Blood+ Fan Fiction ❯ Memories Of Yesterday And Today ❯ Four Way Duel To The Death ( Chapter 6 )
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: The Last Z Fighter 
Anime/Manga: Blood+ Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Action / Adventure / Supernatural | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 02.07.2008 | Pages: 4 | Words: 7.8K | Visits: 381 | Status: Completed
Anime/Manga: Blood+ Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Action / Adventure / Supernatural | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 02.07.2008 | Pages: 4 | Words: 7.8K | Visits: 381 | Status: Completed
Authors Notes: I would just like to clear one thing up, I have watched future episodes after Riku and Irene’s death. It was just after that I didn’t watch the series as much as I used to, I should have been more clear.
* *
Irene sat alone on the couch, watching the snow fall down from the nearby window closes to the balcony. The search from last night hadn’t gone to well and in the end they had nothing-nothing except a piece of paper Karman had found the other day. It had been connected to Section X somehow, and now Okamura was out doing some research on with Kai. Solomon had left early that morning to further his own investigating, and it was unknown just when he would return. Karman and Moses had only stayed long enough to obtain blood, before leaving around the same time Solomon had. In the end, the only people in the house besides herself were Lulu and Mao.
She had wanted to go with either Moses or Kai but they insisted she’d stay home. Apparently, she hadn’t done a good job at hiding how things were effecting her and now faced the consequences of it. The Sif felt guilty taking a day off while everyone else continued to work hard to find out where the twins had been taken, she had a harder time relaxing. Still, she supposed she should at least try to keep everyone from worrying.
“Hey Irene.” Lulu greeted, coming from the corner from her room. She had on some comfortable silk-like pajamas, similar to what Irene currently wore. They had both gotten one after Julia gave them the ability to sleep; they didn’t need to still but if they wanted they could. Of course, as Haji once said, dreams were never guaranteed to be good ones.
“Hi Lulu.” Irene returned easily, her voice seeming slightly tired. “Where’s Mao?”
“Here.”
The person in question answered, wearing an over-sized shirt and some comfortable sleeping pants. She looked tired and walked a bit slowly; Mao had never been a true morning person so it was surprising to see her up around eight. She dragged herself into the kitchen, going through the cabinets for something to eat. Finding something of value, she pulled out a yellow cereal box and poured both herself and Lulu a bowl. Irene finally took a seat on the table, moving from the warm comfort from the couch; it was pretty cold even with the heater on full blast.
Mao didn’t want to see Irene depressed or withdrawn, not today. So, she decided to go through with her master plan. “We should do something today. Like a girls day out.” She had to speak slightly louder to be heard, due to the loud crunch of Lulu eating. That was something couldn’t be helped with that kind of cereal.
By the look on her face, Irene didn’t seem to know what Mao was talking about which made the older girl sigh.
“You really have to hang around me more. A girls night out is when you hang out with all your female friends, guys have the same thing to.” She explained, not going into detail about what guys did, she didn’t need to know. “Besides, I’m tired of being cooped up in this house all the time We’re going to get plump and fat if we just sit.” Mao neglected the fact that the other two females couldn’t gain any weight if they wanted to.
She crossed her arms, looking at Lulu. “We can’t let the men have all the fun or do all the work. Its not like we’re helpless china dolls that need protecting, right Lulu?”
“Yea!” Came the reply from the peanut gallery, she had watched to much Oprah as of late.
“I don’t know if we should wander by ourselves...” Irene was uncertain, but her two friends didn’t seem to want to hear it.
Mao huffed lightly. “We’re not kids(except for Lulu, not that it needed to be mentioned), we can handle ourselves if there’s trouble. What’s the worse that can happen?”
Irene was afraid of that exact question.
* *
With a joint effort, Irene was dragged along with the two trouble makers for a day on the city of New York. Mao was the only one that required winter clothing but to better ‘fit’ in; her two friends dressed for the part to simply not draw to much attention. Even if she was properly dressed, Mao was still cold but did her best not to show it. Her friends didn’t seem affected by the cold weather at all, an fact the daughter of the Jahana Yukuza envied a little.
Irene was simple and to the point; jacket with lighter clothing underneath. Lulu had been dressed in a heavy coat along with gloves and ear muffs; the coat was a bit overly large and looked almost as if someone could roll her down the street. It wasn’t what Mao would call fashionable but it would have to do until she got the purple-haired child better clothes. Winter clothes were something they hadn’t bothered with-since she rarely was affected by the different climates of the regions they visited on their travels.
Thinking about how things are now, it was funny. Mao hadn’t liked Irene at first, seeing her as competition for Kai more then anything else. Over time, nothing had come out of it for both parties and gradually Mao had warmed up to Irene; just like she had become fond of Saya eventually. It was silly, now that she thought about it. That was something she wouldn’t have admitted back at the time, but that was then. She and everyone else had grown up a lot since then.
Mao paused, seeing something of interest that caught her eye. It was a clothing store, but a very good one and a bit pricy for the normal person. Not that she was normal and it defiantly wasn’t out of her price range considering who her father was. Again, Irene was ushered along inside of the building with Lulu tagging along in tow.
Not much Mao hadn’t seen before-clothes of various styles put on display along with the name of different designers. Lulu and Irene didn’t recognize the little details such as those, but they knew nice clothes when they saw them.
From the corner of the store, an employee was talking to another customer but turned to see Mao and the others. Saying some quick parting words, they went over, a pleasant, if not practiced smile on their face.
“Can I interest you ladies in anything today?” As she said this, Lulu had the urge to touch one of the statues with clothes on them, wondering what their purpose was. Mao stopped her, looking like a older sibling trying to keep a little sister from doing anything rash.
“We’re just looking.” Mao kept an careful eye on Lulu and Irene; more the first then the later.
“I see.” The woman commented, but didn’t see willing to back down just yet. “If you need anything I’ll be helping other customers.” Giving the unique trio a final glance, she turned and left them to their own devices.
Once she was gone, Mao turned to Irene. “Go ahead and pick something out. Anything you want. I’ll help you.”
The only problem was, Irene didn’t really have much of an interest in fashion just as long as the clothes were comfortable. Even so, Mao had taken the time to take her out shopping so she had to pick out something, but what? Slightly at a loss, Irene went over to a clothing rack and began moving through them. Lulu was beside her, occasionally commenting on some of the clothes she thought would look nice on her. Obviously, spending so much time with Mao had rubbed off on the young girl.
Despite the input from either Mao and Lulu, Irene couldn’t find anything that she genuinely liked appearance-wise.
Her hand suddenly stopped on one in particular.
It was a white dress, while simple seem to compliment her more then just physically.
“You found something?” Mao came closer to investigate what she had chosen and nodded approvingly. “Good choice.”
The dress was soon payed for, not costing nearly as much as the other clothes for its relatively simple but charming design. They had no particular destination in mind, simply wandering the city and enjoying each others company. As time passed, Irene seem to finally be enjoying herself more and if only for a moment wasn’t dragged down by current events. Mao was glad of this, because that was really the whole point of the girls day out, besides some more bonding and something to do.
There had been a few other things Mao wanted to cover before returning home, but due to the snow she would have to improvise since it changed a few things. She had an idea though, and soon Irene would learn why she had been told to bring the ‘memory box’ she had been given earlier as a gift.
Towards the end of the day, they found themselves at a café. Mao was the only one that was hungry, that and Lulu. The meal was light(for Mao) while the younger girl seemed content to devour much more then what was probably healthy for a normal girl around her age. Irene had gotten nothing to eat, instead the Sif indulged herself with something called a “Mocha”. Mao had suggested it to her and she had to admit, it was pretty good.
Mao thought it was time for her trump card while Irene was still in her good mood. Retrieving a slightly faded picture from her pocket, she slid it over the table to both Sif. “Do you two remember this?”
The picture had Irene and the rest all in front of a camera, all dressed in more formal clothing. It was taken during the time of a wedding event they had attended. Due to the fact Lulu had been the one using the camera, it was a bit blurry, and the slight stain of chocolate milk from an earlier incident distorted the image further. Even after all that, it was still clear enough to be seen.
Irene smiled as she her finger traced along the picture, her hand gliding across the surface before stopping at herself along with Kai and Moses. She remembered that day clearly, it was one of her most recent and eventful memories she had.
