Witch Hunter Robin Fan Fiction ❯ False Echoes ❯ Michael's Craft ( Chapter 16 )

Witch Hunter Robin
False Echoes

Chapter XVI - Michael's Craft

Disclaimer: Seriously. I don't own it.

Nor do I own the song False Echoes; that belongs to Jimmy Buffett and James Taylor. Ya dig?

Storyline, Plot, Kenny Avery©, Roger Williams©, Kichiro Wantanabee©, Rick Richards©, Michael Campbell©, Rosalind Nichols©, Jackie Flemming and Mr. Jackson David Rica© are all mine.

Author Notes:

I know. It's been over a month. I bet you all though I was never gonna finish this, eh? Bet you thought you'd seen the last of arrogant, musical, WHR lovin' Golden-sama, eh?

WRONG!

I've just written and re-written this chapter so many times it's taken this long. But honestly, I'm still here.

You may want to re-read Michael's dreams on Chapter 2 and 14 RIGHT NOW if you don't recall them. You may also want to re-read Chapter 1, and Nagira's phone call with a American man. All of these things are IMPORTANT, and since it's been ages since I posted those chapters, you probably don't remember well. Hell, I don't remember them well and I wrote them.

Kanno, Sano, this one is for the two of you. Even though we haven't talked in a while I still consider you both friends. ^^

And now, without further delay. . . .

-------------------

There was a soft knock at the door, but neither Robin nor Michael made any move to answer it. Instead they both sat in silence, hands still clasped firmly together in a show of support and strength, their minds filled with what Amy's letter had shown them. Toudou's research. Was it true? Could it be true? Could these words that had been shown to them be the truth? They did not know. Robin was sitting in silence, her vivid green eyes staring intently at her lap where one of he petite hands was being clasped by one of Michael's bigger ones. Robin had always liked Michael's hands. They weren't rough and scarred like the hands of most of the men in her life. Father Juliano, Amon, everyone she met had hands that were stained with blood and rough with old scars that would never go away. Michael was different. He had killed before, yes; but his hands weren't stained with innocent blood. Robin admired that.

"Michael?" Doujima's voice lifted through the wooden door. "Robin?"

The hacker did not speak. His sky blue eyes were fixed on Robin from behind the orange sunglasses and he gave her hand a squeeze. His lips parted slightly and the faintest sound came from out of them. It was speech, but it was so soft that Robin had to strain to hear what it said to her. "Are you okay?"

Robin shook her head. She was not okay. Not right now. Everything that had been kept from her for nearly sixteen years was now coming crashing down on her. Toudou, Maria, Project Robin, Father Juliano, all of it came plummeting to the pit of her stomach where it swirled into one large cabaret of pain and lies. She felt the knot in her stomach tighten and she moaned a bit, dropping her head. Michael's hands were on her shoulders now, hugging her supportively. But right now not even Michael Lee's love could keep Robin from falling into the blackness that was called despair.

The sounds of a gun cocking outside the door could be heard and Michael decided it was time to inform Doujima that everything was fine before she came breaking down the door with her gun blazing. Of course not everything was fine; it wouldn't be for a long time. Zaizen was plotting to destroy every witch in the city at midnight and Robin had just learned the disturbing truth about her life. How could that ever become fine? It wasn't just a problem that would go away by tomorrow. It wasn't a problem that could be solved with any answer Michael could find in his mind. He didn't know how to help her.

"We're fine, Doujima-san." Michael called to the door. A moment of silence passed by unchallenged and then the door opened. Doujima stepped inside, brushing a strand of her long blonde hair away from those deep cerulean eyes. She had a look in those eyes that Michael caught right away and he knew something terrible was going to happen soon. Somehow he knew that all of this was going to come to an end soon and he knew that when it did; not all of them would be alive. It hit him at that moment that this may be the last time the four of them were together safely.

"I've got news." Doujima said, her eyes scanning them over for a second and pausing on Robin as she clearly noticed the depth of sadness in the younger woman but had no choice but to ignore it. "Zaizen's attack, it isn't scheduled for tomorrow at Midnight. It's set for tonight."

Michael cursed and pounded his fist into the desk. Running a hand through his orange hair he looked up at the blonde. "How do you know?"

Doujima shifted her weight between her legs and began to chew on a strand of hair as well as her bottom lip. She looked as if whatever she had to say was very painful for her to speak and Michael began to wonder what this obvious secret could possibly be. His eyes scanned the woman he had known for years for a moment before she sighed and crossed her arms.

"I work for SOLOMON." She whispered.

"We all do." Michael blinked, not understanding her confession.

