Well, it has been a while since I revisit this story, but I have decided to translate my original fic to English. I am just going to move forward, but since this isn't my native tongue I beg any reader forgiveness for the grammatical... horrors I may or may not commit in the following tale. Other than that Is my sincere hope you enjoy the reading.
Disclaimer: Magical War Chronicle Lyrical Nanoha Force and The Punisher, are the intellectual property of their respective owners. I have no legal claim over their stories or characters.
I – Encounter
How have you been, Su-chan?
I entered the cultural reservation at Ruwella two days ago. Being forgiven for all my selfish words, there is only three months left of solo traveling. Cross-dimensional communication can't be done freely in the reservation so I can't keep in contact often. Right now, I'm filled with passion (and learning a lot from Steed). As we promised I am exploring the world in my travels. Finding the answer that belongs to me.
Touma
The boy finally stopped writing and closed the envelop around the letter. He stood up and walked towards the counter, where an elderly looking nun took it from his hands
"Oh… is this a letter for Mid-Childa?" She asked, Reading the address "Are you traveling?"
"Yes sister" Touma said "I am going to the ruins in the mine ahead for treasure hunting and…"
"Photography" added the small device hanging around his neck.
"I see" the nun pushed her glasses back and smiled gently "I will make sure your letter arrives safely then. Have a nice trip".
"Thank you, sister".
Touma bowed slightly and walked out of the church, waving goodbye to the other two nuns who were working outside in the garden. He adjusted his backpack for comfort and walked down the road towards the distant mountains. It was a nice day; the sun was burning bright in the sky but the fresh air of the area kept the temperature relatively chill. The trees and the grass move gently on the wind, and with the mountains in the background the entire scene was rather quaint. Touma just allow himself to enjoy the view as he walked down the road.
"Hey Steed. It Will be evening by the time we arrive, right?" he asked, breaking the silence.
"You are right. But you have enough food, Touma. So, you should be alright"
"That's good, we don't want to run out like last time" Touma scratched the back of his head as he remembered.
"If you get in troubles your girlfriend would get angry with me".
"I told you already. Su-chan isn't my girlfriend".
"Then, why didn't you accept when they offered to become part of their family?".
Touma felt silent as he thought about it. The truth was that part of him saw Su-chan and her sisters as his own family, but he couldn't just forget about his past and move on like that. He still needed answers about what happen in his village 7 years ago. When his world and everyone he cared about were taken from him. There was no peace to be had until that got sorted out. That was the reason for this journey, he had promised Su-chan that if he didn't discover the truth about his past in 6 months, then he would return and give her a proper answer to her offer.
"To tell the truth I do kind of like the idea… but I want to solve my own matters first" he said after a while "I would not want to stain their happiness with bitter memories from the past".
"Everyone has bitter memories" Steed said. His mechanic voice cricked with concern.
"Maybe, but I am not ready to move past them. I want one last chance, one last attempt to find out what happened that day" Thome clenched his fists slightly "If I don't have answers after this journey, then I can think about my future, don't you agree?"
"I believe you can think about the future at any moment. But it is your decision".
"I know is a bit selfish, but is what I want" Thome said. Then he looked up to the scenery and smiled "Anyway, don't you think this is a good scene? How about some pictures?
Steed did not answer but he removed himself from Touma's neck so he could be used as a camera. Respecting his master's wish to change the topic.
The bar was filled with the usual crowd that night, people drinking, chatting or otherwise involve in their own affairs so nobody pay any mind to two the men sitting on one of the tables in the corner. The first man took his beer and started to drink from it, he was wearing a brown business suit and glasses, looking a bit out of place in that area of town. His partner only stared at his own bottle, making no effort to grab it, he was bulkier and taller than the first, wearing a long black trench coat and globes.
"Well? What do you have for me, Micro?" the man in black asked.
The other grimaced hearing the nickname. They had known each other for years at this point and yet he never used his name, except when he lost his patience and called him by his last name. So, he was 'Microchip' or just 'Micro' for shorts. Better not to mention it.
"This one is special, Frank" Micro said. He moved a hand towards his coat and graved an envelope "This is all the TSAB knows about the case".
"Doesn't seem like much" Frank commented taking it and eying the contents "Something I should take a look at first?"
"You tell me. It has the data on the few identified targets. This sounds like troubles, big troubles. Maybe you should let them handle it for change".
"How big is it?"
"Enough that they will reform a special unit. The same one that handle the JS Incident".
Frank almost growled when he heard that. Micro just ignored that and took the other's beer, seeing he wasn't going to drink it. He would need it to get through this conversation. Frank leaned forward, his muscles tensing under his coat.
"The job needs to be done. Properly this time" He said "No excuses."
