~Raze's Journey;Director's Cut Chapter 5~
Thanks for the favorite, Dragzxx! Hope you enjoy this chapter!
~Continuing the Story~
Ken floated down to the roof of the building and landed with a tap of his shoes. He lowered Kira to the ground with care and then he felt a twinge in the back of his mind. Turning to see Brass's bright self flying around the giant middle building and toward the north.
Kiryu landed next to them both, "Is something wrong, Ken?" Ken shook his head.
Ken wasn't sure what Brass was up to, but he had other pressing matters to deal with, "So, we're here…" He trailed off as Kira and Kiryu nodded at him.
"Yep!" She stated plainly with a smile.
"...And where do we go?" He asked his sister.
But Kiryu answered instead, "That door leads right on in." He finished while pointing at it.
Ken nodded, walking toward the door and trying to open it unsuccessfully to his chagrin, "It's locked, so we'll do it the hard way." Ken backed up a decent bit and once he was satisfied with his distance, he smirked. Kiryu had also joined him from the side. Kiryu nodded to Ken who just gave him a thumbs up.
They both leaned forward and began an all out charge toward the door. Their speed was amazing as they blitzed into the door, slamming both of the metallic doorways apart and flying backwards into the wall causing metallic debris to fly around them. Kira was amazed at the sight of them both working together.
"Woah! Big Brother and Kiryu is strong!" Kira exclaimed while following in his footsteps. Ken and Kiryu landed beside each other with big grins on their faces.
"Thanks, Kira!" Kiryu accepted the praise with his own glowing response.
Ken was a bit reserved though, "I do try…" He trailed off while watching Kira move past him a bit to look down the stairs. It appeared to be quite dark and she was a bit shaken. She felt confident while being quite a bit further away from the place, but now that she was getting a look inside the building. She felt those memories for the last month or so beginning to surface once more.
"Brother…" Kira whimpered as Ken put a hand on her shoulder.
"It's okay." She turned to look at him as he smiled, "If you don't want to go in. It's fine." She began to tear up a bit.
Kiryu spoke up as well, "Me and Ken can probably handle this if you can't make it." He said to her as Ken shook his head.
"I can't leave her by herself again. I just got Kira back." Ken retorted at Kiryu who immediately backed off a bit.
"Kira has had some bad times here. Some of us were here longer than she was. So, I get it if she can't come." Kiryu said back to Ken, but Kira shook her head.
"B- But I wanna help!" She said while grabbing his hand and trying to wipe the budding tears away, "Just n- need help"
Ken began to pull her in for a hug, but the building and surrounding area began to shake. Ken could vaguely feel a power beginning to intensify from below. He had been around Brass long enough to figure out his energy signature, so he figured it must be Raze.
Kiryu was twitching, "W-Who is d- doing that?!" Kiryu's facade had broken at that moment.
Ken looked to Kiryu, "That's the guy who rescued me and made all this possible." Kiryu's face was full of awe after hearing that, not knowing that he'd already met him.
"Woah! He must be really strong then!" Kiryu said as he moved toward the door, "We should get a move on then so we can surprise that guy by freeing more people!" He ran down the stairs ahead of them leaving Ken and Kira alone.
'I hope Raze and Brass are doing alright.' Ken thought to himself as he nodded to his sister and they both took their first steps down the stairs.
Unknowingly a silent alarm had been tripped as soon as Kiryu had taken his first steps in.
~Another smaller room within the compound~
Lights distorted the darkness as complex calculations were put through a computer simulation of sorts. Chairs sat completely out of place and trash was strewn all over the area. A pair of tanks sat in the middle of the dusty room. The first tank was open and the name, "XD-001" was written on a sticky note haphazardly stuck sideways on the metallic base.
Next to that tank was another individual. This being was much younger looking. Looking like a teenager rather than the companion it was used to being next to. Labeled on its metallic base were the words "RU-005" and an extra note at the bottom labeled, "Failure".
Smoke began to cascade from the bottom of this capsule as it rose up. The smaller machine fell to the floor with a loud crashing sound. A screen lit up with a prerecorded message. RU-005 looked up in curiosity to see the woman who'd put the teen in this situation.
