Thankyou thankyou thankyou for the reviews guys, you have no idea how much they're appreciated, and I'm really glad you're all enjoying the story. Next chapter might be a little hard to understand on the first read through, but if you just pay attention to the time of day, you should get it.
Regarding the Irish: Think of Charity as something like Earth. With all of our nationalities [plus extras, of course] and races. So for example like there will be people with an Irish accent, there would probably also be people with a British accent [example being the drug addict with what I tried to put across as a Scouse accent that takes Creed to the mob in Chapter 005]. So yeah, I guess that part is left up for your own thought to decide upon really though.
Also, although I figure I shoulda done this earlier, let me know if you want me to PM you whenever I post up a new chapter, and I'll make sure that I do so.
I feel as though I've dragged on a bit, and well, major event, as it were, happens now, eheh. Enjoy!
-Josh
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Chapter 009: (The girl that had) Stockholm syndrome I
Hydrus stood atop the Planetist building, a good half mile above the city. A light rain fell upon his face as the breeze filtered through his hair, causing it to almost flow slightly. He checked his watch, which read that it was just after 4pm in the afternoon. Above him, the clouds were circling around the building, slowly climbing downwards into the lower atmosphere of Charity. As time passed, Hydrus remained silent upon the rooftop, standing almost like a Gargoyle statue that had been there since the construction of the building. The clouds began to encircle the Planetist building, and formed an impenetrable storm around the upper parts of the headquarters.
Behind him, the doors to the rooftop opened up, and out stepped Professor Caroll, her lab coat picking up in the light breeze. Underneath she wore a black vest top and what appeared to be shorts. She walked over to Hydrus briskly, looking briefly into the air before averting her gaze once more to the leader of the Planetists. She rolled her eyes at the dramatic pose the old man had taken to mark the coming of the new Angel, and stood beside him.
“Must you make a show Hydrus? You know as well as I do that the angels aren’t what the people are led to believe they are.”
“Of course I must make a show Professor! For if I don’t then the drama cannot be felt! And what good is an Angel appearance without drama my dear?”
“It’s a waste of money to send them into the sky, only to fall back down to us… we can get them to activate in other ways, you know.”
“Silence Professor.” Hydrus’ voice had become sharp and final, “regardless of what the Angels are, they are still miracles in their own right, and deserve the attention we give them.”
“Yes well, I feel you’ll be giving this Angel all the attention it truly deserves. I’ll be in 99 if you want me.”
“Won’t you stay? Look to the stars now my dear! He is upon us! I wonder what he shall name himself…”
The Professor went to open her mouth, but as she formed the words in her throat she was interrupted by a blinding flash of light above her. The clouds all at once parted and what looked like a flaming red meteor was careening around in the clouds, steadily moving towards the building. The creature flew above the heads of the Professor and Hydrus several times, before landing with a force powerful enough to cause a good percentage of the roof to form cracks within its surface. The door to the rooftop of the building opened once more and Creed stepped out, followed by a young, slender woman with blonde hair and lightning blue eyes that seemed to reflect the daylight. And so it was that the four Planetists leaders laid eyes upon the greatest Angel to ever be conceived together upon his entry to Charity.
At first the angel was nothing more than a bright white light, that shone from the top of the Planetist headquarters for all of Solar to behold, but as the light began to fade, it seemed to reform itself into the figure of a smartly dressed man. His hair was long and combed back, which allowed for his sharp piercing eyes to be the centre of attention on his face. The eyes ran deep, and were black as coal. Creed had often tried to describe the eyes of the Angel, long after he had first bore witness to it.
“Of all that struck me, it had been the eyes that caught my attention most. They were black as the pits of hell you scared your children with when they were small, as to stop them misbehaving, and yet they were as light as that promise you gave them for good behaviour. Something within those portals into the abyss shone brilliantly, and though you could only see it for a split second after much concentration, it set the Angel apart from all others, they were an amazing sight to behold, the eyes of that Angel.”
The Angel’s face was clean shaven, and long, slim as it were. His chin came round perfectly, and was a compliment to the rest of his perfectly formed face. Upon his torso he wore a jet black suit, with a red, silk shirt, complete with a black tie. His pants were much the same as the suit, and his shoes were brilliantly shined. To anyone who didn’t know better, the Angel would have looked like an extremely well off businessman.
