Chapter 108 - Total Possession

[JSS Hakugei - Hospital]

(In a different hospital room Victoria was with Charlotte who was still asleep. Morning came and Charlotte started waking up and saw Victoria right away)

"V-Victoria.."

"Your majesty! Thank the Heavens you're awake! How are you feeling?"

(Charlotte suddenly got up and hugged Victoria very tightly and started to cry. She thought her best friend was already dead since she lost the duel with Erika)

"I'm so happy you're alive!"

"Me too.."

"But how? I lost the duel right? I was about to be killed by the Iron Rose.."

"You lost the duel but she spared us both."

"Why?"

"I don't know, but the important part is we are alive, right?"

"Yes..how long have I been asleep?"

"About 36 hours.."

"How's the team?"

"They're worried but fine."

"I see..that's good.."

(A knock was heard on the door of their room then Erika entered. She brought with her some japanese bento boxes for Charlotte's and Victoria's breakfast)

"Oh, looks like you're up, hungry?"

"Starving!" Victoria answered

"Here, take this and eat."

"Thank you!"

"If you guys need anything else just tell the guards outside your room. I'm going now."

"W-Wait!"

"What?"

"Why did you spare us?" Charlotte asked

"Does the reason matter?"

"No but-"

"The only reason why I didn't kill you is because you're the princess of Britain. It would just interfere with our plans if your mother suddenly declared war on us. Be thankful for your status and that you were born in the Royal Family."

"I see.."

"Anything else?"

"Thank you very much, for not killing Victoria and me."

"You're welcome, oh I thought I should remind you that you're my slave from now on until you die right?"

"Eh?!"

"What? You lost the duel fair and square, remember? You got a problem with that?" Erika asked with scary eyes

"N-No ma'am.."

"Call me Erika-sama from now on. Got it?"

"Yes, E-Erika-s-sama.."

"Oh and one last thing.."

(Erika then activated her Wolf's Lair and Wolf's Gaze at the same time and flooded the entire room with bloodlust and killing intent. This paralyzed both Charlotte and Victoria in fear and they even almost fainted from the intense pressure from Erika)

"If any of you point your blades at Gero or at us or at any of my friends and family ever again, I really will kill both of you this time. I don't care if it causes a world war, if you're a princess or not, I WILL KILL YOU. Is that understood?"

(The two couldn't answer because they were shaking too much in fear. All they could do was nod in agreement as they looked at Erika's eyes. The skills then were deactivated and the atmosphere inside the room returned to normal)

"Very good, see you both soon!" Erika smiled

(Erika then left the two alone with a big smile on her face. They found it very fascinating she can just switch her immense bloodlust on and off like that)

"I think I just lost my appetite.."

"Me too.."

(A couple of days go by and Gero was still having nightmares in his sleep. He suddenly woke up in a cold sweat just an hour after midnight and he noticed that his mattress was on the floor and the girls were sleeping around him. He realized that he had been worrying the girls so much because of his nightmares and was trying to comfort him even in his sleep. He then decided it was time to stop being afraid and to start letting go. When morning came he asked Erika to call Charlotte and Victoria to their room. He too wanted to explain to them about the situation because they were caught up in it because of him)

"How are you?" Charlotte asked

"I've been worse, you?"

"Doing good thanks to you. Why did you call us here?"

"I believe that after all that has happened, you deserve a proper explanation of the current situation and the reasons behind it. Would you care to listen?"

"Yes.."

"I hope you both had a big breakfast cause this will be a very long story. This all started 16 years ago when I was 7 years old."

(Gero then started telling Charlotte and Victoria about his life and how it all changed. He told them about his failed assassination, losing his memories, losing his family, finding new family, growing up with his foster father , starting Senshado, meeting his sisters, meeting new friends, recovering his memories, reuniting with his family, almost dying during the smei-finals, the death of Chief Matsumoto, his brain damage, going to Germany, learning about Pandora, discovering their human experiments, the ongoing war against Pandora, the Tank Meisters part of the war, the last three years fighting against Pandora with Erika, his fight to the death with Phantom in Korea, then finally both his and Erika's near death experience in Korea. Charlotte and Victoria just listened until he was done telling his story. They had a ton of questions for him and he answered them as best as he could. He also gave them files and photos as evidences to back up everything he had said)

"So Pandora did all that, for the blood in your veins?" Victoria asked

"Yes.."

