This Seppuku Tale was a joint project between Prucetail and I, where we worked together to make a tale solely based around Rose's sad life. The idea itself was brought up by Prucetail, I accepted and proceeded to write it to her liking. I warn you, however, this is nothing more than depressing. This tale takes place during Part 2, Lap 67-where Team Seppuku set off for Aeropolis to crash Jody Summer's meeting.
Considering the overall gloomy theme in this tale, this may be a little hard to do, but, please enjoy.
==The Chronicle of Dark Rose=
Dark Million-an ancient force within the universe fueled by the desire to bring about tolerance and perfect harmony. Centuries ago, Black Shadow had usurped the title of king and remodeled the organization completely. What was once an organization with a dream to help humanity better understand and accept one another, had become a madman's dark cult for destruction. Black Shadow and his minions now dream of a new universe, one that see's an end to the old humanity, and the introduction to a new humanity-a superior humanity.
Before Black Shadow can create and install a perfect new humanity across the universe, he must first annihilate all of whom threaten the idea of a perfect universe. From the point of view of Black Shadow, Blood Falcon, Brock Blaskovitz, The Skull, and Dark Rose, the Federation fights for evil. Captain Falcon, Lieutenant Seppuku, and the Galactic Federation continue their search for Black Shadow, but this is generally seen as a hostile act that mustn't be left unpunished. If Black Shadow is to succeed in his quest, his greatest foes must be dealt with. All of his minions know the will of Dark Million to be true, and that it is the only faith, but amongst all of his minions, one specific minion is left secretly puzzled by his motives.
Dark Rose-the clone of Chiya Flower-finds herself living a life she did not want. A kindred spirit full of hate and envy, but also one of the kindest and sweetest of Dark Million. The only fair way to describe this woman, would be to label her as an Angel of Death. Serving as the assassin of Dark Million, Rose is prepared to die serving her master and creator. Little does Black Shadow know, however, Rose is not the perfect experiment he had hoped for.
Seeing as to how Chiya Flower is worth Seppuku's time, Black Shadow assumed that Chiya was of great power-and of extreme capability. Black Shadow had met Chiya in person at one point, and he was secretly bewildered by her bravery and strength, as she valued the lives of her companions over her own. This was enough for Black Shadow to make the fair assumption that collecting the blood of Chiya Flower was as exciting as discovering oil. What he didn't know, however, was that behind this brave soldier, was an extremely soft and cuddly person. This was his ultimate undoing, and would prove to be one of his greatest failures.
By creating what appeared to be a completely capable superwoman with enhanced attributes, Black Shadow had hoped to have created the perfect obedient assassin. Unfortunately for him, Rose was designed like a computer-a computer with too many glitches to call a success…
Rose opened her eyes slowly and groaned. Her eyes were as red as a ruby, while her pupils were as dark as the universe that surrounded her. She blinked once before closing her eyes with a squirming lip. Groaning once more, she slapped her forehead and pushed her dark bangs back. Her stocking boots and stock hat sat next to her dull bed, but she had retired in every other article of clothing. Rose had no blanket, but a very qualitative pillow. Her room was as cold as late October, but she had become fairly accustomed to this. The blood that surged within her was designed to withstand and react properly to a change in climate. Whenever Rose was cold, she entered a cold-blooded state.
She continued to rub her forehead silently, but was momentarily interrupted by the sound of the ship's intercom turning on. As usual, she was awoken by one of the many Death Soldier robots, as routine announcements were made. This was what she normally awoke to, rather than an alarm clock.
"Attention, Dark Million personnel." Rose opened her eyes up into slits and growled slightly, she raised her lip and revealed sharp teeth, "This is your daily wakeup call. All personnel are required to gear up and head to the combat area for morning training."
The intercom switched off, concluding the very brief morning wakeup. Rose face palmed and groaned very abruptly.
"Bloody Hell, why..?"
She sat up after grabbing her stock hat. She fitted it over her head and adjusted her bangs with a disappointed expression. Next she placed her feet into her long stocking boots and raised them up to her thighs. Already suited up, she took a few moments to sit on the edge of her cold bed and shake her head.
