Fire Cutter ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Izabura Park, District Nine, Nagoya, Neo-Japan "Julia, will you hurry up?! Anyone would think you didn't wanna go home!" Three days had passed since Julia McAmish had been rescued from the Bio-Technological Research Facility of the greater Nagoya area. They would have gone straight to meet up with Julia's father, Simon, if not for the problems of checkpoints. It took a while (by policy) for it to be opened. Now that the three day wait was over, Ayame and Julia made their move towards it. They had plenty of time to reach the checkpoint. It wouldn't be closing for another two days. But Ayame was in a rush to meet up with Simon so she could get her payment and move on. The two couldn't move to the pace that Ayame had set for them however, because Julia had become far more loose and free than she had been three days ago. She was adjusting to her freedom well. Now that the shock of her rescue was over, she allowed herself to enjoy it. And it was because of that, that she was taking so long to keep up with Ayame. The young women stood by the line of tall oak trees that made up one of the four boarders of this park they were in, Izabura Park. It was typical of most parks in name, but was far more appealing than most. This park held none of the ruination that effected others of its kind. It was full of rich flowers of amethyst and cream tones, finely cut grass and overpoweringly lengthy trees. Julia crouched down to a small bush that was separated from the grass by a small black metal railing. The woman carefully placed her long fingers around the stem of one of the flowers in that bush. It was a violet. What the Neo-Japanese called ‘Sumire'. And it was truly beautiful. Julia smiled softly and held the flower to her nose, taking a deep whiff of the scent. It was suddenly apparent to Ayame that Julia was more of an outdoorsy-type girl than she had originally given her credit for. "Julia? Are you listening to me? We don't have time for this. You have to meet up with your Dad and I want my-" "-Your money?" Julia filled in, "Ayame... money isn't the only thing that's important in the world. Everything around the globe is so ruined right now. That's why when you see such beautiful things in the flesh... you have to take stock and admire them. That's what it means to live." Ayame shut her eyes, sighing. "You're too kind for your own good. But that's not what I grew up believing. I taught myself to take what you can, when you can. And to hell with anyone or anything else." Julia looked over her shoulder, back at Ayame. "...I know you can't really feel like that. Don't you want to experience the joys life has to offer you? I know I do. I want to be happy. And I want the people around me to be happy. That way, nobody will have to suffer again. Money can't provide something like that." For such woman, with her head stuck in the clouds 90% of the time, Julia made sense. What she had been hoping for might have been a little naïve, but she did make sense. "...After all you've been through... why would you even care what happens to others?" "Because..." Julia's smile fell a little, "...if I didn't care... the people who I shun would end up repeating their mistakes. And then more people would have to endure. I know that some folks follow this idea of an eye for an eye, but where does it stop? I believe that life will get better if we learn forgiveness. You can break the chain that way." Ayame gave a small smile. She liked Julia a lot. No matter what the world threw at her, she seemed to retain a sort of honest kindness about her person that you did not see much of in the world of 2080. It made her different. Special. Now Ayame could see why Simon was so desperate to rescue his daughter. She was truly a woman like no other. While Ayame took a second to just admire this soft, tranquil girl, the sound of heavy footsteps gave an added rhythm to the background. The peaceful chirping of the birds came to a halt and they flocked away from the branches of their trees as the footsteps came to a stop. Ayame herself did not notice any of this until she saw a look of disquiet in Julia's emerald green eyes. The Dark Katana blinked. "...What's wrong?" "I don't... know..." Julia looked around. Then stopped and gasped as she looked behind Ayame. The Neo-Japanese woman was just as confused by that so turned around herself. And her eyes widened with the sight of it. Around fifteen metres behind Ayame stood a medium-height figure. But no ordinary creature it was. It didn't even look human. A beast. Of a pale tone of ashy grey skin, covered in a set of thick, purple-tinted veins. Over its body in certain sections were plates of silvery futuristic armour. Over its shins, upper arms, wrists, thighs, chest and face. The face itself was covered by a metallic mask. Carrying only two eyeholes (which were burning with a flaming colour of green) and four thin rectangular slits acting as air holes for the mouth. The metal mask went all the way around its head, only one