-Nightfall, on the way to Shinjuku-
The armored vehicle left the encased city as it drove through the remnants of what used to the beautiful cities of Japan. The occupants of the vehicle sat in silence as their eyes remained fixated on the horrible sight that sat permanently for anyone to view. Some buildings continued to crumble, unable to support its own infrastructure; while others still held on by a thread. The roads were destroyed and barely drivable as the armored vehicle ran over slight bumps and potholes that lie in front of its reinforced tires.
The scene mirrored the image of a zombie Apocalypse. The cars were discarded all over the area.
They were rendered totally useless nothing more than mere decoration for the eyes to see as a reminder of the battles that took place.
The driver noticed the tension within the vehicle as an awkward silence emerged and remained between the group.
"So uh, it's pretty night out tonight." The driver spoke, trying to start a conversation to ease the tension amongst them. "The stars are out; you normally don't see that every day, too bad that things have to look like this though." He finished with a nervous smile.
"You don't have to try and make small talk." Faythe said rudely as she crossed her arms and kept her eyes directed out the window.
"It's no point; just drop us off so we can get this mission over with." She added, shutting the driver up as he turned his concentration back on the road.
Taking a deep breath the driver tried once again. "You know you should probably lighten up a bit." He told her politely. "It's not every day you get to see a night like this." He gestured. "I can't even remember the last time I saw the stars." He slightly looked up as they drove under countless stars as they continued to their destination.
Faythe ignored him, sensing that he wasn't going to get a decent response out of her, he moved onto his next target. "Hey Ekho, you ok back there? You got enough room?" He asked her, still trying his hand to make some type of conversation.
"Yea…" Ekho replied her usual one-word response.
Expecting as much, the driver tried again. "Alright, if you need anything let me know ok? It'll be awhile before we reach Shinjuku." He slightly turned his head behind him to look at her.
"Sure." She simply responded, earning a depressing sigh from the driver.
"I told you." Faythe stated coldly. "You might as well stop with the small talk; no one here is going to listen." She completed her statement as the tension thickened.
"Sometimes small talk can be a good thing." The driver replied back. "You all are off on a mission and you don't even know what you're up against, it's best to go in with a laugh or two, you never know what could happen out here. It never hurts to enjoy the little things." He explained. "Right newbie?" He spoke to Ira, who kept his eyes on the scenery outside of the moving Van. "Please tell me you agree with me." He hoped that he would have better luck trying to talk with Ira than the last two attempts he made trying to talk to the girls.
Ira didn't look back at the driver, but he did give an answer. "That's what my sister always told me." He replied calmly. "She used to say "Just because the world is wasting away, doesn't mean your life has to." He told him, causing the driver to nod his head in agreement.
Faythe let out an irritated snarl as she heard Ira speak. "She used to tell me, Even though demons are roaming the earth, don't let them corrupt your life; live with a smile on your face." he ended again.
"Sounds like your sister was a very intelligent woman." The Chauffer smiled.
"Yea…She was." Ira tone sullied a bit, earning a slight glance from Ekho, who sat beside him.
"That sounds like something my mother would say." The older man laughed a bit. "She'd give us an earful about everything, but she always kept us on track." He added. His smile never wavered as he continued to piece together the fragments of his memories. "Even when that earth changing battle happened and people were caught in the middle of it. She'd always tell us to smile, no matter what." He gave another chuckle. "Damn, my mother was a hell of a woman…Then those demons took her." He ended his story as Ira slowly tore his eyes away from the destruction on the outside of the van to look at the driver as he kept his composure and concentrated on the road.
"I'm…I'm sorry to hear that." Ira apologized. "I guess this is really hell on earth now, never thought I would ever see that statement come true." He turned his head towards the window again, his eyes realizing the fact that everything that was once beautiful, was now gone. "Demon's run the world now…" Ira ended.
"Does that bother you?" Faythe spat harshly. "Are you going to protect them against their judgment?" She coldly glanced behind her.
