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Heaven's Auxiliary [AKA: QI] (Ch.2 is up!)

Discussion in 'Creation Station' started by Red Starr, Feb 18, 2015.

  1. Welcome to denial: Fiction edition!


     Heaven's Auxiliary
    Amid a chaotic world
    ...
    There is always relief
    ...
    In the form of illusion

    Book One: Pauion of Lightning

    • Chapter 1: Rules of Nature 
      After a thrilling chase through Kyuwan forest, Raiden and Lucea trek through the darkness to find their third group member, Xanadu. But in this forest there are rules to follow as Lucea falls victim to an unexpected turn of events. Raiden's wound gets in the way of helping her which causes the group to become sitting ducks to Kyuwan's many dangers.
      If it weren’t for the narrow pathway of trees, one of the two may have gone insane with the lack of breathing room to function.


      Humidity stuck around still air upon which Raiden and Lucea’s face glittered with droplets of sweat. They trecked on down thick foliage with the only light aiding them coming from an intricate network of glowing blue vines. All of the vines and trees glowed spectacularly with mana and provided a sense of security for Lucea and Raiden in the Forest of Tears. Though its calm atmosphere seemed appealing, the two carcasses of freshly killed soldiers the young Diclonius had taken out was a chilling reminder of the conflict they had been thrown into. This was their battleground. Various moments of silence shrouded the two operatives that showed how little they knew about properly communicating beyond their line of work. Both Raiden and Lucea had their attention fixed at the road ahead from time to time. The only moments where they would engage in a conversation would be to inquire more about the plane crash. With great care during their travels down the narrow pathway,  Lucea stomped forward through each root trying to trip her over while her fingers tinkered around with the silver surface of the sickle blade. Intense. Interesting. Intent on trying to unlock its secrets while Raiden muttered on about Xanadu’s whereabouts and the situation they lived just more than an hour ago. One of various moons, often nicknamed, “Georion,” after their god of reincarnation, rose to it’s highest point in the sky just enough to penetrate the blanket of leaves. Raiden slashed one vector out in front of him rather harshly to cut through the vines and with a growing annoyance he was nursing for the ridiculous amount of crap he had to walk over. He stopped.

      “These turns of events are like a nightmare…”

      Lucea hummed to herself momentarily but then caught Raiden’s words for a brief second. It all processed. “Raiden--” He had just finished explaining the situation to her and when the pieces of the puzzles fell in line, the photoimperist puckered her lips and took a deep inhale when realizing the actual gravity of losing Paperblack. “A nightmare doesn’t come close to what I see right now.” She looked annoyed as she spoke to herself. “A plane of ours was sabotaged and utterly destroyed. Ms. Paperblack is suddenly missing--” “--now,  how do you suppose we go about this problem?”

      “I--”

      “On top of this growing problem involving our vampire loose in this forsaken forest, we have a timed mission to complete. I don’t like these odds stacked against us, do you..? “ Raiden shuttered and weighed in the possibilities. “I don’t like them either..”  She was right, they were under a limited amount of time. A life depended on how quickly they were to complete the mission. Yet a sensation in Raiden’s stomach churned whatever he had inside and gave him an ill feeling. Xanadu Paperblack was out there. She was out there. Blood was her goal when coming with them. All the reminder of that led his eyes towards his shoulder where the blood continued to flow in a steady pace. Raiden winced while Lucea looked up to observe the boy from a closer angle. “Three things to worry about.” Lucea whispered by herself to which Raiden responded with a grunt and the intention of moving on regardless of his injury. “Ignore it. My best bet to where the prison camp might be is inland over there--” He points east. “-- If we locate the camp soon, we might find Ms. Paperblack around there.”

      Lucea gave a nod, shoving a long branch away from her face. “Hiding among the masses for blood?” “Predictable action for the unpredictable… it’s convoluted thinking but it makes sense.”

      After all, Raiden felt her intentions mirrored his own in an uncanny way. Though he was in control..who was to say that Raiden’s thoughts never wandered off into a territory where his only goal was carnage. A long walk with sweat dripping down was no place for a Diclonius to get lost in deep thought and neither was it for Lucea. Hours of walking came to a halt and a realization that the night felt never ending. “So...” Raiden’s hand swept up his face to pull back some strands of moist hair obstructing his view. He wanted to break the tense vibe he had with Lucea with some small talk.  “I’ve never been in these types of situations. How long do these missions typically take?”