"They used your blood so they could create these super soldiers called Augs?"

"That's what we thought their initial plan was but after the last two years we confirmed that they have a new goal but we still haven't gotten any solid leads on it."

"What makes your blood so special for them to go this far?" Charlotte asked

"This.."

(Gero then activated his Sacred Possession and his eyes glowed golden once again. Charlotte and Victoria were very shocked about this and couldn't believe it. Kaede then looked at Erika and noticed that her right eye was also glowing golden)

"E-Erika..your eye.."

"Sacred Possession?! But how?!" Mika reacted

"Have you forgotten? I have Bakatora's blood in my veins when he transplanted it into me. When he activates his Sacred Possession it is linked to mine so it activates as well." Erika explained

"So you can't activate it on your own?"

"I can, but Gero and I agreed to only use it when necessary."

(Geor then deactivated his Sacred Possession which also deactivated Erika's)

"Those eyes, what do they mean?" Charlotte asked

"It's similar to what athletes call the zone but is much more powerful. We can only use it for a total of 7 minutes a day though, and after using it there's a chance we might turn into a vegetable so it's not really something we can use recklessly."

"Is that why you had to kill Bryan? Because my teacher wanted to take your Sacred Blood?"

"If it was only for that reason then I wouldn't have personally come to the battlefield and killed him myself."

"What was the other reason then?"

"I told you about the death of my foster father, right? But I never mentioned how he died."

"Yes.."

(Gero then looked Charlotte in her eyes and she already knew what he was about to say. She clenched her hands and hoped what she thought was wrong but it wasn't.)

"Phantom, your teacher Bryan Williams, came to our school along with three other Augs under his command, and stabbed my father to death."

"B-But why..why would he.."

"They were after my sister, Maho, since they thought taking her and making her a hostage would lure me out. But my father got in their way and wasted their time and failed their mission so he killed him for it."

"H-How could this happen..how did it end up this way?"

"After I learned about Phantom and when we finally met in Korea, all I could think about was killing him for killing the person I loved the most. He was by far the strongest person I ever met and fought. Even when I used all my skills he was still fast and deadly. I was prepared to die that night as long as I could take him down with me. From the very bottom of my soul I hated him, I loathed him, I despised him, I wanted to see the fear in his eyes just before I killed him! But what did I see when I was about to take his head off? I saw relief and regret in his eyes. He was relieved that he lost and at the same time he regretted losing!"

"Is that when he said his last words to you?"

"He asked me for a favor, he asked me not to kill his disciple if ever we met, that I would meet that disciple if ever I survive that night. I never thought much about it at that time because it made me sick. I thought who would be that insane to consider him a teacher? Then you revealed yourself to me at the bar and then I realized that my karma has slapped me in the face real hard. I thought that Phantom's disciple would be a member of Pandora but it never crossed my mind that it would be the Princess of Britain."

"I understand the reasons why you wanted to kill him then why would you respect his last words? You could've reported this to my mother and she would've dealt with this right away!" Charlotte said

"So you think, if I contacted your mother, the Queen of Britain right now, and told her that her daughter is the disciple of Pandora's strongest soldier Phantom, she needs to be arrested, would she believe that without a second thought?"

"I..I don't know..maybe.."

"Wrong, she wouldn't believe me, no, she can't believe me."

"But why?!"

"Because she is the Queen, what do you think will happen to your family if the country finds out that a member of the Royal Family had connections to a very dangerous terrorist organization like Pandora? And that member was her own daughter?"

"It would bring chaos to the people and it would create an unrecoverable backlash to the Royal Family. Worst case scenario would be that the Royal Family would collapse from within." Victoria said

"Correct..that's why this information about you being Phantom's disciple will not leave Africa. Only the soldiers that were part of the battle a couple of days ago and the people here in this room know."

"There's one more person that probably knows.." Charlotte said

"Who?" Erika asked

"My brother, he's the one that introduced Bry-Phantom to me.."

