BATAN! BATAN! BATAN! BATAN!

Gofu! Gofu! Gofu! Gofu!

BATAN! BATAN! BATAN! BATAN!

Gofu! Gofu!

With all the remaining strength I can muster, I plow through the mining facility, destroying walls made of weaker materials than that of the security doors and making my own path. I pass by countless numbers of yakuza affected by Hunter's poison still lingering in the air. Painful coughs and weak gasps for air. Many trying to get up and escape, but they're unable to perform even the most basic of movements. While I have an immunity to this poison, I notice that I too am coughing, though my coughs are drowned out by the larger group of victims.

BATAN!

Going down corridors. Making my own paths. Creating holes in the walls and floors for me to pass through. Using Clarent to cut through some harder walls and barbed wire.

Gofu! Gofu!

(Hang on, everyone!)

My feelings are a mixture of determination and guilt. Determination to save my friends. And guilt outweighing this motivation the more I remind myself that it's my fault. My fault that they're in this predicament in the first place. My fault that so many people are experiencing a slow and painful death.

And all I can do is press onward.

(Some are on the lowest floor. Where is the...?)

Gofu!

I hear the cough of a familiar voice in a room further down the hall. I rush over to the door...

BATAN!

And kick the door off its hinges.

I have found the security room. And, lying on the floor, gasping for breath, are Hiromu, Sigka, Claire, Jonathan-sama, and a few others I don't recognize. I look at the computer monitors and get an idea!

I dash over to the keyboard and begin searching the files for anything to clear the air. Turrets? No. Electricity? No.

(Where is it? Where is it!?)

"Y..ou..." a voice says.

I look over to the one who spoke...

Jonathan-sama.

"He...lp me...over the... GOFU! There..."

I look at my fallen allies, then at the computer screens, then back to him.

"I...can...stop...this... GOFU!"

I look around once more.

(He is the enemy. He is the one who played a major part in all this. Tracking us down. Preparing this trap.)

I reflect back on my actions. How I've gotten close to so many people, just to have someone like Hunter-sama exploit my trust. Jonathan-sama is clearly dying, but what makes him different from Hunter? Does he plan to kill me? Trick me?

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I don't know...

With these enemies...I just don't know.

"Please! GOFU!"

I look around one last time...

Then walk over to him, carry him over to the keyboard, then place him down in the nearest chair.

"Than...k...yo...!"

As he looks at me, he finds Clarent close to his neck.

"Try anything, and I will show no mercy." I say coldly. "The same way your master shows no mercy to anyone."

Jonathan-sama looks at me in surprise.

"You're...dif...ferent..."

He starts typing, occasionally looking at me in fear.

Katakatakatakata.

The more he looks at me...

The more he notices that Clarent begins to shake.

"You...aren't...a...kil...ler..." he tells me.

"Shut up."

"You're...not...li...ke...the res...t of...the...Kei...setsu...GOFU!"

!

Kata...katakata...kata...

I put Clarent back into its sheathe.

(He's...right.)

I'm not as strong as them. I hesitate. I act on emotion. When we aren't fighting, I feel like I fit in. But when we're in battle...I am nothing like them.

Kata...kata...

(Do I...really belong?)

GOFU!

Jonathan-sama starts to collapse towards the keyboard. I catch him with my right arm, then look at the screen. He has brought up a computer terminal.

"Fin...ish...for...me..."

I look at the screen, then he puts my hands over the keyboard.

"Everything...lowercase... Sudo..."

"Shut...down...GOFU!"

"Minus r..."

"Now..."

"Press...the...ENTER...key...GOFU!"

Kata!

The lights go off for a split second. I reach for Clarent, but the lights turn back on almost immediately.

""

This...was surprisingly easy. But I guess that's to be expected. Fifth Age code likely is still rather simplistic compared to First Age code, as we're simply trying to recreate all the technology from the ground up.

Ffffffffuuuuuuuuuuuuuaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa..............

The sound of fans blowing is heard, clearing away all of the poison. I take a deep breath of the "clean" mine air, then turn to Jonathan-sama.

Batan!

He has fallen out of his chair, clutching his throat.

I go over to Sigka, Hiromu, and Claire, and try to drag them out of the room.