      “On average 48 hours depending on the severity of the situation.”

      The diclonius rose a brow. “Oh?” Lucea stopped to place a hand on a tree trunk for leverage. Her entire body felt unusually drained from all the effort she put into walking alone. There was so much sweat dropping down her face. A mere reminder to herself that hydration was something she soon had to address.

      “How are you holding up?” Lucea prodded. Raiden shuddered and covered his wound with his hand, trying to play it off as if it didn’t bother him.

      “I can still keep walking. I’m just a little tired.”

      Lucea gave a satisfying nod. “Your determination is a nice trait.”

      There was a stinging and utterly loud conscious voice yelling at her to stop and take a break. She sighs. “There was only one other time I was sent out of the country, though it wasn’t exactly serene as Kyuwan forest.”

      “Where was that?” inquired Raiden. Lucea narrowed her eyes when remembering the land she set foot on. “The arctic regions. There was a uranium smuggling ring carrying out transactions there. Heaven knows why. The Icelands were barren and a typical place for an evil to hide….I can vouch..for that...” Lucea’s eyes disconnected for a moment, almost as if she were recalling a painful event before snapping back into attention.

      Lucea pulled out a canteen of water and took a small sip of water from it. Delicate white fingers made sure to wipe away any stray water drops to not make such a mess. She thrusted out her arm to offer the diclonius a sip, something that he refused by pulling up a hand to block the canteen. Lucea turned her head at Raiden and observed him for a moment. Raiden seemed new and confused for his first mission but was obviously trying to mask it with a hard and controlled attitude. He couldn’t fool her. Lucea could recall when she was sent off for the first time. Not being vocal about insecurities was her escape back then. There was an ounce of sympathy she gave in the form of biting her lips a little. Though she couldn’t just allow that to become a reason to coach him through absolutely everything. The diclonius had to learn all the rules of the field on his own like she did. It was a hard, painful series of lessons all operatives had to learn.

      She turned away and looked up at the canopy of mana vines flowing above her.  “I just don’t get it..why would anybody build a base in here? The nature contrasts the deathly intentions these terrorists hold.”


      “...Its an unlikely place for an evil. I can see why someone would..” Raiden muttered. He was distantly reminded of his previous home, GARNET. How the lonely nights he went through writhing in pain made him question Why. Why didn’t anyone from the outside ever catch on to what was happening inside the facility. Raiden connected that with a simple response, something that related to the location of the terrorist’s stronghold on the island: Because its the least suspicious. He continued on talking, “The networks of mana here are amazing for a power source if they run by tha--”

      Lucea pushed herself off the tree trunk and continued her way forward. “Shh. That is something we should further discuss after we cover more ground.” Lucea asserted as she suddenly heard footsteps from afar. Raiden quickly turned his head to the west and acknowledged the out of place noise Lucea heard. “..They caught up already…?!” His lone vector tensed up. Lucea reduces her voice to a whisper “Seems like they’re not as incompetent as we thought...lets go by your suggestion and head inland, okay?”

      “Mhmm.” Raiden tilted his head but gave a nod soon after, slightly intrigued by Lucea’s focus and calm demeanor. Boy did he wish he could be like her in that regard during missions. He could still feel the adrenaline of the previous fight. His hands were still shaking. “..I’ll be damned if I stay green for another day, I can’t allow her to carry me through the ropes. Though it seems like I’ve already let myself get carried once.” He thought back at Xanadu’s save while they free fell out of a burning plane. Raiden moved right ahead and released two more vectors in shape of fine blades to hack and chop whats left of the vines. “If those footsteps get closer, let me handle it..” he said with a lingering whisper, dripping with an unreadable emotion. Lucea blinked while taking lighter steps. “Hmm? Why?” Raiden almost stood quiet for a split second as he thought it over “...I think it’s high time I move on from that new kid status. I’ll do whatever I can to make this mission run smoothly.”

      “I’m surprised, Raiden. You’re a strange boy alright, but I won’t go against that. Make sure our situation doesn’t resort to violence. Stealth is our primary concern.”

