Zone Of The Enders Fan Fiction ❯ Zone of the Enders: Triad 2177 ❯ Defeat You ( Chapter 25 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

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This chapter is rated R for quite a lot of violence and bloodshed. Not like it stopped you before, right? But still, giving a fair warning.

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<CENTER>"Opera is when a guy gets stabbed in the back and instead of bleeding he sings"
 - Edward Gardner</CENTER>

<CENTER>-----------------------------</CENTE R>

Light shone in the trunk as Ricdeau opened it. Lifting the heavy door up on the backside of his enormous sedan, everyone got to catch a glimpse of his fine array of weaponry. A few snow flurries fell inside too, snow showers on their way to the area and the storm was just brewing.

"Cannons in the trunk. Sweet," Dingo commented, laying eyes on the weaponry.

"I brought a little of everything for the occasion. Twelve-gauge police-standard shotguns, military-issue assault rifles, slightly illegal submachine guns, a few handguns, grenades, tasers, anti-aircraft...er, nevermind," Ricdeau rambled on, looking from one side of the trunk to the other.

"Doc, why were you carrying all this stuff around in your car? I thought guns were meant to be outlawed since the occupation," Miryhn asked plainly.

"Just in case," Ricdeau replied simply, laughing a bit.

Miryhn glared at him and reached into the trunk, procuring two handguns. "I'll just two of these. I'm not a 'big guns' kind of guy," he said, using his index and middle fingers to do "air quotes".

"Wimp," Dingo muttered with a smirk. He took out a shotgun, the futuristic twin of a modern-day Benelli, and began admiring it with a wide grin on his face.

"Please don't smile like that, you're scaring me," Ken said, rolling her eyes and grabbing a submachine gun, a copy of the modern MP5.

"I'm particularly fond of these," Judas said, grabbing an assault rifle, something similar to a HK-G3.

"Oh, I hate being so violent. I haven't used a gun in years," Vera said, whining a little. With a shrug, she pulled out another submachine gun.

Dingo also grabbed five grenades, tossing three to Judas. "Just in case," he said with a wink as Judas clumsily caught them.

"That box on the right has all the extra ammo. I suggest taking as much as you can carry," Ricdeau said, leaning on the back of his car above the taillight.

"So how are we suppose to go about doing this?" Ken asked as her and the others took turns grabbing a few spare magazines.

"Plow in through the front door, get in an elevator, go up, and blast him in the face," Dingo said, smirking.

Ken glared in reply.

"Considering the level of security he has, it might be better to take the emergency stairs or something like that," Miryhn said in reply, half sarcastic.

"Why waste time like that? This should be simple, just run in and do it and run out," Dingo protested.

"Actually, he's right," Ricdeau said, taking a katana out from under two assault rifles. He handed it to Miryhn with a wink.

Miryhn replied to the wink by raising an eyebrow. Ricdeau nodded and smiled. Miryhn sighed and took it, slipping it under his belt at his left hip.

"Look, I'm a trained soldier, I'm not scared to mow down a few people in the name of the greater good. Normally I'd rather not do anything to civilians, but this is different. The guy owns an army, right?" Dingo said, trying to be reasonable. "So just waltz in, take a hostage-"

"And get your head blown off in the process!" Miryhn shouted, interrupting.

"Both of you, quit it!" Ken screamed. "Look, how about we do this?" she said, looking up at the building. "Me and Dingo aren't as heavily armed, we'll take the stairs. You three can go in the front and do whatever you have to. That way at least one of the two groups can get to Norris and put him out of his misery."

"So you're saying make us the bait?" Vera said with an angry look.

Ken shrugged. "The plan has a much higher chance of success in that case. If you get in over your heads, just retreat, we won't hold it against you."

Vera had a suspicious look on her face. Judas leaned on his rifle, barrel on the pavement, and shrugged. "Sounds fair to me."

"Look, I'm just indifferent. Let's hurry up and do this. The red-head is right, we'll draw the guard and make our own way up," Miryhn said, yanking the tops of both of his handguns, chambering a shot in each.

"Agreed. Let's go!" Dingo announced.

"No, no, you have to say something with a lot more authority and stamina," Ken complained. "Like 'let's roll!' or 'move out!'"

"Fine. Let's move out!" Dingo announced.

Miryhn rolled his eyes. "Whoopie," he said in a monotone.

"Yeah, hurrah," Vera mumbled, following Miryhn.

Judas didn't even say anything.

"Hell of a lot of good that did," Dingo said to Ken, rolling his eyes.

Ken sighed and grabbed his wrist, dragging him towards the side of the building.

<CENTER>-----------------------------</CENTE R>

"'Please place all metallic objects in the tray'," Miryhn read off the sign in the lobby. Up in the slightly raised security booth was a guard, chewing on a stale donut and reading a magazine. "Lovely. I hope walking through this metal detector doesn't automatically put all my weapons outside like in that Vice-illia County game," he joked to himself. He charged through the metal detector, setting it off with a loud bleep and flash of red lights. No one seemed to pay any mind; they all thought it was some idiot who left his keys in his pocket. The lobby was open and made of marble in the floors and pillars that lined each side of the area, the back of the area containing a single guard and bench.

The guard climbed down the small staircase at the back of the security check. "Sir, you'll have to set any metal items on the conveyor belt and walk back through," he commanded. "Like that thing," he said, pointing to Miryhn's katana.

