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NetStar Chronology - Chapter 18 |
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Red, Blue, and Yellow awoke feeling depressed and without much will. It was almost as if they hadn't slept at all, how terrible they felt. They decided to meet on the couch.
"Hey..." Red waved. "How'd everyone sleep?"
"Horribly." Blue groaned.
"I second that." Yellow sighed.
"Well, it's good to know I wasn't the only one, then." Red shook her head.
"What are we going to do now?" Yellow asked.
"I don't know." Red frowned. "Anybody hungry?"
"I'll eat later." Blue told her. "Maybe."
"Nah." Yellow responded.
Red sulked into the kitchen.
"I took him for granted." Yellow continued. "If I had convinced him to stay out of The Empire's affairs..."
"Charlotte." Blue interrupted. "It isn't your fault."
"Yes it is! I could have stopped him, but I didn't."
"And why was that?"
"Because I felt the same way he did..."
"Then, you shouldn't have any regrets."
"But, Yamato..."
"Look, Terra told me no matter what happens, as long as you know you tried, you shouldn't feel bad."
"But that's just the thing. I could have tried harder! I just know there could have been a different outcome."
"It could have been one of us, or all of us. We can't control how things turn out, sometimes."
"I... I wish we could. If I had my way, Iota would be at peace. There would be no Empire, or crime, or anything. Just people living in harmony. But... things aren't so simple. Everyone has their different beliefs, and some of them are so extreme that they don't care what happens, so long as they get what they want. The ends justify the means. I just... I just want my brother back."
"I know how you feel, Charlotte."
"Oh, you had a sister. That's right."
"Yes. And I have to tell you, it hurts a lot. I still regret not connecting with her more. I still wish I could have somehow prevented her death. It's going to keep hurting for a long time. You never truly forget those you really love."
"I know..."
"But just think about what he'd want you to do. Just because he's dead, doesn't mean you have to be."
"I might as well be. You might have the will to move on, but I don't."
"We need you, though." Blue started showing his sadness. "Don't you see? Even though it was he who organized us, we need you now more than ever to keep us going. If you don't, we're just going to fall apart. I'm going to go back to trying to kill James, and Terra will probably go back to annoying me and Vincent."
"I don't want to cause conflict. I want to end it. But how can we end conflict with more fighting? If Miyamoto wanted a peaceful world, didn't he realize that fighting just brings more conflict?"
"Sometimes you need to use the conflict to wipe away those who would disturb the peace. If the word falters, charge ahead with the sword. It sounds cruel, but sometimes that's the only way out."
"And this is one of those times." Yellow frowned. "But, I don't want to fight. I just want to fall asleep, and never wake up again."
Blue stared at her for a moment.
"Don't..." Blue looked down.
"What?"
"Just... don't say things like that." He looked away.
"Are you... okay?" Yellow put a hand on his shoulder.
He was trying to hide it, but some tear spots were visible on his pants.
He's just as torn up about this as I am. Yellow thought. If not worse. He's already lost two people he cared about, and I'm not helping at all...
"Yamato." She said quietly. "I'm... sorry. I shouldn't have said that..."
She wrapped her arms around him, and he leaned into her not caring for his expression. The both of them cried for their lost ally, without a worry for anything else.
However... their mourning was in vain. For in the unpopulated reaches of Kotobuki, their "dead" ally was awakening.
Green had lost everything but his shorts and his wrappings, including Seven Force and his original wakazashi. At first, his shifting was subtle, but then he grabbed some grass and gravel in his hands. He groaned a little, then hauled himself up.
"I..." He looked himself over. "I'm alive..."
He flexed his arms, rolled his neck and shoulders, stretched his back, then bent his knees.
"Nothing's broken." He continued. "Somehow, I survived that collision. It's strange... I can remember every moment leading up to the crash, yet I feel no serious pain. But, it would seem I lost Seven Force."
"Who is there?" A voice asked.
"Miyamoto." He answered.
"Captain Green! Oh, thank goodness!" Eddie came into the clearing. "I've been trying to see if anyone else was in this forest. You look horrible!"
"Yeah..." Green chuckled. "I have seen better days. Do you know if Athena is safe?"
"Sorry, I don't. The last I saw of her was when we were intercepting Yamato and his female friends."
"Come on, we need to find her."
"Right. But, don't you care about the other Captains?"
"Not really." Green frowned. "Athena was the only one who treated me with respect. Everyone else was just a p***k."
"I completely agree. Let's go."
Green nodded, and the both of them walked through the many, but spread apart, trees.
Nearby, Pink and Orange were walking together.
"I'm relieved that you're okay, Athena." Orange smiled broadly. "Lucky that I found you."
"I don't exactly share those sentiments." She frowned.