      “Got it. Thanks, Lucea..”

      -------------------------------------
      “I think we could rest here,” Raiden puffed out in exhaustion. The diclonius collapsed against a large boulder brimming with glowing red moss and strange vines. The duo looked around in what seemed to be a decent clearing with towering trees surrounding a particular giant oak. Lucea flinged her hand up to solidify what little light that was available into a dagger and began making her way to the oak tree. “You see that..? I see some Delflowers.”

      Raiden looked up to see what Lucea was pointing at. Red flower petals as big as a table wrapped around by a glowing vine by the bottom end to keep it together. The aroma wafting in the open air from the Delflower was sweet enough to remind Lucea and Raiden of honey. Lucea walked closer to where the Delflowers were located at with her dagger gleaming with blue light. Meanwhile, Raiden had to ask. “Delflowers are good for protein and sugar, right?”

      “Wrong. A Delflower’s nectar provides a great antibacterial serum to stop infections.” She looks back at Raiden. “I’ve never seen one up close before…”

      “Heheh...damn, I guess I need to hit the books. You seem to know quite a lot.” She faintly smiled at Raiden’s compliment. “You learn as you go..”


      Lucea gave out a heavy exhale while maneuvering over some thick roots obstructing her way. “Besides...we can’t have that wound stay fresh any longer. Who knows what kind of sick things have entered there.” The thought of maggots and other disgusting things momentarily made Lucea feel sick, but she moved forward to graze the surface of the Delflower’s scarlet and silky-soft petal with her fingers. “Thats an important rule to learn when out in the battlefield. You cannot leave wounds unattended.”


      She could feel it right on her fingers. A syrup-like substance stuck onto her like glue as the honey aroma intensified significantly. A little too much, to be exact. Lucea rose a brow and inched her dagger closer to proceed cutting at the petal, but then something unexpected jolted the woman into yelling out in pain. “Lucea?!” he yelled out and jumped right up with a vector darting out from his back. The Delflower’s honey syrup had solidified along with the flower completely closing on Lucea’s hand, clamping onto it harshly. Lucea felt what seemed to be sharp needles pierce through her very uniform and into her arm. The fear that she soon expressed by widening her eyes intensified ten fold with the sensation of something icy cold seeping into her bloodstream, but Lucea no longer wanted to feel that sensation. On reflex, the woman sliced through the stem to detach herself from it and tripped back.  The flower began to excrete what seemed to be blood from both the severed flower and the stem.

      Lucea stabbed the dagger into the flower over and over to remove it from her arm. Her voice shook “G-GET IT OFF! OFF! GET OFF!”

      “LUCEA!” Raiden yelled out, releasing a second vector to pull Lucea to his side while the other vector dashed towards the stem of the flower.  Everything was happening so quickly until time slowed down to reveal a reptilian beast emerging from the forest’s ground.

      It’s body form resembled that of a tiger’s, gruff and thick with bulky muscles adorning crimson-colored armored plates along its back and shoulders. The parts that were not padded down with plates showed glistening white scales with imprints of black stripes slashing downwards. The dirt trickled down its helmet head, revealing a set of sharp canines as the beast parted its lips to lick off any remaining blotches of dirt and stray pieces of roots.  Lucea stumbled back and used her available arm to lift herself off, then took a moment to watch Raiden’s vector fly right at the beast’s chest.

      Lucea gave a very deep gasp as if she had just gotten out of a chokehold. “A Vyrexien! But how?!” Raiden kept the vector steady as he executed a swift uppercut. The beast flew back as it revealed a myriad of strange root like tendrils spiraling out its backside. Each tendril impacted the forest floor and dug itself deep like roots, causing the Vyrexien to stabilize itself in mid air as its many flower trap appendages waved around eagerly. Wiping around the vector after the failed attempt at throwing it off, its entire structure shifted into a blade and rose up menacingly. Lucea panted with shock, merely looking at the beast until something came into mind. She looked up at the sky while Raiden manifested two more vectors to attack. Each blade came into contact with a flower stem, almost bouncing back off with a metallic ringing noise that surprised the Diclonius. “What the-- Its metal now?!” Lucea tightened her fists while the vector safely kept her back. “Damnit...I never...I never thought about checking the stems….Vyrexien stems...tend to adapt to the force of an incoming projectile for defense. It’s hardened strength parallels whatever hits it…” Raiden narrowed his eyes and let out a few more horizontal slashes, all in which were countered with the Vyrexien’s flowers as a defense. The diclonius looked back at Lucea, in particular her injured and now swollen arm, and gave a grim look. “Tch-- I can’t spend time fighting this thing when you’re like this, we--”

