Chapter 7: Alliance
Everyone stared blankly at Darren for a moment before Ricky folds his arms and urged the bespectacled man, "Go ahead. Talk."
Darren simply nods his head and turns to Shu. "What if I were to tell you that there exists a world far, far away from ours that no one on Earth, especially Matou Industries, knows about?"
The bespectacled man soon noticed the bewildered looks on Shu and Haruka before the brown-haired boy uttered a few seconds later, "A different world?"
"Yes." Darren nodded solemnly. "A world where-"
Darren cuts himself off when Ricky suddenly swings his right fist at his face when he is near him. The bespectacled man already sensed his movements while he was speaking earlier so he swiftly dodges his punch by backing away from him. The dark blonde-haired man delivers two more punches with both his fists at Darren, who quickly deflects them with his hands. Ricky now twirls around and swings his right leg at the right side of Darren's head, but the bespectacled man slightly turns his body to his right and firmly grabs his ankle with his left hand to stop his attack.
"A world far, far away?! Are you seriously fucking around right now?!" Ricky shouted furiously. Darren pushes his leg, causing Ricky to stagger away from him. When the dark blonde-haired man looks back up, he sees the bespectacled man smiling and casually wagging his right index finger at him.
"Oh no, I'm totally not fucking around. It's the truth." Darren replied as he lowered his arm.
"Then show us the evidence! Prove to us that you are not fucking mental!" Ricky bellowed before running over to Darren again.
Shu and Haruka looked on worriedly as they watch the two men fight before them and Inori. The pink-haired girl on the other hand stayed calm while observing the duel.
After Darren dodges a few punches from him by moving side to side, Ricky quickly delivers an uppercut to the bottom of his chin. Darren evades him again by leaning himself back away from his fist before he suddenly lifts his right leg up and throws a kick at Ricky's chest. The dark blonde-haired man quickly crosses his arms to block his attack, but the impact still sends him staggering away from his opponent.
"Don't worry. I can prove to you all that this world does exist." Darren said calmly to Ricky as he adjusted his glasses. "If you are all willing to follow me."
"Follow you? How can we believe that you are not leading us into a wild goose chase?" Haruka asked as Darren turned to her, Shu and Inori.
"Because I care about all of your safety as much as you do." Darren replied to her.
Soon after, Ricky runs over to Darren again and throws a punch at the right side of his head, only for the bespectacled man to casually hold up his right hand and grabs his right fist to stop the attack. Darren pushes the dark blonde-haired man away from him before turning and briefly walking over to him. He throws a punch directly onto his face which sends him falling and sprawling through the car park floor. The dark blonde-haired man groans and lifts his head up to see Darren standing in front of him and gesturing him to stay down. Ricky muttered under his breath before the bespectacled man turns back to Shu and Inori and approaches them. Shu protectively holds his right arm up in front of the pink-haired girl.
"Shu…Inori…" Darren said solemnly as he now stands before them. "I have seen what it's like for someone to be contained from the outside world. It's not good. And that is why, like you Shu, I do not want Inori to live through that experience again. I hope you two and Haruka can have faith in me. Follow me, and I swear I'll take Inori to a place where no one can use her again."
Shu kept frowning at Darren as he still holds doubts and suspicions towards someone whom not only he, Inori and Haruka had just met, but also seemingly giving them a vague promise in bringing his roommate to a place where she can find eternal refuge from his evil step-uncle.
His hesitancy came to a halt though when he felt Inori's gentle touch on his right arm. Shu turns and watches her gently lowering his arm before walking over to Darren. As she and Darren now stand close in front of each other, Shu and Haruka idly watched as the girl stares straight into the bespectacled man's eyes and wraps her right hand around his left wrist. Feeling the rhythmical throbbing of his pulse, Inori simply stood there and gazed at Darren for the next five seconds.
"I believe you." Inori responded before releasing his wrist and backing away from the man.
"What makes you put your trust in him?" Shu asked the girl.
