Episode III: Partners
The sound of chaos could be heard in the distance as the mercenaries fought off the squadron of mechas. Guns rattled off bullets, ripping apart anything into shreds, and the sound of explosions and screams revealed that both sides were being hit. The ground shook as the mechas stomped around, and a tiny drumming sound could be heard as the hired soldiers marched through the factory, shouting orders and avoiding detection. The main group, fighting off a humongous bird-like machine, had been stuck in a stalemate ever since they gathered together, and things didn’t seem to look good as more time faded away.
That is, until Asuka came in.
She viewed the battle scene with weariness and just a little bit of annoyance, curling her lip up in a snarl. Closer to her, a dark-haired cyborg slashed straight through a smaller mecha, splitting its entire body into two pieces. It turned around and grinned at her, using that same demented smile it always had.
“Asuka! Won’t you help them?” She casually strolled past the cyborg and joined the group fighting the main mechanical monster. One of the men turned around and breathed out a sigh of relief.
“Ah, Asuka… what kept you?”
“Same as always,” she replied monotone. Re-regarding the bird, she slowly drew out her long sword, a blade the same size as her and considerably heavy, and held it in front of her. “Hmph, nuisance…”
“Please allow me to fight alongside you!” called the cyborg she passed up earlier. Asuka looked over at him and nodded her head.
“Sure. Just try not to go overboard, Storm. I’ll slip into atrophy if you keep hogging everything for yourself.” The cyborg let out a guttural laugh and charged the creature, completely ignoring the shower of bullets coming its way. It leaped into the air and spun around, slashing at the bird with a long blade from its arm. Asuka let out a sigh as she realized that she had been reduced to a spectator, and ran towards what remained of the beast to finish it off. The cyborg paid her no attention, and crashed its own weapon into the “head” of the monster, shattering it apart.
By that time, Asuka was already swinging her sword, using its large size to increase her momentum. She chopped it to pieces, plowing through it mercilessly until there was little more left of it than scrap. Emerging safely on the other side, she put her sword back in its sheath and looked at the astonished mercenaries.
“Don’t you people have a factory to destroy? We did our part.” The hired soldiers snapped to attention and scattered around the factory, fanning out to clean up the remaining defenses. Asuka yawned, and the cyborg kept its feral grin as he retracted his blades.
“Not bad for our first run together, eh?” he sneered. Asuka lazily agreed.
Five hours earlier…
It was a crappy bar in a crappy town, located in an area of the world that closely resembled the core of a sewer. Inside, there were people so ugly and drunk that to look at and speak with them would make a person sick. The beer wasn’t even that good, and the tender was infamous for being a man of rude disposition and a hot temper. Yet, when it came to looking for easy bounty hunters who were expendable and cheap, there were hardly any better places in the world.
Normally, women never even looked at the place, much less stepped inside, unless they too were desperate or despised. But one young lady, short and peculiar-looking, stepped into the bar as if she owned the place. There was a dull look on her face, etched below the scar-shaped tattoos below her hypnotic emerald eyes, and her pointed ears were adorned with rings and pierces, like the jewels on a crown.
Now obviously, since the men in the room almost never saw a reasonably attractive lady enter their bar, let alone one as exotic as this one, they let out a few whistles. The short woman ignored them and stepped right towards the center of the room, where she could get everybody’s attention (not that her appearance hadn’t already drawn stares from everybody).
“I’m looking for a partner,” she said in a low, husky voice. More of the men grinned, and one of the less-appealing ones stepped forth, chuckling cruelly.
“Heh, heh, heh! Sure, baby, I’ll be yer partner! Heh, heh!” The woman burned her green eyes straight through his, and jabbed her index finger right into his Adam’s apple, pointing it like a gun and choking him just slightly. He froze as he stared down at her in shock.
“Bang,” she whispered, pulling her thumb like a trigger. The man got her point, so to speak, and carefully backed away, allowing her the chance to clarify. “No, not that kind of partner. That would be a blasphemous action. I mean to hire an assistant, a partner, an ally--a fellow bounty hunter who, if proven to have the skill, will have the opportunity to travel with me.
“Just don’t get the wrong idea,” she said, closing her eyes. “I’m a strong woman and I can take care of myself. I know no fear and I know no failure. I should just like to have a backup, a spare card to pull out when things look bad. Somebody who would drag my unconscious body away from the fight so I wouldn’t get sliced apart or raped--a partner. Well?”