      Then gunfire rung out. A projectile cut through the air with a chilling cracking noise as his vectors unknowingly retracted back to block a couple of more bullets aimed at him and Lucea. The photoimperist gave a glare and stumbled back onto her feet. “Soldiers...they found us, d-damn!” she stated. Raiden angrily growled to himself and swung back, grabbing Lucea and lifting her off the ground with a vector just before making a break for it. He quickly and carefully places the girl on his back, though her weight, not so much on the heavy side but not something hes used to, made him a bit slower as he ran off with a couple of soldiers following him.  “Damnit this couldn’t have been better fucking timing!!!” He spat. A lone vector then split into wiplashing strands which began swatting back the bullets that were being fired at them with such precision. Lucea did not want to sit back and see the situation worsen, though. Turning her body back slowly, she put out her arm as she felt the moonlight hitting on them strongly. Two fingers suddenly shot up and swirled in a circular motion, causing the light rays to solidify and create a web for the soldiers to entangle themselves in. Though unfortunately for her, some soldiers jumped out of the way and moved on in their chase. Lucea blew out a strand of hair in her face and crunched her fingers together, then shot her wrist up, causing sharp fragments of light to begin raining down on the soldiers mercilessly. Raiden could hear the screams of the men behind him, giving him some sort of sensation of resolution, though he knew the danger would not stop there. “Keep hanging in there, Lucea, you’re doing pretty damn fantastic…!!” Lucea narrowed her eyes just before she saw a particular soldier jump up with the same sickle blade she saw earlier. Then her eyes widened as Raiden looked back momentarily during their run. “RAIDEN--”The man landed with the blade firmly gripped in his hands, striking the floor and sending off an awful shock wave at the duo. Raiden instinctively slammed his vectors to shoot him and Lucea up in the air to avoid the attack. The diclonius felt the strong, humid winds hit against his form as they shot through the branches and vines. There was some sort of sensation he couldn’t quite pin for a moment. Amusement? Joy? If anything, it was something he was sure to miss when his body undoubtedly began to fall back to the earth again. Lucea gripped the young man tightly as Raiden gasped, shooting out all six of his vectors to break his fall. Psychokinetic frequencies effortlessly pierced through the vegetative defense line of the treetops, pushing and utterly slowing down Raiden and Lucea’s decent until they finally landed on the ground with a thud. Lucea tiredly rolled off of Raiden as the young diclonius groaned with some pain. Though she was very much still focused on what was still after them.


      “They’re over here! After them!”

      “Don’t let them out of your sight!”

      “Alert mother base for reinforcements! Alert mother base for reinforcements!”

      The yells of anticipating came hauntingly closer. Raiden staggered back up. “What should we even do now? Our cover’s been blown..!” Lucea winced but nevertheless gained enough willpower to lift up her good arm for attacking. Her voice sounded strong and stoic as her very being itself.

      “We fight.”


      ------------------------------------------------------------
      Next time on Quirenyun’s Imprinted:

      Looking over the vast branches of mana, Tatsuo held the stolen rifle dearly to his side while he stepped right behind the soldier who had invited him to come over to base. There were many questions he had yet to answer, but the gunman felt utterly at ease knowing that he had finally found a lead for his cause. At least, he thought, maybe he can keep this facade up until he knew the whereabouts of the warehouse. Suddenly he stopped while the other soldier stopped with him. “What is it….?” Tatsuo inquired. “Don’t ya’ here it? That flappy sound….” the soldier carefully flicked the flashlight on the end of his rifle on, then shined it up on the canopies of branches. “...something’s rustling up there and I don’t feel good about it.”

      Tatsuo froze in place, realizing all too well who, or what, it was.