“Welcome to the Planet charity my son!!” cried Hydrus in sheer joy at the creation that stood before him and the other Planetists leaders. He stood surveying the Angel before speaking once more, “I hope you will show us many new things, and restore the faith of the Planetist faction that has been dwindling in recent years once more! Tell me my son, what is your name?”
The Angel stood staring deep into the eyes of Hydrus, studying him carefully from head to toe, and at last raising his eyebrows, and forming a grin across his face. After a time he spoke, “my name is Carbine. What are yours?” he asked, motioning around to the other three Planetists, as well as Hydrus.
“Carbine! What a wonderful name, yes… Carbine is an excellent name indeed!” Hyrdus raised his hands and a smile once more spread across his face, he then slowly lowered his arms and motioned first to Creed, “This, Carbine, is Creed, my most trusted of all generals of the Planetist army! Stood behind him is my daughter, Princess of the Planetists, Andromeda! And stood alone towards the doorway is the woman responsible for all that you are, my most trusted Professor, Miss Caroll J. Holly.”
Carbine stood surveying the other three Planetist leaders for several moments. Creed was dressed in his usual black attire, his crimson scimitar hung from his waist. Behind him, the Princess Andromeda smiled and bowed lightly. Carbine spent the most of his time looking at the Professor, who seemed to stare into his eyes as calmly as anyone else’s, she was the only one of the four that had managed to stand his gaze for longer than a few seconds. Hydrus seemed to think she had gave a slight nod towards the angel, and then to himself, however he ignored it, thinking of it as nothing but a greeting. At length Hydrus spoke once more.
“Now Carbine, allow me to explain what we require you to do for us, it’ll” but he was cut off in mid-sentence by Professor Caroll,
“I’m afraid that Carbine doesn’t really care what he’s supposed to do, if you’re the one telling him, that is.” As she spoke, a small smile seemed to creep over her lips, and she walked slowly towards Creed and Andromeda, separating herself from Hydrus through moving so that Carbine was between them both.
“What?” Hydrus spoke, “what do you mean, Professor?”
“She means,” Creed interjected, “that the time of Hydrus is at an end, and a new leader of our faction has been born today.”
A look of horror spread across Hydrus’ face, and he felt his entire body begin to grow tense, his eyes darted to the people stood facing him, until they came at rest onto his daughter, Andromeda, and he swallowed a lump in his throat before speaking once more. “Andromeda, my dear sweet daughter, did you know of this… treachery?”
“Yeah, I knew all about it, and truth be told father,” a light shone in Andromeda’s eyes, “I supported it through to the end, which just happens to be today!”
Hydrus stood for a moment, and felt a million thoughts race through his mind, slowly but surely, he began to regain his composure, shaking his head and forming a smile before once more allowing himself to speak, “You think you can take me down with an Angel? Have my own fellow leaders and even my own daughter overlooked the greatness that is I? Hydrus, the leader of the greatest faction to ever exist upon Charity, no, not just Charity, but in the entire galaxy!” Hydrus’ voice began to increase in volume, and intensity as he spoke, “if you plan on taking me from my existence, unfathomable by all means to you, and greater than any God’s, then you won’t be given an easy task!” he shouted, and seemed to grow in size, and power. Above him, storm clouds began to crackle, and before anyone came to see it happen, a great storm had risen from sleep above their heads, and rain had began to lash down upon the rooftops of Solar once more.
“So this is the power of my father…” Andromeda said, her eyes filled with thought and awe, as the rain became a furious torrent. Creed and the Professor stood smiling at the show they had finally set up, Creed spoke at length “Let the fun begin my dears.”
The three turned tail and entered the building once more, leaving Hydrus and Carbine stood alone on the roof. They entered the observation deck, which held its place underneath a large clock tower. Creed looked up at the magnificent architecture of the tower and saw that it was barely 4:30pm. The three stood at the window, enabling their vision of the battle that was about to unfurl. They were soon joined by many employees, all curious to see what the sudden commotion was about. Hydrus and Carbine stood face to face, an enormous power coursing through the veins of them both, while just underneath them, in the confines of the building, four familiar faces, and one unfamiliar, had just entered the 130th floor of the Planetist headquarters.
