??? (Leon)

-Leon just gets a half-lidded annoyed expression in response to Dia, although he's aware she has a point.-

-He wanted to give the guy one shot, although he did give him that one shot before...-

"..."

-Honestly, he's more annoyed with the 'clown' thing when it comes to what she said.-

—

Rome (Aichi)

-Aichi doesn't seem to care about this, and tries to oh so slightly maneuver out of his fellow Gear's attack, all while continuing his thrust.-

Edited by CrystalMemoria on Apr 11th 2019 at 11:25:05 AM

Gear vs Vigilante / Rome, Streets

(he lands, but is quick to rush Lin, priming another explosion)

(Midoriya clashes fists with Koata over and over again, before taking an opportunity to grab ahold of his arms...)

("Focus on my legs...!")

(Midoriya leaps upward, barely avoiding Aichi's sword thrust, flipping over Koata, and as he lands, attempts to use his momentum to slam Koata downward into the dirt!)

(successful or not, he reorients himself and steps back, looking Aichi dead in the eye)

(his teeth are grit, you can tell he's frustrated)

If I have to defeat you guys to save you...

(fists up!)

Then let's do this, Sendou!

(Ky is blown back by the storm of ice shards, taking some cuts around his limbs)

(he looks to Sagi)

Something's changed in your eyes...

(Lily gets an incredulous stare)

Look, lady, I don't know if you're delirious or not, but you gotta let the rest of us take care of this, now c'mon!

Vigilante / Bookstore

The Gear Project: What we know...

It's fairly well known that the Gear Project was birthed from human hands. The powers that be at the time wished to develop the next step of evolution. Be it for power, health, or plain old progress... it's hard to imagine them as anything other than foolhardy...

It's been ten years since Justice destroyed Japan as his first act of defiance, and the impact that event left on us is still felt today as if it were a fresh scar.

In that short time, whoever spearheaded the project, the foolish scientists and investors, are long gone. That Man was executed not long after Japan's destruction, Gear production has been outlawed, and all technology regarding the process has been seemingly wiped from the face of the Earth.

But I have reason to believe that these creators are still around.

You might remember the Guardians, the artificial intelligence based magic amplifiers gifted to us by the UN just a couple of years ago. They've proven time and time again to be shockingly effective against Gear-kind, narrowly saving many a skirmish in this short time. Why are they so effective against Gears? You might have heard the rumors that one of the Guardians was found to contain traces of Gear cells, or at least, showcased magic output that could only be comparable to a Gear's. How did the UN develop such technology? The easy solution is to believe that the UN themselves dabble in Gear technology, seeing what makes them tick in order to develop the best counters to them.

But I have reason to believe the Guardians were sold to the UN. Who could this mysterious benefactor be? Who else could have the knowledge to develop the only effective anti-Gear weapons of the decade?

If anyone reads this, know that this is not purely speculation. My aim is to discover the full truth of the Crusades before we inevitably die out. At least then, we will know who, alongside That Man, is truly responsible for the Gear Project, and why they would unleash such a thing on mankind...

Order / ???

(he doesn't notice your efforts, Shantae, work at it!)

(Zanuff walks silently towards Dia, before slapping her across the face)

I dunno. I was feeling a good old fashioned beating, to get my point across.

(from behind him, other goons appear with their bandaged hands, gloved hands, brass knuckles, many types of beating implements)

If I've been assigned Australia as my territory, I've gotta show some pride, y'know? And that means not letting anyone get away with talkin' back to me.

Edited by LatverianBadger on Apr 12th 2019 at 12:58:03 AM

Rome

“...I woke up. I was confused for a while but now I remember. Everything. You can’t hurt these people - I won’t let you...they’re my friends. Even now...when they’re confused.”

Sydney

-Shantae’s daily regimen of expensive shampoo and hair cream has prepared her for this!-

-That ponytail is furiously undoing the ropes tying her down-

{A little...more...}

Bookstore

-shotaro just kinda-

-read that all out loud yes-

...That Man...?

-He checks to see if he can find the author to this book-

???

!!!!!!!!!!

HEY!

-Sora struggles against his bindings immediately upon seeing Dia get smacked-

Rome (Aichi)

-He points the sword at Midoriya, having created a bit more distance.-

-...?-

"...Sen...dou...?"

-Something about hearing that makes him freeze. Not even because it's his name. The fact that 'Sendou' is part of his name hasn't even registered to him...-

-...'Sen...dou'...-

-...Like...-

"...Van...guard*..."

-That memory flashes before him again... That boy that gave him that card...-

-And... another...?-

<Vanguard... the one that leads...>

-His own words come to him, as he's looking at someone familiar... So familiar...-

-The... boy from the image...-

-...!-

-His eyes actually widen a bit as a name comes to him.-

"...Kai..."