"I understand that I must stay strong, but come on, Excalibur never needs to do routine training…" she complained aloud. Her eyelids lowered as she suddenly bit onto her bottom lip, "That would be bloody sweet if he did, though…"
Rose let out a dreamy exhale and fell onto her back with a radiant smile. Her smile began to squirm as she once again found herself thinking about her true love.
"That would be great. He and I would train together, he'd teach me how to hold a gun…" she swallowed with glossy eyes, "He'd probably hold my hand in the process…" she bit on her finger and began to rub her legs together excitedly, "Then, just before I take the shot, he'd remove his helmet and reveal his spectacular jaw. Our eyes would meet for the first time, and he'd grab my face and-"
Suddenly, Blood Falcon kicked open her door. Rose gasped and widened her eyes, Blood Falcon cracked his knuckles and chuckled maniacally. Rose immediately got back onto her rear and glared at him.
"Do you mind!?"
Blood Falcon pointed at her, "That's no way to thank me. If Black Shadow had caught you lying around on duty, he'd have whipped some loyalty into you."
Rose stomped her feet down and stood up, shaking her fist at him furiously, "Hey, bite me! I doubt Blaskovitz is even done clothing up, I've just been taking a second to-"
"Yeah, yeah."
Rose hissed at him and narrowed her eyes, then reached towards her window and opened up a black leather box. Inside contained her two assassin daggers-both very sharp. Blood Falcon grinned and nodded at her before turning his head.
"I'm just fooling around. I would never rat you out or anything…"
"Oh, yeah?"
He rubbed his chin devilishly and smirked without looking at her. He shrugged and briefly chuckled, "As long as you let me squeeze your Red Canyons…"
"Bugger off!"
He chuckled and swished his hand at her, "I'm just kidding. Now, hurry up…"
Minutes later, Rose found herself walking beside Brock Blaskovitz, while Blood Falcon walked beside Black Shadow. The four were slowly moving down a massive hallway, Black Shadow was moving with an evil grin on his face, while his minions all moved with serious looks. Rose was constantly glancing over at Brock and Blood Falcon, both men were much taller and possessed unreal muscular attributes. Deep inside, Rose knew that she was the weakest of the pack. The only specialty she possessed was the ability to run and leap with supernatural capability. Blood Falcon possessed all of this and more, hence making her feel even more useless.
Black Shadow rubbed his chin and chuckled loudly, Blood Falcon turned his head and smirked, "Something on your mind?"
"Oh, I'm just excited for the conclusion of this Grand Prix-the final Grand Prix," Rose raised an eyebrow at him, "Because deep inside, I know without a shred of doubt that you have this Grand Prix in the bag. Soon Dark Million will have its first victory over the competition, and unfortunately for them, it will be the last F-Zero victory they ever see…"
Blood Falcon clapped his hands, "Our ravaging of Green Plant will make it clear to all who is actually in control of this universe."
Rose quirked her mouth and looked up at Brock, who had just joined in with the chuckling, "I am glad that we are not attacking Mute City yet. It will be very satisfying to watch the Federation try and defend themselves after an entire planet is turned into a planet of mere dirt."
Black Shadow gave him a simple nod, "For a moment there, I thought I was going to have to kill you. But, yes, you are right Russian. The humility that the Federation will face at our hands will be best watched over the finest of cuisine on the night of our victory."
Deciding that this was a good time to try and regain some lost respect, Rose raised her finger, "You know what would really send off a powerful message to the humans?" Everyone turned their heads and looked down at her as they walked, she smiled and shrugged, "We should film our victory dinner and release it to the public."
Brock narrowed his eyebrows and growled, but surprisingly, Black Shadow clapped his hands loudly and nodded, "An excellent proposal!"
The four soon stood in a large open gym. Black Shadow stood observantly by the entrance while his minions made their way into the center of the gym. Brock had his mighty war hammer equipped, Rose stood with two daggers, and Blood Falcon merely posed with his hands over his waist.
Rose was looking left to right constantly, spotting some hologram projectors scattered around the gym. Of the three, Blood Falcon was the only one refusing to show any enthusiasm. While he did have a handgun holstered, he showed no sign that indicated he would be equipping it. Black Shadow flexed his fingers, and with a grin, he raised his hand into the air.
