Inari was just boiling a large pot of what look like a bunch of twigs and herbs stirred well in the bottom like tapiocas. When the mixture, a soft green in colour started bubbling, she ladled out into four equal cups into matching porcelain tea cups and brought it into the living room, where three guys were sitting around the long wooden table on soft beanbags. The forth, Eric Marsters, had went out to get some groceries while heading back to see he could salvage whatever he could find at the debris of his shop. On the table, there’s already an opened bottle of sake.
“Here, drink this. It looks like you guys need it.” She passed the cups around and they murmured their thanks.
Currently, they are now in Inari’s shrine, one of the many Shinto shrines that is built in areas of Japan to worship the goddess Inari, The shrine that they are in right now is known as the Namiyoke Inari Shrine in Tsukiji, Chuo, Tokyo. This shrine was built on the water’s edge after the Great Fire of Meireki in 1957. The name Namiyoke literally means “protection from the waves”.
Lloyd took a large gulp of the tea. It’s bitter, but somehow refreshing and calming, soothing his nerves. “Thank you.”
“It’s no trouble at all.” Inari winked, flirtatiously. “I heard from these two that the dear child in blue is taken by a red-headed boy.”
“Brainwashed, not taken.” Francis corrected.
“Hey, Inari-san, ” Glenn said. “You wouldn’t have happened to see him around, do you?”
“Well,” Inari is now setting a tray full of rice balls. “I did hear a few rumours, but I’m not too sure about the boy in red. But I’ll keep an ear out for you handsome gentlemen.” She then passed around the rice balls. “You all looked worn-out. Haven’t you all eaten anything since yesterday?”
“We only had sushi.” Francis said, biting into one of the rice balls.
“Sushi? Where are you all staying at?” Inari asked, throwing back her head and drinking one shot of sake, her golden cyan-tipped hair tumbling back over her shoulders.
“Tokyo Hotel.” Glenn replied, stuffing his rice ball into his mouth while trying to help Francis with his dressings.
“That explains it.” Inari said, stretching her legs. “Tell you what, how about you handsome gents use my place? I got a lot of rooms to spare.”
“We left our things back at the hotel.” Lloyd said, looking sullen.
“No problem.” Inari said, clicking her fingers. “I’ll get my little kitsunes to get your stuff. Does that suits you, Lloyd-kun?”
Lloyd gave her a smile while trying to stuff the rice ball down his throat. It’s not exactly his kind of food, but no matter how the food is, raw or cooked, he’s going to need to keep his strength up.
Reo was staring aimlessly at his old room ceiling. Everything is exactly the same before he left for Manhattan. The untouched Gundam models on the shelves, faded posters of Hagino Takashi taped on one wall, his old tatami mattress with the faded azure blue quilt, all exactly the same.
He never wanted to return here, but what other choice he had? Dario knew all along that he’s from the Kanagawa Prefecture, he had given his personal particulars when he was interviewed by him, but really, he never thought his Obaasan actually allowed him back here, especially when he left without saying goodbye. The others had insisted on coming here because due to a mistake between the hotel bookings, Dario had asked him, “What about your place?”
Allen had turned, looking interested. “You live here?”
Revarie had given him a cuff on the head. “He’s a Japanese, kid.”
After a heated argument in the airport, Reo had finally given in, hailed a cab, and here they are.
“Doushitanou, Reo-kun?”
That sweet old comforting voice, soft and rickety, nearly startled him off his mattress. For three years, he had left Obaasan without even saying goodbye, no note or anything, he just packed up, withdraw his savings and left. He thought she would be furious with him for leaving her. But instead, she just greeted him with her usual gentle manner. Time haven’t seemed to touch her. Obaasan Minamio, otherwise known as Ohime, is still the same as how he had remembered her. Her straight dark hair, now with grey streaks, is tied back into a long ponytail, her eyes jewel blue. Her skin has turned brown and not as smooth as before, but her warm touch is still the same.
“Nothing, Obaasan.”
“Your friends are waiting for you, chop chop.” She said, her eyes twinkling, but with the beginning of pencil lines around them.
Reo got up and went down to the living room. There they are, his allies, companions, all sitting around Obaasan’s table, all on their best behavior. Obaasan doesn’t know much about them, but as far as Reo is concerned, it’s better this way. He only fed her a few snippets of the whole truth, Dario is his employer, head of Twilight Inc., Revarie is from Italy, hired as Dario’s assistant, he in turn is hired as a secretary, and Alen, is well, the errand boy. Enough said.
“Would anyone like a cup of tea?” Obaasan asked in English.
“Yes, please…” Alen said, beaming at her. Despite the fact that he has eye shadows due from his lack of sleep, his innocent boyish features always helps him out of trouble.
“Oh, such a sweet boy.” Obaasan said in Japanese, pinching his cheeks.
“Obaasan, could please leave us for a moment?” Reo asked quietly in Japanese.
“Alright, I’ll be outside if you need me…”
“She’s a very good lady.” Alen said, sipping his cup of tea.
“Any news on Guy yet?” Revarie asked.
Dario drew out his cellphone and checked the screen. “No, he did not call or leave a message.” He then turned to Alen, “What did you find?”
Instead of Alen answering, Mind’s Shadow loomed over and said, “There’s not much to salvage. But just to let you know, I saw that Marsters boy poking around the rubbles. But enough of that, I found out something interesting…”
“What is it?” Revarie said, tending to his burns, which are glowing a blister red.
“It seems that that Marsters boy had told them something… About Guy and that girl, in Suruga Bay…”
Dario glanced at each of them in turn. “ Gentlemen, I think we know where we are heading next.”
Reo went over to an ancient cabinet and brought out a huge roll of paper, it looks like it at first, but then as he unrolls it, it’s actually a map of Japan, with details of the road and tracks of the train routes.
“Suruga Bay is at the South.” Reo said, tracing the route. “We can use the Shinkansen to head there.”
Dario nodded and went up to pack the equipments that they will be needing. Looks like this’ll be a long journey.
And, the thought makes him smile, he might be able to see little brother again…
“Those freaks thrashed my shop.”
Eric had come back, dumping whatever he could salvage from the debris. Some photos that are still alright, though they need to be dried because they’re very wet from the water, some Eric Clapton’s vinyl CDs, a very old vintage camera, and miracles of miracles, a photo album, which is bound in worn out leather and peeling gold letterings.
“What’s that?” Lloyd asked, his interest piqued.
“That? That’s my dad’s photo album.” Eric picked it up and shook it hard. “It’s a miracle it managed to survive in the debris. Otherwise, Dad would’ve haunted me.”
“May I?”
Eric shrugged. ”Suit yourself. I’m going to dry the photos… Just don’t tear it apart, it’s very old. Is there any place where I can dry the photos, Inari-sama?”
“There’s a room in the back that you’re welcome to use.” She said, gesturing at the back, drinking her fifth shot of sake, not even looking drunk at all.
Lloyd held the photo album in his hands, which feels very fragile in his hands. He flicked the album open, with Glenn and Francis beside him. The photos are many years old. Each of them have a description scribbled beside them, all in English and Japanese. Nearly all of them are boring, but it was the last one which caused Glenn to go, “Hey, wait a minute!”
Lloyd looked up and Glenn jabbed a finger at the last photo. It’s a photo of a very familiar looking face peering out at them. The description besides reads, KAGEROU TAISHII .
“Is that what I think it is?” Francis said, looking awed.
“Suruga Bay.”
Eric had came back out of the room, taking a sip of his cold green tea.
“Er…What?”
“Suruga Bay.” Eric repeated. “The old army base is there. The Japanese Army, I mean. My dad went was there. He managed to take a shot of Taishii, but he also claimed,” His gaze met theirs. “He saw a devilishly pair murdering all of the soldiers in mere minutes, not one was even left alive, both sides suffered a major loss. I thought he was making a wise crack joke before you guys came along with that video and the girl’s photo.”
“I’m going.” Lloyd nodded, making his decision.
“Say what?” Francis yelped. “We are?”
“Of course.” Lloyd was suddenly determined, all weariness and relaxation had wore off. “At least, that’s where Guy might’ve headed. And if we’re lucky, we might run into Dario and his allies.”
“And just how are you going to take them on?” Eric asked, calmly sipping his tea. “You got those pair to worry about with their crazy killer hair, and now you got those freaks on your back as well. Muri desu.”
“Well, what about you?” Lloyd said, glaring directly at him. He don’t need a translator to understand what’s muri means. His expression says it all. “You just sit back sipping your tea while Guy and V.V. are heading further and further with Guy leading the killing spree.”
Eric put his cup on the table and stood up, jabbing Lloyd’s forehead with two fingers hard. It was enough to cause him to stumble back.
“Baka, you’re just going to rush in there without a plan?” Eric said, his voice deadly serious. “Let me tell you something, my dad was a war correspondent for that war, I was one of the witnesses who saw that incident. I was only a kid at that time but I remembered it.” He pulled back the sleeve of the shirt he was wearing to reveal a large scar on his forearm, the shape of a crescent moon. “I got cut by the boy, you know. He nearly got my arm back then, if a soldier haven’t sacrificed himself to save me, I would’ve lost this arm.”
Lloyd looked away, fuming with frustration.
“He’s right, you know.” A girlish voice said. Inari is lying down on the wood floor, circling the rim of her tea cup. “You can’t rush in there without a plan, those boys might rip you before you even find the dear child.”
“I asked you this before, but I’m going to ask you again.” Eric locked gaze with him. “Do you think you can save her from that killer state?”
“And my answer is still the same, I will save her from that state, I have to try.” Lloyd said. “Sometimes, you don’t need a plan of action. You just have to go with the flow.”
Glenn and Francis stood in between, their expression nervous. No one dared to breathe, no one dared to spoke.
A girlish silvery laughter broke the silence, they all turned to see Inari laughing so hard, tears of laughter streaming her eyes.
“Why bother to ask, he’s a real man alright. Oishii.” She giggled, throwing back her hair and straightening her kimono. “Fine, I’ll take you there myself.”
Eric gave a sigh and said, “Looks like you win, Anderson. So, when do we leave?”
**********************
Far away in the sea, a ship set sail for its destination, looking like any perfectly normal ship, except there is something wrong, terribly wrong. The deck looks quiet, and the usually noisy atmosphere is eerily silent.
A figure appeared on board, wearing a blood red hakama which matched his hair. He’s carrying the body of a dead man as though he’s lightweight, despite the fact that he’s just a teenager. Looking unconcerned, he flung the dead man’s body overboard, which went crashing into the sea with an almighty crash.
“That looks boring…” Guy said, staring at the sea below. “I thought the body would be crushed by the water pressure, not just drop like a dead weight.”
He turned, staring at the mangled bodies all over the deck, all covered in blood. Some limbswere cut off, some had deep cuts and slashes, and some had injuries that made the corpse unrecognizable. They are all the old crew of the Japanese Army, all about to set sail to the sea for a short cruise trip when the boy in red suddenly launched himself onboard with his hair and-
Guy turned back to the sea, the wind blowing his hair. Their creator wasn’t among the dead though, all the dead men had pleaded for their life but none of them could tell where did Professor Taishii went, nor had they heard any news about him ever since he ran off.
Whatever, he shrugged. It’s actually all thanks to him that he was given the ability to be alive… Humanity for the demon essence that now stirs in him.
A shadowy blur suddenly whooshed past him, causing him to look up jerkily.
“What was that?”
A pine cone-like object rolled near his feet. At first, he couldn’t recognize it, then as his eyes widened-
BOOM!!!!
An explosion of orange fireball appeared.
**********************
Inari the fox soared in the air, carrying Lloyd, Glenn, Francis and Eric on her back. It was Eric who had threw the hand-grenade with pin-point accuracy at the kid in red, whom Lloyd had explained, “That’s him, the psychopath kid.”
Eric tucked his revolver and a long katana in his waist belt, saying, “Do we jump, or what?”
Lloyd strapped his Zanmato safely and said, “We jump.”
Glenn checked his Sauer one last time before tucking it back into his waist band. Besides that, he had armed himself with stakes, sharpened to a point so that it looks like a spear, and strapped to his back, the revolver which belonged to the late Erica Giovanni . The special blessed holy bullets are still in them, but there’s only enough for 5 shots. He cannot waste them. “You do realize that if we jump we might not make it back alive?”
“Don’t say that.” Lloyd said, gritting his teeth. “We got to think positive.”
“If we do not make it alive though, then we’ll set history in Columbia-U, right, Glenn?” Francis pocketed bottles of holy water into his pockets, some stakes which he slipped into his back pocket, and some of them strap to a spring mechanism in his arms, which is hidden by his long sleeved coat, but his most deadly weapon, his bare fists and legs.
“If you all do die though,” Inari said, circling lower the ship. “Then you’re all welcome to be my fox spirits.”
“Gee, that’s comforting.” Lloyd said sarcastically.
From the thick smoke, long red hair-like serpents emerged out from all directions, each tip like a snake’s head, all wide open to reveal jagged fangs. Without even hesitating, Inari’s nine tails glowed and blasted nine huge blue fireballs at the hair serpents. Some of them caught on fire and burned, while others evade as quick as a serpent.
“Jump, now!” Lloyd shouted.
They needed no more orders, they all leapt into the air and onto the deck, with Inari landing gracefully beside the guys in her human form, but with her fox ears and nine tails glowing brightly in gold and cyan, brimming with ancient magic.
“I should’ve know it was you guys again….”
The smoke had cleared and Guy looked unharmed , except there’s dirt and soot on his clothes and slightly charred hair where the fireballs had burned them.
“We’re here to take back V.V., Guy Moon.” Lloyd said, Zanmato out.
“Heh, why don’t you just ask her yourself?”
The soft sounds of bare feet walking towards them made him turn and he felt his heart plummet.
There she is, wearing a plain white yukata robe, her face looks deadpan, but she looks the same as ever. Her face made no recognization even as she saw them.
“V.V…..” He whispered.
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Saturday, December 10, 2011
Supernatural Demon Slayers : Chapter 30 - On That Day... ( その日の... )
Lloyd woke up from the flat tatami mattress he was using as a bed, still jet-lagged. Mind still groggy, he sat up and saw Glenn and Francis sleeping on either side of him like sardines.
Staring at the Japanese characters on the wall, he then realized. Oh, oh yeah. We’re in Japan now.
Japan….
Lloyd got up and walked to the window. The sky was tranquil, and Mt. Fuji seemed so picturesque from here, piercing through the fluffy clouds. Even it is so far away, it looked so near, yet so far.
A yawn cause him to turn to find Francis stretching on his tatami mattress, his hair ruffled and sticking out in tufts.
“You’re up early…” He commented.
“I never been outside of the States before…” Lloyd shrugged, “Japan is so…peaceful.”
“But of course.” Francis said, getting up, adjusting his dressings. “It’s a very quiet peaceful country. What do you expect?”
Lloyd shrugged and went to the bathroom, which is so much bigger than the one in their apartment, because it came fully equipped with a shower and a bath tub. It’s traditional for Japanese to have a cold shower then douse themselves in the tub, filled with warm water for cleansing. Undressing himself, he was about to take off the entire thin robe he was wearing when he caught sight of his reflection on the small framed mirror.
My hair had grew out? Lloyd thought, staring at his hair which is now touching his shoulders. I never noticed. Then again, I never had a haircut for weeks now. Pushing his fringe away from his eyes, he caught sight of his face which does, in fact resembles him. He had never noticed, how much they both really do resemble.
Shaking his head, he ignored the mirror until he was fresh and up in a black V-collared T-shirt and pale grey pants when Glenn barged in.
“You done yet?” He asked drowsily. “I want to bathe too. Francis’s needs to clean his wounds with the medicine that the hospital gave so let me through.”
He made his way out as Glenn slid the door shut. Francis had already undressed most if his dressings to reveal the deep cuts and the holes in his palms where Guy had brutally nailed him on his palms. The skin is already mending but it will never be the same ever again.
“It’ll be fine.” Francis said, catching his eye. “Besides, shouldn’t you be looking for O. Marsters?”
“I guess.” Lloyd sighed, going over to the thick phone directory book. It’s all in Japanese which makes him groaned, luckily Francis came to his rescue.
“This one, I’ll do it…”
It became apparent that Francis’s Japanese is quite... amateur, but better than him, he couldn’t even speak, let alone understand as Francis jabbered non-stop on the phone, it reminds him of Inari when she was shrieking non-stop at him to break traffic laws. But in the end, Francis had managed to pry the information out of the operator and brandish the small piece of paper to him.
“All done. There’s only one Marsters who specialized in photography and videos. He lives in Shibuya. Not too far from here.”
“Thanks. Take care of Glenn for me, okay?”
“Don’t worry. We’ll be fine. Just go.”
Lloyd stood outside the small studio, with his blade wrapped tightly in its cloth and case and consulting his address. Yep, Marster’s Magic Photos, Your One Stop Shop for Photos and Videos.
Lloyd stepped into the shop. It seemed so cut off from the outside world. The shop is rather cramped and antique, with frames and frames of old photos hung in every inch of available space. Stacks of CDs, vinyl record players, video players, CD players and many others are stacked on the desk behind the glass counter, where there’s a display of photos in which you could choose your own designs. Somewhere behind the shop, there’s a music playing Eric Clapton.
This, is one seriously weird place.
“Dare?”
A figure emerged out of a door that leads to a back room. He is about a few years older than he is, tall and lanky, with short reddish brown hair, brown almond-shaped eyes and slightly tanned skin. Definitely a foreigner.
“Ahm, is O. Marsters here?” Lloyd had wanted to try to use Japanese but he decides better against it. It was already bad enough that few people snickered when he tried to buy ticket on the bus and the driver couldn’t even understand a single word of English. None of the passengers were even helpful except to watch this American struggle until he pointed at the ticket machine, where the driver understood him.
“You’re American, I couldn’t tell.” The man said, switching to English.
“Geez, that’s kind of sad. Anyway, is O. Marsters around?”
“I think you meant my father, Oliver.” The man said clicking the music off. “Sorry, he’s dead few years back. I’m his son, Eric.”
“My sincerest apologies.”
“It’s alright, what business do you have with my father anyway?”
Lloyd brought out a flash drive and said, “The Russia-Japan war.”
“What about it?”
“Do you have a desktop or a USB port somewhere? It’s going to be a long day.”
“I know what you mean. Come on in…”
“Where did Lloyd went?” Glenn asked.
“He went to Shibuya to find that Marsters guy.”
“He can’t go out alone, he can’t even speak Japanese, let alone understand it, what the heck is he thinking?” Glenn snatched his coat up from the rack and went for the door. “I’m going after him.”
He had only taken two strides when a big black shadow swooped down on him, slamming him onto the floor.
“I see you had arrived as well.” Revarie sneered, holding him down.
“Oh man, you too?” Francis groaned, staring at Alen, who was holding him into place with Mind’s Shadow. How did he get here that fast?
“We’re one short.” Revarie prodded Glenn hard on the forehead. “Hey, retard, where’s your boss?”
“Now what makes you think I would tell to someone with the likes of you?” Glenn spat.
“Oh, you are going to tell me if you want your Jewish friend alive.” He shook him hard. “Now, where’s your boss?”
“I don’t know.”
“He says don’t know, don’t we all know it is just a trick?” Revarie said to Mind’s Shadow, who laughed. He swooped down upon them, clinging with his dark tendrils and into their minds, exposing all of their darkest deepest thoughts to him.
“Interesting.” Mind’s Shadow said softly, stretching back to Alen. “They found about Guy and V.V…. Their boss is heading to Shibuya, trying to get help from someone.”
“Brillante.” Revarie yanked Glenn by the collar. “I will not drink your blood, but I’ll snap your neck. That way, my family tree will be pruned.” His hands tightened around his throat and he started to squeeze hard.