point uncovered. From that small point at the back of the cranium came a huge spiky bush of sandy-colour hair. And aside from the slight gaps in the armour where that grey skin showed through; the sand-tone hair was the only part of this vile man that looked organic. "...What the heck are you?!" Ayame shouted. The creature breathed heavily, just before it spoke. "My... name... is... Ras... es-Shamrah. ...Test... Subject...019... Julia... must... return... to... research... department... now. Under... orders... of... Doctor... Bai..." Ayame gripped the hilt of her sword, Nobunaga. "Like hell she will! If you don't want me to slice you to bits then you better back off now, whatever the hell you are!" Ras ignored that and began moving straight for the pair of them. Julia quickly scrambled up to her feet with a terrified look in her eyes, while Ayame ordered her to stay back. The girl did as she was asked, stepping back from Ayame, giving her room. It had been a while since her sword had seen some action. It was time to awaken Nobunaga. Ayame tightened her hold over her blade and yanked it straight out of its sheath, assuming a fighting stance with it. Ras stopped marching ahead when it saw Ayame draw her sword. Then it reached behind its back. It was at that point that the Dark Katana realized that Ras was armed. The ‘Genocide Weapon' pulled out a long metallic rod from behind its back. Along the length of the rod was the engraved name ‘Baga'enka'. And one end was blunt while the other was circular. From that end came a burst of plasmatic energy, which began taking on the curved shape of a blade of a Naginata. Ayame could tell that this wasn't a product of Ras es-Shamrah's mesh between organic and mechanical. That rod, Baga'enka, was magically endowed. Ayame didn't know just what the hell this thing was... but she knew somehow that she would not get an easy time out of fighting it. Still, it wasn't like she had much choice in the matter. The Dark Katana gripped Nobunaga in a firm hold bellowed a feminine war cry as she charged at the taller, muscular-metallic monster called Ras es-Shamrah. The creature didn't move, it held its own and remained as Ayame came at him. It swung Baga'enka around his body and back with tremendous skill, spinning around until came into a double-handed position in front of him. Ayame's blade clashed loudly with the Plasma Naginata in that second, the two weapons locking with each other in a stand off. Ayame looked up into the thin light that was beamed from the metal mask of Ras. And she strained to hold her own against it. Her arm muscles went to great length to do this, just as she forced her feet as firmly into the ground as possible. "Damn...!" Ayame spoke, seething, "...This ‘thing' is stronger than it looks..." The frightened Julia watched this all with terror. The hideous monster had Ayame pinned down with a weapon lock. It so clearly was stronger than Ayame. But there was absolutely nothing that the Scot could have done for her. During her time in captivity, Julia had been given a certain chemical injection every few months. One that blocked out her magical powers for quite some time. She had absolutely no idea how long the last injection would last, but even now, Julia could feel her helplessness. She was completely powerless to help Ayame in her current state. Ayame herself tightened up inside herself. A bead of sweat dropped down the side of her face, over her cheek. Though her arms did not buckle under the pressure of the weapon lock, her feet were slowly being pushed back by the strength of Ras and his Baga'enka. Overpowering the thing was very unlikely now. Ayame's long ponytail of smooth black hair whipped around her as she jumped back, relinquishing the clash of weapons. Ras es-Shamrah's form nudged forwards slightly at the loss of weight support, but held up strong, all things considered. Ayame stepped back, exchanging glances with Julia briefly, just to make sure that she was okay. She was fine. Ayame turned back to face with the silent Ras. "Bastard. Standing between a woman and her payment. I haven't got time for this, freak. I've got a delivery to make." And so Ayame crouched a little, sheathing Nobunaga but still keeping her hand on the hilt. It was time for that move. It probably wouldn't hurt Ras all that much, thanks to all that armour he was wearing. But it did have another use. Ayame smirked a little and locked eyes with Ras across from her. There was no time the present to try this out. The woman stepped back a little for a build up of movement, then forcefully yelled out, "Ayame Rushing Slash!" Then Ayame's torso thrust straight aside the bio-tech monster of the Shougatsu, moving like a blur with the speed of lightning. Neither Julia nor Ras itself could have seen her when she was moving at that speed. The woman skidded past Ras a second later, while her right hand pressed into the ground to keep from sliding any further. Her blade was drawn again. And her smile made a welcome return. Ras breathed heavily, his hulking form swerving