      Chapter 2: A Trigger In Mind.
    • Chapter 2: A Trigger in Mind
      ZSU's marksman, Tatsuo Yoshiro, enters the serpent's nest known by the name of Camp Ijin to prod a fellow soldier for information regarding the facilities and even something more troubling. While getting information, Tatsuo finds himself connecting with the enemy soldier, finding out that even the enemies have their doubts.
      Tatsuo slowly lifted his head to stare at the lit canopy of leaves nearly covering up the sky. It was nearly morning. “I hear it, but the intruders can’t really be up in the trees, right?” he half-mumbled, slowly and almost deliberately, knowing full well that the soldier discovering Miyoku would end up being detrimental to the mission.


      “I don’t really know. I mean...we’ve been briefed that these intruders are young people. You /know/ how much they love climbing trees, thinking they’re hot shit.” The soldier gave a small grunt and turned on the flashlight mounted on top of his automatic rifle for a split second before turning it back off and shrugging. “Not much of my problem anymore. We’re almost on break, haha.”

      Briefed? They knew they were coming? /How much do they know..?/ “E-Erm!” Tatsuo coughed but then composed his voice to sound a bit more controlled. He needed to carefully pry for more information. “I think I sort of fell asleep during the debriefing.”

      “What?” The soldier paused and gave a chuckle. “Holy Zhenn you’re-- wow, and you got away with that?” Tatsuo gave a slight shrug and began to straighten out his rifle strap. From beneath his clothing he could feel his two handguns press against his form.

      The Quirenyun gunman gave a casual nod to the question.

      “Well, not like you missed much. We were only told so much.”  The soldier beside him remarked, seeming to get tired of the conversation.

      Tatsuo perked up a bit.  At this point, Tatsuo needed to know how much information was leaked.  Obviously, the sabotage went further than anyone realized.  “Oh? Like what?”

      “Well, let’s see… we were  briefed on their ages. Many of them are nearly green!” The soldier laughed a bit, but stopped, as if to think some more,“I dunno if we need to worry or not, though.  Green soldiers can be some of the toughest enemies.  They don’t have the training to know what’s proper and what isn’t.”

      Tatsuo turned his face for a moment, if only to hide the disdain that he couldn’t put a check on.  /Sure, we’re young/ he thought judgingly, /but we’re anything but green./

      The soldier beside him stopped for a moment, then resumed after Tatsuo brought his head back up, seeming to assume that Tatsuo was just checking his shoe or something. “Not much after that, other than their nationalities, and where they might end up at. That's why we’re all somewhat centered in this part of the range. We’ve only scattered because one of the intruders just couldn’t wait to stomp one of us to death or something. Though normally we would’ve already been briefed on where we should be and at what times or whatever.”

      Tatsuo stayed silent for a moment. /This is not good../ He saw the soldier beginning to walk forward again, and Tatsuo simply followed suit, rather surprised that the soldier didn’t seem to have any suspicion of Tatsuo’s behaviour. It had finally been revealed that the soldiers had Tatsuo and Ziera’s -- maybe even all of team A’s -- locations and movements down to a precise and predictable pattern. They had done a great job so far at stationing enough soldiers to patrol near the Hira Coastline, he admitted to himself. It was obvious that they anticipated some of the ZSU to land there after their freak accident in the sky. The pressing question still remained, however; how much more information did they have on the team could be used against them, and how did they plan to use it? Though this new information was grim news, his eyes briefly darted to the right where he last saw Miyoku, hoping that the bird was listening in to the conversation. /I hope Ziera caught all that information, too./ he thought. Tatsuo straightened out his back even more, tensed up his muscles, and began stepping harshly after the soldier as he tried to keep his facade in play. /I need to buy some time to press this guy a little more later. He already promised to take me to camp. I’ll have my answers then./ No matter how loud or vulgar he had to be (to his displeasure), it was for the sake of the mission. Tatsuo spoke up “Damn.” Tatsuo blurted out without any warning. “I’m starting to get anxious here. I feel like something could come out at any moment, I-I need take a breather for a moment.”

      The soldier paused and groaned with a tinge of annoyance, then he calmed down after reminding himself that this guy was green. The soldier gave a shrug. “Want to take five, then? I understand if this damn forest is getting to you. Its pretty hard to get some good leg room around here.”  