Miryhn rolled his eyes and immediately took out one of his guns. He jammed it into the guard's chin, smiling. "I don't have anything on me. Got it? And my friends here didn't have anything on them either," he said, pointing to the conveyor belt and nodding in his direction.

Vera and Judas put their weapons on the conveyor belt and stepped through the metal detector, no alarms raised. At the other end, they picked them back up on each side of the belt.

"Thank you very much! You're such a nice guard," Vera said, patting the guard on the back.

"Beautiful, through the first security check without even an alarm raised," Judas said, shaking his head. "I must compliment you, Miryhn, you-"

"Can it!" Miryhn interrupted. "Now what are we going to do about you, hmm? You know we just slipped assault weaponry in here, so what are you going to do about it?"

"Keep quiet about it?" the guard said, shrugging.

"Hey! What are you people doing?" a guard from across the lobby shouted.

"Shit!" Miryhn said to himself. He stepped back and kicked his hostage hard in the stomach, shooting him three times in the chest. The guard fell backwards over the conveyor belt.

"Was that really necessary?" Vera begged to ask.

"I want a good score for this level," Miryhn said, smirking.

"I don't suppose you know how to run on walls, do you?" Judas said, raising his rifle to his shoulder and taking aim.

"No, why?" Miryhn replied.

The rest of the guards in the lobby began to open fire. Miryhn and Vera both dived to opposite sides, Vera rolling behind a pillar and Miryhn landing short and scrambling behind another. Judas stood his ground and began firing his rifle at them, aiming carefully and crouching as he walked into the security post for cover.

"Well, this is just great, now what?" Vera shouted across the gunfight. She stuck her submachine gun around the pillar and blind-fired at the opposite end of the lobby.

Miryhn peeked around his pillar, ducking back as a bullet ricocheted off the smooth marble. He peeked again and saw four elevators, two on each side of the lobby. "Get to one of the elevators!" he shouted in reply, taking out his other gun in the other hand. He looked around the side of the pillar closest to the wall and shot one of the guards four times.

Judas alone cut down the others, but a few more at a time were rushing in from side rooms. Miryhn keep an eye on his side, noticing that only one came in from his side at a time.

"Your side clear?" Miryhn shouted to Vera.

Vera gave a clear shaking of her head in between leaning around the pillar and firing at the flood of guards.

Miryhn waved to her to come to his side, giving a thumbs-up to indicate he had an elevator open. Judas looked to the side and saw Miryhn's signal and nodded. He looked at Vera and nodded, trying to tell her he'd cover her. He ducked to reload, then popped back up and opened up on full automatic. Vera saw her chance and ran to the opposite side, keeping low. She fumbled over the conveyor belt and dead guard, charging right into Miryhn's chest. She looked up and gave a cheesey grin, Miryhn looking down at her with a glare. Both leaned to one side of the pillar and shot down a guard, perfectly timed.

"Nice," Miryhn said with a grin.

"Likewise," Vera replied with a smirk.

"I'll run ahead and hit one of the call buttons," Miryhn said, then charged down the side lobby.

Vera nodded and aimed right behind him, taking careful aim for anyone that might come out of the side areas. A guard stepped around the corner, gun blazing, and Miryhn hit the ground with Vera firing over him. The guard went down within five shots and Miryhn scrambled to his feet, continuing the rest of the way and hitting the call button. The door immmediately opened and Miryhn skipped inside, waving for Vera to come. Vera nodded and leaned around the other side of the pillar, emptying her clip on a few more guards and waving to Judas. Judas nodded and leapt out the side of the security post, rolling and running low to Vera's pillar. Vera reloaded and started dashing to the open elevator, stumbling as she fell inside. Judas followed behind, finishing the rest of his clip in between pillars and falling inside the elevator door. As soon as all three were inside, Miryhn smacked the door close button and pressed the "30" button.

"Excellent work! I'm sure we've officially been branded a lethal force now. Good thing we have military immunity thanks to our partners," Miryhn said, leaning against the wall and panting.

"What the hell?" Vera screamed, pointing to the floor. The body of the dead guard she shot to cover Miryhn was laying there.

Judas cocked an eyebrow, panting and jamming a new clip in his rifle.

"It's in case they stop the elevator, which they'll inevitably do. It's a trick I saw in a movie once, trust me," Miryhn said, winking.

"It doesn't bother me, I was just wondering why the hell you-" Vera began to say, then cut herself off. "Nevermind."

"Who's 'the professional' here anyway?" Miryhn said, smirking.

"Weirdo," Vera said, sighing and squatting.

<CENTER>-----------------------------</CENTE R>

Norris sat behind his desk, watching the fiasco on his monitor; after all, he had access to every single security measure in the building. He switched to the elevator view, seeing Miryhn, Vera, and Judas standing there with the dead guard. Vera had a shocked look on her face, then Miryhn said something. Vera looked creeped out, then squatted, Miryhn shoving his hands in his pockets. Norris slowly chewed his bottom lip, his brow slowly furrowing in anger.

"How can this be? By who's hand have my own trusted mercenaries come here to attack me?" he said to himself. "God? No...that man, it has to be. Somehow he found out and he's sent them to stop me," he said with an angry crescendo. "I swear, Kaguya Ricdeau, you'll pay for this! I don't know how you came across me, but you'll pay!"