Athena had haphazardly set up a camera and looked frustrated beyond belief, "If you're hearing this message then listen well!"
"Something is coming inside this very building and I'm not here to take care of any issues." Athena said while flicking her hair out of her eyes.
She narrowed her eyes, "Feel free to kill or make an example of those issues if you're capable XD-001 and if this happens to be the other one…" Athena sneered and turned away, "Do something valuable with your worthless life since I so graciously allowed you to live. That is all." The emergency transmission cut off there with small pop and then static noise to accompany the end.
RU-005's eyes widened as a countdown appeared on the screen, "Ten minutes?" The machine said aloud as it walked away from the screen.
'With ten minutes, I can do as the mistress desires.' RU-005 walked toward the door as the countdown continued.
Then another ominous text flashed on the screen, "Until the body ceases all functions-." Yet, RU-005 had already left.
RU-005's eyes lit up and the map showed three red dots moving around on a higher floor. It could hear crashing banging verberating off the walls several many floors up. RU-005 figured that perhaps since this body was going to shut off on its own in ten minutes, at least it guessed that's what the countdown meant.
Looking around, RU-005 noticed an elevator. Taking a long shot, it figured that would be the best option to conserve energy. Walking over and clicking the up arrow, the cyborg awaited the chariot coming to pick it up.
Ken was walking beside his sister on the 29th floor, currently avoiding any type of security camera they could see. Kira was just as wary as she'd been outside.
"Does this part of the building look familiar?" Ken asked her as Kira shook her head.
"Uhhh… It look the same?" Kira half asked, half questioned while Ken could only sigh.
"It's not like they made it look different from any other place here. When I first got here, it was impossible to tell where I was exactly." Kiryu said to Ken while looking around the area.
"I guess that would make sense." Ken looked further up the corridor. The amount of dark blue tints and lighter blue just mixed together, "It really does blend in here." Continuing along the path, they found themselves in a bigger room. An elevator on each wall. Not a dead end, but certainly not much to figure out.
"I wonder if one of these can get us where those other kids are." Ken said aloud to his sister as she loosened his grip and eventually broke free. Her fear had been misplaced with a thing every child had. Curiosity.
Kiryu was wary to say the least, "We should try whatever we can. We don't wanna be here too long." He finished as Kira hopped past him.
Ken noticed that on the other side, the numbers were going up, "14, 15, 16…" Ken could figure that something was heading toward them. He clenched his other hand only to find that Kira was no longer next to him. He looked to see her hopping toward the buttons on the wall.
"Kiryu, stop her!" Ken said as Kiryu kinda just seemed out of it.
"Ooooohhh!" She said while clicking the down arrow on the wall to the left.
Ken decided to leap forward, grabbing her other arm much to her chagrin, "Hey! Don't touch stuff, we don't know anything about this place." But just as soon as he'd said that, the elevator dinged and the doors opened before them.
Kira's mouth opened in awe as light covered them, "Woah! Big bro! Kiryu! We can go!" Despite her words, she gripped Ken's arm tightly. Her curiosity was quickly misplaced and her earlier feelings were rearing their ugly head.
Ken held her close and drew them both closer to the door. He looked back to see the numbers getting closer to where they were currently, "Let's go, Kiryu!" When he yelled at him, he snapped back to reality.
"R- Right!" Kiryu moved behind them as Ken watched the doors close behind the three of them.
"Bro, let's press em!" Kira was surprised when her forward momentum stopped.
Ken held firm, "You can't be scared and interested! Besides, I'm willing to bet whatever is coming up on the other side over there can't be good!" But considering the floors it was coming from, perhaps that was where those other children were.
Kiryu walked over to the buttons on the wall, "Thirteen. That's a good place to start." He clicked it without hesitation.
Ken had seen it earlier, so he agreed without a fight. Kira poutted a bit as she was denied her right to press the buttons, but she also couldn't disagree with Kiryu's choice. So, they began to go down the floors.
Raze stood across from Xeno who looked like he was extremely excited, "Give me something to remember! I need a true bout, like the warrior I was!" Looking over to the tanks surrounding them, he saw all of his fellow countrymen. His fierce persona waned for a moment, 'I'm such a fool, but this body desires it. Please let me be selfish, just this once.' His mind was warring for control still.
