??~Universales Geistzerst

[Geist]

Quite different from what I've done before, this story has nothing to do with Pokemon.

Adapted from an RP on my site, more will come in bits and pieces.

LMX33457787887-A: (file name corrupted or due unrenderable due to graphical interface glitches)

In the golden age of OZ there were three stations orbiting Earth that Was. Reach, Pinnacle, and Legion. The Madan von Der Freischutz, a secret society hellbent on the protection of safety and the propagation of "Enlightenment", stepped out of the shadows of Pinnacle to spread their thoughts. Through "sessions" and "awakenings", they amassed enough influence to overthrow the regime of Avec Noir and gained control of the floating space station.

The sudden influence of the Madan disrupted the balance of peace on Reach. On the surface, nothing appeared to move. But like the extending ripples of water on the surface of the sea, the disturbances went deep into the core of society. Reach, the home of convicts and those deemed unworthy to associate with modern society, gave rise to the Shinkou Shuukyou Gakudan, an extremist leftist movement with the sole intention to exterminate the police force known as the Madan. Believing the ideals of "Enlightenment" to be dangerous to individual thought, they spread "true wisdom" and "unparalleled knowledge" through "propagations" and "innocence revivals" Avec Shiroi Ai, the high priestess of Reach, committed suicide after she was soiled by the Gakudan in one of these revivals, which turned out to be nothing more than mass congregations of perpetuated rape.

Tension exploded suddenly when the Der Freischutz stormed Reach in a frenzy to kill off the Shinkou Shuukyou Gakudan. To this day the results are unclear. This attack came as an affront to Legion and Avec Kuro, the emperor of Legion. Avid attempts to stay neutral went blind in the eyes of the Madan and an all-out assault on Legion left Kuro dead.

The Der Freischutz left Legion a broken place without the bare necessities to survive. Angered and confused, the Legion prepared to storm back. This marks the first appearance of the elusive battle droid known as the Burinct-

WARNING: Failure 0003: end message corrupted. further display rendered impossible. Go to next file? YES NO

Disengaging interface...


+++

A building tilted gently to the side and three blocks of space were as safe as we could get on Earth that Was. None other than the Legion knew this area well and the sensitive state of the ground did not lend well to mech warfare. It was all foot fighting, and that was something that Pinnaclians could use a lesson in or two.

Across the street was the makeshift sniper spot. Up on the fifty-second floor, snipers kept a look-out for enemy fighters. A tin can would ring when a threat loomed closer, giving us a minute or two to gather our bearings.

It took five to get up there.

It had been three weeks. We hid out in these worn-down buildings tense with fear. If that alarm went off and we were outside, there was no way to escape the barrage. The ground was weak, but it could hold to a mech or two.

Just not 400.

Sekai was hungry. Fear makes a person very hungry, but fear kept him even afraid to relieve himself without adequate reason. Nothing like hearing the can when you're on the can.

He decided to venture down the block. It ended at a T-Square and a hole in the frame led inside to a bright lit room with ramen in Japanese packaging. He couldn't read them but knew the six-symbol ones had the best taste.

The sky was grey, like usual. It was overcast with the hint of some sort of perpetual rain that was threatening to come but never did. It pissed him off.

He got his ramen and made his way back to the hideout. He was surrounded by a few acquaintances of his that had also escaped Reach. They were all female. He actually had a crush on one, but was afraid as to how to approach her.

As he walked back, he decided now would be the time.

"No time like the perpetual present." he surmised.

He got to the wooden board that covered the hole that led into a small office building. As he lifted it two things occurred.

He smelled water vapor in the air.

He heard the clinging of the can.

 

[Geist]

The clanging was everywhere and it woke Le'Byou up out of his sleep. It had been a while since he heard any and he immediately sprung into action.

Three people scurried by him in a commotion to go hide somewhere. The hero in him told him to go fight. The smart person in him told him to go hide.

He chose to go hide with the other three but there was no more room.

"Damn", he thought. "Now what?"

