dimarts, 26 de gener del 2010

GARO Fanfic – Exiled’s return, 9


Chapter 9: Stalk



“That’s going to work?”

“Sure” Kouga replies, as succint as always.

“True, it does” Jabi interjects, coming next to Kaoru “The problem could be the death in the process of one of you. Or both.

Kaoru makes a face that is intended to be a smile. Jabi adds:

“There’s another option, a risky one, too”. Jabi deflects for a moment her sight to Kouga, but he has his eyes focused on some point of the opposite wall. “The Madou Fire in one singe person is less destructive than the normal fire, in physical terms, but its effects are deeper. For example: a hand under a normal fire would burn its affected side, and would leave intact the other one, but the Madou Fire would not burn really that side, but the other one would be affected in the same way. It’s created to reach a different dimension”.

“So, which's the danger?”

“We don’t know how much we can apply on you without seriously hurting you. As far as I know, no one before has tried to heal an entire human body, and your infection is already in you blood, not only in your arm. Plus, never no one tried to heal someone contaminated in this way. We only killed them, you know it”.

Kaoru swallows.

“Does it hurt as much as the normal fire?”

“Fewer, but no problem, I can put you to sleep”.

The ill girl goes away, until a wall, showing her back to the priestess and to her silent boyfriend, and stays for a while lost in her thought. But as she turns back to them, she has clearly made a decision”.

“I’ll accept de Madou Fire”.

Kouga, his face contorted, leaves the room slamming the door.

Jabi shrugs. Then she goes to the door and calls Rei.

“I need you to go to Kantai and bring another priestess.”

“Why?”

“We must build a sort of lighter, but really bigger. And we must do something to heal Kaoru. I can’t do everything alone in the short time I sense we’ve got. Explain them what is happening, and carry here some materials”.

“Good but...” He come closer to Jabi, trying she is the only to hear him. “I worry about Kouga’s insistence about the blood exchange. It's looks as if...”

“He was engaged in self-destruction?” she whispers, worried too.

A quick glance is enough to verify that their attempts to conceal their comments to Kaoru had not been successful.

*     *     *

Their DNA falls down so soon that it was not easy to maintain fifteen human copied simultaneously. They are everywhere, and now as Poisoned Edge knows how much interdependent they are - how could they flourish? the Bariri wondered for the umpteenth time - and the amazing ways that they are interconnected, they have avoided to get some attention. Of course, it was not always possible, and three policemen, four shopkeepers and two bystanders had to be eliminated. Although it not easy to decide who ate them. For a Bariri without hunger, a human is bland. Invertebrates are tastier, but they're so small! The horrors have lost too much time eating. From now on, everyone knows, they will be fed mostly on human beings.

They stole a truck which was unloading at a supermarket. Although their copied bodies could taste their wares, most of they threw it out because they felt disgusting that humans could feed on vegetables and dead meat. This vehicle is going to lead them to the Garo’s residence, to finish what Poisoned Edge alone could not.

He himself, sitting beside the driver, has emerged as the leader of the expedition: he has given others the information that no other Bariri have about humans, about how they have killed Barago and Kiva. His sermons encouraged everyone: they all had felt Meshia’s death in their flesh, and they were in a state of prostration when he found them.

And now here they are, determined to finish the single greatest threat remaining: the Makai Knight who can become another Kiva. And they will become the owners of both worlds. Although Poisoned Edge knows that after the victory, another bloody war was going to break out between them for power ... and survival.

The siren of the ambulance? No, it is the police one. Is it possible that they have already found the stolen truck? They made sure to kill its driver! The police car make signs for them to stop.

“Stop” he says to his driving companion. “Let’s they to leave us go”.

“Why we never thought about copying cops?” the other asked while braking.

Probably, Poisoned Edge believes, because some of their original subjects do not sympathize with them. But the pilot is right, it may be useful.

“Let’s go to get  them” he says.

The policemen put their car crossed on the way of the truck. The two agents go out and so the two unknown horrors. When the four of them stands joined, both policeman are suddenly scratched on their face, and then carried inside the cargo compartment, where thirtheen Bariri remain. The police car is parked next to a nearby park and the horrors resume their journey. Arriving to their destination, the big vehicle is hidden among the thick trees surrounding the enemy’s house.

The two policemen who knock on the door watch Gonza, before Poisoned Edge scratched him like he uses. The yell of the surprised steward is quickly crushed by another blow, and the other policeman load him on his shoulders and carries him away.

The homeowner, alerted by the yell, comes.

“A false alarm, sir” Poisoned Edge answers, while acceds quickly to the memories of his original subject. “There were two policemen and I was scared”.

“Do cops scare you?”

“No, of course...” The horror hastly looks whithin Gonza’s mind. “But I... was concerned about ... circumstances, and I got distracted”.

The enemy leaves the lobby, and he observes the thoughts having access: there are three Makai Knights and two Makai Priestesses inside the house, making weapons based on Madou Fire. Apparently, he laments to himself, the knowledge about the Bariri is not lost among Makai humans, despite the time elapsed since the last time the two species came into contact. He will need to alert others before the attack. And there's Kaoru, ill from infection. Poisoned Edge does not want her to die soon, he needs the others to see her, to verify that she was the container of Meshia. And thus vindicate the inheritance of the Mother of all of them: it is his right, he discovered her, and worked about Garo. The role of undisputed leader of both worlds belongs to him.

*     *     *

“There are some people hanging around” the priestess Akane says after collecting the things Gonza bought at the hardware store.

Four pairs of eyes looked at her, inquisitive.

“What did you see?”

“A guy among the trees looking this way. I asked your butler if he had seen something else as he was going or coming back, but he didn’t”.

“So, my eyes didn’t deceive me” Tsubasa adds, drawing all sights toward him. “Tonight, while keeping guard, I thought I saw someone coming out from the woods. But it was only for a moment”.

Jabi stop trying to fit two pieces of metal to move closer to her colleage, and speaks softly, but high enough so that the other occupants of the room could hear it.

“Hav’you noticed anything suspicious in Gonza?”

“I do not know him enough”.

Kouga leaves on the table the big graphics book that he holds in his arms.

“Ar’you saying he might not be him?”

“Why he hasn’t seen anyone?” Jabi asks.

“Perhaps,” Kouga protests loudly, approaching to her “because the outsiders hid as they saw someone coming”.

“See that he’s become very curious”.

The owner of the house said defensively.

“You’d be, too, if your life was in danger and you didn’t know what was being done to protect it”.

“Maybe you're right,” she soothes him. “In any case, it looks as we’ve got very few time. Let's see if we finish those flamethrowers. We should be able to test them before to be used”.

Jabi, Akane, Rei and Tsubasa return to work on the equipment, but Kouga leaves the room.

“I’m standing guard”.

Jabi's doubts have told on him and he wants, above all, to bring back Kaoru among them, to secure her. About an hour ago he had led her to her room to rest, and his heart skips a beat by not seeing her there.

“Kaoru! Gonza!” he yells.

He waits some few distressing seconds before to run into his own room to take his sword.