"I learnt how to tell if someone is saying the truth by feeling their pulse and observing their eyes." Inori explained to her superior.
Shu frowned again as he still felt hesitant over this. But eventually, he looked back at Darren and said sternly to him, "Very well. Since I fully trust Inori, I shall put my trust in you as well, Leong-san. But you better be right that this world you are talking about exists."
"It does." Darren nodded to him with a reassuring smile. "Trust me."
"So where exactly is this…world?" Haruka asked with a shrug.
"An entrance to this world to be precise." Darren said as Ricky now stands back up on his feet. "It's in Singapore."
"We can't just go to Singapore right now." Ricky said irritably.
"What do you expect?" Darren shrugged at him. "I'm a tourist here."
"Okay fine. But how we are going to get there now that the airport is completely inaccessible?" Shu inquired.
Ricky quietly placed his hands on both sides of his hip before answering, "I have a yacht waiting for us at the docks near the Port of Benoa. I was supposed to take Inori there anyway after getting a hold of her."
Shu glanced at Inori and Haruka, who both nodded to him, before looking back at Ricky.
"Alright." Shu said flatly as he walked over to him. "But instead of taking her to this facility of yours, you will take us to Singapore."
"You seriously believe in his bollocks?" Ricky asked Shu while gesturing to Darren.
"Better than giving her up to someone who's going to lock her up." Shu replied.
Ricky exhaled before taking out his car keys from his pocket and aiming it at his SUV. After unlocking the doors of his vehicle, he said flatly to everyone in front of him, "Get in."
"Let's go." Haruka said softly to Inori as they and Shu turned and walked over to the SUV. Darren goes over to his luggage, grabs its handle and drags it along with him as he too makes his way to Ricky's vehicle. However, the dark blonde-haired man strides over and firmly places his left hand on Darren's chest to stop him at his tracks.
"I swear to you…if what you said turned out to be a load of tosh, I will fucking kill you." Ricky said icily to him.
Darren smiled calmly to him. "Two things. One, do you kiss your mother with that mouth? And two…" The bespectacled man suddenly grabs Ricky's left hand and held it firmly, causing the dark blonde-haired man to grunt. "I like to see you try, Pommy."
Darren tugs his hand off his chest before continuing walking over to the SUV to join Shu and the others. Ricky rolls his eyes and blows out another sigh before going over to his vehicle.
As Darren goes to the back of the vehicle to store his luggage, Haruka sat on the left backseat while Inori and Shu rest on the right and left seats at the center of the vehicle respectively. Soon after she and her superiors put on their seat belts, Inori closes the door beside her. Darren walks over to the front left side of the vehicle a few moments later and settles down on the passenger seat beside Ricky. He closes the door beside him before turning to Ricky, who frowns at him. The bespectacled man smiles back and gestures Ricky to start driving. The dark blonde-haired man did not say a word as he looks back to the front and starts the engine.
While Inori begins staring blankly through the window beside her, Ricky drives his SUV out of the lot, makes a few brief turns and goes down the ramp as they begin their journey to their next destination.
Meanwhile, news surrounding the attack in Ngurah Rai International Airport has spread across the entire island of Bali like wildfire, much to the displeasure of a tall man with short dark gray hair and moustache, who is currently dressed in a brown trench coat, black pants and black shoes. With his hands placed behind his back, the man stands and stares out the large glass window of his room at the twelfth floor of a hotel that is strategically located near the airport.
"We will bring you the latest updates as they come in. But for everyone who just tuned in, what is presumed to be a terrorist attack had occurred at Ngurah Rai International Airport. Soldiers and other emergency personnel arrived at the scene about ten minutes after the shooting began. They are still occupying and searching through the facility as we speak, but we have gotten word that six airport staff members were killed, and all perpetrators of the attack have committed suicide. The authorities are still trying to figure out-"
"Boring!" A person suddenly yelled as he began flipping through the channels with the remote in his hand. The gray-haired man turns around to face the source of the voice. He is a teenage boy with shoulder length light blonde hair and icy blue eyes who is currently lying on the king-sized bed while dressed in his white long-sleeved trench coat and black form-fitting, full body suit.