* *
It had taken some work and patience, but the group had finally arrived at the wedding of a friend of Joel’s. Before that had been a mess to say the least. That morning everyone had woken up a bit late, and thus slightly behind schedule which started them off on a bad foot. Then when they finally awoke it was chaotic free for all with everyone trying to get ready.
Lulu hadn’t been able to find her dress, since she was going to be the flower girl. Karman couldn’t find his glasses for reasons only he knew, Kai had been running around trying to hurry things on. Moses tried to make himself useful at least, helping Kai if he needed something. Irene was to busy getting the twins situated with Mao to really help, while Okamura stood around uselessly. Something that hadn’t lasted long of course, and Mao soon became the drill sergeant she was known for at times.
As if going through similar events many times in her past, Mao got everyone in order. Helping Lulu find her flower-girl dress which had been mysteriously been hidden under her bed. Karman glasses had finally be found-right in front of him on a night stand, which answered the old question if he had really needed those glasses or not. Okamura had been put to work by Mao rather quickly when she began cracking the whip, mainly loading up the van for a few things at the wedding.
They were unable to leave until Kaori came to watch the twins while they were gone. Most likely they wouldn’t be able to watch over them as much as they could with everything going on, so it was a mutual decision to let the twins stay.
Once that had been taken care of, the group piled into the ancient van that belonged to Okamura that seemed like it would fall apart at any moment. Mao had asked when Okamura would get rid of the piece of crap, but the reporter refused. He was stubborn, not to mention he insisted the van was to ‘classic’(Mao thought he was just cheap) to get rid of. At first it refused to start but with Karman’s budding car-related skills and a push from Moses the old van came to life.
The trip was slightly uncomfortable in the sense there was more people then what the old van usually held so they were squished together for the time being. Karman wasn’t happy about being clustered up as he hated inclosed spaces but there was nothing he or anyone else could do about it.
In the end, they got where they needed to go in one piece, thankfully without any further car problems. Everyone was happy to pile out of the unstable “classic” van once they stopped in front of a mansion. It was where the reception would be held, and thanks to Joel’s considerable influence and wealth; the wedding would be a memorable one.
It would be a while before everything started, so in the meantime the group hung out in the main ballroom. The whole room was decorated like it had been done by a professional, looking more like a formal occasion from back in the day; Joel had certainly went out of his way. People were already socializing, mingling and generally enjoying the company of the place. Karman looked around, then went to a corner and crossed his arms trying to become one with the wallpaper.
Okamura soon went off into the crowd of ladies and gentlemen, while Moses ventured off to go see all there was to offer. Lulu was far more easy to please, she made herself content by going over to a long table with many delicious-looking edibles. Simple childish delight showed on her face. “There’s so many! Where should I get first Irene?”
Irene blinked, looking at all the various junk food. She wasn’t to sure but her friend was asking for her opinion so she would give it. “How about that one?” The Sif indicated to what looked like chips and some strange dip.
Happily obliging, Lulu took a nearby paper plate, scooping some dip with a large spoon before taking her first bite with a chip. Her already big eyes seem to light up a bit more. “This is really good, you should try some Irene.”
Mao, who had been nearby decided to intervene just in case, Irene had a ball gown and Lulu’s clothing wasn’t exactly cheap either. “Just don’t spill anything on your dress Lulu.”
“She’ll be fine.” Kai went over to the table, pouring himself a glass of punch. His hair was neatly combed back and with his tux he looked like a true gentlemen. Irene liked seeing him dress that way, even if she couldn’t quite phantom why. “You two enjoying yourselves so far?”
Irene smiled lightly. “Yes. Its nice.”
Lulu nodded. “This is so cool Kai. Do you get invited to these parties all the time?”
Kai stopped drinking for a moment, looking at her. “Not quite. These are special parties, there old held when two people who love each other want to spend the rest of their lives together.”
“Oh..” She said, understanding but at the same time not. “I want to have a wedding to one day, I’ll invite everybody!”
The response made Kai laugh gently. He affectionately ruffled her hair like an older brother would often do. “Maybe when your older Lulu. I’m going to check something, you three hold the fort while I’m gone.” Kai left the three for now, disappearing into the sea of people.
Irene, Mao, and Lulu continued to talk with one another, small talk for the most part. Soon after Kai had left, two familiar from the crowd of people became visible: Julia and David. They had both been aging rather well, David looked much the same as ever, strong and silent. The difference now was that he seemed happier; lighter. His eyes had a light that hadn’t been there before, or perhaps it had been hidden all along. Julia looked the same as well, and even after child birth she had managed to keep a good figure. Her clothing was of course more conservative, sporting a blue evening gown. The latest member was harder to see, an small and neatly wrapped bundle in her arms.
Lulu almost instantly noticed the three, she brightened up as they came over.
“Nice to see you again Lulu.” Julia greeted as she came close, David simply gave a simple nod to the three young ladies. “You all look nice today.”
Once she came closer, the small bundle she had became a bit more clear. The baby was a boy, most likely a few months from the lack of hair. Riku was the boy’s name-something Kai had been deeply touched by when they asked him if it would be all right to pass the name down in honor of his fallen brothers memory.
“Would you like to hold him?” Julia asked Irene, seeing her eyes say something she didn’t speak out loud. She glanced at her future husband as if to confirm it was all right with him, but he didn’t seem to mind.
“Are you sure?” Irene asked hesitantly.
The smile was the only answer she needed.“Go ahead.”
Gently, Riku was given to Irene and the Sif felt like she could accidentally break the small infant with even the slightest touch. Mao and Lulu practically cooed over the baby once he opened his eyes and peered at Irene with innocent, unknowing eyes.
Irene had never held a baby before, but she thought she must have been doing a good job because Julia hadn’t corrected her just way. “Wow, he’s so tiny..” Her voice was soft, if not wistful-sounding.
“Isn’t that curious. Riku usually doesn’t take to strangers holding him to well.” Julia commented as she took back her child.
David cleared his throat to get her attention. What ever the cause for it, the blonde took the hint. “I have to get going for now. You three take care, just have fun.”
Mao watched all three of them leave before turning back to her two friends. “I still can’t get over how cute he is. Irene, you ok?” She noticed Irene seemed a bit more spaced out then normal.
It was obvious she had been thinking of something, the response wasn’t instant. “I’m fine.”
The conversation would have continued until an amusing event attracted all three of the young ladies attention. In the crowd, Moses was walking which wasn’t strange or different. However, he seemed to have gotten quite a few female fans that followed him like a lost puppies. Moses looked a bit flustered with all the attention he was getting, it was almost comical seeing the normally calm Sif in such a way. Telling them one thing, Moses then hurriedly made a straight-line towards his friends.
Despite herself, Mao couldn’t help but tease him, an small smirk appearing on her lips. “Moses, your awfully popular with the girls today.”
“I didn’t ask to be.” Moses said, still flustered. He knew they wouldn’t leave him alone for long, they had been hounding him the whole time. They scared him for reasons he couldn’t explain. He was by no means a coward, having faced Chiropteran’s, and even Diva. But the predatory, almost hungry looks he got put him on edge. When they had argued over who he’d rather talk to, he made himself scarce, feeling much like an deer in a middle of a wolf pack.
An almost terrified expression appeared on Moses’ face when his fan club began making their way back towards their prey. In that moment, he thought of anything to get Away from them.
She could have continued to tease him if she wanted, but Mao wasn’t completely heartless. The young woman sighed. “All right, I’ll help. Just follow my lead. Irene, take notes.” It was then the crowd of young women(stalkers) became visible.
“Moses, there you are. You ran off before we could talk.” One said.
“Excuse me, but I think an gentlemen like Moses would prefer an Lady.”
“What are you talking about, none of you are ladies.”
“He’s already taken.” Mao tone was simple and matter-of-fact, and it stopped the arguing.
“Moses, is that true?”
The Sif leader by this time regained his normal calm composure. “Yes.”
An disappointed look came on the girls faces. Moses almost felt bad. Almost.
“Come on Moses, our song is on.” Mao then dragged him to the dance floor with a confused Moses behind her.
“That was weird.” Lulu finally said. Irene just nodded, she agreed.
“Hey you two.” Kai’s voice was heard before he was seen, he was back with Okamura close behind. For some reason, the reporter looked disappointed about something. “Where did Mao go?”