"No." Doujima breathed. "I mean I'm a spy. I was sent here two and a half years ago to keep an eye on Zaizen. That's why I never get in trouble. Kosaka knows. Anyway, I just got word from my boss that Zaizen lied in the broadcast. The bombs going off tonight, not tomorrow."

Michael cursed once again and once again his fist pounded the table. If his "Operation Seven Trumpets" could truly do as it seemed it could; every witch in Tokyo would be dead. Men, women, children; all dead. Mothers and fathers, daughters and sons, sisters and brothers all dead. It was an abomination to even fathom such horrors and now Zaizen wanted it to become a reality. A war would be the only answer. SOLOMON would destroy Zaizen, even if it meant bombing the entire countryside. Between Zaizen's project and the wrath of SOLOMON, millions would perish.

"How do we stop it?" Robin asked, breaking the silence and turning her head around. Robin's azure gaze met her own and he admired her at that moment. He had seen Robin Sena at her best and her worst. He saw her lying in a hospital bed more times than he could possibly count, and he had seen her cry on several occasions. He had seen her kill and he had seen her battle horrors that most girls her age would scream and run from. Yet this was the first time Michael ever truly saw her look so determined. It was as if the knowledge they had received from Toudou's research had caused a fire to be lit in her soul.

"The bombs at the Sakatoki Towers. It will detonate on the roof and spread the gas through the city by morning." Doujima explained gravely. "And Zaizen has almost all of the factory's guards out there."

"And Rica and my dad are still after us."

Eyes turned to see Sakaki appear in the doorway. He had donned a leather jacket over his olive green shirt and in his hand was a small handgun. The blonde boy who had always been hot-headed and immature looked just the same as he always did. Still there was something else. The four of them would have to stop the bomb themselves; there was no help. Could they do it? Probably not. Would they try?

Hell ya.

----

Amon was brooding.

He sat in a small armory room of the underground base of Josh Osaka and his followers. He sat with a tiny shot glass in his hand and a bottle of whiskey resting gently on the table before him. He sat with sadness in his eyes. It was very rare that Amon ever allowed himself to feel the emotions he fought against so hard, but this was one of those few times. He could hide emotion well. During a fight, during death, during sex, during bodily injury, he could deny emotion. He could deny emotion even when it came to his mother or to Touko's recent death. Yet he could not deny emotion when it was staring him in the face like this. Not when he was drunk anyway. Usually he could hold his liquor, but today he could not. It was something that people could not understand. Amon was an enigma. He wanted to be human so badly, and yet he denied any human emotion.

How could one be human and be without human emotion? How could one obtain humanity and throw away love and angst and all of the other things that keep define someone as a human being. That was his dilemma. If he denied his emotions, then he was not human. But if he allowed those emotions to become part of his everyday life then he could awaken and become a witch; therefore losing his humanity. Either path he took he wouldn't be a human being. Never a human being . . .

"Amon." Karasuma's voice; so full of strain and angst as it had been for days. "Amon, we have new information. Zaizen is sending almost all of the Factory's guards to Sakatoki Towers, why we don't know; but we have a chance to attack the Factory-Amon, are you okay?"

Karasuma had forgotten her words in an instant and placed a hand on Amon's shoulder. Amon said nothing to her; instead he only sat still and brought the sweet alcohol to his lips. Before Amon could drink the sweetness, though, Karasuma knocked it away with a small smile. Amon glared up at her and gave her an obvious expression that could only mean "what was that for?"

"The one time I see you act normal and it's to drink?"

"Hmm."

Karasuma narrowed her eyes in distaste as she looked at Amon. Her brow raised and she leaned in closed to him until she could smell the alcohol on his breath. Adding only one more annoyance to her growing list of things that made her head throb. It had been a horrible time and her personality had undergone many, many countless changes. It had become so that she didn't even recognize herself. Physically she looked the same; her hair was the same reddish color it had always been and her skin had not developed wrinkles or blemishes or anything of that nature. However her eyes had become filled with an expressionless confusion and a deep, brooding sadness. She was becoming a darker person; a person who knew only sadness.

"Karasuma." Amon breathed quietly, turning his head up to her.

"Yes Amon?"

Amon said nothing. His dark eyes were locked onto her lighter ones. To Karasuma, the world around her was very dull and boring; but the charcoal colored eyes of her fellow witch hunter were a contrast. The world was black and boring; and though his eyes held the same blackness, they also held an emotion like none she'd ever seen. It was at this moment that she finally understood. Amon was not an emotionless man. He simply had a unique emotion that no one else could feel. A new emotion that could not be comprehended by normal folk. She couldn't begin to describe this mystery emotion that she saw in Amon's eyes that day; but she knew it would change her life looking at it.