-The boy in the memory clears, and the image of him in that other memory becomes clearer as well. That boy that gave him that card... Kai...-

"...Van...guard... Kai..."

-Kai gave him... Blaster Blade...-

"...Blas...ter... Blade..."

-Midoriya, it seems like he's caught in some kind of struggle, judging by his wavering blade. He's getting overwhelmed with the images of Kai and Blaster Blade!-

-Maybe you can reach him...! You know how much that card game means to him... If it's occurring to him even now, then...!-

"Sendou" is derived from the Japanese word for "Vanguard", which is apparently something along the lines of "sendousha" (Don't know how it's written, but I've heard it).

—

??? (Leon)

-Leon is not pleased with Dia being slapped, and...-

-...OK, where is that wind coming from? A very darn heavy wind... It's not enough to send a lot of things flying but it's a very sudden gust that could take them off guard. Some trash and other small things could start being moved, possibly even in the faces of their captors.-

"I will not abide your actions!"

-This criminal will not get away with any of this.-

Edited by CrystalMemoria on Apr 11th 2019 at 12:32:54 PM

Gesicht - Rome

I got blown back by another explosion, but I calmly dusted myself off. Agent Hoffman was laughing at me. I'm positive about that, for sure.

"Cheh! A cheap shot, but I can do those too!"

I readied a point-blank blast with my Zeronium Cannon and fired.

Pluto - ???

I remained silent for now. I can't do anything like this.

Vigilante / Bookstore

(Shotaro finds the book's foreword)

I've lived a brief life as a journalist, photographer, etc.

Now I am merely a seeker of truth. We human bodies are finite, but the truth is not. And if one can make their body infinite to seek that truth, well, that would be perfect wouldn't it?

Do contact me if you have any information to give me. We can seek this eternal truth together, and should we die, at least we can have the satisfaction of telling our story, the story of how we came to an end.

(any form of contact number has been burnt out, but the name below is clear as day)

Raven

Rome

   -he be slammed into the dirt hard, taking full impact and it taking a minute to recover and look up to see him about to fight aichi-   

[[evil:...

   -he's running for midoria, aiming to leave aichi there as a distraction-   

???

… welp.

Edited by Lilqueendaisy on Apr 12th 2019 at 7:38:50 AM

Bookstore

...Raven. I'll keep that in the back of my head...

-Taps his Driver, which has absolutely still been sitting around his waist this entire time-

You better keep it in the back of your head too, partner.

Vigil / Books

Lua takes the glasses, and puts them on. She takes a step backwards, not used to that strength of a prescription, but she blinks a couple times to adjusts.

Finally, I can... see again?

She's noticed the book as well, and approaches Shotaro as he reads it aloud. Once he's done, it feels lost on her.

Okay, okay, okay...

-Lily doesn't resist further, watching the order do their combat from a distance-

Bookstore

Dunno how important this'll be, but I say we leave it behind. No sense carrying something everyone already knows about.

-Looks back to Lua-

You fine with going back to the ship now? Or...

-He looks over in the direction of the Violence-

...I wouldn't call it smart for you to get mixed in that, but it's been driving me nuts that I'm not out there helping...

Vigil / Books

Lua nods.

I'm fine with going back. Something about this place is... giving me some bad energy.

She pauses, and adds:

... but once we get back, if you want to go and help, that's okay. I can stay behind and keep myself safe.

Order ???

Dia's head was pushed back by the slap, she cocked her head, the sounds of cracking bones coming from her neck, she looked at Zanuff with a satisfied smile on her face.

"Naow, that I like ta see. Yer a notty one aren't ye?"

Machina chuckled, her calm demeanor left for adrenaline to kick in. She smacked her lips and leaned her head closer to her captor.

"But… yer just the bot'em of the barrel, put more into it before ye square off with adults laddie"

Bookstore

...Alright, gotcha.

-RETURN TO THE SHIP-

If anything does happen, though...

-He pulls out his cell phone◊ and another USB◊ and passes them to Lua-

You stick that thing in my phone and send it for me. If I see it, I'll come running back as fast as I can.

Vigil / Ship

O.. kay!

Interesting shape for a phone.

Be safe.

Keep the Flag Flying #RELOAD, Interlude 1

It was truly a once in a century sight.

A Gear speaking of his friends? A Gear with altruistic motives? What on Earth was going on?

Even with Ky's comparatively short time on the battlefield compared to... say... Commander Kliff before him, he knew that this was truly unprecedented. Kliff never spoke of Gears possessing such human emotion.