"I'm just saying that it's hard to believe that we took on the responsibility for fighting these things when we're so outnumbered," Ira stated.
"I'm sorry, we?" Faythe retorted. "Remind me, when did you become part of us?" She turned her body to face Ira in the back seat." Last time I checked, you were about to be food to that lovable sister of yours, a little bedtime snack between siblings, now that I think about it, I'm sorry that I got in the way of the little bonding moment you two were having." Her irritation was clear as her anger was directed towards the boy who sat behind her.
"Are you telling me that it was wrong for me to try and save someone that I care about?" Ira spat back.
"I told you before you can't save a demon!" Faythe shouted. "Once a person turns, that's it! There's no changing them back!" She growled.
"And how do you know?" Ira yelled back at her. "Are you sure that there's no way to turn someone back to human?" His eyes narrowed as Ekho slightly glanced towards the two bickering teens.
"It's fact!" Faythe growled. "There's nothing you can do to help anybody who turns!" She returned the glare. "With all the people that have turned, don't you think if there was a cure we would have found one by now?" Faythe lifted herself from her seat, to add extra flare to her statement as she got in Ira's face. "Do you think that if we could, we would have found a better alternative?" Their faces were close as Ira's eyes met Faythe's angry expression. She reached for the collar of Ira's shirt. "Don't you think that…." Ekho grabbed Faythe's wrist before she could touch Ira; without even such much as looking in her direction, she spoke.
"Stop." She simply stated, her eyes still facing out of the window. "Now." Her voice was bland. Faythe looked at Ekho with a semi-shocked expression as she felt Ekho's strong grip around her wrist.
She didn't have to be told twice as Ekho let go of her and Faythe returned to her seating position, her angry expression once again looking out the window.
Silence once again plagued the armored van. "I hate to tell you kid, but Faythe's right." The driver broke the silence. "There's no way to reverse the effects if someone is converted into a demon, the same rule applies to those who are turned into an angel." He told him as Faythe let out a small, but annoyed hiss that went unheard by the occupants around her.
Ira's eyes shot up in surprise as he looked over to Ekho and then back to Faythe who was sitting in the front seat." You mean that…." He began to say but the driver beat him to it.
"That's right." He answered. "These two and the others back at Cherubim are stuck like this… It's a cruel fate, force to carry the goddess's will on your shoulders." He stated, but Faythe spoke up.
"I'm happy with being an angel." She replied coldly. "If I can take out demons then that's good enough for me, there's nothing cruel about it. If the goddess wants it, then I'm happy to deliver." She stated as her eyes were filled with hatred and determination as she eyed the destroyed scenery that they drove passed.
"Faythe you don't have to bear the burden to heart it's just…" Faythe quickly rolled her head around to face the driver.
"It's not a burden!" She shouted at him. "I was blessed with the power to save humanity and rid the world of these damn monsters. There is no burden, only an opportunity to fix what was broken. "She finished, still noticeably upset.
"Geez, ok sorry; I didn't mean to offend you." The driver replied as he kept his eyes on the road.
Faythe didn't reply immediately as she wrapped her arms around herself in a tight hug, keeping her eyes fixated on the decaying city. "Yea…Well; how about we just keep things quiet in here from now on?" She suggested her voice seemingly calmly down. "It's not your job to make conversation anyway." She ended, earning a hurtful look from the driver that sat next to her.
Ira watched the scene unfold in front of him and chose to follow Faythe's words and return to looking out the window. Ekho didn't seem to care as her eyes never moved from their position.
The van continued to make its way towards its destination as the group silently agreed that not another word would be spoken for the moment. The crew sat in silence as the van continued to drive forward, a few flurries of snow had slowly fallen behind them, unnoticed by the team.
-Cherubim, same time-
The lights flickered on the computer screen as Nyx sat in front of it, replaying the horrific tape that she heard previously. She played the tape over and over with her hand on her chin as she remained deep in thought.