"Begin your training," he ordered loudly.
At that moment, the many hologram projectors had sprung life-size projections of Captain Falcon into existence. Standing still with clueless looks, the holograms faced their opponents. All at once, the three broke from position and sprung into action.
Brock was running left to right constantly, acting as if there were oncoming gunfire. With his large hammer against his chest, he dashed into one of the holograms and smashed the projection away. Just after doing this, he performed a spin and swung his hammer around with great force. Another hologram was struck across the face and immediately brought down.
Blood Falcon leapt high into the air while spinning, then kicked his foot forth while coming down towards a hologram. His flaming boot ran straight through the hologram, easily taking this down. He knelt down swiftly and dashed towards his next target, which was also brought down with a flaming punch. He leapt backwards and performed a backflip, then proceeded to flip forward and roll. He rolled straight into a hologram and completed the procedure by bouncing up with two strong punches.
Rose was sprinting around the gym with a determined smirk, almost finding fun in the activity. With both daggers trailing behind her back, she spotted a target and nodded to herself. Without stopping, she made a sharp left turn and sprinted towards the hologram. Black Shadow rubbed his chin and hummed slowly as he watched her do so. Simply running towards the target with great speed, Rose locked her daggers together in preparation to strike. Within a single second, Rose had swiped her daggers many times. Her target was easily taken out.
Black Shadow tilted his head with a slightly amused look, Rose picked another target and simply spun around. Again, she merely charged at the target with locked daggers. The only difference this time being that she jumped at her target and slashed it down the face. Rose turned her head and selected her next target, but before she could charge at it, Brock's war hammer had been thrown straight into its face like a spear. She turned and picked another target, but found that Blood Falcon was already about to dash into it. She began to panic, wondering what was left for her to attack. Fortunately, she found a hologram left near the center of the gym.
Rose kicked her foot down and without hesitation stampeded towards the target with quick feet. She grinded her teeth and narrowed her eyes, determined to take it out before her allies. Brock picked up his hammer and raised his eyebrow, realizing that Rose was going for the target. After growling, Brock held his hammer up and chucked it towards the target, deciding that he wanted to steal this from Rose.
Blood Falcon turned towards the target as well, but was in no position to get it before Rose. She did a swift slide towards the target and performed six slashes within two seconds, easily destroying this projection as well. She dipped her head down and smirked victoriously, but was caught off guard as the massive metallic hammer had flown past her face. She gasped, then glared at Brock and stomped her foot down.
"Who the Hell are you trying to hit!?"
Brock shrugged with a smirk, "Sorry," he said with lacking emotion.
The three approached Black Shadow at the entrance, ready to receive their performance evaluation. All three stood still with obedient expressions, but Rose felt uneasy about what she would be told. It was not uncommon for her to be lectured on her performance, but her two superior allies made it impossible to compare with. Ultimately, Black Shadow often expected her to perform like Brock or Blood Falcon.
"Blood Falcon, you're performance in training was very optimal. You lacked any mistakes in your attacks, so all I expect you to do is keep practicing."
Blood Falcon bowed and nodded, "Yep."
"Blaskovitz, you're attacks were also very efficient, and your dodging was fairly exceptional. Your hammer throwing, however, is idiotic and ultimately should be dismissed."
"Of course."
Rose tugged on her collar and brought her feet together. Black Shadow looked down at her and brought his hands behind his back, "Rose, once again you disappoint me."
"Why? What the Hell did I do wrong!?"
"You foolishly charge all of your targets in a straight line. You did not make a single attempt to dodge any projectiles."
She grunted, "What projectiles? I don't see projectiles, so I can't dodge them!" she argued.
"Idiot, your excuse is that you can't see a bullet coming at you?" Rose lowered her eyebrows, "You claim that if you could see a bullet coming, you would be able to react in time?"
Rose nodded, "My attacks were good, though, right?"
"You possess power, but that power will not matter if you cannot make it to your target alive."