(Erika and Gero looked at each other and thought exactly the same thing. Just from that information that the princess shared, the chances that the Prince of Britain was a High Table member of Pandora is highly likely.)

"It's alright to call him by his name because that is who you knew him by and how you remember him, you never knew him as Phantom."

"After knowing what he did to you and to others, I don't know if I want to remember him at all anymore."

"Phantom was the first person that I killed. But I never knew the man named Bryan Williams. Maybe if I knew him before then maybe things might have turned out differently."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that when he asked me to not kill you, my heart wavered. I regretted killing him after that. I believe that the man Bryan Williams, the teacher that you know, was truly a good man, but just like you, he was manipulated and used by Pandora."

"Manipulated? How?"

"You were his one and only student who I believe he treasured really much. Pandora might've used you as blackmailing material and forced him to do all the things that he did."

"Really? Do you really think he was forced to do those things?"

"I do, because even in his final moments, when he thought of you, he had the biggest smile on his face. If you can give him that kind of smile then it's true."

"Is it alright for me to remember him? Our time together?"

"Yes, the Bryan Williams that you remember is the real him. Hold on to those happy memories and turn it to strength to move forward."

"I see..he didn't betray me..he didn't deceive me..sensei.." Charlotte started tearing up

(Gero then slowly got off his bed and walked towards Charlotte while being assisted by Mika. He knelt in front of the princess and held her hand firmly then looked at her in the eye)

"I don't know if this will mean anything to you but I still want to say this. Charlotte, I'm sorry for taking the life of someone precious to you. I'd take it all back and redo it all if I could."

(Hearing those words from Gero were like words of salvation for Charlotte. She cried and cried as she recalled the memories she had with her teacher. The kind and thoughtful teacher that she knew was not a lie.)

"Those words meant more to me than you could imagine. Thank you, Gero, for apologizing. Thank you for letting me remember my sensei for who he truly is. I accept your apology."

"Are you sure? You don't have to force yourself to forgive me."

"I'm not forcing myself. My sensei would've wanted me to forgive you if he was here."

"Is that so, thank you for forgiving me."

"I too want to apologize for two things, first is for kidnapping you, trying to kill you, and endangering your comrades. Second, on behalf of my sensei, I too want to apologize for taking the life of your foster father. From the way you talked about him I saw how you truly loved him. He was a great man and an even greater father."

"Yes he was, I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for him. Thank you for apologizing and I accept as well."

"Thank you for forgiving us."

"Oh and before I forget, after fighting you myself and watching you fight Erika. The way you fight and the way you move is like a mirror image of your sensei. It was as if I was fighting the real one."

"Really?"

"Yes, you truly are the living legacy of Bryan Williams."

"You're bloody damn right I am!" Charlotte smiled

(Everyone else was just glad and happy that the two of them had made up. After reconciling with each other, Charlotte and Victoria then returned to their rooms but Gero had one last story to tell to the girls)

"Uhm..can you make us some tea Darjeeling? I can't stop my hands from shaking.."

"Of course Gero-kun, please wait a moment."

"Darling, are you sure you're not forcing yourself?" Kay asked

"I am, but I have to force myself or else I will never get over this trauma. I'm going to be okay!"

(The girls were still worried but they saw how Gero was giving it his all to tell them so they decided to support him. After drinking the tea that Darjeeling made Gero was able to calm down and managed to collect his thoughts)

"Ok, here it goes, as you all are aware by now, I have been having nightmares every night. I'm very sorry for always waking you girls up."

"It's alright Eiji-kun! We don't mind!" Kaede smiled

"I appreciate that but I do mind because I don't want to cause anybody any trouble, especially you girls. So hopefully by telling you this tale I could be free of this suffering."

"We're here Ro-chan, you can take it nice and slow, no need to rush it. We'll listen to everything that you have to say." Mika smiled

"Thank you Mi-chan.."

(Gero then took a deep breath and braced himself for remembering everything)

"It all started last year, we got word that Pandora was sighted here in Africa, they were kidnapping young men and women that are strong enough to work, they were making them do forced labor in mining Uranium in Niger."