-Recording-
"Cher…Ubi…M." A distorted voice called out. "We….Are….Un….der….Att…ack." The sentence was chopped up, but the surrounding crew forced themselves to listen to the distress message." We…Can't…See….Blizzard…Just….Came….Out….of nowhere and...What…Is…That! ARRRRRGGGHHHHHHH!" Suddenly a loud distorted roar could be heard in the background along with screams from the defense team. Loud slashes and grunts dominated the remainder of the message as it abruptly ended with a loud crash.
-Recording ended-
She seemed puzzled as she replayed it once again. "Something bothering you?" A female voice spoke from behind her.
Startled a bit, Nyx turned around to see Yure leaning against the door seal. "Have you been here the whole time listening to that?" She asked as she pushed herself off the door and walked towards her. "You know you can run yourself into the ground if you don't get some sleep." She said to her, leaning beside her a bit.
Nyx gave her a warm smile before returning her attention back to the audio that she was listening to. "I just wanted to see if there was anything else I could find out," Nyx answered calmly. "I know it's not really a lot to go off of, but maybe there's a cha nce that we missed something." He told her as Yure smiled down at her.
"You're always looking for something." She responded. "Don't you think you might be overthinking it?" She asked her.
"Overthinking it?" Nyx repeated.
Yure nodded her head. "It's a recording Nyx, not a bunch of files and documents that you can read over," Yure told her. "Calm down I'm sure Faythe and Ekho will be alright." Her tone changed as she thought of the boy that was with them. "So long as the idiot that's with them don't get in the way again." She muttered as Nyx warm smile didn't fade away, but she relaxed a bit in her seat as she looked up at Yure.
"I guess you're right." She replied, taking a deep breath before speaking again. "He did put us in a troubling situation, didn't he?" She added, closing her eyes for a bit as she leaned her head back against the headrest.
"Troubling? That's taking it lightly don't you think?" Yure slightly glanced at her. "We finally had her Nyx. We finally had Ziva where we wanted her and he ruined everything." She lightly hissed, reminding Nyx of their previous battle with the monstrous demon girl." Now we got to start over from square one." She crossed her arms, pouting slightly.
"I don't think so?" Nyx reopened her eyes.
"Huh?" Yure gave Nyx a questionable look. "Are you serious? We had her Nyx, we had her." Yure argued.
"Yure." Seriousness erupted from Nyx's voice as she continued to look up at the ceiling. "We weren't even close to beating Ziva." Nyx eyes narrowed at the reality of her statement.
"…Nyx…" Yure looked over at her teammate.
Nyx kept her eyes on the ceiling as if she was replaying the memory of the battle on the surface above her. "She was toying with us, she was nowhere near serious." Nyx lightly gritted her teeth. "It was just a game to her." She growled.
Yure looked at her for a moment and then her eyes traveled down to the floor. "Do you think so?" She asked her.
"Ask yourself Yure. How many times have we fought Ziva and she's always had something up her sleeve to slip away from us? How many times has she overpowered us, even before we met the newbie?" She threw question after question causing Yure to keep her eyes glued to the ground as she herself gritted her teeth in frustration.
"She's always one step ahead of us." Nyx finished as Yure looked back up at her.
"Do you think that she'll be in Shinjuku?" Yure quickly asked. " It's only Faythe and Ekho out there, they won't stand a chance against…."
"Calm down…." Nyx interrupted her. "I have a feeling that they'll be alright. Faythe may be hot headed, but she'll make sure everyone gets back safe. Besides, Ekho is with her, they'll be fine. They'll come back." Nyx assured her with a smile.
"I hope your right Nyx, I hope your right," Yure responded as she walked towards the large window overlooking the lower city and its occupants. "I really do." She finished.