***
Gala awoke to the obnoxious sound of his alarm clock, and saw that it was just a minute after 3am. He groaned and shut the alarm off, turning over in his bed and pulling the covers up over his face. The meeting the night before had decided that today was the day of the infiltration, and they had decided to make their attack in the extreme earliness of the morning. To Gala, all that meant was that all the members of Reach had to miss out on an extravagant party in the club, to celebrate the birthday of one of the regulars, as they had to turn in as soon as their meeting was over. Moments after Gala had shut off his alarm, Beatrix stood in the doorway and blew a foghorn, causing Gala to jump out of bed faster than a bullet and fall in a heap on the floor, groaning once again.
“Morning Gala!” She exclaimed cheerfully, and walked out of the room, hoping that she was able to give Mikoto a similar call, the sight of Gala falling out of bed like that had lifted her spirits greatly. To her surprise, and also dismay, she found Mikoto already up and dressed, sitting on her bed and tying the laces in her shoes. Beatrix flicked back her hair and rolled her eyes,
“You’re always ruining my fun Mikoto, you know that?” Mikoto just laughed and shrugged her shoulders,
“Yeah well, I wouldn’t want you doing that kind of thing to me anyway, that was cruel Bea.”
Beatrix just laughed and walked out of the room, allowing Mikoto to finish dressing. Edge was already in the club area of Reunion, drinking out of his flask as always. He nodded to Beatrix as she walked into the light of the bar, and sat down. She was dressed in a sky-blue vest top, and jeans that stopped at her ankles. Edge looked at her uneasily before speaking, “what’s with the clothes? You’re going on a mission, not a picnic.” Beatrix just laughed and shrugged, her spirits were aloft and the vision of Gala being frightened out of bed was still fresh in her mind. At length she spoke,
“I was going to wear the usual attire, but then I figured that considering this was going to be a long mission, I’d probably get a bit uncomfortable in it, so I dressed casually, I think it makes a nice change.”
“Leather would have been more appropriate Beatrix.” Edge replied.
“You’re just as much a pervert as Gala at heart, aren’t you?” She answered back, before walking out of the bar and back upstairs. Edge sat for a moment contemplating a reply, but the only thing he could come up with was a profanity, that as far as he was concerned, wasn’t worth the thought of anyway.
Eventually, the members of Reach were prepared for the mission and ready to leave. Gala was in his usual clothes, the custom jeans he always wore, and his favourite white jacket, that had recently picked up a nice crosshatch pattern. Mikoto had claimed he looked like a fashion disaster, but Gala shrugged it off, he liked what he liked. Mikoto had dressed herself in much the same fashion as Beatrix, and Edge was, as always, in his Black coat and hat, with the jet black sunglasses covering his eyes. The clock struck 3:30am and reach left Reunion.
They walked silently through the perpetually busy streets of Solar, making their way once more to the Northern Central station. Cars drove past as they always did, and the street lamps above their heads illuminated the path through the streets with a stale orange glow. Before long they had reached the station and had entered, the familiar artificial glow of the ceiling clock (3:45am) illuminated the entire place. Homeless people stirred in their sleeping places, but none woke up. Gala looked up at the train timer, the next was due – they were right on time. Plan’s going alright so far, but then again we’re only in the opening stages… eheh. Gala thought to himself, advancing into the middle of the station's interior.
The train roared into the station, and the companions boarded. Mikoto stood as she always did, in front of the map of the entire network. Beatrix and Edge sat in one of the seats, and Gala, as he always did on the trains of Solar, sat apart from the rest of the group and entered his own little world. Time seemed to pass with very little haste, and the train seemed to be taking a year and a day to get to the downtown district of Solar, but eventually the driver announced that they had completed their journey, and the next station was indeed, Grand Central.
As they alighted, it was apparent that the journey had taken them exactly forty-five minutes, so the enormous clock, that had been swiftly repaired since the confrontation after Leonardo’s assassination took place, read out that it was now 4:30am. Twelve hours stood between reach and the battle between Carbine and Hydrus upon the rooftop of the Planetists Headquarters, although nobody knew of that event at this moment.