The clanging stopped. That was the death knoll. Byou was on the sixteenth or seventeenth floor and needed cover quick.

He went for the stairway.

+++

Thembegils sat down at the rooftop location, waiting for the battle to begin. He was tired, bored, and a little bit anxious. He had to wait for several minutes until the enemy appeared again. It was boring.

He popped out a cigarette and smoked it long and hard. It had been two days since he slept and tomorrow, some other unlucky sucker will be stuck in this boring position. He hadn't shot anything since he was positioned here, and being on the lookout was the biggest bore of his life. Even more boring than video games.

After he had finished smoking, he actually decided to look through the scope. He had neglected to do this before because he would rather keel over than look through a scope for three whole days nonstop. However, this time would be different than before.

This time, he saw 10 enemy units starting over to our little hideout. Gils gave the tin can a couple of rings before he resumed his position. He had to wait a while before he could actually start sniping. At least, that's what the commander said.

But he couldn't hold himself back. He let off a shot out of anticipation, popping off the skull of an enemy soldier.

It was invigorating...

 

[Geist]

Sekai flew up those stairs with lightning speed. The clinging was long over but the ringing was still in his ears. The sound of the can was the ultimate death knoll; one sometimes only had mere seconds to react once you heard that noise. It was all about luck, and his had run out.

One of the girls that inhabited the building alongside him ran down the stairs. Looking at the faded, rusted sign he saw 16. Sekai was near the floor on which was around where he stayed. He didn't get a good look but was unsure as to why she was running downstairs. He didn't even see her face.

He threw the ramen into the corner of the stairwell and rushed inside. The crack of a sniper rifle went through the air and he fell down immediately as if it were a reflex. Once he sensed safety, he got up and ran some more. He wanted to look out of the window but was too afraid to.

There was another figure huddled at the end of the hallway. It was a man wrapped in rags. No men other than he lived in this building and he looked quite unfamiliar. He saw Sekai though, and he could see those eyes through the torn slits.

"It's the Gakudan."

He had no idea why anyone would or could make any assumptions about the assailant at this point, but something told him that he was right. As he started to think more about our situation, it started to make more sense. Another shot fired through the air as his mouth opened again and a deep, growling voice poured out.

"They have Shiroi Ai's head in a box."

The man scared him and Sekai turned to run around and back down the stairs when he said one final thing.

"You cannot save her. You cannot save yourself. Love me. Abandon hope."

It sounded like nonsense or some Enlightenment prophecy, so Sekai turned and went back into the hallway. The man remained huddled in his rags and said or motioned for nothing more. Sekai fiddled with the bag to make sure no one could see the ramen and then he ran down the stairs to the fifteenth floor. He had to find Monica.

Monica was one of the girls that lived in the building and she had the uncanny ability to know who the enemies are no matter what. She almost always knew what to do as well, so it was only natural that he ask her for guidance.

The door to the fifteenth floor was locked. Odd, he surmised, but he ran down to the fourteenth floor. It was locked as well. The thirteenth floor was a mess of rotting bodies so he skipped it and went to the twelfth before he heard another gunshot and a scream.

How many had it been now? Ten? Twelve? Too many to remember. He didn't hear the whirring of any mechs so everything seemed to be alright. He just had to get away from the exterior. He looked out of the window only to see the commotion outside and saw more men running through the exposed building on the opposite side for the far end.

They had heavy artillery.

This wasn't a good sign. Sekai had to find Monica, and fast, or else things would get a whole lot harder. He spat at the floor and motioned to make his way downstairs.

An explosion rocked the earth and he fell down the stairs. A metal beam had gone through the window where he had stood a second earlier and dust was everywhere. He got up, coughed a bit, and then continued down, moving with great speed.

There was no doubt about it. It was the Gakudan.

Sekai suddenly realized that he hadn't heard a sniper shot in a while. He was about to question why when he heard it.

The can rang again and was silenced mid-ring.

They were under mech attack.

By the Gakudan.

He smiled. They were coming to save him.