-Road to Shinjuku-
Snow fell relentlessly, it was as if it appeared out of nowhere, encasing the road and everything else in a blanket of winter water. "This is bad." The chauffeur gritted his teeth as he tried his best to maneuver the vehicle through the tough winter terrain. "I can barely see the road. " The vehicle jerked as he tried to gain control of the large machine as the blizzard continued to blow across the area, covering everyone's vision with nothing but pure white wind.
"Where the hell did this blizzard come from?" Ira shouted as he tried his best to hold on as the large armored tank swerved from side to side. "It just came out of nowhere?" He added as the vehicle bounced, causing the occupant's bodies to bounce out their seats momentarily.
"We must be getting close to Shinjuku!?" Faythe gritted her teeth as she tried her best to keep a grip on her seat as well. She quickly looked over at the driver who was struggling trying to gain control of the wheel. "Can't you drive this thing any better?" She shouted at him.
"You try driving in a full blown blizzard and let's see how you do?" He yelled back at her as he gritted his teeth as he tried to muscle the wheel into his control. "Driving on Ice and snow is not easy you know, especially, if the damn blizzard is preventing you from seeing where you're going." He growled in frustration.
"If you can make excuses then you can drive!" Faythe responded.
"Um, you do know that driving and excuses are two different…." Ira was about to inform Faythe, but she cut him off instantly.
"DON'T YOU SAY A WORD?" She instructed him as Ira quickly shut his mouth, giving Faythe time to turn her head towards Ekho who had a bland smile on her face.
"Weeeee….." Ekho said plainly as she lifted her arms in the air with her body being jerked from side to side due to the driving of the chauffeur.
"Ekho!" Faythe yelled at her. "You cannot be enjoying this!" She turned back around to face the front. She had to admit it was hard for her to see as well. She knew very well it wasn't the driver's fault, but the sheer aggravation from the trouble the situation was causing was getting to her.
"Maybe we should pull over; we won't get anywhere if we keep going on like this." The chauffeur suggested as he continued his battle with the steadiness of the armored van.
"No, we have to keep going!" Faythe argued.
"Are you serious?" The driver responded. "We will die if we keep trying to drive like this." He tried to reason with her, but with Faythe being hard headed, she wouldn't listen.
"No! Keep going! We have to make it to Shinjuku no matter what?" Faythe reasoned.
"Faythe!" Ira called out to her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "He's got a point! We're dead if we keep trying to…"
"Get your hand off of me!" Faythe shouted at him as she jerked her shoulder away from him. "We're going to keep going until we get to our destination!" She barked.
Shocked by her response, Ira quickly narrowed his eyes at her. "Would you think for a second?" He screamed towards hers. "What good would it do if we crash and die out here?" He growled at her.
Faythe growled back at him as they both got in each other's face. "I don't need to listen to someone who nearly got himself killed because he can't tell the difference between a human and demon." Faythe spat.
"Let it go already!" Ira countered. "Plus, this has nothing to do with that! We're in a damn blizzard Faythe!" Ira pressed.
"That means the demon that's causing it should be close by!" Faythe retaliated. "If we can find it, we can take it down." She pointed out.
"Not in this blizzard we won't." The driver joined in. "This Blizzard is too thick, I can't even see the road anymore!" His grip on the steering wheel tightened as the vehicle jerked back and forth. "This is getting worse by the second, we need to stop." He told them as he was about to pull over, but Faythe grabbed his wrist.
"Don't you dare…." She glared at him. "Keep going."
"What are you doing?" The driver shouted as the vehicle continued to swerve.
"I said keep going." Her glare impaled the driver as her anger expression literally sent a chill down his spine, even due to the ongoing blizzard outside. "That demon is close and if we stop now, then we'll be dead for sure." Faythe explained as the driver took a noticeable gulp as sweat dripped from his face from the tension that engulfed the inside of the armored van.
He returned his attention towards the completely covered road, only for his eyes to shoot up in shock as a large pair of red eyes could be seen in a distance. "Oh…No." He said slowly as Faythe noticed his immediate reaction. She quickly turned her to the source of his attention.