He dug both of his pistols out and took a box of ammunition from his desk, clumsily loading the chambers. "And you'll pay for backstabbing me too, Miryhn. I never knew you still had any of King left in you," he added, looking up at the security monitor briefly. "Anyone who challenges me from now on will die, and I'll send them to Hell's fire myself."

"Sir?"

Norris suddenly dropped his gun and the bullet he was trying to load and roared in anger. "What is it?" he growled into his comlink.

"I was just wondering how you want to deal with the intruders," the security officer on the other end asked.

Norris looked back at the monitor and thought for a moment. A wicked grin curled up his cheeks. "Stop the elevator on 29. Send ten of your best men up here to the hallway in front of my office and a handful to 29."

"But, sir, that's hardly enough!"

"Just do it!" Norris roared at the top of his lungs.

"But...why?"

Norris sighed, shaking his head. "Look, if...what, ten or fifteen can't stop them in the lobby, then all of them put together can't stop them! If it comes down to it, they can come right up here and I'll kill them myself!"

"By yourself, sir?"

"Don't worry, I'm better than all your men combined anyway," Norris said, smirking.

"What? Wait a minute, sir, but-" the security officer tried to say, but Norris cut off the comlink.

"Ten, twenty, a hundred men...they're all no match for me," Norris said, laughing crazily as he continued to load his revolvers. "Not for someone who's not even human."

<CENTER>-----------------------------</CENTE R>

"Do these stairs go on forever or something?" Dingo complained, charging up the next flight of stairs.

"Quit whining, we're only at the tenth floor," Ken replied, right behind him.

"You're not the one hauling a shotgun," Dingo said, slowing at the next turn-around to catch his breath.

"Well, mister badass-with-a-big-gun, I'm sorry if I took the more conservative approach," Ken said, rolling her eyes.

"Can't we stop and take an elevator?" Dingo whined, running up the next set of stairs and seeing a sign with "11" on it.

"And risk getting shot up? I don't think so. Let those weirdos deal with the guards," Ken replied.

"I think I'm getting a cramp," Dingo said, grabbing his gut and slowing to a stop.

"You big baby, come on!" Ken shouted, jogging ahead and looking back.

"Just give me a sec," Dingo said, panting and leaning against the wall.

Ken sighed and folded her arms, leaning against the railing.

<CENTER>-----------------------------</CENTE R>

The elevator grinded to a halt at the 29th floor. All three (and a fourth, kind of) grabbed their weapons and readied for another round of action.

"Seems they let us go further than I thought they would," Miryhn said, smirking and picking up the dead guard.

"Something isn't right here. We're one floor away from the executive suite. Why not stop it earlier or cut the lines or something?" Judas asked, pushing himself and Vera against the wall perpendicular to the button pad.

"I sense a challenge. Either that, or a summoning," Miryhn said, placing himself against the same wall and holding the dead guard in front of the door.

Outside, three security guards had their weapons raised at the door. It opened and they began firing immediately at the human shape in the doorway. When they realized it, they stopped and Miryhn gave the thumbs-up. He dropped the dead guard out the door and hit the ground, firing his handguns as Judas stepped around above him and let the rifle blaze. All three guards fell backwards into a cubicle, leaving a bloody mess against the felt-lined wall.

"Sorry we had to...'blow you away'," Judas said with a chuckle.

Miryhn stood up and shook his head at the poor pun. He changed clips as he stepped over the body, Vera right behind.

"Well, I thought it was funny," Judas said, rolling his eyes.

Miryhn stood on his tip-toes and peeked over the cubicle walls at the opposite side of the room. There was a glowing red "Exit" sign indicating stairs were behind the door underneath it.

"Alright, there may be more of them, so split up and head for the back left corner," Miryhn whispered.

"What? Why do that?" Vera begged in a whisper.

"It's close-quarters combat in here. We'd just get in each other's way," Miryhn replied.

Vera sighed. "Well, if you says so," she said, then began jogging down the aisle to the left.

"Head for the "Exit" sign, right?" Judas asked, stepping up behind Miryhn. Miryhn nodded in reply. "Right, see 'ya in a minute then," Judas said, then ran off to the left behind Vera and then broke off heading down a turn to the right.

Miryhn sighed and headed right from the starting point, his path going along the windows along one of the walls. Outside, the snow was picking up into a storm, the window howling as it pressed against the panes. As he rounded a corner, a sudden burst of machine gun fire sent him leaping back behind the corner for cover and the shots breaking the window open behind him. A few snow flakes rested on his head and a small breeze tossed his hair around as he realized that the aisle was probably full of men inside each cubicle ready to fill him full of holes. It would be too dangerous of a gauntlet to run, so he had to come up with something to catch them off guard. Across from the corner he was sitting behind was a cubicle with an rolling office chair in it; seeing it gave him an idea.

The next thing the men hiding in each cubicle down the aisle knew, something black and silver was rolling by and firing at them; a gun in each hand aimed at each side of the aisle. Miryhn had put himself in the seat and was rolling down the aisle as fast as he could with his back forward in order to aim around each corner and fire on the guards. Within a moment or two of rolling as fast as he could down the aisle, he had shot down three of the four men before reaching the end of the aisle, rolling right into a cubicle perpendicular to his path, and crashed into a desk sending him sprawling over it and to the floor behind it.

