled into the ground and followed him up.
The samurai stabbed his sword into the advancing cracks and created a small nuclear blast to fling the machine away, who rapidly cut down the burning rubble flying after him.
The samurai propelled himself through the air with a combination of his "Baihu" thrust and two blasts, slamming into the machine and delivering a flurry of slashes to try and break his swords.
The samurai then jumped higher and used "Zhuque" to dive above the swords and deliver a strong hit to the machine's head.
S.A..N.C.T.U.M. spiraled back towards the mountain. Shutting off his gravity field, he made a hard impact and activated clamps on his feet to brace against the samurai's second "Zhuque".
The ground could only withstand this one collision until shattering into a quarter mile crater and sending debris flying around them.
The Ghost launched back and used "Qinglong" to infuse the surrounding debris with his fire and send them at his enemy.
S.A.N.C.T.U.M. rapidly cut everything down with blistering speed and then lunged both swords forward, intercepting the samurai's dive and managing to puncture the side of his body.
The ghost coughed blood and fell, tumbling down the mountain until he was in position to stab his sword into it.
He then swung a towering wave of fire up after his foe, and S.A.N.C.T.U.M. cut through it with one arm.
He then prepared both swords for a massive slash as the samurai jumped at him again, only for them to use "Xuanwu" to hold back the attack.
He gathered enough flames in his sword to dwarf a skyscraper and swung out. S.A.N.C.T.U.M. was forced to drop his swords and snatch the blade out of the air.
The flames dispersed with a deafening boom and scorched the mountainside behind the machine.
The rock began melting down and destabilized his positioning. With quick thinking, S.A.N.C.T.U.M. made a short hop back and then fired his gravity boosters downward to splash the molten rock into the samurai's body.
Still, he refused to let go of his blade, and seared away at the machine's palms.
S.A.N.C.T.U.M. repelled him off with another shift in the gravity field and then duck and dove straight for his swords, hoping to hit him with a twin upward slash.
Instead the samurai dove with "Zhuque" multiple times in quick succession, plowing S.A.N.C.T.U.M. hard enough through the ground to drag them into a cavernous area.
S.A.N.C.T.U.M. bounced across the dampened ground until landing on all fours and rising with a fluid lurch.
He then took a stance and recognized he lacked his swords. The samurai rose slowly, the damage to his body making him tremble.
The machine raised his right arm to remind the samurai of the blades equipped at the elbow, and then Lunalei made him perform a finger gesture to invite their enemy closer.
The samurai ignited his blade and banished the nocturne surrounding them.
Then he darted along the puddles, filling the room with lethal steam.
Sparks flashed within the veil, igniting silhouettes of the two's every clash.
S.A.N.C.T.U.M. parried his blows with his shorter blades but their durability did not last long.
After both elbow blades were shattered, S.A.N.C.T.U.M. pressed his feet against the ground and lunged forward to grab the samurai by the face and slam him into the bedrock.
The samurai in turn stabbed his sword up into S.A.N.C.T.U.M. 's chest with a "Baihu" thrust.
The damage hadn't been fully repaired, but he could still hold on enough to pull the samurai up and punch him against the cavern wall.
He then thrust out and gut checked him to form an indent in the rock, free to wail on him with fists so fast they blurred to the point of invisibility.
The samurai was forced to keep coughing up blood, but refused to surrender.
His will burned in his blade and he found the one miniscule opening to thrust his sword out again into S.A.N.C.T.U.M. 's chest.
The machine stumbled back and held a hand over his wound, and the samurai dove at him again.
S.A.N.C.T.U.M. shifted to the right and kicked the samurai in the gut, launching him through the hole they came in.
He then boosted out and grabbed hold of his swords upon exiting, swinging them out and slicing forward in a very horizontal "x" slash.
The samurai regained focus just in time to retaliate with his "Xuanwu" technique.
The collision sent a shockwave made of half-air and half-fire across the land.
The two then fired off their boosters and kept clashing across the sky as gravity took them back to the mountains.
A blue light, and a red light, both fighting for their own justices.
Their battle was brought down to the incline of another mountain and they kept at it, the samurai managing to push the machine further down.
S.A.N.C.T.U.M. jumped over a leg slash and then slashed his swords down. The samurai pulled further up the mountain and slammed him with his "Qinglong" slash.
S.A.N.C.T.U.M. paused and waited for the Ghost's next attack, becoming one with his flow of attacks instead of letting him control the battle.
After a series of perfectly timed clashes that rang through the mountain range, S.A.N.C.T.U.M. stabbed one sword through and managed to nick the samurai's chest.
Then he fired off a booster to plunge his sword deep enough to exit the Ghost's back. And at the same time, the samurai cut into his shoulder.
With fierce expressions on both warriors, they refused to budge as S.A.N.C.T.U.M. used his thrusters to tear his way up to the top of the mountain and launch off.
He then took his other sword, hesitated, and plunged into beside the first.