"I suggest you start taking this mission seriously, Yuu." The man said to the light blonde-haired boy. "With Major Guin dead, you are now in charge of taking down the one called Inori Yuzuriha."
Once he found a channel playing a cartoon, Yuu puts the remote down on the blanket and places his hands behind his head while looking back at his superior.
"You were there at the obstacle course that day. You saw how capable she is as a weapon. How vital she is to our cause. She is the key to bringing Matou Industries back to its former glory, and you will bring her in…no matter what you have to do." The gray-haired man said sternly to Yuu with his eyes narrowed.
Yuu shrugged and replied as he looks back at the television, "You got it, boss."
"Sir!" A man called out to Keido.
Keido quietly turns away from Yuu and walks over to the doorway to an adjoining room. Upon entering, he walks over to the desk where one of his masked mercenaries is sitting in front of his laptop. Two other mercenaries stood vigilantly at the main door to the room with their hands placed in front of them.
"I've successfully hacked into the airport servers and found this." The mercenary said as Keido now stands behind him. As the mercenary plays the camera footage on screen, Keido leans forward with his hands behind him and watches how Inori pummeled Guin across his head and face at the drop-off zone.
"There's our target. She's still amazing after all these years." Keido commented while gazing at the pink-haired girl in the footage.
Despite nearly losing everything following the death of Zouken Matou and the fall of their main facility into enemy hands, Keido's allegiance to his former boss never wavered. He knows full well that the people of the world still need to be controlled in order to create a truly better society for all, and he will not rest until he can finally turn Zouken's dream into a reality. So, after he, Guin and several other former employees and mercenaries successfully evaded capture back in Germany, they flee the country and went into hiding in the Faroe Islands. There, they managed to find a new hideout of their own and spent the next twelve months contacting any mercenary and former employee who escaped their own facilities in other parts of the world.
At the same time, Keido tried to think of a new way to create a new arsenal of Grail missiles and an army of human weapons of their own. Knowing that every secret facility of Matou Industries around the world has been shut down by the enemy, they no longer have the resources to recreate the Od serum. But Keido soon realized that every living weapon that was once contained in their main facility had escaped into the outside world, and the Od serum is fully well and functioning through their bodies. And after spending a year gathering a sufficient number of men once more, Keido and several other senior figures who were formerly in charge of their other secret facilities set out on a mission to search and capture any living weapon who has not been found by the enemy yet. One such human weapon was Yuu who willingly rejoins their group without resistance after being found in Hungary. Most of his fellow Matou Industries employees were surprised by his response, but not Keido himself for he knows full well of the boy's obsession for pain and suffering. While many would see Yuu as a threat, Keido sees him as an important asset in assisting them on their mission to revitalize Zouken's ultimate vision.
What does surprise Keido though was after carrying on their mission in finding the remaining human weapons for the next six years, Guin and his men reported that they have tracked a certain Inori Yuzuriha to Bali. Hearing that name suddenly brought back memories of his final conversation with Kirei Kotomine into his head. He remembers how much more special and capable Inori is as a weapon, even surpassing his former boss's granddaughter Sakura herself. And with her special abilities, Keido and his fellow remnants of Matou Industries can finally revive their company to its full glory and accelerate their plans in bringing Zouken's dream to fruition. Seven years of their efforts and hard work are about to pay off, and Keido knows that they must retrieve and vivisect Inori no matter the cost.
As Keido sees Inori now holding a harpoon and preparing to end Guin's life in the camera footage, Shu quickly runs over and stops her by grabbing her arm. The former Matou Industries employee frowns as he watches the two staring at each other for a few moments until the human weapon manages to calm down and allows the brown-haired boy to remove the harpoon from her hand without resistance. Now learning that the boy is capable of controlling his target, Keido watches the rest of the video and sees Haruka, Darren and Ricky running over to the two children and leaving Guin and his injured men behind as they make their escape from the drop-off zone.