+++

An explosion rocked the building down the block from me as Kira saw Reachians running in fear from the building. Metal was bent at every possible angle and a mysterious figure got up and ran deeper into the building.

It was clear that this was an attack by the Shinkou Shuukyou.

Gunfire whizzed stories overhead as many people crowded into the bottom levels of buildings to escape the fight. Kira had no idea what was going on but he planned to ask someone.

 

[Geist]

"For crying out loud Kira, you'll scare someone to death one of these days."

The assailant, which turned out to be none other than Kira from a few blocks down, appeared peeved that someone else had ruined the joke. He grumbled a few incomprehensible words from under his breath and lowered his rifle to the floor.

"Reina, why don't you go home and leave me alone?" he muttered, yet this was the only audible thing to be heard.

Another one of the girls, Reina, climbed up the flight of stairs and stood level with Kira. She was short and petite, but had dirty red hair and a nice rack. She was Sekai's type, except for the fact that she was currently in a relationship with Monica and had no idea how to approach her.

"Would you want to go home in that mess outside?"

Kira decided further argument was pointless, and he opened his mouth. It had appeared that he had forgotten what it was he wanted to say. As soon as he was about to quit thinking on it, it came back to him and he started out a bit abruptly.

"I saw one of the Gakudan run into here not too long ago. Was that the man you were talking about?"

It seemed a bit out of the blue even for Kira.

"When did you see this happen? And why are you here anyway?" Sekai inquired.

"When that beam collapsed into the wall a few floors up. And none of your business."

Sekai made some exasperated sounds and turned around.

"No one ran in here. It was just me."

"Are you sure you didn't miss anyone?"

"Pretty damn sure." he said, but he was having his doubts. He didn't SEE anyone.

"Well, just keep your guard up."

That really didn't sound like Kira. He usually had some sarcastic comment to add in.

"Why DID you come in here anyway?" Monica asked. She sensed it too, Sekai guessed.

Kira fell silent.

"I actually haven't the faintest clue."

Monica spun on her heels and stood facing Kira.

"Who the fuck are you?"

Sekai appeared to be taken aback, but Reina pulled out a handgun and pointed it to the side of Kira's skull.

"Guys, what are you doing? That's Kira, remember?"

"That's not Kira." Reina snorted. "I think I know my Kira when I see him."

"I don't know what you guys are talking about..." Kira attempted to plead, but the two girls weren't having it..

"Shut up bitch. You aren't Kira. Where is he?"

Where is who?

Another voice that sounded strangely like Kira wafted from downstairs. Sekai knew something was off then.

"Who is he?" I asked Monica.

"He-"

Monica was cut off as the fake Kira motioned to disarm Reina. With one swift movement of his arm, he broke her grip on the gun and sent her flying out of the window. A loud thud and some startled responses and our fears were confirmed. There was no time to worry now though. Sekai heard the sounds of a rifle load downstairs and thought it to be Kira. Sekai appeared to be the only one unarmed and went to take cover.

Monica jumped the entire flight and put her thighs level with his shoulder blades. Any ordinary human would have been forced back, but the impostor just stood there. He raised his rifle and fired a couple of shots at Kira downstairs, but most of them seemed to miss. Sekai had no visual so he could not confirm. There was another, duller thud and what sounded like whimpering.

He went to look out but gunfire came up the stairs. Whoever that thing was down there knew where he was and he wasn't going to let me get any closer.

"We of the Epsilon are normally against propagation, but I'll think I'll make an exception just this once."

His voice fell a few octaves and his diction had changed. We were dealing with the real person here.

"And if any of you," he motioned towards the two of us, "try to stop me I will kill her. Are we clear?"

Sekai decided to play along.

"So, you are Gakudan too, huh?"

"What are you getting at scum?"

"Would you kill a fellow member?"

Kira stayed silent.

"Are you Epsilon?" he said, tilting his head to the left.

"Of course. The methods of the Shinkou Shuukyou are crude and base. We need fresh, new leaders to show us the way."

He was bullshitting hard but this guy was eating it all up like candy. He obviously wasn't too smart.