...

However, there was once, when mention was made of a son he once had... he seemed hesitant to discuss the matter aside from confirming that his son fought for the Gears... and Ky had bit his lip to stop himself from asking again since.

The Ky of the present could hold it in no longer. He had to get to the bottom of this… to ask this winged Human type Gear what had become of him...

"Might you be amenable to reason then? Do you consider Justice among your friends?"

It took a second, and a great amount of willpower, but Ky lowered his sword. He would not see any unnecessary bloodshed this day.

The young man kept his sword raised but did not advance upon Ky.

"...No. I've seen people like him before. He makes me sick... but the other Gears... they're my friends. I won't let any harm come to them...please."

That was all Ky wanted to hear: an out. Carefully, he sheathed his sword at his hip.

"Then, please... let me through. If you know of Justice's crimes, then you know I must face him."

Ky looked over to see that Midoriya and Bakugo were engaged with this man's friends. Todoroki was in a different corner, but doing much the same. While Bakugo was abrasive, overly so, the three still struck him as altruistic fellows who personally knew these Gears when they were human themselves. They would keep this promise not to harm them, surely. He tapped the comm in his ear to speak to the rest of his troops, what was left of the small elite unit should've been easy enough to reason with.

"Everyone stand down. We have a clear shot towards Justice. Prioritize him and target none of the other Gears."

With that, he looked towards the man in front of him again, with no smile to give, but a determined gaze that promised his honesty.

"You have my word that no harm will come to them."

The young man nodded, his own sword disappearing in a dull flash of light.

"They're going to protect him... but we can't let him keep doing what he's doing...my name's Sagi, by the way. My real name."

Ky nodded in return.

"Well met, Sagi. I am Ky Kiske. And with your help, I wish to end this violence. Now..."

He stepped forward slowly, placing himself in front of Sagi.

"You may watch my back if you still do not trust me. We must head towards Justice at once. Your unconverted friends will keep the others busy."

Ky took the first step towards ending the war, unaware of the meteor that was headed straight for his position.

"... Ky!"

Sagi rushed forward, Marno's power coursing through him with one objective - to shove Ky as far away from the point of impact as possible.

Sagi figured nobody would survive a direct hit from that thing. Nobody... except a god.

Ky was pushed out of range just as it crashed, the shockwave blowing him back even further as a rain of flames and shards of rock peppered the streets of Rome, the hail going as far as the colosseum.

"Sagi...!"

Ky turned back, only to see Sagi locked in battle with another Gear, the two wrestling against each other with fierce looks in their eyes.

This other Gear... ablaze with flames all over his body and possessive of a dragon's wings, towering over Sagi's height... it was him... Justice.

"Fancy yourself the troublemaker of the class, do you? Maybe I should've expelled you when I had the chance."

"Go to Hell, you son of a bitch! You hurt my friends!"

Sagi's sword lashed out with a divine fury, its blade shining with a godly power as he assaulted Justice with a flurry of slashes. Any one of those strikes would have rent a lesser opponent in half as if they were naught but silk

"Witness the fury... of a god!"

Each blow struck with the strength of one of Justice's own, the Command Gear forced to deflect every swing with a strike from his fist... and even then just barely.

"Ngh... damned brat!"

He swung his fists up to deflect his last strike, an attempt to give himself an opening to attack...

They both yelled in primal fury as their attacks were about to meet.

Ky struggled to his feet, drawing his sword once more and desperately trying to reach the two.

Space-time seemed to distort as the blows met. The wind nearly blew Ky off his feet again, he was forced to strike his sword into the ground in order to not lose his footing. The most he could do was wait for a moment until he could look up and see how the clash was turning out...

And what he saw put pause in his breath.

Sagi's strike was too much. Justice's fists bled a lava-like orange as his parry attempt was blown away.

"What?!"

Sagi yelled with unbridled rage as he rushed Justice, his sword glowing with power channeled from Marno, from a remnant of the 'Wicked God' themselves. Malpercio's power coursed through him as he slashed his sword at Justice one final time.

"You're finished!"

The sword's sharpness echoed through the air, meeting Justice's flesh. It struck him, cutting his skin open, a bright light shining forth from the wound.

And then the slash completed itself, and a torrent of light burst from Justice's back, nearly completely covering the battlefield. Ky shielded his eyes, lest he be blinded. He struggled to bring himself back up, merely waiting for the brightness to clear up.

The explosion of energy was taking its time to dissipate, and Ky was struck with awe merely at the sheer power on display.

At last, the brightness cleared up, dimming and allowing Ky to see again.

"Sagi... you..."

Sagi stood there, still in the posture of finishing his slash, and in front of him...