Raze pointed at Xeno, "I'll give you a fight! If that's all you desire. I'm sorry it has to be this way!" Raze yelled at the man standing opposite him.
Xeno chuckled, "Don't feel sorry! I am the one who failed!" He roared over the sound of whirring machines and the dusty sand storm happening above them.
Xeno leaned forward and dashed at his opponent with incredible speed, but Raze responded in kind by meeting his deadly assault with a stronger defense, blocking a flurry of blows. Xeno had anticipated this and got a strong grip on Raze's arms. He pulled them apart with great strength and smashed his head into Raze's forehead.
Sent flying backwards and dazed, Raze had no way to stop the next assault by the great warrior as Xeno crashed his leg into Raze's side. Xeno proceeded to disappear and reappear where Raze was flying towards, gripping his hands tightly together Xeno sent them slamming into Raze's gut. The collision knocked the air out of Raze's lungs and pushed him through several floors of steel and concrete. The resulting crash brought debris high into the air. Xeno had his first smirk on since their fight had begun.
"Don't tell me this all you've got!" Xeno got no response and so continued, "Hey! Where was all that power from earlier?!" Xeno yelled to the saiyan below him.
He was sure that there was more, so why was Raze holding back? There was no reason to. His head was on right now. He needed this fight to be it, the end. Xeno was about to turn away, but then he felt it and that's when Xeno saw it. Sparks were trailing up the walls and the floor was shaking slightly. Raze had been a Super Saiyan this whole time, but this time it seemed different.
"This is everything you wanted!" Raze exclaimed to Xeno, who seemed to shake a little. Though, he wasn't sure if it was out of excitement or a little tinge of fear.
Xeno stepped backward, but Raze was already out of sight. Even the machinery within his mind couldn't track the saiyan's movements. That's when he felt it, Raze's boot crashing into his skull. Just as Xeno began to blast toward the metallic floor Raze had already moved that much faster to grab him before he could start his descent by the cyborg's very leg. His momentum was stopped entirely by this and Xeno felt an intense pain as his leg dislocated while beginning to tear off completely.
Xeno's momentum kicked right back in gear sending him crashing into the ground, Raze scoffed and threw the leg to the side, "Had enough yet?! There shouldn't be any need to continue!" He was using his best form, Xeno couldn't have much more to give.
Xeno shook a bit as he levitated up. His leg now was just a stump of its former self. Taking a mechanically warbled sigh as he felt the pain being pushed away by his programming, he looked up at Raze, "That was great!" Xeno exclaimed as he gave a half hearted grin.
"I really felt that, but…" Xeno trailed off as he thought to the last moments of his life, "No. These are the true last moments. All the torture. All the misery. It's in this lab…" Folding out his arms, he continued, "End it now, Raze!" He shouted.
Raze frowned in disdain, 'He wants to die. That wasn't my goal. If he had given up, then maybe…' He walked forward and jumped off the giant tube to float directly down to stand before Xeno who looked too eager for everything to be over.
"Yes, Raze. Of course you were holding back earlier. You're much too strong for me." Xeno stated while Raze stood silently opposite of the cyborg, "Maybe you don't need to see the past. It'll be easier. To end this." Xeno finished as Raze began to move forward.
~Meanwhile~
An explosion in the very last building ripped a hole into the foundation. Smoke and flames rolled out from the area as Brass walked through it all. Cameras were focusing in on the namekian from multiple angles as a loud siren went off in the building.
"DANGER! INTRUDER ALERT!" An electronic voice rang out through the facility as he continued walking through.
Brass seemed pleased as he fired a few more ki blasts throughout the area. Cameras went up in flames as Athena observed it from her hangar near the top of the building. Each area of the building's cameras seemed to be going out in quick succession much to her displeasure.
The main screen that seemed to be focused on the ship's fueling was reading that the levels were at 75 percent, 'Damn! They should all have been distracted!'
Athena began to click buttons rapidly on her watch in preparation for the albino namekian warrior who seemed to be taking his sweet time getting to her, 'Just gotta prepare. There has to be a weakness that I can take advantage of…' She was using one of the other screens to search for more info on namekians while her drones began to settle on the walls of the hangar.