"My goodness!" he exclaimed. "I hadn't though that we had extended this far so quick!"

"Well yes, you have. But can you please not hurt my friend down there? We were mistaken. We have a lot of problems with other people around here, seeing as how most of them are Freischutz and we always have to be more careful."

The impostor looked out to the window.

"What about her?" he mentioned, pointing his thumb towards the window.

"I have recently introduced her to the ways of the Gakudan, but she is still blind."

"Heh. Now I feel bad about throwing her out of the window."

Sekai hadn't heard Kira at all. He needed him for input.

"Well, could you mind telling me how you went and changed your appearance like that?"

"Nope. Sorry. Only the higher officials of the Epsilon have access to this technology."

"Technology?"

"Yeah, technology. We stole it from the Madan."

Sekai suddenly remembered Shiroi Ai. Was she "the head in the box"? That couldn't be her then, could it? She would be all rotten and mottled by now.

"So both you and the Madan have this "technology"?"

"Pretty much. It gives us the ability to disguise anything."

"I-"

A loud bang with a reverberating aftershock distracted him. He stepped out to see what happened and only saw a limp corpse with a single bullet through his head. That could only mean one thing: Gils. Kira must have alerted him somehow. Sekai wondered where he was but now was not the time to be thinking about him. He was a big boy and he could take care of himself.

He couldn't see him, but he guessed that had something to do with the fact that the Epsilon were standing inbetween them.

Suddenly, it had occurred to him how odd it was that Gils hadn't assassinated the leader of the Epsilon.

This day was getting very confusing indeed.

He decided to drop the entire issue at hand. He does what he does because only he knows what to do. He decided to move on downstairs.

Gunfire erupted from outside and the sound was deafening. Sekai heard the sound of a nearby building fall on its primary support beams and the earsplitting sound of metal twisting. He went to look out the window and he saw it whiz by.

The Epsilon were on the move.

"Stay here." he commanded to Monica as he turned away from the window, but she had already gone inside to hide.

Sekai dropped down the rest of the flight of stairs in an attempt to find Reina. If she fell as far as he thought she did, she would have broken a leg at least. She was in no position to go fight a battle here.

He hit the ground floor in record time and thrust open the wooden panel that hid our building. He scurried down the alleyway, dodging a few mendicants that he didn't allow into the building for sanitary reasons. Reina was sprawled in the dumpster, which one man used for a bed. It was a lucky thing that he wasn't in the bed at that moment when Reina fell.

She was half-conscious and blood was dripping down her forehead, but she seemed to be fine and had no broken limbs. She looked over to him and smiled weakly.

"Hey there..." she mumbled.

He put his hand through her hair and gave her a light kiss on the forehead, smearing the blood all over his lips unintentionally.

"Stay right in here. I don't want you to move."

She started to move away but she called him back.

"What is it?"

"I love you."

"I love you too." he said as he gave her another kiss and then backed away. "Now stay."

"Okie-dokie." she said as she giggled.

Sekai ran off down the alleyway and a couple of crying beggars turned the corner slightly before he did. He didn't see them clearly but it was a few children with their mother. She looked up at him with tears in her eyes.

"They're dead."

'Who's dead?' He thought as he ran down the alleyway which led to the street.

It didn't take him long to see it. More gunfire, but slightly softer in some regards, rang through the air and he looked around the corner very slyly as to avoid being detected. He saw the body of an old man fall to the ground as a few men walked by. They were wearing blue and black.

The colors of The Freischutz.

He was done trying to figure out the situation through context clues. Something was amiss and he intended to find it. He waited until the two men were out of earshot before he motioned to move for the street. He was perhaps a few steps away before a hand covered his mouth and two more pulled him back. It scared the shit out of him and he was about to go ballistic when he saw the two of them.

It was Gils and Kira. Gils had his rifle strapped to his back and Kira was unarmed. He must have left his gun somewhere.

