InuYasha Fan Fiction / Gundam SEED Fan Fiction / S-CRY-ed Fan Fiction ❯ The Enigma Called Love ❯ Traps ( Chapter 10 )

The Enigma Called Love

Part 10 - Traps

 

By Robster80

 

 

“Okay,” TK said aloud, “why am I back here this time?” He was back at the cliff from his previous dreams, where he had obtained his alter sword. “I got the damn sword, so let me go back to having normal dreams!”

 

“Trust me, laddie, normal's a bit o'errated.”

 

Expecting to see another strange person, TK never expected to be addressed by a talking black cat. Said cat was sitting on a large rock next to him, smoking a cigar. “…I'm not eating Kazuma's cooking before bed anymore.”

 

Taking offense to this remark, the cat jumped up onto its feet and shook the cigar at TK. “Oi laddie, I ain't no figiment o' yar hotbloody friend's cookin'!” The cat then looked at the cigar and tossed it away. “Bah, dunno why I e'en bother smokin' when I just bein' a robotic shell! Oh, by the by, ya can call me Cait Sith.”

 

“This is really fucked up.”

 

Cait Sith sat back down on the rock he stood on. “Aye, life can be tha' quite often, lad. Howe'er, ya gots the power ta do somethin' `bout it.”

 

“That sword? But I can't even summon it, and I don't know how I did it last time.”

 

“Tha' bein' twas Ol' Spikey, as Barret used ta call `im, tha' called the sword. All ya did was unlock the door fer `im. As fer why ya canna now, well, you an' he both got mind baggage tha's distractin' ya. Plus ya' clam up e'erytime the sweet lass speaks ta ya.”

 

Now TK was getting annoyed by the cat, especially with his speech. “What do you mean, furball?”

 

“I be ignorin' tha'. Basically, ya got more than one mind an' soul in-.”

 

“I know that! I was referring to that last part about the lass you mentioned! Do you mean Cherise?”

 

“No, laddie; the lass is she's the girl ya keep seeing, the one in the pink dress. But, now that' ya mentioned the blue-haired lassie, how `bout I be telling ya yer fortune ta see if ya an' her are meant ta be?”

 

“Don't you get in on it, too! We just convinced the others-!”

 

But Cait Sith wasn't listening; he took out four six-sided dice, shook them in both hands, and rolled them down the rock. Two die came up fives and the other two as twos. “Whaddaya know? A pair o' lucky sevens! Congratulations, laddie; it's in the bag fo' ya both-.”

 

“CHERISE AND I ARE JUST FRIENDS, YOU STUPID FELINE!!! I'M NEVER FALLING IN LOVE AGAIN!!”

 

“TK?!”

 

Both TK and Cait Sith turned to see, of all people, Cherise running over to them. Before TK could ask if she was real or just part of the dream, she hugged him tightly.

 

“I told ya,” Cait Sith said calmly, crossing his arms. “Fate favors ya both. `Course, I said the same for-.”

 

“Cherise, is this for real? I mean, you're really here, or-?”

 

“Of course she is, TK. I brought her here.”

 

“Lass,” Cait Sith said weakly, tearing up as he and TK looked to see the girl in the pink dress approaching them. She smiled at Cait Sith. “Aye, ya be a sight fo' these sore eyes.”

 

Cherise suddenly pushed herself away from TK, but her hands took him by the arms. “TK,” she said, “you have to listen to me! Ryuhou know about the trap Kazuma's set for him; he'll have them attack a decoy full of people from the medical camp, including Kanami and Miriallia!”

 

“Whoa, whoa! Time out here! Look, I do appreciate this, but how do I know this isn't just hearsay as part of the dream?”

 

“Aerith, tell him it's not hearsay-!”

 

Aerith giggled, stunning Cherise. “I have a better idea as to how he'll believe you, Cherise. Cait Sith, you're on.”

 

Shaking away his tears, Cait Sith stood to attention, and then suddenly began doing a very strange dance, to which Aerith clapped in tune. TK and Cherise watched in puzzlement as the dance came to an end and out of Cait Sith's mouth came a ticket. He took it and read it carefully. “It says `Ne'er forget ta look befor' ya leap.' She be right, laddie; I smell a double-cross.”

 

“O-kay. And how do I get the others to believe this?”

 

Aerith smiled warmly. “Don't worry. They're your friends; they'll believe you. And Cloud? Please snap out of it.”

 

“Cloud?” TK repeated as he woke up suddenly. Dawn was breaking, and he was inside the ruins of a subway car along with several other alter-users. He noticed Kazuma was sitting at the one door, wide awake, and full of determination. One look was all TK needed to know Kazuma wanted to settle the score with Ryuhou once and for all.