At first, a few of the men tentatively raised their hands and volunteered. The woman’s stare scared them all away, because as they saw, she truly had no fear of anything, be it death or pain or darkness or anything. The woman was almost demonic, though having an Elvin heritage contributed to her foreign mystique. Finally, after a period of silence, the bartender spoke up.
“Hey, Asuka, over here!” The woman finally noticed the old cuss and walked over to him, parting the sea of drunkards like a modern-day Moses. She merged with the barstool seamlessly and automatically got a drink. Just as quickly as it came, it was gone.
“You have an idea?”
“I might,” he answered, cleaning the counter. “This information is airtight, so it’ll cost you a bit more.” Suddenly, before his hand could move another hair, the elfish woman jabbed her finger into his throat, much like she did the last man, and gave him a frighteningly stoic stare.
“Your greed annoys me,” she stated. “Now be reasonable, old man, or do you want me to tear your Adam’s Apple out of your throat and take a bite out of it?” The tender fiercely shook his head, and apologized for “his” error. The elfish girl slowly removed her finger and shifted her fiery eyes so they radiated with a less dangerous glow.
“Good,” she whispered. “Now, I understand the part about paying you. I don’t expect you to do anything for free--just remember that money can’t save you when you’re dead. Here’s the usual.” She laid down a small stack of crumpled units, the standard for monetary exchange as of recent dates, and he counted it slowly. As always, there was 500U there.
“I really should ask you for more,” he grumbled as he took it all. “This is really secret stuff. I’d be risking my life just talking about it.”
“And you risk your life not talking about it either,” pointed the woman. The tender frowned, sighed, and shouted out to another man behind the counter.
“Yo, Lankastor! I’m gonna be out for awhile showin’ something to Asuka! Take care of the place, would ya?” The other man waved his hand in agreement, leaving his coworker free to reveal the “secret information” to the elfish woman, Asuka Honmisei.
-----
Asuka followed the bartender as he crawled out of the rotting building he worked in and led her across the slummy city streets. They took the back alleys, a place of waste and filth for anybody who passed by, and took a taxi all the way to the very edge of town, where a rotting public park groaned in misery as it decayed into oblivion. Asuka didn’t mind the morbid surroundings at all--she had seen worse. Also ignoring the decrepit forest, the tender led the half-elf across the grounds and towards a lake, where a small boat was waiting for them.
Noticing the boat, Asuka’s face slowly turned green, and she burped up a nervous groan. She took two shaky steps backwards before crumbling to the ground, still groaning and clutching the grass weakly. Needless to say, the bartender became surprised.
“Huh? What’s up with you, Asuka?”
“I… hate boats…” she groaned, her head waving around dizzily. “I… get seasick easily… Ohhh…”
“Oh, brother,” he sighed. “There goes the mystique of the ‘genius of the battlefield’…” Asuka ignored him and allowed her body to sink forward as she tried to regain her senses. The tender let out a weary sigh, rolled his eyes, and helped the half-elf stand. “C’mon now, Suka, this is pathetic…”
“Urgghh… sorry…” The poor woman barely managed to trudge away from the lake with the bartender supporting her. When they were both back on the grounds and away from the boat, and when Asuka finally got her bearings again, the bartender let out a grunt and wondered if it wise to reconsider letting that extra money go. He apathetically asked if Asuka was okay, and she replied with a sure nod.
“Sorry… it seems that’s my only weakness. I have a hard time getting on a moving transport, especially boats. I really can’t ride in cars, either.”
“So how the hell do you get around, anyway?” he wondered. Blankly, she stood up and pointed to herself.
“I run.”
“You don’t!!”
“I do,” she argued with a nod. “I’m a pretty fast sprinter--most elves are.” The old man let out a groan, but decided that for convenience’s sake, he should believe her.
“All right, all right… There, do you see that lighthouse way off in the distance?”
“Yes.”
“Two miles south of that is the place where I was gonna take you. It’d take me too long to walk there, but if you can run there by yourself, by all means. I’ll go by boat and we’ll meet up at the factory. It’s 1016SRR, if you can remember.” Asuka nodded her head carelessly.
“Right, I got it. Don’t keep me waiting long.” She broke into an amazing sprint, easily covering a great distance with ease. The bartender watched her go in awe, and figured that if he didn’t want to make her wait, he should leave as well.