      “Yeah. Sorry, it’ll only take a minute.” Tatsuo hefted the rifle strap on his shoulder a little more and then looked at the soldier. He refused to say anything else.

      “Thanks. It wont take long.”

      Tatsuo immediately paused and a shake of his rifle to excuse himself. The soldier waved off his hand dismissively and turned his back.

      “Alright,” he began, waiting for Tatsuo to walk off a bit before continuing. “But we really need to head off to camp soon. I heard Private Okayasu is throwing a bit of a get together for his brother’s birthday. You know, that burly guy who never showers-- erm...Okayasu Fukura. Yeah, that bitch Fukura. There will be a lot of booze there -- so /naturally/ we should get there a bit early. A party would do ya’ good, you know? Nothing like some alcohol to cure up that green.”

      The soldier could be heard opening a canteen and taking a sip. “One thing you need to know, Hiroshi: This job isn’t like the rest of what we’re handed these days. No pencil pushing, none of those teaching or magic occupations. This is work built on hate..and we’re the pawns.”

      Tatsuo slightly looked back but then continued on. It was peculiar that the soldier was beginning to delve in to the more deeper aspects of being a soldier. Though he knew too well what he was talking about.

      Giving off a laugh, the soldier leaned against a tree himself while looking around. His concentration was fixed at making sure the duo were safe from anything. He continued to talk. “We’re expendable.” he paused, then continued, “thats why you and I need to do our best out here and let go of anything that holds us back. Feelings, things we love -- anything that will make us hesitate. Because unlike other jobs, we’re expendable, so we’re taking up an occupation that will end our lives to match our value: None.”

      Once Tatsuo slinked behind a tree, he stood motionless for a moment as his head slightly inched to the edge to catch a glimpse of the soldier musing. The way he spoke about the value of the soldier showed that this man may have already been through quite a deal of loss in the field. His voice switched into a more softer and calmer tone. There was some concern behind his words, most likely to back up what he was trying to convey. But Tatsuo understood the risks. Being green was an invitation to all the things that could go wrong. There was a humanized layer to this soldier, unlike the others. He kept speaking as Tatsuo took his breath and scanned the endless canopies of branches and leaves. The soldier went on to talk about a few friends he had made and lost during the recent months. He angrily spat out curses to those previous people who have set foot on this island before Tatsuo and his unit did. The soldier seemed hurt, almost inspiring a feeling of sympathy from the marksman himself. Battle territory had a way of always erasing the human qualities of soldiers on the opposite sides of battle, only to yank out the most putrid and malicious thoughts and ideologies placed into their hearts by their commanding officers. By their leaders. By their countries. Tatsuo looked down at the forest floor and began shifting the dab-tip of his boot on the bed of fallen leaves as the soldier finished his little rant. There was no way to deny it or not allow it to stay in his mind any longer. These soldiers were like them. He probably has a family back home, too. Unfortunately, Tatsuo knew that the soldier was on the wrong side of the battle field. Among striking distance by the smoking barrels of his handguns. And there was no other truth than that. /If only we had met under different circumstances/ the background thought persisted in Tatsuo’s mind.

      “You ready to go?” He asked as Tatsuo began to emerge from his spot. “We gotta meet up the rest.”
      ----Timeskip-----

      After some grueling long minutes of making their way from the coastlines and through the forests, Tatsuo and the soldier, now identified warmly as “Suichu Kasai”, had ended up in a clearer part of the Hira range. Most commonly known as the serpent’s pass, the ends of the forest cleared off into a very mystical plains. Tatsuo’s foot set down lightly on a clearly carved out path, allowing a portion of the dirt from the pathway kick up and lightly cover his boots. Tatsuo flicked on the flashlight on his rifle and slowly dragged it to his side as a precautionary step towards making sure there was nothing wrong.  Kasai immediately placed his fingers on top of the flashlight and lightly pulled it to point the light at his wrists, giving off a light laugh. “Alright, it’s about 10. We’re free.” Tatsuo wordlessly nodded and gave a shrug.

      “What’s up? You aren’t gabbing like you did back there.” Kasai mused.