Kira guestured with his hands

Sekai followed them back down the alleyway the way he had come in a rather quick fashion. They pulled back suddenly and he almost crashed into them as he heard more gunfire go off.

Sekai motioned.



Now he was seriously confused as to what was going on.







Damn straight. said a calm, serene voice as she came around the corner. She had red hair just like Reina, but as they looked closer they could see the edges were a bit darker. The fake blood around her forehead was still smudged where Sekai had kissed her. Other than that, she looked exactly like Reina.

"Long time no see, huh Geist?"

"Airi?" Sekai exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

Airi was Reina's younger sister. The two of them never got along. Reina was an adamant Legionite whereas Airi was a high-ranking official in the Madan.

"I could ask you three the same question."

"We live here." Gils muttered stupidly.

"Shut up you idiot!" Kira whispered frantically.

"I'll pretend you never said that so I don't have to kill you."

"What he meant-" Kira jumped in "was that we stopped here to rob some food and equipment but got tangled up in our escape."

"That's more like it." she said cooly and she motioned for Sekai to get up.

"You cutie? You come with me."

She motioned for the other two soldiers.

"Take them away but make sure they aren't killed."

"Yes, ma'am" they grunted as they hoisted the two up and dragged them around the corner.

She dragged Sekai around the other corner simultaneously as she gripped his hand tight. She leaned in close to his chest and pushed him up against the wall.

"Tell me, my Geist," she said as she started to smell her way down his neck, "When will you come back to me?"

"I will tell you as soon as you tell me what you did with Reina."

"I took good care of my sister."

He must've had a look of skepticism on my face because she didn't believe him.

"Don't you believe me at all?"

"I do." He said as he leaned in and gave her another kiss on the cheek. She giggled some more.

He was falling for her all over again but right now his mind wasn't on her.

It was on Gils, Kira, Reina, Monica, and Byou.

His hand slid over the curve of her backside as he hoisted her up and started to kiss her on the lips. Unlike her sister, she wasn't a lesbian and he always thought she had some feelings for him. That was most likely what saved him at that moment.

"Will you come back now?"

"Yes, I will. Only if you will stay."

"Forever and ever my love."

An explosion was heard somewhere in the background and the intimacy disappeared from both of their faces. He let her down onto the ground as she began to run to see what was happening.

Sekai hadn't noticed where he was standing before, but it hit him just then. All of the beggars had been murdered. They were around them the whole time, watching their sweet embraces with their cold, lifeless eyes.

He almost vomited.

A figure moved at the end of the hallway where the wooden board was cleverly positioned. The face of Byou peered out. Sekai looked back at Airi, who hadn't looked back, and gave him the thumbs up. He ran into the building at the last second as Airi came back around the corner.

"We have to go now sweetie. Will you come with me?"

"Of course. Show me the way."

As he walked, he started to curse himself out under his breath. Goddamn sex appeal.

 

[Geist]

Maybe someone will read this eventually... ;D But until then, I'll continue!

~Kira~

The two guards had them with an iron cast grip under the arms. There was no way they could escape easily.

The two guards were speaking back and forth to each other in Russian. Or maybe it was German. Kira couldn't tell, but he hadn't a clue what they were discussing anyway. He felt that even if he did some things would just completely fly over his head anyway.

One of the guards looked at him and sneered.

"Whatever Airi want Airi get."

The accent was distinctly Russian.

"We no kill you." The other one added, and then they both bellowed great, hearty laughs.

They dragged him and Thembegils into a cleared plain which he didn't recognize. It was then that he realized that they had taken the beyond the "borders". There was no use escaping; they were safer with the Freischutz than alone.

He was glad with that at least. Airi didn't kill them because he was still loyal to the Madan, even if he "left" for a bit. Looking over at Thembegils, he had no idea what faction he allied himself with. Kira prayed that it was the Freischutz, for his sake.

That was when he saw it.

The Star Adder.

 

[Geist]

Le'Byou ducked into the building and looked around. There wasn't anyone to be seen within the building and he heard eerie creaking from above. He didn't even know why he was in the building. He just had to escape from the Freischutz.