-----
It took him half an hour by boat and cab to reach the factory, but it only took Asuka a third of that time. She found the factory on her own, and patiently waited ten whole minutes for her informant. She did so hate the speed of slower species, and how they moved along at a crawling space while she was left waiting. Her last few partners had all been killed off because of their lack of speed, or else power, leaving her alone, cynical, and just slightly scarred by the events.
“I thought I told you to not keep me waiting long,” she announced as the bartender finally showed up. He growled, but knew there was nothing else he could have done.
“Look, I took the fastest possible route! What else do you want me to do?”
“You could shut up and show me to this partner of mine,” she replied emptily. The old guy growled again, but chose to hold his tongue as he guided the short elfish girl inside. The factory was much cleaner than the surrounding areas, where machines were monotonously made on assembly lines and shipped all the way across the world. Most of them had a humanoid build to them, and some were even cyborgs and androids, very advanced forms of robotics.
“The cyborgs built in this factory are the top of the line, the best in this entire country, possibly even the world,” announced the bartender as Asuka took a meticulous look around. “They’re expensive to produce but worth every unit, and the best thing is, their programming makes them exceptionally effective.”
“This is all meaningless to me,” sighed Asuka as she looked at the large factory. The mechanical creatures being made certainly looked effective, but it took a great deal to impress the mysterious half-elf. “Automatons are the worst kinds of allies one can have with them. They have no mind, soul, or will of their own, and their lack of personality makes them hard to communicate with or understand. Sorry, no machines.”
Just as Asuka finished saying that, though, she felt the familiar touch of cold steel on her neck, and the lethal tickle of a blade being held up against her throat. Showing surprise at the sudden action but no fear, Asuka kept still and wondered who was bold (or stupid) enough to sneak up on her like that.
“Now, now, don’t go and hurt my ‘feelings’ like that, little girl!” hissed the being behind her. “Not all machines are created alike! Maybe you should give us a second try, no?” The blade and the barrel of the gun slowly removed themselves from Asuka’s neck, allowing her to turn around and see the daring fool. She gazed up (and up, as she was short and the being was rather tall) at what looked like a human, but was obviously anything but.
The creature had a very handsome but very demented face. Its black hair was wild and free, unkempt and uncombed, and its red eyes burned like the soul of Satan. It had a sickening grin on its face, broad and bright and filled with insane malice. He wore a brick-red suit of body armor with gold lining, and spoke like a psychopath.
“And just what exactly are you?” she murmured, undaunted by its size and maddening smile. There were scientists and engineers around to explain such things, but the tall creature spoke for itself.
“My serial number is 1016SRR-DRASG-01, Dominion Republica Assassin Scorpion Guild Model #01, codename ‘Bloodstorm’! And you, little missy?”
“Honmisei,” she stated, jamming her finger into the android’s throat like she did before with anyone else who annoyed her. “Asuka Honmisei. I don’t suppose you could apologize for trying to kill me?”
“It’s just my sick little way of introducing myself!” it grinned, raising its mechanical arms with a flair. “Oh, and don’t think you’re gonna choke me with that little finger of yours, missy. You could shove a steel spike through my throat and I’d still be able to walk. I might even return the favor, if necessary.”
“So you’re a killer android?”
“Regrettably no,” it sang maliciously. “I have a strict program that I gotta follow. No big, though, since I find plenty of loopholes in my logarithms. Oh, and these fat ugly swines you see shuffling around you prefer to call me a Cybernetic Humanoid, ‘Cyberroid’. Doesn’t it just make you wanna gag?”
“…Yeah…” Asuka grumbled mentally and scrunched her face up in a grimace of irritation, anger, impatience, and dissatisfaction. Androids and cyborgs had a reputation of being strong and sturdy, and some were actually very fast, but this certain one seemed incredibly unstable. Asuka felt that it would go ballistic the very second it had the opportunity, and would probably blow up everything in sight, including her or anyone she had to protect. This was just another reason why she detested machines: there was always the possibility of one going berserk.
“Well, thanks for the introduction, but I don’t think you’d do,” she said flatly as she turned her back on it. The cyborg chuckled sickly and formed a gun from out of its arm cavity; the other produced a medium-sized blade.
“Awww, whassa matta?!” it screeched. “You fraid’ I’ll rip your carcass apart? Huh? You think I’m gonna defile your pretty little body and eat yer friggin’ brains?”