“She’s dancing with Moses.” Lulu supplied. “Some strange girls were chasing him earlier though.” True to her word, Moses was being taught how to dance by Mao, it was a bit awkward dance but he seemed to be catching on quickly.
Okamura chuckled to himself, taking a quick bite out of junk food.
“Is that so?” Kai found the whole idea funny, he only wished he had been here to witness everything for himself. Seeing everyone enjoying themselves on the main floor gave him idea, at first he hesitated but got his nerves together. He offered his hand to Irene like an gentlemen, then spoke. “Can I have this dance?”
Irene didn’t know what to say at first, but she remembered how other girls did it but decided to simply nod as she was then taken to the dance floor. She felt nervous, even as Kai patiently lead her the whole time. Unnoticed at first was Haji. He had blended into the crowd perfectly like he did normally and it was only now that he revealed his presence. It was strange seeing him here, but perhaps he to needed some form of interaction every once in a while. His skilled and graceful hands smoothly went along his cello as he played a soft melody. It was a different one he didn’t play often, but it seemed to fit the general atmosphere of the event. The musician’s from before simply he let him play at Joel’s request. A true master was at work, and they had no right to interfere.
“Relax. Don’t worry to much about not being perfect, its your first time.” Kai’s words seem to do the trick.
Irene accidentally stepped on his toes once, or twice. “Sorry.”
He only smiled lightly.“Hey, you’re doing great. Don’t be so tense.” Once she took his advice, Irene began to perform better in her dance. Everything faded away into the background except the dance, she found herself enjoying it more. After that, things passed by in a blur. The wedding went with out any other problems(except for later a drunk person singing off key at a karooke, but no one wanted to remember that) and the ceremony had been a beautiful one. Kai and his group didn’t know much of anything about who was getting married, but that didn’t change how the service went.
Everyone continued to enjoy themselves, and even Karman had decided to finally come out and do something; mainly interested about Moses’ whole strange affair. Haji had vanished after he was done playing, Kai only saw him one more time before he left. This continued until the evening when everyone was starting to head on home, but Lulu had insisted they’d take a picture together and luckily Okamura had brought his family camera with him.
“Ok, stand still.” Lulu, after a bit of persuading was allowed to take the picture after brief instructions of how to use it. “All right smile everyone!” For a moment, she forgot the short time-limit before the camera would flash so she quickly appeared in the group picture, just as the light from the camera flashed.
* *
“Find anything?”
“Working on it.”
For the past few hours, Okamura and Kai had been going over the little bit of information they had gotten from the piece of paper from Karman. They had camped in the library; Okamura on the public computer searching the net for anything useful, while Kai continued to look through book after book. It wasn’t going to well, and Kai despite telling himself mentally it would take time found himself impatient.(hence the constant bugging of the older man)
The paper had a little bit more information about Section X, actually an old newspaper article from a few months back. It was surprising it was still around. Most of their search had been fruitless, only learning more useless information about Section X they didn’t need. Most of the good information was unaccessible to civilians, frustrating both of them. They would need a hacker for the good stuff, but neither of them had that talent.
One decent piece of information they found about Section X was that it had apparently started out as a little-known medical company. Later, the company had been going out of business and was on its last legs. That was when fourteen years-ago, a war veteran named Jason Hunter bought the company, paying off many of the debts the company had owned. He wasn’t sure how long it had been, but later Section X became a small sub-branch of the military. The information had been selective, only giving vague ideas about what made them so different from other branches. It mentioned something about harmless genetics.
Harmless my ass. Okamura mentally snorted, browsing down the web page further. It took forever to load, but that was library computers for you. Ah. Now were getting somewhere.
The slow loading speed of the computer didn’t bother him once he found some interesting results after the page finally came up. It showed a picture of that nut job from earlier, Dr. Thomas. Useless. Ok, somewhat useful. He quickly scanned the paragraphs, skimming over pointless information or things he already learned. Okamura highlighted most of the relevant text, copy and pasting it a simple note pad.
“Hey Kai, you got a nickle?”
Without even turning from his book, Kai tossed him a dime. “Did you find something finally?”
“Yeah. I think we finally know a bit more about our mysterious caller.” Okamura printed the paper and waited for it to come out, which took to long for his taste. “Our special friend is a class A nut job, but he’s an smart one. Most of the information I read just called him ‘different’ but you get the general gist of what he’s about.”
The paper that had been printed was stuck, so Okamura had to carefully take the stubborn paper from the jam. He stapled it together neatly. “We’ll talk about everything when we get home.”
“All right.” Kai wanted to know now, but he wasn’t as foolish as to talk out in the open, considering they had no clue when they were being watched.
An scream of an woman interrupted their meeting, Kai ran towards it and Okamura cursed.
“Kid, wait up!” His call went unanswered, as the reporter went after him, having a bad feeling.
Torn apart like it was made of cheap tissue paper laid the door, busted open with a terrified woman cowering from a monster. Green skin that was similar to armor covered its body, it had a lizard-like tail lined with spikes on its body, talons on its toes. Its teeth were razor sharp and visible with a long head connected to a beak. The most distinguishing were the nasty scythe-like it had instead of the usual hands.
It swung down for the kill at the helpless woman. She screamed, Kai fired.
Jolting back from the blow, the strange creature took its attention away from the closes prey who quickly crawled away. A high-pitched and bird-like shriek before focusing its wrath on the young man who disturbed its hunt.
Firing a few more times, Kai and Okamura booked it towards the other exit with a pissed off monster close behind. They went through the exit, the monster made its own by simply moving through the wall with out the slightest hint of slow down. Its red eyes were full of hate and violence to insane to be human or animal.
Kai thought quickly as it neared closer and closer to them. If he didn’t come up with something they were both going to die, it was a lot faster then normal Chiropteran’s, if even was one. Seeing an abandoned car, he came up with an idea. Better then nothing, besides, it always works in the movies. He loaded the handgun with a red-tipped bullet, then taking aim, he shot a few well-placed shots in vital parts of the car when the monster came towards them. Not seeing the danger, it still blindly charged them, finding out its error to late as the car exploded in flames.
Both men stopped, just long enough to see if it was still alive and to catch their breath. Kai wasn’t as good of shape as he used to be after not fighting for a year. The monster was indeed still alive, but badly damaged; its right side had been blown off completely but was regenerating already. Instead of charging again, it put its head back and gave out another eerie screech once more. At first nothing happened, then it as answered by another cry, then another, and another.
More of the same type of monsters began appearing, landing in front of them and slowly began to close in for the kill. Kai and Okamura found themselves being backed up little by little with no room to run anymore, they were blocking all the possible escapes.
“This is bad.” Kai knew he was low on ammo to, he kept his weapon trained on the ones in front.
“No shit?” Okamura didn’t mean to curse but since he was about to die he felt he had a few liberties.
A spear suddenly pierced through the skull one of the creatures, its body shuddered a bit before going limp. It was dead before it hit the ground. Another suffered a similar quick end, a blue flash was seen, and then its body slid sideways, cut in half. Two familiar figures appeared in front of them in dark cloaks.
“Starting without us Kai? I’m disappointed .” Karman’s voice was light. “What are these things?”
Moses watched the creatures carefully as they screeched in rage. “No time.” And true to those words, there was none. Driven by instinct or rage, they moved in to attack the Sif. They however were a bit to slow to hit either Moses or Karman, and they both danced around each and every strike. For their credit, the monsters did seem smarter then the average chiropteran and used some basic tactics to go with their numbers. This still wasn’t enough.
Scythe in hand, Moses side stepped the beast, bringing the weapon in arc to immobilize it by detaching its legs. However, he had miscalculated just where his other opponents would be and was almost sliced in two from behind. An gunshot sounded, and Moses turned briefly to see Kai had shot the one in back of him. He dispatched his stunned enemy, looking at Kai for a moment with grateful eyes, and the fight continued.
Kai was to vulnerable to directly confront the monsters, so instead he helped Karman and Moses by providing cover support. Each time any of the Sif were going to be overwhelmed by superior numbers and caught blind-sided, Kai would distract them long enough for them to be nullified by either Karman or Moses. Okamura just concentrated on staying alive, and more importantly at the moment, staying away from the fighting as best as possible.