"I guess but… you have been working a lot lately. How much have you sleep this week?" Micro pointed with a smirk "Five hours a day? Four?"
"…Three".
"See? You are pushing yourself too hard. I think you should ease up a bit…"
"Don't" Frank interrupted.
"As you wish, be like that" Micro let out a sigh and removed his glasses, rubbing the bridge of his nose "Could you at least try and sleep properly?"
"Get to the point" insisted Frank leaning back on the seat "You did not invite me to be my nurse".
"They found it Frank. The found the lab in Fedikia"
"When and where?"
"Tonight, Saint Valerie Airport, hangar 18" Micro answered with a bit of reluctance "They suspect the Lost Logia is there, but they are not sure".
Frank meditated the implications in silence. Mircochip let out a sigh, truth was he was more concern about the people in that hangar than about Frank. Criminals as they might be, and really bad ones at that, may the Kaiser help those who tried to get in his way.
"Then I do have a target after all. Good job Micro" Frank stood up and started to walk towards the exit.
"Wait" Micro grabbed him by the sleeve "I left you the van nearby, use Soulbreaker to find it. But… the investigators of the special unit might be there, you could run in to powerful mages and… just, be careful, alright?"
"There won't be much left for them once I am done".
Frank pulled his arm back and adjusted his coat, letting the shirt underneath visible for a few moments. A black shirt, with a white skull on it.
By the time Touma reached the mountains the sun was already setting, casting long shadows over his path, but he was hoping to arrive to the ruins before it was fully dark. The boy adjusted his coat when a gush of cold air passed him by and decided to speed up a little.
The truth was he enjoyed being outdoors and only insisted on reaching the mine that day for the adventure. After all, comparing his current walk to the days after the incident, the little trip from the church was nothing. Touma adjusted his backpack over his left shoulder, he would need to take picture for Su-chan when he got there. But it might be better if he waited until the morning. She wouldn't like it if he got inside some ruins in the middle of the night.
Touma finally reached the top of the hill and he was able to look down at the ruins. The first thing that caught his eye was the old construction made of rock, emplaced in a small valley. The building was rectangular and it seem to be the only remaining structure of a once larger settlement. It look quite solid but here and there were clear signs of erosion and deterioration. According to the information Touma had the place was abandoned years ago after it was cursed. He didn't give credit to that but the place looked worthy of an exploration.
"Look at that, Steed, seems we are finally here" Touma said, looking down as the final rays of the sun vanish and night settle around them.
"Yes, this is our destination, the ruins of the mines of Ruwella. However, is night already, we should set up camp"
"Good idea. You think we should…?" Touma stopped when he noticed something.
Suddenly several lights illuminated the place bellow and the until then empty ruins were filled with frantic activity. Touma step away from the edge and hid behind some bushes to get a better look. There were at least a dozen or so people down there, moving between the ruins and what look like trucks, covered in grass and camouflaged so they would not stand out from the background. Around those people there were other figures, spread out as if guarding the place.
"Looks like someone else made it here before us" Touma commented.
"Who would come to such a remote place?"
"I don't know…" Touma said trying to discern what was going on, but the distance made it impossible "Help me find out, Steed".
The small device detached itself from his neck and Touma activated his magic as subtly as he could. He casted a small sphere of energy, a simple support spell that allowed the used to see and hear anything around it. The boy moved the spell down and guide it using the image Steed started to project on a small screen. The people near the edge look like soldiers, wearing full combat armor and face covering helmets, also carrying heavy mass-based guns. The others behind them look more like scientist or researches, judging by their lab coats. Touma decided to listen in to what they were saying, since they appear to be in charge.
"We have finish moving the equipment and the data out" A woman holding a data pat said, talking to a stern looking old man who was holding a glass container under his arm "What is left is the material".
"Scrap it! Dump it here" the old man answered with an annoyed tone.
"Donated bodies aside, the Strosek as well?"
"Never stay attached to a single failure from the past" the man held up the container and Touma could see it encased a strange looking tome. Black with a silver cross on the cover "We'll just have to change in writing the owner of the Silver Cross later".
Having listened enough Touma dispelled his magic, feeling a shiver down his spine.
"Seems troublesome for simply moving…" Steed commented, breaking the silence.
"Be-better not to involve myself. So, I'll just sneak quietly…" Touma said with a nervous tone.
He stepped back from the bushes and turned around, ready to walk back down the path before someone spot him. He loved adventures but this looked incredibly dangerous. Touma only managed to take two steps when suddenly he heard something.
'IT HURTS!'
A voice hit his mind like a hammer. Touma felt to his knees, holding the side of his head. Pain spread across him, like if someone had taken a hold of his brain and was trying to squeeze it. His vision turned blurry and he had to struggle to keep his sense of balance. Then he heard the voice again, but thankfully not as intensely as the first time.