"You still don't like me? Ah, come on. How can you not like me?"
"Too many reasons to count."
"Well, I guess you won't want to use this time to bond with me, huh?"
"Not really."
"Too bad." He frowned. "Ah, well, we should find Admiral Daisaku, anyhow."
"You can, if you want. I'm going to search for my Lieutenant."
"Oh, what? He's expendable. The only people who are really important are the Captains and the Admiral. You've been acting weird, ever since George was killed."
Pink glared at him for a moment, then sighed.
"That's your opinion. I'm worried about Eddie. When I find him, I'm going to look for Miyamoto, as well."
"Bah!" He scowled. "Why would you want to look for him?"
"Because he shows me respect, and doesn't flirt like you do. Plus, he's not overconfident."
"You like James, don't you?"
"Not really. He's kinda creepy. But, I like him a lot more than I like you."
"Rrgh. I don't need to stick around for this."
"Bye." She waved.
Orange trodded off. Soon after he left, she heard footsteps approaching.
"Is there another here?" She called. "Hail!"
"Captain Pink?" Eddie responded. "Is that you?"
"Lieutenant!" She snapped in a friendly manner. "Make yourself visible!"
He dashed out, and stood up straight.
"Ma'am!" He smiled, but kept his officious posture.
"Good to see you're safe. Now we can go look for Miyamoto."
"I'll save you the trouble." Green said as he walked into view.
"Miyamoto!" She smiled, then looked shocked. "Oh my! What happened?"
Green hesitated a moment, then sighed.
"After I lost to Terra, Yamato, and my sister, I concealed myself. Daisaku had imbued Satarage's power into Supreme, but the results were not what we expected. Supreme revolted, and an arguement broke out. It resulted in Daisaku getting knocked clear across the room."
"Oh my." Pink blinked.
"They had no choice but to fight Supreme, in his new found power. They got rocked at first, but eventually they beat him. In desperation, Supreme destroyed the Eclipse, then started fleeing towards Iota. By that time, Daisaku had gained consciousness, and organized a few of the remaining Ghosts. They gave chase, as well as my old allies, then me. Daisaku tried one last time to subdue the rampant Supreme, but he made his point clear by blasting him. I don't know if he survived... but I knew I had to do something."
"What did you do?"
"The only thing I could think of." Green started to hesitate. "And, it was a perfect opportunity, too. I could both save Iota, and repent for my betrayal. I flew full speed at Supreme, knowing that the shock would probably terminate the both of us."
"Did you..." Pink stared in surprise. "You meant to kill yourself as well? Why, Miyamoto?"
"As I said. Repentance for my betrayal." He frowned.
"But, you didn't betray them on your own free will. Daisaku was the one who forced you to help us."
"Still, I turned on my friends, fought them as enemies, and opposed what they stood for."
"You did this... but did you realize that there are people who care about you?" Pink raised her voice. "Did you intend to throw your life away, knowing that your friends would be affected? And what about your sister? I'm sure she's crying her eyes out right now!"
Green frowned even more.
"What do you have to say for yourself?" Pink continued. "What about me? Did you consider my feelings... Miyamoto?"
Pink lowered her voice, and frowned.
"I'm... I'm sorry, Athena." He looked down. "I wasn't thinking. I acted on impulse, and all I cared about at that moment was saving Iota."
"While that was noble deed, it was still very crazy."
Green sighed.
"But sometimes, you gotta be a little crazy, if you want to achieve your goal." She smiled softly.
"Yeah." He nodded.
"So, are you going to come with me to search for Daisaku?"
"I'll... catch up with you later." Green frowned. "I just need some time to myself."
"Okay. But you know, anytime you want to talk... I'll be right there."
She hugged him tightly. Neither of them noticed Eddie talking on his communicator.
"Athena..." He whispered in her ear.
"What, Miyamoto?" She whispered back.
"I have to go."
"Go? Go where?"
"I'm leaving. It's no offense to you... I like you a lot. But, I need to see if Charlotte is okay."
"I understand." She held him tighter. "But... I will see you again, won't I?"
"When it's most convenient for you. You know my frequency."
"Right."
They both detached. Pink moved her face closer to his, and looked into his eyes.
"Captain Pink." Eddie said, then looked at them. "Oh... sorry."
"No, what is it?" Pink looked at him.
"It was Supreme. He's alive, but barely. Says that he's near the edge of Kotobuki which borders Aqualiss. We need to go find him."
"Okay." Pink nodded, then looked at Green again. "I'm sorry... hopefully we can meet again sometime soon. If we do... might it still be under friendly conditions?"
"I'm... not sure." Green frowned.
"Well, in whatever case... I guess I'll just have to accept it." She gave him a peck on the cheek. "Good luck."
Green blushed at that.