"But-"
Black Shadow swiftly held his hand up and shook negatively, "Enough, the training is complete. Blood Falcon passes, Blaskovitz passes fairly, and Rose once again fails," he turned away from the three and opened the door, "You may feast in the lounge."
Rose remained still with a frown, a frown that momentarily turned into slight anger. Blood Falcon slapped her back and laughed mockingly.
"Way to humiliate yourself, again."
Brock swished his hand at her and proceeded out the door with Blood Falcon, "Useless woman."
Rose tightened her grasp on her daggers and narrowed her eyes in clear rage. Tightly closing her eyes, she grinded her teeth and began to tremble in fury. Despite how angered she was, she found the strength to simply put away her daggers and move on.
Not much later, Rose found herself sitting at a table with Brock and Blood Falcon. Everyone had been served plates of meat by the Death Soldier servants, but Rose was left with a lesser serving. Disappointment had overcome her, but she was keeping her complaints to herself. Blood Falcon did not help the situation, as he crossed his arms and chuckled at Rose mockingly
"You really screwed up, Rose. Right in front of Black Shadow…" Rose narrowed her eyes angrily and cracked her knuckles, "At least your performance was nothing out of the ordinary. I'm sure you'll be demoted to a custodian soon enough, then you won't need to worry about training."
Brock grinned and poked at his meat, Rose growled softly and pointed at Blood Falcon, "Watch your bloody mouth. I may not understand a few things about fighting, but from what you clearly saw, I can land some pretty lethal attacks."
"Oh, please. If you were to fight someone as supreme as myself, you'd be on the floor gasping for life within one strike."
"Lies…"
He grinned jokingly and shrugged, "Unless you showed me your goods, in which case, you may successfully stun me for a few seconds."
Finally, Rose smashed her fists down on the table and nearly screamed at him, "Stop harassing me! It's never going to happen!"
Brock slowly turned his head, "That is not your call to make."
Blood Falcon tore his meat up with his fingers, rather than using a fork. He threw a chunk into his mouth and chuckled while shaking negatively, "You're right, Rose. It would never happen," he snapped his fingers with a grin, "If I could waste myself on anyone, it wouldn't be you. Jody Summer, perhaps, but I wouldn't waste myself on such a whiney brat."
Rose closed her eyes and turned hostilely, "You don't think Jody Summer would be whining?"
"Jody would take it, like a good girl," he clapped his hands together and began to laugh loudly, "But let's not get ahead of ourselves. Neither me nor Blaskovitz are rapists. I would never consider stooping so low…"
Brock nodded slowly, "Sexual desire is a weakness. By the time you finish having sex on the battlefield, your enemy will have already reached the perimeter to kill you."
Rose sighed at Brock, "It's not a weakness, sex can be about love, too."
"Love is a weakness."
"Love is strength!"
Both Brock and Blood Falcon grunted and turned their heads. Rose was grinding her teeth, but now found herself somewhat startled. Blood Falcon fired a look of suspicion off towards her.
"Odd, that doesn't sound like something a programmed Dark Million killing machine would say…"
Rose gulped and shook negatively, "L- love for something you're passionate about. Like, killing Chiya Flower. I love the concept of slitting the neck of my enemy!" she answered nervously.
Blood Falcon dropped his smirk and growled, "If you ask me, I think that useless mercenary is further corrupting you with his inferior beliefs…"
Slamming her fists down desperately, Rose glared and shook negatively, "Don't drag Excalibur into this!"
Brock blinked once at her, "Perhaps I must take it upon myself to report my suspicion to Black Shadow…"
"You bastard! There's nothing to report!"
Blood Falcon leaned in towards her with a very cruel looking expression, "I know what happened…" Rose gasped with quivering eyes, Blood Falcon smirked at her and nodded, "You took a ride on Excalibur, didn't you?" Rose immediately grunted in response, "You've succumbed to the evils of humanity, simply by leaving your door open a crack one night…"
Rose was left staring at him with quivering eyes. She was instantly taken back to the heartwarming moment that had occurred between the two mere days ago, the moment where Excalibur had covered her eyes and locked lips with her. There was no sex, but indeed a moment of passion had occurred between the two. The very thought of the two kissing was provoking a blush out of Rose.