He never even gone that far, that’s because a gold blue blur rushed past all of them like a wind, flinging Revarie off Glenn, knocking him onto a wooden dresser which stabbed him painfully in the arm.
“What???’
The gold blue blur slowed down and gave a silvery and light, girlish yet child-like laughter, revealing a familiar tall, slender figurine with golden blonde hair with fiery blue coloured tips, with nine-tails fanned out behind her.
“Inari!” Glenn sighed with relief.
Inari gave another child-like laughter. “The tall one is not here? Amai.”
“Get lost, kitsune.” Revarie snarled.
“I dislike that term. I am Inari.” Inari rushed towards Revarie and hurl him out of the window. He gave a yell as sunlight came into contact with him, burning his flesh. He hurriedly pulled up his thick hood and scampered for safety in the shadowed alleys, cursing in Italian.
“We’ll be back in another day, Kitsune Witch.” Mind’s Shadow warned. “We already got what we wanted anyway.” Allen then leapt over the balcony railing and ran off.
Inari was busy giggling like a delighted child. “Oh, it is such a rare sight to see all of you again. Especially in my own homeland. Where’s dear Lloyd?”
“He went to Shibuya, didn’t you hear?” Francis said.
“It seems a lot have happened when I was gone.” Inari remarked, sitting on the floor in the lotus position. “Where’s that aisuru ko – dear child, V.V.?”
“It’s very long story, Inari-san.” Glenn said.
“Oooh, could you get me some sake and rice then?” Inari said, moving gracefully and sitting in the traditional Japanese way, with her legs tucked beneath her on a cushion.
“Well,” Francis shrugged. “We can ask for room service, or we could just go down and get it from the convenience store.”
“No can do, Frances. They might be going after Lloyd.” Glenn yanked his coat from the floor and ran for the door. “I’ll be right back!” He shouted over his shoulder.
Eric watched the entire video clip in silence with Lloyd standing beside him in front of an old Macintosh computer. Even though he had already seen the video, it still gave him the chill when he saw V.V’s crazed face. Blood splashing all over her as she killed soldiers one after another, completely oblivious to the screams and cries of mercy. It’s very obvious that Guy’s enjoying himself as he cut down one after another.
“Well, that’s a very interesting clip you found, Mr Anderson.” Eric remarked softly as the clip ended.
“It was your dad who took the clip. Speaking of that scientist, my partner managed to translate some of his findings. ” Lloyd brought out a sheaf of papers. “Listen to this….”
“1st March 1904 –The Russian are keeping us at bay. The Empire is asking me to hurry it up with my experiment. I’m already trying my best, but most of my experiments failed. I spent the hours of dusk burying all of the bodies to dispose of the evidence. I can’t seem to find anyone compatible to the demon essence of Kagami and Morphix. ”
“5th March 1904 – The odds are still not in our favour, but the Empire had threw in a couple of children from the Russian military. I have no interest in them but left them to my assistant, who is in charge of giving them their basic needs. ”
“Well, this guy must’ve been a crackpot.” Eric shrugged, taking out a cigarette and lighting it with a silver lighter. He sure kept that quiet.
“Wait, there’s more.” Lloyd said, pulling out a small note. “This is probably before the Russian ambushed him.”
“15th May 1904 – It has been months since those two children had been with me. Both had blossomed into their 16 years of age. My assistant discreetly told me that they seem compatible for the experiment. Giving me a report of their progress, I agreed. Maybe they are compatible.
I called the boy and the girl into my lab. I then gave them sleeping drought and huge dose of painkillers before I set to work on them… Indeed, most of my experiments had never made it pass the compatible stage but to my surprise, they both are compatible. ”
“21st June 1904 – The demonic essence of Kaphix (my term for combining Kagami and Morphix) is finally inserted into both of them, but both of them are still in deep slumber. However, I had already made a scan on both of them and discovered, B.B.(The boy) succeeded, but to a side effect. It seems that it had drove part of his mentality insane. V.V (The girl) succeeded, a masterpiece. When she wakes up, I will be able to train her into the perfect weapon against the Russian. It’ll take a while for these two to wake up again, though B.B. is considered as a failure, nevertheless he’ll be useful in the battle. At least I’m glad that I won’t have to bury another couple of bodies.”
“Well, you obviously done your research.” Eric said. “Sorry, I can’t help you much. But why don’t you try looking at the old army base?”
“Is anybody home?” A voice called out.
“Glenn?” Lloyd turned. Eric dropped his cigarette and brought out a katana from a wooden cabinet. An orochi blade, to be exact. “Don’t worry, he’s my partner.”
“Oh, you’re here.” Glenn said, his head peeping out of the doorway. “Is that him, O. Marsters?”
“No, this is his son, Eric.” Lloyd said, Eric lowered the orochi blade a few inches, but his guard is still up. “What brings you here, Glenn?”
“Lloyd, Dario’s pals are here. We just got a visit from the vampire and the shadower.”
Lloyd inhaled sharply. Looks like Dario is also making his move.
“Got it.” Lloyd said, looking alert. “What do you mean the old army base?”
“Well, the base had died out but maybe you can find some clues there. It’s in S-”
He stopped just as they hear a small clink. All three of them looked down to find a metallic object rolled into the room. Shaped like a small pine cone and-
“DOWN!!!” Lloyd shouted as the grenade exploded. Chunks of concretes flew everywhere. The framed photos shattered like showers of ice and the photos were charred in places. As the grey smoke cleared, they all tried to get up but bullets went soaring above their heads. If they stood up a second faster, they would’ve been killed.
“Looks like we been found.” Glenn said, his vamp enhanced sight allowed him to see through the smoke to find Reo standing in the doorway like a hitman.
“Revarie and Alen told me… Now come on out.” He said coolly, gunblades armed in hands.
“Darn, that vampire ratted us out.” Glenn said, taking out his Sauer.
Eric, meanwhile, armed with his revolver, crawled across the room and shoved a bookcase aside. At first, they couldn’t understand why is he shoving a bookcase aside, since the noise it made will alert Reo that something’s up. But then they saw it.
A door, completely hidden by the bookshelf, but now it’s exposed for all to see.
“Get over here, quickly.” He hissed, slowly pulling the door open. Crashes and glasses tinkling are alerting them that Reo is making his way towards the room.
Without hesitating, Lloyd boosted himself forward, passed the debris and mess. Glenn managed to make it safely by using his vamp strength. He seems to be getting used to the perks of having half-vampire.
Eric waited till they’re both safely passed through before he stood up and slammed the door shut, locking it with a number of padlocks, bolts and chains, all which slide into place easily. Then, he grabbed some worn out furnitures and started barricading the door, with Glenn helping him.
Meanwhile, Lloyd took in their surroundings by switching on the naked lightbulb. They seemed to be in the dark room, where the photographs are all processed. The equipments and chemicals all lay neatly in a row, looking just like any other normal room, except there’s another door that leads outside. Even though it’s only noon, the temperature seemed to have dropped into zero degrees.
A photograph on the table caught his eye. He went over and felt his heart gave out.
A photo of V.V., but not the V.V. he knew. This V.V. have yards and yards of hair grown out in extreme length, with bangs covering part of her face, forming blades that are stained with blood, her hands too became sickle blades, her eyes a wild look. From what he could see in the background, hundreds of dead soldiers, all killed in the most gruesome manner. Some of the eyes are glazed and wide opened, staring into nothingness, some face were crushed, or even worse. It made him sick to think that this is actually the V.V. he knew. Except…..it’s not really her anymore, is it?
Whoa, where did that thought come from?
“Yeah, my dad managed to get a snapshot of that.” Eric had came over and turned the photo over for him to see the date behind, written in Japanese, but it’s recognizable for him. The Fourth of July…
7月4曰1904年
“He wouldn’t tell me the exact numbers, but I can tell you that she alone had took out 100 soldiers in 5 minutes.”
“100 soldiers in 5 minutes?” Lloyd choked out.
“That’s right. It was a long time before both party realized sent out their special military to subdue them. ” He fished out another photo from among the stacks. “This one is taken before they’re hauled off.”
This picture is rather peaceful looking. This one shows a very-tired looking V.V. being strapped onto a metal stretcher and bound in chains and belts as she’s hauled away to – from what he could see –A steel military truck.
“How-” His throat dry. “Did they subdue her?”
“That, I don’t know.” Eric shrugged. “But let me ask you one thing, do you think she could still be saved from that?”
Lloyd stood very still. Images of V.V. flashed past his mind. The first time he met her right outside Stellar Inc. –her face and Serenity’s look alike, except with the slight differences-how innocent looking she was, but with a stubborn personality. The first time he brought her 1901 hotdog at the vendor. How she usually try to hide her pain through her tough façade. The times they spent together hunting down the supernaturals and demons that are threatening Manhattan…
Lloyd snapped himself out of the visions and stood steadily, back straight like a knight going out for war, straight into Eric’s unconcerned gaze. “She’s not that V.V. anymore. I’ll save her. I don’t know how but I will save her. ”
“Um, Lloyd,” Glenn piped up from the corner. “I don’t mean to interrupt but Reo seemed to be channeling water.”
They stood still for a few moment and there’s the sound of the waves sloshing outside the door. The naked lightbulb, their only source of light suddenly dimmed, plunging them into darkness.
Eric nodded and kicked the other door open. And without further ado, clambered outside, the revolver strapped onto his back. They followed him and they were shocked to find themselves on the balcony, with no way out.
But Eric only grinned. “I been wanting to do this for a long time.” He reached into his pocket, brought something to his teeth and flung it into the dark room. Then he gestured at a long steel ladder that leads up. Hurriedly, they both head up, following his lead. Just as they reached the rooftop, there was a loud deafening explosion, in bellowing orange and red.
Glenn stared at him in amazement. “A hand grenade?”
The pin is still in his teeth. “Nitrostarch, my own creation.”
But that is as far as he get because the familiar thick-hooded figure charged towards them, grabbing Lloyd by the neck and dashing him onto the ground. Even as they stood, the building suddenly shook violently like a rocket and a huge fountain of water erupted, making a hole and Reo emerged, shooting at Glenn who ran zig-zag. Allen overcome gravity by levitating himself up and smiling serenely, levitated wooden crates and hurled them like huge dices towards Eric, who didn’t even blink but just brought out his revolver and shoot them into pieces.
Soon, they were locked into a sort of tag match. Lloyd against Revarie, Glenn against Reo and Eric against Alen. Revarie had snatched up a long metal bar and is swinging it violently at him, intending to take his head off, sparks contracting as the metals meet. Glenn and Reo were locked in hand-to-hand combat. And Alen was throwing objects after objects against Eric, who is just standing in one position and just pulling the trigger.
“Stop that, kid.” He muttered as he blasted another object apart.
“This is fun, don’tcha think?” Alen giggled, hurling a metal garbage bin towards him. This one, he can’t shoot, but he could duck. Big mistake. A large crate went slamming into his abdomen and he went flying, nearly dropping over the roof edge.
“You found out about Guy, but you know what, Dario don’t really care.” Revarie said, the metal bar crashing into his Zanmato. “He just wanted us to slow you down so that they could deal with their matters.”
“V.V., she’s with him, isn’t she?” The metal bar went flying into the air and clanged loudly on the rooftop.
“Funny you should ask, but they are like a single unit.” Revarie yanked him by the hair, shoved his Zanmato aside and said, “I’ll have your blood, after that, your friends are next.”
As the fangs were about to tear into his neck, someone went stabbing Revarie on the back, causing him to harmlessly cut into Lloyd’s neck but thankfully, not severing any arteries to let the blood gush out.
“Lloyd-kun…”
Lloyd turned to see the slender fox in gold and fiery blue tips staring at him. Her eyes twinkling with mischievousness. The nine tails fuelling with power. On her back, a very petrified Francis clung onto her tight as he whimpered, “Never again am I going to sit on a fox’s back.”
“K-Kitsune???”
“Kitsune? It’s Inari!” She huffed, giving him a playful cuff on the head with her paw. “How could you have forgotten me that soon?”
“Kitsune Witch, you dare to interfere again?” Revarie shouted, keeping his hood tucked to prevent himself from burning.
“I-Inari-san!” Glenn sighed. “Thank you, Frances.” He managed to give a mock-salute before Reo went striking him with a knife-hand jab on the arm, which stings very painfully.
“Come on, Glenn, let’s go!” Frances managed to call out. Lloyd gestured at Eric, who nodded and ran.
Moments later, they’re soaring in the sky on Inari’s back, away from all of the riot.
Staring at the Japanese characters on the wall, he then realized. Oh, oh yeah. We’re in Japan now.
Japan….
Lloyd got up and walked to the window. The sky was tranquil, and Mt. Fuji seemed so picturesque from here, piercing through the fluffy clouds. Even it is so far away, it looked so near, yet so far.
A yawn cause him to turn to find Francis stretching on his tatami mattress, his hair ruffled and sticking out in tufts.
“You’re up early…” He commented.
“I never been outside of the States before…” Lloyd shrugged, “Japan is so…peaceful.”
“But of course.” Francis said, getting up, adjusting his dressings. “It’s a very quiet peaceful country. What do you expect?”
Lloyd shrugged and went to the bathroom, which is so much bigger than the one in their apartment, because it came fully equipped with a shower and a bath tub. It’s traditional for Japanese to have a cold shower then douse themselves in the tub, filled with warm water for cleansing. Undressing himself, he was about to take off the entire thin robe he was wearing when he caught sight of his reflection on the small framed mirror.
My hair had grew out? Lloyd thought, staring at his hair which is now touching his shoulders. I never noticed. Then again, I never had a haircut for weeks now. Pushing his fringe away from his eyes, he caught sight of his face which does, in fact resembles him. He had never noticed, how much they both really do resemble.
Shaking his head, he ignored the mirror until he was fresh and up in a black V-collared T-shirt and pale grey pants when Glenn barged in.
“You done yet?” He asked drowsily. “I want to bathe too. Francis’s needs to clean his wounds with the medicine that the hospital gave so let me through.”
He made his way out as Glenn slid the door shut. Francis had already undressed most if his dressings to reveal the deep cuts and the holes in his palms where Guy had brutally nailed him on his palms. The skin is already mending but it will never be the same ever again.
“It’ll be fine.” Francis said, catching his eye. “Besides, shouldn’t you be looking for O. Marsters?”
“I guess.” Lloyd sighed, going over to the thick phone directory book. It’s all in Japanese which makes him groaned, luckily Francis came to his rescue.
“This one, I’ll do it…”
It became apparent that Francis’s Japanese is quite... amateur, but better than him, he couldn’t even speak, let alone understand as Francis jabbered non-stop on the phone, it reminds him of Inari when she was shrieking non-stop at him to break traffic laws. But in the end, Francis had managed to pry the information out of the operator and brandish the small piece of paper to him.
“All done. There’s only one Marsters who specialized in photography and videos. He lives in Shibuya. Not too far from here.”
“Thanks. Take care of Glenn for me, okay?”
“Don’t worry. We’ll be fine. Just go.”
Lloyd stood outside the small studio, with his blade wrapped tightly in its cloth and case and consulting his address. Yep, Marster’s Magic Photos, Your One Stop Shop for Photos and Videos.
Lloyd stepped into the shop. It seemed so cut off from the outside world. The shop is rather cramped and antique, with frames and frames of old photos hung in every inch of available space. Stacks of CDs, vinyl record players, video players, CD players and many others are stacked on the desk behind the glass counter, where there’s a display of photos in which you could choose your own designs. Somewhere behind the shop, there’s a music playing Eric Clapton.
This, is one seriously weird place.
“Dare?”
A figure emerged out of a door that leads to a back room. He is about a few years older than he is, tall and lanky, with short reddish brown hair, brown almond-shaped eyes and slightly tanned skin. Definitely a foreigner.
“Ahm, is O. Marsters here?” Lloyd had wanted to try to use Japanese but he decides better against it. It was already bad enough that few people snickered when he tried to buy ticket on the bus and the driver couldn’t even understand a single word of English. None of the passengers were even helpful except to watch this American struggle until he pointed at the ticket machine, where the driver understood him.
“You’re American, I couldn’t tell.” The man said, switching to English.
“Geez, that’s kind of sad. Anyway, is O. Marsters around?”
“I think you meant my father, Oliver.” The man said clicking the music off. “Sorry, he’s dead few years back. I’m his son, Eric.”
“My sincerest apologies.”
“It’s alright, what business do you have with my father anyway?”
Lloyd brought out a flash drive and said, “The Russia-Japan war.”
“What about it?”
“Do you have a desktop or a USB port somewhere? It’s going to be a long day.”
“I know what you mean. Come on in…”
“Where did Lloyd went?” Glenn asked.
“He went to Shibuya to find that Marsters guy.”
“He can’t go out alone, he can’t even speak Japanese, let alone understand it, what the heck is he thinking?” Glenn snatched his coat up from the rack and went for the door. “I’m going after him.”
He had only taken two strides when a big black shadow swooped down on him, slamming him onto the floor.
“I see you had arrived as well.” Revarie sneered, holding him down.
“Oh man, you too?” Francis groaned, staring at Alen, who was holding him into place with Mind’s Shadow. How did he get here that fast?
“We’re one short.” Revarie prodded Glenn hard on the forehead. “Hey, retard, where’s your boss?”
“Now what makes you think I would tell to someone with the likes of you?” Glenn spat.
“Oh, you are going to tell me if you want your Jewish friend alive.” He shook him hard. “Now, where’s your boss?”
“I don’t know.”
“He says don’t know, don’t we all know it is just a trick?” Revarie said to Mind’s Shadow, who laughed. He swooped down upon them, clinging with his dark tendrils and into their minds, exposing all of their darkest deepest thoughts to him.
“Interesting.” Mind’s Shadow said softly, stretching back to Alen. “They found about Guy and V.V…. Their boss is heading to Shibuya, trying to get help from someone.”
“Brillante.” Revarie yanked Glenn by the collar. “I will not drink your blood, but I’ll snap your neck. That way, my family tree will be pruned.” His hands tightened around his throat and he started to squeeze hard.
He never even gone that far, that’s because a gold blue blur rushed past all of them like a wind, flinging Revarie off Glenn, knocking him onto a wooden dresser which stabbed him painfully in the arm.
“What???’
The gold blue blur slowed down and gave a silvery and light, girlish yet child-like laughter, revealing a familiar tall, slender figurine with golden blonde hair with fiery blue coloured tips, with nine-tails fanned out behind her.
“Inari!” Glenn sighed with relief.
Inari gave another child-like laughter. “The tall one is not here? Amai.”
“Get lost, kitsune.” Revarie snarled.
“I dislike that term. I am Inari.” Inari rushed towards Revarie and hurl him out of the window. He gave a yell as sunlight came into contact with him, burning his flesh. He hurriedly pulled up his thick hood and scampered for safety in the shadowed alleys, cursing in Italian.
“We’ll be back in another day, Kitsune Witch.” Mind’s Shadow warned. “We already got what we wanted anyway.” Allen then leapt over the balcony railing and ran off.
Inari was busy giggling like a delighted child. “Oh, it is such a rare sight to see all of you again. Especially in my own homeland. Where’s dear Lloyd?”
“He went to Shibuya, didn’t you hear?” Francis said.
“It seems a lot have happened when I was gone.” Inari remarked, sitting on the floor in the lotus position. “Where’s that aisuru ko – dear child, V.V.?”
“It’s very long story, Inari-san.” Glenn said.
“Oooh, could you get me some sake and rice then?” Inari said, moving gracefully and sitting in the traditional Japanese way, with her legs tucked beneath her on a cushion.
“Well,” Francis shrugged. “We can ask for room service, or we could just go down and get it from the convenience store.”