Her frustration was slowly building as she scrolled through multiple pages of information. Eventually coming to land on a wiki with all the things she needed to know. Athena clicked a few buttons on her wristwatch which prepared a high pitched sound. Once Athena was satisfied, she turned away from the second screen.
She grinned maniacally, 'Yes, that should be enough! Come get me! I'm waiting!' Meanwhile, she could still only see 76%.
Frowning she began to activate the emergency provisions, 'Just gotta stall him. Just a bit more!'
Brass grinned as doors began to shut in rapid succession just before and behind him, 'As if that would work…' Bringing his palm up, he let loose a large blast, tearing through every single door at once. This blast also ripped straight through to the other side of the building and even shook up Athena as her chair tipped over slamming her whole body to the floor.
Athena shook a bit, 'H- He's playing with me! It's to be expected of him, but it's horrifying.' Despite her earlier thoughts, her mind was shifting a bit, 'I hope it works… He could kill me easily.'
~The munchkins~
Ken, Kira, and Kiryu were still in the elevator as it continued down the floors. Each time it descended a floor, a ding would sound off. Ken felt like a heavy stone was resting in the pit of his stomach. Kiryu seemed to be a bit distant. Ken figured the dark atmosphere was getting to him too.
'Just who was that coming up? Did we make something happen? I can't shake this feeling of dread.' Ken thought while turning to see Kira be fascinated by the lights.
Kira was just happy that her brother was with her this time. This building wasn't nearly as scary as when she had tried to get away from her captors the first time. That's when he heard it, a loud cracking sound. Kiryu's eyes widened as he turned to Ken.
"Do something!" Kiryu yelled as Ken nodded.
His eyes perked up and his ki jumped a bit as Ken leaped forward to grab Kira. He then crashed his foot into the floor, sending the bottom paneling down the elevator shaft. Which made them fall in turn as a blast ripped through the elevator they had just been in and went straight through to the outside of the building.
Ken, Kira, and Kiryu all realized at once that they were falling, "Ahhhhhh!" They all three sounded off as Ken's eyes widened.
'Oh yeah…' Ken and Kira's descent was stopped immediately as Ken's ki surrounded them both.
"Good job big bro!" Kira said as Ken just kinda looked away.
Kiryu floated next to them with an annoyed look upon his face, "Hey, I flew too!" He said as Kira frowned.
"But Big Bro help me!" She said with a big smile as Kiryu deflated a bit.
Ken huffed as he looked up, sweat beginning to bead on his forehead, "We're still in trouble here!"
Light flooded into the elevator shaft as the smoke began to clear. Ken could make out a shadow peering down at the three of them. It's gleaming eyes seemed to stare right through them.
"Hello, Intruders. You may die." His palms raised again as light shimmered and expanded in both of them. Ken shook off his shock and flew downward as fast as he possibly could with Kiryu fast behind them.
~With Raze~
Raze tapped Xeno on the shoulder, "Come on, don't you want revenge at least?" He looked up toward where he could feel Brass's energy.
Xeno followed Raze's gaze, "I've already asked you for death. How could I be of any help to this situation? What if I don't have enough time?"
Raze felt a spike of energy directly opposite of Brass. He recognized Ken and even that other energy being like the boy he saved earlier alongside a third smaller energy. If he was a betting man, something bad was going on. Though, he wasn't sure who he should check on first. Then he realized that he had a potential third option. Looking over to Xeno, he smiled.
"I have an idea on how you could help me. It seems the kids we came to rescue have gotten in trouble. If you still wanna die after… I have a friend who wouldn't mind doing the deed, but I'm already feeling bad for tearing off your leg. So, I'm skipping out on execution duty, if that's alright?" Raze asked with an uneasy chuckle.
Xeno began to laugh as well, "It's only a flesh wound! At least, it would've been more devastating if my body wasn't already entirely mechanical." He had only desired an ending, but that desire was hidden behind the overwhelming desire to serve Athena. The one thing she had implanted in his mind. However hard Raze had hit him, it seemed to have disabled the function much to Xeno's surprise. Thinking about what Raze had said earlier, revenge did sound nice.