Reach ran through the Downtown district. It was still around an hour or so until sunrise, however the streets were never silent, and it was as if it were daytime in downtown Solar. The stores were open, and there was life in every window. Solar was indeed the city that never slept, both in a literal and figurative sense. As reach ran, the Planetist tower grew larger and loomed above their heads. The impenetrable fortress that these four mercenaries were about to attempt a break in entry to.
They reached the Northern entrance to the building after a long walk, and climbing up what seemed like a never ending staircase. Gala was last to reach the summit of the stair mountain, exclaiming loudly that he now understood why all of the employees of the Planetists’ were extremely fit. They entered the building and looked around them, their fingers twitching slightly, hovering above the hilt of their weapons. All that Beatrix had directed them to do was follow her, and not get lost. They walked over to the reception desk, and a young girl greeted them with a smile.
“I’m sorry but visiting hours are only between the hours of 12noon and 12midnight, you’ll have to come back soon I’m afraid” she explained to the members of Reach. Beatrix looked doubtful already, and couldn’t believe they had overlooked this. It was now deemed necessary to cause a ruckus, and it was only just after 6am, getting to the headquarters from the station had taken longer than what was originally expected. Beatrix stood dumbfounded, until Gala quickly interjected,
“We’re uh, here for maintenance!” he exclaimed, grinning, “yeah that’s it, maintenance!”
The woman at the counter looked slightly puzzled for a moment and checked her monitor, noting that there were several maintenance checks to be held that day, either by sheer chance or fate. She issued the four of them with clearance cards and allowed their entry. The guards at the lift moved aside and let them inside.
“I honestly… didn’t ever think that excuse worked…” said Gala after some time.
“Neither did I, least of all in the ‘impenetrable fortress’ or whatever” laughed Mikoto.
“Don’t be too hasty yet though, I mean, that was too easy. Almost... ah whatever, we made it through so far, let’s be happy!” replied Gala, causing the rest of Reach to nod in agreement. The lift carried on moving upwards, and the electronic counter eventually indicated that they had reached the 67th floor of the building. As the doors to the lift opened they found themselves face to face with at least 50 gun barrels. “Oh shitty” whimpered Gala, before everything went black…
***
Mikoto awoke in a small, dank room. She had been stripped of everything but her clothes and watch. Looking around her she noticed that the cell was locked with a large electric current in place of the door that licked dangerously into the room every now and then. She also noted a small, sleeping girl that she seemed to share her hold with. Sitting down against the wall, she imagined that her companions were also being held in cells not unlike this one. She looked once more at the girl, and saw that her face was covered in freckles, and her hair was tousled and a fair brown colour. She was wearing a red shirt with no particular design, and deep blue shorts that came to her knees. In her hand she held a small white bear that seemed to have the thread where its mouth would be missing, as was noted by a small indent created by the thread when it once existed. Around her neck Mikoto saw a small pendant, and realised that it bore striking resemblance to her own. She drew hers out and looked upon it. It was small, silver, and with two letters that she couldn’t quite make out engraved upon it.
She leaned over to the girl and took the pendant in her hand, and her own in her other hand, and sat looking at them both very carefully. The design of the two was exactly the same, and they both had the unclear engraving upon them. Mikoto shook her head and set herself back down against the wall, staring up at the unknown ceiling. Her mind drifted to what had become of her companions, and where they were. There she sat, for what seemed like an eternity, until the small girl stirred and awoke, blinking softly and staring at Mikoto. Mikoto looked blankly back, not looking at the girl, but not looking away from her either.
“Who are you pretty lady?” the girl eventually asked. Mikoto maintained her blank look until the question registered in her brain,
“I’m not a pretty lady, that’s for sure.” Mikoto said with a small sigh, “I’m Mikoto. Nice to meet you uhh…?”
“Prude! And you are pretty! You have a nice name too!” the small girl exclaimed with a smile.
“Prude huh? Nice… how old are you?”
“Six! I’m a big girl and don’t you forget it!” Prude replied, maintaining her broad smile, Mikoto noticed a small gap between her two front teeth.
“I never said… never mind.” Mikoto shook her head, “what are you doing here in a place like this?”