"Just my luck, I think I landed on some scissors," Miryhn said to himself, rolling off the mess of office supplies that hit the floor before him. He swept them away as he kept himself low behind his new cover and peeked over the top of it. The remaining guard stuck his machine gun around the corner and blind-fired in Miryhn's direction. Miryhn ducked quickly and then peeked over again when the guard stopped. He raised his own gun and finished off his target as the guard peeked around the corner to see if he hit anything and Miryhn shot him twice in the head. Miryhn sighed and stood up, walking to the entryway of the cubicle; the door was only a few yards away, so he ran without any resistance to it and hurried inside it.

Meanwhile, Vera didn't have any difficulty until she met a stubborn fellow who wouldn't let her go down an aisle. He kept blind-firing around the corner of his cubicle entrance every few seconds just long enough that Vera couldn't get go around the corner and run past him. She had taken up cover just around the corner of one of the walls to the guy's cubicle inside the adjacent one and was having a bit of trouble thinking of a way past him. Getting frustrated, she reached up and looked over the wall at the guy and he aimed up at her; Vera dropping back down just as he fired. He began blind-firing around the corner again, so Vera sneered angrily and grabbed a stapler off the desk in front of her. She opened it to the bottom half and top were loose from one another and hopped up over the wall a bit. She smacked the guy hard enough in the head that a staple planted itself in his skull and the stapler fell to the ground. Cursing up a storm in pain, he reached up to pull it out and began howling in pain as he worked it out of his skin. This gave Vera enough time to hop up the wall again and let loose a few rounds into his chest. The guard collapsed dead and Vera hurried around the corner and to the door, running in just behind Miryhn.

Finally, Judas's path was the shortest only having to make two turns and a straight shot to the door. But as he turned the first turn, he heard two guards whispering something behind the wall in front of him. He had to turn right, then left, going right in front of the entrance to the cubicle and from there the two men would have ambushed him. Instead, he stopped and thought for a moment about the best way to get rid of them. There was always his grenades, but why waste one on two of them? Becoming passive to the whole situation, he raised his rifle and began firing at the wall itself, the bullets easily going through the felt and thin plywood. Raising his eyebrows in surprise as how easy he seemingly accomplished this, he hurried right, then left, and looking inside the cubicle entrance. The two guards were laying there dead; the wholes from his rifle rounds in the wall he was just in front of. With a shrug, Judas hurried through the door, just before Miryhn performed his chair assault.

The three regrouped behind the staircase door, they all took a moment to get their breath.

"Well, that wasn't so hard, now was it?" Miryhn asked, chuckling.

"Yeah, a real 'gas'," Vera replied, sarcastic.

"Just one more floor, right? Then we can head back down here and meet up with Dingo and Ken and make the escape, right?" Judas asked.

"If all else fails, we'll hit the fire escapes. This staircase might be packed with security," Miryhn replied. "It's really hard to tell, but I'm confident if any security is coming up this staircase, Dingo and Ken will take them out. Seems things will work out anyway."

"But what about security tapes and witnesses?" Judas asked again.

"Trust that to Doc. He's pulled me out of the limelight more than once successfully. Besides, according to you, he's the master of cover-ups anyway, right?" Miryhn said, changing clips again.

"If you say so," Judas said, shrugging and slamming a new magazine into his rifle.

"Well, you two ready? This is the last level," Vera said, almost cheerfully.

"'Last level'?" Miryhn asked, curious.

"Last floor, whatever," Vera replied, shrugging.

"Yeah, whatever," Miryhn said, then began running for the upward leading stairs.

Without another word, the other two ran along behind him and they all proceeded to the 'final level'.

<CENTER>-----------------------------</CENTE R>

The 30th floor of the Ryan Corporation building was crimsom red; the walls, the carpet, even the two tall wooden doors that lead to Norris's office with their gold handles that would pull to open the man's chambers. The interior of his office was lined with bookcases, speakers; couches and chairs with two coffee tables were between the door and his desk with enough room to park two city buses between the door and his desk. Behind the desk were the ceiling-high windows that were now blocked of sunlight by the overcast skies and near-blizzard-like conditions outside. Lined up along the hallway were ten of the best security guards Norris's company could muster; and standing on top of his desk, the chamber doors wide open in front of him with his revolvers in each hand was Norris himself. A smirk was on his face and his hands trembled, ready to draw blood from the three betrayers; former employees he once trusted, but now were coming to stab him in the back. He placed one of this revolvers on the desk and picked up his remote, turning on Beethoven's "Ode To Joy" to play as he waited, then picked up the revolver again. The perfect song for the end of one's life, for it was written in celebration of Beethoven's coming death.

Bursting through the door, Miryhn rushed right out of the small aclove between the hallway and the staircase door and into the line of fire from the guards. He danced in place and leapt to the opposite side of the aclove, around the opposite corner of the hallway. Vera and Judas came in right behind him, but stopped before going into the open. All three got up against the wall, Judas and Miryhn peeking around each corner of the hallway.

"Well, well, seems you're all in quite a bind, huh? Can't go back and can't go forward," Norris shouted aloud. "Looks like your mission is a failure unless you can somehow get past these ten guys and fight me man-to-man."

"Fuck you, Norris!" Miryhn shouted in reply. "What pussy tactics setting up ten men in a hallway with absolutely no cover."