"I- I did not. You accuse me of things that- I don't even have feelings for Excalibur!"
Blood Falcon searched deep into her eyes for untruth. Unfortunately, Rose's eyes were shaking out of control, easily sending information to him that she was hiding something. Brock had now dismissed his role in the conversation and proceeded to eat, while Blood Falcon continued to interrogate their female companion.
After entering a solid stare for several seconds, Blood Falcon smirked and sat back comfortably, "I'm just kidding around, Rose. You know me, I'm the joking guy around these parts…"
Brock raised his eyebrow and stuck some food into his mouth, "Humor is a weakness."
Both looked at him, Blood Falcon chuckled loudly, "Lighten up."
At that moment, the door to the room had opened, revealing Black Shadow. Everyone turned their heads, and all at once, everyone sat up straight with very obedient looks. Dark Rose got a squirming smile and cleared her throat.
"Oh, master! What a surprise!"
Without acknowledging her greeting, Black Shadow turned his head towards her, "Is your machine almost ready?"
"It still needs to be painted."
Black Shadow did not respond to this positively, as he growled in discontent and pointed at her, "Waste of time."
Rose frowned before gaining a fairly upset look. Black Shadow turned his head towards the two men at the table and grasped his waist. Blood Falcon looked up at him and nodded.
"How is the food? Is it more than efficient?"
"Quite efficient. Did a robot tend to the food?"
"A Death Soldier was tuned to optimize itself in cooking, yes."
Brock grinned with a nod, "It is good."
Blood Falcon clapped his hands and tilted his head towards the still Rose, "But, e-eh, I think you should give Rose a shot at cooking. She needs to be good for something."
Rose very slowly lowered her eyebrows in anger, but was still looking down at her waist. Brock smirked and chuckled as well, "No way, she cooks terribly."
Black Shadow didn't laugh, but he did turn his head towards Rose. She was now hiding her face from view, simply muttering various cusses down towards her chest. With a stern nod, Black Shadow gazed down at Rose.
"After our most recent loss, that sounds about right."
Rose closed her eyes and exhaled very softly, then looked down at her plate with opened slits. Brock and Blood Falcon returned to their food. Rose continued to stare at her small amount of meat, then finally put her hands down onto the table.
"I want more."
Brock and Blood Falcon both gasped and looked up at Black Shadow, both startled by her request. Their reactions displayed surprise, as if her request to Black Shadow was greatly offensive. Black Shadow did appear surprised, but more so angry. Crossing his arms swiftly, he revealed glimmering sharp teeth.
"What was that, child?"
Rose slightly strengthened her clenched fists and gritted her teeth angrily, "I'm hungry. I would like more, like those two."
Brock slammed his fists down and growled, "Quite some nerve the young maiden has!"
Black Shadow quickly stopped him by launching his hand up, ordering for him to halt. Brock acknowledged the order by nodding, but refused to return to his food. Instead, he gave Rose a very provoked glare. Black Shadow held his finger up and placed it down against his bicep angrily.
"Why do you think you're in a position to make demands?"
Rose slightly glanced up at him, "I am not making a demand, nor am I begging. I am merely asking for more, like those two have been given."
"Those two are given more, because they have earned it."
Rose gasped with a distressed look, "But I work just as hard!"
Black Shadow grinned and shook negatively, "The Skull is dead, Rose…"
"S- so what!? That was Seppuku's doing!"
"We have lost an ally because of your incompetence. Why should you possibly be rewarded?"
"I've done a lot more than those two!" she complained loudly.
Brock narrowed his one eye angrily, Blood Falcon crossed his arms. Black Shadow sighed and pointed at the two, "These two are special. They are the elite shock troopers of my empire. You, are no shock trooper, you are too weak to serve such a role."
"I could kill Seppuku if given the opportunity…"
"If Captain Falcon were to enter this ship right now, I would send these two to deal with him-not you."
Rose slammed her hands down and groaned, "But that's not fair! You don't even give me a chance to prove my worthiness…"
"You can't even kill Seppuku's companions, both of which lack the blood of Dark Million. If you can't kill two simple humans, you can't kill anyone."