 

Kazuma looked to see TK staring at him. “Up already, TK? We got a few more hours; go back to sleep.”

 

Cherise's warning still fresh in his mind, TK quietly made his way to his friend. “Wait, Kazuma. I had a premonition in my dreams; HOLY might be setting a trap for us.”

 

Kazuam just raised an eyebrow. “You think so, huh? How do you know it wasn't just a nightmare?”

 

“Kazuma, have I ever lied to you about something this important?”

 

“He's got you there, Kazuma,” Koga said, appeared over the two outside the train. “I've always believed dreams to be windows into the future as well as into one's desires. Kid, why don't you tell us about this dream of yours?”

 

 

**************

 

 

Asuka Tachibana sat in the jeep he had “borrowed” from HOLY base, listening intently to the radio communications between Kari and Urizane. Two days ago, he had been once more discharged from HOLY; this time because of the one with the blonde hair and big sword.

 

The flame of vengeance burned hotly inside the former HOLY officer. What was he supposed to do now that he had been thrown out? He was a Native Alter who went over to HOLY; he had no high school education to help him acquire a new job. Also, how would he face his love Cammy now that he was a good-for-nothing bum?

 

There's only one way to redeem myself: I'll capture that blonde alter myself! He'll appear at the trap Ryuhou's team is setting for them. All I have to do is wait for the proper coordinates and I'll have him! Just you wait, Takeru Takaishi! This time, I'll break that sword of yours, and your body as well.

 

 

**************

 

 

Ryuhou stood atop his transport, waiting for the moment to spring his trap. His transport was on the cliffs overlooking a narrow beach that another transport, the one carrying Kanami, Miriallia and the rest of Mimori's medical team. Standing beside him, in handcuffs, was Mimori. Davis, Kari and Cherise were also with him.

 

Cherise watched the decoy drive slowly by. She recalled the dream; at least she thought it was a dream, where Aerith had taken her to another cliff that overlooked a city's ruins. Also on that cliff were TK and a strange little cat. Cherise wondered if she actually had given TK some sort of warning about Ryuhou's trap.

 

Mimori also watched the transport, but her feelings were torn. She was worried about everyone inside the vehicle, and yet also filled with hatred toward Ryuhou. He had changed from the boy she met so long ago. “Your mother would be so proud of you, Ryuhou.”

 

Ryuhou's one eye twitched. “So, you found out?”

 

“What about his mother?” Cherise asked. This was something she hadn't heard of. Ryuhou hardly mentioned his parents at all, even to her.

 

“His mother was killed years ago by-.” Mimori was cut off as Ryuhou had slapped her hard. She fell to her knees, blood trickling from her mouth from the hit.

 

“Don't ever, EVER mention her again,” Ryuhou spat.

 

Maybe it was because he had struck her. Maybe it was because he had stooped so low as to use innocent people for his own ends. Whatever the reason, Mimori allowed her temper to get the better of her. “If Kazuma had seen you do that, he'd really kick your ass!”

 

Cherise mentally shook her head. No, no, no, no, no! Don't tell him-!

 

“Why would he care whether or not-?” The words died in Ryuhou's mouth. It struck him hard as Mimori stood up on her own, looking right at him. “…No. Kazuma… Kazuma can't be-!”

 

“Yes, Ryuhou: I'm in love with Kazuma the Treasoner. And he's more a man than you will ever be.”

 

Ryuhou grabbed Mimori by the arms roughly. “You're lying! Tell me you're lying!”

 

“Let me go, you're hurting-!”

 

But Ryuhou's grip grew tighter. “It can't be true, Mimori! I won't believe it-!”

 

“LET HER GO!!!”

 

Ryuhou turned only to see Kazuma's Shell Bullet fist right before it collided with him, hard. He flew right into Davis and they both tumbled down the length of the roof and fell off the transport.

 

Holy shit, they got my message, Cherise thought happily as Kazuma quickly grabbed Mimori and leapt backwards off the transport before Kari could summon her Divine Wrath. Looking back at the decoy, she saw it had been stopped safely and several Native Alters, led by Kimishima and TK, were rescuing the captives. YES!

 

“Mimori,” Kazuma said after putting her down and safely taking off her handcuffs, “get down to the beach and stick with Kimishima and the others! You'll be safe with the-.” He was suddenly cut off as Mimori kissed him on the lips.

 

“Nail that bastard,” she told him before she ran off and Dearka joined Kazuma, gunblades in both hands. Looking back she saw Divine Wrath being joined by Victory Dragon and Zetsuei. Please come back to me safely, Kazuma!

 

“Spring the trap,” Ryuhou shouted, “NOW!”