"Who's the pussy? I'm just the smarter of all combatants engaged here today," Norris said, laughing. "You can't get by them, so you might as well just give up."

Miryhn cursed to himself, sneering.

"I guess I should gloat now that you're on the verge of your unconditional surrender. I wasn't called 'Ace' for nothing, you know, King, and Jack as well," Norris said, smiling. "That's why you two lost, you're of inferior rank and thus you'll never defeat me even if you combine your efforts, just like in a card game."

Miryhn and Judas both were momentarily startled.

"That fuck was Ace all along?" Judas exclaimed at Miryhn.

"I don't give a shit!" Miryhn roared in reply. "We can put an end to this if we try, I know it. Toss a pineapple at 'em and we'll rush."

Judas nodded and pulled a grenade out of his pocket. He yanked the pin out and heaved it down the hallway. Miryhn got to one knee, ready to sprint around the corner and Vera and Judas followed suit, Vera in front of Judas. However, a guard ran forward and punted it back, the grenade bouncing along the wall parallel to Vera and Judas.

"Judas, you idiot, you threw it too early!" Miryhn tried to say, but the grenade detonated and suddenly there was a spray of plaster and cinder block as a whole chunk of the wall was blown away. Miryhn covered his face and then looked to see Vera and Judas sprawled backwards in the aclove, pieces of the wall around them and dust settling. Miryhn's eyes widened in shock.

Norris was having a good laugh. "Wow, good job. Don't you know you should have waited something like a second or two? I mean, it only makes sense."

Vera put a hand down and struggled to get up, looking to the side at Miryhn. She was covered in blood and dust, several cuts on her body. She was bound to have some fragments lodged in her skin or something as well, but her expression only twisted into that of anger. She sat back and got to her feet, holding her gun in both hands. In an adrenaline-inspired feat, she hopped around the corner and let her gun blaze. The guards all got to the sides of the hall, returning fire. Vera collapsed backwards, shot in the left shoulder and leg, emptying her clip as Judas reached out and pulled her back. Judas's left arm was knicked in the hail of bullets and he grabbed it with his right hand as Vera fell behind the corner with him.

"Vera, what the fuck?" Miryhn shouted.

"We came so far, I'm not stopping now!" Vera screamed in reply, getting back to her feet. She tossed aside her clip and shoved another in the machine gun, heading back around the corner.

Miryhn roared loudly and yanked his sword out of the sheath, sprinting around the corner as well. He hurried ahead of Vera as the guards instantly targeted her, but got into range of them quick enough that they turned their attention to him; after all, if he got close enough, perhaps he could stab one and use it as a human shield while he took out the others. Perhaps Vera's overreactions would help after all? He leapt forward to cut one across the throat, but the guard ducked and swung the butt of his gun up, smacking Miryhn in the side of the head. Miryhn landed and rolled awkwardly, feet to Norris's door and head back the way he came while on his back. Two guards instantly aimed their guns into his face as he opened his eyes and woke up from the slight shock of the counterattack. The situation registered in his head and his body froze.

"Well, seems you failed Miryhn. Too bad you don't get to fight the last boss, huh? Too bad also this isn't some video game or anime and you don't get to restart from the save point and try again, let alone have any of those wacky super powers anime heroes have to save you. Sorry, but life isn't always fantasy-land, Miryhn, you coming here was doomed to begin with. You can't win and be the 'cool' main character every time," Norris said, mockingly.

Vera staggered back behind the corner, beginning to cry.

"What? What just happened?" Judas asked insistantly.

"It's over. It really is over," she replied.

<CENTER>-----------------------------</CENTE R>

And so, his death would finally come. As Miryhn stared up at the two gun barrels in his face, he sighed and knew that this was the time; no matter what strange psychological reaction took hold, he couldn't escape an attack from point blank. He'd either have his brains splattered across Norris's carpet here and now, or be captured and tried for multiple murders, thus sentenced to death anyway. The death he had sought for so long, the only way he could think of to escape the curse of his inner being, would come and he could finally be free. He thought that perhaps his previous move to rush the guards might have worked, but in the back of his mind, he must have known it wouldn't; but he didn't care, because it would only mean death, quick and instantly. There would be no time for the stupid 'angel' to come up and make him insane again or possibly hurt his comrades, it'd just be over, instantly, and both him and it could leave his body; anything to get rid of it, anything to get it away from him.

Vera bawled loudly in the next moment that passed and Miryhn suddenly began to be overcome with doubt. Something was wrong in his mind, something that was eating at him as he laid there with every intention of dying. Thoughts began to pass through his head at a mile a millisecond; memories of the events from recently. Things people had said, events he witnessed and activities he particpated in. A craving from deep within came up and he began to tear up; the craving was strong, presenting itself loudly and brightly above the suicide he wished for. It was a craving to live; he honestly did not want to die.

But why? He asked himself. He recalled the conversations he had with Vera, about learning to think of others in order to fulfill himself. He remembered how Nash had told him to move on and try to find love again, giving him a glimmer of hope somewhere underneath his presentation of the idea. He thought back to how much fun he had playing Vicillia County and doing stupid car stunts while mowing over local gangs, stealing Phantomas and stepping on helpless citizens. He remembered how everyone would complain about his piloting and how Benu would cock its head to the side when he would tell it a stupid joke or say something about the other crew members. He also recalled the look on Jim's face as he would hand him a half-deserved paycheck or when Judas would smile and demand he do something of mild inconvenience for Miryhn. And finally, Vera, reaching into the cracked cockpit of Masamune after his near-death with Lazarus; her face covered in worry and concern, reaching out to Miryhn like he was the only thing that mattered. This thought, this memory, was like a pin against his mind; it broke the conception that no one cared, and replaced it with the knowledge that someone did care all along, and this gave him hope. All these small things, these miniscules slices of life that even for a moment made him happy. Vera was confident in him, Judas was too, and even Doc...