"Wait, Uranium as in, the stuff that makes Nuclear Weapons, Uranium? That Uranium?" Kay asked

"Yes, we departed right away and rendezvous with our Task Force to stop them and save everyone that was kidnapped. Me, Erika, Shun, Kaito, Sanada, Sakurai, and Nana arrived in Morocco the next day and wanted to start right away but we ran into a bit of a problem. The terrorist group Boko Haram was hired by Pandora to keep everyone out of Niger and ordered them to start attacking all over Africa to create chaos."

"Wasn't the terrorist group the other night that you fought was Boko Haram?" Darjeeling asked

"Those were just remnants or should I say those that went into hiding after their leader died." Erika said

"We couldn't just head for Niger and ignore the other people suffering at the hands of Boko Haram so we decided to help everybody we could and fight them. In order to do that we needed the help of the local military. So in exchange for their help we volunteered to train them. The soldiers we trained were the ones that fought with Erika the other night. When we were satisfied with the results of their training we began the liberation of Africa. We started from the edges of the continent and worked our way inwards and drove Boko Haram back to Niger. With everyone's help and cooperation it took us only 6 months."

"Wow! That's amazing! As expected of Ro-chan!" Mika asked

"It wasn't all me, it was everyone's effort and hardwork. The final moments of liberation were unfolding and we have surrounded both Boko Haram and Pandora in Niger. We attacked them swiftly and carefully so that no civilians would get caught in the crossfire."

"We also received a lot of help from the local civilians in Niger. They gave us food, water, but most of all, they gave us information. Because of those people in the villages our job went a lot faster and easier." Erika said

"I guess they hated Boko Haram and Pandora as much as you did huh?" Kaede said

"That's right, they wanted both of them out as quickly as possible. We raided every base they had in Niger and we were at the last bastion of defense they had. The mines that they were using were turned into fortresses filled with defenses and a network of caves. So we had to thoroughly plan our attack since one mistake could bring the entire mountain on top of us and the captives. Just when we were about to commence the attack another problem arose."

"What happened?" Kay asked

"We got a transmission from General Nehanda that a large force from Boko Haram led by Abu Usaamah was about to attack the capital of South Africa. Their target was the president in the Mahlamba Ndlopfu or the official residence of the president in Pretoria." Erika said

"We knew that this was a distraction by Pandora so that they could escape but we couldn't ignore the President either. So I sent Erika and the rest of the team on a private jet to Pretoria to protect the President while I stayed to command the Task Force and proceed with the attack."

"It took 6 hours to arrive in Pretoria from Niger and when we got there Boko Haram was already attacking. Luckily we were able to break through their forces and successfully extract the president via Helo. After that we had to eliminate all the threats in the capital before we could rejoin Gero in Niger. It took us hours to root them out of every corner of the city. That's where I let the rat named Abu Usaamah get away because I failed to find him hiding under a pile of dead bodies. We were taking too long and Gero needed us so we hoped that he died and left right away but he survived." Erika said

"It would take them 6 hours again to get to Niger and by this time our attack was already underway but since Erika and my team weren't here I had to take it slower to be careful. After overwhelming their defenses we were able to infiltrate the mines. Since there was a high chance of radiation poisoning we had to wear protective suits. This part..is where..my nightmares..begin.."

(Gero started breathing heavily and shaking again. He was clenching his fists as the memories flooded his mind. The girls immediately held his hands and gave him a hug to ease his pain.)

"You're going to be alright darling." Kay said

"We're here, we won't be going anywhere." Darjeeling said

"No matter what it is, you can do it." Kaede said

"We will always believe in you Ro-chan. Always." Mika said

"We love you so much, our one and only Bakatora." Erika said

(Gero then took deep breathes again and regained his composure)

"We..went into the mines..and found..no signs of Boko Haram..or Pandora. When we..got deeper..into the mines..we came across..all the captives..we were looking for. They were..forced to mine..the Uranium..without any kind of protective gear..we found all 567 miners dead..inside the mines..my heart broke."

(Gero started to tear up and so did the girls after hearing that but it wasn't over)

"We were too late..I was too slow..when we reached the end of the tunnel..there were tracks of footprints and vehicles..so I decided to pursue them. Along the way we noticed that..the tracks lead us back to all of the villages that helped us. When we arrived at the first village..that's where my soul broke. They killed..all the villagers..the men..women..they slit their throats..left them to bleed out. Then they..locked the children..inside the huts..and burned the huts..while they were still alive..I could still remember the smell of the burning bodies.."