“No can do, Frances. They might be going after Lloyd.” Glenn yanked his coat from the floor and ran for the door. “I’ll be right back!” He shouted over his shoulder.
Eric watched the entire video clip in silence with Lloyd standing beside him in front of an old Macintosh computer. Even though he had already seen the video, it still gave him the chill when he saw V.V’s crazed face. Blood splashing all over her as she killed soldiers one after another, completely oblivious to the screams and cries of mercy. It’s very obvious that Guy’s enjoying himself as he cut down one after another.
“Well, that’s a very interesting clip you found, Mr Anderson.” Eric remarked softly as the clip ended.
“It was your dad who took the clip. Speaking of that scientist, my partner managed to translate some of his findings. ” Lloyd brought out a sheaf of papers. “Listen to this….”
“1st March 1904 –The Russian are keeping us at bay. The Empire is asking me to hurry it up with my experiment. I’m already trying my best, but most of my experiments failed. I spent the hours of dusk burying all of the bodies to dispose of the evidence. I can’t seem to find anyone compatible to the demon essence of Kagami and Morphix. ”
“5th March 1904 – The odds are still not in our favour, but the Empire had threw in a couple of children from the Russian military. I have no interest in them but left them to my assistant, who is in charge of giving them their basic needs. ”
“Well, this guy must’ve been a crackpot.” Eric shrugged, taking out a cigarette and lighting it with a silver lighter. He sure kept that quiet.
“Wait, there’s more.” Lloyd said, pulling out a small note. “This is probably before the Russian ambushed him.”
“15th May 1904 – It has been months since those two children had been with me. Both had blossomed into their 16 years of age. My assistant discreetly told me that they seem compatible for the experiment. Giving me a report of their progress, I agreed. Maybe they are compatible.
I called the boy and the girl into my lab. I then gave them sleeping drought and huge dose of painkillers before I set to work on them… Indeed, most of my experiments had never made it pass the compatible stage but to my surprise, they both are compatible. ”
“21st June 1904 – The demonic essence of Kaphix (my term for combining Kagami and Morphix) is finally inserted into both of them, but both of them are still in deep slumber. However, I had already made a scan on both of them and discovered, B.B.(The boy) succeeded, but to a side effect. It seems that it had drove part of his mentality insane. V.V (The girl) succeeded, a masterpiece. When she wakes up, I will be able to train her into the perfect weapon against the Russian. It’ll take a while for these two to wake up again, though B.B. is considered as a failure, nevertheless he’ll be useful in the battle. At least I’m glad that I won’t have to bury another couple of bodies.”
“Well, you obviously done your research.” Eric said. “Sorry, I can’t help you much. But why don’t you try looking at the old army base?”
“Is anybody home?” A voice called out.
“Glenn?” Lloyd turned. Eric dropped his cigarette and brought out a katana from a wooden cabinet. An orochi blade, to be exact. “Don’t worry, he’s my partner.”
“Oh, you’re here.” Glenn said, his head peeping out of the doorway. “Is that him, O. Marsters?”
“No, this is his son, Eric.” Lloyd said, Eric lowered the orochi blade a few inches, but his guard is still up. “What brings you here, Glenn?”
“Lloyd, Dario’s pals are here. We just got a visit from the vampire and the shadower.”
Lloyd inhaled sharply. Looks like Dario is also making his move.
“Got it.” Lloyd said, looking alert. “What do you mean the old army base?”
“Well, the base had died out but maybe you can find some clues there. It’s in S-”
He stopped just as they hear a small clink. All three of them looked down to find a metallic object rolled into the room. Shaped like a small pine cone and-
“DOWN!!!” Lloyd shouted as the grenade exploded. Chunks of concretes flew everywhere. The framed photos shattered like showers of ice and the photos were charred in places. As the grey smoke cleared, they all tried to get up but bullets went soaring above their heads. If they stood up a second faster, they would’ve been killed.
“Looks like we been found.” Glenn said, his vamp enhanced sight allowed him to see through the smoke to find Reo standing in the doorway like a hitman.
“Revarie and Alen told me… Now come on out.” He said coolly, gunblades armed in hands.
“Darn, that vampire ratted us out.” Glenn said, taking out his Sauer.
Eric, meanwhile, armed with his revolver, crawled across the room and shoved a bookcase aside. At first, they couldn’t understand why is he shoving a bookcase aside, since the noise it made will alert Reo that something’s up. But then they saw it.
A door, completely hidden by the bookshelf, but now it’s exposed for all to see.
“Get over here, quickly.” He hissed, slowly pulling the door open. Crashes and glasses tinkling are alerting them that Reo is making his way towards the room.
Without hesitating, Lloyd boosted himself forward, passed the debris and mess. Glenn managed to make it safely by using his vamp strength. He seems to be getting used to the perks of having half-vampire.
Eric waited till they’re both safely passed through before he stood up and slammed the door shut, locking it with a number of padlocks, bolts and chains, all which slide into place easily. Then, he grabbed some worn out furnitures and started barricading the door, with Glenn helping him.
Meanwhile, Lloyd took in their surroundings by switching on the naked lightbulb. They seemed to be in the dark room, where the photographs are all processed. The equipments and chemicals all lay neatly in a row, looking just like any other normal room, except there’s another door that leads outside. Even though it’s only noon, the temperature seemed to have dropped into zero degrees.
A photograph on the table caught his eye. He went over and felt his heart gave out.
A photo of V.V., but not the V.V. he knew. This V.V. have yards and yards of hair grown out in extreme length, with bangs covering part of her face, forming blades that are stained with blood, her hands too became sickle blades, her eyes a wild look. From what he could see in the background, hundreds of dead soldiers, all killed in the most gruesome manner. Some of the eyes are glazed and wide opened, staring into nothingness, some face were crushed, or even worse. It made him sick to think that this is actually the V.V. he knew. Except…..it’s not really her anymore, is it?
Whoa, where did that thought come from?
“Yeah, my dad managed to get a snapshot of that.” Eric had came over and turned the photo over for him to see the date behind, written in Japanese, but it’s recognizable for him. The Fourth of July…
7月4曰1904年
“He wouldn’t tell me the exact numbers, but I can tell you that she alone had took out 100 soldiers in 5 minutes.”
“100 soldiers in 5 minutes?” Lloyd choked out.
“That’s right. It was a long time before both party realized sent out their special military to subdue them. ” He fished out another photo from among the stacks. “This one is taken before they’re hauled off.”
This picture is rather peaceful looking. This one shows a very-tired looking V.V. being strapped onto a metal stretcher and bound in chains and belts as she’s hauled away to – from what he could see –A steel military truck.
“How-” His throat dry. “Did they subdue her?”
“That, I don’t know.” Eric shrugged. “But let me ask you one thing, do you think she could still be saved from that?”
Lloyd stood very still. Images of V.V. flashed past his mind. The first time he met her right outside Stellar Inc. –her face and Serenity’s look alike, except with the slight differences-how innocent looking she was, but with a stubborn personality. The first time he brought her 1901 hotdog at the vendor. How she usually try to hide her pain through her tough façade. The times they spent together hunting down the supernaturals and demons that are threatening Manhattan…
Lloyd snapped himself out of the visions and stood steadily, back straight like a knight going out for war, straight into Eric’s unconcerned gaze. “She’s not that V.V. anymore. I’ll save her. I don’t know how but I will save her. ”
“Um, Lloyd,” Glenn piped up from the corner. “I don’t mean to interrupt but Reo seemed to be channeling water.”
They stood still for a few moment and there’s the sound of the waves sloshing outside the door. The naked lightbulb, their only source of light suddenly dimmed, plunging them into darkness.
Eric nodded and kicked the other door open. And without further ado, clambered outside, the revolver strapped onto his back. They followed him and they were shocked to find themselves on the balcony, with no way out.
But Eric only grinned. “I been wanting to do this for a long time.” He reached into his pocket, brought something to his teeth and flung it into the dark room. Then he gestured at a long steel ladder that leads up. Hurriedly, they both head up, following his lead. Just as they reached the rooftop, there was a loud deafening explosion, in bellowing orange and red.
Glenn stared at him in amazement. “A hand grenade?”
The pin is still in his teeth. “Nitrostarch, my own creation.”
But that is as far as he get because the familiar thick-hooded figure charged towards them, grabbing Lloyd by the neck and dashing him onto the ground. Even as they stood, the building suddenly shook violently like a rocket and a huge fountain of water erupted, making a hole and Reo emerged, shooting at Glenn who ran zig-zag. Allen overcome gravity by levitating himself up and smiling serenely, levitated wooden crates and hurled them like huge dices towards Eric, who didn’t even blink but just brought out his revolver and shoot them into pieces.
Soon, they were locked into a sort of tag match. Lloyd against Revarie, Glenn against Reo and Eric against Alen. Revarie had snatched up a long metal bar and is swinging it violently at him, intending to take his head off, sparks contracting as the metals meet. Glenn and Reo were locked in hand-to-hand combat. And Alen was throwing objects after objects against Eric, who is just standing in one position and just pulling the trigger.
“Stop that, kid.” He muttered as he blasted another object apart.
“This is fun, don’tcha think?” Alen giggled, hurling a metal garbage bin towards him. This one, he can’t shoot, but he could duck. Big mistake. A large crate went slamming into his abdomen and he went flying, nearly dropping over the roof edge.
“You found out about Guy, but you know what, Dario don’t really care.” Revarie said, the metal bar crashing into his Zanmato. “He just wanted us to slow you down so that they could deal with their matters.”
“V.V., she’s with him, isn’t she?” The metal bar went flying into the air and clanged loudly on the rooftop.
“Funny you should ask, but they are like a single unit.” Revarie yanked him by the hair, shoved his Zanmato aside and said, “I’ll have your blood, after that, your friends are next.”
As the fangs were about to tear into his neck, someone went stabbing Revarie on the back, causing him to harmlessly cut into Lloyd’s neck but thankfully, not severing any arteries to let the blood gush out.
“Lloyd-kun…”
Lloyd turned to see the slender fox in gold and fiery blue tips staring at him. Her eyes twinkling with mischievousness. The nine tails fuelling with power. On her back, a very petrified Francis clung onto her tight as he whimpered, “Never again am I going to sit on a fox’s back.”
“K-Kitsune???”
“Kitsune? It’s Inari!” She huffed, giving him a playful cuff on the head with her paw. “How could you have forgotten me that soon?”
“Kitsune Witch, you dare to interfere again?” Revarie shouted, keeping his hood tucked to prevent himself from burning.
“I-Inari-san!” Glenn sighed. “Thank you, Frances.” He managed to give a mock-salute before Reo went striking him with a knife-hand jab on the arm, which stings very painfully.
“Come on, Glenn, let’s go!” Frances managed to call out. Lloyd gestured at Eric, who nodded and ran.
Moments later, they’re soaring in the sky on Inari’s back, away from all of the riot.
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Supernatural Demon Slayers : Chapter 29 - The Truth Behind V.V. ( V.V.の背後にある真実 )
1904, RUSSIA-JAPAN WAR
Professor Taishii stared at the casualties of the war. It’s not what he had expected. He had been fairly sure that they will win this war, but it seems that they were outnumbered even though they had managed to take out half of the Russian army.
Even so, the casualty was bad. Very bad.
He cannot let this country down. It would be all a waste for nothing.
Striding down his lab, lab coat flying behind him, he stopped in front of two containers. One had a girl with dark hair ,her eyes closed, dressed in a plain white gown, the kind that you usually see in hospitals .Beside her ,a boy with fair hair, eyes also closed and dressed in a plain white shirt and pants, is contained in the other container.
Knowing that this is illegal and dangerous, he did it…
He watched as demon essence fused itself into these two children. Their hair began to shift, their body begin adapting, the muscles stronger, harder as the essence combined into their body. He prayed that his calculations weren’t wrong. Many children had died from this process because their body couldn’t take it, the powerful demon essence.
It was a long time when the process was finally completed. Professor Taishii though he was going to scream in anger at his failure, with another more bodies to bury. How surprised he was to see both children are still in their container, eyes still closed. Their body had changed, changed to adapt the demonic essence in them.
“It worked.” He said silently to himself in his native tongue. “It actually worked.” Finally, now they can turn the tables over to their side.
Eager to see the fruits of his genius, he pressed a button and both containers sunk down to the lower basement of the facility. He himself took an elevator down just in time to see the containers lock into place. The clear fluid in their container emptied itself, causing both children to open their eyes and stared dazedly at him.
And roared in anger.
The girl’s dark hair started to change, growing longer and longer by the second, shifting into blades and started hitting the container angrily. Her hair started to change colour, from its natural dark it became cyan, her eyes, once a pale light green in colour, turned violet, reflecting the demonic essence that now resides in her body.
The boy too. His fair hair changed into a blazing inferno red, as red as the fiery pits of Hell, and his eyes, pale blue to liquid amber. It’s frightening really. His hair became a powerful spiked flail and started hitting the container angrily.
Amazing, Professor Taishii though to himself as he watched these two screaming in anger, wanting to be free. With these, the Russian had no more chance against them.
The door behind him exploded and the Russian army swarmed in, armed with guns and swords.
“So this is what you had been doing.” One of them said.
Professor Taishii gazed at them in shock. They found out, but how could they? This facility was well hidden.
“We received an anonymous tip-off that the Japanese were researching on human to fuse with demons. That person must be you, Taishii Kagerou.” The head said.
All of them raised their guns, in some cases, swords at him.
Professor Taishii knew then, somehow, someone must’ve tipped him off. And he’s definitely unarmed, no way to fight, nowhere to run.
The banging sound made him looked up. The girl and boy are still bashing at the glass for all of their worth. But til now, there’s not even a single scratch nor crack on the container glass. That’s because he himself had made the glass to withstand Ultima-ranked demons. These two are certainly no exception as well.
“What are those two?” A soldier gestured at the girl’s container. Her eyes are blazing in anger to be let out. Her partner too.
Taking the advantage of their distraction, Professor Taishii jabbed at a red button. All at once an alarm wailed loudly, breaking the silence. The containers gave a hiss and slowly opened.
“What are you doing?!” The head lunged at Professor Taishii.
The professor only laughed.” Let me show you my greatest weapons.”
Red and blue snakes suddenly lunged at the head and with very little effort, ripped him apart, in front of his army who stared in horror at the boy and girl in front of them. Their appearance looked normal, but their hair, it looks as though it’s alive. It’s writhing and swaying like several live snakes.
“I feel as though I had slept for years.” The boy yawned. His liquid amber eyes drowsy. “Who the heck are you guys?”
“He’s in the Japanese Empire!” One of the Russian gasped. All of their attention are focused on the boy and girl, not Professor Taishii, who had taken the advantage to slip away unnoticed. “The girl too.”
“Shoot them!”
Hails of bullets rained down upon them, hitting them. They should’ve bled but instead, part of their body cracked where the bullets had hit them.
“Ow, ouch.” The boy gasped.
“They’re not humans!”
The girl suddenly leapt at them, hands and hair turning into blades and started dicing the nearest soldier like sashimi. It’s creepy really. Blood splashed all over the place as she diced away like nobody’s business. The boy glanced at the plastic tag that is on his wrist.
GUY MOON (B.B.)
“What the-” He swore with the four letter word. “Could they have come up with a better name than that?”
The girl had finished killing off all of the soldiers. Crimson blood splattered all over the place like some mad man taking up a can of paint and threw it every where. Her hair and hands are covered in blood as well, though the plastic tag on her wrist is visible. Her real name wasn’t visible because the ink had smudged here and there, but he could make out the words.
V²– PERFECT WEAPON (SUCCESS BY K. TAISHII)
Guy felt a bubbling jealousy rage that seems to flow within him like a tsunami. Yet, at the same time, he could not feel but attached towards her, like a moth being drawn to the flames.
“V.V. is it?” He said softly.
The girl turned to him, her eyes gazing wildly at the facility.
“You and me, we’re the same right? Being taken by the Japanese and turned into mindless weapons?”
V.V. didn’t answer, but kept staring at the doorway. He followed her gaze and smiled, “Let’s jailbreak.”
Lloyd stared at the file in disbelief. A record of Professor Taishii’s works. Erica seemed to have managed to get a copy of this file, but it’s not the original. The original is actually written in Japanese, which is located in a file labelled, original.
“This guy is not right in the head.” Blaze commented staring at a very old black and white photo of V.V.’s normal appearance before the experiment. Lloyd’s heart had gave a jolt as he stared at her face. She really does resembles Serenity, except for the eyes and hairstyle, oh and V.V. is younger than her. No wait, she was 16 when she was finally inserted with demonic essence. So 1995 minus 1904 equals to….91, since V.V. is 16, add 16 and…
“Oh my God,” Glenn gasped. “V.V.’s a 107!”
“Christ, she’s old, no ancient.” Blaze yelped.
“She shouldn’t be existing anymore in this rate.” Tifa awed.
Lloyd stared at V.V.’s photo. He could an aching in his heart. Although he knows it is not Serenity, the resemblance is slightly similar. Seeing V.V. turned back into the mindless berserk weapon she was back then makes things even worse.
“Lloyd, does it say anything else besides their origins?” Glenn asked, peering at the screen.
Lloyd swiftly scanned the files. Besides the archives and origins file, there’s also a video file that seems to be labelled, WW VID
“Just click on it already.” Blaze said, looking impatient.
Lloyd nodded and double-clicked on the file.
12TH FEBRUARY 1904
The General of the Russian was staring silently at the middle of the once green ocean of grass, now half-blackened by smoke or fire or blood stained by the war, where both sides are still fighting. The Japanese had many casualties, but they are still standing strong in the battlefield, swinging their katanas and rifles against their cutlasses and rapiers. The sound of metal clashing with metal drowned out the sound of the screams and war cries.
“Sir,” his lieutenant came running up. “I have terrible news.”
He then passed the report that he had received briefly to the General, who had a look of utter disbelief. It was too much for him til he staggered backwards.
“The men that we had sent in the facility, were all killed?”
“That’s what I received from the scout. They were all chopped, diced and ripped apart.”
“Did you find out who did this? The Empire?”
“No, sir. It seems unlikely that it is them. It’s not capable for a man to do so.”
A glimpse of something white caught his attention. His eyes snapped up to see a cyan-haired girl walking casually to the battlefield, together with a red-headed boy. Both of them are stained slightly in blood and their clothes are slightly torn, with holes in them.
“What on earth-” He muttered. “Why are there two children in the battlefield?”
His puzzlement became horror as several of his soldiers opened fire at them, but instead of lying dead, their hair morphed into living weapon and took them out in one blow. Places where the bullets had struck them cracked slightly like a crack in a mirror. Even as he watched, the cracks began to heal themselves, as though they weren’t there .He watched as his men were taken down by these two children with dangerous abilities. Just what the heck did Taishii do???
“Sir, what on earth are those two?” His lieutenant gaped as the cyan-haired girl stabbed a soldier with a huge blade-like hand. “They are wiping out the soldiers on both sides evenly.”
Suddenly, as though they had super hearing, the red-headed boy looked in their direction and grinned wickedly. His face is drenched with a little blood from the soldiers that he had killed. The fresh blood trickled down to his lips and he licked it with a pink tongue.
Eyes a liquid amber hue with a sort of bloodthirsty lust behind them. Hair as red as the blazing inferno….
Red as the crimson sun….
Red as fresh blood…
The boy’s hair suddenly lengthened and reached out to the General and his lieutenant, turning into piercing blades as they did so...
The video player stopped at there. Lloyd was staring in horror, panting hard. The video must’ve been taken by one of the people who was in the war, most likely a photographer and war correspondent. It was all in black and white and it’s all in Russian and Japanese. Scrolling his mouse cursor over the video icon reads 12th February 1904, author : O. Marsters.