Swift and brutal was the fight. Bodies dropped to the floor, but more took their place as the ground soaked with the life blood of their enemies. Karman thrust his weapon forward, its place finding home through the neck of one unlucky foe. Moses ended its misery by beheading it with a skilled stroke from above with his scythe, looking like the Grim Reaper with his tainted and bloodied scythe.
They worked together, cold, efficient and merciless. Their foes would spare them no mercy, it was beyond them, and so the three would give them none.
Something odd happened as the battle progressed. Blue streaks came from nowhere, but it was not the Sif. Dressed in similar uniforms with a masked face, using the same weapons only meant another foe they thought was gone. The three felt different emotions but all knew and thought the same thing.
Corpse Corps.
However, if things weren’t already confusing and bad enough yet another unusual thing occurred. Blades striking against blade echoed throughout the streets of New York, and it quickly became apparent the Corpse Corps weren’t here randomly. They were fighting someone, or rather something. Hard to see at first, what they were fighting came to light. The foes were humanoid, all wearing trench-coats with large melee weapons of all kinds. What really gave them away was their face, or rather the fact they had no face what so ever. The non-sentient Sif were being pushed back, their ranks being cut down without as much effort.
Even the monsters paused, as if evaluating what the biggest threats were and how to deal with them.
And then chaos erupted as all hell broke loose.
One of Corpse Corps smashed painfully head-first into another car breaking the glass, permanently embedding itself in it. The monsters numbers were now divided, having to fight Kai and his friends, as well the other two vicious enemies but they were mostly ignored in favor of the more deadly threats. The most difficult enemies were the ones with out a face, but due to being so many opponents, it was impossible for anyone to focus on any one group.
Moses parried a sword strike from a Corps, somewhat amazed how big of a gap was between their strength now. That was one of the differences between them, this creature had no soul, no heart. It was single-minded and simple, and would never have to drive to push itself(unless it was programmed) to become stronger to protect those close to them. He almost felt sorry for the creatures, but it was a chilling reminder he could have ended up as soulless as those things. Being a ‘defective product’ turned out be more of a blessing then a curse.
Another swing and he easily blocked and countered it, his scythe claiming his first kill. You are my path not taken, brother. He thought briefly, watching as the life faded from his enemy, only to evade a mace that cracked the earth under him from above. Since he was slightly caught off guard, he wasn’t prepared for the faceless foe. Instead, he was pushed back from the force of the blow after blocking with his Scythe, he lost his footing for a moment and his enemy pressed the attack. Individually, Moses had a harder time fighting those creatures as they were a much greater challenge then the Chiropteran’s(the monsters) or the Corpse Corps.
He looked for any sign of help but found none, Karman and Kai were to busy trying to stay alive during the onslaught to offer assistance and Okamura was of no help. Moses dueled alone with his opponent, neither losing or really gaining any ground. He felt a sharp pain in his side and realized he had forgotten his left flank during the chaotic battle.
An sword had pierced through his stomach from the same type of enemy; they’re were two of them fighting him now. Moses felt his self-healing powers already kick in but knew it had its limits, if he was damaged to badly he could die unlike a ‘full’ Chevalier. The two were just as aggressive together as they were alone and Moses was having an increasingly hard time warding off their attacks.
I need an opening. Moses kept his cool during the whole time, even as the situation seemed bleak and his arms felt slightly numb from blocking blows from a physically superior foe. His prayers were answered, an sword appeared through its gut, and soon an axe cleaved into its head. No blood came from it, instead the head turned to dust as did the rest of the body when it perished.
Moses saw his saviors, surprised to see Lulu and Irene in their cloaks. It was brief surprise however and he pushed it away quickly, focusing on the task at hand. Now outnumbered, Moses enemy divided its attention between Moses and the other Sif, which proved to be its downfall.
Summoning all his strength, Moses pushed his enemy back with great force, scythe and sword locked in a struggle to over power one another. He would not be able to keep up this sort of power for his attacks for long.“Now!”
Wasting no time, Irene and Lulu moved together. Blade met flesh as cold steel pushed through its stomach, keeping it still long enough for Lulu appeared above in a blue blur and bringing her axe down for another kill. Like before, it crumbled to dust.
It seems their whole bodies get destroyed if their head is damaged enough. Moses made a quick mental note of this, any thing at this point would be useful. The four-way battle was hard to keep track of, but judging from the bodies the chiropteran-like monsters hadn’t fared well. Most of their numbers had been cut down, lying dead and beaten. Only a dozen or so remained, considerably less then before. This really just left the Corpse Corps and the nameless enemies, but luckily their numbers weren’t as great.
The main problem with this battle was keeping together; their enemies did a good job at keeping them separate from one another to cut down their efficiency. In theory it worked, but there always at least two of rag-tag warriors together and it was proven they can be just as deadly in low numbers because of far superior team-work.
Moses had Irene and Lulu to worry about now, they hadn’t fought in some time and while they had defeated some enemies, it had been by surprise and luck. He knew they weren’t up at his or Karman’s level, and he was sure they would have their hands full with the Corpse Corps-let alone the other one.
However, this was cutting down on his overall combat prowess as Moses couldn’t fight at one-hundred percent. Seeing Lulu about to be hit with a mace of a faceless(Moses just decided to call them that for now), Moses pushed his body quickly to take the blow for the small girl, grunting as he flew backwards. He flew into a street light with enough force to dent the metal and sagged lightly in a boneless heap.
“Moses!” Both Irene and Lulu shouted at the same time. Lulu shot forward first to protect Moses, Irene was unable to follow before she was blocked off by some Corps. They were using the situation to their advantage, cutting them off and trying to get rid of the weaker members.
“Lulu, stay back.” Moses winced as he tried to force himself up, his body ached all over at the moment and he knew he had broken at least a few bones.
“No, I won’t leave you.” Lulu was stubborn when she wanted to be as she tried to help the fallen Sif. Moses was about to argue with her when two blue steaks charged towards her from opposite sides and he could only give a shout of warning a second to late.
Still the blades never made contact.
Standing there was Solomon, holding both swords in his hands calmly. His black suit made him harder to see. “Are you all right?” Only receiving a nod, the Chevalier then casually pushed the Corpse Corps away; one slamming into another car while another hit another street lamp.
Solomon looked at Moses, then offered his hand. At first, it looked like he would refuse before he slowly took it and eased himself back up, still slightly winded. “I thank you.”
“I had a feeling there was trouble, I’m glad I made it in time.” Solomon turned towards the strange creatures. The Corpse Corps weren’t new, but the others were a bit new to him.
Getting a firm grip on his scythe again, Moses felt at lost his bones completely mend even if they were still tender. He didn’t trust Solomon, not completely even after that. He still needed his help however.“Attacking randomly isn’t getting us anywhere, and it looks like we won’t be able to retreat without someone getting picked off.”
“What do you suggest then?” Solomon carried the conversation calmly, absent-mindedly side stepping a tossed enemy.
“We won’t get anywhere divided up like this, we need to regroup. First we assist Irene and Karman, then we try to stay together.” It was an simple plan really, very simple and basic but it would serve its purpose.
The two once enemies looked at one another, mutual understanding was shared between them and a common goal. Moses, Solomon, and Lulu made their way towards Irene and Karman who were trying to defend an weakened and exhausted Kai. He didn’t have the raw stamina his friends had and the pro-longed fight left him drained.
As if seeing the battle wasn’t going their way finally, the Corpse Corps actually seem to finally be retreating from the battlefield. Leaving only the faceless enemies; the Chiropterans had long since been cut down. Strangely, they ceased their attack even as Moses and the others joined back up with the rest of the group.
“That’s enough, come to me.”
Obeying as if they were dogs, the faceless flocked to the owner of the voice. Walking calmly into view was a man in his twenties wearing shades and a long coat. His posture and stance was lazy, having both hands in his pockets. “This is the part where I’m suppose to say I’m impressed and reveal my evil plans, but that would be kind of cliche wouldn’t you say? Ugly things these Nertu are huh?”
Moses and everyone else was on edge. They didn’t make the first move though, not wanting to take chances. Even Karman had learned that lesson the hard way.
Kai forced himself up with Irene’s support. “Are you the one that stole my kids?”