He originally was about three blocks away on the ground floor when the explosions started. Then, he was outside, standing in the street. The explosions started and men with weapons ran towards the center of the settlement. Le'Byou took an alleyway to try to avoid all the fighting but he almost got killed because of it. The Freischutz were too much for them, and they had three mechs patrolling the area.

One Star Adder and two Burincts.

Something told him that they were looking around here for something. Or someone. He didn't know. He thought that maybe they were passing through. Then he thought that maybe they were looking for one of their own. It didn't hit him until Le'Byou saw one of them die. Then he realized that they were here to kill. He went across the settlement to try and escape to the "outside" but out there there were more of them so he couldn't go any farther safely.

He ran back the way he came and stayed out of sight from a couple of tanks. The Star Adder sent them flying through the sky and they lay crumpled like cans on the floor. He wanted to avoid everyone until he got some answers.

He decided the only way to stay alive was to go to Monica. He went to Hyde Park Building via the alleys and suddenly heard the soft whisper of a female voice. It sounded familiar, but not anyone that he knew. Another explosion later and she ran down the opposite side of the alleyway. Le'Byou looked out to see Sekai and he gave him the OK to sneak into the building.

So he was in a building looking for a person who could be dead by now. He decided to head on upstairs to see if he could find anything or anyone.

Around the fifth floor there was the dead body of a person. He appeared to be a Shinkou Shuukyou, but he was wearing a different uniform so Le'Byou couldn't tag him. He continued on past him up the stairs until he saw a sash on the ground.

It belonged to Monica.

Le'Byou went back down the stairs and through the fifth floor door. It was dark, empty and moldy, and something moved in the corner when he entered.

A lot of things moved.

It was some survivors, huddled up in the building waiting for the day to end and the Freischutz to leave. They looked at him with fear in their eyes.

Le'Byou heard a click in the back of his head.

"We've been looking for you, Madie. Or rather, what you call yourself now. Is it Le'Byou?"

The voice sounded so familiar.

"Don't turn around at all. Get down on your knees."

He was reluctant to but the click of another gun convinced me.

"Down now!" commanded a deeper voice.

He fell down on his knees, half-expecting to get shot. Instead, the arms of a French woman fell around his neck.

"You didn't think you could escape from the Shinkou Shuukyou so easily could you?"

"Bijou..."

"Shhh. No more talking."

The voice wafted closer to his ears.

"Do you still support Gakudan?"

"Yes. I do."

"Then take this gun." said Bijou, "and shoot her with it."

"Shoot who?"

She pointed to the corner.

"Her," she said as she pointed straight at Monica.

 

[Geist]

Noesis

"It's nothing more than a sentimental game of tag, isn't it my sweet Akai?"

He was taken aback. She hadn't used that name in a while. That used to be his Freischutz connotation. Akai, meaning red, for all the blood he spilt.

"Yes, quite." He agreed only to string her along. His intention was to stay alive long enough to escape. In reality, although Sekai was attracted to her, she scared him.

She didn't seem to catch on.

"We chase them, they chase us, other people get in the way. It's like no one side can dominate the other."

"Will this go on forever?"

"No time for sentimental questions my dear. We have a plane to catch."

"To where?"

"Pinnacle. Where else?"

She giggled and pulled him along.

+++

Le'Byou raised the gun and pointed it at Monica. The fear in her eyes was tangible even through the darkness. People sat huddled in the corner waiting for him to fire.

Bijou caressed his neck and moved her hands to his back.

"Just pull the trigger, and let everything that you are worrying about go."

"I still...I....why?" Le'Byou mumbled.

"Please! Le'Byou! Have some decency!"

"Just pull the trigger." she said, softly, her voice like musical notes in his ear.

He looked away and Monica knew what was going to happen. He pulled the trigger and heard the blast.

She was still screaming long after he finished. He looked over to her and saw that there was no bullet at all. Smoke was rising out of the gun but she wasn't hit and there was no bullet anywhere. It was a blank.

Bijou snickered and pulled him up.