'It really hurts!'
"Touma? Are you alright?" Steed asked, clearly worried.
He didn't answer right away. The pressure on his brain diminish and the voice became softer and more tolerable, but not less urgent. It was a call for help, he was sure of it. Touma sat down, rubbing the side of his head.
"What was that? Telepathy?" Touma mumbled.
"I did not hear any telepathic messages"
"Can't you hear it?" Touma look down at Steed, surprised. A magical device should be able to hear telepathy, more if the message was as loud as the one he just received. Touma suddenly look down at the ruins again "There. Is coming from there. Someone inside that place is asking for help!"
"Touma, don't tell me you are going to…"
"She needs someone to help her!" Touma interrupted him. The voice in his head was that of a girl, he was sure, and she sounded in agony. Touma clenched his fists, turning back after hearing such a cry for help was against everything Su-chan taught him.
"… If you say so" Steed came off his neck and floated around him "But remember, if you get hurt your girlfriend will scold me, so let's try to avoid that".
"It's alright partner, I'll bear that in mind" Touma smiled and moved forwards, descending down the path with the little device floating behind him.
His main concern was how to sneak past the guards, but when he reached the bottom, he noticed they were too busy moving those heavy crates in to the trucks and barely kept the perimeter. Touma moved with care in between the rocks, trying to be silent, he wasn't a powerful combat mage to fight arm guards if he was spotted. Moving as silent and quick as possible he reached the entrance of the building without being seen and rushed inside the tunnels.
The interior was illuminated by artificial lights hanging from the ceiling. Most of the structure was deteriorated but Touma advanced following the lights but staying on the shadows between them, soon he reached the entrance to the tunnels and moved underground where he felt more comfortable.
He was used to moving inside tunnels, after all his hometown had been a mining town. Touma shock his head to push down the memories, he had to focus on the here and now. Suddenly he noticed that he wasn't walking over dirt or stone but metal. The last bit of the tunnel had been reinforced with a metallic structure, Touma advanced and turned around a corner.
"Woah!" He exclaimed stopping dead on his tracks "This is… a research facility of some sort?"
"This doesn't look too good" Steed commented floating around the place.
The tunnel they had been following lead to a larger chamber, completely cover in metal, with lots of consoles and screens showing data, blinking lights, and readings. But what had called the boy's attention were the glass tanks. At least half a dozen arranged on the sides of the room, all filled with a glowing yellow or green liquid and housing a strange lump of meat and bones that floated in the middle. The lumps of flesh reminded Touma of brains somehow but they look like chopped meat. 'Steed is right', he thought, 'this doesn't look good'.
The boy continued walking until he reached a large metal door at the end. This area of the facility looked a bit older somehow, but the moment he touched the door he knew the person he was looking for was behind it.
'It… hurts…'
The voice was barely a whisper now, but Touma still was willing to answer. 'Wait a moment, I will end your pain soon' he thought. The boy put both hands against the door and focused his magic. A magic circle appeared under his feet, glowing with a silver color and spinning slowly. The magic moved across his body and another circle appeared on the palm pressed against the metal slab. The boy closed his eyes and let the mana flow from him to the door.
"Unlock" He said. The spell invaded the mechanisms and soon enough the thing sliced open, allowing both Touma and Steed to step inside.
The room was pitch black but as soon as they entered the lights turned on. The place was almost as big as the one with the glass containers, but this time Touma's eyes were drawn to a girl. She looked young, around his age, with long silver hair. She was naked, cuffed in a 'T' position to a stone tablet that stood over a small set of stairs like some form of altar. As Touma got closer she looked up and their eyes meet. She had pale green eyes that seem to pierce him right into his soul. Touma took a few steps forward, almost in a trance, when suddenly a sharp pain appeared on his left eye.
"Ahh! It hurts…" he felt to his knees, covering his eye. However, he had to put his right hand down to keep his balance, feeling something odd with it, like pins and needles moving across his arm.
Outside of the ruins the alarms trigger and several screens flashed in front of the scientist that oversaw the experiment.
"An intruder?!" the old man holding the container with the Silver Cross seem incredulous. He rushed to check screens.
"Something came in to contact with Strosek 4th!" the female scientist was already there "And this is… a reaction?!"
"No, stop, don't…!"
A loud bang silenced that voice.
"He is up there! Hurry we can…!"
Another powerful bang. This time several more answered, but in the middle of them came the sound of screams, metal blows and the wet and terrible sound of bones breaking. The door seemed to be the only thing keeping them away from a warzone. Doctor Lisa just gave the security team a passing thought as she focused on rescuing the data.
Her research team was lost, alongside the specimens and copies, but if she could rescue the data then her employers might be appeased. The screen seem frozen at 48% data transfer, but just then it jumped to 50%. All she needed were a couple minutes and the security copy would be ready. The problem was that she doubted their unexpected guest would give them that much.