"Amon . . ."

Amon stood and walked closer to her. Karasuma could feel her face growing hot and once again she felt like someone completely different instead of herself. Amon said something then that made her heart stop. Amon's words at that moment gave her back all of the hope and confidence that the past few days had stolen from her.

"Are you sure?" Karasuma asked him, once she had comprehended what he said.

"Yes." Amon replied. "Are you surprised?"

Karasuma nodded. "It just isn't like you."

Amon's face remained the same but something in his eyes changed when she said this. He gave her one of those small, amused looks that he saved and used only rarely. "Perhaps."

What happened next was both surprising, and wonderful. And everyday until the day she died; Karasuma remembered it and savored it.

----

"Now how do you know my name, my very tasty little puppy?"

Rica was standing in the park, the sword still in hand. Blood from Juliano's neck was still sticky and warm as it encrusted the blade. The woman; whose hair seemed to be the exact color of the blood drenched foil simply laughed. She wore a deep jade businesswoman suit that matched her eyes and Rica's eyeless sight noticed the gun in her hand. He did not fear the gun in the slightest, but part of natural reaction to it was to become cautious.

"I was his partner." She echoed softly, pointing a long cream-colored finger at the lifeless vessel that had once housed Juliano's soul. "SOLOMON sent us to kill you; Kichiro too, but I see you already did that."

Rica made no move to correct her and explain the tail of the ghost and possessing Kichiro's body. Instead he let his sight flicker over her as the empty eye sockets somehow took in her form. She was beautiful; by all counts. The hair was silky and long and David had always liked redheads anyway. Her skin was a creamy blend of pales and hues that brought out the obvious Irish background. Her eyes held a spark of vivid green imagination and played host to the darkness lingering behind them. Not to mention a body that would put most supermodels to shame. Although her flesh was appealing, Rica would be damned if he'd lower his guard just because she had a pretty face.

"However; as you can see I didn't try to stop you from killing him Davy." The woman spoke again. "Instead I wanted to tell you what Zaizen was planning."

Rica shook his head. The short, jet-black hair allowed wind to pass through it as he did. "I could care less about Zaizen."

The woman smiled. "No, but Yurika Doujima and Haruto Sakaki; along with those other two friends of yours are attempting to hinder Zaizen's plans. And this could help you find and kill them. Tonight."

Rica's thin, pale lips curved into a cold smile. He was beginning to like this woman's personality almost as much as he liked the rest of her.

----

Sakatoki Towers was named after a man named Hanzo Sakatoki, a hero in the world of electronics who had created some of latest in the fields of surgery, computer technology, and video games. He died a year ago in a car accident and the tower was given his name. Though it is only one tower, it is always referred to as the "Towers" because of its original design, which was to have two towers across the street from each other. It wound up becoming too expensive, but the official plaque outside always read "Towers", and so people called it by the pleural regardless. It was not the tallest building in Tokyo by a long shot; however it did have a large roof that was usually in the path of the wind; hence the reason Zaizen had chosen it for the bomb.

The roof is a large, simply-square roof. There is a small rising which contains a door and a ceiling of its own, but pretty much the entire thing is just a large gray roof. On top of that rising for the door there was currently a large black metal device that looked a lot like a pipe system; or perhaps a furnace. It was the bomb for Operation Seven Trumpets. The men in black SWAT-like suits; factory agents, were everywhere. On the roof, stationed on every floor of the building, and the lobby and outside. Nearly everyone on Zaizen's payroll and some mercenaries he hired from the Mafia were working here tonight. This was Zaizen's big night, and he'd watch it all from his office at the Factory.

Outside of the towers, a small red car pulled up. The car had been rented only fifteen minutes ago from an all-night car rental. In all the commotion no one had noticed it was 4:23am on December 26th. It was amazing to think that earlier on Christmas Eve; Robin and Michael (two of the car's occupants) had been sharing a meal together. Now they were about to begin what may be the final witch hunt of their lives. Michael sat in the back seat next to Robin, while Doujima was driving and Sakaki was at her side loading his gun. Michael thought this building was a new place for him; like most of Tokyo, but he was wrong. He had seen it before. He had seen the roof before.

In his dreams. However he did not know this yet.

"Ready?" Sakaki asked as he cocked the gun.

"Do we have a choice?" Doujima teased as she reached for her own out of the holster under her jacket. Sakaki frowned at her; he was still upset from her confession of being a spy, but they'd get over it. Right now they had more important issues at hand. Right now they had to stop a bomb that would destroy all witches and seeds in the city. Robin gave a deep sigh, as a sign that she too was ready; and Michael opened the door. The second he did a Factory agent exited the building as if he had been expecting someone.