 

Down at the beach, a jeep being driven by Cougar charged forward at the Alters who had just finished rescuing the hostages. With him were Urizane and Elian, both looking forward to showing the Natives who was boss. “Funny,” Cougar said, more to himself than aloud. “I thought there'd be more than this-. WHOA!”

 

The jeep suddenly started to skid to a halt, spinning out of control and throwing Urizane and Elian out of their seats. Once he came to a stop, Cougar looked down and saw the jeep's wheels and most of the underside were now water being sucked up by the beach. “Well, that's an interesting trick.”

 

Up ahead, another vehicle carrying more HOLY soldiers was overturned by a hulking alter with a huge piston hammer for a right arm. In the ocean, several boats rushing towards the beach became caught in whirlpools created by undersea alters.

 

“What the fuck happened,” Ryuhou exclaimed in utter horror. “We knew you were coming!”

 

“We WANTED you to know,” Dearka sneered back. “See, two can play the same game, if you get what I mean. You try to divide and conquer, we do the same.”

 

Davis pointed at Dearka and Kazuma, his Victory Dragon behind him and barring its teeth. “We're getting sick and tired of you punks making us look like fools! I'm only sorry TK isn't here so we can finish him off for good, too.”

 

“Well, here I am then!”

 

Everyone looked to see TK standing off between the two groups. Cherise, who now stood by her teammates, felt her heart skip a beat at the sight of him on his feet. I'm so glad you're okay, TK! Though I wish we didn't have to meet again like this.

 

Dearka was furious. “TK, you idiot, we told you to stay with Kimishima! Get out of here, now!”

 

“Yeah,” Kari jeered, moving to stand close to Davis. “Go run away, like you did before, you big-!”

 

“Fuck you, Kari! No, I take it back; who other than Davis would want to fuck a bitch like you?”

 

“TK, just run-!”

 

But TK shot his right arm out. “No, Dearka! I'm through running away!” As he had two days ago, he began to glow as his right sleeve evaporated. This time, I'M in the driver's seat. “If I'm going to run…” His hair went wild as the black glove and the huge sword appeared in his fist. Once this was done, he gripped the sword handle in both hand and held it up and started running towards Ryuhou and his team. “I'm running forward to meet the challenge head on!”

 

“That's my pal,” Kazuma cheered, following TK's lead and rushing forward to attack. “SHOCKING FIRST BULLET!!!”

 

“Damn it, Kazuma, you're a bad influence on that kid!” Deciding not to be left behind, Dearka chased after Kazuma, his gunblades poised for battle.

 

Davis and Kari were about to order their alters to attack, but Ryuhou spread his arms out, stopping them. “I've had enough of this bullshit,” he said, “It's time to stop holding back!”

 

The three friends looked on in shock as Zetsuei began to glow as it opened the other half of its faceplate. They then heard Cherise scream out, “He's unleashing Zetsuei's true form!” Before they knew it, the humanoid alter vanished instantly. Suddenly, Dearka and Kazuma were struck hard and flung backwards, their attacks deflected instantly. A split-second before he knew it, TK moved his sword to block a similar blow. However, this also forced him back a few feet.

 

Everyone looked to see a larger alter shaped almost like a serpent with arms and extra tails from its back standing before Ryuhou. It had Zetsuei's primary colors of white and purple, as well as its trademark red eyes.

 

Dearka looked at it, exasperated. “That fucker… he was holding back all the time until now!”

 

Kazuma nodded, acknowledging Dearka's observation. A part of him was now excited; his opponent was now more of a challenge as he no longer held back his true strength. However, another part of him told him what he knew was the truth: he and his friends were in deep shit now.

 

“There was a good reason for that,” Cherise commented to Dearka, trying to sound like she was gloating. “Zetsuei is able to think independently. In this form, its unrestrained form, its power could destroy a small town, or even the city itself.” It's unbeatable, HINT, HINT! Run away now!

 

Suddenly, Divine Wrath and Victory Dragon faded away. Before anyone could comment on this, Ryuhou stated, “My team knows their alters won't be needed for the remainder of this battle. Zetsuei's true form is enough to defeat the likes of you three.”

 

TK held his sword firmly towards Ryuhou. “A good friend of mine once told me something when I used to get picked on a lot as a kid. He said that `it isn't the size of the dog in a fight, but the size of the fight in the dog.' Your dog may be bigger, Ryuhou, but this dog's got a big fang to back him up.”

 

Kazuma chuckled lightly. “Nice one, kid. Now you're comparing us to dogs. Bet Koga would like that one.”

 

Getting back on his feet, Dearka once more held his gunblades in battle formation. “And that's nothing: this dog's got two fangs for double the fight.”