Ira's and Ekho's attention joined in as well as the three teens followed in the driver's footsteps and wore a shocked expression on their face. A loud roar vibrated throughout the area followed by a large burst of snow and ice that crashed against the swerving vehicle, causing it to spin off course completely. The group screamed at the top of their lungs as they tried to brace themselves for impact as the vehicle rammed through wrecked cars, weak trees, and discarded debris.
The group's body was tossed around as the van slammed hard against the side of a frozen building, bringing it to complete halt. The windshield shattered, along with the side windows of the van.
Cuts and bruises could be seen on the teens, but the driver was in the worst condition out of the four. Glass from the windshield impaled his body. He received a bad injury to the head due to the impact made when the van slammed against the ice-covered building.
The sheer of the impact left the driver breathing heavily as he tried to catch his breath, but due to the amount of blood loss from his head and his body; it was obvious that it was only a matter of time.
Ira was the first to come to. "Ugh, my head." His hand instinctively touched his temple as his vision slowly returned to him. Ekho and Faythe followed a similar notion, only to be alerted when Ira notice the driver's condition.
"Hey!" Ira lifted out of his seat. "Are you alright?" He asked, not really expecting an immediate answer as his eyes traveled down his body to see blood leaking from him. "Shit…We have to get you patched up," Ira reached for the driver's seat belt.
"N…N…No." He coughed. "Don't…." His voiced rasped.
"Don't be stupid." Ira unhooked his seatbelt. "You'll die out here like this; we need to get you somewhere…"
"Pl...Ple...Please." He slowly managed to lift his hand up and place on Ira's wrist. "Don't…"
Faythe pressed up beside him to see the damage herself. She wanted to say something as she soon has her eyes processed the vision in front of her, but she couldn't find the words as the condition of the Chauffer set in her mind.
Ira quickly whirled his head around to face Faythe. His expression was noted as anger was plastered across his face. "Are you happy now?" Ira yelled at her. "If we would have stopped, he wouldn't be in this…" Ira's words were cut short as he felt the grip around his wrist tighten. Drawn to the source of pressure on his wrist, Ira returned his attention to the injured driver.
"No…Kid….Not….Now." The driver coughed. "You three…Have…to (Cough, Cough) Get out of here." Blood flew out his mouth as he tried to talk. "That….That thing can't be far from here." His breathing heavier than before. "It'll….It'll come." He managed to add. "You…have…You have to." He tried to finish his sentence but Ira cut him off.
"We're not leaving you." Ira erupted. "We just got to get you out of here and find someplace to fix you up and you'll be…" A hand touched his shoulder causing Ira to divert his attention to the owner of it.
"…We have to leave him." Faythe stated her expression as serious as before. "There's nothing we can do to help him." She pointed out bluntly.
Ira just stared at Faythe as the words began to set in his mind the moment she spoke them. "You can't be…You can't be serious." He mouthed as Faythe's expression didn't waver." You want us to leave him here? He won't survive out…"
"Neither we'll we." Faythe cut him off. "He'll be deadweight if we bring him with us. He's done." She released his shoulder as she opened the door to her side and stepped out the vehicle, leaving Ira and Ekho the remaining two with the dying driver.
Ira's appalled expression was solid. The statement made by Faythe replayed in his head as he turned his head to look back at the driver, who was still barely breathing. "We…We…Can't just leave him." He said under his breath. "It's just not right." Ira tried to fight against all sense of reality as he quickly disregarded what Faythe said and still proceeded to try and get the driver out of the van.
"I don't care what she says." Ira's resolve was clear. "I'm getting you out of here and…" Ira couldn't finish his sentence because Ekho's hand was placed on his shoulder in the same manner as Faythe's was previously.
Ira couldn't help but look up, scared to see the expression on the young girl's face that sat beside him watching the whole thing unfold in front of her. "You…You too?" Ira stuttered as Ekho gave him a brief silent pause before she slowly shook her head, indicating that there was no way of saving him. Ira's face returned to its appalling state as the truth finally set in. "But….Why?" He asked somberly as Ekho slowly exited the van as w ell, leaving Ira alone with the dying man.