"I feel Ken's power surging right now. Is there anything in that building to the south?" Raze asked Xeno who nodded.
Xeno looked over, "There were children being kept in a cell of sorts. According to the memory I have. One of them got loose about a few hours ago." Raze's eyes widened. So, there was more experimentation going on than he knew already.
"That makes sense. Ken has been around another power I hadn't felt yet." Raze smiled while his mind went wild with the possible implications of that, 'He must have met his sister! And that means that the other power is definitely the kid I saved. Good to hear that they're all together… And bad that they're over there… I do need Xeno's help. Come on.' He pondered as Xeno floated beside him.
Xeno had finally made his decision, "I will go."
Raze was confused, "Really? Just like that?" Xeno nodded.
"We're wasting time. You should go help the namekian. Athena is notoriously good at entrapping people." Xeno said as he flew off into the sky leaving Raze by himself.
Raze watched as Xeno disappeared before reaching out to feel for Brass's power, 'Huh… Guess I'll help go after the prize. I better get a move on.' Raze lifted off into the air and headed toward Brass's energy signal.
~Meanwhile~
Tossing some destroyed pieces of metal to the side, Brass sighed, "Okay, you could make this harder for me." Brass was currently using the stairs and had made it up at least 20 flights. Below him on every floor was a terrible amount of devastation and technological parts laying all around. Brass felt pity for the woman, that was going to cost a lot.
'But it's probably not going to be worth as much as her head.' Brass's thoughts were straight and narrow. Get this done and worry about other things later. He had cut her power earlier, so the chances of this broad getting out of here were already very low.
As he began to make his way up the next flight of stairs, he heard a voice coming over the intercom, "I don't know why you're taking your time. My ship is almost done here, charging that is." Athena cooly said from her seat next to the launch platform.
Brass smirked, 'So, she's not as cowardly as I thought. Must have a plan of some sort.' He floated up and then leveled his hand upward.
Energy sparked and just as she had looked away from the intercom system, an explosion rocked the area. Athena looked over in abject horror, despite knowing he was coming. She had thought he would continue to smugly tear apart her creations, but her prodding must've worked. She clicked a few buttons on her watch and Athena's thousands of drones began to whir to life all around the room.
Athena heard him approaching with each footstep. As he got closer, his body seemed to be brushing through the smoke. The stamp of his feet even threatened the integrity of the floor while finally revealing his bright visage. He had a real shit eating grin plastered on his face.
"Alright. You have my attention." Brass said smugly as Athena couldn't help but face him with that kind of entrance.
Athena had been breathing in and out rapidly, but tried to regain her composure, "I guess you took the bait." She said as her body language morphed into a much more confident look, "If all I have to worry about is you. This will all be fine. Though, it's going to hurt me to do this to his creation." Athena stated with her own manic expression very much visible upon her face.
Brass showed his teeth this time, "Creation? You obviously know more than you're letting on. I can't wait to tear that information out of you later. Let's see your grand design." With that, he flew so fast he should have been upon her already. However, he felt an immense pain as a sound seemed to completely overcome his eardrums. His flight was cut short and to rub salt in the wound, He was pushed back with ki by Athena. His body blew back as it began to get harder to control his energy while his mind was assaulted by the incredibly intense sound. Meanwhile, Athena was laughing about this outcome.
"YOU SHOULD SEE THE LOOK OF ANGUISH ON YOUR FACE!" Athena exclaimed with glee while tears flowed from her eyes as Brass began to yell in sheer agony. He raised his hand, firing ki blasts in random directions due to his senses being so overwhelmed. Ripping holes through the building, but never hitting their mark. Athena celebrated her early victory even though she looked incredibly sad about it.
This would have continued on, but then another explosion sent Athena flying to the side. Her body tumbled and rolled before crashing into the wall. The sound was still going on much to Brass's displeasure. As the smoke rolled through the area. Brass began to stop his ki blasts instead choosing to cover his own ears.
The smoke began to clear quickly as another spark of ki rippled outward. The one who fired it revealed himself to be Raze. Raze looked over to Brass and then shifted his head to Athena with a look of malice.