“O.Marsters….” Blaze read over his shoulder. “Who’s that?”
“That is what we’re going to find out.” Lloyd said grimly, taking down the video details. “Glenn, can you translate Taishii’s documents?”
“I can try. But I’m going to need some time and my Japanese dictionary.” Glenn clicked his tongue.
“What are you both going to do?” Blaze asked. “That guy is a killer. You can’t even get near him without being diced or chopped first.”
“I’ll find a way.” Lloyd said, breathing slowly, his heart thumping very hard. At least now, they have a couple of clues.
O.Marsters….V.V. and Guy’s origins….
He turned to the others and said, “Who fancies a flight to Japan?”
******************
“What did you see?”
Allen was frowning very hard, rubbing his temples. “They figured it out… They are going after Guy.”
“He’s not that stupid as I thought.” Dario said thoughtfully, stacking his files neatly on the table. He had just finished reviewing this month’s statistics and he realized they had dropped by 0.5 percent. Looks like the company needs to bulk up, especially on its weakest field, pharmalogy.
“Can you get through Guy?”
This question was directed at Reo, who was sparring with Revarie. The vampire’s movements were like a blur, flurring in and out and Reo was breathing heavily. The grey singlet he wore for workout is already soaked heavily with his sweat.
“I can’t get through him. Besides, he never even brought his phone with him.” Reo shrugged. Allen rolled his eyes. It is just so typical of Guy to never to carry a mobile with him so that he is free to do whatever he pleases.
Dario stood up and went over to the glass stained window. The streets of Manhattan is bustling with activity. No one even paused to stop or rest, nor did they notice that the head of Twilight Inc. was staring down at them. Flexing his fingers, he sketched a symbol in thin air. It glowed a fiery red then faded into thin wisps of smoke.
“What are you thinking?” Revarie asked.
“My little brother will be going after them in Japan.” He said, looking unconcerned. “Maybe we should go and see how the drama unfolds.”
Revarie licked his lips, a hungry look in his eyes. “I adore Japanese girls. They are so sweet and petite.”
“Don’t go overboard.” Mind’s Shadow warned. “We are trying to keep a low profile here. Especially Guy caused a lot of attention by letting that girl run wild.”
Dario smiled and picked up the phone that stood by his desk. It looks like he’s going to need to book four flight tickets to Japan.
********************
Lloyd was in the streets of lower Manhattan, ignoring all the curious looks he is receiving from the passer by because of the huge cloth-wrapped object he carried behind him. He’s used to it by now, and besides, people will stare in horror if they find out about the thing that is hidden inside the package.
Passing all the vandalized walls, he made his way down to a shabby looking Roman Catholic church with broken stained windows. This is in fact the church of St Meredith. It was partly destroyed as though a bomb had just hit it.
Lloyd stepped into the blaster doorway to find a single figure standing in front of the symbol of Jesus, dressed in a priest robe, with hair as white as frost.
“You came?” His voice hoarse and dry, and hard as leather.
“I need your blessings.” Lloyd said softly, holding out his Zanmato.
The priest smiled. “You never come to me unless you need a very big help. So what is it? Demons? Fairies? Ghosts? Ultimas?”
“Vampires.”
The priest paled slightly. “Vampires?”
“Just one. An Original.” Lloyd said.
The priest ran his fingers through his hair. “I never seen an Original vampire before, I thought they were just myths… ”
“Believe it or not, I met one in the flesh, and my clique, Glenn is a descendant of his.”
The priest then looked deadly serious and said rather quietly, “Pass me your blade.”
Lloyd handed over his Zanmato and added, “I’m going to need some of Glenn’s bullets blessed as well.” He handed the ammunitions over.
The priest nodded and started blessing them.
***************
Glenn stepped into the hospital, taking in the hospital smell. In his hands are a large basket of fruits and a cute helium anime balloon. Making his way up to the medical ward, he tried to keep himself cool as he saw a large crate of fresh blood bags drove past him, carried by a staff. The dark urge inside of him stirred a little but he managed to force himself to find his way.
Stopping in front of the east wing to consult his destination, a nurse passing by asked, “Can I help you, sir?”
“It’s alright.” Glenn replied.
The nurse nodded and walked off as Glenn made his way to one of the wards. Taking a deep breath, he knocked on the door and entered.
“Glenn, my man.” Francis said, waving weakly from his bed. He is surrounded by gifts from well-wishers, which ranges from books, clothes, sweets in jars, bars of chocolates, bottles of colognes, fruits, large bouquet of flowers, and cards.
“Brought you these.” Glenn placed the basket of fruit on the ground and tied the helium balloon onto his bedside.
“Why, thank you.” Francis stared at the balloon with interest. “That’s very cute.”
“It’s Doraemon.” Glenn explained.
“Sweet, it’s really sweet.” Francis nodded. His body is covered with bandages, so are the palms of his hands where Guy had crucified him with the wooden stakes. It pains him to see his best friend to be bed-ridden.
Glenn pulled up a chair beside him and said, “Does it still hurt?”
“Well, yeah.” Francis said, staring at his bandaged hands. “I don’t think I’ll be able to hold a pen or anything for a few months.” Seeing Glenn’s guilty face, he added, “He’s mad, you know. I never seen anything like it. He’s twisted.” He winced at the memory where Guy composed that poem for them, crossing his words in and out on a demon corpse. It was only when he was satisfied he forced him to sing a twisted tune.
“No.” He had said.
Guy’s hair twisted into fiery whips and lashed out at him. “Sing it.”
“I won’t.”
“Then, I’ll make you.”
“It was pure torture.” Francis continued, lost in his thoughts. “He toyed with me, he could’ve killed me with one blow, but he tortured me.”
“Frances, I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be.” Francis said, suddenly turning serious. “Glenn, it was never your fault, so stop bashing yourself on the head. I was the one who got involved, not you. And, I think you’ll be interested in what I have to say.”
“What is it?”
“V.V., I don’t think she’s fully corrupted yet.”
Glenn’s eyes widened. “What makes you say that?”
“She never hurts me. It’s as though someone is holding her back.” Francis said, shrugging, wincing slightly at his injuries.
Glenn stiffened. He had translated part of Taishii Kagerou’s notes, but most of it are in the old Japanese, but there are reports on how he had been finding a way to turn the tables against the Russians, by infusing demonic essence into humans. Most of his victims were children in their teens, mainly it’s because children, especially in their teenage years, are powerful and young, comparing to adults. Guy and V.V. were mentioned in the reports but oddly, there’s not even a record of V.V.’s real name, but it explained that they were both taken by the Japanese and against their wills, had been turned into powerful bioweapons created by Taishii himself. An interesting note that he found out - Guy was actually considered a failure because his mentality was slightly unstable thanks to the demonic essence, but he became more powerful due to his bloodthirsty nature.
“Glenn, go and get that red creep for me, yeah.” Francis said rather sleepily. “The morphine is kicking in… Feel…sleepy….”
“Don’t you worry, Frances. I’ll get him good for you.”
As soon as he said that though, Francis had laid back on his pillow and dozed off. His bandaged chest rising and falling as he breathed in and out.
Yeah, Glenn thought as he closed the door behind him. I’ll get him good for you…
**************
JAPAN
The passer by just can’t stop staring at the odd pair who are approaching him. Firstly, it’s because they’re just teenagers, roaming around without adult supervision. Second of all, they are wearing traditional Japanese garments even though there’s no special occasion in this time of the month. But the last of all, he just can’t stop feeling scared and frightened by their approach. It’s more like they’re emitting bad vibes, directed towards him.
“Konnichiwa.” The boy said rather cheerfully.
“K-Konnichiwa.” He stuttered. “Can I help you and your friend here?”
“Yes, as a matter of fact. You could.” The boy leaned in, his eyes ravenous. ”Where’s the Japanese army camp?”
“I-I don’t get you…”
The boy smiled angelically, but at the same time, his hair lengthened and bound him, causing him to scream.
“I won’t repeat myself a second time.” The boy said. “You got exactly three seconds to tell me where the place is before I rip you apart. One…”
“It-It’s near the Suruga Bay. ”
The boy smiled and dropped him into a heap onto the ground. Taking advantage of his freedom, the man ran, helter skelter down the path.
“Suruga Bay...”
The following days were like a dull blurs of visions sweeping by, the weather brilliant for picnics and walks, but for the two guys who stay in apartment 1-3A, there is no picnics or walks for them. Both had returned to the apartment late at night, doing their errand and now they are packing up a few of their belongings, Lloyd’s a duffel bag and Glenn’s his Columbia University bag.
“Here, I got your bullets specially blessed.” Lloyd said, tossing him a small bag.
“Don’t forget the stakes.” Glenn tossed him a bundle of sharpened wooden stakes.
Zipping up their bags, Lloyd nodded and said, “Get the passports. And could you let Mrs Harris know that we’ll be gone for a few days?”
Glenn nodded and was about to open the door when there was a sharp rapping on the door.
“If it’s a client, could you tell him or her to come back in a few days time?”
Glenn nodded and went to the door and gave a shout of surprise as Francis barged in, heavily bandaged, and lugging a wheelie suitcase with him.
“Frances, what are you doing here?”
“Coming with you, of course.” Francis wheeled his bag over to Lloyd who was gawping at him in surprise. “You didn’t think I would just sit back like some helpless guy in the ward, do you?”
“Well, no but-” Glenn began.
“And anyway, I already left my keys to Mrs Harris, and here’s my passport.” He reached into his pocket and slapped the small passport holder into Lloyd’s hand.
“Francis…” Glenn began, looking wan. “We only bought two tickets for today’s flight. How are you going to squeeze in with us?”
“I already got mine.” Francis winked and brought out a ticket pass. Glenn took hold of the pass and gave another shout, “No way!!!!”
“What is it now?” Lloyd asked dully. “Our flight is due in another few hours, and we have to check in before that.”
“He’s sitting right behind us.”
“I pulled a few strings to get that seat, you know.”
Lloyd sighed. “Glenn, he wins. Let’s just get Mrs H and we can get going. Arnie’s coming in five minutes time.”
“Alright, Francis, but can you fight? It’s not going to be a picnic, you know.”
“My fists are still working.”
“Alright, enough chit chat. Let’s get a move on.”
“Some juice for you sir?”
Dario turned to the stewardess who is hovering beside him with a smile. “None for me, thank you.”
The stewardess walked off to serve Alen, who is sitting with Revarie across him. Revarie was hypnotizing the stewardess to feed on her, since he had not feed on blood for the past few hours on the flight.
“You must be excited to go back to your hometown.”
He turned to Reo who was sitting beside him, his eyes hidden behind dark sunglasses even though they are on board of the flight. It was a long time before Reo finally answered, “Not really.”
And the plane plunged forward into the sky.
Towards the Land of the Rising Sun.
Professor Taishii stared at the casualties of the war. It’s not what he had expected. He had been fairly sure that they will win this war, but it seems that they were outnumbered even though they had managed to take out half of the Russian army.
Even so, the casualty was bad. Very bad.
He cannot let this country down. It would be all a waste for nothing.
Striding down his lab, lab coat flying behind him, he stopped in front of two containers. One had a girl with dark hair ,her eyes closed, dressed in a plain white gown, the kind that you usually see in hospitals .Beside her ,a boy with fair hair, eyes also closed and dressed in a plain white shirt and pants, is contained in the other container.
Knowing that this is illegal and dangerous, he did it…
He watched as demon essence fused itself into these two children. Their hair began to shift, their body begin adapting, the muscles stronger, harder as the essence combined into their body. He prayed that his calculations weren’t wrong. Many children had died from this process because their body couldn’t take it, the powerful demon essence.
It was a long time when the process was finally completed. Professor Taishii though he was going to scream in anger at his failure, with another more bodies to bury. How surprised he was to see both children are still in their container, eyes still closed. Their body had changed, changed to adapt the demonic essence in them.
“It worked.” He said silently to himself in his native tongue. “It actually worked.” Finally, now they can turn the tables over to their side.
Eager to see the fruits of his genius, he pressed a button and both containers sunk down to the lower basement of the facility. He himself took an elevator down just in time to see the containers lock into place. The clear fluid in their container emptied itself, causing both children to open their eyes and stared dazedly at him.
And roared in anger.
The girl’s dark hair started to change, growing longer and longer by the second, shifting into blades and started hitting the container angrily. Her hair started to change colour, from its natural dark it became cyan, her eyes, once a pale light green in colour, turned violet, reflecting the demonic essence that now resides in her body.
The boy too. His fair hair changed into a blazing inferno red, as red as the fiery pits of Hell, and his eyes, pale blue to liquid amber. It’s frightening really. His hair became a powerful spiked flail and started hitting the container angrily.
Amazing, Professor Taishii though to himself as he watched these two screaming in anger, wanting to be free. With these, the Russian had no more chance against them.
The door behind him exploded and the Russian army swarmed in, armed with guns and swords.
“So this is what you had been doing.” One of them said.
Professor Taishii gazed at them in shock. They found out, but how could they? This facility was well hidden.
“We received an anonymous tip-off that the Japanese were researching on human to fuse with demons. That person must be you, Taishii Kagerou.” The head said.
All of them raised their guns, in some cases, swords at him.
Professor Taishii knew then, somehow, someone must’ve tipped him off. And he’s definitely unarmed, no way to fight, nowhere to run.
The banging sound made him looked up. The girl and boy are still bashing at the glass for all of their worth. But til now, there’s not even a single scratch nor crack on the container glass. That’s because he himself had made the glass to withstand Ultima-ranked demons. These two are certainly no exception as well.
“What are those two?” A soldier gestured at the girl’s container. Her eyes are blazing in anger to be let out. Her partner too.
Taking the advantage of their distraction, Professor Taishii jabbed at a red button. All at once an alarm wailed loudly, breaking the silence. The containers gave a hiss and slowly opened.
“What are you doing?!” The head lunged at Professor Taishii.
The professor only laughed.” Let me show you my greatest weapons.”
Red and blue snakes suddenly lunged at the head and with very little effort, ripped him apart, in front of his army who stared in horror at the boy and girl in front of them. Their appearance looked normal, but their hair, it looks as though it’s alive. It’s writhing and swaying like several live snakes.
“I feel as though I had slept for years.” The boy yawned. His liquid amber eyes drowsy. “Who the heck are you guys?”
“He’s in the Japanese Empire!” One of the Russian gasped. All of their attention are focused on the boy and girl, not Professor Taishii, who had taken the advantage to slip away unnoticed. “The girl too.”
“Shoot them!”
Hails of bullets rained down upon them, hitting them. They should’ve bled but instead, part of their body cracked where the bullets had hit them.
“Ow, ouch.” The boy gasped.
“They’re not humans!”
The girl suddenly leapt at them, hands and hair turning into blades and started dicing the nearest soldier like sashimi. It’s creepy really. Blood splashed all over the place as she diced away like nobody’s business. The boy glanced at the plastic tag that is on his wrist.
GUY MOON (B.B.)
“What the-” He swore with the four letter word. “Could they have come up with a better name than that?”
The girl had finished killing off all of the soldiers. Crimson blood splattered all over the place like some mad man taking up a can of paint and threw it every where. Her hair and hands are covered in blood as well, though the plastic tag on her wrist is visible. Her real name wasn’t visible because the ink had smudged here and there, but he could make out the words.
V²– PERFECT WEAPON (SUCCESS BY K. TAISHII)
Guy felt a bubbling jealousy rage that seems to flow within him like a tsunami. Yet, at the same time, he could not feel but attached towards her, like a moth being drawn to the flames.
“V.V. is it?” He said softly.
The girl turned to him, her eyes gazing wildly at the facility.
“You and me, we’re the same right? Being taken by the Japanese and turned into mindless weapons?”
V.V. didn’t answer, but kept staring at the doorway. He followed her gaze and smiled, “Let’s jailbreak.”
Lloyd stared at the file in disbelief. A record of Professor Taishii’s works. Erica seemed to have managed to get a copy of this file, but it’s not the original. The original is actually written in Japanese, which is located in a file labelled, original.
“This guy is not right in the head.” Blaze commented staring at a very old black and white photo of V.V.’s normal appearance before the experiment. Lloyd’s heart had gave a jolt as he stared at her face. She really does resembles Serenity, except for the eyes and hairstyle, oh and V.V. is younger than her. No wait, she was 16 when she was finally inserted with demonic essence. So 1995 minus 1904 equals to….91, since V.V. is 16, add 16 and…
“Oh my God,” Glenn gasped. “V.V.’s a 107!”
“Christ, she’s old, no ancient.” Blaze yelped.
“She shouldn’t be existing anymore in this rate.” Tifa awed.
Lloyd stared at V.V.’s photo. He could an aching in his heart. Although he knows it is not Serenity, the resemblance is slightly similar. Seeing V.V. turned back into the mindless berserk weapon she was back then makes things even worse.
“Lloyd, does it say anything else besides their origins?” Glenn asked, peering at the screen.
Lloyd swiftly scanned the files. Besides the archives and origins file, there’s also a video file that seems to be labelled, WW VID
“Just click on it already.” Blaze said, looking impatient.
Lloyd nodded and double-clicked on the file.
12TH FEBRUARY 1904
The General of the Russian was staring silently at the middle of the once green ocean of grass, now half-blackened by smoke or fire or blood stained by the war, where both sides are still fighting. The Japanese had many casualties, but they are still standing strong in the battlefield, swinging their katanas and rifles against their cutlasses and rapiers. The sound of metal clashing with metal drowned out the sound of the screams and war cries.
“Sir,” his lieutenant came running up. “I have terrible news.”
He then passed the report that he had received briefly to the General, who had a look of utter disbelief. It was too much for him til he staggered backwards.
“The men that we had sent in the facility, were all killed?”
“That’s what I received from the scout. They were all chopped, diced and ripped apart.”
“Did you find out who did this? The Empire?”
“No, sir. It seems unlikely that it is them. It’s not capable for a man to do so.”
A glimpse of something white caught his attention. His eyes snapped up to see a cyan-haired girl walking casually to the battlefield, together with a red-headed boy. Both of them are stained slightly in blood and their clothes are slightly torn, with holes in them.
“What on earth-” He muttered. “Why are there two children in the battlefield?”
His puzzlement became horror as several of his soldiers opened fire at them, but instead of lying dead, their hair morphed into living weapon and took them out in one blow. Places where the bullets had struck them cracked slightly like a crack in a mirror. Even as he watched, the cracks began to heal themselves, as though they weren’t there .He watched as his men were taken down by these two children with dangerous abilities. Just what the heck did Taishii do???
“Sir, what on earth are those two?” His lieutenant gaped as the cyan-haired girl stabbed a soldier with a huge blade-like hand. “They are wiping out the soldiers on both sides evenly.”
Suddenly, as though they had super hearing, the red-headed boy looked in their direction and grinned wickedly. His face is drenched with a little blood from the soldiers that he had killed. The fresh blood trickled down to his lips and he licked it with a pink tongue.
Eyes a liquid amber hue with a sort of bloodthirsty lust behind them. Hair as red as the blazing inferno….
Red as the crimson sun….
Red as fresh blood…
The boy’s hair suddenly lengthened and reached out to the General and his lieutenant, turning into piercing blades as they did so...
The video player stopped at there. Lloyd was staring in horror, panting hard. The video must’ve been taken by one of the people who was in the war, most likely a photographer and war correspondent. It was all in black and white and it’s all in Russian and Japanese. Scrolling his mouse cursor over the video icon reads 12th February 1904, author : O. Marsters.
“O.Marsters….” Blaze read over his shoulder. “Who’s that?”
“That is what we’re going to find out.” Lloyd said grimly, taking down the video details. “Glenn, can you translate Taishii’s documents?”