"Wa...it..." Jonathan-sama begs.

I look back at him and see his struggling to reach out to me.

"Sav...e...us...GOFU!"

Once again, I recall what he has done. He's still the enemy. But...he helped everyone here. He helped me.

And besides... If I didn't help, I would be no better than Hunter, wouldn't I?

I slowly nod. Jonathan-sama looks at me and weakly smiles before passing out.

For the next half hour, I go back and forth, entering and exiting the facility with people in tow. The Keisetsu members first, all struggling to hold on with the poison in their blood along with their injuries. By the third round, nobody is conscious.

Around the eighth go, I notice something surprising...

Some semi-conscious yakuza members being dragged...by...empty air!?

In astonishment, I look around, then find my answer.

Looking at the wall where the light is shined on the most, I see a shadow of a girl pulling these people. The shadow itself lifts those it's carrying through the air, allowing for them to get out faster. I seem to find it more often in the rooms where the poison still lingers, albeit less than before, while the vents clear it out. It's a shadow without a body, but it's helping, so I ultimately don't interfere.

By my eighteenth pass, I believe we have rescued everyone from the facility. We are all outside in the clean air, though the sky has become cloudy. I look over at the shadow...

Which starts to literally come out of the wall, revealing Saiya-sama. So, that's what she is capable of. Merging with her shadow and allowing for her shadow to interact with the shadows of other things without a body to interact with.

Saiya-sama walks over to Yamiso, kneels down, and puts his head on her lap. She continues to stroke his hair, showing no signs of emotion.

"Saiya-sama...I..."

She puts her free hand up, gesturing for me to stop talking. She then points with the same hand to the sky.

I look up...and see a familiar individual flying our way on one of the rugs at the Keisetsu base.

Katsumi, whose expression tells me everything. He's angry, and I mean REALLY angry.

He looks at Saiya, then at the poisoned Keisetsu members, completely ignoring me. He then walks over to Claire, checks her vitals, then takes out a communication crystal.

"Yuri..." Katsumi starts, "Prepare the medical room for all of our members."

He looks around.

"And make room for at least a hundred other people. The floor in the main hall. The vacant rooms. I don't care."

I hear Yuri's voice, but can't make out the words. I...cannot really focus due to the guilt that I feel. Katsumi is ignoring me. And he has every right to.

"No, we can't leave them. Letting Hunter get them might result in them coming back to attack us again. And sending them to the Tokiport hospital could put said hospital at risk with Hunter's plans. We'll do what we can for them, but we need them monitored. Don't argue! Send Vorn a message requesting for these yakuza flunkies to be picked up as soon as possible. I'm not flying them over. I'll bring our teammates though. Katsumi out."

Katsumi puts the crystal back into his pocket, then uses his subtone to glide over to me. In my current state, I can't read his intentions...

Ba!

Giving him the chance to slap me across the face.

"We have much to discuss." he states coldly.

I remain silent.

Katsumi lifts our comrades onto the rug using his subtone, then gestures for Saiya and me to get on as well. Katsumi makes the rug fly swiftly back to Tokiport. I wish to apologize, but can't bring myself to speak. All I do is remain silent, letting the only sounds around me be the rumbling of thunder in the distance and the sound of wind.

Within minutes, we arrive at Tokiport and return to base without drawing suspicion. Upon entering, the atmosphere is completely different. The place is torn apart. Tables smashed. Walls destroyed. Many walls and objects are charred.

And I see Yuri tending to the wounded yakuza members already here. They don't seem to put up much of a struggle, most likely because of sedatives.

And judging by how they look, sedation is absolutely mandatory.

I recognize these types of wounds.

(Sueka...)

Though nobody is dead, nearly all of their bodies are bandaged and put in casts. They could be bedridden for at least a few months. They might never fully recover. Honestly, I don't know.

Crystal walks down the stairs leading to our rooms. She remains silent, but gestures for me to join her. I obey and follow her up the stairs, despite Katsumi's objections. She leads me to Sueka's room and lets me in.

And there I see Sueka, who wipes away the tears from her bloodshot eyes as she sees me. She tries to tell me something, but her voice is too choked up for me to make out what she says.

But I fear our troubles aren't over yet.