He landed in front of Athena much to her surprise, "How do I turn this off? Say it quickly or I will kill you." He narrowed his eyes in anger as she meekly clicked a few buttons.
The horrid noise stopped echoing around and she raised her hands. Defeat, Raze must have killed her greatest weapon. She had no chance against two powerful warriors in her midst. Raze nodded accordingly before turning to Brass.
"You alright, bud? You didn't underestimate her, did you?" He asked the alabaster fighter.
"WHAT?!" Brass yelled as Raze genuinely looked confused.
"I said… DID YOU UNDERESTIMATE HER?!" He yelled this time, but Brass was already responding.
"WHAT?!" Raze shook his head and turned back to Athena with unbridled fury as Brass slapped him upside the head, "Relax, I'm fucking with you. Thanks for getting rid of that shitty noise." He turned to Athena with a great smirk on his face.
He put the capture ring around Athena. Having got what he came here for. Brass enjoyed this, but the victory felt a little hollow. He picked up Athena by her jacket much to her surprise. Raze got the message and turned away. He winced when he heard two cracks of a fist slamming a certain someone in the face.
Raze couldn't help but think to himself, 'So uncivilized…'
Brass walked over to Raze while carrying Athena on his shoulder. Her eyes were newly minted black and blue. She was crying in abject agony while smiling despite it. Even her tears mixed with the blood. Brass didn't care in the least.
Brass even laughed, "You should see the look of anguish on your face." He said simply as Raze facepalmed at that.
Brass noticed Raze doing so and added, "Oh, come now. She definitely deserves worse." Raze couldn't deny that.
~Meanwhile~
Flashes of ki ignited on the way down the open elevator shaft as Kiryu took point, "When I fire, fly as fast as you can, Ken!"
Ken couldn't do much more than nod as Kiryu prepared a ball of ki in his palm and gave himself just a moment longer before ki rippled past him. Just barely avoiding it, he fired his own blast at one of the doors below. The blast drifted straight into the object as intended, blowing them off the hinges and sending the doors flying across the room.
"Now!" Kiryu yelled as Ken nodded, increasing his speed as much as he could.
Kiryu had made the quick turn despite Kira being in his arms, but had forgotten to maintain control. Back slamming against the wall, Ken took most of the blunt force impact of the wall. It had knocked the air out of his lungs and caused him to drop his sister to the ground.
Kiryu had managed to stop just before them, but turned back as a loud explosion and burst of flames shot from the bottom of the shaft. It even took out a bit of the floor as Kiryu stood valiantly awaiting the mechanical monster's appearance.
The flames began to imitate shape as arms and a body made its way out. Looking over its prey, the machine spoke once again, "I'm not sure why you're here or how you got fre-." Kiryu slammed into the machine using his head and sent it stumbling back ever so slightly.
Kiryu then fired several small ki blasts at the cyborg that exploded and carried smoke around him, Ken, and Kira. Kiryu was gasping for air from this effort. He turned to his newfound friends, "What are you doing laying there?!" He asked Ken who was just now getting over his daze.
"Just trying to get up…" Ken's voice trailed off in labored effort while finally getting on his feet.
Kira was knocked out cold despite having taken much less damage. Ken scooped her up and Kiryu was already moving away from the cloud of smoke to join them in trying to escape their hunter.
"We need a plan!" Kiryu exclaimed as they moved to a bigger room in the establishment. Ken could only grunt in agreement while carrying his sister.
Kiryu immediately recognized the place they were in, "This place is where we got away from before! The others are here!" They could hear the clanking sound of the mechanical menace's feet getting closer.
Ken was sure that it was over for them and that Kiryu had merely managed to delay the inevitable, but he couldn't help himself as he set down Kira. Joining beside Kiryu, Ken gave him a grin as he flared up his aura. Kiryu immediately understood what was going on in this instant and fired up his aura with everything he could possibly muster. Kiryu's being noticeably smaller after firing his off a few ki attacks earlier.
Ken and Kiryu nodded with resolve and were going to make this their last stand. As the hand gripped the frame of the door and the glowing eyes of their attacker made itself known. They hoped to be able to survive this encounter.
~End of Chapter 5~