"Is pointless, we need to leave doctor!" her assistant was trembling, standing next to the door and glancing at it "He is killing all of them. Is only a matter of time…"
She would have order him to shut up, but part of her had to agree. The sounds of conflict were now disappearing and there was little doubt as to who was winning. 'Damn him. How could this happen?' Lisa thought as she look at her screen again. This was supposed to be a simple moving. Take the materials from the field lab to the Fedikia airport, how could have that leak to someone like him? Not even the TSAB knew they were closing shop. Could this be a coincidence? The doctor doubted that.
"Wait! I surrender!" A supplicant voice sounded just outside the door. Something hit the floor "See? I am not armed, so please…"
The man was silenced with a loud bang. Doctor Lisa let out a snort as she left the console, that was just reward for such a coward. Her assistant followed her, somehow keeping up on his shaky legs.
"What are you doing?" He asked, his voice barely a whisper.
"Making sure we survive" She replied as they reached the container at the end of the room. The metal coffin was larger than she was, but the console was placed just at the right height.
"Bu-but it isn't ready. The subject is unstable, if we let it out…"
"Then with some luck the two monsters will kill each other" Lisa replied, and if not they could always sneak out in the confusion. She enter the access code, waiting for the security process to unlock the damn thing. It was a two-step verification system, precisely to avoid any potential accidents. The truth was she feared the subject almost as much as their attacker. This was a move born out of pure desperation, and she hated that.
The feeble wooden door was kick in and her assistant yelled. Lisa move to hide behind the container, and she saw as her assistant rushed towards the other exit, which lead to the tarmac. The man didn't got halfway there before a bullet hit him and the man went down with barely a grunt. Lisa just froze, panic making her stay completely still. Never before had she face death like this, her heart was beating so hard on her chest she feared the other man would hear it.
"I know you are there. Up, now" He said, barely needing to rise his voice.
Lisa found herself obeying, emerging from cover with her hands up. The man was standing amidst the ruin laboratory, holding a long handgun which look like an Intelligent Device, yet capable of firing mass-based ammunition. He look old, around 50 years of age, and was tall, with broad shoulders, hair as black as his clothes, which were a long trench coat that reached down to his heels and a series of body armor pieces over a body glove, a Barrier Jacket.
Two things stood up however. The first were his eyes, grey and dull, so cold that Lisa could almost swear she saw her death in them. The second was his symbol, emblazed in pure white, a skull without a lower jaw. That last one confirmed his identity: The Punisher, Frank Castle.
Frank looked at the woman, still pointing his gun at her. She appeared to be the typical intellectual type, long white coat, hair tied on the back, glasses covering eyes of light green color. She was scared, but somehow still calm, clearly used to dealing with monsters despite her better instinct, and if half of what he read in the file was true, this woman had more blood in her hands than anyone else. Normally he didn't kill women, but the war did not respect gender, so he was not going to make an exception for her.
"How did you find us?" She asked out of the sudden.
"Irrelevant. I only left you alive because I need you. Speak and you might help your chances" Frank said, "Where are they?"
"Who?"
"The Silver Cross and the Divider"
"They are not here, they never were. We… we were not the ones in charge of studying it."
"Give me a location".
"I don't know. They keep each team separate, without contact between us. That thing could be anywhere"
Castle pondered that answer. It sounded plausible, but somehow, he got the impression she was stalling him. A nearby console let out a low beeping sound and he turned his eyes. The screen read «Data transfer complete» and a data unit was expelled from the console. Frank reached for it, taking his eyes off the scientist for just one second. His first mistake.
"Go to hell Punisher!" She yelled and pressed a button on the console next to her and try to dash for cover.
The large container opened with a hissing sound, letting out a cloud of vapor and smoke. Castle aimed at the researcher and open fire, thinking she was the biggest threat. That was his second mistake. He hit the woman, right in her torso as she tried to put some crates between them. But as she went down something emerged from the box she had open and rushed him.
Frank only saw a blur of movement inside the steam cloud and suddenly a pair of hands were aiming for his throat. A large shadow tackled him to the ground, fingers closing around his neck with such strength that if his Barrier Jacket had not formed around his head to protect him it would have break it. Frank managed to hold his Device, firring several shots blind to whatever was on top of him. The pressure around his neck lessened and he pulled his legs back, charging the boots of his armor with magic, kicking the shadow away from him with a power enhanced kick.
