And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love. –1 Corinthians 13:13 The True Nature of All Yui Miyamoto giggled as the almighty BaoBao scurried over her body, digging and clawing her way up Yui's clothes, and finally came to rest atop her head, settling on unbalanced territory. Yui laughed and playfully tried to shake the energetic panda off—if nothing else, than to see it try to cling onto her for dear life—and only managed to pry it out of her hair and into her arms with a bribe of fruit. Yui caressed BaoBao's black and white fur slowly, thinking back on the strange event that led her to take care of this little one. The so-called war really started it all. Yui was a lover, not a fighter, and although she served no practical purpose, she was probably the only thing keeping Dr. Kamaguchi from going completely insane. She took her childhood friend and loved her during those harsh, horrid times, and did all she could to mend the woman's heart. After all, Yohko had lost her twin brother, Yui's own fiancé. They would have been sisters-in-law had it not been for an unfortunate accident. Yohko took the news gravely, and isolated herself from everyone except patient Yui, dear-sweet loving Yui, who cared for her as friends and sisters should. But since she served no purpose, she was left behind while the others risked life and limb—not for themselves, but for everything, everything all around. She was put in charge of the Militaristic Enterprise for the Reformation of Civilization and Society, and thus became the ward of all the staff—and BaoBao, cute and cuddly little BaoBao, whom Kailin could not take with her into the fight. That war came with a price: her life had once been in danger of slipping away, and it took an angel to save her. She had never felt better in her entire life; it was as if Pale's miracles had not only healed her wounds, but her entire history as well. She felt her soul cleansed, almost cold in a sense, and she had the feeling she wouldn't be ill for a long time. Once she recovered, it became known that one amongst the strange rabble was missing, and so, while they all went off to find her, she took care of the baby panda yet again. "She's growing," observed Jacob Pochanski as he tickled the panda's chin. "Soon we won't be able to pick her up. But that might just be due to her overeating. She's getting roly-poly." "She certainly exercises enough to keep that weight off," Yui noted, exchanging the fruit core for a bottle of warm milk. Was she practicing for that distant day she'd be a mother, or was she making up for the fact that that day would never come? It might've been neither; merely her matronly instincts coming into play. She wasn't a young lady anymore; her biological clock was starting to tick louder and louder. Luckily, BaoBao relished the attention, and made no attempts to escape it. An announcement over the PA system drew her away from feeding the panda. The receptionist was asking for her to pick up the phone on line one, and Yui had to wonder who it was. Yohko always called her cell phone number, and the residents of MERCS hardly talked to her even in person. She excused herself from the panda and the priest and went over to the nearest phone. "This is Yui," she spoke. "Yui, it's Alyssa. Look, we have an emergency here—we need your help. Yohko's in trouble." "What? Tell me what's going on!" Yui bore no immense love towards any of those so-called heroes (she tried, at the very least), but the mere mention of her best friend in danger sent her pulse soaring. "I'm going to give you some coordinates to follow; come here as soon as you can!" "Alyssa, tell me what's going on. What happened to Yohko?" "It's bad, Yui, really bad. I'll explain it all to you later." "No, you explain it now! Tell me what happened or I won't come!" That ultimatum clearly had results; Yui could feel Siren's unease. "...She was... Yohko is possessed by a demon. I think all those scientific experiments she was working on backfired, and she's become...some horrible monster. She attacked us, and drove us off. There's nothing we can do." Yui covered her mouth in horror, and nearly dropped the phone. Even she did not know what her friend had been planning for all these years, but to hear that it had now backfired on her and turned her into some hideous being... "What do you think I can do?! I'm not a superhero! I can't do anything!" "But you're the only one who knows her! You're the only one who can reach her! Please, you have to help!" Yui squeezed her eyes shut in abject terror, but Siren sounded too desperate to be lying, and...it was Yohko. Win or lose, Yui knew she had to help—she had to! Yohko was like her family! "Yes, of course, I'll be right over! What's the coordinates?" Siren read them off; Yui's hands quivered as she wrote them down. She hung up quickly and raced back to her room, thrusting her head inside to glare desperately at Father Pochanski. "Is there a problem?" he said. "I have to go. Yohko's in grave danger! She's been taken over by a monster!" "Dear Lord in Heaven..." It's things like this that make me believe in karma... "Do you want me to come?" "No. I have to do this myself. Take care of everything here while I'm gone. Jacob, the doctor may not trust you, but I do. Please." "Of course, of course. Hurry." Yui did just that; she made it