"It seems the Oumas and Inori are accompanied by two unknown figures, sir." The mercenary said to his superior.
"Did you find where they head off to?" Keido inquired.
"To the carpark." The mercenary said as he closes the video. He soon brings up another video, this time showing camera footage of Inori, Shu and Haruka conversing with Ricky and Darren before heading inside the Cadillac Escalade SUV.
"This is the part of the video where they were discussing their next move. I manage to decipher what they were saying." The mercenary added as he rewinds the video. He plays the footage again, this time playing it with the conversation between Darren, Ricky and Shu being audible through the laptop speakers.
"An entrance to this world to be precise. It's in Singapore."
"We can't just go to Singapore right now."
"What do you expect? I'm a tourist here."
"Okay fine. But how we are going to get there now that the airport is completely inaccessible?"
"I have a yacht waiting for us at the docks near the Port of Benoa."
"Docks." Keido murmured as the mercenary quickly paused the video. "Locate all docks near the Port of Benoa within a 5-mile radius."
"Thankfully, there's only one, sir." The mercenary said as he brings up a map of the location of the only set of docks near the said port on screen.
"Good." Keido said before turning to the other two mercenaries and pointing his finger at the map. "Send all available units to this location now!"
"Yes sir!" The two mercenaries shouted in unison as they salute and stand straight. Keido turns back to the doorway leading to his room as Yuu approaches.
"You shall join them, Yuu. Do whatever you must to capture Inori Yuzuriha." Keido ordered.
"What about the people accompanying her?" Yuu said as he leans his right arm against the side of the doorway.
"They mean nothing to me." Keido said flatly, causing the smile on the light blonde-haired boy's face to widen.
"It's about time."
As Ricky continues driving his SUV along the Bali Mandara Toll Road, a long bridge that is built across a large body of water between the Ngurah Rai International Airport and the Port of Benoa, his passengers decided to pass the time by introducing themselves and conversing with each other. During the ride, Shu and Haruka explain to Darren more about Kurosu, how he was hired and later murdered by Keido, and what he experienced and discovered in their secret facility. They also told him how their lives were greatly impacted by his death and affiliation with Matou Industries. In return, Darren explains to them more about himself, his life back in Singapore, and how he too fell into depression like Shu following the death of his own father and the breakup with a friend named Wahid. Fortunately for him, Darren found the will to live again thanks to the help and guidance of his new friends, including an amazing woman named Alicia Ribery who would later become his lover and roommate. He also eventually found the courage to make amends with Wahid and they both reconciled. Unbeknownst to them, Ricky has been paying attention to Darren's story as well, although he chose to remain silent and continue focusing on the road.
Their conservation though was nothing but background noise to Inori as she continued staring out the window beside her.
"You're not a soldier…not a protector…not even human…YOU ARE A MONSTER!"
The girl frowned as she grew more despondent. Not only do the last words she heard from Guin continue lingering in her mind, but also being solidified by a fellow patient she knew a long time ago.
"Gai…" Inori murmured sadly, longing for forgiveness from her late friend. Meanwhile, Darren takes out a business card from his wallet and turns to Shu who sat behind him.
"After my father's death, I became the new man of the household and manager of our family business." Darren said, extending his card to him. Shu takes the card and looks down at the information printed on it which includes Darren's full name, occupation and work address. "Although I would still think of him every now and then, I remind myself that I'm the only one who can look after my mother now. So, I worked hard alongside her. And since then, I've helped expand our floral business to other parts of Southeast Asia."
"That's very interesting, Leong-san. Great job." Shu said as he inserts the card into one of the pockets underneath his jacket.
"Arigatou." Darren smiles and bows his head to Shu.
"And now you're expanding your family business to Bali." Haruka said.
"Aye. I spent the first four days of my trip doing businesses and signing contracts with several offices in this island, before hitting the beaches, bars and shopping malls during the last two days." Darren said with a grin. "I was supposed to be on my flight back home to Singapore right now, that is until you know…that whole thing at the airport happened."