"I'm sorry sir, you can't park he-"

Michael stepped out of the car, raised his right hand which held a black pistol with a black silencer attached at the end, and fired two shots into the man's chest. The Factory agent fell dead and quickly Doujima and Sakaki exited the car, their own suppressed guns ready to follow suit. On cue, the window of the building exploded in a hail of gunfire which was destroyed in midair by the wall of orange flames that had jumped from the ground at Robin's mental command. Sakaki circled around to the door (which was made of glass) and fired through, hitting one of the agents. By now more had heard the sounds of gunfire and been drawn to it.

"One question!" Michael hollered over the sound of shooting as he reloaded his clip from behind the safety of Robin's protective flames. "Why the silencers? They were pretty pointless."

Sakaki laughed back as he fired off the last three shots of his clip and heard the satisfying `thud' of a Factory agent falling to the ground. "Makes me feel like Bond." He replied.

----

"We ready?" Josh asked.

The old sewage tunnels underneath the Factory had been converted into a base for Josh and his followers within a year. All of that work was about to be blown away in a flood of sewage and a couple pounds of C4. The entire team was assembled, automatic weapons issued to all of them. Josh himself, besides wearing the full body armor and helmet, was also carrying an AK-47 with several additional rounds attached to the belt slung across his chest. Amon, who seemed a bit different than he normally, did while not acting any differently held a powerful A1M-16 in his arms; ready to attack. It wasn't much. Karasuma and a few other agents had Uzis' bought from the black market and everyone brought pistols along. It was a small group; and while they had good weaponry they would never be a match for the full Factory. However Josh knew that for some reason Zaizen had sent his troops to Sakatoki Towers. That would give them enough time for this suicide - and it was suicide - mission. They'd get inside, kill Zaizen and his scientist, and then collapse the factory.

"Now." Josh explained as his eyes flew from Amon to Karasuma to his own team. "Our information tells us that the Factory has a contingency for any attacks. The main lab is underground, and in the events of a raid like the one we're about to pull; it will collapse. I have no doubt that it will collapse on us and kill us; let's just make sure it destroys the Orbo and Zaizen with us."

Amon didn't speak; only stood against the wall holding his gun steady. Karasuma nodded her head, her eyes not focusing on the faces of either of the men beside her. The rest of the team all simply gave mutters of "Yes" and "Okay" and "Hai" before they cocked their guns and took a step backwards. Josh stepped forward and pressed a small button on the side of an orange plastic device. Instantly a small beep told them this was a go. Josh ran backwards to where the others stood and shielded his face.

"Let's go."

The C4 exploded and the sewage pipes in the Factory's lab went with it. Before the smoke had even cleared, Amon and Josh had run forward side by side and entered the Factory; ready to fight and ready to die.

----

The cold air was still blowing through the park. Jackie Flemming; the redheaded woman who had been sent with Juliano, had already left with Rica on their way to the Sakatoki Towers. The body of Kichiro Wantanabee was chopped, battered, shot and bruised. No longer identifiable and no longer useful to the angry wraith that called itself Rick Richards. In life Richards had been a police officer and the notorious Jack the Ripper. Five hookers had been killed and surgically butchered by the very cop sworn to protect them. But after Rosalind had left him for Michael Campbell, he had gone to find Campbell.

Rosalind and Michael had been on their honeymoon when Richards showed up with a sword and a gun. He shot Michael and killed him; then proceeded to kidnap Rosalind. He kept her in his basement for four weeks while he tried to win her love; but she never gave in. So in the end she was raped and murdered just like the rest of the Ripper's victims. The body was never found because the house burnt down days later. The only things to survive were Rosalind's bracelet and Richard's sword. Michael Campbell's pocket watch had been found with his body. No one ever knew that the three of them; since they were witches, had used Michael's ability to enchant objects with Echoes with their own echoed-souls. No one ever knew that when Richard's echo in the painting saw Michael Lee; the descendant of Michael Campbell, that it would awaken this ancient fury.

Michael Campbell's echo had healed Michael Lee from his fatal burns. Rich Richard's echo had possessed Wantanabee through the sword and now sat on the ground in that very sword, wishing for a new body.

As for Rosalind's echo, it was still in the bracelet. And the bracelet was still in the pocket of Michael Lee's cargo pants. Michael had forgotten all about it ever since Robin handed it to him. Whether or not he'd ever find it was not important. When he'd find it; that was the key.