      He was asking a question Tatsuo would rather avoid. In a sense he didn’t feel like speaking at all. There was an undeniable sense of exhaustion-- granted that he had just survived a plane crash prior to this moment. Although maybe it was a sense of shyness making him clam up. Tatsuo spoke up slightly as he moved on, flinging his thumb forward as if asking “It’s this way, right?”

      “Do you think it’s alright if we just move along a little faster?” Tatsuo requested.

      Kasai gave a shrug. “Well, heh. I asked for that a bit ago...I guess I’m being the slow one now. Just..move along I guess. Yeah-- the camp’s this way.”

      /Just a few more steps. Anything to get me into enemy lines./


      Then they began moving forward. Short grass began to clear the way to more shrubs and bushes, then to trees again. He could tell that they were moving further inland-- of course, inland would be an ideal location for any base in his opinion. Just as they were carefully following the path, Tatsuo began spotting more groups of soldiers heading inbound to the base as well. Each group contained soldiers with varying uniforms. Tatsuo took the moment to slightly glance at Kasai’s uniform which matched his own. It was a basic scout uniform. Light in form and with a dark tint of green for camouflage purposes. Then his eyes flashed towards the side to spot various figures donning more armored uniforms and even heavier forms of equipment such as nikita launchers and even flamethrowers. Just how strong and diverse were these people? Tatsuo narrowed his eyes and turned his head forward, spotting a barbed gate extending as far as his eyes could see in the night. Almost out of instinct, the marksman began mentally documenting what he saw in front of him. /Two guards on entrance point./ he eyed two men draped(?) with two black raincoats. Then he quickly glanced to the sides and saw four more men, two on each side of the farthest reaches of the gate. /Four supports. They’re armed with six sixers and mossins. And there is at least one watch tower ahead. Strange../

      The two stopped right at the entrance of the gate.. Tatsuo awkwardly stiffened up and gripped his rifle. He needed to look as professional and disciplined as possible, which only translated into a perfect posture and almost emotionless eyes. Kasai on the other hand corrected his posture but remained with a very calm look on his face. Upon saluting to the gate guard, the man punched in some numbers on a keypad attached to a rod next to the entrance. The two then went in. Finally, one of the Zhennka Shi Unit members were within enemy bounds. Tatsuo gave a small sigh of relief in that small victory, though the journey was not done yet….

      Things were different within the premise. In all honesty, Tatsuo imagined the base to be more of a sinister cesspool that bred whatever was capable of bringing down an entire airplane, for example. Instead, the entire yard area in front of him was filled with neatly cut grass, fountains, benches. /This looks nothing like a jungle./ he mentally scoffed.

      Kasai gave a glance to Tatsuo. “You think Camp Ijin is nice? You should see the Sanguine Fortress.”

      “Huh?” Tatsuo snapped right into attention. The duo continued walking towards the entrance of the main building as they spoke.  There was a sudden feeling of anxiety pressing on Tatsuo’s chest. Though the marksman had to shroud that and press Kasai on with more questions. “That sounds...like quite a place. Sanguine, though? Why is it called that?”

      “I heard it was the final battleground for the Genome War. It was a pretty bloody battle according to the books.” Kasai said with a heightened tone of enthusiasm. “Man, I would give a damn leg to have witnessed such an epic battle. You remember that story, right?”

      “..It’s solid history, why wouldn’t I?” Tatsuo sheepishly said. Unfortunately he didn’t remember too much of it.

      /This is definitely a point of interest. I should press further../

      “You haven’t really seen it up close, have you?”

      Kasai nodded no in response. “Sadly I’m not good enough to set foot there. Only the top dogs of the force can even look at it. I’ve only heard snippets of it from our Superior, Vermillion.”

      “The shots guy?” Tatsuo asked. Kasai gave a chuckle.

      “That’s a simple way to put it. Yeah, th--”

      Suddenly, Tatsuo felt a cold hand grab upon his shoulder, causing the man to stiffen up. The person’s shadow loomed over him ominously. A deep voice then echoed as Tatsuo stood still, not even daring to look back.


      “My, you’re quite the curious child are you?” The man said with a tone of amusement. Tatsuo gave a short nod and saw Kasai initiate an officer salute. This must mean..