The attacker was sent backwards, hitting the other side of the room so hard it cracked. Castle coughed, jumping back to his feet, rubbing his throat, finally getting a good look at his attacker. It looked like a man, of at least half his age, but there was something incredibly wrong with him. His torso was naked, and only a pair of black pants covered his legs. The man's skin had an unnatural red coloration with patches of charcoal black that appear to be made of steel rather than flesh. His body was tall, easily towering head and shoulders over Castle, with bulging muscles that seem to shift, inflating and deflating at random with his ragged breathing. But the worst part were the eyes, the man's eyes were red, glowing with strange power and lacking in any intelligence or compassion.
"Soulbreaker, identify target!" Punisher ordered, speaking to his Device.
"Enemy unknow, Lord, analyzing. Please stand by"
"Take your time" He answered, despite knowing his Device would not notice the sarcasm.
The bullet wounds he had inflicted upon the attacker were already healing, the waste metal heads falling on to the floor. The man staggered forward, struggling under the weight of his own massive body, but then his eyes then turn to look at Punisher's and hated filled them. With a bloody scream the man opened his palm and conjured a black weapon on his palm with a flash of light. The think looked like a sword someone had somehow stick in the middle of a shotgun, but it didn't appear any less deadly.
Punisher didn't wait to see what he had plan and just open fire once more, hitting the man square in the chest. The strength of the bullets had sent even armored guards down with a direct impact, but the man just took them without flinching. He turned his own device towards him, the tip starting to glow with power, despite the fact there was no magic energy flowing into it.
Castle lifted his hands and conjured a barrier spell, remembering his training. A magic circle, black with a reddish outline, lit under his feet forming a wall of black and red energy in front of him. Yet he sensed something was wrong. His attacker fired a massive beam of red energy and he ducked out of the way. The beam broke his defensive spell without effort and barely missed him, piercing the wall behind him and entering the hangar, where it collided against the small shuttle the scientist had tried to board.
The hangar had reserves or fuel and other materials causing a massive explosion that consumed everything around it. Castle was launched forward, crashing on to everything on his path, while fire engulfed him. His Barrier Jacket was strain to the limit, trying to protect him from the heat and the concussive force, and while it absorbed most of the damage it still hurt when he hit the tarmac, rolling out of control amidst piles of flaming debris. He came to a stop on some grass, leaving a wedge on the mud and roadway.
"Damn it…" Frank grunted, trying to discern if something was broken. He pulled himself up, ignoring the dozen or so pains that sprang across his form. He was in one piece, but the hangar, alongside anything related to the case, had gone up in flames. He turned back to see that just the frame of the structure remained, and the fire was spreading to other hangars, creating a massive column of smoke that rouse in to the Fedikian night sky. Soon every emergency service on the city would arrive, this was his signal to leave.
He had just considered where to go when suddenly something emerged from the center of the flames. The red man let out a roar and kicked some debris that had cover him, his body was now half burnt and in flames, but he could still move as if nothing was wrong. The strange man aimed its device at him and fired, its barrel spilling a series of red energy projectiles.
"Dark Bullet" Punisher opened his palm, casting another spell as fast as he could. Soulbreaker flew back into his hand and the gun shine with energy as he pressed the trigger and fire a series of magically charged bullets, cover in his black and red mana.
The two sets of projectiles clashed between them and cancel each other with a series of small explosions. Punisher fired again. His shots headed for the red man but the magic fizzle away as it got close, hitting what look like a barrier, and only the bullets impacted, causing little harm.
"Lord, enemy identified as Eclipse Driver. Incredibly physical resistance and healing capacity. Prescence of Divider makes magic inefficient. Massive physical trauma recommended" Soulbreaker chimed in.
That was something he could work with. Frank focused on his gun, the weapon shined and started to transform, adapting to a new vision. Soulbreaker transformed from a simple handgun into a longsword, with a straight black blade. He took it, grabbing it from the blade and the hilt and got ready.
The Eclipse Driver launched himself forward, his legs kicking the ground with such force that he left a crater behind him. Punisher lower himself a bit, and advanced, just as the massive man lifted his Divider over his head and brought the bladed shotgun down on his head. There was another massive blow, and the sound of metal hitting stone. Blood sprout and felt on to the tarmac, creating a big splash.
"Don't… telegraph your attacks… that much" Punisher grunted. Blood drip on to his masked face and down his chest. His sword was buried deep inside the other man's chest, having been guided as a makeshift spear with both hands, hitting right where the heart should be "Leaves you… exposed!"
He pulled Soulbreaker back and the Eclipse Driver felt on to his knees, blood coming out of his mouth. However, even now, the wound started to heal, as the man's body struggle to repair the damage. Punisher didn't wait to see if it would work, he lifted his blade and brought down on the man's neck, chopping his head off with a clean cut. The massive body collapsed, convulsing in to a limp mass of flesh.