The cold wind blew, and the old rapier rolled across the grass. Perhaps by the wind; perhaps by the will of the specter that possessed it. Whatever the reason, when the sword rolled it came colliding into Juliano Colegui's body. There was a sound like running water and a flash of black light; and then Juliano's corpse rose up onto his feet and gave a cry of "CAMPBELL!" before setting off to find Michael and Robins . . .

----

The elevators of the Sakatoki Towers are rather odd. The one in the lobby goes only from the lobby to the 17th floor; from there a second elevator must be used to reach from 17 to 27, and from there a third goes from 27 to the final floor on 42. On the seventeenth floor, to reach the next needed elevator; Robin and the rest of them had to go down a narrow hallway. Unfortunately that hallway was filled with Factory agents whose guns were blazing. Michael and Sakaki clung to the wall that led to the hallway on the left, while on the right Doujima and Robin did the same. Every time they had a chance Michael, Doujima and Sakaki would return fire on the Factory agents.

Michael had fired a gun only a few times before in his life. He had used the acid-Orbo revolver on the witch called Nobunaga many months ago after Nobunaga and Amon had finished their katana duel. He had also shot one of David Rica's human henchmen during Rica's first visit to Japan. However, Nobunaga had been wounded and lost his craft power when Michael killed him; and Rica's henchmen had shot Michael as well. He wasn't a very good shot now; as can be imagined, but his lack of aim kept the Factory agents busy avoiding him and turned them into easy targets for Doujima and Sakaki; who had more training.

"We can't keep this up!" Sakaki shouted as he hugged the wall while reloading his gun. The bullets blazed against the wall on his side and sparks of light and shrapnel.

Robin didn't say a word, she merely leaned her head over, slipped the glassed onto her petite face, and a second later the hallway exploded in flames. Because of complications with the human-friendly Orbo, these agents were not equipped with it. Therefore in a flash of orange devils, they all died. Doujima looked impressed and Sakaki could be heard muttering something about "Why didn't we do that from the start?" Only Michael looked hurt by Robin's killing of the agents. Only Michael took time to see the deep sadness and hurt in the nun-raised girl's eyes. Only Michael . . .

----

"Sir! Intruders have infiltrated the plumbing systems."

A musky cloud of gray stench hung over Zaizen as he leaned back in his chair. His aged lips sucked on the end of his cigar for a moment and inhaled the sour smoke to his lungs before he breathed out and set the cigar down in the ashtray.

"Who?" Zaizen asked the scientist who stood before him. The brown haired, glasses-wearing weasel-like scientist who had been in charge of Orbo work. The scientist reached up to Zaizen's computer and typed with his long fingers for a brief second before a security feed appeared on screen. Zaizen's dark eyes followed the screen and lingered on the shadowy shapes of Amon, Josh, Karasuma and their team for a moment. Then the administrator reached for a brown box and took out a second cigar. He leaned back as he raised his hand and lit the cigar with his silver lighter.

"Sir?" The scientist asked. "They are in the lab level. We do not have the adequate troops to eliminate them. I can contact the towers and have a team back here in twenty minutes; we can hold them that long."

Zaizen nodded his head and the scientist bowed and exited the room quickly, going for his cell phone as he did. Zaizen puffed on the cigar for a moment before opening up the bottom right drawer on his desk. Insider was a large Orbo gun containing the purest Orbo ever made. His hand reached inside, but did not touch the gun. Instead he picked up a picture frame next to it and set it on his desk. Zaizen's eyes flashed over the picture and his iris identified the three people in it. The brown-haired youth was Zaizen, while the blonde next to him was his ex-wife. The young girl; no more than eight in this photo, was Touko.

"Goddamn you Amon." Zaizen breathed as he dropped his cigar to the ground while his hand shook violently. His body had taken to shaking deeply now as he looked at the picture of the wife he'd divorced and the daughter he'd murdered. "Goddamn you for what you made me do!"

----

"I really hate hospital food."

Nagira was sitting up in his bed. The surgery had gone well and he would recover fully from the bullet wound. He could ever walk; a bit. He sat in one of those all-white beds with the all-white walls and ceiling. Covering his body was one of those baby blue hospital gowns with the big hole for his back. A chair next to his bed contained his fur coat and holstered gun. He guessed Amon had put the gun back in the holster after recovering it from Touko's body. Nagira would throw it away as soon as he could.

Then the phone - which was also plain white - rung. He groaned and moved the trey of horrible hospital food off his lap before picking up the phone and bringing the receiver to his ear.

"Nagira." He said to the phone.

"Mr. Nagira, do you remember me?" The voice was of an American.

"No. Look, I'm busy, call back later."

"Amon needs you now Nagira. Do you remember my message? I told you the demon was coming. That demon is here. And Amon's worst fear will come to pass."