      /The Superior..!/

      Kasai held his salute. His tone completely changed into an assertive one. “Ah- Yes, well, Sir...he’s a new recruit. Just started this morning, sir!”

      The man gave a nod and chuckled. Tatsuo slightly glanced to his side to see the glove on his shoulder. He could note that the fabric was very similar to his Genko-Taka(Soul Fabric), making him stand out from the rest of the soldiers. Under the moonlight, the silver strands of light bounced off the fabric, mixing in with a faint aura of cyan. All he could do was give a nod and then salute himself. “Yes sir! Private Hiroshi, sir!”

      “Heheh, at ease. You new recruits are all the same. Now, from where did you transfer from?”

      Uh oh.

      Tatsuo quickly began to recall the Major’s debriefing.


      Hira Range and Kyuwan are both rural lands. Most preferred by any crooked hooligan that wants to produce the virus within a contained area.



      Earlier in the week, we received film containing pictures of what we believe to be training facilities situated in Iyozake’s abandoned archipelago.



      Pictures show camps situated in old abandoned temples, most notably in one named Chigoku. Shame that these terrorists have to pull in sacred places to train their brainwashed recruits.



      We’ll bomb them and the rest of their strongholds after your 18 hours are up.



      “Chigoku.” He replied. The superior gave a hum of interest and clearly sounded impressed. He then turns Tatsuo around and looks ahead, reminiscing.

      “Chigoku is a fine base. I remember visiting that place and being absolutely enchanted by the deep lore and history surrounding that holy island. The island and temple said to have birthed the blood reptiles out of chaotic incantations...beautiful.”

      “I don’t mean to pry but this is a general question I like asking transfers from Chigoku.”

      Tatsuo remained quiet and wary.

      “Do you believe in all that? A land where man created what is now known as the Sky Serpent’s most hated adversary. The sheer act of defying nature...with beautiful ingenious knowledge as man’s defining weapon..”

      Something in Tatsuo nearly snapped. He roughly says under his breath. “No, I don’t believe in old Chigokan children’s tales.”

      The man tilted his head. “Well, you’re the 16th person to say a similar thing. But consider this: It may be an old children’s tale, but like all great stories, it does contain some truth.”

      Tatsuo almost felt uncomfortable by the conversation. He felt very uneasy. Each word prodded a side of him that kept certain memories in containment. Going against nature….

      ..is what triggered Tatsuo’s existence in the first place.

       
    • Chapter 3: Sate the Madman
      Trouble brews in the Zurikgrad Isles as a figure from Tatsuo's past emerges to cripple Team B's ambitions. Meanwhile in Kyuwan Forest, temptation threatens to fuel a dangerous fire.
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    Alright, as a side note: I'll update chapters whenever I can. Feel free to comment (I would be legitimately surprised beyond belief if someone even posts something here.)

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    A Summary of Quirenyun's Imprinted: Heaven's Auxiliary


    This chapter within the Dissonant Rhapsody Canon takes place during a chaotic time within Mantua's long history. The aftermath of a horrible man-made war has left the planet divided and descending into madness over the imbalance that has taken it's place. Afraid and unsure of a better tomorrow, some of the wealthiest gathered up their riches in the form of a secret fund hidden away in a location only they know of. Each country within the Sinchuan continent and Mein'gung sealed away this fund, named the Heaven's Auxiliary, in case another devastating war were to break out. Instead of behaving like a safety net, the Heaven's Auxiliary endangered everyone. The elusive funds inspired greed and malice, leading the way for other countries to do whatever it takes to gain the location of it and their passcodes to unlock such a trove of riches. The Heaven's Auxiliary was anything but heavenly...it had helped achieve the growth of a new breed of warfare and the dominance of black operation terrorism. All for the codes, all for the glory.

    Quirenyun stands in the middle of the imbalance, holding it's fair share of the Chains of Fate wrapped around it's 'neck'. Since Quirenyun was one of the founding nations to create the funds, it has become a target. Therefore by the Chain's will, the nation has been sentenced to give up it's youth to a bloody conflict to protect such an enigmatic concept as the Heaven's Auxiliary. 7 people...all imprinted with varying destinies but united by one red thread...
     

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