“I can try. But I’m going to need some time and my Japanese dictionary.” Glenn clicked his tongue.
“What are you both going to do?” Blaze asked. “That guy is a killer. You can’t even get near him without being diced or chopped first.”
“I’ll find a way.” Lloyd said, breathing slowly, his heart thumping very hard. At least now, they have a couple of clues.
O.Marsters….V.V. and Guy’s origins….
He turned to the others and said, “Who fancies a flight to Japan?”
******************
“What did you see?”
Allen was frowning very hard, rubbing his temples. “They figured it out… They are going after Guy.”
“He’s not that stupid as I thought.” Dario said thoughtfully, stacking his files neatly on the table. He had just finished reviewing this month’s statistics and he realized they had dropped by 0.5 percent. Looks like the company needs to bulk up, especially on its weakest field, pharmalogy.
“Can you get through Guy?”
This question was directed at Reo, who was sparring with Revarie. The vampire’s movements were like a blur, flurring in and out and Reo was breathing heavily. The grey singlet he wore for workout is already soaked heavily with his sweat.
“I can’t get through him. Besides, he never even brought his phone with him.” Reo shrugged. Allen rolled his eyes. It is just so typical of Guy to never to carry a mobile with him so that he is free to do whatever he pleases.
Dario stood up and went over to the glass stained window. The streets of Manhattan is bustling with activity. No one even paused to stop or rest, nor did they notice that the head of Twilight Inc. was staring down at them. Flexing his fingers, he sketched a symbol in thin air. It glowed a fiery red then faded into thin wisps of smoke.
“What are you thinking?” Revarie asked.
“My little brother will be going after them in Japan.” He said, looking unconcerned. “Maybe we should go and see how the drama unfolds.”
Revarie licked his lips, a hungry look in his eyes. “I adore Japanese girls. They are so sweet and petite.”
“Don’t go overboard.” Mind’s Shadow warned. “We are trying to keep a low profile here. Especially Guy caused a lot of attention by letting that girl run wild.”
Dario smiled and picked up the phone that stood by his desk. It looks like he’s going to need to book four flight tickets to Japan.
********************
Lloyd was in the streets of lower Manhattan, ignoring all the curious looks he is receiving from the passer by because of the huge cloth-wrapped object he carried behind him. He’s used to it by now, and besides, people will stare in horror if they find out about the thing that is hidden inside the package.
Passing all the vandalized walls, he made his way down to a shabby looking Roman Catholic church with broken stained windows. This is in fact the church of St Meredith. It was partly destroyed as though a bomb had just hit it.
Lloyd stepped into the blaster doorway to find a single figure standing in front of the symbol of Jesus, dressed in a priest robe, with hair as white as frost.
“You came?” His voice hoarse and dry, and hard as leather.
“I need your blessings.” Lloyd said softly, holding out his Zanmato.
The priest smiled. “You never come to me unless you need a very big help. So what is it? Demons? Fairies? Ghosts? Ultimas?”
“Vampires.”
The priest paled slightly. “Vampires?”
“Just one. An Original.” Lloyd said.
The priest ran his fingers through his hair. “I never seen an Original vampire before, I thought they were just myths… ”
“Believe it or not, I met one in the flesh, and my clique, Glenn is a descendant of his.”
The priest then looked deadly serious and said rather quietly, “Pass me your blade.”
Lloyd handed over his Zanmato and added, “I’m going to need some of Glenn’s bullets blessed as well.” He handed the ammunitions over.
The priest nodded and started blessing them.
***************
Glenn stepped into the hospital, taking in the hospital smell. In his hands are a large basket of fruits and a cute helium anime balloon. Making his way up to the medical ward, he tried to keep himself cool as he saw a large crate of fresh blood bags drove past him, carried by a staff. The dark urge inside of him stirred a little but he managed to force himself to find his way.
Stopping in front of the east wing to consult his destination, a nurse passing by asked, “Can I help you, sir?”
“It’s alright.” Glenn replied.
The nurse nodded and walked off as Glenn made his way to one of the wards. Taking a deep breath, he knocked on the door and entered.
“Glenn, my man.” Francis said, waving weakly from his bed. He is surrounded by gifts from well-wishers, which ranges from books, clothes, sweets in jars, bars of chocolates, bottles of colognes, fruits, large bouquet of flowers, and cards.
“Brought you these.” Glenn placed the basket of fruit on the ground and tied the helium balloon onto his bedside.
“Why, thank you.” Francis stared at the balloon with interest. “That’s very cute.”
“It’s Doraemon.” Glenn explained.
“Sweet, it’s really sweet.” Francis nodded. His body is covered with bandages, so are the palms of his hands where Guy had crucified him with the wooden stakes. It pains him to see his best friend to be bed-ridden.
Glenn pulled up a chair beside him and said, “Does it still hurt?”
“Well, yeah.” Francis said, staring at his bandaged hands. “I don’t think I’ll be able to hold a pen or anything for a few months.” Seeing Glenn’s guilty face, he added, “He’s mad, you know. I never seen anything like it. He’s twisted.” He winced at the memory where Guy composed that poem for them, crossing his words in and out on a demon corpse. It was only when he was satisfied he forced him to sing a twisted tune.
“No.” He had said.
Guy’s hair twisted into fiery whips and lashed out at him. “Sing it.”
“I won’t.”
“Then, I’ll make you.”
“It was pure torture.” Francis continued, lost in his thoughts. “He toyed with me, he could’ve killed me with one blow, but he tortured me.”
“Frances, I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be.” Francis said, suddenly turning serious. “Glenn, it was never your fault, so stop bashing yourself on the head. I was the one who got involved, not you. And, I think you’ll be interested in what I have to say.”
“What is it?”
“V.V., I don’t think she’s fully corrupted yet.”
Glenn’s eyes widened. “What makes you say that?”
“She never hurts me. It’s as though someone is holding her back.” Francis said, shrugging, wincing slightly at his injuries.
Glenn stiffened. He had translated part of Taishii Kagerou’s notes, but most of it are in the old Japanese, but there are reports on how he had been finding a way to turn the tables against the Russians, by infusing demonic essence into humans. Most of his victims were children in their teens, mainly it’s because children, especially in their teenage years, are powerful and young, comparing to adults. Guy and V.V. were mentioned in the reports but oddly, there’s not even a record of V.V.’s real name, but it explained that they were both taken by the Japanese and against their wills, had been turned into powerful bioweapons created by Taishii himself. An interesting note that he found out - Guy was actually considered a failure because his mentality was slightly unstable thanks to the demonic essence, but he became more powerful due to his bloodthirsty nature.
“Glenn, go and get that red creep for me, yeah.” Francis said rather sleepily. “The morphine is kicking in… Feel…sleepy….”
“Don’t you worry, Frances. I’ll get him good for you.”
As soon as he said that though, Francis had laid back on his pillow and dozed off. His bandaged chest rising and falling as he breathed in and out.
Yeah, Glenn thought as he closed the door behind him. I’ll get him good for you…
**************
JAPAN
The passer by just can’t stop staring at the odd pair who are approaching him. Firstly, it’s because they’re just teenagers, roaming around without adult supervision. Second of all, they are wearing traditional Japanese garments even though there’s no special occasion in this time of the month. But the last of all, he just can’t stop feeling scared and frightened by their approach. It’s more like they’re emitting bad vibes, directed towards him.
“Konnichiwa.” The boy said rather cheerfully.
“K-Konnichiwa.” He stuttered. “Can I help you and your friend here?”
“Yes, as a matter of fact. You could.” The boy leaned in, his eyes ravenous. ”Where’s the Japanese army camp?”
“I-I don’t get you…”
The boy smiled angelically, but at the same time, his hair lengthened and bound him, causing him to scream.
“I won’t repeat myself a second time.” The boy said. “You got exactly three seconds to tell me where the place is before I rip you apart. One…”
“It-It’s near the Suruga Bay. ”
The boy smiled and dropped him into a heap onto the ground. Taking advantage of his freedom, the man ran, helter skelter down the path.
“Suruga Bay...”
The following days were like a dull blurs of visions sweeping by, the weather brilliant for picnics and walks, but for the two guys who stay in apartment 1-3A, there is no picnics or walks for them. Both had returned to the apartment late at night, doing their errand and now they are packing up a few of their belongings, Lloyd’s a duffel bag and Glenn’s his Columbia University bag.
“Here, I got your bullets specially blessed.” Lloyd said, tossing him a small bag.
“Don’t forget the stakes.” Glenn tossed him a bundle of sharpened wooden stakes.
Zipping up their bags, Lloyd nodded and said, “Get the passports. And could you let Mrs Harris know that we’ll be gone for a few days?”
Glenn nodded and was about to open the door when there was a sharp rapping on the door.
“If it’s a client, could you tell him or her to come back in a few days time?”
Glenn nodded and went to the door and gave a shout of surprise as Francis barged in, heavily bandaged, and lugging a wheelie suitcase with him.
“Frances, what are you doing here?”
“Coming with you, of course.” Francis wheeled his bag over to Lloyd who was gawping at him in surprise. “You didn’t think I would just sit back like some helpless guy in the ward, do you?”
“Well, no but-” Glenn began.
“And anyway, I already left my keys to Mrs Harris, and here’s my passport.” He reached into his pocket and slapped the small passport holder into Lloyd’s hand.
“Francis…” Glenn began, looking wan. “We only bought two tickets for today’s flight. How are you going to squeeze in with us?”
“I already got mine.” Francis winked and brought out a ticket pass. Glenn took hold of the pass and gave another shout, “No way!!!!”
“What is it now?” Lloyd asked dully. “Our flight is due in another few hours, and we have to check in before that.”
“He’s sitting right behind us.”
“I pulled a few strings to get that seat, you know.”
Lloyd sighed. “Glenn, he wins. Let’s just get Mrs H and we can get going. Arnie’s coming in five minutes time.”
“Alright, Francis, but can you fight? It’s not going to be a picnic, you know.”
“My fists are still working.”
“Alright, enough chit chat. Let’s get a move on.”
“Some juice for you sir?”
Dario turned to the stewardess who is hovering beside him with a smile. “None for me, thank you.”
The stewardess walked off to serve Alen, who is sitting with Revarie across him. Revarie was hypnotizing the stewardess to feed on her, since he had not feed on blood for the past few hours on the flight.
“You must be excited to go back to your hometown.”
He turned to Reo who was sitting beside him, his eyes hidden behind dark sunglasses even though they are on board of the flight. It was a long time before Reo finally answered, “Not really.”
And the plane plunged forward into the sky.
Towards the Land of the Rising Sun.
Friday, October 7, 2011
Supernatural Demon Slayers : Chapter 28 - Intertwining Memories ( 絡み合うメモリーズ )
Arnie had dropped Lloyd and Glenn off in front of Darkmatter Manor. The place looks as though it’s built in the Victorian era. The manor looks like an old Victorian Manor, with lush greenery surrounding the manor with huge stone walls with a pair of iron-wrought gates, with elegant Victorian designs. On the left side, an iron plague reads, Darkmatter Manor .
Such a magnificent place, but taken by an evil person.
“G’ho. How come I never been to this part of the area?” Arnie was stunned by the structure of this place.
“We don’t know it ourselves.” Glenn whistled. “I don’t like saying this but your brother is rolling with cash.”
“Let’s just get this over with.” He said tightly, walking up to the gates. Arnie gave them a cheery wave and left, speeding down the road.
There’s an old-fashioned bell pull beside the plague. Gingerly, as though it disgusted him, he tugged it hard. A chiming bell sound rang throughout the manor, like a calling bell for prayers. After a few minutes or so, the iron gates opened electronically and as they stepped through, a CCTV camera followed their progress.
Silently, their footsteps dully echoed on the gravel path. Lloyd was wearing a skin tight sleeveless that shows off his well-developed muscles, a black belt that hung loose around his waist and pants. His Zanmato behind him. Glenn wore a pale grey loose fitting tee and faded pants, with his Sauer tucked into the waistband. The way they’re walking they looked as though they’re heading for war, but with the casual clothes they wore, they looked as though they’re out for an outing.
The front door was opened as though to invite them. Glenn withdrew his Sauer out and held it in front of him as they stepped in to find Allen waiting for them.
“Welcome.” He said softly. “We all had been expecting you.”
“Where’s V.V.?” Lloyd demanded.
“Why don’t you ask Guy? He’s the one holding her.”
Lloyd held out his Zanmato threateningly. “Don’t think I’ll take you lightly just because you’re a kid.”
Allen shrugged and said, “Dario wants to see you. I suggest you come along quietly unless you want me to call the others. Believe me, they love to get their hands on you.”
Glenn started but Lloyd held onto his shoulder. “Don’t, Glenn. We are in their territory. It’s better to see what he wants. And besides, I want to know how we are related.”
“Wise choice.” Mind’s Shadow said, emerging from Allen’s shadow. “This way, then.”
Dario was all alone, waiting for them, sitting in a small inner garden that’s inside the manor. An assortments of biscuits and teas had been set on the table, ranging from chocolate to custard cream to buttermilk and so on. The teas range from Chinese to European and even herbal, which is pretty odd.
“Ah, you both are here. Sit down, please.” He gestured at the empty seats around him. Lloyd made a quick look around, Revarie the vampire and Reo weren’t around, but neither is Guy and V.V. He made a quick scan on Dario’s face and felt a quick jolt in his stomach. They both do look exactly the same, but he had been blind to see it clearly. It’s only the sharper features that separates them and the colour tone of their hair.
“Where’s V.V.?” Lloyd demanded.
Dario looked a little disappointed. “Is that all you have to say? Where’s V.V.? Why don’t you sit down and I’ll tell you more.”
Glenn shook his head, muttering, “Are you really sure you want to do this?”
“What other choice do we have?” Lloyd took a seat opposite of him. Glenn hesitated, then did the same. Dario then fussed around them, offering tea and biscuits, treating them like guests, which in a way, they are.
“Why do you look like me?” Lloyd demanded, after his fourth helping of custard cream biscuit.
Dario set his tea down and hands clasped together, saying, “Tell me, how much do you remember?”
Lloyd frowned hard, much to Glenn’s interest. As far as Glenn had known him he had never, ever talked about his past, except that he was found by a man whose surname was Anderson, hence his surname.
“I was found in the middle of November.” He said slowly, looking lost in memories. “I remember it so clearly. It was so cold, so cold that I could still remember battling through the snow that is biting into my fingers and bones. I just ran away from my last foster family. I was dropped into an orphanage, and when I was 8. I was adopted, but the foster family were horrible. I hated it. I was thrown into one after and another. The last one, I had enough. After a week, I ran away. It was on… November 13.”
“As I had mentioned, it was so cold. So cold till I thought I was going to die, especially wandering around two weeks in the streets with no food, no money, nothing. I even had hyperpyrexia, not as bad as Tifa’s though. I collapsed in the middle of the street. And that’s when Mexx Anderson found me. ” In his mind’s eye, he could see a dark-haired boy as thin as a skeleton, wandering around aimlessly in a thin T-shirt and plaid shorts, looking lost and weak, feeling extremely hot and cold, struggling to battle against the snow.
“He’s dead now though.” He said to Dario in a matter-of-factly tone. “He got mauled to death by a Gargantuar, which makes me what I am now.”
“Touching.” Dario said softly. “Very, very touching. Well then, since you don’t remember about your past, let me fill in the gaps for you.”
“We were born in Pennsylvania, Southern California, into the Gainsborough. And I was jealous. So jealous that my little brother is getting all of the attention from our family. “ He put on a high-pitched mocking tone. “”Why can’t you be more like your brother?” “Isn’t Lloyd wonderful?” Not a day goes by when it’s always Lloyd this and Lloyd that.” His voice is losing its mockery, instead becoming more venomous with sarcasm. “Our father was a demonologist, you know.” He held out his Book of Shadows. “I got this… from him.”
Lloyd felt his stomach twinge, but kept himself interested to hear more.
“You see, our father was the curious type. Prodding things where he should not have meddled and leaving them in his lab.” His eyes turned hard. “I got my revenge on August 8.”
“My birthday.” Lloyd said in tones of disbelief.
Glenn’s eyes widened and said, “Are you on the crack, your birthday is on July 31. I know it myself because I went all the way downtown to get you the tiramisu cake from the Cake House.”
“No, it’s not. It’s on my birth cert and license. Mexx often celebrate it on July 31 because of his late son’s birth date who died in an accident.” He explained. Even as he explained it, he could see flashbacks of his past. Bits of pieces that had never appeared before. A boy, around 5-years-old walking in a garden, in front of a house that seems to resemble a villa house, looking flushed, as though he’s looking for something.
“Remembering anything yet?” Dario asked, his eyes filled with a sort of wolfish hunger. “Why don’t I prod a little more? Father was always researching demons and spells in his little lab and he always kept the door locked, except…he forgotten to lock it on that day because he was rushing. And I happened to stumbled upon it.”
Another memory is tweaking inside his mind. The boy was calling out for someone. “…Rio….Dario, where are you?”
Lloyd clutched his head, causing Glenn to go alarmed, “Lloyd?”
“I went into the lab. Let me tell you, it was full of weird stuff. Besides the usual mad scientist stuff. Spell books, skulls, herbs, anything that is used in potionlogy. And I happened to stumble upon this book in his shelf. Curiosity got the better of me as I brought it down and flipped it open. ”
Now Lloyd understood. That boy was him. He saw his 5-year-old self running down the lawn that leads to a shed, which the door is unlocked and opened. Obedience fighting with disobedience, he shuffled from one foot to another. There was a flash of light coming from the shed. That was when he made his decision.
“I was just chanting a few simple incantation when you burst in.” Dario’s voice suddenly seemed far away. “And- ”
“All hell broke loose.” Lloyd finished his sentence.
A fire started, not the small kind, but big powerful fiery inferno that is not caused by mere kitchen fire. No, it’s the work of supernatural. In the midst of the fire, Dario stood still like a sculpture, the book in his hands. His eyes filled with malice, reflected in the inferno.
“Dario, what did you do?” Lloyd wailed at his brother.
Something emerged from the inferno. It looks like a six foot long cobra, thick as a grown man’s thigh, surrounded in flames and shimmering in and out. Its eyes as dark as midnight, merciless and cruel, slightly bulging out of its head and its tongue, flicking in and out.
“Dario?!”
“What’s wrong, little brother? Afraid?” Dario turned to face him, untouched by the burning heat. “Afraid of getting…burned?”
“How could you-”
“Spare me the lecture.” Dario said, snapping the book shut. “I am tired of listening to everyone harping and fawning about you. Everything I do, everyone looks past. It’s always about Lloyd this and Lloyd that. I’m sick of hearing it.”
“No, people do care about you. They really do.” Lloyd said, petrified at the fiery cobra that is coiling and uncoiling itself beside Dario. The intense heat is also making him feel dehydrated.
“You know what? I might as well end your little life right here and now.” Dario clicked his fingers sharply and the cobra seemed to loomed over him, he could see his own reflection reflected in the eyes.
“And by the way, happy birthday…”
The cobra opened its mouth wide and….
Lloyd didn’t noticed that he had fallen out of his seat, with Glenn half-supporting him. “Lloyd? Lloyd? What’s wrong with you?”
“I spared you at the last minute.” Dario said, his voice getting smaller, dimmer, softer. “I even dumped you at the orphanage myself, watching you as you grow. I was waiting for the right time to finish you off personally without any interference. How ironic it is that you became a supernatural slayer yourself.”
Lloyd looked up, eyes burning with anger and sadness, raising his Zanmato when-
Glenn snuck up behind him with vampire strength and lashed out with a thrust kick. Dario with his graceful dancer-like reflexes caught his foot and gave him a hard shove. In counter response, he drew out his Sauer and started to fire, but Dario deflected it with his rapier.