“This is my home! Isn’t it cosy?”
“Not really the word I’d use to describe it, but sure thing kiddo. How long have you been here?”
“I don’t know… since I was little I think. I only see my mummy once a week.”
“Your… mommy?” Mikoto asked,
“Yeah! She’s really nice, she’s a professor!” Prude replied with a large grin, “and really pretty too! I’ll always protect my mummy and never leave her alone!”
“That’s… cool. I mean really. Anyway, do you know of how to get out of here?” Mikoto asked, a slightly puzzled expression at the girl’s delight of her situation spreading across her face,
“Why would you want to do a silly thing like that?” Prude asked, cocking her head slightly, “Big pretty girls are so weird… oh well!” With that, Prude turned from Mikoto and began to play with her bear. Mikoto motioned her lips to speak, but no words came; only confusion filled her mind. Her thoughts drifted back to what had happened since they came into the headquarters. The last thing she remembered was their entry being really easy, and then it went black after a loud cracking noise.
As she sat, Mikoto thought she could hear a storm rising outside, and a faint crack of thunder could be heard, rippling through the confines of wherever she was. Several guards went rushing past, shouting out about something on the rooftop. Mikoto stood and walked over to the electric fence that barred the doorway.
“I wouldn’t touch that if I wear you!” Prude suddenly said, causing Mikoto to jump and turn around.
“I figured” Mikoto replied, but as she did, the lights of the building seemed to dim out, and the electric barrier gave way. Mikoto stepped out into the corridor outside her cell, and looking up and down she saw that the other four members of Reach were at last making an appearance. Down the bottom of the hallway a clock read out that it was just after 4:20pm in the afternoon. They had all spent the best part of the day in the cell, and hadn’t found out anything in regards to the angels. All they had accomplished was a huge slip up.
“Wonder what’s going on upstairs?” shouted Gala to the rest of Reach. Mikoto turned to look at Prude, who had stood up herself. She looked up at Mikoto,
“What if mummy is in trouble pretty lady?” she asked, a hint of fear tainting her voice.
“Lets go find out what’s going on alright Prude?” Mikoto replied, stretching her arm out and allowing the young girl to take hold of her hand. They stepped out into the corridor, as the lights flickered on and off, and the storm began to resonate through the air once more, increasing in volume as the claps of thunder rolled overhead. The other members of Reach gave the child a funny look as Mikoto led her towards the group.
“Who’s the kid Mikoto?” Gala eventually asked, bending his knees so his face became level with Prude’s. As he did so Prude hid behind Mikoto’s leg, and peeped around at Gala.
“Her name is Prude, don’t know why she’s here, or how she got here, but she’s here nonetheless, and apparently some professor in this building is her mum, so yeah” Mikoto replied, then she looked down at Prude, who was still hiding behind her, and spoke softly, “It’s alright Prude, these are my friends, they won’t do anything bad.” As the words left Mikoto’s lips a shot of confidence entered Prude and she stepped out, smiling at Beatrix, Edge and Gala. They all smiled back, save for Edge, who looked solemn as he always did.
Beatrix spoke after a moment, “we haven’t got our weapons… what now?”
“This is the 129th floor, above us is storage and the Guard quarters, and then above that the roof.” Edge replied, “we should head up, if our weapons are anywhere, they’re there.”
“Alright! Lets rock and roll then!” shouted Gala, and dashed off towards the stairwell at the far end of the corridor, before the rest of Reach swiftly followed. They passed a small clock at the entrance to the staircase; its face read that it was just after 4:25pm, and as they ascended, the storm above their heads grew ever louder. They reached the top of the staircase and hesitated briefly before peering outwards. The final floor of the Planetist headquarters was a corridor not unlike the one below them. They walked along, passing several store rooms. In the sixth room they found their weapons and gear lying on a small table, with several chairs situated around it. One of the chairs had been stained with blood recently, and on the table in front of the chair Gala’s two guns were placed, looking as innocent as a gun could hope to be.