Nagira's eyes narrowed. "Now I remember you. Calling me with you're freaky messages for Amon! What are you talking about? What fear?"

"Amon's blood had reached the time. Soon the demon shall be awakened. Amon needs you to save him from that demon."

Nagira's eyes widened at these words. He couldn't possibly mean . . .

"Who the hell is this!?" Nagira shouted into the phone. He groaned as the strain caused his wound to hurt him. A dial tone was his only answer as the American man hung up the phone. Nagira cursed and climbed out of bed with a grunt as he reached for his jacket and holster. He really hated phones.

----

"Alright, let's do this." Josh breathed. They were held up in a small room where all of the building pipes were located. The boiler room. The furnace and plumbing all connected to this room; as well as the fuse box. Everyone now wore dark green goggles over their eyes so that they could stand use the night vision. It seemed like ages ago to Karasuma; they had been hunting the witch in the abandoned warehouse and Robin had accidentally killed him because of night vision goggles. Now Karasuma wasn't even sure if she'd survive this and get to see Robin or the others again.

"Davis, cut the power." Josh commanded. He and Amon stood by the door, each of them holding their own powerful machineguns and aiming them ready. The man called Frank Davis, an American ex-Navy Seal who Josh had recruited, nodded and began flipping the fuse switches. It took only seconds for the Factory to become completely dark, and only seconds after that for the lights to come back on.

"As I thought, Zaizen has his own power generator." Josh smirked. "Well, it was worth a shot. Alright people, let's go fry us some Factory ass."

Josh nodded to Amon beside him, who in turn kicked in the door to the next room. Instantly bullets went flying and it didn't take long for Amon and Josh to return fire. Amon and Josh leaned against either wall on the sides of the door while the enemies were doing the same at the far end of the room on the door to the main hallway. Josh's team and Karasuma were taking cover behind the pipes.

"Karasuma." Amon spoke, his voice as calm and cool as ever. "Cover us."

Karasuma nodded her strength still strong from what Amon had said to her back at the base. She stood and opened fired on the doorway, as did Davis and a few of the others. Amon and Josh rolled so close to the floor they went under the stream of bullets and they stood so fast their enemies didn't even get a shot. After all, Amon was a master hunter; and Josh was the man who taught him how to be one. The two of them opened fire quickly and cut down their enemies from an angle that gave them a perfect shot. Karasuma smiled to herself back behind the pipes. Maybe, just maybe they would live after all.

----

Beside the red car that now sat empty with the door still open outside of the Sakatoki Towers, another car pulled up. This one a brand new BMW; black and elegant. Out of the car David Rica and Jackie Flemming exited it. Both of them had sub-machine guns and Rica still had his katana. With a smirk, Rica looked down at the red car and wondered if it was the car of his enemies. Smiling his smug smile of old, Rica approached the building and stepped inside.

"Be careful dammit!" Jackie yelled. "This place is crawling with Zaizen's henchmen."

Rica laughed. "I thought you knew all about me. You should know bullets don't faze me one bit."

Jackie shook her head which caused her hair to wave around her face. Wrinkling her nose she set about the process of explaining about Project Seven Trumpets and Zaizen's new chemical weapon. Rica just laughed at this too. He was good enough to prevent being exposed to that; he had told her. She had merely muttered something he didn't understand which only produced another laugh from Rica before he bent down to examine the burn marks on the ground.

"Oh yeah." Rica said with satisfaction as he looked at the burns. "This is Robin's handiwork."

----

"Mr. Zaizen!"

The scientist burst back into Zaizen's office with a grave look on his face. Zaizen turned to him and narrowed his dark eyes which were still filled with both fury and tears. Growling to himself, Zaizen nodded and waved him over while turning the picture face down on his desk with one motion. He paused for a second; perhaps to make sure his voice didn't crack, before speaking.

"What do you want?"

"Sir, I just radioed the towers. Apparently a group of unknowns is attack them with a mixture of bullets and fire."

Zaizen's brow rose angrily. "Robin."

"Yes sir." The scientist confirmed. "They are calling all troops to the top floor. If Robin wants to reach the roof she'll have to go through a wall of our finest trained soldiers."

Zaizen shook his head from side to side in a grave motion. "She is the Devil's Child. She can kill every last one of them. Have your soldiers hold their ground on the main floor, but also keep two of them on the roof. If Robin reaches the roof have them activate it."

The scientist looked nervous. "Sir, if we detonate the bomb before the right time it won't cause maximum damage. Winds won't be at their height for another-"

"I don't care." Zaizen cut him off. "You know the gas is flammable. If Robin discovers this she'll torch the bomb and ruin my plans. We cannot let that happen. We cannot let everything the Orbo taught us be in vain, dammit!"