"We're really sorry that we dragged you into this." Shu said apologetically.
"Oh no, it's okay." Darren smiled and waved his hand at him. "I willingly chose to help you all." His eyes softened as he turned to Inori. "Especially your friend right there."
Shu glances at the pink-haired girl and sees her still staring out the window, clearly looking disheartened ever since they left the airport. The brown-haired boy looked back at Darren, who gestured to Inori.
"Talk to her." Darren said softly. "I'm sure she needs you right now."
"Yeah." Shu nodded to him before turning back to Inori.
Deciding to leave them alone, Darren looks back to the front and tries to turn on the radio between him and the driver. However, with his eyes still fixated on the road, Ricky quickly swats his right hand away. Shrugging, Darren leans back on the passenger seat and places his hands behind his head.
Meanwhile, Inori finally snaps out of her thoughts when she feels Shu's hand placing gently on her left shoulder. She looks back at her asset, who stares at her in concern.
"Are you okay?" Shu asked. Inori shakes her head in response.
"No." She murmured.
"What's wrong?" Shu inquired. Inori averts her eyes and stays silent for a moment before sighing inwardly.
"I was a fool." Inori said sadly, still looking away from her superior. "For so long…I thought I knew what I'm supposed to be…But I don't."
Shu just stared silently at Inori, understanding the pain she is coping with right now. She has lived with a lie inside her head for the last seven years, and now the truth she learnt from his father and Guin has taken a huge emotional toll on her.
"Inori…" Shu said softly, causing the pink-haired girl to finally look back at him. "Whatever ties you had with that company…it's over. What's past is past. No matter what happens from here on, you're with me and Haruka now."
Inori momentarily gazed into Shu's eyes before she managed to purse her lips and nod her head in agreement.
"Live my life normally. Live free." She remembered her new objective. Shu nodded and smiled weakly at her, and they both looked back to the front shortly after.
It would take another five minutes for them to reach the end of Bali Mandara Toll Road and arrive at the Port of Benoa. Ricky drives the vehicle into the car park outside the facility, and parks it inside an empty lot. He and his passengers soon got out of the vehicle, and after Darren grabs his luggage from the back and closes the trunk, Ricky locks the SUV and throws the car keys onto the road. He stomps his boot on top of the device to smash it into pieces.
"That's one hell of ride you've wasted." Haruka commented.
"Don't worry. This SUV technically belongs to my superiors anyway." Ricky said before walking off. "Now follow me."
"Wait, you mean whoever you worked for provided this vehicle for you upon your arrival here?" Darren asked as he, Shu, Inori and Haruka walked behind the dark blonde-haired man. "Cool. What else can they supply?"
"I can request them to send me a jetpack right now so I can launch your ass out to Mars." Ricky answered him in annoyance while looking over his right shoulder, causing Darren to roll his eyes. The dark blonde-haired man looks back to his front soon after. "But I can't, because unfortunately I lost my earpiece during my last fight at the departure hall."
"Does this mean you can't contact your superiors right now? Good." Shu said flatly to Ricky, clinging onto Inori's right hand as they walk alongside each other. "Until then, you will take us to Singapore with no objections."
"You heard the man." Darren said to Ricky. Not looking back at them, the dark blonde-haired man grumbled under his breath as they continue walking their way out of the boundaries of the Port of Benoa.
Fifteen minutes later, they arrive at some docks located about 2 kilometers away from Bali's most famous port. The docks are filled with yachts, trawlers and fishing boats of all sizes, as well as some people sitting at the sides of the wooden platforms having drinks or doing some fishing. Ricky escorts Shu, Inori, Haruka and Darren to the center dock where they see a noticeable black yacht located at the very end of the long platform. Darren whistles at the sight of the large boat as they make their way over to it.