Punisher took a step back. Souldbreaker transformed from a sword back to a simple cross which hanged around his neck. He looked at his hands, he felt several fingers were broken, held in place only by his Barrier Jacket. If he had not reinforced his body, the impact would have likely shatter his arms, also he had barely avoided the blow to the head, overall a very sloppy kill.
"…rank… wer… have to… Frank!" A voice suddenly started to shout on his earpiece making him take his eyes of his recent victim.
"Micro, what do you want?" He asked, putting a hand on the side of the head to hear better.
"Your voice is music to my ears, Frank. What the hell just happened there?! You got half the city coming down to the airport, you need to leave. Now!"
Castle looked up and saw several lights coming his way in the sky. Some look like helicopters but others would no doubt be mages. Also, in the distance, the sounds and lights of sirens could be heard coming across the highway.
"Alright, give me a direction, we will talk later" Castle started to run, getting away from the fire.
The entire operation had ended very poorly. Yet he got to punish 12 criminals, and even took down an Eclipse Driver. Plus, he wasn't leaving empty handed. As the data unit he took from the console remained on his pocket. Overall, it had been a good night.
It hurt. She was alone. She was afraid. Everyone was dead. Anyone who came close died. Why did nobody rescue her? It was painful, scary. She didn't want to hurt them, but they kept coming and dying. The people with the white garbs were angry, they said it was her fault, she was 'defective'. She didn't understand, she only wanted to leave. Incapable of screaming, her voice emerged from her mind, with no sound but not less intensity.
At that moment the doors opened, and someone walked inside. He was different, he was not afraid, yet he did not wear the white robs. She had never seen him before, a young man with brown hair and blue eyes, he had dusted and dirty clothes, and a reassuring smile on his face. Then it happened, like it happened to all of them. His left eye turned red and started bleeding. The young man screamed in pain and felt to his knees. All the others did the same, and yet the people in white made them touch her, made her watch as they kept getting close.
"You can't!" She tried to warn him, to get him to leave, but her emotions were a mess. Her mind spoke without she intending to speak.
"It hurts… Is scary… I am lonely…"
"Don't listen. Don't come closer!" She didn't want to kill again, so she screamed in the only way she knew how. Her eyes grew bright with tears.
"Is fine" suddenly he spoke, slowly getting back to his feet. Even with her watery eyes she could see he was smiling "Don't cry… everything will be alright"
He walked closer, still bearing that reassuring smile even while his eye bleed profusely, staining his head with red. He cleaned that with his sleeves.
"It's because… I am here to save you now"
She couldn't believe it. Someone had finally came for her. A smile appeared on to her face and she felt her chest feeling with hope and relief. She wanted to free herself and go with him. At that moment something appeared on the young man's wrist, a magic circle of unknow origins and another similar appeared on her own, causing the giant slab she was crucified on to start breaking.
With a loud creaking sound the stone tablet just became undone and she felt herself falling. The young man rushed forward and catch her before she could hit the floor, letting her enjoy, for the first time in her life, the warmth of another human being. She snuggled against him out of pure instinct.
"Are you ok?" Touma asked, stepping back from the crumbling stone and looking down at the young woman… who was rubbing herself against him, while completely naked.
Touma felt his ears and face burning red with shame, and did his best to keep his eyes from wandering down to that beautiful soft skin and the inviting shape of her… Touma was able to put her down with a gentle movement, turning his head to the side.
"Clo-clothes! Steed, find something!"
"I think there is something like that over there" the little device answered floating away to help his Master.
He returned with a simple short rob which the boy hurried to put around the girl's body, it had clearly been design for someone two sizes smaller but it at least offered some modicum of decorum and let him relax. Touma had barely catching his breath when suddenly the door behind him closed once more and an alarm started to blare all around him.
[Warning. Warning. Infection hazard has occurred] announced a mechanical voice. A series of pumps appeared on the ceiling over their heads and started to pour some sort of gas [Incineration protocol is in process]
"Incineration?!" Touma jumped back to his feet, but it was too late to try and run, they were locked inside.
"That's a problem. I'm bad at handling heat" Stead pondered.
[All personal, please evacuate immediately.]
Touma looked around, but there were no exits, and even if he found an opening, there was no way they could get out before the purge system trigger and burn them to a crisp. He looked down at the girl he just 'rescued'. She was just sitting, confused, but looking incredibly relieved. Touma wanted to laugh at how pathetic the help he had provided turned out to be. If he had just go to get help, maybe they would not be in this situation. He vowed to leave rescues to Suu-chan from now on if he made it out alive.
That memory gave him strength. He couldn't just die here, this wasn't just about himself. He had made the choice to enter the building and now he was responsible to get them both out. There was still too much for him to do to just surrender now. Maybe if he could make a powerful enough barrier, they could survive the flames. Around them, he could hear the electric sound of the machinery charging the next step to light up the flaming gas that was about to surround them
[Initiating countdown: 5]
"Steed, help me!" Touma shouted for his friend. The Device moved to hang around his neck and he took the girl down from the strange pedestal. Taking a knee Touma concentrated and caste a large magic circle around them, dispersing the gas from their vicinity and forming an energy barrier around them like they had thought him.