The stranger waved it off. “Naw. We’ll, technically yes; Amaury is the one that took them. Kind of need them for our races future and all that. The only thing I can tell is that the Queens are safe human.” He reached into his pocket, flipping a quarter and then taking a look at it. “Damn. Heads. I guess I don’t have to fight you guys then for now. Later.”
If you blinked you would have missed it, but both the stranger and the “Nertu” were gone.
* *
Irene sat alone on the couch, watching the snow fall down from the nearby window closes to the balcony. The search from last night hadn’t gone to well and in the end they had nothing-nothing except a piece of paper Karman had found the other day. It had been connected to Section X somehow, and now Okamura was out doing some research on with Kai. Solomon had left early that morning to further his own investigating, and it was unknown just when he would return. Karman and Moses had only stayed long enough to obtain blood, before leaving around the same time Solomon had. In the end, the only people in the house besides herself were Lulu and Mao.
She had wanted to go with either Moses or Kai but they insisted she’d stay home. Apparently, she hadn’t done a good job at hiding how things were effecting her and now faced the consequences of it. The Sif felt guilty taking a day off while everyone else continued to work hard to find out where the twins had been taken, she had a harder time relaxing. Still, she supposed she should at least try to keep everyone from worrying.
“Hey Irene.” Lulu greeted, coming from the corner from her room. She had on some comfortable silk-like pajamas, similar to what Irene currently wore. They had both gotten one after Julia gave them the ability to sleep; they didn’t need to still but if they wanted they could. Of course, as Haji once said, dreams were never guaranteed to be good ones.
“Hi Lulu.” Irene returned easily, her voice seeming slightly tired. “Where’s Mao?”
“Here.”
The person in question answered, wearing an over-sized shirt and some comfortable sleeping pants. She looked tired and walked a bit slowly; Mao had never been a true morning person so it was surprising to see her up around eight. She dragged herself into the kitchen, going through the cabinets for something to eat. Finding something of value, she pulled out a yellow cereal box and poured both herself and Lulu a bowl. Irene finally took a seat on the table, moving from the warm comfort from the couch; it was pretty cold even with the heater on full blast.
Mao didn’t want to see Irene depressed or withdrawn, not today. So, she decided to go through with her master plan. “We should do something today. Like a girls day out.” She had to speak slightly louder to be heard, due to the loud crunch of Lulu eating. That was something couldn’t be helped with that kind of cereal.
By the look on her face, Irene didn’t seem to know what Mao was talking about which made the older girl sigh.
“You really have to hang around me more. A girls night out is when you hang out with all your female friends, guys have the same thing to.” She explained, not going into detail about what guys did, she didn’t need to know. “Besides, I’m tired of being cooped up in this house all the time We’re going to get plump and fat if we just sit.” Mao neglected the fact that the other two females couldn’t gain any weight if they wanted to.
She crossed her arms, looking at Lulu. “We can’t let the men have all the fun or do all the work. Its not like we’re helpless china dolls that need protecting, right Lulu?”
“Yea!” Came the reply from the peanut gallery, she had watched to much Oprah as of late.
“I don’t know if we should wander by ourselves...” Irene was uncertain, but her two friends didn’t seem to want to hear it.
Mao huffed lightly. “We’re not kids(except for Lulu, not that it needed to be mentioned), we can handle ourselves if there’s trouble. What’s the worse that can happen?”
Irene was afraid of that exact question.
* *
With a joint effort, Irene was dragged along with the two trouble makers for a day on the city of New York. Mao was the only one that required winter clothing but to better ‘fit’ in; her two friends dressed for the part to simply not draw to much attention. Even if she was properly dressed, Mao was still cold but did her best not to show it. Her friends didn’t seem affected by the cold weather at all, an fact the daughter of the Jahana Yukuza envied a little.
Irene was simple and to the point; jacket with lighter clothing underneath. Lulu had been dressed in a heavy coat along with gloves and ear muffs; the coat was a bit overly large and looked almost as if someone could roll her down the street. It wasn’t what Mao would call fashionable but it would have to do until she got the purple-haired child better clothes. Winter clothes were something they hadn’t bothered with-since she rarely was affected by the different climates of the regions they visited on their travels.
Thinking about how things are now, it was funny. Mao hadn’t liked Irene at first, seeing her as competition for Kai more then anything else. Over time, nothing had come out of it for both parties and gradually Mao had warmed up to Irene; just like she had become fond of Saya eventually. It was silly, now that she thought about it. That was something she wouldn’t have admitted back at the time, but that was then. She and everyone else had grown up a lot since then.
Mao paused, seeing something of interest that caught her eye. It was a clothing store, but a very good one and a bit pricy for the normal person. Not that she was normal and it defiantly wasn’t out of her price range considering who her father was. Again, Irene was ushered along inside of the building with Lulu tagging along in tow.
Not much Mao hadn’t seen before-clothes of various styles put on display along with the name of different designers. Lulu and Irene didn’t recognize the little details such as those, but they knew nice clothes when they saw them.
From the corner of the store, an employee was talking to another customer but turned to see Mao and the others. Saying some quick parting words, they went over, a pleasant, if not practiced smile on their face.
“Can I interest you ladies in anything today?” As she said this, Lulu had the urge to touch one of the statues with clothes on them, wondering what their purpose was. Mao stopped her, looking like a older sibling trying to keep a little sister from doing anything rash.
“We’re just looking.” Mao kept an careful eye on Lulu and Irene; more the first then the later.
“I see.” The woman commented, but didn’t see willing to back down just yet. “If you need anything I’ll be helping other customers.” Giving the unique trio a final glance, she turned and left them to their own devices.
Once she was gone, Mao turned to Irene. “Go ahead and pick something out. Anything you want. I’ll help you.”
The only problem was, Irene didn’t really have much of an interest in fashion just as long as the clothes were comfortable. Even so, Mao had taken the time to take her out shopping so she had to pick out something, but what? Slightly at a loss, Irene went over to a clothing rack and began moving through them. Lulu was beside her, occasionally commenting on some of the clothes she thought would look nice on her. Obviously, spending so much time with Mao had rubbed off on the young girl.
Despite the input from either Mao and Lulu, Irene couldn’t find anything that she genuinely liked appearance-wise.
Her hand suddenly stopped on one in particular.
It was a white dress, while simple seem to compliment her more then just physically.
“You found something?” Mao came closer to investigate what she had chosen and nodded approvingly. “Good choice.”
The dress was soon payed for, not costing nearly as much as the other clothes for its relatively simple but charming design. They had no particular destination in mind, simply wandering the city and enjoying each others company. As time passed, Irene seem to finally be enjoying herself more and if only for a moment wasn’t dragged down by current events. Mao was glad of this, because that was really the whole point of the girls day out, besides some more bonding and something to do.
There had been a few other things Mao wanted to cover before returning home, but due to the snow she would have to improvise since it changed a few things. She had an idea though, and soon Irene would learn why she had been told to bring the ‘memory box’ she had been given earlier as a gift.
Towards the end of the day, they found themselves at a café. Mao was the only one that was hungry, that and Lulu. The meal was light(for Mao) while the younger girl seemed content to devour much more then what was probably healthy for a normal girl around her age. Irene had gotten nothing to eat, instead the Sif indulged herself with something called a “Mocha”. Mao had suggested it to her and she had to admit, it was pretty good.
Mao thought it was time for her trump card while Irene was still in her good mood. Retrieving a slightly faded picture from her pocket, she slid it over the table to both Sif. “Do you two remember this?”
The picture had Irene and the rest all in front of a camera, all dressed in more formal clothing. It was taken during the time of a wedding event they had attended. Due to the fact Lulu had been the one using the camera, it was a bit blurry, and the slight stain of chocolate milk from an earlier incident distorted the image further. Even after all that, it was still clear enough to be seen.
Irene smiled as she her finger traced along the picture, her hand gliding across the surface before stopping at herself along with Kai and Moses. She remembered that day clearly, it was one of her most recent and eventful memories she had.
* *
It had taken some work and patience, but the group had finally arrived at the wedding of a friend of Joel’s. Before that had been a mess to say the least. That morning everyone had woken up a bit late, and thus slightly behind schedule which started them off on a bad foot. Then when they finally awoke it was chaotic free for all with everyone trying to get ready.