"Isn't he coming with us?" Eddie asked, confused.
"He needs some alone time." Pink told him. "Come, we need to find Supreme."
"See you sometime, Athena." Green said quietly.
Pink waved as she hurried off with Eddie, and Green went the opposite direction.
Orange had sulked off pretty far. Little did he know, that would be relieved. Black was walking towards him.
"Ah, hello Vincent." Black smiled. "Finally a familiar face."
"James." Orange nodded. "How did you get knocked off?"
"Oh, that blasted Yamato defeated me, then I jumped ship. I thought he might actually have killed me."
"At least it wasn't Terra." He frowned. "She threw me off the ship."
"You really don't like her, do you?"
"No, I don't." He growled.
"That's too bad. She really seems to like you, otherwise she wouldn't be throwing herself in your way. The only other Captain she's ever bothered was Yamato."
"Yeah. Say James, I need a favor."
"What's that?"
"I need you to get rid of Miyamoto. I don't care if you kill him, or not. Just get him outta The Empire."
"What you are asking of me is treasonous, Vincent!" Black hissed.
"That's never bothered you before." Orange raised an eyebrow.
Black stared at him for a while, then became a little angry.
"You shut up. As far as anyone knows, my other operations are non-existant, and I'd like to keep it that way. You keep your mouth shut, and we'll both be fine. But, why do you want him removed so badly?"
"Because, he's stepping in on me and Athena."
"Oh, really? But, haven't you realized that she doesn't like you?"
"She doesn't like me because Miyamoto's here. You get rid of him, and she'll have no choice but to come back to me."
"Whatever. But you owe me for this. Big time!"
"I'll keep that in mind." Orange grinned. "I'm outta here. Gotta find the Admiral. You coming?"
"Eh, no." He shook his head. "I'll catch up with you later."
"Righto. But if you see Miyamoto, remember."
"Yeah, yeah." Black nodded.
Orange walked off. Black looked around, to see if anyone was there. He didn't try to sense any other life, though, so he didn't know that Green was watching from inside a tree's leaves.
He's acting even shadier than usual. Green thought, as he watched.
"Come." Black said to one of the trees.
A male and a female dropped out of the tree, and landed on their feet. The male was blonde, and the female had red hair that was tied back in a bun. They both had the same uniform; a black cap with a black visor and a silver fanged skull emblem on the front, a black trenchcoat with silver shoulder plates and a silver fanged skull emblem on the right side of the chest, black baggy pants, and black knee high boots with silver toes. On the male's back was a smaller version of the Danger Cannon, and on the female's back was a shotgun.
"Hello, my liege." The female knelt down in respect.
"Hello." The male also knelt.
"Yes, I am sure that nobody else is around." Black told them. "And I am confident that you have nobody pursuing you."
"None, sir." They both said.
"Good. Now let's get down to business."
The two strange people rose.
"Earlier, I heard Supreme broadcast to all the Captains." Black continued. "Apparently, there's nobody back at The Empire's base. What I want you to do is, as soon as possible, organize as many troops as you can, and lead an assault against the tower."
Green blinked in surprise.
"Do you understand?" Black asked.
"Yes, my liege." The female nodded.
"Yes, my liege." The male nodded as well.
"Good." Black smiled. "Take as much time as you need, but not too long. No telling when we'll be ordered back to the tower."
"Right." The two underlings said.
"You are dismissed. And may the Divine Fury of the Skulls guide you to victory!"
The two disappeared. Green silently landed on the ground, and waited a moment.
He's working for the Skulls? Green mulled over what he just saw. I should eliminate him now, but this is news best left to Yamato.
Green walked into the clearing, and Black noticed him.
"Oh, hello Miyamoto." Black greeted. "You look simply horrible."
"Yeah." Green nodded. "But the threat of Satarage is no more."
"Threat of Satarage? It was our intention of reviving him."
"He was revived, but he rebelled against Admiral Daisaku. After Terra, Yamato, and Charlotte removed the powers of the Gems, I made sure the Guardian of Destruction was purged from Supreme."
"Interesting. A fine service you did for both The Empire and Iota. But, there is something I must tell you."
"What?"
"Do you know how Daisaku said he had bombs planted around your old house, and that he would detonate them if you didn't cooperate?"
"Yeah?" Green looked at him strangely.
"There are no bombs. He was lying to you, so he could execute his plans more efficiently."
"What!?" He stared. "How could I have been so easily fooled?"
"We all make mistakes. Now, you can go back to your friends, if that is what you wish."
Green dashed off angrily, then disappeared in a rush of leaves. But that anger was only an act. He was feeling really good, actually, and he couldn't wait to bring all his good news to his friends.
 Shin-Maruku · Tue Dec 04, 2007 @ 06:34am · 1 Comments |
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