The strongest images of all came next. The replay of Ester as her lifeless body fell backwards and the heart-felt sadness and anger he felt in that moment. The rage and tears he shed as he rushed Joker, only to fall short. The look on Joker's face when he swore vengeance on him and that someday he'd pay him back for taking Ester's life and for doing whatever deeds he was committing that Miryhn was sure weren't good. The anger and sadness came back and Miryhn's face pinched, closing his eyes and he began to sob harder while keeping himself silent. He remembered how Doc looked at him when he told him about Manna and the sound of his voice when he told him, for the first time in all his honesty, that he believed in him. And finally, perhaps the most crushing image of all, was Masamune's childish manifestation as it hugged him tightly, expressing its undying gratitude. The small child's tears and the smile on his face, telling Miryhn without words how much he adored him and wished for Miryhn to remain with him as long as possible. He believed so wholeheartedly in Miryhn that he'd go so far as to shed tears of joy in his presence; how could Miryhn possibly think of himself all this time? Masamune, Doc, Vera, Judas, Ester...they all placed faith in him and here he was, about to perish without ever fulfilling any of their wishes. He'd now die without ever defeating Joker, avenging Ester, or being able to make the people that cared about him happy again. All along, he'd been so concerned with himself that he'd fail them all in the end, and the thought alone was crushing.

"I don't want to...die," he whispered to himself, biting his lip and keeping the tears back as hard as he could.

He began to feel weak, like the emotional baggage he chose to shoulder all this time had kept him down. It seemed like all he ever wanted was sympathy, from himself and others; but a few gave him something else, faith and admiration, and they were much more fulfilling. This is what he realized as he looked back, and his insides became a knot of emotions, wishing only to just throw off the lie he had been living and come back to each and every one of them and express his gratitude. But knowing that when he opened his eyes, he would only see death staring at him hurt to know; and so he just sighed and teared up more. He had been a weak person all along; a callow man, hiding behind a facade. He didn't want to be like that anymore, he wanted to stand on his own two feet from now on and move forward leaving the past behind. He wanted to live, to make up for the time wasted being such a shallow person, and go back to the way things were; he wanted to be happy with himself again.

Miryhn began to beg, from within, for it all to go away. He wanted to throw off the facade and be himself again. He wanted to go back to each and everyone that truly mattered to him and show them what he really was; not this sniveling angst-fiend he had turned himself into. Conflicting wishes and knowledge of coming death tore him in half inside and finally the plead emerged for something, or someone, to help him. If there really was a God, if there really were demons and angels, he begged from the depths of his soul to make it all undone and to let him move forward in his life. He wanted it more than anything, he needed it more than anything, and he knew this with all his heart and soul. He was changed, reformed, and almost reborn; but he was powerless to stop those that would end his life and halt the progress he had made emotionally and spiritually. He begged, pleaded, and shed another tear; and then something replied.

Because of his revelation, the angel finally defeated the demon, and it smiled upon Miryhn's re-awakening to himself. The two souls became one and light flowed within his veins; the light of hope and power, the physical aspect of his true self, and the light gave him a warm feeling of comfort and confidence. Miryhn opened his eyes and saw clearly for the first time in a long while and with the speed of something inhuman, grabbed the two weapons pointed at his face and tore them from the holders, tossing them aside. He threw off the weight he had carried for such a long time and stood up with lightning-like reflexes. His rebirth was complete as he grabbed his weapon; then he spread his wings for the first time and took flight on his own, now in every sense of his being, the Angel Thanatos, the Archangel of Death embodied.

<CENTER>-----------------------------</CENTE R>

"Ode To Joy" suddenly crescendoed into the main theme as the full chorus sang in jubilation. Miryhn swiped open the gut of one guard and leapt forward, stabbing the other guard in the throat; he held the body in front of him as the other guards opened fire. The human shield worked well until he got within range of the next guard and threw the shield corpse at him, covering his gun as Miryhn fired three shots right into his face. With a squint of his eyes and a moment of focused thought, Miryhn could see the incoming shots of the next hail of fire and found that he could easily sprint aside of them. He did so and came upon the next guard, leaping onto his shoulders and making the man bend backwards as Miryhn shot him twice in the head and leapt off of him to land in front of another guard and stab the next in the chest. He raised both of his guns and fired repeatedly into the next two guards, then shoved his guns into his belt and yanked the sword out of the stabbed corpse. He rushed forward and slashed the next one from gut to chin, opening a rip in the front of the man's body. Miryhn easily sidestepped the next two maelstroms of rifle fire and stabbed the next guard straight through his stomach and then cleanly beheading the last with one swipe. The choir wound down, ending the main theme and the music that could undoubtably be the perfect entrance for a heavenly being.

Miryhn stood in the doorway to Norris's office, sword in hand and his irises shining gold with red in the pupil. He had a serene smile and a calm expression on his face, gazing at Norris and beginning to cry again.