"Protection!"
[4]
The girl was behind him, looking a bit concern. Touma felt a little guilty so he tried to apologize.
"Um… I am really sorry, you know. For crashing in and making thins turn out like this. But don't worry! I will definitely protect you!" He said, trying to convince himself in the process. He pour as much mana as he could in to his spell and just waited, preparing for the worst.
[3]
She did not answer, turning her head to watch the room around them. The barrier spell was weak, she could sense it, and yet that young man seem so honest and willing to help her. She felt powerless. Someone else was about to die because of her. Even when he tried to help her. She looked down and saw her wrist, where the magic circle that broke her restrains had appear. She hesitated, as the fear of repeating the same thing as always was too strong, but she knew that if she didn't act then both of them would burn
[2]
She didn't want to do it. Connect to someone else like that. She lifted her head and saw the boy's stern look as she did his best to save them. He seem nice and very kind. She feared causing more pain and suffering, but she also feared not doing something when she still had the chance. Making a decision she reached and took his right hand, trapping it between hers and bringing it close to her chest, as she closed her eyes.
[1]
Touma was surprised when suddenly the girl grabbed his hand, but before he could ask a light appeared between them and suddenly two metal bracelets formed around their respective wrists. The light then grew and it swallow him, along with any question he might had tried to make.
"Engage"
[0]
The entire room disappeared in a burst of flames, so intense and potent that they melted the rock and metal. The plasma discharges lighted the chemical accelerators and the camera feed that the researches outside had been monitoring was cut, the cameras loosing connection as everything else was destroyed.
The lead scientist outside let out a sigh of relief. They had come very close to disaster but now this would set things right.
"I understand we had to destroy the failed experiments, but did we really need to destroy the intruder?" his assistant asked "It seem like he and Strosek 4 had generated a reaction."
"It was a defective failure, of course it was necessary" The lead researcher answered. Part of him wondered why he didn't just order her to stay quiet. He turned around to grab the Silver Cross container "They must be dead now, it doesn't matter how strong a defense he casted, there is no way a human could…"
The container was empty. He stared at the crystal box that had, until a moment ago, house the Bible of the Silver Cross and which now lay broken on the floor. 'They are alive?!' he thought, turning towards the camera feed. The connection was reestablished and he saw the molted remains of the room, but the heavy smoke didn't allow him to see beyond that. Then a humanoid shape appeared amidst the ruins.
"How could they survive?!" the assistant exclaimed, fear mixing with incredulity in her voice.
"If he really made a connection and completed everything, then that thing can work even at temperatures capable of melting metal" the lead researcher replied "This is what we were trying to create… the perfect living weapon!"
The image cleared and the intruder appeared on the feed. He was wearing a battle outfit made of black, with several metal reinforcements, and a damaged cape hanging form his neck and shoulders. In one hand he held Strosek 4 and on the other… the lead researcher cursed when he saw the Divider forming on his hand, knowing that he was powerless to stop what was about to happen.
[Eclipse Divider Code 996. Star up!]
"Divide Zero!"
A massive ray of light emerged from the Divider and it burst through the rock and metal of the research facility, causing a massive shockwave that short circuited any and all electronic devices in the vicinity and caused all the people outside the facility to faint at the magnitude of the blow. The attack reached in to the heaves and dissipated, briefly turning the surrounding area in to a sunset scene under a red light.
"Touma… Touma!" Steed voice was the first thing he could hear all of the sudden.
"Eh? Huh…" Awarness slowly returned to the boy's mind. He lower his arm, wondering in when and why he decided to lift it, or when did he stood up. Last thing he remembered… "The purge! Where?! What?!"
"Are you ok Touma?" the little Device reached with its optical cables to touch his arm "And what is it with this weird get up?"
"What are you…? Ah! What is this?!" Touma finally looked at his clothes and didn't recognize them. He was wearing a black top, with a cape tied around his neck with a metal collar. His pants were now black and loose, ending in metal boots and with a weird belt around his waist that had some ornamental pieces of fabric.
But the strangest thing was the silver weapon he was holding. It look like a revolver, with a long blade under the barrel. Before he could examine it closer the weapon started to glow and it melted in his hand, alongside with the strange clothes, all of them coalescing in to a metal bracelet that lock itself around his right wrist.