The samurai's mouth kept leaking blood and he continued to drag his sword down.
And eventually, with all that force in play, when he finally lopped off a part of S.A.N.C.T.U.M. 's shoulder was able to slice apart one of his swords as well, the other just narrowly escaping.
A small victory, as the samurai plummeted to the ground, barely able to use his blasts to suspend his descent.
S.A.N.C.T.U.M. landed right as he made impact, keeping his one sword held in both hands.
The Ghost rose slowly. His wounds were taking a hefty toll on his legs, and it was a miracle that he could still hold his sword with the same strength as always.
All Lunalei saw was the moment Julius died replaying in her head over and over.
HER mistake needed to be corrected.
S.A.N.C.T.U.M.'s hands shook as he felt his body pushing forward slightly, "Master, patience…!"
"No…! Julius did not die for nothing!"
The samurai continued to cough up blood as he moved his sword to the center of his body, his stance acting as though two hands held it.
The flames surrounding his blades began to spread to the winds like petals, leaving only the black ash grafted on visible.
And yet, the blade burned the hottest it ever had.
It was like he held a piece of the sun in his hand.
"This is…everything I have left…!" The samurai raised the sword high over his head and shouted with all his fading strength, "Now fall, like the sunset…!"
He charged the machine and swung his sword down shouting, "Resting Sunset!"
A flash of the divine emerged from his blade like a sun cresting the horizon as he swung and S.A.N.C.T.U.M. barely raised his sword to defend himself.
But when the flash subsided, the samurai stopped inches from his target, his blade merely poking at the ground.
And upon its touch, the ground was instantly reduced to ashes.
He staggered backwards and fell down, coughing blood onto his chest.
"T-Try as I might…I could not reach your heart…" The samurai muttered pitifully, and then broke down into quiet laughter, a few tears being shed from his eyes.
"I-I urge you, please…If anything must be retained…Let it be my name. P-Please…! Remember the name…of Hamazaki Arigato. Please…! Remember…my name…!"
His plight stayed Lunalei's rage for a moment, and she commanded S.A.N.C.T.U.M. to lower his sword, "...If you want to be honored, then do the right thing, and tell us what 'Dregs' goal is!"
"O-Our goal…?" The Ghost paused, then finally laid down his sword and whispered, "Our goal…is to-"
A siren went off pointing at the left side of S.A.N.C.T.U.M. 's vision and the next thing they knew, the Ghost was stabbed through the neck by a sharp, white protrusion.
"S.A.N.C.T.U.M….!"
S.A.N.C.T.U.M. calculated the trajectory and looked towards another mountaintop a mile in the distance. He could just barely make out a black figure standing tall, and they disappeared in an instant.
"Another one…?" Lunalei shivered, then forced her creation to look back at Hamazaki.
The life had left his eyes, and his body disintegrated into white particles within moments. All they had time to do was register what had killed him…
"Master Lunalei…the projectile has the very same properties as human bone marrow."
"..." The projectile disintegrated too, putting a somber end to this battle…
And the dreadful realization, that she should've suspected the moment she met the Ghost…
There is NEVER just one superpowered individual.
"Master Lunalei…? …What now?"
Lunalei took nothing away from this. No victory, no satisfaction, no information…
"I…I don't know."
She would need the rest of the night to think about this…
And the following night, she made good on her word to return to Mark, on that very same rooftop they met the night prior.
He barely looked any better. Not unexpected. His anticipation forced her to make the first move, "...The Ghost is dead."
Mark grimaced and grit his teeth. There was clearly anger behind them. But then she said, "Another superpowered individual finished him off."
And he widened his eyes, becoming too accustomed to the terrors of a world of powered people, "W-Were they part of 'Dregs'?"
"More than likely…" Lunalei admitted, "They seem to be capable of attacking with bones."
After Mark gulped, he then asked, "...Did you at least ask the Ghost about-"
"We did. He claims he didn't have anything to do with that night. I have my doubts, but…"
"Now that he's dead, there's no leads…" Mark said in a tired tone.
"..." Then Lunalei realized, "No. There is one lead. His name. Hamazaki Arigato…I might be able to get a lead with that."
She then used S.A.N.C.T.U.M. to gesture at Mark as she told him, "That hearing aid Julius gave you. Keep it on you at all times. I can set up a one-way frequency that will allow me to hear when you're in trouble and send S.A.N.C.T.U.M. to your aid immediately."
Mark looked directly at her and remarked, "I'm…sorry I can't be more helpful."
"...Staying alive is the most helpful thing you can do. That's…probably why Julius made his final sacrifice."
"Huh?" Mark uttered.
"I'll get information on 'Dregs' as soon as I can and report back. Until then, get as much sleep as you can. We got a long battle ahead of us…"
S.A.N.C.T.U.M. then took off into the night.
"And I plan to WIN."
Next Time: A Young Boy's RPG