“Oh, and if you’re looking for V.V., she’s not here.”
Glenn leapt away from him, half-crouching. “What did you just say?”
“Guy took her out for a trip.” Dario said rather casually. “Sorry, I forgot to mention.”
Glenn raised his Sauer, intending to shoot him, right here and now-
A bullet bounced off the wall and it would’ve hit him in the back if Allen haven’t telekinetically stopped the bullet in mid-air, dropping it harmlessly on the floor.
“Dario Darkmatter, prepare to die!”
Erica Giovanni stood in the doorway, holding out her revolver. Her eyes gleaming with a sort of madness look.
“What are you doing here?” Lloyd demanded.
“It’s you.” Dario said, looking bored. “What do you want?”
“We agreed on a partnership, then when I’m in trouble, you left me in jail to rot. When I tried to get you to bail me, you ignore me as though I’m some sort of tool that can be just tossed aside.” Her voice is slowly turning into a high-pitched shriek, “You think I’m just going to sit down and rot like some helpless scullery maid?!”
“Your usefulness had expired,” Dario said coolly.
“I’ll get you, you and your brother, are going to regret leaving me at that place!” The revolver aimed and fired at them, even for a woman, she’s very quick on the draw. In fact, Glenn noted, her gunmanship is on par with him. The bullet she’s using is also no ordinary bullets. Each time they come into contact, they let out a burst of power.
“You like it?” She said, catching his gaze. “Those are my very own custom-made bullets. I gave it an extra burst of power for exorcism.”
“Blessed with holy water and fused with holy fire.” Dario said in attacking position. “Except I’m not a demon.”
“I know you’re not, but he is!” She raised her revolver and shot somewhere in the ceiling without looking. There was a hiss of pain and Revarie appeared. One hand clutching a bloody gash on his left arm.
“You!” Glenn gasped.
Reo suddenly appeared, as quick as a cat, knocking him down, gunblade near the edge of his throat, leaving only Lloyd looking as still as a statue.
“I’ll get you both!” Erica shot at them both. Dario leapt aside like a striking cobra. Even though Lloyd is still in a slight daze, he had enough strength to throw himself aside as the bullets hit the glass, shattering part of it.
“She’s insane!” Allen yelped, rubbing a bruise on his arm where he had banged a coffee top table by accident.
“I want her blood.” Revarie licked his lips. “She injured me, she must pay.”
“Be my guest.” Dario inclined with his head.
“Where’s V.V.?” Lloyd demanded.
“Why don’t you check on her flash drive?”
Lloyd inhaled sharply. He knew…
“Of course I knew.” He laughed. “Allen can see the future. I just let you get it to see how things unfold.”
They watched as Erica’s bullets harmlessly whizzed past Revarie. Although the bullets are powerful, they are no match to a vampire like Revarie, whose strength and speed is unmatched to ordinary vampires. Of course, Lloyd thought to himself as Erica kept shooting at blurs. He’s an Original, he creates vampires for who knows how long. He had said so himself. How many blood had he devoured just to keep his strength up.
Even as he watched, Revarie found a blind spot behind her, twisted her arms to the back and put a booted leg onto her back.
“I win.” He said, his face twisting into vamp form. On close up, it looked distorted, like a mask of evil. His face became cross brow-ridged, morphing into an inhuman form, eyes becoming a brighter red like fresh blood, and his fangs became more visible, sharper and visible. Lloyd can’t bear to look, can’t bear to turn away, but he can’t. His body seems to disobey him, forcing him to watch.
He had never been fond of that woman, especially she’s cruel, using humans as tools for her experiments, but he felt a tinge of sympathy for her as he watched Revarie tightened his grip on her, smiling and biting her, causing her to let out a scream of hysteria. Fresh blood flowed out like a stream of red.
“Leave her alone.” Glenn managed to get out, but Reo pressed his gunblade nearer to his throat and said, “Don’t move.”
“Leave her,” Lloyd shouted, trying to step in, but Mind’s Shadow put a stop to that by stopping him with his shadow.
“Don’t ruin my appetite.” Revarie said in between drinking, red splattered all over his mouth.
Erica seems to grow paler, and whiter, as though all the colour had drained out of her, and slumped onto the ground, unmoving, dead.
“You killed her!” Lloyd choked out. “You actually just kill her like that, in cold blood?”
“I haven’t had such a good meal in days.” Revarie licked his lips, some blood oozing in his tongue.
Glenn grabbed Reo’s gunblade recklessly with his bare hands, yanked it away from him and without hesitating, gave a devastating blow onto the chest when he was caught off-guard, sending him sprawling. With vamp speed, he snatched Erica’s revolver and shot Revarie three times. Twice on the arms, and once on the leg.
“You filthy half-blood!!!!” He screamed, blood pouring out of his mouth.
“She doesn’t deserve this, even though she’s evil.” Glenn said, staring at the corpse. “But you, you are a monster!”
“You said it yourself even when you are one yourself?” Revarie laughed.
“At least I have my humanity.”’ Glenn said, holding out his revolver and Sauer and shooting Revarie rapidly, but without hitting his heart. Reo lunged at him but Lloyd hit him hard with his knee, causing him to cough. Dario suddenly lunged at him, smiling as their blades clashed.
“Incendia!”
Flames erupted from the rapier and blasted Lloyd off his feet like an explosive force, sending him knocking over the table. He could feel his head bleeding slightly. Even as he tried to get up, Dario kicked him hard on the face and pointed his rapier at his throat.
“Any last words before I kill you off, little brother?” He taunted.
“Burn in hell.” Lloyd spat.
“Let me know how it feels like.”
Flames erupted once more, but not at Lloyd, but at Dario. It started from his sleeve and became bigger, consuming his whole arm. Yelling in fear, he beat it out on the ground, leaving his arm slightly scorched. “What was that?!”
A boy stood in the doorway, hands stretched out. He’s slightly tanned, and he’s wearing an opened-necked Banana Republic T-shirt that revealed his skinny chest. His face is partly scarred by burn. On his neck, there’s a fine silver chain with a silver circlet. He looks so unfamiliar, except Lloyd was fairly sure he had seen him before.
“Is this how you fight? You look pathetic, Mister Lloyd.”
Reo and Lloyd both said at the same time. “Blaze?”
But, he doesn’t look like Blaze anymore. His hair had grown out, touching his collar. His hair is not red anymore, but fiery gold. He had also grown taller, matured, not like some annoying rebellious brat. His voice had even gone deeper, like an adult man’s. It’s impossible to recognize him, but it’s only because his “Mister Lloyd” still has the same sarcastic tone as ever.
“Do you who I am, you little brat?” Dario snarled, looking furious.
“Sure I do, you’re the guy who set the vampire on Hornet.” Blaze snapped his fingers and tiny flames appeared in each fingers.
Revarie laughed madly, oblivious to his wounds which are bleeding, but slowly regenerating, pushing the bullets out. “You came to avenge her? How sweet. ”
Blaze shook his head and said, “I don’t have to. Because she’s here.”
Buzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Revarie froze as hornets buzz around him, their wings buzzing rapidly. Even as he watched, a kunai dropped down near his feet with a tag calligraphed with a Japanese character attached.
“Abunai!” Reo yelled.
The kunai exploded, sending him blasting through the window and out into the sunlight. Revarie screamed as he came into contact with the sun, burning his skin. In anger, he hurriedly retreated into the shadows, and his skin stopped smoking and burning as the hornet herself appeared.
“Tifa, you’re-” Lloyd began.
“Awake and walking? Then, yes, yes I am.” She said.
She doesn’t look the same as well. Last time they saw her, she was weak and in a state of comatose. But now, she has matured into a more serious person, and she certainly became healthier and active. Her hair is in its usual plait, but instead of the well-worn ribbon, she knotted the plait with a jade green hair pin that is shaped like a swallow tail. She even became more feminine like and in touch with her culture, wearing a hornet-crested red qi pao top and matching skirt over tight pants. Her hornets buzzing around her.
“Well, well, well,” Dario said. “Look who it is.”
“Your vampire friend sent me into a comatose.” She said softly, kunais in each fist. “If Glenn haven’t suck the blood out of me, then I would’ve died.”
“Oh, really?” Dario said, looking interested.
“We have no interest in fighting with you today,” Blaze said coolly. “We’re here to save Mister Lloyd and the half-retard guy.”
“Hey!”
“Don’t let them leave here alive!” Dario shouted.
Reo recovered himself and attacked Glenn, half-shooting and half-slashing. It’s like fighting with an assassin in real life, Glenn thought as he used the revolver and Sauer to deflect the blows. Revarie is scorched in some parts, but however, he lunged at Lloyd, hands outstretched to strangle him, but Blaze intercepted him and knocked him off his feet.
“Come on, let’s go!” He yelled, dragging Lloyd with him.
“But-”
Blaze was clearly in no mood for arguments. He grabbed Lloyd towards the door, shoving him through it. Glenn was running from Reo, who is chasing him with his dual gunblades. Blaze put a stop to it by hurling a fireball in his direction, causing to halt in his tracks to avoid getting burned.
“Give them our present, Tiff.”
Tifa lagged behind and did some hand seals. She then vanished, like a ninja among ninjas. Ninja throwing projectiles such as kunais, shurikens and senbon needles hidden in ceiling suspended pouches and smoke bombs rained down upon them like a spectacular display of fireworks, or in this case, weapons.
Even as Lloyd and the others made their way out, they could hear yells and shouts coming from the manor. The smoke bomb blasted some of the window glass into shards, like showers of ice. He could even make out some figures dodging the projectiles.
Blaze gave a low whistle. “I think we overdid it.”
Back in Dr Chang’s house, everyone was served a cup of herbal tea, Dr Chang’s recipe. He didn’t fuss around them like he usually do, but listened to their tales. V.V. becoming a berserk killing machine thanks to Guy, Lloyd’s relation with Dario, Erica, the flash drive for her freedom, breakout and then to her death, Blaze and Tifa’s timely arrival…
The flash drive…
It’s still in his pocket, untouched, a tiny lumpy thing against his leg. Lloyd had never checked what in its content, let alone checked it. He had gotten the flash drive from her and went straight to Dario’s manor. He had never expected things to turn out like this.
“Tell you what,” Dr Chang said after they had finished telling him their part of the story. “I’m no expert on this, but why don’t you just use my laptop? Maybe there’ll be some clues about V.V. and Guy in the flash drive.”
So they obliged. They went to Dr Chang’s study and found his laptop, the power still on. He must be doing some work since he left it. He had gone out to the garden to give them some privacy, though Blaze and Tifa stayed behind, eager to see the contents of the flash drive.
Lloyd’s hand hovered near the USB port. His fingers holding the flash drive so hard as though he’s trying to break it. He turned to the others, gazing each of them in turn. Glenn’s slightly pale face, his pale grey eyes as grey as winter sky or a pearl, Blaze’s partly scarred face, his eyes blazing like a fiery ruby or garnet, and Tifa’s chocolate brown ones, serious and strong looking, with a drive hidden beneath them. Turning to Glenn, he said, “You do it.”
Glenn shook his head, saying, “You deserve the honour of doing it.”
“Just do it already. I’m feeling impatient.“ Blaze said.
Nodding, Lloyd connected the flash drive into the USB port. A small light started blinking by its side, indicating that it’s working and running. On the laptop screen, after the anti-virus scan had finished detecting for virus, a window popped out.
BROWSE FILES?
Without hesitating anymore, he moved the mouse cursor and clicked OPEN FILES.
Such a magnificent place, but taken by an evil person.
“G’ho. How come I never been to this part of the area?” Arnie was stunned by the structure of this place.
“We don’t know it ourselves.” Glenn whistled. “I don’t like saying this but your brother is rolling with cash.”
“Let’s just get this over with.” He said tightly, walking up to the gates. Arnie gave them a cheery wave and left, speeding down the road.
There’s an old-fashioned bell pull beside the plague. Gingerly, as though it disgusted him, he tugged it hard. A chiming bell sound rang throughout the manor, like a calling bell for prayers. After a few minutes or so, the iron gates opened electronically and as they stepped through, a CCTV camera followed their progress.
Silently, their footsteps dully echoed on the gravel path. Lloyd was wearing a skin tight sleeveless that shows off his well-developed muscles, a black belt that hung loose around his waist and pants. His Zanmato behind him. Glenn wore a pale grey loose fitting tee and faded pants, with his Sauer tucked into the waistband. The way they’re walking they looked as though they’re heading for war, but with the casual clothes they wore, they looked as though they’re out for an outing.
The front door was opened as though to invite them. Glenn withdrew his Sauer out and held it in front of him as they stepped in to find Allen waiting for them.
“Welcome.” He said softly. “We all had been expecting you.”
“Where’s V.V.?” Lloyd demanded.
“Why don’t you ask Guy? He’s the one holding her.”
Lloyd held out his Zanmato threateningly. “Don’t think I’ll take you lightly just because you’re a kid.”
Allen shrugged and said, “Dario wants to see you. I suggest you come along quietly unless you want me to call the others. Believe me, they love to get their hands on you.”
Glenn started but Lloyd held onto his shoulder. “Don’t, Glenn. We are in their territory. It’s better to see what he wants. And besides, I want to know how we are related.”
“Wise choice.” Mind’s Shadow said, emerging from Allen’s shadow. “This way, then.”
Dario was all alone, waiting for them, sitting in a small inner garden that’s inside the manor. An assortments of biscuits and teas had been set on the table, ranging from chocolate to custard cream to buttermilk and so on. The teas range from Chinese to European and even herbal, which is pretty odd.
“Ah, you both are here. Sit down, please.” He gestured at the empty seats around him. Lloyd made a quick look around, Revarie the vampire and Reo weren’t around, but neither is Guy and V.V. He made a quick scan on Dario’s face and felt a quick jolt in his stomach. They both do look exactly the same, but he had been blind to see it clearly. It’s only the sharper features that separates them and the colour tone of their hair.
“Where’s V.V.?” Lloyd demanded.
Dario looked a little disappointed. “Is that all you have to say? Where’s V.V.? Why don’t you sit down and I’ll tell you more.”
Glenn shook his head, muttering, “Are you really sure you want to do this?”
“What other choice do we have?” Lloyd took a seat opposite of him. Glenn hesitated, then did the same. Dario then fussed around them, offering tea and biscuits, treating them like guests, which in a way, they are.
“Why do you look like me?” Lloyd demanded, after his fourth helping of custard cream biscuit.
Dario set his tea down and hands clasped together, saying, “Tell me, how much do you remember?”
Lloyd frowned hard, much to Glenn’s interest. As far as Glenn had known him he had never, ever talked about his past, except that he was found by a man whose surname was Anderson, hence his surname.
“I was found in the middle of November.” He said slowly, looking lost in memories. “I remember it so clearly. It was so cold, so cold that I could still remember battling through the snow that is biting into my fingers and bones. I just ran away from my last foster family. I was dropped into an orphanage, and when I was 8. I was adopted, but the foster family were horrible. I hated it. I was thrown into one after and another. The last one, I had enough. After a week, I ran away. It was on… November 13.”
“As I had mentioned, it was so cold. So cold till I thought I was going to die, especially wandering around two weeks in the streets with no food, no money, nothing. I even had hyperpyrexia, not as bad as Tifa’s though. I collapsed in the middle of the street. And that’s when Mexx Anderson found me. ” In his mind’s eye, he could see a dark-haired boy as thin as a skeleton, wandering around aimlessly in a thin T-shirt and plaid shorts, looking lost and weak, feeling extremely hot and cold, struggling to battle against the snow.
“He’s dead now though.” He said to Dario in a matter-of-factly tone. “He got mauled to death by a Gargantuar, which makes me what I am now.”
“Touching.” Dario said softly. “Very, very touching. Well then, since you don’t remember about your past, let me fill in the gaps for you.”
“We were born in Pennsylvania, Southern California, into the Gainsborough. And I was jealous. So jealous that my little brother is getting all of the attention from our family. “ He put on a high-pitched mocking tone. “”Why can’t you be more like your brother?” “Isn’t Lloyd wonderful?” Not a day goes by when it’s always Lloyd this and Lloyd that.” His voice is losing its mockery, instead becoming more venomous with sarcasm. “Our father was a demonologist, you know.” He held out his Book of Shadows. “I got this… from him.”
Lloyd felt his stomach twinge, but kept himself interested to hear more.
“You see, our father was the curious type. Prodding things where he should not have meddled and leaving them in his lab.” His eyes turned hard. “I got my revenge on August 8.”
“My birthday.” Lloyd said in tones of disbelief.
Glenn’s eyes widened and said, “Are you on the crack, your birthday is on July 31. I know it myself because I went all the way downtown to get you the tiramisu cake from the Cake House.”
“No, it’s not. It’s on my birth cert and license. Mexx often celebrate it on July 31 because of his late son’s birth date who died in an accident.” He explained. Even as he explained it, he could see flashbacks of his past. Bits of pieces that had never appeared before. A boy, around 5-years-old walking in a garden, in front of a house that seems to resemble a villa house, looking flushed, as though he’s looking for something.
“Remembering anything yet?” Dario asked, his eyes filled with a sort of wolfish hunger. “Why don’t I prod a little more? Father was always researching demons and spells in his little lab and he always kept the door locked, except…he forgotten to lock it on that day because he was rushing. And I happened to stumbled upon it.”
Another memory is tweaking inside his mind. The boy was calling out for someone. “…Rio….Dario, where are you?”
Lloyd clutched his head, causing Glenn to go alarmed, “Lloyd?”
“I went into the lab. Let me tell you, it was full of weird stuff. Besides the usual mad scientist stuff. Spell books, skulls, herbs, anything that is used in potionlogy. And I happened to stumble upon this book in his shelf. Curiosity got the better of me as I brought it down and flipped it open. ”
Now Lloyd understood. That boy was him. He saw his 5-year-old self running down the lawn that leads to a shed, which the door is unlocked and opened. Obedience fighting with disobedience, he shuffled from one foot to another. There was a flash of light coming from the shed. That was when he made his decision.
“I was just chanting a few simple incantation when you burst in.” Dario’s voice suddenly seemed far away. “And- ”
“All hell broke loose.” Lloyd finished his sentence.
A fire started, not the small kind, but big powerful fiery inferno that is not caused by mere kitchen fire. No, it’s the work of supernatural. In the midst of the fire, Dario stood still like a sculpture, the book in his hands. His eyes filled with malice, reflected in the inferno.
“Dario, what did you do?” Lloyd wailed at his brother.
Something emerged from the inferno. It looks like a six foot long cobra, thick as a grown man’s thigh, surrounded in flames and shimmering in and out. Its eyes as dark as midnight, merciless and cruel, slightly bulging out of its head and its tongue, flicking in and out.
“Dario?!”
“What’s wrong, little brother? Afraid?” Dario turned to face him, untouched by the burning heat. “Afraid of getting…burned?”
“How could you-”
“Spare me the lecture.” Dario said, snapping the book shut. “I am tired of listening to everyone harping and fawning about you. Everything I do, everyone looks past. It’s always about Lloyd this and Lloyd that. I’m sick of hearing it.”
“No, people do care about you. They really do.” Lloyd said, petrified at the fiery cobra that is coiling and uncoiling itself beside Dario. The intense heat is also making him feel dehydrated.
“You know what? I might as well end your little life right here and now.” Dario clicked his fingers sharply and the cobra seemed to loomed over him, he could see his own reflection reflected in the eyes.
“And by the way, happy birthday…”
The cobra opened its mouth wide and….
Lloyd didn’t noticed that he had fallen out of his seat, with Glenn half-supporting him. “Lloyd? Lloyd? What’s wrong with you?”