... was Justice, standing tall, no worse for wear, the great cut across his chest already healed.

He cracked his neck, glaring down at his former puppet.

"So I was worried for nothing."

"Wha... but... how?!"

   "What the hell?! That was...everything we had...!"   

Justice stepped forward, gently putting a hand on Sagi's shoulder, his other hand raising itself and curling into a fist.

"Ponder it in hell."

His fist glowed white as it plunged itself into Sagi's gut. The resultant red beam of energy exploded out of Sagi's back, racing into the sky and splitting the ashen gray clouds that were above them.

Ky finally managed to get to his feet, racing towards the scene.

"Sagi!"

Sagi fell to his knees, his sword clattering to the ground.

"Guess... this is it... Marno... I'm sorry..."

   "Don't apologize to me, Sagi... I'm going to see my family again..."   

"Milly... you warned me not to come back but... I had to... please... don't be mad..."

The malideiter's wings dimmed, before vanishing completely as his eyes went blank, and he collapsed to the ground.

The last of Malpercio's Afterlings was no more.

Ky forced himself to stop upon realizing that Sagi had passed on. He couldn't look... couldn't bring himself to face such a blatantly vicious act as that head-on.

... but he had to.

He looked forward, raised his gaze and his sword once more, his other hand at the comm on his ear. This would not be the time to mourn, not yet.

"I've located Justice, everyone to my position! Midoriya, Bakugo and Todoroki, keep the others off of us!"

Justice stepped forward, ignoring the corpse of the righteous Gear whose life he had just ended.

"The fury of a god, he said... those entities who display their cruelty through their non-existence? Fitting then that I be the one who would put an end to him. Wouldn't you say, little Kliff junior?"

Justice's steps seemed to shake the ground. Ky wanted to dismiss that as a fear-induced hallucination, but it was quite real. The aura of heat that Justice was known for grew stronger, nearly breaking through Ky's blessing. He was getting serious.

"I'd say you're out of your league, but you've proven otherwise. Why don't we enjoy this moment, boy? The conclusion of the Crusades?"

Ky had to stop himself from snarling and merely sighed, before preparing for battle.

"I am Ky Kiske, High Commander of the Sacred Order of Holy Knights! On behalf of the innocent lives you've ended, I will put a stop to you!"

Justice sneered.

"You speak to me as if I'm one of you redundant puppets. Do I look like one to you, boy? Heh... perhaps, in another time, or another place. No matter...

"This isn't the time for chatter or speculation. I'll burn you and be done with it. Call it anti-climactic if you want... but I see no better way to usher in our new age."

With flowers in outstretched hands

I leave petals on this lake

The light, in the darkness, is reflected in the water

and the moons, here, are two

If I offer many pink flowers

to the shining moon,

the journey will start.

Raises the wind and our singing,

the moonlight guides me, safely,

towards the next world.

Even if everything will turn

to white

I'm not afraid,

because I'm here.

This post was thumped by the Codfish in a Derby Hat

Gears

   -koata was about ready to attack when he saw Malpercio stopped fighting Ky.   

   -why did they stop fighting? what was going on? what were they talking about?...-   

   -it was then justice came in with the meteor and was fighting malpercio, what were they talking about, what was going on? why were they fighting?-   

   -as he watched on and on, he... had feelings break through-   

   -he was... he was worried for his friend, why were they fighting? what was s—malpercio saying?...-   

   -it was then it happened... his worst fears came to light-   

   -no, he suspected this would happen-   

   -but... no not like this-   

   SAGI!   

Gesicht - Rome

I saw Malpercio, or Sagi in this case, get killed by Justice. I knew he was up to no good. What kind of person would callously abandon his daughter? If anything, Testament was a much better paternal figure than that red-head or Justice. He should adopt Dizzy after we take care of the humans.

Sorry about that diatribe, but I believe that a human would never backstab their own ally. I'm sorry for saying this, but Justice, you are far more evil than a human. I simply couldn't do anything to stop my “leader” from committing this atrocity. I simply failed as a friend. I'm sorry, Malpercio!

Edited by josh6243 on Apr 24th 2019 at 7:29:43 AM

Rome (Aichi)

-Aichi stares at Midoriya, blade shaking...-

-Kai... Vanguard... This person before him... The raging of the battles around him...-

-He's... not sure what... he's...-

"...I..."

-That smiling boy in his memory... Kai... Is slowly returning... That boy brought him life...-

-That boy was his beacon... Vanguard was his beacon... Blaster Blade was his beacon...-

-The world is slowly fading for Aichi as he tries to grasp those memories...-

-And others are trying to resurface... Friendly faces... Happiness... Fun...-

-They're still blurry, but those things are starting to push forward...-

"...W-What am I...?"