"Well, actually, I did recently kill this one bloke in Mute City…"
Black Shadow sat down at the table with a proud smirk, "You see, Rose. I'm not evil, if I were, I would have destroyed you for your many, many, failures. But instead, I accept your failure by beating you, then letting you try again. Very merciful."
She frowned at her plate, "Maybe if I could just be a little better fed, I'd have the confidence to try harder…"
"But why should I give you anything? You've only harmed Dark Million with your presence, really."
"Because! I'm trying my hardest! I should be given more simply because I've proven my obedience!"
Black Shadow shook negatively at her, "Now you're beginning to sound like a communist…"
Blaskovitz chuckled, "How pathetic!" he said before swatting the hammer and sickle on his chest.
Rose pointed at her master angrily, "I want to prove myself! Just give me a damn task that isn't impossible!"
"That's partially why I've come to visit," he pointed at Rose and hummed slowly, "I've received information that Jody Summer and her companions are on Aeropolis for a meeting. If you want to redeem yourself, go forth, and kill them all."
Immediately, Rose launched out of her seat, "I will!"
"No you won't," Blood Falcon muttered back.
Black Shadow nodded slowly, "I have my doubts. But surely, you can manage this much…"
Brock shook negatively, "Sending her on such a mission is a bad idea. Send me, I will take care of all Federation pigs."
Rose held her hands out, "No! I've got this! I already have a plan and everything…"
Blood Falcon pushed his cape aside, revealing his electric whip, "For your sake, you better not fail this time…"
"I- I won't fail. I'll paint my machine quickly and get down there. I rest assure you, Master, Jody and her friends will be dead."
Black Shadow stared at her for a few moments, then nodded slowly, "Good."
Rose was later walking down a hallway in the ship. Under heavy contemplation, Rose paced back and forth constantly. She indeed already had a plan of action for killing Jody and her companions, but she feared what would happen if she were to fail.
"I'll create a fake terrorist threat to close down the starports. Then I'll have all day to slaughter them…" shaking fearfully, she gulped and grabbed her hand, "But if I fail I'll be beat again. Maybe even killed…"
Rose frowned and stopped pacing, as she quickly made her way down the dark hallway. Stress was now overcoming her as she faced a do-or-die situation. Failure was not an option, yet, she feared that failure was the inevitable outcome no matter how hard she tried.
Before reaching the garage that contained her newly acquired F-Zero machine, she widened her eyes and came to a stop. She immediately stuck her thumb into her mouth while melting into her boots.
"Excalibur and I just kissed. If I die, I'll live without him, and he'll live without me. Forced to live out a miserable life…" she lowered her eyelids and gritted her teeth, "He'd probably find a new girlfriend to marry and have babies with…"
The very thought of Excalibur slipping out of her grasp was heartbreaking. Of all the darkness that surrounded her, Excalibur's shining visor was all that truly kept her wanting to go on. He was the only person who treated her right, and the only person she truly believed ever would.
Rose held up her communication device, which was personally linked with Excalibur. Her eyes widened, at the simple press of a button, she'd be in a conversation with the one she loved. But unfortunately, there was something keeping her from doing so.
"…he instructed me to never call him…"
Only Excalibur called Rose, never vice versa. This was a specific instruction Excalibur had given her, her desperateness for love led her to accommodate this instruction to the letter. No matter how much pain she endured, she would stay strong and refuse to call him.
She closed her eyes and sighed softly, putting away the device. There was nothing more for Rose to do. She now had an F-Zero machine, a mission, and her own mission to kill Chiya. Of all things, however, Rose could only find herself thinking about the love that she so desperately wanted. She wasn't sure how Excalibur would possibly find a way to do love filled things with her while under Black Shadow's control, but this wasn't stopping her.
Rose was a puppet to her master, a punching bag to her friend, and an enemy in the eyes of the universe. There was nothing she could do. Her world was black and white, and the only color in her universe was Excalibur's green and red suit. This was the only hope Rose had in life.
But alas, her dream of loving Excalibur and starting a family with him was exactly what it was-a dream-and nothing more…