"Welcome back to the Shinkou Shuukyou Madie."

There was a loud thump that emnated from the stairway and suddenly a group of clothed figures with guns with flashlights barged into the room.

They asked no questions. They just started shooting.

Madie felt himself pulled along by Bijou toward the window. He didn't look back but he heard gunshots and screams. He knew Monica had been killed for real this time.

Bijou pushed him through the window as they toppled out into the fire escape and made their way down. Together they jumped the last two as a guard made it to the fire escape and looked down.

He was wearing the color of the Freischutz.

"Dammit!" Bijou screamed as she pulled Madie along even farther. "We have to get out of here."

A giant red foot stepped down in front of them as she came to a stop in the street. They looked up and saw what it was.

A variant of the Star Adder looked down at them with twin PPC's ready to charge. He heard a familiar voice ring out from the intercom.

"Surrender now and I won't kill you!"

It sounded like the girl Airi from before. Madie knew she wouldn't be joking at a time like this, so he got down on his knees and let the guard arrest him.

Bijou, however, wasn't as smart. Perhaps it was because she didn't know who she was dealing with. She saw the guard coming and started to resist. The guard couldn't get a good hold on her as she kept twisting and turning preventing him from restraining her.

An exasperated sigh came out of the mech.

"Kill her"

The guard pulled out a gun and blew Bijou's brains out. She fell to the floor and bled into the gutter.

Madie had to time to grieve or mourn. The guard lifted him up by his arms and dragged him away.

"You know where to take him." the mech said as it stomped off into the city.

 

[Geist]

"Into back of ship now!"

The two guards threw them into the ship and motioned for two more guards to take them.

"Take them to brig."

They were hauled off down some passageways, passing a pilot here, a nurse there, another guard by the wayside, until they went down a stinky hallway that was dimly lit. They turned and faced a door that anyone would have missed in that low lighting, and swiped it open with a keycard. The next room in comparison was quite bright, and was filled with rows of cells guarded by bars. Everything in these rooms were white, and blinded him almost upon impact.

They were thrown into a cage and the bars were locked. Gils was swearing something under his breath although Kira could not make it out at all. He was on his side and leaning on his shoulder. With his ear pressed to the ground, he could hear the footsteps of someone coming towards them. He feared it would stop just in front of the cell.

And it did. The figure, no taller than about 5'8" or 5'9", cast a dark shadow over their cell.

"So, I see we finally found you, Vladimir."

The voice was female. No doubt about it. Gils had a snicker over by the wayside. The figure looked over to him as well.

"I haven't any information on that doof over there. You, go get me a chart or a spreadsheet. I want answers."

Someone ran off but Vladimir couldn't see him. She refocused her attention on him.

"So, when do you want to tell me when you thought you could leave us?"

He stayed silent.

"Fine then. Have it your way. I'll get mine when we get to Pinnacle."

Gils waited until she was out of earshot to begin speaking.

"Did she say Pinnacle?"

"Yeah, why?"

Gil's voice quivered.

"I can't be seen there...."

 

[Geist]

Still no feedback? > If it's that bad will someone tell me now?

A Lust for Blood

"What? Why not?"

"I don't believe anyone knows this, but I am a wanted man."

"You're a wanted man? What for?"

Gils sighed deeply.

"Look. I really don't feel like telling you this, but since I'm bored out of my ass and I don't have any cigs, I guess I have no choice. I am what you would call a 'freelance mercenary.'"

Kira suddenly had a look of shock on his face.

"I do not support neither the Gakudan nor the Freischutz. I'm just a gun for hire. I mainly do this job for the money. I mean, I could get by without this job, but it has been so fun that I can't just quit."

"So this war, all these battles, have just been a game to you!?"

He smirked at the utter stupidity of the question.

"People die all the time. It's not much different in war. The only reason I'm still alive is because life holds no boundaries for me. I don't care for what happens to others. Just me. Yeah, I guess you can call me an asshole, but I don't care. In the end, when you go back to help your friends under fire during the war, and you see that bullet flying towards your face, you'll realize then that 'Oh shit, I knew I should have just left my friends here!!' If your friends are so unskilled that they'd get pinned down or shot, they deserve to die the moment they step on the battlefield."