(Gero's expression grew worse and worse as he told the story. Eventually the shaking stopped and his voice started sound a lot more like rage instead of fear)

"We moved on to the next village and it was the same..then we found a sign next to one of the piles of dead bodies. The sign said that this is what happens when you help them. The villagers ended up like that because of what we did, of what I did. After that all I remember was seeing red. I stopped giving orders to my men and went off on my own. I ran through the dark forest and hunted my prey. I caught up to them and drew my katana and started swinging in every direction. I didn't kill them at first and I only maimed them. I only cut their muscles and prevented them from being able to use their arms and legs. I kept doing that until I reached the leader of Boko Haram. He looked at me with a smile on his face as if he saw what he wanted. The look of despair and rage in my face. So I took him apart, piece by piece, joint by joint, legs, arms, then his head. After that I hung all the pieces up on the trees as if I was hanging a fucking trophy on the wall. I went back to all those that I maimed and then I slit their throats, one by one, just like how they did to those villagers. Then I hung them upside down the trees and let them bleed out like pigs. After that, I sat down in the middle of the forest to rest, when I went to wipe off the blood from my katana, I saw my own reflection from the blade. Then I saw my eyes glowing golden, I didn't even realize that Sacred Possession was active. I didn't believe it because it had already been hours since I ran off on my own. Then it occurred to me, I had already lost control of the Sacred Blood in me."

(The girls were just silent and had terrified expressions on their faces. It was only normal for them to have that expression after what they just heard)

"When Erika and the others arrived back in Niger it was already morning. They went to the last location I was seen and they entered the forest decorated by 234 bodies of Boko Haram. They saw me standing still in the middle of the forest unmoving and my eyes still glowing. When Erika approached me and held my hand that was the only time my Sacred Possession deactivated then I lost consciousness. The next thing I knew I woke up in a hospital with Erika next to me. I told her everything after I woke up and after I was discharged from the hospital we went back to Germany. Ever since then I never attempted to use Sacred Possession again. I was too scared to use it."

(The room fell silent after Gero's story. He was ready to hear words of disgust and fear from the girls but he heard nothing of that sort. They hugged him even tighter and didn't let go.)

"There is this saying, The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing. You are a good man Gero-kun and what you did stopped evil from winning here in Africa. What you did was extreme but the right thing to do." Darjeeling said

"It wasn't your fault! You did your best to save them! What you did was only natural after what happened to the villagers and miners! I would've done the same thing!" Mika said

"Being the commander of the Task Force against Pandora, it was only your duty to punish evil so that they can go to hell! " Kaede said

"Darling! You did nothing wrong! What you did helped the souls of all those that died to peacefully rest! I'm sure of it! So please, it's time for you to let go peacefully as well!" Kay said

"This is no longer a burden you need to carry by yourself. You're not alone anymore, we'll carry it all with you, my love." Erika smiled

"You girls.."

(Gero started to cry harder and returned the hug he received from the girls. It was like a very big hole in his heart and soul was suddenly filled by the love and understanding of the girls. Gero could feel his body become lighter as the fear and anxiety disappeared. They all cried together for a while and after that they drank some tea to calm down again.)

"Do you have any idea what happened to Gero-kun? Why did he suddenly lose control?" Darjeeling asked

"Total Possession..is what we decided to call it..when Gero's heart and soul broke, the Sacred Blood took over his body and acted on his intense emotions and bloodlust. That's why he stood in the forest unmoving because the target of his bloodlust was already vanquished." Erika said

"No offense Erika, but since the same Sacred Blood as Eiji-kun's is in your veins now, what are the chances Total Possession happening to you?" Kaede asked

"No offense taken, that is actually a smart question, the answer is zero chances so no need to worry about me." Erika said

"I'll take your word for it but what made you so sure?"

"Gero mentioned that when I held his hand that morning in the forest, that was the only time his Sacred Possession turned off, right?"

"Yes.."

"So we did a little experiment, I had Gero go into Sacred Possession while holding my hand. This meant that my sacred Possession activated as well but he never lost control. So I slowly increased the distance between me and Gero and discovered that he loses control the farther I get from him."