-What is he doing...?-

-This person before him... Midoriya... He looks familiar...-

"...W-Who... are you...?"

-His eyes slowly gain a bit more life as these feelings begin taking hold, pushing him through the control forced onto him...-

"...Y-You're... I feel like I..."

-...Like he's seen him before...-

-However, before he can focus more on Midoriya, he finally begins registering Sagi's clash.-

-He turns slowly, just in time to see the fateful blow. A gasp escapes his lips as it happens, all going by quickly.-

"...!"

-That's... Malpercio is...-

-...-

-...No, he... heard a scream... from Koata...-

-...Sa...gi...-

-...Sagi...-

-Aichi's eyes slowly begin widening in horror... Memories begin returning to him.-

-He... He knew Sagi... Sagi was a friend... He... was the one that gave Aichi a place to stay...-

-...He doesn't remember that place well at all, but... It was a place... When he had nowhere else to go...-

-Sagi was the one that told him... and...-

-...He...-

-Aichi begins registering those words Sagi said not long ago...-

<"Aichi...remember what I told you. You’ve got a place to stay...when this all blows over.”>

-Aichi's eyes regain their light. Sagi's... Sagi's...-

-...No, no, no, no, no, no...-

-NO!-

-He begins tearing up...-

-He... He can't move.. He can't get himself to move much at all. He barely manages to shake his head a bit, as if trying to deny what's happening before him.-

-That's... Sagi's not...-

"SAGI!"

-Sagi's too strong for that, and yet Aichi has this sickening, sickening feeling deep down that Sagi just...-

-Tears start falling...-

"..."

-That's... it can't be...-

"W-We're supposed to return together! All of us! Sagi!"

-He exclaims that, as if it'll give Sagi the resolve to stand back up.-

-It can't be... They can't just leave Sagi... Sagi can't leave them...-

-They're... They're all supposed to return to that place... That place before... That place Sagi told him he could stay...-

-Aichi doesn't have anywhere else... None of them do, do they...?-

-They have a place to return to, and Sagi needs to return too...!-

-He... He can't...-

-He can't die!-

"Sagi, please!"

-P-Please... Sagi...-

-...S-Stand up... Please...-

-...-

"...S-Sagi...!"

-The blade fades from his hand, focus unable to be kept on it.-

-He stares towards the fight, unable to snap out of his shock. Everything is overwhelming.-

-Memories pushing and churning in his mind, the presence of familiar people that he just can't remember, the clashes of battle ringing throughout Rome, seeing his friend possibly die right in front of him...-

-He... He can't move... Aichi can't move...-

Edited by CrystalMemoria on Apr 24th 2019 at 9:49:24 AM

IGNORE THIS PLEASE

Edited by CrystalMemoria on Apr 24th 2019 at 10:48:52 AM

Keep The Flag Flying #RELOAD, Interlude 2

Ky was blown back, flying like a ragdoll at terminal velocity before Bakugo caught him. He slid back quite a few meters doing so, but what mattered was that Ky wasn't splattered into a wall.

"Ngh... thank you, Bakugo..."

"Don't thank me yet... we still don't know how to stop that asshole!"

Ky looked forward at the war raging around them. Justice was being set upon by his troops, but the tide was not in their favor. Justice swept through them, blowing them away and incinerating a few others. Their strikes did minimal damage, and morale was low enough that it seemed to affect the stances of these elite troops, a noticeable tremble was in their knees.

This wasn't how it was supposed to go... if only Justice could be weakened enough for that dimensional prison to take effect...

Justice's pawns... Midoriya's friends... they were stunned, stuck in place. Sagi's death had triggered something in them. Something like... remembrance, grief...

Was this an opportunity? Did Justice's Command protocol really run so deep as to suppress the free will of Gears? And was it possible to reach them now?

Whatever the case, Ky had to test this theory. He stood up despite his wounds, ignoring the great cut in his knee and the others all over.

"H-hey! Asshole! Don't move!"

Bakugo's harshly-tinted concern went ignored. He had to do this. He stepped forward to try and appeal to the waking Gears.

"You've seen what Justice is capable of... you know the kind of war crimes he's committed. And your friend... Sagi... he gave his life trying to fight Justice, for your sake. He wished for you to be free... not under Justice's slavery. Please...

A stomp cracked a new hole in the ground and put a stop to Ky's speech. Bakugo rushed forward to stand in front of Ky, while Midoriya and Todoroki joined up at his flanks.

"There's... no way..."

"He went through them all... without any effort."