"You son of a bitch!! How can you think of life so coldly!?"

"I think this way because it's the truth. If you're not willing to accept it, be my guest. But when you die because your friends couldn't save themselves, then you'll understand me."

Kira sucked his teeth at the thought.

"Anyways, to clarify my status as a wanted man, I have eliminated several officials belonging to the Madan. Some through my scope, others through what I call a 'nighttime slit.' Without going into details, I can confidently say I executed at least one hundred and thirty... four leading officers of the Madan. You can understand why I'd be hunted by them. That's why going to Pinnacle, a city occupied by them, would be bad for me."

"Well there's nothing we could do to stop us from going there," Kira stated bluntly. "Say, Gils. What is your bounty?"

I said instantly, "About 35,000,000. Ten million under the highest ranking official in the Gakudan."

"Really now. How come I never heard of you then?"

"Well, that's simple really."

Kira looked at me with a confused look.

"I just changed my name when the Madan stopped hiring me. They have my real name on their posters. As you can guess from what I've just said, Thembegils isn't my name."

"And what is your real name?"

He hesitated, but then decided to respond.

"My real name, which I have abandoned years ago, is A-"

Gils stopped mid sentence as he spotted some guards walking towards the cell.

"Nevermind my name. The 'enemy' is here."

They both fell silent.

+++

Two clomps and a jostle later and the Battle Asp was back on the ship. Airi jumped out and smiled affectionately, putting her fingers to her lips and then to Akai's face.

 

[Geist]

The ash storm was blowing hard and they all had to duck for cover. Standing up blind in a firefight isn't exactly the smartest thing to do.

Kira could barely see the sky through the storm, and it was fading fast. He did see some ships attempting to take off. It looked like the Epsilon were trying to destroy the Freischutz and the Shinkou Shuukyou were attempting to attack the Epsilon. But what were the Freischutz doing?

It suddenly dawned on him.

"Is it safe to move?" Le'Byou asked.

"We have to hide on that ship." he said, pointing to the only grounded ship.

"Why? I thought we were going to fight back."

"It's an abort."

"So, I'll just stay here then." Gils said as he shrugged. Even Le'Byou shook his head as if he were crazy.

"Don't you know what they do during an abort?" he said through gritted teeth as a mech rushed on by.

"No, what?"

"It's better if you see it in person. But we don't have much time left, and I don't want to get caught at the last minute and left behind."

"Fine then." Gils said as she looked to the left and saw a Thor clomp out from the side of a building, shoulder gun attached. "But what about Akai?"

"We can't help him."

"I figured. There is no sense in me going out of my way to save him."

The new mech started to fire on the Freischutz. The tank from before had been compromised and destroyed. One of the Burincts had fallen due to a leg injury from the Thor's chaingun and could not move.

"Where's Akai in this mess?" exclaimed Le'Byou as the ash lessened and a hard rain started to pour.

"Somewhere. Let's worry about that after we get inside. I don't wanna catch anything."

They ran for the ship again but had to fall down to avoid a rocket. It whizzed out from one of the Burincts and hit the side of a building. Kira looked over and saw it erect. It motioned for them to get to the ship.

"Does that answer your question Gils?"

He was already running for the ship.

"WE HAVE TO FIGHT BACK!" he yelled out from up on ahead.

"What about SAVING OTHER PEOPLE GETS YOU KILLED?" Kira roared back, rushing to get to the ship.

"ONLY WHEN YOU TRY TO BE THE HERO! I'M TRYING TO SAVE MYSELF. AKAI JUST HAPPENS TO BENEFIT FROM IT!"

He almost laughed out loud. Gils was too damn noble for his own good.

A building from the far side fell down on it's support beams. The ground rumbled as they made it into the ship and immediately took cover.

"Now what?" asked Le'Byou.