"I can't believe it. I...I can't seem to bring to words how happy I am," Miryhn said weakly.

Norris was wide-eyed, stunned by what Miryhn just did.

"I'm not crying blood anymore. I feel...complete. I feel like myself again," Miryhn said, in between choking on sobs. He wiped his cheeks and indeed he was crying tears, not blood, even though he was looking upon the world with the sight of something that wasn't even human.

"You couldn't have. You just couldn't! Alpha users need another to utilize their abilities! How did you do it by yourself?" Norris demanded to know.

Miryhn sniffled and wiped his eyes, quickly grabbing one of his guns and changing the clip. "I guess that was just a myth, because I feel like a million bucks right now," he said, then aimed at Norris. "Doc was right, once I started believing in it and not rejecting it, it became the part of me I was missing."

"You son of a bitch!" Norris shouted, raising one of his revolvers. "I don't know or care how you did it! Alpha Manna or not, you're not going to stop me! No one can, not you, not anyone!"

"So full of yourself, aren't you?" Miryhn replied, smiling smugly at him.

"Shut up!" Norris roared and began firing at Miryhn.

Miryhn nimbly leapt to the right and side-rolled behind a couch. Norris kept shooting until he had used up all six rounds, then tossed the gun aside and held the other in both hands. Miryhn popped up up from behind the couch and fired three shots, the first missing, the second hitting Norris's right thigh, and the third missing as Norris jumped back for cover behind his desk.

"This fight is pointless, Miryhn. I don't understand why you'd even bother trying to kill me. What do you stand to gain anyway?" Norris shouted.

"That's just it, I don't stand to gain anything. But all the lives you threaten by your actions do have something to gain from you not being around," Miryhn replied.

"So the old man predicted me to a t, huh? I always hated him, he just babbled on and on about his religious crap, saying we were humans infused with angels and all that crap," Norris said, smirking.

"We are, you know. I'm a believer now," Miryhn said, sighing contently.

"So you went along with all that babble, huh? Well, let me see just how divine you really are!" Norris said, then aimed around his desk and fired into the couch Miryhn was behind.

Miryhn quickly scrambled away from the couch and leapt behind the other across the room until Norris ran out of ammo in his other gun. He shouted several curse words and leapt on his desk.

"Alright, enough of this! Come on out, Miryhn, let's settle this like men!" Norris shouted.

Miryhn peeked around the couch and saw a large chandellier hanging from the ceiling over Norris's desk. "Like The Sword of Damocles*," he said to himself and checked his clip while slipping the katana back into the sheath. Three bullets left in one gun, the other with a full clip, and no more ammo. He focused his senses again and popped up from cover, firing at the chain that held up the chandelier. With two of the three shots he fired, it came crashing down. Norris began to leap away a bit late into the fall and his dodge was stumbled by the chandelier, causing him to change direction in midair and smack into his desk and fall to the floor. Miryhn tossed his emptied gun aside and drew his katana again, rushing forward. He leapt, sword ready to give Norris the finishing stab, but Norris suddenly rolled aside and Miryhn planted the sword in the floor. Norris spun around and kicked Miryhn in the face, making him tumble backwards. Miryhn got to his elbows and raised his head, seeing Norris holding his head in pain.

"Now you've done it! Now you've done it!" Norris cried out.

Miryhn watched in half-surprise as Norris showed off his own 'Manna Mode', staring down at Miryhn with the same color-changed eyes.

Norris laughed maniacally, cracking his knuckles as he approached Miryhn. "Think you can stand up to one of your own? I'll kill you with my bare hands, Miryhn!" he said in a maddened tone as he threw off the coat of his suit and ripped off his holsters.

Miryhn sneered and leapt to his feet. He wasn't much of a hand-to-hand fighter, but he'd have to hold out until he could get past Norris to grab his sword. But in the meantime, he slowly began to back up. He ducked aside two of Norris's punches, then blocked a kick and jogged backwards over a coffee table. Norris rushed forward to tackle and Miryhn kicked up the table with the tip of his foot as a shield. Norris barged right through it, reducing it to splinters with a maniacal laugh. Miryhn scurried back to the very top of the couch Norris had previously filled with holes and reached back for his other gun. Just as Norris rushed forward for another punch, Miryhn leapt up and backflipped over the attack, firing three rounds at Norris's torso as he fell to the floor behind the couch. His aim was true and a shot landed in each shoulder and one around his lower ribs. Norris staggered back, roaring in pain, and Miryhn rolled sideways and stood up as he put his feet down in mid-roll.

"Your HP is dropping, Norris. Looks like I'm winning," Miryhn said, smirking.

"That's the thing about final bosses, Miryhn, they always change their attack plans entirely once you reduce their health enough!" Norris shouted, then leapt several feet in the air.

Miryhn was shocked to see this enough to miss reacting and Norris landed behind him and scooped up one of the dead guards' rifles. Miryhn quickly whipped around and saw Norris raise the rifle. Without a second of hesitation, Miryhn focused his sight again and rushed to the side of Norris's burst of fire. Miryhn returned fire, but Norris used his own power of enhanced senses and speed and leaned to the side. Miryhn hurried back and to the left and drew his sword from the ground, shoving it into his sheath for later use.