Midoriya and Todoroki's shock was clearly evident as they saw Justice hold up the corpse of the last soldier in Ky's unit, before tossing it away like the trash he considered humans to be. Even the ever arrogant Bakugo found his breath caught in his throat... he was finding it hard to swallow...

"Those knights were each as tough as pro heroes... and this guy slaughtered them all without a thought?"

"It's sad, really. What you redundancies think you can accomplish."

He raised his clawed, bloodied hand. An action as simple as that caused a change in the Gears under his command. Aichi, Geischt and Koata began to convulse, the pain evident on their faces.

"Kill them."

Justice's Command protocol was immutable, it could not be overwritten. And so the three, eyes now blank and lifeless, charged at Ky and their former friends.

"Here they come! Ready yourselves!"

-Not under... Justice's slavery...-

-Aichi barely hears those words as he stares in wide-eyed horror at where Sagi once stood.-

-Sagi... died for... them...?-

-For them to be... free...?-

"...S-Sa...gi..."

-Tears are still falling. Why is he doing this...? Why is he serving someone that would cause this… this strife...?-

-He... has to stop... He can't do this... Not when a dear friend just—-

-!!!-

-Aichi makes a yell of pain as he suddenly feels that heavy force trying to overwhelm him once more.-

-To fight. To kill. To destroy. To obliterate. To end.-

-No, no... He has... too much of himself now to let it overwhelm his mind... He... won't... He... can't...-

"...N-No... I... d-don't... I-I can't..."

-He mumbles this under his breath, pained... He tries his hardest to fight that push... That overwhelming power over his mind...-

"...P-Please... n-no..."

-He's clutching his chest, doubled over as he tries fighting with it... His claws potentially even digging into his chest a bit...-

-He tries, and tries, and tries to fight, but sooner or later...-

-...His eyes grow dull, and he straightens.-

-However, unlike before... Aichi remains himself, deep inside. He's seeing all of this... Feeling his body move without his consent...-

-Enough mental strength to keep that part of himself intact as this happens, unlike the empty, unfeeling, unthinking haze he was deeply under before.-

-He feels his heart pounding, fear, worry, and sadness striking him so very deeply.-

-T-This is... This is wrong...-

-He tries to break loose of the metaphorical shackles binding him, he tries to open his mouth, he tries to scream for Midoriya and those other people he recognizes to watch out or do something...-

-But he... can't... His mouth is impossible to open. All that is visible is that his eyes widen as tears continue falling down his face.-

-Why...? Why is this happening...? Why is he fighting...?-

-Is this... Is this Justice...? Is this what Justice wants...? Merciless fighting...? Endless pain and suffering...?-

-Aichi... doesn't want this... He doesn’t want this for anyone...-

-The fighting is unbearably painful for him... To fight against these people... This isn’t right... He can feel it, he's meant to be with these people...-

-They're... Are they his friends, too...?-

-He... can't remember... He's trying so very hard, but he can’t remember...-

-But... even so... He doesn't want to hurt them...-

-He struggles against that control all he can, focusing on various body parts as the battle rages, in hopes that maybe he can get himself to hesitate just a little... Hoping that he can give his... he thinks friends, an opening...-

-He... doesn't want to them to get hurt... He doesn't want them to die... He doesn’t want to fight...-

-But here he is... Unable to fight it... Unable to stop himself as the battle rages...-

-First Sagi gets hurt, or possibly even killed— N-No, he can't think that! They're returning together! They have to!-

-But... even beyond Sagi, he's now forced to fight against these people... These people that feel strangely important to him... These friends...-

-P-Please... make him stop... Someone, make him stop...-

-He wants to stop this fighting... He wants to stop this war... He wants to live in peace... He wants to see his friends again... He wants to return to that place... He wants to play Vanguard... He wants to see Kai again... He wants everyone to be happy... He wants them all to smile...-

-N-Not... Not this... Almost anything but this...-

-He fears so deeply for them... His fellow Gear friends... The people he's fighting... and... even himself...-

-It's all just so... So wrong...-

-Please... Let this end... Let this end in peace... Let them break through Justice's twisted desires and, at the very least, save this world from him...-

-And so, the only thing that gives any hint that Aichi is still in there are his wide and shaking eyes...-

-...And the tears streaming down his face...-

-A prisoner, trapped in his own body... Locked behind the commands of Justice, no matter how much he tries to stop it...-

Everything faded to black for some reason when I fought that temperamental kid. This human gets to live for now.

For some reason, I was in a field of flowers, but why? I found myself staring against the robot who dared to kill my Gear pals in that last dream of mine. But something was off about him. He was crying, as if he’s sorry for the crimes he's committed. It was time for me to enact justice once and for all.