Lulu hadn’t been able to find her dress, since she was going to be the flower girl. Karman couldn’t find his glasses for reasons only he knew, Kai had been running around trying to hurry things on. Moses tried to make himself useful at least, helping Kai if he needed something. Irene was to busy getting the twins situated with Mao to really help, while Okamura stood around uselessly. Something that hadn’t lasted long of course, and Mao soon became the drill sergeant she was known for at times.
As if going through similar events many times in her past, Mao got everyone in order. Helping Lulu find her flower-girl dress which had been mysteriously been hidden under her bed. Karman glasses had finally be found-right in front of him on a night stand, which answered the old question if he had really needed those glasses or not. Okamura had been put to work by Mao rather quickly when she began cracking the whip, mainly loading up the van for a few things at the wedding.
They were unable to leave until Kaori came to watch the twins while they were gone. Most likely they wouldn’t be able to watch over them as much as they could with everything going on, so it was a mutual decision to let the twins stay.
Once that had been taken care of, the group piled into the ancient van that belonged to Okamura that seemed like it would fall apart at any moment. Mao had asked when Okamura would get rid of the piece of crap, but the reporter refused. He was stubborn, not to mention he insisted the van was to ‘classic’(Mao thought he was just cheap) to get rid of. At first it refused to start but with Karman’s budding car-related skills and a push from Moses the old van came to life.
The trip was slightly uncomfortable in the sense there was more people then what the old van usually held so they were squished together for the time being. Karman wasn’t happy about being clustered up as he hated inclosed spaces but there was nothing he or anyone else could do about it.
In the end, they got where they needed to go in one piece, thankfully without any further car problems. Everyone was happy to pile out of the unstable “classic” van once they stopped in front of a mansion. It was where the reception would be held, and thanks to Joel’s considerable influence and wealth; the wedding would be a memorable one.
It would be a while before everything started, so in the meantime the group hung out in the main ballroom. The whole room was decorated like it had been done by a professional, looking more like a formal occasion from back in the day; Joel had certainly went out of his way. People were already socializing, mingling and generally enjoying the company of the place. Karman looked around, then went to a corner and crossed his arms trying to become one with the wallpaper.
Okamura soon went off into the crowd of ladies and gentlemen, while Moses ventured off to go see all there was to offer. Lulu was far more easy to please, she made herself content by going over to a long table with many delicious-looking edibles. Simple childish delight showed on her face. “There’s so many! Where should I get first Irene?”
Irene blinked, looking at all the various junk food. She wasn’t to sure but her friend was asking for her opinion so she would give it. “How about that one?” The Sif indicated to what looked like chips and some strange dip.
Happily obliging, Lulu took a nearby paper plate, scooping some dip with a large spoon before taking her first bite with a chip. Her already big eyes seem to light up a bit more. “This is really good, you should try some Irene.”
Mao, who had been nearby decided to intervene just in case, Irene had a ball gown and Lulu’s clothing wasn’t exactly cheap either. “Just don’t spill anything on your dress Lulu.”
“She’ll be fine.” Kai went over to the table, pouring himself a glass of punch. His hair was neatly combed back and with his tux he looked like a true gentlemen. Irene liked seeing him dress that way, even if she couldn’t quite phantom why. “You two enjoying yourselves so far?”
Irene smiled lightly. “Yes. Its nice.”
Lulu nodded. “This is so cool Kai. Do you get invited to these parties all the time?”
Kai stopped drinking for a moment, looking at her. “Not quite. These are special parties, there old held when two people who love each other want to spend the rest of their lives together.”
“Oh..” She said, understanding but at the same time not. “I want to have a wedding to one day, I’ll invite everybody!”
The response made Kai laugh gently. He affectionately ruffled her hair like an older brother would often do. “Maybe when your older Lulu. I’m going to check something, you three hold the fort while I’m gone.” Kai left the three for now, disappearing into the sea of people.
Irene, Mao, and Lulu continued to talk with one another, small talk for the most part. Soon after Kai had left, two familiar from the crowd of people became visible: Julia and David. They had both been aging rather well, David looked much the same as ever, strong and silent. The difference now was that he seemed happier; lighter. His eyes had a light that hadn’t been there before, or perhaps it had been hidden all along. Julia looked the same as well, and even after child birth she had managed to keep a good figure. Her clothing was of course more conservative, sporting a blue evening gown. The latest member was harder to see, an small and neatly wrapped bundle in her arms.
Lulu almost instantly noticed the three, she brightened up as they came over.
“Nice to see you again Lulu.” Julia greeted as she came close, David simply gave a simple nod to the three young ladies. “You all look nice today.”
Once she came closer, the small bundle she had became a bit more clear. The baby was a boy, most likely a few months from the lack of hair. Riku was the boy’s name-something Kai had been deeply touched by when they asked him if it would be all right to pass the name down in honor of his fallen brothers memory.
“Would you like to hold him?” Julia asked Irene, seeing her eyes say something she didn’t speak out loud. She glanced at her future husband as if to confirm it was all right with him, but he didn’t seem to mind.
“Are you sure?” Irene asked hesitantly.
The smile was the only answer she needed.“Go ahead.”
Gently, Riku was given to Irene and the Sif felt like she could accidentally break the small infant with even the slightest touch. Mao and Lulu practically cooed over the baby once he opened his eyes and peered at Irene with innocent, unknowing eyes.
Irene had never held a baby before, but she thought she must have been doing a good job because Julia hadn’t corrected her just way. “Wow, he’s so tiny..” Her voice was soft, if not wistful-sounding.
“Isn’t that curious. Riku usually doesn’t take to strangers holding him to well.” Julia commented as she took back her child.
David cleared his throat to get her attention. What ever the cause for it, the blonde took the hint. “I have to get going for now. You three take care, just have fun.”
Mao watched all three of them leave before turning back to her two friends. “I still can’t get over how cute he is. Irene, you ok?” She noticed Irene seemed a bit more spaced out then normal.
It was obvious she had been thinking of something, the response wasn’t instant. “I’m fine.”
The conversation would have continued until an amusing event attracted all three of the young ladies attention. In the crowd, Moses was walking which wasn’t strange or different. However, he seemed to have gotten quite a few female fans that followed him like a lost puppies. Moses looked a bit flustered with all the attention he was getting, it was almost comical seeing the normally calm Sif in such a way. Telling them one thing, Moses then hurriedly made a straight-line towards his friends.
Despite herself, Mao couldn’t help but tease him, an small smirk appearing on her lips. “Moses, your awfully popular with the girls today.”
“I didn’t ask to be.” Moses said, still flustered. He knew they wouldn’t leave him alone for long, they had been hounding him the whole time. They scared him for reasons he couldn’t explain. He was by no means a coward, having faced Chiropteran’s, and even Diva. But the predatory, almost hungry looks he got put him on edge. When they had argued over who he’d rather talk to, he made himself scarce, feeling much like an deer in a middle of a wolf pack.
An almost terrified expression appeared on Moses’ face when his fan club began making their way back towards their prey. In that moment, he thought of anything to get Away from them.
She could have continued to tease him if she wanted, but Mao wasn’t completely heartless. The young woman sighed. “All right, I’ll help. Just follow my lead. Irene, take notes.” It was then the crowd of young women(stalkers) became visible.
“Moses, there you are. You ran off before we could talk.” One said.
“Excuse me, but I think an gentlemen like Moses would prefer an Lady.”
“What are you talking about, none of you are ladies.”
“He’s already taken.” Mao tone was simple and matter-of-fact, and it stopped the arguing.
“Moses, is that true?”
The Sif leader by this time regained his normal calm composure. “Yes.”
An disappointed look came on the girls faces. Moses almost felt bad. Almost.
“Come on Moses, our song is on.” Mao then dragged him to the dance floor with a confused Moses behind her.
“That was weird.” Lulu finally said. Irene just nodded, she agreed.
“Hey you two.” Kai’s voice was heard before he was seen, he was back with Okamura close behind. For some reason, the reporter looked disappointed about something. “Where did Mao go?”
“She’s dancing with Moses.” Lulu supplied. “Some strange girls were chasing him earlier though.” True to her word, Moses was being taught how to dance by Mao, it was a bit awkward dance but he seemed to be catching on quickly.
Okamura chuckled to himself, taking a quick bite out of junk food.