While Ricky unties the ropes around a cleat at the docking platform, the others carefully enter the yacht by stepping onto its stern first. They later climb up a small flight of stairs that leads to the top floor of the boat. When they reach the top, they see a dining table and four chairs placed in front of them. The cockpit, which consists of a control desk, a steering wheel, a navigation monitor and a driver's seat, is built in front of the dining area. Three large, sloped glass windows and a rooftop are also built in front and above the cockpit. Finally, there is a spiral staircase built beside the cockpit and dining area on the left, which leads to the bottom and interior of the yacht.
"Make yourselves comfy while I start the boat." Ricky said to his passengers as they turned around to see him reaching the top of the stairs.
"Okay then. Is there a bathroom here? I need to change my clothes." Darren asked while Shu, Inori and Haruka proceeded to grab a seat at the dining area.
"Yeah, but what for?" Ricky asked irritably.
"Well, I can't spend the rest of journey protecting you all while wearing a bucket hat and flower-patterned shirt, right?" Darren asked while pulling the collar of his batik shirt. He raised his eyebrows and gave a quick smirk at Ricky before heading down the spiral staircase with his luggage. Ricky shakes his head as he walks past Shu, Inori and Haruka and heads over to the cockpit.
While Inori and the Oumas sat and watch the dark blonde-haired man sitting down on the driver's seat and starting the engine, the stepmother decides to speak up.
"You don't like company, do you?" Haruka asked Ricky.
"Bringing Inori in was my top priority." Ricky replied flatly while flipping some controls and waiting for the navigation monitor to turn itself on. "Having you, Shu and that bloke tagging along wasn't part of the plan."
"So, why do you still agree to go along with this? What makes you decide to go against your superiors' wishes?"
Ricky fell silent and stared blankly at the navigation monitor for a few moments before looking down at his lap.
"I once tried to help someone rescue her daughter who was just like Inori…and I failed. They both ended up dying together." Ricky said dejectedly before lifting his head back up with a frown. "I still don't believe him…but this may also be my last chance to redeem myself."
As Shu, Inori and Haruka stare concernedly at each other, Ricky proceeds to enter their next destination on the navigation monitor. When it shows him the route, the dark blonde-haired man pulls down a lever to bring up the anchor. After hearing a deep boom at the bow of his yacht, Ricky pushes down the gear beside him, wraps his hands around the steering wheel and steps on the gas pedal to begin their journey to the island nation of Singapore.
Meanwhile, a mercenary watches the black yacht sailing out into the sea with his binoculars from a distance. He lowers them and holds up his watch.
"All units, move out! The target has left the docks!" The mercenary commanded.
He lowers his watch and turns around to face his fellow mercenaries at the back of a motorboat. One of them stood in front of him and behind the cockpit while three others sat behind the driver with rifles in their arms. Still standing on the bow, the group leader extends his right arm and points in the direction of the departing yacht.
"Let's go!"
Sovereign: I would like to thank LayLay lives and Darth Necron for reviewing, as well as michelous89 and darkknight5855 for favoriting and following. Thank you!
Wow. It has been almost a year since I've posted a new chapter. Time sure flies. And honestly, I do feel bad and embarrassed that I have kept you all waiting for this long. Here's the thing, when I first started this story, I was also working on two other stories ( Let's Bake! and The Case of Saika). I was so excited about writing them shortly after I was done with Dawn of Arcadia, only to realize just how difficult it is to work on three different stories at the same time. So eventually, I decided to put this and Let's Bake! on hold and focus on finishing The Case of Saika first before going back to Home.
Eventually, I finished writing The Case of Saika and I was really happy when I did. But just when I thought I can return to Home and focus on writing this story again before going back to Let's Bake!, my job and personal life outside the Internet became more stressful for the next four months, to the point that every time I come home, aside from chatting with my friends and catching up with anime and video games that I've been wanting to check out for a while, I don't feel like doing anything else anymore.
Thankfully, now that things have settled down once more, I'm ready to continue writing this story again, and this time, I'm fully committed to it until the end. To everyone who is still following this story, thank you all again for your support and patience, and I'll see you all in the next chapter.