However, Justice appeared and murdered the poor robot. He had the gall to rip off the poor robot's head. Just to rub it in, Justice laughed at me and sadistically licked up the blood. Not only did he kill Malpercio, he also killed my archrival before I got the chance to!

"I'm sorry, my friend, but nice guys finish last!"

Justice sent out a bunch of puppet strings at me, causing the scene to fade out. When I woke up again, I was on stage with my fellow Gears. Something's off, though. We became marionettes dancing to the tune of Justice. Justice made us do things that were unspeakable of. I won’t describe them here. You already read enough about that earlier.

To make things worse, Agent Hoffman heckled us by throwing tomatoes at our faces. I wanted to beat him up, but I couldn't. Justice made sure that I got hit with the most tomatoes. I was pretty loyal to him, and this is the thanks I get?!

And then Justice and Agent Hoffman laughed at me. They laughed at me until the end of existence. In short, they laughed at me forever. I tried tuning them out, but their laughter only became much louder. Tezuka dammit! My life is a joke right now. I can’t fight back, nor could I talk back to them. This is my personal hell, and I deserve it...

He didn't want to fight anymore.

He didn't know who he was anymore.

Sagi lied there on the ground, he tried to free them? Tried to free them from what?

... No, it was clear.

Everything they were doing was wrong. All this fighting, all the killing, it was horrible and wrong and deep down he knew it. So why did he do it?! Why did he—

Then the order went through him, right when his insecurity and fears were at their highest the order went through and it was clear.

He was not a good guy, none of them were. What they did was horrible and awful and it was too late to stop. No matter who they were before, no matter what they were before the pain, it didn't matter at all. Koata was nothing more than a monster without a choice.

And the worst part was... he was aware this time, no questions about it. Any control he had over his body was gone. He was not driven by a need to fight or want to kill. His lack of agency, his pain, the order was the only thing going through and forcing him to move, forcing him to fight people who would finally maybe understand, who maybe had answers for him.

He was breaking inside and wanted to stop.

Horrible, horrible disgusting awful the feelings being painfully shoved into him, actions being forced to take on. Everything he loved being twisted and wrenched into something awful and evil and disgusting.

Wait... loved? He...

...He can't remember. It was gone, everything was gone and it would be gone. Whatever happened before took it all away already. He was already changed into something else.

And... everyone else too. They were probably changed too...

...It didn’t matter anymore, all he could hope for now was for somebody to stop him. Maybe those people? The people he knew? Maybe they could...

"Father!"

Dizzy, blissfully unaware of the hell her father was putting on her fellows, came upon the scene, having shaken Jack-O' off her tail.

"Father?"

Even then, she could tell something was off. The way her friends moved, the looks in their eye. She didn't deny their actions, they had to fight for their survival, right? But the robotic way they went about it, the occasional twitch of a muscle or tremble, something seemed off.

Was it... fear?

Fear... a feeling Dizzy was acutely familiar with. Every time the humans came upon her and her friends, every time she had to kill...

...

Every time her father spoke to her.

Some part of her always knew... fathers weren't supposed to be that way... right? Was it simply the stress of the war effort getting to the both of them? Was that all it was?

Malinalli said that mothers wanted their children to be safe in their arms, that they could do anything for them.

Was Jack-O' like that? Or Justice, for that matter?

Before she knew it, however, she was in the fray, fighting against Ky and the three superpowered youngsters who fought at his side. She had still been considering matters when she realized she was already throwing a fireball at Ky Kiske's heart. He deflected it with a barrier easily, but Dizzy found herself unprepared for his charge.

He barrelled towards her, sword-first.

His eyes spoke of steeled determination, not a single ounce of fear to be found. Was that where Dizzy faltered?

("Was I not... prepared?")

The sword was mere inches from her gut.

The tears were beginning to fall.

("Father... Mother... please... save me...")

It was a swift blow, efficient, aimed to pierce the heart. Flesh tore like paper... and life spilled out of the wound to fall on the cold, decrepit streets...

IGNORE THIS

Edited by CrystalMemoria on Apr 29th 2019 at 1:33:50 PM

Keep The Flag Flying #RELOAD, Interlude 3

[1]

When we first met, Justice had practically dropped you in my lap. It... had been a long time since I had seen a child... a human child, or so you seemed at first.

   "What is this?"   , I had asked him, bewildered.

"My child. And with any luck, my heir."

He had said something along those lines... I don't remember the exact words, my memory has grown worse since becoming a Gear, I think. But I remember that when I looked down at the sleeping child in my arms, I really couldn't fathom for a moment what Justice had meant. His heir? To the war on humans? This thing? This... little, tiny thing that couldn't lift even a small stone to lob at her enemy?