 

Ryuhou snorted at these comments. “Then I guess I'll have to put you dogs down for good.” He then looked right at TK. “And I'll start with the loudest one!”

 

One of Zetsuei's tendrils shot at TK, who barely blocked in time. The blow sent him backwards into the air a foot or two before he came down hard on his back. His sword slipped form his fingers upon landing and clanked away form him a few feet.

 

“ANNIHILATING-!!”

 

“GUNBLADE-!”

 

Before either of them could finish their attacks, Dearka and Kazuma were struck by Zetsuei's other tendrils, sending them hurtling backwards as well. The blows had struck them hard, as the found themselves hardly able to get on their feet again. TK also had a similar problem.

 

“H-hey guys? Don't let this worry you, but… I think we're royally boned.”

 

Kazuma barely pushed his upper body off the ground with his arms. “You sure… picked one rotten time to be right, TK.”

 

Ryuhou raised his right arm, preparing to have Zetsuei deliver the final blows. “At long last, the great Treasoner is brought to justice.”

 

Kazuma looked right at Ryuhou, and used his altered arm to flip the bird. “This is what I think of your justice, dickhead.”

 

As time seemed to slow down to a crawl for her, Cherise felt she was being torn apart from within. TK… her friends were about to be beaten, maybe even killed, by Ryuhou. She had to stop him. However, she suddenly recalled the day Ryuhou rescued her. She owed him her life. If she stopped him now, she would be betraying the debt she owed him. But, if she didn't; do something, he would kill them.

 

You we can forgive.

 

You're free now.

 

And we do.

 

As she saw Ryuhou';s arm begin to lower, Cherise made her decision. I won't let him do this!

 

“NOT SO FAST!”

 

Zetsuei was struck from the front, sending it crashing into Ryuhou hard. Everyone looked unbelieving as Koga now stood where Zetsuei had just been. He had used his alter to turn his speed into a powerful force to knock Ryuhou's alter back at him. This had prevented Cherise from using her alter to stop Ryuhou from attacking.

 

TK slowly got back on his feet, his sword back in his hands and now being used to lean on. “What kept you, Koga?”

 

Koga never took his eyes off the four HOLY officers. “You three better scram,” he said over his shoulder. “I'll buy you some time.”

 

Ryuhou looked at Koga, stunned a little. “Wh… why did you stop me?”

 

By now, Dearka and Kazuma were on their feet again as well. “Isn't it obvious,” Kazuma said to Ryuhou, “he's with us-.”

 

What Ryuhou said next shocked everyone present, save for Koga. “Answer me, S-Class HOLY member Koga! Why did you interfere with my capture of these fugitives?”

 

“SAY WHAT?!” Kari and Davis shouted in unison.

 

Koga's with HOLY?! Cherise thought, just as shocked as her two teammates.

 

Dearka and TK stood frozen; their eyes wide open at this revelation. Their friend was with HOLY all along? Was this why he never joined in on the fights?

 

Kazuma let out a hollow laugh. “Nice one, Ryu-low! Koga, tell him he's delirious. You're not with HOLY, you're one of us.” An awkward silence followed as Koga stood right where he was. He didn't look at Kazuma, whose smile slowly faded. “Koga, it's not true… right?”

 

“I'm sorry, Kazuma.”

 

Kazuma saw that Koga didn't turn his was when speaking those words. As the grim truth took hold of him, a single tear worked its way down his face. “…Traitor…”

 

“I told you three to get out of here, now!”

 

“YOU TRAITOR!”

 

“There you are!”

 

All eyes looked to see Tachibana zoom in, riding on a disc of energy created by several of his Eternity Eight crystals. Upon touching the ground, the disc disbanded and the crystals used to make it joined with the rest to form a sword, which Tachibana pointed at TK.

 

“You,” he snarled, “because of you I was thrown out of HOLY again! But once I defeat you and take you in, I'll be reinstated once more!” He then rushed at TK, roaring like an animal gone mad.

 

“Tachibana, stop!” Cherise rushed after him, ready to use her alter to stop him. However, she saw TK take up his sword and swing it just as Tachibana did the same with his. The blades clashed, causing an almost blinding light. The force of the energies put into both blades caused a great tremor; huge chunks of rock and earth shooting up all about and fissures suddenly forming only to be covered over once more by the sprouting chunks.

 

Re-summoned quickly, Victory Dragon grabbed Davis, Ryuhou and Kari and lifted them into the sky with it. Koga, Kazuma, Dearka, and Tachibana were swallowed up by the resulting fissures before any of them could react. Ryuhou watched in horror as Cherise also fell into an opening; with TK following her close behind.

 

“CHERIIIIISE!!!”

 

 

 

To be continued…