“Gotta love that security mechanism, it’s the shit, I swear!” Gala exclaimed with a grin, as he picked up his weapons and swung them on his fingers momentarily before placing them in their holsters. The rest of the members of Reach smiled at the thought of what had happened when the unfortunate guard had picked up the weapons and had his hands wiped out by the security blades situated in the guns handle. Once they had picked up their own weapons they left the room and continued along the corridor, eventually reaching the stairwell separating them from the safe confines of the building and the epic battle that was about to take place upon the roof of the Planetist Headquarters.
They climbed swiftly, as the voices of approaching guards echoed through the corridor from whence they came, and as Edge stepped up the first stair of the stairwell, he turned to look down the corridor once more and saw the head of two guards entering the floor from the opposite stairwell. He embarked on his ascent, catching up with the rest of reach and before long finding level ground once more. They had now reached a fork in their path, another flight of stairs with a small signpost that read “observation deck” or a path to a doorway on their right. They opted for the staircase and climbed up the few steps and opened the door, before realising they had intruded on what looked like a tremendous gathering of Planetists. Gala spotted Creed next to the window, stood beside what he thought were two very attractive women. He grinned and went to step forward, however as he did so Prude broke free of Mikoto’s hold and called out to the professor.
“Mummy!” the small girl cried, and tripped over herself. The guards moved in on her however they soon stepped back as Professor Caroll picked her up and carried her away. Creed turned and saw the members of Reach staring back at him, a small smile spread across his face before he spoke.
“Come over my friends! The fun is about to begin! You’re about to see a reformation beyond your wildest dreams! And by stroke of luck or by sheer fate, you have front row seats! Settle in now, and pay attention!”
Reach made their way, feeling somewhat uneasy by the sudden kindness, if it could be called so, displayed by whom they thought would be their greatest adversary. Looking out of the observation window they saw the Angel, Carbine and the fabled Planetist leader, Hydrus, stood face to face, with the terrible storm raging around them both. Gala was continually distracted by Andromeda, as she was by he, and both of them missed the first seconds of the fight outside. Beatrix and Edge shifted uneasily, where Mikoto stared out into the bleak gray haven that was the rooftop of the Planetist headquarters.
Hydrus shouted to Carbine, and his voice boomed with a tremendous power and will, “come at me, fell Angel, and I’ll show you the true power of a Planetist leader!” Carbine looked down and away from Hydrus, which seemed to irritate the Planetist more than anything else, and he launched his assault.
A white hot blast of energy erupted from the hand of Hydrus, which almost blinded the observers. Hydrus grinned and loosened the energy from his hand, however as he did so Carbine erupted from the blast, and before Hydrus knew what had happened, the Angel had let loose a full assault on him like no other he had ever felt, or bore witness to.
The flurry of punches and the speed at which they hit was second only to that of light, and Hydrus felt himself being pushed backwards by each punch, as it exploded into his body. As quickly as it had started the assault stopped, and Carbine pulled back from the leader momentarily, allowing Hydrus to cough up something incredibly foul tasting and thick into his mouth. He spat out the substance - blood. Carbine spat a small ball of spit and launched a fresh attack; however Hydrus was this time prepared, and jumped swiftly out of the way, before crashing down onto the Angel with another white hot energy flash. He dived from where he had jumped and almost could be said to have been flying. His fist met with Carbine's face and caused the angel to crash down to the floor. Several areas of the roof felt the severity of the hit and crumbled down into the abyss.
“Is he one of your creations, Professor?” Edge asked, looking away from the fight and towards Professor Caroll. She looked back at him and studied him for a moment in wonder, before answering,
“Yes. My finest work, I must say. You are?” She asked, but Edge turned away and nodded his head towards the fight once more, which turned her attention back outside.
Carbine had regained himself and stood up, and looked completely unhurt. Hydrus smiled at him and launched another energy blast towards him, however Carbine suddenly disappeared from the spot and reappeared almost instantaneously behind Hydrus, pulling him backwards and hanging them both over the edge of the Planetist building. Hydrus felt himself turned upside down and looking into a grey abyss. Nothingness was below him, until after half a mile of falling, where he would meet stone cold concrete. The world became suddenly quiet, as the storm above seemed to lessen, and the rain turned from torrential into drizzle. Then, moments later, the world seemed to rush by, as if a strong wind had picked up, and Hydrus closed his eyes to the world around him.
End of Chapter 009.