He had given me the duty of caring for you, and for that reason, I took leave from the battlefield for about two years. It was... grueling. At first, I thought I had managed to take to you quite well, but I will readily admit now that for the longer part of your childhood, I was wishing for the simpler times when I was at war.

In battle, I was in my element, you see. I felt complete, but when you came along... all the crying, the worrying, the trouble I went through to teach you what I believed was right and wrong. You were a happy child, but sometimes a little too happy for your own good. When I would have to stop you from endangering yourself, you would complain and whine in such a voice... at times like that, I was desperate for you to hurry and grow up so that you could take care of yourself and so that I could go back to the war that I understood.

Yes, raising you was truly the harshest battle I had ever been in.

And yet, I don't regret a second of it. Seeing you grow into the exceptional young woman that you turned out to be... with boundless care for your fellows, your empathy even stretched to the humans who didn't deserve it. I often felt that none of us deserved you, not the humans, not Justice, not me...

... and it is only now that I find myself turning around on my feelings. Now... and only now... I wished I could return to the times in the grove when we were together. Perhaps it wasn't as simple as fighting for our freedom, but I found something in my life I could call beautiful...

If I could speak out against Justice, just once, I would've begged him not to involve you in this war. You belonged on this battlefield the least, and I would've given anything to see you have a different life.

... now I'll never know if you'll get that life. But I hope that you leave this battlefield with this one piece of knowledge, the last thing I will pass onto you, Dizzy.

Please know... that of the insignificant decades I have had to live, you were one of the only things I found to truly love.

Heh... it seems they were not the only ones to have lost their memories, because only now do I remember Kliff, and now I know what he must've felt for me.

You will have to take care of yourself from now on.

Goodbye, Dizzy.

Ky stepped back, in shock, pulling his sword from Testament's stomach.

Dizzy opened her eyes, and was in shock as she met not death, but the sight of Testament coughing blood.

"Tes... tament?"

He tried to turn to face her one last time, tried to manage a smile. It was hard to tell if he could through all the red that had spilled over his chin. In the scant few seconds Dizzy had to react, she reached out to him, unable to say his name again, she had simply wanted to catch him and hold him again.

He fell to the ground before she could. Testament breathed his last silently, and all life ebbed away from him without fanfare.

Dizzy stared at the corpse, looking just as lifeless as he.

In an instant, that one instant where she was unprepared, it cost her Testament.

"Testament...?"

She could've done something, could've fought better, but she faltered and Testament died to cover up her mistake.

Why did he do that?

Why didn't he let her suffer her own consequences?

It wasn't fair.

"No..."

It wasn't fair.

It wasn't FAIRITWASNTFAIRITWASNTFAIR

"NOOOOOO!!!"

The pure unbridled anguish blasted outward in all directions, nearly knocking Ky off of his feet. Everyone on the battlefield felt it and was given pause. Even Justice felt a buckle in his knee at the sheer display of power.

Ky drew his sword again, prepared to fight.

("I cannot falter now... I have to end this war... I have to-")

As soon as he stepped forward, something stopped him... some undeniable sensation.

He looked down to see red. A lot of red. And Dizzy's arm lodged into his stomach.

He choked, then vomited out a pint of blood... all breath seeming to escape him.

When Dizzy pulled her claw out of him, he fell, just as silently as Testament had, all dreams of winning the war leaving his body.

"Blondie!"

Bakugo, Midoriya and Todoroki had no time to react.

Aichi, Geischt and Koata felt themselves coming under new command.

Justice's orders vanished from their minds. Their bodies stood stock still, then tensed themselves up to prepare for new orders. In their minds, was Dizzy's voice, but it was far from coherent.

Some abstract screaming, faint thoughts of destruction formed a symphony of violence in their heads. But the message was clear enough.

("EVERYTHING DIES.")

An errant pile of rubble down the road was pushed aside, revealing the person underneath.

Jack-O' coughed herself back to life, having only just recovered from her fight with Dizzy.

When did Dizzy get this powerful?

She could quip about it all she wanted, but even she knew that there were more pressing matters. She had a job to do.

"No use lying around... gotta pick myself up and-"

It was then that a shockwave of energy reached her and nearly blew her off her feet. She gritted her teeth and stood her ground, managing not to be blown away.

This sensation was obvious, and though she withstood it physically, in her mind, it was as if she'd lost all her hope and ideals. Her worst fears had come to light.

"No..."

She broke into a sprint. She had to put a stop to this... no matter what.

"Goddamnit Dizzy! Don't do this to me... please... please..."