“Is that so?” Kai found the whole idea funny, he only wished he had been here to witness everything for himself. Seeing everyone enjoying themselves on the main floor gave him idea, at first he hesitated but got his nerves together. He offered his hand to Irene like an gentlemen, then spoke. “Can I have this dance?”
Irene didn’t know what to say at first, but she remembered how other girls did it but decided to simply nod as she was then taken to the dance floor. She felt nervous, even as Kai patiently lead her the whole time. Unnoticed at first was Haji. He had blended into the crowd perfectly like he did normally and it was only now that he revealed his presence. It was strange seeing him here, but perhaps he to needed some form of interaction every once in a while. His skilled and graceful hands smoothly went along his cello as he played a soft melody. It was a different one he didn’t play often, but it seemed to fit the general atmosphere of the event. The musician’s from before simply he let him play at Joel’s request. A true master was at work, and they had no right to interfere.
“Relax. Don’t worry to much about not being perfect, its your first time.” Kai’s words seem to do the trick.
Irene accidentally stepped on his toes once, or twice. “Sorry.”
He only smiled lightly.“Hey, you’re doing great. Don’t be so tense.” Once she took his advice, Irene began to perform better in her dance. Everything faded away into the background except the dance, she found herself enjoying it more. After that, things passed by in a blur. The wedding went with out any other problems(except for later a drunk person singing off key at a karooke, but no one wanted to remember that) and the ceremony had been a beautiful one. Kai and his group didn’t know much of anything about who was getting married, but that didn’t change how the service went.
Everyone continued to enjoy themselves, and even Karman had decided to finally come out and do something; mainly interested about Moses’ whole strange affair. Haji had vanished after he was done playing, Kai only saw him one more time before he left. This continued until the evening when everyone was starting to head on home, but Lulu had insisted they’d take a picture together and luckily Okamura had brought his family camera with him.
“Ok, stand still.” Lulu, after a bit of persuading was allowed to take the picture after brief instructions of how to use it. “All right smile everyone!” For a moment, she forgot the short time-limit before the camera would flash so she quickly appeared in the group picture, just as the light from the camera flashed.
* *
“Find anything?”
“Working on it.”
For the past few hours, Okamura and Kai had been going over the little bit of information they had gotten from the piece of paper from Karman. They had camped in the library; Okamura on the public computer searching the net for anything useful, while Kai continued to look through book after book. It wasn’t going to well, and Kai despite telling himself mentally it would take time found himself impatient.(hence the constant bugging of the older man)
The paper had a little bit more information about Section X, actually an old newspaper article from a few months back. It was surprising it was still around. Most of their search had been fruitless, only learning more useless information about Section X they didn’t need. Most of the good information was unaccessible to civilians, frustrating both of them. They would need a hacker for the good stuff, but neither of them had that talent.
One decent piece of information they found about Section X was that it had apparently started out as a little-known medical company. Later, the company had been going out of business and was on its last legs. That was when fourteen years-ago, a war veteran named Jason Hunter bought the company, paying off many of the debts the company had owned. He wasn’t sure how long it had been, but later Section X became a small sub-branch of the military. The information had been selective, only giving vague ideas about what made them so different from other branches. It mentioned something about harmless genetics.
Harmless my ass. Okamura mentally snorted, browsing down the web page further. It took forever to load, but that was library computers for you. Ah. Now were getting somewhere.
The slow loading speed of the computer didn’t bother him once he found some interesting results after the page finally came up. It showed a picture of that nut job from earlier, Dr. Thomas. Useless. Ok, somewhat useful. He quickly scanned the paragraphs, skimming over pointless information or things he already learned. Okamura highlighted most of the relevant text, copy and pasting it a simple note pad.
“Hey Kai, you got a nickle?”
Without even turning from his book, Kai tossed him a dime. “Did you find something finally?”
“Yeah. I think we finally know a bit more about our mysterious caller.” Okamura printed the paper and waited for it to come out, which took to long for his taste. “Our special friend is a class A nut job, but he’s an smart one. Most of the information I read just called him ‘different’ but you get the general gist of what he’s about.”
The paper that had been printed was stuck, so Okamura had to carefully take the stubborn paper from the jam. He stapled it together neatly. “We’ll talk about everything when we get home.”
“All right.” Kai wanted to know now, but he wasn’t as foolish as to talk out in the open, considering they had no clue when they were being watched.
An scream of an woman interrupted their meeting, Kai ran towards it and Okamura cursed.
“Kid, wait up!” His call went unanswered, as the reporter went after him, having a bad feeling.
Torn apart like it was made of cheap tissue paper laid the door, busted open with a terrified woman cowering from a monster. Green skin that was similar to armor covered its body, it had a lizard-like tail lined with spikes on its body, talons on its toes. Its teeth were razor sharp and visible with a long head connected to a beak. The most distinguishing were the nasty scythe-like it had instead of the usual hands.
It swung down for the kill at the helpless woman. She screamed, Kai fired.
Jolting back from the blow, the strange creature took its attention away from the closes prey who quickly crawled away. A high-pitched and bird-like shriek before focusing its wrath on the young man who disturbed its hunt.
Firing a few more times, Kai and Okamura booked it towards the other exit with a pissed off monster close behind. They went through the exit, the monster made its own by simply moving through the wall with out the slightest hint of slow down. Its red eyes were full of hate and violence to insane to be human or animal.
Kai thought quickly as it neared closer and closer to them. If he didn’t come up with something they were both going to die, it was a lot faster then normal Chiropteran’s, if even was one. Seeing an abandoned car, he came up with an idea. Better then nothing, besides, it always works in the movies. He loaded the handgun with a red-tipped bullet, then taking aim, he shot a few well-placed shots in vital parts of the car when the monster came towards them. Not seeing the danger, it still blindly charged them, finding out its error to late as the car exploded in flames.
Both men stopped, just long enough to see if it was still alive and to catch their breath. Kai wasn’t as good of shape as he used to be after not fighting for a year. The monster was indeed still alive, but badly damaged; its right side had been blown off completely but was regenerating already. Instead of charging again, it put its head back and gave out another eerie screech once more. At first nothing happened, then it as answered by another cry, then another, and another.
More of the same type of monsters began appearing, landing in front of them and slowly began to close in for the kill. Kai and Okamura found themselves being backed up little by little with no room to run anymore, they were blocking all the possible escapes.
“This is bad.” Kai knew he was low on ammo to, he kept his weapon trained on the ones in front.
“No shit?” Okamura didn’t mean to curse but since he was about to die he felt he had a few liberties.
A spear suddenly pierced through the skull one of the creatures, its body shuddered a bit before going limp. It was dead before it hit the ground. Another suffered a similar quick end, a blue flash was seen, and then its body slid sideways, cut in half. Two familiar figures appeared in front of them in dark cloaks.
“Starting without us Kai? I’m disappointed .” Karman’s voice was light. “What are these things?”
Moses watched the creatures carefully as they screeched in rage. “No time.” And true to those words, there was none. Driven by instinct or rage, they moved in to attack the Sif. They however were a bit to slow to hit either Moses or Karman, and they both danced around each and every strike. For their credit, the monsters did seem smarter then the average chiropteran and used some basic tactics to go with their numbers. This still wasn’t enough.
Scythe in hand, Moses side stepped the beast, bringing the weapon in arc to immobilize it by detaching its legs. However, he had miscalculated just where his other opponents would be and was almost sliced in two from behind. An gunshot sounded, and Moses turned briefly to see Kai had shot the one in back of him. He dispatched his stunned enemy, looking at Kai for a moment with grateful eyes, and the fight continued.
Kai was to vulnerable to directly confront the monsters, so instead he helped Karman and Moses by providing cover support. Each time any of the Sif were going to be overwhelmed by superior numbers and caught blind-sided, Kai would distract them long enough for them to be nullified by either Karman or Moses. Okamura just concentrated on staying alive, and more importantly at the moment, staying away from the fighting as best as possible.
Swift and brutal was the fight. Bodies dropped to the floor, but more took their place as the ground soaked with the life blood of their enemies. Karman thrust his weapon forward, its place finding home through the neck of one unlucky foe. Moses ended its misery by beheading it with a skilled stroke from above with his scythe, looking like the Grim Reaper with his tainted and bloodied scythe.