“I spared you at the last minute.” Dario said, his voice getting smaller, dimmer, softer. “I even dumped you at the orphanage myself, watching you as you grow. I was waiting for the right time to finish you off personally without any interference. How ironic it is that you became a supernatural slayer yourself.”
Lloyd looked up, eyes burning with anger and sadness, raising his Zanmato when-
Glenn snuck up behind him with vampire strength and lashed out with a thrust kick. Dario with his graceful dancer-like reflexes caught his foot and gave him a hard shove. In counter response, he drew out his Sauer and started to fire, but Dario deflected it with his rapier.
“Oh, and if you’re looking for V.V., she’s not here.”
Glenn leapt away from him, half-crouching. “What did you just say?”
“Guy took her out for a trip.” Dario said rather casually. “Sorry, I forgot to mention.”
Glenn raised his Sauer, intending to shoot him, right here and now-
A bullet bounced off the wall and it would’ve hit him in the back if Allen haven’t telekinetically stopped the bullet in mid-air, dropping it harmlessly on the floor.
“Dario Darkmatter, prepare to die!”
Erica Giovanni stood in the doorway, holding out her revolver. Her eyes gleaming with a sort of madness look.
“What are you doing here?” Lloyd demanded.
“It’s you.” Dario said, looking bored. “What do you want?”
“We agreed on a partnership, then when I’m in trouble, you left me in jail to rot. When I tried to get you to bail me, you ignore me as though I’m some sort of tool that can be just tossed aside.” Her voice is slowly turning into a high-pitched shriek, “You think I’m just going to sit down and rot like some helpless scullery maid?!”
“Your usefulness had expired,” Dario said coolly.
“I’ll get you, you and your brother, are going to regret leaving me at that place!” The revolver aimed and fired at them, even for a woman, she’s very quick on the draw. In fact, Glenn noted, her gunmanship is on par with him. The bullet she’s using is also no ordinary bullets. Each time they come into contact, they let out a burst of power.
“You like it?” She said, catching his gaze. “Those are my very own custom-made bullets. I gave it an extra burst of power for exorcism.”
“Blessed with holy water and fused with holy fire.” Dario said in attacking position. “Except I’m not a demon.”
“I know you’re not, but he is!” She raised her revolver and shot somewhere in the ceiling without looking. There was a hiss of pain and Revarie appeared. One hand clutching a bloody gash on his left arm.
“You!” Glenn gasped.
Reo suddenly appeared, as quick as a cat, knocking him down, gunblade near the edge of his throat, leaving only Lloyd looking as still as a statue.
“I’ll get you both!” Erica shot at them both. Dario leapt aside like a striking cobra. Even though Lloyd is still in a slight daze, he had enough strength to throw himself aside as the bullets hit the glass, shattering part of it.
“She’s insane!” Allen yelped, rubbing a bruise on his arm where he had banged a coffee top table by accident.
“I want her blood.” Revarie licked his lips. “She injured me, she must pay.”
“Be my guest.” Dario inclined with his head.
“Where’s V.V.?” Lloyd demanded.
“Why don’t you check on her flash drive?”
Lloyd inhaled sharply. He knew…
“Of course I knew.” He laughed. “Allen can see the future. I just let you get it to see how things unfold.”
They watched as Erica’s bullets harmlessly whizzed past Revarie. Although the bullets are powerful, they are no match to a vampire like Revarie, whose strength and speed is unmatched to ordinary vampires. Of course, Lloyd thought to himself as Erica kept shooting at blurs. He’s an Original, he creates vampires for who knows how long. He had said so himself. How many blood had he devoured just to keep his strength up.
Even as he watched, Revarie found a blind spot behind her, twisted her arms to the back and put a booted leg onto her back.
“I win.” He said, his face twisting into vamp form. On close up, it looked distorted, like a mask of evil. His face became cross brow-ridged, morphing into an inhuman form, eyes becoming a brighter red like fresh blood, and his fangs became more visible, sharper and visible. Lloyd can’t bear to look, can’t bear to turn away, but he can’t. His body seems to disobey him, forcing him to watch.
He had never been fond of that woman, especially she’s cruel, using humans as tools for her experiments, but he felt a tinge of sympathy for her as he watched Revarie tightened his grip on her, smiling and biting her, causing her to let out a scream of hysteria. Fresh blood flowed out like a stream of red.
“Leave her alone.” Glenn managed to get out, but Reo pressed his gunblade nearer to his throat and said, “Don’t move.”
“Leave her,” Lloyd shouted, trying to step in, but Mind’s Shadow put a stop to that by stopping him with his shadow.
“Don’t ruin my appetite.” Revarie said in between drinking, red splattered all over his mouth.
Erica seems to grow paler, and whiter, as though all the colour had drained out of her, and slumped onto the ground, unmoving, dead.
“You killed her!” Lloyd choked out. “You actually just kill her like that, in cold blood?”
“I haven’t had such a good meal in days.” Revarie licked his lips, some blood oozing in his tongue.
Glenn grabbed Reo’s gunblade recklessly with his bare hands, yanked it away from him and without hesitating, gave a devastating blow onto the chest when he was caught off-guard, sending him sprawling. With vamp speed, he snatched Erica’s revolver and shot Revarie three times. Twice on the arms, and once on the leg.
“You filthy half-blood!!!!” He screamed, blood pouring out of his mouth.
“She doesn’t deserve this, even though she’s evil.” Glenn said, staring at the corpse. “But you, you are a monster!”
“You said it yourself even when you are one yourself?” Revarie laughed.
“At least I have my humanity.”’ Glenn said, holding out his revolver and Sauer and shooting Revarie rapidly, but without hitting his heart. Reo lunged at him but Lloyd hit him hard with his knee, causing him to cough. Dario suddenly lunged at him, smiling as their blades clashed.
“Incendia!”
Flames erupted from the rapier and blasted Lloyd off his feet like an explosive force, sending him knocking over the table. He could feel his head bleeding slightly. Even as he tried to get up, Dario kicked him hard on the face and pointed his rapier at his throat.
“Any last words before I kill you off, little brother?” He taunted.
“Burn in hell.” Lloyd spat.
“Let me know how it feels like.”
Flames erupted once more, but not at Lloyd, but at Dario. It started from his sleeve and became bigger, consuming his whole arm. Yelling in fear, he beat it out on the ground, leaving his arm slightly scorched. “What was that?!”
A boy stood in the doorway, hands stretched out. He’s slightly tanned, and he’s wearing an opened-necked Banana Republic T-shirt that revealed his skinny chest. His face is partly scarred by burn. On his neck, there’s a fine silver chain with a silver circlet. He looks so unfamiliar, except Lloyd was fairly sure he had seen him before.
“Is this how you fight? You look pathetic, Mister Lloyd.”
Reo and Lloyd both said at the same time. “Blaze?”
But, he doesn’t look like Blaze anymore. His hair had grown out, touching his collar. His hair is not red anymore, but fiery gold. He had also grown taller, matured, not like some annoying rebellious brat. His voice had even gone deeper, like an adult man’s. It’s impossible to recognize him, but it’s only because his “Mister Lloyd” still has the same sarcastic tone as ever.
“Do you who I am, you little brat?” Dario snarled, looking furious.
“Sure I do, you’re the guy who set the vampire on Hornet.” Blaze snapped his fingers and tiny flames appeared in each fingers.
Revarie laughed madly, oblivious to his wounds which are bleeding, but slowly regenerating, pushing the bullets out. “You came to avenge her? How sweet. ”
Blaze shook his head and said, “I don’t have to. Because she’s here.”
Buzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Revarie froze as hornets buzz around him, their wings buzzing rapidly. Even as he watched, a kunai dropped down near his feet with a tag calligraphed with a Japanese character attached.
“Abunai!” Reo yelled.
The kunai exploded, sending him blasting through the window and out into the sunlight. Revarie screamed as he came into contact with the sun, burning his skin. In anger, he hurriedly retreated into the shadows, and his skin stopped smoking and burning as the hornet herself appeared.
“Tifa, you’re-” Lloyd began.
“Awake and walking? Then, yes, yes I am.” She said.
She doesn’t look the same as well. Last time they saw her, she was weak and in a state of comatose. But now, she has matured into a more serious person, and she certainly became healthier and active. Her hair is in its usual plait, but instead of the well-worn ribbon, she knotted the plait with a jade green hair pin that is shaped like a swallow tail. She even became more feminine like and in touch with her culture, wearing a hornet-crested red qi pao top and matching skirt over tight pants. Her hornets buzzing around her.
“Well, well, well,” Dario said. “Look who it is.”
“Your vampire friend sent me into a comatose.” She said softly, kunais in each fist. “If Glenn haven’t suck the blood out of me, then I would’ve died.”
“Oh, really?” Dario said, looking interested.
“We have no interest in fighting with you today,” Blaze said coolly. “We’re here to save Mister Lloyd and the half-retard guy.”
“Hey!”
“Don’t let them leave here alive!” Dario shouted.
Reo recovered himself and attacked Glenn, half-shooting and half-slashing. It’s like fighting with an assassin in real life, Glenn thought as he used the revolver and Sauer to deflect the blows. Revarie is scorched in some parts, but however, he lunged at Lloyd, hands outstretched to strangle him, but Blaze intercepted him and knocked him off his feet.
“Come on, let’s go!” He yelled, dragging Lloyd with him.
“But-”
Blaze was clearly in no mood for arguments. He grabbed Lloyd towards the door, shoving him through it. Glenn was running from Reo, who is chasing him with his dual gunblades. Blaze put a stop to it by hurling a fireball in his direction, causing to halt in his tracks to avoid getting burned.
“Give them our present, Tiff.”
Tifa lagged behind and did some hand seals. She then vanished, like a ninja among ninjas. Ninja throwing projectiles such as kunais, shurikens and senbon needles hidden in ceiling suspended pouches and smoke bombs rained down upon them like a spectacular display of fireworks, or in this case, weapons.
Even as Lloyd and the others made their way out, they could hear yells and shouts coming from the manor. The smoke bomb blasted some of the window glass into shards, like showers of ice. He could even make out some figures dodging the projectiles.
Blaze gave a low whistle. “I think we overdid it.”
Back in Dr Chang’s house, everyone was served a cup of herbal tea, Dr Chang’s recipe. He didn’t fuss around them like he usually do, but listened to their tales. V.V. becoming a berserk killing machine thanks to Guy, Lloyd’s relation with Dario, Erica, the flash drive for her freedom, breakout and then to her death, Blaze and Tifa’s timely arrival…
The flash drive…
It’s still in his pocket, untouched, a tiny lumpy thing against his leg. Lloyd had never checked what in its content, let alone checked it. He had gotten the flash drive from her and went straight to Dario’s manor. He had never expected things to turn out like this.
“Tell you what,” Dr Chang said after they had finished telling him their part of the story. “I’m no expert on this, but why don’t you just use my laptop? Maybe there’ll be some clues about V.V. and Guy in the flash drive.”
So they obliged. They went to Dr Chang’s study and found his laptop, the power still on. He must be doing some work since he left it. He had gone out to the garden to give them some privacy, though Blaze and Tifa stayed behind, eager to see the contents of the flash drive.
Lloyd’s hand hovered near the USB port. His fingers holding the flash drive so hard as though he’s trying to break it. He turned to the others, gazing each of them in turn. Glenn’s slightly pale face, his pale grey eyes as grey as winter sky or a pearl, Blaze’s partly scarred face, his eyes blazing like a fiery ruby or garnet, and Tifa’s chocolate brown ones, serious and strong looking, with a drive hidden beneath them. Turning to Glenn, he said, “You do it.”
Glenn shook his head, saying, “You deserve the honour of doing it.”
“Just do it already. I’m feeling impatient.“ Blaze said.
Nodding, Lloyd connected the flash drive into the USB port. A small light started blinking by its side, indicating that it’s working and running. On the laptop screen, after the anti-virus scan had finished detecting for virus, a window popped out.
BROWSE FILES?
Without hesitating anymore, he moved the mouse cursor and clicked OPEN FILES.
Saturday, September 3, 2011
Supernatural Demon Slayers : Chapter 27 - An Old Friend ( 古い友人 )
Back at the apartment, no one spoke, no one even dared to whisper. It’s as though a thick air of ice is slowly solidifying between them.
Lloyd is sitting on his desk, browsing blindly at pictures and results of Dario. He had been doing that ever since they returned. On auto pilot, he had reached over for the old desktop, turned on the modem and had ever since blindly opened every page of web searches engines, each search box typed with exactly the same words.
Google search : Dario Darkmatter
Yahoo! search : Dario Darkmatter
Ask.com : Dario Darkmatter
Baidu search : Dario Darkmatter
Info.com : Dario Darkmatter
Answer.com : Dario Darkmatter
Search.com : Dario Darkmatter
“Enough already!” Glenn finally snapped, looking anxious. “You’re creeping me out. I mean, you had been sitting there for four whole hours!”
Lloyd just stared numbly at the screen. Beside him lay a marinated ham, and some yummy deluxe fries with a small tray of tartar sauce. Originally, it was sizzling hot, but now, it is stone cold. Glenn had took the effort to actually run all the way to the Steak House, got him a nice decent meal by using his own American Express card despite the fact that it is for “emergency use only”, and ran all the way back here, expecting him to devour in one go since they rarely have any high luxuries except for the time when they were paid in full by the president for stopping the jesters trio, but then the sixty percent went to the bills and facilities, which kind of stinks.
But no. Instead, he has the same look as V.V. who is now brainwashed by Guy. He just glanced at the ham, then turned back to the screen and started tapping and clicking away at the keyboard and mouse.
“God, I can’t take it anymore!” Glenn yelled, reaching over and jabbing at the power button. The screen then went dead.
“Hey, what gives?” Lloyd exclaimed. “I was using it.”
“You’ve been using it for the past four hours which is creeping me out!” He yelled. “So what if Darkmatter is your brother? So what? I’m related to that vampire Revarie which is a thousand times worse than yours!!!”
Lloyd looked silence for a moment. “I forgot.”
“Well,” Glenn shrugged. “I don’t tend to bring up the subject a lot.”
Lloyd sighed and speared a bit of ham and made a face. “it’s cold.”
“Well, yeah. Since you were busy being a zombie.”
After a few mouthfuls, Lloyd then said, “We’re going.”
“I know.” Glenn nodded, sitting opposite of him. “But…what about V.V.?”
“What do you think?”
He thought hard for a moment. “If it were me, I go back to where the source is.” He then waited for him to get the hint. When he did, he then look puzzled. “How do you plan to go back to where the source is?”
“Fortunately for you, I did my own findings while you were in Zombieland.” Glenn held out a small paper scribbled with his handwriting.
“You constantly amaze me each day.” Lloyd said, reading the paper.
“I don’t slack off all the time. So, when do we leave, boss?”
********************
The St Elmer’s Institute for Juvenile Women is such a pretty looking place for a juvenile institute. Everywhere is serene and tranquil, with big leafy plants everywhere. The floor is made out of white marbles, polished thoroughly. The only thing that is out of place is the metal bars that makes up each cells, which comes in equipped with a nice comfy bed and a small toilet, because they are worried that the women might hurt themselves if they give them chairs and tables.
In one particular cell, a woman with cropped short dark hair looked displeased, wearing the standard grey cell uniform. She was originally the boss of the leading Stellar Inc. but now she’s a low-ranking juvie. Even her long standing partner, Dario Darkmatter, tossed her aside, refusing to even bail her out of here.
“Just you wait, Darkmatter.” She muttered. “I’ll get even with you, just you wait…”
“Ms Giovanni?”
The woman looked up. “What do you want?”
“You have a visitor. A Mr Lloyd Anderson?”
The woman grinned. It looks as though things are looking up.
Lloyd sat quietly in the visitor room, a huge room with a screen that separates the visitors with the prisoners, frowning. Glenn had decided to wait outside, since only one visitor at a time. The door at the far end finally opened and Erica Giovanni, as high as mighty as ever, taking her place opposite of him. She had certainly looked thinner, her hair still cropped short, but still the same as ever.
“Well, well, well, if it isn’t Lloyd Anderson, Supernatural Demon Slayer.” She sneered. She then looked around. “What brings you here?”
“It’s about Darkmatter.” He said quietly, watching her reaction.
Erica’s eyes narrowed. “What about him?”
“Guy Moon, his ally.”
Erica’s eyes flickered. “Oh, what about Moon? I am surprised you even know that name.”
“Just cut to the chase, Giovanni.”
Erica tapped her banana yellow lacquered nails thoughtfully on the table. “Why should I help you?”
“Because Darkmatter ditched you to the cops.”
That sparked her nerve.
“How dare you bring that up!”
“Hey you, calm down!” A rowdy guard snapped at her.
Fuming, she steadied herself, but she’s still pissed off. “So, what about him?”
“What is Guy Moon’s relationship to V.V.?” Lloyd said, getting straight to the point. “Don’t try fooling me because that little brat often calls her his old friend. And V.V. often gets this strange look in her face whenever he calls her that.”
“He could never help himself whenever he’s around with V.V.” Erica shrugged. “Believe me, I’ve never met anyone’s who obsessed about her.”
Lloyd felt a tiny pang of jealousy, but he managed to force himself to say it, “Are they both…lovers?”
“Lovers?” Erica looked startled. “No, they’re just friends.”
“The details of V.V. in your desktop back at Stellar, I want it.” He said.
Erica gave a light laugh, covering her hands with the banana yellow lacquered nails. “Oho, so that’s your main objective, isn’t it? V.V. was taken by Moon who is with Dario...”
“You caught on fast.”
All this time, Erica had been treating the whole conversation like a card game. Now that Lloyd had opened up all of his cards, revealing his spades and diamonds, she had decided to open hers too. “I do have a file of it in my flash drive. But…” She held up a finger. “There is always a condition.”
Lloyd didn’t even flicker. “Name it.”
“Well now, my dear Lloyd, as you know right from the start, I am a successful business woman, so my condition is this. You get me a lawyer to bail me out of here and I’ll give the flash drive to you. I’m not asking for a clear record or anything, I just want out.”
Lloyd nodded. “Thanks.”
“Where are you going?” She demanded from behind the screen.
“Heading to your old office.” He called over his shoulder.
“What about me?!”
“I’ll come back for you.”
“You-You- Come back HERE!!!” She roared.
“Giovanni, quiet!” The guard shouted, trying to restrain her.
“Let go of me, you fool! I want to settle things with those two brothers!!!” She shrieked, fighting tooth and nail against the guard, who tried to call reinforcements but Erica surprisingly grabbed a chair and hit the guard with it, hearing the satisfying crack of the skull and the guard fainted.
Panting wildly like a wild dog, she turned and ran.
*******************
“Remind me, why are we here again?” Glenn asked.
They are standing in front of the old building of Stellar Inc. Its glossy glass surface shone brightly in the light, still the same as ever. The only difference is there’s a yellow tape that reads NYPD DO NOT ENTER AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY TREPASSERS WILL BE PROSECUTED
“Charming.” Glenn rolled his eyes.
“Let’s go.” Lloyd nodded.
Ignoring the yellow tape, they made their way to the glass entrance, careful not to trip or rip the tapes. The interior looks so empty, with piles of sealed boxes and plastic bags all over the place. The floor is also covered with dust, so thick til you couldn’t even see the surface of the floor.
“Do you still remember her office floor?”
“Sure do, the 7th floor.”
Since the power supply is cut down, they made their way up using the stairs. In daylight, the place looks less creepy. Instead, now it looks dull like a bare box whose contents is emptied.
Neither of them said much as they reached her office. The room is covered with sealed boxes and it’s bare, just like the entire place. Although the desktop is still there, covered in white drapes and protected in plastic.
“No power supply remember?” Glenn said as Lloyd went over to turn it on.