around to see his adversary. But the attack had done nothing to hurt him. The speed was great but what was the point of the attack if it couldn't even damage him? Ras snorted. "...Pathetic..." "Is that right?" Ayame stated, standing upright, "Take a look above you, freak show." Ras es-Shamrah did just that, looking up at the sky. But his urgency soon jumped as he did that. Three of the towering, thick and brilliant oak trees that they had been standing beside were now coming down over him. Sliced at the lower bottoms of their tree trunks by none other than Ayame. That was what she had been doing. Not attacking Ras with outright force but distracting him so that he was led into this trap. The trees were large and slow-moving but Ras was too caught off-guard to do anything about it. The three huge oak trees came down with violent force and smashed on top of him, pilling up in the worst possible way. Once the sound of falling timber had cleared away, all that was left was Ras, pinned beneath the long trunks of the oak trees. Ayame quickly sheathed Nobunaga and gestured towards Julia. "...That won't hold him long! Julia, come on! Run!" She yelled. The Scottish girl took one last look at Ras before running around him and towards Ayame. Once they were close enough to each other, Ayame gripped her hand and the two sped up for the other side of the park. They ran straight to the northern most part of Izabura Park and cut through the thin wire fence to make it do a small, abandoned road. Across the street was a private garage, and Julia began to remember that they had been here before. Ayame ran with her across the street and stopped right before one of the long chain of private garages on this road. Ayame fished out a key from one of the back pockets of her denims, and slotted it into the small keyhole on the bottom half of garage door, unlocking it. She then yanked the door upwards as fast as she could, revealing the innards of it. But one thing in particular stood out. And that was Ayame's pilfered bike, Megumi. The Japanese woman dashed over to her motorcycle and mounted it, now taking out the key for the bike itself. Ayame slotted the key in the underside ignition and the engine of her beautiful baby came to life. Ayame gestured over at Julia again. "Would you hurry up and get on?!" "R-Right!" Julia nodded to her and ran straight for Ayame and her bike. She stepped over the passenger half of Megumi's seat and roped her arms around Ayame's waist, clinging tightly to her. This attack by Ras was unexpected so they had to make for the checkpoint now. The Dark Katana revved up Megumi, then peeled out of the garage, ignoring the fact that she left the door open. Ayame drove out onto the quiet road and made a quick turn to the right, towards the second checkpoint, which existed deeper into the heart of Nagoya. Then once the bike came out into the main road a deafening, rumbling sound rang out in that quiet area. And Julia screamed as she saw why. The sluggish but yet somehow quick form of Ras es-Shamrah jumped straight over that wire fence of Izabura Park and landed noisily into the stone of the surrounding pavement. The rock beneath him was actually broken into shallow footprints from the combined force of weight and jump strength. Ayame blinked at the sight of it. And in the very second of verifying location, Ras began charging at them. Ayame scowled to herself and drove straight in the opposite direction to get away from the thing. As she zoomed down the road, Ras began a speedy dash in pursuit. Julia looked over her shoulder as Ras chased after them at a distance of about twenty metres. Ayame herself could see this from the side mirror of the cycle. She instantly pressed more speed out of her stealthy Megumi-chan, increasing the pace of the chase. Even Ras couldn't keep up with that, and slowly began fading into the background as Ayame and Julia drove down that length stretch of road. Once Ras was out of sight, Julia turned her head and leaned into Ayame's back. She so frightened now. The Research Facility were actually making an effort to re-capture her. Whilst turning a corner, Ayame could feel Julia softly sobbing against her back. She couldn't be blamed for that. It was likely to be a scary experience for anyone. "Don't worry, Julia. I'll protect you. From everything." ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Dragon's Breath Forest, outside Neo-China Setsuya's mighty Tetsuzanko blade nimbly slashed through each vine that hung in his way. He chopped and hacked through each vine, branch, tree and bush until a new path was made ahead of him; cutting through the forest and towards their destination. Just a short few paces behind him was Lin-Lin's Grandfather, Chen Hu. He had recovered from the attack but was still a little shaken. And some respects, so was Setsuya. There was a violent anger reflected in his eyes. Anger that did not come naturally to Setsuya. Despite his bad manners and penchant for combat; Setsuya was a mild-natured person. But all that changed in him as he though of Lin-Lin. The events that took place just a few hours ago would not have been forgotten. Even though they happened so swiftly. It was simply unimaginable for such a thing to happen to a village as peaceful as Lin-Lin's was. Setsuya had just come down to see his girlfriend after a fairly long time apart. Before he even got to see her, Lin-Lin's village was up in flames. And a mysterious group of military looking troops marched into the ruins; doing as they pleased, attacking helpless villagers. And going so far as to *kidnap* Lin-Lin. Setsuya scowled at the memory of it. After discovering Lin-Lin's fate from her grandfather, Setsuya left to help out those who were injured. And it was sheer horror to do that. Most of the other villagers were either too frightened to speak or act. Others were so scared that they viewed all outsiders as a threat. Which included Setsuya. Even though he had gotten on so well with those people beforehand, they were terrified of him now. All thanks to the brutality of those evil soldiers. But who could they have been working for? They had brilliant technology for the standards of 2081. The only group Setsuya could think of who would be that organized would have been the Neo World Federation. But that was impossible. The NWF were peacekeepers and took stock of the situations around them. Albeit some of their leadership tactics were at best defined as controversial; the Neo World Foundation were not tyrants. But who else could get their hands on technology that modern? For the moment, Setsuya put it out of his mind. He had to concentrate on the task. He continued slashing down all the vines and cobwebs as he made his way through the dank forests of the Dragon's Breath. It was not the first time had come through these parts, but it was getting late and it was hard to cut a path through those trees. The darkness of Asia after the landing of the Genesis Comet was overwhelming. Eventually, the shrubbery around the two began to get thinner and thinner. Until Setsuya had finally slashed his way through into an open clearing. Large. The grass in this part of the Forest was, for some reason, rather trim, cutting in shape around a large stone structure, smack dab in the centre of the clearing. That building looked more of a shrine, built of aging stone and wood, the open air windows and wooden foundations rotting from wear of the rain. Didn't look like the kind of structure you'd find in China, but they weren't in a Safe-Zone anymore. The world outside the security of the Safe-Zones was a harsh and confusing place. Oddball scenes like this were a kind of normality. Setsuya stepped out into the clearing, sheathing Tetsuzanko at the thin scabbard at his hips. Then turned to Chen Hu, whose foot had been caught in a ground-borne vine that he shook at. "What did you lead me here for?" Setsuya questioned. His voice was a little sharper than usual. Mostly because he was far too concerned with Lin-Lin and the attackers than some remote building centred in a forest. Chen Hu shook his foot loose, then replied, "...Inside that place is the reason why those attackers raided our village. I think you should know of it." "This about that sword?" The younger man asked, "'Cause I find it hard to believe that people that organized would tear up an entire village just to capture a weapon they have no need for. Why would men carrying guns need a sword?" Chen Hu shook his head, "You Japanese are too logical. Sometimes things aren't always what they seem to be. And the sword in there might be the only thing that can help my poor Lin-Lin." Setsuya growled. This wasn't the first time someone had hounded him about his lack of faith. But all he cared about now was rescuing Lin-Lin. If her grandfather said something was in there that could help him; then the Japanese youth had to take the chance. First thing was to get inside that place. Setsuya turned to the withered wooden door that blocked off the building from entry. It was full of holes and covered with spider webs. It was safe to say that nobody had entered the place in a while. There was no doorknob either. So, being impulsive as he was, Setsuya hauled off and kicked the door. His boot rammed into the rotting wood of the door and it instantly broke from the hinges, falling backwards till it slammed in the stone floor innards. A cloud of dust passed outwards from the door, and a pack of rats scurried away with their tiny little squeaks. This place wasn't very well maintained. Which made a lot of sense, since nobody even seemed to come here. Setsuya marched inwards, ignored the dirt and dust, taking a glimpse at the inside of the stone shack. It was even more grim looking than it was from the outside. Tables and chairs were littered over at the corners of the room. All battered, all in disrepair. The walls had grown thick with darkening damp and greenish mould, while the floor (and the dusty carpet on it) was covered with crusty white patches. Obviously the droppings of birds that had flown in through the slit, glassless windows. Setsuya's