"That's just like you, isn't it Miryhn? I mean, what other long-haired pretty-boy would not only rush a group of soldiers with just a sword, but duel a physically enhanced maniac like myself with one?" Norris said, smiling crazily.

"As long as you don't start leaving flaming trails wherever you dash, I'll consider things even," Miryhn replied,

Norris roared and hurried forward, rifle blazing. Miryhn sidestepped several of the shots and began firing back, Norris juking to one side to dodge. In this moment of Miryhn seeing things in slow-mo, he began to notice that while everything else was moving slower, Norris was going just as fast as he was; however, he could only do it for a few seconds at a time. He'd go in and out of moving as quick as Miryhn himself, so Miryhn began to aim slightly ahead of where Norris was heading. Just as Norris began to slow again, he fired three times, emptying the gun. The first shot hit Norris in the right arm while the second missed and the third opened a large gash on Norris's chest. Miryhn blinked and time resumed like normal, Norris staggering to a stop and dropping his rifle.

"Well played, jerk," Norris said, his right arm moving weakly.

Miryhn tossed aside his emptied gun and drew his sword. "Just give it up. You can't use that rifle with just one arm, the recoil would send your shots all over the place."

"I'll never give up! Never! Not until my dream has been fulfilled and--augh!" Norris said, then screamed in pain. He covered his face with his left hand and began to stagger around, grunting and heaving. "What's happening to me?" he roared, and looked at Miryhn with crimson-filled eyes. Blood had washed over his eyeballs entirely, giving him a demonic-like look removing any visual sense of humanity. His entire body began to convulse and writhe as he bellowed out repeated screams of pain. "It's like my blood is on fire! My skin is crawling and burning! Oh, God, what is this?"

Miryhn bit his lip and knew this had to be an effect of the Manna. For a moment, he looked at himself and was worried that the same thing would be happening to him any time now; but seeing his oppurtunity, he had to strike down Norris now or never.

"You did this to me! You fucking...you really are some kind of angel, aren't you?" Norris said, furious.

"And you're just a demon then," Miryhn replied, twirling his katana once and sprinting at Norris.

Norris suddenly reached to his desk and grabbed a small letter-opener knife. As Miryhn swung at Norris's stomach, Norris went over his attack and the knife plunged into Miryhn's left shoulder. Norris's counterattack caused Miryhn to stagger past Norris and slam into the bookcase along the wall. Norris stopped in front of his chandelier-covered desk, holding his opened stomach wound with his weak right hand and leaning on the desk with his left hand.

"No one will stop me! I'll see this company to the top! I'll defeat Kapricon and lead Mars in the technology industry! Ryan Corporation is my life, my dream, my future! It's all about me, me, me! My wants, my needs, my dream! No one else's! Fuck anyone who gets in my way!" Norris screamed, his voice slightly raspy from having yelled so much.

Suddenly, there was a loud gunshot of a shotgun going off to the second to last chord of "Ode To Joy", and the sound of a body hitting the floor to the final chord; and the audience applauded for the final performance to be played within Norris's chambers as the CD faded out and stopped. Miryhn yanked the knife out of his shoulder and held his wound with his right hand and his katana in the left as he turned around. Dingo was standing there, the end of his shotgun smoking as he pulled back the handle and ejected the empty shell.

"That'll teach you to fuck with Dingo Egret!" Dingo said, smirking. "No one messes up my Vic Viper, nearly kills me, and gets away with it."

"Dingo?" Miryhn said, surprised.

"In the flesh," Dingo replied, flicking the safety on his gun and proping it against his shoulder.

"About time," Miryhn said, rolling his eyes.

"From the looks of things, I'm glad we got here when we did. The girl was bleeding bad, so Ken and the other kid took her down to Ricdeau's car while I came in to back you up. Looks like you really didn't need it, from the looks of things, but I just wanted to teach this shit a lesson in screwing with the infamous Dingo Egret," Dingo explained. "By the way, those are some weird contacts."

Miryhn blinked and remembered his current state. "Oh, yeah, um, don't ask. Long story."

"Whatever, man, let's just go get you and the girl patched up. Ken made a nice mess of the security records from today and the building is actually quite empty thanks to the time I wasted coming up here," Dingo said, heading for the door.

"'The girl'? You mean Vera?" Miryhn said, sheathing his katana and hurrying up beside Dingo.

"She was barely conscious and crying a lot when we got here. The other kid had no idea what to do with her and was using bits of his shirt to tie her wounds. He said you were busy down here, so he stayed behind to take care of her," Dingo explained.

"What? Barely conscious? Shit!" Miryhn said, then began running down the hallway.

"Yeah, but--hey, wait!" Dingo cried out, then took off in a run after Miryhn.

The last boss of the level was defeated, the demon was vanquished, and the potential threat of Norris Contraus was over. The angel had finally awoken while the valkyrie took wounds in the name of desperation; and they all left the battlefield, the betrayer, warrior, and warrioress as well. From that point on, nothing would be the same; they were no longer dealing with mere mortals.

<CENTER>-----------------------------</CENTE R>

* The Sword of Damocles - ...Damocles enjoyed the delights of the table until his attention was directed upward and he saw a sharp sword hanging above him by a single horsehair. By this device Dionysius made Damocles realize that insecurity might threaten those who appeared to be the most fortunate. (Sword of Damocles: symbolic potential disaster.) (Source: Encyclopedia Mythica)

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