"How far did you manage to go without him losing control?"

"About 400 meters, any more than that and the Sacred Blood takes over."

"Do you know why it's like that?" Mika asked

"Our theory is that, when I transplanted my blood into Erika, it also disrupted the flow of control that I had. To put it into perspective, you can view me and Erika as Yin & Yang."

"Oh! That's what Nonna-san said back at the carrier when we saw you two have a mock hand-to-hand battle!"

"Erika's blood has the Yin attribute or Controllable Blood while my blood has the Yang attribute or Uncontrollable Blood. This is why when I get too far from Erika I start to lose control and it is also why Erika doesn't lose control even if she gets farther away from me."

"Oh! That makes it easier to understand now!" Kay said

"And the time limit? He said that he was under Total Possession for hours. We know that originally it was only 7 minutes right?"

"Maybe the 7 minutes was the allotted time for a human being to use the Sacred Blood with his will intact and that if you wanted to go beyond that then the blood starts to take over?" Darjeeling said

"Maybe, but there's no way we can know for sure since this is the first time we have experienced this. All we have to make sure is that Gero will use Sacred Possession only when he has to and when I'm within 400 meters from him." Erika said

"Alright!"

"But what about Pandora? What happened to them?" Kay asked

"We learned the next day that Pandora had already left the day before the attack. We sealed off the entire continent in both air and sea so we don't know how they managed to slip past us. We believe that they were able to leave through the port in Nigeria since their government at that time was in chaos which made it easier for them to escape undetected."

"What about the Uranium they mined?" Mika asked

"They weren't able to mine a lot since some of the miners were not professional and not to mention they were worked to the bone. When they left the mines they also couldn't transport all of it via roads since it would've been detected via our drones or satellite imagery."

"So did they carry some of it by hand? Wouldn't that kill them?!" Darjeeling asked

"No, the worst they could get from touching it directly would be kidney damage, since uranium is a heavy metal, the toxicity is more dangerous than its radioactivity."

"Then how much uranium ore were they able to carry out?"

"Enough for two nuclear warheads."

(This scared the girls because Pandora now has the capability to launch nukes because of the uranium they got and the chances of Japan being targeted or their own carrier even is very high.)

"Don't worry, even if they had uranium they would still need proper facilities to create a nuke. We had all facilities like that under tight security and all employees have been triple checked to make sure none of them work for Pandora."

"Really? That's a relief!" Kay said

"Even if they had the proper facilities it would take a year or two to create the bombs so we still have time to find them." Erika said

"Let's hope that we do find them in time. Do you think Pandora plans to start a nuclear war?" Kaede asked

"If they do then all that they have been doing for the past decade will be for nothing. They have something else planned and we will find out soon enough. All the necessary preparations are being put into play already so it's only a matter of time."

"As expected of Ro-chan! Always multiple steps ahead of the enemy!" Mika said

"Is there any way we can help?" Darjeeling asked

"What are you saying? You've already helped me a ton by being here!"

(Gero just had the biggest and most genuine smile he has ever had and it felt like an eternity the last time they saw that kind of smile from him. The girls blushed and felt relieved that they were of help to him in some way)

"I promise to repay all of this tenfold, no, a hundredfold! Look forward to it, okay?"

"We will!" the girls smiled with a blush

(The day flew by quickly and it was already time to sleep again. Gero was deep in his sleep and at the start it seemed like the nightmare he was having was about to begin again. But suddenly inside Gero's dream he saw the girls with him and reaching out their hands for him. The dark and cold nightmare started to fade and turn into a bright and warm dream. Ever since then Gero's nightmares stopped and never returned)

Coming Up Next : Chapter 109 - Scent of Lavender

Author's Note :

Hi everyone! Here's the chapter and how was it for you? What did you think about the conversation Gero and Charlotte had regarding Pandora and Phantom? Both of them finally saw each other's perspective of the situation and came to an understanding. Then we also just saw our protagonist, Gero's darkest moment. This is the scariest and the most savage Gero could be if he really wanted to kill someone. If Total Possession happens again I don't think it'll be a happy day for his next prey. See you all next time again! Take care!