The scientist nodded. "I understand. Oh, and sir, what of Amon's assault team? Without backup from the towers we cannot hold our own against them."

Zaizen paused once more and began pondering this question too. When he was finished doing so, he looked up at the scientist and smiled. "Yes we can. Have all troops called back to the bunker. Osaka who leads them knows of Orbo. He'll lead Amon and the others to the Orbo lab. When they get there, we shall strike."

The scientist suddenly looked aghast. "Sir! If we do that the gunfire will likely damage the tanks! We'll lose months of Orbo data!"

Zaizen narrowed his eyes. "And if we don't, Osaka's team will kill us all and destroy the Orbo completely."

The scientist nodded once again, although he looked repulsed by the idea. "I understand Mr. Zaizen." And without another word he left the room. Zaizen returned the picture to a face up position and then opened the bottom right drawer again. He pulled out the pure Orbo gun, a simple black handgun. He'd need them both. The Orbo-Gun to kill Amon; for he was sure Amon would come after him and leave the others to the Orbo tanks. And the handgun just in case … incase Amon finally . . .

----

Just as Zaizen had ordered, two Factory agents had been stationed on the roof next to the bomb. Each of them held one of the triggers, but only one of them needed to activate there's for the bomb to go off. If they did, any witch exposed would die in less than two minutes; as fast as fifteen seconds. And there was no cure and no way to prevent death. Both of the agents were watching the door diligently for Robin's appearance; just in case they had to activate the bomb.

They didn't even think that someone besides Robin may appear and in a way besides the door. The sound of footsteps was heard and one of the agents began to turn around. He was dead before he finished the action. The rapier that killed him was thrust into the second man before he could even realize what was going on.

Juliano Colegui - no, Rick Richards in his body - stood with a satisfied smile. He had a hard time getting on the roof with no one noticing, but he had done so. Now he just had to wait for Campbell and Rosalind to come up to the roof and then at long last; after so many years of death separating them, his revenge could be complete.

"Campbell . . ."

----

"I don't get this." Michael whispered as the four of them road the elevator to the forty-second floor. They hadn't seen one agent in a while and it was beginning to become ominous to the hacker.

"Maybe we killed them all." Sakaki suggested. "Maybe Zaizen didn't figure the top floors needed to be guarded because no one could get this far."

Doujima rolled her eyes, Robin sighed and Michael gave Sakaki a look that clearly said "wishful thinking." Sakaki sighed and fingered his gun as they road the elevator. It was clear that they'd soon see if Sakaki was right or wrong. And one way or another they were almost to the bomb. The end of all of this would come soon. That was for sure.

The ding was heard and the doors opened. As soon as they did an ocean of bullets came flying at them; but the ocean was no match for the furious flames that met them halfway. Robin melted away all of the bullets and when their enemies had taken cover to reload the flames lowered and her companioned opened fire. Two Factory agents were taken in this first exchange; but there were many more and bullets were running dangerously low for the good guys. Sighing, Robin realized what she had to do.

"Father." She whispered quietly. So quietly that her friends didn't hear over the sound of gunfire; but she knew that the person she was speaking to would hear her. He always did. He heard everything. "Forgive me."

Flames engulfed the room. Men screamed and fell dead in seconds. Eight seconds, to be exact. That was all the time it took for Robin Sena, the Devil's Child, to turn a room full of soldiers into piles of black ash. Michael's mouth was left open and Sakaki and Doujima seemed surprised. They could all see that Robin was becoming more powerful by the minute. She truly was, as Toudou had said, the greatest witch of all.

"Now all we have to do is disarm the bomb."

----

"Alright." Josh said. "We need to split up."

The group of commandos, which had already lost three agents, was stationed in a small room just off the main hallway. Bullets were depleting and already Amon and several others had been reduced to using their handguns; leaving the bulky machineguns in the ground behind them. As Josh spoke of splitting up, Karasuma found her voice.

"Why?"

Josh looked over at her and shook his head. "The second we destroy the Orbo lab, the factory will start collapsing. From then we have anywhere from five to eight minutes before it all comes down. Zaizen will escape in that time. If we want to stop both Zaizen and Orbo, we have to split up." He looked over to Amon. "You and Karasuma go after the old man; the rest of us will head to the Orbo lab."

"Just the two of them?" Davis asked. "They'll be slaughtered."

Josh shook his head. "No. Zaizen knows we're after his Orbo and he's probably got the remainder of his troops in the lab. That's why we haven't seen any on our trip since the last skirmish."

Davis fell quiet. Amon remained quiet. Karasuma, however, did not.