chocolate brown eyes rolled from the condition of the room to something just ahead of him and Chen Hu. It was a podium. Small and well sculpted. It was still draped with cobwebs, just like the others parts of the room, but this podium still looked somewhat new and clean. And upon that podium was a sword. Setsuya cast his eyes upon it for the first time. It was a Japanese-like design. Shaped almost like a katana. But the blade itself was a tiny bit shorter than your average katana. The hilt had very strange patterns around it, shaped like animals and symbols. And the butt had been capped off with a gold end. It had gleam and polish; and looked far too beautiful to be trapped in a god-forsaken place such as this. Setsuya blinked, soaking up the skill of its design. It was almost as if he were drawn to it... "Is this..." Setsuya couldn't take is eyes off the blade, "...the sword...?" Chen Hu nodded, stepping ahead with stern eyes. "Yes. This is what they kidnapped my dear Lin-Lin for. Do you know what it is?" "A sword." Setsuya replied, bluntly. "Not just a sword," Chen Hu turned his eyes to give the blade a glance, "This is a weapon that is relevant to your past, you know. Something I probably should have mentioned the first time we met." Setsuya finally took his eyes away from the sword. "What are you getting at?" And Chen Hu gave his answer. "You are Setsuya Seisuji. Son of Keijiro Seisuji. The man who led the first ever excavation of the Genesis Comet. The man who went into its cavernous bowels and discovered four ‘Sacred Swords'." Now Setsuya understood. "...Are you saying that this is one of the swords that my Dad found inside the Genesis Comet...?" "Yes, it is." Chen Hu said. Setsuya was in shock. He had heard stories about them before, but he had never seen one. At least not to his knowledge. "So... this is the reason my Father was killed... all for those Four Sacred Swords..." "Do not underestimate their importance," Chen Hu warned, "I have long been aware that those swords will come to decide the fate of the world. I fear that Lin-Lin's capture is just the first step in a chain of events that will change the very foundations of this Earth." Setsuya looked down at Chen Hu. "...How did you get a hold of this?" "About five years ago," The village elder started, "A strange man from the west came to our village. The man had been badly beaten though we had no idea who had done such a thing. We nursed him back to health, and eventually he told me a little about himself. He was a weapons collector, and refused to be identified as anything but that. He had acquired one of the legendary blades that your Father found inside the Comet. The one Keijiro had dubbed as Fire Cutter. The Weapons Collector told me of its great powers and that he no longer had the strength to carry such a sword. Before he left us, he told me to keep it at our village. And under no circumstances was I ever to give it away. I granted him this request and so we kept the sword here for safe keeping. I truth I had forgotten all about it until a week ago. A group of soldiers came to the village and demanded to see a sword that could ‘conjure the power of flame'. I now knew that the sword was indeed special. And I knew that on no account should I give the sword to them. But I had no idea they would actually attack my village..." Setsuya nodded and walked up to the sword. He placed his hand on the smooth blade, and blinked. It was actually warm. No wonder the blade was infused with the power of Fire Magic. There was nothing to be said against the idea. "Setsuya..." Chen Hu addressed the boy again, "That sword is special. If I had known that group was going to kidnap my Lin-Lin... I would have probably given it to them. But those people have proven themselves to be evil. You must save Lin-Lin. You must wield that sword and use its power to get my granddaughter back. I know this is a selfish request, but I must ask..." "No," Setsuya waved Chen Hu's concerns off, "I want to rescue Lin-Lin just as much as you do. Those people are not to be trusted. And I can tell there is more to this thing then just stealing a sword. They have a hidden agenda. I'm going to find out just what it is as soon as I find Lin-Lin." That was his determination. Setsuya's gloved hand shot forwards and took a firm grip of the Fire Cutter. The sword seemed to take an even brighter gleam as he did this. Not an illusion. Setsuya gasped as a dragon-shaped flame appeared at the hilt of the sword. It travelled down the steel of the blade in a spiral. It grew bigger and bigger until it hit the stone of the podium, dissipating with a flash. It left behind a trail of smoke and made the sword easier to free from its resting place. Setsuya took the blade up from the stone and gazed once more at its wonderful beauty. Though Setsuya couldn't really understand it, he felt that his fate was tied into the fate of the Fire Cutter now. Just what path had he accepted to walk on now that he and the Fire Cutter were one?
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