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.
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