to the garage in record time, and was out and on the road in an instant. ......... The sky had turned gray by the time MERCS headquarters became invisible in her rear-view mirror, and by the time Yui Miyamoto reached her destination and got out of her car, the sky was highly overcast. This was not night, but a storm, deadly and epic. The rain started to come down gently, with a gust of wind playing delicately with her hair. She spotted Skye first, who was circling overhead looking for Yui. She waved the flying woman down; the first words from her mouth were hardly diplomatic. "Where's Yohko?" Skye, cursed with silence, simply pointed behind her, where the main group was. Yui ran over and found everyone waiting for her, some of them with depressing faces. A few had clearly thought these would be their last moments alive, and had taken this time to express their...fond farewells to their loved ones. "You just missed a good show," Rin called out to her. "Steve and Xianq took a little bit of free time to, uh, well...you know... Anyway, the whole group went nuts when they came back. Looks like everybody's treating this as one great big fireworks show before our death knell." "Where's Yohko?" she repeated, rather impatient. Rin frowned, but turned around and beckoned for Setsuka, who looked like she had been through her own "fireworks show". "The overwhelming stench of evil is apparent," said the woman darkly. "Yohko Kamaguchi is near-unrecognizable now. She has been taken over by the demon known as Legion, for it comprises of many evil forces. Yui...if you can't reach her, there's no hope for her or any of us." "I...I'll try my best." Yui shivered, hugging herself in the bitter breeze. The pressure was overwhelming. Her own best friend was on the line—not just her body, but her soul as well. Maybe she should've let Pochanski come along in the vain hope of attempting an exorcism—but Siren was right, only Yui could help Yohko now. "Where is she?" she asked. Setsuka pointed to her left, in the southern region. "That way. I wish I could block out the terrible feeling. Marissa looks more ghostly than normal; I'd hate to have that level of power. The sheer magnitude of this being is overwhelming her. Sanaa?" "She is all right," said the copper-skinned girl, her hands caressing her lover. "Just very weak. That battle took a lot out of her; sensing Kamaguchi's presence is not helping. ...Looks like the proverbial storm just got literal." Everyone began to look up as the sky yawned, releasing the ocean in its belly. It was a great heavenly urination, where the little slivers of water transformed into blobs, then buckets, then tubs. The wind became fierce. Thunder struck. Everyone was forced to scream just to be heard. Alisti howled, making everyone's blood curdle. "She's coming our way!!! Dear God, she's here!" Even Yui shuddered as the incredible mountain of black boiling evil came into her presence. There was no humanity left in Omni, only absolution and sadistic purity. The final battle had begun. "Oh my good Lord..." Yui wept, every emotion coming at her at once as she beheld the monster. It merely smiled. "YUI!!! My goodness, I did not expect to find you here! What a powerful surprise! My friends, was it your hand that brought her here, or was she attracted by the combined souls of Yohko and Yosuke? It doesn't matter; what matters is that our beloved is here, and we can see a new definition of perfection. Come," it said, extending a pulsating limb, "come with us. Join us, Yui. Bond with us, all of us. Wouldn't it be perfect? You will finally share the same mind, soul, and flesh of the two siblings you loved most! You will be united with Yosuke! You will be united with Yohko! It's every person's deepest, darkest dream! Come into me, my love, and even Kurios, the Lord God Himself, will step back in wonder at this newest thing." "Oh, Yohko," Yui murmured, tears trembling her words. "Oh, Yohko, Yohko, what happened to you? That can't really be you in there..." "It is me," came the screeching, off-key sound of Kamaguchi's voice. Yui almost screamed. "I'm in here, Yui, with my brother. It's everything we have all wanted. I now have the power to avenge my brother, and to take back the lives of all living things that these monsters have destroyed. The world will soon feel the loss of unnatural beings, and we humans shall walk the land freely, feeling no tainted subject upon our earth! Come, Yui, my love. I want to be free from mortal bonds, the slicing aches of loneliness, and feel supreme love. Please." "Oh, Yohko," Yui said again, her own voice almost soaked in the relentless rain. "What has happened? What have you become? Yohko, my dear great Yohko...this can't be happening!" "Why are you so sad? This should be a happy occasion! You and I shall bond together, and be as one! Together we'll destroy these things—maybe we will even bring about peace on the entire world! There's nothing we cannot do now. Join me. Join US." From the depths of the human soul came a voice crying out Love to the dead world. "I don't want any of that, Yohko. I just want you back. I want you safe. I want you here with me, just you—please. I want my old Yohko back. Bring her back. Bring her back, you horrible monster!!! Give me my Yohko back!!!" "YOUR Yohko?! She belongs to us now!!" The transition from Yohko's