They worked together, cold, efficient and merciless. Their foes would spare them no mercy, it was beyond them, and so the three would give them none.
Something odd happened as the battle progressed. Blue streaks came from nowhere, but it was not the Sif. Dressed in similar uniforms with a masked face, using the same weapons only meant another foe they thought was gone. The three felt different emotions but all knew and thought the same thing.
Corpse Corps.
However, if things weren’t already confusing and bad enough yet another unusual thing occurred. Blades striking against blade echoed throughout the streets of New York, and it quickly became apparent the Corpse Corps weren’t here randomly. They were fighting someone, or rather something. Hard to see at first, what they were fighting came to light. The foes were humanoid, all wearing trench-coats with large melee weapons of all kinds. What really gave them away was their face, or rather the fact they had no face what so ever. The non-sentient Sif were being pushed back, their ranks being cut down without as much effort.
Even the monsters paused, as if evaluating what the biggest threats were and how to deal with them.
And then chaos erupted as all hell broke loose.
One of Corpse Corps smashed painfully head-first into another car breaking the glass, permanently embedding itself in it. The monsters numbers were now divided, having to fight Kai and his friends, as well the other two vicious enemies but they were mostly ignored in favor of the more deadly threats. The most difficult enemies were the ones with out a face, but due to being so many opponents, it was impossible for anyone to focus on any one group.
Moses parried a sword strike from a Corps, somewhat amazed how big of a gap was between their strength now. That was one of the differences between them, this creature had no soul, no heart. It was single-minded and simple, and would never have to drive to push itself(unless it was programmed) to become stronger to protect those close to them. He almost felt sorry for the creatures, but it was a chilling reminder he could have ended up as soulless as those things. Being a ‘defective product’ turned out be more of a blessing then a curse.
Another swing and he easily blocked and countered it, his scythe claiming his first kill. You are my path not taken, brother. He thought briefly, watching as the life faded from his enemy, only to evade a mace that cracked the earth under him from above. Since he was slightly caught off guard, he wasn’t prepared for the faceless foe. Instead, he was pushed back from the force of the blow after blocking with his Scythe, he lost his footing for a moment and his enemy pressed the attack. Individually, Moses had a harder time fighting those creatures as they were a much greater challenge then the Chiropteran’s(the monsters) or the Corpse Corps.
He looked for any sign of help but found none, Karman and Kai were to busy trying to stay alive during the onslaught to offer assistance and Okamura was of no help. Moses dueled alone with his opponent, neither losing or really gaining any ground. He felt a sharp pain in his side and realized he had forgotten his left flank during the chaotic battle.
An sword had pierced through his stomach from the same type of enemy; they’re were two of them fighting him now. Moses felt his self-healing powers already kick in but knew it had its limits, if he was damaged to badly he could die unlike a ‘full’ Chevalier. The two were just as aggressive together as they were alone and Moses was having an increasingly hard time warding off their attacks.
I need an opening. Moses kept his cool during the whole time, even as the situation seemed bleak and his arms felt slightly numb from blocking blows from a physically superior foe. His prayers were answered, an sword appeared through its gut, and soon an axe cleaved into its head. No blood came from it, instead the head turned to dust as did the rest of the body when it perished.
Moses saw his saviors, surprised to see Lulu and Irene in their cloaks. It was brief surprise however and he pushed it away quickly, focusing on the task at hand. Now outnumbered, Moses enemy divided its attention between Moses and the other Sif, which proved to be its downfall.
Summoning all his strength, Moses pushed his enemy back with great force, scythe and sword locked in a struggle to over power one another. He would not be able to keep up this sort of power for his attacks for long.“Now!”
Wasting no time, Irene and Lulu moved together. Blade met flesh as cold steel pushed through its stomach, keeping it still long enough for Lulu appeared above in a blue blur and bringing her axe down for another kill. Like before, it crumbled to dust.
It seems their whole bodies get destroyed if their head is damaged enough. Moses made a quick mental note of this, any thing at this point would be useful. The four-way battle was hard to keep track of, but judging from the bodies the chiropteran-like monsters hadn’t fared well. Most of their numbers had been cut down, lying dead and beaten. Only a dozen or so remained, considerably less then before. This really just left the Corpse Corps and the nameless enemies, but luckily their numbers weren’t as great.
The main problem with this battle was keeping together; their enemies did a good job at keeping them separate from one another to cut down their efficiency. In theory it worked, but there always at least two of rag-tag warriors together and it was proven they can be just as deadly in low numbers because of far superior team-work.
Moses had Irene and Lulu to worry about now, they hadn’t fought in some time and while they had defeated some enemies, it had been by surprise and luck. He knew they weren’t up at his or Karman’s level, and he was sure they would have their hands full with the Corpse Corps-let alone the other one.
However, this was cutting down on his overall combat prowess as Moses couldn’t fight at one-hundred percent. Seeing Lulu about to be hit with a mace of a faceless(Moses just decided to call them that for now), Moses pushed his body quickly to take the blow for the small girl, grunting as he flew backwards. He flew into a street light with enough force to dent the metal and sagged lightly in a boneless heap.
“Moses!” Both Irene and Lulu shouted at the same time. Lulu shot forward first to protect Moses, Irene was unable to follow before she was blocked off by some Corps. They were using the situation to their advantage, cutting them off and trying to get rid of the weaker members.
“Lulu, stay back.” Moses winced as he tried to force himself up, his body ached all over at the moment and he knew he had broken at least a few bones.
“No, I won’t leave you.” Lulu was stubborn when she wanted to be as she tried to help the fallen Sif. Moses was about to argue with her when two blue steaks charged towards her from opposite sides and he could only give a shout of warning a second to late.
Still the blades never made contact.
Standing there was Solomon, holding both swords in his hands calmly. His black suit made him harder to see. “Are you all right?” Only receiving a nod, the Chevalier then casually pushed the Corpse Corps away; one slamming into another car while another hit another street lamp.
Solomon looked at Moses, then offered his hand. At first, it looked like he would refuse before he slowly took it and eased himself back up, still slightly winded. “I thank you.”
“I had a feeling there was trouble, I’m glad I made it in time.” Solomon turned towards the strange creatures. The Corpse Corps weren’t new, but the others were a bit new to him.
Getting a firm grip on his scythe again, Moses felt at lost his bones completely mend even if they were still tender. He didn’t trust Solomon, not completely even after that. He still needed his help however.“Attacking randomly isn’t getting us anywhere, and it looks like we won’t be able to retreat without someone getting picked off.”
“What do you suggest then?” Solomon carried the conversation calmly, absent-mindedly side stepping a tossed enemy.
“We won’t get anywhere divided up like this, we need to regroup. First we assist Irene and Karman, then we try to stay together.” It was an simple plan really, very simple and basic but it would serve its purpose.
The two once enemies looked at one another, mutual understanding was shared between them and a common goal. Moses, Solomon, and Lulu made their way towards Irene and Karman who were trying to defend an weakened and exhausted Kai. He didn’t have the raw stamina his friends had and the pro-longed fight left him drained.
As if seeing the battle wasn’t going their way finally, the Corpse Corps actually seem to finally be retreating from the battlefield. Leaving only the faceless enemies; the Chiropterans had long since been cut down. Strangely, they ceased their attack even as Moses and the others joined back up with the rest of the group.
“That’s enough, come to me.”
Obeying as if they were dogs, the faceless flocked to the owner of the voice. Walking calmly into view was a man in his twenties wearing shades and a long coat. His posture and stance was lazy, having both hands in his pockets. “This is the part where I’m suppose to say I’m impressed and reveal my evil plans, but that would be kind of cliche wouldn’t you say? Ugly things these Nertu are huh?”
Moses and everyone else was on edge. They didn’t make the first move though, not wanting to take chances. Even Karman had learned that lesson the hard way.
Kai forced himself up with Irene’s support. “Are you the one that stole my kids?”
The stranger waved it off. “Naw. We’ll, technically yes; Amaury is the one that took them. Kind of need them for our races future and all that. The only thing I can tell is that the Queens are safe human.” He reached into his pocket, flipping a quarter and then taking a look at it. “Damn. Heads. I guess I don’t have to fight you guys then for now. Later.”
If you blinked you would have missed it, but both the stranger and the “Nertu” were gone.