“No, but we just need the flash drive, don’t we?” Lloyd gently peeled part of the plastic off and tried to turn it on, but no such luck. It’s still dead. Then something caught his eye. The cabinet beneath the desktop. They looked untouched. Curiosity prickling him, he knelt down and gave it a tug.
“Locked.” Lloyd muttered.
Glenn went over to the cabinet and gave it a ferocious kick. Bits of wood splintered and the metal keyhole came flying off.
“Sometimes, vampire strength does come in handy.” He commented and opened the top drawer, which is filled with dusty documents regarding about buisness.
“How come the cops didn’t confiscate these?”
“She must’ve locked and hidden the keys away. This is her office after all.” Lloyd had an urge to steal the desktop and bring it back to the office to hack into it, but how could he lug the whole thing to out without people gawping and staring?
Glenn had opened the second drawer. Pens and A4 papers, useless. The third drawer contains something a little more interesting. Photos of demons and the supernaturals attached to individual files.
PERMERFROST, FAIRY OF THE NORTH
This shows a photo of a pale blue-skinned girl with long straggly frost white hair hung around her face, with equally pale bloodless lips and large round jewel blue eyes. She look as beautiful as an ice sculpture, pale and glowing. The document attached to the document doesn’t say much about her, except she creates powerful hail and blizzards and lives in a world of Ice, with blizzards for eternity.
The next document contained a photo of a creature what seems to be like liquid. It looks like a blob of pink slime goo with hands and legs but no face.
MORPHIX, BEING OF MORPHER………ABLE TO CHANGE ITSELF INTO ANY SHAPE OF WEAPON…
Lloyd flipped through each and every file, every demons, every supernaturals that Stellar Inc. had found and researched on. There’s even a couple of demon that caught his eye. Lobo, the silver black werewolf and Nightwing, the bat-demon, had been used on the bodyguard Joe, to create him into becoming a Lycanthrope with medium-sized wings for flights.
“Gosh…” Glenn looked awed, looking at the documents. There’s not only their description, but there’s also their ranking. C,B, A, S.
“I would advise you both to stop wasting your time…”
They both looked up to see a woman, wearing a beret that is pushed low, aiming a revolver at them.
“Erica?”
“Step away from the desk or I’ll shoot.” She said, clicking the safety off the gun.
Glenn rushed behind her in a blur and snatched the revolver out of her hand, throwing it aside.
“You were saying?”
Erica suddenly lashed out at him with dual daggers. Silver and wickedly sharp. One pierced him in the arm and another narrowly missed his neck.
“Yikes…” He gasped.
“I was trained to kill before I went to do business in Stellar Inc.” Erica lashed out again, only this time Lloyd grabbed her and threw her over his back, knocking her out. Hurriedly, Glenn managed to locate a length of rope in one of the boxes and knotted her up on the leather chair.
“My God, that was creepy.” Glenn stared at the blood that is seeping into his sleeve.
“You go and rest, I’ll deal with her.” Lloyd said.
Glenn caught his eye and nodded.
Moments later, Erica’s vision blurred and she steadied herself to find Lloyd sitting directly opposite of her, leaning against the desk. Furious, she tried to get up but found her hands bound tightly. That-That jerk, she thought furiously.
“Sorry we have to bind you up.” He said coolly, unfazed by her expression.
“You’re just like your brother, you wait. Once I’m free, I’ll get him for throwing me into prison.”
“How did you know about us being related?”
“He told me himself before I went to juvie.” Erica’s lips twitched into a smile of irony. “To think I trusted him whole-heartedly.’
“How do we stop V.V.?”
“I told you before, either you clear me of all charges, then I’ll let you know. Otherwise, I won’t tell.”
Lloyd grabbed her by the scruff of her neck and said, “Fine, since you won’t tell, then I’ll just bring you over to his manor. I’m sure he’ll be happy to see you.”
Erica’s face twisted into a look of pure hatred. “You dare-”
“I’m planning to go there, got to rescue V.V. anyway.”
Erica growled. “You’re as sly as him.”
“Gosh, I’m so flattered.” His voice dripped in sarcastism. “So what’s it going to be? I’ll let you walk out quietly if you hand over the flash drive or I’ll bring you to his manor.”
Erica shrugged, she knew she had already lost this one, which means there’s no point in fighting. But maybe she can twist him into her tune.
“It’s my pendant.” She muttered.
Without hesitating, he pulled the necklace around her neck. Yup, there’s the flash drive, hanging on a fine silver chain. It is cleverly disguised to look like a jewel, which means you are easily fooled if you don’t look closely.
“Well then, you’ll be taking a one way trip to wherever you are, whereas I got a cab to catch.”
****************
“V.V. I brought you more bodies to chop…” Guy sang, dancing into view.
V.V. was sitting in the corner, looking berserk as always. The others are keeping far, far away from her. Because she’s dangerous, anything that comes close is diced into bits by her hair.
“Here you are.” Guy dumped two bloodied looking bodies. Both demons, not human, thankfully. It had caused Allen to feel nausea and fell sick for a week.
V.V‘s hair braided and next thing they all knew, nothing was left except blood splattered everywhere and bits of body parts.
“Enough already!” Allen gasped, feeling nauseous again. He fumbled in his pocket for his recently bought supplements and popped one of the pills out, swallowing it.
“Looks like we’re going to have to clean this all up again.” Mind’s Shadow looked disgusted.
“Don’t ruin our fun.” Guy said, taking out a small silk handkerchief and wiping V.V.’s face. “It has been years since we had any fun.”
“We? You meant yourself.” Reo said, staring at V.V.’s blank face.
“But of course.” Guy said, spreading his arms wide. “But it’s much more fun with V.V. with me.”
Allen suddenly sank onto on fours, clutching his head.
“What is it?” Revarie asked.
“That woman broke free.” He gasped, clutching his temple.
Dario, who had said nothing throughout the entire time, now went, “What woman?”
“Erica Giovanni…”
Dario’s eyes flashed. “How did she break out?”
“She’s at the old company with the other two.”
Dario turned, looking twisted. “She did, did she? Well then, time to pay her a visit.”
“There’s no need to.” Allen sighed, closing his eyes. “The other two… had arrived.”
Lloyd is sitting on his desk, browsing blindly at pictures and results of Dario. He had been doing that ever since they returned. On auto pilot, he had reached over for the old desktop, turned on the modem and had ever since blindly opened every page of web searches engines, each search box typed with exactly the same words.
Google search : Dario Darkmatter
Yahoo! search : Dario Darkmatter
Ask.com : Dario Darkmatter
Baidu search : Dario Darkmatter
Info.com : Dario Darkmatter
Answer.com : Dario Darkmatter
Search.com : Dario Darkmatter
“Enough already!” Glenn finally snapped, looking anxious. “You’re creeping me out. I mean, you had been sitting there for four whole hours!”
Lloyd just stared numbly at the screen. Beside him lay a marinated ham, and some yummy deluxe fries with a small tray of tartar sauce. Originally, it was sizzling hot, but now, it is stone cold. Glenn had took the effort to actually run all the way to the Steak House, got him a nice decent meal by using his own American Express card despite the fact that it is for “emergency use only”, and ran all the way back here, expecting him to devour in one go since they rarely have any high luxuries except for the time when they were paid in full by the president for stopping the jesters trio, but then the sixty percent went to the bills and facilities, which kind of stinks.
But no. Instead, he has the same look as V.V. who is now brainwashed by Guy. He just glanced at the ham, then turned back to the screen and started tapping and clicking away at the keyboard and mouse.
“God, I can’t take it anymore!” Glenn yelled, reaching over and jabbing at the power button. The screen then went dead.
“Hey, what gives?” Lloyd exclaimed. “I was using it.”
“You’ve been using it for the past four hours which is creeping me out!” He yelled. “So what if Darkmatter is your brother? So what? I’m related to that vampire Revarie which is a thousand times worse than yours!!!”
Lloyd looked silence for a moment. “I forgot.”
“Well,” Glenn shrugged. “I don’t tend to bring up the subject a lot.”
Lloyd sighed and speared a bit of ham and made a face. “it’s cold.”
“Well, yeah. Since you were busy being a zombie.”
After a few mouthfuls, Lloyd then said, “We’re going.”
“I know.” Glenn nodded, sitting opposite of him. “But…what about V.V.?”
“What do you think?”
He thought hard for a moment. “If it were me, I go back to where the source is.” He then waited for him to get the hint. When he did, he then look puzzled. “How do you plan to go back to where the source is?”
“Fortunately for you, I did my own findings while you were in Zombieland.” Glenn held out a small paper scribbled with his handwriting.
“You constantly amaze me each day.” Lloyd said, reading the paper.
“I don’t slack off all the time. So, when do we leave, boss?”
********************
The St Elmer’s Institute for Juvenile Women is such a pretty looking place for a juvenile institute. Everywhere is serene and tranquil, with big leafy plants everywhere. The floor is made out of white marbles, polished thoroughly. The only thing that is out of place is the metal bars that makes up each cells, which comes in equipped with a nice comfy bed and a small toilet, because they are worried that the women might hurt themselves if they give them chairs and tables.
In one particular cell, a woman with cropped short dark hair looked displeased, wearing the standard grey cell uniform. She was originally the boss of the leading Stellar Inc. but now she’s a low-ranking juvie. Even her long standing partner, Dario Darkmatter, tossed her aside, refusing to even bail her out of here.
“Just you wait, Darkmatter.” She muttered. “I’ll get even with you, just you wait…”
“Ms Giovanni?”
The woman looked up. “What do you want?”
“You have a visitor. A Mr Lloyd Anderson?”
The woman grinned. It looks as though things are looking up.
Lloyd sat quietly in the visitor room, a huge room with a screen that separates the visitors with the prisoners, frowning. Glenn had decided to wait outside, since only one visitor at a time. The door at the far end finally opened and Erica Giovanni, as high as mighty as ever, taking her place opposite of him. She had certainly looked thinner, her hair still cropped short, but still the same as ever.
“Well, well, well, if it isn’t Lloyd Anderson, Supernatural Demon Slayer.” She sneered. She then looked around. “What brings you here?”
“It’s about Darkmatter.” He said quietly, watching her reaction.
Erica’s eyes narrowed. “What about him?”
“Guy Moon, his ally.”
Erica’s eyes flickered. “Oh, what about Moon? I am surprised you even know that name.”
“Just cut to the chase, Giovanni.”
Erica tapped her banana yellow lacquered nails thoughtfully on the table. “Why should I help you?”
“Because Darkmatter ditched you to the cops.”
That sparked her nerve.
“How dare you bring that up!”
“Hey you, calm down!” A rowdy guard snapped at her.
Fuming, she steadied herself, but she’s still pissed off. “So, what about him?”
“What is Guy Moon’s relationship to V.V.?” Lloyd said, getting straight to the point. “Don’t try fooling me because that little brat often calls her his old friend. And V.V. often gets this strange look in her face whenever he calls her that.”
“He could never help himself whenever he’s around with V.V.” Erica shrugged. “Believe me, I’ve never met anyone’s who obsessed about her.”
Lloyd felt a tiny pang of jealousy, but he managed to force himself to say it, “Are they both…lovers?”
“Lovers?” Erica looked startled. “No, they’re just friends.”
“The details of V.V. in your desktop back at Stellar, I want it.” He said.
Erica gave a light laugh, covering her hands with the banana yellow lacquered nails. “Oho, so that’s your main objective, isn’t it? V.V. was taken by Moon who is with Dario...”
“You caught on fast.”
All this time, Erica had been treating the whole conversation like a card game. Now that Lloyd had opened up all of his cards, revealing his spades and diamonds, she had decided to open hers too. “I do have a file of it in my flash drive. But…” She held up a finger. “There is always a condition.”
Lloyd didn’t even flicker. “Name it.”
“Well now, my dear Lloyd, as you know right from the start, I am a successful business woman, so my condition is this. You get me a lawyer to bail me out of here and I’ll give the flash drive to you. I’m not asking for a clear record or anything, I just want out.”
Lloyd nodded. “Thanks.”
“Where are you going?” She demanded from behind the screen.
“Heading to your old office.” He called over his shoulder.
“What about me?!”
“I’ll come back for you.”
“You-You- Come back HERE!!!” She roared.
“Giovanni, quiet!” The guard shouted, trying to restrain her.
“Let go of me, you fool! I want to settle things with those two brothers!!!” She shrieked, fighting tooth and nail against the guard, who tried to call reinforcements but Erica surprisingly grabbed a chair and hit the guard with it, hearing the satisfying crack of the skull and the guard fainted.
Panting wildly like a wild dog, she turned and ran.
*******************
“Remind me, why are we here again?” Glenn asked.
They are standing in front of the old building of Stellar Inc. Its glossy glass surface shone brightly in the light, still the same as ever. The only difference is there’s a yellow tape that reads NYPD DO NOT ENTER AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY TREPASSERS WILL BE PROSECUTED
“Charming.” Glenn rolled his eyes.
“Let’s go.” Lloyd nodded.
Ignoring the yellow tape, they made their way to the glass entrance, careful not to trip or rip the tapes. The interior looks so empty, with piles of sealed boxes and plastic bags all over the place. The floor is also covered with dust, so thick til you couldn’t even see the surface of the floor.
“Do you still remember her office floor?”
“Sure do, the 7th floor.”
Since the power supply is cut down, they made their way up using the stairs. In daylight, the place looks less creepy. Instead, now it looks dull like a bare box whose contents is emptied.
Neither of them said much as they reached her office. The room is covered with sealed boxes and it’s bare, just like the entire place. Although the desktop is still there, covered in white drapes and protected in plastic.
“No power supply remember?” Glenn said as Lloyd went over to turn it on.
“No, but we just need the flash drive, don’t we?” Lloyd gently peeled part of the plastic off and tried to turn it on, but no such luck. It’s still dead. Then something caught his eye. The cabinet beneath the desktop. They looked untouched. Curiosity prickling him, he knelt down and gave it a tug.
“Locked.” Lloyd muttered.
Glenn went over to the cabinet and gave it a ferocious kick. Bits of wood splintered and the metal keyhole came flying off.
“Sometimes, vampire strength does come in handy.” He commented and opened the top drawer, which is filled with dusty documents regarding about buisness.
“How come the cops didn’t confiscate these?”
“She must’ve locked and hidden the keys away. This is her office after all.” Lloyd had an urge to steal the desktop and bring it back to the office to hack into it, but how could he lug the whole thing to out without people gawping and staring?
Glenn had opened the second drawer. Pens and A4 papers, useless. The third drawer contains something a little more interesting. Photos of demons and the supernaturals attached to individual files.
PERMERFROST, FAIRY OF THE NORTH
This shows a photo of a pale blue-skinned girl with long straggly frost white hair hung around her face, with equally pale bloodless lips and large round jewel blue eyes. She look as beautiful as an ice sculpture, pale and glowing. The document attached to the document doesn’t say much about her, except she creates powerful hail and blizzards and lives in a world of Ice, with blizzards for eternity.
The next document contained a photo of a creature what seems to be like liquid. It looks like a blob of pink slime goo with hands and legs but no face.
MORPHIX, BEING OF MORPHER………ABLE TO CHANGE ITSELF INTO ANY SHAPE OF WEAPON…
Lloyd flipped through each and every file, every demons, every supernaturals that Stellar Inc. had found and researched on. There’s even a couple of demon that caught his eye. Lobo, the silver black werewolf and Nightwing, the bat-demon, had been used on the bodyguard Joe, to create him into becoming a Lycanthrope with medium-sized wings for flights.
“Gosh…” Glenn looked awed, looking at the documents. There’s not only their description, but there’s also their ranking. C,B, A, S.
“I would advise you both to stop wasting your time…”
They both looked up to see a woman, wearing a beret that is pushed low, aiming a revolver at them.
“Erica?”
“Step away from the desk or I’ll shoot.” She said, clicking the safety off the gun.
Glenn rushed behind her in a blur and snatched the revolver out of her hand, throwing it aside.
“You were saying?”
Erica suddenly lashed out at him with dual daggers. Silver and wickedly sharp. One pierced him in the arm and another narrowly missed his neck.
“Yikes…” He gasped.
“I was trained to kill before I went to do business in Stellar Inc.” Erica lashed out again, only this time Lloyd grabbed her and threw her over his back, knocking her out. Hurriedly, Glenn managed to locate a length of rope in one of the boxes and knotted her up on the leather chair.
“My God, that was creepy.” Glenn stared at the blood that is seeping into his sleeve.
“You go and rest, I’ll deal with her.” Lloyd said.
Glenn caught his eye and nodded.
Moments later, Erica’s vision blurred and she steadied herself to find Lloyd sitting directly opposite of her, leaning against the desk. Furious, she tried to get up but found her hands bound tightly. That-That jerk, she thought furiously.
“Sorry we have to bind you up.” He said coolly, unfazed by her expression.
“You’re just like your brother, you wait. Once I’m free, I’ll get him for throwing me into prison.”
“How did you know about us being related?”
“He told me himself before I went to juvie.” Erica’s lips twitched into a smile of irony. “To think I trusted him whole-heartedly.’
“How do we stop V.V.?”
“I told you before, either you clear me of all charges, then I’ll let you know. Otherwise, I won’t tell.”
Lloyd grabbed her by the scruff of her neck and said, “Fine, since you won’t tell, then I’ll just bring you over to his manor. I’m sure he’ll be happy to see you.”
Erica’s face twisted into a look of pure hatred. “You dare-”
“I’m planning to go there, got to rescue V.V. anyway.”
Erica growled. “You’re as sly as him.”
“Gosh, I’m so flattered.” His voice dripped in sarcastism. “So what’s it going to be? I’ll let you walk out quietly if you hand over the flash drive or I’ll bring you to his manor.”
Erica shrugged, she knew she had already lost this one, which means there’s no point in fighting. But maybe she can twist him into her tune.
“It’s my pendant.” She muttered.
Without hesitating, he pulled the necklace around her neck. Yup, there’s the flash drive, hanging on a fine silver chain. It is cleverly disguised to look like a jewel, which means you are easily fooled if you don’t look closely.
“Well then, you’ll be taking a one way trip to wherever you are, whereas I got a cab to catch.”
****************
“V.V. I brought you more bodies to chop…” Guy sang, dancing into view.
V.V. was sitting in the corner, looking berserk as always. The others are keeping far, far away from her. Because she’s dangerous, anything that comes close is diced into bits by her hair.
“Here you are.” Guy dumped two bloodied looking bodies. Both demons, not human, thankfully. It had caused Allen to feel nausea and fell sick for a week.
V.V‘s hair braided and next thing they all knew, nothing was left except blood splattered everywhere and bits of body parts.
“Enough already!” Allen gasped, feeling nauseous again. He fumbled in his pocket for his recently bought supplements and popped one of the pills out, swallowing it.
“Looks like we’re going to have to clean this all up again.” Mind’s Shadow looked disgusted.
“Don’t ruin our fun.” Guy said, taking out a small silk handkerchief and wiping V.V.’s face. “It has been years since we had any fun.”
“We? You meant yourself.” Reo said, staring at V.V.’s blank face.
“But of course.” Guy said, spreading his arms wide. “But it’s much more fun with V.V. with me.”
Allen suddenly sank onto on fours, clutching his head.
“What is it?” Revarie asked.
“That woman broke free.” He gasped, clutching his temple.
Dario, who had said nothing throughout the entire time, now went, “What woman?”
“Erica Giovanni…”
Dario’s eyes flashed. “How did she break out?”
“She’s at the old company with the other two.”
Dario turned, looking twisted. “She did, did she? Well then, time to pay her a visit.”
“There’s no need to.” Allen sighed, closing his eyes. “The other two… had arrived.”
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