“Bloodstorm wouldn’t do that even if he wanted to,” stated one of the nearby scientists suddenly. Asuka stopped walking away, but she didn’t turn her head to pay him attention. “Believe me, he’s had every opportunity. The DRAG series was built with the fanatical drive to obey its programming under any cost, and to be exceptionally effective. They’ve surpassed even our expectations, but on the negative side, as you’ve seen, they’re just as unstable as they are reliable.”
“This one in particular seems to have inherited a stark insanity,” indicated another. “He’s our oldest and probably our best model, but he’s very difficult to deal with. We let him run around the factory only because it’s better than letting him brood around in a small room all by himself.”
“You could say that I’m a wild stallion of sorts!” cackled the android. “But don’t worry, little elf-girl! I promise you on my circuitry that I won’t bite…! Of course, when it comes to executing my directives, well… can I really be held responsible for what I do? Heh heh heh…” A brief silence overcame that area of the factory as the scientists looked between the half-elf and the machine, waiting to see what kind of verdict there would be. It was a little suspenseful to watch, especially considering the attitudes of both organic and inorganic.
“A wild stallion, eh?” murmured Honmisei at last. Slowly, she turned around and waved her bloody-red hair out of her face. “You’re uncontrollable yet you obey your orders… You have a sick, twisted, demented mind, yet you’re precisely aware of everything within and without you. I can tell you have a bloodlust, but also the ability to control your desires. I can’t stand to be around you, but I also gotta admit that it’d be hard to pass up such a good-looking guy, android or otherwise…”
“Heh, my ears are burning,” snarled said android with glee. Asuka actually let a smile grace her unmoving lips as she gave the android her full attention.
“All right, let’s see what you can do. I’ll take him.” The scientists gathered in the room let out a collective sigh of relief, each of them plainly glad that their worst and best creation was finally leaving them, at least for a little while.
“Whew, what a relief! He’s yours!”
“Your reluctance to let me go is appreciated,” snorted the machine bitterly. “But I guess in this case, I can look it over. It ain’t every day that I get to buddy up next to a pretty little girl-elf like this!”
“Down, boy,” huffed the elf-girl. The machine grinned and let out a slow laugh, and followed Asuka out of the factory and into the smoggy night, leaving behind relieved scientists and an even more relieved bartender. Although he had been a benefactor to the half-elf on several occasions, if she had ever been dissatisfied with his information or help, he would have been the one to pay and not her.
----------
“So where to first, little girl?” cackled Bloodstorm once he and her were alone. Asuka looked up at him with the same stoic face as always, letting a hint of irritation seep through as she replied.
“I know a real important rich man who’s been having some trouble in one of his robotic plants. You think you can help me rip apart members of your own kind?”
“Members of my own kind, you say?!” Bloodstorm snarled gleefully and produced the gun and blade from his arms again, brandishing them both in the air. “They’re not my kind! Only the DRASG units are my kind--and maybe the DRAG units in general as well, if ya wanna get technical. But who the hell cares if they’re machines or humans or whatever!? Code 8 of my directives state that ‘an assassin shall not kill an innocent or non-target’, and if these are orders to destroy or suppress something, then Code 8 doesn’t apply now, does it?”
“I guess it wouldn’t,” she shrugged apathetically. “Well, okay then. Hey, Bloodstorm, how fast can you run?”
“Prob’ly faster than you, little girl!” he sneered, baring his teeth like a wolf. Asuka chuckled lightly to herself, which she was doing less and less of.
“I doubt it. I’m gonna go on ahead; you try and keep up, okay?” With that, the half-elf dashed off into a sprint, leaving the insane machine behind. His face brightened at the challenge, and with a cackle, he quickly took off after her. Soon, Bloodstorm had caught up with Asuka, but found to his delight that he could not move any faster or her.
“Well! Looks like we’re evenly-matched, little girl!”
“That it does, little boy,” she replied, weaving through the woods like a bullet. “That it does indeed…”
Thanks go out to Nimori for Asuka and Darke Raven for Bloodstorm (don’t worry, I don’t plan on hooking them up with each other) . I should have set limits to how many characters a single person can contribute, but oh well. Preview of next chapter: the Informer (from the prologue) is keeping a fond eye on the Ice Djinn Aisuna, but must play devil’s advocate as his old friend the Seventh Judgment appears…
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