'What the hell was that thing?' Touma wondered, looking at the bracelet. It didn't seem to have a lock but it was formed around his wrist like it had been made for it, and there was no visible way to remove it. Plus, how were they still alive? Why was the entire place so destroyed, as if someone had blasted the room away with a massive spell? Too many questions. At least he was fine, and so was Steed, also the girl… Touma almost hit himself on the forehead, he had forgotten all about her.
"Ah, sorry, are you ok?" Touma offered his hand to the girl. She was sitting on her knees and apparently had been patiently observing him as he almost had a nervous break down. She stood up in shaky legs so he pull her closer to help her stand "My name is Touma Avenir, may I ask your name?"
"I'm Lily" she answered, her voice sounding in his head as clear as if she were talking "Lily Strosek"
"Lily… that is a cute name" He said, smiling. She seem to tear up and before he could add anything she pretty much throw herself at him, pulling him in to a hug. Touma felt his face turn bright red again, but kept his presence of mind "F-for now let's find somewhere safe! Steed, check the area for a way out!"
"All right Touma"
The Device started to float away to follow his orders. Touma then put his hands on Lily's shoulders, gently separating her from him. He turned around and knelt, offering his back to her.
"It looks like your legs are weak, it will be faster if we move like this" He explained "Hop in."
Lily nodded and she hugged him, holding on to his back. Touma stood up and rushed after Steed. The trio made it out of the ruins thanks to the tunnel that strange attack had carved, and they got lost in the night, following the mountain path away from that horrible lab.
Even as the firefighters rushed to extinguish the few remaining flames, the stench of the smoke was incredibly toxic. Emergency services were already pulling several burn bodies and material out of the first hangar, starting the long process of figuring it out what belonged where. So far they had discover several corpses, alongside many containers with strange materials and weapons, but most of it had burn in the inferno.
Fate T. Harlaown repressed a sight as she wondered the scene, a 'mask' of golden magic around her mouth and nose to filter the air. She heard someone calling her name, so she turned away from the evidence. Shario Finieno, or just 'Shari', for shorts was walking towards her.
"We found a very extensive inventory of everything that was meant to be in this batch, Fate-san" She said, taking a moment to adjust her own mask "The two specified objects you asked about were not meant to be here. We will check but I doubt we will have better luck".
"So, the Bible of the Silver Cross and its Divider were not here either." Someone else said.
"Looks that way, Teana" Fate nodded to the second Enforcer "However this now makes it clear. These people were indeed related to Eclipse."
The other two nodded in agreement but remained silent as each ponder the situation. Fate clenched her hand around Bardiche, her trusted Device. This entire operation had ended poorly. The three of them had arrived on Fedikia just a couple days ago, following the trail of a group under suspicion of working with Eclipse. The plan had been to get them in an isolated location and spring a trap around them to bring them in to custody. Yet something had gone terribly wrong. 'We were suppose to be here to avoid more deaths' Fate thought, looking at the destruction.
"Excuse me, Enforcer Testarossa" One of the local police officers approached them, doing a formal salute.
"Is something wrong, officer?" Fate asked, trying her best to not let her mood spill in to her words.
"The emergency services reported in, they just found a survivor".
"What?!" Fate turned around, giving the man her full attention. Shari and Teana also leaned in "What is their condition? Can they speak?"
"I would not know, ma'am, they took her to the hospital right away. The medical team said it was unlikely she would survive the night, but they will do their best" The officer almost took a step back because of their intensity but managed to answer right away "She had a bullet wound, and severe burnings all on her body. They think she used magic to survive the explosion, but just barely."
"Yes, what is it?" Fate asked when the officer stopped himself, hesitating.
"Well… one of the paramedics said that they managed to hear something when they found her" The man explained, clearly uncomfortable of sharing something he could not be certain off "He said it could be just his imagination, but that she mumbled a name before passing out on them…"
"What name?"
"… Frank Castle"
Fate couldn't repress a sigh this time around. She rubbed her eyes, realizing the case had just become way more complicated.
"I see. Thank you for informing us" Fate said, dismissing the officer. Once the man left, she turned to her friends "This was the last thing we needed right now".
"You think is true then, Fate-san?" Teana asked, crossing her arms "Is possible the victim was just confused, or maybe the paramedic didn't catch the right words".
Fate knew that was always possible, and yet looking at the destruction around them and knowing the reputation that the name carried, she could not bring herself to agree. Over the years she had learned to trust her instincts and they told her this information was true.
"I doubt it" she said in the end "We will have to confirm it, but somehow, I think we will just verify the account. We must report back to Hayate, the sooner we get our Special Section on track the better".
"You think this is going to become a proper Incident now?" Shari asked.
"When you bring someone like Frank Castle into the equation, anything can become a proper Incident" Fate replied. She looked at the two of them "We cannot allow anyone else to become infected with Eclipse. If another person gets in contact with it, we must capture them right away. Above all, we must find them before the Punisher does".