"Josh, if all of the troops are at the Orbo lab -"

"Look." Josh cut her off. "We just have to get inside and detonate the bomb. After that; if we survive, good. If not, we still stopped a madman. This was a suicide mission from the start. All we can do is pray it works."

Karasuma sighed. She had just realized that she had recovered a person from her past who meant a lot to her; and she'd never see him again once she and Amon left to find Zaizen's office. Amon knew this too; but he did not sigh. Instead he shook Josh's hand and nodded.

"Karasuma, let's go."

----

Sakaki was the first one to open the door leading to the roof. He kicked it open and walked out with his gun in hand. Robin and Michael followed, each being careful to look in all directions for enemies. Doujima brought up the rear and closed the door behind her. When they had secured the area, Michael looked up at the large black pipe system.

"That must be it." Michael observed.

"Our data says it's flammable." Doujima explained. "This means if Robin can heat the outer shell enough we can destroy the gas without releasing it."

Robin nodded and put her eyeglasses back on. "I'll do it."

"CAMPBELL!"

Michael spun around; so did the others. Juliano stood at the far end of the gray roof holding his black rapier in hand. Robin gasps and dropped to her knees, but Michael quickly made her stand back up as he narrowed his eyes and Doujima and Sakaki aimed their guns.

"New body?" Michael mused.

"Indeed." Richards laughed from inside Juliano. "The last I'll need. Give Rosalind to me. And yourself too. The others may leave."

Thunder crashed above and rain began to fall. For a minute Michael stood as if this was familiar and then it dawned on him. It all made sense. Those dreams. Those horrible dreams that always ended with Robin dying in his arms. They had not been dreams. He hadn't even realized it until now; and of course he'd have to check it later on SOLOMON's computers, but Michael had a good idea that his premonitions had finally awoken; which meant he was a witch who could see the future in his dreams. And that meant -

The door burst open once again and before Doujima could turn around to open it two bullets went whizzing through her chest and she plummeting to the floor in a bloody heap. Sakaki screamed but Rica was faster on the draw and he placed two bullets into Sakaki's head and sent him falling to the ground next to his beloved Yurika; dead.

"Well hello pupp-Aww shit, didn't I kill you Juliano?"

Richard's narrowed Juliano's eyes. "I'm tired of you."

Rica laughed. "The ghost! Well I'll be damned! After my dogs again, are you?"

Robin stood horrified as she looked down at the dead bodies of her friends. She was ready to scream; but never got a chance. Michael had suddenly remembered how those dreams always ended. With Robin dying from a bullet wound in the neck. However before he could move; before he could stop it, Rica's bullet was fired.

It seemed to take forever for the bullet to reach Robin's throat. It seemed to take forever for Robin to scream as a cloud of red covered the air. It seemed to take forever for her to fall to the ground. Michael's screamed seemed to last forever as he watched this all unfold in slow motion.

He ran to her side and took her in his arms.

"Rosalind is dead." Richards whispered.

"SHE IS NOT ROSALIND!" Michael roared. "SHE'S ROBIN!"

The emotions rushing through his mind, the blood pumping in his veins and the throbbing in his head were all making his world as blur as he held Robin's lifeless body in his arms. He couldn't believe that she had actually died. He just couldn't believe it.

"Told you I'd be the one to kill those puppies." Rica laughed.

Richards roared and jumped forward, soaring over Michael and the dead Robin as he thrust his sword into Rica's chest. Rica laughed and shot Richards in the head several times as Richards stabbed him. Michael didn't even pay attention to the fight. All he could see was Robin's lifeless body in his arms.

"No, no, no, no, no!" Michael cried, tears flowing down his face. "Please God no! NO!"

Michael suddenly felt something burn in his pocket. It was like white fire burning him. Taking a hand from Robin's dead body, he reached to his pocket and felt around until he pulled a hot metal ring. His eyes fell on the bracelet of Rosalind; which was glowing with a white hot fury. Memories of when he died and Michael Campbell's watch brought him back to life filled his mind.

Could Robin be saved?

He truly didn't know . . .

----------------------

-Listening to Jimmy Buffett's Desperation Samba-

MWAHAHAHAH!

IT'S GOOD TO BE BACK!

Heh. Didja like it? Do you want to kill me?

Well before you do, remember that I still have to write chapter seventeen.

This, BTW, is the FINAL CHAPTER.

Now I won't say if Robin comes back to life; but I will tell you that at least one of you're favorite STN-J operatives will die in the final chapter.

Of course I won't say who. ^_~

Yes, I'm evil. Call me a bastard, call me a bitch, call me whatever you want.

But please, no murdering me until I finish the story, ok?