twisted face to the faceless amalgamation of Omni was terrifying, but Yui looked on with unblinking eyes. "Give me my Yohko back, please," she said, thunderous heavens applauding her bravery. The wind tore against her; she remained steadfast. The creature shivered, and suddenly, a change came about it. Yohko's face emerged, fighting alongside the Wickedness. "Yui...did you say 'my Yohko'? What...does that mean?" "Pay no attention to her! You wanted revenge, right? Here's your chance! These...things are standing in your way! Engulf them in your wrath, and take the woman by force!" "But...it's Yui. She called me...her Yohko." "I said to ignore it!" "YOHKO!!!!!!" Yui's voice overpowered the angry sky; everyone stood back, weathering the storms around them. They were now powerless; it was the heart that would win this battle. "Yohko..." A tear came from Yui's eye; it fell to the ground, dead in a puddle of wept brothers and sisters. "Yohko...come back. I need you. I...I love you. I love you, Yohko, I love you." The beast shouted "love" at the heart of the world. Omni buckled, as if it had been smashed by a boulder. Yohko's voice battled with it. "She loves me! She said she loves me!" "Ignore it! She just wants to tear you apart from your destiny! Slaughter the monsters, take the woman, and reclaim what you have lost!" "Yui...has never lied to me before...so..." "Listen to me! I'm what you really wanted! I'm what you slaved over, what you tortured yourself for! You sacrificed everything just so you could have me, and now you're going to throw it away for some...some woman?!" "But...I love Yui." "You love Yosuke too, don't you? Honor his memory and complete your task!" "Yui...help...I don't know what I should do..." Yui could sense her beloved friend struggling inside that monster; the duality of their personalities was becoming more and more apparent. She screamed against the rain, against the thunder and the wind, against Evil itself—all just to bring her Yohko back. "Fight it, Yohko! Fight it with all your heart and soul, your real heart and soul!" "It's...too painful!" she screamed, ripping the ground apart as she thrashed around. Yui stood her ground, even as the others backed away, fearful for their lives. "Yui, I can't...! Forgive me, please! I can't..." "YOU CAN DO IT, YOHKO! I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU WITH...WITH EVERYTHING!" The skies exploded in white lightning; the eyes of God Himself seemed to loom over the battlefield, carefully observing this deadly war. Omni thrashed around wildly, one soul up against thousands, all of them battling for supremacy. "Yohko! If you give me up, you give up everything!!! It will all be for nothing! Nothing, do you hear me! Do you want that?! So many wasted years! Your vengeance, gone! Your brother's memory, destroyed! Your research, lost! Think about this, Yohko! She's just one woman! Is that enough to give up your whole life!!??" There was no mistaking it this time. It was Yohko's voice that answered. "Yes. Yes it is. I would give up everything for her. Even you." Yui smiled with a bright hope; the others watched in a silent daze. Omni, the beast, let out an animalistic cry of defeat; it now fought to keep Yohko, for without her... "You're insane! You can't! If you lose me... I swear, Yohko, I will not die without destroying you!" "I expel you," Yohko stated, strong and firm as the cornerstone of the world. "I expel you. I expel you. Get out of me now. I expel you. Get ye gone, you vile thing. All for Yui, all for Yui, I do all of this for her, for her, for her. Get thee gone. I expel you. I expel you." "No! NO!! You can't! You...need me!!! Think of what you're losing!!" "If I lose Yui, I lose everything. Nothing else matters. Therefore, I expel you. Get...thee...gone." "FOOL! YOU WOULD... NO!!!" It was impossible to determine what happened after that, but to the best of Yui's knowledge, Yohko's body came oozing out of the inorganic mass of Omni, naked and covered with rank goo. She screamed in horrible pain, as if she had been born again, and let out cries of horror and anguish. When Yui touched her, she felt searing pain, as if Yohko's skin was on fire—but the woman was alive, and that was all that mattered. As Yui ran over to borrow a piece of cloth to cover her beloved in, the rain washed her slime away and slowly cleansed her from pain and madness. Yohko shivered, speechless, as she crumbled into Yui's arms. IT was still alive...but not for long. A large, gaping hole had been left in its side, and the damnable construction of its body seemed to become more pale by the minute. If one looked at it through a certain angle, they would see the face of Director Taichou—Yosuke Kamaguchi reincarnated—twisted in confusion. Lyn swore she saw Kali's face, calm and at peace, ready to end things at last. Yohko and Yui remained silent as their legacy stared at them... "I...I don't...understand..." And was washed away, forever and ever, in ashes and rain. There was nothing left to do but stand in the rain and watch as Yohko and Yui embraced each other, shedding bitter tears, squealing inaudible words, sharing the first of many kisses. One by one, everyone left the two in peace, and sought shelter from the rain. Not all victories are glorious. To be concluded...
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