A painful chuckle escaped the driver's lips as Ira brought his attention back towards him. "Don't worry about me kid…" The driver began. "My time was long overdue anyway, my family had already moved on without me. It's about time I finally that I catch up with them." He coughed a bit more as blood continued to escape his lips.
"But…." Ira tried to interject. "You still might have a chance."
The driver slowly shook his head. "Nah, (Cough, Cough) my chance at living was gone once they took my daughter away from me." The man gave a soft warm smile before slightly turning his head towards Ira. "I couldn't truly live in a world where visions of my wife and kids slaughtered in front of me haunt me every night. It's just living in hell, every time I close my eyes." His eyes closed for a moment as Ira continued to look at him.
The smile still remained on his face. "What do you know, I can see them now." He stated as Ira continued to watch on in silence. "Their smiling this time, who would have thought." Another painful chuckle escaped his lips as he turned his head towards Ira once again. "Listen to me…Kid." His breathing rate kicked up. "Live as long as you can, no matter what. Be…Be strong, don't be weak…Old bastard like me. Live…Not only for the sake of others…But yourself. Your sister didn't lie when she told you that." He finished as his body began to relax against the seat.
Ira continued to watch as death was looming over the two, ready to claim the man's life as he spoke his final words to the young teen that felt helpless in front of him. "Take care of those girls." He coughed a bit more. "They have…Good hearts…." His eyes closed before he could finish his sentence, leaving Ira speechless as death claimed another soul right in front of him.
Silence dominated the area as both Faythe and Ekho waited for Ira outside of the van, but not with freezing consequences. "Ira….Let's get going." Faythe shivered. "It's freezing out here." She tried to keep herself warm but was failing miserably. Ekho on the other hand, just stood there, as if the blizzard was nonexistence.
Ira continued to fixate his eyes on the now lifeless body that lay in front of him, his mind lost in thought.
A loud roar shot through the air as a large pair of footsteps could be heard rapidly approaching them. Ira quickly snapped out of his mental state, along with Faythe and Ekho in time to quickly acknowledge the oncoming force, running towards them. A large pair of eyes could be seen through the white mist as it continued its warpath of destruction. The large creature couldn't be made out, but the giant that roamed towards them made its presence known as it trampled anything that it was in its way.
Quickly whirling her head around towards the Van, Faythe shouted. "Ira we got to go!' Not needing to be told twice, Ira quickly made his way out the vehicle, just in time before a large fist collided with the armored tank, causing it to explode on impact, the sheer force knocking the group of three back a couple of feet into the snow.
Hiding in the midst of the blizzard, the large demon roared in dominance as it disappeared behind the white winds.
Faythe was the first one to get up as she looked around for Ekho and Ira. "Ekho!" She yelled as she looked at the snow covered terrain. "Ekho!" She shouted again, but once again; no answer came.
"Dammit." She cursed under her breath as she sat up, turning her body around as she tried to survey the area, only to see nothing but snow and the wind. She tried to shield herself from the oncoming gust. "Ekho!" She shouted once more.
A dread feeling began to take over as a low growl could be heard from behind her. Her spine froze as she sensed a chilling feeling from behind her. The growl intensified as Faythe found that she was scared to move. Her head slowly inched forward to glance behind her, Her eyes wide open as her vision fell upon a large gray demon that towered over her.
It stood on its feet and knuckles with his large, long arms bent with its elbows upward. A long tongue licked its lips as it caught Faythe in its line of sight. Its red eyes beaming down hunger as it viewed its prey. Its head was hairless and slightly jagged with craters and rough edges. It had a long scar along its left eye and its midsection revealed part of its bone structure. The large demon gave Faythe one more look before it took its position and roared at her, leaving her looking up at the monstrous demon with a horrified expression on her face.